Airplay
with Dave White

Yukon cyclist Jesse Reams took on some of the best riders in the Pacific Northwest during a recent stage race in the state of Washington, and came out in first place.

Click on the link below to hear Dave speak with Jesse about the race, his summer schedule, and his future plans.

The annual summer music camp is the perfect opportunity for established Yukon musicians to try something new, and for beginning musicians to solid introduction.

Click on the link below to hear Dave speak with the camp's Lori Larochelle to find out what's new for 2013.

B.C. based band Blackberry Wood are back in the Yukon for a series of high-energy shows, and a chance for at least two members to face some deep-seated fears.

Click on the link below to hear Dave speak with some of the members of the band.

Lots of Canadians are dusting off their barbeques these days, but when they hit the grocery store in search of something for that grill, they're likely to suffer a little sticker shock.

The price of beef has soared in Canada.

Click on the link below to hear Airplay's business columnist Donna Guzik tell Dave the reasons why.

Every year as part of Asian Heritage Month, we bring together a panel of readers to talk about two titles that focus on various aspects of life for Asian Canadians, and this year is no different.

Our panelists are Lillian Nakamura Maguire, Derek Yap, Stewart Clarke and Julie DesBrisay.

Our books are The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam and Dogs At The Perimeter by Madeleine Thien.

Click below to hear part one.

Click below to hear part two.

Yukon musicians Grant Simpson and Kate Weekes have been invited to perform at a festival in China in the fall, and before they pack their bags they're going to try out their set on a homegrown audience.

The show is called Polkadots and Moonbeams, and it's coming up at the Old Firehall on Wednesday.

Click on the link below to hear Dave speak with them about the trip and the show.

That is a picture of the red carpet area at the Cannes Film Festival, taken by Yukon filmmaker Moira Sauer. Moira's film The Provider was accepted at this year's festival, so she pulled out all the stops and decided to attend. We asked her to file a couple of dispatches from the event, what follows is her first missive.

 

"The apparel oft proclaims the man." William Shakespeare.

 

Let's be honest. 

For those of us living in the Yukon who are single women, the pickin's are slim. This is in no way a disparagement of single Yukon men, rather a comment on the long observed fact that there are far fewer of them than there are of us. Needless to say, I found myself completely overwhelmed and unprepared arriving at Festival de Cannes.

Picture this: crashing waves of the Ligurian Sea, cobblestone walkways as far as the eye can see, the token French musician sitting on the corner pumping away on his accordion and a sea of tuxedoed men!

Last night I found myself seated at an outside table with four other Canadian filmmakers (all from Quebec) and two Brits, and I thought to myself, "Well, if nothing else comes of Cannes, I will have this moment to live in my memory forever."

I was the ONLY female. 

Not only that, but the crowd from the bar spilling out for half a block all around us (post red-carpet screening) was primarily male and dressed to kill.  I was in the heart of it - the narrow streets of this old French town on the Riviera, beautiful buildings and their massive windows with shutters and intricate décor looming above us, the street lights illuminating it all.

As I made my way home through those streets at some ridiculous hour, I passed more groups of men either gathered drinking at different watering holes, or themselves wandering aimlessly as the night wound its way to morning. Again all of them dressed-to-the-nines.

This got me thinking.

How marvelous to be in a place for an extended period of time, where everyone dresses because it matters (I have 10 borrowed dresses for this trip thanks to my incredible girlfriends).  Seeing men dressed so beautifully, so classically, so stylishly had some kind of physical effect on me.  It made me gleeful. It brought me a whole bunch of joy.  I would venture to say that I was giddy.

Was I overreacting?

I spoke with some women in town today; women from places where the male/female ratio has not the same discrepancy as the Yukon and where 'formal' doesn't mean clean jeans.  They nodded enthusiastically and agreed that this place was something else. It has something different. It is separate from the glitz and the glamour of the red carpet, of which there is an abundance of, day after day, night after night. Rather, there is a magic of being somewhere that embraces a putting-together of oneself for the public.  For the general populace, right across town.  And what a difference it makes to wander through streets and see men in their finery.  It does not need to be expensive, it just needs to be thoughtful.

And so the truth is, my time thus far at Cannes has been spent watching the beautifully dressed men in town, rather than the movies and the mega stars. Of course, there's still almost an entire week left, so who knows what will happen. 

Yukon Member of Parliament Ryan Leef issued the following statement on May 21.

 

Fellow Yukoners,

There has been a considerable amount of attention around Senate spending lately. As your Member of Parliament, I have heard the concerns of all Yukon residents.  This morning Prime Minister Harper spoke about recent events and Senate reform, where he reaffirmed his disappointment with the recent conduct of his own office and other public officials. The Prime Minister firmly stated there is no place in public office for those who seek to use it for their own, personal benefit.

The Conservative Government has committed, since 2006, to dramatically strengthen accountability rules in Ottawa, and I stringently apply those standards to myself and  budgetary oversight of my office.

Our Federal Accountability Act, the toughest accountability legislation in the history of this country, forever changed the way business is done in Ottawa. We have strengthened the powers of the Auditor General, toughened the office of the Ethics Commissioner, and reformed political party financing.

We have dramatically tightened lobbying rules, and beefed up auditing and accountability within government departments. Canada now has one of the most accountable and transparent systems of governance in the world. This is something of which I and all Canadians are rightly proud.

In regards to Senate reform specifically, our Government has heard Canadians loud and clear: fundamental, irreversible reform needs to happen and our efforts toward that end must be accelerated.

The Senate status quo cannot continue: changes must be enacted as soon as possible.

Our Government has asked the Supreme Court on whether various reforms can be accomplished by Parliament alone - and if not, we have Conservative Senators willing to stand behind reform as well. Further, we requested the Supreme Court rule on potential options for abolishing the Senate entirely. Until those rulings are handed down, steps are being taken to close loopholes in the Senate's expenditure rules. This will strengthen Senate accountability, which is clearly a pressing need.

Thank you again for sharing your concerns on this issue. I want to assure you that my office will continue listening to Yukoners, and all Canadians', concerns on the Senate, and work toward strengthening accountability measures until the Supreme Court rules on what further actions can be taken. I have the utmost confidence that our Prime Minister will back his words with decisive action.

Sincerely,

Ryan

Ryan Leef
Member of Parliament, Yukon

The White Pass and Yukon Route railway is planning for a busy 2013, thanks to the construction of a new dock in the port of Skagway it hopes will bring in more cruise ship passengers.

John Finlayson has taken over as president of the railway, arriving at the company after working with its owner, Club Link.

Click on the link below to hear him speak with Dave about his new job, and the summer season.

http://www.wpyr.com/

Vancouver Island musician Shane Philip was looking for something to add to his one-man musical act, something that would really get the attention of an audience.

He found it in a traditional Australian instrument, the didgeridoo.

Click on the link below to hear him speak with Dave.