Rose's Cantina

  Six years ago, I was combing through my Facebook and I saw post from my cousin Julie Major. Her brother and his wife were frantically looking for their daughter Ashley who just days before had Facetimed her mom saying she was planning to return to her home in Niagara. Ashley never made it home. She was murdered in cold blood in her home in Salmon Arm then buried in a nearby field. It would be five and a half years before her body was located, and her boyfriend was charged with second degree murder.  Today, Ashley's urn has a sacred spot in her parents' home, and Derek Favell is in jail awaiting trial by judge and jury. The trial is expected to go into next year sometime. This has been an agonizing journey for Ashley's friends and family. The pain has never stopped, and the wounds are broken open every time the family has to sit through a series of pre-trial proceedings. Fortunately, this ordeal will end but the pain will never wane for the people, including me, who have b...

Amber Ellis, 33, is another woman to add to our list of missing woman in Ontario. Her mother Donna Ellis contacted me and asked that we remember Amber as part of our Vigil for Justice.  Amber is the mother of two children, and she disappeared without a trace on February 2021. You can read about her case here.

It worries me that six years later, these women or their remains have not been found. It's understandable given the fact that the Okanagan is a such a sprawling piece of Canada full of mountains, woods and creeks. Our Ashley Simpson is the only one. And while we are grateful for the small miracle that brought Ashley home to her parents, and put her boyfriend on trial, it still bothers me that the families of these women have no closure. Six years is a long time to grieve, but the Simpson family can tell you that not knowing what happened to a loved one is excruciatingly painful. Please read this excellent article , and share it, as a reminder that no woman is safe in this country, and justice is not always served. 

On April 30, there will be a virtual vigil for Ashley Simpson and other women who have been murdered or who are still missing in our country. Nearly every month, I am contacted with stories about these women and I would like to include as many as possible as part of the vigil. If you have a story you would like to share, please contact me at rosalita54@gmail.com On New Year's Eve 2017, Deidra Ann Smith and her boyfriend Justin Robichaud had much to celebrate. Deidra, a mother of three, felt her life was finally getting back on track after years of struggle. The couple decided to throw a party and invited the neighbours to their basement apartment in St. Catharines for a party. Later, in the wee hours of the New Year, the neighbour returned and bludgeoned the couple. Their bodies were transported 300 kilometres to Haliburton where they were lit on fire; the remains were covered with branches and abandoned. Her family filed a missing person's report on January 24. Three days prio...

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. Last April, we gathered around our bonfires and computers to pray that Ashley Simpson would be found and finally returned to her loving family. It was the fifth anniversary of her disappearance.  A few months later, her remains were found, and her boyfriend was sent to jail. He is now awaiting trial. On Saturday, April 30, 2022, the Simpson family is asking you to come back together to give thanks, and to once again pray. This time, we pray for justice for Ashley as well as for closure for the families of the many murdered and missing in this country.  There are still women missing in the Okanagan including Nicole Bell, Caitlin Potts and Deanna Wertz who all disappeared around the same time as Ashley. Their families continue to struggle, and need our continued support. We will also pray for family of Pamela Jones an elderly retired school teacher who was bludgeoned to death in her carport in Salmon Arm eleven y...

  As winter turns to spring, Katrina's Army is stepping up its efforts to cover the waterfronts around St. Catharines/Niagara in all ways possible in hopes of finding the Army veteran who went missing on New Year's Eve -- three months ago. There have been many developments, mostly positive in her case: The family finally has possession of her home, car and dog and evicted her ex-boyfriend who had changed the locks on the house. Her bank account has finally been frozen. A reward of $20,000 has been posted by her family for information leading to Katrina, no questions asked. A legion of volunteers have been putting up posters everywhere, and are meeting many times a week for ground searches. This is a well organized effort, so as not to waste anyone's time looking for her in places that have already been searched. There are a number of fundraisers taking place that are helping the family with their expenses. It's been a long road for them since all of the family are from ...

