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Alyci A Rod Rigues, staff
Two new social workers, hired by the Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone (BIZ), will be available in 2013 for people in need downtown. The move aims to reduce arrests through viable longterm solutions that will reduce the visible social inequalities, which affect the perception of downtown Winnipeg.
The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ is a community of 1,400 businesses established in August, 1989, and is committed to working together to improve downtown Winnipeg. Their particular domains of interest are the image of downtown Winnipeg, cleanliness, safety, transportation, and parking. They are also interested in promoting downtown living, business development, and advocacy.
The BIZ claims that public safety is their number one priority due to this gradual improvement of downtown Winnipeg. Recent incidents, however, have blemished this image. A 2011 claim from Air Canada, for instance, deemed downtown Winnipeg too dangerous. Air Canada moved their employees from staying in downtown hotels because their pilots and stewardesses felt unsafe.
Executive director of the BIZ,
Stefano Grande, told the Manitoban that their outreach program, which was created over five years ago, has helped to take over 3,500 people off the streets, most of whom have addiction issues. These numbers indicate large social issues and social inequalities, which, according to Grande, are prevalent in all cities around the world.
In any city, said Grande, you are going to see panhandlers, immigrants who may not have access to the same resources, low-income people, and especially people battling addictions and mental health issues.
Grande stressed the importance of managing the issue in terms of longterm solutions rather than temporary ones, which do not ultimately help people in need. It improves society as a whole when you help, first and foremost, those who are in need, said Grande.
Social workers are an important step in this long-term solution. They are able to create connections with doctors, mental health facilities, and housing. Grande admitted that two social workers will not nearly be enough. The goal is to eventually have approximately six to eight fulltime social workers in addition to a
volunteer program.
Grande stated that connections with the University of Manitoba faculties of medicine and social work are another key factor that is important in helping to clean up the downtown area. The goal is to target the next generation of working professionals of future doctors, social workers, and pharmacists to create volunteer and internship programs.
“We have to roll up our sleeves, put more resources into working with this community, the people that need help, and helping them off the street in a permanent way if we can, knowing that not everyone is ready or willing to be helped,” said Grande.
The reality of safety downtown comes down to perception, noted Grande. Thousands of people work downtown on a daily basis and millions have visited places such as the MTS Centre, the Millennium Library, and the Forks. According to Grande, when an individual makes the trip downtown, or lives downtown, and they see the same person continually intoxicated, it creates apprehension of not knowing what is next. This fear of the unknown creates a feeling of being unsafe.
“By helping people who are vulner-
able, we can dramatically change the perceptions of our downtown and doing it in a way that I think makes Winnipeggers proud,” said Grande.
In rebuttal to critics of downtown, Grande says that Winnipeg is full of world-class restaurants, retailers, and entertainment venues. He challenges every person in Winnipeg to go downtown and experience it. There is something for everyone and he guarantees that there is something that will make you return.
“Sometimes it’s just a matter of getting everyone to think a little bit differently; that’s one of the things
Quinn Riche R t, staff
C
ampaign 2000, an anti-poverty advocacy group, released its annual report card on the state of child and family poverty in Canada last week. The report found that the problem of poverty has, in recent years, become more severe in Canada and, as a countermeasure, calls for a “federal action plan to eradicate child and family poverty in Canada.”
A series of nine recommendations directed towards the federal government were included in the document, which, according to the group, would reduce the child poverty rate in Canada by up to 15 per cent if enacted.
Campaign 2000 suggested that a formal federal action plan for the eradication of poverty should be drawn up “in consultation with provincial and territorial governments, Aboriginal governments and organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and people living in poverty,” and ought to be sensitive to the “peculiarities of how Quebec pursues social policy in the Canadian context.”
One of the eight other recommen-
dations put forward by Campaign 2000 calls on the federal government to dial-back universal child tax benefits, and instead divert that money into supporting low-income families.
“Families with incomes up to $24,863 receiving the Canadian Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) also receive a supplement called the National Child Benefit Supplement (NCB), and families between $24,865 and $42,707 receive a partial supplement. Our proposal is to bring the value of the full supplement, plus CCTB from $3,485 annually per child to $5,400 per child,” explained Sid Frankel, an associate professor of social work at the University of Manitoba and Campaign 2000 committee member.
Frankel elaborated on the proposal, saying that paying for the increase in the CCTB and NCB supplement would be paid for by combining two methods: diverting $174 from general tax revenues into the supplement increase, and by ending three tax benefits and credits currently supplied to parents.
The list of universal benefits
and credits that Campaign 2000 want to see eliminated includes the Child Fitness Benefit, the Child Tax Credit, and the Universal Child Care Benefit.
Campaign 2000 views these benefits as bureaucratically inefficient and ineffective at helping those with the lowest incomes because they often cannot pay original outlay costs.
Frankel argues that the Universal Child Care Benefit, in particular, “has no relationship to child care and is not enough to purchase child care for those living in poverty. It is only inefficiently taxed back from wealthy Canadians because the federal taxation system has become less progressive.”
Improvements to post-secondary and early childhood education funding are also high priorities on Campaign 2000’s list of recommendations. The group advised for a “restoration of the Post-Secondary Student Support Program (PSSSP) to the pre-1992 funding formula,” which would guarantee funding to Aboriginal communities to support
all community members who want to pursue post-secondary education.
Additionally, “Federal spending on ECEC [early childhood education and child care] should reach at least one per cent of GDP by the end of ten years,” urged Campaign 2000’s report. “Starting with $1.3 billion in new, earmarked transfer payments to the provinces for publicly managed, non-profit and publicly owned and publicly funded ECEC services.”
Further recommendations call for a national housing strategy (including the expansion of temporary housing investment programs combating homelessness, which expire in 2014), as well as improved access to employment insurance and “restored access to old age security at age 65.”
This year’s report coincided with the 23rd anniversary of the unanimous, all-party House of Commons resolution of Nov. 24, 1989, which declared the federal government’s intent of “eliminating poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000.”
To the contrary, data presented in this year’s report showed that poverty
we’re going to be doing this year as well. We’re going to be challenging Winnipeggers to put on some different lenses,” said Grande. According to the BIZ, there have been over 80 development projects since 2001 and over 700 new residential units that have contributed to the growth of downtown Winnipeg over the last decade. In 2006, the MTS Centre was labelled as the third busiest arena in Canada according to Pollstar Magazine. There has been almost $1 billion invested in downtown Winnipeg since 1999.
is now worse in Canada than in 1989, with one in seven children living in poverty. The proportion increases to one in four for Aboriginal children.
Frankel explained to the Manitoban that two factors are responsible for this decline: “stagnation in wages at the lower echelons of the labour market, and limitations in spending on social programs in combination with tax cuts and a less progressive taxation system.”
“Many less affluent countries do better through more appropriate social and taxation policy,” he added.
Campaign 2000 is a network of child/family advocacy groups founded in 1991 to raise awareness and build support for achieving the aims set out by the federal government in 1989’s unanimous House of Commons resolution to end child poverty.
Every year, Campaign 2000 puts out a report card which assesses the federal government’s progress toward living up to the aims of the 1989 resolution and makes recommendations regarding how that goal can be reached.
cARlyn schellen B e Rg, staff
Currently, mammograms are the standard for breast cancer detection in women. Women over 50 are recommended to undergo mammographic detection on a regular basis, usually about once a year.
These tests take an X-ray of the breast and have primarily been criticized for the false positives they can produce. These false positives waste money and resources, forcing the patients to undergo unnecessary biopsies – a source of great personal stress for the patient.
Doctors continually recommend mammograms (perhaps most recently Vancouver radiologist Dr. Ian Gardiner, according to the Vancouver Courier) but for the average female, one size does not fit all. And, as the CBC recently posted, mammograms save one life for every three unnecessary treatments.
With a constant stream of new reports about how mammograms save lives, it can be confusing for the average woman to navigate the radiological landscape. Sometimes we get to choose which method of imaging we want for ourselves, but for the most part, in Canada, we get lumped in with the masses and sent to get a mammography.
A more concerning issue, however, is that mammograms can also produce false negatives. It is obviously more dangerous to have cancer
without knowing it than to diagnose something that is not there. Missed detection leads to the continual growth of cancer, making it more difficult to cure in the future if and when that cancer is eventually detected. While a major factor in mammogram false positives is breast density, dense breasts can equally cause false negatives in mammogram tests, increasing the risk of breast cancer. The fact that this is not widely known is alarming.
Are You Dense? is an American group and movement that focuses on illuminating these issues. Their website is filled with survival stories from a group of women determined to inform the public and to work to pass
Recently, I went on a tour of the North End with my Manitoban colleagues Grace Romund and Rachel Wood. The tour was led by Rachel, as she works with the North End Community Renewal Corporation (NECRC), an organization “committed to the social, economic, and cultural renewal of the North End of Winnipeg.”
NECRC is doing very important work, work that can be made tougher since perceptions of the North End are often shaped by crime reports. This is in some ways legitimate as it is important for news organizations to report on crime. However, what ends up happening is that for many of us, the only time we hear about the North End is when we read or listen to a report about a shooting or stabbing. We don’t hear about the good work that is being done there, and we don’t hear about those—like NECRC—who are giving their heart and soul to bring people out of poverty and create opportunities for growth, development, and safe communities.
After the tour, and having discussed the North End with folks on
bills. According to Are You Dense?, dense breasts are composed of tissue that has less fat and, therefore, show up white on a mammogram so the tumours are hardly visible on an X-ray. Their website states that dense breasts occur in 40 per cent of women over the age of 40 and that tumours are 40 per cent undetectable with a mammogram for women with dense breasts. However, doctors continue to use these mammograms on women who may have dense breasts. A mammogram or an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) can test for dense breasts, but doctors are not required to tell their patients about this issue. In the U.S., fives state have
passed the Simitian Breast Cancer Detection Bill, indicating that doctors must tell their patients about the pitfalls of dense breasts, screen for dense breasts, and inform patients if they have dense breasts. Virginia, New York, Connecticut, Texas, and California have all passed this bill, with many other states appearing to soon follow suit. This also allows the patients to turn to other methods to detect tumours.
Ultrasounds, which use a transducer on gel-covered skin to image a particular organ, can be used to add value to the mammograms, and they do not expose patients to radiation. Magnetic resonance imaging, which is a large magnetic imaging station, is an obvious alternative because it is more accurate in assessing dense breasts. Since it is much more expensive, though, it has not yet been adopted as the go-to method of breast cancer detection.
Thermography, according to CBC news, is also an option but has caused major problems of both false positive and negative results, and has been deemed by many as useless. It takes images using a camera sensitive to heat.
The United States still widely uses mammograms, but has also moved to MRIs and breast specific gamma imaging, which uses a gamma camera to take pictures. Both of these
do not give exposure to radiation. The Canadian health care system has adopted a practice that does not benefit every patient equally, as those with dense breasts or implants have a disadvantage that is unknown to them.
Although mammograms do save lives and acquire accurate results for women without dense breasts, there needs to be another go-to mode of detection for women with dense breasts that does not blind its patients into thinking they are cancer-free each time they get a negative diagnosis. Mammograms do not need to disappear completely: they do have a purpose as long as they save lives. Canadians, however, need to demand more expensive equipment because it will save lives in the long run. With the occurrence of false negatives, more extensive cancer treatment is used since the cancer is then found later and will have progressed. Canada needs to make better decisions in the detection of breast cancer and put more money into detection so that less money is necessary in the treatment itself. We can’t just rely on our health care system to provide the most valuable care; we need to demand it ourselves. So, women: don’t just accept a negative mammogram diagnosis, demand more options, such as MRI and gamma imaging.
the ground there, I think it is important to address a few common myths or perceptions about the area.
1) The North End is not a war zone
It is a fact that there is more crime in the North End than in other areas of Winnipeg, but perspective is needed. We’re not talking about Syria here. The North End is a part of Winnipeg, Manitoba, not a war-torn region or a disaster area.
2) The people of the North End are not giving up
There is an understandable perception among some that the North End has succumbed to apathy, and that there are very few people working to make things better. From what I saw, the opposite is the case. While the challenges are large, there are people working to rise to those challenges. There are many individuals and organizations working diligently
to bring opportunity and growth to the North End, and there is a strong spirit of community involvement.
