Broken
There was a day not so long ago when young, ambitious people fled unaffordable cities to communities like this one in search of opportunity—and an affordable future. One in which they could expand their skills, climb the economic ladder and build a family. Over the past two decades, however, Prince Edward County has closed this […]
Now
It is a critical year for County council. One that will surely define its four-year term. But more crucially, the choices council makes or declines to make this year will have a profound and lasting impact on those who live on the margins in Prince Edward County. Council will be called upon to reshape local […]
Lump of coal
In this my last column of 2019, I am once again making the case for a waterworks commission in Prince Edward County. I declare this thesis upfront so as to wave off anyone anticipating a cheerful holiday message, but also because I suspect my purpose won’t be clear for a few paragraphs into this unhappy […]
Blow it up
Tear it down and start again. The public education system is broken. It is unresponsive to the needs of our community, it disavows merit in the seminal duty of educating the next generation, and is unaccountable to students, parents and taxpayers. No amount of tweaking or adjustments will make it right again. Parents have no […]
Experience pays
County museums are once again being asked to demonstrate their value to taxpayers. As all municipal departments prepare 2020 budgets, guided by a council directive to find a 10 per cent reduction in operating costs, questions are again being asked regarding the long-term viability of managing and maintaining five museums across the County. Their fate […]
Opportunity
A fifth of Canadians today were born somewhere else. According to the 2016 Census, nearly 22 per cent of us have settled here having immigrated from another country. Not since a wave of immigration, aimed at settling the prairie provinces, at the turn of the last century, has the proportion of foreign-born residents been so […]
Fragile
How many times did you reach for the light switch on Friday, even though you knew there was no electricity flowing through the circuit? How often did you begin a task only to pull up short because it required electricity? An extended blackout on Friday across large swathes of the County served as a vivid […]
The space in between
Much of the post-election commentary has centred on the divide between Alberta and “the East”. Trial balloons have been floated suggesting Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi as Cabinet minister in Justin Trudeau’s new government. Other putative salves are being proffered to treat the perceived schism created between Alberta, sometimes Saskatchewan, and the rest of Canada. These […]
On the edge of relevance
Schools are community places. In the best circumstances, they are places that bring us together, whether we have kids attending or not. Sports. Music. Theatre. They are places that welcome folks in from the cold to walk the halls. They host giant pumpkin weighing competitions and other activities in the front yard. In turn, we […]
Masterful
Town hall meetings seem like a good idea—vox populi, democracy in person and all that—but rarely are they worthwhile experiences. At least, that has been my experience attending dozens of such complaint- driven gatherings over the better part of two decades. Like sidewalk sausage carts, the idea is immensely more attractive than the actual product. […]