Editorials - Feb. 21, 2025

Last weekend, locals were saddened by the news that Fincher’s would be closing both its Goderich and Kincardine locations by year’s end, after 70 years of selling books, toys, games, magazines and gifts. 

 

As a second-generation family-owned business, the stores were embedded in the communities they served. Many people recall buying treasured books there as children and then taking their children and grandchildren to pick out their favourite books.

While the Finchers will be enjoying a well-earned retirement, the community will be hard-pressed to replace a treasured bookstore in the era of online shopping and digitization, but many of us still enjoy wandering through a bookstore and discovering an unknown title or author simply by the look of the cover. There’s nothing quite like sitting in a comfy chair on a snowy day, sipping a warm beverage and flipping through actual paper pages of a book or magazine. 

 

The stores were also known for a wide selection of toys, games and puzzles, and they gave consumers a local option for buying without resorting to large box stores. Fincher’s, in return, supported local, being the prime location for all kinds of authors in Huron County to find an audience for their books and donating to many worthy, local causes.

 

The Square in Goderich will soon understand Kathleen Kelly’s comment from You’ve Got Mail when another beloved shop closed. “People are always telling you that change is a good thing. But all they’re really saying is that something you didn’t want to happen at all... has happened.” Thank you, Fincher’s, for decades of providing excellent service to our community. – DS

There is much to consider in next week’s provincial election. First, it pits the Doug Ford Progressive Conservatives against a rapidly-rebuilding Liberal Party under Bonnie Crombie, an NDP in the midst of a not-so-dissimilar rebuild under Marit Stiles and a Green Party that sees hope in its leader Mike Schreiner who made history in 2018 and hasn’t looked back. And, as this editorial board covered last week, the people heading to the polls are not letting threats from beyond Ontario borders distract them from the issues that need addressing right here at home in this great province, such as healthcare and the economy.

 

The need for this election has been highly scrutinized and labelled by many as self-serving for an opportunistic Ford. As true as those sentiments may be, let us not lose sight of our duty as members of a functioning democracy - fragile as those are these days - and do your part by voting for whoever it is you think will best represent you. 

 

These next four years will coincide with the reign of Donald Trump in the U.S. Furthermore, life is not getting easier for (almost) any Ontarian; groceries have never been more expensive, finding and keeping a family doctor is a daily struggle for many and home ownership, especially for young people, feels like a train leaving the station as they watch from the platform. 

 

Consider what you hope Ontario will look like in four years; the Ontario you’d want to leave to your kids; the Ontario that will make you proud. Vote for that vision and support - locally or provincially - who you think has the skill and will to make that a reality. – SL 

At this point, it hardly bears repeating, and yet here we are again, saying it anyway: Winter 2025 is an absolute monster. If future generations ever flip back through the archives and wonder whether the breathless reports of endless snow, bone-rattling cold and unrelenting storms were exaggerated, let this editorial serve as further proof - they weren’t. If anything, words fail to do justice to the sheer relentlessness of this season. It is, simply put, the kind of winter that will enter folklore, to be recalled in the years ahead with a mix of horror and awe.

 

And yet, even in a season as punishing as this one, there are moments that remind us of what endures. Fortunately, Skate Canada provided just that on Tuesday, announcing that Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are headlining the elite class of 2025 entering its Hall of Fame.

 

Virtue and Moir are forever linked to the kind of magic that cuts through the cold. Their performances at Vancouver 2010 and Pyeongchang 2018 provided moments that made this country hold its breath and then explode with pride. Their connection was undeniable.

 

At a time when so much feels uncertain, when winter seems bent on testing our limits, and when tensions beyond our borders dominate the national consciousness, we could all use a little inspiration.

 

So, as the snow piles higher, let’s take a moment to think about a different kind of ice - the kind that glowed under Olympic spotlights, the kind that carried Virtue and Moir to greatness. Winter 2025 may be relentless, but so, too, is the spirit of those who rise to meet a challenge. And if we need proof of that resilience, we need look no further than the newest members of Canada’s skating Hall of Fame. – SBS