The schedule includes 9 homilies and addresses and saying 2 Masses. The primary focus for Pope Francis is an expected apology for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in residential schools.
The pope will arrive in Edmonton on Sunday and be in the area July 24-27. He will be in Quebec City July 27-29. His stay in Iqaluit will be less than a day.
While the apology will be welcome, there are other pressing concerns from the church. 48 Catholic church entities signed on to fundraise $25 million for survivors as part of a settlement agreement with the term "best efforts." Somehow, those "best efforts" resulted in just under $4 million. The Catholic Church can afford to write out a check for the difference.
The church could also release all residential school documents and records to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
Theoretically, the pope has the power to make all of that happen. The requests aren't for anything extra but to get justice for those damaged by the residential schools system.
We hope that the relevant population gets some relief from the papal visit to Canada. Quite frankly, more transparency and compensation, too.
If you still don't know too much about residential schools, especially if you are deeply Catholic, we invite you to read our Indigenous coverage to get some idea before Pope Francis lands on Canadian soil.
The Yukon, Canada's furthest west territory, now has its own time zone: Yukon Standard Time. As we noted last fall, the Yukon territory moved to what was Pacific Daylight Time year round. That time is now identified as Yukon Standard Time, aka UTC−7.
The people of Dawson City and elsewhere in the territory didn't change the time on their clocks over the weekend, like most of North America. Until early November, Yukon and most of British Columbia are on the same time and an hour behind most of Alaska.
Yukon Standard Time is the same time as Mountain Standard Time. Yukon is now an hour behind most of Alberta since that province recognises daylight saving time.
Most of Saskatchewan does not change the time on clocks. Saskatchewan is on Central Standard Time year round. The spring and summer has Saskatchewan on the same time as Calgary and Edmonton and an hour behind Winnipeg.
The discussion over changing the status quo has been to switch to daylight time permanently. The dark winter mornings may not matter in the Yukon but they will matter in points further south.
The vast majority of Europeans switch to summer time 2 weeks after North America makes the move. Summer time ends a week before North America. There is talk about whether those European countries will keep summer time or not change their clocks after this fall.
North America switched to mid-March in 2007 to "save energy." Previously, the switch happened in early April and before in late April. We think people would be less upset about switching the clocks if the continent went back to April.
If you are waking up in Dawson City or elsewhere in the Yukon, you didn't set your clocks back yesterday. The clocks, smartphones, and other time-telling devices stayed status quo in the western most territory in Canada.
If the time in Dawson City is 8 am, the time in nearby Alaska is 6 am, Vancouver reports 7 am, the Northwest Territories to the east tells us the time is 8 am.
Yukon remains on Pacific Daylight Time even through the winter. Most of Saskatchewan, which doesn't move its clocks, remains on Central Standard Time, where the time would be 9 am.
Pacific Daylight Time is the same as Mountain Standard Time, putting Yukon at the same time in the winter as Calgary.
Traditionally, we have seen places such as Saskatchewan, Arizona, Hawaii, and formerly Indiana remain on standard time. The trend is to explore daylight time year-round. This leads to very late sunrises in the winter.
The morning sunrise arrives this morning in Whitehorse, Yukon at 9:30 am PDT. Going back to standard time would have made that an 8:30 am PST sunrise.
There is talk in parts of Canada to also go daylight time year-round but those are tied to other municipalities making similar decisions.
Yukon is sufficiently remote that the gamble may not seem like a big deal. Unlike the tight relationship Hyder, Alaska and Stewart, British Columbia have, Beaver Creek, Yukon is the closest town to the Alaska border. Still a 2-hour time difference in the winter will be confusing to residents.
We have noted that the frustration in North America with time changes has to do with starting way too early in mid-March to go to daylight time. The switch used to happen in early April and before that, late April. Those changes were much less jarring.
The Yukon winter sunrise will be well after kids go to school and people go to work.
The Maritime provinces as well as Newfoundland and Labrador are looking into a travel bubble. Nunavut and Northwest Territories are planning a travel bubble for themselves.
The idea behind a travel bubble is that Canadians in those areas could cross provincial and territorial borders without the need to quarantine from the pandemic.
