Flowers bloom with life for seniors in a culture of loneliness

My latest story for the B.C. Catholic newspaper

The elderly lady was sitting slumped in a wheelchair parked near a window in the common room of her Maple Ridge retirement home when a volunteer from St. Luke’s parish approached.

“Happy Easter!” the volunteer said, handing the woman a potted African violet and a greeting card reading, “You Matter.”

The senior read the card slowly, covered her face with her hands, silently began to weep, choked up with emotion.

The “You Matter” message “really resonated,” said St. Luke’s parishioner Elizabeth Loch, who organized teams of family members and fellow parishioners to visit two seniors’ residences on Holy Saturday as part of the annual Blooms into Rooms Easter-flowers project.

“Like far too many of our seniors, she was probably feeling that she didn’t matter to anyone anymore,” said Loch. “I’m glad we could do something to bring her some comfort.”

Blooms into Rooms volunteers noted similar responses among many seniors on Holy Saturday as they delivered flowering plants and greeting cards to across the Lower Mainland.

This year’s “You Matter” theme was adopted in part because of the high number of seniors being euthanized out of loneliness and isolation.

“It’s clear that the increasing isolation and loneliness of seniors—even when they are living in group residences or retirement homes—is a real problem,” said Wim Vander Zalm, a founder of Blooms into Rooms, which marked its 32nd anniversary this year with 12 teams from Catholic parishes and schools visiting a record 1,700 seniors in 19 locations from Chilliwack to Coquitlam.

“We don’t want to see our grandmothers and grandfathers turning to euthanasia because of isolation, loneliness, or a feeling that their lives don’t have meaning any more,” he said. “That’s simply not right.”

A 2023 report by Canada’s National Institute of Ageing found that 41 per cent of Canadians 50 years and older are at risk of social isolation and up to 58 per cent have experienced loneliness.

Numbers like these are part of a “culture of loneliness” driving up the number of Canadians seeking Medical Assistance in Dying, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition executive director Alex Schadenberg said last year.

The same conclusion is supported by data collected by Health Canada and published in its annual MAiD report.

In the “nature of suffering” section for 2024, Health Canada reported that in 45 per cent of the 732 Canadians who received Track 2 MAiD—when natural death is not reasonably foreseeable—cited “isolation or loneliness” as a reason for wanting to end their lives. For Track 1—when death is reasonably foreseeable—21.9 per cent of 15,767 patients cited isolation and loneliness.

Even higher rates were reported for feelings of being a burden, emotional distress, and loss of dignity.

LifeCanada, a national pro-life charity, has also responded to these statistics with a program to boost seniors’ sense of self-worth. The program features a 26-page pamphlet entitled “You Are Worth It!” Blooms Into Rooms volunteers took pamphlets to some of the homes and hope to distribute more next year.

“It’s a simple and yet profound resource for seniors and elderly,” said executive director Pat Wiedemer. The goal is “to remind them of the great dignity they possess, inspiring them to know their worth and value.”

Blooms into Rooms, which now operates under the umbrella of Life Compass, a north-of-Fraser life-education non-profit, also distributed 14 of the LifeCanada pamphlets to retirement homes on Holy Saturday. The group plans to distribute more next year with the assistance of the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

Wiedemer hopes the pamphlet’s “charming” comic-style artistry and clear writing about universal lessons of a life well-lived will bring joy and life to the elderly.

“It is a life-abundant antidote to the culture of death as offered in MAiD,” she said.

Vander Zalm said it’s hard to measure Blooms into Rooms’ positive impact, but anecdotal evidence suggests it certainly raised spirits among seniors.

A team of St. Luke’s parishioners visiting the Wesbrooke retirement home in Pitt Meadows reported an overwhelmingly positive response. “It is truly amazing what something as simple as a small pot of flowers can do for an entire home,” said volunteer Martha Bonnett said.

Bonnett heard how meaningful the visit was, especially for those who feel deeply alone. “Many still hold Easter close to their hearts, even when their own families have forgotten not only the significance of this sacred season, but sometimes even their own loved ones.”

At Eagle Ridge Manor in Port Moody, St. Joseph’s volunteers were greeted by an activities coordinator who presented them with a giant thank-you card signed by two dozen staff and residents.

“We could see the gratitude in the sparkle of their [residents’] eyes and the width of their smiles,” said a volunteer. “There was a lot of love in the room.”

At one Maple Ridge home, a woman was nearly brought to tears because the colour of the violets were her favourite, said Loch. Another senior was uplifted by the seniors’ interactions with the many children taking part.

Blooms into Rooms now operates under Life Compass, a north-of-Fraser non-profit, and was funded this year through a grant from the Archdiocese of Vancouver. Burnaby Lakes Nurseries provided the African violets at cost, and Art’s Nursery in Surrey provided logistical support.

