The Georgia Straight - Best Practices - July 19, 2020

FREE | JULY 16 – 23 / 2020

Volume 54 | Number 2738

Best

PROPERTY BOOM

Practices

Rural sites in demand

ESPORTS ERUPTS A year to remember

What B.C. did right in the fight against COVID-19

Bill Reid tribute

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B. C. t e c h s t o c ks

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Cannabis research

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Safe dining

FINANCE

Some B.C. tech stocks beat percentage rise of Amazon

CONTENTS 7

July 16-23 / 2020

COVER

Through a combination of luck and smart public policies, B.C. avoided some of the problems faced in other jurisdictions in containing the number of COVID-19 cases.

by Charlie Smith

By Craig Takeuchi

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CANNABIS

Cover illustration by Paige Stampatori

In tests with lab mice, researchers demonstrated that the main psychoactive component of cannabis, THC, fights inflammation.

By John Lucas

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REAL ESTATE

The COVID-19 pandemic has coincided with a tremendous upsurge of interest in recreational rural properties in British Columbia.

By Carlito Pablo

e Start Here

Ballard Power Systems and Absolute Software Corp. have been two top performers in an index of B.C.’s 20 most valuable publicly traded tech companies. Photo by This is Engineering / Unsplash

D

espite a brief COVID-induced bear market earlier this year, it’s been a profitable year for investors in many U.S. tech giants. As of July 13, Microsoft shares were up 29 percent and Apple shares were up 27 percent.

But that was nothing compared to Amazon stock, which shot up 64 percent since January 2 to cross the US$3,100 threshold.

Each of these three companies are worth more than US$1.5 trillion. That will likely exceed Canada’s gross domestic product this year.

Over the same period, Netflix stock jumped 59 percent, Facebook rose 14 percent, and Alphabet (parent of Google) increased by 10 percent. And that doesn’t take into account the U.S. dollar’s five percent appreciation from January 2 to July 13 in comparison to the Canadian dollar.

This means that if any readers bought those U.S. tech stocks at the start of the year, they would be a whole lot richer today—particularly if they loaded up on Amazon or Netflix.

But what about publicly traded B.C. tech companies? The bctechnology.com website keeps tabs on what it calls the T-Net 20 Stock Index. It’s updated quarterly and includes the 20 largest publicly traded tech companies in B.C. The shares in these companies have, for the most part, not fared nearly as well this year as the U.S. tech stocks listed above.

But there have been two standouts.

Burnaby-based Ballard Power Systems’ share price has risen a whopping 139 percent between January 2 and July 13, when

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it closed at $24.83 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. That was actually a down day—it fell by 10.91 percent, bringing its market capitalization down to $6.05 billion.

Ballard develops and manufacturers proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, announcing a $7.7-million purchase order earlier this month from a company in China in which it holds 10 percent ownership interest.

Another big gainer in the T-Net 20 Stock Index has been Vancouver-based Absolute Soft ware Corp. It specializes in endpoint security, which is in even more demand with so many people working from home.

Its share price closed at $14.55 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on July 13, up 62 percent since January 2. That has lifted its market capitalization to $618.28 million.

Absolute Soft ware is a finalist in two categories in the 2020 Technology Impact Awards: tech culture of the year and company of the year (anchor success).

Three other Vancouver tech companies not in the T-Net 20 Stock Index have also seen impressive gains in their share prices this year. XPhyto Therapeutics Corp., which is working with a German partner on a COVID-19 test, is up 177 percent.

Legend Power Systems Inc., which developed a power-management program, is up 110 percent.

And electric-vehicle manufacturer ElectraMeccanica is up 61 percent.

The pros often say that past performance is no guarantee of future results. So if you’re in the mood to put down some money, do your homework in advance. g

JULY 16 – 23 / 2020

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ARTS BOOKS ESPORTS FINANCE FOOD HEALTH LIQUOR MOVIES SAVAGE LOVE SEX WINE

Vancouver’s News and Entertainment Weekly Volume 54 | Number 2738 1635 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1W9 T: 604.730.7000 F: 604.730.7010 E: gs.info@straight.com straight.com

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PUBLISHER Brian Kalish FOUNDING PUBLISHER Dan McLeod EDITOR Charlie Smith SECTION EDITORS Janet Smith (Arts/Entertainment/Style) Brian Lynch (Books) Mike Usinger (eSports/Liquor/Music) SENIOR EDITOR Martin Dunphy ASSOCIATE EDITORS Gail Johnson (Health/Food/Wine) John Lucas (Cannabis) STAFF WRITERS Carlito Pablo (Real Estate) Craig Takeuchi SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT Jeff Li DIGITAL COORDINATOR Jon Cranny GRAPHIC DESIGNER Miguel Hernandez PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Mike Correia SALES DIRECTOR Tara Lalanne ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Glenn Cohen, Robyn Marsh, Manon Paradis, David Pearlman

e Online TOP 5

Here’s what people are reading this week on Straight.com.

1 2 3 4 5

Four flights arrive in Vancouver with confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Here are some tips to help you manage your migraines.

The Backyard Astronomer: Spectacular new comet visible to naked eye.

B.C. bass player and songwriter Rich Priske dies at age 52.

Historic Cardero Grocery to be revived in West End heritage project. @GeorgiaStraight

CONTENT AND MARKETING SPECIALIST Rachel Moore CIRCULATION MANAGER Giles Roy CREDIT MANAGER Shannon Li ACCOUNTING SUPERVISOR Tamara Robinson

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ESPORTS

Four ways the ESports game changed during COVID With millions in isolation, the industry went stratospheric, honing betting and branding along the way

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by Mike Usinger

hen the history books are cracked open 50 years from now, 2020 will be remembered as a time that was as awful for the world as it was great for ESports.

Millions upon millions of people were suddenly quarantined at home, looking for ways to pass the seemingly endless days.

And as much as it was a good time to own a stake in Netflix or digital-book publishing, it was ESports where things went completely stratospheric.

That’s proven by new stats from the International Data Corporation and Esports Charts showing that the number of livestreaming hours spent on Twitch has doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Fortnite leading the way, 1.7 billion hours of competitive action were watched by fans in May, compared to 867 million hours watched last December.

And the landscape-shifting didn’t stop there. Here are four ways the ESports game changed as the industry adapted to make the most of a COVID-19 world.

PIVOTING

The term pivoting is something we’ve seen a lot, especially during the early days of the pandemic. Seemingly overnight, traditional sports had their seasons derailed, including major-league hockey, soccer, basketball, golf, and international auto racing. The question then became how to keep fans engaged when stadiums and stands were empty and star athletes were in lockdown just like the rest of us. The answer was to move things to the digital world. Auto racing was arguably first off the line; six days after Formula 1’s seasonopening race in Melbourne was cancelled,

glued to screens, and that’s insanely attractive to corporations looking to increase brand awareness. Knowing that there was a captive COVID-19 audience out there didn’t hurt either, which is perhaps why you now see the Mastercard and Kit Kat logos flying on banners in the background of the League of Legends kingdom. And why Marvel teamed up with Team Liquid on jerseys and hoodies that nod to both ESports and the iconic likes of the Hulk, Black Widow, and Iron Man. Even brands that don’t exactly need the money have recognized the demographically desirable power of ESports: Gucci jumped into bed with Fnatic this spring for a dive watch retailing at US$1,600.

BRANDING

Fifty years from now, 2020 will be remembered as a time that was as awful for the world as it was great for ESports. Look no further than the fact that Twitch has seen livestreaming hours double.

foreshadowing the torpedoing of the season, we had the launch of a series called the F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix. Viewers tuned into ESPN in the hundreds of thousands to watch drivers rip up the track in simulated cars. NASCAR was next, attracting online audiences just shy of a million. The weeks that followed saw all kinds of firsts, from the NBA 2K league getting prime-time live coverage on Sportsnet, to NHL stars taking to the virtual ice for the Player Gaming Challenge, and the U.S. Ladies Professional Golf Association launching an online tournament. In all cases, the competition was every bit as fierce as it is in real life.

S neaker HEADS

to mix a Zombie cocktail and stream Mars Attacks.

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JULY 16 – 23 / 2020

by Janet Smith

BETTING

There’s no question that the idea of betting on ESports is difficult for some to wrap their heads around, but it shouldn’t be. If we had to make a wager, old-school thinking was that it would be easy for an ESports athlete to throw a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive match. You know—the way much of the Chicago White Sox team conspired to throw the 1919 World Series. The 2020 cancellation of every sporting event this side of Turkish oil wrestling meant Vegas bookies had to think of new ways to pay the electrical bills. And before long, ESports gained a new audience. The dominoes started falling when the Nevada Gaming Commission approved season-long betting on CS:GO in March, followed by the green light for wagering on Overwatch League, Dota 2, and League of Legends.

The U.K. Gambling Commission reported last week that British betting on ESports hit nearly $2.6 million in March, compared with $86,000 in March 2019. You can wager your next paycheque that Vegas bookies are salivating at the thought of Pokémon Unite announcing that a world championship is coming sooner rather than later.

One way to attract hi-wattage companies with boatloads of advertising cash is to recognize the importance of branding.

There’s nothing wrong with selling yourself as a team in the traditional sense—that’s worked for everyone from the New York Yankees to the Los Angeles Raiders. But if you can sell yourself as a lifestyle, there’s serious money to be made in a short time.

Ask Sean “Puffy” Combs, who realized that building an empire only started with rapping. Organizations like the Los Angeles– based FaZe Clan has cleverly sold itself as more than a great way to bring gamers together. The operation’s home base in the Hollywood Hills sees vloggers, designers, and, yes, ESports athletes living under one roof, hanging out in the billiards room and spa, and kicking back in the in-house theatre. Want to feel like you’re part of the Clan? Spring for a branded T-shirt, hoodie, or pair of sweatpants. Entertainment mogul Jimmy Iovine likened the FaZe vision to the rise of hip-hop this past spring, spearheading an investment drive to raise US$40 million for brand expansion. In announcing his involvement, he stated, “We’re at the birth of a new disruptive entertainment genre. FaZe Clan is a very powerful pipeline into gaming culture and their cultural impact reminds me of the early days of ’90s hip hop.” An outrageous claim? Only if you’re the kind of person who was once firmly convinced Puff Daddy was going to peak with No Way Out. g

MARKETING

Just because your grandparents have no idea what ESports are doesn’t mean that the business isn’t a huge one. How big? ESports viewership was pegged at about 335 million in 2017, hit 454 million last year, and is projected to grow to 646 million by 2023. That means that a lot of eyeballs are

MORE ESPORTS ONLINE AT ECENTRALSPORTS.COM

CANNABIS

THC could be useful in treating lung inflammation

by John Lucas

Researchers found that THC helped protect the lungs of mice showing symptoms of acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS. Photo by gorodenkoff/iStock/Getty Images Plus

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wo recently published studies suggest that different cannabinoids found in cannabis might be effective in treating lung inflammation, such as the kind associated with COVID-19.

For the first study, published in Frontiers in Pharmacology, a University of South Carolina research team led by Amira Mohammed used tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to treat mice with symptoms of acute

respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

A little background science: the lung inflammation seen in patients with ARDS (and the most serious cases of COVID-19) is associated with something called a “cytokine storm”, a severe immune reaction in which the body releases too many cytokines, a type of protein, into the blood too quickly.

Mohammed and her team observed that THC blocked the cytokines that cause in-

flammation and damage to the lungs. This guarded the mice against lethal symptoms from cytokine storms and improved their chances of survival.

In a separate study published in the July 2020 issue of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, researchers from the University of Nebraska and the Texas Biomedical Research Institute looked at the effects of cannabidiol (CBD).

Preclinical models of various chronic inflammatory diseases have suggested that CBD has anti-inflammatory effects.

The paper’s authors cite research showing that CBD “decreased lung inflammation in a murine model of acute lung injury potentially through the inhibition of proinflammatory cytokine production by immune cells and suppressing exuberant immune responses”.

The researchers note that although THC can also reduce inflammation, CBD “has a high margin of safety and is well tolerated pharmacologically even after treatments of up to 1500 mg/day for two weeks in both animals and humans”.

Meanwhile, a Belgian research team found that mouthwashes containing CBD and cannabigerol (CBG) produced health results equal to prescription mouthwashes

and better than over-the-counter brands.

The researchers treated plaque samples from 72 adults with five different types of mouthwash, including ones containing chlorhexidine. Chlorhexidine is the active ingredient in most prescription mouthwashes, but some research suggests it can disrupt healthy bacteria.

According to a study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research, the Belgian researchers found that the CBD and CBG mouthwashes performed just as well as ones containing chlorhexidine and outperformed store-bought mouthwashes—with the added benefits that they didn’t discolour users’ teeth and don’t contain fluorides or alcohol.

Worth noting is that this research was funded by CannIBite, a Belgian company that makes CBD- and CBG-containing mouthwashes. g

MORE CANNABIS ONLINE AT CANNCENTRAL.COM

JULY 16 – 23 / 2020

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REAL ESTATE

COVID concerns fuel interest in rural properties

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by Carlito Pablo

ot too long ago, it was a bit dicey to talk about things like having a bug-out location in case things went sideways. That could get one dismissed as a wacko.

It was more fashionable to chat about having a lakeside cabin for vacations with family and friends.

