Page 155 – Algonquin Times

It’s time for Canadians to embrace soccer as the gargantuan sport that it is

Jonathan David raced past the half-way line and charged at the goal, eventually chipping El Salvador goalkeeper Kevin Carabantes to score the final goal of the game, securing an important […]

Elio Elia

Photos: Aadil Naik

March 17, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:37pm

Photo: Aadil Naik

"It comes from a community feeling, from how it brings you closer to your friends and family, and all the good memories associated with watching your team win."

Jonathan David raced past the half-way line and charged at the goal, eventually chipping El Salvador goalkeeper Kevin Carabantes to score the final goal of the game, securing an important win that put Canada one step away from the World Cup in Qatar.

Les Rouges, as they are nicknamed, now need one win from their remaining three games to secure a seat at the first ever winter World Cup. If they are to do so, it will surely be a monumental moment in the history of Canadian sports.

If they are to qualify, this would be only the second time the Canadian national men’s team would have done so, having last made it all the way back in 1986, a whopping near 40 years between them.

As a result of that, now more than ever is the best time for Canada to start embracing soccer as the gargantuan sport that it is, fully support their national team and push them to go as far as possible in the tournament.

Soccer is the biggest sport in the world and by a large margin too. According to the World Atlas website, it is estimated to have around four billion fans worldwide, which is double of Canada’s current favourite sport, hockey, with over 80 per cent of Canadians watching hockey every week according to a survey done by CityNews.

The biggest sporting event in North America, the Super Bowl, pales in comparison to the World Cup final when it comes to viewers. The World Cup final in 2018 had a record-breaking three and a half billion viewers tune in, which dwarfs the highest viewership ever recorded for the Super Bowl, which was nearly 115 million viewers in 2015. In 2022, 112.3 million viewers turned out for the Superbowl.

If Canada were to make it to the 2022 World Cup, they would be playing the sport on the grandest stage of them all, being watched by almost every nation in the world and as such need to be able to hold their own against the best of the best.

This requires the right support, not just by the Canadian Soccer Association, but by Canadian citizens as well. From the former, a lot of investment is required to push the team to newer highs, giving the coaching staff and players the resources to compete with the top dogs of the sport.

The current crop of players is the best Canada has had in years and they need the right support in order to reach their full potential. Players like Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David only come around once a generation and the Canadian national team needs to take advantage of them while they still can.

Davies recently won the 2021 Canada Soccer Player of the Year, having recently broken the all-time record for assists in the Men’s National team with 15 career assists along with Canada‘s record for eight career assists in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

Davis, along with David, play with two of the biggest clubs in Europe, the home continent of soccer. Davies is playing with the most successful club in German football, Bayern Munich, while David plays for French giant Lille. Both are superstars who will play a big role in the sport for years to come, and with the right support, more Canadians can follow suit.

From the fans, what is needed is to embrace the sport and show soccer the same love they show hockey. The passion for the game, the culture, it all needs to be advanced to make Canada the soccer juggernaut it has the potential to be.

The debates on which sport is best always go into the details of the sport, such as whether it is a fast paced one versus a slow paced one, but in reality, the love of sport is much deeper than that.

It comes from a community feeling, from how it brings you closer to your friends and family, and all the good memories associated with watching your team win. At the World Cup in Qatar, with the right promotion, the Canadian National Team can start a new era by providing Canadians at home with good memories of the team’s effort.

Kids at home will go from not knowing a single player to idolizing some of them. The seeds of this cultural shift has already begun as the men’s national team picked up victory after victory.

If Canada goes on to play on the biggest stage of the biggest sport in the world, it can light a spark across the nation that will see the sport reach its highest highs in the country. It is now or never for Canadians, and it is time to embrace soccer fully.

Featured Story | Opinions

Canada | Soccer | World Cup

Elio Elia

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Police foundations program emphasizes modern priorities in law enforcement

Every Thursday Brian Kovach and his Siberian Husky go to shelters including the Shepherds of Good Hope, the Ottawa Mission, Cornerstone for Women or the Veterans’ House to volunteer for […]

Liam Fox

Photos: Liam Fox

March 17, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:37pm

Photo: Liam Fox

Jill Reeves, a professor in the police foundations program at Algonquin College, said the police foundations program has always been progressive and forward-looking.

