Straight men at fault for Hollywood failures on diversity, says Sofia Coppola

Anita Singh
Sat, 30 December 2023 

Sofia Coppola says women still make up a small percentage of filmmakers - Franco Origlia/Getty

Hollywood is failing to produce diverse cinema because “99 per cent of the people giving money in film are straight men”, according to Sofia Coppola.

The Oscar-winning writer and director said she had to cut a scene from her latest film, a biopic of Priscilla Presley, because men did not understand it.

“We lost a scene of Priscilla riding motorcycles when she was eight months pregnant,” Coppola told GQ magazine.

“I thought it was so touching that she’s trying so hard to keep up with Elvis, even in that condition. But I feel like 99 per cent of the people giving money in film are straight men, so they don’t always relate to what I’m talking about, and they’re not that interested in it.”

Priscilla Presley, left, and Sofia Coppola who said many men aren't interested in the issues she is raising - Stefanie Keenan/WireImage

Coppola added that getting projects off the ground is difficult for all independent filmmakers, particularly in the age of streaming services.

“I think it’s a challenge for a lot of filmmakers to make unusual or unique things. More and more companies are relying on their algorithms, so if they haven’t seen it before, they’re not as open to it, because they want to see something that’s already proven.

“And women still make up such a small percentage of filmmakers too. It’s gotten better, but not by much,” she said.

Priscilla Beaulieu was 14 when she first met Presley, who was a decade older and already a star. She was 21 when they married.

Priscilla Beaulieu was 14 when she first met Presley and 21 when they married - Sabrina Lantos

Coppola, the daughter of director Francis Ford Coppola, said she had drawn on memories of her own teenage celebrity crush when making the biopic.

She told the magazine: “I did tap into what I was like at a similar age. I remember I had a big crush on Joe Strummer, and he ended up recording some music [for the film Sid and Nancy] at our family property.

“So, as a 16-year-old, I was driving around in my convertible blasting The Clash and then I stopped, looked up, and Joe Strummer was standing there. I couldn’t believe it.

“I always remember feeling kind of mortified, but also so excited that Joe Strummer was at our house.

“So I can relate to that feeling of having a crush on a rock star.”

Priscilla will be released nationwide on Jan 1

Priscilla is released nationwide on Jan 1, starring rising stars Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi.

Coppola has been tipped to pick up her fourth Oscar nomination for the film.

She won the best original screenplay award in 2004 for Lost in Translation.

Algorithms and straight men are to blame for fewer diverse films – Sofia Coppola

Charlotte McLaughlin, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter
Sat, 30 December 2023 

Sofia Coppola has said that “more and more companies are relying on their algorithms” instead of opting to make a greater amount of unique films.

The Oscar-winning writer and director, 52, is releasing her latest critically acclaimed flick Priscilla, which focuses on the life of Elvis Presley’s former wife, in UK cinemas on Monday.

Coppola told GQ magazine that getting a movie project off the ground is “always a challenge” and she was helped by her producer Lorenzo Mieli in securing financing for her latest film.

Coppola added: “I think it’s a challenge for a lot of filmmakers to make unusual or unique things.

“More and more companies are relying on their algorithms, so if they haven’t seen it before, they’re not as open to it, because they want to see something that’s already proven.

“And women still make up such a small percentage of filmmakers too. It’s gotten better, but not by much.”

Coppola also said that the biographical movie had to cut a scene where Priscilla Presley (Cailee Spaeny) is using a motorcycle while in her last pregnancy trimester.

Cailee Spaeny who plays Priscilla Presley. (Ian West/PA)

She said: “I thought it was so touching that she’s trying so hard to keep up with Elvis (Jacob Elordi), even in that condition.

“But I feel like 99% of the people giving money in film are straight men, so they don’t always relate to what I’m talking about, and they’re not that interested in it.”

The daughter of director Francis Ford Coppola and documentarian Eleanor Coppola won the best original screenplay Academy Award for the 2003 romantic comedy Lost In Translation.

About a fading movie star, played by Bill Murray, who meets Scarlett Johansson’s recent college graduate at a Tokyo hotel, the film also earned Coppola directing and best picture Oscar nods.

She is also known for historical drama Marie Antoinette, psychological drama The Virgin Suicides and period drama The Beguiled.

Priscilla is in cinemas on Monday January 1.

