2 The Dialog • dialognews.ca // May–August 2016NEWS

Managing Editor Mick Sweetman . . . . . . communications@sagbc .caAssistant Editor Steve Cornwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . dialognews@sagbc .caArt Director/Designer Michael Shea . . . . . . . dialogdesign@sagbc .caVideographer Indira Ordaz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dialogvideo@sagbc .caStaff Reporters Tina Todaro, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dialogreporter@sagbc .ca Renuka Malhotra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dialogreporter1@sagbc .caEmeka Ibeh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dialogreporter2@sagbc .caAliona Kuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .dialogreporter3@sagbc .caCharlotte Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dialogreporter4@sagbc .ca Ad Sales Riddhi Modi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dialogads@sagbc .caContributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Clement Goh, Gabriela Aveiro-Ojeda

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Contact The Dialog at:Room E122 - Casa Loma142 Kendal AvenueToronto, ON M5R 1M3www.dialognews.caTel: 416-415-5000 ext. 2764dialog@sagbc.ca

EDITORIAL FIND USThe Dialog newspaper is published by The Dialog with the support of the Student Asso-ciation of George Brown College.

The Dialog is responsible for the overall vision and direction of The Dialog newspaper, as it coincides with the larger vision and mission of the Student Association.

The cost of producing a monthly newspaper is in part

defrayed by advertising revenue and largely subsidized by stu-dent fees. Occasionally, some advertisers, products and ser-vices do not reflect the policies of the Student Association.

Opinions expressed in The Dialog are not necessarily those of The Dialog, the Student Asso-ciation of George Brown College, or its editorial staff.

FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US - dialog@sagbc.ca @dialoggbc @thedialog

Contributions to The Dialog are always welcome. We request that articles be submitted as digital copies in plain-text (TXT) or rich-text (RTF) format. Letters to the editor can be sent in an e-mail message to:dialog@sagbc.ca. Images should be in EPS format for vector files or in TIFF format at 300 dpi for raster files.

The Dialog is a member of CUP, the Canadian University Press

CONTRIBUTING

OPERATION THE DIALOG PARTNERS

Indira Ordaz

Emeka Ibeh

Nazy Entezari

Clement Goh

Aliona Kuts

Riddhi Modi

Videographer

Staff Reporter

Contributors

Contributors

Staff Reporter

Ad Sales

Staff Reporter Staff Reporter

Renuka Malhotra Tina Todaro

@dialoggbcone of the best opportunities to learn about journalism, and let my creativity work with the camera. #ushudjoin #watchmyvideo

@dialoggbcI made new friends and started my journey of writing in a second language. Most people said I couldn’t write in English, I have done it.

@dialoggbcThank you! This has been a great experience and I am a better student now because of it! #iamcomingbacknextyear

@dialoggbcit is a great learning experience with fun and would encourage students to be a part :)

@dialoggbcI’ll miss the crazy adventures I had meeting people & getting to publish a variety of fun stories & experiences #WorthEverySecond

@dialoggbctaught me never say no to any challenge, face them with pride and beat them on their face #workatdialog #gbclife #beMedia

@dialoggbcthis has been one of the memorable jobs for me! I’ve really enjoyed working here for the past 3 years #dialogveteran

@dialoggbcAn introvert who now goes to public events, talks to strangers and speaks on the phone - Thank you for one unforgettable journey..

Staff & Contributors comment on the year@DIALOGGBC

3ARTS & LIFEThe Dialog • dialognews.ca // May–August 2016

Beautiful treats run in the family at

Charmaine Sweets

George Brown alumni turns hobby into

Leaside bake shop

“When I first started at George Brown Col-lege about 20 years ago, it was never about a career but a hobby of decorating food and baking beautiful edibles like cookies and cakes,” said Teresa Ho, the proud owner of Charmaine Sweets. “Now when I see this studio, I feel that I have become something because of it.”

Charmaine Sweets is a popular bakery and sweets shop in the industrial area of To-ronto’s Leaside neighbourhood. Initially, Ho’s shop catered to just selling cookies but now it has expanded to include a variety of bread, pastries, cakes, croissants, muffins, sandwich-es and even coffee on the menu.

