Morning Brief: How much $100 Buys In Groceries Right Now, A Reporter's Scary Moment & More

Happy "Friday Jr." — Andrew from Narcity here. ☕

Off The Top: It's something that not even the macabre minds behind Netflix's Wednesday could have concocted: a superfan of the hit Addams Family spinoff attempted to have the face of show's star, Jenna Ortega, tattooed on their body — only to be left with what some have charitably likened to a cross between Samuel L. Jackson and Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. A good rule of thumb: no tattoos on faces or of faces (and especially no tattoos of faces on faces).

In Case You Missed It

Why Are Young People Turning Their Grocery Runs Into Content?

A FreshCo in Ottawa. Right: A grocery aisle full of oranges.

Colin Temple | Dreamstime, Serdar Başak | Dreamstime

Move over, TikTok dances; the hottest trend in social media right now is apparently young people sharing their grocery bills. Not only do the clips serve as a barometer of Canada's rising food costs but, well, people like analyzing each other's diets. One resident of North Bay recently shared their recent shopping haul on Reddit — "a boatload of produce, (five) packs of tofu, shredded dairy-free cheese, and a few kitchen items" — and earned rave reviews from the online commentariat, Patrick John Gilson writes.

• READ THE FULL STORY HERE

What Are The Most In-Demand Jobs In Canada For 2023?

A person works on a laptop. Right: Construction workers survey a site.

Campaign Creators | Unsplash, Joe Holland | Unsplash

As we've noted in this space throughout the week, a lot of Canadians anticipate shopping around for a new job over the next couple of months — but what lines of work are most in need of workers right now? According to recruitment firm Randstad Canada, the most in-demand jobs in the country right now are developers, human resources managers, mechanical engineers, welders and accounting technicians — a pretty wide range of technical and interpersonal skills.

• Go Deeper: Of course, just because a certain job is in high demand doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be the highest-paying gig. Per the report, though the average HR manager (No. 2) is more in-demand than a construction manager (15), the latter actually out-earns the desk job $79,030 to $74,384 on average.
• My Take: Once again, newsletter writer is snubbed altogether.
• READ THE FULL STORY HERE

How Is CTV Reporter Jessica Robb Doing Now?

CTV reporter Jessica Robb during a live news broadcast.

CTV News Edmonton

Jessica Robb has had an eventful couple of days. It was only this past Sunday when the CTV News Edmonton reporter began to experience an apparent medical emergency while on-camera, causing her colleague back in the studio to quickly cut away from the live shot. Within a day, the news station released a statement from Robb in which she thanked worried watchers for their overwhelming messages of support — but also decried "baseless theories" that the incident had something to do with her COVID-19 vaccination status. Charlie Hart recaps the unfortunate saga in full.

• In Her Words: "While I will not share private medical information publicly, I can say that there is no cause for concern, and that my understanding of my own medical background provides a reasonable explanation for what happened," Robb wrote. "I can, however, confirm that the situation was in no way related to the COVID-19 vaccine."
• My Take: Robb is fortunate that she was not producing her field segment completely solo — as is now very common for a lot of news operations.
• READ THE FULL STORY HERE

What Else You Need To Know Today

🍜 PHO'GET ABOUT IT
While Montreal is best known for its bagels, poutine and deli fare, there's way more to the culinary scene in Quebec's largest city. MTL Blog's Mike Chaar did a deep dive into the metropolis' nine best pho restaurants for those looking to get your Vietnamese soup and noodles on.

🥯 BUDGET BREAKFAST
With the price of food in Canada going up across the board right now, Tim Hortons is zagging with the launch of its new Tim Selects breakfast menu. The three items — two low-fi sandwiches and a traditional bagel-and-cream-cheese option — each cost $3 or less (give or take local taxes), Janice Rodrigues notes.

🥾 HAPPY TRAILS
Throw on a toque, strap on those winter hiking boots and head to Mono Cliffs; Madeline Forsyth compares the picturesque Ontario provincial park to a scene out of Narnia thanks in part to a 1.3-kilometre boardwalk path that guides visitors through a snow-blanketed canyon.

💵 STATE OF WAGE
A 71-year-old man has been awarded $208K after a B.C. judge ruled that his former employer, the state-controlled China Southern Airlines, wrongfully dismissed and caused mental distress to the former YVR airport worker. Sierra Riley details the harsh working conditions that led to a verdict in favour of the Canadian.

🎂 BIRTHDAYS
Former One Direction member Zayn Malik hits the big 3-0. Ottawa Senators centre Claude Giroux turns 35 years old today. Insecure star and co-creator Issa Rae is 38. I wish Melanie C — aka Sporty Spice — would tell me what she wants (what she really, really wants) for her 49th birthday. F1 Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is 51. Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha and Wu-Tang's Raekwon are both 53. Amazon bigwig Jeff Bezos is 59. Shock jock Howard Stern is 69. Smokin' Joe Frazier would've been 79. Iconic golden Bond girl Shirley Eaton is 86. The late Leafs defenseman and coffee shop co-founder Tim Horton was born on this day in 1930.

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Thanks for reading Narcity's Canada Morning Brief — This may shock and amaze ya' but this newsletter would've had a fan in Joe Frazier.

Have a question or comment about today's edition? Let me know at andrew.potter@narcity.com or hit me up on Twitter if you'd prefer at @andrewjoepotter.

Have a great day and I will see you back here tomorrow to round out the week!