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The AIH transcript for March 10, 2025

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NIL KÖKSAL: Hello, I'm Nil Köksal.

TALIA SCHLANGER: Good evening, I'm Talia Schlanger, sitting in for Chris Howden. This is As It Happens.

[theme]

TS: Tonight:

NK: The Long game. Wayne Long was one of the first Liberal MPs to call on Justin Trudeau to resign -- likening the state of the party at the time to the sinking Titanic. But with Mark Carney now at the helm, Wayne Long says he expects much smoother sailing.

TS: Thinking outside the ballot box. Supporters of electoral reform are hopeful that the Liberals' new leader will make good on Justin Trudeau's broken promise to change the way Canadians elect a prime minister...even though the prime minister designate has yet to weigh in on the matter.

NK: Lost but now, found. A Second World War soldier from Kenora, Ontario was listed as missing with no known grave for nearly 80 years. Now, his family knows what happened to him -- and where he was laid to rest.

TS: All it took was a bit of Outtie-reach. When an Ontario woman with stage 4 cancer made a request on social media to meet the cast of her favourite show, she didn't think they'd actually say yes. She takes us behind the scenes of Severance.

NK: Quaver the moment. Yodeling is getting an update with an all-female, Swiss choir that's done with outdated lyrics but refuses to sacrifice their trilling pursuits.

TS: And...A lot to get off her chest. A woman who spends hours busking in front of Dublin's iconic Molly Malone statue says she's fed up with tourists rubbing the statue's breasts for "good luck." So she's working to get her out of reach.

TS: As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that appreciates those who can bust a move AND move a bust.

Part 1: Carney Trudeau Critics, WWII Soldier’s Grave, Molly Malone Busker

Carney Trudeau Critics

Guest: Wayne Long

TS: It's Mark Carney's first day on the job. After last night's victory in the Liberal leadership race, the prime minister-designate was on Parliament Hill today...and spoke to reporters after a Liberal caucus meeting.

SOUNDCLIP

MARK CARNEY: Just had a long meeting with the prime minister. We discussed the most important issues for our country, obviously, including Canada-U.S. relations, issues of national security -- and, yes -- the transition between the prime minister and myself. That transition will be seamless, and it will be quick. Finally, I, as you may have heard, just had a meeting with the caucus. There is tremendous energy in the Liberal caucus. As you saw last evening, this is a united party full of energy to serve Canadians.

TS: That was prime minister designate, Mark Carney. New Brunswick MP Wayne Long was one of the first in the Liberal caucus to call for Justin Trudeau's resignation. We reached him in Ottawa.

NK: Wayne Long, when you were last on our show, and when we spoke back in December, you compared your party to a sinking ship, the Titanic specifically.

WAYNE LONG: Yes, I did.

NK: How would you describe it after being at that caucus meeting?

WL: Oh, it was unbelievable. I mean, you know, from last night at the convention, just the electricity, the energy was just, like, like I've never seen before. And, you know, obviously going into today into caucus with Mark being there. Again, just positivity. And I really like the vibe. You know, you're right, I did compare our party to the Titanic in December. But, you know what? We've plugged the holes and we've bailed out and we're moving forward. I think the turnaround is historic. I think the momentum we have right across the country -- from coast to coast, to coast -- is, is just unprecedented. And we're ready to get at it.

NK: You said a long time ago now that you were not going to be running for reelection, but after Mark Carney's victory, you posted on your social media platforms, quote, well, it looks like I'm back. What changed your mind?

WL: Mark did. Mark Carney changed my mind. Mark called me actually the day before he put his name forward and asked if I would reconsider, and we had a good chat. We had a frank chat. I felt a connection. You know, obviously, it's no secret that I've been disillusioned. I would say probably for almost a year-and-a-half now, two years. I felt the party was moving too far to the left. I think that for many of us who are red Tories or blue Liberals, it's a welcome change back to the centre. And I'm really enthused and excited to get to work. And when the election is called, which obviously, I think is probably the worst secret in Canada that it's going to be sooner than later, but I'm ready to hold my riding and contribute to the Liberal cause.

NK: How much of this, I hear what you're saying about Mark Carney's call, and how that, that spoke to you on a number of levels. But when you, when you think of the decision earlier to, to, to not seek reelection, and you were talking about, you know, the party's direction, not sitting well with you, was it about that? Taking a principled stand against that direction, or was it just about not wanting to lose?

WL: No, it certainly wasn't about not wanting to lose. I've always felt very confident and, you know, very present and, you know, know, know my riding and know how I would do in my riding. It wasn't about that at all. But, you know, I think what happens after nine years with a PMO and a prime minister is they become more insular. And, you know, I think, you know, as time goes by, I think it happens to all of us that you surround yourself with less and less people, and you get less and less open to different opinions. And I think I would speak for a lot of backbenchers in our party. It just felt that our voices weren't her. And that we would go to caucus, but nobody would really listen. And, you know, you come back the next week to caucus and things hadn't changed. And I think there was a lot of us that really felt that we weren't heading in the right direction. I mean, clearly the polls bore that out. I mean, we were anywhere from 15 to 25 points down over the last couple of years, and we needed to make a change. So, as hard as it was, as difficult as it was, some of us did the right thing. And look where we are now. We have hope, and we can win the next election.

NK: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre spoke today about Mark Carney. Let's listen to some of that.

SOUNDCLIP

PIERRE POILIEVRE: The Liberal establishment has installed Justin Trudeau's economic advisor as the next Liberal leader to trick Canadians into giving Liberals a fourth term in power, but he's just like Justin, and he's more of the same. We have the same Liberal MPs, the same Liberal advisers, the same Liberal promises, who will produce the same Liberal results.

NK: Anita Anand is staying on. Chrystia Freeland says she's going to run for reelection. Hey, we're hearing that former Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is going to be Mark Carney's chief of staff. Are you helping make Poilievre's argument there?

WL: Not at all. I mean, you know, listening to that. And I think I could speak for a lot of Canadians. It's surprising he didn't mention all these other conspiracy theories and so on and so forth. And it's very, very clear that Canadians are looking for an alternative. And I believe with the removal of Justin Trudeau, insert Mark Carney, for the first time in a long time, Canadians now are looking at both and saying, well, geez, you know what? I'm kind of reminded that I didn't like Pierre Poilievre that much. There was a lot of oats, a tonne of votes parked with Pierre Poilievre because of the dislike of Justin Trudeau. Well, that's been removed. And look, elections are basically an interview, a job interview. You know, it's a job interview for prime minister and for, for governing party. So, let Canadians decide. We face the greatest threat to our sovereignty, our economy, our country. I would argue, in our nation's history. Canadians are looking for leadership. They're looking for positivity. Comparing NK: Pierre Poilievre to Mark Carney, to me, I mean, slogans aren't solutions. I think Mark's got the experience. When Mark talks about what he can do or what he won't do, I think he has credibility. And Canadians are scared. And I believe Mark Carney is that comfort blanket for Canadians. I think people look at Mark, They trust him. He's got a confidence. And --

NK: Do they know him well enough to have those, those feelings about him?

