Manitoba Speaker of the legislative assembly Tom Lindsey issued an important ruling on Monday.

For several years now, Manitobans who observed the proceedings of the Manitoba legislature have been shocked at the behaviour displayed. While politics has never been for the faint of heart, the types of personal attacks that have been disguised as parliamentary debate has become, frankly, disgraceful.

As I’ve said publicly before, while I believe it is the responsibility for the political head of government (the premier in our system) to set the example, the problems did not begin with Wab Kinew. The decorum in the Manitoba legislature has been on a downward slide for many years. And while the downward slide did not begin recently, it has gotten worse recently.

In Canadian legislatures and in Parliament, it is a longstanding rule that members cannot attack the character of another member. As one example, you cannot call another member a liar. That is an attack on character. But, up until Monday, in Manitoba a member could call another member a bigot, homophobe, misogynist, racist or transphobe. The Manitoba legislature was the only elected House in Canada where that was allowed. In fact, not only were words such as bigot and racist allowed to be hurled against another member, they were tossed around so routinely that they lost the seriousness that those words should have.

I was visiting my children in Saskatoon and needed a quiet place to work on a manuscript for a few hours. “Why not go to the library,” my son suggested. When I arrived at the downtown branch there was a sign on the door. It was temporarily closed. I discovered it had been shuttered due to safety concerns and a rise in violent incidents stemming primarily from drug overuse. The library would reopen once more security enhancements were in place.

The library nearest my home in Winnipeg, is the Millennium. It was shut down for over a month, in December of 2022, after a man was stabbed to death there. It closed again last August when a patron committed suicide by plunging over a second-floor railing. After staff at the branch voiced their safety concerns about working in an environment where patrons were bringing dangerous weapons and needles for drug use into the library, security screening was put in place. When I visit the library now I go through a scanner and my bags are opened and checked.

The Winnipeg Public Library has hired two full-time social workers. I’ve witnessed some of their 42 trained community safety hosts in action aiding troubled patrons. The Millennium Library once had a social services hub in its lobby. Staff assisted vulnerable visitors with finding food, shelter and medical attention. The city has stopped funding it.

Having had these experiences in Winnipeg and Saskatoon, I wasn’t necessarily surprised to read in a recent Carillon article, that Steinbach, which is one of Manitoba’s fastest growing cities, was dealing with similar issues. Staff at the Jake Epp Library are responding to an increase in violence and drug use and are trained to use Naloxone should patrons overdose on the premises. The library has recorded multiple incidents of violence, weapons’ possession, harassment, vandalism and alcohol abuse. The bathrooms have been locked after drug paraphernalia was discovered there. They are considering hiring security guards, installing cameras, adding extra outdoor lighting and having a front desk safety button.

Saint Augustine (354-430) is a church father who loved to pray. He wrote many beautiful prayers and even on his deathbed while his city Hippo was being besieged, he had prayers hung on his wall so he could read them one more time. One of Augustine’s most popular prayers is to the Holy Spirit, known as the “Breathe” prayer:

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.

Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.

Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.

Whether getting weekly groceries, paying for gas, or seeing a movie, Canadians increasingly rely on some form of digital currency. But cash in many situations and circumstances is still king.

A cashless society narrows access, centralizes control, and can exclude the marginalized and the vulnerable.

For some, cash is their only way of participating in the economy. In Canada, roughly six million people—18 percent—are unbanked or underbanked. When businesses refuse cash, people are denied basic services. When it comes to buying essentials, that denial is a serious disservice and beyond inconvenient. A compassionate society does not explicitly exclude identifiable communities.

When enough businesses refuse cash, consumer choice disappears.

In the April 30 editorial in The Carillion (“Canadian politics in throes of furious fever”), an anonymous author from the Free Press makes an argument for Canadians to “push back against this rising tide of toxicity” and that “it’s time to lower the temperature, before real words lead to tragic actions”. I wholeheartedly agree: there is no place in our society for political violence. However, I would also argue that the editor and news staff of The Carillon should look inward concerning this issue.

For example, what purports to be a “sports” column (“As I See It”) seems often to be a hate-filled, weekly diatribe against the President of the United States. Usually, the column has loose connections to some sports story, only to spiral into derogatory statements, falsehoods, and general name calling. Is it possible that the words of the columnist are spurring some unhinged individual to commit political violence?

I don’t intend any toxicity in saying this (nor any disrespect to The Carillon and its columnists), but perhaps pushing back against the “rising tide of toxicity” in Canada should include the offices of The Carillon? A sports column that focuses on actual sports stories would be a welcome first step.