B.C. Catholic contributor Terry O’Neill is co-founder and lead organizer of Blooms into Rooms.

Six decades on, Columbus Homes keeps growing with new Cloverdale project

My latest work, for the B.C. Catholic newspaper.

It took a lot more than the “luck of the Irish” to make possible the St. Patrick’s Day opening in Cloverdale of Zappone Manor, the newest housing project from the Knights of Columbus.

The March 17 ribbon-cutting for the $40-million, 89-unit affordable-rental seniors’ building was the result of 10 years of resolute fundraising, broad-based partnership-building, and countless planning meetings by Columbus Homes, the charitable arm of Knights councils in B.C.

“Today, we celebrate a massive achievement,” Herb Yang, Supreme Director of the Knights of Columbus, told an audience of 250 at a reception following the ribbon cutting.

Yang said years of complex work surrounding financing and planning went into the South Surrey project. “Today, that persistence has turned into reality,” he said.

Columbus Homes president Mike Garisto said his society could not have completed the project alone, saying it “took a community to accomplish. Among the partners were the B.C. Elks Association, the Royal Canadian Legion, the Lions Club, and Knights councils. Columbus Homes vice president and treasurer Theo Vanden Hoven, MP Tamara Jansen, and Columbus Homes president Mike Garisto at the Zappone Manor ribbon cutting.

Conservative Member of Parliament Tamara Jansen (Cloverdale—Langley City) praised the groups for the dedication the effort took, saying “I think anybody involved in this project should get an honorary degree in patience.”

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said the project would never have been completed without the leadership of Columbus Homes. “It takes people with the kind of dogged determination” shown by Garisto, she said. “We know we have a critical need for below-market housing, especially for seniors ... Senior citizens deserve to be treated well in our community.” Talking from a stage bedecked with green St. Patrick’s Day decorations and wearing an Irish top hat himself, Garisto said March 17 was chosen as the opening date for Zappone Manor in recognition of the fact that Columbus Homes’ early fundraising efforts involved the selling of shamrocks, similar to the Royal Canadian Legion’s poppies.

But it took much more than shamrock sales to raise the money needed to complete Zappone Manor. Garisto said the Senior Citizens Housing of South Surrey Society contributed land with a 99-year-lease worth about $10.5 million.

The nearly $30-million project was supported by about $19 million in loans from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation – $1.3 million of it forgivable – along with a $9.7-million contribution from the Columbus Charities Association that included a $6.2-million provincial grant.

The City of Surrey, Metro Vancouver, and TransLink waived $985,226 in development cost charges.

With the opening of Zappone Manor, Columbus Homes now operates 10 seniors residences with 550 units throughout the province. The residence is named after Cloverdale community activist Bruno Zappone, who served on the board of the Senior Citizens Housing of South Surrey Society for 50 years. He died in 2021 at the age of 95.

The independent-living facility features 67 studio and one-bedroom suites, and 19 accessible suites, with rates priced 30 to 40 percent below market, Garisto said.

Zappone Manor welcomed its first tenants in late March. The initial 50 occupants are moving from an aged apartment building nearby. Information on tenancy can be obtained by calling 604-250-6444.

That older building will be demolished, and Columbus Homes has longe-range plans to put a second apartment building on a portion of the property. Columbus Homes was founded in 1965 by 13 members of the Knights of Columbus, receiving its charter on July 29 of that year.

The organization was created to provide stable, affordable housing for seniors, with an emphasis on community and dignity.

Its early projects established a foundation in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, with residences built in Vancouver, Delta, and Chilliwack, including Columbus Towers in Vancouver, Columbus Lodge in Delta, and Columbus Manor in Chilliwack.

In recent years, Columbus Homes has expanded through acquisitions. In 2019, it took on two Prince Rupert properties, Kaien Place and Wayne Place. That was followed in 2020 and 2021 by the acquisition of two Maple Ridge seniors’ residences, Fraser View Manor and Legion Manor, through an agreement with the Legion. In 2023, the organization added a Chilliwack residence, The Waverly, previously operated by Optima Living.

In Surrey, Columbus Homes also manages Hoffman Manor and Southdale I and II, maintains the. John Paul II Pastoral Centre and manages the pastoral centre’s St. Joseph's Residence for priests.

Looking ahead, Columbus Homes is exploring additional projects, including a proposed 56-suite development in Vernon, a 53-suite project in the Lower Mainland, and three developments with a combined value of more than $200 million. Plans are also underway for a second phase next to Zappone Manor.

‘Stop being bashful’ and stand for life: ex-abortion doctor at Coquitlam talk

My latest for the BC Catholic weekly newspaper

Christians of all denominations need “to stop being bashful” and instead act boldly to turn the tide on abortion, a leading U.S.-based pro-life advocate told a Coquitlam audience last week.

