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Research Briefs, Science & Technology

From skin cells to brain cells: McGill researchers generate a cell critical to Alzheimer’s research

by Catie Futhey on

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Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (MNI) of McGill University have recently discovered a method for transforming patients’ skin cells into a type of brain cell critical for understanding and treating neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease.

According to the McGill Newsroom, the artificial cells are “virtually indistinguishable from human-derived microglia.”

Postdoctoral fellow Luke Healy of Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery Dr. Jack Antel’s laboratory at the MNI explains the ground-breaking process for manufacturing microglia, which are essentially the immune cells of the brain. Highly receptive to slight changes in homeostasis—the body’s regulation of inner processes to maintain a stable equilibrium—microglia sense a disruption in the central nervous system (composed of the brain and spinal chord) and summon immune cells from around the body. This large influx of immune cells causes inflammation in the brain—where the cells combat the injurious agent—that can also damage critical neurons, leading to neurological disorders.

Antel’s lab began its brain inflammation-stem cell collaboration with the University of California Irvine (UCI) about two years ago. The lab at the MNI is world-renowned due to the close relationship between researchers and surgeons; access to human tissue is incredibly valuable for productive medical research and advancement. Because of these relationships, the team could compare their lab-generated microglia to real human ones.

“McGill has [a] collaborative spirit between its surgeons and researchers. Without that, this wouldn’t be possible,” Healy said. “Without our [patient-derived] cells to compare to, the iPS microglia wouldn’t be as good as they are.”

The protocol for generating microglia from skin cells was created by a group of researchers at UCI, directed by Dr. Matthew Blurton-Jones and first author Edsel Abud, MD-PhD student.

In 2006, Japanese Nobel Prize-winner Shinya Yamanaka pioneered induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. According to Nature magazine, when any cells are treated with specific molecules called transcription factors, their genetic composition can be reprogrammed to behave as stem cells—which have the capacity to differentiate into any type of cell.

“It is essentially like turning back the clock on these cells,” Healy explained.

This approach allows researchers to take a mature cell from something like the skin or blood, take away its identity, and reprogram it to become another cell-type specific to a disease. Nature states that this “personalized therapy would get around the risk of immune rejection,” because the transformed cells contain the same DNA, rather than unrecognizable DNA from another organism. In this case, microglia are the desired output.

“The real power of the work is that we have this protocol being designed to generate human microglia from patient tissue, [which allows us to] cut down on animals used and increase the reliability of the data,” Healy said.

The four transcription factors can now be purchased and used to treat any type of cell, allowing scientists to work on the human Central Nervous System for the first time.

“This process has been done for neurons for about a decade, and now we have a breakthrough [in making] microglia,” Healy said.

This development is a step towards the individualization of medicine: Everyone has different responses to different drugs due to genetics and environmental factors. The use of patient-specific cells opens the door to customized drug applications, which will drive medical advancement.

“It is a blueprint for other labs to generate and analyze the effects of different drugs on specific patients with specific disorders,” Healy explained. “The next step is a new core iPS push by The Neuro [MNI] to have the cells produced in large quantities, to integrate and provide them to different groups studying different diseases. The ultimate goal is to both understand how microglia work and screen both existing drugs and potential novel compounds for their effects on these cells.”

Research Briefs, Science & Technology

How invasive species change more than just ecosystems

by Arvaa Balsara on

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An invasive species can be any kind of living organism—bacteria, fungi, plants, insects, fish, or even the organisms’ eggs—that has no evolutionary history in a particular region, but is able to establish a self-sustaining, reproducing population. Given that there are no natural mechanisms that control their influence over an ecosystem, invasive species often disrupt them, increasing competition for resources among the native species.

A recent study led by Anthony Ricciardi, Associate Professor in McGill’s School of Environment, “identifies 14 [of the] most significant issues that could affect the science and management of invasive species over the next two decades” according to a McGill press release. Ricciardi and his global team of 16 scientists from eight different countries studied the impact of biological invasions and identified potential management strategies.

Ricciardi noted that ecological exchange has been a significant contributor to the development of ecosystems over time; however, it is currently occurring at an unprecedented rate and impacts are unpredictable.

“We’re dealing with a form of global change,” Ricciardi said. “[…] Some invasions can occur without our help but the majority is now occurring with our help because we’re provided invaders with the opportunity [….] You may not see them coming, and suddenly they are taking up resources.

