Canadian Crossing

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

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

— Juanita Mercer (@juanitamercer_) August 24, 2024

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

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

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

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

We can hear some of the remarks now:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New Brunswick switches out one newspaper monopoly for another one

Canadian journalism notebook: Canadian cities losing Monday newspaper editions

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

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

— CBC Radio (@cbcradio) August 27, 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

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

— Tom Harrington (@cbctom) September 4, 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bell Media making deep cuts to W5, CTV local newscasts

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

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

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

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

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

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

From the National Post:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nil Köksal slides over from World Report to As It Happens on CBC Radio One

Big news and big, happy tears.

I 💜 AIH@cbcasithappens https://t.co/kMY7TdXGmF

— Nil Köksal (@nilkoksalcbc) July 11, 2022

CBC Radio One is going with a world traveling, CBC radio veteran to replace Carol Off on As It Happens. Nil Köksal, host of World Report, will take over As It Happens with co-host Chris Howden on September 5.

Off had spent 16 years as the co-host of As It Happens. There will be a search to find a new anchor for World Report.

Köksal has done a number of guest stints on the show since 2019. "I would always leave after my stints raving about the kind of culture and energy that is As It Happens," Köksal said in a news release.

Köksal has been the host of World Report since 2018. She was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and moved to Canada in 1981 at the age of 4. She has reported from Tunisia, South Korea, U.S., UK, and Turkey, among many countries.

Howden had been with the show since 2003 and head writer for the show for the previous decade.

Carol Off to leave As It Happens on CBC Radio

CanadianCrossing.com radio coverage

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

Köksal's last day on World Report will be July 20. Marcia Young hosts the weekend version.

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

As It Happens airs for 90 minutes on CBC Radio One following the World at Six. The program airs in the United States through Public Radio Exchange on some NPR stations. The show is also available through the CBC Listen app and the podcast version is also an option.

Twitter capture: @nilkoksalcbc
photo credit: Turgut Yeter/CBC

Canadian journalism notebook: CBC News will launch a streaming channel

Very exciting, bittersweet news to announce: I am leaving The National in order to help develop and host a brand new, daily, news & current affairs program on CBC's streaming channel and platforms! 1/2 https://t.co/fsRxJlCuxO

— Andrew Chang (@AndrewChangCBC) June 30, 2022

TV news is trying to produce a product for how people are consuming TV news. These days, this means providing a streaming version of the news.

CBC News will launch a free 24-hour live streaming channel this fall with Andrew Chang playing a key role.

"A big chunk of it will be the bundling of journalism that we do across the country that sometimes comes and goes in a newscast … It's generally longer form. It's more evergreen. And it can live beyond a day." — CBC News editor-in-chief Brodie Fenlon said in an interview.

The move pulls Chang off The National where Adrienne Arsenault will be the solo anchor Mondays-Thursdays while Ian Hanomansing will anchor on Fridays and Sundays from Vancouver.

CBC The National slightly skews its numerous hosts lineup

How does the new CBC The National fare in the news landscape?

CBC picks 4 hosts to replace Peter Mansbridge

The 4-headed anchor team who replaced Peter Mansbridge on The National have found their way. Rosemary Barton is now the CBC News chief political correspondent, hosting the At Issue panel on Thursdays and hosting Rosemary Barton Live.

Having the 4 newspeople from the start gave them credibility for when other moves were made.

The new streaming news service will be distinct from CBC News Network and also be ad-supported.

CBC with Adrienne Arsenault gives the 3 national newscasts a female face with the CTV primary anchor in Lisa LaFlamme and Dawna Freisen with Global.

It’s the bottom of the ninth in @ChrisHallCBC’s time as host, with no desire for extra innings. In his second last show, he and three party insiders — @ZitaAstravas, @jasonlietaer and @NDPAnne — discuss the similarities between baseball and politics.https://t.co/6KdsgpTcPd pic.twitter.com/Yp2d8lpSqc

— CBC's The House (@CBCTheHouse) June 25, 2022

Chris Hall has accumulated a lot of knowledge and experience with Parliament Hill. Hall has retired as the CBC News national affairs editor. He has been with CBC News since 1998. Hall had previously worked for the Ottawa Citizen.

Hall was the host of The House on CBC Radio One, which is also available in a podcast edition.

Good luck on your well-deserved retirement.

Canadian journalism notebook: The risk of taking money from government

Trudeau Government proposes ways to help out Canadian journalism

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

Canadaland is one of the best resources to know what is happening in Canadian journalism. The Web site recently had podcast episodes on laws dealing with government and Big Tech funds going to some Canadian journalism outlets. The first podcast listed is focused on the reader while the second podcast delves into the publisher perspective.

