Mon Nov 6: Council Agenda Highlights, Tourism Wage Subsidy Available

Plus: Westside Boat Launch and harbour wall closed Nov 6 & 7; National Post article looks at Sharif Rahman investigation

“Like many places across the country, violence is on the rise in Ontario’s Owen Sound. This summer, something truly shocking happened: an assault that took the life of a beloved business owner.” - A Killing in Small-Town Canada

Owen Sound Sun Times reporters Rob Gowan and Greg Cowan wrote the above special for the National Post, and it’s a must-read.

One of the first messages I received from a local acquaintance after sharing a screenshot of the article (because we cannot share links on Facebook 🙄) was, “This sure doesn’t make our small town look very good.”

It certainly doesn’t. And yet it’s all true.

We cannot avoid talking about this to keep up appearances. That horse is long out of the gate. We need to start looking under the hood at what’s going on in Owen Sound.

When it comes to Sharif’s murder, we’re faced with a complete void of information in addition to this perception that questioning police is rude; that it’s an attack.

It’s not negativity to acknowledge reality. We must be willing to discuss problems in order to find solutions. (If you’re unfamiliar with the term “toxic positivity,” it’s the pressure to act like everything is okay when it really isn’t… and OS has a chronic case.)

So we’re left to wonder… do they have any idea who it is at all?

Why hasn’t there been a press conference? Why hasn’t there been any concerted effort to keep this in the news, if we’re to believe the perpetrators may have been from another area and just passing through?

“It’s not like CSI,” I’ve heard. “Investigations aren’t like TV.”

Sure, fair enough. But it’s been two and a half months. You can have all the trust in the world in investigative process but at some point, have to acknowledge that hundreds of violent crimes go unsolved in Canada every year.

When are we allowed to start asking questions? At what point in time is it socially acceptable to begin to wonder out loud whether those who killed our friend and community member will be brought to justice?

Do they still walk among us? I think we need to ask, and that it’s fair to wonder – as unpalatable as that is to some.

And so, it is with gratitude that we see local journalists bringing Sharif Rahman’s story to a national audience. Read ‘A Killing in Small-Town Canada’ in the National Post.

Now, on to other news headlines and upcoming events…