Canadian Crossing

2022 Canada Day notebook

Today is the 155th anniversary of the establishment of the Dominion of Canada with Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The Dominion of Canada would keep the Union Jack for almost 100 years after the creation of Canada. Older people remember when July 1 was called Dominion Day.

We focus in on a few stories of note in our Canada Day notebook. Celebrate safe, perhaps with a Caesar and a Nanaimo bar.

Canada to finally lift pre-arrival COVID-19 tests for air and land border crossings

CanadianCrossing.com border crossings coverage

American travelers to Canada still need to use the ArriveCan app. This is true for land border crossings, something of great concern for border town mayors on the Canadian side. Ugh.

We have noted the significant difference in naming Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (U.S.) versus KD or Kraft Dinner (Canada). The U.S. version will soon change to Kraft Mac and Cheese.

As far as we know, there is no inherent difference between the products, though the Canadian version is likely made with better made Canadian cheese.

There is a grand difference in Canadian accouterments with KD such as hot dogs and ketchup.

You can see the Canadian version (left) or the new U.S. version (below). Which looks better to eat?

Barenaked Ladies mentioned Kraft dinner in the song If I Had a Million Dollars from the Gordon album from 1992.

We wouldn't have to eat Kraft dinner / But we would eat Kraft dinner / Of course we would we'd just eat more / And buy really expensive ketchups with it / That's right all the fanciest Dijon ketchups mmm mmm

If I were eating Kraft Dinner in Canada, I might use Canadian-made French's ketchup.

Remember the whole French-Heinz ketchup battle? Funny part is that Kraft and Heinz are now corporately married

Feeling more nostalgic than hungry, here is the (temporarily) reunited Barenaked Ladies performing that song at the 2018 Junos after being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Canadian cities are legalizing alcohol in parks (Cross Country Checkup from CBC Radio One)

There are 2 primary images of public drinking. People leisurely drinking wine with a picnic in a park. People drinking out of bottles in paper bags. People want the former but not the latter.

The pandemic set limits on drinking because of the viability of crowded bars being open.

Your humble narrator has seen people in Amsterdam and Rome drinking outside and having that be not a big deal.

Being able to selective drink in public would bring Canada closer to its European cousins and away from the puritanical United States.

We are big fans of @brittlestar, and we are honoured that he sent us a video tribute as Canuckle wraps up! CHECK IT OUT ⬇️🇨🇦👍 #ThankYouEh pic.twitter.com/MNpgxAsPN0

— Canuckle (@CanuckleGame) June 27, 2022

We meant to write about Canuckle, the Canadian version of Wordle. Same concept: 5 letter word, 6 guesses. The Canuckle word would have some tie to Canada. Some days, the word was fun. Other days, words such as "brier" threw me off.

Turns out today is the last Canuckle, at least for now. As you may know from our Twitter feed, we love playing Canuckle. Have been glad to give it some love and hopefully encourage others to learn a bit about Canada through guessing the words. The correct letters showed up in red, which was also cool.

Today's game is Game 142 on Canada Day. You can play the previous games through its archives.

If we get news of a comeback, we would be thrilled to pass that information along to our readers.

Also fans of Brittlestar, if you aren't following him. Really good Canadian sensibility.

2022 CFL Week 4 preview

The CFL is playing on and around Canada Day for the first time since 2019. The BC Lions were in Ottawa, the nation's capital, last night. The Edmonton Elks are in Hamilton tonight to take on the Tiger-Cats. The league is even playing on the night of the U.S. holiday yet the game is not on U.S. TV. Tonight's game is on ESPN+. All the games are on TSN in Canada.

The Toronto Blue Jays are at home for Canada Day, unlike Victoria Day. The team plays Game 2 of a 5-game series against Tampa Bay. Today's game has a 3:07 pm EDT start. Rogers Sportsnet has the game in Canada. The MLB Network has this as the backup game in the United States, meaning Boston and Chicago. The U.S. channel has been reluctant to use the Rogers Sportsnet feed, opting to use YES (Yankees) and NESN (Red Sox), even in Toronto.

Former Toronto Raptors star guard Kyle Lowry will have a street named after him in Toronto. The street will be at Don Mills Crossing, a new development in the northeast section of Toronto. We just celebrated 3 years since the Raptors won the 2019 NBA title.

The Athletic reported earlier this week that Rogers Sportsnet is ending Hometown Hockey after 8 seasons. The pandemic didn't help the situation. The move to Monday night was a noble idea but that didn't help as well. If yyzsportsmedia.com is correct, this is the first of many Rogers Sportsnet changes to NHL coverage in October. 

The Grand Seduction matches up well with Quebecois version

You might have seen The Grand Seduction (2013), the story of a small fishing village that has to draw in a doctor and convince that doctor to stay.

You might have seen La Grande Séduction | Seducing Dr. Lewis, the original Ken Scott film (2003) that is the same story though set in Quebec rather than Newfoundland. Scott co-wrote the English language version of the film.

If you are in Charlottetown this summer, you can catch the new musical Tell Tale Harbour, based on the Quebecois film La Grande Séduction.

