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Stop me if you've heard this one: another natural treasure is under threat--really under threat.

Just the Great Lakes, folks.

You know: those five enormous and gorgeous bodies of water, straddling Canada and the U.S., that have long served as an oh-so-vital component of our collective physical, cultural, economic and spiritual life.

A new study finds they are now filling with so much plastic waste that they are about to rival the world's oceans in that no-so-healthy regard.

And God knows, we've all seen those photos.

Ocean plastics are a problem around the world, including Newfoundland and Labrador (above). (Rich Carey/Shutterstock)

But guess what, there are things we can do.

The person who tells me this is the same person who carried out the study.

Her name is Gail Krantzberg, a human dynamo with a self-described passion for water.

Krantzberg is also an engineering and public policy professor at the Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, hard by Lake Ontario.

Her findings are being published in the Journal of Waste Resources and Recycling.

Krantzberg has been in love with water all her life. (Courtesy: Ontario Society of Professional Engineers)

As you might guess, it is--most emphatically--not a pretty read.

"We are increasingly detecting microplastics in the waters and fish and wildlife in the Great Lakes," Krantzberg told The Canadian Press in a recent interview when asked about her study.

"A fish with a gut full of plastics cannot be a healthy fish and can, in fact, starve to death. We know the problem is increasing in severity."

But Wait!

I spoke by phone with Kranzberg on Thursday about how the plastics are getting to the Great Lakes and her call for "swift action," which--as it turns out--is something all of us can contribute to every day, if we can just muster the needed will.

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With files from CP, Digital Journal

The United Nations latest warning on climate says we’re heading for a global average increase of 3.2 degrees Celsius.

It notes that countries agreed to targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to slow the increase are well short of the timeframe needed.

Robert McLeman (PhD) , discusses the implications of the report. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario

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The report is called “Emissions Gap Report 2019”  and is the tenth report about greenhouse gas emissions assessing “the annual guage of the disconnect between where we are and where we need to be”. and comes on the heels of another report last month called “Lessons from a decade of emissions gap assessments”

Professor Rob McLeman (PhD), Wilfrid Laurier University Department of Geography and Environmental Studies (supplied)

It warns that, ” Unless mitigation ambition and action increase substantially and immediately in the form of new or updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs) by 2020 and are reflected in ambitious long-term GHG development strategies, exceeding the 1.5°C goal can no longer be avoided, and achieving the well-below 2°C temperature goal becomes increasingly challenging”

Global greenhouse gas emissions per type of gas (left) and (right) theTop greenhouse gas emitters, excluding land-use change emissions due to lack of reliable data  (UNEP)

RCI: Nov 26/19:  UN issues another stark warning about climate

The reports note that large annual emissions cuts need to take place between 2020 and 2030 to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and paint yet another very worrisome picture of the future under various scenarios and degrees of action

The ArcelorMittal Dofasco steel and coke plant. The UN reports say there's still time to take drastic action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but if not the world is headed for a 3.2 degree temperature increase with severe problems by the end of this century. (John Rieti-CBC)

However, they also say, there have never more opportunities for nations to increase action to the levels needed to ward off the worst impacts of climate change.

For his part McLeman says a 3.2C increase would lead to massive displacement of people due to sea rise, and food crises due to droughts and floods. "It would not be a nice place to raise your children", he says.

additional information

Emissions Gap Report 2019- Full document

Emissions Gap Report-2019: executive summary

For the second time in less than a month, hockey is back in the headlines for--what staunch supporters will tell you--are all the wrong reasons.

In what seems like a heartbeat ago, everybody was venting--pro or con--about the firing of Don Cherry, the long-time Saturday night television mainstay/icon, who was fired by Sportsnet following some loaded words directed at immigrants.

Now, the hockey coach of the NHL Calgary Flames, Bill Peters, appears to be in serious trouble--the result of an alleged racist incident involving a Nigerian-born player, Akim Aliu, he was coaching in the minor leagues 10 years ago.

Akim Aliu played seven games for the Flames between 2011 and 2013. (Associated Press)

In an interview with The Sports Network, Aliu alleged Peters "dropped the N bomb several times towards me in the dressing room in my rookie year because he didn't like my choice of music."

Aliu said the incident occurred during the 2009-10 season when both were with the Chicago Blackhawks' minor-league affiliate in Rockford, Ill.

