Everything about Canada’s Smartest Person, eh?

CBC announces the 12 Canadian kids vying for the title of Canada’s Smartest Person Junior

From a media release:

CBC today announced the 12 remarkable Canadian kids who will compete on CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON JUNIOR, premiering Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC, the CBC TV streaming app and cbc.ca/watch. Over the course of six episodes, the competition will determine which incredible young Canadian will be crowned as the first ever Canada’s Smartest Person Junior. Like Canada’s Smartest Person, the junior format is inspired by The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Over six weeks, 12 Canadian kids aged 9–12 will showcase their smarts in fun and innovative challenges across six categories: physical, musical, social, linguistic, logical and visual. The new CBC competition series is hosted by two-time Canadian Screen Award Winner Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Kim’s Convenience).

In a twist on the original format, audiences will see the same competitors week-to-week. Those with the strongest performances each week will advance to the next episode, while the others will be up for elimination. In the season finale, the top six finalists will go head-to-head one final time. The competition will culminate in a heart-stopping showdown between the top two combatants in the world’s most intense intelligence obstacle course, the Super Gauntlet. The young competitors are:

● Alexia Sabau, 12, from Calgary, Alberta
● Arjun Ram, 12, from Hamilton, Ontario
● Ashley Taylor, 11, from Guelph, Ontario
● Danica Scully, 11, from Halifax, Nova Scotia
● Liam Henderson, 10, from Sarnia, Ontario
● Liam Veale, 12, from Saint John, New Brunswick
● Mateus Soto, 11, from Toronto, Ontario
● Matthew Shimon, 12, from Sydney, Nova Scotia
● Matthew Yu, 10, from West Vancouver, B.C.
● Misuzu Tamaki, 11, from Markham, Ontario
● Sandra Nitchi, 11, from Montreal, Quebec
● Zoe Devalia, 11, from Scarborough, Ontario

CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON JUNIOR is produced by Media Headquarters in association with CBC. The series executive producer and creator is Robert Cohen. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Programming; Jennifer Dettman is Executive Director, Unscripted Content; and Susan Taylor is Executive in Charge of Production. Media Headquarters, now part of Kew Media Group, retains the international rights. The format has sold in 12 territories worldwide including France, Germany, Sweden, Turkey and Argentina.

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CBC announces fall premiere dates for Murdoch Mysteries, Frankie Drake Mysteries, Baroness Von Sketch Show and more

From a media release:

CBC today announced broadcast and streaming premiere dates for its fall 2018 lineup of new and returning series featuring a wide range of original programming produced by Canadian creators for Canadian audiences, including a new primetime schedule launching Tuesday, September 18th. In addition to broadcast on television, all programming will also be available to stream live and on demand for free on the CBC TV app for iOs and Android and cbc.ca/watch.

CBC’s Fall 2018 primetime schedule launching Tuesday, September 18th:

All following times local with the exception of Newfoundland, please add half an hour to all times.

TUESDAYS
7:30 PM – CORONATION STREET
(weekdays, back-to-back episodes on Mondays at 7 PM)

8 PM – STILL STANDING
Season 4 (13×30) premieres Sept. 18 *NEW TO FALL*

8:30 PM – THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES
Season 26 (19×30, 1×60) premieres Sept. 18

9 PM – BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW
Season 3 (10×30) premieres Sept. 18 *NEW TO FALL*

9:30 PM – HANG UPS
British comedy (6×30) starring Stephen Mangan as an online therapist premieres Sept. 19

9:30 PM – IN THE LONG RUN
Idris Elba’s comedy (6×30) inspired by his inner city-London childhood premieres Oct. 30

10 PM – THE NATIONAL
CBC News’ flagship program continues Sunday to Friday each week

WEDNESDAYS
8 PM – THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW
Season 2 (8×60) premieres Sept. 19