I haven't been to a Canadian territory but I have visited the Atlantic provinces in the summertime. I have been in Newfoundland and Labrador in late July, Nova Scotia in August, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island in September. So much seafood, driving without obnoxious billboards, a lot of walking, and tons of water.
A lot of Canadians out west haven't been to this area of Canada. Costs are normally prohibitive even before a pandemic: cheaper to fly to Las Vegas to London then to travel to Halifax or St. John's.
A travel bubble, combined with relatively cheaper gas, allows Canadians from that region to enjoy the splendid beauty of the region without as many tourists as normal. The Bay of Fundy, Peggy's Cove, Cape Spear, the red sand PEI beaches, Cape Breton, Hopewell Rocks, and so many more travel destinations./p>
The Atlantic provinces have been doing really well with COVID-19 with Nova Scotia being the slight outlier. This doesn't obscure the fact that people have suffered and died from the COVID-19 coronavirus. Even though the numbers have been good, provincial premiers want to be sure this is done safely.
Like Americans, Canadians are allowed to travel freely within their own country. Provinces have stepped up during the pandemic to limit travel in their provinces. British Columbia provincial parks are closed to non-residents. There has been some animosity against cars with Alberta licence plates in B.C.
Those in the 6 other provinces could discover the travel jewels in their own province. Those in Alberta can drive the Icefield Parkway with fewer tourist cars around. British Columbians can explore the interior and Vancouver Island.
I've been to Regina and had an amazing Saskatoon berry pie. I would love to visit Saskatoon. Winnipeg is truly more fun than you might expect. Ontario and Quebec offer numerous options for those who live there.
We have heard that while land crossings are out for American travelers, some have been able to fly into Canada without issue. They would need to do a 14-day quarantine.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slightly loosened the U.S.-Canada border last week allowing some family members to cross into Canada, provided they have no sign they might have COVID-19 and no reason to believe they might have caught it. The 14-day quarantine still applies.
Everything we saw last week said the border closing extension will run until the end of July. That could leave August if you want to be hopeful. Don't make plans until the border opens. Even then, you want to be careful. Masks and social distancing are smart, regardless of whether rules are in place.
We had hoped 2020 would bring more Canadian travel adventures from your humble narrator. There is a lot of pain in not being able to see Canada first hand these days.
Benoît Pilon brought the Inuit world to Quebec City in The Necessities of Life | Ce qu'il faut pour vivre (2008). Pilon brought a bit of Montréal to the Inuit world in Iqaluit (2016).
Marie-Josée Croze plays Carmen, a woman whose husband Gilles was working in Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut. Carmen gets a call where she finds out that her husband is badly injured.
Carmen discovers that her husband was deeply intertwined in the local Inuit community. Natar Ungalaaq plays Noah, Gilles' good friend. Ungalaaq was the lead in Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner and The Necessities of Life and also was in The Grizzlies.
Gilles passes away. Carmen decides to stay in Iqaluit to learn more about how Gilles died and how he lived in the north.
The local carvings point Carmen in a direction where she gathers information about Gilles that she did not know. Noah acts as a go-between for Carmen and his community. Ungalaaq, who plays Noah, had the young boy Kaki as the go-between for him and the French speaking community in The Necessities of Life.
The comparisons are there, but Iqaluit is a very different film. Iqaluit's population is under 8,000 (2016 census). There is a slower pace to life in this area of the world. The film's pace is slower to reflect the realities of Iqaluit.
Croze and Ungalaaq bring a proper level of subtlety to their roles. The emotions are simmering below the surface. Carmen realises the world she is in and copes as best she can.
If you have to see one Benoît Pilon film, see The Necessities of Life, a really great film. You should also see Iqaluit. You will learn a bit about life in a seemingly far away land.
Iqaluit is available in the United States via Amazon Prime
video credit: YouTube/LesFilmsSeville photo credit: Iqaluit film
We've heard the rumbles in some Canadian provinces and U.S. states to go to permanent Daylight Saving Time. There are a bunch of logistical issues with going to permanent Daylight Saving Time. Yukon is going ahead with permanent Daylight Saving Time when the clocks change early on Sunday morning in North America.
