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An honour to host and organize Canada’s first Mentors in Violence Prevention program

I was honoured to organize and host Canada’s first Mentors in Violence Prevention program in Sechelt, BC on May 5. Here’s a story that I wrote for the local media:   A former B.C. Lions player, open discussions and hands-on scenarios recently helped about 40 local high school students learn what words and actions can…

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Screening of “Salam Neighbor” prompts $887 in donations

I was honoured to organize and host an April 15 screening of the documentary Salam Neighbor in Sechelt, BC. This by-donation event, held at St. Hilda’s Church, raised $887, which will go to the Syrian Refugee Sponsorship Committee and two other groups on the Lower Sunshine Coast working to bring Syrian refugee families to this…

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Author to host Banff workshop April 23: The Power and Pitfalls of Creative Nonfiction Onscreen

What can happen to a nonfiction story when you add a fictional narrator? Discover the pitfalls and benefits of this approach while viewing the 20-minute documentary A New Way: An Organic Garden Changes Lives. I’ll be hosting a 1.5-hour seminar April 23 at the Banff Centre in Banff, Alta. It’s part of the 2016 conference…

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RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS: A new book rewrites Sir John A. Macdonald’s role in Canada’s history

Most Canadians consider Sir John A. Macdonald, the nation’s first prime minister, as “the Father of Confederation.” But this crusty politician, an ancestor of mine on my mother’s side, might well be called “father of residential schools.”   Want to learn how his policies launched aboriginal children into decades of forced assimilation and abuse? Read my opinion piece “Macdonald’s legacy not…