Joyal brings compassion, empathy to Canada’s high court

There is no easy way to describe the career of the latest Supreme Court of Canada nominee.

Glenn Joyal entered the legal profession nearly 40 years ago, and served as both defence counsel and prosecutor. He has been a judge for nearly three decades, with the last half of that time as the chief justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba.

Over his time on the bench, he has overseen cases involving the most contentious issues of our time, including assisted death, COVID-19 restrictions and a long list of constitutional dilemmas.

Legal scholars from across the country applauded Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision to appoint Joyal to the high court, noting his many years of loyal service and fair-mindedness.

Farmers just one link in long supply chain

Farmers are hardly front and centre in newly released federal and provincial reports analyzing why food has become less affordable for many Canadians.

The word “farmers” doesn’t even appear in the Manitoba government’s Grocery Price Strategy report until Page 7.

That’s a good thing, because it signals a new level of awareness in how we collectively view the food system. The focus is shifting from front-line farmers to the largely invisible and complicated supply chain connecting field to table.

It might even change how farmers see themselves.

This old house is perfect

I’ve long maintained that the outside of my house is none of my business.

When it comes to the interior, my 102-year-old girl is very cute. When it comes to the exterior, her style is best described as “teardowncore.” The only look she’s serving is “haunted.”

My house did recently get a facelift in the form of new windows — she barely looks a day over 80 now — but I will admit I sometimes feel self-conscious about the peeling paint and crumbling stairs and … actually, I don’t have the word count to spare for the list. Especially as fancy-pants new builds pop up around it, replacing houses that looked a lot like mine. It’s hard not to internalize the subtext there.

I can usually counteract this with gratitude. It’s an immense privilege to own a home at all, especially one my husband and I have been able to pay for with words and creativity. It is, and has been, very good to us and I am proud of it.

Summer school for RESPs

If you’ve been saving for years for your child’s post-secondary education, and they are now ready to pursue higher learning in the fall, it’s not unusual to feel a little lost regarding how best to use that money.

That’s because the main savings vehicle for post-secondary learning, the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP), is often complicated to unwind.

“There are definitely some unique aspects to taking out money from a RESP,” says Anthony Maros, senior private banker at BMO Private Wealth in Winnipeg.

Unlike a RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) where every withdrawal is taxable because all contributions are made with after tax money (hence the deduction on contributions), RESPs involve taxable and non-taxable withdrawals.

Vacation shouldn’t feel like workplace risk

As summer officially arrives, many Canadians are preparing for lake weekends, road trips, family vacations and the long-awaited opportunity to step away from work for a few days. At least, that’s the theory.

In practice, many employees are packing something extra alongside sunscreen and sandals: guilt.

A recent survey conducted by Angus Reid on behalf of Employment Hero sheds light on an uncomfortable reality in workplaces. While many organizations proudly promote work-life balance and encourage employees to use their vacation time, a significant number of workers still feel anxious about actually disconnecting.

The survey found 45 per cent of employees have delayed, shortened or changed vacation plans because of workload or workplace pressures. Nearly half (46 per cent) admit they check work communications at least sometimes while on vacation. Thirty-nine per cent avoid taking their full vacation entitlement because they worry about falling behind, while 41 per cent report feeling guilty when taking paid time off.

World Cup a mosaic of the human experience

On June 13, the third day of the ongoing World Cup, Morocco played more than a quarter of its Group C match against Brazil without a single Moroccan-born footballer on the pitch.

Instead, the starting eleven deployed by manager Mohamed Ouahbi between the 64th and 89th minutes included players from Belgium, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Canada. (Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was born in Montreal.) Ouahbi, himself, hails from metropolitan Brussels.

According to the BBC, nearly 25 per cent of the players at this tournament were born in countries other than the ones they’re representing.

One of the more prominent examples of this experience is Luca Zidane.

Ensuring context accompanies complex history requires courage, strengthens public trust

Museums have never had the capacity to tell every story. Every exhibition is an act of selection. Every gallery is shaped by choices — what to include, what to emphasize and, inevitably, what must remain outside its walls.

After more than three decades working as a museum director, curator and educator, I have learned that these choices are among the profession’s greatest responsibilities. Exhibitions dealing with colonialism, Indigenous histories, war, migration, religion, cultural identity or human rights rarely emerge without disagreement. Curators debate evidence. Scholars debate interpretation. Community members bring lived experience. Boards weigh institutional responsibilities and public expectations. Consensus is uncommon — and it should be.

What matters is not whether museums avoid controversy. It is whether they approach difficult histories with intellectual honesty, scholarly rigour and the humility to acknowledge that the past is rarely simple.

Unlike governments, courts or advocacy organizations, museums are not expected to deliver verdicts. Their authority rests elsewhere. They preserve evidence, steward collections, advance scholarship and invite public reflection. Their role is not to settle political disputes but to deepen public understanding. At their best, museums create spaces where visitors encounter layered histories, wrestle with competing perspectives and, perhaps, leave with more questions than answers.

Push for Canada came too late: Shame if country’s historic bid died on hill of principle

This is already a historic World Cup for Canada’s men’s national soccer team.

First point? Check. First win? Check. First progression to the knockout rounds? Check. All of it on home soil, no less.

And yet, for all that, it also risks being a big disappointment. It can be both things at once.

To say that Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to Switzerland complicated the Canadian campaign would be an understatement. A win or draw in Vancouver would have secured top spot in Group B and a Round of 32 match — as well as a prospective Round of 16 encounter — in the same city.

Pill, bills, budgetary aches

We’re a nation of drug users. Well, not those drugs.

Rather, many Canadians have their health supported by pharmaceutical medications prescribed by a physician.

In our universal health-care system, medication can come with a big additional cost.

The federal government introduced a national pharmacare program in 2024. Manitoba was among the first to sign on, partly leading to its Enhanced Pharmacare Program, which now offers birth control, diabetes and a few other medications at no cost to Manitobans.

Difference between having voice, having your way

One of the most important transitions a leader makes when moving into a senior management role is learning the difference between contributing to a decision and owning the final decision.

Many experienced managers are promoted because they are smart, knowledgeable and willing to challenge ideas. Organizations need leaders who ask questions, identify risks and offer alternative viewpoints. Healthy debate is often what prevents poor decisions from being made.

At the same time, senior leadership teams can become ineffective when managers begin to believe collaboration means everyone must agree before a decision can move forward.

It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking if your recommendation was not adopted, your expertise was ignored. In reality, that is usually not what happened at all.

Significance of soil, water management

The day six inches of rain fell one early July afternoon is etched in my memories of growing up on a southern Manitoba grain farm in the mid-1960s.

Kinew’s political brand appears unstoppable

If Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives were hoping Premier Wab Kinew’s popularity would fade midway through his first term, the latest polling numbers offer little encouragement.

In fact, there are growing signs the Manitoba NDP may be positioning itself for a lengthy stay in government, one that could resemble the long stretches of governing enjoyed by former NDP premiers Gary Doer and Greg Selinger from 1999 to 2016, or former Progressive Conservative premier Gary Filmon from 1988 to 1999.

That may seem like a bold prediction less than three years into the NDP’s first term in office. Politics can change quickly. Governments make mistakes. Economic conditions shift. Scandals can emerge. Voters get restless.

However, at some point, it becomes difficult to ignore what the numbers tell us.