During Daylight Saving Time, Yukon will be on the same time as British Columbia (its neighbour to the south) and an hour ahead of Alaska (its neighbour to the west), same as the times are now. In the winter, Yukon will be 1 hour ahead of British Columbia (its neighbour to the south) and 2 hours ahead of Alaska. In fact, Yukon will be on the same time as the Northwest Territories, Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta, and the western parts of Nunavut in the winter.
This is distinct from Saskatchewan that remains on Central Standard Time year round.
British Columbia has put into motion the concept of permanent Daylight Saving Time contingent on similar movement in Washington, Oregon, and California, its U.S. time zone neighbours. That would put the province 2 hours behind Toronto in the winter.
Daylight Saving Time means having more sunshine in the afternoon when there is more sun. The drawback to having permanent Daylight Saving Time is very dark mornings where the sun doesn't rise for an extra hour. Getting to work and school becomes more dangerous without sunlight. Yukon doesn't get much sunlight at any time in the winter.
Daylight is a distinct point in Whitehorse (Yukon capital) at 60.72 North latitude in southern Yukon vs. Victoria (BC capital) at 48.43 North latitude.
European summer time, as they call it, runs from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. Most of the United States and Canada switched to Daylight Saving Time on the last Sunday in April through the last Sunday in October until 1987. The first Sunday in April was the new marker from 1987-2006. Since 2007, the second Sunday in March has been the turning point with the first Sunday in November as the point to fall back.
Yukon's population is more than the lower bowl of BC Place but less than the whole stadium in Vancouver, somewhere around 40,000. Most of those people live in Whitehorse. In an area where time might not be as crucial (Yukon and Saskatchewan), not changing clocks isn't seen as important. The more sensible thing for Yukon to do is not to observe daylight time so as to be on the same time as Alaska and an hour behind British Columbia in the summer.
Some of the anxiety of switching would be solved by moving back to a more reasonable time to move up the clocks. That could be the European standard of the final Sunday in March or a Sunday in April.
Hockey Day in Canada 2020 took us north into the Canadian territories. The home base was in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories though we did get to visit Whitehorse, Yukon.
If you did win the trip to the north and picked Whitehorse, going in the summer wouldn't change the time difference. You would only see the difference if you stayed in the winter. You might have to make yourself get up in the winter given how dark the sky would be.
Editor's note:The NHL suspended its regular season as of March 12 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. We haven't crossed any games off the schedule, wanting to leave this as is for the archives.
As the season heats up, the U.S. coverage of Canadian teams actually gets lighter.
NBCSN has concluded its scheduled visits with Canadian teams. The games will be missed, not so much the channel's coverage.
The NHL Network surprises us with a late-night Hockey Night in Canada game. Other than the final Saturday of the season, the channel hasn't shown a Canadian team in that slot in literally years. Edmonton hosts Columbus on March 7 hopefully with a CBC feed.
Columbus will be on in March against Canadian teams as many times as Toronto and Edmonton.
The NHL Center Ice free preview should start on March 26.
