Quotes of the Year: Part II

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/01/2023 (722 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new year has dawned, and as with the start of every new rotation around the sun, we try to think on our expectations of the coming days and weeks rather than dwell on past events.

Perhaps it’s that extra few pounds we put on over the holidays that we vow to lose, or a promotion we’re looking for in our careers. Some of us use the promise of a new year to try to turn over a new leaf and be better people. Others look to that next shiny thing or set their sights on better gains ahead.

Whatever our course in life, it’s worth looking back at our history to see what our future may hold. As a society, we should try to take away lessons from the outgoing years lest we repeat mistakes that we have made. And sometimes, looking back at our successes, or those of our neighbours and the ones we love, can give us the courage to continue down what may be difficult paths ahead.

So I offer one last look at the year 2022 in Part II of our Quotes of the Year editorial from some of the most important stories and issues to which the old year bore witness, as we move into the second day of 2023.

» Matt Goerzen, editor

“We couldn’t run activities. We couldn’t run fundraisers. We just couldn’t keep up with the demands of what the centre was.”

— Prairie Oasis Seniors Centre executive director Amanda Fast in a letter announcing the closure of the non-profit in July after 50 years in operation.

“We have people from all over Manitoba here. It really helps, especially with younger children, to really connect with their roots here in Canada. Canada is an inclusive country for everyone, especially since there are so many immigrants. The children need to be connected to their Indian, Hindu roots. This mandir serves as a place to fulfil that goal.”

— Dharmik Patel, upon the opening of Brandon’s first Hindu temple at the site of the former Central United Church on Eighth Street.

“Now anybody, after hours, has to travel to the nearest hospital at Dauphin or Roblin, which is a 30- to 45-minute drive one way for them. And if you were suffering from a massive heart attack, that’s a big distance to travel.”

— Grandview Mayor Dwayne Bomak, after Prairie Mountain Health was forced to close the community’s Emergency Room during summer weekends due to staffing shortages. Grandview was one of several western Manitoba communities to feel ER pressures and closures this past year.

“In the face of this deplorable evil, the church kneels before God and implores his forgiveness for the sins of her children … I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous Peoples.”

— Pope Francis, during his first appearance in Canada in July.

“I believe in the rule of law, which is the foundation of our society. We have freedoms because we have rule of law. On that, Mr. Poilievre and I disagree. He supported the blockade. I think that’s a failure of leadership from someone who has the privilege of making laws or changing laws.”

— Former Quebec premier and Conservative leadership candidate Jean Charest during a campaign stop in Brandon.

“During that entire time, no one [at the hospital] stopped to ask if he was OK, took five minutes to just check on him on a one-to-one basis. If someone had just taken a couple minutes to talk to him, he would likely be here now.”

— Brenda Eamer, whose son Ryan Eamer died 24 hours after suffering from head trauma sustained in a fall at the Brandon Regional Health Centre. Intoxicated at the time, Ryan had been taken into custody by Brandon police from the hospital, and then released four hours later. He died in his apartment, with the cause of death determined to be blunt force trauma to the head.

“I think it’s a matter of respect. I’m not sure about the legislation, but we do not do anything that can cause any influence for elected officials.”

— Agassiz MLA and Municipal Relations Minister Eileen Clarke to a Sun reporter’s question, after her press secretary had previously told the Sun that she would not speak to comments made regarding the delayed installation of a new tub and shower room at the Carberry Health Centre by Carberry Mayor Stuart Olmstead, due to a “blackout” period during the municipal election. No such protocol exists for Manitoba municipal elections.

“It was annexed in, servicing plans were done and now we’re just putting everything on hold after we spent a ton of money trying to do the necessary studies to satisfy administration, municipal government, the provincial government and now we’re just going to put it on the back burner? I don’t want to bog this meeting down with the phasing because I know that’s going to come after, but this whole lift station project is one project and should be carried out as one project because it is needed.”

— Steve McMillan of J&G during a public hearing about the need to borrow $30 million to pay for wastewater infrastructure upgrades in the city’s southwest corner.

“It was unique. Nobody sounded like Diane.”

— Pianist Edna Knock describing the voice of former journalist and local singer Diane Nelson, who died at 62 years of age in 2022.

“Justin Trudeau has given us 40-year highs in inflation, gas prices are double, house prices are up 50 per cent, food prices are so high that four of five families are cutting back their diets. I’m the only candidate who can tackle the inflation.

— Then Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre during a campaign stop with supporters in Brandon.

“Every time I came into my unit, I’d step on four or five of them. I’m sitting down, reaching for my tea and they are already in my cup.”

— Brandon man Victor Bouvette, describing the roach infestation at his Manitoba Housing apartment in Winnipeg after moving to that city to be closer to family.

“She was a great lady, gracious, and I really just want to see her get a great sendoff for all she has done. We as a nation can talk about the future of Charles later, but from meeting him, I have no doubt he will be a great king.”

— Carberry farmer Brian Bailey, upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Bailey’s farm was part of an historic visit by the Royal Family during the Manitoba leg of the Royals’ 1970 tour of Canada.

“They said I could be waiting another three or four days, I don’t really know. I have to wait in a hotel with my shattered knee because they need the bed I was in for someone else.”

— Swan River’s Tiffany Kematch, who waited for several days for surgery at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre after she broke her knee and leg.

“Realistically, I’m not going to win this election. I don’t have the establishment backing, I don’t have any credentials on paper. I don’t have the backing of the chamber [of commerce] and basically, there’s not much chance I’ll win.”

— Brandon mayoral candidate Elliott Oleson, upon entering the race to be Brandon’s mayor in September.

“We’ve had some tough goes in the last few years, whether it’s COVID or flooding. Now it’s time to move forward, and there are going to be some good times coming up. It’s bittersweet because I love working with this council. They’ve been extremely inclusive with me as a woman, and I’m going to miss that.”

— Now-retired Coun. Jan Chaboyer on her departure from city council.

“It’s just been such a vital piece of people’s lives for the better part of the last decade. So I feel a lot of guilt for what’s having to transpire, having to shut down.”

— Grim Acres Scare Away Cancer organizer Brian Sutherland, after selling off their remaining inventory in September. Brian and wife Amber Sutherland announced a month earlier that the popular Halloween attraction would cease operation.

“They’re sitting in the shelters, drinking, smoking, having their sex.”

— Dale Bates, Ward 2 city council candidate, on downtown safety concerns at the Eighth Street bus terminal.

“It might be council’s job to rein in some of my more wild thoughts.”

— Brandon mayoral candidate Elliott Oleson, speaking during a debate.

“I’m a little taken aback. We thought we’d have a little open house with some coffee and cookies. I did want it to be as a thank you, more about the community than it was about me or council. Just a chance for us to say farewell, and I was thrilled.”

— Former mayor Rick Chrest on the turnout for a farewell open house held the day before election day in October.

“When you see it in real life, it’s very different. It doesn’t explain that feeling when you are there.”

— Westman man Vartan Davtian, who spent three months delivering humanitarian aid in Ukraine earlier this year.

“When I read the schools were meant to kill the Indian in me, I thought you couldn’t kill me. It took a while to get my language back, but I did it.”

— Residential school survivor Eleanor Elk speaking during the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

“Betty should have been safe in her home. She should have been able to make the decision and determination for herself to leave the relationship … The accused, by his actions, not only took that autonomy from Betty, but also took the life of Betty. The accused could have at any time left the residence. He did not.”

— Justice Scott Abel while sentencing Robert Hughes to 13 years in prison before eligibility for parole in the second-degree murder of his wife, Betty. Hughes died in December at Stony Mountain Institution.

“We need to work together for the end goal. There is an awful lot of money that comes into our city from the province and feds for these sorts of things. But it does get thinned out through the whole pile of different groups.”

— New Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett on looking for a new approach to tackle social issues.