Former premier Dalton McGuinty wanted to turn Ontario into a “green” energy province. He chose to close down coal-fired power plants and replace those electrical energy-producing operations with solar- and wind-powered energy. He turned the development of wind and solar energy to private enterprise. We know where that has taken […]
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
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has sharpened his spear in preparation for the coming fall election. He is working hard to convince the Canadian electorate that terrorists are lurking behind every tree and telephone pole in the country. He is worried that citizens in rural Canada live in fear and they […]
Last week, sitting idly in the train yard in Fort Frances, was a train made up entirely of tanker cars. It was only one of the 29 trains that pass through our community (and district) every day of the year. If you watch the trains from one of the level […]
If you could sit down and plan for a community, what would be your most important considerations? As we look to the future, the communities of Rainy River District have to deal with their histories and also with their futures. They do not have the luxury of beginning with a […]
When I travelled a fair bit, I always worried about doing so in November and March while going between Fort Frances and Toronto. The rest of the year was clear sailing. But fog and freezing rain seemed most problematic during those two months, and more than once resulted in delays […]
I will reach the age of 65 later this year. Shortly after my last birthday, the government sent me a notice to begin applying for my Canada Pension and Old Age Security. I wondered at the time if the government was trying to tell me something. In the last five […]
In our youngest grades, Valentine cards were really important. My Grade 1 teacher, Mrs. Benson, had a big decorated box that we all put our cards in and then on Valentine’s Day, she opened the box and, as a postman, would take the cards to each of her students. We […]
I walked out of the Canada Games Complex in Thunder Bay at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday—the last day of January—and it was still daylight. It was a distinct sign that there is light in the tunnel that winter is ending. On Monday morning, Punxsutawney Phil and Wiarton Willie were split […]
My wife likes to watch home renovation shows on HGTV. “Leave it to Bryan” is perhaps her favourite, although she does have sympathy for “Holmes on Homes” when large issues happen. We renovated our home some 35 years ago. Built in 1904, it had many issues. For instance, it had […]
Are we losing some of our common sense? I wonder when I see communities and the public in fear of offending or allowing some risk. Today, many of the things that I did growing up now are considered dangerous and should be banned. I must be lucky to have survived […]
Sometimes when you write a story, facts and figures conflict and may or may not be accurate. I take, for instance, information that was published in the Fort Frances Times on Nov. 5 when the minister of natural resources and forestry revealed that Expera had been offered more than 700,000 […]
Last August, forms from the federal government arrived in the mail for me to apply for my Canada pension and Old Age Security. They came as a shock since I really had not thought that I was “old.” To me, my mother and her friends were old—all having well passed […]
