Canadian Crossing

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

2021 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

Stanley Cup semifinals

(1) Las Vegas vs. (4) Montréal Montréal leads series 2-1
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
June 14	Las Vegas 4, Montréal 1	9p	NBCSN	CBC
June 16	Montréal 3, Las Vegas 2	9p	NBCSN	CBC
June 18	Montréal 3, Las Vegas 2 (OT)	8p	USA	CBC
June 20	Las Vegas @ Montréal	8p	NBCSN	CBC
June 22	Montréal @ Las Vegas	9p	NBCSN	Sportsnet
June 24	Las Vegas @ Montréal+	8p	USA	CBC
June 26	Montréal @ Las Vegas+	8p	NBCSN	CBC

 

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal set to play Las Vegas in Stanley Cup semifinals

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal advances to play Winnipeg

 

North Division

(3) Winnipeg vs. (4) Montréal Montréal wins series 4-0
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
June 2	Montréal 5, Winnipeg 3	7:30p	NBCSN	CBC
June 4	Montréal 1, Winnipeg 0	7:30p	USA	CBC
June 6	Montréal 5, Winnipeg 1	6p	NBCSN	Sportsnet
June 7	Montréal 3, Winnipeg 2 (OT)	8p	NHLN	CBC

 

2021 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview for Canadian teams

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

 

North Division

(1) Toronto vs. (4) Montréal Montréal wins series 4-3
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
May 20	Montréal 2, Toronto 1	7:30p	NHLN	CBC
May 22	Toronto 5, Montréal 1	7p	CNBC	CBC
May 24	Toronto 2, Montréal 1	7p	NHLN	CBC
May 25	Toronto 4, Montréal 0	7:30p	NBCSN	CBC
May 27	Montréal 4, Toronto 3 (OT)	7p	NBCSN	CBC
May 29	Montréal 3, Toronto 2 (OT)	7:30p	NBCSN	CBC
May 31	Montréal 3, Toronto 1	7p	CNBC	CBC

 

North Division

(2) Edmonton vs. (3) Winnipeg Winnipeg wins series 4-0
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
May 19	Winnipeg 4, Edmonton 1	9p	NBCSN	CBC
May 21	Winnipeg 1, Edmonton 0 (OT)	9p	NBCSN	CBC
May 23	Winnipeg 5, Edmonton 4 (OT)	7:30p	NBCSN	CBC
May 24	Winnipeg 4, Edmonton 3 (3 OT)	9:45p	NBCSN	CBC

 

Times are Eastern Daylight
+ if needed

Mahmud Jamal would be Canada's first Supreme Court justice of colour

Canada's Supreme Court has been ahead of the curve on women on the court, as compared to the United States. Colour? Not so much.

Mahmud Jamal is the first nominated Supreme Court justice of colour. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated Jamal to replace Rosalie Abella, who is retiring from the court on July 1 when Abella turns 75.

Jamal taught constitutional law at McGill University and administrative law at Osgoode Hall Law School. The judge was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario in 2019 and appeared in 35 appeals before the Supreme Court of Canada on civil, constitutional, criminal, and regulatory issues.

"I know that Justice Jamal, with his exceptional legal and academic experience and dedication to serving others, will be a valuable asset to our country's highest court," the prime minister said in a media statement.

Jamal's presence on the Court could be intriguing after admitting in the questionnaire that he experienced discrimination "as a fact of daily life" while growing up.

Jamal was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1967 to a family originally from India. The family moved to the UK in 1969. The family settled in Edmonton in 1981.

Beverley McLachlin to retire as Canada Supreme Court chief justice

The process of getting a Supreme Court justice (puisne judge) through the process is usually smooth sailing. There are qualification standards and regional seats (e.g., 3 from Quebec) are in effect. Justice nominees almost always get through.

Then Prime Minister Stephen Harper nominated Marc Nadon in 2013. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Nadon didn't met the eligibility criteria.

Functional bilingualism is now a requirement for Supreme Court justices. This puts a difficult requirement for potential Indigenous justices of the court. There have been calls to have an Indigenous judge on the Court.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

Jamal will replace Justice Rosalie Abella, currently the longest-serving Supreme Court justice, who will retire from the court on July 1, her 75th birthday.

Abella is the last pick from Paul Martin (2003-2006), who picked Abella and Louise Charron to the court. Charron retired on her own in 2011.

Jamal will be Trudeau's 4th pick to the 9-judge court. Trudeau also promoted Richard Wagner to Chief Justice in 2017.

Stephen Harper still has 5 appointees to the Court, including Wagner. Harper appointee Russell Brown has the longest potential time on the court, all the way to September 15, 2040.

Michael Moldaver will be the next justice to retire on December 23, 2022.

As we noted earlier, appointing a justice doesn't get you special treatment by the Court. We saw Harper lose a number of unanimous Supreme Court decisions late in this reign.

