Victimizing Canadian Retirees and Citizens living and working abroad

 

Victimizing Canadian Retirees and Citizens living and
working abroad
    by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament
Pickering-Scarborough East
   After mismanaging the Covid-19 pandemic so disastrously the Federal Government is still using the pandemic as an excuse to subject Canadians to medieval disease management strategies by locking down our borders for most international travel since February of this year.
Locking down when the rest of the developed world is getting the pandemic under control and is opening up, demonstrates just how ineffectively our leaders have managed. Closing the barn door when the horses have already left the barn is the saying that seems most appropriate.
The Federal Government, supported and advised by government scientist(?) - more like political lapdogs than independent and incorruptible thinkers - labelled as racist, any suggestion to close the border at the beginning of the crisis, when the pandemic was brewing in China.
After the virus arrived on our shores and was spreading rapidly in Canadian communities, excuse after excuse was made, spinning public fear and uncertainty round and round. Then came the brilliant suggestion that closing the border for non essential travel and discouraging Canadians from travelling abroad would keep out the infection that had already been allowed to penetrate and fester.
Defining non essential travel very loosely and allowing numerous exceptions resulted in roughly 40 per cent of arrivals from abroad entering Canada without screening or the requirement to enter quarantine. Is it any wonder that more variants appeared and the number of infections increased drastically?  Someone finally woke up in a woke culture sort of way and decided that now was the time to clamp down on border rules. They then started forcing returning Canadians to stay in Government designated hotels, paying excessive amounts of money for a purported three day stay in prison-like conditions, even if their COVID tests come back negative after one day and they go home to complete their unnecessary quarantine.
The people hardest hit by these draconian rules were Canadian retirees. The snow birds who, after a lifetime of working to build Canada, were finally taking the time to enjoy the sun during the harsh Canadian winter months, mostly in the United States, in Florida.
As the United States accelerated Covid-19 vaccinations, fully vaccinating a high percentage of their people as well as many Canadians, Canada fell drastically behind.  Canada's pace of vaccinations was erratic and slow, both due to lack of supply and dysfunctionality in administration by the provinces.  Furthermore, the Canadian Government has behaved irrationally in refusing to recognize that fully vaccinated returning Canadians pose no danger to the local population.  In other parts of the world, fully vaccinated individuals don't even have to wear masks. Oblivious to all, they continue to apply their draconian rules when the World around Canada is opening at an accelerated pace.
Never mind that while they ruminate in their ivory towers their delusional views are destroying the economy of this country.  The tourist industry has particularly suffered, now being held in a strangle hold for the second summer in a row.  At this rate it will take years to recover from the early grave the industry has been relegated to.
Some among the thousands of affected retirees are expressing frustration over having to undergo the federally mandated hotel quarantine - even after getting fully vaccinated with one of the Health Canada approved COVID-19 vaccines.  Is this a ploy by the Federal government to attempt to rescue the struggling hotel industry? The quarantine measures, which went into effect in late February, include additional PCR tests for those flying back once they arrive.  Remember, they already tested negative to be allowed to board the plane. And then there is the $2,000 per person surcharge, paid out of pocket, for the pleasure of being herded to an undisclosed location where you are confined to your room with limited access to food and water, and no ability to communicate with the outside world until released. The reason for the restrictions - at least according to Health Canada and several self-appointed immunology experts - is that while vaccines are effective at preventing severe illness in those who have contracted the disease, it still isn't clear whether being vaccinated prevents a person from spreading the virus.
Dithering over their initial failures to act in a timely fashion, these same ineffectual policy makers now stick to their mediaeval solutions, generating furor at the federal government's mandate among Canadians returning from popular warm destinations.
"All of us snowbirds returning to Canada will be fully vaccinated, thanks to the U.S. giving us the vaccine. And yet you still want us to hotel quarantine when we could more safely quarantine at home," wrote one snowbird.
In previous interviews with Global News, Canadian snowbirds also expressed frustration over the strict measures, saying that they shouldn't be forced into hotel quarantine with other incoming non vaccinated travelers.  
Since people were able to get the vaccine abroad, they should at least be able to quarantine at home instead of having to pay for three super expensive days at a hotel.
Ignoring the vaccination status of returning Canadians also results in incorrect statistics when reporting the number of vaccinated Canadians.  Doesn't that bother anyone who might be in a position to change the rules?  Perhaps not.  After all, as Churchill once said, 'there are lies, there are damned lies, and then there are statistics'.
The Canadian Snowbirds Association (CSA) voiced discontent over the forced hotel quarantine measures as well. "To force Canadian citizens to pay over $2,000 for three nights of accommodation in a government-approved hotel is unreasonable and will be a financial hardship for many," wrote CSA President Karen Huestis in Feb. 1 letter to Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra. While the CSA is supportive of point of entry testing for COVID-19 at all Canadian airports and land crossings, they are firmly opposed to the mandatory hotel quarantine measure imposed by the federal government.
This action from the Federal Government is a clear affront to the seniors of Canada who are responsible people. They have demonstrated that by their lifetime achievements, and they should be entitled to enjoy their well deserved retirement.
Some of them went to the United States and were vaccinated in the prescribed time, unlike fellow Canadians who stayed home and are forced to wait for months to receive their second dose of a vaccine, not even sure that they will receive the same brand, or even that the vaccine they receive has not expired. These foreign vaccinated citizens are not a burden on the Canadian health system and they feel they are being treated like criminals by both the federal and provincial governments. They deserve better.
Let's not allow the limited outlook and ability of our current leaders to cast such a giant blight over their enjoyment of a well deserved retirement.

Heading Nowhere

 Direct Answers
from Wayne & Tamara

Heading Nowhere
  Q About 16 years ago, I fell in love with an elegant, well-educated, good-looking woman. We were madly in love and became a couple. I had just stepped out of a bad separation, but her divorce was even worse.
     Our relationship soon got disturbed by strange events on her side, mostly when alcohol was involved—extreme jealousy, silence, and a domineering attitude.  Sometimes she sent me away; other times I left the scene because I could not cope.  On one Christmas Eve holiday she left me at the dinner table, took a plane, and went home.
     My attempts to get her back were amazing; I even painted messages on the walls on the way to her house.  A couple of times I tried to forget her with another relationship, but after some months I missed her so much I went back.  She always received me with open arms, and we started all over again.
     Strangely, during our separations she never tried to contact me or explain her attitude.  Last year I gave it one last try, and she coldly asked me to leave.  I left heartbroken and burned my bridges, even sending her a nasty e-mail for the first time.  Since then she haunts my mind; she was the love of my life.  How can I get over this without hurting myself any longer?
Alex

A Alex, you were in an on-again, off-again relationship for 16 years. You want to focus on the on-again part, but that is not where your attention should be. You should focus on what was wrong. You should focus on the part that wasn’t there.
     In 16 years a child could go from the first day in school to a university degree.  In that same period you could have had a 16 year marriage to the right person.  But you kept going back to something which was not working, and now, because you have not found another to be with, you focus on the good times with her.
     She was with you because of her personality quirks and perhaps her alcoholism.  Without those quirks and that habit, would she have been with you at all?  If she were sober now, would she want you in her life as a reminder of her befuddled past?
     Some people can only quit a bad habit when it goes to an extreme.  They won’t watch their weight until they need to inject insulin.  They won’t quit chewing tobacco until they’ve lost part of their cheek or gum.  They are always behind, always in arrears.  Their books are always overdue.
     If you are going to have someone for the rest of your life, be open to it now.  Life never goes backwards.  It goes forward.

Wayne & Tamara                                             write:  Directanswers@WayneAndTamara.com

Sharing a ride to health and safety

 

    Sharing a ride to health and safety

 W. Gifford-Jones, M.D. and Diana Gifford-Jones
    Sharing a ride to health and safety
  We all hope for a breakthrough in the cure for cancer. Thankfully, scientists are making progress in the fight against this and many other devastating diseases. But on occasion, an innovation well outside of the healthcare sector can make a big difference in matters of life and death. And is there one such innovation where older people are missing out?
New research shows that the introduction of ridesharing services has dramatically reduced trauma stemming from car accidents. This isn’t the first such study, but it adds to a mounting collection of studies with finding that allow for better planning and decisionmaking.
Ridesharing companies, like Uber and Lyft and another 88 or so competitors globally, have been in operation for about a decade, and the business model that depends on web applications and mobile app technology has proliferated to nearly every large city around the world.
Since the first studies were conducted to measure the impact of ride share services on human health, the results have been mixed. The great hope, of course, has been for a reduction in the incidence of drunk driving. Initial studies were inconclusive.

