Canadian Crossing

Canadian film review: Black Ice

Your humble narrator saw Black Cop at the Chicago International Film Festival in October 2017. Writer/director Cory Bowles (Trailer Park Boys) was there and held a post-film Q&A. The after Q&A in the hallway was legendary in my mind. Bowles shared a lot about the history of Africville technically inside Halifax in Nova Scotia.

I thought that night that someone should do a documentary on the history of Africville based on what Bowles told us that night.

Black Ice is several documentaries under a single umbrella united by director Hubert Davis. Akim Aliu starts out the documentary, which feels appropriate. The film goes over the situation from current and recent former Black ice hockey players, including Sarah Nurse, P.K. Subban, Saroya Tinker, Mark Connors, and Wayne Simmonds.

You hear the stories of racism from their perspective. The stuff they ignore and the stuff they can't ignore. I vaguely remember the "banana" incident involving Simmonds. Having him talk about it helped give perspective. Simmonds has played more than 1,000 NHL games. Hard to imagine what he has been through.

Tinker talks about the thrill of playing for Angela James for the Toronto Six to play for a Black coach who can understand her situation.

We learn about the horrible quote by then Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe, "I'll give any man $10,000 who can turn Herb Carnegie white.” Carnegie never played in the NHL.

Bill Peters resigns as Calgary Flames head coach in light of racial slurs against player

Canadian film review: Willie

Simmonds also mentions a subtle form of racism in organised hockey. He talks about the conundrum of why you don't see Black centres. This falls into horrible stereotypes for Black athletes that they "can't" be catchers or quarterbacks or centres because they aren't "smart" enough.

As much as I have covered and followed hockey, I confess I hadn't thought about that aspect. I looked up Jarome Iginla and Dustin Byfuglien, two of the smartest NHL players I've seen, regardless of colour (neither of which is in the documentary). Both were on the wing. Hell, Byfuglien was so talented to play defence and as a forward. Simmonds had a point to really ponder that seemingly would also translate to a lack of Black coaches in organised hockey.

The documentary also focuses on the history of Black hockey players in Canada based on the Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes. The film incorporates research from Darril Fosty and George Fosty's 2004 non-fiction book Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925.

The film covers the rise and fall of Africville, complete with the literal destruction of the community. This film is one of the few to show old footage of Africville to get a sense of what was lost. The topic deserves a full documentary but this was a good start.

The encouraging part of the documentary is Black coaches teaching young Black boys and girls how to play hockey. One team is called the Seasides after the Africville Seasides, one of the Coloured Hockey League teams.

A key theme in this part of the documentary is the idea of having Black people play together so they might have a friend on and off the ice. The saga of being the only Black player on a team, boys or girls, men or women, was common among many of the adult players.

Too often we hear about the history of Willie O'Ree breaking the NHL colour barrier in 1958 and then Mike Marson was the next Black player 16 years later in 1974. Google Larry Doby to find out the first Black player in the American League, 3 months after Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier.

Canadian film review: Across the Line

Canadian film review: Black Cop

Davis presents the information in an engaging fashion. Sometimes, information can be wonderful and presented poorly. Black Ice does a really good job of keeping the audience from being bored.

The dialogue is definitely triggering, especially the n-word mentions. This is a reality of what these players have been through in their careers.

Seeing young people of colour on the ice is inspirational and educational. Black Ice delves into the history that people of all colours should know.

TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2022

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Black Ice won the People's Choice Award for documentaries at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. The film made the TIFF Top Ten list of Canadian films for 2022.

Black Ice has aired on TSN and is available on Crave in Canada.

video credits: YouTube/Crave; TSN
photo credit: Black Ice

Leylah Fernandez didn't capture the U.S. Open title but did capture a lot of hearts

The secret to all the 🇨🇦 tennis success?

Maple. Syrup. 🤣@leylahfernandez | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/Dgab5En4Cz

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2021

"It's the maple syrup."

From a tennis standpoint, Toronto-born, English tennis player Emma Raducanu defeated Leylah Fernandez in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 to win the women's singles title at the 2021 U.S. Open. Fernandez made a strong impression on the crowds at Flushing Meadows throughout the tournament.

We saw the T-shirts about the maple syrup. When asked about what they were feeding her in Canada that produced this success, Fernandez said, "“I would say it’s the maple syrup. Canadian maple syrup is very good.”

Down 0-3 in the set as well. This is amazing stuff. https://t.co/DQc0bhmeuB

— Gord Miller (@GMillerTSN) September 10, 2021

Fernandez got noticed when she upset the #3 seed and 2020 singles title winner Naomi Osaka 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 in the third round. She defeated the #2 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4. She became the third female in the Open Era to beat 3 of the top 5 seeds.

Fernandez, who has been 19 now for a week, was ranked 73 before the U.S. Open. She won her first round match in the 2020 tournament and had never been past the 3rd round of a major tournament before this one.

Fernandez, from Montréal, has risen up the ranks to 28.

Bianca Andreescu makes Canadian history with singles title at 2019 U.S. Open

Bianca Andreescu, the Canadian who won the 2019 U.S. Open title, lasted until the fourth round of the 2021 tournament. Maria Sakkari (Greece) defeated Andreescu 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.

Fernandez wasn't the only Canadian tennis player to have a great tournament. Felix Auger-Aliassime lost in the semifinals 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 to the eventual champion: Daniil Medvedev of Russia. Auger-Aliassime, 21, also from Montréal, became the first Canadian to reach the U.S. Open men's semifinals.

Auger-Aliassime did win the sportsmanship award. Winners most personify the spirit of the game over the course of the series.

In women's doubles, Gabriela Dabrowski (Ottawa) and Luisa Stefani (Brazil) had to withdraw from their semifinal match to the American duo of Coco Gauff and Catherine McNally after Stefani suffered an injury.

Milos Raonic advances to Wimbledon final (2016)

Canadian sports notebook: Bouchard falls short at Wimbledon (2014)

Genie's Army gets set for Bouchard Wimbledon final

Bouchard, Raonic in Wimbledon quarterfinals

Eugenie Bouchard opening eyes to Canadian tennis

Always believe in yourself.@leylahfernandez | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/zPHWWALHIO

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 4, 2021

Eugenie Bouchard to Bianca Andreescu to Leylah Fernandez. Each of them were good and popular (remember Genie's Army). As Andreescu has shown us, tennis has a lot of ups and downs.

Chrissie Evert on ESPN (and TSN) felt Fernandez will be someone to look out for in the next few years. Hopefully, that will happen.

Twitter captures: @usopen; @GMillerTSN; @usopen
photo credit: U.S. Open/ESPN

Toronto Six eliminated in 2021 NWHL semifinals

The Toronto Six had some amazing momentum as the timeline toward the 2021 National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) playoffs progressed. The team came out of nowhere to finish 4-1-1 to rise to the top playoff seed. The time in Lake Placid, NY came to an end before the playoffs started.

When we awoke from the very long sleep, the NWHL was in Brighton, outside of Boston. The Toronto Six playoff opponent went from being the Buffalo Beauts to the Boston Pride, essentially a home series for the Pride. The Toronto Six also had to contend with going back to Canada and then returning to the United States.

The 6-2 loss sounds bad. Breanne Wilson-Bennett scored the first goal, cutting the Boston deficit to 2-1. Mikyla Grant-Mentis added a 3rd period goal. Elaine Chuli stopped 19-of-25 shots. Samantha Ridgewell came in to finish the game in goal in the 3rd period.

Did you really think we would end the season without one last Love Story? pic.twitter.com/KlM0TZdRdd

— Toronto Six (@TheTorontoSix) March 28, 2021

More than 200 women's hockey players won't play in NWHL or any other league next season

NHL the month in preview March 2021

The Boston Pride edged the Minnesota Whitecaps 4-3 to win the Isobel Cup. Minnesota advanced to the 2021 NWHL final with a dominant 7-0 win over the Connecticut Whale, which forfeited its final game in the regular season.

Kate Scott, AJ Mleczko, and Caley Chelios were on the call for NBCSN, which carried the NWHL playoffs in the United States while Twitch handled the coverage outside the U.S. They did a very nice job with the NWHL coverage.

The NWHL will reportedly expand to Montréal next season. As we've noted, the NHL should sponsor a women's league with multiple Canadian teams.

Despite the way the season ended, congratulations to coach Digit Murphy and the entire team and organisation. Here's hoping the Toronto Six will be able to play home games at Canlan Ice Sports in York and even travel to Montréal.

logo credit: Toronto Six/NWHL
Twitter capture: @TheTorontoSix

Happy Holidays 2020

Our happy holidays message also applies retroactively to Hanukkah, which ran from December 10-18.

CBC has a lot of Christmas-related programming down the stretch. The Saturday night CBC Canadian film series continues on Boxing Day.

CBC Radio smartly brought back the James Murray COVID-19 updates on The World at Six on CBC Radio One. A reminder to limit holiday gatherings to those in your household. Ontario goes into a province-wide lockdown on Boxing Day.

We are going to take some well-deserved time away for the rest of the calendar year, short of breaking news, such as a new nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Canada.

We are adjusting our schedule and won't cover the 2021 World Juniors tournament this season. The tournament begins on Christmas Day and runs through January 5. The original schedule was for the tournament to be in Edmonton and Red Deer in Alberta. The 2021 World Juniors will be held in a bubble in Rogers Place in Edmonton. The old Northlands Coliseum hosted the tournament in 1995 and 2012.

This move would have been made even if COVID-19 did not exist.

You can follow the tournament on TSN in Canada and the NHL Network in the United States.

2021 CBC television winter schedule

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

Season 9 of Letterkenny debuts on Christmas Day on Crave. Season 9 of Letterkenny will be on Hulu on Boxing Day in the United States. You might recall that Season 8 of Letterkenny debuted on Christmas Day 2019. 

Your humble narrator has been catching up on Letterkenny and Cardinal as well as Canadian films on Hulu.

Each Letterkenny season runs 6-7 episodes. Cardinal has 4 seasons of 6 episodes on Crave in Canada but Hulu only has the first 3 seasons. Hulu still hasn't acquired the third and final season of Mary Kills People.

Letterkenny has been this amazing dynamic of smart writing in a rural setting. A few too many fights than I prefer in a show but witty banter and a real love behind the making of the show. An English Canadian show that has love for the Indigenous and Quebecois populations is really incredible.

For the Americans who haven't tried out the Global TV show Nurses on NBC, the U.S. network is giving you another chance to see the first 2 episodes. NBC will run the first 2 episodes again on December 29 at 9 pm Eastern. The 10 pm Tuesday timeslot is where new episodes air on NBC on January 5.

We had our CBC winter schedule preview on Monday. The U.S. audience will have to wait quite awhile for the Baroness von Sketch Show bonus episodes (February 24!!). The CBC winter schedule starts January 4.

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

Thought about Anna (Maika Harper) from Mohawk Girls this week with the news about Michelle Latimer. Anna's father was Mohawk but whose mother was white. She struggles with whether she qualifies as part of the community.

Latimer relied on her family's oral history to claim Métis and Algonquin heritage and specifically the Kitigan Zibi community of Quebec. Verification is really important in these matters. Should be noted that the Métis National Council does not recognise any Métis communities in Quebec.

As a settler, I can't begin to understand how this works. I think I've learned to make sure something has been verified first. Journalism teaches you that if your mother says she loves you, check it out. A grandfather's oral history may sound great but you need to check that out first.

Latimer apologized for claimed historical roots without verification. She has also left the production of Trickster for Season 2.

Latimer had an amazing 2020 before this news. Inconvenient Indian won the Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. The festival also showed the first 2 episodes of Trickster. The U.S. audience will get Trickster on the CW beginning January 12.

The National Film Board just pulled the distribution of Inconvenient Indian. The film will also not play at the Sundance Film Festival. Hard to punish a film.

Authenticity is vital to the storytelling process, something Latimer should have known.

"There should be no debate on whether Michelle Latimer is Indigenous. She may have distant Indigenous ancestry but she is not recognized by the nations that she claims. Genetic ancestry does not prove Indigenous affiliation."

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers weighed in on this issue with an extremely thoughtful essay. You might remember Tailfeathers from The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, where she starred and co-directed with Kathleen Hepburn. We don't normally assign homework on this blog but this should be required reading.

2020 Toronto Raptors NBA preview

We ran the Toronto Raptors preview yesterday; the team's actual home opener (well, in Tampa, at least) is tonight against New Orleans.

The NHL has January 13 circled for the start of a 56-game season. The Canadian division due to the border issues thanks to COVID-19 should prove intriguing.

Canada selects 14 Jours, 12 Nuits for the Best International Feature Film for the Oscars

Funny Boy disqualified as Canada entry for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars

TIFF selects Top 10 Canadian films of 2020

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

You can catch up with the above links for those that missed the chaos over the weekend on the changes in the Best International Feature Film entry for the Academy Awards. Good to have a Plan B when Plan A had a small chance of making the cut.

