I recently attended a gala evening at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. For anyone who has not yet visited the CMHR, I encour-age you to visit what is quickly becoming a showcase for Winnipeg and the pride of all Manitobans and Canadians. While the dollars spent on this landmark may be a subject for debate, it truly is a beautiful space that contains great disp-lays and activities around the struggles, successes, and failures of mankind.

Niverville is the place I call home. I haven’t lived there in over 35 years, yet it still brings back wonderful memories of my younger years. I was born in Paraguay and moved to Canada within 6 months of my birth. We lived on what was then William Street and I walked to school every day—rain, sleet, or snow.

The national media are positively giddy with their new-found (rediscovered?) access to our parliamentary representatives, and most notably the Prime Minister himself. Not only is the press once again abuzz with activity, but all manner of photo ops and interviews are available to them from Trudeau’s airport greeting of refugees to his thoughts on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The optimists are calling this the dawn of a golden age while the pessimists simply write it off as politicking. But if the first week of parliament is any indication, we are moving toward a new culture in the great halls. True to promise, we see changes in the operation of the House and the inclusion of all parties in its shape and design.

The Christmas season is upon us once again. For some, this time of year is met with anxiety as they try to find that “perfect gift” for someone. For others, the season is met with busyness as schedules get filled with school Christmas programs, family gatherings, office parties, and the like. For others still, this time of year is met with loneliness or grief as memories of lost loved ones come flooding back.

I am not sure if there is a greater sadness than when our fellow man, our human brethren, seeks to kill another of our brethren. War is hell—and this statement can be expanded to include police actions or any other synonym for conflict our leaders can conjure. Like most, I am prepared to experience some sacrifice, some proverbial hell, if the end result is better.

While party strategists may lay the best plans and pollsters the most refined algorithms, it is ultimately the voice of the people that roars loudest. And so we sit following an election with unprecedented final tallies, wondering how this came to be.