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Edmonton Your essential daily news | Tuesday, April 12, 2016

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Province fires jobs program Employment

Give us tax cuts instead, employers argue Ryan Tumilty

Metro | Edmonton

THE ORANGE SPLIT

As the federal NDP left town, the Alberta NDP called the energy policy in the Leap Manifesto ‘tone deaf’ metroNEWS

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Business groups are applauding the Alberta government’s decision to fire its job-grant program and said with the budget coming Thursday, the NDP should introduce tax cuts in its place. Economic development minister Deron Bilous announced Monday that the government’s $178 million program, which was initially supposed to launch in January, is being axed. The government promised the program during the 2015 election and the fall budget, and said it would help create 27,000 jobs by providing employers with grants of up to $5,000 to cover up to 10 per cent of a new employee’s salary. But Bilous said employers told the government the program was not

going to help — and it has listened. “Business and industry provided us feedback to say that this isn’t going to give us the outcome we wanted,” he said. Amber Ruddy, a spokesperson for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said companies were lukewarm on the job program and would much prefer a small-business tax cut. “Not everybody is in a position to be hiring right now. A tax cut would help people keep the employees they already have,” she said. Ken Kobly, president of the Alberta Chambers of Commerce, praised the government for listening to the business sector. “The point we were making is businesses will hire when they need staff,’’ Kobly said. “The important thing to do right now is to get the economy moving — that will create your jobs for you.’’ Bilous said the money allocated for the now-cancelled program would be re-invested in other measures including a $10 million investment in business incubators. He said there would be a lot for business in Thursday’s budget. With files from the canadian press

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Your essential daily news

push Cars and TVs pitched to Groups slogan return prospective condo buyers sign debate

Tim Querengesser Metro | Edmonton

real estate

Trend coincides with price drops in local housing market: Expert Kevin Maimann

Metro | Edmonton From a free TV to a Porsche, landlords and developers are offering up wild incentives for Edmontonians to buy condos while the economy sputters. Stratosphere Capital, which sells its southwest Edmonton property Windermere Plaza as an upscale hot spot for business and healthcare professionals — with “Silicon Valley-speed fiber optics” — is offering a brand new 2017 Porsche Boxster or Macan with every business condo purchase to emphasize its poshness. “Porsche really resonates with those principles. Porsche is a world-class company that has made a name for itself by developing fast, technically superior, innovative cars,” said company co-founder Ed Siffledeen, in a release. To qualify for the free cars, customers will have to buy a commercial unit during Windermere Plaza’s April 16 open house. Units start at $275,000. For residential condos the story is much the same. Carlisle Group is now offering a sixmonth “test drive” at its six Edmontonarea condo properties. If a renter decides to purchase after six months, their rent money will all go toward the purchase. Back in February, to dissuade job loss fears, the same

company offered to pay the mortgage, condo fees and taxes for six months for anyone who was laid off after purchasing one of its condos. Even renters have been beneficiaries of incentives ranging from two months’ free rent to free iPads and TVs, according to RentFaster.ca President Mark Hawkins. He said the trend has coincided with significant price drops in the housing market. “It’s been fairly prevalent for probably the last six months. It kind of started late last year,” Hawkins said. “We’ve seen the shift from a landlord focused market to a balanced market, and now we’re tipping a bit towards a tenant favoured market.” Hawkins said the incentives do tend to work, but he advises landlords to focus on providing a good price for a quality product above all else. That, and take photos with a proper camera rather than an iPhone. “People think it’s pretty dire out there, but if you have a good price and a good product, we see a ton of stuff rented every day,” he said.

Porsches, iPads and TVs are all incentives given by landlords and developers to draw in prospective renters and buyers in Edmonton. iStock

Little stops productivity in Edmonton faster than ‘City of Champions’ debates. The tagline was coined back in 1980s after a massive tornado saw the town work together to help those who’d been affected. But over time Edmonton fell out of love with the slogan, and last spring, council voted to remove it from six rather dated welcome signs. Mayor Don Iveson said at the time Edmonton had entered a “post-tagline” world. But Don Clarke, 84, doesn’t agree. Clarke and 13 others — including Tommy Banks and John Stanton — are part of a committee pushing council to reconsider returning the slogan to the signs, and is even proposing to pay for it if council agrees. Metro asked Clarke some questions about his idea. Why do we need a slogan? That’s like asking, ‘Why do we have to have pride in our city or care about those who are less fortunate’? Why do we need a slogan? Because it’s good for us. What do you want to happen? We made it clear to council that to put them back the way they were, we as a committee, would raise the money for it. We’re not talking about doing electronic or neon signs or anything. Would you be open to a different slogan? If I asked 10 people, you’d get all kinds of suggestions. We had a slogan that worked. Some people said it got old [but] I’d suggest they got old. I’ve got grandsons who thought it was fine. Another slogan? Who’s going to start figuring out which is the right one? What’s a city slogan you remember or like? The City of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia). The Big Apple (New York) The City of Lights (Paris). Notes: none of those are official slogans. This interview has been edited for length

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4 Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Edmonton

Uncovering a dark history Charles Camsell Hospital

stories

Historian looks into site’s past ahead of its reconstruction

Metcalfe-Chenail’s website, ghostsofcamsell. ca, compiles stories people have shared with her since she started reaching out a year ago.

Kevin Maimann

Metro | Edmonton While developers are preparing the Charles Camsell Hospital site for reconstruction, an Edmonton researcher is working to piece together its dark history. Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail’s Ghosts of Camsell project focuses less on ghost stories in the sensational sense — of which there are many — and more on the unanswered questions from its poorly documented days as Canada’s biggest “Indian hospital.” From 1946 to 1966, indigenous people with tuberculosis symptoms were taken there and many never returned. “If you talk to people in the indigenous community, especially ones who lost loved ones there, there’s a sense of real

Redevelopment is expected to begin this summer at 128th Street and 114th Avenue, the site of the Charles Camsell Hospital that has been abandoned for 20 years. Kevin Maimann/metro

spirits wandering the Earth, and deep seated pain,” MetcalfeChenail said. The former Edmonton historian laureate recently edited a book called Fifteen Stories of Truth and Reconciliation, and is coming at the Camsell project with a similar lens, after spending a decade researching

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If we can bring this all to light, it will really help us on our path to reconciliation.

Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail

colonialism in Canada. Metcalfe-Chenail spent months working with the family of Joseph Elulik, an Inuit man from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, to find his burial spot. Elulik had died at the hospital in 1960 and his body was never returned to Cambridge Bay. “My feeling is that, if we can

Christina Dennis “The DIY

bring this all to light, it will really help us on our path to reconciliation,” she said. Charles Camsell was a provincial hospital by the time it closed in 1996, and has sat abandoned in Inglewood since. A symposium on the former hospital took place on April 1 in Edmonton and was attended by architect Gene Dub, who said work will start this summer on a housing complex to replace the building — now that the drawn-out process of removing asbestos is complete. “It seems like everybody is coming to this at once, from different angles, different approaches, and hopefully this yields a much greater understanding of this whole chapter in our history,” said MetcalfeChenail.

Politics

Ex-wife of Denis says emails are fabricated A dispute between a former Alberta politician and his ex-wife that erupted during last year’s provincial election campaign has flared up again following their divorce. Former justice minister Jonathan Denis — accused by his former spouse Breanna Palmer of kneeing her in the face, tampering with brakes on her car and throwing temper tantrums — released emails on the weekend that he said came from her and finally clear his name. The two identical emails released by Denis, sent last month with Palmer’s name and email address, said she regrets the steps she took against Denis. Palmer said Monday that she did not write the emails. “These are fabricated documents,” Palmer wrote in an email to The Canadian Press. Her message came from the same email address as the one in documents released by Denis. A spokesman for Denis said he was not going to comment on Palmer’s denial. the canadian press

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6 Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Edmonton

Notley angered but not ready to make the leap energy

Policy

Premier lashes NDP’s federal manifesto as ‘ill-informed’ Alberta’s NDP premier has come out swinging against the federal party’s plans to consider dramatic policy changes that would have huge implications for her province. Rachel Notley called the energy pieces of the Leap Manifesto thoughtless. “The government of Alberta repudiates the sections of that document that address energy infrastructure,” Notley said Monday. “These ideas will never form any part of policy. They are naive. They are illinformed. They are tone deaf.” Notley stopped short of saying she would seek to split the Alberta wing of the NDP from its federal counterpart. Instead, she said, Alberta New Democrats will make their points from within the party. The manifesto calls for a radical, accelerated shift to Canada’s economy to combat climate change. It proposes a ban on new infrastructure projects, such as pipelines, tied to increased use of non-renewable energy. It also suggests Canada should get all of its electricity from renewable resources within two decades and be completely off non-renewables by 2050. On the weekend, delegates to the federal NDP party convention in Edmonton voted to discuss the Leap Manifesto and its policy implications at the constituency level. Notley has been working

What is the Leap Manifesto? The Leap Manifesto is a document that calls for a radical restructuring of the economy. It was crafted by best-selling author Naomi Klein and her husband, documentary filmmaker Avi Lewis, and released last September. What it calls for: Shift swiftly away from fossil fuels so that Canada gets 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable resources within 20 years and is entirely weaned off fossil fuels by 2050. No new infrastructure projects aimed at increasing extraction of non-renewable resources, including pipelines. “Energy democracy,” in which energy sources are collectively controlled by communities.

Premier Rachel Notley criticized the decision at the legislature Monday by her federal NDP counterparts to pursue the Leap Manifesto. Dean Bennett/THE CANADIAN PRESS

to drum up support to get a pipeline built to get Alberta’s oil to Canadian ports for a better price on the world market. Low oil prices have decimated Alberta’s once-rich economy. The province is to table a 2016-17 budget Thursday that will include a $10-billion deficit. Notley’s comments Monday followed a string of similar remarks by her cabinet ministers. Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said the manifesto is bad policy that was poorly handled.

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“The federal party is wrong on this matter,” Phillips said at the legislature. “People are feeling pretty disrespected by

People are feeling pretty disrespected. Shannon Philipps

what just happened here. “You didn’t even have anybody ... reach out to Alberta

before this came to the floor in our capital city.” Deputy premier Sarah Hoffman said that although the manifesto will be debated at the constituency level, “I imagine most of those conversations will be rather short in oil-producing provinces, not just (in) Alberta.” Also on the weekend, delegates repudiated the work of leader Thomas Mulcair and voted for a leadership review. Notley ruled herself out Monday from seeking that job.

An end to all trade deals “that interfere with attempts to rebuild local economies, regulate corporations and stop damaging extractive projects.” Expand low-carbon sectors of the economy, such as caregiving, teaching, social work, the arts and public-interest media. Vigorous debate on the idea of introducing a universal guaranteed minimum income.

neglect trial

Father on stand over death A father accused in his toddler son’s death from bacterial meningitis says he thought his son had the flu. David Stephan is the first witness called by the defence in the Alberta trial for him and his wife on a charge of failing to provide the necessaries of life to the nearly 19-month-old boy. Stephan says his wife, Collet, only mentioned the possibility of it being meningitis the night before Ezekiel stopped breathing and was rushed to hospital in March 2012. He says many of the symptoms overlapped with that of the flu. Stephan says they weren’t the kind of parents who would abuse a child and he became alarmed when he was told there was an investigation underway. The Crown says the couple didn’t do enough to make sure Ezekiel received the treatment he required. the canadian press

POLITICS Election costs soar by 28 per cent in three years Democracy doesn’t come cheap, and in Alberta last year it cost nearly $19 million. Glen Resler, the province’s chief electoral officer, released his report on the 2015 general election Monday, revealing the final cost was $18,987,748 — 28 per cent higher than the last election in 2012. Resler said those higher costs came largely from an increased population, as well as a stepped up advertising campaign by Elections Alberta. METRO

the canadian press

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Edmonton

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Police

Kitscoty crimes unlikely fuelled by hate: RCMP Jeremy Simes

For Metro | Calgary

The city estimates it could cost as much as $7 million to preserve the Mitchell Reed Auction House and the Graphic Arts Building along Jasper Avenue. metro file

Too little funding to save sites city hall

Artery one of many historic buildings that need investing Ryan Tumilty

Metro | Edmonton Finding dollars to preserve two historic downtown buildings may prove challenging as the list of other properties the city may want to preserve is long. A report going to council Tuesday on possible funding to preserve the Mitchell and Reed Auction House, which housed former music venue The Artery, and the Graphic Arts Building, identifies 27 other properties the city could invest in — with an estimated total cost of $27.4 million. Coun. Scott McKeen said the numbers should help guide the city on what to do next. “We have to have a good discussion as a community about how we should prioritize our limited heritage resources,” he said. “We don’t have the financial wherewithal to save everything.” The Mitchell and Reed and Graphic Arts buildings on Jasper Avenue initially faced demolition last year because the city needed the land for an LRT construction yard. Eventually, city staff found another site for that yard. That saved the two buildings

$7M The estimated cost to preserve the Mitchell and Reed Auction House and the Graphic Arts Building could reach $7 million.

$27.4M There are a total of 27 other properties the city could invest in which carry a combined cost of $27.4 million.

for a short while, but restoring and preserving them is still estimated to cost as much as $7 million. Dan Rose, with the group Heritage Forward, said he’s pleased the city at least now has the data. “The city did the homework about what they own and what they are responsible for,” he said. One option the city is exploring is partnering with the private sector to save the two buildings. Rose said if that means moving the buildings it would be unfortunate, because they would lose part of their story, but there are worse options. “If it’s that or demolition I think you will see people willing to be flexible on it.”

We have to have a good discussion as a community about how we should prioritize our limited heritage resources. Coun. Scott McKeen

Kitscoty RCMP say there have been no incidents of racial profiling in the small town, though officers are still investigating all avenues regarding two crimes that occurred in the community last week and on Sunday. Early Sunday morning, Abdul Mian was rattled by a

blaze that consumed two of his semi-trucks outside his home in Kitscoty, located near Lloydminster. But days before, he found “go back” scrawled on his garage door via spray paint. Sgt. Jack Poitras said investigators are still determining a motive for the crimes, adding they’ve yet to receive a complaint from Mian. “There’s lots going on with the economy,” Poitras said. “The local detachment said

they’ve had zero racial slurs (in the community).” Mian, too, said he has felt loved by the community ever since he moved to Kitscoty about six years ago. “Everybody loves me here, as far as I know … until now,” he said on Sunday. “I love this community. I understand the times are tough, but this doesn’t mean people can go out and hurt people.” There’s no indication both crimes are connected, given

the fire incident is far more severe than the vandalism, Poitras said. He said potential suspects could possibly face arson charges, though officers have yet to find the person or people involved. “If anyone knows anything, I’m sure it’ll come out,” he said. Kitscoty RCMP are asking people with more information to call its dispatch centre at (780) 846-2870.

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8 Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Edmonton

U of A researcher gets $2.1M CANCER

Grad student studies chemorelated heart problems

My research program is going to look into ... why these cancer therapies have such a negative effect on the heart.

Kevin Maimann

Metro | Edmonton A University of Alberta researcher just got a big boost in his work to wipe out heart problems caused by cancer therapy. Gopinath Sutendra, PhD, has been awarded $2.1 million over seven years to further his research as the new Alberta Innovates Health Solutions (AIHS) Translational Health Chair in Cardio-Oncology. Sutendra said the money is “crucial” to his studies into chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity, a complication that occurs in many patients when they’re given cancer therapy. While chemotherapy might have promising effects against a tumour, a patient may develop heart failure as a consequence, forcing them to dis-

Gopinath Sutendra

Gopinath Sutendra has been named the new Alberta Innovates Health Solutions (AIHS) Translational Health Chair in Cardio-Oncology at the University of Alberta. contributed

continue cancer therapy and start heart treatment. Sutendra said it’s a growing problem. “My research program is going to look into understanding why these cancer therapies

have such a negative effect on the heart, and also try to discover some new and novel translational therapies to prevent this cardiotoxicity,” Sutendra said, in a release. As part of his work, Suten-

dra is looking at potential biomarkers, or a genetic background variation in patients, to see if certain people may be more susceptible to chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity. Sutendra takes a collabor-

ative, multidisciplinary approach that includes working with a similar program at the University of Calgary. He said he expects the research program to generate results with therapeutic implications, which will allow him to apply for further funding from other agencies. Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry Dean Richard Fedorak said Sutendra’s work is paving the way for cancer therapies with fewer complications. “He is a bright example of the next wave of scientists at the University of Alberta working to protect the health of Canadians and others around the world,” Fedorak said.

meteorology

Nature sculpts ice A gusting wind has produced a spectacular wall of ice along the shoreline at a popular resort lake in central Alberta. Known as an ice shove, the wall steadily grew over the weekend at the summer village of Ma-Me-O Beach on Pigeon Lake, about 100 kilometres south of Edmonton, and drew a number of curiosity seekers. Mayor Don Fleming says the ice crept up to the edge of some people’s homes and damaged seawalls. Fleming says many of the people who own properties along the beach live elsewhere in the winter, so they won’t find any damage for a few months. He suspects low water caused the shove, but says it hasn’t been as destructive as ones in past years. THE CANADIAN PRESS

An ice wall, a.k.a. ice shove. THE CANADIAN PRESS

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Canada

Teen’s death part of town epidemic Sheridan Hookimaw

Family shown video message recorded by suicide victim In the hours before her death, 13-year-old Sheridan Hookimaw recorded a video message for her family. According to her grandfather, Henry Hookimaw, the authorities who found her body didn’t let her loved ones watch all of the footage, fearing it would be too painful. But Henry recalled the quick and poignant scene her family was allowed to see. “She said that she loved us. That’s the only part we saw,” said Henry, 64, who raised Sheridan like his own daughter. Sheridan’s body was found on the outskirts of her village of Attawapiskat, Ont., in late October of last year, according to her great aunt, Jackie Hookimaw-Witt. She said the coroner told

