“Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults.” Colossians 3:12,13a

Long before clocks ruled our days and electric light pushed back the night, human life moved in quiet partnership with the sky. Morning light called us awake, drawing us back to communal life, while evening shadows invited us home again - to fires, stories, prayers, and rest. Darkness was not something to fight but to live within. In the gentle turning of light to dark and dark to light, we learned that wholeness comes not from constant brightness and striving, but from moving wisely and faithfully between light and dark.

Light and darkness move continually through our days and seasons. Neither is constant and permanent, and yet there is this nagging expectation that we should also be living on the top of the mountain in full light. Changing light and darkness ask something different of us, and each reveals a different way of being human before God and others in this world.

Beginning today with an introduction is a four-part series on discerning how to live well in our modern electric-digital community. Anxiousness and stress seem higher than ever, and we somehow need to return to God-given rhythms of life. Our friends need us to know how to walk with them when they are in a dark time, sometimes they need us just to sit with them, sometimes a small light to warm themselves by and sometimes we (the helpers) need to also rekindle our lives to keep helping them. There is a time to be Dark in the Dark, a time to be Light in the Dark, and a time to be Light in the Light. Today I will introduce these three ways of being a helpful human in our world of ups and downs and then go deeper into each one the following three weeks.

One man was arrested on drug charges as a result of an investigation that began in September 2025.

Manitoba First Nation Police Service (MFNPS) issued a news release on Feb. 3, explaining the investigation began with tips from the community.

“Through diligent work, investigators established a person of interest with suspected direct involvement in supplying methamphetamine and cocaine to community members,” the news release stated. “He allegedly had frequent visits to known drug houses and connection to individuals actively selling drugs on his behalf.

On Jan. 30, MFNPS officers executed search warrants at multiple locations, with tactical support provided by Altona Police, Winkler Police and the RCMP.

If you like beef, don’t expect to order it at Polytechnique Montreal. Last September, this Quebec engineering school started removing beef options from its six food stalls that provide meals to approximately 10,000 students.

This decision had nothing to do with students’ lack of interest in beef products. In fact, three of the school’s bestselling food items contained beef. Rather, the school removed beef from its menus in a bid to reduce its carbon footprint.

Critics of beef production argue that beef produces 10 times the carbon emissions of chicken and 50 times more than beans. This stems from the fact that cattle digestion produces significant amounts of methane, which is a greenhouse gas.

Of course, eating a beef burger doesn’t produce any emissions, since cattle only produce methane while they are still alive. However, if everyone stops ordering beef from the menu, then there would be less incentive for ranchers to raise cattle, which means fewer cattle would exist and carbon emissions would therefore decline.

RCMP have laid numerous charges against a man who went on a break and enter and theft spree last Wednesday in Steinbach.

On Jan. 28, between 5:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Steinbach RCMP responded to six complaints of commercial break and enters and thefts of vehicles on Main Street, Reimer Avenue, and Stone Bridge Crossing in Steinbach.

During the spree, a man was seen either attempting to break-in or making entry into several businesses where he stole several computers, keys, and some food.

The man also fled after he was caught trying to steal a vehicle around noon on Stone Bridge Crossing. Later that day, he stole a vehicle in the parking lot of a business in the 300 block of Main Street.

As we welcome in the new year, I want to extend my heartfelt wishes to each and every one of you. I sincerely hope you had a fulfilling and restful holiday season, and may 2026 bring you happiness, good health, and new opportunities. Happy New Year!

As the official opposition our Manitoba PC caucus, under the leadership of Obby Khan, continued working hard through to the end of 2025, introducing new legislation and holding the NDP government accountable.

On Dec. 1, the PCs called for a public inquiry into Manitoba’s failing healthcare system following the deaths of three patients awaiting care, and the unprecedented “grey-listing” of two Manitoba hospitals at the same time. Grey-listing is a term used by the Manitoba Nurses Union to indicate that a workplace is unsafe for nurses, as well as for support staff and patients. Hospital nurses voted to grey-list the Health Sciences Centre last August, and voted to grey-list the Thompson General Hospital the following November. St. Boniface Hospital is set to be voted on by nurses, possibly this February, which could result in the concurrent grey-listing of three Manitoba hospitals. The last time a Manitoba hospital was grey-listed was in 2007, under the previous NDP government.

Also in December, as MLA for Lac du Bonnet and in my role as PC education critic, I introduced two pieces of PC legislation aimed at enhancing student safety while riding on school buses in Manitoba. Bill 220, the School Bus Seat Belt Safety Act, brings in new safety requirements to ensure that all newly-manufactured school buses are equipped with modern, three-point seat belts, and that schools adopt clear policies for their use. These new safety measures will help to protect students by reducing the risk of injury in the event of crashes or sudden stops. Many are aware of the recent school bus accident on Jan. 13 in Swan River that saw 14 students and the driver of the bus treated at the local hospital, and four of the students were then air-lifted to Winnipeg hospitals for further care. I’m not a fortune teller but I strongly believe that had they been wearing seatbelts, certain injuries could’ve been prevented. My thoughts and prayers go out to the students and all those involved.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre secured a strong mandate with an impressive 87.4 percent support at this weekend’s Conservative convention in Calgary, Alberta. A poignant reference was made by Mr. Poilievre when choked with emotion he talked about the meaning of hope and when his autistic daughter (Valentina) spoke for the first time. The comment aligned with the convention’s theme of hope, which he compared to Viktor Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, quoting its premise that “meaning is the thing that keeps people fighting on through hardship.” Poilievre added that “meaning” could differ from person to person—a career, a home, a family, a business.

For the leader of the Conservatives, highlighting Valentina’s milestone, along with his son’s cut-out Spider-Man, which he brings along on the road, are illustrations of what gives him meaning. Answering his own question about why he does what he does, Pierre simply said, “Because we want our kids to have the same Canadian promise that we had.” He explained that starting something means not giving up because when we care about something, we fight for it.

While cheering on a young man named Kirk, a successful business owner of Probiotic Sodas in recovery from addiction, Mr. Poilievre grieved how bad Liberal policies of the last ten years led to the loss of 50,000 lives. Addressing people struggling with addiction, Poilievre stated, “I’m not here because you need me. I’m here because, frankly, I need you. Canada has a job for you. You need to get better and go out and pull the next guy off the street. And he’s going to come in and get better, and he’ll go back out and pull the next guy off the street, and we’re going to keep doing that again and again until every last one of our brothers and sisters is back on their feet.”

Reflecting on his early years in Calgary, Pierre recalled the Canadian promise as an assumed social contract — that people could start from anywhere, work hard, and get anywhere. People lived a hopeful life in a safe home, at a full table, in a loving family dynamic, under a united flag. He contended that “working hard, spending less, following the rules” no longer has the same return. Canadians simply can’t afford life under this Liberal government, especially when the biggest item in family budgets—more than food, clothing and shelter combined- is taxes.