Every Thursday Brian Kovach and his Siberian Husky go to shelters including the Shepherds of Good Hope, the Ottawa Mission, Cornerstone for Women or the Veterans’ House to volunteer for Love on a Leash, a non-profit organization providing emotional support to people through pet therapy.

“Doing that really allowed me to expand on being able to communicate with the general public and people I do not know and engage in conversations with people,” said Kovach, a second-year police foundations student.

Kovach’s program has put an emphasis on teaching students how to work with the community.

“Your words are the most powerful tool you have as an officer. You want to talk because that’s the best thing. You do not want to have a physical struggle with anybody, nobody wants that to happen.”

Following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, where former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes, the “defund the police” movement and changes to police reform have gained popularity in jurisdictions across Canada and the United States.

There have been many changes to law enforcement since. Many police departments in North America have received budget cuts and there have been changes to use of force rules, including bans on chokeholds. There have also been efforts for increased transparency between police services and the public.

The police foundations program at Algonquin College has made changes of its own. The program has placed an increased priority on students interacting with the community and volunteering.

Although being delivered remotely since March 2020, police foundations have added and adapted courses to reflect this.

“The program has always been progressive and forward-looking, focusing on contemporary trends, and certainly human rights and freedoms and protection thereof,” said Jill Reeves, a police foundations professor, in an email to the Algonquin Times.

“In the Fall of 2021, we brought in a new program of study which reflects current trends and goals in law enforcement. We included more fitness time for students to contribute to wellness, included new courses like Victimology and Community Service and modified police powers to include a focus on ethics, professionalism and the law.”

In addition to the recent changes to the program, police foundations have integrated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms into all levels of the program and have always had courses that highlight public accountability in law enforcement such as diversity in Canada, conflict management, psychology and sociology.

“These courses strike a good balance between hard skills (investigations, interviewing, legislative based courses) and social science/theory courses leading to well-rounded candidates for hire in a variety of fields,” said Reeves.

Curriculum changes of the police foundations program are in sync with the priorities and policies of the Ottawa Police Service, according to Sgt. Maria Keen, who is a platoon sergeant in the Ottawa police and a part-time professor in the police foundations program at Algonquin College.

The Ottawa police are a progressive service and have led the way for changes in policing policies for many other police services, said Keen.

“When it comes to harassment policy or equity, diversity and inclusion policies, we are way ahead of the game, and those policies were either already developed or were in the process of being developed before any incidents or anything like that occurred,” she said.

The 37-year-old Kovach enrolled in police foundations after being laid off from his job as a cook at Algonquin College to pursue a career in policing. Now, he and his fellow students are learning skills in de-escalation, use of force rules and interacting with people who are mentally unstable.

Kovach feels police are sometimes generalized by the public. “We should not judge a whole group of people based on a person or couple people’s actions,” he said.

Kovach wants to make a positive impact on communities through police work. “I feel like I can make a difference. I feel like I might be a suitable candidate and I have good intentions,” he said.

Police Foundations is a popular field of study at Algonquin College with over 400 students currently enrolled in the two-year program at the Ottawa and Pembroke campuses.

“Hiring rates in law enforcement fields increased creating more opportunities over the past five years,” said Reeves. We expect this trend to continue as we come out of the pandemic with opportunity in policing, security, corrections and border services.”

Non-commissioned police officer jobs in Ontario are projected to have 7,001 to 8,000 job openings between 2021 to 2025 with an 11.1 to 12 per cent growth rate, according to Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development.

Ottawa Police Service is looking for candidates with lots of community service and volunteering experience and diversity in work experience, education, cultural diversity and bilingualism, said Sgt. Keen, who formerly worked in recruiting for the Ottawa Police Service.

Although there is a growing demand for police officers in Ontario, many graduates of the program will not enter a career in policing.

“There are many fields of law enforcement and justice where our students are employed, not just policing,” said Reeves. Over the past five years, hiring in all agencies has been strong. We have graduates in all levels of policing, by-law, special constables, corrections, border services, security and inspection.”