A recreational property is a status symbol. A waterfront cottage is a marker that one has made it in life.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened and made almost everyone an amateur survivalist. Now having a place in the country to escape the city is serious talk among folks who have spare change lying around.

This partially explains why realtor Richard Osborne’s days have been hectic of late. “I haven’t been this busy since 2005,” Osborne told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview.

Osborne is the cofounder and president of LandQuest Realty Corporation, a New Westminster-based company that specializes in rural properties.

According to him, people are looking for properties outside urban areas because of uncertainties.

“I’ve heard people say that. I’ve also heard people say that…having the cash in the bank is not a good idea in times like this, or in times of, you know, looking towards future recessions, depressions, hyperinflation, whatever is coming,” Osborne said.

“I mean, people are worried,” he continued. “It’s crazy, and there’s so much uncertainty. But they want a place to go.”

In addition to simple relaxation, people typically want rural properties because of

Some rural properties offer wilderness qualities only a few kilometres from Vancouver, such as this half-hectare oceanfront lot on Indian Arm—accessible by boat—that is listed for $315,000.

the many recreational activities they can access. Hiking, fishing, and hunting are among the most popular.

The coronavirus pandemic gives yet another reason to consider buying a tract of land outside the city. “Certainly, the ability to have a place to get to out of the city is a big one,” Osborne said.

Recreational properties cover a wide range and can include farms and ranches.

“They don’t actually have to be a farmer to have the enjoyment of the property, and they can make some income from the sale of hay or grazing cattle on their ranch, so that

certainly qualifies,” Osborne explained.

When Osborne granted the interview, he was at his family’s cabin in Sidney, a town on the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island.

“I spent the first two months of COVID here, and it was absolutely wonderful,” he said. “Then we had to go back home, but we’re back over here and it’s amazing.”

Among Osborne’s recent deals was a 259-hectare property in Rock Creek, a former gold- and silver-mining town in the South Okanagan region.

The property was listed on April 1, 2020,

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JULY 16 – 23 / 2020

and it generated the most calls Osborne ever had on a single listing.

It sold full price for $995,000 less than a month later.

A brochure described the property as a “wildlife masterpiece” and a “habitat for the elk, whitetail deer, mule deer, moose, bears, bobcats, lynx, cougars and blue grouse that inhabit the property”.

It has a 914-square-foot two-storey cabin with four bedrooms.

Osborne also noted that visitors to LandQuest’s website have almost doubled since the pandemic started.

“That’s a direct COVID response,” Osborne said, noting that there’s “all these captive audiences at home on their computers, and they’re not spending their time driving.

“They’re shopping for real estate or looking at real estate and also buying it. So it’s fascinating, and it’s absolutely COVIDrelated.”

There’s also another thing happening that Osborne hasn’t seen before.

“We’ve had multiple offers on numerous places, which is very unusual for our world,” he said. “You know, it’s not like the city, where you get a whole bunch of people lined up to buy a house. [Yet] we’ve had multiple offers for ranches.”

A check with LandQuest’s site shows that one doesn’t have to travel half a day or more from Vancouver to get a recreational property.

As of Monday (July 13), there was a listing for a half-hectare oceanfront lot up Indian Arm. It’s seven kilometres from Deep Cove in the District of North Vancouver and can be accessed by boat only. It’s selling for $315,000. g

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HEALTH

What B.C. got right in the fight against COVID-19

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by Craig Takeuchi

uring her daily B.C. COVID-19 briefings, B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has often credited British Columbians with helping to avert a major health disaster. Our ability to wrangle the pandemic under control has been admired by many, including the New York Times.

Yet the recent resurgence in Australia and news of American states reentering lockdowns demonstrate that mismanagement, complacency, or reopening too fast and too soon can undermine progress.

To help counter the troubling news of the past few months, here’s a look at what B.C. got right in the fight against COVID-19— with an eye on what needs to be done to sustain this effort over the long term.

PACIFIC RIM PROXIMITY With our trans-Pacific travel routes, population demographics, and nearness to Asia and Washington state, many experts anticipated the pandemic would hit B.C. hard.

University of Ottawa health sciences associate professor Raywat Deonandan was among those who believed so, based on those reasons plus the opioid epidemic and what B.C. physicians had told him.

customarily wearing them and stores selling them. In addition, Chinese Canadians, monitoring China’s situation, became an advance-warning system by taking precautions like avoiding restaurants and malls, hinting at what was to come.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry have expressed their gratitude to British Columbians for helping to stem the spread of COVID-19.

What happened in B.C. defied many expectations, however.

“The rate at which it got under control was a little shocking to me,” Deonandan said by phone from Ottawa.

Likewise, some of the earliest-hit locations close to China—including Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand—responded more effectively than some farther-flung places: Iran, Italy, Spain, Ontario and Quebec in Canada, and

New York and Florida in the U.S. On the line with the Georgia Straight, B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said that within our province, the places closest to the I-5 transportation corridor and Metro Vancouver struggled the most. Consequently, being early advocates for the closure of the Canada–U.S. border, he said, proved crucial.

While the great mask debate rages stateside, Metro Vancouver citizens are well acquainted with seeing Asian people

TIMING AND TESTING Many experts, including Henry, have partly credited B.C.’s success to timing and luck.

B.C.’s school spring break, from March 15 to 26, occurred later or lasted longer than those of Quebec (March 2 to 9) and Ontario (March 16 to 20). Dix said that infected travellers returning to Quebec prompted their warning not to travel during the break.

Deonandan credits B.C. with testing quickly, with effective data-sharing (B.C. used its own test, whereas other provinces had to await federal confirmation), and, after health-care workers at multiple facilities were found to be virus transmitters, with faster implementation of a single-site strategy than Ontario and Quebec.

However, Deonandan feels that all regions failed in hunting cases down as they arose, and that B.C. was slow to start that process.

“Given that it’s an asymptomatic pansee next page

WE ARE THRILLED TO WELCOME YOU BACK SAFELY TO THE MOUNTAINS!

Enjoy the scenery with e-bike rentals in Whistler-Blackcomb!

JULY 16 – 23 / 2020

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from previous page

demic, you can’t just rely upon symptomatic people to present themselves—you’ve got to go out and find the asymptomatic ones,” he said.

However, Dix said the early testing in B.C. was “essential” in breaking transmission chains and slowing virus spread, such as identifying the so-called Case 6 from Iran and those from Washington state, which recognized new sources of incoming cases not from China.

POPULATION AND PUBLIC MESSAGING Dix previously stated at a briefing that he thinks B.C.’s health authorities—five regional health authorities, the First Nations Health Authority, and the Provincial Health Services Authority—worked effectively together on a coordinated response, whereas Ontario has a much greater number of health jurisdictions.

In addition, B.C.’s population (5.1 million) is smaller than those of Ontario (14.7 million) and Quebec (8.6 million) and distributed differently. Also, B.C. only has one major city compared to a few in Ontario, as Deonandan pointed out.

