Canadian Crossing

Joe Biden's visit to Canada as president shouldn't be his last

My friend texted "Roxham Road closed" on Thursday. Joe Biden was on Canadian soil. That sounded about right.

The debate over revising the Safe Third Country Agreement, has been on the table since 2017 with the angry toddler wrecking havoc south of the border. President Joe Biden was in Ottawa and that was the conclusion of the mess that has been border issues between Canada and the United States.

Daily Show explores why refugees are fleeing U.S. for Canada

The speech. The one-on-one meetings. The press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The dinner at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum.

The 27-hour visit had little in the way of side trips for the president but Sophie Gregoire Trudeau introduced Dr. Jill Biden to curling.

The important discussions that won't get the flashy headlines about Biden's crack about the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The chance for those in Ottawa to see the U.S. president, well, from a distance. Supposed to be one of the perks of living in a country's capital.

Joe Biden makes first official U.S. visit to Canada since 2016

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." — Mark Twain

There is a lot of symbolism with the U.S. president on Canadian soil, the first president in a long time to sleep in Canada, and having the U.S. first lady along for the trip. The U.S.-Canada relationship is terribly important. This relationship can survive butting heads in charge, such as Pierre Trudeau and Richard Nixon as well as those who see eye to eye, such as Brian Mulroney and George H.W. Bush as well as Justin Trudeau and Barack Obama.

The relationship doesn't do well when U.S. presidents have a hatred for Canada (2 leap to mind) and Canadian prime ministers who love the United States a little too much (yes, we are looking at Stephen Harper). Friendliness is encouraged; acceptance is enough.

Vice President Kamala Harris lived in Canada during her teenage years. Instead of that being a source of pride, Harris has to hide that fact among the American electorate.

The impact of the Joe Biden presidency on Canada

President-elect Joe Biden should make his first international trip to Canada

The Three Amigos, when working well, is a way to be a budget version of the European Union, but there is too much distrust. Free trade handled poorly under NAFTA and made terribly worse under the CUSMA (USMCA) trade deal. Borders should be much more open. Those in the United States who want to live in Canada. Those in Canada that would love to live in the United States. That should be way easier.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

CanadianCrossing.com U.S. politics coverage

The president of the United States and the prime minister of Canada meeting in each other's countries should be commonplace. We make them a big deal because they are a big deal. Sovereignty is crucial for both countries but commonalities should also be enhanced between the countries.

Ideally, we would insist on an entire debate devoted to U.S.-Canada issues for all presidential and vice presidential candidates. We know that is a pipe dream and not a pipeline dream.

Thank you, Mr. President and Mrs. First Lady for coming to Canada. You are welcome back, maybe for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals between the Toronto Maple Leafs and an American team at Scotiabank Arena. You can have some butter tarts and even a little poutine.

video credit: YouTube/White House
photo credit: CPAC

Joe Biden makes first official U.S. visit to Canada since 2016

The president of the United States will be in Canada today … and tomorrow.

Unlike the Barack Obama trip in 2009, Biden is bringing the First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, and the couple is staying overnight Thursday night.

Biden is expected to arrive in Ottawa later tonight and meet with Governor General Mary Simon. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will have meetings with Biden on Friday. The U.S. president will address Parliament before leaving Canada.

The last top official from the United States to make a formal trip to Canada was then Vice President Joe Biden at the end of 2016.

Canadians may pick up on the fact this will be the first visit by a U.S. president with an overnight stay in Canada during a bilateral visit for the first time in decades.

Border issues, Buy American, guns, Safe Third Country deal/Roxham Road, Haiti, NORAD, NAFTA 2.0 aka CUSMA. Some of the many challenges that won't get solved by the end of Friday night. The people under the U.S. president and Canadian prime minister work on these issues.

Obama Canadian Parliament speech needs to ignite significant growth in the bilateral relationship

The chant from the Liberals and the NDP in the House of Commons — "Four more years" — might have been the most memorable moment from President Barack Obama's speech before Parliament in June 2016. The experts will monitor the speech for the platitudes and the not-so-hidden messages.

President Biden will have those messages in his speech tomorrow before the House of Commons in Ottawa.

Canada and the United States are allies, neighbours, and friends. Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the President of the United States, Joe Biden, will visit Canada to continue working together to advance our countries’ shared priorities: https://t.co/U2vEv4iEO0

— CanadianPM (@CanadianPM) March 9, 2023

Three Amigos are back after 5 years but feels unbalanced

Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau meeting virtually is still important symbolically

The impact of the Joe Biden presidency on Canada

President-elect Joe Biden should make his first international trip to Canada

Factoring Canada in the 2020 presidential election

Kamala Harris, Jackie Robinson, and their association with Montreal

Looking back at when Joe Biden was in Canada

Joe Biden reinforces Canadian leadership in state visit

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden goes to Canada

CBC News Network will present live coverage of the President Joe Biden visit with a CBC News Special: U.S. President Biden in Canada starting at 1 pm Eastern on Friday. CTV News Channel will also have live coverage.

CPAC in Canada has extensive coverage. C-SPAN hopefully will cover the speech, likely through CPAC, though its schedule gets updated at the last minute.

MSNBC and CNN might have some related coverage though we wouldn't expect either channel to spend much time on the actual speech.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

CanadianCrossing.com U.S. politics coverage

We will wrap up the visit on Monday.

photo credit: Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press via AP
video credit: YouTube/The Obama White House
Twitter capture: @CanadianPM

Learning the word beanie, the American expression for a toque

Your humble narrator is intrigued by the nuance of language in Canada vs. the United States, even if both countries (mostly) speak English.

Chesterfield (sofa) and serviette (napkin) are obvious differences. Canadians will "phone" someone while Americans "call" someone. While "eh" is associated as Canadian, you can find "eh" in the upper Midwest of the U.S. and not everywhere in Canada.

The hat Canadians call a toque. I never had to learn the Canadian word for toque because I've always known the hat as a toque (or tuque). Maybe I learned it from Bob and Doug McKenzie of SCTV and Strange Brew fame. I never learned any other word for the winter hat other than toque.

I lived a lot of years on this planet, covered Canada for a lot of that time, and never knew what I am about to tell you. I figured Americans call the hat a toque. Some Americans know the word toque. Chances are they know SCTV and/or Hockey Night in Canada.

Some Americans are confused when you say the word toque. Turns out a lot of Americans call this hat a beanie. I was stunned. A beanie.

Not surprised Americans have a name for this hat. Beanie doesn't fit what this hat is; toque is the ideal word. Yet there is this divide. The surprise lies in living in a place and not knowing what people called this hat.

There could be a regional difference across the border where toque might be more common than beanie. Or your humble narrator have friends who know it as a toque.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian society coverage

CanadianCrossing.com U.S. society coverage

Americans are more likely to adopt Britishisms, calling fish and chips as if they are American. Popular songs taught us mac (umbrella) [Penny Lane, Beatles] and windscreen (windshield) [Get Out of My Cloud, Rolling Stones]. Lift. lorry, and braces. Chips, crisps, and biscuits.

Most Americans won't reach across to Canada for terms. Chesterfield, serviette, 2-4, double double are words Canadians and fans of Canada will know. Toque also makes that list.

photo credit: me

Where to visit Canada in 2023

"The ArriveCAN app is optional." That might be the most glorious Canadian travel news of 2022.

We have feigned hope for more travel in the last couple of years but that hasn't been a reality. Canadians, who were vaccinated, were encouraged to come to the United States. Americans to Canada? Not so much.

Let's hope 2023 sees a return of Americans to Canada, swayed by beautiful scenery and landscapes as well as a cheap Canadian dollar.

Making up for lost travel time is an ideal goal for 2023, provided you have the time and money.

Experiencing marijuana tourism in Canada

Your humble narrator finally got to be on Canadian soil. As tempting as kissing the ground might be, didn't get that literal in my appreciation for being in Canada. Poutine, ketchup chips, butter tarts, even a decent shawarma were on the menu. All of that went well with legal marijuana in Canada.

Pope Francis I arrives in Canada on Sunday for an expected apology on residential schools

The most famous person who isn't Canadian who came to Canada in 2022 was Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church. The trip was mostly to Alberta with a brief stop in Quebec and an even briefer stop in Iqaluit in Nunavat.

The trip was good in that attention was brought to what happened in residential schools. Unfortunately, after the trip, the issue of reconciliation disappeared from the headlines.

Canada drops all COVID-19 measures at borders as of October 1

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

Making travel plans for Canada in 2023 will be a lot easier now that restrictions have been lifted. You should be vaccinated but that isn't a requirement. Just a healthy suggestion.

