Canadian Crossing

Confederation Line expands light-rail service in Ottawa

Visiting Ottawa, the capital of Canada, can be a fun experience. If you stay mostly downtown in your visit, you might not miss the fact that the capital city doesn't have a significant transportation presence beyond buses.

Launched last week, the new Confederation Line brings a west-east light-rail transportation option to downtown Ottawa. The new line runs from Tunney's Pasture (west) to Blair (east) with a connection to the Trillium Line aka the O-Train at the Bayview station.

The Confederation Line travels 12.5 kilometres (7.8 miles). The train even goes underground for 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) under Queen Street downtown.

The north-south Trillium Line runs from Bayview (downtown) to Greensboro, but nowhere near the airport (south of the city). When I first visited Ottawa in 2009, I took the 97 bus to and from the airport. Given that I was in an extreme hurry, there was a frustration that the 97 bus was the only option to get from the airport to downtown.

I did ride the Trillium Line in 2014. The ride was pretty good but the train didn't go too far. I didn't use the airport in that 2014 trip, taking a bus to and from Toronto.

You can take the 97 bus from the airport to the Hurdman stop on the Confederation Line and then take the train into downtown. That is an improvement.

The Confederation Line doesn't go to Kanata (far west) where the NHL Ottawa Senators play. The train will lessen the impact of that trip by reducing the time spent on a bus in rush hour to get to a Sens game. The Senators really need a downtown arena but the Eugene Melnyk saga is its own column.

I rode the bus to and from TD Place to watch the CFL Ottawa RedBlacks in 2014. OC Transpo has a great deal where a game ticket gets you on the bus for free to and from the game.

The Confederation Line is better suited for people who live in Ottawa as opposed to tourists. The line will allow tourists to travel faster and easier to destinations outside downtown.

The project had years of delays; the sinkhole downtown was the most memorable encounter.

Reflections on the Ottawa shooting

Ottawa's Byward Market: more than just a building

Toronto vs. Ottawa on the CFL battle over hot dog condiments

Seeing a CFL game in Ottawa

Ottawa impressions over a 3-day trip

Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver have extensive transportation systems. Vancouver benefited from the Olympic Line built for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Montréal is great if your stop is near the Metro. Bus service in Montréal doesn't run as often as it should. Toronto has a rather good system despite the TTC.

Calgary and Edmonton have great light rail. I rode those systems to football games there and were also good for the hockey arenas (old and new in Edmonton).

Winnipeg doesn't have a light-rail system. I walked a lot in downtown Winnipeg and took a long bus ride to see the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Book review: The Art of Diplomacy

Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada has a new book on The Art of Diplomacy

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

Ottawa and Winnipeg are the logical Canadian cities to get a light-rail system. When I was there in 2014, I talked to people who said I should explore more of Ottawa. Those tasks were difficult without a car. Both cities have a lot within their downtown corridors.

Climate change is crucial. The Canadian capital can set a good example to improve transportation and quality of life and reduce the number of cars on the road. Good transportation gets that closer to reality.

The city is talking about expanding the lines, maybe even to Kanata. This will take time. Getting to this point took a lot of money and effort. Ottawa is a capital city that deserves better transportation.

photo credit: OC Transpo

2019 TIFF Canadian film wrapup

#TIFF19 @canadagoose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film 🥇: ANTIGONE (dir. Sophie Deraspe) ⚖️ https://t.co/fz7ypK1bvm pic.twitter.com/267eu3nm4r

— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) September 15, 2019

The 2019 Toronto International Film Festival ended without a formal awards ceremony and released the award winners announcements via social media.

Antigone from Sophie Deraspe won Best Canadian Feature Film. The film is a modern adaptation of the classic Greek tragedy set in the immigrant experience in contemporary Montréal.

Kathleen Hepburn (Never Steady, Never Still) and co-director Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers won honourable mention for The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open in this category.

The Twentieth Century from Matthew Rankin won the Best Canadian First Feature Film award. The film takes on an imagining of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's formative years.

Jeff Barnaby's second film Blood Quantum finished as the second runner-up of the People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award.

The film has an intriguing premise of a zombie film where those with Indigenous blood are immune. I got a chance recently to see Rhymes for Young Ghouls, Barnaby's debut film. Brandon Oakes and Devery Jacobs are in both films. Let's say I'm more intriguing about Blood Quantum after seeing Barnaby's first film.

American films are often shot in Canada but those producers don't often use local talent, specifically directors, editors and designers.

The Directors Guild of Canada utilized the platform that is TIFF to draw attention to Hollywood executives that there is tremendous Canadian talent behind such hit shows as The Handmaid's Tale and Orphan Black. Canadians Paul Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin and Shane Vieau won Best Production Design for The Shape of Water at the 2019 Academy Awards.

The dedicated microsite offers a list of such talent with their credentials. The campaign ran in Toronto and Los Angeles during the run of the festival.

Speaking of the DGC, they sponsored DGC Ontario's Meet the Makers: Visionaries seminars at TIFF help filmgoers get an inner sense of the films they are enjoying. The seminars were free to the public.

Day 10 of our #tomneedsgrinder campaign. #TomHanks just tweeted about us. WOW how amazing is that, #BFF . Joelle says while the phone call was great, next time dinner and drinks, ok ? #ThankYou #love #wedidit #herocks https://t.co/CTNijuUBKr

— GrinderCoffeeGerrard (@GrinderCoffeeTO) September 9, 2019

The fun of TIFF is the joy outside the theatres, the interaction of fans with film stars. Grinder Coffee in Leslieville campaigned for fellow Canadian Ryan Gosling to stop by the coffee shop during TIFF 2018. Gosling took them up on the offer and left there with a "lovely feeling."

