Canadian Crossing

Canadian MLS teams start an extended U.S. road trip

Major League Soccer (MLS) has released 3 more games in piecemeal fashion. The Canadian teams are on an extended road trip into the United States.

Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver have 3 U.S. opponents, 2 road games and a designated home game. The Reds and Impact actually get a neutral field while the Whitecaps play a "home" game at the field of the opponent.

The Impact will play Philadelphia at the home of the Red Bulls in Harrison, NJ. The Reds get an actual neutral field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT.

We have found that offensive when the Toronto Blue Jays were stuck with that scenario while the team got Sahlen Field in Buffalo ready. Very difficult to imagine MLS couldn't find a neutral field on the West Coast of the United States.

The Canadian teams have an imbalance on U.S. soil even with a neutral field. The Canadian teams are living in suitcases; going back to Canada means a 14-day quarantine.

The eastern Canadian teams also have a much better travel schedule in playing 3 games in 8 days (7 days for Montréal) compared to Vancouver's flying schedule.

TSN and TVA Sports will have their usual coverage. ESPN+ will have the games in the United States.

Date	Road	Home	Time
September 19	Toronto	D.C. United	7:30p
September 19	Vancouver	Real Salt Lake	9:30p
September 20	Philadelphia	Montréal*	7:30p
September 23	Toronto	New York City FC	7p
September 23	Montréal	New England	7:30p
September 23	Vancouver	LAFC	10:30p
September 27	Montréal	NY Red Bulls	7p
September 27	Columbus	Toronto+	7:30p
September 27	Portland	Vancouver#	10p

* Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ; + Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT;
# Providence Park, Portland

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Toronto FC had a tremendous unbeaten run of 18 games, a game short of the MLS record of 19 last done a decade ago. The Reds pulled off 3 straight shutouts on Canadian soil until the Impact posted a 1-0 victory.

Toronto was set to tie the game on a penalty kick when Alejandro Pozuelo was ready to kick, but passed the ball to Pablo Piatti. Piatti scored on Impact goalkeeper Clement Diop, but the goal didn't count. The play looked cool but apparently was too cute for the rules.

2020 MLS preview

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

Having 250 people in a 20,081 seat Stade Saputo won't make too much noise but a lot more noise than having 0 fans. The Montréal Impact took advantage of Quebec's guidelines since 250 is the maximum allowed.

The 750 tickets sold represent the only fans who have been able to see a major league sport on Canadian soil since the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic shut everything down.

The Impact gave club members first access to tickets that started at $49.

British Columbia and Alberta getting the smoke from U.S. West Coast wildfires

Toronto FC will take on either Hamilton Forge FC or Halifax HFX Wanderers for the Canadian Championship. The Canadian Premier League entry will be determined tomorrow. Americans can watch that match on Fox Sports 2 at 1:30 pm Eastern from Charlottetown, PEI.

The Reds finished 4-2 against the other Canadian teams. Montréal (3-3) had a chance to advance with a second win over Vancouver (2-4) but lost 3-1 on Wednesday.

Toronto FC posted 3 straight shutout wins to start the round-robin, 2 against Vancouver and 1 against Montréal. The Impact posted a shutout win against both Vancouver and Toronto.

The 2020 Canadian Championship winner gets the Voyageurs Cup and qualifies for the next edition of the Concacaf Champions League.

We noted earlier this week about the impact of the smoke on the Montréal Impact series at BC Place against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The hydration breaks were definitely helpful.

photo credit: TSN/MLS

Canadian film review: Indian Horse

The real stories of Indigenous people who suffered wounds of all different kinds from residential schools can't always be captured well on film. Some stories have triumph within tragedy. Some stories are mostly tragedy.

Indian Horse falls in the latter category. You sense within minutes of this film that a lot of heartache is coming.

Saul lives deep in the wild with his parents and grandmother. His older brother takes ill at a residential school and later dies. His parents, who converted to Christianity, focus on their dead son and leave Saul behind with his grandmother.

After his grandmother dies, Saul is caught by the authorities and sent to a residential school.

The only saving grace for Saul is that he is really good at hockey. The team doesn't want him at first because Saul is Indigenous. Eventually, his talent takes over.

Saul finds some solace when he sent to play with a team comprised on Indigenous players in a small mining town.

Saul has good teammate support with his fellow Indigenous players. He gets to the Toronto Monarchs and his teammates don't really talk to him.

The story is about Saul's inner struggle with adaptation in his various worlds. There is a sad sense but we learn very little about what Saul is thinking.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The film is a bunch of chapters loosely bound together. A bunch of horrible things happen without much warmth or anything reasonably pleasant.

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.

The film is an adaptation of Ojibwe author Richard Wagamese's 2012 novel of the same name. You might learn more about Saul in the book as opposed to the film.

Sladen Peltier, as the 6-year-old version of Saul, got a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Vance Banzo, a member of Tallboyz, does a good job as one of Saul's Indigenous teammates.

The film was released theatrically, playing at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Yet the film was originally supposed to be a TV movie for Super Channel. The film does have a feel like a TV movie.

Indian Horse was actually the highest-grossing English Canadian film of 2018. So others clearly disagree with this review.

Indian Horse is available on Netflix.

video credit: YouTube/YouTube Movies
photo credit: Indian Horse film

British Columbia and Alberta getting the smoke from U.S. West Coast wildfires

Americans aren't allowed to cross into Canada on the ground. The restrictions don't apply to American smoke coming from wildfires in Washington, Oregon, and California. While the smoke stretches far into Canada, British Columbia and Alberta are getting the brunt of the smoke. The map (above) covered affected areas as of Monday in British Columbia.

We've seen the horrible damage caused by the wildfires.

Western Canada has had its share of wildfires in recent years. Some of that smoke did creep over the border into Washington state. The 2020 wildfires have produced a lot more cross-border smoke damage.

Sports have been affected by the smoke. The MLB Seattle Mariners had to forego home games in Seattle to play the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, which had eerie red skies recently due to the impact of the wildfires.

We saw proof of the smoke from the U.S. wildfires during the Montréal Impact MLS game at BC Place against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The game got hydration breaks at the 30th and 76th minutes because of the poor air quality. The teams play again tonight at BC Place.

The air quality is also a concern with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic for those with breathing issues, especially among the immuno-compromised. The air quality statements from Environment Canada urged people to remain indoors.

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Three Amigos summit comes to Ottawa

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

holy smokes! we are covered in smoke today🔥 hope everyone effected by these vicious wildfires is safe or has found a safe place to go. #canmore #banff #wildfires2020 @weathernetwork pic.twitter.com/zyaGtkawx8

— Mariam Bocari (@MariamBocari) September 13, 2020

Climate change and the impact of wildfires would be a great topic for a Three Amigos summit with Canada, United States, and Mexico. The discussion format was alive in 2016 but hasn't been followed up since January 2017. The countries built up acrimony in negotiating what turned out to be NAFTA 2.0.

The latest chapter of U.S. tariffs against aluminum came to a temporary end after Canada was about to impose retaliatory tariffs. The U.S. got those tariffs for weeks before any response. Those retaliatory tariffs need to be instantaneous.

We would love the Schengen model in the European Union to be used elsewhere on the planet. Cooperation between countries on a continent where every country sees a benefit would be helpful in ways that don't stop at the border, such as smoke from wildfires.

The water quality of the Great Lakes is another good example. 4 of the 5 Great Lakes are bordered by Canada and the United States.

For Canadians interested in the process and for Americans living in Canada, the first presidential debate is 13 days away on September 29 in Cleveland with Chris Wallace as the moderator.

The other presidential debates will be October 15 in Miami with Steve Scully as moderator and October 22 in Nashville with Kristen Welker as moderator.

The lone vice presidential debate will be October 7 in Salt Lake City with Susan Page as moderator.

Don't hold your breath on Canada being mentioned in the debates.

Canadians can watch the debates on any over-the-air U.S. network and likely on CBC News Network and CTV News Channel.

We had hopes for the Party Lines podcast with its variation Party in the U.S.A. However, the content so far seems annoyingly centrist/neutral. Hoping Elamin Abdelmahmoud broadens the coverage to reflect the current reality.

photo credit: Environment Canada
Twitter capture: @MariamBocari

Blaine Higgs wins a majority government for Progressive Conservatives in New Brunswick

Blaine Higgs and the Progressive Conservatives wanted stability for the government. The New Brunswick voters gave the party a majority government last night. After 2 years of the first minority government in about 100 years, Higgs called a snap election during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The PCs got 27 seats in the 49-seat assembly. The party won 22 seats in 2018, down to 20 before the 2020 election. The Liberals fell from 20 seats to 17 seats. The Green Party stayed at 3 seats while the right-wing People's Alliance fell from 3 seats to 2 seats.

Higgs is the first premier to win a second term since Bernard Lord (Progressive Conservatives) in 2003.

Canada is a safer place for abortion though access should be improved

Hospital cuts — threatened and then taken back by Higgs — will be a top concern. Access to abortion — a long-standing issue — is another concern. The government only reimburses for abortions at 3 hospitals in the province, two in Moncton and one in Bathurst. The PCs won't reimburse abortions at Clinic 554, a family practice in Fredericton.

The Liberals generally do well in the Francophone areas to the north. The PCs picked up some urban seats in the 3 major cities: Fredericton (the capital), Moncton, and Saint John.

The PCs elected a single francophone in Daniel Allain (Moncton East). Higgs hasn't proven to be empathic to the cultural circumstances in francophone ridings in the north of the province.

Colbert Report shows love for Kevin Vickers

Reflections on the Ottawa shooting

You might know Kevin Vickers for his actions as sergeant-at-arms at the House of Commons when he shot a gunman who stormed Parliament Hill in 2014. Vickers then served as the Canadian ambassador to Ireland.

Vickers had never run in an election and his first election was as Liberal Party leader in this election.

Michelle Conroy (People's Alliance) was the incumbent in the Miramichi riding where Vickers ran. Conroy won again.

Vickers announced on CBC New Brunswick that he would step down as Liberal Party leader. He didn't give a speech, which was a bit of a surprise.

Despite all of Vickers heroics throughout his life, he might have been in over his head. The ground game politicians want to do was more difficult in a pandemic. Vickers has national name recognition but needed to build up local name recognition.

New Brunswick is calling a provincial election in a pandemic

Green Party leader David Coon won re-election as did his 2 other fellow Green Party MLAs.

People's Alliance leader Kris Austin and Michelle Conroy were re-elected. Rick DeSaulniers lost his re-election bid. Austin was the only one to give a speech that had no French.

Canadian politics notebook: Upcoming elections in a pandemic

The successful reaction to managing the COVID-19 pandemic was considered a significant factor in the PCs getting a majority government. There was a new COVID-19 case in New Brunswick yesterday. NB Public Health said the person who tested positive is travel-related and the individual is self-isolating. The person is in their 20s in Zone 1, the Moncton region.

The number of active cases is now 3. New Brunswick has had 194 cases, and 189 people have recovered and 2 deaths. Not in a day or a month but since the pandemic started.

New Brunswick will have a minority government

2018 New Brunswick election preview

Canadian travel bubbles could boost tourism within Canada

New Brunswick cartoonist dismissal symptom of larger Canadian media concern

The U.S. has specific age requirements for federal offices: 25 for the House, 30 for the Senate, and 35 for president and vice president. Canada requires a person to be 18.

Rowan Miller, 24, ran for the Green Party in the 2019 federal election and ran for the Green Party in the Carleton-Victoria riding. Meriet Miller, 19, is Rowan's younger brother. NDP provincial leader Mackenzie Thomason went to university with Rowan. Thomason recruited Meriet to run against Rowan as a NDP candidate.

How did the brothers do? Which brother got more votes?

Andrew Harvey (Liberal) was the incumbent in the riding but finished in second to Margaret Johnson (Progressive Conservatives). Terry Leigh Sisson (People's Alliance) came in third.

Rowan got 5.1% of the vote, 372 votes. Meriet had 1.5%, or 113 votes. Rowan got more than 3x as many votes as his younger brother. Combined, they had fewer votes than Sisson.

The brothers are still rather young. They have many more elections to engage each other and the voters.

Today Monday, September 7 at 12:00pm there will be a special #LabourDay2020 address in front of St. Josephs Hospital 130 Bayard Dr, Saint John. Everyone is encouraged to attend. pic.twitter.com/gep92IcoHB

— New Brunswick NDP / NPD du Nouveau-Brunswick (@NBNDP_NPDNB) September 7, 2020

This tweet from the NDP was significant since this was the first tweet issued by the party in almost 2 years. The previous tweet ran on September 24, 2018. We know that the NDP was in turmoil, now running with interim leader Mackenzie Thomason. The election was called in mid August but the party didn't send out a tweet until a week before the election.

Can't blame this on a lack of technology connected with age since Thomason is 23. Better late than never but social media can fit within the budget of a struggling party with 0 seats in Fredericton.

The NDP won 0 seats in the 2020 election. Thomason came in 5th in the Fredericton North riding with 100 votes.

2020 Canadian politics preview

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

CanadianCrossing.com New Brunswick coverage

The 2020 New Brunswick election turnout was 65.9%, down slightly from 67.1% in 2018. Not quite Prince Edward Island numbers; the U.S. would drool over that kind of a turnout.

More than 63,000 New Brunswick residents headed to the polls on the first of two days of advance voting, according to Elections New Brunswick. In 2018, just over 43,500 electors voted on the first day of advance polls.

The campaign was more about door hangers and not knocking on doors. Incumbent MLAs benefited from name recognition in their ridings where learning the opponents was a challenge. This isn't too much TV advertising in New Brunswick with the bilingual situation and very few TV stations.

The new assembly has 14 of 49 seats for women with 9 for the PCs, a new party record. New Brunswick has no current female party leaders, though the Liberals and the NDP have openings.

CBAT Channel 4, CBC in Fredericton carried the election coverage instead of the NHL Stanley Cup playoff game. The coverage ended at 11 pm Atlantic, 10 pm Eastern, about 2 hours after the game started. Fans could catch the overtime of the final game in that series. The hockey was also on Rogers Sportsnet plus Canadians could stream the election coverage and the game on CBCSports.ca. Yes, there is only CBC station in New Brunswick.

photo credits: CBC News New Brunswick

Canadians wanting football are stuck watching the NFL on TV

The Buffalo Bills have a significant number of Canadian season ticket holders. The Bills have announced that money will be refunded accordingly as long as the border is closed.

The Bills aren't allowing any fans at its first two home games at Bills Stadium in accordance with New York state guidelines.

Buffalo opened up its home season yesterday with the New York Jets. The next home game is September 27 against the Los Angeles Rams. Yesterday marked the first time Buffalo had major league baseball and football in the area at the same time.

We noted that those in Buffalo couldn't get the Toronto Blue Jays on television. The Buffalo Sabres had a limited deal with Bell Media to get their games in the immediate southern Ontario area from 2013-2016.

Toronto fans of the Buffalo Bills can easily watch the team. The sim sub usually ends up on CFTO-TV Channel 9, the CTV station in Toronto. Fans with an antenna can get the games via WIVB-TV 4, CBS in Buffalo, and WUTV, Fox 29 in Buffalo.

The Detroit Lions get a lot of Canadian fans to cross the border in season ticket holders and fans for individual games. The Windsor bus systems runs buses straight to Ford Field on game days. The Seattle Seahawks get a lot of Canadian fans even if the drive is longer than Windsor to Detroit.

Some NFL teams are allowed to have home fans if their state's rules are more lenient. The Miami Dolphins are scheduled to let in 13,000 people for its first home game.

NFL fans in Canada could travel to the U.S. to watch the games. The problems are that they have to fly to their destination and have to quarantine for 14 days when they get back.

Canadians can easily get their games on television with no border crossings.

CFL dream: What if U.S. sports fans suddenly cared about the CFL

Super Bowl LIV through the eyes of Canada

Toronto fans can finally root for the Buffalo Bills in the NFL playoffs

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has changed the sports world. The CFL cancelled its season in great part because they couldn't let in significant crowds. Quebec has a 250 maximum; the MLS Montréal Impact allowed that number in for recent games against Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Long-time readers will remember that the Buffalo Bills used to play games in Toronto at Rogers Centre. That certainly couldn't have happened in 2020.

The Buffalo Bills got snowed out in 2014 and moved a game to Detroit. The thought of moving the game to Toronto was thwarted since not all the players had passports.

CanadianCrossing.com NFL coverage

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Despite the attendance issues in the Bills Toronto series, the NFL is very popular in Canada. Without the CFL, the NFL will grow in stature, especially in Toronto and Vancouver.

U.S. NFL fans might think they get a decent amount of games on a Sunday. Canadians get way more games thanks to CTV stations across the country (with time shifting on cable or satellite) and TSN. Now that TSN doesn't have CFL games, Canadians may get even more NFL games.

@KennyAlbert has been in a safe bubble in #Edmonton for the @NHL playoffs. The @NFL made up a rule where anyone who has been outside the U.S. has to #quarantine for 14 days to call a game on site. #Canada is safer than any NFL city right now. https://t.co/ljs9aEMSTr

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) September 12, 2020

Kenny Albert has been in one of the safest places in North America in the NHL bubble in Edmonton for NBCSN. Albert was scheduled to leave the bubble to cover the NFL for Fox. The NFL has had this peculiar rule, even more odd since the NFL plays in London and Mexico City and used to play in Toronto. Albert flew from Edmonton through Toronto to Detroit when he found out en route that he wouldn't be able to call the NFL game.

Fox replaced Albert for the game in Detroit with Dick Stockton, who reportedly came in from Arizona. Edmonton, even outside the bubble, is safer than Arizona.

We profiled Kenny Albert's life in the bubble. The NHL gets full credit for how the bubbles in Edmonton and Toronto have gone. The NFL could learn something from the NHL.

The NFL rule doesn't specifically say Canada, yet the national announcers are either in Canada (Albert) or the United States (everyone else). Sam Rosen, who is calling NHL playoff games on the radio, isn't on Fox's list of NFL announcers.

logo credit: Buffalo Bills/NFL
Twitter capture: @canadian_xing

Toronto Raptors eliminated in second round of 2020 NBA playoffs

The Toronto Raptors had good moments in Game 7 with a 20-7 run at the end of the 1st quarter. The Raptors only scored 6 of the last 23 points in the 2nd quarter.

Sloppy play on unforced errors on turnovers did not help. Kyle Lowry fouled out late in the 4th quarter and could only watch from the sideline.

The 2019 NBA champions will not defend its title, eliminated in 7 games in the second round to the Boston Celtics.

The shot didn't involve 4 bounces like Kawhi Leonard's buzzer beater against Philadelphia in Game 7 in 2019. The OG Anunoby 3-point shot in Game 3 of this series will have its own chapter. The Kyle Lowry pass was almost as sensational.

The Raptors were down by 10 at the half in Game 3.

Toronto Raptors engineer the team's first ever playoff sweep

Toronto had a strong 3rd quarter in Game 6 but the Raptors didn't score over the final 4:24 of regulation.

Norman Powell had a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws, the last 5 points in the first OT. Powell then added 10 points in the second OT — 53% of the team's points in the second OT.

Marc Gosal slightly elevated his offence game after a significant haircut before Game 6. Gasol hit a pair of 3-pointers in Game 6. I like the Samson look but if a short haircut raises the offence, keep it short.

2020 Toronto Raptors NBA playoffs preview

Statistics aren't everything but this one is glaring. The Toronto Raptors didn't try a single free throw in the first half in Game 2. No made free throws; no attempts. Seems very NBA-unlike to happen. Fouls and shots but none for Toronto.

The Celtics won Game 2 by 3 points. The overall FT numbers in Game 2: Boston 23-25 vs. Toronto 16-19.

Toronto Raptors wrap up the 2020 NBA regular season in Orlando

The Raptors shooting ran hot and cold throughout the Boston series. Boston excelled at getting off to good starts. The Celtics had better shot opportunities even with excellent Toronto defence.

Raptors’ Kyle Lowry finds OG Anunoby for the buzzer-beating game-winner over Celtics in Game 3 pic.twitter.com/LDeQMqp4s0

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) September 4, 2020

The Raptors are now 3-3 in Game 7 chances. Toronto had won the previous 3 before last night.

The "road" team won all the games in this series. The problem was that Toronto was the higher seed. The Raptors would have been the higher seed against the Miami Heat. Miami swept the Indiana Pacers in 4 and dominated the #1 seed Milwaukee Bucks in 5 games.

2020 Toronto Raptors NBA playoffs scoreboard

TSN lead off the second run for Canadian telecasts. TSN got 4 games in this series vs. 3 games for Rogers Sportsnet. Overall in the postseason, TSN had 6 games to 5 for Rogers Sportsnet.

TNT had 4 of the 7 telecasts in this round with the other 3 games on ESPN. The Raptors did not air on ABC in the second round. ABC did carry a Milwaukee-Miami game in the series; neither market is terribly huge. We often nearby Buffalo as part of the Toronto market. While that might work in baseball, potential Raptors fans in Buffalo can't watch the team through cable. ESPN and ABC will have the Eastern Conference final in the United States.

CanadianCrossing.com NBA coverage

The Brooklyn Nets — the team the Raptors beat in the first round of the 2020 NBA playoffs — hired a new coach with a Canadian connection. Steve Nash, the greatest Canadian basketball player ever, signed a reported 4-year deal. This is Nash's first full-time coaching venture; he spent 5 seasons as a player development consultant with Golden State.

The Nets had numerous injuries and should look a lot better whenever the next NBA season starts up again. Kevin Durant, who sat out this season with injuries, worked with Nash in Golden State.

Toronto Raptors playoffs history

2020	Boston	3-4
2020	Brooklyn	4-0
2019	Golden State	4-2
2019	Milwaukee	4-2
2019	Philadelphia	4-3
2019	Orlando	4-1
2018	Cleveland	0-4
2018	Washington	4-2
2017	Cleveland	0-4
2017	Milwaukee	4-2
2016	Cleveland	2-4
2016	Miami	4-3
2016	Indiana	4-3
2015	Washington	0-4
2014	Brooklyn	3-4
2008	Orlando	1-4
2007	New Jersey	2-4
2002	Detroit	2-3
2001	Philadelphia	3-4
2001	New York	3-2
2000	New York	0-3

photo credit: NBA/TNT
video credit: NBA/TSN
Twitter capture: @BenGolliver

2020 Toronto Raptors NBA playoffs scoreboard

Editor's note: The schedule for this series will change due to postponements of NBA playoff games due to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI.

(2) Toronto vs. (3) Boston Boston wins series 4-3
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
August 30	Boston 112, Toronto 94	1p	ESPN	TSN
September 1	Boston 102, Toronto 99	5:30p	ESPN	Sportsnet
September 3	Toronto 104, Boston 103	6:30p	TNT	TSN
September 5	Toronto 100, Boston 93	6:30p	TNT	Sportsnet
September 7	Boston 111, Toronto 89	6:30p	TNT	TSN
September 9	Toronto 125, Boston 122 (2 OT)	6:30p	ESPN	Sportsnet
September 11	Boston 92, Toronto 87	9p	TNT	TSN

Times are Eastern Daylight
+ if needed

2020 Toronto Raptors NBA playoffs preview

CanadianCrossing.com NBA coverage

(2) Toronto vs. (7) Brooklyn Toronto leads series 3-0
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
August 17	Toronto 134, Brooklyn 110	4p	ESPN	Sportsnet
August 19	Toronto 104, Brooklyn 99	1:30p	NBA TV	TSN
August 21	Toronto 117, Brooklyn 92	1:30p	NBA TV	Sportsnet One
August 23	Toronto 150, Brooklyn 122	6:30p	TNT	TSN

Times are Eastern Daylight
+ if needed

2020 TIFF preview

We have a 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. A day shorter and a whole lot fewer films on the schedule. Fewer crowds and parties. A lot fewer attendees, thanks to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The show is going on.

Tonight's opening night film is David Byrne’s American Utopia from Spike Lee.

2020 TIFF Canadian film preview

TIFF added a couple of Canadian titles. Akilla's Escape, a crime-noir about an urban child-soldier directed by Canadian filmmaker Charles Officer, is one of 4 titles in the Planet Africa program. The Canadian documentary Underplayed by Stacey Lee focuses on gender inequality in the electronic music scene.

For all the Canadian related content, including short films, TIFF has the films listed by country. Select Country/Region on the left-hand menu and pick Canada.

When TIFF concentrated on Canadian films for the opening night film

2020 TIFF Rising Stars

Where and how the films will be shown are definitely unique. The Bell Lightbox will host some films with a maximum of 50 guests per indoor cinema. TIFF will screen films on Bell Digital Cinema, its online platform. Other venues include a pair of drive-ins and an open-air cinema.

Online films are geoblocked to all of Canada with a 24-hour viewing time limit. Canadians have an advantage in the 2020 TIFF, even watching films online is a lot cheaper than a Toronto hotel room.

Canadian film notebook: TIFF offering a digital version of Bell Lightbox

TIFF Bell Lightbox extends closure to July 1

Masks are required in the Bell Lightbox but not "when seated in-cinema." Wearing a mask is optional at TIFF’s outdoor screenings.

Canadian film review: I've Heard the Mermaids Singing

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

45 years of TIFF:
I'VE HEARD THE MERMAIDS SINGING, TIFF '87#TIFF20 pic.twitter.com/3QVf8xbZdc

— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) September 8, 2020

Needed a reminder of TIFFs from the past. We reviewed this film awhile back. This was a breakthrough film for Patricia Rozema. Maybe 2020 TIFF will help another Canadian film make a similar impact.

The 2020 Toronto International Film Festival runs today through September 19.

photo credit: Beans film
Twitter capture: @TIFF_net

Erin O'Toole wants to do significant damage to CBC Television and CBC News Network

"An O'Toole Government will modernise and reform the CBC. We will end funding for CBC digital and we will cut CBC English TV budget by 50%. Our plan will phase out TV advertising with a goal to fully privatise CBC English TV by the end of our first mandate.

We will preserve CBC Radio. It is commercial free and delivers public interest programming from coast to coast. We will also preserve Radio-Canada, which plays an important role connecting Quebecers and Francophones across Canada in their own language.

The world of broadcast media has changed dramatically but our public broadcaster is stuck in the past. The Family Feud is not the Canadian story. It's 2020. Canada has changed; the CBC must change."

These are the words of Erin O'Toole, the new Conservative Party leader and Official Opposition leader elected last month by Conservative Party members.

We don't support any specific party in our Canadian politics coverage. We do know we can't support a leader or a party that cuts CBC funding with such vigor as well as a vacation from logic.

Erin O'Toole to replace Andrew Scheer as Conservative Party leader

An ad-free CBC just one of the recommendations from a government panel report

CBC proposes $400 million increase to go ad-free

Modernise yet cut funding for digital is missing a lot of logic. The push to reduce CBC advertising in digital and television needs increased taxpayer funding that isn't threatened during a transition of government.

Preserving CBC Radio and Radio-Canada sounds good though increased funding is never mentioned. O'Toole is targeting support in Quebec so making no significant changes to Radio-Canada plays into that strategy. O'Toole is targeting Quebec and Francophones more than Andrew Scheer, the previous Conservative Party leader, did in his tenure.

Cutting the CBC English budget by 50%: the concept to cut the digital advertising and the English advertising (CBC Radio doesn't run commercials) is that the private media finds unfair in competing for Canadian advertising with the CBC. Privatising CBC English TV would put more pressure on limited Canadian advertising dollars. Where is the logic?

The heavy cuts to the CBC English budget isn't about Murdoch Mysteries, Baroness von Sketch Show, or Heartland. The heavy cuts are about CBC News.

The CBC is out of control and in need of reform. I’ll slash funding for English TV and CBC News Network, and end funding for digital news. Focus should be on CBC Radio and Radio Canada.

Add your name: https://t.co/HA2lG4G59d pic.twitter.com/N3gTtP12fA

— Erin O'Toole (@ErinOTooleMP) February 14, 2020

Conservatives don't like CBC News, no matter how nice or forgiving they are in their coverage. Jesse Brown of Canadaland takes a different path than we do on this topic. His argument is that the threats to CBC funding from the right affects their coverage negatively toward the Conservatives. We argue that there is an effect but the opposite effect where the CBC treats the Conservatives with kid gloves.

"The Family Feud is not the Canadian story." We can finally agree on something. We have been critical on CBC running too much foreign programming and reality programming. Family Feud Canada is an obvious target but most of the complaints against that show could also be made about Dragons' Den. The original show started in Japan; the U.S. for the game show.

This is the time where we mention Kevin O'Leary, who used to have a business show on the CBC (The Exchange from 2009-2014) and was an original host on Dragons' Den for the first 8 seasons, ran in the Conservative Party leadership race in 2017, where O'Toole finished third. O'Leary ran as an anglophone candidate but dropped out before the actual election.

Waiting for O'Toole to be critical of Dragons' Den. We won't hold our breath. As much as we dislike Family Feud Canada, the show is not in prime time unlike Dragons' Den or Fridge Wars.

We agree that the CBC could make smarter choices with funding, especially on the English TV side. We aren't in charge of funding the CBC so our criticism serves a more sincere purpose.

Andrew Scheer, in his departure speech, invited Canadians to "check out smart, independent, objective organisations that are growing all the time, like the Post Millennial or True North." You can choose to check out these sites but don't look for smart or independent or objective. In a time where the Canadian media landscape is overflowing with conservative bents and views, CBC News is a reasonably centrist news outlet.

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters issued a recent report that as many as 40 of the 94 private TV outlets and 200 Canadian radio stations could close down in the next 3 years. Canadians don't get a whole lot of news from private TV broadcasters across the country. CTV and Global have local and national newscasts while Citytv has only local newscasts.

The Tyee and The Walrus are well-done exceptions of independent, critical Canadian journalism.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

O’Toole’s platform says taxpayer dollars should not "fund CBC News Network, a channel no different from its private sector competitors." The only English language competitor would be CTV News Channel. The channels are similar in concept but they have distinct differences. CBC News Network showed the multiple hours of the Conservative Party leadership race giving the party extra time because of the party's snafus with the ballots. We have also noted that CBC stayed with the coverage, missing a Vancouver Canucks playoff game not for news but for waiting. That favourable treatment won't change O'Toole's mind about CBC funding.

Liberal governments, NDP, Green Party, even the Bloc Quebecois — none of them have spoken up on what the CBC should and should not do with taxpayer funding. They might want more investigative journalism on underreported news topics, a marvelous suggestion. Not the same as a government or a potential government going line by line as to what to expect.

The other parties would love to do something about the harsh treatment they received from conservative news outlets. Conservatives get wonderful treatment from the vast majority of the news outlets in Canada. They want complete control and domination of the major Canadian news markets. That is chilling.

Canada PM Stephen Harper says he prefers watching U.S. news

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-François Blanchet threatened to bring down the government, knowing he didn't have the power to bring down the government. O'Toole talked about being ready should the Liberals call a snap election. No federal party should think of calling for an election.

New Brunswick was basically forced into an election because the Progressive Conservatives were losing their majority within a minority.

When there is a federal election, the Conservatives will run on a platform to do extensive damage to the English TV branch of CBC. Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper talked about watching American news instead of Canadian news. The damage from Harper's draconian CBC budget cuts was severe and that was back in the day when the CBC made money from showing NHL games.

The Conervatives want O'Toole to be the next prime minister. A strong majority of Canadians want proper CBC funding. As long as draconian CBC cutbacks are on the Conservative agenda, their chances of running things in Ottawa aren't all that likely.

photo credit: CBC
Twitter capture: @ErinOTooleMP

When TIFF concentrated on Canadian films for the opening night film

David Byrne’s American Utopia is the opening night film of the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. The Spike Lee film is an easy choice for the opening night, especially with far fewer films available thanks to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The 2019 opening night film — Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band — was the first Canadian film to get the opening night status since 2010.

Score: A Hockey Musical was the 2010 opening night film. At that point in time, having a Canadian film as the TIFF opening film was rather common. Since then, TIFF has tried to go international in its approach to the frustration of Canadian filmmakers.

The previous decade was filled with Canadian films as the opening night film at TIFF. Let's look back at those films:

2010 Score: A Hockey Musical Noah Reid (Schitt's Creek) and Allie McDonald (Young Drunk Punk) were the romantic leads in a film that tried to force hockey in a musical. The musical part was fine; the hockey part was not. The memory I had was Reid's character winning the face-off to himself and then driving down and scoring all by himself, a play you would never see in a hockey game. Olivia Newton-John was an odd choice as Reid's mother in that she didn't sing. Reid and McDonald truly do their best in a film that produced unintentional laughter.

2008 Passchendaele This is the best of what can be categorised as "Paul Gross war films." Caroline Dhavernas definitely makes a difference in the World War I film.

2007 Fugitive Pieces A Canada-Greece co-production, the story of a Greek archeologist who saves a Polish orphan during World War II comes from Jeremy Podeswa, known for The Five Senses.

2006 The Journals of Knud Rasmussen is a Canadian-Danish film on traditional Inuit shamanistic beliefs. The film was co-directed by Zacharias Kunuk, known for Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner.

2005 Water This is the final and best known films of the Elements trilogy from Deepa Mehta. The film subsequently became Canada's entry to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and made TIFF's Top 10 Canadian films list.

2003 The Barbarian Invasions The Denys Arcand follow-up to the Decline of the American Empire remains the only Canadian film to win an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The film is also the only one on this list to win the Best Canadian Feature Film award at TIFF.

2002 Ararat This Atom Egoyan film won the Genie Award for Best Motion Picture, a story about a film crew working on a film dealing with the Armenian Genocide.

2001 Last Wedding The Bruce Sweeney film captures a number of inter-related relationships.

2000 Stardom Denys Arcand's take on celebrity obsession stars a then-unknown Jessica Paré as a hockey player turned model. This was the second film in a row Arcand did in English. The film is now 20 years old but was ahead of its time in several ways. The film still holds up well.

2020 TIFF Canadian film preview

Canadian film review: Stardom

There is an international flavour to some of these films from that decade. Back then, TIFF wanted to celebrate Canadian films by spotlighting them as the opening night feature. The festival moved away from that approach to be seen as a truly international film festival.

TIFF doesn't have to showcase Canadian film because the film is Canadian. The festival shouldn't ignore Canadian film that could be worthy of the opening night slot.

TIFF does have awards for Best Canadian Feature Film and Best Canadian First Feature Film. Then again, eyeballs usually pay attention to the opening night film as opposed to award winners once the festival has finished.

2019 TIFF Canadian film wrapup

2019 TIFF preview

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

At the end of each TIFF, we list the winners of the Best Canadian Feature Film and Best Canadian First Feature Film. This year's winners will come from a very shallow bowl in terms of quantity with only 5 full-blown Canadian films on the docket.

In 2019, Antigone won Best Canadian Feature Film. The film went on to be Canada's entry to the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. The Twentieth Century won the Best Canadian First Feature Film award.

Having those award winners does help promote Canadian film. Going fewer than 9 years in between a Canadian film serving as the TIFF opening night film would be better.

photo credit: The Barbarian Invasions film