Business
Young and Talented, Canadian Women’s Soccer Team Shows Promise Ahead of Rio
Four years ago in Moncton, with Diana Matheson playing provider, Canada beat China 1-0 on a Christine Sinclair stoppage-time goal in its last game on home soil before the London Olympics.
Thanks to another assist from Matheson, the Canadian women did it again Tuesday night when they dispatched Brazil 1-0 deep into added time to end their pre-Rio Canadian campaign on a winning note.
In 2012, the Canadians went on to win bronze at the Summer Game. The odds are likely longer on a podium finish this time around but Tuesday’s gritty performance in Ottawa showed 10th-ranked Canada will be worth watching at the Olympics with its veteran core surrounded by promising youth.
It was an impressive bounce-back after a disappointing 2-0 loss to No. 8 Brazil in Toronto on Saturday.
“I thought the first game the players struggled a little bit at home playing at home in front of the fans. But tonight they certainly got to grips with it and I thought, at times, showed what the potential is of this team pushing into Rio,” said coach John Herdman.
Playing a 4-3-3 with Sinclair lurking slightly behind fellow forwards Deanne Rose and Matheson, the Canadians showed a fluid attack. Just 17, Rose adds pace to the guile and vision of Sinclair and Matheson.
Sophie Schmidt and a poised Jessie Fleming, just 18, pulled the strings in midfield while 20-year-old midfielder-turned-fullback Ashley Lawrence, a star in the making, marauded down the left flank. At times, the only way the Brazilians could stop her was to deck her.
Centre backs Kadeisha Buchanan, 20, and Shelina Zadorsky, 23, were on point. And goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe was solid at the back when needed.
Janine Beckie, a 21-year-old who scored the winning goal Tuesday, has proved to be dangerous with nine goals in 18 appearances (11 starts).
With 11 players under the age of 23, there’s more than a little Forrest Gump in this team. When it comes to the Canadian women, like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.
While there are plenty of crowd-pleasers, some are still learning on the international scene.
Goals remain hard to get. In its last eight games dating back to the 2-0 loss to the top-ranked Americans in the final of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament in February, the Canadians have seven goals.
On Tuesday, Canada created a string of chances but was unable to convert until the last kick of the match. Herdman acknowledges scoring remains a challenge.
“That’s the dream for us — putting away a Tier I team by two goals, three goals. But it’s our current reality. The games are going to be tight. We have to dampen the expectations. We are going to have to fight in games and grit it out. And then hopefully the quality comes though with some of the players we added.”
He says the skill is there to score, with Tuesday’s game showing his team has “that extra gear.”
“It’s not necessarily a confidence thing because we know this team can score goals,” he added. “We’ve done it before against these sort of teams in the last few months. It’s more that you just show that resilience this close to an Olympics that when it’s tight that we can find a way to win.”
The women return to their clubs for the rest of the month before reassembling July 1 for a camp in Vancouver. They head to France in mid-July for a closed-door game against China and then a friendly with No. 3 France in Auxerre on July 23.
The team will leave France for Brazil, where it opens Aug. 3 against No. 5 Australia. Canada will also face No. 2 Germany and No. 95 Zimbabwe in round-robin play.
There is not much time to garner what the younger members of the team needs most.
“I just think it’s caps under the belt now for these girls— it’s just experience,” said Herdman. “Deanne Rose is 17 years of age. There’s no 17-year-old Brazilians on the pitch.”
He has been playing down expectations after the high of 2012, but cannot resist dreaming of another podium finish.
“We’re living off the back of 2012,” Herdman said. “The goal is to try and push the podium again. It’s a young team. For some of these girls, it’s their first Olympic Games, but we’ll give it our best. Everything we’ve been pushing is around individual personal bests.
“They’ve been out on the pitch working on techniques, tactics, fitness to try and deliver a team personal best, which will be to jump on that podium and see that flag rise again.”
The 21-woman Olympic roster, including three alternates, will be announced later this month.
“We have a lot to do before Rio but we’re in an exciting place,” said veteran fullback Rhian Wilkinson, who earned her 175th cap Tuesday.
Beauty enthusiasts rejoice! Beauty Week at Hudson’s Bay is back in Toronto for another year. It’s time to stock up on all of your fall essentials and, maybe discover some new ones.
From Friday, August 18 to Sunday, August 27, you can expect a truly elevated beauty experience in-store with incredible special offers, limited-time gifts, and exciting activations.
If you’re a diehard beauty lover, you’ll already know that Hudson’s Bay is the place to shop thanks to its extensive range of over 195 skin and makeup brands from both luxury labels and masstige brands — including Tata Harper, Estée Lauder, YSL, Nars Cosmetics, Bobbi Brown, and so much more.
Throughout The Bay’s Beauty Week, visitors can take in some at-counter activations and interactive expert-led tutorials, where there will be chances to get makeup touch-ups from top-tier brands, try a spritz of the most alluring fragrances, and sample tons of new products.
This year’s Beauty Week highlight is the ‘Best in Beauty’ tote, a meticulously-curated selection of 30 deluxe samples from an array of top-tier brands like Dr. Barbara Sturm and Shiseido spanning skincare, fragrance, and makeup — all in a super sleek bag.
The tote, which is valued at over $300, is retailing for just $39 and is a fantastic way to explore new products (without breaking the bank). However, there is a limited quantity, so if you want to get your hands on one, you’ll need to be fast.
Wondering exactly what Beauty Week’s free gifts with purchases entail? If you spend over $95 at Lancôme, you will receive a six-piece set valued at $130. Or, you can get an Estée Lauder gift valued at $170 with purchases over $80. (And that’s just to name a few.)
If you’re a Hudson’s Bay Rewards member, you’ll also get $20 in Hudson’s Bay rewards when you spend over $100 on beauty.
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have several non-combat jobs, some of which do not require a college degree or past work experience.
Life in the forces has several benefits, such as paid education plans (college, university and graduate-level programs), 20 paid vacation days, health and dental coverage for you and your family, maternity and paternal leave, and pension plans. You can learn more about the benefits in detail here.
And to make it easier to gauge if you qualify, the listings also include related civilian jobs to see if it’s your ideal role.
Financial services administrator
Related civilian jobs: Financial records entry clerk, financial manager, accounting technician, bookkeeper, budget officer, cashier clerk, business planner technician, and verification manager.
Description: You’ll help budget resources for all military activities besides providing financial assistance.
Education: You need to have completed Grade 10.
Duties: As a financial services administrator, you’ll be responsible for bookkeeping and managing budgets. You’ll also provide support in accounts payable and accounts receivable.
Work environment: Those in this role work at CAF bases, on ships or overseas. You might also be expected to help special operation units, recruiting offices, schools, and medical organizations.
Postal clerk
Related civilian jobs: Mail clerk, mail sorter.
Description: You’ll provide postal services to members and their families at bases and establishments.
Education: Grade 10. No previous work experience or related career skills are required.
Duties: As the postal clerk, you’ll handle mail duties.
Work environment: Besides a postal office, you may work on a ship or a mobile postal van. You might be expected to serve with Royal Canadian Navy, the Army, and the Royal Canadian Air Force in Canada and abroad.
Dental technician
Related civilian jobs: Dental assistant, dental hygienist.
Description: You’ll be helping dental officers provide dental services to CAF members, their families, and dependents.
Education: Level II dental assisting diploma from an accredited college or a National Dental Assisting Examining Board (NDAEB) certificate.
Duties: Those in this role will be responsible for various responsibilities, including disinfection and sterilization of dental equipment, applying rubber dams, placing cavity liners, and controlling bleeding. In addition, you’ll assist in laboratory procedures like creating casts, custom trays, and mouthguards.
Work environment: This role will require you to work in a military dental clinic, a Mobile Dental Clinic, an Air Transportable Dental System, or onboard a ship. You might be expected to work on a base in Canada or other operations in other parts of the world.
Human resources administrator
Related civilian jobs: Records administrator, data entry supervisor, receptionist, office manager, executive assistant, payroll clerk, and information management technician.
Description: Provide administrative and general human resources support.
Education: Grade 10. No previous work experience or related career skills are required.
Duties: In addition to human resources administration and services, you’ll be handling pay and allowances, managing automated pay systems, and maintaining personnel records.
Work environment: HR administrators work at all CAF bases in Canada. They also work on ships and overseas to support the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, or Royal Canadian Air Force operations.
Medical assistant
Related civilian jobs: Emergency medical responder, ambulance and first aid attendant, registered nursing assistant, licensed practical nurse, and hospital orderly.
Description: Successful candidates will help treat the sick and injured in CAF units. You’ll be assisting and supporting nursing and medical officers.
Education: Minimum of Grade 11 biology, Grade 10 physics or chemistry, and Grade 10 math.
Duties: You’ll provide initial care and essential life support treatments in trauma cases. You’ll help with health assessments (hearing and vision tests, perform basic lab procedures, etc.) and initiate and manage medical records and reports. You’ll also be expected to provide support and first aid during training exercises.
Work environment: Medical assistants may serve with the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force or the Canadian Army as part of the Canadian Forces Health Services Group. Those in this role are exposed to the same risks as the forces they support.
Porter Airlines is once again stirring the pot among Canadian airline rivals, now going after Air Canada’s Aeroplan members by offering to match their loyalty status to an equivalent of their own.
The beloved airline, which recently ranked as having the best cabin service in North America, challenged the competition for the second time this year, after previously deploying a similar tactic against WestJet in the spring.
Earlier in April, Porter presented customers with a limited-time offer to match the loyalty status of WestJet’s patrons with VIPorter levels.
Now, they’re offering Aeroplan members to seamlessly transition to an equivalent VIPorter Avid Traveller status based on their existing membership tier.
Members can then take advantage of an array of travel perks that come with flying Porter, including seat selection, baggage, and flight changes.
For those currently holding an Aeroplan membership, there are two ways to acquire the Avid Traveller status for the rest of 2023:
Status-Based Match:
- Aeroplan 25K members = VIPorter Venture
- Aeroplan 35K members = VIPorter Ascent
- Aeroplan 50K, 75K, and Super Elite = VIPorter First
Flight Segments-Based Match:
- 5 flight segments = VIPorter Passport
- 8 segments = VIPorter Venture
- 17 segments = VIPorter Ascent
- 28 or more segments = VIPorter First
Members will have to first submit their applications on Porter’s website. Registration will remain open until September 6, 2023.
In order to maintain their membership level through 2024, customers will have until the end of 2023 to reach the following reduced qualifying spend (QS) targets:
- Passport = $500 in QS
- Venture = $750 in QS
- Ascent = $1500 in QS
- First = $2500 in QS
Over the past year, Porter has launched an aggressive expansion strategy, including everything from introducing longer flights on newly-purchased jet planes flying out of Toronto Pearson, free WiFi, and a new all-inclusive economy experience.
With Canadians losing both Swoop and Sunwing as WestJet incorporates both into their mainline business, Porter’s direct competition is welcome to keep prices competitive.
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