Indonesian court rules president negligent over pollution

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian court ruled Thursday that President Joko Widodo and six other top officials have neglected to fulfill citizens’ rights to clean air and ordered them to improve the poor air quality in the capital.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The Central Jakarta District Court panel voted 3-0 in favor of the group of 32 residents who filed a lawsuit in July 2019 against Widodo and his three Cabinet ministers of home affairs, health and environment, as well as governors of Jakarta, Banten and West Java, in seeking a healthy living environment in the city.

Presiding Judge Saifuddin Zuhri said the seven officials have to take serious action to guarantee people’s rights to health in Jakarta by tightening air quality regulations and to protect human health, the environment and ecosystems, based on science and technology.

The plaintiffs, who include activists, public figures, motorcycle-taxi drivers and people suffering pollution-related diseases, were not requesting financial compensation, but instead demanded more robust supervision and sanctions for polluters.

Jakarta has 10 million residents and three times that number live in its greater metropolitan area.

Prone to flooding and rapidly sinking due to uncontrolled ground water extraction, Jakarta is the archetypical Asian mega-city. It has been creaking under the weight of its dysfunction, causing massive pollution to rivers and contaminating the ground water that supplies the city. Congestion is estimated to cost the economy $6.5 billion a year.

Niniek Karmini, The Associated Press

Great White Sharks Are Loving Nova Scotia Right Now & Some Of Them Are Massive


There must be something in the water on the east coast because a lot of great white sharks are in Nova Scotia right now and some of them are so huge!

SEALS LOTS AND LOTS OF SEALS

© Provided by Narcity

Ocearch, a non-profit shark research organization, is on an expedition in the waters off Nova Scotia until September 30 to learn more about the sharks that spend their summers and falls in Canadian waters.

According to Ocearch, this part of Canada is a "feeding aggregation" for great white sharks during the summer and fall before they head down south.

If you check out the organization's shark tracker and zoom in on Nova Scotia, you can really tell that's the case because there are at least nine great whites swimming around the province as of September 15.

You can spot Maple who's 11 feet long and 1,264 pounds, Ulysses who's 12 feet 4 inches and 990 pounds, and Sarah who's 9 feet long and 632 pounds. Those three sharks were all tagged by Ocearch for the first time off the coast of Nova Scotia on September 14.

Other sharks that are swimming around the province include Rose (10 feet 5 inches, 600 pounds), Bluenose (11 feet 7 inches, 737 pounds), Ironbound (12 feet 4 inches, 998 pounds), Scot (12 feet, 1,644 pounds), Hali (10 feet, 687 pounds), Sable (11 feet 6 inches, 807 pounds)!

US Feds OK plan to cut salmon fishing when needed for orcas

SEATTLE (AP) — Federal officials have approved a plan that calls for cutting nontribal salmon fishing along the West Coast when the fish are needed to help the Northwest’s endangered killer whales.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries adopted the plan Tuesday as recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. It calls for restricting commercial and recreational salmon fishing when chinook salmon numbers are especially low.

It's one of the the first times a federal agency has restricted hunting or fishing one species to benefit a predator that relies on it.

The southern resident killer whales — the endangered orcas that spend much of their time in the waters between Washington state and British Columbia — depend heavily on depleted runs of fatty chinook. Recent research has affirmed how important chinook are to the whales year round, as they cruise the outer coast, and not just when they forage in Washington’s inland waters in the summertime.

The fishing restrictions would extend from Puget Sound in Washington to Monterey Bay in central California, and they would be triggered when fewer than 966,000 chinook are forecast to return to Northwest rivers. The last time forecast chinook returns were that low was in 2007.

The restrictions would include reducing fishing quotas north of Cape Falcon in Oregon; delaying the start of the ocean commercial troll fishery between Cape Falcon and Monterey Bay; and closing parts of the Columbia River and Grays Harbor in Washington and the Klamath River and Monterey Bay to fishing much of the year.

There are 74 orcas in the three pods that make up the southern resident orca population. Three are pregnant, and given the high rate of failed pregnancies in the population, Washington state officials this week urged boaters to follow state laws on keeping their distance from the whales to give them space to feed and socialize.

The whales have in recent years been at their lowest numbers since the 1970s, when hundreds were captured — and dozens were kept — for aquarium display. Scientists warn the population is on the brink of extinction.

