International demand for Canadian maple syrup surges amid U.S. trade war | CBC News A quintessential Canadian product is finding its way to more store shelves and breakfast tables around the world. Canadian maple syrup exports are trending upward, generating $844.2 million in 2025, up 17.2 per cent over the previous year, according to Statistics... Continue Reading →
Failure to care for creation is an โecological sinโ a Roman Catholic commission declaresย
[KJG] During her 2006-2015 term as Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori stated that ignoring or denying climate change is a moral failing and a "sinful" rejection of God's creation. The howls of protest at the time remain legendary. As a trained scientist herself, she knew the effects of climate change on... Continue Reading →
Humanity must stop pretending it doesn’t know what it’s doing to the Earth
That's the message from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, marking 1 September as both the start of the Orthodox ecclesiastical year and the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Natural Environment, an observance the Ecumenical Patriarchate established in 1989 and which now brings Christian communities together worldwide: "a symbol and practical promotion of the unity... Continue Reading →
Haiti: โThe biggest disgrace is indifferenceโ
by Jim Hodgson - Reposted from Unwrapping Development More than 42 years after my first visit to Haiti, I canโt disagree with that assessment. It was offered June 16 by UN secretary general Antรณnio Guterres near the end of his one-day visit to Port-au-Prince. The visit came 40 years after the fall of the Duvalier family dictatorship;... Continue Reading →
Hear me out: Please
I walk into a room. Around a table sit three people engaged in lively conversation. I want to join the chatter so I sit down and pay attention to each speaker in turn, even when one talks over the other, excitedly. Itโs hard to keep up as the topic shifts quickly from a family story,... Continue Reading →
Summerland Sauce Project supports farmers impacted by wildfire and rescued Okanagan crops
Chef Ned Bell (left) and Farmer Thomas Tumbach started the Summerland Sauce Project to turn veggies into help - Photo: Summerland Sauce Project Casey Richardson - Aug 29, 2026 / From Castanet A project that bought crops from Okanagan farmers impacted by the Bald Range wildfire and turned them into seasonal sauces and preserves raised... Continue Reading →
What is “enough” anyway? What would a โdegrowth churchโ look like?
by James Adair, BROADVIEW, Aug. 6, 2026 [I find the concepts below compelling. As churches often claim they are cocunter-cultural to my eye they simply mirror the capitalist culture that surrounds and feeds them . How often have I preached on the Parable of the shrewd Manager trying to avoid praising the servant who took... Continue Reading →
Trump’s “big deal” scorecard
Photo by K K on Unsplash Thoughts from Eileen Workman Trump seems entirely incapable of getting out of his own way. I say this because, as Iโve observed: Mr. โArt of the Dealโ seems unable to make any sustainable deals that actually help the American People. His fallback is always to use force, punishment, shaming,... Continue Reading →
Rae is raving mad — With thanks to Thomas Paine
On December 13 1776, in the dark days of the US War of Independence, Thomas Paine wrote a little book called โThe Crisisโ. He began with these words - โTHESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country;... Continue Reading →
Make Pete Hoekstra Persona Non Grata
Charlie Angus / The Resistance - Aug 12, 2026 Itโs the dog days of summer, and I wouldnโt blame you if youโre getting tired. There are days itโs hard not to feel overwhelmed by the constant threat, chaos and menace. Those feelings become more corrosive if we start thinking that weโre facing the threats alone.... Continue Reading →