• "We are not the Journalism Police" – An interview with the Journalism Police
• Google and Facebook to the Rescue: Canadian news gets on Big Tech's payroll

The obvious conflict of interest: journalism having financial ties to the government. 

The CBC situation is very different. Taxpayers feed money into the CBC.

Though the program has been in place for 2 years, we know very little about who is taking the money, how much are they getting, and if some outlet applied and was denied.

If you are new to this concern, Canadaland provides some background.

We know Postmedia applied for and took the money. Postmedia financially is controlled by American hedge funds. Seems like an obvious disqualifier.

La Presse to be large example of a newspaper going non-profit

CBC proposes $400 million increase to go ad-free

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

The "trucker" freedom convoy protesters last winter took their shots literally and figuratively at Canadian journalists. Journalists have suffered all sorts of disturbing behaviour in recent times.

A basic code of conduct of decent behaviour would be a wonderful start. Even if you disagree with them or their bosses' approach, ask them a question when they are done either live or taping a stand up. Ask them politely. No misogynist or racist actions or language.

Most journalists are hard working and try to get things correct.

Twitter captures: @AndrewChangCBC; @CBCTheHouse
photo credit: CBC News

2022 Canada Day notebook

Today is the 155th anniversary of the establishment of the Dominion of Canada with Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The Dominion of Canada would keep the Union Jack for almost 100 years after the creation of Canada. Older people remember when July 1 was called Dominion Day.

We focus in on a few stories of note in our Canada Day notebook. Celebrate safe, perhaps with a Caesar and a Nanaimo bar.

Canada to finally lift pre-arrival COVID-19 tests for air and land border crossings

CanadianCrossing.com border crossings coverage

American travelers to Canada still need to use the ArriveCan app. This is true for land border crossings, something of great concern for border town mayors on the Canadian side. Ugh.

We have noted the significant difference in naming Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (U.S.) versus KD or Kraft Dinner (Canada). The U.S. version will soon change to Kraft Mac and Cheese.

As far as we know, there is no inherent difference between the products, though the Canadian version is likely made with better made Canadian cheese.

There is a grand difference in Canadian accouterments with KD such as hot dogs and ketchup.

You can see the Canadian version (left) or the new U.S. version (below). Which looks better to eat?

Barenaked Ladies mentioned Kraft dinner in the song If I Had a Million Dollars from the Gordon album from 1992.

We wouldn't have to eat Kraft dinner / But we would eat Kraft dinner / Of course we would we'd just eat more / And buy really expensive ketchups with it / That's right all the fanciest Dijon ketchups mmm mmm

If I were eating Kraft Dinner in Canada, I might use Canadian-made French's ketchup.

Remember the whole French-Heinz ketchup battle? Funny part is that Kraft and Heinz are now corporately married

Feeling more nostalgic than hungry, here is the (temporarily) reunited Barenaked Ladies performing that song at the 2018 Junos after being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Canadian cities are legalizing alcohol in parks (Cross Country Checkup from CBC Radio One)

There are 2 primary images of public drinking. People leisurely drinking wine with a picnic in a park. People drinking out of bottles in paper bags. People want the former but not the latter.

The pandemic set limits on drinking because of the viability of crowded bars being open.

Your humble narrator has seen people in Amsterdam and Rome drinking outside and having that be not a big deal.

Being able to selective drink in public would bring Canada closer to its European cousins and away from the puritanical United States.

We are big fans of @brittlestar, and we are honoured that he sent us a video tribute as Canuckle wraps up! CHECK IT OUT ⬇️🇨🇦👍 #ThankYouEh pic.twitter.com/MNpgxAsPN0

— Canuckle (@CanuckleGame) June 27, 2022

We meant to write about Canuckle, the Canadian version of Wordle. Same concept: 5 letter word, 6 guesses. The Canuckle word would have some tie to Canada. Some days, the word was fun. Other days, words such as "brier" threw me off.

Turns out today is the last Canuckle, at least for now. As you may know from our Twitter feed, we love playing Canuckle. Have been glad to give it some love and hopefully encourage others to learn a bit about Canada through guessing the words. The correct letters showed up in red, which was also cool.

Today's game is Game 142 on Canada Day. You can play the previous games through its archives.

If we get news of a comeback, we would be thrilled to pass that information along to our readers.

Also fans of Brittlestar, if you aren't following him. Really good Canadian sensibility.

2022 CFL Week 4 preview

The CFL is playing on and around Canada Day for the first time since 2019. The BC Lions were in Ottawa, the nation's capital, last night. The Edmonton Elks are in Hamilton tonight to take on the Tiger-Cats. The league is even playing on the night of the U.S. holiday yet the game is not on U.S. TV. Tonight's game is on ESPN+. All the games are on TSN in Canada.