This year, Grinder Coffee targeted Tom Hanks, including a life-sized cardboard cutout of Hanks. Hanks took the place up on their offer but actually arrived after the cafe was closed. The visit worked out and now the cafe is 2-for-2 in celebrity luring.

CFL fans remember that Hanks was the guest of Martin Short and they watched the 2013 Grey Cup rooting for Hamilton in Regina. Hanks' character Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood first developed the TV show at the CBC in Toronto.

How Mister Rogers got his start on camera in Canada on the CBC

Canadian rock and roll documentary makes Independent Lens debut on PBS

Since you likely missed the opening gala presentation of Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band at TIFF 2019, the film will air on Bell Media's Crave in Canada. Co-executive producer Ron Howard announced just before the screening that “Magnolia is going to distribute the movie theatrically around the world."

So here's a curious #TIFF19 observation: Cineplex and Netflix do not get along. There are 9 Netflix films playing TIFF (including leading awards contenders MARRIAGE STORY, THE LAUNDROMAT, THE TWO POPES). Not *one* is screening in Cineplex's Scotiabank theatre, a major fest hub 🤔

— Barry Hertz (@HertzBarry) September 6, 2019

Streaming is pretty much a dirty word for the theatre industry as well as film festivals. Films from streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime are looked at through a different lens because of their distribution origins.

This year, Cineplex-owned Scotiabank Theatre, a major source of TIFF films, is refusing to show any film from a major streaming service during the run of the festival. Those films are being shown at the Bell Lightbox.

First credit for noticing goes to Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail for his astute observation. Hertz points out that Crave films did run at the Scotiabank Theatre.

Theatres want a 90-day theatrical window before movies go to streaming services. Netflix and Amazon Prime want shorter windows.

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Felicity Huffman is in a TIFF 2019 film Tammy's Always Dying with Anastasia Phillips from American actress turned Canadian-based director Amy Jo Johnson.

Huffman would be forgiven if the film wasn't primary in her thoughts these days. Huffman was sentenced Friday to 14 days in jail, a $30,000 fine, 250 hours of community service, and 1 year of supervised release for her role in the college admissions cheating scandal. Prosecutors wanted 30 days in prison, a $20,000 fine, and 1 year of supervised release.

Tammy, Huffman's character is described as "an alcoholic who's the life of the party when she's in her cups, but a sharp-tongued, vicious monster when sober."

Here are a bunch of Canadian films that pass the Bechdel test

A Canadian film idea to showcase female Canadian acting talent

Women Make Film from Mark Cousins is 14 hours long. Yes, that has to be said. The length is proof that women in film have made an impact, even if that isn’t enough.

The film played the Toronto International Film Festival. Women Make Film covers some 183 female directors around the globe.

"Most films have been directed by men. Most of the recognized so-called movie classics were directed by men. But for 13 decades and on all six filmmaking continents, thousands of women have been directing films, too. Some of the best films."

Tilda Swinton (also a producer) narrates those words at the beginning of the film. Jane Fonda, Adjoa Andoh, Thandie Newton, Kerry Fox, Sharmila Tagore, and Debra Winger also serve as narrators.

Women Make Film shows that women are making films just not the top films from a box office standpoint.

Cohen Media will release the film in theatres; Criterion Collection will stream the film; and Turner Classic Movies gets television rights. Kanopy will show the film in schools and public libraries.

2019 TIFF preview

2019 TIFF Canadian film preview

2019 TIFF Rising Stars

TIFF Rising Stars

We profiled the 2019 class of TIFF Rising Stars here. Here is the list from all the years.

2011 Sarah Allen, Katie Boland, Sarah Gadon, Keon Mohajeri

2012 Tatiana Maslany, Connor Jessup, Charlotte Sullivan, Charlie Carrick

2013 Megan Park, Johnathan Sousa, Evelyne Brochu, Cara Gee

2014 Shannon Kook, Sophie Desmarais, Alexandre Landry, Julia Sarah Stone

2015 Deragh Campbell, Stephan James, Aliocha Schneider, Karelle Tremblay

2016 Jared Abrahamson, Grace Glowicki, Mylène Mackay, Sophie Nélisse

2017 Daniel Doheny, Mary Galloway, Théodore Pellerin, Ellen Wong

2018 Devery Jacobs, Lamar Johnson, Michaela Kurimsky, Jess Salgueiro

2019 Kacey Rohl, Mikhail Ahooja, Nahéma Ricci, Shamier Anderson

Best Canadian Feature Film

I have added Roadkill, When Jews Were Funny, and Manufactured Landscapes to the films I've seen from this list.

Best Canadian Feature Film
Year	Film	Director
2019	Antigone	Sophie Deraspe
2018	The Fireflies Are Gone	Sebastien Pilote
2017	Les Affamés	Robin Aubert
2016	Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves	Mathieu Denis, Simon Lavoie
2015	Closet Monster	Stephen Dunn
2014	Felix and Meira	Maxime Giroux
2013	When Jews Were Funny	Alan Zweig
2012	Laurence Anyways	Xavier Dolan
2011	Monsieur Lazhar	Philippe Falardeau
2010	Incendies	Denis Villeneuve
2009	Cairo Time	Ruba Nadda
2008	Lost Song	Rodrigue Jean
2007	My Winnipeg	Guy Maddin
2006	Manufactured Landscapes	Jennifer Baichwal
2005	C.R.A.Z.Y.	Jean-Marc Vallée
2004	It's All Gone Pete Tong	Michael Dowse
2003	Les Invasions Barbares	Denys Arcand
2002	Spider	David Cronenberg
2001	Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)	Zacharias Kunuk
2000	Waydowntown	Gary Burns
1999	The Five Senses	Jeremy Podeswa
1998	Nô	Robert Lepage
1997	The Sweet Hereafter	Atom Egoyan
	The Hanging Garden	Thom Fitzgerald
1996	Long's Day Journey Into The Night	David Wellington
1995	Live Bait	Bruce Sweeney
1994	Exotica	Atom Egoyan
1993	Kanehsatake: 270 Years Of Resistance	Alanis Obomsawin
1992	Requiem Pour Un Beau Sans-Coeur	Robert Morin
1991	The Adjuster	Atom Egoyan
1990	H	Darrell Wasyk
1989	Roadkill	Bruce McDonald
1988	The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick	Allan Goldstein
1987	Family Viewing	Atom Egoyan
1986	Le Déclin De L'empire Américain	Denys Arcand
1985	Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga Of Hal C. Banks	Donald Brittain
1984	La Femme De L'hôtel	Léa Pool
Best Canadian Feature Film (1991-present); Excellence in Canadian Production (1984-1990).

