Canadian Crossing

2024 CFL Week 15 preview

The CFL has a lot of momentum coming out of the revenge games weekend. So 3 teams hit a bye week. Sad.

The BC Lions host Toronto to start the week on Friday night. This was the criticism last year where the Lions struggled in Toronto but didn't get a chance to host the Argos. Fun to think about a Toronto team that plays at 10 pm, unlike the Maple Leafs on a Saturday night.

This is the first CFL game in Vancouver since August 18, though there was a home game in Victoria.

The U.S. viewers should make a late night out of this game since this is the only CFL game this week on the CBS Sports Network. Only 3 scheduled TV games after this one, including Canadian Thanksgiving.

Hamilton swept Ottawa last season yet the RedBlacks won the first contest against the Tiger-Cats at home. Ottawa will be at Tim Hortons Field on Saturday afternoon on the CTV game.

The Philpot brothers do the second part of their family reunion, though Tyson (Montréal) is injured for the trip to see Jalen at his home in Calgary on Saturday night. The Stampeders had a considerable lead at Molson Stadium before the Montréal comeback. The Stampeders lost their last 2 home games after starting 4-0 at home while the Alouettes are the league's only undefeated team on the road.

Edmonton, Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg get to spend a nice weekend in Western Canada, hopefully without wildfires.

CBS Sports Network

Friday
Toronto @ BC, 10p

CTV

Saturday
Ottawa @ Hamilton, 3p

TSN

Friday
Toronto @ BC, 10p
Saturday
Montréal @ Calgary, 7p

Bye week: Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg

Chris Streveler posts on his instagram this evening that he tore three major knee ligaments in the Banjo Bowl.

He describes it as “a long road to recovery” which will, in all likelihood, omit him from the remainder of the 2024 season, but pledges to return to the field. #Bombers pic.twitter.com/1gV4AZ3Kqb

— Darrin Bauming (@DarrinBauming) September 10, 2024

Miles Brown has had plays that injured 3 CFL quarterbacks in 2024. Difficult to put blame on the hit that hurt Dru Brown (Ottawa). The hit on Zach Collaros (Winnipeg starter) was cheap, late, and not a football play. Chris Streveler (Winnipeg backup) became his 3rd victim in 2024 with crutches after that hit on Saturday.

Perhaps Brown has an allergy to the capital of Manitoba since Brown used to play for Winnipeg. We aren't as concerned as to whether Miles Brown is a "dirty player" and just want the terrible hits to stop. Brown can't hurt any more Winnipeg quarterbacks since the season series is done.

Winnipeg converted a 3rd down play late in the game to kick a field goal to go up 5. Trevor Harris had a chance to snap the Roughriders rough stretch but his final pass landed in the arms of Blue Bombers cornerback Tyrell Ford for a second time.

Winnipeg has won the last 5 Banjo Bowls. The 5-point margin (26-21) was the smallest in that 5-game streak. Saskatchewan started 5-1 yet has gone 0-6-1 since then. The Roughriders would have a playoff spot as of now. Winnipeg won its 5th straight to improve to 7-6.

Former Toronto Argos backup Bryan Scott and Jake Dolegala, late of BC and Saskatchewan, are newly signed contenders for the backup role to replace Streveler. Terry Wilson has been the third-string quarterback.

If Miles Brown had been suspended for the Banjo Bowl, as we wanted, Streveler could walk without crutches.

2024 CFL Week 14 preview: Revenge games

2024 CFL Week 13 preview: Touchdown Pacific comes to Victoria, BC

A pretend conversation with defensive backs Tyrell Ford (Winnipeg) and Damon Webb (Ottawa):

Ford: "I had an amazing day. 2 interceptions. The last one clinched the win for our team. Can you beat that?"

Webb: "I had 2 interceptions. Amazing. Ran both back for a Pick-6. In the first half. The margin of our win was 14 points, which matched what I brought to the game."

Ford: "You had the better day. I am tied with Rolan Milligan Jr. (Saskatchewan) with 6 interceptions, tops in the league."

Webb gets style points for a 98-yard return on the second interception. Chad Kelly had 3 interceptions for Toronto. Dru Brown went 30-for-40 for 348 yards and a touchdown.

This was the first matchup between the Ontario teams that are likely to play in the opening round of the playoffs. The RedBlacks tie likely won't mean a tiebreaker is at stake. When the teams meet in Toronto on October 19, the backups will likely be in play so this was the best test for these teams.

SO NICE, HE DID IT TWICE!

Damon Webb has his second pick 6 of the game.😤

📺: #CFLGameday on @TSN_Sports, @RDSca
📱: Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/25dcnHqmDq

— CFL (@CFL) September 7, 2024

Montréal wins 5, loses 1, wins 5, and loses 1. At this rate, the Alouettes will lose the final game of the regular season, which won't matter too much. Both of those losses have come at Percival Molson Stadium.

The Lions with their many air miles felt very comfortable coming off the longest non Atlantic Canada road trip currently available.

Nathan Rourke threw 3 interceptions yet went 22-for-28 for 304 passing yards, adding a TD pass and a run for a major that reminded us of 2022. William Stanback rose to the occasion in his first trip back to La Belle Province. Stanback had 128 rushing yards on 20 carries and 28 receiving yards on 2 catches.

The Alouettes could field an all-star team with injured receivers. Tyson Philpot, Austin Mack, and Kaion Julien-Grant lead that unfortunate list. Philpot is now out for the season.

Good to see a sellout at Stade Molson for a non-division opponent.

2024 CFL Week 12 preview

2024 CFL Week 11 preview

Let's play things that haven't happened to the Calgary Stampeders since 2004!! The team hasn't lost 4 straight games and got swept by Edmonton in the Labour Day series. Both of those happened last week.

Logan Bonner started for Jake Maier as the Calgary quarterback. Bonner threw 5 interceptions, more than Johnny Manziel in his CFL debut (4) for the Alouettes. Though Bonner played the whole game to get those 5 interceptions.

Calgary is still winless at 0-6 on the road, even with its shortest road trip of the season.

Edmonton has 2 strong quarterbacks and 3 solid running backs. Calgary, well, doesn't. If Montréal gets the road win this week, the Stampeders will be a full game in back of the Elks without the tiebreaker.

Good Morning from Winnipeg!

What can I say, Banjo Bowl on CTV!!

I’ve got the call with @GlenSuitor & @JohnLuTSNWpg! pic.twitter.com/BHmP2HK9KN

— Dustin Nielson (@nielsonTSN1260) September 7, 2024

Everything lined up for the Banjo Bowl to be huge for the CFL on CTV, 21st century version. The potential for an exciting game in Winnipeg versus the blowout in Ottawa by the time kickoff happened in the Manitoba capital.

Turns out the Banjo Bowl on CTV drew more than 100,000 fewer viewers than last year's Banjo Bowl on TSN. The CTV numbers were 571,000 versus 688,100 for the 2023 Banjo Bowl on TSN.

The Friday night Nathan Rourke show in Montréal drew a combined 701,700 (458,200 TSN; 243,500 RDS). The latest Battle of Alberta in Edmonton drew 488,100 while Toronto in Ottawa had 253,300 viewers.

CTV requires a cable or satellite password to stream. The over-the-air network has stations in Regina and Winnipeg; those outside those cities would need some other way to watch. The 3 pm Eastern starts for the CTV games that were originally 4 pm Eastern starts. The casual fans who didn't pay attention.

The regular season games are CTV exclusives while the postseason games are on CTV and TSN. The idea is to build momentum. There is no more early Saturday afternoon games for the rest of the CTV run. We will follow this ongoing saga.

Thanks to 3 Down Nation for staying on this topic. Let us know in the comments if you had a good or poor experience with accessing the CFL on CTV.

2024 CFL preview

We've written twice this season over the TVA Sports patch on the Montréal Alouettes uniforms. The first time was when we first noticed the patch. The second time was when we thought the patch issue was fixed.

The pattern we see is that the Alouettes wear the TVA Sports patch for home games and have a different patch for the road games.

Montréal Alouettes owner Pierre Karl Péladeau owns TVA Sports. RDS, rival to TVA Sports, has the CFL rights en Francaise as part of Bell Media.

The American mind simply can’t comprehend pre-snap motion pic.twitter.com/DX6igs7gTh

— r/CFL on Reddit (@cfl_reddit) September 12, 2024

2024 CFL preseason schedule

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

BC @ Montréal: Rod Smith/Paul LaPolice/Kenzie Lalonde
Toronto @ Ottawa: Marshall Ferguson/Duane Forde/Claire Hanna
Saskatchewan @ Winnipeg: Dustin Nielson/Glen Suitor/John Lu
Calgary @ Edmonton: Rod Smith/Matt Dunigan/Ryan Rishaug

Rod Smith logged in some major miles Toronto to Montréal to Edmonton. Paul LaPolice was in Montréal on Friday and the studio on Saturday. Ryan Rishaug made a rare CFL sideline appearance in Edmonton.

Jim Barker and Henoc Muamba filled in for Davis Sanchez and Matt Dunigan, the latter spending the weekend in Edmonton.

logo credit: CFL
Twitter captures: @DarrinBauming; @CFL; @nielsonTSN1260; @cfl_reddit
photo credit: CTV/CFL

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for mid September 2024

The 2024 Paris Paralympics are done so we resume, once again, Canadian films on Saturday nights on CBC.

We are only including the upcoming Saturday in this preview. We will have another story next week to take care of the rest of September. Those years evenly divided by 4 (summer Olympics years) can get complicated. 

All My Puny Sorrows is a very good and quite sad film about sisters, suicide, and a suicide attempt. Michael McGowan adapted the Miriam Toews novel and wonderfully cast Sarah Gadon and Alison Pill as the sisters. We wrote about this film about films dealing with suicide. If you aren't triggered by the topic, this is an incredible film to watch.

Tammy's Always Dying may seem related to the first film yet they are very different. The mother-daughter dynamic is entertaining with Anastasia Phillips and American actor Felicity Huffman. I discovered Phillips in this film and enjoy her in the Canadian TV series Moonshine. This is the second feature film from Amy Jo Johnson, a convert to Canada.

Man Running is running on multiple levels. This is a rather serious film to run in the middle of the night. Gord Rand (Transplant) is running an endurance race while thinking about the ethical complications of a case. Gary Burns, who you might know from waydowntown, is the director and co-writer.

Some of these Canadian films may have been featured on CBC in the past. The films should also be available on CBC Gem.

September 14

9p All My Puny Sorrows (2021)
11:30p Tammy's Always Dying (2019)
1:30a Man Running (2018)

Canadian film review: All My Puny Sorrows

Canadian film review: Tammy’s Always Dying

Canadian film review: Man Running

Dealing with films about suicide that could be triggering

These Canadian films offer a very serious night of Canadian films. Other weeks have plenty of comedies.

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late August 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late July 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early July 2024

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for late June 2024

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2023 offseason

A recap of CBC Saturday night Canadian films in the 2022 offseason

A reminder to our American friends who are fortunate enough to get a CBC signal — such as Detroit, Buffalo, and Seattle — that this is a really good opportunity to get a glimpse into Canadian content through cinema. A lot of English Canadians also need this reminder.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Feel free to leave a comment on these Canadian films or even Canadian films you would love to see on a Saturday night on the CBC.

logo credit: CBC
photo credit: All My Puny Sorrows

2024 CBC television fall preview

The CBC used to run an elaborate press release for the fall schedule. Now the public broadcaster has to hide the fall schedule because of the excessive number of American shows from Fox. Apparently Joel McHale is an honourary Canadian (he isn't).

We don't have a breakdown of when a show ends in a timeslot. Still aren't mindreaders.

Based from the 2024 CBC television upfront, the good stuff comes in winter. Fall programming is not a priority at the CBC.

Murdoch Mysteries (October 7; September 30 on CBC Gem), Plan B (October 7; streaming now on CBC Gem), This Hour Has 22 Minutes (September 17), Still Standing (October 8), The Passionate Eye (September 18), Dragons' Den (September 26), Marketplace (October 11), About That with Andrew Chang (September 20), The Fifth Estate (October 11), Hockey Night in Canada (October 12), Heartland (October 6; September 29 on CBC Gem), and The Great Canadian Baking Show (October 6) all return to the CBC television lineup.