But with the passage of time and the growth of available data, studies from New York City to San Francisco have delved into more detailed analysis, looking not only at traffic fatalities, but also taking into account rates of tourism, access to public transportation, and timing of ride shares and alcohol related accidents.
Consumer behaviour offers another lens. Uber, the largest global company, reports that nearly 80 percent of riders claim to have avoided drinking and driving at least once thanks to the service.

What does the latest research show? A newly released study, conducted by researchers at the University of Texas and published in JAMA Surgery, used hospital trauma data, rideshare volume and impaired driving convictions to compare the 7-year period prior to Uber introduction with a comparable set of years post Uber introduction. It involved data on more than 24 million Uber rides. They found a 23.8 percent decrease in motor vehicle crash traumas. What’s most interesting is that this decrease was measured during peak trauma periods (Friday and Saturday nights).
It makes sense, as this is when the younger demographic of ride share users are heading out to socialize. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine the best calculations for city managers rapidly granting permits to transform outdoor spaces into dining patios and sidewalk bars. Promoting ride share programs will help all those with pent up enthusiasm for social drinking get home safe and sound.
But who is not benefiting from these perks of ride share programs? Research shows that older adults are uninformed about how ridesharing works. The process of hailing a ride with their smartphones presents a technological gulf that is not being addressed. In addition, research has found that they are particularly concerned about their safety with regard to unknown ride share drivers.

As a result, seniors tend to be driving their own cars or not going out – neither of which may be in their best interest.
Will the arrival of fully autonomous vehicles make the difference? Perhaps not for skittish seniors. But driverless cars will solve one of the concerns about ride share programs – distracted rideshare drivers looking at their phones for information.
As we move ever more boldly into the post-pandemic new era, wouldn’t it be nice if we could harness more innovations like ridesharing to make the world a healthier place?
Where is the next big breakthrough?
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Your Education and Certificates Need to Align the Job Requirements

 

Your Education and Certificates Need to Align the Job Requirements
By Nick Kossovan
  After your professional experience, your education/certifications (verified skills) will be the next section on your resume the reader will use to judge whether you go into the "to be interviewed" pile.
Many job seekers apply to job postings knowing they don't have the education/certification requirements. They believe their "experience" will compensate. With so many highly qualified job seekers now on the job market this is rarely the case. If your education/certifications align with the job requirements, the education section of your resume will play a critical part in setting you apart from all the "spray and pray" job seekers.
Suppose a job posting for a Director of Finance lists as a qualification "Canadian Accounting Designation (CPA)." You have a university degree and 15 years of experience managing a mid-size company's finances, but no CPA-don't bother applying. Job postings generate an influx of applicants. Undoubtedly there'll be many applicants who possess a CPA applying. There's also the employer's ATS to consider, which likely has been programmed to scan for "CPA."  
Education background information you should provide:
- Degree/certification obtained
- School's name
- Location of school
- Period of attendance
- Relevant coursework
- Honors, academic recognition, extracurricular activities, or organizations participation worth mentioning
When it comes to presenting your educational background keep your ego in check. You may have impressive education background; however, it may not be impressive for the job you're vying for. Prioritize relevancy over perceived prestige.
Here's my suggestion how to present your education/certificates (there's no hard formatting rule):
BS Biomedical Science
University of Calgary, Calgary, AB - 09/1992 - 06/1996
Courses:
- Principles of Human Genetics
- Organismal Biology
- Principles and Mechanisms of Pharmacology
- Advanced Bioinformatics
PMP® Certification
Ryerson University Continuing Education, Toronto, ON - 10/2001 - 04/2003
Courses:
- Planning and Scheduling
- Leadership in Project Management
- Project Cost and Procurement Management
- Project Risk and Quality Management
As I've pointed out in previous columns- there's no universal hiring methodology. No two hiring managers assess candidates the same way. Depending on the job requirements respective employers search for different things when it comes to a candidate's education. Read the qualifications in the job posting carefully. Then present your education/credentials accordingly. Don't hesitate to add/remove courses to better tie in your education towards the job. It's for this reason I suggest you list courses, not just your degree/certification. Listing of courses is rarely done, doing so will give your resume a competitive advantage.    You'll have noticed my examples indicated start and end dates. Many "career experts" advise against this. The thinking being dates, even just the graduation year, will give employer's a sense of your age, which if your over 45 can hinder and prolong your job search. This advice is supposed to be a workaround to ageism. However, these same "career experts" unanimously agree employment dates (month/year) need to be indicated. To me, this is a mixed message.    
I believe in complete transparency from both sides of the hiring process. Full transparency ensures the likelihood of there being a solid fit for both parties. At some point, whether when the employer checks your digital footprint or interviews you, your interviewer will have a good indication of your age. Besides, not mentioning dates, which I call "obvious" information, is a red flag.
If your age is a deal-breaker with an employer, they aren't the employer for you. The job search advice I give most often: Seek employers who'll most likely accept you, where you'll feel you belong-look for your tribe. Some professions, such as finance or healthcare, require specific certifications or degrees. In such cases, show you have the necessary "must-have" (a deal-breaker if you don't) credentials by placing your education at the top of the page just below your contact information before your professional experience. One last note: Often overlooked is education in progress. If relevant, this should be included in your resume. In this case, list pertinent courses and the month/year you intend to graduate. Using suggestions in this and previous columns you are now able to create a resume that "WOWs." Next week, I'm going to begin discussing cover letters. Yes, many hiring managers, like myself, do read cover letters, which have one purpose-to give the reader a reason to read your resume. Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send him your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com.

OPUC LOVE LETTER

 

OPUC LOVE LETTER
By Joe Ingino
Editor/Publisher

“I live a dream in a nightmare world”   

       I remember the days of Gordon Burnette.  The longest standing OPUC voted chair.   During his reign at the OPUC.  The OPUC was the pride of Oshawa.  No one went without power and the man was a true  gentleman.
  Gordon was the type of person that believed in helping those he represented.  Many would come up to him and explain their financial situation and Gordon would make sure these folk would not get turned off.  He understood the value of a dollar and most importantly hardships.
Gordon and honest man to a fault.   The OPUC never ran on a deficit and every penny was accounted for.   He did not take a penny of reenumeration as any benefits he would donate back to the community.   Today’s OPUC is nothing short of sham.  A huge cash cow for the City... And yes we the people of Oshawa own the OPUC.    Under the  Diamond era... in her hate for Gordon.  She had vowed to destroy the OPUC.   Gordon and Diamond never agreed on much as Diamond was very selfish in her ways as if you did not agree with her.  You had a enemy for life.  I remember on one occasion Nancy calling Gord and old goat and Gord turn around calling her and old cow.  This sparked the first MMA type of fight half way thru a OPUC meeting.
I remember stepping in between them as Nancy at 6.5, 300lb and Gord at 5.1 barely 150lb was not going to turn out well for Gord.
When the government passed the resolution to abolish PUBLIC - part of the Utility.  The utility incorporated.  The City kept control of the utility but now had to hire outsiders to run the daily business.  
Since then the utility has operated as a run away train. Accountable to no one and hire men like  Ivanno Labricciosa.   An outsider with a questionable history.    The current management run business with an iron boot.   All they seem to care about is preserving their jobs and keeping what they make a secret.
Just recently people have been calling me to verify if the letters they are getting in the mail are valid.   Apparently our good community minded managers at the OPUC  are mailing out disconnection notices with a warning of service cancellation.  This leaving many consumers fuming.    In the middle of covid and they have the balls to send out these notices... Wow...  yet this Labricciosa sits on the Mayor’s useless economic recovery task force.  What the hell does he know about recovery.. and helping those that need it.   This same man use to sit in the BIA.  Really, who is this masked man.   I should not be so hard on him as he is proof of all that is wrong in the city.   People with little or no experience in the real needs of those on the front line on one hand giving themselves false importance by showing up at brown nose committees and tasks forces only to turn around and under his watch send out threats and harassment to his customers during Covid.  I call for his resignation.  We need leaders not hypocrites.   The OPUC needs to be accountable to the people that pay their wages.

