Back in the late 1970s, the BBC debuted a science education show entitled Connections. The host was James Burke, an affable professor-ish guy, usually dressed in a beige polyester leisure suit who gave the term “interdisciplinary” a whole new meaning.

Burke’s thing was to take disparate developments in society, science, and technology and show how they were actually interconnected in ways that led to innovations and progress in the modern world. Nothing, he de contented, existed in isolation over the long term.

One show connected the invention of the cannon to the first movie project that appeared in the late 1800s. There were obviously a lot of steps in between, but Burke was able to draw a very clear line between the two. Another episode demonstrated the few degrees of separating between drinking gin and tonics to astronomers discovering the true size of the universe.

And then there was this: The most perfectly timed on-off TV standup shot.

Connections remains one of my all-time favourite TV shows. And if I’m honest, more than a little of this program is inspired by the way James Burke was able to tie things together in such brilliant ways.

I’ve always wanted to create a proper Connections-type show, but it’s been hard. So much knowledge, research, analysis, creativity, and synthesis are required. But I think after many years, I’ve cracked it. I hope I can do things justice.

Here is my attempt to create some James Burke-like connections between rock music and some seemingly unconnected inventions, events, and discoveries from the past.

Songs heard on this show:

• Stereo MC’s, Connected
• Nirvana, Heart-Shaped Box
• Soundgarden, Black Hole Sun
• Red Hot Chili Peppers, Higher Ground
• U2, Helter Skelter (Live)
• Oasis, Rock’n’Roll Star
• Specials, Concrete Jungle
• Evanescence, Bring Me to Life

Here’s a playlist from Eric Wilhite.

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 and I’ll see what I can do.

© 2023 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details and may not be suitable for all readers. 

An inquest into the suicide of a Vancouver police officer heard Thursday that she was released from hospital within two hours of attempts to admit her under mental health concerns.

Nicole Chan died by suicide in the early morning hours of Jan. 27, 2019, after officers escorted her home from the hospital.

The inquest has heard the 30-year-old constable spiraled into depression after lodging complaints about inappropriate relationships with two senior officers, one who she alleged had blackmailed her into sex.

“There’s no way she should have been released from the hospital,” Brandon Gray, Chan’s boyfriend’s best friend told a coroner’s court in Burnaby.

Holding back tears, Gray told the inquest how Chan’s boyfriend Jamie Gifford had called him for help with her because she was in crisis.

He described how the pair had tried calling 911 again after she was released, but to no avail.

“We were shocked, why is she back in her house?” he told Global News in an interview. “On the other line, it just said, ‘there’s nothing we can do, there’s nothing we can do, there’s nothing we can do.”

Gifford testified Wednesday that he had called for help after he found a knife and scissors Chan had hidden in the bathroom and her bed, and fabricated a noose out of a dog leash.

Ultimately, she hanged herself from a bedroom door. Gray told the inquest he was with Gifford when her body was discovered.

“For somebody going through a mental health crisis, not being assessed properly at the hospital, I just think there’s some holes in the system,” he told Global News.

“Nicole unfortunately fell through one of those cracks that night.”

The inquest also heard Thursday from one of the Vancouver police officers who apprehended her under the Mental Health Act and took her to Vancouver General Hospital.

Const. Warren Head told the jury he was shocked when a doctor at the facility said he wasn’t going to admit her.

Head said he told the doctor Chan was a police officer, and knew what to say in order to convince them to release her.

“I remember advocating saying I believe this is a mistake,” he testified.

“I believed, personally, that she was a threat to harm herself. I felt like, if she was to go back home and be alone, that she might, in fact, follow through.”

Head added that in his experience as a police officer who had handled numerous calls for mental health crises, he had virtually never seen doctors decline to admit someone in similar circumstances.

Gloria Ng, counsel for Chan’s family, said Head’s testimony raised concerns.

“Given that Nicole was a police officer and had specific experience with potentially what the doctors would be looking for and looking to hear, it was certainly surprising,” she said.

