John Paris left Nova Scotia a young man and carved out a remarkable hockey career
John Paris left Nova Scotia a young man and carved out a remarkable hockey career
As John Paris looks back on his hockey career, his mind quickly goes to where it all started in his hometown of Windsor, N.S.
“My earliest hockey memory would be putting on those skates with the two blades,” said Paris.
He says his father took hockey seriously.
“He took the time to educate us,” said Paris, who added when a game was on television, before going to bed he would sit down with his dad.
“He would ask me questions about the game and explain it and he did that for all of us.”
As a teenager, Paris left Nova Scotia to play hockey at elite levels. Sadly, he experienced racism within the sport.
"I could tell you horror stories that were life-threatening against my family and children, but that’s not what really matters," said Paris. "What matters is that we break down the walls of resistance and we have more culpability towards those who are participating.”
When his playing career ended, Paris climbed the coaching ladder and became the Atlanta Knights head coach.
He won the International Hockey League championship in 1994.
"Who would’ve thought a five-foot-four-and-a-half Black kid from Windsor would be standing there coaching the affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning to a championship,” said Paris. “How surreal and you have to be living it to really be able to explain it.”
Winning a championship at the minor pro level did not result in Paris being promoted to the NHL coaching ranks.
It's something that frustrates his brother Percy.
"There were a lot of people who are better, they were overlooked," said Percy. "I think of John Paris and I think of Herb Carnegie.”
With his mind focused on African Heritage Month, Paris insists his successes in hockey are small, compared to the sacrifices made by others before him.
“We overlook the importance of females and it’s always been the women in the Black culture that have made change," said Paris. “They have been the ones who have stepped forward and said 'Enough is enough.' It’s always been a woman who sat down on a bus and said 'I’m not getting up.' And the whole world stood up.”
It is a remarkable and enlightening attitude by John Paris -- an African Canadian icon and Nova Scotia-born hockey hero.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
In an effort to keep the foreign interference story at the forefront, and to do an apparent end run around the Liberal filibuster blocking one study from going ahead, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is forcing MPs to debate and then vote on a motion instructing an opposition-dominated House committee to strike its own review.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap.
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
Bargain hunters are one step closer to seeing sales at Nordstrom's closing Canadian locations. At a hearing at Osgoode Hall in Toronto on Monday, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice gave the U.S. retailer's Canadian branch permission to start liquidating its merchandise.
Some of the world's largest central banks came together on Sunday to stop a banking crisis from spreading as Swiss authorities persuaded UBS Group AG to buy rival Credit Suisse Group AG in a historic deal.
Ontario employers who withhold foreign workers’ passports or work permits could face steeper penalties under new labour laws, with maximum fines setting them back up to $200,000.
The Town of Strathmore and Siksika Nation hosted the first Lead By Example Powwow this weekend in honour of a young Indigenous man who was shot to death four years ago.
Autopsies confirmed gunshot wounds as the cause of death for two constables responding to a domestic dispute Thursday, the Edmonton Police Service says.
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
Quebec provincial police (SQ) announced Monday morning that a third person has died in connection with the tragedy in Amqui, in the Lower St. Lawrence region, where a driver drove his pickup truck into pedestrians a week ago.
In a heated race to the playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers will try to bank some points against lesser competition when they host the San Jose Sharks on Monday.
A 46-year-old man has been taken to hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries after a single-vehicle crash on MR80 near Donaldson Crescent in Val Caron.
Lane restrictions are now in place on Wellington Street as construction gets underway on Phase 1 of the Wellington Gateway and Municipal Infrastructure Improvements project.
The first day of spring in the London region will be a beautiful one. The daytime high is forecast to be 6 C, slightly warmer than the average high for this time of year.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
Bargain hunters are one step closer to seeing sales at Nordstrom's closing Canadian locations. At a hearing at Osgoode Hall in Toronto on Monday, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice gave the U.S. retailer's Canadian branch permission to start liquidating its merchandise.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
Ontario employers who withhold foreign workers’ passports or work permits could face steeper penalties under new labour laws, with maximum fines setting them back up to $200,000.
A vehicle burst into flames in South Vancouver after an early morning collision Monday, prompting police to shut down the intersection at Kingsway and Tyne Street amid an investigation.
People who rely on transit to get around parts of the Fraser Valley are scrambling to find alternatives as workers with BC Transit walk the picket line.
Police in Halifax say three people have been stabbed and a student is in custody following a weapons complaint at a high school in Bedford, N.S. The victims were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries is not yet known.
Some residents of Saskatchewan's capital city have been vocal with their disapproval of Tourism Regina's latest rebrand, prompting an apology from the organization.
Mounties in Port McNeill violated a suspect's Charter rights by failing to allow him to contact a lawyer promptly after his 2019 drug trafficking arrest, a judge has ruled.
Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools announced it will take the proposed Nanaimo District Secondary School capacity scenario of sending Gabriola students entering Grade 8 in September to Cedar Secondary out of consideration.
