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New York Times
12-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How the Oilers are drawing inspiration from a resilient dog sled musher: ‘It's about everyone'
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Edmonton Oilers have adopted the mantra of 'We all pull in the same direction' for these playoffs. A sign is hung in their dressing room, home and away, whenever the players are present, with the No. 16 — the number of wins it takes to claim the Stanley Cup — and the emblem of a dog sled musher racing with his team. Advertisement The imagery is not coincidental. The Oilers received a motivational speech from musher Jason Campeau before the playoffs, and his message has served to help unite them and spur them ahead during difficult times. Now would be one of them, as the Oilers trail the Florida Panthers 2-1 in the Stanley Cup Final heading into Game 4 on Thursday. 'I love the fact of, it really does take everyone to do something great,' Campeau said. 'When I look at that message, it's so relatable to this team.' Coach Kris Knoblauch sought someone to rally the group when the Oilers had a bit of downtime in San Jose during their final preparations before their first-round series in Los Angeles. Campeau came recommended by Oilers psychologist Dr. Marty Mrazik. Campeau, 50, checked off a lot of boxes. He's a former hockey player. While playing for the North Bay Centennials, Campeau scored the winning goal of the 1994 Ontario Hockey League final in overtime against a Detroit Junior Red Wings squad coached by Paul Maurice. He went on to play for the University of New Brunswick and attended training camp with the Toronto Maple Leafs before injuries halted his career. He was also successful in the business world. He owned and sold a technology company, which allowed him to retire and start dog sledding a decade ago. Campeau fulfilled a boyhood dream sparked by driving past a dog sled touring company in central Ontario while on summer family vacations. But the biggest reason Mrazik thought Campeau would be the perfect candidate to speak with the Oilers was because he had worked with him before — after a catastrophic accident during a dog sled race that almost cost Campeau his life. 'To hear from somebody who goes through very difficult times and something completely different than hockey was inspiring,' Oilers center Adam Henrique said. 'It was motivation to us,' goalie Stuart Skinner said. 'It brought things to light. That's where things started in the sense of really making sure we stick together going into the playoffs and through each series. It's not easy, but it's not easy what he does.' Campeau was approximately one-tenth of the way through the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest in 2018 when he saw another musher slide out of control while charging up Rosebud Summit, one of the sharpest peaks in dog sled racing. Instinctively, Campeau tried to help as the other team slid down the cliff, but that sent his sled off-kilter and sent him toppling face-first to the icy tundra. Advertisement He was unconscious for approximately 10 minutes. 'The remarkable part of all that is, if I'm not hanging on, the dogs typically would have taken an easy path and just gone right back down the mountain,' Campeau said. 'I got up and I remember every single dog holding the line tight, facing upwards on the mountain, just staring at me, ready to go, which is unheard of.' With his dogs by his side, Campeau felt he could continue. It wasn't until a day later that he realized he wasn't functioning properly, after they'd made it nearly 300 miles down the trail. At first, Campeau thought he was just sleep-deprived, but he kept stumbling and falling over as he fed and bedded his dogs, approximately 50 miles beyond Eagle, Alaska. His body shut down. He eventually passed out from a severe concussion with none of the other racers around, with his parka unzipped amid temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. 'It came down to life or death,' Campeau said. Other dogs might have left in a similar situation. Campeau's pack of Alaskan Huskies didn't. He's forever thankful to them, especially Spider, whom he compared to Oilers captain Connor McDavid as his 'generational dog.' Spider and the rest of the dogs stayed with him until a trapper and his son found him later that day. He's not sure if they would have noticed him without all the dogs around. They transported Campeau, badly injured and hypothermic, to their nearby home. 'They slowly brought me back to life,' Campeau said. A United States military helicopter was called to transport Campeau to a hospital in Fairbanks, Alaska, but a wicked storm prevented his rescue until the following morning. Campeau asked to see his dogs before he was stretchered into the chopper. 'I'll always remember that,' he said. 'We built a bond, (to) where we're inseparable.' Advertisement Campeau had finished one Quest and two Iditarods — the Stanley Cup of dog sled races — in the years prior to his 2018 harrowing experience. His story resonated with the Oilers. 'He's out there by himself, but, at the same time, with a team,' Henrique said. 'He's got to rely on those dogs, literally, for survival. Everything is on the line. Trying to compare that to what we do — putting everything on the line every single night — it's not life and death, but it's win or lose. We've almost been able to have that mentality as the group. 'With the dogs and what he went through and how we persevered through that, at times, whether we're up or down, you try to bring those same thoughts into what we're doing.' Campeau said he's always trained his dogs to be able to fulfill any role on his team. It's not unlike the Oilers during this playoff run. Mushers typically have 16 dogs on their team, grouped in pairs. The first two are the lead dogs, such as Spider. The second two are the swing dogs, secondary leaders. Then you have the team dogs making up the next five pairs before the wheel dogs — which Campeau equates to the goaltenders — in front of the sled. Campeau believes every dog plays a key role in a musher's success. He sees parallels with the makeup of the Oilers this spring, especially considering all the injuries they had entering the postseason. 'Everyone had to come in and buy in right away,' Campeau said. 'You needed everyone on the same page. The first two games (against Los Angeles) didn't go as planned, but since that point no one's looked back.' Naturally, McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are most often at the front of the pack, but the Oilers have needed others to step into that role, too. They wouldn't be in the thick of the Stanley Cup Final again if not for Evan Bouchard's heroics late in the first round and subsequent play, or a couple of monster performances from Evander Kane, or Kasperi Kapanen's overtime winner to knock out the Vegas Golden Knights, or Skinner's three shutouts. The way their defense stepped up without Mattias Ekholm — a regular swing dog — was crucial to them winning three rounds. For the last four games, they've been carrying on without winger Zach Hyman, another swing-dog candidate. Advertisement 'It's just like the dogs,' Campeau said. 'If one of your main leaders went down, someone from the back of the team might step up and fill that role. 'If you had one dog that wasn't fully pulling, the team wasn't running efficiently.' Campeau expressed the importance of relying on your teammates during his April conversation with the team. There are times, he said, when he's been racing amid whiteouts and couldn't see a thing, so he'd have to trust his dogs to guide the way for up to 200 miles without him making a single command. 'With the team, it's about trusting that guy beside you and finding a different level,' Campeau said. The Oilers have certainly relied on everyone. They've used 14 forwards and nine defensemen. Twenty of those 23 skaters have scored a goal in the playoffs. Both goaltenders have contributed at least six wins. Knoblauch said Wednesday there will likely be a lineup change for the pivotal Game 4 as the Oilers look to even the series. Whether that's Troy Stecher replacing John Klingberg, Jeff Skinner coming in for the banged-up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Calvin Pickard getting the start in net, the team's approach won't change. 'Everyone's got a role to play. It's about everyone,' said winger Trent Frederic, who returned from an ankle injury for the start of the playoffs. 'You've just got to hop in the pack and run with it and pull your part.' They'll be drawing on inspiration from Campeau, whose dog sledding days didn't end after he nearly died in that 2018 race. He wouldn't go out like that. He competed in his third Iditarod the following year. 'I loved the challenge,' Campeau said. 'The harder it got, the more I liked it.' Campeau's dog sledding career is on hiatus right now. He was training a young team to compete a couple of years ago until he suffered another major concussion, the result of a head-on car collision in Southern Alberta. He aims to run Iditarod again, and he plans to win. 'That's life,' he said. 'You face challenges. You're going to get knocked down many times. When you face adversity, you can't let it define you.' Advertisement Campeau has been around the Oilers intermittently throughout the playoffs, depending on his duties at his ranch, located a 30-minute drive west of Rocky Mountain House, Alta. He was in Edmonton for the start of the Final, didn't travel to Florida but will be back in the Alberta capital for Game 5. Maybe, just maybe, he'll be able to witness the Oilers winning the Stanley Cup soon, after his speech sparked their playoff slogan. 'I take pride in being just a small little part, but I love the message,' Campeau said. 'As far as this team goes, you can tell that they're destined. 'I just see the drive and the passion from the top down. It's incredible.' (Top photo of Jason Campeau at 2019 Iditarod: Courtesy of Jason Campeau)
CBC
13-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
Advocacy groups won't appeal Ontario court's dismissal of Charter challenge to long-term care law
Advocacy organizations won't appeal an Ontario court's decision to dismiss their Charter challenge of the province's long-term care (LTC) law, which allows hospitals to move people into homes they didn't choose or be charged $400 a day to remain in hospital. The case, launched by the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE) and the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), was heard in the Superior Court of Justice in September. The two parties argued Bill 7, the More Beds, Better Care Act, — which was passed in 2022 — violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms so the law should be overturned. The provincial government, however, maintains the law is necessary to free up much-needed hospital beds. In mid-January, the court sided with the province and decided to dismiss the case. In an interview with CBC News on Wednesday, Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra said OHC can't afford the legal costs to appeal. The OHC is paying the majority of legal fees in this case, of "close to $200,000," according to Mehra. She said they're still fundraising to pay it off. She also said an appeal is always challenging to win. "It's very disappointing and really heartbreaking," Mehra said. "We know that patients really are suffering as a result of the coercion, trying to find somewhere to move from hospital into a long-term care home that is a decent home, that provides the care that they need, that is close to loved ones." In the published decision from January, Justice Robert Centa said the law doesn't contravene the Charter. The bill "does not interfere with an ALC [alternate level of care] patient's 'right' to choose where they live," and the $400 daily charge for a continued hospital stay is "not coercive," Centa wrote. Instead, Bill 7 has a "sufficiently important objective," the justice added. "I found that the purpose of Bill 7 is to reduce the number of ALC patients in hospital who are eligible for admission to a