In The News for Jan. 4: What’s the story behind the first National Ribbon Skirt Day?

It was inspired by Isabella Kulak, a member of the Cote First Nation in Saskatchewan who wore a ribbon skirt to her rural Saskatchewan school in December 2020, when she was 10 years old.

She wore the colourful garment, donned by Indigenous women at cultural events, as part of a formal day — but her family said at the time that a staff member told her the outfit wasn’t considered formal enough.

The school division apologized, but her story sparked an online movement of Indigenous women sharing photos of themselves wearing ribbon skirts as an expression of pride in their identity.

Kulak, now 12, said she plans to mark the occasion on Wednesday with a celebration at her home nation, which is planning an event.

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Also this …

A private funeral is set to be held this morning for an Ontario Provincial Police officer who was shot dead in an ambush attack last week.

The OPP says the service for 28-year-old Const. Grzegorz (Greg) Pierzchala will start at 11 a.m. at the Sadlon Arena in his hometown of Barrie, Ont.

Pierzchala’s family will be joined by members of the OPP, other police services and first responders, Canadian Armed Forces members, and officials including Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

The funeral is not open to the public but an in-person broadcast is set to be held at the Caledonia Lions Hall in Haldimand County, where Pierzchala was based with the OPP.

Police are also inviting the public to observe the funeral procession, which is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. and travel from Adams Funeral Home to the arena.

Pierzchala, a former constable at the provincial legislature and member of the Armed Forces, was shot dead while responding to a call for a vehicle in a ditch west of Hagersville, Ont., on Dec. 27.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

South of the border, House Republicans will open the second day of the new Congress much like the first; with leader Kevin McCarthy trying to become House speaker despite losing in multiple rounds of voting that threw the new GOP majority into chaos.

It was the first time in 100 years that a nominee for House speaker could not take the gavel on the first vote, but McCarthy appeared undeterred by the gravity of the moment. Instead, he vowed to fight to the finish, encouraged, he said, by former U-S President Donald Trump to end the disarray and pull the Republican Party together.

The House is scheduled to convene Wednesday after the stalemate essentially forced all other business to a standstill, waiting on Republicans to elect a speaker. Following a series of closed-door meetings at the Capitol late Tuesday McCarthy told reporters “Today, is that the day I wanted to have? No,” but he said Trump wants him to stay in the race, He added that Trump told him to bring an end to the House Republican chaos and pull the party together.

But it was not at all clear how the embattled GOP leader could rebound to win over right-flank conservatives who reject his leadership. It typically takes a majority of the House to become speaker, 218 votes; though the threshold can drop if members are absent or merely vote present, a strategy McCarthy appeared to be considering.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is pushing for closer economic ties on a visit to China that seeks to sidestep territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

The countries have both been rocked by economic crises linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, but are looking to recharge investments in bridges and other projects, along with tourism and agriculture.

The visit comes against the background of disputes over islands and waters in the strategic South China Sea. Accompanied by a large business delegation, Marcos has said he will seek to finalize major infrastructure agreements during the visit. China accounts for 20 per cent of the Philippines’ foreign trade and is also a major source of foreign direct investment.

China’s increasingly assertive territorial claims have placed the Philippines in a quandary, most pointedly in regard to China’s claim to virtually the entire South China Sea. Beijing has ignored a 2016 ruling by a tribunal in The Hague brought by the Philippines that invalidated Beijing’s claims to the waterway.

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On this day in 1966 …

Following a kidney ailment, 17-year-old June Clark of Miami began a sneezing attack that lasted 155 days. Electric treatment finally stopped the sneezing.

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In entertainment …

Toronto-based scenic artist Ray Lalonde’s winning streak on Jeopardy! has ended.

Lalonde, who was hoping for his 14th victory on the long-running trivia game show, had amassed winnings of US$386,400 going into Tuesday’s show. But the $24,000 he scored wasn’t enough to beat challenger Lloyd Sy, a graduate student in literature from Rockford, IL, whose final score was $24,490.

Lalonde is among only 16 contestants in the show’s history with winning streaks of at least 10 games, according to Andy Saunders, the Guelph, Ont.-based blogger behind “The Jeopardy! Fan.”

Earlier this year another Canadian, Mattea Roach, won 23 straight games, giving her the fifth-longest streak in the show’s history.

Lalonde’s wins still mean he has secured a place in the next Tournament of Champions.

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Did you see this?

About 1,500 checked bags remain unclaimed at Vancouver International Airport after winter storms wreaked havoc on holiday travel last month.

Robyn Fant says her family recovered their final lost bag today, just in time for the flight home to North Carolina after an annual ski trip to Whistler, B.C.

Walking through the airport, Fant says she, her husband and three sons had checked eight bags for their Air Canada flight and arrived in Vancouver on Christmas Day, but the bags with all of their ski gear went missing for the next four days.

She says it cost the family “thousands of dollars” because they had to rent their ski gear and buy clothing, including winter boots, gloves, a ski jacket and pants.

The family found the last bag in a partitioned-off area full of unclaimed luggage belonging to people who were flying with Air Canada.

A statement from the airport says the number of unclaimed bags is fluctuating as luggage arrives, is picked up or is sent for delivery to the owners.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 4, 2023

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

In The News for Jan. 4: What’s the story behind the first National Ribbon Skirt Day?

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