Canadian Crossing

Danielle Smith gets a smaller majority government for the UCP in Alberta

Alberta voters did a lot in the 2023 provincial election. They finally elected Danielle Smith as a premier, something she couldn't pull off in 2012. They gave Rachel Notley and the New Democratic Party the strongest opposition in the history of Alberta.

Maybe those Alberta voters gave the Calgary Flames a new arena. Voters might have been more scared of the "boogieman" Justin Trudeau in Ottawa than a conflict of interest charge against its own premier.

Smith talked in her victory speech about wanting the best in education and health care in Alberta, which isn't likely given its track record in both areas. Smith's attacks on Trudeau got more time than what she would do for Albertans.

The strategy for the winning United Conservative Party was "forward," which felt like code for "ignore what I have done."

We refuse on principle to make political predictions but feel confident that the UCP government will last longer than Danielle Smith, based on the pattern of the many conservative premiers in the last decade.

The unofficial count was 51 seats for the UCP and 36 seats for the NDP. There were no serious contenders from other parties in the province.

The NDP improved its lot with about +11 gain in the Alberta legislature. The NDP needed a lot of gains in Calgary as well as more rural areas. The party dominates in the capital city of Edmonton.

The UCP likely won because conservatives were reluctant to abandon the party, even if they disagree with the leader. Perceptions of the economy also played their part.

Usually on election night, there is rising support for the loser to resign. Alberta is not that place. The province now has its 3rd elected female premier and the only province with a female as premier and opposition leader. No other Canadian province has had 3 female premiers much less 3 elected ones.

The NDP went negative on Danielle Smith's leadership, which is like shooting fish in a barrel in a province not afraid of long guns. The NDP had bad luck in terms of the province financially when Notley and the party was in charge between 2015-2019. Albertans care about the perceptions of the economy more than in other Canadian provinces.

Alberta turned to the NDP in 2015 because things were bad enough to look for an alternative. Things to outsiders looked sufficiently bad in Alberta but the mirrors in Alberta don't work the way others think they should.

2023 Victoria Day notebook: Alberta wildfires starting early

The Alberta wildfires, which spread to other western provinces, were thought to be a concern for advance polling for the election. Elections Alberta reported 758,550 advance votes, up from 700,476 in 2019. The office also noted that 21.9% of those who voted early did so outside of their electoral division.

This isn't to say that some Albertans were severely affected by the wildfires in the voting process.

The unofficial turnout was 61.7% in 2023, down from about 64% in 2019. The unofficial vote total was 1,610,947.

Unofficially, the NDP gained 10 seats for women while the UCP lost 3 seats for women, a gain of +7 in the Alberta legislature.

2023 Alberta election preview

We hope the UCP will keep its promise to increase tax credits for films, making filmmaking — Canadian or otherwise — more viable in Alberta.

The NDP supplied tax credits for video games while in power. The UCP took those away when elected in 2019. The NDP promised to bring those back if elected in 2023.

CanadianCrossing.com Alberta coverage

The Washington Post editorial board weighed in on the Calgary downtown revitalization plan as being one of the best. Nice when Canada gets such good praise. A little suspicious given that Calgary was the bullseye of the 2023 Alberta election.

A potential new replacement for the Saddledome is needed on multiple levels. A new football stadium, which likely wouldn't be downtown, is also needed. The 2026 Winter Olympics, which could have easily been in Calgary, would have given that economic boost the city needed. 

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

The results came in a lot slower than normal from Elections Alberta.

photos credit: CBC News

Mourning the loss of The Main in Montreal

Ouch. Surprised at how much this hurts. An end to decades of The. Best. Smoked. Meat. In. Montreal. https://t.co/BQsZWjSNEt

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 9, 2023

I remember eating at The Main in Montréal in my travels. Excellent smoked meat. The best? I don't want to disagree with the prime minister of Canada. I liked the smoked meat at The Main and Schwartz's, across from each other on St. Laurent Boulevard in Montréal.

The fun in Montréal is the competition. The Main and Schwartz's for smoked meat. St-Viateur and Fairmount for bagels. While I don't have a smoked meat preference, I do have a bagel preference: St-Viateur.

Our sibling blog, BalanceofFood.com, took a look at the closure of The Main as part of a bigger restaurant when you lose one of your favourite restaurants.

Mourning the loss of your favorite restaurant (BalanceofFood.com)

The smoked meat battle was also about style. Schwartz's had more flash and style while The Main quietly went about its business. If the line at Schwartz's was too long, you could go across the street.

End of an era with closure of The Main, an iconic Montréal deli (The Current CBC Radio)

CanadianCrossing.com BalanceofFood.com coverage

CanadianCrossing.com food and drink coverage

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

I hope to get back to Montréal this summer. A city I adore and have not been there in too long. I have a list of favourites in Montréal and plan to try some places where I have never eaten.

Twitter capture: @JustinTrudeau
photo credit: CFCF Montréal/CTV News
video credit: YouTube/[email protected]

2023 Victoria Day notebook: Alberta wildfires starting early

Welcome to Victoria Day 2023, the unofficial start of summer in Canada. We gathered a few recent items of note and reflect on where Canada is at the moment. You don't have to be at the cabin or cottage to enjoy this notebook. Having a Caesar (or a virgin Caesar) and perhaps a bag of all-dressed or ketchup chips wouldn't hurt.

2023 Alberta election preview

CanadianCrossing.com Alberta coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

This should be a serious concern in upcoming #AbElection2023. Will be curious to see what voters think. #abpoli https://t.co/ytS52WQRpW

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) May 19, 2023

The Alberta election is a week today. Glad we got the decision that Alberta premier Danielle Smith breached the conflict of interest act. Smith's thought process sadly reminded us of the old Steve Martin joke about how he forgot armed robbery was against the law.

The primary story in the province this month is still the devastating wildfires, even with the election. The conditions are unfortunately ripe for wildfires. We've seen them spread beyond the province in Western Canada.

Can't wait for summer, except when wildfires are involved. Difficult to think about voting for Rachel Notley or Danielle Smith (not directly) when you might have to leave your home or already have evacuated.

We will have more on the Alberta election after we find out the results.

2022 Victoria Day notebook: Alberta in the spotlight

2021 Victoria Day notebook

Victoria Day 2020 notebook: Summer of uncertainty in Canada

Canadian notebook: Celebrating Victoria Day 2019

You likely have read about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas receiving luxury gifts from billionaire Harlan Crow. Sadly, this will likely not results in charges or removal from the bench.

Canada Supreme Court Justice Russell Brown has been on leave since February 1 over allegations in Arizona that involve a physical altercation and allegations of unwanted touching of women.

Action was swift in that the incident happened on January 28-29.

We haven't seen updates of late as to how long the leave will last or whether action can be taken against Brown.

The incidents are different in nature but you do get the sense that the Canada Supreme Court cares about appearances on the court while the same is not true in the United States.

Russell Brown and Clarence Thomas do have one intriguing element in common: both were highly conservative judges at a really young age with little judicial experience. Thomas had not been a judge while Brown was only a judge for 2½ years in Alberta.

Brown is 57. If he stays on the court, he can be there until September 15, 2040, his 75th birthday.

Canadian TV notebook: A much longer wait for Season 3 of Transplant on NBC

There are a lot of Canadian TV shows coming this summer and fall to the CW. One of those "old" shows is Transplant, where Season 3 will be further delayed, as in 2024. Some of that is the writers strike in the United States. That strike may open the flood gates for more Canadian TV.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

There is a new Canadian film with a following in the United States. Blackberry is about the Canadian phenomena with a phone with a keyboard.

Matt Johnson directed the film from a screenplay from Johnson and Matthew Miller about the rise and fall of Canadian tech company Research in Motion. American actor Glenn Howerton plays Jim Balsillie while Canadian icon Jay Baruchel plays Mike Lazaridis.

Canadians have great stories that should be told by Canadians. Let's hope for more opportunities like Blackberry and fewer like Argo.

Your humble narrator has not seen the film. Just odd that a lot of Americans can easily see this film in theatres.

The End of Sex played in U.S. theatres for a week. The film played in a couple of Chicago suburbs but not in the actual city, where more likely filmgoers would see this film.

Monia Chokri's new film The Nature of Love | Simple comme Sylvain is the lone Canadian film in competition at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. This film follows a wealthy woman who has an affair with a working class man.

The film is in the Un Certain Regard section, the same place as A Brother's Love in 2019. You might recall that Chokri directed and starred in Babysitter (2022). Chokri wrote and directed the 2019 and 2023 films.

CBC News has a nice wrapup of the overall Canadian presence at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

2023 CFL preseason schedule

The CFL preseason starts today at 4 pm Eastern/2 pm Mountain with the Battle of Alberta as the Elks of Edmonton travel to Calgary to play the Stampeders.

The new CFL Preseason Live means all the preseason games are available online in the U.S. (online for 6, TV for 3 in Canada) though there is no on-demand option.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Gary Bettman's pet project has been a colossal failure in the greater Phoenix area. The latest is a sound rejection of a new arena in Tempe last week.