long-term care home in order to maximize hospital resources for patients who need hospital-level care." Mehra said ACE and the OHC were "shocked" by the ruling, especially the idea that a $400 daily charge isn't coercive. "These are elderly patients, they're on fixed incomes, $400 a day is $12,000 a month — that is beyond the means of the vast majority of people in Ontario. It really means that they don't have a choice in our view." An Ontario patient charged $26K under legislation Since the law was implemented in 2022, CBC News has spoken with people who were impacted, including Michele Campeau, whose elderly mom was charged $26,000 under the legislation last year. Campeau had refused to move her mom out of a Windsor hospital and into a long-term care home the family didn't want. CBC News reached out this week to Campeau for comment, but hasn't heard back. When she last spoke to CBC News in January, Campeau said she wasn't planning to pay the fee and didn't agree with the court ruling. Patients, their caregivers and seniors advocates have said the law is unfair and doesn't give elderly people, who might be in their final stage of life, the right to choose where they want to live. But health-care leaders who provided expert evidence during the court case have said the law helps free up hospital beds for people who need them. A spokesperson for Ontario's minister of health previously told CBC News the law "ensures people across the province receive the care they need, in a setting that is right for them." "It frees up hospital beds so that people waiting for surgeries can get them sooner. It eases pressures on crowded emergency departments by admitting patients sooner and it connects more people to the care they need when they need it." 'Ramp up our fight' Despite the OHC's decision, Mehra said they're not giving up. She said they will continue to advocate for patients and "ramp up our fight" to get the province to prioritize the rights of elderly patients. Beyond overturning the law, she said, they'll advocate for the government to improve home care, increase capacity in hospitals and LTC homes, and move forward with building new and modern homes that people want to live in. "The fact that the solution has been to target patients rather than to deal with the capacity issues in our health system ... it's wrong, it's morally wrong, to treat people at the end of their lives in that way," she said. "We have to fight with everything we have to force political change."
CBC
08-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Canadian businesses enjoying boost in sales thanks to tariff threats, annexation talk
Darius Campeau is coming off one of his biggest months of sales ever, and he attributes it all to U.S. President Donald Trump calling Canada the "51st state." "As soon as that famous saying came out, all of a sudden we started getting calls, we started getting emails. People really wanted to make sure what they're buying was Canadian, authentically Canadian, not just a flag put onto it," he said. Campeau owns Ottawa Valley Meats, a business that prides itself on being 100 per cent Canadian, including their farmers, butchers and even the packaging they use. In February, the company experienced its second largest month in sales ever, with a 30 per cent increase in orders. "We've never had a month that big, so it's been a really successful month for us and local farms," he said. "It's actually like overshadowed everything." Like Ottawa Valley Meats, other Canadian businesses have experienced a boost in sales thanks to both the U.S. tariff threat and the "Made In Canada" shopping movement. The boost comes as consumers become more aware of where their products come from and shift their shopping habits to support Canadian businesses. Campeau said he's seen a change in shopping patterns and online engagement as customers are now buying Canadian products with a sense of pride. "We're seeing a lot of Canadiana come out. People are really proud of the fact they're buying Canadian," he said. The company has also started giving out stickers showing a farmer in a plaid shirt with the slogan, "I want you to buy Canadian," a spoof on the famous American recruitment poster featuring Uncle Sam. 'Made in Canada' Like Campeau, Brodie O'Connor, co-owner of Blondie Apparel, has also noticed a shift in shopping patterns. Since January, she's seen a 35 per cent increase in first-time orders. The appeal for new customers? The fact that everything is designed and manufactured in Canada. "Even our tags are Canadians, so that's pretty exciting," Campeau said. Another possible reason for the sales increase: Blondie Apparel's limited-edition "Made in Canada" crewnecks that launched in January. "We figured it would be popular, but we didn't realize it would be quite that popular," she said. "The reaction has been crazy. People really loved it." The collection sold out quickly — 130 sweaters in two days, necessitating a relaunch. Feeling Canadian support Gloria Van Wort, owner of Glorified By Society, a Canadian non-toxic home fragrance brand, is also seeing products fly off the shelves. Since January, she's noted a 20 per cent increase in sales, and her candle-making classes are sold out until April. "It's been incredible," she said. "It's definitely a lot of work, but the support that the local community has thrown behind me has been absolutely incredible." Since December, Van Wort's business has taken off so much that she's put her house up for sale to expand it. "We're packed to the rafters here," she said. "I'm very fortunate that I have outgrown this space, so we're going to be building a house and that's going to have a bigger garage and a bigger basement so that we'll have more room for more supplies." She's also noticed a shift in shopping patterns as customers switch from large American beauty companies to smaller Canadian brands like hers. "I'm very thankful that people have really rallied behind Canadian businesses and thrown all of their support into shopping local, because if it weren't for the customers, this brand wouldn't exist," she said.
