11 March 2020

NEWS

UMSU For You sweeps elections Slate led by Jelynn Dela Cruz won all positions in UMSU elections

Savannah Szocs, VP student life

Tino Dogo, VP community engagement

Kristin Smith, VP advocacy

VO L 1 0 6 · N O 2 5 · M a r c h 1 1 , 2 0 2 0 · W W W.T H E M A N I TO B A N .CO M

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Brendan Scott, VP finance and operations

Index

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VOL. 106 NO. 25 March 11, 2020

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News

News Editor: Garett Williams and Ty Brass Contact: garett@themanitoban.com ty @themanitoban.com / 474.6770

UMSU For You sweeps executive elections

Dela Cruz moving into president’s office after entire ticket elected AMIRA TEKLE, STAFF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Matthew Doering

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BUSINESS MANAGER Alice Teufack

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EDITORIAL

MANAGING EDITOR Garett Williams

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NEWS EDITOR Garett Williams

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NEWS

NEWS EDITOR Ty Brass

ty@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

Thrown under the bus

COMMENT EDITOR Kenny Ingram

comment@themanitoban.com

Students poised to fight for U-Pass

ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR Grace Paizen

arts@themanitoban.com

PAGE 7

SPORTS EDITOR Jason Pchajek

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ASSOCIATE COPY EDITOR Megan Pietrus

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COPY ASSOCIATE Ursula Chojko-Bolec

DESIGN

DESIGN EDITOR Joshua Wesey

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GRAPHICS EDITOR Evan Tremblay

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DESIGN ASSOCIATE Kellie Huynh COMMENT

GRAPHICS ASSOCIATE Ernest Zarzuela

Transit tragedy

AUDIO AND VIDEO

City must reverse “destructive decision”

VISUAL CONTENT EDITOR Quincy Houdayer

visual@themanitoban.com

AUDIO EDITOR Joseph Gonzales

PAGE 15

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U

MSU For You has successfully was “incredibly powerful”. swept the 2020 UMSU general “Just taking a step back and realelections, taking all five executive izing how momentous of an election positions. this really will be and how historic The slate is led by current UMSU it is for this organization,” she said. vice-president student life Jelynn “Regardless of who would’ve been Dela Cruz, the only returning execu- elected in this election, it would tive. She will shift to the role of presi- have been a woman of colour who dent in the coming weeks. can bring that lived experience to the Dela Cruz said she is excited to table and advocate from a perspective take the step up to president as the that is whole and unique to her own only incumbent member of her execu- [experiences].” tive. She gives credit to her experience She noted that previous UMSU as vice-president student life in how executives have weathered criticisms she approached campaigning. surrounding a lack of representation, “Being an incumbent, one of the a non-issue in this election which biggest advantages is definitely saw people of colour, women and having the institutional knowledge international students elected to the behind you and having projects executive.

Dela Cruz also gives credit to her already on the ground that you ultimately would want to continue,” she now-executive team, saying them not said. being incumbents helped her gain an She had positive words for all can- “outsider’s perspective” on issues. didates, stating that “everyone in this “One of the most refreshing things election wanted to run to better the about having them on the team and student experience.” being the only incumbent on the All three presidential candidates team is that sometimes executives who were in the running are women can be stuck in this student-political of colour. Sia Yamba ran with the bubble.”

Connect UMSU slate, Samantha “I think that with this current team Nicole Tumlos with Our UMSU. that I believe in so strongly, they’re Dela Cruz expressed that this incredibly experienced and wellhistoric UMSU presidential ticket versed in many student issues.” consisting solely of women of colour She said two pressing issues her

executive wants to target are accessibility and the threat to the U-Pass program, which is a part of their commitment to sustainability.

“What we just recently saw, the city is threatening the U-Pass, for example,” she said.

“After we had a record turnout of students who were willing to increase the fee just to keep an essential service.”

With accessibility, their approach will be “multi-pronged.”

“Everyone in this election wanted to run to better the student experience” — Jelynn Dela Cruz, UMSU president-elect

“You can tackle that from all things, from mental health, physical health, financial aid as well as simply having the resources at your fingertips in order to access what’s there already

out there and talk to people.” for you,” said Dela Cruz.

Her executive will include viceThe tightest race was for vicepresident student life Savannah Szocs, president finance and operations, vice-president community engage- where UMSU For You’s Brendan ment Tino Dogo, vice-president Scott took 2,937 votes, followed by finance and operations Brendan Scott independent Honour Ojo’s 1,357 votes and vice-president advocacy Kristin and Connect UMSU’s Tino Hove’s Smith.

968. There were 1,093 abstentions in UMSU For You took in far more this contest. votes than any of its competitors. In Four community representatives the presidential race, Dela Cruz won ran unopposed and won their respecout with 3,215 votes, while Connect tive races.

UMSU’s Sia Yamba took 1,089 votes Alicia Kubrakovich will be returnand Our UMSU’s Samantha Nicole ing as Indigenous students’ repreTumlos pulled in 1,079. Abstentions sentative, Trevor Smith will return totalled 972. as LGBTTQ* representative, Judith Tumlos had encouraging words Oviosun will be the new womyn’s for all the candidates. representative and Adrian Esenwah “At the end of the day, every single will be the new international students’ person who ran had the courage to representative. kind of speak out about these issues The mature students’ representaand about these problems,” she said tive position and accessibility com“I would only hope for the winning munity representative positions each slate […] would seriously take into had no nominees. consideration every other ideas that Both positions will remain vacant were also […] thrown [on] the table.” for the time being.

Tumlos said she enjoyed the Voter turnout was slightly down opportunity to connect with a wide from last year. UMSU’s 2019 general range of students on the campaign election saw 28.5 per cent of eligible floor. electors turn out to vote. In 2020, 27.7 “It was never really about win- per cent of eligible electors particining or losing,” Tumlos continued. pated in the UMSU general elections.

“I think the biggest thing about it, for us is the fact that we were able to go

U of W student association overturns leadership

Incumbent slate swept from office, transit referendum passes

PHOTO ASSOCIATE Alex Decebal-Cuza PHOTO ASSOCIATE Ally Gonzalo

GILLIAN BROWN, STAFF

VIDEO ASSOCIATE Nish Joshi VIDEO ASSOCIATE Paul Stabell

REPORTERS

NEWS Gillian Brown

NEWS Damien Davis NEWS Amira Tekle NEWS (INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS) Kayla Lariviere COLUMNIST Cam Cannon COLUMNIST Meagan Hughes ARTS & CULTURE Kaelen Bell ARTS & CULTURE Zachary Sigurdson SPORTS Isaiah Wagner

Breanna Belisle

Melanie William

Jibril Hussein

bent slate did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Hussein was elected with 515 votes after ballots were recounted. Kirt Hayer tallied 472 and Cuff finished third with 333. The numbers changed only slightly from Thursday’s initial results after Hayer requested a recount.

Hussein said his first priority will be to reconnect the UWSA with students and engage the university community through social media and videos.

“We just want students to know what we stand for,” he said, “and to know that they can come to us with any issue and get their voice heard.”

Breanna Belisle, who was elected to vice-president external affairs, has highlighted campus security as

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ollowing a re-count March 5, Jibril Hussein has been confirmed as University of Winnipeg Students’ Association (UWSA) president-elect.

The incumbent Devote slate of Mahlet Cuff, Noelle Sagher and Shawna Péloquin was roundly defeated, finishing third on each of their respective ballots. The incum-

a priority.

She said she wants to look at establishing card access to study spaces for after hours.

“Students pay to come to university and they should feel safe while they’re here and feel as though they’re respected and understood when they do have a security-related concern,” she said.

The slate is filled out by vice-president student affairs Melanie William who said she wants to bring more transparency to the association’s finances, equalize funding across student groups and establish a board of student club executives to create more collaboration.

Hayer, who called for the recount, said he believes the results are reflective of the incumbent slate’s performance while on the executive board and that he ran in the election to improve on issues that students face.

Students “were just kind of unhappy that the UWSA executives aren’t more prominent,” he said. “I didn’t even know that the UWSA had so much power, or that the executives make like $40,000,” said Hayer.

“I felt like the real problems that students are really really facing, they weren’t really doing anything about

that,” he later added.

In the position of vice-president external affairs, Belisle took in 563 votes, Alex Ilesanmi received 404 and Péloquin 259.

“We just want students to know […] they can come to us with any issue and get their voice heard” — Jibril Hussein, UWSA president-elect William was elected to vicepresident student affairs with 623 votes, ahead of Reza Saker at 288 and Sagher’s 274.

The campaign was thrown into turmoil just a week before the voting opened after an anonymous Twitter account accused the incumbent slate of covering up mismanagement of funds. A spokesperson for the association denied the accusations and said a cease and desist letter had been

issued to the individual or individuals behind the account.

According to Hayer, the lack of transparency may also have something to do with the results.

“I went to a few board meetings and everything was in the closed session,” he said.

A referendum attached to the ballot on maintaining enrolment in the U-Pass transit program at an increased cost passed overwhelmingly with 1,110 students casting a ballot in support, and 221 voting to opt out.

The community representative positions were all uncontested, with Sarah Anderson elected to accessibility director, Wesley Fallis to arts director, Harsimrat S. Malhotra to business and economics director and Celina Clements to community liaison director.

The graduate student director roles will be held by Alexandra K. Nychuk and Nadia M. Chaharsoughi, and the international students’ director position will be co-held by Elsa Owusu and Onyinye F. Idigbe. The 2SLGBT* director will be Jacob K. Antman and the racialized students’ director position will be held by Ella Taylor. Ada Chukwudozie and Cheta D. Akaluka will serve as UWSA senators.

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News

VOL. 106 NO. 25 March 11, 2020

News Editor: Garett Williams and Ty Brass Contact: garett@themanitoban.com /ty @themanitoban.com / 474.6770

Visionary series nears its 10th year

News

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Indigenous faculty advancing reconciliation at U of M

David Barnard hosts his final in ‘Visionary Conversations’ speaker series

Leadership report gives mandate toward inclusion

GILLIAN BROWN, STAFF KAYLA LARIVIERE, STAFF

PHOTO BY ALEX DECEBAL-CUZA

T

he “Visionary Conversations” speaker series, established and moderated by U of M president and vice-chancellor David T. Barnard, is nearing its 10th year as Barnard’s time at the university approaches its end.

Barnard’s goal in beginning the series was to engage both community members and research experts in relating to issues that the community cares about, inviting audience members to not just listen to a discussion

between those on stage, but to be part of it by asking questions.

“I wanted people to be kind of more engaged in conversation about the entailments of university research and wanted a wider perspective in the community about that research,” he said.