Presenting Your Professional Experience: Numbers Are Your Friends

 Presenting Your
Professional Experience:
Numbers Are Your Friends
By Nick Kossovan
Numbers rule the business world-revenue, headcount, process time, value increase, number of clients, inventory count, profit margin, credit rating, customer satisfaction score. Numbers indicate and measure success or failure, whether a business activity is positive or negative to the bottom line. You'd be hard-pressed to find a business decision made without some factoring in of "the numbers," be it stats, cost, the potential return on investment.
Hiring is a business decision.
To make a strong case for yourself (Envision your selling features.) throughout your resume use numbers, the language of business, to quantify your results and establish yourself as someone who can bring value to an employer. Using numbers shows you understand how companies operate and that they exist to make a profit. Most importantly, using results-achieved numbers displays your value.
Which job seeker displays better value?
Candidate 1: Duties included taking field measurements and maintaining records, setting up and tracking project using Microsoft Project.
Candidate 2: Spearheaded the Hazzard County water decontamination project, finishing $125,000 under budget due to a 25% decrease in staff allocation time.
Which job seeker gives a clearer picture of their responsibilities?
Candidate 1: Supervised team leaders. Candidate 2: Supervised 3 team leaders, collectively responsible for 40 CSRs answering 1,750 - 2,500 calls daily.
Which job seeker shows their work ethic?
Candidate 1: Completed first editing pass on articles.
Candidate 2: Reviewed and evaluated 50 - 75 articles per week, deciding whether to reject the article, forward it to the editorial team, or send it back to the author with revision suggestions.
Information quantified means something. Information not quantified is just an opinion. Most resumes are just a list of opinions, thus quantifying your professional experience will set you apart from your competition.
TIP: Always use bullets, not paragraphs, to describe your professional experiences.
For each position you list on your resume, ask yourself:
-Did I increase my employer's revenue? How? -Did I save my employer money? -Did I save time?
-Was my boss(es), colleagues, staff, customers, vendors, and leadership team members happier because of me?  -How did I contribute to improving my employer's business?
When answering these questions, quantify (percentage, range, monetary, frequency, before/after comparison, ratio). Creating a resume that WOWs requires filling it with quantified results-rich statements. -Reduced customer complaints by 47% by implementing a formal feedback system.
-Improved product delivery time 22% after assigning clarified monthly job tasks to team members.
-In 2020, grew revenue 33%, and improved gross margin by 22%, by standardizing business operating procedures.   -Produced $1.75M in cost-savings after renegotiating the company's supply and service contracts (14 vendors).  -Built sales organization from the ground up, hiring and training 15 sales representatives within 6 months.  -In 2019, generated over $7.25M in additional revenue by identifying, pursuing, and securing 4 new international contracts.
As I mentioned a few columns back, your resume must clearly and succinctly answer one question: How did you add or bring value to your employers? When it comes to answering this question, numbers are your friends.
Something to keep in mind: The king of numbers, the only metric in business that matters, the one that keeps a business alive and profitable, is revenue. As much as possible, throughout your resume and cover letter, demonstrate the results you've achieved that were added value to your employer's financial success. Don't write on your resume what's become a cliche, "result-oriented." Don't write it on your LinkedIn profile. Don't say it during an interview. Show your results! "In 2017, I increased sales by 29% by creating upsell opportunities for my 8-member sales team to offer."
Additional tips when bulleting your professional experience:
-Employment dates need to be month/year. Only indicating years is a red flag you're trying to cover up employment gaps. -Under 2 Lines. Your bullets shouldn't be more than 2 lines.
-The first 5 - 8 words are critical. When skimming a resume, the reader will likely read the first few words of a bullet then, unless their interest is piqued, move on to the next bullet. The first few words need to be captivating.
Next week I'll cover presenting your education, skills, and certifications. These need to demonstrate your career path, not that you simply attended classes.
Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers advice on searching for a job. You can send him your questions at artoffindingwork@gmail.com.

Time to get serious about Canada's economy

 Time to get serious about Canada's economy
    by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament
Pickering-Scarborough East
Enough is enough! The time has come for the leadership of this country to pull together and seriously look at restarting the Canadian economy.
The blunder of vaccinations, mismanagement of lockdowns, hypocrisy of mask/no mask, travel bans/no bans and fake science have collectively induced a new disease in the political establishment; that of the allergic verbiage syndrome.
Allergic Verbiage Syndrome is characterized by a lot of talk that seems to erupt (like hives) uncontrollably, attempting to justify bad decisions, spinning issues to death, and in the end, believing in one's own lies. This seems to have become the order of the day in Canada, particularly in Ottawa, provinces not excluded.
The time has come to seriously knuckle down and face facts. Otherwise the dark clouds of an economic meltdown gathering on the horizon will sweep the Canadian economy into oblivion.  Printing more money will not be able to stop the tsunami of social unrest that will accompany an economic disaster.

So get to work, as some wise people are thinking that politicians should do, to avoid this state of potential doom. Canada needs a quick start, as other nations in the developed world are already pursuing. Open the stores, open the small businesses, open the parks, open the borders and think smart if you still can, if you have any little grey cells left.
Canada's tourist industry, a major contributor to our GDP, is in shambles.  Fifteen months of restrictions, quarantines and travel bans have seen air travel plummet to only 10 percent of 2019 levels. The land border with the US is still closed for so called non essential travel, though essential travel is loosely defined and encompasses many exceptions.
We need to take immediate steps to open the border to discretionary travel and eliminate the hotel quarantine for foreign visitors, or our tourism sector may have an even more brutal summer this year than last. Even though Canadians will be able to travel internationally more easily this summer, none of the foreign visitors our tourism sector relies on will be able to visit Canada's thousands of exciting destinations, attractions and events.
This is a matter of urgency: many of Canada's trading partners, including the U.S., U.K. and Europe are also our tourism competitors and way ahead of Canada in their reopening plans.  If we do not open our borders in a safe but timely manner, vaccinated international tourists won't wait; they will happily travel to countries that are ready to welcome them.
It was rather ludicrous to see our Finance Minister be the only person wearing a mask at the recent G7 finance ministers meeting. Is this the signature of the state of the Covid -19 pandemic management in Canada we want to communicate to the world?
It's high time our MPs showed some professionalism and stopped behaving like illiterate dilettantes insisting on tyrannical solutions. Parliament is not a place to learn on the job, it is a place to lead in the interest of the nation.

A proper restart plan, which would include measurable milestones and timelines for how and when Canada would lift travel restrictions is needed urgently. Many parts of the world, including the U.S., are opening up more quickly than Canada, and we cannot afford to be left behind.
To comprehend the urgency of the need to act on the economy, the political leadership of Canada need only consider that Canada's inflation rate increased to 3.6 per cent in May, the fastest pace in a decade, according to Statistics Canada.
The agency said in a news release last week that the cost of just about everything is going up at a much faster pace than usual, from shelter and vehicles, to food, energy and consumer goods.
The cost of shelter increased by 4.2 per cent in the year up to May, the fastest rise in the cost of putting a roof over one's head since 2008. And the cost of filling a home with furniture and appliances also went up, by 4.4. per cent. That's the fastest pace of increase for so-called durable goods since 1989.
Furniture prices in particular rose by 9.8 per cent in the past year, their biggest jump since 1982. Last month the government slapped tariffs of up to 300 per cent on some types of upholstered furniture from China and Vietnam.
Gasoline prices have risen by 43 per cent in the past year, a figure that looks especially high because it's being compared to May of last year, when demand and prices for gasoline cratered. But even on a monthly basis, the cost of gasoline went up by 3.2 per cent in May, compared to the cost in April.
Gas isn't the only cost of driving that's getting more expensive either, as the price of new cars increased by five per cent in the past year. That's the biggest jump in vehicle prices since 2016, and the major reason for it is an ongoing shortage of semiconductors, a global trend that has jacked up the price of anything that uses microchips.
If this trend continues, the mortgage rate on homes will soon increase, creating a major problem for many Canadians who have been caught up in the flurry of home purchases in recent months.
Business leaders have called on Ottawa for a clear path to reopen the economy and international borders.
Perrin Beatty, head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said:
"Canada is a G7 outlier for not having a fleshed-out reopening plan"
What we are waiting for?

