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Michael Bublé's terrifying near-death experience

<p>Michael Bublé has recalled the terrifying moment he faced "certain death" while he was out on a walk with actor Barry Pepper. </p> <p>The close call occurred during the holiday season after a wrap party in Manitoba, Canada, the singer shared in an interview with Kelly Clarkson. </p> <p>“I think, in the moment, we’re like, ‘You know what we should do? We should like race down the beach’,” Bublé shared the idea the two friends had after a few drinks. </p> <p>“And so me and him and another guy came running down this beach.</p> <p>“A guy that lived there just started swearing, literally swearing at us and just screaming — I mean screaming bloody murder.”</p> <p>“We didn’t realise we were running to our certain death," he explained.</p> <p>“Because there were polar bears all down the beach. And yes, they’re the most aggressive," the singer added, gushing about how "cuddly" they looked despite their aggressive nature. </p> <p>“Sometimes I wonder about that, how close I was to being like a little polar bear lunch.”</p> <p>Shocked by his odd close call, host Kelly Clarkson remarked, “Who would’ve thought there were just polar bears — nobody ever hears that. ‘Oh, there’s polar bears hanging on the beach.’ It just doesn’t happen.”</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p> <p> </p>

Travel Trouble

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"Show us your Regina" tourism campaign labelled "a failure of epic proportions"

<p>A tourism campaign for the Canadian city of Regina has certainly gotten the world talking - just not for the right reasons. </p> <p>The controversial approach to promoting the area has outraged its locals, who condemned the marketing as not only “misogynistic” and also “pathetic and disgusting”. </p> <p>The tourism agency behind the campaign - Experience Regina - believed that “Show us your Regina” would be of benefit to the city, particularly as Regina rhymes with vagina. </p> <p>“The city that rhymes with fun” is another slogan they slipped into their controversial campaign, and was featured on a line of merchandise made in collaboration with 22Fresh. All posts featuring the clothing campaign have since been removed. </p> <p>Outrage came fast and furious, and the organisation was forced to acknowledge their mistake, taking to Twitter to share their thanks for everyone “holding them accountable”. </p> <p>“I want to start by apologising, on behalf of myself and our team, for the negative impact we created with elements of our recent brand launch," said Experience Regina’s Tim Reid in a statement to Twitter. </p> <p>He went on to note that they’d had positive feedback, but that it was “clear we fell short of what is expected from our amazing community with some of the slogans we used.” </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Thank you for using your voice, thank you for holding us accountable, and thank you for allowing us to be better.</p> <p>-Tim Reid, CEO of Experience Regina <a href="https://t.co/VdS4NyYop3">pic.twitter.com/VdS4NyYop3</a></p> <p>— Experience Regina (@ExpRegina) <a href="https://twitter.com/ExpRegina/status/1637586812427468801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>People were not thrilled with the apology, believing that it was up to the company to do more to right their wrongs, and to actually acknowledge where they had veered off course in their decision making process. </p> <p>“Do better. This is pathetic and disgusting,” wrote one unhappy Twitter user. </p> <p>“There needs to be significant changes and very public acknowledgement of the mistakes made,” said another, before allowing that “this is a start.”</p> <p>“Did you ask literally anyone if it was a good idea?” one asked. </p> <p>Someone else opted to outline exactly what the majority were trying to tell them, stating that “this is a failure of epic proportions. You not only showed complete disrespect for women in our community but also a complete disregard for the comfort and safety of women in this community. We are owed the full story about how this came to be.” </p> <p>The uproar was so loud that Regina City Councillor Cheryl Stadnichuk issued a statement to Facebook, declaring that she too was “incredibly disappointed and appalled … with the sexist messaging of the new Experience Regina.” </p> <p>She went on to explain that she hadn’t been given any advance notice regarding the campaign’s slogan, and her thoughts on them.</p> <p>“The slogans associated with the campaign … are misogynist and objectify women’s bodies. As one woman pointed out on social media, would we engage school children with this messaging? I also ask, do we want men harassing women in bars chanting ‘show us your Regina?’,” she wrote.</p> <p>“There are so many serious ramifications of these slogans. We have extremely high rates of intimate partner violence and sexual assault in our city. </p> <p>“As a society, we have a responsibility to teach boys and men about consent. These slogans do the opposite.”</p> <p><iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3Dpfbid0B6NsGhF2GBJXi67JrVTotVSefpYn7wGqFGqcA1tMiEBXLz5habNboqp2Gt6LVMnfl%26id%3D100064052141182&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="276" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>Response to her post was mostly positive - people were glad to see someone in power speaking out with them - but there were those that still wanted to hear more from the company itself. One day later, they did. </p> <p>Tim Reid once again took to Twitter to share what steps Experience Regina would be taking moving forward. </p> <p>To begin, they were removing “all content that is offensive or inappropriate”, something that many had been calling for from the beginning. </p> <p>They noted that they would also be “more stringent in evaluating all aspects of our brand” and that they were “committed to involving more diverse stakeholder groups in our decision making process”. </p> <p>That they hadn’t already in 2023 was a sore point for some, while others opted just to be glad they claimed to be “committed to making it right.” </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Please read for an update. <a href="https://t.co/OQTSvHuDV4">pic.twitter.com/OQTSvHuDV4</a></p> <p>— Experience Regina (@ExpRegina) <a href="https://twitter.com/ExpRegina/status/1637987662882643970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p><em>Images: 22Fresh / Instagram</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Reward in mystery murder of billionaire couple tops $52 million

<p>The deaths of Canadian billionaires Barry and Honey Sherman have been a mystery right from the start.</p> <p>On December 15, 2017, a realtor giving a tour of the couple's Toronto mansion around midday discovered their bodies, fully dressed, beside their indoor basement swimming pool.</p> <p>They were semi-seated side by side, with belts tied around their necks and attached to the railing of the indoor pool according to police. Barry Sherman was 75 and his wife Honey was 70.</p> <p>The story made headlines across the globe, as police called the deaths suspicious.</p> <p>Theories have swirled about who might have wanted to kill the founder of Canadian generic drug giant Apotex and his philanthropic wife – being one of Canada's richest couples.</p> <p>Investigators have worked to connect the dots however, five years later, no arrests have been made. On this week's anniversary of the killings, the Shermans' son offered an additional $25 million (A$37 million) for information leading to an arrest.</p> <p>The reward is now $52 million.</p> <p>"This week marks the five-year anniversary since my parents were murdered in their home. Every day since then has been a nightmare. I have been overwhelmed with pain, loss, and sorrow and these feelings only continuously compound," Jonathon Sherman said in a statement announcing the reward money.</p> <p>"Closure will not be possible until those responsible for this evil act are brought to justice," he added.</p> <p>The victims' prominence meant the case was high profile from the start. At the time of his death, Forbes estimated Barry was worth $4.5 billion.</p> <p>The Shermans' wealth, vast investments and philanthropy work saw them cross paths with Canada's business and political elites, their funeral was attended by thousands of people, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Kathleen Wynne, premier of the province of Ontario.</p> <p>At the service an emotional Jonathon Sherman took the stage, with his three sisters, and slammed speculation that their parents died by suicide.</p> <p>Police later concluded someone had killed them, only six weeks after the bodies were found, Toronto police announced a review of evidence showed they were victims of a homicide, saying they believed the couple was targeted.</p> <p>With no forced signs of entry to the property, it's possible someone had a key, had access to the lockbox that held the keys or was known to the couple, Gomes said.</p> <p>In 2021, police asked for help identifying a shadowy suspect.</p> <p>After years of silence, police made a shocking announcement on the fourth anniversary of the couple's deaths last year, sharing a video of a shadowy person caught on security video walking on the snow-covered sidewalks in the couple's North York neighborhood.</p> <p>The Sherman children say the lack of answers adds to their grief. It's been five years since the murders and there have been no major developments. True crime podcasts have even have tried to unravel intrigue surrounding the deaths.</p> <p>In a statement to the CBC, her brother, Jonathon Sherman, echoed the same sentiment, saying the family will never get closure until the killer is brought to justice.</p> <p>The siblings reminded the public of the $52 million in reward money and pleaded for anyone with information to contact the Toronto Police Service.</p> <p><em>Image: AP</em></p>

Legal

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Paramedic who attended fatal accident did not realise it was her own daughter

<p><strong><em>WARNING: Distressing content</em></strong></p> <p>A paramedic who unknowingly responded to a serious car crash, involving her own daughter has publicly spoken out about the tragedy.</p> <p>Jayme Erickson from Alberta, Canada was dispatched to a collision at 4:30 pm on November 15 and tended to two injured patients.</p> <p>One of the patients was critically injured and trapped inside a vehicle.</p> <p>In a Facebook post, Erickson explained she tended to the critically injured person trying to free them from the wreckage.</p> <p>Once the air ambulance arrived and took over, Erickson’s shift was done for the day and she went home. However, once she walked through the door, she received the life changing news that her daughter was involved in an accident.</p> <p>“The Royal Canadian Mountain Police were at my door to inform me that my daughter had been in an accident,” Erickson wrote.</p> <p>“The critically injured patient I had just attended to was my own flesh and blood. My only child. My mini-me. My daughter, Montana.”</p> <p>Erickson said she had not recognised the patient as her own daughter because of the horrific nature of her injuries.</p> <p>She rushed to hospital where she was told her 17-year-old would not make it.</p> <p>“I will cherish the memories we made and the time we had together. I am shattered. I am broken. I am missing a piece of me. I am left to pick up the pieces and expected to carry on,” Erickson wrote.</p> <p>Erickson fronted the media on Wednesday, a week after the crash, alongside her co-workers and friends and family.</p> <p>Speaking about her unimaginable loss, several colleagues comforted Erickson when she began to break down.</p> <p>“(Montana) meant the world to all of us,” she said.</p> <p>“This tragedy is not only felt here by this community, it’s felt throughout the province and maybe even the country.</p> <p>“I think every first responder can relate to the pain that we’re feeling. Nobody wants to go through anything like this.”</p> <p>Erickson described her daughter as a “firecracker” and a “fighter”.</p> <p>“She fought until the day she died,” she said.</p> <p>A fundraiser has been set up to help Montana’s parents as they try to navigate the world without their daughter.</p> <p><em>Image: Nine News</em></p> <p>A paramedic who unknowingly responded to a serious car crash, involving her own daughter has publicly spoken out about the tragedy.</p> <p>Jayme Erickson from Alberta, Canada was dispatched to a collision at 4:30 pm on November 15 and tended to two injured patients.</p> <p>One of the patients was critically injured and trapped inside a vehicle.</p> <p>In a Facebook post, Erickson explained she tended to the critically injured person trying to free them from the wreckage.</p> <p>Once the air ambulance arrived and took over, Erickson’s shift was done for the day and she went home. However, once she walked through the door, she received the life changing news that her daughter was involved in an accident.</p> <p>“The Royal Canadian Mountain Police were at my door to inform me that my daughter had been in an accident,” Erickson wrote.</p> <p>“The critically injured patient I had just attended to was my own flesh and blood. My only child. My mini-me. My daughter, Montana.”</p> <p>Erickson said she had not recognised the patient as her own daughter because of the horrific nature of her injuries.</p> <p>She rushed to hospital where she was told her 17-year-old would not make it.</p> <p>“I will cherish the memories we made and the time we had together. I am shattered. I am broken. I am missing a piece of me. I am left to pick up the pieces and expected to carry on,” Erickson wrote.</p> <p>Erickson fronted the media on Wednesday, a week after the crash, alongside her co-workers and friends and family.</p> <p>Speaking about her unimaginable loss, several colleagues comforted Erickson when she began to break down.</p> <p>“(Montana) meant the world to all of us,” she said.</p> <p>“This tragedy is not only felt here by this community, it’s felt throughout the province and maybe even the country.</p> <p>“I think every first responder can relate to the pain that we’re feeling. Nobody wants to go through anything like this.”</p> <p>Erickson described her daughter as a “firecracker” and a “fighter”.</p> <p>“She fought until the day she died,” she said.</p> <p>A fundraiser has been set up to help Montana’s parents as they try to navigate the world without their daughter.</p> <p><em>Image: Nine News</em></p>

Caring

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Shock death of former Miss Canada at just 21

<p>Young Canadian influencer and model Tanya Pardazi has tragically died while learning to skydive.</p> <p>At only 21, Pardazi was involved in a solo skydiving incident on August 27, in Innisfail Ontario.</p> <p>“The skydiver released a quickly rotating main parachute at a low altitude without the time/altitude required for the reserve parachute to inflate,” Skydive Toronto said in a statement.</p> <p>Pardazi was a philosophy student at the University of Toronto, and had gained a large following of over 95,000 on TikTok.</p> <p>Tanya was also a model, cheerleader and former Miss Canada contestant who talked all things self-esteem, relationships, make-up and animals with her diverse fanbase.</p> <p>“What Tanya did during 21 years, I think many people fail to fulfill even in 80 or 90 years,” said the eulogist at her funeral, according to Canada’s National Post.</p> <p>The University of Toronto cheer squad shared a heart-warming tribute on Instagram. “Forever part of our team and in our hearts, Tanya Pardazi was one in a million.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch5wx12vFLm/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch5wx12vFLm/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by UTSC Cheer (@utsccheerleading)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Skydive Toronto also paid tribute to Pardazi, saying it was currently working with police amid an investigation into Pardazi’s death.</p> <p>"She really lived every second to the fullest," said her close friend Melody Oz.</p> <p>"This is the biggest shock to us. It's very hard to process. It's been a couple of days, but we still don't even believe it."</p> <p><em>Images: TikTok / Instagram</em></p>

News

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Veteran newsreader reportedly fired for "going grey"

<p>A veteran newsreader has reportedly been fired from one of Canada’s most-watched television news programs after "going grey". </p> <p>Lisa LaFlamme announced she would be leaving the CTV National News presenter said she was “blindsided” and left “shocked and saddened” by the allegedly sudden decision to end her contract.</p> <p>“At 58, I still thought I’d have a lot more time to tell more of the stories that impact our daily lives,” she said in the Twitter video.</p> <p>“It is crushing to be leaving CTV National News in a manner that is not my choice.”</p> <p>The news anchor said she was asked to keep the details of her termination confidential, as the company released a statement saying the decision had nothing to do with LaFlamme’s hair colour or age and was simply “a business decision”.</p> <p>LaFlamme, like many people around the world, stopped dying her previously brown hair throughout the pandemic, a decision she told viewers she wished she had made sooner.</p> <p>“I finally said, ‘Why bother? I’m going grey.’ Honestly, if I had known the lockdown could be so liberating on that front I would have done it a lot sooner,” she said during the network’s year-in-review special.</p> <p>LaFlamme has been in the anchor job since 2011 but has been with the news outlet for 35 years, and still had two years left on her contract at the time of the “blindside”.</p> <p>Bell Media, which owns CTV National News, said it knew many viewers would be disappointed LaFlamme “would be leaving her position”, and regretted the way the news had been revealed.</p> <p>It added it would launch an independent investigation into newsroom practices.</p> <p>“CTV regrets that the way in which the news of her departure has been communicated may have left viewers with the wrong impression about how CTV regards Lisa and her remarkable career,” Bell Media tweeted in a statement.</p> <p>“We have always taken matters regarding any discrimination very seriously and are committed to a safe, inclusive and respectful work environment for all our employees, devoid of any toxic behaviour."</p> <p>“Consistent with our policies, we are taking steps to initiate an independent third-party internal workplace review of our newsroom, which will take place over the following weeks.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: CTV News</em></p>

TV

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Long Covid sufferer applies for voluntary euthanasia

<p>After suffering with long Covid for over two years, a Canadian woman believes she has been left with no choice but to apply for voluntary euthanasia. </p> <p>Tracey Thompson, a Toronto resident in her 50s, told <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-woman-enduring-effects-of-long-covid-begins-process-for-medically-assisted-death-1.5976944" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link-type="article-inline">CTV News</a> she had begun the process of applying for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), due to extreme fatigue and a lack of financial support.</p> <p>Tracey used to work long hours as a chef, but has been unable to work for the last 26 months, with no foreseeable end to her forced unemployment.</p> <p>“(MAiD) is exclusively a financial consideration,” she said.</p> <p>“My choices are basically to die slowly and painfully, or quickly. Those are the options that are left.”</p> <p>As well as a lack of financial support, Tracey has experienced long Covid symptoms such as severe fatigue, blurred vision, difficulty digesting food, difficulty breathing, an altered sense of taste and smell, and scars on her heart from swelling due to myocarditis.</p> <p>While health experts say long Covid is difficult to diagnosis, it is estimated that five percent of those who contract the virus will go on to have long term symptoms. </p> <p>Tracey also told CTV that she now struggles to get up and look after herself, which is very different to her previous fast paced life in a physically demanding job. </p> <p>“From being able-bodied and employed to basically bed-bound,” she said.</p> <p>“I can’t get up on average for 20-plus hours. I have very little capacity to expend the energy physically, mentally and emotionally, so I try to stay home all the time.”</p> <p>But Thompson stressed she still enjoys life and doesn’t want to die, but doesn’t think she could survive without an income.</p> <p>“I still enjoy life. Birds chirping, small things that make up a day are still pleasant to me, they’re still enjoyable. I still enjoy my friends. There’s a lot to enjoy in life, even if it’s small,” she said.</p> <p>“But I don’t relish the idea of suffering for months to come to the same conclusion."</p> <p>“When support is not coming, things aren’t going to change. It seems irrational to put myself through that just to die in the end.”</p> <p>While Tracey is unsure if she would be eligible for the Ontario Disability Support Program, she believes the maximum monthly payment would only just cover her rent, leading her to apply for the drastic action of voluntary euthanasia. </p> <p>In Canada, you do not need to have a terminal illness to be eligible for MAiD, but rather have an illness that “cannot be relieved under conditions that you consider acceptable”.</p> <p>Thompson said she was confident she would get approval.</p> <p>“As best I know, I would meet the criteria,” she said.</p> <p>"I'm very ill. There is no treatment. There is no cure."</p> <p><em>Image credits: CTV</em></p>

Caring

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Restaurant in strife for accepting puppy pics instead of vaccination proof 

<p>A restaurant in Canada was ordered to temporarily cease its indoor dining services after it was discovered that customers were being allowed a seat after presenting cute dog photos instead of proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or negative test results, health officials said.</p><p>Alberta Health Services issued the closure order Friday after it investigated complaints about the Granary Kitchen in Red Deer.</p><p>Two investigators posing as customers visited the restaurant at different times after providing photos and personal identification to restaurant staff, the agency said in the order.</p><p>“In both instances, facility staff used a tablet to make it appear as if they were scanning a QR code, when in fact the staff member was presented with a photograph of a dog,” the agency said.</p><p>“The staff member then proceeded to ask the test shopper for personal identification and offered dine-in services.”<br />The restaurant was ordered to close its indoor dining area and submit a written COVID-19 compliance plan that follows the province’s indoor dining rules.</p><p>In a Facebook post Friday, the restaurant called the incident “an unfortunate circumstance at our front door which involved one of our underage hostesses”.</p><p>“We are taking the weekend to retrain and regroup,” the restaurant said.</p><p>“We look forward to serving you again as soon as we are ready to reopen.</p><p>"In closing we would like to remind everyone of the tremendous pressure being placed on front staff, and please remember to be kind.”</p><p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Food & Wine

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"Poise under pressure": Woman snaps selfie as car sinks in ice

<p><em>Image: Twitter<br /></em></p> <p>A woman In Canada has been criticised for appearing to take a selfie from the roof of her submerged car as it sunk in a frozen lake.</p> <p>The woman’s car became submerged after breaking through ice on the Rideau River in Ottawa on Sunday afternoon, requiring her to be rescued. Ottawa Police tweeted that local residents had come to her aid using “a kayak and quick thinking”.</p> <p>Video obtained by 580 CFRA shows people rushing towards the woman with a kayak as she stands on top of her yellow car.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">NEW: Neighbours use kayaks to rescue driver after car crashes through ice in Manotick <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottnews?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ottnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/dhANorovWK">https://t.co/dhANorovWK</a></p> — CTV Ottawa (@ctvottawa) <a href="https://twitter.com/ctvottawa/status/1482873513782525952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2022</a></blockquote> <p>Resident Zachary King told CTV News Ottawa he and his neighbour Rob Crober were the ones who rescued the woman. "It’s like everything worked out perfectly,” he told the station.</p> <p>“Got her on the kayak, pulled her in. And as soon as we pulled her in, the car went under. Fully."</p> <p>Video shot by resident Sacha Gera appears to show the woman driving on the ice at speed ahead of the rescue. It was reported that nobody was injured.</p> <p>Police said it served as an example that people should not drive across ice even when it looks safe.</p> <p>It seems the woman spent her time waiting to be rescued snapping a selfie while on the roof of her car. “She captured the moment with a selfie while people hurried and worried to help her,” Lynda Douglas tweeted, along with a photo.</p> <p>“Any time you are in a dangerous situation, you should not be taking selfies or doing anything distracting. You should be 100 per cent focused on being safe,” another man tweeted.</p> <p>However, others were far less critical. “She's waiting to be rescued. What the hell else is she supposed to do?” one man tweeted.</p> <p>“I appreciate her poise under pressure.”</p> <p>Regardless, the drive on the ice has proven costly for the woman, with her car being written off. Police have also charged her with an offence.</p>

Travel Trouble

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Rowdy passengers stranded in Mexico by airlines

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A group of rowdy travellers have been stranded in the Mexican city of Cancun after their in-flight conduct saw several airlines refuse to take them home. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The group flew from Montreal, Canada, on December 30th onboard a charter flight organised by “exclusive private group” 111 Private Club. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Videos have since emerged from the party that took place in the sky, showing travellers drinking, smoking and dancing in the aisles, which has caused outrage in Canada. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The incident is being investigated by Transport Canada, with the passengers each facing hefty fines. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "extremely frustrated" with the incident.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"It's a slap in the face to see people putting themselves, putting their fellow citizens, putting airline workers at risk by being completely irresponsible," Trudeau said at a recent briefing.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Passengers flying from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canada?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canada</a> to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cancun?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cancun</a> take to partying during flight 🃏 <a href="https://t.co/BhxPax28QH">pic.twitter.com/BhxPax28QH</a></p> — Public Outsider (@publicoutsider) <a href="https://twitter.com/publicoutsider/status/1479232708479967233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Event organiser and TripleOne president James William Awad took to his blog after the videos from the plane went viral, saying, "I understand why many fellow citizens are upset about the current situation."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The airline has cancelled the group’s return flight, which was scheduled for January 5th, because the travellers did not adhere to the terms outlined by the airline. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both Air Canada and Air Transat have refused to fly the group back to Canada, citing the safety of their crew and other passengers had to be taken into account. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Transport Canada said that each of the travellers could face fines of up to $5,000 Canadian dollars for their behaviour on the aircraft, while also facing the risk of jail time if any traveller is caught providing false information on their return to Canada. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Instagram</span></em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Hulu’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ casts Canada as a racial utopia

<p>When Hulu’s series <em>The Handmaid’s Tale</em> premiered in 2017, reviewers noted <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/arts/television/review-the-handmaids-tale-creates-a-chilling-mans-world.html">its gripping drama and dystopian exploration</a> of rape culture and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/26/the-handmaids-tale-year-trump-misogyny-metoo">misogyny at a time when both were hallmarks of Donald Trump’s presidency</a>.</p> <p>The series is adapted from Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel. It has won numerous awards and was recently renewed for <a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a35130606/handmaids-tale-season-5-news-date-cast-spoilers-trailer/">a fifth season</a>. But some commentators, including writer Ellen E. Jones, have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jul/31/the-handmaids-tales-race-problem">criticized the series for its use of colour-blind casting that created inclusivity but otherwise ignored race in storylines</a>. Others, including Noah Berlatsky, have analyzed how both the series and novel <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/15/15808530/handmaids-tale-hulu-margaret-atwood-black-history-racial-erasure">erase Black people’s history</a>.</p> <p>Our research examines representations of <a href="https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/R/Race-in-Young-Adult-Speculative-Fiction">race in speculative fiction</a> and of <a href="https://www.mqup.ca/reading-between-the-borderlines-products-9780773555136.php">Canada in U.S. literature</a>, leading us to notice how Hulu’s series represents race and national difference.</p> <p>The show positions Canada as a morally superior nation that has rejected the dystopian society’s repressive and exclusionist thinking. This is especially apparent in Season 4’s focus on characters’ escape to Canada, a theme that references older abolitionist narratives. In so doing, the show obscures Canada’s history of slavery, colonialism and racism.</p> <p><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/81PyH5TH-NQ?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> </p> <h2>Atwood’s dystopian world</h2> <p>Both the novel and show draw on U.S. history to imagine a dystopian world facing an unexplained fertility crisis. Gilead, a <a href="https://lithub.com/margaret-atwood-on-how-she-came-to-write-the-handmaids-tale">theocratic nation led by religious fundamentalists</a>, has overthrown the U.S. government. Atwood’s female narrator is an <a href="https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA206534450&amp;sid=googleScholar&amp;v=2.1&amp;it=r&amp;linkaccess=abs&amp;issn=00294047&amp;p=AONE&amp;sw=w&amp;userGroupName=anon%7Ec0791e64">educated white woman</a> forced to become a “handmaid.” Each month, a commander rapes her in a religious fertility ceremony. Babies born to handmaids are raised by commanders and their wives. The sole purpose of the handmaids is to rebuild Gilead’s population.</p> <p>Writer Priya Nair explains that Atwood’s novel draws on the historical <a href="https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/anti-blackness-handmaids-tale">oppression of Black enslaved women and applies it to fictional white women</a>. For example, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Dark-Horizons-Science-Fiction-and-the-Dystopian-Imagination/Moylan-Baccolini/p/book/9780415966146">handmaids who are disobedient</a> are beaten or hanged.</p> <p>Despite clear parallels to slavery, Atwood only obliquely references slavery when the narrator <a href="https://msmagazine.com/2017/05/02/whats-not-said-handmaids-tale/">explains that the “Children of Ham</a>” have been relocated to the Dakotas. “Children of Ham” is a Biblical phrase that was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/01/arts/from-noah-s-curse-to-slavery-s-rationale.html">used historically to justify enslaving Africans</a>.</p> <p>Nair also notes that the novel focuses on white women’s oppression, while seemingly ignoring “the historical realities of an American dystopia founded on anti-Black violence.”</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433508/original/file-20211123-26-1jbixok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="A crowd of women, of white, Black and Asian identities, seen in cloaks and bonnets." /> <span class="caption">Actors are seen at the filming of Handmaid’s Tale at Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., February 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Victoria Pickering/Flickr)</span>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" class="license">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></p> <p>While the novel relies on historical experiences of Black Americans, its characters are predominantly white, a feature of Gilead that Atwood maintains in the 2019 follow-up <em>The Testaments</em>. As reviewer Danielle Kurtzleben notes, in this second instalment: “<a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/03/755868251/the-testaments-takes-us-back-to-gilead-for-a-fast-paced-female-centered-adventur">Readers hoping to hear more about race in Gilead will be sorely disappointed</a>.”</p> <p>Atwood intentionally framed Gilead as both misogynist and racist: <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/15/15808530/handmaids-tale-hulu-margaret-atwood-black-history-racial-erasure">the theocracy is interested only in reproducing white babies and, therefore, only enslaving white women</a>.</p> <h2>Colour-blind casting in Hulu’s adaptation</h2> <p>In adapting the novel, Hulu relied on a diverse cast of actors. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005253/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">White actor Elisabeth Moss</a> plays June and <a href="https://blackbookmag.com/arts-culture/essay-the-handmaids-tale-star-o-t-fagbenle-on-racial-fairness-in-the-entertainment-industry/">Black British actor</a> <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1282966/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">O-T Fagbenle</a> portrays her husband Luke. <a href="https://www.bustle.com/p/samira-wiley-on-doing-right-by-her-handmaids-tale-character-her-wife-the-queer-black-community-herself-8732193">Black actor</a> <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4148126/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">Samira Wiley</a> was cast as June’s best friend Moira. Actors of colour portray characters of all class positions in Gilead’s society.</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433506/original/file-20211123-25-401rkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt="A Black woman dressed glamorously in red lipstick is seen arriving at an event in front of a Hulu / Handmaid's Tale sign." /></p> <p><span class="caption">Samira Wiley, who plays Moira, arrives for ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ FYC Phase 2 Event in August 2017 in Los Angeles, Calif.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></p> <p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0588005/">Executive producer Bruce Miller</a> acknowledges that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jul/31/the-handmaids-tales-race-problem">he cast actors of colour</a> in many roles to avoid creating an all-white world, which would result in a racist TV show. The show doesn’t address race, he explained, because: “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jul/31/the-handmaids-tales-race-problem">It just felt like in a world where birth rates have fallen so precipitously, fertility would trump everything</a>.”</p> <p>The show then relies on colour-blind casting and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/06/16/the-handmaids-tale-proves-that-colorblind-casting-isnt-enough/">colour-blind storytelling</a>.</p> <p>In Atwood’s novel, Canada is <a href="https://the-handmaids-tale.fandom.com/wiki/Canada">the place to which handmaids escape</a>, fleeing there on the Underground Femaleroad — a term that clearly invokes <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/underground-railroad">the Underground Railroad</a>.</p> <p>In Hulu’s series, handmaids — <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5931656/?ref_=ttep_ep10">including Moira</a> — escape from Gilead to Canada where they find protection and safety, and are able to rebuild their lives. The series draws on older literary traditions that have been integral to maintaining the myth of Canada as free from racism.</p> <h2>Draws on abolitionist narratives</h2> <p>In the 1840s and 1850s, U.S. abolitionist authors intentionally represented Canada as a racial haven. By casting <a href="https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/jcs.2020-0025">Canada as morally superior</a>, abolitionists imagined what the U.S. might look like if slavery were abolished.</p> <p>Abolitionist authors like Black songwriter and poet <a href="https://southernspaces.org/2020/white-people-america-1854/">Joshua McCarter Simpson</a> and white novelist <a href="https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/harriet-beecher-stowe/harriet-beecher-stowe-life/">Harriet Beecher Stowe</a> celebrated Canada as a place that resisted racial violence and provided legal protection for Black refugees fleeing U.S. slavery.</p> <p>Some abolitionists sought to capture the nuanced accounts of Black refugees in Canada. Abolitionist editor <a href="https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/drew/drew.html">Benjamin Drew</a> published oral testimonies of Black refugees, including their experiences of racism in Ontario.</p> <p>Others, like Stowe, minimized the difficulties of the lived experiences of Black Canadians, focusing on stories of Black success in Canada. These celebratory narratives dominated representations of Canada in U.S. literature.</p> <h2>Canada as utopia?</h2> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433513/original/file-20211123-20-1n4hkjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt="A group of women in red cloaks and bonnets are seen walking by a cluster of trees outside." /></p> <p><span class="caption">Hulu’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ escape-to-Canada stories draw on historical narratives by abolitionists.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Victoria Pickering/Flickr)</span>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" class="license">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></p> <p><a href="https://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/chairholders-titulaires/profile-eng.aspx?profileId=4528">Literary scholar Nancy Kang</a> argues these abolitionist stories constructed an “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40033673">allegory of Canadian freedom reigning triumphant over American bondage</a>.”</p> <p>Hulu’s <em>The Handmaid’s Tale</em> escape-to-Canada stories draw on these historical narratives. The handmaid Emily, portrayed by white actor <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0088127/">Alexis Bledel</a>, escapes Gilead dramatically, entering Canada by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8363118/?ref_=ttep_ep1">wading across a rushing river</a>, nearly losing June’s daughter. Once across, she weeps over the baby, recreating an iconic scene from Stowe’s <a href="http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/uncletom/uthp.html"><em>Uncle Tom’s Cabin</em></a>, when the enslaved Eliza escapes slave-catchers by fleeing across a river with her child.</p> <p>Later in the episode, an Asian Canadian doctor welcomes Emily to Canada, saying: “You’re safe here.”</p> <p>On some level, Hulu’s use of colour-blind casting, as Berlatsky notes, “addresses the narrative’s debt to African-American history.” But viewers are still watching an adaptation of a novel whose emotional horror is based on imagining violent, racist aspects of U.S. history <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/15/15808530/handmaids-tale-hulu-margaret-atwood-black-history-racial-erasure">as if the atrocities happened to white people</a>.</p> <h2>Myths of Canada</h2> <p>The series avoids Canada’s history of anti-Black racism, slavery and state violence against Black bodies, as detailed by gender studies and Black/African diaspora scholar <a href="https://wgsi.utoronto.ca/person/robyn-maynard/">Robyn Maynard</a> in <a href="https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/policing-black-lives"><em>Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present</em></a>. It also overlooks Canada’s colonial <a href="https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1450124405592/1529106060525">violence toward Indigenous peoples</a>. These <a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-shameful-history-of-sterilizing-indigenous-women-107876">forms of violence</a> are intertwined with seeking control over women’s reproductive rights and sexual freedom.</p> <p>The series also overlooks Canada’s history of <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chinese-immigration-act">racist immigration</a> <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/auschwitz-jews-not-welcome-in-wartime-canada">and asylum</a> policies.</p> <p>Hulu’s series does explore some of the consequences of patriarchal oppression. But the show’s positioning of Canada as a racial haven obscures <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/racism">its history</a> and the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/m_blog/dont-believe-the-hype-canada-is-not-a-nation-of-cultural-tolerance">contemporary reality of racism</a> experienced by BIPOC women and communities in Canada.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167766/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/miranda-green-barteet-1254372">Miranda Green-Barteet</a>, Associate Professor, Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-university-882">Western University</a></em> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alyssa-maclean-1261523">Alyssa MacLean</a>, Assistant Professor, Department of English and Writing Studies, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-university-882">Western University</a></em></span></p> <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/hulus-the-handmaids-tale-casts-canada-as-a-racial-utopia-167766">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: Hulu</em></p>

TV

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The mansion from Schitt's Creek is on the market, again

<p>The Toronto mansion from the Emmy-award winning comedy<span> </span><em>Schitt's Creek<span> </span></em>is up for sale for the second time this year, which means we get to peek inside and see what the Rose family home looks like in all of its splendour.</p> <p>It comes with a $23.5 million price tag, and has been on the market off and on since 2018. The 12-bedroom, 16-bathroom home looks like a royal European estate, but it was built just seven years ago; however, in a nod to the culture that inspired it, it's known as La Belle Maison, which is French for 'The Beautiful Home'.</p> <p>The home was shown in the pilot episode of<span> </span><em>Schitt's Creek,<span> </span></em>and served as the background to the scenes chronicling the Rose family's fall from grace; viewers saw all of their worldly possessions getting repossessed as they learned their business manager had stolen all of their money while standing in the home's grand foyer. The home was also seen in flashbacks throughout the series.</p> <p>La Belle Maison was built in 2012, and was designed by its current owner, Canadian property developer Van Lapoyan. The three-story, 2223-square-metre home features amenities such as both indoor and outdoor pools, a home theatre, a custom stone-paved circular driveway with parking for 14 cars, Sistine Chapel-inspired frescoes and a massive banquet hall that can seat up to 150 guests.</p> <p>Click through the gallery to take a peek inside the ostentatious Canadian chateau.</p> <p><em>Image: Property Vision</em></p>

Real Estate

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Investigation launched after 38 dead puppies found on plane

<p><span>Workers were confronted with a tragic scene after a Ukrainian International Airlines plane arrived in Toronto after what is usually a routine 10-hour flight.</span></p> <p><span>Inside were 500 crated puppies, according to Canadian authorities. Many were dehydrated, weak and vomiting. 38 of them were found dead.</span></p> <p><span>The horrifying discovery on June 13 began an investigation by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. And it shed light on a growing international market for dogs, which lawmakers say needs more restrictions.</span></p> <p><span>“The number of dogs imported into the U.S. has skyrocketed in the past few years, and we are screening less than one percent of them,” Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-La.), a veterinarian who last month co-sponsored a bipartisan bill called the Healthy Dog Importation Act, said in an email. “We need to do more to protect these animals and those already in the country.“</span></p> <p><span>Details about the flight remain relatively unknown, including whether Canadian authorities were aware of the large number of puppies arriving into the city. The government, which claims to have “rigorous standards” when it comes to importing animals, has released very little information. </span></p> <p><span>Ukraine International Airlines said in a statement on Friday that it regretted the “tragic loss of animal life” and is working with local authorities to make “any changes necessary to prevent such a situation from occurring again.”</span></p> <p><span>Animal advocates said flying 500 dogs on a single plane is unusual, if not unprecedented. Dogs require water and other care when being crated on tarmac and during flights, said Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of the Humane Society International in Canada.</span></p> <p><span>“You’re relying on the staff of the airport and the airline to do that care,” she said. “If those animals are transported in those numbers, it would be physically impossible to provide that kind of care.”</span></p> <p><span>The puppies flown from Ukraine were French bulldogs, according to Canadian news reports. The breed is one of several brachycephalic, or snub-nosed dogs, which are known to be so vulnerable to respiratory problems that some US airlines refuse to transport them.</span></p>

Travel Trouble

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Justin Trudeau’s 21-second pause after Donald Trump question

<p>Justin Trudeau paused for 21 seconds when asked Tuesday about Donald Trump’s use of tear gas against protesters to make way for a photo opportunity.</p> <p>During a press conference at Rideau Cottage, the Canadian Prime Minister was asked for comments on the US President’s call for military action against protesters demonstrating police brutality and the killing of George Floyd.</p> <p>Trudeau, who is usually quick in answering questions, paused and made several false starts before giving his response.</p> <p>“We all watch in horror and consternation at what is going on in the United States,” he said.</p> <p>“It is a time to pull people together… but it is a time to listen. It is a time to learn, when injustices continue despite progress over years and decades.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">‘We all watch in horror and consternation what's going on in the United States,’ said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, reacting to U.S. federal police removing protesters from outside the White House. Follow our live updates here: <a href="https://t.co/8f7EFQVqWs">https://t.co/8f7EFQVqWs</a> <a href="https://t.co/gwuibxOa3o">pic.twitter.com/gwuibxOa3o</a></p> — Reuters (@Reuters) <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1267902555176292353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>Trudeau went on to talk about the need to fight racism in Canada.</p> <p>“It is a time for us as Canadians to recognize that we, too, have our challenges – that black Canadians and racialized Canadians face discrimination as a lived reality every single day,” he said.</p> <p>On Monday, police forcibly removed several thousands of peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square across the White House ahead of Trump’s visit to St John’s Episcopal Church.</p> <p>In his speech in the Rose Garden, Trump declared he would be a “law and order president” as tear gas guns were fired in the background.</p> <p>He said if state governors refuse to deploy the National Guard to “dominate the streets”, he would call on the military to “quickly solve the problem for them”.</p> <p>Protests have taken place across the US after 46-year-old Floyd died in custody on May 25, when officers responded to a call from a grocery store claiming he had used a forged $20 bill.</p> <p>A video shows police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck, pinning him down for more than eight minutes, while three other officers watched as Floyd pleaded that he could not breathe.</p>

News

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Canada to stop paying for Harry and Meghan's security in just weeks

<p>The cost of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s security will no longer be covered by the Canadian government as soon as they step back from their royal duties, it has been announced.</p> <p>By March 31, Canada will stop providing security for the pair and their son ahead of Megxit.</p> <p>The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have been assisting the Metropolitan Police with security for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “intermittently” since November, when the couple first travelled to Canada for a six-week holiday.</p> <p>The Canadian government statement said: “As the Duke and Duchess are currently recognised as Internationally Protected Persons, Canada has an obligation to provide security assistance on an as-needed basis,” the government statement said.</p> <p>“The assistance will cease in the coming weeks, in keeping with their change in status.”</p> <p>The announcement comes as news arose that Harry and Meghan had every intention to “continue to require effective security by the Metropolitan Police to protect them and their son”.</p> <p>Under the new arrangement agreed with the Queen, the couple will no longer carry out any official royal duties on the Firm’s behalf and will refrain from using their HRH titles.</p> <p>In a <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://sussexroyal.com/spring-2020-transition/" target="_blank">statement</a> released on Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s website, the couple reiterated that they “will continue to require effective security to protect them and their son”.</p> <p>They couple cite that due to Harry’s public profile “by virtue of being born into the royal family”, his military service and Meghan’s own “independent profile” as reasons.</p> <p>They said no other details could be shared as this was “classified information for safety reasons”.</p>

International Travel

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The hotel that offers free stays for couples who make babies

<p><span>This Valentine’s Day, a Canadian hotel is raising the game with a special offer.</span></p> <p><span>Hotel Zed is bringing back its Nooner Valentine’s Day promotion for the fifth year in a row, inviting couples to book a four-hour room for CA$59. </span></p> <p><span>However, there’s a new twist this year: If a pair welcomes a baby into their lives nine months after the Nooner stay, they will win a free stay at any Hotel Zed of their choice for the next 18 years.</span></p> <p><span>“I don’t think we’re going to convince someone who’s not thinking about having a baby to have a baby. But if you’re serious about expanding your family, why wouldn’t you try?” Hotel Zed CEO Mandy Farmer told <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/hotel-zed-valentines-special-offer/index.html"><em>CNN</em></a>. </span></p> <p><span>“If you succeed, you’ll win a way to celebrate your baby’s conception for the next 18 years.”</span></p> <p><span>Farmer told <a href="https://www.insider.com/canadian-hotel-zed-offers-free-stays-for-couples-who-can-make-babies-during-a-valentines-day-promo-2020-1"><em>Insider</em></a> the prize might give the lucky winners “a new annual tradition”. “Definitely beats a stale box of chocolate or another flower bouquet!”</span></p> <p><span>Conception is not the only way couples can win the prize. The promotion is open to everyone regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation, and therefore applies to pairs who welcome their baby through adoption or surrogacy.</span></p> <p><span>Couples are required to submit documentation with dates to receive the <a href="https://www.hotelzed.com/specials/valentine-s-day-nooner-baby-maker/">Nooner Baby Maker prize</a>.</span></p>

International Travel

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Family’s heartbreak as man dies on flight to Brisbane

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An Air Canada flight bound for Australia has been diverted to Honolulu after a passenger died mid-flight.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Christopher Woodgate, 38, was pronounced dead when the fight landed in Honolulu on Saturday, said Kira Paiva-Kimura, according to </span><em><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/man-dies-on-air-canada-flight-to-brisbane-with-family/d82e9073-3439-4d8f-b517-0dfc51e41b8d"><span style="font-weight: 400;">9News</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The flight departed from Vancouver and was headed to Brisbane but diverted due to a medical emergency, according to Peter Fitzpatrick, an Air Canada spokesman.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The man had been sick prior to the flight, according to Jessica Lani Rich of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The man was travelling with five children, his wife and another family member.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The organisation, which provides assistance to visitors in distress, organised a nurse to care overnight for an 11-year-old passenger travelling alone.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There were 257 passengers and 13 crew members on the flight.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The airline provided passengers with hotel and food vouchers and the passengers left Honolulu on Sunday on a different flight.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chris Woodgate’s wife has since explained how her husband died, leaving their three young children without a father.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I have been contacted by the Health Department who informed me that Chris passed away from a non-contagious strand of meningitis,” Ms Woodgate told </span><em><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/auhome/index.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Daily Mail.</span></a></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meningitis is a serious bacterial infection that can cause death in a matter of hours if not treated.</span></p>

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Duchess Meghan spotted at first public engagement since Megxit

<p><span>Duchess Meghan has been spotted in Canada at her first outing since she and Prince Harry announced their plan of resigning as senior members of the royal family.</span></p> <p><span>The Duchess of Sussex visited the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre in Vancouver on Tuesday local time to meet with volunteers and workers.</span></p> <p><span>The organisation, which was established in 1978, supports women and children in the area by providing food, refuge and shelter as well as peer mentorship, advocacy and skills development.</span></p> <p><span>The Duchess’ visit was impromptu, reports said.</span></p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FDowntownEastsideWomensCentre%2Fphotos%2Fa.874291395992830%2F2815075718581045%2F%3Ftype%3D3&amp;width=500" width="500" height="491" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p><span>The Sussexes spent six weeks on Vancouver Island over Christmas and returned to the UK for an engagement. After announcing their resignation plan last week, Duchess Meghan went back to Canada, where her son Archie had stayed.</span></p> <p><span>Prince Harry is expected to return to Canada soon following his engagement on Thursday, <em><a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a30524625/meghan-markle-vancouver-womens-center-canada-photo/">Town &amp; Country</a> </em>reported.</span></p>

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Where Prince Harry, Duchess Meghan and Baby Archie will live in Canada

<p><span>The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are set to spend more time in Canada as they begin a “period of transition” from their roles as senior royal members.</span></p> <p><span>Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan stunned the world last week with their announcement that they plan to become financially independent and live between the UK and North America.</span></p> <p><span>On Monday, Queen Elizabeth confirmed in a statement that Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s North American home will be in Canada.</span></p> <p><span>“There will be a period of transition in which the Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the UK,” the statement read.</span></p> <p><span>The couple has also brought their two dogs to Canada, <em><a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a30502667/meghan-markle-prince-harry-archie-dogs-canada/">Town &amp; Country</a> </em>reported, indicating their plan to stay in the country further. </span></p> <p><span>It is not yet known where in Canada the royal couple will reside, but observers have made <a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a30471322/meghan-markle-prince-harry-archie-sussex-home-north-america/">predictions</a>.</span></p> <p><span>A popular guess is Toronto, where the Duchess lived for seven years while filming the TV show <em>Suits</em>. In <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/meghan-markle-canada-guide-toronto-hangouts-a4330191.html">2015</a>, Duchess Meghan said the city provided her with privacy. “It’s really funny because I think as much of a big city as Toronto is, it’s so different from LA or New York,” she said. “There [are] no paparazzi so it’s really easy to just have a normal life.”</span></p> <p><span>Another prediction is Vancouver, where the Sussexes recently spent their six-week holiday break. According to <em><a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1111286/inside-meghan-markle-s-daily-life-since-returning-to-canada-amid-royal-family-drama">E!News</a></em>, the Duchess is now in Canada and has returned to the Vancouver Island mansion that she and Prince Harry were staying at throughout their vacation.</span></p> <p><span>Neither Harry nor Meghan are Canadian citizens.</span></p> <p><span>The Queen said of the couple’s resignation and moving plans: “These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days.”</span></p>

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Prince Harry and Meghan considering moving to Canada with baby Archie

<p><span>Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are reportedly considering moving to Canada with their son Archie.</span></p> <p><span>“Meghan and Harry have considered moving to Canada, as it’s part of the Commonwealth,” a source told <em><a href="https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-considering-moving-to-canada/">Us Weekly</a></em>.</span></p> <p><span>The Duchess had previously lived in Canada for several years while filming the TV show <em>Suits</em>.</span></p> <p><em><span><a href="https://www.etonline.com/prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-arent-moving-to-canada-but-want-to-have-extended-trips-in-more">ET</a> </span></em><span>reported the royal couple is “looking very seriously at spending extended periods of time in Commonwealth countries in their role as Commonwealth Ambassadors”. Locations including Australia, Africa, Canada and the Caribbean are being considered for the royals’ upcoming travels, a source said.</span></p> <p><span>However, a source told <em>ET </em>in April that any extended overseas stay would not occur until 2020.</span></p> <p><span>“While details would naturally be formalized over time, with Harry and Meghan’s role as President and Vice President, respectively, of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust, any relocation for an extended period of time would be an opportunity for them to work in their already established humanitarian roles,” the source said.</span></p> <p><span>Currently, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are residing at Frogmore Cottage. </span></p> <p>A source previously told <em>Us</em> that the Duchess enjoys life in Windsor. “She really likes living in Windsor,” the source said. “It’s much less complicated to have friends visit and feels less claustrophobic than Kensington Palace.”</p>

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