March 31 to April 6, 2025 | |
In this issue...
• Canadian tourism to U.S. collapsing to levels deemed "catastrophic" by one operator
• DNA company 23andMe declares bankruptcy. That results of that saliva sample you submitted will be sold to someone else.
• By the numbers X 10 + 1
• CBC Radio's Under the Influence: The busiest day of the year for various businesses may surprise you
• Grandparents: Beware of AI voice cloning scams! They are incredibly believable.
• New release: The Hump Day Collection - Volume 1
• Buy them now! Acadian Recipes and More - Volumes 1, 2 & 3, and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1
• The next Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Trivia Night will be held on Monday, March 31
• Before you go: 7 things you may have missed in the news
• Enjoy the outdoors this winter with the Greater Moncton Walking Group
... and trivia, quotes and more!
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Canadian tourism to U.S. collapsing to levels deemed "catastrophic" by one operator
Reports that Canadians are cancelling their pre-scheduled trips to the U.S. are all over the media. At first, I thought that maybe it was a just a few here and there, but it really is a tidal wave. One chart I saw online had Canadians' flight reservations to U.S. destinations collapsing by 75% over last year.
Article excerpt: "Whether it’s trade tensions, a weak dollar or political positioning, fewer Canadians are travelling to the U.S. this year and it’s taking a toll on tour operators on both sides of the border.
Karl Gilder, owner of Ottawa-based Travac Tours, says demand for his once-popular coach tours to New York has disappeared.
'People aren’t willing to go to the States right now. They just don’t want to and they’ve been cancelling left and right,' said Gildner.
'Our New York trip, which is our signature product to the U.S., over the years we were averaging 25 to 30 buses a year and we’re down to zero. It’s a big chunk.'
Travac, which has been operating for 53 years, is now seeing its biggest drop in U.S. business outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.
'This is certainly a close second,' he said. 'I hope this gets settled pretty quickly. I personally think it can be settled and I’d like things to go back to normal.'
The impact isn’t just on this side of the border. Matt Levy, owner of New York City’s Spread Love Tours, calls the decline of Canadian tourists 'catastrophic'."
I have news for those claiming it's a "weak dollar" - it's not. It's Trump's tariffs. Period. End of story. I don't know many people travelling to the U.S. these days purely for pleasure. It's mostly to visit close friends and family and a desire to see them.
(Shown in photo: Old Orchard Beach, Maine)
Read: Decline of Canadians heading to the U.S. "catastrophic" for tour operators. Related 1: United, Air Canada scale back U.S.-Canada flights. Related 2: WestJet suspends two American routes out of Alberta, including Edmonton to Orlando flight. Related 3: Maine hotel owners speak out amid flurry of cancellations from Canadians.
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DNA company 23andMe declares bankruptcy. That results of that saliva sample you submitted will be sold to someone else.
If you're like me and got one of those DNA tests done, you may want to ensure that your data is erased if you used 23andMe, which has gone bankrupt and whose assets (i.e. DNA data) will likely be sold. Experts are warning the service's clients to delete their accounts and data immediately.
Article excerpt: "For those who are wondering, you're not alone. Officials, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta, had questioned what would happen to the genetic data collected by 23andMe. Last week, Bonta issued a consumer alert urging customers to delete their accounts.
'Given 23andMe's reported financial distress, I remind Californians to consider invoking their rights and directing 23andMe to delete their data and destroy any samples of genetic material held by the company,' he wrote Friday.
On Tuesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James also encouraged customers to delete their accounts and secure their data, calling 23andMe's bankruptcy announcement 'concerning.'
The Washington Post's tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler wrote Monday that 'unless you take action, there is a risk your genetic information could end up in someone else's hands - and used in ways you had never considered.'"
If you used 23andMe, it's probably best that you take the experts' advice and clean out your data from their systems right away.
Read: What happens to your DNA data now that 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy? Related 1: How to delete your 23andMe data. Related 2: Fredericton cybersecurity expert urges 23andMe users to delete data now.
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Grandparents: Beware of AI voice cloning scams! They are incredibly believable.
I'm usually a bit judgmental - admittedly - when I hear of people getting caught up in obvious scams. No, that email from the Nigerian prince leaving you his fortune is not real. With that said, with the growing advent of artificial intelligence (AI), scams are getting more and more sophisticated, especially now that voices can be easily replicated to sound eerily accurate. If you're awakened in the middle of the night by a telephone call from someone who sounds exactly like your grandson, it's difficult to immediately assume it's fake. Not only are you half asleep, but the voice-copying technology is scarily good.
Article excerpt: "The voice was convincing.
The caller identified himself as police, but then another voice came on the line.
'He goes, 'Hi Grandma. Yeah, I got in trouble here. The police say they need some money to release me or they're going to keep me in jail,'' Kevin Crawford recalls.
His mother, Marilyn, had just been awakened by the call. And the Ontario senior was certain it was her grandson, Ian, on the phone.
She was told he'd been arrested for stealing a car and that he needed $9,000 sent to police for his release.
Only, it wasn't Ian. It was a scam phone call so convincing that Kevin and Marilyn wonder if fraudsters used artificial intelligence to clone Ian's voice.
And Crawford says that even though the voice sounded slightly different, it convinced her enough to agree to pay up.
'I was anxious to get the money out; I'd do anything for my grandchildren,' she said of the conversation from 2021.
It's known broadly as the 'emergency' or 'grandparent' scam: the caller claims to be the victim's grandchild and is in the middle of a crisis, usually saying that a crime has been committed - and they need money. They instruct the grandparent or intended victim to tell no one.
And it's been a successful ploy; Canadians reported losing nearly $3 million to this scam in 2024, according to figures from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre."
