Year in review: A look at news events in November and December 2022

4 – Thousands of Ontario education workers hit picket lines across the province on the first day of an indefinite walkout that closed many schools. The strike went ahead, even after the Ford government enacted a law imposing a contract on 55,000 education workers represented by CUPE. It also banned them from striking, pre-emptively using the notwithstanding clause to guard against constitutional challenges.

5 – Aaron Carter, the singer-rapper who began performing as a child and had hit albums starting in his teen years, was found dead at his home in Southern California. He was 34. Carter, the younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, performed as an opening act for Britney Spears as well as his brother’s boy band, and appeared on the family’s reality series “House of Carters.”

7 – Ontario Premier Doug Ford stepped back from his controversial education-worker legislation that included using the notwithstanding clause. Ford said he was willing to repeal the legislation if the Canadian Union of Public Employees showed “a similar gesture of good faith” and stopped its strike. The government’s Bill 28 not only imposed a contract on the 55,000 workers but also banned their right to strike.

8 – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith got a seat in the legislature after winning a byelection in the constituency of Brooks-Medicine Hat. Smith last won a seat in 2012, during her time as leader of the former Wildrose Party.

9 – The family of a Saskatchewan farmer who served two tours of duty with the Canadian military in Afghanistan said he was killed while fighting in Ukraine. Joseph Hildebrand of Herbert was 33. The family was notified by other people in his unit. A cousin said Hildebrand was apparently with 12 other soldiers on a mission around the city of Bakhmut, a key target of Russia’s offensive in the eastern Donetsk region, and that only three of them made it back alive.

10 – Kevin Conroy, the prolific voice actor known for his gravely delivery on “Batman: The Animated Series,” has died. Conroy, who for many fans defined the sound of the Caped Crusader, was 66. Warner Bros. said the actor died after a battle with cancer. Conroy was the voice of Batman on the acclaimed animated series that ran from 1992 to 1996, as well as some 15 films, 400 TV episodes and two dozen video games.

14 – Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Canada would spend $500 million on surveillance and communications equipment for Ukraine’s military as well as fuel and medical supplies. Joly announced the funding at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. The half-billion-dollar pledge was on top of the same amount the federal government announced in its spring budget.

15 – The Public Health Agency of Canada declared a flu epidemic. The FluWatch report showed the test positivity rate nearly doubled in one week to 11.7 per cent. An epidemiologist said flu season started earlier than usual and cases surged sharply because natural immunity against common cold viruses had dropped due to COVID-19 restrictions the last two winters.

16 – Chinese President Xi Jinping complained to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about media reporting on their communications. The two had a discussion at the G20 summit in Indonesia, and Xi complained about apparent leaks to media. Xi said their conversation a day earlier was mischaracterized. Trudeau responded that Canada and China have frank dialogue about things they disagree on, but can work constructively on other issues. Trudeau’s office said he’d raised concerns with Xi about Chinese interference in Canada.

19 – Elizabeth May was chosen to return as leader of the Green Party of Canada. The longtime MP from Vancouver Island led the party from 2006 to 2019. May ran this time on a promise to share the role with Montreal’s Jonathan Pedneault — a 32-year-old expert on crisis situations who has investigated abuses in war zones including Afghanistan. May said the party needed to move on from a disappointing result in last year’s election and turmoil within the ranks. In her victory speech, she called for more action by Canada in its response to climate change.

19 – The actor who played the Green Power Ranger Tommy Oliver on the 1990s children’s series “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,” died. Jason David Frank was 49. The martial arts practitioner also played Tommy Oliver in two films and made a cameo in the 2017 reboot “Power Rangers.”

21 – The director of Canada’s intelligence service told the prime minister he supported the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act last winter. Despite his opinion that protest blockades across the country did not meet the service’s strict definition of a threat to Canadian security, David Vigneault testified that he recommended the invocation of the act.

21 – Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair told a public inquiry that the Emergencies Act had been used as a last resort. But he also told the inquiry into the government’s use of the act that he came to believe the government needed to find a remedy to protests in downtown Ottawa and several border crossings. Blair said he was concerned about the security and integrity of the borders and of its critical infrastructure. He denied an accusation by the lawyer representing some convoy organizers that he planned to use the Emergencies Act just one week into the protest.

