 Here’s what you need to know to get the day started: | | | John Krasinski's Rogers ad is making Canadian actors' skin crawl | | |  | | | Jim Halpert is making the vice-president of Canada's English-language acting union very unhappy.
A Rogers ad featuring U.S. star John Krasinski, perhaps best known as Jim Halpert from The Office, shows him letting loose to a Taylor Swift song in a boat on Lake Simcoe. "Every time I see that commercial, it makes my skin crawl," said Keith Martin Gordon.
For more than two years, a labour dispute between The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) and a group of Canadian ad agencies has effectively prevented union actors from appearing in spots for many of the country's largest brands.
Actor Jason Bryden says he moved to Toronto in 2012 because union commercial work had dried up in Vancouver. "I just thought we should try Toronto and see if it's better there. And it was, until this lockout." He says he went from auditioning six times a week to once every six months.
Some Canadian actors, including Bryden, say the related loss of work has contributed to them having to sell their homes.
Hamilton, Ont., actor Kate Ziegler says Canadian commercial actors impacted by this dispute haven't been afforded the same solidarity shown to actors hit by the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes in the U.S. last year.
"I think there is a place for stars, people with a lot of notoriety, to make a statement, take a stand, do a thing to support the journeyman actors," said Ziegler, who was once the voice of Rogers in ads. She says she's also preparing to sell her home.
Meanwhile, the group representing ad agencies in the dispute says agreeing to the deal the union wants would spell the end of union commercial work in Canada. Multiple emails to Krasinksi's publicist did not receive a response before publication. A representative for Rogers did not reply to an email seeking comment and requesting an interview.
Got a news tip or story idea? Contact us. | John Krasinski dances to a Taylor Swift song in a Rogers commercial that appears online and on television. The ad has drawn criticism because the company that created it, Publicis, is involved in a labour dispute with Canada's English-language acting union that's dramatically reduced opportunities for union actors to work in commercials. (Rogers Canada/YouTube) | | | | | Hair-raising victory | | |  | (Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images) | | | | Canada's Brandie Wilkerson celebrates a point in the women's semi-final beach volleyball match between Switzerland and Canada during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Eiffel Tower Stadium yesterday. Melissa Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson rallied from a set down to beat the Swiss team in a three-set thriller to become the first Canadian beach volleyballers to reach an Olympic final. They're guaranteed to be Canada's first-ever women's beach volleyball medallists, and they'll try to make it a gold under the lights at Eiffel Tower Stadium on Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET. Follow all of CBC's Olympics coverage here. | | | | | | | | | In brief | | | The firefighter who was fatally struck by a falling tree while fighting wildfires near Jasper, Alta., has been ID'd as Morgan Kitchen of Calgary. In social media posts, family and friends say the 24-year-old was the Alberta Wildlife crew member killed on Aug. 3. The posts say Kitchen was a former member of both the Canadian Armed Forces and the British Royal Marines. Kitchen lived in Calgary and was based out of the Rocky Mountain House fire base. Kitchen was described as a talented athlete, musician, singer, comedian and actor. "He could have been a gifted teacher, but he was wired to be a first responder," a Facebook post said. "The photos and stories his crew shared of his last few months reflect a genuinely happy man doing what he loved in a place as wild and free as he was." Read more about Morgan Kitchen here.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith received cheers and jeers alike at a recent UCP-members-only gathering, fielding questions in Calgary about banning COVID vaccines for children and if her government would act on "chemtrails." The United Conservative leader is on tour of Alberta communities to speak to party members ahead of her leadership review at the party's annual convention in November. As Jason Markusoff writes in an analysis, Smith won't have to directly deal with what the broad range of Alberta voters want until the 2027 election. More immediate for her is that date with the narrow band of voters at the UCP meeting, less than three months away. Read more about Smith's meetings with party members here.
A Thunder Bay, Ont., climbing gym is facing scrutiny after an 8-year-old girl was hospitalized. Others have come forward to say this isn't the first incident at Boulder Bear Climbing Centre, and CBC News has learned of at least one active civil case against the company. In the civil case, Rowan Adderley-Day alleges he was left with a lifelong impairment after getting injured at Boulder Bear in April 2023. Adderly-Day has filed a statement of claim in the Ontario Superior Civil Court alleging Boulder Bear was negligent and failed to ensure the climbing area, flooring area and safety equipment were safe for all users. Court documents indicate that Boulder Bear has obtained lawyers and intends to defend itself in the case. None of the allegations have been tested in court. Read more about Boulder Bear here.
Sorry, North Korea. No Olympic smartphones for you. Unlike their fellow competitors, North Korea's athletes will leave the 2024 Summer Games in Paris without any free phones, after officials warned the planned giveaway would violate UN sanctions. Samsung, in partnership with the Olympics, had planned to give a limited edition of its Galaxy Z Flip 6 smartphone to every competitor in Paris. But South Korea, where the technology giant is based, said Thursday that would go against sanctions against the North over its nuclear and missile program. The UN has an extensive list of items that members are supposed to prevent from entering North Korea because they could be used "for a nefarious purpose," said Jean H. Lee, a former Associated Press journalist who opened the news agency's first bureau in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. She says equipment used to make baby food, for example, can be repurposed for biochemical weapons. Read more about North Korea's presence at the Olympics here.
Now here's some good news to start your Friday:
[FANFARE]
It is a new sound for Star Wars. Dedicated performers, working from a Private Ear Recording studio in Winnipeg, have recorded a victory with the first Ojibwe translation of A New Hope.
During the recording, APTN, Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council and the University of Manitoba worked with DISNEY/LUCASFILM, a media company with enough reach to span the entire planet.
Anxious to see Anangong Miigaading, people travelled to the film's world premiere in Winnipeg last night, ahead of a limited Cineplex run that promises a new way to watch the rebellion restore peace and freedom to the galaxy....
Reach out with your feelings to see the video about the Star Wars translation here. | | |  | How anti-migration riots swept the U.K. | | After a wave of violent anti-migrant riots in the U.K., a look at the political context that laid the groundwork for the worst unrest the country has seen in over a decade. Listen to today's episode | | | Today in history: Aug. 9 | | | 1941: Britain's Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives aboard a British battleship in Argentia, Newfoundland, for a meeting with U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt. The meeting resulted in the signing Aug. 14 of the Atlantic Charter for the "final destruction of Nazi tyranny."
1945: The United States drops its second atomic bomb on Japan, destroying part of the city of Nagasaki. Japan surrendered less than a week later.
1969: Actress Sharon Tate and four others are found brutally murdered in Tate's Los Angeles home which she shared with her husband, movie director Roman Polanski. Four people, including Charles Manson, were later convicted of the crime.
1988: In perhaps the most stunning trade in NHL history, Wayne Gretzky and two other players are traded by the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for three Kings, three draft picks and more than $10 million US. | | | (With files from CBC News, The Canadian Press, The Associated Press and Reuters) | | | | |  | CBC NEWS APP | The most convenient way to get your news
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