Monday
Murdoch Mysteries, 8p
Plan B, 9p

Tuesday
This Hour Has 22 Minutes, 8p
Still Standing, 8:30p
Animal Control, 9p
The New Wave Of Standup, 9:30p

Wednesday
The Knowing/Paid In Full, 8p
The Passionate Eye, 9p

Thursday
Dragons' Den, 8p
My Mum, Your Dad, 9p

Friday
Marketplace, 8p
About That with Andrew Chang, 8:30p
The Real Crown/The Fifth Estate, 9p

Saturday
Hockey Night in Canada, 7p

Sunday
Heartland, 7p
The Great Canadian Baking Show, 8p
Crime Scene Kitchen, 9p

Years worth of work. The story of so many First Nations families. We always knew about the children, youth and adults who went missing at Indian Residential Schools, inside Indian Hospitals and at TB sanitariums. The Knowing. The book is available on Aug 27 and the limited TV… https://t.co/HMypbdaoZl

— Tanya Talaga (@TanyaTalaga) August 23, 2024

The CBC television release has start dates for the new shows: The Knowing (September 25) and Paid In Full (October 23; September 21 on CBC Gem). The New Wave Of Standup has Seasons 4 and 5 starting September 24 (Seasons 4-5 streaming on CBC Gem).

CASTING NEWS: Paul Sun-Hyung Lee joins the cast of Murdoch Mysteries for season 18, filming now in Toronto @bitterasiandude @CBCMurdoch https://t.co/fzr9B1vIOK pic.twitter.com/2FGN4QLhos

— CBC PR (@CBC_Publicity) July 23, 2024

Season 2 of Plan B has already been on CBC Gem. Season 2 has a whole new cast with Vinessa Antoine and Vincent Leclerc in the lead roles. This is one of the rare times of late that the CBC has scheduled a Canadian TV show after Murdoch Mysteries on Monday nights.

The Knowing is a multimedia presentation by journalist, filmmaker, and Anishinaabe author Tanya Talaga "on a quest to find the truth of what happened to the women in her maternal family, revealing a story intertwined with Canada's Indian Residential School system."

The book came out August 27. The documentary series has a screening during the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, and the TV program premieres September 25 on CBC and CBC Gem.

Paid In Full is about the "journey of Black artists in the music industry from its inception to the digital streaming age." Jully Black handles the narration.

As we noted, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee joins the cast of Murdoch Mysteries this fall.

There is way too much foreign filler in the CBC television fall lineup.

2024 CBC television upfront preview

CBC should grab Shelved if CTV cancelled that show

Loss of 'Run the Burbs' a death knell for Canadian TV (Toronto Star)

Canadian TV notebook: Run the Burbs done after 3 seasons

.@CBC has announced premiere dates for its fall 2024 slate, including Paid in Full: The Battle for Black Music (Sept. 21), Murdoch Mysteries (Sept. 30), The Great Canadian Baking Show (Oct. 6) and the 50th season of The Fifth Estate (Oct. 11). Read more: https://t.co/dbpbmWFCYh pic.twitter.com/6odw7Tvals

— CBC PR (@CBC_Publicity) August 21, 2024

2024 CBC television winter preview

2023 CBC television fall preview

We had a lot of Canadian film related type programming on the CBC last fall: Bones of Crows, Blackberry, and Swan Song.

Season 2 of SkyMed ran last fall. We know there will be a Season 3. There aren't cancellations based off last fall's schedule, just shows not meant to last beyond a season.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CBC runs Canadian films on Saturday nights until Hockey Night in Canada starts up again on October 12. You can check out our coverage of those Canadian films.

photo credit: The Knowing/CBC
Twitter captures: @TanyaTalaga; @CBC_Publicity (x2)

Canadian journalism notebook: The loss of a daily paper in Newfoundland and Labrador

The pressroom is quiet now. Newfoundland and Labrador’s last web press just finished printing the province’s last daily paper. When I started my career in journalism, I never thought I’d see this day. It doesn’t feel real. pic.twitter.com/36hgLuiWvV

— Juanita Mercer (@juanitamercer_) August 24, 2024

We reported earlier this summer that Postmedia had taken over the SaltWire collection of newspapers. Postmedia doesn't have a track record of helping the beleaguered newspapers purchased by the American hedge-fund controlled Canadian newspaper company.

Shortly after the takeover, Postmedia slashed 30 percent of its editorial staff with layoffs. This included all the photojournalists. While there is some dispute over the latter part, there is likely semantics involved.

The other major story is that Newfoundland and Labrador is the first Canadian province in over 100 years to not have a daily newspaper. Postmedia has said The Telegram will only be published on Fridays with an online version the rest of the week.

Canadaland news editor Jonathan Goldsbie, in a podcast episode with editor-in-chief Karyn Pugliese, that from his research, he believes the last province without a daily newspaper was Saskatchewan in the fall of 1905 with about 10 weeks difference between the start of the province (September 1, 1905) and the Regina Leader switching from a weekly to a daily newspaper.

We can hear some of the remarks now:

"Nothing happens in Newfoundland." "The paper is still every day but without expensive newsprint." "These decisions have to happen because of capitalism."

Decisions about journalism in Newfoundland and Labrador are being made in Toronto from people who aren't concerned about the quality of journalism in the province. People smarter than your humble narrator would point out that Postmedia has to acquire more debt to feed its American hedge fund corporate overlords and are stripping these papers for parts.

The traditional names are there but they are a shell of what they once were. News does happen in Newfoundland and Labrador. Journalists need to protect the public interest through investigations.

For those who say Postmedia will only do this in Newfoundland and Labrador, Atlantic Canada is next.

Newfoundland and Labrador didn't have a daily newspaper outside of The Telegram. Smaller communities have weekly newspapers. St. John's has 2 TV stations: CBNT (Channel 8) with the CBC and CJON (Channel 21) with NTV (Newfoundland Television). Here is a list of radio stations in the province.

Yes, The Telegram readers can go online every day to read the news. The idea of sitting at Rocket Bakery right there on Water Street in St. John's and not seeing people reading the newspaper makes your humble narrator very sad.

Canadian journalism notebook: Will there continue to be a Global News in Canada?

New Brunswick switches out one newspaper monopoly for another one

Canadian journalism notebook: Canadian cities losing Monday newspaper editions

📚 Bookends with Mattea Roach, CBC's new author interview show, premieres Sept. 8!

Tune in on CBC Radio or catch it as a podcast. 📚https://t.co/ulv7zuISP4

— CBC Radio (@cbcradio) August 27, 2024

We love listening to Mattea Roach as the host of Backbench through Canadaland. Roach now has a second podcast in their repertoire, this time with CBC Radio. Bookends is an author interview show where Roach explores the creative process for writing with novelists and authors.

Bookends airs Sunday afternoons at 1 pm local time (1:30 NT, 3 PT) on CBC Radio and CBC Listen with repeats on Wednesdays at 1 pm (1:30 NT). The program essentially replaces Writers & Company as Eleanor Wachtel has retired. Roach interviewed Wachtel for the final episode of that show.  