The NHL and the Flames are investigating and nothing has been proven so the only thing we know for certain at this point is that Peters will not be behind the Flames' bench tonight--under club orders--when they play the Buffalo Sabres.

"This is a very serious matter and we want to be thorough in our review ... We will have no further comment until our review is complete," the Flames said in a statement.

Flames' General Manager Brad Trevliving called the allegations "repulsive."

Flames' General Manager Trevliving. (cbc.ca)

"This is subject matter that has no place in our organization," Treliving said. "Now it's my job to find out exactly what's taken place."

Here's what Aliu told TSN's Frank Seravalli about the incident, apparently sparked by Aliu playing hip hop music in the locker room.

"He walked in before a morning pre-game skate and said 'Hey Akim, I'm sick of you playing that n---s---'" Aliu told Seravalli.

"He said 'I'm sick of hearing this n---s f---other n---s in the a--stuff.'

"He then walked out like nothing ever happened. You could hear a pin drop in the room, everything went dead silent. I just sat down in my stall, didn't say a word."

Seravalli reported two other players on that team — Simon Pepin and Peter MacArthur — independently corroborated the incident.

Aliu, who was born in Nigeria, raised in Ukraine and moved to Canada at the age of seven, has played just seven NHL games and is currently a free agent after playing 11 games last season in the ECHL.

The treatment of Colin Kaepernick (pictured in 2016) by the National Football League was a reason Aliu cited for not coming forward sooner. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo/ File)

Asked why he waited 10 years to step forward, he cited former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

“This isn’t me being bitter. I sat on this a really, really long time. It broke my heart, I think it made my career go downhill before it started,” Aliu said. “This isn’t to the degree of Kaepernick by any means, but if you play the race card, it’s most likely the end of your career.”

Aliu said he did not confront Peters at the time of the incident, nor in the private meeting that followed in Peters’ office.

“What am I going to say? I was 20 years old and a first-year pro. I was too scared to speak up,” he said.

“I beat myself up every day over it.”

For some perspective, I called Balarama Holness, a former professional football player who is now a community activist and a law student at McGill University.

We spoke by phone on Wednesday.

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With files from AP (John Wawrow), TSN (Frank Seravalli)

With pro-democracy protests still ongoing, albeit, slightly calmed, the elections for the lower echelon of government, the regional councils, were held on Sunday.

Pro-democracy candidates won almost all positions and now 17 of the 18 regional councils are dominated by pro-democracy members.

Colin Robertson gives an analysis of the implications, and Canada’s position. He is Vice-President at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, an independent, non-partisan research institute related to foreign policy and a former Canadian consul in Hong Kong

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The message that Chief Executive Officer Carrie Lam had been promoting to the press and apparently to Beijing is that a silent majority in Hong Kong were fed up with the protests and wanted authorities to firmly end them. The massive public turnout and vote in favour or pro-democracy candidates has clearly shown that not to be the case.

Colin Robertson, VP Canadian Global Affairs Institute, former Canadian Consul in Hong Kong (supplied)

Robertson notes that Beijing’s reaction has once again been a firm warning of the west not to meddle in China’s affairs which include Hong Kong. He suggests that these results may calm the demonstrations now that the pro-democracy movement has at least a small voice in politics.

Meanwhile, the BBC is reporting that virtually all coverage of the pro-democracy result has been downplayed by China, with some news stories claiming tampering in the results.

A team including management, security guards, councillors and the Hong Kong Red Cross, search rooms for any remaining protesters hiding at PolyU on Tuesday. It is thought that by having at least a small political voice as a result of the elections, the violent demonstrations such as that at the university, may be calmed (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)

Robertson notes that with recent trade actions by China against Canada, concerns about human rights treatment of China’s minority groups and dissidents, and potential security issues, Canadians are starting to become more wary of China.  It is unclear how this may play out in terms of Canadian policy at this point. While other members of the so-called “Five Eyes” countries have banned Huawei from developing a 5G network in their countries,  Canada has yet to decide whether to deny or allow the Chinese electronics giant to participate in Canada.