Alan Doyle of the band Great Big Sea is in the production. You may remember his acting skills on display in Republic of Doyle (no relation). You can listen to Doyle with fellow Newfoundlander Tom Power recently on Q on CBC Radio One.

The films were pretty similar. Music from that part of the world is amazing. 2 musicals from Newfoundland: Tell Tale Harbour on top of Come From Away.

Thanks so much! What a time we’re having. https://t.co/38HBeuAJIo

— Alan Doyle (@alanthomasdoyle) June 24, 2022

Improving train travel options between the United States and Canada

2022 Canadian TV upfronts highlights

Season 2 of the Canadian TV show Departure involves a high-speed train from Toronto to Chicago. The concept of a high-speed ground option between those cities is pure fiction. Traveling from Toronto to Windsor would involve a infrequent train not much faster than a bus. Getting from Windsor to Detroit is complicated. Then there is the slow magic of Amtrak from Detroit to Chicago.

In the opening episode, the high-speed train flows smoothly out of Union Station in Toronto, flows through southern Ontario, and crosses some mythical structure over the Detroit River. The train stops to check passports, something that is often done in Canada before boarding a plane to the United States.

Traveling from Rome to Florence and back on high speed trains was an absolute joy. Getting from Brussels, Belgium to London, England in 121 minutes, like clockwork, was wonderful. That same joy should be found on trains from Toronto to Detroit and Chicago.

The Maple Leaf Train from Toronto-New York City, not nearly as fast, is back in business. The ViaRail service from Windsor to Toronto have recently returned to normal capacity, now 5 trains a day. Megabus is increasing U.S. bus service from Toronto as well as to other Canadian destinations such as Ottawa, Kingston, and Montréal. Megabus should look into a Windsor-London-Toronto route.

I discovered Cross Country Checkup many years ago on CBC Radio. This was in a time where I would be in Detroit, listening to CBC Radio One on AM 1550 (now on FM 97.5). Rex Murphy was the host back then.

The show had been in more capable hands with Duncan McCue and lately with Ian Hanomansing. Turns out Hanomansing is now the permanent host of Cross Country Checkup. He hosts the show from Vancouver where he anchors The National on Friday and Sunday.

The program airs Sundays live coast to coast to coast at 4 pm Eastern, 1 pm Pacific, and 5:30 pm Newfoundland time.

You can listen to the program on the CBC Listen app or download the podcast version.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

NBC is dragging out Transplant to the middle of summer. There is the end in sight. The season finale airs July 16 at 8 pm EDT. Hopefully, Season 3 is a smoother presentation.

Season 2 started 2 months after the CTV premiere in January. NBC gave the show a terrible timeslot and lifted the show for the May sweeps period.

The CW will run the final season of Coroner when the fall starts, but keep in mind that the CW starts fall when the weather is very warm.

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Summarizing Kenneth Welsh's acting career would fall embarrassing short. Welsh, who passed away on May 5, had a storied career on both sides of the border. His portrayal of Windom Earle in the U.S. TV show Twin Peaks made a significant impact.

Welsh was enjoyable in recent Canadian films such as Wet Bum (2014) and And the Birds Rained Down | Il pleuvait des oiseaux (2019).

Welsh did 2 episodes of Twitch City and 3 episodes of Due South. He played himself in an episode of Slings & Arrows. Welsh even appears in the final episode of the new season of Kids in the Hall.

photo credits: CBC News; Kraft Heinz Canada; Kraft Heinz; CBC Radio
Twitter captures: @CanuckleGame; @alanthomasdoyle

2022 CFL Week 4 preview

Editor's note: The story has been updated to reflect a second starting Canadian quarterback in the CFL this week.

Happy Canada Day weekend!! For the first time since 2019, we have Canadian football on and around Canada Day.

The week starts out on Canada Day eve in the nation's capital as the BC Lions travel really far to Ottawa. ESPN2 will simulcast the TSN feed.

Edmonton goes to Hamilton on the actual Canada Day.

The Alouettes complete a home-and-home with the Roughriders with Montréal traveling to Regina on Saturday night. ESPN2 will show this game.

The CFL also plays on the U.S. national holiday with a Monday night game where the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are in Toronto. Andrew Harris will compete against his former team.

The Calgary Stampeders get to enjoy Canada Day weekend without playing football.

ESPN2

Thursday
BC @ Ottawa, 7:30p
Saturday
Montréal @ Saskatchewan, 7p

TSN

Thursday
BC @ Ottawa, 7:30p
Friday
Edmonton @ Hamilton, 7:30p
Saturday
Montréal @ Saskatchewan, 7p
Monday
Winnipeg @ Toronto, 7:30p

Bye week: Calgary

The price of groceries is a talking point in Canada and around the world. The Save-on-Foods promotion gives an opportunity to a selected person who could win a year's worth of groceries. A year's worth of groceries defined as $5,200 in Save-On-Foods gift cards.

"Skill testing required." The reason that could is in bold lies in the fine print. In Canada, you could win a prize but there is no guarantee.

From what we've heard, the skill testing is pretty simple, a math question. The idea is that you don't win just from luck; there must be skill.

Chandler Worthy's 88-yard opening kickoff return for Montréal could have given Celine Hicks of Saskatoon a year's worth of groceries. Chances are Hicks was rooting for the Roughriders but will be glad to get thousands of dollars in groceries, provided Hicks answered the skill testing question.

2 kickoffs returned for a touchdown could win someone $1,000,000. That is also subject to skill testing and is paid out in equal installments for 20 years.

Karen Kuldys just missed out on $1 million but gets prizes from CFL and sponsors

Karen Kuldys of Winnipeg was a illegal block in the back away from possibly winning that $1 million jackpot. Worth a look back to that story.

2022 CFL Week 3 preview

The Alouettes win snapped a 5-0 streak the West had over the East to start the 2022 season. The West teams had gone 3-0 at home and 2-0 on the road.

Thanks to Winnipeg and BC wins, the West is now 7-1 over the East. Every game this week is West-East.

2022 CFL Week 2 preview

2022 CFL Week 1 preview

The Winnipeg leap has been missing since 2019. We saw Willie Jefferson take the stairs in Winnipeg to greet the fans after he ran in an interception for a touchdown against Hamilton. Can't say that was the first leap since the pandemic started but a reminder of how cool that was in the before time.

Also sparking memories of Winnipeg in the before time was a lightning-related weather delay that moved up kickoff by 30 minutes. At least the game itself wasn't interrupted.

It was a historic night for @nathan_rourke 🇨🇦

436 passing yards the most ever in a game by a Canadian quarterback 🦁#RoarLikeNeverBefore pic.twitter.com/S5VPkJyFvf

— BC LIONS (@BCLions) June 26, 2022

Canadian QB Nathan Rourke set a record for most passing yards for a Canadian quarterback with 436 yards. The BC Lions have blown out Edmonton and Toronto by 40+ points in each game.

Gerry Dattilio had the previous mark of 427 yards in 1981.

The BC Lions have won 2 games at home. There could be doubts about how well this will go east of Vancouver.

The potential for 4 strong teams out of the West (every team but Edmonton) is there but divisional games can change that dynamic. The East has to realize that only 2 teams will make the playoffs unless this dynamic changes.

Late news: Edmonton is listing Tre Ford as the starter at quarterback. That makes 2 starting Canadian quarterbacks in the same week. Ford will be the first Canadian quarterback to start for Edmonton since Frank Cosentino on October 30, 1968.

2022 CFL preview

Edmonton is improving. Calgary really shows up in the second half of their games. The Elks get to experiment with Hamilton before the return of the Battle of Alberta in Edmonton.

Why the Canadian ratio is so important in the CFL

2022 CFL preseason schedule

As we've learned, the ESPN hierarchy is that if one thing gets bumped, everything gets bumped. The College World Series (ESPN) bumped UFC to ESPN2 so the CFL game in Vancouver got bumped to ESPNews. ESPN claimed the game was on the ESPN app, which eventually became true.

Your humble narrator was watching live (ugh). As much as getting CFL games on ESPN cable channels is important, sometimes watching is easier on ESPN+ since there are no random interruptions. 

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Rod Smith and Duane Forde were with John Lu in Montréal on Thursday and Sara Orlesky in Calgary on Saturday evening. Dustin Neilson and Glen Suitor were with Orlesky in Winnipeg on Friday night and Farhan Lalji in Vancouver late on Saturday.

The rules are very different in the post pandemic era. Forde doesn't often get to cover the Battle of Alberta but those old norms are gone. A 2022 trend is that Orlesky will cover any and every game in the West outside of Vancouver.

logo credit: CFL
photo credit: TSN/CFL
Twitter capture: @BCLions

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in late spring and early summer 2022

We finally have a Stanley Cup champion in the summer of 2022. Hint: this is the team that defeated the Edmonton Oilers.

Hockey Night in Canada returns to the CBC in October.

CBC will feature Canadian films on Saturday nights in lieu of hockey games.

There were some Saturday nights where CBC didn't air a hockey game so we will recap those films as well.

This summer, the CBC presentations are starting at 9 pm local time (9:30 pm in Newfoundland). The pattern appears to be 3 Canadian films so stay up late or activate the PVR.

Here are the last few Canadian films aired on CBC.

April 30: CBC Docs: POV Hockey Mom / Goon (2011) / Race (2016)

May 28: Bon Cop Bad Cop (2006)

June 25: Chaakapesh (2019). The film is a documentary following an orchestra and its conductor as they go on a tour in northern Quebec to visit Cree, Innu, and Inuit communities.

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in early fall 2021

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in summer 2021

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in fall and winter 2020-2021

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in spring and summer 2020

CBC has some really tremendous Canadian films coming up in the next 2 weeks. The day after Canada Day, the CBC schedule will have Falls Around Her (2018) at 9 pm; Closet Monster (2015) at 11 pm; and Mean Dreams (2016) at 1 am.

Tantoo Cardinal is wonderful as a world-famous Anishinaabe musician returns to the reserve in Falls Around Her. Stephen Dunn's debut featuring Connor Jessup as Oscar Madly, a creative and driven teenager, is highly memorable. Mean Dreams is a scary film on a different level with knockout acting across the board.

The July 9 lineup leans female with incredible titles. The evening starts out with The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (2019) at 9 pm; Mouthpiece (2018) from Patricia Rozema at 11:30 pm; and Level 16 (2018) at 1:30 am.

The opening film from Kathleen Hepburn and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers is almost in a single shot, a captivating tale of a woman helping a pregnant domestic abuse victim. Mouthpiece is a gorgeous film dealing with a writer struggling with the eulogy just after the sudden death of her mother. Level 16 is a psychological thriller that will be your relative new best horror film.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Yes, we praise a lot of Canadian films. Watching films with commercials isn't fun. These are 6 intriguing Canadian films all within the last decade.

Saturday nights during the hockey season means the NHL on CBC. Otherwise, CBC has Canadian films in store.

Canadians can choose to watch these Canadian films on CBC Gem. For a monthly fee, you can watch them without commercials.

logo credit: CBC
photo credit: Mouthpiece film

Canadian film review: Les Oiseaux ivres | Drunken Birds

Willy (Mexican actor Jorge Antonio Guerrero) is in love with Marlena. They were secret lovers in Mexico, her husband being a powerful man. They escape separately. Willy, thinking Marlena is in Montréal, gets a job as a seasonal worker at the Bécotte Farm in Quebec.

Julie (Hélène Florent), matriarch of the farm, had an affair of some type with a seasonal worker the year before. She is learning Spanish. Daughter Léa (Marine Johnson) is angry over her mother's affair and tells Julie she is the one who told her father Richard (Claude Legault).

Julie is interested in Willy.

Les Oiseaux ivres | Drunken Birds takes on a slow pace once Willy arrives at the farm. Willy is chasing after Marlena in theory but seems a huge distance from Montréal. Léa finds getting to Montréal much easier where she is mixed up in prostitution and drugs. Later she is forced to pick out one of the seasonal workers to take the blame and picks the one person who helped her: Willy.

Ivan Grbovic directed the script he co-wrote with Sara Mishara. Les Oiseaux ivres | Drunken Birds is more about class and language barriers than any love story. The mother and daughter approach to love and attention is noteworthy.

The investment in characters is minimal so we don't have much invested in either the French speaking or Spanish speaking characters. Everyone feels a little lost, including the viewer.

2022 Oscars through the lens of Canada

Les Oiseaux Ivres misses the Oscars shortlist cut for Best International Feature Film

This film definitely isn't in the worst 2 of recent Canadian films to get the nod for Best International Feature Film. We preferred 14 Days, 12 Nights over Drunken Birds though the latter film felt a lot more Canadian.

Chien de Garde is the worst we've seen in this category. Hochelaga, Land of Souls was decent in the flashbacks but couldn't relate the stories to the modern era.

Your humble narrator has seen the last 19 Canadian entries and 21 of the last 22 films. Un crabe dans la tête from André Turpin is the lone exception in that stretch.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Les Oiseaux ivres | Drunken Birds is a very pretty film. Pretty to look at with beautiful cinematography. Even a day where the rain is pouring looks wonderful.

The key plot points feel inserted into the film without context. You are supposed to get the whole family dynamic out of a single argument between the mother and daughter. The dialogue is minimalist so you have to draw conclusions from quite a few scenes where the lighting is deliberately understated.

The best way to enjoy this film is to watch and not really think about what is happening.

As noted, the film was selected as the Canadian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. The film did not make the shortlist.

Les Oiseaux ivres | Drunken Birds has played in Canadian cinemas and is current available on demand in the United States.

Exploring the consequences of Bill 96 in Quebec

Bonne fête nationale du Québec! Aujourd'hui (today) is St. Jean the Bapiste Day, the national holiday of Quebec.

The Quebec election won't be until October 3. We have some idea of where the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) is approaching the upcoming election. The fact that the singular English language debate has already been cancelled is a tell-tale sign.

Bill 96 is from those who think the infamous Bill 101 is too lenient. The idea of the bill is that services are in French and only French with grand exceptions: "historic" anglophones and immigrants in Quebec fewer than 6 months.

The bill greatly affects health care services as well as limiting English CEGEP (junior college) enrollment and taking more French CEGEP classes.

The argument that immigrants have to learn French in 6 months was something along the idea of "some wanted it to be a year, some wanted it to be no time at all."

What a way to make government policy.

"#Bill96 ignores the struggles that come with getting established in a new country... Rushing vulnerable people into French classes for the sake of meeting some arbitrary deadline is not only unhelpful and unrealistic, it’s inhumane." #qcpoli #AssNathttps://t.co/vahtgILfgm

— @QCGNJustice (@qcgnjustice) June 16, 2022

The government argues that French is in trouble (French is always in trouble) and that if you hate Bill 96, you hate the French language.

There is a lot of confusion even from people who like the bill. How do you know who is "historic" among anglophones? Is the 6-month limit the same for permanent residents, temporary foreign workers, and those without status? The Roxham Road refugees: does the clock start once they cross the road into Quebec?

Bill 96 doesn't make any exceptions for Indigenous populations, where learning French isn't as easy as it might seem for a number of reasons.

Many anglophones outside of Quebec hate the dominance of French language in Quebec and/or are completely ignorant. New Brunswick, the only bilingual province, doesn't have these bills. Canada is filled with francophone communities surrounded by anglophones.

Quebec turns to Coalition Avenir Québec to run province

Looking at Bill 21 in Quebec during a pandemic

Manitoba offers respite for those suffering under Bill 21 in Quebec

Like Bill 21, this is a battle of Montréal versus the rest of Quebec. The idea is to appeal to the rural areas that account for very little English and few immigrants over the more sophisticated Montréal area.

Like Bill 21, Bill 96 was passed with the notwithstanding clause, essentially removing individual rights.

This push got them into office as the government in 2018 and might get them re-elected.

Quebec objectively needs people to live in the province. The CAQ approach wants immigrants if they speak French.

Ontario-Quebec border will close on Monday

We believe in the strength of French in Canada throughout Canada. Canadian history is filled with moments where the struggle was for French speakers in other parts of Canada, such as Manitoba.

We disagree on Bill 21 and Bill 96 not because they claim to be about French in Quebec but because they are about tearing apart people instead of bringing people together.

Even though Bill 96 is law, the CAQ government has said the law won't be applied for another year. So they can brag about the law being passed during the election, get past the election, and only deal with the consequences after the election. Doug Ford might be a little jealous if he understood French.

Tech companies don't like Bill 96 for very good reasons. The idea of the bill will be enough to chase away talent who can easily live in Ontario.

Might be a winning strategy politically but lives are being harmed by Bill 21 and little has been written about this in English or in French.

2022 Canadian politics preview

CanadianCrossing.com Quebec coverage

For those who want to do more research, we have links on Bill 96 enforcement from CBC News and Canadaland.

Quebecois films to watch on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day 2020

So this isn't all about politics, the pipeline to new Quebecois films in the States has gone rather dry during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are wonderful Canadian films from Quebec to watch even if the above link is 2 years old. See Xavier Dolan's work if you aren't aware. The films of Denys Arcand, Anne Emond, Ricardo Trogi, and many more are worth a look.

We will review Les Oiseaux ivres | Drunken Birds for next week.

photo credit: CBC News
Twitter capture: @qcgnjustice

2022 CFL Week 3 preview

The green from Saskatchewan travels to La Belle Province to start out the week in the CFL. As we noted earlier, if you are a Roughriders fan living in the nation's capital, this is the closest your team will come to playing live. Montréal is not that far away.

We finally get the 2021 Grey Cup (and 2019 Grey Cup) rematch as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats go to Winnipeg on Friday night. ESPN2 will have that game in the States.

The Saturday doubleheader has a very early dose of the Battle of Alberta in Calgary. The late game has the Toronto Argonauts in Vancouver in what was the David Braley Bowl.

ESPN2 will have the late game on Saturday.

After playing Winnipeg twice to start the season, the Ottawa RedBlacks enjoy a nice summer weekend.

ESPN2

Friday
Hamilton @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Saturday
Toronto @ BC, 10p

TSN

Thursday
Saskatchewan @ Montréal, 7:30p
Friday
Hamilton @ Winnipeg, 8:30p
Saturday
Edmonton @ Calgary, 7p
Toronto @ BC, 10p

Bye week: Ottawa

No lead is safe. Duane Forde noted this after Hamilton surrendered a 24-0 lead with the 33-30 overtime loss to Calgary.

Your humble narrator tuned in with the partial comeback in place early in the 4th quarter. Even I had my doubts that the Stampeders would come back. I was wrong.

A 1-1 Hamilton team would have been ½ game out of the East Division lead.

2022 CFL Week 2 preview

The editor voice within would "kill" the idea of using "kill" in a sports headline. While we like the enthusiasm of Montréal owner Gary Stern, his prediction that the Alouettes would "kill Toronto on Thursday" was over the top.

With a worldwide pandemic and the hell that is happening inside Ukraine, this is just sports.

Stern reportedly apologized for his words. As for the game, Toronto pulled out the 1-point win in the home opener.

The Argonauts scored 2 rouges in the first half, rouges that literally create the margin of victory. Toronto also scored 2 points on missed field goals while the Als had a point for a missed field goal.

Had there been more touchdowns, especially from the Alouettes, those points might not have mattered too much.

Montréal has a position of strength with Vernon Adams Jr. and Trevor Harris as quarterback possibilities. Coach Khari Jones s going with Harris in the short term because Adams got COVID-19 this week.

2022 CFL Week 1 preview

Ottawa didn't play Winnipeg in 2021. The RedBlacks are done playing Winnipeg 2 games into the 2022 season. Ottawa is tied with Hamilton and Montréal for second place after completing its schedule with the Blue Bombers.

Only Montréal and Toronto have played a division game. RedBlacks fans can see some optimism though one of these teams has to finish last. The 2021 season was the first one in a long time where only 1 East team didn't make the playoffs (Ottawa).

2022 CFL preview

Dustin Neilson and Glen Suitor spoke with new Edmonton president Victor Cui, who spoke of being patient with progress for the Elks. This is difficult to do when your home losing streak now stands at 9 games, worst in the team's long history. The final home game in 2019, all of 2021, and the first home game in 2022.

The Toronto Argos get very little support but if you go to an Argos home game, odds are very good you will see an Argonauts win.

Cui's goal of moving forward was sidelined when Suitor made another reference to the old racist nickname.

Edmonton fans really need a home win live in person this decade. The next Elks home game is July 7 hosting Calgary.

Any recommendations for the softest sponges for a sponge bath? pic.twitter.com/Om6WRIOUcQ

— Dan Clark (@DanClark67) June 20, 2022

Saskatchewan is 2-0 (along with Winnipeg and Calgary with BC at 1-0) but that second win had a few issues. Centre Dan Clark suffered a broken fibula. The wave of players giving love to Clark as he was being carted off speaks volumes to his impact on and off the field.

The Roughriders made Suitor tear his hair out with 14 penalties for 134 yards. Saskatchewan might have played down to its opponent but the Elks weren't the reason for being so undisciplined.

Why the Canadian ratio is so important in the CFL

Odell Willis retired as a member of the Edmonton Elks. Willis spent 11 seasons in the CFL with every single West Division team, especially Edmonton where he was the "Mayor of Commonwealth."

Willis had been with the Toronto Argonauts but never played a down for them. On February 2, 2018, Willis was with the Ottawa Redblacks for 17 minutes.

He was fun to watch going after CFL quarterbacks.

2022 CFL preseason schedule

The ritual for your humble narrator has been to deactivate the CFL app after the season ends and then add the app when the season starts. Can't find the app for Android at the moment.

The app didn't do much other than give the upcoming schedule and allow us to watch the 8-minute video summaries of recent games. Still, that was helpful.

The CFL needs an app and a good one.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Rod Smith and Duane Forde with Matthew Scianitti were in Toronto on Thursday and Hamilton on Saturday. No hotel rooms needed.

Marshall Ferguson made his 2022 CFL debut on TSN in Ottawa on Friday with Glen Suitor with Claire Hanna. Dustin Neilson also didn't need a hotel room to cover the game in Edmonton on Saturday with Suitor with Sara Orlesky.

logo credit: CFL
Twitter capture: @DanClark67

Canadian film review: Sitting on the Edge of Marlene

Marlene (Suzanne Clément) and Samantha (Paloma Kwiatkowski) are mother-daughter con artists in Sitting on the Edge of Marlene. Sam (husband/father) is in jail after getting caught.

Marlene and Samantha team up with Freddy (Callum Keith Rennie), though Marlene says this is only temporary.

Marlene gets beat up in a con. She gets addicted to her "happy pills." She spirals as Samantha tries to pick up the pieces.

Samantha, looking for some stability, is drawn to Drew (Dakota Daulby), who spends time in a church inside a roller rink.

Marlene yearns for the return of her husband. There is uncertainty over whether Sam is out and where he is.

The question in films such as Sitting on the Edge of Marlene is whether the deterioration of a character is entertaining in itself. This didn't work for me in Hello, Destroyer. Clément gives a remarkable performance. Her physical presence is rather notable, various angles and positions. Brave on multiple levels. Kwiatkowski gives a solid amount of angst, wanting to get away yet feels committed to her mother.

Canadian film review: Hello, Destroyer

Though Marlene is the focal point, Samantha takes most of the screen time in the second half of the film.

Ana Valine, as writer and director, gives us characters where we care about them and how their lives might turn out. The lack of light tells a dark story about deterioration and despair. Valine also uses the Vancouver area well with plenty of cloudy skies in the 2014 film.

Valine also portrays scenarios that seem real but stem from the imagination of the primary characters.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Sitting on the Edge of Marlene starts out with some cool cons. More of those and less of the despair would have helped the film. That said, this film goes a good job of telling said deterioration. Suzanne Clément is worth the price of admission just for her performance.

Sitting on the Edge of Marlene is available in the United States on Amazon Prime Video.

video credit: YouTube/Movieclips Indie
photo credit: Sitting on the Edge of Marlene film

NFB Mediatheque may be a model of past and future Canadian film viewing

I was cutting down John Street years ago in downtown Toronto. I wasn't in a huge hurry but hadn't planned any side trips. I stumbled upon what turned out to be the NFB Mediatheque.

There were a number of monitors in the place. Not too much wandering around space. The setup was that people could watch National Film Board of Canada (NFB) films in a social setting alongside other people.

This was early on in my learning process (pronounced PRO-cess) about Canadian film. I didn't realize the significance of the NFB in the Canadian film landscape.

This probably seems more naive since these days Canadians can watch NFB films at nfb.ca. Some NFB films are available outside Canada but a lot of them are not.

The NFB Mediatheque was kind of a salon, an oasis to spend a bunch of time seeing the different Canadian film options. They were mostly short film options, which made sense in that type of environment.

The NFB Mediatheque in Toronto closed in 2012 due to cutbacks.

The Canadian film going experience is rarely in a significant sized group when Canadian film is involved. The pandemic only made that more obvious.

The advantage of a mediatheque is that someone can guide you on what films to consider. A personal touch instead of rolling through the Web site without assistance.

The idea about bringing back the mediatheque concept is to make watching a Canadian film more of a social activity you do with people.

Canadians watch American films in large groups. Why not watch Canadian film in a large group as well?

Bidding a sad adieu to First Weekend Club

Canada Screens was a pioneer in bringing Canadian film to Canadians

These groups helped bring Canadians to Canadian films. They are sadly gone. Their collective hearts were in the ideal place.

