Barris Beat

On being a debate moderator

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Everything was going as planned, last Sunday afternoon. I had some errands to complete, my students’ news copy to edit. Then, I planned to wash and dress to be at the Durham riding debate venue half an hour before things got started. When I arrived and saw all the parked cars and not a soul outside, my heart sank. I realized the debate was scheduled for 7 not 7:30. I’d arrived just as the main event was about to begin.

It’s the first time in all the years I’ve done these things, that I’ve ever been late for an MC gig. (more…)

Barris Beat

Week of space shots

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I think after the assassination of JFK, it’s the most significant “Where were you when…?” event in our lifetimes. It was the time – as baby-boom teenagers and their parents – we stayed glued to our TV sets all night on July 20, 1969, to watch U.S. astronauts land their Apollo 11 module on the moon and then watched former test pilot Neil Armstrong take those famous steps and speak to the world.

“That’s one small step for a man,” he said. “One giant leap for mankind.”

Yuri Gagarin remarked in space " God"
Yuri Gagarin remarked in space, "I don't see any God up here."

In truth, however, the race for space began 50 years ago this week when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to be catapulted into Earth orbit aboard Vostok 1, a space capsule about as big as the Russian-built Lada.

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Barris Beat

Victories of heart and territory

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Mother Canada mourns her dead: key element of Walter Allward sculpture at Vimy Ridge memorial in France.
Mother Canada mourns her dead atop Vimy Ridge memorial in France.

It’s not often a person walks in the footsteps of an ancestor. Nor are there many opportunities to sense the sights, sounds and smells that someone who lived nearly a century ago experienced.

Recently, I read about such an experience when I was asked to endorse an application by a member of our community for the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize. As part of her application, Rebecca MacDonald, 17, wrote about her great-grandfather, Walter James MacDonald, an engineer in the 13th Canadian Mounted Police who served at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917.

“Standing in the trenches and the fields of Vimy Ridge, I could feel his spirit,” she wrote.

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Barris Beat

Promises, promises

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Making political promises stick.
Making political promises stick.

It didn’t take long to determine whether Canadians would be going to the polls this spring or not. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty hadn’t even begun to introduce the 2011 federal budget in the House of Commons, Tuesday afternoon, when we knew that two of the three Opposition leaders – Gilles Duceppe and Michael Ignatieff – would not support it. Only Jack Layton kept the country in suspense until the end of the budget speech. And within minutes of Flaherty’s concluding remarks, the other shoe dropped.

“Mr. Harper had an opportunity to address the needs of hard-working, middle class Canadians and families,” Layton said to CBC microphones, “and he missed that opportunity… New Democrats will not support the budget as presented.”

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Barris Beat

A government by any other name

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Everything close to the Prime Minister's Office
According to the Canadian Press, public servants from four different departments said the instruction to refer to the Canadian Government as "The Harper Government," came from “The Centre,” i.e. the Prime Minister’s Office.

There I was – planted in front of the TV – minding my own business the other night and it happened. Up came this image of a girl playing soccer. Then there was a couple painting a living room ceiling. A guy working in his wood-working shop. And an elderly couple pleasure skating… All the while, the upbeat announcer told me about the many and diverse ways all those average Canadians were saving money thanks to Ottawa’s new tax cuts program. Finally, the ad wrapped up with this tag line:

“A message from the Government of Canada.”

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Barris Beat

A Watcher has passed

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A dozen years ago, I got involved in the annual community variety show, uxperience. Our publicity committee came up with the idea of running profiles in the local paper of cast members during the weeks leading up to the show.

That year, we profiled the members of probably the most popular reprising characters of uxperience, “The IGA Watchers.” The three amateur comics in the sketch were veterinarian Fred Cotie, high-school teacher Steve David, and resident Ken More. At one point we asked the three about the success of the IGA Watchers sketch.

“We just do what we’re told,” Fred Cotie said in jest.

“Steve does what’s in the script,” Ken More said. “Fred doesn’t.”

“Yeah, they’ve been riding on my coattails all these years,” Steve David kidded.

“I’m actually just a prop for Fred and Steve, that can walk,” Ken More concluded.

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Features

Every Challenge Head On

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Every Challenge Head OnIn November 2010, Jeff Jeffery, a former Halifax bomber pilot with 432 Sqn RCAF, Distinguished Flying Cross winner, and founding director/president of the Halifax Aircraft Association, died after a brief illness in Toronto. In his tribute, author and broadcaster Ted Barris reflects on the life of a one-of-a-kind Canadian.

The very last time his hands gripped the controls of a Halifax bomber overseas, his aerial combat days were well behind him. It was mid-September 1995. A long lost Halifax bomber – ditched in Lake Mjosa, Norway, more than a half-century before – began to emerge from its watery grave. A salvage team and its undersea equipment had successfully raised the sunken warbird for RCAF veteran Jeff Jeffery to witness.

“The first thing I saw was her wingtip, then her ailerons, then the tip of the outer starboard engine propeller … rising up out of the lake,” Jeffery recalled during an interview in 1997.

For the full story, click here.

Barris Beat

A rearranged life

Written by Ted Barris on . 1 Comment
The rearrangement of my life at home began last spring when we knocked down the old garage. The next phase began last week when my sister-in-law arrived from Saskatchewan.
The rearrangement of my life at home began last spring when we knocked down the old garage. The next phase began last week when my sister-in-law arrived from Saskatchewan.

My wife’s sister has been visiting from Saskatchewan the past two weeks. Unlike that cliché that a husband loathes spending time with his in-laws, I have always enjoyed time spent with Pat, as I did with the sisters’ parents. There is generally one time during Pat’s visits, however, when I sense I’d better butt out. That’s when I hear either my wife Jayne or Pat say:

“OK, let’s do some rearranging around the house.”

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Barris Beat

Being there

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Linda Carter - artist, filmmaker and public speaker -
Linda Carter - artist, filmmaker and public speaker - says, “In this society, we need people who’ve been there before.” She spoke to reporters at a Black History event at Centennial College this week.

Earlier this week, I hosted a Black History Month event in Toronto. The guest speaker was fashion designer, actress and filmmaker Linda Carter. A couple of weeks ago her latest production, a film called “The Making of a Judge,” documented the life of her father, George E. Carter, Canada’s first native born black judge. Following her short talk about the film, several journalists posed questions. They ranged from her thoughts about her career to the importance of Black History Month to her feelings about Afri-centric schools. Then she got this one:

“What are your thoughts on the causes of such things as the Jordan Manners shooting in a Toronto school?” the young journalist asked.

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