The bottom line: While it may sound "cruel" to ignore "your" grandchild who's in trouble, keep your wits about yourself and check things out first. Also, no jail or law enforcement agency will demand gift cards for bail... ever.
Read: Her grandson's voice said he was under arrest. This senior was almost scammed with suspected AI voice cloning.
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CBC Radio's Under the Influence: The busiest day of the year for various businesses may surprise you
This week's episode of CBC Radio's Under the Influence series with host Terry O'Reilly looked at the busiest day of the year for various businesses.
• March 27, 2025 - Busiest Day of the Year. Synopsis: "This week, we ask an interesting question: What is the busiest day of the year for pizza delivery companies, Airbnb, emergency rooms, maternity wards, restaurants and dating apps? What is the busiest day of the year for weddings? And what is the busiest day of the year for… plumbers? It’s all fascinating - and often very surprising." Click here to listen to the episode and click here to check out the episode's website post.
Click here for the show's website and here for the show's podcast archive.
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New release: The Hump Day Collection - Volume 1
I'm thrilled to announce that The Hump Day Collection - Volume 1 is now available for purchase through Amazon in ebook or paperback (300+ pages) format. The book contains 75 updated and revised Hump Day stories that ran for many years in a local newspaper. I've been asked many times to put these in book format, so I'm hoping you'll like it! For ebook lovers, the book is part of the Kindle Unlimited subscription-based program from Amazon. To purchase today:
• Chapters (Dieppe NB location)
• Amazon Canada: amzn.to/4gckiQX
• Amazon USA: amzn.to/3CnKfiF
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Buy them now! Acadian Recipes and More - Volumes 1, 2 & 3, and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1
My three volumes of Acadian recipe books (English and French) and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1 are out now and make a great addition to your recipe book library or a gift for someone else! They are available on Amazon Canada, Amazon USA and in some local retail outlets in Southeastern New Brunswick:
• Chapters (Dieppe) (Volumes 1-3, Forgotten Recipes)
• Le P'tit Coin Acadien Poutine Râpée (Bouctouche) (Volumes 1-3)
• Jean Coutu Pharmacy (Champlain Street, Dieppe) (Volumes 1-3)
• Monument-Lefebvre (Memramcook) (Volumes 1-2)
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The next Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Trivia Night will be held on Monday, March 31
PLEASE NOTE: This event was rescheduled from March 24 due to weather.
The next Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club Trivia Night of the 2024-2025 season will be held at St. Louis Bar & Grill, 1405 Mountain Road, Moncton, on Monday, March 31, beginning at 6:30 p.m. $10 per person (cash only). Facebook event listing: bit.ly/4hIvvKF.
Participants may play as teams or individuals. The winning team gets 50% of the door receipts as their prize.
It is strongly suggested that participants arrive by 5:15-5:30 p.m. for a seat. Trivia begins at 6:30 p.m. sharp and is usually over by 8 p.m. Everyone welcome!
Please note that restaurant reservations are NOT available for this event. First come, first served. Limited seating of approximately 50 guests.
Participants may bring an optional non-perishable food item (box of granola bars, Kraft Dinner, cereal, etc.) for distribution at Krista Richard's Community Sports Program events, of which the Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club is a sponsor. Any donations will be gratefully received and provided to Krista for distribution to her program participants (school-aged children from Moncton-area schools).
Since Rotary Trivia Nights began in 2016, the Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club has donated more than $20,000 to Atlantic Wellness, Karing Kitchen, Ray of Hope Kitchen, Salvus Clinic, The Humanity Project, BGC Moncton (Moncton Boys & Girls Club), Junior Achievement New Brunswick, Project Linus - Moncton Chapter, Habitat for Humanity, Junior Achievement New Brunswick, Children's Wish Canada and Krista Richard's Community Sports Program, among others.
The Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club gratefully acknowledges the kind and generous sponsorship of our restaurant partner, St. Louis Bar & Grill.
PLEASE NOTE: There is a no telephone rule at these events. The answers cannot be researched except among discussion with your team members.
The remaining Trivia Night schedule for 2024-2025 is as follows:
• Monday, April 28, 2025
• Monday, May 26, 2025
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Trivia: Did you know?
In 1871, Canada adopted a common currency – the dollar – for all areas of the country, thus abolishing regional currencies.
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Quotes of note
• 1. "Be bold, be brave enough to be your true self."
- Queen Latifah, singer and actress (shown in photo)
• 2. "Music is like a painting."
- Dick Dale
• 3. "I always tried to turn every disaster into an opportunity."
- John D. Rockefeller
• 4. "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude."
- Thomas Jefferson
• 5. "A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug."
- Patricia Neal
• 6. "If you don't care about the guy next to you, one, you're a terrible teammate. Two, you're never gonna win."
- Travis Kelce
• 7. "It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to."
- W.C. Fields
• 8. "Y'know, you can't please all the people all the time... and last night, all those people were at my show."
- Mitch Hedberg
• 9. "Next time I see you, remind me not to talk to you."
- Groucho Marx
• 10. "Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement."
- Ronald Reagan
Photo credit: Actor Stock photos by Vecteezy
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Enjoy the outdoors this winter with the Greater Moncton Walking Group
In April, the group is walking in Rotary Park, Dieppe, with meet-up in the Rotary Lodge parking lot located at 505 Melanson Road.
The group meets for walks every Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30 a.m. New participants are always welcome! For more information, please contact Wayne Harrigan at 506-386-2187 or via email.
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About this newsletter
Brian Cormier's Weekly Update is distributed weekly from September to June. If you're reading this newsletter online and want to subscribe, please email me, fill out the subscription form on my website, or subscribe via the "Join Our Email List" button at the top of the newsletter (if you're viewing this in a browser.) This newsletter is not published in July and August and on holidays.
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