WL: I think the days of well, you know, we need a lot of time. I mean look, with social media. You know, with the way we communicate today, people, trust me, people can get to know candidates very, very quickly. And I mean, through a 30-day campaign, I think there's going to be a stark contrast of, of leadership styles. And Canadians deserve an election, sooner the better. Canadians deserve to choose between Pierre Poilievre's vision of Canada, which I argue is negative, divisive. He's emulated Donald Trump, in my opinion, for the last two years. Canada is broken. You know, combative with the stat with with media. Versus Mark, calm, cool, focused economic strength. To me, the choice is black and white. And let's see what Canadians think. That's what it's all about.

NK: Wayne Long, thanks for coming back on the program, I appreciate it.

WL: Always a pleasure.

TS: Wayne Long is a Liberal MP from New Brunswick. We reached him in Ottawa. Later in the show, we'll hear from an advocate for electoral reform about what Mark Carney's victory could mean for the prospect of proportional representation in Canada.

[plucked instrumental]

WWII Soldier’s Grave

Guest: Tina Romanuk

TS: That Private Arthur Vanance served his country is indisputable. The Kenora, Ontario, man was a member of the 1st Battalion Unit of the Lake Superior Regiment during the Second World War. But what has been in question, for decades, is what happened to Private Vanance, after he was declared missing in action in the Netherlands in 1945. For close to 80 years, he's been listed as missing with no known grave. Now, thanks to research done by the Canadian Armed Forces’ Casualty Identification Program, his family and descendants have answers. Tina Romanuk is Private Vanance's great-niece. We reached her in Kenora.

NK: Tina, before officials called you from the Canadian Armed Forces, did you, did you have much hope that you'd ever get answers about what happened to your great-uncle?

TINA ROMANUK: Not really, no. None of us did, I don't think. It was quite a surprise.

NK: I bet. And, you know, when we, we've done these stories in the past, often in families, even when there's a, a tragedy, you know, it was so painful for, for other soldiers and for the families, they didn't talk about these things a lot. What did your family talk about? What did you, what did you learn about what they thought happened to him?

TR: Well, I learned, I learned quite a bit from my grandmother, whom her husband -- my grandfather, Albert Vanance -- he also was in the war, and signed up at the same time as Arthur. I learned from them. So, it was like secondhand because I never met him. I never met my great-uncle. But I learned through my family's speeches and talks about him, right.

NK: What did they tell you?

TR: Well, they told me that he signed up with Grandpa and they went away to war. And when he was there, he was all gung ho to get on the motorcycle detail, which they did, both of them. And then, there wasn't anything that they asked him to do that he wouldn't do. And he was a real trickster and a fun-loving kind of guy. So, when this came up, he felt invincible, I'm sure. And thought he should protect everybody. And volunteered to go on this mission, right? So, when he did, the mission went bad because the Germans came, overpowered them, and they had to retreat. And when, he, when they'd last seen him, he was badly injured. And then, he was gone. Nobody knew where he went, where his body was all these years.

NK: And how old was he?

TR: Twenty-six when he was, when he passed away.

NK: That uncertainty, how did, how did your grandfather and your grandmother deal with that?

TR: Well, it was hard on my grandpa, and I believe that made it hard on my grandma. Because he was, he, I'm sure he had post-traumatic stress from it. Like, he actually watched his brother go away and not come back.

NK: In December, you get a phone call from the Casualty Identification Program within the Canadian Air Forces.

TR: Yeah.

NK: As you said, surprise was the word that came to mind. What did they say to you.

TR: Well, it was first, it was the girl that did the biographies on it. Her name's Alexandra, and she was awesome. I had quite a few phone calls with her, actually. And she told me that what she could, she couldn't tell me everything because she said the War Department had to be the ones to deliver all the news, right? So, she asked questions and started the biography for them, right? So, then my aunt got a call, and she has Alzheimer's. So, she didn't remember. [chuckle] So then, my other aunt got a call. There's three of them, right? And she knew, and she remembered him. But my other aunt wasn't even born when he left. So, I said, okay, when they called me, they were all calling me because Grandma had given me her album, some of her albums, and she told me not to forget about Uncle Arthur, right? So anyway, to make the story shorter, I ended up having to talk to all of them, and get them all on, on point with it. Because my aunt from Thunder Bay actually met with the War Department. They went and met her for coffee, and brought her an article they were working on, and told her the news, and where he was, and all the details that we found out, which was totally amazing. [warm chuckle] Like, there's no other words for it.

NK: Yeah, having, having those answers, what does it give you after all these years?

TR: Oh well, it gives you the closure that was needed probably for a lot of people. Like, my, my other uncle was in there too, and he probably wondered as well. He signed up same time.

NK: Yeah.

TR: So, they were all, a group of men came back with, with no answers to their questions, right? So, I mean, they're gone now, both of them. And that's sad. But I'm sure my grandpa and my other uncle would be thrilled to know that he actually has been found.

NK: As a family, how are you all feeling now?

TR: Really, I'm excited and happy. And I'm really thankful. And it's like a miracle almost to us. Like, I, because I never expected it. It's something that that'll really stay with me, and I'm, with all of us. Like we're just, my aunts are all just, oh my God. Even the one who has Alzheimer's. I took this article up and read it, and she actually cried, and said she remembered him, and she was so happy. And, like, it's been really healing for everybody, I think. In, in different ways for each person, too, it seems. So, I'm really thankful. We are all very thankful that they did this for him. And they're going to give him a headstone.

NK: Will you get to see it in the Netherlands?

TR: Well, I hope to someday with my daughter, but I doubt my aunts will ever make it there. They're all pretty aged. And, I mean, I'm getting up there myself. [chuckling] So, I got to get going.

NK: I hope you get to go, Tina. I'm so glad we could speak. Thank you. You take care.

TR: And thanks for the recognition for the family. That's really nice.

TS: Tina Romanuk is the great-niece of Private Arthur Vanance. The Second World War veteran's grave was recently identified in the Netherlands after almost 80 years.

[ambient electronic]

Molly Malone Busker

Guest: Tilly Cripwell

[Molly Malone as performed by The Dubliners/Irish folk]

TS: This is "The Dubliners" with their take on the classic Irish folk song, Molly Malone. It's a song about a fictional -- or semi-fictional, depending on who you ask -- woman who sold fish on the 17th century streets of Dublin. If you've been to the city, you'll know that the song is so popular that there's a statue of Molly Malone, with her wheelbarrow, on Suffolk Street. You may also have noticed that the statue's breasts are faded, from repeatedly being touched by passersby for good luck. Tilly Cripwell has certainly noticed. She spends hours busking in front of the statue every day. And for the past year, she's been campaigning for people to cut it out. This past weekend, she released a version of the song on Spotify, called Leave Molly mAlone. We reached Tilly Cripwell in Dublin.