Dr. Haywood Robinson, a spokesman for the Texas-based 40 Days for Life campaign, spoke to nearly 200 people at Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Feb. 23, calling abortion “the greatest genocide in history.”

With Canada accounting for over 100,000 abortions a year and 200,000 lives lost every day, he said “The whole abortion holocaust offends God more than it does us.”

Formerly a physician who performed abortions in California and Texas, Robinson said he believed he was simply providing a medical service and making easy money in the process. But as the years passed and his faith deepened, he could no longer ignore the human reality before him. That awakening changed his medical practice and ignited his Christian faith.

With his wife Daphne Robinson listening, he told his audience that pro‑lifers are not the radical activists of the abortion debate, as their opponents argue. “We are the ones standing up for 2,000 years of Christian history,” he said.

Although being anti-abortion may place the audience in the minority, he offered them a message of hope from Deuteronomy 32:30: “How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?” God, he said, does not need large numbers to accomplish great things, he only needs faithfulness.

Likewise, he said, God’s work can be seen in the hundreds of 40-Days for Life vigils launched worldwide last week, including near the B.C. Women’s Hospital and Health Centre. That physical presence is a key part of the campaign and something God builds on.

“When you guys are out there, they know you’re out there,” he said. “We are telling them, ‘We aren’t going anywhere until you go. We aren’t going anywhere because we serve the risen King.’”

Robinson spent time with attendees afterward, including Kimberly Bromley, executive director of the Pregnancy Concerns crisis-pregnancy centre in Coquitlam. She told him that with financial assistance from the Knights of Columbus, the centre will soon purchase an ultrasound machine — a tool proven to help mothers choose life. 40 Days organizer Heather Thompson said Robinson’s speech could not have come at a better moment. “It was a night of conviction, courage, and renewed resolve,” said the St. Clare of Assisi parishioner. “It felt like the beginning of something bigger.”

Vancouver 40 Days for Life organizers were pleased by the large and enthusiastic audience, having only had a week to organize and publicize the event.

“On very short notice, 175 to 200 people came to listen to this talk tonight,” said Father Larry Lynn, Our Lady of Lourdes pastor and pro-life chaplain for the Archdiocese of Vancouver. “It was inspirational and galvanizing. People want to step in, to do their best to stop the killing. And it’s growing."

Feds have made 'no decisions' about advance request for MAiD

On Nov. 28 of last year, I wrote an email to the federal minister of health, asking what the minister intended to do in response to Health Canada's report on the extensive public consultation it did into possible legalization of advance requests for Medical Assistance in Dying. (My story on that report is below.) At the same time, I also wrote to Health Canada itself asking what its next steps would be. Health Canada responded quickly, saying essentially it would continue studying the issue. The minister's office did not respond until this afternoon, almost three months later! Like the response from Health Canada, the minister's response--which actually came from the "Care Continuum, Aging and Equity Directorate, Health Policy Branch, Health Canada"--is that the government is "carefully considering" the issue and that "no decisions" have been made about allowing advance requests for MAiD. Here is the complete response I received today:

Thank you for your correspondence of November 28, 2025, regarding medical assistance in dying (MAID), addressed to the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health, on whose behalf we are responding. We apologize for the delay in our response.

Please know that we appreciate you taking the time to share your views with us on the issue of advance requests for MAID.

In Canada, provinces and territories are responsible for the organization, management and delivery of health care services, including MAID, as part of end-of-life or complex care. The federal legal framework for MAID is set out in the Criminal Code and includes stringent eligibility criteria and safeguards for the safe and appropriate provision of MAID in Canada.

The provision of MAID based on an advance request is not allowed in Canada. That is because the Criminal Code requires a practitioner to obtain a person’s express consent immediately prior to administering MAID, with a narrow exception for persons whose death is reasonably foreseeable and who have already been found eligible for MAID (known as a “waiver of final consent” – more information about this can be found here:

We recognize that the issue of advance requests is sensitive and complex. That is why, from late November 2024 to February 2025, the Government undertook a national conversation to hear views from the public, provincial and territorial officials, patients, health care providers, Indigenous representatives, experts and stakeholders. Over 47,000 people across Canada participated in this consultation through an online public questionnaire, regional and national virtual roundtables, and public opinion research.

As you know, in October 2025, Health Canada published a “What We Heard Report” summarizing the key themes from that consultation. It reflects the range of perspectives expressed during the national conversation but does not include recommendations or commitments. ...

The Government is carefully considering the findings from the national conversation. No decisions have been made about expanding eligibility to allow for advance requests.

