When you travel even a little bit in New Brunswick, you learn about the far-reaching influence of the Irving family. Brunswick News Inc. (BNI) — owned by James Irving — came up in the international news over the firing of cartoonist Michael de Adder.
Greg Perry, who was to replace de Adder, has walked away from BNI. Perry said the chain "insisted on running the cartoons I'd provided way back on Friday, despite my asking them not to."
The cartoon from de Adder featured Donald Trump trying to play through a round of golf with two migrants lying there dead. He was fired the day after the cartoon ran.
Perry says he was recruited before the Trump cartoon but to work alongside de Adder, not replace him. The two cartoonists worked together until 2 years ago when BNI laid off Perry. de Adder had been with BNI for 17 years. Perry did note that the social media backlash wasn't worth it "over a job that pays the same per month as a job at a grocery chain."
The concern over the firing of de Adder was linked to the oil-rich Irving family, who might not have wanted the anti-Trump cartoon. A lost detail is that de Adder never submitted the Trump cartoon to BNI, citing his concerns over sending them anti-Trump cartoons.
Neither de Adder or Perry are based in New Brunswick: de Adder is in Halifax while Perry is in Vancouver. Both cartoonists are featured throughout Canada, just not in New Brunswick. In fact, the Toronto Star agreed to pick up de Adder once a week.
BNI owns the major English-language daily newspapers: Telegraph-Journal (Saint John); Times & Transcript (Moncton); and The Daily Gleaner (Fredericton). The company also owns 14 English-language weeklies and 7 French-language weeklies in New Brunswick.
L'Acadie Nouvelle (Caraquet) is the only independent daily in New Brunswick.
The Maritimes have been resistant to the Postmedia block that owns both daily newspapers in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa as well as the only English language paper in Montréal. New Brunswick has a similar conundrum. The SaltWire Network controls Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador.
The only major newspaper west of Ontario that isn't controlled by Postmedia is the Winnipeg Free-Press, owned by FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership with local roots.
Postmedia also owns the National Post based in Toronto.
When de Adder was let go by BNI, he didn't lose a newspaper in New Brunswick as a client; he lost New Brunswick as a client.
Newspaper ownership should be local and responsible. A lot of major Canadian newspapers don't provide either.
The United States has been under attack with severe anti-abortion state bills designed to practically eliminate legal abortion in those states.
You might come to the conclusion that abortion rights are in way better shape in Canada than the United States.
Having covered American and Canadian politics, there is a yes-and-no answer that is worth having a column to explain and contrast policies in the side-by-side neighbours.
Roe vs. Wade gave the United States the edge in that federal abortion rights have existed since 1973. Canada doesn't get that federal standard until 1988 in what is known as the Morgentaler ruling. The Supreme Court of Canada said the then-abortion law violated women's Section 7 Charter rights to "life, liberty and security of person" and that the law "clearly interferes with a woman’s physical and bodily integrity."
The Conservative Party in Canada, whether in power with Stephen Harper or as the opposition party under Andrew Scheer, has been in the record as not wanting to reopen the abortion debate. There are backbenchers who feel otherwise but they haven't convinced their leadership to change that stance.
In Canada and the United States, the battle is being fought on the state/provincial level. Provinces control health care though they receive money from the federal government for health care.
Prince Edward Island was in a land of its own until 2016. The province had refused to provide that form of health care on its land. The province would reimburse medical costs but not travel costs to places such as Halifax (NS) or Moncton (NB). The province sets medical abortions at 9 weeks and surgical abortions to 12 weeks, 6 days. Those requirements apply to abortions in the province.
Up until February 5, 2018, Nova Scotia required a physician referral to schedule an abortion. That was particular onerous for younger women who might not be able to find a physician that would support an abortion.
In 2014, New Brunswick required a woman to have written certification from 2 doctors that the procedure was medically necessary and the abortion must be done by an obstetrician/gynecologist in approved hospitals (only in Moncton and Bathurst). Currently, the province will only fund abortions at hospitals, not clinics.
Ontario funds abortions at some clinics, but not all of them.
Travel is a consideration for a lot of remote areas in Canada. Even in not so remote areas, travel is a concern. In the entire province of Alberta, there are lone clinics in each of the two largest cities: Edmonton and Calgary.
The anti-abortion crowd in Canada might be quieter but they do exist.
Politically, the difference is that the U.S. law is federal. Those who want to overturn Roe vs. Wade know that large U.S. cities (and their states) will still have abortion access. They want to have the right as individual states to install draconian laws against abortion.
The proposed laws are often drafted to make having an abortion across a state line a significant problem, especially if the female hasn't reached the age of majority.
In Canada, the law is still federal but provinces have a wide range of control from access, limits on number of weeks, and covering costs.
The United States prohibits federal Medicaid funding of abortions thanks to the Hyde Amendment. Canada will generally pay for abortions, an advantage thanks to the single-payer health care system.
Those who have financial means and/or live in large cities won't have to worry about abortions. Those without financial means and/or in rural areas will struggle more.
The abortion pill was supposed to be a benefactor for girls and women where access was limited. Access to the abortion pill is often lacking in the areas where it is most in need.
Canada has a major advantage over the United States: stability of the Supreme Court. Conservatives know that the Supreme Court of Canada will never overturn the 1988 ruling. The appointments of several Supreme Court justices in the United States under controversial circumstances tips the court in a direction where political, not legal, rulings are likely or possible.
Women's rights are better protected in Canada under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The United States is a state short of approving the Equal Rights Amendment.
We saw under the Harper Government that even though Harper appointed the vast majority of justices that the Court ruled unanimously against the Harper Government on key decisions. That lack of bias doesn't exist on the United States Supreme Court.
Ireland legalised abortions in a referendum about a year ago. The government later made the procedure free for Irish women. Those women and girls in Northern Ireland have it more like Alabama's new law; those able to travel to England can get an abortion. Poland has one of the most extreme takes on abortion in Europe.
Here is to hoping abortion, birth control, contraception, and women's health care become medical issues, not political footballs.
video and photo credit: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee/TBS
For the first time since 1920, New Brunswick will have a minority government. Currently, Blaine Higgs and his Progressive Conservatives have 22 seats as compared to Brian Gallant and the Liberals with 21 seats in the 49-seat legislative assembly. Tradition offers up that the current government, run by Gallant, will have the first opportunity to form government in New Brunswick.
The wild card is particularly wild with 3 seats each for the Green Party and the People's Alliance. David Coon was the only Green Party member of the government elected in 2014. This was the first time in 3 elections that the People's Alliance placed members in the legislative assembly. The New Democratic Party once again gained 0 seats.
The Liberals did have 38.7% of the vote, beating the PCs by 6 percentage points.
Liberals + Greens = 24 seats. PCs + PAs = 25 seats. While there are similarities in constituencies for the latter 2 parties, that coalition might not last for long. The Liberals are the stronghold for the Francophone sections of the province. The People's Alliance is considered by most neutral observers to be anti-Francophone.
For those who remember the concerns with the British Columbia election last year, that seems very normal compared to the New Brunswick scenario.
The Progressive Conservatives may form government despite having the same number of seats going into the election. The Liberals won 27 seats in the 2014 election, had 24 seats going into the government, and now has 21 seats.
People's Alliance leader Kris Austin mentioned common sense, language fairness, and tax reform in his speech last night. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province in Canada. The traditional Acadians live mostly in the northern part of the province. Moncton is also fairly bilingual; Fredericton is bilingual being the provincial capital; Saint John is less bilingual by comparison.
"Language fairness" is in the eye of the beholder. Austin didn't speak in French in his speech. Higgs, who was criticized during the campaign for not knowing French, did speak some French during his speech.
Dominic Cardy was cast perfectly for a key player in the new government. Cardy was elected in the Fredericton West-Hanwell riding as a PC candidate. Yet Cardy was the NDP leader in 2011 and ran 3 times overall as a NDP candidate before winning with the PCs. Cardy will have more individual power in this government.
New Brunswick will have a record 11 women in the legislative assembly: 5 Liberals, 4 PCs, and 1 each for the Greens and People's Alliance.
The CBC debate accommodated all 5 people on stage, including NDP leader Jennifer McKenzie.
The New Brunswick election race might not seem as exciting as the Ontario or Quebec elections, but New Brunswick might have a tighter race.
Brian Gallant is running for re-election hoping for a second term as New Brunswick premier. Gallant's Liberal Party won 27 seats in 2014, now down to 24. Blaine Higgs, who took over for David Alward as Progressive Conservative leader, started with 21 seats and the party is up to 22. David Coon is the Green Party leader who got elected from the Fredericton South riding in 2014.