  There are people who come into your life for a purpose, who are sent by some divine spirit to lift you up, help you out, and support you in times of need. Trevor Lanyon was one of those amazing people. He sadly left this Earth in February as a victim of a car crash in Sarasota Florida where he made his home for many years. He was only 68. I met Trevor when I was living a Disney princess' life in 1989. He was dressed in a morning suit, and opened the door of St. James Manor in the town of York in England. My husband Dan and I were on a long delayed honeymoon, and I was six months pregnant with my daughter, Marissa. Dan was a work-a-holic and never had time for vacations that didn't involve conferences and high level meetings, so this trip was big. I left my two older children, Nicholas and Stefan in the care of a babysitter and off we went to explore the British countryside.  Trevor was an assistant butler at the manor. He also served as the night bartender, and served us our...

  Today, Ashley's friends and family joined together to wish her well on her next adventure. I like to think that Ashley is not gone as long as people remember her spirit, her smile, and her love of the big adventure.  Over the 32 years she spent on this planet, Ashley touched the hearts of everyone who met her. She challenged her cousins, friends, nieces and nephews to always to push the envelope, to do better, to be better. As her Aunt Patty said today at the service, Ashley was always there for people whether she was driving them home after a party, or helping to organize one. She was a bright and shining light in the world, and she is now taking her act on the road. Even on her worst day, Ashley brought out the best in people. People started fundraisers and search parties, they flew drones over the treacherous landscape. She reminded everyone that in this life we all need to do our part. And she continues to make her mark. In her name, people are calling for our society to...

Sometimes, I am in awe of the women in my family. I think about the sacrifices made by my grandmothers and aunts, and the strength and grace of my cousins who often stare down adversity.  I come from a family of widows. My grandmother Ina Crown mourned her first husband who died during WWI. My mother Vera buried her own soldier husband, my father Russ, after he died as a result of PTSD at only 34. As a little girl, I watched the women close to me struggle, and cry when they thought I wasn't looking. I was always looking, and learning.  I still am.  Against all odds, they soldiered on. They were Steel Maples, standing tall against every storm.  In my own generation, I have marveled at the sacrifices made by my cousins to raise whole families on their own, and to deal with many mental and physical health challenges, and I am humbled watching Ashley's family endure the loss of their lovely girl whose only fault was picking the wrong guy. We've all been there. The Simpso...

  Katrina (Trina) Blagdon disappeared from her home in St. Catharines, Ontario on New Year's Eve 2021. She was last seen at a sub shop at 6 p.m. There have been no sightings of her since. Please read the message below this post and help if you can! RS A message from Trina's friend, Mara Morgan:  Katrina after all these weeks as I sit here crying writing this it breaks my heart that I still don’t know anything about what has happened to you. You were such an outgoing person and so kind, funny and compassionate that I could not imagine anyone hurting you on purpose. I am praying you are alive and well and needed some alone time. I have been trying to find pictures of you in Afghanistan, so people can see the kind of person you are, strong, resilient and hard working. I must say I am very happy to have found two of the most beautiful pictures that show the essence of your soul. The smile that lit a room and the soldier in uniform ready for all. One is the day we all lined up to g...

If Katrina Blagdon inexplicably walked off to end her life, only she would know why. Friends and family might have mentioned to the police that she was depressed or in despair. But those haven't been the words that have been used to describe her. She was looking forward to returning home to Nova Scotia. She had just spent time with her boys. She had been chirpy and happy -- her usual demeanour -- on her posts on Facebook. Katrina was an open book, according to all who knew her. She wasn't a drug addict or mentally ill. She was a seasoned soldier who had seen it all on a tour of Afghanistan. She settled in St. Catharines to start her civilian life as a homeowner with savings and was the proud owner of a lime green Jeep. No. Katrina did not off herself. She did not accidentally fall into Martindale Pond during a brisk midnight walk around her neighbour. And it seems unlikely that if she were planning her own demise that she would be having a submarine sandwich with her boyfriend ...

Embed from Getty Images I wanted to share the observations of a Facebook friend who lives near the downtown core. It pretty accurately describes the scene, and offers some insight on what's to come.   As someone living near downtown, I’d like to share some firsthand observations about the “Freedom Convoy” that is occupying the city, as some people continue to believe it is a peaceful protest for truckers: • There are some semi trucks, but the vast majority are pickup trucks. 95% of them have Ontario or Quebec plates: they did not drive across the country, they largely came from nearby. • The occupiers are 99% white and 90% male. I’m told that 90% of Canada’s truckers are vaccinated. The occupiers don’t represent truckers or the broad population of Canada. • The signs and rhetoric do talk about “dropping the mandates”, but many of them also believe COVID or the vaccines to be some kind of conspiracy or hoax. These people do not seem to believe that the pandemic is real. • The h...

  I'm sure Ron James would cringe at being called A National Treasure.  He'd probably say his body has not yet been discovered in the Tundra or fossilized after his family jewels were eaten by bears. It's true, he hasn't had a cabin in the woods named after him like Pierre Berton where starving comics can go, suck on a pickled toe and try their material out on otters. He doesn't have an Order of Canada or a Governor's General Award, either.  But a National God Damned Treasure he certainly is.  He's had his own television show, and a comedy special that ran so many times on New Year's Eve that the CBC smoked the videotape. He failed as an actor in Hollywood so he came home to make the best of it in Canada -- and what's more Canadian than that! He does have some hardware including a Gemini and a Genie, and two Canadian Comedy Awards. But he'll even admit that he is a B List celebrity who gets airline upgrades not because he's famous but because...

  I received a request recently to raise awareness about the disappearance of a B.C. woman who vanished from her home in Costa Rica after a fight with her husband.  Jaclyn Smith Ferland, 40, was reported missing in August from her home near Playa Hermosa after returning home from a  physiotherapy session.  A Facebook page has been set up, and dedicated to the search for the Canadian forces veteran whose husband said that she left on foot in "mental distress" after becoming angry with him. She left, he said, after he went into the shower.  This is another disturbing missing person case with an all too familiar ring to it. She left. On foot. With only her passport and wallet, but no suitcase. There has been no trace of her, and no activity on her bank and credit cards.  Family and friends of Jackie say there was no reason for her to disappear into thin air, with no sightings, no cab rides, so security footage, or phone calls home.  A former acquaintance ...

A note to my readers on the occasion of my million view milestone.  People become bloggers for many different reasons. They want to express themselves creatively. They want to make money. They want to become influencers. I began blogging to save my mental health.  It all began back in 2009 when I published an essay in the Globe and Mail entitled: We're Living the $10 Life . In the essay, I wrote about the serious downturn my life had taken after a bitter divorce that left me reeling. Even though I had recoupled with the wonderful Scott, we were barely making ends meet. It was a terrible time for both of us even though we had enjoyed successful careers in the past. When we met, Scott was living in misery. He'd taken a buyout and left his career as a CBC cameraman to pay off an abusive ex-wife. I was a freelance speechwriter, and I had lost most of my income because I was a Liberal living in Stephen Harperland.  Together we were raising three teenagers, cannibalizing tropi...

  On Sunday, volunteers travelled to St. Catharines from across the province to help in the search for Katrina Blagdon, the 37-year-old Army veteran who went missing on New Year's Eve. They fanned out across the area surrounding Martindale Pond, and the Henley Course, in hopes of finding any evidence of what might have happened to the mother-of-two. Searchers included other military personnel, as well as friends and family of the well-liked woman who was reported missing on New Year's Day. The last sighting of Trina was on New Year's Eve around 6 p.m. at a local sub shop. She disappeared without her wallet or her lime green Jeep, and there has been no cell phone activity since that night. Her family, some of whom have come to St. Catharines from as far as Nova Scotia, are being supported by more than 3,000 members of a Facebook site which has been set up to organize searches and to provide accurate information about her case. She is also being supported by a well organized...