Sheridan Hookimaw Instagram

the family Sheridan took her own life. Although Hookimaw-Witt remembered her grandniece as intelligent and outgoing, she said Sheridan’s health problems, which included asthma, diabetes and apnea, put tremendous strain on the girl’s mental health. Hookimaw-Witt said medical care in Attawapiskat is “inadequate,” and she wanted to share Sheridan’s story in order to shine light on the lack of ser-

vices in the community. “I don’t want her death … to be meaningless. I want something to come out of it,” she said. The young girl’s suicide is part of a wider epidemic of self-harm on the northern First Nation that has so devastated residents that it prompted local leaders to declare a state of emergency on Saturday. According to the Assembly of First Nations, more than 100 people in Attawapiskat have tried to kill themselves since September. The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service confirmed there were 11 attempts on Saturday night alone, 10 of them carried out by youth. Premier Kathleen Wynne said Health Minister Eric Hoskins and Children and Youth Services Minister Tracy MacCharles will fly to Attawapiskat, which has declared five emergencies since 2006 for issues that ranged from flooding to lack of housing. TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE

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10 Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Canada

vows renewed Study sounds alarm on Dion anti-nukes effort Canada’s ‘missing girls’ g7 ministers

sex discrimination

Indo-Canadian birth data shows gender imbalance A preference for boys among Indian-born parents may have contributed to a deficit of more than 4,400 girls over two decades in what researchers in a new study are calling Canada’s “missing girls.” The research, presented in the Canadian Medical Association Journal and the online CMAJ Open, looks at more than six million births in Canada and reveals that a greater presence of boys among Indian-born mothers may in part be linked to abortions in the second trimester, when parents can learn the baby’s sex. The birth data was compiled from databases administered by Statistics Canada and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto between 1990 and 2011, and 1993 to 2012,

Baldev Mutta, centre, CEO of Punjabi Community Health Services in Brampton, Ont., with his granddaughter Talon Mutta, left, and daughter Rakhi Mutta. Mutta is involved in initiatives to celebrate girls born to Indian parents. Bernard Weil/torstar news service

respectively. “The main implication is that among some immigrant communities, males are placed at a higher value than females. This is not just about abortions, it is about gender equality,” said

lead author Marcelo Urquia of St. Michael’s Hospital. “I hope that this is conducive to a respectful debate on the value of girls and women in today’s Canadian society.” His study newly exposes a

relationship between induced abortions and the previously reported large numbers of boys among Ontario’s Indian community, said Urquia, noting the data likely explains an imbalance in the rest of Canada too. Some of the “deficit” of girls may be due to “implantation of male embryos,” said Urquia, but the data is insufficient. For Baldev Mutta, CEO of Punjabi Community Health Services in Brampton, Ont., it’s a question he and other community leaders will have to face. With this new research, he says, it is “time for some soul searching,” in the country’s Indian community. “This is something that we cannot hide anymore,” said Mutta. He helped launch an initiative that flips the script on a traditional celebration called a “Lohri,” meant for celebrating the birth of a boy, but which Mutta and a group of young South Asian women have turned into a movement called Lohri For Her. torstar news service

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion says Canada can help kickstart the world’s stalled nuclear disarmament efforts by pushing for tougher controls to prevent terrorists from building a nuclear weapon. Dion joined his G7 counterparts on Monday in calling for a renewed effort towards nuclear disarmament after visiting the atomic-bombed Japanese city of Hiroshima. But the minister also appeared to express frustration at what many see as the glacial pace of nuclear disarmament efforts. “It’s a challenge because over the last 20 years, it’s stalled,” Dion said in an interview from Tokyo, adding that there’s been

Stephane Dion

“no major progress” on ridding the world of nuclear weapons in that time. Dion said Canada will focus on the growing international effort to revive the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty, or FMCT. It has been more than half a century since the United Nations embarked on creating the treaty, which would control the spread of nuclear materials. the canadian press

Stephane Dion, second from left, with his G7 counterparts at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Kyodo News/the associated press

revenue

Charities linked to terrorist financing Federal revenue agency officials have handed senators detailed correspondence about six organizations whose charitable status was stripped over concerns about terrorist financing. But the agency stresses that the fight against shady funding of political extremism begins with prevention — revocation being just one weapon in its arsenal. The Senate defence and security committee has been pressing the revenue agency’s charities directorate to provide the information since June of last year, but the federal election delayed the effort. The pages cover the handful of cases since 2008 in which revocations involved concerns about terrorist financing. Basic information about each case — including the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, the Canadian Foundation for Tamil Refugee Rehabilitation and the World Islamic Call Society — has already been made public. But the various files — presented by directorate officials who testified before the committee — lay out details of the federal concerns. The committee meeting Monday came amid growing concern about the surreptitious movement of large sums around the

This visit is not about the past, it’s about the future.

’threat’ Alastair Bland, director of the review and analysis division of the charities directorate, said there is a “recognized threat” against the Canadian charitable sector from people determined to support terrorism.

globe for illicit purposes. The charities directorate says it turns down applications for charitable registration where terrorist financing risks arise. The directorate also conducts audits of registered charities based on the risk and can take action ranging from education letters and compliance agreements to sanctions and revocation of charitable status. In addition, it can also pass information about suspected criminal or security-related matters to police and intelligence partners. The audit materials provided to the committee should give senators a sense of the complexity of the revenue agency’s work, said Cathy Hawara, director general of the charities directorate. the canadian press

Lac-Mégantic

Settlement payment contested About 400 people are contesting the amount of money they have received from the $460-million Lac-Mégantic settlement fund for victims and creditors of the 2013 rail disaster, the man overseeing the cash distribution said Monday. Andrew Adessky said his firm, Richter, will begin responding to creditors within the next couple of weeks, adding that some of the challenges are valid and others are not. Roughly 10 per cent of the 4,200 people who received cheques were not satisfied with their portion, said the court-appointed Adessky. Victims have so far received half their expected payment for moral damages, Adessky explained, almost three years after a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded, killing 47 people. The second half will be distributed at a later date, he said. “We are reviewing the contestations,” Adessky said. “In some cases we agree with them, in others we need more information, and we will also go back to other folks and say we disagree. People have the right to appeal our decision.” the canadian press

World

Tuesday, April 12, 2016 Georgia

Trial begins in hot SUV death

IN BRIEF Sporadic fighting mars first day of Yemen ceasefire A UN-brokered ceasefire was mostly holding across war-torn Yemen on Monday with scattered violations reported by both sides. Much of the remaining violence took place in the besieged city of Taiz, where shelling killed at least one person and wounded five, according to residents. The truce between the Saudi-led coalition, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognized government, and the Shiite rebels known as Houthis went into effect at midnight Sunday. the associated press Israel to free Palestinian girl, 12, held in prison A 12-year-old Palestinian girl who was imprisoned after she confessed to planning a stabbing attack in a West Bank settlement will be released early, Israel’s prison service said Monday, capping a saga that drew attention to the dual legal system in the West Bank. The case has put Israel’s military justice system in a tough spot as it deals with a girl who has pleaded guilty to a crime, yet has not even completed the seventh grade. the associated press Thailand to sentence drunk drivers to morgue work To help combat the carnage on the country’s roads during this week’s traditional New Year’s celebration, Thai authorities are going gory: Drunk drivers and repeat traffic offenders can be sent to work in hospital morgues to see the fruits of their irresponsibility. Casual attitudes toward road safety give Thailand the second-worst record in the world for traffic fatalities. The Associated Press

British Prime Minister David Cameron leaves 10 Downing Street in central London Monday to appear before MPs for the first time since it emerged he had profited from an offshore fund. Stefan Rousseau/the associated press

David Cameron defends tax affairs panama papers

Britain acting to stop evasion in overseas havens: Leader British Prime Minister David Cameron fought back Monday after days of criticism over his finances, lashing out at what he called hurtful and untrue claims about his late father’s investments sparked by leaked details about the offshore accounts of the rich and famous. Trying to restore his government’s shaken reputation, Cameron insisted that “aspiration and wealth creation are not somehow dirty words” and said

United Nations

Report urges ban on killer robots Technology allowing a preprogrammed robot to shoot to kill, or a tank to fire at a target with no human involvement, is only years away, experts say. A new report called Monday for a ban on such “killer robots.” The report by Human Rights Watch and the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic was released as the UN kicked off a week-long meeting on such weapons. “There is a real threat that humans would relinquish their

control and delegate life-anddeath decisions to machines,” said Bonnie Docherty of Human Rights Watch. Last year, more than 1,000 experts — including scientist Stephen Hawking, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak — warned that such weapons could be developed within years, not decades, and that if left unchecked a “global arms race is virtually inevitable.” The Associated Press

Britain was acting to stop evasion in its overseas tax havens. Cameron has been under mounting pressure since his father, Ian Cameron, was identified as a client of a Panamanian law firm that specializes in helping the wealthy reduce their tax burdens. The prime minister initially refused to say whether he had a stake in Blairmore Holdings, an offshore firm established by his father, before acknowledging he had sold his shares in it shortly before he was elected in 2010. “I accept all of the criticisms for not responding more quickly to these issues last week,” Cameron told lawmakers in the House of Commons. “But as I said, I was angry about the way my father’s memory was being

IN BRIEF U.S. navy officer accused of espionage The U.S. military has charged a Taiwan-born Navy officer with espionage for allegedly passing military secrets to China or Taiwan, U.S. defence officials said Monday. A navy document accuses Lt. Cmdr. Edward C. Lin of failing to report foreign contacts and says he gave or attempted to give secret national defence information to representatives of a foreign government. the associated press

traduced.” Cameron said his father, who died in 2010, had set up an investment fund overseas so it could trade in dollar securities — “an entirely standard practice and it is not to avoid tax.” He said millions of Britons had investments in such funds through their workplace pensions. Revelations about the Cameron family finances — found among more than 11 million documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca — have overshadowed the government’s claim that it is committed to closing tax loopholes. Cameron has championed greater financial transparency, and is due to host an international anticorruption summit in London next month. the associated press

in canada The Canada Revenue Agency is boosting its efforts to hunt down tax dodgers — including those who shelter cash offshore — under an expanded plan expected to recoup $2.6 billion in unpaid taxes over the next five years. The agency shared some specifics Monday on how it will improve detection, auditing and prosecution of tax cheaters with help from a five-year, $444-million government commitment. the canadian press

The judge overseeing the trial of a Georgia man accused of intentionally leaving his son in a hot SUV to die heard on Monday from about a dozen potential jurors who said they had scheduling conflicts. Two were excused. Justin Ross Harris, 35, faces charges including murder in the June 18, 2014, death of his 22-month-old son, Cooper. Police have said the boy died after spending about seven hours in the SUV on a day when the temperature in the Atlanta area reached at least into the high 80s F (over 30 C). Prosecutors have painted Harris as a man unhappy and unfaithful in his marriage who sought an escape and intentionally left the boy to die. Defence attorneys have called the boy’s death a tragic mistake that Harris will have to deal with for the rest of his life. He was indicted in September 2014 on multiple charges, including malice murder, felony murder and cruelty to children. That indictment also includes charges related to sexually explicit exchanges prosecutors say Harris had with an underage girl. The extensive local and national news coverage of the case from the beginning will likely make it extremely difficult to find jurors who haven’t heard or read about it. the associated press

Justin Ross Harris the associated press

Utah

Polygamy outlawed again A federal appeals court The 10th U.S. Cirrestored Utah’s ban on cuit Court of Appeals polygamy Monday, dismissed a 2013 rulhanding a defeat to ing that struck down the family from TV’s key parts of Utah’s law Sister Wives and other against bigamy. U.S. District Judge Clark polygamists who say the ruling could send Waddoups had found plural families back Brady Williams the state violated pointo hiding out of fear Rick Bowmer/ lygamists’ right to The Associated of prosecution. privacy and religious Others cheered the Press file freedom. decision that they say The appeals court will help authorities prosecute ruled that Waddoups should people for crimes tied to the not have considered a lawsuit practice, such as underage mar- from Kody Brown and his four riage and sexual assault. wives because they were never

charged with a crime and there was little chance they would be. Prosecutors pointed to Warren Jeffs, the imprisoned polygamous sect leader convicted of assaulting girls he considered wives. The Browns have never belonged to Jeffs’ group, and lumping in good, honest polygamist families with him isn’t fair, said Brady Williams, who has five wives. “We’re only guilty of trying to love a different way than the norm,” he said. The Associated Press

12 Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Business

No Chatbots at your service CRTC: guarantee of speedy regulator

TECHNOLOGY

Why you might soon be texting robots as often as your friends

The robots are coming ... to help run your life, or sell you stuff, at an online texting service near you. In coming months, people who use Facebook’s Messenger app, Microsoft’s Skype and Canada’s Kik for online chats can expect to find new automated assistants offering information and services at a variety of businesses. These messaging “chatbots” are basically software that’s capable of human-like conversation — and of doing some simple jobs once reserved for actual people. Google and other companies are reportedly working on similar ideas. In Asia, such software butlers are already part of the landscape. When Washington, D.C., attorney Samantha Guo visited China recently, Guo said she was

People who use Messenger and Skype for online chats can soon expect to see businesses offering information and other services with the help of messaging “bots.” Patrick Sison/the associated press

amazed at how extensively her friends used bots and similar technology on the texting service WeChat to pay for meals, order movie tickets and even send each other gifts.

“It was mind-blowing,” said Guo, 32. U.S. services lag way behind, she added. Online messaging has become routine for most people, offering more immediacy than

email or voice calls, said Michael Wolf, a media and technology consultant. Messaging services are now growing faster than traditional online social platforms like Facebook or Twit-

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Internet

Canadians may want fast Internet access everywhere in the country, but that doesn’t mean it will be guaranteed by Canada’s telecom regulator. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) chairman Jean-Pierre Blais says any speed or service level his agency finds ideal won’t automatically mean regulatory action to ensure it’s accessible to everyone. Blais opened exhaustive hearings Monday into whether highspeed Internet access should be a basic service and what that could mean. But he said it will be up to participants to demonstrate why the CRTC should act and why market forces are not enough to ensure the public’s need for Internet services is being met. “As it is crucial not to confuse ‘wants’ with ‘needs,’ the CRTC is asking parties to take a factbased and objective approach to these discussions,” Blais said. the canadian press

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ter, according to research by Wolf’s firm, Activate. And experts say messaging bots can handle a wider range of tasks than apps offered by retailers and other consumer businesses. In part, that’s because bots can recognize a variety of spoken or typed phrases, where apps force you to choose from options on a drop-down menu. Reaching a chatbot can be as simple as clicking a link in an online ad or scanning a boxy bar code with a smartphone’s camera; a special-purpose app requires a download and often a new account sign-up. “Bots are the new apps,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said last month. Microsoft has just announced new programming tools for businesses to build bots that will interact with customers on Skype, the Internet voice, video and messaging service Microsoft owns. Facebook is widely expected to unveil similar tools for its Messenger chat service at the company’s annual software conference starting Tuesday.

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U.S., Goldman Sachs reach $5B settlement The Justice Department on Monday announced a roughly $5-billion settlement with Goldman Sachs over the sale of mortgagebacked securities leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, with the government accusing the bank of misleading investors about the quality of its loans. The $5.06-billion deal resolves state and federal probes into the sale of shoddy mortgages in the run-up to the housing bubble and subsequent economic meltdown. It requires the bank to pay a $2.39-billion civil penalty and an additional $1.8-billion in relief to underwater homeowners and distressed borrowers, along with $875 million in other claims. “This resolution holds Goldman Sachs accountable for its serious misconduct in falsely assuring investors that securities it sold were backed by sound mortgages, when it knew that they were full of mortgages that were likely to fail,” Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart Delery said in a statement. The agreement, smaller than deals reached with several of Goldman’s Wall Street counterparts, is the latest in a series of multi-billion-dollar civil settlement arising from the economic meltdown in which millions of Americans lost their homes to foreclosure or found themselves jobless. Other banks that settled in the last two years include Bank

the associated press

of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The banks collectively came under scrutiny for the sale of securities that, while promoted as relatively safe, contained residential mortgages from borrowers who were unlikely to be able to repay their loans. The poor quality of the loans led to huge losses for investors and a slew of foreclosures, kicking off the recession that began in late 2007 as the housing market collapsed and investors suffered billions in losses. The sums paid by some of the nation’s largest banks, intended to offer financial relief to some homeowners, aren’t nearly enough to reverse the damage of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. And the deal, which includes no criminal sanctions or penalties, is likely to stir additional criticism about the department’s inability to hold bank executives personally responsible. the canadian press

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Your essential daily news metro poll

Is Netflix asking for too much? Streaming glad or screaming mad? Don’t look now but Netflix has its hand out and it’s looking at you, early adopters. Having already raised subscription rates for new members, the streaming giant will in May begin charging its legacy subscribers $9.99 a month for service that has, since launch, cost $7.99 a month. This, in the wake of the company’s recent crackdown on “unblocking” services. We asked our readers to weigh in.

Are you going to keep your Netflix account? 38% Yes. Without reservation. What’s two more bucks?

What monthly services do you pay for? 48% A cable or satellite package 40% Netflix 6% Shomi 4% Crave 40% Both cable and at least one streaming service

We Asked Metro readers Are you joking, Netflix!??

Frustrating interface. Stale content. Lack of new features. And now price increase? It’s all free somewhere. Netflix was just easier. But if you start gouging, you lose me!

25% Oh, you better believe I’ll be cancelling. 37% Yes. But I am NOT happy about this.

$9.99 is still good value.

A pack of cigarettes costs $15.00 and that’s without the taxes thrown in. So I would say Netflix is still really a great deal.

The hidden costs behind the subscription are the data fees, which make it an extremely expensive service if you watch a lot of movies.

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have your say

Anti-woman rhetoric in politics hurts us all urban paradis

Danielle Paradis

This past year in Alberta politics has been filled with the most vitriolic hate speech against women that I can remember. A few examples: Graphic pictures of Rachel Notley and Alison Redford tied to train tracks, political cartoons depicting the premier with a pitchfork sticking out of her back and endless death threats posted on Facebook threads. And, of course, this past week, we saw a man charged for threatening to shoot a female cabinet minister. He brushed it off. He said he was having a bad day. It amazes me that Alberta still has so many strong women vying for the political spotlight. Is this misogyny? A backlash

against progressivism? Or have things always been this bad and I just didn’t notice? According to Progressive Conservative MLA Sandra Jansen, these types of attacks on women aren’t new; social media is just helping them spread. In an interview, Jansen recalled enduring similar attacks. “I worked in communications for Alison Redford, and some of the things that were said to her were hard to read,” she said. For Jansen, the problem has become routine. Far-right media commenters have tweeted that people should drive by her house to see what kind of election signs are on her lawn. “I’m a single mom, and when (someone) sends people driving by my house, that in itself feels threatening,” she said. Then, last week, a group calling itself Concerned Christians Canada wrote a blog post about Jansen that was a hodge-

podge of sexism and threatening language. The blog is in response to Jansen’s vocal objection to newly appointed Progressive Conservative board member Craig Chandler, who has been an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage. Written by blogger and “husband of one wife” Jim Blake, the blog calls upon the male leadership to rebuke and instruct Jansen to apologize for her tweets criticizing Chandler, or else she will be exposed for so-called “antiChristian bigotry.” One thing Jansen and I agree on is that this sort of targeted and ongoing harassment against female politicians discourages women from running. “I spend a lot of time talking to women and looking for strong women to run in our party,” Jansen said. “They see what I go through online and the attacks.” It’s not uncommon for

people to threaten or criticize men when they are politicians, but the overall tone of the messages always seems a little different. For one, attacks against male politicians rarely stray into the realm of sexual violence or sexual humiliation. There are dog-whistle words used against women in politics by voices in the media and on social media. Women candidates are criticized for their voices, hairstyles and their pantsuit collection. It doesn’t really matter what side of the political spectrum the threats are made from. What matters is the disturbing fact we’ve come to accept this as a normal, expected barrier for women who want to be politically engaged. We need to do better than that. Danielle Paradis loves Edmonton, politics and flowcharts. She tweets @DaniParadis

Rosemary Westwood metroview

To yearn for Bern is to be the quintessential young Canadian lefty It’s a special insult that the U.S. is even doing socialism better than us. Rhetorically, in any case. We might be living in the pseudo-utopia of Bernie Sanders’ acolytes’ dreams, with our health care and restrictions on campaign spending, our sick leave and mat-leave culture. But they have something that we want, too: Bernie himself. Our supposedly lefty champion, Thomas Mulcair, saw his leadership future end with a hollow thud this weekend (the NDP voted to replace him, which could take a few years). Sure, he had his “pitbull” moments in the house, but did anyone #feelthe… Nope. Meanwhile, Sanders is more popular on Canadian millennial Facebook feeds than cats and puppies combined. Sure, he’s cute in that scruffy, stray-dog kind of way. But it’s not the cuddliness. It’s the honesty. Still dreaming they’ll never turn cynical, young Canadians are primed to value not only the message of Sanders’s democratic socialism, with its focus on free universities and its rage against soulless corporate greed, but also the vessel. Here’s a man who has, for decades, been singing the same tune. Unlike the partyswapping Mulcair, Sanders is the grandpa who really DID walk to school in the snow, uphill, both ways. It’s for others to deduce what caused the NDP’s implosion. But I spoke to enough

young voters during the campaign to know their idealism was ill met in the NDP’s platform, and its portrayal of a stiff, somewhat shifty leader. Of course, I could dream up a more perfect candidate than Sanders. One that shatters at least one of the gender and race biases in politics. One with a stricter stance on guns. And Sanders is controversial among black American voters. It’s also worth wondering whether Sanders would be as beloved if he weren’t also a slightly cantankerous New Yorker — is our love just an extension of our enduring fascination with America itself? The political equivalent of wanting to visit Detroit? And if we lived there (in Detroit, in the U.S.) would it seem as romantic? Still, it’s laughable that we’re more afraid of socialism, the word, than America is right now: the NDP voted in 2013 to scrap that term from its constitution, partly so it wouldn’t become an issue in the 2015 election. Canada needs a solid left. A socialist party that walks and talks like one. One that champions the growing poor and fights against impunity among the rich (ahem, #panamapapers). We deserve a chance to vote for a leader who meaningfully defends the socialism already at work here. I might not always vote for him, or her, but my generation, in large part, will. Philosopher Cat by Jason Logan

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Your essential daily news

Gloria Steinem to host, produce series about violence against women for Viceland

‘I am fat and I am proud’

It’s an interesting time for the body-positivity movement. Amy Schumer took on Glamour magazine last week for calling her “plus size” and clothing retailer Addition Elle was criticized for firing an employee after she used the term “fat lady” in an endearing way. As the issue of labelling polarizes the plus-size community, Metro asked fashion blogger and entrepreneur Karen Ward about taking ownership of words used to hurt us. Karen Ward

For Metro I am adorably chubby, a frecklefaced eight-year-old waiting her turn for the monkey bars. A bully pushes me aside forcibly. I tell her I was waiting in line. She tells me to shut up and calls me a “fat tubba lard.” This is why the reclamation of the word “fat” is so contentious. But it’s also why it is so important. Twenty years later I am on the front lines of the body positivity movement in Toronto. I have been told all my life, either implicitly or explicitly, that I do not deserve the space I occupy or the beautiful clothing on my back because I am “fat.” In 2010 I started my blog Curvy Canadian, offering shopping tips, lists of stores that ship to Canada, and fashion inspiration to plus size Canadian women. Plus size clothing options are seriously lacking, and in 2012, I opened my own clothing store in Toronto, Your Big Sister’s Closet. I believe in the transformative power of dressing well. Fashion is a language, and plus size women have lacked the words so long that we barely know how to speak. One of my customers, a pe-

tite brunette who just graduated from high school, was so shy when I first met her that she couldn’t even talk to me or make eye contact. She’s been back many times since then and she’s blossomed — shedding baggy sweats for my most dramatic pieces, her head held high while wearing her new electric blue pouffy skirt, and her voice audible. She is why I do what I do. Body positivity is a social justice movement that reinforces that everyone, no matter their size, age, race, gender, disability, or appearance, is worthy of the right to be proud of their body. The body positivity community in Toronto is leading the charge to change perspectives. Reclaiming the word “fat” is an important part of the movement. The word “fat” has always been a “bad” word — used as an insult, and a cruel one at that, which is why plus size mega retailer Addition Elle fired store associate Connie Levitsky for using it. “Fat” is much more valueladen than any other physical descriptor: tall, short, blond, brunette. None of these hold the same ability to hurt as “fat,” which is why we need to reclaim this word. We need to strip it of its ability to hurt, shed the negative connotations it has accrued, and use it to label ourselves. Do-

One day fly and cruise-ship tour to Khutzeymateen BC. May & June departures from Calgary & Edmonton.

From left: Sarah Taylor, reigning Miss Plus Canada; blogger Laura Caravaggio; blogger and boutique owner Karen Ward; Ophilia Alleyne, 2014 Body Confidence Canada Award Winner; Thera Warren, plus-sized stylist and blogger. liz beddall/metro

ing so is a highly subversive act. I applaud Levitsky both for using the term and for speaking out about her firing. It has shed much-needed light on our movement, and educated brands like

Addition Elle. This issue of labelling has been polarizing in the plus-size community. Supermodel Ashley Graham has been criticized for participating in the #droptheplus

movement, a campaign devoted to eliminating the “plus size” label altogether. Fans are angry because Ashley is the face of so many brands that cater to plus size women such

as Lane Bryant, Addition Elle, Forever 21+, and department stores like Saks and Nordstrom, and this has helped her get to where she is, but some people feel that she is forsaking the plus size industry and community by denying the term. It would be wonderful if we could get rid of all these labels and just BE. Unfortunately, we’re just not there yet. We’re not at the point where we can throw away the labels that help us organize our advocacy. There is still so much work to do. Just as second-wave feminists rallied as one loud, unified voice, so must we before we can enjoy what a third-wave body positive activism will bring — a celebration of individuality without labels. We’re getting there. Slowly. When I started my blog six years ago I initially titled it “Canadian Fatshionista,” but changed to “Curvy Canadian” because I worried that brands like Addition Elle wouldn’t work with me and that I might alienate readers. Now, I would choose “Canadian Fatshionista” without hesitation — not because I believe that attitudes have changed, but because I have come so far in my own body positivity. I can now own that word. It’s time to take it back. I am fat, and I am proud.

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Tuesday, April 12, 2016 15

Culture

johanna schneller what i’m watching

How James Corden wins over our hearts, bit by bit THE SHOW: James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke (YouTube) THE MOMENT: Stevie Wonder’s phone call

Ilene Shioguchi, left, and her friend Maha Alavi met through Instagram. torstar news service

From insta-pals to real life bonds technology

How people use Instagram to meet friends, partners Ilene Shioguchi’s Instagram account is a carefully curated collection of millennial staples: selfies, brunch and coffee. But it serves a purpose higher than ego-boosting — it’s how she attracts and seeks out reallife friends. “The great thing about meeting people through Instagram is that when I meet up with them, I feel like I already know a lot about them,” said Shioguchi, a 24-year-old Torontonian studying advertising at Centennial College. “We’re able to hit it off right away.” Shioguchi is one in a niche community of Instagrammers who are using the app for more than lurking through photos of stranger’s acai bowls or bikini selfies. They’re building friendships, flirting and forming emotional bonds with strangers — some who they’ll meet in person, others who’ll remain online connections — all because of the appealing glimpse they got into the highlight reel of someone’s life. Instagram appears to be aware of its friendship-forming potential. The company encourages users to organize “InstaMeet” events, where Instagrammers meet up in per-

son at a specific time and date, proliferating their account with photos and hashtags throughout the event. In February, the Japanese duo behind the #2015bestnine craze, which saw Instagrammers visiting a website that created collages of their most-liked photos from the year, launched Nine, a “matching app” that compiles your top nine mostliked Instagram photos and lets you swipe through other users’ photos. It’s a tool Instagrammers can use to procure friends or dates, said founder Yusuke Matsumura. But others don’t need a separate app. They rely on Instagram’s “explore” tab, a function that displays popular images or ones selected based on their past activity. Torontonian Farrell Tremblay started up a year-long flirty friendship with a tattooed Californian after stumbling on her selfie via the explore tab. “She was really cute and I commented saying such,” said Tremblay, 31. The woman responded via direct message, kicking off a friendly relationship that got so serious Tremblay considering moving to California with a friend. The plan fell through when his friend didn’t get the job he wanted. They’ve never met in person. While Tremblay says he doesn’t actively use Instagram as a dating platform, others happily admit they’re seeking out singles. Heather Purdon, 23, said she

likes the app because it gives a sense of someone’s personality. Travel photos could show they’re adventurous, party photos show they’re social and creative pictures show they’re artsy. Her own account features mostly dogs and pizza, she said. And according to her friends — more seasoned online daters — there’s specific etiquette to Insta-dating. “You start following someone and liking their photos, maybe leaving a comment here and there,” she said. “I would never directly message someone upon following them right away . . . It’s a gradual thing. You don’t go right for it.” Some may find these interactions silly or unlikely to lead to real connections, but success stories exist. American 20-somethings Denis Lafargue and Elizabeth Wisdom met through the app in 2012. They chronicled their relationship on Instagram with photos of everything from when they first met in real life to Lafargue’s proposal — which fittingly involved Lafargue printing out a timeline of Instagram photos. They married in 2014. Experts aren’t surprised millennials are co-opting Instagram to find relationships. “People are using anything and everything to find their partner,” said Bhupesh Shah, co-ordinator of Seneca College’s social media graduate certificate. “You’re going to cast a wide net.” torstar news service

“This is indulgent of me,” Late Late Show host James Corden, driving, says to Stevie Wonder, in the passenger seat. “My wife doesn’t believe I’m in the car with you.” “What’s her name?” Wonder asks. “Julia,” Corden says. “She’s gonna lose her sh—.” Corden passes his phone to Wonder. Julia answers. “This is Stevie,” Wonder says. He sounds a note on his harmonica and begins to croon: “I just called to say James loves you.” Corden’s eyes fill with tears. Late night talk shows have become less about the shows themselves, and more about the bits that trend the next day. Interestingly, each host’s best bit plays to his personality. Jimmy Fallon, who is painfully sycophantic and competitive, uses both in his wildly popular Lip Sync Battles. Jimmy Kimmel, whose very face

James Corden, right, and Stevie Wonder. contributed

looks like a wisecrack, excels at getting people to make fun of themselves — hence his hit, Mean Tweets (celebs reading mean tweets about themselves). Corden, by contrast, is not about snark, he’s about sincerity. And there’s nothing more sincere than driving around in a car singing to the radio. Corden may be a successful talk show host, but he’s also a bloke who understands that harmonizing

and car-seat-dancing might well be the best parts of our work days. To be able to do that with singers like Adele, Jennifer Hudson or Justin Bieber — he knows what a dream come true that is, and he conveys that. Johanna Schneller is a media connoisseur who zeroes in on pop-culture moments. She appears Monday through Thursday.

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