“I always love making cakes and cook-ies for my kids and on special occasions for relatives and friends as it makes them hap-py and is shared by all,” said Ho. “I always wanted to start my own business, but my husband was totally against it. His concern was how can I manage opening up a shop like this with three young kids?” For a time, Ho stayed home and kept baking for relatives and friends who wanted her to bake for them.

After much appreciation for her work from her family, Ho finally took her hobby to the next level and opened up Charmaine Sweets. She named the studio after her eldest daugh-ter, a professional baker named Charmaine.

Before George Brown College (GBC), Ho struggled to find a training program. “I ap-plied for a cake decorating course at a com-munity centre,” she said. There were only five students in the program to start, and by the second week, the course was shut down be-cause of lack of enrollment.

Ho remembers her time at GBC fondly. “I still remember the kitchen at George Brown

College. It was so impressive, all the equip-ment was high class, even during that time,” she said.

It wasn’t just Ho who was excited about her program at George Brown. “I remember how we used to bake something different ev-ery day and were allowed to take some home along with us,” she said. “My kids used to ea-gerly wait every day and say ‘what you got mom?’”

While the business was initially a solo project, today Ho’s family is thoroughly in-volved in the production and functioning of the studio. Ho prepares cookies, Charmaine does cakes and pastries, and Charmaine’s partner Dustin is the bread chef. The retail and marketing side of the business is taken care of by Ho’s younger daughter Sonya and her son-in-law, Ray.

All the treats at the studio are baked from scratch every day, with premium ingredients. The focus is on cookies, bread and baked treats like croissants and muffins. Among the signature cookies developed by Ho are chewy chocolate gingerbreads, mocha hazelnut cres-cents, and lime meltaways. Each treat, in-cluding specialty cakes, can be packaged into eye-catching boxes or tins and can be ordered ahead of time online for pick-up.

“We do not mass produce, it’s fresh from the oven and once it’s gone it’s gone,” said Ho.

It’s not just the ambience and delicacies at Charmaine Sweets that makes it a success-ful sweet shop. The studio derives its success from the love of the people working there and their passion towards the job they do. Every-thing at the studio, from the desserts, décor, and the subtle smell of fresh baked goods make you want to come back.

RENUKA MALHOTRASTAFF REPORTER

Charmaine Sweets is a family affair with owner Teresa Ho working with her two daughters

and their partners at the Leaside bakery. Photo: Renuka Malhotra/The Dialog

4 NEWS The Dialog • dialognews.ca // May–August 2016

A new report on black student experi-ences in George Brown College’s (GBC) community services programs opens a win-dow into what challenges they are facing.

“It’s incumbent upon the college to live on its value statement,” said Neil Price a professor in the community worker pro-gram.

Price was the lead researcher for the report “On the Path Forward: Exploring Black Students Experiences Within in the Community Services Programs.” The re-port drew on focus groups as well as inter-views with community services program graduates, current faculty, senior George Brown administrators, and experts in black student retention.

The report cautions that the lack of disaggregated race-based data and the non-random nature of the study means that its findings cannot be generalized to all black community services students.

The report notes that black students in the study experienced financial difficulties, a lack of academic preparedness and diffi-cult relations with faculty.

The report makes 11 recommendations in what it calls three key areas: black stu-dent engagement, supportive services, and

institutional change. To improve engagement with black stu-

dents the report recommends that GBC start a mentoring program for black stu-dents; create a dedicated space for black students and implement a pre-college preparation program.

It recommends that the college tailor services like financial aid opportunities for black students; customize existing services to black students needs; and offer cultural-ly-specific academic counseling.

It also calls on GBC to change as an in-stitution by mandating anti-racism train-ing for all faculty; reviewing the diversity hiring practices of the college; ensuring field education is equitable; developing flexible course options; and ensuring di-versity in course curriculum.

A lack of black faculty was highlighted in the report as a contributing factor to black student attrition.

“We don’t have the data but if you look around you can clearly see the disconnect that happens between who is hired at the college and the students who are at the school,” said Price.

According to the report, faculty mem-bers are perceived as examples of success,

but, “while their white peers have the priv-ilege of seeing people who look like them in positions of power and influence across the college, black students do not.”

