I stood proudly on the pool deck of the Canada Games Complex as the words to “O Canada” reverberated around the stands. It was the second of three nights of finals swimming as part of an international invitational swim meet. The Stars and Stripes began the evening celebration, but I […]
Jim Cumming – From the Publisher Emeritus’ Pen
Jim is the former publisher of the Fort Frances Times Ltd. He writes a weekly column and can be contacted at jcumming@fortfrances.com
At my coffee discussion group the other day, we began discussing some of the barriers that patients in Northwestern Ontario face when medical procedures take place out of province. Rather than having some tests such as CT scans, MRIs and echocardiograms performed in our communities, we are often required to […]
I have been paying attention to the discussions around artificial intelligence (AI). It has taken me all the way back to 1971, when the Fort Frances Times began producing the newspaper electronically. It wasn’t a full-page layout, but it was the start of using computers. The newspaper had purchased a […]
Did we just miss spring? I wonder as our timing of seasons continues to change. We still had snow and ice through the last weekend of April. For three weekends in May, the thermometer struggled to get into double digits. And last week we welcomed summer temperatures. They did not […]
Is the tail wagging the dog in Alberta? Separatists, led by Mitch Sylvestre, who believes that King Charles III has set out to assassinate him, have rallied 300,000 Albertans to sign a petition to secede from Canada over their grievances. (There are, of course, more than 700,000 Albertans who do […]
What does 24 Sussex Drive say about a country when its leader can’t live in the house that is designated for him? Stephen Harper was the last prime minister to occupy the official residence of the prime minister of Canada, and his successor, Justin Trudeau, refused to live in the […]
We are in a municipal election year. For eight years, we have had a caretaker government looking after Fort Frances. That is not a bad thing. But after eight years, it would be a welcome sign for a candidate to step forward with a dream of building something better for […]
My wife and I have been on the road for almost two weeks. When we departed, Rainy Lake was frozen solid, as were all the lakes from the Fort to Thunder Bay. The harbour in Thunder Bay was still frozen, as were bays across Lake Superior. Snowbanks in Wawa were […]
On Friday night at the Ontario Community Newspaper Awards Hall of Fame banquet, I listened intently to one of the recipients, who is also a Canadian Armed Forces historian. His message was that it was important for newspapers to be vigilant and to always get to the truth. He related […]
Today is “Earth Day.” The month of April is considered Earth Month, but on this day, we look to promote environmental protection and raise awareness about pollution and climate change. Since 1970, Earth Day has been celebrated on April 22 to promote environmental protection, raise awareness about pollution and climate […]
Our Maytag washer is on its last legs. Chris from C-Tech let us know on Friday that a part that needs replacing is no longer available and then made a minor adjustment letting us know that we might get as much as two years more use from it. The machine […]
Along with many developed nations, Canada is experiencing a falling birth rate, and that will affect the country’s future. It is not a new problem, but one that has been growing for more than half a century. If we examine our family histories, we see that in the last 100 […]