Although Dix acknowledged that B.C. didn’t always get everything right, he said he believes that the province’s willingness to adapt is a strength. Both Henry and Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, previously didn’t recommend masks, but they changed their advice after increased understanding of the virus. And Henry remained consistent

University of Ottawa associate professor Raywat Deonandan was shocked at how fast B.C. got COVID-19 under control.

in advising that masks protect others, not the wearer, which Deonandan said is accurate, whereas in the U.S. mask-wearing is portrayed as protecting oneself.

Dix also credits the leadership of Henry, deputy health minister Stephen Brown, and “outstanding [regional] medical health officers” such as Vancouver Coastal Health’s Patricia Daly, as well as Premier Horgan for not intervening as much as other premiers.

Needless to say, Henry’s communication abilities have been widely lauded.

“Enough can’t be said around the singularity of the vision and consistency in messaging and the sobriety of

that messaging,” Deonandan said of Henry. “She answers questions quickly and always in a consistent voice and a nonpolitical voice at the same time.”

Dix explained that Henry led daily briefings from the outset because he thought medical announcements should come from medical professionals.

“I personally felt it was important to not have…too many spokespeople,” he said, “that we had to give clear messages, that they always had to come from the same place at the same time.”

In contrast, Deonandan pointed out how Ontario made things unnecessarily complicated, had inconsistent messaging, were unclear about who was in charge, and focused on message management more than message transparency.

“We made so many mistakes that we’ll be rewriting the textbook on how to manage this in the future,” he said of Ontario, “but it looks like the B.C. playbook will be one of the positive ones that we will look to rewrite that textbook.”

Nevertheless, he believes that all of public health can learn how to improve messaging and conduct it in a more nuanced and strategic manner.

Meanwhile, Dix expressed gratitude for the collective effort by British Columbians.

“It’s one thing to provide public-health information, as Dr. Henry did—it’s another thing when people follow it and you can see the action in terms of flattening the curve from what people did,” Dix said. “It’s beyond moving.” g

Psychological barriers persist during pandemic

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by Craig Takeuchi

e’ve all seen images of the spiky sphere that represents SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. They aren’t illustrations that conjure terror. But consider how people might react to images of a person covered in red spots or suffering from bleeding eyes. COVID-19 symptoms don’t evoke the same depth of revulsion that diseases like measles or Ebola do, and it’s one of many challenges in sustaining public practise of health measures over the long term.

“It’s all very abstract,” UBC psychiatry professor Steven Taylor says of the pandemic during a phone interview with the Georgia Straight. Unlike 1918’s Spanish flu, where coffins, hearses, and unburied bodies were seen everywhere daily, he pointed out, we only hear about case numbers and deaths. Taylor, who is on the federal government’s COVID-19 expert panel, said he thinks that COVID-19 is “largely a hidden pandemic”. He said an online survey he’s conducting among North Americans about the coronavirus has revealed that very few respondents personally know someone who has been infected.

He also pointed out how symptoms such as a fever or cough are not unique, and mild cases appear like any other respiratory illness, which can lead to people underestimating the seriousness of the disease.

With a background in anxiety disorders and health anxiety (formerly called hypochondriasis), Taylor, who is seeking to determine the mental-health fallout of this pandemic, explained that he discovered through his research that the “psychological footprint of a pandemic is way bigger than the medical footprint”. As he learned about the role 8

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

UBC psychiatry professor Steven Taylor says the pandemic—often illustrated with images of the COVID-19 virus—stays hidden due to a lack of visual indicators and nonspecific symptoms.

that psychological factors play in the spread and containment of disease, he wrote a book, The Psychology of Pandemics, to address the understudied area.

Depression and Anxiety, the official journal of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, published a study by lead author Taylor and five fellow North American university researchers about individuals suffering from what they call COVID Stress Syndrome.

“These people are highly anxious about getting infected; they check media repeatedly; they seek reassurance; they’re having nightmares and intrusive thoughts about it,” he said. “They’re worried about not just getting infected but the socioeconomic consequences, and also these people are xenophobic.” They’re trying to determine if this syndrome will persist or if it’s an adjustment reaction that will disappear as they bounce back. In his research, he found that

JULY 16 – 23 / 2020

most people are resilient but some develop “longstanding problems”.

History, however, has been repeating itself in many respects. For example, he said he found that almost every pandemic “is associated with the rise of racism”, such as antiSemitism during the bubonic plague.

Also, antimaskers, with a narrow focus on civil liberties that ignores safety, aren’t anything new. During the Spanish flu, for instance, he said the Anti-Mask League of San Francisco formed in 1918 when authorities tried to make masks mandatory.

Meanwhile, some people turn to conspiracy theories, which, Taylor said, provide “an illusion of control” amid confusion.

These individuals, he explained, often have a conspiratorial mindset, paranoid streaks, and varying degrees of narcissism, feeling that they have secret knowledge that others don’t. COVID-19 conspiracy theories, he said, are identical to ones that

theorized the Zika and SARS viruses were manufactured bioweapons.

Then there are the armchair pundits who believe they know more than the experts simply from reading online material, which could be an attempt to feel in control of an uncertain situation. However, Taylor pointed out, we’re faced with so much information that it’s difficult for the average person to determine what’s reliable.

Conversely, those who underreact or perceive themselves as invulnerable to the virus can be an avoidance of anxiety or fear.

“They’re underestimating the seriousness of COVID-19 and so they’re going out socializing and then paying a price for it,” he said.

Taylor explained that this psychological technique is emotion-focused coping, or dealing with emotions through wishful thinking or denial rather than problemfocused coping, or trying to resolve an issue.

“There’s often a fine line between optimism and denial,” he said.

Accordingly, he said, it’s important for health officials to start addressing “vaccine nonadherence”, because there’s evidence that up to 20 percent of Canadians wouldn’t get a COVID-19 vaccine once it is developed.

Despite all these psychological barriers to face, he said it’s important for everyone to self-reflect during these trying conditions.

“When people come through this, they need ask themselves what did they learn about themselves and how did they grow as a person during this?” he said. “My hope is that maybe people will come out the better for this, and maybe it’s important for people to remind themselves of this so that they’re ready to deal with the challenges ahead.” g

LIQUOR

Streamlining is key to camping cocktail program

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by Mike Usinger

ood things apparently come to those who wait, which on the West Coast means suffering through the monsoons of Juneuary in the hope that summer might arrive at some point. And one of the best parts of summer?

That would be loading up the car, Airstream, or Mountain Equipment Co-Op Blue Ice Dragonfly backpack and getting the hell out of the city. It’s camping season, and it’s more welcome than ever this year, considering the days, weeks, and months you spent locked down at home self-isolating for the good of your fellow Canadians.

There are two basic kinds of campers out there: the hard-core lunatics determined to get completely off the grid (think freeze-dried food, sleeping on the ground, and dumping in the woods), and those who like to have the cooler accessible at all times, mostly because it makes it easier to get gooned by noon.

As a dedicated Liquor Nerd, you know which category you fall into.

The goal then becomes: how do you balance getting away from it all with making the most of happy hour? The key is to keep it simple and channel your inner Boy Scout by being prepared.

Stanley’s Adventure Happy Hour Cocktail Shaker Set comes with everything but the axe.

First, the simple part. A reality of camping is that space is usually at a premium, especially when getting from Point A to Point B in an Austin Mini, VW Golf, or Peel P50.

That means you don’t want to be packing up an Oggi Jumbo Party Cocktail Shaker or Aicok Slow Masticating Juicer Extractor.

A one-stop solution to keeping things

economical is the indispensable Adventure Happy Hour Cocktail Shaker Set from Stanley. Cleverly designed as a selfcontained ticket to boozy paradise, the stainless-steel (read: indestructible) unit features two insulated glasses, a strainer lid, a jigger cap, and a citrus reamer. And, really, that covers most of what you’ll need to execute a perfect Lynchburg Lemonade.

Now to the being-prepared part. Once again, because space is at a premium, you don’t want to be lugging bags of sugar to make simple syrup, or toting around twodozen limes or lemons. So do your squeezing and your sugar-and-water boiling at home. Combine the citrus juice and the simple syrup in equal amounts, pour into a Mason jar, and you’ve got a sweet-and-sour mix for a huge array of cocktails ready to go.

So all that’s left to get is the ice. Most folks go the cubed or block route, the problem being that, after a couple of days, everything tends to become a soggy mess.

The last thing you want to be making for happy hour is a cocktail with ice that tastes like the Oscar Mayer wieners floating around the bottom of the cooler.

Bring a bag of cubed ice, but pick up a block of dry ice (available at Praxair in East

Van) to keep your cooler cold and your cubes pristine. A 25-pound block runs about $40 and will last three days. Need crushed ice? Grab your axe and a reusable cloth shopping bag and have at ’er. Yes, it’s all that easy—until the rain, mosquitos, and cretins blaring Van Halen in the next campsite over arrive to make you wonder why the hell you ever left town.

Here’s a twist on a Lynchburg Lemonade using red huckleberries (found growing around pretty much every campsite in B.C.).

LYNCHBURG HUCKLEBERRY LEMONADE

2 oz. Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 1 oz. premixed sweet-and-sour mix Sanpellegrino Limonata 20 foraged huckleberries

Muddle the huckleberries with the back of a spoon or a piece of kindling. Add ice, Jack Daniel’s, and sweet-and-sour, shake, and then strain into your Stanley tumbler over fresh ice. Top with the lemon soda and stir. g Mike Usinger is not a professional bartender. He does, however, spend most of his waking hours sitting on barstools.

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JULY 16 – 23 / 2020

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9

FOOD

Opinions are divided on the topic of safe dining When it comes to food safety in the era of COVID-19, everyone has their own comfort level

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by Gail Johnson

ix months ago, we never would have imagined high-end restaurants doing takeout, servers wearing surgical masks, or having to wipe down all of the grocerystore and takeout packaging entering our homes. COVID-19 has introduced a mindboggling new normal when it comes to eating safely, whether at one of your favourite eateries or at your kitchen table.

The novel coronavirus isn’t transmitted through food itself, but expert opinion has been divided since the onset of the pandemic over several aspects related to food.

Do we need to take a Lysol wipe to soup cans and pizza boxes, for instance, and should we soak produce in soapy water to reduce the risk of contracting the virus? In a restaurant setting, is it safe to touch the table, chairs, glassware, and cutlery?

Much of the concern stemmed from research published in the New England Journal of Medicine showing that the virus can survive on certain surfaces for varying lengths of time: up to 24 hours on cardboard, for example, and up to three days on plastic.

The risk of virus transmission through infected surfaces has been exaggerated, according to Emanuel Goldman, professor of microbiology, biochemistry and molecular genetics at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, who is among the health professionals weighing in on this topic lately. In a recent commentary published in the Lancet, he said the data showing this kind of viral transfer have come from studies that have “little resemblance to real-life scenarios”.

“In my opinion, the chance of transmission through inanimate surfaces is very small, and only in instances where an infected person coughs or sneezes on the surface and someone else touches that surface soon after the cough or sneeze (within 1–2 h),” Goldman wrote. “I do not disagree with erring on the side of caution, but this can go to extremes not justified by the data. Although periodically disinfecting surfaces and use of gloves are reasonable precautions, especially in hospitals, I believe that fomites [inanimate surfaces that are normally likely to carry infection] that have not been in contact with an infected carrier for

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We have all gotten used to eating outdoors in places we never would have imagined before the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Fairmont Pacific Rim’s pop-up patio. Photo by Leila Kwok

many hours do not pose a measurable risk of transmission in non-hospital settings.”

The focus on wiping down countertops, milk jugs, and to-go containers may turn people’s attention away from more effective measures of minimizing transmission. Goldman said. “It distracts and takes people away from what really protects you against this virus, and that’s the masks,” he told CTVNews.ca. “That’s where the emphasis has to be. That’s what’s going to save us.”

I do not disagree with erring on the side of caution.

– Emanuel Goldman

Masks and/or face shields have rightly become commonplace in many restaurants and grocery stores, though practices vary from place to place. If you’re feeling apprehensive about dining out, visit the restaurant’s website or call directly to go over their COVID-19 protocols—ideally those that go above and beyond the physical-distancing guidelines imposed by your public health officer.

You should be able to easily determine all of the steps a dining establishment is taking to help keep its employees and

guests safe. Are floor and kitchen staff wearing masks? Is hand sanitizer available upon entry or once you’re seated? (Some restaurants have added individual packets as part of the place settings.) How often are high-touch surfaces and washrooms being sanitized? Are there screens between tables? And are tables actually two metres apart? Are digital menus available so you don’t have to handle a paper version, or are the latter being recycled after each use?

Are temperature checks being conducted among staff and guests before they enter? It may seem strange the first time you extend your wrist to get this measurement, but it’s quick, painless, and for the greater good.

Is the restaurant taking down a name and number for at least one person in your party for contact tracing if necessary? Do they accept cash (many don’t)?

These are all things to consider, and everyone’s comfort level is different.

There’s no right or wrong, and you need to know if you’ll be able to relax amid the many health measures around you that are reminders of the times. Sitting outside is a better option than in, with the outdoors making it harder for the virus to spread.

Guests have their own part to play when it comes to dining out safely: stay home if you’re sick; consider wearing a mask until you’re seated; respect physical-distancing rules; and wash or sanitize your hands before eating.

If you didn’t finish what’s on your plate and want to take it home, you can ask to pack it up yourself or have a staff member do it for you. Be patient. And whatever you do, don’t lick your fingers. But you didn’t do that before the pandemic, did you? g

WINE

B.C. berries shine in three fruit-forward wines

T

by Gail Johnson

he B.C. wine industry has earned a glowing global reputation, but there’s more to the local collection than elixirs made of grapes.

Fruit wines also form part of the provincial portfolio. Here’s a small sampling of places throughout B.C. where the offerings are truly fruit-forward.

blueberries. It’s perfect for patio sipping or for serving with a selection of soft cheeses or salmon three-ways: sashimi, smoked, and grilled. ($15.96; see sleepinggiantfruit winery.ca/ for more information.)

Then there’s dessert wine: choose from Apricot, Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, and more.

MONTE CREEK RANCH’S BLUEBERRY WINE

FORT WINE CO.’S KEREMEOS FRUIT STAND

Situated 10 minutes outside of Kamloops with views of the South Thompson Valley and surrounding mountains, Monte Creek Ranch grows Reka blueberries for this dry wine right on-site.

A vibrant purple, the wine has bright floral flavours and is best served chilled.

Pair it with pad Thai, flatbread topped with feta cheese and fresh mint, or grilled chicken. (It’s $17.99; see www.montecreekranch. com/ for details.)

The family-run farm also produces a Haskap Fruit Wine (a dessert wine made of three varieties of the namesake berries that they grow) and Split Decision, a blueberry-grape sparkling wine (in addition to reds, whites, rosés, and other sparklers).

Monte Creek Ranch near Kamloops offers some spectacular views to savour along with its vibrantpurple Blueberry Wine, Haskap Fruit Wine, and Split Decision blueberry-grape sparkling wine.

SLEEPING GIANT FRUIT WINERY’S INA’S BLUSH

The Summerland winery makes several types of fruit wine, including Pear, Cherry,

Strawberry-Rhubarb, Raspberry, and Cranberry.

Ina’s Blush consists of Okanagan peaches and, to a lesser extent, Fraser Valley

Located just outside of Fort Langley in Glen Valley (who knew?), Fort Wine Co. was founded nearly two decades ago when tugboat captain and cranberry farmer Wade Bauck started making Cranberry wine, which remains its f lagship product. Now the winery has several varieties, including Bite Me Strawberry and Valley Girl Blueberry as well as Island Queen Blackberry, a portstyle wine, and the very sweet Cold Snap Apple dessert wine.

At 11 percent ABV, the Keremeos Fruit Stand wine consists of a blend of crispy B.C. apples and juicy local pears. Best chilled to 60 C, it goes especially well with seafood. (It’s $32.98; thefortwineco.com/ has ordering info.) g

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JULY 16 – 23 / 2020

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11

ARTS

At centennial show, artists celebrate Bill Reid’s legacy

by Janet Smith

T

Portrait of Bill Reid (painting by Chris Hopkins, detail) shows the late master in his studio; Kinnie Starr (photo by Rico Amezquita); Gwaai Edenshaw; and Cori Savard (photo courtesy YVR Art Foundation).

he Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art has reopened its doors just in time to mark the centennial of its namesake, whose legacy lives on not only in his own timeless works, but in those of a new generation.

To celebrate, the gallery is ready to open a multifaceted new show curated by Reid’s last apprentice, Gwaai Edenshaw. The massive exploration of his life and work shows vividly that the Haida-art icon’s influence carries on through today’s Northwest Coast artists—and far beyond.

Edenshaw has worked for the past year to put together a tribute that shows all the complexity of Reid as a goldsmith, sculptor, activist, radio personality, and mentor—a man of mixed Haida and Scottish-German roots who, at 23, travelled to Haida Gwaii and began a lifelong exploration of his Indigenous identity. The resulting exhibit, To Speak With a Golden Voice, spans early sketches through to key pieces from Reid, as well as works from colleagues such as Robert Davidson and Beau Dick. It also includes a new work by contemporary Haida artist Cori Savard and a sound installation that integrates Reid’s voice by singersongwriter Kinnie Starr. (The show follows strict social-distancing protocols.)

“I think the complexity will shine through—certainly the multidimensionality of who he was, the good the bad and the ugly, but also the humanity,” Edenshaw tells the Straight. “Bill is such a giant in our imaginations—even for those of us who knew him well. It can be easy to just look at his accomplishments and forget his humanity.”

The Haida artist and filmmaker, raised on Haida Gwaii, met Reid as a baby, when his father, Guujaaw (Gary Edenshaw), served as Reid’s assistant in the raising of the Dogfish Pole in Skidegate.

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“I actually walked for the first time on the day they put up the pole,” Edenshaw relates.

Edenshaw was 16 when Reid asked the budding artist to apprentice with him.

“He arranged for me to go down and live with him and I was pulled out of school,” Edenshaw recounts. “When I went into his apartment-studio, you know, it was pretty awe-inspiring to see all this different work and the pieces of his that were already iconic to me.

“He would set me on projects and assignments,” Edenshaw adds. “It was quite a bit of classical training, where he would have me do copies of different pieces that he thought would enrich my understanding of form.”

Edenshaw has gone on to work on everything from the dramatic film Edge of the Knife to comic books and totem poles, often creating gold, silver, and argillite jewellery. He says disentangling Reid’s specific influences on his artworks is a complex task, but one Reid quote has guided much of his approach.

“There was one statement that Bill made to me that has stuck with me forever,” Edenshaw says. “He told me that Haida art, when it’s done right, should look like an explosion that’s about to happen, rather than one that’s already happened. That refers to the tension in the line.”

Reid’s life’s work also helped paved the way for artists like Edenshaw and countless others to build careers—to find galleries and buyers to collect their creations.

“I don’t really know what compelled him in his time to pursue the art in itself, because the market as it existed was pretty limited and the understanding of it as ‘Indian craft’ by so much of the world,” Edenshaw reflects. “But Bill and Robert and others, they developed a market. One thing they managed to do is articulate the com-

JULY 16 – 23 / 2020

plexity and the science behind the art and share that with the world.”

AS TO SPEAK With a Golden Voice shows, Reid’s lasting impact goes far beyond the artists who knew and worked with him directly.

Painter and carver Savard says living on Haida Gwaii has allowed her a special connection to his art and its influences. “I think that the body of work that Bill produced set a high bar for what can be achieved through the art, across every medium,” says the artist from Skidegate. “Living on Haida Gwaii, we get to study a few of his works in person. The Haida Gwaii Museum houses a totem pole and a war canoe [Loo Taa], both carved by Bill—monumental examples that I feel are crucial for the next generation to study.”

In the new painting she’s created for the exhibit, she draws from her memories of seeing Reid’s famous canoe sculpture The Spirit of Haida Gwaii—and the connection to it she has through her mother, who introduced her to his artwork when she was young.

“It’s a reflection on some experiences I had as a child, growing up away from my community on Haida Gwaii,” Savard, who grew up in Quebec and Ontario, hints of the painting she’ll unveil at To Speak With a Golden Voice. “The Shark crest is a subcrest of my clan; I chose it to represent my mother. She taught me about what it meant to be Haida, and what she knew about the art using what was available to her—in this case, the collection of Northwest Coast art, in the Grand Hall of the Canadian Museum of History.” The museum was a place Savard frequently visited growing up, Reid’s work acting as one of her beacons.

For singer-songwriter Starr, who has Mohawk, Dutch, German, and Irish roots, Reid’s journey mirrors some of her own questions

of identity and mixed heritage. Working on the show’s sound installation has helped her build what feels like an intimate emotional bond with an artist she never met.

Soon after moving here in the early ’90s, she says, a counsellor at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre suggested she study “mixed-blood artists who had a difficulty understanding their place and position in society at large and the art world”.

“I just had a feeling I didn’t belong anywhere, and then I was introduced to Northwest Coast art,” the artist explains.

“I found a lot of encouragement in his story...and that he had spent a lot of his life not identifying as a Haida.”

Starr has combed through extensive vocal archives of Reid’s career to create her commissioned sound-based artwork. Reid was a CBC announcer, and made many recordings of his thoughts on Northwest Coast art.

You’ll hear an artful collage of those sound bites hidden in different spots in the gallery, activated by motion sensors.

“I’m trying to do an ode to his sense of humour,” Starr adds. “One thing I know is that, outside of Indigenous society, a lot of people consider Indigenous nations to be broken and upset. But inside the Indigenous communities, humour is everywhere.

In a lot of these [clips] he sounds like he was quite eccentric and funny.”

Hearing his voice has brought her closer to the influential icon—a goal of the overall exhibit as well.

“I feel like I know him better, and that feels like a rich opportunity because he was so important to me at a distance as a young woman,” Starr says. g To Speak With a Golden Voice runs at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art from Thursday (July 16) to April 11, 2021.

MOVIES / BOOKS

Burnaby director meets the nice guy behind Machete Inmate #1 traces Danny Trejo’s incredible journey from addict and prisoner to star and inspirational speaker

A

by Janet Smith

mong the many surreal highlights local director Brett Harvey recalls from shooting Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo was cruising around L.A.’s Pacoima hood in his documentary subject’s gorgeously restored ’56 Chevy Bel Air. At the wheel, Trejo, the famously badass tough guy who’s perfected the death stare in cult hits like Machete and Desperado would wave gleefully at passersby and point out his old hangouts—including the first stores he robbed as an elementaryschool heroin addict.

“He literally lives in the same neighbourhood where he grew up, and everywhere we went people would be yelling out ‘Machete!’ ” the Burnaby filmmaker recalls to the Straight.

“I remember entering Danny’s neighbourhood for the first time, and just all the murals that were there, and the culture, and the heat,” he adds of the racially diverse San Fernando Valley community.

“It was a very different world. And then to have Danny take us deeper into that world, talking about these personal stories.”

They add up to the kind of tale you can’t make up. Born in 1944, Trejo took his first hit of heroin at just 12, spent his teens as an armed robber, and put in hard time throughout the ’60s. He became a champion boxer at San Quentin prison, then worked as a drug counsellor. That was all

long before his first film gig, as an extra in the prison scenes of Runaway Train in 1985. There, screenwriter Eddie Bunker, himself an ex-con, recognized Trejo as a jail legend and asked him to train the film’s star Eric Roberts to box in the movie.

Trejo has gone on to become one of the stone-cold scariest dudes on-screen— whether he’s flying through a ball of flame firing a military-grade machine gun mounted to his motorcycle in Machete, or sending a barrage of blades from his wellstocked knife belt into Antonio Banderas and Steve Buscemi in Desperado. In one of Inmate #1’s more memorable quotes, Con Air star Nicolas Cage is recalled deeming Trejo the one genuinely frightening guy out of all the pedigreed bad guys collected for the cast of airborne criminals.

Harvey, who made the new documentary with Canadian producer Adam Scorgie, is used to tough guys, after making films like his hockey-enforcer documentary Ice Guardians. But the Trejo he found was constantly laughing, endlessly generous, and beyond inspiring.

“One of the things Danny had to learn was how to disarm people immediately,” Harvey explains. “He came out of prison with that look of ‘I’m gonna kill you.’ It was Eddie [Bunker] who told him, ‘Danny, when you come onto set people are scared of you.’

So when Danny walks into a room now he says, ‘Hello! How are you?’ with a big smile.

W riters fest GOES DIGITAL the West Coast happening.

VWF’s international contingent includes Megha Majumdar. Photo by Elena Seibert

ON JULY 13, the Vancouver Writers

Fest revealed a roster of more than 65 authors, poets, and spoken-word artists slated to appear at this year’s COVIDmodified edition of the city’s biggest annual literary event.

Like so many cultural mainstays coping with new health protocols, the Octoberfocused festival is going digital this time around, taking an online format based on live-streaming and podcasts as an opportunity to invite luminaries who may not have been available otherwise to join

Among the international headliners this year will be such acclaimed talents as Ayad Akhtar, Yaa Gyasi, David Mitchell, Megha Majumdar, and Marilynne Robinson. Alongside will be renowned names from across the country, like Thomas King, Margaret MacMillan, and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, as well as a sparkling contingent from B.C.’s scene, including Ivan Coyote, Jillian Christmas, Sheena Kamal, Wade Davis, and Nancy Lee, to name only a few.

Top it off with an event featuring indierock icons Tegan and Sara Quin, and you’ve got a literary gathering with enough of VWF’s trademark range and flair to tide you over to the day down the road when the festival can return to its traditional Granville Island venues.

Tickets go on sale in September. See writersfest.bc.ca/ for details and a reading list.

by Brian Lynch

Danny Trejo may be one of the stone-cold scariest dudes on-screen, but in making Inmate #1, documentary director Brett Harvey found the ex-con to be a generous guy who is always laughing.

“He’s joking constantly,” he adds, “and I think that’s because he didn’t really have a childhood. When you think of it, the majority of the stuff he does now [on-screen] is comedy.”

The film is packed with colourful anecdotes, not just from Trejo colleagues including Robert Rodriguez and Cheech Marin, but from the well-inked title character himself. Choice tidbits range from a dope-addled teen attempt to rob an electronics store with a hand grenade to re-enacting the entire plot of The Wizard of Oz while trying to stay sane in a shit-smeared solitary cell.

In the film, Trejo talks about how learning to give instead of take was the key to his own recovery. “Everything good that’s ever happened to me came out of helping others,” he says.

And now he passes that message on to others. His capacity to inspire is most evident in the scene that bookends Inmate #1, one where Harvey’s cameras follow the fedora-bedecked star into a room full of

orange-jumpsuited inmates at Arizona State. Preternaturally spry and never looking his 76 years, Trejo tells them how he escaped a life behind bars.

“The thing about Danny is his life after prison became a search for redemption,” Harvey says. “It was ‘How can I give back now without expecting anything in return?’ He realized it’s not an endgame.”

Screening Inmate #1 in L.A. for Trejo and some family and friends, Harvey says, “I had a pretty good feeling he was liking it; he kept nudging his bodyguard saying, ‘Look at that!’ ” And then, when the lights came up, he says the star stood up, stone-faced, turned to the small crowd, and announced in his best don’t-fuck-with-me gravelly deadpan: “I am Danny Trejo and I approve of this movie.” g Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo is streaming now on Super Channel, iTunes, and Amazon, as well as other digital platforms. A longer version of this story is available at Straight.com.

Obituaries & In Memoriam • Up to 10 images • Online only • Self-serve • Guestbook forever • Unlimited length • Verified

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13

SEX

Law stops Triple-X from signing up new members

A

by Charlie Smith

ndrew Sorfleet has a long history of advocacy for sex workers. He spent about 10 years as an organizer with the Sex Workers Alliance of Vancouver. Then he, along with other sex workers, created the Committee to Unite Prostitutes, but they felt that it didn’t have sufficient legitimacy because it wasn’t registered. So in 2012, they formed the Triple-X Workers’ Solidarity Association of B.C. “I believe we became the very first labour-oriented registered sex-worker organization in Canada,” Sorfleet recently told the Straight by phone.

They modelled their organization on the Union of B.C. Performers, which also represents members who sometimes compete with one another for work. Triple-X has a board of directors, including a treasurer and secretary, and Sorfleet is its president. Their goals include combatting discrimination against Triple-X members and increasing their pay. The organization also aims to enhance Triple-X workers’ job satisfaction and advocate for better jobs in the sex industry.

It’s open to anyone in the sex industry who has received financial remuneration for sexual stimulation within the previous six months. “That can involve touch or no touch,” Sorfleet said.

Triple-X obtained a certification of registration of trademarks from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. According to Sorf leet, this means the group can license its trademark to members after it creates standards—i.e., education and a test— to

Andrew Sorfleet, president of the Triple-X Workers’ Solidarity Association of B.C., wants sex workers’ charter rights respected.

provide “protection appropriate to the service”.

“They could use this in their advertising,” Sorfleet pointed out. “That would tell clients and anyone else who’s poking around that these people belong to a professional

association or a union and that their services are provided safely.”

But the former Conservative government got in the way of Triple-X’s efforts to organize sex workers and help them make decisions about how to improve their lives. As justice minister in 2014, Peter MacKay introduced amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada to clamp down on the sex industry through the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. It outlawed the advertising or purchase of sexual services, even if this was between consenting adults. And it imposed severe restrictions on obtaining material benefits from the sale of sexual services.

“It means we are prohibited from collecting annual membership dues and we’re prohibited from recruiting new members because we would most definitely be counselling and encouraging people to work in the sex industry,” Sorfleet said. “So it stands right in the way of sex workers being able to form their own association.”

That, he declared, is unconstitutional because the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of association.

“I would not be afraid to go to court on this,” Sorfleet said. “I believe we would win.”

However, he acknowledged that constitutional cases can drag on for many years, which is why he would prefer Justice Minister David Lametti to amend Section 286(2) of the Criminal Code to ensure that his organization’s constitutional rights are respected. g

Seeing a sex worker can be about more than sex

by Dan Savage

b I AM A 53-year-old guy. Since I’ve been struggling with depression and anxiety all my life, I’ve never been in a situation where sex was a possibility. I’m really dying to know what it’s like. Confidence comes from experience and I don’t have any.

My one girlfriend could not hide the fact that my inexperience offended her. Other people on blogs and such have recommended a prostitute. But that’s not really what I’m looking for. It’s about more than sex. I want someone to care for me as I am.

- Very Inexperienced Relationship Guy In Need

not what you want to hear, VIRGIN, but I agree with other blogs and such: I think you should find a sex worker. Find a nice, patient woman who does sex work and be completely upfront about why you’re seeing her: you’re so painfully self-conscious about your sexual inexperience that you find it hard to date. It may take some searching, VIRGIN, but there are sex workers who want to help their clients grow and heal. “Many people have the stereotypical misconception that all sex workers are disconnected, uncaring, and only there for the money,” said Ruby Ryder, a sex worker and sex educator. “While money is indeed a part of it, many of us understand that human

I know it’s

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A lonely middle-aged man with no sexual experience might benefit from seeing a sex worker; virtual-reality porn could be a boon to bored couples. Left photo by Dimitar Kazakov/Unsplash.

beings need touch, connection, and acceptance. We provide an opportunity for clients to be vulnerable, whether it’s fulfilling their kinky fantasies or simply having sex.” And while the relationship you have with a sex worker you might see regularly for a year or two is certainly transactional, VIRGIN, it’s still a relationship and about more than sex.

I’m not suggesting you see sex workers exclusively for the rest of your life (even if

JULY 16 – 23 / 2020

I’m not not suggesting that either), VIRGIN, I’m only suggesting you see a sex worker to find out what sex is like, gain a little self-confidence, and maybe feel a little more hopeful for your future.

Ruby Ryder is on Twitter @Ruby_Ryder and online at www.peggingparadise.com. b I’M A LONG-TIME reader who’s never had a question that your archives couldn’t answer.

But there is something I wanted to share with you and your readers! My wife and I have incorporated virtual reality (VR) goggles into our sex life with great success, Dan, and they could be the answer to a range of questions that you get at the column. They’re so useful, in fact, that your failure to mention them is starting to look like a glaring omission! Because let’s say someone writes in who wants to open their relationship or explore a cuckold fantasy (like one of last week’s letter writers!) but they’re worried about the emotions involved, potential STIs, or COVID-19? VR goggles! While the offerings for female POV VR porn are pretty paltry, I’ve never seen my wife come harder than she did with me inside her and a pair of goggles on her face giving her the perspective of a man getting fucked by a beautiful trans woman.

- Very Recent Purchase Optimizes Reality Nicely

writing in, VRPORN, and you’re right: VR porn sounds like a great way for an adventurous monogamous couple to have a little virtual variety. g

Thank you for

Listen to Dan and comedian Jay Jurden on the Lovecast: www.savagelovecast.com.

Email: mail@savagelove.net. Follow Dan on Twitter @ FakeDanSavage.

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

JULY 16 – 23 / 2020