The names have been a-changin’ in Alberta
And the premier is pretty concerned
John A. Macdonald’s legacy was defended by Jason Kenney, who expressed concern about names being erased in response to a residential school architect Hector-Louis Langevin’s name being cancelled in Calgary. Egerton Ryerson’s name is also facing more backlash: the university’s journalism school has officially removed it from its publications.
What has come after Eskimo
“Elk” was one of seven names on the short list of names for Edmonton’s rechristened football team, but the final decision went plural based on a suggestion from language experts at the University of Alberta. The name Eskimos was reaffirmed after consultations in February 2020, only to be retired five months later from a dormant CFL.
Toronto Blue Jays played in front of 5,321 fans in Buffalo. The first MLB game with paying customers in the city since 1915 was a 5–1 win over the Miami Marlins. Sahlen Field had a separate seating section for the unvaccinated—who could also get a Johnson & Johnson one-shot. A return date for playing at Rogers Centre remains a mystery.
The strip club status update
An upscale seafood restaurant is opening in the downtown Toronto space vacated by For Your Eyes Only, while the end is near for the Brass Rail Tavern due to redevelopment, a trend which is also looming over Filmores. But the possibility of Zanzibar Tavern becoming the last of a dying breed of club is reinforced by plans for a day of jabbing:
Alanis Morissette will avoid trying to tour in Canada for now. The postponed 25th anniversary summer trek for Jagged Little Pill is sticking to stateside for summer 2021, consistent with other border-crossing acts. At least the coast is clear for Blindness, a sound installation with socially distanced seating, to have a Toronto opening in August.
Finally, the state of surveillance
Cadence Weapon has booked American dates through October, as one of the first examples of a Canadian artist confident of coming home by then without needing to quarantine. A new music video from the rapper’s album Parallel World involves a song inspired by facial recognition software, filtered through a heap of old screens: