October 08, 2019

OCTOBER 8, 2019 | VOLUME CI | ISSUE IX FUN FACTS SINCE 1918

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CULTURE

OPINION

BLOG

SCIENCE

SPORTS

Voting Habits: own two passports?

No problem!

Please please please please vote!

How hard can you trespass?

Sepsis study supports early blood testing

Fly T-Birds Fly: Big wins home and away

THE UBYSSEY

VOTE!

FEDERAL ELECTIONS SPECIAL

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OCTOBER 8, 2019 TUESDAY

YOUR GUIDE TO UBC EVENTS & PEOPLE

calligraphy and coffeeEVENTS

THIS WEEK IN PHOTOS PHOTOS BY ELIZABETH WANG

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10 UBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 12 P.M. @ CHAN SHUN CONCERT HALL

Watch Jonathan Girard and the symphony orchestra hit the folks with their splendid sounds. Your ears will be treated to the works of Debussy, Rachmaninoff and others!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12 MUSHROOM FORAGING 2–­­4 P.M. @ UBC FARM Pay $40 and Robin Kort will show you how to safely eat fungi from the forest floor! It’s dinner and a hike, all at once!

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15

PHOTOS BY SALOMON MICKO BENRIMOH

GOLDEN LETTERS ARRAYED LIKE STARS AND PLANETS 6–8 P.M. @ LIU LOBBY GALLERY The Tibetan language is beautiful! Get learned on it at this sick talk!

ON THE COVER COVER BY Lua Presidio

Want to see more events or see your event listed here? ubyssey.ca/events

U THE UBYSSEY

EDITORIAL

Coordinating Editor Alex Nguyen coordinating@ubyssey.ca Visuals Editor Lua Presidio visuals@ubyssey.ca News Editors Henry Anderson and Emma Livingstone news@ubyssey.ca Culture Editor Thomas O’Donnell culture@ubyssey.ca Sports + Rec Editor Salomon Micko Benrimoh sports@ubyssey.ca Video Producer Jack Bailey video@ubyssey.ca Opinion + Blog Editor Tristan Wheeler opinion@ubyssey.ca Science Editor James Vogl science@ubyssey.ca Photo Editor Elizabeth Wang photos@ubyssey.ca

Features Editor Pawan Minhas features@ubyssey.ca STAFF

OCTOBER 8, 2019 | VOLUME CI| ISSUE IX

Jensen-DesJardins, Bailey Martens, Sonia Pathak, Anupriya Dasgupta, Sophie Galloway, Chimedum Ohaegbu, Riya Talitha, Andy Phung

Zubair Hirji, Moe Kirkpatrick, Fariha Khan, Sammy Smart, Bill Huan, Brendan Smith, Diana Hong, Jordan ElizabethLidell, Ryan Neale, Sarah Zhao, Charlotte Alden, BUSINESS Andrew Ha, Jasmyne Business Manager Eastmond, Maya Rodrigo-Abdi, Tianne Douglas Baird business@ubyssey.ca LEGAL The Ubyssey is the official student newspaper of the University of British Columbia. It is published every Tuesday by The Ubyssey Publications Society.

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CULTURE

OCTOBER 8, 2019 TUESDAY

EDITOR THOMAS O’DONNELL

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NOT A MONOLITH //

Voting Habits: International students engage in the 2019 federal election Liam Sfaxi Contributor

For many, October 21 will be a day much like any other at UBC. You will probably be late to class, The Nest will be painfully packed by noon and The Delly will still be amazing. But this isn’t just any Monday, it’s the day of the Canadian federal election.

Many weeks of hard work and campaigning end with this one day to answer the all-important question: who will represent the people and lead the country for the next four years?

Tensions will be running high for many Canadian citizens at UBC. But will the same tension be felt by nonCanadian students?

To vote in Canada, you must be over the age of 18 and you must be a Canadian citizen. UBC has a lot of international students and under these requirements, they are ineligible for voting. According to UBC, 25 per cent of the student population was international in the 2017/18 academic year. So how does this significant population of campus feel about the upcoming federal election that they can’t even have a say in?

Predictably, many international students do not feel the need to stay up to date with the candidates or the issues discussed.

“Talking with my friends, the election isn’t a big thing on their

minds ... You’re absorbed by school and what’s happening [here],” said Felipe Alfaro, a member of the Young Liberals and an international relations major from Panama.

Tomas Kantor, a fifth-year international relations major from Chile, agrees.

“It’s a negative feedback, if you will, where we just surround ourselves with international people and we fall into the snowball of unCanadianness,” Kantor said. “We’re not really engaged in the Canadian political debate.”

In short, they both felt that there can be a sort of bubble at UBC for international students that comprises mainly school work and insulates them from the current events in Canada.

But some students do feel strongly about the need to stay up-to-date politically. Matisse De Rivières, a third-year French dual degree student in arts, said she is keeping up with the election.

“I don’t understand how you can go to another country and not get involved somehow in the local life which means for me ... how to understand where you live and what are the dynamics?,” said De Rivières.

For De Rivières, it’s about being a part of the country she is living in.

“I’m actually so glad — I didn’t realize when I applied to this program [at UBC] that I would be here for the elections and I’m so

Some students can feel they can get caught up in a bubble.

thankful for that because that is just such an amazing opportunity,” she said.

When asked why they believe that international students have a tendency to not care as much about the elections, third-year French economics major Alix Chambaz noted that international students generally only respond to policies that strongly affect them. “[I feel] that international students, if they don’t have an interest in politics, are not really going to care about it,” she said.

But quite a few issues do affect international students — especially immigration.

“There can be changes the way that migration works,” Alfaro said. “And I remember there was a change from the Harper government to the Trudeau government.”

This isn’t to say that students are apathetic to domestic issues.

For instance, both Chambaz and De Rivières felt strongly about Canada’s need to fix the state of their relations with Indigenous groups.

“Addressing the Indigenous issue should be Canada’s main priority. I can’t believe that it hasn’t been done already,” said Chambaz.

Ultimately, international

FILE AIKEN LAO

students are by no means a monolith. The students interviewed gave a variety of different answers and opinions regarding international students and the federal election. But the one thing that was truly consistent across the board was how strongly each student felt about the importance of voting.

“We fought so hard to have a system where all of us can have a stake in what decision making is going to look like,” said Chambaz.

“If you can vote, you have a duty to.” U ­—With files from Sarah Zhao.

COLOUR IN THE PASSPORTS //

Voting Habits: Dual citizens at UBC enthusiastic to vote in the 2019 federal election

If you don’t feel engaged in Canadian politics, should you vote at all?

Bridget Berner Contributor

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but a large portion of Canada and UBC’s population enjoys the benefits of holding dual citizenship.

Obtaining Canadian citizenship on top of your country of origin’s citizenship can be done in a variety of ways, including taking a citizenship test or by claiming the citizenship of your parents. You don’t need to know the steps a bill takes before it becomes law in Parliament to be a Canadian citizen, unless if you’re taking the citizenship test.

As we head deeper into the

2019 federal election, students and faculty members with dual citizenship at UBC can fulfill their civic duty and vote for their representatives in the House of Commons. But, it’s not so simple.

Some dual citizens may have been born here but didn’t grow up in Canada at all. It can be a little more uncomfortable — if you don’t feel engaged in Canadian politics, should you bother voting at all?

The Ubyssey reached out to UBC community members via social media and here are some of the responses.

Justine Engel is a third-year economics student who was born in Edmonton, but she lived the vast majority of her life in the US

ALEX VANDERPUT

before coming back to Canada to attend UBC. She said that she’s struggled to engage in Canadian politics because of her entrenched knowledge in US politics.

“When I was in my first year, I took a [political science] class and I was so confused so much of the time because I was trying to figure out what exactly the prime minister does. He doesn’t sign bills [into law], he doesn’t veto stuff,” Engel said.

“Also, you know how you don’t necessarily vote for the person — you vote for the party? It’s taken a while for me to kind of adjust to that mindset.”

The initial learning curve doesn’t change the fact that Engel

is planning on exercising her right to vote.

“I definitely think I’m going to vote this time because I feel like that’s my right as a Canadian citizen, so I might as well exercise that. But, I do feel a lot more connected I think with American elections and American politics. I grew up there,” she said.

Jonathan Chan, a fourth-year biochemistry student, has lived in Canada permanently since 2015 but was born in Hong Kong and carries citizenship from both Canada and Australia. He doesn’t feel pressured to vote by his friends, family and colleagues, but sees it as observing the democratic system.

“I am definitely going to vote,” he said. “I feel like I should do it because if I don’t, then it kind of ruins the point of the system.”

Dr. Jonatan Schroeder is a professor at in UBC’s department of computer science. He was born in Brazil but moved to Canada to complete his PhD in computer science at UBC. Regarding whether he plans to vote, he said that he has “already made up [his] mind and [is] planning to vote in the advanced polls.”

“I have been actually feeling more inclined to focus my attention to the politics here than in Brazil, mostly because I have been focusing less on Brazil because we can’t go directly and actually get involved,” he said.

Christiane Boen, a recent UBC graduate of microbiology and immunology, was born in the

Netherlands and spent her life there until moving to Canada in 2009. After she turned 18, she immediately started the process of obtaining her citizenship once she discovered that she could carry both Dutch and Canadian citizenship at once. Despite spending most of her life abroad, she also feels more engaged with the political climate in Canada than in the Netherlands.

“When I became a Canadian [citizen], I was already an adult — and having that appreciation from being relatively mature that way, I was already able to appreciate the importance of being engaged in your country and what it means to be a citizen and fulfilling those duties as a citizen,” she said.

Altogether, all the UBC community members interviewed said they shared a mutual understanding of the importance of fulfilling one’s civic duties, especially given the issues currently gripping the world.

“I feel that, especially with the global climate right now, there is a lot of tension I feel. I think it’s important to be aware of issues,” Boen said.

“Of course, people have different levels of engagement and interest in politics. My friend posted on Instagram the other day offering any advice or just thoughts on the election process and how to vote and everything and to ask her any questions about [it]. Because it was my first time voting, ever, I took her up on that offer because I do think that it’s important.” U

4 | CULTURE | TUESDAY OCTOBER 8, 2019 YOU NEED STAMPS //

HATCH //

Voting Habits: Living outside the country not a barrier to UBC students voting Tara Osler Contributor

From a special polling station in the AMS Student Nest to advanced polling over Thanksgiving weekend across the country, Elections Canada has made voting for students an easy process — so long as they are on Canadian soil.

To vote while studying abroad, the process is more involved.

A Canadian student abroad must apply for a special ballot.

Elections Canada recommends that Canadians abroad apply online, but may also do so through mail, fax or in person at a Canadian diplomatic office.

There are several documents required, including a government-issued identification, two other pieces of identification with your name and address — Elections Canada recommends a debit card and a bank statement — and an affidavit proving your identity, signed by someone authorized to receive oaths in your province or territory.

If you plan to apply in person at a Canadian diplomatic office, then you can forgo the affidavit and take a verbal oath, so long as you bring a witness who can vouch for your identity. After this entire process, you must wait to receive your special ballot package in the mail and return it

by October 21 at 6 p.m. EST. Though it may seem daunting, the online application is a relatively quick process, as long as you have your proper identification prepared.

ELIZABETH WANG

How do the means by which we protect artwork also prevent it from being seen?

Review: Baxter& And? COURTESY MADELEINE LINK

Though it may seem daunting, the online application is a quick process.

Third-year business student Cole Hendy, currently on exchange at Copenhagen Business School, wrote to The Ubyssey about the ease with which he registered to vote.

“I actually did it while bored in class, it only took a few minutes,” he said.

“Obviously I haven’t been hearing all the ads for the election but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

In Copenhagen, he has found himself surrounded by many other Canadian students who have helped him stay connected through what he called, “meaningful and constructive conversations.”

Like many Canadians living

abroad, access to the internet is also extremely important for Hendy’s participation, as he plans to watch the upcoming debates to help come to a decision. Online broadcasts and party platforms are accessible almost everywhere, an advancement that makes all the difference for today’s exchange students who now have easier access to voter registration.

Voter turnout in the 18 to 24 age group has steadily increased over the last two federal elections, a trend that is predicted to continue this year. With the ease of access to resources like special ballots, first-time voters are afforded many opportunities to participate — even while on the other side of the world. U

Looking for experience WORKING WITH YOUTH?

Moe Kirkpatrick Senior Staff Writer

If you’re reading this, it is already closed.

I spent some time wandering around the Hatch Gallery’s latest pop-up exhibition: How to Unroll a Baxter&? This four-day pop-up is a ranged display of pieces from the AMS Permanent Collection, roughly gathered around a central piece: a rolled-up canvas by Iain Baxter&.

Yes, it’s pronounced “Baxterand.” One word.

And — more prominently — yes. It’s still rolled up.

See, this pop-up exhibition focuses loosely on works from the collection that are less often exhibited due to “condition or installation limitations.” What that really means is a broad range of things. Two of the works were vandalized in 1958 in Brock Hall. Another was vandalized in the 1970s and restored, but the restoration hasn’t aged well — let’s just say that I could guess which one it was.

But it’s not just vandalism that sets these pieces apart.

Underneath one of the paintings is a duct-taped cardboard portfolio. At first glance, it’s so well-worn and so very taped that it looks like something a student left there.

But no: the name on the portfolio and the painting match. Because, likely, that’s where it’s been stored.

There’s a reason that the Baxter& canvas is still rolled up.

That reason is simple and sad: we don’t know how to unroll it without damaging it.

How do the means by which we protect artwork also prevent it from being seen? How did our past efforts to conserve and collect “important” artwork damage our future capabilities to share this artwork with others?

These are all questions that How to Unroll a Baxter&? asks — but doesn’t really answer.

How could it? It’s a pop-up.

It’s only here for four days.

And while I, a proponent of going and seeing art, would encourage you to go and see this art, the truth is, if you’re looking for a complete artistic experience, this exhibit isn’t the place to go.

But, if you’re looking for the beginning of hard questions, which may or may not be answered by other pop-up exhibitions from the Permanent Collection over the course of this year, How to Unroll a Baxter&? is an enjoyable — if not particularly captivating — start. U How to Unroll a Baxter&? was shown September 30 until October 4.

Provide support through online and phone crisis services.

crisiscentre.bc.ca/joinus

ELIZABETH WANG

A note from Thomas O’Donnell, Culture Editor This is for The Ubyssey’s historical record. In October of 2019 the Ubyssey office had four stuffed animals. Their names were Tanqueray, Moscato, Penguina and MYM.

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FEDERAL ELECTIONS

EDITORS HENRY ANDERSON + EMMA LIVINGSTONE + PAWAN MINHAS

OCTOBER 8, 2019 TUESDAY

VOTE

Elections UBC

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FEDERAL ELECTIONS

TUESDAY OCTOBER 8, 2019

VANCOUVER QUADRA PROFILES JOYCE MURRAY LIBERAL

Vancouver Quadra Conservative candidate Kathleen Dixon decided to run for MP after witnessing four years of a New Democratic Party (NDP) government in Alberta.

Now, she’s ready to enter a competitive riding with a platform focused on the economy, environment and affordability.

“I realized I had to do something in order to save our industries [and] save our economy,” she said.

“The pivotal decision was that if I stood on the sidelines and Trudeau got in and I hadn’t given it my all, I would be kicking myself.”

Dixon is a UBC alumna and graduated with a degree in geology in the early 90s. Her career took her to the mining, oil and gas industries and she spent the last 10 years working as an investment banking executive in Alberta before leaving in July to kick off her campaign.

Dixon believes a merit-based economy is what Canadians need to get ahead.

“It’s putting more money in people’s pockets, rather than … taxing them heavily and giving

WORDS Andrew Ha, Marissa Birnie, Kevin Jiang, Charlotte Alden Incumbent Joyce Murray is running to continue her 11 years representing Vancouver Quadra as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) with a focus on the environment.

On September 27, as staff in her office decorated signs for the Global Climate Strike later that day, Murray explained her roots as a confessed “environmentalist.”

“Seeing the forests and some of the damage that was done from poor logging in the earlier decades … I became an environmentalist early on,” she said.

She planted half a million trees while studying at Simon Fraser University. That’s where she met her husband, with whom she went on to start a reforestation business. As a business owner and a parent, she faced the same issues many Canadian families face today, including housing affordability.

“I was a mom during this time … So I really understand the stresses and challenges of childcare and families trying to raise children … and run a business,” she said.

Her extensive experience in forestry mirrors the span of her political career. She

them handouts,” she said.

Dixon pushed backed against against critics’ accusations that the Conservatives are “eroding” social services spending.

She believes the Conservatives can meet their economic goals without compromising important services, adding that Andrew Scheer promised to increase health and social transfer payments by three per cent per year.

The environment is another area that can be married with economic interests, said Dixon.

After speaking to Vancouver Quadra residents while door-knocking, Dixon noticed that many of the “stay-at-home moms, some of the very wealthy ladies” were less likely to offer their support.

“I’m sure that their husbands would be more aligned with my political views. But these ladies are very much on the social agenda. They’re on the environment, without that consideration of where the money comes from to pay for things,” she said.

Her challenge, she said, is convincing social-minded voters that the Conservatives can balance both economic and

served a term as a BC Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) before winning a Liberal seat on Parliament Hill in 2008, a seat she’s held ever since.

When asked how she planned on staying competitive, she said she would engage the community. But her response hinted that she might be getting too comfortable.

“People know that I care about the issues they care about, and they see how I bring them to Ottawa and they know that I work hard and listen to them,” she said.

She thinks it’s not her job as an MP to create a separate platform from that of her party.

“As an individual MP, I don’t really have a platform … I’m part of the Liberal Party’s platform, and I [give] input into that platform,” said Murray.

The Liberals have pledged to make Canada “net zero” on carbon emissions by 2050. But the Liberal Party has a controversial climate record, particularly with the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion.

Murray has previously opposed the project, but in between jabs at the Conservatives,

social priorities.

“Without one you can’t have the other … so I’m hoping that that dialogue is starting to resonate with people,” she said.

Dixon believes the Conservative’s approach to the economy can benefit youth.

“I think every kid comes to UBC a) to get educated, but b) to graduate with a really applicable degree and get a good job. So I see the platform of the Conservatives really supporting that [to] create opportunities [and] have investment back into Canada,” she said.

While working in investment banking, Dixon said she watched investment leave the country “at unprecedented rates.” Combined with high federal debt, this means Canada’s young graduates are stepping into a workforce with less jobs and opportunities, she said.

“The other parties aren’t recognizing the damage we’re doing to our young people, by not having responsible spending and government,” she said.

“There’s so much opportunity, and we just need to open those doors for kids.”

she defended it as being “in the national interest” — a concession to bring Alberta on board with Liberal climate plans.

“Frankly, it was very clear to me over the years that the citizens here [in Vancouver Quadra], by and large … did not support that,” she said.

“Alberta is the biggest emitter in Canada … Without Alberta being part of this plan, I don’t know how Canada could ever move forward and meet its targets.”

In March 2019, Murray was appointed president of the Treasury Board, where she oversees the government’s fiscal activity.

Though she didn’t name any specific policies she would advocate for if re-elected, she said the position has helped her mitigate an issue that’s very important to her: income inequality.

“We know from the research that the bigger the gap between the rich and the poor in the society, the worse off that society is at all levels … we see that south of the border,” she said.

“High inequality leads to social unrest and [a] less healthy society for everyone.”

KATHLEEN DIXON CONSERVATIVE

OCTOBER 8, 2019 TUESDAY

Running on behalf of the Green Party, Dr. Geoff Wright is determined to bring climate-conscious and evidence-based policymaking to Ottawa as a Member of Parliament for Vancouver Quadra.

Pulling from his background in engineering, his academic career researching air pollution and his two-time tenure as president of the Association of Canadian Ergonomists, Wright is running on a platform of environmental sustainability, investment into post-secondary education and transparent campaigning.

“I’ve been in occupational health and safety all my life. And I’ve worked at all three levels of government,” said Wright. “In contentious situations, science can defuse things very, very quickly … It’s not ‘he said, she said,’ or ‘I think this and they think that.’ It’s straight down the line.”

Wright stands with the Green Party on their climate plan, which includes cutting 60 per cent of carbon emissions by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.

To achieve this goal, they plan to collaborate with both Indigenous leadership and other political parties.

“The youth have got it right,” said Wright. “They’re saying we’ve

got to do something [about the climate] … We’re into crisis mode now, into emergency mode now, so we don’t have the time. But we have to do something. This election is so pivotal.”

His primary goal if elected is to shut down expansion of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline, which the Liberal government bought in 2018 for $4.5 billion.

Wright also wants to push policy away from hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon-fueled vehicles and towards investment into infrastructure supporting electric vehicles.

Specifically, he expressed a desire for government agencies like Canada Post to transition towards electric-powered vehicles.

Regarding education, Wright stands with his party in pushing for a $10 billion investment into post-secondary and trade schools, with the goal of making tuition free and accessible for all Canadian students, as well as forgiving existing student debt.

“Universal access to quality post-secondary education and skills training is a right, not a privilege … Moreover, post-secondary education is part of Canada’s treaty obligations to Indigenous Peoples and a key focus for reconciliation,” reads Wright’s website.

LEIGH KENNY

NDP

The Green Party has faced criticism for holding platform similarities to the NDP, especially regarding the environment. While Wright acknowledged these similarities, he also pointed out distinguishing features.

“I would say what sets us apart [from the NDP] is our stance on LNG, liquified natural gas. The NDP is supporting [LNG],” said Wright. The Green Party is against LNG because of the accompanying environmental harms of fracking and methane production.

To fund their initiatives, the Party wants to increase the federal corporate tax from 15 per cent to 21 per cent while not increasing taxes for small businesses, to introduce a corporate tax to transnational e-commerce companies like Netflix and Amazon and to close tax loopholes which benefit the wealthy.

The Greens were also the first party to provide a full platform to the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) for cost evaluation. Their proposals received initial criticism for being expensive and difficult to execute from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Democracy (IFSD). But on October 3, the IFSD re-assessed the Green Party’s revised platform and gave it an overall ‘pass’ rating.

Leigh Kenny isn’t too happy with the political landscape she sees in Canada.

“I’ve been an eligible voter for about 20 years [and] in that time, I’ve seen successive Conservative and Liberal governments flip flop back and forth, not really being terribly effective,” Kenny said.

“So I figured I would actually try doing something a little more productive than complaining [about it].”

Kenny is running for the Member of Parliament position in Vancouver Quadra as a representative of the New Democratic Party with a focus on affordable housing, the environment and healthcare.

Kenny’s background is in government work for the Province of Alberta and the Canadian Armed Forces. She and her family moved to Vancouver two years ago.

After serving in the military, Kenny feels she’s been instilled with a “virtue of service.” “[The military inspired] a duty to serve our country in various capacities, and try and make it a better place [and]

FEDERAL ELECTIONS

GEOFF WRIGHT GREEN

leave it a better place than when we found it in,” Kenny said.

She decided to run under the NDP because she found that the party “seems to have the most balance for everybody.”

“They’ve got sort of a little bit of something for everybody, as opposed to a lot of something for some people and not enough for others, which is what I felt we were getting from the Liberal and the Conservative governments,” Kenny said.

The NDP has committed to a platform of creating 500,000 units of “quality, affordable housing” within the next 10 years. Kenny said she’ll push for Vancouver Quadra’s fair share of that.

She also supports the NDP’s version of a “Green New Deal,” which includes plans to create 300,000 jobs in the clean energy sector, revise Canada’s pollution targets, invest in public transportation and work alongside Indigenous communities in climate action plans.

“We really have a very beautiful spot here in Vancouver.

We’ve got pretty much every ecosystem we can possibly think

of,” Kenny said.

“I think with bold environmental initiatives, not only can we preserve what we’ve already got, but we can actually help those environments and those ecosystems to grow.”

Kenny is also passionate about the “head-to-toe” coverage the NDP’s healthcare plan is promising to provide. This includes universal pharmacare and increased coverage for mental health, eye, hearing and dental care.

“People shouldn’t have to be stressed out over whether they can afford their medication or not,” Kenny said.

Kenny is running against incumbent Joyce Murray, who has held the MP seat in Vancouver Quadra for over 10 years.

She admitted that Murray has a bigger budget and a bigger team, but believes she has a different approach to politics than Murray does.

“I’m not a career politician.

I’m not ambitious beyond wanting to serve the people of Vancouver Quadra,” said Kenny.

“I’m just looking to serve the people who live here, as best I can.”

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FEDERAL ELECTIONS

TUESDAY OCTOBER 8, 2019

CANADIAN CLIMATE POLICY, EXPLAINED WORDS James Vogl ILLUSTRATION Rachel Cheang

The climate crisis is among the top priorities for voters in the 2019 federal election and all the major parties have proposed plans to address it, but they vary greatly both in terms of their policy promises and their likely feasibility and impact.

Given the importance and complexity of the issue, The Ubyssey has summarized some of the key climate proposals of each party and assessed their merits and drawbacks in an effort to provide critical analysis to help inform your decision on election day.

LIBERALS Stated platform: If the Liberals remain in government, they will largely expand upon their existing climate initiatives, but they have promised some additional policies in their newly released campaign platform.

The keystone of the Liberal approach to tackling the climate crisis so far has been their implementation of a federal carbon-pricing scheme.

Under the plan, provinces that have existing carbon-pricing policies that meet the federal standard of $20 per tonne maintain their own price systems. The “backstop” provinces that do not meet that federal standard — Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan — are subject to the federal tax.

Ottawa levies this tax in the form of a direct surcharge on fuel and other petroleum products, as well as an outputbased pricing scheme for businesses that charges them for emissions above an industry benchmark. The feds return 90 per cent of the revenue they raise in the backstop provinces in the form of a rebate for households. If the Liberals remain in power, the price of carbon will rise to $50 per tonne by 2022.

In addition to the $30 per tonne rise in the carbon tax, the Liberals have also recently said they will commit Canada to being net-zero — offsetting all the emissions it produces — by 2050. As part of that commitment, they have promised to plant two billion trees over ten years.

They are promising to put all of the federal corporate income tax revenues from the Trans Mountain Expansion Project as well as any profit from the pipeline’s sale towards “natural climate solutions and clean energy projects.”

To encourage the proliferation of high-efficiency or net-zero homes and vehicles, the Liberals are also committing to providing a system of loans, rebates and subsidies to help consumers afford those cleaner, but generally more expensive alternatives.

They are also promising a $100-million investment in skills training programs to support net-zero home construction, as well as a $5-billion Clean Power Fund to assist the continuing transition away from high-emission power sources like coal and diesel.

Analysis: While the federal carbon tax has encountered criticism since it

came into effect earlier this year — including provincial challenges to its constitutionality — the available evidence suggests that some of these criticisms are unfounded and carbon taxes are among the best tools available to governments to combat the climate crisis.

The two charges laid against the federal carbon tax in the Conservative platform are increased unaffordability for households and ineffectiveness at getting Canada to its Paris emission-reduction targets.

The unaffordability charge is largely contradicted by the April Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) report on the fiscal impacts of the carbon-pricing system. It concluded that, for all but the highest-earning 20 per cent of households, federal rebates would exceed the added costs households in backstop provinces would pay on fuel.

The Conservative claim that the federal carbon-tax should be scrapped because it will not get Canada to its Paris targets is based on a June Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) report that concluded that the tax would need to reach $102 per tonne by 2030 to reach the Paris targets.

While that is indeed what the PBO concluded, the report also states that it was not intended to be a ruling on the general effectiveness of carbon pricing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

BC has been studied extensively to assess the impacts of carbon taxes and a 2015 study found the provincial tax reduced emissions between five and fifteen per cent since 2008, and had little to no impact on economic activity in the province.

Carbon pricing is also widely endorsed by experts as one of the most effective means governments have for curbing emissions. “That’s our home run hitter,” said Dr. Patrick Baylis, an assistant professor in the Vancouver School of Economics who specializes in the economic impacts of the climate crisis.

That being said, the PBO finding still stands that the Liberal pricing scheme is not aggressive enough to adequately curb emissions to meet the Paris targets.

As for the Liberals’ proposed system of loans, rebates and subsidies to incentivize net-zero home and vehicle spending, it’s less clear such programs alone would be enough to drive significant change.

“Tax credits, by their nature, are basically a loan that you float to the government that you get back at the end of the tax season. Who can afford that loan?” said Baylis. “[Tax credits] tend to favour the people who can afford that large expense in the first place.”

Dr. Sumeet Gulati — an associate professor in the faculty of land and food systems — echoed that sentiment, also pointing out that consumer subsidies and credits are expensive means to reduce emissions. When studying Canadian hybrid car subsidies, he found that “to reduce one tonne of carbon, the government was spending about $200.”

Compared to a tax that reduces a tonne of carbon at a revenue gain of $20, subsidies are a much costlier way to achieve the same goal.

CONSERVATIVES Stated platform: The Conservative platform squarely takes aim at the Liberal carbon-pricing plan, promising “green technology, not taxes.”

Given that, the first climate policy they would enact upon taking office would be a repeal of the federal climate tax, leaving it to the provinces to decide if and how to price carbon.

The green technology side of their platform centers around a plan to set a mandatory amount businesses that exceed emissions standards must invest in “research, development, and adoption of emissions-reducing technology related to their industry.”

In addition to these investment mandates, the Conservatives are promising a tax credit for green technology developed and patented in Canada as well as a green technology and innovation fund that would allow businesses to supplement investments in green technology.

Similar to the Liberals, the Conservatives have proposed a tax credit to encourage homeowners to renovate their homes with more green technology. They are also promising a voluntary net-zero- ready standard for building construction.

Their platform includes a promise to pursue the continued countrywide transition to clean power sources but does not indicate how the party would go about achieving this goal if elected.

Finally, the Conservative platform proposes creating incentives for Canadian companies to expand exports of green technologies.

Analysis: The Conservative plan suffers from some of the same drawbacks as the Liberal plan, but would also eliminate the carbon tax, one of the most effective tools for curtailing emissions.

Like the Liberal plan, the Conservative plan relies heavily on tax credits and subsidies to encourage households to adopt more energy-efficient building elements, but such measures have limited effectiveness because they favour the wealthy.

In a similar vein, the Conservative promise to mandate industry investment in emission-reducing technologies as a means of offsetting carbon emissions should be viewed with skepticism, as it is difficult to quantify exactly what the offsetting impact would be from such investment given the lack of details on this point

in their platform.

The proposed tax credits for green technologies patented and developed in Canada as well as the green technology investment fund should also be viewed critically, as the effectiveness of research subsidies is context-dependent, said Baylis.

Subsidies for green technology in its early stages can be effective, as much of the basic science required to develop a product can be viewed as a public good that corporations are often under-incentivized to produce. According to Baylis, those beneficial effects diminish the farther a technology gets down the development pipeline, however.

Once that development gets to a certain point, “... those firms are going to produce that no matter what,” Baylis said.

Furthermore, technological development can also be indirectly encouraged through carbon-pricing as companies seek to avoid the costs of carbon emissions. Direct subsidies and mandatory investment are not the only means of driving green innovation.

NEW DEMOCRATS Stated platform: The New Democratic Party (NDP) platform, billed as a Canadian “Green New Deal,” includes a spate of goals that are generally more ambitious than those of the Liberals or Conservatives.

They are committing to maintaining the existing carbon-pricing scheme, but are also promising to establish an independent Climate Accountability Office to keep the country on track to meet the Paris Agreement goal “to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.”

Providing a smooth transition for workers as the economy changes due to the climate crisis is another NDP priority.

The party is promising a combination of “access to expanded EI benefits, re-training, and job placement services” to that effect.

On the residential front, the NDP is promising a target of retrofitting all homes by 2050 and updating the National Building Code so that all new buildings will be net-zero ready by 2030. To support the retrofitting effort, they would offer low-interest loans to homeowners to finance energy-saving upgrades.

The party has an ambitious transportation policy, setting targets of having wholly electric transit fleets nationwide by 2030 and 100 per cent of new car sales being zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2040. To that end, they are proposing an expansion of federal incentives for ZEV ownership, including waiving the federal sales tax on such vehicles.

In addition, the NDP would set a goal of net carbon-free electricity by 2030 and entirely non-emitting electricity by 2050, which they propose to achieve in part through the establishment of a Canadian Climate Bank to drive investment in renewable energy and the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies.

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Analysis: While the NDP platform has laudable ambition when it comes to climate policy, the feasibility of some of its proposals is dubious.

To their credit, the party is committed to maintaining the current federal carbon-pricing scheme, but it should also be noted that they neglected to adopt more aggressive price targets that would get Canada closer to achieving its Paris targets.

“I think our climate tax will need to double,” said Gulati. “$50 is certainly not enough. $100 would be a minimum. I would say if you want to do anything realistic to get close to our climate goals.”

It is also unclear whether the NDP’s residential proposals are feasible given the fact that building codes in Canada fall under provincial and, in certain cases, municipal jurisdiction. Updating the National Building Code would provide provinces with a template to work from, but there is no mechanism to compel them to adopt it.

Similarly, there is a limit to what the federal government can achieve through targeted funding in terms of getting municipalities to retrofit their transit fleets.

Like the Liberals and Conservatives, their incentive system to encourage residential retrofitting would likely be a costly way to achieve relatively little in terms of emissions reduction compared to carbon pricing.

Their proposal for a Canadian Climate Bank is also subject to the same conditions as the Conservative plan for green patent tax credits, as subsidies would be most effective

when targeted at things like basic science, but would be less effective for technologies in the later stages of development.

Finally, while the outright elimination of fossil fuel subsidies is an appealing campaign promise, it is important not to underestimate the difficulty that would be involved with making that promise a reality. Such subsidies appear in many different forms and at many different levels of government, so getting rid of them is not as simple as modifying the federal budget.

GREENS Stated platform: Like the NDP, the Greens have also set out an ambitious platform outlining their climate policy if they were to form a government.

The overarching aims of their climate plan are to achieve a 60 per cent emissions reduction by 2030 and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

To achieve those goals, the Greens are proposing to continue taxing carbon emissions and regularly increase the stringency of emissions standards over time.

In addition, they would immediately suspend the approval of new oil and gas pipelines or drilling projects and begin phasing out existing production, targeting a total halt of bitumen production between 2030 and 2035. The party would also move to cancel the Trans Mountain Pipeline and

eliminate remaining federal fossil fuel subsidies.

Another means of achieving their emissions reduction goals would be targeting 100 per cent of electricity coming from renewable sources by 2030, which they propose could be achieved by expanding the national electric grid using the money currently slated for the Trans Mountain expansion.

The Greens would also target a goal of 100 per cent net-zero new construction by 2030, which they would attempt to achieve through a combination of financial incentives for homeowners and changes to the National Building Code.

They also have an ambitious transportation policy that includes banning the sale of internal combustion passenger vehicles by 2030, investing heavily in passenger rail projects and exempting low- and zero-emission vehicles from the federal sales tax, with the ultimate goal of nationwide carbon-free public ground transportation by 2040.

Analysis: The Greens have an ambitious climate plan, but many of their proposals lack specificity and are arguably unfeasible.

A positive component of their plan is their commitment to maintaining a carbon-pricing plan, as well as their proposal to increase the stringency of emissions standards over time. As noted above, however, the price of carbon would likely have to increase substantially as well, especially given the Greens’ targeted emissions reduction of 60 per cent by 2030.

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The same criticisms of consumer incentive programs like tax exemptions that apply to the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP apply to the Greens as well. Their cost of implementation will be high relative to their probable emissions reduction.

A similar criticism of the NDP plan to overhaul the National Building Code applies to the Green plan to do the same, as provincial jurisdiction over-regulation would hamper the effectiveness of the federal government.

Likewise, the Green proposal to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies involves much more complexity than it sounds on its face, and their proposal to phase out fossil fuel production — an enormous undertaking — lacks the detail to make it seem feasible.

While the different party plans might seem overwhelming, or the climate crisis might seem like an issue that pales in importance compared with healthcare or job opportunities, it is an issue that students should be paying close attention to, said Laura Chen, co-president of the UBC Energy Environmental Policy Association.

“This is such an intersectional issue.

It’s not just about the environment, it’s about healthcare costs, it’s about affordability,” she said.

“For a lot of students, we’re living in the generation that’s going to be the most impacted by climate change. So the decisions that we make in this election, that [party] is going to be empowered for four out of the eleven years we have left to tackle this crisis.” U

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TUESDAY OCTOBER 8, 2019

THE CASE AGAINST APATHY: FINDING VALUE IN VOTING Words Sarah Zhao Illustrations Maya Rodrigo-Abdi

T

he first election that Cristina Ilnitchi ever voted in was 2015’s federal contest — the same year she started university. The first year who went on to become the AMS’s vice-president external was already passionate about civic engagement and politics, but university made voting even easier.

“Being around a lot of peers who were engaged in dialogue and conversation about politics and about what’s happening in the world … It just was easy to vote, to be honest, because everybody was already talking about it … It was just a natural step that I would go out to the polls.”

The next federal election is on October 21. For UBC students, heading to the polls can feel like one task too many in the midst of midterms and assignments, but exercising their right to vote is important. Students fall squarely in the largest voting bloc in the Canadian electorate this year, making their voices more important than ever.

Many of those students are voting for the first time, like Emily Mittertreiner. Even in the last election, before they were eligible to vote, the UBCC350 and Climate Hub member helped with campaigning and advocated for climate action.

“I spent a large portion of [the] election coldcalling people to ask them to vote on climate change, even though I [couldn’t] vote myself. So I’m really excited to actually get to [vote] now after having worked on it for so long.”

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS In 2019, voters aged 18 to 38 make up over 37 per cent of the electorate, which means that they’ll be the largest voting bloc in the country.

UBC has 42,852 students who are eligible voters, 28,319 of whom are undergraduate students at the Vancouver campus, in addition to the 5,411 graduate students across both campuses eligible to vote this year.

In an election year, young people have the ability to leverage their voting power to bring the issues they care about into the spotlight.

“This is an opportunity for young people to tell [the] government that, if you want our vote — which is a large

portion of the vote — you have to talk about us,” said Ilnitchi. “You have to talk about the issues that affect us if you want us to vote for you.”

But historically, older populations have higher turnout rates, partially because of lived experience. The likelihood of voters turning out has always increased with age because people tend to understand the stakes of elections more as they get older. However, Dr. Richard Johnston of UBC’s political science department noted that the earlier people start voting, the more they understand the importance of the act.

“There’s some pretty good research that shows that the mere fact of voting increases your likelihood of voting the next time … So getting engaged as soon as you can, or even before you can actually vote, attaches you, whether you realize it or not, to networks of mobilization.”

Politically, young people are more mobile. They’re not bound to a particular party the same way that older people are, and that mobility makes them more interesting to parties looking to gain support. On the other hand, that mobility also makes them less likely to turn out, as they’re generally not invested in a certain outcome.

That trend is changing as younger voters start to stand up for the issues they care about. Though young voters may have previously felt that their individual votes didn’t matter, they’re engaging more and more with politics and the election.

“We’re starting to feel how imperative it is that we all engage because it is something that’s going to affect us all now and in the future,” said Mittertreiner. “What I’ve seen from my friends and from people in my classes is that people are very aware that they do need to vote and that their vote does actually matter.”

Being engaged in politics, however, can be exhausting, and just keeping up with the news cycle can make someone feel hopeless. Part of why Mittertreiner has become deeply engaged in the climate movement is to fend off the fear that often trails behind the climate crisis. For them, the climate movement has become a community, and the people have become friends, teachers and family.

“Together, we can do really great things stemming from that fear and using that to mobilize us towards hope and towards agency ... Once you get into [a protest], and you’re in this group of hundreds, thousands of other people ... all fighting towards the same thing ­— you’re all holding signs, you’re all shouting —I think that’s one of the most mobilizing, hopeful things that you can do,” said Mittertreiner.

THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY The climate action movement, highlighted in recent weeks by the global climate strikes started by activist Greta Thunberg, has brought the climate crisis to the forefront of world consciousness. For many UBC students, the urgency of the climate crisis has also made the next federal election feel much more important. “[Whoever] is in the power for the next four years, that’s over a third of the 11 years that we have to cut our emissions by half … So whatever they’re doing the next four years, that really determines a lot of how we go in the fight against climate change,” said Mittertreiner.

For Canada, the prospect of climate change is dire.

Parts of the country are predicted to warm at twice the global rate, with the increase in temperature likely to cause severe downpours and flooding. To new and returning UBC students, landing in Vancouver in September often means watching BC’s forest fire smoke roll across the sky as rising atmospheric temperatures create conditions for even more severe forest fires in the province and across Canada.

For Tara Cashen, co-president of the student-run sustainability organization Common Energy, voting goes hand-in-hand with the other, more individual choices that people make to combat the climate crisis.

People tend to focus on their own consumption and waste, and it can be easy for people to feel as though their individual vote doesn’t matter, Cashen said. But voters can’t forget that the easiest way to make broad changes happen is through government.

“To isolate individual action from systemic change is the biggest mistake we’re making,” she said.

Others echoed Cashen’s sentiment, like Dr. Kathryn Harrison, another political science professor who specializes in climate policy.

“We need really broad change in our economy, in the way the whole society moves around. How we produce our food, what products we trade in, how our buildings are heated — we need it all,” said Harrison.

“And that’s not going to be done by individual choice.

It needs policies to make it happen.”

Canada in particular needs to show climate leadership. Its per capita emissions are among the highest in the world and, according to Harrison, Canada is “using more than our fair share” of the atmosphere. She stressed that those in developing countries look to wealthy, high-emission nations like Canada to show leadership, and that the world is watching the outcome of Canada’s carbon tax and

OCTOBER 8, 2019 TUESDAY

“Affordability is the biggest problem [for graduate students] and can make the biggest difference between undergrad and graduate students.”

Hossein explained that unlike undergrads, grad students rely on stipends and scholarships from the university as their main form of income and support.

Living costs are directly affected by these stipends because they have little opportunity to take on side jobs for extra money.

“For example, for the research-stream graduate students … you usually work 10 hours a day, [and] they can’t work outside the lab and the offices they’re working right now.”

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whether it will survive the election.

In exercising their right to vote, young people can assert that this issue is one they care about, and one that politicians need to care about too.

“Youth are showing up for climate change … What we’re seeing isn’t good enough. We’re not seeing the politicians responding to the severity of the crisis on many fronts, and we just can’t settle for lukewarm policies that don’t get us anywhere,” said Gabby Doebeli, a fifth-year student and chair of the Social Justice Centre (SJC).

But to Doebeli, the most important issue in this election isn’t climate action — it’s climate justice.

“Solving climate change requires climate justice that addresses some of the underlying systems of oppression that inform climate change,” said Doebeli.

‘PASSING OFF BLAME’ To Ishmam Bhuiyan, a second-year student and housing justice director at the SJC, housing is a perfect example of the intersectionality of the climate crisis, and he stressed that housing justice must be made part of any attempt to alleviate it.

“If we plan effectively, we reduce emissions. And that’s just because if we place workers near where they work, we’re reducing transportation emissions.” said Bhuiyan. “When we talk about changing our economy to fit the scale of the crisis that is climate change, what necessarily has to happen is retrofitting buildings … But the problem with that is when we retrofit buildings all across the country and change how we live, That’s a reason for evicting thousands and tens of thousands of low income people.

“It doesn’t matter if we reduce emissions if there are people who are still sleeping outside on our streets.”

Housing is especially important to Bhuiyan because he believes none of the federal parties are talking about it enough.

“The assumption is that cities take care of housing,” he said. “But [what] we’re seeing, on a municipal level, is the city says that their hands are tied because the federal government’s not helping them.

“Everybody’s passing off blame. And I think it’s time for us to pin it down on someone.”

Housing and affordability are also important to the large contingent of UBC graduate students who are eligible voters, along with issues like public transportation and mental health support, said the Graduate Student Society’s VP External Sara Hossein.

In most of Canada’s electoral areas, called ridings, voters will have at least three candidates on the ballot. Other than independents, these candidates will likely belong to one of the five major parties vying for government — Conservatives, Liberals, NDP, Greens and Bloc Québécois. How do constituents figure out who they want to vote for, particularly when they’re not compelled by any of the options available?

This question is a “perennial challenge” for Canadian elections within the first-past-the-post system, Harrison said. For some voters, a particular candidate losing may be more important than their first choice winning, but the difficulty of finding polling data for individual ridings makes it tricky to guess how this kind of strategic voting will eventually play out. Regardless, Harrison emphasized that shaming someone for how they decide to vote is unproductive.

“The votes belong to the voters, no one else gets to tell you what you need to do in terms of strategic voting or not.”

When it comes to voting, it’s easy to be apathetic, said Johnston. Turnout among Canadian voters ages 18 to 24 had been steadily declining until 2015, which saw the highest voter turnout since 1993. Elections Canada data shows that 57 per cent of that same age group cast a ballot in 2015, a major increase from the 39 per cent who voted in 2011.

“This election will have a lot more impact on you than you will have on this election — it’s a collective good,” said Johnston. “Whoever wins, you will get the result of that victory, whether you voted for the winner, you voted for the loser, or you voted for someone else, or you didn’t vote at all — you’re going to get that result.”

So why should young voters put in the time and

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effort to learn about the election and get to the polls amongst all their other responsibilities?

“You have to tell people, ‘What if everybody thought that way?’” said Johnston. “You have to overcome that and think in terms of yourself [and] with other people like yourself. Whose vote will count if you get out and cast it collectively.”

“A very conventional answer to this question [of why young people should vote now] is that the future will exclusively affect us. But I think that’s irrelevant.

The biggest factor here is that we’re poor,” said Bhuiyan.

This generation of young people is much worse off than previous generations, he stressed. Wealth inequality — combined with the climate crisis — means that they’re going to struggle for the rest of their lives.

“We’re doing ourselves a disservice if we’re not plugged in.”

NO EXCUSES At UBC, voting has been made easy. The AMS is running a UBC Votes 2019 campaign that includes advanced voting in the Great Hall and allows students to vote in any riding across the country, October 5–9.

The society is also lobbying federal parties on student issues like affordability and support for Indigenous students.

Read The Ubyssey’s election coverage for profiles of the Vancouver Quadra candidates, explainers on issues concerning students and more information on how to vote. Listen to a podcast, discuss with your loved ones and, above all, remember that your vote does count.

Make voting social, Harrison suggested. Get a group of friends together to go vote and make it a commitment to each other, because voting is an act of community.

It’s also an exercise of faith — faith in the collective good, said Johnston, and the ability to make your voice heard.

“I really am hoping for justice in this government,” said Mittertreiner. “There’s been so much injustice towards Indigenous people, towards people in poverty, towards the climate, towards the environment. It’s really time that we all get what we deserve. In terms of reparations, in terms of equality, in terms of rights.” U

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TUESDAY OCTOBER 8, 2019

HOW TO VOTE IN THE 2019 FEDERAL ELECTION WORDS Ethen Sun ILLUSTRATION Maya Rodrigo-Abdi

The federal election is coming up — and with many eligible voters at UBC alone, the student vote will be important.

Between 2011 and 2015, the federal election voter turnout for ages 18 to 24 went from 38.8 per cent to 57.1 per cent.

This year, the AMS is launching the UBC Votes 2019 campaign to lower the barriers to voting that many students often face.

Elections Canada has included UBC as one of many on-campus voting stations throughout the country, which will include special polling stations in the Nest from October 5 to 9. At on-campus voting stations, you can vote in your home riding if you’re not registered in Vancouver Quadra.

CAN I VOTE? If you are a Canadian citizen 18 or older on Election Day and can prove your identity and residence, you can vote. You do not need to register to vote beforehand, but if you do register in advance online, you can spend less time at the polling station.

HOW DO I VOTE? There are multiple ways to cast your ballot in advance or on Election Day. You can even vote conveniently right on campus.

BEFORE ELECTION DAY: ADVANCED VOTING IN THE NEST As part of the UBC Votes 2019 campaign, the AMS has teamed up with Elections Canada to set up special polling stations in the Nest from October 5 to 9.

Any voter can cast their ballot here, no

matter what riding they are registered in. But if you’re registered outside of Vancouver Quadra, this will be the only time you can vote on campus.

When you vote in advance on campus, you will vote by special ballot, which means the candidate names will not appear on the ballot. Instead, there will be a blank space for you to write in the name of the candidate you are voting for. If you don't know the candidates in your riding you can check online beforehand, or you can ask for a list from election officials.

BEFORE ELECTION DAY: ADVANCED VOTING AT ELECTIONS CANADA OFFICES You can vote in advance at Elections Canada offices anytime before 6 p.m. on October 15. Their hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Any voter can vote here and you can find a location on the Elections Canada website. The closest locations to campus are two temporary ones at 2106 West Broadway and 200-1985 West Broadway.

BEFORE ELECTION DAY: ADVANCED VOTING AT YOUR ASSIGNED POLLING STATION If you are already registered, you will get a voter information card in the mail

by October 3 that tells you your assigned advance polling station. You can cast your vote there from October 11 to 14. This information can also be found on the Elections Canada website.

out a form to apply to vote by mail. The form can be submitted at an Elections Canada office or mailed to Ottawa, but your application must be received by 6 p.m. ET on October 15. You’ll receive your voting package in the mail with more instructions.

ON ELECTION DAY: OCTOBER 21 AT YOUR ASSIGNED POLLING STATION If you decide to vote on Election Day on October 21, you will vote at your assigned polling place. If you register to vote in advance, you can find this information on your voter information card or you can check on Elections Canada’s website.

WHAT DO I NEED TO BRING? The identification requirement to vote is the same whether or not you are registered and whether you are voting by mail, in advance or on Election Day. You will need either: One piece of Canadian government ID that has your name, photo and address. Or, two documents with your name, one of which must

have your address. For registered voters, one of these will usually be the voter information card. The rules on this second option are broad and you can check Elections Canada’s website for a full list of options. A debit card with your name on it, your UBCcard or even a library card are among the things accepted, as long as both items have your name and at least one has your address.

But even if you don’t have an ID, you can still vote if someone who knows you and has their own ID signs a piece of paper proving that you are the person you say you are. But they must be registered to vote at the same polling station. If you choose to go this route, just note you can only vouch for one person.

Whatever documents you bring can be in the original format. Electronic documents such as e-statements and invoices can be printed out or shown to officials on your phone. U

BEFORE ELECTION DAY: VOTING BY MAIL You can either apply online or print

A CRASH COURSE ON CANADIAN POLITICS WORDS Marie Campione ILLUSTRATION Tariqa Durazi

With the federal election coming up on October 21, Canadians will head to the polls to elect a new government. But how does Canadian governance work?

According to Dr. Richard Johnston, professor of political science at UBC, Canada keeps things simple when it comes to their elections.

“The basic presumption is that the party with the largest number of members elected gets the chance to govern,” he said.

In Canada, the form of government is based on the Westminster parliamentary system, but — naturally — it’s called the Canadian parliamentary system.

It differs from the system of government in the US in that a party is mandated to govern once they secure a majority, whereas the Unites States has three separate

branches that must work together to govern.

“In the specifically British/ Canadian legislature, as supposed to American, is that because it’s a parliamentary system, the moral right to govern rests on the ability [for one party] to secure a majority,” said Johnston.

The Canadian national parliament is split into two chambers: the House of Commons and the Senate.

The House of Commons is made up of 338 Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected every four years in a federal election.

The Senate is comprised of 105 senators appointed by the Prime Minister when the need arises.

Senators cannot be fired and serve until they retire or turn 75. “[The Senate] is still here because it’s hard to get rid of,” said Johnston. “It exists as part of [the British] tradition.” Also, Queen Elizabeth II is Canada’s monarch

but does not hold any power in the government and is represented by the Governor General instead.

In the 2019 election, 338 MPs will be elected — so why 338?

Canada is divided geographically into 338 sections called ridings.

In each riding, candidates will campaign in the hopes of being elected as an MP. This means that when you vote, you are not voting for the Prime Minister, but rather voting for the individual who will be responsible for your riding.

In Canada, our MPs are elected using the plurality formula. This means that the winner is the person who gets more votes than anyone else, not more votes than over half the votes cast.

“We just put an ‘x’ in the box, count the ballots and whoever gets the most ‘x’s wins,” Johnston explained.

When all 338 MPs have been elected, the party with the most elected MPs becomes the

Government, with the leader of that party becoming Canada’s Prime Minister. The second most represented party becomes the Official Opposition and the rest of the parties don’t get fancy titles.

This system allows for a diversity of ideas within the House of Commons, which is beneficial not only because there are a variety of perspectives provided on every issue, but also because one party is not able to hold all the power.

On the other hand, there can be a minority government, meaning the government party holds less than 50 per cent of the seats within the house. Due to the governing party’s lack of dominance, they have to negotiate with the other parties to gain votes. This can sometimes be inefficient, making it difficult to get any policies passed.

When asked if he had any advice for first-time voters, Johnston advised, “Just vote for the party you like the best.” U

OCTOBER 8, 2019 TUESDAY

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QUEBEC SECEDES

YOU REMEMBER ANDREW SCHEER IS 6’3”

YOUR PARTY GETS 420 SEATS. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?

YOU ARE APPROACHED

BY AN OVERLY EAGER CANDIDATE ON CAMPUS

A BEAD OF SWEAT RUNS DOWN A CANDIDATE’S FOREHEAD IN THE DEBATE

SARAH FROM THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY SENDS YOU A TEXT

FREE SPACE

PLEASE VOTE

THE NEW LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION HAS DEAD EYES DURING THEIR FIRST SPEECH

LE BLOC WINS

YOU FORGET YOUR HOW HANDSOME TWO OF PARTY GETS 69 SEATS. NICE. THE LEADERS ARE

YOU POST A 1,000 WORD ESSAY ON WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

YOU REMIND YOU VOTE YOUR FRIENDS STRATEGICALLY TO VOTE

THERE’S A COALITION GOVERNMENT (WHATEVER THAT MEANS)

THE RESULTS MAKE YOU NOT WANT TO GO ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THE NEXT WEEK

THERE’S A MINORITY GOVERNMENT

OPINIONS

OCTOBER 8, 2019 TUESDAY

EDITOR TRISTAN WHEELER

14

ELECTION //

Editorial: Vote, because democracy is fragile The Ubyssey Editorial Board

What started in Hong Kong as protests against a bill that would have allowed China to extradite alleged criminals for trial has evolved into a full-fledged global movement for democratic development in Hong Kong. And that movement has arrived at UBC. From the bricks of University Square to the Cairn, the Lonely Goddess Statue to the walls of the Nest and Life Building, seemingly every surface on campus has become a battleground, strewn with posters, sticky notes, chalk, paint and symbolic gas masks.

And on two occasions within the span of the last week, hundreds of students gathered to demonstrate in competing crowds, waving flags, chanting and singing to drown out the other.

In Hong Kong, the protesters’ stated “five demands” that go beyond the withdrawal of the extradition bill. They include destigmatizing demonstrations, freeing protesters who have been arrested and instituting universal suffrage for the election of Hong Kong’s chief executive and council members.

Whether you stand with these protesters or feel that their tactics — often resorting to violence and destruction of property — have grown too extreme, the conflict speaks to the lengths people are willing to go to achieve something we take for granted here in Canada: a voice in the governing process.

But such crises are certainly not unique to Hong Kong.

Since 2014, four million Venezuelans have fled the country as its leadership is contested between President Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó, the head of Maduro’s opposition in the National Assembly.

Guaidó, his followers and the over 50 countries that acknowledge his legitimacy all claim that Maduro only won due to a fraudulent election. But as Maduro maintains control over the military, Guaidó has been unable to seize power.

Perhaps most egregiously, the future of Kashmir, a Muslimmajority region contested by India and Pakistan, has spiralled into uncertainty after India revoked an article in its constitution that stripped its side of the region of its autonomous government.

The state is now under a communications blackout.

Residents are bound to curfews enforced by soldiers and tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated.

It’s only when you consider examples of countries and peoples who don’t have a voice that you can come to appreciate what the right to vote really is: a privilege But, as is true for all privileges, it can be mishandled and abused.

Prosperous democratic nations, particularly in Europe and North America, are seeing a rise in farright populism as certain groups begin to feel their governments no longer represent them.

Regardless of where you stand on each of these cases, they reveal that democracy is fragile. The right to vote is a privilege, yes, but also a grave responsibility: a call to action.

FILE STEPHANIE XU

To save democracy, you must participate in it.

Those who lack it in full, like the people of Hong Kong, Venezuela and Kashmir, will risk life and limb to attain it. But in Britain, France, the US and other countries, democratic institutions can slowly erode, dividing the country as they go.

To save democracy, you must participate in it, to make your voice heard and elect leaders who will govern on your terms. On October 21 and the advance voting days leading up to it, we have that opportunity in Canada.

YOU CAN VOTE, SO DO IT RESPONSIBLY It can be hard to give a shit about Canadian politics and voting. But the things the federal government does, from policies and legislation to scandals, do affect you.

If you’re smoking legal cannabis or paying for university through Canada student grants, you can thank the feds. If you’re worried about the climate crisis and whether we’re doing enough, concerned about Indigenous reconciliation or graduating in an oncoming recession — the federal government has a lot of power over those issues. If you watched scandals unfold from SNCLavalin to Trudeau blackface and felt the impact of the public discourse that ensued, you were watching the results of a democratic process that you are now a part of.

And that’s why you should care.

As members of the largest voting bloc in Canada, voters ages 18 to 24 — in large part university students — have the most power to effect change, hold federal party leaders to account and make our voices heard.

But that’s only if we show up, so take the decision seriously.

A recent poll showed that most people make up their minds about who to vote for in the final two days before election day. In other words, all your last-minute research

matters. Be thorough and and read as much as you can right up until you vote.

If, even after you’ve read through all The Ubyssey’s helpful elections coverage, you still can’t make up your mind over who to vote for, you can still actively take part in the voting process by spoiling your ballot: leaving it blank

or writing in a fake candidate’s name.

A spoiled ballot won’t influence the results of the election but is still counted in voter turnout. More importantly, it sends a message to Elections Canada that there is confusion or dissatisfaction with the democratic process.

Enjoy the excitement and intrigue of this elections cycle and as you stand in the booth contemplating your decision, remember those around the world who can’t vote and are fighting for the right to be heard.

Know that by voting yourself, you are committing a small act of solidarity with them. U

Notice of Development Permit Application - DP 19030

Public Open House Arts Student Centre

Join us on Wednesday, October 16 to view and comment on a new Arts Student Centre to serve the Arts Undergraduate Society to be located in Brock Commons

Date: Wednesday, October 16, 2019 Time: 11:30am - 1:30pm Place: Concourse, UBC Life Building, 6138 Student Union Blvd.

Plans will be displayed for a 843m2 multi-purpose facility to support learning, social-interaction, and collaboration for the Faculty of Arts student population.

Representatives from the project team and Campus + Community Planning will be available to provide information and respond to inquiries about this project.

For further information: Please direct questions to Karen Russell, Manager, Development Services karen.russell@ubc.ca 604-822-1586 Can’t attend in person?

Online feedback on the Arts Student Centre will be accepted until Oct. 30, 2019.

To learn more or to comment on this project, please visit: planning.ubc.ca/vancouver/projects-consultations

FROM THE BLOG

OCTOBER 8, 2019 TUESDAY

EDITOR TRISTAN WHEELER

15

GETTING WASTED//

Where to get cheap booze near campus Sebastien Krisciunas Contributor

LIQUOR DEPOT, POINT GREY 20-min bus ride from the Nest

So you want to get hammered but you don’t want to spend your whole ramen and Kraft Dinner budget in the process? Well don’t you fret!

We’ve taken it upon ourselves to do our solemn duty to this student body and investigate local purveyors of alcoholic drink to find which is most worthy of your patronage.

Though prices here are generally higher than at BC Liquor, the margin is much smaller than most other stores. Additionally, their frequent promotions and deals, like their current “spirits under $21,” means a trip here may be worthwhile.

KITSILANO LIQUOR STORE, KITSILANO 26-min bus ride from the Nest

BC LIQUOR STORE, WESBROOK VILLAGE 12-min bus ride from the Nest Because they’re owned and operated by the people who set the wholesale price for the rest — our benefactors at the provincial government — the prices here are typically the best you’ll find, like a 4-litre box of red for $31. If spirits are more your thing, a two-sixer of Bacardi white goes for $22. They’ve also got one of the broadest selections you’ll find.

PARKWAY LIQUOR STORE, UNIVERSITY VILLAGE 8-min walk from the Nest Though this place is the closest, it’s also generally one of the priciest and their severely limited selection doesn’t get them any pity points.

Do yourself a favour, save yourself some money and take the extra five

Don’t want to spend your whole ramen and Kraft Dinner budget in the process?

minutes to go to BC Liquor instead.

LIBERTY WINE MERCHANTS, POINT GREY 12-min bus ride from the Nest Fancy yourself a sommelier?

Then this is certainly the place for you, with one of the best wine selections you’ll come by. You won’t be saving any money though, as even the cheaper options range at about $20 a bottle. That being said, if you’re celebrating a

FILE CILLIAN DAVENPORT

special occasion, want to impress your date or simply have the refined palate of an 18th-century French aristocrat, it may be worth checking out.

Also worth mentioning: UBC students get $1 off.

Kitsilano Liquor comes with a lot of bells and whistles, like in-store staff picks, a 25-per-cent-off section and a rewards program that’ll net you $25 for every $500 you spend.

They’ll even deliver to you through SkipTheDishes. That doesn’t stop them from being one of the more expensive options on this list though, with a bottle of Bacardi priced at about $28. If you live for the brew, however, their selection of craft beers is unrivalled.

If you know specifically what you’re looking for and don’t want to stray too far, then supporting the state-owned corporation that is BC Liquor is likely your best bet. But if you’re open to finding a good deal and don’t mind a bit more of a trek, Liquor Depot is a great place to check out. U

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT //

We found out how long you can stay in a Life Building washroom before getting kicked out my time sitting down, earphones in, doing WeBWork. This is no different from my dorm. The green and red WeBWork answer feedback are the only colours in this room.

I used to go to the old SUB as a kid. I’d get some candy from the convenience store and look at all the posters towering over me.

It feels more spacious now. The dirty brown tiles are now clean white linoleum, the washroom is tidy, the dim lights have been replaced by modern-looking fluorescent tubes. It feels like Queer Eye did an episode on the Life Building.

dorm to feel bad about the $2 I spent to put guacamole on my burrito. I have seen a hundred elegant aerial shots of our campus. I feel like an idiot for complaining about it, but they all just feel sterile when viewed from this toilet.

8:43 P.M.

The life building is closed. I can hear a voice in the washroom but I can’t make out the words.

Everything else is muted. If I can remain unnoticed after they are done closing I should be in the clear.

Someone just knocked on my door. After a second I blurted out a “hello?” He said “okay,” and left. Trash bags are rustling. This article is stopping the stall from getting cleaned out.

This washroom isn’t that bad.

Jonathan Harris Contributor

7 P.M. I walked into the Life Building with a mission. My mission has two steps.

First I will enter a washroom, and then the second step is quite simple: stay there until I am told to leave.

If any of you ever plan to spend an indeterminate amount of time stuck in the washroom, I’d recommend stocking up. I, of course, came

ELIZABETH WANG

prepared. I brought pretty much all of my homework, a book in case the wifi cuts out, multiple movies downloaded on Netflix and bandaids, just in case.

8 P.M. I have spent the past hour in the largest stall I could find in the Life Building, fully clothed, doing absolutely nothing. Over the years petty vandals left the walls scratched up. I’ve been spending

9 P.M. The room only has four white walls, a sink, a toilet, and me, slowly losing it. I miss the old Life Building. Maybe it is just nostalgia talking, but I loved the old SUB. It was a little dingy but it had character.

Every day I walk past these new buildings with giant windows and expensive chairs.

Buchanan, IKB, Henry Angus. I go from one welcoming genteel place to another, and then I go home to the world’s smallest

10 P.M. I am reading an article about the harm caused by solitary confinement. This washroom isn’t that bad.

11 P.M.

11:23 P.M. My nose is very irritated but there are no mirrors for me to see what is happening. I tried to pour water on my nose but ended up spilling water all over myself.

11:27 P.M. If you look up real close to the metal pipe connected to each toilet you’ll notice it’s shiny enough for it to function as a makeshift mirror. In other news, I now have visual proof that my nose is getting quite irritated.

12 A.M. It is unlikely I will get kicked out at this point. After the fifth hour in the washroom, you can just relax and think. Is there a good reason for me to be here? Does my back normally hurt this much? Is this even real journalism? The answer to all of these questions is no, of course not.

1 A.M. After an uneventful two hours, I hear sniffling noises and some movement, leading up to a flush. I’m a little scared as a knock comes on my door.

The building has been closed for exactly two hours. I said, “Hello?”

“Building’s closed now.”

I offered an “oh okay” to him, weakly trying to play it all off as a silly accident. I packed up my stuff and left. I never even saw his face. After six poky hours, fourteen muffled sneezes and eight accidental motion-triggered toilet flushes, I can go home.

1:43 A.M I got locked out of my dorm. When I went to the front desk for help, I could hear a whisper of “Panda”

by Desiigner playing across the counter.

I went into writing this hoping to have something to say, but I’ve come to accept the silliness of all of this. There is no point to this. All I learned on this hellish night is that, no matter what, the lights stay on in the Life Building. U

SCIENCE

OCTOBER 8, 2019 TUESDAY

EDITOR JAMES VOGL

16

ANTIBIOTICS //

Study supports importance of early blood testing in sepsis treatment Cecilia Lee Contributor

A group of researchers spanning from UBC, McGill University, Harvard Medical School and the University of Arizona College of Medicine have published solid evidence supporting early blood culture sampling in the treatment of sepsis. It is the first study to present such decisive support.

Sepsis, a leading cause of death in Canada, is a life-threatening condition where the body’s immune response triggers reactions that damage its own organs. In 2011, it was reported that one in every eighteen deaths involved sepsis nationwide.

Standard treatment protocols involve the rapid administration of antibiotics, blood culture sampling and vasopressors or fluid resuscitation as needed.

The study, which was recently published in Annals of Internal Medicine, sought to answer the question of whether or not it was truly critical for blood cultures to be taken before the administration of antibiotics in the treatment of sepsis. Over the course of five years, the researchers looked at over 300 patients with presentations of severe sepsis, sampling their blood for the presence of infection at various time-stamps both pre- and postantibiotics.

Their findings showed that

taking blood cultures after administering antibiotics could decrease their sensitivity by nearly 50 per cent, affecting medical professionals’ ability to identify an infecting pathogen. “… there’s many reasons why that loss of information is unacceptable,” said Dr. David Sweet, a study author, clinical associate professor in the faculty of medicine at UBC and clinical lead for sepsis with BC Patient Safety & Quality Council (BCPSQC).

As sepsis can be triggered by a broad range of infections, blood cultures can play an important role during the treatment process by identifying the specific organism responsible for the infection. This allows clinicians to administer a selective antibiotic, such as penicillin, as opposed to aggressive broad-spectrum antibiotics, which can pose health consequences to patients when delivered long-term.

While early blood culture sampling has been outlined in provincial sepsis treatment guidelines since their conception in 2012, it is currently unclear how well-adhered to they are in practice. As Sweet explained, clinical emphasis on the rapid administration of antibiotics may contribute to post-antibiotic blood culture sampling despite the fact that it is not considered best practice.

In a hospital setting, where multiple healthcare providers

It is the first study to present such decisive support for early blood culture sampling.

are responsible for patient care, the previous lack of high-quality evidence for early blood cultures can also influence clinician perspectives on sepsis treatment.

“So often, because of all this emphasis on getting antibiotics in quickly, that’s what clinicians do,” said Sweet.

“When the medical lab assistant

comes in, for example, to do blood cultures, if they get in before the antibiotics, great. But if they don’t, it’s not a huge deal, right? That’s sort of been the mentality.”

In light of these recent findings, the BCPSQC is now looking to investigate how sepsis is currently being treated in BC hospitals and to report to health

FILE PATRICK GILLIN

authorities with the data in the near future.

“I think it’s really important for the public to be aware of sepsis … [and] be advocates for their loved ones or themselves,” said Sweet.

“If they feel that [there’s a chance] their loved ones might have sepsis, [ask] their clinician.” U

DRUG RESEARCH //

Popular antibiotic class linked to heart valve problems to have a 2.5 times greater risk of experiencing adverse heart valve problems. This is in comparison While antibiotics are a normal part to other commonly prescribed of everyday life for people all over antibiotics like the bacteriathe world, researchers at UBC are fighting amoxicillin. raising important questions about “We have been looking at the side effects of a popular class of different side effects with this class such medicines. of antibiotics for actually a few years now. We’ve looked at other types of side effects like ocular, also neurologic, and the [US] Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year put an alert on these drugs, specifically with a link to aortic aneurysms,” said Etminan, who partnered with the Provincial Health Services Authority on the with the support of the Korean government! research.

“We thought that if it can damage the vessels, then it can Get a transformative cultural potentially damage the heart valves experience through TaLK! as well, but no one really had looked at that, at that time, so we thought we would be the first group to look • Teach conversational English at it and see if there is a risk or not.” in after-school classes Through a health trade database • Monday - Friday in the United States, the researchers (15 instructional hrs/wk) accessed information regarding physician diagnosis, medical diagnosis, hospitalization and s (KRW 1.3 million) e prescription drugs for a population c n a w o l l it a nd ex of about nine million study enrolees. onth orientation nce a m e n a O r • t ) on • En 5 milli The data led researchers to . r 1 a l W o tion leave (KR ertificate • Vaca o-sch conclude that fluoroquinolones are end n • C letion c p o p i i t t a m s d o ly mo hip c onth s associated with higher risk of heart • Accom r M • a l ge Scho covera valve complications. nce • more information r urance o a f s e n t i i w s l b a o e c l i rw al • Med isit ou ment The results of the research cast e v l t t e e s S • Plea doubt on why fluoroquinolones are prescribed in place of antibiotics that are associated with lower risk of developing heart issues.

The popularity of Contact information: Consulate General of the Republic of Korea fluoroquinolones comes from the TEL: 604-681-9581 / vanedu@mofa.go.kr abilities of these antibiotics to cover a wide range of disease-causing Arveen Gogoani Contributor

A study conducted by Dr. Mahyar Etminan, associate professor in the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences, alongside fellow associate members in the departments of medicine and pharmacology, indicates that a familiar class of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones causes users

TEACH IN KOREA

!

W O N APPLY

talk.go.kr www.

It often takes time for physicians to learn of and acknowledge new findings.

bacteria, which makes them highly effective workers in the face of a collection of different illnesses.

Fluoroquinolones, when ingested orally, are also close to 100 per cent absorbed, making them very similar in productivity to all-purpose IV fluids delivered directly to the veins. This efficiency of absorption associated allows physicians to prescribe these antibiotics to patients without having to hospitalize them.

In light of this, Etminan stressed that fluoroquinolones play an important therapeutic role, but their usage should be selective. “... Their role is mostly in patients who have very serious infections,” he said.

“Unfortunately, we know that for the most part when they are used in the community, they are used in cases where either antibiotics are not needed, or other safer types of antibiotics could also have been used.”

FILE JERRY YIN

It often takes time for physicians to acknowledge new scientific findings related to drug prescription and usage. For this reason, although new discoveries are being made, physicians can be slow in processing and altering treatment practices to accommodate findings.

Through his research, Etminan hopes to raise awareness of the side effects associated with fluoroquinolones, while also encouraging better consideration of the increase in bacterial resistance as a result of overprescribing this class of antibiotics.

The researchers hope that further studies will accentuate the complexity of the link between fluoroquinolones and heart complications.

“The more studies validate and confirm our findings, then that would prompt … health regulatory bodies like the FDA and Health Canada to put a warning on this,” said Etminan. U

SPORTS+REC

OCTOBER 8, 2019 TUESDAY

EDITOR SALOMON MICKO BENRIMOH

17

AT LONG LAST //

Thunderbirds are go: UBC finally claim first win against Regina Rams Salomon Micko Benrimoh Sports Editor

It turns out Thunderbirds can fly.

The UBC Thunderbirds finally claimed their first win of the 2019 Canada West season Friday night in Regina.

In addition to wanting their first win, the T-Birds were also after revenge against the Rams.

Their first meeting back in August’s season opener saw the Rams thrash the ’Birds 46–16, but both teams came into Friday night’s showdown on long losing streaks.

It was the Rams who opened the scoring just under four minutes into the game and on their second drive.

Rookie Regina quarterback Bryden O’Flaherty brought his offence in deep to the UBC 25-yard line before the ’Birds defence managed to hold them off and force them to go for a field goal.

After Rams kicker Aldo Galvan successfully gave his team a 3–0 lead over the ’Birds, it would take second-year quarterback Gabe Olivares just two possessions before bringing his team in field goal range and allowing veteran UBC kicker Garrin McDonnell to knock back a 35-yard attempt and tie the game up at 3–3.

Scoring for all of the first quarter and much of the second would be limited to just field goals as neither team could fill in the last step of their offensive plans to push into the opposing team’s endzone.

McDonnell would be successful on 36- and 33-yard attempts while Galvan would himself successfully

Second-year quarterback Gabe Olivares led the T-Birds to their long-overdue first win of the year.

make a short 16-yard attempt to make the score 9–6 in favour of the Thunderbirds going into the final two minutes of the half.

After coming in early and taking over the helm for the remainder of last week’s game against the Golden Bears, Olivares proved once more why he deserves the starting job over any other UBC quarterback.

After back-to-back first downs, Olivares connected with Nick Pollitt for a 54-yard gain that brought the ball to the Rams’ 1-yard line.

Olivares rushed for a touchdown, giving the ’Birds a 16–6 lead into

the half.

Unlike previous games, the ’Birds were able to carry some momentum into the start of the third quarter.

At around the halfway point of the third quarter and with the ’Birds at the Rams’ 41-yard line, Olivares connected with Jacob Patten who ran the ball all the way to the Rams’ endzone. It gave the ’Birds a 23–6 lead, one of their biggest margins all year.

However, not long after Patten’s touchdown, running back Semba Mbasela would lead the Rams with

FILE SALOMON MICKO BENRIMOH

a three-carry possession, ending it with a rushing touchdown and bringing the Rams into double-digits and 10 points down at 23–13.

And their push to catch up with the T-Birds would not stop there as Olivares’s pass on the ensuing play would be batted down right into the hands of Rams defensive lineman Brandon McKimmon who ran 11 yards for another Regina touchdown.

With a wild segment resembling the famed 1970s Immaculate Reception play from the National Football League, the Rams looked poised to complete a

dramatic comeback and hand the Thunderbirds a sixth consecutive loss.

However the fourth quarter began with UBC’s Charles Lemay rushing for another ’Birds touchdown, giving the T-Birds a more comfortable 30–20 lead.

Despite a one-point touchback, the ’Birds went into the dying minutes of the game up 30–21.

But as the fourth quarter dragged on inside the two-minute mark, O’Flaherty connected once more with receiver Kyle Moortgat to inject life back into the Rams’ offence and bring the score up to 30–28.

A failed onside kick by the Rams gave the ’Birds possession at their own 53-yard mark and they managed to move the sticks to the Rams 44-yard line before McDonnell was successful once more on his fourth field goal attempt in the game to give the ’Birds a 33–28 lead.

Still, with 38 seconds on the clock, the Thunderbirds’ defence would need to come up big to put the game away. Something they ultimately failed to do as the ’Birds let the Rams come all the way back to the UBC 18-yard line.

However, second-year standout James Vause intercepted O’Flaherty’s first pass in the endzone to give the Thunderbirds both control of the ball and their elusive first win of the season.

The ’Birds will come back home for the last time this season on Saturday for the Frank Smith Legacy game against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. U

KICKING IT OLD SCHOOL //

Recreating Recess: Back to the basics at the playground Brendan Smith Staff Writer

This past summer, I went home to work at a summer camp.

Like most summer jobs, the work was a nice break from university life and it was fun being able to do something that was active as well as engaging.

As part of the job, I spent a lot of time at playgrounds and open green areas so the kids could play around to their hearts desire.

Then one day, one of the kids asked if I could do the monkey bars with them.

The monkey bars, for those who don’t know, are usually a consecutive set of hanging metal bars where the goal is to swing your body and arms as you reach for the next bar until you arrive at the endpoint which is normally a platform or the ground.

To be fair, I had not done the monkey bars since I was in elementary school, so I was unsure whether a runner’s body could still finish a set of bars.

However, as those who work with children know, once a group of kids start chanting your name while managing to also challenge your self-worth as an individual, there is really no backing down.

As I started swinging from bar to bar, I began to realize the benefits of playgrounds in another perspective.

When you think about the concept of a playground, it is

It might seem a little childish at first, but there’s a lot to get up to at your local park.

essentially an environment that facilitates activity. The typical playground will have a swing set, a slide and an area that features climbing or hanging activities such as the monkey bars.

Still, the idea of playing on a playground is foreign to most adults who view playgrounds as relics of the past.

Yet are we really too old to be playing on playgrounds?

My experience this past summer did not hurt anyone nor did it break any of the equipment at the park.

If anything, my experience with the monkey bars — I did finish them if you were wondering — helped to show the kids the enjoyment of physical activity in a lighthearted and interesting way.

Personally, I do not see any issue with adolescents or young adults playing on playgrounds if they intend to use the space in a respectful manner.

In fact, I even saw an elderly man playing on the swings with his grandchildren not too long ago. It created a positive experience that would not have happened if he had

MAYA RODRIGO-ABDI

chose to sit and watch the children from a bench instead.

This is why this recess is about returning to the playgrounds.

Whatever you choose to do at the playground is up to you, as long as it is respectful of the space and the people who may be there already using it, but here are a few options to try out.

The first option is to view the playground as an outdoor gym.

Most playgrounds will have climbing equipment so you can easily perform an upper-body workout doing pullups on the

monkey bars or running up the stairs to the slide before sliding down to get in some cardio. The advantages that a playground has over a regular gym is that you are outside, it’s free and often you will be the only one at the playground when you go.

The second option for using the playground is bringing other people with you. If you can get a large group of people together, you can play many playground classics such as lava monster, tag or hide-and-seek. As childish as these games may be, under the right environment they can still be as fun as they were when you were younger. For dog owners, a playground is also a great area to get both you and your pet to exercise.

The last option is to treat the playground as an escape. As defined previously, recess is a break from work, school or any other task requiring focused attention in favour of spending time mindlessly engaged in a task. One activity worth trying then is the swing set because the rhythm of swinging back and forth can be relaxing.

If for whatever reason you cannot use your local playground, then still go because most will have an open green space attached and it is there can you get your workout in, play with friends or pets or just watch the clouds go by.

The idea is that playgrounds are places of positive experiences and places that are meant to be used by everyone, regardless of their age. U

18 | SPORTS+REC | TUESDAY OCTOBER 8, 2019

WEEKEND RUNDOWN Unrelenting ’Birds beat WolfPack and Heat Bill Huan Staff Writer

Coming off their first loss of the season, the UBC Thunderbirds women’s soccer team bounced back Friday afternoon with a nail-biting 2–1 victory over the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) WolfPack in Kamloops.

The game was tightly contested right from the start, as both teams traded possession throughout much of the opening half. The Thunderbirds were the first to get on the board 29 minutes in when

Natasha Klasios buried her first goal of the season after receiving a great cross from Alyssa Hunt running down the left flank.

However, the visiting squad would double their lead just seven minutes later.

On a play reminiscent of the opening goal, Sophie Damian shot the ball past the outstretched fingers of the WolfPack keeper after receiving a pinpoint pass from Amelia Crawford.

The ’Birds would go into the break up by two goals, although the game was much closer than the score indicated.

The second half started off with a determined WolfPack team putting pressure on the ’Birds as they attempted to mount a comeback.

TRU’s Camryn Curts would cut the lead in half at the 55-minute mark, scoring a beautiful goal by dekeing around three T-Bird defenders and finessing a shot into the top corner.

The match would almost be tied during stoppage time, when an out-of-position Emily Moore misplayed the ball and passed it right to Chantal Gammie, who would shoot it over the net.

The ’Birds were right back at it on Saturday, travelling to Kelowna to take on the UBC Okanagan Heat where a second-half Alyssa Hunt goal lifted them past by a score of 1–0 and consolidated their place at third overall in Canada West behind the Trinity Western University Spartans and the University of Calgary Dinos. U

The Thunderbirds are now sitting third in Canada West.

Men’s soccer thrash WolfPack, draw with Heat Andy Phung Staff Writer

Nick Fussell battles for the bar with a TRU player during Friday’s matchup.

AMAN SRIDHAR

In an exceptional display of tactical dominance, the UBC Thunderbirds men’s soccer team thrashed the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) WolfPack with a staggering 5–0 score.

The T-Birds dominated the WolfPack right from the get-go. UBC midfielder Nick Fussell opened the goal fest after an excellent assist by fourth-year midfielder Mackenzie Cole in the 30th minute.

The T-Birds doubled their lead in the next minute, when veteran forward Victory Shumbusho outran his marker for a through pass and calmly lobbed the ball into the net.

The first half ended 3–0 for UBC as midfielder Sean Einarsson scored his second goal of the season after another assist by Cole in the 40th minute.

TRU’s performance improved in

FILE SALOMON MICKO BENRIMOH

the second half and possession was more evenly distributed between the two sides.

That came to an end in the 85th minute when UBC forward Ryan Arthur received an incisive pass from veteran midfielder Thomas Gardner, dribbled to the penalty box and scored the fourth goal of the game for the T-Birds.

A lightning fast dribble down the left flank by UBC midfielder Mihai Hodut catalysed Arthur’s second goal of the game two minutes into extra time.

“That was our best first half that we’ve played,” said UBC head coach Mike Mosher. “Very solid defensively — we didn’t give anything up. We punished them for mistakes that they made, and we were good on the ball. We score goals, and we make teams come at us.”

The T-Birds’ subsequent clash with the UBC Okanagan Heat saw them walk away with a draw after a late Heat equalizer. The team continue their Canada West campaign this Thursday, playing the University of Victoria Vikes in the annual Legends Cup. U

Women’s field hockey earn fourth draw in a row against Calgary Dinos Salomon Micko Benrimoh Sports Editor

The UBC women’s field hockey team closed out their last two regular season games on campus with draws against the visiting University of Calgary Dinos.

The pair of games gave the T-Birds their third and fourth straight draws after ending last weekend’s double-header against the University of Victoria Vikes with two 0–0 draws.

The draws, a 2–2 game on Saturday and a 1–1 decision on Sunday leave the ’Birds on top of the Canada West standings and in a decent position to take the Canada West crown en route to this year’s U Sports Nationals.

The ’Birds came out swinging in Saturday’s game, with Sarah Goodman and Sanehpreet Basra scoring at the 24th and 27th

minutes to give the home team a 2–0 lead in the game. The Dinos proceeded to come back just as strong, scoring six minutes apart thanks to two penalty shots by Jenna Bower.

Sunday’s game saw the ’Birds come back from a 1–0 deficit after an early Calgary goal. The tying tally coming courtesy of thirdyear midfielder Thora Rae. The ’Birds will have two weeks to rest and prepare before travelling to Victoria to take on the Vikes in the penultimate games of the 2019 Canada West season and the coveted annual Legends Cup. Depending on how the Vikes perform themselves against the Dinos this weekend in Calgary, the Legends Cup will most likely determine this year’s conference champions and who gets to travel to National Championships. U

The women’s field hockey team will need to break their string of draws against the Vikes in two weeks.

CHRISTOPHER MA

neighbourhood small grants

Have a great idea for your community?

Bring your project to life! Deadline to apply is October 21.

UTown@UBC Community Grants support people like you who want to cultivate vibrancy at UBC or Musqueam. We give grants of up to $1000 to projects that focus on connecting and engaging one another.

All UBC students, faculty, residents and staff, as well as Musqueam residents are eligible to apply. Applications are online.

utown.ubc.ca/communitygrants

2019 AMS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING If you’re interested in getting involved in student initiatives at UBC, the AMS’ AGM is a great first step. The AGM is your opportunity to learn what the AMS has planned for the coming year and how to get involved. All students are welcome and a networking lunch is included.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23 12-2PM LOWER ATRIUM, THE NEST

20 | GAMES | TUESDAY OCTOBER 8, 2019

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14. Mystical glow 15. Govt. security 16. Like Cheerios 17. Are you ___ out?

18. Misanthrope 19. “South Park” kid 20. Rodeo rope 22. Sent out 24. Horton Hears ___ 27. Go downhill fast?

28. Adults 32. Brewer’s need 35. Cask wood 36. Alloy of iron and carbon 38. At quite an incline 40. Diagonal 42. Curl the lip 44. European erupter 45. Eye sores 47. Flight unit 49. Wee one 50. Autocratic Russian rulers 52. Seaward 54. Glove compartment items 56. Abominable snowman 57. Official sitting 60. Sports shocker 64. Stepped down 65. Chambers 68. Go (over) carefully 69. Seldom seen 70. Things 71. ___ first you don’t...

72. At all 73. President before Polk 74. Unaffectedness

DOWN 1. Clipper feature 2. “Chicken of the sea” 3. Cupid 4. Capital of Poland 5. ___ degree 6. ___ whim 7. Routine 8. Flower parts 9. In a weird way 10. Follow in time 11. London art gallery 12. Not much 13. Equivalent wd.

21. Possesses 23. Golf pegs, northern English river 25. Humble homes 26. Goes into business 28. Oodles 29. Singer Bonnie 30. Signs off on 31. Handle 33. Brief brawl 34. Pavarotti, e.g.

37. Like spinach 39. Head 41. Tailor 43. Rampant 46. Ladies of Sp. 48. Queue after Q 51. Vital essence 53. Flowerchild 55. Like a smokestack 57. Pole, for one 58. Land of Molly Bloom 59. Christmas 61. Parlor piece 62. Historical periods 63. Head of France 64. It often follows you 66. Tussaud’s title: Abbr.

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did you know that . . .

Former Prime Minister John “Chick” Turner was an associate sports editor for The Ubyssey in the late 1940s.

— Zubair H. Send your best facts to visuals@ubyssey.ca to be featured in next week’s issue!