Canada has had 10 women serve as Supreme Court justices, 1 as chief justice. 3 of them are still serving: Andromache Karakatsanis and Suzanne Côté (Harper) and Sheilah Martin (Trudeau). The Supreme Court will be down to 3 female justices after Abella's retirement.

photo credit: CBC News

We should give an award to the best Canadian NHL team each season

The Toronto Maple Leafs had the best record of the Canadian division in the NHL in 2021. The Montréal Canadiens won what each of those Canadian teams wanted in the beginning of the season: winning the Canadian division in the playoffs.

The Stanley Cup is the ultimate goal but no Canadian team has won the Cup since 1993. Being the best Canadian NHL team isn't much for bragging rights. For fun, we thought to look at which Canadian team did the best in the seasons since the 2004-2005 NHL lockout.

2006 Edmonton // Stanley Cup final
2007 Ottawa // Stanley Cup final
2008 Montréal // Conference semifinal
2009 Vancouver // Conference semifinal

2010 Montréal // Conference final
2011 Vancouver // Stanley Cup final
2012 Ottawa // Conference quarterfinal (3 games)
2013 Ottawa // Conference semifinal
2014 Montréal // Conference final
2015 Montréal // Conference semifinal (2 games)
2016 Ottawa // Regular season (85 points)
2017 Ottawa // Conference final
2018 Winnipeg // Conference final
2019 Toronto // Conference quarterfinal (3 games)

2020 Vancouver // Conference semifinal
2021 Montréal // TBD

The Ottawa Senators and Montréal Canadiens would have 5 Canadian titles in that time. Vancouver would have had 2 titles with Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Toronto with a single title. The Calgary Flames would have qualified in 2004, reaching the Stanley Cup final.

Before 2021, there have been 3 Stanley Cup finals and 4 other conference finals reached by Canadian teams. The 2021 Montréal Canadiens have reached at least the conference finals stage.

Tiebreakers were determined with the most number of playoff games won in that round and, with 2016, the most regular season points when no Canadian team qualified for the playoffs.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Was trying to think of a NHL player who played for a bunch of Canadian teams. Dion Phaneuf came to mind since he is Canadian and played for Calgary, Toronto, and Ottawa. Unless we have a better entry, we will unofficially call that the Phaneuf award.

We know the Canadian division is not returning for the regular season. Can honestly say this made the NHL a lot more fun for this reporter.

photo credit: NHL

Canadian film review: One Week

A young man without direction gets a severe cancer diagnosis. He decides to buy a motorcycle and take a long-distance trip to figure out a few things.

One Week features Ben Tyler (Joshua Jackson) is a would-be author working as a teacher. His bride-to-be Samantha Pierce (Liane Balaban) doesn't like motorcycles and wants him not to take the trip.

Tyler leaves his home in Toronto and drives westward.

The Canadian icons are sprinkled throughout the film. Tyler uses inspiration from the Tim Hortons Roll up the Rim contest. He runs into a couple of young men on a beer bet to cycle from Newfoundland to Vancouver. They are searching for a Canadian Tire in Parry Sound. Even in a Canadian road trip film, his trip misses eastern Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic provinces.

These might seem like product placements like we've saw in the final season of Being Erica. They feel a lot more authentic.

Gord Downie plays someone who has had cancer. The Terry Fox statue in Thunder Bay, Ontario, the place where his run ended. The Stanley Cup.

Ben has a few adventures along the way. We get to see a lot of different areas of Canada.

Trying to find the quintessential Canadian film

See Canada through Canadian road films

Jay Baruchel MADE road trip takes us through Canada for Canadian content

Michael McGowan takes us through the question of fight or flight and has us choose flight and then maybe, when he's ready, fight. Samantha is the beacon of fight. Ben doesn't necessarily want flight but finds that better than the prospect of fighting.

McGowan is focused on what one can learn through flight and perhaps how we need to think through everything else before engaging in the fight.

He uses a narrator, voiced by the calming Campbell Scott, son of the Canadian-born actor Colleen Dewhurst. The cast features musicians as actors such as Downie, Joel Plaskett, and Emm Gryner. The all-Canadian soundtrack includes Great Lake Swimmers, Wintersleep, Sam Roberts, Patrick Watson, Sunparlour Players, Stars, Lights, and Luke Doucet.

One Week can be seen as a simple travel film with mild adventures and gorgeous scenery. The 2008 film can also be seen as an exploration of someone finding out about themselves through travel and experience.

They say Canadians don't know their own country. One Week can help be their guide through most of Canada.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

One Week is serious enough to be engaging in its story yet easy enough to watch and take in the scenery. The acting is good and brings you into the conversation over fight vs. flight.

Joshua Jackson dominates the film. Jackson won Best Actor at the 2010 Genie Awards. Balaban was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

video credit: YouTube/Mongrel Media
photo credit: One Week film

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal set to play Las Vegas in Stanley Cup semifinals

The Montréal Canadiens will be Las Vegas bound to start the Stanley Cup semifinals tonight. Las Vegas defeated the Colorado Avalanche in 6 games to reach this level. The Max Pacioretty Bowl is the unofficial name for this battle. We prefer to focus on Nick Suzuki, Tomas Tatar, and prospect defenseman Jayden Struble.

We would have preferred the Habs and the Avalanche mostly for the Quebec Nordiques references over the next couple of weeks. Also, we don't have much respect for the Las Vegas NHL franchise and the way the league has helped them along the way.

The Canadiens will play every other day, the first series where that has been the case. The U.S. teams won't play a single back-to-back in the 2021 NHL playoffs. Those hoping for a Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada scenario will have to wait for a potential Game 7. Both teams won Game 7 in the first round.

A potential Game 6 in Montréal would be on June 24, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, la fête nationale du Québec.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal sweeps Winnipeg to head to Stanley Cup semifinals

The 2014 version of the Montréal Canadiens were the last team to reach the final four. The Canadiens swept the Tampa Bay Lightning and defeated the Boston Bruins in 7 games. The New York Rangers were the Eastern Conference final opponent. Chris Kreider hurt Montréal goalie Carey Price in Game 1, knocking him out for the series.

Montréal has not been to the Stanley Cup final since 1993, the last year any Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup.

The Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cups. If the Habs survive the series, they will win a trophy they never thought to win: the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl. When expansion came in 1967, the conferences were divided into Campbell (western) and Wales (eastern). Gary Bettman decided that was too cool and dumbed down the conference names by geography.

The early expansion days had a bit of geographic confusion over which teams fell in which conference. Montréal has always been in the Wales Conference. Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, and Calgary Flames have all won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl. A Montréal win would certainly be a pandemic-noted moment.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal advances to play Winnipeg

The Canadiens are in pretty good shape overall. There is concern over defenseman Jeff Petry, who suffered an "upper body injury" in the Winnipeg series. Alexander Romanov came in for Petry. Hopefully, both Petry and Romanov will be in the defence mix.

Petry, Jake Evans, and Jon Merrill are expected to travel to Las Vegas. That doesn't mean they will play.

Round 3 begins Monday at 9:00 p.m. ET, in Vegas!#GoHabsGo https://t.co/fHhhVnX9Bh

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) June 11, 2021

The Bell Centre will continue to host 2,500 fans for every home game in the next round. Las Vegas is now up to full capacity at T-Mobile Arena as of the last round: 17,367. The team was able to start admitting 2,605 fans as of March 1.

Quebec Institute of Public Health is considering a request from the team to boost that 2,500 number.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Toronto-Montreal reaches Game 7

Montréal has traveled to Vancouver this season and has played in the four most western time zones in Canada. Las Vegas has gone 2 time zones east (Central). The other remaining teams are in the Eastern Time Zone.

The Canadiens might have a slight advantage in the travel realm.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Winnipeg Jets pull off the sweep

Hall of Fame inductee Bob Gainey addressed the team on Wednesday last week. Gainey played, coached, and was the general manager for the Habs. He won 5 Stanley Cups as a player with Montréal: 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1986.

"He talked about experience. There aren't a lot of organizations that can fall back on alumni with the amount of experience that this one can, and we were fortunate to have one in the building today. He was able to speak to us about some things that he went through during his career, some things he's seen. He talked about how important it was going to be to start Game 1 and really implement our style of play. It was a passionate speech. It was nice to have him here." — Brendan Gallagher on Hall of Famer Bob Gainey addressing the team.

2021 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview for Canadian teams

Last summer, Montréal coach Claude Julien had chest pains after Game 1 of the Philadelphia series on August 12. Julien had a stent procedure and said he would have been back if the Canadiens had gone to a Game 7 in that series.

Kirk Muller, associate coach for the Habs, took over for the rest of the series. Muller was an assistant coach with Montréal from 2006-2011 and associate coach from 2016-2021. His lack of French is likely a factor as to why he never became the head coach in La Belle Province.

Julien and Muller were let go in February, replaced by Dominique Ducharme and Alex Burrows.

Muller just got named an associate coach for the Calgary Flames under Darryl Sutter. Muller was a fan favourite in Montréal, part of that 1993 Stanley Cup winning squad.

As for Julien, Elliotte Friedman reported recently that his name hasn't come up for coaching vacancies.

Hope Muller will find success in Calgary. Muller and Julien are people to root for in the NHL.

NHL notebook: Waiting to start the Stanley Cup chase in Canada

The Habs won't have to deal with Nazem Kadri. The former Toronto Maple Leafs player was suspended for 8 games earlier in the playoffs for a "high, forceful check" to St. Louis defenseman Justin Faulk's head.

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Rogers will have the current top crew call the Montréal series: Chris Cuthbert, Craig Simpson, and Kyle Buskauskas. John Bartlett and Garry Galley will call the Tampa Bay-NY Islanders series off the monitors. Harnarayan Singh and Louie DeBrusk called the Winnipeg-Edmonton series but Bartlett and Galley are out east and have been calling games off the monitors for weeks now. Congratulations to Bartlett for his first Stanley Cup semifinal.

CBC is not carrying Game 5 of the Canadiens series. The public broadcaster is showing the Indspire Awards: Celebrating Indigenous Achievement that night. The public broadcaster is carrying every other game of both series.

We know the top crew will be in person in Las Vegas.

