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Weekly News Recap: February 21, 2025

Vincent Duckworth

Weekly News Recap: February 21, 2025

Canadian veteran Bruck Stock of London, Ont., says he was deeply moved to see the the Maple Leaf flag hoisted on Parliament Hill in 1965 because it made him realize the country will have a new identity. (Rob Krbavac/CBC)

If the national mental illness of the United States is megalomania, that of Canada is paranoid schizophrenia. -- Margaret Atwood

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • Here’s What You Can Learn from the 8-Year-Old Who Climbs Way Harder than You (Outside Online) We all hope our children outperform us. This child certainly does. #Amazing. "Reagan got her first foray into leading on a low-angle slab route at the Small Adventures Wall in Moab. Then, shortly before her fifth birthday, while hanging out in Indian Creek, she asked her dad if she could lead a trad climb: Chocolate Corner, a 5.9+ thin hands crack. David recalls initially brushing off his daughter’s bold request. But then Reagan waltzed over to the route, climbed up a bit and plugged a cam into the crack. David took a look: It was bomber. 'She crushed it,' David says. 'I was blown away.' "

  • VIDEO: Giant Canadian flag carved into frozen B.C. lake in patriotic display (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY Beautiful and moving. "A group of residents in B.C.'s Okanagan region spent hours in the cold, meticulously sculpting a patriotic display. The result is a frozen Canadian flag carved into the snow on Ellison Lake, just north of Kelowna. Measuring just under 100 metres by 25 meters, the display — big enough to be seen by airplanes flying to and from the nearby Kelowna airport — came from resident Stuart Sutton who mapped out the project using his home tape measure. He was joined over the course of two days by about a dozen friends and neighbours who helped make the idea a reality."

  • VIDEO: 'Most fun wins': Meet the couple keeping square dancing alive in rural Alberta (CBC) PLAMONDON VALLEY STORY This is lovely. Could use a wee bit more diversity ;-). "Meet Phil and Jo Sedgwick, an elderly couple dedicated to preserving the art of square dancing with the Plamondon Valley Dancers in Plamondon, Alta. This short documentary from the CBC Creator Network, 'Most Fun Wins', follows their journey to preserve their beloved tradition."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. VIDEO: Veteran at Ottawa raising of Canada's Maple Leaf flag 60 years ago pens heartfelt letter to it (CBC) CANADIAN STORY This story means a lot to me. I am nine days younger than this flag. I also turn 60 this February and this flag still means everything to me. "The morning of Feb. 15, 1965, will always remain etched in Canadian veteran Bruce Stock's memory. The retired major from London, Ont., was in his mid-20s and on Parliament Hill that frigid day, serving as an aide-de-camp to the governor general at the time, Georges Vanier. He was among thousands of Canadians who witnessed the new Maple Leaf flag being hoisted, marking a new era of the country's identity."

  2. Scientists at U.S. weather forecasting agency ordered to get clearance before talking to Canadian counterparts (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT "Travelling for international meetings or even joining a call with Canadian counterparts has become impossible for some U.S. government scientists, under new directives since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. Canadian ecologist Aaron Fisk says he recently tried to set up a virtual call to discuss plans with American colleagues, including a government scientist, around sampling fish. 'We tried to have a quick meeting with one of our collaborators … and they were denied access,' Fisk said."

  3. VIDEO: #TheMoment researchers tagged a 4.2-metre long male shark — their largest ever (CBC) #Wow Would you tag such a monster? "Harley Newton, chief scientist for Ocearch, recounts the moment her team captured, measured, tagged and released their largest-ever male great white shark at 4.2 metres long and 750 kilograms."

  4. Rowan House included in $15.7 million funding announcement (Okotoks Online) HIGH RIVER STORY Congrats to all and especially to our friends at Rowan House. "The Alberta government has announced more funding to help put an end to gender-based violence in the province. Gender-based violence refers to the harmful acts directed at an individual based on their gender, and can take different forms, such as physical assault, sexual assault, murder, femicide, family violence, intimate partner violence, human trafficking, stalking, financial control, threats, hate speech, cyber-bullying, pornography, and coercive control. Due to gender-based violence being as critical issue as it is, the provincial government is developing a comprehensive 10-year Strategy to End Gender-Based Violence, which is informed by engagements with hundreds of Albertans and organizations."

  5. All becoming clear: Port Blandford artist creates portraits from Scotch tape (CBC) PORT BLANDFORD STORY This is a sticky story #Groan "A new art exhibit at Gallery 59 in Gander, N.L., will have you thinking a little differently about office supplies. (In)Visible is an exhibit by visual artist Leslie Sasaki — who now lives in Port Blandford — made using Plexiglas, a boxcutter and Scotch brand magic tape. Sasaki peels out the strips, each layer adding a little more shade, as if it were a pencil. He says it's a way of exploring how people feel invisible in society. "The portraits are very fugitive or kind of fragile. As you walk through the space, they'll change a bit. They're very light-contingent, and that's sort of like people," he said."

