Canadian Crossing

Mixed bag for Canada in Mike Myers' new film: Love Guru

The new Mike Myers film "Love Guru" pays homage to India, Canada, and the United States. So how did Canada do?

Well, only in the movies can the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup.

Myers (left in photo) is Canadian, as most of us know. He is the one who patterned "Stan Mikita's" in Wayne's World after the infamous Tim Hortons. So it's always fun when he sneaks in Canadian references.

The movie mentions that the last time the Leafs won the Cup was 1967, which is true. The NHL allowed Myers to use the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Los Angeles Kings, the uniforms and logos, and the home arenas (Staples Center in Los Angeles and Air Canada Centre in Toronto) were used.

SPOILERS PRETTY MUCH FROM HERE.

The owner in the movie (played by Jessica Alba, right in photo) is named Jane Bullard. She speaks of inheriting the team from her father. The longtime real owner of the team, Harold Ballard, has so similar a name that one has to think it's not a coincidence.

There is a running theme that if she shows her face to the fans that she will be booed and things thrown at her. When she finally appears late in the movie, she says that the fans should "kiss her Canadian ass."

Rob Blake, who is a real NHL player, plays himself in the movie. Blake was born in Simcoe, Ontario in Canada.

There are some "penalties" as it were on the movie. American comedians Jim Gaffigan and Stephen Colbert play the announcers, using the theme for Hockey Night in Canada and the official CBC HNIC logo. Yet they are stupid, don't try to sound Canadian, and don't add anything to the movie. And this is on top of Colbert's reference to the HNIC theme in his "Colbert Report" show on his June 10 episode.

Also, NHL referees can't call multiple game suspensions from the ice. The major Leafs hockey player gets a 2-game suspension from the referee on the ice. And he certainly didn't do enough to warrant anything other than a penalty within the game.

The movie also wraps up poorly, as if the game had to be decided in regulation. Hockey fans can tell you in the Stanley Cup playoffs, games go into overtime until somebody wins.

The references to Canada, like the movie, was mixed. It certainly didn't screw up any major Canadian references, but didn't really highlight them either. The movie had some good points, but needed help in several parts.

Photo from George Kraychyk / Paramount

John McCain in Ottawa: full text of the speech

Here is the full text of the speech from John McCain at the Economic Club in Ottawa. Thanks to cbc.ca for the link.

Thank you all very much. I appreciate the warm welcome to Ottawa, and the hospitality of the Economic Club of Canada. The reputation of the Economic Club as a place for serious discussion of policy is well known in America, and I am honored by your invitation. There aren't any electoral votes to be won up here in the middle of a presidential election. But there are many shared interests that require our attention today, and many Canadians here I am proud to call friends.

If you've been following the presidential election, you've probably noticed that Canada comes up for discussion quite a bit these days. And this is as it should be — because no other nation shares so many ties with the United States. And today the strength of that partnership is more vital than ever. The economic community we have founded, together with our alliance and the values we hold in common, have served our people for decades, and served us well. It will fall to the next president to strengthen these ties still further, adding to the security and prosperity of all of North America.

We in the United States are very lucky, in a way that's easy to take for granted. We are surrounded by two great oceans, and by two nations we count as friends. Think of the fate of other nations, and how much of their histories have been shaped by hostile neighbors. Generation after generation, they live in fear, resentment, and competition harmful to the interests of all. Lost in rivalry and distrust are the advantages of regional friendship and stability. What a blessing it is for the United States to have in Canada a neighbor we fear only on ice rinks and baseball diamonds.

The best American statesmen have always understood that Canada is not some adjunct to America. We are firm and fast friends. We are allies, partners in success and adversity alike, and a great deal depends on preserving that unity.

Trade is just a part of what unites us, but a very important part. Last year alone, we exchanged some 560 billion dollars in goods, and Canada is the leading export market for 36 of the 50 United States. This country stands as America's leading overall export market, and America is Canada's leading agricultural market. With 60 percent of all direct foreign investment in Canada originating in the United States — some 289 billion dollars in 2007 — our economies draw strength from one another.

John McCain speaking in Ottawa a major deal

It isn't your imagination: a U.S. presidential candidate speaking on Canadian soil. John McCain is scheduled to speak at the Economic Club in Ottawa today on free trade. I can't recall when a presidential candidate appeared on Canadian soil.

Here was my preview along with a look at the latest on free trade between Canada and the U.S. The two countries are each other's largest trading partner.

Canada much more progressive on being 'topless'

The United States is rather alone in the Western world in how it deals with topless situations. Unless the incidents occur in established nudist areas, women in the United States are not allowed to have their nipples exposed.

And that position puts the U.S. in a place where Canada does not exist: female nudity above the waist is illegal.

Now, we have a situation in Washington, D.C., of all places, where male topless behavior is now being wrapped up — as in a shirt.

The Washington Nationals ballpark was the scene. Benjamin Correia takes it from there in a letter to the editor of The Washington Post: "Around the third inning, a ballpark employee informed me and a friend that we would have to put our shirts back on."

"We pointed out the many other shirtless men," Correia continued, "and she assured us she was getting to them as well. We were dumbstruck."

(In a truly cruel irony, the Nationals used to be the Montréal Expos.)

It is my understanding that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that women can be topless in Canada. I'm pretty sure, ironically, that at the time of that ruling, the head of the Court was a woman. The term "topfree" is preferred in many circles over "topless." But I do know that some parts of Canada are more free about it than others, especially British Columbia and Ontario. And going to the supermarket in most areas wouldn't work.

Seeing a nipple as evil or immoral, regardless of gender, is truly a U.S. phenomena. It's only been fairly recently that laws were passed allowing public breastfeeding, though we see stories of women being harassed for feeding their children in public. In many other countries throughout the world, including Canada, nipples aren't a big deal.

But for North America, Canada is much more progressive than the U.S. on being topless. And that goes for men as well.

Canada issues apology to its First Nations people

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to the nation's First Nations people in "a sad chapter in our history" for a century of forced assimilation at residential schools. In the apology, physical abuses and cultural damage were acknowledged.

Like the United States, Canada has had a past where the original people of the land were abused and no treated well. But Canada has done way more than the U.S. with trying to make up for lost time.

One intriguing difference between the two countries. In much of the U.S. coverage, the references were to Canada's "Indians." Well, they aren't Indians in any sense, and Canada refers to them as First Nations people. In the U.S., we finally struggled to say Native Americans. The U.S. has a horrible legacy of sports team nicknames that go back to offensive terms:

Redskins (first Boston later Washington), Braves, (first Boston, then Milwaukee, and finally Atlanta), Indians (Cleveland, featuring Chief Wahoo), Fighting Illini (where a white guy dresses as an Illini brave and does a fake dance. And oh yeah, one of the most evil things in sports: the Tomahawk Chop. Started in Florida State (home of the Seminoles, with more white people dressed as a Native American) and made popular by Atlanta Braves fans. The chop, along with the offensive stereotypical chant, is horribly degrading.

The worst example you can find in Canada is the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos. The "Eskimos" are actually Inuit.

Colbert 'threatens' to take Canada treasure: HNIC theme

In Tuesday's episode, Stephen Colbert was doing a segment on Arctic treasures when he noted that this was the time for the U.S. "to grab the most precious Arctic treasure."

He meant the theme for Hockey Night in Canada.

[VIDEO: The theme is in the last 30 seconds of this clip, courtesy of the CBC.]

So he wasn't being serious, but the uproar over the end of the CBC's long-time use of the music synonymous with the Saturday night presentation of hockey coast-to-coast was a big deal north of the border.

Colbert joked that he was licensing the song since the music would make it more exciting to do American things. The "American things" Colbert did was wave a U.S. flag, eat a hot dog, and carry a gun.

TSN bought the song that had been the theme for Hockey Night in Canada for 40 years. There had been a dispute with CBC and the songwriter over the use and payments for the song. While the debate over whether the CBC would keep the theme, TSN grabbed it.

The CBC is a treasure, but is sometimes run by people who don't see the big picture. Losing the song is a PR nightmare that will truly ring hollow once the new NHL season starts, and TSN has the song.

The "Colbert Report" airs in Canada on the Comedy Channel at 11:30 p.m. Eastern and on CTV (sister network to TSN) at 12:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday nights.

View from Canada about U.S. political perspective

There are no regular U.S. journalist bureaus in Canada anymore, so when you get a U.S. perspective on Canada, you have to shout it as far as you can.

This article from the Chicago Tribune looks at Canadians' reactions to the primary season, particularly the length. The typical Canadian election cycle has a minimum of 36 days, though there obviously is jarring before the official announcement.

Not necessarily making a comparison over which method is better, but to point out one fact from the article:

"Canadians vote in pretty big numbers. In the past 10 national elections, turnout has ranged from 61 percent to 76 percent, significantly higher than in U.S. elections."

Perhaps if U.S. voters weren't burned out in the process, more of them would vote.

Canada shouldn't deport military deserters from the Iraq war back to the U.S.

The following essay was submitted for my day job. But since it's all about Canada, here it is. For the original, click here.

In the last 70 years, Canada has helped out in a lot of wars alongside the United States: World War II, Korean War, the first Gulf War, and, of course, Afghanistan.

There are two wars missing from that list: Vietnam and the Iraq War. And despite what Ann Coulter says, Canada wasn't in Vietnam. Canada is willing to go to war, but if Canada doesn't enter a war, there are probably some very bad reasons for going to war.

When some U.S. young men didn't want to go in the draft to Vietnam, they went to Canada. And Canada welcomed them. The Liberal government of Pierre Trudeau didn't have an issue with the protesters. According to the War Resisters Support Campaign, between 50,000 and 80,000 Americans sought refuge in Canada during the U.S. war in Vietnam.

But quietly, there is a new revolution of U.S. young people who are also selecting Canada. Of course, there is no draft, but these are U.S. soldiers who decided they just couldn't do it anymore. And unlike the Trudeau government, the Conservative government of current Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper isn't holding out the welcome mat.

In response, the Canadian House of Commons passed a non-binding resolution by a 137-110 vote to "immediately implement a program to allow conscientious objectors and their immediate family members . . . to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada."

The three other parties that have seats in Canada's Parliament: the Liberals, New Democratic Party, and Bloc Quebecois, voted for the resolution. The Conservatives, who have a minority government, voted against the resolution. This is why the legislation is non-binding.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter established programs not just for war resisters but for military absentees and AWOLs. This from the American Friends Service Committee:

Similarly, military deserters and AWOL's could apply for a limited pardon if there were no other charges pending. Under the Carter program deserters would automatically receive a less than honorable discharge ("Undesirable"), but could apply for an upgrade later. The upgrade would not be automatic and few veterans received them. They were barred from receiving veterans benefits, unlike many other vets with less than honorable discharges. Military resisters had to apply for relief within a certain time frame, about 5-6 months, during 1977. Only 4,200 of them were considered eligible for the program; less than 25% of them were processed and received the less-than-honorable discharge. The program allowed for a case-by-case review of potentially another 430,000 cases of veterans with bad discharges; yet only 16,277 benefited from this procedure.

Provided Barack Obama wins in November, he will have to decide what to do about those soldiers who did leave for Canada.

Canada has established its role on the world stage as a moral center in the 70 years where it has had that power. The first time Canada was able to declare war was WWII, but before 1931, Canada didn't have the power to declare war.

It took great moral courage to stand up for what was right and not send troops to Vietnam. And in 2003, Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien showed that same courage and refused to allow Canadian troops to fight in Iraq.

Prime Minister Harper has not shown moral courage, but more like wanting to suck up to George W. Bush. And his response is to send U.S. soldiers back to the United States, such as Corey Glass, a 25-year-old deserter who came to Canada two years ago and who faces deportation by June 12.

It hasn't been just war deserters either: Ann Wright and Medea Benjamin were banned from Canada for being convicted in the United States of peaceful, non-violent protests against the war on Iraq.

It is not in the instinct for soldiers or potential soldiers to not fight in a war, and it is not the instinct of countries to avoid war. So when the instinct kicks in, we really need to pay attention and respect those decisions. If we get progressive leadership in this country, we can get the troops home and properly deal with the military deserters. But we also need to nudge Canada, and specifically the Conservative government, to reflect back on the country's long-time status as a moral center in the world.

Molly Parker in Swingtown

Molly Parker is one of my favorite Canadian actresses. I first discovered her in Twitch City, an offbeat Canadian TV show about a man who never leaves his apartment.

The frustration with explaining who Parker is stems from the lack of American attention to her projects, though she was in Deadwood so my friends who have HBO (very few of those) could find out about her.

Parker was great in Canadian films such as The Five Senses and Marion Bridge.

Parker is in a new CBS summer series entitled Swingtown about the 1970s. Amusingly, her TV husband is British actor Jack Davenport (with Parker in bottom picture), famous for Coupling, so you have a Brit and a Canadian playing a couple in 1970s Chicago suburbia. Swingtown airs Thursday nights on CBS at 10 pm EDT.

I haven't seen the show yet as it makes its debut tonight, so hoping for a good script and showing Parker in a good light.

Then again, I was praising another Canadian actress that almost no one had heard of, and later she became famous: Sandra Oh. Yes, she had a career before Sideways and Grey's Anatomy. So you just never know.

photo from CBS

Congratulations Windsor, er, Detroit Red Wings, Stanley Cup champs

As close as Canada has come to the Cup, despite having finalists in the previous 3 Stanley Cup champions, the Stanley Cup will reside in Detroit after the Red Wings downed the Pittsburgh Penguins in 6 games.

When Versus and NBC showed the Detroit skyline, that mysterious land on the other side of the river was Canada. But like the previous 3 years, Canada can only look from afar.

And this was a year where a Canadian-based team was the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference (Montréal).

So congratulations to the Red Wings. At least the Cup is in an Original 6 city where it regularly snows, unlike Anaheim, Carolina, and Tampa Bay, the previous 3 winners. The cup would have looked so much better in Ottawa, Edmonton, and Calgary, respectively.

So for Montréal, Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, it's another off-season to ask what might have been.