the watcher

Or the French, Spanish,  Portuguese ,German, Dutch Empires..... It was the way of the times of every empire or wanna be empire. It doesn't make it right but if you want to discuss the damage of colonization outside Canada include everyone. The British were no better or worse than the rest.

They'll do it this week. They wanted one full incubation period, which coincides with the end of the current health restrictions this weekend. 
Everything is where they hoped it would be and we're "ahead" on our vaccine rollout. 
It's also tough, optics wise, to keep the tougher restrictions while SK, AB, and BC all have no mask mandates and are open. (Well SK does this weekend)

And the majority of Manitobans are doing their part.  We need give credit where credit is due. 

I have taught Canadian History for greater part of my teaching career.  Statues are not what history is about. You will find 1000 times more depth and richness in, for example, a local cemetery. Queen Victoria cannot be erased by toppling her statue, nor should or will her history be erased. 

There’s a few things being lost on the analysts that I feel like we should be paying more attention to. 

Won’t come up as prominently against Hamilton, since they’ve also returned the majority of their roster but our continuity + ability to coach the quirky parts of the game could lead to us absolutely taking advantage of Toronto/Calgary in weeks 2-4 as they settle in with all their new players learning new systems. Unfamiliarity with the schemes, league, staffs, etc leaves them wide open for being dismantled in an area where we always excel - special teams. May take a while to coach up the receivers or the defensive backs that are new to our roster, but guys like the Halletts .. no doubt they’ll be ready to go on special teams week 1.
Next is that we’re returning almost every single piece in the trenches. Talk about age all you want, to be returning 8 of 9 starters on the OL/DL is huge and it’s unmatched league wide. 
Lastly, we still have a culture that lends itself well to being able to respond well to adversity. We already know the buy-in is there with our roster, these new guys should be able to take advantage of a locker room that is going to be solid enough that our new players should fit right in. No drama, no players like Banks talking about “will I play, won’t I play?”, that stands out as something that could be a big help in such a weird year.

 
 

Being the underdog is what Osh craves. We haven't had a coach that loved being a 'dog this much since Dave Ritchie....

Hell yeah - close ranks & march forward. 

I’m fine with us being the reigning champs and an ‘underdog’.  Might give the players a little extra motivation too.

Giving your soul might be getting off easy. Check out these guys. 
 
 

If we continue with the speed we have seen for the vaccine uptake, we could possibly be at 70% fully vaxxed by August Long.. 

https://www.bluebombers.com/2021/07/03/positional-preview-offensive-line-5/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Apparently it has been confirmed as a lingering COVID infection.  Had he come forward with this, it would probably have encouraged more people to seek vaccination.

Worse comes to worst - Harris declines and Augustine/Oliviera/Borsa are not good enough - then we can go back to 🇺🇸 RB. I do think we have 🇨🇦 content to make the switch. 
 

Some random thoughts across this thread so far....
Harris is a workout animal, and he has never been a speed runner. He will perform at a high level when healthy. At his age and his usage level I am far more worried about durability than performance. Augustine and Oliviera are the heir apparents but don't forget to throw Bursa into the mix. 
The Rider OL is hot garbage right now. Labatte opting out leaves a massive hole in a line that already had massive holes to fill. Fajardo better bring his ballet shoes to camp because if he thought he had to spin in 2019 that was just practice for this year. I really don't see how Hamilton or anyone else can be gushing about the RIders. Football teams are built along the LOS and I don't see much on either line for the Riders.

I expect to see a lot of this at the LDC and Banjo Bowl

100%. the 2 articles on 3dn about labatte retiring (he would be 37 and out of football for 2 years next, thats what this is) seem to have only the mildest concern for them replacing half their OL.  They dont even have a lot of league back up experience. Hardrick and couture probably have more combined cfl games then their entire roster of OL. I wouldnt be surprised if neuf and gray or desjarlais combined for more too. Or if bryant alone was close to matching their entire unit. 
 Fajardo has a big step to make going from a first year starter to succeeding consistently after other teams have a good amount of film on him in the cfl. 1 spin move and 1 pattern created a TON of their success last year. That has to grow exponentially to continue succeeding. That was their primary limiting factor before they lost half their OL. 
 
At one point in time, Rick mirer was touted by no less than bill walsh as the next joe montana. He had a better rookie year than drew bledsoe, despite taking a TON more sacks. And in that rookie year he also had at most 5 passing plays, almost never checked down, and had a gigantic split for favored side of the field. In year 2 bledsoe smashed mirers production on an epic level as mirer was never able to adapt to more than he could execute in his first year. He became a huge draft bust with 26 more picks than tds and 20+ loses more than wins. 
Fajardo has to over come what mirer didnt. And with out a stable OL. 

Jefferson Jeffcoat and Adams are in the City!! We're so close!!

Apparently has been living in Winnipeg with his girl friend whom he bought a house with here 5 months ago.

All I know is that when I was in school back in the 60's & 70's as well as all the way thru university where I studied Canadian history there was never a mention of residential schools. In elementary & high school, we were taught that as Canadians we were lucky to live in Canada. We were told in school that we were one of the few nations in the world that was not founded after a war. We never had the "Indian Wars" the US had when the West was settled with the help of the CPR. We were taught we were the least racist country in the world. Slavery was not an institution in our country like it was in the US & we were not Imperialists like the US, China, Soviet Union or Britain. We never conquered other countries or planted a Canadian flag on another country's sovereign soil. That we were a peaceful people. Yes, we were taught we were the greatest country in the world. We knew nothing of what went on in residential schools.  Now, the truth is coming out & Canadians are shocked by how previous federal governments & (especially) the Catholic Church covered this up. We were deliberately kept in the dark.
 

Now, that's a stupid overreaction that will only strengthen the views of the racists.

I agree with most of the sentiments expressed here. Its a great nation we live in but we do have our scars on our history. And our scars are not healed . They are open wounds for many of our citizens. Perhaps this will be a watershed moment for our country. Perhaps we can " own up " to what happened and start the healing process. Perhaps we can find some national leadership that will finally deal with indigenous  issues. There has never been a single one yet  of any political stripe.  I'm not really all that confident in that ,given our current slate of leaders.
 On a personal level I have been thinking alot  about my own knowledge / ignorance  of residential schools. I'm in my 60s and when I grew up all I knew or thought about residential schools is it was where indigenous kids went to school. That's it.  No idea that it was forced.That it could be against a parents wishes. Or the conditions. Or the deaths. Or the abuse. Or that alot of parents never saw their kids again. Or the generational damage. My wife who grew up in Vancouver knew even less if that's even possible. It probably wasn't till the late 70s that I started to learn the truth.
As I said perhaps this can be a time when things can change . Maybe. We are horribly lacking in leadership right now but maybe a ground swell can force real change. I fear that all the right words will be said and funds will be allocated , and as usual they will disappear into the bureaucracy as they have in the past.  In the meantime I will continue to work on my own understanding and education.
 

I agree with most of the sentiments expressed here. Its a great nation we live in but we do have our scars on our history. And our scars are not healed . They are open wounds for many of our citizens. Perhaps this will be a watershed moment for our country. Perhaps we can " own up " to what happened and start the healing process. Perhaps we can find some national leadership that will finally deal with indigenous  issues. There has never been a single one yet  of any political stripe.  I'm not really all that confident in that ,given our current slate of leaders.
 On a personal level I have been thinking alot  about my own knowledge / ignorance  of residential schools. I'm in my 60s and when I grew up all I knew or thought about residential schools is it was where indigenous kids went to school. That's it.  No idea that it was forced.That it could be against a parents wishes. Or the conditions. Or the deaths. Or the abuse. Or that alot of parents never saw their kids again. Or the generational damage. My wife who grew up in Vancouver knew even less if that's even possible. It probably wasn't till the late 70s that I started to learn the truth.
As I said perhaps this can be a time when things can change . Maybe. We are horribly lacking in leadership right now but maybe a ground swell can force real change. I fear that all the right words will be said and funds will be allocated , and as usual they will disappear into the bureaucracy as they have in the past.  In the meantime I will continue to work on my own understanding and education.
 

Cultural changes happen in increments, so awareness is the first step in that. Next comes closure (cessation of dysfunctional behaviours) and then we can install new and helpful behaviours and attitudes. We here in Canada do not have the mountain to climb that the Americans do. although we have some of the same idiots- just not as many.

I agree with most of the sentiments expressed here. Its a great nation we live in but we do have our scars on our history. And our scars are not healed . They are open wounds for many of our citizens. Perhaps this will be a watershed moment for our country. Perhaps we can " own up " to what happened and start the healing process. Perhaps we can find some national leadership that will finally deal with indigenous  issues. There has never been a single one yet  of any political stripe.  I'm not really all that confident in that ,given our current slate of leaders.
 On a personal level I have been thinking alot  about my own knowledge / ignorance  of residential schools. I'm in my 60s and when I grew up all I knew or thought about residential schools is it was where indigenous kids went to school. That's it.  No idea that it was forced.That it could be against a parents wishes. Or the conditions. Or the deaths. Or the abuse. Or that alot of parents never saw their kids again. Or the generational damage. My wife who grew up in Vancouver knew even less if that's even possible. It probably wasn't till the late 70s that I started to learn the truth.
As I said perhaps this can be a time when things can change . Maybe. We are horribly lacking in leadership right now but maybe a ground swell can force real change. I fear that all the right words will be said and funds will be allocated , and as usual they will disappear into the bureaucracy as they have in the past.  In the meantime I will continue to work on my own understanding and education.
 

"We" did not do this terrible thing whereby children died sick, abused, neglected, alone and frightened in the hands of those who where supposed to care for them. But it is part of the history of our country and the scars are still everywhere. We, as a country, need to remember and mourn for all the children who never came home, the parents and families who never knew what happened and the communities who fractured under the grief and fear. 
We live in a wonderful country- not a perfect one, and you cannot heal what you will not feel. Going fast-forward past these tragedies will not serve anyone, and only ensure it or something like it will happen again.