Apparently, some people think elections don’t matter. In a letter to the minister of education, an anonymous spokesperson for a group calling itself the Hanover Parent Alliance for Diversity (HPAD) asked the province to remove six of the nine Hanover School Division trustees from the school board.

Such a drastic move would overturn the 2022 school board election and send a clear message that the provincial government doesn’t really believe in local governance. This would contradict everything the NDP has said about the importance of school boards in the last few years.

For example, three years ago NDP MLA and current education minister Nello Altomare had this to say about Bill 64, a bill that would have abolished locally elected school boards. “People care about their local schools, and with the removal of locally elected officials, community writ large is being carved out of the decision making process.”

Premier Wab Kinew, who was the opposition leader at the time, was even more emphatic in his denunciation of Bill 64. “The further you get from the classroom the worse the decision making gets. Bill 64 is a power grab that takes control away from parents and educators and hands it to Mr. Pallister and his cabinet.”

Dear Money Lady,

My wife is one of those U.S. residents who has lived in Canada as a permanent resident since 1968 and never filed a U.S. tax return. We were told that it wasn’t necessary if you didn’t earn income and weren’t living in the U.S. Also, we had no idea that our children, who are dual citizens due to their mother, were also required to file taxes every year even though they have never lived or worked in the U.S. What do we do now? Ken W.

I feel for you Ken. This is a very difficult situation, one that I know a lot of dual Canadian and American citizens living here in Canada may also be worried about. If you never plan to go back to the U.S. to live or work, if you have a home here in Canada, work in Canada, have investments, RSPs, TFSAs and kids in school; why are you keeping your U.S. citizenship? I know, it’s a lot easier to travel using your U.S. passports; but keeping it so it’s easier to travel to Florida or Arizona in the winter, just doesn’t make sense.

The U.S. is one of the few countries in the world that make their citizens claim 100 percent of their worldwide income, (which is not the case in Canada). So, if you have RSPs/RIFs and TFSAs, as a dual citizen – they are not tax exempted. Also, if you hold title to any properties in Canada, for example, a primary residence, (that as a Canadian, would be tax exempted when you sell it) you will owe capital gains tax to the IRS. If you have a U.S./Canadian citizenship, please make sure you file taxes in both countries. If you do not have a social security number for the U.S., you will need to apply for one first and then file your tax returns. Make sure to transfer all ownership of any Canadian assets over to a non-U.S. resident, (preferably your spouse). Speak to a U.S. taxation lawyer for assistance and once you have settled with the IRS, consider renouncing your citizenship if you plan to stay in Canada.

Trustees’ direct hiring of teachers, absent superintendents’ and principals’ direct and significant involvement, is an unmitigated recipe for disaster.

Teacher-recruitment entails two contracts: written and psychological. And no, I didn’t just invent the latter term just to be mischievous. It has been part of personnel management since 1960, when Chris Argyris, a well-respected management guru wrote Understanding Organizational Behaviour.

So, what is a “psychological contract?” One source describes it as, “…an exchange relationship based on expectations, beliefs, and an understanding of mutual responsibilities between the employer and the worker.”

When does the psychological contract begin? I’m certainly not alone in arguing that it begins during the interview process — when the prospective employee analyses membership of the employer’s selection-panel and the chief interviewer’s line of questioning. That’s the point at which an interviewee gains awareness of the employer’s pecking order and expectation — and can decide whether there’s prospect of a “good fit”.

In a script that’s all too familiar in this province, the Jets have once again been unceremoniously eliminated in the opening round of the NHL playoffs. Some thoughts:

After last year’s playoff debacle the Jets shipped off hard-working Blake Wheeler. Winnipeg went on to have one of their best seasons ever, finishing as the best defensive team in the NHL. The hope was that whatever toxicity used to be in the Jets dressing room was now gone, freeing up the players to play to their true ability. But this year’s disappointing playoff version of the Jets looks almost as woeful as last year’s version. To their credit Winnipeg worked hard and played like they cared in game 5 against Colorado, but it was way too little, way too late. That sound you hear is Blake Wheeler laughing.

As the playoffs approached much was made of an unnamed NHLer calling the Jets “frauds” on a popular podcast. The anonymous player said the Jets regular season success wasn’t real and that the team would be quickly eliminated in the opening round. Ouch. The truth hurts.

Expect our rental players (Tyler Tofolli and Sean Monahan) to get out of Dodge as fast as possible. Had the Jets made a deep playoff run, they may have wanted to stick around but after seeing the team’s total collapse at the absolute worst time of the year, they will leave and the idea of an ominous cloud hanging over this franchise come playoff time, will only get stronger. They had zero impact in the playoffs so it won’t be difficult to see them go.

It’s easy to be sceptical about a lot of things these days. Promises of quick solutions, whether in the political world or the commercial world rarely deliver as advertised. So, when things are actually successful and work as hoped, it is worth noting it.

Take for example the issue of catalytic converter theft. This particular crime was at epidemic proportions in Manitoba just a short while ago. Thieves were stealing catalytic convertors from the mufflers of cars because the metals in them could be sold easily and for a good price. During my time as Minister of Justice, I heard the frustrations that were being felt by many Manitobans who would return to their vehicle from the mall, a movie or from a house of worship only to discover that their catalytic convertor had been stolen. This was not only a matter of inconvenience, but it also cost individual Manitobans money as well as Manitoba Public Insurance.

There were some, including in the NDP, who said that it would be impossible to curb this crime. After all, it had become a problem in many jurisdictions across Canada. Yet, together with justice officials, Crime Stoppers and law enforcement, a multi-faceted plan was put together in an attempt to curb catalytic convertor theft as well as the theft of other precious metals.

The cornerstone of this strategy was the passing of legislation that would require scrap metal dealers to maintain a record of their purchases of scrap metal. This includes obtaining ID from the individual selling the scrap metal and an explanation of how it was acquired. While this added an administrative burden to these operations, it was seen as important to ensuring that thieves didn’t have a place to sell their stolen goods with little ability to identify them. This was not legislation passed without consideration for the impact that this would have on scrap metal businesses. It is hard to pass along the cost of theft onto innocent parties and efforts were made to try to strike a proper balance.

Let’s talk again about strategies that maintain good mental health, with a special focus on sleep. Did you know sleeping problems are common to people with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? We North Americans are generally sleep deprived, but people with psychiatric conditions have greater issues with sleep than the general population.

Sleep is essential for health and wellbeing. But millions of people don’t get enough sleep regularly and suffer from that lack. Most people’s sleep problems go undiagnosed and untreated. More than 40 percent of adults report daytime sleepiness frequently interfering with daily activities.

Until recently professionals assumed that insomnia and other sleep disorders were symptoms of a patient’s mental illness. Recent research shows that sleep problems may actually contribute to mental disorders. Thus treating a sleep disorder may help relieve symptoms of co-occurring mental health problems. Recent neuroimaging and neurochemistry studies reveal that healthy sleep patterns foster mental and emotional resilience, while chronic negative sleep patterns set us up for negative thinking and emotional vulnerability.

Individual sleep needs vary. Most healthy adults function well awake for 16 hours and asleep about eight hours each night. But some manage without sleepiness or drowsiness after only six hours asleep.