The people of New Brunswick normally give a premier at least 2 terms in office, but not lately. Shawn Graham for the Liberals (2006-2010) was the first to only get a single term followed by Alward (2010-2014). Gallant is hoping to buck that recent trend.
The Liberals currently have a premier in every maritime province in Atlantic Canada.
The election cycle officially started yesterday with the election set for September 24. There will be 49 seats up for grabs, with 25 marking a majority.
The Liberals started this bus earlier this week. Coon started out his campaign on Tuesday. Didn't hear about any early movement from the Progressive Conservatives.
While this race may not be that exciting, Elections New Brunswick wants to take no chances. The organisation is putting out a call to stop sharing fake news.
The series of 15-second videos in English and French (New Brunswick is the only official bilingual province in all of Canada) reminds people not to believe something that is too good to be true.
Consider the source: Is the news from a legitimate media organization that you’ve heard of?
Is it a joke? Satirical websites will usually identify themselves as such but not always
Read beyond the headline: Headlines are supposed to be used to attract attention and won’t tell the whole story. Some fake news stories can be easily identified with a quick read through the article.
Check the byline: Is the author a real person or does their name sound fake?
Check the support: Look up the story’s sources. Do they support the content of the article?
Check the date: Some fake news stories piggybacking off of stories that are years old, twisting them to support their new agenda.
Check your biases: Confirmation bias leads to people believing information that supports their own views and disregarding information that doesn’t. Elections NB says they encourage people to put aside their biases before sharing.
These tips are great regardless of the election. Unfortunately, the U.S. system isn't nearly as strong as Elections Canada and their provincial counterparts.
The NDP is not strong as a provincial party in Atlantic Canada. The party has 7 legislators in Nova Scotia, 2 in Newfoundland and Labrador, and 0 in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.
The Green Party has 2 members in Prince Edward Island and 1 in New Brunswick. In fact, the Green Party outraised the NDP in New Brunswick for the second year in a row.
We want to extend our condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of those murdered in the Fredericton shooting.
photo credit: New Brunswick video credit: Elections New Brunswick
“One, if by land, and two, if by sea” stems from Paul Revere's Ride by the poet Henry W. Longfellow. The signal originated from the Old North Church in Boston during the time of the Revolutionary War.
The section might be too small for the lanterns needed to warn of the U.S. border patrol. The latest issue concerns disputed waters in the Grey Zone, 700 square kilometres surrounding Machias Seal Island (pictured above) near Maine and New Brunswick.
The border patrol is looking for illegal immigrants, according to reports from fishing vessels questioned by the U.S. border patrol.
We previously reported that the border patrol was performing questionably constitutional searches on U.S. roads. Those searches had a slim chance of finding illegal immigrants.
You could look at their actions as harassing Canadians harvesting seafood. Let's look at the potential audience of people from these searches.
Canadians harvesting seafood.
Migrants from a 3rd country (not U.S. or Canada) trying to come into the United States.
Canadians using fishing vessels to enter the United States.
Canadians harvesting seafood would need to go back to Canada to sell their seafood. Migrants from a 3rd country already in Canada would have every reason to stay in Canada. Even if they want to go to the United States, they wouldn't do so now. The United States doesn't offer advantages in comparison to Canada on multiple fronts.
Even if someone fell in these categories, they still can't make a claim of asylum or refugee status without being on U.S. soil. By that logic, a U.S. citizen could "claim" to be in Canada in those same waters.
Any Canadian that would be investigated would literally be doing nothing wrong.
On U.S. soil, you can debate about whether someone belongs. In disputed waters, there is no claim.
The searches on the water fall into stronger legal territory since the U.S. claims these waters. For U.S. taxpayers, the question to ask is why your tax dollars are being wasted on these searches.
These actions aren't sending a message about U.S. territory rights in these specific waters. These actions are about exerting power no matter how ridiculous it looks.
If the U.S. border patrol was truly concerned about wayward Canadians reaching U.S. soil, they could patrol the boats looking for ships that actually are running toward Maine instead of ships that will go back to New Brunswick.
The U.S. strategy in all of these actions is perplexing. Will Canada capitulate on NAFTA or softwood lumber or auto production over Canadian seafood harvesters being harassed? The opposite is more likely to happen.
We know there will be a next step but we don't know what that will be. When the next step comes, we will be there with a report.
Beautiful sunshine with the glistening water and gorgeous mountains in the background: This is the vision of Vancouver we have seen from the Fox outdoors studio for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. If you remember where the Olympic torch burned during the 2010 Winter Olympics, this is where Fox is located.
As we learned from the Colbert Report during those Olympics, the sun does shine in Vancouver.
---
The idea of CFL stadiums on display on over-the-air TV in the United States still blows my mind. Fox carried 4 soccer matches from tiny Moncton Stadium. Wow. But that is the power of soccer, or football, around the globe.
You can't tell too much detail of the CFL in these stadiums since FIFA has unveiled brand new artificial turf, complete with the little black pellets shooting out. We've seen the same pellets at Rogers Centre recently during Blue Jays games.
We covered the artificial turf controversy earlier. If you missed our story, please click here.
U.S. audiences have seen B.C. Place Stadium and Olympic Stadium and to a lesser extent, Commonwealth Stadium before the World Cup. As for Lansdowne Stadium (Ottawa) and Winnipeg Stadium, other than a few Blue Bombers games on ESPN2 last season, neither stadium has been on U.S. television. Those CFL stadiums are known by other names, but the corporate names have been removed by FIFA for the duration of the tournament. The 2 CFL stadiums will be shown on ESPN2 for CFL games this season.
Moncton Stadium was on display at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, but otherwise hasn't been seen too much outside Canada. None of the Touchdown Atlantic games were carried on U.S. TV.
---
For the U.S. telecasts, the cameras in Ottawa showed the North Side stands instead of the South Side stands that we are used to seeing in CFL games. For those who don't know the scenario in Ottawa, the South Side stands are considered the good stands.
The shot at Moncton Stadium was of the good stands. The concrete setup looks much nicer than the metal benches that comprise the "bad stands." Other than fancy bunting, the stadium looked just like it did when I was there for Touchdown Atlantic.
The capacity for Moncton Stadium was given at 13,000. The crowd might have been larger if the rain and wind hadn't been significant factors. The second day of soccer brought much nicer weather and a sellout crowd.
While we aren't crazy about ignorance about Canada, we have to appreciate honesty and hope for a desire to learn more. Sideline reporter Julie Stewart-Binks talked about how French captain Wendie Renard spent a week in Moncton in 2008 and trained with the Universite de Moncton men's team. Stewart-Binks noted that Renard was helped out since 32% of the population in Moncton speaks French. Justin Kutcher and Aly Wagner in the booth noted that neither of them speaks French.
Speaking French certainly isn't a requirement, but Kutcher and Wagner learned that Canadians outside Quebec speak French.
Later in the France-England game, Kutcher was talking about the starting time for the next game and noted that in Moncton, they were in Atlantic Time. Both Kutcher and Wagner admitted that they had never heard of Atlantic Time.
We don't know whether they thought that the Maritimes were on the same time zone as New York City and Toronto or whether their maps stop at Maine. If they ever end up in St. John's, someone will have to explain the half-hour difference from Atlantic Time.
As odd as their on-air confession was, they know about the time zone now and will probably impress people back home with their newfound knowledge.
"As soon as a World Cup or Euro tournament is about to unfold, we're gone, off to a country and cities that throb with soccer passion. There's dazzling pageantry and exotic adventures galore. It's addictive. And then when a World Cup happens in Canada, you end up in Moncton. Where the Tim Hortons shuts at 6 p.m. It's not a soccer city, but I'll take it."
Moncton is a bit slow and laid-back. I expected that in New Brunswick, but figured the larger cities would be a bit more lively.
"The other evening here, near the Tims that shuts at 6 p.m., I saw a kid on a bicycle, wearing a Mexico shirt, cycling along the sidewalk. World Cup fever! He was the only figure on the street for blocks. And blocks."
I don't know if that scene was in downtown Moncton, but I was surprised at times how few people there were in downtown Moncton.
I did find Moncton charming during my stay. But yes, having a difficult time imaging Moncton in the context of a World Cup.
Winnipeg isn't as well-known as Vancouver, site of the final U.S. game in the opening round. But Winnipeg is certainly on the bucket list for your humble narrator.
The surprise came with news reports that major activities, such as The Forks and the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, weren't open longer and not ready for an influx of tourists.
FIFA decided to keep the tourist events localized to the stadium area. Of course, the stadium is out by the University of Manitoba, nowhere near downtown. There were complaints about a lack of signage, construction that could have been delayed for a week, and a lack of soccer-related activities. We even heard fans wonder why they didn't have an option to buy more soccer-related merchandise.
The design of the World Cup is that fans had several days in between the first 2 matches and not much to do outside soccer.
To be sure, restaurants, hotels, and other amenities have greatly benefited from the money from soccer-loving tourists. If nothing else, the Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba allowed bars and restaurants to serve alcohol for an extra hour until 3 am during the FIFA Women's World Cup.
Winnipeg is on my bucket list, but I'm more driven than most Americans in visiting the city. Hopefully, the impression of Winnipeg is positive.
Americans going to Vancouver for the final opening round game won't have to worry as much about finding non-soccer activities.
Tiffani Amber Thiessen, Tia Mowry, and Haylie Duff are three actresses that has revived their careers by hosting celebrity food shows with a little bit of cooking.
This philosophy switch has produced a significant casualty: the Cooking Channel removed "French Food at Home" and Laura Calder from its schedule.
Mon dieu!
Laura Calder and her show used to have a more prominent home on the network at 12:30 pm Eastern during the week. The shift to Tuesday mornings at 7:30 am Eastern was a bit rude, but still better than not being on the air at all.
The show normally airs on Food Network in Canada, yet is also not on the schedule in her home country.
We are hoping the move is temporary, but we need our fix. Cooking Channel, please bring Laura Calder back to TV.
New Brunswick flipped back to the Liberals, but not by much.
The Liberals took back the government in New Brunswick by an unofficial count of 27-21-1. The 1 went to the Green Party. Much more on that later.
Brian Gallant is the premier-designate. The Progressive Conservatives' David Alward is out after one term, same as the Liberals' Shawn Graham. Before Alward's win in 2010, New Brunswick premiers have gone at least 2 terms since Confederation.
Gallant and the Liberals led early in the race, but the PCs made some progress toward the end of the race.
The themes of the night were very close races and frustration over getting vote counts from the new tabulation machines system. The PCs are asking for a hand count of the votes. 5 of the 49 ridings were decided by fewer than 100 votes.
David Coon will represent the Fredericton South riding for the Green Party, the only MLA not from a major party. The NDP hadn't elected a MLA in 9 years, and NDP leader Dominic Cardy came up empty last night. Cardy says he will resign as party leader.
The People's Alliance almost took a seat, but also fell short.
The Liberals won in great part over being vague on shale gas and the potential for fracking. Coon also won his seat in great part over the issue. If the Liberals thought about fracking, the close margin and Coon's presence will make that more difficult. Nova Scotia is introducing legislation to ban fracking this fall.
Without shale gas and fracking, the economy and jobs and keeping young people in the province will be paramount for the new Gallant government. That, along with a massive provincial debt, will make the Liberals job that much tougher. Not having a consenus majority will also make those tasks difficult.
I watched and listened extensively to the CBC coverage last night. In all that time, the word "abortion" was never mentioned. The closing of the Morgentaler Clinic definitely weighed on New Brunswick voters. A rough economy means people can't afford unwanted children; limiting abortion options hurts the economy even further. Unfortunately for pro-choice advocates, the close margin may make change more difficult for the Liberals.
The PC party went from 41 seats (out of 55) to 21 seats. The Liberals went from 13 seats to 27 seats. The independent seat went Green in this election. New Brunswick voters wanted a significant change for the second election in a row.
Even in the relatively poor Maritimes, New Brunswick is hurting. According to former Lt. Gov. Mariliyn Trenholme Counsell, the province has the lowest literacy rates of all provinces with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Counsell also noted that over half of New Brunswick’s citizens 15-65 "do not have the necessary literacy levels (level 3) or the workplace essential skills to compete in the workplace."
We heard a lot during the CBC coverage about young people moving to Alberta to make more money and because they aren't many good jobs in New Brunswick.
I enjoyed my time in New Brunswick and the province is absolutely gorgeous to see. But I could definitely see the economic concerns that plague the province. Let's hope the people of New Brunswick can figure out some of these heartbreaking issues. And strength to the new Liberal government: Brian Gallant and his fellow Liberals will need all the help they can get.
We will have at least one more provincial election in 2014, the regularly scheduled election in New Brunswick on September 22. We might have a key issue in New Brunswick with a topic that rarely comes up in Canadian political circles these days: abortion.