Touchdown Atlantic 2022 showcased Nova Scotia and its love for the CFL

We are partial to Nova Scotia and happy for those who finally got to see a CFL game in that province. The 2023 version will be in Halifax proper. The donair is a beautiful local food to enjoy as well as amazing seafood.

Stanley Tucci has plenty of love for Toronto

Toronto, among many other Canadian cities, are great eating destinations. We aren't sure how many of those places are still in business. The pandemic did a lot of damage to restaurants.

Greyhound leaves Canada for good

If you want to travel by bus and haven't done so recently, Greyhound abandoned Canada in 2021 with the grand exception of incoming buses to Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver. If we travel by bus, we will share our experiences.

How the Canada-U.S. border closure has affected border towns

A trip back to Montréal. A first trip to Saskatoon. A chance to see relatively new CFL stadiums in Regina and Hamilton. The Icefield Parkway in Alberta. Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. Gander in Newfoundland. Churchill in Manitoba, though that might be a pipe dream. The interior of British Columbia, a world not Vancouver or Victoria.

I've been to Quebec City but would like to try areas of the city I didn't get to see. Stratford, Ontario as an adult: have been there as a kid. Explore the Acadian part of New Brunswick.

The previous 2 paragraphs look familiar for those who remember our 2022 travel guide. We made a trip to Windsor for the film festival. Would love to go deeper into Canada in 2023.

Where to visit Canada in 2022

Where to visit Canada in 2021

Where to visit Canada in 2020

Where to visit Canada in 2019

Where to visit Canada in 2018

Where to visit Canada in 2017

All Canada national parks are free in 2017

Where to visit Canada in 2016

Where to visit Canada in 2015

Where to visit Canada in 2014

Even if you are able to travel, right now, travel sucks. Not what it used to be or what it should be. Do research. Hope that trip will be what you want that to be. Someday. Please make it soon.

CanadianCrossing.com now has stories grouped by provinces and territories

CanadianCrossing.com border crossings coverage

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

Wish the short-term future was better for tourism in Canada. A day trip in Windsor would improve my mood.

Share your Canadian tourism wishes for 2023 in the comments section below. Time to make travel plans.

map credit: Ezilon.com

Canada drops all COVID-19 measures at borders as of October 1

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announces the lifting of #COVID19 border measures, including vaccination & testing requirements for all travellers & mandatory use of ArriveCan app. Mask requirements on trains & planes will also be lifted. The changes take effect Oct 1.#cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/pT8Garg9Ed

— CPAC (@CPAC_TV) September 26, 2022

The news has been leaked for a few days but is now official: Getting into Canada will be a lot easier as a travel destination when the month changes to October.

The ArriveCAN app will be optional when the change is made.

This had been a great concern especially for border cities whose officials were concerned because American travelers were much less likely to cross into Canada, especially for cross border shopping. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made things easier for Canadians to shop within the U.S. on quick cross border trips but not the other way around.

Travelers won't have to submit public health information through the ArriveCAN app or website or provide proof of vaccination. There are other provisions that will be dropped.

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

U.S. to open border to fully vaccinated travelers starting today

The restrictions led to actions such as the service of the Windsor Tunnel Bus to be suspended. You have an international border, the busiest crossing between the countries. Greyhound went to Windsor before the pandemic but now Greyhound doesn't go to Canada (outside of Toronto and Vancouver from the United States). You couldn't cross on foot on the Ambassador Bridge or the tunnel.

We hope the Tunnel Bus and other suspended service will return shortly after the government's announcement this morning.

For those who criticise us for not being critical enough of the prime minister, well, you should read our border crossings coverage. We appreciate the overall diligence of the Trudeau Government on COVID-19 during the height of the pandemic. We do feel the government has carried on good policies far too long.

Where to visit Canada in 2022

This change affects the sports world in that unvaccinated athletes can travel to Canada as of October 1. The Toronto Blue Jays had to deal with that in terms of visiting MLB players and in the acquisition of the previously unvaccinated Whit Merrifield from Kansas City. The Blue Jays host Boston on October 1-2. The team might not play any home playoff games in the opening round, depending on the playoff seeding.

This is more relevant to the NHL teams that won't have to worry about unvaccinated players playing in Canada.

