Latest news with #JenniferJohnson
CBC
23-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Regina's new merch line gives tourists a whiff of the Queen City with custom fragrance
Tourism Regina is sniffing around for new ways to promote the city. The City of Regina has launched a refreshed line of Tourism Regina and "I Love Regina" merchandise, complete with updated designs and even a custom scent. The new collection from Tourism Regina features a "City Lights" candle and an oil diffuser with a custom-scent developed by local entrepreneur Sara Lindsay. "Scents are really powerful memory triggers," Johnson said. "So we're hoping that people take this custom sent home and think back fondly on their trip here and then maybe book another trip here." Smells like city pride The new scent, available only in-person at city hall, joins the updated apparel and accessories in a full-on branding revival. Jennifer Johnson, deputy city manager for communications, Service Regina and tourism, said the decision to update merch came naturally. "The people here are so warm and when you visit Regina you get a real sense of community," she said. "Trying to encapsulate that into a scent is difficult for sure, but I think we did it." All of the new merchandise is for sale at city hall. "We've had the I Love Regina merchandise available for sale online, but people like to see pieces before they purchase them," Johnson said. "They like to be able to whether it's try it on or just see the texture of the fabric." A brand that just won't quit The I Love Regina collection, launched in 2002 by then-mayor Pat Fiacco, has been updated as part of the city's longstanding civic pride campaign. The redesigned merchandise still sports the "I Love Regina" logo on items such as T-shirts, hats, tote bags and discs. The newest addition to the gear is Charlie the Chickadee Squishmallow, which celebrates Regina's official bird. "It's a Squishmallow, which are super popular with kids right now, so we think that's going to be a really top selling item," Johnson said. Expansion on the way The city says the proceeds from the merchandise sales will be reinvested into marketing. "That's our whole purpose as a marketing organization is to drive traffic here. It's good for the economy and we want people to visit the city," Johnson said. She said the city will be buying stock of the new items in small quantities at first to test out how well they sell. "We will sell those and then we'll repurchase so that we're kind of constantly offsetting our costs." This initiative comes after the fallout from Tourism Regina's failed Experience Regina rebrand in 2023, which ultimately led the organization to revert to its original name and slogans. Johnson also said there are plans to sell the merchandise at places like the airport. "We're open to feedback from visitors and we think that when people start shopping, we'll actually get more ideas and then we'll be able to expand from there." She said the one thing that might not see a comeback to city hall is the I Love Regina sign.
CBC
23-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Regina's new merch line gives tourists a whiff of the Queen City with new fragrance
Tourism Regina is sniffing around for new ways to promote the city. The City of Regina has launched a refreshed line of Tourism Regina and "I Love Regina" merchandise, complete with updated designs and even a custom scent. The new collection from Tourism Regina features a "City Lights" candle and an oil diffuser with a custom-scent developed by local entrepreneur Sara Lindsay. "Scents are really powerful memory triggers," Johnson said. "So we're hoping that people take this custom sent home and think back fondly on their trip here and then maybe book another trip here." Smells like city pride The new scent, available only in-person at city hall, joins the updated apparel and accessories in a full-on branding revival. Jennifer Johnson, deputy city manager for communications, Service Regina and tourism, said the decision to update merch came naturally. "The people here are so warm and when you visit Regina you get a real sense of community," she said. "Trying to encapsulate that into a scent is difficult for sure, but I think we did it." All of the new merchandise is for sale at city hall. "We've had the I Love Regina merchandise available for sale online, but people like to see pieces before they purchase them," Johnson said. "They like to be able to whether it's try it on or just see the texture of the fabric." A brand that just won't quit The I Love Regina collection, first launched in 2002 by then-mayor Pat Fiacco, has been updated as part of the city's longstanding civic pride campaign. The redesigned merchandise still sports the "I Love Regina" logo on items such as T-shirts, hats, tote bags and discs. The newest addition to the gear is Charlie the Chickadee Squishmallow, which celebrates Regina's official bird. "It's a Squishmallow, which are super popular with kids right now. So we think that's going to be a really top selling item," Johnson said. Expansion on the way The city says the proceeds from the merchandise sales will be reinvested into marketing. "That's our whole purpose as a marketing organization is to drive traffic here. It's good for the economy and we want people to visit the city," Johnson said. She said the city will be buying stock of the new items in small quantities at first to test out how well it sells. "We will sell those and then we'll repurchase so that we're kind of constantly offsetting our costs." Johnson also said there are plans to sell the merchandise at places like the airport. "We're open to feedback from visitors and we think that when people start shopping, we'll actually get more ideas and then we'll be able to expand from there." She said the one thing that might not see a comeback to city hall is the I Love Regina sign.
Qatar Tribune
21-05-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
QCB guv meets Franklin Templeton CEO
Governor of the Qatar Central Bank HE Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al Thani met Jennifer Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Franklin Templeton, on the sidelines of the Qatar Economic Forum 2025. During the meeting, they discussed the latest developments in global finance and investment, along with other related topics.
Globe and Mail
14-05-2025
- Globe and Mail
Toronto police delays in Indigenous woman's suspicious death echo past failings, cold-case researcher says
The suspicious death of Jennifer Johnson, whose body was found in a Toronto ravine in 2023, sparked a 'bleak déjà vu' for one cold-case researcher, who says it reflects broader institutional failures to take the disappearances and deaths of Indigenous women and those from other marginalized communities more seriously. Ms. Johnson's death was the subject of a recent Globe and Mail investigation that showed police failed to take basic steps, such as examining her cellphone, for more than a year after her body was found. Her friends grew so concerned over what they saw as a lack of police effort that they began an investigation of their own. She was found in August, 2023, after she'd been reported missing three weeks earlier. She was of Métis descent on her grandmother's side, and police described her as a 'marginalized Indigenous woman.' After a Toronto woman was found dead in a ravine, police delays prompted her friends to start their own investigation The police investigation is ongoing, and a cause of death has not been determined, owing in part to the decomposed state of the body. The case was never turned over to the homicide unit. 'Up close, Jennifer's story is singular and important in its own right. But when you zoom out, it becomes part of a larger national narrative of Indigenous women and girls being forsaken,' said Sasha Reid, a developmental psychologist and student-at-law who has spent the past decade compiling a missing and murdered database that has nearly 13,000 entries, the largest of its kind in Canada. Ms. Johnson's case is not the only one raising concern. In British Columbia, a march was recently held to protest what victims' families say are improper police investigations into the deaths of three Indigenous girls and women. In Manitoba, a landfill search – started after years of pressure from families – has recovered the remains of two Indigenous women murdered by a convicted serial killer. Groups are calling for a public inquiry into how the Winnipeg Police Service managed the investigations. In this context, 'Jennifer's story is not an outlier but part of a broader failure: a pattern of under-investigation, a lack of available institutional care and the erasure of Indigenous women's dignity,' Dr. Reid said. She was troubled by the lag in searching Ms. Johnson's cellphone and by the fact the case was not turned over to the homicide unit, which has expert investigators. Such 'classifications can unconsciously downshift investigative urgency, and this is something we see across Canada, especially in cases involving Indigenous women and girls.' Ms. Johnson had been a successful wardrobe stylist and costume designer before spiralling into addiction in recent years and spending time drinking with a circle of acquaintances in a midtown Toronto park. Court records show at least two men were accused of assaulting her in the past. She was found in the nearby Nordheimer Ravine, near a busy public walking trail. No public announcement of her death was made (police say they don't typically release names when a case has not been deemed a homicide). Police also never appealed to the public for information. Friends wonder if such an appeal could have yielded answers about her death. The lag in searching her cellphone – a key piece of evidence – wasn't the only delay in an investigation friends say lacked urgency. Police also waited more than a year to compel a shelter to provide records about a man connected to her. Dr. Reid is not the only one with concerns about the case. 'The thing that stands out to me is the burden should not be put on friends and family to solve a suspicious death like this,' said Stephanie Smyth, the MPP for Toronto-St. Paul's, the riding in which Ms. Johnson lived and was found dead. She said she wonders whether more robust community outreach at the time could have yielded clues into how she died – and whether Ms. Johnson's socioeconomic status played a role in the apparent lack of priority in the police investigation. 