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The issue with BLM Toronto Josh Adesina Opinion Editor Black Lives Matter is supposed to be a movement that supports and unites black people worldwide. It is also supposed to remind people that the lives of black people matter, in a time when they have been framed as worthless. Furthermore, the purpose is to fight against injustice, and fight for equality without using the same discrimination that was used against black people. Unfortunately, Black Lives Matter Toronto aren’t making the best reputation for themselves. Black Lives Matter Toronto have made rounds across social media for their controversial actions. Their outcries have been portrayed as the same discrimination that they are fighting against. On Feb. 4, Black Lives Matter Toronto co-founder, Yusra Khogali held a protest in

front of the American Consulate in Toronto, along with other members of the organization, according to BlogTo. The demonstration was a response to U.S President, Donald Trump’s travel ban. During the demonstration, Khogali called Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau a ‘white supremacist terrorist’, according to blogto. Khogali expressed her views about Trudeau and his liberal agenda to the crowd that surrounded her. This is not the best way to prove a point in a country that takes pride in its diversity. Especially since Trudeau himself publicly endorsed diversity in Canada, according to Global News. Khogali’s remarks can be categorized as discriminatory, which contradicts the purpose of Black Lives Matter Toronto. This isn’t the type of followup Black Lives Matter Toronto need after interrupting Pride Toronto’s parade during the

summer last year. The purpose of crashing the parade was because it included police floats, and because it didn’t promote equal rights for gay black people, according to the Toronto Star. I can understand the motive behind this due to past situations that have occurred between police and black people in Canada. However, crashing a parade is unnecessary. I stand by Black Lives Matter and understand what the movement is trying to achieve. However, I don’t think the movement in Toronto have been going about it the right way. There are enough stereotypes of black people in this country. Controversial actions such as this will further perpetuate these stereotypes. Protests and demonstrations are for spreading knowledge and encouraging unity not just among black people, but among all people that are against racial discrimination. It

shouldn’t be used as a platform to spew out hateful remarks and racial slurs. Another example of where Black Lives Matter Toronto went wrong was when Khogali tweeted, “Plz Allah give me strength to not cuss/kill these men and white folks out here today. Plz plz plz.”According to CBC News. Should people expect to take a leader of a movement seriously when they are tweeting things like this? Black Lives Matter Toronto doesn’t need any of its leaders preaching any kind of hate. It won’t achieve anything and it is giving black people a bad reputation in Canada, a country that encourages diversity. The organization should continue to fight against racial prejudice, and at the same time, leave the hate behind.

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NEWS

SHREYA SHAH | NEWS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Land Body Defense

We need nature to survive, including water. Alex Vialette /The Cord

Taylor Burt Assistant News Editor

The Native Youth Sexual Health Network (NYSHN) and the Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA) have started an initiative to record how the sexual and reproductive health of Indigenous women is impacted by industrialization.

“

There are no disconnections between who we are as people and the land and other animals.” The initiative was started in 2014 and has been going ever since. In June 2016, they hosted an event to stand in solidarity of

the communities that were and are being affected by the industries. According to the Violence on the Land, Violence on Our Bodies website, “for Indigenous communities in North America, the links between land and body are powerful and yet often overlooked. Extractive industries have drilled, mined, and fracked on lands on or near resourcerich Indigenous territories for decades. Although the economic gains have been a boon to transnational corporations and the economies of the U.S. and Canada, they come at a frightening cost to Indigenous communities, particularly women and young people. We know that extreme energy extraction causes irreversible damage to the envi-

ronment, but what is less visible is that everyday, people are also experiencing unspeakable human rights abuses as a result.” “The Land Body Defense is this idea that as Indigenous people we are connected to the land, and as Indigenous women more so, and that can be through several interpretations. One of them, which is heteronormative, is that women are water carriers because they can get pregnant and babies are born in them. And obviously, all of our bodies as humans, [up to 60] per cent of our bodies are made of water. So, in all of our teachings, what happens to the water happens to us and in our practices and traditions. There are no disconnections between who we are as people and the land and other

animals,” said Jaydene Lavallie, volunteer and community engagement director of Laurier Students’ Public Interest Research Group (LSPIRG). These extractive industries can have a harsh effect on humans, especially women and children through childbirth. Fracking is an oil and gas extraction method and usually leads to major health risks. A large machine drills into the earth past sediment layers, water and shale rock, to gain access to the gases and oil that lay beneath the surface. Many health risks due to fracking include groundwater contamination, air pollution, toxic chemical exposure, blowouts, and earthquakes. These few risks affect Indigenous com-

munities all around Canada, as they believe they are connected to the land and animals. These risks are not minor, and can be past down to future generations. “A lot of heavy metal contamination [is occurring]. Heavy metals basically never really leave your bodies once they are absorbed and this can be passed down to children through breast milk,” said Lavallie. The industries have not only affected men, women and other genders in Indigenous communities, but also animals and the environment around them. According to the Violence on the Land, Violence on Our Bodies website, “Indigenous leaders have begun calling these impacts ‘environmental violence.”

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NEWS

SHREYA SHAH | NEWS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Laurier Brantford project funding Hyrra Chughtai Staff Writer The Sustainable Hawk Fund has been successfully running for two years at Laurier and will continue into the winter term of 2017. Any student, staff, or faculty member can take part in the project if they believe that there is an area of sustainability on campus in need of improvement. Lisa Keys, Aacting Mmanager of Ggrounds and Custodial Servicescustodial services at Laurier Brantford, recalls the process which the applicants go through. “The process is that groups put in their requests for funding, and they outline what their projects are, and there is a panel. Tyler Plante has a group that reviews the projects and then the funding goes to or gets distributed based on their request that was approved,” said Keys. Tyler Plante, the Ooutreach and Pprogram Ccoordinator for the Ssustainability Ooffice and Physical Resources, is in charge of the project and explained that the Sustainable Hawk Fund is “a program run by the sustainability office where we have dedicated a pool of funding to support

student, staff and faculty-led projects that benefit sustainability on our campus,” said Plante. Last year the Brantford campus experienced a change involving the bathrooms. “[Last] year [a] group of students wanted to look at the accessible washrooms signage around campus as well as any washrooms that are single use washrooms. So instead of male and/or female it would be nonbinary washroom signage, as well as accessibility,” said Keys. “The money comes from the operating budget from our sustainability office, and in terms of how and where it goes, it depends on the applications that come in. We are currently in our second year of the program. The first year we had about 22 or 23 applications come in. The pool of money we got to give is $20 thousand … we had a lot of interest in the program and we ended up funding two of the programs last year that came in. This year we’ve expanded the program to two application periods annually, one in November and one on March 31st, upcoming, and we’ll see what applications come in for these periods” said Plante. The bathroom project last

year was a success. As of 2017, 33 washrooms around the Brantford campus had been changed for everyone to use. “The students did a little bit of a survey in which buildings would meet the criteria. The accessible washroom signage was a little bit inconsistent around campus. Some had just the accessibility symbol with the word washroom, other ones actually had a male or a female with the washroom. Now instead of having a male or a female we are simply putting a symbol of a toilet and the accessible symbol with the word washroom as well as in braille,” said Keys. Not everything is allowed to be a part of this project. It’s all about sustainability and what your project has to do with it. “When we talk about sustainability on campus at Laurier it gives you a very vague meaning ... When we talk about sustainability we look at factors such as environmental sustainability on campus, social sustainability as well as economics sustainability. So we look at all those things, we look at applications and screen it to see if it would benefit to those three areas,” said Plante. As of November there were

Laurier started six new projects using their sustainable hawk fund. Maiya Mistry/The Sputnik

six projects that had been chosen for the Sustainable Hawk Fund, one of them already in effect at Brantford. “We have a faculty member in Brantford, Peter Farrugia, who had a community leader come in and speak to his class about food sustainability, and the speaker was the owner and operator of

a community focused cafe from Hamilton. She came in the class and spoke about different types of business models to positively affect sustainability at the community level. So she actually already came into class. The main thing to notice is that that is part of the program,” said Plante.

The Positive Parenting Program Avery McIsaac Staff Writer The Triple P Program, which is the Positive Parenting Program, is now available in Brantford. The program was originally created by Matt Sanders, who is a professor of clinical psychology from Australia. To date, the program has helped approximately four million children and their families. It runs in twenty-five different countries and has been translated into 19 different languages. The Triple P Program has different topics depending on the age of the children. The program focuses on children ranging for newborn to age 16. The program runs for eight weeks, and includes group sessions, consultations with a practitioner, and parent-only sessions. In Brantford, the program is run through the Brant County Health Unit, St.Leonard’s Community Services, Woodview Mental Health and Autism Services, Family Counselling Centre, Ontario Early Years Centres and other local organizations. The leaders of the Triple P program in Brantford are Ronda Manning, and Janet Kwansah, who is the Triple P practitioner in the Brant County Health Unit. “[The Triple P program is] a support strategy with the goal to prevent severe behavioural, emotional and developmental problems in children by enhancing the knowledge, skills and confidence of parents,” said

Kwansah. According to Kwansah, “published papers have stated that Triple P is the number one parenting program in the world”. “Often I hear parents say they have difficulties managing behavioural problems with their children. After Triple P, they have managed to turn things around,” explained Manning. “They have become more comfortable raising their children and the home is actually more livable. Everyone is less stressed.” The Triple P Program prides itself on not telling it’s participants how to parent. The point of the program is to give parents different tools and ideas for parenting. The parents decide which strategies they want to focus on, and then choose how to implement them. The program explains that it helps families raise happy, confident kids, manage misbehaviour so everyone in the family enjoys life more, set rules and routines that everyone respects and follows, encourages behaviour parents like, helps parents take care of themselves and gives them the confidence that they’re doing the right thing.

Positive parenting program. Mike Ryvok/The Sputnik

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NEWS Kielburger brothers present at Laurier SHREYA SHAH | NEWS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

The Keilburger brothers make an appearance at Laurier Brantford to present workshops. Mike Rykov/The Sputnik

Meghan Slotegraaf

Staff Writer On Feb. 11, Laurier welcomed brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. The brothers presented about leadership and social change at Laurier’s leadership conference entitled HawkTalk+2017. The Kielburger brothers are the founders of Me to We, an organization committed to empowering people to change the world, shifting from “me” thinking to “we” acting. This event was organized by the Society, Culture and Environment Students Association through a partnership with the Leadership Students Association. All proceeds were donated to the Woodland Cultural Centre’s Save the Evidence Project. In 2013, major roof leaks caused significant and costly damage to the Mohawk Institute

Residential School building. The Save the Evidence campaign was launched to raise funds for the renovations and repairs necessary to ensure the dark history of residential schools in Canada is never forgotten. When Craig and Marc were in middle school, international travel experiences changed their lives. At 13, Marc travelled to the slums of Jamaica to volunteer with leprosy patients. Then he participated in a volunteer trip after his first year of university to teach English to street children in Bangkok and Thailand, and volunteered at an AIDS hospice. His younger brother Craig travelled to South Asia at 12 to meet children labouring in factories and kilns and those living on the streets. These experiences were the spark of Me to We. The brothers

created the organization to encourage other youth to participate in life-changing volunteer trips. Me to We provides people living in developing countries with access to education, healthcare, water, food, and other resources. They have provided millions of students with life-changing opportunities to take part in volunteer trips in eight different countries: Kenya, China, Nicaragua, Ghana, Arizona-Mexico, Ecuador, India and Tanzania. “What we’ve learned over the years is a five-pillar development model. That’s now operational and has touched countries all around the world,” said Craig. “We work in communities on average five years until that community is economically self-sustained, and we phase out with the community able to maintain,

sustain, and continue to move forward in empowerment.” In the community of Udawad, India, two wells were rehabilitated in 2014, providing clean drinking water to over 800 families. The maternity wing at Baraka Health Clinic in Kenya has provided more than 3,000 mothers with pre- and post-natal care, and has helped deliver 213 healthy babies in the last two years. This year, Oleleshwa Farm in Kenya expanded to include 200 acres of land and 12 greenhouses, increasing its capacity to support student lunch programs. To date, the farm has provided more than two million meals. In addition to these volunteer trips, Me to We has employed 1,500 women full-time in Kenya to make beaded products. These women make enough money to

Mike Rykov/The Sputnik

send their children to school. A popular item among these handmade accessories are Rafiki bracelets. Rafiki means friend in Swahili. Last year, Me to We sold one million of these bracelets in 12,000 retail stores. Throughout the presentation, Craig and Marc shared inspiring stories of courageous individuals who stood up against social injustices. Some of these people were well-known idols such as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, and some were not at all famous. They were just people, some even children, that saw an injustice and refused to stay silent, proving that anyone can make a difference. The Kielburger brothers believe that young people are the leaders of tomorrow.

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FEATURES

DELLESIA NOAH | FEATURES@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Canada isn’t exempt from racism Josh Adesina Opinion Editor The fallacy of racism not existing in Canada is alive and well. Sharyne Williams, a Human Rights student at Laurier Brantford, can provide enough proof to show it. Williams detailed her racist encounter in Brantford on Thursday night. “I was studying at my friend’s house. They live on Market Street. I was walking straight down Market and at the corner of Victoria Park [Wellington and Market Street] I was crossing, and there was a green car coming up the street that slowed down to turn. [A group of white males] just started screaming the N-word at me, like really scream it at me,” said Williams. “At first, I was taken aback and then just thought about getting back home because I didn’t live too far from there.” “I kept walking and then they slowed down at the next corner, and I thought they were going to turn around. That’s when I was like ‘something might happen’ but they just kept going straight, thank God. I was by myself at 1:30am, and the streets were completely empty. It was just me and the group of guys in the car.” “I was pretty upset and angry at first. I wasn’t shocked that it happened. I was just kind of taken aback and angry that this still happens. It got me thinking about greater things that happen to Black people in general,

here and in the States and everywhere else. It was just a very angry moment. I was messaging my friends and they calmed me down and stuff. As a Black person it was just very hard,” said Williams. Sharyne’s racist encounter isn’t abnormal. A lot of Canadians have experienced similar scenarios. During episode two of the Globe and Mail’s podcast series Colour Code Calgary Mayor, Naheed Nenshi spoke about his experience as a coloured person in a highprofile position, along with how coloured people in Canada deal with racism. Naheed is the first North American Muslim mayor, and has a lot to say about racial discrimination. “There are two ways of thinking about it. One is that it’s enormous trauma. The other is that is toughens you up. I think the answer is really neither of those things. That is just reality. It’s not something you can deny. There are racists in the world and at some point, you learn to navigate in that world,” said Nenshi. Williams spoke about the idea of Canada being a racism-free country, and how many believe that racism only takes places in the U.S. “I think that is completely ridiculous. Racism exists everywhere in many different forms. I understand where people are seeing it from, but it’s just not true at all. There are so many in-

Anti-black racism exists in Canada just as is does in America. Christina Manocchio/The Sputnik

cidents that happen in Canada. Just because it’s not plastered on the news doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” “We’re just so overcome by America’s news. We basically get all of their news. They feed it to us, and it’s just a complete mask of what actually happens here in Canada. People are completely blinded by it because they’re paying so much attention to what is happening in the States,” explained Williams. “It depends on the person and what they need to work on. Racism comes in many forms. A lot of people don’t even realize when they are being racist. Even the simple question of ‘where are you from?’ is kind of racist

in a sense. You’re basically just telling me I’m not from here because I look different. You don’t ask me what my ethnicity is or what my background is.” “It’s essentially alienating the person and being like ‘you’re not from here so where are you from?’ Racism isn’t always blunt in your face,” said Williams. “It’s not always just someone screaming the N-word at you or saying slurs towards your culture. It could just be microaggressions. I think people really need to understand that.” Racism is a touchy subject that can be challenged in many ways. Williams gives her opinion on how she feels it can be tackled. “The best way to fight racism

is through education. I validate the anger but I don’t validate violence when dealing with racism. It kind of just validates people’s ideas of the black community being violent and uneducated. I feel like educating your community, friends, family and acquaintances is the best way to deal with racism. Also, sticking together and finding people that support you and that help you with situations such as mine,” said Williams. Williams’ story is one we can all learn from, and one that will hopefully wake people up to the issue of racial discrimination in Canada.

Smartphones add new dimensions to dating Kurtis Rideout Web Editor If you’re settling down for the night by yourself, chances are pretty high that you are going to be on your phone. We all get lonely, right? It’s something we try to hide for fear of being needy or bothersome, but thank the lord we have smartphones! At least, that is if you are one of the 73 per cent of Canadians that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) reported to have owned one in 2016. This magical device delivers dopamine instantly, allowing us to connect to other lonely people online via Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram or plain old text message. It’s a game changer really, because the people we are dying to talk to are literally at our fingertips. it’s rather precarious, but still a game changer nonetheless. I can imagine a lot of us placed in the following scenario: you are chilling out at home messaging your crush to no avail or response, and you eventually end up on your social media of choice, checking out your news feed to kill some boredom. This is probably already start-

ing to sound familiar – unless of course you don’t belong to the group of 14 million plus Canadians that log onto social media daily - as reported by the Globe and Mail. When you scroll through your feed though, you are faced with this inevitability that while your friend wasn’t responding to you, they liked three Shrek memes, commented “hahaha awe” on a picture of a monkey riding a dog, and updated their Snapchat story two times during a trip to McDonalds. Some people might be ashamed to admit it, but it’s something that we all have to be aware of, at least to some degree. You are definitely not insane for jumping to conclusions. Being ignored brings out the negative side in a lot of people, and while it may be easy to tell off your match on Tinder when they never hit you with a response, it becomes complicated when that person is in your social circle; even more so when that person is your boo. Tyler, a student at Laurier Brantford, expressed the type of sentiment that is likely shared by a silent majority. Due to the personal nature of the subject matter the choice was made not to include his surname, but just

as well, he speaks to the feelings that a lot of us share. “I know exactly what you mean,” he related to my own personal experience. “I felt like I was crazy because [my girlfriend] wouldn’t answer me […] and then I’d see she was liking pictures on Instagram or something.” We both can’t help but laugh at how insignificant it sounds, but for a lot of us this statement is too real. It is one conclusion that that we are ashamed to make for fear of sounding crazy, paranoid or most dreadfully… clingy, but we are all thinking it. Let’s be honest, we need to start talking about it. Instead of that, we’ve been forced to play this game of passive-aggressive phone tag where we set rules on things like how long we should wait to talk to someone or when it’s appropriate to send a ‘double text’. Social media and modern communications together have added new dimensions to dating that we are all apparently just too scared to talk about with each other. It’s not all about playing phone tag and ghosting one another either. There is a whole other facet of the story relating to how relationships are presented online.

“My most recent ex really didn’t take many pictures with me or of me [...] if you went through her Instagram you’d hardly know I was there at all, but she was definitely present on mine,” he admitted. “I loved her and I wanted to show it off,” he continued, “It certainly created a strain on our relationship because I wondered who she was hiding me from,” but that is a topic worthy of its own discussion, research and analysis. In summary, there is no need to be shy or stay silent in these

types of situations. If you have a question for somebody, or you want to talk to them, just talk to them. You shouldn’t be with someone if you don’t feel comfortable hitting them up whenever. At the end of the day, just remember that we are all subject to the same anxious feelings that social media can invoke, so don’t be afraid to open up. You might be surprised how many people are feeling the exact same way as you. In that sense, you really are never alone.

Don’t be afraid to send that double or triple text. Mike Ryvok/The Sputnik

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FEATURES Knock knock.

DELLESIA NOAH| FEATURES@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Who’s there? The dead Dellesia Noah Features Editor Looking through the window of this home you can see a table set up for two. Over the table is a piece of embroidery, golden and glittery with a floral design. On the side of this is a little chest covered in jewelry and trinkets, and on either side of it are candles. One flame is constantly flickering and the other stands eerily rigid: a stark contrast. ‘Yeah, I’m definitely at the house of a medium’ I think to myself as I ring the doorbell one more time. Mori Maffrett – the medium herself – comes to answer the door. She wasn’t what I was expecting. I was expecting the clichés: an older woman with her hair wrapped in a turban, long red fingernails and dangly earrings and possibly a scarf with tassels wrapped around her body. That is not what I got. Instead of the turban Maffrett’s blonde curly hair was out. No long red fingernails, they’re blue. No dangly earrings, no scarf with tassels. No theatrics. She looked like she could have just been someone’s stylish aunt. She was dressed simply in black and wore a necklace with a pendant that looked like an upsidedown hand. In the middle of the hand was a blue stone that resembled an eye. “Come in, come in. The room is to your left.” She’s chatty, and warm. She talks about her new pet lizard and the historic home we’re in. She ushers the photographer and I to the same table we spied through the window. “I discovered it when I was about 13 years old. I started doing readings and I would buy cards ... I never knew why I had this thing. My mother’s side of the family were all really strict Baptists and they never believed in this. I wound up finding that it was my grandfather who had the gift,” Maffrett explained. Maffrett’s family is from Cuba, and she found out that her grandfather did tarot readings while living there, but after the death of a child in the family they moved away from tarot card reading. “They all converted to Baptist because of the stigma of tarot card reading,” Maffrett explained. But it was an ability that the family couldn’t escape. Not only did she and her grandfather have the ability, but her greatgrandfather and aunt have it as well. Maffrett explained how being a medium affects her everyday life. “Well I’m a nurse by trade and I do readings on the side. People will come to me. I have families that I read. Everything from children to adults. A reading will

also provide me gratification and gives me a chance to learn about people, which I find very interesting” Maffrett said. “It’s like a spirit that I feel. Like with you right now, what I’m feeling very strongly is your grandmother.” Let me just pause to tell you, dear reader, that I came with an open mind, albeit hesitant, and with the intention to ask about my grandmother -- whom I’ve never met but always felt a connection to -- but at this point I had not said a word about her. So, when Maffrett brought her up I was floored. “Your grandmother is here with you, I just want you to know that. She’s here with you, she protects you and she’s very proud of you. She believes you’re breaking the mold in the family and that you’re being better than anyone else in the family,” Maffrett continues and at this point I think I’m about to burst into tears and I say so. “Don’t worry I got tissues for that,” Maffrett said. “That’s what I’m getting right now. Spirits come to me to bring good news and right now I feel your grandmother and she’s all around you.” Hearing Maffrett say that felt like a confirmation of every feeling I had as a child that my grandmother was watching over me. “You and your grandmother had a physical connection that you shared, that’s why she’s sticking to you more than anything else.” Maffrett said. “Either you looked like her or you shared a physical trait.” Maffrett continues to tell me more about my grandmother. “She liked fake flowers, your grandmother, I’m getting that sense.” I don’t know my grandmother at all. I didn’t know if this was true or not. I know my mother likes fake flowers, but I don’t know if this was a trait she shared with her own mother. “Do you have a picture of your grandmother?” I explain that it’s a very old and damaged picture. “She would like you to acknowledge that she’s with you. Put a little – I’m getting the colour yellow – put a little yellow flower next to it. And she doesn’t want a natural flower. She wants you to go to the dollar store and get a fake or silk flower and put it in a vase and just say ‘hey grandma, I know you’re with me’ “She also believes in your family that the women are the strong ones. She says that she’s proud of you because you’re carrying the women forward.” I asked Maffrett if my grandmother is reunited with the children she lost and she told me, “I do believe people reunite in the spirit world, but is she with

Maffret takes out her deck of tarot card in session. Courtesy of Konnor Huard

them all the time, no. I believe she’s with you. Her main goal is to protect you and once she feels you’re established. She’ll move onto somebody else in your family.” Maffrett has out her tarot cards and begins to make psychic predictions on my life. The card she pulls is of a woman with a halo of coins around her head. “I see you being successful in life. You’ll be very self-sufficient and won’t have to rely on anyone to take care of you.” Maffrett said. She also predicted that I’d find love before the year end. “I see you getting into a relationship. It’ll start off as a friendship that you don’t view like that.” She explained to me that

not every card she pulls means the same thing for every person. What she may pull for me may mean a different thing if she pulled it for someone else. We have 10 months before 2017 ends, so let’s see if these predictions come true. Maffrett and I got into a conversation about religion and culture. I told her that being raised as a Pentecostal Christian, I’ve had people approach me with incredulity and disbelief to my own faith. I’m also from a West African background, and mysticism, voodoo, and witchcraft are all in the culture. So, who am I to really discredit this whole other way of life? “I was raised a Catholic. I

don’t practice but what I do is that I like to take a little from every religion, I respect it, even with voodoo and everything else, I do respect it,” Maffrett said. “I like the Buddha and I like the Virgin Mary, explain that.” Before I left, Maffrett gave me a plate adorned with dragonflies and Buddhas and a candle. She told me that I should light the candle and acknowledge my grandmother’s presence. She stressed that my grandmother was with me and all around me. I’m not going to lie to you, the whole experience left me shaken up, but I felt it was worth it to hear from my grandmother.

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WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2017

ARTS & CULTURE MATTHEW BURLEY | ARTS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

The Roundhouse Winter Craft Beer Fest 2017 Upcoming Netflix releases

Beer lovers in retro ski attire at The Roundhouse Park Winter Craft Beer Festival. Alex Vialette/The Sputnik

Alex Vialette Staff Writer With 43 brewers, an 80s ski theme, and free roasted marshmallows, hordes of beer lovers took the Roundhouse Park by storm on Saturday, Feb. 11. The winter cold failed to keep droves of craft brew enthusiasts from attending the annual Winter Craft Beer Festival that Steam Whistle Brewing hosts in their backyard. Lines at the gates wrapped around the block, and were filled with people who had bought tickets well in advance alongside those who managed to snag one the 100 tickets being sold at the door. With brewers coming in from all around Ontario and seven hailing from Alberta to keep their thirsts quenched, the park was jam packed with guests.

“I like that it’s outside, one, and it’s in the wintertime which is really awesome,” said Robert Walsh, the brewmaster from Brewsters in Alberta. “People are just enjoying the beer, they want to try a whole bunch of different things.” For those who are not quite as into beer as most of those attending the festival were, The Roundhouse had them covered. Three local Ontario ciders brewers, Pommies, Thornbury Village and Ironwood, made the trek out to Toronto along with enough food trucks to leave guests debating what they wanted for lunch. For those who had already had a couple of beers, the debate lasted a bit longer. While the most notable people to have made the journey out to the festival were Alberta brewers like Walsh, some guests were

more than happy to make quite the drive out as well. “My girlfriend’s sister’s boyfriend lives up here so they came up last year,” said Tim Giagios, clad in retro ski attire. “We were talking about it, and it was an ‘80s themed ski party, so we decided to come on up and have a good time out of the weekend.” Giagios came to Toronto from Rochester, New York, which is roughly a three hour drive. With a few drinks in his system and asked if he was enjoying the event, he stated, “It’s a fuckin’ blast.” If this article has left anyone wishing they had attended the festival, it will likely be held again this time next year. If that is too long of a wait, however, the event is held in the summer as well from Aug. 11 to 12.