“There are lots of very applied things that people do here, lots of things that, even if they’re not applied, they’re going to eventually have some kind of connections to the lived expe-

rience of folks.”

The first panel in the series took place in September 2011 and was titled “Apocalypse or Utopia?”

It brought together six researchers from the U of M and dealt with a variety of issues in their fields of expertise, with the intention of challenging and questioning the structures used to manage the world.

In the nine years since, the series has featured panels on racism, euthanasia, legalization of prostitution and

the role of universities in modern society.

“What happened here was, there was a real effort to say ‘Let’s talk about these issues in terms that everyone in the room can understand,’ so that if there is some changing of perspective, or potentially taking of action that should occur, then people are going to understand it,” said Barnard.

“I think I came away from almost every one of them thinking ‘That one was terrific, let’s do this again.’”

The March 5 panel, asking the question “How can our community come together to combat the impacts of drug addiction?” was Barnard’s last before he departs this summer after 12 years as president.

As the years have gone by the panels have become more focused with this increase in focus, Barnard said, accompanied by both a general drop in the number of panels per year and the number of panelists in each.

This latest panel was an exception, though, being the series’ largest panel yet.

Bringing together nine experts ranging from university researchers to medical specialists in addictions and Indigenous health, law enforcement professionals and community activists, the panel discussed how to balance addiction treatment and law enforcement.

Regardless of the topic, Barnard said he strongly believes that univer-

“I think engaging the community and the university experts in dialogue is a good thing” — David T. Barnard, U of M president and vice-chancellor

sity research should be accessible and comprehensible for the community, but said that where the members of the university take it next is up to them.

“One lesson for us, from this experience, one lesson for the university, is that it really is productive to have community experts and university experts talking in front of a general audience and letting the community and university folks talk to each other, so making that happen certainly has value,” said Barnard.

“And whether it’s done in the same format, with the speakers and the same kind of question and answer sessions, or whether it’s done in a different way, I think engaging the community and the university experts in dialogue is a good thing.”

O

ver the past two years, the U of M has seen two prominent Indigenous faculty members leave the institution.

Lynn Lavallée, former viceprovost of Indigenous engagement, resigned at the end of 2018. Barry Lavallee, former director of education for Ongomiizwin, left at the beginning of 2019.

Both cited issues of systemic racism at the institution as the reason for their departures.

Dallas Hunt was a lecturer in the faculty of arts, but has since moved to the University of British Columbia.

The Cree assistant professor was featured in a UM Today — the university’s communications arm — release in January 2019, saying “There has been an increased desire to see Indigenous faculty in these spaces, and while that’s great, I would say that it’s happening at such a rapid

pace that there are still far too few of us who are in the institution and are met with far too many demands from the institution.”

Hunt also shared through UM Today that Indigenous academics at the university have been expected to sit on various boards and committees.

The U of M released a report titled University of Manitoba Indigenous Senior Leadership: Report and Recommendations to the Provost and Vice-President (Academic), which was a review of, according to the report, “the role and mandate for Indigenous senior leadership at the University of Manitoba” in August.

Recommendation 3.3 of the report states “All relevant deans [and] faculty committees to have Indigenous representation (i.e., admissions, curriculum review, etc.) or representation from an ally who has successfully completed advanced Indigenous

training as relevant for key areas related to Indigenous student, faculty and staff services.”

“The department has a specific expertise that is enormously valuable to the strategic goals of the university at this time” — Cary Miller, native studies department head Cary Miller, department head of native studies, said the recommendation, “gives a mandate that we should be at those tables that we haven’t been

able to get to before, I think it’s an important thing.”

However, she said she believes it is ultimately up to the individual to choose to sit on committees.

“Just hiring Indigenous faculty in every one of our faculties doesn’t mean that that faculty then has the person who is going to do all the training there,” said Miller.

“If someone has gone through the work of getting a PhD in engineering or agriculture or environmental science, it doesn’t mean they are particularly interested in teaching Indigenous history.”

Miller, who took up her current position in 2017, acknowledged the important role the department of native studies has in helping the U of M work toward reconciliation.

Since coming to the university, she has seen the faculty members within the native studies department

Students concerned about India’s Islamophobic actions Several voice their hopes and worries about the situation AMIRA TEKLE, STAFF

Renowned youth educational resource restructuring Teen Talk moving under Sexuality Education Resource Centre, programming to remain DAMIEN DAVIS, STAFF

PHOTO BY ALLY GONZALO

W

hen it comes to sexual educaThe program creates an environtion for youth in Winnipeg and ment for youth that is non-judgeManitoba, one of the most mentioned mental and empowers them to make and highly-regarded programs is informative and healthy decisions.

Teen Talk.

The program often goes to schools The youth health education pro- and rural communities to teach. gram delivers services from a harm Trevor Smit h, U MSU ’s reduction, prevention education per- LGBTTQ* representative, noted spective. The program offers infor- that the kind of education offered mation about sexual education and through the service was not available health, mental health, pregnancy, through the traditional curriculum. discrimination and body image.

“Having Teen Talk come to my

school and having that program was critical,” he said “That’s where I got all my information,” he said.

“We discussed issues such as gay marriage [and] it was a super open environment. No matter where you were starting when you came to the table, no matter what beliefs you subscribed to it was just a really welcoming place for discussion, education and mental health.”

“I think programs like that are extremely important and should remain funded.”

Over the next few months, the program, currently delivered and funded through Klinic Community Health, will be moving under the Sexuality Education Resource Centre (SERC) umbrella.

News of the change raised confusion with staff and users about the future of the service, but Klinic and SERC executive director Nicole Chammartin said services will be maintained.

“There was never the intention for the program to be deleted or the

integrate the services over the long term. She said she learned this year the funding would be moved over in April.

She noted that some of the services provided in northern and Indigenous “I think programs communities will not be renewed in like that are hopes that similar programming can extremely important be delivered by Indigenous service providers. and should How the new programs will be staffed is still being worked out and remain funded” Chammartin acknowledged that — Trevor Smith, some positions will be lost from the changes in northern Manitoba.

UMSU LGBTTQ* What the new iteration of Teen Talk will look like — and if it will representative retain the name — is still to be determined but Smith said it is critical “The intention is for the services that some sort of programming is to be moved from Klinic to SERC maintained. and integrated into the youth proHe said that without a sound edugramming at SERC so that we can cational source, youth will be subject actually, hopefully, expand it and do to believing misinformation about sex it in a more full way.” and gender.

Chammartin said the strategic “If we don’t have that type of proplanning identified an overlap of gram I think that is dangerous,” he services delivered through Teen Talk said, “and I think it has dangerous and SERC, and that it made sense to implications for queer youth.”

wanting to become more involved with Indigenous training on campus. Miller also said she sees a need for expanding the faculty within the department.

“The department has a specific expertise that is enormously valuable to the strategic goals of the university at this time,” she said.

“We’ve been trying to rise to that occasion.”

Miller spoke positively about the report as a whole.

“Rather than look at this report as something that is forcing more work on Indigenous people, look at the report as opening up more opportunities to Indigenous scholars, and staff to have their voices heard and advocate on behalf of Indigenous students.”

services lost,” she said, noting the changes stem from a strategic planning process that began years ago.

GRAPHIC BY EVAN TREMBLAY

S

everal Indian international students are expressing concern regarding India’s lack of respect for protesters’ rights and the passing of laws — namely the Citizenship Amendment Act — that many have

deemed Islamophobic. They say the actions of the Indian government amount to blatant human rights abuses.

The Indian government passed the act Dec. 11 last year to acceler-

ate the citizenship process for refugee applicants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. However, Muslim refugees from those countries would not be eligible, making the law exclusionary.

Ownership of the state of Jammu and Kashmir is claimed by both India and Pakistan, a Muslim-majority nation.

In October 2019, India officially split Jammu and Kashmir into two territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh — which are centrally controlled by India, without their former constitutional state status.

One notable change is that individuals not residing in or local to the area will now be allowed to purchase land and live in the region.

This was formerly restricted under Article 35A of the Indian constitution.

These changes have been touted as instrumental to advancing the agendas of Hindu nationalists, including that of Modi’s political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP is widely known as a right-wing Hindu nationalist political party that espouses ideologies such as Hindutva — or “Hinduness” — meaning Hindu values should be an integral part of wider Indian culture, despite the fact that many religious and ethnic minorities call India home.

Several international students reached out to the Manitoban to express how the situation in India is affecting them, even here in Manitoba.

They all want the U of M and UMSU to show support for affected students on its campus.

In August 2019, India’s government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, moved to strike See International students | Page 8 down the autonomy of India’s only Muslim-majority state, Jammu and Kashmir.

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VOL. 106 NO. 25 March 11, 2020

News Editor: Garett Williams and Ty Brass Contact: garett@themanitoban.com /ty @themanitoban.com / 474.6770

A sizeable contribution to breast milk research

News

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U-Pass renewal hits speed bump

Gates Foundation grant places U of M at forefront of global human milk research

City’s preliminary budget to discontinue universal transit, rolling out low-income pass

JENNIFER CARNEIRO

GARETT WILLIAMS, STAFF

PHOTO PROVIDED BY MEGHAN AZAD

I

t’s an exciting time for breast milk “It’s a major problem that we’re research at the U of M, thanks to hoping to tackle,” said Azad. a $6.5 million grant from the Bill & “Recognizing that breast milk is what ideally delivers nutrition as well as Melinda Gates Foundation.

Meghan Azad, an assistant profes- immune protection in that early sor in the department of pediatrics period of life, we want to understand and child health at the U of M, was more about that.” awarded the grant to establish the International Milk Composition The research (IMiC) Consortium that will analyze As part of the project, the team breast milk to better inform maternal will conduct a systematic review of and infant nutrition. previous research about breast milk “We’re going to do a really com- and infant growth led by Sarah Reyes, prehensive analysis of all the differ- a postdoctoral fellow in the Azad lab, ent components of milk,” said Azad, and involve students from the departwho was announced as the funding ment of food and human nutritional recipient in February. sciences.

This includes macronutrients such The study will analyze breast as fat, carbohydrates and protein as milk from about 1,200 motherwell as micronutrients, including infant pairs in four different low- or vitamins and minerals. middle-income countries along with Azad and her team will also study Canadian mother-infant pairs and hormones, antibodies, enzymes and establish comparisons. microbes.

The four countries of focus will “We’re learning a lot about milk be Tanzania, Nepal, Pakistan and in the last decade, about these non- Burkina Faso. nutrient factors that are important,” In each of the developing nations, she said. a randomized trial is taking place “We want to analyze them and in which maternal nutrition suplook at them all together because I plements are distributed among the think that’s what’s been missing due recruited mothers to see if the supto limited funding and a lack of mul- plement will improve the growth of tidisciplinary research.” the baby.