If you have significant time off, you should look into our film reviews for excellent options for Canadian films and which ones to not watch as well. Funny Boy is an intriguing option for Canadians on CBC Gem and non-Canadians on Netflix, even with not being the Best International Feature Film entry for the Academy Awards. We will have plenty more Canadian film reviews in 2021.

photo credit: A Christmas Fury film

How did the Canadian Premier League complete a 2020 season and not the CFL?

Forge FC dominated the 2020 Canadian Premier League soccer championship with a solid 2-0 win over HFX Wanderers. The late goal was a fluke but did bring insurance. The Canadian Premier League championship game in Charlottetown was even on Fox Sports 2 in the United States, simulcasting the One network coverage. Recognized Andi Petrillo as part of the studio coverage.

Hamilton won't likely have a parade for the winning Forge FC team. Halifax isn't likely to have welcomed the Wanderers with thousands waiting for the plane to land.

Like the other sports, the Canadian Premier League set up a bubble, branded as The Island Games at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown over a 5-week stretch from mid-August to mid-September.

Rise Above#CanPL l @ForgeFCHamilton pic.twitter.com/Z5nuequsAa

— CanPL (@CPLsoccer) September 19, 2020

The NFL is off and playing, though the league blew off the preseason. College football has been hit and miss, mostly miss so far. The CFL is on the sidelines, choosing not to play.

A 5-week season isn't a whole lot. MLS has been piecemeal and the Canadian teams are wandering nomads in the U.S. desert. The NHL and NBA bubbles have been stellar. MLB had a lot of troubles early with COVID-19 cases but played a lot of doubleheaders.

Canadians wanting football are stuck watching the NFL on TV

CFL cancels 2020 season

CFL dream: What if U.S. sports fans suddenly cared about the CFL

MLS had to draw a schedule with pencil in the Orlando tournament as 2 teams didn't even play in Orlando. MLB had teams sitting out for a week in a 60-game season. If we make it to the next 5 years and look back on 2020, the details of how these leagues played in a pandemic will be forgotten. They played somewhat safely or completely safely. That is the lasting memory.

The CFL fumbled and stumbled. We offered up a bubble concept with teams playing in Moncton, Saint John, and Halifax. We didn't consider the University of Prince Edward Island campus. The CFL could have built up strong favour playing in a part of Canada where the league wants to grow the game.

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

2020 Touchdown Atlantic in Halifax: What would have been

We even offered up a 9-week season: every team plays each other once. The CFL attempt worked on a 6-game schedule and couldn't even pull that off.

Money was the reason we heard. The CFL might have had that money if they played a season first. Does the CPL have so much more money than the CFL?

Hamilton winning the CPL title can't compete with the Tiger-Cats winning the Grey Cup. The other 8 CFL teams won a Grey Cup in the 2010s: Hamilton lost to Winnipeg in the 2019 Grey Cup. That was the last CFL game until 2021, hopefully.

CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage

Football and soccer are different beasts in terms of turnaround and trying to get games played in a short window. Canada had the advantage of being in much better shape with COVID-19, especially Atlantic Canada.

The CPL has 8 teams vs. 9 for the CFL. The format was for all the teams to play each other in the beginning, just like my idea.

The NFL and CPL are not the CFL. They rolled up sleeves and made a 2020 season happen. The CFL will be in trouble even with playing a 2021 season. They will have to recover fan interest when fans may not be able to be in a stadium, even at half capacity. 750 fans watched the Montréal Impact in person. The NFL will conduct a grand experiment with fans at certain stadiums this fall. If there is a Michigan-Ohio State game this fall, how many fans will be in Columbus, Ohio?

The Stanley Cup, NBA Finals trophy, World Series trophy, and likely the Super Bowl championship will be awarded. The Grey Cup will collect dust. If the Canadian Premier League could figure out how to make a 2020 season work, the Canadian Football League should have tried harder to be more creative to get a 2020 season on the books.

photo credit: Canadian Premier League
Twitter capture: @CPLsoccer

Reliving the celebration of the 2019 NBA champion Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors could have repeated as NBA champions. We might find that out later this summer. For the moment, the Toronto Raptors are still the defending NBA champions.

My friend Leroy noted the comparison with the 1992 and 1993 MLB champion Toronto Blue Jays. Thanks to the MLB lockout in 1994, the Blue Jays hung on to that title until a late October night in Atlanta in 1995.

The basketball was incredible throughout that postseason. The 4 bounces by the Kawhi Leonard shot that sank Philadelphia. 3-pointers from Kyle Lowry and Fred Van Vleet. The tough battle in the NBA Finals with a very talented Golden State team.

Even if the NBA does start up next month and crown a champ, there will be no Jurassic Park of fans to celebrate. Jurassic Park multiplied in the 2019 NBA playoffs. Halifax and Regina stepped up. Americans could have come over to participate in Windsor. That would have been fun to watch Americans explain that to the Canadian customs people.

The Toronto Raptors won the NBA championship on June 13. Today is the anniversary of the 2019 Toronto Raptors NBA Championship Parade. Traffic stopped on the Gardiner Expressway to watch the parade. Nathan Phillips Square jammed to the brim. Countless thousands lined up on downtown Toronto streets.

2019 Toronto Raptors NBA championship parade recap

2018-2019 Toronto Raptors are NBA champions

The impact of Toronto playing in the NBA Finals

Kawhi Leonard could have stayed in Toronto but left for the hometown Los Angeles Clippers. The load management system hasn't been used since the shutdown in mid-March. The theory is that the Clippers would be tired after battling LeBron James (and former twice teammate Danny Green) and the cross arena Los Angeles Lakers. Toronto would be battle tested having defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in 6 games. Kawhi against his former Toronto teammates for another NBA championship.

On that day in Nathan Phillips Square, Leonard was a proud member of the NBA champion Toronto Raptors. His laugh at the end of his speech still rings through my ears.

There was pure joy on the Toronto streets that day. The nearby shootings and stabbings were the grand exception to the day's festivities.

2019 Toronto Raptors NBA Finals preview

2019 Toronto Raptors NBA playoffs scoreboard

CanadianCrossing.com NBA coverage

If the Toronto Raptors win a second consecutive championship — after all, the Toronto Blue Jays pulled off back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993 — there won't be a parade anytime soon in Toronto. I hope they postpone that parade to when people can celebrate properly. Toronto has struggled with COVID-19. The NHL is considering Toronto as a hub city even though Edmonton and Vancouver have better track records during the pandemic.

Sport events on Canadian soil will be rare in the next few months, unless the CFL has a 2020 season. Remembering the crowds at 2019 might be a reminder of what is to come when the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic loses its intensity.

photos credit: CTV/TSN; CBC News Network (photos 2-3)

Bianca Andreescu makes Canadian history with singles title at 2019 U.S. Open

Bianca Andreescu did what Milos Raonic (2016 Wimbledon) and Genie Bouchard (2014 Wimbledon) could not do: Andreescu is the first Canadian to win a singles title in a Grand Slam tournament.

Bianca Andreescu vs. Serena Williams. Andreescu was up 3-1 in the first set before Williams retired with an upper back injury in the Rogers Cup (aka Canadian Open) on August 11. Less than a month later, Andreescu and Williams were reunited at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the 2019 U.S. Open women's singles final.

Andreescu dominated with a 6-3 win in the first set. She went up 5-1 in the second set and was seemingly coasting to an easy second set win. Williams had struggled with first serves and Andreescu was more than ready to respond to the second serves.

Williams rallied in the second set to tie at 5-5. Andreescu got the momentum back going up 6-5 and won without a tiebreaker in the second set, defeating Williams 6-3, 7-5 to win the 2019 U.S. Open.

Congratulations @Bandreescu_! 🇨🇦 You’ve made history and made a whole country very proud. #SheTheNorth https://t.co/W98v1lUN9o

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) September 7, 2019

The list of accomplishments:

• first Canadian to win singles in a Grand Slam event
• #5 ranking, the highest ranking for any Canadian woman (tied with Eugenie Bouchard)
• first U.S. Open winner in her main-draw debut

On that August day in Toronto, Andreescu became the first Canadian to win that tournament since Faye Urban in 1969.

Andreescu's path at the U.S. Open took her past Katie Volynets, Kirsten Flipkens, Caroline Wozniacki, Taylor Townsend, and Elise Mertens before defeating Belinda Bencic in the semifinal and Serena Williams in the final.

Her 2019 journey has taken her to wins at Indian Wells, Toronto, and now New York City with the U.S. Open title. Andresscu's overall record is 34-4, 8-0 against top 10 opponents. #SheTheNorth indeed.