The Government of Canada remains committed to ensuring that the federal legal framework for MAID reflects the needs of people in Canada, protects those who may be vulnerable, and supports autonomy and freedom of choice.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write to us.

Threads of Compassion Stretch from Port Moody to the World

I'm happy to report that Freshet News has just published this story that I wrote. Enjoy!

When Chris and Val McKinnon sit at the dining room table of their Port Moody condominium, it’s more often to share their passion, for helping girls in developing areas of the world, than to share a meal.

That’s because the table is home to two sewing machines that the couple employ to sew reusable sanitary kits for underprivileged girls around the globe.

Chris, 72, and Val, 69, volunteer under the umbrella of the Days for Girls program, an international non-profit that provides reusable menstrual‑health kits and education to help eliminate barriers associated with menstruation in many developing countries.

The retired teachers report that the Port Moody chapter they now lead produced 1,300 such kits in 2025 alone—exceeding the 1,000-kits-a-year target they set five years ago.

Both Val and Chris, who have been married for 51 years, smile with obvious satisfaction about that output, and enthusiastically thank not only the volunteers who are part of their chapter, but also a group of women they lead on Monday evenings at Talitha Koum’s Society’s Starr House in Coquitlam—a residential, addiction-recovery facility for women.

Their relationship with Talitha Koum began in 2017 when Chris’s sister, society president Mary O’Neill, suggested they collaborate with TK’s clients to not only teach them new skills but also to show them a way of giving back to society.

The McKinnons arrive at Starr House with an hour’s worth of sewing, ironing, or serging tasks. The evening starts with a prayer written by one of the women and then the instruction and sewing begin amidst a gentle of whirring sewing machines and friendly chatter.

Over time, the sewing circle has become a place not only of peace and purpose, but also of celebration. For the past several Decembers, Val and Chris have led the women in a Christmas pageant that includes traditional carols and a narrative first written and staged by Chris’ broader McKinnon family 40 years ago.

“Every Monday when we come home, we say, ‘Wasn’t that a great night,’” Chris, who taught middle school students in Coquitlam before retiring, said. “It’s been really special. A lot of the women say the work makes them feel good, gives them a sense of peace.”

“I remember the very first night,” said Val, who taught at Coquitlam’s Queen of All Saints elementary school. “I didn’t know anything about the world these women came from. I’d lived a protected life. And then you meet them — they are so sweet and so polite. I’ve seen tears running down their cheeks when they watch the Days for Girls video. It’s been a huge eye‑opener.”

Today, she’s thankful that she had the opportunity to bring the project to the women. “Marrying the two charities has warmed my heart,” Val said. Their commitment to the project is laced into the fabric of their faith. “Our hope, as Catholics, is that the pillars of our faith are interwoven into our actions,” the couple said. “The call to help one another has been our guiding light.”

They are confident that putting those words into action through Days for Girls is having a positive impact. “Whenever women thrive, it has been found that the entire community is raised up,” they said.

The McKinnons first learned of Days for Girls 10 years ago when they stumbled upon a group sewing the sanitary kits in the common room of their Newport Village condominium building. That team was led by Vida Peterson, a Port Moody Rotary member and the driving force behind establishing the chapter and helping Days for Girls become a registered Canadian charity.

“We just happened to wander in,” Chris recalls. “And there she was.”

The chapter had been operating for three years when the McKinnons joined, and by the time the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they had taken over leadership. Today, with Chris as the formal head, their chapter includes about two dozen local volunteers, plus a group on Mayne Island, where the McKinnons have a vacation cabin, and the Talitha Koum women’s group.

Val laughs when she describes the scale of their operation: “We pretty well do it every day of the week,” she said.

She’s not complaining, though. “As a retired teacher, I do like to keep busy,” said Val, who has enjoyed sewing since she was a child. “I wake up every morning, surrounded by piles of fabric, and it does put me in my happy place.”

Chris, on the other hand, faced a steep learning curve. His passion was sports, and he had never sewn until Val taught him when he was 63. Moreover, even though he grew up alongside four sisters and three brothers, he admits he had complete ignorance of women’s menstrual issues.

All that changed after he viewed a Days for Girls’ educational video that explained how, in poverty-stricken parts of the world, girls often have to miss a week’s worth of schooling every month because of their periods. They also face discrimination and, far too often, pressure for sexual favours to allow them to return to class.

“They suffer terrible abuse,” Chris said.

Their chapter receives strong support from the Catholic Women’s League, All Saints, St. Nicholas, St. Anne and Joachim Catholic parishes, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society at All Saints. The chapter also received a grant from the R.R. Smith Memorial Fund Foundation last year.

It all supports an important cause, the McKinnons say. Indeed, it seems clear that in the quiet hum of their sewing machines, dignity is stitched, community is built, and hope travels farther than either of them ever imagined.