Canadian Crossing

Women Talking, technically not a Canadian film, opens in the U.S.

A Canadian film is often obvious why it's Canadian. A Canadian film in name only (what we call a case study) is also often obvious why it's Canadian. Women Talking seemingly would be a Canadian film but this film isn't technically Canadian.

Our theory on why the film does not qualify as a Canadian film is not enough producing credits based in Canada. Still, we are going to discuss the Canadian elements and give some kind of review.

"How would you feel if in your entire life it never mattered what you thought." — Ona

Sarah Polley adapted the screenplay for Women Talking based on the Miriam Toews novel of the same name. You might recall that Michael McGowan adapted a Miriam Toews novel All My Puny Sorrows into a film. That film starred Sarah Gadon and Alison Pill and debuted at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival.

The film's primary cast — Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Ben Whishaw, and Frances McDormand (the latter is also a producer) — belong to countries that are not Canada. There are plenty of international stars that have done Canadian films, even though this is not a Canadian film. Prominent Canadian cast members include Sheila McCarthy (I've Heard the Mermaids Sing), Michelle McLeod (Don't Talk to Irene), August Winter (Mary Kills People), Shayla Brown, Emily Mitchell, Kate Hallett, Liv McNeil, Vivien Endicott Douglas, and Kira Guloien.

The story takes place in a Mennonite community where the women have been subject to rape and sexual assault by the men in the community. The men are temporarily gone from the community, getting bail for one of their own who was arrested. The women have 3 choices: do nothing, stay and confront, or leave the community. Soon into the film, the choices are narrowed down to 2 of them.

For those sensitive to the subject, the women talk about the occurrences without any detail (the subject may be enough of a trigger for some). The women are at a sharp disadvantage in that none of them are educated since education is only for the men. This is the impetus for Whishaw's character, who was kicked out of the community and is back to help the women.

As the title implies, there are a lot of scenes of women talking, agreeing on the need for a solution but disagreeing on what that solution should be.

Canadian film review: Take This Waltz

Canadian film review: Alias Grace

Canadian film review: Away From Her

Canadian film review: Stories We Tell

Alias Grace is 5 years old. Stories We Tell is 10 years old. Sarah Polley has had a number of issues, including a serious concussion. Her book Run Towards the Danger gives us some idea.

You feel like you are watching a Sarah Polley film in every positive sense of the word. The space and comfort she gives to her characters is evident. Polley treats the subject matter with great dignity yet offers moments of humour to show the humanity of these troubled characters.

McDormand is the biggest name on the callsheet yet is more in the background. Mara, Foy, and Buckley get chances to shine in ways for female characters lost on larger American films.

The pace of the film is rather straightforward. You find comfort in either side of the argument, not matter the route you root for the characters in the film.

Canadian film review: All My Puny Sorrows

My path down the TIFF Top 10 Canadian films of all time

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

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Women Talking could certainly get some Oscars buzz for acting, costumes, and for Polley herself. Polley received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for Away From Her, her writer/director full-length feature debut in 2006. British actor Julie Christie also received a Best Actress nomination for that film.

The film community, Canadian and otherwise, is glad Sarah Polley is back and working on amazing projects.

We recommend seeing the film for the way a tough subject is handled in caring, skilled hands in a creator such as Polley.

Sarah Polley has a new book of personal essays

#WomenTalking is nominated for 3 #SpiritAwards! - Best Feature, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, along with being selected to receive the Robert Altman Award ✨ pic.twitter.com/iekqQ6pBaB

— Women Talking (@Women_Talking) November 22, 2022

Women Talking won the People's Choice Award at the 2022 Windsor International Film Festival. The film had its Canadian debut at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

The film won the Robert Altman Award, given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast for the 2023 Independent Spirit Awards. The film also received nominations for Best Feature and for Polley for Best Director and Best Screenplay.