PEI
Kensington café spreading the love with 'queer levee'


CBC
Sun, December 31, 2023 

Lindsay Connolly, left, Megan Beairsto, centre, and Edward Lambert are getting set to host a levee New Year's Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Stacey Janzer/CBC - image credit)

Edward Lambert remembers attending a New Year's Day levee in Summerside, P.E.I., with a queer friend and being told their presence made the host uncomfortable.

"Somebody came up and said, 'Don't shoot the messenger but I think that you guys should leave. Like, the owner of the party is not OK with your friend.'"

The exchange stuck with Lambert, and that's one reason he's decided to host the first "queer levee" at C&B Corner Café in Kensington, which he owns with his wife, Megan Beairsto.

It's one of dozens of levees across the province that have become a tradition on P.E.I. They are held everywhere from the lieutenant-governor's mansion to UPEI, city council chambers, the Confederation Centre of the Arts and other public and private venues.

Lambert and Beairsto had planned to close for New Year's Day and attend the levees themselves. Then they decided to host one themselves from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The levee will feature fun, custom-made cocktails and mocktails.

 (C&B Corner Café/Facebook)

The café has become a "safe space" for people to be themselves, Beairsto said.

"A large portion of our staff are actually members of the queer community as well, which is amazing because that's also not always a space that people feel comfortable working in. So, it's nice to know that the staff here are comfortable in their own skin and like to work here."

The café partnered with the Under the Spire Music Festival, which hosts its annual Pride Ceilidh in the summer.

Lindsay Connolly, executive director of Under the Spire, said it's nice to be involved with something outside the summer months.

"It's a great way to just give some … non-Charlottetown love to the queer community and a place to gather," she said.

"So, it's great to be part of creating more spaces like this that are opening, inclusive and accessible to folks all across our island."

The event, for those 19 and older, will feature live music, custom cocktails and mocktails as well as other drinks and snacks. All that's asked is that customers "leave their hate at the door," Lambert said.

The café will make a donation to Mothers Against Drunk Driving for every sober driver that attends, especially given some of the alcohol-related tragedies on P.E.I. in recent months.

"It might not even be much, but it's a step in the right direction, we think," she said.

"We like to see sober drivers. We like to see people coming in and having drinks and having fun like that, but also to make sure that there's a safe way for them home."

NS
Remembering Gordon Joe: restaurateur, bodybuilder and actor


CBC
Sat, December 30, 2023 

Gordon Joe, who previously owned the Chow Yan Foo restaurant in Sydney, as well as other restaurants in Truro, Amherst, Windsor and New Minas, died on Dec. 21 at 93. (Linda Joe Sears - image credit)

A Chinese-Canadian restaurant owner is being remembered as a hard worker who also enjoyed performing in the gym and on camera.

Gordon Joe, who previously owned the Chow Yan Foo restaurant in Sydney, as well as other restaurants in Truro, Amherst, Windsor and New Minas, died on Dec. 19 at 93.

Linda Joe Sears, his youngest child, said her father only took Monday off work when she was growing up.

"What I remember most is how hard he worked," she said.

Linda said he worked at the family restaurant in Antigonish when he arrived in the province in the 1950s. She said he and four business partners eventually opened the original Ho Ho restaurant in Truro and the families lived upstairs.

"We were very frugal and in my mind we were poor," she said.

Linda said hard work paid off and the family purchased a home outside Truro, N.S., in her late teens.

Leaving China

Joe followed his father to Canada — his family fled to Hong Kong during the 1949 Chinese communist revolution.

Robert Joe, Gordon's son who was still living in Hong Kong in the 1950s, didn't know his father as a child. He said he saw his father first in a movie.

"We were in a restaurant in Hong Kong and he was on TV in the movie," Robert said. "I saw him dancing with the leading lady in this movie."

It was one of a few films Joe acted in, according to Robert. His father also had a role as restaurant owner in Margaret's Museum with Helena Bonham Carter, which was filmed in Cape Breton.

Robert remembers his father having a passion for martial arts — and he also placed second in the Mr. Eastern Canada bodybuilding competition in 1953.

Gordon Joe placed second in the Mr. Eastern Canada Bodybuilding Contest in 1953.

Gordon Joe placed second in the Mr. Eastern Canada bodybuilding contest in 1953. (Linda Joe Sears)

"I was kind of actually in fear of him " said Robert, speaking about the first time he met his father in person around age 8.

