MARCH 2021
PREGNANT IN A PANDEMIC Nothing changed until everything changed
THE APOLLO 11 CONSPIRACY
The young boy and the lunar landing lunacy
THE SIDEONE PHOTO ESSAY
Nepal – Spectacular views and a scary bus ride
COVID AND ISOLATION Beating the other epidemic
SENSIBLE DOLLARS
Investing that can bring you to tiers
IN THIS ISSUE... WELCOME TO SIDEONE. PG.03
An introduction and an explanation.
PREGNANT IN A PANDEMIC. PG.04
It didn’t change anything until it changed everything.
THE SIDEONE PROFILE. PG.36
Meet Siila Watt-Cloutier, Nobel prize nominee and generally fascinating person.
SENSIBLE DOLLARS. PG.40
A plan that will bring you to tiers.
COVID AND ISOLATION. PG.08 The other epidemic.
COMING UP. PG.44
A sampling of next month’s stories.
A MILLENNIAL’S POV. PG.12
A growing addiction to F1 racing – really!
ONLINE EDUCATION. PG.16
Cats, dogs and 30 kids on a screen.
THE PHOTO ESSAY. PG.20
Nepal – Spectacular views and a scary bus ride.
NEW MUSIC FROM NEW PLACES. PG.25 Hope, happiness and positive vibes.
CONSPIRACY’S GREATEST HITS. PG.30
Editor and publisher: Kevin Gilligan Contact Email: sideone@gilligangroup.net Mail: PO Box 43503 Leaside Toronto, ON M4G 3B0 Phone: 416-489-9257
The young boy and the lunar landing hoax.
SideOne Magazine is published monthly online @ www.sideonemagazine.ca
NOT EVERYONE KNOWS THIS… PG.33
SideOne Magazine is a division of The Gilligan Group Inc.
The world’s first bus services and other facts that may enthrall you.
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FOR THE GENERATION THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING.
SIDEONE MARCH 2021
WELCOME TO ISSUE #7 FOR THE GENERATION THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING. Kevin Gilligan is the editor and publisher of SideOne Magazine. After years in marketing and advertising, he decided to do something he truly loves.
Welcome to the March edition of SideOne. Spring is arriving in various forms across the country and hope of better times is returning. I also hope that if you are finding SideOne for the first time, or are a returning reader, that you’ll find this month’s edition of interest. In it, you’ll find stories from the perspective of writers who have personal experience with the topics they’re writing about. I think that gives us as readers insights that we wouldn’t find otherwise. As stated in previous issues, I started SideOne with a simple goal – create a magazine with stories of particular interest to our generation. The generation that remembers Sides One and Two and even a Side A and Side B. You know, the generation that often takes heat for the ills of today but not nearly enough credit for the positive changes we made as we pushed away from the restrictive norms of a postwar society. Here are some highlights from this month’s SideOne.
PREGNANT IN A PANDEMIC
Having a first child can be a scary experience despite the anticipation and joy of a new arrival. Add a growing pandemic into the mix and a somewhat predictable process becomes a journey into the unknown.
COVID AND ISOLATION
There’s another epidemic happening right now and that’s the epidemic of isolation. The number of people living alone has been growing significantly for years. Take away the ability for people to interact in public and there’s a problem. Some thoughts on how to manage.
DID WE REALLY LAND ON THE MOON?
Another look into conspiracies past as our writer challenges the beliefs of a youngster at a science fair who was a lot like himself at that age.
A MILLENIAL’S POV
A tale of F1 racing and a growing addiction to a newfound sport. This is a regular feature that tries to bridge the divide between generations by providing a point of view that might not be as different as expected.
NEW MUSIC FROM NEW PLACES
Perk up your spring with some new music to add to your playlist. This month, we’ll introduce you to four artists from pop, folk, reggaeton and soul/jazz.
DID YOU EVER WONDER…
Did you ever wonder what happened on March 18, 1662? Well, you might be surprised by what happened then and on other days of the month of March. That date and others hold many surprises as you’ll find in the latest edition of Not Everyone Knows This… We hope you enjoy these and all the other stories in this month’s SideOne. If you’d like to share your thoughts on anything you see in the magazine, please join us on our Facebook page. And again, the answer to the question of “Why SideOne?”. Because that’s where the hits were and that’s what we want to be.
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PREGNANT IN A PANDEMIC
By Alyssa Charles Gilligan Alyssa Charles Gilligan works in marketing for a major financial institution and is currently on maternity leave.
Covid didn’t change anything until it changed everything I knew I was pregnant before I took a pregnancy test. There were a few telltale signs that tipped me off: Falling asleep on the couch at 8 p.m. A hypersensitivity to scents I normally enjoyed – the smell of my morning coffee was now repulsive. Crying at every heartfelt moment in a TV show or commercial. And, I was over a week late. When I finally decided to take a test to confirm what I already knew to be true, the same question kept replaying in my mind. Am I really ready to be someone’s mom? The three minutes spent waiting to see if two little pink lines would appear on the test felt like an eternity, but when they did, my husband and I were so thrilled that any feelings of self-doubt quickly faded away. In the midst of basking in this happy news, we were being bombarded with coronavirus headlines daily. I was so happy about being pregnant that I kind of ignored the increased levels of panic happening in the world around me. I was in my own little mommyto-be world, looking up baby names and researching
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Covid was forcing me to forfeit. During my solo appointment, I asked the ultrasound technician not to reveal the gender, but rather to write it down on a piece of paper so my husband and I could find out together once I got home. We were over the moon to read “girl” written on that folded sheet of paper. As happy as I was, something about that moment just felt incomplete. As a few weeks went by, I began to hear more and more stories of women giving birth without a support person present due to Covid-19 safety regulations, I began to worry. What if my husband
In the midst of basking in this happy news, we were being bombarded with coronavirus headlines daily. the latest newborn must-haves, to really notice that a pandemic was running rampant. The first case of Covid-19 had just been identified in Canada, but like the rest of the world, I had no idea how severe the virus would be or how much it would impact my life in the months that followed.
got worse? What if I had to deliver in a room of masked strangers?
A HEIGHTENED SENSE OF ANXIETY My pregnancy hormones went into overdrive. Over the next few days I felt a heightened sense of anxiety. As if growing a human wasn’t enough to worry about, the thought of my husband not being by my side in the delivery room was definitely weighing heavily on my mind. Luckily, a quick phone call to the hospital alleviated this worry. My husband was allowed in the delivery room and to stay with me overnight but once in the hospital, he couldn’t leave until I was
PATIENTS ONLY – NO HUSBANDS ALLOWED
discharged with the baby. No other visitors were
By the end of February, my husband Shawn and I
permitted. Just as I began to feel reassured that
had already been to two ultrasound appointments
things were getting better, they started to get worse.
to see our baby. So far, Covid-19 hadn’t changed anything for us and I couldn’t think of a reason why it would, until I called to book my Week-20 ultrasound. After giving me my appointment date, the receptionist said, “I’m sorry, but, your husband isn’t allowed into the clinic due to Covid-19 safety precautions. Patients only.”