The Toronto Blue Jays are at home for Canada Day, unlike Victoria Day. The team plays Game 2 of a 5-game series against Tampa Bay. Today's game has a 3:07 pm EDT start. Rogers Sportsnet has the game in Canada. The MLB Network has this as the backup game in the United States, meaning Boston and Chicago. The U.S. channel has been reluctant to use the Rogers Sportsnet feed, opting to use YES (Yankees) and NESN (Red Sox), even in Toronto.

Former Toronto Raptors star guard Kyle Lowry will have a street named after him in Toronto. The street will be at Don Mills Crossing, a new development in the northeast section of Toronto. We just celebrated 3 years since the Raptors won the 2019 NBA title.

The Athletic reported earlier this week that Rogers Sportsnet is ending Hometown Hockey after 8 seasons. The pandemic didn't help the situation. The move to Monday night was a noble idea but that didn't help as well. If yyzsportsmedia.com is correct, this is the first of many Rogers Sportsnet changes to NHL coverage in October. 

The Grand Seduction matches up well with Quebecois version

You might have seen The Grand Seduction (2013), the story of a small fishing village that has to draw in a doctor and convince that doctor to stay.

You might have seen La Grande Séduction | Seducing Dr. Lewis, the original Ken Scott film (2003) that is the same story though set in Quebec rather than Newfoundland. Scott co-wrote the English language version of the film.

If you are in Charlottetown this summer, you can catch the new musical Tell Tale Harbour, based on the Quebecois film La Grande Séduction.

Alan Doyle of the band Great Big Sea is in the production. You may remember his acting skills on display in Republic of Doyle (no relation). You can listen to Doyle with fellow Newfoundlander Tom Power recently on Q on CBC Radio One.

The films were pretty similar. Music from that part of the world is amazing. 2 musicals from Newfoundland: Tell Tale Harbour on top of Come From Away.

Thanks so much! What a time we’re having. https://t.co/38HBeuAJIo

— Alan Doyle (@alanthomasdoyle) June 24, 2022

Improving train travel options between the United States and Canada

2022 Canadian TV upfronts highlights

Season 2 of the Canadian TV show Departure involves a high-speed train from Toronto to Chicago. The concept of a high-speed ground option between those cities is pure fiction. Traveling from Toronto to Windsor would involve a infrequent train not much faster than a bus. Getting from Windsor to Detroit is complicated. Then there is the slow magic of Amtrak from Detroit to Chicago.

In the opening episode, the high-speed train flows smoothly out of Union Station in Toronto, flows through southern Ontario, and crosses some mythical structure over the Detroit River. The train stops to check passports, something that is often done in Canada before boarding a plane to the United States.

Traveling from Rome to Florence and back on high speed trains was an absolute joy. Getting from Brussels, Belgium to London, England in 121 minutes, like clockwork, was wonderful. That same joy should be found on trains from Toronto to Detroit and Chicago.

The Maple Leaf Train from Toronto-New York City, not nearly as fast, is back in business. The ViaRail service from Windsor to Toronto have recently returned to normal capacity, now 5 trains a day. Megabus is increasing U.S. bus service from Toronto as well as to other Canadian destinations such as Ottawa, Kingston, and Montréal. Megabus should look into a Windsor-London-Toronto route.

I discovered Cross Country Checkup many years ago on CBC Radio. This was in a time where I would be in Detroit, listening to CBC Radio One on AM 1550 (now on FM 97.5). Rex Murphy was the host back then.

The show had been in more capable hands with Duncan McCue and lately with Ian Hanomansing. Turns out Hanomansing is now the permanent host of Cross Country Checkup. He hosts the show from Vancouver where he anchors The National on Friday and Sunday.

The program airs Sundays live coast to coast to coast at 4 pm Eastern, 1 pm Pacific, and 5:30 pm Newfoundland time.

You can listen to the program on the CBC Listen app or download the podcast version.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

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NBC is dragging out Transplant to the middle of summer. There is the end in sight. The season finale airs July 16 at 8 pm EDT. Hopefully, Season 3 is a smoother presentation.

Season 2 started 2 months after the CTV premiere in January. NBC gave the show a terrible timeslot and lifted the show for the May sweeps period.

The CW will run the final season of Coroner when the fall starts, but keep in mind that the CW starts fall when the weather is very warm.

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Summarizing Kenneth Welsh's acting career would fall embarrassing short. Welsh, who passed away on May 5, had a storied career on both sides of the border. His portrayal of Windom Earle in the U.S. TV show Twin Peaks made a significant impact.

