Farewell from the the desk of Denton

Ten years ago, when I wrote my first op-ed for these pages, the Paris climate meetings (COP 21) were about to take place, intending to limit global warming to 1.5 C.

To general amusement and little concern from either side, Donald Trump had declared himself a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

There was an uneasy ceasefire in Crimea, which Russia had annexed by moving the troops intended for security at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games over the border into Ukraine.

Today, COP 30 is unfolding in Brazil, as the world passes the 1.5 C threshold, tracking catastrophically toward 3 C degrees. Trump is partway through his second term, wreaking havoc both at home and abroad with his policy quirks and billionaire cronies. After three years of a war not seen in Europe since 1945, Russia has tried (and so far failed) to conquer Ukraine, at a cost of more than a million Russian casualties.

A lot can change in 10 years, it seems, and not necessarily for the better. The class of 2015 had brighter prospects than does the class of 2025, and so did the Earth.

In 2015, mostly out of frustration, I sent that first column to then-perspectives editor Shannon Sampert, whom I knew from the University of Winnipeg. I found little in the newspapers back then that dealt with ecological justice, just expected commentary from the usual suspects (on all sides), in columns and in letters. Shannon gave me the chance to change that picture, and I will always be grateful for that opportunity.

I have always written what I thought, without fear or favour — not to promote an agenda or a support a political platform. Over time, I have learned that you can’t have one kind of justice, without all the others, too. “Justice” however focused is intersectional — it really means justice for all, or our efforts risk being justice for no one.

When Brad Oswald took over the job in 2017, his deft editorial comments improved my arguments and sharpened my writing — not changing what I thought, but challenging me when the language was too murky. Brad made me a better writer, both in the newspaper and elsewhere.

Russell Wangersky (who gifted me a spot every second Wednesday) evidently shares the same feeling I have tried to offer in my writing — that newspapers can be more in their community than a source of blunt opinions and sports scores.

Newspapers can be an important public place for emotions, for creativity, for empathy, for editorial writing that goes beyond experts offering a narrow view of contentious topics or recounting the latest sporting woes. That feeling helps to turn a newspaper from a source of news into the heart of the community, dealing every day with what really matters.

During the pandemic I never skipped Paul Samyn’s daily reflection, one of the editorial decisions that kept the Free Press at the emotional centre of what was going on, and a focal point for the community that struggled to find itself again after restrictions eased. If a community can own a football team, to keep that sport alive for the people, it seems to me that a community could also own a newspaper, to ensure (against all other forces) that a free press remains alive there for all the people, too.

To my point: I have decided to step away from being a regular contributor.

The world is no better than when I started, but these pages have changed. There are new voices all the time, offering thoughtful and creative commentary from the community that often finds an echo or response in letters to the editor. Ecological justice is a frequent concern, and governments at all levels are being held accountable for what they actually do, not for what they say. There is lots of competition for your attention, and just not enough space to print it.

So, thank you so much to the Free Press for the unexpected gift to think and write columns for so long.

Behind both my writing and my teaching is my conviction that the strongest defence against authoritarianism is a thoughtful and educated community. Every day we are confronted by the small tyrannies of systems that are designed to maintain power, not to promote justice, equity or sustainability in our society. With some encouragement, however, the average person can still understand what is at stake, and choose for themselves what is the wisest thing to do.

I most deeply appreciated the people who told me they liked my columns, not because they agreed, but because I made them think.

While you won’t read my work here again, I intend to keep writing. There are books for me to finish and new ones to start — I wouldn’t call it “retiring,” so much as “retreading!”

Wishing you strength and courage for your own journey, and peace at the end.

Peter Denton writes from his home in rural Manitoba.