NHL Network
March 7 Columbus @ Edmonton, 10p (HNIC) March 14 Toronto @ Boston, 7p (HNIC) March 15 Edmonton @ Philadelphia, 1:30p March 21 Columbus @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
ESPN+
March 1 Calgary @ Florida, 4p Vancouver @ Columbus, 7p March 2 Edmonton @ Nashville, 8p March 3 Toronto @ San Jose, 10:30p March 4 Arizona @ Vancouver, 10:30p March 5 Edmonton @ Chicago, 8:30p March 6 Las Vegas @ Winnipeg, 8p Colorado @ Vancouver, 10p March 8 Las Vegas @ Calgary, 7p March 11 Ottawa @ Los Angeles, 10:30p March 13 Vancouver @ Colorado, 9p March 16 Edmonton @ Washington, 7p March 19 NY Islanders @ Toronto, 7p March 20 Tampa Bay @ Edmonton, 9p March 23 Florida @ Toronto, 7p Vancouver @ Las Vegas, 10p March 24 Florida @ Ottawa, 7:30p Winnipeg @ Nashville, 8p March 26 Toronto @ Carolina, 7p March 27 Colorado @ Winnipeg, 8p Calgary @ Vancouver, 10p March 29 Las Vegas @ Winnipeg, 3p March 31 Toronto @ Washington, 7p Montréal @ Chicago, 8:30p
March 1 Vancouver @ Columbus, 7p (Peguis First Nation, MB)
March 8 Las Vegas @ Calgary, 7p (Salmon Arm, BC)
March 15 Winnipeg @ Vancouver, 8p (North Vancouver, BC)
March 22 Winnipeg @ Dallas, 7p (Campbell River, BC)
March 29 Anaheim @ Edmonton, 8p (Edmonton, AB)
Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts
March 2 Edmonton @ Nashville, 8p
March 4 Columbus @ Calgary, 8:30p
March 11 Winnipeg @ Edmonton, 9p
March 15 Edmonton @ Philadelphia, 1:30p
March 16 Calgary @ NY Rangers, 7p
March 18 Edmonton @ Ottawa, 7:30p/Tampa Bay @ Vancouver, 10p
March 23 San Jose @ Calgary, 9p
March 25 Toronto @ Tampa Bay, 7p/Colorado @ Edmonton, 9:30p/Anaheim @ Calgary, 9:30p
March 27 San Jose @ Edmonton, 9p
March 31 Las Vegas @ Edmonton, 9p
NHL Center Ice free preview
March 26 Toronto @ Carolina, 7p Florida @ Montréal, 7p Ottawa @ Boston, 7p March 27 Colorado @ Winnipeg, 8p San Jose @ Edmonton, 9p Calgary @ Vancouver, 10p March 28 Toronto @ Ottawa, 7p NY Islanders @ Montréal, 7p Anaheim @ Vancouver, 10p March 29 Las Vegas @ Winnipeg, 3p Anaheim @ Edmonton, 8p March 30 Vancouver @ Dallas, 8:30p March 31 Toronto @ Washington, 7p Ottawa @ Tampa Bay, 7p Montréal @ Chicago, 8:30p Winnipeg @ Calgary, 9p Las Vegas @ Edmonton, 9p
Hockey Day in Canada stayed within the north most of the time. The home base was in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories with reports from Whitehorse, Yukon and Churchill, Manitoba. We don't report on the territories too often; we do have coverage of the territories.
We got to see quite a bit of Yellowknife and other parts of the Northwest Territories. They had a contest to win a trip to the north to Whitehorse (Yukon), Yellowknife (Northwest Territories), or Iqaluit (Nunavut). Seeing the territories on television is remarkable enough, but seeing the area live would be incredible.
They referred to North of 60. This refers to 60° latitude, ⅔ the way to the North Pole from the equator. You can still find trees in Yellowknife at 62° latitude but the treeline is not far away where trees do not grow.
The day had 3 all-Canadian matchups. Rogers Sportsnet had John Shorthouse call the Calgary-Vancouver game without a Flames counterbalance. We have no issue with Shorthouse in a matchup with the Canucks and a U.S. team, just not an all-Canadian matchup. Might serve notice that maybe Rogers won't carry the Flames locally next season.
As a hockey fan, I really enjoyed watching Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin. Poetry on ice. Yes, they play for the Vancouver Canucks. No, they weren't Canadian. They were so much fun to watch on the ice.
They weren't what a lot of hockey fans enjoy while on the ice. They didn't try to beat people up. They played hockey.
Rogers Sportsnet Pacific offered the retirement ceremony without regional restrictions in Canada. ESPN+ carried the game (blacked out in Chicago).
As we noted last month, the 2021 Winter Classic will be at Target Field in Minneapolis, home of the MLB Minnesota Twins. The Winnipeg Jets were a logical opponent. The NHL went with St. Louis. Toronto (2014) and Montréal (2016) have played in the Winter Classic; the exception rather than the rule.
Rick Ball finally got a chance to call an early Saturday night game on Hockey Night in Canada on February 1. Ball didn't have to travel far to Winnipeg. He is the 4th announcer in the playoffs roster but that hasn't translated to many opportunities on Saturday nights in the regular season.