For example, according to the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, the invasive fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans could pose a serious threat to North American salamanders as the fungus has previously devastated fire salamander populations in the Netherlands. In order to limit the danger posed to North American species, Environment and Climate Change Canada placed import restrictions on salamanders in May to prevent an infected individual from entering the country.

Melting sea ice due to global temperature increases has left the arctic region more accessible to human use, but also more susceptible to biological interchange, noted Ricciardi. In the past 30 years, the introduction of ships capable of navigating northern waters has resulted in increased occurrence of invasive species, spread across the region by the ships.

“Climate warming will not only render the [arctic] region more vulnerable to new invasions, but also make it a conduit for them,” explained a study published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution. “The new sea routes and infrastructure will create stronger linkages with existing global transportation networks while shortening voyages and likely reducing metabolic stress for organisms moved between distance temperate regions.”

In addition to ecological disruptions caused by invasive species, severe socio-political impacts may result as well—including weakened trade between countries. Fear of introducing new species may provide countries with an incentive to put in place protectionist trade policies, compromising the future of trade agreements, such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

Furthermore, the group observed that there could be an increase in global conflict and large-scale refugee movements as a result of the global invasive species crisis. These conflicts could lead to the allocation of fewer resources toward infrastructure, effective conservation efforts, and biosecurity.

“Military activity has also been linked to the movement of alien plants since the 19th century,” Ricciardi said. "[…] Geopolitical conflicts fueled by climate change are likely to produce new waves of biological invasions.”

The introduction of an invasive species can have immense consequences for future generations. The socio-political challenges created by ecological change remain unpredictable, but can be avoided with action. It is crucial that governments take on a more active role in implementing effective management strategies in order to minimize the damage caused by these invasive species.

News

Memorial lecture celebrates legacy of Supreme Court Justice Charles D. Gonthier

by Cherry Wu on

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In a society plagued with social intolerance, discussions around the role of law, justice, and governance are gaining rising urgency. On June 24 at the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law’s second biennial Memorial Lecture for Charles D. Gonthier, speakers discussed these topics and more. Gonthier was a Puisne judge on the Supreme Court of Canada whose ideas continue to contribute to the sustainable development of law. Other noteworthy speakers were Irene Khan, director-general of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), and Honourable Justice Guy Canivet, vice-chair of the International Olympic Committee Ethics Commission.

Preceding the lecture, Honourable Nicole Duval Hesler, Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of Quebec delivered an opening address highlighting Gonthier’s principal values. He served during the interpretation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a set of rights entrenched in the Canadian Constitution. Gonthier’s ideas helped navigate the tension between liberty and equality that arose from the Charter.

“For [Gonthier], the key to reconciling individual interests and collective goals lies in the notion of fraternity,” Hesler said. “Fraternity is the forgotten element of democracy [….] It is the glue that binds liberty and equality to a civil society.”

Following the opening address, Khan delivered a lecture on how access to justice can empower people in poverty by helping them combat inequality. In particular, Khan elaborated on how solidarity for individuals with low income is especially important in a world of conflicts, inequalities, and extremism.

“Populist politicians are exploiting the anger of those who feel left behind,” Khan said. “It seeks intolerance, polarizing our societies. At a global level, the world is sharply divided along lines of politics and economy.”   

In a divided world, however, Khan emphasized the significance of incredible agreements between world leaders to adopt sustainable development measures, notably the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a commitment between member states of the United Nations to improve the security of people and the planet.

“The Agenda seeks to align the objective of eradicating poverty and reducing inequalities among the present generation, with the goal of preserving ecosystems and natural resources,” Khan said. “The access to justice and the rule of law are also explicit objectives in the Agenda.”

Khan provided a brief explanation of the IDLO’s current work with local actors including lawyers and domestic organizations to help improve the criminal justice system. The organization also aims to increase transparency of the judicial process through digitization of court materials. For example, court documents and procedures are to be uploaded to online databases for public access.

“Ordinary people understand much better what is at stake,” Khan said. “Just look at the cases before the Supreme Court across the border [in the U.S.] on travel restrictions and possibly health care. Due process is a given, but justice is not.” 

Concerning the future development of law, Justice Canivet emphasized the importance of collective action in achieving progressive objectives like the preservation of ecosystems, democratic governments, and international justice.