Women Talking debuts in some U.S. theatres today; the film should come to most places by December 25. The Canadian theatre release will be on December 16.

photo credit: Women Talking
video credit: YouTube/MGM; YouTube/TIFF Originals
Twitter capture: @Women_Talking

Sarah Polley has a new book of personal essays

Sarah Polley finally has a film coming out this year. First there is a collection of Polley's essays called Run Towards the Danger. The essay collection will be out tomorrow on March 1.

What might be surprising is that the book only contains 6 essays. What the book lacks in quantity, the essays tackle huge topics such as the exploitation of child actors, slippery nature of memory, sexual assault, high-risk pregnancy and premature birth, grief, motherhood, and Polley’s 3-year recovery from a serious concussion.

One of the essays that got some notice is The Woman Who Stayed Silent. The essay is about an violent encounter with a then 16-year-old Polley and a then 28-year-old CBC Radio Q host Jian Ghomeshi. Polley felt “a deep, ethical obligation” to tell the story, according to a story in The New York Times.

The 3-year concussion recovery is a sad but understandable explanation for why she hasn't been too productive of late. The recovery reported forced Polley to pass on an adaptation of Little Women.

Sarah Polley on The Current (CBC Radio One)

“I’m a huge fan of personal essays; I just devour them. It’s a form that I love. And in my mind, any one of these essays could be a stand-alone essay. I think it’s inevitable that this book will be interpreted and written about as a memoir, and I’m sort of at peace with it, but it was certainly not the intention of the book,” Polley told Vanity Fair in an article.

Sarah Polley's writing stands out in her films so the idea of essays from Polley is that much more exciting. The writing styles are different.

Canadian film review: Alias Grace

Canadian film review: Stories We Tell

Canadian film review: Take This Waltz

Canadian film review: Away From Her

The Vanity Fair article has a Q&A where they ask Polley about a return to acting:

"The last time I acted was around 14 years ago and since then I hadn't had a second of wanting to act, but watching these women in Women Talking, it was the first time I'd felt this little hunger of how fun that can be."

Polley was the female lead in Splice in the 2009 film. She did have a brief appearance in Trigger (2010) but that was more out of camaraderie as the group was finishing one final film before Tracey Wright passed away in 2010.

The New York Times article goes more into Polley's acting career.

Take This Waltz showcases a real Toronto neighborhood

Relaxed nudity would make Canadian films stand out

Canadian film review: The Life Before This

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

We do know that Polley will be back on the screen with Women Talking sometime this year. The movie deals with the reaction of women isolated in a Mennonite religious colony in Bolivia after a string of sexual assaults.

The story is adapted from the novel of the same name from Miriam Toews, a rather popular Canadian writer of late. Michael McGowan adapted her novel All My Puny Sorrows for his film seen at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival.

Academy Award winner Frances McDormand, current Academy Award nominee Jessie Buckley, past Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara, Judith Ivey, and 2-time Emmy award winner Claire Foy lead the cast. Canadian actors Sheila McCarthy and August Winter (Mary Kills People) are high up on the callsheet.

photo credit: Trigger film

Canadian TV notebook: Trickster one and done, Nurses ends next week in U.S.

No spoilers here for the Trickster series finale that aired on the CW last night. There are few moments in the history of television where the creators set up a season finale knowing there will be a next season, and then there wasn't. The finale would have been more gratifying if there was a Season 2.

As a season of 6 episodes, the show combined a harsh but accurate realism with the supernatural element of Indigenous stories. Trickster kept my interest all the way through with good stories, interesting characters (good and bad). The coarse language was authentic; the CBC presented it without censorship while the CW bleeped a lot of dialogue.

The U.S. audience got a peek into the problems with residential schools, but likely had to do an Internet search for "residential schools." To our non-Canadian readers doing research, feel free to ignore anything former Canadian Senator Lynn Beyak has to say on the topic.

The furor on social media has been to find another home for future seasons for Trickster. APTN and Crave are possibilities to take up the series though the rights would be tangled up with Season 1 on CBC.

We don't talk often about books on CanadianCrossing.com. Eden Robinson has written the Trickster trilogy. Trickster the series is based on her novel Son of a Trickster (2017). Trickster Drift (2018) might have been the source material for Season 2. The Return of the Trickster is slated for release in March. Robinson wrote Monkey Beach (2000), of which we recently reviewed the film version.

