It has warmed and we’ve opened our bedroom windows to let in fresh air. The birds begin singing as dawn begins before the sun rises. As the sun breaks the horizon, the birds songs lesson. The rumble of the trains through the night is now heard. The sounds of the […]
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
I find numbers fascinating. I enjoy Sudoku — puzzles which use single digits appearing in seemingly random order — until you understand the patterns. Last week, Stats Canada released the latest census numbers for all Canadian communities. At first look, there seemed to be nothing new in the Rainy River […]
From a distance we have been watching the weather in Fort Frances. To say the least, the past two weeks have been a trial for district residents with heavy wet snow loads, torrential rain and over the past weekend, flooding. We have missed those weather-related issues, but have experienced snow, […]
I listened with great earnestness as young people described the difficulties of beginning work in Toronto. I was particularly caught by the experiences of a newly graduated nurse attempting to work in downtown Toronto hospital and exist on a first-year nurses salary. She lived in a single room apartment with […]
In Thursday’s Federal budget, everything sounded good. Chrystia Freeland, the Minister of Finance managed to say all the right things. The initiatives that Jagmeet Singh saw wish list of the New Democrat Party present themselves front and centre. The first item on the agenda was mobilizing the government to make […]
“The triumphs of peace have been in some proximity to war.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson”. The current Russian-Ukraine war may provide new opportunities for Canada’s oil and gas industries to consider. Peter McKay in a recent column in the National Post proposed that the Port of Churchill could become a […]
I remember reading at the beginning of the 21st century that many of the jobs that were common in the year 2000 would mostly disappear within two decades replaced by whole new industries and job types. I scoffed at the idea. How could so many jobs that had been around […]
Recently there has been a great deal of discussion amongst council and the community. There appears to be some feeling that councillors who are over the age of fifty-five and are Caucasian, have no understanding about the needs and wants of other demographic groups in Fort Frances. The feeling is […]
“If you talk the talk, you must walk the walk.” But in Canada, our politicians have a history of shortchanging the military and claiming that defence spending is growing. President Trump tried to embarrass Justin Trudeau into spending 2 per cent of GDP to meet Canada’s commitment to NATO. It […]
As I listen to television newscasts trying to understand the war in Ukraine, I am amazed at the exodus of over 1.5 million women, children and the elderly fleeing to Poland and other neighbouring friendly countries who have opened their borders. I am humbled by citizens who are taking those […]
One often wonders what makes a great leader. What makes a person stand out and gain the support and following of not hundreds but millions of people. Today we are witnessing just such a leader. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a school trained lawyer, actor, comedian and now president of Ukraine is an […]
I have mixed feelings about the “Emergencies Act” that was implemented last week. It has several provisions within the act that nullify sections of Canada’s “Charter of Rights and Freedom” and the “Canadian Bill of Rights.” By invoking the “Emergencies Act” on February 14, the government has argued that the […]
