A next generation HTTP client for Python. 🦋

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 Luisa D'Amato in her Opinion piece in yesterday's K-W Record, titled "A report on Waterloo Region's water crisis will be ready next month  What happens next?", makes it very clear. One, public trust in Regional government has been broken and two, we are not out of the woods yet. Ms. D'Amato states "But we're doomed to return to the moment of crisis, if we forget that we ever had a crisis.".  She suggests that even if we get by the 2026 Region of Waterloo Water Crisis  we have no way of knowing if we have enough water to provide for the growth of the Region to one million people by 2051 as our provincial and federal governments are demanding. 

Myself I see no problem in Waterloo Region attaining a population of that size and a plethora of serious problems if we do. Our city streets and highways are too busy now part of the time. Lets pack in more people, more cars, more buses, more trucks and see how they are then. Our waterways are getting dirtier from agricultural, industrial and human discharges so lets make them worse. Our groundwater based drinking water is badly compromised from both past industrial pollution as well as current road salt levels, nitrate exceedances, glyphosate (Roundup), chlorinated solvents and worse. We can solve that apparently by a multi billion dollar pipeline to the dirtiest of the Great Lakes namely Lake Erie. We deserve that because much of our water pollution ends up in the Grand River which empties into Lake Erie. Our air stinks part of the time although that isn't solely our fault. Farmland and crop production continues to erode as we turn farms into either industrial wastelands, data centres, warehouses or rural subdivisions requiring personal cars for work, shopping and play. Lastly don't we all enjoy sitting for hours in hospital emergency rooms waiting to be seen? Surely larger populations will reduce waiting times won't they?

Meanwhile locally our politicians have been complicit in the destruction of a magnificent aquifer complex that was capable of providing for the needs of Elmira, Woolwich and even south to K-W to assist in their needs. That is done! Now K-W are providing for our water needs but do not fool yourselves. They are providing us with heavily and expensively treated groundwater and river water that some of those same politicians cheerfully allowed to become contaminated without proper remediation at the source in the first place. They would rather all taxpayers pay for disinfection and contaminant removal at regional water treatment sites than their political party and individual donors, who made extra millions by improper waste disposal, pay out of their own pockets. 

Yesterdays Blog posting here indicates how far and wide contamination has spread in Elmira and how it continues to re-contaminate aquifers that are only partially being pumped and treated. It also shows how far the MECP, Lanxess, Woolwich and Regional politicians are willing to go to distort, lie and deceive residents and citizens on these matters. All of their lies and deceptions serve their purposes which are to make money and to accrue power and influence at our expense.         

Board members serve two-year, renewable terms
We need a few exceptional people to join us as we build a more peaceful and compassionate Toronto

Out Of Bounds, a registered charity, is looking for a small number of capable, concerned and committed volunteers to join our Board of Directors.

Our organization was founded in 2006, after Toronto’s infamous “year of the gun.” Since then, we have provided support to those affected by gun violence and pioneered programming and advocacy to address the root causes of such violence.

One of our hallmark programs offers immediate counselling and support to the families of young people who have been killed or wounded as a result of gun violence.

As Toronto witnesses an upsurge in such violence once more, and after several years of operating as a grassroots organization, Out Of Bounds is transitioning to a more formal and professional structure to advance our mission. We are seeking volunteers to join our Board of Directors to help us grow to the next level.

Ideal candidates will have a combination of the following:

• Previous experience serving on a nonprofit board or in a leadership role with a community organization;
• Familiarity with the legal and fiduciary responsibilities of nonprofit governance;
• Personal/professional interest in, or connection to, the issue of reducing gun violence and supporting those affected by it;
• Empathy and dedication to advocating for survivors and families impacted by gun violence;
• The ability to provide both strategic leadership and accountability AND perform the tasks often asked of a working board, including serving on sub-committees and volunteering for specific tasks;
• The ability to call upon personal networks to source information, resources and connections that would advance the mission of the organization;
• The ability to work collaboratively with others on a small board, building consensus and managing conflict constructively; and
• Willingness to serve as an “ambassador” for the organization as it meets with those in the community and connects with other stakeholders.

Professional experience in a number of fields that would contribute to our board skill set is welcomed but not mandatory. These fields would include public policy, social justice and advocacy, media and social media, law enforcement and the justice system, trauma counselling, fundraising, accounting, strategy and community leadership.

Our nine-person Board of Directors is at the centre of our response to the challenges facing Toronto communities. Our small staff, led by our Executive Director, delivers programming in two main areas:

• Supporting those who are grieving from the loss of a loved one to gun violence; and
• Engaging in the community to address the root causes of gun violence.

Our working board has helped us design and deliver programming in each of these areas and meets regularly to oversee the implementation of programming, hold our staff and each other accountable for tasks and timelines, and respond to emerging issues and opportunities in the community.

• Attend board meetings regularly
• Actively participate practically (taking on and accomplishing tasks) and in policy / accountability discussions;
• Commit to at least one, two-year term of board service;
• Join at least one Board subcommittee; and,
• Consider serving as an officer of the organization as your skills and time permit (e.g., Co-chair, Treasurer, and Secretary).

Those interested in this opportunity are welcome to contact the Chair of our Nominations Committee, Garcia Bartley, at garciabartley@hotmail.com

Website: www.outofboundjf.org

The post Out of Bounds appeared first on Capacity Canada.

♦The Central Student Association (CSA) is the undergraduate student association at the University of Guelph. We advocate on behalf of our membership, representing their collective interests on a diverse range of issues such as public transit, housing, student rights and the accessibility of education. In addition, we offer numerous services and programs such as the Bullring, Universal Bus Pass, Health and Dental Plan, Bike Centre, Clubs, Student FoodBank, SafeWalk, Student Help and Advocacy Centre, printing, and promotional services.

The CSA Board of Directors works within the CSA’s welfare, image, and mandate, to defend and protect the rights and interests of students. Directors have a huge influence across campus and beyond, making decisions that affect the quality and type of services, events and campaigns offered by the CSA as a not-for-profit corporation. Between General Membership Meetings, the Board of Directors is the highest decision-making body of the organization. Directors also help to shape and build the student movement within these board meetings. The Board of Directors is made up of a four-person Executive, two at-large members elected per college, and representatives appointed from college governments and campus organizations, totalling to a maximum of 35 individuals. As a result, the Board of Directors meetings include passionate discussions about student issues from members with diverse backgrounds, and it is the role of the Chair to ensure the meetings flow efficiently with decorum.

The Board Chair serves as an external chair, not as a member of the Board of Directors. The primary duty of this position is to uphold the CSA’s Rules of Order and Robert’s Rules of Order in order to allow for democratic decisions to be determined by the Board of Directors. The Board Chair must work in an unbiased manner with utmost neutrality to ensure equity among all Board members in acknowledgment of the mandated diverse demographic of the Board. By extension, the Chair must be mindful in ensuring all Board members are given all available options when they inquire about parliamentary procedure. As a staff member, the Board Chair must uphold and support the CSA’s Mandate and Approach and work towards the overall success of the CSA.

Board Meetings are generally held alternating Wednesday evenings, and are typically 1.5 to 2.5 hours in length, though may extend to 5 hours on rare occasions. In addition to the scheduled Board Meetings, the Board Chair is expected to chair the CSA’s Annual General Meeting, General Members’ Meeting, and Emergency Board Meetings.

Start Date: As Soon As Possible – Total of at least 20 meetings per fiscal year (May 1 to April 30)
Salary: $50.00 per hour, rounded up to the nearest quarter hour – starting from pre-meeting – Minimum three hours paid for all regularly scheduled board meetings and training dates
Vacancy Disclosure: This job posting is for an existing vacancy within the organization
Executive Supervisor: CSA President
Immediate Supervisor: Policy and Transition Coordinator

• Required to complete the following online training modules:
  • Workplace Health & Safety
  • Anti-Oppression
  • AODA Customer Service and Human Rights
  • Sexual and Gender Based Violence Awareness
• Additional training may be required at the request of the President
• Opportunity to shadow up to two Board of Director meetings

• Primary responsibility will be to chair/facilitate Board of Directors meetings, emergency Board meetings, and members meetings using Robert’s Rules of Order and CSA Rules of Order
• Review board packages prior to meetings
• Make all necessary inquiries and complete research to ensure you are prepared as possible for discussion at Board meetings
• Attend meetings on an as needed basis before Board of Directors meetings and members meetings to go over upcoming items with the Policy & Transition Coordinator
• Conducts Board meetings in an efficient, effective, and focused manner and ensure adequate time to consider complex issues
• Establish a safe and inclusive environment that seeks and embraces diverse perspectives, independent thinking, and active participation
• Be mindful of the diverse identities represented on the Board and facilitate discussion in a way that creates space for voices most affected by the issues being considered.
• Formulate rulings of the chair when an issue arises which is not explicitly stated in the CSA bylaws and/or policies, while also adhering to Robert’s Rules of Order
• Demonstrate an understanding of University of Guelph student issues as well as an understanding of the workings of the Central Student Association, including Bylaws and Policies
• Sign minutes of the Board of Directors once they have been approved by the Board
• Lead the training of Board members on CSA Rules of Order and Robert’s Rules each semester
• Ensure the Board is made aware of and upholds CSA bylaws and policies pertinent to meeting discussions in conjunction with the Policy & Transition Coordinator
• Act as a resource for Directors with respect to all questions of process and motion writing
• Receive evaluation from Board members to incorporate feedback into your work annually

• Knowledge of Robert’s Rules of Order
• Highly effective communicator and skilled facilitator
• Experience chairing large meetings
• Arbitration, tact, diplomacy, and impartiality
• Reliable and flexible to emergency meetings held on short notice
• Strong understanding of, and commitment to diversity, and inclusion
• General knowledge of student unions
• Experience with student governance, not-for-profit boards, or similar organizational structures is an asset
• Strong knowledge of the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) and relevant case law, particularly as it applies to not-for-profit governance and board procedure

Deadline for applications is November 18, 2026 at 5pm
Resumes and Cover letters should be submitted online through the CSA application process found at www.csaonline.ca/jobs

For a complete copy of the CSA Hiring Policy, visit csaonline.ca/about/bylaws-policies. The CSA hiring policy is found in Appendix C of the Policy Manual, Section 4.0.

The CSA is committed to employment equity and to the creation of a working environment that is welcoming for all applicants. We particularly encourage applications from women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, racialized people, international students, and members of Queer communities.

The Central Student Association welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities.

Accommodation is available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. To arrange accommodations please contact csaocass@uoguelph.ca

The CSA does not use artificial intelligence (AI) or automated screening algorithms to evaluate applications for this role. Every resume and submission is reviewed directly by a member of our hiring team.

The post Central Student Association (CSA) appeared first on Capacity Canada.

A COSMIC applet for displaying CPU/Memory/Network/Disk/GPU usage in the Panel or Dock..

Rust 135 Updated Oct 9

A lightweight system monitoring applet for COSMIC desktop displaying CPU, GPU, memory, and network stats in the panel.

Rust 8 Updated Oct 22

The 2026 Federal Budget includes a number of measures aimed at strengthening Canada’s economy, encouraging business investment and improving the country’s long-term competitiveness.

Following its release, both the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce shared their perspectives on what the budget means for businesses, where they see positive progress and where further action is needed.

While both organizations welcome the focus on investment and productivity, they emphasize that successful implementation will be critical to translating government commitments into meaningful results for businesses.

Here is a look at the key takeaways from each Chamber’s response.

Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC)

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) welcomed the Federal Budget’s focus on unlocking investment, accelerating major projects and strengthening Canada’s economic resilience amid continued global uncertainty.