NK: Tilly, what have you been seeing? What kinds of interactions have you witnessed in front of the Molly Malone statue that brought you to this point to start this campaign?

TILLY CRIPWELL: Well, I've spent hours busking by the statue, so I've seen all kinds of behaviour, mainly people groping the statue's breasts in what they find a really funny way, but I just say it's inappropriate. There's also the obvious kind of rowdy male behaviour around the statue, especially with stag dos and groups of men. People always take photos of them, they hover inappropriately around the statue. Lots of parents will often encourage their children to go up and touch the statue, so the kinds of behaviour just really spans, yeah, a lot of different things.

NK: And how do you respond when this happens? Do you respond at all? Because you're performing, trying to concentrate on what you're there to do, I'm sure.

TC: I went through a stage of telling people often to stop. But as you can imagine, when there's sort of, on a busy day, there's 60 people touching her every hour. I can't keep telling people, don't touch the statue. Because it's exhausting. And that's not really an effective way of doing it. So, that's kind of the main reason that I wrote my extra two verses to the famous Irish song Molly Malone, the song that I've now released on Saturday. Because I found that spreading the message through music was much, much more effective. Let's listen to, to a bit of what you did. Let's play that for our listeners.

SOUNDCLIP

TC: [singing] Now, no one can save her from the people who claim her/and i want to scream, just leave Molly Alone!"/Like those with no voice, she's left with no choice/crying leave her alone, our Molly Malone.".

NK: I heard some laughter behind you there. Maybe some recognition of, of the lyrics, the changes you had made. Overall, though, how are people responding?

TC: People are responding well. And even I think I know where you took that extract from. It was from when I did my demonstration a year ago by the statue on International Women's Day.

NK: Yeah.

TC: When there was still lots of awful behaviour happening around her. This year, when I did the same thing on Saturday, no one was touching the statue, and all of the crowds were kind of shouting nicely at anyone who did try and touch her. So, that just shows the progress it's made in the past year.

NK: This, this is linked, I believe, to, to some sort of superstition.

TC: It is, yes. People believe that it's good luck to touch Molly Malone's breasts. However, people don't really know that it's a very young tradition in inverted commas because it only started around 15 years ago. It's not like it's based in kind of any old Irish folklore or books which say that you have to touch Molly's breasts for good luck. It's kind of made up by the people and by the tourists.

NK: Yeah, and maybe by misogyny a little bit, [both chuckling] whether they recognize it or not.

TC: Exactly. Yeah.

NK: And what exactly are you hoping the city will do?

TC: I've asked for specific changes. The council said they'd help me campaign. However, I said we're basically campaigning against you, so that doesn't make much sense. I, the main change I suggested was to have the statue raised onto a higher platform. And that way, it would mirror a lot of the male statues in Dublin, of which there are many, and they're all on high platforms. And I think that that would both symbolically and physically elevate Molly. Let's give her the kind of prestige she deserves. And to stop people from clambering all over her, I've also suggested that the statue be recolored so that there's no discoloration on her breasts, which is something that the council are really keen for. The tourist companies have also been told to kind of actively discourage tourists from touching her in this way. And I've also asked for a plaque to be put next to her to explain her history and her legacy, which are currently pretty not well-known.

NK: Can you tell our listeners a little bit about what you know?

TC: She was basically representative of the fishwives in Dublin, and more broadly, the lower-class working women in 18th century and 17th century Ireland. And there was a love letter written as a poem to Molly Malone for clearly being a prolific fishwife who represented all of the others. And that love letter is then what became the song that we know well today.

NK: What do you hope people think about, even as, you know, as you push for those other changes, raising the statue, etc. What do you hope people take away the next time they visit Molly Malone?

TC: Yeah, I think she's supposed to represent female icons, Irish icons. I hope that the changes will show how, firstly, women are supposed to be represented and treated. Because the examples set to younger generations who see their parents touching the statue in this way kind of normalizes this behaviour towards women. And I didn't know how we can be educating a generation on treating women fairly if these kinds of examples are being set.

NK: Tilly, I thank you for your time.

TC: Thank you so much.

TS: Tilly Cripwell is the street busker behind the campaign "Leave Molly mAlone." We reached her in Dublin.

[pop]

Feminist Yodelling

[yodelling]

TS: Can I hear that one more time?

[yodelling]

TS: [TS tries to copy it] Nailed it! Oh, my apologies. I was just practicing my yodeling -- that most thrillingly versatile vocal art. I mean, one day you're using your loud, rapidly trilling vocalization to call your cows and goats in from the Alps. And the next, you're yodelling to your cousin in the next mountain over, because cell service is down. It's a skill that's embedded in musical traditions of all sorts, from Alpine choral music, to country music, to that puppet show in the Sound of Music. I may not have gotten that timeline exactly right, but you get the idea. However, all that tradition can come with a downside. As Elena Kaiser recently told The Guardian newspaper, the choral yodelling melodies she loves are often marred by, quote, "completely outdated lyrics." For example, depictions of idyllic Alpine life in which men are the boss and women are naive or nagging. That's why Ms. Kaiser founded Echo vom Eierstock, which translates to “echo from the ovary”. Here's a sample.

[yodelling]

TS: The all-female choir rewrites those outdated lyrics -- so that songs that ended in love and marriage may simply end without it. Women portrayed as defenceless become women willing to fight for their rights. Despite predictable pushback at the start, the choir has become hugely popular, and pretty hard to get into. Which, you know, is why I really need to keep up my practice… [Talia yodels again] Maybe we should play some music while I do this. [NK laughs] Please, play some music while I do this.

[dancehall]

Part 2: Carney: Electoral Reform, ‘Severance’ Fan

Carney: Electoral Reform

Guest: Sharon Sommerville

TS: Way back before he was prime minister, Justin Trudeau promised that if he became prime minister he would change how Canadians picked a prime minister. And while the first part of that pledge came true, the second did not. Mr. Trudeau, of course, broke his promise -- and has since called his decision not to pursue electoral reform one of his biggest regrets. Well, now there's new hope for Canadians critical of this country's first-past-the-post electoral system. And its name is Mark Carney. Sharon Sommerville is a spokesperson for the electoral reform advocacy organization Fair Vote Canada. We reached her in Mono, Ontario.

NK: Sharon, what is it about Mark Carney that makes you think electoral reform could be back in the cards, back up for discussion, and might happen this time?

