At 19, Iman Vellani is proud to 'take up space' as Marvel's 1st Muslim superhero

Griffin Jaege

CBC

Actor Iman Vellani has always been an avid fan of the Avengers and comics — so making the move from Markham, Ont., to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to portray its first Muslim superhero is an achievement she finds almost indescribable.


© Courtesy of Marvel Studios

Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in Ms. Marvel. In taking the role, she's Marvel's first Muslin superhero.

Iman Vellani: From Canadian high schooler to Ms. Marvel

Iman Vellani went from being a high school student in Markham, Ont., to being Marvel’s first Muslim superhero after one video call. Vellani talks to CBC’s Ginella Massa about stepping into her dream role as Ms. Marvel. 

"It feels a lot … just a lot of feelings," she said, trying to put it into words at her Toronto red carpet debut. "To be in Toronto and celebrate this with all my friends and family is super weird. But yeah, I'm excited."

Vellani, 19, stars as Kamala Khan in the upcoming series Ms. Marvel, launching on June 8 on Disney+.

Vellani's role also marks the franchise's second South Asian hero — and the first female one. In 2021, Kumail Nanjiani played Marvel's first South Asian superhero in Eternals, taking on the part of Kingo, a Bollywood film star turned superhero.

Before this, despite the abundance of South Asian characters present in Marvel comics — think Thunderbird, Timeslip and Omega Sentinel — the films have limited South Asian roles to supporting characters like Dr. Ratha in The Amazing Spider-Man (Irffan Khan) and Dopinder in the Deadpool franchise (Karan Soni), parts critics suggest were largely built around stereotypes.

Criticism about the lack of diversity for lead actors in the superhero franchise had also been growing.

And Vellani said she sees this role as also being about representing her community and showcasing South Asian culture.

"Film and TV literally shape how we see people in this world. And so, you know, when you're only representing Muslims in a certain type of light, it gets very one-note," the Pakistani-born Canadian actor said.

"I'm so glad that Marvel's providing space for a character like Kamala to exist and to just take up space and tell a very specific story about a very specific girl."

The show focuses on Khan, a Muslim-American teen and superhero mega-fan growing up in Jersey City. She deals with the pressures familiar to many teens: struggling to fit in at school and finding support at home.

Then, she finds out she has superpowers of her own.

Brie Larson, known for her role as Captain Marvel, the franchise's first female superhero, reached out to Vellani shortly after she was cast.

"She was just holding my hand throughout all of it," Vellani said. "It was really nice to kind of have that guidance of someone who's gone through all of this and everything that I'm experiencing right now."

The storyline presents a unique parallel to Vellani's daily life. Being a fan herself, she describes stepping into the world of Marvel as "so much fun."

"I was on set and I was just, like, totally gushing over everything I'm seeing around me," said Vellani.

The show's team didn't let her see the set of the first episode's "Avenger Con" convention until the day they shot the scene — they knew her reaction would be just as exuberant as Kamala's.

"They were like, 'Whatever your reaction is going to be in real life is what we want ... so just be yourself,'" she said, describing the energy she brought to the character.

"That specificity is really what makes a character believable and what is going to represent people … not generalizing all of the brown people into one character."

In this fun clip from the upcoming Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, Kamala tests her powers. The series stars Iman Vellani, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Fawad Khan, Laurel Marsden, Arian Moayed, Adaku Ononogbo, Alysia Reiner, Azhar Usman, Laith Nakli, Nimra Bucha and Travina Springer, and Aramis Knight.

The future is in her hands. Ms. Marvel, an Original series from Marvel Studios, starts streaming June 8 on Disney+. ► Watch Marvel on Disney+: https://bit.ly/2XyBSIW

 

NOW THE CRITIQUE; ITS MADE FOR TWEEN'S

Ms Marvel - How NOT To Build A Hero

The Critical Drinker

The Critical Drinker1.23M subscribers

After watching the trailer for Ms Marvel, the upcoming MCU show on Disney+, I was blown away by how badly they seem to have introduced this character. Join me as I break down what the trailer got wrong, and how it could have been done better.

 

Disney+ releases four-minute documentary on upcoming series Ms. Marvel

PUBLISHED 02 JUN, 2022 
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The show stars Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American superhero who adores Captain Marvel and wants to be like her.

Photo: Ms. Marvel /Instagram

Before viewers and fans get to see Iman Vellani in action as Kamala Khan in Ms. Marvel, Disney+ has a little present to get everyone ready for the MCU's newest superhero. A documentary called A Fan's Guide to Ms. Marvel just released on the streaming site that guides viewers through the story of Kamala and who the superhero actually is.

On Wednesday, the official account of the upcoming series shared a poster for the special documentary based on the superhero. A Fan's Guide to Ms. Marvel isn't particularly long — according to Collider, the special is for only four minutes. It features new interviews with the cast and crew, never-before-seen footage of the show itself, Kamala and her best friend Bruno (Matt Lintz) living in their bubble and taking over AvengerCon and the odes paid to all Marvel heroes.

The documentary features Vellani giving fans yet another up close and personal look at the newest star of the Marvel Universe. The short documentary also features some behind-the-scenes action sequences, focusing mainly on Marvel's plans to make the show their next big hit.

Vellani plays 16-year-old Kamala, a Pakistani-American teen who lives in Jersey City. Kamala is an aspiring artist, an avid gamer, and a voracious fan-fiction scribe. She is also a huge fan of the Avengers — and one in particular, Captain Marvel. But Kamala has always struggled to find her place in the world — that is until she gets super powers like the heroes she’s always looked up to.

The cast includes Aramis Knight, Lintz, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Mohan Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, Nimra Bucha, Zenobia Shroff, Yasmeen Fletcher, Travina Springer, Laurel Marsden, Laith Nakli and Azhra Usman. Fawad Khan was also rumoured to make an appearance in the show, however, his cameo hasn't been confirmed yet.

It was also confirmed on May 26 that Coke Studio's hit 'Peechay Hutt' by Hasan Raheem, Talal Qureshi and the Justin Bibis will also be featured in the show.

The series will be releasing exclusively in theatres in Pakistan in June and July since Disney+ is not available for viewers in Pakistan. Earlier this month, director Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy had announced that Disney and Marvel have created a special theatre format for Ms. Marvel. The six-episode show will be split into three parts, according to the filmmaker.

Episodes one and two will debut on June 16, three and four on June 30 and five and six on July 14.

'A dream come true': Mehwish Hayat praises Ms. Marvel's 'accurate' representation of desi culture

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The actor said Kamala Khan is the first brown superhero we all can relate to.


Photo: AFP


Disney+ and Marvel's upcoming show Ms. Marvel has been the talk of the town for desis all over social media, be it our very own Pakistani celebrities representing on the red carpet in Hollywood, or some snippets from the show that left many demanding correct representation. But for Mehwish Hayat, Ms. Marvel is an "accurate representation" of Pakistani culture.

On Sunday, the actor shared photos from the premiere event of the show held in Los Angeles. In her post, she wrote, "Working on Ms Marvel and being part of the MCU is a dream come true for me! You cannot believe what it means to finally have the first brown Muslim superhero that we can all relate to and who speaks for us. Words can't describe how happy my inner child is to see my culture being so accurately represented on screen, in a mainstream Hollywood production."

She also wrote that it means a lot that Marvel made an effort to cast Pakistani actors in key roles. "I hope that this will not only show actors in Pakistan that they need to look beyond their own borders but also give Hollywood the confidence to cast talent from Pakistan."

In her post, Hayat credited show creator Sana Amanat, executive producer Jenna Berger and director Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and the rest of the team's "attention to detail" that made Ms. Marvel something really special. For her, the proud moment was seeing the Oscar winning filmmaker directing the upcoming show. "Couldn’t think of anyone who would have been better," she wrote.

She also complimented the main lead, Iman Vellani, who plays Kamala Khan. For Hayat, Vellani is a "real firecracker" who is destined to be a big name in Hollywood.

Hayat bumping into Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, and Louis D'Esposito, film producer, was the "icing on the cake" of her trip. She also wrote that Marvel needs to be applauded because they have made every little girl, not just brown, believe that they are special and can achieve their dreams if they believe in them enough. "Look at me… a girl from Karachi walking the Red carpet in Hollywood shows anything is possible."

In the show, Vellani plays 16-year-old Kamala, a Pakistani-American teen who lives in Jersey City. Kamala is an aspiring artist, an avid gamer, and a voracious fan-fiction scribe. She is also a huge fan of the Avengers — and one in particular, Captain Marvel. But Kamala has always struggled to find her place in the world — that is until she gets super powers like the heroes she’s always looked up to.

Earlier last month, Chinoy had announced that Disney and Marvel have created a special theatre format for Ms. Marvel. The six-episode show will be split into three parts according to the filmmaker.

Episodes one and two will debut on June 16, three and four on June 30 and five and six on July 14.

The residential schools behind Canada's unmarked graves

© Provided by CBS News 

The former Muskowekwan residential school in Saskatchewan

Anderson Cooper - CBS-  Yesterday

Last year, when archeologists detected what they believed to be 200 unmarked graves at an old school in Canada, it brought new attention to one of the most shameful chapters of that nation's history. Starting in the 1880's and for much of the 20th century, more than 150,000 children from hundreds of indigenous communities across Canada were forcibly taken from their parents by the government and sent to what were called Residential Schools. Funded by the state and run by churches, they were designed to assimilate and Christianize indigenous children by ripping them from their parents, their culture, and their community. The children were often referred to as savages and forbidden from speaking their languages or practicing their traditions. As we first reported earlier this year, many were physically and sexually abused, and thousands of children never made it home.

The last of Canada's 139 residential schools for indigenous children closed in 1998. Most have been torn down, but the Muskowekwan residential school in Saskatchewan still stands. Its windows boarded up, Its rooms gutted. A reminder to a nation that would rather forget. A three-storey tombstone for generations of children who died here.

Leona Wolf: Sometimes, I wish it would be gone for all what happened here.

Anderson Cooper: You wish this had been torn down?

Leona Wolf: Yeah. I could hear everything in here, what was done. It lingers.

Leona Wolf, who comes from the Muskowekwan reserve, was five years old when she says she was taken from her home in 1960. School officials and police would often show up unannounced in indigenous communities and round up children, some as young as three. Parents could be jailed if they refused to hand their children over. When kids arrived at their schools, their traditional long hair was shaved off. If they tried to speak their language, they were often punished.

Leona Wolf: They put me in a little dark room like that. And they'd shut the door and then they'd take off the light. All I had to look through was this much light, like I was in jail.


© Provided by CBS News Leona Wolf

She says the abuse many kids at Muskowekwan suffered from the Catholic priests and nuns wasn't just physical.

Leona Wolf: Father Joyal was fondling the girls here.

Anderson Cooper: A priest, Father Joyal, was fondling girls in this room?

Leona Wolf: Yeah. This used to be sick bay. They used to have a bed here

Anderson Cooper: And he would take girls into the bed?

Leona Wolf: Yeah, my cousin.

Anderson Cooper: He took your cousin in here? How old was she?

Leona Wolf: She was only 8.

Leona Wolf: I grew up a very, very mean woman because of all what happened to me.

Anderson Cooper: You learned that here, you think?

Leona Wolf: Yeah

She is not the only one. More than 150,000 children were sent to residential schools, which Canada's first prime minister supported to, in his words, "sever children from the tribe" and "civilize" them. For much of the 20th century, the Canadian government supported that mission.


© Provided by CBS NewsWolf and correspondent Anderson Cooper

The idea for the schools came in part from the United States. In 1879 the Carlisle Indian Industrial School opened in Pennsylvania, where this photo was taken of Native American children when they first arrived. This is them four months later. The school's motto was "kill the Indian, save the man."

Chief Wilton Littlechild: Consequently, ours was, "kill the Indian in the child."

Anderson Cooper: "Kill the Indian in the child."

Chief Wilton Littlechild: Mhhm.

Anderson Cooper: That was the guiding principle here in Canada.

Chief Wilton Littlechild: Yeah.


© Provided by CBS News Chief Wilton Littlechild

Chief Wilton Littlechild, who is Cree, was six years old when he was taken to this residential school in Alberta. Then, he says, he was given a new name.

Chief Wilton Littlechild: My name was number 65 for all those years.

Anderson Cooper: Just a number.

Chief Wilton Littlechild: Just a number, yeah. "Sixty-five, pick that up stupid." Or, "65, why'd you do that, idiot?"

Anderson Cooper: What does that feel like at six years old to be called a number?

Chief Wilton Littlechild: Well, I think that's where the trauma begins. Not just the physical abuse, psychological abuse, spiritual abuse. And worst of all, sexual abuse.

Anderson Cooper: You were sexually abused.

Chief Wilton Littlechild: Yes. I think that's where my anger began as a young boy.

Chief Littlechild says he was able to take some of that anger out on the school's hockey rink. He won a scholarship to university and graduated, eventually going on to a distinguished career in law. But his story is the exception.

Chief Wilton Littlechild: They didn't kill my spirit. So, I'm still Cree. I'm still who I am. I'm not 65. My name is Mahigan Pimoteyw. So, they didn't kill my spirit.

In 2008, after thousands of school survivors filed lawsuits, the Canadian government formally apologized for its policies. It also set up a $1.9 billion compensation fund and established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that Chief Littlechild helped lead. For six years the commission heard testimony from survivors across the country.

Helen Quewezance: And she put me underwater, slapping me and hitting me, slapping me and hitting me, and punching me and punching me and holding me under water, pulling my hair, and I thought, "God she's going to kill me, I'm going to die first day of school."

Ted Quewezance: We as little boys and little girls, we lost our innocence.

In 2015 the Commission concluded what happened was "cultural genocide." It identified more than 3,000 children who died from disease due to overcrowding, malnutrition and poor sanitation, or died after being abused or trying to run away. A government study in 1909 found the death rate in some schools was as high as 20 times the national average. Most schools had their own cemeteries, and sometimes when children died, their parents were never informed.

Chief Wilton Littlechild: It's really traumatic for those families who don't know what happened to their child or relative in the schools.

Anderson Cooper: Why weren't kids who died at the schools, why weren't they sent home?

Chief Wilton Littlechild: To save money

Last year, archeologists detected what they said could be 200 unmarked graves at this former school in Kamloops, British Columbia. Weeks later, a further 751 unmarked graves were detected across from the former Marieval residential school on the Cowessess reserve in Saskatchewan. There was once a Catholic cemetery here, but the headstones were bulldozed in the 1960s by a priest after a dispute with a former chief.

A small team of researchers has been trying to discover the names of those children buried here, but for decades the government and the church had been reluctant to share their records. Chief Cadmus Delorme is trying to get answers.

Anderson Cooper: Do you know that they're all children?

Chief Cadmus Delorme: We can't verify how much are children, but based on the research we're doing, a lot of them were children that were forced to go to the Marieval Residential School and died in the Marieval residential school.


© Provided by CBS News Correspondent Anderson Cooper walks with Chief Cadmus Delorme at the former Marieval residential school

Chief Delorme says he hopes to give the unidentified children a dignity in death that they never received in life.

Chief Cadmus Delorme: I wanna make sure that Canada knows the truth, 'cause you can't move to reconciliation until you accept the truth.

The discoveries of the graves opened deep wounds. More than a dozen churches have been vandalized or destroyed, and thousands have marched demanding the Pope apologize and the churches open archives to help identify any missing children. Indigenous communities across the country have begun conducting their own searches using ground-penetrating radar.

Kisha Supernant: We've laid out a number of grids throughout this landscape.

Archeologists Kisha Supernant and Terry Clark say 35 unmarked graves have been discovered at the Muskowekwan school.

Terry Clark: There is something going on there that is not natural.

When we were there this past October, they found what appeared to be another. According to survivor accounts, children sometimes had to dig their classmates' graves.

Anderson Cooper: The priests or the school officials would force the kids to dig other children's graves?

Kisha Supernant: Yep, yep. Can you imagine being, like, ten or 11 and digging a grave for your classmate, what that must have been like?

Kisha Supernant says the search for unmarked graves will continue for years.


© Provided by CBS News Kisha Supernant

Kisha Supernant: This is very emotional work. It's very devastating work. It's heartbreaking for everyone who's involved.

Anderson Cooper: You feel that too?

Kisha Supernant: I do. Our communities still feel the impacts of these institutions in our everyday lives. We're way over-represented in child welfare and adoptions and foster care. We're way over-represented in the prisons. You can draw a direct line with that to these places and the pain of that, that has been passed on from generation to generation.

Ed Bitternose: I started school here in 1958.

Ed Bitternose, who is Cree, understands that pain. He was 8 years old when he was taken to the Muskowekwan school. His parents lived within sight of the school and when he tried to run away, he says the priests forced him to kneel on a broom handle for three days.

Ed Bitternose: That's where my house was. I would sit here and wonder why I couldn't be home.

Anderson Cooper: That must have been devastating.

Ed Bitternose: Yeah.

It wasn't only adults he feared. Some students, themselves victims of abuse, preyed on other children.

Anderson Cooper: Were you abused here?

Ed Bitternose: Yeah. Mhhm. Actually, in this room here, by one of the, one of the, one of the boys.

Anderson Cooper: In this very room?

Ed Bitternose: This very area here.

Later, he says, he was also sexually molested by a nun. When he left school, he was rudderless and violent and turned to alcohol. When he got married, he says, he didn't know how to show affection.

Anderson Cooper: You didn't know what love was?

Ed Bitternose: No. No. Because I never felt it here. I didn't start saying I loved her till we were married about 40 years, and then I was very careful how I said it.

Anderson Cooper: You didn't say to your wife for 40 years that you loved her?

Ed Bitternose: Mhhm. Yeah.


© Provided by CBS News Ed Bitternose

He says his life changed when he began re-discovering his Cree culture. Raising buffalo and sharing traditional knowledge with children brought healing, and finally, an understanding of the word love.

Anderson Cooper: You can say that now?

Ed Bitternose: I can say that now. And, and it feels good. And I still joke with my wife about that. "Don't say that too loud, you know."

Anderson Cooper: So, you can say it, you just don't want to say it too loud?

Ed Bitternose: Yes, uh-huh. Yeah.

Anderson Cooper: Okay. You know what, it's better than nothing.

Ed Bitternose: Yes, that's what she says.

As for Leona Wolf, her life and the lives of her children and grandchildren have been plagued by violence and substance abuse, intergenerational trauma, she says, that began the day her own mother was sent to school at Muskowekwan.

Anderson Cooper: Did you see the impact of this place on your mom?

Leona Wolf: Yeah. Yeah.

Anderson Cooper: How?

Leona Wolf: Yeah, by drinking a lot, being mean to me. And it impact us, me and my brother, and my siblings.

Anderson Cooper: What was done to her, she passed on to you. And what was done to you and others here…

Leona Wolf: Was passed on to my children. This is why sometimes I go into my rage of anger, and I cry, because it all, it was all done to us, all of us. But it's gonna stop now, you know? It is.

Anderson Cooper: You believe that?

Leona Wolf: I'm gonna, I'm breaking the cycle with my great-grandchildren.

Leona Wolf: Hail Mary, full of grace.

Leona Wolf has returned to her traditions as well. Walking the halls of Muskowekwan, she began to sing Hail Mary, a prayer she was forced to learn here long ago.

Now she sings it her own way.

Anderson Cooper: That's not how you sang it here when you were in school, though, was it?

Leona Wolf: Nope.

Anderson Cooper: You made peace with the Virgin Mary by singing that song?

Leona Wolf: Yeah, and I made peace with myself.

Last April at the Vatican, Pope Francis apologized to Canada's Indigenous peoples for the "deplorable" abuses they suffered in Catholic-run residential schools. He'll travel to Canada next month to make the apology in person.

Produced by Michael H. Gavshon and Nadim Roberts. Broadcast associate, Annabelle Hanflig. Edited by Stephanie Palewski Brumbach.

Why Canada soccer game vs Panama was cancelled: Explaining players protest in contract dispute months before FIFA World Cup

Kyle Bonn - Sporting News


On the heels of qualification to its first men's World Cup since 1986, this summer was meant to be part celebration and part preparation for Canada in the lead-up to Qatar 2022. The Canadian men are set to play in Group F against Morocco, Belgium, and Croatia.

Instead, recent weeks have left Canadian soccer in a quagmire of controversy, public disagreement, finger pointing, statements and counter statements, and player dissent. That combustible mix led to the cancellation of a senior men's national team match on Canadian soil on the same day it was supposed to be played.

Just a week after seeing its planned June friendly against Iran called off in the wake of significant public and political backlash, the Canadian Soccer Association was forced to cancel its replacement friendly against Panama just hours before kickoff due to a player strike.

With a unique window to transform the sport's profile in Canada, and just four years prior to serving as co-host of the 2026 men's World Cup, Canada Soccer must now find a way to navigate a crisis that if not managed correctly has the potential of leaving permanent scars on the sport and its image.

Canada's men's soccer team cancels a match against Panama amid contract disputes between players and governing body Soccer Canada

This is just days after Soccer Canada had to cancel the game with Iran

Sports journalist @JohnMolinaro explainshttps://t.co/RqwxcOVVJw pic.twitter.com/oB2lDXiXsX— Natasha Fatah (@NatashaFatah) June 6, 2022

MORE: Breaking down Canada's Group F at the 2022 World Cup
Why was Canada vs Panama soccer game cancelled?

Around 5 p.m. ET on June 5, just two hours before kickoff in Vancouver, Canada Soccer officially announced it was cancelling its friendly against Panama.

The match was called off after players announced they would not take the field in protest due to a lack of financial transparency by Canada Soccer. The men's team players released a joint statement to media members, which indicated that they "have reluctantly decided not to play our match today against Panama."

In the statement, the players outlined a host of demands required for them to retake the field, casting serious doubt over upcoming Nations League matches scheduled for June 9 vs. Curacao and June 13 in Honduras.

This is the "Dear Canada" letter released by Canada's national men's team players.

Asking for a review of Canada Soccer's broadcast & sponsorship contracts, 40% of World Cup qualification money, and a joint contract with the women's team with equal compensation for match fees. pic.twitter.com/STazGyJ9MW— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) June 5, 2022

MORE: Why Canada friendly vs. Iran was called off and replaced with Panama match
Why Canada soccer strike happened

The players are seeking to bring about changes in the way the national team program is run, demanding greater transparency from Canada Soccer.

"Despite the unprecedented success of both the Women's and Men's national teams in 2021/22, we have seen no changes. Where is the progression? Where is the money?" read the statement.

The players characterized the relationship with Canada Soccer as "strained for years". They claimed that the organization "disrespected our team and jeopardized our efforts to raise the standards and effectively advance the game in Canada" by delaying contract discussions and waiting "until the evening of June 2nd to present an archaic offer" when contract discussions had begun in March.

Provided that background, they "reluctantly decided not to play" against Panama, and instead wanted to "take a stand for the future of soccer in Canada." The players proceeded to outline a list of demands they called "fundamental elements we will stand on guard for, to shift soccer in our country":

Transparency and a review of the 10-year media and sponsorship agreement struck in 2019 with an organization called Canadian Soccer Business, owned by Canadian Premier League founders;

A leadership team that can "optimize this moment and generate revenue from corporate sponsorship";

An equitable structure with the women's national team that "shares the same player match fees, percentage of prize money earned at our respective FIFA World Cups, and the development of a women's domestic league;

World Cup compensation that includes 40 percent of prize money;

A comprehensive friends and family package for the 2022 World Cup;

More former players integrated into leadership positions within Canada Soccer.

The players are specifically citing the Canadian Soccer Business deal because they feel it "completely compromised their ability to leverage the on-field success of our senior national teams" and "hand cuffed our association [Canada Soccer]." They went on to demand that the terms of the agreement are "disclosed and corrected".

Context: Canada Soccer signed a 10-yr deal in 2019 with Canadian Soccer Business, an independent company that is owned by Canadian Premier League team owners.

CSB represents CS on all of its media & sponsor deals.

Where does $$ go? Players say they want answers.— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) June 5, 2022

The Canada women's national team, winners of Olympic gold in 2021, followed up with their own statement indicating they, too, were in negotiations with Canada Soccer since January 2022. They are seeking an agreement "that will provide equal pay to members of our team relation to the Men's National Team."

The women also say they received a proposal from Canada Soccer around the same time as the men did in June. But similar to the men, they have asked for more information "regarding its financials, including with respect to its agreement with Canadian Soccer Business."

But the women's statement also took issue with the way their male counterparts portrayed the idea of an "equitable structure" for compensation: "To be clear, the Women's National Team does not view equal FIFA percentages between our respective teams as equal pay."

It's a similar issue that the U.S. men's and women's teams ultimately resolved by pooling the disparate prize money that FIFA awards men's and women's and sharing that pooled money equally.

A statement from the Canadian Women’s National Team players: pic.twitter.com/JHqkm3iiXr— CanadianSoccerPlayers (@PlayersCanadian) June 6, 2022

Media members pointed out how the investment in the men's and women's programs has not been equitable in the past, citing previous reports of the Canada Soccer association's finances.

This is from Canada Soccer's publicly released 2021 Annual Report. From its own breakdown - 18% of funds go towards women's team. 39% go towards men's teams. #CanMNT #CanXNT #CanWNT pic.twitter.com/jXyRVgwjFi— Meaghen Johnson (@MeaghenJohnson) June 5, 2022

MORE: Why Canada's qualification to the men's World Cup can change the sport
How did Canada Soccer respond to player protest?

Canada Soccer president Nick Bontis and general secretary Earl Cochrane held a press conference hours after the match cancellation, which started with an opening statement on behalf of the organization.

The message was that Canada Soccer had serious constraints, but was available and open to negotiations.

"Canada Soccer is very disappointed in the players' decision to refuse to play today," Bontis said in his initial remarks. The federation apologized to the fans and expressed appreciation.

"Canada Soccer has been working with the players in good faith to find a way forward that is fair and equitable for all," his statement continued. "We would like to have a fact-based discussion based on the financial constraints that Canada Soccer must live in."

"We believe we made a fair offer to the players," Bontis said. "We benchmarked our offer with other offers around the world."

With regards to the gender inequity allegation by the players, Bontis stated that Canada Soccer's offer included an identical offer to the men's and women's national teams. However, he called the men's proposal "untenable" and something Canada Soccer could not afford.

According to journalist Rick Westhead, Canada Soccer revealed that the initial demands of the players was for between 75 to 100 percent of the World Cup prize money, with Canada Soccer countering with an offer of 60 percent split evenly between men and women.

The prize money share requested from the men's players in their published note (above) was 40 percent.

Canada Soccer disputes the figures in our story. Organization says CMNT demand was for 75-100% of the World Cup prize money.

Canada Soccer says it offered 60%, to be split equally between men's and women's teams. https://t.co/S36CS1LBqW— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) June 4, 2022

Canada Soccer's long-term partner Canadian Soccer Business (CSB), which was specifically cited by both men's and women's teams as they seek clarification regarding the terms of their contractual relationship, also chimed in with a statement of their own.

CSB is an agency owned by Canadian Premier League club owners, which manages commercial assets for soccer properties in Canada, including corporate partnerships and media rights for Canada's men's and women's national teams, the annual Canadian Championship tournament, and the Canadian Premier League.

Canadian Soccer Business (CSB) says it was "prepared to be fully transparent about our agreement [with Canada Soccer] which has included an unprecedented amount of revenue to Canada Soccer in the past 18 months in the forms of sponsorship and international media dollars."

CSB added that "we have invested tens of millions of dollars, and will continue to invest millions more to benefit Canadian soccer."

The Canadian Soccer Business has released the following statement. We’re back up on @onesoccer for Canada Soccer president Nick Bontis’ press conference at 8.15 PM ET.

WATCH: https://t.co/u3mtnXiFBx#CanMNT pic.twitter.com/lQmUPXcPoJ— Oliver Platt (@plattoli) June 6, 2022
How did Canada fans respond to player protest?

Canada's supporter group The Voyageurs released a statement on the situation holding a neutral position but seeming to support the players in their plight.

"Beyond their incredible achievements, [the players] represent Canada with class and dignity, and we feel both proud and fortunate to be able to support them," the fan statement read. "They are incredible human beings and are very deserving.

"However, we are not privy to the details of player compensation past or present, details regarding allocation of World Cup prize money, or the details of Canada Soccer's budget," the statement continued. "It would be inappropriate for us to take a specific stance on this issue at this time."

For those interested, we’ve decided to make a statement regarding the current #CanMNT & @CanadaSoccerEN @CanadaSoccerFR situation. pic.twitter.com/9TMAjB8JFP— The Voyageurs (@thevoyageurs) June 5, 2022
Are future Canada soccer games in jeopardy?

In the player statement, the match on June 9 against Curacao in CONCACAF Nations League play could be in jeopardy. It is scheduled to be played at BC Place in Vancouver.

"We hope Canada Soccer will take decisive steps to work with our team so we can be back on the field for our match on June 9," the statement read towards the conclusion.

Canada Soccer CEO Nick Bontis stated that he has been "immediately available" to players for negotiations both upon landing in Vancouver as well as after the press conference held on Sunday, June 5.

Bontis stated that the Curacao match in CONCACAF Nations League play would be a "CONCACAF issue" if a deal could not be reached. CONCACAF is the regional confederation comprising nations of North America, Central America and the Caribbean of which Canadian Victor Montagliani is president.

There is also a Nations League trip to Honduras scheduled to be played on June 13.

Trial set to start for federal public servant charged in shipbuilding leak case

OTTAWA — The trial of a federal public servant accused of leaking cabinet secrets about a shipbuilding project is set to begin this morning.


© Provided by The Canadian Press

Matthew Matchett was charged with one count of breach of trust in February 2019 for allegedly leaking secret cabinet documents about a contract between the federal government and Chantier Davie shipyard in Quebec in November 2015.

That is when the new Liberal government decided to hold off finalizing a contract with Davie to lease a temporary supply ship for the navy, a deal they later approved.

Matchett was suspended from his job in the federal procurement department in 2018. His lawyer has previously said his client intends to plead not guilty, and his trial by judge and jury is expected to run for several weeks.

In 2017, retired vice-admiral Mark Norman was suspended as the military's second-in-command and later charged with breach of trust in 2018 over allegations he leaked cabinet secrets about the shipbuilding project.

Norman pleaded not guilty and Crown prosecutors eventually stayed the charge in May 2019, saying that new evidence they'd received from Norman's defence team had led them to conclude there was no reasonable chance of a conviction.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2022.

Long Waits for Surgery, Treatment Cost Canadians Almost $4.1 billion in Lost Wages


Long waits for surgery and medical treatment cost Canadians almost $4.1 billion in lost wages and productivity last year (2021), finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

Preliminary data suggest that an estimated 1.4 million patients waited for medically necessary treatment last year, and each lost an estimated $2,848 (on average) due to lost wages and reduced productivity during working hours.

“Health-care workers across Canada should be commended for the superb job they’re doing to get us through this global pandemic. However, while we are constantly reminded of the consequences of COVID-19, less discussed are the consequences of unreasonable waits for surgery which can range from physical pain and psychological distress for some, to permanent disability and death for others,” said Bacchus Barua, director of health policy studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of The Private Cost of Public Queues for Medically Necessary Care, 2022.

Across Canada, the costs of waiting for medical care were about $4.1 billion.

The study draws upon data from the Fraser Institute’s Waiting Your Turn study, an annual survey of Canadian physicians who, in 2021, reported the national median waiting time from specialist appointment to treatment was 14.5 weeks.


Crucially, the $4.1 billion in lost wages is likely a conservative estimate because it doesn’t account for the additional 11.1-week wait to see a specialist after receiving a referral from a general practitioner.

Taken together (11.1 weeks and 14.5 weeks), the total median wait time in Canada for medical treatment was 25.6 weeks in 2021—the longest in the survey’s history.

“While some of this backlog is the direct result of COVID-19 related closures, results from the same survey suggest that almost as many (1.1 million) patients were waiting for treatment in 2019 – before the pandemic started,” said Mackenzie Moir, Fraser Institute policy analyst and study co-author.

Because wait times and incomes vary by province, so does the cost of waiting for health care. While the highest cost of waiting per patient is estimated to be borne by patients in Nova Scotia ($6,343), Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador reported large decreases in the per patient cost of waiting, warranting caution when interpreting results. Outside the maritime provinces, residents of Manitoba ($3,519) faced the highest per-patient cost of waiting, followed by Alberta ($3,199), Saskatchewan ($3,129).

Shazia Nazir, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Milton Reporter, Milton Reporter

Autonomous Mayflower reaches American shores -- in Canada

A crewless robotic boat that had tried to retrace the 1620 sea voyage of the Mayflower has finally reached the shores of North America — this time in Canada instead of the Massachusetts coast where its namesake landed more than 400 years ago.

The sleek autonomous trimaran docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Sunday, after more than five weeks crossing the Atlantic Ocean from England, according to tech company IBM, which helped build it.

Piloted by artificial intelligence technology, the 50-foot (15-meter) Mayflower Autonomous Ship didn't have a captain, navigator or any humans on board — though it might have helped to have a mechanic.

“The technology that makes up the autonomous system worked perfectly, flawlessly,” said Rob High, an IBM computing executive involved in the project. “Mechanically, we did run into problems.”

Its first attempt at the trans-Atlantic crossing to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in June 2021 was beset by technical glitches, forcing the boat to return to its home port of Plymouth, England.

It set off again from England nearly a year later on April 27, bound for Virginia — but a generator problem diverted it to Portugal's Azores islands, where a team member flew in to perform emergency repairs. More troubles on the open sea came in late May when the U.S.-bound boat developed a problem with the charging circuit for the generator's starter batteries.

AI software is getting better at helping self-driving machines understand their surroundings and pilot themselves, but most robots can't heal themselves when the hardware goes awry.

Nonprofit marine research organization ProMare, which worked with IBM to build the ship, switched to a back-up navigation computer on May 30 and charted a course to Halifax — which was closer than any U.S. destination. The boat's webcam on Sunday morning showed it being towed by a larger boat as the Halifax skyline neared — a safety requirement under international maritime rules, IBM said.

How Close Are We To Peak Oil Demand?

Editor OilPrice.com
Sun, June 5, 2022

Two years ago, British oil and gas supermajor BP Plc. (NYSE:BP) sent shockwaves through the energy markets after it declared that the world was already past Peak Oil demand. In the company's 2020 Energy Outlook, chief executive Bernard Looney pledged that BP would increase its renewables spending twentyfold to $5 billion a year by 2030 and "... not enter any new countries for oil and gas exploration".

That announcement came as a bit of a shocker given how aggressive BP has been in exploring new oil and gas frontiers.

When many analysts talk about Peak Oil, they are usually referring to that point in time when global oil demand enters a phase of terminal and irreversible decline. According to BP, this point has already come and gone, with oil demand slated to fall by at least 10% in the current decade and by as much as 50% over the next two. BP noted that historically, energy demand has risen steadily in tandem with global economic growth with few interruptions; however, the COVID-19 crisis and increased climate action might have permanently altered that playbook.

However, BP has been forced to do a mea culpa after it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic that began more than two years ago has not resulted in a significant reduction in oil demand.

In its Energy Outlook 2022 edition, BP has revised down its forecast for global economic growth saying global GDP will only contract 1.5% by 2025 from 2019 levels compared to its earlier projection of a 2.5% contraction.

BP notes that its former grim outlook was prepared prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine-- another black swan event--which has driven global energy prices higher and cast an uncertain shadow over Russia's oil and gas sector in recent months.

The Scenarios

In its latest report, BP offers three scenarios--all foresee oil demand surpassing pre-pandemic levels by the middle of this decade before beginning to slip to varying degrees.

In the most bullish case for oil, BP projects that crude demand will rise to 101 million b/d in 2025 and remain flat into 2030. After that point, global demand retreats to 98 million b/d by 2035 and to 92 million b/d by 2040.

In yet another scenario that BP has termed "net-zero," which is the most aggressive in terms of global climate ambitions being achieved, the company pegs 2025 demand at 98 million b/d and just 75 million b/d by 2035. BP assumes that a 95% reduction in greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions must be achieved for the net-zero predictions to come true.

In the middle-of-the-road scenario, BP assumes that the world will still be broadly in-line with climate goals but with a 75% reduction in GHG emissions by 2025. This picture of the future suggests that oil demand will be around 96 million b/d in 2025 and 85 million b/d by 2035.

However, recent events in the energy sector suggest that oil companies might get a leeway to grow production and even relax climate goals as long as oil and gas prices remain high.

Last year, Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) found itself in trouble after a tiny hedge fund by the name Engine No. 1 successfully waged a battle to install three directors on the board of Exxon with the goal of pushing the energy giant to reduce its carbon footprint. Engine No. 1 enjoyed the stunning victory thanks to support from BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street who all voted against Exxon's leadership.

Luckily, Exxon has finally managed to turn the tables and get shareholders on its side: last week, Exxon recorded a major victory after its shareholders supported the company's energy transition strategy at the annual general meeting.

Only 28% of the participants backed a resolution filed by the Follow This activist group urging faster action to battle climate change; a proposal calling for a report on low carbon business planning received just 10.5% support, while a report on plastic production garnered a 37% favorable vote.

In other words, it appears that Exxon's legacy fossil fuel business remains safe, at least for now, as long as it keeps returning that excess cash to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks.

Just like its bigger peer, Chevron Inc.(NYSE:CVX) shareholders voted on Wednesday against a resolution asking the company to adopt greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets, indicating support for the steps the company already has taken to address climate change.

Just 33% of shareholders voted in favor of the proposal, according to preliminary figures disclosed by the company, a sharp turnaround from last year when 61% of shareholders voted to support a similar proposal.

Meanwhile, Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) has broken with the industry trend of returning excess cash flows to shareholders after announcing plans for massive capex spending in a bid to boost production. Hess has announced a 2022 capex budget of $2.6b; good for a 37% jump, with Bakken spend up 75% to $790m. In the Bakken, Hess plans to run three rigs to achieve its 168kb/d production target.

Changing Map

In yet another report published in the Geopolitical Intelligence Services blog , Carol Nakhle, CEO of Crystol Energy, says the consensus is that global oil consumption will peak within the next 20 years, but demand will not necessarily fall off a cliff thereafter.

Nakhle notes that in OECD countries, oil demand peaked in 2005 at around 50 million barrels per day. What has been driving the growth in global demand is the developing world, primarily Asia (mainly China and India – the second- and third-largest oil consumers in the world after the United States) and the Middle East (led by Saudi Arabia, which is also the sixth-largest consumer in the world). In fact, between 2009 and 2019, almost all the growth in global oil demand was driven by the developing world, with Asia expected to continue to be the growth center in the coming years. Non-OECD countries account for ~54% of global oil consumption.

Nakhle says, "…after peak oil demand is reached, it will at some point plateau and then shrink. In a growing market, there is space for everyone. In a shrinking market, for one country to increase production, supply from another country is squeezed out, usually done by price competition. In such a world, market power will shift toward consumers. Today they are desperately looking for oil; tomorrow they will be in a much stronger position."

She says that once global oil demand peaks and starts to fall, competition among producers to sell more oil and safeguard market share will intensify. In a stagnant or shrinking market, oil and gas producers will face new rules, very different from the ones they have been accustomed to. For instance, OPEC's strategy of cutting supplies to increase prices or Russia threatening to cut its supplies to keep sanctions off its oil exports will no longer be effective. To be fair, higher prices will attract additional production, as it always does. However, In a shrinking market, this will force prices lower, and any deliberate attempts to cut production to raise prices would simply backfire.

In the end, the consumer will end up holding most of the chips.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

The arrest heard 'round the crypto world

Lucas Matney and Anita Ramaswamy
Sun, June 5, 2022, 

Hey everyone, and welcome back to Chain Reaction.

Last week, we discussed $4.5 billion in new crypto funds from a16z. This week, we're talking about the arrest that has everyone in the NFT space sweating bullets.


Ocean climate tech
Image Credits: Getty Images

crimes of the future

The crypto space has been moving so quickly over the past couple years that builders have generally seemed to believe existing rules didn’t apply to them. Well, after years of snails’ pace legal action, it seems U.S. prosecutors are starting to feel it’s time to challenge that perception.

This week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York arrested and filed charges against a former OpenSea executive who used his position to front-run NFT projects that were going to be listed on the home page of the marketplace. Members of the community discovered his actions by tracking his activity on public blockchains.

I would’ve loved to rant on this during the podcast, but news broke while we were recording, so I’ll leave you with some thoughts here.

The arrest was pretty much a massive shock to people in the NFT space who generally believed that Nate Chastain had acted unethically but that it couldn't be "insider trading" because NFTs weren't securities. This is a framing that was held by many, including Chastain's boss at OpenSea who fired him.

"I do think there was a misframing of it as insider trading. We don't view NFTs as financial assets, so that does not apply. That's a very specific term for a very specific thing," OpenSea Devin Finzer told Decrypt in September.

Former OpenSea exec arrested and charged with insider trading of NFTs

There are an awful lot of people taking a very close reading of the SDNY press release, which states it specifically charged Chastain "with wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a scheme to commit insider trading in Non-Fungible Tokens." They notably describe NFTs as "digital assets" later in the release. Also, it's worth reiterating that this is the DOJ -- not the SEC -- charging him, though it is the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force handling this case.

Now, why don't crypto people want NFTs to be classified as securities? Well, there's a lot of existing regulatory guidance there, and most feel it would basically upend the industry if NFTs were unilaterally subjected to securities law; it would certainly raise the barrier of entry for creation of NFTs and curtail a lot of the experimentation happening in the space right now.

Another big reason that it would be bad if NFTs are treated as securities is that it would mean an awful lot of people have been doing illegal things for an awfully long time.

The NFT space made it through this latest crypto bull run without any meaningful regulation coming down on it. As NFT volumes start to show signs of slowing, there's a fear that more regulation could be just around the corner.

the latest pod

What’s up, it’s Anita here to give you a preview of the latest episode of our Chain Reaction podcast, where we unpack the latest web3 news, block-by-block for the crypto-curious.

This week, we talked about Coinbase’s new approach to what can be one of the most anxiety-inducing aspects of corporate life -- the performance review. Our colleague, Amanda, wrote about how the crypto exchange is trying to emulate Ray Dalio’s hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, by letting employees give each other real-time feedback and ratings. Is this part of tech’s descent into a Black Mirror-style reality? Tune in to hear our thoughts.

We also recapped two recent crypto comeback stories, one from the OnlyFans founder and CEO who left the company after trying to ban sexually explicit content from the platform and another from the architect of the highly unstable stablecoin, Terra.

Our guest this week was Outdoor Voices founder Ty Haney, who shared details about her pivot from athleisure to crypto with her new venture, Try Your Best. Haney broke the news on our podcast that the startup just landed its second round of institutional funding.

Where startup money is moving in the crypto world:

New York-based enterprise blockchain startup Digital Asset took in a strategic investment of undisclosed size from Japanese banking giant SBI Holdings.


InfStones, a blockchain infrastructure provider, nabbed $66 million in a round led by SoftBank and GGV.


Indian music NFT startup FanTiger bagged $5.5 million for its seed round led by Multicoin Capital.


LivingCities, a metaverse-focused social startup co-founded by Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley, banked $4 million in early funding led by DCVC.


Zimbabwe’s FlexID received an undisclosed amount of funding from Algorand for its blockchain-based identity system for the underbanked.


Web3 augmented reality gaming company Jadu raised $36 million in funding for its Series A led by Bain Capital Crypto.


VillageStudio raised $2.3 million in an Animoca Brands-led round for its NFT-based Playken avatars.


Web3 payments API Merge got $9.5 million in seed funding led by Octopus Ventures.


GoSats, an India-based bitcoin rewards platform, raised $4 million in a pre-Series A funding round from investors including Y Combinator, Accel and Gossamer Capital.


DAO management platform Utopia Labs closed a $23 million Series A led by Paradigm.

Foursquare founder banks funding for mystery 3D social network startup
the week in web3

It was an uncharacteristically quiet week in web3, and our team members in the U.S. took some time to enjoy the rare, uneventful long weekend. Still, some big personalities made waves in the space, for better and for worse.

OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely is pivoting to crypto after leaving the company last December following controversy over his push to ban sexually explicit content from the platform. Anita wrote about the new “family-friendly” NFT startup he’s launching alongside another former OnlyFans exec that will allow people to buy, sell and trade virtual cards featuring influencers and celebrities.

NFT platform OpenSea had fired Nate Chastain, its head of product, back in September after he was accused of front-running trades on the platform. Now, he’s been arrested and charged with insider trading; Lucas has the details.

OnlyFans founder makes crypto debut selling influencer trading cards
added analysis

Here's some of this week's crypto analysis you can read on our subscription service TC+ (written by TC's Jacquelyn Melinek):

VC funding for crypto projects fell in May, but many investors remain bullish
VC funding in crypto has fallen month-over-month from April to May, but many investors are not concerned. “For investors like us, it’s time to buy,” Stan Miroshnik, partner and co-founder of 10T Holdings, told TechCrunch. The pace of capital deployment might be more measured as investors and founders alike become more calculated, but VCs will still continue to have a robust amount of activity, Miroshnik said. Even though there might be a gloomy sentiment in digital asset markets, true crypto-native funds will continue to invest heavily, Saurabh Sharma, head of investments at Jump Crypto, said to TechCrunch.

As crypto becomes more mainstream, can it stay decentralized?
Whether it’s first-time buyers of cryptocurrency or people learning more about NFTs, Bitcoin and the general crypto ecosystem, there has been an uptick globally in awareness of crypto. But as it gains momentum, regulators worldwide will continue to monitor the space more closely, but the headline speaks for itself: what does this mean for the future of crypto? A number of founders and executives in the industry weighed in with their thoughts.

Longtime Bitcoiner Dan Held says this ‘crypto winter’ won’t be as harsh as others
As the cryptomarkets remain bearish, some longtime market participants, like Dan Held, director of growth marketing at crypto exchange Kraken, aren’t worried. Even though there is lots of talk of a crypto winter circulating through the community, Held said the sentiment for this current market cycle is different. While he -- and many others -- persisted through major market cycles over the years, the narratives have shifted a lot, thanks to more prominent institutional players and massive amounts of capital entering the space.

Toshiba directors exchange criticism over public statements


Makiko Yamazaki
Mon, June 6, 2022


FILE PHOTO: Toshiba Corp's annual general meeting with its shareholders in Tokyo

TOKYO (Reuters) - External directors at Toshiba Corp exchanged criticism on Monday over statements on board decisions, signalling a public rift as the embattled conglomerate reviews strategic options including going private.

In an annual business report released on Monday, Toshiba external directors Mariko Watahiki and Katsunori Hashimoto, both members of Toshiba's three-member audit committee, were quoted as saying that external director Raymond Zage raised concern about Toshiba's governance by breaking ranks with the board's official stance after a March meeting.

Zage defended his actions in a statement to Reuters, saying the criticisms were misleading and that his actions had received a positive shareholder response.

Company documents also confirmed that Watahiki had objected to two nominations supported by the board. Reuters reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter, that Watahiki had objected and that the company, in a rare move, would make her objections public.

In March, Zage came out in public support of a proposal from Singapore-based 3D Investment Partners that the company solicit buyout offers from private equity firms. It had been rejected by the board but was later taken up, and voted down, at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting.

"(Zage's comments) damaged shareholder confidence in the board and caused concerns about corporate governance," Watahiki and Hashimoto were quoted as saying. "Even if the above act cannot be said to constitute a breach of the duty of care."

Zage said in the statement to Reuters: "(It is) inaccurate, incomplete and misleading representing a failure on the part of the authors to consider the substantial positive shareholder feedback as well as the content of substantial discussions at the board on this matter both before and after the public statement."

Toshiba declined to comment on the matter.

Zage also chairs the nomination committee, which proposed the two board candidates - from U.S. activist hedge funds Elliott Management and Farallon Capital Management - formally opposed by Watahiki.

Caught up in accounting and governance crises since 2015, Toshiba has had tussles with its activist shareholder base, some of whom want it taken private.

Toshiba said last week that it had received eight initial proposals to take it private and two proposals for capital alliances that would leave it publicly listed.

(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edmund Klamann)