Watching adaptations of books is a lot of fun but those books can be enjoyed on their own.

Canadian film review: Monkey Beach

Canadian TV notebook: Trickster and Nurses on the U.S. side

Trickster coming to the U.S. on the CW in January

Transplant makes U.S. debut on NBC

Nurses is the latest Canadian TV drama to come to U.S. broadcast TV

U.S. television turns to Canadian TV shows to fill gaps due to COVID-19

Nurses ends its U.S. run for Season 1 on Tuesday. Nurses has some bright moments: the collective care for a chronic long-term patient was so beautiful. This show also gives problems to the nurses that disappear and reappear on a whim: Wolf's issue with affording a specific drug (in Canada) and Naz's needing to learn the basics. Grace's sexual assault by a doctor that got her fired (not him) from her previous job is an important story but handled poorly at times.

The Global show will have a Season 2 in Canada and likely could also run again on NBC.

Fox acquired the rights to the 12 episodes that make up 2 seasons of Diggstown. The CBC show is coming back for Season 3. Diggstown ran the last 2 winters but did not run this winter.

Vinessa Antoine is the lead about a high-powered corporate lawyer who leaves that world to join a legal aid clinic in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Love the shots of the Halifax area from the show. Natasha Henstridge, C. David Johnson, Stacey Farber, Brandon Oakes, Shailene Garnett, Tim Rozon, and Dwain Murphy are in the cast. In the era of inclusion, great to see a character who is Indigenous (Oakes) but not have that be a big deal.

We don't have a timetable for when Fox will run the show. Summer isn't ideal but that might be the path for the show.

IFC is finally airing the 5 bonus episodes of Baroness von Sketch Show a week from today at midnight Eastern on February 24.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

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We don't have word on whether Pretty Hard Cases has a U.S. outlet. NBC Universal is a major producer on the project so one of their networks should eventually air the show. U.S. viewers are in for a rather unusual ride in the police drama genre.

Episodes don't end with cases wrapped up tight. There are comedic elements within the drama. There is a discussion about whether ketchup should be on French fries or off to the side.

Your humble narrator has seen the first 2 episodes. Meredith MacNeill and American actor Adrienne C. Moore form an unusual pair but fun to watch. The surrounding cast works well. Katie Douglas is part of a multi-episode arc reminding us of what we loved and hated about her character on Mary Kills People.

CBC thought enough about the series to give the second episode an extra airing last Sunday night and has used the Hockey Night in Canada games for a lot of promos. The program airs on Wednesday nights at 9 pm on CBC and is available on CBC Gem.

photo credit: Trickster/CBC

Canadian journalism notebook: TorStar to shut down StarMetro newspapers

My hopes (limited) on being a columnist with the StarMetro newspapers are now dashed. TorStar is shutting down the StarMetro commuter newspapers in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, and Halifax with December 20 as the final date of publication. 73 jobs will be lost in the closing of the newspapers.

I am more familiar with the free newspapers under the previous Metro banner. They weren't worth much but served a purpose when visiting a city. The TorStar rebranding came about a year ago.

There are reports of digital bureaus opening in all those cities except for Toronto with 5 reporters in Vancouver, 5 reporters in Alberta, and 1 in Halifax. That would mean a negative 62 jobs lost.

TorStar/Postmedia newspaper 'trade' details

Postmedia newspaper cuts mean even fewer Canada journalism voices

This is about the 2-year anniversary of the terrible TorStar-Postmedia "trade" where the large media companies acquired papers to then close them.

Postmedia acquired the Metro Winnipeg and Metro Ottawa free dailies to then close them. Torstar acquired and closed 24Hours Toronto and 24Hours Vancouver, rivals to the Metro newspapers.

Personal note: I am changing employment. I’ll be joining the Globe and Mail later this month.

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) November 6, 2019

I have considerable experience in column writing and a strong expertise in Canada. Being a white man would theoretically (and sadly) make me ideal to be a newspaper columnist in Canada. The major drawback is that I am likely too liberal for Canadian newspapers.