SHARON SOMMERVILLE: Well, it's an interesting moment, right, in Canadian history. And it's the end of the Trudeau era, and the beginning of a new era with new leadership and a new approach. And, we hope, open to different ideas. One of the things that we know, which is really clear about Mark Carney, is that he's not a lifetime politician. And that his work has been based on data and facts. So, he uses evidence. And we're hoping that his background in, in really just looking at hard, hard, you know, choices, but using evidence and data to make those choices will really move that conversation forward for electoral reform.

NK: He hasn't said anything yet, as you know, publicly about this issue. And he and everyone else in the government is very focused, understandably, on the threat posed by the U.S. president and, and his administration. So, do you think that at this moment in time, even if, if everything you say, you know, about his background, and his focus on facts and the math of it all is true, can this really be a priority for him, given the moment that we're in?

SS: It might not be an immediate priority because -- as you said, Nil -- there is an awful lot going on in Canada with our relationship with the United States, and, and what the consequences of those are. But as a foundational issue, how we vote is really quite critical. Because we know that the majority of Canadians don't have a voice at the decision-making table based on how our electoral system translates how we vote into government. And so, if we want a country that is really, that is really united behind any given issue, then we really have to have a government that speaks for all Canadians. And to get that government, we do need to change our electoral system. Will it be number one on his to-do list? No, absolutely not. But if he could just, if he could address it as, you know, something, we are going to look at, something that we're going to look at together as a nation, that would really be a step forward.

NK: As you well know, you know, this was, this was a promise made by Justin Trudeau. And when he announced his resignation, he said one of his biggest regrets was not being able to make good on that promise of electoral reform. When you heard the prime minister say that, how did that hit you?

SS: I'll be honest with you, Nil, that hits me as being quite disingenuous because he could have moved on that quite easily had he actually wanted to. We do know that Trudeau was very specific about what he wanted. He wanted to introduce alternative vote, which is a ranked voting system. But as long as you're only returning one single member from every riding, it cannot be proportional, it can't represent everyone, and the majority of people's votes are discharged through the electoral system -- don't actually get to count in who we return to Parliament. So, he, he might have had a lot of regret about it, but I do believe that the regret was about not being able to introduce alternative vote, not actually an electoral system which more properly represents all Canadians.

NK: What, as you try to make the case to Mark Carney and other Canadians as well, what examples have you seen in other countries that, for you, illustrate why you think this is a good idea for Canada?

SS: Recently, as you know, Germany had an election. And the far-right AfD received 20 per cent of the vote. So, they'll get 20 per cent of the seats in the, the German legislature. And that's fair. That is how proportional representation works. If you get 10 per cent of the seats, you get 10 per cent of votes. But because almost always government is run through coalitions, so members of other parties join the coalition around the decision-making table, the other parties in Germany have said we will not invite the AfD to be a part of the coalition. So, they will not be a part of decision-making in that country. And so, that is, I think, really a very strong argument for proportional representation is it actually does help to undermine extremism in, potential extremism, in government.

NK: But people may also look to Germany and say, you know, the upheaval that happened that caused the need for the election will be a concern. And people hear coalition and, and, you know, worry about the instability that they sometimes see on that front. What would you say to those who, who say that it, that this might become confusing for voters, or lead to, it did in Germany, people from, from both, you know, extremes on different sides of the spectrum getting, getting votes and winning seats.

SS: So, I guess the fundamental thing is, you know, maybe governments need to ask is, is why are those extreme parties attracting people? And looking at some of the root causes for the, for the attraction to those more extreme ends of the, you know, the political spectrum. But coalition governments actually work really well around the world in, in general. And in Canada, you know, we would have a party that would lead the coalition, and then they invite members from other parties to join them in cabinet to actually govern. In the Canadian context, it might be that, say, sort of Mark Carney forms a coalition government. I mean, we're not talking about Pierre right now, but if that was ever the case, you could invite someone like Elizabeth May to be the environment minister, and someone like Charlie Angus to be the housing minister, and he could invite someone from the Conservative Party to be the finance minister.

NK: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is very much a contender in, in an upcoming election, as you know. Do you think that electoral reform is, is something that he would consider?

SS: I would, well, what the, the position of the Conservatives has always been, Nil, we, we'll look at anything that, that we want as long as we go to a referendum And we know very clearly the idea of a referendum is most certainly always going to be a death knell for electoral reform, unfortunately.

NK: Sharon, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

SS: Oh, it's been my pleasure. And thank you very much for hosting us today.

TS: Sharon Sommerville is spokesperson with Fair Vote Canada. We reached her in Mono, Ontario.

[lounge jazz]

D.C. Mayor Encampments

TS: Donald Trump has a message for Muriel Bowser...clean up Washington, D.C., or step aside. For years, President Trump has clashed with the D.C. mayor, most notably in 2020, when he called her "incompetent" for ordering the painting of a Black Lives Matter mural on a downtown street. But since President Trump regained control of the White House, the mayor's resistance has been restrained. Last week, she ordered that mural be removed, after a Republican lawmaker introduced a bill threatening to revoke millions in transportation funding if it wasn't erased. Then, in a social media post, the president called on Mayor Bowser to, quote, "clean up all of the unsightly homeless encampments in the City," unquote. And he said if she doesn't, quote, "we will be forced to do it for her!” But today, Mayor Bowser pushed back in an interview with NPR.

SOUNDCLIP

MURIEL BOWSER: I think the president does not think there should be any homeless person in the nation's capital. I mean, if I'm being perfectly blunt, I think that there is an opportunity, and there has been in all the years I've been there to work with the federal government. Because a lot, unfortunately, of encampments, they appear on federal park space. I think one thing that I want that your listeners to understand is we have shelter space for every person that you see outside. And dealing with an encampment population is among the most difficult human services work that you will do. Because people have decided that they want to stay outside and not go into shelter. But we have been successful. I think in the last two years, we've seen the number of tents and the number of encampments cut almost in half. Cities deal with crime and cities deal with homelessness. It's just, it's urban life. But what isn't normal is having massive firings and layoffs that's tanking the economy of the nation's capital, which will create a situation that is antithetical to what the president and I agree on: how to make Washington, D.C. the most beautiful city in the world. You don't make a city beautiful by gutting its workforce. You don't make a city beautiful by leaving buildings vacant. The actions of the federal government are working against our ability to invest in our city. We estimate that 40,000 D.C. residents will be put out of work through no fault of their own in this process. And we also recognize that there are a lot of questions about the legality of these actions. What it will mean for us immediately is a decrease in what we estimate, and the revenue that we're going to bring in. When people are out of work, guess what? They don't pay taxes. They don't shop at stores. They don't go to restaurants. They don't book hotels.

CH: That was Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, speaking to NPR's Morning Edition.

[chiptune]

Toronto Cartoonist

TS: Cities are made for people, and they're certainly full of people. But even if a city has a lot of character, it's a stretch to describe it as a person. However, that's the challenge Brian Gable set for himself. Mr. Gable is a retired editorial cartoonist for the Globe and Mail, and the author of a new book called Toronto: A Sketchy History. In it, he captures Toronto’s evolution from a humble military garrison to a vibrant metropolis. It's a visual love letter to the city...that attempts to answer the question, what would a person symbolising Toronto look like? Mr. Gable spoke to the CBC about the character he settled on...and what the city feels like to him.

SOUNDCLIP

BRIAN GABLE: I was impressed by the work ethic. My friends in Montreal say that Torontonians say, thank God it's Monday. You know, that it's very sensible, but not necessarily a bouillant and like a crazy Las Vegas kind of, obviously, entertainment centre.

DAVID COMMON: And you have tried to encapsulate that in a character here. So, tell me all about her.

BG: Yeah. First of all, when I was an editorial cartoonists, I used symbols for all sorts of countries. Uncle Sam, you know, Miss Liberty, Britannia, and all of these people. And they save a lot of time. So, I just really, on a whim one day, I thought, what would Toronto look like? What kind of icon could I create? And I didn't think it was going to be hard, but it was. It's a hard city to really capture, unlike a lot of other ones. But I thought there had to be an essence there somewhere. So, I thought the character that, you know, I would choose to represent, and mine was a working woman, sensible shoes, who was open to new experiences. Because I feel like the city seems extraordinarily open to going down paths, which you would not have expected that they would have taken.

DAVID COMMON: I mean, you talk about the amount of time you've been in this city. You came here in the '70s from, from Saskatoon. Where were the points that you recognized things are really changing here?

BG: One of the main things that I have noticed, especially in the last 15 years, is that the city is beginning to feel a sense of pride. On a general level, the city is functioning better than possibly one might have thought. In 1970, when I came, I was a university student coming from Saskatoon. The city was a big, urban metropolis, but people were feeling not optimistic about the city. Or, you know, if you wanted fun, you drove to Buffalo, and had some wings, and watched a football game. And you left Toronto to have a good time. That's gone. The city now feels, I think, much more confident about itself.

TS: That was cartoonist Brian Gable, speaking to David Common, host of CBC Toronto's Metro Morning, earlier today.

[Severance Theme]

‘Severance’ Fan

Guest: Emily Powell-Heaton

TS: The internet can be a horrible place. But every so often it can be kind of magical too. You can connect with people you haven't seen in ages. Be part of a community of folks who share your love of TV shows like the one whose theme song you’re hearing right now. Or -- if you're Emily Powell-Heaton -- you can schedule an actual meet up with the cast of your favourite show, Severance. Recently, Ms. Powell-Heaton posted on social media explaining that she has Stage 4 breast cancer -- and it would be a dream come true if she could meet the cast of the acclaimed Apple TV show. And that post caught the eye of its executive producer, Ben Stiller. We reached Ms. Powell-Heaton in Markham, Ontario.

NK: Emily, when you first decided to, to put up your post, what was the goal? What did you think might happen?

EMILY POWELL-HEATON: Well, honestly, the goal was to fulfill a bucket list item. So, I have Stage 4 cancer, and I try and find things that will make my life, you know, fulfill, fulfilled and enriched. And I really enjoy Severance, and Ben Stiller's work. So, I decided to send out the message on X and see if anything would come of it. And it did. [NK chuckles] So, I'm glad I did.

NK: I'm glad you did, too. He responded, Ben Stiller.

EPH: He did.

NK: I mean, it could have been one from the show, but it was Ben Stiller.

EPH: Yes. So, yes.

NK: And what, how quickly did a response come?

EPH: Within the day. Yeah, so I think I messaged sometime in the early afternoon or morning, and then it was by the evening, I believe, he got back to me.

NK: And what did he say?

EPH: He said, please DM me. Because I had messaged him directly, and the tweet itself had gotten, at this point, a few thousand views, and he saw that. Now, it's up to about 4.8 million views, yeah. [both chuckle] So, he saw it, yeah.

NK: So, if Ben Stiller says come slide into the DMs, you --

EPH: Pretty much.

NK: [chuckling] You do.

EPH: You do, yeah. He said please DM me. So you do, yeah.

NK: What did you say? What was that back and forth like?

EPH: Yeah, it was great. He just said hello. And, you know, we introduced ourselves. And he made sure I was set up, well, he had, he, there was a screening coming up in Toronto, which I had already kind of got set up for through another contact on Twitter, someone, a member of the press reached out to me and gave me some emails, which was very nice of them. So, I set myself up to go to the Toronto screening and he said, okay, well, why don't you come to the L.A., we're having a meet and greet and a screening party for the finale, so we'll set you up with that. So, that was the conversation.

NK: And so, you're going to that as well?

EPH: I am, yes.

NK: And when is that slated for?

EPH: Later this March. So, in about two weeks, yeah.

NK: You know, I'm a recent devotee of the show. I, you know, I just devoured the first season earlier this year, and I've now caught up on the second season.

EPH: Yes. Yes.

NK: And it is so incredible. But it was, it's hard. It's a hard watch in the, in the beginning. It's intense. I shouldn't say hard, but it's, it's really intense.

EPH: It's intense. So, yes.

NK: This is not necessarily, well, it's an escape, I guess. But, but it's, it, it can be really difficult. So, what does this show give you? Because it's not light viewing.

EPH: No, it's not. But that's why I like it. I mean, I have always been a big fan of things that are different and original. Like I was, you know, when Lost came on TV years ago, I was a big fan of Lost, and anything that has that kind of, you know, mystery, sci-fi feel is, you know, right up my alley. I went to school for film production. So, I really appreciate everything, all the work they put into it. And I can, I can recognize that. So, that also adds to my enjoyment of the show. So, all of those things together.

NK: And for those who, who aren't watching it like we are, it's about people who have signed on for this, this procedure where you're, you're severed. So, the second you walk into the company building, you forget your life outside. And the second you walk out, you forget your life inside the company. But there are lots of pitfalls to, to being severed.

EPH: Yes.

NK: In the, in the, you met a couple of the cast members at the Toronto screening.

EPH: I did, yes.

NK: I saw some posts about it. What was that like?

EPH: It was great. They were able to go in before the screening and the Q&A and just say hello, and, and we said hello to the three of them. And I chatted a little bit with Jessica, who's the cinematographer, and who directed the Gema episode that was recent.

NK: So good!

EPH: Yeah, she went to school in Montreal for film production. I went to school in Ontario for film production, so I like that we have that in common, so it was great.

NK: The most recent one. It doesn't give anything away to, to say this, but it was shot on Fogo Island.

EPH: Yes it was. Yeah.

NK: Which was, I didn't realize 'till 'till 'till afterwards. So, several Canadian connections there.

