March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month  — a time to recognize the contributions of people with developmental disabilities, challenge the stigmas that diminish their lives, and recommit to building communities where everyone truly belongs. It is a moment to celebrate. It is also a moment to be honest. Awareness, by itself, changes nothing. What changes things is accountability — the willingness to look clearly at the gap between what institutions say about inclusi

In the aftermath of tragedy, communities face a choice: gather in grief and seek understanding, or allow suffering to be hijacked for ideological warfare. When violence struck Tumbler Ridge, Clearwater Councillor Ken Matheson, a former RCMP officer who has witnessed firsthand the devastation when vulnerable people fall through society's cracks, delivered a message  that cuts through the noise. His words, shared by Mayor Merlin Blackwell, remind us what truly matters when live

Black History Month invites us to recognize the profound contributions Black Canadians have made to building this nation—contributions that stretch from the earliest days of settlement through to today's vibrant communities shaping our collective future. From Mathieu Da Costa, who served as an interpreter in the early 1600s, to the thousands who travelled the Underground Railroad seeking freedom, Black people have been integral to Canada's story from the beginning. Figures l

An Intriguing Mystery Hiding in Plain Sight I recently had the pleasure of seeing the play Glory   at our local theatre. It tells a story that should be impossible—yet it's true! Between 1933 and 1940, four women from Preston, Ontario dominated Canadian hockey with a record so extraordinary it seems almost fictional: 348 victories, 2 losses. Captain Hilda Ranscombe—later called "the Wayne Gretzky of women's hockey"—and Jewish sisters Marm and Helen Schmuck became national cel

SYNOPSIS: Trump's January 2026 Davos speech—featuring racist statements, threats against NATO allies over Greenland, and mockery of European leaders—exemplifies how presidential dehumanization creates "permission structures" that cascade through society. When the highest office models contempt, discrimination, and cruelty, it normalizes these behaviours at every level, from school boards to workplaces to communities. The essay documents the five-part playbook of destructive l

The Last Thing Any Community Needs The last thing any community needs is leadership that encourages a culture of contempt and condemnation. We're drowning in it - hatred spread effortlessly through social media and news feeds, amplified anonymously but also brazenly when people in positions of authority give permission. School trustees weaponizing governance to target vulnerable youth. Presidents hijacking tragedy for personal attacks. Faith leaders framing inclusion as threa

You know what kills me about Christmas? It’s supposedly about a guy whose core message was basically: be nice to each other.  And somehow we turned that into a full-blown production. Strip it all down—the theology, the traditions, the ornaments—and the message is embarrassingly simple: love people, don’t be a jerk, share your sandwich. Kindergarten-level ethics. Golden Rule stuff. That’s it. But apparently, simple makes us uncomfortable. “Just be kind? That’s the whole deal?

This headline recently caught my eye. Apparently, quite a few people do  care—including a surprising number of folks who occupy some of the highest offices in the land, where one might reasonably expect attention to be focused on, say, actual societal problems. In this refreshingly blunt opinion piece , author Mike Weisser argues that our collective obsession with other people's sexual orientation, gender identity, and race is fundamentally absurd. Drawing on personal experie

Theological Schadenfreude : When Faith Breeds Cruelty Ah, the sweet irony of watching institutions built on compassion accidentally become factories for sanctified smugness. It’s not a good look…especially for a moral authority. Picture this:  You've got a religion whose central marketing pitch is essentially "God is love, and we're His official representatives on Earth."  Solid brand identity. Great messaging. Unfortunately, somewhere between the mission statement and the fi

It all started with a simple question: Why are so many newcomers moving to St. John’s Newfoundland? I was intrigued to find out,...

The war on DEI will not garner many winners   The elimination of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and related...

I gotta say, I really had to scratch my head when I read about an American sixth-grade teacher who was told by her school administrators...

What might you do to help? This Saturday, May 17, the world will mark International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia, and...

The goal, in fact, is PIE everyone . Because there's no place for non-affirming institutions in our world. Yup, that ship has sailed. PIE...

In the spirit of survival-of-the-fittest, every-man-for-himself America, the Stable Genius has deemed that America would be greater by...

Today, is the National Day of Racial Healing  in the US, a day observed annually to promote truth, healing, and transformation in our...

In all this talk about identity politics, it’s getting hard to see the forest for the trees .  All the concern about 'wokeness' is more...

Research shows that social media posts that trigger emotions––especially anger at out-groups––are the most likely to be shared. Not...

Watching the Olympics always gives me that warm fuzzy feeling inside, seeing the world united in sport, enjoying a place where everyone...

I’m concerned about obstacles to human flourishing. I heard someone express this the other day and it hit home. It hit the nail on the...