Volume 47, Issue 15

The Independent Student Newspaper of the University of Toronto Mississauga since 1974

Issue 015 Volume 47 January 25 2021

themedium.ca

NEWS

Shipment delays threaten Ontario’s vaccination program Sheryl Gurajada Associate News Editor

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he Ontario government began the first stage of its three-phase Covid-19 vaccine immunization program in December 2020 and plans on entering Phase Two by March 2021. The provincial government plans on vaccinating 8.5 million people by the end of Phase Two of the vaccine implementation plan, from March to August.

Based on safety testing and scientific reviews, two Covid-19 vaccines have been approved for use in Canada, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna vaccine. Both vaccines are manufactured in Belgium.

>> ONTARIO continued on page 03

COMMENT

America may have a new driver, but the warning lights are still flashing Aidan Thompson Contributor

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merica has a new heading but don’t be fooled; its two rear tires are still stuck in the mud.

Just two weeks after the Capitol was ravaged by conspiracy-addled Trump supporters, Joe Biden was inaugurated into office. His speech brought a voice of clarity to the murky political proceedings that have been the last four years. It spoke of unity in spite of difference and of positive change in spite of the U.S.’s history. Biden acknowledged America’s imperfections and actually planted them deep within his message, “I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy these days. I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real, but I also know they are not new. Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal, that we are all created equal, and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart.”

This refreshing change of colour in the oval office comes as a great relief—a moment many have been waiting for since Donald Trump was first given keys to the White House four years ago. And while I am also relieved to have a presidential voice calling for unity rather than division, I am also nervous of people hanging up their hats and retiring to the sofa now that someone else can carry on their voice.

While, I’m resistant to praise Donald Trump for anything, I will say he managed to be so hated that he motivated an entire generation into protesting his presidency. Be it the Women’s March, Not My President Day, or the recent BLM protests, Trump’s political shadow has been a catalyst for many social justice movements. In fact, his ideologies were

so heavily resisted that protests even began in other countries. The Philippines, Brussels, and Poland all staged protests in response to Trump visiting their country. I cannot even begin to understand the self-admiration you have to possess to be able to persevere through an entire country not wanting you to be within their borders.

While Trump’s divisive rhetoric crippled America’s political landscape and poisoned any sort of constructive crossparty development, it did solidify and reinforce left-wing democrats in their pursuit of justice and equality.

Now, before you get the wrong idea, let me say that I’m as relieved as any peaceful, relatively sane person that Trump is out of office. However, keep in mind that the problems that perpetuated Trump’s power are still lurking. Just because he’s no longer driving the bus doesn’t mean we’re not running out of fuel.

Those who support his ideology still cast their ballots and share their voice. It is important we do the same. News outlets that seek to antagonize their opposition or muddy the waters of political debates are still printing their stories and using their power to do so. Trump himself, while restricted from various social media websites, still remains a powerful voice in America.

Biden’s election might have felt like we crossed the finish line, but we just qualified to race. As Biden said in his speech, “[t]he battle is perennial and victory is never assured.”

Democracy isn’t passive. It’s not something we place on the shoulders of elected officials or protect once or twice a year when it’s trendy. You don’t clock out of your politics or leave your ideologies at the door.

Be certain we have a long way to go, and it will not always be clear where it is we are going. We will lose our way more than once and perhaps walk the same road twice. Yet such is the path forward, and we must continue to work towards a better future.

UTMSU IN REVIEW With the ongoing pandemic, the past year has been challenging for all students and faculty. However, the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU)... >> UTMSU continued on page 02

COMMUNITY ON TWITCH In August 2013, Swedish gamer Felix Kjellberg—also known as “PewDiePie”—became the most-subscribed channel on YouTube. >> STREAMING continued on page 07

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN Despite Covid-19 vaccine shipments arriving in Canada, the virus continues to devastate intensive care units of hospitals across the country. >> DOWNTURN continued on page 10

SCIENCE, RELIGION & STRESS A study from the University of Illinois, led by Florin Dolcos, examines how religion and psychology use similar strategies to cope with difficult situations and emotions. >> STRESS continued on page 11

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NEWS

Editor | Isik Vera Senel news@themedium.ca

UTMSU still striving to make a difference despite pandemic setbacks. Hayden Mak/The Medium

A review of UTMSU in 2020 “The biggest challenge faced this year was the pandemic,” stated UTMSU President Yakubi.

Razia Saleh Contributor >> UTMSU continued from page 01 has found the silver lining to this unfortunate year to accomplish its initiatives for students at UTM.

"The union has also been working with the UTM administration, U of T President, and the University of Toronto Governing Council to provide more than 400 students with accessibility services."

As stated in the union’s Annual General Meeting report, the UTMSU is determined to provide immediate reductions in tuition fees for all students, health insurance plans for international students, and more funding and scholarship opportunities for international students.

The UTMSU has also focused on its plans to

enforce education services for students facing difficulties with the online school environment.

The Medium talked to UTMSU President Mitra Yakubi about her and her team's accomplishments so far this school year.

“The union has successfully launched the Education for All campaign, lobbying the government and the U of T senior administration for accessible and free education for all students,” stated Yakubi. “New services including the Laptop Rental Program where the UTMSU will be investing in a number of laptops to rent to students who do not have access to a personal computer.”

Yakubi continued by saying that UTMSU has “also consistently engaged with students on all platforms to keep them updated on all the work we have been doing since the year started.”

The union has also been working with the UTM administration, U of T President, and the University of Toronto Governing Council to provide more than 400 students with accessibility services.

Another major initiative Yakubi discussed was the financial support programs offered by the union. “The UTMSU increased the number of bursaries available to financially support their members this year,” said Yakubi. “[We have] recently introduced the Covid-19 Grant

to further support members who are facing financial hardship due to the pandemic.”

This led Yakubi to discuss the challenges she and her team faced during the 2020 fall semester, their first term in office.

“The biggest challenge [we] faced this year was the pandemic,” continued Yakubi. “The UTMSU had to adapt and change all of its operations to best fit the governmental health regulations while supporting UTM students.”

Yakubi continued her statement by reviewing UTMSU's actions in response to the global pandemic's challenges and how it continued to provide services within the Covid-19 guidelines.

“The UTMSU successfully updated all its operations regularly to keep with the health regulations, including student center operating hours, health and safety regulations, and delivering major events such as Frosh, Free Breakfast Wednesdays, and Academic Advocacy Week virtually,” stated Yakubi.

Ever since the Connect UTM team took over in May, the team’s major objective, which was addressed during its campaign, was to distinguish and set a foundation for mental health support.

“The UTMSU Mental Health Peer Support Program aims to address the lack of adequate

mental health support and resources at the University of Toronto Mississauga Campus,” asserted Yakubi. “We have created this new service for students by students in collaboration with Stella’s Place.”

Stella’s Place is a Toronto based mental health centre that focuses its services on youth members of the community.

“Stella’s Place provides in-person and online peer support, employment, wellness, and recovery services as well as opportunities to explore your creative self through studio programs for all young adults in Toronto, aged 16 to 29,” Yakubi continued. “We have been working very closely with them to ensure that our Peer Supporters are well equipped and trained to provide the best service available to the UTM community.”

Mitra Yakubi and her team at UTMSU will continue to provide UTM students with more opportunities and benefits before the end of their tenure. “This winter semester, the UTMSU will hold Mental Health Awareness Week, Black History Month programming, Academic Advocacy sessions, Tax Clinic Workshops, Exam Destressors, Care Packages, and more!”

Students are encouraged to visit the UTMSU website for more information on its events and services.

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"Everyone has a right to a healthy and safe work environment" Amid her workplace abuse scandal, Julie Payette has resigned. Governor General of Canada/Facebook

Julie Payette resigns as 29th Governor General Payette announced her resignation following accusations of creating a hostile work environment.

Sheryl Gurajada Associate News Editor

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n January 21, Governor General Julie Payette announced her resignation from her position after three years in response to claims of creating a toxic work environment for staff.

Payette was a former computer engineer and astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency and was nominated by Prime Minister Trudeau to represent head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, as Governor General back in 2017.

Payette wrote an open letter to the public on January 21 to address the circumstances surrounding her resignation.

“Everyone has a right to a healthy and safe work environment, at all times and under all circumstances,” stated Payette. “It appears this was not always the case at the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General (OSGG).

Tensions have arisen at Rideau Hall over the

past few months and for that, I am sorry.”

Payette continued her statement by discussing the allegations of the OSGG being a hostile work environment.

"While no formal complaints or official grievances were made during my tenure, which would have immediately triggered a detailed investigation as prescribed by law and the collective agreements in place, I still take these allegations very seriously,” read Payette’s statement.

To ensure stability within the government, Payette expressed her support of the appointment of a new officeholder and also discussed her personal reasons for leaving her position as the 29th Governor General of Canada.

“From a personal side, this decision comes at an opportune time, as my father's health has seriously worsened in the last few weeks and my family needs my help,” stated Payette. "So it is with sureness and humility, but also with pride over what was accomplished during my tenure as Governor General and in my service to the country for the past 28

years, that I have submitted my resignation.”

An independent consulting firm has been hired to investigate and review the claims of workplace harassment at Rideau Hall. Head of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, Daniel LeBlanc, will be overseeing the review.

Trudeau has faced criticism regarding the matter due to reports of alleged claims against Payette before her nomination as Governor General.

“Obviously, the vetting process that was in place was followed, but obviously we’re going to also look at ways we can strengthen and improve the vetting process for highlevel appointments,” said Trudeau in a press release on January 22. “I think as a government we’ve demonstrated time and time again how important it is to create workplaces that are free and safe from harassment and in which people can do their important jobs in safety and security.”

Trudeau announced that Chief Justice Richard Wagner will act as interim Governor General and submit recommendations for the position “in due course.”

Shipment delays threaten Ontario’s vaccination program Sheryl Gurajada Associate News Editor >> ONTARIO continued from page 01

In a press conference on Januarry 13, Ontario Premier Doug Ford provided details of the plan.

“With Phase One of our plan well underway, we’re getting ready to expand our vaccine rollout and get more needles into arms as soon as the supply is available,” stated Premier Ford. “We now have a well-oiled machine, led

by General Hillier, and we are making tremendous progress.”

Ford went on to discuss details regarding the second phase of the vaccination program, emphasizing the importance of celerity.

"Prime Minister Trudeau has also addressed the issue making a call to Pfizer Global CEO Dr. Albert Bourla."

“We know this second phase will be an even larger logistical undertaking than the first,” continued Premier Ford. “That’s why we’re ramping up our capacity on the ground to ensure these vaccines are administered quickly, beginning with the people who need them most.”

Phase One of the program, which started in December, targeted healthcare workers and is expected to have 1.5 million people vaccinated by March.

Adding a wrench into the vaccination plans, Pfizer has deferred next week’s Covid-19 vaccine deliveries to Canada, causing frustration within provincial and federal levels of government.

The plant in Belgium, supplying all vaccines delivered outside the U.S., announced a temporary reduction in deliveries last week in order to upscale the plant. “This falls solely on Pfizer for letting us down,” said Ford.

Prime Minister Trudeau has also addressed the issue, making a call to Pfizer Global CEO Dr. Albert Bourla. “He assured me that we’ll receive four million doses by the end of March,” said Trudeau on Twitter. “We’ll keep working together to ensure Canadians can get a vaccine as soon as possible.

Spokeswoman for Pfizer, Keanna Ghazvini, discussed the delay in a statement to CTV News Toronto. “We recognized that it has made it more difficult to smoothly advance the scale of the immunization program in Ontario and throughout Canada,” read the statement. “We reiterated this is a short-term situation, and our focus is on meeting quarterly commitments.”

MASTHEAD EDITORIAL BOARD

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COMMENT

Editor | Aya Yafaoui comment@themedium.ca

Editor-in-Chief Paula Cho editor@themedium.ca Managing Editor Ali Taha managing@themedium.ca News Isik Vera Senel news@themedium.ca Comment Aya Yafaoui comment@themedium.ca Features Elizabeth Provost features@themedium.ca A&E Chris Berberian arts@themedium.ca Sports Sarah-May Edwardo-Oldfield sports@themedium.ca Photo Julia Healy photos@themedium.ca Design Tegwen McKenzie design@themedium.ca Copy Melissa Barrientos melissa@themedium.ca Alexis Whelan alexis@themedium.ca Online Yasmeen Alkoka online@themedium.ca

ASSOCIATES Sheryl Gurajada, News Aroni Sarkar, Comment Danica Teng, Arts Paige France, Arts Pearla Hariri, Features May Alsaigh, Features Hayden Mak, Photos

STAFF Webmaster Vladyslava Diachenko web@themedium.ca Videographer Gabriel Saavedra videographer@themedium.ca To CONTRIBUTE, email editor@themedium.ca @TheMediumUTM

Recapping one full year of Covid-19 Prisha (Maneka) Nuckchady Contributor

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xactly one year ago, on January 25, 2020, the first reported case of Covid-19 was identified in Ontario, Canada. When I first heard the news, I was shocked, but frankly skeptical, about the gravity of the situation. It was only on March 7, 2020, when Covid-19 claimed its first victim in my home country, Mauritius, that it finally hit me.

When Covid-19 was first declared a global pandemic and a global health emergency on March 11, 2020, it was not the implications it would eventually come to have on society that scared me, but instead the racism it unveiled.

Let’s get one thing straight, Covid-19 did not cause racism, it simply revealed and aggravated the racism that was already prevalent in society.

People kept linking the disease with ethnicity.

Memes circulated all around the internet, with people discriminating and harassing east Asian people, regardless of whether they were Chinese or not. It’s like purely because the virus originated from China that suddenly Chinese were not people anymore. This is false, this is immoral.

Those hate comments were unjustified. Being Chinese had nothing to do with it. They are people too and have suffered terribly from the consequences of Covid-19 as well. This goes to show how much progress society still needs to make.

When the first lockdowns were announced almost globally, including in Canada, by March 2020, we were in a state of panic. Just before lockdowns, supermarkets were chaotic, shelves were emptied (especially those containing toilet paper and hand sanitizers), and people feared that they wouldn’t have enough supplies to get through their quarantine.

In hindsight, this reaction was irrational but natural. Here in Mauritius, strict restrictions had to be passed on our purchases to prevent excessive buying. For instance, we could only purchase a set amount of flour at a time, since it is important that everyone has access to such products. I even saw people stocking up on packs of water bottles. At some point, we were only allowed to go to the supermarket twice a week, and alphabetically.

During lockdown, we started feeling isolated.

The lack of human contact was mentally strenuous for most. People need and tend to enjoy the company of others, it keeps us sane. Yet, in

lockdown, it was particularly hard—especially for those of us who lived alone or away from our families. People became increasingly affected by exacerbated mental health issues caused by the feeling of isolation.

Many businesses had to transition to “work from home,” which was a difficult change. Businesses even had to close down due to Covid19-induced financial bankruptcy. Airlines were the most affected. Here in Mauritius, our airline, “Air Mauritius,” found itself in terrible debt since flights had to be cancelled when the world went into lockdown, leading to a loss of jobs for nearly half of the company’s employees.

Towards the end of the Winter 2020 semester, universities transitioned to online learning, or “Zoom University.” This change, for the vast majority, was hard. Some people don’t even have access to a stable internet connection, working microphones, or webcams. So, this was rather inconvenient. We’re used to attending in-person classes, asking questions, collaborating with friends in order to understand complex questions, and so on. Although in theory this could be done online, it was definitely not the same in practice. Instructors attempted to create an environment mirroring the typical classroom environment via breakout rooms. Truth is, this does not work. To me, breakout rooms are awkward.

Most of the time we don’t even end up talking.

When we realised that we were going to be stuck in this online-learning situation for quite a while, it had already been nearly a year. This situation kept impacting student mental health.

Many still feel that tuition fees do not reflect the quality of education they are receiving online.

The grades of some students even took a toll, because online learning is not suitable for everyone. E-learning was particularly hard for international students with large time differences.

Some students even had classes at four in the morning. We cannot expect them to perform at their best at those ungodly hours.

However, we cannot overlook the fact that some good has come out of this situation. It has made us a lot more appreciative of the little things. We realised the significance of being able to walk outside freely. We have gotten more grateful for a simple hug from a friend or family member, which we previously took for granted.

Most importantly, we realised who the real heroes are in society. It’s not fancy businessmen that we envy, but rather doctors, nurses, supermarket workers, and others who kept risking their lives for us. Yet, most of them are over-

looked and still make minimum wage.

Let’s also not forget that lockdown gave us the opportunity to develop new skills, such as baking or taking up a new language. Although Covid-19 restricted our physical freedom, in a way, it expanded our personal freedom. It gave us the opportunity to do things we otherwise couldn’t because we were too “busy.”

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd passed away at the hands of a white police officer. He was choked, unjustly, which led to him not being able to breathe properly. Despite Covid-19—and how scared of it most of us were—we saw people coming together to fight this terrible injustice via the BlackLivesMatter movement.

People all over the internet started spreading news to fight this injustice. Many activists around the world held peaceful protests. To see people’s dedication in fighting against racism in the midst of a global pandemic was inspiring and one of the best things that came out of 2020.

Obviously, his death, and the fact that racism still prevails is horrible, but it was remarkable to see people fighting it with fervor. I hope we keep spreading awareness and supporting BLM activists.

Last, we started to understand the importance of self-care more. We started realising how all those little and big things contributed to our mental health and that self-care and mental health should be a priority.

Here in Mauritius, we had to undergo strict lockdown. Our last reported Covid-19 case within the country was on April 18, 2020, but we were still in lockdown until June 12, 2020. Now, we are no longer social distancing and are free to go about our activities fairly normally, with the exception of still needing to wear masks. This shows that the strict measures being imposed, along with vaccination, can work, as long as we make sure to follow them.

Canada now has access to vaccines, which are already being distributed. Over 3400 essential healthcare workers have already been vaccinated in Mississauga. There were also plans to vaccinate all LTC residents by January 21. Vaccination will help us combat this global pandemic. However, vaccines are not our magic saviours. Just because vaccines are available does not mean we are suddenly “free of Covid-19” and that life resumes normally. Personal responsibility from citizens, and government action is needed.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2021, we can be hopeful that this will be a better year, if we all behave justly.

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Arts

Editor | Chris Berberian arts@themedium.ca

Weaving different cultural perspectives into Is, But Will Be Digital artist Shaheer Zazai symbolizes diasporic experiences through abstraction.

Tiana Dunkley Contributor

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f you’ve strolled through the UTM campus recently, you may have come across the Blackwood Gallery’s latest lightbox installment: Burning Glass, Reading Stone. On January 11, the gallery debuted the series’ fourth installment—Is, but will be—which showcases the artwork of Shaheer Zazai, a Toronto-based Afghan-Canadian artist who specializes in painting and digital media.

"Despite subtle differences in perspective, each piece is alluring and mysterious, incorporating tiny repetitive red, blue, yellow, green, and purple fragments that, viewed together, resemble the patterns of traditional Afghan carpet weaving."

Across campus, there are four related lightbox installations of Zazai’s art, each baring slightly unique visual patterns to symbolize the different perspectives of diasporic experiences. Upon first glance, the images appear as disrupted patterns reminiscent of a cracked computer screen, entrancing passersby who catch a peek.

“The work itself changed form when going from one lightbox to the other and this was as a response to the exhibition series’ title Burning Glass, Reading Stone, which refers to a lens,” says Zazai. “For my work I approached each piece as though they were being viewed through a different lens.”

Despite subtle differences in perspective, each piece is alluring and mysterious, incorporating tiny repetitive red, blue, yellow, green, and purple fragments that, viewed together, resemble the patterns of traditional Afghan carpet weaving. Every knot of this abstracted carpet is represented by a typed character, with varying colour relations, font size, characters used.

Zazai distorts our perception through information overload and glitch imagery,

which creates a middle ground between a computer screen and print, mirroring the in-between emotional states that many immigrants face in diaspora.

As Zazai says in an interview with The Medium, “Is, but will be comes from the core focus of my practice—an exploration into understanding my cultural identity.

Just like these art pieces, our identities in one moment 'Is, but will be' a different self with the constantly changing environments while in diaspora.”

"Zazai didn't intend to make art or create anything in particular.

Instead, he began with the simple but monotonous task of typing over 2000 dots and spaces."

Zazai’s art isn’t just unique in its presentation, but also in its methodology. His creative process draws on the methods of carpet manufacturing and computer programming. And, what may surprise most people, Zazai creates his art using the same software students use to write their essays.

The artist, whose previous works have been covered by CBC Arts, approached the Blackwood Gallery exhibition as a challenge. “Microsoft Word as a medium came about purely from a self-imposed challenge,” says Zazai.

Zazai didn’t intend to make art or create anything in particular. Instead, he began with the simple but monotonous task of typing over 2000 dots and spaces. “The challenge was to not stop.” Eventually, Zazai worked in numbers and more complex character repetitions, until he started creating patterns reminiscent of textile designs.

“My works are generally a result of improvisation while bound by set parameters.

Is, but will be emerged in response to the exhibition’s parameters, where the numbers four, six, and nine represent the four 6x9foot lightboxes located across campus.”

Is, but will be, is a fascinating journey from East to West, from computer screen to lightbox. The installations will be on display until February 7. For more information on Zazai, his background and his other work, and for digital displays of his current lightbox, visit the Blackwood Gallery website.

Photos/Toni Hafkenscheid

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The most controversial movies of the 21st century Paige France Associate Arts Editor

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ovies are powerful. They can influence our beliefs, shape our morals, and coerce our behaviours. For this reason, when movies introduce controversial topics, many people scrutinize them as threats to our social fabric. Some controversial films aim only to shock and disgust; others perpetuate outdated, bigoted beliefs, and a few challenge such beliefs. Some do all three.

While debates about the power of film have raged on for decades, they’ve picked up steam since the Motion Picture Production Code loosened in the 1960s and when unrated DVD rentals boomed at the turn of the twenty-first century. Imbued with the power to upend cultural norms, threaten society’s morals, and leave a sour taste in every moviegoer’s mouth, the following are the most controversial movies released for a wide viewer audience since 2000.

Brokeback Mountain (2005) Marking the biggest upset in Oscar history, this queer romance film from Taiwanese director Ang Lee sparked controversy after losing Best Picture to Paul Haggis’ ensemble drama, Crash. Decidedly the better feature, many claimed the homophobia that plagued the relationship between cowboys Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) also cost Brokeback Mountain the deserved win with the Academy, whose membership was mostly older, male, and straight.

Since cowboys held a mythic place in the Old West, many refused to believe the flick held an admirable premise, especially in an American culture that didn’t fully accept intimacy between men. Some argued that the Academy wasn’t ready to celebrate a movie that explored gay male sexual orientation in a heartfelt light. In some countries, the immediate cultural fallout was confusion and vitriol, as the film was banned from theatres in the Bahamas, most of the Middle East, and Taiwan—Lee’s homeland.

Church members, including Minneapolis archbishop John Nienstedt, slammed the movie’s positive portrayal of gay male sexual orientation and deemed it “morally offensive.” Meanwhile, veteran film critic Gene Shalit referred to Gyllenhaal’s character as “a sexual predator.” Despite the pushback, Brokeback Mountain has helped grow LGBTQ+ acceptance in media and redefine societal norms on inclusivity.

The Human Centipede (2009) A cult hit immediately upon release, The Human Centipede—a movie about a murderous surgeon who kidnaps people and stitches them together by digestive tracts to form a centipede—unsurprisingly appalled most viewers. But the controversy didn’t end at its premise. Audiences lambasted the film for glorifying unconventional body horror and gratuitous sadistic acts.

Director Tom Six had to skip the central premise during his pitches to investors to finance his project. Buoyed by posters that assured it was "100 per cent medically accurate,” the film and its sequels heaved the grotesquery and were banned in Germany, Malaysia, Ireland, and the U.K., among other countries.

You Don’t Know Jack (2010) This made-for-TV biopic tackled one of the most controversial social issues of the 1990s—euthanasia and the rights of the terminally ill to end their lives via assisted suicide. Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who first proposed euthanasia and helped more than 130 patients end their lives, was a concept that few considered compatible with the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm.

Assisted suicide opposers criticized the film for portraying Kevorkian as a “pioneer” and his unjustified beliefs as honourable. Others faulted the film for humanizing and sympathizing with the man who became known as “Dr. Death.” What caused the biggest uproar was the in-depth perspective given to the families of the biographic, who justified euthanasia, without depicting the religious or ethical issues the practice raises.

Aloha (2015) Perhaps the most famous example of whitewashing in Hollywood, Aloha attracted heavy criticism for casting Emma Stone, a Caucasian actor, to play Allison Ng, a fighter-pilot of Hawaiian-Chinese descent. To further complicate matters, misappropriation of the Hawaiian culture sparked disapproval as it used the lush, diverse island solely as an exotic backdrop while excluding the very people that inhabit it.

Regarding his misguided casting choice, Cameron Crowe, the writer and producer of the film, issued a heart-felt apology on his website. Meanwhile, for an Australian news outlet, Stone reported she has “learned on a macro level about the insane history of whitewashing in Hollywood and how prevalent the problem truly is.” She continued by mentioning that the controversy has ignited an important conversation.

mother! (2017) When this psychological horror film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Jennifer Lawrence premiered at the Venice Film Festival, it instantly became the most controversial movie of 2017. Before mother! even began, people criticized its poster—which features Lawrence’s bruised face—for using violence against women to market the movie. It turns out the poster was only a precursor to the film’s appalling images and messages within.

In mother! religion was the main scapegoat. Aronofsky portrayed an allegoric relationship between a masculinized God and a feminized Earth on the symbolic level, the former as an abusive, sexist husband and the latter, his oppressed, endangered wife. While some praised Aronofsky’s directorial prowess and the film’s underlying allegory of human sabotage and selfishness, others scorned its horrific rendition of the Book of Genesis.

Combining unintentional infanticide with child cannibalism to drive home the movie’s self-destruction themes, the love-it-or-hate-it movie was sure to conjure up controversy. Then, the ending happened, inspiring a visceral reaction among its audience and causing many walkouts.

The House that Jack Built (2018) Provocateur Lars von Trier is infamous for his deeply unpleasant directional scope and persona. His previous works have been scrutinized for everything from killing a live donkey in Manderlay (2005) to sympathizing with Adolf Hitler during his Melancholia (2011) press tour. However, The House that Jack Built—best summarized as a soulless, irksome misogynistic tale—took this one too far.

Viewers watched through their fingers as a prolific serial killer, portrayed by Matt Dillon, performed heartless killings and perceived them as artistic explorations. Aside from the graphic, realistic quality of the killings, the bulk of the controversy stems from von Trier’s portrayal of women. From cutting a woman’s breasts off or forcing a mother to feed her two murdered children, many questioned his grotesque view of women and more than 100 maddened theatregoers walked out at the Cannes Film Festival. The New Yorker film critic Richard Brody accused the movie as being a ploy of von Trier to attract attention. Brody was just one of many viewers who has criticized the film for its normalization of torture porn.

Joker (2019) Joaquin Phoenix’s revisionist comic book drama endured harsh scrutiny for presenting an unhinged murderer as its protagonist, irresponsibly creating sympathy for his character. Such threats amplified in October 2019 when Joker took centre stage and became the highest-grossing Rrated movie ever. While the Joker certainly wasn’t the first disturbing antihero depicted on screen, people feared his violence would encourage copycat crimes among viewers, especially after the 2012 shooting in Aurora, Colorado, where a man killed 12 people and injured another 70 during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises.

In an IGN interview, Phoenix said, “I don’t think it’s the responsibility of a filmmaker to teach the audience morality or the difference between right or wrong.” Responding to criticisms surrounding the film’s glorification violence and mental illness, Warner Bros. donated $1 million to victims of gun violence and acknowledged the importance of storytelling to provoke difficult conversations about mental health and stigma.

Midsommar (2019) The controversy of Midsommar surrounded its disregard for Swedish culture, twisting “Midsommar” traditions into something horrific for American viewers. Like most controversial films, the scandal was divided.

Many people felt the movie would hinder tourism, while others believed horror films didn’t have the power to separate fact from fiction or transform a family-friendly festival into a cultist ritual.

When asked to describe Midsommar, Ari Aster jokingly called it the “Wizard of Oz for perverts.” For some American viewers, the movie was no joke. The director used Sweden’s picturesque backdrop to contrast the sadistic killings of the Midsummer sacrifice. However, it was these absurd traditions that caused many American viewers, in particular, to question the essence of the festival. The Scandinavian country has since been unfairly linked to human sacrifice, spawning countless articles that dispel such notions.

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The boom and benefits of streaming video games Danica Teng Associate Arts Editor

Aron PW/unsplash.com

>> STREAMING continued from page 01 His popularity proliferated with his “Let’s Play” videos, which involve playthroughs of video games, typically with commentary and while on camera. For years, video game playthroughs dominated a niche community, but remained outside mainstream circles. Kjellberg, alongside hundreds of other popular video game streamers, is helping to widen that circle.

But why would you watch other people play video games when you could just play them yourself? Whether gaming streams are an occasional amusement or a part of your daily routine, this question is probably one you’ve heard before. There are various reasons why people stream video games, and not everyone will have the same one.

While video games are fun, sometimes they can also be frustrating. Whether you’re stuck on a puzzle or keep dying from a sniper you can’t even see, watching others play can help you solve the problem or, if they’re highly skilled, offer some tips and tricks to imitate. With the content creator’s commentary, you’ll often see the process of how they get through a game’s challenges for the first time. Some gamers stream specifically to educate and help others get better at a game.

Different streams exist, such as “speedruns,” in which people hold records for the fastest time to complete a game, also add entertainment and leaves audiences with a sense of awe, marveling at a skill level they can only dream of. There’s an inherent fascination in watching people at the peak of their profession. It’s why we’re glued to the Olympics or that one kid who’s really quick at solving Rubik’s cubes. It’s an amusing conflict of rage, satisfaction, and admiration as you’re left wondering how someone could get through the hardest levels of Cuphead in one try when you’re too ashamed to even reveal your death count.

"Sharing and receiving is what makes streaming beneficial to both the content creator and viewer."

Streaming can also help a person make a decision when they’re still on the fence about buying a new game. Seeing snippets of gameplay—its visuals, mechanics, and storyline—can show firsthand what you may or may not like. They also act as an alternative for people who currently can’t afford the game or simply don’t want to buy it. In this way, no one is left out and everyone gets to enjoy the game’s storyline, regardless of if they’ve played it or not.

Whether people watch playthroughs for practical reasons or escapism, the by-prod-

uct is often feeling a sense of community.

For both the content creator on one side of the screen and the viewer on the other, this communal interaction is a central allure of streaming. Even if they you don’t them in real life, there’s emotional value in the connection you share. You can look forward to new videos or scheduled streams and get comfort knowing they aren’t alone if they don’t want to be. They feel like they’re alongside the gamer as they witness shocking plot twists or impending consequences of one path over another in a choose-yourown-adventure game such as Dawn or Life is Strange.

If something interesting happens in a game, people enjoying sharing it on social media. And because of streaming platforms such as Twitch, video gamers can put their content on a worldwide stage and make a name for themselves while doing what they love. Sharing and receiving is what makes streaming beneficial to both the content creator and viewer.

Since PewDiePie broke records for playing video games, streaming platforms continue to surge in popularity. While Twitch offers opportunities to stream other hobbies such as music or crafts, gaming leads the platform’s content. In 2020, Twitch had 3.8 million broadcasters over February and 1.44 million concurrent viewers on average the same month of that year. As technology advances and new video games emerge, streaming isn’t just surviving, but thriving, in our modern era.

BTS’ newest album BE is the soundtrack of the pandemic Get whisked away by the soft vocal and everchanging melodies.

Sherene Almjawer Contributor

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n 1603, when Shakespeare put his quill to paper and penned the first line of Hamlet's “To be, or not to be” speech, he never would’ve imagined a group of seven South Korean men, BTS, creating an album around the same sentiment.

BTS’ album BE, released on November 20, 2020, embodies the emotions, wonder, and introspection of living in a time where being, existing with yourself in your own spaces, is all you can really do.

For most of Photo/Aphitchaya 2020, we were

stuck inside our homes, left to pick up new hobbies. BTS took that time to turn BE from idea to creation, from visual directing, project managing, music video directing, and, of course, writing, composing and producing the music.

BE is about the journey. It’s the soundtrack for imagining yourself on a canoe in the middle of a calm, vast lake where the birds chirp, and the breeze caresses your skin.

BE shoots us directly into the embodiment of BTS’ style, where we experience the introspective journey with an eight-song track list.

It’s their musical essence; it isn't all one genre, but an amalgam of BTS’ favourite styles of music. If you close your eyes, you’ll float through the album’s musical and narrative themes: the uncertainty of life, the places you can’t go, the people you can’t see, and the things you can’t do.

But soon enough, you notice the Earth keeps spinning.

The album opens with “Life Goes On,” which introduces us to despair and yearning through a contrastingly comforting synth-pop style. The track pulls us in with a gentle guitar, one you’d hear during spring: simple, airy, and harmonious. Paired with soft vocals, the harmonies remind us of the smaller pleasures in life, like how an echo sounds in a forest or how the lake shimmers under a blue sky. Its lyrics tell us to run towards our future, where we can reflect on how time raced by us in solitude and smile, knowing we made it this far. Then, we’re left with an unresolved chord—a motif throughout the album—over the static from a cassette tape, wondering where to go and what to feel next.

With 90s R&B styling, “Fly to My Room” turns BTS’ iconic synth-pop style up a notch.

The airy vocals and softened raps are back, but over a funky beat to guide us through rediscovering our spaces, hoping to find something new.

Meanwhile, “Blue & Grey” leaves us in the rain for a while, blanketing us in a mellow acoustic guitar riff and tender rap vocals and rap swelling with the yearn of a violin. The sections blend like silk, and end with yet another open chord, letting us drench in a pathetic fallacy.

“Skit” is an unscripted recording about hitting #1 on Billboard’s Hot100 chart, while “Telepathy” whisks us away from melancholy and pits us into an 80s disco pop daydream. “Disease” takes us back with old-school hip hop and hints of jazz, detailing the uneasiness of the pandemic, alongside a motivating bridge.

The tension lifts even further in the funky EDM track, “Stay,” before we hit the epitome of discopop with the Grammy-nominated “Dynamite,” a dance track to brush away the rain and cover us in a hopeful sunlight.

BE lifts us higher and higher with each track, shifting genres from melancholic slower tracks to upbeat songs, documenting the process of denial to acceptance. Four out of the seven tracks, excluding the skit, are unresolved. Whether it’s leaving the ending open for our interpretation or to instill tension, it likewise reflects our uncertainty of not knowing where we’re going.

The music and lyrics work together to document what it means to the members of BTS to exist in 2020, what it means to be. It's hard. We feel ourselves drift further into the lake where loneliness awaits and submit to what seems like an inescapable void. Though, in the corner of our vision, we find a sliver of sunlight, of hope, and tread back to the shore.

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features

Looking at Toronto after the first wave Pearla Hariri Associate Features Editor

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r. Shauna Brail, an associate professor at UTM’s Institute of Management and Innovation, is passionate about urban life, and her previous research endeavors have explored the transformation of cities following economic, social, and cultural changes.

In early August of 2020, Dr. Brail and two University of Toronto students instigated the project “Toronto After the First Wave” as the city adapted to life amid the Covid-19 pandemic. As Torontonians wondered if a quick return to what they considered “normal” was forthcoming—or if a second wave would hit the city—“Toronto After the First Wave” set out to explore the impact of the initial blow of Covid-19 on Toronto’s urban vibrancy. The different possibilities and outcomes of Toronto’s fate motivated Dr. Brail and her team to collect and analyze data to understand the directions of trends in Toronto’s urban life as a result of Covid-19, and most importantly, to present their findings to the community in an approachable way.

Dr. Brail explains that at the very onset of the pandemic, the way data was used and collected changed. For example, public health dashboards were released, and the data was utilized to educate and persuade people to behave in certain ways—to set certain policies. “It opened my eyes to new ways of using and sharing data in a public domain as I have always had an interest in research,” elaborates Dr. Brail. In this novel public access to data, Dr. Brail saw a great opportunity to connect to the community by framing academic findings in an approachable manner.

Her project utilizes dashboards—an easily digestible graphic interface that provides an overview of informative statistics—to collect and display data from many different sources and sectors, creating a bigger picture for the public.

When her team set out to create their dashboards, Dr. Brail emphasized the importance of addressing the question of how the dashboard topics affect urban life in Toronto. The team initially struggled to acquire data that catered to their geographical area of interest—Toronto—since data related to the pandemic was most often presented at the national and provincial levels but rarely at the local scale. This created a new challenge for many academics and curious minds.

Dr. Brail explains this situation by referring to surveys presented by Statistics Canada on the impact of Covid-19. These surveys almost exclusively report findings at the national and provincial levels. This is in part because, at the local scale, there is not enough data to make feasible promotions of policies. Dr. Brail’s project aims to provide insightful data to Torontonians, who have

significantly been affected by Covid-19. “It has been a real journey in understanding real data sources, working with what we have, and trying to amplify it by looking at alternative sources,” explains Dr. Brail. Part of this process is accessing the data and teasing out the underlying messages—essentially to make it accessible to all. “Toronto After the First Wave” has analyzed Toronto in a way that has enabled its residents to realize that as a collective, they have undergone great change amid the pandemic, both for the worst and for the better.

"Dr. Brail believes it is too soon to tell whether or not massive changes are permanent, but it is possible to look at the patterns."

“Toronto After the First Wave” measures Toronto’s urban vibrancy using six dashboards: public health, mobility, restaurants, economic vibrancy, work, and housing to create a holistic statistical overview of the city. The public health dashboard visualizes Toronto’s public health in the time of a pandemic. “It is really important to start with public health. If you are analyzing Covid-19 and you don’t begin by addressing the devastating public health impacts, then you are missing a key piece of information,” notes Dr. Brail.

The public health dashboard highlights the Covid-19 case curve in the city, likely sources of infection, active outbreaks during the studied period, changes in enrolment and screening methods in schools, healthcare disruptions (including surgical wait times and ICU capacities), and the surge of opioid-related deaths. Unfortunately, Toronto suffered 132 fatal opioid overdoses from April to September 2020—nearly double the number from the same period in both 2018 and 2019. With this painful observation, public health officials are urging the city to make safe supply programs more accessible.

The second dashboard focuses on mobility trends in Toronto. The first wave caused a disruption of mobility patterns and trends in Toronto. Toronto saw historically low TTC usage rates, vehicle congestion levels decreasing by 45 per cent, and a new-found collective passion for biking. Furthermore, Dr. Brail’s dashboard came to the following conclusions: visits to retail and recreation locations, workplaces, and transit stations decreased by 37 per cent, 55 per cent, and 61 per cent, respectively. Additionally, GO transit reported 7.6 per cent of last year’s ridership from April to September.

The restaurants dashboard also presented certain surprising findings. Dr. Brail explains that its goal was to show how each dining category was uniquely affected by the pandemic, with more closures of business being observed in some areas and cuisines over others. Dr.

Editor | Elizabeth Provost features@themedium.ca

Brail and her team also uncovered how, surprisingly, many new restaurants opened between May and November of 2020 despite many restaurant employees losing their job due to their establishment’s vacancy. Toronto saw 3.58 per cent of its restaurants close and the creation of 2.08 per cent of the city’s current food service establishments. This means the food industry suffered the loss of 214 restaurants, the gain of 244 culinary ventures, and the continuation of 5,516 restaurants between May and November 2020.

“I think it goes back to the point of people’s resilience, being forced by the circumstances to be innovative and creative to come up with new ways of creating sources of income,” says Dr. Brail. She attributes this trend in the restaurants dashboard to new innovations in the food industry, such as ghost-kitchens, which lack formal seating and exclusively offer takeout-only service. With the ban of indoor dining for the majority of the studied period, all culinary establishments had to swiftly adapt or fall under the novel pressures. The fourth dashboard on economic vibrancy illustrated the disruption of the municipality’s revenue during 2020. The year-end financial impact of Covid-19 on the city amounted to a loss of $1.885 billion. Dr. Brail attributes this deficiency to the loss of numerous revenue sources, including transit fees, parking fees, business license renewal fees, all of which were significantly below pre-pandemic levels.

Dr. Brail’s last two dashboards, published in the new year, revolve around Toronto’s trends in employment and housing amid the pandemic. The employment dashboard’s data, released on January 12, analyzes numerous sectors, such as retail trade, food, finance, insurance, and real estate, to display how many jobs were listed, lost, and acquired. Dr. Brail highlights the unfortunate decline by 10 per cent of Toronto’s employment rate, the drastic rise in remote work, and the surprising office occupancy of seven per cent in the city as of December 2020. Toronto’s employment rate almost fell below 50 per cent in May 2020, lower than the national employment rate of 52 per cent in the same month.

Lastly, the housing dashboard was made public on January 22. It illustrates shifts in housing demand, causing a change in the city and its population. The city experienced a decreased demand in short-term rentals as 25 per cent of all Airbnb listings were removed from the vacation rental company’s platform.

Dr. Brail believes it is too soon to tell whether or not massive changes are permanent, but it is possible to look at the patterns and see which direction things are headed in Toronto to address growing problems. The trends that the team uncovered are all interconnected.

For instance, Dr. Brail observed that Torontonians that used public transit to get to work were also the individuals that lived in crowded housing, communities facing rapid Covid-19 spread. As seen with the attempted $2 raise, Dr. Brail believes that this data can be used to help governments make better policy choices when addressing the socio-economic consequences of Covid-19.

On the timely creation of “Toronto After the First Wave,” Dr. Brail elaborates on the extensive work done by her team, “We have

all worked hard, it is a lot more work than we thought and although rewarding—it is a very lengthy process.” The looming pandemic has made it even more difficult to work remotely while still being encouraging and supportive to her team. However, Dr. Brail’s team has developed a system that allows for faster coordination of data collection using weekly meetings and frequent email communication.

“Toronto After the First Wave” was always intended for a public audience as opposed to being scholarly work aimed specifically at an academic audience. Dr. Brail hopes she and her team can continue tracking data for the betterment of Torontonians. Currently, her team periodically updates the dashboards as they uncover new data. However, Dr. Brail’s aspirations spread beyond the interactive website. “The students and I are hoping to write a public-facing piece with a summary of our learnings because each of us has learned so much from the process, and we hope to help move it to different domains so that it stays with us,” closes Brail. Dr. Shauna Brail and her team have helped Torontonians realize that they are not alone in facing drastic change and adversity amid Covid-19. Her ability to present this data in a palatable fashion has allowed us to reflect on how we can contribute for a better future for Toronto.

09

A virtual segment on Quebec’s diversity and inclusion of multicultural authors Professor Hong explores how Quebec offers opportunities for ethnic writers to develop and expand their reputation as immigrant authors.

May Alsaigh Associate Features Editor

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Photo/Dlglife

eginning a new life on unfamiliar grounds presents a unique set of adversities. Immigrant writers face hardships when they travel to a new country, learn a new language, and attempt to establish a career while adapting to a different environment with distinct norms and practices than what they may be accustomed to. UTM Professor Rosa Hong reflects on these experiences and highlights how Quebec alleviates such encounters for immigrant and racially diverse writers by creating a safe and growing space.

Presented by the UTM Office of the Dean, the Experiential Education Unit, and the Mississauga Library System, “Lecture Me!” is a multidisciplinary series that explores research from various departments at UTM. Faculty members deliver a presentation each month about current research in an approachable and entertaining manner. In previous years, “Lecture Me!” events were held in person, but recently they’ve been hosted virtually through the WebEx platform on the first Tuesday of every month.

Registration for these talks can be found through the Mississauga Library's Virtual Library.

Professor Hong specializes in 20th and 21st century French and Francophone literature, as well as French as a second language. She was born and raised in Korea and completed her master's in French and comparative literature at the Université de Tours (University of Tours) in France. Subsequently, she immigrated to Canada and completed her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto in literary theories and contemporary French literature, soon becoming part of the faculty as an assistant professor. Professor Hong’s recent research and publications center on migrant writing in contemporary Quebec literature, transnational writers in Francophone literature, and experiential learning in French language teaching.

Her research also revolves around literature and transcultural writing. This month, Professor Hong explores how Quebec welcomes diversity through the reception of authors who belong to various cultural backgrounds. This talk explores how authors of different ethnicities share many common factors such as transculturation, immigration, identity and alterity, memory, and relationship with the French language.

Specifically, this month focuses on three im-

migrant Quebec authors—Aki Shimazaki, Ying Chen, and Kim Thuy.

First, Professor Hong provides a brief background on Aki Shimazaki, a Japanese writer who enrolled in a language school to learn French at the age of 40 and has lived in Montreal since 1991. Although Shimazaki writes pieces inspired by matters of experience, Professor Hong makes the point that Shimazaki is a private person. Shimazaki does not provide much context about her personal life during her interviews but rather expresses herself through her writing. She prefers to adhere to a style of writing that consists of short and direct sentences—in a rather minimalist fashion. Shimazaki continuously publishes books and releases one story every year, later turning them into a pentalogy. Her debut series is titled “The Weight of Secrets,” in French: “Le Poids des Secrets.” Each volume is ascribed a Japanese title that explores a global view of the history of two families that appear to live parallel lives but also possess their own private interconnections.

Among an assortment of topics, Shimazaki writes about world crime, incest, infanticide, genocide, suicide, bullying, infidelity, gender and racial discrimination, and more. By creating a sense of intimacy and conspiracy between reader and text, Shimazaki introduces intertextuality while incorporating a sphere of her own work. Shimazaki reveals in previous interviews that she resists including certain details in her books, and drafts her novels in a way that allows readers to interpret the stories themselves.

Next, Professor Hong presents another renowned writer, Kim Thuy. Thuy was born in Vietnam but fled with her family to Quebec 10 years later in 1978. She has acquired degrees from the Université de Montréal (University of Montreal) in linguistics and translation, and in law. Working in several occupations as a translator, interpreter, lawyer, and food commentator, Thuy eventually began publishing novels that quickly gained fame and esteem throughout Canada but also made traction and garnered attention internationally.

One of the fundamental themes in her writings is food, so much so that she has published a cookbook and is the proprietor of a restaurant known as “Ru de Nam,” located in Montreal. Thuy’s debut novel titled “Ru” is a bestseller in Quebec and France and is translated into 28 languages. Through the medium of food, Thuy shares the process of becoming a new person who experiences transcultural systems.

Lastly, Ying Chen is a Chinese-Canadian author who was born in Shanghai and earned

a degree in French language and literature from Shanghai University in 1983. Previously, she worked as a translator and interpreter. In 1989, she immigrated to Montreal and completed a master of arts at McGill University in 1991. Chen studies multiple languages, including Russian, English, French, Italian, and dialects of Mandarin. Since then, she has published multiple novels, with her first being “La Mémoire de L’eau.”

Chen’s writings enable readers to emotionally sympathize with the feelings of confusion, solitude, loneliness, loss, nostalgia, and regret that many immigrants experience. However, her novels not only speak to immigrants making their way into new countries, but to any individual who has experienced similar emotions of exile or solitariness. In fact, Chen’s work may also communicate to people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic who endure feelings of isolation and deprivation.

As presented through this lecture, these three authors who share common experiences substantiate Quebec as a fertile ground for authors who identify with different origins, cultures, and beliefs. Despite the challenges of diversity revealed previously in the media, Quebec accomplishes a successful accommodation and meaningful integration of the merits and principles of diversity and togetherness that Canada was built upon.

Aki Shimazaki, Kim Thuy, and Ying Chen epitomize the opportunities that Quebec creates for immigrant writers searching for a reputation as authors and exploring new mediums for their work. While it is difficult for any individual to settle into a new nation, the province has proven its ability to support and advocate for ethnic writers through these three distinguished Asian-Canadians.

The three writers have all received multiple awards and recognition for their work and continue to inspire readers and writers alike. Not merely did they adapt to an unfamiliar territory, but they also convey their own experiences of immigration and identity into their work for individuals to read and relate to. Their publications continue to gain admiration by large audiences, prompting and inspiring other racially diverse writers to advance their professions in Quebec.

Professor Hong’s “Lecture Me!” presentation highlights the resiliency and dedication of these writers. As she ties their work to her research, we begin to understand the space that these writers occupy and the messages they convey through their writing. Professor Hong, Aki Shimazaki, Kim Thuy, and Ying Chen create a connection between migrants and identity, and between humans and the pandemic.

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Covid-19's role in Canada’s economic downturn A look into the economic downturn caused by Covid-19 as small and large businesses struggle to survive.

Larry Lau Contributor

>> DOWNTURN continued from page 01 With the healthcare system on the brink of collapse, Canadian provincial governments are implementing various emergency measures. Notably, the province of Ontario has entered its second lockdown, lasting until February 19 and including a mandatory stayat-home order with legal consequences if breached.

Canadians have already witnessed how the first wave of Covid-19 slowed Canada’s economy to a standstill. As businesses closed their doors, citizens responsibly stayed at home—sense of responsibility that may have faltered after the end of the first wave. Now, the second wave of the pandemic is rippling through Canada, extending the effect of Covid-19 on the economy.

The effect of the pandemic on Canada’s economy varies across each economic sector. Certain sectors have been greeted with opportunity. Albeit, the business sector has been significantly altered. As the lockdown reduced in-person opportunities, e-com-

merce has become a popular medium for the delivery of goods and services. The pandemic offered newfound opportunities to certain businesses as well. Online food ordering services, such as Door Dash and UberEATS, gained prominence due to the pandemic, benefiting from increased sales.

Yet, some sectors are facing severe repercussions due to the nature of their industry.

The tourism industry, along with the closely related hospitality industry, is among the most affected. Travel restrictions imposed by the Canadian government dramatically reduced the number of international tourists.

The resulting decrease in tourists has slashed tourism profits and resulted in vacant hotel rooms. Simply put, if there are no tourists, there will be no tourism income. Traditionally, tourism contributes two per cent of the Canadian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs a significant number of workers. After the first wave of the pandemic, the tourism industry suffered a sharp decrease in employment, losing around 800,000 employees, the most out of all sectors.

In recent days, British Columbia’s provincial government is contemplating imposing interprovincial travel restrictions, resulting in an outcry from the tourism industry. With the pandemic’s one-year anniversary coming up, the tourism industry is already in a crippled state. It is feared that the interprovincial travel ban would seal the industry’s fate, resulting in significant economic damage from losses in the tourism sector, and subsequently longer time needed for the industry to re-

cuperate and grow. With the second wave of Covid-19, travel restrictions are unlikely to be eased any time soon, rendering the outlook on the tourism industry’s immediate future to be uncertain and grim.

Across all sectors of the economy, small businesses are hit especially hard. Unlike well-established and large enterprises, small businesses do not have the luxury of “waiting out the storm.” The lower profits of small businesses result in limited funds available for contingencies and unexpected disasters.

For large enterprises, the pandemic could result in losses of earnings and financial reserves, but it is a matter of survival for small businesses. The first lockdown left small businesses gasping for air, and it is now feared that the second wave could deal the last blow on these businesses, who are already financially weakened.

One of the most urgent concerns of the Covid-19 pandemic is the subsequent unemployment rate in Canada. The lockdown imposed in provinces has forced many businesses to lay off employees to cut costs. As witnessed in March and April 2020, unemployment rates soared as an immediate effect of the first lockdown, peaking at 13.7 per cent in May 2020.

While the unemployment rate has declined since its peak in May, the second wave of Covid-19 threatens this improvement in the immediate future. It is uncertain if some small businesses can withstand the second wave's economic consequences, adding yet another stressor to this already fragile concoction.

The most alarming aspect of this issue is that small businesses collectively employ most of the population, statistically employing 97.9 per cent of all Canadian workers or roughly 1.2 million people. With increasing files for bankruptcy among small businesses, the em-

ployment rate in Canada is foreshadowed to deteriorate, sending people home without an income source.

In response to the adversities of the Covid-19 pandemic, the federal government has laid out plans for the eventual economic recovery of Canada. Moreover, for individuals, the existing Employment Insurance program has also been modified, increasing the available financial benefits to the unemployed.

There are also numerous other benefits available, including ones for individuals who contracted Covid-19.

The federal government also recognises the challenges faced by businesses. Small businesses are offered the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy to reduce employee layoffs, the Canada Business Emergency Account interest-free loans, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy to reduce rent burden, and many other benefits and programs. Larger businesses are also offered various financial support options. Finally, to hasten the process of restarting the Canadian economy, the federal government will be devoting around $14 billion CAD to provincial support when the economy reopens.

On January 19, Pfizer confirmed that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine deliveries to Canada in the upcoming weeks would be greatly reduced, with no shipments arriving on the week of January 25. Although the Moderna vaccine is expected to arrive on time, we can expect slower vaccination to take place due to the reduction of vaccine availability. As a result, the pandemic measures in Canada will linger longer than expected, prolonging Covid-19's threat to not only Canada’s economy but the global economy as well. Although support offered by the government will alleviate certain stressors, it is evident that some damage cannot be undone and has left many Canadians jobless. Yet, we have historically seen the economy bounce back from unexpected adversity and must do our part in the meantime by supporting local businesses and staying home to contain the pandemic.

11

sports & health

Editor | Sarah-May Edwardo-Oldfield sports@themedium.ca

Science and Religion share common ground when it comes to stress Research finds science and religion share similar strategies in coping with hard times.

Duaa Nasir Contributor

>> STRESS continued from page 01 This study was published in the Journal of Religion and Health on January 7, 2021.

People often view religion and science as independent ways of looking at the world. However, this study shows that it is not always the case, and the two can coexist.

The study involved 205 participants between the ages of 18 and 39. They filled out the following questionnaires: Brief COPE, Emotional Regulation Questionnaire, Coping Self-Efficacy, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory, to assess a variety of mental health symptoms and coping strategies.

"Religious people are making use of some of the same tools that psychologists have identified as effective in increasing well-being and protecting against distress."

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Dolcos and colleagues also had 57 of the participants answer questions about how religious or spiritual they were. An example of one of the questions from the study included, “Please rate, on a scale from 1 to 10, how religious/spiritual you consider yourself.”

"We asked them about their coping styles.

So, for religious coping, we asked if they try to find comfort in their religious or spiritual beliefs," said Kelly Hohl, coresearcher. "We asked them how often they reappraise negative situations to find a more positive way of

framing them or whether they suppress their emotions."

The researchers found that religious coping correlated with reappraisal, or looking at a situation from a different perspective. This may look different in psychology and religion but serves the same purpose.

"For example, when somebody dies, a religious person may say, 'OK, now they are with God,' while someone who isn't religious may say, 'Well, at least they are not suffering anymore,'" says Dolcos.

People who use religious methods to cope are also more confident in their general ability to cope. This is known as coping efficacy. They also experience less symptoms of depression and anxiety.

“It appears that religious people are making use of some of the same tools that psychologists have systematically identified as effective in increasing well-being and protecting against distress," says Dolcos. "This suggests that science and religion are on the same page when it comes to coping with hardship.”

Dolcos and his team also found that reappraisal and coping efficacy mediated the relationship between religious coping strategies, and decreased symptoms of depression and anxiety. When a variable mediates a relationship, it is the reason that relationship exists, or it contributes significantly to the strength of the relationship.

These results can be useful for both psychotherapists and church leaders. Psychotherapists can use these strategies to connect with religious clients. Hohl notes that the study "should also speak to clergy members or church leaders who can promote this kind of reappraisal to help parishioners make sense of the world and increase their resilience against stress."

"I hope this is an example of where religion and science can work together to maintain and increase well-being," Dolcos says.

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University of Saskatchewan finds troubling impacts of Covid-19 isolation on university students Study finds pandemic worsens student diet and activity levels.

Rachel Lord Staff Writer

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onfined to learning from home, isolated from their peers, students have arguably been amongst those who have suffered the most. The University of Saskatchewan in collaboration with the University of Regina conducted a four-month study on 125 students studying at either the undergraduate or graduate level. The study commenced at the early onset of the global pandemic, as the province of Saskatchewan was imposing restrictions. The study consisted of an online questionnaire on food and drink consumption, physical activity and sedimentary behaviour. It’s important to note that the student population tends to have poor dietary habits and engage in limited physical activity.

Lead author and nutrition professor, Gordon Zello, reported that the implications of the study would be crucial. Future interventions on student populations should be targeted at improving and maintaining physical activity and dietary practices throughout the remainder of the pandemic.

The study found that the Covid-19 pandemic has led to worsening dietary and

activity levels, sedentary behaviour, and high alcohol consumption. The students reported that they consumed much less food everyday throughout the pandemic, with 45 per cent of students reporting that they ate less vegetables. Meanwhile, alcohol consumption increased significantly, according to Zello, Professor Phil Chillibeck, and Leandy Bertrand. They suggested that psychological distress has been linked to poor diet, which may also account for the increased alcohol consumption.

Another major troubling implication of the study is that less than 10 per cent of students surveyed were meeting Canadian guidelines of at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week. In addition, the amount of time students spent sedentary rose to 11 hours per day. Although this may be a direct consequence of gym and fitness facility closures, it’s crucial that students to get outside and engage in some moderate physical activity, such as walking.

The combination of long-term sedentary behaviour, alcohol dependency, and poor diet has serious implications and heightens health risks. The University of Saskatchewan study had great, generalizable findings of how the pandemic and isolation requirements have impacted students’ physical and mental health.