Eventually, Robert would work alongside his father and take over ownership of Fletcher's Restaurant in Truro until selling it about a decade ago.

Linda said her father also learned to sing opera in his later years and travelled with sports teams for exhibition games in China. She said he also became involved in politics while living in Toronto — part of his activism was advocating for an apology for the Chinese head tax which was meant to discourage immigration to Canada.

Her parents both lived through the Second Sino-Japanese War from 1937-45.

"It was always a goal to make it to Canada because it was the good life," Linda said.

Linda said her father, and mother, Ying Fu, helped others immigrate to Canada. Ying Fu died in 2022.

Former staff offer condolences

The family businesses also provided employment to many Nova Scotians. Many provided condolences online.

Audrey Thomas worked at Chow Yan Foo for over 13 years — from the time the Joes opened the restaurant in Sydney until they sold it to new owners.

"Anyone they hired, they expected them to work [hard] and we didn't mind it because they worked so hard themselves," said Thomas.

But they stayed in touch through an annual Christmas card exchange. "I'll miss that," Thomas said.

THE UNKOWN PM
'A life of public service': Halifax-born prime minister built legacy despite death at 49

CBC
Sat, December 30, 2023 a

Former prime minister John Thompson is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Halifax. Thompson was 49 when he died, not 50 as listed on the grave marker. (Vernon Ramesar/CBC - image credit)

On Dec. 12, 1894, Canadian Prime Minister John Thompson sat down for a luncheon with Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle. He died of a heart attack moments later.

Thompson, 49, born on Gottingen Street in Halifax, had only been in office for two years.

His legacy lives on in the Criminal Code of Canada that he introduced and in Dalhousie Law School, where he was a founder.

But his grave at Holy Cross Cemetery in the heart of Halifax is seldom visited today.

Portrait of John Thompson, the 4th prime minister of Canada.

Thompson was Canada's fourth prime minister. (Public Domain)

There are few other reminders in Halifax of the first of three prime ministers born in Nova Scotia.

He was followed by Charles Tupper and Robert Borden.

Life of public service

Will Langford, assistant professor of history at Dalhousie University, said Thompson "had a life of public service" despite his death before the age of 50.

Today Sir John Thompson Manor senior complex on Leppert St. in Halifax is one of the few sites named after him. The complex incorporates the former Sir John S. D. Thompson school building.

Sir John Thompson Manor on Leppert Street in Halifax is one of the few sites named after him. The complex incorporates the former Sir John S. D. Thompson school building. (Vernon Ramesar/CBC)

Langford said after being admitted to the bar in 1865, Thompson was a lawyer and a judge before his remarkable run in politics.

"The offices he held as a politician were pretty prominent," Langford said.

Will Langford is an assistant professor in the history department at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Will Langford is an assistant professor in the history department at Dalhousie University in Halifax. (Submitted by Will Langford)

He was attorney general of Nova Scotia as well as Nova Scotia premier, Langford said, then the federal minister of justice, Canada's fourth prime minister between 1892 and 1894 and the first Roman Catholic prime minister.

Thompson was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in July, 1882.

Dalhousie Law School

It was in this role that Thompson, along with lawyers Wallace Graham and Robert Sedgewick, visited Harvard and Columbia universities in the United States to observe their law schools.

They returned and helped set up the Dalhousie Law School in 1883.

1851 portrait of John Thompson as a child in Halifax

Thompson as a child in Halifax in 1851. (Library and Archives Canada - PA-025800)

In his 1985 book The Man from Halifax: Sir John Thompson, Prime Minister, Peter B. Waite says the new school that Thompson referred to as the Dalhousie Law School experiment was an immediate success.

Waite said Thompson lectured on evidence at the school during the first two years of its existence.

"He made a great impression on the LL.B. students; they called him 'silver tongued;' he had a rich voice that carried easily and pleasantly," Waite said. "But it was his argument that established his reputation."

In 1885, Thompson was sworn in as minister of justice in Sir John A. Macdonald's government in September and elected as MP for Antigonish in October.

Criminal Code

As minister, he introduced Canada's Criminal Code which became law in 1892.

Legal academic and historian Philip Girard, a faculty member at Osgoode Law School in Toronto and a former law professor at Dalhousie, said introducing the code was Thompson's greatest accomplishment in terms of legal history.

Legal academic and historian Phillip Girard is a faculty member at Osgoode Law School in Toronto and a former law professor at Dalhousie University.

Legal academic and historian Philip Girard is a faculty member at Osgoode Law School in Toronto and a former law professor at Dalhousie University. (York University)

Girard said Thompson worked with deputy ministers and fellow Maritimers George Burbidge and Robert Sedgewick to push through the legislation despite resistance from many lawyers.

According to Girard, the code was innovative at the time as England did not have a criminal code, and laws on crime were "scattered all over the place" in hundreds of statutes and judicial decisions.

Criminal law was federal under the Constitution Act of 1867.

"The fact that you could use criminal law as a kind of unifying force in the country was important, and the federal government eventually realized this," Girard said. "The impact is still there today."

Langford said one aspect of the Criminal Code of 1892 that impacted many lives until fairly recently was that it criminalized homosexual relations.

"The men convicted more readily were young, often working class and it was immediate," Langford said.

"I found an annual report from Thompson ... when he was justice minister, and it showed convictions of men for gross indecency. They were receiving sentences of two to three years, and more often than not they were also receiving 50 lashes."

Thompson's legacy as justice minister has also become complicated over time because of his defence of the trial and execution of Louis Riel following the North-West Rebellion. Riel was hanged on Nov. 16, 1885.

Prime minister

Thompson became prime minister in 1892, after John Abbott retired after 17 months because of ill health.

When Sir John A. Macdonald died in office in 1891, Thompson had been asked to become prime minister.

Queen Victoria’s Tribute to her Dead Canadian Premier by Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith, 1896 Library and Archives Canada

Queen Victoria’s Tribute to her Dead Canadian Premier by Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith, 1896, Library and Archives Canada. (Library and Archives Canada)

There were religious divisions in Canada at the time and Thompson declined the offer, believing that the country was not ready for a Roman Catholic in that role.

Thompson was born a Methodist but converted to Catholicism in 1871 and was christened at St. Mary's Cathedral in Halifax.

His wife, Annie, was also Catholic.

Father Paul Morris, parish priest of Saint Ignatius Church in Bedford, said having a Catholic prime minister was likely a significant milestone.

"Religion featured much more prominently in Canadian society generally and individual political leaders, their own religious affiliation, mattered far, far more than it ever would today," Morris said.

"One must assume that it would have been important to the Catholics of Halifax at the time."

The arrival of John Thompson's body at Halifax Harbour aboard the warship Blenheim.

The arrival of John Thompson's body at Halifax Harbour aboard the warship Blenheim. (Library and Archives Canada, acc no. R13133-388, e011213232)

In late 1894, Thompson was invited to London to be sworn in as a member of the Imperial Privy Council.

Years of work and inattention to his health were taking a toll.

While in London he consulted prominent physician Russell Reynolds before going on a tour of Europe with his family.

In his 1895 book Life and Work of the Rt. Hon. Sir John Thompson, Hopkins J. Castell said Thompson experienced shortness of breath and other symptoms but continued with the tour before returning to London in December for the swearing-in ceremony.

The State Funeral of Sir John Thompson at Halifax by Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith, 1897

The State Funeral of Sir John Thompson at Halifax by Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith, 1897 (Library and Archives Canada)

After the ceremony at Windsor Castle on Dec. 12, Thompson fainted only minutes after sitting down to lunch.

Death at Windsor Castle

He was examined by the Queen's physician, Dr. Reid, and returned to the table.

Castell quotes the account of Lord Breadalbane, who witnessed the event.

"Before he tasted the cutlet or whatever was placed before him, I saw him suddenly lurch over, and fall almost into Dr. Reid's arms.

"The room was partially cleared and everything possible was done, but without avail. The end had come."

State Funeral procession for Sir John Thompson, Prime Minister of Canada, photographed on Barrington Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, January 3, 1895

State Funeral procession for Sir John Thompson, Prime Minister of Canada, photographed on Barrington Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, January 3, 1895 (Notman Studio/Nova Scotia Archives 1983-310 number 1395)

Thompson's body was placed in a coffin and moved to a room at the castle.

Upon hearing that the late prime minister was Roman Catholic, Queen Victoria, the titular head of the Anglican Church, ordered that a requiem mass be said for him.

According to Morris, it was likely the first Catholic Mass held at Windsor Castle since the reformation.

Return to Halifax

After lying in state at the castle for several days, Thompson's body was transported from Windsor to Portsmouth in a special train to be transported back to Halifax on the warship Blenheim.

The ship was painted black by order of the Queen.

As Thompson's body was moved to the ship, there was, according to Castell, a "crashing discharge of guns" from HMS Victory docked nearby.

The Blenheim was met by a large crowd at Halifax harbour when it arrived.

John Thompson funeral car shown in Halifax in 1895.

John Thompson funeral car shown in Halifax in 1895. (Notman Studio/Nova Scotia Archives 1983-310 number 1411)

Thompson's body lay in state at the legislative council chamber in Halifax for a day before being taken to St. Mary's Cathedral for a state funeral on Jan. 3.

Following the funeral, the coffin was transported amid mournful music down Barrington Street, past buildings draped in sombre colours, to Holy Cross Cemetery.

"Here it had been decided to lay the remains of Sir John Thompson," Castell said.

"And here, after a few final prayers by Archbishop O'Brien, all that remained of the distinguished Canadian was hidden from sight in the soil of his native province; in the heart of his native city. Sir John Thompson was now at rest."

Woman who escaped East Germany and settled in Norman Wells, N.W.T. has lived to 100


CBC
Sat, December 30, 2023 

Mitzi Hodgson (left) and her daughter, Heidi Hodgson (right), celebrated Mitzi's 100th birthday in Normal Wells, N.W.T. on Dec. 19, 2023. Mitzi first landed in the small oil town in 1955, then married a local, and stayed for life. (Submitted by Heidi Hodgson - image credit)

When Maria Hodgson of Slovenia stepped off the plane in Normal Wells, N.W.T., in 1955, she didn't speak a word of English, and couldn't believe where she'd landed.

Maria, or 'Mitzi' as she is known to her friends, stayed in Norman Wells for the rest of her life, and it's where she celebrated her 100th birthday on Dec. 19.

Now, her daughter, Heidi Hodgson, is sharing the story of her mother's life.

"She got off the plane and it was July and it was daylight and they had arrived in the evening and it was the bugs and mosquitoes, and she thought 'Oh my goodness, what did I get myself into?'" she told CBC North's Lawrence Nayally on Trail's End.

Kitchen staff to hotel owner

Mitzi had come to the small town to work at the Imperial Oil mess hall alongside her sister, who'd immigrated to Canada when she married an American soldier. Her sister and brother-in-law ended up in Norman Wells, so that's where Mitzi went too, Heidi explained.

"She began working in the mess hall, and she had to make toast because she couldn't speak English. And I think she caught my daddy's eye and he caught her eye. And the rest is history," Heidi said.

Mitzi married Eddy Hodgson in 1958 and they had two children. He was Indigenous and his family was well-established and well-known in the area, Heidi said.

Mitzi and her husband Eddy Hodgson.

Mitzi and her husband Eddy Hodgson. (Submitted by Heidi Hodgson)

According to Mitzi's family, she's fluent in four languages and was deeply involved with the town's Catholic church, St. Anthony's. She also grew an incredible vegetable garden, was a seamstress, and renowned for hosting dinner parties. At an auction in town, her cherry cheesecake once raked in $1,400 after a bidding war.

Her family says she wore many hats over the years, whether it was working in the Imperial Oil hospital and delivering babies, managing and owning a local hotel, or tending the graveyard with her late husband.

"She gave back to her community, and her number one love was, and still is, her family and her community," Heidi said.

Escape from East Germany

Prior to moving to the territory, Mitzi lived in Europe. At the age of 14, during the Great Depression, she and her sister moved from Slovenia to Germany to find work. She then lived through the second world war and the sisters found themselves in East Germany.

"She escaped," Heidi said. "(It) was under the cover of darkness on a train. And they had to jump off the train before they reached the border and they had to walk through waist-high water with their luggage, just so they wouldn't be caught by the Russians."

Mitzi returned to Slovenia where she lived for a few years before taking a ship, train and then a plane to Norman Wells to join her sister.

Mitzi Hodgson was an avid gardener, her daughter Heidi says.

Mitzi Hodgson was an avid gardener, her daughter Heidi says. (Submitted by Heidi Hodgson)

Celebrating 100

Heidi's father also worked for Imperial Oil, and the family lived in a company house until he retired in 1985.

"Dad had a cabin out of town a little ways and he knew that that's where he was going to build a home to retire," Heidi said.

Eventually Heidi and her husband bought that home from her parents, while her parents built another place next door and her brother built a house on the other side.

"It was like a Hodgson row," Heidi said.

"They raised us here (in Normal Wells) and we raised our children here, it's a beautiful place to raise a family."

Mitzi continued living there until early December 2023, when she had a fall, shortly before her birthday. She has since been living in a long-term care facility while she recovers, and that's where she celebrated her birthday with friends and family, some of whom flew in for the occasion.

Leading up to the big day, Heidi recalls her mother's awe at how long she had lived.

"She would always be shocked that she was going to be 100. She couldn't wrap her mind around it… it's astonishing, even to her," she said.

Mitzi received several gifts for her birthday, including special greetings from Pope Francis, the prime minister and governor general, and the King.

What does a birdsong say? P.E.I. watershed group listens and learns


CBC
Sat, December 30, 2023

Members of the Stratford Area Watershed Improvement Group fix a song meter to a tree. (Submitted by Stratford Area Watershed Improvement Group - image credit)

An environmental group in Stratford, P.E.I., has been listening in on birds, recording their sounds and using that data to learn more about them.

Throughout the fall, the Stratford Area Watershed Improvement Group set up acoustic recording units, or song meters, in habitats including a forest and the shore of a stream.

Recordings lasted an hour or two. With the help of software, the group was then able to analyze the bird calls they captured and track which species were where.

It's a great way to study the birds' behaviour without disturbing them, said Rebecca King, the watershed group's co-ordinator.

"We're going to continue to deploy them in future years," she said.

They mostly found crows, blue jays, and a few chickadees, robins and kinglets — "the main species that don't migrate, per se."

Acoustic recording units like this were placed in different habitats, including a forest and near a stream.

Acoustic recording units like this were placed in different habitats, including a forest and near a stream. (Submitted by Stratford Area Watershed Improvement Group)

But one bird, recorded several times at Fullerton's Creek in Stratford, stood out. The eastern wood pewee is an at-risk species with a call that is reflected in its name, said King. "It sounds like they're saying, 'Pewee.'"

The group hopes to capture evidence of more diverse species during the breeding season in the summer and spring, she said.

After a few years, the goal is to have gathered enough data to make "long-term inferences" about the health of natural ecosystems, King said. "The abundance of different bird species in a specific area is a really great way of indicating how healthy the ecosystem is."

The group got funding for the project from the Wildlife Conservation Fund.

It's one of several projects SAWIG is working on, including amphibian monitoring and public education on pollinators.

Eavesdropping in the trees

Discreet and easily camouflaged, the song meters are fastened to trees and other stable objects, ideally in the early morning during the summer, said King.

"Around sunrise is often when breeding birds are at their most busy," she said.

Researchers can use Bluetooth technology to link the meters to their cell phones. Once the recordings are in, the team uses software to analyze them and sift through the various bird calls. They also use their personal bird knowledge on occasion, King said.

"If you study them for long enough, you can learn the difference between what each bird sounds like."

The group has also been sending the data to open-source websites for other people to use, she said, including the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre, which is compiling a mass database.

"It's been a very user-friendly way to easily learn about the environment."

PEI

Almost half of Charlottetown's warmest months ever have come in the last 30 years

CBC
Sat, December 30, 2023 

Winter months have tended to see larger discrepancies from the average, leading to less winter ice in P.E.I. waters in recent decades. (Kevin Yarr/CBC - image credit)

An analysis of Charlottetown weather records going back to the 19th century shows that Prince Edward Islanders are twice as likely now to experience one of the province's warmest months ever than people were in previous decades.

Looking at records going back to 1872 in Charlottetown, CBC News charted the top five warmest of each of the 12 months of the year.

For example, the top five warmest Januaries in Charlottetown were, in order: 2023, 1956, 2006, 1958, 2021.

While this could be expected to provide 60 results, because of ties for the fifth-warmest months — three-way ties in three cases — we have 70.

Of those 70 months, 31 have occurred in the last 30 years. That's 44 per cent of cases in just 20 per cent of the years. Looked at another way, exceptionally warm months have been twice as frequent in the last three decades.

It's another indication that climate change has already come to P.E.I.

There was another relatively warm period in the middle part of the 20th century, but it falls short of what has happened recently in a number of ways.

The 30 years from 1929 to 1958 saw 19 of the warmest months, about two-thirds of the number of warmer months recorded in the last 30 years.

There is another clear signal shift in 1999. Before that year, there were a scattering of single months that made it into the top five, with three years where there were two such months.

In 1999, there were four months in the top five. That has happened again twice since, in 2010 and again this year, and there have also been three years where three months made the top five.

ONTARIO

Geese hatching eggs in winter? Experts concerned climate change is reshaping wildlife

CBC
Sat, December 30, 2023 

The sight of these two newborn goslings has raised concerns for environment experts. (Bird Friendly London Ontario/Facebook - image credit)

The sight of two fuzzy goslings waddling after their mother on a dreary Wednesday afternoon in late December put Londoners in awe, but it's also raising concerns among environment experts.

Brian Salt, director of Wildlife Rehabilitation at Salthaven in London, Ont., said he's been seeing a lot of strange wildlife behaviour in the last few months.

"Eastern gray squirrels in this area, at least in southwestern Ontario, have had not two litters as they normally do spring and fall, but this year they had three and I've never seen that before," said Salt.

'It's not likely that they'll survive'

He's also never seen geese hatch eggs in December in the last 40 years that he's worked as a wildlife expert. But Salt is keeping an eye on the newborn London, Ont., goslings to help them survive the winter.

"Here we are in December and we've got goslings that are about a week old running around at University Hospital," said Salt. "It's not likely that they will survive."

Gordon McBean, professor emeritus in geography and environment at Western University, fears the two little goslings may be a sign of a bigger issue on the horizon.

"The temperature is changing at a rate much more rapidly than has historically been the case," said McBean. "[This] confuses the animals.... Their biology is such that they respond to certain temperature conditions, and they're thinking it's spring."

Gordon McBean is a professor emeritus in geography and environment at Western University

Gordon McBean is a professor emeritus in geography and environment at Western University (Submitted by Gordon McBean)

McBean, an outspoken advocate on climate change, believes Mother Nature's unusual behaviours will eventually become more and more common as the Earth continues to get hotter.

The mild December temperature is affecting how animals biologically respond to different weather conditions and, in turn, may disrupt ecosystems and wildlife altogether.

"There are all kinds of … multidimensional implications of climate change as it's happening," said McBean. "It's not just getting warmer, it's getting warmer in the sense of affecting ecosystems."

Flooding, wildfires and survival challenges

McBean said there may be more flooding, wildfires and survival challenges for animals born in mild weather to survive the colder months.

And it won't be long before human life may be impacted as well.

"[Climate change] also affects the occurrence of flooding events and that affects the wildlife, but there's also affects Canadians in their homes and properties," said McBean.

"Our farmers will be impacted in Ontario.… There is a possibility of growing crops that previously weren't there, which also means the ecosystem will grow and propagate in certain ways as they didn't in the past."

Unusual wildlife activity may be the new normal, Salt said.

"Young people today are growing up with [this] new reality and it seems normal," said Salt. "We're not headed in the right direction."

NDP's Jagmeet Singh rules out coalition government with Liberals after next election

The Canadian Press
Thu, December 28, 2023



OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is ruling out the possibility of forming a coalition government with the Liberals if no party wins a clear majority after the next federal election.

"That's off the table," Singh said in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press, even though the two parties have been working closely together.

"That's not something that we're focused on. We're focused on getting enough done in this Parliament and then running to win."

The two parties signed a deal in March 2022 in which the NDP agreed to support the minority Liberals on key votes in Parliament in exchange for action on NDP policy priorities.

The collaboration has so far led to the introduction of a national dental-care program, one-time rental supplements for low-income tenants, a temporary doubling of the GST rebate, legislation banning replacement workers and investments toward a for-Indigenous-by-Indigenous housing strategy.

The parties agreed to keep their agreement in place until 2025, with a federal election slated to take place by October of that year.

Singh said the agreement gave him the chance to see the Liberals up close, and to see how much power the federal government has to make life better for Canadians.

"And I can say with a lot of clarity that they could be doing a lot more to help people," Singh said.

"I'm more motivated than ever before that I want to become the next prime minister. That's my goal."

Polls currently place the Opposition Conservatives within majority territory, and with a minority Parliament in place, the next election could theoretically happen any time.

However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has indicated he sees no reason for that.

He told The Canadian Press earlier this month that the next campaign will follow the fixed-election date schedule and take place in the fall of 2025.

Trudeau said he hasn't spoken to the New Democrats about possibly forming a coalition government post-election, because they're focused on the now.

