Editorials - Dec. 19, 2025
Unspeakable tragedy
In a year punctuated by violence and sadness, the murder of Rob and Michele Reiner closed out the year on a particularly low note for many. The couple’s son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested in conjunction with his parents’ murders, making it even more bewildering. Celebrity and wealth do not insulate anyone from the dark side of family dynamics.
Rob Reiner was a prolific director and the architect of many of the most memorable movies of the 1980s and 1990s. His body of work spans generations with timeless storytelling from teenage coming-of-age Stand By Me to the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally, where Harry and Sally discover that friendship is a beautiful beginning to a love story.
His turn as the liberal son-in-law and weekly foil to Archie Bunker’s narrow world view is a classic role that made America look inward on itself. Reiner’s dozens of cameos in movies and on television are beloved by fans. In addition to his own films, his production company Castle Rock paved the way for Jerry Seinfeld, Aaron Sorkin, Larry David and others. Rob Reiner championed humour, civility and intelligence, and his creativity and honesty in filmmaking will be sorely missed. – DS
No, thank you
Here we are, another Christmas and another “Season’s Greetings” issue from The Citizen in which we tell you about the Christmas traditions of your friends, family members and neighbours. These folks open their houses to our reporters, serve them cookies and coffee and bare their souls, sharing their stories on a most beloved time of year.
These are among the most intimate stories told in the pages of The Citizen, but they are not the only ones. Over the course of the entire year, Editor Shawn Loughlin, reporter Scott Stephenson and a host of contributors, correspondents and freelancers tell you the stories of the community, while photographer John Stephenson captures the images of lives lived in our community, whether they be at a hockey or soccer game, Fall Fair or Santa Claus parades, school concerts or just the meals, markets or fundraisers that help make our world go ’round. This privilege - and it is a privilege - is not one that we ever take lightly.
The trust instilled in us from our community is something we never take for granted, which is why we work so hard at getting it right when we are telling your stories, not just week by week, but for posterity. When future generations are writing the next installment of history books for Blyth, Brussels and beyond, it will be from these pages that they will be pulling information and telling those stories once again.
To anyone who renewed their subscription this year or came aboard as a new subscriber, thank you. If you contacted us with a tip, sent in a picture or invited us into your home for an interview, thank you. If you remained steadfast in your support of The Citizen as a shareholder, an advertiser or an enthusiastic fan who turned their neighbour onto us, thank you. If you volunteered to help get papers into readers’ hands during the postal strike, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
A very Merry Christmas to all who work so hard to keep The Citizen great and its employees employed. We couldn’t do it without you. – SL
Selfless heroism
Last weekend, a spiritual community came together to mark a holy time of year. It should have been an occasion defined by joy. Instead, it was violently disrupted by inhumane savagery.
As chaos unfolded, one man did something that most of us hope we might do in a similar situation. At great personal risk and with no guarantee of survival, he confronted one of the gunmen and managed to disarm him. The name of the hero in this story is Ahmed al-Ahmed.
Al-Ahmed did not know the people he was protecting. He acted on instinct, empathy and courage. He was injured in the struggle, but his actions almost certainly prevented further bloodshed.
Heroism does not belong to one culture. Terrorism does not arrive with a single face. When we are honest, the world is more complicated and more hopeful than our prejudices suggest.
The celebration interrupted by gunfire was a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach. The people targeted were members of the Jewish community, marking a sacred time of year centred on light, resilience and remembrance. This was not random, but an attack rooted in hate.
There must be no ambiguity here. Antisemitism, in all of its forms, is morally indefensible. It is a poison that has followed Jewish communities for centuries, adapting itself to new eras while producing the same suffering. It must be named, confronted and rejected wherever it appears, whether shouted in public or whispered behind the veil of politics and conspiracy.
To Jewish families observing Hanukkah in the shadow of this horror, know this: you are not alone. People around the world are thinking of you, grieving with you and standing with you.
We honour bravery by naming it. And we honour our shared humanity by refusing to let hatred define who we are. – SBS