Welsh was enjoyable in recent Canadian films such as Wet Bum (2014) and And the Birds Rained Down | Il pleuvait des oiseaux (2019).

Welsh did 2 episodes of Twitch City and 3 episodes of Due South. He played himself in an episode of Slings & Arrows. Welsh even appears in the final episode of the new season of Kids in the Hall.

photo credits: CBC News; Kraft Heinz Canada; Kraft Heinz; CBC Radio
Twitter captures: @CanuckleGame; @alanthomasdoyle

Randy Bachman brings back Vinyl Tap to commercial radio in Canada

If you missed Vinyl Tap with Randy Bachman on CBC Radio, the show is returning to Canadian airwaves on commercial radio. We mentioned the announcement of the program leaving after 16 years on CBC Radio. The final program aired on CBC on Canada Day 2021.

The deal with Orbyt Media and Corus Entertainment calls for the new Vinyl Tap on Corus classic rock stations across Canada including: Q107 Toronto, Rock 101 Vancouver, 101.1 BIG FM Barrie, Q107 Calgary, Boom 101.9 Cornwall, Chuck at 92.5 Edmonton, Hamilton, Kingston, 107.5 Dave Rocks Kitchener, London's Best Rock FM 96, The Wolf 101.5 FM Peterborough, and Power 97 Winnipeg. The program will air Sunday evenings at 9 pm local time.

There will be 48 episodes of the new show in a year compared to about 36 for CBC Radio. Of course, there will be commercials.

For those who aren't familiar with Randy Bachman's music career, think the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Bachman is also a very good storyteller.

2021 Victoria Day notebook

CanadianCrossing.com music coverage

CanadianCrossing.com radio coverage

U.S. radio listeners might get the short end of the stick if they can't listen to the local Canadian stations. Americans could listen on the CBC Listen app to the CBC version. A podcast is reportedly in the works for listeners in the United States and abroad.

photo credit: Vinyl Tap/CBC Radio

Carol Off to leave As It Happens on CBC Radio

The last time As It Happens was looking for a co-host feels like a long time ago. Chris Howden took over for Jeff Douglas to host with Carol Off a couple of months before the COVID-19 pandemic. Douglas was the co-host for 8 years before leaving to host Mainstreet, the weekday afternoon CBC Nova Scotia show.

Now As It Happens is looking for a host to replace Carol Off, who is leaving the show after nearly 16 years. Her last edition will be February 25. Off will work on a new summer series for CBC.

With all due respect to Howden, Off is the primary host of the show in terms of conducting interviews. She had a long background in reporting around the world for CBC News before landing in As It Happens.

"I was a wild animal and I was never going to be a house cat," Off said.

Off replaced Mary Lou Finlay as the co-host in 2006 and worked with Barbara Budd. The almost 16 years Off worked on the show was the third-longest tenure on the show behind Alan Maitland (1974-1993) and Budd (1993-2010). Barbara Frum, mother of David Frum, was a host (1971-1981). As It Happens has been around since 1968.

New changes to CBC Radio in 2020

CanadianCrossing.com radio coverage

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

"It's the hardest job I've ever had, for sure," Off said. "It's the emotional range of it. I've laughed. I've cried. I've become angry. I have learned something. I've had my head turned around. And that's in a single day."

Replacing Off will also be a hard job. Howden had been with the show since 2003 and head writer for the show for the previous decade. That may not be the path for Off's replacement.

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

There will be guest hosts filling in for Off after February 25 so there will be quite a bit of time before we know the permanent replacement.

For a lot of listeners to the program, Carol Off is As It Happens. They will be very tough shoes to fill.

As It Happens airs for 90 minutes on CBC Radio One following the World at Six. The program airs in the United States through Public Radio Exchange on some NPR stations. The show is also available through the CBC Listen app and the podcast version is also an option.

photo credit: @cbcasithappens

2021 Victoria Day notebook

Happy Victoria Day!! May 24 is the queen's official birthday. The day is celebrated on the Monday preceding May 25. This is the latest Victoria Day can come on the calendar.

The day marks the unofficial start of summer, the initial long weekend, in Canada. Outside of the Atlantic provinces, summer 2020 was not remotely normal in the rest of Canada. This includes Americans "driving to Alaska." We are rooting for Canadians and Americans to cross the border sometime this summer.

The Atlantic travel bubble was supposed to return May 3 but is on indefinite wait and see. The 2020 Atlantic Bubble ran from July 3-November 26.

Travel between provinces is being discouraged. British Columbia is restricting travel to other regions (e.g., Vancouver to Victoria) and to Alberta. Manitoba is requiring self-isolation except for essential workers. Ontario has restrictions on travel with Manitoba and Quebec.

Canada is catching up on vaccines, some of them even in Ontario. The difference between the first shot and the second shot is a lot longer in Canada (4 months) than the United States (more like 4 weeks).

We are even rooting for the people of Saint Pierre and Miquelon to travel to Newfoundland and vice versa.

As for the picture (above), this is the first Beavers Tail I had in Canada along the water in downtown Halifax in 2009. The O was in honour of President Barack Obama, who made a trip to Beaver Tails when he visited Ottawa in February of that year. A reminder that traveling to Canada brings on new adventures you can't get if you don't live in Canada.

Greyhound leaves Canada for good

Greyhound Canada to abandon western Canadian provinces

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

Traveling within Canada will have to involve a bus company other than Greyhound. Greyhound Canada finished the piecemeal destruction of their Canadian service with the withdrawal of southern Ontario and Montréal.

Your humble narrator would love to research other bus companies that have taken over some of the routes. Greyhound gave a smooth experience with coordinated schedules before abandoning western Canada and northern Ontario in 2018. Yes, ViaRail does cover some of that ground with less than ideal schedules and a lot more money. Intercity bus travel is essential for many in a country that is as spread out as Canada.

You might have to do more research to travel across Canada by bus. The journey is worthwhile.

2021 Toronto Blue Jays preview

The Toronto Blue Jays have a "home" game on Victoria Day, per tradition. The Blue Jays are playing their last game in Dunedin, FL for the season, hosting their regional Tampa neighbours. That game will be on Rogers Sportsnet in Canada and the MLB Network in the United States.

The Blue Jays are 23-22 resting 4½ games out in the American League East. The team lost the first 3 to Tampa, that team is on a 10-game winning streak. Toronto has lost its last 5 games.

The Blue Jays will start playing their home games June 1 at the refurbished Sahlen Field in Buffalo, a short distance from Canada. Capacity will start out at 5,810, 35% of the 16,600-seat stadium. The park is split in half between vaccinated and unvaccinated fans.

The team played its home games at Buffalo in 2020 where fans were not permitted.

2021 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview for Canadian teams

Having 4 Canadian NHL teams in the playoffs on Victoria Day is a mirage. Either the teams are long gone or if you go back far enough, the 1979 Montréal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup on May 21.

The NHL surprisingly gave Canadians a most unusual NHL doubleheader on Victoria Day with Game 4 of the Winnipeg-Edmonton series and Game 3 of the Montréal-Toronto series.

The Jets have a commanding 3-0 lead after consecutive overtime wins. The Habs and Maple Leafs have split the first 2 games.

The game in Montréal starts at 7 pm while the game in Winnipeg follows at 9:45 pm. CBC and Rogers Sportsnet will have the games in Canada while NHL Network (Leafs-Habs) and NBCSN (Oilers-Jets) have the games in the United States.

Governor General Julie Payette resigns following workplace investigation

U.S. may not pick a permanent replacement for Ambassador to Canada until well into 2021

Victoria Day marks a time where Canada doesn't have a permanent Governor General and the United States doesn't have a permanent U.S. Ambassador to Canada.

Canada Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner has been the acting governor general since January. Wagner is the head of Canada’s judicial, executive and legislative branches of government. That scenario should be tenuous at best, especially with a minority government.

The only time in the modern era (1952-present) of Canadian governors general where there was an interim gap was when Georges Vanier passed away on March 5, 1967. Roland Michener didn't take over until April 17, 1967.

We haven't heard a peep about candidates that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will consider with the consent of Queen Elizabeth II.

We have heard speculation about Comcast executive David L. Cohen as the potential nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Canada. If that is true and Cohen doesn't screw anything up, he likely won't take over in Ottawa until at least the fall. We were not impressed on the surface for either of Barack Obama's picks though they turned out okay.

Am willing to bet I would outscore Cohen on a quiz about Canada, even if Cohen has been studying. The United States has not had a permanent ambassador since August 23, 2019 and even then, not much of an ambassador.

Katherine Brucker has served as the acting ambassador since November 9. We are sure she is doing a fine job as did Richard M. Mills Jr. (August 23, 2019-November 9, 2020). A permanent ambassador has more sway on important issues such as reopening the border.

Kirsten Hillman has been Canada’s ambassador to Washington since March 26, 2020. Hillman previously was acting ambassador and deputy ambassador. The Canadian process makes getting and implementing ambassadors much easier. They tend to be career diplomats as opposed to random heavy donors. This is in part because Canada values the relationship between the two countries more than the United States does, even under Democratic presidents.

Speaking of politics, Wednesday marks the end of the Mike Duffy era in the Canadian Senate. Senators have to retire when they reach 75. Duffy was part of the Senate scandal on claiming improper housing expenses. Duffy accepted a $90,000 "bribe" from Nigel Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff, to repay the expenses. Duffy ran into ethics issues over a Stephane Dion interview while he was with CTV before being appointed to the Senate by Harper.

2020-2021 Toronto Raptors season wrapup

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I made a promise as a kid to my mom i would never remove my turban. Today it is in the Hall of Fame. Embrace what makes you different. It is your superpower. This is the crown I wear each day. Thank you mom. pic.twitter.com/s6cCjxbdhR

— Nav Bhatia Superfan (@superfan_nav) May 19, 2021

Nav Bhatia is the superfan of all fans. Now he is in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Bhatia and the Toronto Raptors are synchronized together.

Bhatia has never missed a Toronto Raptors home game in Canada. He is well known for buying tickets and getting people of different cultures to sit next to each other.

Bhatia was the grand marshal of the 2019 Toronto Raptors World Championship parade.

His story of being a mechanical engineer in his native India to coming to Canada and ending up selling cars to make a living is extraordinary. Maybe someone will make a Canadian film out of his story some day.

2021 Canadian Screen Awards film winners

2021 Canadian Screen Awards television winners

There is an argument that more Canadians could have seen Beans, the Canadian Screen Award for Best Motion Picture, than other recent winners. The film played as part of the Toronto International Film Festival, available to more Canadians through streaming. I have seen Blood Quantum, winners of 6 CSAs, one of the best films of that genre I have seen, regardless of country. Have been impressed with Jeff Barnaby.

Perhaps more Americans are watching some Canadian television than Canadians. Canada is producing some amazing television even if you only count what Americans can watch. We hear about Schitt's Creek, Kim's Convenience, and Workin' Moms. Transplant (CTV/NBC) and Coroner (CBC/CW) as well as Trickster (CBC/CW) might have hit the U.S. airwaves because of the pandemic. Then again, they were great TV shows.

CFL cancels 2020 season

If CFL plays in 2020, have all the games in the Maritimes

In the original 2021 CFL schedule, the BC Lions would have been in Calgary yesterday at 4:30 pm Eastern for the first preseason game. The season was scheduled to start June 10 with a rematch of the 2019 Grey Cup with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Winnipeg to take on the Blue Bombers.

The targeted start date is now August 5. The 2021 Grey Cup is set for December 12 at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, the first Grey Cup in the Steel City since 1996. This is, as we known for awhile, subject to change.

From TSN's Dave Naylor earlier this month: " … the CFL has for weeks been working on a schedule that opens with all of its games being played in Western Canada. Provincial and municipal governments in the West have indicated a greater willingness to open stadiums to fans as COVID-19 case counts come down and more Canadians become vaccinated."

We suggested in 2020 that the CFL play in the Atlantic provinces. There was talk of a bubble in Winnipeg. Setting up the 4 East teams in the Prairies would ease concerns in Ontario, a province slow to give approval. There would be a lot less travel. The implication is that the western Canadian provinces might be more likely to allow fans in the stands. The Hamilton-Toronto battle might look odd at Mosaic Stadium in Regina but better than not playing at all.

I love safety as much as the next person but if the NFL is going to play in London, the CFL has to play in the Prairies.

Vinyl Tap from Randy Bachman will end its 16-year run on CBC Radio on the next major Canadian holiday: Canada Day 2021. While CBC is ending the show's run on the public broadcaster, Bachman wants to continue Vinyl Tap either with another broadcaster or as a podcast.

Bachman plays songs, tell anecdotes, presents a theme for the show, and even has musical demonstrations. Bachman is known for his stints in the Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive.

The battle has been to give the 2-hour timeslot to a more current show versus giving a home to a Canadian music legend.

The program airs on Saturdays at 7 pm on CBC Radio One with a rebroadcast Sundays at 6 pm on CBC Music (aka Radio 2) and Fridays at 11 pm on CBC Radio One. Those in the United States can tune in on the CBC Listen app. The app offers Canadians more options such as multiple streams in a variety of music formats.

The art of the double double

Katherine Barber, known as the Word Lady segments on CBC Radio One and editor-in-chief of The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, died last month in Toronto at 61. Barber did a lot of diligent work with The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, released in 1998, with more than 2,200 Canadian definitions for words such as toque, double-double, and English muffin.

Barber even resorted to trashy novels to find national and regional language unique to Canada and Canadians.

Canadian English might be a combination of British English and American English with Canadian words not used in the U.S. or UK. Thank you Katherine Barber for your hard work. RIP.

photo credits: me; Vinyl Tap/CBC Radio
Twitter capture: @superfan_nav

Canadian film notebook: Marketing Canadian films as not Canadian

Q is the arts and entertainment interview show on CBC Radio One. Tom Power is the host. He's from Newfoundland and Labrador; doesn't take long for him to point that out on the show. We love Q and Tom Power as the host. There is a lot of promotion on the show for Canadian authors, musicians, and even TV shows.

Canadian film doesn't get featured too often, even on the public broadcaster. We sarcastically tweet the few times Eli Glasner actually reviews a Canadian film. We love Glasner but like most film reviews, the obsession is on American product.

Recently, Tom Power had on Gabriel Byrne and Sigourney Weaver (separate interviews) talking about their latest films. Turns out those films are secretly Canadian, so secret in fact that only one of them got mentioned with a direct Canadian connection. That was because of an answer Weaver gave late in her interview.

Sigourney Weaver and Margaret Qualley, daughter of Andie MacDowell, are featured prominently in the trailer and publicity. So why is My Salinger Year a Canadian film?

Heralded French-Canadian director Philippe Falardeau adapted the screenplay based on My Salinger Year from American author Joanna Rakoff and directed the film.

Falardeau is known for such great Quebecois films as Monsieur Lazhar (2011); My Internship in Canada (2015); and Congorama (2006).

Falardeau has directed American films in English: Chuck (2016) and The Good Lie (2013). He didn't write either film.

My Salinger Year was filmed in Montréal. While the major players in the film are not Canadian, there are a few actors further down on the callsheet: Colm Feore, Théodore Pellerin, Yanic Truesdale, Hamza Haq, and Leni Parker.

Weaver had great praise for Falardeau in the Q interview. Only then did Power point out that Falardeau is Quebecois.

The reviews so far have not been too good. The likelihood of slipping into a U.S. streaming service means waiting a little longer to see the film.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah had a Canadian talking about a Canadian film

The theme of Leonard Cohen songs might lead you to think Death of a Ladies' Man is a Canadian film.

Writer/director Matt Bissonnette also explored Leonard Cohen in Looking for Leonard (2002) and Passenger Side (2009). You might also know Bissonnette from Who Loves the Sun (2006) starring his then wife, Molly Parker.

Sarah Polley sneaked Cohen into Take This Waltz (2011). Jon Stewart sneaked Leonard Cohen into the American film Rosewater.

Leonard Cohen, Canada's poet, passes away at the age of 82

Rosewater and its Canadian connections

Death of a Ladies' Man features these Leonard Cohen songs: Bird on the Wire; Memories; Hallelujah; Why Don't You Try; Heart with No Companion; The Lost Canadian (Un Canadien errant); and Did I Ever Love You.

The film features some very fine Quebecois acting talent such as Jessica Paré, Suzanne Clément, Antoine Olivier Pilon, Karelle Tremblay, and Pascale Bussières. The film also features English Canadian talent in Tyrone Benskin and Joel Bissonnette, brother of Matt.

Though Death of a Ladies' Man also takes place in Ireland and is a co-production, this film feels more Canadian than My Salinger Year. Both films are filmed in Montréal.

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Their non-Canadian leads might convince Canadians to go see these films. These films are available in the U.S. as well so they offer up good options below the 49th parallel.

video credits: YouTube/IFC Films; YouTube/Mongrel Media
photo credits: My Salinger Year film; Death of a Ladies' Man film

Tim and Sid as well as Jay and Dan are separating

So this isn't quite Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice but the partnerships of Tim and Sid as well as Jay and Dan are going through transformation.

Tim and Sid, the afternoon radio/TV sports talk guys on Rogers Sportsnet, are separating. Sid Seixeiro is leaving to join Breakfast Television, Citytv's morning talk show. Jay and Dan, the late-night SportsCentre TSN duo who briefly left Canada for Fox Sports 1, are separating involuntarily. Dan O'Toole was one of many Bell Media layoffs.

A coincidence that the second name in the duos won't be doing sports. This leaves Tim Micallef (of Tim and Sid) and Jay Onrait (of Jay and Dan) wondering who they will work with on a long-term basis.

If you think that the Seixeiro move is a bit odd, morning television might seem safer. Though the Vancouver and Calgary versions were cancelled last November for a national version from Toronto that will feature Seixeiro. Seixeiro has a job and O'Toole does not.

Seixeiro's last day is February 26 and his first day on Breakfast Television will be March 10.