The sheer magnitude of the grant Researchers will also collect a provides the opportunity for Azad milk sample for analysis by Azad’s and her colleagues to do just that. team.

The primary focus of the study will The first phase of the project will be on the relationship between breast be collecting the milk samples. The milk composition and infant growth. study will be taking two samples — In high-income countries, the first at two months and another researchers are primarily focused on at six months. the issue of obesity, while in developAzad said it is important to caping countries, due to malnutrition or ture the variation over time because infection, infants may fail to grow to milk changes to match the baby’s their full potential. needs as it grows.

The second phase of the project will be bringing researchers into the consortium who are experts in different components of milk to analyze the samples in several different laboratories.

This will include labs analyzing the human milk oligosaccharides — prebiotics for healthy gut bacteria — while separate labs measure nutrients and antibodies.

In the third phase, Azad’s team will work with data scientists, using artificial intelligence and machine learning to integrate the data and make sense of it all.

The goal is to have a better understanding about the composition and variability of human milk and its link to infant growth through what Azad called a “massive database of tremendous value” and a network of researchers working together, which could lead to “a very unique platform for further research beyond this three-year project.”

The grant

The ball started rolling toward the Gates Foundation grant when Azad attended a ceremony in Toronto, Ont., for the presentation of the 2017 Canada Gairdner Awards. The honours are awarded by the Gairdner Foundation to researchers conducting groundbreaking research anywhere in the world.

“Some people call it the baby Nobel Prize,” said Azad. “It is that calibre of research.”

Azad’s intent was to meet Cesar Victora, an epidemiologist from Brazil who was receiving an award for his work on breastfeeding.

After speaking with him, she met

with other researchers, including one “seminal work on maternal nutrition, who was developing a proposal for infant feeding, and human milk comthe Gates Foundation for a study position” and said “Her comprehenabout infant nutrition. sive and transdisciplinary approach Azad was invited to a planning to human milk composition and meeting where she first met people her capacity to create a collaborative from the foundation. environment to harmonize analytical Other researchers she met were methods and human milk data with organizing a session at a nutrition multiple data and field-site scientists conference about breast milk and she would be critical to the success of this was asked to present. grant.”

Azad spoke about her breastU of M assistant professor of comfeeding research with the Canadian munity health sciences Nathan Nickel Healthy Infant Longitudinal called Azad a “brilliant, exceptionally Development Cohort Study, a birth hard-working and dedicated human cohort study across four provinces milk scientist” while highlighting the in Canada investigating the devel- benefit of her research. opment of asthma and allergies in “Breastfeeding research and individuals through their lives. human milk research rarely gets this level of funding nor this level of coverage in the media,” he said.

“It’s a major “This type of funding will support research that will make a significant problem that we’re contribution to our understanding hoping to tackle” [of] the role that human milk plays in shaping maternal-child outcomes.”

— Meghan Azad, He added that the work “further Gates Foundation reinforces that [the U of M] is a world leader in health research. That we grant recipient can leverage large grants like this and generate ground-breaking new knowledge.

Members of the Gates Foundation “This also opens the door for attended the conference scouting the recruiting the top talent to the [unilatest on breastfeeding research and versity] in terms of trainees [and] in approached Azad to learn more about terms of faculty.” her research.

Azad is well suited to the task, said “I think it was a combination of Nickel. doing innovative research on human “She is inspirational in terms of her milk and being at the right place at dedication to science, to generating the right time by getting myself knowledge that supports health and into the room to network with key to training the next generation of researchers in this field,” said Azad. scientists.”

Sun-Eun Lee, a Gates Foundation program officer, highlighted Azad’s

PHOTO BY QUINCY HOUDAYER

A

preliminary budget released by regarding what’s been an extremely has,” he said. the City of Winnipeg Friday has successful program.”

The U of W voted on the fee the city’s post-secondary students More than 9,300 U of M students increase just last week and also sigbewildered by a recommendation to cast ballots in February’s referen- nalled overwhelming support, with scrap the U-Pass program. dum with more than 5,550 voting more than 1,100 of a total 1,342 balUMSU president Jakob Sanderson to maintain the service in the final lots cast in favour of maintaining the said he was broadsided after learning tally. Extending the service through program. the city intends to cut a program that the summer was defeated in the first Jibril Hussein, who will take students showed strong support for in round of a preferential ballot. A 2014 over as president of the University a referendum just last month. referendum to establish the program of Winnipeg Students’ Association “I don’t know if there was a break- only narrowly passed by 53 per cent. (UWSA) following last week’s execudown in communication or what The U of M Graduate Students’ tive election, called the potential loss but it was certainly a slap in the face Association (UMGSA) has its own of the service devastating. [to] the students who put in so much referendum on the fee hike scheduled “It just makes you question whether effort to pass this referendum,” he for April 6 to 7 and president Carl [Winnipeg Mayor Brian] Bowman said. “It was a complete blindside to Neumann said he is worried the city and all the city councillors have been us and to students.” has not been up front with student listening to students,” he said.

He continued that “82.7 per cent The inaugural U-Pass contract groups. expires in May 2020 and the pre“We are concerned that the city of voters who voted in this past elecliminary budget recommends against may have been bargaining with stu- tion literally a few days ago voted in renewal. The program rolled out at dent groups in bad faith,” he said in favour of keeping the U-Pass and now the city’s two universities in the fall of a statement. they’re just going to throw us under “The proposed cancellation of the the bus and eliminate it all together.”

2016. Red River College was expected to be included in the next contract, program is all the more troubling Students at Red River College, which prompted the city to recom- given the very strong referendum who missed out on the first round of mend a price increase of $24.50 per support of students for the program the pass, have been working for close term for U of M and University of even at significantly higher rates. We to six years to bring the service to Winnipeg students. have to ask ourselves why the city pro- campus and were expecting to finally The fee increase triggered referen- posed the revised rates that they did be included in the fall. dums at both universities. Undergrads if those increased fees are insufficient Joshua Roopchand, president at the U of M signalled strong sup- to maintain the program.” of the Red River College Students’ port for renewal last month. The U Sanderson echoed Neumann’s Association, said “It was a bit of a of W returned an even more decisive frustration that the city may have shock to us” and “We’re a bit upset vote last week. never intended to renew the program. about it.”

Sanderson said he was especially “I don’t know if the city was hoping “We’re not really happy with the disappointed that it was the city that that the referendums would fail so situation right now,” he said, “and I set the fee increase at a rate it was not that the cut wouldn’t have to be on think we’re trying to communicate prepared to honour. them but the reality is that students that to see where we can go.”

“They gave us one rate,” he said, took a $50 increase to their most-used “It’s something that we were hop“we went to referendum on that rate, service and they voted overwhelm- ing to get and now it’s being pulled it passed overwhelmingly and then ingly ‘Yes’ and they showed a lot bet- away,” he added. to cancel at this point, they’re dis- ter leadership on climate than the city Currently, the service costs $136.25

per four-month term. In November, be 30 per cent cheaper in April 2020 a standing policy committee on which will climb to 50 per cent by infrastructure renewal and public 2022. works report recommended the city Sanderson also noted that bus ridenter into a four-year agreement ership on U of M-bound routes has with all three student associations increased 25 per cent since the pass and institutions at the increased rate rolled out but that he doesn’t expect of $160.75 per term. The report was that to hold if the pass is eliminated. unanimously endorsed by the comHe said UMSU is organizing a mittee and later city council. campaign to challenge the cut which The report states that the revised will include rolling out a petition, rate structure would offset the oper- establishing a phone bank in UMSU ating costs and maintain the current University Centre to encourage stulevel of subsidization from the city. dents to phone their city councillor, Friday’s preliminary budget sug- and appearing in numbers to present gests that the loss of the U-Pass is to the executive policy committee’s balanced by a post-secondary pass March 19 meeting. and notes that some students can The budget will be voted on by additionally qualify for a low-income council March 25. pass that will be rolled out.

Graduate students are especially But Sanderson questioned that inconvenienced by the period of logic, noting that fewer students limbo, with their referendum on the using transit would not only likely fee hike scheduled for next month. lower the revenue brought back The vote has already been reschedinto the city as they return to their uled once after the undergraduate vehicles but would also work against vote eliminated any possibility of a the city’s broader goal of increasing summer pass, which the UMGSA ridership. council had endorsed.

“I don’t think the math works out, “To avoid any further disrupI don’t think the narrative works out,” tions in the process, we aren’t makhe said. “The reality is that students ing any changes unless the final city wanted to keep this program around budget officially cuts the program,” and they never even gave us another said Neumann. rate to consider.”

Sanderson further questioned the He also pointed out that many city’s commitment to facing climate students would not qualify for the change by failing to support what he low-income pass. called a critical program.

Even at the increased rate, the “If fighting climate change is a priU-Pass represents a 61 per cent sav- ority, if having access to education is ings on regular transit fares. The a priority — then this program was post-secondary rate is a 20 per cent a successful one at both of those and discount and a low-income pass will it should be a priority.”

8

News

News Editor: Garett Williams and Ty Brass Contact: garett@themanitoban.com /ty @themanitoban.com / 474.6770

International students look to UMSU to provide supports

Continued from Page 5 Amitoz Singh, an international student hailing from India, coauthored a motion “in support of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly in India” with international students’ representative Victoria Nwabuisi that passed at the Feb. 27 UMSU board of directors meeting. Singh attended the meeting to implore the board to pass the motion.

At the meeting, he expressed concern that some Indian citizens studying here are at risk of losing their citizenship.

“If [the national register of citizenship] is brought through, many of the students here potentially risk losing their citizenship altogether and becoming stateless refugees,” Singh said.

“We could be left without a state and a home.”

He said he believes that “India has been engaged in a battle for its soul,” which is part of his motivation for being so vocal on this issue.

“At this point, I’m tired of waiting for others to speak out on my behalf,” he wrote in response to a question asking why he chose to forgo

anonymity.

“If they will not give voice to our dissent, we’ll have to do it ourselves, even if it’s without the protections of anonymity.”

Singh said Canada’s response has been “very weak,” and that he would like to see the Canadian government do more to denounce the actions of the Indian government against protesters and minorities in the country.

“Unless we can come out and collectively condemn the abuses that have been going on in India, support becomes little more than a banal platitude,” he said.

“We need Canadian citizens to show their support, not only in private conversations but publicly, and the university is the perfect place to start.”

Another student, Kunal Rajpal, echoed Singh’s sentiments.

“The same law [of the Citizenship Amendment Act] has been condemned in the UN and has been criticized globally for its Islamophobic underlinings and yet government is not ready to listen, which is scary,” he wrote in a statement.

