Not Far Right. Just Fed Up. A View From Regular Canadians

Not Far Right. Just Fed Up. A View From Regular Canadians By Dale Jodoin Columnist I want to write this the way people actually speak when the microphones are off and the cameras are gone. Not as a lecture. Not as a warning. Just as a person who has listened long enough to notice a pattern. Something is shifting, and it has nothing to do with secret symbols, coded music, or hidden messages in culture. It has everything to do with trust being broken. Lately, large left leaning newspapers keep telling us the same story. They say the far right is quietly creeping into everyday life. They say it hides in jokes, fitness videos, clothes, online influencers, and casual conversation. They say regular people do not even notice it happening. They warn us to be afraid of our own culture. But that story does not reflect what people are actually living through. What I hear from Canadians is not fear of one another. It is frustration with a system that no longer feels fair. People feel talked down to. They feel managed instead of represented. And when they try to speak honestly, they are immediately labeled. That label is always the same. Far right. The term used to mean something serious. It described real extremism. Today, it is used as a shortcut to shut down debate. If you disagree with government policy, you are far right. If you question new laws, you are far right. If you worry about your children, you are far right. Once that word is applied, discussion ends. That is not journalism. That is social pressure. Most of the people being described this way are not radicals. They are parents trying to raise kids in a confusing world. They are workers watching prices rise while services fall apart. They are seniors scared to get sick because health care is overwhelmed. They are immigrants who came legally and feel angry that fairness has been replaced by chaos. These are not people being pulled into some dark movement. These are people paying attention. The idea that everyday culture is being infiltrated suggests that citizens are passive and easily fooled. It assumes people cannot think for themselves. It assumes they need to be protected from their own thoughts. That attitude alone explains why trust in the media is collapsing. Canadians know when something feels off. They know when the rules apply differently depending on who you are. They know when crime is explained away while victims are ignored. They know when speech is policed more harshly than violence. Young people see this clearly. They are not being radicalized. They are watching adults argue while institutions fail. They see fear used as a tool. They see words redefined. They see silence rewarded and honesty punished. Many of them are stepping back, not because they believe something extreme, but because they do not trust the system to treat them fairly. That is not dangerous. That is rational. Immigration is one of the clearest examples of how honest discussion has been poisoned. Canada has always welcomed newcomers. That has not changed. Most Canadians still believe in immigration done properly. What people object to is scale without planning, promises without infrastructure, and rules that no longer apply equally. Mass immigration without enough housing drives prices up. Without enough doctors, it overwhelms health care. Without honest expectations, it creates tension. Saying this is not hatred. It is reality. Yet if you raise these concerns, the response is not discussion. It is an accusation. Parents face the same problem. Many feel they have lost their voice. They are told not to question schools. They are told concern is harm. They are told to trust systems that refuse transparency. When parents push back, they are treated as dangerous. This creates fear, not progress. Across Europe, citizens are expressing the same frustration. They are not marching for hate. They are voting for change. They are asking for borders that work, laws that apply equally, and leaders who listen. When they do, media voices warn the public to fear them. That reaction reveals more about power than about people. What is really happening is not a rise of extremism. It is a collapse of patience. People are tired of being blamed for problems they did not create. They are tired of being told silence is kindness. They are tired of being managed by narratives instead of served by policy. This is no longer about left versus right. That argument is outdated. This is about citizens versus systems that forgot who they exist for. The people being called far right do not share one ideology. They share a sense that something fundamental is being lost. Fairness. Balance. Common sense. The ability to speak without fear. They stand against real antisemitism and real racism. They stand with Jewish Canadians who feel unsafe. They stand with Muslim Canadians who came here for freedom and peace. They stand for freedom of worship and equal law. They do not want chaos. They want stability. Calling people names will not fix housing. It will not fix health care. It will not protect children. It will not reduce crime. It only deepens resentment and destroys trust. The real danger is not culture being influenced. The real danger is citizens no longer believing those who claim to inform them. When people stop trusting media and government, society weakens. People withdraw. Conversation dies. People know when headlines do not match their lived experience. They know when fear is being sold as concern. They know when power is protecting itself. That awareness is not frightening. It is necessary. Canadians are not far right. They are not far left. They are tired of being bullied by language and ignored by policy. They are simply asking to be treated like adults again. That is not extremism. That is a country quietly but firmly asking to be heard.

Only Child Dreams - The Transition from Being an Only Child to One of Four Kids

Only Child Dreams - The Transition from Being an Only Child to One of Four Kids By Camryn Bland Youth Columnist Growing up as an only child, I spent my days hoping for a sibling. I was always looking for someone to talk to, play with, or go places with. I hoped and prayed for a brother or sister to accompany me through my boring days, and for over fifteen years I was disappointed. As I got older, I stopped hoping, adjusting to independence in place of reliance. However, just as I accepted my life as an only child, I was introduced to three kids who would make every dream come true; my future step siblings. In February of 2025, my mom and I moved in with her boyfriend and his three kids. The move felt very sudden, and confusing. We originally planned for us to move together in late 2026 or early 2027, when I was in grade 12 and could drive myself to school. Now it was early 2025, and my mom decided we were going to move soon. It felt like I blinked, and all of a sudden I was packing everything into big boxes. By late February, our two person basement apartment had been replaced by a chaotic home, inhabited by six people and three pets. The biggest adjustment for me was my new role as a sister, a role which I’d never been exposed to before. Time which was once spent reading alone was replaced by helping with homework, time to bake was now used to pick up after others and do chores that were never mine to begin with. Although I had known the kids for almost three years, always being surrounded by them felt new and unfamiliar. Every boundary I knew had changed and I found myself struggling to adjust to the simplest things. I worried about what to talk about during meals, where I could be in the house without bothering anyone, and when I could go out without causing scheduling issues. At first, the new dynamics felt like a maze. However, over time the change got easier, and now it feels almost normal. I’ve realized my step-sisters are like built in best friends, who make sure there’s never a dull moment in my day. I’ve accustomed to my step-brother, who always has an honest opinion, even when I don’t want to hear it. They’re an aspect of my day that feels so normal, yet so special at the same time. I know it would leave a gap in my life if they left. I think what made the transition, and even my time now, easiest was the time apart. My step-siblings only spend half of their time at my house, and the other half living with their mom. These rotating weeks act as a break a lot of siblings don’t have. They’re my time to see my friends, focus on my own work, or do personal projects. By the time my week alone is almost over, I miss my step-siblings and I’m excited for them to come home. It’s a system that I’m lucky to have in place, as it made it easier to adjust to a new family, and it helps even now. With my step-siblings, I’ve not just adjusted to them, but also feel like I belong among them. Despite the fact I came into their family late, I don’t feel excluded or different from them. The four of us laugh like siblings, fight like siblings, and share like siblings. Even when I’m arguing with them, or getting annoyed at something they said, I appreciate them the same. In the span of 10 months, I have found a family which I always wished for, and it feels right. I will forever be grateful for that. Despite my gratitude, not everything is perfect. There have been many doors slammed and voices raised which have made me wish things were back as they used to be, back as I grew up with. However, that feeling doesn’t last, and we always make up, as family does. The imperfections don’t just come from others; I know I also have room for improvement as a sister. I need to be more patient and understanding. I’m quick to get annoyed when my step-siblings are bothering me while I’m working, even if they just want to spend time together. I get upset when they don’t clean, even if they don’t notice the mess in the first place. Sometimes, I get upset over small jokes they made and make a big deal out of nothing. Over time, I hope to fix these habits so I can be a better sister, a fitting member of the family. For fifteen years, I wished to have a brother or sister to spend time with. Now I have three of them, and it’s so much different than I imagined. Our household is one of chaos and arguments, but also of gamenights and laughter. I try to appreciate every second of it, because I know my younger self would be thrilled to spend time with my new family. Most days, I’m thrilled to spend time with them too.

