Calgary Journal - September 2011 by Calgary Journal

September 2011

Addicted

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page 10 — THE CALGARY JOURNAL

IN FOCUS

SEPTEMBER 2011

Crack pipe program left shattered ‘It won’t change a thing,’ says recovering addict NICHOLAS WRIGHT nwright@cjnewsdesk.ca

fter nearly three years and almost 15,000 crack pipes, Alberta Health Services (AHS) put an end to its clean crack pipe program last month. The decision was made amidst a barrage of public scrutiny, as the program was thrust into the limelight early last month after Vancouver announced its intention of creating a similar pilot program to distribute crack pipes to users on the street. Tim Barber, a recovering crack addict and former user of the program, says that the elimination of the initiative “won’t change a thing” for crack users. “When you’re a crack addict and you’ve got the money to buy the drugs, you are not going to let not having a pipe stop you getting a hit,” he says. “People aren’t concerned about (the program) stopping because they know they can get (pipes) elsewhere — it doesn’t change their mentality at all.”

The Calgary Police Service (CPS) has made no secret of its dislike of the program and has been in contact with the Crown Prosecutor’s Office about the legality of the program more than once. CPS’s drug unit Staff Sgt. Mike Bossley explains that an inquiry was made to the Crown when the program began, but at that time both the CPS and the Crown decided not to take any legal action. However, another inquiry was made to the Crown in relation to the program amidst news of Vancouver’s new crack pipe project and the re-opening of public debate on the topic. “Obviously, from our perspective as a police service — if we were to just read the criminal code on the surface — we don’t support it because it appears to be an offence,” Bossley says. This placed the pipe program in a precarious position, stuck between the law and serving the health of their clients on the Between a Rock and a Hard Place street. Bossley says that the “vast majority” of AHS issued a statement in last month investigations that are conducted in the explaining that the Safeworks crack pipe CPS drug unit are cocaine-based and that program would be discontinued effective the primary focus of the unit is investigating immediately. drug trafficking This meant and not policing that the Safedrug users. works van, However, he which connects says the CPS AHS workers does recognize with clients at the need to convarious locations nect with drug across the city to users on personprovide physical to-person basis. and psychoIn order to do logical health so, Bossley says assessments the CPS partners with appropriate with a number — Tim Barber, recovering addict intervention and of programs “to referrals, would educate ourno longer be selves about what some of these people are distributing pipes and related devices. going through.” “Although the initiative was focused on

“People aren’t concerned about (the program) stopping because they know they can get (pipes) elsewhere — it doesn’t change their mentality at all.”

Photo: iStock

health objectives, there is reasonable potential for a legal challenge, with respect to distribution. On balance, we have decided to focus on other mechanisms to reduce health risks,” the statement read.

Passing The Pipe At the heart of the Safeworks crack pipe program was an attempt to curb the health risk attributed to the high-risk behaviour of

SEPTEMBER 2011

IN FOCUS

individuals who use the drug and the subsequent strain that absolutely positive that he contracted the virus from sharing puts on the healthcare system. pipes, he feels as though it is a likely scenario. A 2007 study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health He says that he knows a number of crack users in Calgary Research (CIHR) found that the transmission of hepatitis C who have contracted HCV. With the elimination of the (HCV) is possible though shared crack pipe usage. crack pipe program, he feels as though that number will The study explains that crack users often develop burns only increase. and sores in and around their mouth due, in part, to both He explains that crack users will stop at no lengths in the heat of the pipe when it order to “get a hit,” which is smoked and the gradual includes buying or trading deterioration of the glass for used pipes. He says that itself. the marketplace for these When these pipes are used pipes on the streets of shared among multiple usCalgary will see drug users ers the risk of transmission putting themselves and of viruses such as HCV is others at risk of contracting increased. communicable diseases like The lead researcher of the HCV. study, Dr. Benedikt Fischer, Research Chair in Applied More Than Just a Public Health at CIHR, said Quick Fix at the time that the study Although the crack pipe — Louise Gallagher provided an important piece program’s primary focus was Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre of evidence towards explainstemming the flow of coming whether oral crack users municable disease among can pass on HCV by way of crack users, it would appear to have served a more dynamic risky crack-use methods. purpose in the lives of its clients. “Our research affirms this risk, and calls both for sysLouise Gallagher of the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centematic additional research and an emphasis on expanded tre (DI) says that through her experiences at the DI, which HCV prevention measures targeting crack users,” Fischer sees hundreds of individuals with active addictions daily, explained after the release of the study. she has come to realize that building relationships with Barber, who has HCV, says that although he cannot be those suffering from addiction is a vital first step to help

“I think that one of the challenges that people with addiction face is that they feel marginalized and when we start to limit the programs for them, it just pushes them further away.”

THE CALGARY JOURNAL — page 11 them on their road to recovery. She is a supporter of the crack pipe program and feels as though it provided its users with the opportunity to form relationships that have positive influences on their lives. “I think that one of the challenges that people with addiction face is that they feel marginalized and when we start to limit the programs for them, it just pushes them further away,” she says. “I think it is vitally important that we keep that human connection. We may not agree with drug use, but no life is worth losing.” Barber agrees that the crack pipe program did more for him than simply makes sure he used clean pipes. “A few years ago I was afraid to tell anyone that I was a crack addict, now I’m not.” “Even if they are building your self-confidence by that one little bit, that may be the thing that hits you upstairs and makes you say ‘maybe I should start doing something with my life,’” Barber explains. “It’s an uplifting thing,” he says. “In many ways it is why I have moved forward in my life.” However, Barber does insist that individuals must make the decision to change themselves as a part of the recovery process. Gallagher explains that the connections people make when using harm reduction programs like the pipe program foster a sense of self-worth and that is vital to those engaging in these types of high-risk behaviours. “It allows them to continue to feel connected to society with the hope that that connection will bring them out of the darkness of their addiction.”

Photo: iStock

“When you’re a crack addict and you’ve got the money to buy the drugs, you are not going to let not having a pipe stop you getting a hit,” says Tim Barber, a recovering addict.

IN FOCUS

page 12 — SEPTEMBER 2011

One day at a time

THE CALGARY JOURNAL — page 13

Attending A.A. meetings like ‘coming home’, says one member NICHOLAS WRIGHT nwright@cjnewsdesk.ca

fter nearly 25 years in Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), John (who asked that his real name not be used due to the anonymity concerns of A.A.) said that going to meetings is often where he feels most comfortable. “When I’m walking in for a meeting I’m coming home. I am going to a place where I belong,” he explained. “It’s where I fit no matter what — whether anybody likes me or not, it doesn’t really matter. “That’s my spot and I can go there and I can feel good. It’s safe, it’s comfortable, it’s home.” John said that there are about 280 meetings a week in Calgary and these meetings take place in all types of spaces. He did mention that the spaces aren’t always the most luxurious, and they often find

themselves using church basements. “They offer us pretty good rent and we don’t have a lot of money for that,” he joked. Although people are welcome to attend any open meetings, John said that there are a few unique groups in Calgary that cater to a specific individuals — like women, homosexuals or Aboriginal Peoples. However, he said that one’s choice of “home group” ultimately comes down to your comfort level with the other members and personal convenience. “I have been to so many meetings in so many rooms that you start to understand that it’s not about the room at all. “It really is about the people.”

1. John said that there are 20 or 30 books made by Alcoholics Anonymous. “The books are vital. There is one book in particular which we call ‘The Big Book’ (seen top shelf with yellow and blue cover). We took our name from that book actually. That’s our textbook, our Bible — that’s where all the answers come from.” 2. “You don’t have an AA meeting without coffee,” John said. “As a matter of fact, we have a saying: ‘What does it take to start a new meeting? A resentment and a coffee pot.’”

Photo: Nicholas Wright/Calgary Journal

3. John said that meetings often end with members joining hands and reciting the Serenity Prayer, which begins: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” 4. Groups often give out give out “chips” for their members’ short-term “birthdays,” including 24 hours, one, two, three, six and nine months sober, John explained. “It used to be in the olden days that we didn’t have all these fancy chips, we just used poker chips” he joked. 5. “(AA meeting rooms) vary incredibly,” John said. “Some of them are little tiny rooms and others are fairly large office spaces — they completely run the gamut.” 6. A guide to A.A. explains, “The men and women in A.A. are of all races and nationalities, all religions and no religion at all. They are rich and poor and just average. They work at all occupations, as lawyers and housewives, teachers and truck drivers, waitresses and members of the clergy.”

Photo illustration: Nicholas Wright/Calgary Journal

Photo: Nicholas Wright/Calgary Journal

Photo illustration: Nicholas Wright/Calgary Journal

page 14 — THE CALGARY JOURNAL

IN FOCUS

SEPTEMBER 2011

Tapping into the power of A.A. NICHOLAS WRIGHT nwright@cjnewsdesk.ca

Zoltan V. (whose last name has been withheld due to the anonymity concerns of A.A) has been battling addiction for most of his adult life. Although he spent a number of years in the music scene in Alberta, he has no qualms admitting that he was often more focused on finding his next drink than developing any sort of career. Zoltan has now been sober for 10 years, but his path to sobriety began nearly 15 years ago. He endured more than one failure along the way to recovery.

that I wouldn’t survive if I kept drinking — I still didn’t want to go, but I had no other place to go. It’s often people who are truly desperate that respond to (A.A.). Was there something specific about the meetings that won you over?

How bad did your substance abuse get? It got really bad. By the end of it all I was a 24/7 drinker — it would usually start first thing in the morning. If I had some extra cash, which wasn’t very often, but if I did or one of my buddies did, then we would score some coke too, which makes it so you can drink even more. I ended up getting really sick. I stopped eating and drinking like a normal person. It pretty much nearly killed me actually. I was really underweight — you could actually see the outline of my liver sticking out of my skin. I was completely unemployable. I was in pretty rough shape. Was there a rock-bottom moment? Yeah, definitely. I couldn’t really sober up until I had that. My rock-bottom wasn’t dramatic — I woke up from a bender like I always did, and I realized that I had just worn myself out. I first attended a rehab-type program in late ’97 but didn’t quit drinking until near the end of 2001. It all started when I first went out to get some help and then started relapsing. That’s kind of part of the cycle, you fail a bunch of times. Basically you grind yourself down. Some people don’t ever reach that point. I don’t know what brings it about, but I was just lucky I guess. After waking up from that bender, my girlfriend and my family were ragging on me and I just wanted them off my back, so I checked back into rehab for about the fourth time. How I describe it is: I

Photo courtesy of Zoltan V.

“I still clearly remember the moment — when I sank into this blackness and it all hit me. This was it, this is my life and it wasn’t going to change,” Zoltan said of the moment he hit rock-bottom.

just lost all hope. All the previous times I thought, ‘I’ll quit this one day, but not today.’ But I finally reached the point where I couldn’t quit, and I couldn’t control it and I was probably going to end up dead. And before I was going to be dead, I was going to be homeless and I was going to be living a miserable life. That was apparent for a number of years to anyone looking at me, but the most dangerous thing about an addict is their denial. I still clearly remember the moment — when I sank into this blackness and it all hit me. This was it, this is my life and it wasn’t going to change. That really was my moment of clarity, because that was when I started to see my addiction for what it really was for the first time. After coming to this realization what was the next step? I started going to A.A. (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings. I didn’t think they would work because I had been to a lot of them before. When I went in the past I didn’t actually try to do anything, I would just show up and drink the coffee and smoke. I just didn’t like it. But I started going to meetings more just so that I had a place to be during the day because I was basically unem-

ployable at this point. I was sure that I was going to drink again, but I was just trying to put it off. I kept going and going, and I started to surprise myself. At first I was going to one meeting a day, then twice a day and then three times a day. Then the next thing you know three months have gone by. Before this, stretching five days without a drink was huge for me. I was still shaky and sketchy, but I was beginning to feel better and better. By about the six-month mark, I realized that if I stuck with it I would probably be okay. And here I am 10 years later. You mentioned that A.A. hadn’t worked for you in the past. How did you eventually commit to the program? That process happened over the period of about four or five years. I had to get to the point where I was in absolute hell for AA to seem appealing to me (laughs). When I was still under the illusion that perhaps I could still control my drinking and scale it back, then AA didn’t seem appealing at all. When I ran out of options — I was completely unemployable, my health was failing and I had two doctors telling me

I began identifying with the stories I would hear from other people at the meetings. I realized that my story wasn’t all that unique. This life I had that I thought was dangerously poetic and all that crap was just the same as all these other people from all these different walks of life. I would hear everyone from a biker to a businesswoman talk. As you go more you begin to appreciate the community, and you realize that these people aren’t all cult-like religious freaks. These are just people who have the exact same disorder that you do. With that in mind, how would you describe the culture of A.A.? I would say that the culture of A.A. is based on people who would never gather together in real life — because there is always such a disparate set of people from every walk of life — who somehow form this odd-ball sense of community. People do it in their own different ways. There is no headmaster telling you how to do it. Some people are very serious into the God thing and some have a more secular approach. Some people are very committed to going to meetings and others drop in and out. Either way, you definitely form a connection with these people who you would have normally never crossed paths with. There seems to be something unique to the AA community that resonates with those in the program. How does this influence your life? That’s what keeps driving me back.There have been times when I felt like I didn’t want to keep doing this anymore, but what always keeps me in the fold is the power there. Tapping into that power is what helped me turn my life around.

SEPTEMBER 2011

IN FOCUS

THE CALGARY JOURNAL — page 15

Controlled narcotics pose ‘significant risks’ for patients Canada one of the world leaders in pain medication consumption NICHOLAS WRIGHT nwright@cjnewsdesk.ca

anada’s consumption of controlled narcotic drugs — medications that are often prescribed for patients in pain management scenarios — is among the highest in the world, according to 2010 statistics from the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). The statistics from the INCB show that Canada is second only to the United States in its overall consumption of these drugs. Although any prescription drug can be misused, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA) says “it is usually drugs with psychotropic properties that are the focus of abuse.” The CCSA explains that one of the more popular types of prescription drugs that are abused are opiate-based medications used for pain relief. Dr. Lori Montgomery, medical director of the Chronic Pain Centre in Calgary, says that the disparity between Canada’s consumption of these opiate-based medications and other comparable countries is a concern. “It is such a significant difference that it has to mean something,” Montgomery says. “The problem is that we don’t know exactly what (those statistics) mean. We don’t know what all of the reasons are behind that. “Unfortunately, we don’t have great statistics on what proportion of pain patients actually do develop addictions or problem drug use, and that is one of those things that we need a lot more research on,” she explains. Montgomery says that there is a “significant risk” when prescribing these pain medications — which include drugs like OxyContin, Percocet and Demerol — due to their addictive properties. Misuse, Forgeries and Double-Doctoring According to statistics from a 2007 provincial report on addiction and medication, 22 per cent of AADAC’s clients had used opiates in the past 12 months. This number, while still of note, only reflects those who have sought help with their addictions, and does not include all of those prescription drug misuses that go unreported. Staff Sgt. Mike Bossley of the Calgary Police Service’s drug unit says that they are beginning to see an increase in prescription drug involvement in their drug trafficking investigations. Statistics from the 2008 Alberta Health Services “The Alberta Youth Experience Survey” report indicates that student drug habits are beginning to reflect that prevalence of prescription drug misuse. The 2008 study found that 17 per cent of students from Grades 7 to 12 had used prescription drugs without a pre-

carrying prescription drugs on their person. “You need to go beyond just locating it in many cases,” he says. “We need to look at how it is packaged or the number of pills (they have on them) as key indicators.” Drug Composition Anjli Acharya, president of the Alberta College of Pharmacists, says that the chemical structure of these drugs is addictive and a narcotic medication simply cannot be made without those components. “These drugs do have addictive potential and people can become addicted to them even though they were started on them for a very legitimate health reason.” Acharya says that most people don’t realize that the drugs used in pain management have similar components, though on a much smaller scale, to uncontrolled and extremely addictive drugs like heroine. “The problem is that these are quite literally lifealtering medications,” Montgomery explains. “For some people that is a positive change and for others it is exactly the opposite.” ‘This would be a really easy problem to address if these weren’t really useful medications.” “I don’t think the average population is aware that medicinal drugs carry risks,” Acharya says. “It’s really important that we educate the public about these risks.” Two Solitudes Montgomery feels as though doctors are not given adequate training to deal with concerns surrounding patient Photo Illustration: Nicholas Wright/Calgary Journal pain and how to help them manage it, leading to some of “These drugs do have addictive potential and people can the issues around opiate-based medications. become addicted to them even though they were started “Only a small percentage of the pain teachings they on them for a very legitimate health reason,” says Anjli get is related to these opioid medications,” she says. “We Acharya, president of the Alberta College of Pharmacists. need to teach doctors how to prescribe and monitor them properly.” scription in the past 12 months. Along with that, codeine Montgomery says that due to the increasing awareness of was the third highest illicitly-used drug by students, with prescription drug misuse in the media and within the medical 15 per cent saying that they had used it in the past 12 community, physicians are developing two types of prescribmonths. ing habits. Bossley explains that due to the variety of possible There are those who aren’t prescribing enough pain medisources of prescription drugs available for misuse — incations and those who are over-prescribing them in an effort cluding theft from pharmacies or individuals, prescription to compensate for the others who have curbed their use of forgeries or using multiple doctors to get prescriptions certain drugs — a situation she describes as “two solitudes.” (double-doctoring) — it can be very challenging for the “The over prescribers aren’t properly trained to deal with police to address the issue of supply and distribution. the issues around opioid prescribing, so their patients get Along with that, he says that the enforcement of laws into trouble. And those are the (scenarios) that get into the against the misuse of prescription drugs can be tricky media and influence the people who don’t prescribe at all,” for the police because, unlike drugs such as cocaine or Montgomery explains. marijuana, there are legitimate reasons for people to be “It’s sort of a self-perpetuating cycle.”

page 16 — THE CALGARY JOURNAL

Word on the street

LOCAL LIVING

SEPTEMBER 2011

What Calgarians are addicted to Maria Bitter mbitter@cjnewsdesk.ca

Everyone has something they can’t imagine living without. Humans are creatures of habit, and we tend to enjoy one or two of these habits a little more than the rest. Some may call it an addiction whereas others would simply call it a hobby. Either way, we just can’t stop doing it. With this in mind, the Calgary Journal took to the streets to find out: “What are you addicted to?” “Coffee, coffee, coffee. It’s gotten to the point where if I don’t have coffee in the morning I get a massive headache. It all started when I had to get up really early for work, and I could not stay awake so I had to get some caffeine in my system and it’s been a routine ever since. It’s that first cup of coffee in the morning that kick starts my day. I’ll probably have a large cup in the morning, and half a cup in the afternoon. On rare occasion I have one at night, but I make it decaf; I’m not completely insane because otherwise I won’t sleep. But it is an issue, and I do need to cut back.”

— Titina Rondan “I’ve been smoking cigarettes since I was 30. I smoke roughly two packs a week. I know it’s bad for me especially at my age (51), but I can’t seem to stop and believe me I’ve tried. I crave it every time I have some down time or when I’m stressed or especially when I’m having a drink. I know I should stop though, if I don’t my wife might just kill me instead of the nicotine (laughs).” — Ralph Salvattore

“Blackberry messenger is my life. I’m always on it; I mean every single day I’m chatting with my friends and it’s just an easy way to communicate. I never let go of my phone ¾ I mean it’s fast ¾ plus you know if they read your messages or not, that’s my favorite part. I guess it can make me oblivious to the outside world because I’m always looking at my phone and I ignore people a lot - which is bad I know ¾ but I still need to stay in touch!” — Clara Hurtado

“I work out a lot. I go to the gym at least six days a week for two hours, sometimes three. I also play a lot of soccer with my buddies every second day. It’s the best way to get in shape. If I don’t work out I get anxious because I’m very energetic, so I need to let go of that somehow! Don’t get me wrong I love eating some junk food and laying on the couch watching T.V. just as much as the next guy, but I’ll probably kill myself exercising for two hours after.” — Christian Hernandez

“I am definitely addicted to Facebook! That’s the way I stay connected to my friends and family. I probably spend about 70-per-cent of my time on there, and about 10 to 12 hours a week or so logged on. It’s definitely addictive because you find out about everybody’s life on there; you catch up with old friends, and find out what everybody is doing. I mean it’s a lifestyle; I’m not changing it. I love it.”

— Jessica Torrealba

“Call of Duty (COD), the best game ever. I am completely addicted. I feel like it’s my job because I play about 40 hours a week and the time just flies by when you’re playing it. It might be bad for my eyesight, or almost make me break up with my girlfriend once or twice but, I have glasses, and my girlfriend understands (I think). I will only stop if my PlayStation breaks down or overheats. It’s not like I’m being completely anti-social, I talk with my buddies online while playing COD, so it works. ” — Lino Carillo

“I love, absolutely love, my iPhone. It’s so useful and addictive in every sense of the word. I can’t separate myself from this thing. I have three kids and whenever we have dinner I’m the one that’s always ignoring them now that my husband gave it to me as a birthday present. I download all the new apps, I buy pretty cases for it, and I take an immense amount of pictures. It’s always with me. I feel like I’m having an affair with my smart phone and my husband regrets giving it to me so much.” — Helena Parr

SEPTEMBER 2011

Dare Us...

LOCAL LIVING

THE CALGARY JOURNAL — page 17

Ever wondered what it would be like to do something different but don’t have the time (or the courage) to try? Follow our reporters as they try out these wacky, wild and wonderful things you’ve always been curious about. Want to dare a reporter? Send your suggestions to calgaryjournal.editor@cjnewsdesk.ca, call us at (403) 440-6991.We are also on Facebook and on Twitter @calgaryjournal.

‘This. Is. Spartaaah’

Calgary Journal reporter recounts the ‘madness’ of running the Spartan Race Sean Sullivan ssullivan@cjnewsdesk.ca

man standing behind me said that if we fell behind, we would be left behind. “This isn’t the Marines!” he cried, which got a laugh from most of us. In front of me, a man asked that we don’t run him over. “Then don’t fall,” I replied. Our Spartan horde spanned back over the hill farther than I could see. A staff member urged us into a war cry: “Rah! Rah! Rah!” As we readied ourselves, the propane tanks were opened and a line of fire sprung up on the track ahead of us; the first of many obstacles to come. I was one of the hundreds of people who’d headed to Canada Olympic Park (COP) on Aug. 20 to run in the Spartan Race, a trail run and obstacle course that is held in cities across North America. Before the race I spoke with Nathan Hauville, a personal trainer at Fitness First Calgary. He put five guys through five weeks of cardiovascular conditioning, three weeks of weight training and three weeks of simulated racing, with obstacles, in preparation for the race. “It’s going to be a challenging race, man,” he told me. The race was Saturday and I’d found out I was running it on Tuesday. I had four days to prepare. If I overdid it, I’d be in trouble during the race. Calgary’s race was a Spartan Sprintthat spanned five kilometres and had more than ten obstacles, which is not as challenging as the Super Spartan or Spartan Beast races. So, I decided to relax. I was under the delusion that I had some endurance, if not explosive power. Boy, was I wrong. I have no endurance — some explosive power, but mostly in my arms. After a quick leap across the fire and a scramble over a stack of hay bales, we began the long trek up and down the dirt paths next to COP. It wasn’t long before I was out of breath, had a pain in my side and desperately wanted a drink of water. The Spartan Race website said that 99.9 per cent of participants finish the Spartan Sprints. I kept that in mind. I wasn’t going to be fast, but I was determined to finish. I’ll admit that for a few long stretches it became a Spartan walk. The next couple obstacles — a long tarp-tunnel and a rock wall to run up and over — passed in a blur. What turned out to be the easiest challenge for me was carrying two large buckets, filled halfway with rocks, up a hill and back down. What followed was, in my mind, the simplest and most sadistic obstacle in the entire race. After another hill, my lungs aching for air, I was handed a balloon and told to blow until it was full. Afterwards I asked the obstacle’s judge if there were any water stations along the course. “Not that I know of,” she said. It became a running joke. Many of the participants jogging beside me, or running past me, wondered if there was a water station. Up ahead I heard a woman yelling encouragement. “You’re

Photo: Nicholas Wright/Calgary Journal

Calgarians set off on their “war charge” at the beginning of the 5-kilometre Spartan Sprint at Canada Olympic Park.

almost there.” I asked her how much farther we had to run. She said we were about halfway. I also asked her if there was a water station up ahead. Same answer, “Not that I know of.” During the second half of the race I actually started to enjoy it. The obstacles were closer together, it was more downhill and most involved upper body strength. I quickly dragged a cinderblock through sand and I rushed down the hill to an obstacle I was looking forward to: crawling through mud underneath barbed wire. Despite the staff member saying it had dried up, the damp earth was cool and refreshing. Four of the next five obstacles had punishments for failure. The first was zigzagging two-by-eight-foot balance beams. Falling off meant doing 20 burpee exercises before continuing. A burpee begins in a standing position; you squat, kick your legs out behind you, do a pushup before returning to a squatting position, and then jump as high as you can. Twenty burpees for me — I blame dehydration. Falling off the 10-foot wall meant 25 burpees. I launched myself up and over easily while a woman behind me bemoaned the drop down the other side. Next was a long horizontal climbing wall with handholds made of

two-by-fours. Punishment: 20 burpees for falling, not trying meant 30. After a couple close calls hanging by my fingertips, my hand slipped before the last handhold. Twenty more burpees. After climbing over a cargo net, and rushing down a steep hill, participants had to throw a javelin at a straw dummy or incur another 25 burpees. I scored a hit, but the javelin didn’t stick. Another 25. And waiting for me at the finish line was the final challenge: two Spartan warriors, one with a long padded stick to block the way. I paused and the one with the stick stared me down. “I can wait all day,” he said with a smile. If I jumped they’d go for my legs, and I’d land flat on my face. I decided that taking a hit straight on was better, so I feigned right towards the weapon and then rushed the man who was unarmed. He was quicker. He blocked me on the left and I plowed into the guy on the right. I stumbled past the finish line. I’d made it. When I sat down and poured a cup of cold water over my head, I realized two things. I knew I was not in as good shape as I’d like to be, and I knew that I wanted to run this race again next year.

page 18 — THE CALGARY JOURNAL

LOCAL LIVING

SEPTEMBER 2011

Volunteers ‘lifeblood’ of LGBT events Calgary Dyke March and Pride Parade rely on efforts of the community NICHOLAS WRIGHT nwright@cjnewsdesk.ca

algary’s LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual) community has been picking up steam for a number of years, and with the Calgary Pride Parade and Dyke March both happening on the first weekend of September, that momentum is unlikely to slow down. “I think that (these forms) of activism have exploded in the last few years,” says Brianne Langille, chair and event organizer of the Calgary Dyke March. “There was a bit of a low point a few years back and certain people in the community noticed that and began to rally behind (these causes). “It’s almost as if you can see the community vibrating with energy about change.” The Calgary Dyke March, which began last year, looks to address issues surrounding queer women, while trying to foster an appreciation for the “dyke” identity, Langille says. Sam Casselman, president of Pride Calgary, agrees that the community is seeing a real surge in support and activity in the city. She cites Mayor Naheed Nenshi’s inclusion as the Pride Parade’s grand marshal as one example of the LGBT community’s growing presence in the city. Casselman goes on to explain that Pride 2008 had about 2,000 people attend, whereas Pride 2009 and 2010 both had about 10,000 people come out to support and celebrate the LGBT community. Jessica Dollard, programming director of Fairy Tales Presentation Society, a non-profit Calgary-based organization that showcases queer artists, says that the hands-on support of the community is what is making a difference in the city. Photo courtesy of Gay Calgary and Edmonton Magazine “People are just really passionate, they are jumping in there A scene from last year’s Calgary Dyke March, the first ever held in the city. “I think that (these forms) of and making things happen — Pride and the Dyke March are activism have exploded in the last few years,” says Brianne Langille, chair of the Calgary Dyke March (left of great examples of that,” she says. the sign in white). “Everything we do is done by volunteers,” explains Casselman. “It literally takes hundreds and hundreds of hours of volunteer work to make Pride work.” corporate sponsorship in order to steer clear of unwanted influcomes to sponsorship, Langille says that Pride’s involvement Langille agrees, saying that the Dyke March is a volunteer-run ences on their event. with the business community is important in many ways. group and simply wouldn’t exist without them. “We prefer to keep everything grassroots and very simple,” she “The parade is fantastic, I love the parade — it does a lot of Unlike Langille and Casselman, who are both volunteers says. “We aren’t putting anyone else’s name on it — it’s ours and positive things,” she says. “It gets corporations to come out in themselves, Dollard is one we can do what we want support of queer issues and put their money where their mouth of only a handful of paid with it.” is.” employees at Fairy Tales, The Calgary Pride “We are willing to work with anybody,” Casselman says of but is adamant that they Parade does accept corPride Calgary. could not get by without porate sponsorship, but “We do want to be free to be who we are and to do what we the efforts of the volunCasselman explains that want to do without the limitations of big corporate sponsors, but teer community. most of their sponsors are there is a balance to be reached.” “They really are the small businesses and felBoth Langille and Casselman say that there isn’t a right or lifeblood of (our) organilow queer organizations. wrong answer when it comes to the issue of managing sponsor— Jessica Dollard zation,” she says. “Pride prides itself in ship for these events — it simply boils down to finding a balance. Fairy Tales Presentation Society working with nearly every Langille does concede that the Dyke March may never be Paying The Bills queer business in the city,” she says. as big as the Pride Parade, but they are happy to run a simpler, Although there are similarities between Calgary’s Pride Parade Casselman points out that their presenting sponsor for the low-key event. and Dyke March, mainly the championing of queer causes in the parade this year is a fellow queer organization, Calgary Outlink. Casselman says that they are always looking for sponsors who city, they do differ slightly in terms of sponsorship. In contrast, the Pride Parades in Vancouver and Toronto were can help make Pride Calgary “bigger and better,” but is adamant Langille, who was pivotal in bringing the Dyke March to presented by TD Bank. that community involvement and maintaining their freedom are Calgary last year, says that the organization consciously avoids Although the Dyke March has different philosophy when it their top priorities.

“People are just really passionate, they are jumping in there and making things happen — Pride and the Dyke March are great examples of that.”

SEPTEMBER 2011

LOCAL LIVING

THE CALGARY JOURNAL — page 19

Summer Food & Drink Column

The Calgary Journal ask the experts for tips and advice on how to fill your summer with delicious meals and exciting treats. This month, a reporter took a look ahead at the tasty goodness of what’s to come at Baconfest Canada.

Meat candy Bringing home the bacon SEAN SULLIVAN ssullivan@cjnewsdesk.ca

acon lends itself well to any dish. The versatile meat comes in many forms. Purists say that bacon is only cooked pork belly. However, there are all kinds of bacon for meat lovers out there, including turkey, chicken, duck, beef and bison bacon. For vegetarians there is even tofu bacon and “fakon,” or veggie bacon. “It’s a small guilty pleasure,” says Tim Tamashiro, who hosts the CBC show Tonic on Friday and Saturday evenings. Tamashiro has gone as far as to organize an upcoming bacon festival, Baconfest Canada, here in Calgary. For many, bacon evokes great memories. Tamashiro isn’t sure what makes us think so fondly of the delectable meat, but suggests that one possible reason is memories of family breakfasts on Sunday mornings. “It’s the universal meat,” Tamashiro says. “When you have bacon you’re usually with people.” Baconfest Canada spokeswoman Cara Azevedo says that when Tamashiro started doing some research and didn’t find any bacon festivals in Canada — despite the success of Baconfest Chicago and the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival in Des Moines, Iowa — he couldn’t stand for it. “We have Canadian Bacon,” Azevedo says. “Of course there should be one.” Since then, the Great Canadian Bacon Festival was held on July 1, at the Arva Flour Mill in London, Ontario. Tamashiro’s Baconfest Canada will be happening at the Bowness Community Centre on Sept. 24. Types of Bacon

Of all the types of bacon on the market, beef bacon is a more recent addition. Richard Janzen, founder of Canadian Beef Bacon, says that most beef belly is turned into hamburger, but that it can be turned into beef bacon through the same process as pork belly. Janzen says the “cool” thing about beef bacon, which will be making an appearance at Baconfest Canada, is that it can be made with different grades of beef. Bacon can be made with double-A, triple-A, or premium beef. Bacon can also be made from black angus beef. And because beef decays at a different rate than pork and ages safely, aged beef bacon is another option. “We can do aged beef bacon triple smoked,” Janzen says. “You can’t do any of that with pork.” Janzen’s beef bacon has proven popular across cultures and religions that don’t eat pork. He says he has already seen interest from companies in Israel, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. Tamashiro says Baconfest Canada will have a range of different bacons from pork and beef to turkey and tofu. Baconfest Canada will host chefs from across Calgary, providing bacon inspired dishes to sample.

Bacon Vodka Recipe based on tips by Tim Tamashiro What you’ll need: 4 slices of fully cooked bacon Bottle of vodka A large glass jar Coffee filters Place the bacon inside the glass jar and fill it with vodka. Seal the jar and let it sit somewhere cool, away from the sun for two weeks. Poor the contents of the jar through a coffee filter. Return the infused vodka to the jar and place in the freezer. This will cause any grease still mixed with the vodka to clump up. Strain the vodka once more through a coffee filter. Make yourself a bacon cocktail. Relax and enjoy.

Glazed Bacon Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, Epicurious.com and Allrecipes.com. Glazed bacon is basically either brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup poured over bacon and baked.

Tim Tamashiro was in Toronto last month and visited the St. Lawrence Market where they had glazed bacon. He said it was sitting under a heat lamp, glistening with just a little bit of black char on it. “It was so delicious,” Tamashiro said. The brown sugar can be mixed with a small amount of melted butter and ladled over the bacon. More can be poured on after 5 to 8 minutes in the oven. Orange juice, dijon mustard, pepper, chipotle, or other spices can be added to the mix. The essentials: 1 pound of your favorite bacon 1/3 cup to 1 cup brown sugar (to taste) Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Spread strips of bacon across a large baking sheet. Cover bacon evenly with brown sugar or desired mix. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden and well glazed.

Photo Illustration: Sean Sullivan/Calgary Journal

STORY INDEX

page 2 — THE CALGARY JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 2011

IN FOCUS:

Inside the Calgary Journal...

Addicted

Up in smoke

Page 10 | AHS pipe program cracks under pressure

Working the steps

Page 14 | Q&A with a veteran of the A.A. program

Poppin’ pills

Page 15 | Misuse of prescription drugs is a growing concern among doctors and law enforcement

Editor-in-Chief Nicholas Wright Associate Editor Shane Flug

Photos: Sean Sullivan/Calgary Journal

“My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world. All my very best, Jack Layton.” 1950 - 2011

NEWS

AISH on the brain

Page 4 | PC leadership candidates speak out about provincial benefit program

Browsing the city

Page 6 | City of Calgary launches new website

Environment

A green space makeover

Page 7 | Chinatown’s Sien Lok Park set for redesign

Community Forum

One less drug

Page 8 | How not taking a drug she had been on for 47 years changed one woman’s life

Cover Illustration: Sean Sullivan/Calgary Journal

Dare Us

A&E

Page 14 | Fire pits, gladiators and burpees test the determination of would-be warrriors

Page 22 | Film production easier said than done for newcomers to the industry

Running like a Spartan

LOCAL LIVING

Making movies

SPORTS

The rainbow brigade

Screen of dreams

Page 16 | Calgary Dyke March and Pride Parade take to the streets

Page 21 | The ups and downs of a fantasy sports addiction

Sizzilin’ strips

Playoff push

Page 17 | It’s a brave new world for bacon lovers as Baconfest Canada starts cooking

Page 21 | Vipers last home stand of the regular season

For the record In the August issue the following error was made: In the story entitled “Breaking new ground in waste water treatment,” Western Economic Development was incorrectly attributed as a contributor to the ACWA project .The contributor is actually Western Economic Diversification, which is a group inside of the Government of Alberta. The Calgary Journal apologizes for any inconvenience the error may have caused.

Production Editor Sean Sullivan Supervising Editors Jeremy Klaszus Shauna Snow-Capparelli Production Manager & Advertising Brad Simm ph: (403) 440-6946 The Calgary Journal Produced by journalism students in the Faculty of Communication Studies at Mount Royal University. Contact the Journal: calgaryjournal.editor@ cjnewsdesk.ca (403) 440-6991

Contributors Maria Bitter Dara Defreitas Laura Wershler

Event Listings

page 20 — THE CALGARY JOURNAL

Community Events Francophone Multicultural Festival Calgary Sept.1-3, Stanley Park www.pia-calgary.ca/festival

BBQ on The Bow

Sept. 3-4, Eau Claire Festival Market www.bbqonthebow.com

Calgary Highland Games

Sept. 3, Springbank Park www.calgaryhighlandgames.org

Calgary Corporate Challenge Kick-Off Pep Rally / Torch Relay Sept. 9, Eau Claire Market, 11:30 a.m. www.calgarycorporatechallenge.com

Haultain and First Street Festival Sept. 11, Victoria Park www.victoriapark.org

Calgary Walk for Farm Animals

Sept. 17, Eau Claire Market, 8:30 a.m. www.walkforfarmanimals.org

Entertainment Music Josh Groban, Straight to You Tour

Sept. 1 , Scotiabank Saddledome, 7:30 p.m. Tickets at ticketmaster.ca

Bill Durst’s “The Great Willy Mammoth” CD Release Tour Sept. 2 , Mikey’s Juke Joint www.billdurstband.com

Open Stage Jam / Brooke Wylie & The Coyotes and guests The Reverend Uncle Bastard Sept. 3, the Ship & Anchor Pub

Ke$ha presents the Get $leazy Tour

Sept. 6, Scotiabank Saddledome, 7:30 p.m. Tickets at ticketmaster.ca

Kim Churchill

Pearl Jam

Sept. 21, Scotiabank Saddledome, 7:30 p.m. Tickets at ticketmaster.ca

Keith Urban’s Get Closer World Tour 2011

Sept. 23, Scotiabank Saddledome, 7:30 p.m. Tickets at ticketmaster.ca

Ra Ra Riot with Dinosaur Bones

Sept. 28, The Gateway, 8:00 p.m. Tickets at ticketmaster.ca

Theatre J.B. Priestly’s “Dangerous Corner”

Sept. 10 - Oct. 9, Vertigo Theatre Call (403) 221-3708

Cinderella: Enchanted Edition presented by University of Calgary Operetta Company Sept. 9-10, U of C’s Craigie Hall www.UCalgaryOperetta.ca

Tosca Cafe

Sept. 13 - Oct. 2, Epcor Centre Tickets at www.epcorcentre.org

The Backyardigans’ Quest for the Extra Ordinary Aliens Sept. 24, Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, 1:00 & 4:00 p.m. Tickets at ticketmaster.ca

Comedy The Trailer Park Boys: Randy and Mr. Lahey Sept. 20, The Gateway, 8:00 p.m. Tickets at ticketmaster.ca

Red Green: Wit & Wisdom Tour

Sept. 19, Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, 7:00 p.m. Tickets at ticketmaster.ca

Calgary International Improv Festival Sept. 26 - Oct. 2, Multiple Venues www.calgaryimprovfestival.com Tickets at www.epcorcentre.org

The Free Cupcake Comedy Show

Sept. 9, The Gateway, 8:00 p.m. Tickets at ticketmaster.ca

Sept. 10, the Nickle Theatre at Mount Royal University, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m. www.freecupcakecomedy.com

Grave with Blood Red Throne, Pathology and Gigan

Sports

Sept. 13, Dickens Pub, 9:00 p.m. Tickets at ticketmaster.ca

Spruce Meadows 2011 Masters 5-Day Sept. 7-11, Spruce Meadows Tickets at ticketmaster.ca

SEPTEMBER 2011

Staying afloat

A&E

THE CALGARY JOURNAL — page 21

Young filmmakers produce first films in Calgary SEAN SULLIVAN ssullivan@cjnewsdesk.ca

roducing films is a horrible business, according to University of Calgary film studies professor George Melnyk. It is not a stable industry, especially for young filmmakers. It is not a “paycheque every two weeks” kind of job. “You have to have a personality that’s going to go through all the slings and arrows of the industry,” Melnyk said, “which is basically to crush you, not to lift you up.” One Calgary filmmaker has experienced this struggle but found a way to succeed. Gursimran Dhillon, who founded the company Canadian Bollywood Films with his brother Harsimron Dhillon, has been in the Canadian military for nine years. He taught himself cinematography while working night shifts in Wainwright, Alta. over the course of two years. “People are always going to come in the way,” Dhillon said. “You just have to keep soldiering on and doing what you’re doing.” Canadian Bollywood finished filming its first in-house production, “Pseudo,” earlier this year. It is currently in post production. Breaking Into Feature Films

For Dhillon, who grew up in India before moving to Canada, films were always part of the lifestyle where he came from. However, he found that the films tended to isolate characters from the rest of society. He said they were always about weddings or someone who couldn’t play hockey or soccer. “We really wanted to take that away and say, ‘That’s such a pro-’80s concept,’” Dhillon said. “We’re living in the twentyfirst century.” Dhillon wanted to show what was really going on right now and was inspired to write the screenplay for “Pseudo” by the South Asian gang killings in British Columbia. Melnyk said that filmmakers aspiring to the “big dream” of creating feature films tend to start out by producing smaller projects like documentaries. “There’s industrial film making for companies, public relations films — there’s all kinds of stuff in the non-fiction area,” Melnyk said.

The Dhillon brothers began Canadian Bollywood in 2008. Dhillon spent three years working on his screenplay while learning the craft itself. In the meantime Canadian Bollywood has helped produce feature films, short films, documentaries, TV shows and music videos with local companies and international producers who have come to Calgary to film. “I didn’t really want to go into shooting this film prematurely,” Dhillon said. “It took us years of hard work to save up that kind of money.” Getting on Television

For filmmakers just out of school, starting out can be a long and difficult process. After graduating from SAIT, Braden Brickner and Darryl Jordan came up with an idea for a short film that they hope to pitch to a television producer for a TV series. The short film, “There are Strange Things Done in the Midnight Sun,” will take place during the Klondike Gold Rush. For Brickner and Jordan starting out means figuring out how to make the most with the little funding and equipment they can get. “You have to be creative,” Brickner said. “That’s part of the Canadian film industry.” Jordan said they had thought about requesting a grant for their short film, but the timing of when they would have received the funds didn’t fit with their production schedule. Both Jordan and Brickner said they have been working with other companies while getting their own project off the ground. Recently they have been working with an independent film company that has been using fundraisers at bars and investments from an independent financier to bankroll their film rather than relying on government grants. “He’s getting paid for it,” Jordan said of Brickner, “I don’t think I am.” Brickner explained that they help out other film companies in Calgary and hope that those companies will return the favour later on. They have set up a fundraising page on IndieGoGo.com to help gather funds for their short film.

Networking and Favors as Currency

Melnyk said that filmmakers of any age and experience need to surround themselves with other filmmakers. “You have to be a part of that industry,” Melnyk said. “You can’t just do it off in a corner somewhere by yourself. You have to be part of the film community.” Melnyk said that Telefilm Canada, a major funder of feature films in Canada, focuses on Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal because those are the prominent

filmmaking communities in Canada. To work in Calgary, he said you need to be aware of certain limitations. “Until we’ve developed a critical mass of filmmakers in Calgary — which we don’t have right now — with some kind of national reputation, it’s going to be an uphill struggle,” Melnyk said. “Even 50- to-60-year-old filmmakers with great track records are still constantly out there with a begging bowl, trying to get money for their next film.”

Calgarians Told Us! In the past year, the Calgary Journal hit the streets to better serve you as your community news organization. Representing our 150+ reporters, our researchers talked to dozens of Calgarians in coffee shops, the market, the mall, the gym. You came to us from community associations, schools, and health care institutions. You represented Calgary’s rich diversity. The questions you answered: • Your top issues • What you want more of • How you get your news • What’s not being covered • And much more We invite you to check out how we’re putting your ideas into action. Look for our redesign and new features in our October print edition and in coming weeks, on CalgaryJournal.ca. The Calgary Journal: “Reporting on the people, issues and events that shape our city”

page 22 — THE CALGARY JOURNAL

SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 2011

OPINION

What dreams are made of Confessions of a fantasy sports addict

NICHOLAS WRIGHT nwright@cjnewsdesk.ca

am addicted to playing make-believe. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dress up in costumes and pretend that I can fly or organize tea parties for teddy bears, but I do spend a fair amount of each day living in a fantasy world — the fantasy sports world that is. With the start of the NFL and English Premier League seasons, my life has now become as much about “fantasy points” and “sleeper picks” as it is about being productive at work or attentive at home. Basically, a fantasy league consists of a number of players who build teams of athletes from a specific professional sport that compete against other. Teams are awarded points based on the actual performances of the athletes they have chosen. Fantasy owners need to make decisions on their rosters based on player performances, injuries, match-ups and possible trades with other managers. Even seemingly insignificant aspects of the game — a few extra yards here, an extra tackle there — can become vital in a competitive fantasy league. And I should mention that I have yet to experience a league that was anything but intensely competitive. Although a game that is driven exclusively by statistics may sound a little dry to those who have never played, this pastime has captured the imaginations of millions. According to a 2011 study by Ipsos for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA), approximately 32 million people in Canada and the United States have played in a fantasy league in the last year. This marks a 60 per cent increase in participation in the last four years based on yearly studies by Ipsos. Clearly, I’m not alone in my delusions of managerial grandeur. The League That Plays Together Stays Together Sir Winston Churchill once said, “Always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.” I have always felt the same way about my own battles with fantasy sports addiction. It is easy for me to lose hours of my day researching possible replacements for my injured running backs or a proposed wide receiver trade. I have been known to be nearly inconsolable after a tough loss in a playoff race. I will continue to avoid holiday meals if they conflict with late-season games — it is such a cruel joke that the NFL and Christmas seasons overlap. Needless to say, fantasy sports have taken their fair share out of me. Although it may seem as though my commitment to fantasy sports would insulate me from the outside world, my infatuation with it is the result of its ability to keep me connected. I have a group of friends with whom I com-

Photo Illustration: Sean Sullivan/Calgary Journal

According to a 2011 study by Ipsos for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA), approximately 32 million people in Canada and the United States have played in a fantasy league in the last year. Clearly, Nicholas is not alone in his delusions of managerial grandeur.

pete, and it undoubtedly is a tie that binds us together. Even though we endlessly trash-talk each other and secretly harbour hopes of mass injuries to each other’s rosters, there is love in our league. We meet every Sunday throughout the football season at a local pub; regardless of what’s happening in real life, “football Sunday” is sacred. We have all missed birthday parties and neglected to congratulate each other on new jobs or graduations, but we would never dare to miss a week. This devotion is likely misplaced, but I tend to think there are worse things we could be doing with our time.

was missing out on our Sunday tradition, not where I was going to live or work in a new city. When I broke the news of my move falling through to a close friend and rival fantasy owner, he quietly responded, “It’s a good thing, I was getting a little worried about football Sundays.” We aren’t much for sentimental gestures in our league or in our friendship, but I have to admit that it felt good to hear this. We hadn’t talked about my proposed move, and it would have likely passed without much being said at all. It is sad but true; we often need sport to bridge our emotional gaps. It made me realize that — despite the rigors of fantasy sports and its overbearing influence on my life for five months every year — I definitely get more out of it than I could ever put in.

We have all missed birthday parties and neglected to congratulate each other on new jobs or graduations, but we would never dare to miss a week.

More Than a Game Recently it looked as though I might be moving away at the end of the summer. One of my most pressing concerns

SPORTS

SEPTEMBER 2011

Calgary Vipers make playoffs SEAN SULLIVAN ssullivan@cjnewsdesk.ca

THE CALGARY JOURNAL — page 23

he Calgary Vipers secured one of the top two spots in the North American Baseball League playoffs with their 11-7 win against the Chico Outlaws on August 17. On Serve and Protect Day (Aug. 20), after a celebrity softball game between the cast and crew of CBC’s “Heartland” and AMC’s “Hell on Wheels” to raise money for the Slave Lake relief effort, the Calgary Vipers beat out the Yuma Scorpions 10-1. The Calgary Vipers rounded out their regular season with two games against the Edmonton Capitals before going on to meet them again in the North Division Championship Series. After a best-of-seven series against the Capitals, which will be wrapped up by Sept. 6, the winner will host the South Division Championship Series, beginning Sept. 8.

Photo: Sean Sullivan/Calgary Journal

1. Calgary Vipers fans came early on Saturday, Aug. 20 to watch the cast and crew of “Heartland” take on “Hell on Wheels.” 2. 2712 fans watched the Calgary Vipers take on the Yuma Scorpions on Aug. 20 at Foothills Stadium in Calgary. 3. The Yuma Scorpions’s Jonathan Jaspe tags out Viper’s infielder Jimmy Rohan as he tries to slide back to first base. 4. Infielder C.J. Ziegler put the Calgary Vipers on the board with his 22nd home run of the season on Aug. 20. His 23rd home run also started the scoring for the Vipers when they played Edmonton the following weekend, on Aug. 28. 5. Calgary Vipers starting pitcher Mike Burns threw six scoreless innings on Aug. 20. He was named one of the Rawlings Players of the Week for Aug. 14 to 20.

Photo: Sean Sullivan/Calgary Journal

RECREATION Credit students are already members — you pay a Recreation and Athletics fee with your tuition each semester. Didn’t pay the fee? No worries, come see us at Customer Service (U130). Stephanie MRU Student Intramural Volleyball

mtroyal.ca/recreation

403.440.6517

NEWS Candles for Jack

THE CALGARY JOURNAL — page 3

SEPTEMBER 2011

GUEST COLUMN

‘A great loss to Canadian democracy,’ says young Calgary voter SHANE FLUG sflug@cjnewsdesk.ca

SEAN SULLIVAN ssullivan@cjnewsdesk.ca

t was an evening of tears, memories and the odd burst of laughter. For a little over two hours on Aug. 24, the green trees and gazebo at Tomkins Park along 17th Avenue SW were surrounded by NDP orange. There were candles, T-shirts, flowers and a poster of the late Jack Layton – all in the party’s colour. Friends, admirers and party members alike paid their respects to the moustachioed federal NDP leader during a candlelight vigil that honoured his life. Layton died of an undisclosed form of cancer on Aug. 22, a month before he planned on stepping down as the new leader of the Official Opposition. His state funeral was held Aug. 27 in Toronto. The steps of the Tomkins Park gazebo were lined with posters of the New Democrat shooting a game of pool and posing as a superhero. “Confident,” “caring” and “humble” were words some people chose to describe Layton’s character. Ellen Hansell said she never met Layton but had been a labour-union member in England before coming to Canada 50 years ago. “I didn’t know anything about Canadian politics at the time,” she said. “But I found out the NDP was the place that I belong.” She said Layton leaves behind a legacy of “drawing Canadians together.” New Democrats Reflect Julie Hrdlicka, event organizer and 2008 provincial NDP candidate for Calgary-Fort, addressed a crowd of a few hundred during the vigil. “Jack touched people from all walks of life,” she said. “He was the man of the people.” She remembered him for his accomplishments from defending women’s reproductive rights to supporting and protecting Canadian jobs. Bob Hawkesworth, former NDP MLA and Calgary city councillor, was

Memories of a leader there to “say goodbye to a good friend.” The pair met in 1998 during Layton’s days as a Toronto city councillor and they worked together on homelessness issues. Hawkesworth shared one aspect of Layton’s personality that he thought may have prompted Canadians to hand the New Democrats their historic Opposition status on May 2. “He was the opposite of cynical,” he said. “He was actually in politics for the love of it and out of empathy and love for the country.” Youth Inspired Hrdlicka spoke to the crowd about Layton’s success in getting more young people to vote, and even getting some elected into Parliament within his party. “He was a pivotal figure for hope for the future, for their future,” she said. But questions linger as to where the New Democrats will go next with their leader gone. However, Erin Kaipainen expressed a sense of hope for the party’s future. She said she first reacted to the news of Jack’s passing with “despair,” but then heard from people that “maybe this is an opportunity to build the party and there will be more people who step up and, especially in a province like Alberta, want to run for the NDP.” Ian Wearmouth, 22, said he doesn’t vote NDP but called Layton’s departure “a great loss to Canadian democracy.” “This gentleman has given so much to us as youth,” he said. “And (he was) able to represent us beautifully.” Two days before his passing, Layton wrote a final letter to Canadians and addressed the country’s youth: “More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better.... I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today.”

Photos: Sean Sullivan/Calgary Journal

Calgarians lit candles around the gazebo at Tomkins Park along 17th Avenue SW in memory of Jack Layton on Aug. 24.

MARC POWER marc@marcpower.ca

t has been said that politics is the “art of the possible” — a world where one can only accomplish so much because of the great inertia of our political system. Jack Layton believed otherwise. I’ve been involved with the NDP since I was 17. I came into politics with the wideeyed idealism of a teenager. However, my early days of being a New Democrat weren’t easy ones. We were mired at single digits in the polls and were barely keeping our heads above official-party status in Canada’s Parliament. A culture of disillusionment and defeat seemed to prevail. I remember being at the NDP convention in which Jack became leader. He expressed a grandiose vision for the party that seemed free of the taint of corrosive cynicism and disillusionment that was pervasive in NDP circles. I wasn’t entirely certain that his optimism was genuine but it became crystal clear over time that it was. Jack was a leader in every sense of the word. He was a man willing to take on unpopular and seemingly overambitious causes because he believed in them. He was not afraid to stick out his neck and put his name behind something or someone that he passionately believed in. Jack sought common ground with anyone regardless of political stripe because he knew that more is achieved by working together than by division. To borrow a phrase from football, Jack continually “moved the sticks” by making incremental steps towards his vision because he knew once even the smallest progress was made that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to reverse course. Jack inspires me every day to continue fighting for what some may call an impossible dream - the dream of building a fairer, more compassionate Alberta. He reminds me that passionate and courageous stands are important, but change really happens when people “roll up their sleeves” and seek compromise from potential allies from across the spectrum. Marc Power, 29, ran as an NDP MLA candidate for Calgary Currie in 2008. He will be running again in Calgary Klein.

page 4 — THE CALGARY JOURNAL

NEWS

SEPTEMBER 2011

AISH and the Tory leadership race At least one candidate for next premier promising a raise in payments SHANE FLUG sflug@cjnewsdesk.ca

rogressive Conservative (PC) candidates who want to be (the government) is just going to deduct it?” the next Alberta premier are sparring over how best to take Griffiths said that if he becomes premier, AISH administration care of the 43,000 Albertans who are living on AISH. costs will be reduced, allowing more dollars to be put in recipients’ Alison Redford, PC leadership candidate, vows to raise AISH pockets. He also said he will ensure that everybody who needs to payments if elected. be on the program will be on the program. The MLA for Calgary-Elbow announced in early August that if “I think we need to find any way we can to raise the payments she becomes premier she will raise the monthly payment by $400, somewhat,” he said, but wouldn’t go as far as to say what a proper bringing it to a total of $1,588. amount would be to ensure a good standard of living for AISH “I’ve seen the fact that we’ve had leadership before that hasn’t recipients. taken (AISH) seriously,” Redford said. “We can’t presume that any He explained that the cost of living in different towns and cities program or any people are disposable and we need to ensure that vary across the province, and the current monthly allowance may we’re treating all Albertans with respect.” be sufficient for living in small, rural communities but in other Bridget Pastoor, Liberal critic for the Seniors and Community places, “It won’t even cover the rent.” Supports department — which man“I don’t know that I know what ages the AISH program — gave “kuthe right amount would be,” he said. dos” to Redford’s campaign promise. “But I think for many people in many “She’s the only one that’s even circumstances, it’s not adequate. For recognized that AISH is a problem,” other people in other circumstances, it she said. would be adequate.” In addition, Redford said she Candidate Gary Mar also said there would also double recipients’ allowed should be less spending on administramonthly income from $400 to $800 tion and more investments on benefits per month. Currently, if recipients “that actually help the person that earn more than what is allowed, the we’re trying to help.” government claws back their benefits. For example, from 2009 to 2010 — Alison Redford Pastoor said that there are some the Persons with Developmental PC leeadership candidate people on AISH who can work a partDisabilities (PDD) program spent time job but “there is no way” that $31 in administration costs for every they could work full time. $100 spent on services for recipients of that program, according to “And (working) is what keeps people as a part of the human a report released last year. race,” Pastoor explained. “It gives them dignity.” Mar said that he feels the same way about managing the adminRedford isn’t the only candidate who has touched on AISH istrative costs within AISH, but didn’t provide specifics about what while campaigning. he would do with AISH if he became premier. Candidate Doug Griffiths said a payment increase “might be Griffiths shared similar thoughts. necessary,” but mentioned that AISH recipients he has met have “AISH is not meant to be a gravy train,” he said. “But you could told him they would rather be able to take better care of themselves substantially increase the amount of resources going to people on by working than receive higher payments from the government. AISH (with a reduction in administration spending).” The problem, Griffiths said, is recipients potentially not being able to work as much as they can because of potential government What Should the Next Premier Do? clawbacks. Joe Ceci, former alderman and provincial poverty reduction co“What’s the point (for an AISH recipient) in going to work if ordinator for the Alberta Inter-City Forum on Social Policy, said

“We can’t presume that any program or any people are disposable and we need to ensure that we’re treating all Albertans with respect.”

Photo courtesy of AlisonRedford.ca

Alison Redford says she’s promising to increase the monthly AISH allowance by $400 to a total of $1,588. As well as double the allowable monthly work income.

Photo courtesy of GaryMar.ca

Gary Mar says he believes there should be less administrative spending on social-assistance programs such as AISH and PDD.

there needs to be “less of a bureaucratic run-around” for AISH recipients, as well as an increase in their financial support. “It needs to cover their living needs,” he said. Pastoor said the new PC leader should index AISH payments in the same way MLAs’ salaries are indexed to Alberta’s cost of living. Pastoor did note that the program still has strong health benefits. “It needs to be increased substantially,” said Marc Power, a New Democrat who will run in Calgary Klein in the next provincial election. “AISH is one small step in taking care of the severely handicapped and mentally ill but it’s obviously not the only step that needs to be taken,” he said. For example, he mentioned making affordable housing a priority for those that have physical and mental disabilities and are living on the streets. Life on AISH Rhonda Rowan, AISH recipient, has difficulty maintaining her balance while walking. She has lived off of AISH since 1984, when her monthly allowance was $624. She said the current monthly allowance of AISH is still “well below the poverty level.” She can’t afford to pay for home repairs, and it can be a challenge to pay for the $200 shoes her doctor recommended to help keep her body’s sense of alignment straight. According to a rental-market report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the average rental cost in April for a bachelor suite was $687 per month, leaving a recipient $501 left over to support themselves. Rowan said she dreams one day of being able to go on a trip. The religious, middle-aged woman who lives “very, very quietly,” shared her wish to see the history of Jesus Christ in Israel, get in touch with “family roots” in Norway, and see the United States. But Rowan, who had a stroke when she was three weeks old and has had cysts removed from her brain, said that it would take “winning the lottery” to make any of those trips possible. “There’s no money to go anywhere.” Bonnie Lemna, another AISH recipient, challenged politicians to walk in an AISH recipient’s shoes. “How would they like to live on our income? They wouldn’t be able to live month by month,” she said.

Photo courtesy of Griffiths’ Twitter account

Doug Griffiths says that AISH is due for a program review in order to see who should and who shouldn’t be on the program.

NEWS

SEPTEMBER 2011

THE CALGARY JOURNAL — page 5

Teachers face ‘nerve-wracking’ job market after widespread layoffs

Faith and free parking

MARIA BITTER mbitter@cjnewsdesk.ca

SHANE FLUG sflug@cjnewsdesk.ca

ith the fall semester beginning this month, some education students are starting to wonder if it’s even worth enrolling. University graduates in education are finding it hard to get jobs because of recent budget cuts to school boards. This leaves some graduates looking at the possibility of working outside the country to gain much-needed teaching experience. Samantha den Oudsten, a 24-year-old Mount Royal education graduate, was worried about her future when she started hearing about the teacher lay-offs and the lack of jobs in the field. “When I heard of all the people who were graduating last year that were having difficulties finding a job, I thought, well it’s probably going to get worse.” She applied for several positions in Calgary and the surrounding area, but was unsuccessful. Den Oudsten heard of other graduates looking for job opportunities abroad and she eventually found a job in Macao, China near Hong Kong where she will teach English to Chinese youth. The curriculum is Alberta based, so her hours spent abroad will count towards her full time certification in Canada. “When I come back at the end, I’ll be a fully certified teacher, “ den Oudsten said. “I’m excited, but it’s kind of nerve-wracking having to leave to do my job.” The Calgary Board of Education’s (CBE) new operating budget for the 2011-2012 school year will see a total of 331 full-time positions cut — 174 of which are from educational programs. This is the second consecutive year that the CBE has seen cuts to their teaching and support staff. The CBE said the cuts currently leave them with no full-time teaching vacancies and few substitute positions available. Susan Quinn, associate professor of business at Mount Royal University said that generally, their graduates have a “very rosy outlook except for the education graduates.” “The entry level at schools for new teachers is not there, and in terms of human resource planning, that is frankly the possibility of a disaster,” Quinn said. This is the first year Mount Royal University will be offering a bachelor degree in elementary education. Despite concerns about the job market, some teachers are excited for the fall semester to get underway. Ann McLennan, education advisor and field studies coordinator for Mount Royal, said that all 75 positions in the elementary education degree are filled for September. “Mount Royal has a very good reputation and we knew these positions would fill up eventually,” McLennan said. Cynthia Prasow from the faculty of education at the University of Calgary, said enrolment numbers have remained steady for them this year as well. She explained that classes for the fall semester are, for the most part, full and they are confident that students will have a successful year ahead of them. Prasow advises students not to lose hope so quickly after graduating. “Throughout the year people have to go on maternity leave and have to leave school for certain reasons, so I think if people are persistent, patient and wait, an opportunity might eventually arise.”

Mormon Institute offers stalls to students — with a catch asoul Kabirzadeh, who came to Canada from Iran in 2008 and recently completed a master’s degree in astrophysics, found a free place to park close to the University of Calgary (U of C). It was at the neighbouring Bow Valley Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Staff from the Calgary LDS Institute of Religion offers parking for students in the lot at Bow Valley Chapel near the U of C at no cost. But there’s a catch. Students who park at the chapel lot are asked to enrol in one of the Institute’s 17 daytime classes — which are once a week, last about 90 minutes, and are based on LDS beliefs and teachings — and attend at least 10 out of the 13 classes. Kabirzadeh took one of the Institute’s classes each semester last year for the free parking. He describes himself as more “spiritual” than religious and said that he was quiet and listened more often than he talked during the classes. “I learned a lot about how other people think about religion,” he said. Richard Young, an instructor at the Institute, said that it was hard to find a happy medium with the U of C students who used the lot located at Bow Valley Chapel, which is on 24 Avenue NW, west of Crowchild Trail. He said that if the lot, which has 125 stalls available, was opened to everyone, there wouldn’t be room for the Institute’s own students. Young, who is also the parking supervisor for the Institute, said that implementing a no-parking policy meant a period of handing out tickets. “We didn’t want to give out any tickets to anybody,” Young said, chuckling. “So we said: ‘Listen, if you want, you can take a class and

park (at Bow Valley Chapel) for free.’” Because the LDS Institute of Religion is not affiliated with the U of C, spokespeople for both the university and its students’ union said they couldn’t comment on the arrangement. But university spokesperson Grady Semmens noted that 500 stalls are now available east of McMahon Stadium this year. Young said there were about 40 students taking the offer when the free-parking program for Bow Valley Chapel’s lot began in January. They used to offer parking at the Institute building (on 32nd Avenue and 31st Street NW) for years as well, but ran out of room. More Diversity in the Classroom?

Although most students in the classes are still Mormon, Young said that people of different beliefs do come in. He said having students of different beliefs in his class taught him that different faiths have more in common than not. “We’re all God’s children and we all want to be good to each other and those are principles we talk about.” Bertram Okeke Jr., a U of C political science major, said that the Institute’s offer is “the best option I’ve ever heard in terms of parking,” though he does believe there are “elements of conversion” behind the program. “More congregation, more money.” A self-described “realist,” Okeke Jr. has no problem taking a class for free with any religious institution if it means saving money. Young acknowledged that students might feel apprehensive at first about the subject matter of the courses, but no student is expected to pray, contribute money or be baptized. “I just give my word,” Young said about such concerns. “That’s all I can do.” Fall free-parking registration at Bow Valley Chapel ends Sept. 30.

Photo: Shane Flug/Calgary Journal

Richard Young, instructor with the Calgary LDS Institute of Religion, said that the free parking offer in exchange for taking a course has had some success bringing in a few students from all religious faiths.

page 6 — THE CALGARY JOURNAL

NEWS

New Calgary.ca up and running

SEPTEMBER 2011

A look at the latest version of our city’s website

SHANE FLUG sflug@cjnewsdesk.ca

hen Cheri Macaulay of citizenadvocacy group CivicCamp, was looking for the Brentwood Station Area Redevelopment Plan, she simply searched for “Blakiston Park” on the city’s newly redesigned website. And there it was as the top result. On the old website, all that came up were less specific pages for community parks and playgrounds and the Adopt-a-Rink program. “That’s a huge improvement,” she said. “It’s very, very difficult to track anything down on that old website, which the city has acknowledged for a long time. “I’m quite excited about it.” The new version of Calgary.ca, which is also mobile-friendly, was a little over one-and-a-half years in the making. It officially launched in mid-August following a week-long preview period for the public. It replaced the text-heavy, menu-driven site that web-surfing Calgarians have known since around 2002 — which stretches back to a time before Facebook, when its co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg, was just a freshman at Harvard. “The main goal, quite frankly, is a much more customer-centric site,” said David Watson, project sponsor and general manager of planning, development and assessment. The intention was to the turn things “upsidedown” so citizens could have an easier time finding what they were looking for. “It became pretty apparent that — although when people got to the information, they were

happy — they were having one heck of a time finding the information under the old site,” Watson said. “That really meant you had to know how the city was structured and organized.” About a fifth of the traffic on the old Calgary.ca was directed from the home page, whereas over half of the traffic on the site came from an external search engine. Dana Cottreau, freelance web designer, said the field of web design Photo courtesy of the City of Calgary has changed over the City research indicates that almost half of all Calgary.ca users were aged 25 44 as of 2009. years. She said when the big dot-com boom hit, one trend was to simply Cottreau explained. or other departments), it would mean a whole “flood your website with as much information According to city research, 60 per cent of lot more people answering the phones at (the as you possibly can. No one really thought Calgary.ca visits were less than one minute city’s) end.” about usability and user trends because there long, indicating users wanting to find what “We’re pushing more and more of our busireally were none.” they’re looking for quickly as opposed to nesses to the web,” Watson said. Nowadays, “when people can’t access the browsing. For example, there are close to 80 online information through the Internet, people tend city services (called eServices) on the website to get more upset because they expect it now,” Dollars and Direction where people can report a pothole, license a pet The new $3.2-million Calgary.ca site is or apply for an event or tournament. powered through Google and Microsoft “That’s just the tip of the iceberg of where SharePoint. Software was developed in partner- we want to get to in the next number of years,” ship with Infusion, a software-development he said. company. Macaulay said money spent on a site that Watson said feedback during the preview helps give people “good access to good inforperiod was “very positive,” but one big commation about how things unfold in their city is ment was that the size of the search bar in the definitely money well spent.” centre of the home page “gets in the way of the A 2008 city survey, in partnership with pictures, but we wanted to emphasize that this Ipsos, indicated that 45 per cent of responwas a search-driven site.” dents gathered city information from Calgary. Similar to Google, users can narrow down ca, which ranked first place out of a number of searches to documents, images and interactive information retrieving methods like phones maps. and email. Cottreau said specifying searches “made When asked why it’s important for municithings a lot cleaner.” pal governments to adapt to how its citizens get A device the city purchased from Google, information, Macaulay replied, “For better or called the Google Search Appliance, is under a worse, we do live very busy, fast-paced lives.... three-year license at a cost of $32,900 per year. It’s important that we can find (information) Watson said he thinks $3.2 million is not easily so that people feel that they are welcome that much money to invest. to participate. If it’s easy to find the informaThe website had nine million visits last year. tion, then it indicates a message of welcoming He said that if “we didn’t have a website and we citizens to participate in a public engagement had nine million people who wanted a piece process. Source: The City of Calgary — Illustration: Shane Flug/Calgary Journal of information and had to phone (either 3-1-1 “Come in and play.”

SEPTEMBER 2011

ENVIRONMENT

THE CALGARY JOURNAL — page 7

Redesigning Chinatown’s green space Downtown’s Improvements on the way for Sien Lok Park SHANE FLUG sflug@cjnewsdesk.ca

t’s the only public park in Chinatown and it will soon get a makeover. The City of Calgary Parks department showed a preliminary redesign for Sien Lok Park during last month’s Chinatown Street Festival in order to get public feedback on the plans. “The park is underutilized,” said Keath Parker, Parks planning and development services leader. “That’s one of the main reasons we want to do this redesign. We don’t see enough people in there all the time.” According to the city, some funding had been designated as part of last year’s Chinatown centennial to engage stakeholders in the Chinese community, asking what they wanted from the proposed redevelopment. The Sien Lok Society, which first developed the park in 1982, was one such group. “The primary inspiration is to tell the story of the history of Chinese Canadians,” said Robert Jim, outgoing president of the society. “And what we’re trying to do with the park is to provide that theme and weave it through the park.” Proposed features include a tai-chi court, an elder’s court, an outdoor theatre and sculptural lanterns with LED screens. Parker said the cost for the design and public engagement process was $150,000. He noted that the final cost of the redesigned park wouldn’t be determined until later in the fall. Parker said that if a park’s redesign was to consist of just open space and grass, “that’s going to be really cheap. But we know that’s not going to be the case. What we’re trying to do here is a little more complex than that.” Thomas To, past president of the Sien Lok Society, said that the redesign of the park would make it seem more unified. Sien Lok Park is divided into two green spaces on both sides of Riverfront Avenue SW between First Street and the Centre Street Bridge.

Chinatown Street Festival and was walking around Sien Lok Park by the central sculpture, called “In Search of Gold Mountain.” He said he thinks the plans for the park would serve as a good “forum” for the Chinese community and supports more taxpayer funding for public spaces. “Calgary used to be a real prairie town — it didn’t have a lot of amenities and it certainly didn’t have places like this. But places like this don’t happen without public funding.” Parker said an open house for the redesign will be held in the fall. Sien lok means “happiness through good works” in Chinese.

Chance of a More Vibrant Chinatown

While To said that Chinatown is still a vibrant place, if more people would go to Sien Lok Park, they may also go to spend some money at restaurants in the area. “And also see the rest of Chinatown as well, right?” Ken Lee, president of the Calgary Chinese Merchants Association, said he thinks that a redeveloped park would draw more activity into Chinatown in the form of community events, not unlike the neighbouring Prince’s Island Park across the Bow River. “It will definitely kick-start our association.” Jim also said that the redesign would create other opportunities for Chinatown. “This becomes sort of the benchmark for raising awareness for the community,” he said. Jim said it would also bring investment opportunities for Chinatown. “Because in essence, really, this is the first ethnic community in Calgary,” he said. Mike Nelson, 61, was enjoying the festivities at the

Photo: Shane Flug/Calgary Journal “In Search of Gold Mountain” is a granite monument in Sien Lok Park that was sculpted by Chu Honsun, from Hopei Province in China, in honour of ChineseCanadian history. According to the city’s preliminary design plan, this piece of public art will remain where it stands.

newest park Construction for Poetic Park Plaza starts this month SHANE FLUG sflug@cjnewsdesk.ca

t may only be “one little corner,” but Ald. John Mar called this planned park a “front door” into downtown. Last month, the final open house for the public to see the plans for downtown’s newest park, Poetic Park Plaza, was held inside the Avatamsaka Monastery on Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street SW. The new park will be built on the lot east of the monastery, which Kyle Ripley, manager of Parks Planning and Development Services for the City of Calgary, said was once the site of a local bakery. Presently, the 50-by-100-foot site, which is smaller than an NHL hockey rink, mainly consists of grass and gravel with some large flower pots close to the sidewalk. Anil Karim, a University of Calgary doctoral student who stopped in to see the plans, likes the idea of more parks in big cities. “People can just sit and relax,” he said. “And that helps society because they’re frustrated and they have issues. If they can just sit outside and eat a sandwich, sometimes that calms them down.” Ripley said that construction of the park is slated to begin this month. Weather permitting, it will be completed by early next year. The funding for the park was approved by city council last year and the budget for the park runs at $700,000, Ripley explained. The intended use of Poetic Park Plaza is to be a “point of pause” for people going down the Bow River pathway system or to and from downtown, Ripley said. Karim said that he went to school in the United States and mentioned how large-city spaces there can be taken over by big business. “But parks — they add this peace, this calmness,” he said. “So you can have big buildings and enterprise but you can have green space.” “We also know that the more hustle and bustle there is in Calgary, the more places that people want to be able to go and have a bit of a respite,” Mar said. Ripley also suggested that Calgary’s city centre has a deficiency of open space. “When we have small opportunities like this present themselves, we seize them, and that’s why we’re doing it.” Kin Yu, a member of the monastery, said that when his organization spoke with the city on what to do with the small piece of land, they suggested to make it into a park. “I think the outcome looks very nice.” The design plan for Poetic Park Plaza involves features such as a mountain garden, bench wall and urban canopy trees.

page 8 — THE CALGARY JOURNAL

COMMUNITY FORUM

SEPTEMBER 2011

Those damn teenagers!

Looking back on one of the greatest fears of my childhood DARA DEFREITAS ddefreitas@cjnewsdesk.ca

“They said, ‘All teenagers scare the living s__t out of me. They could care less as long as someone’ll bleed’. So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose. Maybe they’ll leave you alone, but not me.” – My Chemical Romance, Teenagers

any times I blared that song in my first car, my tank, a maroon LeBaron that, despite its age, had a killer sound system. One summer day I had my windows rolled down and was driving at a hazardous speed. I was paying more attention to the people flying by than the pavement in front of me. I didn’t care about the glares I caught from gawking women tending to their precious gardens as I whizzed by. I certainly tuned out the voice in my head of my mother screaming, “Turn that damn awful music down!” I loved that music and that band in their dark, mysterious and defiant clothes. Their black-rimmed eyes and stained lips were sexy, despite the fact they were men. I loved the reaction I got from my parents when I cranked that music. I reveled in the way the lyrics told anyone that didn’t understand us to go to hell. A few years later when maturity won me over, my mother and I were able to have a conversation without firing hurtful comments at each other. We were reminiscing about the years before I cruised in that LeBaron. Years when Spice Girls ruled the airwaves, and black eyeliner was for women and drag queens only. Years when I was terrified of teenagers, whom I saw as stupid and rebellious. “Sweetheart, did something happen to you when you were younger to make you feel that way toward teens?” She asked hesitantly. “Mom,” I would say rolling my eyes, patting her hand reassuringly. “You asked me that then, and I still have the same answer years later: Nothing happened!” The Evil Confronts Me I don’t know when or how it all began. I was about nine when I noticed my hatred and it lasted for a good three years. I don’t have a sob story about abuse that led to the agonizing fear that crippled a large portion of my childhood. There wasn’t a defining moment that made my heart sink at the glimpse of a teenager. I remember at times, refusing to leave my castle to visit any other castle in fear of bumping into a scary punk kid. I did whatever it took to avoid those living monsters who roamed the streets day and night, all day every day. Those horrifying creatures would loiter around my neighbourhood convenience store, which I often frequented. But they could not keep me from my treasure that waited inside. They were the armoured force I had to break through to get safely inside the castle, the comforting stronghold where the clerk – who shared the same views as I about “the evil” crawling outside – would stand guard and come to my aid should anything happen. The reward for successful entrance into the castle was my favourite mouth-watering orange slurpee and a bag of ketchup chips that danced and celebrated victory on my taste buds. But I knew better than to rejoice and lavish in my spoils too soon. I would have to go back out there and face impending doom

Photo: Dara Defreitas/Calgary Journal

To me, teenagers were what clowns and the dark were to most children that age: what I feared most. I hated them for how they looked and acted. I hated them for the disrespectful words they hurled around with seemingly no consequences. I wondered how they got away with all those things.

once again. But until then I would stare wide-eyed at the skulking creatures through the safety of a protective glass shield. Teenage Wasteland I watched the toughened foot soldiers march in their uniform gear: baggy pants hardly appropriate for battle, sagging to the ground soaking up every ounce of gravity, hindering their movement. The chest guards they sported were black oversized T-shirts with logos of bands that I was convinced screamed “Satan.” Though I could only see their lips moving through the shield, I knew they were conversing about vulgar topics. I knew their typical battle cry embraced a bevy of swear words. The only time they shut up was to hock gigantic spit wads on the spattered pavement, as parents, vice-gripping their children’s hands, scurried past. Cigarette smoke swirled from their stained yellow fingers to their black caps, worn like helmets, swung obnoxiously backwards. Who was captain of this haggard battalion? I would have a word with him if I weren’t so damn petrified. In my judgmental blue eyes, these savages were rude, defiant and entirely out to get me. They were the evil in my world that doused the radiant light of all wholesome things, and I dreaded the day when I would become a teenage monster myself. I vowed to be a

kinder, gentler monster when my time came. To me, teenagers were what clowns and the dark were to most children that age: what I feared most. I hated them for how they looked and acted. I hated them for the disrespectful words they hurled around with seemingly no consequences. I wondered how they got away with all those things. How did they dodge justice and morality? I got into trouble for not cleaning my room and it seemed like they could get away with anything. Close Encounter I had one run in with the evil that solidified my fear. One sunny day I was in my polka-dot bathing suit, savouring a delicious grape Popsicle in one hand, and drawing ponies on my driveway with pink chalk in the other. I was alone in my own innocent world full of unicorns and other mythical creatures. The sun felt warm on my back. Everything was wonderful in my fantasy world, until the evil popped my hazy flower-filled bubble and blotted out all happiness. The white tank squealed around the corner on two wheels pounding ferocious death metal, or maybe it was just Nirvana – the soldier’s number one defence mechanism to ward off the good. I caught a glimpse of the passenger...a teenager.

COMMUNITY FORUM

SEPTEMBER 2011 My grape Popsicle splattered to the ground, dotting my bare toes in purple goo. I froze in place, unable to run. It felt like time inched by. Then the worst possible thing happened: The white tank slowed nearly to a stop. The armoured teen in his black, band-logoed tee rolled down his window. He gave me a grin, the memory of which sickens me to this very day, and slowly raised his fist. A metal skull latched around his middle finger. The punk raised that one finger in my direction. Despite my horrified expression, he laughed and nodded to his partner in crime, who understood the command and sped off down the street. I remember bolting barefoot up the shadowed, cold concrete steps into my mother’s loving embrace. My mother -- my protector, who, like the clerk at the store partially understood my fear. She knew more than I did, I know now. She was well aware that one day, regardless of how I felt about the evil at age ten, I would be drafted into its colony. She knew I would go willingly, always wanting to be older and — what I thought at the time — wiser. Through the Darkness Looking back I realize now that I broke my vow to be a kinder, gentler teenager. I had been naive to believe my wholesome innocence would never leave me. I had not understood that the music would be so powerfully captivating, and that those metal band T-shirts would be so desirable. That I would believe they would scream on my behalf: “I’m important. Don’t ignore me!” Wearing them I felt impenetrable, a force to be reckoned with. I was Darth Vader. I had been on the other side, but the dark side was much more satisfying. It was easy to bury my childhood horrors down deep because being insensitive was the dominant sought-after trait of my fellow evildoers. I didn’t care. I was cool now. My parents and teachers were Jedi trying to keep me down, trying to destroy the Death Star that was my incredible cockiness. Eventually, the force of maturity conquered this darkness. Today, at 23, I sway back and forth from good to bad, but I find myself in a comfortable balance. I feel like I have the upper hand because I’ve fought on both sides. At least I have intimate knowledge of that evil if I ever have children that I must protect from it one day. I will know their next step and I will be one step ahead of them. I will expect the squealing tanks on the street and the loitering militia at the convenience store. I will probably be that glaring parent, but I’m sure I will look back as I grip my child’s hand, and conceal my smirk at the evil I once feared but came to understand.

Photo courtesy of Dara Defreitas

Dara Defreitas broke her vow to be a kinder, gentler teenager.

THE CALGARY JOURNAL — page 9

Not just another side effect How getting off a drug she didn’t need improved my elderly mother’s quality of life LAURA WERSHLER lwershler@cjnewsdesk.ca

thought her continuous need to pee would drive me crazy. No wonder it was driving my mother to distraction. That, and the constant need to mop her brow and change her clothes due to incessant perspiration. Not urgent medically, but all this water was dampening my mother’s spirit and determining what she could and couldn’t do. She’d been experiencing these symptoms for about two years and her family doctor seemed not to be interested or able to figure out why. At the time, I didn’t ask the hard questions I might have. When my 92-year-old mother moved to Calgary in May 2010 to be close to me, I became her full-time health-care advocate. I already had an in-depth knowledge of her medical history. I was on a first-name basis with Photo courtesy of Cleve Wershler her Red Deer pharmacist: She was tak- “When it comes to my mother’s well-being, I take my role as project manager seriously,” Laura Wershler says, seen here with her now 93-year-old mother. ing drugs for heart issues, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, restless legs at CCDMC, has been near the top of my iPhone favourites list. and a disease called myasthenia gravis. The clinic works the miracle of co-ordinating a team of health-care A couple of years ago when she was in the hospital for a full providers to consider the entire medical profile of the patients they work-up, I’d looked up every drug she was on and made a chart to manage. Although the physicians rotate – you don’t see the same keep track of what each was for and what the side effects of each doc every time – continuity is maintained by the nurse clinicians. drug were. I made suggestions to her doctor and declined, with my My mother is treated with dignity and affection. I am considered mother’s agreement, to add one more drug to the load – an antipart of the team; they help me as much as they help her. depressant. It was the last thing she needed. To date the clinic has made a huge difference in my mother’s Mom moved in to an independent seniors’ residence in Calgary quality of life. We’ve had our set-backs – a long hospitalization and with on-site home care available to residents who need assistance eventual transition to long-term care – but the waterworks, to my with daily living. We connected with the home-care co-ordinator, nurse Monica Isaac, to get help with her medication. My mother’s vi- mother’s deep appreciation, have sputtered out. Because we requested that the MG drug be investigated, Markell sion problems were making it difficult for her to punch her pills out got us referred to the Neuromuscular Clinic at Rockyview General of the pillow-pack. And if she dropped a tiny pill she couldn’t find it, Hospital. There another nurse clinician, Roula Simmons, astounded so she would miss a dose here and there. me with her caring. She and neurologist Dr. Lawrence Korngut are experts in MG, managing about 200 patients with the disease. Unexpected Help During our first visit to the clinic my mother visited the washAfter taking a history, Isaac provided a referral to the Complex room five times. Chronic Disease Management Clinic (CCDMC) at the Peter Lougheed Centre. I was hopeful we could make things better. Relief, Finally Before our first appointment, I met face-to-face with pharmacist Laurie Champagne. I’d connected with her at IDA Sarcee Pharmacy, Dr. Korngut, after examining my mother, announced that the dose of the MG drug she was taking was “massive” and that it was indeed official drug supplier to the seniors’ residence, as soon as Mom responsible for her excessive urination and perspiration. He also moved to Calgary, and was impressed with her experience working determined that my mother’s symptoms had burned out. She was in with aging seniors. “It’s an art,” she said about prescribing medicaremission and could come off the drug. tion for the elderly. Over the next month the dose was reduced gradually until she As we reviewed the drugs, doses and side effects, Champagne was off the drug completely. Her constant need to pee went away. suggested the excessive urination and perspiration were most likely She didn’t have to change her top several times a day. The aggravatdue to the drug my mother had been taking for 47 years to treat ing restless legs disappeared, as did the shortness of breath I had myasthenia gravis, or MG. It’s an auto-immune disease that causes been listening to for years. Today in long-term care, not tied to the muscle weakness due to a deficiency of acetylcholine at the neurobathroom, she can go on outings again. muscular junctions. Finding compassionate, effective health-care support has taken both luck and perseverance. Not settling for less has made my elderly Complex Chronic Disease Managed mother’s life better. Since our first phone conversation, Marilyn Markell, nurse clinician