Two years after October 17 protests, Lebanon's economic crisis worse than ever

FRANCE 24's Claire Paccalin interviews Lynn Harfoush, an executive committee member of Lebanon's secular National Bloc party, in Beirut on October 17, 2021.

Issued on: 17/10/2021 - 

Text by :FRANCE 24Follow|

Video by: Claire PACCALIN

Two years after Lebanon's so-called October 17 movement began with major nationwide protests, disillusionment and fear prevail in the country. Several prime ministers have come and gone since 2019, but the protesters’ demands have not been met. FRANCE 24's Claire Paccalin speaks with Lynn Harfoush, an executive committee member of the National Bloc political party, who remains undeterred.

Turnout was small at the October 17 demonstration this year, but Harfoush, an executive committee member of Lebanon's secular National Bloc party said there was still reason for hope.

“It is a bit disappointing, but at the same time, it’s something we understand,” Harfoush said of the low turnout. “The crisis has grown much bigger. Some people are even unable to commute to come here. But what we are sure of, and the reason that we still believe in the October 17 revolution, is that it did light this flame of change in a lot of people’s hearts.”

Harfoush said the economic situation was worse than ever. “We’ve moved from worrying about how we were going to spend our days to worrying about whether we would find any gas, electricity, water … we’ve moved to worrying about our minimum needs. Gas has become very expensive, while the minimum wage is still very low,” she said, adding that many Lebanese have lost their jobs and were worried about the inflation crisis.

Harfoush said the protest movement was also demanding progress in the investigation into the August 4, 2020 explosion at Beirut Port. “It is a very big date for us, because it proved to the people that the political class is not only unable to provide for their needs but it is also unable to protect them.” Bringing those responsible for the blast, which claimed the lives of more than 217 people and destroyed the port and a large part of the city “has become a top demand of all the October 17 revolution movements", she said.

Harfoush said it might take a long time, but her party and other participants in the protest movement would continue working. “There’s a lot for us to do. There’s this whole political class that we need to overcome,” she said.

Click on the video player to watch the full report.

Low turnout as Lebanese mark two years of protests

Issued on: 17/10/2021 - 

Dozens of protesters marched in the Lebanese capital Beirut on October 17, 2021 to mark the second anniversary of the start of the now defunct protest movement 

ANWAR AMRO AFP

Beirut (AFP)

Lebanon marked the second anniversary of its defunct protest movement with a low-key demonstration in Beirut Sunday, while many stayed away amid grinding economic woes and deadly tensions over a port blast probe.

Dozens marched under rain clouds towards Martyrs' Square in central Beirut, an AFP photographer said.

Mass protests bringing together Lebanese from all backgrounds erupted on October 17, 2019, denouncing deteriorating living conditions as well as alleged official graft and mismanagement, after the government announced a plan to tax phone calls made over messaging service WhatsApp.

Cross-sectarian demonstrations swept the country, demanding the overthrow of political barons in power since at least the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.

Two years on, Lebanon is mired in a ballooning financial crisis compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, and battered by a devastating explosion at Beirut's port on August 4 last year.

Draconian banking restrictions have prevented many Lebanese from accessing their savings, while the local currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value to the dollar on the black market.

Almost 80 percent of the population live in poverty, struggling to put food on the table in the face of endless price hikes, fuel shortages and power cuts.

One who did protest on Sunday, Rabih Zein, said it was not just previous police crackdowns that had kept demonstrators away.

"If anyone is wondering why there are not many people, it's because they've deprived us of petrol, electricity and the money we put in banks," he said.

Each person marching represented many more who were forced to stay at home, Zein claimed.

"Today is a symbolic stand. God willing, we will move towards change at the parliamentary elections" next spring, said the 37-year-old television producer from the northern city of Tripoli.

The protest movement has given birth to a flurry of new political groups, which many hope will run in the upcoming polls.

The port blast killed more than 210 people and wrecked swathes of Beirut. But no one has yet been held accountable in a domestic investigation which top politicians have tried to hamper at every turn.

On Thursday, seven people were killed in central Beirut during gunfire following a rally by supporters of the country's two main Shiite parties calling for the dismissal of the lead investigator in the case.

Fatima Mahyu, a protester from Beirut, said some people were likely too scared to come out on Sunday.

"There is fear and weariness," said the mother of two, both of whom have emigrated. "People are exhausted."

Another protester, Micheline Abu Khater, a history teacher, said she was staying in Lebanon for the upcoming elections.

"I am full of hope for change," she said.

© 2021 AFP

Draft 'Asterix' story revealed by author's daughter

Issued on: 17/10/2021 - 

Comic books featuring Asterix and sidekick Obelix have sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide BERTRAND GUAY AFP/File

Berlin (AFP)

The daughter of Rene Goscinny, one of the duo behind indomitable French comic-book star Asterix, has revealed that her father left a draft story featuring the Roman-bashing Gaulish warrior unfinished.

"I often think about it, it's 20 pages, half a comic book," Anne Goscinny told German weekly Der Spiegel in a weekend interview.

