The first Monday in August is unofficially known as the Civic Holiday in Canada. There are a few different names: British Columbia Day, New Brunswick Day, and Saskatchewan Day are self-explanatory.
Other names include Regatta Day (Newfoundland and Labrador); Terry Fox Day (Manitoba); Natal Day (Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island), Simcoe Day (Toronto), and Heritage Day (Alberta).
The picture (above) is from a trip to Lake Louise, Alberta around this time a few years back. That morning was perhaps the coldest I have ever been in the summertime but was so beautiful anyway. Those driving to Alaska are supposed to skip such amazing views.
We will break down the list of Canadian films at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival tomorrow. Today, we wanted to run a few items that are more contemplative, perfect for a lazy day in August.
Kelly Knight Craft left her job as U.S. Ambassador to Canada on August 23, 2019. You can definitely argue that she left her job many times. Craft had hundreds of absences from her post as U.S. Ambassador to Canada, more than 300 days over 19 months. Most were trips back home to Kentucky, which is not in Canada. Given the current regime in the United States, Craft somehow got promoted to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Richard M. Mills Jr. has been serving as the interim U.S. Ambassador to Canada for almost a year. Mills has an excellent background and is fluent in French, something Craft likely lacked. Mills was nominated in January to be the next United States Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, which would put him (again) under Craft.
Aldona Wos, a retired physician and former U.S. Ambassador to Estonia from 2004-2006, is reportedly the new nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Canada. Mills and Wos remained in limbo.
We are still concerned that the post would not be filled with a permanent replacement until at least January 2021. If former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden does win in November, the hope is that a permanent U.S. Ambassador to Canada would be ready to go on January 20.
We love listening to CBC Radio programs on podcasts. You can listen live to CBC Radio One stations across Canada on the CBC Listen app. Realistically, listening to those same programs on podcasts allows you to back up to rehear what someone said or run the podcast a bit faster.
Lately, CBC Radio has been introducing promos and even commercials into the podcasts. The promos are annoying, especially in the middle of the program. Sometimes, the promos run in the middle of a sentence. The promos are also louder than the actual programming.
Dr. Brian Goldman had a new podcast called The Dose. I haven't heard this podcast but his intro turns me off. "If you haven't heard my new podcast The Dose, this is the perfect time to subscribe." I'm sure Dr. Goldman, who also hosts White Coat, Black Art, is a nice person. By his logic, I haven't heard his podcast but I have to subscribe. That is a leap the size of the Bay of Fundy between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
You may have only heard this once. Try hearing it over and over and over.
The promos are bad enough. The commercials for the alcohol delivery service are even worse. We don't want to mention the alcohol delivery service by name. This is an American company that only operates in Canada in Alberta with a .com address. We are also certain that the ads do not conform to Canadian advertising standards for advertising alcohol such as pointing out age restrictions.
The commercials are bad enough during the podcasts but CBC Radio is also running the alcohol delivery service ads on the CBC News World At Six and CBC News World This Weekend podcasts. The ads don't run during the actual newscast (yet). Running advertising around the news for a public broadcaster newscast that doesn't have commercials violates the spirit if not the letter of the policies of a public broadcaster.
I may not be thrilled with commercials during a newscast but do find the particular sponsor category to be inappropriate to be next to a newscast. Coverage of drunk driving could be affected by running a commercial for an alcohol delivery service.
The CRTC would not get involved since the ads don't run on the actual news program on the radio.
CBC doesn't get money from running promos for its own podcasts. They do get money from commercials. Hopefully, they can find a quieter sponsor with fewer ethical concerns, preferably not around a newscast.
Before Game 1 of the Edmonton-Chicago series on Saturday, Matt Dumba of the Minnesota Wild gave a brief speech on the need for change tied to Black Lives Matter. Dumba is a founding member of the Hockey Diversity Alliance. Dumba then became the first NHL player to kneel before the U.S. anthem.
Dumba, a Regina, Saskatchewan native, kneeled with fellow Canadian Black players Malcolm Subban (Chicago) and Darnell Nurse (Edmonton) flanking Dumba during the U.S. anthem on Canadian soil.
Dumba said later that he wished he stayed on one knee during the Canadian anthem.
"To be honest, I kind of froze up. I know why I knelt. It wasn’t a sign of disrespect by any means. It was to shed light on the people who have lived through the injustice and oppression, especially in my home state of Minnesota. That's why I did it.
"I think my biggest regret is not doing it for the Canadian national anthem, as well because there is a lot of light that needs to be shed on what is happening in Canada and the oppression First Nations people have felt for hundreds of years. I was disappointed looking back on it because, like I said, I knew the reasons why I knelt. Just in the moment, it happened like that."
Dumba did raise his fist during the U.S. and Canadian anthems last night in Edmonton.
photo credits: me; Rogers Sportsnet/NHL