Adrienne Hoe Staff Writer Netflix is an online streaming service carries a large variety of TV shows, documentaries, and other forms of visual media. This year will be exciting for people who use this service due to the numerous shows being released, thus, here is a list of shows coming out this year. DreamWorks Dragons: Friday, Feb. 17 – DreamWorks Dragons is a spinoff of the movie How To Train Your Dragon (2010), with the TV series that came out in 2012. The show is about Hiccup, a dragon trainer, and his dragon Toothless. Hiccup and his team of dragon trainers have a special bond with each other, as well as with their own dragons. In this upcoming fourth season, Hiccup and his team face new challenges. Voice actors include Jay Baruchel from This Is The End and America Ferrera from Ugly Betty. Iron Fist: Friday, Mar. 17 – Marvel’s superhero, Daniel Rand, also known as the Iron Fist, is a New Yorker that saved the ruler of a mystical city, K’un-L’un. He is a master of the martial arts who has healing as well as telepathic powers. The first Marvel comic of the Iron Fist first came out in 2006 and is making its Netflix debut when it airs on March 17. Bill Nye Saves the World: Friday, Apr. 17 – Bill Nye was a childhood favourite in classrooms. He is a well-known scientist as well as chemical engineer, most prominently known for his 90’s

TV show Bill Nye the Science Guy. His upcoming show will star guests that will tackle myths and pseudoscience from a scientific angle. Orange Is The New Black: Friday, June 9 – Orange Is The New Black is far from a new show, but a fifth season will be released on Netflix this coming June. OITNB is about Piper Chapman, a public relations executive who was arrested for her association with a drug dealer years before her arrest. The show depicts the colourful array of friends and enemies she makes in Litchfield Penitentiary. Stranger Things: Tuesday, Oct. 31 – Stranger Things was perhaps one of the most talked about shows of 2016, starring Winona Ryder (Joyce) as well as Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven). The science fiction show is set in the mid 1980s and deals with realms unknown to men. With this new season premiering on Halloween, Will is surely trying to recover from the dimension of Upside Down, while others mourn over their supposed lost ones. Of course, like the very first season, otherworldly creatures are featured.

Please play again Stephan Reilly Staff Writer February started as it usually does, with a gust of cold Canadian wind and Tim Hortons’ incredibly popular Roll Up the Rim promotion. Wilfrid Laurier students started buying hot drinks and sharing their wins and losses on social media. There was even a snazzy new Snapchat filter this year for customers to fill in wins and losses columns. It’s an incredibly busy time for Tim Hortons everywhere. “Ever since Roll Up the Rim started, business has been pretty hectic,” said Doug Webber, a Brantford Tim Hortons employee and third year criminology student at Laurier Brantford. “Some days it’s lined out the door for hours on end, never having a moment to yourself for an eight-hour shift.” But for all the extra business it seems people aren’t winning that much. “This season I have zero wins and seven losses,” said Sean Harrison, a second year game design student at Laurier Brantford. “Total I am on a 46-cup losing streak.” “This year I’m two for nine

which is just downright grotesque,” said Chris Tenuta, a second year game design student. It seems that many Laurier students are having a lot of bad luck with those cups this year, and they’re not alone. “Friends of mine always complain to me that they never win, or customers ask for a ‘lucky’ cup,” said Webber. “Sometimes people try to hand in winning cups that have already been handed in, cups that have either been hole punched or ripped in half.” There are lots of ways in which people try to cheat the system when it comes to Roll Up the Rim. “One of my buddies tears them in half and use the English and then the French side,” said Tenuta. Aside from gaming the system, some people think that buying different sizes gives them a better chance of winning, although this might not be entirely true. “I had a friend that worked at Timmies and she explained it all to me. They post exactly how many roll up cups they print in each size and if I remember correctly there are more large cups printed but they also sell more large cups so I feel like it works

These smiles are short lived when lines trail out the door for Roll Up the Rim at Tim Hortons. Mike Rykov/The Sputnik

out to be pretty even,” said Harrison. “However at the end of the season you have to start ordering extra smalls or extra large because they only have [winners in] those sizes left.” There is a rumor that different sizes affect the chances of winning. “Absolutely not. I’ve only ordered large and mostly extralarge and I’ve still gotten shafted,” said Tenuta. “All sizes have an equal chance of being a winner,” said Webber. “People, however, tend to up-

size their winning cups to extralarge. You can use your rollups for any hot drink... Hot Chocolates, French vanillas, lattes. Use your roll ups for the more expensive drinks if you are buying more than one drink.” For many Laurier students, the month long campaign isn’t about winning. It’s about the group trips to Timmies in between classes so everyone can get a cup and see if they win. “Roll up season to me is like a weird, silly holiday. Like when roll up comes back everyone just

gets a little more excited about a morning coffee and it just makes people happier,” said Harrison. “I feel like it’s nice to just have a small, silly thing that makes everyone who’s around just a little happier. I feel like people really get behind it and it’s fun to talk about.” Though it might not be one in every six Laurier students winning this year, the promotion is still as popular as ever with cold Golden Hawks in need of a warm drink.

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ARTS & CULTURE MATTHEW BURLEY| ARTS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Clerks: Starving Artist Gallery Cafe “Brantford’s downtown is home to a wide variety of shops and small businesses. These businesses define Brantford, but what defines the businesses? This is the inspiration behind “Clerks”; getting to know those who know us so well. From our shoe size to our favourite item on the menu, these business owners make us feel more like family than customers. With that being said, let us shine the spotlight on Christina Hajiioannou, owner of the Starving Artist Gallery Cafe.”