Rajpal, too, said he wants UMSU to act. He pointed to the stress and

fear Indian international students on the U of M campus are going through as a result of the turmoil in their home country.

“UMSU must start an active conversation about the issue on campus,” said Rajpal.

“The mental stress affected students might be going through is unimaginable,” he continued. “With the risk of losing our citizenship, the

“It’s not enough for UMSU to say they support us if their actions, or lack thereof, [speak] to the contrary” — international student threat our families face back home and the violence that’s already happening in the country is affecting the lives of the whole Indian community on campus.”

Another student, who wished to

remain anonymous, expressed further concern over the possibility of being rendered stateless — the reason for their anonymity.

“The way things have been evolving in India, I wouldn’t want to risk it,” they wrote.

“India seems to be determined to take away the citizenship of those who don’t agree with their hateful agenda, and I don’t want to join that list so soon.”

They appear hopeful for a proposed interfaith dialogue, which they said “would be an opportunity for us to get together with people from different cultural and religious backgrounds.”

“As we watch the proceedings in India with great concern […], this event will pave the way for a future campaign that might address the larger student community, so that we can start working on solutions.”

Another student, who also wished to remain anonymous, reaffirmed this sentiment.

They said an interfaith dialogue can’t “solely be an Indian thing.”

“Simply holding talks will not help anyone,” they said.

“We need to look at the situa-

tion practically, think about what is achievable, and then create a roadmap that might help us achieve it.”

A third student speaking on condition of anonymity said they too fear retribution from the Indian government and feel vulnerable as an international student.

“Just last week there was a report about a journalist [Gurpreet Singh] in Vancouver being threatened by Hindutva supporters after he gave a lecture at [the University of British Columbia] against the developments in India,” they said.

They criticized UMSU for not going far enough to help its membership.

“It’s not enough for UMSU to say they support us if their actions, or lack thereof, speaks to the contrary,” they said.

“Mental health support for those of us who are finding it difficult to cope with the developments in India would be a good first step.”

“India is in crisis mode right now.”

Winnipeg walks out for Wet’suwet’en QUINCY HOUDAYER, STAFF

Victoria Redsun, a young Indigenous land defender, addresses a crowd of hundreds gathered at the Manitoba legislature March 4. Redsun spoke about the need for continued action in response from Indigenous people and allies to ongoing RCMP activity in Wet’suwet’en territory, British Columbia.

Hundreds of Winnipeggers walked out of school and work in solidarity. The march started at the University of Winnipeg — with speakers such as members of the UWSA, Canadian Federation of Students Manitoba and MLA Leah Gazan speaking — and ended at the Manitoba legislature. More speakers, including provincial NDP leader Wab Kinew and other New Democrat MLAs, spoke outside the legislature.

Editorial Editor-In-Chief: Matthew Doering Contact: editor@themanitoban.com / 474.6770

10

Call of Duty League is here to stay Esports upstart bridges gap between jocks and gamers JASON PCHAJEK, STAFF

GRAPHIC BY ERNEST ZARZUELA

T

here’s a new top dog in the esports world — and it has a lot to teach the likes of the NHL, NFL and MLB. The Call of Duty League (CDL) kicked off its inaugural season in front of a packed house Jan. 24 at the Minneapolis Armory in Minneapolis, Minn. Fans in the building — and those watching online through YouTube — got to see all 12 CDL clubs take to the main stage and duke it out for all-important points in the league standing.

Now with the fourth league event — the Los Angeles Guerrillas and OpTic Gaming Los Angeles home series — complete, the way video game publisher Activision and league organizers have successfully bridged the worlds of traditional sports and esports has become ever-apparent.

By leaning on traditional sports principles, while paying attention to what engages a younger audience, the CDL has set itself up for a long and fruitful future.

Bringing in tradition

The CDL uses a simple tournament format. Each club hosts at least one home series — a two-day competition pitting the host against seven

other clubs.

Each match win gives a club points in the overall league standings, which determines seeding for the championships.

The format is fairly simple for the average viewer to follow. Teams come together, play matches throughout a regular season and are ranked in standings for a chance to make the post-season.

This same logic flows through almost all professional sports and is helpful for bringing over an audience from traditional sports like hockey and football.

The CDL also borrows teamnaming conventions from traditional sports, following the same regionplus-moniker style.

Names like the Chicago Huntsmen, Florida Mutineers and Seattle Surge could just as easily be emblazoned across the chest of a football or basketball team as an esports club.

Sure, those names are placed beside legacy brands like Optic Gaming and Faze, but it’s a far cry from other esports.

One need only cast an eye over to the Rainbow Six Pro League to find teams like G2 Esports, forZe

and TSM. Borrowing naming conventions from traditional sports gives the CDL an air of legitimacy in the marketplace, bringing regional identities to the fore and providing names that can stand alongside the Chicago Blackhawks and Seattle Mariners of the world. At the same time, though, the league pays respect and pulls from established esports brands to legitimize it among gamers.

Lessons to learn from gamers

A big gripe people have with traditional sports is the issue of access.

To watch games, viewers need to either have cable or be willing to pay for one of the approved streaming services.

But even then, there’s the issue of regional or provider blackouts. Add the fact that practices are closed and many athletes have no social media presence — or worse, a highlycurated one — and everything your favourite club does is held at arm’s length.

The traditional sports world holds its most publicized athletes as deific entities separate from the normal world. These athletes drive expen-

sive cars, wear nice clothes and often tweet nothing but sponsored content.

These are issues the CDL does not have, and it’s something traditional sports need to learn if they want to remain relevant.

Leagues like the NHL and MLB struggle to let their athletes be that human, that accessible, and it’s holding them back CDL events are livestreamed for free through YouTube. Viewers never have to pull out their credit card to see their favourite CDL team unless they actually want to be in the crowd.

Clubs aren’t afraid to let fans peer in on practices, either. Instead, players livestream their practice sessions through their personal Twitch streams, again free for whoever wants to tune in.

This personal aspect extends further to players’ social media profiles,

where players will trash-talk, leave their uncensored thoughts and get in on the humour of the day.

A great example was Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson changing his Twitter profile picture to a screengrab of him crying during an interview after a bitter loss to his brother — who, up until that point in his career, had been his teammate.

Being able to poke fun at himself after such a difficult moment epitomizes how Sanderson and the rest of the CDL act. They’re just like you and me, regular people who just get to play video games for a living.

Leagues like the NHL and MLB struggle to let their athletes be that human, that accessible, and it’s holding them back.

The CDL is a masterclass in the future of sport. While the structure underneath — from scheduling and format to club names — screams tradition, everything built on top of that structure is fresh and new.

The league is accessible and so are the athletes, leaving the door open for new fans to get sucked right into the hype.

If they want to weather the esports storm, traditional sports are going to have to learn to keep up.

Comment Comment Editor: Kenny Ingram Contact: comment@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

12

2019-2020 EXECUTIVES

Surrogate mothers need legislated standards

Better protection from exploitation and health risks necessary MEAGAN HUGHES, STAFF

Mahder Teffera

Okechukwu Efobi

HSGSA President

VP Services & Support

Tanjit Nagra VP Academic

Cody Ross

Ehsan Tahmasebian

VP Finance & Administation

Carl Neumann

Senator 2

Julia Minarik Senator 1

President

Models in images. Intended as illustrative.

GRAPHICS BY EVAN TREMBLAY

P

regnancy is a complex process that carries a certain degree of risk.

Complications can lead some to seek out surrogate mothers.

Surrogates carry an embryo created using gametes from the intended parents which the surrogate brings to term.

This allows intended parents to have a baby when they may have encountered difficulties on their own.

Surrogates play a valuable and unique role in our communities, though proper medical standards have yet to be implemented in order to protect them.

Right now, there is no standard for the length of time required for surrogates to recover to start a new pregnancy after giving birth.

The lack of such medical standards puts surrogates at risk of complications from back-to-back pregnancies pressured upon them by both the desire to help intended parents and by the agencies that manage the surrogacy clients or intended parents.

Surrogate mothers are not paid for carrying a baby. In fact, under Canadian law, it is illegal for a surrogate to receive compensation beyond reimbursement for expenses incurred while pregnant such as medical bills

or lost wages. intended parents.

Paying a surrogate may result in Because of the profits from contens of thousands of dollars in fines sulting fees, a perverse incentive is and even prison time. established — to push surrogates into Since they are not paid, surrogates bearing more children more quickly. carry children as volunteers that pro- This establishes a power struggle vide a life-changing favour to friends between the involved parties. or strangers who desire greatly to Surrogates want to help the clients build families. all the while being at risk of pressure If potential surrogates became and manipulation from the agencies attracted to surrogacy simply for the who seek to make a profit. Sadly, prospective financial gain, they may these agencies have already found not take their own and the baby’s their way to commoditizing the health as they would if financial gain womb: the process requires intended was not there. parents factor in a budget of around And the labour involved in this $60,000 to $80,000, which makes work is unique — it results in the the whole process more expensive birth of a human child. for everyone involved.

It makes sense to desire to There have also been unfortunate protect the creation of life from cases of some intended parents being commodification. taken advantage of by surrogates On the other hand, even though claiming receipts for expenses that true “surrogate agencies” are techni- do not fall under the umbrella of elically illegal in Canada — providing gible expenses and claiming duplicate services specifically related to sur- receipts. rogacy — this does not stop agencies Health Canada has sought to remfrom using loopholes in the law to edy this issue, with new regulations profit off of surrogacy. taking effect this June that outline Agencies that manage services not the limitations of what expenses actively participating in the surrogacy are eligible for surrogates to claim. process — like “consulting,” which However, this may discourage more isn’t technically a part of the surro- people from opting to become surgacy process — do make money off rogates, putting even more pressure

on the current surrogates.

The agencies operating like a forprofit fast-food chain must be strictly regulated in the same way adoption agencies are.

Surrogates want to help the clients all the while being at risk of pressure and manipulation from the agencies who seek to make a profit

It is imperative that care be taken before, during and after pregnancy to ensure that a surrogate’s mental and physical well-being is maintained.

Pregnancy can be a very physically and emotionally intense experience for child-bearers.

In addition, there is a risk of postpartum depression in surrogate mothers due to the child being taken by the intended parents after birth.

It is difficult for surrogates not to

develop any level of attachment to the child during pregnancy. This is part of why counselling is important for surrogates.

Canada must ensure that surrogates are able to receive consultation and counselling from licensed medical professionals that are not a part of a profit-driven corporation — professionals that hold the well-being of the surrogate as their top priority.

And if the pressure to start new pregnancies soon after delivery associated with the current system is still prevalent — which can lead to serious health complications that can render the individual unable to bear more children, or worse — Health Canada must impose more strict guidelines on the number of months a potential surrogate mother must wait between pregnancies.

