When the Toronto Raptors won the NBA championship last month, it set off a celebration the likes of which the country may have never seen before.

Oh, Canada has had its share of celebrations with the largest of parades always reserved for Stanley Cup champions.

But this celebration was for basketball, the sport of choice for the great majority of first and second-generation Canadians, people who have arrived here from around the world and--for the most part--simply don't have the dough to play hockey.

Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri with the Larry O'Brien Trophy in June. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)

No, this celebration was something different.

I was unaware of how different it was until I read an op-ed piece last month in the New York Times by Toronto writer Omer Aziz.

(For insight about the importance of the victory for tens of thousands of people of colour in Canada's largest and most cosmopolitan city, the link is here.)

Omer Aziz was one of thousands of jubilliant fans celebrating the Toronto Raptors NBA championship victory. (Facebook)

The Raptors' victory was the first of any Canadian team in any of North America's four major spectator sports since the Toronto Blue Jays won Major League Baseball's World Series in 1993, the same year that marks the last time a Canadian-based team, the Montreal Canadiens, won the Stanley Cup.

Like a lot of other people, I got very excited about the Raptors.

The Raptors, I found, were a resourceful team, led by a couple of brilliant out-of-the box men: the president, Masai Ujiri, is from Nigeria; the coach, Nick Nurse, is from the American Midwest.

Their leader on the floor was a zen-master-of-a-player named Kawhi Leonard, who possessed the ability to bide his time until needed to propel the team to victory.

Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard and his girlfriend, Kishele Shipley, attended a Toronto Blue Jays-L.A. Angels game at the Rogers Centre in June. Many consider Leonard the best basketball player in the world. It remains unclear if he will be returning to Toronto next season. (Mark Blinch/Canadian Press)

As someone who grew up around basketball in a suburb of New York City, I could pretty much relate to all this.

What I didn't understand until I read Aziz's piece was what the Raptors, comprised of players from around the world, meant to all those first and second generation Canadians living in Toronto.

I get it now, thanks to Aziz and his ability to share his insights.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Aziz by phone, a conversation I would very much like to share with you on this Canada Day.

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One of the great pleasures of summer--likely no matter where you might be in the world--is drifting indoors to watch a bit of the premier tennis tournament anywhere.

Wimbledon begins on Monday.

That means superior athletes dressed in bright white outfits competing against one another on gorgeous green grass.

It's all a total ball.

On top of all that, the competition is ferocious, though--for the most part--polite.

Tennis fans will have many questions answered by the time the finals unfold in two weeks.

Milos Raonic, Canada's top player, lost the Wimbledon final to Andy Murray in 2016 but injuries have slowed him over the past several years. He's seeded No. 15 this year. Above, Raonic returns a ball to Dennis Novak of Austria during their 2018 singles match. (CP/AP-Tim Ireland)

Can the Big Three men--Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal--continue to deliver lessons to all comers about how to play the game?

Can Serena Williams win her 24th Grand Slam?

What of the Canadians?

There are four--the oft-injured Milos Raonic (the No. 15 seed), young hotshots Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 19) and Denis Shapovalov (No. 29) and the back-from-a-long-injury rehab Vasek Pospisil (No. 73)--in the men's main draw.

On the women's side, the enigmatic Genie Bouchard is the only Canadian in the main draw, following the withdrawal of this spring's tennis sensation, Bianca Andreescu.

Gabriela Dabrowski, an excellent doubles player, will be competing in the women's and the mixed.

Felix Auger-Aliassime is just 18. His play this year is winning fans around the world. Auger-Aliassime is seeded No. 19 at this year's Wimbledon. (AP Photo/Jim Rassol)

Most folks back home are likely rooting for is a Canadian catching fire and playing into the second week.

We'll see.

Stephanie Myles is as good as it gets when it comes to covering tennis.

She is currently editor-in-chief of the web site Tennis.Life, has written about tennis for Canadian Press and major newspapers across North America, and works as a broadcaster for the French-language RDS sports network

I spoke with her by phone in London on Thursday about what to watch for when play begins.

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Fibromyalgia is a pernicious condition--marked by chronic and wide-spread pain and perpetual exhaustion that the bearer--at least up to this point in time--knows will not be going away.

Maybe ever.

No cure has been found.

To compound matters, a person suffering from fibromyalgia doesn't look sick.

He or she looks completely normal, a fact that has prompted too many in the past to believe that all that pain is simply psychological, somehow self-induced.

Dr. Amir Minerbi is the first author of a paper published this month in the journal Pain about the association of gut bacteria with the chronic pain of fibromyalgia. If the relationship is found to be causal, this could lead to possible treatment for the debilitating condition. (Courtesy: McGill University Health Centre)

At least when a person looks sick, they get a bit of sympathy, compassion and empathy.

Now, a ray of hope has arrived.

A team of scientists from McGill University and the University of Montreal has just published a study that revealed a link between fibromyalgia and alterations in gut bacteria.

The researchers identified 19 species of gut bacteria that were either increased or decreased in patients with fibromyalgia compared with those in a healthy control group.

How important are the findings and where do researchers go from here?

Dr. Amir Minerbi, from the Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit at the McGill University Health Centre, and fellow researchers identified 19 species of gut bacteria that were either increased or decreased in patients with fibromyalgia. (McGill University Health Centre)

For answers. I spoke by phone with the study's first author, Amir Minerbi.

Dr. Minerbi is a pain physician and a two-year-clinical research fellow with the Alan Edwards Pain Managment Unit of the McGill University Heath Centre.

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Think being stuck in a plane on an airport tarmac is not a lot of fun?

Consider what it is might be like for disabled people.

And guess what?

Disability rights advocate Bob Brown. (CBC)

The federal government overhauled the rules of air travel this spring, extending the maximum tarmac waiting period from 90 minutes to up to four hours.

That sure doesn't work for Bob Brown, a disability rights advocate.

"I am quadriplegic...My disability limits how long I can spend in an airline seat without experiencing severe pain, developing pressure sores or getting excessively dehydrated," Brown said in a release, published by Canadian Press on Tuesday.

"The longer the airline can keep me on the tarmac, the shorter the duration and distance that I am able to travel safely."

He says the new rules reduce by up to 2,000 kilometres the distance he can travel by air without putting his health at risk.

Consumer advocate Gabor Lukacs is seen in 2017 photo. (CBC)

Brown and passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs are taking the federal government to court over the changes, asking Federal Court of Appeal to hear their lawsuit against the Canadian Transportation Agency, arguing the rules violate equality rights, which prohibit discrimination based on physical disability.

I spoke with Lukacs, a Halifax-based mathematician, on Wednesday while he was on a family visit to Hungary.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: In some versions of this story, an editing error resulted in the same caption being placed under both pictures in the main text. Both captions identified the subject as Mr. Brown. In fact, Mr. Brown is seen in the higher photo and Mr. Lukacs, although misidentified, is seen in the bottom photo. That has been corrected. RCI apologizes to Mr. Brown, Mr. Lukacs and to our readers.

The Canadian government has reached an agreement with one of its largest unions to provide paid time off for civil servants who suffer domestic violence. And providing leave for such people appears to be a growing trend in Canada.

Research by Western University and The Canadian Labour Congress from 2014 found that one third of respondents had experienced domestic violence in their lifetime and of those, more than half said the violence followed them to work.  

“It could have been harassing phone calls, emails, text messages,” says Barb MacQuarrie of Western University’s Centre for Research and education on Violence Against Women and Children. “It could have been the abusive partner calling the boss...or supervisors (asking) ‘where is she, what is she doing, when will she leave, when is she expected back.’ It could have been stalking at the workplace.” 

A 2014 survey found one third of respondents had suffered domestic violence and over half of those said it followed them to work. (iStock)

Employers concerned about productivity, safety

MacQuarrie says the results drew more attention to the issue and more action. In 2017, Manitoba was the first province to change its labour code to provide leave from work for employees dealing with domestic violence. Others jurisdictions followed suit, some offering paid leave, unpaid leave or a combination of both.  And she says employers became interested too.