Starving Artist Gallery Cafe owner, Christina Hajiioannou, poses beneath her favourite piece of the show. Mike Rykov/The Sputnik

Matt Burley A&C Editor For those who don’t know, what is the Starving Artist? It is a full restaurant, art gallery and entertainment venue that educates the public as well as provides local food and supports local entertainers. Ever since I opened this place people will come in and will not be too sure about how the whole art thing works and they’ll question the prices. I have to sit them down and say, ‘Okay, when you work 20 hours, how much money do you make?’ ‘Oh, I make about $300,’ ‘Okay, so this painting is $80, and I can guarantee that this painting took them more than 20 hours to do.’ That’s the education; then they get it. That light bulb switches on and they understand it. The next thing you know, they’re coming in here, they’re buying artwork and they’re appreciating it. That’s the problem, a lot of people are just not educated on why original paintings cost that much. You celebrated your one-year anniversary over the summer, how did that feel to reach that milestone? Very good because everyone

told me, if you can pass one year, you’ll be fine.” It was a relief actually. It was very overwhelming but it was a very good day because I realized how many people actually appreciate this place. People were coming in all day long congratulating me. Just coming and making their presence known. It made me feel proud. Mayor Mark Friel made it out to the event. Has he been back since? He came back once after that; it was just before Christmas to buy a painting. He had seen something from the same artist when he came into give me the [one year certificate]. He was like, do you remember this piece? and I told him, ‘this piece is probably gone because we change the show every month, but that same artist is still here.’ The Starving Artist serves some pretty unique coffee, where exactly is it from? It’s from Ethiopia, it’s organic and fair trade. The man who roasts the beans, he gets it from Ethiopia and roasts it at home. He built his own roasting machine and it’s completely clean and organic. The guy who does

it is a juicer and a cancer survivor so everything he does it completely organic; wheatgrass, the whole shebang. I know he product is excellent quality. What made you want to go for those beans instead of arabica or another type of bean? I’m a coffee drinker myself, and I find a lot of the generic coffees you buy for restaurants or offices are very bitter. They don’t taste very good. They claim it’s ‘this, this and this’ and it really isn’t or doesn’t taste like it. This coffee actually tastes really, really good. And the public loves it. So I’m very happy and don’t any other coffee, because it’s the best coffee. How many pieces have been sold so far? Right now we are at 383 sold in one year and four months. What’s your favourite piece in the shop right now? The guy with the little heart; I love him. I like it because he’s got his own style, it’s very original. He should be hanging in Glenhyrst or something bigger. That’s what artists strive to do; to get that style that nobody else has. He’s come up with his own

style that I’ve never seen before, he’s got his little characters and you can tell it’s his work. Who’s the artist who painted it? David Wierzbicki. Aside from selling art, you’re an artist as well. What’s your favourite medium to create with? I use a lot of acrylics with mixed media. And I use acrylic markers because I’m very detailed and with a brush you get those little brush strokes sometimes and I don’t like it. It almost looks like little hairs on the side of the line. I want my lines to be totally clean and straight. I don’t want anything coming off of my line. I have to have paint on my entire canvas, I can’t have canvas peaking through. It’s a painting, right? So it’s got to be a complete painting. Where do you draw inspiration from? Things that I see. Sometimes I just go on the internet; I’m an insomniac, so sometimes at night I’ll just Google something that I think of: whimsical, pretty ladies, or something like that. I’ll put that in and get some fantasy

art of beautiful women in these serene backgrounds. I just pick parts from these paintings that I see and make my own little thing. I’m visual, so I get my inspiration from physically seeing something. I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve been doing the Walken challenge on Facebook. What’s all that about? I love Christopher Walken and I stumbled upon a meme, so I Googled more Christopher Walken memes. All these really funny ones came up and I just loved them. I’ve got a really sarcastic sense of humor. So I started posting them and people loved them. I started getting private messages because people didn’t want to write comments on the posts. But they’re messaging me saying, ‘keep it going, I love this stuff, you’re making me laugh everyday, it’s something for me to look forward to.’ So I decided to post one everyday. I was really busy yesterday and didn’t get a chance to post one but I will tonight. I think I’ll be at number 24 or 25. I’m going to run out very soon, I think I’ve got two or three more up my sleeve and then that’s it.

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SPORTS

DEVON MOMY-GAMACHE | SPORTS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Laurier men’s hockey team prepares for playoffs Scott Maxwell Staff Writer After a strong regular season, the Golden Hawks look to continue their success, as they begin their playoff journey on home ice. The team finished the regular season with a 15-9-4 record, good for third place in the Western conference, behind only the Ryerson Rams and York Lions. With the finish, they will face the Windsor Lancers in a best of three series, with games one and three being played at Laurier University. The team came into the season after a 14-14-0 record, which put them in seventh place. While it wasn’t an awful season by any means, their season didn’t end well, as they were swept by one of their rivals, the Western Mustangs, in the first round, so the team looked to improve on their previous season. It wasn’t an ideal start to the season either, as they started out their season going 3-4-1 in their first eight games. While they were performing well at home, with all three wins coming at home, it took the team until their ninth game of the season to finally win on the road, when they beat the rival Waterloo Warriors 5-1. Following the win, they suffered an 8-4 blowout loss to the Brock Badgers for their first

home loss of the season. However, the team learned from the loss, and went on a run that saw them go 6-2-3, and cement themselves as a competitive team. Amongst that stretch was a 2-1 win in Windsor, their upcoming playoff opponent. After that hot stretch, the team dropped back to back games to Concordia and Guelph, but followed it up by winning their final five games of the season, including wins against Ryerson, who finished first in the conference, and Windsor 3-2 in their season finale. Part of their success came from the dynamic duo of Andrew Fritsch and Derek Schoenmakers, who put up in 27 and 26 points in the team’s 28 games, although Schoenmakers only played 27. Schoenmakers led the team in goals with 13, while Fritsch had the lead in assists with 16. On the blueline, Mat Clutsam and Matt Franczyk led the way with 12 points each. Relative to the rest of the league, Fritsch and Schoenmakers finished in the top 25, with Fritsch’s 27 points placing him in a tie for 22nd. While Schoenmakers’ 26 points had him in a tie for 24th. In the other scoring categories, Schoenmakers’ 13 goals would put him in a tie for 11th in the league, and Fritsch’s 16 assists tied him for 25th. As for Clutsam and Franczyk, their 12 points put them in a tie for

A 3-2 win over Windsor in their final game of the season gave Laurier home ice advatage in the playoff series between the two teams. Alex Trkulja courtesy of The Cord

26th in defensemen scoring. The team ran with three goalies during the season, with Colin Furlong, Vinny Merante, and Chris Festarini all getting a chance. They relied heavily on Colin Furlong, who played in 22 of the team’s 28 games, starting 20 of them. He had an excellent season, with a 12-9-0 record (tied for fourth in the league in wins), a 2.48 goals against average (10th in the league), and a .928 save percentage (fourth in the league). He also showed that he was a big part of the team,

as he lead the league with 693 saves this season. Team-wise, the Golden Hawks finished 11th in the league allowing three goals per game, while they were also very defensively sound, as their 2.83 goals against average was the ninth best. They also had a very good special teams unit, as their power play was the third best at 22 per cent, while their penalty kill was the tenth best with an 84.7 per cent success rate. They could also produce on the penalty kill, as their three shorthanded goals

tied them for sixth in the league. Laurier was also a very disciplined team, as their 371 penalty minutes was the fourth fewest in the league. The Golden Hawks playoff run begins on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 7:30 pm at Laurier, while they travel to Windsor for game two on Friday, Feb. 17, and return to Laurier (if necessary) on Saturday, Feb. 18, for game three at 2:00 pm. Both games at Laurier will be played at the Waterloo Recreation Complex.

Laurier at risk of missing playoffs Devon Momy-Gamache

Sports Editor A three-game losing streak has Laurier hanging onto a playoff spot in men’s basketball. In their first season under head coach Justin Serresse, hired to replace Peter Campbell who retired after 16 seasons as the head coach, the Golden

Hawks are part of a four-team battle for the final three playoff spots. The losing streak has dropped Laurier in to a group of four teams that includes Lakehead, Queen’s and Waterloo, which will result in one missing the playoffs. The team has been lead by offensive freshman sensation

Tevaun Kokko who has started every game. In a team high 31 minutes a game Kokko has had no problem scoring as he leads the team with 19.2 points per game, including at least 12 every game. Kokko has been Laurier’s best deep threat connecting on 39.3 per cent from deep, the fifth best in the OUA for players attempting at least five a game.

Freshman Tevaun Kokko has lead the Golden hawks this year averaging 19.2 points per game, the fifth best mark in the OUA. Alex Trkulja courtesy of The Cord

The only other Golden Hawk to start every game has been fifth year senior Matt Chesson. Chesson is second on the team in scoring (11.1 per game) and rebounding (6.4). Chesson is also one of seven players with over a block per game (1.1) as he excels as an all-around player for Laurier. Another senior leader for Laurier has been Vlad Matovic. Matovic has only started four games this year but leads the team in rebounds with 7.2 per game, which is tenth best in the OUA. Junior Chuder Teny has done his part as a playmaker on the team with 2.7 assist per game, trailing only Kokku who has 2.9 per game. Freshman Shamar Burrows started 13 of the team’s first 14 games but has been replaced in the line-up as he has struggles since returning from winter break scoring no more than eight points in a game. In a misleading stat Laurier is second in the OUA in offensive rebounds per game with 13.1. The reason for all the rebounds is the amount of shots Laurier misses with shooting percentage that ranks 15th in the OUA leading to many chances to collect rebounds. Overall Laurier is still getting outrebounded by their opponents by an average

of 2.1 per game. Laurier struggles to score, 13th in points per game, as well as on defence, 13th in points allowed per game. The one area the Golden Hawks excel in is shutting down the opponents three-point shooting. Laurier limits their opponents to a 30.3 shooting percentage from deep, the fourth lowest mark in the OUA. Laurier will need a win against Lakehead on Saturday Feb. 18 to guarantee their qualification for the playoffs. Laurier would be hoping for a rematch against either Laurentian or Toronto in the first round after defeating both teams earlier this season. Another potential opponent could be Nipissing which beat Laurier 66-65 earlier this year. If Laurier managed to make the quarterfinals a nationally ranked top five opponent would be waiting (using the Feb. 7 U Sports rankings). Carleton (160, #1), Ottawa (14-2, #3), Brock (13-4, #4) and Ryerson (16-1, #5) will be hosting most likely. Laurier has long odds to reach their first U Sports final eight since 2006, when it was still 10 teams but next year should be improved in Serresse’s second season in charge.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2017

THE SPUTNIK

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SPORTS

DEVON MOMY-GAMACHE | SPORTS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Ujiri should stay quiet as trade deadline approaches Adam Stocker Staff Writer Editor’s note: Story written before Raptors traded Terrence Ross and a 2017 First Round Pick for Serge Ibaka on Feb. 14. The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 23. It’s the time of year when NBA teams make the self-determination if they are contenders or pretenders. Do not let the Toronto Raptors run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season fool you. The Raptors are pretenders. It does not matter what trade the Raptors make, they will not beat a healthy Cleveland team. Even if they get lucky and run into an injured Cavaliers team, they will get blown out by the Golden State Warriors or whatever team emerges out of the west. The Raptors have a glaring hole at power forward. Jared Sullinger is finally healthy after missing the first three months of the season. Patrick Patterson has battled a knee injury but finally appears healthy. The defensive advance metrics all love Patterson. But Patterson’s shooting percentage has dropped every year since the Raptors first ac-

quired him in the Rudy Gay trade in 2013. Packaging the expiring contracts of Sullinger and Patterson with a Delon Wright, Norman Powell, Jakob Poeltl or Pascal Siakam may solve one problem but will create another. Even if the Raptors decide to trade some package of players, it will not make them better than Cleveland. It does not matter who is on the market. Trading for them will not put the Raptors over the top. Not Paul Millsap, not Carmelo Anthony and not any other player rumoured to be available. It does not make sense to trade for a player who can be a free agent at season’s end. In order to make a deal, the Raptors would have to subtract from one of their biggest strengths, the bench. It just does not make sense to make a deadline deal. Instead, team President Masai Ujiri needs to stand the course. In the summer, Ujiri stuck to his plan, despite the salary cap skyrocketing and other teams signing free agents to ridiculous contracts. The Raptors are better for it. The financial flexibility

Masai Uriji is approaching the deadline with rumours of potential trades to upgrade the roster. Sai Gnanaharan/The Sputnik

will allow them to improve their roster and extend their window. In the new NBA CBA and economic model, rookies still on their first contract from the last CBA are a good asset to have. With some of the con-

tracts signed last year, teams will be desperate to dump talented players whose contracts no longer fit in their plan. That is when Ujiri needs to strike. By trading the cap holds of Sullinger and Patterson with

one of the team’s former first round picks, they will be able to pick up a player at a discounted rate. A deadline deal will be paying a premium that just does not make sense. Especially when it will not bring a title to Toronto.

Laurier preparing to enter playoffs on hot streak Devon Momy-Gamache Sports Editor Laurier’s women’s basketball team has won five of their last seven heading into their final regular season game of the year. The team has been lead by fifth year senior Kaitlyn Schenck. Schenck was the only Golden Hawk to start all 19 games so far, and leads the teams in minutes per game playing over 30, and leads the team with 15.8 points per game. Schenk is fifth in OUA scoring but is not the only star Laurier has on offence. Senior Nicole Morrison is seventh in the OUA scoring averaging 14.9 points per game. Morrison is more of a distributor in her point guard role leading the team in assist with 3.7 a game, which is also seventh in the OUA. When Schenck or Morrison are limited offensively the team struggles with a 1-6 record when either scores under 10. With six players playing in their first season, and a seventh in her second, Laurier has played with a very inexperienced roster. Some of the young players have stepped up, most notably Freshman Rachel Woodburn. Woodburn has started 18 of 19 games, and is third on the team in playing time, averaging 23.7 minutes a game. Although Woodburn has struggled to score she has helped the team on the glass averaging 4.7 rebounds per game, good for second best on the team. Another young player that can turn into a star for Laurier is sophomore Irena Rynkiewicz. Rynkiewicz has seen her minutes per game increase to 22.3 after averaging 12.9 last season.

Rynkiewicz has proven to be a sharpshooter from deep, leading the OUA in three point shooting by connecting on 41.8 per cent of her attempts, and is also the only player above 40 per cent. Rynkiewicz is also a force down low leading the team with 6.9 rebounds per game, tied for tenth in the conference. Freshman Tayania SiwekSmith has seen her role increased late in the season playing no fewer than 16 minutes in Laurier’s last seven games, including the first six starts of her career. The new line-up could prove to be successful when the playoffs begin. Overall as a team Laurier has put together an offence that is fourth in the OUA in points per game with 69.1. The main reason can be traced to efficiency with the team only turning over the ball 14.7 times per game the second-best mark in the conference. The team has been accurate as a team from deep connecting on 30 per cent of their threes, fourth best in the OUA. The main weakness for Laurier has been getting outrebounded. Laurier on average allows their opponents to collect 8.4 more rebounds per game which is the third worst mark in the OUA. The strength of the Laurier defence is in creating turnovers as they force 19.6 per game which is the fourth best mark in the conference. This strategy can be costly against elite teams as they tend to be more responsible with the ball. This is where the shooting defence will be key with Laurier restricting opponents to 35.1 per cent shooting

on all shots, fifth in the OUA, and 26.1 shooting on threes the sixth best mark in the OUA Laurier will finish the season with a road trip to Thunder Bay to play Lakehead on Saturday Feb. 18. Laurier is set to host an opening round matchup in the playoffs on Feb. 22, although the opponent could be one of many teams. The Golden Hawks could face any of: Western, York, Wa-

terloo, Guelph. Laurentian or Toronto. The Golden Hawks are a combined 6-0 against those teams this season so a trip to the quarterfinals is expected. That is where Laurier will face a top five nationally ranked opponent (using the Feb. 7 U Sports rankings) with a trip to either McMaster (14-2, #2), Queen’s (16-1, #3) or Carleton (15-1, #5). Laurier lost to all three teams, although the game

against Queen’s was only a sixpoint loss. Ultimately a trip to the quarterfinals is how the season will most likely end, bringing a close to the career of Schenck. A young roster should be improved for next season as Laurier attempts to reach their first national championship final eight since 2011.

Senior Nicole Morrison has excelled at scoring and distributing the ball as her 14.9 points and 3.7 assist per game rank seventh in the OUA. Alex Trkulja courtesy of The Cord

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WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2017

OPINION

JOSH ADESINA | OPINION@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

How liberal is Canada? Josh Adesina Opinion Editor It really is worth wondering just how liberal Canada is, especially in comparison to other countries around the world. The United States makes Canada look like the real “land of the free.” Canada does have the reputation of being one of the most inclusive countries in the world. Nonetheless, every country has its share of conservative values. There has to be a line is drawn between what is respected, and what is thrown under the carpet. When Stephen Harper was the Prime Minister of Canada, a lot of Canadians anticipated his departure. Not everyone was in favor of his ways. They wanted someone a little less conservative: somebody like Justin Trudeau. Once Trudeau became Canada’s new Prime Minister, a few things changed. The first noticeable thing that he changed was the diversity of the cabinet. Harper’s cabinet had 26 male cabinet members and only twelve female members, according to the Globe and Mail. Trudeau had 15 male and 15 female cabinet members. In addition, his cabinet included members of various backgrounds

including the Justice and Attorney-General, Jody Wilson-Raybould, who was Canada’s first Aboriginal federal justice minister. Do you remember the time in 2008 when Harper apologized about the treatment of Aboriginal children that were forced into residential schools? What a conservative way to respond to an institution that destroyed the lives of thousands of children. The Indigenous community needs more than just an apology, Harper. However, now that Trudeau runs the show, it looks like more will be done about mending the relationship Canada has with our First Nations peoples, according to the Fall Economic Statement of 2016. Raybould will make sure that Trudeau does more for the Indigenous community. I feel as though Harper’s departure has ushered Canada into a new level of liberalism. In the midst of all the chaos that has taken place in the United States, Canada continues to uphold its reputation for being a great country to live in. Trump’s recent executive order to uphold a travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries had the potential to ruin lives very quickly. Including that of a four-

Canada’s leaders at the forefront of the country’s liberal identity. Laura Gorza/ The Sputnik

month old Iranian child that required heart surgery, according to the Guardian. What was Trudeau’s response? “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your

faith. Diversity is our strength,” according to Global News. It is also worth noting that same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada in 2005, according to the Toronto Star. Also, our Premier, Kathleen Wynne is a gay

woman, which shows that sexual orientation is taken seriously in Canada. With all of these details taken into account, it looks like Canada is quite liberal after all.

Is the word minority racist? Josh Adesina Opinion Editor A lot of words can be used to describe one thing, but this particular word seems to be quite touchy at times. Unless you are categorized as a visible minority, the word is probably meaningless to you. However, if you are not, you should consider how others feel when the word is being used. There are several types of minorities. The types commonly referred to are physical and racial minorities. When people use the word “minority” there are several things that can be implied. A person can be using the term to refer to someone in a politically correct way. Others may be trying to hide subtle racism. An endless argument can erupt about whether the word is racist or not, but there is one fact about the word. The word ‘minority’ is used to describe people that are subject to social disadvantages. Coloured people and people that live with physical disabilities are categorized as minorities. There are various perspectives one can have about this. An individual can refer to these groups of people as minorities because they represent smaller groups of people. Another individual can use the word to describe them as people that suffer from social disadvantages. It isn’t a surprise when we hear about people making judge-

ments about physically disadvantaged people. It also isn’t new to hear people make negative judgements about Coloured people. Stereotypes such as not being highly educated or being more prone to mental illnesses come into the conversation. It is wrong to make these judgements, but people will make assumptions when you are not like the majority. I particularly do not like the word, but I understand that people use it to describe groups of people outside of the majority. Nonetheless, I feel as though it can come off as offensive at times. If the word is not being used for political correctness, it can be taken as an insult. There are times in which people use the word to belittle others. This is common on university campuses, and in classroom discussions that take place in lecture halls. On the other hand, I really don’t know what other word could be used to replace ‘minority.’ I am not suggesting that people shouldn’t use the word. I am just stating the word can sometimes encourage negative ideas of people. If you are not categorized as a minority, be careful when using the word because it can be taken the wrong way.

The word ‘minority’ can be offensive in several contexts. Josh Adesina /The Sputnik