Thursday, January 29, 2026

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Thursday, January 29, 2026 | Latest Paper

Canada & The 21st Century

Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | January 19, 2026
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly speaks at Canada's Competition Summit in Ottawa on Oct. 1, 2025. If Canada is to participate in the auto industry of the future, it should strive to do so through proprietary, and increasingly digital technology of Canadian firms, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | January 19, 2026
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | January 19, 2026
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly speaks at Canada's Competition Summit in Ottawa on Oct. 1, 2025. If Canada is to participate in the auto industry of the future, it should strive to do so through proprietary, and increasingly digital technology of Canadian firms, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | January 12, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump's pressures will aim to divide Canadians both between industries and between regions, that the U.S. seeks to dominate the Western Hemisphere, including Canada, and sees us as a vassal state. Canadian resolve will be sorely tested and there will be influential Canadians arguing for costly appeasement, writes David Crane.  Image courtesy of Pixabay/Gabriel Douglas
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | January 12, 2026
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | January 12, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump's pressures will aim to divide Canadians both between industries and between regions, that the U.S. seeks to dominate the Western Hemisphere, including Canada, and sees us as a vassal state. Canadian resolve will be sorely tested and there will be influential Canadians arguing for costly appeasement, writes David Crane.  Image courtesy of Pixabay/Gabriel Douglas
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 24, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to get Canada on a new growth path in our increasingly uncertain world by investing $1-trillion in public and private money over the next five years and a doubling of Canada’s non-U.S. exports of goods and services to $600-billion over the next 10 years, but it will not be easy, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 24, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 24, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to get Canada on a new growth path in our increasingly uncertain world by investing $1-trillion in public and private money over the next five years and a doubling of Canada’s non-U.S. exports of goods and services to $600-billion over the next 10 years, but it will not be easy, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 15, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, pictured with Prime Minister Mark Carney on May 6, 2025, at the White House, has had Canada in his sights since assuming office last January. But if Canada is not to become the 51st U.S. state, then it must at least become, for him, a vassal state, subservient to U.S. interests, writes David Crane. Photograph courtesy of White House photographer Gabriel B. Kotico
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 15, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 15, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, pictured with Prime Minister Mark Carney on May 6, 2025, at the White House, has had Canada in his sights since assuming office last January. But if Canada is not to become the 51st U.S. state, then it must at least become, for him, a vassal state, subservient to U.S. interests, writes David Crane. Photograph courtesy of White House photographer Gabriel B. Kotico
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 8, 2025
Defence Minister David McGuinty, pictured third from left with Canada's Chief of Defence Jennie Carignan, right, is one of the ministers in charge of bolstering Canada’s defence capabilities. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 8, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 8, 2025
Defence Minister David McGuinty, pictured third from left with Canada's Chief of Defence Jennie Carignan, right, is one of the ministers in charge of bolstering Canada’s defence capabilities. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 1, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney has also made commitments to Britain, the European Union, various European countries including France, Germany, Poland and Sweden, Mexico, Korea, India, Indonesia, and other ASEAN nations, Brazil, and China.  The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 1, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | December 1, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney has also made commitments to Britain, the European Union, various European countries including France, Germany, Poland and Sweden, Mexico, Korea, India, Indonesia, and other ASEAN nations, Brazil, and China.  The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 24, 2025
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne speaks to reporters in the House of Commons foyer after the vote on the 2025 federal budget passes on Nov. 17. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 24, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 24, 2025
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne speaks to reporters in the House of Commons foyer after the vote on the 2025 federal budget passes on Nov. 17. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 17, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne prepare to present the 2025 budget in the House of Commons on Nov. 4. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 17, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 17, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne prepare to present the 2025 budget in the House of Commons on Nov. 4. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 10, 2025
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, pictured inside the media budget lockup in the John G. Diefenbaker Building on Sussex Drive in Ottawa before holding his press conference on the budget on Nov. 4, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 10, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 10, 2025
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, pictured inside the media budget lockup in the John G. Diefenbaker Building on Sussex Drive in Ottawa before holding his press conference on the budget on Nov. 4, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 3, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, second right, pictured on Oct. 7, 2025, with U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and other top Canadian and American politicians and officials in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. Photograph courtesy of the White House
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 3, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | November 3, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, second right, pictured on Oct. 7, 2025, with U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and other top Canadian and American politicians and officials in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C. Photograph courtesy of the White House