Other graduates will stray from the law enforcement field and choose to further their education, work in social service or find roles working for non-profit organizations.

“Some students go onto university in areas like law, psychology, criminology, emergency management and victimology,” said Reeves. “Many will work in areas where they perhaps began volunteering like grassroots, helping agencies like Children’s Aid, Distress Centre, Shepherd’s of Good Hope, the Mission and any of the local community housing facilities.”

Featured Story | Focus

Algonquin college | Ottawa police | Police | Police foundations

Liam Fox

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Russian student finds herself cut off from home

When Elizavita Sidorovich first heard that Russia had invaded Ukraine, the Music Industry Arts student wasn’t surprised. “I just knew that something was going to happen,” she said. “They’ve been […]

Nathan Drescher

Photos: Nathan Drescher

March 17, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:37pm

Photo: Nathan Drescher

Elizavita Sidorovich, a Music Industry Arts student, has received an outpouring of help from her peers and faculty at the college.

What Sidorovich, 20, didn’t realize, however, was how the war in Ukraine was about to affect her personally.

Sidorovich is an international student from Russia who is studying at Algonquin College. Sanctions by the Canadian and Russian governments have left international students like her struggling to buy groceries here in Canada.

Before she came to the college in August 2021, Sidorovich spent her childhood learning the lyrics to American songs and dreamed of being a musician. She knew she wanted to leave Russia as soon as she finished high school. She wanted to live somewhere less suffocating. To get out.

Then she found the college in a pamphlet back home in Moscow.

“It was the first school listed on the first page,” she said. “Music Industry Arts it said. It was like it was made for me.”

Sidorovich’s fall term in the program was a success. She was a straight-A student and quickly made many friends. She called it a life-changing experience.

“The first time I ever smiled in public was here in Canada,” she said. “People in Russia think there’s something wrong with you if you smile in public.”

But then Putin invaded Russia on Feb. 24, 2022, and the world reacted. As crippling sanctions against Russia kicked in, Sidorovich found herself cut off from her parents back home. They couldn’t send her money. She couldn’t buy food or pay her student residence fees.

“I hate Putin. I hate what he’s doing,” Sidorovich said, scrunching up her face in disgust. “I don’t know anyone back home who likes him. He’s robbed Russia for 20 years. Now he’s sending 18-year-olds to another country. For what?”

But what individual young Russians have to say about the war hasn’t changed things for the world, for Ukrainians, or for Russian students like Sidorovich.

Canada’s Parliament passed the Special Economic Measures Act as part of a coordinated wave of unprecedented sanctions against Russia. The sanctions target a series of individuals in Russia, mostly the infamous oligarchs and people in positions of power.

But it also goes after the financial and energy sectors. Russia’s banks have been kicked off the global SWIFT network which allows for fast, borderless money transfers. People like Sidorovich are suddenly cut off from their homes.

Algonquin College is working to keep up with the rapidly changing situation.

“We’ve reached out to these students through email to inform them of various supports that are available,” said Ernest Mulvey, the director of the college’s International Education Centre.

Normally, the IEC arranges study permits, helps international students set up health insurance and gets them settled when they first arrive in Canada. “Right now we’re dealing with exceptional circumstances,” he said.

The IEC is doing what it can to support students just now. They’ve added a full-time staff member to a desk devoted to guidance for students affected by this war.

“Let me be clear: the college recognizes that Russia has illegally attacked and invaded Ukraine,” Mulvey said. “This war affects three cohorts of international students at the college. First and foremost, Ukrainian students. But also Russian and Belorussian students.”

In the email sent out to these students, Mulvey recommended college counseling services and an emergency bursary for students.

“It cannot be used for tuition, but recipients can use it for things such as groceries and rent,” he said of the bursary.

However, when Sidorovich attempted to access the emergency bursary, she was told the college couldn’t do much beyond offering a food card.

“With the sanctions against Russia our support will be extremely limited beyond this food card,” said Krisha Marshall, the financial aid assistant registrar, in an email to Sidorovich. “You will need support from the Embassy and/or you may need to consider returning home if the situation doesn’t improve.”

Krisha Marshall was unable to comment to the Algonquin Times specifically about Sidorovich’s case for confidentiality reasons, but said that there are many supports in place.

“Financial Aid and Student Awards has many supports for students in emergency situations, all students and situations are assessed individually, with specific criteria to assess needs,” she said. “Potential support for students ranges from food, shelter, emergency supplies, and travel home.”

Marshall also said that financial aid has been approached by some students concerning support.

“We have had a total of three students referred, and as per standard practice, have asked for information regarding their emergency need. No students to date have been denied an emergency bursary and their applications are open and waiting to be processed once information is received.”

Marshall also has some tips for students who need to access emergency support through Financial Aid.

“The students need to provide basic financial information and other information regarding their emergency need,” she said. “In addition, we have budget assist tools on our website and students work with a student awards and bursary officer to ensure that all options of support are considered.”

At the program level, Sidorovich has received an outpouring of help from her peers and faculty at the college.

“Ellie is a straight-A student and a wonderful person,” said Colin Mills, the program coordinator of the Music Industry Arts program at Algonquin College and one of her professors. “The department is doing what it can for her. Her classmates threw a surprise birthday party for her and everyone brought gift cards.”

Mills’ main concern is seeing his students succeed in the MIA program. “My goal is to see Ellie graduate from the program, ” he said. The program is 12 months long and ends in August. “We just got to get her through to the end.”

Some of Sidorovich’s peers have said they’ll buy her food or let her sleep on their sofas. “They gave me $350 worth of grocery cards for my birthday,” she said. “Colin got me a birthday cake. My tuition is paid to the end, at least. If worse comes to worst, I can live with my best friend.”

But no matter what happens, Sidorovich says she’s not going back to Russia.

“I never want to return there,” she said. Her study permit lasts until 2023, and under Canadian immigration laws, she can convert that to a work permit upon graduating from a Canadian college or university. After one year, she can apply for permanent resident status.

All of which means she just has to get through these last four months of college. “It’s expensive to live on res,” Sidorovich explained. “I need another $5,500 for the last three months. It’s due on April 14, but my parents can’t send me the money.”

Sometimes there are days or even hours when money transfers suddenly go through. “We watch it all the time. If the opportunity comes up, my dad will send me everything at once.”

She doesn’t want to live on someone’s sofa. “But if it’s what I need to do, then it is what I will do,” she said.

Sidorovich remains pragmatic and optimistic. She’s even thinking about her post-college plans. “I really like Kitchener,” she said. “I might move there.”

UPDATE, March 25, 2022: Since this story was published, Elizavita Sidorovich says the college has told her it will pay her residence fees and her meal plan. She has also been given another $150 grocery card.

Featured Story | Life

Nathan Drescher

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Ontario colleges and faculty unions to resume bargaining

Local News Ottawa Citizen: As a strike deadline approaches, bargaining between Ontario colleges and faculty unions will resume. The College Employer Council and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union will […]

Sebastian Menendez

Photos:

March 17, 2022
Revised: March 17, 2022 11:56am

Local News

Ottawa Citizen: As a strike deadline approaches, bargaining between Ontario colleges and faculty unions will resume. The College Employer Council and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union will meet on Thursday. The run will end at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, according to the union. If significant progress is made when talks continue, the deadline could be extended. Algonquin President Claude Brulé said the college was doing everything it could to minimize disturbance.

National News

CBC News: The federal government will announce on Thursday that pre-arrival COVID testing for visitors entering Canada will be removed. According to sources familiar with the situation, Canada is eliminating testing requirements at airports and land border crossings. The health, transportation and tourism ministers will attend a press conference on Thursday morning to announce the border modifications. Travellers entering the country must currently present proof of a negative antigen or molecular test before flying or arriving at the border.

International News

CBC News: Russian forces destroyed a theatre in Mariupol where hundreds of people were sheltered and rained fire on other cities on Wednesday, despite the two sides projecting confidence about efforts to negotiate a cease-fire. According to Ukraine’s foreign ministry, the bombing ripped apart the centre of the once-elegant structure, where hundreds of residents had been living after their homes were destroyed in the conflict. Officials reported several people were buried in the rubble, but there was no immediate information on deaths or injuries from what the Mariupol municipal council described as an airstrike on the theatre.

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Sebastian Menendez

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We need to relearn tolerance after two years of being pulled apart

The never-ending COVID-19 story has triggered so many people to push their opinions onto others. This “Us Vs. Them” mentality is polarizing our narrative and needs to stop. It is […]

Magan Carty

Photos: @JimmyBaptiste @Art.Life.Andre @Drippin_Soul Photo credit

March 17, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:37pm

Photo: @JimmyBaptiste @Art.Life.Andre @Drippin_Soul Photo credit

New mural at Algonquin College's Woodroffe campus reminds us we are all connected. Follow the artists on Instagram

The never-ending COVID-19 story has triggered so many people to push their opinions onto others. This “Us Vs. Them” mentality is polarizing our narrative and needs to stop.

It is threatening our education as students now, with the threat of an Ontario colleges faculty strike looming. The unwillingness to reckon with the opposite side is harmful and unproductive. It is not a solution by any means. Failure to negotiate has a negative effect on everyone.

With the two-year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring the global pandemic, there is an urgent need to get back to being the people we were when we respected each other’s opinions rather than lashing out in the face of opposing views.

The pandemic has caused us to noisily protest against those we disagree with, exposing just how vulnerable humankind is to division. The past two years have pulled Canadians farther apart, according to a recent survey conducted by the Angus Reid Institute.

At the onset of the pandemic, “Canadians had an absolute sense of common purpose and really approved of what they were being asked to do,” the study said. But the “we’re all in this together” mentality has disintegrated over the past 24 months.

Chronic uncertainty has brought out our worst and given us compassion fatigue, especially when it comes to understanding a viewpoint radically different than our own. If we care enough about one another, we must put an end to this constant condemning and “othering” whenever we hear an opinion we don’t like.

In any large group of people – be it in a group of friends, a family, an institution, or in a workplace – there are sure to be different opinions. And that’s okay.

Some of us want to burn our masks the second we are able to; others say they’ll hold onto them for a while after mandates are lifted. Some of us would do anything to get back to the office full-time; others would rather continuing to work from home. Some of us will never go back to self-serve salad bars or public water fountains; others won’t think twice about it.

Some of us are fully-vaccinated, and some of us are not. Some people consider Fox News fake news, others think CBC is conspiracy. This is not going to change, no matter which side of the argument you are on.

Each of us has a stance and reason for thinking the way we do. Relearning how to respectfully disagree is the only way back to a world where we can tolerate those we don’t understand.

We can’t ignore how much has changed within us since the “before times.” The pandemic has uprooted our lives and plotted us against each other. We weren’t properly prepared for any of it. And now our concept of “normal” has become so distant and fragmented, it is hard to imagine a way out of this mess.

But maybe there is no new normal. Maybe we’ve seen too much to revert back to how things were before. Maybe we are looking ahead at many uncomfortable years as society recovers from the side-effects of misinformation and incongruent truth.

The unprecedented rollercoaster ride that began on March 11, 2020 and is still not over has affected us all in ways we never predicted. It has ended relationships and divided families. It has unearthed some of the darkest truths of global reality and made us allergic to uncertainty.

But no matter how deeply some of us may disagree – on vaccine mandates, masks or lockdowns – we can all agree on one thing: we want this to be over.

In our attempts to make sense of it all – from social-distancing and isolation, to convoys and inflation – we have become too far apart.

It is time to come back together, reconnect as human beings and get on with our lives.

Featured Story | Opinions

Covid-19 | Pandemic | Strike, college faculty

Magan Carty

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Russia bans 313 Canadians from entering the country

Local News CityNews: An Ottawa marketing firm has joined a growing list of organizations offering support to displaced people of Ukraine. Danger Co Marketing Services provides free marketing support to […]

Online Editor

Photos:

March 16, 2022
Revised: March 16, 2022 2:20pm

Local News

CityNews : An Ottawa marketing firm has joined a growing list of organizations offering support to displaced people of Ukraine. Danger Co Marketing Services provides free marketing support to Ukrainian refugees looking to start over in North America as entrepreneurs. Founder and CEO Jordan Stalker says while it will be challenging for many people to restart their lives in a new country, it is an interesting time to start a business and pivot into entrepreneurship.

National News

CBC News : Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs blacklisted and banned 313 Canadians from entering the country. This includes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly and Minister of National Defence Anita Anand. This is in response to Canada’s actions and stance toward Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a statement, a spokesperson for Trudeau said, “the prime minister was not bothered by the new Canadian additions to the Russian ‘black list’.” Russia also added United States President Joe Biden, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, CIA chief William Burns, Hunter Biden and White House press secretary Jen Psaki to the list.

International News

BBC News: An editor at state-controlled Channel 1 who ran onto a live TV program holding a sign saying, “no war, stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here,” has been fined and released after protesting against Russia invading Ukraine. Marina Ovsyannikova said she was not given legal help while being questioned for 14 hours without sleep. Ovsyannikova’s whereabouts were unknown until an image of her with her lawyer circulated on Russian media.

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The Algonquin Times is a newspaper produced by journalism and advertising students for the Algonquin College community. Follow us on social media! Algonquin Times Twitter Twitter (Events & Promos) Facebook Facebook (Events & Promos) Instagram Snapchat

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Wolves remain perfect at home en route to semi-finals

The Algonquin Wolves women’s basketball team defeated the Lambton Lions 66-45 on Saturday, March 12, in their OCAA quarter-final game. The team is heading to Windsor for the semi-finals of […]

Kolbe Devaux

Photos: Aadil Naik

March 16, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:37pm

Photo: Aadil Naik

The Algonquin Wolves after their victory over the Lambton Lions. They went undefeated at home this season.

The Algonquin Wolves women’s basketball team defeated the Lambton Lions 66-45 on Saturday, March 12, in their OCAA quarter-final game.

The team is heading to Windsor for the semi-finals of the championship with a perfect record on their home court.

Head coach Jaime McLean was very pleased with his team’s performance in Saturday’s match.

“I feel great,” he said. “That second quarter definitely scared me a little bit, but at half-time we talked about sticking to the game plan.”

The Wolves started very strong against the Lions, taking a 24-7 lead into the second quarter. However, things took a turn for the worse as the home team scored a season low three points in the quarter and went into half-time down 27-30.

“They bought in for that second half and it just worked,” said McLean. “We started to get the open shots we wanted, the open easy layups and the open threes. The second half was perfect.”

Algonquin started the third quarter energetically. They forced the Lions into many offensive mistakes, held them to only nine points and led 44-39 going into the fourth quarter.

The Wolves then pulled away, scoring the first 11 points of the quarter. They only gave up six points and continued to perform strongly on offense, winning by 21 points, 66-45.

Their semi-final opponents are the St. Clair Saints, whom McLean praised generously.

“It’s going to be a good match up. St. Clair won all their games this season and are the number one team in the west,” he said. “They had a number of returning players, which is a huge advantage, and are a very well coached team that works hard.”

Looking back on the season – his team has only lost one time so far – the head coach attributed the success to his players.

“That’s credit to these girls. They’ve bought into what we wanted to do this year in terms of competing, learning and getting better every day,” said McLean, after the game. “They work hard, they support each other and it’s a fun group to coach because they’re so supportive.”

Dasia McDonald dribbles the ball against the Lambton Lions — Dasia McDonald dribbles the ball in front of the home crowd. Photo credit: Aadil Naik

Rookie guard Dasia McDonald – top scorer of the game with 25 points – was ecstatic about the Wolves’ deep playoff run.

“It’s pretty amazing. At the beginning we didn’t know if we were going to have a season, so being able to just push through and get to the semi-finals is awesome,” she said.

Like her head coach, McDonald was happy with the way the team performed in their final home game of the season.

“I feel really good because we all trusted each other,” said McDonald. “That helps you better individually and we stepped up on defense. Playing better defense helps with transitions and turns into easy points.”

On Tuesday, McDonald was named as an OCAA East Division First-Team All-Star and to the East Division All-Rookie Team. Head coach Jaime McLean was named OCAA Women’s Basketball East Division Coach of the Year.

