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Toronto 2015 Pan American Games

People need to get over their representation compulsion. I'm non-white and did not notice this fact until you guys pointed it out. The more we insist on 'representing' every shade of colour, the more I believe we segragate and distinguish between each races. Where do we stop? It's a few phenotypes that differentiate between blacks and whites, curly or straight hair, blue or brown eyes.

I think all the representatives where very much appropriate.
And if we want to continue to go further with this, will we eventually begin to send atheletes of ethnicity to the olympics to complete a 'quota'? I think the earlier we emphasize personal accomplishment the more we look past one's ethnic background.

p.s. David Suzuki would never agree to light the Cauldron. The Olympics leaves by far one ot the largest Carbon/Environmental footprints for a single event. I can't see how any environmentalist would agree to partake and appear endorsing it.
 
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Well actually, the David Suzuki Foundation gave these Olympics a "bronze medal" on its "Climate scorecard" which they consider pretty good, but not quite near where it should have been (which is probably what anyone would expect)
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/files/climate/Climate_Scorecard_for_the_2010_Vancouver_Olympics.pdf

I wouldn't be surprised if Suzuki took himself out of the running to be involved in the games so as to not appear biased in his environmental assessment.
 
City picks west harbour site for Pan Am stadium

February 18, 2010
Emma Reilly
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/723814

The city has approved the West Harbour as the future site of the Pan Am Games stadium.

The motion passed 10-5 with Councillors Bob Bratina, Brad Clark, Margaret McCarthy, Brian McHattie, and Sam Merulla voting against the location. Councillor David Mitchell was absent.

The city is still waiting to hear what the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and other private partners can bring to the table to build a larger, 25,000-seat, $150-million version of the stadium as the new home for the Ticats.

The Pan Am plan calls for a 15,000-seat, $102-million stadium to stage track and field, the premier sport of the Games.
 
Good to see Hamilton moving ahead on this. It will be a rejuvenator of the West Harbour neighbourhood, which in turn is not that far from the downtown core, which could use a good deal of rejuvenating.

I wonder what the five councillors who voted no had against the location, and what they would have proposed as an alternative? Particularly surprising to see Bob Bratina, a downtown guy, vote against this.
 
Over at SSP Bob Bratina is a forum member and posted that he would be against the stadium site on Family Day. We didn't treat him nicely haha.

He's mostly concered with parking and the potential cost of brownfield cleanup, the entire land used to be covered with factories. He wants the stadium in the downtown area, which really is impossible to fit a solid 20 acres right smack in the downtown area.

The point I made is that either way the clean up is gonna have to get done so why not do it now with the 2015 Pan Am. The city owns a big chunk of the land, former Rheem site.
 
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bleeepbluuup said:
It's much easier to be 'colour blind' when you're part of the majority. If you constantly see people who look like you represented in the media and in positions of power, you will never understand this longing for representation. You'd have to move somewhere where you were the minority to get it.
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What majority? What is the majority here? What's this majority based on?

I'm "colour blind" because it's how I grew up and what I learned.....to look upon people as people and not to pigeon-hole every person into an identifiable and easy to label group.
I'm a product of 90s Toronto. These sorts of divisions between people based on intrinsic human characteristics have ceased to exist for me and for a good number of my generation. Institutionalised diversity is dead to me. Just as regressive as the social attitudes it was brought about to abolish.

If I ever become as jaded as some of this older generation, please shoot me.
 
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I cant remember the name of the art but when Air Canada Centre first opened, arround the stadium was a black and white picutre of Torontonians at the last stanley cup game in maple leaf gardens. I cant remember what it was named. It was something about who we are. "torontonians" Im just paraphrasing because I cant remember. It was suppose to be a tribute to Maple Leaf Gardens. Except obviously there were only white people in the picture. Immediately the maple leafs were in the paper taking criticism for being racist. And as a result the art is gone and I am sure replaced with a more multi cultural picture presented by direct energy... Great but we lost some history.