Morgentaler Clinic
New Brunswick is pretty spread out as a province. Prince Edward Island is pretty far away, even from Fredericton.
The Morgentaler Clinic was the only private clinic in New Brunswick, with no private clinics in Prince Edward Island, to offer abortions. The clinic closes its doors tomorrow.
Those who go to the Morgentaler Clinic have to pay for the abortions. The clinic had been subsidizing abortions but could no longer stay afloat financially.
Under the law in New Brunswick, a woman who wants an abortion covered by medicare must have 2 doctors certify in writing that the procedure is medically necessary and the abortion must be done by an obstetrician/gynecologist in approved hospitals (one each in Moncton and Bathurst).
(Moncton is in southeastern New Brunswick on the Bay of Fundy; Bathurst is in northeastern New Brunswick near Quebec on Chaleur Bay.)
Many of the clinic's patients came from Prince Edward Island. The provincial government claim no doctors in the province will do abortions; the province sends women to a hospital in Halifax provided they have a referral from their family doctor.
Distance. Money. Time. All these factors make getting an abortion in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island difficult, even with the clinic.
Where we are now in Fredericton
The Progressive Conservatives, under Premier David Alward, have a considerable advantage in the legislature. The PCs have 41 seats, the Liberals have 13 seats, with 1 Independent MLA.
While the New Brunswick legislature currently has 55 seats, the parties will be vying for 49 seats in the September election.
On the surface, the PCs shouldn't have a concern. Sure the economy isn't great in the province, but the Liberals have a lot of ground to make up to get enough MLAs for a majority. The NDP don't even have a seat currently in Fredericton.
Brian Gallant (Liberal) and Dominic Cardy (NDP) don't have much of a chance to be the next New Brunswick premier. The timing of the election and the abortion issue could shake up the makeup of the New Brunswick legislature.
Gallant has said a Liberal government would "move swiftly to address this issue in a comprehensive way, once and for all, and ensure we are respecting a woman's right to choose."
Gallant knows the Liberals are in a tough situation. Be too specific and risk losing votes. But voters need to know that the situation will improve for women if the party gains power in Fredericton.
Of the 55 current MLAs in the legislature, 7 of them are women.
Where we will be in September
The federal fight over abortion, while not as loud these days, focuses on federal Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau, whose position is that the party and its MPs be pro-choice, and federal Conservative backbenchers, who would love to make abortion more difficult nationwide.
New Brunswick isn't concerned with what happens on the federal level. However, even conservatives in New Brunswick will have to recognize that the loss of the Morgentaler Clinic is a political issue in September.
The Maritimes are a conservative place, especially on abortion. The Morgentaler Clinic was a beacon of hope in women's health care. And now it's gone. But it could be the start of a movement to bring the region in line with the rest of Canada.
This is a political issue until September 22. No matter which party wins that day, abortion rights will still be a health care and economic concern in New Brunswick.
Bienvenue and welcome to Canada Day 2014. Today is the 147th anniversary of the British North America Act (now known as the Constitution Act) that united Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a country.
This is the first Canada Day since I was in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and saw where those Confederation negotiations occurred.
On Canada Day, the Toronto Blue Jays are in first place in the American League East. The Blue Jays are on the MLB Network in the States this afternoon against Milwaukee. Great that Toronto is at home on Canada Day.
We had Canada Day and fête nationale du Québec celebrations where I live last week. But I will find some way to celebrate Canada Day: perhaps with a Canadian film or poutine or elk meat and poutine. Mmmmmmm.
Or a Molson beer, of course. The video above is the latest commercial around the Molson fridges. These don't open with a Canadian passport. They open if you can sing O Canada without messing up the words. This helps me because I can sing O Canada even without a passport. I still can't sing O Canada in French, but in the ad, the refrigerator only understands English.
As is tradition here at CanadianCrossing.com, we have some reflections of Canada on Canada Day.
---
The shooting in Moncton last month was a horrible tragedy, where 3 RCMP officers were killed and 2 others were wounded.
I was very impressed with the recovery that the city was trying to make. The theme was consistent: we won't let this change the way we live. Remarkable.
The city was on shutdown while they searched for the gunman. Moncton did well under the dramatic consequences. And the alleged gunman was captured unarmed.
