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Canada-wide fentanyl crisis prompts university reactions
U of M ramps up opioid awareness alongside other campuses
Se A mu S H A milton-PAtti S on, staff
With overdose deaths linked to the opioid fentanyl reaching new highs in Manitoba over the last three years, the U of M is working on preventative measures to inform and protect the student body.
The number of overdose deaths linked to the illicit drug has risen significantly across Canada in recent years and the University of Manitoba is joining universities throughout the country in developing a campus strategy.
The university has also set up a fentanyl FAQ page online briefly covering the drug’s origins, why students should be concerned, exactly what an overdose looks like, and what to do in the event of one
According to U of M health and wellness educator Katie Kutryk, a National College Health Assessment survey recently conducted at the university shows that less than 0.1 per cent of the surveyed student body has used opioids at all.
But despite the survey, Kutryk said that “the dangers associated with fentanyl should not be dismissed.”
“Students may be inadvertently exposed to fentanyl through contamination or by taking a substance that, unbeknownst to them, is cut with fentanyl,” said Kutryk.
“With that being said, our focus is less on numbers but rather trying to raise awareness of this issue to help our students stay safe and healthy. The fact is that this is an issue that is currently out there and affecting many individuals within our city and country, and has the potential to have a direct impact on the health and safety of individuals within our campus community.”
A recent U of M release stated the university is currently working with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) and Manitoba Health to make naloxone kits – an antidote capable of reversing the lethal effects of an opioid and its delivery system – available through University Health Service.
Kutryk said this decision is purely preventative. “To my knowledge, in my role to date, I am not aware of any instances on campus where a naloxone kit was needed.”
With the spike in fatal fentanylrelated overdoses across Canada, provinces and universities across the country are ordering naloxone kits
en masse.
The provincial government of Manitoba stated their plan to order “some 1,000 overdose reversal kits” to CBC in December, and the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba has been providing regular training sessions to school counsellors and police officers on the use of both the kits and the drug.
The day after its provincial government released multiple public service announcements about the dangers of fentanyl in October, the University of British Columbia had take-home naloxone kits available for free on campus.
The University of Calgary has four naloxone kits available to students through the U of C Wellness Centre. The university provides training for use of the kits, as well as a guarantee of confidentiality. However, despite the kits having been available to students since February, a Metro news interview with the centre’s senior director of access and support Debbie Bruckner revealed that not a single student has come to request a kit.
Kutryk said the U of M is working on student awareness now, and will continue to do so through a variety of means.
“I have worked with different student associations, UMSU, and faculties [and] departments to distribute fentanyl awareness posters throughout the university and our campuses,” said Kutryk.
“The fact is that this is an issue that is currently out there and affecting many individuals within our city and country”
– Katie Kutryk, U of M health and wellness educator
“Speaking from a student support perspective, different departments within our unit directly connect with students or staff, including myself, who have questions or concerns regarding the issue. Information and education is not a one-time thing and is ever-evolving to meet the needs of the community.”
In addition to this, the same U of
M release announcing the university’s plan to acquire naloxone kits featured detailed information on the dangers of fentanyl and what resources are currently available to students in need of help.
The university has also set up a fentanyl FAQ page online briefly covering the drug’s origins, why students should be concerned, exactly what an overdose looks like, and what to do in the event of one.
“We plan on continuing to work with university colleagues as well as community partners such as the WRHA and Manitoba Health to bring education and awareness to the student population as information is available through a variety of modes,” said Kutryk.
Last year in April, a U of M release detailed the findings of a study by university researchers, which revealed half of all patients being prescribed fentanyl patches were at risk of adverse effects that included overdose, respiratory depression, and death. Due to the extremely high potency of fentanyl relative to other opioids, a patient with no prior history or experience with opioids is at risk.
However, Kutryk still supports
safe and monitored fentanyl prescriptions, stating that the drug itself is “not inherently bad.”
“For years, fentanyl – as well as other opioid medications – has been successful when indicated at appropriately treating severe pain if prescribed, dispensed, and used legally,” said Kutryk.
“It’s when it’s used inappropriately that significant risks can arise, as the findings indicate. This is an important study that can assist in not only improving safety of prescribed fentanyl for professionals who are involved with prescribing practices but also help better the education for individuals who use fentanyl to treat their severe pain.”
photo provided by James heilman, md
AESES affiliates with Confederation of Canadian Unions
Support staff union breaks four-decade independent streak in the face of hostile provincial government
oSH o SA muel Adetunji, staff
The Association of Employees Supporting Education Services (AESES) – which represents numerous levels of U of M support staff –is affiliating with a larger, national labour union.
After 43 years acting as an independent organization, AESES announced in December its board of representatives approved an affiliation with the Confederation of
Canadian Unions (CCU).
AESES president Laurie Morris said the union joined ranks with CCU in order to stay politically vibrant and relevant in the face of growing issues impeding the progress of unions, both locally and internationally.
“Throughout the years, we have remained independent and also unaffiliated. We stayed focused on our
mission of serving our members,” she said.
“For some time, however, we have felt the need to become more politically active and cognizant of the issues facing the unions locally, nationally, and even internationally.”
AESES represents about 2,500 fulland part-time employees working in various departments on campus, including clerical and administrative, technical, and security services, among others. The union reached a new collective bargaining agreement with the University of Manitoba in February 2016 after 10 months of negotiation.
In August 2016, some members of AESES were victims of budget cuts and departmental restructuring within University of Manitoba libraries. The restructuring led to the loss of nearly 40 positions.
The CCU claims it is Canada’s largest federation of independent labour unions with six affiliates –including AESES – representing more than 16,000 members.
Morris said affiliating with the CCU is a step in the right direction to avail AESES with the resources for a larger fight while also maintaining the high standards of the union.
“Unions are under attack,” she said. “By affiliating with the CCU, we hope to become part of a larger fight to maintain everything that unions have fought long and hard for.”
Morris noted AESES previously considered affiliating with other labour unions and organizations but never took the step to strike an agreement.
“Unions are under attack. By affiliating with the CCU, we hope to become part of a larger fight to maintain everything that unions have fought long and hard for” –
Laurie
Morris, AESES president
She said CCU first approached AESES in early 2016 for a possible affiliation.
AESES representatives took their time researching and meeting with CCU affiliates before agreeing to the conditions of the affiliation proposal.
Morris said recent comments from Manitoba premier Brian Pallister concerning public sector unions – including a promise within the November throne speech that would prevent the government from agreeing to any increases it cannot
Federal finance committee recommends removal of funding cap on scholarship and bursary program for Indigenous students
Recommendation comes following lobbying push by student unions
The federal standing committee on finance has recommended the government remove a two per cent funding cap placed on Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada’s PostSecondary Student Support Program (PSSSP) in the Liberal government’s next budget.
The recommendation came in a report from the finance committee in December, just weeks after ADVOCAN, a group of seven student unions including the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU), travelled to Ottawa to lobby for the cap lift.
ADVOCAN is made up of executives from UMSU, the University of Toronto Students’ Union, the
University of Waterloo Federation of Students, the Western University Students’ Council, the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union, the Queen’s University Alma Mater Society, and the University of British Columbia Alma Mater Society.
The PSSSP was set up in order to “improve the employability of First Nation and eligible Inuit students by providing them with funding to access education and skills development opportunities at the post-secondary level,” according to its official webpage.
The program provides hundreds of millions of dollars in scholarships and bursaries to Treaty and Status First Nation and Inuit post-secondary
students every year. In 2013-2014, $322 million was invested in the program, providing funding for more than 22,000 students.
