From the House By John Rafferty Every so often a person or an event reminds us of something that is important, but not always top of mind. This week a person and an event reminded me that we need to abolish the unelected and unaccountable Senate. While the Senate was […]
Columnists
Just before Queen’s Park recessed for the summer, Bill 8, popularly known as Ontario One Call, passed third and final reading and received Royal Assent a few days later. Included in the bill was an amendment I successfully put forward that ensures many of the jobs that will come as […]
Over the last several months, I have had those niggling thoughts that “I am not as young as I used to be.” There has been nothing conclusive. There have been some signs. Another columnist in the paper tells you that age is only in the mind. My mind keeps telling […]
It’s something that has always been accused or rumoured to be taking place over the last few seasons. But over the past couple of days, the ever-increasing recruiting war between NCAA and CHL hockey teams, and the way that CHL teams are able to bring players to their clubs, has […]
This is always one of my favourite weeks of the year. The first week in July is significant because bass tournament season is here. It’s no secret that I live for fishing these events. Big or small, I love the competition and I really enjoy the camaraderie with all the […]
It looks like the weather is shaping up to be a great week! I am hoping to tackle some of my haying. I am nervous about some of our fields—there doesn’t appear to be a lot of hay. I tend to worry about that sort of thing but I am […]
This past weekend was the equivalent of Christmas Day for yours truly, as the annual NHL draft took place in Pittsburgh, Penn. For the span of four hours on Friday evening, and another three on Saturday morning, I was going as insane as someone can be without having any trace […]
The best thing about working on this fishing show that I have teamed up to do with CJBN is that it encourages me to fish more different places. The reality is there isn’t a lot of reason to leave Sunset Country or even Lake of the Woods or Rainy Lake, […]
The Cabbage Butterfly, a common little insect, is one of a small family known scientifically as the Pieridae. There are three groups: the Whites, the Sulphurs, and the Orange-tips. The names give you a pretty good idea of their colours. All of them are quite small, about two inches or […]
Canadians will celebrate Canada Day this weekend. Across the country, we will move to the outdoors in droves to enjoy this first summer long weekend. Traditional Canada parades, barbecues, picnics and fireworks will mark the day for most of us. Canada became an independent nation in 1867 under Queen Victoria […]
Last Wednesday Bill 55, better known as the budget bill, successfully passed third- and final- reading in Queen’s Park, preventing an election. Last week’s column outlined a number of improvements the NDP had successfully pushed for in order to help the budget pass. This week I would like to update […]
Sometimes a person gets a nostalgic, wistful yearning for a former place and a former time. A place and time when we experienced much happiness. Such a place and time for me is Edmonton, Alberta, in the 1960s. We lived in Edmonton only nine years—a relatively short time in the […]