Additional information

Thomson Reuters (via CBC): Nov 26/19: Humiliated at polls, Hong Kong's leader acknowledges discontent with government

BBC: Nov 26/19: Hong Kong elections: Chinese media attempt to downplay results

PostMedia: Nov 25/19: Pro-democracy activists urge Trudeau to show some 'guts' dealing with China

Guardian (UK): E Graham-Harrison: Nov 25/19: China issues warning over Hong Kong after election blow

South China Morning Post: Nov 25/19: Hong Kong election results giving opposition camp huge win boost Hang Seng, as hopes rise violent protests may subside

For many of us, one of the great pleasures of life is playing a team sport.

One of the things that makes it great is the locker room, a place we tend to feel safe, mainly, I would submit, because we are hanging out with our peers, people we feel are not all that different from who we believe we are, or would like to be.

It's something most of us pretty much take for granted.

Or not.

Take Harrison Browne.

Harrison Browne, centre, takes a shot on Stephen Cadigan during Boston Pride Hockey LGBT hockey action in Boston earlier this month. (Handout photo/Boston Pride Hockey LGBT/Kyle Outlaw/Canadian Press)

Browne never felt all that much at home--at least completely at home--in a whole lot of locker rooms.

Browne, it should be noted, was an excellent player--good enough to play NCAA Div. 1 college in the United States, good enough to play for Team Canada in the 2011 U18 Championship, a team that won a silver medal in Stockholm, good enough to play professionally with the Buffalo Beauts of the U.S.- based National Women's Hockey League.

Brown's first name then was Hailey.

"I didn't feel myself at all when I would be announced as Hailey or they'd be saying 'she' had a good game, 'she' scored this many goals," Browne told CBC News' Lorenda Reddekopp in 2016.

Harrison Browne is pictured back when he was known as Hailey at the rink. (Harrison Browne)

"I didn't feel connected to that at all."

He asked the National Women's Professional League to officially change his name, becoming the first transgender athlete in North American professional sports.

In March 2017, he retired to complete his transition.

But hockey runs deep in the blood of Canadians, so earlier this year when he was asked to join an all-transgender hockey team known as Team Trans, he accepted.

Named honorary co-captain, Browne took part in two games earlier this month against the Boston Pride, an LGBTQ hockey team.

Browne described the experience to Cassandra Szklarski of Canadian Press as "life-changing."

I spoke by phone with Browne on Tuesday.

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Something brand new has happened in Canadian politics. Just last week, the recently re-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, named his cabinet. One of the ministers was named to a new position of Minister of Middle-Class prosperity.

Stephen Gordon (PhD) takes a look at how we define this “class” and the job of the new ministry. He is a professor of economics at Laval University in Quebec City.

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Gordon says Mme Fortier, as the associate Minister of Finance, responsible for ‘middle class prosperity” will have a tough job. Partly because there’s no definition of middle class.

Stephen Gordon (PhD) is a professor of economics at Laval University, Quebec City. (supplied)

Asked in a CBC interview to define middle class, Fortier responded, “Well, I define the middle class where people feel that they can afford their way of life. They have quality of life. And they can ... send their kids to play hockey or even have different activities.   It's having the cost of living where you can do what you want with your family. So I think that it's really important that we look at, how do we make our lives more affordable now?”

Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa-Vanier, Mona Fortier shown in Ottawa just prior to being sworn in as Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance at Rideau Hall on Wednesday. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

A national poll done by Canada’s MacLean’s magazine found that roughly 70 per cent of Canadians defined themselves as middle class.

In May 2017, Transport Minister Marc Garneau in the House of Commans had another way of defining it using ‘values’, saying,

"Middle-class values are values that are common to most Canadians from all backgrounds, who believe in working hard to get ahead and hope for a better future for their children."

Still another definition comes from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). That 2016 definition for middle class says it’s anyone who earns between 75 per cent and 200 per cent of median household income after tax.

Because the term is vague, and the duties of the new minister seem vague at this point, and because much of the population in Canada in the median income range has been doing relatively well, Gordon says she’ll have to find problems that need solving.

Asked if the new breif was political window dressing by the Trudeau government, Gordon responded that if the government can’t define middle class, and won’t define it, then “yes, I think so”.

Additional information

OECD-Dec 1/16: The Squeezed Middle Class

CBC: S. Hogan: Oct 13/19: who is Canada’s middle class

CBC: Nov 22/19: What does a minister of middle class prosperity do?