Rogers Sportsnet used to only show Hrudey's Take in the second intermission on the Leafs game. The U.S. audience has had a few Citytv games, so we've noticed Rogers is showing the segment on all the games. Odd that the CBC audience had a segment while Citytv ran extra ads.
Eric Lindros explained on Hometown Hockey in Quebec City about why he didn't want to play for the Quebec Nordiques. "I must not have explained myself clearly enough," Lindros said to Tara Slone. Lindros said he didn't want to play for Marcel Aubut, president/CEO of the Quebec Nordiques.
"It had nothing to do with language, culture, [or] city. Keep in mind, my wife is French [from Quebec]. I was not going to play for that individual — period."
Lindros said he didn't think he had to verbalise the reason. Saying the reason would have helped. Lindros wasn't specific about his concerns about Aubut.
The perception in the United States was that Lindros didn't want to be in Quebec City. The Lindros perception seemed to help push the Nordiques to Denver.
The Quebec Nordiques greatly benefited from the Lindros trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. So did the Colorado Avalanche.
NBCSN showed twice as many games involving Canadian teams in 12 days than in more than 2 months. That didn't factor in the bonus game via NBC Sports Washington. These are the final scheduled games for NBCSN.
February 6 San Jose @ Edmonton, 9:30p: Randy Hahn/Jamie Baker February 12 Montréal @ Boston, 7:30p: John Forslund/Mike Milbury/Pierre McGuire February 12 Calgary @ Los Angeles, 10p: Alex Faust/Brian Hayward February 18 Toronto @ Pittsburgh, 7p: Kenny Albert/Pierre McGuire February 20 Montréal @ Washington, 7p: NBC Sports Washington feed
Using the San Jose crew for a game in Edmonton is an absolute joke. Hard to call it a national telecast. Hahn and Ray Ferraro would have worked. NBCSN doesn't use Ferraro all that often. NBCSN threw in Kendall Coyne Schofield with Hahn and Bret Hedican in November with Edmonton. The only good crew the Oilers got was Chris Cuthbert and Ray Ferraro back in October.
The February 12 doubleheader had potential. However, Mike Milbury in Boston is a joke that was never funny. The LA influence in the nightcap was likely not a surprise. Brian Hayward works for the Ducks, rivals of the Kings, and is Canadian. Hayward in the past hasn't been kind to Canadian teams, especially in the playoffs.
Kenny Albert and Pierre McGuire handled the game in Pittsburgh. McGuire loves Pittsburgh, his former employer. NBCSN interviewed the Pittsburgh coach but not the Toronto coach. Amazingly, NBCSN ran a special after the game that previously ran on Rogers Sportsnet on Connor McDavid's off-season recovery from a knee injury. NBCSN claims to love McDavid but struggles to send neutral announcers to his games.
The Alex Ovechkin obsession enticed NBCSN to pick up the Montréal-Washington game on February 20, a simulcast of the NBC Sports Washington feed with the worst announcers in the NHL. The obsession caused the NHL Network to cancel the airing of the Winnipeg-Philadelphia game on February 22. There was hope that the streak would put extra Jets games on the air but Ovechkin finally got #700 on February 22.
Jeremy Roenick, who was suspended in December for comments during a Barstool Sports podcast, is no longer with NBCSN and the NHL on NBC. We won't go into details on what Roenick said. He did apologise for his remarks.
International Women’s Day is March 8. Both Rogers Sportsnet and NBC Sports will have an all-female announcing crew and producers/director on a telecast.
Rogers Sportsnet will have the Hometown Hockey game from Calgary with play-by-play announcer Leah Hextall, game analyst Cassie Campbell-Pascall, and reporter Christine Simpson. That game will air in the United States on ESPN+. NBCSN will be in Chicago with Kate Scott calling the action with AJ Mleczko and Kendall Coyne-Schofield. Kathryn Tappen will be in the studio with Jen Botterill (Canadian).
Given how few CBC games have aired on the NHL Network, hearing 12 promos on February 8 was glorious.
The matinee game had an extra visual in the second period for Fridge Wars, which did not debut until February 27. Workin' Moms was promoted for its season debut on February 18.
Sean Reynolds read the last matinee promo. The final promos ran back to back in the prime time game on February 8.
The Junos will be March 15 in Saskatoon. Oland Murder is a true-crime, limited series starting Wednesday.
The February 1 game came from the Citytv feed.
February 8 matinee game: Kim's Convenience; Schitt's Creek (1st); Fridge Wars; Schitt's Creek (2nd); Kim's Convenience; Fridge Wars (3rd)
February 8 early game: Kim's Convenience (1st); Workin' Moms; Coroner (2nd); Workin' Moms; Coroner; Kim's Convenience (3rd)
February 29 early game: Junos; Fridge Wars (1st); Junos; Oland Murder; Fridge Wars (2nd); Oland Murder (3rd)
Twitter capture: @Canucks; @canadian_xing photo credit: Late Show with Stephen Colbert/CBS video credit: Hometown Hockey/Rogers Sportsnet
If you eat veal at an Italian restaurant or goat at a Middle Eastern restaurant, you won't run into protests over the meat you are eating. Add some seal to your diet and you might get a side of protest.
My search for a seal burger in Newfoundland came up short when I traveled there in 2015. Thanks to a relatively new restaurant in Toronto, I wouldn't have to go that far to finally score some seal.
Ku-kum Kitchen in the Davisville neighbourhood in Toronto specializes in all sorts of meats common to the indigenous diet such as elk, caribou, and goose. Salmon and trout are also on the menu, but we've learned that fish doesn't draw the level of protest as meat attracts.
The owners point out that the seal meat comes from a commercial source from professional hunters, as opposed to an indigenous hunt. The source of that hunt has drawn some of the protest against serving seal.
From my limited knowledge, since the indigenous population is limited in how they can use the whole seal to make money to survive, fewer seals are being hunted through indigenous hunts. Those people who would benefit financially from selling items such as mittens made with sealskin would also benefit if more restaurants in the Canadian south would serve seal meat. The prices at Ku-kum Kitchen are much higher than ones you will see at Swiss Chalet or Boston Pizza.
For the record, I don't know if I will like seal. I might not. But I feel like that trying seal will help me understand a population that I am slowly learning about in this world.
Traveling to Newfoundland in 2015 helped awaken me to the issues behind the seal hunt. Seeing Angry Inuk at the 2016 Windsor International Film Festival added to my knowledge and my interest.
I agree with the protesters that I would rather have seal meat from indigenous hunters. The protest mentality did lead to the reduction in indigenous hunting, so I do have less sympathy for the protesters.
If I were up in Iqaluit in Nunavut, and someone offered me seal, I would try it. That appears to be the spirit of Ku-kum Kitchen: these are foods eaten by Canadians even if they live far away from Toronto. Given the price of the food that is flown into Nunavat and the other Canadian territories, they should be eating more animals germane to that region.
We can learn so much about any society through food. Saltless bread, tripe, and rare steak can easily be found in Florence and Tuscany in Italy. A goat stew might lend some perspective as opposed to a beef stew in North America. I would rather have seal than tripe, but I might like both foods.
The current menu at Ku-kum Kitchen has an Arctic Trio appetizer with beet-cured salmon, seal tartare, and smoked rainbow trout for $22 Canadian. In earlier reports, the seal tartare came with crostini and a quail egg. Sounds good.
There was a counter protest against the original protesters. The counterprotest was design to educate those protesters about the realities of the indigenous diet. Too often, the indigenous population in Canada and other countries is ignored or forgotten. Eating the indigenous food of any population is a great way to understand.
We've wanted a U.S. ambassador to Canada to have some knowledge of Canada. The rumours of former Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin drew considerable uproar on social media.
When Palin was first asked about which countries she has visited, shortly after being announced as John McCain's running mate in 2008, her initial answer was Germany, Kuwait, and Ireland. No Canada on that list.
A Palin spokesperson corrected the list to include Canada. The second time Palin was asked, she included Mexico and Canada. The McCain campaign said she also went a quarter mile into Iraq, likely without permission. And Ireland was a refueling stop.