Some of the key measures welcomed by the Ontario Chamber include:

• Lowering business costs through tax simplification and immediate deductions for eligible investments.
• Supporting business growth and innovation through enhanced commercialization funding, tax incentives and capital gains exemptions.
• Advancing major projects and energy infrastructure through streamlined approvals and national energy strategies.
• Building stronger communities through housing investments and supports to address homelessness.
• Promoting industrial energy efficiency through investments in energy-saving technologies.

These measures reflect key priorities outlined in the OCC’s 2026 federal budget submission, but they identify four key areas that need further action: improving progress and accountability on major projects and internal trade, supporting small business growth through tax and regulatory reforms, developing a skilled workforce that meets employer needs, and helping businesses expand into international markets and diversify their supply chains.

Read the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s full Federal Budget reaction:

Ontario Chamber Welcomes Federal Budget’s Focus on Investment, Says Execution Will Determine the Results

Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC)

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce welcomed the Federal Budget’s focus on encouraging business investment, strengthening productivity and improving Canada’s competitiveness, while emphasizing the importance of creating the conditions for businesses to invest, innovate, grow and compete internationally.

Some of the key measures welcomed by the Canadian Chamber include:

• Encouraging business investment through the Productivity Mega Deduction, which is intended to lower the cost of eligible investments in machinery, equipment, technology and other productivity-enhancing assets.
• Supporting research and innovation through expanded Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentives to help businesses invest in research, development and the commercialization of new technologies.
• Helping businesses scale and grow through measures such as improvements to the small business rollover and the Canada Growth Incentive, aimed at supporting investment and encouraging businesses to retain and reinvest capital in Canada.
• Strengthening Canada’s economic competitiveness by simplifying the tax system and reducing administrative and regulatory burdens, particularly for small businesses.
• Supporting investment and economic growth through initiatives designed to strengthen Canada’s productive capacity and create opportunities for businesses across the country.

However, the Chamber raised concerns about the federal government’s fiscal outlook, highlighting the projected $62.3-billion deficit and rising borrowing costs. It emphasizes that maintaining fiscal discipline and delivering meaningful economic growth will be essential to the budget’s long-term success.

Read the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s full Federal Budget reaction:

Our Reaction to Budget 2026 – Canadian Chamber of Commerce

For a more detailed breakdown of the budget measures, the Canadian Chamber has also prepared a full analysis for its national Chamber network:

Canadian Chamber of Commerce Budget Analysis

Looking Ahead

Both the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce recognize the importance of encouraging business investment, improving productivity and strengthening Canada’s economic competitiveness.

The Federal Budget includes measures that could create opportunities for businesses, particularly in areas such as innovation, manufacturing, infrastructure, energy and technology. However, both organizations emphasize that turning these commitments into meaningful results will be critical.

For businesses in Waterloo Region, continued investment in innovation, access to talent and capital, reduced barriers to growth and opportunities to reach new markets will remain important priorities.

The Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce will continue to monitor federal policies and initiatives that affect our local business community and advocate for the conditions businesses need to invest, innovate, compete and grow.

The post 2026 Federal Budget: What Canada’s Business Chambers Are Saying appeared first on Greater KW Chamber of Commerce.

The specific CSM (Conceptual Site Model) handed out by consulting/engineering company Onterris to TRAC (Technical Remediation Advisory Committee) had a 2024 date on it. Assuming (as dangerous as that is) that TRAC had previously received this CSM I am reasonably confident that their failure to loudly and clearly proclaim the major differences to the east was not solely due to corruption or ill intent. Far more likely they simply have no one on that committee with the clearly not requisite combination of hydrogeological knowledge AND unbiased honesty. Certainly Eric Hodgins and Tiffany Svensson have the hydroG knowledge but just as certainly they are committed or bound to the Woolwich Township narrative which is in full alignment with that of Lanxess and the MECP. Susan Bryant, in my opinion, has neither of the requisite combinations.

I have long been aware of the errors and weaknesses in these pictorial CSMs. While generally helpful they are also riddled with errors. This is especially concerning when we look at the 2017 CSM that is part of Dr. Neil Thompson's primarily written CSM. For clarification he had included on page 17 of his written CSM a copy of the June 19, 2017 pictorial CSM which Dr. Dick Jackson had referred to as a "cartoon". Personally while I like them visually I was disapponited that they were not as accurate as they both could have and should have been. One of the obvious problems dealt with the known "window" at OW-58 on Uniroyal's west side property boundary which made a direct hydraulic path between the Municipal Upper and Municipal Lower Aquifers. Nevertheless it has never made it onto the pictorial CSMs over the decades. 

Other issues might include the very belated groundwater flow direction arrows showing Bedrock groundwater being pumped by both W5A and E7/E9. Other problems include the failure to include the eastward groundwater flow component from the Surficial Aquifer (SA) at the north end of the east side of the site until the most recent 2024 CSM. The lack of any Municipal Lower Aquifer (ML) being shown either on or eastwards off the Uniroyal site is a particularly garish failure. The use and abuse of serrated lines allegedly representing unknown areas in the sub-surface is far too self-serving. Drilled wells are the major source of data for where various sub-surface stratigraphic units start and finish yet their use is inconsistent. Another example of inconsistency is the completely horizontal surface of the Bedrock from the south end of Elmira (E7/E9) all the way north to the Uniroyal/Lanxess site where the Bedrock elevation allegedly rises dramatically based upon nothing. Similarly we are to believe that the serrated lines for the Municipal Upper Aquifer (MU) on the extreme east (right) side of all the CSMs indicate that there are no data and hence no observation wells on the east side of the Uniroyal site. That is not true and if it was all the more shame to the company(s) over the decades for intentionally hiding  the extremely relevant stratigraphy from the public. The aborted Upper Aquifer (UA) on the east side of the Creek on all the pictorial CSMs is also misleading considering that there have been shallow wells along Uniroyal's east side property line since at least the 1980s.

The final (2024) pictorial CSM presented by Onterris has three additional problems. Firstly his Insert listing the mass contaminant removal rate (mg./day & g/yr)  for pumping well PW5 (now PW6) is actually covering the location of the Municipal Upper Aquifer (MU) on the east side of the site. Secondly this Figure/map doesn't tell us for which of the two "chosen" contaminant representatives (NDMA or chlorobenzene) the mass contaminant removal rates apply. I would suggest that it is for NDMA based upon the masses involved. Thirdly and perhaps of supreme importance is the possibility (probability?) that the three lowest aquifers on the Stroh property are hydraulically connected namely the MU, the ML and the Bedrock (BR). That Uniroyal/Lanxess have allegedly not got data to clarify this is an abomination and absolutely self-serving keep the public and citizens in the dark and covered in @#%* (i.e. the mushroom treatment).  

As we take in the results of this week’s U.S. midterm elections, I know people are experiencing a range of emotions. Some are feeling hopeful. Others may be feeling concerned or uncertain about what comes next.

Whatever you’re feeling, I believe this is a good time to remember that the everyday choices we make at work matter. How we treat colleagues. Whose contributions we recognize. Who we mentor, sponsor, and advocate for. Whether we speak up when someone is overlooked or excluded.

These actions may seem small, but together they shape workplace cultures where people can do their best work and thrive.

That’s why I write 5 Ally Actions every week. And it’s why I’d love your help getting these ideas in front of more people.

Will you forward this newsletter to a coworker who might find it useful? Or encourage someone to subscribe here. The more of us who put these everyday actions into practice, the better our workplaces can become.

Thank you for being part of this community. Now, let’s dive into this week’s edition.

-Karen

In a viral Threads post, Jacob Newsome, who is Black, shared a recent interaction:

“White person: Wow, you speak so well!
Me: You speak so well too! I’m genuinely shocked!
Them: Why are you shocked?
Me: Well, why were YOU shocked?
Them: Goes completely silent and walks away.
Me: Hello??? Where are you going? 😭”

It’s funny, but it points to something worth noticing. When someone expresses surprise that a Black person is articulate, the compliment can carry an underlying assumption: that they wouldn’t expect a Black person to be well-spoken, educated, or articulate.

That’s a lousy stereotype, and we should challenge it.

If someone tells a Black colleague, “You’re so articulate,” I recommend the seek common ground and educate approach. You might say:

“I used to think calling someone articulate was a compliment, but I have since learned many Black people don’t think so. When said with surprise, it can reinforce a negative stereotype about their communication skills.”

And when you genuinely want to praise someone’s communication skills, be specific. For example:

• “You have a unique ability to simplify complex problems.”
• “I watch a lot of webinars, and you’re one of the best at engaging a remote audience.”

Let’s make sure our compliments recognize someone’s skills without carrying assumptions about who we expect to have them.

Share this action on Instagram or LinkedIn.

Sponsor 5 Ally Actions and put your brand or business in front of 40,000 caring individuals in business, healthcare, education, and non-profits.

Or, say thanks to Karen and buy her a coffee ☕.

I recently asked Sema Burney for an actionable tip from her new book, White Men, I need you! Your no-nonsense guide to allyship in the workplace. Here’s what she shared with me:

“Before sharing an opinion, recognize the lens in which you see the world. For example, I had an amazing work colleague who was a white male in his sixties. He was well ahead of most people when it came to understanding equity. Still, he often referenced his own privilege before sharing an opinion. ‘As a white man, I realize I might have a different perspective…’”

Why did this matter? Burney explained,

“Openly discussing his privilege made me feel safer and much more comfortable about opening up and sharing. This proved to be a positive loop because the more I shared, the more he learned.”

Before weighing in on an issue, let’s all consider how our experiences might shape our perspective and what we might be missing. When appropriate, let’s acknowledge it out loud.

At a recent book launch event for Fair Share, authors David Smith, PhD, and Brad Johnson, PhD, emphasized the importance of creating workplace cultures that encourage men to use caregiving benefits openly.

The goal? Make caregiving a visible part of work life rather than something employees feel they need to manage quietly.

Think about it. When you need to attend children’s school events, stay home to care for a sick family member, or take them to a healthcare appointment, do you try to slink away and hope no one notices? Or do you take the opportunity to “leave loudly” by letting colleagues know why you’re heading out or will be unavailable?

Let’s send a message that prioritizing personal needs and utilizing flexible, family-friendly policies is okay (and frequently required).

We can be transparent about it on our calendar, with a Slack status, or via an automated email response. For example,

• Working remotely to care for a sick child.
• Leaving at 4pm today to coach youth basketball.
• OOO for a doctor’s appointment.
• Unavailable this afternoon for a family commitment.

When people see coworkers making room for caregiving, it becomes easier for others to do the same. So the next time you need to step away, consider leaving loudly.

November is Native American Heritage Month in the U.S. Coincidentally, it’s also when we recognize Native Women’s Equal Pay Day, which falls on November 19th this year.

This symbolic date marks how far a Native American woman must work into the current year to make the same amount that a white, non-Hispanic man earned last year.

Another way to look at it? Imagine finding out you’ve been earning just 58 cents for every dollar paid to a coworker. That’s the current wage gap for Native women working full-time, year-round in the U.S. Source: Equal Pay Today

And there were many other equal pay day milestones throughout the year highlighting wage gaps for moms, Black women, Latinas, disabled women, and others.

I hope organizations regularly review compensation and fix inequities. But that may not be happening. In the Harvard Business Review’s How to Identify — and Fix — Pay Inequality at Your Company, Amii Barnard-Bahn reported that only 22% of 922 of the largest U.S. public companies had reported conducting a salary audit between 2016 and 2020.

So, check on your organization’s plans regarding a pay equity review. Ask about it at an all-staff meeting or send a message to your head of HR to let them know this topic is important to you.

I love this final thought from Barnard-Bahn:

“There is no way to feel more included than to be paid equal to the person sitting next to me.”

