Recently, I had the privilege of meeting a young man and his wife and baby who had recently moved to Edmonton from a foreign country. They chose Edmonton over other Canadian cities because the man (let's call him Robert) realized the job opportunities were better here than elsewhere.

More than 20 years ago, I was unemployed for four interminable months. It was, without a doubt, the most trying time of my adult life.

Karl Marx here made an important comment on the nature of labour. Viewed from the outside, labour is about producing things – material things, services or information – that are typically sold to others.

My caller was taking me to task for publishing an article that he felt involved the Church in politics. "Your newspaper should stay out of politics. Stick to evangelization."