There was a time in this country when Canadians didn’t really care about Canadian music.

No, wait. Let’s start over.

There was a time in this country when Canadians didn’t like Canadian music and did whatever they could to avoid, ignore, and pretend it didn’t matter or even exist. Yeah, that’s more accurate.

There was one exception this rule: If a Canadian artists somehow miraculously received some kind attention (read: validation) from outside the country–preferably in the United States–then suddenly they were paying attention to at home.

It was a mix of insecurity and what I believe to be Canada’s two unofficial mottos: (1) “Who do you think you are?” And (2) Why can’t you be happy with what you have?”

That’s harsh but true. And for years, talented, ambitious flowed south across the border to seek their fortune in America. Paul Anka. Neil Young. Joni Mitchell. John Kay.

There were those who chose to remain in Canada while still having international success. Gordon Lightfoot is among that number. The Guess Who and BTO are two more. But they weren’t really fully accepted at home until they had a hit in America. Suddenly, our attitude swung 180 degrees. “Them? That successful band on the Billboard charts and American Bandstand? Yeah, they’re one of ours! Go Canada go!”

This is the way it was for several decades. It was a frustrating situation for countless Canadian musicians.

But thing things started to warm up a bit in the 1980s. By the time the 90s arrived, attitudes towards homegrown talent had swung completely in the other direction. Not only were Canadian music fans loving Canadian bands, Canadian music was being heard all over the world.

Wait. Let’s try that again. I meant to say that Canadian music was in demand all over the world.

Some have called this the Great CanRock Revolution of the 1990s. It. Changed. Everything. And here’s how it started.

Songs heard on this show:

• Our Lady Peace, Starseed
• Martha and the Muffins, Echo Beach
• Chalk Circle, April Fool
• Tragically Hip, Little Bones
• Tragically Hip, She Didn’t Know (Live)
• Sloan, Underwhelmed
• I Mother Earth, Not Quite Sonic
• Billy Talent, River Below

Here’s Eric Wilhite’s playlist. The Ongoing History of New Music can be heard on the following stations:

• 102.1 The Edge/Toronto – Sunday night at 7
• Q107/Toronto
• Live 88-5/Ottawa
• 107.5 Dave-FM/Kitchener
• FM96/London
• Power 97/Winnipeg
• Sonic 102.9/Edmonton
• The Zone/Victoria
• The Fox/Vancouver
• Surge 105/Halifax
• WAPS/WKTL The Summit/Arkon, Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown

We’re still looking for more affiliates in Calgary, Kamloops, Kelowna, Regina, Saskatoon, Brandon, Windsor,  Montreal, Charlottetown, Moncton, Fredericton, and St John’s, and anywhere else with a transmitter. If you’re in any of those markets and you want the show, lemme know and I’ll see what I can do.

© 2022 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The Association of Ontario Road Supervisors held its first safety truck roadeo since 2019 Wednesday in Napanee.

Events were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic.

It takes a precise hand here at the Provincial Safety Truck Roadeo, where Ontario’s top equipment operators are showing off their expertise.

“It’s pretty, pretty intense for the drivers. And if you get inside some of these plow trucks and you’re up in them and you see the plow and wing in front of you, it’s pretty overwhelming actually when you’re up in the big equipment,” President of District 8 Road Supervisors Association Aaron Hatton said.

Maneuvering these big trucks is no easy task, but these equipment operators make it look simple.

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“The roadeo itself is laid out in a way that the obstacles replicate a lot of the obstacles that they would see on a day-to-day basis when they’re doing their snow plowing routes, in a controlled environment. So this is dried pavement, where they’re normally dealing with this in a big storm event,” said Karla Musso-Garcia of Oro-Medonte Township.

Wednesday marks the provincial final, where representatives from municipalities across the province compete for “Driver of the Year.”

“It’s a good opportunity to get out and meet other drivers from different municipalities and test your skills and just get back in the seat of the truck,” truck driver, Corey Gemmill said.

Gemmill won the top spot for District 8’s competition on Tuesday.

“I know that our drivers and our staff, and even the mechanics, are the best in the whole district as well as the best in the whole province,” says Napanee Mayor Marg Isbester. “But I didn’t realize how many things they would have to go through.”

Isbester says a bit of healthy competition is on the menu.

“You know, we always like to compare Highway 2, for instance, that runs through most of the municipalities. We want to make sure that our part is just a little bit better than the one to the east and the west,” says Isbester. “But that’s friendly and we all do an excellent job.”

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Hurricane Ian on Wednesday began lashing Florida’s Gulf Coast with powerful winds and drenching rain, prompting authorities to tell residents it was too late to evacuate as the eye of the storm inched toward shore with close to Category 5 power.

At 11 a.m. ET, Ian was around 80 kilometres southwest of Punta Gorda, Fla., with sustained winds of 250 kilometres per hour, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

That was just shy of a Category 5 designation, which is the most severe storm classification with sustained winds of at least 252 kilometres per hour, though Ian was expected to weaken after hitting land, the center said.

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Forecasters say Ian would unleash wind-driven high surf, torrential rains that may cause coastal flooding of up to 12 feet (3.7 metres) along with intense thunderstorms and possible tornadoes.

“I’ve been around for a long time; these are big numbers,” said Jamie Rhome, acting director with the National Hurricane Center.

“I haven’t seen numbers like this many times in my career.”

The storm’s outer bands were already bringing heavy winds and rains to much of the Gulf Coast on Wednesday morning.

“I wish this wasn’t a forecast that was about to come true. This is a storm that we will talk about for many years to come, an historic event,” said Ken Graham, director of the National Weather Service.

The hurricane was expected to crash into Florida at about 2 p.m. ET in Charlotte County, about 160 kilometres south of Tampa and just north of Fort Myers. The region is home to miles of sandy beaches, scores of resort hotels and numerous mobile home parks, a favorite with retirees and vacationers alike.

“This is a powerful storm that should be treated like a tornado was approaching your home,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said. “This is going to be a nasty, nasty day or two days. This is going to be a rough stretch.”

Earlier this week, authorities told more than 2.5 million residents to evacuate, but some, like Mark Feinman, a professional musician in St. Petersburg, chose to stay put.

“There’s absolutely no one on the roads here,” Feinman, 36, said early on Wednesday. “The sky is this weird, ominous gray, and you can feel the wind gusts and the rain hits every little while. You can feel it in the air. My ears popped.”

Feinman said he does not regret his decision to stay; he feels his house is secure, and fortunately for him, the storm jogged to the south of earlier forecasts, which showed it making a direct hit on the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.

“We still expect it to get bad here. But I’ve boarded up, put down sandbags. We’re stocked up on supplies. I guess ready or not, it’s coming.”

Ken Wood, a bridge tender in coastal Dunedin, heeded the evacuation orders and drove about 400 kilometres northwest to Tallahassee, where he will weather the storm.

“It was a mandatory evacuation so I thought it best to secure everything and leave,” Wood, 56, said. But he is worried about his 18-foot boat parked under the carport.

“It’s tied down and hitched to my truck. I put seven bags of topsoil in it, hoping to weigh it down, but who knows what the winds will do to it.”

Climate change is making hurricanes wetter, windier and more intense. There is also evidence that it is causing storms to travel more slowly, meaning they can dump more water in one place, scientists say.

“Hurricane Ian’s rapid intensification could prove to be another example of how a warming planet is changing hurricanes,” said Kait Parker, meteorologist and climate scientist at IBM’s weather.com. “Research shows we are seeing this far more often than we did in decades past.”

More than 169,000 homes and businesses were without power in Florida on Wednesday morning.

Deanne Criswell, administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, said one of the top concerns was the safety of Florida’s large elderly population. Many have health and mobility issues or are in hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities that are difficult to evacuate.

President Joe Biden, speaking at an event in Washington, vowed that the federal government will help Florida after the storm passes.

“We are on alert and in action, we’ve approved every request Florida has made,” Biden said.

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Overnight and into Wednesday morning, Hurricane Ian pounded the Florida Keys island chain to the southernmost shores of the state’s Gulf Coast with heavy rains showers and winds gusts of 64 kph, the NWS reported.

On Tuesday, the storm thrashed Cuba, knocking out the electrical grid for 11 million people and ravaging the western end of the island with violent winds and flooding. By early Wednesday, the state electricity provider said it had begun to restore power across the eastern end of the island.

— with files from Global News

© 2022 Reuters

Saskatchewan residents can now look forward to a safer way of disposing unused and expired medication as the provincial government provides $350,000 towards a program. The Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan launched a public awareness campaign Wednesday to address the harmful effects of medication misuse.

According to a news release, the campaign encourages Saskatchewan residents to return all unused and expired medication to a local pharmacy.

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“We are pleased to support the Pharmacy Association’s efforts to keep Saskatchewan residents safer,” stated Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors and Rural and Remote Health Minister Everett Hindley.

“Developing a provincial safe medication disposal program is an important part of our suicide prevention plan, as removing unused prescription drugs limits access to a means of suicide.”

The province’s contribution will fund Pillars for Life: The Saskatchewan Suicide Prevention Plan to address and prevent suicide.

“Most prescription medications can be dangerous if not taken as directed, or if taken by someone other than the intended patient,” stated Michael Fougere, Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan CEO. “Medications that are safe for adults may in fact be fatal for children, pets or even seniors.”

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In this program, pharmacists will accept the return of any unused medication to reduce instances of others finding, intentionally using or accidentally taking unused medication. Those who wish to participate in the program are asked to scratch out any patient identification on the medication bottles and place them into a clear plastic bag to return to the pharmacy where they will be safely destroyed on a regular basis.

“Pharmacists play a vital role in counselling patients on the use of medications, and they are located in more than 125 communities right across the province, so it makes sense that these medications be taken back to pharmacies for safe disposal,” Fougere said.

The public awareness campaign includes billboards, radio and newspaper ads, and posters.

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Waterloo Regional Police have announced that they are now treating the death of an 88-year-old woman in Wilmot as a homicide.

On Monday, police reported that emergency services had been dispatched to a home on Sandhills Road in the Baden area for a medical call on Saturday afternoon.

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“Upon arrival, our officers did locate a female who was unfortunately deceased,” police spokesperson Cherri Greeno said.

“Information gathered at that time led officers to conduct a suspicious death investigation.”

On Monday they announced that information gathered as part of an investigation being run alongside the coroner’s office had led to the homicide declaration.

Greeno could not say what led to the homicide declaration.

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“That’s all part of the investigation,” she said.

“Details related to that I obviously can’t disclose at this time, but I can say that information and evidence gathered throughout the investigation led our officers, along with the chief coroner, to determine that this is now a homicide investigation.”

Police did not release details of the cause of the woman’s death.

This is the fourth homicide of the year in Waterloo Region.

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The Transportation Safety Board has sent a team to British Columbia’s north coast to probe the sinking of a tour boat in Haida Gwaii.

A statement from the safety board says the team of investigators has been sent to Prince Rupert, where it will gather information and determine what happened.

The M.V. Island Bay went down on Sept. 10 in the shallow waters of a bay on Morseby Island in the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve.

The coast guard said at the time that no one had been hurt.

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But it warned the “rough marine environment” had the potential to cause a diesel spill or some other damaging leak from the 13-metre vessel.

Containment booms and absorbent pads were laid down around the tour boat which is operated by Archipelago Ventures, while the boat owner arranges a salvage operation.

 

© 2022 The Canadian Press

Calgary police have laid charges in relation to the July homicide of Shawn McCormack.

Police were called to an alleyway in the area of the 1100 block of Frontenac Avenue Southwest on July 3, 2022, and located the man deceased on the road.

Following an autopsy, the victim was identified as McCormack, police said.

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Police said the homicide is believed to be a “targeted incident.”

Devon William Shedrick, 29, of Calgary was charged with one count of first-degree murder. Shedrick is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

Multiple people are also believed to be involved, police said.

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Police said they are still looking for information about a comforter left at the scene where McCormack’s body was found. The comforter has significance to the investigation, according to CPS.

Anyone with information about the incident or the owner of the comforter is asked to call police at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers.

– with files from Jessika Guse, Global News.

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A seventh person has been charged in relation to the assault of Megan Gallagher.

On Sept. 27, Saskatoon police arrested and charged 42-year-old Thomas Sutherland with the unlawful confinement and aggravated assault of Gallagher.

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Saskatoon police attended a correctional facility in Saskatoon to arrest Sutherland, who was incarcerated on an unrelated sentence. Sutherland was transported to the Saskatoon police detention centre and remains in police custody.

Sutherland is expected to appear in Saskatoon provincial court Wednesday.

The Saskatoon Police Service has also announced details for a planned search for Gallagher.

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As a result of investigation, and in consultation with forensic anthropologist Ernie Walker and officials from the Water Security Agency, the SPS major crime section will be co-ordinating an extensive search of the South Saskatchewan River and its banks in the St. Louis, Sask., area.

A number of civilian search and rescue personnel, members of the Provincial Protective Services, and purpose-trained K9 teams from the Calgary Police Service will be assisting in the search.

The search is scheduled to occur over four days, beginning Thursday and concluding Sunday. The search will take place during daytime hours. As this is a search of a potential crime scene, members of the public are advised to avoid the area.

If you have information believed to be relevant to the investigation or planned search, contact the SPS directly at 306-975-8300 or report it anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

VICTORIA – When Otto Porter Jr. was considering an offer from the Toronto Raptors, he didn’t have to look far for a scouting report.

“First thing he did (was call me),” Thaddeus Young said. “He said ‘Yo, Toronto’s calling me, what’s up?'”