 

Best Canadian First Feature Film

Haven't seen too many of these films: exceptions being Sleeping Giant, Marion Bridge, and Last Night. Finally saw Old Stone. Did see last year's entry Roads in February. Some of those titles are quite enticing.

Best Canadian First Feature Film
Year	Film	Director
2019	The Twentieth Century	Matthew Rankin
2018	Roads in February	Katherine Jerkovic
2017	Luk' Luk'l	Wayne Wapeemukwa
2016	Old Stone	Johnny Ma
2015	Sleeping Giant	Andrew Cividino
2014	Bang Bang Baby	Jeffrey St. Jules
2013	Asphalt Watches	Shayne Ehman, Seth Scriver
2012	Antiviral	Brandon Cronenberg
	Blackbird	Jason Buxton
2011	Edwin Boyd	Nathan Morlando
2010	The High Cost of Living	Deborah Chow
2009	The Wild Hunt	Alexandre Franchi
2008	Before Tomorrow	Marie-Hélène Cousineau
		Madeline Piujuq Ivalu
2007	Un Film Sans Fusil Continental	Stéphane Lafleur
2006	Sur La Trace D'igor Rizzi	Nöel Mitrani
2005	The Life And Hard Times Of Guy Terrifico	Louise Archambault, Michael Mabbott
2004	La Peau Blanche	Daniel Roby
2003	Love, Sex and Eating The Bones	Sudz Sutherland
2002	Marion Bridge	Wiebke Von Carolsfeld
2001	Inertia	Sean Garrity
2000	La Moitié Gauche Du Frigo	Philippe Falardeau
1999	Just Watch Me:	Catherine Annau
	Trudeau and The 70's Generation
1998	Last Night	Don McKellar
1997	Cube Vincenzo	Natali
As determined by the Toronto International Film Festival.

 

You can check out all the award winners. The 45th Toronto International Film Festival will be held September 10-20, 2020.

Twitter captures: @TIFF_net; @GrinderCoffeeTO; @HertzBarry
photo credit: Directors Guild of Canada

Canada election 2019: MacLean's, Citytv big losers in the first debate

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did a huge favour to Rogers, owners of MacLean's and Citytv. By calling the election on Wednesday instead of today, Trudeau added huge legitimacy to a debate that otherwise would have been considered outside of the election season. 

Unfortunately for Rogers and Trudeau, the prime minister was absent from the stage in Toronto Thursday night. Trudeau was there in the talking points of the other participants: Andrew Scheer, Jagmeet Singh, and Elizabeth May.

Let's examine how each of the participants handled the first debate:

Elizabeth May — May had a lot of specific answers on questions. She challenged Scheer when Paul Wells continually dropped the ball. She brought up the Chinese steel for the LNG deal. May gave praise to Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland when she didn't have to do so. She had the honesty to say if you are confident about how to handle China, you weren't being straight with people.

Andrew Scheer — Scheer didn't go after Trudeau for most of the debate. Singh and May (or May and Singh) excelled at going after Scheer and were effective in their attacks. Scheer couldn't answer questions with great regularity. Robot Scheer came through in his closing statement. "Health care" and "education" were the robot mantras for the night. Scheer brought up a return to "ethics." Given the large number of Harper scandals, "ethics" is one of the words Scheer shouldn't mention.

Jagmeet Singh — Singh nodded along with the Greens but offered few specifics unlike May. Singh excelled in personal examples from constituents he met. Singh pushed through the idea of Ford Cuts in Ontario to Scheer. Singh was talking past Wells and the camera straight to seats in the GTA and beyond in Ontario.

Paul Wells — Most debate moderators try to remain neutral. Wells failed massively. Our expectations were not high and Wells still failed. Softball questions to Scheer but not his opponents. Wells would ask questions to try and trip up May (proposal to punish SNC Lavalin with community service) and Singh (LNG deal in BC) but didn't ask similar questions to Scheer. At times, he let May and Singh go on and let Scheer be silent. That helped Scheer because he couldn't respond to the attacks nor answer basic questions. Wells slammed Singh on a Brexit question to not go off-topic. Scheer then went off Brexit to China, but no reproach from Wells. May held Scheer more accountable than Wells did. Wells threw in questions that had nothing to do with the topic and picked awkward questions as if this was his fiefdom.

Citytv — As poor a job as Wells did, Citytv was much worse. The background looked faded and whiter than Scheer. Its economy segment was only business and not one of those concerned workers. Its primary panel and other panels were so rushed that quick answers with little thought were the only options. May had some microphone issues early on; Singh had microphone problems throughout the debate; the Indigenous leaders had huge microphone issues; Scheer had no microphone issues.

Things brought up in the debate I still want to know:

• May asked Scheer about whether he would revoke the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States. Would he?
• BC wineries might be in trouble over a trade deal, but couldn't tell if that was CUSMA | USMCA or some other trade deal.
• Scheer said 95% of Canadians are already eligible for prescription coverage. Twitter says that isn't close to true. What are the actual numbers?
• Is Canada using Chinese steel in the LNG deal in British Columbia? If so, why?
• Canada is 59th in the world in peacekeeping. Would like to know where Canada was 4 years ago.

