Archive for November, 2025

Alberta’s Road Ahead

Posted: November 30, 2025 in Uncategorized
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Today, I’m reaching out to a group that might not think of me as “their” voice, but I believe you are. I write from a progressive point of view, yes, but I am not far left and never have been. I am a centrist, maybe philosophically a little left, and most people who follow me are the same: grounded, pragmatic, and driven by fairness over ideology.

But this post isn’t for the usual audience. It is specifically for those Albertans who once proudly called themselves progressive conservatives or small-c conservatives, people who understood conservatism as careful stewardship, not chaos; community, not division; country, not grievance. I need you to hear this before Alberta follows the path unfolding south of us. And to my regular readers, who know I work hard to be fair and fact-driven: I’m asking you to put party labels aside. Think instead about your philosophy, your values, the things you believe when you think about your family, your neighbours, and the country we share. Because I need to say this plainly: the word “conservative” tastes bitter in my mouth these days. Not because of its history, that I respect, but because of what extremists have turned it into.

And I know many of you feel the same. You are not extremists. You are not separatists. You are not Christian nationalists. You are not part of this radical takeover. You represent the Alberta I know and love, and you deserve to hear the truth about what is happening inside the party you once believed in.

What happened at the UCP AGM in Edmonton this weekend was a defining moment. In truth the moment it became undeniable that the UCP is not simply “right-leaning.” It is controlled by an extreme-right faction whose language and goals mirror the dangerous movements tearing the United States apart. And they are not hiding it anymore. Their conversations about divisiveness and separation aren’t fringe now, they are escalating. And we need to be honest about why as even Danielle Smith has lost her audience. She will not be leading this party forward. She is now a liability to the very forces she once empowered. And that leaves Alberta staring down something far worse than “better the devil you know,” because what’s waiting in the wings is far more radical, far more determined, and far more dangerous.

That reality hit me hard during the recent discussions around the pipeline memorandum of understanding between Alberta and Canada. Let me be blunt: that pipeline, framed that way, is never going to happen. And the separatists know it. They are shifting, regrouping, and preparing their next move.

But here is where you need to stop, breathe, and listen. Those separatists do not define this province. Not now. Not ever.

And this circles us back to Forever Canadian. When Thomas A. Lukaszuk and team launched the Forever Canadian campaign, I knew we were responding to something real. But this weekend hit me like a freight train with the realization of just how vital that work was, and how vital it still is. We proved something timeless, something that matters more than ever and is especially true to the quote from Margaret Mead. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Forever Canadian wasn’t loud. We didn’t have deep pockets. What we had were real Albertans who wanted this place to remain part of Canada. Our strength wasn’t in noise. It was in purpose, unity, and integrity.

So yes, right now it may look like the separatists have the upper hand. But loudness is not strength. Money is not legitimacy. Coordination is not public support. A fringe is still a fringe, even when it shouts.

As we wait for the constitutional ruling that will determine whether this extremist faction can legally push a separation agenda, I need to speak personally. This is not the Alberta I expected to live in during the later chapters of my life. And I refuse to watch it fall into the hands of people whose vision would tear this province apart. This weekend left me asking, over and over; what can I do? I can write which I do. I can speak,often boldly. And I will not sit still and watch this happen. I still have something to give. Maybe more than one thing and I am ready to take on whatever tasks are needed to keep this province whole, sane, democratic, and Canadian.

And I believe with absolute certainty that most conservatives do not want what is happening inside their party. So I am asking, genuinely and urgently, please speak out. If what you saw this weekend unsettled you or frightened you, you are not alone. And you do not have to stay silent. We have a decision to make about the future of our province and it has to be made now.

Forever Canadian was never a one-time campaign. It was the first line of defense. Now we must choose whether it was a moment or whether it becomes a movement. I know where I stand. And after this weekend, I know exactly why we must stand together again. This moment feels like a long Alberta prairie road, the storm rolling in on one side, sunlight fighting on the other. We can still choose which way we go. But we have to choose now.

An MOU is not an MOA

Posted: November 28, 2025 in Uncategorized
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Between a rock and a hard place! Yesterday was quite a day. Alberta and Ottawa, two traditional sparring partners, suddenly stood shoulder-to-shoulder long enough to sign an energy memorandum of understanding, not a memorandum of agreement. One does not magically turn into the other. Canada has a long, proud tradition of signing MOUs with great pomp, flair, and photo ops… only for the “U” to quietly pack its bags and never become an “A.” Depending on who you talk to, this is either a long-overdue breakthrough, the beginning of the end for environmental policy, or proof that Mark Carney “finally caved.” I’ve heard it all, I live in Alberta, my husband works in oil and gas, everyone knows I believe strongly we have an obligation to the environmental protection of the planet, and trust me, no one here is quiet.

But the claim that Carney “threw the baby out with the bathwater”? Please. The baby’s fine (so far). The tub isn’t filled. The faucet isn’t even turned on yet. This MOU was political choreography. Alberta needed to feel seen, Danielle Smith needed a headline, and Carney needed to show he understands the economic stakes. But the moment the ink dried, the real work shifted westward. Because nothing, and I mean nothing, is moving without British Columbia and the Indigenous peoples of B.C. agreeing to it. And that is not something Alberta can yell its way through.

Now, here’s where I land, and I’ll be honest, it’s not a simple place. I understand the economic argument. Alberta has been told “transition” for decades while carrying a massive share of this country’s revenue. And yes, we need new markets; relying on the United States as our one and only customer was a naïve strategy. Alberta has failed to promote alternative energies and that needs to be part of any conversation. I have serious environmental concerns, and they’re not small ones. Carbon capture has promise, but promise isn’t proof. Pipeline safety on a rugged coastline isn’t a slogan; it’s math, engineering, and risk that must be measured, not wished away. If someone wants me to believe this can be done safely, they’d better bring more than talking points. I’m open to listening, but not to blind faith.

And that’s why today’s announcement feels less like a yes or a no and more like a “well, let’s see.” A private sector proponent still has to appear. A major projects process has to be navigated. A reworked carbon pricing agreement has to materialize. And Indigenous nations, including coastal nations, have to consent. They can’t be pressured, nor bypassed and must have consent.

Meanwhile, in B.C., the reaction has already ranged from skeptical to incredulous. Some communities want growth; others see this as Alberta’s reward and B.C.’s risk. And let’s be honest: that’s not a dynamic that sells well at the best of times.

Add to that the internal fallout, including a cabinet resignation rooted in environmental alarm, and it’s clear this isn’t just a provincial fight. It’s a national conversation wrapped in competing long-term visions, with no easy consensus and no shortcuts.

And here’s where I am this morning, and I’m not going to pretend it’s comfortable. Economically, I understand why Alberta wants this. We need new markets. We need to stop pretending the United States is a stable or reliable customer. An additional pipeline to tidewater could give us leverage we haven’t had in decades. I’m not blind to that. I live in a province built on this industry and married to someone who works in it. But the environmental risks are real. Not theoretical, not hysterical, real. A coastline spill would be catastrophic. And no politician waving a pen in Ottawa or Edmonton changes the fact that Indigenous nations have both constitutional standing and international protections under UNDRIP. Without their consent, this project doesn’t just slow down it stops. Add to that a little practical reality check: There is no proponent. Oil prices aren’t high enough to attract one. And until someone with billions of dollars raises their hand, this entire conversation is a hypothetical one presented as momentum.

Meanwhile, just last week the Premier of B.C. said they would consider increasing capacity on the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, a project already built, already operating, and already moving barrels west. Somehow that wasn’t treated as the headline opportunity. And maybe it should have been.

Carney and the country are in a hard place. A place between economic urgency and environmental responsibility. Between national ambition and on-the-ground reality. Between wanting to move forward and recognizing all the reasons we should not. I still believe Carney knows what he’s doing. I just hope this doesn’t cost him more inside his own caucus on the way through, because the stakes for this country, economically, environmentally, politically, are too high to lose steady hands now.

And so for the moment, I’m doing what most Canadians are doing: watching and thinking and waiting. Trying to find that landing spot between hope and worry. It’s not easy, it’s not neat, and it’s not resolved. I feel on the edge of something, uncertain of its shape, and unwilling to look away.

Ukaine and the 28 Point Plan

Posted: November 23, 2025 in Uncategorized
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I’m sorry, but we have to go back to a dark conversation. It’s hard, from where we sit in our relatively safe corner of the world, to fully grasp the geopolitical weight of what is unfolding. Most of us have never lived under bombardment, never fled our homes with minutes to spare, never had to choose between surrendering dignity or surviving another winter under attack. But for those who still carry the memories of our last great global conflicts, for those whose families understand occupation, invasion, and loss, this moment is not theoretical. They know exactly what this means.

And we need to be honest with ourselves too. Canada is not insulated from this. We may feel far from Europe’s danger, but we share a border, not by fence line but by Arctic geography, with Russia. That reality doesn’t go away because we find it uncomfortable. It’s not fear-mongering to acknowledge it; it’s realism. Geography will not change. And when Russia pushes the boundaries of the international order, those ripples reach us whether we want them to or not.

And today, President Volodymyr Zelensky made it clear: Ukraine is standing at the edge of an impossible choice. He warned that the country may soon face “either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.” Dignity is not a stray word. It’s a deliberate reference to Ukraine’s 2014 Revolution of Dignity, when Ukrainians overthrew a corrupt, Moscow-aligned president and claimed a democratic, European future. They fought for sovereignty once. Now they’re being cornered into signing it away.

Because the 28-point “peace plan” Donald Trump is pressuring Ukraine to sign before Thanksgiving is not a peace plan. It is a Russian-authored blueprint, awkwardly translated into English, and presented as diplomacy. Ukraine didn’t help write it. Europe wasn’t consulted. Congress was blindsided. But Putin’s allies were deeply involved.

The plan begins by restating Ukraine’s sovereignty, something Russia already promised in 1994 and promptly violated in 2014. From there, it accelerates: Crimea and vast sections of Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland would be ceded to Russia. Ukraine would be forced to shrink its military. And Russia would face zero accountability, not for the torture chambers, not for the mass graves, not for the sexual violence, not for the deliberate targeting of civilians.

