Missing The Unknown Soldier

Last week I stood with my wife and children looking down upon the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa.  ”What is this, Dad?” my twelve-year old son from Africa asked. I explained how just a few years ago the body of some forgotten man had been transported to that very spot in memory of [...]

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Floor Crossing

In a recent Policy Options magazine, Robin Sears writes in real terms concerning the partisan nature of politics and how it’s always characterized Canadian political life. People, including me, often hearken back to the Lester Pearson minority governments and how much was achieved through compromise. Sears says it was never quite that simple, but he [...]

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Out Of This World

It was one of those wonderful moments that happen all too rarely in an MP’s life. My kids were doing their homework while we were all seated on the couch and it ended up in a wrestling match. Suddenly my Blackberry rang with a message. I looked at my wife and wondered why it was [...]

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A Recession-proof Thanksgiving

Southern Ontario hasn’t experienced anything like this in decades. Of the province’s 240,000 job losses, that vast majority come from this region. Tens of thousands of individuals and their troubled families move from termination, to Employment Insurance to social assistance – a mass of humanity on the move while yet rooted in their respective communities [...]

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Just Imagine

Months ago, families attempting to adopt children from Ethiopia received the shattering news that the adoption agency they were working through was declaring sudden bankruptcy.  Most of us recall the pain reflected in the faces and comments of the prospective parents and our hearts went out them.  Their hopes were finished.
Except they weren’t.  From the [...]

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Streets of Heaven

“Courage often comes later.” I had uttered these words this past Friday morning at the headquarters of the London Fire Department on what was their annual memorial for those of the service who had died during the vicious attacks of September 11, 2001. Each year I’m asked to address the group, not because I’m an [...]

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At Times, It’s Worth It

During a hectic day of events yesterday, two telephone messages within an hour of each other helped me to understand once again why being a member of Parliament can be a remarkably rewarding experience.
During a large-scale economic forum in London I received a text message that was deeply moving. Maclean’s magazine had posted a picture [...]

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In Memory of the Canadian 1st

It was a moment of surprise emotion. The site of a specially dedicated Canadian cemetery recognizing the ultimate price paid by Canadian soldiers in Sicily gives a meaningful sense of home for any Canadian traveling through this beautiful island. Agira, like so many other Sicilian villages, is situated on the very top of a large [...]

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Altered States: From Reality to Illusion

I remember the Canada of my father. Fresh home from serving the army in the Italian campaign, he brought back to his country the sense that it was a largely a disciplined effort that kept it together. He also possessed a new sense of confidence about what Canada could be, and what his own part [...]

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Adopting A New Attitude

When Parliament first began to function following Confederation, local MPs traveled sometimes for months or weeks to attend political sessions in Ottawa. They came as the extended voices of their ridings and they acted as though the House of Commons was there to look after the interests of their respective constituents. They knew there was [...]

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Altered States – The Role of “Dummy”

Time to talk about what we’re not supposed to talk about.  In May, I walked through the restaurant at the Marriott Hotel and was summoned to a table of Conservatives who were celebrated the anniversary of their election.  ”Come on, have a drink with us,” they entreated.  I was glad to do it and they [...]

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On A West Wing And A Prayer

My kids just couldn’t wait. I arrived back from Ottawa to be presented with my early Father’s Day present – the complete DVD set of the West Wing series. Like so many others, I watched most episodes over the years and it became my favorite TV show. My wife and I settled in for a [...]

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Full Blown Retreat

Life at the London Food Bank hasn’t been easy by any measure.  With the numbers of families we assist up over 20% from this time last year (over 3,000), the challenges facing our staff and board are daunting. The raw emotions faced by staff, volunteers and especially by those coming for assistance fly under the radar [...]

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Cold Comfort

I haven’t been able to post any new entries this last week because of being in the far north of Ontario, in a remarkable aboriginal community called Sandy Lake. There was no internet or cell phone reception there, but I was glad – I needed the time to reflect.
The people of Sandy Lake were once [...]

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Stomach Pains

Monday night we partied – or rather we ate. It was an ironic end to something of a difficult week.
My wife and I co-direct the London Food Bank. I’ve held that role for 23 years as a volunteer, while my wife Jane has also been with the organization from the beginning. Along with some other [...]

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WWJD?

Emerging out of the Easter weekend, it’s striking how spiritual realities can quietly invade our daily lives. Millions in this country go to churches, mosques, synagogues and temples, professing that the power of higher belief is essential to a religious life. I’m not so sure. Into politics for over two years now, I’m hardly an [...]

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Farewell To A Gentle Warrior

Parliament said goodbye today to one of the good ones. Dawn Black, NDP member from New Westminster-Coquitlam, held her emotions in check at she rose at the end of Question Period to announce she was leaving the House of Commons to run for a seat in the upcoming provincial election in British Columbia.
Go to her [...]

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A Timely Admission

He was a man who brought out a strong sense of anger in me some 20 years ago. Back then, Thomas d’Aquino was the head of the Business Council on National Issues and a clear force to be reckoned with. He helped to steer the deliberations in favor of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, along [...]

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On Being Humbled

It was meant to be a simple enough exercise, but when my moment finally came, I performed poorly.
The recent decision of the government to pull its foreign aid out of eight African nations, some of them in desperate shape, was shaping my mood all day. I had heard from a number of our international aid [...]

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Told Ya’

The premise of my last post – “The New Evangelicalism” – was that people in the blogosphere can comment on anything without filtering it through more traditional means of checks and balances, and this led me to worry that a deeper more self-reflective conversation was receding.
No sooner was it posted than numerous comments poured in, [...]

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