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 27, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney's biggest challenge is to win Canadians' trust, to convince them that he's on the right track, and that he's pursuing a short-term-pain-for-long-term-gain strategy that is in Canada’s best interests, David Crane writes. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 27, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 27, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney's biggest challenge is to win Canadians' trust, to convince them that he's on the right track, and that he's pursuing a short-term-pain-for-long-term-gain strategy that is in Canada’s best interests, David Crane writes. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 20, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney. While Canada has potential, the World Intellectual Property Organization's 2025 Global Innovation Report says it lags badly on high-tech exports, creative outputs from the business sector, industrial designs, trade marks, and other forms of intellectual property, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 20, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 20, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney. While Canada has potential, the World Intellectual Property Organization's 2025 Global Innovation Report says it lags badly on high-tech exports, creative outputs from the business sector, industrial designs, trade marks, and other forms of intellectual property, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 13, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump at the West Wing entrance of the White House on May 6, 2025. Photograph courtesy of White House photographer Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 13, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 13, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump at the West Wing entrance of the White House on May 6, 2025. Photograph courtesy of White House photographer Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 6, 2025
The September Economic and Fiscal Outlook Report from Jason Jaques, pictured, the interim parliamentary budget officer, with its dire warning of unsustainable federal spending, deficits, and debt, should not be treated lightly. But it should not be taken as a call for an austerity budget next month, writes David Crane.   The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 6, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | October 6, 2025
The September Economic and Fiscal Outlook Report from Jason Jaques, pictured, the interim parliamentary budget officer, with its dire warning of unsustainable federal spending, deficits, and debt, should not be treated lightly. But it should not be taken as a call for an austerity budget next month, writes David Crane.   The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 29, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, and Indonesian President Prabowo Sugianto signed a trade agreement between the two countries in Ottawa on Sept. 24, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 29, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 29, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, and Indonesian President Prabowo Sugianto signed a trade agreement between the two countries in Ottawa on Sept. 24, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 18, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney heads into the Prime Minister's Office in Ottawa on Aug. 6, 2025. The seven government priorities listed in Carney's mandate letter to his cabinet ministers are worthwhile, yet insufficient. They fail to address Canada’s terrible productivity performance, writes David Crane.   The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 18, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 18, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney heads into the Prime Minister's Office in Ottawa on Aug. 6, 2025. The seven government priorities listed in Carney's mandate letter to his cabinet ministers are worthwhile, yet insufficient. They fail to address Canada’s terrible productivity performance, writes David Crane.   The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 15, 2025
Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson, the former mayor of Vancouver, arrives for the Liberal caucus meeting in the West Block on June 11, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 15, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 15, 2025
Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson, the former mayor of Vancouver, arrives for the Liberal caucus meeting in the West Block on June 11, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 8, 2025
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson was recently in Germany touting Canada's LNG potential to prospective buyers, but David Crane writes that this government needs to be more realistic about that potential. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 8, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 8, 2025
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson was recently in Germany touting Canada's LNG potential to prospective buyers, but David Crane writes that this government needs to be more realistic about that potential. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 1, 2025
Mark Carney
On Aug. 22, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised in a statement that his government will soon announce a “comprehensive” industrial strategy that “protects Canadian jobs, boosts Canadian competitiveness, buys Canadian goods, and diversifies Canadian exports.” The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 1, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | September 1, 2025
Mark Carney
On Aug. 22, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised in a statement that his government will soon announce a “comprehensive” industrial strategy that “protects Canadian jobs, boosts Canadian competitiveness, buys Canadian goods, and diversifies Canadian exports.” The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 25, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke of Canada's lagging productivity in 2010 when he was governor of the Bank of Canada. Now as prime minister, it's up to him and his government to provide the answers, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 25, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 25, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke of Canada's lagging productivity in 2010 when he was governor of the Bank of Canada. Now as prime minister, it's up to him and his government to provide the answers, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 20, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget has to focus on growth, but it also faces constraints since it must respond to the fallout from U.S. protectionism, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 20, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 20, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget has to focus on growth, but it also faces constraints since it must respond to the fallout from U.S. protectionism, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 11, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney scrums with reporters before the Prime Minister’s First Nations summit on Bill C-5 in Gatineau, Que., on July 17, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 11, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 11, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney scrums with reporters before the Prime Minister’s First Nations summit on Bill C-5 in Gatineau, Que., on July 17, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 4, 2025
Who is going to address the shortcomings in innovation policy, including access to capital, if our Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is preoccupied with saving the steel, aluminum, and auto industries, asks David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 4, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | August 4, 2025
Who is going to address the shortcomings in innovation policy, including access to capital, if our Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is preoccupied with saving the steel, aluminum, and auto industries, asks David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 28, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney scrums with reporters before the Prime Minister’s First Nations summit on Bill C-5 in Gatineau, Que. on July 17, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Prime Minister Mark Carney, pictured July 17, 2025, in Gatineau, Que. The credibility of the upcoming budget will be test number one for the building an economy for the future. Implementation will be test number two. Success is urgent. And some early deliverables are vital for ongoing public support. It’s all about our future, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 28, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 28, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney scrums with reporters before the Prime Minister’s First Nations summit on Bill C-5 in Gatineau, Que. on July 17, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Prime Minister Mark Carney, pictured July 17, 2025, in Gatineau, Que. The credibility of the upcoming budget will be test number one for the building an economy for the future. Implementation will be test number two. Success is urgent. And some early deliverables are vital for ongoing public support. It’s all about our future, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 21, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney gives opening remarks at the Prime Minister’s First Nations Summit on Bill C-5 at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., on July 17, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 21, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 21, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney gives opening remarks at the Prime Minister’s First Nations Summit on Bill C-5 at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., on July 17, 2025. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 14, 2025