“This is certainly troubling for the family to know there were so many different attempts it seems to relay information, and for reasons that I expect we’ll find out as the inquest continues, that information was deemed insufficient to detain her.”

Ultimately, a doctor decided Chan was not a threat to herself, and that her ongoing treatment plan was sufficient, Head testified.

The inquest is slated to resume Friday, the anniversary of Chan’s death, with testimony from the paramedics who transported her to hospital and the doctor who saw her the night before she took her own life.

— with files from Rumina Daya

If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 911 for immediate help.

For a directory of support services in your area, visit the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention at suicideprevention.ca.

Learn more about preventing suicide with these warning signs and tips on how to help.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Turns out, it’s pretty hard to win in the NHL when you’re dominated for the majority of a game.

The Winnipeg Jets were completely outclassed by the Buffalo Sabres for the better part of 60 minutes, falling behind 3-0 before a late rally fell short in a 3-2 loss.

Neither side was able to find the back of the net in the first, and even though Winnipeg had two power play opportunities, the Sabres held a 14-6 edge in shots on goal through 20 minutes.

Buffalo continued to pour on the pressure in the second period, going long stretches in the Winnipeg zone without surrendering the puck, smoothly cycling while Jets defenders were unable to get the puck or change.

It paid off just past the midway point when Owen Power collected the puck near the Jets blue line and skated into the slot, whipping a shot that beat Connor Hellebuyck under the blocker to open the scoring.

It was Power’s third goal in as many games after scoring zero in his first 42 games of the season.

The Sabres stayed in charge as they added to their lead a few minutes later. After skating the puck into the Winnipeg end, Jeff Skinner sauced a perfect cross-ice pass to Alex Tuch, sucking the Jets’ defence and Hellebuyck over.

Tuch then made a beautiful pass back to a wide-open Tage Thompson in the slot, and the big centre blasted his 34th of the season into an open net.

Winnipeg got some rare zone time in the Buffalo end in the waning seconds but couldn’t get a shot on net as they went the final 15:46 of the second without registering a shot.

The Sabres held a 28-11 edge in shots through 40 minutes, and when Nikolaj Ehlers sent a harmless wrister on net just over a minute into the third, a healthy number of fans gave a Bronx cheer.

But Buffalo continued where they left off in the second, keeping the puck away from the Jets and getting chances to extend the lead. Hellebuyck had to make a great save off Victor Olofsson following a terrible giveaway by Pierre-Luc Dubois before Skinner rang one off the post from point-blank range.

Just shy of the midway point of the period, Sabres forward Dylan Cozens was left woozy by an inadvertent elbow from Nate Schmidt. Schmidt was originally assessed a major penalty but after officials reviewed the play, they assessed Schmidt a minor for roughing.

On the ensuing power play, Olofsson beat Hellebuyck to stretch the lead to three goals as fans booed.

Winnipeg finally got on the board with 4:46 left when Schmidt scored on a power play to cut the lead to 3-1. It was only the fourth shot for the Jets in the period and fourth in 31 minutes of game action.

With three minutes to go, the Jets pulled Hellebuyck to try and mount a comeback with an extra attacker and with 42.2 seconds remaining, the puck found its way to Dubois’ stick after a scramble in front of Comrie and Dubois roofed it to cut the lead to one.

But that’s as close as the Jets would get. The Sabres did ice the puck but off the ensuing faceoff, a Josh Morrissey point shot missed the net. Buffalo then cleared the zone and time expired.

Hellebuyck did what he could to keep his team in it, making 33 saves in the loss while Comrie only had to make 19 saves for his first win since Nov. 2.

The Jets will look to bounce back Saturday night when they host the Flyers. Puck drop is just after 6 p.m. with pregame coverage on 680 CJOB starting at 4 p.m.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The Montreal Canadiens may be injury-riddled, but they are playing strong competitive hockey despite it all.

A win over Toronto and a solid effort in defeat against Boston have highlighted this week. Expectation was that the Detroit Red Wings would be easier, but they were not as it went to overtime, with Detroit winning 4-3.

Wilde Horses 

For a while it looked like the one trade that General Manager Kent Hughes definitely did not win was Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche. Lehkonen has won a cup, plays on the first line, and is turning in the best numbers of his career.

At the same time, the prime piece of the return, Justin Barron, had a poor camp and was sent to the minors to find his game. Thankfully, he did.  All through the season, Barron got better for the Laval Rocket.

However, the transition to the National Hockey League is a much more difficult proposition. He is figuring it out now in this second half of the season.

In this game, Barron had an amazing 150-foot pass to Kirby Dach to free him. Barron’s greatest skill is his ability to find the man on stretch passes. He also skates the puck up ice effectively, and will do so even more when he gains in confidence. His weakness is defensive zone coverage, and as a defenceman, if you can’t figure that out, you can’t play in the league.

Barron is figuring it out. His coverage is much better. His ability to puck battle is improving. His decision-making is going from suspect to impressive in a short amount of time. He’s becoming an NHLer.

The former first-round pick is beginning to live up to his billing. Right now, the winner of the trade is still Colorado, but there could come a day when that’s a tie. Barron only needs to become a regular defender in the NHL, then considering he is six years younger than Lehkonen, that times out better for a team like Montreal in a rebuilding phase.

It is rumoured that Joe Sakic of Colorado and Hughes could be trading partners again this trading deadline. Sean Monahan is on the Colorado radar, and he should be. Monahan plays a strong two-way game, and they have not replaced Nazem Kadri in their lineup.

The Avalanche are not winning the Stanley Cup again, if they don’t get stronger down the middle. They need to replace Kadri. Interestingly, the Avs do not have a good name in their pipeline to come to Montreal, so Hughes will need a first round draft pick.

At where that pick is overall — at 25th or so — the Avs will make that deal. The 25th pick historically makes the NHL only 50 per cent of the time. They want the cup now. Not a 50-50 chance of a player in three years.

It’s quite impressive and also kind of bizarre that some of the best players on the club right now are only in Montreal because of injuries. Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Rem Pitlick and Jesse Ylonen are three who look just as good as the players that they are replacing.

Harvey-Pinard with a terrific goal in this one upstairs from 10 feet. It was a shorthanded marker to tie the contest at two. Harvey-Pinard then tied the game at three with his second goal. It was a beauty as well, as he scored on a breakaway with a gorgeous backhand to the top corner.

Another player from Laval Michael Pezzetta scored the first goal. All the Laval players were among the best in the game. Remarkable and exciting.

There’s only one injured player who is completely irreplaceable and that’s Cole Caufield. It would be interesting next season to see these rookies continue to get regular work. Also, give the new recruits a chance like Joshua Roy and Sean Farrell.

Considering the club is playing for the future, let’s see the future in the present to see who has the goods to cut it, and who does not. They will bring a lot more energy as well as excitement, rather than some veterans playing out the string.

Replacing the players that will be gone next season, like Evgenii Dadonov, with other veterans doesn’t provide any lessons for the future. The only reason to construct the lineup with players like Dadonov next season is for the value of picking up bad contracts for good draft picks.

The one thing we all know about next year’s lineup is that we do not know about next year’s lineup. It should be interesting.

One player who will definitely be there is Kirby Dach. In fact, by next season, he might just be the best centre on the team. Dach is only six points behind Nick Suzuki now in team scoring after making a beautiful pass on a 2-on-1 to set up Harvey-Pinard.

While Dach is hot, Suzuki has only one goal in 18 games. Dach is turning into a terrific two-way centre whose game is growing so quickly that his ceiling is not known, and it could be high.

It’s actually possible that Dach could be the leading point-getter on the Canadiens by the time we get to mid-April. He is just brimming with confidence and the trade with the Blackhawks looks like the theft of the year.

Wilde Goats

The downside of this one for sure is the injury to Joel Edmundson. He played only two minutes of the first period before suffering an injury that he was not able to spot during the action. It’s a lower-body injury.

Edmundson is expected to be dealt at the trading deadline. Edmonton has been rumoured many times. It has been rumoured he could be worth a top prospect or a first-rounder, but if he remains injured, he will not be moved for anything this year.

However, the window remains open as his modest contract extends beyond this campaign.

Wilde Cards

It’s becoming more apparent where the Montreal Canadiens will draft this summer, if they don’t win the lottery. It’s looking like the six or the seven spot for the Canadiens.

As a result, it is getting clearer who General Manager Kent Hughes is likely to take when he gets on the stage to make the pick. There’s never a guarantee here, but the consensus choices are surprisingly clear.

There is strong unanimity overall in the top six with only one caveat to speak of. The wild card is Matvei Michkov. He would be the second choice, without a doubt, behind only Connor Bedard. However, because of politics in the war with Ukraine, and a long-term contract that he has signed to stay in the KHL, GMs may be anxious to take the Russian.

The result of that anxiety is Michkov could go second, or he may fall into the second tier. It is even possible with GMs that he may fall to mid or late first round — it seems unlikely, but a GM needs to make sure that he is picking a player that has plans to actually come over to North America.

If Michkov does go according to his ranking, the next two are known commodities and consensus is clear that Adam Fantilli and Leo Carlsson are set for the third and fourth spots. Fantilli is the leading point-per-game player in college hockey, and Carlsson is putting up strong numbers in a very good league in Sweden.

At five begins the area where the Canadiens will draft.  Zach Benson of the Winnipeg Ice is likely to go in this spot, and the Canadiens are not likely to draft at five. It would take a remarkable collapse by the Canadiens, or a remarkable winning streak by the San Jose Sharks, for Montreal to lift to number five.

The Canadiens are likely to draft either sixth or seventh — seventh if the Vancouver Canucks continue to falter, sixth if the Canucks start to find their better selves under new head coach Rick Tocchet, who is strongly motivated to right that listing ship.

It may not matter if the Canadiens finish sixth or seventh.  The Canucks could be motivated to take Brayden Yager of the Moose Jaw Warriors, or Colbey Barlow of the Owen Sound Attack. They also may be interested in Will Smith of the United States Development Team.

Hughes is almost 100 per cent, out of those three names, interested in Smith of the USDP.  Believe it or not, Hughes actually coached Smith when he played for the Boston Junior Eagles. Talk about knowing a player through and through — not just the hockey ability, but the personality as well.

The numbers for Smith are as good as they have ever been at the USDP level. The gold standard is the number one pick overall in 2019, Jack Hughes. Hughes had 112 points in 50 games for the USDP.

Another comparable is Logan Cooley, who went third overall last year with 51 games played and 75 points for the USDP.

Smith ranks right up there with the best in history as he has played 34 games and has 64 points this season for the USDP. Smith is averaging almost two points per game. This is a rare feat. That this player could be available at sixth overall shows how magnificent this draft year is.

Smith would be the number one pick overall last season, and many other seasons as well with those numbers. He also is a terrific player with a tremendous release on his shot, and breakout speed on the rush.

He’s a centre as well, and you cannot have too many of those. He is also the player that Kent Hughes is eyeing. If you see Smith in a Canadiens uniform on draft night, celebrate.

With that said, if it’s Yager or Barlow, or for some reason Benson has dropped down because a team drafting higher is eyeing a defenceman, it’s going to be an amazing night for the Canadiens.

They will be drafting a top-six forward. In fact, they could be drafting a top-six forward as well with their second first-round pick from the Florida Panthers. This draft is that good.

It has been said that the top six players this year would have gone number one last year, and the top-15 this year would have been top-five last year.

It’s exciting times for the rebuild. The Canadiens will be drafting two outstanding hockey players this summer, at least. Keep your eyes on Will Smith. If they don’t win the lottery, he’s the target for the Canadiens.

Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

After months of residents voicing concerns over the sale of the Lions Place housing complex and potential rent increases, the province is stepping in to try and quell those worries.

Families Minister Rochelle Squires announced the government, through Manitoba Housing, will provide $1.2 million in rent subsidies for residents.

READ MORE: Residents at downtown Winnipeg seniors home fear rent increase

Squires says Manitoba Housing is entering into a two-year rent supplement agreement with the new owner, an Alberta-based firm. She says this will ensure rents do not increase for any resident for the next two years while a new funding model is being developed.

The 287-unit home saw its federal and provincial funding dry up in 2018 after a 35-year operating agreement expired.

Residents held a rally on January 19, voicing concerns over the possibility of rent increases with the sale.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Most area residents started Thursday by digging their vehicles out following a snowstorm that blew through the region Wednesday evening and into Thursday morning.

Snowplows were out in full force, but that didn’t stop the winter storm from wreaking havoc on the roads.

According to Kingston Police, since the snow started falling Wednesday afternoon, 15 traffic collisions were reported within the city.

“Luckily, the majority of all the collisions were either no injuries, just property damage or vehicle damage, or minor injuries,” said Sgt. Steve Koopman with the Kingston Police

Highway 401 wasn’t much better.

According to the OPP, 27 collisions were reported on Highway 401 in 24 hours since the snow began falling.

In one case, the 401 was shut down in Napanee because of a crash, but police say there were no serious injuries.

“We were fortunate enough that we didn’t experience too much in the way of road closures, but we did have Highway 401, the westbound lanes, closed in the Napanee area between County Road 4 and County Road 5 due to a collision,” said Acting Sgt. Erin Cranton with the Ontario Provincial Police.

Even though the roads were a bit messy early Thursday, that didn’t stop people from going about their day-to-day business.

“Since yesterday, it’s very difficult to drive, especially on Kingston roads. I just moved from Scarborough to here, so I feel we are not as good at cleaning the roads here,” said Kingston resident and motorist Jay Chaudhri.

Taxi driver Bruce McMurray said the road conditions were improving as the progressed.

“Now that all the cars have gone over it, everything gets really slushy so you slide a lot. But it is getting better, except for the side streets, they’re always the last ones to get done,” said McMurray.

Both Kingston and provincial police are advising drivers to slow down, leave more space between themselves and the vehicle in front of them, and allow more time to get to their destination.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The latest look at Metro Vancouver’s rental market by Canada’s federal housing agency provided a grim outlook that’s likely no surprise to tenants across the region.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s new Rental Market Report showed the vacancy rate for purpose-built rentals in Greater Vancouver fell to 0.9 per cent last year, down from 1.2 in 2021 and 2.6 in 2020 at the height of the pandemic.

The figure put the Vancouver vacancy rate far below the national average of 1.9 per cent.

“In terms of rents, in the region, we’ve seen increases across the board — two bedroom market rents in Vancouver are now in the order of $2,850 per month, and that compares with $2,000 per month for units that have been occupied for longer times,” he said.

“That 43 per cent difference is very challenging for anyone whos looking to move, it’s a strong disincentive to moving since if you were looking for an identical unit across the hall or even down the street you would be facing a significant rent increase.”

The report found Toronto had the second most expensive rental market, with a two bedroom averaging at $1,770.

Victoria’s vacancy rate edged upward to 1.5 per cent on an increase in rental stock, but rents were still up about 7.7 per cent, with a two-bedroom averaging at $1,699 — good for third place nationwide.

Kelowna rounded out the top four with an average two-bedroom renting for $1,690.

Vancouver renter and housing advocate Kit Sauder said the report was yet another sign that the region’s housing market is unsustainable.

“They acknowledge right out of the gate that this report is the worst that they’ve ever seen in more than two generations of collecting the information,” he said.

“Rents have spiked and vacancies have cratered despite the fact that over the last three-to-five years we’ve seen onlining of rental supply, purpose built rental and other options.”

He said the numbers also underestimate the real situation because they average out rents across the region and across renters who may have held their unit for years or even decades.

Some renters, he said, are facing listings for sub-par units in the price range of $3,700 for two bedrooms.

“The reality is people cannot afford that. That’s why we are seeing massive migrations of the Canadian population, the breaking up of families, and this is having net impacts across the labour market, on our productivity, and across our overall society.

“How do we fix it? We build more housing. Every single page of this report points to the fact that the census metropolitan areas, the individual towns and cities who have made it easy to build, make it predictable to do business, and make it smooth to get approvals on projects have better rates.”

B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said the report showed that housing pressures were not a uniquely B.C. problem, and that national cooperation was needed for long-term solutions.

However, with three of the five priciest rental markets in B.C. — Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna — he acknowledged the province has a housing crisis.

“If you look back 10 years, we were about 2,000 rental starts a year. We last year were at 13,000, the year before that was 14,000, so we actually have record number of rental units coming online, but we know there’s lots more work to do,” Kahlon said.

“Why it takes four or five years to get these projects permitted and approved to be built, many of them are opening this year, is the fundamental reason why we are in this challenge — we have to find that way to get that critical supply on in communities throughout this province and do it way faster than we are right now.”

Thursday’s report painted an even worse picture for the lowest-income 20 per cent of the region’s residents, finding that just one in 100 units for rent was in their price range.

BC Liberal affordability critic Trevor Halford said the report highlighted broken housing promises on the part of the NDP government.

“We have understood rent has been an issue in Surrey, Vancouver, Prince George — and twice this has been a premier, a government, who has campaigned on a renters rebate and failed to deliver it,” he said.

The province says it is still working on that promised $400 renter’s rebate, a sum that looks smaller by the year amid rising inflation and housing prices.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Londoner Michael Simpson made 35 saves to shut out his hometown team 3-0 at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Thursday night.

Simpson came up through the London Jr. Knights system before being drafted by the Petes in 2019.

He added a couple of percentage points to his Ontario Hockey League-leading save percentage in the process.

Avery Hayes scored two of the three Peterborough goals in the third period to seal the victory. The first came on a power play at 10:16 just seconds after Simpson had stopped a big short-handed chance by London.

Hayes then cleared a puck down the ice and into an empty net with 2:48 remaining as the Knights pushed to come back.

The Petes had taken a 1-0 lead on a goal at 15:59 of the first period by Brennan Othmann who picked up a puck off a turnover outside the Peterborough blue line and raced the other way on a breakaway to score his 18th of the year.

Brett Brochu came up big in the London net several times. He made two breakaway saves and stoned Seattle Kraken draft pick at the side of Knight net with his left pad.

Peterborough made life hard on London shooters all night by getting bodies  and sticks in front of shots.

The Petes also won 72 per cent of the faceoffs.

London played the game without Oliver Bonk and Denver Barkey who were on the ice in Langley, B.C., one night earlier as part of the 2023 Top Prospects Game.

Knights forward Ryan Humphrey was assessed a match penalty for slew-footing with just over two minutes remaining in the first period. The league office can review the play but it has the potential to come with a two-game suspension.

London outshot Peterborough 35-30.

Bonk, Barkey and Robertson on the big stage

Team White defeated Team Red 4-2 in Langley, B.C., last night at the 2023 Top Prospects Game. From a local standpoint Oliver Bonk picked up the win over London Knights teammate Denver Barkey and Londoner Charlie Robertson of the North Bay Battalion.

Bonk showed off his steady play in the defensive zone and finished the game with a plus/minus of plus-1. Barkey recorded two shots on goal, was a fixture on the penalty kill and won three of four faceoffs and Robertson made 11 saves on 13 shots as he played the second half of the game for Team Red.

Ryan Merkley traded to Avalanche

The day before two of his former junior teams met defenceman Ryan Merkley was traded in the National Hockey League.

