From Jim Bawden:
Link: Road To Mercy: Must-See TV
I have to admit I kept postponing watching my screener of the new CBC-TV documentary Road To Mercy. The subject is mercy killing and I’d lost a dear friend last year (journalist Eric McGuinness) who fought two bouts of colon cancer and then was told it had spread to his pancreas.
After enduring great pain for months he arranged a termination in Switzerland because under Canadian law any sort of assisted death was illegal. Continue reading.
Firsthand‘s first documentary of the 2016-17 broadcast season couldn’t be more timely. Weeks after the doctor-assisted death of Shoeless Joe author W.P. Kinsella, “Road to Mercy” treads the controversial topic of doctors taking the lives of patients and the circumstances where they are allowed to do it.
Airing Thursday at 9 p.m. on CBC, Toronto-based filmmaker Nadine Pequeneza’s project focuses on the window between February 2015 and June 2016, after the Supreme Court ruling and before Canada’s first law on medical assistance in dying (MAID). But just because the law was passed doesn’t mean it’s clear cut and that’s what’s discussed in “Road to Mercy.” Which patients should be allowed to die (Just those who are terminally ill? What about car accident victims?) and when (Four months before they’re expected to die? Six?) are just two bullet points up for discussion. While those guidelines are worked out, the patients waiting to die agree on one thing: they want control over how they die and want to do it with dignity.
Among those who provide context in “Road to Mercy” are Maureen Taylor, an advocate for the right to die with dignity and the provincially appointed co-chair of the Ontario Advisory Panel On Physician-Assisted Dying; John Tuckwell, diagnosed with ALS in 2012 and planning his death with the help of his sister and doctor; Amy De Schutter, a 29-year-old fighting mental illness; and Quebec’s Dr. Louis Roy, who advises his ill patient Danielle Lacroix in her final days. (In Quebec, the province pre-empted the Supreme Court, passing end-of-life-care legislation in 2014, which came into effect December 2015. Unlike the Supreme Court decision, the Quebec legislation limits MAID to terminal patients.)
After watching a few minutes of John Tuckwell’s deterioration—he’s still mobile, but needs help standing and can no longer talk—it seems a no-brainer he is allowed to pull the plug. But his physician, Dr. Wendy Johnston, loathes to do it because she doesn’t want that to be an option for her patients. Maureen Taylor acknowledges it’s not all cut-and-dried either; will some segments of society, as a result of the guidelines, be deemed “expendable”?
“Road to Mercy” certainly isn’t a feel-good documentary, but it will cause viewers to pause—if they haven’t already—and consider not only where they stand on the subject of doctor-assisted death but if they’d consider it an option.
Firsthand airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.
This week on Wild Archaeology, we return to Richards Island, located in the Beaufort Sea.
If you recall, Dr. Max Friesen of the University of Toronto and his team are in a race against weather and climate change to gather information and artifacts from a traditional cruciform home, in their quest to gain greater understanding of the ancient Inuvialuit people.
We visit with Rosalie Scott, conservator of Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, who explains how the found artifacts are to be stored, stabilized and the proper way to pack these items for shipment back to the lab.
Then it’s off to Tuktoyaktuk—where the descendants of Richards Island now live—to meet Boogie Pokiak, a traditional Inuvialuit hunter who explains some of the history of the land and gives Jacob and Jenifer an opportunity to taste local foods, including muktuk.
Finally, we go to Dr. Friesen’s lab at the University of Toronto to look at some of the better finds from this excavation.
This episode was a bit of a departure from the previous few. Very little excavation was to be had; instead, we focused on some of the cultural aspects that are so important for understanding the context of the finds on these digs.
This week’s tally? Jacob: closed end harpoon head. Jenifer: no finds. Jacob is still in the lead!
Wild Archaeology airs Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. ET on APTN.
I am just going to get this out of the way: I am terrified of falling.
I am not afraid of heights so long as there is some logical way that I cannot fall—safety harness, railing, plexiglass—I am completely at ease. Amusement park rides? The higher the better.
If, however, it is just me up high and nothing but my own skill keeping me from falling, I am terrified!*
So to watch any of these episodes of Mohawk Ironworkers sets my nerves just a little on edge. However, this episode was stressful for me to watch. My anxiety level was through the roof and I found myself wincing at the death-defying feats Albert Stalk, Jr. performed. I closed my eyes during his commercial. He is brilliant, and the footage is amazing. To be honest, I had never heard of “Eiffel Al” before this but WOW, what a life! I am left amazed, and he is IMHO barking mad to have done this. Brilliant, but barking mad!
We trace the life of Stalk, Jr., an ironworker from Kahnawa:ke who was the first to scale the Eiffel Tower without any safety equipment. From this fame, Albert earned a living as a model before eventually settling down to home building. If you didn’t catch the episode, I highly recommend you stream it online at APTN. This one will have you on the edge of your seat!
*(Usually, I watch a show twice before I review it; once to get the gist and a second time to grab specific details. This time, I just couldn’t. It has nothing to do with the quality of the content. Just call me a wuss!)
Mohawk Ironworkers airs Tuesdays at 7 p.m. ET on APTN.
From a media release:
Grab your allen keys, Canada! Gusto debuts its first original design program with the premiere of THE SEARCH FOR CANADA’S NEXT DESIGNER. From Bell Media In-House Productions, the six-episode, 30-minute series airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET, beginning October 16 on Gusto.
Hosted by THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW’s design expert Tommy Smythe, the series sees six competitors vie for a coveted design contract with IKEA Canada as they face weekly challenges and eliminations. THE SEARCH FOR CANADA’S NEXT DESIGNER encores on CTV Two, Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET, beginning Oct. 20.
For a group of up-and-coming Canadian design experts, the opportunity of a lifetime is about to begin! THE SEARCH FOR CANADA’S NEXT DESIGNER pits six individuals against one another in a series of high-stakes décor challenges. The lucky grand prize winner nabs a coveted design contract with IKEA Canada and a dream trip to Sweden.
Each week, designers work with IKEA Canada products to showcase their innovative design skills. From DIY-themed challenges to dealing with dated décor on a budget, the challenges reference both IKEA’s current line of products as well as the brand’s history. With the threat of elimination hiding behind every challenge, it’s up to each designer to put their skills to the test and show what they’ve got. Also in the blueprints are game-changing twists and fast time turnarounds! There’s a lot at stake in this competition, and only one designer can come out on top.
In addition to Smythe, THE SEARCH FOR CANADA’S NEXT DESIGNER features IKEA Canada judge Alicia Caroll and a cast of top-tier guest judges, including celebrity chef Roger Mooking, THE SOCIAL co-host Lainey Lui, Canadian home renovation guru Sebastian Clovis, winner of THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW’s search for their next designer expert, Andrew Pike, and more.
The six competitors competing in THE SEARCH FOR CANADA’S NEXT DESIGNER are:
In the premiere episode of THE SEARCH FOR CANADA’S NEXT DESIGNER (Sunday, October 16 at 9 p.m. ET on Gusto) the competition is on! Host Tommy Smythe dishes out the first-ever challenge for six up-and-coming design experts: a dining space transformation. Working with a limited budget and tight deadline, the designers soon find out that every little detail matters – and for one of them, the journey is about to come to an end. The episode features special guest judge, Roger Mooking.
THE SEARCH FOR CANADA’S NEXT DESIGNER is executive produced by Michelle Crespi. John Simpson is co-executive producer.