Olga Dosis, the human rights advisor to GBC president Anne Sado, disagrees that George Brown is neglecting to hire faculty that reflect the diversity of its students.

“The college is very proactive in ensur-ing that diversity is represented when we interview people that come in for postings,” said Dosis who also said that her depart-ment often contributes or overlooks ques-tions that are asked and often sits on hir-ing panels at the college.

Dosis believes that it is important for the school to increase awareness around respect along with understanding, which is the focus the diversity office is going to expand on next year. She explained that the office gives diversity workshops and has also given anti-racism workshops to staff but they are also looking at involving students in their programs.

“Professors and teachers do go through diversity training in their orientation and onboarding,” said Dosis. “Our staff devel-opment office does a great job orienting our new staff; so they bring in student affairs

EMEKA IBEHSTAFF REPORTER

Report calls on George Brown College to hire

more black faculty Report on the experiences of black students in community

services programs at George Brown College makes 11 recomendations for changes

The Dialog • dialognews.ca // Date–Date 5NEWS

and any other service providers to do the orientation workshops.”

Anwar McDonald, a black second-year student in the marketing program has mixed feelings about the school’s diversity.

“I think there is diversity in the staff here at George Brown,” said McDonald. “Is it balanced? Maybe not, but I feel it is defi-nitely diverse, just based on the lectures I’ve had, it’s been quite a mixture.”

McDonald added that they have had Asian, white, and black professors. “As a black person, of course, it’s more obvious to me that that there are not many black pro-fessors, however, I have been lucky enough to be taught by three in my time here.”

The report focused on the child and youth care, social service worker, and com-munity worker programs because those programs have the largest amount of black students.

The report uses data from the 2014 Stu-dent Characteristics Survey done by the college that shows that the 20 per cent of students surveyed at GBC indicated their ethnic background as Black African/Carib-bean while that number jumps to 36 per cent for students in the centre for health sciences and community services.

Price said the students who are attract-ed to these programs are sometimes un-der-prepared and come from low-income communities. Price said he has noticed a pattern where if one has been exposed to community service professions as a young-ster they may want to give back by enter-ing the professions themselves. It creates a loop as those are often low-paying jobs that have a high-turnover rate.

The report points out that one of the barriers that black students surveyed face is financial stability. The report states there needs to be changes within high schools in terms of financial preparation, and letting students know that there are bursaries and scholarships they can apply for to ease the monetary hardship.

Price said most of the students he spoke to had a very low knowledge of what was available, so he put in plain words that the college can do better to ensure that stu-dents are aware upfront, not when you are halfway through your program and it is too late to apply for bursaries and schol-arships.

“They can do this with more orienta-tions to high schools to help give students access to bursaries, and then if students

are not taking advantage of those services when they are readily available, we can look into why that’s happening,” said Price.

Introducing a more diverse curriculum is another suggestion to help retain black students.

“That would be great actually, to have African studies. There is so much history that extends from Africa and generally it’s never talked about. People and I included know very little of it,” said McDonald. “I think it’s important not just for the people of African descent, but everyone. It would probably be more beneficial than most re-alize.”

Recently the Toronto District School Board and University of Toronto said they would start to college race-based data and the report calls on GBC to also collect race-based data to aid in future studies.

“This report certainly gives us an oppor-tunity to say, ‘Hey what can we do moving forward that’s better?’ It also gives us an opportunity to see what we can do, change or modify to have a better impact,” said Dosis.

“If you look around you can clearly see the

disconnect that happens between who is hired

at the college and the students who are at the

school”

GBC Professor Neil Price was the lead researcher for the report “On the Path Forward: Exploring Black Students

Experiences Within in the Community Services Programs.” Photo courtesy of Neil Price.

6 The Dialog • dialognews.ca // May–August 2016NEWS

C oming to Canada as an immigrant isn’t easy. Nor is being a single moth-er without support. Starting college

over again after a long absence and as an im-migrant is very difficult, but Swynda Nichols embraces challenges.

“I have overcome all of those,” said Nich-ols. “I still have my own challenges just like anyone else, but I have learned how to deal with it and I still want to push myself to move on to bigger and better things in life.”

