Editorials - Nov. 1, 2024

Last week, CKNX News reported on the expansion of a program to help the homelessness crisis in Huron County. The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Huron Perth will lengthen the current program from six months to 12, providing year-round shelter for 14 clients. Last year, the program utilized a motel to help 20 people get off the street and most are still housed. With organizations like CMHA and the United Way developing programs, and the County of Huron building supported housing units, the future will be brighter for the more than 120 people who are chronically experiencing homelessness in Huron County.

 

Addressing the problem of homelessness is a complex and expensive issue. Most people experiencing homelessness also experience a wide range of problems, from mental health challenges to substance use disorders and require more than shelter from the elements. Intensive support, including ongoing counselling, life coaching and rehabilitation are the only ways to keep them off the streets, and it is going to cost a lot of money. Unfortunately, ignoring the problem doesn’t save society or the taxpayer money, with many cycling through the medical or justice systems repeatedly, which ultimately costs even more. – DS

While, for many, it’s been former U.S. President Donald Trump who has earned the “Teflon Don” moniker for his ability to survive scandal and weasel out of sticky situations, it may apply just as rightly to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who persists despite mounting resistance.

 

Recently, it was the alleged revolt of over 20 Liberal MPs who want him to step down, even issuing a deadline for a decision. Well, that deadline has come and gone and Trudeau remains the party’s leader. This comes after many scandals that critics were sure would be the end of Trudeau’s leadership, in addition to an occupation of Ottawa that disgusted many and invigorated others and his inspiration of one of the country’s most popular flags, which bears his name.

 

Just the other day, Trudeau attempted to show his human side as a father and a family man navigating separation from his wife. He said, on a recent episode of the podcast Inside the Village, that he struggles with seeing those flags and having to discuss them with his children. “When you see an ‘F Trudeau’ flag, people don’t think about it, but I do,” Trudeau said. “That’s my daughter’s last name on that flag. That’s the last name that my two sons will carry throughout their lives.”

 

And then, it happened. In the House of Commons, Trudeau stood to a rousing standing ovation from his party. Dissent? Never heard of her.

 

However, as many Canadians see it, the walls are coming down around Trudeau. Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are 20 points ahead of the Liberals in recent polling, meaning a majority government if the election were to be held this week. Now, with a sizable portion of Trudeau’s own people having wandering eyes (as far as leadership is concerned), he may face his toughest challenge yet. Trudeau barely had a cup of coffee while considering his future, so it seems that if he is going to be ousted, it will have to be by the voters. – SL 

Canadian actor Victor Garber, raised in London, Ontario, returned to his hometown last week to receive a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Forest City Film Festival (FCFF). While the event celebrated his impressive career in film and television, a quieter moment during the festivities emerged as the true highlight. As reported by CTV News London, Garber reunited with Marion Simpson, his beloved Grade 5 teacher, who now lives with dementia. When Simpson recognized her former student with a smile, it created a powerful reminder: unlike the honours bestowed upon actors, the invaluable impact of a teacher’s work often survives quietly in the hearts and minds of their students, waiting to suddenly resurface at unexpected times.

 

While actors, artists and athletes are routinely celebrated with awards and public adoration, dedicated teachers like Simpson give so much of themselves, often without even the slightest recognition. They work tirelessly, day after day, in crowded classrooms and under-resourced schools, investing their energy, time and faith into shaping lives and building brighter futures for so many students. In towns and cities across Southwestern Ontario and beyond, passionate and dedicated educators carry their immense responsibility with grace and dignity, shaping young minds not for the sake of recognition but for the hope that, someday, those young people will go out into the world and do good. Garber’s heartfelt reunion beautifully embodies this spirit, serving as a profound aide-memoire that an educator’s unwavering kindness, resolute patience and steadfast belief can be remembered and cherished for a lifetime.

 

Garber’s illustrious career may be immortalized on film, but the memory of teachers like Marion Simpson, held dear in his heart and elegantly expressed through his gratitude, poignantly illustrates where the deepest, most lasting achievements can truly lie. – SBS