Milos Raonic advances to Wimbledon final (2016)

Canadian sports notebook: Bouchard falls short at Wimbledon (2014)

Genie's Army gets set for Bouchard Wimbledon final

Bouchard, Raonic in Wimbledon quarterfinals

Eugenie Bouchard opening eyes to Canadian tennis

Andreescu, 19, consoled Williams after the Rogers Cup match was brought to an early end. Williams said early on in the U.S. Open that she thought Andreescu would be in the U.S. Open final.

SHE THE CHAMP!

Congrats, @Bandreescu_ 👏🏽#WeTheNorth x #SheTheNorth pic.twitter.com/QEugBwH24W

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) September 7, 2019

"I know you guys wanted Serena to win so I'm so sorry," Andreescu acknowledged the crowd that was clearly pulling for the tennis legend. Williams said if anyone else had to win, besides herself and her sister Venus, she wanted Andreescu to win.

Andresscu's dog Coco along with her parents Maria and Nicu made for a nice side story during the U.S. Open.

We look forward to seeing what happens to Andreescu in the future. In her words, "Let's keep going."

photo credit: U.S. Open/ESPN
Twitter captures: @JustinTrudeau; @Raptors

2019 Canada Day notebook: More delays with edibles

Editor's note: We take a moment before the Canada Day celebration to reflect on recent Canadian stories. Canada Day is July 1 on Monday, so we run this today. Have a safe and wonderful long weekend.

The impact of edibles can change marijuana tourism in Canada. Unfortunately for marijuana tourists, that impact is reduced and delayed.

The original idea was that October 17, forever known as marijuana legalisation day, would be the target date for edibles. Existing federally regulated processors can apply to Health Canada on July 15. The October 17 deadline marks 60 days before edibles can be sold in Canada. So Christmas sales, yes, but supplies will be limited.

Each individual package will be limited to a maximum of 10 mg of THC. My expert friends find the 10 mg standard to be a joke. If you are not an expert, 2.5 mg is a good starting point. The types of edibles will be scrutinized by Health Canada. So no to gummy bears if they are appealing to children. Cannabis extracts and topicals (ointments, oils, makeup) will also be available in mid-December.

Edibles will not have alcohol, tobacco, nicotine, or caffeine with exceptions for low amounts of naturally occurring caffeine, such as chocolate.

What's Tempting: Marijuana edibles (BalanceofFood.com)

Your Guide to Canada's Edible Pot Rules (Front Burner CBC Radio)

As someone who went to California over the winter and legally bought edibles, the Trudeau Government is going way overboard in every element. Safety should be a factor and children shouldn't ingest any sort of marijuana product. Education is important but structuring that is difficult when people don't know what the product will look like.

Anna Maria Tremonti to leave The Current this week

The Trudeau Government approved the Trans Mountain pipeline. I learned from The Current series on CBC Radio One that the Trans Mountain pipeline will run parallel to the current pipeline but somehow triple the capacity. The primary issue will be tanker traffic in Burnaby and the difficulty to get the oil to the West Coast. The tankers would have to sail through Vancouver Harbour under the Lions Gate Bridge into the Burrard Inlet.

The argument is that the Liberals aren't pleasing anyone with the decision (lots of pipelines vs. no pipelines). So Jason Kenney and the UCP in Alberta are upset about oil not getting to the West Coast but the current Trans Mountain pipeline gets to Burnaby, the same place the expansion will also end.

Andrew Scheer released the Conservative Party take on climate change. The carbon tax is a conservative idea that isn't that effective in fighting climate change. The conservatives have been fighting the carbon tax, even though households will get reimbursed for most of that money. Scheer's ideas are fine but will have far-less of an effect than even the carbon tax.

I also don't get why they have to send raw bitumen through the pipelines instead of refining the oil in Alberta (more jobs). British Columbia has expressed that concern from an environmental standpoint since bitumen spills are more costly to the environment than regular oil spills.

I really want to understand all of these rationales. I don't know if Canadians know the answers and so the news doesn't talk about it or I am the only one who is curious on either side of the border.

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

We thought that Kelly Knight Craft seemed extra invisible in her limited time as U.S. Ambassador to Canada. Craft is the nominee to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Under questioning in front of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, we learned that Craft was gone from her post more than 300 days over 19 months. We also learned that Craft posted social media messages from outside of Canada at times where there was no record of travel. Craft was absent 45 of 54 days between March 21 and May 13; some of her absences involved visits back home to Kentucky.

