Maclean's March 2022

In 2021, amid report after report of presumed grave sites being found on the former grounds of residential schools, non-Indigenous Canadians experienced what’s been generously described as an awakening. Everyone from random citizens doing TV street interviews to the Prime Minister himself voiced horror and dismay, as if blindsided by the fact that the assimilationist project this country ran for the better part of a century had claimed the lives of children. Many, many children. We were not, of course. The deaths of young Indigenous kids at residential schools were described widely in the accounts of former students, who shared the knowledge with their children and grandchildren; they were meticulously reported by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015. No wonder, then, that as the news sank in, a strikingly different theme…

VIRAL LOAD In the 1990s, following an episode of the flu, I was diagnosed with post-viral syndrome. After 30 years, watching what is happening now with so many people following COVID-19 infections (“When the virus moves in,” February 2022), I am finally understanding my symptom set. When I walked, the fatigue felt like I was moving underwater with 20-lb. weights attached to my legs. I suffered heart palpitations, restricted breathing and visual distortions. Doctors were puzzled and, much to my dismay, arrived at a diagnosis of depression. I had flu-like symptoms for more than a year, and then things evolved into a low-grade disability, physical and emotional. A community nurse, I lost the stamina to work. We were sheep farmers, but we sold the sheep. After 10 years, slowly my health…

OPENINGS March 18-20. Monster Jam. There are plenty of monster trucks, but for 40 years, Grave Digger has backflipped its way to the front of the proverbial pack. The vehicle is cloaked in a delightfully gawdy swirl of green and purple graves and ghouls, lending it a spooky, cartoonish charm. “Grave Digger is the most iconic Monster Jam truck in the world,” says Brandon Vinson; he’s one of a handful of Grave Digger drivers, the ones making it flip and crash and screech and thrash around sandy arenas across Canada and the U.S. He’s taking Grave Digger to Vancouver’s twice-pandemic-delayed Monster Jam in March, where he’ll compete against other trucks for points, glory and, most importantly, the affection of the audience. “You’ve got 75 seconds to go out there and tear…

As the winter sun rises over Tilting Harbour, Norm Foley is on Oliver’s Cove Beach, pitchfork in hand, green rubber boots over the pant legs of his Levi’s, iPhone in his shirt pocket. The 55-year-old will spend hours on this day spearing kelp from the shaggy maroon heaps that smother the shore, forking it into heavy-duty plastic containers. Then, rope over his shoulder like a horse, he’ll tow container after container to his vegetable patch—the same plot of soil where his parents and their forebears grew potatoes when they arrived from Ireland in the 1730s. It’s a practice that Foley’s ancestors brought from the shorelands of the old country, and one that kept them alive on the rugged, infertile land they settled. The kelp will rot over the winter, creating a rich…

MEN WOMEN WHO’S USING In 2021, 29% of males and 22% of females reported using cannabis—down from 31% and 23%, respectively, in 2020. SAME MORE LESS PANDEMIC TIMES Asked if their cannabis use has changed due to the pandemic and its restrictions, 49% reported using the same amount, 29% reported using more, and 22% said less. BOREDOM STRESS ANXIETY SCHEDULE LONELINESS MOTIVATIONS (OR LACK OF) Common reasons cited for increased use were boredom (62%), stress (60%), anxiety (55%), lack of a regular schedule (41%) and loneliness (37%). SMOKING EATING IT IN FOOD VAPOURIZING DRINKING IT PREFERENCES Methods of consumption among reported users in 2021 included smoking (74%), eating it in food (54%), vapourizing (38%), and drinking it (15%).…

Willa’s a very active kid. She’s always said online learning is boring, she doesn’t want to do it. This year, while it was still challenging, was better. The developmental shift from four to five to six years old made a difference—she was definitely more engaged. But still, that got old pretty fast. After a couple days of online learning, she went back to really not liking it, just wanting to be outside and play. Both my kids love school. Yesterday, when the unexpected second snow day delayed their return, I told them they wouldn’t be going, again, and they both just started bawling. They’ve been wanting to go back so badly. This morning [when in-person learning resumed], they were super excited. They got up early. Willa’s sister Nora came upstairs with…