Palin admitted to being on business in Canada in 2007 in her role as Alaskan governor.
In a speech in Calgary in 2010, Sarah Palin told the story of being in Canada to receive Canadian health care. Funny how that did not come out in the campaign.
“My first five years of life we spent in Skagway, Alaska, right there by Whitehorse. Believe it or not – this was in the ‘60s – we used to hustle on over the border for health care that we would receive in Whitehorse. I remember my brother, he burned his ankle in some little kid accident thing and my parents had to put him on a train and rush him over to Whitehorse and I think, isn’t that kind of ironic now. Zooming over the border, getting health care from Canada.”
Palin’s father said the family probably made two trips to Whitehorse, Yukon for medical treatment.
Given the British Columbia and Yukon drinking age of 19, Palin likely made social visits to Canada. Only after several attempts over a couple of years did we get any idea of Palin's relationship with Canada.
If Gov. Palin ends up being U.S. ambassador to Canada, she could relive this precious moment of being pranked by Marc Antoine Audette of CKOI Montréal who pretended to be then French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
We have criticized prospective ambassadors for not knowing much about Canada. Sarah Palin does have some knowledge of Canada but has shown virtually no curiosity about the world.
A really good choice for U.S. ambassador to Canada from the Republican side of the aisle is 2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Romney spent part of his summers near Grand Bend, Ontario. The infamous Romney dog story started in a trip to Grand Bend, Ontario. There was speculation in our 2012 coverage that Seamus, the dog, had run away once the family got to Canada.
Romney also speaks French from his days doing Mormon missionary work. As we noted in 2008, Sarah Palin would have had a challenge debating in a second language, such as Spanish. Romney speaks both of Canada's official languages.
The U.S. ambassador position might come up in conversation as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit the White House today. The economy is supposed to be on the docket for discussion. That could mean NAFTA and pipelines but not softwood lumber. Trudeau will likely remind Trump that 35 U.S. states have Canada as the top export market.
The meeting may be more about setting tone than actual substance. Trudeau has walked a tightrope since the U.S. election campaign. Somehow, we are not surprised Trump is making this meeting about being on his turf as opposed to Ottawa.
Trudeau ministers laid the groundwork for today's visit, including Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Ministers accompanying the prime minister to the U.S. capital are Freeland, Morneau, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, and Transport Minister Marc Garneau.
We still aren't sure about a lot of things, consistent with Trump, as to whether this is in lieu of a trip to Canada, which is tradition for a U.S. president, or whether there will still be a trip. Then President Barack Obama made his first international trip on February 19, 2009 to Ottawa.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte, along with their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will make a visit to the west coast of Canada.
The fun for the Royal Family starts in Victoria on September 24 and continues to Vancouver on Sunday. Other British Columbia destinations include Great Bear Rainforest, Kelowna, and Haida Gwaii. The family will also visit Whitehorse and Carcross in the Yukon.
Prince William traveled to Canada twice before he married Kate Middleton. The 2011 trip was Princess Kate's first trip to Canada. This will be the first trip for the children to Canada.
On that 2011 trip, the newly married couple were in Ottawa for Canada and also visited Montréal and Quebec City in Quebec; Charlottetown and Summerside on Prince Edward Island; the Northwest Territories capital of Yellowknife; and Calgary for the Calgary Stampede.
I saw Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World, a documentary on Haida Gwaii, last November at the Windsor International Film Festival. The beauty of the island is stunning and the family will visit it at a good time of year.
My timing is off having visiting Victoria about a month ago. The city turned out to be even more beautiful than I originally thought. The family is exploring areas out west that I would love to check out including Kelowna, Haida Gwaii, and Whitehorse. After telling people I've been to all 10 provinces, some tease me and ask, "When are you going to the territories?"
They will focus their engagements on young people as well as the issue of mental health. Conservation, cultural issues with the First Nations, agriculture, education, and emergency services are also on the itinerary for the royal family.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet the family during the trip. Trudeau has lived in British Columbia and his family vacations in Tofino, another amazing place.