3) Local action and solutions are best
As NECRC states in its Development Philosophy, theywill “Develop strategies that arise from local leadership rather than top-down initiatives.”
It is clear to me that there are people in the North End who know what needs to be done to continue to improve the community and to address the serious challenges there. This is a case where decisions made by the people on the ground will be the best decisions. The key is to eschew top-down decision-making and empower local organizations and people to make positive changes.
4) It will take time
Many of the difficulties facing the North End have built up over generations and decades. Progress will not come instantaneously, but what matters is that progress is being made.
After a short visit to the North End, I’m not going to claim that I
have all the answers. I look forward to spending more time in the North End and learning more in depth about the area. What I can say now though, is that the visit opened my eyes to the fact that—even in the midst of clear challenges—there is also tremendous opportunity and hope in the North End. The struggles and the difficulties are real, but so are the people working every day to make things better.
My last point is that I think there are times when many of us have a sense that the North End is not really a part of our city. The problems of the North End feel like something happening “somewhere else.” Yet, the people of the North End are our fellow Winnipeggers; they are our fellow Manitobans. And they are our fellow Canadians.
The North End is more than a few words written on a piece of paper in a news report or flashed across the screen on a newscast, it is a community of human beings, people struggling—like all of us—to build a better life and to create a hopeful future.
Through referendum the University of Manitoba Student Union passed their “U-Pass” program, to continue their efforts to provide a universal bus pass for all University of Manitoba students. While complaints about the recent approval are mostly valid—my money is my own and I don’t think I should have to spend it on someone else—there is one argument that holds no ground: “I drive to school and pay my own way, why should I have to pay more so you can take the bus?”
Though I agree that the U-Pass is a bad thing, I completely disagree with the fact that vehicle commuters “pay their own way.”
Many people do not know, but subsidized vehicular transportation is written right in the University of Manitoba Act. According to the University of Manitoba Act, Section 16, point 1.1, “parking must be operated on a cost recovery basis.” This short statement ignites so much ire it is rather incomprehensible and goes to show just how ignorant people truly are when it comes to the costs of operating their vehicles.
Instead of market forces dictating how much you pay for parking, the school sets the price based on the cost of delivering. This not only means that the vast swathes of parking lots do not generate any revenue for the City (the institution is property tax exempt) but it
also isn’t generating any profit for the school.
Just look at the line-up for the parkade at class change, for example. With line-ups like that why are they not charging more for those stalls? Because they are not allowed to! My university is poorer because you drive to school. What is even more infuriating is there was no vote for this subsidy, it’s written right into the Charter! Students had the opportunity to accept or reject the U-Pass; drivers have their subsidy written in law. To say this is unfair would be an understatement.
For comparison, downtown Winnipeg has 72,000 commuters daily and 35,526 off-street parking stalls, a ratio of about two people per stall. People commuting to downtown pay a median charge of $155.25, or $1,242 for eight months. By comparison, University of Manitoba has “over 6,400” parking spaces at their Fort Garry campus and 475 at the Bannatyne campus. Assuming that over 6,400 means 6,499 (theoretically, they would advertise “over 6,500” if it was more) that’s a total of 6,974 stalls with a student and staff population of 36,205, or a ratio of five people per stall. On the basis of a supply and demand argument, you would expect the price to be at least double, but instead the university charged $490 for the school year, or $61.25 per month, far less than what would be expected.
Setting these artificial ceilings on prices not only takes money from my pocket, it pushes people toward driving as their mode of transportation, increasing greenhouse gases and forcing the City to build and maintain more and more infrastructure for you to commute. When someone parks their car it costs everyone an extra $170 a year for the transit users to get to school for free.
To all my fellow students who drive, please continue to decry transportation subsidies! It says a lot that you are ignorant of the fact that you are part of the problem. To my fellow bus commuters, I am pleading with you to speak up to the administration and ask them to eliminate this subsidy for drivers. Tell them they should be generating a profit on the people who feel it is their right to drive. Tell them that you want your university to be the best it can be, and the added profit to the University’s coffers would go a long way to improving your university experience.
Though the University Charter is not controlled by the administration—it’s an act of legislature—their recommendations to government go a long way.
And the next time someone protests that they are paying for you to take the bus you can smile, knowing the fact that they are ignorant of the true fact that they are a far larger burden on the University.
Josh Mo RRy
On Nov. 25, just days after the cease-fire took effect between Israel and Hamas—officially ending Operation Pillar of Defense—a pro Israel rally took place at the Asper Jewish Community Campus. You’re probably wondering why this is newsworthy, how does the proIsrael rally differ from any other rally about the hotbed of issues in the Middle East. In fact, the week before the pro Israel rally, there was a rally in support of the Palestinian cause at the Legislature.
Referring to the rally as “pro-Israel” is unfortunately somewhat of a misnomer. The speakers at the event didn’t criticize the Palestinian people, they didn’t deny Gaza’s right to exist, and they didn’t brag about Israel’s military superiority. That’s not what Operation Pillar of Defense was about, and the provincial and federal ministers from both sides of the political spectrum who spoke at the rally realized this. It isn’t the fault of the Gazans that conflict broke out, as they’re just as much victims of Hamas’s tyranny
as Israel is. The people of Gaza have not been able to have free and fair elections since Hamas - a recognized terrorist group - seized power by force in 2007. Regardless of whether or not you believe in Israel’s bombing of Gaza, it’s undeniable that Hamas committed war crimes by launching rockets from civilian areas, turning innocent Gazans into human shields.
The Palestinians want an end to the conflict just as much as the Israelis do
So back to your question: why was this rally different than other rallies about the conflict in the Middle East? The answer to the question is actually quite subtle: This pro-Israel rally wasn’t a pro Israel rally at all; it was a rally for peace. As one speaker pointed out, when the Palestinians are in control of their own destiny, and when they are freed from the ruthless dictatorship that is Hamas, there will be peace. The Palestinians want an end to the conflict just as much as the Israelis do, and the multidenominational crowd at the rally shows t hat there is a lot of common ground between the sides to negotiate peace.
Lately it seems like every time I open the Manitoban I am confronted by a plethora of conservative articles. This is not my complaint. I am not a conservative myself, but I am open to divergent interpretations and a sense of balance in my newspapers. What I find interesting, however, is how many of these articles seem to be less about a particular conservative perspective than they are about conservatism itself. It is an endless parade of conservative apologists, each trying to explain to their predominately liberal fellow students both what it is to be conservative
and why they are in the first place. Can I just say this: express your ideals; stop defending them. I am tired of reading articles authored by people attempting to either express their uniqueness among the opposition or else trying to dispel their discomfort with it. In short, none of us care that you’re conservative. Rather, we care that your arguments are conveyed in a reasonable, well-considered, intelligent fashion. You’re young, you’re idealistic, and you’re conservative – we get it. Now start owning it.
-Mary Steepen
toM i ng RAM , staff
Rivers and lakes have long been important for Manitoba. They are a source of food, they generate our electricity, and at one time they were important transportation routes. They are also centres of leisure. All these things affect, and are in turn affected by, the delicate ecosystems of our waterways. And these ecosystems are threatened by invasive species.
According to the Invasive Species Council of Manitoba, invasive species are “plants, animals, or other organisms that are growing out of their country or region of origin and are outcompeting or even replacing native organisms.” When a species travels to a new environment, it could find that environment inhospitable and fail to take root there. But if it can handle the new environment, the invasive species might find that it is not susceptible to the local predators and diseases. This gives it a great advantage over local species.
Of course, the system has a way of shifting to accommodate the change, but in nature these changes take place gradually. Without human intervention, a species is not going to be abruptly introduced to a new area on the other side of the planet. But when you throw humanity into the equation, with all our planes, trains, automobiles, and global shipping, these changes can occur faster than ever and lead to ecosystems that are radically out of balance. Invasive species are what you get when evolution meets our industrialized, globalized human society.
By beating out native species, invasive species reduce biodiversity and destroy unique ecosystems. They can also impact agriculture (as with weeds that compete with crops and can be costly to deal with) and the flow and quality of water. These factors are all of particular concern in Manitoba.
Invasive species usually travel to new areas as a result of human activity. Sometimes this can be the result of illegal activity such as the smuggling of fruits and vegetables, which can introduce invasive plants as well as insects and parasites, or obviously irresponsible activities like the purchase of certain exotic animals – the Everglades in Florida are being rapidly overrun with Burmese pythons that were introduced by the exotic reptile trade. But even the everyday work of fishermen can, if they are not careful, transfer invasive pests from one area to another.
Sometimes they are introduced on purpose for purely ornamental purposes. The common carp was brought to North America for this reason, and it reached Manitoba around 1886. By 1954 it had disrupted commercial fisheries. When the common carp feeds, it stirs up the substrate (bed of the stream), making the water cloudy. This destroys habitats and kills plants, and can make the water unsuitable for drinking or swimming. It can also release phosphorus, which is a
nutrient normally locked up at the bottom of the stream, contributing to the eutrophication (nutrient loading) of lakes.
Before 1940, the common carp was only found in the Red River. By 1950, it had become established in the south basins of lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba. Over the next 20 years it expanded rapidly, and by 1976 it was found in almost all major lakes and rivers in Manitoba except the Churchill River system. In the last 16 years, the common carp invaded the Churchill River system. Its expansion in the north was made possible by hydroelectric development – especially the construction of Kettle Generating Station in 1974 and the Churchill River Diversion in 1976. This development flooded what had been dry land, and provided shallow marshy areas for the carp to spawn in the summer.
There’s another carp that’s even more concerning: the Asian carp. It has not yet reached Manitoba, but there is a serious danger that it will invade the Great Lakes. Canadian and American fisheries officials are working to keep it out, but it has been spotted just six miles from Lake Michigan. This is particularly troubling, as Lake Michigan “opens the door” to Lake Huron and the rest of the Great Lakes.
The Asian carp can have devastating effects on biodiversity. The fish can grow to about a metre in length and up to 45 kilograms. They eat voraciously, outcompeting and starving other fish and dominating the ecosystems they invade. One variety, the silver carp, is dangerous in an especially dramatic way: when startled, they launch themselves from the water in great numbers and with considerable force. People have had bones broken by silver carp.
The Asian carp escaped into the Mississippi River from U.S. aquaculture facilities in the 1990s. It has been advancing steadily northward since that time, and is now perilously close to the Great Lakes. “Nine out of 10 fishes pulled out of the Mississippi River basin are now Asian carps,” said Becky Cudmore, manager of the Centre of Expertise for Aquatic Risk Assessment (CEARA) of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Computer modelling by CEARA suggests that the Asian carp would have no trouble adapting to most Canadian environments.
It’s not just fish that are dangerous invaders. The spiny waterflea, an aquatic invertebrate and zooplankter native of Europe, can be found in Lake of the Woods and the Winnipeg River and is making inroads into Lake Winnipeg. They are capable of reaching 15mm in size, which is large in zooplankton terms. Unlike other waterfleas, which mostly feed on algae, the spiny waterflea preys on other zooplankters. The long, barbed tail spine can get stuck in fishing gear, which is a potential method for the
spiny waterflea to invade new lakes. The spiny waterflea can reproduce sexually or by parthenogenesis (i.e., asexual reproduction). This allows them to reproduce very quickly. Also, because it preys on zooplankters, it competes directly with small fish for food. Because of its rapid reproduction, the spiny waterflea can hog all the food, leaving little for the small, young fish.
According to an article published by the Michigan Sea Grant, the spiny waterflea has become a permanent part of the ecosystem in the Great Lakes. And Brenda Hann, a University of Manitoba scientist who studies the spiny waterflea, says, “Once a non-indigenous species has invaded a new habitat, it is almost impossible to eradicate. Prevention is vital, but as non-indigenous aquatic species move along waterways, it is a matter of ‘when,’ not ‘if’ they invade if the waterways are connected.” In many cases, the invasive species have already arrived and there’s not much we can do other than track their advance. At some point you have to accept that the invaders have succeeded, and they’re now a local species. When you talk about invasive species, heavy questions about the way we relate to nature lurk just below the surface. All the same, though, it would be better if the Asian carp did not reach Manitoba.
h olly eRvick- k note
The City of Winnipeg has been updating its wastewater treatment plants. These upgrades, slated to wrap up in 2014, will allow for the removal of more nutrients, toxic chemicals, and other contaminants from wastewater. But what about the wastewater that never makes it to a treatment plant?
More than 30 per cent of the city is still serviced by a combined sewer system. This outdated infrastructure collects raw household waste and stormwater in the same pipe and, when periods of high precipitation overwhelm the system, dumps raw sewage into our rivers. This dumping of untreated sewage is known as a combined system overflow.
These overflows have negative effects on aquatic life and ecosystems in our rivers. Sewage typically contains oxygen-depleting organic materials, nutrient pollutants, viruses, and many other contaminants. Storm
water collects urban pollutants such as oil, pesticides, fertilizers, and toxic chemicals. When released into freshwater systems untreated, this concoction of contaminants overloads the ecosystem and decreases dissolved oxygen levels, while creating a host of other issues.
Winnipeg is not the worst offender when it comes to combined system overflows, but we have fallen behind other major Canadian cities in this area and the approach to upgrading the system has been piecemeal at best. Sections of the combined system are replaced when necessary to avoid basement flooding or other complications, but there is no plan in place to address the system as a whole, or deal with sewage overflows comprehensively.
What’s worse is that even in areas where the system has been separated, private contractors often connect residential wastewater pipes to land
drainage pipes, in effect re-combining a separated system.
“If it’s faster and they can get paid, they’ll do it,” says one local wastewater treatment engineer who wished to remain unnamed. “It’s not always that they’re being negligent or deliberately doing it. Quite often it’s an honest mistake. Often, the information isn’t readily available for them to check.”
There are bylaws in place to prohibit this, but these cross connections are difficult to regulate, as they are underground. The ideal solution would be to completely overhaul the system by replacing combined sewers with separated pipes. However, with costs estimated anywhere between $500 million and $3 billion, and with no plan in place, this is not likely to happen any time soon. On the bright side, alternative measures can be taken to significantly reduce the number of overflow events and volume of raw sewage released during
periods of high precipitation. Ecojustice, a national organization dedicated to defending the rights of Canadians with respect to a healthy environment, suggests using green infrastructure to minimize the frequency and volume of overflows. Green infrastructure—human-designed systems that mimic nature in function—can decrease the amount of storm water runoff collected in sewage pipes by using trees and other vegetation to absorb storm water, and rain barrels to redirect it.
The benefits of such infrastructure are far-reaching; not only do green roofs significantly decrease surface runoff in urban areas when used on a large scale, as they have the capacity to store large amounts of rainwater, they also improve air quality, regulate temperature, and provide insulation for buildings. Downspout disconnection, which redirects a building’s roof drainage system into rain barrels
or towards permeable areas such as lawns can minimize surface runoff while reducing the risk of basement flooding and providing a source of water for gardens.
Toronto has been a leader in the use of green infrastructure. In 2007, the city made downspout disconnection mandatory. In 2010, they introduced a bylaw and incentive program requiring new buildings and retrofits to install green roofs, making it the first city in North America to do so.
In the absence of funding for a fully separated system, a comprehensive plan that re-examines cross connections, increases the capacity of the existing system, and uses green infrastructure could provide a more cost-effective approach to minimizing the overflow of raw sewage into our rivers. We should be talking about this.
Greg Selinger
MLA for St. Boniface Premier of Manitoba (204) 237-9247 GregSelinger.ca
Ron Lemieux
MLA for Dawson Trail (204) 878-4644 Ron-Lemieux.ca
Flor Marcelino
MLA for Logan (204) 788-0800 FlorMarcelino.ca
Erin Selby
MLA for Southdale (204) 253-3918 ErinSelby.ca
Jim Rondeau
MLA for Assiniboia (204) 888-7722 JimRondeau.mb.ca
Bidhu Jha
MLA for Radisson (204) 222-0074 BidhuJha.ca
Deanne Crothers
MLA for St. James (204) 415-0883 DeanneCrothers.ca
Kerri Irvin-Ross
MLA for Fort Richmond (204) 475-9433 KerriIrvinRoss.ca
Stan Struthers
MLA for Dauphin (204) 622-7630 StanStruthers.ca
Dave Gaudreau
MLA for St. Norbert (204) 261-1794 DaveGaudreau.ca
Mohinder Saran
MLA for The Maples (204) 632-7933 MohinderSaran.ca
Nancy Allan MLA for St. Vital (204) 237-8771 NancyAllan.ca
Sharon Blady
MLA for Kirkfield Park (204) 832-2318 SharonBlady.ca
Kevin Chief
MLA for Point Douglas (204) 421-9126 KevinChief.ca
Eric Robinson
MLA for Kewatinook (204) 943-2274 Eric-Robinson.ca
Theresa Oswald MLA for Seine River (204) 255-7840 TheresaOswald.ca
Jennifer Howard
MLA for Fort Rouge (204) 946-0272 JenniferHoward.ca
Matt Wiebe
MLA for Concordia (204) 654-1857 MattWiebe.ca
lAu RA gRoening
Why should we care about wetlands? Wetlands are not cute. There are no Coke commercials about protecting slews; Pamela Anderson and Alicia Silverstone have not bared a single breast to protect bogs (although I see a good opportunity for a mud wrestling fundraiser).
Wetlands are commonly referred to as nature's kidneys. These kidneys are being “cut out” of nature's body faster than they can be put on ice and sold on the black market.
We need our kidneys to remove toxins from our blood, as well as to retain substances that are good for us, such as water, sugars, and amino acids. Wetlands act in the same way by removing harmful materials from water, such as excess nutrients and sediment, filtration of pollutants and contaminants from industrial and agricultural enterprise, as well as retaining water on land that prevents flooding in wet years and drought in dry years. This kidneylike action occurs in all varieties of wetland – from a small seasonal wet spot in your neighbour’s field to hundreds of kilometers of bog and peatland in northern Manitoba.
One essential component of a wetland is its ability to slow the movement of upland runoff from rain and snow, which allows for excess nutrients and sediment to settle out of the water column and be sequestered by aquatic vegetation. This slowed movement of water is also critical in wet years, when stalling the runoff of melting snow can decrease the likelihood of downstream flooding.
The southwest portion of Manitoba was once home to thousands of wetlands and “potholes,” which are those miniature pond-type basins dotting up the landscape in and around places like Minnedosa, MB. It has been estimated that over 70 per cent of wetlands have been drained or filled for agricultural purposes.
the Interlake region. This results not only in flooding downstream, but also nutrient loading (or eutrophication), which has been a major contributing factor to the formation of toxic blue-green algal (or cyanobacterial) blooms in Lake Winnipeg.
It has been estimated that over 70 per cent of wetlands have been drained or filled for agricultural purposes
The majority of these wetlands are drained and converted into farmland, as marshes have long been considered wasted space – a mess that ought to be cleaned up, tilled, and harvested. The result of wetland conversion to agriculture, however, is that spring runoff is not held over in these small retention marshes, but rushes off of fields into already swelling drainage ditches. With large tracts of southwestern Manitoba now wetland-free, the spring runoff comes faster than ever, pulling with it fertile soil and nutrients from farmers’ fields into drainage basins like those in
Don’t blame your farmer uncles for this. They are charged tax on these damp spots, and if you could make good use of otherwise unusable land, wouldn’t you drain it too? If wetlands are ecologically valuable, can we put a dollar amount on their value?
You can calculate the relative economic value of wetlands by considering the role they play in improving water quality, reducing greenhouse gases through carbon sequestration, reducing erosion, providing unique habitat that accommodates and encourages biodiversity, as well as the practical implications related to flood and drought mitigation.
It’s harder to calculate the intrinsic or spiritual value of wetlands, though generally wetlands are heralded for being one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet . However, considering the huge costs Manitoba incurs from flooding on an annual basis, there is a strong likelihood of the pro -
vincial Government developing a policy that provides incentives to those farmers that opt to maintain and restore wetlands, rather than repurposing them for agricultural uses.
The Provincial Government just released its sustainable development plan TomorrowNow – Manitoba’s Green Plan, in which they pledge to develop a comprehensive wetland strategy as well as the restoration of Delta and Netley-Libau Marsh, two major marsh “kidneys” of Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg.
The TomorrowNow plan states, “The province will develop further partnerships with the agricultural industry to encourage the preservation and development of ecological goods and services to benefit Manitoba’s environment while support a strong agricultural sector and rural economy.”
Wetlands are an important part of our natural heritage, and the Provincial Government has an excellent opportunity to support wetland conservation and rehabilitation through ecological goods and services as introduced by this plan. Educating and compensating farmers and rural landowners that preserve these economically and ecologically valuable parts of the landscape could prove to be a very effective part of Manitoba’s wetland recovery strategy.
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B Ryce h oye, staff
O
n Nov. 27, world-renowned limnologist David Schindler delivered a compelling speech at the University of Manitoba entitled “Contributions of the Experimental Lakes Area [ELA] to solving cultural eutrophication in Canada’s freshwater lakes.” Later that same evening, Schindler gave a similar though truncated version of that discussion alongside Canadian food and water activist and chair of the Council of Canadians, Maude Barlow, at an event put on by the Save the ELA Coalition.
“It’s getting to the point where the ordinary type of democracy doesn’t always work,” remarked Barlow, referring to the series of changes and cuts made to environmental science policy by the federal government of the day.
Both events are best viewed as part of a greater movement towards raising awareness over the impending termination of the ELA. The ELA is a freshwater research station of 58 lakes located an hour north of Kenora in northwestern Ontario, with an annual operating budget of roughly $2 million. The field station was erected in the late 60s and has developed an international reputation for its unique and imaginative whole-lake ecosystem approach to limnological (the study of lakes) research.
Save the ELA Coalition director Diane Orihel has mounted an aggressive campaign against the proposed shutting down of the ELA since this past spring, putting her PhD studies on hold in the meantime.
“It is the job of ELA scientists to serve Canadians by producing scientific knowledge required by the federal government to produce public policy,” stated Orihel in September at a Save the ELA tribute held at the Forks.
ELA rESEArCh
Schindler’s talks delved into the world-renowned, policy-informing freshwater research that has been going on at the ELA since 1967. Over the years, the ELA has made many important discoveries. One example of successful ELA research was based on measuring the effect of acid rain and the acidification of lake basins. This experiment was inspired by other research in the early 70s that linked lake acidification in the Sudbury, Ontario area with sulfur emissions from nearby metal smelters.
that the littoral (near shore) zone’s biological community suffered dramatically, and recovered far slower in a lake that had been acidified to pH 4.5 than in another lake that had only been acidified to pH 5.
In another acidification experiment, ELA researchers compared the relative acidifying effects of sulfuric and nitric acid when introduced to separate parts of a double-basin lake. Here is what they found over a fiveyear period: “nitric acid proved to be about two-thirds as effective as the sulfuric acid as a lake acidifying agent. This demonstrated that nitric oxide emissions from automobiles and other sources can be potent sources of lake acidification.”
“The scientific consensus on aquatic effects obtained during the late 1970s and early 1980s played a significant role in justifying [sulfuric] and [nitric] emission controls both in Canada and internationally,” states a post on Environment Canada’s website.
The ELA also demonstrated that the flooding of wetlands associated with hydroelectric reservoir development results in considerable increases in methyl mercury content in fish populations, which has implications in commercial and traditional fisheries systems. The same research also tracked statistically significant increases in greenhouse gas emissions produced by the flooded aquatic vegetation communities.
Another experiment in the early 2000s sought to characterize the impact of synthetic hormones from birth control pills on aquatic ecosys-
to consistent, low levels of synthetic estrogen to determine whether it was acting as an endocrine disrupter in the resident biota. Over the course of several years, researchers found that a number of male vertebrate and invertebrate species experienced marked physiological changes. Males of one minnow species became feminized and unable to reproduce, which nearly decimated the population.
Other research projects conducted at the ELA include: studying the impact of mercury emissions from electrical utilities; assessing the impacts of fish farming aquaculture on the health of fish populations; as well as an ongoing study of antibacterial nanosilver—now in over 300 commercially available products— and how toxic it may be to freshwater algal and bacterial communities.
ThE PhOSPhOruS STudIES
One of the most significant earlier studies to come out of the ELA occurred in the late 60s and 70s where Schindler and others carried out whole-lake experiments that identified phosphorus as the culprit behind toxic blue-green algal bloom formations (eutrophication) in lakes.
Eutrophication is a result of excess nutrients in a water body. Eutrophication—like what has been witnessed in Lake Winnipeg’s South Basin—results in a less transparent, less oxygenated water column, leaving less available oxygen for aquatic species. This, in turn, dramatically alters food web dynamics and results in poorer overall water quality.
“[ELA] refuted the idea that you needed to control nitrogen,” remarked Schindler in one of his talks, adding, “This has been one of the strengths of the experiments at the ELA. [Smallscale experiments] don’t give you enough time to evaluate the slow processes.”
Schindler noted that after this period in the 60s and 70s, after controlling phosphorous inputs from sewage and detergent inputs, industrial farming practices “intensified land use and the use of fertilizer [ . . . ] especially the use of manure.”
Schindler and others began in 1976 and continued on through the 90s, administering sulfuric and nitric acid to select research basins, monitoring changes in pH and the corresponding health of the biological community. In the lakes that received various levels of sulfuric acid inputs over the course of a few decades, the result was
tems. Synthetic estrogen is excreted (in the form of urine) by women consuming birth control pills, where it then passes through municipal wastewater treatment facilities and continues on downstream into water bodies at low concentrations.
Researchers simulated this cycle at the ELA by introducing synthetic estrogen to aquatic ecosystems. They monitored fish, frog, and aquatic invertebrate populations exposed
In the 70s, municipal sewage and industrial detergent products accounted for 50 per cent of all problematic nutrient loading, although detergent companies insisted that it was products like nitrogen and carbon that needed to be controlled, not phosphorus. However, ELA research helped disprove this assertion, and lead several states and provinces to pass laws restricting the use of phosphorus in detergent products.
“So we transformed an easily controllable problem where we can deal with point sources [i.e., detergent production and sewage treatment] to one which is much more difficult to control because the sources are so-called ‘nonpoint’ or diffuse sources.”
It is this relationship between the agricultural use of fertilizers and manure (both high in phosphorus content) that is linked to the blue-green algae production on Lake Winnipeg today, which contains microcystin – a toxin that can cause bleeding of the liver along with posing other health risks.
ThE FATE OF A PuBLICLY-FuNdEd ELA
On Nov. 28—the day following Schindler and Barlow’s talks—the City of Winnipeg’s executive policy committee “voted in favour of writing a letter to the federal government not to close the freshwater research pro-
gram until they find a funding source,” reported the Winnipeg Free Press While this may seem like a boon to the Save the ELA crowd, the important thing to note is that the government has not changed its official position towards funding the ELA when presented with letters of this kind in the past.
In an interview with the Manitoban earlier this fall, Diane Orihel explained that one of the main gripes of ELA supporters is the prospect of it being funded by a private source. The worry is that a private corporation wouldn’t have the same obligation to be transparent as one funded by taxpayer dollars, and that this could compromise the integrity of future research done at the ELA.
Also in an interview with the Manitoban , Schindler claimed he “would frankly prefer a management structure that included academia,” adding “[Department of Fisheries and Oceans] has been a ‘wicked stepmother’ as a manager.”
“ELA has always been low in their priorities despite producing outstanding science. In contrast, [prior to Minister of the Environment Peter Kent, the Department of the Environment (DOE)] has always been very supportive, and from personal conversations with their senior scientists, if they were allowed to speak, DOE would still support ELA.”
“This is coming right from the top level, where science that gets in the way of rapid economic development is considered to be unimportant to the current government.”
tOp Right: phOtO COuRtesy OF expeRimeNtaL Lakes aRea, FisheRies aND
LeFt: phOtO by JOhN sheaReR
At first glance the eclectic selection of songs featured in the following pages might seem incoherent together, however, they do in fact have something in common – an interesting story.
We all know of a song that tells a good story, but in this feature the Manitoban wanted to take a look at the stories behind the music, or inspired by it.
Some of the stories recount personal anecdotes or tell of landmark moments in our history, others are reminders of icons passed or provide revelations about human nature.
So give the QR code above a scan and the Manitoban Mixtape a play. We hope you enjoy the tunes and the stories.
volunteer staff
The year was 1974. Joni Mitchell had just written her smash hit “Free Man in Paris,” about a trip she took with the president of her record label, David Geffen. Geffen, as it turns out, was not too pleased.
It’s not that Joni and David weren’t friendly. In fact, they shared a house at one point (apparently no romantic involvement here, but there were certainly rumours). Geffen gave Mitchell her big break when he signed her to his label, Asylum Records, producing other big stars such as Bob Dylan and the Eagles. Yes, they were pals, but that doesn’t mean Geffen had to be happy about Joni using his life as song-writing material.
Mitchell comments, “He didn’t like it at the time [ . . . ] He begged me to take it off the record. I think he felt uncomfortable being shown in that light.”
This light she speaks of would be one of vulnerability and unhappiness. The song discusses Geffen’s feelings regarding his work in the music industry. Mitchell says she was inspired to write the song by a lot of things that
Geffen had told her. The chorus sums up his feelings: “I was a free man in Paris / I felt unfettered and alive / There was nobody calling me up for favors / And no one’s future to decide / You know I’d go back there tomorrow / But for the work I’ve taken on / Stoking the star maker machinery / Behind the popular song.”
While recording the album, Mitchell was excited about how the song was turning out. The excitement only grew when guitarist José Feliciano joined the team.
Note: This review may not make much sense if you haven’t seen Schindler’s List, but if you haven’t go watch it as soon as you can.
“ICould Have Done More” from the Schindler’s List soundtrack is one of the most heart-wrenching pieces of music I have ever listened to.
Music often rekindles memories in our minds, bringing sentiments and feelings flooding back.
For movie soundtracks, the songs have a very direct link to a moment, since it coincides with what you are seeing on screen. For a movie like Schindler’s List, this brings forth powerful emotions.
The song “I Could Have Done More” plays near the end of Schindler's List, when Oskar Schindler is fleeing
from the advancing allied forces.
Schindler—a member of the Nazi Party in Germany—owned a factory and employed Jewish workers, sparing them from the extermination camps. Over the course of the war, as he began to realize the true aims of the Nazi Party he once supported, he began to hire more and more workers, not for the purpose of making money, but to spare them from the death camps. His workers purposely make substandard shells and ammunition to disrupt the Nazi war machine. By the end of the war, he had spent nearly every last dollar of his once large fortune, and in doing so he saved more than 1,100 people.
Feliciano was working with John Lennon at the time in a studio along the same corridor where Mitchell was recording. Things weren’t working, Lennon got drunk, and Feliciano wandered down the hallway, only to hear “Free Man in Paris” escaping from Mitchell’s studio door. Already an acquaintance of Mitchell’s from some work they did together in Canada, Feliciano simply walked into the room and told Joni that he thought he could add some good electric guitar to the song.
Feliciano explains, “The great guitarist Larry Carlton of the L.A. Express was already on the track, but I knew I could hold my own with him. Joni didn’t try to direct me at all, just let me do what I do, and it turned out really good.”
Court and Spark, the album in which “Free Man in Paris” appears, was released to wonderful reviews and overwhelming popularity. The album influenced many other musicians; Madonna is quoted as saying, “In high school, I worshipped Joni Mitchell and sang everything from Court and Spark, my coming-of-age record.”
After the success of her first single, “Help Me,” Mitchell thought the next single off the album should be the love song, “Car on a Hill.” However, the record label released “Free Man in Paris” instead, a song which Joni never saw as holding single potential. But it was a good thing that the label didn’t listen to Mitchell because the song became her biggest international hit and is ranked #470 on Rolling Stone ’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It’s also one of her most covered songs, with everyone from Elton John to Neil Diamond to Sufjan Stevens taking a whack at it!
“I Could Have Done More” plays as he is fleeing Germany as the Allies approach and says goodbye to his workers. He is presented with a final gift, from those who he saved – a ring with the words “Whoever saves one life saves the world entire” written in Hebrew.
This causes Schindler to consider the fact that he was literally trading money for human lives, and he thinks back to all the money he has wasted throughout his life. He looks at his car, realizing the money he could have made from selling the car could have allowed him to hire—and therefore save—10 more people. He takes the pin off of his coat and realizes that since it is gold, he could have saved one or two more people had he sold it.
The combination of Schindler’s realization and the amazing violin solo makes this one of the most powerful moments in film in my opinion, and even without the visual context, “I Could Have Done More” is an incredible piece of music.
How one Beach Boy housed the Manson family and how the Beatles got lumped in with the whole mess
RyA n hARBy, staff
I’m a sucker for an interesting story. Even more, I’m a sucker for a true story.
In the case of the 1969 Charles Manson murders, the bizarre events surrounding the horrific ordeal were both interesting and true. The reason? Well, one of the most insidious acts of the past century, one that captivated fearful news audiences the world over, just so happened to have ties to two of the most popular musical acts on the planet: the Beach Boys and the Beatles. Weird, right?
Oh, and here’s a quick disclaimer: I’m going to do my best to skim over some of the more unsettling aspects of this story in favour of the uncanny and the coincidental elements. If you want the full, gruesome account of events then acquaint yourself with the Internet.
Anyway, our story begins with the Wilson family. By the late 60s, the Beach Boys were well into their transitional period, moving from surf rock to psychedelic music all at the creative whims of one Brian Wilson. Brian was one of the three Wilson brothers who made up the original Beach Boys lineup, along with guitarist Carl Wilson and drummer Dennis Wilson.
In 1968, Dennis Wilson found himself driving around in Malibu when two female hitchhikers caught his attention. As Dennis was wont to do, he took the two hitchhikers to his home. As you may or may not have surmised, this turned out to be an overall poor decision. Soon enough, Wilson would learn that the two he had picked up had also brought with them a short, wild-eyed man to the Beach Boy’s house. The whole thing shared an almost unbelievable resemblance to those side-of-the-road robberies you see in old Western movies, where the damsel in distress flags down a stray vehicle while the more unsavoury members of the damsel’s party emerge from behind a rock. In this case, the man emerging behind the proverbial rock was Charles Manson – at the time just a weird looking charismatic individual.
Clearly not a fan of rational decision-making, Wilson decided to house Manson and his entourage (somewhere between 12-24 “family members”) as guests at his Sunset Boulevard dwelling for nearly a year.
Now, apparently Manson thought himself something of a talented songwriter at the time. Wilson was even convinced to help record some of Manson’s songs, going so far as to bring them to the attention of several Hollywood insiders and, inconceivably, speaking offhand about the prospect of getting Manson signed to the Beach Boys’ recording label, Brother Records.
As you might imagine, in time, things began to get weird at the Dennis Wilson household. Manson’s “family” had started to take over the place and, if you believe the reports, Wilson was paying thousands upon thousands of dollars for damages caused by his houseguests, including payment for the destruction of his uninsured car and a hefty medical bill for the treatment of a household gonorrhea outbreak.
Even for Wilson, the group’s behaviour was beyond
the pale and by late 1968 the Beach Boy drummer broke contact with them, insisting they move out of the Sunset Boulevard house. The request was met by something any sane person would rightly identify as a warning sign – a gift left to the housekeeper to pass along to Dennis that, well, wasn’t so much a gift as it was a threat: a single bullet.
This is where the story turns a corner.
Wanting nothing to do with the “family,” Wilson vacated the scene and the job of informing Manson that there was going to be no record contract fell to music producer Terry Melcher who, in all fairness, was equally weirded out by this point.
Months passed and all parties seemed to go their separate ways. The next year the dreadful events of the Manson family murders would dominate headlines. The so-called family committed several murders over the span of two weeks. One aspect that seemed minor at the time, however, was that one of the major crime scenes associated with the Manson family was the former home of one Terry Melcher, who had moved out of the house with his girlfriend Candice Bergen soon after cutting ties with the family at the advice of Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson.
But what about the Beatles? Well, this one tends to be a bit better documented.
In the late sixties, after hearing a copy of the White Album, Manson became obsessed with the Beatles. So
much so that he started using song names and lyrics from the band in his own twisted theology. He even started using the song “Helter Skelter” in reference to some sort of apocalyptic race war he predicted would boil over in the United States. According to some accounts, Manson believed that the entire album secretly confirmed all of his visions and that “Helter Skelter” even held a coded message that would confirm the proper escape route the family should take to evade persecution.
The “Helter Skelter” aspect of the Manson family caught much media attention during the murder trials and because of this, many people still associate the music of the Beatles with the terrible acts of 1969. Audiences around the world were fearful of the horrifying news reports and wanted to know why someone would commit these crimes.
“We used to have a laugh about this, that, or the other, in a light-hearted way, and [ . . . ] some symbolic youth generation wants to see something in it. We also took seriously some parts of the role, but I don’t know what “Helter Skelter” has to do with knifing someone,” said John Lennon in a 1970 Rolling Stone interview.
Oddly enough, it wasn’t until the years to come that people began to realize; even though, historically, these crimes had been connected so closely in memory to one of Britain’s most famous musical exports, it was America’s favourite surf group who in reality came that close to the face of evil.
Take a quick moment to look at the last name in the byline. Now, when I tell you that I have a complicated relationship with Christmas, it should be fairly obvious what I’m talking about.
As someone who wanted to blend into the crowd as a kid and just keep my head down, having a name like Elves during the holidays was just an invitation to be subjected to “jokes” from the type of kids who didn’t really need much excuse to engage in such behaviour The name was like putting up a ridic-yule wreath on the front of my house or the un-ironic wearing of a reindeer sweater in junior high.
One of my most vivid memories is of a restaurant full of people at Disney World laughing when they announced over the intercom that the Elves reservation was ready on the Christmas Eve I was ten – my face was as red as Mickey Mouse’s pants. I still intrinsically associate Christmas with embarrassment.
BUT, there’s a part of me that LOVES Christmas; checking out the over-the-top light displays in the neighbourhood, sampling the seasonal craft beers available at the LC, seeing folks who are home for the holidays, and finding the perfect gifts for friends and family.
Which brings me to my selection for this playlist: Boney M.’s “classic” chestnut, “Feliz Navidad.”
My mom loves this song (and the album it comes from, 1981’s aptly titled Christmas Album) with a fervor that rivals my distaste for it. Listening to the Euro-disco arpeggios and drum-machines that start the song, my hackles are instantly raised – the fake pan-flute sound of the synth brings to mind Zamfir, and I am not, nor have I ever been, a fan of Zamfir.
“Feliz Navidad” was the Christmas soundtrack for a great portion of my youth, and then one year… silence While taking the decorations and tree out of storage, my mother discovered that her copy of Christmas Album was missing. Having voiced my distaste for the album frequently over the years, she cast a suspicious gaze my way and blamed me for the disappearance. She would continue to blame me for nearly two decades and the mention of wanting to play “Feliz Navidad” but being unable to became as much of a Christmas tradition as drinking eggnog and eating Turtles in our house.
As much as I benefited from not having to listen to Boney M. at Christmas time, as god is my witness, I had no hand in the disappearance of the album and continued to plead innocence each year the accusation was put up along with the tree and tinsel. Then—about four or five years ago—while rifling through used vinyl at a Goodwill store, I found Marcia Barrett, Liz Mitchell, Maizie Williams, and Bobby Farrell (the group’s West Indian vocalists) staring back at me. The Christmas Album had returned.
It may have been summertime when I found the record, but I instantly knew I’d found my mom’s Christmas present for the year. With access to a USB turntable, I was able to rip MP3s from the vinyl and burn a CD-R of the album so that while she’d have a replacement for the missing LP, she’d also be able to play the album on the stereo that had replaced the turntable on which she used to listen to the Christmas Album
The look of surprise on my mom’s face that Christmas when she opened her present and the smile on her face as those opening notes played suggested she finally
Elton John first released this song in 1973 and dedicated it to the late Marilyn Monroe, who had passed away in 1962. He cowrote the classic tune with Bernie Taupin as a tribute to her and her memory though he never knew her, since he would have been only 15 years old when she died.
The song examines Monroe as a human being, and not simply the iconic image that popular culture makes her out to be. It also looks at how society objectifies its stars and turns them into money and fame machines at the price of their souls. Monroe’s time in Hollywood and the world was brief but she has made one of the most lasting impressions.
Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson and rose to fame in films and musicals such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The Seven Year Itch. She is also famous for her well-known rendition of “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.” Monroe’s onscreen presence is complete with a breathy voice, bleach blonde hair, and an hourglass figure.
The former Mortenson married and divorced several men, and was even rumoured to have had an affair with President John F. Kennedy. Her death reeks of conspiracy theories to this day because it was never fully investigated. Monroe died of a drug overdose,
did believe I had no hand in the disappearance – if I had deliberately removed “Feliz Navidad” from my life those many years ago, why would I then go through the trouble of bringing it in out of the cold and guaranteeing that I’d be hearing it each Christmas once again?
As much as I can’t stand that song, selfless giving is the true spirit of the season, so I’ll suck it up yet again this December as my mom hits “PLAY” and then “<<” over and over.
For those of you who celebrate it, to quote the song: “I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas.”
but the possibilities of suicide and murder have been suspected.
Fifty years later she is still idolized throughout popular culture and remains an elusive symbol of sexuality and promise in the world. An animated spirit that everyone still attempts to duplicate, Monroe still appears on numerous posters and various pop culture memorabilia. She enjoyed posing for the camera and “hamming it up,” always winking and pouting her lips.
Actresses in Hollywood continue to mimic her look and remake her image; Michelle Williams most recently portrayed her in the 2011 film My Week with Marilyn “Candle in the Wind” was echoed more than once, becoming a tribute to others who had suffered in the spotlight and in life.
At a concert in 1990, Elton John sang the song for a young man who was dying of AIDS named Ryan White. White passed away the next day. He contracted AIDS from a faulty blood transfusion a few years earlier, but because of the negative connotations surrounding AIDS at the time, not everyone supported him through his ordeal.
The song resonated again in 1997 for another late icon: Princess Diana. The lyrics were greatly changed to cater to the Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash presumed to be caused by paparazzi. There are also many conspiracy theories related to her death. Princess Diana was mother to Prince William and Prince Harry, and was married to Prince Charles but divorced him a year before her death. Elton John performed the reworked song at Princess Diana’s funeral.
What makes this song so memorable is that although it has been written twice for two icons of the twentieth century who died both prematurely and in the spotlight, it can be applied to anyone who has suffered and is searching for something to “cling to when the rain set in.”
Jenn A d iu BA ldo, staff
“Break It” by Reigning Sound is a song that I love. It’s a song that I love because it is one of those songs that I listen to and find myself wishing that I had written it myself.
I wish that I had written this song not only because of the clever chord progression, or the interesting phrasing of the vocal line, but specifically because of the concept behind the lyrics in this song.
“Break It” is written from the point of view of a man whose heart has been badly broken by a woman who did not treat him well. This man realizes that this woman did him wrong, and knows that she has moved on to be with someone else. This man’s heart, however, does not share these feelings. His heart does not realize that this love has gone away. His heart still believes that this woman is the love of his life and that they should be together.
Written by Reigning Sound singer/guitarist Greg Cartwright—leading member of the Oblivians, producer of the Detroit Cobras, and general rock and roll god—this song examines the sometimes complete disconnect between heart and mind, and how they can often work against each other.
As humans we like to believe that we can control our emotions, that we can dictate who we like and who we love, what we feel and when we feel it, but the truth is that far too often we are powerless against our hearts.
Today released an article in 2006 examining the relationship between the heart and the mind with Dr. Rollin McCraty of the Institute of HeartMath, a nonprofit body dedicated to research and education around reducing stress. This article suggests that the two have an intricate link to one another, but contrary to popular belief, the heart may be the one in control.
reads: “The heart is in a constant two-way dialogue with the brain – our emotions change the signals the brain sends to the heart and the heart responds in
complex ways. However, we now know that the heart sends more information to the brain than the brain sends to the heart.”
“As we experience feelings like anger, frustration, anxiety, and insecurity, our heart rhythm patterns become more erratic. These erratic patterns are sent to the emotional centers in the brain, which it recognizes as negative or stressful feelings. These signals create the actual feelings we experience in the heart area and the body. The erratic heart rhythms also block our ability to think clearly.”
Cartwright’s lyrics go on to further explain the dialogue between this man’s heart and his mind – his mind unable to convince his heart to let this person go and relieve him of the pain he is feeling.
“Do it a favor and help me to remind, and break it for me one more time,” sings Cartwright, begging for the woman to return just so that she can break his heart a second time and show his heart that their love is through.
The beauty of this song is that we’ve all been there –we can all relate to the feeling of having no control over our emotions. Feeling helpless when we find ourselves heartbroken and making irrational decisions with our hearts rather than our minds, like calling your ex in the middle of the night when you’ve been drinking, or confessing your love to someone with whom you really want to be with.
It’s possible though that if we did rely on only our minds when making decisions that have to do with love then we might not take risks because our thinking might be too rational and being vulnerable might seem too scary. It’s possible that sometimes we need to think with our hearts instead of our minds to take that leap of faith whether we end up with a broken heart or not, because sometimes taking that risk can pay off big time. Sometimes that risk can lead to love, and that’s a risk I’m willing to take.
Bob Dylan tells the story of Rubin “Hurricane”
song “Hurricane,” written by Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy, is a narrative of a triple homicide that occurred in 1966, and the resulting false trial that led to middleweight boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter's wrongful imprisonment of 19 years. Carter was found guilty on two separate occasions before a successful appeal in 1985 freed him from a New Jersey prison.
Dylan decided to write the song after visiting Carter at Rahway State Prison in 1975, and the song was released in November of that year. Dylan would pull no punches when talking about the man who once fought for the WBC middleweight title and the WBA World middleweight title, pointing fingers and naming names as he described the racist and unjust treatment that Carter received that would lead to his incarceration.
, Dylan's unique voice
“Here comes the story of the Hurricane / The man the authorities came to blame / For something that he never done / Put him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been / The champion of the world.”
The song was Dylan’s fourth most successful single of the 70s, one of folk-singer’s lengthy protest pieces of
The story of Rubin Carter was also made into a major The film carries the “based on a true story” claim and, while much of what is portrayed is factual, there are many aspects that
The movie portrays Carter’s title fight against Joey Giardello as being dominated by Carter and it was because of white racist judges that he was seemingly robbed of the middleweight titles. In reality, while Carter did put up a good fight, he was no match for Giardello who rightfully won, retaining his title. In a Feb. 5, 2000 interview with C-Span, Carter said, “Joey clearly outboxed me [ . . . ] and therefore I did not win the title.”
The film also creates an angry cop character that torments Carter throughout his life as part of a racist vendetta. No such man existed. The film paints Carter’s prior convictions as racist efforts by the fictitious villainous cop, and also ignores his dismissal from the Army after 21 months in which he was court-martialed four times.
While his portrayal in the film—which netted Denzel Washington an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor—is far rosier than reality, it has to be noted that Carter would face many undue hardships throughout his life that would make his prior convictions look just as suspicious as the ones he received in the homicide case.
In 2010, Carter visited the University of Manitoba on Jan. 29 to tell his story and talk about confronting personal powerlessness, something that greatly affected him during his prison sentence.
R Achel Wood, staff
As a young kid I was on the fast track to a life filled with a soundtrack of Hot 103 and QX 104 autotuned, Making the Band-esque music. While I still enjoy the occasional Rihanna guilty pleasure (and the occasional blasting of “Liquid Dreams”), I consider myself a little more sophisticated in my musical tastes today.
While some label me as a pretentious hipster for my musical appreciations, I like to consider myself merely, well, correct in my music tastes. Because, let’s face it, I knew about these bands before you, and now they are just too mainstream.
I attribute my swing in musical direction to my father and one important song: “Baba O’Riley” by the Who. This song became a classic to blast while driving with my father with the sunroof down as a young kid. It became the open window to an oasis of artists such as Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, the Band, and Mark Knopfler. These bands opened my eyes to all different types of music ranging from folk to the blues to bluegrass to classic rock.
While many may know this song—incorrectly referred to—as “Teenage Wasteland,” (these may also be those who only know the song from the CSI: New York opening) the correct title, “Baba O’Riley,” illustrates the complex and fascinating story behind a song that is quite often misunderstood.
Pete Townshend of the Who composed the song to
be included in a never-completed rock opera, entitled Lifehouse. The rock opera was intended to be about a man who builds the Lifehouse, a building that enables individuals to escape what the world has become. In this production, the perceived reality of life is actually merely an illusion under a tyrannical government, never in touch with nature or actual reality. The Lifehouse brings individuals back to the raw, natural basics of living.
The song depicts a couple, Ray and Sally, who are living on a farm—evident in the lyrics, “out here in the fields, I fight for my meals, I get my back into my living”—when their daughter leaves their dwelling in search of a simplier, “real” life in the Lifehouse.
Ray and Sally then decide to make the pilgrimage to find their daughter at this mysterious Lifehouse.
This is not the only alleged story behing the complex song. There are also claims that the story behind the song is set in a wasted and polluted version of England.
Ray and Sally are said to be farmers in Scotland who, again, are in search of their daughter who has gone to attend an intense and mind-altering concert event called the Lifehouse.
Knowing this, it may seem that the name of the song still doesn’t fit into the story behing the song. The title is a combination of Meher Baba, an Indian spiritual guru that Townshend admired and followed, and Terry Riley, a minimalist composer who influenced the composition of this song.
Meher Baba proved to be an integral component and
Isuppose for most Winnipeggers to have snow on Christmas day is not all that uncommon. In fact, it would probably be unnatural to not have had snowfall yet in the season, but growing up in southern B.C. I really came to appreciate the magic and mystery of the possibility of a white Christmas because the best we usually got was rain.
American composer Irving Berlin is possibly best known for his composition “White Christmas,” immortalizing this mystical possibility that some of us can only dream of. The classic Christmas ballad “White Christmas” was originally written for the 1942 film Holiday Inn, in which entertainer Jim Hardy (played by Bing Crosby) decides to open an inn that is only open during each of the American holidays. Therefore, the song “White Christmas” only features in one small part of this movie. From the public comments Crosby made about the song at the time, it was evident that he did not think it was a song of any consequence.
There are some who speculate that because the song
was popularized by Holiday Inn during World War II, and people were clinging to Christmas’ “just like the ones they used to know,” the song’s hopeful message: “May your days be merry and bright,” only became so well-known because of the time in history, and would not have otherwise.
However, 12 years after Holiday Inn, this song was still dear to the hearts of many because the hit musical White Christmas, which featured the theme of “White Christmas” throughout, was the highest-grossing movie of 1954. And though I was a child of the 1990s and not the 1950s, I grew up watching my VHS tape of White Christmas, and not just at Christmas. I loved that movie year-round.
I don’t know what it is about nostalgia and those things that remind us of older times and other places (even if they aren’t necessarily our memories) that leave us with such a warm pleasant feeling, but I know that “White Christmas” is that thing for me.
inspiration for “Baba O’Riley.” His teachings have been known to focus on the concept of reality and illusion.
While it never made it to the stage, The Lifehouse Chronicles were eventually released in 2000, a box set that features songs compiled onto six discs, all of which were intended to be included in the rock opera.
“Baba O’Riley” has become an anthem for many throughout the ages, including myself. While all who listen may not know the real meaning, it still seems to impact many who love the song.
The iconic phrase “teenage wasteland” has often allowed me to lament the state of society, and the state of my life at times. The first few seconds of “Baba O’Riley” immediately raise my spirits and, by the time that drums emerge at 47 seconds into the song, I am brought back to days driving with my father, getting my first real taste of rock music.
Last year, right after exams were finished in the fall semester I was booked to get all my wisdom teeth out. Needless to say it was not the most enjoyable experience and for the days leading up to Christmas I was lying like a limp sleepy vegetable, unable to eat anything but applesauce in my parents’ basement. I watched Christmas movies and ate applesauce for days, and the one movie that just made the whole wretched wisdom teeth removal process bearable was White Christmas Even with a wad of gauze in my face I still couldn’t help trying to sing along.
Despite the magic and wonder of the song, though, I still didn’t get a white Christmas last year, so I moved to Winnipeg to increase my chances.
F
un, danceable music: this is precisely what Boats delivers without fail anytime they release a collection of music.
This local indie pop five-piece will be releasing a cassette tape entitled Marblemouth on Dec. 8 as a precursor for their newest full-length release A Fairway Full of Miners, due out Feb. 5 courtesy of the label Kill Rock Stars.
Marblemouth consists of two songs that did not make it onto the band’s forthcoming release, a Cannon Bros. cover, and an additional secret hidden something that is “ laden with mystery.”
Read on to see what the band’s guitarist and lead singer Mat Klachefsky had to say about the mysteries and adventures that will be unfurled with the release of this cassette tape.
the Manitoban: Marblemouth is your third release overall – what lead to the decision to put out a cassette rather than just an EP or a 7-inch?
Mat Klachefsky: I’m not a huge vinyl fan. I know that a lot of people swear by it, but I’m a realist – I’m just going to get the download code and throw it on my iPod. So I just felt it didn’t really matter what the medium was, and doing a tape is about one tenth of the cost of doing a 7-inch. One really only needs the download codes, we could have released a postage stamp or a spatula.
M: The Facebook event description for the tape release indicates that this cassette will be full of mysteries – can you elaborate on this at all?
MK: I want people to discover the mystery for themselves. I’ll admit that three songs is not a lot of content for someone to spend money on, so we went and included this other thing as well. It’s an adventure and a tape. And if no one does it properly or figures it out, that’s fine. I’m just glad it exists.
M: Your third full-length album, A Fairway Full of Miners, is due out in February, 2013. Is this cassette in anyway a prelude to this coming album?
MK: These are three recordings that didn’t make the record. Not because they were sub-par, we just thought the Marblemouth songs worked really well together and should remain their own entity. Then we were jamming out this silly Cannon Bros cover at practice and recorded that with some
left over studio time [ . . . ] and it turned out great so we decided to go all the way with it.
M: Boats has been around for about six or seven years now – how do you feel your band and sound has matured over the years?
MK: I think we have ditched the kiddy-time exuberance of the older songs. I don’t think there are any “ba ba ba” parts on this record. No more optimism.
M: Describe Lo Pub and Jack Jonasson’s role in presenting your tape release show.
MK: Jack has been a big supporter of ours for years. Lo Pub was our home and I think we have all been pretty bored since it disappeared so the decision was to do a Lo Pub show the way we have always done it, just in a different room.
M: What can fans expect from this show/party?
On Saturday, Dec. 8, some local artists will perform a trick of philanthropic magic and turn art and music into food, clothes, medicine, and education.
Chutney Mayhem is an event held in support of the Jagruthi Orphanage in Bangalore, India – an orphanage for the children of sex workers. Having gone strong for several years, the initiative is spearheaded by Kevin Kelly, who visited the orphanage on a trip to India years ago.
Taking place at Gio’s, starting at 8 p.m., the evening will not only feature performances, but also an art auction with art from local artists.
The Jagruthi Orphanage started in 1996 and, amongst other programming, houses children who have been
victim to sexual exploitation themselves or whose parents have succumbed to HIV. Some of the children living at the centre have contracted HIV and the centre provides specialized care so that they may lead as healthy a life as possible.
Jagruthi also provides proper counseling and psychological care to children who have been through so much in their short lives. The centre is not only a safe place for the children, but also provides schooling and life skills training. Jagruthi also aims to raise awareness of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, providing a daycare for sex workers to leave their children in safely while they work, and providing a drop-in support centre.
“All the art is donated, the performers are not paid, only the venue is paid,
T
he Assignment is a film that was created by the 2011/12 University of Manitoba Film Production Class, which originally started out as an academic exercise, but eventually turned into a much larger project.
“The film was created [ . . . ] at first as an exercise in getting to know how a film is made; that is, all the various processes that go into it,” says Andrew
Eyer, one of the film’s creators. “At a certain point though, it was decided to push our ambitions higher than that and really go for something beyond just a learning process.”
The film is set at a fictional school named Trinity High School. A secret society within the student body, the Vigils, is enlisted by one of the teachers to convince their fellow pupils to
sell overpriced chocolates as a fundraiser. One student, Jerry, the new guy at the school, refuses to sell the chocolates and, while attempting to change his mind, one of the Vigils, Obie, falls in love with him. As this secret romance progresses, Obie is forced to reevaluate her allegiance to the Vigils.
“I think everyone had their own
so a lot of capitol can be generated— especially by the art auction—and it goes to directly aid these children,” says organizer Dean Robinson.
Robinson decided to get involved after attending the event a few years ago.
“I had been to CM about four years ago and loved the freedom of it all: the food was amazing, the performances were something I had never seen before. It was a fantastic night,” says Robinson.
Attendees this year can expect more of the same with an incredible roster of entertainers and artists donating their time and talent.
The event will require 20 volunteers, though performers and artists are also urged to donate to the suc-
MK: We have a new drummer, Ian Ellis. We got some old friends playing [with us] in Ultra Mega and Boats alumni, Oldfolks Home. We will be playing a lot of new songs and all of
One really only needs the download codes, we could have released a postage stamp or a spatula.
the songs on the tape, and some old ones. It will be exciting playing at the Windsor, we have never played there before and I’m excited about the possibilities for the room. Also I get to do a guitar solo.
Boats will be releasing Marblemouth at the Windsor Hotel on Dec. 8 with Ultra Mega and Oldfolks Home.
different sources of inspiration, so the film became a large melting pot of various tastes,” stated Eyer.
The students who created, filmed, directed, and edited the movie—such as Eyer— have aspirations of entering the film into various film festivals. They are currently selling the film online in order to raise funds.
“We have an Indiegogo.com
cess of the evening. The funds raised deeply impacts the orphanage and the kids in its care.
“All of the proceeds go to the orphanage. There is no middle man, there is no other organization, just Kevin and [the orphanage],” says Robinson. “[Any money] that we can provide is of great use, and with the amount of money we can spend on partying we can generate a lot of good.”
You can use your party funds next week to fight for the rights of the orphans of Indian sex workers. Those looking to get involved in the event can contact Dean or Kevin at dean.c.robi@gmail.com or kevinkelly1@ mac.com
account where people can go and donate money to help us get the film into festivals,” said Eyer. “Our target goal is $2,000. Help us get the good name of the [U of M] out there!”
The film will be screened at the Elizabeth Dafoe Library Theatre from Dec. 10 – 14 at 12:30 p.m..
Jodie lAyne, staff
Claudia Serrato had a wakeup call when her uncle was hospitalized as a result of a heart attack. When she began filling out medical forms asking for diseases that ran in the family history, she began checking the boxes off.
Looking around her community, she realized most people could name someone with high cholesterol, diabetes, or who has had a heart attack. The life expectancy of the people in her community had dropped to 55 from 65 in only 20 years.
“It’s nutricide – genocide by food. The food is literally killing us,” says Serrato.
This realization was something that she could not ignore, something she had to share. The idea for Decolonial Food For Thought started one night at—where else?—a kitchen table with chef Chris Rodriguez.
“Not only has our land been colonized [Aztlan or the U.S. southwest], but so have our bodies [Aztlan],” says Serrato. “How? Through the imposition of a heavily meat, dairy, and processed food diet coupled with a capitalist patriarchal food/agricultural production paradigm.”
Serrato, who is working on her PhD in Medical Anthropology, began organizing with Rodriguez under the project Decolonial Food for Thought, which promoted community education. Her journey to a return to traditional eating practices all started by doing something she said she did not want to do – tracing back the European food ways.
“Decolonization is any lived experience which does not legitimize colonization. It is a continuation of years of Indigenous resiliency. Decolonization is a colonial way of understanding that resiliency,” says Serrato.
So what did that painful and uncomfortable quest for the origin of a diet that was killing her community yield? Her ancestors ate a plant-based diet. This finding cre-
ated some resistance between her and her community when she first presented it.
“People equate veganism with being white, or as a white way of eating. But, I believe in Indigenous veganism,” says Serrato.
Serrato found that when the invasion of North America by the Spanish began, they brought their ways of eating with them; including
“It’s nutricide – genocide by food. The food is literally killing us.”
eating a meat-heavy diet. This lead to the import of cattle and chickens for mass consumption and the introduction of regular meat-eating into the diet of the Indigenous people.
Since their ancestors have been eating a meat-filled diet for so long, many Mezo-Americans believe that it is the way they are designed to eat, when it is actually making them sick. Much of the meat products they first consumed after initial introduction of Spaniards was food waste – like posole made with pig’s feet.
“What we call tamales now would have never been made with pork or pork fat. It would have been made with the minerals from the lakes and stuffed with avocadoes, tomatoes, or fruits. You won’t see that in urban cities anymore.”
To Serrato, decolonizing the diet is about removing items from the diet that would not traditionally be there and rejecting the food pyramid.
“It says you need to have milk, you need to have cheese – all these processed foods. It’s all part of a
political project. Removing these things allows for a remembering or a return of an Indigenous food way,” says Serrato.
So what does a decolonized diet look like? "Local, Ecological, Sustainable, Organic, Native, and Seasonal" or LESONS is the acronym and theory that best embodies the philosophy. This leads to a diet that looks much different geographically, but starts with a plantbased diet and eating food that is traditionally grown in the area.
In Manitoba, this would involve lots of wild rice, berries, seasonal vegetables like squash and potatoes, and the occasional animal flesh like fish in the summer or venison in the winter. Community is also crucial to the process and discussions around decolonizing diet; relational accountability and support can make all the difference.
Rodriguez says that telling people not to cook with meat puts them at the same level of arrogance as the colonizers.
“The idea is to help our communities [to] remember that eating plant-based—80 to 90 per cent plants, grains, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds and veggies—is Native and a step towards decolonizing our diets,” says Rodriquez.
“We must share the role of the kitchen space,” says Rodriguez. “Teach ourselves, each other, our children especially. Our children, the future generations, need us to cook in the home using the LESONS. Let’s start from the home, with our children, the youth.”
Most of all, they say, it’s important to remember that this way of eating is natural, and for the many diseases that are epidemic to Indigenous people all over the world, food also has to be the answer for a healthier life.
“Our bodies are craving nutrition and that has been lost down the genetic line. But our bodies remember,” says Serrato.
Jodie lAyne, stAFF
Ihope I have managed to imprint the idea on you that masturbation and orgasms are important and that sex toys are nothing to be ashamed of – and I hope I have given you some of the tools to explore your own sexuality and feel empowered to experiment with new things.
The Manitoban takes a break in December during some of the most stressful weeks of the year; holidays and exams are waiting to keep you up all night and take all your money. Well, dear readers, I have been testing different sex toys for such a time as this. Even if you’re up late studying bio instead of the body of a lover, here are some things you can steal away a few minutes with and bring that stress level back down. Besides, it’s the holidays and toys shouldn’t just be under the tree.
For beginners: Durex Allure Personal Massager ($22.99 from www.well.ca or drugstores)
Yes, that Durex. I was skeptical, too, but this wand vibrator is the kind of toy I wish I had bought my first time. Its shape is perfect for providing internal stimulation with a big enough surface at the end to provide more than adequate external stimulation as well.
You control the power by turning a knob at the end, and instead of having different power settings it is just “more” or “less,” letting you get that exact right buzz. The end is also flared enough that it makes it perfect for those desiring anal stimulation without penetration. Just make sure you clean any toys that have been used anally before using them vaginally!
The coolest toy ever: Minna Ola ($165.00 available from www. comeasyouare.com)
The Minna Ola is one of those toys so fun to use because it encourages a little self-love. The toy is a flared wad with a pillowy tip. The intensity with which you squeeze the tip controls how strong the toy vibrates; the stronger the squeeze, the stronger the buzz.
As if that wasn’t cool enough,
you can save a vibe pattern that you like and use it again later – oh, and it’s totally waterproof! Being able to score some solo shower sexytime can be great for those of you living with a roommate or at home. It’s soft and curves just right, making it welcoming and pleasurable. Its easily varied speeds make it fun to hand over the controls to a partner.
As well, for any Kegel enthusiasts, insert the pillowy end and the harder you clench the more you are rewarded with strong vibes. The Minna Ola is the embodiment of a playful attitude towards masturbation.
For the music lover: ohmibod Freestyle W Vibe ($150 from www. comeasyouare.com)
Ohmibod is primarily notable because they make toys that vibrate to music. When I actually got to try it out, I was in awe.
This wand is big on thickness and shape; it is much thicker than most vibes on the market and has two little knobs strategically placed to deliver the maximum vibrational pleasure. There is also a vibrating nub for external stimulation.
The set also comes with a headphone jack that can connect to your music-playing device and allows you to plug in your own headphones so you can hear what you are vibing to. I was skeptical about how sensitive the toy would be to the bass in the music, but it delivers even the tiniest vibe for the tiniest bass thump. I tested it out with Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange and it is like the two were made for each other.
The toy can also be controlled by an app (downloadable for $0.99), which is a great way to incorporate this toy into partnered play. For someone with a huge music collection, the possibilities and pleasures are endless – although it does come with seven preset vibe modes for days when your iPhone needs a break.
kARA PA ssey, staff
This time of year always leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth; it’s cold, expensive, and wasteful… the only good part about it is that it’s socially acceptable to hide in a bathtub for hours with a glass of whiskey. But alas, I don’t want to go all grinchy on you, I just want to point out that if you hate wasting money on commercial garbage and going to shopping malls as much as I do, there is another way!
Winnipeg has a thriving crafting and handmade community. With stores like Sew Dandee in Osborne Village and Tara Davis Studio boutique in the Exchange District, it’s not hard to find some awesome locally made wares. Shopping locally means you get better customer service, reduced environmental impact,
and you get to contribute to the local businesses.
“There are so many good reasons to buy handmade and local—building and supporting a sustainable economy, strengthening community and best of all you help keep talented, creative Winnipeggers in Winnipeg—but the main reason I buy handmade is the incredible feeling I get from owning, wearing, and using something made by human hands,” says Melanie Wesley, a local craftsperson who will be selling her wares at the FA LA LA sale on Dec. 9. So go out and support your local artisans and check out Winnipeg’s handmade stores and seasonal craft sales, of which I will compile a list of for you now. I promise that buying a loved one something handmade,
unique and good for both the environment and economy will make you feel extra warm and fuzzy this season.
ThE EdGE hOLIdAY SALE
Friday, Dec. 7, from noon until 10 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 8, from noon until 6 p.m.
611 Main Street
Pottery, glass, jewelry, wood carvings and more by local artists including Jes Coverini, Natasha Haylada, Dan Waldman, Jolanta Solkalska, Elise Nadeau, Wanda June, Rachael Kroeker, RED Road Lodge and others!
9Th ANNuAL hOLIdA zE
Cr AFT ShOw
Friday, Dec. 7, from noon until 9
p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 8, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
75 Albert Street
Precious metal jewelry, fine porcelain, great clothes, recycled materials, and natural body care products all made by Winnipeg’s premiere designers and artisans.
FA LA LA
Sunday, Dec. 9, from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.
827 Brock Street
The third annual sale featuring Jodi Hildebrand, Dawn Chaput, Melanie Wesley, Marathon 1981, and Snootsie & Krista Hoeberg.
12 dAYS OF Cr AFTm AS Friday, Dec. 7 until Dec. 18 during regular store hours
Twelve days worth of programming that takes place within the boutique, including sales, promotions, workshops, and demos.
wINNIPEG ETSY STrEET TEA m
Saturday, Dec. 22, from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Frame Arts Warehouse, 318 Ross Avenue
W.E.S.T. is a collaboration of local Winnipeg artists with a common love for things handmade and real. This sale is your last chance to get your hands on local handmade goods before the holiday.
Jenn A d iu BA ldo, staff
F
or all the other music nerds who share my mourning of the “What’s Up” section in Uptown, I have put together a holiday music guide to highlight some of the most lookedforward-to and promising shows that will take place throughout the month of December.
No, you will not find any orchestra or choir performances on this list, for this is not your grandmother’s holiday music guide. Well, unless your grandmother is super cool and likes indie bands and rock and roll.
So grab a snifter of spiked eggnog, throw on a Bing Crosby record, cuddle up on your bearskin rug in front of your fireplace, and read all about this year’s holiday musical offerings.
ThE L AST QuINzm AS
Featuring House of Doc Burton Cummings Theatre
Friday, Dec. 21 – 8 p.m.
Over the past nine years Quinzy’s Christmas show has become a beloved annual Winnipeg tradition for many, and it definitely shows through the
concert’s progression.
This indie pop quartet manages to create the most unique and weird Christmas show each year with stage antics that include horn sections, robots, operatic Santas, and baby hippopotamuses just to name a few.
hOLIdAY mIxEr
Hosted by DJ Co-op and DJ Hunnicutt
The Pyramid Cabaret
Saturday, Dec. 22 – 10 p.m.
Everyone’s favourite vinyl spinning duo has been hosting this city’s most sought after holiday dance parties for over 5 years. If history indeed repeats itself, this party promises rap, funk, mod, dance, and everything in-between paired with tasty drinks and sloppy dancing. Get low, get slow, and get crunk.
JP hOE hOE hOE hOLIdAY ShOw
With special guests
The Park Theatre
Dec. 13 to 15 – 8 p.m.
Another Winnipeg holiday tra-
dition, singer/songwriter JP Hoe has extended his annual Christmas music extravaganza to three exciting sleigh-bell-filled nights. The lineup promises special guests, but you’ll have to attend to find out who will show up!
Tr ANSISTOr 66 ChrISTm AS PArTY
Featuring Ultra Mega, Brilliant Bastards, the Thrashers, Microdot
The Park Theatre
Dec. 19 – 8 p.m.
Everyone’s favourite Winnipegbased rock and roll record label will be celebrating the frigid holiday season with hot guitars and face melting rock and roll. If your drunk uncle was to pick a Christmas show to attend, this would be the one.
ThE BE:C AuSE hOLIdAY hArVEST
Featuring Dangercat, the Vibrating Beds, the Mystics
The Windsor Hotel
Dec. 14 – 10 p.m.
Be:Cause Industries is a huge supporter of many local charities and non-profit groups such as Kids Help Phone, Skate4Cancer, and many more. Come show your support for Winnipeg Harvest by attending this food drive and checking out some great local bands. Cover is $10 at the door or $8 if you bring a nonperishable can o’ grub for Winnipeg Harvest.
GIVEYOurGIFTS CONCErT TO BENEFIT uNITEd wAY PrESENTEd BY mTS
James Struthers, Dane Bjornson, the Treble, and Take Me To The Pilot
The Garrick Centre
Dec. 13 – 7 p.m.
Winnipeg-born singer/songwriter James Struthers will be hosting this lineup of local up-and-comers as a fundraiser for the United Way of Winnipeg. United Way provides funding to a countless number of charities and non-profit agencies that help effect change in our city.
d e Rek gAgnon, staff
The Bison men’s hockey team looked to establish itself as a contender heading into the second half of the Canada West season, as they took on the top-ranked Alberta Golden Bears in a pair of games this past weekend.
First in the nation according to the CIS rankings, Alberta entered the weekend enjoying a 10-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Manitoba broke into the CIS top-ten rankings with an impressive showing against Regina last weekend. The Bisons were hoping to move up in the rankings by proving themselves against a very good Golden Bears team.
The weekend series kicked off Friday with a game where 17 minor penalties were called. All of those penalties would result in seven power-play opportunities for the Golden Bears, and six for the Bisons as both teams were only able to find the scoreboard with the extra man.
Alberta scored the game’s opening goal, as Winnipegger Johnny Lazo flicked a backhand shot past Bison goalie Jesse Deckert low blocker side, increaseing his Canada West leading point total to 23.
In the second period the Bisons tied it up with the extra man, as Matthew Lowry knocked in a rebound for his fourth of the year. Numerous calls in this frame drew the ire of the Bisons bench and the 367 in attendance at Max Bell Centre.
The third period saw more power play goals, as Alberta was questionably awarded a 5-on-3 advantage that led to a Torrie Dyck goal. With 8:43 left to play Lowry pounced on a rebound to tie things up via another
power play goal, and this game would need extra time to settle things. The 4-on-4, and then 3-on-3 overtime periods would solve nothing so the game went to a shootout, where Manitoba managed just one goal from Matthew Lowry compared to the Golden Bears’ two from Johnny Lazo and Sean Ringrose as Alberta prevailed 3-2. It was the Bisons’ second shootout loss of the season, with the first coming in October at Calgary.
Manitoba was two-for-six with
AdAM Pelesh Aty, volunteer staff
For 268 minutes and 17 seconds, Abbotsford Heat goaltender Barry Brust was the best goalie playing in North America.
Brust, born in Swan River but raised in Kelowna, B.C., broke the American Hockey League record for the longest shutout run, eclipsing the record previously set in 1957 by Hockey Hall of Famer Johnny Bower (249:51). Amazingly, Brust’s streak lasted from Oct. 20 to Nov. 24 while only playing five games as the result of a three-goalie system that also includes Calgary Flames prospect Leland Irving and veteran minor-leaguer Danny Taylor. Brust didn’t even dress in the game after his first shutout this season. Despite the anonymity that comes with being a journeyman hockey player (the Heat are his eighth team in nine seasons), Brust has managed an honourable career for himself, which includes 101 wins in the AHL, a Calder Cup Championship, an AHL player award, and a stint with the Los Angeles Kings. Yet, his road to the AHL record books, in true minor league fashion, has had its twists and turns.
Brust played most of his junior hockey with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs and was taken in the third round by the Minnesota Wild in the NHL Entry Draft after being named a WHL Western Conference AllStar in 2001-02. Finishing his junior career with the Calgary Hitmen, Brust signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Kings and was sent down to their East Coast Hockey League affiliate, the Reading Royals.
In 2006, the Kings called him up from their AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs. On Nov. 30 of that year, Brust made his NHL debut, a 7-4 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. Two weeks later, he earned his first NHL win against the San Jose Sharks, a game he wouldn’t have played in if Kings goalie Dan Cloutier had not gotten hurt during warm-ups.
That victory would end up accounting for half of his career wins in the NHL. Brust had a 2-4-1 record in 11 games with the Kings with a 3.70 GAA and an .878 save percentage.
“My first time in the NHL, I probably shouldn’t have been there,” he told NHL.com. “I was young. I was 23, but I was a young 23 [ . . . ] I
the extra man, while Alberta was two-for-seven. Bisons goalie Deckert saved 33-of-35 shots, while Alberta’s Kurtis Mucha stopped 29-of-31.
After managing to hold the top ranked team in the nation to a shootout, the Bisons looked hungry for victory on Saturday. Yet again special teams would be in the spotlight, but it was the penalty kill of the Bisons that would open the scoring in this one. After a solid defensive play in their own end, Blair Macaulay and Ian Duval broke out for a 2-on-1 rush, where Macaulay fed a saucer pass over to Duval who tucked it behind Alberta netminder Real Cyr. The Golden Bears would control most of the period, taking a 9-5 lead in shots into the first intermission, but it was the Bisons leading 1-0 after 20 minutes.
The second period saw both teams looking to grab the all-important second goal of the game. The Bisons saw three power play opportunities fall by the wayside, while the Golden Bears would capitalize on one of their own when Sean Ringrose scored with less than a minute left in the period to make the score tied after two.
The two teams traded punches in the third. Ian Duval notched his second of the game, giving him 19 points on the year and putting him among the top ten point leaders in Canada West. Ben Lindemulder would tie the game up on the power play and once again it looked as though this game could see overtime. However, just 11 seconds later Blair Macaulay snapped a laser beam into the top left corner to restore the Bison lead.
Travis Bobbee would add a fourth on the power play, as a knuckleball of a shot eluded Cyr. Alberta would pull their goalie with over two minutes to play, but the Bisons prevailed 4-2 to end Alberta’s winning streak at 11.
Bisons goalie Jesse Deckert allowed four goals on 64 shots in the series, all scored with the man advantage.
The Bisons finish the first half of the season sitting in third place in Canada West with a 9-4-3 record, which gives them 21 points. They next play in Saskatoon against the Huskies on Jan. 4–5. The team returns to Max Bell Centre the following week against Mount Royal University.
had only started three games in the American League at that point. It was kind of a shock I got called up.” Brust was part of NHL history, though. In one of his games, he was pulled for Yutaka Fukufuji, the only Japaneseborn player in NHL history.
In 2007-08, Brust signed with the Wild and played with the AHL’s Houston Aeros. Sharing playing time with Nolan Schaefer, the two
combined for the lowest GAA in the league and for their effort, both goalies won the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Trophy. Despite splitting duties with Schaefer that season, Brust was delegated to backup the next season.
In 2010-11, Brust played with the Binghamton Senators and helped backstop them to a playoff berth. But when the Sens were down 3-1 in the
first round against Manchester, he was benched for Robin Lehner. Brust would only make two more appearances in the playoffs as Lehner helped the Sens win the 2011 Calder Cup. The next season, Brust played in Germany with the Straubing Tigers and helped that team reach the playoffs for the first time. However, on their way to being eliminated by Eisbaren Berlin, Brust cross-checked Berlin forward Florian Busch in the head after Busch had scored on him. The German League suspended Brust for eight games, but instead of returning, he decided to join the Heat, where he has won all six of his games allowing a grand total of four goals. When the streak was broken in San Antonio, it also happened to be the night of their teddy bear toss. The first goal Brust allowed in over a month was met with a shower of teddy bears thrown onto the ice by fans. Considering his career, which included being pulled for a Japanese goalie and becoming a German League fugitive, perhaps it was fitting for the best goalie in North America, for a time.
d e Rek
gAgnon, staff
They’ve been down this road before. Fans of the Toronto Blue Jays have been following the same script for almost 20 years.
An offseason full of hope and promises, followed by a decent start to the season, only to see the team fade in form or suffer major injuries that keep them out of the playoffs. The Blue Jays have not made the playoffs since 1993, when they won their second straight World Series title.
But hope is once again renewed in Toronto, as recent player acquisitions have shaped the perception of the Blue Jays from an also-ran to a legitimate contender in the ultra competitive American League East Division, where the big spending New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are perennial threats for the World Series crown.
The Blue Jays loaded up on players— and salaries—from the Miami Marlins in a blockbuster trade that saw their payroll swell to 120 million, as they shipped a bundle of prospects and players to Florida. The Jays picked up veteran pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buerhle as well as outfielder Emilio Bonifacio, short-stop Jose Reyes and catcher John Buck.
In the free agent market they picked up versatile infielder Maicer Izturis as well as outfielder Melky Cabrera, who was MVP
St. Paul’s College Campus Ministry
of the All-Star game last year before he was suspended for the final 45 games of the regular season and five more in the playoffs with the San Francisco Giants before choosing to sign a two-year deal with the Blue Jays after the Giants refused to play him en route to their World Series title. The addition of these position players, along with new manager John Gibbons, gives the Jays a lot of speed and talent to go along with their current stars Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, and Canadian Brett Lawrie.
The Blue Jays now boast a starting pitching rotation with proven winners in Buehrle, Johnson, and incumbent starters Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow. While these are all legitimate starters, Toronto still lacks a true ace. The work of general manager Alex Anthopolous has been very promising thus far, but much remains to be done if the Blue Jays truly want to be a contender in 2013. With depth at the catcher position, Toronto could consider moving one or more of those players to help bolster their pitching staff and round out any other perceived roster hole.
No, they haven’t won anything yet, but hope is as high as the birds in the sky that the Blue Jays may finally return to the playoffs next year.
Sunday Mass > 11am, Christ the King Chapel
Weekday Mass > Tue-Fri 11:45am, Side Chapel
Volunteer musicians and singers are welcome for choir practice > 10am Sundays
Our Lady of Guadalaupe Hispanic Mass > Dec 16 11am with potluck to follow in Hanley Hall
Christmas Eve Vigil Mass > Dec 24 8pm
Social Justice Exposure Trip (Dominican Republic) > Reading Week 2013
Registration: $950 includes travel during program; room and board with host families. Flight, health insurance, etc. are extra.
For more information, contact:
Sr. Elaine Baete
204 474 9784 | ebaete@cc.umanitoba.ca
Fr. Michael Koryluk 204 474 8460 | korylukm@cc.umanitoba.ca
St. Paul’s College, University of Manitoba, 70 Dysart Road, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2M6 umanitoba.ca/colleges/st_pauls
30 vs UBC L 3-2 (21-25, 26-24, 27-25, 21-25, 18-20) DEC.1 vs UBC L 3-1 (15-25, 32-34, 26-24, 21-25) NOV. 30 vs UBC L 3-0 (25-27. 26-28. 13-25)
DEC. 1 vs UBC L 3-0 (22-25, 12-25, 18-25) 2012 DUCKWORTH CHALLENGE
WED, DEC. 5 8:00 PM @ Winnipeg DUCKWORTH CENTRE
Bison men’s basketball on a roll ahead of Duckworth Challenge, winter break
M ARc lAg Ace, staff
It’s been a solid season thus far for the Bison men’s basketball team. With a record of 7-3 heading into a pivotal game against the Wesmen this week, the Bisons sit near the top of the standings in a very competitive Canada West prairie division.
Despite their success, head coach Kirby Schepp is not entirely satisfied with his team’s performance.
“I’m generally happy with [how the team is playing], but I don’t think we’re playing our best ball right now,”
said Schepp, adding, “I think we need to refine things a bit, especially over this last stretch of the first half. It’s really important that we play our best basketball.”
Consistency is going to be the key for whichever teams make it out of the Canada West conference, especially when either team has a legitimate shot to win in nearly every game this year.
“You don’t look down the list and see one juggernaut that you think is
impossible to beat, and at the same time you don’t look down the list and think ‘Yea, there’s one that we got,’” said Schepp.
“It’s great for basketball, and it’s great for the league in a lot of ways. It makes it a lot tougher on [the coaching staff], in the work we have to put in. The level of intensity cannot drop.”
This past weekend, the Bisons attempted to keep that intensity up, as they played host to two teams from the Pacific division in their last weekend of conference play for the fall portion of the season.
In the first game of the weekend, Manitoba cruised past the basement-dwelling UBC Okanagan Heat 79-68. Despite a disappointing shooting percentage of 35.4 per cent, Manitoba headed into the half with a double-digit lead. From there, they did enough to hold on for the victory. Xavier Smith was 6-for-10 on the night as he led the herd with 16 points.
The following day, Manitoba picked up their second win of the weekend against Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack, securing a hardfought 91-80 victory.
The first quarter was not what the coach Schepp would have liked to see out of his team. Manitoba’s shooters continued to struggle, as TRU frustrated the home team, jumping out to a 23-16 lead.
Kevin Oliver opened the scoring for Manitoba in the second, jumpstarting the struggling Bisons with a pair of three-point shots that evaporated the Wolfpack lead to just three. Manitoba continued to pick up their hustle, playing smarter basketball and better defence as they surpassed the Wolfpack midway through the second quarter.
Both teams poured it on through the remainder of the quarter—including a crazy sequence that saw TRU match a Manitoba three pointer twice in the span of a minute—as they battled to a 46-46 tie heading into halftime.
Turnovers and poor shots plagued the Bisons early in the second half, as they missed seven straight shots before Oliver picked up the team’s first points of the half. A pair of threepointers by Jonar Huertas provided a spark for the team, pushing them ahead 54-48. Defensively, the Bisons
WED, DEC. 5 6:00 PM @ Winnipeg DUCKWORTH
cleaned up their game, forcing turnovers and getting the ball into attacking territory.
Despite sloppy play dominating much of the third quarter, Manitoba built up an eight-point lead heading in to the final frame. TRU continued to push back, taking the lead midway through the frame. The crowd on hand—which included participants in the Junior Bisons boy’s basketball team—came to life as the Bisons pushed back in the final minutes. With the Bisons out to a sizable lead late, the Wolfpack were forced to make risky plays, which Manitoba mostly snuffed out until the final buzzer.
Xavier Smith emerged as the top scorer of the game, leading all players with 25 point. Jonar Huertas was named the Bison player of the game. Both Huertas and Oliver were solid shooting from the perimeter, providing points and momentum at key moments for Manitoba.
Both the men and women’s basketball teams wrap up the first half of the season on Dec. 5 at Winnipeg, as apart of the 2012 Duckworth Challenge.
We all need to manage the waste we create. If you’re like 90% of Manitobans, you already recycle. But one third of us admit we still throw into the trash some items that could be re-used or recycled into useful materials. Let’s manage to do better!
More than half of all household garbage can be recycled. Are you recycling all you can?