A LOOK AT THE ROOT CAUSES OF CANADA’S DECLINE BETWEEN 2015 AND 2025

A LOOK AT THE ROOT CAUSES OF CANADA’S DECLINE BETWEEN 2015 AND 2025 NATIONAL POST COLUMNIST TRISTAN HOPPER released a short work of roughly 164 pages last April entitled ‘Don’t be Canada: How the Great White North did Everything Wrong all at Once.’ In it, he says Canada has mismanaged several critical issues compared to other developed nations, including drug and crime policies, euthanasia, health care, transgender policy, the judiciary, and housing. “We just sort of became wildly complacent and got into a headspace that we were special, we were Canadian, we had a functioning society, and ... we didn’t have to defend it,” Hopper said in an interview with the Epoch Times. His work makes for interesting reading, and it reminded me of an earlier volume penned by author and journalist Kenneth McDonald, a copy of which I bought during my time as a college student in Toronto. McDonald’s work is entitled ‘His Pride Our Fall: Recovering from the Trudeau revolution.’ It’s a critique about Justin Trudeau’s father, Pierre, and the damage that resulted from 16 years of Trudeaumania when, as prime minister, the elder Trudeau made himself a nuisance by inserting the tentacles of government where they had no place to be – in the private lives of ordinary citizens. Once a thriving nation, Canada has seen a steep erosion in prosperity and security since 2015 as a direct result of self-inflicted policy failures. My column this week will highlight some of the philosophical extremes from the first Trudeau ‘legacy’ which ultimately gave rise to the disastrous sequel, during which time Justin Trudeau aggressively pursued a vision of Canada that has left us with a crippling debt, an ever-expanding government, and a variety of misguided policies on immigration, justice reform, and gender issues – just to name a few. Let’s begin by identifying the state, or what I like to refer to as Big Government, for what it is; a massive regulator of all things – a sort of untamable master exercising full dominion over its people. Those are my words, however Kenneth McDonald offers the following analysis: “The secret of (the state’s) power lies in its very remoteness. “It is one thing to refrain from advising the man next door, whom we know. “It is another thing altogether to compose a set of regulations for people collectively…not in order to create wealth, but to regulate the private citizens who are engaged in wealth creation.” When the growth of the state passes beyond control, as ours has, it becomes a law unto itself. Justin Trudeau enjoyed a powerful opportunity to bring forward a self-satisfying process of dismantling a nation that he described in a 2015 interview with The New York Times as “a country with no core identity, no mainstream…" which he said made it the "first post-national state". As ludicrous as that sounds, it has its origins in Pierre Trudeau’s own policies - most notably official multiculturalism and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms – both of which were manifestly created to shift the Canadian identity away from its traditional Eurocentric and Common Law heritage towards a more civic framework based on universal liberal values. In 1971, Trudeau introduced official multiculturalism within a bilingual framework. This policy was revolutionary because it decoupled state and culture, and It asserted that no single cultural entity could (or should) define Canada. It was an attempt to actually delegitimize – in his view - the idea of a "core" national identity. As most of us now realize, encouraging diverse ethnic groups to preserve their own heritage has not resulted in a peaceful Canada enjoying some sort of fictional mosaic. Rather, we have become a series of politically armed cultural camps – each one jostling the other in an attempt to gain power and control. On the matter of our economy, or more to the point, what’s left of it, we can look back to 1971 when the prevailing wisdom among Trudeau’s inner circle suggested that, to one who sees some people as poor while others are rich, it may seem obvious that the rich should share some of their wealth – and if they are at all reluctant, surely a just society would require (force) them to do it. From this rather frightening inclination sprung the idea within the Liberal Party – one that remains central to their manifesto – that state socialism is, in itself, part of the ‘age of miracles’. Pierre Elliott Trudeau's premiership (1968–1984) marked a definitive shift toward structural deficit spending in Canada. The federal government had carried debt since Confederation (1867) to finance nation-building and wars, however, Trudeau oversaw a period of nearly continuous and rapidly increasing budget deficits – a tradition carried on by his son and political heir, Justin. Trudeau the elder’s first budget ran a deficit of $667 million, and as a result of his spending habits, Canada's national debt increased from approximately $18 billion to over $200 billion, representing a more than tenfold increase, or roughly 700% in nominal terms. Not to be outdone by his father, Justin Trudeau’s first budget saw a deficit of $19.0 billion after accounting adjustments, and during his ten years in office, the total debt in Canada nearly doubled, reaching approximately $654.2 billion by the end of the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Like father, like son. Of course, one cannot attempt to highlight the more disastrous aspects of the Trudeau-x2 legacy without referencing the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a legal instrument that has caused significant damage to our justice system by having shifted too much power to unelected judges, allowing them to overrule the will of democratically elected legislatures. Charter challenges can be lengthy and complex, contributing to delays in the justice system - but more importantly, certain judicial interpretations of the Charter have made it much more difficult to secure convictions for serious crimes. Now isn’t that just great. Once again, not to be outdone by his father, Trudeau the younger made his own legal mess through a determination to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for drug and firearms offences, and to codify a ‘principle of restraint’ into law which encouraged granting bail at the earliest opportunity. Fast forward to today and we all know the results of his "soft-on-crime" ideology and the disastrous outcomes that have allowed repeat offenders the freedom to commit more crimes. And yet, in spite of the damage left by these two men, there exists an element within Canadian society who refuse to accept certain realities, preferring instead to hold on to a collective dream where peace and love and good intentions are all that is needed. God help them – and indeed, the rest of us.

A FEW PEOPLE AND EVENTS THAT APPEARD IN THIS COLUMN IN 2025

A FEW PEOPLE AND EVENTS THAT APPEARD IN THIS COLUMN IN 2025 HOW WE PERCEIVE THE ACTUAL SPEED OF TIME will very likely be influenced by our attention, emotions, and the inevitable series of events - whether good or bad - that conspire to shape our memories year after year. The age-old saying ‘time flies’ has never been more real for me, personally, since I began writing a weekly column for this newspaper. Constant research and the reality of having to meet a deadline every Friday has created a sort of whirlwind of activity that goes far beyond just keeping up with the news. Writing what has amounted to 55 essays on the issues of our time has definitely been a rewarding, if daunting task. For the purposes of what will be my last column for 2025, I decided to look back at some of what has transpired in local and regional politics. I now invite you to tag along with me for a short while as we consider the merits or otherwise of what amounts to a brief ‘Year in Review’. January began with Oshawa’s Mayor Dan Carter literally walking out of a committee meeting in a huff following repeated exchanges with the chair, councillor Derek Giberson. Up to that point, the Mayor had been acting as councillor Giberson’s political benefactor, and to see them at odds was a defining moment that foreshadowed a deteriorating working relationship for the rest of 2025. Meanwhile in Pickering, the new year kicked off with the publication of a YouTube video dedicated to exposing what Mayor Kevin Ashe described as “…a growing infiltration of alt-right individuals, ideologies, and influences” within his municipal arena. The video, aimed at Ward 1 city councillor Lisa Robinson, was created in a style similar to a television docudrama, complete with background music and a narration by staff. 580 days of docked pay so far haven’t been enough to put the brakes on the Ward 1 councillor’s determination, and she and her opponents still seem to be headed for some kind of final showdown. A real nail-biter, to be sure. Also in January, Durham Region councillors were seen to hold their noses and actually vote in favour of investigating the construction of a $1-Billion gondola transit system along Oshawa’s Simcoe Street corridor, extending from Lakeview Park right on up to Durham College. “We understand the public is going to be skeptical and council is going to be skeptical. It’s a new technology,” said Durham Region’s David Dunn, who gave the update on the Transit Study. “A large part of our plan moving forward will be in educating people so they can make informed decisions and they don’t just see this as a novel approach.” Good luck with that Dave, however, I for one can’t wait for the inevitable CBC documentary entitled “Gondola Apocalypse – An Oshawa Nightmare.” Should they in fact turn this story into a television movie, I can envision Dave’s character being played by Mike Myers of Austin Powers fame. Remember the famous line, “I hope I didn't just say that all out loud just now”? Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in his 1842 poem Locksley Hall, gave us the line, "In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” Well, in Oshawa, Mayor Carter’s thoughts turned heavily towards flexing his own muscles as he warned Council that, “At this particular time, I have embraced the Strong Mayor Powers, and I just want to remind everyone of that.” Those comments were made as some councillors had the apparent audacity to challenge a few key components of his tax-and-spend agenda during a springtime debate. Undeterred, councillor Nicholson went on to move a motion that “Council recommends a budget increase target of not more than 4% in 2026.” This proposal was ultimately successful, but without the support of the Mayor and certain councillors apparently unwilling to rule out another major tax increase, including Derek Giberson, Jim Lee, and Rick Kerr. Fast forward to Christmas Day and you’d have seen councillor Nicholson on social media still enjoying his success in having given every Oshawa taxpayer a present containing a more moderate increase of 3.89 per cent. As to councillor Jim Lee, he was ultimately joined by his colleague Derek Giberson – both of them donning a Grinch’s hat while steadfastly refusing to abandon their career-ending desire for higher spending on the backs of Oshawa taxpayers. “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch…” Spring soon turned into summer, and things got quite heated as to proposed changes to a municipal by-law governing the number and location of social services within Oshawa’s city limits. One councillor took his colleagues to task on social media by suggesting, “If tomorrow's Zoning By-law amendment passes…it will prevent any new social services operated by a non-profit or charity from opening anywhere in the City of Oshawa within an 800 metre radius of an existing social service…” Well, the amendment did pass, and a degree of sanity has been added to an issue that still wreaks havoc on the entire downtown. Of course, the By-law as it now stands is being challenged by one or more representatives of the alt-Left who enjoy a bit of theatre, however that’s not likely to sway anyone of good sense. Also occurring in the early days of summer was a memorable ‘epic fail’ over at the Heritage Oshawa committee, as certain members decided it was in everyone’s best interest to remove an architecturally significant home from a list formulated by volunteers in 1998 identifying properties that showed built-heritage value. What was most remarkable was the flippant manner in which committee member Sarah Smale apparently came to her decision. To suggest, as she did, that a mere drive-by glance was either in whole, or in part, a suitable method of deciding the fate of a historically unique structure was tantamount to a betrayal of her role to work at preserving Oshawa’s built heritage. For his part, councillor Jim Lee was nothing less than adversarial towards the committee itself, and I foresee many more unique properties being threatened by the wrecker’s ball as a result. So that brings us to the end of 2025 as we look to the year ahead. Time alone will reveal just how the ongoing saga over at Whitby Town Hall plays out between the Mayor and councillor Yamada – who has filed a human rights complaint in his ongoing attempt to become a political dramatist. What better than to act out your own screenplay? He may want to take notes as to the drama playing out in Clarington where a lawyer - who just happens to be an elected official - was arrested and charged with uttering threats. I used to enjoy making predictions about the people and events likely to make the news, however, as time moves on I have come to expect the unexpected. You know what they say – a week is a long time in politics. Happy New Year!

