A LOOK BACK AT 2021

LOOKING BACK AT A new year, a new mindset. New is an obvious theme of the new year, but with everything new there is the chance to also look back. With that intention we encourage you to….2021 GOOGLE THIS! PENG SHUAI

Chinese Tennis Star Peng Shuai was temporarily disappeared by the Chinese government after she accused a senior Communist Party official of rape. Her social media was scrubbed of the exposing posts and her public appearances have been limited by the Chinese government. These actions have led to calls to remove the 2022 Olympics from China.

CULTURAL GENOCIDE: CANADA'S DARK HISTORY

In May 2021, Canadians were shocked as the remains of 215 school children were uncovered in an unmarked grave on the property of a former First Nations residential school. Throughout the following months, more and more children were discovered. The discovery of bodies brought new attention to the shameful chapter of Canadian history and empowered Canadians to fight against cultural genocide. More than 1,300 unmarked graves have been found at previous residential school sites.

BC FLOODS

BC suffered flooding across the province. Dozens were killed, thousands were left homeless, and millions of dollars in property damage has been done. The flooding also resulted in major supply shortages and fuel restrictions. Governments are promising to rebuild and better protect citizens in the future but few specifics have been announced.

WHO IS PREMIER OF MANITOBA

There was a dispute between Heather Stefanson and Shelly Glover about who was the legal Premier of Manitoba. Stefanson became the province’s first female Premier after she was declared the winner of Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party leadership election. However, Glover claims that thousands of eligible voters never received their mail in ballots, and that she was initially declared the winner in a private party meeting. The Manitoba Supreme Court ruled in Stefenson's favour.

COVID-19

The world hit two major milestones in the long battle against COVID. Five million people have died worldwide from the virus. In Canada, 5-11-year-olds can now be vaccinated against the virus, which experts hope will help slow the spread. With another variant, Omnicron, arising, Canada is preparing to continue its fight with booster vaccine shots starting in January 2022.

FAIRY CREEK, WET'SUWET'EN, AND EXTINCTION REBELLION:

The Fairy Creek protests have now become the longest running protest in Canadian history. The protests have divided many British Columbians as thousands have been arrested during their attempts to defend old growth trees and Indigenous land. Others point to the economic sharing agreement between the Teal Jones logging company and the Pacheedaht First Nation. The Pacheedaht First Nations has condemned the protests on their land, which they say are unwarranted since the Nation has veto power of which trees can be logged.

PARLIAMENT RETURNS

After an early election that was called to “help parliament do more work,” the federal parliament held its first sitting six months after the last one. As part of the opening ceremonies, the government’s throne speech was read, and it failed to include more than 50% of the Liberal Party's campaign promises.

THE KYLE RITTENHOUSE AND AHMAUD ARBERY CASES

Two major legal verdicts relating to the Black Lives Matter verdicts were delivered in November. Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old who shot and killed two people during BLM protests in Kenosha Wisconsin was found not guilty of murder by reason of self defense. The three men responsible for the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man they killed while he was out for a jog, were all convicted of murder and were expected to receive life in prison.

2020 TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPICS... IN 2021

After being postponed for a year due to COVID, the 2020 Summer Olympics finally took place in Tokyo. Canada went home with 24 medals, with seven of those being gold. The Canadian women's soccer team struck gold in a historic 3-2 win against Sweden, which marked the first time an openly transgender, non-binary athlete won an Olympic medal.

GRAMMY'S

The Grammy nominees were announced and some took to the internet to express anger that BTS only got one nomination and Kid Laroi got no nominations. In happier news for some, Justin Bieber got his first R&B nomination and The Late Show lead musician Jon Batiste led the race with 11 nominations. Olivia Rodrigo also received seven nominations with her debut album Sour.

BO BURNHAM: INSIDE

Carefully created over the course of a year, Bo Burnham shot and performed a comedy special which captured the essence of passing a year in a pandemic. The comedian put together his Netflix special all alone over the course of a year, using sound effects and creative vocals in place of a crew and audience. If there is one show on Netflix that demonstrates what 2021 was, it's this one.

BRUCE, THERE IT IS

A home jersey was thrown on ice at Rogers Arena and the Vancouver Canucks were 8-15-2 in their first 25 games when owner Francesco Aquilini finally made the change—firing GM Jim Benning, AGM John Weisbrod, head coach Travis Green, and assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner. After the hire of new head coach Bruce Boudreau and several other significant management changes, Boudreau went on a seven-game winning streak with the team. He is the first coach in Canucks franchise history and the third coach in NHL history to achieve this.