This week’s spotlight comes from RESOLVE: The National Infertility and Family Building Association. The organization recently launched a new Coverage at Work toolkit, which provides employees with the tools and information they need to ask their employer about infertility and family building coverage. Using the toolkit, you can:

• Understand what your plan already covers and where the gaps are.
• Identify the right people to approach and understand how benefits decisions are made.
• Understand best practices for how to make the case for expanded coverage.
• Use talking points and email templates for human resources.

As RESOLVE told me, the number one barrier for people who need fertility treatment is financial, and coverage from insurance makes a massive difference in easing that burden.

Please consider how you can advocate for the fertility treatment and family building benefits you or your coworkers might need.

And if you’ve taken a step towards being a better ally, please reply to this email and tell me about it. Be sure to mention if I can quote you by name or credit you anonymously in an upcoming newsletter.

That’s all for this week. I’m glad you’re on this journey with me,

Karen Catlin (she/her), Author of the Better Allies® book series

100% written by me. I use AI for light editing and for researching a personal archive of my books and past newsletters.

Copyright © 2026 Karen Catlin. All rights reserved.

Together, we can make a difference with the Better Allies® approach.

• Say thanks to Karen and buy her a coffee ☕ (Need a receipt for educational reimbursement? Reply to this email, and we’ll take care of it.)
• Sponsor an edition of this newsletter
• Follow @BetterAllies on Instagram, Medium, or YouTube. Or follow Karen Catlin on LinkedIn
• Read the Better Allies books
• Tell someone about these resources

Look Out For Backhanded Compliments, and Other Actions for Allies was originally published in Code Like A Girl on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Written by: Nasreen, Director of Communications, communications professional, writer, and former journalist dedicated to strengthening communities through storytelling, strategic communications, and a commitment to fostering dialogue, understanding, and positive social change.

Capacity Canada’s Board Governance BootCamp returns November 24–26, 2026, at Bingemans Conference Centre in Kitchener. With the theme “Boldly Hopeful in a World on Fire,” this year’s gathering invites nonprofit leaders, board members and sector professionals to strengthen their governance skills while looking ahead with courage, purpose and hope.

Strong nonprofits need strong boards. Board members bring their time, expertise and passion to their organizations, but effective governance also requires the right knowledge, resources and confidence.

Board Governance BootCamp brings together nonprofit leaders, governance professionals and board members for three days of practical learning, meaningful conversations and valuable connections. Designed for both new and experienced directors, participants can choose sessions that reflect their experience and organizational needs.

Over the years, BootCamp has welcomed CEOs, executive directors, board members and industry leaders to explore strategic planning, risk management, financial oversight, fundraising, technology, collaborative governance and inclusive leadership.

Past keynote speakers have included Cassie Campbell-Pascall, Olympic gold medalist and broadcaster; Steven Woods, partner and CTO of Inovia; and Eldon Sprickerhoff, founder and strategic advisor of eSentire. Their diverse perspectives have encouraged participants to think differently about leadership, governance and the forces shaping their organizations.

BootCamp is about more than presentations. Participants leave with practical ideas, new perspectives and connections they can take back to their organizations.

As Darcy MacCallum, CEO of Social Enterprise for Canada, shared:

“I haven’t stopped telling people about the conference. Truly one of the few times I can say I came home with several very actionable items.”

Whether you are joining a board for the first time or bringing years of governance experience to the table, there is always an opportunity to learn and strengthen your practice.

In a world facing uncertainty and change, strong governance matters. Being boldly hopeful means recognizing the challenges ahead while believing thoughtful leadership and strong organizations can make a difference.

Join us November 24–26, 2026, at Bingemans Conference Centre in Kitchener.

Come ready to learn. Come ready to connect. Leave boldly hopeful about what comes next.

Learn more and join us at Board Governance BootCamp 2026.

Nasreen, Director of Communications, Capacity Canada

email: nasreen@capacitycanada.ca

♦Nasreen has more than six years of experience working as a journalist with media organizations and non-profits in Canada and India. She has worked as a writer, editor, and managed social media accounts for several non-profits in the past.

Nasreen’s work includes writing as a columnist for various newspapers, including The Daily Mail. She has also produced well-researched stories and news packages while working as an editor with national newspapers. A trained mediator, she recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Waterloo. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and a second Master’s degree in Political Science.

The post Boldly Hopeful: Board Governance BootCamp Returns This November appeared first on Capacity Canada.

Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce (GKWCC) President & CEO, Ian McLean, attended the Canadian Chamber of Commerce AGM & Convention in Victoria, British Columbia, on October 28-29, 2026, alongside colleagues from the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, including President & CEO Greg Durocher.

The annual event brought together more than 400 delegates representing approximately 117 Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade from across the country to explore the trends, challenges and opportunities shaping Canadian business today.

In addition to advocating for local businesses on a national level, the convention provided valuable opportunities for Chamber leaders to discuss emerging business trends, particularly the growing impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and the opportunities it presents for small and medium-sized businesses.

A key announcement was a new national initiative led by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, supported by more than $2.7 million in funding from Google.org, to help over 10,000 Canadian small and medium-sized businesses build the knowledge, confidence and practical skills to put AI to work. Launching in January 2027, the two-year program will provide accessible AI training, workshops and hands-on support through the Canadian Chamber’s national network of Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade.

This initiative recognizes that while AI offers significant opportunities to improve productivity, streamline operations and support business growth, many smaller businesses need greater access to the training and resources required to adopt the technology effectively and responsibly.

Resolution: Increasing Access to Early Learning & Childcare Programs

The Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber, in partnership with the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, was proud to co-sponsor a national policy resolution focused on increasing access to early learning and childcare programs. Access to affordable, reliable childcare continues to be a significant barrier for individuals looking to return to the workforce, particularly women. Limited availability, affordability challenges and gaps in childcare services can prevent qualified individuals from pursuing employment opportunities, advancing their careers and contributing fully to the economy.

With ongoing workforce challenges across Canada, improving access to childcare is an important part of strengthening labour force participation and supporting employers in attracting and retaining talent.

The resolution calls for greater attention to the accessibility of early learning and childcare programs, recognizing the important role that childcare plays in supporting families, workers and Canada’s broader economic growth.

The resolution received an overwhelming 97% support from delegates at the convention, demonstrating strong national recognition of the importance of this issue.

Supporting Canada’s Broader Business Priorities

In addition to co-sponsoring the childcare resolution, the GKWCC supported several other additional policy resolutions addressing a range of issues impacting Canadian businesses and the national economy.

Resolutions focused on artificial intelligence (AI), aerospace, tax reform, infrastructure, agriculture, and other emerging opportunities and challenges facing Canadian industry.

Participating in these discussions and supporting resolutions from Chambers across the country allows the GKWCC to contribute to a broader national business voice and help advance policy priorities that support economic growth, innovation and competitiveness.

What It Means / What Comes Next?

The Canadian Chamber AGM & Convention provides an important opportunity for Chambers of Commerce to come together, share perspectives and influence the national policy agenda. Through collaboration with the Cambridge Chamber and other Chamber partners across Canada, the GKWCC continues to ensure that the concerns and priorities of local businesses are represented at all levels of government.

From advocating for greater access to childcare and a stronger workforce to exploring opportunities in AI and supporting small business innovation, these conversations help shape the future of Canada’s business environment.

Your Chamber continues to advocate for you and your business, working collaboratively at the local, provincial and national levels to ensure that the voice of our business community is heard.

Here are some highlights from the event:

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Candance Laing – President & CEO of Canadian Chamber of Commerce with our President & CEO – Ian McLean.

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Our President & CEO – Ian Mclean with Brian Rodnick – Communication Specialist, Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, Greg Durocher – President & CEO of Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, Travis Dyk – Chair of Board of Directors – Cambridge Chamber of Commerce & Greg Dunnett, President & CEO – Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.

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Greg Durocher – President & CEO of Cambridge Chamber of Commerce with Brian Rodnick – Communication Specialist, Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, Travis Dyk – Chair of Board of Directors – Cambridge Chamber of Commerce with our President & CEO – Ian McLean.

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Our Chamber & The Canadian Chamber of Commerce are supported by great number of businesses.

The post Greater KW Chamber Advocates for Members at the 2026 Canadian Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting appeared first on Greater KW Chamber of Commerce.

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The Moscow Mule isn’t Russian, but the myth behind its name is what gives the cocktail an added layer of flavour.

The drink is New York-inspired and appeared in the early 1940s. The story goes that three gentlemen from the bar industry – a distributor, a ginger beer-maker and a vodka distiller – dreamed up the cocktail together while at the bar in The Chatham Hotel in Manhattan. The guys combined a couple of jiggers of vodka with some ginger beer and gave it a good squeeze of lime. It’s really a pretty simple creation. And its a great thirst-quencher.

As for the name, vodka has for a very long time been associated with Russia, and some early imbibers of the drink, as they were testing it, thought that the spicy, snappy ginger beer gave the beverage a bit of a kick.

And the Moscow Mule was born.  

Here’s a recipe:

Moscow Mule
Ingredients
½ oz. lime juice
2 oz. vodka
6 oz. ginger beer

Method
Squeeze lime juice into a Moscow Mule mug. Drop in squeezed lime for good measure. Add 2 or 3 ice cubes. Pour in the vodka and fill with cold ginger beer. Serve with a stir stick.

Variation: The Kentucky Mule
An excellent substitution: use 2 oz. bourbon instead of vodka and garnish with a sprig of mint.

[Image/ Nan Palermo, via Wikimedia Commons]

Check out my latest post The (so-called) Moscow Mule from AndrewCoppolino.com.

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(This photo is a frame taken from footage shot by Richard Glaze back around 1962 -- I think; if anybody could help me identify the actual year, I'd be grateful. It's of a steam train excursion taken up north. Hopefully, I'll post the video at some point soon.)

For your reading pleasure, I thought I'd offer up another story that I published in my Tales From the Silence anthology. As you may know, Tales From the Silence is a companion anthology to The Sun Runners, set in the same universe where the Earth pushed the consequences of climate change back far enough that they had precarious colonies set up across the inner solar system before things caught up and the Earth collapsed. The anthology invites several authors to share tales about life on those colonies between the years the Earth went silent, and when, in The Sun Runners, it awakes and attempts to recapture its earlier influence.

A number of stories within the anthology also focus on Earth, as it recovers from the catastrophe and starts to rebuild over the intervening fifty years. After the Apocalypse in Moosonee takes place in the town of Moosonee on the shores of James Bay -- the end link of the Ontario Northland railroad connecting the community to the rest of Ontario, and its only ground link to civilization. The year is 2177, twenty-six years after the fall of the Manhattan Sea Wall that heralded the Earth's collapse and the start of its silence. The community has suffered, but it has pulled through. What happens when, after twenty-six years, something comes down the tracks?

I was honoured to have this story included in Volume 3 of Stephen Kotowych's Year's Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction, published in 2025. Read on:

Rebeka had been hunting grolar bear when the government train came to town.

Blackflies beat against her face shield and caught in the netting of her kaffiyah. The brown-white bear stood in her sights. Birds chittered. A light breeze rattled the branches.

"Hold still, you."

She sighted down the barrel of her air rifle and blinked. Her ocular implant zoomed in. The brown-white bear doubled in size, then doubled again. It turned its head, and she focused in on its eye.

"Let's see what you've got."

The groler bear glowed green. Information popped out around it: Grizzly-polar hybrid; female; 150 kilograms.

Rebeka held her focus. The halo flickered. She clenched her jaw. "Come on . . ."

Female . . . 150 kilograms . . . Elderly.

"Yes!"

Past cub-rearing age.

"That's what I needed to see." Enough meat to last the winter. More Vitamin A from its liver than they'd ever know what to do with, though Doctor King had been good at convincing the Kalaallit traders to accept his pills. The kids could have new coats before the snows hit.

Now, to calculate the shot.

The halo flashed. New information flowed out: distance, trajectory--

Suddenly, the halo flashed brilliantly. "Ow!"

Rebeka reared back, banging the side of her head like a blackfly had found its way through the netting. "Ow! Ow! Stop it!"

Very like a blackfly.

She clenched her eyes shut. "Come on! Don't give up on me now!"

The flashes stopped. She opened her unaltered eye, looked around, then closed it and opened her implant. She blinked and rubbed her temple. "Okay. Okay, back to work." She settled into the brush and sighted down the barrel again. "Where were we?"

She held her breath. The grolar bear lowered its head into the implant's crosshairs. She rested her finger on the trigger and blinked the safety off. "Go to sleep, old mother," she whispered. "I'll make sure the townkids thank you for their coats." She tightened her finger.

A howl rose through the muskeg and echoed off the hills. The grolar bear jerked up just as Rebeka's gun chuffed. Seconds later, a hole blasted into the trunk of the tree behind where the bear had been.

"Damn it!" Rebeka shoved herself onto her knees, then froze. The howl was still going. What is that noise? Her first thought had been a wolf, but they couldn't hold a note this long, and there was too much power behind it. Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped, leaving only echoes in its wake.

Then it started again.

Rebeka clambered to her feet as the second howl lasted as long as the first. It was followed by a third, much shorter howl before a fourth, long one rose. When it ended, Rebeka stood in a forest startled into silence.

Wait.

She started forward, slinging her rifle over her shoulder.

Two long howls, one short, then one long. Only one thing makes that sound . . .

Pausing to geotag where her bullet had struck the tree, Rebeka ran for the rail crossing.

As she ran through the bush, she heard echoes rise from the distant hills: a rhythmic clank of metal, a rumble of engines, the scrape and squeal of wheel against rail. She came out onto an old logging road in time to see a gleam of metal a hundred metres ahead as something crossed the gap in the trees. She heard another howl, almost deafening this time, and a prolonged squeal of brakes, then a thump.

Rebeka skidded down the lumber trail. The rumble of engines continued, this time accompanied by snatches of shouts. She slowed as she reached the level crossing. Planting herself in the shrubbery beside the rails, she peered out.

The train was made up of three self-propelled passenger cars, their sides sun-bleached, dented, and scratched. Most of the windows were covered with corrugated metal. Enough scrap to patch the whole town! At the front of the train stood a dozen people wearing long, loose, camo-coloured cloaks over overalls. They'd wrapped their heads against the blackflies with keffiyehs of netting, too, but stared out at the world through goggles. They wore wide-brimmed khaki hats, and they all had rifles, some held at the ready.

Rebeka ventured out from the shrubs and ducked behind the rear of the train beside the coupler. Everybody's attention was focused at the front. One man climbed down from the cab. He had no rifle. The others flanked him as he crept forward. Rebeka blinked and zoomed in for a closer look.

She winced. The grolar bear lay splayed and messy against the front of the train. Poor thing!

The lead man straightened up, shaking his head. He gestured at the bear, and the others slung their rifles over their shoulders and stepped forward. Voices rose as they cleared the carcass away.

Rebeka geotagged this site, too.

In her zoomed vision, the lead man turned, then paused. He stared across the distance of the train at her position. At her. He tilted his head and started forward.

Rebeka ducked back under cover. As voices approached, she turned and ran for the logging road, diving back into the bush the first chance she got. She raced for home.

#

Rebeka couldn't imagine Moosonee without the sea at its doorstep. The story of James Bay ending twenty kilometres downstream on a river before the waters rose and flooded Moose Factory had been just that: a story. Instead, the smell of salt and the scream of gulls rising over the rush of the pines always called her home.

She crashed out of the bush and followed the old powerline cut until she got to Quarry Road. She kept running. She followed the rutted track as it curved and descended, pulling up beside the rail line as it approached her town. She passed a battered, faded sign that read MOOSONEE, POPULA--.

Patched-up houses and pre-fab stores stretched out ahead of her along dusty roads. The tracks skirted the edge of the town opposite the estuary to the old train station--now the Meeting Hall--beside the Community Centre. People were already gathering on First Street, staring up the line toward the forest and beyond.

Rebeka waved her hands as she drew close. "Hey! Hey!" She pulled off her face shield and unwound her kaffiyah. "Hey! Train!"

"We heard!" Mrs. Freisberg smiled as Rebeka approached. The silver-haired woman squinted at the tree line through cracked glasses. "I haven't heard that sound in over twenty-five years!"

"I saw!" Rebeka waved back the way she'd come, then leaned on her knees, gasping. "They--" She took a deep breath, gulped, then continued. "They ran into a grolar bear at the logging road crossing."

"Whoa! Really?" Kile and his friends leaped up from the stoop of the old Thrift Store. "How long is it?"

"Those things could stretch kilometres!" Liz added. "Long chains of cars, carrying ore, grain, wood! Did you count them?"

"Just three, I'm afraid." Rebeka ruffled Liz's hair to the girl's annoyance. She turned to the others. "Three self-propelled passenger cars, bringing people." To Doctor Elijah King, standing in the doorway to his pharmacy, she added, "Dad, they got rifles."

In the distance, the train whistled twice. The rush of motors and clank of wheels started up again.

King stepped onto the street, as did Brody from the door of the hardware store and Karen from her coffee shop. She hadn't served coffee since the Manhattan Sea Wall failed, but she did serve a legendary bone broth. Karen handed Rebeka a steaming mug.

King glared up the line. "Southerners," he growled.

Brody chuckled softly and patted King's shoulder. "Of course, they're Southerners. Who else could they be? Californians would also be southerners to us."

"And the guns are not a surprise," Karen added. "You'd be an idiot to step into the wilderness without them."

"Still," King grumbled.

"Do you think they'll have news?" Ahead of them, Mrs. Freisberg stared at the train line. Her voice was eager, upbeat, but her hands twisted the strap of her purse. "Do you think they'll know about John?"

Brody, King, and Karen glanced at each other. The townsfolk stayed silent. Rebeka bit her lip.

"Maybe," said Karen at last.

King coughed. "I'm sure they have a few stories to tell."

"No harm in asking," Brody added. He glanced at Karen, who nodded and gestured at Kile. Kile nodded and ran into the coffee shop. He came out a moment later with a tray of steaming mugs and handed one to Mrs. Freisberg. She accepted it, not taking her eyes off the line.

The street filled up, more people hurrying in from the outskirts. Some carried whatever they'd been holding when they'd heard the train horn, mugs most often, but sometimes tools or a battered book. The younger kids joined up with Liz, chattering, while Kile hurried back into the coffee shop to deliver more bone broth. Some of the kids started playing train, running around in conga lines, while the bigger kids leaned on walls and pretended to be unimpressed. Old people frowned while parents leaned together and whispered.

Rebeka slung off her rifle, handing it to Brody. He checked the magazine. "You fired a shot?"

"A miss," she replied.

"You geotagged the spot?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course, Other Dad."

"Hey," King chided. "Be kind."

"I am being kind, Dad," said Rebeka. "How long has it been since I lost a shell? Years? You two won't let me forget about that."

"Well, 'Beka," King began. "Bullets--"

"Bullets don't grow on trees." Rebeka rolled her eyes again. "If I had a shell casing for every time I heard that, we wouldn't have to worry about recycling our supply."

"How did you miss?" Brody cut in.

Rebeka shrugged. "The train horn disturbed the grolar bear."

"The same bear that got hit by that train?"

She nodded. "Geotagged that as well. Should still be a lot of usable flesh left."

"Good job." Brody gave Rebeka a smile and a wink. "You think the liver's okay?"

King sighed. "Don't you start, you two."

Rebeka grinned. "Yeah. Should be plenty of Vitamin A there! Don't want to run out of that." She looked up at King. "Right, Dad?"

He rolled his eyes.

The train horn sounded, closer this time. The town kids joined in, making whistle sounds in response. Conversations buzzed. Brody and King drew closer with the crowd, Rebeka a step behind.

"How could they be here?" asked Brody.

"They must have figured out a way around Otter Rapids," King replied.

Brody let out a chuff of disbelief. "They'd need to build a new bridge for that, past the ruined dam and overtop the old town. How could they have done that without us noticing?"

Karen paused between handing out mugs. "Well, it is a hundred and forty kilometres away."

Brody turned to her. "I saw the rail end this past spring. It's a dead drop into the canyon, and there's nothing there but rocks and trees and water. They'd have to have moved in supplies and built a bridge in less than six months. We should have noticed something."

"Could they have used the New Government Road?" asked Rebeka.

"It's in even worse shape," Brody replied. "It's washed out pretty much everywhere north of Iroquois Falls."

"Well, however they did it, they did it," said King, as headlights broke out from the treeline. He raised his voice over the shouts and cheers of the other townsfolk. "And now we're going to meet them." He nodded at the former station. "Appropriately, at the Meeting Hall."

#

As they walked toward the train station/Meeting Hall, Rebeka's vision flared. She staggered, then stepped to one side, leaning against a wall. She kept her implant eye closed as she massaged her temple.

Shadows fell over her. King and Brody looked down. They didn't say anything. They didn't need to.

"It's okay," she said through gritted teeth. She turned away, forced her eye open, then blinked rapidly. "Just a glitch."

Brody's voice pitched up. "Clearly, it's not."

"Other Dad--"

"Bex!" He waved his arms. "These are coming almost daily now! You can't keep living like this. We need to take you up the coast."

She glared at him. "Did the hospital in Attawapiskat take delivery of a new batch of implants?" She gestured at her implant. "Because otherwise, they're just going to remove this."

Brody started to shout, caught himself, and then lowered his voice. "Better that than pain."

"Easy for you to say," she snapped. "You're not looking at blindness."

"Brody?" King's voice was calm, quiet. "Go on to the Meeting Hall. Save us a spot."

Brody drew in his breath, looked at King, frowned at Rebeka, and then stalked off, shaking his head.

Rebeka pulled a necklace of metal beads from her pocket. She ran the rosary through her fingers and breathed deep against the memory of pain.

King pulled a match from his pocket. It flared to life as he crouched low to get a good look at her eye. Rebeka huffed but opened her eye wide. "The thing's still working, Dad! I would have had the bear if the train hadn't startled it."

"It's not about that, and you know it." King waved the match out and stuffed it back in his pocket. "Brody doesn't like to see you in pain. Neither do I. I'm not seeing any physical damage yet, but if this gets any worse, you're going to the hospital in Attawapiskat."

Rebeka looked away. The rosary beads clicked between her fingers. "Dad, I can't put food on the table with just one eye, and a normal one at that."

King gave her a tight smile. "You'll adjust. And it doesn't have to be just you who puts food on the table, you know."

"I'm the best shot in town thanks to this implant," she snapped. "If I don't put food on the table, what good am I?"

"You're my daughter; that's what good you are." He gripped her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "And that's plenty good enough."

She pushed his hand away. "I don't want to talk about this right now." She pocketed her rosary and shoved past him. "Come on. We don't want to miss this meeting."

#

The brakes squealed as the train descended the line into town. Its horn blared, and kids who'd stepped too close clamped their hands over their ears. The train slowed as it reached the platform, which was now full of people.

Finally, the engines cut out and, brakes squealing, the train eased to a stop. Metal shutters pulled away from the windows, revealing soldiers in camo gear, faces obscured by netting and goggles. Rifles were slung over their shoulders. They stared out at the people on the platform and the people stared back. The kids and some of the older folks started to edge away.

At the head of the train, the cab door opened, and a man stepped to the edge. Rebeka recognized his long coat, netting, and hat from the logging road crossing. He looked out at the audience, then pulled off his hat and goggles, unwinding his kaffiyah netting, revealing the face of a clean-shaven man with short, brown-blond hair and dark eyes. "Hello!" His smile showed brilliant white teeth.

He raised his hat high, and his voice. "Hello, Moosonee! I'm so glad to see you all here! How long has it been? Twenty-six years? But you're still here! Wonderful! Wonderful!" He clapped, loud and hard, and the soldiers at the train windows started clapping as well.

At the back of the crowd, Rebeka watched the townsfolk look around, many confused. But as the applause continued, some straightened their shoulders, looking proud. She found herself nodding, thinking, Damn straight. We're still here.

The man continued, "My name is Drew McMurtry, and I work for the Toronto District Government."

He tossed his hat, goggles, and kaffiyah inside the cab, clambered down onto the platform, then gestured to the soldiers on the train. "Take the nets off, all of you! The blackflies aren't bad around here. Let everybody see your faces!" He turned back to the crowd. "Let everybody see everybody. This is . . ." He stopped, sighed, and, when he looked up, seemed almost in tears. "This is a great reunion after all this time. We're so glad to see you all there."

He clapped again as the soldiers removed their nets and goggles, revealing men and women. Some men had beards, some not. Some soldiers had close-cropped hair; others wore their hair longer. Without the keffiyehs and goggles, all looked . . . young. Nervous. Shy. They smiled and applauded, and, this time, the townsfolk clapped with them.

As the applause ebbed, McMurtry raised his hands. "I'd like to speak to your council. We have a lot of catching up to do." He gestured as two soldiers pulled open a loading door in the middle of the first car. Each held a cardboard box in their hands. "First things first, though: to the people of Moosonee, we're from Toronto, and we bring . . . chocolate!"

Two soldiers jumped onto the platform, opening the boxes to reveal rows of foil-wrapped bars. Everyone stared. Then the kids rushed forward en masse before being held back, barely, by their parents. After brief chaos, the crowd organized the children into lines. Each kid received one bar and thanked the soldier handing them out before going immediately to the back of the line for a second offering.

Rebeka looked at the boxes in the soldiers' hands and noted similar ones in the train car behind them. There's probably enough in there to give every child quite a sugar high.

King glanced at Rebeka. He and Brody shared a look. Then he nudged Karen, who nodded. She stepped forward to McMurtry and stuck out her hand. "Mr. McMurtry, welcome to Moosonee." Smiling, he shook her hand. "My name is Karen Quachegan," she continued. "I'm the . . . mayor of this town." She gestured at the station behind her. "Why don't we go into the Meeting Hall? We have bone broth."

Rebecca watched as Karen, Brody, and King led McMurtry into the station. Two soldiers followed close behind. On the train, four soldiers wrestled a waist-high crate to the edge of the train's loading doors and called for help. Townsfolk rushed forward to assist. As everyone worked, Rebecca counted the soldiers in her head.

Two dozen, she thought. And all of them with guns.

#

After the soldiers and townsfolk volunteers loaded the large crate onto a cart, Rebeka followed them as the soldiers guided the cart into the Meeting Hall. McMurtry, flanked by his two soldiers, sat at one side of the head table while Karen sat at the other, Brody and King beside her. Everybody clasped steaming mugs of bone broth. Townsfolk pulled up seats around them.

McMurtry gestured to the crate as it entered. "More gifts from the Toronto District Government. Chocolate is a nice treat, but probably not all that you need, am I right?"

"That's very generous, Mr. McMurtry." Karen smiled, looking almost embarrassed by all these gifts. "We have been doing all right here since things stabilized. Some of the older ways helped, including hunting, but new supplies are always appreciated. We have to geotag our bullets so we can rescue and recycle them before they go extinct. The component parts of our rifles can be fixed up only so many times."

"That's why we're here," said McMurtry. "I think this will help provide all of the supplies you need."

King coughed. "We appreciate all of these gifts from the south, Mr. McMurtry, but we are all wondering how you came to be here."

McMurtry tilted his head. "Well . . . what was the last thing you heard from . . . us?"

"We heard the Manhattan Sea Wall failed," said Brody. "We heard there were riots. Then the electricity cut out and we lost the Internet. We had to rely on ham radios to get any sort of news after that. The last thing we heard from the south was the warning from Otter Rapids that the dam at the Abitibi Generating Station had collapsed and that we had to get to higher ground, fast. Since then, all our news has come from the north."

McMurtry nodded solemnly. "That . . . that must have been really hard." He smiled, still solemn. "There were hard years for us, too, but we managed to restore order in the city and save the farms around it. We kept Holland Marsh from flooding, and that stabilized our food supply. We moved City Hall into Queen's Park, and since then, we've been bringing the surrounding settlements under our protection as we can manage it. Hamilton. Waterloo. Belleville. Ottawa's a big mess. And as for the Dominion of Montreal . . ." His lip curled a moment. "Well, we've banged heads with them, but I think we've come to an understanding. The peace has held."

He leaned back. "Since then, we've been reaching out, seeing who we can help, making things safe for everybody, bringing things back to some level of normalcy. There are jobs to be done--paying jobs--and we need people to fill them. We're trading with Michigan, the Boston Free State, the Montrealers, even. The world is starting to come back together, and we want to help that process along. And that's why we're here, with supplies and . . . more." He gestured to the soldier on his right.

The soldier, a woman, stood up. She had close-cropped blonde hair and wore a white armband on her sleeve emblazoned with a red cross. "Hello, everybody. My name is Sergeant Mireille Baker, and I'm a medic. With your permission, I'd like to talk to all of you and hear about any medical issues you might have. We've brought medicines, and we have access to more back south. Does anybody have any issues they'd like to go over with with me?"

Silence settled on the room as, without making it obvious, the townsfolk focused on King. He leaned back in his seat and gave a barely perceptible nod to Karen. She gave that nod back and shifted in her seat. "I'm sure many of us wouldn't mind being seen to by a southern medic."

The townsfolk relaxed. Hands rose. If McMurtry or any soldiers noticed the silence and communication, they didn't indicate it. Conversations swelled, people talking to Baker, people talking to each other. Karen turned to McMurtry and beckoned others toward them to talk business. Rebeka stepped closer.

"Things are happening in the Arctic," said McMurtry. "Nations are trading all the way to Siberia. There's mineral exploration. There's a lot of opportunity up there. You could be a part of that, and we could help." He smiled and nodded as though expecting thanks. "We can offer protection; stop those Greenlander pirates if they ever show their faces--"

The door opened, and soldiers and townsfolk entered, carrying boxes and heading for the storeroom. They jostled past Rebeka, who stepped back to let them pass, only to hear Kile shout.

"They're not pirates!" he blurted. People turned to see the boy standing to one side, holding an empty tray. McMurtry frowned, but Kile didn't stop. "And they're not called Greenlanders. Their nation is Kalaallit Nunaat! They show up every spring, trading seal meat and fruits from Europe for medicines and lumber!"

Kile's mother hurried forward and whispered to him. He glared at her. "Well, they're not!" he grumbled as she led him away.

McMurtry coughed. "Well, I'm glad to hear you've had good dealings with the people of the Arctic. Things can be different in different parts of the world. I know the Newfoundlanders aren't too happy with them." He laughed. "Anyway--"

"Excuse me?" Sergeant Baker was suddenly at Rebeka's side, staring at her. "Are you using an ocular implant?"

Rebeka blinked, then nodded. Baker took out what looked to Rebeka like a metal wand with an eyepiece on it. A light flashed on inside it. "May I?" Baker asked.

Rebeka nodded again, and Baker stepped her back, leaned close, and gently pressed Rebeka's eye open wider. She shone the light into Rebeka's pupil. Rebeka grunted as her implant flashed and flared.

"Sorry," Baker breathed. "How long have you had this?"

"I got it when I was four," Rebeka replied. "About a year before the Sea Wall fell."

"Huh." Baker shut off the light and leaned back. "Well, that explains it. Those things are not designed to last more than twenty years without regular maintenance, and you've made it last more than twenty-five!"

"Tell me about it," Rebeka grumbled. "My dads want me to go to the hospital in Attawapiskat, but what can they do about it?"

"Probably nothing except remove it," Baker replied. "But we can replace it in Toronto."

"What?" Rebeka stared at Baker. "You're telling me these things aren't extinct? Some of them survived the EMPs?"

Baker shrugged. "Not a lot of the old technology did, but some. We've stockpiled what we've found to use as spare parts." She looked Rebeka in her implanted eye. "Spare parts to fix exactly your problem."

For a moment, Rebeka stood speechless. Then, she whispered, "Wh-what would I have to do? Where would I have to go?"

Baker pulled a card from her pocket. "Take this. It's the address of Toronto General Hospital. Come to the city and make an appointment. We could see you within the day. It's as easy as that." She patted Rebeka's arm.

Then she moved on to her next patient, leaving Rebeka staring after her.

#

McMurtry and his soldiers stayed in town for two hours. Karen and others led groups down to the estuary, where the Torontonians stared at the docks where rowboats floated and gulls cried above them. Finally, McMurtry thanked everyone, announced that he had to return south, and gave a speech about reconnection and hope. The townsfolk cheered as, with two loud whistles, the government train departed.

The townsfolk watched it go, then turned to the crate McMurtry's people had delivered.

In the Meeting Hall, Brody brought a hammer and a crowbar. Soon, they had the lid off and were tossing aside paper packing fluff. People crowded in until Rebeka waved her arms. "Hey! Give us room!" The people backed up.

"Everything we needed to help with your lives here, they said," King muttered. "If they'd given us some notice, I'd have given them a list."

"I'm sure there's plenty of things we can use," said Brody.

"I didn't like what they said about the Kalaallit," Kile grumbled. "It's the Scandinavians who are pirates; them and that European Federation they're forming. The Kalaalit Nunaat have to deal with them all the time."

"It's politics, Kile," said his Mom.

"Politics can kill, Mom!"

Brody pulled aside a sheet. "Here we are!"

Townsfolk surged forward again before backing up from Rebeka's baleful glare.

However, everyone liked what they saw. Murmurs of appreciation rose at the metal cans, glass jars, and packages wrapped in wax paper. Brody sniffed the paper packages. "Beef jerky."

"Beef!" Liz exclaimed.

Karen gathered some of the packages into her arms. "That's going on the menu tonight. It will make a nice change from moose."

Brody sniffed another package. "Coffee!"

Karen dropped the jerky. "Back, everybody! Back!" She grabbed the packages. "I'll serve this up tomorrow morning. Bottomless cups all around, but only if you don't stampede!" This brought a cheer and some laughter from the townsfolk.

King looked deeper. "I'm seeing cabbages, zucchini, fruit preserves." Around him, people buzzed. Winter did not seem so cold now.

Rebeka pointed. "Dad, look at those jars. Are those medicines?"

King peered closer. "Yes! Antibiotics. Minerals. Multivitamins, and . . ." He pushed some jars aside, stopped, and then started laughing.

"What?" said Brody, as did others in the crowd.

"Elijah, what?" asked Karen.

"Dad?" said Rebeka.

He pulled something from the box and struggled to get his laughter under control. He held up a bottle. "They gave us Vitamin A!"

He started laughing again. This time, everyone joined in.

Karen and Brody passed packages to townsfolk, who hurried to the storeroom while King and Rebeka sorted through the rest of the crate. King removed the last item and swept his hand along the bottom of the crate. "That's all of it."

"Meat, vegetables, medicines, even candy and linens," said Brody. "Not a bad haul."

King looked up. "True. Not a bad haul." But he frowned.

Brody peered at him. "What's wrong?"

King said nothing. But for Rebeka, it clicked. "Everything we need to help us with our lives here," she echoed. "Any air canisters?"

King shook his head.

"Any rifle parts?" she asked.

"No," said King.

Karen halted. Brody raised his chin, realization dawning. "Any bullets?"

King looked grim. "No."

Silence descended on the Meeting Hall.

#

Rebeka crested a hill and hit a blessed downslope as the rail line eased into the canyon of the Abitibi River. The dynamos of her railbike whined as the regenerative braking kicked in. Blackflies smacked against her visor and snagged in the netting of her kaffiyah. She looked ahead at the bend that would reveal the old community of Otter Rapids and the ruins of the generating station there.

Ahead, she heard the whistle of the government train blowing around a distant curve.

#

"Everything we needed, they said," Brody said. "Didn't they know we're hunters?"

"Who isn't this far north?" Rebeka muttered in reply. She ran her rosary beads over her fingers.

King sucked his teeth. "No. Not everything we needed. Everything they thought we needed. Everything they thought it was safe to give us. So we would welcome them the next time. The chocolate and candy were a nice touch. I'm surprised they didn't offer roses."

#

On her railbike, Rebeca rounded a bend, and the ruins of Otter Rapids spread out before her, denuded hillsides, old foundations and broken dam abutments showing where the community had been. She pulled to a stop where the rails used to end and stared ahead.

More trees had been stripped from the hills above the high water line to build a long, winding, makeshift trestle snaking along the canyon wall, skirting the townsite. It was at least a kilometre long--one point two kilometres, her implant told her--before it passed the remains of the generating station, and the rails gripped the ground again.

At the other end of the long trestle, the government train slowed to a stop.

#

Mrs. Freisburg had leaned back against the crate. "Why wouldn't they give us any bullets?" The townsfolk didn't answer. She didn't blink; the answer was obvious. So she moved on. "What would they want that they're worried we'd say 'no' to?"

Karen stared at the ceiling. Brody fretted. King stared into the crate. Others shifted on their feet, nervous or disconsolate.

Rebeka's fingers stopped clicking. She looked up. "They want the Arctic." Everybody looked at her. "You heard them: there's resources up there. They'll need a port to access that, and we're the closest one they can get."

"How big a port?" Brody asked.

They stared out the station window at the battered, patched-up town, their homes, and the docks on the estuary a few blocks away.

"They'll need something that can handle a lot of goods," said King. "Something they can defend. You heard their cracks about 'Greenlanders.' They're not expecting the other players up north to play nice."

"They're not going to ask us for permission, are they?" said Brody.

"They may ask," said King. "But I don't think they're going to take 'no' for an answer."

#

Rebeka hopped off her railbike. Keeping low, she crept along the railbed to the start of the trestle and zoomed in on the government train.

Her implant flickered. She grunted, frustrated, and tapped her temple. Then she focused closer.

#

Kile yelled as, at the station, he pumped the pedals of the railbike. "Come on and help, Liz! It's been a half hour, and the battery's just at fifty percent!"

Liz hurried over to help.

Rebeka set down her box on the trailer behind the railbike. Behind her, King continued. "Follow them as far as you can. Don't let them see you. Your implant should allow you to spy on them from far enough back. Find out what they're not telling us. You need to see how they act when their guard is down."

She nodded, then, after a brief hesitation, gripped King's hand and Brody's and pulled them closer. "Dad? Other Dad? The medic, Sergeant Baker . . . She said they could fix my implant in Toronto."

Silence fell between them. Brody looked at King. "Elijah, if there's a chance--"

King looked at Rebeka. "Do you think there's a chance?"

Rebeka sucked in her breath. "I don't know. If they could fix it, I'd get it fixed, but . . . What if they want to hurt us--"

King straightened up. "You have to make the call." He looked grim. "I'm sorry, but you have to decide whether we can work with them or . . ." He looked at Brody.

"Or?" Rebeka prompted.

"Or . . ." Brody sighed. "If we need more time to prepare for them."

Rebeka bit her lip and looked at King, then at Brody. She took a deep breath. "All right."

#

Around the government train, soldiers fanned into the bushes, stamping around, some taking bathroom breaks. Others gathered around--what were those things? Mounds? Mounds on pallets, covered in tarps.

They'd cleared the land and stashed these items before going into town, she realized. As she watched, soldiers pulled aside one of the tarpaulins, and Rebeka tuned her zoom higher.

"That . . . is a big gun," she whispered.

Her implant pulled up information from before the fall of the Manhattan Sea Wall. Identification: Gomm Cogne 47, crowd-control configuration. Capable of sixty rounds per second, rubber buckshot.

The soldiers moved it toward the train, looking north as they did so.

She returned to the railbike, unhooked it from its trailer, and pulled it from the tracks. She set it in the ditch, then faced the trailer.

#

At the station, Rebeka grunted as she, King, and six other townsfolk hauled the trailer onto the tracks and hooked it to the railbike. "Does this have to be so heavy? It'll be agony getting this to Otter Rapids."

Mrs. Friesburg and Liz rolled up with a cart. "This is the last bit of blasting material we salvaged from Victor Mine."

"If they've rebuilt the line the way I think they have," said Brody, "We need to direct the force of the blast down at the tracks. This thing has to be as heavy as possible so it doesn't become an upward projectile."

"It will still become an upward projectile," said King. "Just not a good one. Either way, make sure you're not nearby when it goes."

Rebeka nodded. She and Karen and other townsfolk began moving the explosives onto the trailer.

Mrs. Freisburg faced south, took off her cracked glasses, and closed her eyes. "John."

#

At trackside, Rebeka pulled the trigger over to prime it, only to have it flash and spark in her hands. She yanked it free lest it set off the explosives beside her. "God dammit!" She looked at the connection, but the box got hot and started smoking in her hands. She tossed it into the ditch. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and looked at where the trigger used to connect with the fuse.

"Percussion fuse," she muttered. "I can work with that."

She braced her hands against the trailer, braced her feet against the ties, and pushed. The trailer moved, slowly at first. She took one step, then another. The trailer picked up speed on the incline. She pushed harder, stepped faster, then stumbled and fell face-first onto the ties.

The trailer kept rolling, rounding the curve, accelerating down the incline onto the long trestle.

Rebeka staggered to her feet, legs bleeding. She unslung her rifle and sighted down the barrel at the fuse. Her implant calculated distance, windspeed, trajectory.

She glanced at the soldiers and the government train. She saw McMurtry shaking his head at the crowd-control weapon.

"Sorry, government man," she muttered. "You may have offered us the carrot, but you still brought the stick." She counted down the seconds to her shot.

Then, her implant flashed white.

She yelled and clenched her eyes shut against the pain. It was worse than staring into the sun. She tried opening her unaltered eye, but it was no good. She couldn't focus.

She smacked her temple twice, then once more, and her implant switched off, leaving only darkness in her right eye, but thankfully, no more pain.

Growling, she switched her grip on her gun and sighted down the barrel with her left eye. The fuse blurred in her vision. Focus, she thought. Focus! She counted down.

At the other end of the trestle, someone shouted. She pulled the trigger.

The gun chuffed and shoved against her shoulder. A blink later, the trailer exploded. The blast pitched Rebeka onto the ballast.

For a moment, she stared at the sky with half her vision, listening as wood crackled and debris fell. Gradually, the buzz of blackflies and the chitter of birds returned, along with the rustle of pines.

She sat up.

The trestle, with its wood piled on wood, stood shaken and out of alignment, a huge chunk missing from its centre. Pieces burned. As she watched, piles broke away, knocking into other supports. Finally, with a groan and a rumble, the bridge came apart, tree trunks snapping like twigs as they avalanched into the canyon below.

Through the smoke and flames, Rebeka saw the government train on the other side of the gap. She saw McMurtry standing at the cab door. His shoulders sagged. Behind him, the train let out a long, mournful whistle that echoed off the hills.

And, across the hills, other whistles answered.

They weren't echoes. They varied in pitch. Rebeka counted them under her breath. "Three . . . four . . ." Some were faint with distance. "Seven . . . eight . . ." Others . . . others were close. "Eleven . . . twelve . . . "

Only then did the whistles stop, their howls fading to echoes, then silence.

McMurtry turned away. The soldiers climbed aboard. Slowly at first, then picking up speed, the government train vanished into the woods.

Follow Drew McMurtry's story with the short tale, Big Fish, Little Fish.

Short answer: SEO gets your pages ranked in search results. AEO (answer engine optimization) gets your content pulled into direct answers, such as featured snippets and voice results. GEO (generative engine optimization) gets your brand mentioned and cited in AI-generated answers from tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google's AI Overviews. They overlap heavily. Good GEO is built on good SEO.

Every few years marketing gets a new acronym and founders get a new reason to worry they're behind. This one is worth paying attention to, but it doesn't mean throwing out what already works. Here's how the three fit together, and where I'd put your effort.

Buyers are asking AI tools questions they used to type into Google: "Who are the best fractional CMOs for a SaaS company?" "What should a $5M eCommerce brand spend on marketing?" The AI gives an answer, not a list of ten links. If you're not in that answer, you're not in the consideration set.

The catch is that AI tools are cautious. They prefer sources that are easy to understand, consistent across the web, and clearly written by someone with real expertise. That's a higher bar than "has the right keywords." I wrote about the early signs of this shift in How AI is affecting Google search.

Most of the fundamentals carry straight over:

• Your site has to be crawlable. If search engines and AI crawlers can't read your pages, nothing else matters.

• Each page needs a clear purpose and title. One page, one topic, one clear title.

• Expertise and trust still win. Real experience, specific examples and a clear author beat generic content every time.

• Links still matter. Other credible sites linking to and mentioning you is a strong trust signal for search engines and AI alike. Here's my step-by-step guide to building backlinks.

1. Answer first. Open with a two-sentence answer, then expand. AI tools lift clean, self-contained answers.

2. Structure for extraction. Question-style headings, comparison tables and numbered steps are easy for AI to quote accurately.

3. Be a clear entity. Structured data (schema markup), a consistent bio and matching profiles across LinkedIn, directories and your site help AI tools understand who you are.

4. Name your thinking. Named frameworks and original data are easier to cite and attribute than generic advice.

5. Mentions count, not just links. Being talked about on podcasts, in articles and on other people's sites builds the kind of reputation AI tools pick up on.

If you only have time for three things this quarter:

1. Fix the basics. Unique page titles, crawlable pages, a sitemap submitted to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

2. Rewrite your top five pages answer-first. Your homepage, services page and three most important articles.

3. Publish one piece only you could write. A framework, a teardown or real numbers from your own work.

Is SEO dead because of AI? No. AI tools lean on the same signals search engines use, and many AI answers are built from pages that already rank well. SEO is the foundation GEO sits on.

Do I need a separate GEO strategy? For most growth-stage companies, no. You need a better SEO and content strategy that accounts for how AI tools read and cite content.

How do I know if AI tools mention my brand? Ask them. Run the questions your buyers would ask in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google, and note whether you appear. Repeat monthly. Some website platforms now include basic AI visibility tracking too.

If you want to know how your brand shows up in search and AI answers, and what to fix first, book a strategy call.

 By the east side I mean literally everything east of the Canagagigue Creek as well as east of the Lanxess/Stroh property line. By greater than the public knew I mean that Uniroyal Chemical and corporate successors have intentionally misrepresented the state of groundwater aquifers both on and off their property. The purpose is obvious. Not only have they fought to ignore and minimize my revelations in 2014 concerning the natural surface flow of their liquid contamination from their east side pits over onto the Stroh property but by falsely pretending that the bulk of the Stroh property sits upon low permeability aquitards (UAT, MAT, LAT) they have pretended that once again there is no means, conduit or flow path from the east either back into the Municipal Aquifers (MU, ML) under Elmira or into the Bedrock Aquifer (BR) beneath Elmira. Their misrepresentation has also grossly reduced over the last thirty-six or thirty-seven years the probability that their is a direct hydraulic connection between those three aquifers under the Stroh property permitting ready vertical contamination of the Bedrock Aquifers under Elmira with DNAPLS, Dioxins, DDT, PAHs and much more. This exacerbates the already known worst case scenario of the Uniroyal Chemical site and may very well be the final straw that broke the camel's back (i.e. remediation to drinking water standards).