Roach has shown their literary bonafides, winning Canada Reads in 2023 when they championed Kate Beaton’s graphic novel Ducks.

Tom Power interviewed Roach recently on Q. They have some commonalities: relatively young people who excelled in other areas besides radio. Both are from out east: Power from Newfoundland and Roach from Nova Scotia.

Roach noted that they didn't think they would end up hosting a podcast. We were waiting for Roach to mention their current podcast. While Roach referred to a political podcast, they never mentioned the name of the podcast or its primary source.

We also are in favour of more recognition for Canadian authors though we know the podcast will have Canadian and international authors.

U.S. listeners can listen live through CBC Listen and, of course, download episodes of the podcast.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com radio coverage

ICYMI Gill Deacon is leaving the CBC. A good friend, an outstanding broadcaster I've known for 30 years. The place won't be the same without her. https://t.co/5U05AStr3B

— Tom Harrington (@cbctom) September 4, 2024

Gill Deacon had been the host of Here and Now on CBC Radio yet hadn't been "here" and "now" in awhile. Deacon had been dealing with long COVID, which is very real even if you don't believe in it. 

The good news is that she has recovered from long COVID. The bad news is that Deacon is leaving Here and Now and CBC Radio.

Deacon has hosted the afternoon show for more than a decade and filled in on many CBC Radio shows. You can read more about her story.

Deacon's voice, brain, and thoughtfulness were traits that made her really good at this job. Good luck in her future endeavors.

Here and Now will find a permanent host down the line.

Canadian politics notebook: Very little of Canada in latest CPC ad

Bell Media making deep cuts to W5, CTV local newscasts

A guide to quality Canadian journalism in lieu of Meta and Google being childish

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

Stephen Harper was subtle about the CBC. Death by several thousand cuts. Recent Conservative Party leaders have not been subtle about their take on the CBC: Pierre Poilievre and Erin O'Toole leap to mind.

Kerry-Lynne Findlay is the chief opposition whip in the House of Commons for the Conservative Party. Findlay released a video this summer on the party's position on getting rid of the CBC. The original video made a case to keep Radio-Canada as well as English language radio programming.

Then the Conservative Party took down the video and the video came back up minus the part about radio programming.

We should note that the Conservative Party playbook is to separate English from French in their thought process. There are 2 strategies to this distinction: Conservatives really want votes in Quebec where they have struggled outside of the Brian Mulroney years. The vast majority of their base would never access Radio-Canada so they wouldn't know any potential negative coverage.

From the National Post:

"Let's talk about the radio part of all this for a moment," Findlay says at one point in the slickly-produced video, filmed in what appears to be West Block on Parliament Hill. On Friday, Findlay reposted the video with that section removed.

"Because radio is very low production cost and the CBC radio programs and Radio-Canada, they do still serve a purpose, particularly in smaller communities and I think (are) fairly well listened to, so I think there can be a case made to keep that," she said.

Poilievre has not directly said the same when it comes to radio programming.

The Conservative Party video we discussed last week was yanked without posting it in some form. This video was yanked, edited, and reposted as if the section never happened. You might wonder why we are quoting from the National Post, the right-wing national newspaper owned by Postmedia, this is because no one else reported on this story (that we could find).

We did get a sense of conservative logic from this sentence: "Findlay also touched on its history, arguing that because 'every Canadian can be their own broadcaster' the need for a national one to unify the country is no longer necessary." Postmedia has issued a single editorial and forced its many newspapers to run the same editorial. The American hedge fund controlled Canadian newspaper chain has a monopoly, controlling both major newspapers in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa.

National unification is fine for them but only with conservative voices. Also, francophones can have national unity, just not anglophones.

The acclimation is that the "cost" is too high (it's not) but there would still be a cost to Radio-Canada funding.

Per the story at the top of this column, imagine Newfoundland and Labrador journalism without CBC TV and CBC Radio.

Twitter captures: @juanitamercer_; @cbcradio; @cbctom
photo credits: SaltWire/The Telegram; Q/CBC Radio
video credit: Q/CBC Radio

Canadian film review: Room for Rent

The premise of a life after a young lottery winner blew the winnings has great potential for a film. Does Room for Rent reach that potential?

Mitch Baldwin (Mark Little) is a general loser until he wins $3.5 million in the lottery. He funds every crappy idea and lets people take significant advantage of him. Mitch is forced to live with his parents: Betty (American actor Stephnie Weir) and Warren (Mark McKinney).

Warren loses his job and forced into early retirement. The parents threaten to sell the house, which would ruin Mitch's spoiled lifestyle. Mitch convinces his parents to rent out his room. Carl Lemay (American actor Brett Gelman) ends up taking the offer.

Carl is a dream compared to Mitch. Mitch lets his mother do everything for him while Carl helps around the house. Carl pays rent while Mitch doesn't. Carl undermines Mitch's limited life view.

Carl even brings back Mitch's old girlfriend Lindsay (American actor Carla Gallo) into the picture to plan a retirement party for Warren. Huey (Patrick J. Adams) was one of those who took advantage of Mitch and is now a cop.

Room for Rent is definitely not realistic. Cartoonish. Mitch's life is along the lines of Sideshow Bob (The Simpsons) encounters with the rakes. He always run into people who remind him of his failures. He has a lot of failed inventions, such as an umbrella that dries itself one you are inside. "Aren't you the guy who bought a time machine? Did it work?" The answers are Yes and No.

He is awful at apologizing for what he did and excessively passive with those who wronged him.

The introduction is decent and the ending is better than expected. The main critique of the film is very little happens in the middle of the film. You know there will be an explanation at the end (there is) but you could fall asleep in the middle and still follow along.

A pleasant surprise in the film is writer/director Matt Atkinson giving Lindsay more of a fuller female character than one might expect in this type of a film. Lindsay still exists to serve the main character but you get the feeling that Lindsay sticks around to get some closure for what happened a few years back.

The hope is that Atkinson wrote Carl's character with Brett Gelman in mind because the casting and direction of Gelman is worth the watch. White handles the cartoonish, sad sack aspect of Mitch. Patrick J. Adams is having a lot of fun as Huey in a small role. Why do more famous actors take such roles in indie films? The real question is why couldn't all of the characters be as interesting as the very off-beat cop.

Weir and McKinney have as much fun as they can with 1-dimensional characters. Weir, in particular, gets why she is there and does really well in a limited role.

Atkinson gives us a tight cast to tell the story, something your humble reviewer can appreciate.