Chris Cuthbert picks Stanley Cup final over TSN, jumps to Rogers Sportsnet

Jay & Dan were best thing on Fox Sports 1 sinking ship

pic.twitter.com/OiNlDZxAA5

— Jay Onrait (@JayOnrait) February 8, 2021

O'Toole could jump to Rogers to replace Seixeiro though the contrast of what worked for Jay and Dan would not work well for a Tim and Sid type program.

Micallef might be looked upon as a possible replacement to call CFL games for TSN, owned by Bell Media. Micallef has experience calling university football. Given that Canada didn't have the CFL or university football in 2020, making that kind of a move has some issues.

TSN might bring in Dave Randorf to do some early-season CFL games but Randorf would have to go back to Tampa by mid-September to call the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning games. Rick Ball is staying with Rogers to call Calgary Flames and Hockey Night in Canada games.

Despite the huge Bell Media layoffs, someone has to replace Chris Cuthbert on the CFL telecasts. TSN didn't really replace Cuthbert for the NHL, using freelancers here and there for conflicts with Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators games. Jon Abbott of TSN 1040 Vancouver filled in for a game. Then Abbott and all his co-workers lost their jobs as TSN 1040 flipped formats. The same also happened at TSN 1290 in Winnipeg and TSN 1150 in Hamilton. Bell Media eliminated the newsroom staff at CJAD Montréal.

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CanadianCrossing.com Rogers Sportsnet coverage

Last week, parent company BCE announced a quarterly profit of $889 million in the 4th quarter of 2020. This was an increase versus the $672 million from the same period in 2019.

Having a 2021 CFL season can help reduce the Bell Media losses. Having an end to COVID-19 would help as well.

photo credit: TSN
Twitter capture: @JayOnrait

Samantha Bee might be channeling Anna Maria Tremonti in her new podcast

If you have been missing new episodes of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, good news. A fresh new episode airs tonight on TBS and the CTV Comedy Channel in Canada.

Hopefully, you have been enjoying Samantha Bee's new podcast Full Release. The podcast series feature long-form interviews with people she finds fascinating.

"Gee, a celebrity with a podcast. Suck up much?" Fair enough, but there is more of a Canadian connection worth noting.

Samantha Bee was one of the guests of the first season of More with Anna Maria Tremonti, the former host of The Current. Tremonti featured long-form interviews. Each subject had a theme Tremonti explored in the interview:

• Catherine O'Hara on the power of collaboration
• Vivek Shraya on fear and hate
• Samantha Bee on finding your way
• Elle Mills on being vulnerable in public
• David Suzuki on growing older
• Naomi Klein on finding hope in today's world
• Margaret Atwood on leading a political life
• Frank Gehry on standing out
• Malcolm Gladwell on changing your mind

Bee is not covering a specific insight in her long-form interviews. She has interviewed Soledad O'Brien, Jelani Cobb, Dr. Jen Gunter, Connie Schultz, Jemele Hill, and Kara Swisher.

Tremonti interviewed all Canadians in her series. Gunter is the only Canadian so far on Full Release. They do talk about some things Canadian, including health care.

Bee did say in her episode with Tremonti that she would love to do what Tremonti was doing. So perhaps Full Release does tie back to being on More.

Unlike Tremonti, Bee opens up about herself. The Dr. Gunter interview reveals a lot that women know but where men will learn a few lessons. At the end of each podcast, her producers give her lines from Internet trolls about herself and Bee has to guess whether the remarks are real or fake.

Bee said on More that she grew up listening to the news on CBC because her mother made her listen. For someone who is not a journalist, Bee is engaging in her curiosity about her subjects. Tremonti would be proud of what Bee is doing.

The other key dynamic is that Tremonti taped her first season before the pandemic where Bee's episodes fully acknowledge the impact of the pandemic.

The conversation with Bee and Gunter was a dynamic of Canadians who have built a world in the United States yet still feel very Canadian even though they haven't lived there in a very long time.

Bee and Jemele Hill talked about the inequities of sports, such as why female soccer players earn way less than male soccer players.

The podcasts are very different in approach and style but the idea of long-form interviews with people who are interesting to the host is fairly similar. Think of Full Release as an homage to More.

Not sure if Tremonti would be interested in being the subject matter of a long-form interview. Perhaps she would make an exception for Bee.

Anna Maria Tremonti launches interview podcast

New changes to CBC Radio in 2020

CanadianCrossing.com radio coverage

CBC Radio is running episodes of More on Sunday mornings at 11 am on CBC Radio One.

You can get each podcast where you find podcasts. If you know of a great Canadian podcast or a podcast by a great Canadian, let us know in the comments section.