The argument in Glendale was that fans couldn't get to the arena. The local TV ratings are anemic, barely ahead of what a test pattern (ask your grandparents) would get.

The Arizona Coyotes need a new home and not in the desert. Salt Lake City, Houston, and Kansas City have been mentioned as possible relocation destinations.

The obvious choice is Quebec City and the Quebec Nordiques 2.0. Beautiful new arena, hockey history, fans who like and will support hockey. TSN's Pierre LeBrun, among many others, mentions that Quebec City doesn't have enough corporate money. The idea that the arena would be filled, lots more merchandise would be sold, and a great rivalry in La Belle Province isn't as valuable as corporate money in Salt Lake City is highly frustrating.

The potential ownership has been vetted when Quebec City put up a bid for an expansion team, a setup that was rigged for another desert city and away from an actual hockey city. Time to right a wrong and bring back the Quebec Nordiques.

Canada has a bit of copycat with corporate names for stadiums and arenas. Rogers has the MLB stadium in Toronto and hockey arenas in Edmonton and Vancouver. Scotiabank has the NBA and NHL arena in Toronto and the NHL arena in Calgary.

There is a satisfaction of referring to the large stadium in Toronto as SkyDome, the original name for the stadium. Exhibition Stadium was the home of the Blue Jays (MLB) and Argonauts (CFL). Its replacement has a corporate name (BMO Field).

Taylor Field in Regina, the long-time home of the CFL Saskatchewan Roughriders, was named for Neil J. "Piffles" Taylor, a World War I fighter pilot who served as president of the Regina Roughriders, the Canadian Rugby Union, and the Western Interprovincial Football Union.

Ivor Wynne, as in Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, was athletic director and dean of students at McMaster University.

Mosaic Stadium was also the last name given to Taylor Field. The new Mosaic Stadium is likely to be called that since that field only had that name.

The CFL has corporate names in Regina, Winnipeg, Edmonton (field only), Toronto, Hamilton, and Ottawa.

Vancouver has BC Place and the old Empire Stadium, though one of the Rogers arenas is in Vancouver.

You can find out more about that shirt.

photo credits: Baroness Von Sketch/CBC; uni-watch.com
Twitter capture: @canadian_xing
video credit: YouTube/IFC Films

Female actors shouldn't be limited in roles once they have played a mother

Actors, regardless of gender, reach a point where they start playing parents onscreen. Character actors know this more than traditional leading actors.

Unfortunately, there has been a stigma in Hollywood over female actors and their decision to play mothers. The worry is that they won't be seen as "sexy" or "desirable" once they have played a mother.

The concept is a bunch of bull[droppings] since a woman's "desirability" shouldn't decrease a drop just for playing a mother. Also, men don't have this stigma and they aren't usually as involved with the children onscreen.

Rachel McAdams (she's Canadian) is playing Barbara Simon, mother of Margaret, in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Without knowing (or caring) about her age, she would seem old enough to play a woman who has a daughter about 11 or 12. Not a stretch. Hoping Hollywood still thinks of her and other female actors as viable in the roles she is used to playing.

Natalie Portman rolled the dice on this topic a few years back when she played the mother of Jacob Tremblay's character in Xavier Dolan film The Death and Life of John F. Donovan in 2018. Portman's strategy might have been to play a mom in a film that might not have all that much traction in the United States.

Portman did a really nice job in that film. The scene where she is chasing after him on the sidewalk was highly powerful. As far as most of Hollywood knows, Portman never played a mom in a film.

I thought the film was better than most people thought, though I can feel their complaints about the film.

Canadian film review: The Death and Life of John F. Donovan

English Canada argues that they don't have a star system, and we generally agree. Quebec has its own actors, most of whom don't peek out into the English side.

Macha Grenon leaps into my head because I seen her play mother roles in English (The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom) and French (Familia). Grenon also played a mother as the lead in Nouvelle adresse on Ici Radio-Canada Télé. English Canadians might know This Life, which is the English language adaptation on the CBC.

Perhaps Grenon is known for doing well playing mothers and has that look. Plenty of American female actors play mothers and are often typecast in those roles.

We've seen Grenon play non-mother roles in French (Days of Darkness | L'Âge des ténèbres from Denys Arcand) and in English (Barney's Version).

Canadian film review: The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom

Molly Parker is seen saying goodbye to her daughter as she goes off to university in Essex County. That isn't quite the same as she does very little mothering in the 5-episode miniseries this spring on CBC. Her character provides some work as a aunt, which is like a mother but not a mother. Parker does a number of U.S. based projects but again, few in Hollywood will know Essex County even exists.