Craft cited visits to Montréal and Washington, where she said she was part of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer's negotiating team. Montréal trips aren't a concern; Washington trips can be justified. Her presence on the trade negotiating team, if that is true, should be alarming to Canada and the concept of being an ambassador. The ambassador role should be a go-between with the two countries. Her presence on the trade negotiating team is the equivalent of the butcher having a thumb on the scale.

Craft told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee that she received approval for her travel. That means little, especially if those trips were to go back to Kentucky.

The U.S. Ambassador to Canada is supposed to be about Canada. Craft couldn't even pretend otherwise. Her arrogance should be grounds not to get a promotion but the problem for Canada is that she might have to return to Lexington, er, Ottawa to continue to do a poor job in her current position.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

Bill 21 is law in Quebec though the law is being challenged. The bill would ban religious symbols from public servants, defined to include teachers, lawyers, and police officers, while at work. You might remember the previous Liberal government pushed a less severe version of the bill.

Quebec Premier François Legault’s CAQ government along with the Parti Quebecois voted in favour while the Liberals and Quebec solidaire were opposed. The primary target is Muslim women for the hijab or niqab but also affects Sikh men and Orthodox Jewish men. A provision was made for teachers as long as they remain in their position at their school.

The tug-of-war is about secularism vs. targeting religious minorities. The idea of a "secularism police" is remnant of the "language police" of previous times in La Belle Province.

Whatever you might think about these religious symbols, we think that governments requiring them is reprehensible. Having a government say you can't wear something also feels reprehensible.

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

Air Canada tells us the Tiffani Adams story is true, though you would have a hard time believing the story. We definitely advocate for traveling to and within Canada. Just be aware of your surroundings, whether you are the passenger or the carrier.

Canadian sports notebook: Record number of Canadians in the 2019 NBA draft

We normally put several sports stories in the Canada Day notebook. We had too many stories in the sports notebook so we gave them a separate notebook on Wednesday.

photo credit: me
video credit: CBC News

Canadian sports notebook: Record number of Canadians in the 2019 NBA draft

Win #9!! 🙏🏻❤️#CanadianRecord #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/sxx7RNsotf

— Brooke Henderson (@BrookeHenderson) June 16, 2019

Brooke Henderson won the Meijer LPGA Classic in Grand Rapids, MI on Father's Day. Henderson now has 9 LPGA titles, the most in Canadian history. Henderson had previous tied Sandra Post, George Knudson, and Mike Weir.

The latest win was her third on Father's Day; her father is her caddy.

Henderson has a long way to go since she is only 21.

CanadianCrossing.com sports coverage

CanadianCrossing.com NBA coverage

There were 4 Canadians in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft, a new Canada record. There were 6 Canadians drafted in the 2019 NBA draft, a new record for any country, surpassing the 5 from France in 2016. The previous Canada record was 4 players in 2014.

RJ Barrett from Mississauga, ON was drafted 3rd overall by the New York Knicks. Barrett played for Duke University and is the godson of Canadian basketball icon Steve Nash.

Barrett was the highest Canadian picked since Andrew Wiggins went first overall to Cleveland in 2014. Anthony Bennett went first overall also to Cleveland in 2013.

Player	Hometown	College	NBA team	Overall pick
RJ Barrett	Mississauga, ON	Duke	New York	3
Nickeil Alexander-Walker	Toronto	Virginia Tech	Brooklyn	17
Brandon Clarke	Vancouver	Gonzaga	Oklahoma City	21
Mfiondu Kabengele	Burlington, ON	Florida State	Brooklyn	27
Ignas Brazdeikis	Oakville, ON	Michigan	Sacramento	47
Marial Shayok	Ottawa	Iowa State	Philadelphia	54
Clarke got traded from Oklahoma City to Memphis; Kabengele got traded from Brooklyn to Los Angeles Clippers during the NBA draft.

 

Alexander-Walker's cousin is Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who plays for the Los Angeles Clippers. Kabengele is the nephew of Dikembe Mutombo.

There were Canadians left over after the NBA draft (think undrafted players such as Fred VanVleet) such as Luguentz Dort from Montréal who went to Florida State; Lindell Wigginton at Iowa State still hoping to be the first NBA player from Nova Scotia (Dartmouth); Oshae Brissett at Syracuse from Mississauga, ON. The Raptors signed Wigginton, who will play in the Summer League.