A gathering space could help their vision continue.

What we might find in a Canadian film museum

Canadian Museum of Human Rights needs a CEO who really understands human rights

This mediatheque could be part of a larger Canadian film museum we spoke of last fall. The museum could be educational with school field trips where children could learn about their country through film from their country.

The Canadian Museum of Human Rights is built on an educational model with interactivity.

A museum doesn't have to be stuffy. A museum should be fun, educational. Canadians should know that Canadian stories exist and are being told. You are never too old to learn about Canadian film.

This description of the mediatheque (presumably via the NFB but found on Yelp):

The NFB Mediatheque in Toronto is a public access point for groundbreaking NFB films and a centre for media literacy for children and adults alike. Located in the heart of Toronto's Entertainment District, the Mediatheque offers an entertaining program of award-winning NFB films, provocative discussions and master classes; hands-on animation workshops for families; Digital Viewing Stations giving instant access to more than 5,500 FREE films from the NFB collection; and a store with NFB films to buy or rent. Special programming includes annual March Break and summer animation camps, as well as workshops over the December holidays for families.

Sounds special. If business aren't moving back into downtown Toronto, a lot more space could open up for a Canadian film museum.

Buying a film versus renting a film in the digital landscape

We spoke about the need for independent theatres in this article. They are the ideal gathering for people to see Canadian films. A potential Canadian film museum would be a complementary option.

map credit: Google
photo credit: blog TO

Toronto, Vancouver in; Edmonton out for FIFA 2026 World Cup host cities

FIFA announces Toronto and Vancouver as host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup™! 🇨🇦🏟

Toronto and Vancouver will join 11 host cities in the USA, and three host cities in Mexico as competition venues for the largest FIFA World Cup™ in history.

MORE 🔗: https://t.co/lDhELwSCee pic.twitter.com/imj5XIkT3k

— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) June 16, 2022

FIFA announced the 16 North American cities for the 2026 men's World Cup of football (soccer). Canada was originally supposed to get 3 cities but one of those slots went to the United States. Mexico got 3 locations while the United States received 11 cities.

Toronto and Vancouver were the Canadian cities invited to host games; Edmonton didn't make the cut.

The Canadian cities will host 10 games though we don't know how many will end up in each city. The United States will get 60 games while Mexico also gets 10 games. The consensus is that the U.S. cities will host the significant games in the tournament.

Toronto will be in the East section along with Boston (Foxborough), Philadelphia, Miami, and New York/New Jersey (East Rutherford, NJ).

Vancouver will be in the West section along with Seattle, San Francisco (Santa Clara), Los Angeles (Inglewood), and Guadalajara, Mexico.

The Central section consists of Kansas City, Dallas (Arlington), Atlanta, and Houston in the U.S. as well as Monterrey and Mexico City in Mexico.

Reminder: The Government of Alberta took the unusual step of demanding Edmonton host at least five of Canada's 10 allotted 2026 FIFA World Cup games. It also demanded Edmonton host two round of 32 or round of 16 knockout games.

Edmonton is now shut out of the World Cup.

— Kevin Nimmock (@KevinCTV) June 16, 2022

While Edmonton was the only Canadian city that missed the cut, the U.S. finalists that didn't make the cut were Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Orlando, Pasadena (CA), and Washington, D.C./Baltimore.

Montréal showed interest early. The Alberta government put conditions on funding that likely didn't help the Edmonton bid.

Canada defeated Costa Rica 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying game last November in front of 48,806 at Commonwealth Stadium. Don't mistake the selection process for the best places in Canada to host the tournament.

U.S. uses sun, speed to win 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

Canada has never hosted a World Cup game on the men's side but did host the 2015 FIFA women's World Cup. That tournament was held in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montréal, and Moncton, NB.

Montréal and Edmonton hosted the semifinals; Edmonton also hosted the 3rd place game while Vancouver hosted the final game.

You may recall that the 2015 tournament was the first time games were played on artificial surfaces, much to the dismay of the players. This is why BC Place will put in a grass surface.

BMO Field in Toronto will get more seating for FIFA requirements. The 30,000 seat stadium will get bumped up to 45,500, still by far the lowest capacity of any of the 2026 World Cup cities.

Canada draws Group F for the 2022 World Cup

The Canadian men will play later this year in Qatar in the 2022 World Cup. This will be the first trip for the men's team since its one and only appearance in 1986.

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

The World Cup is normally in June/July (the 2022 World Cup moved to the fall due to heat concerns in Qatar). The CFL will have to adjust the schedule as needed.

Adjustments depend on when the stadiums will be used in the World Cup and any adjustments in removing the grass surface in Vancouver. MLS will steer clear as well, but their primary issues are in a number of U.S. cities also taken up by the 2026 World Cup.

The Toronto Argonauts could play home games at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton or an early Touchdown Atlantic game.

BMO Field will also get a name adjustment just like the Winnipeg and Ottawa stadiums had in 2015. FIFA doesn't allow corporate sponsored names. 

TSN/CTV and Fox have the 2026 World Cup rights in their respective countries.