In comments to the House of Commons on June 18, Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland seemed to imply that the ferries could have been purchased from a Canadian company, yet no Canadian shipyard responded when BC Ferries sought proposals last year, David Crane writes. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 14, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 14, 2025
In comments to the House of Commons on June 18, Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland seemed to imply that the ferries could have been purchased from a Canadian company, yet no Canadian shipyard responded when BC Ferries sought proposals last year, David Crane writes. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 7, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House's Oval Office on May 6, 2025. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/The White House (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 7, 2025
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | July 7, 2025
Mark Carney
Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, meets with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House's Oval Office on May 6, 2025. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/The White House (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 24, 2024
Despite some gaps, a recent Bennett Jones report gets it right when it calls for a 'laser-focused' strategy for productivity growth in Canada, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 24, 2024
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 24, 2024
Despite some gaps, a recent Bennett Jones report gets it right when it calls for a 'laser-focused' strategy for productivity growth in Canada, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 13, 2024
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, left, and Prime Minister Justin. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 13, 2024
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 13, 2024
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, left, and Prime Minister Justin. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 10, 2024
Federal Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, pictured in a scrum on the Hill. 'The problem is that Canada is pursuing an alternative economic strategy—relying on foreign multinationals to locate here in return for massive taxpayer subsidies,' writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 10, 2024
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 10, 2024
Federal Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, pictured in a scrum on the Hill. 'The problem is that Canada is pursuing an alternative economic strategy—relying on foreign multinationals to locate here in return for massive taxpayer subsidies,' writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 3, 2024
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault at the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Ottawa on April 23, 2024. Guilbeault said in a 2023 report that 'Climate scientists are unequivocally telling us that we must drastically reduce our emissions by 2030 … if we are to leave a habitable world to our children.' The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 3, 2024
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | June 3, 2024
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault at the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Ottawa on April 23, 2024. Guilbeault said in a 2023 report that 'Climate scientists are unequivocally telling us that we must drastically reduce our emissions by 2030 … if we are to leave a habitable world to our children.' The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 27, 2024
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne speaks with reporters outside the Liberal caucus meeting in the West Block on May 8, 2024. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 27, 2024
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 27, 2024
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne speaks with reporters outside the Liberal caucus meeting in the West Block on May 8, 2024. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 20, 2024
The current scare-mongering on capital gains is a needless distortion, but that doesn’t let Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, pictured, off the hook, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 20, 2024
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 20, 2024
The current scare-mongering on capital gains is a needless distortion, but that doesn’t let Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, pictured, off the hook, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 13, 2024
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released the 2024 federal budget last month. The venture-capital industry and tech companies argue her tax measures will lead to a decline in capital available to aspiring tech firms. So far, they have offered little hard evidence that Freeland’s plan would discourage investment, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 13, 2024
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 13, 2024
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released the 2024 federal budget last month. The venture-capital industry and tech companies argue her tax measures will lead to a decline in capital available to aspiring tech firms. So far, they have offered little hard evidence that Freeland’s plan would discourage investment, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 2, 2024
Chrystia Freeland
Finance Minister Chrystia Freland recently boasted Canada is ‘driving the kind of economic growth that will ensure every generation of Canadians can reach their full potential.’ I am not convinced, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 2, 2024
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | May 2, 2024
Chrystia Freeland
Finance Minister Chrystia Freland recently boasted Canada is ‘driving the kind of economic growth that will ensure every generation of Canadians can reach their full potential.’ I am not convinced, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 29, 2024
Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne. The $2.4-billion the budget proposes to spend on AI is a long-overdue investment to boost computing power essential to keep us in the AI game, not a bold statement of AI leadership, writes David Crane.  The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 29, 2024
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 29, 2024
Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne. The $2.4-billion the budget proposes to spend on AI is a long-overdue investment to boost computing power essential to keep us in the AI game, not a bold statement of AI leadership, writes David Crane.  The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 22, 2024
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland presented a budget on April 16 that failed to spell out to Canadians the reality of the challenges we face, and what is required to make things better. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 22, 2024
Opinion | BY DAVID CRANE | April 22, 2024
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland presented a budget on April 16 that failed to spell out to Canadians the reality of the challenges we face, and what is required to make things better. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade