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Barris Beat

Cellphone ban? Try discipline in sips.

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Breaking cellphone addition. Photo – Business Insider.

When I was about 12, I had my first taste of alcohol. I guess my parents were breaking the law by allowing a minor to consume booze, but one Christmas when our extended family got together to celebrate at our house, my mother and father made a point of giving me a wine glass for what amounted to a couple of sips of the stuff.

“Merry Christmas!” we all toasted, and like the adults around the table, I was invited to clink my glass with theirs and enjoyed that first taste of alcohol.

From then on, it turned out, if I wanted a bit of wine with our family dinners, my parents always set the glass out for me. (more…)

Barris Beat

Friending versus finding truth

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
MP Erin O’Toole speaking in the House of Commons. Hamilton Spectator.

He almost could not speak, the response around him seemed overwhelming. But he finally raised his hands in gentle protest to the standing ovation and when the applauding stopped he offered these words:

“Today, I rise for the last time in this chamber,” MP Erin O’Toole said in the House of Commons on June 12. “It’s been the honour of a lifetime to serve Durham in Parliament.” (more…)