The most recent columnist additions to The Globe and Mail lineup would confirm that theory.

Andrew Coyne has moved from the National Post to The Globe and Mail. Robyn Urback recently made the move from CBC News to The Globe and Mail. Coyne and Urback fall in the centre-right position on the Canadian news spectrum.

You might be more familiar with Coyne since he is on the At Issue panel on The National on CBC News. Urback writes the kind of columns where you think you know where you stand on an issue and she writes the opposite of that viewpoint.

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They essentially replace Margaret Wente, who took a buyout, as a columnist with the newspaper. The Globe and Mail kept Wente on long after plagiarism accusations in 2012 and a pair of columns in 2016 that failed to meet the newspaper's attribution standards.

Coyne and Urback are upgrades over Wente even in columns that weren't plagiarised. I don't begrudge their success; I would love to have my voice in the Canadian news landscape.

photo credit: StarMetro Toronto
Twitter capture: @acoyne

Book review: The Art of Diplomacy

Kelly Knight Craft may not be the U.S. Ambassador to Canada for much longer, but she should read The Art of Diplomacy from Bruce and Vicki Heyman. Craft might learn what an ambassador does or even to find out there are cool places in Canada.

Bruce Heyman was the U.S. Ambassador to Canada under President Barack Obama from 2014-2017. With Craft's hundreds of reported absences, Heyman has served as a de facto ambassador in numerous TV appearances.

The Art of Diplomacy makes clear that Bruce and Vicki Heyman were both ambassadors, staying away from the co-ambassador concept. The chapters alternate between the voices of Bruce and Vicki. This is important to remember: otherwise, you might think Bruce got on the back of a Vespa scooter with Sophie Gregoire Trudeau at the helm.

The book is described as a "love letter to Canada, our neighbor and best friend." The couple, when approached for a ambassadorship, wanted to put Canada for each of the top 3 choices. This is a surprise since at the time, all we knew about Bruce Heyman was Goldman Sachs.

Turns out Vicki's great-grandparents on her father's side came from Belarus to Canada. Bruce's work also took him to Canada.

Even if they knew a bit about Canada, Bruce's strategy was to ask several U.S. departments to "tell me what you know about Canada." They had a lot of downtime to prepare since the process took a year from nomination to confirmation. U.S. ambassadors have to go to Charm School in the Virginia suburbs of the U.S. capital.

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

Kelly Knight Craft may leave U.S. Ambassador to Canada post for promotion

Bruce Heyman confirmed (finally) as U.S. Ambassador to Canada

Bruce and Vicki try to get off to a good start by bringing Timbits and coffees to the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa. Bruce talks about the 2-mile (3.3-km) walk from their residence near 24 Sussex Drive to the U.S. Embassy. I've walked that route when I was in Ottawa. His story brought back a nice memory of that walk in the Canadian capital.

There were certainly mistakes and other oddities: all part of the story. They describe how the Harper Government froze them out over not approving the Keystone XL pipeline.

They took advantage of being frozen out by the Harper Government to travel in Canada. They went to the 7 consulates in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montréal, Quebec City, and Halifax. Their first trip through Canada went to 7 provinces and 15 cities in 21 days. They talk of adventures in the Yukon; Tuktoyaktuk (700 miles north of Yellowknife); Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation (3-hour plane ride north of Thunder Bay); and Kenauk, Quebec.

They talk about meeting and talking with Ken Taylor, the Canadian ambassador to Iran who rescued the Americans during the hostage crisis. They sought out friendship with then Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau. Bruce spoke of the protocol to first dine with the prime minister and spouse but they had been frozen out by the Harpers. 

The Harpers finally invite the Heymans only after the 2015 election cycle started. The couples ended up bonding over hot sauces. Gardens, bees, art, and hot sauces serve as ways to tell the story about their adventures in Canada.

2019 Canada Day notebook: More delays with edibles

New U.S. ambassador to Canada debuts his blog

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

We were impressed when David Jacobson started a blog about Canada as President Barack Obama's first U.S. Ambassador to Canada. The Heymans stepped that up with their interaction with Canada.