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wasn’t allowed in the delivery room? What if things
Masks were now mandatory, making breathing with a growing belly just a little more challenging. As I got closer to my due date, the number of Covid cases continued to rise. Provincial restrictions put limitations on social gatherings, which meant a baby shower with friends and family attending in person wouldn’t be possible. We were disappointed, but
I could already feel the tears welling up in my eyes
we wanted to keep everyone safe, so we skipped
before ending the call. This was when we were
it. Maternity photos? Skipped those, too. I was just
supposed to find out our baby’s gender. This was
so scared of getting sick, I isolated myself from
a special moment we were supposed to share,
everyone outside of our small social bubble.
together. And now, this was a part of my pregnancy
At times, my fear felt paralyzing and I worried
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postpartum depression would be inevitable if things continued this way.
I knew that for the duration of our hospital stay, every interaction would be tainted by the fear of catching or spreading the virus. That day in September, when my daughter was born, everyone in the hospital seemed to be functioning on auto-pilot. Entering the maternity ward, we were greeted with masked faces and Covid screening questions instead of welcoming smiles filled with excitement that a little baby was on the way. From that moment on, I knew that for the duration of our hospital stay, every interaction would be tainted by the fear of catching or spreading the virus.
NEEDED GOOGLE TO SEE DOCTOR’S FACE We were quickly triaged from one room to another, and within an hour of being admitted, I was given an epidural and was able to rest comfortably. Masked nurses and doctors trickled in and out of the room to check my vitals and assess my progression over the next few hours, sanitizing their hands and changing into a new mask and gown each time they entered. I never saw anyone’s face without a mask, not even my obstetrician. I had actually never seen her face until I Googled her. Although it isn’t how I pictured my first pregnancy, having a baby during a pandemic hasn’t been all bad. Over the past 11 months, my husband has been working from home – something he wouldn’t have been able to do pre-pandemic. From midday snuggles and smiles, to seeing our daughter roll over for the first time and changing poopy diapers, he’s been able to share these sweet (and sometimes
While we may not be going on playdates or joining
messy) moments with us – moments he would have
any “mommy and me” classes anytime soon, we are
missed if he wasn’t able to work from home.
safe and healthy and for that, we are grateful.
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COVID AND ISOLATION
BEATING THE OTHER EPIDEMIC By Dr. Robbie Babins-Wagner Dr. Robbie Babins-Wagner is CEO of the Calgary Counselling Centre. She is also an Adjunct Professor and Sessional Instructor in the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary. One evening about a year ago, as a friend was
is completely immune from the mental health
leaving my house after sharing a glass of wine, I
effects of isolation and far too many people in our
instinctively gave her a hug at the front door. She
communities are devastated by it.
laughed as she said: “I don’t think you’re supposed to do that,” and I dropped my arms immediately, the brand new reality of pandemic social protocols landing on me like an anvil. It was mid-March. Thinking back, it feels like it’s been a decade. Covid-19 cases were climbing and public health measures were coming in across Canada fast and furious. Of course, we are all too
IMPACT FELT BY ALL Isolation affects young and old. Introverts and extroverts. Medically vulnerable people. Those who live alone. People trying to date. The unemployed. Teenagers in school. People who Zoom and those who don’t. Happy marriages. Unhappy ones. Isolation cuts across every demographic.
familiar with these measures now: Wear a mask.
Isolation can result in increasing vulnerability to
Stay two metres apart from each other. Don’t go out
severe mental health issues, including stress, anxiety
unless you have to. Stick to your household cohort.
and depression. Isolation debilitates. It can even kill.
Preventing aerosols from spreading in an effort to reduce community transmission of the coronavirus is causing an epidemic of isolation. No one
We all need social contact; we all need contact with others no matter what our age and stage of life. As the pandemic grinds along, day after Groundhog
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Thinking back, it feels like it’s been a decade.
community, find out if they offer social activities or
Day, and the novelty of Friday night Zoom calls with
you may discover someone you know is already a
your old high school or other friends has fallen away, it’s even more important to find meaningful ways to connect with people.
TAKE ACTION Pick up the phone. Yes, schedule yet another Zoom call. Reach out to someone who is alone. See if they need help with something, anything: picking up groceries, shoveling snow from the sidewalk. Even if their fridge is full and the walks are clear, drop off a note, a bag of candy, some little token to brighten their day. That small act of giving will make you feel better too. Doing something for someone else is a doubleheader: it reduces their isolation and yours.
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If you are connected to a religious or spiritual services online. This will connect you to a group and part of it, making an even more natural connection.
Reach out to someone who is alone. See if they need help with something, anything: picking up groceries, shoveling snow from the sidewalk. If you’ve thought about volunteering but have never been able to find the time, explore the opportunities now. There are plenty of volunteer roles you can do from your home. Charities and non-profits
As the vaccines for, and variants of, the virus race
across the country have found ways to engage and
toward the finish line of our mandatory isolation, it’s
support volunteers remotely. Reach out to the local
time to double down on creating social interactions.
volunteer centre and explore what you could do to
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We’ve come so far. We’re almost there. But for many, the isolation is already too much. For many, the end is not in sight.
this time of seemingly endless isolation.
help your community, and yourself.
care of each other, to make contact with people to
WALK A DOG – ANYONE’S DOG
of our own mental health and that of others in our
Even if you’re a cat person, consider dropping by
Spring is just around the corner. Soon we can all spend more time outside, safely spending time with friends, neighbours and colleagues. We’ve come so far. We’re almost there. But for many, the isolation is already too much. For many, the end is not in sight. This is when we all need to take extra special help lessen the feelings of isolation for the good community.
a dog park for a walk. There are countless small
One day, my friend will come over for another glass
socially distanced conversations that happen in dog
of wine. And one day, I will give her a giant bear hug
parks every day. Even a few words about the weather
at the front door. But for now, I’ll just give her a call.
can help foster a much-needed human connection in
Doing something for someone else is a doubleheader: it reduces their isolation and yours.
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A MILLENNIAL’S POV
Netflix and a growing addiction to F1 racing
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By Kimberly Elliot Kimberly Elliot is an associate with a Toronto-based marketing agency.
Sundays in my house are a fun scene. We wake up, grab donuts and coffee, and become a heap of blankets and pillows and crumbs on the living room floor as a Formula 1 race starts up. It’s a blast. The lights go out, the cars scramble for position and our eyes peel for mistakes, collisions and overtakes through Turn One – probably the most exciting turn in the whole race. Eventually the kids get up, pick a favourite driver, race through the kitchen and turn my husband and I into pit crews. It’s a great way to enjoy a morning coffee.
Prior to watching the series, I dismissed any claim of athleticism in racing sports. I may never have found this little slice of joy in my week, if not for what might be the greatest marketing strategy I will ever admit to having influenced me. A couple of years ago, my husband and I had reached what felt like the end of Netflix. You know that feeling when you scroll through endless amounts of content only to find you’ve either watched it or have zero interest in it? Then we came across this docuseries F1: Drive to Survive. It fell into the category of zerointerest. “Next!” I blurted out. My husband ignored me and so we started Season One.