The reality is that there will likely always be a demand for surrogates and there will always be people who want to help.

We must respect and protect aspects of what make us human.

That is why we must make sure to tread carefully around the subject and seek to build proper legislation to approach these issues in a sensitive and humane manner.

— SURVIVOR OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL

Learn more about our work with survivors at

CYBERTIP.CA/SURVIVORS

SUPPORTED BY:

“Cybertip!ca” is registered in Canada as a trademark of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc. The logo for the Government of Manitoba is used with permission.

14 Comment

Comment Editor: Kenny Ingram Contact: comment@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

The breakfast club QUINCY HOUDAYER, STAFF

VOL. 106 NO. 25 March 11, 2020

Comment 15

City not taking climate action — or itself — seriously

Students, environment, logic left out of 2020 city budget JAKOB SANDERSON, UMSU PRESIDENT

PHOTO BY QUINCY HOUDAYER

Kellogg Canada donated $150,000 to the Breakfast Club of Canada on National Cereal Day, March 7, to support breakfast programs in Canada. “Food insecurity remains a serious issue facing many Canadian families with 1 in 4 children at risk of not eating breakfast. A startling statistic that jumps to 1 in 2 children among Indigenous communities,” said Judith Barry, co-founder of and director of impact and sustainable solutions for Breakfast Club of Canada.

Earlier last week, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said, on the first day of the spring session of the legislature, “If children are going to school hungry, then parents aren’t fulfilling their responsibilities.” This was in response to calls from the NDP and the Manitoba Teachers’ Society for a province-wide breakfast program in schools.

against the clear will of students — on the record. but against the priorities the city’s But despite now claiming this leaders have continuously espoused. budget as an overall positive package Mayor Brian Bowman, on the day the for transit, he previously had nothU-Pass was enacted, stated what he ing but positive words for the U-Pass. least wanted to see when “the second “I think the U-Pass is a great story,” phase of rapid transit comes in line stated the St. Boniface councillor in 2018. “Not only does it make using the bus affordable for students but I think it also builds a culture that The mayor and makes using the bus something that city councillors you do every day to commute.”

Of the specific U-Pass deal that that tabled this passed his committee, and council, budget have turned unanimously, he said “I think this thought I was done writing articles is a win-win the way this is being in the Manitoban about the U-Pass. their back on our structured.”

And, of course, students probably environment So why the change of heart? thought they were done reading Currently, the budget points to about it. the newly-proposed low-income pass For anyone who needs a refresher, this year is the final one of our U-Pass [… was] Winnipeggers saying there as a replacement.

And while it is an admirable procontract. The public service proposed aren’t enough people riding the bus.” a fair increase of $24.50 per semester Bowman’s assessment was accu- gram, it is not a fix. Most students beginning May 2020 to ensure the rate then and will be born out in the will not qualify for the low-income program maintained its total gross near future. Given the investment threshold, causing costs for students subsidy level while being expanded in the Southwest Transitway to the to rise massively.

Even more importantly, it is no to include Red River College. tune of $420 million, we should be This rate was subsequently optimizing that investment by incen- comparison when it comes to the most important issue we should be endorsed by city council. UMSU tivizing increased ridership. then went to referendum in February The U-Pass — which has shown framing our policy around: combatand a stunning 78 per cent of ballots an increase in ridership of 25 per cent ting emissions and protecting the were cast in favour of retaining the on routes to and from the U of M environment.

The low-income pass is opt-in U-Pass. since inception — has taken a miniIn fact, more students voted in mum of 7,000 students out of their only. It is a cheaper bus pass for many Winnipeggers who are in need of the favour of the U-Pass in 2020 than cars and onto a bus each day. voted entirely in the 2014 referenAs the mayor said, “by encour- savings and likely bus anyhow. Ever dum. More UMSU members voted aging public transit there are many wondered why a coffee shop offering in favour of the U-Pass than voted environmental benefits. There are 25 cents off your coffee for bringing a entirely in any UMSU election on benefits of getting more cars and mug is a lot less successful than one record in its 101-year history. trucks off the road. And the overall that also charges you 25 cents for a Suffice to say, it was a truly costs of doing so is less wear and tear cup?

Are 16,000 low-income people resounding result. Yet fast forward on our infrastructure.” to March 6 and you’ll see that the So why did he change his mind? (not including students) who are not U-Pass was proposed to be cut in the The chair of public works, Matt currently busing really going to abancity’s latest budget.

Allard, is thus far the only member don their cars because of the chance What is perhaps most remark- of the executive policy committee to to get a cheaper bus pass? able is that this rebuke not only goes address the city’s change of position This is the assumption made by

I

the city. It is the reason it anticipates the U-Pass — which is only $10 cheaper per month, affects a smaller population that has access to other subsidized passes, and is universally applied regardless of usage — will somehow cost more annually than the low-income pass.

In my view, this is a patently baseless assumption. Nevertheless, for the city to force this as a zero-sum game between the two programs is dubious, given transit ran a surplus of $6.9 million in 2019.

their backs on our environment.

Students who voted in favour of an increased rate for a program that many affirmative voters could not or did not even use should be righteously distraught. If the city had the calibre of foresight that students do, it would immediately reverse this destructive decision.

I ended my last U-Pass article with a quote from a “once-wise” man that said “most of all, we at war with ourselves.” It seems our once-progressive city councillors have dialled up their hypocrisy to a level nearly equalling that of the afore-quoted Kanye West.

If the city had the Boasted Allard on the city council floor just three months ago: “I don’t calibre of foresight want [my daughter] to say that dad that students do, it had an opportunity to act, but getting elected was more important. That’s would immediately not why I got involved in politics.

[Climate change] is the issue of our reverse this generation and we need to deal with destructive decision it.”

We truly are at war with ourselves.

This time, however, I’m not ending For the U-Pass cancellation to be the article here. viable environmentally or economiThe good news is that this city’s cally, ridership must be assumed to councillors will be hearing from remain stable when the U-Pass goes the students they’ve let down. On March 12, the public works commitaway. tee is hearing public delegations. On It won’t.

That 25 per cent increase came as March 19, it’s the executive policy a direct result of a universal program committee. that incentivized busing and disinLinks to sign-up are in UMSU’s centivized driving. bio on Instagram, and we will be According to UMSU’s internal hosting training sessions and phone survey in December, 19 per cent of banking this week. students who predominantly bus to So show up. university will revert to driving if this Call your councillor. cut goes through.

Get Angry. Get Mobilized. Get That cuts deeply into the city’s Ready. expected revenue, and will heavily Because this is a major battle in pollute the environment. what is truly the fight of our lives.

The mayor and city councillors And we need every last solider. that tabled this budget have turned

16 Comment

Comment Editor: Kenny Ingram Contact: comment@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

VOL. 106 NO. 25 March 11, 2020

Pipeline protests only accelerate declining faith

Taking polarizing, secular stands only serves to further push churches into irrelevancy GREGORY REAGE

Comment 17

A sneak peek at what’s likely inside education review Changes will bring a profit motive to education and kneecap collective bargaining MICHAEL KIRKNESS

GRAPHIC BY ERNEST ZARZUELA

GRAPHIC BY EVAN TREMBLAY

S

ome Canadian church bodies and decision that is polarizing, disrespects forcing achieved status rather than their leaders have waded into the democracy and lacks critical analysis. ascribed status. debate over the Coastal GasLink It’s puzzling to read a demand for The elected local leaders have project being undertaken in B.C. the RCMP to leave, as if there is not achieved their decision-making A statement released by the to be any national policing, criminal authority by presenting platforms that Toronto Urban Native Ministry on law application or process inside what convinced people to vote them into Feb. 6 calls on the Royal Canadian is still within the borders of Canada. office. Eight of the nine Wet’suwet’en Mounted Police (RCMP) to “imme- There is — by all accounts — a valid hereditary chiefs who oppose Coastal diately cease their occupation, arrests court injunction ordering a stop to GasLink have their power through an and trespassing on Wet’suwet’en sov- blockading access to work areas. ascribed status, by virtue of the fact It is not for the RCMP, in its role that they were born. Shouldn’t any ereign territory.” And, in reference to the national police force, says that of carrying out policing, to determine analysis at least work the democratic they “are deeply concerned about the fitness of injunctions. Public pol- process into the outcome? the militarized arrests, pressure and icy is the responsibility of the govMore recent developments sugtrespassing presence of the RCMP.” ernment and to a certain extent, of gest the church spokespeople were This statement of concern came the judiciary to decide on its merits. not fully attuned to the participaabout when the RCMP began to Asking the RCMP to ignore a valid tion of community women. On Feb. enforce a court injunction against court injunction is selective policing 20, Rita George, a female elder from protesters who had been blocking and advocating for a two-tier justice Wet’suwet’en territory, said that she access and construction activities of system. It is outright irresponsible and other matriarchs were never conthe Coastal GasLink project. for the ACC and ELCIC leaders to tacted for their input.

Along with 71 other church leaders, be calling for the RCMP to ignore As for respecting tradition, she bishops in Manitoba, of two different the rule of law. spoke about the conflict’s current churches, have thrown their support It is essential to the discussion to state of affairs as “not the way of our behind the statement. Namely, the note that 20 local councils along the ancestors.”

Rt. Rev. Geoffrey Woodcroft, Bishop route have put their support behind George is a band member, serves of Rupert’s Land of the Anglican the Coastal GasLink project. The sig- on the elected government and is part Church of Canada (ACC), and the natories, it appears, have glossed over of the hereditary system. Why should Rev. Susan Johnson, National Bishop this fact and are unconcerned with it be the responsibility of church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church paying any heed to the democratic groups to be responding to secular in Canada (ELCIC). will of the local people as expressed development at all? Church bodies While there could be much in 20 elected governments. such as the ACC and ELCIC may be meaningful discussion around ideas Perhaps the church leaders believe looking to be relevant to contempoto reduce our dependency on fossil they are bringing progressive think- rary society even as fewer Canadians fuels and human-induced activities ing through their pastoral statements are involved with them. It’s probably causing climate change, the stance of support. a good guess that most people do not taken by the ACC and ELCIC on a They should be reminded that, pay attention to the proceedings of secular issue behind eight hereditary sociologically speaking, societies the ACC Council of General Synod chiefs of Wet’suwet’en territory is a move toward greater fairness by rein- (CGS).

Things changed somewhat in late rate of decline, it was determined that 2019 when a report commissioned by there would be no members, attendthe ACC received widespread media ers or givers in the ACC by approxicoverage for its prediction that if mately 2040. current trends in membership conAs dire as these predictions are, tinue, there will be no members left commercial media did not appear in the ACC by 2040. The ELCIC to dig deeper and contrast this with has also been experiencing declining a previous report that was of ACC membership according to anecdotal concern in 2006. At that time, downreports. ward trends in membership suggested The formal report for the that the rate of decline would mean Anglicans was created by Rev. Neil no ACC membership beyond 2061.