IMPACTFUL LEADERSHIP: CHALLENGES, BARRIERS, and EMERGING ISSUES

 

IMPACTFUL LEADERSHIP:
CHALLENGES, BARRIERS, and EMERGING ISSUES
By Nadene Joy
CEO of Nadene Joy Consulting Inc.
Chair/Founder of The Global Lead 2 Impact Summit
Featured in USA TODAY
  The statement “leadership is lonely at the top” poses its own distinct challenges as leadership, done well, should never be lonely.  In fact it is quite the contrary, where research tells us that the most effective leaders are in fact those who are highly engaged with others. Leaders are constantly presented with scenarios that  challenge them and their abilities regardless of age, country of origin or culture. These challenges that are faced are an incitation to rise to another higher level to become the best most authentic version of yourself possible and also, as a leader, help others do the same.  These challenges are most times necessary to test and refine yourself in the process and to show that you can accomplish something that may have seemed incredibly difficult or perhaps even impossible or “the unthinkable” to many. This article aims to describe the many ever increasing fluid challenges, barriers and pressing emerging issues a leader faces, and suggests some ways in which leaders can improve upon their current practices and benefit from them in the near and distant future fo the betterment of themselves and their teams .
  From my personal experience as a top global leader, I can confidently say that it’s essential to first accept the unwritten truth that “perfection” is simply an illusion which is unattainable and is the wrong thing to try to pursue as your centralized focus as a leader.  Do not take any form of criticism personally and learn to completely let go, without judgement, of the need and worry about being right all the time. Instead of perfectionism, aim for “doing your very best” in whatever you pursue as  the old saying goes “how you do one thing, is how you do everything.”  Be honest, consistent, compassionate and utilize the theory of adaptive  communication which is “the ability to recognize individual differences in personality and communication and adapt your approach accordingly,” and stay intently focused at all times on the “real authentic person behind the “title.”
Leadership Challenges and Successful Strategies to Thrive as a Leader
As leaders it is inevitable that role comes with many feats and challenges that are faced globally across the board with leaders regardless of title—whether you are a CEO, VP, mayor of a community, teacher of a classroom or president of a nation these are some of the top challenges faced universally today with almost everyone as we all are leaders who has the ability to positively impact lives.
 Below you will find a few of the top challenges faced by leaders.  By knowing and creating awareness around these challenges it moves and motivates us to take action to adapt our behaviours for the good of all starting within ourselves first.
In a Q4 2020 Vistage CEO Confidence Index, CEOs were asked what is the most significant leadership challenge they are facing as they looked to adjust to life during the pandemic and beyond. Overwhelmingly, the response was morale and burnout. Business leaders and employees alike are experiencing extreme fatigue from excessive video conferencing meetings, in isolation, and the professional, personal, and family stress of the pandemic lifestyle. Suggestions to combat this would be to focus on short-term vs long-term goals, reinforce company values to improve culture on a regular basis, add adventure and creative ways to change up your routine each week, and focus on the vision and purpose of the task at hand and entire organization or within the targeted community.
Other challenges leaders face are leading change in a rapid technological advancing world, developing others and handling differences in perspectives based on wide age gaps and old outdated styles and patterns of relating with others, providing consistent inspiration, feedback and appreciation, lack of alignment with what is said vs actions that are taken to get the job done, lack of clear vision, poor execution strategies, fear of firing or letting go that which no longer best serves the good of all, lack of clear vision and purpose, difficulty managing a team, creating a positive supportive culture, dealing with “imposture syndrome,” and lack of accountability.
One of the biggest challenges faced by leaders irregardless of time, dimension, or geographical space in my personal opinion is the lack of communication, lack of authenticity and miscommunication.  This is all a part of creating a healthy culture dynamic within your organization which is a challenge to focus on diligently and master in its own right. The complexities of today’s business world and economies require leaders to be able to communicate effectively and just as important, authentically and compassionately, on multiple levels.    Communication and having the courage to be real and vulnerable with others about your own challenges helps build trust which is the foundation of all relationships and has been proven to lead to astronomical transformation within individuals and the unprecedented growth within corporations, communities and nations as a whole. It all starts with the changes you, as a leader, choose to make and take action upon as Boon Pickens so relevantly stated “ A plan without action is not a plan. It’s a speech.
Pertinent Barriers to Great Leadership
In order to more effectively empower others it is imperative to discuss the main barriers leaders face in successfully going from where they are to where they aspire to be. A few of the most pertinent leadership barriers are insecurity and lack of confidence, lack of trust, personal involvement, refusing help, not letting others on your team do their job, not asking for the right things, lack of functional credibility, ignoring the usefulness of mistakes and lessons learned, believing it can’t happen to you, not enough courage to let go of yesterday's tools, and lack of focus on personal development and growth from within first as a top priority.
  The title of a recent article in Fox Business reads: “Every Leader’s Achilles Heel.” The subject? Allowing oneself to get too involved in projects and/or with your employees.  This is otherwise known as micromanaging others and will backfire in the long term is implemented regularly. The more freedom you allow others to utilize their gifts and be creative in solutions the better off everyone is.
Fears is another major barrier leaders constantly face.  Fear is a natural emotion, however, it becomes an issue when you allow yourself to be carried to a place where you become so fearful of a potential risk that you do everything to avoid it or become paralyzed in your tracks. This is known as “risk aversion,” and can be very detrimental to a leader at any level or position.
This next barrier is a new word I only just recently came to discover.  Hubris, otherwise known as extreme pride, “is a personality element that many people assume executives “just have.”  It’s important to reiterate that past performance is no indication of future results..
Lastly, Inc. magazine interviewed a top executive leader who stated: “Only you can control self-indulgence. The more successful you become, people won’t necessarily call you out. So, I hired a professional coach because then you’re hiring someone to tell you [the cold sometimes hard to hear truth.]” Look at mentorship from a new perspective snd not that it makes you weak, but rather it helps to build your character, intellect and makes you a stronger more proficient leader.  Did you know the famous NBA player Michael Jordan has five coaches, one expert for each area of his life.  This is how he became one of the greatest basketball legends alone today and how we too are able become the best we can be as a leader.  You are not expected to do this on your own.
The purpose of mentioning these barriers and shortcoming here today is to create awareness first of all that they exist so that you can begin to take steps forward to consistently work on them. Nobody is perfect nor are you expected to be but that doesn’t mean you should give up on personal development and improvement, it means quite the opposite and contrary to work on yourself first all the more.  As this is where real lasting impactful change begins. Hopefully these tools will help you become the best leader and executive you can be so that you can in return give your team, your business, your community, your family and the world the best of you.
Lofty Emerging Issues in Leadership
There have always been certain issues that have been focused upon with leaders over the course of history, however here we will only scratch the surface of a few emerging issue to note leaders are facing on a much greater level and depth today then ever before.
Some of the top issues that have emerged from leadership research that warrants further discussion here includes emotional intelligence, social marketing, demographic dissonance and generational differences within organizations ie/ Gen Z), trust, virtual teams/hiring and employee engagement, women leaders, diversity, environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, purpose/vision and mission,  and  transformational and servant leadership.
For the scope of this article we will not have the capacity to revisit each of the above emerging issues in depth. However, it is highly encouraged to be proactive in learning more about each one of them listed above.  It is only when we take action that real change takes place which begins with the first person you see every morning in the mirror.  It is imperative as leaders we stand together and strong as we can do more together then we can apart. As the iconic legendary Les Brown states: “Live life to your fullest and die empty. Make every day and your life count and don’t take this time you have for granted.” As a leader, you all have a God-given purpose and when you fear stepping into this place you are depriving not only yourself but everyone around you of greatness. Never forget that the “speed of the leader is the speed of the group—when a fish dies.... it stinks at the head first.” “Most people live out of there MEMORY as opposed to their IMAGINATION— Einstein once said that imagination is the preview of what’s to come in your life!!” As a leader, once you give yourself permission to show up completely and the opportunity to stretch yourself with no limits, you’ll find out that you can do so much more than you could have ever imagined!  I believe everything matters and what we choose to do today is simply “the seed or internal fuel and motivation” that we consciously plant within ourselves and in others through the power of our positive thoughts and creative imagination, encouraging words we speak and/or actions performed to serve.  Over time, the seed begins to grow when we consistently sow, water and tend to the deeper needs of ourselves internally first and then outwardly externally towards others.  This process, over time, builds positive satisfying relationships and authentic human connections which is at the foundation and heart of all interactions as a leader, in business and in life.
Nadene Joy is a top advisor, executive leadership strategist and global mindset coach who helps leaders who are feeling anxious and frustrated achieve their goals and wildest dreams in business and in life. She is the CEO of Nadene Joy Consulting Inc., a Certified CMHA Psychological Health and Safety Advisor, NLP Practitioner, top executive leader, speaker, and international bestselling author. Nadene is also a director and advisor on various local and international boards including Global Ambassador with The Commonwealth Entrepreneur Club (CEC) and is on the advisory board council with Coaching Suicide Awareness (CSA).  
Nadene Joy also has been awarded several achievements of excellence throughout her career and is the recipient of the prestigious 2021 International Women of Substance Award from The St. Mother Theresa University in India.
Nadene Joy is a member of The International Society for Female Professionals, Chair/Founder of The Global Lead 2 Impact Summit and has been featured in media outlets including USA TODAY, CBC, iheartradio in NYC, and NBC. She is also the author of “Uncover Your Purpose: Heal and Share Your Gifts With the World” and “Love is...A Guide to the Power of Love,” and is the co-author of “Cracking The Rich Code Vol. 4” with Kevin Harrington hit star of the TV Show, SharkTank and business icon, Jim Britt.
Nadene Joy is passionate about being an impactful leader, mother to 4 beautiful children and friend who makes a positive difference in our world through taking bold action in sharing her authentic wisdom, experiences, God-given gifts, and serving others with kindness by bringing hope, love, joy, purpose, inspiration, transformation and love to all she encounters.   http://linkedin.com/in/nadenejoy      Nadene@NadeneJoy.com
free gift offer included to receive the first chapter of the book by Nadene Joy  “Love is...A Guide to The Power of Love”

 Are You Taking Too Much Medication?

 W. Gifford-Jones, M.D. and Diana Gifford-Jones
    Many diseases can be effectively managed thanks to therapeutic treatments involving pharmaceutical drugs. But have we gone too far in popping pills for every ache?  Or even for serious health conditions, has your doctor put as much thought into how to get you off prescription medications as has gone into putting you on them?
The statistics are alarming.  A study of drug use among seniors in Canada in 2016 found that 2 out of 3 Canadians over the age of 65 were taking at least 5 different prescription medications and over a quarter took at least 10 different prescription medications!  In the U.S., a 2018 national survey found that 48.6% of the entire population used at least one prescription drug in the month prior to the survey.  Some of these statistics are certainly made up by people who are taking medications they no longer need.
Among adults aged 60–79, the most commonly used drug types in the United States were lipid-lowering drugs, antidiabetic agents, and beta blockers; in Canada, they were lipid-lowering drugs, analgesics, and proton pump inhibitors.
          How should you proceed if you want to reduce the numbers of medications you take?  First, take all your medications to your doctor and have a discussion.  But don’t expect miraculous answers, as doctors are known for writing more, not fewer, prescriptions – and sometimes, for good reasons.
About 50% of those prescribed medications for chronic conditions stop taking them within the first year of starting therapy. This non-adherence can further deteriorate health. More hospitalizations result, costing an estimated $300 million in avoidable expenditures per year
About 1 in 5 individuals prescribed antidepressants who stop medication can suffer a host of problems, collectively called discontinuation syndrome.
But there are many situations where less medication is not such tricky business.  Sleeping pills, for example, should only be for short-term use.  Allergy medication should only be used when allergens cause symptoms.
Stopping blood pressure medication needs your doctor’s endorsement.  But one way to manage hypertension and get blood pressure into the normal range is to lose extra weight.  Finding natural alternatives to strong, addictive painkillers is another smart move.
It’s also highly advisable to have a strategy for reducing cholesterol medicines, known as statins, which can have devastating side effects, including liver damage and memory problems. Has your doctor made you aware of all your choices? If you’ve read this column for years, you’ll know that high-dose vitamin C could be a life-saving option for reducing the rick of heart attack or stroke.
A special note about those who are very elderly or frail.  These individuals can be more susceptible to medications, particularly when considering the extent of inappropriate polypharmacy (i.e., too many drugs, unnecessary drugs, and/or doses that are too high) that they are often taking without adequate oversight.  If you are, or know someone, at risk, then be careful to ensure that the doctor has full information about all medications and that the patient understands benefits and harms of medication and gives consent.
Socioeconomic factors are also noteworthy. Seniors living in long-term care facilities, low-income neighbourhoods and rural/remote neighbourhoods used more drugs, with one study showing 21.4% of seniors living in the lowest-income neighbourhoods were prescribed 10 or more drug classes, compared with 14.3% of seniors living in the highest-income neighbourhoods.
Finally, if you have been able to make reductions, how should you dispose of all the unused or expired medications?  Most jurisdictions have drug take back sites.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a “Flush List” of those medications that can be disposed of in the toilet.  Whatever your means of disposal, remember that drugs pose a huge hazard to unsuspecting children or pets.  Dispose of them safely.

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Urges

 Direct Answers
from Wayne & Tamara
Urges
   Q My best friend is a guy I’ve known six years. He is like family. I am married and we are all friends. We would do anything for each other. He had a girlfriend who hated me because she thought we were way too close.     I hadn’t seen him for about a month because he travels. I’ve always been the chunky one, so during that time I decided to lose weight. Well, when he saw me again, I was down about 20 pounds. He was shocked.
When I got out of the car, he looked me up and down, put his arms out for a hug, and said, “Well, are you going to give me some love?” So I gave him a hug and we went inside. I’ve lost even more weight since then.
The next time I saw him, I picked him up. He stays with us when he is in town. We hung out, talked, and drove back to my house. He, my husband, and I went out that night to a little bar where a friend works.
We were having a great time when one of the guys my husband and I know walked over and gave me a hug. My friend freaked out. He said, “You know she’s married, and this is her husband.” He said that like five or six times.
Ever since that night, whenever we talk or text, he makes comments about how he will never have sex with me. It doesn’t even fit the conversation. He won’t even look at me anymore when he is talking to me.
He also says I don’t support him, though I have supported him, right or wrong, a million times. Fine. I don’t see what the problem is after all these years.
 For no apparent reason, he’s not talking to me much, though he calls my husband to ask advice about his ex-girlfriend. Then he goes off about how I don’t pay enough attention to my husband when we all go out. He told my husband he wants to hang out with him, and not include me.
 He also gave my husband a hard time about our “agreement” and said it’s not right. My husband and I have an agreement, when we are out, that we can socialize with whomever we want as long as we go home together.
My husband and I are not the kind who are all over each other, and our agreement does not include cheating. This is the way it’s been for five years, and my friend has never had a problem with it.
 What in the heck is wrong with him? Why is he acting like this?
Dominique

A Dominique, Shakespeare’s wrote, “Beshrew the heart that makes my heart to groan.”
Beshrew is an unusual word that means “to make evil.” If we updated Shakespeare’s language, the quote would read, “Damn that heart of yours for making my heart ache.”
When you lost weight, he moved you from his friend zone to his sexual fantasy zone. He said he would never have sex with you, because that was exactly what was on his mind.
You understand that. That’s why you included the phrase “he looked me up and down.”
 First, he tried to warn off other males from giving you attention. Then he tried to get you to show him more affection by claiming you don’t support him. Finally, he began working on your husband. He thought excluding you from their company would increase your desire for him.
He is punishing you for his thwarted sexual interest, breaking the rules of friendship, and blaming you for it. His heart groans with desire for you.
He is either going to have you or end his friendship with you. That’s why you and your husband can’t be friends with him anymore.

