Porch Views, editorials and more
OPINION It has been an incredibly hard year and a half. And it looks like we have at least another nine months of this … maybe more. There have been several vaccines – two of which were in the making for thirty years: Pfizer and Moderna – both mRNA vaccines. …
OPINION It is the height of understatement to say that no one seems satisfied with the outcome of the recent Federal election. With the re-election of Mrs Gallant, the electorate of Renfrew-Nippissing-Pembroke remained divided into two distinct solitudes: those very proud of the re-election of the local candidate but astonished …
OPINION One thing I’ve learned about journalism in my 20-or-so years in the business is that reporting real news, important news, is both exhausting and paramount. And try not to get too cosy with those you are tasked to write about. That’s the mission, if you choose to accept it. …
EDITORIAL Any investigative journalist searching for truth becomes used to stonewalling tactics aimed at hiding the facts. Individuals or companies who have potential negative reputational or financial consequences by sharing information will often decide that discretion is the better part of valour. Such self-interest is perhaps understandable so far as …
OPINION Canada’s flights out of Kabul have come to an end and with it our involvement in Afghanistan will recede from the front pages and, for most Canadians, from the collective consciousness. As a veteran of that campaign, I have been asked by a number of friends and family over …
Editorial Canada. According to a federal government website, the name likely comes from the Huron-Iroquois word “kanata,” meaning “village” or “settlement.” We like to think of Canada as a country that’s a mosaic – where everyone’s language, culture, skin colour, ethnicity, is celebrated and allowed to co-exist. Integration, not assimilation. …
Editor’s Note: Current writer James Di Fiore recently launched his new podcast Blackballed with James Di Fiore. Here he explains how Noam Chomsky came to be his first guest. Last year I emailed Noam Chomsky on a whim. I wanted to ask him if it felt strange to be stating …
OPINION Approximately two years ago our newly elected council introduced their first budget. But when they introduced their second budget, it was immediately affected by things outside the municipal scope: a global pandemic, and the introduction of the province’s Official Plan (OP). By March 2020 COVID-19 hit. Simultaneously, the OP …
EDITORIAL Let’s begin with the reason I am writing this nearly a month after a controversial editorial appeared in the Valley Gazette. It’s because in last week’s Gazette (Apr.28), it published an apology for incorrectly identifying someone in an article published the previous week. In fact, the words “We apologize” …
Editorial It seems fitting that Earth Day fell during National Volunteer Week and thanks to community volunteers there’s been a lot of clean-up lately in the Valley. Above from left: Brian Moore, Frank Burchat, Grant Grzywniak with some of the litter they collected (Photo supplied). This year an early spring …
OPINION Bus Consortium to parents: ‘We regret that this will cause disruption to people’s lives.’ Full disclosure: I am a father of two children, 6 and 4 years old respectively, who are enrolled at Killaloe Public School. When I first found out about the newly proposed staggered bus system, an …
Editorial In a news release dated Mar.5, the Province announced that it is launching consultations with the municipal sector to strengthen accountability for council members. It noted that the Province wants to ensure that councillors and heads of council maintain a safe and respectful workplace, and carry out their duties …
OPINION At the August 4, 2020 MV Council in Committee Meeting, By-Law Enforcement Officer Corwin Quade reported that he had received a large number of complaints about the use of fireworks during 2020 and he was looking for direction from Council. His November 17, 2020 recommendation was to restrict the …
OPINION Hi. I met someone recently. Me. Listen, don’t worry, I’m not going to endlessly drone on about what sort of impact this pandemic is having on all of us. I’ve done that before, as have many others, and frankly the idea of dwelling on the virus and its impact …
OPINION Sunday afternoon’s walk took an unexpected turn, when I spotted a group of demonstrators at the intersection of Opeongo and Bay Streets in downtown Barry’s Bay. As I got closer, I was able to read their homemade signs which had slogans like “End Tyranny,” “End the Ontario Lockdown” and …