The Associated Press

Don't forget Celil in Chinese prison, say supporters of Canadian Uyghur advocate

© Provided by The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Supporters of a Canadian man imprisoned in China for a decade and a half want the next federal government to use the 2022 Beijing Olympics as a bargaining chip to bring him home.

And the advocates for Huseyin Celil say they want the deal to be a package that also wins the freedom of two other high-profile Canadian prisoners — Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

Kovrig and Spavor recently surpassed a grim 1,000-day milestone in Chinese prisons in what is seen by Canada and its Western allies as retaliation for the RCMP's arrest of Chinese high-tech scion Meng Wanzhou on an American extradition warrant in December 2018.

But Celil's advocates don't want Canadians to forget him either — or the fact that unlike Kovrig and Spavor, he has yet to be allowed a single visit by Canadian diplomats since his 2006 arrest — and are calling on whomever wins Monday's federal election to appoint a special envoy to win his freedom.

Canadian consular visits have been banned because China doesn't recognize Celil's dual Canadian citizenship, obtained in 2005, one year before he was arrested in Uzbekistan by the Chinese after his long-standing advocacy for the human rights of his Muslim ethnic Uyghur minority.

"I'm hoping with the 2022 Olympic Games to be held in China that it's another moment where there's another opportunity to secure the release and return of Celil, whether it's part of a package that's done with the two Michaels or a stand-alone," Celil's lawyer, Chris MacLeod, said in an interview Tuesday.

"Obviously, I want all three."

With the Winter Games set to open in February, there are growing calls to boycott the Chinese games or cancel plans to broadcast them amid a chorus of criticism over Beijing's treatment of the Uyghurs, as well as its clampdowns on Hong Kong, Tibet and Taiwan.

Celil's family has been caught up in that geopolitical swirl as they saw their periodic visits to him in prison cut off about five years ago. That's when Beijing began its crackdown on Muslim Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang province, rounding them up into prison camps, citing the need to fight terrorism.

China's treatment of the Uyghurs has sparked worldwide condemnation and allegations of genocide, accusations China vehemently denies.

The upshot for Celil's family and supporters is that they are no longer sure if he is even alive because all contact with his family in China has been cut off, said MacLeod.

"I don't have any communication with the family since the concentration camps opened in China," said Celil's wife, Kamila, in an interview from southern Ontario where she lives with her 16-year-old son — a child her husband has never met.

Kamila Celil said the current Liberal government hasn't done enough to push for her husband's release, and she would like to see more done.

MacLeod agrees, saying the current government deserves a "terrible grade" for its advocacy on behalf of Celil. He said ministers in the former Conservative government of Stephen Harper were able to commute Celil's original death sentence to life in prison.

Alex Neve, the former Canadian secretary-general of Amnesty International, said successive Canadian politicians have failed Celil and his family.

"Over the span of 15 years of unjust imprisonment and grave human rights violations, two prime ministers and 10 ministers of foreign affairs have had the opportunity and responsibility to secure Huseyin Celil's release from detention in China and return to his family in Canada," Neve said in a statement to The Canadian Press.

"There have been many reassuring words, but little in the way of sustained, high-level government efforts to bring him home. The next government must turn that around. Pursuing freedom for Huseyin through every possible avenue must become an absolute top priority."

Prior to last week's televised federal leaders' debate, Neve joined a coalition of several dozen human rights advocates, lawyers and many others in sending an open letter to the five major party leaders to revive their interest in Celil's case.

While they said they supported the Canadian government's efforts on behalf of Kovrig and Spavor, they were "gravely concerned about Canada's foreign policy and its choice to prioritize some Canadians over others," they said in their letter.

"Canada has been actively building a coalition in support of the two Michaels but has left Huseyin Celil behind. We are very disturbed to see him being treated as a second-class citizen and deprived of his rights."

Foreign policy did not figure prominently in either the French or English language debates. Kovrig and Spavor warranted a passing mention in the English debate.

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole has said Canada should consider boycotting the Beijing 2022 Olympics. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau in February abstained as prime minister from a House of Commons vote on a motion declaring the atrocities against the Uyghurs a genocide and calling on the International Olympic Committee to move the 2022 Olympic Games out of China.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh supported that motion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2021.

Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press

COMMENTARY: This election, we must act on the climate crisis. Our children are counting on us

© Provided by Global News FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 13, 2019 file photo, young climate activists march with signs during a rally near the White House in Washington. At left is the Washington Monument. In late September 2019, there will be climate strikes, climate summits, climate debates, a dire climate science report, climate pledges by countries and businesses, promises of climate financial help and more between now and next Friday. There will even be a bit of climate poetry, film and music. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

My name is Cathy Orlando. I am a longtime climate advocate and the mother of Sophia Mathur, a youth climate activist. I write this opinion piece as a grateful settler of the country called Canada and not on behalf of any organization.

As I finish this opinion piece, my community of Sudbury is in a tornado watch. This is the second tornado watch in 72 hours. I live in northern Ontario. It’s mid-September. This is not normal.

The recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes it absolutely clear we are in code red for humanity. Only in the most ambitious scenario do we still have a chance to limit global heating to a safe limit by the end of the century — and only if all the right choices are made as quickly and pervasively as possible.

Read more: Wildfires, drought and record heat — Why climate change matters in Election 2021

The climate crisis is deteriorating much faster than you think. However, in this current federal election, the climate crisis has not been given the attention it deserves. Neither have poverty issues. If we don’t act now, we can forget about social programs. The economy will collapse in a climate-wrecked world. Time is running out.

We need our government to protect us, especially the poor, and they do this by creating evidence-based policy in consultation with the people.

I know it takes courage to be a climate leader because there are detractors. The Honourable Catherine McKenna bravely created an effective policy to cut greenhouse gas emissions in consultation with many stakeholders. The result was an evidence-based carbon pricing policy that spares the poor and middle class from bearing the financial burden of transitioning our economy off fossil fuels by mid-century. But she did so at a personal price. The attacks on her were shameful.

Although the climate crisis should be a non-partisan issue, voters must now navigate through an election and vote while the children are watching, many in quiet terror. A recent study published in Lancet Planetary Health found that of 10,000 youth worldwide polled, 56 per cent think humanity is doomed.

I don’t blame them for the despair they feel. Adults teach by what they do, not by what they say. This is what my daughter Sophia experienced last week:

On Thursday, Sept. 9, there were the Green PAC 100 Debates for the Environment on Zoom for the Sudbury and Nickel Belt ridings. Both Conservative candidates were no-shows. They could not find 25 minutes to sit on a Zoom call at a time of their choice with a non-partisan facilitator to discuss four questions sent in advance.

The Green, NDP and Liberal candidates all came out strongly for tying social justice issues to environmental issues and ending fossil fuel subsidies. However, when explicitly asked about which experts support their policies, both NDP candidates listed a series of policies but did not cite expert analysis.

Nickel Belt Liberal candidate Marc Serre cited Andrew Weaver, IPCC scientist and former leader of the Green Party of British Columbia, as an endorser of Liberal climate policies. Sudbury Liberal candidate Vivian Lapointe said her guiding principle of designing all policies is that we need to listen to the experts, co-operate and collaborate with all affected communities.

Read more: Former B.C. Green party leader endorses Liberal climate change plan

On Friday, Sept. 10, our local Fridays For Future youth and supporters were on a street corner with “Code Red” and “Vote Climate” signs and feeling really hopeful because of all the honks and people that support them.

But then on Saturday, Sept. 11, the NDP ran a full paid political advertisement on the first two pages of the Sudbury Star and did not mention climate change. On page three of the Sudbury Star was an almost half-page colour photo of my daughter holding a Vote Climate placard. Sophia noticed it. Finally, at the end of the day on Saturday, we were in a tornado watch.

Is it any wonder that many youths feel despair about the climate crisis? Whether we like it or not, it is going to be up to us voters to make world-changing decisions for our youth with our votes.

What to do? How do I teach my child to do the right thing? As the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song says, “Teach your children well.” The song also encourages the children to teach their parents too. What is Sophia trying to teach me?

I tell Sophia that we need policy persistence. The carbon pricing policy Canada currently has needs to be made stronger and better and not weakened as the Conservative Party has planned if elected government. I am happy their party acknowledges a need to price carbon pollution, but their targets and carbon pricing policy will be too little and too late.

