Winter

Friday February 18, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 18, 2022

Canada beats rival U.S. to reclaim Olympic women’s hockey supremacy

Canada waited four long years for Olympic women’s hockey redemption.

February 20, 2010

In 2019, it failed to even reach the final of the world championship. That’s when the countdown began — literally.

General manager Gina Kingsbury gave each team member a clock displaying the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the 2022 Olympics.

Now, after the clocks hit zero, there’s Olympic gold medals around Canadian necks once more after beating the U.S. 3-2 on Thursday in Beijing to claim their first title since 2014.

Captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice — including her third career Olympic game-winning goal — while Sarah Nurse’s goal and assist pushed her past Canadian great Hayley Wickenheiser for most points in a single tournament with 18.

It was quite the journey even since the clocks were distributed. Canada won its first worlds since 2010 in August. Last October, it centralized with a group of 29 players in Calgary to prepare for six months for the Beijing Olympics. In January, that centralization became a bubble following a COVID-19 breakout.

Friday February 4, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 4, 2022

A recipe for hope: How to vaccinate the world and end the pandemic

January 7, 2022

Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the Olympic Winter Games open on Friday, during a subdued opening ceremony that is following less than six months after the end of the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Summer Games.

Athletes from more than 90 countries are settled into Beijing’s National Stadium, a.k.a. the “Bird’s Nest,” for the opening ceremony of these Games — a familiar scene as the city is the first to host both a Summer and Winter Olympics, with many venues repurposed for winter use after the 2008 Summer Games. (CBC) 

Meanwhile, there is new reason for hope in ending unequal vaccine access and finding a global resolution for the pandemic.  Researchers at Baylor College in Texas have developed a vaccine  based on established technology and common handling and refrigeration techniques. Best of all, they have no intention of filing a patent but have concrete plans for large-scale manufacturing in the Global South.

Wednesday January 19, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 19, 2022

Athletes to face rigorous tests at Beijing Games with COVID-19 and freedom of expression

August 12, 2021

The Beijing Olympic Committee is using stricter than usual testing for COVID-19, making it harder for Canadian athletes, especially those who have recently recovered from the virus, to pass tests upon arriving in China, CBC Sports has learned.

The cycle threshold (CT) value being used in China to detect an infection is 40, Dr. Mike Wilkinson, chief medical officer for the Canadian Olympic Committee, confirmed Monday. 

The higher the CT value, the less infectious a person with COVID-19 is.

Many places in Canada use a CT value of 35.

The NBA and NHL use 30. The NFL has set its threshold at 35.

“I think what Beijing is doing is that they’re doing everything they can to ensure they don’t have positives coming in,” Wilkinson said. (CBC News) 

Meanwhile, competitors at the Beijing Winter Olympics will face an “Orwellian surveillance state” in China and could put themselves in danger if they speak out in support of the Uyghur Muslims, human rights and athlete advocacy groups have said.

Tuesday December 28, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday December 28, 2021

Hamilton’s Efforts to Combat Homelessness this Winter

While the debate rages on about the dismantling of homeless encampments in Hamilton. City staff are gearing up for providing shelter for the homeless this winter with approximately $3 Million in projects. These include:

August 26, 2021

Transitioning the former Cathedral Boys School into a temporary shelter for women (approximately 80-100 beds) at an approximate cost of $1 Million.

Adding approximately 28 temporary emergency shelter beds as men’s overflow at an approximate cost of $350,000.

Something new would be the establishment of a $500,000 fund to support churches, social clubs who have expressed interest in supporting vulnerable residents through the winter months until March 31, 2022 but who may not have the operational funds to be viable.

Creation of a special fund of $500,000 to address homelessness experienced by Indigenous community members who are overrepresented in the homeless population of Hamilton.

A grant of  of $500,000 to the YWCA Hamilton for capital renovations required to continue to operate Carol Anne’s Place as a temporary drop in program for 22 single homeless women.

A grant of of $150,000 to the Good Shepherd Centre Hamilton for capital renovations required to continue to operate Cathedral as a temporary shelter for women.

December 17, 2020

Staff are also recommending that a consultant be hired  to evaluate the feasibility of implementing a New Westminster style bylaw which was used in that BC city to combat renovictions. The city has already taken preliminary steps recently to discourage renovictions by denying some develpers tax increment grants, which were designed to encourage the construction of residential units in the city core.

Director of Housing Services, Edward John also presented Emergency and Community Services Committee with a detailed snapshot of the homelessness situation in Hamilton. The report says over 15 percent of Hamilton residents are experiencing housing need which is defined as requiring more than 30 percent of household income for shelter. The report also says there are 1375 persons in Hamilton identified as homeless. (Bay Observer) 

 

Thursday December 9, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 9, 2021

Canada joining diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

August 12, 2021

Canada will not send any official representatives to the Beijing Winter Olympics in February as part of a growing diplomatic boycott by allies over China’s record of human rights abuses.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement on Wednesday after facing several days of questions over whether Canada would stand with allies that have already announced similar plans.

“We are announcing today that we will not be sending any diplomatic representation to the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic games this winter,” said Trudeau, adding he does not believe the move from Canada or by allies will “come as a surprise” to China.

“We have been very clear over the past many years of our deep concerns around human rights violations and this is a continuation of us expressing our deep concerns for human rights violations.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has worked in the past with the Canadian Olympic Committee to try to keep athletes safe while competing abroad.

February 20, 2021

Calls have been growing over recent days as Canada’s closest allies have announced their plans not to send official representatives to the Beijing Olympics in February as part of a diplomatic boycott over China’s human rights abuses, particularly against the Uyghur ethnic minority.

The United States, the U.K., and Australia all announced their decisions this week.

Liberal MP Adam van Koeverden, an Olympic gold medalist kayaker, said a diplomatic boycott is one of the tools at Canada’s disposal and that he doesn’t think such a move would cause additional stress on athletes.

“My priority is to make sure that athletes have the opportunity to compete, and of their safety and security as well,” he said on Wednesday.

March 24, 2008

A diplomatic boycott refers specifically to non-athletes. It would see countries that agree to take part in a boycott pledge not to send diplomatic missions or representatives to attend the ceremonies and the events themselves.

Normally, participating countries typically do send official representatives from their governments.

For example, former Canadian governor general David Johnson attended the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for six days as the country’s official representative. (Global)