by David McLaren
Judging by how quickly the Harper Government's election budget disappeared from the pages and the airways of the media, you might think that the discussion is over. I'd argue it hasn't really begun. For budgets are more than a government's spending plans. They are more than re-election platforms. They are cultural documents about how we will be governed.
This is a budget for the vote-rich middle class. But, given the stats, you have to ask yourself how many of us are left in the "middle class."
Canada has the 3rd highest rate of working-age poverty among 17 similar countries. Inequality is rising more rapidly here than in most other G20 nations. We have lost over 300,000 good jobs in Ontario since The Recession and the economy has replaced them with poor-paying, part time, precarious work.
By Jon Farmer
I could tell it was going to be a good afternoon as I was walking up the steps. The murmur of conversations and laughter mixed with fragments of music and poured out of the St George's Hall. Inside, dozens of contra-dancers mingled while musicians tuned their instruments on the crowded stage. It was the last afternoon of the Country Dance & Song Society's Owen Sound event and I was there to find out about contra dance.
by Kelly Babcock
On May 8th at 7:30PM, the Owen Sound Singers in Accord (OSSIA) is inviting you to St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church to experience Spring Forward, their spring concert celebrating five years of singing. Local musicians Joachim Ostertag on flute, Keira McArthur on cello, Bob Menzies on djembe, and Fiona Evison on piano will join the choir and proceeds will go to the Men's Program and the Women's Shelter of Bruce-Grey.Tickets, available at the Bleeding Carrot, the Ginger Press, and at the door, are $10, plus a "give what you can" donation. For more information phone Louise at 519-371-8227.
Singer-songwriter Ken Dunn and his wife Anna are Gypsy Starfish and this delightful duo will perform at the Frog Ponds Café on Saturday, May 9th from 12-1:30pm. Canadian singer-songwriter Ken Dunn has performed his original, folk-inspired music across Canada, the U.S., and Central America at hundreds of venues over the past 25 years, including benefit concerts for Amnesty International and the Harry Chapin Food Bank. With themes ranging from love and world peace, to social justice, and environmental responsibility, his music has received international
-Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound NDP
Albertans are clearly not afraid of New Democrats. They elected a majority NDP government in their provincial election last night and reduced the Progressive Conservative to third place.
But Conservatives should not have been surprised if they had paid attention to what Albertans are thinking ...
higher taxes for those who can afford it
higher taxes for corporations
higher royalty rates on oil
less dependence on oil as an economic driver
deficit is not as important as services
increase funding for child care
do more to reduce greenhouse emissions
All good Canadian values. All federal NDP policies.
A guest columnist for "Between Our steps"
By Lynn Wyvill
This morning while walking up the old lane, I felt warmth in the sun that touched my face. I felt it right through my light jacket to my shoulders. It was as soul-enriching as the hug I received from my two-year old grandson last week in Hong Kong. This kind of feeling goes deep inside me, where words are empty and where I want to open my chest of memories and lock it away, So I write them down. Even when I cannot describe the joy, the sheer happiness of that daffodil shoving its deep yellow richness through the dead fall grass, the pencil finds a way. Not always, but often the path to my self expression lies at the end of my Bic pencil.
CopyRight ©2015, ©2016, ©2017 of Hub Content
is held by content creators
