Margaret Shkimba
@margaretshkimba.bsky.social
Writer. Grandma. Hamilton, Ontario Contributing columnist, Hamilton Spectator.
It’s too bad the chaos took over the conversation. It’s never been more clear that we need more stringent qualifications for mayoral candidates. Or a different way of holding these debates. margaretshkimba.substack.com/p/what-a-clo...
What a Clown Show!: The 2026 Hamilton Mayoral Debate
Thursday night’s Cable 14 Mayoral Debate was a clown show of epic proportions. And that’s being kind.
margaretshkimba.substack.com
Why we leave investigations of sexual assault to educational institutions is way beyond my understanding. This becomes more clear with every instance. It’s a crime. Call the police. margaretshkimba.substack.com/p/the-cornel...
The Cornell 7 and the Prevalence of Rape Culture.
Is it a case of “boys will be boys” or can we actually change how young men, all men, view women as simply a means to an orgasmic end?
margaretshkimba.substack.com
The further away we move from the last mass slaughter, the quicker we march mindlessly into the next one. Stop the madness. The only winners in war are arms manufacturers & the banks that fund them. The rest of us sell out our souls, or give our lives. thespec.pressreader.com/the-hamilton...
The Hamilton Spectator
The Hamilton Spectator
thespec.pressreader.com
A personal note updating on my health. Happy to be a success story almost one year out from near death. margaretshkimba.substack.com/p/back-in-th...
Back in the Saddle Again
It’s almost a year now since I my heart blew up and I found myself staring death in the face. It’s been a long recovery, but I think I can safely say I’m back and better than I was before.
margaretshkimba.substack.com
The by-election in HE-SC is an opportunity to assert ourselves against the duplicitous Conservative Party under Doug Ford. The OLT urban boundary decision was a slap in the face of democracy and the decision of local government. We need to slap back. www.thespec.com/opinion/colu...
Cross-border bad mouthing and forced Hamilton boundary expansions: We’re living in interesting times
How will questions around the city’s urban boundary play on the campaign trail?
thespec.com
“Attachment to Ford, his Progressive Conservative Party and his wealthy donors should be the political kiss of death for any candidate, whether in the provincial byelections or the municipal general elections.” www.thespec.com/opinion/colu...
Send Doug Ford a message when you vote in the upcoming byelection
Ontarians are done with being lied to, our social services underfunded, our hospitals bankrupted, our education system gutted and our tax dollars squandered, writes Margaret Shkimba.
thespec.com
My column for today. The rich do not have the best interests of society at heart. They would deny poors democratic representation if it were up to them. They have become emboldened enough to express such thoughts as a “good idea.” www.thespec.com/opinion/colu...
Beware tech bros and the monied classes
The rich today have no problem expressing their belief in their natural right to rule.
thespec.com
Woohoo! We just hit 15,000 Subscribers to 🇨🇦 The OShow Canada’s Pro Democracy Podcast on YouTube! Thank you to everyone for fighting for democracy and supporting independent media! Sub here for free youtube.com/@theoshowwit.... Or visit TheOshow.ca
The @margaretshkimba.bsky.social has a fantastic article, 'The Battle of Stoney Creek 2.0,' about some shameful pandering to the BANANA / NIMBY crowd. Only in Hamilton do voters put parking spots before people! open.substack.com/pub/margaret... #CanadianSky #CielCanadien
The Battle of Stoney Creek 2.0
The affordable housing planned for the parking lot on Lake Ave. in Stoney Creek has hit the news again, just in time for the silly season of a municipal election
open.substack.com
This is another Ford government story, but has flown under the radar. When the government lost in court over Bill 124 capping salaries to 1% increases and the legislation was repealed, the government refused to compensate agencies for funds needed to backpay workers. #FightFord
Margaret Shkimba@margaretshkimba.bsky.social · 3mo agoSupport striking OPSEU workers in their demand for back pay after the illegal passage and then repeal of Bill 124. Labour solidarity✊ www.thespec.com/opinion/colu...
Support striking OPSEU workers in their demand for back pay after the illegal passage and then repeal of Bill 124. Labour solidarity✊ www.thespec.com/opinion/colu...
Striking OPSEU workers deserve your support
About 4,000 public sector workers are on strike for their owed backpay.
thespec.com
Absolutely...and we ignore his incompetence at pur own peril. He is destructive, uncaring and simply not good at the job we pay him to do.
to.do
Margaret Shkimba@margaretshkimba.bsky.social · 4mo agoFighting amongst ourselves is not going to solve the crises of homelessness, drug addiction or mental health. Direct your anger where it belongs: the Ford government. These are their problems to fix. www.thespec.com/opinion/colu...
Yes! I've started saying this in every discussion about the state of the world: They love it when we fight among ourselves instead of aiming our criticism where it belongs. We have to stop that now.