During the closing remarks, David Lametti, Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation Science and Economic Development discussed aspects of a “good” society. In particular, he examined the way justice is able to hold various policies together, no matter their origins.

“[Justice] is an animating theme horizontal to various groups in society, as well as an intergenerational and longitudinal element that connects the past and the future,” Lametti said. 

In addition to the international speakers, the memorial lecture also attracted a diverse group of attendees. Carolyn Phan, a research assistant at the Université de Montréal, felt that the lectures echoed her own ideals.

“The [speakers’] experience and analogies were so insightful and eloquently put,” Phan said. “I think it really encourages the community to come together and achieve the collective governance that they talked about, and to mend the current political and socioeconomic gaps.”

McGill, News

Innovation@McGill Artificial Intelligence Lab promotes women’s involvement in the field

by Fionn Adamian on

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Within the first 24 hours of the AI for Social Good Hackathon on the weekend of June 17, Scarlett Muguthi, a 2017 McGill Computer Science graduate, Aanika Rahman, U3 Science, and four other team members had transformed a project idea into a functioning application: A chatbot that translates text to sign language using artificial intelligence (AI).

Drawing on a database of 7,000 words, the chatbot could tell the user how to sign ‘apple’ or ‘analyze,’ ‘robot,’ or ‘rose.’ For the application’s creators, the chatbot exemplified how artificial intelligence can blend creativity and social purpose.

“The reason I joined computer science is because I felt it was the only science that allowed me to put a component of myself in the work that I did,” Muguthi said. “This is why I applied to the machine learning lab.”

The Hackathon marked the midway point of the AI Summer Lab, a program launched by members of the Research Innovation Office in the Innovation@McGill collective. As part of the organization’s goal to promote entrepreneurship at McGill, the project provides opportunities for 20 women to learn more about artificial intelligence. Beginning on June 5, instructors led two weeks of intensive workshops on machine learning for the first half of the lab. Students then applied those lessons to the hackathon and their work on capstone projects during the second half.

Some participants in the lab had studied machine learning for years; some had arrived from related disciplines, but the excitement of getting involved in a rapidly evolving and transformative field was universal among all attendees. Many of the Lab’s students, including Juliette Lavoie, U3 Science, are hopeful that getting involved in AI could allow them to shape the way governments, businesses, and universities adopt the technology.

“I think AI is the new revolution, something that will change society,” Lavoie said. “I want to be in the action and I think the action right now is in artificial intelligence.”

Associate Vice-Principal (Research and Innovation) Angelique Mannella, who coordinated the Lab, brought in mentors from McGill’s Computer Science Department, the City of Montreal, and local businesses, including Element AI and Maluuba. Not only did the experts lead the Lab’s courses, but they also supervised the participants’ capstone projects.

“The individuals supporting the program are from all different community organizations and startups,” Mannella said. “When a community gets behind something, that’s when the results come.”

For Zahra Khambaty, a U2 Arts student and participant interested in leveraging artificial intelligence to reduce discrimination in airport screenings, the instructors’ practical experience illuminated possibilities of how she could apply the technology.

“Mentorship and inspiration are two major things that I have attained from this lab,” Khambaty said.

Beyond teaching participants about practical applications of machine learning, the Lab aimed to cultivate a more inclusive culture for women in AI. In Canada, women represent 3 per cent of the technology industry’s CEOs and less than 25 per cent of the field’s workforce.

Several of the Lab’s participants identified a variety of reasons for the persistence of the gender disparity—factors that pervade most levels of education. Few school activities encourage girls to undertake programming before college, depressing enrollment in Computer Science courses. For example, women make up only a fifth of Advanced Placement Computer Science test takers in the United States. The gap creates a feedback loop at the university level, where the absence of women engineers can deter other women from pursuing the major.

“It is very intimidating to be entering a field where female representation is minimal,” Khambaty said.

To address the issue of gender disparity, the Lab tried to carve a space in which women programmers felt more encouraged to participate than in male-dominated classrooms. As a result, the collaborative atmosphere proved conducive to cultivating relationships with others in the field. By weaving networks among women, programs like the Lab can prevent the gender disparity from materializing in the new AI industry, according to Rahman.

After the program, some students hope to leverage those connections to get jobs in AI. The program kindled Muguthi’s interest in the field, for example, and she hopes to pursue that passion professionally.

“I went through all four years of McGill taking classes I was mildly interested in,” Muguthi said. “Then, I started the program and it's like finally I found something that really interests me in computer science. So I do think I'm going to stay in Montreal […] and try to get my foot through the door.”

McGill, Montreal, News

Anti-Canada Picnic draws supporters and raises funds for Karhiwanoron Immersion School

by Patrick White on

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In solidarity with Karhiwanoron Immersion Elementary School, the Anti-Canada Picnic brought members of the McGill community together to acknowledge 150 years of what organizers called the “Canadian settler state.” On June 29, Midnight Kitchen (MK), Quebec Public Interest Research Group of McGill (QPIRG McGill) and CKUT-FM 90.3 hosted the fundraiser to collect over $900 for Karhiwanoron. The picnic hosted guest speakers Wentahawi Elijah, a stay-at-home mother and occasional teacher at the Kariwanoron school, and Stephen Puskas, co-producer of Nipivut Montreal, to discuss the school’s financial difficulty, racism, and colonization in Quebec.  

The immersion elementary school is located in Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, south of the island of Montreal. It was founded in 1988 by local mothers who made it their mission to teach children in Kanien’keha, the Mohawk language, which has been endangered since its suppression in the residential school system. For these mothers, the preservation of Kanien’keha is essential to the protection of their heritage.

“Karhiwanoron started when a couple of parents came together to discuss their fear of where they stood and the threat of losing our endangered language and culture,” Elijah said during her talk at the picnic. “I was one of the very few fortunate people who was raised speaking Kanien’keha, surrounded by our culture and history.”

Kariwanoron’s curriculum does not conform to the province of Quebec’s education program. Lessons at Kariwanoron tend to be hands-on and sometimes take place outdoors. They emphasize the traditional Mohawk way of life, focusing on nature, medicine, and ceremony.

“The students learn about medicines and their time to be picked; also about planting, when to plant and what words to use in the [harvest] ceremony,” Elijah said. “This comes from giving respect and thanks to what we have.”

The mothers have designed an immersive learning environment for the Mohawk children, in which students learn while participating in the daily customs of Mohawk culture. Classes are kept to about 12 students, and always have two instructors.

“The reason for [the small proportion of students to teachers] is the ideal of being in a home with two parents,” Elijah said. “Not so much [of the curriculum is] focused on reading and writing, which does come into play, but our number one goal is naturally teach the language in a natural environment.”

The school’s model is based on the principle that a people’s culture is predominantly supported by their language. Therefore, at Karihwanoron, teaching Kanien’keha is essential for the protection of Mohawk identity.

“Our language is very descriptive and alive, with a lot of meaning and feeling in it,” Elijah said. “We teach our children at Karhiwanonron the importance of being connected to life, what’s real, what’s a part of us—the earth the water, medicines. We try to […] bring back everything that has become lost in our way of being, what helps us, and who we are.”

Elijah’s message about the Kanien’keha language resonated with attendees from various backgrounds, including Melissa Freed, U2 Arts. For her, Yiddish is equally important to preserving her Jewish heritage, as it does not only provide the people with a means of passing on traditions and customs, but also reflects the tone of their experience.

“The whole feeling of a culture comes with the connotations of language,” Freed said.

“With Yiddish, for example, so many of the words sound funny, and the way you’re supposed to say them makes them sound more funny. It comes from a culture of getting through dark times through joking.”

The picnic hosted attendees from dozens of cultures represented in Montreal, and helped raise awareness of the ongoing struggles of Canada’s indigenous people. Organizers planned that it would take place alongside celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Canadian confederation.

“Lots of people will be having Canada Day barbecues this weekend without thinking critically about what they are celebrating,” MK staff member Wade Walker said. “We saw [the Anti-Canada Picnic] as a chance for popular education on why everyone is not celebrating Canada's 150th, as well as on ongoing indigenous struggles.”

On the picnic’s event page, the organizers brought attention to the fact that picnic would take place on unceded Mohawk territory, Tio’tia:ke.   

“Acknowledging that the land we are on is stolen is a small way to honour the Kanien'keha:ka [Mohawk people] and emphasize that this is rightfully their land,” Walker said.
The picnic maintained a kid-friendly environment while addressing the serious issues faced by Canada’s indigenous peoples. While most attendees addressed the threats facing indigenous peoples and their cultures, Kariwanoron students passed the time with the arts-and-crafts provided by the picnic organizers. The picnic concluded with a performance by Odaya, a musical group of indigenous women based in Montreal.

Commentary, Opinion

Look out, Trudeau: NDP’s Singh on the come up

by Victoria Flaherty on

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In 2019, Canadians from coast to coast will vote on their next prime minister. Current PM and Liberal party leader Justin Trudeau stepped into his role as PM after winning 39.5 per cent of the vote in the 2015 election. But a lot has changed in the past two years. In the last election, Trudeau faced weak candidates in Stephen Harper and Thomas Mulcair—men who were evidently less in touch with the Canadian electorate’s desires, judging by Trudeau’s conclusive win. This coming election, however, with the New Democratic Party (NDP) leadership election approaching in October, a diverse mix of youthful-yet-experienced candidates have set their sights on 24 Sussex Drive. This mix includes Jagmeet Singh, the most recent candidate to enter a bid for the federal leadership of the New Democratic Party.

In 2019, Trudeau will not be able to rely on the factors that helped him coast into office the first time around–if chosen, Singh, a member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly since 2011, will present a new and versatile challenge for the Liberals to overcome after an underwhelming term. Singh has swooped into the race for the NDP candidacy with suavity and boasting strong supporters. Singh brings many positive attributes to the table in areas where Trudeau falters, posing a unique threat to the Liberals. Singh expands on the same strategies that Trudeau used to propel him to victory—speaking to dissatisfied Canadians’ concerns coupled with idealistic social policies. Singh has the added help of far greater political experience than Trudeau had: Singh’s education as a lawyer, his experience leading the Ontario NDPs, and his helping the NDP win a majority in Alberta far outstrip Trudeau’s education degree and just two years of Liberal leadership experience.

In a speech announcing his candidacy, Singh promised to focus on inclusivity in Canada, condemning the political division that has polarized the UK, France, and the United States. This may be just what Canadians—fearful of divisive political tactics employed by leaders such as Donald Trump—need to hear in the current political climate. Singh also promotes a vision for social justice for the NDP that he claims has the unique ability to solve many of Canada’s problems.

All this makes Singh a potentially formidable opponent for Trudeau in 2019. Trudeau’s last victory may be in part attributed to luck, thanks to inadequacies from the preceding Harper administration, lacklustre opponents, and popular, idealistic policies. But since being elected, Trudeau has proven to be a disappointment to many of his voters. He betrayed his own promise to reform Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral policy, sparking outrage amongst many voters. Comments about “phasing out” the oilsands triggered anger and fear in many Albertans. Furthermore, the new federal budget, introduced in March 2017, was met with disapproval from citizens. Singh has taken a strong stand against Trudeau’s shortcomings, speaking out against the PM for going back on his electoral reform promises and against the Kinder Morgan pipeline which Trudeau has previously supported.

Despite his qualifications, Singh’s road to federal leadership does not come without obstacles. Singh is less well known than Trudeau, originally thanks to his father Pierre Trudeau’s popularity. Another ugly reality is that racism against racial and religious minorities, especially in rural Canada, may favour Trudeau over Singh. If Singh wins the NDP leadership, he would be the first non-white candidate to lead a major political party in Canadian history. The need to address the current low GDP growth rate may also play against him. Singh’s campaign slogan focuses on “love and courage.” This theme may not be enough to win the hearts of those who are suffering under the current economy and are more concerned with job growth. With hardly any mention of that in Singh’s campaign so far, he may be overlooked or even disliked by members of the working class.

Nonetheless, Trudeau needs to adapt his upcoming campaign to new obstacles standing between him and a second term, or the NDP may put a PM in office for the first time. Singh’s progressive policies and compelling presence may just be enough to put him at the head of the race.

McGill, News

MacDonald Campus shuttle stop moved again

by Patrick White on

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The downtown stop for the McGill shuttle which brings students between the downtown and MacDonald campuses has been moved once again. It will now permanently pick up and drop off on the south side of Sherbrooke Street, just outside the 688 Sherbrooke building, according to an email from McGill Facilities Management and Ancillary Services on June 12. Due to construction projects around McGill’s downtown campus preparing for celebrations of the 375th anniversary of Montreal, the downtown stop for the intercampus shuttle had been temporarily located on Avenue du President Kennedy.

In January, the stop was moved from its location in front of the Roddick Gates in response to the construction of the Promenade Fleuve-Montagne project and to accommodate a redesigned Sherbrooke Street. The Promenade is a pedestrian footpath, that, when complete, will run from  the Saint Lawrence River to Mount Royal.

Because of Sherbrooke’s new configuration, the inter-campus shuttle can no longer stop by Roddick Gates on the north side of the street, according to Adrian Nicolicescu, senior project manager, Construction, Facilities Management and Ancillary Services.

“The objective was to find a location as close as possible to lower campus to make [the bus stop] accessible to as many users as possible,” Nicolicescu said. “The new location, just west of University Street, has the added advantage of providing shelter for the users, as they will be able to wait for the bus under the roof to the entrance of the 688 Sherbrooke building.”

The City of Montreal decreased the number of traffic lanes on the north side of Sherbrooke to widen the sidewalk for increased pedestrian walking space. Wider sidewalks is just one of the features of the larger Promenade Fleuve-Montagne, which runs along several streets downtown. The city also planted over 150 trees, included rest areas along the path, and redesigned the crossing intersections as part of the project. The route was chosen to showcase Montreal’s cultural heritage and landscapes.

According to The Montreal Gazette, the project cost the city $55.5 million, of which $13.1 million went to underground infrastructure repairs. The city originally projected that the Promenade would be complete in May 2017 and cost $31.46 million.

In spite of the new shuttle stop’s close proximity to lower campus, the Montreal weather will continue to pose obstacles which make the shuttle hard to reach for any student. Icy sidewalks is just one example. For regular shuttle user Carlos Sandino, U2 Science, accessing the bus stop’s temporary location became especially difficult during an ice-storm this past winter.

“It was like being on a skating-rink anywhere you went,” Sandino said. “On an incline there was just no control. Even for me, going down the hill on President Kennedy was almost impossible, and my balance is pretty good.”

However, students with limited mobility face one constant obstacle, irrespective of weather conditions, to the accessibility of Macdonald campus. While the inter-campus shuttle is free for students and staff, it lacks ramps and offers limited legroom in each seat.

McGill currently allocates $400,000 per year toward making McGill’s facilities more accessible, according to The Office for Students with Disabilities’ (OSD). In the 2014-2015 academic year, 5 per cent of students registered at the OSD reportedly had motor impairments.

Currently, an Adapted Mobility shuttle transports students with motor impairments across McGill’s Downtown campus, but the university provides no such shuttle connecting Downtown with the MacDonald Campus. For now, one alternative for students who have limited mobility and study at the MacDonald Campus is the STM Paratransit service. At the student rate of $50 per month, it provides door-to-door public transit service by reservation.

“The OSD has worked closely with Facilities throughout the construction project to ensure that accessibility is considered [for the new stop],” Terri Phillips, director at the OSD wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune.

Moving the bus stop closer to lower campus is a step toward making the bus more universally accessible for students. Furthermore, it allows the University to continue its coexistence with Montreal's ever-changing cityscape.

News

McGill students bike across Canada in protest of Kinder Morgan pipeline

by Arvaa Balsara on

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Starting June 24, McGill students Alison Gu, U3 Kinesiology, and Sarah Mitchell,U3 Bioresource Engineering, embarked on a 47-day bike trip across Canada stretching from Ottawa to Burnaby in protest of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX). The pair plans to use the trip to raise funds for the Pull Together campaign, which supports Indigenous Peoples’ legal cases to challenge TMX.

Gu and Mitchell have been involved in environmental advocacy work for many years, and are now taking their activism one step further as they bike across Canada.

“Upon getting to university, I learned more about what it means to be doing sustainability work in the realm of activism as well as indigenous solidarity,” Gu said.

Gu also hopes to spark discourse among students and peers on climate change, colonialism, and the harm that pipelines cause to Indigenous communities.

The Liberal federal government approved TMX in November 2016. The pipeline will stretch approximately 980 kilometres between Edmonton, AB and the marine port in Burnaby, B.C, and will triple the capacity of the Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMP) by transporting an additional 890,000 barrels of oil per day. While the pipeline is forecasted to create over 50,000 jobs, it is also expected to have harmful impacts on the environment and health of those in the surrounding areas. Spills from the pipeline could result in acute to long- term health risks—ranging from asthma to cancer—for members of nearby communities. Spillage and leaks are also detrimental to the wildlife in the region. The TMP has already reported 69 oil spills to the NEB since 1961.

Gu and Mitchell  hope to raise one dollar for the Pull Together campaign for every kilometer travelled:Exactly $4,461. The funds from the campaign will be held in trust for the Indigenous nations by Respecting Aboriginal Values and Environmental Needs (RAVEN), a Victoria-based legal defense fund with a focus on First Nations legal efforts. The campaign itself was created by RAVEN and Sierra Club B.C. in order to launch legal challenges against the TMP. The organizations have previously challenged the Enbridge Northern Gateway on behalf of First Nations communities.

“RAVEN is still the only place Indigenous Peoples in Canada can go to for financial help if they choose the courts to take legal action to protect their rights,” RAVEN’s executive director Susan Smitten said. “The pipeline represents a significant risk to their water supply and their way of life and Aboriginal interests.”

In order to prove the unconstitutionality of the projects and to prevent the construction of the pipeline, Indigenous communities and climate activists are taking Kinder Morgan to court.

“It would not be justice if the legal challenges failed simply because of a lack of funds to see them through to trial,” Smitten said. “While these Nations could go it alone, standing together and pooling resources ensure equitable access to justice with a much more likely chance of success.”  

Gu and Mitchell have been training since March in preparation for their 47-day journey. They intend to bike from Ottawa to Sudbury, take a train from Sudbury to Winnipeg in order to avoid unsafe bike routes, and then continue their route on bike from Winnipeg to Burnaby.

“We’re going to be biking 80 to 100 kilometres every day,” Mitchell said. “I think this trip will challenge me physically and mentally, but I know I will gain so much afterwards knowing that I can push my body like that.”

 

 

To follow their journey or to donate, visit cyclistsinsolidarity.com.

Arts & Entertainment, Pop Rhetoric

Pop Rhetoric: OKNOTOK is not what rock and roll needs right now

by Sophie Brzozowski on

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For all their talk about being so vehemently anti-capitalist, and–by proxy–true to their art, Radiohead loves a good gimmick. It was around this time last year, for example, just days before the release of their first album in seven years, that the British rock band effectively erased themselves from the internet. One by one, the band members deleted all of their social media pages. It was an obvious maneuver, but a clever one: An anti-PR-PR-stunt. It wasn’t the first time the band has attempted an exploit of that nature either.

In October 2007, Radiohead made the startling decision to self-release their album In Rainbows online as a pay-what-you-want download. While the album itself—in all its electronic majesty—was well-received, something about its release seemed to rub people the wrong way. Maybe it was the sense of gallantry that the gesture implied, or the glaring attempt to stay current. Regardless, it was a huge “fuck you” to the music industry, when it began to dawn on everyone that self-releasing an album meant that the band kept all the money that it earned, instead of paying a cut to the record company. Not that money was the issue, per say, but rather, as it so often is with Radiohead, it was more about the principle of the thing.

The band’s latest ballyhoo comes in the form of an extravagant reissue of their 1997 record OK Computer. In honour of the 20th anniversary of what many fans hail as their best album, Radiohead will release a box set entitled OKNOTOK-1997-2017. It will contain the original 12 track album as well as eight B-side tracks from past EPs—the kicker being the three unreleased songs that have been circulating since ’96. For a mere $130, fans will also receive a copy of frontman Thom Yorke’s 100-some page journal of handwritten notes—sure to contain some kind of historic marginalia—, a booklet of previously unreleased artwork, and a C90 cassette tape of demos and archival works. Discography junkies everywhere are losing their minds.

Album reissues are notorious for creating an undue amount of media attention for artists. They are a crafty way to manipulate obsessive fans into buying a record they already own with the promise of some elusive, long-lost demo and/or slightly “remastered audio.”

As Jessica Hopper wrote in 2011, regarding the 20th anniversary reissue of Nirvana’s Nevermind, “Does anyone imagine that kids deafened by two decades of increasingly shitty mastering and compression […] will be able to hear the difference?”

The unreleased tracks seem to be the only part of the reissue worth any fuss. One of them, Lift, has been a fan favorite ever since it was first performed in 1996, but has yet to appear on an album until now. It is a gorgeous song; full, soaring, and uncharacteristically uplifting. It deserves its own album—not to be tacked onto the end of the last one like an afterthought.

In this day and age, the act of challenging an artist’s moral integrity seems almost childish—there is a certain piousness to declaring someone a sellout. Still, Radiohead has a long history of being annoyingly self-righteous. They kept their music off of iTunes until 2008. For nine years they refused to play “Creep” live, and in 2013, Yorke called Spotify “the last desperate fart of a dying corpse.” He also loves Naomi Klein and thinks the Spice Girls are the anti-Christ. And yet, the irony of reissuing the album that was once a symbol of anti-establishment and rebellion seems to have escaped the band.

If there was ever a time for another album like OK Computer to be released, it’s now. It was a strange and wonderful torch that Radiohead carried for the disenfranchised and the disobedient. It was bizarre and it was beautiful—and OKNOTOK will not do it justice.

Arts & Entertainment, Comedy

From the viewpoint: Montreal Sketchfest

by Rochelle Guillou on

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Being funny is not easy. Being funny when people expect you to make them laugh is even harder. Fortunately for us, Montreal attracts humble masters of the art of comedy: Performers who know how to perfectly create humor through the juxtaposition of injury and cheer, but who do not pretend to be superior in their ability to make people laugh. The jokes at this year’s Sketchfest were never used to divide or rank, but instead worked as a unifying force by focusing on emotions and universal experiences.

The festival–which ran from May 4 to 13–perfectly captured everything that makes Montreal so unique: Everything from its bilingualism to its charismatic bars and cafes and its friendly, easy-going, and good-humoured people. The show’s venue, Theatre Sainte-Catherine, doubles as a coffee shop and bar, giving it the perfect laid-back vibe for an evening of comedy. The sketches were diverse in style and yet universal in the experiences they evoked.

Montreal comedy has a reputation for being too centered on local issues, in part due to the distinctiveness of this North American city. When comparing the comedy scene in Toronto to that of Montreal on the podcast, Laughmatic, host Mo Arora argued that Montrealers love to talk about Montreal much more than Torontonians like to talk about Toronto. On the contrary, however, no one at Sketchfest, not even local artists, dabbled in controversial topics like language laws or student protests.

Instead, the sketches dealt with a wide variety of subject matter. The first troupe of the evening, Ape Island, performed a sketch about a couple on a date night, when the girlfriend decides to spice things up with a sexy board game from Costco. The game turns out to be very awkward and not at all sexy. While the storyline in itself was pretty funny, the real laughter stemmed from the acting. These comedians were very convincing and great at conveying absurd confusion as they rolled the “sexy dice” which landed on “touch your partner’s face for three minutes”.

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Another standout troupe, Flo & Joan, turned to music to create humor. The two British sisters from Toronto perform comedy songs which seemed to give them freedom to talk about anything–from boyfriends, to bees, to British folk music. They started three years ago when both were out of a job and realized that they had nothing to lose.

“If we are not any good, we don’t know anyone in Toronto so we can always go back to England and no one has to know we tried this,” joked older sister Nicola Dempsey.

Nicola played the piano and both sisters sang. The Dempseys kept perfect composure and a smile while blurting out complex lyrics at the speed of light. Their biggest inspiration is Victoria Wood—an English comedian who wrote and starred in sketches and composed many songs that she performed on piano. Much of her humor was grounded in everyday life and included references to quintessentially “British” activities. Flo & Joan’s songs were not about British life, but more about the universal experience of being a woman, with all its burdens and inexplicable complications.

While some of the artists, like Nicola Dempsey, studied theatre and music in college, this is not necessarily the case for all comedians. Another performer, Kevin Shustack–member of the sketch troupe Cousins–studied math and statistics at McGill before dedicating himself to comedy full-time. He then studied sketch comedy writing at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York. For Kevin, performing in comedy shows is a contagious thrill.

“With a lot of people who end up pursuing comedy, they kind of catch the bug and just love being on stage and that feeling of when a joke lands…there’s nothing better,” Shustack explained.

Shustack performed that night with Cousins, and also does stand up and writes for the Teletoon show Toonmart Marty.

Laugher is a powerful tool to unite people, but it is not used enough to unite strangers. Today, with the internet and social media, we often laugh in isolation. The Montreal Sketchfest, while only a small show in a small venue, was refreshing in the way it created a space for unmediated and intimate performances to connect people together.

 

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