Canadian Crossing

Heather Stefanson will be Manitoba's first female premier

We knew the next premier of Manitoba would be a woman since the only 2 contenders for leadership of the Progressive Conservatives were women.

Heather Stefanson, the MLA from Tuxedo, narrowly edged former Conservative MP Shelly Glover 8,405 to 8,042. Stefanson had 51.1% of the vote, a margin of 363 votes.

Stefanson will be Manitoba's 24th premier. Cabinet minister Kelvin Goertzen has been the interim party leader and premier since Brian Pallister stepped down as premier and later MLA.

She has served as Deputy Premier; Minister of Families; Minister of Justice/Attorney General; and most recently as Minister of Health and Seniors Care.

Pallister had been under fire for his handling of COVID-19; Stefanson was health minister during the third wave in the spring when Manitoba sent patients out of the province. He also came under criticism for avoiding crises by hiding out in Costa Rica.

Manitoba had been scheduled for a 2020 election but Pallister called an election in 2019.

There were concerns of missing ballots since at least 1,200 party members hadn't received their mail-in ballots days before the vote. Leadership election committee chair George Orle said the party issued replacement ballots.

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

2019 Manitoba election preview

Brian Pallister, Progressive Conservatives end NDP reign in Manitoba

CanadianCrossing.com Manitoba coverage

Dan Vandal essentially replaces Jim Carr as the lone Manitoba MP in the cabinet shuffle from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this week.

Vandal, the MP for the Saint Boniface-Saint Vital riding, is the Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister Responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, and Minister Responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

He previously served as the Minister of Northern Affairs as well as the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services.

Jim Carr previously served as the Special Representative for the Prairies, Minister of International Trade Diversification, and Minister of Natural Resources.

Carr, the current MP for Winnipeg South Centre, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (a blood cancer) in October 2019.

2021 Canadian politics preview

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

Stefanson will be the 14th woman to hold such a high office in the history of Canada. Being a female premier is still a big deal.

British Columbia and Alberta combined to have had 4 female premiers. Now 7 of the 10 provinces and all the territories have had female leaders. Canada has had a female prime minister in Kim Campbell.

As we have noted in the past, Canada had 5 female premiers from February 11, 2013 to January 24, 2014. By the end of April 2014, there were only 2 female premiers.

British Columbia Rita Johnston (Social Credit) April 2-November 5, 1991; Christy Clark (Liberal) March 14, 2011-July 18, 2017

Alberta Alison Redford (Progressive Conservative) October 7, 2011-March 23, 2014; Rachel Notley (NDP) May 24, 2015-April 30, 2019

Manitoba Heather Stefanson (Progressive Conservative) Premier-designate

Ontario Kathleen Wynne (Liberal) February 11, 2013-June 29, 2018

Quebec Pauline Marois (Parti Québécois) September 19, 2012-April 23, 2014

Prince Edward Island Catherine Callbeck (Liberal) January 25, 1993-October 9, 1996

Newfoundland and Labrador Kathy Dunderdale (Progressive Conservative) December 3, 2010-January 24, 2014

Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia — None

Yukon Pat Duncan (Liberal) June 5, 2000-November 5, 2002

Northwest Territories Nellie Cournoyea (Nonpartisan*) November 14, 1991-November 22, 1995; Caroline Cochrane (Nonpartisan*) October 24, 2019-Incumbent

Nunavut Eva Aariak (Nonpartisan*) November 19, 2008-November 19, 2013

Federal Kim Campbell (Progressive Conservative) June 25, 1993-November 4, 1993

* each member is nonpartisan in a consensus government

Notley and Andrea Horvath (Ontario NDP) have the best chance of reaching this plateau.

photo credits: CBC News; Manitoba Progressive Conservatives

2021 CFL Week 13 preview

The divisions intermingle this week so no progress on tiebreakers. The axis tilts east with 3 of the 4 games east of Hamilton.

Calgary travels to Ottawa to start off a Friday Night Football doubleheader.

The Tiger-Cats are in Edmonton to take on the Elks in the nightcap. This is the singular long post Labour Day trip for Hamilton. The awkward starting time could be a minor headache.

The Saturday doubleheader has healthy start times. BC gathers near Lake Ontario as the Argos welcome the Lions in a late afternoon start.

Saskatchewan travels its longest road trip with a stop in Montréal opposite Hockey Night in Canada. The Roughriders finally play a team other than Calgary for the first time in a month.

Winnipeg gets ready for a Halloween without football.

TSN

Friday
Calgary @ Ottawa, 7p
Hamilton @ Edmonton, 9:45p
Saturday
BC @ Toronto, 4p
Saskatchewan @ Montréal, 7p

Bye week: Winnipeg

#DefendTheCup | 12.05.21

>> https://t.co/yk8KW6J5dF#ForTheW pic.twitter.com/VQKBOpxsqc

— y - Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) October 24, 2021

There are the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and then there is the rest of the CFL. The West Division has a new champion in Winnipeg.

A 10-1 mark with only a road blemish in Toronto, the Blue Bombers have dominated the league in 2021. Winnipeg posted a rare CFL shutout last week 45-0 over BC. Edmonton had the last CFL shutout 26–0 on July 25, 2019 at home against Toronto.

Zach Collaros has had plenty of time and targets for passing. Andrew Harris, out with a leg injury, will have time to recover. Brady Oliveira is a very capable replacement.

While the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have won 7 East Division titles (1987, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2011), this is the team's first West Division title since 1972. The 2019 team finished in 3rd place and won the Grey Cup, the team's first since 1990.

