Dolores Campbell

Poverty Remains Long After Christmas is Gone

Poverty Remains Long After Christmas is Gone

December 16, 2020 at 12:49 pm

Christmas is nigh and the good and the generous have been hard at work throughout our communities, making sure that each and every family awakens to everything it takes to make the day a joyful one. They’ll have food and toys and clothing and all will be fine — forRead More

Watching the COVID Deniers in Disbelief

Watching the COVID Deniers in Disbelief

December 2, 2020 at 1:02 pm

Is there something in the water (or more, probably, in the air) in Alberta? What causes people in Calgary, specifically, to stand outside in the hundreds, some actually holding small children in their arms, to protest the various restrictions put in place to protect them and their families from COVID-19?Read More

Homeless encarmpment, Northeast Portland (Photo by

Shelter from the Coming Storms

November 25, 2020 at 11:49 am

I don’t really know the situation today, but in the 1950s, working for the church especially as a secretary, I got to know those who were referred to as “stemmers.” They were the dedicated few who every so often rang the glebe house doorbell in search of a dollar orRead More

Rent control rally, Antigonish, NS, 7 November 2020 (Source: Twitter)

Housing in the Headlines

November 11, 2020 at 10:17 am

If writing about poverty, homelessness, food banks and the need for a guaranteed annual income (GAI) could solve any of the problems associated with such matters, I would surely have solved a few over lo! these many years I’ve been contributing to the Spectator. The battle cry at the momentRead More

Pope Francis, 25 October 2020. (Source: Vatican News)

Unpacking Francis’ “Same-Sex Union” Remarks

October 28, 2020 at 12:19 pm

Reporters and religious writers who cover the Vatican are already going to great lengths to make sure that Catholics, especially LGBTQ Catholics, realize that Pope Francis’ statement re “civil unions” changes nothing as far as the Catholic Church’s stand on homosexuality and its definition of “marriage” is concerned. (The latterRead More

Fall Brings Colors — and Change — to CBRM

Fall Brings Colors — and Change — to CBRM

October 21, 2020 at 12:19 pm

The coming of October goes not unheralded. Its harbingers are glorious – yellow, orange and red. They blaze across the hillside and flame against the sky. While summer, like September, has faded with a sigh. October has a beauty and a splendor that are rare. A crayon-colored prelude to November, bleakRead More

Angry Old Testament God

“God’s Will,” Thoughts on Providentialism

September 30, 2020 at 12:26 pm

“It’s God will” is a statement so often heard that when one personally decides s/he no longer accepts it as reasonable, practical, or —  let’s face it — believable, a statement from a high-ranking clergyman in the Catholic Church endorsing such a view, especially with regard to COVID-19, has toRead More

Summer Reading

Summer Reading

September 2, 2020 at 12:47 pm

The early burst of summer weather this COVID season also meant a jump start on my summer reading, thanks to the kindness of a couple of reader friends who offered two bags of books, including only one I had already read — Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín — which I wouldRead More

Hugh Segal (Photo by Milan Ilnyckyj / CC0 https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/)

Hugh Segal Wants to Turn CERB to GAI

June 24, 2020 at 1:04 pm

This past week, I listened to a podcast from the Conference Board of Canada’s “Bright Future” series featuring my old friend (meaning, someone I quote frequently), Hugh Segal, who has for years (since he “had hair”) been a fierce proponent of guaranteed annual income (GAI). Asked by host Michael BassettRead More

In CAHOOTS, an Alternative to Regular Policing

In CAHOOTS, an Alternative to Regular Policing

June 17, 2020 at 1:02 pm

There has been almost too much to process from days of watching the Black Lives Matter marches spreading, not only across the United States, but to so many countries around the world, including Canada. But even as protesters call out police racism and brutality, like that displayed in the killingRead...