Opinion

If there is one thing that Stephen Harper, Tom Mulcair and Justin Trudeau agree on, it's the election outcome that frightens them the most.

It was distressingly and tragically brought home by the image of a toddler, drowned off the coast of Turkey fleeing the Syrian civil war, that Canadians are no longer who we think we are.

"Look, as I say, we could drive ourselves crazy with grief if we look at as I say the millions of people literally who are in danger, the tens of thousands who are dying. We could drive ourselves crazy with grief," Stephen Harper said.

I feel that my vote in Prince George is about as relevant as that lottery ticket that I buy every year. Don't get me wrong, I will always vote: if I didn't vote, I'd have no business writing this letter.

Today, Queen Elizabeth II passes Queen Victoria as the longest-reigning British monarch in history.

Lillie Khin Sein Sein, as she is known here in Canada was born in 1926, raised and educated in the country of Burma which is now known as Myanmar or officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar a sovereign state in Southeast Asia bordered by Bangl

The world has been watching as refugees flee from the Middle East. Some countries respond by putting up barriers at their borders, while others respond with open arms.

There's been no shortage of ink spilled cataloguing the transgressions of Prime Minister Harper in terms of leadership and policy-making. For some of us, it's a foregone conclusion we won't be voting for him in October.

Three year old Alan Kurdi's death was tragic. That little child should not have died. But he had no choice. His parents made the decision for him, and that decision was fuelled by the financial support provided by the father's sister from Vancouver.

The very name of our newspaper compels us to encourage voter participation. A citizen is a resident of a place but the word evokes more responsibility than simply occupying a space or identifying oneself as being from a certain place.