Instead, the plan offers full amnesty: no claims, no charges, no justice. Then comes the financial contortion. The world is being told Russia will “rebuild Ukraine,” except the reconstruction is mostly for the territories Russia would keep. Frozen Russian assets would be used to clean up Russia’s own destruction, and the improved regions would then belong to Russia. Europe, again not consulted, would unfreeze more Russian assets and contribute an additional $100 billion. And then the U.S. and Russia would split the profits.

Europe pays. Russia gains land. Trump gets to call it a deal.

Ukraine would also be required to amend its constitution to permanently reject NATO membership which has been Putin’s obsession for decades. And the plan attempts to reframe the United States not as a NATO ally but as some kind of “mediator” between NATO and Russia. It’s an unmistakable attempt to weaken the alliance system that has kept Europe stable since World War II.

NOTHING in this plan hides its purpose. It dismantles the post-war rules-based order and drags the world back to a time when powerful nations carved up smaller ones and called it “peace.”

This is the pressure Zelensky faces. This is the trap being set for a country already exhausted by loss, displacement, and years of Russian brutality. And somehow, through all of this, we’re meant to pretend Donald Trump has changed. That he’s independent. That Putin no longer has influence over him.

But this document reads like it was drafted in Moscow and couriered straight to Trump’s desk. It mirrors Putin’s priorities word for word. And it confirms something we already suspected: Trump is still firmly aligned, ideologically, politically, and predictably, with Vladimir Putin.

The geopolitical risk to Europe is enormous. A fractured Ukraine doesn’t bring peace; it creates a corridor of instability stretching from the Baltics to the Balkans. It emboldens Russia. It fractures NATO. And it signals to every authoritarian regime that borders can be erased if you find the right Western politician to help rebrand your land grab.

We may be far from Ukraine’s front lines, but Canada is not outside this story. Our security relies on an international system that punishes aggression, not one that rewards it. Our geography ties us directly to Russia in the Arctic. And our history, our real, lived history, reminds us why appeasement has always been the most dangerous path of all.

The world cannot afford to look away. And I know I’m not able to look away. And you shouldn’t look away.

Press Releases Canadian Style

Posted: November 22, 2025 in Uncategorized
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Most mornings, I move through a routine that probably looks a lot like yours: wrangle the dogs, feed the cat, get the coffee going, check the business emails, skim the personal ones, glance at Facebook, and only then start thinking about the rest of the day. Nothing unusual.

Except today, my inbox was overflowing with statements from Prime Minister Mark Carney. Not dramatic and not performative announcements. Just straightforward records of what he’s doing: the work, the diplomacy, the economic files, the defence briefings. Five statements this morning alone. He’s in South Africa right now for the for the G20. Yes that South Africa, which people keep mislabeling with this week’s buzzwords. (A conversation for another day.)

And here’s the truth: over the past couple of months, I’ve sometimes wondered why Carney isn’t “louder.” Why he doesn’t slap a spotlight on every single thing he’s doing. Why he doesn’t pound his chest the way some leaders do. Then I look at Donald Trump’s gold-trimmed office, the oversized signature, the photo ops with the Dr. Oz, Rubio, RFK Jr, Pam Bondy cartoon lineup, and I remember: we do not need a second one of those. We already have the world champion of self-promotion.

Mark Carney leads in the opposite way, the Canadian way. Quiet, steady, competent, and never with overdramitization.

So this morning, I sat down and read the last 20 or 30 statements. And while I know these files well, I follow them obsessively, seeing them lined up, one after another, honestly hit me.

Because people keep saying, “Carney’s not doing anything.”

Well, actually, we have the receipts. In these press releases.
Literal receipts showing meetings, important calls, negotiations. and coordinated actions with our allies. All drafted, published, and sitting right there for anyone who bothers to look.

Look at the relationships he’s building. Look at his work on economic stability. Look at defence, safety, and security. Look at the effort happening behind the scenes, quietly, without the need for applause.

And look at the company he keeps: the leaders of nearly every major democracy. Because unlike the guy down south, Carney actually understands that alliances matter, not just for photo ops, but for Canada’s long-term economic and security interests.

Here’s a perfect example from today: Carney and several other leaders issued a joint statement that politely, thanked Donald Trump for his “efforts” on Ukraine. And then said, just as politely, that his proposal isn’t a credible peace plan. That it hands over land. That it weakens Ukraine’s defence posture. That it’s not peace at all, it’s capitulation presented as compromise.

This is the kind of work serious leaders do. Not performative nor loud but rather deeply consequential.

I challenge everyone to subscribe to Carney’s statements and actually read them. Yes, they’re written in diplomatic English. They won’t make you laugh. They won’t give you the adrenaline hit of an opinion piece. But that’s the point: he’s not writing for entertainment. He’s governing.

And thank God for that. Thank God he’s not a blogger, a huckster, or a man selling miracle cures out of a suitcase. And most importantly, thank God he is not Donald Trump.

Carney isn’t trying to be a celebrity. He doesn’t need rallies, slogans, or a stadium chant to keep going. He works. He thinks long-term. He moves Canada forward with intention instead of volume. He treats leadership like the responsibility it is.

This morning, after going through those statements, I felt something I wasn’t expecting: genuine gratitude. Gratitude that we have a prime minister who actually wakes up and works, not for attention, but for outcomes. Gratitude that we have someone who sees Canada as part of a global community, not an island. Gratitude that we have someone playing the long game instead of chasing the day’s headlines.