The team can't do much to help or hurt its fellow division teams in their scramble for a playoff spot. After this week's bye, Winnipeg has a home-and-home with the Montréal Alouettes before going to Calgary in the final week. Backup quarterback Sean McGuire might get more work in the next few weeks.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will host the West Final on December 5 at 4 pm Eastern. The time of the game has been moved earlier by 30 minutes, as has the East Final. The time shift is due to the Winnipeg Jets hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs, a game that has been moved back from 7 pm Eastern to 8 pm Eastern.

The CFL East Division has a new leader in the Montréal Alouettes. The Als 21-point second quarter helped the team dominate 37-16. Those points were important because Montréal has the tiebreaker thanks to the point differential in the season series against Toronto.

Each team came into last week's game with 3-game winning streaks. William Stanback, back from an injury followed by food poisoning, ran for 203 rushing yards; Matthew Shiltz had 212 passing yards. Stanback had major runs of 65 and 41 yards.

The Als defence made trouble for McLeod Bethel-Thompson, forcing 4 interceptions (which tripled his interception output for the season). Toronto hasn't won in La Belle Province since 2015.

The teams are tied at 6-4. The Alouettes has the tougher schedule with Saskatchewan followed by back-to-back games with Winnipeg. Hamilton is a game behind at 5-5.

The last time the Roughriders traveled to Montréal, the weather was so rough on August 10, 2019 that Saskatchewan won a rain-shortened game. Here's hoping for better weather.

The CFL still has this rule. The summer weather in the Prairies wasn't a factor this season. Ottawa has had a lot of rain but no thunder or weather delays.

The extended November play might produce weather issues out west, except for Vancouver.

2021 CFL Week 12 preview

Hamilton didn't lose a late lead at home against a division foe last week. Then again, Ottawa was the opponent, a team now at 2-9 that is winless in the CFL East Division.

The Duck made his CFL debut in Ottawa. Quarterback Devlin "Duck" Hodges relieved Caleb Evans, going 8 for 16 or 49 yards in his CFL debut with 13 rushing yards.

Hamilton's Jeremiah Masoli went 25 for 28 with 320 passing yards.

The Ottawa RedBlacks are eliminated from playoff contention. The team then on Monday relieved Marcel Desjardins of his general manager duties. Desjardins was the team's original general manager from the start of the franchise.

Desjardins had spent 10 seasons with Montréal as assistant GM under Jim Popp with 3 Grey Cups (2002, 2009, 2010) and as GM for Hamilton (2006-2007). If you go by the buzz in Edmonton, the Elks may have a general manager search as well.

2021 CFL Week 11 preview

The CFL has 9 teams: 2 of them coached by the Dickenson brothers, Craig (Saskatchewan) and Dave (Calgary).

Dave had always defeated Craig on this level. Calgary took 2 straight over Saskatchewan and added a 3rd game against BC for a 3-game winning streak.

Now Craig can claim a win in the Saskatchewan Roughriders comeback 20-17 win. Saskatchewan outscored Calgary 14-7 in the second half. Cody Fajardo threw for 222 yards, including a pair of second half touchdowns. Duke Williams had 48 of those yards in his return to the CFL.

Despite the tumble, Saskatchewan is in second place all alone in the West Division.

Getting to BMO Field in Toronto should be a good experience

The CFL 2021 trade deadline came this week. Toronto QB Nick Arbuckle had been rumoured to go somewhere. Going from the backup on a team heading to the playoffs to a starter on a team that won't make the playoffs is not a fun ride.

Arbuckle goes to the Edmonton Elks for a 3rd round pick and rights to a player (QB Chad Kelly) on the Elks negotiation list. The pick gets upgraded to a 2nd rounder if Arbuckle extends with Edmonton.

Arbuckle is still the only Canadian QB to lead a team to a win over Winnipeg in 2021.

Antonio Pipkin is now the Argonauts backup QB.

2021 CFL Week 10 preview

If you have followed the CFL in recent seasons, you might assume the crossover is a requirement in the CFL where the 4th place West team makes the playoffs with a better record than the 3rd place East team. Since Ottawa returned to the CFL in 2014, the 2015 season where the 3rd place East team has made the CFL playoffs. In 2015, 3 of the 4 East teams had double digit wins while the BC Lions made the playoffs in 3rd place with a 7-11 record.

As of now, Hamilton would make the playoffs at 5-5, beating out the 4-6 BC Lions (4th place). The crossover team needs a better record to qualify in the playoffs.

Tiebreakers may be crucial in 2021. Saskatchewan has a tiebreaker with BC but not with Calgary. Hamilton-Toronto and BC-Calgary tiebreakers will be known at the end of November 12.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

CFL Commissioner Randy Ambroisie downplayed the new rule on how many quarterbacks can be on the game day roster. "Nobody is prevented from having a third quarterback on their roster. It just eliminated that third quarterback rule. So nobody should be concerned that we won’t see teams carrying three quarterbacks — that's a decision the teams will make."

Funny thing: CFL teams are only dressing 2 quarterbacks. Only Winnipeg and Saskatchewan have not had a serious injury to their starting quarterbacks. Ottawa played a wide receiver in a game because both quarterbacks were injured.

Ambroisie is technically correct. Teams can have a third quarterback but have to take someone else off the roster. Teams aren't making those moves.

We saw Trevor Harris not in uniform because the Elks only dressed 2 quarterbacks.

The CFL should seriously consider a system where teams are encouraged to have 3 quarterbacks in uniform, especially with all the quarterback injuries of 2019 and 2021.

