What Matters To You – Weekly Column

Remembrance Day 2022 The Speaker of the House held a Remembrance Day service in the Legislature at the rotunda the first week of November, and my schedule allowed me to attend. The transition from fall to winter is always bittersweet this time of year. How similar it is when we remember our fallen soldiers. Our country is young, but we...

It’s that time of year again: the leaves have turned color (let’s hope they cling to their respective branches as long as possible)! Most of the garden is out, the majority of the crops are off, and the kids have probably brought home a cold or flu bug to share with the rest of the family lovingly. Like many, I’m...

It’s easy to get lost in all the negativity and bad news that is floating around these days. Heck, in my role as the MLA it’s difficult for me to not to absorb and carry the weight of my constituent’s troubles as my own. In these days of instant communication, social media, and 24-hour access to it all, the bad...

Canada Day is defined by Wikipedia as: ‘the anniversary of only one important national milestone on the way to the country's full sovereignty, namely the joining on July 1, 1867, of the colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a wider British federation of four provinces (the colony of Canada being divided into the provinces of Ontario and Quebec upon Confederation). Canada became a "kingdom in...

We think we live in a “Free” country; I’ve heard it said often.  I’ve said it myself in the past, heck our provincial motto is “Strong and Free”, and our national anthem has a famous line we all know: “The True North, Strong and Free”. Over the last few years, however, I have developed some very real concerns over the...

I was told several times by folks who have been in politics for longer than I have that during election periods it’s often called “The Silly Season”.  Having been through one election cycle in 2019, I got a small glimpse of what they meant, but this year: WOW.  I get it now in full detail.  With all of the restrictions...

Early in my career, I was told by a Senior Project Manager by the name of Keith Hanson that the two most important words in any language were a person’s first and last name. Pronounce them correctly, spell them correctly and remember them. He also had another mantra that he drilled into me which was the Economy of Words.  Seems...

I find that too often we all get trapped into our own world, challenges, problems, and at times things that can absolutely seem overwhelming.  Sometimes when we end up in that inward reflection, we don’t see the impact we may be having on others around us, or how much they may need to be able to talk with us.  I...

Like many families over the last couple of years we have had to change our normal routines, and this spring, I for one am very happy to be able to return to some semblance of normal.  The trend lines are all heading the right way, and the last push to remove the remaining restrictions will be right around the corner. ...

I heard a kitten meowing in a brush pile that my father was about to light on fire, and I stopped him.  The kitten belonged to the neighbours up the road. I saved that little cat. My dad and I took him back to his home, and that was how I met Mr. Andrew and Mrs. Marry Kapustinski. The couple...