Fears, lies and freedom
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Fears, lies and freedom

Two of my cousins were in Ottawa when the trucks rolled in at the end of January. Wayne Stronks was setting up camp on Slater street after completing the 4500 km drive from Smithers, BC. Daniel Perry was logging into work-from-home video calls, his downtown office closed amidst the uncertainty. I, like many Canadians, was…

The poverty pandemic
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The poverty pandemic

In the beginning of the pandemic there were all kinds of stories of kindness being shared, and people everywhere were helping each other. But as we head into year three, things seem to have shifted. Many of us are feeling burned out, angry or hopeless, and may have fallen into an “everyone for themselves” mentality. …

The covid blues

The covid blues

For nearly two years now the globe has endured a series of lockdowns and emergency measures occasioned by the covid-19 pandemic. Until recently, I treated this as a temporary blip in our lives, assuming that we would soon be returning to normal. Earlier this year, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that masking mandates would be…

The home(owner) advantage 
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The home(owner) advantage 

CC: How has the pandemic affected income inequality? Is that something Habitat is addressing?  Deans: The pandemic has certainly exacerbated income inequality and, combined with the continued rising cost of housing, put homeownership out of reach for even more families.  Qualifying for a traditional mortgage, saving enough for a down payment and the cost of a…

Let’s do covid together
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Let’s do covid together

I look across the room at him and smile. He’s sporting a Wolverine-type look, hair bushy along the jawline, absent on the chin for when he wears a mask to teach math. We’ve been married more than 18 years and we’re like salt and pepper; me with my soft, quiet mannerisms, him with his loud…

Introducing the winners of CC’s ‘Map and Mend’ Art & Poetry contest

Introducing the winners of CC’s ‘Map and Mend’ Art & Poetry contest

During our Fall 2021 Art and Poetry Contest, we were delighted to receive contest entries related to our “map and mend” theme from digital art to pencil crayon, from well-established artists to people trying blackout poetry for the first time! Scroll down to find the five contest winners and three honourable mentions. First place for…

Return to the body
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Return to the body

It was awkward and wonderful at the same time. For 18 months our college community had functioned at a distance – with online classes, virtual prayer times and Zoom worship services. The building had been unnaturally quiet, and the dust had settled in the chapel. But there we were, on September 8, 2021, gathered for…

How COVID has strained our friendships

How COVID has strained our friendships

Best friends for 30 years no longer seeing each other because one person isn’t vaccinated. Anger after someone mentions an interesting article about anti-vaxxers that feels like judgement, and the friends stop talking. No matter where you stand on the vaccine debate, just about everyone has a tale of tension among friends during the pandemic….

The other pandemic
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The other pandemic

From January 2016 to March 2021, 22,828 people died in Canada’s “other” pandemic: drug overdose deaths. This total does not include the numbers since March, which are reportedly high but not yet available. By contrast, the COVID-19 pandemic, which has profoundly affected us all, has caused a similar number of Canadian deaths (27,500 through September)….

The blessed work ahead
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The blessed work ahead

These are lonely times. Not just because many of us are still navigating pandemic restrictions and limitations, either. We’re more isolated than any time in recent memory. Academia is no safe harbour from that loneliness – it’s as prevalent there as it is in the rest of society. That’s rather ironic, given the origins of…

Post-pandemic, should schools still go all-in on technology?
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Post-pandemic, should schools still go all-in on technology?

This month report cards will be going home to parents, assessing how well their children have caught up from more than a year of disrupted learning. Now that we’re back in the classrooms, I’m wondering – along with other teachers – about the long-term effects of our virtual education experiment. Anecdotal evidence suggests that during…

The doctor who invented hand-washing
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The doctor who invented hand-washing

Monday morning and there’s another sad story: a person who vocally opposed vaccinations for COVID-19 has died from the disease. Before dying, the patient tells loved ones, “Get vaccinated.” I doubt that these stories do much to change the minds of people who are firmly against COVID vaccinations. What does bother me, however, is the…