As we all ease into the new year of 2023, I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on change. I started this job in 2015, and since then, many things in the world, the country and the province have changed.
When I started this job, Canada had a Conservative Prime Minister and a Liberal Premier, Stephen Harper and Kathleen Wynne. Since then, the script has flipped, with a Liberal Prime Minister in Justin Trudeau and a Conservative Premier in Doug Ford.
Speaking of politics, there’s been a surprising trend over the years. The first federal election I covered, the year I started working here, had quite a strong voter turnout, at just a little over 68 percent. Since then, federal, provincial, and even municipal elections have seen declining voter turnouts. In addition, this past municipal election had a very low number of local candidates.
The 2015 version of me would not have foreseen, in the future, he’d spend a couple of years in 'on-again off-again' lockdowns, due to a worldwide pandemic, and would have to wear masks in stores and restaurants to protect himself. But, in a positive sense, this pandemic has also shown me the positives of working from home, something I hadn’t really considered prior to the first Ontario shutdown. This pandemic has also made more council and board meetings accessible to the public, accelerating the need for livestream options and video technology upgrades.
Another interesting note is, since I started working for The Standard, I’ve also had the benefit of seeing and working in a few different office environments. I was involved in our move from our long-term office at 94 Water Street to North Port Road, and then we moved again to return to the downtown waterfront area to 84 Water Street, where our office now sits.
Back in 2015, I would have never dreamed my family would adopt three kittens together. Since I was born, my family has always had one cat, but now Kita, Marco and Lily have found their way into my heart, and I can’t imagine my life without them.
To me, when moving forward, I think it is always important to know where we came from and the lessons we’ve taken along the way.
It sure has been an interesting time since I started being a reporter here, and I look forward to many more adventures.