This is the 10th consecutive NBA draft where at least one Canadian was picked.

The NBA champion Toronto Raptors couldn't draft any of the Canadian players since the Raptors didn't draft until #59 in the second round with Dewan Hernandez (University of Miami). Toronto traded its first-round pick for some guy named Kawhi Leonard.

Toronto Raptors fans will have an additional reason to celebrate Canada Day if Kawhi Leonard comes back to Toronto. Canada Day is the start of the free agency period with a 6-hour window on June 30 starting at 6 pm EDT.

"I think for us, there is nothing more that we can do. We've done it. The city has done it. This franchise [has] done it. The coaches have done it. My teammates have done it. We've done our job. The best way to recruit somebody is to just be yourself over the course of the year, and I would assume that he knows what is here and what makes this place special." — Fred VanVleet after winning the NBA title.

NBA rules allow that Toronto can offer Leonard a 5-year deal in the $190 million U.S. neighbourhood. That is a year and some $50 million more than any other team can offer. Taxes can be an issue but the exchange rate can give Leonard about 20% more value. The relative good news for Raptors fans is that Leonard will either pick Toronto or the Los Angeles Clippers.

There is talk about the Raptors getting a visit in Ottawa but there are no details.

CanadianCrossing.com MLB coverage

When Bud Selig was trying to get MLB back in Milwaukee after the National League team left for Atlanta, Selig got the Chicago White Sox to play 9 games in 1968 and 11 games in 1969 at County Stadium in Milwaukee.

The Brooklyn Dodgers played games in Jersey City. The NBA Kansas City Kings played some games in Omaha.

The idea of half the Tampa Bay Rays season in Montréal is a bit far-fetched for a number of reasons. The proposal does open the gates to the obvious solution: move the Rays to Montréal.

The lease in Tropicana Field, the worst MLB facility, expires at the end of the 2027 season. That would give plenty of time for Montréal to build a new downtown stadium in Griffintown. 

MLB forced the Expos to play 22 games in San Juan for the last 2 seasons in 2003 and 2004. The Expos had to go at one point from San Juan to Seattle. 

The Rays could play 22 games eventually but could start with 7-10 games at Olympic Stadium until a new downtown stadium is built. They won't be the Expos until 2028 but there would be a path to MLB baseball back in Montréal.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

The NHL also starts its free agency time on Canada Day. None of the Canadian teams are expected to have a John Tavares type signing. For the second year in a row, the Winnipeg Jets lost its trade deadline acquisition after giving up its first-round pick.

Calgary voters say no to 2026 Winter Olympics

CanadianCrossing.com Olympics coverage

Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy won the bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Calgary was in the driver's seat for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The city held a plebiscite on November 13, 2018 and 56.4% voted against the bid.

We heard Alberta complain about a bad economy. The building of Olympic structures would have brought in good jobs to Calgary and even tourist money. The city and province would have received financial help for buildings that have to be built anyway.

The International Olympic Committee would have easily picked Calgary over Stockholm and Milan-Cortina, Italy. Stockholm finished second in the decision announced in Lausanne, Switzerland. Sweden has never hosted the Winter Olympics.

Twitter capture: @brookehenderson
photo credit: CBC News Network
logo credit: Montreal Expos/MLB

2019 World Juniors preview

2019 World Juniors Schedule for Canada

Date	Opponent	Time	Home/Away
December 26	Denmark	8 pm	Away
December 27	Switzerland	8 pm	Home
December 29	Czech Republic	8 pm	Away
December 31	Russia	8 pm	Home
Times are Eastern.

 

Happy Boxing Day!!

The 2019 World Juniors are back on Canadian soil. The tournament will be at Rogers Arena in Vancouver and the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in downtown Victoria.

This is the second time Vancouver has been involved and the first for Victoria.

One new twist is that Canada is in Group A in Vancouver while the United States will be in Group B in Victoria.

Group B consists of the United States, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, and Kazakhstan.

You can access the full schedule for all the countries.

NHL Network will have the TSN feed in all games that don't feature the United States. Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro will have the coverage from Vancouver while Dennis Beyak and Craig Button will call the games in Victoria. Tessa Bonhomme will work at ice level with Miller and Ferraro.

The playoffs round starts January 2 with a pair of quarterfinals in each city. The semifinals (January 4) and the gold- and bronze-medal game (January 5) will be in Vancouver.

photo credit: 2019 World Juniors