The Wolves are in the semi-finals along with the Humber Hawks, Niagara Knights and St. Clair Saints.

The semi-finals will be played on Wednesday, March 16 and the medal games will be played on Thursday, March 17.

All four games will be played at the St. Clair College Windsor campus.

The Algonquin Wolves next face the St. Clair Saints on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at 6 p.m.

Featured Story | Sports & Recreation

Algonquin Wolves | Basketball | OCAA | Women's basketball

Kolbe Devaux

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Ontario college faculty set to strike March 18 if binding arbitration isn’t approved

College faculty in Ontario will escalate to a full strike on Friday, March 18 at 12:01 a.m. if their employer does not agree to end the labour dispute through binding […]

Liam Fox

Photos: Liam Fox

March 15, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:37pm

Photo: Liam Fox

Algonquin College would be affected by the potential Ontario college faculty strike.

College faculty in Ontario will escalate to a full strike on Friday, March 18 at 12:01 a.m. if their employer does not agree to end the labour dispute through binding interest arbitration.

The professors, instructors and counsellors of Ontario’s public colleges transitioned to phase 3 of work-to-rule on March 2. Now, they have agreed to reach a contract resolution with the College Employer Council through voluntary arbitration, where a mutually agreed upon, neutral third party would resolve disputes.

Should the college presidents opt to avoid binding interest arbitration, college faculty will walk off the job.

“Faculty have done our best to limit the impact of our strike action on students and to avoid a picket line,” the Ontario Public Service Employees Union bargaining team said in an open letter to the CEC on March 14. “Now, however, you have again ramped up your threats against individual faculty and appear to be moving toward a lockout instead of negotiating a deal.”

“That’s why we’ve agreed to send all issues to binding interest arbitration, for a neutral third party to decide.”

“This would end the negotiations without a strike or lockout. All you have to do is agree.”

On Feb. 17 Ontario college faculty members across 24 colleges rejected the CEC’s final offer. In an online vote held from Feb. 15 to 17, Ontario college faculty members voted 62 per cent for the rejection. Of the 16,000 members, 66 per cent voted.

In a response to OPSEU, the CEC has said offers from the union have been unrealistic.

The CEC has denied claims from the union that the colleges have refused to bargain and arbitrate.

“The colleges have stated on numerous occasions since November that they will never lock-out faculty,” said the CEC in t heir response to OPSEU on March 14. “Our promise to students is to continue to make every effort to reach a fair agreement. We want to achieve this with as little disruption as possible. Unfortunately, the union has chosen to go on a strike. We have sincerely tried to find an agreement and will continue to pursue a reasonable agreement.”

Featured Story | News

Ontario colleges | Ontario students | Strike | Strike, college faculty | Union

Liam Fox

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Liam Fox

Wolves win battle against Lancers, advance to quarter-finals

Coming off six straight wins, the Algonquin Wolves women’s basketball team beat the short-handed Loyalist Lancers to move onto the second round of playoffs. Tension filled the air of the […]

Liam Fox

Photos:

March 11, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:37pm

Dasia McDonald drives to the basket for a layup.

Coming off six straight wins, the Algonquin Wolves women’s basketball team beat the short-handed Loyalist Lancers to move onto the second round of playoffs.

Tension filled the air of the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre entering the fourth quarter as the Wolves trailed the Lancers 42-39. Coach Jaime McLean was crouched over with his hands on his head, players on the bench were intently watching each play with serious expressions, fans grew progressively quiet as the Lancers rained down threes.

However, after another clutch performance in the closing minutes, however, the Wolves pulled away to win 58-51.

Jaime McLean was pleased with the win but said his team did not play to their full capability.“Reality was that we were not letting ourselves get to what we wanted to in our offense today,” he said.

“Defensively we were there, we just were not communicating, so when breakdowns were happening we were not getting our rotations like we wanted to do.”

Going into the playoffs, the Wolves were 7-1 while the Lancers were 1-7, but regular-season records do not matter in the playoffs aside from home-court advantage as it only takes one loss to be eliminated.

The Lancers were also short on players – only six travelled with the team to Ottawa – and depth got even shorter as a starter when Ali Alexander fouled out in the final quarter.

McLean was impressed by the Lancers effort, despite being significantly short-handed.

“That team is always hard-working, every team in this league is hard-working,” said McLean. “To come out here and compete with six players you got to give them full credit. They worked their butts off and they made things difficult for us today so we had to earn it.”

The Wolves were in steady control of the entire first-half, but a tough third quarter where they were outscored by 11 gave the Lancers the momentum. A big part due to Thesa Pangan who had 22 points and a stellar performance shooting from distance hitting 6-10 of her three-point shots.

But yet again the Wolves showed their resiliency in the fourth-quarter outscoring the Lancers by 10 in the quarter and holding them to nine points.

Moving on, the Wolves will host the Lambton Lions in the quarter finals on Saturday, March 12 at 2 p.m.

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Liam Fox

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Liam Fox

The ARC’s climbing and bouldering walls are open for students

The highly anticipated 34-foot climbing wall and 15-foot bouldering wall in the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre have officially opened. Members of the Algonquin College community have wanted this […]

Magan Carty

Photos: Magan Carty

March 11, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:37pm

Photo: Magan Carty

Cassandra Jones St. Onge demonstrates how to use the ARC's newly-opened climbing wall safely and efficiently.

The highly anticipated 34-foot climbing wall and 15-foot bouldering wall in the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre have officially opened.

Members of the Algonquin College community have wanted this and waited patiently for a long time, according to Timothy Lee, manager of athletic operations and fitness at the ARC.

Student athletes up for the challenge are invited to experience indoor climbing, no matter their skill level, in a safe and encouraging environment.

“What we’re finding is the climbing community as a whole is very supportive,” Lee said. “They look out for one another and are always trying to help the newer climbers.”

The climbing walls were purposed exclusively for orientation sessions during the first two weeks of operation. Lee said he and his staff wanted to give as many people as possible the opportunity to train and become “verified climbers” before the walls opened up for regular use on Friday, March 11.

While the full-time orientation period has come to an end, the wall with five climbing lanes will be reserved for orientation sessions between the hours of 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

All climbers must attend a 30-minute orientation facilitated by a trained staff member before they are permitted to book their first climb. Lee could not stress enough the importance of getting people comfortable and confident with the equipment.

“This is because safety is our number one priority,” he said. “We are always tweaking and adjusting. We want everyone to have a great time, so the tighter our safety protocols, the less margin for error or injury.”

Cassandra Jones St-Onge is the ARC’s fitness and wellness coordinator. She facilitates orientation sessions, demonstrates proper climbing technique and supervises climbers as they scale the wall.

“The systems and equipment are inspected everyday,” she said. “We use auto-belay devices which prevent slack in the rope while the climber climbs up. Once they reach the top, or if they fall, the auto belay lowers them to the ground safely and automatically.”

Kick-off auto belay is different than traditional climbing in that no one is needed to control the descent. In other words, you do not need a person at the bottom of the wall roped into your harness and releasing slack.

St-Onge is a skilled climber and demonstrated how to use the different hand holds to try different climbing routes. There are various sizes of holds and different colours.

“The colour-coding creates pathways for climbers to attempt,” she said. “You can choose to follow just the pink or yellow holds if you are more advanced. The blue and green paths are good for intermediate climbers. Beginners usually just grab onto whatever they can.”

The bouldering wall is very difficult, according to both Lee and St-Onge. The athleticism required for this particular sport made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Maggie Decady, a performing arts student, said she is looking forward to using the climbing and bouldering walls as often as she can.

“I really love rock climbing,” she said. “It’s a fun activity when I want to be physically active but don’t feel like doing a typical workout.”

Decady said rock climbing can be scary, but she feels safe at the ARC knowing there are professionals to train her and look out for her.

Climbing and orientation sessions can be booked through appointment-plus up to seven days in advance. A full-length slot consists of a 45-minute climb and a 15-minute transition period.

The wall is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday to Friday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. It is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Verified climbers are provided with a properly-fitted harness and liquid chalk for better grip. They must come prepared with their own athletic footwear and appropriate climbing attire.

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Arc | Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre