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The AIH Transcript for March 25 2021

Hosts: Carol Off and Chris Howden

Prologue

CAROL OFF: Hello, I'm Carol Off.

CHRIS HOWDEN: Good evening, I'm Chris Howden. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

CH: Tonight:

CO: The price of pricing carbon, Ottawa wins its fight to impose a nationwide carbon tax, which will also have a taxing effect on its relationship with some provinces who fought it all the way to the Supreme Court.

CH: All hull won't break loose. After two days, that giant container ship is still stuck in the Suez Canal. And our guest says if it doesn't go somewhere fast, it could be in four weeks of going nowhere fast.

CO: Pushed to the limit. A dump truck pushed a Toronto nurse's car for half a kilometre on a busy highway sideways. And she says her mini Coopers low centre of gravity and nearby drivers are probably the reason she's still alive.

CH: Very broad strokes. The artist behind a painting the size of nearly four basketball courts says artwork from children helped inspire the record breaking and backbreaking painting.

CO: What's the beak idea? Every year, a swan named Cedric spends months tapping on one man's front door in the town of Northampton, England. He tells us it's a hard knock life.

CH: And doesn't pass the smell test. There's a pretty major hole in the logic behind the new nose only covid-19 mask and it's the big one under your nose, which is left totally unprotected. As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that can't wait to look back at this and laugh, when we're feeling nose-talgic.

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Part 1: Liberals will defend carbon tax at the polls after Supreme Court win: environment minister

SCC Carbon Tax - Wilkinson

Guest: Jonathan Wilkinson

CH: Ottawa has won its fight to put a national price on carbon. The Supreme Court of Canada handed the feds a long awaited victory this morning, but the fight to win over public opinion is ongoing. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario had all challenged the law. At a news conference today, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe made it clear he's not done pushing back.

SCOTT MOE: It's simply wrong to force Saskatchewan families to pay a tax on fuel that they may use to heat their homes or to drive their kids to school. It's simply wrong for the federal government to impose a tax that will increase the cost of virtually everything that we purchase from groceries to close to cars. And it's simply wrong to punish Saskatchewan companies who employ Saskatchewan, people whose competitors operating in other jurisdictions are all too often operating without the imposed carbon tax. To impose this heavy burden on Saskatchewan without demonstrating that a carbon tax will in any measurable way effectively reduce emissions in this province, it's just simply wrong.

CH: Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe responding to today's Supreme Court decision that Ottawa's federal carbon tax is constitutional. Jonathan Wilkinson is Canada's environment minister. We reached him in Vancouver.

CO: Mr. Wilkinson, you know, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario. They fought hard against today's decision. The Supreme Court has spoken, given their message. What's your message to those provinces today?

JONATHAN WILKINSON: Well, I think, first of all, just a message for all Canadians is, you know, today is an important step forward in the fight against climate change and in the fight to build an economy that's going to thrive in what is emerging as a low carbon future for this world. And certainly with respect to the citizens of those provinces, I say, you know, let's work together.

CO: How do you bring them onside? Because as you know, many people in those provinces and elsewhere do not agree with what they call a carbon tax. How are you going to bring them onside? What are you going to do?

JW: Fighting climate change is a lot broader than the price on pollution. And there are lots of areas within which we are working together. If you think about Alberta and Saskatchewan, for example, there's a lot of interest in biofuels and hydrogen and in carbon capture. We obviously have had a disagreement with respect to the price on pollution. But that, you know, I would say at this point we need to ensure that we're working on the areas where there is broader agreement and park that issue. That issue has now been decided.

CO: Right. But you're saying that carbon pricing, though, is the centrepiece, a centrepiece of your climate change fighting policy. And so how can you just leave it aside? Are you going to say well, Supreme Court has decided this and we know that people disagree with us. They're opposed to it. They're, in many cases, angry about it. I'm not talking about governments, I'm talking about your citizens here. How are you going to bring them onside, convince them that this carbon pricing is a good idea?

JW: Well, I think there's probably a number of different elements. I mean, first of all, there are industrial carbon pricing systems in the provinces that you speak about. So what we're talking about is the consumer price on pollution. And at the end of the day, the federal government needs to ensure that it's doing a good job of communicating. I mean, I have heard politicians who have opposed this saying somehow this is something that actually drives costs, additional costs for lower income people. That's simply false. The majority of Canadian families actually get more money back in a rebate from the price on pollution than they pay. So at the end of the day, we may need to do more in terms of communicating. I do think that folks who have made exaggerated claims on the other side are going to need to perhaps be a little bit more measured in terms of how they are describing the price on pollution.

CO: Will you make note of the progress you have made on the industrial level? We've just been talking about consumers and carbon pricing, but there has been significant progress with Alberta dealing with the idea of incentivising industry. And so can you build on that?

JW: Well, I think we can. I mean, you know, Alberta has its own industrial pricing system. Saskatchewan, by and large, has its own industrial pricing system. So there's far broader agreement in terms of the need for climate action than sometimes I think is understood.

CO: And that's what I'm pointing out, is that Alberta does have the plans and has worked with the federal government on levies on the provinces', oil and gas sector. But they've also asked for 30 billion dollars in spending or tax incentives to spur an industry backed plan to build a large scale industrial carbon capture. Will you consider that?

JW: Well, we're engaging with the province of Alberta. We've set up a working group to look at the issues around carbon capture and what needs to be done to further advance that technology and to see it deployed on a more commercial basis. But it's one amongst many. It is not a silver bullet. It is not a climate plan. It is one part of a broader comprehensive approach to addressing the climate issue.

CO: But do you acknowledge what Premier Kenney has said in Alberta, that having this carbon pricing for his industry, for the industry in that province puts it at a competitive disadvantage to the United States, which does not have a carbon tax?

JW: Well, that's simply false. The industrial pricing systems are structured in such a way to protect trade exposed industries from being disadvantaged in terms of exports. But at the end of the day, we do need more than just pricing in order to meet our targets. We need regulations and we need investments like what Premier Kenney is talking about, to accelerate the commercialisation of technologies that are going to help us to reduce emissions and to grow sectors of the economy that are going to be really, really important.

CO: Are you going to meet a fair bit of resistance, though? You've won this at the Supreme Court level, but you are going to be increasing the charges per tonne as the years go on. What kind of resistance are you anticipating there?

JW: Well, I guess it depends on where you think the resistance is going to come from. I mean, as I said before, with respect to people, the majority of families actually get more money back. With respect to industrial emitters. We've worked very hard to try to ensure that they are not exposed from an export perspective. And we are working with them to help them to reduce their emissions so they can avoid the impact of the price. That's the whole point of a price on pollution. So my view is that Canada is moving exactly in the right direction. Any Canadian climate plan that does not include a price on pollution will not achieve the targets that we have established for this country as part of the international obligations we have.

CO: And will you meet those targets? 30 percent reduction compared to 2005 levels by 2030? Are you going to meet that with this carbon tax?

JW: We're actually going to exceed it, but we're also going to have to raise our level of ambition in order for the world to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The commitments under Paris don't get us to the one point five to two degree level, but that is kind of manageable from a climate change impact perspective. We all need to do more and we are working very actively with the Biden administration, with international partners and with provinces and territories to see how we can raise that level of ambition.

CO: The federal conservatives have promised to repeal your tax if they are elected. What's your message to voters?

JW: Well, I have to say I was very disappointed to see how quickly Erin O'Toole and the federal conservatives came out. Unfortunately, we have not matured as a democracy in the same way that they have in Europe, where all of the political parties actually have a credible approach to climate. In Canada, we have a major party that still cannot acknowledge that climate change is real. And so, yes, I do think that it's going to be an election issue, in part because of the position that, unfortunately, the Conservative Party has taken.

CO: But you know that the Conservative Party, whatever was voted at its convention, the leader of the Conservative Party has made it very clear that he supports the necessity of climate change policy, but just not yours. Do you acknowledge that?

JW: Well, I would say that what I've heard from Erin O'Toole is I don't like a carbon tax. I don't like a clean fuel standard. I'm going to bet on technology and pricing industrial emissions. That's exactly what Andrew Scheer said. That's exactly what Stephen Harper said. There is no magic box here. There's no magic wand. It is hard work to reduce emissions and to be thoughtful about building an economy. And anybody who tries to actually tell you that it's easy and you can just shake a magic wand is not telling you the truth.

CO: We will leave it there and we'll be watching. Minister Wilkinson, thank you.

JW: All right. Thank you very much.

CH: Jonathan Wilkinson is Canada's environment minister and the liberal member of parliament for North Vancouver. For more on this story, go to our website, CBC.ca/aih.

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Mini Cooper Pushed

Guest: Courtenay Erhardt

CH: Courtenay Erhardt is feeling lucky to be alive and she's grateful to a pair of quick thinking fellow drivers and to Ruby, her trusty Mini Cooper. Unfortunately, Ruby is now pretty much totalled. On Tuesday morning, Ms. Erhardt was driving to a nursing shift when a dump truck hit her car. But that was just the beginning. It spun the car sideways and then pushed it half a kilometre down the Gardiner Expressway, a busy Toronto highway. We reached Courtenay Erhardt in Toronto.

CO: Courtney, how are you holding up after this terrifying experience?

COURTENAY ERHARDT: I'm holding up relatively well, all considering. I'm just extremely thankful and grateful, you know, that I'm here. I'm able to share my story. I just have a few minor injuries. So quite a miracle.

CO: Take us back to, I guess, the beginning, tuesday morning. Where were you headed?

CE: Yes, so Tuesday morning. I was actually on my way to work. I've been working with Inner City Health Associates, which employs nurses to help during the covid pandemic with the homeless population. So that morning I was actually on my way to go to a homeless shelter, I believe it was at Bathurst to give vaccinations. That's why I was making my way up the Gardiner.

CO: OK, so people who are not in Toronto, the Gardiner, is the expressway. And so you are headed... You were westbound on that or headed on, getting on to the Gardiner, what happened?

CE: This dump truck just slightly bumped my kind of back end and then that caused me to turn sideways. And then he just continued to go up the ramp and onto the Gardiner.

CO: He bumped you. You turned sideways. And then where was your car?

CE: In front of him, completely sideways. So my driver side was right against his engine, pushing me and my mini up the ramp.

CO: Well, did he know that he was pushing you?

CE: That is a really great question and I don't know the answer to that. He claims he didn't see me and just didn't know, so.

CO: Well, when you're going up a ramp and you're going to merge into traffic? You're accelerating, was he doing that?

CE: Yes. Things just continued to escalate. And he just continued to, you know, obviously accelerate and, you know, drive his dump truck up the ramp and onto the Gardiner. And then I almost like I continued to just freak out. I thought that my mini might spin out and veer onto the oncoming traffic on the Gardiner. I honked my horn and I just put my hand on my horn. And then basically I just held my steering wheel and braced it so that hopefully I wouldn't veer out.

CO: So you're looking... If you look out your side window, you're looking into the grille of this truck.

CE: Yeah. So I just fixed my eyes forward and, you know, I hoped I would make eye contact or someone would see me just crying and freaking out and just stop and help. And luckily, that is what happened. So, you know, a couple that was driving behind the dump truck saw all of the smoke. And I made eye contact with this couple and they were on the phone immediately with 911. And then they ended up driving about 50 feet in front of the dump truck with their hazard lights on, ultimately causing the dump truck to stop.

CO: This moment when you made eye contact with the people in the other car. Tell me about that.

CE: I distinctly remember watching a few cars just drive by and just thinking, OK, someone has to stop. Like, I can't do anything. I remember the male was driving and he was trying to obviously safely get their car over. And the female smiled at me and she pointed at her phone and showed that she was calling the cops. And then when we finally came to a stop, you know, I was just in my car frozen, crying, and they rushed to my car and opened my passenger side door and then got me out that way.

CO: How far did you get pushed along by the dump truck?

CE: So the police said it was over 500 metres. It felt like forever, Carol, honestly.

CO: You said smoke. So there's smoke coming up?

CE: I believe it was just my tires and the friction because all of the rims on my Mini Cooper have bent inward. And, you know, police told me how extremely lucky I am to be alive and that in most cases. I definitely wouldn't be here today. And they were all so very impressed with how my Mini Cooper, I call her Ruby, how Ruby held up through all of this. The police believe that the reason I didn't start flipping was partly because the car has such a low centre of gravity, but as well, part of his engine kind of stuck into my side door. So they're wondering if maybe he kind of like latched on to me. And that kind of helped me from not slipping as well.

CO: What about the guardrail? Were you not hitting that as well?

CE: The cops said that if he had gone any further, I probably would have flipped off the guardrail and down onto the Lakeshore just because I was so close. Like my back rear end was completely scraped. All my lights were scraped off from the guardrail.

CO: Did you actually have time to think about all these possibilities?

CE: No, and I didn't want to like I just... It's funny like, your life really does flash before. Are your eyes, and I just literally kept thinking, I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I was just sad that, you know, I didn't, like, hug my family, just thinking back to how good a life I've had so far, but I didn't want it to end. I'm 26. It was sad. Like, you know, that this might be my time.

CO: Well, it wasn't meant to be. You weren't meant to go. But you do think about all those things, do you?

CE: You do. Yeah, totally. It all hits you.

CO: Did you actually have any interaction with the truck driver?

CE: I had like a very, very brief interaction.

CO: You know, I just made sure he was OK. And he asked if I wouldn't call the cops, but the cops were already there. And so things just escalated from there. And the cops, I was so thankful that they were there because then they were able to handle everything with him. And I could just kind of relax and call my parents and let them know that I was safe.

CO: He wanted you not to call the police?

CE: Yeah, probably both of us. And we didn't realise the scope of how big the situation was.

CO: Did police give you any sense of how much danger you had been in?

CE: Oh, yeah. They kept saying, you know, I should go buy a lottery ticket because I am extremely lucky to be alive. And I really believe that, that hasn't hit me yet. Like, I'm probably still in some shock.

CO: I'm so glad you're OK. And I'm sorry you didn't get to work that day. I'm sure the people you're going to help needed you, but I'm glad you have some time. You can just rest.

CE: For sure. Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

CO: Take care. Bye.

CE: Yeah, you too. Bye.

CH: Courtenay Erhardt is a Toronto nurse whose car was pushed by a dump truck for about half a kilometre on Toronto's busy Gardiner Expressway. On Tuesday morning, she emerged with only a few scratches. We reached her in Toronto.

[Music: piano instrumental]

World's Largest Painting Sells

Guest: Sacha Jafri

CH: I could tell you how many basketball courts long it is or how many Olympic sized swimming pools it is wide. But let's just say, Sacha Jafri's painting is big. It's really big. So big. In fact, the Guinness World Records just confirmed it to be the world's largest painting on canvas. It took seven months for the British artist to complete the Journey of Humanity and his gargantuan work, just sold at a charity auction this week for 78 million dollars. We reached Sacha Jafri in Dubai.

CO: Sasha, how did you react when this entire painting was sold?

SACHA JAFRI: It was a bit full on. You know, I mean, I'm still a bit overwhelmed. It's a few days later and I'm still overwhelmed by what happened. I feel grateful if I'm being honest, very grateful, humbled, slightly blown away. I feel everything sort of makes sense finally, because I've always believed in the power of art. And I believe that art is the most pure, beautiful, powerful thing that can actually resonate with humanity. And sadly, it's been used and abused a lot in the last 20, 30 years. And to see it being used in such a beautiful way for such a cause and to see its power in its best light just makes me so happy.

CO: We'll get to, in a moment, to how the sale of this painting will benefit others. But just give us a sense of the scope and the scale of this. This is an enormous work of art. Can you describe it?

SJ: Yeah, it's big. It's big. I was working on a painting for eight months, 20 hours a day. So four hours sleep a night for eight months. It's just under 20,000 square feet, which is pretty much two what we call soccer pitches. It's huge. It's huge. And I did a lot of damage to my body because, you know, you're covering that amount of square footage and I didn't have any helpers, any assistance, anything, a bit of a control freak. And I wanted to touch every single bit of this canvas myself, but just carrying huge paint pots from one end to the other and being in that position, where your feet are on the ground, but you've got to bend right over so your brush can touch. That's not a great position for your back. But when you're doing that for 20 hours a day, for eight months, it does a bit of damage. And the issue is, I didn't use rollers. The largest brush I used was one and a half inches. And if you're painting like that with a one and a half inch brush, you can do that on a 4 meter by 4 meter even 10x10 meter canvas. No problem. But when it's 20,000 square feet, it does a bit of damage. And I paint from a very sort of deep meditative state. So I'm in a trance. So I don't realise the damage I'm doing and I actually had to have an emergency operation on my back. Both my two vertebrae came out completely because the cushioning had gone. So they had to do an emergency operation and put a pole through my spine. My pelvis went out of line on both axes and my heels actually disconnected from my feet.

CO: Good heavens.

SJ: It's pretty full on. So I had like painkiller injections every four hours just to get through it. But, you know, most mornings I woke up and I was like, I cannot do this. And then a painting or drawing or a piece of artwork would come in from a child, from somewhere in the world, you know, from an orphan refugee or a child in India with nothing. And she'd have sort of put her thumb in mud and created a beautiful heart and sent it to me. And I mean, that just kept me going. You know, it reminded me who I was doing it for. That's what drove me on, you know.

CO: Just for people who don't know what you're referring to. You did a massive, massive canvas and you were inside a hotel in Dubai, which was your studio for it. A ballroom in order to have the space you needed. But you were getting paintings from children around the world that inspired you, but also you incorporated them into the actual work, is that right?

SJ: Yeah. I put a call out to the children of the world and we linked with a lot of ministries of education around the world. And it was extraordinary. We got, I mean, millions and millions of artworks from children from over 140 countries of the world and a lot from Canada, a lot from the States, you know, South America all over the place. And then, you know, through Africa, India, China, Southeast Asia, Australia, all over Europe. I mean, children from every walk of life, every social financial background, from orphan refugees to the wealthy. And all their artwork came in and it just felt so beautiful. So I then pasted a lot of their artwork into these huge circular portals that I created in the painting. So the idea was you'd have the journey of humanity, my painting, and that's the world as we know it. But I wanted to lead us to a better world through these circular portals, through the hearts, minds and souls of our children.

CO: The size of it, obviously, something this large can't hang on a wall, and it was the idea was it would be in sections, in 70 framed sections and you'd sell each one. But in fact, the buyer bought the whole lot, right?

SJ: Yeah, he did. I mean, it was an extraordinary moment. We had six auctions planned around the world for the next nine months to sell the 70 panels, as it were. I mean, they all join as one, but they are 70 individual pieces that join as one. So this guy just kept coming in and looking at it. And he was a very emotional guy. And he sort of came in and broke down in tears and he said, you know, you can't break this up. It would be such a travesty. You've got to keep this together. And I said, well, nor do I, but we've got to raise 30 million dollars for the charities. And then the auction started and we were told by the lady running the phones that we have got a bid of 30 million. So we did it and we have bids coming in from all over the world. It was incredible. And then this guy was in the room and I noticed it was him. Then he got it for 62. You know, he showed his love of the painting and he was proud to do it. That meant so much to me. And he's now going to build a museum, which is so exciting to house the painting forever as his legacy.

CO: Well, Sacha, I know that this money is 62 million, it's 78 million Canadian is going for children. And so congratulations that you've finished. I'm sorry your back is so damaged by it. I appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.

SJ: It's been so lovely. I really appreciate your time. And thank you for your score of our special project.

CO: Take care.

SJ: Thank you.

CH: Sacha Jafri is an artist and the creator of the world's largest painting on canvas. We reached him in Dubai and you can find photos of Mr. Jafri's painting and learn more about this story on our website, CBC.ca/aih.

[Music: drums and bass instrumental]

Nose mask

CH: You're watching a horror movie and you realise that the evil goblin is about to kill the arrogant loudmouth, you can't handle the gruesomeness, so you put on a pair of noise cancelling headphones. Problem solved. Except that you can still see the loudmouth getting killed in vivid detail or it's freezing outside and you need to text your uncle, but you're worried about frostbite on your hands. Simply wrap two scarves around your elbows and voila, you can safely text, except that your hands will still get very, very cold. Just two ways to protect yourself quickly and uselessly. And here's another, the new nose only covid-19 mask. Designed to enable you to eat and drink safely while looking like a cartoon dog. Apparently, this nose mask was designed by Mexican researchers. I'm not sure what the usual focus of their research is, but I'm guessing it's not epidemiology, respiration or faces, because, sure, it might prevent you from breathing contaminated droplets through your nose, but it does nothing to protect the mouth which is under your nose, through which science suggests you can also breathe. So if you feel like springing for a nose only mask, go for it. But if you're buying masks, it's probably a good idea to keep putting your money where your mouth is.