Ideally, people would be vaccinated in coming to Canada. The issue was that the good intentions produced a policy that made traveling to Canada not worth the hassle.

CanadianCrossing.com border crossings coverage

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

The obvious time to make the change would be heading into a travel summer. Hopefully, people can make travel plans to Canada in the beautiful fall and for those who enjoy winter. Our look at where to visit Canada in 2023 is going to be a lot brighter.

Twitter capture: @CPAC_TV
photo credit: me

CUSMA/USMCA punishes Canada for wanting to export baby formula

That media talks about baby formula shortage w/o knowing whats going on is amazing. Trump's USMCA restricted imports of formula from Canada, so we imported no formula from Canada in 2021, leaving us vulnerable to domestic shock. The shock hit when Abbott plant was contaminated.

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) May 14, 2022

The United States has baby formula shortages. Canada makes baby formula and would want to increase its exports to the United States and please a top trading partner.

Too bad the dreaded, horrible, terrible USMCA (CUSMA) made this impossible.

From Fortune magazine:

"As part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), negotiated by President Donald Trump to replace the North America Free Trade Agreement in July 2020, Canada agreed to impose an additional surcharge of $3/kg if the total volume of its global formula exports—not just exports to the U.S.—broke a certain threshold. That threshold is currently set at 40,480 metric tons for the current "dairy year" of August 1 2021 to July 31 2022.

"The new duties seemingly closed off Canada as a source of infant formula. The U.S. imported a grand total of zero tons of baby formula from its nothern (sic) neighbor in 2021, yet has shipped tons of domestic formula into Canada. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S.-manufactured infant formula made up the largest component of U.S. dairy exports to Canada in 2021, accounting for 22% of all northbound dairy trade."

The crybaby toddler who somehow had a lot of power was rather vindictive toward Canada on multiple fronts. We didn't factor in baby formula.

Abbott accounts for nearly half of the domestic production of the U.S. baby formula market. The U.S. makes 98% of its formula domestically.

That is a problem with a February recall of Abbott Nutrition formula contaminated with bacteria from its Sturgis, MI factory. 4 infants became sick with bacterial infections; 2 of them died.

The irony is that United States standards are much more lax than Europe or Canada in terms of the quality of the formula. This isn't a matter of Canada or Europe formula meeting those standards because their formula exceeds the U.S. standards.

Podcast: Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, and the politics of breastfeeding (BalanceofFood.com)

The United States lags behind the Western World on maternal elements, such as leave. Improved standards for women might encourage more breastfeeding. As much as we (and our sibling blog, BalanceofFood.com) endorse breastfeeding, there is a reality for baby formula that needs to be addressed.

Cheap pizza comes to Canada but at what cost

Canada milk producers threatened with invasion of cheaper American milk

Canadian milk holds a higher standard on milk, not allowing recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST), an artificial growth hormone allowed in American milk. The anger by the crybaby toddler is over this difference in milk. If this were a baby formula shortage in Canada, importing formula from the United States would be a concern over bringing rBST into Canada.

Canada secretly passes heavily flawed CUSMA during the COVID-19 corornavirus pandemic

NAFTA 2.0, er, USMCA is a nightmarish trade deal for Canada

The party of the crybaby toddler is the party that is trying to take advantage of the political ramifications of the baby formula shortages. As little as we think of Canadian journalism, U.S. journalism is the grand leader of cluelessness. Kurt Eichenwald being a grand exception as noted in the top of the column.

Balanceoffood.com Canada food policy coverage

Trade deals can be tricky when all involved parties are acting in free will. The CUSMA/USMCA trade talks were a shambles and the complete opposite of an ethical trade deal process. Innocent people get hurt when a trade deal goes this poorly.

Would Americans get an abortion in Canada?

We noted that Americans might drive to Canada to get an abortion. We can't condone, under any circumstances, the illegal importation of any product from Canada into the United States. We can point out that they sell baby formula in Canada.

American mothers who rely on baby formula should be able to access quality products without a monopoly and heavy-handed political tactics.

Twitter capture: @kurteichenwald
photo credit: Dairy Farmers of Canada

Would Americans get an abortion in Canada?

Canadians can access abortion services, though like most healthcare, getting an abortion is a lot easier if you live in a large Canadian city. The United States, even before the leak of a decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, has been a place where getting an abortion was extremely difficult unless you lived in a large urban setting.