Following her trip to Ottawa with the other ADVOCAN representatives, UMSU president Tanjit Nagra said she feels it is important the cap is lifted for the government to fulfill its goals in reconciliation with Indigenous communities.
“I think our Indigenous population and our young people need support going to post-secondary institutions,” she said. “At the end of the day, I think that if we want to honour reconciliation and move down that path, we need to support where it’s needed.”
The two per cent cap on funding
increases was placed on the program in the 1990s by former Liberal finance minister Paul Martin. Since then, the program has seen an 18.3 per cent decline in the amount of students it supports, the CBC reported in September.
During their 2015 federal election campaign, the Liberal party promised to lift the two per cent cap and add $50 million a year to the program. That promise was not included in last year’s federal budget.
While in Ottawa, ADVOCAN representatives met with more than 50 members of Parliament to lobby for the removal of the cap in the next budget, including Carolyn Bennett, the minister for Indigenous Affairs
pay for without deficit spending –gave AESES almost no other option than to take advantage of the CCU affiliation.
“We strongly feel that this is the right time to make this commitment given the Pallister government's plans regarding wage freezes for public sector jobs and other attacks on unions, such as the passing of Bill 7,” she said.
Bill 7 amended the Labour Relations Amendments Act and made a secret ballot mandatory before a union can be certified as the bargaining agent for a group of employees. The bill was criticized by provincial labour union leaders for being an attack on workers’ rights.
In his first state of the province address in December, Pallister further alienated public sector unions by stating there are too many bargaining units within Manitoba healthcare and suggesting that number should come down.
Morris said she is hopeful the CCU affiliation will bring additional supports to AESES while allowing the association to give a boost to other member organizations.
“We hope that our affiliation with the CCU will aid us in tackling issues facing our members locally and provincially while we strive to lend our support to others in need.”
and Northern Development. Nagra said that although the meeting with Bennett was brief, she believes it was productive.
“I think that [Bennett] was very happy that we were there, advocating for that,” she said. “Even though we only had a short time with her, I think she was pretty receptive.”
The recommendation from the standing committee on finance does not include any specifics on how much funding to the PSSSP should be increased, only that the two per cent cap should be lifted.
The next federal budget is expected to be released in March 2017.
photo by megan Colwell
UMSU cries foul over U-Pass administration fees
Student union claims Winnipeg Transit reneged on operating grant support, bargained in bad faith
G AR ett Willi A m S , staff
The University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) is claiming Winnipeg Transit reneged on a commitment to support an operating grant to offset U-pass administrative fees, leaving the union on the hook to absorb a projected $60,000 in associated costs.
In a release issued in December, the student union accused Winnipeg Transit of failing to negotiate in good faith and criticized the mayor’s executive policy committee for its “shortsighted refusal to work with students.”
The U-Pass is a universal transit pass available to all full-time undergrad and graduate students at the U of M and University of Winnipeg for a reduced fee payable with tuition.
The complaint stems from a verbal commitment UMSU vice-president internal Adam Pawlak said transit director David Wardrop made to the student organization. Administrative costs were a point of contention over the summer when the two sides negotiated terms to roll out the U-Pass for September and Pawlak said he was under the impression transit would support an operating grant to offset half of the cost of administering the pass.
He said transit agreed to support the grant request for the first two
years of a four-year contract after refusing to remit the one per cent commission on the U-Pass – a standard agreement between transit and bus pass retailers.
“We were assured this grant would be supported by transit” – Adam Pawlak, UMSU vicepresident internal
“From our understanding, what we agreed upon was that Winnipeg Transit would support this grant within their budget and make it work,” he said, adding that he learned through email that the transit department removed a grant request for $27,000 before the budget submission went to committee.
“We were assured this grant would be supported by transit,” said Pawlak.
“I always knew that it could be defeated at the city council level but the frustration stems from the fact that transit did not support the grant in the end, because the way I envi-
sioned it was that UMSU and transit [would be] side by side arguing the grant to the councillors and it ended up being just UMSU arguing for the grant.”
On Dec. 8, Pawlak and UMSU governance coordinator Chris Struc appeared before the executive policy committee to support UMSU’s individual grant request.
“The U-Pass is a partnership,” said Pawlak, addressing the committee. “In order to make the partnership work effectively, both parties need to work together to ensure its success for the long-term health of the city of Winnipeg.”
The request was rejected. However, Pawlak said transit representatives and UMSU are scheduled to meet this month to continue discussions.
Wardrop was not made available to the Manitoban. However, A lissa Clark, a spokesperson for the city, said in an email the request was dismissed “as part of the budget process.”
“Winnipeg Transit suggested that UMSU apply for a grant and offered to support the grant request by including the grant in the department’s budget submission as part of the 2017 budget process, but advised UMSU that there was no certainty of approval,” she said.
According to numbers Pawlak presented to the executive committee, the U-Pass more than doubled the number of U of M students with a transit pass. He said 87 per cent of eligible students claimed their pass, with more than 19,100 issued compared to close to 7,000 under the previous student rate arrangement.
In a release published on Dec. 16, UMSU claimed that the U-Pass program generated $5 million in revenue for Winnipeg Transit.
Clark challenged that claim, saying the $5 million is roughly equivalent to the sales UMSU produced through the previous student transit pass framework but noted the bolstered ridership numbers increase service requirements and in fact run the city a net loss of $1.6 million annually.
Clark also noted that a one per cent commission is provided to retail commercial outlets to offset costs including credit card fees, which do not apply to the U-Pass.
According to Pawlak, administrating the U-Pass has cost UMSU nearly $47,000 for the fall term. That number is expected to reach close to $60,000 after the winter passes are distributed.
Under the U-Pass agreement – which is between the U of M,
Winnipeg Transit, and UMSU –each party is responsible for any costs incurred to meet their obligations.
To fund the U-Pass, full-time U of M students are assessed an additional fee of $260 – $130 per term –in their tuition. The fee represents a $306 savings from regular student rates for monthly bus passes and gives students access to Winnipeg Transit from September through April.
Peggo cards
Currently, U of M U-Pass users are issued paper cards to be displayed along with their valid student cards. This has increased the administrative costs to UMSU, which had to organize and distribute the passes both in the fall and winter terms.
Students at the University of Winnipeg have been issued plastic reloadable peggo cards.
The paper passes are a temporary measure until systems are in place at the U of M to support the peggo cards.
They are expected to be available in the fall of 2017.
graphiC by megan Colwell
Editor-In-Chief: Craig Adolphe
PCs are out of touch with average Manitobans
The working class have nothing to gain and everything to lose with Pallister’s government
S HAW n G ARB utt, staff
On Jan. 3, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives rang in the new year with a report that showed that Canada’s 100 top CEOs earn an average compensation 193 times more than the wage received by ordinary full-time workers. In real numbers, that amounts to CEOs raking in approximately $9.5 million in
comparison to Canada’s median salary of $49,510. These numbers speak to a broader trend – since the 1980s new wealth in Canada has increasingly gone to the richest among us.
Frankly, this isn’t shocking news for anyone near or below that median number. People have an intuitive sense of the unequal distribution of
wealth in society. That's why we've seen such resonance with politicians from the left like Bernie Sanders in the U.S. and Jeremy Corbyn in the UK, and the push to get rid of Harper in Canada.
With the broad support for a new approach to tackling inequality, is government acting to address that
problem? Not in Manitoba, where the newly inaugurated Progressive Conservative government has been trumpeting an agenda of austerity.