[Music: electronic music]

Part 2: Suez Canal Logistics

Suez Canal Logistics

Guest: Rockford Weitz

CH: The M.V. Ever Given is still stuck. Last night we told you about the giant container ship blocking the Suez Canal. By now, you've probably seen the mocking Meme's online and the comically small seeming tugboats they're using to try to free the ship. An estimated 12 billion dollars worth of traffic flows through the canal every day. And at this point, as initial attempts to float the boat fail, there's concern the waterway could be blocked for weeks. Rockford Weitz is a global shipping analyst and the director of the Fletcher Maritime Studies Programme at Tufts University. We reached him in Medford, Massachusetts.

CO: Professor Weitz, I guess yesterday people still thought this might be freed from the canal, this giant ship, did you expect to see it's still stuck in the mud today?

ROCKFORD WEITZ: It has been surprising that it's still there. I've been tracking it quite closely. It's gone beyond just the normal maritime press to total popular press.

CO: Well, it's actually it's become more than a meme, it has become a bunch of memes. It's become now the symbol for everything that could possibly go wrong in life, I think.

RW: You're right. Yeah. Many people are saying it's a symbol of either 2020 or 2021. I'm not sure what to make of it.

CO: OK, we spoke with Captain John Konrad yesterday when he thought it might still be able to be freed, but he said that the first few hours are crucial. And while we've definitely passed those. So where do things stand at this point, do you think?

RW: I was just reading up on this and they say there's currently two dredgers, nine tugboats and four diggers along the canal bank currently working on it. So I think they're marshalling as many resources as they can. The Suez Canal Authority obviously has all the incentives to get the ship removed safely and as quickly as possible.

CO: And those dredgers, diggers and tugs, they look like kids toys beside that giant boat, don't they?

RW: One thing that this has done is help educate the wider population at the enormous scale of maritime trade. The Suez Canal is one of the narrowest waterways where large commercial vessels pass. And normally the scale is kind of hard to imagine until you see it juxtaposed with a digger like we've seen in a lot of the meems.

CO: What are they doing to get it out? What can you figure out that the strategy is?

RW: So the challenge with this is that normally when large commercial vessels get stuck, they're usually stuck on a reef or a shoal. And so the salvage companies can access most of the vessel. In this case, because it's the Suez Canal, they only have access to the sides. Essentially, they can't pull it straight back from the stern because it's lodged diagonally into the canal. And so the dredgers are working to remove as much of the sand on which it's sitting near the bank, away from the bow of the ship and the bulbous bow, which sticks out, that bulbous bow is really stuck into the canal bank. So they're trying to dig around it being very careful not to harm the ship. And then the diggers on land are removing sand and dirt that's around it. The goal is to try to get as much water and air around the ship because that's less friction so that then the tugs can all pull together in a coordinated way and try to dislodge it. And the real challenge, it's such a big ship and it's heavily laden with full containers that it's sitting on the bottom of the canal and connecting to the bank.

CO: Yeah. So do they need to remove the cargo in order to be able to get it to rise up a bit and maybe that would ease it out a bit?

RW: That's going to be pretty complicated given where it is. Container ships of this size, this is what's called an ultra large container vessel. So this is one of the largest container ships in the world. It normally requires specialised cranes only available in a handful of ports around the world, like the Port of Rotterdam. And those cranes are usually only available in the largest sea ports in the world, getting containers off of the vessel in the middle of the Suez Canal where there's not a crane facility there. I've heard that they're looking at maybe removing some by helicopter. Obviously not how these things are normally done. So they're probably focussing right now on just doing what they can to dislodge it using the dredgers and diggers and tugboats. That's definitely the easiest, quickest way to do it. If that's just not physically possible. The next move will be to remove some of the containers from the top of it, to make it as light as possible, especially up in the front near the bow.

CO: Yikes. I imagine everybody, everybody who's been on a ship or even a boat has a theory as to what has to be done at this point. Right. But I mean, it really basically is a no brainer. You just have to get it eased out of that little that wedge and get it floating again.

RW: That's right. And I think it's important to put in context that this could be a lot worse, because obviously a lot of the commentary has been, you know, I read a quick note on Twitter yesterday about how somebody in the world, of all the eight billion humans has to have the worst day. And it was the person tracking that container vessel. Right. But on the other hand, we should bear in mind that actually having this kind of accident. When you're moving relatively slowly, like you would through the Suez Canal and essentially beaching onto sand is much better than actually on rocks or coral where you would puncture the ship, potentially have fuel leaking out, and the ship would then be damaged. And so I think we should put in context that the most notable feature of this is that it's had global implications for supply chains. And that will really start to be the case if another three or four days pass and then ships will have to make decisions on what to do. But there's no marine pollution or anything like that, and there hasn't been a loss of life for the crew. So it could be worse, actually.

CO: And now there should be a full moon. I think this weekend with the high tide. Right. Will that help at all?

RW: That will. So other other analysts have looked at this and said that the most favourable tides will be on Sunday and Monday. So we may be forced to wait until then. And I think that what we'll see the Canal Authority doing and the vessel owner is if they can't dislodge it in the next 24 hours, continuing to do what they're doing, continuing the digging and dredging and just make it as favourable as possible so that when that high tide comes in, raises the level of the canal, because the Suez Canal, unlike the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, is a sea level canal. So it is influenced by tides.

CO: Well, it's called the Ever Given. They should probably call it the Never Given.

RW: That's so true. It's a highly uncertain thing. But I think if covid-19 has taught us anything, uncertainty's just something global businesses need to deal with. So they're dealing with it the best they can.

CO: Well, OK, we'll leave it there. Professor Weitz, thank you.

RW: You're welcome.

CO: Bye bye.

CH: Rockford Waitz is a global shipping analyst and the director of the Fletcher Maritime Studies Programme at Tufts University. We reached him in Medford, Massachusetts.

[Music: Vintage music]

Newfoundland elections

CH: It's probably foolish to expect an election during a pandemic to go off without a hiccup, but as progressive conservative leader Ches Crosbie told Carol last week, the current provincial election in Newfoundland and Labrador has been a non-stop fit of hiccups. There have been major delays, reports of people phoning in their votes, problems receiving mail in ballots, and big questions about why an election was called in the first place. The deadline for election [inaudible] to receive completed ballot kits is today, and the results are expected on Saturday. Labrador's Marilyn Michelin wanted to vote, so she ordered a kit in mid-February. It never arrived, so she requested a replacement kit, which never arrived. Here's what she told the CBC about the headaches she's been dealing with.

MARILYN M: I'm going back and forth, back and forth to my post office here, asking the Postal person, like, have you seen anything? Like, could you check general delivery? Like, can you just check around the other mailboxes near mine to see if it was put in someone's mailbox by mistake? She did all that. Nothing. So Friday of last week, I called the 1-800 number to find out. I was informed that I would have to contact somebody from Newfoundland elections. I don't know who I contacted, but was informed that in 24 to 48 hours I should get a call and they would get more information from me. So anyway, up until yesterday at noon, I still didn't get a call, which would have been 48 hours. So I contacted... I contacted them again. And shortly after that, they called me back and said, Do you know why you didn't receive your kit? I said, I have no idea. He said, well, it's because it was returned to us. I said, returned to you by who? He said, well by Canada Post, I said, But why? He said, I don't know. All I can tell you, there's two kits sitting on our desk that was returned. I said, Well, I don't understand that, I said, do you have the right address? So he reads off the address. I said, What about the postal code? Yeah, postal code and everything is there. I said, well, that's the correct address. Why would it have been returned? He said, I really don't know. I said, send me a picture, it was checked off that I had moved. And they also put a squiggly line through the tracking numbers. So, three numbers of the tracking number I couldn't see. Anyway, I went over to the post office again after I hung up, asked the lady there why, she sent it back. She said she didn't send it back. It didn't come here. So anyway, I got the customer service number for Canada Post. And in between [inaudible] there's a tracking number of very, very small... That's underneath the bigger numbers. And with a magnifying glass, I was able to capture the numbers. She went into her system and it showed that my piece of mail that I was looking for had arrived in Goose Bay on the 16th of March, never, ever came to Northwest River. They said it had been delivered. This is what was in their computer at Canada Post, it had been delivered. But in the meantime, then on the 22nd, it was returned to St. John's. And that's my story. So now because of that, I don't get a chance to vote. The saying goes, every vote counts. You know, that's my right. You know, someone just took my right away from me.

CH: That was Marilyn Michelin of Northwest River, Labrador, speaking with the CBC's Meg Roberts.

[Music: polka music]

England Knocking Swan

Guest: Stephen Legg

CH: Canadian swans are beautiful and graceful birds and also straight up hoodlums. One minute you're admiring their sleek necks and the next they're going for yours, but at least they're forgetful. If you back away slowly or run away crying, you vanish from their consciousness immediately. Whereas British swans are much more tenacious nuisances and much more dedicated. For years now, the same Swan has been harassing Stephen Legg by banging at his door. We reached Mr. Legg at home in Northampton, England.

CO: Stephen, have you had a visit from Cedric, the swan yet today?

STEPHEN LEGG: Yes, I didn't really know it was called Cedric. People call it Percy and Cedric and almost everything else. And I've got a variety of names for it. But it lives in the lake adjacent to my property and comes over at this time of year and spends most of the day trying to peck on my front door.

CO: What do you mean, peck on your door? What does he do?

SL: It started off sort of looking at himself in the glass, but he now really rattles the door knocker. So it sounds like someone trying to get into the front door all the time. And originally we thought he was trying to sort of pick insects off the glass pane. But I think now he just likes the noise of the door knock.

CO: But is it, it's a knock or is it kind of looks like a mail slot on your door or is he working that as well?

SL: Yes. Yes, that's right. The knocker and the mail slot, as you say yes, it sounds as well, someone's putting letters through the letterbox all day.

CO: All day. Does this go on for a long time?

SL: He was doing it today at about 8:30 our time. He doesn't do it all the time because the girlfriend is lurking around as well. And so they disappear and have a swim in the lake. And then he comes back and does another 10 minutes of knocking on the door.

CO: What does he want, do you think?

SL: I don't know. I've no idea. I would find it difficult to ask him, but he's been doing it now for two or three years.

CO: Maybe he just wants you to answer the door.

SL: No, no, I don't think so. No, because lots of people are sort of walking by the house and that and he sees lots of people and he sometimes comes into my garden as well, in the back. So I don't think he's lonely or anything. I think he just likes the noise.

CO: And how about you? Do you like the noise?

SL: No, I find it a bit irritating after a couple of hours. Yes.

CO: How bothersome is it?

SL: It takes people completely unaware if you've not heard it before, but I suppose you get used to it. And I used to sort of go out to one of the rooms out the back, so you can't hear it too much. But it's not a noise. No, no.

CO: And so it just goes on hour after hour?

SL: Yes, exactly. That's right. I mean, he can do four or five hours in one go if he's having an off day. Yeah.

CO: I mean, do you think it's because he likes you or doesn't like you?

SL: I don't know, I'm not sure. Swans are personal like that. I don't know really. I honestly don't know.

CO: Are you the only house that Cedric visits?

SL: I did last year put a big black rubbish sack across the door to try and stop him.And he didn't like that. So he went two doors along and did the same thing to the door of the neighbour. But he didn't seem to like that door so much because he's back in force again this year.

CO: So was it successful when you covered up the door?

SL: Yes, he went away and sort of scowled from the distance. But the trouble was, of course, the postman and the newspaper boy couldn't deliver their things. So I didn't have any post for three months.

CO: For three months. You kept this going.

SL: Oh, he lasts, for about three months. It seems to last from about April, March, April through to about May, June. He's here the whole year, but it doesn't seem to be interested in doing it outside those months, which is really odd.

CO: Maybe he's off with a girlfriend then?

SL: Well, perhaps. Or he's got fed up with the girlfriend. I don't know really.

CO: OK, now, is it possible that there's more than one swan that's doing this?

SL: Oh, no, no. There's only two of them, definitely, they sort of seem to chase away the other swans.

CO: OK, so some people, as you point out, as I say, call him Cedric. What are the other names for this one?

SL: I think someone's called him Peter as well, but I mean people just make up their names as they go by, really.

CO: I thought you mentioned Percy being a name?

SL: Yeah. That's right Percy

CO: And what do you call him? I mean, if you can say that on public radio?

SL: I wouldn't be able to say that on Canadian radio no. No definitely not. Not after four hours of that noise no,I don't think you'd want to know.

CO: I can guess. I think. Now you are, you're a county councillor as well. So is there anything... Can you pass an ordinance? Can you do anything that this swan might obey?

SL: To be honest, I'm not quite sure who to ask in the council to sort it out. So I've sort of kept my head down about it, really. It's not the sort of thing that you could ask one of our departments to sort out, really. So I'm just hoping it will go away.

CO: It doesn't sound likely, you know.

SL: No, I don't think it does really, no. After this time, I think he got used to that rattling noise.

CO: Well, he likes all the publicity too and knows it's international.

SL: I've been amazed, really. It was a neighbour who was walking past it a few days ago, took a photo of the swan packing the door. And it just seems completely remarkable. People should be interested in this old swan. Yeah.

CO: All right, Stephen, we are interested in and I appreciate you. Appreciate you talking to us. Thanks.

SL: Good to hear from you. Thank you.

CO: Good night.

SL: Good night.

CH: Stephen Legg is one of many residents on Northampton Dalston Walk Road that have been visited by Cedric The Swan. We reached Mr. Legg home and you can find more on his story on our webpage at CBC.ca/aih.

[Music: wind instrument music]

Voting rights

CH: Joe Biden spent part of his first formal press conference as the American president talking about what is un-American. The president was taking aim at Republican controlled state legislatures that have been trying to limit voting rights across the country. To combat that, House Democrats have passed a landmark voting rights bill, the first since the 1960s, but it faces an uphill battle in the Senate. Speaking to reporters today, President Biden was asked whether he's worried the Democrats will lose in the 2022 midterms if they can't pass the voting rights legislation.

JOE BIDEN: What I'm worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is, it's sick. It's sick deciding in some states that you cannot bring water to people standing in line, waiting to vote, deciding that you're going to end voting at five o'clock when working people are just getting off work. Deciding that there will be no absentee ballots under the most rigid circumstances is all designed. And I'm going to spend my time doing three things. One, trying to figure out how to pass the legislation passed by the House, number one. Number two, educating the American public. The Republican voters I know find this despicable. Republican voters. Folks out....outside this White House, I'm not talking about the elected officials, I'm talking about voters, voters, and so I'm convinced that we'll be able to stop this because it is the most pernicious thing. This makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle. I mean, this is gigantic what they're trying to do.

CH: President Joe Biden speaking at his first formal press conference today about why he's pushing for a landmark voting rights bill.

[Music: Guitar instrumental]

Language rights

CH: Cheyenne Cunningham is from the Katzie First Nation near Pitt Meadows, B.C. She's one of the only remaining speakers of the downriver dialect of Halkomelem. And when she and her partner tried to register their business with the province using a Halkomelem word is the name they were told they couldn't. Not only does B.C. law require businesses to be registered in either English or French, the registry system simply can't handle the non Latin characters needed.

CHEYENNE CUNNINGHAM: [Greeting in Halkomelem] My name is Cheyenne, and I'm from Katzie first nation, so I've been learning the language since I was seven. I kind of went away from it a little bit just in my teen years and then got back to it. So I would say consistently for the last five years, I've been learning it and practising and writing and reading. My boyfriend, he had asked me if I could come up with a name for his business. He asked me what the word for Grizzly Bear was. So I told him, you know, it's [Halkomelem translation] and he said ok perfect. Not only have I been studying this for the last five years, it's part of my culture. It's part of who I am. I was just kind of really shocked and a little bit hurt because, you know, we're trying to open a business, operate a business and because of the small barrier or big, I guess in some eyes, we can't. So, you know, I think that the government needs to start realising that Aboriginal rights, you know, they're inherent rights. So they need to be recognised and they can write all of the reports and acts and everything. But if they're not going to follow through, then. They're just empty promises. They keep saying they're going to do this and that, and then it just when someone actually tries to do it and they're like oh, but not you or not right now, it'll take just a little bit longer. And it's like when? They just keep moving and moving the bar of when it'll actually take place.

CH: Cheyenne Cunningham is one of the only speakers of Halkomelem. She's from the Katzie First Nation in B.C. and she spoke with the CBC's Angela Sterritt. Ms. Cunningham settled a human rights tribunal complaint with the government after the province agreed to look into changing the system. But that could still be years away. B.C. Registry says any changes to be more inclusive would require in-depth discussions between governments, agencies and the private sector.

[Music: electronic music]

Part 3: Atlantic Bubble Confusion

Atlantic Bubble Confusion

Guest: Allison Butcher

CH: For much of the pandemic, the Atlantic bubble was the envy of the country, people in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and PEI could travel freely without quarantine between the provinces. But then covid cases spiked and the bubble collapsed. Well, last week, the provinces announced that the Atlantic bubble will be back in place mid-April. Not to be outdone, a day later, the premier of Nova Scotia, Ian Rankin, announced he'd open the border immediately to New Brunswick, lifting the 14 day quarantine. Allison Butcher says people who live in border communities were elated for a moment, and then their bubble burst. Ms. Butcher is a town councillor in Sackville, New Brunswick, about 10 minutes drive from the Nova Scotia border. And that's where we reached her.

CO: Allison, let's talk about this New Brunswick, Nova Scotia thing. It seems that Ian Rankin, the premier of Nova Scotia, wants to reopen immediately and allow New Brunswicker's to come over the border. But how does it work? Does that mean you can go to Nova Scotia but Nova Scotians can't come to New Brunswick?

ALLISON BUTCHER: It's not as cut and dried as even that. Essentially, Premier Rankin's announcement has done nothing for anyone. I tried to explain it. My sister lives in Amherst, which is about 10 minutes away in Nova Scotia. So with the Nova Scotia border opening as of last Saturday, I could potentially drive over to visit my sister at her home and could do that. But when I returned to my home, I would need to self isolate for two weeks. Conversely, she cannot come over here and visit me without self isolating for two weeks before she visits me. But then she could go back home to her home in Amherst and not have to self isolate. So having one of the two provinces open their borders and I say that with air quotes, it really doesn't mean anything at all to any of us.

CO: And we're talking about just like having a cup of coffee together, right?

AB: Yeah. Or back before COVID hit, Amherst was a place that we often went for just errands because it's so close. We can't go get groceries over there or I have an eye doctor's appointment next week that's over there. You know, things like that are not that easy to do or not at all allowed to be done.

CO: Do you have any idea why Premier Rankin decided to move ahead and open the border so soon?

AB: Well, I mean, I said it was a rookie move. You know, for those of us who've been living on the border and our lives and our spaces that we generally move in have been cut right in half for so long. We're all longing to get back to being able to be just within our own spaces. For someone who lives in the centre of the province or somewhere else, perhaps they're thinking of borders opening as being a tourism thing or as something special on vacation. But for us, it's just a Tuesday. You know, it's not that big of a deal. My guess is that he was hoping to alleviate that strain and stress, but by doing it without the agreement and cooperation of the other half of that border, it's got the Nova Scotia half, but not the New Brunswick. It's done nothing for anyone. It's caused strife and concern and stress. It hasn't fixed anything. It's perhaps even made things worse.

CO: But is it possible that he might have done this, the rookie premier might have inspired or sparked New Brunswick to open up a bit earlier?

AB: I think perhaps not. The four provinces, the premiers have been discussing in conjunction with public health officials and deciding what is the best date for things to happen. And April 19th was decided upon and announced and we were all pretty happy about that. So then he jumped the gun, for glory? I don't know. I don't know what he was thinking he was doing. So I don't think that that's working.

CO: When you mentioned the four premiers eventually did have an agreement last summer and they allowed people to move freely within the bubble. Is it different if people are vaccinated? Do you see a different kind of possibility for the bubble this year?

AB: Well, first, I guess we would have to talk about what the bubble looked like last year and last year. Essentially for purposes of travel, the four Atlantic provinces, we could move freely like before covid. I'm hoping that the bubble this year will mean the same. They have said that there will be some protocols or regulations to follow. More people are getting vaccinated. It's true. But there's also variants now that we didn't have last year. So our social distancing, our masking and all of those kinds of things may not be as effective as they were in the past. So I don't know. Like I said, when I heard that the bubble was going to open on the 19th of April, I was thrilled because last year we opened July 3rd, I think it was, and I was wondering if we would even see that happen this year.

CO: What about your own life and your family on the other side of the border? How much contact have you had with them this year?

AB: Well, I'm one of five children and one sister and brother are here on the New Brunswick side. And my other two sisters are on the Nova Scotia side. And I mean, ten minutes away, you know, we've always been very close. I haven't seen my sisters that are in Amherst in person since Thanksgiving, with the exception of our contactless deliveries that we've done three or four times over the past few months. There are a couple of different spots to cross into Nova Scotia and there's no one monitoring them. So we, a couple of times have gone and exchanged items. There is a bridge that the border happens on. So we park our car on one side. We decide to meet at a certain time, then walk with our bag of things that we're exchanging out to the centre of the bridge and set it down and back away. And then my sister on the other side who's waving walks over and gets it and we, you know, shout out, Hi, I miss you. And we've done that a couple of times, but we haven't been closer than that since the middle of October.

CO: I'm just imagining this because I know that all through New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, there's so many back roads. So do you think a lot of that's going on over borders?

AB: I know a lot of people who are doing that before Christmas, very busy with people going and dropping off gifts for family members on the other side. My daughter has a birthday coming up, and my niece picked up something at IKEA in Halifax and dropped it off there for me to pick up and bring home. That's happening all the time here. But for those of us who are rule followers, I think those spots are also being used a lot by people who are maybe not rule followers and they just drive through.

CO: Well, Allison, I just hope everything can one day get back to normal, whatever that is going to be, and that we can all see each other again. Thanks so much for speaking with us.

AB: Thank you.

CH: Allison Butcher is a town councillor in Sackville, New Brunswick.

[Music: percussion instrumental]

Jackpot Bingo

CH: For bingo players in Manitoba Saturday nights are getting more and more tense, the Kinsman Jackpot Bingo is a TV broadcast staple in the province. Players stamp their cards at home while watching and the big prize is creeping up toward three million dollars. But to win it, a player has to get a blackout on their card in 50 numbers or less. And last Saturday, bingo was called at the fifty first number. Here's the charity Bingo spokesperson Sam Stevenson speaking to CBC Winnipeg.

SAM STEVENSON: It's always very nerve racking, I think every week, too, as you watch it get closer to 50 and we wait because, you know, we're like, OK, maybe, maybe 48. Someone's going to win, maybe 49, someone's going to win. And then there's always that pause at 50. Right. Cause we have to see if anyone's going to call. And then when nobody does it, we have to move on. Everyone's like, oh, one more week, I guess. Especially when it happens on fifty one too it's so like really we couldn't have done that. I can't imagine what happened in that house. Everyone was probably just waiting for it to come. I can't imagine.

MARCY MARKUSA: When was the last time the big jackpot was won and how big was that pot about?

SS: So, the last time the pot was won, was about a year ago in February of 2020. And I believe that pot was only six hundred and something thousand dollars. So it was nowhere near what it is today.

MM: How is it that this pot has been able to grow so large so quickly?

SS: One dollar for every card we sell goes towards the jackpot. And because we are currently selling 90,000 cards every week, that's 90,000 dollars that goes into the pot every week. So that's really what's allowed it to grow so much so quickly these days.

MM: Now, this is anecdotal, but I mean, I mentioned my parents. They've Bingoed before they got back into it now however, I have friends, you know, of all ages that are new into this. Are you finding the same? That there's just new people getting into bingo?

SS: Oh, for sure. We do still have our long time players, and we love that there are people that tell us they've been playing forever, no matter what the pot is. But I feel every week we do still get people saying, oh, look, where can I buy cards for this week? And the pot's really big and people are telling their friends about it and their friends are now starting to play. So, yeah, there's always new people trying to get their stab at that money.

CH: Sam Stevenson of the Kinsman Jackpot Bingo speaking to CBC Winnipeg host Marcy Markusa.

[Music: techno music]

BBC’s Simon McCoy farewell

CH: Over at the BBC newsroom, long time newsreader Simon McCoy is saying farewell, he's something of a household name in the U.K. Before taking the desk job, he travelled around the world as a journalist covering stories including the Iraq War for Sky News. And at the BBC, he spent 17 years bringing viewers the day's headlines. But what many viewers will remember him for is how he shared the news, particularly a certain kind of news.

SIMON MCCOY: A quick line of breaking news that may affect you. It doesn't affect me. Buckingham Palace has announced the garden parties normally staged at Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Hollywood house in Edinburgh have been cancelled this year. Palace spokesman saying that the decision had been taken, that garden parties will not take place in 2021. [New clip] Coming in from Kensington Palace, news we just got, their royal highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to confirm they are expecting a baby in April. Now, bearing in mind they announced that she was pregnant back in September and it was thought she was around two or three months pregnant. I'm not sure how much news this really is, but anyway, it's April. So clearly your diaries get the time booked off because that's what I'm doing. And well, anyway, that news just coming in from Kensington Palace [New Clip] Within 24 hours of some baby royal news. I've got some more. Pippa Middleton... Pippa Middleton, sister of course, of Kate has given birth, says here, has given birth to a baby. We'll have more on that later.

CH: Outgoing BBC journalist Simon McCoy calling it like he sees it, something he once did quite literally while reading the prompter during a Dog of the Year contest held in the Scottish Parliament.

SIMON MCCOY: Now, I just want to show you what I have to deal with, because in a moment we're going to have the weather. I just want to show you what I have to read right now. I'm going to show you what's on camera two. If camera 5 can swing around a bit, so we can just have a look at this, because what it says is... For well, it's spelt fur one day only. I'm just going to keep this shot up so you know what I have to put up with. But fur one day only Hollywood has gone to the dogs for the Scottish Parliament Dog of the Year contest. Wait for this. Here are the competitors. I don't want to show the pictures yet. Oh, well, all right. Battling it out to become top dog. That's a familiar phrase. Or leave with their tail between their legs. Let me just show this bit of autocue... Here we go, in a paw-sitively tough field, the Scottie dogs had to take on a number of obstacles. We can go back to the pictures now... Outside the Scottish Parliament. Here we go. Some faring a bit better than others. Now, the competitive field has whittled down to the top three with Sadie and her owner, Jeremy Balfour, claiming the prize. Let's go back to the autocue. A rough day for everyone else. I trained for this.

CH: Simon McCoy is leaving the BBC to join the forthcoming right wing news channel GB News this summer, a job we suspect will be no less pun-ishing.

[Music: drums and guitar instrumental]

Goose busters

CH: They call themselves the goose busters. There are a couple of retired radio controlled car and plane aficionados and they're working with the city of Kamloops to use their skills to do a public service that all of us will probably appreciate. Scaring geese away from parks. Darryl Herman and Don Hiebert are using the exact equipment you'd expect for this kind of a job, a remote controlled fox on wheels. And this week, the CBC caught up with Mr. Herman and Mr. Hiebert on a sports field in Kamloops, B.C..

VOICE 1: Basically, what we're doing here is we're using a remotely controlled apparatus. It is propeller powered and it steers from the front wheels via a servo from a radio that you have in your hand. The distance that you can get out of it is basically you're going to be out of sight before it's out of range. So you have good control over that aspect of it. Over distance, yes. 2.4 Gig.

VOICE 2: The city got involved when they were looking at other alternative means, I guess, to try and keep the geese out of the local parks. They tried dogs for several years and from my understanding, the fellow retired. So they had to come up with something else. They have tried sprays on the grass. So that's when they found this thing online and came to our model aeroplane club and asked if we could build something like this. Well, of course we can. And so we -with pleasure- We built it. We brought it over to them and gave them a demonstration. And that's how it all started for us. And we've been doing it ever since.

VOICE 1: So we're going to take off out in the field there and we're going to get rid of some geese. [beeping noises] And then there's one more, and that's you're all already to go and I can see some geese back over on the right hand side here. So we're going to power up a little bit here and we'll go off. See, that? Didn't take them long to get out of here, did it? And those other ones down, they're gone.

VOICE 2: The concept, I guess, is just to keep the geese on the move, keep them scared, keep them running. It's supposed to replicate a fox, the tail in the back with the black strap. It actually serves two purposes when it's going, it serves as kind of a tail that flips around and that type of stuff. And it also serves as something to tow it along with. So when I'm not chasing geese like this and I need to go down there, I grab it from the back side and I just walk along with it. So I take my electronic dog for a walk.

CH: Ghostbusters, Darryl Herman and Don Hiebert speaking to the CBC's Jennifer Chrumka this week about the remote controlled fake fox on wheels they're using to scare geese from parks in Kamloops, B.C.

[Music: Percussion instrumental]

NY Musician Instrument

Guest: Dongsok Shin

CH: The composer may be familiar, but to most, the instrument is brand new. [Sound Clip: Bach song] That is music by Johann Sebastian Bach, written roughly 300 years ago, being played much more recently on the instrument, it was likely composed for the lautenwerck because, as it turns out, the near forgotten lautenwerck was perhaps the composer's favourite instrument. Dongsok Shin is the person playing that contemporary recreation. He's a musician with the baroque ensemble Rebel, which specialises in performing on period instruments. We reached Dongsok Shin at home in New York City.

CO: Dongsok, we just heard, that beautiful instrument, a lautenwerck. What exactly is the thing you were playing on?

DONGSOK SHIN: A lautenwerck is a type of harpsichord, so it's a plucked keyboard instrument, plucked stringed keyboard instrument. But unlike a normal harpsichord, which has metal strings, it has strings that are made of gut, which is the same kind of thing that you would have found on violins. But more specifically in this case, on lutes of the Baroque era.

CO: And now you claim that this is Bach's actually his favourite forgotten instrument. Tell us that story?

DS: Well, I think it's sometimes it's maybe a little bit like the headline that is extract, something that has been said. But it's sort of anecdotal more than anything. But we do know that Bach, when he died, he owned a number of keyboard instruments and two of them were Lautenwerck. I think he had something like six keyboard instruments. So if a third of them were these Lautenwercks, they must have meant something to him. And there is an anecdote about him supposedly helping to develop them as an instrument. It really does go along with Bach's interest in instruments in general of all types, but of course, especially keyboard instruments, because that's what he was, a keyboard player.

CO: OK, so we know what a harpsichord is. The layperson would be able to recognise that, but the Lautenwerck. Why do we not have them around? Why are they so rare?

DS: Well, this is a very interesting question. So we know that Bach owned two, but in fact, we know of no historic instruments that have survived into the modern day. That's the big problem.

CO: Well, why didn't they survive?

DS: Oh, that's a very good question. And I think it's you know, for example, we know that in France there were, you know, probably thousands of instruments that were owned by musicians, of course, but also people who had property and were well off. And then the French Revolution happened and thousands of instruments were destroyed, thousands of harpsichords were destroyed. It's, in fact, lucky we actually have, you know, as many harpsichords as we do. And so if we take the harpsichord as a genre of keyboard instrument and then we say that the lautenwerck is a subset of that genre and probably not many of them made ever, it's probably not that big a deal that in fact, none of them did survive because there just weren't very many of them in any case.

CO: OK, but we just heard you play one, right?

DS: Yes.

CO: So how do you come to have one?

DS: Well, that that is an interesting question. The answer, of which is that my wife and I are both professional harpsichordists. Her name is Gwendolyn Tove and she owns a lautenwerck. We own a lautenwerck, in fact, but it's really technically her instrument. And it's made by a different maker, from the maker of the instrument I was playing. And she has recorded the Goldberg Variations on them, amongst other things, and she's performed on it. The interest has been there, but the fact is that I can think of maybe three makers in the U.S. who ever made them and no one has made very many of them. So, again, it's kind of a rare instrument. I would say that probably the great majority of actual professional harpsichordists have never gotten a chance to play on a lautenwerck because there just aren't many of them in the country.

CO: How does it compare with a harpsichord? How different is a lautenwerck from a harpsichord?

DS: So because the strings are thicker than comparable harpsichord strings and they're made of a softer material, they feel different under the fingers because they feel a little more springy or cushiony, if I could say that. So it's a different, it's a different feel under the fingers. And one of the things I love about playing harpsichord of any sort in general compared to, say, modern piano, which I used to play and have not played now for many years, is that on a modern piano, you have a very elaborate mechanism between, you know, pushing the key down on under your finger and what happens on the other end to make the sound. And on a harpsichord, it's a much more direct connection. You really feel when the string is plucked and the way the gut string reacts versus the metal string is distinctly different.

CO: And do you have to keep tuning it? Is it a pain in the butt to tune?

DS: Do well, it is more of a pain in the butt to tune than a harpsichord. And some people think harpsichords are already a big pain in the butt. So, yeah, I mean, you know, if you talk to anyone who plays, you know, a baroque guitar or, you know, baroque violin, they're constantly tuning their instruments, you know, even during a performance, especially if the humidity goes up or something like that. I know Toronto can be like that. And so, you know, but you only have four strings on a violin or four strings on a cello. And then the lautenwerck has... oh, our lautenwerck probably has about 120 gut strings.

CO: There's a piece about you and the Lautenwerck, NPR did a story and they quoted...

DS: Yes.

CO: Sir Thomas Beecham as a conductor. It was said that the sound of a harpsichord is, quote, two skeletons copulating on a tin roof in a thunderstorm.

DS: Yeah, that's a famous, famous, famous quote.

CO: What we heard beginning sounds much sweeter than that.

DS: Yes. I mean, because the strings are not metal, but gut. That gives it a mellow, a more mellow sound so that alleviates part of Sir Thomas Beecham's problems. But frankly, I think that Sir Thomas Beecham also never heard a good harpsichord. I think that the harpsichord’s of his day were in general not terrifically good sounding instruments. So I think he might have slightly revised that description or maybe not.

CO: All right. Well, I think people need to hear more lautenwerck and I say we're going to play more, but not more of you, we are going to play some of your wife after we finish this interview.

DS: Oh, so you found her playing Goldberg Variations?

CO: We probably did.... So, yes, I'm getting a thumbs up. We exactly... That's what we're going to play. Is there any particular Goldberg variation you'd like us to play?

DS: No, no. They're all pretty good pieces.

CO: If it was up to me. We'd play the whole lot, but we'll see what we've got. All right. Dongsok, it's good to talk to you. Thank you.

DS: Thank you. Thank you. Nice to talk with you.

CO: Bye.

DS: Bye.

CH: Dong Seduction is one of the few remaining players of the lautenwerck. We reached him in New York City.

March 25, 2021 Episode Transcript

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