“We know that there are really many productivity concerns, safety concerns, and if there’s an incident, even reputational damage that can happen for a company as a result of domestic violence.” So, some companies have gone ahead and provided leave from work to help employees dealing with domestic violence. 

International awareness growing

MacQuarrie thinks the trend will continue not only in Canada but in other countries as well. She notes the International Labour Organization just recently passed a new international convention on harassment and violence at work. It includes some protections for workers experiencing domestic violence. So, MacQuarrie thinks that countries like Canada, which is expected to sign on, will enact more helpful policies. “I think that we can absolutely expect to see more legislation and more employer policies as well going in this direction of providing support for survivors of domestic violence.”

Western University's Barb MacQuarrie explains why more support is being offered to survivors of domestic violence.

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A random--and anonymous--act of kindness has residents of the Nova Scotia town of New Glasgow feeling pretty good about themselves and life in general these days.

The good vibes began over the weekend when town worker Doug Miller began setting up for a funding announcement in a local park.

"It's the intention that I'm really trying to absorb," says Doug Jones of his finding last weekend.(Courtesy: Geralyn MacDonald, Town of New Glasgow)

It was cold and dark and Miller was working alone.

Miller noticed something: a baggie...with a $100 bill and a note inside.

"Always know that there is good in the world and joy to be found," the note read. "I hope you know, or will learn, that you are priceless and worth more than any paper or plastic."

Miller is still deciding what he will do with the money, knowing it will make a difference in someone's life.(Courtesy: Adam MacInnis, New Glasgow News)

The town and Miller have been overwhelmed by the act of the mysterious act generosity.

I spoke by phone to Miller on Tuesday.

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Schools in Canada usually close at the end of June and that leaves children free for about two months. But government statistics from 2015 show that only 18 per cent of couple families had a stay-at-home parents. The figure declined from 53 per cent in 1976, mostly because more women joined the work force. 

The result is that  many parents must consider what to do with their children while they are away at work. Most can only take two or three weeks’ vacation themselves.

Many children are sent to day camp or sleep away camp in the summer. (iStock)

Children need time to use their imagination, says blogger

Where parents have the financial means, children are often sent to day camps or sleep-away camps that offer many kinds of activities, sometimes in the countryside. But parenting writer Samantha Kemp-Jackson says parents should consider providing some unstructured time for their children. 

“I think it’s really important that kids are facilitated to have time to think about what they want to do, to use their imagination, to have some unstructured play,” she says. “And that really gets the creativity going and I think that’s really important. We don’t do it enough these days.”

Canadian children may be very busy during the school year outside of class with homework, sports, music or other lessons and there are experts who suggest they are too busy. There are also parents who worry that children left to their own devices will too often literally turn to electronic devices. Kemp-Jackson says parents tend to relinquish control over how much screen time their children have and she suggests they set limits.

Having time to daydream can foster children’s creativity, says blogger. (iStock)

Many parents reluctant to leave children home alone

Some parents are reluctant to leave their children at home alone. Kemp-Jackson says that was much more common when she was young in the 1970s. Children were freer then to go play outside and perhaps go to nearby parks to play with friends. She suggests more parents consider that  children who are old enough to stay home alone can gain independence, confidence and growth by doing so.

Very few provinces legally set out the ages at which children can be left on their own, most often between 10 and 12 years old. Social service agencies prefer children under 12 not be left alone. 

Each family’s situation is different and some may be able to choose to offer their children some time in structured activities and some time to themselves. Kemp-Jackson thinks it would be better that children spend less time with electronic devices and less time formally occupied. “I think we have to teach our kids that ‘no, you don’t have to always be on and you don’t always have to have something to do. Maybe staring into space and day dreaming, like I used to, is not overall a bad thing.’”

Blogger Samantha Kemp-Jackson says children could use more free time during summer vacation.

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This week is Pollinator Week in Canada but also in the rest of the world. The celebration has been going on for more than 10 years now and it aims at focusing everyone’s attention on the important role that pollinators play in our lives and in our environment.

It also aims at spreading the word about what we can do to protect those animals.

To understand exactly what pollinator week is, we spoke to Vicki Wojcik, Director of Pollinator Partnership Canada.

Bees are not the only pollinators. (Anthony Colangelo/Pollinator Partnership)

What’s pollinator week?

This celebration officially started twelve years ago with the U.S. Senate’s unanimous approval and designation of a week in June as “National Pollinator Week”.

It started as an awareness effort focused on policy makers in the United States. The goal was to get bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., to pay attention to pollinators and think of that when they’re building policies.Vicki Wojcik, Director of Pollinator Partnership Canada

But it quickly gained momentum. Soon it included public activities and initiatives from across North America because pollinators do not have political boundaries, as Wojcik explains:

[Pollinators] exist throughout ecosystems which intersect political boundaries and we’ve been working with Canada, the U.S. and Mexico as a North American effort to conserve pollinators.Vicki Wojcik, Director of Pollinator Partnership Canada

Today, the celebration even crossed oceans. For the 2019 edition, events are being organised in Bermuda, China, Europe and Africa, for example.

But most of them are still held in North America. This initiative within the non-profit sector is widely considered a model in Asia, Africa and Asia.

What happens during Pollinators week is often a lot of really great fun and awareness activities.Vicki Wojcik, Director of Pollinator Partnership Canada

All events are on an interactive map. Take a look to see if anything is happening near you in the next few days.

Click on the map to see if an event is happening near you. (Screenshot from Pollinator.org)

For example, the director of Pollinator Partnership Canada talks about pollinator and bee safaris at the Edmonton Valley Zoo, in Toronto or at the Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden.

A “bee safari” is a pollinator identification walk where a biologist or a scientist takes a group of people for a walk in a botanical garden or somewhere else and they identify bees.

Really similar smaller scale model as if you would just get into a jeep in a safari and hope that you find some zebra and some giraffes, here we’re looking for bumblebees and monarch butterflies and all of that.Vicki Wojcik, Director of Pollinator Partnership Canada

https://www.facebook.com/edmontonvalleyzoo/posts/2750226848382552

Among the events, there are many gardening associations and groups across the country that have also opened garden tours as well as native plants planting days and this year’s edition has a special aspect to it as Wojcik explains.

We actually have a couple of restaurants, bars and other food vendors hosting special events that highlight the important role that pollinators have in our food. One of every three bite that we eat is the result of a pollinator so our diet will not look the same without them.Vicki Wojcik, Director of Pollinator Partnership Canada

Everyone can host its own event by registering it to the pollinator.ca or pollinator.org.

Pollinators can be bees but also bats or mosquitoes

When we think of pollinators, we usually think of bees, but many animals act as pollenizers. The Director of Pollinator Partnership Canada defines pollinators.

A pollinator is any animal that would visit a flower and transfer the pollen from one flower to another, helping that plant reproduce.

What do a chef, a union organizer and a butcher do when they get together in a bar?

While it sounds like the premise for a great joke, chef Giovanni Adamo, labour organizer Francesco di Feo and butcher Salvatore Martire are dead serious when they get together to discuss Italian and world politics, even as they enjoy a bit of Montreal dolce vita.

The trio of Montreal Italian retirees and their fervour for left-wing politics are the subject of the latest documentary by Montreal-based historian and screen writer Bruno Ramirez and his co-director Giovanni Princigalli.

Ramirez, who teaches U.S. history at the Université de Montréal and studies the history of Italian immigration to North America, says he got the idea of the film when Princigalli told him about the three gentlemen who would meet regularly at one of Montreal’s Italian cafés to discuss politics.

“That really struck me,” Ramirez said in a phone interview with Radio Canada International. “Because usually… Italian old men, retired, when they meet around bar they talk about other things: about football (soccer), about food, about gardening...”

(click to listen to the full interview with Bruno Ramirez)

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Ramirez says he managed to meet them and saw that they were incredibly articulate.