Since taking control of government, Premier Brian Pallister has cancelled an annual minimum wage increase – costing minimum wage earners $400 this first year alone, according to Manitoba Federation of Labour estimates – while accepting a pay increase for himself and his cabinet ministers tied to Manitoba’s balanced budget legislation. Pallister has also indicated interest in opening up settled contract agreements with public sector unions.
This kind of antilabour political manoeuvering by the PC government is representative of the party’s disregard for average people
Pallister has taken a leave of reality longer than his two-month Costa Rican vacations if he thinks people will stand by apathetically while he tears up negotiated labour contracts for the purpose of ending minute wage increases for front-line public sector employees.
This kind of anti-labour political manoeuvering by the PC government is representative of the party’s disregard for average people. Indeed, the only group that registers on this government’s radar are interest groups catering to business. A troubling disconnect exists between the people and their representatives when the latter treat the minimum wage as a handout instead of the most basic level of subsistence deemed humane by society.
Pallister’s lack of care for the lay-
man only becomes more apparent as we get further into his government’s term. When concerns were raised about affordability in light of Bell’s bid to acquire MTS, Pallister remarked, “You get what you pay for.” First and foremost, Bell’s promise to invest in more cell towers will not completely offset the pressures to increase prices and lower quality of customer service given the decreased competition between providers. Furthermore, it’s rich for the premier with prime property in a foreign country to be so nonchalant over the possibility of prices jumping up, especially when his government, is pushing wage stagnation for thousands of workers.
Pallister’s sails can’t rely on the winds of ‘blue skies’ for much longer. Economic inequality is one of the hottest topics in modern political discourse, and it’s not going unnoticed. Abroad, the Finnish government is experimenting with universal basic income; meanwhile the Canadian economy is getting increasingly lopsided. A report issued by the Broadbent Institute in 2014 showed that the top 20 per cent of Canadians now control approximately 70 per cent of the country’s wealth.
The Manitoban government should be in the business of looking out for the everyman – not cutting back accessibility to services, nor slashing funding and drying up wages. To justify his rampant austerity fear-mongering, Pallister warns Manitobans that “something’s got to give” when it comes to the province’s spending. But not everyone has a $2 million mansion to curl up in when those spending cuts result in lost jobs and fewer public services.
photo by miguel yetman
Reignited spat with CFS a pretext for defederation
j e SS e Bl Ackm A n, volunteer staff
If nothing else, the University of Manitoba’s Students’ Union’s (UMSU) latest foray with the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) has shown the UMSU executives are in over their heads.
At the CFS’s November national general meeting (NGM), UMSU proposed a motion for CFS to adopt a new policy on international student tuition increases. The motion was out of touch with other province’s policies on tuition fees and completely contrary to some of CFS’s core principles. The UMSU executives’ response to the motion not being adopted, but tabled, was nothing short of childish.
Here’s the motion:
“Be it resolved that notwithstanding current policy on tuition fees, the federation amend the existing policy stance on international students to include advocacy for a mandate to lock international student fee increases to the same percentage as domestic students.”
As it stands, the motion does not apply to every province in a meaningful way. Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan have deregulated tuition. Ontario tuition increases are capped at three per cent. Manitoba, for the time being, has regulated
domestic tuition increases capped at the rate of inflation. Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta have tuition freezes.
Lobbying for a policy that has vastly different implications in different provinces does not make sense for the CFS or international students.
UMSU’s motion called for CFS to change their policy manual – which currently calls for the national union to advocate for the complete elimination of tuition fees – to not only support tuition increases, but differential fees between domestic and international students. Differential fees result in international students paying more than triple what the same classes cost domestic students on average. Courses at the U of M in university 1, arts, fine arts, and the Asper school of business are 3.8 times more expensive for international students.
Since forming in 1981, the CFS has opposed tuition fees, seeing them as a financial barrier to universal access to post-secondary education. Free education for all students, regardless of where they were born or hold citizenship, is central to the federation’s mandate. On Nov. 2, not a full month prior to the NGM, CFS
coordinated a day of action against tuition fees.
The federation has also won reforms for international students who face barriers beyond tuition fees and unpredictable hikes. Indeed, the CFS has won key victories for international students by lobbying for legislative reforms both provincial and federally. Across Canada, international students have gained access to working visas to help mitigate tuition and living expenses, and starting in 2012, international students in our province have been eligible for coverage by Manitoba Health.
On the tuition front, CFSManitoba has also been leading a campaign against the financial exploitation of international students. Ignited at the U of M following the administration’s 2015 tuition hike for international students, the “International Students are not Cash Cows” campaign continues the resist the mistreatment of international students.
It is incomprehensible to think that the CFS should compromise its stance on tuition fees.
UMSU’s motion was never about international students. UMSU has had a tense relationship with the
CFS since Al Turnbull was elected president in 2013. Since that time, UMSU has only recently remitted almost $1 million in outstanding fees to the federation, has opted out of the CFS’s not-for-profit Greenshield health coverage (a move leading to a more expensive plan that covers less), and has failed to stand with CFS consistently in opposition to tuition fees and student debt.
This latest skirmish shows UMSU representatives have no interest in cooperating with the larger student movement
Quite frankly, it seems UMSU’s motion was an attempt to allow CFS critics to denounce the federation for not caring about international students. After the motion was tabled, Tanjit Nagra and Adam Pawlak blasted the CFS on Twitter. By playing politics around
UMSU’s actions and the federation, the executive may be trying to position the federation as an ineffective waste of money.
This kind of pointed rhetoric has its use. While UMSU has barred CFS services on campus in the past and has not participated in campaigns, executives are now manufacturing a new reality where the CFS is portrayed as not benefitting UMSU members. Thus, a de-federation referendum can be justified.
This latest skirmish shows UMSU representatives have no interest in cooperating with the larger student movement, especially when the executives deem demanding an apology from CFS executives a worthwhile exercise for the council. This only continues a pattern that has shown to be costly to UMSU members.
Students at the U of M should take time to do their own research into the CFS. Based on what they’ve heard, they may be surprised to know how much great work they've done with international students.
photo by Chantal zdan
Building body parts: a look into the world of 3D-printed organs
Canadians in need of organs may receive 3D-printed ones sooner than you think
By the end of 2015, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the sale of over 85 3D-printed medical devices, such as prosthetics, surgical tools, and artificial replacements for damaged bones. Spritam, a pill for treating epilepsy, became the first 3D printed drug to gain FDA approval in 2015. These uses of 3D printers are innovative, but they mainly offer another way to manufacture existing medical technologies. The emerging field of bioprinting, which uses 3D printers to assemble products out of living material, is more likely to revolutionize the power of medical intervention.
Similar to how conventional printers can reproduce digital photos and documents, 3D printers can build whatever a computer-aided design (CAD) file can describe. According to the instructions from a CAD file, 3D printers move upwards as they deposit material – often plastic, metal, or, in the case of bioprinting, living cells – onto successive twodimensional layers. These machines commonly employ a technique called ink-jet printing. In basically the same
way as piping tubes push icing onto gingerbread houses without touching the surface, ink-jets drop microscopic amounts of material onto the top of a 3D printed object.
While bioprinters evolve, their products are still finding immediate applications in medical science
In order for living cells to survive this process, engineers needed to address the high pressures and temperatures inside the ink-jet. Thomas Boland, William Crisp Wilson, and Tao Xu earned a 2006 patent for their success in extending the versatility of 3D printers to living structures. Their modifications to ink-jet printing enabled between 25 per cent and 85 per cent of printed cells to remain alive 24 hours after incubation. Bioprinted
cells can now survive for weeks, and engineers are continuously working to further extend this lifespan.