"What may be, might come into a calculation post-election, well listen, let's let Canadians decide what kind of Parliament they want to elect in two years and then we'll see," Trudeau said when asked about whether a bigger partnership is in the cards.

"We've demonstrated that we can get good things done and maintain a very fiscally responsible frame," he added.

He added that's something "people will take note of, I'm sure, for decades to come as being something that has been demonstrated to be very effective in Canadian politics."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 28, 2023.

Mickey Djuric, The Canadian Press

Quebec City looks to Finland's successful approach to ending homelessness

The Canadian Press
Sun, December 31, 2023 



QUEBEC — As Quebec faces a worsening homelessness crisis, some politicians, including Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand, have suggested the solution may be a Finnish model that aims to give everyone a home.

But while Finland has managed to massively reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness through its "housing first" approach, one Quebec expert said she's not sure it could be applied here, even if the provincial government was interested.

"It's the right way to fight the problem of homelessness," Helsinki Mayor Juhana Vartiainen said of his country's approach in a recent interview.

The Finnish model is simple, he said: give people quality, permanent housing before attempting to address other issues — such as alcohol and drug use, or mental health problems — or helping people find jobs

"That's really the fundamental idea of our policy, if we give people a home, there will be very positive side-effects," Vartiainen said.

Giving people an apartment leads to improved health, less drug and alcohol use, he said, and increases the chance that people will find jobs. Once someone is given a home, he said, there are teams that ensure they receive the care and support required.

There were 18,000 people experiencing homelessness in Finland when the country first launched its effort to tackle the issue back in 1987. At the end of 2022, the figure had dropped to 3,686 in the country of 5.5 million, though only 492 spent the night outside.

In Quebec, 10,000 people were experiencing visible homelessness in October 2022 — the last time the provincial government counted — an increase of 44 per cent since 2018.

Annie Fontaine, a Université Laval professor who specializes in social work, said Quebec could learn lessons from the Finnish model but described it as a "relatively unrealistic ideal in the context we're experiencing right now."

"There are a lot of structural, cultural and organizational aspects that are part of this program which make it difficult to imagine a simple, straightforward application in our political and socio-economic context here," she said in an interview.

Fontaine warns against idealizing the Finnish model, noting it's wrong to assume that placing someone in a home will automatically allow everything else to fall in place.

Everyone's experience of homelessness is different, she said, and some paths out of it may be less linear. Some people who have been experiencing homelessness aren't ready to live alone in an apartment, finding it isolating.

"Some sleep on the floor because they're not able to live in the space," she said.

Fontaine said she thinks the best approach is to provide multiple options, with different pathways and forms of aid.

The housing first model is a partnership between the Finnish state, its municipalities, and a dedicated organization known as the Y Foundation, or Y-Säätiö in Finnish.

As of June 2023, the non-profit supplied 18,688 low-cost housing units to 26,500 people, most of whom would otherwise be experiencing homelessness.

"When people have a roof over their heads, they can overcome the challenges they have in their lives and not have to worry about where they will sleep that night or will they will live next month," Juha Kahila, the director of international affairs at the Y Foundation, said in an interview.

The organization's buildings are located in normal residential neighbourhoods, which has caused resistance from people living nearby.

"Certainly, there were concerns," Kahila said. "But people quickly realized it was a good idea and a good use of taxpayer money when they saw the drop in crime rates."

In addition to individual apartments, the foundation has larger spaces that include small personal apartments and communal areas. Those spaces are typically intended for seniors or those who need support with addictions.

While the model comes with upfront costs, the foundation has estimated the program saves Finland up to 9,600 euros, or about $14,000, per person each year.

Kahila said he thinks the zero-homelessness model can be put in place elsewhere with the launch of a dedicated foundation like his.

"I don't see why that wouldn't work in Canada or in Quebec City," he said. "It's not necessary to copy the model exactly, but the idea behind the Y Foundation is totally possible to duplicate."

Marchand — who pledged to eliminate homelessness in Quebec City by 2025 during a 2021 election campaign — said in early December that the promise may have been a bit "utopian."

There's also no sign the Finnish approach is on the province's radar.

Lionel Carmant, the minister responsible for social services, said last autumn that Quebec has to slow the increase in homelessness before trying to do more.

"If we want to take steps that are too big, it won't work," Carmant said at the time

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 31, 2023.

Patrice Bergeron, The Canadian Press