Canadians don't have the draconian laws of their southern neighbours.

Karina Gould, Canada's minister of families, affirmed that Americans can access abortion services in Canada. “If they, people, come here and need access, certainly, you know, that’s a service that would be provided,” Gould told CBC News.

This may be notable in states such as Michigan that border Ontario.

Matt Galloway talked about abortion in a recent segment on The Current on CBC Radio One. The emphasis was mostly on Saskatchewan, pointing out that access was easier in Regina than even Saskatoon.

Canada is a safer place for abortion though access should be improved

Prince Edward Island eases abortion restrictions (2015)

Abortion definitely an issue in New Brunswick election (2014)

The Trudeau Government had recent announcements on already assigned funding: more than $3.5 million in funding for 2 initiatives to improve access to abortion services and reproductive health information.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Action Canada would get $2.1 million over 3 years to improve information and referral services. The funding will also cover travel and accommodation costs for people seeking abortions.

The National Abortion Federation Canada will get $1.4 million over 3 years to help train health care providers to perform abortions and ensure facilities have the capacity to provide the service.

The U.S. helped out Canada on the abortion front in the late 1980s before a key decision from the Canadian Supreme Court.

The CBC News report noted the passport concern for Americans traveling to Canada for an abortion. Americans also need to register via the ArriveCAN app and be vaccinated to come to Canada, ideally in a land crossing.

CanadianCrossing.com health care coverage

Canada was a destination for same-gender marriages while the United States did this on a piece meal basis. The dreams of marijuana tourism have been thwarted by a delay on edibles and the pandemic. Plus, if you are an American wanting to do marijuana tourism, a flight to California has better weather at the destination and may be cheaper, depending on location.

Abortion tourism won't be marketed but might be a small slice of desperately need tourism money for Canada. As much as any kind of tourism would be helpful, abortion is the type of procedure where you want to be in your own bed after the procedure.

Home is an option for drugs that induce a miscarriage. That can make the process easier on women in Canada, the United States, and around the world.

There are groups of people who will particularly struggle with this not so distant future: poor women; women of colour, especially Indigenous women; and young women.

Women should have the full and complete right to decide when and how they get pregnant and how they deal with the situation should they become pregnant. Full stop.

photo credit: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee/TBS
video credit: CBC News

2022 Oscars through the lens of Canada

Me & my filmmaker @bgproudfoot with the new hardware pic.twitter.com/wzezg0ozDV

— Lindsay Crouse (@lindsaycrouse) March 28, 2022

Ben Proudfoot was up for his second Oscars nomination in a row last night at the 94th Academy Awards. Proudfoot won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject for The Queen of Basketball. Proudfoot was up for an Oscar last year in the same category for A Concerto Is a Conversation.

Patrice Vermette (production designer) and Zsuzsanna Sipos (set decorator) won the Oscar for production design for Dune. Vermette paid tribute to his friend Jean-Marc Vallée, the Canadian filmmaker who passed away in December.

The non Canadian film directed by Denis Villeneuve won 6 Academy Awards: Production Design, Cinematography, Original Score, Editing, Visual Effects and Sound. The film received 10 nominations, including 2 for Villeneuve: Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Every Dune winner thanked director Denis Villeneuve. Vermette thanked the director "for allowing us to dream" and "for being a great friend."

The other winners for Dune were editing (Joe Walker), sound (Mac Ruth, Mark A. Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill, Ron Bartlett), musical score (Hans Zimmer), visual effects (Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, and Gerd Nefzer) and for cinematography (Greig Fraser).

2021 Oscars through the lens of Canada

Here are Canadians who were nominated but came up short of winning an Oscar:

Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau for best production design on Nightmare Alley from Guillermo del Toro
Affairs of the Art for best animated short
Luis Sequeira for best costume design on Nightmare Alley
Roger Frappier as one of the producers of The Power of the Dog for Best Picture
J. Miles Dale as one of the producers of Nightmare Alley for Best Picture
Donald Mowat for best makeup and hairstyle for Dune
Geoff McLean as a producer on Audible for best documentary short subject

IFC mistakes Canadian Sandra Oh as an American

2013 Oscars notebook: Thank you, Canada

Elliot Page announces he is a transgender person

Simu Liu may not have been nominated for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings but the Canadian actor had an impressive showing at the Academy Awards.

Simu and Tiffany Haddish presented the Best International Feature Film award. "We are here to present the award the award for International Feature Film, which is particularly exciting for me since I come from an international country, that for many Americans may seem exotic and different, Canada," Liu said.

We've come a long way since the Independent Spirit Awards in 2011 when the group announced that Sandra Oh was an American (sorry, she's Canadian).

"Parlez-vous francais?" Haddish asks. He responds from the old song with, "oui, voulez-vous coucher … avec moi?"

Haddish joked that she "didn't even know that France was in Canada."

"I got a thing for Canadians. I like that circle bacon they got, the men with the jackets that ride on mooses with the hats and stuff, that Molson's beer, the accent," added Haddish.

Simu was also part of the beef cake in a sketch with Oscars co-host Regina Hall.

Elliot Page reunited with Juno co-stars Jennifer Garner and JK Simmons to present the Best Original Screenplay award. Shawn Mendes along with Tracee Ellis Ross presented the Best Adapted Screenplay award.

A look back at the Canada part of the legacy of Ivan Reitman

Heralded Canadian filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée passes away at the age of 58

Jean-Marc Vallée and Ivan Reitman were featured in the In Memoriam portion of the Academy Awards. Their deaths were recent and unexpected. Bill Murray had a beautiful tribute to Reitman and his family.

We also want to acknowledge the deaths of William Hurt and Olympia Dukakis. Hurt starred in the Canadian film Rare Birds with Molly Parker and Andy Jones. Dukakis' range could be seen in Cloudburst with Thom Fitzgerald and Away From Her with Sarah Polley.

Uncensored clip of Sally Field from Canada

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

We assume CTV aired the whole of the Will Smith assault on Chris Rock. The ABC version cut off the sound. Fortunately, the Internet had the full footage. Fascinated that Americans think they have the freest country but are afraid of curse words on live television.

Not much has changed since Melissa Leo said the f-word on the Academy Awards in 2011.

Best International Feature Film is more relevant than ever before

Les Oiseaux Ivres misses the Oscars shortlist cut for Best International Feature Film

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Drive My Car (Japan) did win the Oscar for Best International Feature Film. The film beat out Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (Bhutan); Flee (Denmark); The Hand of God (Italy); and The Worst Person in the World (Norway).

Drive My Car also was the Best International Film winner at the 2022 Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, CA and Best Foreign Language Film at the Critics Choice Awards earlier this month.

The foreign films came up short in the other categories. Drive My Car was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Worst Person in the World got a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Flee was also nominated for Best Animated Film and Best Documentary Feature.

The Danish film marks 3 years in a row where a Best International Feature Film nominee is also up for Best Documentary Feature. The streak is significant because this never happened before the streak started.

Penelope Cruz came up short for a Best Actress Oscar for Parallel Mothers. Her husband Javier Bardem was nominated for Best Actor for Being the Ricardoes.

Twitter capture: @lindsaycrouse
photo credit: Academy Awards/ABC

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

Be cautious of third party, fraudulent webpages and apps that may pose as #ArriveCAN and ask you for payment. ArriveCAN, the official Government of Canada platform to provide your information when entering Canada, is free and secure. https://t.co/kdWEXB6imc #FraudPreventionMonth pic.twitter.com/bEGw26pppD

— Canada Border Services Agency (@CanBorder) March 14, 2022

No April Fools here. Starting April 1, fully vaccinated travelers to Canada won't need a pre-arrival COVID-19 test.

The requirement seemed overblown, especially for fullv vaccinated and boosted travelers to come to Canada. Randomized testing upon entry to Canada will continue.

You have to use the ArriveCAN app.

Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra, and Minister of Tourism Randy Boissonnault announced the updated changes this week.“Unvaccinated and partially vaccinated travelers will continue to be tested with COVID-19 molecular tests on arrival and quarantine for 14 days,” said Duclos in the news conference.

U.S. to open border to fully vaccinated travelers starting today

Opening Day for fully vaccinated Americans to cross into Canada with caveats

August 9 is the date fully vaccinated Americans can cross into Canada with some fine print

CanadianCrossing.com border crossings coverage

The changes apply to travelers who are full vaccinated. Boosted doesn't seem to be a requirement that we can tell. Boosted is better than being fully vaccinated. 

CBC News has a solid Q&A to help you out on nuanced questions. 

Where to visit Canada in 2022

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

The irony was that the Canadian government made travel easier for Canadians to shop in the United States and return than for Americans, fully vaccinated and boosted, to travel to Canada. This makes a day trip or even a longer trip to Canada much more viable for U.S. travelers.

Your humble narrator is eager to make a trip to Canada.

Twitter capture: @CanBorder
photo credit: CBC News

Canada wins gold medal in women's hockey; 3-2 over the United States

Most goals all-time, Olympic Women’s Hockey:
GP Goals
Hayley Wickenheiser 🇨🇦 26 18
Marie-Philip Poulin 🇨🇦 22* 17
Meghan Agosta 🇨🇦 20 17

*Through two periods of the 2022 Gold Medal Game. https://t.co/x4IQ6nTlng

— Gord Miller (@GMillerTSN) February 17, 2022

Captain Clutch. Marie-Philip Poulin. Difference maker.

Poulin has now scored 7 goals in gold medal games in the last 4 Winter Olympics, including 2 goals in the gold medal game, giving Canada a 3-2 win in Beijing over the United States.

Sarah Nurse started out the scoring for Team Canada with an assist from Poulin. Canadian goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens made 38 saves for the win. The Americans outshot Canada 40-21 with most of their shots in the 3rd period.

The women's team outscored opponents 57-10, setting a Team Canada record for most goals at an Olympics, breaking the previous mark of 44 goals in 2010 in Vancouver.

Nurse had 18 points in the tournament — with a goal and assist in the gold medal game — breaking the team record for most points at an Olympics. Hayley Wickenheiser (2010) had 17 points.

Brianne Jenner was named most valuable player of the tournament; Jenner scored a team-high and tournament-high 9 goals. Claire Thompson led defenders with 3 goals and 10 assists in her Olympic debut.

Poulin has scored the game-winner in Canada's last 3 wins in gold medal games.

Canada won gold for 4 straight Olympics from 2002-2014. The United States won gold in 1998 and 2018.

Another reason to cross into Canada if you don't already live there. Tim Hortons has action figures of Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Nurse as Barbies.

You might recall the slight kerfuffle in 2010 when an 18-year-old Poulin celebrated the gold medal on ice with a beer. Now at 30 years old, Poulin has 3 gold medals and a doll in her likeness.

This is the first gold medal for Nurse, the first Black woman to ever win the gold medal in Olympics hockey. Her cousins are defenseman Darnell Nurse of the Edmonton Oilers and WNBA star Kia Nurse of the Phoenix Mercury. Her uncle Richard Nurse, was a wide receiver for the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Her uncle (by marriage) Donovan McNabb was a star NFL quarterback.

Girls and dolls go together well. The idea of a young girl pretending to score a goal in a gold medal game is really tremendous. Nurse, Poulin, and the others on Team Canada were once young girls with big dreams.

The NBC coverage mentioned the dolls during the Group A game, which Canada won 4-2, and during the gold medal game.

You can be a girl into sports and dolls; Boys and non-gendered people too.

Why @cbcsports knows how to do the #2022Olympics and @NBCSports lags behind. Don't lie to your audience and claim you will carry the #womenshockey medal ceremony. Show it on @peacockTV or somewhere. How embarrassing. https://t.co/uD9qqpvSKm

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) February 17, 2022

The United States did win a silver medal in the 2022 Olympics. NBC promised its audience they would show the medal ceremony. Their coverage was the Canadian women singing O Canada. While that was nice, that wasn't the medal ceremony.

CBC carried the ceremony live in Canada. NBC has the video available online.

A reminder that video is geo-linked so you can watch CBC videos in Canada and NBC videos in the United States.

CanadianCrossing.com Olympics coverage

The Canadians and Americans men's hockey teams were eliminated from Olympics competition yesterday. Canada lost to Sweden 2-0 and the United States lost 3-2 to Slovakia in a shootout.

Canada lost to the U.S. 4-2 in Group A competition. The Canadians finished 5th overall and had to play an extra game, beating China 7-2.

The final 4 in men's hockey are Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, and the ROC (Russian Olympic Committee).

The countries were playing without active NHL players due to COVID-19 setbacks.

Twitter captures: @GMillerTSN; @canadian_xing
photo credit: Tim Hortons