Sometimes the greatness of a human being is recognized in the humility of the man. Bob Lidkea practised humility all his life. He became the oldest practicing Optometrist in Canada in his 90th year and was proud of his achievement of treating so many district patients. For almost 60 years […]
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
First came the heat warnings on Friday. Then came the tornado warnings. We’ve had more than one tornado warning this year, and we kept our eye on the sky. In the late afternoon, my phone started alerting me to lightning strikes in the district followed by tornado beeping. We tracked […]
Saturday evening, we were treated to Texas Barbecue by Heather and Gord Kitzul. It was a wonderful meal and the conversation and reminiscing among our island neighbours was wonderful. Over the course of the evening, we began discussing the various meals we have been served, not only in the district […]
I woke up early Monday morning shortly after the late evening storm had passed through. We are at the cabin and had watched the white and red pines twirl in the strong breezes. I went outside and looked at the stars. The sky was clear of any clouds and the […]
I am sitting in the sunroom of our cabin. It is overcast this morning. The lake is still. I was awakened shortly before six this morning as two red squirrels were having an argument on a tree outside our bedroom window. It was a very noisy quarrel. There is something […]
Mark Carney, when he was running to form the government of Canada, let everyone know that he was going to act quickly and deliberately on making Canada an economic powerhouse. The Carney government is acting with urgency. He brought the premier’s together and received a list of major infrastructure projects […]
When you can’t trust your biggest trading partner, and the whole world is in turmoil, perhaps we should be listening to Mark Carney, our prime minister and leader, and Minister Melanie Joly, who on May 28 commented that Canada should adopt a “wartime philosophy.” Donald Trump united Canadians with his […]
Tuesday was throne speech day. It had historical meaning as King Charles III delivered the speech in the Senate Chamber. The last time it was delivered by a reigning monarch was 1977 when his mother Queen Elizabeth addressed parliament. Having King Charles deliver the throne speech clearly reinforced our heritage […]
We have lived through a Quebec referendum to separate from Canada. The Bloc Quebecois that sits in Ottawa main purpose is to play the role of a spoiled child seeking every advantage over its siblings. It hangs the threat of another separation attempt. Alberta following the last election when its […]
This past weekend the cabin was opened for the season. For two weeks, almost daily trips over the Causeway, we watched as the ice receded from the shores and then turned black. My sister and her husband navigated through ice on Friday to reach Turtle Island. It was not the […]
One of the things that we heard on Monday evening was that Prime Minister Mark Carney clearly stated that he would work for all Canadians. The two previous prime ministers made similar promises to Canadians but failed to live up to their promise. We will have to judge Mark Carney […]
The City of Toronto wants to make itself more beautiful and neighbourhoods healthier. The City of Calgary will give away five thousand trees this year to be planted on people’s property to enhance the canopy of the city. The city of Winnipeg is progressing through consultation and planning to improve […]






