Sparse and empty shelves are becoming the norm in most grocery stores.

Add one more item to the list of COVID-19’s destructive impacts: the concept of private health care may be becoming more palatable to a majority of Canadians, a claim that a national survey made early last month.

Advent is upon us once again. It’s a time of hopeful expectation and renewal, a chance to feast upon the mercy and goodness of God who sent His Son to Earth for our salvation.

It was a shocking revelation. A recent CBC investigation revealed that Dr. Carrie Bourassa, one of Canada’s leading Indigenous health researchers, is actually of Eastern European descent.

Store displays and front lawns are filling up with skeletons, ghosts and all things ghoulish in preparation for Halloween, a favourite occasion among most children.

Fear and anger. These are some of the strong emotions many Canadians have experienced in preparing to vote in the Sept. 20 federal election.

“My body, my choice. No one is going to tell me what to do with my body.”

Following more than a month of gut-wrenching developments, the winds of change are starting to blow across Canada, bringing with them fresh energy and commitment to reconciliation.

One of the greatest gifts a human being can give is the gift of acknowledgement: a nod, a smile, saying the person’s name out loud.

A woman passes by a crowd protesting public-health measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. Her destination? The hospital, to visit her husband, intubated and fighting for his life from the virus.