Former Winnipeg police chief Devon Clunis weathered a lot of ridicule when he talked about the role of prayer in fighting crime. Well, look who's laughing now? Winnipeggers have taken his words to heart, and they're praying up a storm. People are praying they don't get shot. Or murdered. Or robbed at work. Or mugged on the street. Or have their cars stolen. A perusal of the police department's Crimestat page shows the dismal legacy of Clunis' hug-a-thug social work policing, which has been embraced whole-heartedly by the Winnipeg police commission and new police chief Danny Smythe. The stats compare this year to last, New Year's Day to April 15: Homicides, 9 this year, 6 last. Shootings, up 82 percent. A whopping 31 this year, 17 last. Commercial robberies, up 53 percent to 150 this year, 98 last. Muggings, 336 this year, 261 last, an increase of 29 percent. Commercial break-ins, 355 compared to 245 in '16. (A 45% increase.) Res
The origin of the Usher of the Black Rod goes back to early fourteenth century England . Today, with no royal duties to perform, the Usher knocks on the doors of the House of Commons with the Black Rod at the start of Parliament to summon the members. The rod is a symbol for the authority of debate in the upper house. We of The Black Rod adopted the symbol to knock some sense and the right questions into the heads of Legislators, pundits, and other opinion makers.