Over The Edge
UNBC’s Independent Student Newspaper est. 1994
Volume 21, Issue 10
Association Faculty
Rally
Free overtheedgenewspaper.ca
see page 8
February 10, 2015 ote-newspaper@unbc.ca Kelley Ware | OTE
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Next deadline: February 25, 2015
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Every year, we provide employment as editors, designers, and managers to students with a passion for journalism and are always looking for motivated individuals to work and volunteer in our collaborative environment. Over The Edge offers competitive advertising rates for space in our print publication as well as online.
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Also watch out for all the free Coldsnap events, as this year’s festival has attracted all sorts of great performers and controversial sponsors (although who really expected Enbridge to keep their hands out of this national sporting event).
Romantic gestures are a thing of the past, and besides, you’ll be way too busy trying to avoid all of the insane drivers in summer tires that are about to plague our city. Keep an eye out for food trucks; I’m
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Over The Edge is the University of Northern British Columbia’s independent student newspaper. Our office is located on the 2nd floor of the NUSC building in room 6-350. We are an equal opportunity publication which represents students in the UNBC and Prince George community. Our publication supports student writing by welcoming news, arts, sports, culture and opinion articles, as well as photography, comics, and creative writing submissions.
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Over The Edge
told they will be plentiful and greasy.
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That’s right - instead of it being cool to pick up your girlfriend with a giant box of chocolates and an oversized bear, it is now way cooler to binge on crappy
Netflix shows, eat too many cookies, and have a glass of your favourite liqueur.
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e are in the future, guys. We have hit a time where Valentine’s Day is not that big of a deal any more.
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News from NUGSS: Update from the VP Internal Shelley Termuende VP Internal | NUGSS
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ello from your NUGSS VP Internal! February is, as always, a busy month for NUGSS. We have finished all of our club hearings and are happy to announce the introduction of two new clubs: The Synthetic Biology Club, and The Jack Project UNBC. If you are interested in what these clubs have to offer, feel free to inquire at the NUGSS office. We have given advanced standing to the UNBC Outdoors Club and the UNBC Musical Productions club based on their strong membership, financial need, and positive impact to both the UNBC and Prince
George community. NUGSS is working hard to improve our communications with clubs beginning this semester. We have established a NUGSS Clubs Facebook group, we are sending out scheduled updates to clubs every few weeks, and we are actively meeting with club executives twice a semester to improve how we can better help clubs to succeed. In the works for later in the semester, we will be hosting a Club President’s Luncheon following the winter break, as well as a Club Pub Night on March 20, 2015. Are you interested in working for NUGSS? Our nomination period has officially started, and we encourage everyone to submit a
nomination package. Our succession practices are meant to ensure that each new director and volunteer can feel confident in their position and the responsibilities associated. We will support you to the best of our ability to make sure you are successful. Please stop in and chat with us if you would like more information.
UNBC Life For those students graduating this May, the Valedictorian Selection Committee will be accepting nominations until February 27, 2015. If you know of a friend or classmate who has made a difference in your education and has made a lasting positive impression on you, feel free to submit their name to the committee. We are looking for students from both CSAM and CASHS. Nomination forms are located in the NUGSS office and at the convocation office.
An interview with UNBC Confessions Kelley Ware Multimedia Coordinator
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onfession-style Facebook pages have become very popular recently, allowing people to confess and share their secrets while remaining completely anonymous and giving each of us the chance to read the anonymous confessions of others. UNBC is no stranger to failed attempts at confession pages, the most notable being Twolf Confession. However, UNBC Confessions has managed to both stay relevant for a longer period of time and be far more popular than any of its predecessors. Twolf Confession was followed by 333 people, while UNBC Confessions has 1988 likes, which is pretty impressive considering that is nearly half of the UNBC student population. Over the Edge metaphorically sat down with the administrator of UNBC Confessions (we talked over Facebook) to see exactly why they can boast this kind of success, as well as what it is like running a confessions page. Relating to their success, UNBC Confessions tied it
down to both inclusiveness and research. “Lots of other schools had confession pages that seemed to bring a sense of community. I knew there had been a couple of other pages for UNBC, like Twolf Confession, that never really took off like other schools did. I wanted to make a page that wasn’t tied specifically to sports teams, but was more open to the school as a whole.” Research over what works for confession pages and what doesn’t was also vital to UNBC Confessions’ success. The administrator looked up confession pages for different schools and cities across Canada and the United States to find the recipe of success. Unlike Twolf Confession, which was set up as a personal profile you needed to befriend, UNBC Confessions was a page that simply required a like to participate. It is also more anonymous this way. Being a friend allows people to look up Twolf ’s followers with relative ease, something that is not accomplished with a simple like. UNBC Confessions uses a Google Doc approach for
submitting confessions, meaning that even the administrator does not know who posted what. UNBC Confessions’ administrator also makes sure to remove many identifying characteristics of the original poster and the person they are confessing about. Running confession pages is a lot more work that one might suspect. The administrator can receive up to 30 confessions a day during midterms, and recently received 90 submissions over a weekend. The more popular the page becomes, the more work it is to maintain it. Typically, the administrator of UNBC Confessions spends about an hour each day sorting through confessions, comments, and suggestions. If a day or two is missed, complaints roll in. Staying anonymous has not been a challenge so far. “I have a couple [of] close friends who know I run the page.” The administrator told OTE on Facebook, “I've had a couple other friends who ask if I saw post X or whatever and I just try to play along. I try to do all my posting and checking the page
when I'm at home to avoid any chance of people seeing what I'm doing. I'm a pretty boring admin for the most part.” Regarding the popularity of confession pages, the UNBC Confessions administrator said: “As much as people say they don't like gossip and drama they can't help but feel the need to get involved anyways. People get a feeling of satisfaction from knowing other peoples secrets even if they don't know whose secret it is. I think it is just a natural thing for humans. It's exciting for some people to be able to reveal some of their secrets but retain that anonymity. I think it's also about their post being recognized by their peers in the form of likes, comments, and shares.” The anonymous administrator also believes that pages such as these can bring a sense of community to people who may otherwise not necessarily interact. We are all part of the UNBC community and every once and a while, we just want to be entertained.
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UNBC Life
Drew Dudley’s leadership lessons
Tedx Toronto
Grant Bachand Team Member
is to add value to other people’s lives in every interaction you have with them.
t the UNBC Student Leadership Awards Gala, I had the pleasure of listening to Drew Dudley, a TEDx speaker who has lectured about leadership worldwide. Before his keynote speech began in the Bentley Center, I saw him and wrote him off as some weird guy in a fedora. In essence, that is what Drew’s speech was focused on: not being quick to judge, and generally being nicer to people in your life.
Dudley presented this idea by explaining that we need to take more time worrying about how we treat each other and ourselves. Dudley’s argument was that we become so focused on the macro that we forget the micro. We should be concerned about our grades, but they should be the least interesting things about ourselves. He asked people to come up with an answer to this question: why do I matter? (Heavy, I know.)
Dudley claims that this is leadership, but not the kind of leadership we are taught-this kind of leadership revolves around moments between people. Dudley’s theory
After the dinner, we moved to the Winter Garden, eventually leading into a long discussion involving riding a majestic hippopotamus into battle, manatees
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attacking kayaks, and, of course, the inevitable uprising of dogs who will soon take over the world. During this, I took the position as a fly on the wall. I could not help but be amazed that on a Saturday night, this man had a circle of students around him laughing, listening, and clinging to every word he said. This is what he wanted to convey in his speech; enriching people’s lives and adding value to their day is the new type of leadership. There had been a leadership seminar earlier in the day, and many of the students at the Gala had attended. Students who had gone to the earlier seminars said that Dudley was very interesting, and made them selfanalyze. Dudley also commented about how
students were picking up on themes, and asking questions about topics he usually had to bring up, which is an awesome sign for us here at UNBC. We are proving to more outsiders that there are some brilliant students who attend this university. Dudley commented on how awesome it was visit a place like Prince George and hear about everyone’s love for the community here. He also commented about the UNBC senior administration saying “…students are in a good place when people who are here for longer than four years, really see they’re responsible… [that] is awesome for the students.” UNBC students certainly gave Dudley something to go home with.
UNBC Life
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Club Spotlight: The Jack Project UNBC Julia MacDonald & Jill Gilroy Members | UNBC Jack Project
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he Jack Project is UNBC’s very own chapter of a nation-wide organization. As an organization run by students at university campuses across the country, The Jack Project is dedicated to raising awareness of and reducing the stigma surrounding mental health. UNBC is proud to offer the first chapter of this organization in British Columbia. Jack UNBC is all about collaboration. There are numerous resources on campus dedicated to helping students manage their everything from daily stressors to more complex mental health issues. One of the main goals of our particular chapter is to connect students with these resources. Our past events have included decorating bags at the Connecting U Café’s, and handing out chocolate during exam time as part
of Exam Jam. This semester we hope to organize yoga and meditation classes, and hand out “punny” coffee sleeves at Degrees. Ultimately, we’re aiming to bring the topic of mental health under everyone’s radar. Everyone has mental health, and that’s something that we want to be widely accepted on campus. We’ve got an enthusiastic team made up of undergraduate and graduate students, and our initiatives go far beyond reaching students as we work with staff, faculty, and members from the community. Jack UNBC is a great way to meet other students on campus and to explore issues surrounding mental health in a comfortable, creative, and collaborative way. At the national level, The Jack Project is the only national network of young leaders transforming the way we think about mental health. With initiatives and programs
designed for young people, by young people, our goal is to end stigma in our generation. If you’re interested in receiving more information on Jack UNBC, or have an idea you’d like to share related to raising awareness on mental health or reducing
stigma, we would love to hear from you! Contact us at unbcjackproject@gmail.com. Jack UNBC meets every Tuesdays from 10 to 11 on the couches beside Degrees in the Teaching and Learning building, so come on by and join the conversation!
Online Learning: threat or opportunity? Nahid Taheri Team Member
a way that suits their daily schedules.
he current challenges facing traditional colleges and universities, such as higher tuition, budget cuts, and course shortages, have caused many students to search for alternative forms of higher education. As reported by the Sloan Consortium, there are over three million students currently enrolled in fully online degree programs and six million taking at least one online course as part of their degree program.
Rather than having the one-on-one interaction that students get in traditional classrooms, simple and flexible timing, immediate results and feedback, and lower
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Accessibility and availability are the greatest limitations on people who have restrictions that stop them from going to colleges and universities. They can really use online learning, which gives them the chance to obtain high level education in
can take the opportunity to communicate with their teacher through email or forums, they do not get the chance to develop the public speaking and socialization techniques that may be needed in the working world. In addition, the sense of freedom that
assignment is due, nor are they going to remind the person that they have not turned an assignment in. They will also not force the material onto the student, so it is up to the student to learn the material on their own without being pushed by the instructor. This is a huge problem for many students who are not self-motivated. Because of this, many people fail online classes. We can also count computer problems or an unreliable Internet connection as disadvantages of online learning.
cost are all benefits of online education that encourage students to enroll. However, while students of online courses
comes with distance education can be a dangerous thing if the student cannot handle procrastination. The professor is not going to remind the student that an
Ultimately, each student’s goals, priorities, and preferred learning style play important roles to choose between correspondence learning and traditional learning.
Culture
4 last-gen
video games to
Help Stave Off Boredom Ghost Trick Capcom
Colin Slark Team Member
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ideo game collecting can be an expensive hobby. New games have gotten more expensive since the advent of the current generation of consoles, and the consoles themselves are a significant investment. If you are unable to afford the entry cost for next-gen gaming, you might still be looking for games to play on your trusty Playstation 3, Xbox 360, or Nintendo Wii. Here are 4 last-gen games to help stave off boredom. Catherine (Playstation 3/Xbox 360): From the studio that brought the world the much beloved Persona role-playing series comes an interesting meditation on commitment and relationships. Vincent is a man in a stagnant long-term relationship with his girlfriend Katherine. One day he gets drunk and appears to have slept with a younger woman named Catherine. After this happens, Vincent starts having nightmares every night where he is forced to navigate labyrinths and the player controls him as he ascends a seemingly unending tower of bricks. Unusual for a platformer is the ability to affect the game’s story at the end of levels. Vincent finally arrives in a confession booth and is asked questions about his views on relationships. Depending on how the player answers, you can end up with one of nine different endings which when combined with varying difficulty levels. Bonus levels also give the game a lot of replay value. Little King’s Story (Nintendo Wii): The real-time strategy genre is not one that lends itself well to console gaming. RTS games rely on using the mouse to quickly select units and assign them tasks. On consoles, using your controller’s sticks to try and select units is painful. However, with its motion sensing remote, the Wii could roughly imitate mouse movement. This allowed Little King’s Story to not only be competent, but fun. As a young king who has just inherited a crown from his father, you are tasked with assembling and leading an army in order to defend
the kingdom and expand your territory. The art style is charming and the gameplay is fun. If you like any of the Pikmin games or even The Wonderful 101, you’ll like Little King’s Story. Vanquish (Playstation 3/Xbox 360): If you are looking for a game with complex characters and snappy dialogue, you should probably look elsewhere. Vanquish is the equivalent of a popcorn movie, paper thin narratively, but a spectacle when it comes to gameplay. In the future, there is a war between the United States and Space Russians over a space station. The Americans send a squad of elite troops to repel the Russian invasion, which includes Sam Gideon, a soldier with an experimental robot suit. You control Sam as you use a variety of futuristic guns as well as rocket boots to fly around while destroying robots in bullet time. The game controls perfectly, and while it is fairly short, it is a thrill ride from start to finish. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (Nintendo DS): From the creator of the fantastic Ace Attorney video games comes a unique puzzle game. Sissel is a ghost who suddenly comes to consciousness when a young detective is murdered near his spirit. Another spirit tells him that he has the ability to jump into the past four minutes before the young woman’s death in order to change events and save her life. He jumps back and is able to possess and manipulate objects to thwart the would-be assassin. Throughout the story, Sissel is placed into situations where someone’s death is imminent and he must manipulate the environment to prevent loss of life. Ghost Trick has surprisingly smooth animations for a handheld game and combines a great soundtrack with a gripping mystery. I don’t know what the availability of these games is, but fortunately Prince George has some pretty good secondhand stores that have large selections of games. If you are looking for something that gets your blood pumping or perhaps something more cerebral, try one of these games.
Culture
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Commitfit
Left: nourition.com Center: greensnchocolate.com Right: mhpstrong.com
Kayla Kilba Team Member
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et’s be honest and agree that we have all at one time or another given in to that little voice inside our heads telling us to eat the cookies, or doughnuts, or whatever the temptation may be. Especially during those midterm weeks, or late nights writing or marking papers, it can be really hard to say no. As a student myself I understand the need to snack while you study and do school work, so how about we skip the freshmen fifteen, and go for some healthier options that trick you into thinking they are treats. Sounds great, right? I hope you enjoy the treats I am about to share with you, but remember portion control always counts, and maybe try drinking a glass of water before indulging as sometimes your body is truly thirsty and you may mistake it for hunger. Chocolate Peppermint Cookies What you’ll need: 1 scoop chocolate protein powder 1/2 cup oat flour 1/4 cup coconut flour 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 3 tsp stevia (sugar substitute) 1 tsp baking powder 1 egg 1 tsp peppermint extract 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce 5 tbsp almond milk 1 tbsp chocolate chips (optional)
Directions: Mix all above ingredients together well, spread into 8-10 cookies on baking sheet (with parchment paper), add a couple of chocolate chips if you would like and press them down on top of each cookie, flattening the cookie out. You may also use cranberries or almonds if you do not wish to use chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for approximately 10 minutes. Yogurt Cheesecake Bowl What you’ll need: 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt 1/2 package of sugar free Jello (raspberry, strawberry) 3 tbsp fat free white chocolate Jello pudding powder 1 tbsp light cream cheese Directions: Blend all the above ingredients together with a spoon, adding the jello last and blend some more. Be sure to let Jello stand in fridge for 3 hours prior to mixing all ingredients. Peanut Butter Balls What you’ll need: 1/2 cup rolled oats (or quick oats etc) 1/2cup of peanut butter (or almond butter etc) 1/8 tsp salt 2 tbsp protein powder of choice (or flour) Stevia drops for sweetener (optional)
Directions: Combine all above ingredients (I use my hands) and mix until well-incorporated. Roll into balls and place evenly on a plate or in a Tupperware container, keep refrigerated. Feel free to add some chocolate chips, crushed almonds, cranberries, unsweetened coconut, etc. Try not to eat them all at once, because they are that good! Enjoy! Banana Muffins What you’ll need: 2 and 1/2 cups oats 1 cup plain greek yogurt 2 eggs 1/4 cup honey for taste (or use stevia drops) 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 2 bananas Chocolate chips (optional) ( or cranberries, raisins, etc) Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray, cover with coconut oil, or line with foil liners. Place all ingredients in a blender, adding the oats a cup at a time, until smooth. Divide the batter into the muffin tins, bake for 15-20 mins, or until toothpick comes out clean. Keep an eye on them as all ovens are different, baking time may be a bit less. Enjoy! I hope you find these treats helpful with your cravings in times of need. They are not only great as a treat, but also a snack, as long as you remember portion control! They will satisfy both your waistline and your taste buds-best of both worlds! Until next time, stay humble, stay hungry!
The
Feature
Faculty Association rally fills Winter Garden
If you have questions about what might happen during a potential strike, or if you want to support your instructors, the UNBC FA is encouraging students to make their voices heard to the administration. If you have a desire to watch the rally or find out more information from the Faculty Association, it can be found at unbcfa. ca or their Twitter account @UNBCFA. In addition, Wendel Schwab, an undergraduate student representative in the UNBC Senate, would like to hear from students to better be able to ask questions on behalf of the student body and better articulate student opinions about the contract negotiation to his fellow members of the Senate. He can be contacted at schwabw@unbc.ca.
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Should negotiations break down, the Faculty Association could conceivably strike with 72-hours notice before Reading Break, but the UNBC FA has promised that they will not picket or protest during the upcoming Canada Winter Games.
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Should the Faculty Association go on strike, they feel like they can avoid one of the big problems the BC Teachers Federation encountered during their strike last year. The BCTF’s strike fund quickly dried up which put financial strain on some of their members
during the long job action. However, Dr. Holler says that should UNBC instructors go on strike, they have a 23 million dollar national strike fund they can draw from rather than the UNBC FA’s own coffers.
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It was reported when the FA’s strike vote results were announced that while 84.8% of voters were in favour of a strike mandate, only 67% of eligible voters had cast votes. Dr. Holler was not worried about the voter turnout, saying that: “You have to remember that the UNBC Faculty Association represents both part-time and full-time faculty members, and clinical instructors, so if you look at our full-time compliment, I think it was 91% of them [that] voted. It’s normal for us not to get very many of the part-timers voting because they just don’t see it as their issue or they feel that they shouldn’t participate in the vote so we had a much lower participation rate from out part-timers than our full-timers.”
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After the rally, I had an opportunity to ask Dr. Holler a few questions about the ongoing contract negotiations and the recent strike vote. When asked if the strike vote had created any movement at the bargaining table, she replied: “I think what we would say is that at the table you can tell that a strike vote has been taken. The administration’s bargaining team definitely noticed.
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While issues like how the university deals with program redundancies are of concern to the FA, the majority of time was spent talking about the wage gap between UNBC instructors and their colleagues at Canadian institutions of similar size. According to the FA, the approximate 25% difference in salary is not just harmful to instructors, but to the university as a whole. Lower wages, the FA stressed, will not only alienate current staff, but also prevent UNBC from attracting new talent, which would in turn lower the quality of education at UNBC and jeopardize the university’s status as one of the top small universities in Canada. Dr. Kevin Hutchings, professor in the English department, told the
When it came time for the FA to answer questions, most queries addressed the elephant in the room: the potential strike. At the end of January, the FA voted 84.8% in favour of a strike mandate and they have 90 days to initiate a strike, but have yet to do so. People wanted to know: will the strike prevent me from graduating? Will the semester be extended? Will we be reimbursed for the semester if classes are cancelled? There was no answer for many of these questions, as the strike is still hypothetical and striking would be uncharted territory for UNBC’s instructors. For example, instructors do not know if they would be locked out by university administration should they strike. All they could do was point to examples from similar strikes and express that they would rather not strike except as a last resort.
The problem is, the progress we’ve made is so slow compared to the number of days we’ve spent in mediation and the number of hours we’ve spent in negotiations since May 2014 that we’re really looking for more. We’re looking to get this thing done in a reasonable amount of time and we’re just not at that point yet so the strike vote hasn’t had that much of an impact.”
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cutely aware of the situation regarding the contract negotiations between UNBC administration and the Faculty Association, a large crowd gathered in the Winter Garden last Wednesday to hear the instructors’ side of the story. A healthy contingent of instructors was surrounded on all sides by students, other university staff, and reporters. Led by UNBC FA president Dr. Jacqueline Holler, several members of the Faculty Association spoke passionately about what they hope to get out of negotiations and why they are motivated to achieve their goals.
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crowd that had he known that the situation at UNBC would become so dire, he might have taken a position he had been offered at an American institution a few years previously.
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Colin Slark Team Member
Mandate
Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act
Andrew Kenway Team Member
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assed in June, Bill C-24, which allows the Canadian government to deport suspects of terrorism who have dual citizenship, shows a startling change in Canada's current political attitudes to immigration. Our willingness to accept immigrants into our country could be seen as one of our country's defining features, and arguably is part of why Canada even functions as it does. Bill C-24 is meant to make Canadian citizenship harder to get, but also gives government the power to remove dual citizenship status from anybody convicted of terrorism, treason, or spying abroad. This bill is called the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act. The title is in keeping with the North American trend of dressing up our least appealing legislation with conspicuously positive names. They often sound as though as the people who wrote them were on the defensive as soon as they started, and in this case, understandably so. During the house debate, Bill C-24 was criticized, not only for its blatant violation of unalienable rights, but for wasting resources, as the bill was guaranteed to end up before the supreme court. At that time, Pat Toome of the NDP spoke his mind on Immigration Minister Chris Alexander's proposed bill, "I
cannot understand why government always expects the supreme court to fix its mistakes. The government is abusing the legal system, and I find it very discouraging that the minister has introduced a bill as badly written as Bill-C24." Hardly a glowing review. It is normal to see opponents disagree with a bill's principles, but another entirely to question its very legibility. Toome’s issues come with many of the poorly defined powers that have been granted in the bill. According to Steven Meuren's article in Canadian Immigrant, "the bill is certain to create a second class of citizens who will have to fear travelling and working abroad." Meuren goes on to explain that being born in Canada no longer necessarily gains one citizenship, "although specifics have yet to be provided." Either way, the message is clear that those with dual citizenships face a different set of challenges now in this country. Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said that the bill is intended to fight fraud. This is an arguably negligible issue in Canada, or so one might infer from CBC's article on the supposed citizenship fraud epidemic in 2003. Under the old Immigration Minister, the CBC reported, "of the 3000 suspected fraudsters, only 286 have been actually found by the department and given notice their citizenship is on the line." Of these, twelve lost their citizenship for reasons related
to the fraud investigation. So if fraud isn't actually that much of an issue, then the other purpose is to streamline the process; a great goal to be sure. If speeding up the process requires removing the right to a trial and an appeal--and it does--many Canadians and potential Canadians might prefer to wait. This new bill is a dramatic tangent from the permissive policy of the past. It has a variety of devastating consequences. These are examined in the Toronto Star's highlights of the bill, which include: lengthening the delay until one can get citizenship, expanding the age range where knowledge and language tests are required--as early as 16, now--triples application fees, extends the length of time one has to live in Canada, requires that the applicant must somehow prove intent to stay in Canada, and more. This bill, of course, was placed conveniently before the new Conservative's proposed Bill C-50. According to Canadians.org's media release, "the purpose of the bill is to prevent many Canadians living overseas from voting, despite a recent court decision upholding their right to do so". With the upcoming election, it might be hard for some not to view these political moves as partisan power-grabs. If the Conservative Party's goal was to strengthen Canadian citizenship, why do they seem so invested in stopping Canadians from voting?
News
As for the idea of strengthening Canadian citizenship, it reminds one of the 1964 Bond film, Goldfinger. In it, the villain reveals his dastardly plan to make his gold more valuable by breaking into Fort Knox and irradiating America's entire supply. It's a simple matter of supply and demand, expressed in an almost cartoonish act of evil. If we're to assume that this isn't a partisan push to deny voting rights to people who generally prefer not to vote conservative, then strengthening Canadian citizenship must be the point. If it's the goal, then I think most sane Canadians would rather improve the value of our citizenship through means that don't resemble those of Bond villains. The attempt to increase the value of Canadian Citizenship by denying to people who--before this bill was passed--would have been gladly welcomed as Canadian citizens seems misguided at best. If the point of this bill isn't to stop fraud, which does not seem to be a major issue, then it is either happening to speed up the process, or to "strengthen Canadian citizenship." Unfortunately, the bill aims to do this by making it a rare commodity. A simple supply and demand scenario seems entirely too simple an approach to define our Canadian citizens, and the people who do, will, and have been a part of this great nation.
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News
Crossing the Floor
James Mangan Team Member
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ast December, the political balance in Alberta shifted greatly. Almost the entirety of the Wildrose party crossed the floor and joined the Progressive Conservatives of Alberta. This sparked outrage among Wildrose supporters throughout the province. On February 9, Ontario Conservative MP Eve Adams crossed over to the Liberal Party. Commentators across Canada have begun weighing whether such action can be considered democratic. Alberta Premier and PC leader Jim Prentice welcomed nine Wildrose MLA’s to his party, including (now former) Wildrose leader Danielle Smith. Although both parties are conservative, the Wildrose party tends to represent the mindset of the Reform movement that swept throughout western Canada during the 1990s. The PC party, on the other hand, tends to attract the votes of comparatively moderate conservatives. Despite their differences, the Wildrose party expressed their intentions through their former leader as “…a unification of conservatives” in Alberta. This change has increased the number of seats in Alberta’s Legislative Assembly to 72, well above the required number to
form a majority government. This has split the role of Official Opposition between the Wildrose party and the Liberal party, with each party constituting five seats. Outraged Wildrose supporters believe that this “unification” is politically traitorous, since they voted for their representatives out of support for the Wildrose party. Wildrose supporters voted for their representatives in order to promote a specific policy agenda for Alberta. Despite this sentiment, the elected representatives who crossed the floor remain tasked with the obligation to promote the values and interests of their constituency. This scenario has resulted in two questions with national ramifications: who are Canadians voting for, their representatives or their parties? and do these elected representatives have the liberty to switch political parties? Before tackling this question, Canadian democracy must briefly be put into context. In the United States, an elected representative is considered to have a more direct responsibility to his community than his Canadian counterparts. However, Americans vote for multiple representatives. These politicians represent Americans by region and by population. During federal elections, Americans also vote for their
Commander-In-Chief. Canadians only have a single vote in federal elections and a single vote in provincial elections. In only one vote, Canadians are asked to sum up their values, interests, principles, and match them not only to a representative of their choice, but also the party in which the representative belongs. Despite this heaviness, there is no sanctity of the elected representative in Canada. After elections, it is common practice for elected representatives to remove themselves in order to provide a constituency for a highranking party member, such as a cabinet minister or party leader, who may not have won in their home constituency. This requires a by-election, but constituents are robbed of the representative they originally supported. The tradeoff, however, is a closer connection to the party’s leadership. On the other hand, a vocal party member, who may go to extreme lengths to represent his or her constituency, could be expelled from their party. In such a circumstance, the constituents retain their elected representative, but are robbed of their electorate’s association with the specific party they supported. An independent representative has the luxury to support whichever legislation he so chooses, but lacks any political leverage that
accompanies association with a party. Canadians do not concern themselves with these implied breaches of democracy. This is because they recognize that such issues of representation are not permanent, since the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees an election at most every five years. If a constituency feels that an elected representative or a political party has betrayed their interests or challenged their democratic rights, they have the option to vote them out in the next election. This is fundamentally how Canadians regulate their politicians. Canadians expect their representatives to act in their best interests, and as a result elected representatives are given a certain amount of liberty to cooperate with their associated parties. This liberty, however, includes the ability to change said political parties. Returning to the Albertan example, the Wildrose party has every right to “cross the floor” and join the Progressive Conservatives. This is not a challenge to Canadian democracy, since they do so recognizing that their constituents will be voting within the next few years. Only time will tell how and if Canadians will react to the the crossings in Alberta and Ontario.
News 11
Supreme Court lifts ban on doctor-assisted suicide Isabelle Legault Production Coordinator
O
n Friday, February 6, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously voted towards the eradication of the ban on doctor-assisted suicides, reversing a 21-year-old ruling. In this historical shift, persons suffering from illness, disease, and/or disability resulting in irremediable physical or psychological pain can now legally be given assistance by a physician in committing suicide.
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TO REGISTER FOR A CLASS OR BOOK A SESSION: CHELSEA GIBSON 250.301.8780 CHELSEA@WILDROSEWELLNESS.NET FA C E B O O K . C O M / W I L D R O S E W E L L N E S S
The Court justified this ruling as a step toward “protecting the vulnerable”, asserting that the original ban deprived patients of the right to life, liberty, and security under the Charter. According to the Supreme Court, physician-assisted suicides are limited to helping “a competent adult person who clearly consents to the termination of life and has a grievous and irremediable medical condition, including an illness, disease or disability, that causes enduring suffering that is intolerable to the individual in the circumstances of his or her condition.” While this ruling opens up the limits on physician-assisted suicide, the general
illegality of aided and abetted suicide is still in effect. However, guidelines are being called for following this decision. The Supreme Court has suspended Friday’s ruling for 12 months in the hope that federal and provincial government might instill structured legislative guidelines on the rules and process of physician-assisted suicide. Beyond listing the criteria for eligibility in patients, the Court did not impose any further regulations on this issue. The Conservative government, having previously declared themselves opposed to re-opening the subject of doctorassisted suicide, are seeking to buy time. Friday’s decision is set to change the political focus of this year’s Parliament, and, possibly, upcoming elections. Although the 9-0 vote is a landmark in Canadian history, the discussion is far from over. With the general growth in population and number of elderly expected to increase further in years to come, Parliament will have to address the needs and desires of the many individuals who may come to qualify for physician-assisted suicide under this ruling from the Supreme Court of Canada.
Gamespot
Sports
A football moron watches the Super Bowl Colin Slark Team Member
I
am an American football moron. I have never watched an NFL game from start to finish. I do watch Canadian football occasionally, but I don’t fully understand its rules, let alone its southern cousin’s. I do not live in a vacuum; I have heard the names Tom Brady and Marshawn Lynch, but I have not seen them in action except for the occasional clip from a highlight package. I lack context for the heroic nature of their exploits. To remedy this, I decided to jump into the deep end and watch Super Bowl 49. I have no attachment to either team so I was just hoping for a good game. I was almost annoyed at the pre-game American patriotism grand tour. I almost started to think that singing not one, but two national anthems was a bit excessive. However, I reminded myself that this was America’s party and I was merely crashing it.
The game then got started, and immediately I got tired of the commentating. “Did you know that Seahawks wide receiver Chris Matthews used to work at a Foot Locker?” NBC’s play-by-play team asked. Well, I did not know that until the last two times you guys told me. Football seems to have the greatest amount of measurable statistics of any sport I have ever watched, which made for endless and exceedingly dull listening. Fortunately, the visuals were able to compensate for the slow torture inflicted by the on air talent. As an introduction to the sport, Super Bowl 49 was sublime. Both teams’ offense and defense had a chance to shine in the 60 minutes of action. You could tell that both teams deserved to be in the championship game. The field was like a seesaw, with the lead swinging back and forth. Modern gladiators attacked each other with 200 pounds of pure muscle as they attempted to smash their opposition into oblivion. Depending on your feeling,
the game also provided some excellent sideshow entertainment. I don’t know what prompts a grown man to pantomime the act of pooping a football in response to a touchdown, but that sure happened. For fans of schadenfreude, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson’s last-minute interception produced some astounding looks of abject terror as any thoughts of victory were brutally expunged from the mind of Seahawks players and fans. I even felt like the NFL did their best to accommodate me personally. I am much more comfortable watching hockey. As if to meet me halfway, the Seahawks and Patriots had a brutal line brawl in the last minute that eliminated the aura of sportsmanship that had previously existed during the contest. It was awful, brutal, and I could not keep my eyes off it. The Super Bowl’s biggest moment in terms of pure entertainment value had to be the kaleidoscopic drug-trip of a halftime
show by Katy Perry. It featured everything I never knew I wanted from an in game performance: there was a giant mechanical lion, human chess dancing atop MC Escherlike backgrounds, anthropomorphic beach scenery, a flying NBC star from the More You Know PSAs, and a lackadaisical dancing shark that has since taken the Internet by storm. The halftime show also seems to have gone without controversy, unlike last year’s Red Hot Chili Peppers involving pre-recorded instrumentals, or even the infamous Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction. Although I have to say that “I Kissed A Girl” loses its supposed shock value when sung by Lenny Kravitz. I do not know if I will start watching NFL games regularly after this. However, with the right teams, I believe that I could have fun being a spectator. I can say that I will almost certainly watch the next Super Bowl.
Sports 13
Tom Brady: the all-time best NFL Quarterback? Brady Stark Team Member
T
he New England Patriots captured their 4th Super Bowl in the last 14 years with a 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Tom Brady managed to smash a couple of records in the game as well. Not only does Brady now have the record for most completions in a Super Bowl game, but now has the distinctions of having thrown the most touchdowns, and tying Joe Montana for the most MVP trophies in the championship game as well. Despite all these accomplishments and the records that he has broken over his career, he is still not seen as the best of all-time. The two other candidates for this distinction are Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers and Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos. We are going to break down the careers of these three living legends to determine who is truly an NFL football god. Peyton Manning There are going to be Bronco and Colts fans who are going to be screaming in outrage that Peyton gets the bronze medal position in this debate, but actions have spoken louder than words in his 17+ year career. Manning holds records for most yards (69, 693), most touchdown passes (530), and most TD’s in a single season (55), just to name a few. His QB rating of 97.0 is a regular season mark that may never be touched, even by the likes of Brady. He has captured the NFL’s greatest prize winning the Superbowl in 2007 when he was a member of the Indianapolis Colts; also being named the bowl MVP. Ironically, the Super Bowl is also where Manning’s legacy falls short. Despite playing on the grandest football stage of them all, critics and media alike will forever criticize his inability to get the job done when it counts the most. Even his little brother Eli has managed double the feat in half the time, winning with the NY
Giants in 2008 and 2012. Manning managed to get to the Super Bowl last year, only to get embarrassed by a sophomore QB and the Legion of Boom. For his lack of postseason success, Manning will forever be remembered as the greatest regular season QB, but only the third best of all-time. Joe Montana Joe Montana will forever be the greatest player to dawn the red, white, and gold jersey of the San Francisco 49ers. During his career, spanning from 1979-1994, Montana had no equal at the QB position. He threw for over 34,000 yards and amassed one of the best career ratings of all-time (92.3). Although Montana’s stats are below Mannings, he is still ranked higher in my books. The proof is in the post-season. Where Manning failed most of the time, Montana was at his very best. Not only did Joe Montana get to more Super Bowls than Manning (4-1), incredibly, Montana won every single championship game he was in. Montana still holds many post-season records that Tom Brady hasn’t broken and might never break. Going 4-0 in the biggest game in football and capturing the MVP award three of those four times catapults him into second on the all-time list. Tom Brady: Is there anything Tom Brady can’t do when it comes to the NFL? Originally taken in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL entry draft, Brady will forever be known as the greatest draft choice in the history of sports.
Add his Super Bowl 2015 records to his 6 AFC Championships and the numerous records that are under his name, it shouldn’t be a doubt in anyone’s mind that he is the best. Brady also gets the job done in the regular season with a 95 QB rating with a revolving door of receivers that Brady needs to get within a very short period of time. Because of the salary cap that is in place in the NFL, top end receivers are hard to keep. Joe Montana had the luxury of being able to connect with his core of receivers for the majority of his stint with the 49ers, thus making life a little easier. Brady still
has a couple more years to catch and overtake a lot of the regular season records held by Peyton Manning and if he keeps working under the watchful eye of father figure Bill Bellichick, there is no reason why he can’t grab those records, as well as another Super Bowl ring. Tom Brady is the best of all-time because he can get the job done at all times in the NFL season regardless of the pressure.
14
Sports
Canada Winter Games T
he Winter Games are almost here, so to get us excited here are a few lesser known sports to look forward to in the coming weeks. Slopestyle Snowboarding: Fresh off its inaugural debut at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Slopestyle snowboarding is rapidly becoming a popular winter sport. Canada is at the forefront of this growth, since Canada Winter Games Alumni Mark McMorris captured bronze in the Olympics, and gold at the Winter X Games. The slopestyle competition is a series of small jumps, big jumps, and rails that are spread throughout the course to challenge the skill and creativity of the competitors. Anyone who ends up watching this nerve-racking event will have a brand new appreciation for those who strap themselves on a board and attempt to fly. Now it’s up to a fresh new crop of snowboarders to follow in the footsteps of McMorris and carve their way to victory. Gymnastics Trampoline: Making its debut at this year’s Canada Winter Games, trampoline is one of the more exciting and popular sports to hit Prince George this year. One of the reason that trampoline has taken off is that it has a strong connection to people’s childhood of jumping on their own or someone else’s trampoline in the backyard. Now, take that warm fuzzy feeling and crank it up about a thousand notches as these athletes will attempt to do somersaults and twist in the air that might make to spectators eyes pop out of their heads, all the while landing with pinpoint accuracy. Judges will use a 10 point system to measure skill, creativity, and landings to see who goes home with the gold. Archery:
Archery is a sport of extreme concentration and pinpoint accuracy as they try to hit a target the size of a vinyl record at a distance of 20 yards. The competitors can use an array of different arrows as well as have the chance to compete in team events. Archery has been in the Canada Games since 1978, but has only been a part of the winter games since 2003 as an indoor game in order to fill out the official sports in the winter. Those who decide they want to take in archery will see a lot of pointy objects flying in the blink of an eye, as Prince George gets to see who is the best in Canada at a sport and a way of life that has been around even longer than our great nation. Wheelchair Basketball: You won’t see Lebron James-style dunks, or Kyle Lowry draining it from beyond the arc, but that does not mean that the basketball that you will be witnessing at this year’s Games is any less awesome. A sport gaining new heights due to the release of a documentary feature, Murderball, the sheer intensity rivals any other in the games. The rules, balls, and hoops are the same as they are in regular basketball, but the amount of skill that it takes to get points in this game is arguably much higher. Imagine taking a normal shot at the twopoint line while standing on two feet. That’s no easy task. Now, imagine that you have to sit in a chair and take the same shot. Getting a little harder, isn’t it? Now, imagine doing all that with another player bashing into you with 50lbs of metal. This game is not for the faint of heart; the concentration and upper body strength makes wheelchair basketball a must-see when they roll into Duchess Park and try to capture gold. Get excited for the Canada Winter Games, coming right here to Prince George starting next week!
Mark McMorris competing in slopestyle snowboarding, Sochi 2014 canada.com
Brady Stark Team Member
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