Thousands of Canadians need organ donors
This technology has potentially life-saving applications. According to the government of Canada, over 4,500 Canadians in 2014 were waiting to be matched with organ donors. In the same year, 278 Canadians who needed organ transplants died on the waiting list. If bioprinters evolve to the point where they can manufacture implantable organs, the healthcare system could eliminate the current disparity between the number of organ donors and the number of people whose survival depends on organ donation. Research at the biotechnology company Organovo is contributing to prevent the organ shortage from claiming more lives. Considering that a third of the aforementioned 278 deceased Canadians were awaiting kidney transplants, Organovo’s ability to bioprint functional human kidney tissue gives hope for the future of organ replacement.
Beyond guaranteeing a renewable source of viable organs, the most advanced uses of bioprinting would remedy additional challenges related to organ transplantation. Accepting an organ from a human donor requires patients to indefinitely suppress their immune systems’ urge to reject the foreign tissue. Consequently, recipients of organ donations must weaken their natural protection from disease for the rest of their lives. Prior to starting the bioprinting process, a patient’s doctor would extract a sample of healthy cells to multiply in the lab. The bioprinter would then construct the replacement tissue from cells with only the patient’s genes, thereby allowing the immune system to recognize the new tissue as safe. Unlike waiting to receive organs from a person with compatible DNA, doctors who use bioprinting could tell their patients exactly when a new organ will be ready for surgery. In these two ways, bioprinting would remove the uncertainty of when healthy organs will become available and whether the patient’s body will accept the donor’s tissue.
In addition to automatizing organ donation, bioprinting may eventually offer alternative treatments when person-to-person transplants are impractical. At the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a campus for training medical students, researchers are developing bioprinted skin with the goal of treating burn victims. Severe burns conventionally require using some of the victim’s healthy skin to cover the damaged areas. As explained by the Burn Injury Recovery Centre, using skin from another person is only adequate for one-to-three weeks before the immune system’s aggressive reaction forces doctors to remove the donated skin. The only permanent treatment thus requires doctors to inflict a second wound as large as the first, whereas the Wake Forest Institute reports that its bioprinters can make enough replacement skin to cover a burn with ten times less healthy tissue that is usually needed.
Not yet
widely available
Unfortunately, the people who would benefit from these advantages of organ printing must wait for the technology to become a viable and
widely available option. Reproducing the complex structure of human organs is one of the most ambitious goals in bioprinting, especially when one’s purpose is to implant bioprinted tissue into the human body. While bioprinters evolve, their products are still finding immediate applications in medical science. Organovo’s kidney and liver tissues are commercially available to pharmaceutical companies, enabling researchers to test their medications on bioprinted tissue. The results of these tests can help the researchers to determine which drugs are most likely to succeed in clinical trials, thereby speeding up the process of releasing new medications.
In basically the same way as piping tubes push icing onto gingerbread houses without touching the surface, ink-jets drop microscopic amounts of material onto the top of a 3D printed object
Outside of medicine, this opportunity to avoid the strict regulations over testing products on humans is attracting other corporate interests. In 2015, a press release from Organovo announced its collaboration with L’Oréal in pursuing their goal of bioprinting human skin. The cosmetic company intends to test its products on the bioprinted tissue. Before companies like Organovo can gain approval for this type of application, governments will need to set clear, regulatory standards for the quality and accessibility of bioprinted products. The rapid advancement of bioprinting technology forces legislators to consider how society should use and control the power to mass produce the fibres of the human body.
graphiC by kelly Campbell
World’s oldest known killer whale missing, presumed dead
Known as “Granny,” the orca whale was over 100 years old
According to reports from the Center for Whale Research, the world’s oldest known killer whale is presumed dead.
The female orca whale – named J2, but affectionately referred to as “Granny” – has not been seen since October 2016, and was believed to be over 100 years old.
J2 was part of the endangered southern resident killer whale (SRKW) population, which live in the waters off of British Columbia and Washington state. While 2015 ended with a “baby boom” of SRKW births, bringing the population up to 85 whales, 2016 brought the population back down to 79 whales after a string of reproductive issues in female SRKWs.
Whale watchers categorize groups of whales by letter into
“pods” for categorization purposes. J2 was named after the “J” pod, of which she was considered a leader.
Southern resident killer whales were split up into “J” “K” and “L” pods by researchers.
The whales’ whereabouts have been followed by researchers since the 1970s, and was easily identified by a marking on her dorsal fin. J2 has mystified whale watchers since – as orca whales typically only live between 60 and 80 years – and was even the star of a recent BBC documentary.
In a memorial blog post for the Center for Whale Research, a nonprofit organization devoted to the benign study and conservation of southern resident killer whales, which had been following J2, Erin Heydenreich wrote that as more
and more female whales in these pods die, the lack of proper structure is dangerous for the entire population.
J2 was part of the endangered southern resident killer whale (SRKW) population, which live in the waters off of British Columbia and Washington state
“We have speculated that the absence of older females may con-
tribute to the loss of cohesion within the pods. Anyone who is watching the whales has likely observed the fragmentation of all three pods over the years, where groups that once traveled consistently and predictably together no longer do so,” Heydenreich wrote.
“We have attributed this change in behavior to lack of food availability – the whales have to spread out to look for salmon that are scarce – but perhaps a loss of older female leadership is also having an impact”.
Just weeks before J2’s passing, another whale in her pod known as J34 had died. J2 was especially important within the “J” pod, as she used her advanced age to teach younger killer whales where and when to find food.
The diet for southern resident
killer whales is Chinook salmon, and the decline in their population means sustenance has been scarce, and the effects have been damaging. As orcas starve, their bodies metabolize their own blubber, which releases toxins into their bodies.
J2 has no living offspring. Her child, a mature male orca whale named J1, or “Ruffles,” accompanied her up to 2010, when he died at the approximate age of 60 years old.
Local bands to watch in 2017
A list of artists that caught our eyes and ears with their big plans for the upcoming year
o livi A m ic HA lczuk & e meli A Fou R nie R , staff
This year, the Manitoban has decided to take on the daunting task of selecting a few of the many extremely talented local artists. This list is focused on bands that are making big moves for the upcoming year, whether that be touring their recently released albums, recording or releasing an album, or just starting out their musical journey in the city.
Priority was given to bands that are up and coming or newly formed. Although we highly recommend supporting all of these artists by buying their music or going for their shows, this is not a list of favorites, but rather a list of artists that caught our attention who we think will be worth watching out for this year.
Kieran West and his Buffalo Band
Since their last EP release in 2014, Riverwood Avenue, Kieran West and his Buffalo Band have been playing their sad yet upbeat alt-country tunes as minstrels at Winnipeg Folk Festival, headlining a night at Shine On music festival, opening for artists such as the Perpetrators, and headlining shows across Manitoba. With their first tour ever currently extended westward to Calgary, the Winnipeg band hopes to share the new materials from their upcoming EP – slated for a release later this year. The EP, which is currently in preproduction stages and is being crowdfunded, will feature local artists like Micah Erenberg, Somebody Language, and The Way it Feels, who will also be recording music this year.
Similar bands/artists to watch out for:
Roger Roger: Twin folk-roots singer-songwriters Madeline and Lucas, are fresh off a tour and plan to head out once again in 2017. Their effortless vocal harmonies, complimentary guitar, and storytelling make for a perfect combination.