Elliot and presented to CGS on Nov. That assessment nearly 15 years ago 9, 2019. In a surprise scoop, its exist- seems amazingly optimistic given ence and contents were disclosed prior the updated numbers we have today.

In a way, it is no surprise that the to its formal release by a blog site, Anglican Samizdat, which posted passage of time is finding churches it online Oct. 5 of last year. Elliot with diminishing numbers. People looked at five measurements: histori- are leaving or, perhaps more accucal membership numbers, pastoral rately, new people are not coming roll numbers across Canada, regular in and the leadership seems unable church attendance, identifiable giv- to reverse this trend over the last 40 ers and subscribers to the Anglican years.

Journal.

But taking stands on issues like All five metrics showed trends in the railway blockades — and siding declining numbers. Things can be put against democratically-elected leadinto closer perspective by noting cer- ers and valid court rulings — will not tain factual comparisons. In 1961, the reverse this trend. total ACC membership of 1.3 million, As a moral, religious or commuout of Canada’s population of about nity-building exercise goes, it seems 18 million, meant more than seven to me that both the ACC and ELCIC per cent of Canadians identified as have taken an inadvisable stance on ACC members. the pipeline debate and will only By 2017, according to Elliot’s further push themselves into being research, the total ACC membership irrelevant for their pronouncements of 357,123 out of the Canadian popula- on the Canadian landscape. That tion of nearly 37 million means that sound you hear is the footsteps of all less than one per cent of Canadians the people leaving these churches in were then ACC members. At this a trend that is clear for all to see.

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his spring, the Brian Pallister- education system implies that the led government is poised to onus is on the teachers, rather than release its education review, aimed its stewards in the legislature. It gives at improving the quality of education the appearance of showing leadership in this province. but, in reality, defers accountability to In 2018, the Nova Scotia another level of created bureaucracy.

Progressive Conservative-led gov- That is not leadership, but is instead ernment released a document called devoid of a badly needed provinceRaise the Bar, containing a total of 22 wide vision for the future. recommendations aimed at improvThe report goes on to recoming educational services. Its author, mend a “substantial representation international education adviser Avis from business, labour, industry, and Glaze, has since been recruited as the others” on the college, and appoint a lead consultant for reviewing the state registrar to lead it. Professional eduof kindergarten to Grade 12 education cators having significant presence in Manitoba. in the membership is an interesting The Raise the Bar document gives way of phrasing that the educators a glimpse of what we’re likely to see themselves will have to share the in Manitoba. responsibilities of education, along with business leaders, industry and This is nonsensical, given Big business needs to labour. that the College of Physicians does be out of our schools, not have business leaders among its governorship. not running it And why would they? Profit is not a guiding motive in the health-care system, today at least, and it shouldn’t While there are issues with all 22 be in education either. Having busirecommendations, there are three ness leaders at the table defers the that stand out: establishing a board of responsibility of oversight to the educators, separating administrators business sector. Simply appointing a from teachers’ unions and improving registrar at the provincial level does teacher mobility. nothing to increase public confidence Recommendation 7 calls for the in the education system. creation of a college of educators, “an For confidence to exist, there independent body to license, govern, needs to be a plan, a vision from the discipline and regulate the teaching government with clear goals and profession” that would “improve pub- outcomes. Without such a plan, the lic confidence in the education system other participants will take the helm across the province.” of leadership. Given that the power First, this purported need to of teachers is greatly diminished by improve public confidence in the these recommendations, that power

would go toward those who already wield substantial power, namely the business sector. Big business needs to be out of our schools, not running them.

Recommendation 8 calls for the removal of “principals and vice-principals from the Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) and into a new professional association.” This implies the primary motivation is to have a streamlined negotiation with educators in collective bargaining. In other words, this is nothing but a naked attempt to divide and conquer.

A major consequence would be to irreparably damage the collegial

primary motivator. struggle between government versus Further, the recommendation unions and the working class, edustates “Principals and vice-princi- cation appears to be next on the list pals are trusted to speak on behalf to face the full brunt of Progressive of the students, without the ‘work- Conservative attacks — with the curing conditions’ agenda rising to the rent situation just a small prelude of forefront.” Not only does this imply what’s to come. that the administrators are on the The tool of collective bargaining is side of the government in negotia- one of the most vital elements of the tions — a claim, flimsily established labour movement in the last century, with anecdotes, and by no means an and much of what the Raise the Bar established fact. document aims to do is to cripple its But the problem with the “work- power. ing conditions” agenda is that it If we are not paying careful attenminimizes and trivializes issues tion, the gains of workers in the past that, in many cases, do pose a pri- will be in critical danger, leaving mary impediment to an educator’s those of us willing to fight impotent ability to do their job. It trivializes in our efforts. the real challenges at the front lines.

The province has already begun to Where it comes to For example, having policies continue move in this direction in other facets the struggle between to be imposed that have an effect on of the system, with cuts and austerteacher burnout is a legitimate con- ity at the forefront. Education is just government versus cern, and if leadership is so vital, the the next area they plan to move this leaders on the front lines like admin- ideology into. unions and the istrators need to be on the side of Our leadership at the provincial those also at the front lines, not on level has repeatedly shown its priority working class, the side of their opponents on the to be reducing government spending. education appears to negotiating table.

In Premier Brian Pallister’s bubble, Recommendation 11 is to “Ensure all government spending is bad, but be next on the list teachers have the mobility and choice since the government is tasked with to work in any region in Nova Scotia overseeing services necessary to all by removing barriers in collective Manitobans, this principle is flawed agreements while maintaining sen- at its core. nature of administrators and educa- iority rights.”

Education, for example, is a sertors, a vital relationship for schools The key here is “removing barriers vice that has elements with implicato operate effectively. Differing and in collective agreements.” By solving a tions in all sectors and demographics. opposing agendas between educa- non-problem for most — and a minor The way we deliver education does tors and administrators could create one for the few that find it relevant have problems, but reducing funding, a division where the only solution — the issue is framed as a positive bringing a profit motive or kneecapwould be the politically expedient for teachers. This recommendation ping the unions of educators will not middle ground, which may not have is a foreboding indicator of what is solve them. the education of actual students as its likely to come. Where it comes to the

Diversions Graphics Editor: Evan Tremblay Contact: graphics@themanitoban.com / 474.6775

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Arts & Culture Arts & Culture Editor: Grace Paizen Contact: arts@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

’Toban turntable Want us to review your band? Email arts@ themanitoban.com today!

Ralph returns to the ’Peg as headliner Juno nominated songstress talks new label, pop industry KAELEN BELL, STAFF

KAELEN BELL, STAFF

PHOTO PROVIDED BY RAFFAELA WEYMAN

‘Too Many Stars,’ 3.5/5

The record is billed as a “search s life on Earth grows endlessly for light,” and this desire is accenlouder and hotter, it’s hardly tuated by the record’s elemental a surprise that the vast quietude tone. With song titles like “Sick,” of the cosmos seems to beckon. “Sorrow,” “Forth” and “Space,” Too There’s a strange comfort in that Many Stars seems occupied by big expansive, chilling silence — per- concepts and ideas, complex in their haps there are solutions out there, universal simplicity. hiding in the stars.

The record has the tendency to blur individual songs together, as if you’re listening to one long song — Cantor Dust an odyssey into the depths of space.

Its heavier moments — like the creates a mercifully metal-influenced “Weary” — are welcome interruptions, like astereconomic form of careening into view. space-age prog-rock, oidsHowever, they’re also the tracks most likely to grate on those who free of 15-minute find this brand of space-age progepics or endless rock corny or pompous, as the album is at its most welcoming guitar solos when it veers soft and contemplative.

Space prog-rock has often had a contentious relationship with the critical community, its overblown Cantor Dust clearly thinks so. theatrics and indulgence keeping An avant-prog album — an experi- many a discerning ear at bay. One mental, avant-garde approach to of the core issues with the modern progressive rock — the duo’s new interpretation is that little music record, Too Many Stars, is a dra- in this vein actually sounds spacematically-rendered soundtrack to age — that there is an ever-present an unfamiliar voyage, a search for sheen of cheesiness and pretention, answers that can’t be found on our compounded by less-than-forwardplanet. thinking execution and sound.

Cantor Dust creates a merciToo Many Stars generally avoids fully economic form of space-age these pitfalls, mostly able to stand prog-rock, free of 15-minute epics on its own as experimental pop — or endless guitar solos. Rather, though it’s unlikely to appeal to they keep things relatively simple, those already averse to prog-rock’s with spacious arrangements that dramatics. But if you’re looking rely mostly on synths, piano and for a more clear-eyed, considNatanielle Felicitas’s dynamic cello ered approach to spaced-out rock, to tell Mark Klassen’s stories of dis- Cantor Dust’s hunt for the light covery and uncertainty. offers a good starting point.

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PHOTO PROVIDED BY RAFFAELA WEYMAN

Raffaela Weyman, better known as the independent pop machine Ralph, described the scenery as she drove from Austin to Houston en route to the final show of her American tour.

“A lot of pro-life posters and that kind of stuff, yeah, my favourite,” she said.

“I just love being in control of what I’m putting out there” — Raffaela Weyman, musician “There’s a lot of signs for biscuits too. A lot of signs that are advertisements for restaurants and it’s all ‘Biscuits and gravy.’ They love biscuits in Texas.”

Weyman was on tour supporting Christian-pop duo Joan, and will now come home to Canada for a run of headlining shows.

Weyman described the American leg of the tour as incredibly receptive and positive, though she sometimes worried about how her politics might be interpreted by Joan’s faith-based fandom — especially in Texas.

“I don’t know if I’m going to talk about [being] pro-choice on stage tonight or not, we’ll see,” she said.

“I did it last night and it was

received well, but I think tonight I might just cool my political talk.”

Still, Weyman said she relishes the opportunity to expose the unfamiliar to her particular brand of dance-pop — slyly political, defiantly independent and unquestionably accepting.

“I have a lot of new followers who are like cool young teen girls but if you look at their Instagram bio it’s like ‘Love Jesus,’” she said.

“There’s my audience — my queer, dancing men — and then the combination of the Joan audience, which is always young girls.”

Weyman’s work as Ralph has always explored an acutely modern take on pop stardom — she’s in control of every aspect of her gradually blossoming career, a far cry from the machinations of the industry at large.

“I just love being in control of what I’m putting out there — you know, the music videos, the aesthetics, the photography,” she said.

“I would have a really hard time with someone else being like ‘This is what you’re going to look like, this is what you’re going to do for this video.’”

It was this desire for artistic control that led to Rich Man Records, her newly-minted record label.

A collaboration with manager Laurie Lee Boutet, Weyman described Rich Man Records as both a guarantee of artistic independence and a chance to cultivate and support the Canadian pop

scene.

“A lot of the deals that you get from [major labels] are quite controlling offers, and you lose a lot of your control,” she said.

“For me, that’s always been something that’s really scared me is like, losing my masters and losing the creative integrity.”

Weyman said she sees her new label as an opportunity to give a legup to the independent pop artists who, like she once did, have questions about how to make it in a cutthroat and rapidly moving industry.

“There’s no real certainty for your future,” she said.

“I love the idea of being able to work with other artists, and foster and nurture up-and-coming pop musicians.”

“It’s so challenging. I was asking all the time, like ‘How do I get my foot in the door? How do I start?

How do I get people to notice me?’”

However, the future of Ralph seems bright — Weyman said she’s taking her time to release new music as she expands her creative and professional wings, building security rather than racing to keep up with the pop machine.

“We don’t want to put out a song to just put out a song,” she said.

“Right now, our logic is like ‘You know what, the next song that we put out, we want to feel really fucking good about it.’”

Ralph plays the Good Will Social Club March 16.

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Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture Editor: Grace Paizen Contact: arts@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

VOL. 106 NO. 25 March 11, 2020

Local exhibit explores healing power of creativity

Arts & Culture

RWB’s tour features young, blossoming talent

Lou Valcourt’s ‘Running with the Devil’ a story of survival through rock ’n’ roll music

Dancer and choreographer Cameron Fraser-Monroe shares his ballet journey

ZACHARY SIGURDSON, STAFF

ZACHARY SIGURDSON, STAFF

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he Cre8ery Gallery and Studio is currently hosting U of M alumna Lou Valcourt’s exhibit Running with the Devil.

A collection of mixed media works, Valcourt’s exhibit memorializes her struggles throughout her teen years and early adulthood in a religiously repressive conservative community throughout the ’80s and ’90s.

Valcourt’s Running with the Devil is her most personal project to date, with a collection of pencil drawings, acrylics, collages and writing in which she shares her heart-wrenching stories and experiences.

“My work beforehand was largely focused on religious imagery, drawing from medieval work, sort of a critique, and sort of a tongue-in-cheek […] satirical work,” she said.

“I wasn’t really sure what to do next, and so I remember thinking to myself ‘Well what got me excited about doing art in the first place?’”

Running with the Devil came about from a creative rut for Valcourt. In reaching back, she rediscovered some

of her old passions.

“One of the things that I really enjoyed when I was a teenager was, I would draw the heavy metal and the hard rock stars from magazines […] and that’s how I kind of learned to draw people,” she said.

“Here I found this music I just loved” — Lou Valcourt, artist “It sort of came to me to combine doing those drawings again with some of the stories of some of the things that I went through.”

With these old passions came the painful stories tied to them — the rejection of small-town conformity, religious conservatism, depression, anxiety, sexual assault and death are all intimate subjects that Valcourt has chosen to share publicly through her art.

Moreover, all of this was tied up

Y

with the “satanic panic” of the 1980s.

“Here I found this music I just loved,” she said.

“I found it so expressive and empowering. And I had people around me saying ‘Well, it’s the devil and you’re going to hell because you listen to this music.’”

The title Running with the Devil is an immediate reference to Van Halen, but other pieces reference Mötley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses, Judas Priest and Metallica — various pieces in the exhibit include drawings of rock stars framed with a medieval-style halo of paraphernalia associated with Valcourt’s personal stories.

“Music was something I always really loved,” Valcourt said.

Valcourt said her hope is that her story can help others who have gone through similar experiences and show the healing power of creativity.

“Creativity has this power to help people overcome things.”

Running with the Devil runs until March 17.

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PHOTOS PROVIDED BY LOU VALCOURT

ou may not have considered going theatre stuff as a kid. And at the can adapt to the ballet because they to the ballet before, but if you’re same time I was, of course, playing take students as young as 11. And then going to give it a chance, the Royal sports — all of the sports. Then at the if you’re accepted you come for the Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) is making age of 15 I auditioned for the Royal regular year which starts in [the] fall it worth your time with its On the Winnipeg Ballet which brought me with the rest of [the] school [year].” to Winnipeg.”

Edge Tour.

Though Fraser-Monroe came to Running from March 16 to 25, the Winnipeg for one summer as part RWB will be visiting nine communiof the RWB audition process, he ties across Manitoba to perform On “But ultimately, decided not to stay for the full year. the Edge.

“Then I came back again, and I what I got out of Sharing dance workshops — felt so far behind from that year that which invite the audience to partici- that was it pushed I didn’t do with the ballet,” he said. pate — will be offered as part of the “So, for me that felt like a very, very me to get better” performance. difficult time in my life — feeling like The shows themselves will include everyone around me was better than — Cameron Frasera classical performance — a conme, everyone around me deserved to Monroe, dancer and densed comedic arrangement from be here more than myself. But ultiDon Quixote — and contemporary mately, what I got out of that was it choreographer performances by choreographers pushed me to get better.”

Gabriela Rehak, Philippe Larouche Now 21, Fraser-Monroe is cho- matter how European or how closed and Indigenous choreographers Jera reographing a piece for the On the off it seems, you can achieve that in Wolfe and Cameron Fraser-Monroe.

Fraser-Monroe recalled the jour- Edge Tour called “Pine Needle in your own way.”

As for continuing the touring traGrowing up in Vernon, B.C., ney to becoming a member of the The River,” based on the Indigenous Fraser-Monroe has been a dancer RWB as a challenging but rewarding story “Why The Raven’s Feathers are dition that made the RWB what it is process. today, Fraser-Monroe takes pride in his entire life.

Black.”

“You have to audition in your “At the age of three I actually “I want to show other young continuing the legacy of the dance started with Ukrainian dance,” hometown,” he said. “They tour all Indigenous people and other people troupe. over Canada, even internationally, of colour that you don’t need to be a “That’s how the Royal Winnipeg Fraser-Monroe said.

“From there I just built out into and then you’re invited to stay for the ballet dancer, you can just be what Ballet made its name was as a touring company,” he said. “They could pop Indigenous hoop dance, Indigenous month of July in the school. You get you want,” Fraser-Monroe said. grass dance. I did all the musical to live away from home and see if you “You can find space for yourself, no up in towns and present themselves

PHOTO PROVIDED BY RWB

for one night and then move on to the next city.

“So, being part of that history — or, in a way, repeating that history — means a lot to me because I look up to the dancers that did that and kind of paved the way for me to be where I am now and doing what I’m doing.”

For more information and tickets to the On the Edge Tour, go to rwb.org.

Thought-provoking exhibits at Assiniboine Park

Free exhibition showcases Canadian artists, Winnipeg’s cultural history GRACE PAIZEN, STAFF

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s you take the elevator up to the Manitoba, and even Winnipeg, in Community Gallery’s Through the second floor of the Pavilion at Phillips’s work. Most impressively, Eyes of a Child exhibit is steps away.

Assiniboine Park, there’s a sense of you can hear the rushing waters in The exhibit is a delight with nearly adventure. Over the entire second his river paintings and feel the bitter every version of artistic creation — and third floors stretches the WAG@ cold in his winter landscapes. collage, painting, needlepoint, 3D ThePark exhibit.

The John P. Crabb Gallery is art and pottery — made by children Started in 2016, the Assiniboine immense, but there are plenty of enrolled in the WAG Studio’s art Park Conservancy partnered with places to sit and take in the gallery classes. the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) to — perfect for moments of reflection bring free WAG-curated exhibitions as you take in Phillips’s visual accomto the public. plishments of the sublime.

Most impressively, The current exhibits include There are also ceramic collections you can hear the works by English-Canadian artist from the WAG scattered throughout Walter J. Phillips and Saskatchewan- the gallery, giving a nice variety of art rushing waters in his born artist Ivan Eyre. As well, the nouveau objects complimenting the river paintings and Community Gallery is currently paintings in the room. playing host to Through the Eyes of The Pooh Gallery is across the hall feel the bitter cold in a Child and the Pooh Gallery fea- from the Phillips exhibit. The gallery tures the exhibit The Best Bear in is alive in bold and bright colours of his winter landscapes All the World: The Many Sides of yellow and green, announcing the Winnie-the-Pooh. playfulness of the exhibit.

Phillips’s exhibit, curated by You are immediately confronted Nicole Fletcher and located on the by the commercialism of WinnieTravelling up to the third floor, the second floor in the John P. Crabb the-Pooh — a display of collectibles Ivan Eyre exhibit loudly announces Gallery, showcases the natural and greeting you as you enter. itself the moment the elevator doors art nouveau elements of the late The story of the real Winnie open. Even though the gallery is a painter’s vast collection. the bear and Winnipeg’s Harry large space, it’s stifling. The exhibit Reading as a love letter to the Colebourn is told in photographs immediately confronts you with Canadian wilderness, Phillips’s work before transitioning into the fictional image upon image of naked women. is spectacular — taking you from the Winnie-the-Pooh’s story, alongside This current collection of Eyre’s art grandest mountains to the intricate photographs of Winnie-the-Pooh arguably perpetuates age-old myths delicacy of water lilies floating on a author A. A. Milne. of women as nature and women pond and a simple sunset over Lake of Inviting you to spend time reflect- as sexualized objects. Though the the Woods in Ontario. These are all ing on fond childhood memories, two exhibit intends to combat Eyre’s paintings to see in real life, the depth comfortable reading chairs frame the obsessive art of the naked female of the clouds and skylines looking as famous painting of Pooh himself by body — Audrey Bews curated the real as a photograph.

Ernest H. Shepard. exhibit with paintings from five There are also many nods to Leaving the Pooh Gallery, the female artists in order to fight the

PHOTO BY QUINCY HOUDAYER

male gaze of Eyre’s work — a breast for a breast makes constructive criticism blind.

Even with the best intentions in mind, there isn’t enough of the five female artists’ work to combat the entirety of Eyre’s collection.

Ultimately, each exhibit at WAG@ThePark leaves you swim-

ming in your thoughts to reflect and contemplate, as well as makes you anticipate the ideas of what the next exhibits will bring.

For more information on the current exhibits, go to assiniboinepark.ca.

Sports

VOL. 106 NO. 25 March 11, 2020

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Sports Editor: Jason Pchajek Contact: sports@themanitoban.com / 474.6529

The man with the plan

Stories of veteran coach shared in packed press conference

JASON PCHAJEK, STAFF

JASON PCHAJEK, STAFF

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t’s been a lot of planning and stressing, but the 2020 U Sports men’s volleyball national championship is finally here.

For Bisons Sports sports information and digital media co-ordinator John Gaudes, it’s been a marathon that’s felt like a sprint.

“You find out that you’ve won the bid first,” Gaudes said.

“I’m a little involved in the bid process usually, but it’s not to the extent

that we participate in […] so when we get that bid we have the expectation of just, ‘OK, they’re going to let us go and we’ll do our own thing.’”

U Sports supplies some branded materials and social media content, but Bison Sports has largely had

“I’d rather be busy in March than not busy” — John Gaudes, Bison Sports sports information and digital media co-ordinator the freedom to do as it will with the championship.

This hands-off approach by U Sports also has a pragmatic purpose, as the organization is spread thin with multiple championships happening in different locations during the month.

“They always have two championships going in the winter on the same weekend,” Gaudes said.

“With volleyball, they’ve also got hockey — in both genders — and

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Pischke retiring after ‘heck of a long time’

John Gaudes and staff had welcome freedom in planning national tournament

teams and dates set, he can get to work promoting the tournament, the teams, the athletes and any storylines coming in.

One such storyline has been Eric Loeppky from the Trinity Western University Spartans, as the Manitoba-born outside returns to his home province in search of a national title.

Gaudes mentioned Loeppky is a “front-runner for most valuable player this season.”

“So that’s something where we know, ‘OK, he’s coming,’ and we can promote that, too.”

Gaudes and his team have been given a lot of freedom in planning and promoting the national championship, as U Sports has taken a hands-off approach.

PHOTO BY ALEX DECEBAL-CUZA “I will say that as time has gone on [they’ve] been more open to the host where I know that we’re going to taking the reins with a lot of things,” get it or not going to get it […] the Gaudes said. process of working on it really dies “Once you get the bid […] you’re down until we ramp up two or three left alone to do your own thing, promonths before the championship moting the championships, and really happens. when you bid you tell [U Sports] that “And then it gets really crazy two ‘We’re going to do a certain amount to three weeks out when you know of things.’ the teams that are coming.”

“Like when we bid for a championAs the man in charge of market- ship like this we tell them we have ing and media relations, this is where an incredible volleyball fanbase, we Gaudes comes into the picture. With know that we can sell out the games

Sports

obviously women’s volleyball in Calgary. They’re trying to keep their hands in four championships, so it’s difficult for them to try and rein people in with all that going on.”

While his focus is still firmly on this week’s championship, Gaudes’s year does not end once the national champion is crowned.

When asked if he’d thought about when the championship wraps, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, I have,” Gaudes said.

“Then we have [the Brown and Gold Gala], and then March 29th is my day where things finally stop.”

A relatively lean year for the herd in terms of post-season action has meant Gaudes will have more time to breathe.

But this doesn’t mean he’s happy about it.

“March is always crazy,” he said.

“We’ve had great success with our women’s hockey team the last two years, so we’ve always had championships to look forward to — and now we have this, with the men’s volleyball team competing — so we’ve been really lucky.

“I’d rather be busy in March than not busy.”

Oyinko Akinola finishing collegiate career strong Strong support system, well-oiled routine key to jumper’s success ISAIAH WAGNER, STAFF

PHOTO BY ALEX DECEBAL-CUZA

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he U of M Bisons track and field team took its skills to Saskatoon, Sask., for the 2020 Canada West track and field championship and returned with a haul.

The herd represented the U of M well overall, but the weekend’s success was led by fifth-year athlete Oyinko Akinola.

The squad finished with six individual medals — Akinola earning three of them.

He took home gold in the men’s triple jump, silver in the men’s high jump and bronze in the men’s long

jump.

The gold medal-winning performance will let Akinola cap off his collegiate career at the U Sports national track and field championship.

Anyone who knew Akinola in high school would not be surprised by his athletic success, but coming into university he was not so sure about his future in track and field.

“I’d say I’ve had to work pretty hard to get to where I am,” Akinola said.

“Coming out of high school, I was pretty raw with limited knowledge in the sport. Throughout the years I’ve

developed and learned a lot from my support team […] around me.”

An athlete needs a strong group of people around them to succeed, something Akinola said he believes in.

“The people around you are very important,” he said.

“Coaches and teammates play a huge role in an athlete’s development and enjoyment. With track, it’s really easy to get [into] your own head and having people around you who can positively affect the energy around you can make all the difference.”

For Akinola, support goes beyond the boundaries created by the team you represent.

Being a jumper can mean a lot of waiting around on competition day, but this hasn’t really fazed Akinola, who has made friendships with his teammates and other jumpers in Canada.

“With the jumps during the meet, [the break] lasts for a relatively long time with a downtime in between jumps,” he said.

“You’re stuck with the other jumpers, and the energy being projected is contagious. I’ve been quite fortunate in my years competing to have the best guys who constantly root for each other to compete against and

practice with.

“It’s been a fun experience and I’ll be leaving with relationships with people from all over the country.”

But meets aren’t all fun and games for the Dakota Collegiate grad — this focus starts with his pre-competition

“I would like to wear the maple leaf singlet one day” — Oyinko Akinola, Bisons track and field jumper

routine.

“On a competition day, I wake up about three to five hours before I compete, depending on how early [it is],” Akinola said.

“I get a light breakfast, [usually] oatmeal. Usually without coffee as I save the stimulant for later. After breakfast, I might catch up on a TV show or watch a movie — this season I’ve saved my Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes for meet days.”

After a few episodes, Akinola showers — while singing, in his

words, “badly [and] loudly” — then heads out to grab the coffee he skipped earlier.

Typically, he goes for “a double espresso or small black coffee, depending on [the] coffee shop around.”

From there, Akinola heads to the track, coffee in hand and a podcast in his ears.

“At the track, I drink my coffee as I warm up listening to my warm-up playlist, which consists of Afro beats and joyful rap,” he said.

“Then it’s game time.”

This routine has paid off for the jumper, who has enjoyed a successful career with the herd.

With all of Akinola’s success, a future in track and field is something he is now looking forward to — far from the reservations he had early in his career.

“I’m not quite where I’d like to be,” Akinola said.

“I’ve achieved a lot as a university athlete, but there is more I’d like to achieve after this chapter of my life.

[A future plan] for track and field is to make the national team.

“I would like to don the maple leaf singlet someday.”

PHOTO BY ALEX DECEBAL-CUZA

I

t was a quiet and intimate affair.

Perfect for the man at the centre of it all, Bisons men’s volleyball head coach Garth Pischke.

Alumni, media and members of the Manitoba volleyball community packed Lot 88 Steakhouse and Bar for a press conference Thursday, kicking off the final leg of Pischke’s farewell tour.

The Canadian volleyball legend will round out an illustrious career by coaching his club during the 2020 U Sports men’s volleyball national championship.

But as much as the event was about the championship, it was just as much about Pischke, as speakers swapped stories of the winningest coach in North American sports history.

“When we had a chance to host [the national championship] we jumped on it for a variety of reasons,” Bison Sports athletic director Gene Muller said.

“Despite our illustrious history, we had never hosted this event. So, it was a chance for us to host this event at the University of Manitoba.

“I had found out about a year ago that Garth was of the intention of retiring, and I thought this would be a fitting tribute […] to have an event that in some way recognizes him and using the appropriate stage to retire on.”

“Where do you start with all this? It’s been a heck of a long time” — Garth Pischke, Bisons men’s volleyball head coach One of the alumni to speak was Scott Koskie, who spent six years under Pischke’s tutelage with the Bisons, along with four years playing for him with the Canadian national team.

Koskie’s son, Darian Koskie, currently plays under Pischke at the U of M.

“I got to know [Pischke] a lot as a coach and a lot as a person,” the elder Koskie said.

“It was a great experience. I learned a ton […] and everybody asks, ‘What is it about Garth? What does he do?

How has he been able to accomplish the things that he’s been able to accomplish?’

“There’s a whole bunch of different things I think you could answer that with, but for myself and the guys that we played with in that era I think it came down to a simple thing […]

Garth was the best at what he did.”

To Koskie, Pischke was not only the best coach in Manitoba, or Canada, but in the world. Through his time being coached by Pischke, Koskie said it was impossible not to have his attitude and approach impact your own.

“When you get to hang around with somebody who’s ‘the best’ [for] two and a half hours a day, five days a week, some of those habits eventually rub off,” he said.

“When we were in the gym, Garth would be in there with us, hitting balls with us — sometimes at us —

blocking some balls, and doing all After thanking those in attendthose things that the best guys do.” ance, Pischke told the story of his first This dedication to the game helped years as coach of the Bisons.

Koskie and his teammates come “Back when I started [at the U of together as a group and believe they M] I coached the team [for] a coutoo could be “the best,” he said. And ple years on an honorarium basis — this continued on to Team Canada, maybe about $2,000 a year,” he said. where Pischke took the Canadian “I went to Joyce Fromson, our [athclub to new heights. letic director] at the time and I said, “He took the team from 21st in the ‘You know, I can’t keep doing this world to 10th in the world in a really anymore, it’s crazy,’ and she said ‘Oh, short period of time,” Koskie said. well let me see what I can do.’”

“We started to beat teams like A deal was struck to have Pischke Brazil, we started to beat teams serve as coach part time for the like the U.S.A., because of what he Bisons as well as part time for the brought to us and we won a bronze Manitoba Volleyball Association as medal here in Winnipeg in 1999 at technical director. A year later, with the Pan Am Games.” the roles consistently coming into After Koskie and others were fin- conflict, Pischke again approached ished sharing their stories, an emo- Fromson. tional Pischke stood up to speak.

“Joyce was good to talk to because Typically collected and in control, whatever Joyce wanted, Joyce got,” the veteran player and coach’s voice he said. wavered as he spoke.

“She was an incredible, incredible “Where do you start with all person. They hired me full time and, this? It’s been a heck of a long time,” I used to tell people, ‘If I’m doing this Pischke said. for 20 years, want to hit me over the “I can say, ‘Let’s go back to 1978,’ head or something?’ and then here but I wouldn’t want to bore you with we are 43 years later.” too many details.”

Features Contact: features@themanitoban.com / 474.6520

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International Women’s Day QUINCY HOUDAYER, STAFF

St. Vital Centre highlighted International Women’s Day March 8 with “Fleur Couture” opening last Sunday. The mall collaborated with Beyond Flowers and The Floral Fixx, two local florist shops, to create the installation.

On campus, International Women’s Day was marked on March 6 with a Science Students’ Association-run donation drive and doughnut giveaway. Elsewhere in the city, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights is offering tours on Friday evenings throughout March that focus on the history of women’s rights and issues affecting women today.