By Darlene WroeWhat is a municipality, and why does it matter?In this part of Ontario, there are several small municipalities.According to Statistics Canada, they range in size from 97 (Brethour Township) through to 9,920 (Temiskaming Shores, which is actually an amalgamated municipality of three former municipalities).Sitting in on council meetings

• Thumbs down to the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) actually considering an application to drill in, under or around Sass Lake.Sasaginiga Lake, in Coleman Township on the western edge of Cobalt, provides the drinking water to the town and many township residents.“The permit application was circulated to

By Steven LarocqueThe new study that finds the move to a $15 minimum wage will cost 50,000 jobs is a bit of a “duh” moment.What did people think would happen?Workers and employers each have their own goals to fulfill in a capitalist society.The former wants to be paid as much

What did the president know and when did he know it?It was a question made famous during the Watergate crisis in the United States in the early 1970s.Investigators were trying to get to the nub

“Are you married?” I asked a young man who was unloading a seemingly endless supply of tables, chairs and table linens from a big truck.He was obviously taken aback and shot back a quick “no.”“Don’t,” I said.“And if you do, don’t do it at home.”The exchange took place in a

Many Speaker readers no doubt heard or read the recent story about an 84-year-old woman in Alberta who found her engagement ring after it had been lost for 13 years.She had been weeding in the family farm’s garden in 2004 when it slipped off her finger and was never found.“I

by Steven LarocqueHighway 11 is a vital artery for Northeastern Ontario.It opens us to the rest of the province and the province to us.We can take it for granted much of the time, but when there are serious and unfortunate accidents that shut down the roadway, we’re reminded of its