If you read what Mark Carney is doing, day after day, meeting after meeting, and still can’t see Canada’s role on the world stage rising, still can’t see the strategic work under the surface, still can’t see the direction he’s steering this country…

…then you may not understand what this moment truly demands.

Me? I see it. Clear as day. And I’ll say it plainly: I’m sure glad Mark Carney is our prime minister. Because leadership isn’t volume, it’s competence. And frankly, I’ll take competence every damn time.

The Law’s’ of Armed Conflict.

Posted: November 20, 2025 in Uncategorized
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There are days when I worry we’re watching democracy get chipped away one unhinged Truth Social post at a time. Today was one of those days. Donald Trump, the man who dreams in capital letters and tantrums threatened Democratic lawmakers with arrest and execution because they did a video reminding military members to follow the law. That’s it. A group of veterans saying, “Your oath matters,” and Trump coming back with, “Hang them.” Not metaphorically. Literally.

And whenever something like this happens, the predictable chorus of extreme media voices kicks in. Left, right, and everything radicalized in between. People who treat politics like sport commentary, who defend the indefensible if it benefits their team and attack the reasonable if it threatens their scoreboard. I’m not talking about mainstream conservatives or progressives; I’m talking about the loudest, angriest, most hyperventilating commentators who seem to think democracy is a game show they’re trying to host. They spin and they excuse and they normalize. And they make it harder for ordinary people to see what’s right in front of them.

So let’s step out of the noise and into reality, Canadian reality.

Earlier this year, when Trump said he was going to “get Canada one way or another,” I spoke with people who’ve actually served. Friends, and people in my family. People who fought beside Americans in Afghanistan. And they all said the same thing at that time which was something I took some temporary comfort in: “The U.S. military leadership won’t follow an illegal order. Their oath is to the Constitution, not to the man. They wouldn’t invade Canada.

And I still want to believe that. But then came the Pentagon meeting a few months ago where Trump told senior commanders that if they didn’t fall in line, they could walk out the door. And if they did? They risked losing rank, pensions, and honours. Decades of service wiped away because they refused to bend to his personal will.

That’s not “leadership.” That’s coercion and the hallmark of someone who sees himself as a ruler rather than a president.

Today’s explosion over a simple reminder of legal duty only reinforces that. In my opinion nothing in that video was radical. Nothing was partisan. Nothing was even controversial. The message was something every soldier in North America learns on day one, your oath is to the Constitution, to lawful authority, not to the emotions of the person sitting in the big office.

This principle goes all the way back to the Nuremberg Principles, the foundation of post-WWII military law: “Just following orders” is not a defense for unlawful actions. Military personnel must follow lawful orders and challenge unlawful ones. And while yes, there are exact procedures depending on rank and context, the principle remains the same. It is the bedrock of a professional military.

Which is why there is absolutely nothing wrong with that video. It simply restates the oath Trump wants people to forget. And this is where my fear kicks in. Because not every enlisted person, especially the youngest ones has the background or confidence to distinguish between legality and politics. Many join because it’s their path to an education, a steady income, a future. That’s not a criticism, it’s the reality of recruitment demographics across the North America. Young people are trained to follow orders, not to decode the emotional storms of a man who treats the presidency like a spotlight he refuses to step out of.

Now imagine being a junior soldier hearing the Commander-in-Chief amplify posts calling lawmakers “traitors” and saying “hang them.” Imagine being a senior officer knowing your oath obligates you to refuse unlawful orders, while also knowing your entire career could be erased by the man issuing them. Imagine being a military family watching this unfold, knowing the oath your loved one swore is becoming a political drama. Imagine being an American soldier today.
It terrifies me. And here’s the Canadian part that should terrify you: Fifty percent of Canada’s Conservative base says they support Trump’s agenda and behaviour. Half. So if you’re in that 50%, I’m speaking directly to you: Is this what you endorse? A leader who demands personal loyalty from the armed forces?
A leader who suggests elected officials should die for reminding troops to follow the law? A leader whose outbursts require cleanup crews to appear on television insisting he “didn’t mean it”?

Because here’s the truth: It doesn’t matter if that soldier in the image below is Canadian or American, the oath is the same. In Canada and the United States, soldiers swear an oath to the law, not to the person who holds power.
The words differ slightly, but the meaning is identical: lawful authority first, democracy first, constitutional duty first. Not the ego of someone who thinks he’s above all three.

I’ve read pieces of my son’s papers from Royal Military College. Things like law of armed conflict, conflict theory, technology and warfare. And the lesson across all of it is simple and unwavering:

A professional military stands above political emotion. If Donald Trump, or anyone like him, expects soldiers to replace their oath with his ego, then democracy across this continent is in danger.

This isn’t about left vs. right. This isn’t about Democrats vs. Republicans. Liberals vs Conservatives. This is about the line between law and power, and who we expect our soldiers to follow. And that scares me. It scares me a lot.

Let’s talk jets!

Posted: November 20, 2025 in Uncategorized
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“Oh no, not again,” and then, “Oh my god, not more American politics.” Well yes and no. Because while this story passes through the United States, it’s actually a Canadian story. And it’s about airplanes. Not just any airplanes, but our military jet fighters.

So where do I start?

For decades, Canada has been circling the same procurement debate like an aircraft in a holding pattern. First the Harper Conservatives committed to the F-35. Then the Trudeau Liberals backed off, re-evaluated, circled back, endorsed it, and ordered jets. And now the Carney Liberal government is taking a deep breath and asking the question a lot of Canadians are quietly asking: did we get this right?

I’m not ready to answer that yet. But here’s where I come from a very different place.

Trying to explain this without sounding dramatic is impossible, so I won’t try. The first time I ever saw an F-35 do a dirty flyby, I got chills. Real chills. That sound, that vibration, that pressure wave that rolls right through the ground and up your legs. I don’t hide from it. I run toward it. It’s who I am. Aviation is in my bones, in my family, in my upbringing.

And it’s personal because my military son, flying since 14 has long had his eye on the F-35 as his dream aircraft. His north star. And Canada has already spent billions on the program. So yes, I watch this file very closely. But then came November 6th of last year, when the United States effectively stopped being a reliable ally.

There is concern that the President of the United States could control the jets we’ve already bought. He has said openly that he could withhold parts or restrict operations. And he said it like a man who means it.

Then layer on the company he keeps, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a man whose human rights and women’s rights record is a void. A black hole. A regime with zero alignment to our values. Yet somehow, in this new geopolitical landscape, MBS has become a more valuable client to the United States than Canada who is a NATO partner, a NORAD partner, and a country that has stood with them for generations. They are now a preferred customer for the F-35. That should make every Canadian stop and think.

Because if your military fleet depends on the political mood swings of a country that now prioritizes autocrats over allies, then your sovereignty is not secure. Your sky is not your own.

Which brings us to a surprising new chapter: Sweden. With the entire Swedish royal family arriving on Canadian soil, their first visit in twenty years and Saab offering 10,000 Canadian manufacturing jobs, a partnership with Bombardier, and the potential to build the Gripen here in Canada, you’d have to be asleep not to see what’s happening.

This isn’t just diplomacy, but rather a full-throttle bid for partnership.

And honestly? The Gripen is sounding pretty damn appealing.

No, it doesn’t come with the F-35’s Hollywood reputation. But it does come with something Canada desperately needs: sovereignty and stability. A platform we can maintain, build, and supply ourselves. A jet backed by a country that actually respects human rights, actually respects allies, and doesn’t use military hardware as a political bargaining chip.

Now, I don’t know exactly what this means for our existing F-35 commitments. We’ve already sunk billions into that program. That matters. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, our obligations to NORAD, our commitments to NATO, and Canada’s own strategic future all make this an increasingly urgent conversation.

This isn’t just about jets. This is about independence. It’s about whether Canada is prepared to make decisions without being boxed in by someone else’s politics. It’s about whether we are finally ready to secure our own sky.

Now let me take this somewhere human for a moment and go back to airplanes. Below this, you’ll see a picture of me on an F-18 the very aircraft we now need to replace. I don’t have a picture with an F-35 (yet), or a Gripen (yet), but trust me: once Canada picks our next bird, I’ll happily update the photo. Call it an aviation love story in installments.

And so I end where I began… Have I ever told you how incredible it is to stand beside a fighter jet and feel the heat from the burners? To feel the vibration in the ground when it does a high-speed pass?… I should assure you that ultimately, that’s my happy place.

So stay tuned, Canada. This is one of those rare moments when a country redefines its sovereignty, its strength, and its ability to chart its own course. And yes, we will honor our NATO commitments. But we also have the freedom, the responsibility, and the opportunity to choose what truly serves our future.

Let’s get this right. Our skies, our security and our independence depend on it.

No more taxiing behind anyone. Canada’s ready for its own runway.

The tales Donald tells…

Posted: November 20, 2025 in Uncategorized
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UPDATE: I need to stand corrected. Rumour now has it that this will pass the Senate. And if that’s true, it doesn’t reassure me. It confirms every darker suspicion I had. Because for the Senate to suddenly fall in line, something behind the scenes has shifted, and not toward justice. If anything, it tells me the machinery working in the background is even more insidious, more self-protective, and more calculated than I thought. Whatever deal has been made, whatever pressure has been applied, whatever narrative Trump has pre-scripted it’s worse than the version I was bracing for.

There is nothing I can say today about the Epstein file that hasn’t already been chewed up and spit out by every podcaster, blogger, Substack warrior, news anchor, and the never ending parade of self appointed truth tellers on social media. This story has been dissected, divided, incinerated, resurrected, and re-packaged more times than any of us can count. And yet here we are again, walking right into another so called “moment of reckoning” as Congress gets ready to vote this afternoon. So yes, I’m putting my thoughts down before the two o’clock gong sounds, not because my voice will change anything, but because the hypocrisy rolling through Washington today deserves to be stamped, labeled, and called out with full accuracy.

Let’s begin with the most predictable part: Donald Trump did not suddenly wake up and decide that transparency is good for democracy. The man has never acted out of moral clarity in his life. If he’s supporting the release of anything related to Epstein, it’s because he already knows exactly what he can protect, what he can bury, and what he can spin. He doesn’t do anything unless he can tighten his grip in the process. So the idea that he is suddenly on the side of “letting the truth out” is laughable. If he is allowing this door to open even a crack, it’s because he has already controlled the narrative.

I am not accusing him of having sexual relations with underage girls. I have no proof of that, and I don’t pretend to. What I can say, because it’s indisputable, is that he was there. He knew who Epstein was. He knew what Epstein was widely rumored to be. Trump was not some naive bystander wandering into the wrong circles. At absolute best, he was passive. At worst, he was complicit through silence, proximity, and willful ignorance. And that alone is enough to demand scrutiny. But apparently demand and receive are very different things when you’re dealing with a man who has trained an entire political party to kneel before his whims.

Which brings us to today’s vote in the House. Suddenly, Republicans have permission to support releasing these documents. Not because they grew spines. Not because they found moral purpose. Not because the victims deserve justice. No. They are supporting this because Donald Trump has told them it is safe to do so. Their king, their god, their idol, their living embodiment of whatever twisted movement they’ve built; well he said yes. So they obey. And with his blessing, they can now pretend they’ve been warriors for truth all along.

But don’t be fooled. Because once this leaves the House, it enters the building where accountability goes to be stalled, smothered, and diluted beyond recognition: the United States Senate.
This is the chamber where Trump’s influence runs deepest. This is where loyalty to him isn’t just encouraged; it’s required. Many of these Senators owe their careers, their fundraising machine, and their political safety to him. And the minute anything threatens his interests, they lock step like soldiers guarding a fortress. There is no scenario where a full, unfiltered release of Epstein files passes through that chamber while Trump still commands the Republican Party. None. Please prove me wrong.

I already knew this would hit a wall, until I made the mistake of listening this morning to Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House, a man who manages to combine sanctimony, dishonesty, and self-righteous slime in a single breath. According to him, he has been in “discussions” with his Senate counterpart, and the Senate has “concerns.” Let’s translate that into plain language: this is going nowhere. The Senate will delay it, stall it, bury it in committee, or strangle it with amendments. Whatever the method, the goal is the same: make it look like they tried, without ever allowing anything real to surface.

And in all of this political maneuvering and reputation saving, what gets lost, what always gets lost, is the truth that there were victims. Real people. Real children. Young lives that were manipulated, coerced, abused, and then ignored by the very systems supposedly built to protect them. They were failed by prosecutors, by police, by powerful men with more money than conscience, and by every person who looked the other way because confronting the truth would have cost them something. These young women have carried the weight of this for years. Some were silenced and some were pushed into the spotlight to relive nightmares the world dismissed as gossip or scandal. They deserve more than selective transparency. They deserve more than curated disclosures crafted to protect the rich and powerful. If there is going to be a reckoning, it should centre them, not the men scrambling to shield themselves from consequences.

And yes, I’m saying this from Canada. We may be north of the border, but we’re not blind to the fallout. For decades, America was the example, the country that claimed to stand for law, truth, fairness. But this? This contortion of justice and loyalty? This is not the America we once measured ourselves against. And if any echo of that ideal was still hanging on, this behaviour snaps the last piece off. We care because what happens there never stays there, and because victims, on any side of any border, deserve better.

So yes, the House vote will happen today, and yes, it will pass. But the pass itself is hollow if it’s designed to go no further. What matters is whether the truth escapes the Senate, where Trump’s grip is tightest and where the incentives to protect him are strongest. And let’s be honest: he would never green light anything he feared. He is not suddenly embracing openness. He is repositioning. He is gaming the system. He is controlling the floodgates, not opening them.

This is not justice nor courage nor accountability. This is control, strategic, deliberate, and calculated. If anyone wants to celebrate today as some watershed moment, ask yourself who benefits. Ask who is still in control. Ask who gains when the public believes something meaningful has happened even when nothing has. Because Donald Trump has never once allowed truth to obstruct his own survival. And he isn’t about to start now.

Canada Geese

Posted: November 15, 2025 in Uncategorized
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This crisp late-fall day has the last of the stubborn geese circling overhead, honking like they’re still debating whether they should go south this year. And honestly, given the state of things, who can blame them for hesitating? So many stayed last year. Maybe the ones still lingering on the canal took one look at the southern border and said, “No thanks, we’ll risk the frostbite.” They’re out there bobbing on the water, perfectly content, not looking the least bit anxious about moving on.

And yes, I hear you. “Nancy, what on earth does this have to do with anything?” Well, apparently more than I realized, because my brain seems to be looping back to the United States whether I mean to or not. And today, what I keep circling around is the moral cesspool that is the Epstein file situation.

Let me start with something I’ve said before and I will not soften here: I’m not sure there is a more repugnant human being walking this planet than Donald Trump. Inside politics, outside politics, take your pick. The man is rot.
But here’s where we weaken ourselves: when we focus solely on trying to label him a pedophile. I don’t know what he did or didn’t do sexually, and I don’t pretend to. What I do know, and what any thinking adult can see is that Donald Trump knew exactly who Jeffrey Epstein was, and exactly what he was doing.

You cannot orbit that world and be oblivious. You cannot spend years around the man and be unaware. Epstein did not become wealthy through brilliance or talent. He didn’t finish school. He was a mediocre Wall Street guy who somehow ascended into extreme wealth and extreme access.

And there is only one explanation that makes sense: his business model was procuring young girls for powerful men. That was his commodity, his leverage and his power. And that is why “follow the money” matters here in a way that truly exemplifies that phrase.

Because is not only about sex crimes, as monstrous as they are. This is about power, money, leverage, and protecting wealthy men whose reputations, careers, and political futures rest on keeping those files sealed. Some of those wealthy men are allies of Donald Trump. Some are donors. Some are defenders. Some are simply adjacent in ways that make everyone very, very nervous.

Now Trump has announced he wants an “investigation” but only into a small, cherry-picked group of Democrats he personally despises. He wants the process sliced to his convenience, weaponized for his grudges, and stripped of its full truth.

And how anyone sees that as fair, moral, or acceptable is beyond me.

If we are serious about justice, then every single person in those files must be investigated. Every billionaire, every celebrity, every politician and every hanger-on. I don’t care if they’re 97 years old and bedbound, if they hurt children, they answer for it.
And yes, Donald, that includes you. If you’re innocent, fling open the vault and prove it. People who are innocent don’t limit investigations. People who are innocent don’t curate lists. People who are innocent don’t fear daylight.

After the last U.S. election, the one that devastated me, I said something I’ll repeat again: Senators, congresspeople, look at your daughters and granddaughters when you vote. Because you have already failed them once. Do not fail them again. Two things matter now: Every Epstein file must be released. Every document, every ledger, every associate. Not some. Not the convenient ones.
All of them. AND Donald Trump must say he will NOT pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker. If he refuses to do that, then he is telling the world exactly what, and who, he is protecting.

And let me sharpen the line that needs no misinterpretation: This request to open the files will pass Congress, and will hopefully pass the senate. But if this reaches Trump’s desk and he blocks transparency, that is not confusion. That is not bureaucracy. That is not “procedure.” It is a choice, a deliberate act to protect himself, his allies, and any powerful man whose name appears where he doesn’t want it to.

He is not shielding America from scandal. He is shielding himself from accountability. There is no other story.

And that brings me back to the geese. They’re still out there on the canal, doing what geese do: watching the water, watching the temperature, responding to the world exactly as it is. They don’t only fly south out of tradition or habit. Actually they move when nature tells them it’s time, when the freeze takes hold, when the signals become impossible to ignore. They survive because they read the conditions honestly.

Americans are standing in that same moment. The water is cooling. The ice is forming. The warning signs are right in front of them. The geese will lift off when the freeze becomes undeniable.
The question is whether Americans will finally do the same, not by fleeing, but by refusing to let lies, secrecy, and power bury the truth any deeper.

My Remembrance Day

Posted: November 11, 2025 in Uncategorized
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As those who read me know, I speak often of military service, of my family’s involvement, of the deep respect I hold for those who serve and have served. But today, that respect carries a heavier gravity than I can recall feeling in many years. The world we are living in feels as though it is shifting under our feet, and while I cannot fully name what we are on the brink of, I know in my bones that it is frightening. On this Remembrance Day, the meaning of sacrifice feels sharper. Clearer. More urgent. It demands something from us.

I have attended Remembrance Day ceremonies for sixty-six years. I may not remember those very early ones, but I remember every year from the time I was six. I remember my Brownie uniform, my Girl Guide sash, attending beside Air Cadets. I remember laying wreaths for my grandfather, and later for my father. I remember attending ceremonies with my sons, one of whom would later stand in uniform among other serving members. I remember standing there in bitter wind, in snow, in quiet fall sun. Some years I attended with family, but most years I went alone with my children, not as a tradition, but as an instruction. To remember has always been for me a deliberate act. A responsibility.

And yet, somehow, we are forgetting. Some measure that forgetting by how many show up to a ceremony. But attendance alone is not remembrance. If the only day you acknowledge the sacrifices of those who came before us is the day the bugle sounds, then yes, at least you came. But let’s be honest. Let’s be bold. If that is where your remembrance begins and ends, how can you look at what is happening in the world right now and not recognize that the ground beneath us is becoming less stable? That we are, once again, entertaining the same ideologies, the same hunger for division and dominance, that cost millions of lives in the last century?

When I watched the national ceremony today, I forced myself to truly watch and to feel it. To let myself remember that when my father enlisted in 1941, he was eighteen. He stood beside other boys who stepped forward because they understood something we now seem to resist seeing: that freedom is not self-sustaining, democracy is not a given, and peace is not guaranteed. Those boys are few now. Those who remain carry the memory of what happens when hatred, extremism, and power-hunger go unchecked.

Canada lost more than 66,000 soldiers in the First World War. Another 172,000 came home bodily wounded but numbers were not kept for those spirits that were damaged. In the Second World War, we lost 45,000, and 55,000 were wounded. In the Korean War, 516 more. We lost lives in Somalia, in Bosnia, in Afghanistan. And we carry the unseen casualties, trauma, grief, fractured families, the quiet suffering that never makes the history books.

But today, we are witnessing the most horrific disrespect of what they fought for that I could have imagined. Not from some distant villain. But from everyday complacency. From the normalization of authoritarian rhetoric. From the cheering of cruelty as if it is strength. From the casual acceptance of lies, hate, and division, especially from those who claim to “love freedom.”

I find it difficult to reconcile that on a day as sacred to me as Remembrance Day, I have to speak about politics at all. But how can I not? What was fought for is being eroded. And not subtly.

I hate that I speak so often of American politics. I don’t want to. I want the United States to deal with their own chaos while we remain steady here. But we are too geographically, socially, culturally, economically intertwined to pretend their descent into authoritarian celebration does not affect us. And here, within our own borders, we are watching admiration for those very same anti-democratic impulses grow among people who stand under the same flag my father fought to protect.

I do not know what to do with this pain. This fear. This anger. I can list adjectives until the page collapses under them, none of them feel sufficient. What I do know is that Remembrance Day is not just symbolic to me. It is not a cultural performance. It is not background noise between errands. It is sacred. And when the world carries on casually today, shopping, scrolling, rushing, and arguing it feels like a bell ringing that no one hears.

So I wear my poppy intentionally today. Because it is a visible bell. A signal and a reminder that remembrance is not passive. That memory is not nostalgia. That silence is not neutrality.

On my sixty-sixth Remembrance Day, I am asking, no actually pleading that we understand the gravity of the world we are in. That we recognize we are not immune to the forces that tore other nations apart. That we stop comforting ourselves with the myth that Canada is somehow untouchable, incorruptible, insulated by politeness.

Do not show up to a Remembrance Day ceremony if you also cheer for authoritarianism, division, cruelty, or the dehumanization of others. You cannot honour sacrifice while celebrating the very conditions that required it.

I do not want my children, or their children, to live what their grandparents and great-grandparents endured. I am scared.

But remembrance is not about despair. It is about responsibility.

And we still have time to choose who we are.

My Remembrance

Posted: November 6, 2025 in Uncategorized
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If you’ve followed my writing for any length of time, you know I go where the truth and the moment lead. Sometimes that means celebration. Sometimes that means politics. Sometimes it means sitting with the weight of memory. Over the next few days, as we approach Remembrance Day, I’ll be sharing a few reflections about service, sacrifice, and the country we are responsible for. I won’t apologize for that. It’s my duty.

Many of us carry stories of war in our family lines, stories that live quietly in the background until something pulls them forward. My family’s story is one of those. My grandfather, Ivan McClure, developed tuberculosis after being gassed in the trenches at Ypres during the First World War. The chlorine gas ravaged his lungs and, eventually, the rest of his life. He spent his remaining years in a Tuberculosis sanatorium, like so many who returned with slow-dying injuries.

But there is something I know now that my father never did. The military records and medical reports from the First World War were not released until after Dad had passed. When I finally saw them myself, one detail struck me so hard I had to sit with it for a while. My grandfather’s feet had begun to rot from the sheer amount of time he had stood in freezing trench water. Not figuratively. Not poetically. His flesh decayed while he was still standing in uniform.

That is two generations behind me. Not distant history. Not ancient trauma. My family. Our country. Our home.

We are not as far from these stories as some would like to believe. And yet, somehow, in all our noise and distraction, we seem to be forgetting.

When Remembrance Day comes, I think of my grandfather fighting to breathe. And I think of his son, my father, Don McClure, heading into the Second World War as a boy who had already seen what war does to a man’s body.

This passage, from my father’s memoir One Rung At A Time, will always remain exactly as he wrote it. His voice deserves to remain untouched: “On the train ride home from Montreal I got permission from my Commanding Officer to leave the train and take a taxi to the hospital to see Dad. He had no inkling that I was going to be there and I know that it was a glimpse of sunshine for him on an otherwise cloudy day. I only stayed for a half hour as it had taken time to get to the hospital and it would take an equal amount of time to get back to the train. After I kissed Dad good-bye, I turned my back on him and walked away. I have often wished I had turned and waved but the scene was getting too emotional for me to handle, compounded by a foreboding that this was a final farewell.”He was right. It was.

All of this, this history, this bloodline of service, has taken on a sharper meaning now that my youngest child serves in the Canadian Armed Forces. When my father wrote his memoir, that wasn’t yet part of our story. I think of how proud he would be. And I also think of how afraid he would be, knowing what war takes and how peace must be guarded.

Those who have served, and those who love someone who does, understand something that isn’t captured in parades or ceremonies. Service isn’t abstract. It is lived in the body. It is separation, sacrifice, risk, and readiness. It is a love of country that is not loud, but carried. And I will say this plainly: As I watch what is happening south of our border, the erosion of democratic loyalty in favour of personal allegiance to a single man, my heart breaks and my blood boils. The oath of service is meant to be to one’s country, not to a king of convenience. We have seen what happens when citizens are asked to serve a person instead of a nation.

There is a myth we hear sometimes, that the United States “saved the world” in both world wars. But I have stood with my family’s records in my hands, and I know better. Canada fought. Canada bled. Canada lost sons and fathers and brothers who never came home, and those who did often came home to suffering, sickness, and silence.

We are a small country, yes. But small does not mean insignificant. We must remain strong. With our allies. With our democracy. With our conscience. We cannot afford to forget who we are.

On Remembrance Day, I wear my poppy for all who served.
For all who serve now. For all who will stand when it is their turn.

We remember so we do not repeat. We honour so we do not diminish. We love this country, so we protect it. Lest we forget.

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