When I was 10 years old, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, good for the first time lost a Grey Cup they had no business losing to Calgary.

I was devastated.

Canada’s loss to the United States in men’s hockey at the Olympics turned me right back into that 10-year-old.

Back in 2002, just before the Bombers broke my heart for the first time, a similar story was playing out in Italy, as their country was eliminated in the World Cup in shocking fashion by South Korea. The player who scored the golden goal that eliminated Italy was playing in Serie A at the time, and was promptly shipped out.

At the Steinbach Arts Council, our work is about more than access.

It is about the environment we create — spaces that are safe and welcoming, led by skilled instructors and mentors, with room to try, to learn, and to grow. We believe that environment matters. When people feel supported, they take creative risks. They build confidence. They begin to recognize their own potential.

Each year, SAC supports thousands of people across southeast Manitoba at every stage of their artistic development. Children build critical thinking skills and confidence through music, theatre, and visual arts. Teens strengthen discipline, collaboration, and leadership. Adults continue learning and creating. Seniors find meaningful connection and opportunities to remain engaged. Our focus is not on one moment or one performance. It is on growth that happens over time.

Fundamentally, this work builds something we all believe in - community.

When all but five members of Team USA allowed themselves to be pawns in a Trump photo op, they touched off a firestorm of controversy in the U.S. and Canada.

“It’s an honour to be invited” might have been acceptable in previous times, with presidents who were “normal.” But nothing about Trump is normal. He is an existential threat not just to Canadian sovereignty but to world peace.

For context, there is a long and honourable precedent of pro athletes from the NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball and soccer who have either declined White House invitations or said in advance they would not attend if invited, so it’s not like an athlete has to accept a presidential invitation.

Canada’s Braden Holtby, the goaltender who led the Washington Capitals to a Stanley Cup championship in 2018, turned down Trump’s invitation to the White House. At the time he said “I believe in a world where humans are treated with respect…I have to stay true to my values.”

As Steinbach city council approved tenders for infrastructure projects on Tuesday, councillors noted that prices were much lower than anticipated.

Council approved a $1.38 million tender to Maple Leaf Construction for their 2026 capital works program projects including asphalt overlay on four streets and new sidewalks. Their consultant’s estimate was $1.98 million.

Moments later they approved a contract for the Millwork Drive wastewater sewer renewal project and a tender to Friesen Hauling & Excavating for close to $1.46 million, well below the consultant’s estimate of $2.13 million.

Combined it represents savings of nearly $1.3 million.

Last week, Pierre Poilievre delivered remarks at the Economic Club of Canada that spoke of promise, solutions and a way forward that gives hope to Canadians. Mr. Poilievre’s opening comments referred to Roman general and philosopher Marcus Aurelius as a timeless truth:

“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

The quote framed a speech that looked at history, China’s rise, volatility, low-cost energy, the unblocking of resources, military strength, resources as strategic leverage, digital sovereignty, CUSMA, and tariffs. But the objective was that we need to control what we can control. Mr. Poilievre explained the same is true for countries. “Canada cannot control decisions made by foreign leaders or words by foreign presidents. We cannot control what global shocks and volatility might happen, but we do control what we do in our own country.”

An economy is resilient to the extent that it relies on factors within its own control. Drawing on Canada’s historical strength of “getting things done,” Mr. Poilievre recalled Canada’s record of “building, doing and completing.” Looking ahead to the CUSMA negotiations planned for this summer, he said, “We drove a steel railway across the Rockies in four and a half years. Later, we carved the St. Lawrence Seaway, and we did that in five years. We built the CN Tower – then the tallest free-standing structure in the world – in three years in the 1970s. That is how we built an unbreakable country.”

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Legion in Canada. While many Canadians are aware of the legion, few know its history or likely the broader purpose of the organization. I would include myself in the group of Canadians who grew up knowing that a legion existed and assuming it was just for those who had served for Canada in war.

A hundred years ago, that is essentially how the legion began. Several veterans’ organizations that existed at that time decided to come together under one single banner. So it was that on July 17, 1926, what was then known as the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League was born. About three decades later the British Empire part of the name was dropped and in 1961 the organization was renamed to what we know it as today, The Royal Canadian Legion.

Over time, The Royal Canadian Legion has grown from supporting veterans of the First World War to those of later conflicts that Canada has been involved in. Today, the legion’s mandate includes honouring the service of veterans, promoting remembrance and supporting veterans and their families. The legion also supports members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

Perhaps the way in which the Canadian public most directly connects with the legion is through the annual poppy campaign and the annual Remembrance Day ceremonies held every Nov. 11. In Steinbach these ceremonies have continued to see very strong attendance, and it takes a great deal of work by the local legion members, assisted by local cadets, to put them on every year. The annual poppy campaign also sees the symbol of remembrance for Canadians made available throughout the region at various locations.

A Steinbach woman issued a guilty plea in Steinbach Provincial Court on Feb. 27 after she drove drunk, rolling her car and injuring her nine-month-old baby.

On June 14, 2024, Miriam Stoll was driving northbound on Highway 12 near Blumenort with her nine-month-old baby girl in the back seat when she rolled her vehicle across two opposite lanes of traffic before the car came to a stop on its roof.

Police estimate she was driving between 134 and 154 kilometres per hour when she lost control of her vehicle.

People came out to help Stoll and found the baby out of its car seat and on the interior roof of the car with some bruising on her face and some dry blood on her nostril. Stoll was uninjured.

“Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.” —Maya Angelou.

Here’s the third and final instalment in our Dark/Light series. Light and darkness move continually through our days and seasons. Changing light and darkness each ask something different of us, and each reveals a different way of being human before God, ourselves, and others in this world. In ‘Dark in the Dark’ we talked about a darkness that is supportive, times of going deeper with ourselves, God, and then others. In ‘Light in the Dark’ we talked about how daily kindness and glow is better than bright glare. Today we will talk about ‘Light in the Light’. We move from sitting in the dark, to building a fire, and now to tending the fire.

Sometimes we need to take time to rekindle our lives before helping others more. We need to feed our light so that it does not burn out. To be kind to ourselves. The first part of Light in the Light is the practice of receiving goodness without guilt, knowing this is also a gift from God. Self-kindness, rest, and gratitude can sustain our light like adding logs to a fading fire. Sometimes we can get a bit stuck only giving to others. It can even feel good, or become our only posture. But without leaning on the help or care of others, our own caregiving capacity is weakened. Our light needs regular tending. When we honor the light, we honor the One who gave it.

The second part of Light in the Light is those times when we shine for others to be inspired. One of my favourite things in life is seeing someone who obviously was meant to do what they are doing, and they do it with gusto. It is a glorious sight. A sacred moment when the light in them is being irradiated by the Creator of light.