Short-term solutions for TSN to replace Chris Cuthbert on CFL telecasts

Rod Smith and Duane Forde teamed up in Montréal on Friday. Smith and Forde got on different airplanes to go west for the Saturday tripleheader. Forde landed in Winnipeg for the middle game with Dustin Nielson. Smith went all the way to Calgary to hang out with Glen Suitor in the nightcap.

Marshall Ferguson did his 3rd game for TSN with Matt Dunigan in Hamilton to start the tripleheader.

The logic is to have at least one of the broadcast team members on site the day before the game. Nielson and Suitor laid the groundwork for Forde and Smith, respectively.

Jim Barker sat in for Dunigan at the main desk.

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

Looking back on past versions of the Windsor International Film Festival

The Windsor International Film Festival has served as a gateway to Canadian film. The 2019 version has incredible momentum and the future was inspiring.

The 2020 and 2021 versions were lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has played havoc over the last couple of years.

Film festivals offer dilemmas over which film to see. None of them were a real-life Sophie's Choice. You make a good or fair best decision 8 or 9 times out of 10. You roll the dice that you will find a film later on. Sometimes, a film slips through your fingers.

We thought showing some of those choices would be a fun way to celebrate the spirit of the Windsor International Film Festival. This is not an exercise in sour grapes. Film festivals are full of these decisions, each with an art and science to them.

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

Windsor International Film Festival cancels the 2021 festival

Windsor International Film Festival cancels the 2020 festival

2010

A late night slot in the Windsor International Film Festival had 2 promising films, each of them only playing once: Daydream Nation or We're The Weakerthans, We're From Winnipeg

Your humble narrator had never heard of the Weakerthans. Kat Dennings had some name recognition with the 2008 film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist with Michael Cera (Canadian).

Picked Daydream Nation. That film was more likely to show up elsewhere. I did see that film outside the festival as well. I eventually found We're The Weakerthans, We're From Winnipeg on YouTube.

Film festivals allow us to know of films such as the Weakerthans documentary that we otherwise would not know. This way, I eventually saw both films and enjoyed them on different levels.

2019 WIFF Canadian films in review

2019

"There were a number of films that we could not cover during the film festival. Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band was the most prominent film. We will cover the film in a separate film review. Lie Exposed and For Those Who Don't Read Me were fiction films that we really wanted to cover. Hope is not high to find either film but we hope for hope."

You would think a 10-day film festival would have enough room.

Genese (Philippe Lesage) instead of For Those Who Don't Read Me (Yan Giroux)

There was a chance to find Genese though by the time of the 2019 festival, the film had been out for a year. There was no chance of finding For Those Who Don't Read Me. I met Yan Giroux when he was out with 1:54.

Picked Genese for its reputation. I have had chances to see Genese since then but no shot at seeing For Those Who Don't Read Me.

Sometimes, the safe decision becomes the de facto call.

We Are Gold (Eric Morin) instead of Lie Exposed (Jerry Ciccoritti)

I saw We Are Gold alone in an 800-seat theatre. While the story might have been enough, glad I picked We Are Gold. Lie Exposed seemed cheesy and more likely to be found later. Still haven't seen Lie Exposed. I might find the film for rent online.

Far Shore (David Uloth) via Antigone (Sophie Deraspe) instead of Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band (Daniel Roher)

A 3-way decision is highly rare in film festival circles. I could guarantee 2 of the 3 films. Antigone was an obvious choice since that was the nomination for the Academy Awards. Far Shore would be difficult to find while Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band had an excellent chance of showing up later. While there was FOMO anxiety in waiting to see the Band documentary, this was a good decision.

Far Shore was a good film, not great. I've seen all 3 films, which is the ideal goal.

2018 WIFF Canadian films in review

2018

Just A Breath Away starred one of my favourite French actors. I did eventually see Just A Breath Away. Not a very good film and Canadian in name only. I didn't pick a magical film in that timeslot. I likely had dinner or a walk.

Sometimes, food and exhaustion win out in a film festival.

2014 Windsor International Film Festival wrapup

2014

I would go back and watch In Her Place if I had known Albert Shin would be so prominent. as he has become, I would have been more interested. Haven't found a way to watch this film yet.

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The Windsor International Film Festival has given me the chance to see so many Canadian film titles that have been informative, entertaining, and both. Angry Inuk will stay with me. Trigger is a treasured film for me. The impact of Meditation Park forced me to go outside and get tears out before going back in for another film.

Giant Little Ones; Level 16; Cas and Dylan; And The Birds Rained Down; Window Horses; Empire of Dirt; Starbuck; My Internship in Canada; All the Wrong Reasons; Mommy; Tu Dors Nicole; Picture Day.

Please let this be the last year I write such a story, mourning the loss of what has been the best week of my life. The 2022 Windsor International Film Festival will be a glorious time.

logo credit: Windsor International Film Festival
photo credit: Daydream Nation film; me
video credit: YouTube/Film Movement

Alberta notebook: The legacy of outgoing Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi

Rob Ford will go down in infamous history as the most remembered mayor in Canadian history. Naheed Nenshi might go down in history as lesser known but one of the best mayors in Canadian history.

Nenshi spent 11 years as mayor of Calgary, announcing he would not run again in 2021. Nenshi was known as a true independent, going so far as to wear purple, a combination of red and blue.

Calgary and Edmonton, the largest cities in Alberta, elected mayors of note. Jyoti Gondek will be Calgary's first female mayor. Amarjeet Sohi will be the first mayor of colour in the Alberta capital. Both are the first Punjabi mayors of major cities in Canada.

Gondek previously served as a city councillor in Calgary for 4 years; Sohi is a former Liberal federal cabinet member.

While Alberta is primarily rural and conservative (small c conservative), their largest cities are much more progressive (small p progressive).

The Current with Matt Galloway had a really good interview with Mayor Nenshi earlier this month on his legacy. If you have felt cynical about Canadian politics, whether that may or may not be from our political coverage, listening to Nenshi's pragmatism might make you feel more hopeful.

We wish good luck to the new mayors in the largest Alberta cities. You have a lot of amazing challenges ahead.

Alberta dials back COVID-19 tracking to dangerous levels

Jason Kenney, Alberta United Conservative Party launch Canadian Energy Centre propaganda site

Alberta goes back to its conservative ways by electing the UCP

We don't enjoy focusing on the numerous mistakes of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney. We would rather use space to talk more about more less cynical politicians. When the United Conservative Party came into power in 2019, Kenney had a number of ways to "fight back" against those who he felt besmirched the oil and gas industry.

Kenney took taxpayer money to launch the Canadian Energy Centre propaganda site. Instead of spending money to help those who were suffering from the cutback on oil and gas, Kenney and his cronies wanted to show the extensive foreign influence of environmental groups.

You would think Kenney would be right up front when the report was released. Just like his very long vacation in the summer of 2021, Kenney was nowhere to be found.

The $3.5 million budget produced a report that, like Seinfeld, was pretty much about nothing.  

Steve Allan, an accountant who led the inquiry, noted in the 657-page report no findings “that participation in an anti-Alberta energy campaign is in any way improper or constitutes conduct that should in any way be impugned.”

Energy minister Sonya Savage did publicly respond about the report. "So is it illegal? No."

"Was it wrong? I think the majority of Albertans would say it was wrong, and they want to know how it happened, who was involved."

The New York Times Canada Letter weighs in on the report:

The report, however, offers little support for her analysis. While it concludes that environmental campaigns had some effect on Alberta energy projects — though it does not quantify how much — the report also says: "There is no doubt that these campaigns have occurred in an environment of reduced investment in oil and gas projects, at least since 2014 when global oil prices fell by almost half and other economic factors were at play."

You can be certain that the UCP won't mention this report or the Canadian Energy Centre in the 2023 election, whether Kenney is still the premier or whether someone else is in charge of the province. Former Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is the opposition leader, a rare moment when a premier has lost and remains in the legislature as a party leader.

The rhetoric and reality of the anti-Alberta energy campaigns report (Front Burner CBC Radio)

Alberta has lots of solar power and wind power, natural forms of energy. They have an educated workforce on energy issues. Playing the oil and gas card as the only card in the deck isn't going to help those who want desperately to work.

Those new big city mayors need strong, focused leadership on the provincial level and aren't getting much help. Nenshi, in particular, has been highly critical of the Kenney government.

The outside bogeyman concept might have convinced people in a more long-ago time. The Alberta people are smarter than they might appear. They are attracted to a conservative, leave us alone approach to most concerns. The COVID-19 pandemic, where Kenney has also failed on leadership, and the decline of the oil and gas industries offer challenges that don't fit neatly under that conservative umbrella.

Kenney got some "bad news" yesterday with the Justin Trudeau cabinet shuffle. Steven Guilbeault, who had been stuck as heritage minister, was shifted over to be the minister of environment and climate change.

Given that the Quebec MP once worked as a senior member of Greenpeace, Guilbeault has the background for this portfolio.

Calgary voters say no to 2026 Winter Olympics

Construction money and jobs could have been pouring into Calgary to build new facilities and revive older structures for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Calgary was the favourite before a non-binding plebiscite where 56.4% of the 40% (22.6% of registered voters) who voted said no to the Olympics.

The Saddledome, the NHL Calgary Flames home built for the 1988 Olympics, was going to be replaced by a new arena. The CFL Calgary Stampeders team was going to get a new home under the Olympic plan. Ironically, those weren't introduced into the official plan, which caused some confusion.

Even without the Olympics deal, the Calgary Event Centre is being built as a new downtown arena. Construction won't start for a few more months. There is no plan to replace McMahon Stadium, home of the Stampeders, at this point.

The 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary and 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver were considered to be rather successful.

The 2026 Winter Olympics will be in Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

CanadianCrossing.com Alberta coverage

Alberta recently had a non-binding referendum question on equalization payments. Elections Alberta reported that nearly 62% of voters said "yes" to the equalization question. 

"Should Section 36(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 — Parliament and the Government of Canada’s commitment to the principle of making equalization payments — be removed from the Constitution?"

The idea of equalization payments is that provinces doing better financially pay into a fund to help those provinces not doing as well. Alberta is one of the "haves" even with its recent financial woes.

The vote was close in Edmonton with 51.9% saying no; voters in Calgary said yes with 58.2%.

The anger against Ottawa isn't necessarily aligned with the numbers.

Symbolic gestures are fine but they don't pay the rent or put food on the table. We've seen this strategy in Ontario with Doug Ford as well as Jason Kenney in Alberta: nothing is ever our fault.

photo credit: CBC News

Canadian film case study: My Salinger Year

Our sibling blog BalanceofFood.com likes to poke fun at the front of food labels where you can imply there is more of a flavour than actually exists in a product. Those looking for a lot of J.D. Salinger in My Salinger Year will come up quite short. Salinger fans should expect more.

Joanna Rakoff (Margaret Qualley) is a poet studying in Berkeley in the mid-1990s when she comes to New York City and ends up with a job as an assistant to literary agent Margaret (Sigourney Weaver). The agency happens to have J.D. Salinger, known as Jerry, as one of its clients.

Margaret has a number of quirks, such as not wanting to use computers. Margaret is fascinating, the other characters are somewhat fascinating compared to Joanna, the lead.

Understand that Joanna Rakoff is the person who wrote the original book that led to this film. Joanna is the lead character and dominates the film.

The issue is that either Margaret Qualley is an actor who can't generate passion, angst, or personality for Joanna (quite likely), French-Canadian director Philippe Falardeau (as writer and director) didn't want Joanna to be interesting as a person (maybe?), or Rakoff loathes herself to the point where she thinks she is boring (possible). This is a significant problem for a character who dominates the film.

Qualley, real-life daughter of Andie MacDowell, is more expressive in a scene where dancing is involved than she is as an actor in the entire film. Irish actor Seána Kerslake, who plays her best friend Jenny, would have been a much better choice in the lead role (the film is a Canada-Ireland co-production).

English actor Douglas Booth plays Joanna's boyfriend Don. Don and Joanna have zero chemistry and the viewer has no reason to care about them as a couple. Boring people sometimes choose each other in real life, so if Joanna loathes herself, she certainly would loath the boyfriend character.

Falardeau or Rakoff have a line where Joanna refers to Berkeley as being in southern California, which no one in Berkeley would ever say.

Canadian film notebook: Marketing Canadian films as not Canadian

As we noted earlier this year, there are Canadian actors down the callsheet — Colm Feore, Théodore Pellerin, Yanic Truesdale, Hamza Haq, and Leni Parker — who do well in small parts. The surrounding characters, regardless of country of origin, dazzle in comparison to Joanna and Don.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Falardeau has had better success in French than in English in his film career. The script is all over the place in terms of where the emphasis is in the moment. Pellerin's arc is way more interesting than Joanna's story and his appearances feel highly random. Falardeau also relies too much on montages for Joanna's journey, which emphasize the boring quality of her character.

One of the ongoing themes is that Joanna has never read Salinger when she starts out working at the literary agency. The film eventually gets to that point but we learn very little about how her world view changes after reading Salinger.

Falardeau worked with Rakoff to get this story but the story and character weren't worth the handcuffs placed on him in working on the project.

Sigourney Weaver is 90% of the reason to watch this film, if you have to watch this film. Be ready to fast forward through one of the most uninteresting people you will see on the screen in some time. Reward yourself with watching one of Falardeau's great Quebecois films such as Monsieur Lazhar (2011); My Internship in Canada (2015); and Congorama (2006).

video credit: YouTube/IFC Films
photo credit: My Salinger Year film

2021 CFL Week 12 preview

Toronto travels to Montréal to start out on Friday Night Football.

The Saturday tripleheader starts out in the east in the late afternoon as the RedBlacks are in Hamilton. The Tiger-Cats don't want to blow another lead at home.

The BC Lions travel to Winnipeg in the middle game, a Hockey Night in Canada starting time. The Jets are also at home playing at the same time.

The Saskatchewan-Calgary saga finally ends as the teams finish the nightcap in Calgary. Then the teams won't meet again in the regular season.

The early starting time means an overlap between game 2 and game 3 of the tripleheader.

This is the second and final tripleheader of the 2021 season.

Edmonton gets to enjoy some autumn activities, minus its original starting quarterback who has moved on to Montréal.

TSN

Friday
Toronto @ Montréal, 7:30p
Saturday
Ottawa @ Hamilton, 4p
BC @ Winnipeg, 7p
Saskatchewan @ Calgary, 9:45p

Bye week: Edmonton

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers clinched the first playoff spot with a win over the Edmonton Elks. 3 of the 9 Winnipeg wins have come against Edmonton.

The teams were actually tied after 3 quarters at 16-16. The Blue Bombers had just enough going to finish out the win with 10 points in the final quarter. Winnipeg still hasn't surrendered a 4th quarter touchdown in 2021.

Brady Oliveira took over for Andrew Harris after a leg injury.

Winnipeg hopes to solves its kicking woes with the acquisition of Sergio Castillo. The BC Lions, which controlled his rights, got a conditional 4th round pick in 2022.

Taylor Cornelius kept things going enough to keep Trevor Harris out of the Elks quarterback equation.

The Edmonton announced attendance was 24,276: the wide shots of Commonwealth Stadium showed a lot fewer people. The bye week comes at a good time for the Elks.

Calgary and Edmonton had rough starts; Edmonton hasn't bounced back. This is a combination of the name change, apprehension about having to be fully vaccinated to attend a game, the team's own COVID-19 epidemic, financial struggles in Alberta, and a lousy team that lost to Ottawa twice.

The 2021 Edmonton Elks will finish with the last 3 games on the road in a 7-day stretch: road games in Regina, Toronto, and Vancouver. Things will get a lot worse in the Alberta capital.

2021 CFL Week 11 preview

Matthew Shiltz has been around the Montréal quarterback corral for some time. Shiltz had 281 passing yards against Ottawa, 227 yards in the first half. The 12-0 lead helped the Montréal momentum. The Alouettes won the first 3 games against Ottawa this season.

Shiltz and a healthy William Stanback will go a long way to establishing the Alouettes potential playoff status. Maybe there won't be a crossover team to the East. Maybe.

Shiltz will get some help with the Alouettes acquisition of veteran quarterback Trevor Harris from Edmonton for defensive end Antonio Simmons.

Harris is in quarantine after finally getting vaccinated for COVID-19, going the 1-shot Johnson & Johnson route.

Getting to BMO Field in Toronto should be a good experience

Unlike its Alberta cousins, Calgary found a way to climb out of its early-season hole. The Stampeders are on a 3-game winning streak, beating the teams they need to defeat: Saskatchewan (twice) and now BC. The Lions now have a 3-game losing streak.

Calgary got some needed electricity as Roc Thomas took the opening kickoff of the second half and went 101 yards for a touchdown. Jonathan Moxey had a 53-yard interception return for a Pick 6.

The BC Lions are 1-4 at home and 3-1 on the road and an amazing -7 point differential. If Calgary makes a clean sweep on the Roughriders this week, the West playoff picture will have changed dramatically.

We often think patterns are set early in a season. Calgary is trying to prove that theory to be incorrect.

2021 CFL Week 10 preview

We still don't know about the crossover possibility. There are 5 teams in the middle of the pack. Saskatchewan and Montréal are 5-4. Calgary is 5-5. Hamilton and BC are 4-5.

The crossover rules require a distinctly better record for the 4th place team over the 3rd place team in the other division. No ties.

Sometimes we see the best players play on teams that, well, aren't good. The Ottawa RedBlacks have struggled; imagine how much worse they would be without DeVonte Dedmon. This graphic ran in last week's game when Dedmon was injured against Montréal.

Dedmon's 1,889 all-purpose yards is more than double the second place person: Hamilton's Frankie Williams (922).

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

The ESPN+ audience didn't get any studio coverage from Friday night's game. The U.S. audience got a visual Saturday afternoon from the studio. No audio. Madness. The late game on Saturday had audio and video from the studio.

These issues have repeated themselves off and on. If the TSN audience isn't running into these issues and the ESPN+ has a much different experience, why is there a discrepancy. If the TSN audience is running into these issues, why does this keep happening.

This discourages the casual fan from tuning into games. This saddens the not so casual fan. We just want the problem to stop.

I have been to all 9 CFL cities and Moncton to see Canadian football. I have yet to see a CFL playoff game in person and haven't been to Tim Hortons Field. Seeing the 2021 Grey Cup, the first in a quarter century in Hamilton, would be amazing. 

That is virtually unlikely to happen this season. This might be the year you decide to go. There are only 24,000 tickets.

Short-term solutions for TSN to replace Chris Cuthbert on CFL telecasts

Dustin Nielson and Glen Suitor were in Edmonton on Friday. Rod Smith and Duane Forde were in Ottawa on Saturday afternoon. Forde had a nice tribute to the sudden departure of his long-time partner, Rod Black.

Farhan Lalji got his second game of the year with Glen Suitor in Vancouver on Saturday. Would TSN send Lalji to Winnipeg this weekend?

Tripleheaders put extra pressure on play by play options. Lalji should be an option outside Vancouver. Gord Miller is the backup to an emergency backup.

Claire Hanna showed up on the other side of Canada on the sidelines. In case you missed the news last week, Hanna switched gears to covering sports in Ottawa. She made her debut on the Ottawa Senators home opener on TSN5 and was on the sidelines at TD Place at the RedBlacks game.

As for Rod Black, the Toronto Mike'd podcast had a Rod Black Exit Interview. Black mentioned that this had been in the works for some time. 3 Down Nation has more on that angle, including a request from Black to broadcast one more CFL game from each stadium. We suggest that the CBC, with its Olympics and amateur sports coverage, would be an ideal fit for Rod Black, at least for 2022 in Beijing.

logo credit: CFL
photo credit: TSN; CFL

What we might find in a Canadian film museum

ABC, home of the Academy Awards, recently spent an hour in prime time with a special A Night in the Academy Museum highlighting the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. The museum, at Fairfax and Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, has been years in the making.

The special showed how complicated covering the world of film can be within a museum. The museum isn't really celebrating small independent cinema but more about Hollywood than the film industry. The special pounded home about The Wizard of Oz: having a pair of the ruby red slippers is impressive. 

As much as we adore Canadian film, the United States is the champion of filmmaking. Not always the best films but in terms of history and the multiple layers of viable films across a wide spectrum. A long struggle to build a movie museum in Los Angeles doesn't bode well for a film museum in other countries.

What if Canada had a film museum devoted to Canadian film?

Once you stop laughing at the idea, the jokes come flying. The museum is the "size of a Fotomat booth" or "what do you do with the other half of an abandoned 7-11."

A bigger film museum could be devoted to films shot in Canada to make them seem like somewhere else. That museum could have a wing devoted to Canadian films technically Canadian but with little visible proof that Canadians were involved. That isn't what this museum would show.

'Visibly Canadian' is a reasonable goal for Canadian film

Canadian films should tell more stories about Canada

A Canadian film museum would have a smaller footprint. The NFB would have a room: early experimental films in French and English. The tax shelter era would have a room. Slacker films from Ontario. Atlantic Canada on the big screen. Indigenous films. The surprising strength of female written/directed films from Canada.

Canadian stories told in Canada by Canadians. Canada should celebrate those stories.

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has a lot of artifacts made famous by those legendary Hollywood movies. A Canadian film museum would have very few artifacts.

• The No Smoking within a mile sign in L'âge des ténèbres | Days of Darkness (2007) from Denys Arcand
• Bicycles from Parsley Days (2000) from Andrea Dorfman
• The radio control board from Pontypool (2008) from Bruce McDonald

The museum would be more about telling the stories of those stories that were told.

Take This Waltz showcases a real Toronto neighborhood

Canadians often joke about films done in Toronto that look any place other than Toronto. What about a Canadian film that uses Toronto as Toronto.

We took a look with a map at the location shots in Take This Waltz, the Sarah Polley 2011 film.

The film showcases Queen and Dufferin streets, Dufferin Jog, Royal Theatre, Kensington Market, and Lake Ontario. I would guess Trinity Bellwoods Park as well but am not certain.

Polley received a gift for shooting the film: Jack Layton and Olivia Chow allowed Polley the use of their house for the film. Polley and Layton, the NDP federal leader, were close friends.

2021 TIFF wrapup

2021 TIFF preview

2021 TIFF Canadian film preview

Toronto International Film Festival honoured Alanis Obomsawin at TIFF 2021 with Celebrating Alanis Obomsawin, "the centrepiece of the 46th Toronto International Film Festival." Perhaps you are like most Canadians and haven't seen any of Obomsawin's films.

"Her voice as a filmmaker, musician, visual artist, and activist has been consistent. She tells the stories of how Indigenous people in Canada have resisted injustice and abuse inflicted by the most powerful authorities a country can have, and how those people have fought back in the streets and in the courts. Most of all, her more than 50 documentaries made with the National Film Board show how Indigenous peoples have drawn on rich, deep traditions going back thousands of years to assert their presence as vital communities determined to continue on for thousands more years into the future." said TIFF in promo information.

You could have learned about Obomsawin at a Canadian film museum in addition to honours from a film festival.

TIFF will have a rare screening of August 32nd on Earth

People can learn more about the great Canadian films from Denis Villeneuve and Jean-Marc Vallée before they ran off to Hollywood. Those in the States who enjoy Villeneuve's work should know about August 32nd on Earth and Maelstrom. Those in the States who enjoy Vallée's work should know about C.R.A.Z.Y. and Café de Flore.

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

Making the case for Canadian film in 3 parts

The necessity of Canadian films that don't seem Canadian

Telefilm Canada shouldn't limit funding by language but reward films shot in Canada with Canadians

Then you would have to produce an elaborate hour-long "commercial" for the museum, such as what aired on ABC earlier this month.

Getting Tom Hanks and Laura Dern to host the special shows the power of Hollywood.

Americans may not realize that others around the world are fascinated by American hubris. Occasionally, American hubris matches the hype, such as in the American film industry. Then again, no other country produces really bad films with huge budgets and pretends they are great.

Having the ruby red slippers from The Wizard of Oz is exciting. A true film museum would tell the story about Buddy Ebsen and The Wizard of Oz.

Finding good Canadian films not just because they're Canadian

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

A Canadian film museum isn't going to happen anytime soon. The idea of a Canadian film museum to celebrate Canadian film requires some knowledge of Canadian film among average Canadians. The Parsley Days bicycles aren't as exciting if you've never seen that independent Canadian film.

Awareness of how Canadian films are made might lead to more interest in watching Canadian film.

photo credit: Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
map credit: Google

2021 Toronto Raptors NBA preview

The Toronto Raptors are back for real starting tonight with the home opener at Scotiabank Arena against the Washington Wizards.

February 28, 2020 was the day of the last home regular season game on Canadian soil.

This is a very different team from the one that was in Canada and had a rough 2020-2021 season in Tampa.

Kyle Lowry is gone. Gone as in signed with the Miami Heat. Lowry will be back in their colours to Toronto on February 3.

Lowry technically went in a sign-and-trade deal where the Raptors received guard Goran Dragić and forward Precious Achiuwa. Toronto re-signed Gary Trent Jr. and Khem Birch.

OG Anunoby, Chris Boucher, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet are still on the Toronto Raptors. They are the last players from the 2019 NBA Championship and the only players on the team who have played in Toronto.

The free agency additions are: Ishmail Wainright, Justin Champagnie, Sam Dekker, Isaac Bonga, and Svi Mykhailiuk.

Losing so badly means a high draft pick, who was power forward Scottie Barnes from Florida State with the #4 pick. The Raptors drafted a Canadian-born player for the first time with point guard Dalano Banton from Nebraska with the #46 pick. The #47 pick also went to Toronto: point guard David Johnson from Louisville.

Paul Watson, Rodney Hood, DeAndre' Bembry, and Aron Baynes are no longer with the Raptors.

2021 Toronto Raptors NBA preseason schedule

The NBA will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its first game on November 1. The league, then known as the BAA, had its first-ever game between the New York Knicks and Toronto Huskies at Maple Leaf Gardens.

The NBA, in its lack of wisdom, has the teams playing that night but not in Toronto.

2020-2021 Toronto Raptors season wrapup

2020 Toronto Raptors NBA preview

The Raptors have said their entire roster is fully vaccinated. Opposing players who haven't received their COVID-19 vaccine shots will still be allowed to enter Canada and play at Scotiabank Arena. They will qualify under a "National Interest Exemption": the players will have to test and their movements limited to their team hotel and arena, all while wearing masks.

Ontario opened indoor capacity to 100% early on October 9 so that applied to the final home preseason game and the regular season.

Toronto Raptors to play home games in Tampa in 2020-2021

🥲♥️🎙Sad to say goodbye today to my friends at CTV and TSN but so excited for my next chapter which will be as amazing the last. Thank you. Had the time of my life. Cheers🇨🇦👊

— Rod Black 🇨🇦 (@RodBlackTSN) October 14, 2021

Rogers Sportsnet and TSN split the Toronto Raptors games. Matt Devlin calls Raptors games on both outlets. Jack Armstrong is the TSN analyst. Alvin Williams takes over from Leo Rautins as the lead analyst on Sportsnet. Rautins had been the analyst for the entire Raptors run.

Rautins will still be on TSN as part of the studio show. Rod Black has been the host for Toronto Raptors games on TSN. Black announced his sudden departure from TSN less than a week ago.

Amy Audibert is the new sideline reporter for Sportsnet.

The team's U.S. TV presence has sharply declined: the Raptors are on ESPN on January 21 in Washington. TNT will have the Kyle Lowry return game on February 3. The team will get some NBA Network telecasts.

75 years ago, Toronto hosted the NBA’s first-ever game. This year, TIFF and @NBACanada celebrate this anniversary.#FilmsForFans created with @OntarioLottery, features five shorts from Canadian filmmakers saluting Canada’s history with the league. #TIFF21 https://t.co/K8sZBzydom pic.twitter.com/Fsm6bh3107

— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) August 11, 2021

TIFF celebrated that 75th anniversary with NBA Films For Fans, a collection of 5 short films (one for each player on the court) from Canadian filmmakers and basketball fans Romeo Candido, Shawn Gerrard, Kat Jayme, Thyrone Tommy, and S.M. Turrell.

CanadianCrossing.com NBA coverage

Even without several key players from the 2019 NBA World Champions team (remember them), the Raptors will likely do better with a home in Toronto and back to a semi-normal world.

This is a team, even without Kyle Lowry, that will do better than 27-45 with a 1-13 March and a season-ending 7 game losing streak.

logo credit: Toronto Raptors
Twitter captures: @RodBlackTSN; @TIFF_net

Canadian film review: The Woman Who Loves Giraffes

Saying Anne Innis Dagg is to giraffes as Jane Goodall is to chimpanzees is pretty obvious. Then again, Dagg got started in 1956, 4 years before Goodall.

The Woman Who Loves Giraffes profiles Dagg's interest in giraffes since the age of 3 when the Canadian visited Brookfield Zoo in suburban Chicago and saw giraffes.

20 years later, she made a solo trip to South Africa. The documentary said she was the second person on the planet to do this kind of animal study.

Dagg switched from zoology to feminism after being denied tenure at the University of Guelph. She wrote the ultimate book on giraffes and also authored books on feminism and being denied opportunity.

The Woman Who Loves Giraffes give Dagg a chance to relive some of those great memories in Fleur de Lys in eastern South Africa. The film helps her meet people who were inspired by her research.

Director Alison Reid tells Dagg's story through letters. Tatiana Maslany provides the voice for Anne in her early years. Victor Garber provides the voice for Alex Matthew, the South African rancher who was vital in getting her set up to study giraffes. Dagg provides her own voice to the film.

The film takes a key chapter in Dagg's battle at the University of Guelph and University of Waterloo. Despite her excellent, literally groundbreaking work, the University of Guelph dean denied her tenure. The dean at the University of Waterloo told Anne that he would never give tenure to a married woman.;

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The Woman Who Loves Giraffes tells an amazing Canadian story that young people might be reluctant to believe. Redemption for Dagg is a key theme. There is a joy to watching Dagg back in the terrain where she got her start. She even talks about how she got some things wrong early in her process. Science is a lot about trial and error, especially when you are a groundbreaker.

Her Fleur de Lys return is worth watching the documentary. There is so much more to her journey.

video credit: YouTube/The Woman Who Loves Giraffes
photo credit: The Woman Who Loves Giraffes film

TIFF will have a rare screening of August 32nd on Earth

We noted the limited presence of the Canadian film chapter when the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) honoured Denis Villeneuve with the TIFF Ebert Director Award. Polytechnique and Incendies had brief visual mentions. The emphasis has been on Villeneuve's non-Canadian films.

The Uncanny Vision of Denis Villeneuve — the new TIFF tribute — features 2 of his newer titles: Arrival and Enemy. The tribute also features films that had an influence on Villeneuve: Lawrence of Arabia; The Last Temptation of Christ; and Le Mystère Picasso.

Did TIFF forget his Canadian film past? Actually, there is one Canadian film in the tribute.

August 32nd on Earth | Un 32 août sur terre is included in the TIFF tribute to Denis Villeneuve. The film stars Pascale Bussières and Alexis Martin.

The 1998 film was one of 3 Villeneuve films submitted to the Academy Awards in what was then the Best Foreign Language Film.

Maelström and Incendies were also submitted. Villeneuve was one of several directors on Cosmos, also submitted for an Oscar.

TIFF will show the classic Denis Villeneuve Canadian film this Friday, October 22, at 6:15 pm at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in downtown Toronto.

Your humble narrator was quite fortunate to be able to watch the film. Seeing this film in a theatre with other Canadian film enthusiasts would be a joy.

You may not be ready to watch a film in a theatre. I did check to see if there was a virtual showing. Alas, there was not a virtual showing. You do have to follow TIFF protocol to be able to see this film at the Bell Lightbox.

Still, this is clearly a rare screening in Canada, especially English Canada, of this great Denis Villeneuve film.

Canadian film review: August 32nd on Earth

Canadian film review: Maelstrom

Canadian film review: Polytechnique

Oscar nomination should help people find Denis Villeneuve Quebec films

Ryan Gosling, Denis Villeneuve get Oscar nominations

As we noted numerous times, classic Canadian films should not be this difficult to find. Canadians should have more of an awareness of its film history. If we are to celebrate Denis Villeneuve, then let's celebrate all of his work.

2021 TIFF wrapup

Top 10 Canadian films I still want to see

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The Bell Lightbox is at the corner of King Street and John Street just west of the St. Andrew subway stop in downtown Toronto.

photos credit and video credit: TIFF