The Anchor Weekly – The Chestermere Lake News

Everyone anxiously awaits retirement. We have visions of spending our Golden Years golfing every day and spending time at some exotic island with margarita in hand. None of us have any idea what the realities of retirement are. First of all living expenses are so high that most retirees would find living within their budget on government pension is a juggling act. Unless you have been wise enough to save extra funds in RRSP, GICs or other form of investment, you will find that you will have to dip into your savings to make ends meet. The government knows this [...]

A reader wrote a letter to one of the local daily newspapers recently complaining about “Italian or Spanish-speaking men speaking their native language loudly” at a shopping mall. The letter writer, who was irritated by their behaviour, asked them if they were Canadian citizens, to which they said yes. “…being a Canadian citizen means speaking English or French; Canada is a bilingual only,” he told them. The men continued speaking in their language which infuriated the letter writer who yelled at them” You want to speak your language, go back to your country. You are obviously immigrants that don’t remember [...]

EVEN as a non-Catholic I was excited about the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires as Pope Francis. It was the biggest story of the week: the election of a new pope. With pomp, grandeur and lots of prayers, the cardinals chose the first pope from the Americas, Pope Francis, 77 of Argentina to head the world’s 1.2 billion Christians. It’s a remarkable choice for a devoutly Christian country. The election procedure where cardinals lock themselves in the conclave to confer and discuss issues is a tradition going back to millions of years. After two days of [...]

Venezuela is mad at Canada. Stephen Harper’s condolence message to the Venezuelan people on the death of their president, Hugo Chavez, didn’t strike the right chord. In his message to the grieving nation, Harper conveyed “condolences to the people of Venezuela” but not to the family of the deceased president. Harper expressed the hope that the death of Chavez brings a more promising future for the Venezuelan people. “At this juncture, I hope the people of Venezuela can now build for themselves a better, brighter future based on the principles of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for [...]

As expected, the film Argo won Oscar for the best picture. The movie was made by Hollywood to depict the role played by Canada in sheltering and later freeing six American diplomats in Tehran, Iran, in 1979. Popularly called the “Canadian Caper,” the episode involves a dangerous mission undertaken by the Canadian Government and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to mastermind the escape of six American diplomats while the U.S. embassy was besieged by Islamist students and militants. As most films produced by Hollywood are made to make money and sensationalize events, Argos was no exception. There was enough drama, [...]

If you went shopping recently, you will notice that the familiar copper coins – pennies – are missing in the change that you received from your corner store. Canada has now become a penny-less country. With the announcement by Ottawa recently that it was phasing out pennies from circulation, Canada has now entered the penny-less era. Actually I hated the damn thing because most commodities were priced with .99 cents and one would come with pocket full of pennies in no time. If you went around with pocket full of pennies, it would be hard to find anything to spend [...]

Kenya, one the three east African countries, is facing its greatest challenge when goes to the polls on March 4. The country has had a violent past as far as elections are concerned. When President Mwai Kibaki was elected in 2007, chaos erupted and 1,200 people died in tribal violence. Seven men and one woman are seeking the nation’s top position this year. The election is also a fight between the two front-runners, Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. These two politicians are at the head of Kenya’s leading political dynasties and their rivalry stems from their fathers’ days [...]

Don’t forget, hey you lovers; mark it down in your calendar. Next Thursday, February 14 is Valentine’s Day. You only know what happens if you forget to take your beloved out or do something special. For years, everyone celebrates Valentine’s Day as a day to honour one’s loved ones. February is the month of romance so that lovers, couples and betrothed ones can exchange flowers, candy or other types of gifts to express their love for their mate. Those romantically inclined even get engaged or married on this great day dedicated to love. The origin of Valentine is shrouded in [...]

Ontario premier-designate Kathleen Wynne’s recent victory has been described as historic in may circles. Wynne is not only the first female premier of Ontario but also an openly gay premier who lives with her partner, Jane Roundthwaite. Her victory means that Canada now has five female premiers and one First Minister in Nunavut. We have in Alberta Alison Redford; B.C. has Christie Clark; Pauline Marois in Quebec; Kathy Dunderdale in Newfoundland and Eva Aariuk Nunavut. Wynee made it clear in her first news conference that she intends to be defined by what she does for Ontario instead of her sexual [...]

Politics makes strange bedfellows, as they say. A classical example of this is the U.S. where the nation is divided in coming up with gun control proposals. Hardly a week goes by when there is loss of life somewhere in the U.S. and the longer political bickering continues, the greater would be the loss of life. The debate on gun control sparked by the loss of 20 children and six teachers in Newton, Connecticut, has hardly subsided when we hear there has been shootings and loss of lives in two schools. Is there no end to violence in United States? [...]