It is with great excitement that Muskoka Heritage Place announces Santa will be visiting the pioneer village on select evenings this December to explore the “Eclipse: Walk with Light” event and participate in “Snow Globe Santa”.
Children will have an opportunity to join Santa to share in their excitement of the holiday season while inside the giant snow globe.
Additionally, families can enjoy all that the Eclipse Walk with Light has to offer, with social distancing protocols in place.
Carols will abound, live entertainment, food and beverages, and characters of all descriptions will be on hand to make this a holiday event worth remembering.
Snow Globe Santa is included with paid entry to the Eclipse Walk with Light event, or the Eclipse Walk with Light event is free with paid entry to Snow Globe Santa (however you want to look at it) on the evenings listed below from 5:00pm until 8:00pm.
Cost: $7.14 for adults 13 and up. 12 and under are free!
Reservations are required, and these events will sell out quickly.To purchase tickets, visit https://ift.tt/3p96mi0
Santa will visit on:
Friday, December 10, 2021
Saturday, December 11, 2021
Friday, December 17, 2021
Saturday, December 18, 2021
Entry for Snow Globe Santa is at either: The Rotary Village Train Station (100 Forbes Hill Drive) or at the main Muskoka Heritage Place entrance (88 Brunel Rd). PLEASE NOTE: The entrance for all regular Eclipse Walk with Light events is at Rotary Village Train Station ONLY.
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The Place de Ville office complex has been sold to a pair of Toronto real estate firms for $350 million in the second-largest commercial real estate transaction in Ottawa history.
Crestpoint Real Estate Investments and Crown Realty Partners purchased the 1.17-million-square foot downtown property in a deal that closed last week. The two companies each own a 50 per cent stake in Place de Ville, which will be managed by Crown Realty.
The four-building complex had been jointly owned by the Alberta Investment Management Corp., Brookfield Properties and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Crown Realty partner Emily Hanna called Place de Ville a “best-in-class” downtown office property, noting the complex remains in excellent condition after nearly five decades and has floorplates that can accommodate a wide range of tenants.
“Its physical attributes, together with its location, accessibility and connectivity make it a superior offering,” she said in an email to OBJ.
The sale marks the biggest transaction in Ottawa commercial real estate since a consortium of investors purchased nearby Constitution Square for $480 million in 2017. It comes at a tumultuous time for a sector that’s been reeling from the effects of the pandemic as tenants fled prime downtown office space to work remotely.
"I think it’s a vote of confidence in our office sector right now in light of two years dealing with a pandemic."
Nico Zentil - senior vice-president of capital markets at CBRE’s Ottawa office
“I think it’s a vote of confidence in our office sector right now in light of two years dealing with a pandemic … and question marks around a return to office,” said Nico Zentil, senior vice-president of capital markets at CBRE’s Ottawa office, which helped broker the sale on behalf of the sellers along with CBRE’s Toronto office and RBC Capital Markets.
“I think a transaction like this is a statement-making signal that does reinvigorate the conviction around office (space) from a long-term perspective.”
It’s the second time in recent history the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has offloaded a major downtown office asset. The Crown corporation also owned a share of Constitution Square before the complex was sold to Greystone Managed Investments, Canderel and Canstone Realty Advisors four years ago.
“From time to time, we evaluate opportunities to realize gains on our investments, including real estate,” CPP Investments spokesman Frank Switzer said in an email.
Opened in the early 1970s, the Place de Ville complex consists of four buildings – three highrises and a four-storey podium – on Queen, Kent and Sparks streets as well as a surface parking lot.
The 29-storey Tower C at 320 Queen St. is Ottawa’s tallest office building at 367 feet, while Tower A at 330 Sparks St. and Tower B next door at 112 Kent St. are both 22 storeys.
The federal government is the largest tenant, occupying about 90 per cent of the complex. Transport Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency have the feds’ biggest footprints at the site, which is normally home to more than 7,000 civil servants.
Stable tenant base
London Life and Alterna Savings and Credit Union are among the other tenants at Place de Ville, which is one of only three office properties in Ottawa with direct pedestrian links to light rail. An underground concourse that connects to the nearby Lyon LRT station recently underwent a $5-million renovation.
The entire complex is about 93 per cent leased, with an average weighted term of about five and a half years remaining.
According to Crown Realty’s website, Towers A and C are both fully occupied, while Tower B has about 71,000 square feet of vacant space and the podium at 300 Sparks St. has 18,500 square feet of available real estate.
CBRE’s national investment team put Place de Ville on the market in June. Zentil said the buildings attracted “strong” interest from a number of “really high-quality bidders.”
The veteran broker said Place de Ville was a sought-after commodity for a couple of key reasons. In addition to providing “significant cash-flow security” to investors thanks to its stable roster of government tenants, the complex’s vacant parking lot offers an “enticing” space for new development on a prime piece of downtown land, he explained.
The deal is the biggest foray yet into the Ottawa market for Crestpoint and Crown Realty, which have been aggressively expanding their footprints in the National Capital Region in recent years.
Crown, meanwhile, has been on an acquisition tear since buying its first Ottawa property, the Carling Executive Park, for $56.5 million in 2019. The company now manages more than 2.5 million square feet of office space at seven sites across the region.
Zentil said the Place de Ville transaction is further evidence that Ottawa’s beleaguered office sector is poised for better days ahead as the economy slowly emerges from its COVID-19-fuelled funk.
Driven by a 50-basis-point drop in the downtown core, the city’s overall office vacancy rate fell for the first time in nearly two years last quarter. Zentil said at least three more “sizable” office transactions are expected to close in the resurgent Ottawa market before 2021 is out.
He said the capital’s “really solid fundamentals” make it a “great hedge” for investors who might be skittish about sinking big money into more volatile markets.
“That seems to be a theme that is driving more and more investment activity to Ottawa,” he said, adding he expects that trend to continue.
“When we look at what’s on the docket for 2022, it’s going to be another really busy start to the year, with office (deals) playing a big role in that investment activity.”
Constitution Square – $480,000,000 (2017)
Former Nortel campus at 3500 Carling Ave. – $208,000,000 (2010)
Minto Place (50% interest) – $188,000,000 (2017)
200 Kent St. – $143,400,000 (2012)
Chateau Laurier – $120,000,000 (2013)
100 Kent St. – $111,000,000 (2016)
1600 James Naismith Dr. & 1595 Telesat Crt. – $80,000,000 (2011)
OTTAWA -- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit (LGLDHU) is advising residents of a possible exposure to COVID-19 at a Carleton Place car dealership.
In a release, the LGLDHU said anyone who visited Bean Chevrolet Buick GMC dealership at 375 McNeely Ave. in Carleton Place between Nov. 13 and 27 inclusive may have been exposed to COVID-19 while there.
Owner and president Keith Bean told CTV News Ottawa an employee tested positive last week and, after testing the entire staff, five more cases were found. All of the employees are fully vaccinated and are asymptomatic, he said.
The decision was made to close the dealership for a week to get the situation under control.
Bean says employees will be retested on Friday and doors should reopen Monday morning.
"We're retesting everyone, since it will have been about seven days since our first exposure, and they'll need a negative test result to come in on Monday," he explained.
Bean said the affected employees were in the sales department, and not the busier service department, and the cases were contained there.
"I've been on the phone with the health unit every day since this happened and they've been great. They've given a lot of good advice," Bean said. "The girl at the health unit said, 'Congratulations. You made it a year and a half.'"
Bean is encouraging customers to follow the health unit's advice and seek testing if symptoms develop.
If you were at the premises during those days, the health unit is advising you to:
Monitor for symptoms carefully, even mild ones.
Testing is recommended if you had any symptom of COVID-19 since November 13. If you have/had symptoms:
Self-isolate and get tested at a local assessment centre, regardless of your vaccination status.
Everyone in your household (unless they are fully vaccinated) must also stay home until you get a negative COVID-19 test result
Continue with public health precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Stay home if you are sick
Practice physical distancing – stay 2 meters (6 feet) away from people in public areas
Wear a face covering: Minimum of 2 layers of material; 3 will provide further protection when you cannot stay 6 feet away from people out in public – and in indoor public spaces as required
Wash your hands often with soap and water, or use hand sanitizer after being in touch with others or handling anything from outside your home
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth
Cover your cough and sneeze with a tissue or into your arm, not your hands
If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Infectious Diseases Program, at 1-800-660-5853 extension 2222.
Canada's telecommunications regulator is bringing in new laws that will force phone companies to do a better job of identifying who is calling, to help users inundated by nuisance phone calls from telemarketers.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) said in a news release Tuesday that phone companies must now implement a technology on their networks that does a better job of weeding out so-called spoof phone calls, which are calls that look like familiar Canadian phone numbers they may want to answer, but are in fact unsolicited spam and nuisance calls from dodgy companies.
Earlier this month, CRTC chair Ian Scott announced that the regulator was going to compel the phone companies to do more about cracking down on such calls, which he said make up as much as 25 per cent of all phone calls on mobile networks in Canada right now.
"Most people likely perceive spoofed calls as a nuisance," Scott said in a speech to a telecom conference earlier this month.
"The truth is, they're more than that. They're gateways for criminals to dupe hard-working people out of their money and their sensitive data. And they're relentless," he said, citing data from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission that suggests there are more than 2,100 robocalls being made to phone users in the U.S. every second of every day.
Technology to reduce spoofing
The technology, known as STIR/SHAKEN — which stands for Secure Telephony Identity Revisited/Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs — won't completely block spoof phone calls, because it only works on calls that happen over an IP-voice network. But it will help slow the deluge.
"This new caller ID technology will empower Canadians to determine which calls are legitimate and worth answering, and which need to be treated with caution," Scott said. "As more providers upgrade their networks, STIR/SHAKEN will undoubtedly reduce spoofing and help Canadians regain peace of mind when answering phone calls."
On top of the IP-focused technology, some phone companies are already experimenting with artificial intelligence technology that allows them to filter out phone calls on their network that they suspect are fraudulent.
Scott said Bell Canada has been testing out such a system and managed to block 1.1 billion such calls on its network between July 2020 and October 2021.
Ultimately, the phone industry in Canada may move toward a system where users would see a red light or green light next to incoming calls: green for calls where the caller's identity has been verified, and red for when it has not been.
One city councillor hopes that the third quarter of this year will be the final time she sees so much red ink on the financial statements for Mosaic Place.
City administration presented a third-quarter financial report to city council during its recent regular meeting. Included in the report was an update about the monetary picture at the sports and entertainment venue from July to September of 2021 and year-to-date.
Mosaic Place experienced an adjusted net loss of $161,615 during the third quarter, which was $64,361 more lost than had been budgeted, the report said.
Meanwhile, from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, the venue experienced an adjusted net loss of $997,533, which is $199,204 more lost than budgeted.
Spectra Venue Management Services, which manages the building, had budgeted an overall adjusted net loss for this year of $843,675. Based on the current year-to-date financial picture, Mosaic Place is $153,358 more in the red than anticipated.
During the third quarter, Mosaic Place hosted eight events over six days, which saw 645 total paid general attendance and 3,110 general turnstile attendance, the report said. However, there was zero turnstile attendance for club and suite rooms.
During the meeting, Coun. Heather Eby pointed to the above data as one big reason why the venue’s financial numbers are mostly red. She reminded council that there hadn’t been many events in 2021, so people have not spent as much money on regular or club seats.
“I really hope this is the last time we see this much red ink on this statement, and that as we move into 2022 and the next four quarters, that that red starts to turn black again,” she added.
Looking at Mosaic Place’s balance sheet, Coun. Kim Robinson noted that the venue had a negative $52,498 in its accounts receivable from a third party. He was curious about whether this was related to Ticket Rocket and the issuance of gift cards to ticketholders.
Finance director Brian Acker replied that he did not have the answer and would have to check.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Dec. 6.
The Boston Bruins have placed head coach Bruce Cassidy in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol, the team announced Tuesday.
Someone entering COVID-19 protocol does not necessarily mean they have contracted the virus. The team did not cancel practice on Tuesday.
The Bruins have not disclosed further information about whether or not Cassidy, 56, tested positive. GM Don Sweeney said Tuesday that Cassidy had minor symptoms and that assistant Joe Sacco will take his place behind the bench.
The Bruins hold an 11-7-0 record on the season.
In the same vein, Sweeney mentioned during media availability that the Bruins are unable to call up reinforcements from the AHL's Providence Bruins because of a COVID outbreak on that team. Reports from the area are indicating the team has shut down operations for two days.
Boston's next game is at home on Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings.
Bridgewater Associates' Ray Dalio stood by his belief that cash is not the place to be despite the volatility in the markets triggered by the new omicron Covid variant.
"Cash is not a safe investment, is not a safe place because it will be taxed by inflation," the founder of the world's biggest hedge fund said Tuesday on CNBC's "Squawk Box."
During turbulent times, it's also important to be in a safe, well-balanced portfolio, the billionaire investor said.
"You can reduce your risk without reducing your returns. You will not market-time this. Even if you were a great market timer, the things that are happening can change the world, so it changes what could be priced into the market," Dalio said.
The omicron Covid strain, first identified in South Africa, rattled the stock market on Black Friday after the World Health Organization labeled it a "variant of concern." The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 900 points Friday to suffer its worst day since October 2020. Stock futures indicated another big down day following a rebound on Wall Street Monday as investors monitored the ongoing health crisis.
The stock market rebounded swiftly from the pandemic bottom in March 2020 thanks to the massive fiscal and monetary stimulus measured that the government and the Federal Reserve orchestrated to support the economy. However, the excess money supply in the system could create certain economic and political problems, Dalio said.
"You can't raise living standards by raising the amount of money in credit in the system because that's just more money chasing the same amount of goods," he said. "It will affect financial markets in the ways we've seen and it will affect inflation rate. It won't raise living standards in an important way. As inflation then begins to bite, it has political consequences."
A key inflation gauge spiked in October, accelerating at its fastest pace since the early 1990s, according to prices for personal consumption expenditures excluding food and energy, a measure closely followed by Fed policymakers.
The central bank has been wrestling with inflation that has been more aggressive and persistent than they had anticipated. Officials have said they believe inflation is at the point where they can start gradually reducing the amount of monthly stimulus they are providing through bond purchases.
"What we are seeing happen has played out many, many times in history; it's like watching the movie over again," Dalio said.
In a wooded area beside some farmland west of Waterloo, Ont., is Crow Shield Lodge.
It's an Indigenous land-based education and healing space just outside New Hamburg. There's a white tent — the teaching lodge — that can seat about 20 people. There's a walled tent with a fire pit for gatherings. There's a sweat lodge.
On this particular day, as snow flurries whipped around just on the other side of the trees, Clarence Cachagee led three other people in a smudging. He burned tobacco and sage in a small cast iron pan.
As a child growing up in Chapleau Cree First Nation in northern Ontario, Cachagee's father called him Crow Shield "before I got my spirit name," he said.
"My dad's been gone over 25 years now, so I thought it would be nice if I could try to incorporate that name to honour my father and to honour our family," he said.
Clarence Cachagee created Crow Shield Lodge near New Hamburg, Ont. (Kate Bueckert/CBC)
The lodge is a place for healing, for the community to gather and learn from each other, Cachagee said.
Cachagee was taken from his family in the Sixties Scoop, when an estimated 20,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families and placed with white families. He lived with a New Order Mennonite family in Waterloo region, attended New Dundee Public School and Waterloo-Oxford District Secondary School.
The lodge was originally in Guelph, but Cachagee wanted to move it into Waterloo region and began to look for a space about a year ago. That was when he connected with Jennifer Pfenning, an organic farmer and Wilmot township councillor.
This path the leads people back to the teepee, sweat lodge and teaching space. (Kate Bueckert/CBC)
She offered him land for free for the lodge. They looked initially near the Nith River, but knowing it floods each spring, chose a spot in a wooded area.
"How cool is it to come back to the township that you were raised in? And then to bring healing and then to bring education and then to bring land stewardship and then to bring an opportunity of reconciliation, like how beautiful is that?" Cachagee said.
Bob Nally, left, takes part in a smudging inside the teepee. (Kate Bueckert/CBC)
There were briefly some issues with the township about whether the lodge was permitted under zoning bylaws, but staff were able to give the lodge the go-ahead.
WATCH | Clarence Cachagee talks about building the lodge:
Clarence Cachagee on setting up Crow Field Lodge
15 hours ago
Clarence Cachagee, founder of Crow Field Lodge near New Hamburg, Ont., talks about setting up the site this past spring and summer. 1:26
Personal connection to location
Pfenning said about a year ago, she had begun to think about how she could make a difference when it comes to reconciliation with local Indigenous communities and the idea of offering land made sense to her.
"We view our space as farmers in a stewardship capacity, not as ownership," she said.
"As organic farmers that really underpins our philosophy of how we go about farming, that this land is ours only to use while we are here to tend, to serve and to steward and to protect."
Jenn Pfenning owns Pfenning's Organic Farm in New Hamburg, Ont., and provided land to Crow Shield Lodge to build and operate. Pfenning is also a Wilmot township councillor. (Kate Bueckert/CBC)
The forest where the lodge is located is special to Pfenning. A mother of three boys, she admits she suffered from postpartum depression after they were born and the forest was a place she found healing.
WATCH | Jennifer Pfenning on why the location of the lodge resonates with her:
Jennifer Pfenning on location of lodge
15 hours ago
Jennifer Pfenning, an organic farmer and Wilmot township councillor, donated land for Crow Shield Lodge. She talks about why the location is special to her. 1:42
Need for second site
As volunteers with the lodge started to build it in the spring using items they already owned and that were donated, Cachagee said he was touched by the number of people who wanted to help and who came out to the site for healing.
People have used the site to take part in workshops on reconciliation and the child welfare system, to learn about medicinal plants and to just exist in the space, either volunteering or using the time to talk to others or self-reflect. There is no set times for people to go use the lodge, although people do need to contact the group before going.
There is also no cost to use the site, although Cachagee said people often make donations or offer to volunteer.
"We've been doing this for just over six months and the need for healing is so big that what is next? We need a second site. We want to duplicate what we have here."
Setting up a second site of Crow Shield Lodge elsewhere in the region with another landowner would allow them to reach more people, he said.
Cachagee, centre, speaks with Nally, left, and Pfenning just outside the teepee at Crow Shield Lodge. (Kate Bueckert/CBC)
"There's so much intergenerational trauma and dysfunction, and we need to educate people as to why that happened," he said.
"Crow Shield Lodge is a place where people can talk about their brokenness, where there's no shame attached."
WATCH | Clarence Cachagee talks about what brokenness is and how people can start their healing journey:
Clarence Cachagee on brokenness
15 hours ago
Clarence Cachagee, founder of Crow Shield Lodge, talks about the purpose of the lodge and how he believes all people are broken in some way. 0:53
The first major snowfall of the season for the Moncton, N.B. area brought with it the first snow day of the school year for many.
All 39 schools in the Anglophone East District, as well as 26 schools in the Francophone South District, were closed Monday.
Before the snow began to fall just after 9:00 a.m., streets and sidewalks in the hub city were mostly bare, leaving some starting their day questioning the closure.
“There was like zero snow, so then I looked online and it was like, ‘The school is closed,’ so I was like, ‘Oh, okay?,'” said Diani Blanco, a Moncton resident and mom of two young boys.
Director of communications for the Anglophone East School District, Stephanie Patterson, says the decision to shut down schools for the day was made just after 6 a.m.
Snowfall warnings of up to 15 cm expected for parts of the province had road conditions at dismissal time the main concern.
“Because we have over 10,000 students who are bussed to school every day, certainly forecasted conditions impact the decision of whether or not we would be comfortable putting students on busses, even at end of the day,” said Patterson.
But with students experiencing plenty of disruption between the COVID-19 pandemic and recent workers union strikes, Monday’s closure generated lots of conversation online about at-home learning replacing traditional snow day fun.
Patterson says the union strike saw students learning from home via online education tools for a total of 11 days earlier this month, but didn’t have a total number of at-home days attributed to COVID-19 cases within each school.
Not everyone is in favour of the suggestion to replace snow days. Blanco says the expectation for students and staff to switch between in-person and at-home learning with such little notice is not realistic.
“I don’t think it’s fair to give the teachers extra work last minute like that. I feel like it’s okay, just give them a break, let the kids play outside,” said Blanco.
In an email to CTV News Atlantic, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development says in line with their collective agreements, teachers are not required to report to work when schools are closed due to inclement weather.
With more snow and possibly freezing rain expected overnight, it’s unknown if students will be back in the classroom Tuesday morning.
Earlier this fall, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Chicago “Christapor” Chapter and Chicago Hamazkayin Cultural and Educational Association sponsored a book presentation and signing with author Knarik O. Meneshian. The event was held in October at the Shahnasarian Hall and Community Center in Glenview, Illinois and featured Meneshian’s book,A Place Called Gyumri: Life in the Armenian Mountains.
Armine Papazian (Photo: Vartkes Panossian)
The evening began with introductory comments by Armen Papazian, chairman of Chicago’s Hamazkayin Association, followed by opening prayers by Reverend Vahan Kouyoumdjian. Vana Dakarian sang the US and Armenian national anthems. Armine Papazian spoke briefly about the author and her work. Oscar Tatosian, Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Armenia in Chicago and environs, followed by Paruir Sarkisian, senior consulate adviser, and ARF Chicago chairman Hagop Soulakian all spoke about Meneshian, her work and numerous years as contributor to The Armenian Weekly. The Hamazkayin Sardarabad Dance Ensemble of Chicago, directed by Hrachya Kostanyan and assisted by Sahak Zakarian, performed a dance in honor of Gyumri. Arpy Seferian hosted the elegant reception.
The Hamazkayin Sardarabad Dance Ensemble of Chicago (Photo: Vartkes Panossian)
Before Meneshian began her three-part presentation—introduction, the showing of photos, and the reading of passages from her book—she thanked all those who organized the event and the audience for attending the evening’s program. She also expressed her appreciation to Dr. Khatchig Mouradian, former editor of The Armenian Weekly, who encouraged her to write a book soon after she began submitting a series of articles about Gyumri, and also to The Hairenik Association for publishingA Place Called Gyumri, her second book published by them. All proceeds from the book benefit The Hairenik Association.
Knarik Meneshian (Photo: Vartkes Panossian)
In her introduction, Meneshian briefly spoke about the devastation in the earthquake zone following the 1988 Spitak earthquake. She described the situation of the people when she and a small group of Armenian Relief Society (ARS) members went to Gyumri, then Leninakan, in 1990, on a humanitarian mission, and in 1991 when she was a volunteer teacher in the village of Jrashen, next to Spitak and not far from Gyumri. She discussed the hardships the people endured in the earthquake zone during those enormously difficult, uncertain and dark years when the lives of the people were turned both upside down and inside out. Meneshian stated that the book is not only a story of survival and triumph, interspersed with historical information, but also a snapshot of the daily life of a people who lost much, yet, gradually, began rebuilding their shattered lives, homes and city under the most difficult of conditions. She added that the book includes the experiences of two volunteer teachers from the Diaspora and describes the various holidays, how funerals are observed and weddings celebrated, how classes are conducted and where some of the historical areas are located. “Included also,” Meneshian said, “are examples of what life was like under Soviet rule, and the positives and negatives of human nature.”
After briefly discussing the photos shown on the screen, she read passages from the book and concluded her presentation with a quote from the book: “I opened my notebook filled with favorite quotes and read the one by Willian Penn: ‘I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness or abilities that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.’”
Reverend Hovhan Khoja-Eynatyan of St. James Armenian Church in Evanston, Illinois, then performed the traditional Armenian book blessing ceremony known askinetsonwith prayers and red wine. (The priest says a prayer in front of the author. Then the priest asks the author to open the book and slowly pours wine over the pages.) Tatosian graciously provided the Armenian Red Tushpa and White Koor wines for the reception and book blessing ceremony.
A number of people from surrounding communities and the neighboring state of Wisconsin, including clergy, as well as some non-Armenians, attended the book presentation and signing. After the program, the author was presented with a bouquet of roses.
On Sunday, November 21, 2021, Meneshian’s second book presentation and signing took place at Sts. Joachim and Anne Armenian Apostolic Church Hall in Palos Heights, Illinois. The presentation followed church service and a luncheon. Reverend Tavit Boyajian introduced the author to the audience. After a question-and-answer period, Boyajian presented the author with a book by His Holiness Karekin I of blessed memory, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
Guest Contributor
Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles or press releases written and submitted by members of the community.
Canfor donation helps with final costs for New Dawn Place
(L-R): Lola Driscoll, plays for u14 Girls team; Gabrielle Driscoll, plays for u11 Girls team; Smyth McDonald, plays for u11 boys team; Dayten Carlson.
While construction is complete for the new indoor facility, New Dawn Place, the Kootenay East Youth Soccer Association (KEYSA) is continuing key community fundraising to complete financial commitments associated with the initial construction.
Recently, we were thrilled to receive a generous donation from Canfor for $10,000 as part of their ‘Good Things Come From Trees’ community program. This donation marks the largest single donation in 2021 and goes a long way to helping us wrap up the final construction costs.
“We’re excited to support the construction of the indoor sports facility, which will provide a safe space for kids, families and the general public to get active and engage in team sports,” said Budd Wasylyshen, General Manager of Canfor’s Canadian South Operations (Kootenay Region). “Canfor is proud to give back and support local and youth sports in the communities we operate in.”
KEYSA greatly appreciates this donation and the continued support from local organizations and the community. The indoor sports facility project has become a much-needed addition for our region. We look forward to the community’s continued use in 2021 and beyond.
Update on indoor sports and programs at New Dawn Place
With the onset of fall KEYSA has wrapped up a successful outdoor season and has made the transition indoors. Over the next six to eight months KEYSA will be running a fall house program, weekly rep/development drop-in sessions, and a winter rep/development program in the new year.
This will mark the second indoor season in the newly constructed indoor facility, New Dawn Place, and the first full season from fall to spring. Last year was a great success for the new facility despite public health restrictions and a late start to the season. This year is shaping up to be even better.
In addition to KEYSA, New Dawn Place will see the return of Whitecaps soccer, baseball, adult leagues, and formal athletic training sessions. We expect other users will also join including football, boxing, lacrosse, and various schools. New this year is a two-hour community time slot that KEYSA has donated to non-profit groups supporting youth activities.
Lead image: Canfor Reps, Canfor KEYSA soccer kids and KEYSA rep (L-R): Canfor Representative: Geordie Driscoll, Harvesting Supervisor & KEYSA coach (u11 girls team); Geordie’s daughter, Lola Driscoll, plays for u14 Girls team; Geordie’s daughter, Gabrielle Driscoll, plays for u11 Girls team; KEYSA Representative: Lisa’s son, Dayten Carlson; KEYSA Representative: Lisa Carlson, KEYSA President; Canfor representative: Patrick McDonald, Safety Training Coordinator; Patrick’s son: Smyth McDonald, plays for u11 boys team. Photos submitted
Where are your happy places? Do you crave a hike, a hotel, or a beachside resort? No matter what you’re looking for, or what kind of trip brightens your day, it’s a great time to start thinking about that dream vacation, and American Express Canada provides some serious inspiration.
Working with beloved Canadian actor, comedian, and producer Will Arnett, American Express is spotlighting its redesigned suite of American Express Aeroplan Cards to inspire Canadians to get back to their happy places. Whether Canadians are travelling now or daydreaming about their next getaway, the Cards offer unique value and travel benefits to enhance every step of the travel journey.
“After 18 months of TV binges and many painfully awkward video calls, I want nothing more than to begin creating travel memories again”, said Arnett. “I love the fact that with the American Express Aeroplan Cards, everyday spending like work-from-home takeout lunches can help you rack up points to put towards your next adventure.”
There really is nothing as inspiring as a trip and new research speaks for itself. According to a recent study from Amex, 85 per cent of Canadians say travel makes them happy and brings them joy, and 83 per cent agree sharing travel experiences with friends and family–whether it’s a weekend getaway or a dream vacation–has a positive impact on their wellness. And while the pandemic has slowed travel for Canadians, research shows that even reminiscing about past travel, or planning a future trip, can be a major mood boost. In fact, 86 per cent of Canadians say memories of past travel experiences boosts their happiness, and 80 per cent say the anticipation of travelling uplifts their mood.
Amex has been helping its Cardmembers elevate their travel experiences for many years, and since Canadians love to travel so much, they’ve redesigned their American Express Aeroplan Cards to help Cardmembers get even closer to their next trip.
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Ballenas Whalers had a good run at the Senior Girls AAA Volleyball Island Championships, held at Stelly’s Secondary on Nov. 19-20.
The Whalers advanced to the Island championships after placing third at the North Islands at Mark Isfeld Secondary in Comox the previous week.
The Ballenas girls ended their run with a hard-fought win against Gulf Islands to place sixth overall.
Whalers hitter Adelaide Waldie was named the Most Valuable Player of the game.
“The girls really came together as a team for their final tournament,” said coach Jessica Kerr. “They improved immensely throughout the season, finishing the season off strong demonstrating true grit against some of the strongest teams in the province.
“It was great seeing high school sports back in action. The sportsmanship amongst the teams was higher then ever, all teams were just happy to be back competing amongst one another in a safe environment.”
The Whalers team consisted of Mckenna Waddell, Kaidynce Vigue, Aubrey Rayner, Renata Kamel, Kai Kitazaki, Jade Holman, Ellie Dugas, Macy Hughes, Rhiannon Williams, Adelaide Waldie and Grace Bouman.
The Island was won by Mount Douglas who beat Carihi Secondary in the finals. Both teams will head to the B.C. championships.
Ballenas Whalers senior girls place sixth at Island high school volleyball championships – Parksville Qualicum Beach News - Parksville Qualicum Beach News Read More
On Sunday, the San Jose Sharks placed Evander Kane on waivers. If he is not claimed by another team by Monday at 2 p.m. ET, he will be assigned to San Jose's AHL affiliate the San Jose Barracuda.
Sharks assistant general manager Joe Will said he predicts Kane will be with their AHL team come Tuesday.
"We just decided that since he's a contracted hockey player, it's the best thing at this time for him to continue to play hockey, and this is the best option for that right now."
Kane has a contract with the Sharks through 2024-25.
Kane was suspended for 21 games without pay for using a fake COVID-19 vaccination card. His forfeited pay will go to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
Will mentioned on Sunday that Kane is fully vaccinated.
A new daytime drop-in centre in Brandon's downtown will offer a place to get out of the cold and relax during the winter for those who are homeless and others who need a place to warm up, access supports or use a washroom.
Ask Auntie, a program run through the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation, will open the centre — named the Blue Door Project — on Wednesday.
It will be open at 31A Ninth St. from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
"I think it's very important for people because there's not too many resources that are like this one in the community, especially with the pandemic going on," said Florence Halcrow, one of the "aunties" who offers mentorship and help to Indigenous girls and women through the Ask Auntie program.
"A lot of the resources are closed to the public. I think it's very important that the people in our community have togetherness and have a place to go to warm up and have the resources that they need."
The Blue Door Project will be open at 31A Ninth St. from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Halcrow believes it's the perfect location for the space. (Submitted by Florence Halcrow)
Halcrow said the space will fill a gap when places such as the Samaritan House Safe and Warm Shelter, which is open from 7 p.m. to 11 a.m., are closed.
"I believe that the drop-in is needed all year round, but we were just fortunate enough to have a rental space available to us at this time."
The space in Brandon's downtown core, near the bus terminal, health services and Samaritan House, is "the perfect location," says Halcrow.
"In the building, we have a blue door that is soundproof — it's thick, it's beautiful. It has nice glass on it, and when you go behind that door, it's very peaceful and relaxing," she added.
"It's a good place for people to relax and get the support that they need."
Halcrow said laundry services will be offered and other organizations will partner to offer other services.
Centre open in time for winter
In addition to mentorship for Indigenous youth, the Ask Auntie program also offers broader supports to people of all ages, such as help applying for birth certificates, health cards or other forms of identification.
The program officially launched in Brandon in March 2021.
Halcrow said the neighbourhood renewal corporation started working to offer more supports at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as some Indigenous people faced increased barriers to accessing services.
There are lots of spots to sit and rest for people who need a warm space at Brandon's newest daytime drop-in centre. (Submitted by Florence Halcrow)
Aunties are an important part of Indigenous culture and tradition, she said.
"I feel blessed to be an auntie in the community, to be there for our people and to let them know that we are here for them, regardless of what their needs are," she said.
"We're not reinventing any wheels, but we are helping them access the resources that they need at that moment."
That includes the new drop-in centre, which Halcrow said is opening just in time for the coldest winter months.
"In past experience, we've had weather hitting –50 C and our people didn't have [anywhere] to go," she said. "I believe having a safe place for people to warm up and have a place to go 24 hours a day is very important."
She said the renewal corporation hopes to have an official grand opening for the space in mid-December.
This is a First Person column by Elizabeth Iwunwa, who has been living, studying and working on Prince Edward Island since 2014. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
Lagos is a city whose jagged edge is its charm. Stretches of open space cannot simply be left alone.
Mallams arrange plates of slender tomatoes and baskets of red onions along freshly tarred roads. In the morning, small crowds surround newspaper vendors to debate the significance of import tariffs and compare European football league scores. Kiosks selling tinned milk, insecticide, and roasted groundnuts appear on street corners and call centres erect giant, colourful umbrellas and charge their customers per minute of a call.
This is nothing like Charlottetown, a city devoid of commotion and spectacle where simple obedience to the law guides the conduct of strangers. This is where I now live.
People buy vegetables at a market in Lagos. (Sunday Alamba/AP Photo)
Traffic jams were part of growing up in Lagos. Vehicles stretched for hours and miles but miraculously vanished when the president visited. Traders sold peeled oranges, cold soft drinks, and sausage rolls to fatigued drivers and passengers. On these same roads sat those who begged for alms. They were sometimes wheeled by their young children or carrying babies on their backs.
They slept under bridges at night; separated from the public gaze by tarpaulins discoloured by rain or stretched sacks of rice fastened with pegs. Sitting in my father's car on the way to school, it did not occur to me that those my age who ran on main roads unfazed by death slept in the open.
Tragedy and the march forward
Home was a quiet housing estate on the Lagos mainland where I rode my sister's bicycle and played in the rain with my siblings when our mother was out. Our neighbour, Johnny, sometimes came to play tennis with my brother and watermelons grew where we threw seed and forgot. Home was where my parents hosted umunna meetings and community mass.
I did not realize that there was a world in which girls came into womanhood at the mercy of strangers and the elements. That having found a place to lay one's head, by evening, one could return to carting earthly possessions in polyethylene bags because of an edict signed by the governor that afternoon.
A pedestrian shop inside a market in Lagos. (Sunday Alamba/AP Photo)
Lagos absorbs tragedy and marches forward with no recollection of its people's pain.
I discovered this on January 27, 2002, when fire began in a street market in Ikeja and spread to an armoury where munitions were stored. Soldiers and their families lived in the barracks here. By six o'clock that Sunday evening, an explosion levelled several blocks and killed about 300 people. The earth trembling under their feet, residents ran for safety and as many as 700 died in the stampede.
I was with my parents that evening in Ikeja and on the way to hospital. I was asleep in the backseat with a bitter tongue and awoke to an orange sky. Fire from the munitions fell like hail all over Lagos. Military rule ended in 1999 so the governor's special broadcast that evening was to explain and assure that the blast was not evidence of a coup in progress. We arrived at home to relatives who had run from Ikeja. It was in this same house that our lesson teacher, Mr. Cyprian, a man whose temper was as short as his stature, gave us lessons after school.
A woman cooks food in a pot on an improvised firewood cook stove at Computer Village neighborhood in Ikeja, Lagos, in November 2021. (Temilade Adelaja/Reuters)
A city hostile to the poor
Lagos is a megacity startled by its own growth. For decades, people have come from across Nigeria and neighbouring countries like Togo to forge new paths. Because Boko Haram has killed and maimed thousands in the North, people come here to start afresh, and more are added to the count daily.
Living in Lagos involves accepting that one is a misfortune away from penury.
Residents of Oworonshoki Slum carry their food parcels distributed by the Lagos Food Bank Initiative, a non-profit nutrition focused initiative committed to fighting hunger and solving problems of Malnutrition for poor communities. (Sunday Alamba/AP Photo)
Like the rest of Nigeria, Lagos practices a system of social governance called BYOI — Bring Your Own Infrastructure — turning households into little pockets of self-governing entities. Boreholes for water, generators for electricity, prayers for safety, hope for good health. At night, instead of the sound of crickets chirping or trees swaying in the gentle breeze, we endure a cacophony furnished by an orchestra of generators.
Lagos is powered by the fevered striving of a people who know that no one will catch them if they fall. For many, basic amenities like decent housing are out of reach.
As an alternative, some build floating houses made of wood and corrugated iron on the Lagos lagoon. Waterfront communities like this in Makoko and Otodo Gbame are often located by Lagos Island, closest to prime real estate. Developers build expensive dwellings for the nouveau riche and demolish the houses people have carved for themselves in a city that is hostile to the poor.
A resident of Oworonshoki Slum paddles a canoe. (Sunday Alamba/AP Photo)
'No money, no love'
In 2017, those who lived in Otodo Gbame were evicted en-masse and without prior notice. Teargassed by police, they watched bulldozers level their homes. This instance of government-sanctioned evictions instantly made 30,000 people homeless. Much is spoken of attempts to clean up the city and attract foreign investors, with a casual disregard for the impact on the human beings whose dignity it is inconvenient to uphold.
With national unemployment at 33 per cent, many who come to Lagos do so with nothing but the clothes on their backs and pockets full of dreams. But it doesn't matter. No money, no love.
Slum houses are seen built along a train track in the Agege district in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos. Current population estimates for the Lagos metropolitan area stand at more than 20 million. (Reuters)
Those who find work as bus conductors or street sweepers make enough to eat but not enough to put a roof over their heads. It is not unusual for employers, even and especially government, to owe salaries. Wealth does not insulate a person from these inadequacies that take little political will to rectify. A prince and a pauper can suffer the same fate in an emergency. The city is a great leveller.
Finding redemption
Lagos is not alone in its failure to provide decent shelter for its people. Those who live in Brazilian favelas or in Dharavi in India share the pain that the unplanned consequence of progress brings. Same can be said of P.E.I., where new Islanders have added colour and vibrance. But despite the obvious benefit of this growth in numbers, homelessness is rising. This is for many reasons, one of which is population increase without a requisite increase in social goods.
In Lagos, fights are born of collective frustration and end as quickly as they begin. This is the place where fortune visits daily and may smile at those she finds hard at work.
'Don't urinate here' is scrawled across a wall in Lagos. (Interrupt This Program)
It remains spoken of as the epicentre of destiny; a place where anybody can become a 'big man' tomorrow. We are a proud people and often for no reason. Property owners write 'DO NOT URINATE HERE' on their fences and yet men empty themselves into stagnant gutters hands akimbo. Drivers paint aphorisms like 'Givers Never Lack' at the back of their lorries propelled forward by hope..
We live in a city that keeps us on our toes; one sleight of hand and you are duped. We are at once defiant and amenable to the craze of a city that itself defies order. Our flaws are many, but we know that the world will come to us as it did during the Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) in 1977 and as it does during Lagos Fashion Week.
These, perhaps, are the small ways in which Lagos redeems itself.
Models display creations by Jur during the Heineken Fashion and Design Week in Lagos on Oct. 30, 2021. (Sunday Alamba/AP Photo)
The Ottawa Senators have claimed Adam Gaudette off waivers from Chicago.
Gaudette has appeared in eight games with Chicago this season where he has one goal and one assist.
A fifth round draft pick by Vancouver in 2015, Gaudette has played in 168 career games where he has scored 23 goals and tallied 58 points. In 2019-20 with the Canucks, he set career highs in goals (12), assists (21) and points (33) while playing in 59 games.
The Braintree, MA., native is a former Hobey Baker Award winner after posting 30 goals and 60 points in 2017-18 while at Northeastern.
The Senators also placed goaltender Matt Murray on waivers Saturday. Murray is 0-5-0 this season with a 3.26 GAA and .890 save percentage.
"We want him to get going and he will be on waivers today," Sens head coach D.J. Smith said. "If someone picks him up, he'll get an opportunity there but if he doesn't, he'll likely go down to Belleville and give him an opportunity to play and get his game back."
Acquired in October 2020, Murray is 10-18-1 in 33 career games with the Sens.
"By no means is this on Matt Murray," Smith said. "We want him to be the best goalie possible and give him the best chance. A lot of this revolves around his injuries and there's nothing he can do about it but he's missed a lot of time and hasn't been able to get into a rhythm ... this is about getting his game back."
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