The worse that Wells and Citytv did, the better Trudeau looked for not showing up. Trudeau should have been there but he did miss the train wreck of the presentation. The Leaders Commission Debates will eliminate the issue of the lone moderator by using several questioners.

2019 Canada election preview

We mentioned during the election preview on Wednesday about how Elections Canada can impact what environmental groups can do on climate change.

Just Ask is a way for Canadian content creators to talk to politicians

Canadians will feel loss of satirists such as Rick Mercer in the 2019 Canadian election

Hasan Minhaj gets a second round with Justin Trudeau on Patriot Act

Discounts always sound good even when they come with a catch. The Conservative Party set a very low price of $11,500 for the fee to cover party leader Andrew Scheer through the whole campaign.

The New Democratic Party is charging $45,000 to media outlets to travel with party leader Jagmeet Singh.

The 2015 race was almost twice as long: the Conservatives charged $70,000 versus the Liberals and NDP at about $50,000.

A significant discount on the fee could be seen as a party contribution. The few journalists left in Canada to cover the race could be tempted to have that discount influence the coverage. Responsible journalists will not fall for the lure of a discount.

Looking back at 2015 before the 2019 Canadian election

The Green Party technically has 3 federal incumbents as the election starts. Elizabeth May and Paul Manly, who won a by-election in May, were joined by Pierre Nantel, a NDP 2-time incumbent from Quebec.

The NDP dumped Nantel because he was reportedly flirting with another party. Then we found out Nantel is running for re-election in the Longueuil–Saint-Hubert riding, south of Montréal, for the Green Party.

Nantel won his seat by 703 votes in 2015.

The NDP has had strength in Quebec stretching back to the orange wave in the 2011 election. The Green Party threatens that in Quebec and elsewhere in the 2019 election.

Constituents don't normally like their MP or MPP to switch parties in the middle of a term. Nantel is being upfront before the election starts about a party change.

CanadianCrossing.com New Brunswick coverage

New Brunswick doesn't have a federal or provincial member of the NDP in office. That isn't likely to change in the 2019 election.

The announcement of 14 NDP members in New Brunswick switching to the Green Party was a bit of a jaw drop. So was the news that not all 14 are jumping at all.

There are 3 Greens in the New Brunswick legislature.

There was a commotion involving rumours of a merger between the parties and one defector's allegations over people being uncomfortable with Singh's Sikh religion.

Jagmeet comme vous ne l’avez jamais vu.

Il est prêt à se battre pour vous, pour affronter l’urgence climatique et pour que les plus riches paient leur part.

Découvrez-le dans cette toute nouvelle vidéo où il se présente aux https://t.co/OKRCmc5M1g! 🔽 pic.twitter.com/qEVnoQeiGL

— NPD_QG (@NPD_QG) September 3, 2019

The NDP really needs support in Quebec. Bill 21 bans workers of the state (doctors, lawyers, teachers) from wearing representations of their faith (hijabs, turbans, yarmulkes) while on the job.

The party released this ad en Francaise. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is shown briefly not wearing his turban in the ad. Singh points out (in translation) that "like you, my identity is my pride. I understand every injustice and have learned to fight against them — and now, I'm ready to fight for you."

I don't claim to understand the Sikh position on covering the head and I definitely have lots of issues with Bill 21. Singh is rolling the dice presumably by giving up something of importance to him and his faith for the greater good of the party's success in Quebec.

We don't know how many (if any) of the NDP candidates in the province have identifiable religious garments. The leader is the visible entity. We will be highly curious to see if the ad makes an impact to improve the chances of the NDP in Quebec.

2019 Canadian politics preview

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

The Calgary Flames preseason at home starts tomorrow but we don't know when (if?) George Canyon will sing O Canada for Flames fans. 

Canyon, the team's anthem singer since 2014, is running for Parliament from the Central Nova riding in Nova Scotia.

Canyon is the second Conservative Party candidate for the riding. Westville, NS Mayor Roger MacKay pulled out of the federal election for "personal reasons."

Canyon considered running for the Conservatives in the Bow River riding in southern Alberta in 2015. He withdrew the nomination due to a health scare.

Former Progressive Conservative leadership race candidate Peter MacKay was in the Central Nova riding before the 2015 election, though MacKay (no obvious relation to Roger MacKay) didn't run for re-election in the last campaign. Peter's father Elmer also represented the riding.

Liberal incumbent Sean Fraser is running for the riding as well as Betsy MacDonald (NDP) and Barry Randle (Green Party).

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May ran in Central Nova in 2008 against Peter MacKay. Brian Mulroney represented the riding to get into Parliament but that was before he was prime minister.

NDP House Leader Ruth Ellen Brosseau worked in a bar and went on vacation during her initial run in 2011. So Canyon could run and still sing a few anthems.

photos credit: Citytv; Rogers Sportsnet West
Twitter capture: @NPD_QG

2019 NHL preseason schedule

Unlike 2018, the 2019 NHL preseason schedule for Canadian teams will be confined to North America with all but 4 games on Canadian soil. The Canadian preseason spectrum reaches from Victoria, BC to St. John's, NF.

Kraft Hockeyville will be in Renous, New Brunswick featuring the Montréal Canadiens on September 18. The game will actually be played in Bathurst, NB at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre.

The Vancouver Canucks will spotlight British Columbia with games in Abbotsford and Victoria. The Battle of Ontario will clash in St. John's.

Montréal will not host a preseason game at the Centre Videotron in Québec City. We're surprised, too.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Here is the NHL preseason schedule involving Canadian teams. All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time.

September 16

New Jersey (ss) @ Montréal, 7p
Vancouver (ss) @ Calgary (ss), 9p
Winnipeg @ Edmonton, 9p
Calgary (ss) vs. Vancouver (ss), 10p (Victoria, BC)

September 17

Ottawa vs. Toronto, 5:30p (St. John's, NF)
Edmonton @ Vancouver, 10p

September 18

Montréal vs. Florida, 7p (Hockeyville — Renous, NB)
Toronto @ Ottawa, 7:30p
Minnesota @ Winnipeg, 8p
San Jose @ Calgary, 9p

September 19

Florida @ Montréal, 7p
Vancouver @ Edmonton, 9p

September 20

Buffalo @ Toronto, 7p
St. Louis @ Winnipeg, 8p
Calgary @ Edmonton, 9p

September 21

Toronto @ Buffalo, 7p
Montréal @ Ottawa, 7:30p
Vancouver vs. Los Angeles, 9p (Salt Lake City, UT)

September 22

Calgary @ Winnipeg, 8p

September 23

Toronto @ Montréal, 7p
Ottawa vs. Vancouver, 10p (Abbotsford, BC)

September 24

Winnipeg @ Calgary, 9p
Arizona vs. Edmonton, 9p

September 25

Montréal @ Toronto, 7p
Ottawa @ Vancouver, 10p

September 26

Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 8p
Arizona @ Vancouver, 10p
Calgary @ San Jose, 10:30p

September 27

Toronto @ Detroit, 7:30p

September 28

Ottawa @ Montréal, 7p
Detroit @ Toronto, 7p
Edmonton @ Calgary, 9p

September 29

Winnipeg @ Minnesota, 2p

This is the NHL Network live game schedule. Rogers Sportsnet and TSN will provide the Canadian feeds. There will be plenty of condensed tape-delayed versions.

September 16 Calgary (ss) vs. Vancouver (ss), 10p (Victoria, BC)
September 17 Ottawa vs. Toronto, 5:30p (St. John's, NF)
September 18 Montréal vs. Florida, 7p (Hockeyville Canada at Renous, NB)
September 22 Calgary @ Winnipeg, 8p
September 26 Arizona @ Vancouver, 10p
September 27 Toronto @ Detroit, 7:30p
September 28 Detroit @ Toronto, 7p

This is the Rogers Sportsnet preseason schedule. Games will run on Sportsnet One unless noted * on Sportsnet. The only games on Rogers Sportsnet are Saturday night contests featuring the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Ottawa Senators get a rare preseason telecast on Sportsnet because the team is playing Vancouver.

September 16 Calgary (ss) vs. Vancouver (ss), 10p (Victoria, BC)
September 17 Edmonton @ Vancouver, 10p
September 18 Montréal vs. Florida, 7p (Kraft Hockeyville Canada at Renous, NB)
September 19 Vancouver @ Edmonton, 9p
September 20 Buffalo @ Toronto, 7p
September 21 Toronto @ Buffalo, 7p*
September 25 Ottawa @ Vancouver, 10p
September 26 Arizona @ Vancouver, 10p
September 27 Toronto @ Detroit, 7:30p
September 28 Detroit @ Toronto, 7p*

photo credit: NHL

2019 CFL Week 14 preview

Interest in the CFL is heating up, so putting ⅓ of the CFL teams on the sidelines is a curious decision.

ESPN2 is back with the very late Friday night game, even if not a school night. Ottawa goes a long way to Vancouver to battle the BC Lions.

The Saturday doubleheader has East going West. Hamilton is in Calgary for a afternoon contest with Montréal in the early evening in Regina. Hopefully, the game in Regina will last the full 60 minutes.

Edmonton, Toronto, and Winnipeg get to watch their fellow CFL players from a safe distance on TV.

ESPN2

Friday
Ottawa @ BC, 10p

TSN

Friday
Ottawa @ BC, 10p
Saturday
Hamilton @ Calgary, 4p
Montréal @ Saskatchewan, 7p

Bye week: Edmonton, Toronto, Winnipeg

Toronto defeated the BC Lions in Vancouver to end the 2017 regular season. That was the last Argonauts road win until Saturday in Ottawa. Toronto went all of 2018 and more than half of 2019 before posting a road win.

Ottawa looked pretty good in the first half. The RedBlacks didn't intercept too many passes and McLeod Bethel-Thompson hadn't thrown too many recently. Yet Ottawa had 2 interceptions in the first half. The Argos had the halftime lead and increased that lead in the second half.

The 29-point difference in the 46-17 win was the largest margin for the Argos since a 38-6 win over Montréal in 2017.

Vernon Adams Jr. as an individual has 10 rushing TDs. Toronto snapped a 12-game streak of having no rushing TDs as a team. Derel Walker got Toronto's first rushing TD of 2019, a 1-yard run in Ottawa. James Wilder Jr. added a rushing TD later, one of 3 touchdowns for him on the day.

The Argos are only a game behind Ottawa for third place in the East.

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The Banjo Bowl did wonders for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The split over the week with Saskatchewan kept Winnipeg in first place with Andrew Harris returning next week.

Chris Streveler had 186 passing and 70 rushing yards. He threw for 2 majors and ran for 2 more. Johnny Augustine only had 44 yards on the ground but had a 58-yard touchdown reception.

The Blue Bombers now have a 1½ game edge on Calgary and Saskatchewan and are still perfect at home.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Edmonton has a 2½ game lead on Ottawa for the crossover. The Esks other consolation is that the team doesn't have to play Calgary anymore this season. Edmonton is 6-3 against the rest of the league but 0-3 against the Stampeders.

Trevor Harris suffered an upper body injury. Logan Kilgore filled in for Harris. The Esks have a bye so we'll know more next week about whether Kilgore or Harris will start.

Mike Reilly stands alone in taking the vast majority of snaps for a CFL team.

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BC had won 4 straight in Montréal and the last 7 overall versus the Alouettes but this is a different Montréal club. They did just enough to get past the Lions for the team's third straight win. The Lions had 4 scores vs. 3 for the Alouettes but the Montréal scores were all major plays.

Both teams were coming off the bye and played a sluggish first quarter. The play was so bad that Chris Cuthbert made a Packers-Bears joke that Glen Suitor found very funny.

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Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor got plenty of travel miles with a stop in Montréal and a quick turnaround the next day to Edmonton.

Rod Black and Matt Dunigan drew the lucky straw and got to call the Banjo Bowl in Winnipeg. Gord Miller made his 2019 CFL debut with Duane Forde in the nation's capital.

For those scoring at home, Dustin Nielson is ahead of Gord Miller 2-1 in appearances.

Cuthbert and Miller will be busy over the next 2 weeks splitting 6 Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators preseason games (4 telecasts for each team and they play each other twice).

Brian Pallister, PCs lose seats but win a second term in Manitoba

Brian Pallister and the Progressive Conservatives won a second term as premier of Manitoba. That isn't significant news. The hastily called election was timed to give the PCs more power. Pallister said the election was called early this year so as to not interfere with the Manitoba 150th celebration in 2020.

The PCs won 36 seats, down from 40 in 2016 and 38 when the election was called. The opposition NDP now have 18 seats, up from 14 in 2016 and 12 before the election. The Liberals went from 4 seats to 3 seats, significant in that 4 marks official status in the Manitoba legislature. A Manitoba Party MLA and 2 independents won't be back.

Pallister claimed victory even with fewer seats in that they still have a strong majority. Opposition leader Wab Kinew claimed victory because the party picked up seats.

In a province with an Indigenous opposition leader, the 2019 election will be remembered for Manitoba electing black people to the legislature. In a province that has never elected a black person, Manitoba voters selected 3 black people.

• Uzoma Asagwara (NDP) became the first simply because her riding was called earlier. Asagwara will represent the Union Station riding.
• Jamie Moses (NDP) won in St. Vital, defeating a Metis woman incumbent.
• Audrey Gordon (PC) in the Southdale riding battled back and forth all night before winning the riding.

Gordon was the only PC candidate in that category. The NDP and Liberals each had 5 black candidates running in the 2019 election. The Green Party doesn't keep those numbers.

Green Party leader James Beddome ran and lost in Fort Rouge. David Nickarz, the Green Party candidate in Wolseley, had the best chance of winning a seat. Nickarz ended up giving the speech with Beddome at his side.

Liberal Party leader Dougald Lamont did win his seat in St. Boniface, the riding previously held by NDP premier Greg Selinger. The Liberals only seats are in Winnipeg.

2019 Manitoba election preview

Brian Pallister, Progressive Conservatives end NDP reign in Manitoba

CanadianCrossing.com Manitoba coverage

The election was full of attacks on Kinew from the PCs and a few jabs at Pallister over the extensive time spent in Costa Rica. Kinew mentioned in his speech that calling Pallister was a "local call."

Health care cuts were a significant issue in the campaign, especially in Winnipeg. The reaction did help the NDP cause for a few more seats.

Pallister's speech was as boring and uninformative as his fellow conservatives speeches in Alberta and Prince Edward Island were angry. This was more like the boss calling you win to tell you everything is fine and on the right path and before you know it, you are back at your desk wondering what happened.

The highlight was the mention of the Manitoba bison. Pallister said the PCs were like the bison in that they always face the challenges coming at them.

On a night where 3 black people were elected, Pallister gave a speech surrounded by old white men. There was a young woman standing behind Pallister (who is apparently rather tall). His party elected one of the 3 black people.

2019 Canadian politics preview

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

The CBC coverage features a "Manitoba Votes" cafe where average voters weigh in on subjects important to them. The concept was fine but everyone was packed into one large studio. The panel included Kelvin Goertzen, a MLA from Steinbach who won re-election for the PCs. Goertzen easily won his seat.

The voting percentage in 2016 was 57.4%. The lower turnout could be due to a late summer election that came a year early.

photos credit: CBC Winnipeg

2019 Canada election preview

The writ will drop this morning. The 2019 Canada federal election will be underway.

The 2019 Canada federal election cycle is likely to be more mean-spirited and far more boring than the 2015 Canada federal election. You should pay attention anyway.

The 2019 federal election will be on October 21. This will be a 40-day campaign. You might recall that then-PM Stephen Harper gave Canada an extraordinarily long 78 days campaign in 2015.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals are running for a second term as the party in power. Trudeau and Elizabeth May (Green) are the only federal party leaders from the 2015 election.

The Liberals currently have 177 seats in the 338-seat Parliament, down from 184 seats in the 2015 election. The Conservatives are at 95 seats, down from 99 in 2015. The NDP have 38 seats, down from 44 in 2015. Bloc Quebecois are steady at 10 seats from 2015 but that took a lot of work and new leadership. The Greens have 3 seats, up from 1 in 2015.

The People's Party (Maxime Bernier) and Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (former New Democrat Erin Weir) each has a single MP. There are 8 independent MPs and 5 vacant seats.

The 2019 election campaign will not be decided by campaign slogans. The parties do have them:

Liberals — Choose Forward.
Conservatives — It's time for you to get ahead.
NDP — In it for you.
Green Party — Not left. Not right. Forward together.
Bloc Quebecois — Le Québec, c'est nous. (Quebec is us.)
People's Party of Canada (aka Maxime Bernier) — Strong and free.

Jagmeet Singh wins NDP leadership race on first ballot

Andrew Scheer is the new Conservative Party leader

Andrew Scheer took over as Conservative leader on May 27, 2017. Jagmeet Singh became the NDP leader on October 1, 2017.

Yves-Francois Blanchet has only been the leader of the Bloc Québécois since January 17. Blanchet is running in the Beloeil-Chambly riding. The Bloc Quebecois had a defection under the leadership of Martine Ouellet but those members came back. Bernier became the People’s Party leader on September 14, 2018.

Just Ask is a way for Canadian content creators to talk to politicians

Canadians will feel loss of satirists such as Rick Mercer in the 2019 Canadian election

Hasan Minhaj gets a second round with Justin Trudeau on Patriot Act

The debate over debates in 2015 spoke volumes about the leaders. There is slightly less controversy about who is in the debates.

The newly created Leaders Debates Commission organized 2 debates: October 7 (English) and October 10 (French).

The Bloc Quebecois will be at these debates. The People's Party has not qualified at the moment for the official debates.

Looking back at 2015 before the 2019 Canadian election

As we noted on Sunday, there is a debate with the Rogers properties MacLean's and Citytv Thursday night in Toronto. The Munk School of Global Affairs foreign policy debate will be on October 1. The Bloc Quebecois and People's Party are not invited to these debates.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has committed to the Leaders Debates Commission debates and the TVA debate (October 2) but not the MacLean's and Munk debates.

2019 Canadian politics preview

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

Now that the election is underway, the rules change significantly. 

We love Elections Canada. We think the United States would greatly benefit from a similar concept. We think Elections Canada got one thing wrong.

The ruling centres on climate change. The People's Party of Canada aka Maxime Bernier thinks "there is no climate change urgency in this country." Bernier tweeted out "CO2 is not pollution. It's what comes out of your mouth when you breathe and what nourishes plants."

If Bernier were back with the Conservatives as a backbencher, this wouldn't be an issue. Bernier is the leader of a party of one, so this is an issue. Elections Canada said running ads on the dangers of climate change could be deemed partisan activity since they go against the beliefs of a party. Then that group would have to register with Elections Canada, provided there are "activities or ads that specifically identify a candidate or party" with a cost of $500+.

Environmental groups are worried about the term "partisan" since that could jeopardize their charitable status. The Harper Government targeted Canadian environmental groups in 2012 in a witch hunt claiming they were abusing their tax status with "partisan" activities. You can forgive those environmental groups if they are a bit jumpy.

Enforcement will be based on reporting to Elections Canada.

If you followed the 2015 campaign, we featured weekly notebooks full of fascinating information about the electoral process. The 2019 notebooks will run on Sundays because, quite frankly, the weeks will be quite busy with the rest of Canada.

photo credit: here

Just Ask is a way for Canadian content creators to talk to politicians

The growing digital threat to Canadian content weighs on the minds of those who create that content. In the fall Canadian federal election cycle, content creators want politicians to say where they stand on Canadian content.

The Just Ask non-partisan campaign (Je m’implique en Francaise) is designed to get content creators to go to an election-related event and ask a question pertinent to their industry.

The Web sites (English | French) help people find out practical information in the riding where they live.

The campaign involves the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

Pablo Rodriguez takes over as Heritage Minister from Melanie Joly

Creative Canada sounds promising but so much is still unknown

Liberals want to revamp Canadian Content rules

Canada's cable TV reforms could deal blow to Canadian content

CRTC reducing requirements to carry Canadian content

What the 2015 Canadian federal election means to CBC and other arts funding

Elections are a time to inquire to politicians about whether they will address your concerns. Too often, people can't or don't take advantage of that time.

We saw a lot of activity from Melanie Joly when she was the Heritage Minister. We haven't seen or heard too much since Pablo Rodriguez took over the portfolio in a cabinet shuffle over a year ago.

The Netflix deal has been good and troublesome and perhaps both for some Canadian content creators. The Netflix deal is not the only concern.

Made Nous and other ways to promote Canadian content

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

If there is a primary agenda, the top query on the site encourages pledgers to ask candidates if they’ll "support both legislation and regulation requiring all players that benefit from the Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications systems to invest in the creation of original Canadian programming?"

Other notable topics include funding and tax credits for arts & culture, protections for precarious workers, copyright protection, public broadcasting and promoting diversity, as well as inclusion and respectful workplaces in the cultural sector.

Helping CBC Part I: Show more Canadian content

Helping CBC Part II: Making money through cable channels

Helping CBC Part III: Filling programming holes

How Canadian should Canadian TV be?

This combines my love for Canadian content and interest in Canadian politics. We will be very curious if that movement makes an impact on the political scene, regardless of the results of the 2019 federal election.

photo credit: JustAsk2019.ca

Bianca Andreescu makes Canadian history with singles title at 2019 U.S. Open

Bianca Andreescu did what Milos Raonic (2016 Wimbledon) and Genie Bouchard (2014 Wimbledon) could not do: Andreescu is the first Canadian to win a singles title in a Grand Slam tournament.

Bianca Andreescu vs. Serena Williams. Andreescu was up 3-1 in the first set before Williams retired with an upper back injury in the Rogers Cup (aka Canadian Open) on August 11. Less than a month later, Andreescu and Williams were reunited at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the 2019 U.S. Open women's singles final.

Andreescu dominated with a 6-3 win in the first set. She went up 5-1 in the second set and was seemingly coasting to an easy second set win. Williams had struggled with first serves and Andreescu was more than ready to respond to the second serves.

Williams rallied in the second set to tie at 5-5. Andreescu got the momentum back going up 6-5 and won without a tiebreaker in the second set, defeating Williams 6-3, 7-5 to win the 2019 U.S. Open.

Congratulations @Bandreescu_! 🇨🇦 You’ve made history and made a whole country very proud. #SheTheNorth https://t.co/W98v1lUN9o

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) September 7, 2019

The list of accomplishments:

• first Canadian to win singles in a Grand Slam event
• #5 ranking, the highest ranking for any Canadian woman (tied with Eugenie Bouchard)
• first U.S. Open winner in her main-draw debut

On that August day in Toronto, Andreescu became the first Canadian to win that tournament since Faye Urban in 1969.

Andreescu's path at the U.S. Open took her past Katie Volynets, Kirsten Flipkens, Caroline Wozniacki, Taylor Townsend, and Elise Mertens before defeating Belinda Bencic in the semifinal and Serena Williams in the final.

Her 2019 journey has taken her to wins at Indian Wells, Toronto, and now New York City with the U.S. Open title. Andresscu's overall record is 34-4, 8-0 against top 10 opponents. #SheTheNorth indeed.

Milos Raonic advances to Wimbledon final (2016)

Canadian sports notebook: Bouchard falls short at Wimbledon (2014)

Genie's Army gets set for Bouchard Wimbledon final

Bouchard, Raonic in Wimbledon quarterfinals

Eugenie Bouchard opening eyes to Canadian tennis

Andreescu, 19, consoled Williams after the Rogers Cup match was brought to an early end. Williams said early on in the U.S. Open that she thought Andreescu would be in the U.S. Open final.

SHE THE CHAMP!

Congrats, @Bandreescu_ 👏🏽#WeTheNorth x #SheTheNorth pic.twitter.com/QEugBwH24W

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) September 7, 2019

"I know you guys wanted Serena to win so I'm so sorry," Andreescu acknowledged the crowd that was clearly pulling for the tennis legend. Williams said if anyone else had to win, besides herself and her sister Venus, she wanted Andreescu to win.

Andresscu's dog Coco along with her parents Maria and Nicu made for a nice side story during the U.S. Open.

We look forward to seeing what happens to Andreescu in the future. In her words, "Let's keep going."

photo credit: U.S. Open/ESPN
Twitter captures: @JustinTrudeau; @Raptors

Looking back at 2015 before the 2019 Canadian election

Here at CanadianCrossing.com, we have considerable experience covering political races. We've covered races in the United States and Canada, specialising in provincial and federal elections.

As part of the 2015 federal election campaign coverage, we offered weekly notebooks to cover the large and small stories from the campaign. Those notebooks were full of fascinating information about the electoral process. We learned about the Wyatt Scott Parliament ad, goose included.

Our plan is to have weekly Canada election notebooks every Sunday between the start of the campaign and October 21. We figured Sundays were a good day for expanded reading and, well, there is plenty going on during the week. We will promote the notebooks on Twitter in case you miss the Sunday debut.

You can catch up with the 2015 links:

Canada election 2015: Advance voting significantly up from 2011

Canada election 2015: Mourning the lost English language debate

Canada election 2015: How debating looks and sounds like in French

Canada election 2015: Wayne Gretzky, Donald Sutherland should debate

Canada election 2015: Economy debate on tap

Canada election 2015: Stephen Harper and 5 Questions

Canada election 2015: Conservative supporter lashes out

Canada election 2015: Wyatt Scott and his goose

Canada election 2015: Debating about debates

Canada election 2015: Rogers/MacLean's Canadian election debate leads off debate season

Canada election 2015: Stephen Harper calls very early election

Normally, we would have an election call before a debate. Maclean’s and Citytv (both Rogers owned) are jumping ahead with a debate on September 12.

The 2-hour debate focuses on the economy, foreign policy, Indigenous issues, as well as energy and the environment.

"We are continuing our tradition of early debates after the 2015 federal leaders' debate ignited a cross-country conversation and set the agenda for election day," Maclean’s editor-in-chief Alison Uncles said in a press release. The 2015 debate came after the election was called.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has committed to the Leaders Debates Commission debates on October 7 and October 10. We found out Friday that Trudeau won't be at the September 12 debate or the Munk foreign policy debate on October 1.

“The Commission was established after the last election where the governing party tried to game the system and make sure the fewest number of Canadians engaged in the debates,” Daniel Lauzon, the Liberal party’s director of communications and policy, said in a statement. “We think that’s wrong. The Commission debates will be widely distributed on television, radio, digital and social streaming platforms and reach the largest possible audience.”

Trudeau did agree to a debate on TVA, which was left out of the Leaders Debates Commission debates, for October 2 in Montréal. The debate is the same night as the start of the NHL season but the Montréal Canadiens don't play that night. The TVA debate leaves out Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. The Green Party leader pointed out that sitting MP Pierre Nantel (Quebec) is a Green Party candidate and that the Greens are ahead of the NDP in most polls in Quebec.  

That is sadly remnant of 2015, where the issue was Stephen Harper not wanting to debate and trying to force out Elizabeth May from the debates. In 2019, Elizabeth May is in every single debate but the TVA event, which is better but not marvelous. My advice to the current prime minister is the same in 2019 as it was in 2015. Show up. Debate. Don't be afraid.

To use a tennis term, Trudeau is committing an unforced error. Lauzon's statement ignores that the other debates are easy to find online. I found all the 2015 debates online. The 2019 access is even better. 

Harper had his reasons for not debating in 2015. Trudeau doesn't really have those issues in 2019. He is the best spokesperson for his party. A standing prime minister shouldn't have the option to avoid a debate.

We will have more on the other debates during the official 2019 election preview when the writ drops.

Paul Wells of Maclean’s will moderate the debate that begins Thursday at 8 pm EDT. You can watch the debate on Citytv, Macleans.ca, the Maclean’s Facebook and Twitter feeds, and the Web sites of Rogers news radio stations and CityNews. CPAC (French) and OMNI Television [Mandarin and Cantonese (broadcast) and Punjabi (online)] offer alternative language translations.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

We will have a full report of this debate in what will be the first official Canada Election 2019 notebook next Sunday.

photo credit: Maclean’s