We have been critical of U.S. Ambassadors not having much of a connection with Canada. Turns out Bruce and Vicki Heyman made up for that lack of Canadian connection. Bruce Heyman has also been an asset for the relationship between the countries in the last few years when American voices were invisible or incendiary.

As for The Art of Diplomacy, the book gives an insight into the world of being an ambassador, ups and downs. The pace of the book is very conversational with a very easy read. The book then becomes a resource to remind ourselves of happier times in the U.S.-Canada relationship.

Disclosure: I met Bruce and Vicki Heyman at a Canadian Thanksgiving event two years ago. I did meet them briefly at a book signing. I'm not sure either of them would remember meeting me.

photo credit: The Art of Diplomacy book

New Brunswick cartoonist dismissal symptom of larger Canadian media concern

Does it matter if I was fired over one Donald Trump cartoon when every Donald Trump cartoon I submitted in the past year was axed?

— Michael de Adder (@deAdder) July 1, 2019

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."

Cartoon for June 26, 2019 on #trump #BorderCrisis #BORDER #TrumpCamps #TrumpConcentrationCamps pic.twitter.com/Gui8DHsebl

— Michael de Adder (@deAdder) June 26, 2019

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.

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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.

Twitter captures: @deAdder

Canadian film review: Nelly

Nelly weaves a tapestry of real and fiction in telling the story of 3 people within 1 person. There is Nelly Arcan, real-life author and sex worker, who commits suicide at the age of 36. Isabelle Fortier is a young woman who later becomes Nelly Arcan. Then there is Cynthia, the nom de plume for the sex work done by Fortier/Arcan.

Anne Émond tells these stories in a non-linear fashion, bouncing around in various chapters in Arcan's life. A lot of the text is drawn from her books, especially her debut novel Putain (Whore). The dialogue is crucial to gathering bits and pieces about these people. For a biography film, we know very little about who Arcan is.

TIFF Rising Star 2016 Mylène Mackay (then known as Mylène MacKay) dominates the screen with the difficult challenge of portraying who Arcan/Cynthia is. Mylia Corbeil-Gavreau portrays her as Isabelle Fortier. Mackay goes with the flow of whoever she is in the moment. Her portrayal of a confident sex worker (Cynthia) is a convincing contrast to the vulnerable writer (Arcan).

We meet people who come in and out of Arcan's life including her long-time friend Suzanne (Sylvie Drapeau), her publisher Mathieu (Francis Leplay), and her boyfriend Francois (Mickaël Gouin, also in Our Loved Ones). Most of the time Arcan is alone, even during sex with men.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

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The small windows are worth watching. Arcan is vulnerable about revealing too much of her self in the novels. She has great insecurities over the potential failure of future novels. She lies when she first becomes a novelist and says she is 26, because she wanted to be published before she was 30.

The best way to watch Nelly is to go with the flow wherever Émond takes the viewer. Her previous films of note include Nuit #1, which was a bit confusing, and Our Loved Ones, which was a delight.

If you approach this film wanting to know why these people do what they do, you are likely to be disappointed. If you want your reality separated from fiction, this is not your film. Some scenes are real, some blend in from the books. You can always discover Arcan after the film by reading her books. You just have to go along for the ride in Nelly, but definitely wear your seatbelt.

video credit: YouTube/TheCdnAcademy
photo credit: Nelly

Proposed money for Canadian journalism about sprouting non-profit news templates

"Is it better to have spent government money on Canadian journalism and lost than to not spend government money on Canadian journalism at all?"

The $50 million over 5 years in the new federal budget feels like droplets in a giant bucket and yet also runs counter to the traditional argument that a government giving money to journalism outlets makes journalism weaker by being influenced over government money.

Some would argue that the government funds CBC and therefore CBC News, but that is a different argument we will get back to later in this column.

The money will go to "independent non-governmental organizations" to support local journalism in underserved communities to "ensure trusted, local perspectives as well as accountability in local communities." For the moment, this reduces the potential impact on government-journalism relationships.

The Public Policy Forum’s The Shattered Mirror report noted that since 2010, 225 weekly and 27 daily newspapers had closed or merged operations.

The problems of newspapers in Canada mirror those in the United States. Advertising revenues are plummeting. Fewer subscriptions. Less interest in a newspaper as the content is reduced in quality and quantity.

For a relatively liberal country, Canadian newspapers are quite conservative. There are no The New York Times or The Washington Post in Canada. The media power in newspapers is in very few hands.

TorStar Corp./Postmedia Network Inc. 'trade'

Postmedia newspaper cuts mean even fewer Canada journalism voices

We saw the power of these conservative newspaper companies with the recent TorStar/Postmedia switch where they traded newspapers to then close them. Postmedia is scheduled to close 21 of the 22 acquired community newspapers as well as the Metro Winnipeg and Metro Ottawa free dailies. Torstar is scheduled to close 3 of the 7 daily newspapers in Ontario and all 8 community newspapers as well as 24Hours Toronto and 24Hours Vancouver.

Postmedia acquired the Sun Media newspapers and then 16 months later, Postmedia announced that the main print outlets in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Ottawa (but not Toronto) would merge into a single newsroom in those cities. While there would visibly be 2 papers in each market, the news would be the same, except for style points for the Sun papers' tabloid format. They wanted the public to think there was competition when there literally wasn't competition.

Even the U.S. newspapers owners haven't been that cruel.

An angry Paul Godfrey, CEO of Postmedia Network says the program to boost local journalism in the Federal budget won't do anything to help existing media, and the lack of government support for the industry will lead to poorer journalism for Canadians. pic.twitter.com/8folXNPo6K

— On The Money (@OnTheMoneyCBC) February 28, 2018

Postmedia CEO Paul Godfrey is very upset that his company isn't getting a dime from the Canadian federal government. The company's policy of writing editorials for all the papers, forcing the papers to endorse Stephen Harper in 2015, and that U.S. hedge funds have dominated the company's finances might explain why large companies aren't getting more money.

The Toronto Star has highlighted its own struggles recently. Toronto Star publisher John Honderich told The Globe and Mail that Torstar Corp. is fighting for survival.

Andrew Coyne, who writes a column for the National Post (Postmedia) did point out some of the Toronto Star problems.

"The Star, like other papers, put its content online for free; like other papers, it forced readers to put up with a succession of hideously designed websites, then wasted $40 million on an unreadable tablet app; all this, I might add, on top of the decades of print-based mediocrity that preceded it. None of which deterred him in the slightest from demanding millions more from the taxpayers. We screwed up. Now you get to pay for it."

You can take the point on what Coyne thinks about the content with a grain of salt, but the mistakes on the Web and the app illustrate the concern. The track record doesn't speak well, and not just for the Toronto Star.

Godfrey and his equivalent, Torstar president/CEO John Boynton, can think about those communities with newspapers more than 100 years old that lost their papers thanks to their recent moves.

CBC proposes $400 million increase to go ad-free

Honderich wrote an op-ed that ran in the company papers back on January 26. He has 10 possible recommendations based from The Shattered Mirror report. #8 is particular notable since that one involves the CBC and digital advertising.

"In today’s digital world, the greatest competitor to Canadian newspaper websites is cbc.ca. It is an excellent website, flush with resources and funded, of course, by the public. Not only that; it is free. Furthermore, it is out in the market competing for digital advertising. The heritage committee, in its report, proposed that Canada adopt the British model where the BBC does not compete for ads. The rationale is that the public broadcaster has an obvious advantage with its guaranteed public funding."

There has been quite a bit of talk that the CBC is at fault for taking digital advertising from newspapers. The CBC is also at fault for running ads on its TV channels, potentially taking away money from TV networks such as CTV, Global, and City TV.

Admittedly, we are defenders of CBC, news and otherwise. But hearing about the dominance of a public broadcaster that was financially damaged by the Harper Government and the loss of Hockey Night in Canada revenues while still running the games feels like the private newspapers and TV networks need to find a different outlet for their troubles. And the extra taxpayer money would have to increase to make up the financial difference.

For those who argue that the newspapers and TV networks should get money if the CBC gets money, the relationship with public broadcasters and government is a much different dance. The money goes to the CBC and the public broadcaster sets aside resources for news. The CBC has to be in places where there are few news outlets but also doesn't have to worry about ratings and readers as much.

As we saw during the Harper Government, despite being deliberately underfunded, CBC was the hardest working news outlet against the government.

The Tyee, which can prove as an inspiration to this discussion given its financial model, have its take on how the CBC save news in Canada.

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From the federal budget:

"To ensure trusted, local perspectives as well as accountability in local communities, the Government proposes to provide $50 million over five years, starting in 2018–19, to one or more independent non-governmental organizations that will support local journalism in underserved communities. The organizations will have full responsibility to administer the funds, respecting the independence of the press.

"Further, consistent with the advice laid out in the Public Policy Forum’s report on news in the digital age, over the next year the Government will be exploring new models that enable private giving and philanthropic support for trusted, professional, non-profit journalism and local news. This could include new ways for Canadian newspapers to innovate and be recognized to receive charitable status for not-for profit provision of journalism, reflecting the public interest that they serve."

The $50 million isn't about propping up failed newspaper companies but trying to plant seeds of non-profit journalism. Even when the newspaper companies had real competition and things were better for the TV stations, the Canadian media wasn't that strong. The money was often more of an issue that the results. This model concentrates more on results than the money.

We have given TorStar and Postmedia a difficult time and a lot of the newspapers' problems are points beyond their control. Buying up small newspapers and then dumping them takes a lot of communities out of the news business when important information isn't getting to people who care about those communities. The Postmedia monopoly in several major Canadian cities wasn't enough. Both newspaper companies need to focus on their readers than the almighty Canadian dollar.

These non-profit ideas will never replace the standard newspaper. But their budding growth might inspire large newspaper companies to be more responsible to their readers.

Twitter capture: @OntheMoneyCBC

The New York Times introduces Americans to butter tarts and more Canadian food

For those who think Canadians are just like Americans, I usually introduce two words to refute that argument: butter tarts.

The New York Times is using its large influence for a bit of education on Canadian food.

As someone who has hosted a panel on Canadian food, I love talking about butter tarts, tourtière, peameal bacon, oatcakes, poutine, maple pie, and the Caesar.

You can find the whole Canada Issue collection here. But here are some of our notes about the articles.

Preserving an Indigenous Way of Life

We touched on this topic last month when writing about Ku-kum Kitchen in Toronto spotlighting indigenous food. The article touches on a number of issues, including Ku-kum Kitchen. The story of Algonquin chef Cezin Nottaway leads the story, talking about reestablishing traditional food on indigenous lands.

One interesting fact: In 2014, the Quebec government proposed a plan to make an exception for 10 restaurants to allow them to serve game meat killed by licensed hunters. Those restaurants would have included Au Pied de Cochon and Joe Beef in Montréal. The plan ultimately did not work out.

They say you learn about a people's history by what they eat. You also learn about their history when you read about trying to take that food away.

The Great Butter Tart Debate

The beautiful dessert at the top of this article is a butter tart. If you haven't been to Canada, you might not know what one looks like.

They are very simple based on the ingredients: primarily brown sugar, butter, and egg inside a tart shell. They can come runny or firm. I've seen them plain, with raisins or top, or with nuts. I tend to like pecans on them; the nuts bring a contrast to the sugary dominance.

The article talks about the origins of butter tarts and as a contrast to the Nanaimo bar.

Poutine has tried to make inroads in the United States while butter tarts are pretty much invisible south of the 49th parallel. Canada's gain is America's loss. As the article notes about butter tarts:

"They are a humble treat, made with ordinary ingredients, and spectacularly delicious."

It Came, It Quenched, It Conquered Canada

We should dedicate this to the ignoramuses at IFC who insisted that the Baroness von Sketch Show change Caesar to a Bloody Mary in a sketch about cottage country. They don't drink a Bloody Mary in cottage country but they do drink Caesars. Too bad that this article counts too late. They and you should read this account on how the Caesar cocktail came to exist.

Toronto Suddenly Has a New Craving: Syrian Food

People who live in big cities claim they have food from all around the world. Toronto always seems to do better than average even among big cities. Syrian food making an impact in Toronto is yet another example where if you visit Toronto, you can eat around the world.

A Door to a Parallel Culinary World

Can't personally speak for this combination of Japanese-influenced Italian food in Vancouver's Chinatown. However, for those who think Canadian food is just more rural American food, this is one of numerous examples to the contrary.

Canadian Whisky’s Long-Awaited Comeback

From Ontario, Cool-Climate Wines of Beauty and Vision

When non-Canadians think of alcohol, they might consider Canada's many fine beers. But as the newspaper notes, ignoring Canadian whisky and wine is not a smart option. And yes, Canada spells whisky without an e unlike the American whiskey.

Ku-kum Kitchen offers up chance to learn more about indigenous Canadians through food

IFC should applaud the unique drink that is a Caesar

Experiencing distinctly Canadian foods

Podcast link to Canadian food event is now online

CanadianCrossing.com food/drink coverage

You can also access Canadian recipes via The New York Times but you need to be a subscriber to access that information.

photos credit: Ian Patterson/Bryce Meyer both for The New York Times

U.S. creeps a bit closer to freedom by airing swear words in context

We have written quite a few articles on how Canadians can handle words in context that make some audiences uncomfortable to hear.

U.S. news outlets found themselves in a similar scenario where some outlets went with "shithole" in response to Donald Trump's "shithole countries" reference to immigration into the United States.

We generally found that cable TV news was more likely to broadcast the phrase rather than over-the-air newscasts and newspapers. The sword of Damocles hangs over over-the-air TV outlets where the FCC could fine stations but not give guidance over whether a particular word, phrase, or pictures would spark a fine. This is why your PBS station would censor something even after 10 pm when they are allowed to broadcast such material uncensored.

Canada allows coarser language in programming as well as news. The United States is struggling with delivering such content in a news context.

We only have to go back to Saturday's Hockey Night in Canada telecast where the f-word was heard on the ice twice within 2 seconds. The incident happened at 14:04 left in the 3rd period in Montréal. Play-by-play announcer Jim Hughson is not fond of on-air swearing, "now, now, just because the linesman got in the way." Nobody freaked out over what happened. The game was aired on CBC and Rogers Sportsnet in Canada and the NHL Network in the United States. 

The infamous "grab them by the pussy" quote, also from Trump, was not repeated as is by U.S. news outlets, especially cable news. When such a quote is censored, its vulgarity is lost, reducing the negative impact of the statement. He would have suffered more condemnation had U.S. news outlets been braver in conveying to their audience the severity of what he said.

U.S. news outlets already suffer enough from pressure not to run stories that would easily run in other countries. For example, most countries report on the Palestinian people but U.S. outlets will not cover them as people in news stories. Additional censorship is more upsetting in the "land of the free."

Here are some examples over the last few years where Canada had more "freedom of the press" than the United States.

Workin' Moms provides CBC with Canadian humour for adults

CTV will air Game of Thrones uncensored

Rob Ford: Liability to Toronto Argonauts

Melissa Leo, Ryan Kesler prove Canadians can handle TV swearing much better than Americans

Canadian news perspective features more freedom than U.S. news

Uncensored clip of Sally Field from Canada

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of freedom in a different context during his time as a civil rights leader. Freedom is a concept that Americans talk about but Canadians are more likely to live in their daily lives. This isn't to say that Canada doesn't have problems with other freedoms, but in the ones that lead to "the pursuit of happiness," Canada is further ahead down that road.

Today is the day that Americans celebrate the spirit and words of Martin Luther King Jr. Let's hope this story is only one of many ways to reflect on freedom on this day.

video credit: YouTube/sydlord