A man is dead after a semi-truck hit him on Highway 75 last week.

A 57-year-old driver of semi was struck and killed by another semi-truck south of St Jean Baptiste in the Rural Municipality of Montcalm on Jan. 3, according to an RCMP press release.

Morris RCMP received a call at 1 p.m. about a collision on the highway. When Mounties arrived, they found the victim in the median ditch and two semi-trucks stopped on the southbound lane.

Police said the victim was found dead at the scene. The 33-year-old male driver of the other semi had no injuries.

Posted on X at 4:35 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 5, were the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Today, I appointed Chrystia Freeland as an Advisor on Economic Development. Chrystia is highly skilled in these matters and has extensive experience in attracting investment and implementing economic transformations.”

Very soon after the announcement, Conservative Michael Chong posted that one cannot be an advisor to a foreign government while serving as an MP. He explained how an elected official cannot serve on the government caucus and serve a foreign government as an economic advisor. Later that day, Freeland announced on X that she would “soon” be resigning her post as MP for University-Rosedale.

But let’s be clear, a referenced plan to resign is not a resignation. Conservative commentator Kate Harrison claims the government dragged their heals on this, knowing about the announcement before Christmas. She adds, the people of University-Rosedale should have had the benefit of an immediate byelection announcement. But as we might suspect, this announcement complicates the Carney government’s attempt at gaining a majority government without an election.

Over the last year it’s been a rough journey for Freeland to find her new place in the world. After affectionately being called “Minister of Everything” by the Canadian media due to her filling multiple senior rolls in the Liberal government, you’ll recall in December 2024, Freeland resigned her cabinet position only hours prior to the release of the long-awaited economic statement. She ran for leadership of the party following Mr. Trudeau’s resignation, losing to Mr. Carney in March of 2025. In September 2025, she was named special representative to the reconstruction of Ukraine by the Prime Minister, and then Warden & CEO of the Rhodes Trust to begin in July of 2026. President Zelenskyy’s announcement for Freeland to become the Economic Development Advisor to Ukraine on Monday, was a culmination from a series of restless course changes.

Re: Springfield waits for environmental licence for water treatment plant, Page A8, Dec. 18, 2025 edition.

I am writing to formally rebut your Dec. 18 article concerning the proposed Springfield water treatment plant, and to place the following concerns on the public record.

Your coverage presents the project largely through executive assurances while omitting material legal, democratic, and planning context necessary for readers to understand what is actually occurring.

The project does not yet have an Environment Act licence.

Dear Money Lady Readers: Today my husband read me my horoscope for 2026, and he says it sounds like me. Have you read yours too? Most of us want to make changes in a new year to ditch the old habits, stop smoking, lose weight, find a new job, the list could be endless. So, is this the year you change the narrative of your life?

Often times the new story to a new life is right in front of you, but for whatever reason we can’t see it, can’t feel it, and certainly can’t imagine making the necessary changes. However, we all know that having the courage to change the course of your future, will always bring you new opportunities. A healthier life, less pain, a new career, more money, more love; it’s all out there for those who want a different story. Of course, this all sounds great, but making a change and keeping up the fight is always easier said than done. Sure, we all plan to make changes every January, with 58 percent of us starting a “New Year’s Resolution” every year. But of those that plan for change, 87 percent will give up and settle back into their old ways by the end of February.

Here’s a quote I want to share with you from an Italian poet Dante Alighieri, (1265-1321): “The path to paradise begins in hell.” Isn’t that the truth. If things were easy, we would all be thin, fit, wealthy and always happy. The fact is, only one percent of Canadians will make their resolution last more than 10 months. Change is tough. Too often we tend to revel in our sad and pitiful life stories, getting an emotional charge out of how unfair life is to us, and how great we are for keeping up the struggle – against all odds. We whine and complain to people about being a survivor and love it when we get comforted: “You poor thing, how do you ever manage?” We have to manage, because we don’t make any changes to improve things.

Now I am not saying we shouldn’t have our pity-parties once in a while. Often times this is exactly what we need – I just don’t want you to keep the party going forever, especially into another year of unhappiness. Remember, the greatest gift we have is the one we often forget: we have a choice. You can always choose a different direction in life. If you believe in the theory of cause and effect, then everything in your past has brought you to this very moment so you can choose another direction. Stop listening to the naysayers and get on with it. Stop wanting sympathy for your sad situation and move past it. And for all you helicopter parents out there, stop smothering your adult children, and let them go. We all need to discover our true self, our destiny and our calling.

“Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your parents, and do not go to your relative’s house when a disaster strikes you – better a neighbour nearby than a relative far way.” Proverbs 27:10

The traditional New Year’s song Auld Lang Syne has me thinking about the value of acquaintances. We have millions of songs about friendship and yet the most popular song to ring in the new year is about old acquaintances. Could it be that trajectory of life is about having many kind acquaintances and not just friends? Afterall, it can be hard, sometimes impossible, to find and keep close friends. A village of acquaintances is much more possible to develop.

Acquaintances can’t replace deep friendships, but they do offer a different kind of value that people often underestimate:

1. Acquaintances expand our world. Close friends provide depth. Acquaintances provide breadth. A wider network of relationships exposes us to new ideas, new opportunities, new perspectives. Research shows our network is more helpful for things like job opportunities, creative collaboration, and even personal growth. Most people have one or two things we can really learn from them. From my first boss I learned that doing a different task can be just as refreshing as a coffee break and from a happy workmate I learned that it is OK to sometimes stop and talk. So, if that is the case, why not have many acquaintances to learn the beautiful truth they embody?