Community Chaplaincy in Ontario

I have been a Toronto Maple Leaf fan for 55 years. I actually remember them winning their last Stanley Cup in 1967. I believe they have the talent to win again within the next couple of years. Yet I feel the coaching or the player's inability to listen, is catching up to them. Let me explain. I was a goalie for some 35 years and although I never played at a high level, I think I have a grasp of the game. I often hear people talking about the lack on defence for the Leafs. The fingers point at one guy in particular but I think the problem lies somewhere else: the system that is being used. Babcock is a proven top-end NHL coach. However, he seems to have a blind spot, along with his coaching staff, when it comes to play in their own end and for that matter, in the neutral zone. One of the greatest strengths of this team is their speed. They go through long stretches not using that speed and instead basically stand around waiting for the puck to come to them. The most noticeable a...

The City of Toronto is great in so many ways but on Monday, April 23, 2018 in the early afternoon it experienced something truly terrible. A madman decided to drive down the sidewalk on Canada's best known street, killing to date, 10 innocent people. Those affected my this senseless tragedy are too numerous to mention but in this blog I want to write about the cops who saw something nobody should be asked to witness. I will try to be careful what I say. Today I spent time with several of these brave men and women and I heard their stories. I heard them compliment the citizens of Toronto for their help in the midst of an horrendous scene that spanned several city blocks. It was heart-warming to hear about Torontonians coming together as one and for one day silencing the cop-haters who love and get the media attention. Most of the cops that arrived on the numerous scenes that stretched down Yonge Street, always knew this day would come but few if any were prepared to see and hear...

As the tragic events of the Humboldt Junior hockey team came to the world's attention, there is something I feel we can't lose sight of. It goes without saying that this has devastated families and an entire community. The grieving process will be long and painful but hopefully peace and comfort and support will be present through it all. Our prayers go out to all the parents, to those who billeted and to the survivors of the crash. There is another group that may be overlooked by some and as a police chaplain I would like to briefly address it. The people who had to see all the carnage were the First Responders. Police, Fire and EMS and others who had to be at the scene of the tragedy saw what the the rest of us can only imagine. The images they witnessed will stay with many of them forever. For those who have children it will have been especially difficult because their thoughts would have been on their own children and what if. It happens each and every time a child is inv...