Samantha Kemp-Jackson

Diverse, accessible and cosmopolitan – all of these adjectives describe Canada’s largest city. From distinctive culinary experiences to raucous sporting and cultural events, Toronto has something for everyone. Whatever time of year you decide to visit, there's certain to be something going on in Toronto.
Getting around is easy: Toronto is built on a grid, so both drivers and pedestrians find their destinations with ease. But with a reputation for chilly winters and steamy summers, when's the ...

“The Six,” “Hogtown” or “the Big Smoke” – whatever you call it, Toronto is the place to be for families and kids. Perhaps it’s the city’s welcoming nature, its diversity or its safety. Whatever the case, Canada’s largest city offers a variety of options for children of all ages.
Toronto’s multiculturalism is a key factor in its attractiveness for families, boasting neighborhoods, foods and cultural locales that reflect the city’s makeup. And of course, there’s the “fun factor,” and this city ...

The through line from 1970s Toronto to 2021 Canada.
When I heard the news, I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. It had happened again. Last September, in an Ottawa university, the N-word—in full—was casually dropped in class by a white professor. (It was subsequently defended as “academic freedom.”) Sadly, this wasn’t an isolated occurrence. Earlier in 2020, media reports circulated about an Ontario high school teacher, also white, who had been recorded using the ugly slur in cl...

Experts on the pros and cons.
You see them everywhere: ads touting electric toothbrushes—and the promising results that they provide. For many of us who grew up with the conventional, manual toothbrush, it’s enticing to consider a next-level way of maintaining our dental health.
Electric toothbrushes have been around for a while, but it has really been in the past few decades that their popularity has risen with consumers. An increased focus on the importance of dental health, and the possibi...

You're not alone—all parents have been way more lenient about treats, screentime and exercise lately. Here's how to get back to a good place (whenever you're ready).
Before COVID, Felien Torres Lyn’s sons would be out the door first thing in the morning. The family once relied on a daily schedule of specialized school and therapy for Brandon, 10, and Jakob, 13, who both have autism, and the boys thrived on the comfort of that routine. Now, it’s after 9 a.m. and the boys are playing video game...

The message was stark. United Way’s 2004 report, “Poverty by Postal Code,” revealed what had been long suspected: Over the span of 20 years, the number of families living in poverty had doubled in specific neighbourhoods across the GTA.
And marginalized communities in the inner suburbs — specifically those that included visible minorities — were experiencing poverty rates that appeared to be increasing by the year. Communities particularly hard hit included Scarborough, North York, Etobicoke,...

Yes, I DO deserve that accessible parking spot.
I had just pulled into the accessible parking spot at the supermarket. You know: the one that’s right by the front door, so that those who have difficulty walking don’t have to venture too far afield. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her.
Like me, she was middle-aged and visibly tired. Unlike me, she had parked further afield from the main door of the store. She eyed me suspiciously and I detected a flicker of anger in her gaze.
“She doesn’t l...

Making a sign, showing up and taking a stand for your beliefs is one way to show your kids and your community what anti-racism work looks like.
When George Floyd’s senseless murder was broadcast around the world, Tara Watts, a Toronto-area single mother of three, was watching. With a 10-year-old daughter and two sons, ages seven and four, Watts’s next course of action was clear. And that action would involve her children.
Within two days, they had attended two demonstrations against injustice...

Advice for parents on raising kids in an era of protest.

COVID-19 has presented additional challenges and stresses on parents who are raising children with special needs.

When Amanda Munday returned home after the breech birth of her daughter, she was in shock, both physically and emotionally. It’s no wonder, really: Four hours after giving birth, she was discharged. The 36-year-old mother of two vividly recalls her first few weeks of motherhood: “I couldn’t sleep. I started to feel really high anxiety that the baby would die. Then I started to tell myself, ‘If the baby dies, I’ll kill myself,’” she told HuffPost Canada.
Though she wasn’t aware of it at the ti...

Lynette Patterson already had her hands full, before the pandemic. The 42-year-old is a working mother of four — 14-year-old twin boys, a nine-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter. Now, with the mandated e-learning, this IT audit director has had to add another unpaid job to her already busy schedule: educator.
While her older children are fairly self-reliant in completing their schoolwork, her nine-year-old son keeps Patterson on her toes. E-learning has proven to be a formidable foe.
“M...

A mid-life diagnosis of Lupus changed the way one woman perceived her life.

As an immune-compromised person, I’m petrified of germs. Seasonal viruses that rear their ugly heads are a constant concern, with the common cold and the flu leading the charge. Each year, I stock up on hand sanitizer and harangue my kids more often than not to wash their hands thoroughly, and often.
Recent news of the COVID-19 pandemic has made me more worried than ever.
With the coronavirus outbreak heralded through fatalistic news stories, it’s no wonder that people like myself are worried...