Nichols’ life story is nothing less than inspirational. She is an active individual, a volunteer and a cheerful soul who can al-ways be found helping others.

Nichols had been enrolled in the social service workers program in 2007 but took a break to take care of her child, returning to George Brown College (GBC) in 2014 to pursue the pre-community services and then the social service workers program.

Having been to school before, Nichols knew how to navigate her way within the school. But balancing her studying and tak-ing care of her child in a city like Toronto was the real challenge for her.

“The hard part was balancing school and family and my son was pretty young at that time,” said Nichols. “So I had to decide who I am going to put first and I did put my child first and then came back in 2014 while fig-uring out if I could really handle college life all over again.”

Accepting the fact that parenting never came with a manual, Nichols has learned to draw power from being a mother. “I had to learn how to balance it and I do it everyday,” she said. “I had to get up and I am able to walk around and see myself in the mirror and see my son, that’s where I get my power from.”

Nichols said a career in social service work said has always been her passion.

She was accepted to the program but it brought a lot of emotional and physical challenges. She regards these challenges as

a part of her emotional and personal growth.“I feel like in order for me to learn and to

grow, I have to do things that are challeng-ing. And it brings out the best in me.”

Nichols had the opportunity to go to Ja-maica for international development work. “Getting to see a culture that is similar to yours but also different in many ways was really great experience for me.” Nichols im-migrated to Canada from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Her trip laid the foundation for her to start the Student International Develop-ment Club (SID) at George Brown. As a part of their mini-initiative, SID also organized Black History Month events in collaboration with the Student Association (SA) and oth-er organizations at GBC. The SA funds the publication of The Dialog.

Nichols is currently working on a project at her son’s school, Charles E Webster Junior, which aims to support children with learning differences. “I live in a marginalized commu-nity which is predominantly black and a lot of children suffer from learning differences,” Nichols said. “I just want to bring to light the negative stereotypes of what learning differences are and all the different learn-ing differences that different children have.”

While Nichols has faced many challenges, the biggest for her was coming to Canada as an immigrant and feeling the sense of not be-longing, not understanding your rights and privileges and not understanding what you have access to.

“It is hard especially in the educational system where you need help and you go to one specific department and then you’re sent all over the college,” she said.

Her experience of navigating the school system as a new immigrant is part of what drove Nichols to work and volunteer at Peer-connect. “Being able to help students when they come to you for help, even though you are a student but even then realizing that you can also impact a student is a huge deal.”

Swynda Nichols gets her power from her son

RENUKA MALHOTRASTAFF REPORTER

// STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Social service worker student Swynda Nichols

balances school and family

Swynda Nichols started the Student International Development Club at George Brown College and works at Peerconnect helping students. Photo: Renuka Malhotra/The Dialog

In his own words, Thomas Bradley, 36, put in a “20-year-career” of being a drug addict which included periods of home-

lessness, stealing from friends and family, jail-time and seven overdoses. In this career, Bradley’s primary job was to feed his addic-tion.

“Drugs gave me enough willpower to get out of bed, and the only reason I got out of bed was to get more dope. I didn’t get out of bed to go to the dentist, I didn’t get out of bed to go to work.”

Bradley, who just finished his first semes-ter of George Brown College’s (GBC) transi-tions to post-secondary education program, thinks that his trouble with substance use began with his parents’ separation in 1992. When his parents separated he lived with his father, who Bradley described as an alcoholic, a party animal and someone who could get aggressive.

“My dad tried to relive his youth, my house became the party house. Everybody would come to my house and party, and I never got to leave that party.”

A competitive streak at one time drove Bradley to hone his skateboarding abilities to point of getting sponsorship offers, and poten-tially turning professional. But the drive for drugs won out over his skateboarding talents, and he would spend the next several years, angry at himself and everyone, using most days, and in and out of treatment programs.

Bradley’s substance use escalated to the point where he thought he wanted to be the best addict he could be, at times feeling com-pelled to compete with his friends over who could buy and use the most drugs.

In 2013, a survey by Centre for Addiction and Mental Health found that 17 per cent of Ontario students in grades 9-12, an estimat-ed 132,700, reported that they had symptoms

Thomas Bradley’s work in progressSteve Cornwell // ASsistant editor

May–August 2016p.8

“I’m reintegratinginto societ y again,

from a hopeless dope addict to a dopeless hope addict”

of a drug use problem.Leap of Faith Together (LOFT) commu-

nity services has been running substance use and mental health open groups at GBC, Ryerson and the Ontario College of Art and Design University for a year. The sessions are open so students can drop in and leave as they need, and emphasize learning skills to work through problems with substance use.

Darlene Coppens, a transitional aged youth coordinator with LOFT, said that one of the goals of the campus program is to start a dialogue with students about substance use, and to bring services direct-ly to students.

“When we first started to meet with students, some of their conversations were about how it was easier to find drugs then it was to find services. If someone asked them ‘where do I find coke?’, they could tell you where it was, but if someone said ‘I don’t want to do coke anymore, what do I do?’, no one knew what to do.”

A report from LOFT said that 51 stu-dents are enrolled in the program, and that 86 per cent of students involved have maintained their enrolment in school.

Coppens said the biggest goal in the program is keeping students with sub-stance use issues in school. Instead of feeling they need to quit, get kicked out, or withdraw the program works with them to continue their education.

Bradley didn’t finish high school, and was sometimes homeless before he made it to George Brown.

“I would notice, ‘okay, I’m sleeping outside in the snow with a sleeping bag. Something’s wrong here.’”

But Bradley’s worst moment involved the death of grandmother, a person he said was one of the most important people in his life.

“My grandmother passed away, and I didn’t make it to the funeral because I was high.”

It took Bradley two months after his grandmother’s death to stop using. On the day he got clean, Bradley said that he made eight promises to his grandmother to change things and make up for lost time. The promises are very private to him, “I’ve told nobody those promises ex-cept the sky,” but Bradley said he hasn’t broken a single one.

In a new relationship, and learning to be a father to his partner’s daughter, Brad-ley is brimming with ambitions, includ-ing becoming a life coach, a motivational speaker and recording a hip-hop album.

Clean since October 2015, he stays ac-tive in the substance recovery community by writing motivational blogs for others struggling with addictions.

“I’m reintegrating into society again, from a hopeless dope addict to a dopeless hope addict.”

May–August 2016 p.9

After a “20-year career” as a drug addict Thomas Bradley is now clean and a student

in George Brown College’s transitions to post-secondary education program.

Photo: Mike Shea/The Dialog

Why I took a break from Netflixclement goh // SPECIAL TO THE DIALOG

May–August 2016p.10

In the age of media streaming, online programming is changing the way people enjoy entertainment. With online services like Crave TV and Crackle on the rise with subscribers, it’s fascinating how a large TV set has been slimmed down into a tiny app in our laptops and phones; essential life tools that are needed to connect us to almost everything.

Netflix in particular has become a household name since its original idea of shipping DVDs to the doors of millions. In 2016, it almost seems like a privilege to be able to enjoy an end-less amount of content for a modest monthly fee. However, it can prove a bit too addicting as Netflix’s strategy of offering complete series gives people a bigger reason to stay glued to their

content daily. According to Netflix’s most recent

financial statements, the company has over 81.5 million subscribers globally and a revenue of $6.1 billion in 2015.

To binge anything, is to indulge consecutively. A term coined for watch-ing a movie or show in an extended sitting, the verb binge-watching was named “Word of the Year” in 2015 by Collins dictionary.

To see how bigand bad Netflix was in my life, I went cold-turkey and stopped watching it for one month—it was hell.

A large activity in my day was gone, and I kept wondering to myself what I could do to pass those long hours. Rather than watching Daredevil beat the living piss out of criminals while

melting in bed, I decided to set out and build my own story. I reconnected with my friends instead of my favorite char-acters, and episodes became long days of going to different places.

Going back into Netflix, a list of unfinished shows welcomed me back with open arms. I felt more immersed into a series by giving myself time off the app to process what went down in-between episodes, rather than click-ing on the next episode and wondering if I had watched the series from start to finish.

Try going binge-free on Netflix. Binge on alternative adventures and you’ll surprise yourself at how much better it is when you watch your shows.

May–August 2016 p.11

A s stated in the popular cookbook, Thug Kitchen, “when it comes to marketing, food companies pull all kinds of non-

sense to sell consumers their bullshit.” With a variety of different food labels and

advertising posing as food labels, one can easily get lost determining which product is healthier, particularly with organic food.

Although the definition might vary from country to country, organic foods generally mean foods produced by methods that meet the standards of organic farming. According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Or-ganization, growing organic food means, “elim-inating the use of synthetic inputs, such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, veterinary drugs, genetically modified seeds and breeds, preservatives, additives and irradiation.”

As a culinary-obsessed school, George Brown College (GBC) has surprisingly little organic foods available to the students. The ap-proach of food initiatives at the school, though, is sensitive and the absence of organic label does not mean the food is harmful.

“Though we may not necessarily use organ-ic, I do know we make every attempt to source local where possible and in season,” said chef Patrick Secord, program coordinator of in-tegrated culinary management at GBC. The location of all products from George Brown’s vendors is traceable to its origins, he added.

Other food sources at GBC, Good Food Mar-ket (GFM) and the food bank, occasionally have organic products, said Mireya Forero, garden coordinator at the GBC Student Association, which funds The Dialog. “It is not frequently, though, because organic products are expensive and students cannot afford them at the GFM.”

The Chef’s House, GBC’s student run restau-rant is also reluctant to use organic products because of the cost. “General speaking, we don’t really particularly buy organic products at The Chefs’ House,” said Oliver Li, chef instructor at the student-run restaurant. “The main reason I would say is because of price point.”

One reason why organic items cost more is simple: obtaining certification is expensive. Ac-cording to Statistics Canada, the average farm in Ontario is 244 acres. If a non-greenhouse vegetable farm of that size were to be certified by Pro-Cert Organic Systems, one of the larg-er certification companies in North America, it would cost at least $880. The cost of certifica-tion goes up if the farm has any on-site process-ing operation, greenhouses, livestock, and so on. Certification prices are such that many farms cannot afford the certification even though their farming is completely organic.

Organic farming has been around for ages, it just was not named that. The organic move-

ment arose in 1940s as a response to industri-alization of agriculture.

In June 2009, the Organic Products Regula-tions came into force in Canada. Since then, all organic products that travel across provinces and internationally must be certified in order for a product to be labelled organic. All farmers, processors, retailers and certifiers now have to comply with the Canadian regulations, accord-ing to the Organic Federation of Canada (OFC) website.

With the exception of Quebec, New Bruns-wick and Manitoba, products grown and sold in the same province do not need to be certified in order for the seller to say that the product is organic. In Ontario, for example, in order to ensure that locally produced products are actu-ally organic, a buyer would have to contact Con-sumer Protection Ontario to check the product’s organic authenticity. For certified products con-sumers can ask to see the organic compliance certificate issued by the certifier who inspected the product.

Another thing to keep in mind is the prod-uct itself. Fruits and vegetables with thick skin do not have to be organic, a fact proven by the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy group for human health and the environment. Their Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce ranks pesticide con-tamination on 48 popular fruits and vegetables based on the USDA research. Annually updat-ed, the 2016 Clean List include avocados, corn, pineapples, cabbage, sweet peas and 10 more items that do not require an organic certifica-tion to be good for you.

Last but not least, the word organic in a company’s name does not necessarily mean they offer organic products. Due to high pop-ularity of the word (and the excuse it gives to raise the prices), multiple companies misuse the word and confuse consumers.

Aliona Kuts //

May–August 2016

staff reporter

p.12

Is it time to moo-ve over for more steak on the menu?

Earlier this year, market analysts made waves announcing an end to a historic rise in the price of beef. But while the price of several beef products in Canada had started to decline last November, they rebounded in March according to Statistics Canada’s latest Consumer Price Index.

A kilogram of ground beef had fallen to $12.62 by February but jumped to $13.11 in March.

Prime rib roast and blade rib roast prices slightly increased in price from November 2015 to March of this year according to Sta-tistics Canada.

“Many things affect the price of beef,” said John S. Lee, teaching chef at George Brown College’s centre for` hospitality and culinary arts. Lee highlighted factors such as land and government subsidies, as well as Canada’s connection to a sometimes vol-atile global marketplace.

Lee noted the connection between the drought in California, one of the biggest food producing jurisdictions in the world, and the rising price of beef. “The fact that cauliflower went up to $7 a head, is directly related to the beef industry,” he said. “With less water, California needed more water than any other state in terms of agricul-tural industry and as soon as there’s less water available, what do they put the water into? Raising vegetables, or raising beef?”

While Beef prices had seen steady in-creases, the price of chicken and pork prod-ucts had increased comparatively little over a four year period. According to Statistics Canada, the price of one kilogram of pork chops increased 23 per cent, and chicken only eight per cent between March 2012 and March 2016.

The average retail price for one kilo-gram of ground beef in February 2012 was $8.92, before soaring to a whopping $13.11 in March 2016, an increase of 47 per cent. The most expensive cut of prime rib roast followed suit, with a balanced retail price from $23.57 in March 2012 to $32.21 in March. 2016, a 37 per cent increase.

Brian Perillat of the Canadian Cattle-men’s Association said the sudden ease of costs this past fall and winter ties into an economic recovery, following a 30 per cent decrease of cattle livestock across North America.

“We’re going to start seeing a few more cattle, but we’re not going to see a big in-crease in the short term so the demand

side is somewhat limited at these higher beef prices,” said Perillat. “The issue with the demand is that prices spiked so much. That’s where supply and demand kicks in the market, and they try to find equilibrium so as supplies shrunk, prices really shot up.”

Cheaper prices could spark a demand that encourages more customers to buy beef. This increase in demand could mean that distributors and producers will have to work harder in order to keep replenishing supplies.

“If prices are to be reduced, then most definitely we’ll have more demand,” said Ahmad Alamedddine, a local halal butcher at Paramount Fine Foods in Mississauga. “We have a margin we are trying to main-tain, and with the cut in prices, we are sell-ing at this level. When the price decreases, we are decreasing our costs so we are not making any profit.” He added, “the volume of the sales is increasing, but the profit at the end of the day will remain.”

Ultimately, beef prices can teeter-totter as distributors pace back-and-forth. In the meantime, sit back and consider adding more steak to your summer barbecue list.

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May–August 2016

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p.13

Health benefits at collegeworkers.org

Erin ThorsonADMIN ASSISTANT LANGUAGE STUDIES

If you work as part-time Support staff for George Brown College, or worked during this academic year, email tracy@collegeworkers.org for more information.

A part-timer can work here for years and never get health benefits or a single sick day. HOW IS THAT FAIR? ”

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15The Dialog • dialognews.ca // May–August 2016 SCIENCE & TECH

The element of mystery within storytelling is often difficult to convey as it skirts the line between vague plot devices and painfully obvi-ous clues. There has to be a nuanced balance so the resolution makes sense, while at the same time being guided along by a compelling sense of intrigue that piques the audience’s curiosity.

With the game Severed, Drinkbox Studio’s latest, the player is dropped into an unknown world as the main character, Sasha, searches for her missing family—as well as her missing arm.

Much of the world, and by extension, the gameplay, is explained through characters

separate from Sasha who the player runs into. They all speak to you with a sense of familiarity. Sasha charges on with little to no hesitation. These characters know something you as the player don’t know or may not have realized yet. The world of Severed is one dominated by viv-id palettes and ghastly shapes and invites the player’s interaction through its mystery-based storytelling elements.

What makes Severed’s gameplay so unique is the mechanics that pull it together. The main objective is slicing enemies and obstacles by use of the PS Vita’s touch screen, while moving in first-person view through 2D assets in a 3D world.

Monsters will drop body parts which can be collected and used for upgrades that enhance the player’s battle capabilities. It’s an RPG dun-geon crawler with a turn-based battle system and touch-based interaction set in a dark and foreboding world.

Severed is available for PlayStation’s PS Vita and retails for $14.99 US.

New game by Drinkbox Studio released on PS Vita

GABRIELA AVEIRO-OJEDA VIDEO GAME COLUMNIST

Severed game brings together family mystery

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