Moncton is a very cool city that I got to enjoy visiting last fall. I was only there for a few days but walked away with some lovely memories. The last two major news stories to hit New Brunswick that also hit the U.S. news wires were the fracking protests from last October and this shooting.
This happens in other parts of Canada, but you do hear some good stories that come out of there to achieve some sort of balance. New Brunswick and the Maritimes are a whole different world that you really have to experience to understand. And Moncton and New Brunswick are so much more than these random news events.
Colour me impressed with how Moncton is handling a horrible situation. But I'm not surprised. Here's hoping for a good news story from this part of Canada … and soon.
---
The Pride Parade in Toronto is a very big deal every year, especially given how LGBTQ Toronto is. This year was extra special because Toronto got to host WorldPride, an international celebration with parades, festivals, and cultural activities.
Toronto is only the 4th city to host WorldPride, following Rome (2000), Jerusalem (2006), and London (2012).
To take a look at what went on in WorldPride Toronto, click here.
Rob Ford notoriously does not attend Pride Parade; in Ford's world, he picked a heck of a time to go to rehab. But he missed a hell of a party.
---
Tim Wallach was steady on offense and defense at the hot corner for the Montréal Expos during the 1980s. Wallach led the class of 2014 for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
"I was surprised and honored to receive the call. I enjoyed my time in Montréal and the Expos fans. While we did contend during my time there, it was disappointing that we never got to a World Series. As good as you might be, nothing is guaranteed in baseball," said Wallach.
The man who called the games Wallach played in is also now in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Dave Van Horne was also inducted into the hall.
"I really anticipated spending my entire career in Montréal broadcasting Expos baseball. For a variety of reasons, it didn't happen. I'm saddened by the loss of the team in Montréal, but I thought the attendance at the exhibition games there this past March was wonderful," Van Horne said.
A New Brunswick native, Murray Cook was the first Canadian to work as a MLB GM. Cook worked in the role of general manager for the New York Yankees (1983-1984), Montreal Expos (1984-1987), and Cincinnati Reds (1988-1989). Cook made the most of a tough transition time in Montreal and came up with several key pieces of a Reds team that won the World Series the year after he left. Cook is now the East Coast regional cross checker for the Detroit Tigers.
Jim Ridley coached Team Canada at the Olympics, Pan Am Games and World Junior Baseball Championship. Ridley worked as a scout and coach starting in 1973 with the Tigers and moving to the Toronto Blue Jays in 1976. He passed away from cancer in 2008.
---
We don't know if we are getting a Season 3 of Orphan Black. If we are, there will be some time before we see what that produces. We still need some time to process Season 2.
Without giving too much away from the finale of Season 2, the scene where the sisters Cosima and Alison finally meet Helena and the subsequent dancing scene with Sarah brought tears to my eyes. Tatiana Maslany, who plays all 4 characters plus a few others on the show, made us tear up over these incarnations of Maslany all on one screen at the same time. They really felt like 4 different people, even if they are all played by the same actress. We were so thrilled that they were in the same room at the same time. And watching Kira, Sarah's daughter, happily dancing along with her mother and new aunts, was joyous to watch.
The scene earlier in the show where Cosima teaches science to Kira was charming and also was a foreshadowing to a key plotline in the episode was a great example about why this show needs a Season 3.
We will keep you up to date on a potential Season 3 of Orphan Black.
---
Alison Smith retired as the anchor of The World At Six on CBC Radio One last week. Smith has been the anchor of the program since 2009, but spent 37 years with CBC News.
The timing of the announcement looked bad given the cuts at CBC News. Hopefully, Smith is going out on her own terms.
I am an avid listener to the program as well as The World This Weekend. They help me keep up on what is happening in Canada during my commute.
In the latter years, Smith only anchored Monday-Thursday. Martina Fitzgerald has been anchoring on Fridays as well as the weekend shows.
We don't expect the CBC to announce a permanent replacement until the fall. Marcia Young is still considered the host of The World This Weekend, but we've only heard her once on either program in quite a few months.
If you missed any of our 3-part series on how to improve the programming on CBC TV, check out Part I, Part II, and Part III here.
CBC was suffering from funding cuts under the Liberals, but those cuts have been sped up under the Harper Government. The sports financial losses haven't helped, losing the CFL, some Olympics games, and now NHL revenue.
Feel free to add your own comments and suggestions in the 3-part series in the comments section on those stories or on this one.
