Advertise on podcast: My Take with Sheldon MacLeod

It is devastating and heartbreaking to see the people affected by the losses from the wildfires in Nova Scotia. And it is heartwarming and inspiring to see the response from caring people who want to make a difference.

Firefighters have been on the scene of fires across the province over the last few weeks. Those and the three raging out of control are all likely the result of human activity. When there seems to be no penalty for violating the fire ban, it ends up costing all of us. And some, a lot more than others.

We often hear about preparing for hurricanes and winter storms and being able to be on your own for at least 72 hours. Not many of us think about being told to leave our homes and not come back for three days because of the danger. And there's lots of good advice coming from some of the 16,000 Nova Scotians who have had that recent experience.

It's shocking how quickly we can be pulled out of our lives by something unexpected or out of control. And in the case of the wildfires, we can be grateful that so far no one has been injured — or worse.

She didn't try and make her case to the public. Instead, Hope Swinimer was prepared to defend her actions and her reputation in a courtroom this week. And in the end, the Crown and the Judge delivered justice to the woman who has committed her life to helping animals.

Someone in the audience asked about getting people to talk about a horrific crime against a child. And in the end, the people who shared their stories helped get the truth on the record about the girl who will forever be 12-years old.

No public inquiry but public meetings. And that recommendation into the allegatitions of electoral interference by the Chinese puts the Prime Minister between a rock and a hard place.

It may be a distinction without a difference. The pandemic is no longer a global health emergency but COVID-19 isn't gone. And it seems most of us weren't waiting on the announcement that passed by without any major fanfare.

There are somethings in life that are unavoidable. And as a society, we talk a lot about taxes. Death; not so much. And maybe for some things, the old ways helped us make sense of things in the circle of life.

This week I met a former soldier who is living in Nova Scotia. And he and a few others have formed a group to support each other and to serve people in need. And he and the folks with The Strayboar Project are interested in doing something that seems unheard of these days.

Another scathing report from the Auditor General about the work of the office of the Nova Scotia Fire Marshal. And my guess is that they know there are areas that need improvement, but they also aren't likely to say why they can't fill their mandate. And it comes down to oversight and resources.

For some reason, some people felt the need to go off on a Hammonds Plains business for passing along a deal on some food that was at the edge of the "durable life date". Canadians have a habit of wasting food, and for owner Jacob Bussey to catch hell for helping is just distasteful.