Merkley and forward Matt Nieto went from San Jose to Colorado for defenceman Martin Kaut and forward Jacob MacDonald. Merkley began his OHL career with the Guelph Storm before being traded to the Peterborough Petes in 2018.

The Knights acquired Merkley in 2019 as they set themselves up for a run at a championship before the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to that season. Merkley has played 39 games in the NHL and has a goal and five assists.

Next up

The Knights will be in Ottawa on Friday, Jan. 27 for a game against the 67’s.

The first meeting between the teams saw exactly one goal scored and it took to the shootout to get it.

London and Ottawa went 65 scoreless minutes thanks to former elementary schoolmates Brett Brochu and Max Donoso and their combined 65 saves.

Knights co-captain George Diaco led off the shootout with a goal and it ended up being the difference in a 1-0 London victory.

Coverage of the rematch will begin at 6:30 on 980 CFPL, at www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.

The Knights will be in Kingston on Saturday, Jan. 28, to complete their eastern road trip against the Frontenacs.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The Kingston Police mounted unit has been a visible and popular sight in Kingston, Ont.’s, downtown area since 1998.

Now, 25 years later, Kingston Police have announced the mounted unit will not be renewed this year.

In a media release late Thursday afternoon, Kingston Police cite “multiple challenges around the availability of trained staff.”

The long term sustainability of the program has been in question for a couple of years with public fundraising undertaken to keep the mounted unit going.

More than $61,000 was raised to cover costs like room and board for Murney the mounted unit’s horse along with veterinary costs.

“We needed to make some challenging decisions to support staffing needs and public safety throughout the city. Public safety is our top priority,” read one of the quotes in the release from Acting Kingston Police Chief Scott Fraser.

There is no word at this time from Kingston Police about what the future is for the mounted unit’s horse Murney.

© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Rising prices are starting to put extra financial pressure on post-secondary students. Although this is not a new issue for students in the Okanagan, the increased costs are adding an extra layer of stress to their education.

“Students have been struggling and this is highlighting it even more,” said BC Federation of Students chairperson, Melissa Chirino.

Chirino says some students have been forced to choose food options that may not be as healthy for them and are struggling to keep up with the cost of rent.

“Textbooks are extremely expensive, people spend 300 bucks for one book in a semester which is odd when you’re a student and you’re not working full-time. Rent is increasing and when it comes to tuition fees, those are also extremely expensive,” said Chirino.

The BC Federation of Students (BCFS) says they’ve heard from many students who are struggling to stay afloat.

Students at the Unversity of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO), some of whom only gave Global News their first name, say they’re trying to manage the high prices.

“I work two jobs so that’s like 25 hours a week just to sustain myself here,” said Insha.

“Everyone’s already stressed out enough and it doesn’t help that everything’s costly. It makes you conscious about like just funds and everything, added stress and stuff,” said Fateh Bajwa.

“I’m very conservative with my spending, just trying to save all the time. That’s just how I try and save money,” said Haider.

UBCO students made one thing clear — it has been tough keeping up with the rising food prices.

“Trying to find food if you don’t always have time to cook, it can be really hard to find cheap alternatives in like fast food or even going to the grocery store,” Annika said.

“I’ve had to cook on my own and the only place I can go to groceries is Walmart. Anything small, even if I wake up a little late and I can’t cook, I’ll just have to go the day without,” said Anushka.

International students at Okanagan College say it’s become increasingly difficult for them to deal with the expensive cost of living in the Okanagan.

“The price to go to a restaurant is like $70 and people normalize it, like $70 dollars going up but back home it’s like five bucks, you can eat a lot,” said Marcus Waytte.

“It’s kind of hard to cope with that as an international student because you have to pay for your rent, you have to contribute in your tuition,” said Bongani Hondo.

The BCFS says they’re trying to increase funding to post secondaries across the province in order to alleviate the costs for students.

“At the end of the day, it comes down to how do we support students on campus and how do we ensure there’s a system available that supports them,” Chirino said.

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