EPH: Yes.

NK: You know, you mentioned how many people have seen your post now -- 4.8 million. What are, I'm sure people are reaching out to you as well, whether they're Severance fans or not. What are they saying?

EPH: Very nice. I would say mostly very nice things. Of course, there's a few trolls here and there, right? But now, it's mostly very nice. And, you know, we hope that, you know, you're getting good treatment, and that you, you know, are feeling well day-to-day. Actually, Dan Erickson, the creator's, sister just reached out to me yesterday and introduced herself. So, that was very nice of her. And yeah, just getting a lot of support and excitement from the general crowd out there.

NK: That must be, that must be fulfilling as well.

EPH: Yeah, it's very fulfilling. Yeah, it feels good.

NK: Because I know people who have gone through chemotherapy. They can feel, you know, this can be lonely, it can be frightening, it can be isolating.

EPH: Yes. Yes.

NK: And also, this, you know, overall, a lot of people are feeling lonely and isolated, just, just, you know, as they go through life. So, what has this show and this, this experience given you on that front?

EPH: Yeah, no, it's been very fulfilling that people, you know, are paying attention to what I have, which is metastatic breast cancer, which doesn't always get, I think, kind of the light it deserves. It's a later stage form of breast cancer. And we kind of are, in the media anyway, are kind of introduced to, I mean, breast cancer is breast cancer. And of course, everyone, or people suffer through it and have their own experiences. But Stage 4 isn't as talked about because it is a terminal illness. So, it's, it's interesting and good to get that information out there as well. So, that means a lot to me to be able to do that.

NK: And what's next for you in terms of, of your treatment? And how does this, because you're still going to go to, to L.A., obviously. That's, that's not negotiable.

EPH: Yes. Yeah. So, I talked to my ecologist today, and she was thrilled. And she's telling the whole office and everything. [NK chuckles] Can I, can I Google it and everything? And she did. So, she's very excited. Yeah, so I actually start a new chemotherapy treatment tomorrow. So, I have it tomorrow. And then, it's every eight days or so. It, we'll figure it out on the calendar. But we've worked around it that I'm able to go. So, that's good. And then later on, I have a surgery coming up for my spine. So, a few things coming up.

NK: Okay. Emily, I'm so glad we could speak. Good luck tomorrow. Take care.

EPH: Okay. Bye.

TS: That was Emily Powell-Heaton, a superfan of the TV show, Severance. She was in Markham, Ontario.

[glassy guitar riff]

Part 3: Syria Latakia Violence, Butterfly Population Loss

Syria Latakia Violence

Guest: Fadel Abdul Ghany

TS: After days of bloodshed, Syria's new government is declaring victory over loyalists of ousted former president Bashar al-Assad. The epicentre of the fighting has been the coastal region of Latakia. It's home to much of Syria’s Alawite minority community, and the ancestral homeland of the country’s former dictator. It's the worst outbreak of violence Syria has seen since al-Assad's ouster in December. And the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is reporting that over 1,100 people have been killed in the clashes, including more than 800 civilians. Fadel Abdul Ghany is the executive director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights. We reached him in Doha, Qatar.

NK: Fadel, we're hearing from Syria's the Defence Ministry that the operation is complete, that the region is in, in the ministry's word is, quote, secure. From what you're hearing from your contacts on the ground there in Syria. Is that an accurate assessment?

FADEL ABDUL GHANY: I think it's an accurate one. It still needs the further justification in order to know up to which level they reach to. But I think now what I'm hearing that, that the people that they are reengaging their life. The main road being, being opened, and they control the vast majority of the area. Still, some Assad remnants in the mountain, but maybe in the higher level of the mountain. There is no further attacks we are recording from Assad remnants against civilians took place today.

NK: So, things are calmer today. Slowly getting back to normal, though we have been reading in the, in the wire service reports about people, you know, lining up for bread and things like that. So, that will, that will take some time to normalize further. I wonder what, what stories you were hearing at the height of this, the most heated battles in recent days? What were you hearing at that point?

FAG: Actually, the core of the problem is that Assad reminents attacks the security forces, branches, location, barriers at the same time, and that's happened in multiple areas. Those attack was organized. So yesterday, there was hundreds of funerals taking place in all around Syria. And there was a, a mourning in between the families. My team spoke with tens of, of families and we spoke with security forces, so, so they told us about all the attacks happened to them, not of, of killing and injured. And on the other hand, also some unaffiliated, also they committed crimes and violations against Alawite and against civilians. So, those also told us horrific stories, families being being killed, slaughtered, and displaced. And we hear the stories about looting as well. So, both sides committed heinous

violations.

NK: From what you've seen and heard at this point, Fadel, are you concerned that, that it was members of the Alawite minority who were being targeted here?

FAG: No, I don't have any concern because past three months, there wasn't any attacks against minority. On the contrary, they feel relief, and there was no revenge. And I was surprised. At the early days, I expected a lot of attacks to, to take place against Alawite, which would dissent, and that mean the new government prevent that to happen. But now, after the attacks happened on the security forces, branches, and locations, and barriers, I think they, they was unable to control the anger and rage. So, but now, they are in control again. The vast majority of Alawites against those Assad remnant forces, for sure. We are pretty sure about, about that as well. So, I don't think Alawites want Assad to be back or to rule by one of them. No, those are Assad remnants. They, they feel that they lost the the authority. They lost their benefits.

NK: I was going to ask you if this kind of violence that we saw recently was something that surprised you or you expected it? You're saying that, that, at this stage, you're not surprised?

FAG: It was expected. Yeah, well, only three months after more than 50 years from bullying of Alawite and committed heinous crimes against all the Syrian population. So I, like, expected that there will be a revenge or reaction. I expected that. And now, even those attacks, they are not centralized. So, there is no order from the government, the president, the Interior Ministry to kill Alawite. We discover that the vast majorities of the violation, of the violations against Alawites committed by all the group who recently joined the general security, and those were in, in the north. Those, they committed the vast majority of the crimes. So, not the majority of the crime they didn't committed by the, you know, the security, security forces, maybe 10 per cent, or less than 10 per cent.

NK: You weren't surprised by, by this violence, these clashes at this stage. Are you expecting more?

FAG: No, I didn't expect more. I think if the state, which is, I saw they took a lot of steps in the right direction. So today, the statement from the president that to, to, when he spoke to Reuters that we will hold accountable even the closest to, to us. That was a great message, actually. If it's being implemented on the ground, but on the speech, that was a great messages sending to this. And that's the, the state, how the state act. State doesn't act as a group. So, the mentality of the state, it should be different. It tooks the same state from all of the citizens, regardless of their religion, or ethnicity, or whatever. So now Syria, after we don't have a state before. We have a regime who sees the state, and use it as a farm for his family. Now, we need to think as a state, state acknowledge, state, apology, state took steps, state held accountable. That helps the state behave. And the government, the new government, should do and act based on that. If they do that, I'm not afraid. If they don't, I have afraid.

FAG: Thanks.

TS: Fadel Abdul Ghany is the executive director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights. We reached him in Doha, Qatar.

[wistful instrumental]

AI Calgary Report Cards

TS: Lots of workplaces are rethinking their use of Artificial Intelligence. And the classroom is no different. But where some are reluctant, one Calgary school has turned to AI to give teachers a hand with two of their most time consuming duties -- lesson planning and writing report card comments. Connect Charter School teamed up with a researcher from the University of Calgary to develop a pair of generative AI tools to help teachers with those tasks. Chris Gilmour is the superintendent of the school, and explained to CBC Calgary how the technology can help teachers when it comes to report cards.

SOUNDCLIP

CHRIS GILMOUR: Well, at Connect Charter School, we, we are a hub of innovation, like many charter schools across the province. And part of our charter talks about being innovative in the use of technology in the classroom. How can we use it in ways that leverage the technology and improve the learning environment? And with the evolution of artificial intelligence, and the opportunities we saw to partner with the Werklund School of Education, work with some experts over in, in their department. We really thought that, that the field would open up and provide new opportunities for, for our teachers. The second tool that we developed is called Harmony. And that was a tool to improve communication. What we want is our teachers using their time where it's most important. And we feel that's with the students in the classroom. And so, administrative tasks outside of the classroom, we know can be a burden on our teachers at different times throughout the year. At Connect Charter School, we have three reporting periods, and we're very proud of that. And we think our parents like that as well. But what that means is teachers also have to put a lot of effort and time into developing those reports. And so, in partnership with Doctor Sabayon, again, we developed an artificial intelligence tool that we called Harmony that will help draft report card comments for our teachers. And the important piece to understand about this tool is that the entire, in fact, both tools were developed using teacher voice and teacher input throughout the entire process. They are completely customized to meet our needs. And so, when you think of the report card assistant Harmony, you understand that teachers now could, if they choose to use it, receive draft comments based on assessments that are all done by the teachers. And the teacher's job then really focuses on editing, updating those comments, and making sure that every word that is in a report card is a reflection of their professional judgment. So, it does not change any of the assessment, assessments that are done, the formative and summative assessments throughout the school year, but it does relieve some of the cognitive load teachers need to put into developing the comments.

TS: That was Chris Gilmour, superintendent of Calgary's Connect Charter School.

[grunge]

FTR: Bill 21 Committee

TS: It's been years since Quebec passed Bill 21...but the debate over the Province's secularism law is far from over. Since 2019, the controversial law has banned civil servants, including teachers, from wearing religious symbols. As we've told you, the Supreme Court of Canada recently agreed to hear a legal challenge against Bill 21 from several groups who say the bill infringes on Canadian human rights and freedoms. Now, Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge says the province is creating a committee that will look into whether residents are adhering to the bill. The minister says this new committee will make recommendations to the government about secularism in Quebec. The public is invited to submit examples of religious infiltration they've seen. For The Record, here is Minister Roberge at a press conference today.

SOUNDCLIP

JEAN-FRANÇOIS ROBERGE: What we, we've seen a lot of people blocking streets, or taking, they use some public spaces like parks. I think those things made us reflects about the laxity, should we go further or not? Is it possible to, to give some, some rules for those, those kind of manifestation? We will let the committee do the work about that. Because it's a complex, it's a complex matter. It's a shame that Bill 21 is going to Supreme Court. I think here, MNAs at the National Assembly has the right, has a duty to votes on bills here for, for our for social living in Quebec. But we are confident that at the end, the government of Quebec will win, and the Bill 21 will stand. It's important to say that five year after Bill 21, we should make a reflection to, to to be sure that it was the right. That Quebec is always at the same, at the same place. Or maybe we should move further. The well-being of students is under our responsibility as a government. So, we want to be sure that everyone is safe. Everyone has their rights respected. The rights of. In French we say la liberte du conscious, la liberte du religion, which are two things. And we are really sure that we can improve liberty.

TS: For The Record, that was Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge speaking with reporters today.

[lo-fi]

Butterfly Population Loss

Guest: Elise Zipkin

TS: Twelve-point-six million butterflies sounds like a lot. But a team of researchers says their decades-long count of the winged insects actually reveals a hugely troubling decline in their numbers. According to their newly published analysis of more than 76,000 separate surveys, butterfly populations are plummeting across the United States. Between 2000 and 2020 alone, the number of butterflies across the country is believed to have fallen by 22 per cent. And that's not all. The researchers also say that the so-called "insectageddon" threatens other species too -- including our own. Elise Zipkin is an ecology professor at Michigan State University and one of the study's co-authors. We reached her in East Lansing. Michigan.

NK: Professor, I know that, that you were expecting that there might be some bad news here, that there would be some declines. But in terms of the magnitude, once you took a look, how did you and your team process that?

ELISE ZIPKIN: Yeah, I think there were a lot of different studies that had been showing kind of piecemeal declines in specific regions or specific species of butterflies. But we were surprised overall, you know, by the extent of the declines. And we really felt like, yeah, this should be a warning. This should, we should be sounding the alarm that something's very troubling here.

NK: And the magnitude of it, I mean, just emotionally. I know you're scientists, but emotionally, how did that hit?

EZ: Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of evidence, you know, that perhaps we're entering the sixth mass extinction. And so, you know, a lot of my work has been showing declines of species. And, you know, it's just, it's kind of this situation where, yeah, it, it can feel really, it can make you feel really down. But I always try to focus on what we can do and what can be done. Because I still think there's a lot that can be done to protect butterflies and insects more generally.

NK: In terms of the count itself, the work that you did, because it is quite comprehensive, how did you and your team execute that?

EZ: What we did is we worked to aggregate all the available regional data sources. So, that was about 35 monitoring programs that were taking place across the country. And most of those were done by volunteer scientists, so participatory scientists. So, those are just individuals that spend their time going out and counting butterflies. And we had, I think, about 12.7 million individual records of butterflies when we aggregated all the data. And then once we got the data, we had to think about what kind of analysis to do. And then once we did that, we developed a model that took into account all those pieces to try and estimate an index of abundance. You can't really know what abundance is, you know, for something that's so ephemeral, like butterflies. So, what we really want to know is, okay, can we make some sort of index of, of what that abundance might be at a certain point in time at a certain location? And then, can we see how that might change through time? And so, doing that we were able to look at, all right, what are the trends for butterflies over this 20-year time period?

NK: And ultimately, what do you think is behind the decline you're seeing in the butterfly populations?

EZ: Yeah, unfortunately, in our analysis we couldn't get at that. But there is a lot of other work that has pointed to three main reasons of butterfly declines. So, the first is climate change. So, changing climate conditions. Butterflies, like other insects, you know, are invertebrates. And their development is largely based on the right temperature, precipitation conditions. So, changes in that could really have a big effect about, you know, how many individuals can get out a year. The other reason is loss of habitat. So, that would be through land use change and development. And then finally, the last one is pesticide into insecticide use, which can cause mortality, you know, cause, cause insects including butterflies to, just to die.

NK: You know, I've, in recent years, I've seen programs and initiatives, small scale, you know, telling people to, to, to plant certain kinds of plants, and draw butterflies, and help the monarch butterfly population in particular. Are those kinds of efforts not working, or are they just too small to combat the scale of what you're seeing?

EZ: Well, that's a great question. I would say those efforts are hugely important. And, you know, people, one thing that people can do is plant native species in their yards. I mean, we know that kind of that standard green lawn that a lot of us have across North America can be kind of a, a biodiversity desert in some ways, right? We can, there aren't as many species, and there's not as much diversity in those areas. So, planting native species in your yards really can make a big difference. And even, you know, in small local parks, right? Just thinking about butterflies, they can move around, so they can find those habitats. But I think you're right to also point out that that alone is not going to be enough, right? We need, we need our leaders, frankly, to, you know, enact policies that are going to be good for butterflies, good for insects, but good for biodiversity more generally, you know, in terms of curbing, curbing climate change. And also, curbing, you know, the use of insecticides. You know, there's a, a class of insecticides called neonicotinoids. And those are basically a coating on all different seeds, right? So, for like corn and soybean production, and there's a lot of evidence that those insecticides leach into the soils and then, you know, can cause mortality to anything, you know, really around it. So, you know, these neonicotinoids, they don't necessarily increase, you know, yield for crops and soybeans. So, we kind of can think about ways of more regulating those that would be a little bit more effective.

NK: There's always a domino effect when you see declines like this, specifically in terms of butterfly populations. If we don't manage to to change course on this, what will that, what dominoes are, are going to fall? What will the impact be?

EZ: Yeah. Right, so insects and butterflies are really important to ecosystems. They help, you know, transfer energy flows. They provide an important food source to many other, to many other organisms in our ecosystem. So for example, they feed birds at many different stages, at caterpillar egg stages and even as adults. And they're also important for crop production. So, they contribute greatly to cotton production in the southeastern U.S., so it's hard to say exactly what would happen. But I would expect that if we continue with these kinds of declines, we would be likely to seeing other other declines in other higher taxonomic groups. So for example, several years ago, there was a paper that talked about the loss of 3 billion birds. And that decline, those percent declines per year really are very similar to what we saw with butterflies. So, I think that goes to show that kind of what's happening with one group is really potentially impacting other groups as well. So, everything is related and we need to be thinking about that aspect of it.

NK: Professor, I appreciate this. Thank you.

EZ: Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time.

TS: Elise Zipkin is a professor at Michigan State University and co-author of a new meta-analysis of butterfly populations, published in the journal Science. We reached her in East Lansing, Michigan.

[country]

‘Canada Reads’ Reading: ‘Jennie’s Boy’

TS: If you've ever watched or listened to Canada Reads, you'll know that each panellist brings something very different to the defence of their chosen book. Athletes bring a uniquely competitive spirit. Actors...a flair for the dramatic. Musicians...a sense of the craft behind any great art. But as a New York Times bestselling author himself, Linwood Barclay has particular insight into what makes his selection, Jennie's Boy, exceptional. He'll champion the memoir next week in CBC's annual battle of the books. And this evening we're bringing you a reading by its author Wayne Johnston. Mr. Johnston grew up in Newfoundland and Labrador -- where he spent months plagued by illness, unable to attend school. Months spent in the care of his deeply religious...deeply eccentric.... grandmother, Lucy. From Jennie's Boy, here's Wayne Johnston, with his retelling of one of their many, meandering conversations....

Reading:

WAYNE JOHNSTON: So, what's the news from home? I told her what Dad and Jennie talked about during the housewarming party. She said they shouldn't make fun of the house. Maybe it wasn't a palace, she said, but it would do until our palace became available, which might be a while because of the long waiting list for palaces in Newfoundland. I told her Dad had said something about a winter palace in Russia, and asked where Russia was. She said she was fairly certain that Russia's location was the same as it had been since my father read about it in some book. It was probably farther from Newfoundland than Nova Scotia, which was as far from home as my father had ever been. Unable to think of any other way to stand up for Dad, I reminded her that he spoke Latin. She said not unless he had picked it up from palling around with priests, which was unlikely. Because father McGettigan had been trying and failing for years to find someone to go bowling with. Your father remembers bits and pieces of Latin that he learned in school, from teachers who remembered bits and pieces of Latin that they learned in school. That chain goes all the way back to when, for some reason, everyone spoke Latin. She didn't know why priests had to learn Latin, but she was glad they weren't singing the Mass in Latin anymore. Because it made for a nice change to understand what they were saying, even though they sang just as badly in English as they had in Latin. She said that Christ would have suffered more if, instead of making him endure the crucifixion, God had made him listen to father McGettigan singing about it. She crossed herself, seven years to become a priest. You'd think the church could spare one year for singing lessons. She crossed herself again, and bowed her head, and mumbled another prayer. I asked her if she confessed to father McGettigan the things she said that were so sinful she felt she had to cross herself. I'd be in the confession box day and night if I did, she said. McGettigan wouldn't understand anyway. He never starts off a sermon with have you heard the one about. It's better for me to tell God on the spot that I'm sorry for what I say. Not that Christ was in the habit of making jokes that cracked up the apostles. She crossed herself again. After the quick came my bath, which he gave me while I was standing up. The proper way to bathe a child, she said. Though Jennie had once said it was just a holdover from the days when Lucy had bathed her own children in a washtub in the freezing porch. As she poured jugs of soapy water over my head, telling me to keep my eyes tightly closed. She did a running critique of my emaciation. She enclosed my wrist with a circle of her thumb and forefinger. See, I'm not even touching you, she said. That's how skinny you are. I told her she had warned me to keep my eyes closed. So, how was I supposed to see? Your mother must have tried to pay for you with expired coupons, and had to give half of you back. You're so skinny, I can see your soul. I asked her what it looked like? It's even paler than the rest of you. Not a mark on it. Except from original sin. Like a scuff mark from a boot. Like your forehead on Ash Wednesday. Except the mark of original sin wouldn't come off if you used all the Javex in the world.

TS: Wayne Johnston, reading from his Canada Reads nominated memoir, Jennie's Boy. The book will be championed in next week's debates by bestselling novelist Linwood Barclay...and we'll be featuring readings from all the contenders on the show this week.

The AIH Transcript For March 10, 2025

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