Margaret Shkimba@margaretshkimba.bsky.social · 4mo agoFighting amongst ourselves is not going to solve the crises of homelessness, drug addiction or mental health. Direct your anger where it belongs: the Ford government. These are their problems to fix. www.thespec.com/opinion/colu...
Fighting amongst ourselves is not going to solve the crises of homelessness, drug addiction or mental health. Direct your anger where it belongs: the Ford government. These are their problems to fix. www.thespec.com/opinion/colu...
Direct your library complaints to Doug Ford
This is not a made-in-Hamilton problem and there should be a made-in-Ontario solution.
thespec.com
Have you ever had your plans totally derailed? A bad car crash in my 20s completely screwed up my career path and I had to start over and try new things - even when I didn’t feel qualified. Saying yes anyway has been a key to my success. Check out this brief chat about it youtu.be/28QZ-Aj7Yco?... 🇨🇦
The Best Career Moves Aren't Always Planned | Laura Babcock
YouTube video by Successfully Ambiguous Podcast
youtu.be
We should be just as proud of our social services and how we treat the homeless as we are about our brand new entertainment facilities. www.thespec.com/opinion/colu...
Moving shelters won’t fix Hamilton’s homelessness problem
What if the facility was state-of-the-art in design aimed at what the clientele needs rather than limited to what some think they deserve?
thespec.com
Doug Ford is sinking Ontarians. There has to be a political cost for his policies that actually hurt people & the communities they live in. It’s not too late to right the ship. #DumpDoug How much more damage will Doug Ford do? www.thespec.com/opinion/colu...
How much more damage will Doug Ford do?
Honorary degree is slap in the face to higher education.
thespec.com
“Ford has so many scandals: fresh new hell of 500M potential secret payout to pal for air *rights, he won’t give us records on Gravy Plane, and passed law putting his friends in charge of elected mayors! We should be in full revolution mode!” 🚨youtu.be/e0m7WQjS1Gk?si… #Onpoli
January 20, 2029: Democratic president inaugurated. January 21: Full Trumpectomy begins. Melt the golden statues. Rip his name off the Kennedy Center. Restore the Rose Garden and East Wing. Tear down the gilded ballroom. America finally touches grass again. 🌿🇺🇸
A brutal indictment of Carney - gutting the social policy initiatives of his predecessor. I wasn't even aware of some of this. Vanishing differences between Carney and Poilievre. Liberal partisans, you support THIS? www.thestar.com/politics/pol...
Althia Raj: Mark Carney has forgotten who helped get him elected
Dig into the details of the prime minister's budget and you find cuts to social programs.
thestar.com
Pop his balloon ego.
Jordan Armstrong@jarmstrongbc.bsky.social · 6mo agoSources: FIFA wanted level 4 motorcade escort for its president while in Vancouver (ability to go through traffic lights). That’s 1 level below the pope - but on par with 🇺🇸 president - and higher than 🇨🇦 PM. The request was denied. #bcpoli @globalnews.ca
An apology is so inadequate - when this man loses his temper you see the true #DougFord not when he puts on his aw shucks folks personae that SO many fall for. #FordMustResign #FightFord
Margaret Shkimba@margaretshkimba.bsky.social · 6mo ago@fordnation has since apologized in private to MPP Smyth. Not good enough. He made the comments in the house, he needs to retract them and apologize in the house. www.thespec.com/opinion/colu...
@fordnation has since apologized in private to MPP Smyth. Not good enough. He made the comments in the house, he needs to retract them and apologize in the house. www.thespec.com/opinion/colu...
More misogyny in the Ontario legislature
The kind of disparaging comment made by Doug Ford in the legislature would not be out of place coming from the mouth of Donald Trump.
thespec.com
Like Trump and his Epstein Class, Ford and his Gravy Plane Class want to take all the things: Greenbelt, Ontario Place, Airport, TO Waterfront, Regional Councils, School Boards, Conservation Authorities 🔗 youtu.be/6nyfaPTZstk?... 🇨🇦🤬👊 Watch @margaretshkimba.bsky.social @michauvanspeyk.bsky.social
THE OSHOW: PROTESTS IN ONTARIO AND ALBERTA, FORD'S GRAVY PLANE CRASHES HIS BRAND, TRUMP TRADE WAR
YouTube video by The OShow with Laura Babcock
youtu.be
Maybe it’s not MPPs people need to protest. Maybe it’s Ford supporters, from deep-pocketed donors to crony labour leaders to corporate welfarists. We need a General Strike. open.substack.com/pub/margaret...
More Cowbell!: Protests Against Ford Not Letting Up.
Saturday’s protest in the windy wet weather outside MPP Monica Ciriello’s office on the Hamilton mountain was just one of many as Ontarians continue to express their anger at the Ford government.
open.substack.com