24 – Hall of Fame defenceman Borje Salming, who starred for the Toronto Maple Leafs over 16 NHL seasons, died of ALS at age 71. Team president Brendan Shanahan said Salming opened the door for Europeans in the NHL. The native of Sweden was signed as a free agent before the 1973-74 season, and retired with the Detroit Red Wings in 1990.

25 – Canada lost 1-0 to Belgium in its World Cup opener.

25 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the “Freedom Convoy” protests presented an entirely different type of crisis than the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the government considered using the legislation in the spring of 2020, but determined it wasn’t the right tool for the COVID crisis. Trudeau was the final witness to testify at the public inquiry into his government’s unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act to dispel the blockades in Ottawa and at several border crossings.

27 – Alphonso Davies helped Canada end its scoring drought at the men’s World Cup, but the team could not hold off Croatia, losing 4-1 to end its hopes of reaching the tournament’s knockout round.

28 – The Supreme Court of Canada welcomed its first Indigenous justice to the bench, Michelle O’Bonsawin, who is a bilingual Franco-Ontarian and an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation.

29 – Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney resigned as a member of the provincial legislature. His announcement came the same day his successor, Premier Danielle Smith, introduced her sovereignty bill in the legislature — which Kenney had criticized.

December

1 – Team Canada was out of the World Cup in Qatar, falling 2-1 against Morocco.

2 – Hockey Canada’s first-ever report tracking on-ice discrimination catalogued more than 900 documented or alleged incidents last season. Of the 512 penalties called by officials, 61 per cent involved sexual orientation or gender identity, 18 per cent involved race and 11 per cent involved disability. Ninety-nine per cent of infractions called by officials involved male players. The report didn’t reflect off-ice incidents of maltreatment, sexual violence or abuse.

5 – Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin was acquitted of sexual assault. The allegation against Fortin dates back to 1988, when he and the complainant were both attending a military college in Quebec. The complainant said she brought the incident to light last year, after she retired, because she had feared career repercussions. While she told the court that she was certain “without a doubt” that the perpetrator was Fortin, his lawyer cited inconsistencies between the complainant’s testimony and her previous statement to investigators.

7 – Time magazine named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as its person of the year.

7 – The Alberta legislature passed Premier Danielle Smith’s controversial sovereignty act — but not before first stripping out the provision that granted Smith’s cabinet the power to bypass the legislature and rewrite laws as it saw fit. Smith’s United Conservative caucus used its majority to pass an amendment to affirm that the Alberta legislature still has the last word on lawmaking.

8 – Canadian superstar Celine Dion said a rare neurological disorder was causing the muscle spasms that had interrupted her life and forced her to postpone her concerts. The Quebec-born singer announced on Instagram that she had been diagnosed with “stiff-person syndrome.” The condition is characterized by sudden severe muscle spasms, and affects roughly one in a million people.

9 – Health Canada approved a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster for children ages five to 11. It was the first bivalent shot to be approved for use in kids and targeted the original strain of the coronavirus and more recent variants.

9 – Members of the Quebec legislature would no longer have to swear an oath to the British monarch. Lawmakers passed a bill putting an end to the requirement for members to swear two oaths — one to the people of Quebec and one to the Crown.

12 – Jim Carr, a Liberal member of Parliament from Winnipeg and a former cabinet minister, died. He was 71. Winnipeg MP Kevin Lamoureux asked the House of Commons for a moment of silence before question period. The parties then agreed to suspend the House for the rest of the day. Carr had represented the riding of Winnipeg South Centre for the Liberals since 2015.

13 – American scientists announced a major breakthrough in the future of energy production. For the first time in history, scientists produced more energy in a fusion reaction than was used to ignite it — marking a milestone in the decades-long quest to harness the process that powers the sun.

15 – The Canadian singer-songwriter behind the hit track “Something to Talk About” died. Shirley Eikhard was 67. A longtime friend said Eikhard died in hospital in Orangeville, Ont., after a battle with cancer. The Sackville, N.B., native got her first taste of success in her early teens when Anne Murray recorded her 1971 track “It Takes Time,” making it a Canadian chart hit. She released her self-titled debut album at the age of 16, and went on to win Juno Awards for female country artist in 1973 and 1974.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Year in review: A look at news events in November and December 2022

Our Community