FROM NOWHERE TO SOMEWHERE, FAST Prior to watching the series, I dismissed any claim of athleticism in racing sports. The drivers are just doing what ”us” regular folk do every day – only they’re doing it really, really (turns out – really, really,
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really) fast. The sport was nowhere on my radar for
full-blown race-day fanatic. I research track stats in
ways to spend a Sunday morning. This is the genius
places like Bahrain and Monaco, and look up a list of
found in the Netflix series. I went from an adamant
the hardest F1 corners. I follow up on what drivers
dismissive to avid fan. Now, I’m planning yearly trips
are filling what constructor seats, read up on how
to the Canadian Grand Prix for the whole family.
qualifying works, and mark the preseason testing
I went from an adamant dismissive to avid fan. Now, I’m planning yearly trips to the Canadian Grand Prix for the whole family.
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weekend in my calendar, all in hopes of reigning supreme over the F1 fantasy league I’ve just joined.
FALSE IMPRESSIONS It is an understatement to say that my initial impressions of the sport were very, very wrong. The depth of the technical complexities surrounding the sport’s every aspect from the car and thermal
When we finished the first season of the series, there
efficiency, the driver reduction system (DRS), to
was no second. Suddenly, there was an empty F1-
the operation of the pit lane and its crews, tire
shaped hole in my heart. Thankfully, the upcoming
regulations, tons and tons of other regulations,
season of actual Formula 1 was starting in mere
cornering technique – it feels like a mental exercise
weeks. Cue the genius strategy that drew me in
in physics, engineering, mechanics, aeronautics
and converted a passive docuseries observer to a
(among so many other things) – just to listen to
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the broadcasters. The steering wheel alone has 25 buttons! Becoming a fan has a steep learning curve – one that I feel will last for years to come. One of the things I love most about F1 are the drivers. You know, those guys who I said don’t require any athleticism to simply drive a car. Let me walk that back. F1 drivers may be – no, are – among the most well-conditioned and talented athletes on the planet. The physical requirement for the job is unparalleled. If you want a deep dive on the subject, I recommend Ben Auty’s exhaustive account via Bleacher Report of all the reasons why F1 drivers are some of the best athletes in the world. (It’s old but it’s good – https://bleacherreport.com/articles/30864formula-1-are-f1-drivers-considered-athletes).
GREAT PHYSICAL STRAIN For now, I’ll summarize one part that I think says a lot about the physical strain they endure. During an average race, their bodies withstand terrifyingly high speeds of over 300 km/h and latitudinal/longitudinal g-forces of up to 5g while decelerating, 2g while accelerating and between 4g and 6g while cornering (that is from F1 dictionary.com, not my own general knowledge). Let me put this into perspective. When cornering, if
F1: Drive to Survive a try. See if the marketing
a driver decelerates at a rate of 5g, his helmet and
strategy works on you.
neck support (HANS), weighing around 15 pounds, become five times that weight. He’s then carrying somewhere around 75 pounds upright, into and through the turn, focusing on the million other things he must account for in order to keep himself alive. Not alive in the race, literally alive! I’m not here to try and convert anyone to becoming an F1 fan. I don’t harness nearly enough knowledge of the sport (check back in a few more years) and
COFFEE TIME If you don’t feel compelled to watch the upcoming race season when it starts on March 19, then you are a master of your own domain, so to speak. But if you do, grab some donuts, coffee, and expand your scientific vocabulary, while watching a host of superiour athletes risk their lives for your viewing pleasure.
there are far more qualified people to do that. But
Fan prediction – Charles Leclerc will unseat Lewis
maybe I’ll suggest a little social experiment. If you
Hamilton as the sport’s winningest driver within the
feel you have nothing to watch tonight, give Netflix’s
next 15 years. Stay tuned. Or don’t.
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ONLINE EDUCATION
Cats, dogs and 30 kids on a screen By Elizabeth MacGregor Elizabeth MacGregor is a former educator and a regular contributor to SideOne. The teacher, teaching to a screen, 30 faces watching,
Now, the teacher realizes she is losing the class.
now 26, a child upstairs screaming that the computer
Some students are laughing, some have decided
is down, another that the mute must be on. A literacy
this calls for a break, others are pleading to see the
lesson, just approaching the important part, and
teacher’s dog. The teacher, tired after a night of
Jimmy raises his hand. Oh, yes, the lesson is landing,
preparing a lesson that would work on the school
the important work of a teacher being accomplished,
board’s digital platform, must regain the attention
teaching valuable information to lead these children
of 30 restless kids. Meanwhile, her own children will
forward in their education.
break for lunch soon, while her lunch break will only
Jimmy has been listening and has a question. The teacher’s mind quickly races through the possible ones and the appropriate answers. Interrupting the teacher in the middle of the lesson is not encouraged by some, but this teacher believes in thoughtful discourse, exploration of the marvelous workings of the minds of children. “Yes, Jimmy?” “Do you have a cat?” “I don’t have a cat.” “Do you have a dog?” “Yes, I have a dog.”
overlap with theirs for 10 minutes.
THE ONLINE CLASSROOM – A COMPLICATED PROCESS No elementary or secondary teacher was trained to teach online, or to use the software school boards have mandated. Now, many have been forced to learn how to teach in a multi-student, live environment called synchronous learning, with only the help of colleagues and unions. In Ontario’s spring lockdown, for example, teachers prepared online lessons that students could access at any time of the day. In this wave, that government mandated 225 synchronous minutes for all students from Grades 1 to 12 – despite the vastly different attention spans of say a six-year-old and a
“Can we see the dog?”
17-year-old.
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surprisingly, as not every family can afford individual laptops for their children, and even if boards lend equipment, it takes robust Internet to be able to run a few laptops at a time, with video. If the learning was not synchronous, students could attempt the work later when an adult is home and siblings could share equipment. Online learning is most successful when people choose it. It requires commitment, discipline, and a keen interest in the subject matter. Its success is questionable when both teacher and student have been enrolled without planning and preparation. Students with special education needs have been
Teachers are also reporting that many children never show up online, or do so sporadically. Not surprisingly, as not every family can afford individual laptops for their children. This new arrangement has led to many complications for teachers, parents and students. Teachers have had to purchase laptops to replace inadequate school board-provided hardware. Computer screens were too small to run a class of 30 students – a screen must be fairly large to see that many students.
but suffer without consistent, individual, in-person support. The teacher and the computer screen are often being used as babysitters, with no thought of quality or the strain on both teacher and child. It’s wonderful that teachers can see their students, and provide feedback, but now they need to worry about those that never log on.
TEACHER AS ENTERTAINER A teacher was highlighted recently for his ability to be an entertainer, creating different scenarios online each day, complete with costumes, musical instruments and props. Hope he can maintain his current pace of amusing interludes. Lucky children watching, but not many teachers would be able to
Picture a room of children, different ages,
imitate him.
participating in different classes on individual
Parents are also chipping in on live classes with
computers, while Mom is downstairs teaching her own class. This can only be viewed as comical. Now picture that same room with Mom, an essential worker away at work, and that view is frightening.
STUDENTS NOT SHOWING UP
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accommodated in different ways at different boards,
their own contributions – berating teachers for what parents perceive to be a lack of skills or commenting on the fact that they learned the material differently. If this was not live, the interruptions wouldn’t be, either. Another nasty feature: the rude student who yells out an insult, racist or homophobic remark, not
Teachers are also reporting that many children
fearful of immediate discipline since being sent to the
never show up online, or do so sporadically. Not
office is not possible when studying online.
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This new arrangement has led to many complications for teachers, parents and students. Teachers have had to purchase laptops to replace inadequate school boardprovided hardware. According to the University of Alberta, asynchronous learning offers “increased cognitive engagement
SCHOOLS ARE MORE THAN JUST A CLASSROOM A father was interviewed about his disappointment that his children were learning online and stated that he missed the conversations between parents in the morning when he would drop his children off. He would start at one end of the school, chatting away with one group, then make his way to the kindergarten area and chat with others. This helped ease his feelings of isolation during the pandemic. I have watched this in my own neighbourhood, parents happily greeting each other, some wearing masks, many without, spreading joy and maybe the virus.
since students will have more time to engage with
Online learning, a desperate attempt to provide
and explore the course material.” However, they also
education in desperate times, should not be viewed
state, that “course material may be misunderstood
as good or bad. It should be viewed as what it is – a
without the real time interaction.” The personal
stopgap measure, while we wait for the numbers of
touch, albeit on a screen, works better for interacting
Covid sufferers to decrease.
with students.
THE PHOTO ESSAY
IN NEPAL, DON’T SIT AT The seven-hour ride on the night bus from
must try to skirt past. If your bus is in the accident,
Kathmandu to Pokhara takes 12 hours, but the seven-
the trip takes even longer.
hour return journey takes 10. The distance is about 200 kilometres. Why the difference? It depends on the number of flat tires, the number of times the bus completely loses oil pressure as it careens along the edge of the impossibly high cliffs, the number of times it runs out of gas, or the number of accidents it
We passed one such mishap. People were milling about the smashed-in front of a truck, generally looking moody. I read about the accident a few days later. The night bus right before ours had driven around a corner and run head-on into a truck that
By Michael Doherty Michael Doherty is a film and television editor based in Toronto. He is also an avid traveller. The photos and commentary are from his visit to Nepal in 1989.
THE BACK OF THE BUS had stopped, its lights off. Apparently, the truck
number of dead was unconfirmed because, at the
driver had decided to go to sleep, so he halted his
time the story was written, they still hadn’t found the
vehicle and napped – in the middle of the road.
bus. I swore off night buses for the remainder of my
The bus clipped the truck and rolled over the cliff, plunging 60 metres into the river below. Eight people sitting on the roof were thrown clear and survived. All 40 or so people in the bus died. The actual
trip.
THE SPECTACULAR BASE CAMP I arrived at the base camp, a spectacular site surrounded by the 8,000-metre (26,000-foot) peaks of Annapurna, Annapurna South and Machapuchare. I managed to spend a few hours exploring the area, but ended up in the stone hut rather early. It was just too cold. I was given yak blankets to supplement the rented down sleeping bag I had carried with me from Pokhara. While lying down to rest, every once in a while I could hear the ice cracking and small avalanches tumbling down the mountainsides. It was a wonderful experience. By the way, never sit at the back of the bus. I knew this before I booked my ticket back to Kathmandu
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from Pokhara, and specifically asked for a seat in the middle. The agent understood and promised that I would be smack dab in the middle. When I boarded the bus I found my assigned seat: the last one at the back. In India and Nepal, they tell you what they think you want to hear, then do whatever they want.
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GOING BACK TO KATHMANDU I endured the long ride back to Kathmandu, feeling every single pothole, rut and crack in the road. The suspension, or lack thereof, caused passengers at the back to be violently thrown upwards, their heads striking the metal roof, every time the bus ran over a dip in the road. It felt like your whole body was slamming repeatedly against the roof. More than a few times, the general frenzied din on the bus was augmented by the shouts of people reacting to the pain of their head smashing into the metal. I was one of them. We yelled and swore at the driver to slow down, while making mental notes to bring enough cash the next time for the 45-minute flight. My neck hurt for days afterward.
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NEW MUSIC FROM NEW PLACES
By Terry Paquet
HOPE, HAPPINESS AND POSITIVE VIBES
Terry Paquet is an award-winning copywriter with more than 20 years’ experience. He is a regular contributor to SideOne.
It’s finally March. That month in which winter takes
In honour of this righteous event, I’m happy to
its last gasping breath (fingers crossed). That time
introduce you to four artists from the genres of pop,
of year when the proverbial light at the end of the
folk, reggaeton and soul/jazz that couldn’t be more
tunnel appears. When you start to shed layers of
different from each other but collectively exemplify
clothing because there are higher temps in the
all that spring has to offer: hope, happiness, positive
forecast. Melting snow at your doorstep. And best
vibes, and change.
of all, clocks being eagerly pushed forward into daylight saving time. It is the end of hibernation as we know it.
TO LISTEN WHILE YOU READ, CHECK OUT THIS MONTH’S SIDEONE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6sZ9yVp1s4Pw8LiVpttxAn?si=CkZ_hqUASIqMBB0bOw5I7A
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BENNY SINGS In the land of red light districts and pot cafés, an artist by the name of Benny Sings (Tim van Berkestijn) has been enthralling fans for more than 10 years with his infectious, sunny blend of pop songs that have earned praise from the likes of John Mayer, Anderson .Paak, and Rita Ora. The music is easy on the ears, offering a modern take on ‘70s yacht rock, particularly on songs like Big Brown Eyes and Sunny Afternoon. It’s the kind of stuff you’d listen to with the top down, Ray-Bans on, and Farrah Fawcett hairdo blowing in the wind. On a lot of his songs, you’ll pinpoint harmonies and fillers that could have been lifted from any Bee Gees album. Listen to the recently released Nobody’s Fault or Not Enough and ask yourself if this could be the Dutch Barry Gibb. Of course, it’s not all retro throwbacks. Rolled Up is a bass and synth, lo-fi number featuring Canada’s own Mac DeMarco in an existential groove about being in the dumps for no particular reason. Although he’s gone largely unnoticed in mainstream North America, Sings has amassed an impressive collection of works that are worthy of your attention. In other words, when Benny Sings, you should listen.
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TRACKS TO CHECK OUT • Each Other from Art (2011) • Sunny Afternoon Single (2020) • Not Enough from City Pop (2019) • Everything I Know from City Pop (2019) • Nobody’s Fault Single (2020)
GABRIEL GARZÓN-MONTANO On first glance, it would be easy to dismiss Gabriel Garzón-Montano as just another poser pop singer. His de rigueur tattoos and dyed hair are all too common with today’s artists. When you dig into the
TRACKS TO CHECK OUT • Golden Wings Single (2018) • Everything is Everything from Bishouné: Alma del Huila (2014)
this New York City boy can do.