At the same time I think its rediculous to say multiculturalism is just a generation old. Thats not true Im a third generation torontonian who grew up in a very multicultural setting. Also I also think its poor optics when you consider how much care was taken to make sure the Natives were well represented. White people do love buying native art tho.
 
Tewder said:
Why turn a Toronto games into a vacuous Disney/Epcot-type propaganda piece? The flag bearers in Vancouvers were people who have achieved extraordinary things or who represent a somewhat iconic status to all Canadian and this has nothing to do with race (an astronaut, Terry Fox's mother, a singer who forged a huge international career when this was inconceivable to Canadians and who managed to do it while remaining in Canada!) None of this has anything to do with race or colour, and to chose people and judge their accomplishments based on this is only to pander to those things. Canada's diverse multicultural population is fairly new, relatively speaking and in any meaningful way. In terms of years it represents little more than a generation in terms of Canada's history. Given time we will naturally start to see more diversity in the colour/gender/age of Canadians achieving the kind of extraordinary accomplishments the Vancouver flag bearers represent. This will be far more meaningful and real than forcing the issue and picking people because of the optics.
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First...I was being facetious! Second.....I agree in part with you said...however.....I was being nice about what I said...i.e. all inclusive...I don't have to be...My background is recognized by the government as full Algonquin Woodland....my cousin is the chief.....so, I have a right to say something to say on that. My family history, not including the French and Scottish (here since 1600's and early 1800's) first to be here, is the oldest continually traceable line in North America....so I think that gives me some right to say something about what constitutes what represents us. Would you agree? I loved the aboriginal component, but I do think we should have reps from every community that helps us be what we are....It doesn't matter if your boat arrived here 300 years ago or 30 minutes ago in my mind.....if you want to participate in this country...I welcome you....you are in my "home on my native land"....and by native tradition .... we adopt you as our own!....I love what everyone brings to us...I was being funny! The barbeque starter is what we really all share in common...you have to agree. hahahahaha.
 
ceaz40 said:
It doesn't matter if your boat arrived here 300 years ago or 30 minutes ago in my mind.....if you want to participate in this country...I welcome you....you are in my "home on my native land".
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Absolutely, and native Canadians are no more 'Canadian' than others... but their history and cultural contribution here are so much longer that obviously this group has earned greater representation. Similarly I'm not suggesting any groups be excluded from representation, only that their greater inclusion will come naturally over time such that I would indeed be surprised come a hypothetical 2020 Toronto Olympics to not see flag bearers of greater diversity. Choosing people simply because they are of a particular race or ethnic background is actually kind of insulting to those people as it sort of suggests that they would never earn that position otherwise.
 
What's interesting is many of the west coast indians present during the Olympic opening ceremonies weren't really natives--they were Chinese.

Although to say new Canadians are less Canadian than those that have been here for centuries? Yes, I would agree with that statement. (If I moved to Germany tomorrow, would I instantly feel German once I got my citizenship? No.)
 
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urbandreamer said:
What's interesting is many of the west coast indians present during the Olympic opening ceremonies weren't really natives--they were Chinese.

Although to say new Canadians are less Canadian than those that have been here for centuries? Yes, I would agree with that statement. (If I moved to Germany tomorrow, would I instantly feel German once I got my citizenship? No.)
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That's an interesting point, but I think it kind of depends on who you are and where you move to - it would be easier to assimilate in some places than others. For example, as a white guy born and raised in Canada, if I moved to China tomorrow and lived there the rest of my life, I would probably never consider myself Chinese at all, and more importantly, I would never come to be viewed that way by the locals.
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Good point. It is true that recent immigrants may be considered 'less Canadian' but our multiculturalism gives us a unique oppurtunity at the 2015 games. Maybe we really puch our multiculturalism and make that a central theme somehow. Or of course we could do what Vancouver did and stress the nature and history of the country. Either way, I am just glad to have the games!
 
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