Globe and Mail: B Curry: Nov 22/19:  New minister of middle class prosperity declines to provide clear definition of middle class

TorStar: J. Wells: Nov 23/19: Is the new minister of middle class prosperity for real?

A hardy bunch of Canadians will gather this Sunday for the 107th time in a city with a football stadium to--at the very least--partake in some darn good parties and, yes, watch a football game.

This year it's between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

It's Grey Cup time in Canada, everybody!

This year it's in Calgary, Alberta.

Game time: 4 p.m.

Hamilton Tiger Cats wide receiver Brandon Banks (16) celebrates his highlight reel touchdown catch from quarterback Dane Evans (9) in the East Division final against Edmonton, won by the Cats 33-16. (Peter Power/Canadian Press )

This year's game is being billed as "The Drought Bowl," since the Bombers and the Cats carry the longest active streaks without having won the Canadian title.

Winnipeg last won in 1990, Hamilton in 1999.

For the record Hamilton is favoured by 3.5 points.

The two teams have a Grey Cup history--most famously in the 1962 game, known forever as "The Fog Bowl."

If it wasn't the most memorable Grey Cup ever, it certainly was the most bizarre, taking two days to play after fog rolling in from Lake Ontario covered Toronto's Exhibition Stadium.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers celebrate after defeating the Saskatchewan Roughriders 20-13 in last Sunday's CFL West Final. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Nobody--neither players nor fans--could see a damn thing.

The game was halted with nine minutes and 29 seconds to go on Dec. 1, a Saturday, with the Bombers leading 28-27.

That's how it ended the next day when the teams returned to complete the proceedings.

There will be no repeat of THAT on Sunday; we've got what passes for a balmy Canadian November day.

The forecast calls for a mix of sun and clouds with a high of three Celsius--no rain, no snow, no fog, no mud.

Bruce Dowbiggin. (cbc.ca)

In the eye of the Grey Cup storm is Calgary resident Bruce Dowbiggin, author, sportswriter, broadcaster and host of the Not the Public Broadcaster website.

I spoke to him Friday about Grey Cups and what they mean.

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Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death worldwide with heart attacks as a major concern, This is when blood flow to the heart itself is restricted which can lead in some cases to heart failure. In Canada there are approximately 600,000 patients living with advanced heart disease.

In what is being hailed as a “world first”, researchers in Canada have developed a new treatment that can easily help restore a percentage of heart function, preventing or greatly delaying heart failure

Emilio Alarcon (PhD, MRSC) was a co-lead supervisor. He is a Principal Investigator and Laboratory Director, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, and an assistant professor in the university’s  Faculty of Medicine.

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The university scientists research led by Professors Alarcon and Erik Suuronen, was published in the journal Nature Communications, under the title Injectable human recombinant collagen matrices limit adverse remodeling and improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction, (open source access HERE)

Professor Emilio Alarcon, University of Ottawa Heart Institute UOHI (Christopher McTiernan, BEaTS lab)

Normally in a heart attack, the area of the heart affected is damaged as the cells, deprived of oxygen and nutrients, cease to function and die.

The damaged area ends up akin to scar tissue thickened and without elasticity limiting its ability to pump blood.

The research team has developed a “gel” of recombinant human collagen which can be injected directly into the heart, and which can improve elasticity and create an environment for new cells to help restore function while also limiting the spread of the damage.

Dr. Emilio Alarcon (8th from left) poses with members of his research team. He has travelled the world, he says, to assemble this talented group. From left to right: Antony El-Khoury (NSERC summer fellow), Madison Bak (MSc student), Brook Biniam (Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP)), Ashley Baldwin (lab manager), Dr Veronika Sedlakova (postdoctoral fellow), Justina Pupkaite (PhD student), Sarah Mclaughlin (PhD student), Dr. Christopher McTiernan (postdoctoral fellow), Dr. Erik Suuronen (director, BEaTS), Maxime Comtois-Bona (co-op student), Dr. Marcelo Muñoz (postdoctoral fellow) and Alex Ross (MSc Student). Missing from photo: Dr. Marc Ruel, Zohra Khatoon, Erik Jacques, David Cortes, Michel Grenier, Keshav Goel – photo credit: uOttawa Faculty of Medicine

Developed in conjunction with fellow scientist Erik Suuronen  and the BioEngineering and Therapeutic Solutions (BEaTS) laboratory of the UOHI

the gel helps restore elasticity to the damaged area in addition to other beneficial action. Alarcon says, “The treatment works, in part, by increasing the number of cardiac muscle cells and blood capillaries in the tissue surrounding the damaged area. The gel also promotes the recruitment of more wound healing cells to the site of injury.”

Schematic representation for the human recombinant collagen-based therapy for cardiac tissue repair (Credit Image: Ella Maru Studio)

While bypass surgery and drugs are the common treatment and work very well, a certain percentage of patients will nevertheless go on to have an enlarged heart and then heart failure.

In animal model trials using the human protein gel the damage can be contained, or the potential failure delayed significantly while a donor heart can be obtained.

(Sarah McLaughlin et al.,  Injectable human recombinant collagen matrices limit adverse remodeling and improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction- Nature Communications)

Quoted in a Heart Institute press release, Dr. Marc Ruel, Division Head of Cardiac Surgery at the UOHI, and co-author of the paper said,

“As people with damaged hearts are living longer, the incidence of heart failure is increasing. Therefore, a treatment capable of recovering cardiac function and preventing heart failure would have a tremendous...

The fact is that most people give very little thought to where their food comes from, or who’s producing it.

Filmmaker Kelsey van Moorsel is from a farming background in Alberta and found that many people in the urban centres where she spent time had a misconception about farming: what’s actually involved and who farmers were.

With her own knowledge, she contacted three women who were farmers to talk about their roles as the leaders on the farm and they they are not just the wives and daughters of farmers, but farmers themselves

Filmmaker Kelsey van Moorsel talks about her documentary on women farmersEN_Interview_1-20191120-WIE10

Maybe you have an image of a farmer as an adult male of a certain age wearing a beat up baseball cap or straw hat sitting atop an old tractor while ploughing a field.

Picture a Farmer Trailer (full film on YouTube)

Nowadays that old tractor might easily be an eight-wheeled high tech computer controlled vehicle operated by a woman. While women have always played a vital role on farms, few urbanites or even the farm community considered the women as “farmers”. Often not even the women themselves.

Lynn Dargis took over the large family farm after the sudden loss of her parents in an accident.She's been operating the farm for several years, She is "the farmer" ( Picture a Farmer)

That has been changing, as women themselves assume the title for the work they’ve always done, including taking on the leading role on farms often as owners and operators of the farm.

Susan Holme Manyluk has been operating a cow and calf farm in central Alberta for 40 years. (Picture a Farmer)

Van Moorsel says the point of the film was not to portray women as superwomen but rather just to point out that women can and are doing everything any other “farmer” does in a farming operation and to give urban dwellers a small taste of what farmers and farming is like and who are the people producing the food they consume.

Additional information

Storyhive: website “Picture a Farmer” video

Alberta Farmer:A. Kienlen: Aug 12/19; Film about farm women shows how times have changed

Lindisfarne Productions;

November carries a lot of baggage in Canada--mostly a mix of shivering and foreboding.

This year we get to throw in shovelling, as winter--not officially, mind you--has come early to way too many places across the country.

So what happens next?

We all wonder, though we have a pretty good idea.

The Weather Network issued its winter forecast Monday.

There are those who say the best way to cope with winter is to just stop fighting it. (Conservation Officer Service of British Columbia)

"The upcoming winter across the country looks to be more frozen than thawed, and we've already seen an early entrance of winter weather this fall," chief meteorologist Chris Scott told Canadian Press.

"The signs that we're seeing this year do suggest we're in for a winter that's more on than off across the country — and that it's going to be fairly long for many Canadians."

Optimists (aka sublimators and deniers) will not be encouraged by the Old Farmer's Almanac prediction, which is tossing around phrases like "polar coaster" and "bitterly cold."

"Our long-range forecast is calling for yet another freezing, frigid, and frosty winter for two-thirds of the country," editor Peter Geiger writes.

"If you remember last winter's freezing temperatures, you're going to want to be prepared."

Canadian Gothic: A snowplow at work in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador (CBC)

AccuWeather?

Pretty much the same, though just a tad tempered.

Since I had already set things up to talk with David Phillips, Environment and Climate Change Canada's senior climatologist, about the winter ahead, I reached for the phone today with more than a touch of trepidation.

I began by asking him how he sees the next five months playing out.

And guess what!

Well, here is our conversation.

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