Micah Erenberg Band: A folkrock group that had a busy 2016 with the release of Poor Mic’s Toe. With recording in progress, Winnipeg music enthusiasts are keeping their eye on this group. Their upcoming live repertoire for 2017 will include new material and the give-and-take of energy at live shows keeps people coming back for more.
Uniter Fiver show this month before they start touring this May. Their EP is expected to be released this fall, but until then, check out their first EP that was released in November 2016.
Begonia
Previously a member of Juno Award-winning Chic Gamine, Alexa Dirks (now more commonly known as Begonia) made her debut in 2016 as one of the most popular local acts without even releasing a full album. She garnered fans through her local performances and live recordings in 2016. Her strong vocal range combined with infectious melodies and a hip grandmother aesthetic have drawn fans in and wowed critics. She released her single “Out of My Head” in October 2016, and her highly anticipated EP Lady in Mind will be released in March 2017 with a release party at the West End Cultural Centre. As the title of her EP suggests, Dirks explores themes of femininity, love, and loss to the tune of alternative pop peppered with gospel and blues.
With so many local bands to watch out for this year, Winnipeg music enthusiasts can expect a lot of good music in 2017
Similar bands/artists to watch out for:
Rayannah: Currently touring Germany with Matt Epp for the month of January, Rayannah creates her alternative sound by looping her vocals, synths, and percussions. This French/English bilingual artist has toured coast-to-coast and overseas with her unique sound.
Lanikai: Lanikai’s self-titled debut features sweet and pure yet powerful songs with unpredictable compositions that will leave you hooked.
June Killing Stones: With an
anticipated EP release this year, the Winnipeg alternative-pop/rock outfit is hoping to hop on some music festivals this summer. The band released their single “Leap” in October 2016 and have been turning heads ever since.
Silence Kit
This female-led, post-punk, altrock, grunge-whatever group has worked hard over the course of 2016 to make 2017 a great year. Silence Kit played several shows around Winnipeg last fall and this winter, and hopes to maintain an equally busy performance schedule this year. They rang in the new year performing at The Cavern to a packed house with fellow rockers Solhounds and Madeira. The Winnipeg band was recently featured at Manitoba Music’s New Music Night alongside Kakagi and Trampoline.
Silence Kit’s 2016 was largely spent creating and perfecting new songs as the group solidified. They released demos Verbs and Pipe Dream last summer and are on course to release an EP in April. Silence Kit’s high energy rock-n-roll performing style has brought audience members back to see them perform repeatedly but the band is sure to draw even larger crowds in 2017.
Similar bands/artists to watch out for:
Solhounds: This female-led desert doom rock band spent last year touring and performing sold out shows. They’ll hit the studios this winter to start recording again but be on the look out for their upcoming live performances.
Tusk: Formed in the spring of 2016, Tusk is being featured in the Uniter Fiver show. Their debut EP is set to be released in March 2017.
Mulvey Street Maniacs: With an EP on the way and a full album in the works, this bluesy rock trio with a country twang will perform their debut show at Festival du Voyageur this February and will continue to hit stages at shows and in the summer.
Sam Singer
The youngest band on our list, Sam Singer is definitely one to watch out for in years to come. With the release of their full-length album
The Sammy Singer LP in November 2015, the young musicians sing of teenage heartbreak and misery and have played at Big Fun Festival, the Goodwill Social Club, and Real Love Thursdays at the Handsome Daughter, as well as many others. Their sound is evolving and this is evident in songs like “Never Winter” and “The Hipper the Girl the Harder the Fall.” Their live shows are fascinating partly due to their youth and the raw and rich timbre of Singer’s voice. Similar bands/artists to watch out for:
Iansucks: This band has gotten a
lot of media attention this past year, all for good reason. The successful release of their album Don’t Give into the Bad Feeling has further established them in the Winnipeg music scene and sent them on an eastern Canadian tour.
JayWood: JayWood is planning on releasing a new album in 2017, and playing more around the city. They hope to bring their groovy, dreamy, indie pop sound to other Canadian cities this year. JayWood’s EP, Some Days, is now available on Bandcamp.
Trampoline: Trampoline will be kicking off their mini-tour at The Cavern this February with a more extensive tour planned for September. This self proclaimed “anti-rock band” will be sharing songs off their recently released EP, Sometimes a Song is Just a Cigar at their upcoming mini tour.
With so many local bands to watch out for this year, Winnipeg music enthusiasts can expect a lot of good music in 2017. Do your part by supporting local music – go see your favorite bands perform and buy their music.
Kakagi: Local folk rock outfit. Check them out at the
top left: Kieran West and his buffalo band top right: begonia, photo provided by brittany deCk. above: silence Kit, photo provided by QuinCy houdayer
Brian Friel’s Translations explores the power of language
New Black Hole Theatre Company production raises questions about cultural barriers
e meli A Fou R nie R , staff
From Jan. 18 to 28, the University of Manitoba’s Black Hole Theatre Company (BHTC) will be showcasing Irish dramatist and writer, Brian Friel’s most famous play, Translations Set in Ireland in 1833, Translations is a story that takes place when the British army conducts a map-making survey and renames places in a small Irish town to make them more accessible to the broader British public. However, the names are changed from Irish to English names and this seemingly well-intentioned act raises a lot of questions in the community.
“The act of naming itself is an act of controlling, labeling, defining
and limiting which doesn’t necessarily fit a previous worldview,” said William Kerr, director of Translations. “All language, in fact, is an act of translation.”
While there are Irish and English speakers in the play’s cast, only English is spoken or read in the performance. The Irish and English characters do not understand each other, but the audience can understand everyone and watch the misunderstandings between the characters unfold.
“You can communicate beyond language through a play and the love scenes suggest that love goes beyond
those linguistic confines,” said Kerr. Despite taking place in Ireland, and exploring Irish identity, Translations was written in English. Friel wrote Translations to be the first play performed by his theatre troupe, Field Day Theatre Company. At the time, it seemed odd for the political theatre company’s first play to be set in mid-19th century Ireland, rather than the tumultuous political settings of 1970s or 80s Northern Ireland, considering it was written there in 1980.
Translations explores themes like assimilation that are reminiscent of and relevant to Canadian Indigenous history and culture, and the struggle
2017 brings renewed hope and inspiration for Canadian artists
for Indigenous communities to reassert their values or identity.
“The Irish feel they were complicit in the loss of their language. They feel they’ve sort of self-assimilated,” said Kerr.
“One of the things I love about this play is in some ways it is explicitly about the fact that we are trying to create truth onstage every night and knowingly failing, but trying harder.”
The production’s cast and crew faced logistical challenges due last semester’s faculty strike at the university and this slowed down the progress of the production a bit. These challenges made Kerr appreciate how
Canada 150 sets the tone for a creatively inspiring and celebratory year
to B i n i F e S i, staff
For many, the ringing in of a new year is always a time for reflection and preparation. It is a time to appreciate whatever progress has been made in the past 12 months and be optimistic about what lies ahead.
As 2017 kicks into full gear, Canadians can look forward, with optimism and hope, to a year that could be a turning point in our arts community. However, before turning the page on 2016, we must truly appreciate some special events that took place last year in our arts community.
Last year, Morehshin Allahyari’s Material Speculation: ISIS exhibition at Toronto’s Trinity Square Video explored the effect terrorism has on our arts community. Carol Sawyer’s The Natalie Brettschneider Archive explored the unique role art plays in our culture, Karel Funk graced the Winnipeg Arts Gallery with a one-
of-a-kind exhibition that explored post-humanism and the Manitoba Museum celebrated 100 years of women’s right to vote by debuting the Nice Women Don’t Want The Vote traveling exhibition.