CBC Saturday night Canadian film schedule for early July 2024

Room for Rent does pretty well with its limitations. Easier to recommend with a stronger middle part of the film but the beginning and ending are enough for a decent film. Set your expectations low and you will be reasonably entertained.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Room for Rent (2017) is available on CBC Gem in Canada and Tubi in the United States.

2024 CFL Week 14 preview: Revenge games

The BC Lions went from Ottawa to Victoria (Touchdown Pacific) and then back out to Montréal on Friday night. Could be worse if Halifax finally gets a CFL team. This is the anti-climatic start to a weekend of revenge games. Well, a couple of them on Saturday. The revenge games aren't worthy of the CBS Sports Network as the U.S. outlet carries only this game in the CFL weekend.

The Toronto Argonauts switch opponents and travel to the federal capital for the first of the Saturday tripleheader. This is the first Toronto-Ottawa battle of the season and lining up to be a playoff match. This is also the RedBlacks' first game against an East Division opponent since June 30.

The Banjo Bowl (Saskatchewan in Winnipeg) marks the first over-the-air CFL telecast since the 2007 Grey Cup. CTV runs an exclusive Saturday afternoon package in Canada. There will be a significant overlap for the CFL+ fans in the States versus the first game of the day.

The revenge game in the Battle of Alberta completes the tripleheader in Edmonton.

Hamilton has more time to recover from hosting the Labour Day game and posting its second win over Toronto.

CBS Sports Network

Friday
BC @ Montréal, 7:30p

CTV

Saturday
Saskatchewan @ Winnipeg, 3p

TSN

Friday
BC @ Montréal, 7:30p
Saturday
Toronto @ Ottawa, 1p
Calgary @ Edmonton, 7p

Bye week: Hamilton

VICTORIA! Thank you for being such an amazing host for #TouchdownPacific this past weekend 🧡

Re-live the entire TDP experience with this 🔥recap 🎥: @westjet | #BCLIONS pic.twitter.com/r5fTpxs7Nl

— BC LIONS (@BCLions) September 3, 2024

The BC Lions had a lot riding on Touchdown Pacific. Giving the spotlight to Victoria and Vancouver Island. A neutral site game with a home-field advantage. Oh, there was a 5-game losing streak.

Nathan Rourke had his best game since 2022 with 21-for-30 for 325 yards, 3 passing touchdowns and a rushing major along with an interception.

The Lions got William Stanback involved with 93 rushing yards on 20 carries and 6 receptions for 78 yards.

The Ottawa RedBlacks, who had defeated the Lions in Ottawa, had their undefeated streak snapped at 6 (5-0-1). Dru Brown was 21-for-33 for 206 passing yards and a touchdown.

Touchdown Pacific drew a great crowd of 14,727 at Royal Athletic Park, home of the Victoria HarbourCats of the West Coast League (baseball).

There was a bit of a spark about the abrupt end of the interview with Nathan Rourke with Farhan Lalji at the teams went into halftime. We liked things better when both team interviews happened after the teams came back out in the second half. Rourke will learn to talk more in subsequent interviews. The "job's not done" approach should factor in that the interviews are part of the "job."

2024 CFL Week 13 preview: Touchdown Pacific comes to Victoria, BC

WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?!?

Mario Alford muffs the Jamieson Sheahan (@JamSheahan) punt and Nick Hallett (@nhallett21) recovers to retake the lead!#CFL #Bombers #ForTheW
pic.twitter.com/2JgqpdyQlE

— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) September 2, 2024

The Zach Collaros injury shifted the dynamic of the second half of the Labour Day Classic in Regina (more on this below). Saskatchewan had its way through the second half. The Blue Bombers did get 2 field goals in the second half. Too often, leading teams go scoreless in the second half so this was a switch.

Winnipeg's rouge in the first half did make a difference in that Saskatchewan could have gone for a single extra point when scoring the touchdown late in the game.

Willie Jefferson is a physical presence. Watching Jefferson get taken down on the onside kick was a genuine surprise. Brett Lauther came close to hitting a 60-yard field goal at the end that would have been Labour Day Classic legendary.

Both the Roughriders and BC Lions have had tailspins of late. BC found its way for one week. We will see when Saskatchewan does the same.

2024 CFL Week 12 preview

2024 CFL Week 11 preview

The running joke with a bad team is that as long as you beat your rival, the season isn't so bad. Hamilton has 3 wins on the season and 2 of them are against Toronto. The Tiger-Cats have won the season series over the Argonauts.

Bo Levi Mitchell is now 7-0 on Labour Day, 6 of those with Calgary. Mitchell, who finished with 347 passing yards, hadn't played on Labour Day in 5 years. Chad Kelly had his first loss against the Ticats. Hamilton won 10 of the last 13 Labour Day Classics and snapped a 2-game losing streak.

Mitchell connected on the long ball, something we don't see a lot of these days in the CFL. Tim White is good, catching 2 long passes in the 1st quarter. The Ticats defence held the Argos, forcing then to kick 5 field goals, which were better than touchdowns in a close game.

Thanks to the Hamilton fans who brought out signs and had chants about Kelly over the harassment of a now former Argos coach.

On a personal note, the only Labour Day Classic I attended in person was at old Ivor Wynne Stadium where the Hamilton team sold me a ticket to a seat that didn't exist. The fans let me sit there anyway as long as I wasn't rooting for the Double Blue. The only revenge game I saw in person was this rivalry at Rogers Centre. I remember Timmy Chang throwing a few interceptions against Toronto.

2024 CFL Week 10 preview

2024 CFL Week 9 preview

The Calgary Stampeders suffered their second home loss of the season to the archrivals from up north in Edmonton. Unlike the other 2 rivalry games, the Battle of Alberta was one-sided.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson went 25-for-36 for 486 yards with 2 TD passes to Tevin Jones and another to Eugene Lewis.

The Elks snapped a 2-game losing streak on Labour Day. Edmonton had lost 10 of the last 11 on the holiday.

Peyton Logan had the Stampeders highlight with a punt return for 104 yards for a touchdown. Rene Paredes set a personal record with a 57-yard field goal.

Calgary is 0-5 on the road and headed to Edmonton for the revenge game late on Saturday. The team has a streak of 18 consecutive playoff appearances, 4th-longest in league history. Calgary has lost 3 in a row.

VICTORIA! Thank you for being such an amazing host for #TouchdownPacific this past weekend 🧡

Re-live the entire TDP experience with this 🔥recap 🎥: @westjet | #BCLIONS pic.twitter.com/r5fTpxs7Nl

— BC LIONS (@BCLions) September 3, 2024

More on the CFL Victoria experience.

Zach Collaros is shaken up after a direct hit to the head. Yikes. pic.twitter.com/26TYiZsCZP

— Connor Hrabchak (@ConnorHrabchak1) September 2, 2024

Winnipeg Blue Bombers President Wade Miller and your humble narrator have something in common. Our reaction to a non football hit by Saskatchewan's Miles Brown on Zach Collaros. The pass interference call on this play meant there was no actual punishment for this play. 15 yards is sufficient in most roughing the passer calls. This was beyond terrible.

A penalty box where either the offender sits out for the rest of that quarter and the next quarter. Automatic ejection. Automatic 1-game suspension. A 25-yard penalty chip the other team can use within that quarter, cashing it in to improve field position.

Plays that are not tied into the contact of football deserve a special category.

Brown did receive a fine. The amount of CFL fines are not disclosed.

2024 CFL preseason schedule

Random news and notes:

The Montréal Alouettes clinched a CFL playoffs spot. Exciting yet that seems to be the only certainty for the upcoming playoffs.

Dean Faithfull was the kicker for the Elks instead of Boris Bede. Faithfull missed a 29-yard attempt but otherwise had a good day.

We haven't talked much about the Alouettes kicking situation. José Maltos has filled in well for David Côté. We noticed that Montréal released Canadian kicker Michael Domagala this week. Maybe Edmonton would look in that direction.

By all accounts, Ryquell Armstead has had a successful year on the field as a running back for the Ottawa RedBlacks. The RedBlacks added running back Jamal Morrow to the practice roster while releaseing Armstead. There was the game in Week 8 against Calgary when Armstead was ejected and Ottawa was left without a traditional running back for most of the game.

The criticism of the smaller Saskatchewan crowds earlier in the season had a contrast for the Labour Day Classic, where 33,861 attended, the largest crowd ever at the new Mosaic Stadium. Roughriders fans often travel long distances to Regina and the holiday helped boost the attendance. Thursday night games are more viable in Toronto or Montréal than Regina.

Calgary had 17 days of rest. McLeod Bethel-Thompson complained about too little rest earlier in Edmonton's schedule. The Stampeders felt like a team with rust. Edmonton had a rough stretch at the end of the 2021 season that would have been worse if they had any chance at a CFL playoff spot.

Woah. #CFL #CFLonTSN pic.twitter.com/63l3l3bUxW

— Rider fan (@GreyCupBound) September 3, 2024

We normally don't even blink at the CFL standings in early September. The West Division is very different this season. Edmonton and Winnipeg have 2 games to come. Same for Calgary and Saskatchewan. BC has 2 divisional games left in the whole season. The Roughriders tie is a significant variable. Consider that the top 3 go to the playoffs and 2 of them will go home.

2024 CFL on CTV schedule, all kickoff times ET:

Sept. 7 | SSK at WPG | 3 p.m.
Sept. 14 | OTT at HAM | 3 p.m.
Sept. 21 | MTL at OTT | 3 p.m.
Sept. 28 | OTT at SSK | 3 p.m.
Oct. 12 | EDM at CGY | 3 p.m.
Oct. 19 | OTT at TOR | 3 p.m.
Oct. 26 | WPG at MTL | 3 p.m.
Nov. 2 | Eastern… https://t.co/8U37PsRNg1 pic.twitter.com/3EOIsGmxPW

— Justin Dunk (@JDunk12) June 6, 2024

CTV hasn't carried a CFL game since the end of the 1986 season. The Canadian Football Network (1987-1990) carried games on over-the-air stations. CBC resumed control of the CFL in 1991 and carried its last game in 2007.

CFL commissioner Randy Ambroisie wanted the CFL on CTV for some time, as previous commissioners likely felt the same way.

The setup is similar to what ESPN telecasts on ABC look like as these are TSN productions for CTV. Hoping for some fun graphics or even special blazers for the CTV effort.

The few Americans who have access to a CTV station should be in great shape. Those games should not be blacked out for any reason. As we've noted, none of the CTV games appear on the CBS Sports Network.

We don't know about the streaming options for the CTV games in Canada. Enhanced feeds of the CTV game should be on TSN+.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Ottawa @ BC: Dustin Nielson/Glen Suitor/Farhan Lalji
Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan: Rod Smith/Paul LaPolice/Brit Dort
Toronto @ Hamilton: Marshall Ferguson/Duane Forde/Matthew Scianitti
Edmonton @ Calgary: Dustin Nielson/Glen Suitor/Farhan Lalji

Before the pandemic, the CFL crews were very specific for the 3 major Labour Day weekend games. Touchdown Pacific threw that off. Glen Suitor wasn't in Regina. Dustin Nielson called Touchdown Pacific and the Battle of Alberta. Marshall Ferguson called the Labour Day Classic in Hamilton.

The regular CFL on TSN panel was in place, as in Victoria on Saturday and Hamilton on Monday.

We will be curious as to whether the same PBP and colour crews will stick with the same matchups in the revenge games. This used to be the weekend for Gord Miller and Matt Dunigan, a combo where I would watch them call just about any sport.

TSN had some issues in Victoria with the stuttering transmission. Someone could have said "sorry" for what happened.

logo credit: CFL
Twitter captures: @BCLions; @3DownNation; @BCLions; @ConnorHrabchak1; @GreyCupBound; @JDunk12
photo credit: CFL

2024 TIFF preview

The best of Canadian cinema lives at #TIFF24. 🍁

Tell us your favourite Canadian film. 👇 pic.twitter.com/JfWlo5vGJi

— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) September 2, 2024

The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival begins tonight, though full days don't kick into tomorrow. The film festival runs today through September 15.

The buzzy part (can we come up with a better word than buzzy) is mostly about films with marketing budgets that they don't deserve and stars you actually recognize. Some of these films will play in the next 2-3 months in theatres or even come into your home via streaming. Aim for the films that don't get the hype and stick in your mind years after the flavour of the week.

You can check out Elle Canada's take on Canadian films in the festival. The Globe and Mail weighs in on the "buzziest" films at TIFF24 if you are one of the privileged few who can read the whole article.

That Shelf, which is a good resource, has their top festival picks. There are no Canadian films in the significant profiles, though the "Also excited for:" area lists Bonjour Tristesse, The Canadian Press "buzzy" list does not list any Canadian films.

RDV Canada has a nice wrapup of Canadian titles at TIFF24.

We inadvertently added Heretic to our Canadian film preview since there was a maple leaf. We have updated our Canadian film preview.

Universal Language is Canada's entry into the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film

I have been on the case for years for TIFF to bring back the Best Canadian First Feature Film. The award was last given out to The Twentieth Century from Matthew Rankin in 2019.

TIFF has finally conceded the need to recognize up and coming Canadian filmmakers. The festival is now presenting the Best Canadian Discovery Award with the new name and criteria. The award will now be an option for first- or second-feature films of those "in Official Selection by Canadian filmmakers are eligible for this award."

The winner will receive a cash prize of $10,000, same as the winner of the Best Canadian Feature Film Award, which specifically excludes first- or second-feature films.

The irony is that Universal Language | Une langue universelle would be eligible since this is Matthew Rankin's second feature film.

2023 TIFF Rising Stars

2022 TIFF Rising Stars

We get back an award that had been missing for 5 years and then we lose TIFF Rising Stars. While we haven't seen an official announcement, TIFF is not doing Rising Stars in 2024. The festival has been promoting young Canadian talent since 2011. The initial exercise was to spotlight young talent, even if they didn't have a film in that year's festival. The last few years has seen a shift where the Rising Stars specifically had films in the festival.

We were thinking about the benefits that, as an example, Sara Montpetit would get as a TIFF Rising Star. Montpetit was the lead in Maria Chapdelaine, co-lead in Falcon Lake, and the lead in Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person | Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant.

2015 TIFF Rising Star Deragh Campbell had 2 films at TIFF24. 2016 TIFF Rising Star Sophie Nélisse is very busy in 2 languages in 2 countries. 2017 TIFF Rising Star Théodore Pellerin is in high demand, mostly in French. 2018 TIFF Rising Star Devery Jacobs is juggling success in TV and film.

TIFF should be rewarding young Canadian talent. Hopefully, we won't have to wait 5 years for that to happen again.

We are a bit envious of Eric Tisch, The record-setting pace of seeing the most films in a festival would be rather impressive on its own. I know the Windsor International Film Festival record is 77.

More impressed on some level is that Tisch, programming manager for National Canadian Film Day, is out to watch every single Canadian film at TIFF. My Windsor experience would be very different if I could watch all of them at TIFF. Of course, Windsor adds Canadian films that don't play at TIFF.

His goal is 80 films. Tisch caught 63 films, including every Canadian film, at TIFF 2023.

Good luck to Tisch in his film-going adventure. We recommend a hearty cereal that doesn't need milk or granola to keep your energy up to absorb all those films.  

#TIFF24's @cameron_tiff shares which Canadian filmmakers are already making waves at the festival this year 🇨🇦✨ pic.twitter.com/fiMHb6ULvE

— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) September 3, 2024

TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey mentions the obvious in the Canadian films coming to TIFF: David Cronenberg, Guy Maddin, and Matthew Rankin. Bailey also mentions Sophie Deraspe's new film Shepherds. You might feel like there are a lot of current French-Canadian female filmmakers named Sophie and you have a difficult time remembering which ones are the ones you like. We would argue they are all good, except of course, for Sophie Dupuis.

2024 TIFF Canadian film preview

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Oh, Canada played at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, though the film is definitely not a Canadian film. Richard Gere plays the older version of a writer who goes to Canada to avoid the Vietnam War. Uma Thurman is also in the film, written and directed by Paul Schrader.

Leonard Fife, the character played by Gere and Jacob Elordi as a younger version, is a documentary filmmaker living in Montréal.

Ironically, a film about running away to Canada was not actually shot in Canada. I don't have a crystal ball but I doubt his character will reflect someone who has lived in Canada, much less Montréal, for well over 50 years. Hopefully, the character will be more "Canadian" than Sandra Bullock's lame presentation of a Canadian in The Proposal.

Tegan and Sara, the Canadian music duo, are the subject of a documentary coming to TIFF24. Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara of is not a Canadian film yet telling a Canadian story. Our American readers can catch the documentary on Hulu starting October 18.

Saturday Night from Canadian director Jason Reitman makes its Canadian premiere at TIFF24. The story is the lead up to the debut of Saturday Night (later Saturday Night Live) in 1975. Canadian characters in the film include Lorne Michaels (creator of the show), Dan Aykroyd (writer and performer), and Paul Shaffer (part of the band).

BC native Pamela Anderson is back in The Last Showgirl, playing a seasoned Vegas showgirl trying to find her next act in life. The film is from Gia Coppola.

Denis Villeneuve will be at TIFF24 to talk about his very non-Canadian films, the Dune films.

The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival runs through September 15.

Twitter captures: @TIFF_NET (x2)
photo credits: @NFB_Jennifer; Seeds/@levelFILM
Facebook capture: Reel Canada/National Canadian Film Day

Canadian politics notebook: Very little of Canada in latest CPC ad

A family in Tuscany. Guns and fields of crops from the United States. A university in Slovenia. Russian fighter jets. An elementary school in Serbia. Foothills in Indonesia.

The federal Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) released a 3-minute video of its leader — Pierre Poilievre — giving a speech at the 2024 Calgary Stampede.

The video was made to seem like all of these lovely images were Canadian since the speech itself talks about Canada, perhaps one some feel like we haven't seen in awhile (if ever). The obvious problem is that the party used footage from everywhere else but Canada. The image of the school guard welcoming the students is from Canada. The rest of the footage isn't from Canada.

Okay, mistakes get made. Even huge mistakes. What is intriguing about this instance is that the party pulled down the ad almost immediately. No acknowledgment that any mistakes happened or any explanation. Pulled down. Nothing to see here.

Let's acknowledge the true Canadian heroes. Calgary-based Twitter user @disorderedyyc, who tracked down the information about the misleading footage. Using Utah's Rockies and not even the Canadian Rockies?

Tom St Denis, who saved the footage of the original video for all to see.

"We're home" is the message but the visuals in the ad are anything but, well, home, as in Canada.

The teacher greeting the students when the video shows us a school crossing guard greeting the students. Celebrating sobriety with alcohol. Somehow hearing the sounds of nails into Canadian lumber. Why are grandpa and grandma looking west?

The images aren't Canada (all but one) and the words are about a Canada that never existed.

CNN thought it was news.

The Guardian thought it was news.

Yet most Canadian news organizations didn’t, or used the Canadian Press reporting if at all.

That’s a problem. https://t.co/ZKcVVo0fCa

— Greg MacEachern (@gmacofglebe) August 23, 2024

This was newsworthy, even significant. If the Liberals or the NDP were this foolish, the story would be high on news pages throughout Canada.

Pierre Poilievre does this? Crickets. Typical was this response from The Current on CBC Radio One (Matt Galloway on vacation) where the ad was barely mentioned and the attitude basically was "no one will care in a year and why care now."

The CPC isn't even confronted on pulling the ad without explanation. The party knew the mainstream press wouldn't challenge them.

The 2 Canadian heroes did what we normally call journalism. The actual journalists? They wanted the story to go away.

Canadaland was a lot better, though even they took their time getting to this story. A conservative episode glossed over the ad, dismissing it like most of Canadian mainstream journalism.

The use of the overseas footage was one concern. At a time when Conservatives in Ontario are closing safe consumption sites, having a part of a speech where they celebrate sobriety with alcohol is really insensitive. That segment on The Current could have mentioned that point.

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

Canadian travel notebook: Brittlestar talks up Atlantic Canada

Brittlestar as well as This Hour Has 22 Minutes put more energy into commentary over the ad than all the mainstream Canadian journalism combined. Not just the origin of the ads but the running commentary.

Season 32. September 17th at 8pm on @cbc & @cbcgem. pic.twitter.com/51mcZtbHq1

— 22Minutes (@22_Minutes) August 30, 2024

This Hour Has 22 Minutes made sure to capture its take on the CPC ad. We will run our look at the CBC television fall lineup next week.

The official news release on the collapse of @voteBCUnited pic.twitter.com/nIKaoFPT0b

— Rob Shaw (@RobShaw_BC) August 28, 2024

Usually a political party in Canada will ask the leader to step down. Kevin Falcon, BC United leader, took the unusual step of resigning the party for the upcoming British Columbia election, scheduled for October 19.

The scramble is for the 140 candidates combined for the BC United Party, formerly known as the BC Liberal Party, and the relatively new BC Conservative Party for 93 ridings. This has forced some incumbents to not run next month. Shirley Bond and Todd Stone are 2 of many who aren't running for re-election. Both served as cabinet ministers in what was then the BC Liberal Party.

Some BC United members might find an easy path to support John Rustad and the BC Conservatives. Falcon, who is not running for re-election, throw his support to that party. The BC Conservatives were a spinoff of the BC United Party over significant disagreements.

Many other BC United politicians are caught in the middle without a place to land or some will shift to David Eby and the NDP government currently in power. Some of the BC Conservatives takes on issues, such as vaccines, were not in the comfort zone of some BC United members and presumably voters.

At the time of the announcement, the BC Conservatives have 5 MLAs and 83 candidates while B.C. United had 23 MLAs with 57 candidates. Vote splitting was a concern in some of those ridings, which would increase the chances for the NDP candidate in a riding.

Falcon kicked Rustad out of BC United and then threw his support behind Rustad. The name switch from BC Liberals (which included Liberals and Conservatives) was likely a hindrance. Money was also likely a concern, as in raising funds for the party.

My name is David Eby, but I approve Kevin Falcon's message. https://t.co/KddcerEHsc

— David Eby (@Dave_Eby) August 29, 2024

The NDP has been in charge in the province since shortly after the 2017 election. While the Liberals won the most seats, that party was unable to form government. The NDP and Green Party then formed government. The NDP won a majority government in 2020. The Liberals had been in charge from 2001-2017.

This is a developing story and very new territory. The closest parallel in Canadian provincial politics was when then Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith, the then Opposition Leader in the Alberta legislature, led a floor crossing to the Progressive Conservatives in 2014.

The writ is expected to drop on September 21 for the October 19 election. We will run a preview for that race as well as provincial elections this fall in New Brunswick (October 21) and Saskatchewan (October 28).

2024 Canadian politics preview

CanadianCrossing.com British Columbia coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

This isn't #journalism, it's stalking.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is confronted during his family holiday by Keean Bexte of Rebel News on a Tofino, B.C. beach.https://t.co/6GlG3z5bub via @thehilltimes

— André Picard (@picardonhealth) July 25, 2024

We have seen a couple of "gotcha" type moments against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the last month or so. There was the stalking of a right-wing person with Trudeau on a BC beach while the prime minister was on vacation. The more recent incident was an infiltration with another right-wing person impersonated a steel worker to complain about paying 40% in income taxes (the numbers didn't even come close).

We get that some would love for Trudeau to leave. Paul Wells is obsessed about not knowing the prime minister's schedule when Wells conveniently ignores the efforts that right-wing people are doing to confront Trudeau. Even if you are someone who doesn't agree with Trudeau's policies, the prime minister deserves decent Canadian respect.

Liberals and NDP people were far more frustrated with Stephen Harper in 2015 and behaved in a civil manner.

Montreal - the town to henceforth be known as, "Wherever my parents' job took us."

— Alexander Panetta (@Alex_Panetta) August 23, 2024

Not so much Canadian politics but politics that can't say "Montréal" or "Canada." U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is running for the top job, president of the United States. The convention speech is a time to introduce yourself to voters who may not know who you are.

Harris lived in Montréal from 1976 to 1981 because her mother got a job at McGill University. She was a teenager who couldn't control where she lived. The vice president just couldn't realistically say the word "Montréal" in her convention speech. What if she speaks French? Does she have friends affiliated with the Parti Quebecois? Does she endorse Bill 101? When (if?) Harris went to a Montréal Expos game at Stade Olympique, did she sing O Canada in French and English? All English? Not at all? Sacre bleu!!

photo credit: Conservative Party of Canada
Twitter captures: @gmacofglebe; @22_Minutes; @RobShaw_BC; @Dave_Eby; @picardonhealth; @Alex_Panetta
video credits: Tom St Denis; Brittlestar

Upcoming Canadian film coverage for September 2024

We are expecting 2 major #cdnfilm stories this week. @TIFF_net list of #RisingStars as well as @Telefilm_Canada announcement for Best International Feature Film for @TheAcademy. Please have those announcements on different days. Please don't wait until Friday. #Oscars

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) August 26, 2024

Welcome to September!! Hope you are enjoying the long weekend for Labour Day (Labor Day for our U.S. friends and readers).

We got the Academy Awards announcement with Telefilm Canada selecting Universal Language | Une langue universelle as Canada's entry into the Best International Feature Film for the Oscars.

While we don't have official confirmation about TIFF Rising Stars, we gather the festival people skipped that for TIFF24. We will have more about that in our 2024 TIFF preview on Thursday.

Universal Language is Canada's entry into the Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film

2024 TIFF Canadian film preview

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage