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The AIH Transcript for August 8, 2022

PAUL HUNTER: Hello. I'm Paul Hunter.

TALIA SCHLANGER: Good evening. I'm Talia Schlanger. This is As It Happens.

[Theme]

Prologue

TS: Tonight:

PH: High alert. As a fire burns out of control nearby, we reach a Newfoundland woman who says food and water are running low -- and the road out is blocked.

TS: No pride and no joy. After yesterday's last-minute cancellation of the Montreal Pride Parade, our guest says it wasn't just disappointing -- and kind of baffling -- but a real shame for her community.

PH: Bittersweet victory. Carol Todd has campaigned tirelessly against so-called "sextortion" since the death of her daughter nearly a decade ago. She tells us how it felt to see the man who tormented Amanda found guilty.

TS: Crisis management. As some Ontario hospitals struggle to keep emergency rooms open, the head of Ontario Health tells us people can still trust the system.

PH: From our archives, an interview with Olivia Newton-John as she opened her closet-full of iconic outfits to raise money for cancer research. The singer and star of "Grease" died this morning. She was 73.

TS: And… beyond meat, we get the appeal of sausage jokes. But a French physicist is now eating his words -- after he tweeted a photo of a slice of chorizo and claimed it was an image of a distant star.

TS: As It Happens, the Monday edition. radio that considers him a Nobel Prize wiener.

Part 1: Newfoundland Fires, Carol Todd, Olivia Newton-John Obit

Newfoundland Fires

Guest: Susan Jeddore

TS: People in central Newfoundland are on high alert as major wildfires are growing larger and creeping closer. One of the fires is the largest the province has seen in decades. A state of emergency has been declared because of heavy smoke -- and many people may have to leave their homes at a moment's notice. Susan Jeddore lives in Conne River, Newfoundland, where the road out of the area is currently blocked because of the fires. That's where we reached her.

PH: Susan, how are you feeling right now, knowing that you don't really have road access out of your community?

SUSAN JEDDORE: It's pretty scary at the moment. We can actually see smoke, but it's high in the sky. It's not low-lying. We have nowhere to go. We have limited gas. We have limited food. Baby supplies just got flown in. So that's a relief there. We have nowhere to go, only to a ferry to Pool's Cove, which is only taking 34 passengers a trip. So if we've got to go, that's our only way out.

PH: Holy cow! When you say limited food and water, what does that mean? What do you mean by limited? How limited?

SJ: We only get… the freight trucks only come to Conne River once a week. So we're going on our second week now with our freight trucks because of the fires. We've been shut… the highway's been completely shut down all weekend. Last Thursday, maybe. So we don't have any freight like food wise, fresh produce or milk, bread.

PH: Wow! Dare I ask which way the wind is blowing?

SJ: In Conne River right now, it's really calm. There's no wind, but it's really, really hot. It's like close to 30 degrees. Further up the highway, it's windy. It's away from us, but we can see the smoke up over the highway. I just came back from my cabin area about 20 minutes in on the road, and you could see the line of smoke in… on the skyline.

PH: Wow! Can you smell it?

SJ: We can't smell it right now. A couple of nights ago, we were in bed, and I had to actually get up and close the windows. We did have some smoke. It was probably Friday night. We didn't have a smell of smoke. But since then, it's been… it's just in over the country from us. We can see it, but we don't smell it.

PH: You sound a kind of calm about things. And I know there's no value in panicking, but… but, you know, how worried are you?

SJ: Right now, I'm not too bad. My… my son and my grandchild, and my daughter-in-law were stuck for three days. They got down, got coming down through Bay d'Espoir Highway and they got caught between two fires. The baby's only 11 months old. They had no no food, no clothes, nothing extra because it was a day trip. They were stranded in between two fires. A helicopter --

PH: Wait a minute. Caught between two fires. What do you mean?

SJ: So, on Bay d'Espoir Highway, there are two fires burning right now on both sides of the road. So they went to do a delivery for his dad, and for his… to take a cat to his dad. And they went, Triton, it's just in central. And when they came back, the highway was closed. So they turned around and went back to Buchan, which is in central there, to her parent's house. The next morning, they had a call saying the roads were open, so they left to come down. It's about a three-hour drive. They got down through. Traffic was flowing. When they got there, a helicopter was flying over them and it was really smoky. So the helicopter kind of sped up ahead of them and landed right in front of his truck. And the pilot got out and said, you've got to turn around. He said the fire just jumped the road.

PH: Awe!

SJ: And he said, right now you're between two fires. Just… that was within 10 minutes. Pilot said because of the smoke issues. He had to fly low. And for my son, Paul, to follow him back to the highway, to get him back safely to the TCH.

PH: He followed the helicopter?

SJ: Yeah, he had to follow the helicopter on the highway to get back. He was about maybe a 30-minute drive in and had to turn around and follow the helicopter back out to guide him through the smoke.

pH: How is your son right now? How's he feeling?

SJ: He's better now… I can't say they're better. There's a lot of concern with an 11-month-old child with them, with a tank of gas trying to get home. No food, no extra money to get gas. No food for the baby. No Pampers for the baby. We were able to help them out to go back. So that was three… three trips back to Buchans and back. And finally, on the third day, they were able to get through until when he got to the Bay d'Espoir side, as soon as he went through, forestry put the blockade up… back up again and got cut off again. So they just barely made it through for the third time. And I have my grandson here as well. He's from Saint John's. We picked him up last weekend. And because his mom was going on a trip, so he's here now, stranded. We can't get him back to St John's.

PH: Firefighters are doing -- obviously doing -- everything they can. But in a sense, is it fair to say you're at the mercy of fate right now?

SJ: We're at the mercy of Mother Nature right now. It's not… Mother Nature is not cooperating with us. We have… we didn't have any rain in about two weeks. As soon as they get some control of the fire, the winds picked up, and it spread. The only fear now is that the two fires merge. If the two fires merge, then the whole highway's completely burnt. I drove…. I drove the Bay d'Espoir Highway last Sunday when I picked up my grandson. And it's sad. Everything is charred black. The other day was 100 feet flames. It's scary, especially knowing that we're here stranded, and we can't go. The only way out is by water.

PH: So, Susan, how are you coping emotionally?

SJ: Right now, I am struggling because I am… for myself, I'm struggling with the second round of COVID and being isolated away from everybody is, for me, that's the issue. I have health problems myself. I've been taken numerous times in the last two years by ambulance to Grand Falls-Windsor, which now is blocked. So I would have to get taken to Harbour Breton and get airlifted to Grand Falls if anything goes wrong. I have IBS, I have colitis, I have diverticulitis, and I have… I have celiac disease. So my food intake right now is very low because my… my gluten-free foods I buy from Dominion, which is in Grand Falls-Windsor, and I can't get to it.

PH: Oh, boy. And you have COVID.

SJ: It just adds more stress.

PH: Exactly. Wow.

SJ: We don't have a drugstore. We don't… we have a grocery store and a gas bar, that's it. So we don't have baby supplies. You got to go to Grand Falls to get baby supplies.

PH: Susan, I can't… I can barely believe you're keeping it all together. I'm shaking my head as I listen to you describe your circumstance.

SJ: [coughs] Yeah, it's scary. Actually, I'm standing outside my door right now, and I can actually see the line of smoke just moving in there. So I'm not sure if the wind is changing in Grand Falls-Windsor.

PH: Susan, I… I don't know what to say. I hope Mother Nature shows you mercy. Thank you. And… and good luck.

SJ: Yeah, thank you. As long as my grandson doesn't get home sick, right now, we're okay. [chuckle]

PH: All right. Bye-bye.

TS: That was Susan Jeddorre in Conne River, Newfoundland.

[ambient]

Carol Todd

Guest: Carol Todd

TS: If you remember that viral black and white video of Amanda Todd sharing her story, one hand-written sign at a time... well, then you'll understand just how significant it was for her mother, Carol Todd, this weekend when a Dutch man was convicted of extortion, two counts of possession of child pornography, child luring and criminal harassment against the B.C. teen. Amanda was just 15 when she took her own life nearly a decade ago. On Saturday, Carol Todd was in the courtroom to witness the verdict. She joined us today from Port Coquitlam.

PH: Carol, now that there is a guilty verdict here in Canada, how are you feeling?

CAROL TODD: I'm feeling really happy. But we have to… we have to think it's a very bittersweet moment. If I had one wish, it would be that Amanda was alive to see this moment. But we know because of tragic circumstances, she can't be. But I get all the thank you for doing this work to make this happen. But you know what? The true person who is responsible was Amanda because she put her YouTube video out there and shared her story.

PH: You were in the courtroom for the entire trial. What was it like in that room on Saturday when you heard the guilty verdict being read out?

CT: It was a pause and stop moment. Like, I pretty much held my emotional ground. I've kept it private for most of 10 years, right? So, that… a lot of people criticize that in that they say, well, how can she… does she have no feelings? She's always out there talking to the media. There's not a tear. And I think on Saturday, I lost that emotional ground because as soon as I heard the third guilty, I could just feel myself letting go of all that… all that stuff that I was holding for all these years. Only because, as I said, it was bittersweet and, you know, I wish Amanda…, and she's probably watching it from somewhere in the heavens, right? But… but for her to… to know that the guy who harassed her, who exploited her, who threatened her, there's been some justice served in her memory.

PH: You must have been sitting there thinking of Amanda?

CT: Yeah. But the first thing, when we were called back in for the verdict, what I had to do was sit in a place where I could look at Aydin Coban as he walked back into that courtroom. [phone chimes] I don't know, I just… I mean, I'd been sitting there for nine weeks. And, yeah, we've… we've locked eyes, right? But for that final verdict, I just had to be sitting someplace where he knew that I was looking at the back of his head. And he saw me every day. And that's good because I didn't let up in these last 10 years on fighting for justice for Amanda. And I wanted him to know that. He was surprised when I ended up in the courtroom in the Netherlands in 2017 for his other trial, too. So, he picked the wrong mama bear to tangle with.

PH: [chuckling] Why was that so important for you to position yourself so that he could see you and he knew you were there and you could see him directly?

CT: Wanted to show him that I was there. That I had never forgotten. That I wanted to remind him of what his conduct was towards my baby girl. And by him seeing me every day, it would remind him who he victimized and how horrific it was. He was never charged for her death, of course, but what he did was a precursor of how she went into her mental health struggles. So, yeah. I'm sure I'm going to see him again at sentencing. But it was really important for me to stare him in the eyes right before a verdict.

PH: How do you hope this victory, if that's the right word. I guess it is.

CT: Yeah.

PH: Changes the way sextortion and online bullying is prosecuted internationally?

CT: Well, internationally is an interesting word because, in the United States, there are sextortion cases. And I was witness to one where the fellow sextorted young ladies and got 55 years in a U.S. court. In Canada, I tried to look up sextortion cases that have come into trial and haven't… haven't really found that many online. Sextortion is not in the Criminal Code. It's written as extortion. With… with some different defining measures. I would hope… I would… because my next on my to-do list is to talk to my local MP and find out more about how… how is it possible to get sextortion written in? Because it is an issue. It does happen. And the people who are being extorted, just like Amanda, don't know where to go, right. Where is the hope? I also hope that there is more learning to take place on the topic of sextortion. Because we know, now there's an epidemic, a rise in statistics, that it's happening to young boys. And so, 10 years ago, we felt this was only a girl thing. But there are no… there are no boundaries on gender. And there's no boundaries on culture. It can happen to everybody. So, the learning and resources to families, so families can talk to their children, to youths, young adults, educators so that they can share the conversation with their class. Law enforcement. Political leaders and legal counsel, right? It's really important that everyone… everyone learns more about it because it can happen in a heartbeat.

PH: Carol, thank you.

CT: You're welcome.

PH: Bye-bye.

TS: Carol Todd is the founder of the Amanda Todd Legacy Society. If you’re listening to this and you’re in crisis… there is help for you. Call the Canada Suicide Prevention Service at 1-833-456-4566. Or reach out to Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868.

[chillhop]

FOA: Olivia Newton-John Obit

TS: She was the one that Danny Zuko wanted. And many people in real life loved her, too. Olivia Newton-John -- who was best known for playing Sandy in the movie Grease -- has died at the age of 73. She will be forever associated with her role in that film-- belting out "You're The One That I Want" with John Travolta. But she sold tens of millions of records over her career, winning four Grammys along the way. A few years ago, after her breast cancer resurfaced, she decided to use her profile to raise money for treatment and research. She opened up her closet and auctioned off dozens of outfits -- including that iconic skin-tight leather number from Grease. She spoke to As It Happens at that time. Here she is, in conversation with guest host Rosemary Barton.

[sc]

RB: Olivia Newton-John, tell us why you're holding this auction now?

OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN: Well, it seemed like the perfect time to hold an auction because “Grease” — which is 40 year anniversary of “Grease” — I planned on auctioning off the jacket and pants for my Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness Research Centre. For number of years I've been thinking about it. And it seemed like the perfect year. And then I ended up that year not being able to really work on it because I broke my sacrum. I was in hospital for a while. So here we are, a year later, and it started out just with the jacket and pants. And now it's gone to my clothes from different movies — “Xanadu” and things I wore in “Physical” and jewelry and just stuff from my whole life. It's been actually a wonderful adventure going through all my past.

RB: Well, I bet. And I want to talk more about that. But obviously I want to talk about the pants and the jacket. Because that's the thing that everyone would covet, I think, right? Are you willing to part with them?

ONJ: Absolutely, because I mean they've been hanging in my closet for a long time. RB and ONJ laugh] And we're using one stage up to about 15-20 years ago, but then my publicist said I can't believe you've got this out on the road with you. I think you should preserve them. And I hadn't really thought about it. I didn't believe that “Grease” would still be coveted after 40 years. I mean it was just unbelievable. And the money, much of the money, will be going to my Cancer Wellness Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia. So it has a purpose, and people are going to enjoy it. I'll have a wonderful photo. And it won’t be sitting in a closet. So it all makes sense to me.

RB: [deep laughs] Is there anything when you went through your closet and you were trying to pick items where it just like brought you back to that moment in time?

ONJ: Oh, a lot of them. A lot of them. Because I hadn't looked at a lot of the clothes. I mean I have clothes in the auction that I wore in Vegas like in the ‘70s. My assistant Dana — who's been with me for 40 years — would put things away for other people's auctions because I was always giving people stuff. In fact, I gave the red shoes from “Grease” for an auction probably 30 years ago because I had no idea I'd be thinking about them now. So we had a lot nice pieces, and it was lovely to see them like that because it's been a long time.

RB: Can I ask you would you fit into the pants now?

ONJ: Actually, I tried them on just for a giggle, and I wasn't gonna tell anyone this. And [laughs] I could.

RB: Wow!

ONJ: Luckily, the zipper is broken, so I wasn't able to really test the full result. [RB laughing] Let’s just say my legs got in there.

RB: [ONJ laughs] That's pretty impressive 40 years later.

ONJ: Yeah, not bad. Not bad.

RB: You have a recent book called “Don't Stop Believin” — where you talk about how you almost didn't take that role of Sandy. I don't know, you felt like you were too old or something?

ONJ: Well, there were a lot of reasons. I had made a movie in England in the 60s called “Toomorrow” —which was a science fiction musical group. [laughs] And there was a lot of excitement, and it didn't do anything. So then when my musical career took off, I was worried if I did another movie maybe I'd have another disaster, and it wouldn't be good for my career. So I was the reluctant Sandy. And then they sent John to meet me and you know how can you resist those blue eyes coming up your driveway?

RB: [RB and ONJ laugh] That's totally fair. Was that like a pivotal moment for you in your career like in terms of getting exposure on a different level?

ONJ: Oh, absolutely. I mean I was having great success with my music at that time. But the film took me to another level, totally. So it's been an incredible journey, and I feel so lucky to be part of it.

RB: Let's talk about where the proceeds for the auction are going to go — The Olivia Newton John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre, which is in Australia, right?

ONJ: Yeah, it's in Melbourne Australia — where I grew up. And they asked me to lend my name to a cancer centre about oh my gosh, it's almost 15 years ago now. And my dream was to you know I didn't just want my name on a cancer centre. So I said if you put the word wellness in there — and we have a wellness centre as part of this hospital centre — then I would love to endorse it because to me that is just as important as any other kind of treatment. So we did that, and it's been a wonderful success. And when people drive up to the centre, and they see wellness in the name, it gives them a positive feeling, which is the whole point.

RB: And you’ve faced cancer three times. Right now, you have breast cancer. And I last year, or earlier this year I think, you released that video where you had to address reports that you were on death's door. Can I play a bit of that clip for people that didn’t hear it?

ONJ: Please! Yeah, sure!

RB: [laughs] Here’s you.

SOUNDCLIP

ONJ: New Year everyone. This is Olivia Newton-John. And I just want to say that the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

RB: [ONJ laughs] Why did you feel you had to do that?

ONJ: Because it was getting out of control. And you know it was frightening people. And even friends and relatives across the world were getting anxious. And I thought I just need to put this to bed. It’s just silly, and it's very distressing to read that you’re dead. You got to have a sense of humour about it. I know that's how they sell papers. But it just it went too far. So it was great because it nipped in the bud — just direct and truthful.

RB: How have you managed to — even now with your third bout — stay positive about things? Really approach it from a wellness perspective, I guess, right?

ONJ: Well, you know I feel very grateful. I mean every day is a gift for all of us. And none of us know what our life is going to be or when it's going to end. Just with a cancer diagnosis, of course it brings it into the forefront, and it's scary. But I just you know particularly being 70, and I've had an incredible life, and I intend to keep on living for a long time. I just am even more grateful every day.

RB: I think you talked recently about how you have started to use medicinal marijuana — cannabis. Why did you decide to make that decision?

ONJ: When I was in hospital in Australia, I was in incredible pain. And I had to be on morphine for quite a while. And I was determined I was not going to become hooked. And I was not going to remain on it. So I started using cannabis to help with the pain. And I want everyone to know that I weaned myself off morphine with cannabis, and it can be done, and it's safe. My husband is a plant medicine expert and grew cannabis strains for me — as you can do in California. And I maintain use of it for pain, but also they're discovering — they're doing a lot of studies — that cannabis has healing qualities for many things. We have a friend with Parkinson's. I have another friend who has bone metastases which is what I have been dealing with. And they have all been incredibly helped by cannabis — particularly this one that my husband has made for me.

RB: Yeah, well you know marijuana is legal here in Canada. {ONJ: laughs] So how is your health right now then? Where are you in the treatment?

ONJ: I'm excellent. I'm only taking estrogen blockers. I had some radiation when I was in Australia — that was past October. I broke my sacrum, so I was on a walker. I couldn't walk. Then I was on a walker, then a stick. Now, I played golf the other day for the first time. [laugh]

RB: Just to go back to the auction, is there an item there I know you've said you know they were in your closet. You'll have pictures of them. But is there something there that is a little bit harder to give away or to sell than anything else?

ONJ: No, because any of those that I've had second thoughts of I've got them back. [laughs] I had a bracelet that I just thought I never wear this bracelet. I let it go and then suddenly I started thinking about it, and thought no, I think I want to keep that for my daughter. So you know a couple little things like that. But I think it's really important to let go of stuff. I mean I had stuff in closets, and no one's enjoying it. And much of the money is going to my Cancer Wellness Research Centre, so it's a win-win.

RB: Well, listen, I would go for the pants if I thought I could fit into them. [RB and ONJ laugh] Nice to speak with you, and I'm glad you're feeling okay.

ONJ: Thank you. I'm feeling great. Thanks so much.

RB: Thank you.

[/sc]

TS: From our archives, that was As It Happens guest host Rosemary Barton speaking with Olivia Newton-John in the summer of 2019. The actor and singer died this morning in California. She was 73.

[Spanish guitar]

Space Telescope Chorizo

TS: The images are a feast for the eyes. By now, you've probably had a chance to see some of the stunning new photos captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Armchair astronomers have been pouring over them. They've also been circulating online and each week, something new captures the internet's imagination. Today, a massive purple and peach cluster of stars dubbed the "Cartwheel Galaxy" is trending on Twitter. It's all pretty impressive. But whatever distant world is discovered next -- it will be hard to top the image French physicist Étienne Klein shared last week. Picture a swirling orb of orange and red. It's dotted with streaks of white and yellow blobs. In the caption, Mr. Klein writes behold: "Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the sun... a new world is revealed day after day." Now, to be fair, Proxima Centauri is a real thing. And, as far as we know, it's the closest star to the sun. Then there's Étienne Klein. Also real. And as the director at France's Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission -- the closest thing you'll get to a credible source. The problem is that the source may be credible but the subject -- that is, the star in the photo -- is edible. More specifically, it's a slice of chorizo sausage. After the image was retweeted thousands of times, Mr. Klein came clean -- admitting, quote: "According to contemporary cosmology, no object belonging to Spanish charcuterie exists anywhere but on Earth." Bravo Mr. Klein. Further proof that people do care how the sausages are made.

[Spanish guitar]

Part 2: Montreal Pride Cancelled, Ontario Health Care Crisis

Montreal Pride Cancelled

Guest: Celeste Triannon

TS: Tens of thousands of people hoped to march in Montreal's Pride Parade. But just hours before it was set to start yesterday, Pride Montreal called it off. The organization, which is known in French as Fierté Montreal, said it didn't have enough staff to run the parade safely. Thousands marched anyway, gathering in impromptu events off the main parade route. But it was still a huge disappointment for many. Some in Montreal's queer community go as far to say that it was sheer incompentence. Celeste Triannon was the lead organizer of Saturday's Trans March in Montreal. We reached her in Montreal.

PH: Celeste, what did you think when you found out that the Pride Parade had been cancelled not long before it was supposed to start?

CELESTE TRIANNON: I'd say I was disappointed, primarily because it really just puts to light just how incompetent Fierté Montreal was in organizing the entire… the entire parade and just how poorly organized it had to be that a cancellation would be made like four hours before the event was slated to begin.

PH: And Montreal hasn't had one of these since 2019. I guess it was more than a little disappointing to be taken away at the last minute?

CT: Definitely. And last year, there was, like, a smaller Pride. But at the same time, many people do miss the full-scale Pride Parades. And it really is disappointing how this is something Montrealers and many folks from across the world will need to wait for an entire year, assuming it happens next year, in order to be able to experience Pride again.

PH: And I think it's not just people from Montreal who take part and come to watch, but people who travel to Montreal as well. What was it like for those people?

CT: I was recently talking to someone who travelled from New Brunswick and stayed the whole week. And she did like many of the events that were happening, but at the same time, was really just disappointed at the fact that the Pride Parade itself, which is kind of the symbol of Montreal Pride, got cancelled.

PH: Now, that was Sunday. On Saturday, you ran the Trans March with a pretty small team, as I understand it. The fact that you were able to achieve that, but Pride Montreal wasn't able to run a parade. What does that tell you?

CT: Honestly, I just felt like how does one person, like one person with a team of only like nine or 10 volunteers, how do we manage to organize a march better than like Fierté Montreal, which has access to many different sponsors who can easily pick [?] if needed. Has some of the highest of the visibility among all, like, queer and trans organizations across the entire province of Quebec. And just overall benefits from much more of a presence than someone like me would. It just feels nonsensical how they would just fail to make it happen at the last minute, while me, who had only nine days to organize the march, managed to make it one of the biggest marches in Quebec's history.

PH: What do you think they should have done? The moment that organizers of yesterday's cancelled event realized that they were understaffed, what do you think they should have done?

CT: I think what they should have done at least a few days ago is be humble. Ask for volunteers from the city administration. Asking for their sponsors to… to provide volunteers for the event. Like, they could have done this even a few days ahead of time. And the same would apply even if it was on a day off. There certainly would be few people who are trained in de-escalation practices and who would be able to just step in at the last minute. And even then, having 120 volunteers, you're already on a much better track and say for the Trans March, where we're less than 10 volunteers until the day off. So it really makes no sense how they couldn't salvage the event in one way or another. It could have maybe been said that this would be more of a march than a parade. They could have even just changed things a little bit at the last minute to accommodate the fact that they were short-staffed. But cancelling it altogether really is like a middle finger for the community.

PH: The executive director of Pride Montreal, Simon Gamache, was asked why he didn't take help from the city or from other local organizations by the Montreal show Daybreak. Here's what he had to say. Give a listen.

[sc]

SIMON GAMACHE: You know, I work with professionals, and they told me when I found out that we were missing those… this many number of people. I was… I was told, like, you know, this is not the time that we have to train these people. Those people have to be deployed at all street corners. And training all of those people, that would not have worked. And we were, like, a few hours away from the beginning of the thing. And, you know, the thing that happened at 8 a.m. But there's a whole logistics around this parade. It's not simple. And then, we felt that we could not assert a safe parade for our community.

[/sc]

PH: Celeste, what do you make of that, that this decision was made in the name of people's safety?

CT: I think it's kind of a betrayal of the community since Pride was initially a riot. And much of what made Pride is opposition to the police. I'll just give you an example. For the Trans March, I was not entering contact with the police until 30 minutes before the march began. So, on an even shorter timeline than what Fierté Montreal had. So, what I'm thinking is that honestly, I think Fierté is to blame. But the big issue here is that they really did not plan ahead correctly. They should have had a plan B in advance. Or they should have maybe thought of a way that they could just… you know, just get extra volunteers trained in case such an event would happen. They didn't have any contingency plans. It sounds like a betrayal that could have been prevented if things were done even just a few days ahead of time.

PH: So looking forward, given what happened on the weekend, what would you want Pride Montreal to do next?

CT: Of course, they've already apologized, but what I think they need to do is ensure that in the future that they're holding themselves accountable, that they are always just preparing way in advance for… for… for the pride march, say maybe having more paid staff and volunteers. That could be better. And just create, like, the whole framework that is needed in order to ensure such a cancellation would never have to happen again. I think in the short run, what they could do is to create another Pride, just attempt to reschedule the Pride Parade for say, early September or just attempt to create another space for the community. Because I think that queer and trans people, they need to be together. And Pride Montreal is often one of the few occasions during the year where so many queer people, especially people living in the regions away from Montreal, get to have. So, I think that's what Fierté Montreal needs to do urgently is restore this sense of community which it has broken up yesterday.

PH: Celeste, thank you.

CT: No problem.

PH: Bye-bye.

TS: Celeste Triannon was the lead organizer of the Trans March in Montreal. We reached her in Montreal.

[chillhop]

NS Shark Rescue

TS: When you think of the words "shark" and "rescue" -- you might picture a swimmer saved from the jaws of a predator. But in this case, it's the shark who needed a helping hand. Anna Bald was out walking her dog on Cherry Hill Beach on Nova Scotia's South Shore when she came upon a blue shark in distress.

[sc]

ANNA BALD: There was some sort of sea creature who had made it up onto the sand, and it was flopping around. And I got a little closer and realized that it was a shark. So, I know that sharks have to keep moving, so the water circulates through their systems or they… I don't… I don't think they have very [chuckling] long not been a land-based creature.

BOB MURPHY: Yeah.

AB: So I kind of just gauged whether or not I thought I could move it on my own and went to the tail end of things [laughing] instead of the sharp end of things [BM laughs] and dragged it backwards into the water till it was about up to just above my knee.

BM: How big was it?

AB: It was about 1.5 metres. So, I say roughly around five feet. It was really, really quite large. [laughing] Yeah.

BM: And so, you grabbed it with your bare hands?

AB: Yeah, at the base of the tail. And I know that if it had been in the water, this isn't a safe maneuver because I know they… from a few biologists, they can swing around and bite as far back as their own tail. But because it was on land, basically, its fins were keeping it kind of hampered. So, I tried to get a spot where I thought I'd be safe enough to pull it backwards, and then I dragged it in to about over my knee. At that point, I was happy to let go and get out of the way. It was… it was definitely swimming at that point. [laughing]

BM: Are you proud of what you did?

ABA little. I also, you know, looking back at it, it was… it was dangerous. I'm happy I didn't get bit. But I would probably do the same thing. I know that it's not advisable, [both laugh], but if that's my only major shark encounter in my life, I'll be pretty happy. [laughing]

BM: I bet.

[/sc]

TS: That was Anna Bald of Petite Riviere, Nova Scotia, speaking to Maritime Noon's Bob Murphy.

[rock]

Ontario Health Care Crisis

Guest: Chris Simpson

TS: More emergency rooms in Ontario closed down over the weekend -- this time in Ottawa. Montfort Hospital, which serves the city's francophone community, and Carleton Place Hospital, just outside the city. They joined the growing list of facilities across the province and the country that have been forced to make changes to the services they're able to offer due to understaffing. And while the provincial government says people are still getting the care they need, many health-care leaders are alarmed by the shortages. Chris Simpson is the executive vice-president of Ontario Health. We reached him in Kingston, Ontario.

PH: Doctor Simpson, what are these latest E.R. closures in Ottawa say to you about the current strain on the hospital system?

CHRIS SIMPSON: Well, the emergency department is always a barometer for what's going on in the rest of the system. So when things are going well in the emergency department, that usually means the rest of the health-care system is in good shape. And then, of course, when… when things are not going well, it often shows up in the emerge. And we're seeing what I would call an unprecedented amount of sustained pressure and strain that has resulted in the need for several hospitals to have to reduce services in their emergency departments in… in numbers that we've just not seen before.

PH: Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters last week, this is a quote, Ontarians continue to have access to the care they need when they need it. Do you think that's true?

CS: Well, what we have very good data on is that the system continues to perform well when it comes to emergent and urgent needs. So if you have a heart attack or a stroke or you're, you know, you need urgent cancer surgery, things like that have… have largely been not impacted by the pandemic. But I think a lot of people are aware from their own experiences and those of their family that anything that's not urgent or emergent is often accompanied by a longer wait time or more difficulty accessing services.

PH: And so what do you say to those people? I mean, you know, what about the rest? Not… not high urgency people, but when they… you know, with E.R.s closing in Ottawa, in Durham, in Muskoka, in Niagara, in other places.

CS: As health-care providers, we don't like working in that kind of an environment either. So, you know, when… when my patient has to wait much longer than ordinarily to… to see me, that's not the kind of care I like to provide. And it's not the kind of performance we like to see out of our system. I think the challenge really has been that with every wave of the pandemic, it's been sort of a different problem. And now, zin wave seven, we're seeing not so much that the demand for services is up, but the… the health-care workforce is depleted.

PH: But what do you say to people who say, well, there… the pandemic is not a new thing. There have been seven waves. And I get it that during the waves, you know, it gets extra busy. But it… a lot of time has passed now to resolve some of these bigger picture issues. And yet, I think a lot of people would say nothing is improving. Nothing is changing. Nothing's getting better. What do you say to those people?

CS: Well, I think what I would say objectively is that, you know, early in the pandemic, we had to take extremely drastic measures like stopping all elective surgeries, for example. We had to do that twice for a prolonged period of time. That is no longer the case. But the… the gap, as you rightly point out, is that for anything that is less than urgent, people are waiting longer than they should.

PH: And so what is the answer? Like, there's a short-term need and a long-term fix also needed. Let's take them both. What's the short-term response?

CS: Well, I think the two biggest bang-for-the-buck initiatives that we can do right now would be, number one, accelerating the pathway to licensure for international graduates in all the health professions who are living in Ontario but not actually practicing in their field. So, the… the announcement by Minister Jones around working with the regulatory colleges to try to get hundreds and hopefully thousands more people in the workforce safely and quickly. And then the second initiative is going to be trying to take a big chunk out of the so-called ALC patients, the alternate level of care patients. Those are the folks in acute care beds who are not acutely ill, but they're… they're waiting for long-term care beds or waiting for… for home-care and community supports at home. So, if we can create capacity in hospitals by getting people to where they are better served, then that will better enable us, I think, to… to tackle what I suspect will be a wave eight in the fall.

PH: Where do you stand on retention incentives, money for, you know, health-care workers who are underpaid and overworked and stressed beyond belief and just wanting out of the whole industry? What's your position on ways to keep them?

CS: Well, putting on my hat as a… as just a frontline doc, you know, working with nurses, in particular, I've certainly seen, you know, they've had to work many more hours. I've seen definitely firsthand an increase in, you know, violence in the workplace, a lot of unpleasantness that they just simply have to put up with and always do in their usual professional way. But I've seen the burnout that's been… been created. They're often demoralized. So, you know, personally, I'm in favour of anything that supports my nursing colleagues who are -- and continue to be -- the backbone of the system. You know, how that's done, I guess, is… is up to government. And I'm aware there's a lot of dispute around that.

PH: And just to those in Ontario -- and really anywhere in the country -- who are worried about what might happen if they have a health crisis, and worried with cause given everything that's happening, what do you say to people like that?

CS: Well, I think, on the one hand, we have to acknowledge that the system overall is not performing, you know, as we would all want it to be. I think that's true. But what I'm telling all of my patients is, please still come and seek help. The system is still there. It's… it's struggling. But… but it's still there. And so, I really would not want people to lose confidence in the system, even as we're frustrated with its performance.

PH: Even if it means you might have to sit there for 15, 20 hours?

CS: Yeah, the… I think that certainly is something we need to acknowledge is that… and I think people understand that… that the system is seeing people as quickly as they can. And that people who are, you know, in the biggest trouble need to be seen first. And people who are at lower urgency, unfortunately, are waiting longer than we would like them to right now.

PH: All right, Dr. Simpson. It's a tough time all around. I appreciate you taking the time to speak with us today.

CS: It's my pleasure. Thank you.

PH: Bye-bye.

TS: Chris Simpson is the the executive vice-president of Ontario Health. We reached him in Kingston. Ontario's Minister of Health, Sylvia Jones, declined our request for an interview.

[calypso]

Pearson Floor Sleeper

TS: Passengers on a Winnipeg-bound flight had a rough night's sleep last night. That's because after multiple delays -- and ultimately a cancellation -- they were given yoga mats and left to sleep on the floor of Ontario's Pearson International airport. Fatima Sherefa said that gate staff told the flight's passengers a night on the floor was the only option if they didn't have other accommodations lined up. She told her story to CBC Manitoba.

[sc]

FATIMA SHEREFA: So basically, our flight was… originally, my flight was scheduled to leave at 3:10 p.m., so it was pretty standard. I got there, like, an hour early, thinking that things would run as smoothly as things can go. And then, we had firstly, like, I think it was a two-hour delay. And then, I was like, okay, that's fine. You know, delays can be expected, whatever. But then after that, it slowly started getting pushed more and more back to the point where I was like, is the flight… like, is there a potential cancellation going to happen? It was midnight. It was midnight where we were supposed to leave at midnight and arrive in Winnipeg, like, at 1:40 a.m.-ish. But then, it was abruptly like at, like, bit past midnight when they said it was cancelled. We're standing around the agents asking, you know, what's… what's happening? They say the flight's been rescheduled. Like, stay calm. You're going to board the plane. And then finally, when it is actually cancelled, they are like trying to soothe the crowd, like, trying to explain that, oh, you know, this isn't in our hands, etc. And they told us that they wouldn't even be able to offer us a hotel or any sort of compensation, but more like redirecting us to the website and saying, you know, go to Air Canada for this. But it's like that's… that's nothing. Like, we need actual help to stay the night. Like, what are we going to do? Like, no vouchers, no hotel, no nothing. Basically just leaving us stranded.

JOANNE ROBERTS: And what are you holding in your hand?

FS: I'm holding the mat that we were given to sleep on.

JR: That doesn't even fit your entire body.

FS: No. Some people were literally… like, they didn't even use it. They just slept on the floor and, like, used it as a pillow because lots of people didn't bring pillows with them, you know, left it in their bags. I ended up using a women's nursing room which was locked. So… because I didn't feel safe, like just leaving all my stuff on the floor and sleeping. So, I used that. It was super cramped, but it was better than nothing at that point. In the morning, the flight got delayed again. We were supposed to leave at 8:10 a.m., and then it got moved to leaving at 9 a.m. So, it wasn't even… the original flight that we were supposed to leave in the morning, that didn't happen either.

JR: And you're not even 18 yet. Did they provide you with any sort of support being a minor?

FS: Nope. Like, I feel like I was trying to, like, keep it cool and, like, not think too much about it, but I was slowly getting more anxious and nervous as time went on, thinking about how am I going to explain this to my parents? Yeah, I wish… I wish more support had been provided, like to kind of ease concerns that I especially would have had as a minor. But that didn't happen either.

JR: Do you have any questions for Air Canada?

FS: What are you doing to support your customers and actually make a change in what you're calling, like, out-of-hand problems? Like, what are you actually doing to support those who need it most and who are being the most heavily affected by your issues?

[/sc]

TS: Fatima Sherefa was on a Winnipeg-bound flight and forced to sleep at Pearson International airport. She told her story to Joanne Roberts at CBC Manitoba.

[chillhop]

Carl Bonomi Obit

TS: If you know Pingu, you might be familiar with this sound:

[sc]

PINGU: NOOT NOOT NOOT. NOOT NOOT NOOT. NOOT NOOT NOOT.

[/sc]

TS: That NOOT NOOT is from the claymation series that was popular across the world in the '90s, particularly because it lacked any real spoken language. The dialogue was entirely invented "penguin language" referred to in the TV show as "Penguinese.” And the iconic voice of the cheeky character Pingu -- as well as his mum, dad and sister Pinga -- is being remembered today. Carlo Bonomi died this weekend at the age of 85. So here’s Carl Bonomi in a short documentary from November 2000 showing off his "Pinguish" for each family member.

[sc]

CARL BONOMI: Pingu… [I don’t know how to transcribe this fast gibberish] Pinga… [higher pitch gibberish that sounds more like a baby] Robby… [this one is a rooster mixed with a monkey] Papa… [This one is an italian father] Mother… [This is an Italian mother, change my mind] Graze

[clapping]

[/sc]

TS: That was Carlo Bonomi from a short documentary which showcased his voice acting in the hit claymation series "Pingu." He died this weeked at the age of 85.

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August 8, 2022 Episode Transcript

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