This year, there is a glimmer of hope that is penetrating through the crevices
These exhibitions, along with several other spectacular shows and productions, made 2016 a creative, informative, and engaging one for artists and their following, and with so much going on in our society –from terrorism to racism and gender issues – artists saw the need to use
their voice to make a strong statement and this might have been the inspiration behind a lot of artwork on display last year.
However, 2017 is a new year with new possibilities and renewed hope for a brighter future. There is a glimmer of hope that is penetrating through the crevices, and this is the notion that artists might latch onto as their inspiration to create this year. This could be the year artists celebrate hope.
Artists need not look too far to be inspired to create celebratory art. This year, we will be celebrating Canada’s sesquicentennial – 150 years since confederation. To mark this monumental feat, the 150! Canada initiative was set up by the Canadian government to organize yearlong festivities across the country.
This began with spectacular New Year Eve parties and performances in
19 urban centers across the country, showcasing Canada’s rich history and diverse culture and geography. The fun is set to continue with special events throughout the year. Over the course of the year, in national and local galleries, you can expect to find topical exhibitions on displays to commemorate the celebrations. Many of these exhibitions will explore Canada’s values and multiculturalism.
Several new plays based on Indigenous stories will be premiering this year. They include the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s Sarah Ballenden, Stratford Festival’s The Breathing Hole, and Hardline Productions’ Redpatch. As part of the Canada 150 celebrations, the National Arts Centre will be premiering Children of God, Corey Payette’s musical about the effects residential school systems had on an Indigenous family, at its English Theatre.
hard everyone worked on the play, and showed that theatre really is a labor of love.
Translations will run from Jan. 18-28 at John J. Conklin Theatre. Tickets are $18 for adults, $12 for students. For more information on the current season and free LunchBhagg shows, visit www. bhtc.ca
Other upcoming themed exhibitions and productions, such as Pitaloosie Saila’s at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Leonard Cohen’s at Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, and Marc Chargall’s at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, will explore and celebrate Canada’s multiculturalism.
As part of the celebrations, some Canadian galleries and contemporary galleries, such as the National Gallery of Canada and the Museum of Contemporary Art, are undergoing major transformations and set to reopen in the spring as Canadian and Indigenous galleries.
With the celebratory tone already set in several galleries across the country, arts enthusiasts as well as gallery and theatre visitors can expect 2017 to be a year of celebratory art showcases. Therefore, we have reason to be optimistic about what lies ahead.
Bisons record first sweep at home over the Regina Cougars
jAS on Pc HA jek A nd RyA n Stelte R , staff
The University of Manitoba men’s hockey team were back in action this weekend against the lowly Regina Cougars. They won handily 3-0 on Friday, and held on to win 5-4 on Saturday. With the wins, the Bisons improve to 8-9-1 and remain in sixth place in the Canada West.
Friday
The game on Friday was fast and physical, with the Bisons taking the game 3-0 to open the second half of their season.
The home side came out flying in the first, putting multiple high-
quality scoring chances towards the net and controlling the pace of the game. They were unable to convert on their chances, while Regina was unable to get anything past Bison goalie Byron Spriggs.
A scary moment in the second saw a Cougars player collide with Spriggs, but he stayed in the game. The Regina player broke into the Bisons’ zone and put a shot on goal that was stopped. He took a bump from a Manitoba defender, sending him sliding into Spriggs and catching his left leg.
The deadlock lasted until the
opening minute of the third where the Bisons drew first blood. Remi Laurencelle snapped his third goal of the year past Cougars netminder Andy Desautels to give the Bisons the lead. Justin Augert and Nick Zajac picked up the helpers on the play.
Eight minutes later the herd extended their lead. Adam Henry took a pass at the point and fired a long wrister towards the goal. The shot went top corner on Desautels, over his outstretched glove to make the game 2-0 for the Bisons.
Laurencelle recorded his second goal of the evening with an empty
netter to seal the 3-0 win for the Bisons. The goal and some frustrations led to a scrum in the corner, where Zajac was involved in a brief shoving match. The physicality continued for the remainder of the game, highlighted by a massive hit by Rene Hunter.
“The main thing is that we got the four points this weekend” – Mike Sirant, Bison men’s hockey head coach
“I guess that’s a bit of frustration from the opposing team,” head coach Mike Sirant said when asked if he thought the physicality would carry over to the next game. “We do expect that there will be a lot of physical play tomorrow night, but we expect it’s not going to be anything where it goes too far.”
Saturday
The matinee rematch between the Cougars and Bisons was a physical, high-scoring affair. Both teams combined to score nine goals, with the Bisons coming out on top 5-4.
The Cougars got on the board first after Ian McNulty scored the Cougars’ first goal of the weekend.
The next shift Hunter tied the score at one when he fired a hard wrist shot from the point. Lee Christensen made it 2-1 with seconds remaining in the opening frame. No goals were scored in a penalty-filled second period as the Bisons held on to the 2-1 lead.
McNulty got his second of the game to knot the score at two on the power play early in the third period. McNulty came flying down the left wing and roofed it on Bison goalie Justin Paulic.
Kamerin Nault scored his first goal as a Bison when he took a feed from Stovin on the rush. Henry got his second goal of the weekend at the halfway point of the third to make the score 4-2. He took a drop pass from former Portage Terrier Brad Bowles and fired over the glove of Cougar goalie Dawson MacAuley. The two teams exchanged goals late in the frame, but the Bisons managed to hold on to win 5-4.
“We made it interesting in the end there,” Sirant said postgame. “The main thing is that we got the four points this weekend. These are huge points for us to get us back in the race.”
The Bisons head out on the road to play the UBC Thunderbirds on Jan. 13-14.
Bison women’s hockey team manage a split in Regina
The Manitoba Bison women’s hockey team opened up the second half of their season in Regina, splitting a two-game set against the Cougars. The Bisons lost 2-1 in double overtime on Friday, but won 4-2 on Saturday.
Friday In their first game back from the holiday break, the Bison women’s hockey team looked to shake off the rust against the University of Regina
Cougars. The game went back and forth all night, but ultimately Regina took the game in double overtime by a score of 2-1.
The Cougars drew first blood thanks to forward Bailey Braden who recorded her fifth goal of the season. Braden took a feed from Jaycee Magwood, potting the goal to put the Cougars up 1-0. The assist was Magwood’s ninth on the year - and 20th point - keeping her in the top spot in Canada West scoring.
Manitoba took control of the game in the second, putting 14 shots towards the Regina goal. However, Jane Kish of the Cougars stood tall in net, keeping her team ahead until forward Alanna Sharman tied the game 1-1 with her sixth goal of the season with 2:34 left in the third.
The first overtime period was a tight checking affair, with only six total shots being directed on goal between the two teams. The Bisons held the shot advantage but could not get a winning goal past Kish.
Regina took a slight advantage in the second extra frame, using a power play brought on after a Lauryn Keen tripping minor. Soon after the man advantage ended Chelsea Hallson played the hero for Regina. Hallson scored her first of the year at the perfect time, beating Rachel Dyck to give her side the 2-1 overtime victory.
Saturday
Following a 2-1 overtime loss Friday night, the Bisons were back on the ice looking for revenge against the Cougars. The game was fast and tight-checking, but the Bisons earned a split in the weekend series with a 4-2 win.
Manitoba got the ball rolling early, as fourth year forward Karissa Kirkup opened the scoring 92 seconds into the first. Jenai Buchanan fed the puck the Kirkup who banged her fifth of the season past Kish to put the Bisons up 1-0.
With the win on Saturday, the Bisons snap both a two-game losing skid of their own and Regina’s fivegame win streak
The first period saw both teams trading chances, but eventually the Cougars got one back as forward Emma Waldenberger snapped a shot past Dyck, tying the game at one. Regina took over play in the second; however it was the Bisons who broke the tie with a flurry in the beginning of the third. Kirkup notched her second of the game on
the first shot of the period, and forward Jordyn Zacharias scored at the 52 second mark with the second shot of the period. Keen picked up her 12th assist of the year and team-leading 18th point.
Things did not get better for Kish and the Cougars. Nicole Carswell beat Kish at the 3:45 mark of the third, putting the Bisons up 4-1 and ending the Regina goaltender’s night.
Regina did not go quietly. During a scramble in front of the Bisons’ goal the puck found its way onto the stick of Lilla Carpenter-Boesch. Carpenter-Boesch tucked the shot behind Dyck, cutting the Manitoban lead to two goals. This was the closest the Cougars got, with the Bisons taking the 4-2 decision.
With the win on Saturday, the Bisons snapped both a two-game losing skid of their own and Regina’s five-game win streak. Manitoba also puts distance between themselves and the fourth-place Cougars in the standings.
The Bisons will be back home on Jan. 13-14 for a weekend series against the league-leading UBC Thunderbirds.
photo by megan Colwell
photo by megan Colwell
Bisons complete sweep of Winnipeg Wesmen in resounding fashion
k ellen tA ni G uc H i, staff
O
n Saturday, the University of Manitoba women’s volleyball team opened the second half of their schedule. They defeated the Winnipeg Wesmen 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-13) at the David F. Anderson Gymnasium, to complete the series sweep. With the win, the Bisons improve to 6-6 in conference play, while the Wesmen fall to 1-11 with the loss.
“Everybody on the court was involved, and it seemed like the energy was there” – Jon Hykawy, Bisons head coach
Kearley Abbott was sensational in the match, connecting on 14 kills and committing only one error. Tori Studler was dominant as well with ten kills of her own, and Cassie Bujan led the herd with 11 digs.
The Bisons, now winners of four straight games, built confidence throughout this match with everyone getting involved.
“We really talked a lot about making sure we were talking,” Bisons head coach Jon Hykawy said. “Everybody on the court was involved, and it seemed like the energy was there.”
The match opened with an exciting first set, as the Bisons held an
11-9 lead heading into a Wesmen timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bisons attacked their way to a 20-13 lead, but the Wesmen didn’t go away.
The home side put up five straight points, before Abbott connected on a kill, to give the herd a 21-18 lead.
Manitoba would go on to win the first set 25-20. Abbott led the way
for the herd, smashing down six kills in the set.
The Bisons carried momentum into the second set, storming out to an early 9-2 lead. Winnipeg responded with five straight points out of the timeout, cutting the lead down to just two. The Bisons steamrolled the end of the set, finishing with seven
straight points. Abbott connected on five kills, and Haille Bujan served up two aces.
Manitoba was dominant in the final set, opening with eight straight points, forcing Winnipeg to take a timeout with the score 10-1. With the confidence they gained throughout the match on full display, the Bisons cruised to a crushing 25-13 set victory.
Junior hockey teams seem to get lost in overfilled hockey markets
The Bisons will be back in action on Jan. 13-14, as they play host to the UBC Thunderbirds at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.
Despite Canada being a hockey-crazed country, junior teams are having a tough time
jAS on Pc HA jek, staff
News came down Dec. 22 that, after 21 years as a member of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), the Opaskwayak Cree Nation Blizzard would be shuttering their operation. With its closure, the MJHL loses a five-time league champion and a club that provided high-level hockey for Indigenous players. All signs point to money being the major issue. Plants, stores, and a casino in the area are all closing their doors or moving, taking a large amount of the community’s financial support with them. Running a junior hockey club, especially outside of the major junior level, is not always the most profitable venture. Teams must pay for staff, travel, and arena costs, with ticket sales covering little and teams relying heavily on sponsor-
ships. When one or both of those fails, teams drop like flies.
OCN is just the latest junior A hockey team to close up shop in Canada – since 2000, a startling total of 87 clubs have closed or relocated. This number is made up of teams that play under the Canadian Junior Hockey League banner, the governing body of junior A hockey in the country.
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is the only league not to lose a single franchise since the new millennium began, with the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League losing the most with 12 over the same stretch. Some teams, like the Metro Shipbuilders of the Maritime Hockey League, lasted a single season, while others, like the Brampton Capitals, went down after decades of play – the
Capitals operated from 1984 to 2012.
In a hockey-mad country like ours, why is it seemingly so hard to keep our junior teams alive? The English River Miners of the Superior International Junior Hockey League lost a major sponsor, leading to the fees being passed to players. Many walked away, refusing to pay hundreds of dollars while other members of the league played for free. The River Miners were able to keep afloat, however, still surviving to this day. Other teams it seems were not as fortunate.
Many Junior A clubs are located in smaller communities, and while this often means greater attendance it can also incur financial woes. In communities such as OCN and Waywayseecappo, where the local economy is not as strong, it is harder
to bring in money through ticket and merchandise sales. In more remote communities it is hard to draw visiting fans to attend.
OCN is just the latest junior A hockey team to close up shop in Canada – since 2000, a startling total of 87 clubs have closed or relocated
Things are no better for teams located in larger communities. The Winnipeg Blues have to contend with the other local hockey options, leav-
ing the club to primarily draw friends and family to games. Their only other junior A rival, the Winnipeg Saints, relocated to Virden in 2012 after being purchased by a group of investors from Virden.
It seems that our love of Canada’s game has created a crowded market. New teams come in to offer high level play to young hockey players, but often seem to wind up folding or moving because the competition is too fierce. With the Jets being the main draw in Winnipeg and the Moose being a good budget option, the province’s many junior A and B clubs are left to try and draw people closer to home.
photo by Chantal zdan
Canada shows promise at the 2017 World Junior Championship
Breaking down Team Canada’s tournament performance and gold medal heartbreak
k ellen tA ni G uc H i, staff
Ayear removed from their sixth place finish, the Canadian world junior team was able to advance to the gold medal game in this year’s tournament. The Americans were the lone obstacle in between Canada and gold, setting up yet another classic Canada versus USA world junior game. Canada was hungry for gold, having only won it once in the past seven tournaments.
The game lived up to all the hype, with the teams exchanging goals throughout, and with both goaltenders making big saves when called upon. The game needed a full 20-minute overtime period before the Americans won the game and the gold in the tie-breaking shootout. A game for all the marbles was settled by a skills contest, forcing viewers to question why the shootout even exists in a winner-takes-all affair.
At the end of the day, Canada came up short, but progress was made from the previous year, and the team represented the nation well in the final game. The Manitoban breaks down Canada’s performance in the 2017 World Junior hockey championship.
Gold medal game
The game couldn’t have started any better for Canada. Tournament MVP Thomas Chabot and Jeremy
Lauzon both scored and gave Canada a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission. The Americans stormed back in the second frame, as Charlie McAvoy and Kieffer Bellows were able to even the score, setting up an epic third period. Canada regained their two-goal lead early in the final frame, as Nicolas Roy and Mathieu Joseph found the net for Team Canada. Just over three minutes later, the Americans once again tied the game up, with two quick goals from Bellows and Colin White. The second half of the period was dominated by the goaltenders with neither team able to score, sending the game into overtime.
Canada created plenty of chances in the overtime period, but American goalie Tyler Parsons kept the puck out of his net. Parsons stopped 46 of the 50 shots he faced within the game, including a couple of unbelievable saves in the overtime period. The Americans forced Canadian netminder Carter Hart to make some key saves, as he stopped 31 of the 35 shots he faced in match. Goaltending would remain at the centre, as overtime solved nothing, and the game needed a shootout.
Hart did his job, stopping four of the five American shooters, allowing only shootout phenom Troy Terry (he went four-for-four in shootout
attempts in the tournament) to find the five-hole and the back of the net. Hart put Canada in position to win the match, but Parsons kept the door shut, and Terry’s lone goal was enough to win the shootout.
Banish the shootout
When it comes to big games, the shootout always feels like a sorry way to end it. The NHL has a handle on this though, as once the playoffs begin, shootouts are no more. 20-minute overtime periods are continuous until the game winner is scored. The IIHF should take notes from the NHL, and allow shootouts in round robin play, but eliminate the skills contest when it comes to the knockout and medal rounds.
The USA only got through to the final game by defeating the Russians in the semifinals via the shootout, and then ended up winning it all in yet another one. The excitement level of both of those games were extremely high, and a continuous overtime would have let the excitement play out through team play, but instead both were settled by skill and luck alone.
The one good thing that comes out of the shootout in these tournaments is the emergence of names such as Jonathan Toews, and most recently University of Denver product Troy
Terry. The IIHF would generate even greater games if the shootout was eliminated from the playoff rounds in future tournaments. Despite how it ended, the gold medal game still lived up to the hype of a big game. Would we be talking about eliminating the shootout as much if Canada won? Probably not, but still the change would benefit the game of hockey.
Progress was made from the previous year, and the team represented the nation well in the final game
Monster d-man
Chabot was a complete monster for Team Canada, and was rewarded by being named MVP of the 2017 World Junior Championship. The sixfoot-two blueliner led all defensemen in the tournament in points, putting up 10 (4G, 6A) in just seven games. Chabot was a workhorse for Team Canada, always leading the team in ice time, as he even played a ridiculous 43:53 in the final game. Chabot
also produced a plus/minus of +8 in the tournament, showcasing his solid play offensively and defensively. Kale Clague also put up some numbers from the Canadian blue line, providing six assists throughout the seven games.
Improved
goaltending?
Canada’s goaltending has been a weakness as of late. Mackenzie Blackwood was supposed to be a reliable goalie for the team in last year’s tournament, but he failed to impress in his three games, putting up a .859 save percentage and allowing 3.95 goals per game. Both goalies for Canada were not particularly great, as together they had a .860 save percentage, and allowed an average of 3.58 goals a game. Those statistics had Canada ranked ninth in goaltending out of the ten teams in the tournament.
The 2017 tournament got off to yet another rocky start in the crease, as the team’s goalies finished the tournament ranked eighth out of the ten teams. Hart was thought to be the number one goalie before his early tournament struggles, which turned the crease over to Connor Ingram who was not a lot better. The goaltending became a liability in the semi-final match against Sweden, when Ingram allowed two goals on the first three shots.
The team immediately handed the crease back to Hart, and he back stopped Canada into the gold medal game, stopping all 28 shots he faced in the match. Hart allowed four goals in the final game, but made the big saves when he had to. Unfortunately, it was not enough to win the game, but goaltending improved at the end as Hart stopped 60 of the 64 shots he faced in his final two games combined. Canada can only hope they maintain that for the 2018 tournament in Buffalo.
Scoring by committee
Canada was loaded with skill up front in this tournament, and the coaching staff has said they would have to score by committee. That all became evident when this edition of the Canadian junior team hit the ice, as five players scored three or more goals in the tournament. Julien Gauthier and Taylor Raddysh led the way, each sniping five goals in the team’s seven games.
Chabot was all over the ice for team Canada, blasting four goals from the point in the tournament. Both Anthony Cirelli and Mathew Barzal netted three goals for Canada. Captain Dylan Strome finished the tournament tied with Chabot for most points on the team, as he set up seven goals and scored three himself. The depth in the Canadian roster helped make the gold medal push, something Canada will hope to have again next year.
graphiC by bram keast
The OCN Blizzard of the MJHL is on the brink of extinction
Efforts are being made to save the hockey club, but will it be enough?
RyA n Stelte R , staff
After 21 seasons, the Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) Blizzard of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) announced that they will be ceasing operations of the team effective next season. The northernmost team in the MJHL has enjoyed a lot of success, winning the championship five times in a row between the years 1999-2003.
The Blizzard have been apart of the fabric of OCN and it will be an incredible loss to the town if the Blizzard pack their bags. The chief council has decided to stop supporting the team financially which puts the team in a real bind, forcing them to look elsewhere for money.
Jaret Schneider, the play-by-play man for the Blizzard for the past three years, said that right now it is about getting community support for the team.
“We want the community to back us as much as they can,” he said. “Biggest tool would be social media, Facebook, Twitter, and to get it out to all the media outlets.”
Schneider has seen what kind of impact the Blizzard has had on the community, and what kind of impact the community has had on the team. OCN has long been a supporter of Aboriginal hockey players in northern Manitoba, providing them a place to play and develop their hockey skills. The community will do whatever is possible to keep the team playing at the Gordon Lathlin Memorial Centre.
“I’ve seen the fans that have come out and support the team, so it’ll be a devastating loss for the community,” Schneider said. “Especially in some of these smaller northern towns, hockey is everything. There is a real love for
the game.”
The OCN Blizzard have had many players come from smaller northern towns, in particular star defenseman Brady Keeper, who hails from Cross Lake Manitoba, a community 120 kilometres south of Thompson. Keeper has committed to the University of Maine Division I NCAA hockey program next year which was ranked 54th in the U.S. last season. Keeper grew up a fan of the OCN Blizzard and was able to develop as a player close to home.
“I’ve met so many great people in my time here and I know that I will never play hockey in a place with as much passion and love for hockey as OCN” – Adam Heinemann, OCN Blizzard defenseman
“He was able to foster his hockey skills here with the Blizzard, and he’s been able to take his hockey to the next level and have opportunities to go play in the NCAA and potentially some level of professional hockey,”
Schneider said.
One of the most famous OCN Blizzard alumni is Jordin Tootoo, who currently plays for the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL. Tootoo played for the Blizzard in 1998-99,
racking up 37 points in 47 games en route to a MJHL championship.
Tootoo released a statement on Twitter following the news of OCN shutting its doors, expressing his support for the team.
“The OCN Blizzard will always have a special place in my heart, especially because it provided me with the only opportunity I had to play competitively with my brother Terence,” he wrote. “The organization also served as a support system for the Aboriginal people and contributed to their lives in such a positive way.”
Adam Heinemann, who is play-
ing his final season with the Blizzard, grew up and played minor hockey in Winnipeg. He was traded to the OCN Blizzard from the Portage Terriers and was able to find his groove with the team.
“The three years that I have spent in OCN have been unforgettable,” the defenseman said. “I’ve met so many great people in my time here and I know that I will never play hockey in a place with as much passion and love for hockey as OCN.”
Efforts to save the team are in full swing, as the community met on Jan. 5 to gather support for the Blizzard.
The meeting was a success, with a large amount of new people signed up to help out the team, whether it be helping with a 50/50 fundraiser, helping out at the gate, or other game day operations. The OCN board will meet with the council in the coming weeks to make their case to keep the team in OCN. The deadline to commit for the 2017-18 season is March 31.
