VANCOUVER —
About 500 people gathered at the Vancouver Art Gallery Saturday afternoon to protest ongoing public health orders aimed at combatting transmission of COVID-19.
One day after being fired by the Vancouver Canucks over his planned participation in the rally, anthem singer Mark Donnelly opened the gathering with a rendition of “O Canada.”
He also made a lengthy speech touching on his views about the pandemic response and his dismissal from his duties with the Canucks at Rogers Arena, where has regularly sung the American and Canadian national anthems before games for two decades.
“I’m standing up against what I feel is tyranny, plain and simple,” he told the crowd.
Donnelly’s participation in the event first became public Friday and Canucks owner Francisco Aquilini responded quickly via Twitter.
Donnelly says he has not been personally contacted by the Canucks about not being brought back to sing the anthem at future games.
“As I do not use Twitter, I cannot personally confirm that this is true,” he told the crowd. “I’ll assume the flurry of texts, phone calls and emails asking for my comment indicate that it is in fact true.”
Donnelly went on to make some inaccurate claims about the pandemic and the government’s response to it.
“All jurisdictions are discussing mandatory vaccinations,” he said.
Public health officials at the federal and provincial levels have repeatedly said COVID-19 vaccination will be voluntary for Canadians.
“Social distancing, face masks, restrictions and or closures of schools, businesses, churches and support for special needs children, is ineffective, unnecessary and harmful,” Donnelly added.
B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has been advocating social distancing since the pandemic began and has been encouraging people to wear masks in public indoor spaces for months.
Many in the crowd at the rally were vocally supportive of Donnelly.
“To lose his job because of what he believes in? I’m sorry, but that’s one of the reasons why we’re here,” said a man who did not want to be identified.
He also said he had driven from Kelowna to attend the event.
Henry has strongly encouraged British Columbians not to travel at this time.
On the False Creek seawall near Rogers Arena, a handful of people who spoke to CTV News Vancouver had different opinions on the Canucks’ handling of the situation.
“I just think it was a bad choice on Mark Donnelly’s part,” one man said.
“The Canucks are privately held,” said another woman. “The Aquilinis can do what they want.”
Back at the art gallery, the crowd listened to a series of speeches before marching through downtown, defiantly disregarding public health orders intended to protect everyone’s health and safety during the pandemic.
At least two dozen Vancouver police officers stood off to the side of the rally, but they did not take any action against people openly violating public health orders.
“Vancouver police officers exercise their discretion in the enforcement of public health orders,” said media relations officer Const. Tania Visintin in an email to CTV News. “They must weigh a citizen’s right to peacefully protest with the current potential harm of gatherings … Mass arrests are not possible or desirable. Ticketing and arrests could escalate an already passionate situation, and when there are larger groups of people, the risk of injury to both protestors and police officers rises.”
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