Porter and Young were teammates for parts of two seasons from 2019 to ’21 with the Chicago Bulls, and remained friends.

“I said ‘Come on through, come on through, we’re family over here,'” Young told Porter. “‘Just come on through, sign the deal and let’s go, we’ll be ready to rock and roll.'”

The two were reunited with the Raptors when Young signed a contract extension in Toronto this past summer, and Porter agreed to a two-year deal with the Raptors on the heels of helping the Golden State Warriors to an NBA championship.

Just a day into training camp at the University of Victoria, coach Nick Nurse is thrilled to have another veteran to guide his young roster.

“It’s always super helpful,” Nurse said. “Their experience, their wisdom, their composure, advice, all of the things that they can do because of their experience … think it was needed for our roster.”

The 34-year-old Young was the voice of wisdom last season after he was acquired from San Antonio for Goran Dragic. When he threw down a dunk in a game in March, his new young teammates good-naturedly called him “Thad Young Legs.”

Young played 26 games with the Raptors, and the team felt the loss when he suffered a thumb sprain six minutes into Game 1 of the playoffs against Philadelphia.

But he soaked up the Toronto experience in his short time last season. His wife Shekinah and sons Thad Jr. and Taylor joined him in the media room at Scotiabank Arena whenever he was summoned to speak with reporters.

Re-signing in Toronto was a no-brainer.

“In my mind, it was always to try to get back here,” Young said. “Even when I spoke to Bobby (Webster, Toronto’s general manager) and Masai (Ujiri, Raptors president) on the phone when the trade was actually going down, the first thing they said was, ‘Look, we don’t want this to just be a one year thing, we want this to be something that lasts beyond this year,’ and I was completely fine with that.”

Nurse said Young’s presence at camp is almost like “a new addition,” since he’s starting the season with the Raptors, and has the benefit of training camp.

“It (feels) 10 times different,” Young said. “I’m coming into training camp and coming into the season with a fresh mind, mentally prepared and focused. Last year when I got here, I was fine but that’s because I’m a tough individual. But I was mentally burned out, just for the simple fact that I didn’t play the first half of the season and I spent a lot of time conditioning myself and burning myself out trying to be ready for the second half of the season. And then I think when I got here I wasn’t able to really play to my full potential and my full reach.”

The 29-year-old Porter, an 11-year NBA veteran and former third overall pick, averaged 8.2 points in 63 games last season. He said much of what drew him to Toronto was the team’s talented young roster that he believes can get back to the NBA Finals, and is more than happy to be another veteran voice to help them get there.

“We have a bunch of young guys that are hungry, they’re ready to do whatever it takes and by having the extra vet to help Thad out with the guys, they’re already picking our brains, first day,” he said. “They want to get to that elite level and it’s our job to pass on information that I got from Golden State or from my previous years playing, definitely want to share that with the younger generation.”

Porter also adds much-needed depth. The Raptors boasted the best second unit in the league in 2017-18 — the lovable “Bench Mob” led by Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam — but plummeted to last in scoring last season. That saw the overworked starters logging major minutes. VanVleet limped into the off-season with a couple of nagging injuries.

“We’re super deep,” Young said. “We have a lot of young guys that can play basketball, some guys on training camp deals and those guys can play as well. So, it’s just about finding the right combination, the right guys who can play in the right roles and fill the right spots.”

The Raptors wrap up camp in Victoria with a sold-out scrimmage on Friday at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. They open the pre-season in Edmonton on Sunday against the Utah Jazz.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2022.

© 2022 The Canadian Press

Manitoba is implementing temporary rent reduction on agriculture Crown lands in response to the impacts of extreme moisture and stakeholder feedback, Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson announced Wednesday.

“The Agricultural Crown Lands Program supports a vibrant and sustainable agricultural sector, and our government is committed to ensuring it continues to meet the needs of Manitoba’s livestock industry,” said Johnson.

Stakeholders have mentioned that rental rates on forage lands are challenging with the hardships being faced by extreme weather conditions, the minister noted.

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“We are responding to their concerns by implementing this rent reduction program over the next three years, which will provide ranchers with up to $4 million in relief.”

The rent reduction will be in place for the next three years with a 50 per cent reduction in 2023.

Leaseholders don’t need to apply for the support, the reduction will be automatically applied to next year’s bills, the minister noted.

Manitoba is also exploring other policy program regulations and service improvements to enhance the productivity and sustainability of agricultural Crown forage lands.

As part of its continuing review of the Agricultural Crown Lands Program, the government is inviting the public to provide input until later in October.

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.