“They had a very interesting experience to tell and so I thought I would do at first a short documentary, just of them discussing politics around the table, around dinner, drinking their own wine and then, the more I learned about them, about their trajectory in life… I decided that they deserved a little more than a short ten minutes documentary,” Ramirez said.

The result is an hour-long documentary that profiles the three Montreal octogenarians who settled in Canada in the 1950s and 1960s and were among the founders of local chapters of the Italian Communist Party, the Italian Socialist Party, as well as labour organisations.

Adamo, di Feo and Martire tell the story of their immigration, their struggles to settle in a new country and their involvement in Canadian and Quebec politics through images, personal documents and public archives.

Ramirez says they also speak about their concerns for their children and to the future of the Italian-Canadian community.

Tre Compagni di Montreal premieres June 21 at Montreal's Cinéma moderne, closing the Italian Contemporary Film Festival.

Road salt levels have hit new record levels in Canada’s Great Lakes region, making some waterways as salty as the ocean according to new chloride maps revealed by environmental advocates.

WWF-Canada’s Great Lakes Chloride Summer Hot Spot Map reveals that levels in many rural and urban southern Ontario waterways are increasing dangerously.

“Since 2007, we’ve seen an increase in chloride’s impact of chloride levels in the summer months. So the map is showing a spatial impact of chloride contamination,” said Elizabeth Hendriks, WWF Canada’s vice-president of freshwater.

The study focuses only on the Great Lakes region but the organisation has seen trends increasing in large urban centres anywhere where significant development is happening over time as well.

Road salt, which is a mix of sodium chloride, calcium chloride and magnesium chloride is widely used in Canada during icy winter to keep public areas safe.

Public Road agencies use 7 million tonnes of road salt every year in Canada according to WWF. Road salt use by the private sector and small towns is not currently tracked or controlled in the province.

The problem of road salt affecting the environment is not new since many reports have been published over the years on the negative impact of this product.

Winter road salt slowly killing a lake (April 12, 2018)

Winter road salt and environment: revision needed (April 9, 2015)

The Summer Hot Spot maps shows an increasing trend in summer-time data (Robert F. Bukaty, file/AP Photo)

Road salt is toxic to the environment

The toxicity of road salt depends on the amount used, explains Hendriks.

The more you put it, the more toxic it becomes. So what we see are levels close to ocean levels in freshwater systems.Elizabeth Hendriks, WWF Canada’s vice-president of freshwater

According to the map, the levels recorded are between 1000 and 1200 mg/l in some places.

In comparison, “a healthy salt level for freshwater ecosystems like as mussels, fish and turtles is 120 mg/l”, says the environmental advocate.

Anything above this limit as a significant impact on biodiversity but also on communities and drinking water.

We are creating freshwater systems that are inhabitable for freshwater ecosystems or freshwater species. And then, also, we’re seeing impacts to our drinking water and, for large urban centres and even smaller urban centres, impact on infrastructure.Elizabeth Hendriks, WWF Canada’s vice-president of freshwater

For example, salt erosion affects infrastructure such as the Gardiner Expressway, a municipal highway along the shore of Lake Ontario in Toronto, or the major bridge in Montreal, the Champlain Bridge. The latter is in such poor conditions that the city has had to build another one to replace it, which will be officially inaugurated on June 24.

The new Samuel de Champlain Bridge is seen on the right next to the old bridge in Montreal on Monday. Paul Chiasson/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

The organisation already had concerns about drinking water in some areas as well.

In terms of wildlife, the presence of blue crabs in Cooksville Creek in Mississauga, Ontario, is a consequence of high chloride levels.

They don’t know how the blue crab, which is an ocean crab, found its way to Cooksville Creek but it was thriving in a freshwater river, well supposedly freshwater river.Elizabeth Hendriks, WWF Canada’s vice-president of freshwater

WWF has also seen the phenomenon affect other fish or turtle species, becoming an aggravating factor for species at risk.

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“It’s the new normal”

One of the main results of this map is that the trend throughout the years (from 2007 to 2017) sees an increasing trend in summer-time d...