Twitter captures: @CanadaSoccerEN; @KevinCTV
photos credit: @CanadaSoccerEN/FIFA

2022 CFL Week 2 preview

The Toronto Argonauts start out their CFL season welcoming the classic rival Montréal Alouettes to BMO Field on Thursday night.

Winnipeg and Ottawa complete a home-and-home series in the nation's capital on Friday night. After Friday, they won't meet again (barring a crossover) until the Grey Cup. ESPN2 will air the Thursday and Friday games in the United States.

The action stays east on Saturday with the Calgary Stampeders in Hamilton. The lone game west of Ontario has a green battle as Saskatchewan arrives in Edmonton. ESPNews airs the late game.

Edmonton hasn't won at home since 2019 before the pandemic and with the old racist nickname.

The BC Lions get to relax in the Vancouver sunshine (hopefully).

ESPN2

Thursday
Montréal @ Toronto, 7:30p
Friday
Winnipeg @ Ottawa, 7:30p

ESPNews

Saturday
Saskatchewan @ Edmonton, 9:30p

TSN

Thursday
Montréal @ Toronto, 7:30p
Friday
Winnipeg @ Ottawa, 7:30p
Saturday
Calgary @ Hamilton, 6:30p
Saskatchewan @ Edmonton, 9:30p

Bye week: BC

Toronto rests atop the East Division with a 0-0 record. All 3 eastern teams lost in western cities in Week 1. Not much of a surprise given the strength of the West Division teams and usually doing better at home.

In the West, BC, Calgary, Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg are all 1-0. Edmonton is 0-1 with a -44 point differential.

The BC Lions didn't really want a bye this week. Winning by 44 points in the home opener where the upper deck was open for fans was an incredible start. The OneRepublic concert was pretty good as seen on TSN and ESPN+.

We also saw 3 Canadian quarterbacks in the same game with BC starter Nathan Rourke, BC backup Michael O'Connor, and Edmonton backup Trey Ford. That might be a modern record.

Rourke had 3 passing TDs and 2 rushing TDs. O'Connor added a rushing TD.

2022 CFL Week 1 preview

We hate to see significant injuries from major players. Montréal running back William Stanback suffered a fractured ankle in Calgary. Stanback is on the 6-game injured list. Unlike a lot of players who aren't out for the full 6 weeks, Stanback should be out at least that long.

2022 CFL preview

The Montréal Alouettes fell just short of a first down in the opening quarter in Calgary. Vernon Adams Jr. left the field and Dominique Davis came on to get a 3rd-and-short opportunity. This marked the return of the 3rd quarterback.

The CFL's mangled experiment with teams only had 2 quarterbacks. The league argued that teams could have a 3rd quarterback but had to sacrifice a roster spot.

Winnipeg needed all 3 quarterbacks in its comeback over Ottawa.

There were a few games where a team had offence troubles, not having that extra quarterback. The extra quarterback also extends drives, which leads to fewer punts.

We didn't know how poor the game would be with only 2 quarterbacks. May we never have to think about that again.

Why the Canadian ratio is so important in the CFL

2022 CFL preseason schedule

The ESPN cable channels aired 0 games in Week 1 but 3 games in Week 2. That is 15% of the cable channel games in about 53 hours.

The schedule is top heavy in that most games air before Labour Day. None of the 2022 Labour Day weekend games are on the cable channels.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

If you see empty seats in the stands, especially in the prairies, consider that football draws regionally, especially in Canada. The sharp gas price increases makes short trips rather tough these days.

.@GlenSuitor took him all the way to game 2 to say the @GoElks old racist nickname. You aren't getting paid to say the old nickname. Last season, we suggested a swear jar where Suitor donates $ to #Indigenous projects. @CFLonTSN @CFL @TSN_Sports

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) June 11, 2022

Glen Suitor knew what he was doing in 2021 and now in 2022. Suitor thinks he's the cool kid in the back of the classroom with the wisecrack. Using the old racist nickname is his way of relating to those frustrated by the name change.

If Suitor literally had to pay the price, he might still do it but perhaps less often. The idea of Suitor holding up a big check of his own money is better than the status quo.

As we noted in the CFL season preview, TSN has several sideline reporters. TSN has Sara Orlesky and Ryan Rishaug in the west along with Farhan Lalji in Vancouver. TSN used to have Claire Hanna out west before moving her to Ottawa.

Orlesky was in Calgary on Thursday, Winnipeg on Friday, and Regina (via Calgary) on Saturday. She had to be in Winnipeg as the MC for the unveiling of the newest Grey Cup banner in her home base in Winnipeg. TSN referred to Air Sara for all her travels this week.

Sara Orlesky's doubleheader last December of being the sideline reporter at IG Field followed by hosting the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre is legendary.

We are in favour of more Sara Orlesky. Hopefully, she got a lot of sleep starting on Sunday.

The eastern sideline reporters are Matthew Scianitti (Toronto and Hamilton), John Lu (Montréal), and Hanna (Ottawa).

Rod Smith and Glen Suitor kicked off the season in Calgary on Thursday and Saturday in Regina. Dustin Nielson and Duane Forde worked in Winnipeg on Friday night and then a quick flight out to Vancouver (Farhan Lalji) for the Saturday late game.

logo credit: CFL
Twitter capture: @canadian_xing