Wayne & Tamara                                             write:  Directanswers@WayneAndTamara.com

Canada in the twilight zone

Canada in the twilight zone
    by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament
Pickering-Scarborough East
A number of disturbing incidents have occurred in Canada lately, that make a mockery of our international reputation as a peaceful, welcoming society with freedom and equal justice for all.
The most recent one being the targeted killing of a family in London Ontario. Five members of a Muslim family went out for a walk on Sunday night. Before the day was done, four of them had lost their lives in what police described as a targeted hate crime. The only survivor - a nine-year-old boy - was seriously injured.
Then there was the Quebec City mosque shooting, a terrorist attack on the evening of January 29, 2017, at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, a mosque in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood of Quebec City, Canada. Six worshippers were killed and five others seriously injured after evening prayers when a man entered the prayer hall shortly before 8:00 pm and opened fire for about 2 minutes with a 9-mm Glock pistol. 
The infamous Toronto van attack which was a terrorist vehicle-ramming attack that occurred on April 23, 2018, when a rented van was driven along Yonge Street through the North York City Centre business district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The driver targeted pedestrians, killing 10 and injuring 16, some critically. The attack is characterized as misogynist terrorism because it was motivated by revenge for perceived sexual and social rejection by women. The incident is the deadliest vehicle-ramming attack in Canadian history.
Add to all this, the recent violent demonstrations motivated by various political agendas, that are creating instability in a country which has previously had a reputation for being peaceful and welcoming.
As Canadians across the country express their shock, horror and grief, about these events, the dark reality is that all kinds of hate crimes and terrorist attacks are on a dangerous rise in Canada.
While Canada has been preoccupied with a pandemic that seems to have affected everything, most of us have forgotten that the rise in hate crimes is a real danger against religious beliefs, racial communities and Canadians in general.
Hate crimes speak of a different level of humanity, which judges a person for who they are and not what they have done.  They affirm that you have no place in this country and don't belong because of your race, country of origin, faith, or skin colour.  Hate crimes like these are the very antithesis of what this country claims to represent on the global stage.
We need to ask why these things have been happening in Canada lately, and determine the root causes so we can find remedies.
This new racially and religiously motivated hatred, never before encountered at this intensity in Canada, known to be a tolerant and welcoming country for many people, is a new and a dangerous phenomenon. If they continue without an imminent and workable solution, Canada as a country is finished.
I do not want to be a pessimist but as of today the Canadian political elite is only focusing on their own self interest to hold or gain power. The interest of the people and the nation is put on the backburner. They are a bunch of hypocrites looking only for their own personal ambitions and interests.
At this point Canada is a rudderless country and soon anarchy will be the common denominator in the lives of Canadians, if things do not see a radical change. 
Calls to banish Canada Day following the discovery of the remains of 215 children, buried in unmarked graves at the Kamloops residential school is gaining momentum.
Statues of John A. Macdonald and Egerton Ryerson, architects of the residential school system, have been removed by both fiat and brute force. Demands for an apology from the Catholic Church are growing ever louder.
While the pain behind these terrorist and dark historical events are undeniable, and those terrible acts that inspired them are inexcusable, we still need to maintain our national identity and recognize Canada's creation.
We need to remember that the history of Canada is not one long march of oppression. Canada has fought bravely against tyranny. Canadian troops, including Indigenous troops, gave their lives in not one, but two world wars to preserve our freedoms. Canadians battled the regime of Nazi Germany, which committed the worst genocide of our era, in which six million Jews were slaughtered.
Over two centuries, Canada has also welcomed the downtrodden and oppressed to its shores. From Irish migrants starving during the Great Famine, to Doukhobors fleeing religious persecution, to refugees from conflicts in Vietnam, Rwanda, and Syria, Canada has taken in millions of people in search of a better life.
The reason was simple: Canada was a country that stood for freedom, equality and opportunity. Those values are enshrined in our charter and in the best of our history and we need to preserve and maintain them to be proud Canadians and keep our nation great.
Political correctness, lip service to justice and fairness and turning a selective blind eye only create more resentment while driving true emotions underground to fester and boil over in time.  We need to strive for a society where everyone can depend on the justice system to abide by the laws that created this country, and a police force to fairly enforce them.  A society where everyone has an equal chance to succeed based on the merit of his/her performance, not his/her color, creed, religion or origins.  And we need to teach our children that our precious individual freedom is not free.  It comes with the corresponding responsibility to stand up for it. 
As of now there is a lot of work to be done in this country, significant and essential work in order to eliminate hatred, bias, superficiality and to build a new confidence in our countrymen. It must be done not just in our legislatures but in our neighbourhoods and institutions, in our homes and our own heads.
It is a social pandemic that will outlast Covid-19, and the fate and reputation of Canada hangs in the balance.

NO PLACE IN SOCIETY FOR SAFE INJECTION SITES

 

NO PLACE IN SOCIETY FOR SAFE INJECTION SITES
By Joe Ingino
Editor/Publisher

“I live a dream in a nightmare world”   

    Come on people where will the stupidity end.   This past week in conversation with a local politician.   They bragged on how much they are doing for addicts and the drug scene.  They had the audacity to state that safe injection sites are the answer to the drug addiction problem.   I could not believe my ears that someone could be that ignorant.   We are supposed to be at war with drugs.   How can the police arrest people for possession, sale and distribution if idiots in municipal government support safe heavens.
  How can the police do their job when our municipal elect deem it ok to shoot up in a warm safe place.   Their argument is that if we don’t supply them with a facility that these needles will end up in our parks and creeks as it is happening now.
  Really, do we live in such an ass backwards society that we can’t even understand the basic concept of common senses?
Common sense would tell you... that if we allowed safe injection sites that all we are doing is promoting drug use.  Something that is against the law.   By allowing safe injection sites we would indirectly be supporting the drug  trade as those dealing would find ways to make drugs more available to any of the patrons of safe injection sites.
 Common sense folks.  Common sense would tell me that instead of safe injection sites.   We need for police to have the authority to send anyone caught under the use of any drug to a government run detox facility and not one of those revolving door facilities.   A facility that would have the authority to keep addicts for indefinite period of time until it is assured that the person is not a threat to themselves or society.   If suffering mental health.  Keep them at the facility until such time as they can come back to society without been deemed a nuisance.
Let the police go after the drug dealers with a vengeance.   
Is it not bad enough that we have pot legalized.   What are we pushing for cocaine, heroine a meth to become legal.
  Imagine what society would become.  I think we have let our standards drop low enough.   I think we should take back our Country, our communities and our society.
No more rationalizing insanity in order to make it appears as we care.   If we care we do the right thing and grab the bull by the horns.   Deal with the real problem.  Not create bigger ones.
We in Canada need significant changes to  how we deal with many things.   We need to bring national pride to our country.  We need to unite for the right reason and not loosely use the word inclusive to patronize interest groups.    We need to have higher standards and stop compromising our national identity.  Canada for Canadians should be the new standard.

It is a sad day for Canada

 It is a sad day for Canada
    by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament
Pickering-Scarborough East
   As we all know by now findings from a survey of the grounds at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School has uncovered the remains of 215 children buried at the site, the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation announced last week.   This is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. It is a stark example of the deep wounds the Canadian residential school system inflicted upon indigenous peoples and how the consequences of these atrocities reverberate to this day.
Looking at a brief history of the residential school system we can see that the first residential school was opened in Brantford, Ont. in 1831, before Confederation, although there were a handful of schools run by missionary groups even earlier than that.
In 1847, Egerton Ryerson - the man Ryerson University in Toronto is named after - was superintendent of schools in Upper Canada, and wrote a report recommending the establishment of residential schools for Aboriginal students in the province. Soon after his report, in the 1850s, Methodist missionaries established a number of such schools in southern Ontario. Other schools were opened in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories in the 1860s.
Post-Confederation, the federal government became more involved in residential schools in the 1880s, and the number of schools expanded.
A total of 139 residential schools were identified in the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, though this doesn't include those run by provincial governments and those run solely by religious orders, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The residential school system which functioned in Canada until 1996 has seen 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children placed in the name of integration into the society built by the settlers.  Children were taken from their families and placed in this schools scattered all over the country.
Their treatment was miserable and they were exposed to a lot of abuses which were ignored by the authorities of the day. There is a lot to say and a lot of things have come to light lately from the testimony of survivors.
Residential school students were subject to physical and sexual abuse by staff, were often malnourished or underfed, and lived in poor housing conditions that threatened their safety, according to reports. Infectious diseases like tuberculosis and influenza often ran rampant among the students, leading to many deaths. In addition to attending class, students at many schools also had to perform chores to maintain the school and sometimes even had to do farm work to feed the school. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which released a report six years ago following a lengthy investigation into residential schools, made six recommendations regarding missing children and burial grounds. It called on the federal government to work with churches, Indigenous communities and former residential school students "to establish and maintain an online registry of residential school cemeteries, including, where possible, plot maps showing the location of deceased residential school children."
The Kamloops Indian Residential School was in operation from 1890 to 1969, when the federal government took over administration, until closing it in 1978.
The discovery of 215 children's remains there confirms what community survivors have said for years, that many children went to the school and never returned. It is also a fact that federal agents often moved children around, so it is possible that some of the remains found on the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School were from other First Nations communities.  The Truth and Reconciliation Commission identified 3,200 deaths as part of its investigation. For one-third of these deaths, the government and schools didn't record the student's name. For one-quarter of these deaths, the government didn't identify the student's gender. And for around half, the cause of death wasn't identified. These numbers might not include students who got sick at school and were sent home, where they later died, or Métis students whose attendance at school wasn't funded by the federal government but who may have died there.
"Due to the limitations in the records, it is probable that there are many student deaths that have not been recorded in the register because the record of the death has not yet been located," the Commission wrote in its report.
Indigenous children in residential schools died at far higher rates than other Canadian children, the report notes. The recent discovery of unmarked burial sites containing 215 bodies at the site of the Kamloops Residential School in B.C. has highlighted that there is still a lot to learn about where these children are buried.
In a report attached to the Commission's work, anthropologist Scott Hamilton of Lakehead University noted that, "Most of these children died far from home, and often without their families being adequately informed of the circumstances of death or the place of burial."
For the most part, the cemeteries that the Commission documented are abandoned, disused, and vulnerable to accidental disturbance," wrote the TRC in its report. This issue certainly is not something that Canada as a nation should be proud of, particularly in light of certain Canadian leaders' penchant for systematically preaching and lecturing other nations about upholding democratic values.  Canada should look closely at its internal dealings with the first nations and have a sincere approach in working with them to build a healthy democratic society. Words and money thrown at first nations are not the solution. The solution is an open and clear approach to work together with all Canadians to build the future for a great nation. The things of the past are lessons for all of us and we should work to ensure that such things never happen again in our country. With all this said, we need to look at the more than 150 years of existence of the residential school system in Canada and must ask ourselves where the authorities, both political and civil, were all those years in allowing these abuses to be perpetuated on children?
Yes, there were the supporters of the residential school system including Canada's first Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald and other contemporary political figures, but what did successive Prime Ministers, either Liberal or Conservative, do about this issue?  It seems easy to blame only the very founders of our nation for the residential school program without looking closely at their successors in perpetuating this abhorrent institution. We cannot be selective in meeting out responsibility. These successive Prime Ministers are to blame too.  Canada is a great historical achievement. It is an imperfect country, but it is still a great country and we should keep it that way. We need to be clear that the atrocities committed against first nations must be acknowledged and we must learn from them to ensure that such atrocities will never be repeated or imposed on any component of our society.  We must also be careful to avoid going to the opposite extreme in cancelling every historical figure who took a position on issues of their time that we now judge harshly in historical retrospective.
We should mourn the memory of those innocent souls who did not have a chance to live, and we need to reflect and avoid such gross neglect by officials in the future.

STICK HOUSES

 STICK HOUSES
By Joe Ingino
Editor/Publisher

“I live a dream in a nightmare world”   

    I look around and I keep scratching my head wondering what has gone wrong.   In the name of profit we are talked into all kinds of things that end up not being good for us.
   Corporate America/Canada stopped being about customer service/satisfaction and has become more about profits.
They treat customers like numbers and bombard them will false lies.  For example:  “for your convenience”, “for your safety/confidentiality” and so on.
From the fast food sector to construction and everything in between.   Look at what we pay for at McD’s for example.   Look what we get.
What happened to the Big Mac.  You open the box and it is the size of a silver dollar.   Where is the beef?
Under the guise of nutrition.  We are told we do not need to eat so much and a smaller portion has the same affect.   Yet, the price goes up not down to compensate for the smaller portion.
Or how about the ‘vegie’ burgers.... You pay a premium for not eating meat.   REALLY!!!!
   As you drive through construction sites.... Look at how they are erecting ghettos with nothing more than two by fours and plywood.
Then they sell it to you for over half a million dollars.
  Is that value?   Do these home even meet any building code... and if they do.
Have our standards been lowered so much that we allow homes to be built with sticks and compress wood chips?
I truly feel for the future of our kids as Canada is slowly becoming a third world nation.   Our jobs are going over seas and our youth are left filling jobs that are menial and poor paying.   
How are they to ever afford half a million stick homes?
  I think as a people we should put a stop to how corporations are allowed to rape and pileage our economy.
Companies like BELL, ROGERS and many of the Ghetto builders should stopped... but wait how?   We live in Canada.   We can’t put two thoughts together without a legal challenge.   In the land of equality and fairness we are fed the line that individual thought or opinion has no place in modern society.
Sad time we live in...

The lockdown and the D-Day anniversary

 

The lockdown and the D-Day anniversary
    by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament
Pickering-Scarborough East
     As Canada continues to be in a fighting mood against the coronavirus pandemic, we also need to remember and reflect on the sacrifices that our forefathers have made for us to secure our freedom, to keep democracy alive in our country, to maintain the rule of law and the comfortable standard of living that we enjoy today. It is time to cherish their memory.  To ensure that their efforts to win over evil were not in vain and that, particularly during this new dark period that threatens our very existence, we keep up our courage and stand up against our adversaries as they have done.
We are currently facing a crucial time in our history in fighting the evil of the coronavirus pandemic and related societal malaises. In combination, the consequences of the pandemic and social dysfunction are similar to fighting a new kind of world war with worldwide consequences and yet unforeseen effects on Canadians.
On the 6th of June we mark the seventy-seventh anniversary of D-Day, the beginning of the Battle of Normandy, along a 100 km stretch of French coastline across the English Channel from Great Britain. This was the largest seaborne invasion in history and a crucial day in winning the war against evil; Nazi Germany.
The assault on the beaches of Normandy by British, American, and Canadian troops on the 6th of June 1944, who would then fight their way across Europe, has gone down in history as a memorable event. The codenames of where the troops landed - Omaha and Utah for the Americans, Gold and Sword for the British, and Juno for the Canadians - remain familiar today. The Normandy landings, Operation Overlord, marked the beginning of the end of six long years of conflict between Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany and Allied forces.
The development of the role for Canada in the D-Day invasion has a history going back a few years. Following the Dunkirk evacuation Canadians began to come over to Great Britain. They were well-prepared and took on the role of defending the British Isles. They built up around the south coast of England and operated in a defensive and anti-invasion role from May 1940 to July 1943. At that time the 1st Canadian Division was detached and sent to Italy, but the bulk of Canadian forces remained in Britain for all those years.
Canadian sailors, soldiers and airmen played a critical role in the Allied invasion of Normandy, beginning the bloody campaign to liberate Western Europe from Nazi occupation. Nearly 150,000 Allied troops landed or parachuted into the invasion area on D-Day, including 14,000 Canadians at Juno Beach. The Royal Canadian Navy contributed 110 ships and 10,000 sailors and the RCAF contributed 15 fighter and fighter-bomber squadrons to the assault. Total Allied casualties on D-Day reached more than 10,000. By the end of the Battle of Normandy, the Allies had suffered 209,000 casualties, including more than 18,700 Canadians. Over 5,000 Canadian soldiers died.