Parker played the mother of Kit (Dylan Authors) in Weirdos (2016) from Bruce McDonald. Then again, her character was not going to win Mother of the Year.

Canadian film review: Weirdos

Tatiana Maslany won an American Emmy and 4 (out of 4) Canadian Screen Awards for her roles in Orphan Black for 5 seasons. Sarah Manning was a mom to her daughter Kira (Skyler Wexler). Kira was smart enough to know which one was her mother, despite the clones. Cosima Niehaus did interact with Kira more than the other clones; Rachel Duncan, not so much.

Then again, with Maslany also playing Alison Hendrix, Helena, and several clones, maybe the motherhood part got pushed to the side. Siobhan Sadler (Irish actor Maria Doyle Kennedy) was more of a mother to Kira than Sarah was, having served as the foster mother to Sarah and Felix (Jordan Gavaris).

The Canadian system offers a lot more flexibility for female actors. Grace Lynn Kung, who is the lead in Wong & Winchester on Citytv, also plays a mom on Sort Of. Amanda Brugel played 7ven's mother on Season 2 of Sort Of. They aren't being typecast in Canada.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The hope is that Hollywood overhauls its view on female actors, especially lead female actors, to realize that playing a variety of roles enhances a female actor instead of diminishing them for playing a "mother."

Rachel McAdams playing the mother in the movie adaptation of a Judy Blume novel should be the catalyst that changes the Hollywood mindset toward female actors. Even when they get to play grandmothers, female actors are still viable in my film world.

photo credits: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret; The Death and Life of John F. Donovan; The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom; Orphan Black

Remembering Canadian music icon Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Lightfoot died earlier this week at the age of 84. An amazing Canadian singer-songwriter with a 5+ decade career. The Order of Canada. Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald might be your most favourite or least favourite Gordon Lightfoot song. Neither for me. Lightfoot had an amazing international career yet he kept Canada as his base. He also showed Canadian musicians that you could do both.

This won't be a typical obituary in the classic sense. Listen to the hits and pick out songs you may not have known, such as Cotton Jenny.or Canadian Railroad Trilogy.

Our tribute starts out with an offbeat look at Lightfoot as a prolific singer and songwriter. SCTV had this really funny skit where Lightfoot sings every song ever recorded. A very Canadian idea.

Remembering Gordon Lightfoot: Canadian folk music icon (The Current)

Remembering Gordon Lightfoot (Q from CBC Radio)

CBC Radio seemed like a good place to remember Gordon Lightfoot. The special Q episode devoted the entire show to the memory of Gordon Lightfoot, including an interview with Anne Murray. Murray McLauchlan and Tom Wilson were also guests on the program hosted by regular Q host Tom Power and Commotion's Elamin Abdelmahmoud.

Nicholas Jennings, who wrote Lightfoot the biography, was a guest on The Current with Matt Galloway.

He's been in my life as long as I can remember, first through his songs, then by writing about him through the decades. Proud to be his biographer.
R.I.P. Gordon. Condolences to his wife Kim, his children, grandchildren, bandmates and friends. @lightfoot365 #gordonlightfoot pic.twitter.com/Xv2nOKUeCc

— Nicholas Jennings (@nicojennings) May 2, 2023

Peter Mansbridge on his podcast The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge will also look back at the life and career of Gordon Lightfoot. You can hear that on SXM Canada or wherever you get your podcasts. 

I saw Gordon Lightfoot a few years back in person. I wish it was in Massey Hall in Toronto, where Lightfoot might have the record for playing the most dates of any artist there. The theatre was intimate. Lightfoot physically wasn't at his best but still put on a really good show.

I loved how much the fans knew the songs I did not know. You forget all the really great songs he had. Hits a plenty but simple songs I had never heard and still enjoyed. One of the radio guests pointed out there were lots of unreleased songs because he was so meticulous to make sure they were where Lightfoot wanted them to be.

2019 WIFF Canadian films in review

2019 WIFF Canadian films in review: Documentaries

"A must for huge Lightfoot fans and a nice primer if you only know the major hits."

If you think you know a lot about Gordon Lightfoot, you will still learn a lot about him from the 2019 documentary Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind. Saw the film at the 2019 Windsor International Film Festival. I know we say we learn a lot from documentaries. I had no idea and was blown away.

CanadianCrossing.com music coverage

“I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Lightfoot as a child – he spent the afternoon in the Gatineau Hills with my family, and it is a memory I will always cherish." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this as part of his statement on the death of Gordon Lightfoot.

