Come Meet Me and Jocelyn! We’re doing the Tod’s Nanaimo Infusion event again this year [▶️ watch video] — April 24-26. It’s an invitation for anyone (you do not have to be American or work in healthcare) to come to Vancouver Island and take in the beauty, quirkiness, and friendly people of our area. [get more info]
by Tod Maffin
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This week, Donald Trump threatened to commit genocide ("a whole civilization will die tonight") against the nation of Iran. It would be, by any measure, a war crime.
T O D B I T
When asked by a reporter whether he was concerned that hitting civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime, Trump responded "No, not at all."
Canada has a special connection with Iranians.
There are around a quarter-million Canadians of Iranian origin living here. Many of them came after 1979, when the Islamic Revolution made Iran unlivable for secular professionals, religious minorities, academics, and anyone who believed that women deserved to exist in public without a dress code enforced by police. They came with their families and their grief, and Canada said: come in, make this your home.
The earliest arrivals slotted quickly into professional life as engineers, doctors, lawyers, and dentists.
One Iranian family built the West Edmonton Mall.
Another founded Future Shop.
Iranian-Canadians now hold chairs at McGill, lead cybersecurity labs, and serve in Parliament.
These are people who, when given the chance to breathe, build things and employ people.
What Canada Does
Here is something worth reminding the U.S. administration: In 1979, when the revolution happened and the American embassy in Tehran was overrun, six American diplomats escaped into the streets.
We took them in. Canadians. We hid them for 79 days in our own homes. Spirited them out under cover, at great risk — not diplomatic risk... risk to the lives of our people.
The Americans made a movie out of it, and rewrote the story to make the CIA the big heroes because of course they did.
Watching from Afar
Since 2020 alone, more than 55,000 Iranian citizens have become permanent residents of Canada. Most of them oppose the Islamic Republic with a depth of feeling that most Canadians can barely imagine. They've watched from here as their cousins and aunts and old professors got arrested for protesting. As young women were beaten in the street for showing their hair.
They are Canadians now, fully, and they are watching what is happening to their people with a kind of sorrow that has no name in English (though Persian probably has seventeen words for it).
This weekend, they are sitting in their homes in Toronto and Vancouver and Montreal, knowing that if the current fragile ceasefire fractures, the bombs may very well fall on someone they love.
Holding, Not Hurting
What Trump is threatening to do to Iran will kill civilians. It will knock out power to hospitals and water treatment plants. It will fall on the uncles and grandmothers of kids who go to school in Merritt and Mississauga and Moncton. It is by every definition a war crime.
But at least when it’s all over, Canada won't have to remember this moment for what we bombed. Or who we killed.
We'll remember it for who we held.
Trivia
Which Canadian ambassador played a key role in helping American diplomats escape Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis?
— 30 —
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The Weekly Poll
What is the best way to take care of one's mental health with the current news cycle?
Last Week:
The Funny Bone
by Greg Kearney; used under licence.
What You Missed This Week
The Good News ♥️
The Montreal Smoked Meat sandwich from Schwartz’s Deli (which is partially owned by Celine Dion) has been named one of the best sandwiches in the world.
A cancer survivor in BC was able to live out a lifelong dream when he played basketball with Adam Sandler at a local YMCA.
St.Mary’s Hospital in Montreal, QC has launched a program that will offer VR concerts for patients.
SCIENCE!!!!!! 🔭
Fossil Hot-Spot- Prince Edward Island is becoming a promising “new frontier” for fossil discoveries.
A new mineral discovered in deep-earth has been named “Grahampearsonite” after Alberta geochemist Graham Pearson.
Deer in the Headlights- Transport Canada has launched a survey for Canadians to weigh in on LED headlights.
Vancouver-based techies have launched “Dishlist,” an app that can help make grocery shopping more affordable.
The First Peoples 🪶
The Chan Performing Arts Centre in Vancouver will host Inuit singer Susan Aglukark and throat singing duo PIQSIQ, as part of their Made in Canada series.
Chelsee Pettit, a member of Aamjiwnaang First Nation, was a featured speaker at the Reservation Economic Summit in Las Vegas.
Barb Guimond, a Winnipeg-based advocate and member of Sagkeeng First Nation, has gone viral on social media recently for her dance videos.
Wild Things 🐻❄️
A Cat named Muffin has been visiting a library in Dorval, QC, so frequently that he has earned his own special library card.
A Marmot who was released from the Marmot Recovery Centre in Mount Washington, BC, last June returned this winter to hibernate with his friends.
A pair of duelling bald eagles were rescued by the fire department in Surrey, BC, after their spat led them to become entangled in a power line.
The Alliston Humane Society in Everett, Ontario, is set to open its doors after major renovations.
Law(bster) and Order- New Brunswick has joined Nova Scotia in creating a lobster enforcement unit, meant to recoup money being lost to illegal lobster landings.
Across Canada 📍
Canadian podcast Left To Their Own Devices has been nominated for a Peabody award.
St.John NB has launched the Green Machine, a fully stocked trailer that will help keep communities clean.
Please Don’t Stop The Music- Students at Mount Douglas Secondary in BC are raising money to save their school's music programs.
Care for Newcomers has launched a new initiative funded by the Government of Alberta to help employers hire, attract, and retain skilled workers.
Netflix has opened a new 111,000 sq. ft. animation studio in Vancouver.
Artemis II 🚀
The Royal Canadian Mint has released a limited edition glow-in-the-dark coin to commemorate the Artemis II mission.
The US-Canadian crew of the Artemis II captured an incredible photo of the Earth “setting” behind the moon.
Prime Minister Mark Carney chatted with the crew via video call; when asked about US-Canada relations, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen stated: “We are better together”.
Trade Tea 🫖
The US Trade Representative says it’s unlikely the CUSMA review deadline will be met.
The tariffs imposed by the US government have contributed to the Canadian labour market becoming “static”.
For the first time in decades, the Ambassador Bridge is no longer the busiest US-Canada trade corridor.
Canada’s Market This Week
Royal Bank | |
TD Bank | |
Enbridge | |
ScotiaBank | |
Bank of Montreal | |
CP Rail | |
Shopify | |
Canadian Tire | |
Loblaws | |
Tim Hortons (RBI) | |
Dollarama | |
Rogers |