It’s really, really hard.
2 Rivers Banner August 20, 2021
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es, it is really, really hard to not descend into the profane, to crawl around in the gutter in choosing words to describe where we are as a country right now. With so many good things and so much to be thankful for, why are we ruining ourselves so quickly? Surely, compared to Afghanistan, we are very well off. Even compared to the United States, we are doing well. But, we are forcing ourselves through some turmoil and despair that we should not even consider, let alone embrace. The 2021 election is being called to satisfy the ego and career plans of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He doesn’t need an election, he had one less than two years ago and the parliament is working as a minority parliament. The government has to get the support of an opposition party to pass legislation. They don’t need an election. Trudeau needs an election to satisfy his needs. If he wins a majority, he will resign soon and go on to something that pays better and is less work. This prime minister is allergic to actual work, by the way. Maybe he will get on at the UN or some corporate boards, whatever. If he gets a minority, same story, he will move on. If he loses, he will move on. The only question in voters’ minds should
be: do they want another Liberal government? The answer should be a resounding, “No.” The Liberals have dumped barrels of money into some very sketchy projects, often associated with companies like SNC Lavalin. Just about every big spending decision they have made has been associated with a benefit to SNC or Bombardier. The Liberals have crushed the oil industry, even though it finances a large part of the economy, and is still very much needed to transition Canada to its totally electric nevernever land. I say transition, as it is doubtful if Canada, with its sparse population stretched over thousands of miles, will ever be able to go totally electric for heavy transport or air travel. The Liberals botched the COVID-19 crisis. Too late on banning travel, too late in obtaining vaccines and way too late on protecting the vulnerable. We will never know how many people died months, or years, earlier than they would have otherwise died due to neglect. Canada does not have a national food and agricultural policy, a national transportation policy, no national housing strategy and certainly no policy to export our resources to countries that need them. In spite of all the good things that happen
RIGHT IN THE CENTRE
Ken Waddell in Canada, the things that make us a place where the majority of the world’s population would love to immigrate to, we fall so far short of our potential and that it is very discouraging. We don’t take the concerns of our First Nations people seriously, never really have. We can’t even get proper water supplies located in a lot of communities and health care is almost non-existent in some areas. Some say water and health care are too expensive, but if we matched our promises, our hopes, with our wasted money, we could do so much better than we do now. We do very well, but when you compare our performance with our potential, we fall sadly short. In a confederation, we expect great leadership based on integrity, honesty and hard work
from our federal government. We aren’t getting it. With the track record of this government and previous Liberal governments, don’t expect it to change. It has been hard to write this column without descending into the profane. Maybe if the government would exercise the same restraint, Canada might reach its potential. The Conservative Party has made its share of stupid mistakes over the years, but their track record is better. It’s time to elect a conservative government to give Canada a chance at fulfilling its potential. Canada needs it and the world needs us and what we have to offer. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are the writer’s personal views and are not to be taken as being the view of the Banner staff.
Cancer, Co-vid and Christianity
I’m not a doctor, so when my GP told me I needed to head to Cancer Care in Winnipeg immediately, I followed his advice. Once there, the doctors confirmed that I had leukemia and chemo was to begin right away. Again, I followed the advice of the experts. My wife and I arrived in May of 2013 and we were told I’d be spending the summer there. I was horrified with the thought of being stuck in a hospital for an entire summer, but the alternative was bleak. My adventure in Winnipeg lasted eight months, which involved the expected chemo, but also entailed intensive radiation treatments, along with blood transfusions, several trips to the ICU and finally, a stem cell transplant. Thankfully, the cancer is in remission and it is wonderful to be alive!! I’m not a virologist, so I needed to defer to the experts, including my GP and the doctors at Cancer Care, who recommended receiving the vaccine. It seemed the prudent thing to do, and I certainly don’t want a return trip to a hospital or the dreaded ICU (they are not pleasant places to be). Nor do I want to put my wife through another round of turmoil as with the cancer. Currently we are experiencing a fourth wave of the virus which appears to be prevalent among the unvaccinated. My way of thinking tells me that the longer a virus lingers, the greater chance it has to mutate, becoming resistant to vaccines and infecting more people. The past tells us that vaccines work, so if you are not vaccinated, please consider doing so. The only reason we have been able to loosen restrictions recently is due to the majority of us who have received the vaccine, so if you are unvaccinated, make sure you thank someone who is. Let’s work together and get this virus under control. Trust me, no one wants to spend time sick or in a hospital. But I am a Christian, which means that I, along with everyone else who considers themselves one, must defer to
RiveRs BanneR Est. 1908
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the Lord Jesus Christ on all matters of truth, life and faith. The Bible is the only true and reliable source that reveals Christ’s teachings; the most important dealing with eternal life. Jesus clearly says when we die, our souls will be in one of two places, heaven or hell, and our relationship with Him determines our final destination. Jesus said the following from the Gospel of John: John 6:40 - “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life…” John 10:9 - “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved…” John 14:6 - “...I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The Apostle John wrote this is his epistle: 1 John 5:12 - “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
My wife and I met many courageous cancer patients along with their families; some of them succumbing to cancer. Hundreds of thousands have lost their lives to the virus and countless others die each day to other illnesses and tragedies. Death is inevitable for each of us, so my question to you is: Do you know where you will spend eternity? Jesus Christ, the Son of God, says He is the only way to eternal life, so I plead with you to consider His words. If you have a Bible at home, I encourage you to read it, beginning with the Gospel of John. If you don’t have one, I can recommend which one to get; it will change your life. If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to contact me at jgklassen@icloud.com
Tundra
John Klassen Rivers, MB
By Chad Carpenter
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