Opinion

We see it in the headlines all the time. A famous male athlete, or celebrity, or businessman, or politician makes the choice to step away from their work to spend more time with family, and the world praises the parent profusely.

Premier John Horgan’s “tool box” for fighting the Trans Mountain pipeline has finally been emptied, not that it was ever filled with much.

I’m trying really hard to not overreact to Sunday night’s homicide in Burnaby. But when someone dies in a flurry of gunfire in a public place – in this case, a gas station on a busy Burnaby corner – then it’s hard to be casual about it.

This column has some pretty sad photos attached to it. Take the one above showing an elderly man in Burnaby struggling his way through a sidewalk that had not been cleared on Sunday afternoon. The sidewalk is located at Imperial and Jubilee Avenue.

Here is a stat that should curl your hair and make you think twice when you are out driving in Burnaby. A whopping 60% of all crashes in B.C. take place at intersections.

Back in the 1980s, there was a short-lived ad campaign urging people to eat donuts for breakfast. I was one of the few supporters of this campaign.

Let me paint a picture for you. You are out being a responsible driver in Burnaby when you suddenly see another driver pulling a reckless move that puts other people in danger.

We got ride-sharing last week in the Lower Mainland. People hopped a lift from neighbours in the cold and snow. We had ride-hailing, too. People waved their arms to flag a taxi.

I went on a Toronto radio show this week where the host struggled to contain herself as I described Victoria’s brush with Real Canadian Winter. “Say it again,” she urged. “Tell me how minus six was ‘brutally cold.

The great snow storm of 2020 is officially over and life in Burnaby is returning to endless dreary days of rain. So the concern has shifted from snowy streets to localized flooding as all those great, big piles of snow melt.