This new information comes from a "Schematic Of Hydrogeologic Units " dated January 2024, Figure 1.2  It is also marked Onterris Proprietary & Confidential and was handed out to TRAC at their last public meeting on September 17, 2026. It may also have been handed out to them sooner by GHD but I am confident that there has not been any public announcement of the major significance of the subsurface changes of what was known for decades as the Conceptual Site Model (CSM). Of course it is confidential because afterall we citizens and residents have no rights other than simply being the guinea pigs eventually going to be drinking again from these still amazingly contaminated aquifers.    

Since 2014 I have been fairly confident that Woolwich Township were doing Uniroyal/Lanxess a solid by moving the Elmira By-Pass to the east side of town and hence burying under roads and commercial development much of Uniroyal Chemical's off-site eastward contaminant flow. This is similar to the desperation moves of Varnicolor Chemical in the early 1990s by suddenly putting concrete over a large part of their grossly contaminated 62 Union St. site. Isn't it sad that dirty polluters and their political friends couldn't spend their money actually cleaning up rather than covering up? 

♦

I took the above photograph earlier this month while visiting the Underground City (Toronto's disappointingly named PATH network). It's a table at the Pigeon Cafe where I got some free wifi, some power, and a chance to do some writing.

Hey, do you remember the heyday of blogging? Do you remember blogging memes? Looking through my old pages of this online journal of mine, I came upon this post from January 10, 2008 (eighteen years ago!). I titled it Top Ten Signs You're Reading Something from James Bow.

At the time, I was responding to a meme post by R.J Anderson (who is now mostly on Instagram, here) talking about the tropes of her writing. I did the same. At the time, I'd published two books of my Unwritten Books trilogy, with a third one due to come out later that year. The Unwritten Girl, Fathom Five, and The Young City, were upper middle-grade, young YA urban fantasy novels. Since then, I have two YA science fiction novels, a new adult urban fantasy, and I've self-published another YA urban fantasy, and edited and released a science-fiction anthology (see them all here).

How has my writing changed in the eighteen years since that meme? After reading what I wrote, I thought it might be good to revisit my points and see. So, without further ado:

Top Ten Signs You're Reading Something by James Bow

1. No Real Villains. While at the time I had created a fairly irredeemable villain in the form of Aldous Magnait (The Young City), I still preferred to keep my villains in shades of grey. The antagonists of The Unwritten Girl and Fathom Five both had strong and pretty reasonable motivations to act as they did, and they either resolved their differences with the hero, or accepted a tragic end.
   
   This definitely holds true for The Night Girl, The Dream King's Daughter and The Sun Runners. Such antagonists are just more interesting, in my opinion, as they bathe the hero in their shades of grey. However, while Nathaniel Tal (Icarus Down) may have been motivated by guilt and shame, he's definitely darker than my other villains, and the main antagonists for The Cloud Riders has motivations which do not excuse the actions they take. I think what's changed is that the real world has shown me some proper villains closer to home, acting through malice or incompetence or both. I can't understand these people, but they've given me permission to add them to my stories, and they've given me a bit of a template to draw upon.
   
   
2. God Exists? Let's Check the Machine. This statement was inspired by Rebecca's second point in her post, which states, "God exists. Deal." I thought our attitudes are similar, and I still think that, in terms of morality and ethics, our attitudes are still similar, though I find myself less interested in the question of whether God exists. I hope he does, but I have my doubts. It doesn't change the necessity for me to act with empathy -- something some White Christian Nationalist Heretics is trying to rebrand as a sin.
   
   But in terms of my characters? Rosemary was raised Presbyterian and still attends during Christmas and Easter. Peter shrugs his shoulders agnostically and tags along. But Perpetua is not a believer -- or so she tells herself. Only when she's experiencing a moment of terror does she pray "for the first time in seven years".
   
   But in my novels set in the future, I think my characters retain some spirituality, particularly Simon as he follows his strong moral code towards revealing the truth and calling out genocide. And in the Silent Earth sequence, Earthlings and Martians refer to God (singular). while Venusians and Mercurians refer to gods (plural), though they mostly express such sentiments while swearing. As Terry Pratchett says, atheism is well and good but, when you smash your thumb with a ball-peen hammer, you really could use the ability to blaspheme.
   
   
3. Such a Romantic. I still find it hard not to include a love interest in my stories, and add a bit of romance. That sort of thing just captures my interest, even in Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. I was inspired to write the Unwritten Books because I wanted to follow the entire Meg-Calvin style relationship between Peter and Rosemary without skipping the part where they officially admit their love for each other, as Madeleine did jumping from A Wind in the Door to A Swiftly Tilting Planet.
   
   But I have tried to branch off from this. Frieda in The Sun Runners isn't interested in that sort of intimate relationship, and threatens a constitutional crisis at the thought of having to marry someone. Samantha in The Cloud Riders backs away from an intimate relationship in order to help a dear friend. Who knows what the future will bring?
   
   
4. Characters Blowing Through Teeth, Quirking up Mouths, (Putting) Hands through (Their) Hair: Teeth continue to embed themselves in walls when I strive to show a character's frustration, though I am trying to quell these writing tropes. Add to this the raising of the eyebrows, and other pointless steps that I find myself including mostly to provide beats within the dialogue to indicate how the conversation is landing. On my current draft of The Cloud Riders, I've found that I've managed to cut a few thousand words from the manuscript by clearing out these things, and I fully expect my editor to tell me to clear out more.
   
   
5. Location? Following the YA urban fantasies set on the Bruce Peninsula and Toronto (albeit Toronto in 1884), I returned to Toronto and its PATH network and made the city almost its own character within The Night Girl. I then went to rural Saskatchewan for The Dream King's Daughter, and most of my tales within Tales from the Silence stayed on a rebuilding Earth. Some of it comes from the adage of "write what you know". Some of it comes from the desire to feature more Canadian settings in science fiction and fantasy.
   
   But I've been to Jupiter. I've been to Mercury, Venus and Mars, and halfway across the galaxy to Icarus Down. Striking out to parts unknown, while trying to remain within the realism of science fiction (as compared to the magical realism of fantasy) has proven an exhilarating challenge.
   
   One thing I haven't done, however (outside of my short stories), is set a science fiction story on relatively contemporary Earth. That might change if I finish The Curator of Forgotten Things, set in Halifax.
   
   
6. I'm Ready for my Close-Up: I continue to stick closely to the protagonists' point-of-view in my tales, as part of the "show, don't tell" adage that's been drilled into my head throughout my years as a writer. Back in 2008, I (mildly, I hope) critiqued author Jenny Nimmo and her book Milo's Wolves for witholding a critical piece of information from the reader that the protagonist received in order to keep a key element of the plot a mystery. I ended up doing exactly that in The Sun Runners. I guess there are times when you need to pull the camera back, though I didn't keep the readers in suspense for too long (I hope).
   
   I'd written nothing but third-person close-POV back in 2008, but I branched off to first person past tense with Icarus Down, and I'm returning to that with The Cloud Riders. The challenge with those books is finding the voice for the narrator that is distinctive from my voice.
   
   
7. Style Isn't Everything: At the time, Rebecca called my writing style "lucid". Others have said I keep things tight (aside from the writing tropes I've described above). I do find that's achieved through multiple drafts, including drafts where I go in to cut as much frippery as I can. In my raw writing, I find I still add a lot of placeholder words in order to measure out my beats, or waffle on what I intend to say (using later drafts to try and hone in). This may be why my manuscripts take a while to get to the publication stage (Ten years for The Sun Runners!).
   
   But Erin has said that when it comes to my third-person stories, my style is to try and get out of the way as much as possible. Keep descriptions brief and suggestive, stay close to a single character's point of view (including giving the reader a window on their thoughts), show rather than tell, and try to let the readers themselves cast judgement on the protagonist's actions and reasons for them.
   
   This is not something I follow a manual on. I don't have a template to do this. It just feels right to write as though I'm a silent cameraperson perched on the protagonist's shoulder. I vanish even further when I give the protagonist the narration duties with my first-person stories.
   
   
8. And the Girl Shall Lead Them: Back in 2008, my scorecard for my five novels (three published, one finished, one in progress) was four female protagonist to one male (Peter in Fathom Five). To that, I added one more male protagonist (Simon in Icarus Down) and another four female (five if you count Eliza, the co-star of Icarus Down). I didn't have any idea why this should be back then, and I still don't. It just interests me more; I can't explain why.
   
   
9. And a Cast of... Seven: In my early days of writing, especially my fan fiction, I tended to keep the number of supporting characters down because I didn't want too many complications to the plot. My cast included a protagonist (the Doctor, Rosemary, Perpetua), secondary protagonist/love interest (Peter, Fergus, Polk), primary antagonist (Marjorie, Magnait, the Dream King), protagonist support character #1 (Puck, Faith, Earthenhouse), protagonist support character 2 (Arial, Edmund, Howard), and a couple of incidental characters to help things along.
   
   My cast of characters have now grown. I have double protagonists for Icarus Down and The Sun Runners, and I've been less afraid to spend time developing minor support characters.
   
   Possibly one effect of this has been an increase in my word count, from an average of around 50,000 for The Unwritten Books to something closer to 100,000 for Icarus Down and those that followed. I'm currently working on trying to pull The Cloud Riders back from a word count of 120,000.
   
   
10. Your Vision is as Good as Mine: At the time, I commented that I refrained from describing my characters, especially my main characters in detail, and I sure as heck avoided planting a character in front of a mirror at the start of a story to get such a description. (I have, however, done this trick in both The Dream King's Daughter and The Cloud Riders, but later in the story as the characters use this to assess either what's wrong with them, or how they've changed. Like rules you're not supposed to break, you can use tropes you're supposed to avoid, if you use them judiciously and well).
    
    I still find that if you get the character's voice right (as narrator within first person, or by dipping into their thoughts within third person) and provide a few small hints, your readers will fill in the gaps for you, and produce a picture that is more real to them than you could easily do on their own.
    

I think a lot has changed in the eighteen years since I wrote the earlier post. I think I've developed and gained a lot more confidence as a writer. However, just as adulthood is, in many ways, an illusion (I see the world with the same sense of wonder and terror at 53 as I did at 13), as a writer, I continue to make it up as I go along. That is kind of the definition of writing, is it not? Even if we plot everything out thoroughly, or sketch our characters in our journals, the first step is still stumbling on discoveries and figuring out how to use them. And somehow we make it all work.

Be sure to check out R.J. Anderson's books here.

Canada, Iran, immigration, ICE murders, Netanyahu/Gaza, rape allegations, charges, civil liability, threats against Canada (51st state), Greenland, Venezuela, Cuba, bragging about his sexual assaults against women, Epstein files, sex trafficking, tariffs... holy crap but Americans certainly don't get fed up easily do they? Twice they elected a rude, crude, bullying, senile, litigious, lying, dishonest, cheating son of a snitch to the highest position in the land. And now they've "rebuked" him. For the love of God remove 1,000 undeserving prisoners from U.S. jails and incarcerate Donald Trump, where he belongs. 

Mr. Trump once bragged that he could commit murder in Times Square in broad daylight in front of a thousand witnesses and never get convicted. The pathetic part of that brag wasn't that he made it but that it was probably true. Hopefully it no longer is. 

I truly had given up on Democracy. Citizens are simply too busy, too apathetic, too uninformed, too overworked between jobs (or looking for them), families, homes (if they are lucky) and more complicated than ever lives to be able and willing to invest time and brain power looking and listening to speeches, news, propaganda and politics. And yet... here in Waterloo Region citizens voted against all incumbent mayors but one who has his own playbook for staying in power. That may have been good but they fell far short in re-electing all regional councillors who were not mayors. That was disappointing. There are a pack of old ones that need to go as they were part and parcel of both the Wilmot Land Grab (770 acres), the well interference travesty and the Waterloo Region Water Shortage. If you don't think the last two are related then you aren't thinking very seriously.

All shame in the U.S. also needs to go to the Republican Party for riding to the end the perverted pony known as Donald Trump. The Party should have removed him long ago but as long as he was delivering votes that was good enough for them. Destroying people's lives at home and abroad is his trademark and the Republicans supported him throughout. Watch the rats leaving the sinking ship from here on in.    

Hi ! I’m Sonali Kumari, a Computer Science student with a specialization in Data Science at NSUT.

The first stage was resume-based shortlisting. Participants were evaluated on the resumes submitted during registration.

For my resume, I followed this format: Resume template for NSUT students.

If you are applying from another college, you can use the template as a reference and adapt it to your own experience and achievements.

I used Word to create my resume during my first year, but keeping the formatting consistent was a headache. Switching to a LaTeX template made things much easier.

You can also use tools like ChatGPT to review your resume against a job description, but make sure the final version accurately reflects your skills and experience.

The next stage involved submitting a Statement of Purpose (SOP). I wrote mine around the projects I had mentioned in my resume, including Kanuni Shayak, a legal assistant designed to help users understand legal documents by summarizing lengthy contracts.

While describing my projects, I tried to look beyond the technologies I had used. I think it’s equally important to explain why you made certain design decisions, what alternatives you considered, and what trade-offs came with your approach.

For example, while discussing a project, simply listing the tools and technologies doesn’t tell the complete story. Explaining the reasoning behind your architecture and the challenges you encountered gives a much better picture of how you approach problems.

Looking back, I would encourage anyone writing an SOP to focus on the projects they genuinely understand and care about. Rather than trying to include everything on their resume, it’s more useful to explain a few experiences in depth and what those experiences taught them.

The Selection Test had two parts: 20 MCQs and 2 coding questions, to be completed in 60 minutes.

The MCQs covered basic ML concepts, probability, statistics, and linear algebra, along with some Gen AI questions.

Each question had a 1-minute time limit, so both accuracy and speed mattered. Speed also contributed to the score, based on the percentage of time remaining when you submitted your answer. There was no option to skip a question and return to it later, either.

This meant I had to make a decision within the time available for each question. I couldn’t leave a difficult question for later or spend too long debating between options.

One thing that worked for me was recognising which questions were likely to take too much time. If a question was particularly lengthy or involved numerical calculations that I knew I wouldn’t be able to solve within 60 seconds, I avoided spending the entire minute on it and moved on. This helped me use my time more efficiently rather than getting stuck on a single question.

Focus on your fundamentals and practise MCQs from the topics mentioned above. Try solving them under time constraint to improve both speed and accuracy.

There were 2 coding questions. The coding problems felt medium to hard.

For me, this highlighted the importance of logical thinking and analytical skills. Recognising a familiar pattern can help narrow down an approach, but you still need to reason through the problem and implement your solution correctly.

Regular Leetcode contests can help you get better at recognising patterns and solving problems under time pressure.

When I found out that I was selected for Amazon ML Summer School 2026, it was a really exciting moment! 🎉

This year, around 3,000 students were selected from over 1.3 lakh registrations, making the selection process highly competitive.

We were given learning modules on topics like Supervised Learning and Deep Learning. What made the experience even more exciting was the opportunity to interact with Amazon Applied Scientists and learn from their experiences. Even the examples discussed during the lectures were related to real-world applications at Amazon, which made the sessions feel practical and helped me understand how these concepts are used in the industry.

Thanks for reading ! 😊 If you found this article helpul , feel free to connect to reach out to me on Linkedin.

How I got selected for Amazon ML Summer School 2026 was originally published in Code Like A Girl on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

On the first Tuesday of every month, we’ll announce a new Fearless Female, including a video interview of them sharing their business story. Want to be featured as a Fearless Female?

Contact Memberships at memberships@greaterkwchamber.com for more details. The Fearless Female Program would not be possible without our Title Sponsor, Scotiabank.

To learn a little more about the Scotiabank Women Initiative, and why they’ve chosen to sponsor this program, see the video below.

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The Fearless Female we’re featuring for the month of November is Lianne J. Armstrong, Partner and Senior Construction and Commercial Litigator at Lerners LLP.

Lianne is a senior construction and commercial litigator who helps businesses resolve complex disputes involving contracts, projects, facilities and operational risk. With deep manufacturing and construction industry experience, she provides practical, strategic advice focused on protecting business interests, minimizing disruption and reaching cost-effective resolutions.

To learn more about Lianne’s journey as a Fearless Female, watch the interview below (or read the written format).

Please Introduce Yourself

My name is Leanne Armstrong. I am a partner at the law firm of Lerners, and I am a construction lawyer. As I said, I work at Lerners. We have four offices. We have Kitchener, London, Toronto, and Strathroy. It has been around since 1929, and was started by Lerner’s, and we have now grown obviously significantly since that time, and we do, we’re pretty much full service, and as I say, I head up the construction law department.

What inspired you to choose this career path?

Following the career path, I really think it was, my father probably likely saying, oh, you argue a lot. You really should be a lawyer, but that was just kind of, you know, getting me thinking about it, but then it really was an area that you could look to helping other people, solving their problems, and so that it really was a focus, and then construction, I just really like the industry. I like the people that operate within the industry. I find that they are different in the sense of, although it is litigation, it’s not very, it’s not as adversarial as other areas of the law, because the goal is to keep a construction project moving, and that means working together somewhat cooperatively within an adversarial process.

Tell us more about your professional and educational background

I went to Queens, we’re actually coming up next weekend on our 30-year reunion, so I’ve always done commercial litigations, commercial litigation, companies resolving disputes or litigating disputes, but probably about 15 years ago, I began doing it almost exclusively doing construction law, and this is a path that I’ve really enjoyed, and I’m going down, and I definitely wouldn’t change it. I love the construction law.

Largest milestone right now is that, or my favourite, is that I am currently the chair of the London and District Construction Association. I had decided some time ago that I wanted to focus on the industry as a whole, and how can we make the actual construction industry, whether it’s looking at political issues or looking at local issues, so I started on the association quite some years ago, and this is my year that I am chair.

If you could go back in time, is there anything you would have done differently?

I think it’s as a woman, I think we look at it from being a woman, a woman that’s working in the construction industry, it is going into male-dominated spaces. I think when I first started, I really saw it being, well, these are the men’s events, and these are the women’s events, and saying, well, no, let’s change that, and so just showing up and not worrying about, maybe you and the couple of women you bring are the only women there, and that’s okay, and since that time that I started showing up, I definitely think that other women look around and say, oh, it’s okay too, these aren’t male events, or female’s events, that we are welcome at all of them, and just kind of entering that space, which might not be comfortable at first.

I think as women, we’re not always as confident as we should be, and if I did it again, I definitely would just lean into that, and not be second-guessing, and going with more with instinct and self-confidence, and say, I know my stuff, I’m just going to not second-guess, and just a confident piece that I see, that I know that I struggle with, but I see much more because I see other young women struggling with it.

I also am an adjunct professor at Western, I’m doing that probably five, six, seven years. I teach civil litigation, and I still see it with the younger law students as well, and I just wish I could tell all of them, have confidence, and just go out there, and challenge yourself, and just follow whatever you set out to do.

Well, the one thing I have done that I think is differently than as other lawyers, is I’ve really, as I say, really looked at the industry. So, if I’m going to go to a conference, it’s not necessarily going to be a legal conference, I want to go and find out about the construction industry, what are people doing, what are people being challenged by, and I really think that’s been, that’s helped, not just helped me in my career, but it made me love my career, because now I have friends, I, you know, within the industry, where I have barbecues, or I go to their weddings, or birthday parties, and it’s just makes, you know, it’s wonderful having your clients also be your friends as well.

How do you define success?

Success is, I think, really enjoying your job, and just focusing on doing the best job you can, being the best at whatever it is, it can be anything. For me, it’s, I want, you know, I want to be a construction lawyer. At one point, I was just a litigator, I was resolving disputes, and then I thought, you know what, I feel like my clients, I have a unique perspective in that I could also do the drafting of contracts at the very beginning, and so I set out, and I say, okay, I’m going to do that. I take all the courses, I, you know, I learn that area of the trade, and it’s just been enjoyable, just kind of focusing on what are your clients’ needs, and, you know, pursuing that.

The main thing is being client-centered. I think that is, and I think that is learners as a whole, I mean, we really set out, all of us set out to do, be the best in whatever area we practice in, and be very client-centered, so every client knows that their problem is very unique, is I put special care into how do we resolve this for you, and also, for me at least, I always tell my clients, you know, this is no longer your problem, this is my problem, you just let it go, and they can trust that I’m going to, you know, really take care in making sure that things are done as smoothly as possible, so just being client-focused, I think, is important.

What are some of the advantages of establishing your business in Waterloo Region?

I think the advantages are, is that it’s a smaller community, you’re going to be running into people all the time, and building relationships. I think that, like I did very beginning of my career, I did practice in Toronto, and it’s very different. You’re not able to build relationships like you are here, and especially within the construction industry. I would say, when you look at litigation, often it’s because people are entering into agreements with parties that they don’t know well, they haven’t worked with before, and from the other side, the other contracting party might not be as concerned about resolving all disputes, because, well, we might not work with them again, but when you work in a region like Waterloo, whether it’s in construction or within law, you have these relationships that you want to have throughout your career, so you really put focus into building them.

What advice would you give to other aspiring women entrepreneurs and professionals?

I have been doing this for a long time, and I have seen women come and go, fantastic lawyers who had difficulty, whether it’s fitting in or balancing work and home life. My goal is to pave a path for other women behind me. I do have two children, my children are now university aged, and I want people to say, look at me, and say, look at, she did it, I can do it as well, and I can enjoy doing it. I just think that it is a difficult career, but I want to show women that it is definitely doable and enjoyable at the same time.

I would say the most important thing is find a mentor. Women are always wanting to help other women, and they have to recognize that. Just reach out, look at somebody who has a career like you want, reach out and say, hey, can we grab a coffee, get together with that person. I have had women that do that, and I continue throughout the path of their career, always, they know, they can call me at any time, ask for any advice, if they’re having any issues, I’m going to be there, and I know that other women are the same way. Just don’t be shy about it, look for a mentor.

I think it’s just a different time in my career. My children are now off, both of them are in university, so I am looking to put more time into more charitable work, and looking at how I can give back more. It’s very, you go through a time when you do, before your children, you’re so involved in everything, and then when your children are younger, you feel you’re being pulled in so many different directions that you really do focus on the family and the career. But now, I’m entering a whole new phase, so I’m excited about it, and seeing where it takes me.

Where can listeners learn more about you and contact you directly?

Check out our website, it’s lerners.ca, and if anyone just ever wants to reach out to me and chat about things, please do. I’m always looking to meet other women, and find out what they’re up to, and how they’re succeeding in whatever careers they’re having, so I welcome to have a chat with anybody.

The post Scotiabank November Fearless Female – Lianne J. Armstrong appeared first on Greater KW Chamber of Commerce.