I don’t put all of this on Erin O’Toole nor the Conservative MPs. Some of their supporters are holding back the whole party. At their last policy convention, over 50 per cent of Conservative delegates could not agree that climate change is human-caused.

Pointing fingers is futile. Understanding why this has happened is probably the best way forward. Climate-concerned politicians and activists have had to push against a climate denial machine that has more money than most governments. No doubt some climate activists have taken the bait and been too partisan, thus inadvertently contributing to a partisan divide on the climate crisis, which is not helping.

My daughter Sophia has been telling adults since Nov. 2, 2018, when she began striking with Greta Thunberg and Fridays For Future, that we all must listen to the experts and co-operate. One economist, Mark Jaccard, has come out strongly for the Liberal climate platform, which is not a surprise, because he is a pragmatic economist. Surprisingly, though, he was not a strong supporter of carbon pricing in the lead-up to election 2019.

Commentary: A voter’s guide to climate action

This opinion piece was probably the most difficult piece I have written. As a longtime activist who is facing what is possibly the last election when we have the luxury of debating this topic before it changes our lives, I am feeling strong and real emotions for the youth and the poor who will bear the brunt of the climate crisis. But I also have knowledge based on facts that we can avoid the worst if we act now. I draw hope from a recent poll that found almost two-thirds of Canadians believe now is the time to act on the climate crisis.

What has kept me going are my three daughters. I made a promise to them in 2007 I would do my best to make sure that their world would not be falling apart when they became mothers. My own mother died on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021. She taught me that our freedom and democracy are to be treasured and defended. Mom, I hope you approve.

In closing, this must be the last election where the climate crisis is treated as a partisan issue.

It is a matter of survival.

Cathy Orlando is a longtime climate activist, trained by Al Gore and Climate Reality in 2008. Cathy founded the first Citizens' Climate Lobby

Edmonton city staff, police to observe National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Recognizing the importance of the Truth and Reconciliation calls to action, City of Edmonton staff along with the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) will recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

.

© Wes Rosa, Global News 

Edmonton City Hall pictured on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020.

Over the summer months, Ottawa declared Sept. 30 as a national holiday that is meant to give public servants an opportunity to recognize the legacy of residential schools.

The day also coincides with Orange Shirt Day — a day on which people honour residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad, who had her orange shirt taken away on the first day of school.

"Our commitment to the Indigenous community we share these lands with is to continue to work with, understand, and grow as we recognize past wrongs and build bridges to the future,” said Edmonton city manager Andre Corbould.

Read more: Alberta leaves National Day for Truth and Reconciliation stat holiday up to employers

During the day off, police and city staff are encouraged to learn about the intergenerational trauma caused to Indigenous peoples, according to a news release.

Video: Meaningful ways to mark Canada’s first-ever Truth and Reconciliation Day

Community events along with workplace activities will also be planned for the Thursday.

“Recognizing Sept. 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is an important step in rebuilding relationships and reconnecting with Edmonton’s Indigenous community,” said EPS chief Dale McFee.

“There is still much work to do on the path toward true reconciliation, but the Edmonton Police Service is honoured to have this opportunity to reflect on our shared history and the impacts on Indigenous communities.”

Some services within Edmonton will be reduced to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

City of Calgary will observe September 30 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation


(ANNews) – In June 2021, the Federal Government of Canada announced September 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, making the date a paid day off for federal workers and employees in federally regulated workplaces.

The national holiday was one of the 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and was created to allow Canadian citizens the opportunity to honour and reflect on Canada’s history of Residential Schools.

However, Canada has said that the holiday only applies to federally regulated employers subject to the code, meaning that the federal legislation does not apply to provincially regulated employers unless a provincial legislature makes amendments to provincial law.

The Alberta Government has announced it will not be recognizing the day and has opted to leave the implementation of the holiday to provincially regulated industries, such as Alberta Health Services (AHS).

Alberta Indigenous Relations press secretary Adrienne South said that while the government is not recognizing the federal holiday, the province is encouraging Albertans to acknowledge and honour the legacy of the Residential School system.

“We must not limit our acknowledgement to the legacy of residential schools to just one day,” she said.

South then emphasized the province’s commitment to “implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s provincial calls to action, including helping Indigenous Albertans reclaim their traditional Indigenous names.”

In response to the province’s decision, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) is filing formal policy grievances against Alberta-regulated employers that are refusing to acknowledge the federal holiday.

The Union has said that some employers, like Alberta Health Services, have collective agreements which compel employers to acknowledge holidays created by the federal government.

Assembly of First Nations Alberta Association Regional Chief, Marlene Poitras, is also not pleased with the province’s decision.

“There have been too many stories in recent days of this provincial government ignoring First Nations peoples and communities in the province,” she said. “Why won’t the government step up and acknowledge this day, which directly responds to the TRC calls to action?”

“This refusal to formally acknowledge the Sept. 30th federal holiday within Alberta flies in the face of reconciliation with First Nations and shows a disdain and lack of care or respect for Alberta’s Indigenous population,” Poitras concluded.

Among the provinces not recognizing the federal holiday are Ontario and Saskatchewan. Among the cities not recognizing the statuatory holiday is the City of Edmonton.

The City of Calgary, however, has stepped up and decided to legislate the day by making it a permanent statutory holiday for all city employees.

September 30 will see the City of Calgary at reduced services and operations.

Calgary City Manager David Duckworth said, “This National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is incredibly important to reflect on a relevant issue in our society . . . It’s an opportunity for us to understand, grow and to build bridges with Indigenous people.”

The city has also announced that special events to commemorate the day will be released on its website as the date approaches.

Jacob Cardinal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News

Edmonton teacher named educator in residence at Canadian Museum for Human Rights


The classroom of an Edmonton teacher is expanding Canada-wide as she steps into her role as the educator in residence with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR).

© Provided by Edmonton Journal

Sarah Adomako-Ansah is the new educator in residence with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg.

Sarah Adomako-Ansah joins the Winnipeg-based museum virtually and she said her biggest goal is to support teachers in navigating conversations surrounding anti-racism and human rights.

“For some people it’s a really tough topic to talk about at an age-appropriate level with students,” the 32-year-old told Postmedia. “So, by helping create student workshops, and teacher workshops and virtual field trips for those who don’t live in Winnipeg, the goal is to help teachers navigate that.”

Adomako-Ansah said to get the job she had to put forward a project proposal that is currently being fine-tuned into a final proposal and then she will be making student materials and teacher resources. She added there will be a range of reading materials and interactive activities available for students with a focus on combatting racism.

“It’s important to me because our world naturally is so diverse and we see and live amongst people that don’t look like us, that do look like us, that identify the same way we do and it’s important students have those skills to communicate and live in harmony with everybody,” said Adomako-Ansah. “I think kids are growing up in this world and they’re going to be the ones leading the charge at some point in their lives, so it’s important for them to know how to work amongst others.”

The Edmonton-based teacher has taught at St. Pius X elementary school for eight years.

The COVID-19 pandemic increased the demand for virtual field trips at the CMHR, where a guide takes them through the galleries in real time with some interactive opportunities along the way. More than 17,000 students, 8,000 from Alberta, went on the museum’s virtual field trip during the 2020-21 school year.

Adomako-Ansah said the online resources like the virtual field trips will allow her to reach more students and she thinks it’s important to reach each province.

“Being able to reach different groups of students and different classes throughout the country is really going to help the same message be spread across the country about diversity, human rights, anti-racism and being that the CMHR is one of Canada’s six national museums, I do think that it’s important the message is consistent across the country,” she said.

Growing up, Adomako-Ansah said she didn’t have a person of colour at the front of one of her classrooms until she was in Grade 9. She said representation matters and she hopes she was able to be that teacher some of her students could relate to and she hopes students continue to feel represented in the work she does at the CMHR.

“That’s my hope. That’s my true and honest goal at the end of the day just for students to feel represented, and seen and validated in everything that they’re doing,” she said.

Kellen Taniguchi 14 hrs ago

ktaniguchi@postmedia.com

twitter.com/kellentaniguchi

BC

Primer on climate action and municipal pension plan to be debated at UBCM convention


The Union of BC Municipalities’s newest primer on climate action and the municipal pension plan shows MPP’s exposure to fossil fuels and its position on divestment.

For the $66.5 billion fund, the largest in Western Canada, 75 cents of every pension dollar comes from investment returns.

British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), which manages asset selection for MPP, does not recommend a divestment strategy saying it “reduces an investor’s ability to influence and to drive more sustainable outcomes and does not encourage companies to amend their policies and practices,” adding it would reduce MPP’s “investable universe.” BCI argues that engagement with corporations is a better strategy.

According to an August 2021 report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Canada Pension Plan has increased its shares in fossil fuel companies since 2016. The report writers say fund managers are investing in companies that are “derailing” climate action.

Elsewhere, cities like New York City and Baltimore, Maryland, have made commitments to divest their billion-dollar pension funds from fossil fuels.

The primer, which will be debated at UBCM’s September convention, shows energy-related investments comprise 2.2 per cent of MPP’s total portfolio. At the end of 2015, four energy holdings – Suncor, Enbridge, Exxon Mobil, Canadian Natural Resources and TC Energy – numbered among the top 25 public equity holdings. At the end of 2020, only TC Energy remained in the top 25 holdings, representing $85 million in exposure.

MPP has nearly 400,000 members.

Rachelle Stein-Wotten, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder

ELECTION 2021

Communist candidate Frazer focused on climate change, economy and impoverishment


ANTIGONISH – St. Francis Xavier University history professor Chris Frazer says he’s running under the Communist Party of Canada (CPC) banner to give the disenfranchised in Central Nova an alternative to the more mainstream parties.

According to his Facebook page, “Chris is a LGBTQ2SIA activist, trade unionist and the Communist Party of Canada candidate for Central Nova…”

He has also been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Rhode Island, a lecturer at Harvard University and an organizer for the United Auto Workers (UAW). He’s been affiliated with the CPC since 1980. At StFX, where he has taught since 2004, he has a disciplinary specialty in the history of Latin American bandits, “as well as pirates,” he says.

Frazer is one of 26 party candidates in Canada, and one of only two in Nova Scotia; Katie Campbell is running in the Halifax riding. The Journal recently spoke with Frazer about his candidacy.

What are your top priorities, and why do you think your party is the best choice at this time?

“There are three things that we want to highlight. Address the crisis of climate change. Address the economic crisis – so things like joblessness, housing and employment income that are all associated with the third issue, which is the level of impoverishment that exists here in Central Nova. This is one of the most impoverished constituencies in the country.

“I do see a connection between all of them. Climate change is helping to drive the economic crisis and vice versa. And those twin issues are keeping a significant proportion of this constituency below the poverty line.

“I think that we’re putting forward a platform that will actually address the needs of the working-class people in this country. The other parties simply are not. They’re all campaigning from the right. They’re all tending to campaign with an eye towards austerity. So, it doesn’t matter what party you elect – NDP, Liberals, Conservatives, People’s Party, you’re going to see attacks on social programs. They want to give tax credits, rather than actually making affordable education. These programs are going to be under attack, regardless of which government comes into power, whether it's a minority, or a majority. It's just a question of whether or not it’s going to be better or worse.

“So, if you want a representative who’s actually going to fight for the real needs and interests of people in this constituency, that’s absolutely the Communist Party.”

What are you hearing from voters?

“Well, it depends on the conversation you want to have with your constituents. Most of the candidates are having five-minute talks at the doors, and that’s about it. All they ever get is a superficial reading of what’s really concerning people because most people don’t believe that they’re [the candidates] the slightest bit interested in addressing issues like rent control, or raising the minimum wage to $21, or any of that stuff.

“What people are really concerned about is what kind of planet we’re making for their kids. That’s the real issue. And I don’t hear any other party talking about that with any real substance.

“The second thing is, even if we have a livable planet, are my kids going to have a decent standard of living? And the answer in a lot of cases is no – no real jobs and no significant income. The cost of property in this constituency, and the taxes associated with it, make home ownership for the vast majority out of control.

“Why aren’t we building affordable public transportation in every community in this constituency? You’d put a hell of a lot of people to work. But nobody wants to talk about that because that means spending money on people to help them, rather than giving corporations the advantage by reducing spending and cutting taxes.

“That’s what I hear from people, literally: Corporations and rich people getting by, while they [working people] are getting screwed.”

Why are you running in this election?

“I think the system’s going to change. I grew up in a working-class family. I know what it’s like to be poor, and how hard it is to get out of that hole. I’ve had a couple of lucky breaks in my life. I see people who need help, and no one’s helping them. So that’s my own personal motive.

“I run for a party that has a platform I support, that has advocates for policies that will actually help people.”

Alec Bruce, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Guysborough Journal

 Native Women’s Association of Canada 

Conservatives score low, NDP score high on NWAC election priorities


If Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives form the next federal government, the Native Women’s Association of Canada says Indigenous women have a long, hard road ahead of them.

A scorecard released yesterday by NWAC ranks the platforms of the five main parties based on 11 priorities. The Conservatives received a failing grade of D.

“It is quite overwhelming,” said NWAC CEO Lynne Groulx. “But is this something new here, that it's hard for us to get the government moving on such systemic issues and longstanding issues? There is nothing new for us. Our past has always been quite monumental.”

She points to a lack of movement by any government on successive reports, including the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1996), the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on the legacy of the Indian residential school system in Canada (2015) and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (2019).

NWAC commissioned Nanos Research to compare the platforms of the parties based on 11 policy issues prioritized by NWAC:

The issues were rated on a scale of five and from that determination the scorecard was created.

The Conservatives scored ones—the lowest score—in environment and climate change, child welfare, and education because Indigenous peoples were not included in their platform on these topics.

In contrast, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals received a score of four in each of these three categories. Overall, the Liberals earned a grade of B.

However, Groulx points out that if she were ranking the Liberals on their actions—particularly on the priority of rights of Indigenous women and gender-diverse people—she would not give them a perfect score like Nanos did on this priority in the Liberals’ platform.

“(The) Liberals, in terms of their scores on MMIWG, their actual real score based on the work they've done, I wouldn't have given him that score because they were late in coming out with the action plan. The plan is not a plan; it's the pathways, and they're not fully funded. I heard the Prime Minister say it's fully funded and it's not fully funded,” said Groulx.

The New Democratic Party’s platform scored the highest, earning a grade of A. The party, led by Jagmeet Singh, received scores of fours and fives on every priority.

“I’m not so surprised because I've been watching from the beginning. We've been watching Mr. Singh and his statements and the thoughtfulness behind it and the analysis behind it,” said Groulx, who commends the party for including all 11 priorities outlined by NWAC in its platform.

As for the other two main parties, the Bloc Québécois earned a failing grade of D, while the Green Party scored a grade of B.

The Bloc scored ones in almost every category except in “self-determination and decision-making” where the party’s platform earned a perfect five. It committed on numerous occasions to abolish the Indian Act and to ensure the government applied the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to enact all the TRC’s Calls to Action.

Groulx says the Bloc’s score is “disappointing” and shows that Indigenous women’s issues do not register in its priorities.

“Our ultimate goal is finding out where do we need to put some effort in—and it’s not all our responsibility. Reconciliation is not all our responsibility—but now that we know, in particular, where there is a weakness here, there's a problem here and let's take a look at that and have a conversation about it,” said Groulx.

Should a minority government be formed, Groulx says the NDP could play a “critical role,” which would be advantageous for Indigenous women.

“They could find themselves in a position of power to influence and change legislation and make it more appealing to Canadians, and more favourable… I see them as a bridge builder,” said Groulx.

As for a majority government, Groulx is practical: “It has to be the right one and really that hasn't happened yet. There always seems to be something else. There's always another priority. There's always big promises, but the governments have not yet, we haven't seen that yet, really (stepped) up and say ‘This is our priority. We are going to end this genocide here’.”

She says she is hopeful that the “outpouring of realization” from Canadians since unmarked graves were uncovered on residential school sites by Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and Cowessess First Nation will bring political pressure to bear on a new government to “really take things seriously and deal with the issues at hand once and for all.”

NWAC has been active in this election campaign.

At the end of August, the organization launched its “We’re done asking, we’re voting” campaign to get Indigenous women and gender-diverse people out to vote.

While it’s difficult at this point to gauge its success, Groulx says there has been more “conversations” going on social media.

“It’s true this is not our government; (it’s a) colonial government, but we have to look at the options here. If we don’t deal with the issues, if we don’t stand up and say, ‘We’re not going to take this anymore. We’re done waiting for the solutions,’ then we’re leaving the issue to be dealt with to the next generation. That’s not a good idea,” said Groulx.


By Shari Narine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com, Windspeaker.com