Getting family support during the pandemic

 QUESTION: Dear Adele, My husband and I live in a rented apartment building with paper thin walls! Recently we have heard frequent loud arguments, yelling, banging and the sounds of crying children coming from our neighbours unit. We have concerns about the well-being of the toddler and infant who live

Former Regina Police officer Heather Gray — “An open letter to the citizens I’ve served”

 by Heather Gray In this era of civil unrest and disillusionment about police and the abuses of power, authority and the horrors that we’ve all witnessed I draw your attention to the dichotomy of the honor and humility I’ve felt in my 20 years of serving my community. It is unfathomable

Too Little Too late: Why a Public Inquiry is Needed into the Harassment and Abuse of Officers Within the RCMP

 Photo: RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulso. (SEAN KILPATRICK / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO) On October 6, 2016 the Commissioner of the RCMP Bob Paulson issued an apology to the hundreds of victims in the RCMP who had endured years of abuse, sexual harassment and bullying in the RCMP.  Unbelievably there

From the Rock to the Capital, Séan McCann’s Road to Recovery: Part 1

 Photos by Dave Howells / Artwork by Meaghan Smith Séan McCann stood facing the two men he’d spent 20 years of his life with. As musicians, they travelled miles together for hundreds of nights in song. Now they were silent. It was two months before a tour that would celebrate their band. Soon the

Before the National Inquiry: Countering Stereotypes Through Education, Employment and Art

 Aboriginal community members at the annual Sisters In Spirit Candlelight Vigil in Ottawa in October. Photo by Damira Davletyarova. "I embrace you my sisters; and myself too We will go forward with strength anew Our friendships will travel with us down the road Fortified by the stories we now hold..." Excerpt from

Cory Carlick and the Undersigned

 A shoot from The Undersigned. Photo courtesy of  SKYCRON. Cory Carlick has been working in broadcasting since the age of 15. He started his career at CJOH-TV, now CTV Ottawa. Carlick was experimenting with shorts and visual effects when broadcast legend Max Keeping and producer Scott Hannant discovered him. Soon, Carlick

A Slice of Equality for All

 Photo Credit: Ashley Buttle Written by Michael Coren Let them eat cake but don’t, whatever you do, actually bake it for them. In May, a Belfast court ruled that a young couple who owned a bakery and refused to make a cake decorated with a pro-gay marriage slogan had broken

When is it Okay for Doctors to Let Someone Die?

 By Dr. Charles J. Wright The long overdue public, medical, legal and political debate on end-of-life care is now well underway in Canada. Medical journals and the general press are commenting regularly on the subject, the Canadian Medical Association is changing its ethics guidelines, Quebec has decriminalized assisted dying and

The Myth About Sick Leave and Public Servants

 Well, here we go again. The summer is on its way out and public servants everywhere are making their way back to their workplaces. They are preparing for a year that, according to many Public Service (PS) unions, promises to be a banner bargaining round—one where some unions say sick

The Art of Russell Noganosh

 “Finding himself through art and using it to heal” Russell Noganosh set off for Plains Indian Cultural Survival School in his early twenties—but the skills he learned didn’t come from his studies. Noganosh’s life lessons came from friendship and art. Noganosh enrolled in school after fleeing from a foster home

The Fifth Floor

 While mistakes happen and human error affects every institution, there is absolutely no excuse for routine neglect for the most vulnerable in society, wherever it may occur. However, it is all the more reprehensible when it happens in a hospital, an institution that exists solely for the care of others.

Mayor’s City Builder Award Shines Light on Vulnerable Youth

 Bill Robinson receives his Mayor's City Builder Award from Mayor Jim Watson and Councillor Marianne Wilkinson. Image courtesy of City of Ottawa.  When Bill Robinson meets me for coffee, he talks youth at-risk. Who are these children? Robinson replies: It’s a baby born into poverty. It’s a kid facing family