As for NBCSN, we expect that Kenny Albert, Ed Olczyk, and Brian Boucher (aka village idiot) will call the Stanley Cup final. The other major team — John Forslund, Joe Micheletti, and Pierre McGuire — will cover the Montréal series. This could explain why Forslund called Game 2 in Winnipeg.

Praise to NBC for taking the 3-person booth concept from Hockey Night in Canada. Rogers Sportsnet worked hard to get rid of that, even in the playoffs. Hope ESPN and TNT will keep that around.

We thank Alex Faust and Dominic Moore for their service. Moore worked hard to provide true insight, something Boucher still lacks.

The split crews feel a bit unfair in that the worst of the 2 play by play people (Forslund) gets 2 above average analysts while the better play by play person gets a good analyst (Olczyk) and an awful analyst (Boucher). Albert, Micheletti, and either Olczyk or McGuire would be rather nice.

The crew covering the Habs series gets a slight edge since Forslund is slightly better on play-by-play than Boucher is on analysis. That said, we are willing to suffer through Boucher if the Canadiens are playing for the Stanley Cup.

The over-the-air part of NBC is only carrying a single game in this round and the Montréal Canadiens are not involved. The only chance the Canadiens will be on NBC is to get past this round. USA steps in for NBCSN for Game 3 and a potential Game 6.

We don't know if any of the NBC people will travel to Canada or set foot in Montréal.

The NHL Network will have matinee rebroadcasts. Hoping for Canadian feeds even if highly unlikely.

photo credit: NHL
Twitter capture: @CanadiensMTL

2021 Canadian TV upfronts highlights

We don't spend much time on the upfronts from CTV, Global, and Citytv because most of the programming is American or Canadian copies of American shows. The announcements come with shows on the over-the-air networks as well as their cable channels.

We have also noted that most Americans can't get a CTV signal, even on cable. Buffalo and Bellingham, WA are grand exceptions.

Transplant (CTV) and Nurses (Global) — Canadian dramas on U.S. television — will have a Season 2. NBC will carry Transplant and we're waiting on the status of Nurses on the U.S. network. The latter show had a problematic episode in Season 1.

Let's look at some of the intriguing tidbits from the upfronts:

CTV/Bell Media

Jann has also been renewed, hoping that ends up on Hulu in the United States. Letterkenny is shooting the next 2 seasons and there is a spinoff Shoresy.

Surrealestate, which we wrote about last month, will run on Syfy in the United States and CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada.

Children Ruin Everything covers the world of parents and their 2 young children and the struggles of juggling all of that chaos. The show has 8 episodes and stars Meaghan Rath, Aaron Abrams, Ennis Esmer, and Nazneen Contractor.

Corner Gas Animated will have its fourth and final season on the CTV Comedy Channel starting July 5. Season 4 will have 13 episodes.

Global/Corus

Family Law is a new Canadian drama starring Jewel Staite as a recovering alcoholic lawyer forced to work for her estranged father (Victor Garber). The show also features Zach Smadu and Genelle Williams as her half-siblings.

Departure will be back for Season 2. This includes the late Christopher Plummer, who filmed his scenes before his death in February. Departure is a British-Canadian co-production with English actor Archie Panjabi, Plummer, and Kris Holden-Ried. The show airs on Peacock in the United States.

Canadians can watch Season 2 of Nurses with 10 new episodes starting June 21. Season 5, the final season, of Private Eyes starts July 7. The adventures of Matt Shade (Jason Priestley) and Angie Everett (Cindy Sampson) are sadly coming to a close. Seasons 1-2 aired on Ion television in the United States but the U.S. cable channel or anyone else hasn't aired any new episodes.

Citytv/Rogers

Hudson & Rex is an example that not every Canadian TV show makes a way to the U.S. What little I know about the show is that there is a German shepherd, the show is shot in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the cast includes John Reardon, Mayko Nguyen, Kevin Hanchard, and Justin Kelly. The show is shooting Season 4 this summer.

Canadian presence on 2021 U.S. TV upfronts

2021 CBC television upfront preview

The Canadian upfronts don't focus as much on specific schedules with simsubs at play. There is also the issue where what counts as Canadian programming in terms of the CRTC is rather lenient. Having a majority U.S. show lineup isn't as much of an issue as simply having more Canadian TV shows on the private networks.

The private networks are skirting the rules but not violating the rules.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

Our critiques of CBC running British seat fillers is the same concept: run more Canadian TV on Canadian television.

photo credit: Departure TV show

Windsor International Film Festival cancels the 2021 festival

WIFF has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 festival in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of patrons, volunteers and staff.

We will continue to stay connected to the community by bringing back “WIFF Under the Stars” this summer.https://t.co/z55no5hMCE pic.twitter.com/d6jEjtVyP8

— WIFF (@WindsorFilmFest) June 9, 2021

We knew in the back of our collective minds, when the Windsor International Film Festival cancelled the 2020 festival in late June, it was a sad decision but a necessary one.

The 2021 version seemed a more hopeful possibility. Vaccines have arrived. While Canada has a strong dosage in the 1-shot category, the country ranks rather low on fully immunized citizens. This is particularly a concern in Windsor, a border town with the United States, yet a number of people travel to the United States for work each day, even in a pandemic.

The Windsor International Film Festival announced the cancellation of the 2021 festival, just over 2 weeks earlier in the year than the 2020 cancellation.

"The unknowns of the pandemic creates a number of challenges for our staff, volunteers and patrons," said Vincent Georgie, WIFF executive director and chief programmer, in a press release. "We look forward to the festival returning in 2022 and to welcoming everyone downtown for exceptional film experiences."

A film festival involves a large number of people being close together. The staff would engage with hundreds of human beings on a daily basis.

This is a gut punch to a film festival that had developed incredible momentum.

A look back to past years of the Windsor International Film Festival

Windsor International Film Festival cancels the 2020 festival

As the tweet noted, WIFF Under the Stars is returning again in 2021. This was a drive-in type scenario with people watching films from their cars. The only Canadian film on the programming list that I hadn't seen was The Cuban, which we reviewed recently.

Canadian film review: The Cuban

We try hard not to be selfish. The week in Windsor was the best week of the year for me. 2019 was just an amazing year for me and the festival. Like the CFL, a loss for one year is hard; a 2-year loss is devastating.

I had been playing with scenarios: do they spotlight films from the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, currently set for September 9-18.

TIFF 2020 was open to Canadians through streaming. WIFF likely wasn't able to pull off a similar strategy, which is understandable.

There was the thought in 2020 and 2021 that there would be a festival but only for Canadians. The border still isn't open between the United States and Canada.

The selfish part also kicks in when one of the things that kept me going in the winter was the hope of a WIFF 2021 and a chance to see great films and catch up with a lot of cool people.

There seems to be every indication of a WIFF 2022. We are grateful for this. Also feel sad for not having a WIFF 2021.

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Vincent Georgie, WIFF executive director and chief programmer, radio interview on CBC Radio One in Windsor (CBC Radio Windsor)

This is only part of the WIFF Alley, something that started in 2019. This was a huge thing for Windsor to be a part of for the festival. Most people who live there may not even know this existed.

This is the love and feeling I have for this film festival. This film festival has made an amazing and powerful impact on those who are a part of it: staff, volunteers, and patrons.

Twitter capture: @TIFF_net
logo credit: Windsor International Film Festival
photo credit: me

The Black Academy will have an awards show on CBC in 2022

CBC will carry the award show from The Black Academy honouring Black talent. The first awards show is scheduled for autumn 2022.

"Beyond creating a kick-ass award show like you’ve never, ever seen before, our intention is to shine a light on the incredible Black talent across this country and inspire generations to come," said Stephan James, The Black Academy co-founder. "CBC is the right home for this show.”

James co-founded The Black Academy with his brother Shamier Anderson.

There are a lot of unsung Black acting talent in Canada. These are names of some who I have noticed in the last few years. The following is a small sampling of the many Black Canadian actors in Canadian TV and Canadian film. Not even close to a complete list.

Kandyse McClure, Kevin Hanchard, Jim Codrington (The Border), Karen Robinson, Cory Bowles, Adrian Holmes (19-2), Cree Summer, Oluniké Adeliyi, Gloria Reuben, Clé Bennett, Maurice Dean Wint, Amanda Brugel, Chantel Riley (Frankie Drake Mysteries), Rae Dawn Chong, Lyriq Bent, Tattiawna Jones (Strange Empire), Tonya Williams, Lisa Codrington (Letterkenny), Vinessa Antoine (Diggstown), Ronnie Rowe (Black Cop), Eli Goree, Clark Johnson, Karen LeBlanc (Nurse Fighter Boy), Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock, Shailene Garnett (Murdoch Mysteries), Thom Allison (Killjoys), Aisha Brown, Andy McQueen, Roger Cross (Coroner), Cara Ricketts, Trent McClellan (This Hour Has 22 Minutes), and Guled Abdi and Tim Blair (Tallboyz).

We should also mention Black filmmakers such as Charles Officer, Stella Meghie, Sudz Sutherland, Kelly Fyffe-Marshall, Director X, and Cory Bowles, among others.

We commend James and Anderson for all the hard work they have put in to lift up others while developing their own careers.

The fact that Vinessa Antoine became the first Black Canadian woman to lead a prime-time drama on network television in 2019 shows we have a long way to go.

Canada is a country of immigrants from all over the world. That should be reflected in Canadian television and Canadian film.

Canadian film case study: Race

Canadian film review: Across the Line

Canadian film review: Black Cop

Canadian film notebook: Kelly Fyffe-Marshall drawing attention with short films

The CBC did a really nice job with the 2021 Junos on Sunday. These award shows should be on the public broadcaster.

APTN and CBC will carry the Indspire Awards: Celebrating Indigenous Achievement on June 22. The ceremony will feature 12 outstanding Indigenous achievers from a diverse list of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. The broadcast will also be available at 8 pm Eastern on CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, and CBC Listen.

The Canadian Screen Awards have not been on television for the past 2 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Junos tried a lot harder than the Canadian Screen Awards.

There was a recent story in The Globe and Mail on how the CBC has confirmed carrying the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards. This may amount to nothing but could be a concern.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

Watching the Junos Sunday night reminded us of what the Canadian Screen Awards were before the pandemic.

Cramming the best of TV and film into a single night is problematic since neither gets a chance to shine as much as Canadian music during the Junos. As we learned from Game 3 of the Montréal-Winnipeg series, the CBC television reach makes an impact.

Here is to hoping the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards returns to its former glory of being on CBC and available on YouTube. Canadian television and Canadian film deserve that level of recognition.

photo credit: Across the Line film

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal sweeps Winnipeg to head to Stanley Cup semifinals

The Montréal Canadiens led the NHL with 9 short-handed goals in the regular season. Paul Byron had the game winner with a short-handed goal in Game 1 against Toronto. Tyler Toffoli had the only goal in Game 2 against Winnipeg, also short-handed. Joel Armia added 2 short-handed goals in Game 3, including the game winner.

Toffoli scored the overtime winner in Game 4 to send the Habs to the Stanley Cup semifinals. The primary assist came from Cole Caufield. Caufield hasn't scored a playoff goal, yet has 2 overtime assists.

Carey Price was outstanding in goal for the Canadiens but didn't have to work too hard.

The Winnipeg Jets had the momentum after sweeping the Edmonton Oilers in 4 straight. The Jets ended the playoffs with a 4-4 record.

Winnipeg got a short-handed goal in Game 1 from Adam Lowry. The Canadiens scored 3 goals during the Jets power play vs. 0 for Winnipeg.

Mark Scheifele has had a rough couple of playoff years for the Jets. Scheifele didn't last long in 2020 after Calgary's Matthew Tkachuk did injure Scheifele, knocking him out of the series with an Achilles injury.  Scheifele's brutal hit on Jake Evans in 2021 brought him a 4-game suspension.

Having Scheifele might have made the series closer, though the Jets looked lost after Game 1. Winnipeg scored 3 goals in the final 3 games, 2 of them from rookie defenseman Logan Stanley in Game 4.

Paul Stastny missed time in the series. Pierre-Luc Dubois was there but had an underwhelming playoffs. A team that has serious centre depth watched that disappear.

Winnipeg's best play of the series might have been Nikolaj Ehlers doing what he could to protect Evans.

The scene from the ice is fantastic! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/TZ7xVsDuTH

— NHL (@NHL) June 8, 2021

Montréal has been a road king in the playoffs. 3-1 in Toronto and 2-0 in Winnipeg. Contrast that with 1-2 at home against Toronto and 2-0 at home against Winnipeg.

The team is 3-0 with fans and 0-2 without fans at the Bell Centre.

This year's version is now in second place all-time for longest stretch without trailing in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Habs haven't trailed since Game 4 of Toronto series.

Montréal Canadiens 1960 488:38
Montréal Canadiens 2021 437:53

Montréal and Winnipeg have now had to deal with a pair of back-to-back games in the NHL playoffs. No U.S. team has had to deal with a single back-to-back in the playoffs. In the first round, the Canadiens went 0-2 in the back-to-backs while the Jets went 2-0 with 4 overtime periods in the team's back-to-back. The Habs took both games of this round's back-to-back games.

The Canadiens are now 3-0 in overtime games while the Jets fell to 3-1 in overtime games.

More @CBCNews: Federal government approves travel exemption for Stanley Cup playoffs. https://t.co/8lAMgo9WhV

— CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) June 6, 2021

What sports will look like on Canadian soil in 2020

Montréal will be able to travel to the U.S. west and back during the Stanley Cup semifinals and travel between the countries for the Stanley Cup final, as needed. The teams will have to observe significant protocols on top of what the NHL has required.

At least the Canadiens will have true home games for the rest of the playoffs. They will have a long distance to travel for that series, especially the shorter distance of the other playoff series.

As our scoreboard has noted, Montréal will play either Colorado or Las Vegas in the Stanley Cup semifinals. That series is currently tied 2-2 with Game 5 tonight.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal advances to play Winnipeg

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Toronto-Montreal reaches Game 7

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Winnipeg Jets pull off the sweep

Winnipeg has been allowing 500 fully vaccinated healthcare workers in the first 2 games at Bell MTS Place. Toronto had 550 fully vaccinated healthcare workers for Game 7. Montréal is allowing 2,500 fans for each game at the Bell Centre.

The United States crowds are much larger though a small amount of fans can be rather loud.

Canadian films that might explain a bit about the world of residential schools

Even before the end of the NBC NHL contract, the network gave little interest in anthems, even in playoff games. The network doesn't have respect for what the anthem provides in setting the tone.

That ignorance was amplified in Game 1 when Winnipeg singer/songwriter Don Amero gave a powerful rendition of O Canada in the context of the discovery of the bodies of 215 children at a residential school in Kamloops, BC. The woman to his left is holding a small pair of moccasins, symbolic of the shoes left at the scene by grieving people for the loss of those children.

We do criticise Rogers Sportsnet for a lot, but they get the significance of the anthem. The ignoramuses at NBC only care about getting in extra Discover credit card ads. Shame on NBC.

You can watch the Game 1 anthem thanks to Rogers Sportsnet and CBC.

NBC didn't air any anthems in Games 1-3. The NHL Network didn't air the anthem in Game 4 but using the NBC feed, the channel didn't have control.

2021 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview for Canadian teams

The Canadian teams remain in their original draft positions: Vancouver (9), Ottawa (10), and Calgary (13). The Seattle Kraken moved up from 3 to 2 with Anaheim dropping a slot. Buffalo retains the top spot in the NHL draft.

NHL notebook: Waiting to start the Stanley Cup chase in Canada

The Montréal-Winnipeg series is drawing good numbers in Canada, just not Montréal-Toronto numbers from the first round. These are the numbers for CBC and Sportsnet:

Game 1: 2,368,000
Game 2: 2,376,000
Game 3: 1,629,000
Game 4: 2,487,000

Those numbers are slightly higher than Game 1 Winnipeg at Edmonton (2,038,000) but lower than the lowest numbers from Montréal-Toronto (Game 2 3,096,000).

Game 3 is a lot lower without the CBC to help out, thanks to the 2021 Junos.

These do not include TVA Sports numbers. Game 2 drew 1,000,000 and Game 3 had 1,161,000 on TVA Sports. By contrast, Game 6 drew 1,185,000 and Game 7 drew 1,150,000 en Francaise in the last Habs series.

We will update this story with Game 4 numbers.

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

June 2 Game 1 Montréal @ Winnipeg 7:30p Alex Faust/Dominic Moore
June 4 Game 2 Montréal @ Winnipeg 7:30p John Forslund/Dominic Moore
June 6 Game 3 Winnipeg @ Montréal 6p Alex Faust/Dominic Moore
June 7 Game 4 Winnipeg @ Montréal 8p Alex Faust/Dominic Moore

We had hoped Game 4 would be a CBC/Sportsnet simulcast on the NHL Network. NBC had no choice but to use the NHL Network, which traditionally means a sim sub. There are exceptions, as we saw in 2020.

The NHL Network handled both intermissions. NBCSN has joined in progress during the 2nd period. There were dueling 2nd period intermissions. Guess which one was better?

John Forslund jumped into the series for Game 2. Forslund kept getting the name of the arena in Winnipeg wrong several times. Forslund's style is to throw robotic things in there like where he is (theoretically). He would run the term "Canada's capital" into the ground for Senators playoff games. Our annoyance ties back to the January 2020 appearance where they (likely) pretended to be in Canada.

Forslund kept saying "MTS Centre" and "MTS Place" instead of Bell MTS Place — close but not correct. He could say "Bell Centre." Someone could have corrected him. The name of the arena is in the ice at centre ice.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

We have noted that Rogers Sportsnet had been using CBC facilities for its NHL coverage since the new hockey contract started in 2014. Rogers announced a new studio is coming in the fall. We figured the use of the CBC studio was additional compensation for putting its broadcasts on the public broadcaster.

The 6 CBC promos can't be enough.

We did get a Game 7 matinee rebroadcast of the CBC feed on the NHL Network. There was only a 90-minute version so most of the promos didn't air. The NHL Network will run a matinee rebroadcast of Game 4 at 2 pm Eastern today. In that rebroadcast, the CBC Gem was visual only, as far as we know.

Montréal-Toronto Game 7: CBC Sports app (1st); CBC Listen app (3rd)

Montréal-Winnipeg Game 4: CBC Sports app (1st); The National (2nd); CBC Gem (3rd)

photos credit: Rogers Sportsnet/NHL
Twitter captures: @NHL; @CBCAlerts

Canadian films that might explain a bit about the world of residential schools

The painful reality of the remains of 215 children being found at a residential school in Kamloops is only made more painful by knowing this is only the beginning. The recordkeeping is its own scandal. We may never know all of the Indigenous children found on this and other sites.

These were human beings who suffered long before they died, children who couldn't understand a society that wanted to strip them of their language, culture, and being.

My limited education on the matter has been amplified by Canadian films on the subject. Since I write a lot about Canadian films, I thought sharing a couple of good examples might work people who know little to learn a bit more.

2017 WIFF Canadian films in review

2017 WIFF Canadian films in review: Documentaries

Birth of a Family focuses more on the Sixties Scoop than residential schools. Betty Ann, Esther, Rosalie, and Ben are all siblings who were taken away from their home. The film explains that about 20,000 Indigenous children taken between 1955-1985 were adopted into white families or moved into foster care.

Tasha Hubbard (director and co-writer) and Betty Ann Adams (co-writer) share the joy of the reunion and puts them together in Banff National Park. They share the awful stories of what happened to them as kids. They are still struggling to live as adults as a result of the damage and pain.

I saw this film at the 2017 Windsor International Film Festival. I knew nothing about the Sixties Scoop before the film. From our original review:

There are moments when they are talking alone on camera, sharing moments that they really should be sharing with the other siblings. The idea that these people would learn these moments at the same time the audience does would be quite awkward.

The most powerful moment is when the 4 siblings learn about their culture through the Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum in Banff. You get a good sense of what they have lost in that moment. This is the most impactful scene in the film and is worth seeing the film for this scene. There are lighter moments as well: you can see that they have a shared laughter.

As we noted in our review, you don't learn much about the actual Sixties Scoop. You see some of the damage down as a result.

Canadian film review: Indian Horse

I noted in our review that this film is hard to watch. That seems a bit childish in that the people who lived it had a life too brutal to imagine.

Indian Horse is an adaptation of the novel from Canadian writer Richard Wagamese. The story is about Saul Indian Horse, an Indigenous boy from Ontario who is taken from his family and put into the residential school system. Like Birth of a Family, we see the ramifications of the psychological and physical damage.

From our original review:

You get the desolate circumstances for Saul and other Indigenous children over multiple generations. If you know absolutely nothing on this topic, you will get a good sense of what really happened. Indian Horse is a pretty good film, just really difficult to watch. Some of that unpleasantness is the story and also how the story is told.

Indian Horse was actually the highest-grossing English Canadian film of 2018. That is meaningful.

Canadian film review: Rhymes for Young Ghouls

Jeff Barnaby's full-length feature debut Rhymes for Young Ghouls tells how residential schools make a multi-generational impact in a society. The story is also tragic but told so well.

The film is told from the perspective of Alia (Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs) in 1976.

From our original review:

Alia recognises from how the residential schools impacted her parents and uncle that she needs to avoid that world at all costs. Her world becomes a way to figure out who and how long she can trust people. The film shows us that survival is not easy.

There is a scene in the film where Alia's braids are cut off. This might seem like a minor detail. The punishment is symbolic since the braids are part of the culture. You sense how violated she is as a result of the scene.

The Secret Path film (2016) was the culmination of a 10-song album and a graphic novel from Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip. The story is about Chanie Wenjack, a young Anishinaabe boy who died in 1966 while trying to walk 600 kilometres back home from a residential school.

The film starts out with Chanie’s sister Pearl Wenjack and other family members with Downie.

The Secret Path was followed by the Road to Reconciliation panel discussion.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

We Were Children tells the true story of Lyna Hart, sent to the Guy Hill Residential School in Manitoba at age 4; and Glen Anaquod, sent to the Lebret Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. The film features dramatic reenactments of what happened to them. We have not seen this film.

(Update: We have now seen this film. The sadistic torture of these children: beatings, rape, malnutrition, robbing of their culture.)

Look into the work of Alanis Obomsawin, who has done some amazing Indigenous documentaries over the years, including We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice (2016).

June is National Indigenous History Month. A good opportunity to learn something.

Many of the kids died from TB, malnutrition, and diseases caused by overcrowding of kids and poor health care. The Catholic Church and others who ran these schools didn't want to spend money on the care of these kids.

These films will give you an entrance in this world to give a slice of what this was like. This is certainly not a full list.

A new CBC podcast Telling Our Twisted Histories is the idea to "decolonize our minds– one word, one concept, one story at a time." Kaniehtiio Horn is the host for the podcast. Worth the listen.

Birth of a Family is available through the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada. Indian Horse is available on Netflix. Rhymes for Young Ghouls was available on Amazon Prime Video. You can watch The Secret Path online. We Were Children is available for rental via the NFB.

Can't help also thinking about the tragic death of Emerald MacDonald. You might have seen MacDonald in The Grizzlies. The RCMP has ruled the death of the 24-year-old actor as a homicide. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls inquiry speaks to the lives that were treated as less than human. These are all related.

CanadianCrossing.com Indigenous coverage

Canadian TV notebook: Trickster one and done, Nurses ends next week in U.S.

Canada election 2019: The impact of the official debates

We have noted some absolutely terrible Canadian senators appointed by Stephen Harper, who was prime minister from 2006-2015. Don Meredith (not that Don Meredith) was rather horrible. Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin are on the list. Lynn Beyak had a special place on the list in a sad way.

Lynn Beyak became a champion for the residential schools being not so bad. The Canadian Senate suspended Beyak twice: posting letters to her Senate Web site supporting her views and making horrible, untrue accusations. She fought hard to keep those letters up. As part of the protocol, Beyak was supposed to take anti-racism training. Beyak was suspended a second time for failing to undergo that training.

The Conservative Party did strip Beyak of her status within the party in 2017, a symbolic but virtually meaningless gesture.

Beyak served in the Senate from January 25, 2013 to January 25, 2021. Senators can't serve past the age of 75, as we noted with Mike Duffy finally leaving the Senate for that reason last month. Beyak resigned just before her 72th birthday.

A lot of settlers are ignorant on what happened in residential schools. Some knew and fought really hard to deny reality. Beyak falls in the latter category.

photo credits: The Secret Path film (photos 1,3-4); Birth of a Family film (photo 2)