  6. VIDEO: Check this out: underwater hockey, a twist on Canada's favourite game (CBC) THUNDER BAY STORY "This is dumb" says Christine (I think it's cool). "Watch the CBC's Matt Fratpietro dip his toes into the underwater hockey world. The group meets every Thursday at 8 p.m. at the Lakehead University Field House in Thunder Bay, Ont. Here's what he learned about the unique aquatic sport."

  7. Can we still be friends: Alaska town sends love letter to neighbours in Yukon (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT We love Alaskans. "Things have gotten a little weird lately with the U.S. and Canada, but one small-town mayor in Alaska hopes his town can still be Valentines with its neighbours across the border in the Yukon. Mayor Tom Morphet of Haines, Alaska, penned a love letter of sorts this week and sent off a copy to his counterparts in nearby Haines Junction, Yukon and Whitehorse on Wednesday. It says the Haines Borough wants to 'reaffirm a relationship of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance' with those Yukon communities. 'We recognize that as northerners, we sometimes have as much in common with our Canadian neighbors [sic] as we do with our own countrymen in the southern latitudes.' "

  8. ‘No one wants to pay $25 for breakfast’: US restaurants are cracking under inflation (The Guardian) I feel it. "Most menu items at the popular Philadelphia breakfast chain Green Eggs Cafe are – true to its name – made with eggs. Its co-owner Stephen Slaughter said that about 90% of its dishes depend on eggs, ticking off a short list: 'Our French toast, our pancake batters, our hollandaise sauce, obviously eggs and omelets.” So when his vendors started charging $8 for a dozen eggs, all six Green Egg Cafe locations felt the pinch. Slaughter said that a year ago, the ingredients for a plate of bacon, eggs and toast with a side of coffee might have cost $3 or $4; he estimates those costs have now doubled."

  9. VIDEO: City, National accessArts Centre, at odds over relocation of disability arts organization (CBC) CALGARY STORY "The CEO of the National accessArts Centre (NaAC) says the disability arts organization continues to be at an impasse with the City of Calgary over its relocation. Jung-Suk Ryu says the NaAC bought a full-page advertisement in Tuesday's print edition of the Calgary Herald to try and get the city to fund renovations that would allow the group to finally move into the former Scouts Canada building beside Memorial Drive in the West Hillhurst neighbourhood. Ryu says the Fairview arena, where the NaAC is currently located, is 'unsalvageable' and 'unsafe.' "

  10. VIDEO: Paddleboarder ordered to pay $2,500 for getting too close to orcas near Ucluelet, B.C. (CBC) TOFINO STORY "A paddleboarder who got too close to a pod of orcas near Tofino, B.C., has been found guilty of unlawfully disturbing killer whales, a breach of the Federal Fisheries Act. Christie Jamieson, 40, was fined $2,500 earlier this month following the incident in Ucluelet Harbour, off the west coast of Vancouver Island, in January 2021. Jamieson testified she did not know the rules around distance limits. But provincial court Judge Alexander Wolf said in his ruling that it didn't matter — even if a person has never heard of Canada's Marine Mammal Regulations, they are still bound to them by law, he said."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. Why Time Flies (Saturday Evening Post) Turns out, our memory plays tricks on us.

  2. Why Topics Are A Terrible Way To Organise Your Notes (& What To Do Instead) (Ev Chapman) These are some cool ways to organize.

  3. Finally Learn How to Properly Dice an Onion (Art of Manliness) I learned this as a 16-year-old line cook. It has served me all my life and it still impresses my friends.

  4. Hard vs. soft luggage: Which is right for you? (The Manual) For years I was a soft luggage guy. Now, I would never give up my hard luggage.

  5. Your Earbuds Are Gross. Here’s How to Clean Them Properly (Wired) This is grossly important.

  6. VIDEO: Inside the World’s Most Unusual Careers (YouTube) I have always secretly wanted to be a butler.

  7. Espresso vs. ristretto: What’s the difference? (The Manual) I love the Nespresso ristretto.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Albert Gubay Foundation's £10 million donation to Bangor University (Manx Radio) "Bangor University in North Wales has received a £10 million donation from the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation - the largest sum ever gifted to a university in Wales."

  2. Arnold Schwarzenegger Announces $1M Donation to Los Angeles Fire Relief (MSN) " 'I don't like when companies or rich people ask their fans to make their donations for them,' the actor wrote on social media. His donation will be split between the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the California Fire Foundation and the L.A. chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Schwarzenegger also acknowledged that many of his fans have asked him how they can help, and he is therefore selling a shirt based on the knockoff bodybuilding t-shirts that many vendors sell on the Venice Boardwalk."

  3. Sarasota Orchestra Receives Historic $60 Million Donation (Opera Wire) "The donation will go toward the planning and construction of its new music center. The donor will remain anonymous, and the gift does not include naming rights for the new facility, which the orchestra plans to build on a 31-acre site it purchased in 2023 on Fruitville Road."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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