• Keep on Running from Bishouné; Alma del Huila (2014)
After repeated listens, it’s clear he’s a big fan of
• Crawl from Jardin (2017)
funk. You can hear it throughout his repertoire,
• With a Smile from Agüita (2020)
music, however, you start to get a sense of what
in which the obvious influence from old-school artists is omnipresent. He describes his reworked version of With a Smile as a “loving tribute to master teachers Prince, Dr. Dre, Sly Stone and Trent Reznor.” On his latest offering, Agüita, Garzón-Montano has put together a disparate mix of songs, ranging from lyric-driven tracks like Bloom to the contemporary reggaeton of the title track, to tender tributes like Moonless that underscore the anguish of his mother’s passing. Track after track, his sound blends old-school funk with avant-garde R&B, resulting in hypnotic, intricate beats and layers that owe much to his skills as a multi-instrumentalist. He’ll typically play most of the instruments on his albums, calling for help only when absolutely necessary. On track after track, it’s all Garzón-Montano, and that’s exactly the way he likes it.
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BRETT DENNEN Brett Dennen is a folk singer/songwriter from Oakdale, California, whose music flows in the same veins as that of Jack Johnson, John Mayer, and Dave Matthews. Although their level of commercial success has eluded him, Dennen has attracted a legion of adoring fans and a rotating presence on satellite radio – for good reason. This is easygoing ear candy that feels like your best summer day. It’s nice and happy. That’s not to downplay its worth. As poppy as his songs are, they’re rife with deep lyrics, catchy choruses, and on-the-nose production values that are all part of an everevolving catalogue of work. His influences gravitate toward OG artists like Van Morrison, Tom Petty, and Cat Stevens, but there’s one artist he places above all – Paul Simon – whom Dennen calls the greatest ever: “There’s nobody better than him, for my taste.” Simon’s impact on Dennen’s music is obvious. Like Simon, Dennen’s voice is honest and heartfelt. His songs are crowd-pleasing acoustic hummers that can work in a 500-seat theatre or around a bonfire. Despite those similarities, many have said Dennen sounds like Billie Holliday; listen to She’s Mine off his 2006 album So Much More for evidence. On other songs his voice can best be described as nasal with an undercurrent of boyish, quirky charm. At 41 years old, that’s no easy feat to pull off, but Brett Dennen does it effortlessly.
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TRACKS TO CHECK OUT • Cassidy from Por Favor (2016) • Bonfire from Por Favor (2016) • Be Somebody from Here’s Looking at You Kid (2018) • By & By from Brett Dennen (2003) • Out of my Head from Smoke and Mirrors (2013)
TERRACE MARTIN To say Terrace Martin is talented may be the understatement of the year. As a child prodigy, he began playing the piano at age six and somehow caught the attention of Jay Leno, who offered him a scholarship to attend the California Institute of the Arts. Martin’s father was a jazz drummer; his mother was a gospel singer who played a significant role in Martin’s affinity for the arts and ability in the studio. He has produced, written and/or performed
TRACKS TO CHECK OUT • Push from Velvet Portraits (2016) • Patiently Waiting from Velvet Portraits (2016) • Freeze Tag (feat. Phoelix) from Dinner Party (2020) • Beige Single (2019) • The Mighty Tree (feat. Herbie Hancock) from Dinner Party: Dessert (2020)
on projects by Herbie Hancock, Wiz Khalifa, Quincy Jones, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar, to name but a few. But it’s on his personal projects where Martin’s talents really shine, unbound by the constraints of another artist’s vision. His music is a compelling mix of contemporary jazz, modern beats, and street vibes, driven by a reverence for the classics and infused with a deep sense of history. You can feel it in his work with the Pollyseeds on tracks like Believe or on solo projects like his 2020 EP Village Days. On 2016’s Velvet Portraits, Martin collaborates with a wide range of artists, including ‘70s disco group The Emotions, on the gospel-infused Patiently Waiting. Martin has created so much music, and I know I’m barely scratching the surface, but one thing is for sure: He’s an artist who’s striving to say many things about life, love, and soul in as many ways as possible.
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By Jacques Daviault Jacques Daviault is a Montreal-based writer and art director with a curiosity that knows few bounds.
CONSPIRACY’S GREATEST HITS
The young boy and the great lunar landing hoax The more removed the theory is from everyday experience, the more likely it is to develop a following.
His science fair project was a well-constructed, well
One of my lifelong passions is astronomy and the
“Look ... there are no stars in the sky” he insisted.
exploration of space. I’ve also followed conspiracy theories closely, as a believer in my youth and as a campaigner against them in adulthood. They’re an intriguing social phenomenon. And they don’t get much weirder, or less believable, than the Lunar
thought out argument supporting the lunar landing conspiracy. Multiple photographs, reams of Internet research clippings, and a conviction that he was setting us free from lies and deception.
“The flag is fluttering in the wind.” “The images are all absolutely perfect ... there are identical backgrounds in different images ... there are actual letters imprinted in rocks and other lunar artifacts ... there are shadow anomalies ... radiation should have
Landing Hoax conspiracy.
fogged any film stock ...”. He added, “Who filmed
Some conspiracy theories are funny – genuinely and
arguments were multiple.
absurdly. Unrelated events are strung together by the thinnest threads of supposition and even scantier evidence. Others are more nefarious, and can lead to great harm, ruined reputations, and lies spreading faster than any pandemic. They’re as attractive to those who harbour doubts and mistrust authority
Armstrong descending the steps of the LEM?” His
Added to this was a host of other flimsy evidence of a more political nature. I’ll forgo the political and stick to the more tangible bits of evidence I shared to debunk this hoax.
as a porch light to a moth. The more removed the
A STARLESS SKY
theory is from everyday experience, the more likely
Yup. Neither the sky as photographed from the
it is to develop a following.
moon, nor the sky as photographed (under most
APOLLO 11 AND A YOUNG BOY WITH STRONG BELIEFS
conditions) from the Apollo Command Module shows stars. That said, neither do we see any stars in our sunlit
Enter the Great Lunar Landing Hoax. I’m going to
skies. The boring fact of it is that analog cameras,
walk you through it thanks to a chance encounter I
like the bulky Hasselblad cameras carried by the
had 20 years ago at my stepdaughter’s elementary
Apollo astronauts, just weren’t capable of adjusting
science fair. I encountered a student, no more than
the contrast differences between the relatively
12, who could have been me at the same age.
brightly lit lunar surface and the black sky. It was
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got off the ground, failing consistently and offering no safety margins for the crew. Ultimately, the Soviet lunar program was a nationalistic knee-jerk reaction to the Apollo program – rushed, compromised, and fated to fail.
a question of burning the exposure to catch the brightest stars, or getting great astronaut shots.
OLD GLORY – NEW CONSPIRACY
The Soviet-U.S. rivalry was serious. It was a scrappy,
Lunar Landing conspiracists also point to the
confrontational game of marksmanship. Anyone who
supposed flapping of the U.S. flag in video footage.
stops to consider it and the Cold War knows the
Sure, does look like that. The moon is airless, hence
Russians would have been the first to tell the world,
windless, and so it should have hung, limp, like a
and share the evidence of the American lie.
Trump supporter’s evidence the election was stolen. Truth is, it was supported by a horizontal rod, and the fluttering was seen only at the time of planting or when it was brushed up against.
ONE STEP FOR A COVER-UP. A GIANT LEAP FOR CONSPIRACISTS. Exactly how was Armstrong filmed from the exterior
This, for me, is the final nail in the conspiracy coffin. That and actual images of impressions caused by the descent stages of the American LEM – scattered across six sites on the surface and still clearly visible after 50 years.
SPLASHDOWN The Lunar Landing Hoax conspiracy has got legs.
as he descended the LEM ladder prior to his
It has many supporters, even today, in spite of
immortal, and apparently misquoted “one step...”
proof to the contrary, in spite of actual moon rocks
utterance? Simple. A camera mounted on the hull of
(shared with the Soviets), and in spite of mountains
the lunar lander. It’s clearly visible in photos showing
of verifiable documentation and tens of thousands
the exterior of the LEM. Conspiracists love this one.
of dedicated NASA personnel and astronauts who
ARMS RACE. SPACE RACE. RACE TO THE BOTTOM. National pride stood to gain tremendously from being the first to put humans on the moon. The Soviets had their own program, which included a massive N1 booster to lift its crew and equipment out of earth orbit and on to the moon. Sadly, the Soviets were offered a chance to join the U.S. on a joint lunar mission. They declined. Their N1 never
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The Lunar Landing Hoax conspiracy has got legs. It has many supporters, even today, in spite of proof to the contrary...
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made it all real. In spite of all of that, the conspiracy theory that should have been buried in a lunar crater manages to live on. The young boy at the science fair listened, and stared back with the eyes of the convicted. He never wavered. I promise I was kind, and gentle with my attempts at deprogramming. He was polite, and respectful in return. Back in the day, I’d have been exactly the same.
NOT EVERYONE KNOWS THIS…
By John Chaput John Chaput, born and raised in Montreal, eventually morphed into a Westerner. A retired writer and editor, he occupies much of his time as president of Regina Little Theatre.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY KATE JOHANSEN
MARCH 18, 1662
MARCH 13, 1781
The world’s first bus service begins in Paris. In a
William Herschel, an accomplished German-English
project conducted – so to speak – by mathematician,
musician and astronomer, is continuing his years-long
philosopher, inventor and all-around smarty-pants
search and study of double stars (stars that appear
Blaise Pascal, a network of regularly-scheduled
to be close together as viewed from Earth) when
carriages carrying up to eight passengers follow
he spots a disk-like celestial object that he initially
routes through the city. Pascal had conceived the
believes to be a comet. Sharing his finding and data
idea, secured financing from friendly nobles and
with other astronomers, it is soon determined that
obtained permission from King Louis XIV to run
Herschel has actually become the first person to
the operation as a monopoly. Not everyone knows
discover a planet. (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and
this, but although the service was enthusiastically
Saturn had always been visible to the naked eye.)
received at first, the usage of the carosses à cinq sous
Naming the solar system’s seventh planet does not
(five-cent carriages) would gradually diminish and
come so readily, however. Herschel wants to call it
be discontinued by 1675 for a simple reason: the
Georgium Sidis after English King George III, whose
upper classes could ride them but not peasants and
sanity would soon enter an even more remote orbit.
soldiers. In other words, they were available only to
Colleagues suggest “Herschel,” but eventually it is
people who could afford their own horses or carriages
named after the mythological god Uranus, grandfather
anyway, and not to those who were most likely to use
of Jupiter and father of Saturn. Not everyone knows
them. The concept of urban public transportation
this, but making jokes about the name (there’s a ring
wouldn’t be revived until the 19th century in France,
around Uranus, there’s a dark spot on Uranus, Uranus
England and the United States.
is a gas giant) is obvious, not clever. Cut it out.
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MARCH 22, 1941
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MARCH 31, 1949 Newfoundland officially joins the Dominion of
More than seven months before Pearl Harbor brings
Canada and becomes the country’s 10th province.
the United States into the Second World War, James
After several years of debate as to whether
Stewart is inducted into the Army Air Force on his
Newfoundland should enter Canada, become an
second try. Not everyone knows this, but Stewart
independent country, or form an association with the
had tried to enlist in 1940, the same year he had
United States, a 1948 runoff referendum goes for the
performed in The Philadelphia Story and won the
Canadian option by a margin of 52.3 to 47.7 per cent.
Academy Award for best performance by an actor. At
(The first referendum had independent responsible
138 pounds, he was five pounds under the minimum
government ahead of Canadian provincehood
requirement for a man standing 6-foot-3, so he spent
by 44.6 to 41.1.) Not everyone knows this – well,
the ensuing months packing on weight. Remaining
actually, most Canadians have caught on by now
under contract to MGM but on hiatus from acting,
– but Newfoundlanders have been screwing with
Stewart would fly 20 combat missions as a bomber
our heads ever since becoming one of us. The off-
pilot before war’s end and be gradually promoted
by-a-half-hour time zone, that flag (what is going on
from private to colonel, earning the Distinguished
there?), its domination of the CBC show This Hour
Flying Cross and the Croix de Guerre among other
Has 22 Minutes (which, with that time zone, suggests
honours. Deeply affected by witnessing so much
the show ends eight minutes before it starts), and
death among friend and foe, he rarely spoke about
the official addition to its name of “and Labrador,”
his combat experience, but would remain in the
which was done just to make Canadians stutter
Air Force Reserve and rise to the rank of brigadier
(“Newfoundland-and Labrador”) ... no wonder the
general. How-how-how about that?
Vikings cleared out.
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MARCH 18, 1965
MARCH 29. 1974
Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov executes the first
A squad of farmers in the Lintong district of
“spacewalk.” Not everyone knows this (because
Shaanzi, China, are on the fifth day of a well-digging
the Soviet Union suppressed the details for years),
project about 1 1/2 kilometres east of the burial
but Leonov’s Vokshod 2 mission was every bit as
mound of Qin Zhi Huang, the first emperor of
harrowing and dangerous as Apollo 13’s flight five
China. Work comes to a halt when one of the men
years later. His 12-minute excursion nearly ended in
unearths a terra cotta statue of an ancient soldier.
catastrophe when his spacesuit expanded due to the
Word of the discovery gradually spreads to local
difference in air pressure between the capsule and
authorities, journalists, and finally to the central
the void of space. The suit ballooned so much that
Chinese government, which in July dispatches an
Leonov couldn’t get back into his ship. He opened a
archeological team to the site. It turns out that,
valve to deflate the suit, but had to hurry inside just
buried beneath five metres and more than 2,200
before the resultant drop in pressure would have
years of soil buildup, is a virtual army of life-size
made him pass out and die. Just as a bonus, Vokshod
terra cotta figurines including more than 8,000
2 had a systems malfunction upon re-entry that
soldiers and nearly 700 horses standing guard over
caused it to go into a spin and miss the landing target
Emperor Qin’s tomb. Not everyone knows this, but
by 2,000 kilometres. Leonov and shipmate Pavel
the soldiers are huddled in fairly tight formation,
Belyayev landed in the Ural mountains in snow two
leading to recent concerns that the lack of social
metres deep and spent two days shivering in their
distancing might decimate their ranks – unless, of
capsule before they were rescued.
course, they’ve already been vaccinated.
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35
THE SIDEONE PROFILE By Phyl Newbeck
Siila WattCloutier:
A resident of Jericho, Vermont, Phyl Newbeck is a freelance writer for a variety of newspapers and magazines. She is the author of Virginia Hasn’t Always Been for Lovers: Interracial Marriage Bans and the Case of Richard and Mildred Loving.
Headshot by Wolfgang Schmidt
Change will happen at the speed of trust You might not expect to find a Nobel Peace Prize
because those are parallel for us and are about
nominee living in a remote Arctic village. But for
human health and cultural survival.”
environmental activist Siila (Sheila) Watt-Cloutier, returning to her birthplace of Kuujjuaq, in Quebec’s
People didn’t initially understand when she referred
Nunavik region, four years ago was a tonic after
to climate change as a human-rights issue, Watt-
residing in big urban centres like Ottawa and
Cloutier notes. “For most people, human-rights
Montreal.
violations are individual occurrences, not collective rights – but entire populations can be affected.”
“It’s my homeland,” she says. “I consider myself able to adapt and live anywhere, but home is home.”
Watt-Cloutier worked with the Center for International Environmental Law in Washington, D.C.,
Watt-Cloutier began her environmental work on the
and San-Francisco-based Earthjustice to show that
issue of toxins in the food chain.
ice, snow and cold were things on which Inuit culture
“Scientists decided that since the Arctic was so
depends.
pristine, they should do studies here about the
“We don’t just survive, we thrive,” she says. “Ice and
occurrence of toxins,” she says. “They discovered it
snow are our lifeblood.”
was higher than expected and was even in the milk
36
of nursing mothers. That was the start of my work,
Ice and snow serve many purposes in Inuit culture,
which continued with issues of climate change,
she explains, including transportation, safety and
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security. With the loss of ice and snow comes the
it’s like having your hands in the soil of your garden,”
loss of cultural activities like hunting.
she says. “There is emotional value to the food; it connects us to our ancestry and provides rites of
“Hunting is not just the pursuit of animals that are nutritious,” she says, “but also about preparing our youth to develop character and life skills. Although the technical aspect of the hunt is important, they also learn patience and endurance, and develop knowledge and wisdom. All that will be lost if the ice is gone.”
passage for our youth.” It has been Watt-Cloutier’s life work to make people understand that indigenous culture depends on the preservation of the natural environment. She has done so as an elected official, but also as a writer, speaker and teacher. “I think you have to work in both tracks,” she says, “and they have to be parallel.”
‘THERE IS EMOTIONAL VALUE TO FOOD’
In 1995, she was elected Canadian president of the
For Watt-Cloutier, the disconnect between people
Inuit Circumpolar Conference (now known as the
and their food sources is at the root of many of the
Inuit Circumpolar Council), and in 2002 she became
world’s problems. She describes communal Inuit
International Chair, representing more than 150,000
dinners as a euphoric and spiritual connection
Inuit in Canada, Greenland, Russia and Alaska. She
and notes that both the sewing of animal skins and
has written for numerous publications and has
the wait for prey can be meditative. “When we are
presented at conferences and workshops around the
cleaning our animals and our hands are in the blood,
globe, but she is probably best known for her 2015
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37
“The ‘othering’ of one another is not helpful to indigenous people or anyone else...”
memoir, The Right to be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic, and the Whole Planet. Despite leaving her post at the ICC in 2006, WattCloutier was busier than ever until the onset of COVID-19, as people began to realize the link between droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, and climate change. “The work I did was not attached to elected
Foundation in Stockholm.
‘DISPIRITEDNESS SETS IN’ Watt-Cloutier is concerned about a variety of issues facing Inuit people, chief among them the problem of suicide. “We have the highest suicide rate in North America,” she points out. “Historical traumas are at the root of this, and dispiritedness sets in.”
positions but was firmly entrenched in my spirit,”
She contends one way to heal those traumas is
she says.
through a return to native culture, but climate change is interfering with that. “As we try to heal
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In addition to the nomination for the 2007 Nobel
through the land, the ice and snow are melting,” she
Peace Prize, her many honours include being
says. “It’s not just an environmental issue, but also
named a Hero of the Environment in 2008 by Time
about how we prepare young children to make the
magazine, and a Nation Builder of the Decade by
right choices. If they can have that connection and
The Globe and Mail in 2010. She has 15 honorary
resiliency through culture and the land, they can do
Doctor of Law degrees, and in 2015 she received the
anything. We are fighting even harder than ever to
Right Livelihood Award from the Right Livelihood
defend our way of life.”
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Human trauma and planetary trauma are one and the
away from cities and towns,” she says, “but this is a
same, Watt-Cloutier argues. “What we’re seeing are
grim reminder of how interconnected we all are.”
our normal reactions to abnormal actions.” Her hope is that people will somehow find common ground. “The ‘othering’ of one another is not helpful to indigenous people or anyone else,” she says. “The colonial approach had negative impacts, and we are trying to build new partnerships. It has taken a long way to get where we are. Change happens slowly.”
A BETTER PLACE That said, Watt-Cloutier is optimistic about the future. She says she’s been impressed with recent youth movements and believes the coming generation will bring the world to a better place. “We have to ensure that youth become change agents and liberators,” she says. “I wouldn’t be
“I wouldn’t be moving forward and expending so much of my intention and focus if I wasn’t optimistic about the future.”
moving forward and expending so much of my
Part of the problem is that governments and
change can happen. Look how quickly the air and
universities tend to “silo” issues, Watt-Cloutier
water cleared in major cities when the pandemic hit
says, whereas Indigenous culture looks at problems
and a lot of unsustainable activity stopped.”
holistically.
intention and focus if I wasn’t optimistic about the future.” Watt-Cloutier recently heard a 13-year-old child lament that she didn’t think she would reach the age of 40. “I told her not to go there,” she recalls. “Not because I’m dreaming in Technicolor, but because
When asked where those who want to effectuate
“I do believe change will happen at the speed of
change should start, Watt-Cloutier borrows a quote
trust.”
from U.S. author and activist Marianne Williamson for her response: “As we go, so goes the world. The
The Covid-19 pandemic has given Watt-Cloutier a
revolution that will save the world is ultimately a
chance to reflect. One consequence of the global
personal one.”
outbreak is that the unresolved issues of structural racism and social injustice have risen to the surface,
Taking action boils down to leadership, which
she notes. “I think many countries are being fully
doesn’t require an elected position, Watt-Cloutier
exposed for outdated racist policies that are putting
stresses.
those in poor health conditions even more at risk,” she says.
“Leadership means never losing sight of the fact that the issues at hand are so much bigger than oneself,”
“Yet another troubling trend is that some people
she says. “It’s important to model a sense of calm,
have taken the pandemic as an opportunity to heap
clarity, and focus, and to check inwards to make sure
blame on a particular animal or a country rather
one is leading from a position of strength rather than
than recognize the overall damage that has been
victimization.”
done to the planet,” she said. “We are fairly lucky in the Arctic in that we’re far
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37
SENSIBLE DOLLARS A plan that can bring you to tiers By Allan Kunigis Allan Kunigis is a Canadian-born freelance financial writer based in Shelburne, Vermont. He has written about personal finance for more than two decades. He is the author of A Kid’s Activity Book on Money and Finance: Teach Children About Saving, Borrowing, and Planning for the Future, published in September 2020. One of the least discussed but potentially most
growth potential from stocks without leaning heavily
powerful concepts in saving and investing is to use
in either direction.
time-based tiers for any investment goal. Picture layers of investments working together like a cohesive team, with each serving its own purpose while collectively providing an optimal mix of
To put this in practical terms, let’s look at two timelines – saving for a goal that’s two or three years away, and saving for a longer-term event, like
protection, income, and growth.
retirement a decade or more in the future.
(Note: In this article, I use the terms “tiers,”
A THREE-YEAR GOAL
segments,” and “portions” interchangeably.) The idea is to create two or three distinct timeoriented tiers for your investments. The shorter-term portion should be more conservative, focused on
For a relatively short-term goal of three years, you needn’t have everything you save sitting in a single account. Instead, you could divide it into a couple of tiers, each serving a different purpose.
preserving your original investment (the principal).
The first portion is the safest one, but also the
That protection can allow you to be a bit more
lowest-yielding. That’s based on the tendency for
aggressive with a long-term segment, with a goal of
risk and reward to go hand in hand. Super-safe and
earning a higher return. If there’s a middle portion,
secure investments have the lowest yields. The first
it can provide a blend of income from bonds and
$100,000 in your savings account is 100% guaranteed
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41
by the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corp. It doesn’t
which I would recommend – is to combine both so
get safer than that.
that you have some money immediately accessible
But how much is your bank savings account yielding these days? Next to nothing. That’s why you might want to put some money into another tier, where you can earn higher returns.
...based on the tendency for risk and reward to go hand in hand. Super-safe and secure investments have the lowest yields. For example, you could place some money in a highinterest savings account, earning perhaps 1% to 1.5%. Here’s a link to see what you can expect to earn in
LONGER-TERM INVESTMENTS A more powerful example is how you can benefit over the course of your life by using short-term, medium-term, and long-term tiers in your retirement investments. Here, it’s important to consider both your immediate and life-long financial well-being. Let’s say you’re on the cusp of retiring in your mid60s. Because your family members have tended to live a long time, and you remain in good health, you might last well into your 90s. You don’t want to face the problem of outliving your money (longevity risk). But at the same time, you need to protect against the impact of short-term market risk (volatility).
various one-year to five-year guaranteed investment
A diversified mix could address both concerns. Let’s
accounts (GICs):
take your money and create shorter-term, medium-
https://www.highinterestsavings.ca/gic-rates/ The drawback with GICs is that the money will be
48
while another tier is earning a higher return.
term, and longer-term portions. To make this simple, let’s assume you have a nest egg of $1 million.
locked into a non-redeemable account. So you’ll have
INCOME NEEDS
to choose between the low-yield, full-accessibility
First, ask yourself how much you need to live on
short-term tier and the higher-earning but less
each year and how much of that income you’ll
accessible longer-term portion. A third choice –
receive from your combined Old Age Security and
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Canada Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan benefits.
decade from now. You could invest it in something
Subtract that government pension income from your
with reasonably moderate exposure to risk, like a
overall monthly income needs, and that’s what you’ll
Canadian bond index mutual fund or a balanced
need to withdraw from your retirement savings.
fund, which typically contains a mix of about 60%
Let’s assume that comes to $40,000 a year. The short-
stocks with 40% bonds.
term portion of your savings could provide you with
Based on returns for the three-year, five-year, and
enough income for two years of living expenses,
10-year periods ending December 31, 2020, you could
or $80,000 in this example. That money should be
expect to have earned roughly 3.5% to 4.5% per year
kept safe, perhaps in a combination of bank savings
in a typical Canadian bond fund and perhaps more
accounts and a one-year renewable GIC.
like 5% to 6% a year, on average, in a balanced fund.
By creating that two-year buffer of cash, you can afford to take more risk with the remaining $920,000. Each tier creates more of a buffer, allowing you to take on incrementally higher risk and earn potentially higher returns with each successive tier.
A QUESTION OF BALANCE
And you could opt to set this up to provide regular monthly income. The 3.5% to 6% cited here is much more than you’d earn in your short-term savings but less than in a more aggressive portfolio with greater exposure to stocks. But that’s where the longest-term tier comes in.
Let’s now address the income that you might
STOCK MIX
need from the beginning of Year 3 through Year
Now let’s look at the investments you do not expect
10. Multiply $40,000 annual income by eight years.
to touch for a decade or longer. Because you have
That $320,000 would cover you all the way to a
already invested $400,000 in a mix of cash, bonds,
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43
and stocks, covering your income needs for the next
bonds and emerging markets bonds. The idea is
decade, you can invest the remaining $600,000 more
that not all investment sectors will rise or fall at
aggressively, primarily in stocks.
the same time. One might zig while the other zags. For example, an event that is good for China might
Let’s look at a mix of 80% stocks and 20% bonds. This will provide you with greater growth potential over the long term, addressing longevity risk. By potentially growing more over longer periods of time and being able to recover from shorter-term market ups and downs, this is the tier that is targeted for best returns for the rest of your life.
STRONG PATTERNS It is also extremely crucial here to state the basic disclaimer: Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Money invested in stocks and bonds is not protected by the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corp. But if you look back in time at various periods spanning a decade or more, you’ll see that stocks have tended to earn higher returns than bonds or cash. And the longer you can leave that money alone, the more time your investment would have to
have a negative impact on Canada. This type of asset class performance is what makes investment diversification work.
You don’t want to face the problem of outliving your money (longevity risk). But at the same time, you need to protect against the impact of short-term market risk (volatility). SHIFT AS REQUIRED As time passes and you spend money from your short-term tier, you can transfer some money from
recover from any short-term losses.
your medium-term tier into the short-term one.
DIVERSIFY GLOBALLY
from the longer-term tier into the medium term, so
Similarly, as needed, you can shift some investments
That $600,000 in longer-term investments could be diversified in Canadian, U.S., European, and Asian
that you always maintain your three tiers and each continues to play its role for you. This table captures what I’ve described:
stock mutual funds or exchange-traded funds, as well as various higher-risk bonds, like high-yield
HOW $1 MILLION MIGHT BE ALLOCATED INTO THREE TIERS TIER 1
TIER 2
TIER 3
TOTAL $
Cash
$80,000
-
-
$80,000
Bonds
-
$128,000
$120,000
$248,000
Stocks
-
$192,000
$480,000
$672,000
Total
$80,000
$320,000
$600,000
$1,000,000
Asset Mix
100% cash
60% stocks/ 40% bonds
80% stocks/ 20% bonds
8% cash/ 24.8% bonds/ 67.2% stocks
I hope I haven’t bored you to tears while trying to drive you to tiers!
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SIDEONE MARCH 2021
COMING UP:
A sampling of next month’s stories ROLE MODELS
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THE SIDEONE PROFILE
We’ll meet another Canadian who is having a big impact without a lot of celebrity.
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THE PERENNIAL APPEAL
When a destination becomes more than a place to visit.
THE PHOTO ESSAY - SARDINIA The second-largest island in the Mediterranean sea.
NOT EVERYONE KNOWS THIS…
The Magnificent Seventh, Canada’s supersoldier, and other tales of April.
SENSIBLE DOLLARS
More investing advice from our financial writer.
MARCH 2021