'Would police have acted faster or been more thorough if she was someone else? If maybe she lived in one of those houses that backed onto the ravine or if she looked differently? That's the question that just comes to mind automatically.' Toronto police have faced criticism in the past over their handling of cases of persons from marginalized communities. Perceptions of delayed police action were detailed in a 2021 report by Gloria Epstein, a retired judge. Justice Epstein's review examined the cases of eight men connected with Toronto's Gay Village who went missing over a seven-year period, scrutinizing why it took so long for Toronto police to link the men's disappearances to serial killer Bruce McArthur. In her report, Justice Epstein concluded that the police had applied inconsistent approaches to missing persons cases and that the cases she was reviewing – which involved marginalized and vulnerable victims – were often given less attention than they deserved. The Toronto Police Service has promised to implement all 151 recommendations of the review. Four years later, they say 89 have been implemented, 60 are 'in progress' and two not yet started. The service has made strides in recent years but still needs to boost transparency and better engage with the public, said Haran Vijayanathan, community co-chair of the Missing and Missed Implementation Team, which is working with the police to implement the recommendations. The service 'can certainly improve their community relations and community information,' he said. In an e-mailed statement to The Globe, Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said this work remains a priority, 'and we will continue to listen and learn from the community as we move forward.' She said the Jennifer Johnson investigation remains active and ongoing. 'Investigators remain committed to conducting a thorough and professional investigation.' The Globe reached out to several members of the Toronto Police Service Board, including chair Shelley Carroll, for comment. The TPSB declined interviews with the chair and vice-chair, 'given the operational nature of this issue.' The TPSB is the civilian body that oversees the Toronto police, which has an annual budget of more than $1-billion. Dr. Reid, based in Calgary, stressed the importance of accountability in policing and investigations. She urged authorities to implement the 2019 calls to justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Until they do, she said, 'we will keep seeing cases like Jennifer's.'
CTV News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Central Alberta girls soccer team to compete in Europe this summer
Portugal awaits a group of soccer-playing girls from central Alberta who have 'never let their small-town beginnings hold them back,' the legislature heard Monday. Calling the Ponoka Storm 'an extraordinary group of young women,' Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Jennifer Johnson said the girls will be ambassadors for Canada, Alberta and the rural way of life when they travel to Estoril for a June 30-July 6 tournament. The U15 team is made up of teens from places within and beyond Johnson's riding, including Ponoka, Lacombe, Stettler, Red Deer, Rocky Mountain House and Camrose. 'They embrace their rural roots, compete with heart, and lift each other and their communities up along the way,' said the UCP's Johnson. IberCup bills itself as among the world's largest youth soccer tournaments. Six other competitions are planned for 2025 — two more in Portugal, two in Brazil, one in Spain and one in South Africa. Behind the trip are two years of planning, fundraising and 'relentless effort' by coaches, parents and the athletes themselves, said Johnson. The girls trained through Alberta winters and competed against larger city teams with deep rosters. They used 'hard work and determination' to rise to Tier 2 from Tier 4, and most recently earned silver in U15 Tier 2 provincials. Some of the girls have played together since they were five. Role models and volunteers as well as athletes, Ponoka Storm members are 'not only competitors but outstanding ambassadors of Alberta's values, resilience and community spirit,' said Johnson. By George Lee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Macleod Gazette