We tease about the prominent Canadians with the first name Gord or Gordon. We lost Gordon Pinsent earlier this year. We lost Gord Downie from The Tragically Hip in 2017. Gordie Howe passed away in 2016.

Ranger Gord (Peter Keleghan) was a part of The Red Green Show. Gord Miller is alive and a real person. There are 2 prominent Canadians named Gordon Sinclair.

Gordon Lightfoot might be the most significant of all the Gord and that is saying something in Canada.

The photo is of Gordon Lightfoot performing 100 Years Young, which was a CBC variety special celebrating Canada's centennial from 1967.

video credit: YouTube/westnyacktwins
photo credit: Roy Martin/CBC Still Photo Collection; @petermansbridge
Twitter capture: @nicojennings

Finding a doctor in Canada is a lot harder in real life than in some Canadian films

Feels like I've seen The Grand Seduction twice. In reality, I saw the 2003 film Seducing Doctor Lewis | La grande séduction and the 2013 film The Grand Seduction.

Both films are written by Ken Scott (Michael Dowse co-wrote the English language version) with other directors: Jean-François Pouliot (Francaise) and Don McKellar (English).

The stories are the same, maddeningly. A lot more similar than Delivery Man, the English language remake of Starbuck (both from Ken Scott). The premise is that a small fishing village needs a plant that will provide jobs. The company insists the town have a doctor, something the town has struggled to find.

Big city doctor gets tricked into coming to the small town. The people of the small town work hard to convince said doctor to stay.

Canadian film has certainly tackled the issue of health care. Think Denys Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions, the only Canadian film to win an Oscar in the international film category. The image of patients in hospital beds in the hallway felt like a parody.

What has been a quaint topic in those Ken Scott films is an ever growing reality in Canadian health care: finding a doctor in Canada is a difficult task.

2022 Canada Day notebook

The Grand Seduction matches up well with Quebecois version

"Roughly six million Canadian adults don't have access to a family doctor—up from 4.6 million in 2019. The situation is particularly alarming in rural communities where only 8% of physicians are serving nearly one-fifth of Canada’s population." This according to a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) report.

The numbers in Ontario alone is about 1.8 million without a family physician. This first person account gives some intricate details on the search for a family doctor.

Please do not capture this out of context as a bash of the medical system in Canada versus the United States. Medical debt and anxiety that only happens in the United States is not a part of the rest of the world. The Canadian health care system is being hit with retirement of doctors due to burnout from the COVID-19 pandemic, Baby Boomers doctors retiring, and difficulty of trained medical doctors from outside Canada to get credentials to practice in Canada. The Jason Kenney government was chasing away doctors in Alberta but that was more about politics.

Those who have watched Transplant either on CTV in Canada or NBC in the United States know the complex route of the pilot episode so Dr. Bashir Hamed can practice medicine in a Canadian hospital. That is not typical though the show gives us a perspective on that struggle, even in getting to practice medicine.

Canada has 2 huge struggles in administering medicine in a single payer system. The country is mostly rural (think The Grand Seduction) and health care is run by the provinces.

Also, the provinces ask for money from the federal government but don't always spend that money on health care.

A recent episode of the Backbench podcast explored some of the many concerns over Canadian health care. Mattea Roach, the Backbench host (yes, that Mattea Roach), has a nice perspective in that she grew up in rural Nova Scotia and now lives in the big city in Toronto. Roach noted that big Canadian cities are starting to see the inequities of the Canadian health care system that rural people have known for a long time.

Would Americans get an abortion in Canada?

Samantha Bee stands up for Canadian health care

Canadian journalism notebook: Canadian cities losing Monday newspaper editions

Jeopardy! champion Mattea Roach finishes amazing run of 23 straight victories

Canadian doctors have plenty of debt when they get out of university, though not nearly on the scale of the debt that U.S. doctors have. The issue with Baby Boomer doctors retiring, plus more old people who need care: these are true in Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world. The world also had to deal with the damage of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care systems.

CanadianCrossing.com health care coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

W. Kamau Bell and his United Shades of America show took a look at the reality of health care in Canada in 2018. Some of that was from previous testimony from Dr. Danielle Martin on the realities of health care in Canada in 2017. British Columbia and Vancouver have been on the forefront on opioids in ways the United States could only dream of doing.

U.S. news rarely talks about Canada, even when the U.S. president comes to Canada and spends the night. Often, real TV journalists rely on stereotypes of other countries, especially Bell. We explore Canada and aren't afraid to delve into the true state of the country or talk about Nickleback (how did Nickleback get into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame?).

Health care should not be a profit-making enterprise, even as we saw the significance of private long-term care homes in Ontario. Canada is the closest example of single payer to the United States. Americans should pay more attention to health care north of the border, good and bad.

photo credits: The Grand Seduction; Transplant/CTV

Time to bring needed limits on gambling ads during sports programming

We have been critical of the expanse of gambling ads during Canadian sports telecasts. Our concern goes back years in writing about cigarette ads, spirits ads, and other so-called "controversial" yet legal products.

Canada has chosen a laissez-faire type approach to what is allowed in gambling advertising. The provinces are more in control than one might expect (think health care). The laissez faire approach has not gone over well.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has a proposal to ban the use of athletes and celebrities, who might appeal to kids, in internet gambling advertisements. The AGCO is accepting comments until May 8. New rules wouldn't take effect until 3 months after the publication of final, amended standards.

The ban would only apply to Ontario, though that would take out national advertising in Canada.

The UK instituted similar rules a year ago: that ban affects athletes, reality TV and social media stars who appeal to young people.

The Big 3 in Canada gambling advertising are Connor McDavid, Wayne Gretzky, and Auston Matthews: people who definitely appeal to kids.

The NFL just suspended 5 players, 3 of them indefinitely, for gambling. The NHL doesn't need that kind of grief to the sport.

Under the current setup, gambling ads, in and out of content, go way further than beer and spirits ads. If they stuck to similar principles, we might still hate the gambling ads but they would be much more tolerable.

These are our proposed rules:

1) No person currently playing in the NHL or has any connection to the sport in an on-air capacity shall appear in person or voice in any gambling ad.

2) No ad with updated odds shall appear once the game has started until the conclusion of said game.

3) No gambling content is allowed within pregame or postgame programming on any national or local team broadcast.

4) No in-game ads. Ads would be limited to commercial breaks.

Under these rules, gambling sites can run ads, odds or otherwise, during pregame and postgame programming, just not within content. They can run ads during the game and in intermissions, just not with updated odds.

Cabbie Richards, executive producer of sports betting content for Sportsnet, could be in ads during commercial breaks but can't incorporate Sportsnet personalities into ads, especially within programming.

Sports networks could still run odds in the news scroll at the bottom of the screen.

Rule #1 would definitely apply to Wayne Gretzky (among others). Hiring former NHL players to promote gambling is bad enough but not being actively involved with the league can be a restraint of trade. Having the most significant retired player associated with gambling is a terrible image for the NHL.

Our proposed rules don't go as far as the AGCO proposal, though theirs is limited to internet ads. We wouldn't lose any sleep if its ban were in place.

What about Rogers Sportsnet studio content being sponsored by a betting company? This is the same company that had Huawei as a sponsor when 2 Canadians were held hostage in China, an action tied directly to the telecommunications company. Rule #5 would be that a betting company could sponsor studio coverage but without any content tied to the company. In other words, you could have the logo and say the name of the company but you couldn't add descriptive content, especially from on-air people tied to the sport.

Advocates push to ban gambling ads featuring athletes (The Current)

Brian Masse, the NDP MP for Windsor West in Ontario, was responsible with his federal sports betting bill that paved the way for legal online gambling in Canada. Masse told Matt Galloway on The Current that he is in favour of the proposed ACGO changes.

Paul Burns, president and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, also was on the segment with Galloway. Burns insisted they didn't want people who would appeal to children, but McDavid and Matthews absolutely qualify. Gretzky does in many ways.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian society coverage

The Federal Communications Commission in the United States and PBS have rules and laws over what might appear to be "ads" on PBS. Those rules are considered to be lax, giving leeway to put an "ad" on a network that isn't supposed to have ads.

Limits on ads or even "ads" are easy to compile and enforce.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

There was an era where many active baseball players, including Willie Mays and Stan Musial, advertised cigarettes. They might mention this true statement to justify current NHL players to do gambling ads.

We know cigarettes are addictive. We know gambling is addictive. The mistakes of past eras shouldn't be used to justify the mistakes of the current era.

Gambling ads are so prevalent now that parents have to keep talking to their kids to remind them hockey and football and baseball can be enjoyed without gambling. The on-screen messages present a very different world.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Our American readers might be thinking 21 as the legal age for gambling. You should know the gambling laws in Canada are the same age as drinking laws: 19 in Canada, though 18 in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec.

photo credit: BetMGM

Grocery rebate is helpful for Canadians while Americans struggle without help

We weren't planning on writing about the grocery rebate found in the new Canadian federal budget. BalanceofFood.com, our sibling blog, found the grocery rebate idea as a fascinating topic worth exploring.

Their research took them to Andrew Chang explaining the grocery rebate for the CBC News Explore audience. Chang left The National to do online journalism for CBC News Explore. His explanation of the grocery rebate on the whiteboard was journalism that was simple and informative. A good sign for Canadian journalism if the new service is doing that kind of work.

The money on the table for low and middle-income Canadians is a decent amount ($233 or $467 with seniors getting $225) but won't go too far given the current rising food prices. As our sibling blog noted, the American government with the GOP-led House won't even consider help for Americans unless the Democratic Party wins back the House in 2024.

Grocery rebate is a nice idea but only a short-term solution to rising food prices (BalanceofFood.com)

Food prices are generally higher in Canada than in the United States due to a number of circumstances. Even higher if you consider the cost of groceries in the North, such as in Iqlauit in Nunavut. The Balanceoffood.com story includes links to podcasts that delve into the high food prices in Canada. 

CanadianCrossing.com BalanceofFood.com coverage

CanadianCrossing.com food and drink coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian society coverage

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

You can find out more about how to watch CBC News Explore. Americans can watch CBC News Explore live via the Tubi streaming app.

photo and video credit: CBC News Explore

2023 Canadian Screen Awards wrapup

The 2023 Canadian Screen Awards was a lot about Canadian TV and Canadian film people winning awards without any visibility outside of a ballroom. No TV or social media presence. No wonderful acceptance speeches on YouTube.

We knew the winners by early Friday evening. Even during the height of the pandemic, we got to watch the awards with anticipation live online. Laurence Leboeuf had an exciting speech in 2022 after finding out from her Transplant co-star Hamza Haq that she had won a Canadian Screen Award. Kaniehtiio Horn winning an award for her work on Letterkenny with her infant son. Beautiful moments from 2022, just not 2023.

Watching the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards, we got descriptions for the Best Motion Picture. What was missing? The actual film titles.

wow the throughline of this canadian screen awards clip show so far is truly “you are only successful if you leave canada.”

— Chandler Levack (@clevack) April 17, 2023

The show part of things was embarrassingly awful. It was. I take no comfort in saying this. Lovely speeches for the non-category awards but that took up a huge part of the program. Celebrating Canadian comedy with a montage but not too much on specific shows.

We love and adore Samantha Bee but her presence was bad stereotypes and not a single funny moment from a very funny person.

As someone who is in-depth in the world of Canadian TV and Canadian film, I had a hard time sitting through the telecast. I can't imagine the casual viewer watching more than 3 minutes, 45 seconds.

They showed Falcon Lake winning the John Dunning Award for the best first feature film. Several male voices were heard but not one of them was Charlotte LeBon, writer and director of the film.

Wouldn't you want to see and hear acceptance speeches from Bilal Baig (Sort Of) and Alfre Woodard (The Porter)? Those speeches aired online last year, but not this year.

They definitely needed 2 hours to cover all of Canadian TV and Canadian film. What we saw plus 2 hours produced by others.

Free advice to the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television: Don't wait until the start time to post a YouTube link to the telecast.

"Making films is so rough and it's so not glamorous," Riceboy Sleeps writer/director Anthony Shim told the CBC. "To have an excuse to get together with your peers and to have a night to just acknowledge one another's work in person is, I think, part of the reward of making something."

Shim was among a few who shared regret about the switch from a live show format to a pre-taped special.

2022 was a great year for Canadian TV and Canadian film. That should have been reflected in the Canadian Screen Awards.

2023 Canadian Screen Award nominations

2023 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Film

2023 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Television

Two Days Before Christmas | 23 décembre is the Golden Screen Award for Feature Film winner, given to the Canadian film that made the most money. The film is reportedly inspired by Love Actually and has stories about love and romance in the last two days before Christmas. The film stars François Arnaud.

Celebrate the 2023 @cogecofund Audience Choice Award Final 3 by testing your knowledge on @HeartlandOnCBC, @hudsonandrex, and @SonOfACritchTV in a fun game of trivia on Saturday, April 15 🎉 Register for free at https://t.co/02qE2zVBrg #CdnScreenAwards

— The Canadian Academy (@TheCdnAcademy) April 12, 2023

Hudson & Rex (Citytv) finally snapped the Wynonna Earp streak for the 2023 Cogeco Audience Choice Award. Helped that the long-time drama ended its run.

The other 2 finalists were Heartland (CBC) and Son of a Critch (CBC). Heartland and Hudson & Rex were 2022 runners up to Wynonna Earp.

The 7 shows that made the original list are Canada's Drag Race (Crave); The Hardy Boys (YTV); Murdoch Mysteries (CBC); Revenge of the Black Best Friend (CBC Gem); SkyMed (CBC); Transplant (CTV); and Vollies (FibeTV1/Bell Media).

We aren't the biggest fan of Hudson & Rex (the dog is the best character on the show) but the award is voted on by the fans and so, respect for winning the award.

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

There were 8 acting categories between TV and film: only 2 women won awards, both in guest performers on TV. We love the gender-neutral awards but there is a need to reward actors who are female. Having 10 nominees in each category would help give recognition.

We invite you to check out our Canadian film wrapup and Canadian television wrapup to get a better idea of the hard work for the nominees, who were otherwise invisible for the 2023 version of the Canadian Screen Awards.

Overview Canadian television Canadian film

video and photo credit: 2023 Canadian Screen Awards/Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television
Twitter capture: @clevack

Rogers Centre renovations help but Canada still needs a really good baseball stadium

The new bleachers that are literally RIGHT at the visitors Bullpen… and a bunch of signs saying you can’t ask for autographs… pic.twitter.com/TfN4AU3sz8

— Geoff Rohoman (@RadioRoho) April 6, 2023

The Toronto Blue Jays return home today for the 2023 home opener. Rogers Centre has the first level of renovations done. You've heard Ben Wagner and Dan Shulman talk incessantly about the changes to outfield seating in 2023. This is part of why the Blue Jays started with a long road trip to St. Louis, Kansas City, and Anaheim (with a 6-4 record).

The original plans included grass but that seems to have disappeared. SkyDome was a replacement for Exhibition Stadium when it opened in 1989. The dome was a huge success, unlike the roof at Olympic Stadium in Montréal.

The sad reality is the new changes at Rogers Centre might be the best MLB scenario for Canadian baseball fans. The history of MLB stadiums for Canadian teams is a miserable one.

Consider the 4 new MLB franchises in 1969.

Kansas City moved into Municipal Stadium, the old home of the A's and current home of the NFL team. The Royals got a new baseball-only stadium in 1973 where they still play. San Diego moved into San Diego Stadium, current home of the AFL Chargers.

Seattle moved into the minor league Sicks Stadium that never became terribly viable in the lone season of the Seattle Pilots. The franchise moved to Milwaukee where they had an old major league stadium in County Stadium.

Montréal had a couple of not so great options for the new Expos. The Autostade on Rue Sainte-Catherine E, just east of St. Laurent, was the home of the CFL Alouettes (1968–1971, 1973-1976). The Autostade could have been a truly intimate baseball experience. A number of factors led the group away from Autostade and onto Jarry Park, which was only supposed to be a temporary home for 3 seasons. That turned into 8 seasons.

Jarry Park was a single deck stadium without cover, quaint even for its time. Olympic Stadium hosted Les Expos starting in 1977. The sightlines were great for football, not as much for baseball.

Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, home of the CFL Argonauts, was the Blue Jays first home stadium. The fans had cover in the outfield seats but not over the 3rd-base side.

2023 Toronto Blue Jays preview

2023 Toronto Blue Jays spring training schedule

The best MLB stadium in Canada is a theory and a plan: Labatt Park in Montréal. Downtown. Grass with a dome. Small, intimate, a true baseball stadium.

If Montréal knew the Rays were coming for certain, building a baseball stadium would be a no-brainer. Building Labatt Park for the new Expos would give Canada a true MLB baseball stadium.

Comerica Park in Detroit and even Sahlen Field in Buffalo, permanent and temporary MLB stadiums near the Canadian border, offer more of what Canadian cities should have in a baseball stadium. The Detroit stadium's upper deck is too steep but the lower deck has wonderful sightlines, even from a pedestrian friendly view in centre field from outside the gate.

Not every stadium is going to be Wrigley Field or Fenway Park. Canada teams deserve a better viewing experience at a MLB ballpark on Canadian soil.

CanadianCrossing.com MLB coverage

The practical nature of Toronto and land means revamping Rogers Centre. The improvements look great. Just the idea of not having home runs fall into a pit just past the fences is a substantial change.

I've seen the Blue Jays and Argonauts at SkyDome. I've seen Les Expos at Stade Olympique in Montréal. I've seen minor league baseball in Vancouver and Winnipeg. The Forum and Maple Leaf Gardens were legendary hockey arenas. Canadian baseball fans deserve a similar place for Major League Baseball.

Twitter capture: @RadioRoho
photo credit: @BlueJays