The New Age Trojan Horse

The New Age Trojan Horse “Ethnic Laundering...” By Joe Ingino BA. Psychology Editor/Publisher Central Newspapers ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800 ,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States With the current violent events across the globe stemming from religious indifferences. One has to stop and wonder. What is going on? What every happened to loving thy neighbor. Living by law founded on the 10 commandments? What has gone wrong in western psychology that our good nature is being compromised in such ways. The question that lingers is how are we being infiltrated and how is this being funded? They say that the best predictor of the future is understanding our history and or past. So lets take a trip down history lane: The FBI, along with numerous international agencies, uncovered the "Pizza Connection" money laundering scheme through meticulous, long-term investigative efforts including extensive surveillance, undercover operations, analysis of thousands of phone calls, and international collaboration. The investigations, which spanned over four years in the 1980s and involved agents across multiple continents, utilized a variety of techniques to dismantle the complex Sicilian Mafia operation that laundered an estimated $1.6 billion in heroin profits. Something that was crippling society. Crucial intelligence was initially provided by FBI agents who had infiltrated the Bonanno crime family in 1976 and set the case in motion. Authorities conducted round-the-clock physical surveillance on key players across multiple countries. Investigators traced and analyzed thousands of telephone calls, often made from remote public pay phones to avoid detection. The case was a massive multi-agency and multi-national effort, involving law enforcement from the New York Police Department, DEA, U.S. Customs, and international authorities in Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and many other countries. This cooperation was vital for tracing the flow of drugs and money across borders. A mountain of records and evidence was gathered and analyzed to track the illicit cash profits as they moved through a web of banks and brokerages in the U.S. and overseas. The FBI applied the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute to attack the criminal organization as an ongoing enterprise, which allowed for a more comprehensive case targeting the entire structure rather than isolated incidents. These combined efforts allowed the agents to prove that the pizza parlors were being used as fronts for a vast heroin distribution network and subsequent money laundering operation, leading to the conviction of all but one of the final 19 defendants, including top boss. The connection between the mob and pizza joints isn't just a stereotype; it's rooted in reality, with Mafia families historically using legitimate-looking businesses like pizzerias as fronts for money laundering, drug trafficking (famously in the "Pizza Connection"), and other illegal activities, while some former mobsters later opened pizza places as a legitimate venture, like Michael Franzese with Slices Pizza. Pizza itself came from Naples, Italy, and became popular in America, but its association with crime stems from Italian-American organized crime using these popular, cash-heavy spots for illicit operations. Pizza shops, like other small businesses (laundromats, restaurants), were perfect for cleaning dirty money by mixing illegal profits with legitimate earnings. The famous "Pizza Connection" trial (1980s) exposed a massive heroin smuggling ring using pizzerias across the U.S. and Europe as distribution points, run by the Sicilian Mafia and American families. During the mob years, the system was being used to infiltrate society with a hidden agenda. Money. Today, with the religious over tones shown on the media. One can say that laundering money to fund socio-political causes may not that be far out. Take for example - ethnic cleansing, not "ethenic laundering". Ethnic cleansing is the systematic and forceful removal of a particular ethnic, racial, or religious group from a given territory by a dominant group to make the area ethnically homogeneous. Is this not what we are witnessing today by all these immigrants all of a sudden opening up business and taking over industries much like restaurants and pizza joints? Interesting parallel that in theory could be the fuel for secret agendas much like the Mob did years prior. Have you been at any Tim Horton’s? Or triedd to order a pizza locally? Wether it is money, ethnic or other. Money is the root of operations... What do you think?

Eco-Friendly Holiday Gifts

Eco-Friendly Holiday Gifts by Larraine Roulston ‘Protecting Our Ecosystem’ In December, we use more resources than during any other month. Often they do not get reused, recycled, or composted. When giving Christmas gifts, there are many ways to be gentler on the earth. Although shopping online may be convenient, try to support your community’s small businesses. If purchasing a bicycle or other sports equipment, for example, local sports retailers are better equipped to help you with your selection, accessories, as well as any ongoing maintenance issues. Check out thrift stores for board games, toys, and unique gifts. Everything is generally in mint condition. Jewellery as well, sparkles elegantly in a thrift shore’s small showcase. Buy in bulk! From a bulk food store or special area in your supermarket, select nuts, dried fruits, candy or other holiday treats. If you take your own small bags or other containers, you may even receive a discount. Bulk stores can weigh empty jars prior to your filling them. From the resident chef, Christmas cheer can take the form of homemade cookies, mincemeat pies, chocolate squares, and braided fruit breads. Even liqueurs like Baileys, can be whipped up in a few minutes. The recipe is simple. Using a blender, add 3 eggs and 3 tablespoons of chocolate powder mix. While this is blending, include a few drops of almond extract, 1 pint of whipping cream, 1 can of Eagle Brand milk, then top with 1 cup of inexpensive rye whiskey. Bottle, add a bow, and refrigerate. Experienced knitters are able to create doll clothes, stuffed toys, toques, slippers, mitts, and finger puppets. The season offers an opportunity to teach a child how to knit a scarf or a hot pad. Simple gifts such as these are treasured forever. Older children can have fun crafting personalized stationery in art, or using a computer. They can also create word search puzzles. If sourcing scented herbs or other ingredients, one can find recipes on how to make homemade lip balm, soaps, shampoos and other personal care products. Your time can also be appreciated. Just as much thought and effort can go into practicing a favourite song on a musical instrument. Library books can become a gift when accompanied by an offer to do more household chores so that your recipient has time to read them before their due date. Gifts also can include repairing or up-cycling. Enjoy giving a memorable experience such as theatre tickets or dining out. Be creative wrapping gifts with magazine pages, newsprint, tea towels (a gift within a gift), or other fabrics. If you do buy wrapping paper, avoid glossy and metallic ones that cannot be recycled. Generally, eco-friendly ideas and do-it-yourself crafts will help people stay within their budget. This year, have fun making your holiday season easier on our fragile ecosystem Christmas clean up as well, requires reusing, recycling, and composting. Think about World Soil Day that is celebrated on December 5th. To have healthy soil for a healthy future — Compost! Larraine has been an environmental freelance writer since 1988 and authors children’s books on composting.

Let Him Lead

Let Him Lead By Wayne and Tamara I ended my marriage after 15 years. I’ve been separated for five years and haven’t dated anyone. I really had no interest in dating. In July I met the father of my son’s friend. He, too, is separated and has been for four years. In his case his wife ended the marriage. He was devastated. He indicated at one time he could never go through that again. His son lives with him, and since the boys are together all the time, we talk often. We’ve become good friends and enjoy talking to each other. I’m becoming attracted to him. He has all the qualities I look for. He has a wonderful personality, a sense of humor, and a closeness to his family. He is interesting and kind. I find it hard to decide if he is attracted to me but afraid of getting involved with anyone, or not attracted to me at all. We have not yet gone on a date. He did invite my two boys and me to his camp this summer for the day, and had the boys and I to his camp for Thanksgiving dinner with some of his family. While talking to him the next day, I told him the boys had a great time, and he asked if I had as well. I’ve invited him to my office Christmas party, which he accepted. It is a large event with dinner and dancing. This will be the first time we will be out alone. What should I look for to determine his feelings toward me? Elaine Elaine, don’t make a problem which doesn’t exist. A relationship between the two of you has been slowly building. You understand his fears and concerns. So how do you address that? By letting him lead. If you force the relationship, he will feel threatened. When he senses this is a relationship he wants, he will move forward on his own unless he sees you only as a friend and the parent of his son’s friend. Since there is no problem here—you are not dating him—act like a single, available woman. Imagine you are a fisherman. There is a big trout in the water and you’d love to land him, but all you can do is throw your lure out there. You can’t make the fish bite, but there are other fish in the stream. Making yourself available will make you less disheartened and desperate about this one fish. The more you try to force your lure on a fish, the greater the chance you will scare it off. Be relaxed, patient, and open to all possible relationships. Not only does that give you the greatest chance for success, it creates a desirable aura around you—the kind of aura which will attract others, including this man, to you. Wayne & Tamara Approaching Storm After 10 years of marriage is it settling to be with someone who says they love you but aren’t in love with you? What if that person thinks being “in love” is a childish fantasy and grownups don’t need to be “in love” to have a happy marriage? Is being “in love” really that important? Kim Kim, let us assume the person who says this is your husband. Then the question for him is, how do you keep sailing once you’ve thrown out the star which guides you? What is the foundation of your captaincy? Financial security? Personal advantage? Convenience? Circumstances change. Sickness, a business failure, or an ill wind can alter any of the reasons for being together. So can unexpected success. But love holds people together both on calm seas and when things get rough. Without love you have to keep changing why your contract should still be valid. A marriage without love is like sailing in the Bermuda Triangle. At any time one of you might disappear forever. Wayne & Tamara

When Common Sense Dies A Nation Dies With It

When Common Sense Dies A Nation Dies With It By Dale Jodoin Journalist and Columnist Some mornings I sit with my coffee and wonder how the world slipped so far off its track. It did not happen in one big moment. It happened in small steps until regular people woke up and felt like strangers in their own country. The pressure grew. The rules changed. The words changed. And the truth started to feel like something you had to hide. When I grew up, the big fear was nuclear war. It was a real worry, but at least people spoke honestly about it. At least you knew what the threat was. Today the fear comes in soft waves. Every few years someone says the world will end in five years. They repeat it to kids who barely understand life yet. You cannot grow hope on fear. You cannot build a strong country on doom. Kids today do not have the anchors we had. We had parents who worked hard. We had grandparents who carried old lessons. We had aunts and uncles who taught us how to stand up and make our own way. How many young people only hear warnings? They hear that everything is broken. They hear that nothing will get better. They hear that the climate is falling apart and that they might not have a future. It leaves them empty. While this fear fills the air, the Liberals and NDP tell people to trust them. They promise that more spending will fix everything. More programs. More rules. More taxes. They treat the country like a bank card that never runs out. But money always runs out. Bills always show up. And regular families always pay in the end. People feel this every day. At the grocery store. With rent. With gas. With heat. They feel it when taxes climb while services fall apart. They feel it when the government says everything is fine even though nothing feels fine. Leaders keep saying this is progress, but nobody living a regular life agrees. And underneath it all there is a message. Keep quiet. Do not speak up. Do not question anything. If you protect your family, people call you selfish. If you point out a problem, people say you are dangerous. If you disagree with a popular idea, they use names as weapons. They use fear to control the conversation. This pressure hits young men the hardest. Many grow up hearing that everything wrong in the world is their fault. Some are told they should stop being who they are. They are confused before they even start their lives. They feel like they have to apologize for being born. It wears them down. At the same time, the government keeps bringing in more people who also need help. This is not an attack on newcomers. It is simple math. If a boat is sinking you cannot load more passengers on it. But the Liberals and NDP do it anyway because it looks good in a headline. They ignore the fact that hospitals are full, housing is gone, and schools are stretched thin. They want to be seen as kind, even if the country snaps under the weight. University was supposed to teach young adults how to think. How many walk in hopeful and walk out bitter. They come home speaking like the country is an enemy. They talk about ripping everything down and building something new with ideas that never worked anywhere else. It is not learning. It is training. And it leaves them lost. Hate has also grown in ways many older people never expected. The sudden rise in hostility toward Jewish Canadians and Jewish people around the world has shocked those who remember real history. They thought the world had learned. Now they watch crowds chant angry things while leaders stand back and mumble. It shakes something deep in the soul. And through all of this, regular people are just trying to survive. They wake up tired. They go to work. They try to raise kids in a world that feels loud and mean. They try to stay out of trouble. But every step feels like thin ice. If they speak up, someone attacks them. If they stay silent, nothing gets better. This is where your line fits, Dale. A country cannot find itself if the people inside it are too scared to tell the loud confused voices to sit down. We have people now who try to kill common sense on purpose. They twist words. They spread lies. They demand we stop thinking. And if you dare to use your own mind they beat you with nonsense until you doubt your own eyes. It reminds me of a poet I like. If a boy with a simple slingshot can stay calm, the world can bend. A whisper is enough to set people free if they hold on to it long enough. So what do we do when the country feels like it is heading into a fog. The answer is not smooth. It is not pretty. But it is simple. People need to vote for someone who will do the hard work. Not someone who makes us feel good. Not someone who hands out money we do not have. A leader who tightens the belt. A leader who says no to public unions when needed. A leader who puts the country first instead of politics. It will upset people. It always does when someone tries to clean up a house that has been ignored. But if we keep going the way we are, nothing will improve. Kids need hope again. Families need stability again. The country needs a spine again. The world is loud right now. It tells people to sit down. It tells them to obey. It tells them to stop thinking. But a country cannot survive if the people inside it feel unwanted. Canada cannot grow strong if its citizens are treated like problems. Real change starts with a whisper. A simple voice saying I want a life that makes sense again. That is how a country finds itself.

Queen’s Park

Queen’s Park By Theresa Grant Real Estate Columnist If you’ve been paying attention to the recent news out of Queen’s Park, you’ll know that the extremely controversial Bill 60 has passed. But what exactly does that mean for the people of Ontario? Well, I guess that depends on whether you’re a landlord or a tenant. Believe it or not, even people that are neither have very strong opinions on this Bill. I guess it goes back to the fact that the vast majority of us at one time or another were tenants and almost everyone has had to deal with a landlord at some point. For as much as the opposition is shaking their fists and saying this is far too aggressive on the part the landlords’ rights, it really is just leveling the playing field somewhat. For many years the pendulum swung far too much to one side and that side was the tenant’s rights. For years now landlords have had their rental properties held hostage in a sense by tenants that won’t pay rent and won’t move out. All the while, the landlord has to fill out mountains of paperwork, meet strict deadlines for filing that paperwork and then sit back and wait. As usual, many people are reacting to headlines before they get the actual meat and potatoes of the story. I would say there have been adjustments more than real changes when it comes to the Landlord and Tenant Board. For example, the landlord now only has to wait 7 days after nonpayment of rent as opposed to 14 to file for eviction for nonpayment of rent (N4). In a lot of cases, if you are a good tenant and always pay your rent on time, your landlord will hold off on this procedure anyway. The key here is your past behaviour and your relationship with your landlord. Another notable adjustment has been the procedure for eviction when it comes to having a family member move in or if the landlord needs the unit themselves. The landlord no longer has to compensate the tenant and no longer has to provide alternative housing. The landlord absolutely still has to give the proper notice to the tenant though. The bill also states that if you are a tenant and you are not up to date on your rent and you choose to raise issues about your landlord during a hearing with the Landlord Tenant Board, you will have to pay at least half of the back owed rent prior to being able to raise those issues. I would say overall, this has been a recalibrating of power between landlords and tenants in the province of Ontario which has been lopsided for far too long. At the end of the day, there are red flags for bad tenants and bad landlords. Look for them and heed them when you see them.

Hernias Are An Age Old Problem

Hernias Are An Age Old Problem By Diana Gifford Hernias are an ancient ailment. And modern medicine still debates the best ways to repair or live with them. One of the earliest references appears in the Ebers Papyrus, an Egyptian medical scroll from around 1550 BCE. The treatment for hernias was to push them back into place, in techniques described by Hippocrates. Galen, a Greek physician to gladiators and Roman emperors, had a preference for treating “surgical conditions by means other than the knife.” One can only imagine. An enduring piece of hernia lore is the truss. A truss was essentially a belt with a pad designed to apply pressure to the protrusion. Trusses were made of leather, metal, or fabric. Some people wore them for decades. Apparently Benjamin Franklin, suffering from a hernia, customized the design of his own truss for improved comfort. Look no further than to Medieval Europe to find the most absurd so-called cures. Some believed that passing through a split tree trunk – literally crawling through it – could cure a hernia. The tree would then be bound shut, as though healing the patient by analogy. Odd times. Early hernia surgery was crude, painful, and often fatal. Before the late 19th century, the combination of infection, lack of anesthesia, and poor anatomical knowledge made abdominal operations deeply dangerous. The turning point came with Eduardo Bassini, an Italian surgeon who, in the 1880s, meticulously studied the groin’s anatomy and introduced a systematic way to reconstruct it. His technique, though modified many times since, is widely regarded as the first reliable hernia repair. The 20th century brought the introduction of surgical mesh. Using mesh allowed surgeons to reinforce weakened tissue and reduce recurrence rates. It was heralded as a breakthrough, though in recent decades it has also sparked debate and litigation. Mesh can be enormously effective, but as with many medical advances, its success is not guaranteed. Today, many people delay treatment out of fear, embarrassment, or the hope that the problem might resolve itself. They can result from lifting, chronic coughing, pregnancy, or even genetic predisposition. They are democratic: they affect the young, old, athletic, sedentary, cautious, and risk-takers alike. In the internet era, the ancient impulse to treat hernias at home has been revived by self-proclaimed experts posting videos of DIY abdominal wraps, self-reduction tutorials, and miracle cures. Some echo centuries-old remedies – compresses, belts, or herbal treatments. Others are newly imagined, drawing on the vast creativity of people in online forums. The fact is, hernias can occur in many different parts of the body, from a variety of causes, and with a wide range of implications, sometimes inconsequential and sometimes fatal. So go and see a doctor to determine the best treatment for you. Readers often write requesting information about what the take of Dr. W. Gifford-Jones was on one medical issue or another. He had a much appreciated “no nonsense” philosophy. From reading his column for years and years, he was known and trusted. Well, you can still find what he had to say on topics like hernias. Go to www.docgiff.com and type the keywords of interest into the search engine (a little magnifying glass icon in the top right of the page). For example, type “hernia” and you’ll get access to columns on “how to decrease the risk of large bowel hernias”, “if it’s partly broken, should you fix it?”, and advice to “think twice about hernia surgery”. Columns since around the year 2000 are posted. I’m posting more and more of the older archive of columns too. Among them, some gems! —————————————————————————————————————— This column offers opinions on health and wellness, not personal medical advice. Visit www.docgiff.com to learn more. For comments, diana@docgiff.com. Follow on Instagram @diana_gifford_jones

2025 Year in Review: Staying Financially Strong in Uncertainty

2025 Year in Review: Staying Financially Strong in Uncertainty By Bruno M. Scanga As we wrap up 2025, it’s a good time to pause and reflect on what the year has brought—and more importantly, how to position ourselves for success in 2026. This year has been another reminder that global uncertainty is here to stay. Trade tensions, fluctuating interest rates, and uneven economic growth have all played a part in shaping Canada’s financial landscape. The good news? Despite all the noise, there are solid, practical steps you can take to stay financially strong. A Look Back at 2025 Inflation continued to cool through 2025, allowing the Bank of Canada to begin cautiously lowering rates after several years of tightening. While this offered some relief to borrowers, many Canadians renewing their mortgages still faced higher payments than before. Growth remained modest—around 1%—as global trade pressures and slower exports weighed on the economy. For investors, markets were mixed. Canadian equities were steady, U.S. markets showed resilience, and bonds regained some traction as interest rates eased. Overall, it’s been a year where patience and diversification paid off. What This Means for You Periods like this call for a thoughtful financial strategy. Here are a few strategies to carry into 2026: 1. Revisit your budget and cash flow. Higher living costs and mortgage renewals can tighten monthly budgets. Take time to review spending and look for ways to increase your savings margin—even a small monthly surplus can build valuable flexibility. 2. Strengthen your emergency fund. If 2025 has taught us anything, it’s that uncertainty can show up quickly. Aim to keep at least three to six months of essential expenses in a readily accessible account. 3. Stay invested, but be strategic. Trying to time the market rarely works. Instead, focus on maintaining a diversified portfolio that matches your goals and risk tolerance. If interest rates continue to drift lower in 2026, both fixed income and equity investments could benefit. 4. Use registered plans wisely. Whether it’s topping up your RRSP, maxing out your TFSA, or contributing to a RESP or FHSA, these accounts offer powerful tax advantages. Every dollar sheltered from unnecessary tax is a dollar working harder for your future. 5. Plan for the long term—no matter the headlines. Economic slowdowns, trade issues, and market swings are part of every cycle. The key is having a plan that adjusts with conditions, not one that reacts to fear or hype. Looking Ahead to 2026 Most forecasts suggest a slow but steady recovery next year. If inflation stays near target, the Bank of Canada could trim rates further—good news for borrowers and markets alike. That said, it’s still wise to prepare for volatility. The bottom line? Focus on what you can control: your savings habits, spending discipline, and investment strategy. Global uncertainty may persist, but a well-built financial plan is still your best tool for confidence and stability. Here’s to finishing 2025 strong and stepping into 2026 with clarity and purpose.

The Wonder in Adulthood

Why We Lose Childlike Wonder as We Age, and How to Gain It Back By Camryn Bland Youth Columnist As children, our world consists of learning, playing, and experiencing. We spend our days in the park with friends or playing with a new toy, free of all responsibility and stress. Everything seems surprising, new, and exciting. Everything sparks a sense of wonder. Yet, as we grow older, perspectives shift, and that same wonder dies out. Everything which sparked familiar j0y is replaced with the burden of adulthood, a transition which seems impossible to fight. Although the transition to adulthood may feel inevitable, there are specific childhood memories which survive, never to be forgotten. Learning to ride a bike, early birthdays, and the first day of school are moments that feel engraved in our memories. These times feel more colorful, bright, and emotional than the current days. Something just felt special, something which is impossible to describe and unfeasible now. One of my most prominent, bright memories is from third grade, when my class visited an old schoolhouse museum in North York. I remember dressing up, and walking with my class to the schoolhouse. We did lessons on small chalk slates, after we played with wooden toys during our break. The weather was gorgeous, my friends were happy, and the lessons were interesting; it was the most perfect day. When we had to walk back to our real school after lunch, I was devastated, as the day seemed far too short. To me, this was the best field trip, which I will never forget. The interesting aspect about this memory is not the enjoyment, but what happened afterwards. I recently found out I threw up immediately upon returning to my elementary school. According to my mother, I got sick during the day, and she had to come pick me up before we got dismissed by the bell. I have absolutely no recollection of this turning point of my favorite trip, no memory of sickness that same day. I can confidently say if this happened to me today, the key memory would be my sickness, the embarrassment of vomiting in school and being forced to leave early. However, as a child, my mistakes were completely irrelevant and forgettable. I cared only about new experiences and enjoyment, and so almost all recollections from my childhood bring warmth and laughter. I believe this positivity is founded from the wonder which is engraved in every child. Everything is new and exciting, whether that be a schoolhouse, a toy, or a person. Our stress is insignificant, limited to external attention and learning to share. New foods taste bolder, new songs sound louder, and new places seem brighter than they do currently. Sometime while growing up, the perfection of childhood transitions to the melancholy of adulthood. This can be mostly attributed to daily burdens. As we grow older, our sense of responsibility increases, replacing childlike wonder with adult anxiety. Things which were once interesting are now insignificant, everyday experiences duller, and routines formed by necessity instead of enjoyment. When everyday is planned due to efficiency and responsibility, it feels impossible to incorporate the creativity and open mindset which was so abundant just a few years prior. Although balancing this wonder with responsibility may be difficult, I believe it is far from impossible. One way to relive this nostalgia is through choosing old favorites. Whether that be listening to an old album, binge watching a classic TV show, or eating a childhood food, these relived moments come with a forgotten sense of peace. To me, this could mean playing Just Dance, eating chocolate pretzels, drawing new characters, or reading a book in the Geronimo Stilton series. Each individual will have different nostalgic choices, which makes it even more special. Achieving the joy of childhood is just one step away, and it doesn’t require the disregard of any aspects of the current routine. Instead, it simply involves the addition of nostalgia in everyday life. The next time you’re feeling stressed, listen to your favorite band from your youth, or eat food you were obsessed with in the past. Engage in new experiences to surprise yourself, and recreate favorite memories. Regardless of your age, these simple actions will bring back the joy and wonder which disappeared after youth. This may not remove all the negative of current responsibilities, however it may bring back an emotion long lost.

A Candid Conversation

A Candid Conversation By Theresa Grant Real Estate Columnist A Candid Conversation By Theresa Grant Real Estate We have always had three markets when it comes to real estate in Canada. The buyers’ market, the sellers’ market and a balanced market. Awhile back, I coined a new term for the market we seem to be in. The Trump market. What exactly is the Trump market you ask? Well, it’s a market where the interest rates have really come down nicely considering where they were a year ago, house prices are down 22% from their peek during Covid-19, in fact some absolutely stunning homes that would normally be on offer for well over a million dollars are now being offered well below a million dollars. It’s truly astonishing to see what some of the more palatial mansions of old Oshawa are going for in this market. Why is this the case? In a word, tariffs. Donald Trump’s Tariffs have cast a cloud of fear over Canadian workers to the point that those who were thinking about buying when the interest rates dropped, seem to have completely abandoned the idea. So, while we would have called this a buyers’ market a few years ago. There is definitely something that keeps the buyers from buying. That is the underlying fear of losing their jobs in this very uncertain time. I have heard many stories over the years of people who signed the mortgage papers one day and were laid off or let go the next. Nerve wracking times to be sure. Some real estate agents are reporting zero traffic through their open houses on weekends. That in and of itself screams volumes because even when you’re not necessarily looking to purchase immediately, it’s always been something that people who are intending to purchase at some point enjoy doing. They get out and look. The news is full of reports that housing starts have collapsed, prices are down, the volume of sales is down. Interest rates will continue their downward trend over the next year, but will that make any difference whatsoever? It will help the homeowner who is renewing their mortgage next year, but it will not do much to convince the would-be homeowner that the water is fine and to jump on in. I will admit I have never seen a market like the one we are currently experiencing. That being said, the observance of human nature never disappoints. I find it truly fascinating to see how people behave in different environments, and this is no exception. One thing that stays with me and has since I was a child is a saying that my uncle had. He always used to say, “this too shall pass”. I have brought that to mind many times over the years and firmly believe that it is something we can take comfort in when things are uncertain.

ANOTHER LOOK AT THE NEED TO ELIMINATE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL BOARDS ALTOGETHER

ANOTHER LOOK AT THE NEED TO ELIMINATE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL BOARDS ALTOGETHER LAST WEEK IN THIS SPACE I said Ontario’s individual school boards are basically out of control and that it’s long-past time to eliminate them altogether. If I needed any reassurance that I was right about that, it came by way of a few social media responses to my column. One person I’ll refer to as Jenn had this to say, “Just like the Ministry of Education and its Minister, you have no idea what goes on in a public school or in the realm of public education. I welcome you to spend a week in my school.” Aside from the unlikely prospect of gaining entry to her classroom, I responded by saying the issues I highlighted are in fact, mere ‘drops in the bucket’ as to what's been going on in the current system of school administration. When I suggested that she offer up at least some form of defense as to the examples I chose – those I still believe to be the most indicative of a radical agenda – she doubled down on rhetoric without specifics, suggesting “The system is broken, and it starts with the Ministry.” I see. So, instead of sharing with me the potential benefits of local school boards focusing more on race and gender politics than on basic education like reading, writing, and arithmetic, her finger points directly to the very Education Ministry that is attempting to make some sense of it all. I get the fact that an educator with over two decades of experience will likely feel caught in a trap. If they try to defend what many see as entirely indefensible, they’ll be seen as radicals. At the same time, should they publicly oppose the mandate set by what I’ll call Marxist educators, their likely chance of promotion within a ‘broken system’ will be almost non-existent. Getting back to the social media responses, a fellow I’ll call Jeffery told me, in his infinite wisdom, that my position on the issue was “moronic”. Well, with that kind of diction, surely Jeffery possesses a unique member ID which he now uses to access all the benefits and resources of the Toastmasters Club. Way to go, little man. One person, who preferred to remain cowardly – that is to say ‘anonymous’ on Facebook, actually had the comical fortitude to suggest I was somehow in a homosexual relationship after having read my column. I hope that wasn’t a subtle invitation, whoever you are. I’m seriously not interested. As to being serious, I can tell my readers with certainty that my references in last week’s column undoubtedly form the basis of a collective attack on our local student population. The reasons for that are the controversial policies established by the Durham District School Board that have focused on so-called human rights issues related to gender identity, race, and the content of school libraries. All of which has ignited a fierce public debate as well as protests from concerned parents, and rightly so. What is happening in the debate over whether the classroom is the proper place for discussions about race and gender identification is that school boards are now tossing around references to the Canadian Human Rights Code as a means to do two things – justify teaching children about very sensitive issues that have noting whatever to do with a well-rounded education, and to basically get away with literally forcing a radical social agenda onto students without parental consent. Here’s just one example. In 2023, then-chair of the Durham District School Board, Donna Edwards, stopped a meeting twice during a question period that had quickly grown heated over concerns about gender identity, the appropriateness of school reading materials, and so-called discrimination issues. Her comments to concerned parents wishing to express their views were less than inspiring. “We do welcome and value diverse community perspectives and questions, we appreciate that these can help support our learning and shape different ways of thinking, however; questions, interactions and discussions within our classrooms, schools, workplace and boardroom must be respectful and free of discrimination. Questions or comments that erase or demean identities protected under the Canadian Human Rights Code or that perpetuate stereotypes, discrimination or assumptions are not acceptable.” Remarks such as those appear manifestly arranged to cast the shadow of a legal noose over the heads of anyone who dares to exercise their own rights of free speech – something too many Boards appear to have little time for, unless it be to support their own social and political agenda. At the same meeting, things again became heated when trustees were questioned on the appropriateness of school reading materials, specifically the graphic novel “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, which includes a sexually explicit illustration. A question that was submitted for the purposes of discussion was ultimately censored by the Board to remove the term “pornographic illustrations.” In answer to the question, a senior administrator advised those concerned that the book had been reviewed by the board following a complaint from a parent during the previous school year – and that a review committee made up of educators, administration, superintendents and students found the novel aligned with the board’s “education policy”. There’s the rub. Is it acceptable School Board policy to potentially institutionalize a form of disrespect toward parental rights? How about the consequences of overstepping legal boundaries by acting in a manner more suited to a court of law when providing self-serving interpretations used to counter any opposition? It is widely observed and frequently reported in local media that there are low levels of public awareness and engagement regarding School Board elections and candidates. This is a recognized challenge, with several factors contributing to the issue. School Board elections are held concurrently with Municipal elections every four years, and historically, they tend to have significantly lower voter turnout compared to other levels of government. That shows a clear and dangerous lack of engagement. Voters often report difficulty finding information about individual candidates, their platforms, and the specific role and responsibilities of a school board trustee. One of the more intelligent social media comments I received came from someone named Jake, who had this to say: “…this proposal by the Ontario government is a bid to centralize power, so how would you feel if the (NDP) were removing trustees and appointing supervisors? Because the provincial Conservatives will not be in power forever, but this Bill will still be law whenever they're gone.” Good point, and my reply must focus on what I see as the need for consistency throughout the province. Regardless of which political party holds the reins of power, it would be a far better thing to have a single entity – not only responsible for setting policies, but to be accountable to the public. The days of individual domains controlled by radical School Boards must be brought to an end. Quickly.

STOP NEGOTIATING

STOP NEGOTIATING By Joe Ingino BA. Psychology Editor/Publisher Central Newspapers ACCOMPLISHED WRITER/AUTHOR OF OVER 800,000 Published Columns in Canada and The United States This week the International headlines read: Trump announces 10 per cent tariff increase on Canadian goods U.S. President Donald Trump says he is raising tariffs on Canadian goods by 10 per cent, after accusing Canada of airing what he called a “fraudulent” advertisement that misrepresented former president Ronald Reagan’s stance on tariffs. In a post published on Truth Social at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Trump wrote, “I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.” Trump’s post cited his frustration over an advertisement produced by the Ontario government that used clips of Reagan warning about the dangers of protectionism and praising free trade. “Canada was caught, red handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement on Ronald Reagan’s Speech on Tariffs,” he wrote. People, people, people. Am I the only one that sees this? Our so called leaders are playing right in to Trumps strategy. If I was Prime Minister. I would not negotiate a thing. Let Trump have his Tariff. Let’s regroup Canada and not worry about the American power trip. As it stand our markets look good to Americans due to the currency exchange. The more we seem desperate to negotiate the harder he presses. Ford has no business getting in the middle of an International economic threat. Trump is way smarter than any of our so called leaders. He knows he can do anything he wants.... so he sets people up. Let’s take this scenario. Trump will impost Tariffs on Canada. Do we really benefit from the fight back? Has it been working so far? NO. It’s a fight you can’t win and eventually will put you at a bigger disadvantage. People are quick to blame job loss to tariffs. Bull. The problem with job losses is poor management and greedy corporate bulls in board rooms. COVID.... The Chinese, Russia, Trump. There is always an excuse for corporations to look for ways to shift corporate interest in the name of making billions. Look at GM. I have been calling it for your the past 20 years. No one believed me. Remember not to long ago. The automakers cried wolf that they would be pulling out and the billions they took in aid? As a nation we need to stop being so gullable and so ignorant of the writings on the wall when it comes to our economy. Remember not to far away... when car companies turned to the Canadian government for assistance in the fear of bankruptcy? The Canadian government once again negotiated with the car automakers and the Canadian taxpayer lost big time... as the money that was to go to Canada to keep jobs ended up paying for new plants all over the world. I say to our Prime Minister... Stop being a fool to Trump. Let him do his thing and you do yours. Canadians are suffering... on our streets. Focus on that first.

Tariffs and TV Ads Won’t Heal Our Hospitals: Ontario’s Misguided Priorities

Tariffs and TV Ads Won’t Heal Our Hospitals: Ontario’s Misguided Priorities by Maj (ret’d) CORNELIU, CHISU, CD, PMSC FEC, CET, P.Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East As Ontario devotes $75 million to a cross-border advertising campaign and faces punishing U.S. tariffs of 35 – 45 percent on Canadian exports, the fallout is being felt not just in factories but also in hospitals. The trade war threatens to drain over $1 billion annually from the province’s health-care system through lost revenues and higher costs for medical supplies. Instead of funding more nurses, beds, and diagnostics, Ontario’s leadership is spending on political optics while patients wait longer for care. Canada’s true deficit is not in trade—it is in health. Ontario’s paradox of priorities Ontario’s health-care budget now exceeds C$80 billion, roughly half of total provincial expenditures. Despite this enormous investment, hospitals remain overcrowded, rural clinics understaffed, and emergency rooms frequently forced to close because of personnel shortages. In 2025, the provincial government launched a C$75 million U.S. advertising campaign—complete with clips from Ronald Reagan’s 1987 radio address against tariffs—to defend Ontario’s manufacturing base and appeal to American public opinion. The gambit backfired. The Trump administration retaliated by imposing a 35 percent tariff on Canadian exports, which rise to 45 percent on certain goods not meeting “America First” domestic-content rules. Ontario, whose prosperity relies on cross-border trade in autos, steel, machinery, and pharmaceuticals, is hit hardest. The economic shock is now rippling into the very heart of public services. The indirect hit to health care Although the tariffs target export industries, their secondary effects—lost revenue, weakened growth, and supply-chain disruption—land squarely on the health-care system. 1. Revenue loss and slower growth: Ontario exports about C$200 billion a year to the United States. Even if only 10 percent of that total (C$20 billion) faces the 35–45 percent penalty, the province stands to lose C$7–9 billion in trade value annually. Lower profits mean smaller corporate and payroll-tax intakes, cutting provincial revenues by an estimated C$500–700 million each year—funds that otherwise would finance hospitals, long-term care, and medical infrastructure. 2. Rising costs for imported health goods: While the tariffs are levied on Canadian exports, the ensuing retaliation and logistical friction drive up import costs as well. Ontario’s hospitals depend heavily on medical technology, diagnostic equipment, and pharmaceuticals that originate in or pass through U.S. supply chains. Border delays, insurance surcharges, and counter-tariffs could inflate procurement costs by 8–10 percent. Given an annual operating budget near C$60 billion, even a modest 1 percent price increase translates to C$600 million in extra spending—money siphoned from patient care to cover higher bills for essential supplies. 3. Cumulative impact: Combining revenue losses and cost inflation yields a C$1.1–1.3 billion annual burden on Ontario’s health system. That sum could otherwise finance 1,200 to 2,400 new hospital or critical-care beds, pay yearly salaries for 7,000 registered nurses, purchase 150 MRI or CT scanners, or fund comprehensive home-care programs for 250,000 Ontarians. Instead, these resources are evaporating through a trade conflict that delivers neither economic stability nor better public health. Meanwhile, patients wait Across Canada, the median wait to see a specialist is 78 days, and one in four patients waits 175 days or longer. Ontario faces some of the worst backlogs for elective surgery among G7 countries. In northern communities, doctor shortages persist; in urban centres, ambulance off-load delays have become routine. It is difficult to justify multimillion-dollar ad buys in U.S. media markets while emergency rooms at home struggle to find enough nurses to stay open overnight. Political messaging has taken precedence over measurable service improvement. Eroding equity and the social contract Universal health care remains Canada’s proudest social covenant: access based on need, not wealth or geography. Yet that covenant is eroding under fiscal and logistical strain. When a government invests C$75 million in political advertising that provokes tariffs costing the treasury more than ten times that amount, while hospital budgets strain to maintain basic services, something fundamental has gone wrong. The result is a quiet inequity—urban hospitals absorbing shocks while smaller communities fall further behind. Every dollar spent on public relations warfare is a dollar not spent on the front lines of care. Why Ontario—and Canada—are falling behind • Fragmentation: Provinces administer health care independently, creating duplication, uneven standards, and limited data sharing. • Capacity constraints: Canada maintains fewer hospital beds and diagnostic units per capita than most OECD peers. • Under-investment in prevention: Only about 5 percent of total health spending goes to primary and community care, compared with 8 percent elsewhere. • Workforce exhaustion: Chronic shortages and overtime have driven thousands of nurses to the private or U.S. sectors. • Policy distraction: Trade wars and industrial headlines dominate the agenda, while systemic reform languishes. A road map for renewal 1. Re-centre priorities. Treat health care as national infrastructure, not a secondary political cost. 2. Set measurable national standards. Enforce maximum wait-time targets, minimum bed ratios, and rural-access guarantees. 3. Invest upstream. Strengthen family-health teams, community clinics, and preventive programs to reduce hospital demand. 4. Ensure transparency. Publish all government communication and trade-response expenditures beside health-care investments. 5. Coordinate federally and provincially. Align transfer payments and performance targets to ensure accountability for every public dollar. The lesson Ontario’s C$75 million advertising campaign and the ensuing U.S. tariff escalation to 45 percent reveal a profound misalignment of priorities. Political optics displaced policy substance—and patients are paying the price. If even a fraction of the money and lost revenue tied up in this trade confrontation were redirected to front-line care, Ontario could shorten surgical waits, expand capacity, and restore public confidence in universal health care. Canada’s hospitals do not need patriotic slogans broadcast across American airwaves. They need stable funding, long-term planning, and leadership focused on the well-being of Canadians. Canada does not need future aggravation by unnecessarily antagonizing an unpredictable president already primed for tariff battle. Ontario’s misguided ad, at great taxpayer expense, will put a serious spike in Canada’s future tariff negotiations and can be perceived as direct political interference in US domestic affairs. What do you think?

A Candid Conversation

A Candid Conversation By Theresa Grant Real Estate Columnist Without question, it is a very different world today than the one I grew up in. I remember being a child living in what was then called uptown, it was actually the Yonge and Eglinton area of Toronto. It was a very modest upbringing. My parents worked hard to give their three daughters what they could. We all helped around the house, took turns doing the dishes and things to help our mom. We were respectful and obeyed the rules set out by our parents. We had one bathroom, one television and therefore had to agree on what to watch. Our parents set out most of the viewing schedule and I remember the whole family sitting around the living room watching Carol Burnett, The Waltons and many other entertaining programs. We as children didn’t use the phone much,we waited for someone to come knocking on the door to see if we wanted to play or we went door knocking ourselves. It was simple, stay close, come home as soon as the streetlights came on. At the time, we could not have imagined it being any different than it was. Progress to us (and to our delight), was returning to school in September to find a new piece of equipment added to the playground. For the many that grew up as I did in the sixties and seventies it is very hard to fathom what is going on with our youth today. Years ago, we thought that older people were looking to recruit the younger ones for their crimes and misdemeanors by telling them that they could not get into any serious trouble due to the young offender’s act.It would often be the case that a couple or a few named young adults would be arrested and we would see on the news that there was a young offender involved who could not be named. It seems that that is not even the case anymore. We see on the news on a regular basis, children as young as eleven and twelveare involved in horrific crimes and there are no older adults involved. Which begs the question, what the hell is going on with our youth?Where are the parents is one of the biggest questions that I hear posed when these stories hit the news. What is going on in homes across our region that would make these children think that it is okay to go out and commit the crimes they do? The most recent that comes to mind is the smash and grab at the Oshawa Centre involving a group of boys aged from 13-19. Then there are the 8 kids involved in the armed robbery of another youth on William Lott Dr. in North Oshawa. Here we had12-, 13-, and 15-year-old girls and boys. Back in the summer there was the swarming of a Pizza worker in south Oshawa that involved an 11-year-old boy and 3 girls aged 13,14, and 15. Most heinous of recent youth criminal acts is the elderly woman killed in frontof her home in Pickering by a 14-year-old boy in an absolutely unprovoked attack. Something needs to change. Now. People need to speak up.

Canada’s Fall Budget 2025: Between Bold Promises and Fiscal Reckoning

Canada’s Fall Budget 2025: Between Bold Promises and Fiscal Reckoning by Maj (ret’d) CORNELIU, CHISU, CD, PMSC FEC, CET, P.Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East On November 4, Prime Minister Mark Carney will table his government’s first budget since assuming office. Canadians should be aware that this will not be a routine fiscal update. This budget will be nothing less than a test of credibility; a balancing act between urgent promises and the cold arithmetic of national finances. For years, Ottawa has grown accustomed to deficit financing as a political safety valve. Every government since the pandemic has justified red ink with appeals to crisis. However, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) has found that the federal budget deficit will grow beyond previous projections. The total of just over $132 billion between 2025 and 2028 projected in Budget 2024 has escalated to the nearly $255 billion now projected for those years. Moreover, the debt-to-GDP ratio — the Liberals’ so-called “fiscal anchor” — is no longer guaranteed to decline. Much of this is driven by a considerable decline in federal tax revenues due to the personal income tax cut and other measures, as well as even larger increases in federal program spending. Total operating spending alone (excluding many federal transfers) is projected to be more than $10 billion per year higher than previously anticipated. Adding unannounced measures back into the PBO estimates will make cumulative deficits over the next four years exceed $360 billion—almost three times the amount last year’s budget anticipated. Even more concerning is the fact that federal debt is set to grow at a faster rate than the economy. In recent testimony to a parliamentary committee, the PBO noted that this was the first time in 30 years he had seen a projection where this key measure of fiscal sustainability continued to rise over time. Simply put, federal finances are at a precipice. This should trouble Canadians. Debt is not abstract. It is a mortgage on future taxpayers; a quiet siphon on every program we prize. The more Ottawa borrows, the more billions they sink into debt servicing, leaving less for housing, health care, or pensions. To govern as if fiscal gravity does not exist is reckless, and Prime Minister Carney knows it. Nowhere are expectations higher than in housing. For years, governments of all stripes have promised affordability but delivered little relief. Prime Minister Carney has already unveiled the Build Canada Homes initiative, a sprawling plan to accelerate construction. In this budget, the Liberals are expected to sweeten the pot with tax credits, subsidies, and incentives to coax builders and pension funds into action. However, here lies the contradiction: pouring billions into subsidies without tackling municipal bottlenecks, zoning gridlock, or labour shortages risks throwing money into a void. Canadians want roofs, not rhetoric. Unless Ottawa coordinates with provinces and cities to streamline approvals and mobilize labour, the housing crisis will remain a slow-burn national scandal. Also, beyond our borders, allies are losing patience. NATO’s 2 % of GDP target is no longer aspirational; it is a demand. The liberal government is poised to announce significant defence spending increases — new equipment, recruitment campaigns, and modernization of our aging forces. Canadians seems to be split on this. Many resent the idea of billions for tanks and jets while mortgages crush families. Yet the reality of a turbulent world — Russia’s ambitions, China’s assertiveness, American unpredictability — leaves Ottawa with little choice. Defence spending is not charity; it is insurance. Ignoring it only postpones and increases the bill. Whispers of a GST hike hang over this budget like a storm cloud. No government relishes raising taxes, but arithmetic is unforgiving. With deficits swelling, revenue must come from somewhere. Closing corporate loopholes, trimming boutique tax credits, and modestly raising consumption taxes are all on the table. Opponents will howl, but consider this: Canadians already pay the price of deficits, not in taxes today but in higher borrowing costs. A transparent, modest tax increase coupled with serious spending reform would be more honest than endless borrowing masked as generosity. Pre-budget consultations have revealed widespread anxiety about affordability. Groceries, rents, and energy bills are draining households. The government will likely respond with targeted relief measures — perhaps expanded child benefits or new credits for low-income families. These are politically irresistible, but they raise uncomfortable questions: how many more patchwork programs can Canada afford? And do such measures solve the underlying problems — productivity stagnation, weak wages, and supply shortages — or merely mute the symptoms for another year? For decades, Canada has lagged in productivity growth. Our economy too often relies on debt-fuelled consumption rather than investment. Prime Minister Carney, a former central banker with global gravitas, knows this better than anyone does. Yet productivity is the unsexy word missing from political stump speeches. If this budget does not deliver bold measures — from R&D incentives to trade diversification beyond the United States — then Canada will continue its slide toward mediocrity. Housing relief may win headlines; productivity reform would win the future. All of this unfolds under the shadow of minority politics. The Liberals must craft a budget palatable not only to their base but also to opposition parties whose votes are essential for passage. That means sprinkling in enough social supports to appease the New Democrats, while avoiding measures so fiscally reckless that Conservatives can paint the government as irresponsible. Budgets in minority Parliaments are less about economics than about survival. Yet survivalism cannot be Canada’s economic plan. Ultimately, the Fall Budget 2025 is a referendum on credibility. Can the Liberals admit that fiscal resources are finite? Can they deliver tangible progress on housing without throwing money into bureaucratic black holes? Can they prepare Canada for geopolitical storms while safeguarding households at home? Prime Minister Mark Carney’s reputation as a disciplined, globally respected technocrat will be on the line. If he bends to the temptation of pleasing everyone, the result will be a document that satisfies no one and deepens the deficit hole. If he seizes the moment with a clear, tough-minded plan — pairing targeted investments with genuine spending reform and honest revenue measures — he could reset Canada’s trajectory. This upcoming budget is not simply about numbers. It is about the social contract between Canadians and their government. Do we believe Ottawa can make hard choices, or only easy promises? Do we measure success by the billions spent, or by results delivered? Come November 4, Canadians will hear more than a speech. They will hear whether their government has the courage to level with them, or whether it will continue the comfortable illusion that Ottawa can spend without consequence. The country deserves better than illusions.

PULLING TEETH…

PULLING TEETH... By Wayne and Tamara I am employed by a dentist who is a specialist. He has a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality. For the most part the staff has learned to deal with this, but not accept it. The rest of the staff has been with him for years, as have I. Our boss is generous in many ways, but his behavior often leaves us wondering if it is all worth it. We are told to take an unpaid hour off for lunch, yet we are expected to pick up the phone and deal with his interruptions. The company he hired to do payroll handed us an office manual with the intended rules, yet it states they can change the rules at any time because he is an “at will” employer. I checked with a state agency and they agree. Everyone in the office is grateful to be employed, but at the same time we are frustrated by the lack of respect we receive from him and by the overall standards that apply to “at will” employees. When we try to talk to him on issues, we are reminded of our place in this office with a you-can-move-on-if-you-want reply. He knows that is not possible for most of us. What I’m looking for is guidance from someone at how to approach an unequal situation. Tabitha Tabitha, the great unspoken topic in psychology is dominance. People resist even bringing up the subject. What people are more than willing to talk about is communication skills. There the core idea is: I believe this, you believe that, and I can get you to change your actions through some words. It is all misdirection. If there were a simple way to make your boss agree with what you are saying, then you could, for example, make anyone come to your religion. All you would have to do is figure out the right words to say, and they would accept your way of thinking. Words don’t determine behavior, power does. In most situations, one person or group has power. What they say goes. People love to explain behavior in ethical, economic or social terms, but behavior most often comes down to a simple matter of power. The easiest representation of power is dollars. I have so many dollars, so I can send my kids to the best schools. You cannot. I can buy lobbyists and influence. You cannot. Rightly or wrongly, your boss has a sense of entitlement in the workplace. His people are telling him the legal minimum requirements he has to meet, and that is where he is drawing the line. Someone like you, in a subordinate position, can make inroads only by being creative. In a weak position, you must act like a martial artist. You can step to one side or use your opponent’s leverage against him, but a direct counterattack will not work. As a staff, find ways to minimize the lunch interruptions. On Monday one person might handle the phones; on Tuesday someone else. If one of you is disturbed at lunchtime, then find ways to lessen that day’s burden on her. Supporting and caring for one another will lessen the stress of the job. Since your boss has a generous side, try assaulting him with kindness. That often defuses people who are carrying an emotional load they cannot discharge. Even small actions, like bringing a plant to the office or voting for candidates who support your view of employee rights, will make you feel better. Some people reading your letter would count you lucky to be working in an educated, safe, clean environment. Many people work in dangerous environments for little pay. But what it comes down to is this. You know where your boss sits, you know where the law sits, now look for the parries and countermoves which work for you and the rest of the staff. Wayne & Tamara