8 PM – CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON JUNIOR
New competition series (6×60) premieres Nov. 14

9 PM – VANITY FAIR
New British adaptation of Thackeray’s 1848 novel (7×60) premieres Sept. 19

9 PM – MR. D
Season 8 (8×30) premieres Nov. 7 *NEW NIGHT, FINAL SEASON*

9:30 PM – HALIFAX COMEDY FEST
Season 23 (6×30) premieres Nov. 14

THURSDAYS
7 PM – THE INVESTIGATORS WITH DIANA SWAIN
Season 3 premieres Sept. 20 *NEW NIGHT*

8 PM – DRAGONS’ DEN
Season 13 (20×60) featuring new investors Vincenzo Guzzo and Lane Merrifield premieres Sept. 20

9 PM – THE DETECTIVES
Season 2 (8×60) premieres Sept. 20 *NEW NIGHT*

9 PM – FROM THE VAULTS
New music archive series (6×60) premieres Nov. 15

FRIDAYS
8 PM – MARKETPLACE
Season 46 premieres Sept. 21

8:30 PM – IN THE MAKING
New original series (8×30) profiling Canadian artists premieres Sept. 21

9 PM – CBC DOCS POV
Season 3 launches Sept. 21 with documentary Just a Regular Kid, exploring what it means to be young, Muslim and growing up in the West *NEW NIGHT*

11:30 PM CBC ARTS: EXHIBITIONISTS
Season 4 (26×30) premieres Sept. 21

SATURDAYS
Afternoon – CBC Sports’ ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES fall season begins Oct. 20 with extensive coverage of Skate America from Everett, Washington

6:30 PM – HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA

SUNDAYS
11 AM (12 PM AT) – THE WEEKLY WITH WENDY MESLEY
Season 2 premieres Aug. 12

Afternoon – ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES

7 PM – ANNE WITH AN E
Season 2 (10×60) premieres Sept. 23

8 PM – THE NATURE OF THINGS
Season 58 premieres Sept. 23 with special three-part miniseries Equus: The Story of the Horse​

9 PM – THE FIFTH ESTATE
Season 44 premieres Sept. 23 *NEW NIGHT*

MONDAYS
8 PM – MURDOCH MYSTERIES
Season 12 (18×60) premieres Sept. 24

9 PM – FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES
Season 2 (10×60) premieres Sept. 24

Which new and returning CBC shows are you most excited about? Let me know in the comments below!

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CBC announces new and returning programming slate for 2018-19 season

From a media release:

Canada’s public broadcaster today announced its robust 2018-19 slate, including 17 new series and 36 renewed titles – one of CBC’s largest returning lineups to date. CBC’s upcoming year of original Canadian programming includes drama, comedy, factual, arts, music, kids, sports, news and documentary programming across television, radio and digital platforms, showcasing both new and established homegrown voices and creators.

NEW ORIGINAL SERIES

New CBC original Canadian series confirmed for the 2018-19 season include:

Comedy:

CAVENDISH (8×30, Winter 2019 – Temple Street), from the minds of Picnicface comedy troupe founders Mark Little and Andrew Bush, along with Garry Campbell (Kim’s Convenience). Bush and Little star as two bickering brothers who return to their PEI hometown to take care of their grumpy and ailing father, only to collide with the eccentric townsfolk and their even stranger superstitions.

Drama:

CORONER (8×60, Winter 2019 – Back Alley Films, Muse Entertainment), a procedural drama created for television by Morwyn Brebner (Saving Hope), based on the best-selling book series by M.R. Hall. The series follows Jenny Cooper, a former ER doctor and newly appointed coroner investigating suspicious deaths. Suffering from clinical anxiety and recently widowed with a teenage son, Jenny is a woman of action driven by an intense desire for the truth.

DIGGSTOWN (6×60, Winter 2019 – Circle Blue Entertainment), a legal drama created by Floyd Kane (Across the Line) and set in the gritty arena of legal aid, focusing on Marcie Diggs, a star corporate lawyer who reconsiders her priorities after her beloved aunt commits suicide following a malicious prosecution. Landing at a legal aid office in Dartmouth, Marcie is driven by one thing – to never again allow innocent lives to be destroyed by the justice system. DIGGSTOWN is the first original Canadian drama series featuring a black female lead character.

NORTHERN RESCUE (10×60, 2018/19 – Don Carmody Television, CBC and Netflix co-production), a heartwarming family drama starring William Baldwin (MacGyver) and Kathleen Robertson (Bates Motel).  After the death of his wife Sarah, John (Baldwin), a Search & Rescue officer, packs up his three children and moves from their hectic urban life to a small northern town, where they all struggle with their new surroundings, new friends, and accepting Sarah’s death.

STREET LEGAL (6×60, Winter 2019 – IGP and Broken Clown Productions), the iconic character-driven legal drama returns with both familiar faces and new characters, and a focus on how the law is practised in Canada today, including contemporary themes and issues. Bringing STREET LEGAL into the 21st century, we pick up 25 years later with Olivia Novak (Cynthia Dale), now a named partner at a major Bay Street law firm.

UNSPEAKABLE (8×60, Winter 2019 – Mezo Entertainment), a searing depiction of the tainted blood scandal that began in the early 1980s. The limited series is told through the stories of two families severely affected by the worst public health disaster in Canadian history, with a strong cast including Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead), Shawn Doyle (Bellevue), Michael Shanks (Saving Hope) and Camille Sullivan (The Disappearance).

Factual & Arts:

CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON JUNIOR (6×60, Fall 2018 – Media Headquarters), hosted by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Kim’s Convenience), will see 12 remarkable kids take on exciting challenges in the six categories of intelligence – Physical, Musical, Social, Linguistic, Logical, and Visual – in front of a live studio audience, in the hopes of being crowned the first-ever title of Canada’s Smartest Person Junior.

FROM THE VAULTS (working title) (6×60, Fall 2018 – Banger Films), a visually exciting and entertaining cultural exploration using CBC Archive recordings as a window into Canadian history and music. Hosted by Amanda Parris and Tom Power, this archive series features musical performances and candid interviews, shedding a bright light on Canada’s musical journey.

HIGH ARCTIC HAULERS (working title) (8×60, 2019 – Great Pacific Media, a Thunderbird Company), a look at Canada’s resilient, vibrant northern communities and the determined men and women who help provide their lifeline to the outside world. These groups are linked together by the summer sealift, when ships loaded with critical cargo travel each year to the farthest reaches of the north to deliver food, clothing, supplies and vital pieces of infrastructure.

IN THE MAKING (8×30, Fall 2018 – White Pine Pictures), an immersive journey inside the artistic process. Host Sean O’Neill travels the globe alongside some of Canada’s most extraordinary creators as they bring new work to life and face moments of opportunity, challenge and reward.

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT(4×30, Winter 2019 – Proper Television), a factual entertainment series featuring budding entrepreneurs as they shop for the business of their dreams.

CBC Kids:

BECCA’S BUNCH (52×11, Jam Media), a must-see children’s comedy that combines live action, puppetry, and 3D animation.

BIG BLUE (52×11, Guru), an underwater comedy-adventure series about siblings Lettie and Lemo and the oddball crew of their submarine.

ENDLINGS (12×30, Sinking Ship), a sci-fi adventure series about four foster kids making a startling discovery that affects the entire universe.

KINGDOM FORCE (52×11, Industrial Brothers/Boat Rocker), an action series about animals protecting their community from danger with their unique skills that combine to form a giant robot.

MOLLY OF DENALI (38×30, Atomic Cartoons, CBC co-production with PBS), an adventure-comedy series about a 10-year-old Indigenous girl.

This fall, CBC will also broadcast the Canadian premiere of the new adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s literary classic VANITY FAIR (7×60, Mammoth Screen, ITV and Amazon Studios) starring Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One) as Becky Sharp, an ambitious social climber desperately trying to escape poverty and scale the heights of English society.

RETURNING SERIES:

CBC’s returning slate of scripted, factual and arts titles for 2018/19 is as follows:

ANNE WITH AN E (10×60, Season 2, fall 2018)

BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW(10×30, Season 3) – *moves to fall 2018*

BURDEN OF TRUTH (8×60, Season 2, winter 2019)

CBC ARTS: EXHIBITIONISTS (26×30, Season 4, fall 2018)

CBC KIDS new seasons of original Canadian series DOT, ADDISON, and OLLIE THE BOY WHO BECAME WHAT HE ATE

CORONATION STREET (Season 20, fall 2018)

THE DETECTIVES (8×60, Season 2, fall 2018)

DRAGONS’ DEN (20×60, Season 13, fall 2018)

THE FILMMAKERS (8×30, Season 2, summer 2018 starting July 28)

FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES (10×60, Season 2, fall 2018)

THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW (8×60, Season 2, fall 2018)

HALIFAX COMEDY FEST (6×30, Season 23, fall 2018)

HEARTLAND (11×60, Season 12) – *moves to winter 2019*

JUST FOR LAUGHS: GALAS (2018-2019)

KIM’S CONVENIENCE (13×30, Season 3) – *moves to winter 2019*

LITTLE DOG (8×30, Season 2, winter 2019)

MR. D (8×30, Season 8) – *moves to Wednesdays – final season*

MURDOCH MYSTERIES (18×60, Season 12, fall 2018)

SCHITT’S CREEK (14×30, Season 5, winter 2019)

THE STATS OF LIFE (8×30, Season 2, winter 2019)

STILL STANDING (13×30, Season 4, now in production on Season 5 for 2019) – *moves to fall 2018*

THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES (19×30, 1×60, Season 26)

WHEN CALLS THE HEART (Season 4, summer 2018 starting June 17)

THE WINNIPEG COMEDY FESTIVAL (5×60, Season 17, winter 2019)

WORKIN’ MOMS (13×30, Season 3, winter 2019)

CBC’s award-winning news and documentary programming also returns:

CBC DOCS POV (Season 3) – *moves to Friday evenings*

THE FIFTH ESTATE (Season 44) – *moves to Sunday evenings*

THE INVESTIGATORS WITH DIANA SWAIN (Season 3) *moves to Thursdays*

MARKETPLACE (Season 46)

THE NATIONAL

THE NATURE OF THINGS (Season 58)

TAKEN (Season 2, summer 2018 starting June 22)

THE WEEKLY WITH WENDY MESLEY (Season 2)

SPECIALS:

CBC’s annual lineup of specials and awards programming celebrating Canadian creators, artists and storytellers also includes:

INDSPIRE AWARDS (June 24)

CANADA DAYCELEBRATION (July 1)

CANADIAN COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION AWARDS (September 9, hosted by Shania Twain)

POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE GALA (September 17) – streaming via CBCMusic.ca

SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE (November 19)

AIR FARCE NEW YEAR’S EVE (December 31)

CANADA’S NEW YEAR’S EVE (December 31)

CANADA READS (March 2019)

CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS (March 2019)

THE JUNO AWARDS broadcast live from London and MUSIC DAY ON CBC (March 17)

 ORIGINAL DIGITAL PROGRAMMING:

CBC’s diverse slate of digital original series and award-winning CBC SHORT DOCSincludes the following new titles that will stream on the CBC TV App and cbc.ca/watch:

ART IS MY COUNTRY, riveting profiles of 10 Canadian artists from various cultural backgrounds who are redefining and reshaping Canadian art.

OFF KILTER, a mockumentary that documents the remaking of failed up-and-coming choreographer Milton Frank into the critically acclaimed jerk he never got to be in the ‘90s.

WINSTON ROWNTREE’S PEOPLE WATCHING (Season 2, July), a comedy series featuring humorous and heartfelt short stories about 20-somethings searching for acceptance and romance.

FARM CRIME (August), a true-crime docu-series investigating unconventional offences in the world of farming and agriculture.

SEEN AND HEARD (September), uniting a mixed group of deaf and hearing performers to mount a unique adaptation of The Little Mermaid.

RED BUTTON (winter), the ongoing documentary project returns to provide remarkably candid perspectives of marginalized and misunderstood youth.

CBC SHORT DOCS:

FAST HORSE (Alexandra Lazarowich), exploring the return of the bareback horse-racing tradition to Blackfoot country.

QUEER PRIEST (Nicholas Bradford-Ewart), three docs following the lives of openly queer individuals who have chosen to become or remain priests despite the trauma that the Christian community has inflicted upon them.

SEDRA (Sura Mallouh), observing a 17-year-old and her family as they rebuild their lives in Canada after fleeing the Syrian war.

THE HOLE IN RESERVOIR HILL (Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson), a timely revisiting of the decommissioned nuclear bunker in North Bay, Ontario and the individuals who know its secrets.

In addition to making all television series available to stream live or on-demand via its digital platforms, spanning more than 4,000 hours of programming, CBC is also investing in new content exclusive to the CBC TV App and cbc.ca/watch including 250 hours of new programming. Featuring Canadian content as well as a curated selection of best-in-class drama, comedy, lifestyle and documentary content from around the world, new titles streaming in the upcoming year include PORTLANDIA, MOONE BOYand the Canadian premiere of Australian comedy RONNY CHIENG: INTERNATIONAL STUDENT.

 

PRIMETIME BROADCAST SCHEDULE

CBC’s 2018-19 primetime broadcast schedule is as follows:

All series will also be available to stream on the CBC TV App and at cbc.ca/watch.

(For Newfoundland and Labrador, please add one half-hour later for all times)

MONDAYS
8 PM – MURDOCH MYSTERIES *Season 12*(FALL/WINTER)

9 PM – FRANKIE DRAKE MYSTERIES *Season 2* (FALL)/ CORONER*NEW SERIES* (EARLY WINTER)/ STREET LEGAL*NEW SERIES* (LATE WINTER)

10 PM – THE NATIONAL

TUESDAYS
8 PM– STILL STANDING*Season 4*(NEW TO FALL)/KIM’S CONVENIENCE*Season 3* (NEW TO WINTER)

8:30 PM– THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES*Season 26* (FALL/WINTER)

9 PM – BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW *Season 3* (NEW TO FALL)/ SCHITT’S CREEK*Season 5* (WINTER)

9:30 PM– WORKIN’ MOMS*Season 3* (WINTER)

10 PM – THE NATIONAL

WEDNESDAYS
8 PM– THE GREAT CANADIAN BAKING SHOW*Season 2*(EARLY FALL)/ CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON JUNIOR*NEW SERIES* (LATE FALL)/ BURDEN OF TRUTH*Season 2* (EARLY WINTER)/ DIGGSTOWN*NEW SERIES* (LATE WINTER)

9 PM – VANITY FAIR*NEW SERIES*(EARLY FALL)/ MR. D*Season 8* (LATE FALL) – New Night/

UNSPEAKABLE*NEW SERIES* (WINTER)

9:30 PM– HALIFAX COMEDY FESTIVAL(LATE FALL)

10 PM – THE NATIONAL

THURSDAYS
7 PM –  THE INVESTIGATORS WITH DIANA SWAIN*Season 3* (FALL) – New Night

8 PM– DRAGONS’ DEN*Season 13* (FALL/WINTER)

9 PM– THE DETECTIVES*Season 2*(EARLY FALL)/ FROM THE VAULTS*NEW SERIES* (LATE FALL)/ CAVENDISH*NEW SERIES* (WINTER)

9:30 PM– LITTLE DOG*Season 2*(WINTER)

10 PM – THE NATIONAL

FRIDAYS
8 PM– MARKETPLACE*Season 46*(FALL/WINTER)

8:30 PM– IN THE MAKING*NEW SERIES* (EARLY FALL)/ THE STATS OF LIFE*Season 2* (EARLY WINTER)/ UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT*NEW SERIES* (LATE WINTER)

9 PM – CBC DOCS POV*Season 3* (FALL/WINTER) – New Night

10 PM – THE NATIONAL

11:30 PM –CBC ARTS: EXHIBITIONISTS(FALL/WINTER)

SATURDAYS
Afternoon– ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES*Season 4* (FALL/WINTER)

6:30 PM– HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA(FALL/WINTER)

SUNDAYS
Afternoon– ROAD TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES*Season 4* (FALL/WINTER)

7 PM– ANNE WITH AN E*Season 2*/HEARTLAND*Season 12* (WINTER)

8 PM– THE NATURE OF THINGS*Season 58* (FALL/WINTER)

9 PM– THE FIFTH ESTATE*Season 44* (FALL/WINTER) – New Night

10 PM – THE NATIONAL

 

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CBC kicks off search for Canada’s Smartest Person Junior

From a media release:

The search is on for CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON JUNIOR (6×60), a new CBC competition series that will be taped in front of a studio audience at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre and premiere this fall. Based on the hit format Canada’s Smartest Person and produced by award-winning Media Headquarters, this competition will crown one amazing young Canadian with the first ever title of Canada’s Smartest Person Junior. Canadian kids aged 8 to 12 can apply now at cbc.ca/smartestpersonjunior until June 30.

Like the grownup edition, CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON JUNIOR is inspired by The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Over six weeks, 12 remarkable kids will showcase their smarts in fun and spectacular challenges across six categories: physical, musical, social, linguistic, logical, and visual smarts. In this entertaining and action-packed series, the young competitors will battle for the coveted title of Canada’s Smartest Person Junior with the whole country cheering them on. Applications are now open to kids who excel in diverse fields such as: dancing; gaming; snowboarding; doing puzzles; playing music; debating; creating science fair projects; raising horses; making movies; or telling jokes; because, after all, intelligence comes in all shapes and sizes.

In a twist on the original format, audiences will see the same cast of incredible kids week-to-week. Those competitors with the strongest performances each week will advance to the next episode, while the others will be up for elimination. In the season finale, the top six finalists will go head-to-head one final time. The competition will culminate in a heart-stopping showdown between the top two combatants in the world’s most intense intelligence obstacle course, the Super Gauntlet, for the chance to be named Canada’s Smartest Person Junior.

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Professional gamer Stephanie Harvey claims Canada’s Smartest Person title

From a media release:

A season full of mind-bending challenges and intense competition on CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON came down to five worthy finalists vying for the title in Sunday’s holiday-themed season finale on CBC. In the end, 30-year-old Stephanie Harvey, a professional gamer from Quebec City, rose to the final challenge to take the crown and — in a CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON first — to have a $20,000 donation made to her charity of choice, Operation Enfant Soleil.

Harvey and her four fellow finalists did battle in festive versions of some of the show’s classic challenges that added holiday magic to the season finale, creating a winter wonderland complete with falling snow.  Edmonton’s Joshua Williams, a 25-year-old youth-program director, was the first competitor to be eliminated after registering the lowest score through the first three challenges. Mechanic Brittain Bancroft, 30, from Minto, N.B., bowed out next followed by Calgary’s Maria Samson, a 33-year-old former national team rugby player.

The grand finale, known as the Super Gauntlet, saw Harvey go head-to-head with Eric Yue, 40, a recreational hockey league commissioner from Victoria. The fast and festive face-off featured Christmas trees and snowmen as the key to the ultimate prize, the title of “Canada’s Smartest Person” and the $20,000 charitable donation. Yue leapt to an early lead in the first challenge of the Super Gauntlet, which tested linguistic intelligence, but struggled with the visual intelligence challenge that followed. Harvey took advantage of this opening and never looked back, flying through the visual, physical, musical and logical intelligence challenges to complete the Super Gauntlet and become the fourth person to be named “Canada’s Smartest Person.”

Harvey was moved to tears by her win and the knowledge that Operation Enfant Soleil, a foundation that raises funds for the care of sick children throughout Quebec, would receive the $20,000 donation in her name.

Image courtesy of CBC.

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