From the D-Day landings on the 6th of June 1944 through to the encirclement of the German army at Falaise on the 21st of August this was one of the pivotal events of the Second World War and the scene of some of Canada's greatest feats of arms.
Juno Beach was the Allied code name for a 10 km stretch of French coast. It fell to more than 14,000 volunteer soldiers from across Canada, under Major-General Rod Keller, commander of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, to storm the Juno Beach coast line. They seized the beach and its seaside villages while under intense fire from German defenders - an extraordinary example of military skill, reinforced by countless acts of personal courage. The 3rd Infantry Division took heavy casualties in its first wave of attack but took control of the beach by the end of the day. There were 1,074 Canadian casualties, including 359 killed.
All things considered, the Canadian troops did very well on D-Day. The Canadians and the British in the Gold and Juno sector made it farther inland than any of the other invasion forces. They had managed to link up their forward units some distance inland, which was a measure of success. At the end of the day, the Queen's Own Rifles had actually captured its objective, which was short of the overall divisional objective but goes to show that some of the Canadian units were quite successful in the first hours.
Their sacrifices will be not forgotten even though their generation is starting to fade into the fog of history. For the time being D-Day still seems to be in the Canadian public's consciousness. Their memory must be preserved for the millennials and generations to come in order to eliminate the causes of further conflagrations.
D-Day embodied the courage and determination to prevail in that war. It was fought over issues that are still alive today - such as ideology, globalism, nationalism and injustice. It was an exceptionally difficult and hazardous military operation.
It was an operation in which Canadians took a major central part in the war to preserve freedom and democracy.  For these reasons and more, it's important to keep the memory of D-Day alive.
The dead, along with scores of other Canadians killed in the fighting during the weeks that followed, are buried in the serene and beautiful Canadian War Cemetery at Bény-sur-Mer, just behind Juno Beach. This, and numerous other memorials throughout Courseulles, Bernières and St. Aubin-sur-Mer, commemorate Canada's sacrifice on D-Day. A private museum, the Juno Beach Centre, overlooking the beach at Courseulles, also tells the story of Canada's role in the invasion of Normandy.

Every year on the 6th of June, the people of the villages along Juno Beach pay tribute to the men who fought and died there. They parade through streets festooned with maple leaf flags and hold services and vigils along parts of the seawall, in memory of their Canadian liberators.
Long live their memory! Long live the courage those men and women demonstrated.  May our current generations show just as much courage in our current hour of need.  We can't afford to wait for someone else to fight for our rights.  We must all take a stand against the tyranny of incompetent leadership, political correctness at the expense of merit, and the stripping away of our individual freedoms in the name of political expediency.  Wake up Canada!
Have we forgotten; what we are waiting for?

Taking a Hint

 

Taking a Hint
Q I’ve had a long and rocky road with a friend who reminds me we’ve known each other over 20 years. Recently, during my two-year engagement, I had a revelation about how much of a dud my “friend” truly is.
     We live in different states. Although she offered her help and had enthusiasm about my upcoming wedding, she tended, as per her usual behavior, to want to dominate conversations and refer to her own wedding and planning experiences.
     When she did have questions, they were often critical or questions attempting to put her back in control. For example, and this was annoying but not the worst incident, when I called to vent about my mother, all she said was, “If your mom is acting this way, why are you having a big wedding in the first place?”
     Why? Many women dream of a big wedding (rightly or not) as a way to celebrate and show the world how happy and in love they are. Why wouldn’t I want a big wedding if I can afford it?
     Alas, I persisted in seeking her advice, though it was peppered throughout with how the money could go towards a down payment on a house. (That’s what she thought when she got married.)
     Even when she tried to pretend she was there for me, she was flippant. When I needed hardcore advice—like when I called her from the dressing room where I bought my dress—she didn’t have anything substantial to ask, like, “How does it fit? Is this your dream dress?”
     When I expressed unhappiness after buying it, her initial response was “It’s just a big, white dress,” instead of saying something uplifting or helpful. She even bailed at the last minute on the bachelorette party, which was scheduled in the middle of winter to accommodate her! That ticked me off because it echoed a letdown that occurred in the very beginning.
     She was going to join me on a trip to look at reception venues—a big deal since I was having a destination wedding. But she added restriction after restriction until finally I told her she didn’t need to come, I was taking someone else!
     More and more, as the planning proceeded, I saw how selfish and single-minded she was. We’ve known each other for over 20 years, but she didn’t even know my parents’ first names until she received the wedding invitation!
     I tried to minimize contact at the actual wedding, but she still managed to annoy me. First, though she claimed she would be devoted to me “on your big day,” she brought her dog. Then, when I had the coordinators track her down to help me go to the bathroom (in my big white dress), she went to our suite and cleaned it, which she probably thought was the best surprise. Meanwhile, I had to pee!
     She also left the wedding early and didn’t help me with my veil, as she promised.
     Doing what she wants when she wants has been her trademark behavior since high school. Instincts tell me, since we live across the country from each other, this would be an easy friendship to fade out.
     At the same time, I feel like someone’s got to be honest with her. She seems to adapt well and make casual friends easily enough. In high school, other girls used to complain about her, but I guess I was oblivious. What do you think? Let it fade quietly, or let her know what’s up?
Brandi

A Brandi, this woman did everything possible to show you how disinterested she was in your wedding, and you did everything possible not to hear it.
     When she heard, destination wedding, she might have thought, An overpriced extravaganza with Brandi as the star. When she laid down condition after condition about going on the trip to check venues, did you hear what she was not saying? “Now I have to go twice to her wedding destination. I can’t afford that, in time or in money.”
     Some people don’t want to tell you, I don’t want my vacation to be about your wedding. They may feel you haven’t given them an invitation. You’ve given them a debt. You didn’t say you offered to pay her expenses, and apparently the bachelorette party was just one more expense for her.
     The only fault we find in her is that she didn’t tell you directly. But some people would rather talk about their sex life than about money, and you shouldn’t be forced to admit your financial situation to a casual friend.
     The source of the problem is the 20 years of familiarity. Because you two go way back, she didn’t feel she could say no to you, and you kept asking.
     There is no reason to tell her off. She already told you off, only you weren’t listening.
Wayne & Tamara  

write:  Directanswers@WayneAndTamara.com

How Diet and Inflammation Affect Colon Cancer

 How Diet and Inflammation Affect Colon Cancer

 W. Gifford-Jones, M.D. and Diana Gifford-Jones

  It’s been said “We are what we eat,” or “garbage in garbage out.” Less catchy advice might be “Eat an anti-inflammatory diet, rather than a pro-inflammatory one.” It could make the difference in the likelihood of developing a malignancy of the large bowel. Not many people realize that if you take away skin cancers, colon cancer is the third most common malignancy in North America.
            A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Oncology, points out a strong association between chronic inflammation and the risk of colon cancer.
            Researchers at Harvard University discovered that people who had dietary patterns that triggered chronic inflammation were 32 percent more likely to develop colon cancer than those who followed a lowered inflammatory diet.
            Dr. Joel Mason, Director of the Vitamins and Carcinogenesis Laboratory, Tufts University, says, “This study adds to previous evidence that inflammation is an important factor in colon cancer and that a diet with less potential to cause inflammation can decrease the risk.” How did Harvard researchers determine what foods were associated with inflammation and what foods fought it?
            They analyzed the health and nutrition habits of 120,000 people over a 26-year period. This involved 18 food groups and tracking how they affected inflammatory markers in the blood.
Diets with the lowest level of inflammatory potential were tea, coffee, dark yellow vegetables, dark and leafy greens. In contrast, diets with the highest level of inflammation included processed meat, red meat and sugar-sweetened carbonized beverages.
            Overweight or obese males did not fare well. They were 48 percent more likely to develop cancer of the colon over the course of the study than those who consumed a low inflammatory diet. But even lean males were at higher risk, although not as much as the obese ones.
What about women? It’s strange that being overweight or obese did not increase or decrease the risk of colon malignancy in females. But in lean women who had the most pro-inflammatory diet, there was a 31 percent greater risk of colon cancer than those who consumed the least inflammatory diet. Researchers were not certain if these findings were related to hormonal changes in women.
            So, what’s the message? It pays dividends to stay active and not gain weight. This is not the first time nutritionists have told us that leafy green vegetables are more conducive to a longer life and it’s prudent to decrease the amount of red meat consumed. Hopefully it will help make everyone realize that the use of sugar sweetened beverages is not a healthy habit.
            An equally strong message remains that North Americans are needlessly dying from colon cancer due to a fear of having a colonoscopy performed.
            We know that colon cancer begins in a polyp that remains localized, providing ample time for colonoscopy and removable of this lesion. This procedure should be done regularly starting at 50 years of age or younger, and usually ending at 75 years. Discuss with your doctor whether this is the age for you to end colonoscopy.
            If several colonoscopies have been done over the years without any polyps being detected, the decision is usually to stop. The reason being that it’s unlikely one will form after the age of 75 and if it does some other event will end life long before a slow growing polyp causes trouble.
            The discomfort of colonoscopy is miniscule to the suffering of terminal colon cancer. For those dead set against the procedure, stool card tests done at home are an option. So, never, never, fall into the trap of skipping these life-saving tests.  

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