Typewritten by Rene Goscinny, the script titled "Asterix at the Circus" was found in the family archives, looked after by Anne

But she said that completing the story without her father would be a "very complicated" task.

"We'd have to get a lot of people around the table, immerse ourselves in the story and find (Rene's) voice again," she said, adding, "it's as if there were a hole in a painting by Goya".

"One day we'll give it a try, it would be an extraordinary adventure," Anne added.

Asterix -- defender of the last Gaulish village holding out against the Roman empire -- was dreamed up in 1959 by Rene Goscinny, who died in 1977, and Albert Uderzo, who died last year.

The comic books have sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide.

Before the Asterix series, there was no history of comics having a scriptwriter.

© 2021 AFP

One month on, still 'no signs' that La Palma volcanic eruption will end soon

Issued on: 17/10/2021

Members of the GIETMA (Technological and Environmental Emergencies Intervention Group) of the UME monitor the evolution of a new lava flow, following the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, on the Canary island of La Palma on October 16, 2021. 

© Luismi Ortiz, UME, AFP

Text by: NEWS WIRES

There's no immediate end in sight to the volcanic eruption that has caused chaos on the Spanish isle of La Palma since it began about a month ago, the president of the Canary Islands said on Sunday.

There were 42 seismic movements on the island on Sunday, the largest of which measured 4.3, according to the Spanish National Geographical Institute.

"There are no signs that an end of the eruption is imminent even though this is the greatest desire of everyone," President Angel Víctor Torres said at a Socialist party conference in Valencia, citing the view of scientists.



Streams of lava have laid waste to more than 742 hectares (1833 acres) of land and destroyed almost 2,000 buildings on La Palma since the volcano started erupting on Sept. 19.

About 7,000 people have been evacuated from their homes on the island, which has about 83,000 inhabitants and forms part of the Canary Islands archipelago off northwestern Africa.

Airline Binter said it had cancelled all its flights to La Palma until 1 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Sunday because of ash from the volcano.

Almost half - 22 out of 38 - of all flights to the island on Sunday have been cancelled, state airport operator Aena said, but the airport there remains open.

(REUTERS)

Climate change a double blow for oil-rich Mideast: experts



Issued on: 17/10/2021 - 

Sun-baked farmland in eastern Iraq's Saadiya area, north of Diyala, pictured on June 24, 2021 amid a blistering summer heat wave and water shortages that killed fields and livestock 

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE AFP/File

Paphos (Cyprus) (AFP)

The climate crisis threatens a double blow for the Middle East, experts say, by destroying its oil income as the world shifts to renewables and by raising temperatures to unliveable extremes.

Little has been done to address the challenge in a region long plagued by civil strife, war and refugee flows, even as global warming looks likely to accelerate these trends, a conference heard last week.

"Our region is classified as a global climate change hotspot," Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades told the International Conference on Climate Change in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East.

Home to half a billion people, the already sun-baked region has been designated as especially vulnerable by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the UN's World Meteorological Organization.

Yet it is also home to several of the last countries that have not ratified the 2015 Paris Agreement -- Iran, Iraq, Libya and Yemen -- weeks before the UN's COP26 climate conference starts in Glasgow.

A Lebanese army helicopter drops water on a forest fire in the Qubayyat area of northern Lebanon's remote Akkar region during a heat wave on July 29, 2021

 JOSEPH EID AFP/File

When it comes to climate change and the Middle East, "there are terrible problems," said Jeffrey Sachs, who heads the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

"First, this is the centre of world hydrocarbons, so a lot of the economies of this region depend on a fuel that is basically anachronistic, that we have to stop," said Sachs of New York's Columbia University.

"Second, obviously, this is a dry region getting drier, so everywhere one looks, there is water insecurity, water stress, dislocation of populations," he told AFP.

Sachs argued that "there needs to be a massive transformation in the region. Yet this is a politically fraught region, a divided region, a region that has been beset by a lot of war and conflict, often related to oil."

In this file photo taken on October 3, 2021 a man wades through a flooded street amid cyclone Shaheen in Oman's capital Muscat 

Haitham AL-SHUKAIRI AFP/File

The good news, he said, is that there is "so much sunshine that the solution is staring the region in the face. They must just look up to the sky. The solar radiation provides the basis for the new clean, green economy."

- Like 'disaster movie' -

Laurent Fabius, the former French foreign minister who oversaw the Paris Agreement, pointed out that in this year's blistering summer, "we had catastrophic wildfires in Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon".

The greenhouse effect Gal ROMA AFP

"There were temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran. We have drought in Turkey, water stress in different countries, particularly Jordan.

"These tragic events are not from a disaster movie, they are real and present."

Cyprus, the EU member closest to the Middle East, is leading an international push involving 240 scientists to develop a 10-year regional action plan, to be presented at a summit a year from now.

The two-day conference last week heard some of the initial findings -- including that the greenhouse gas emissions from the region have overtaken those of the European Union.

Already extremely water-scarce, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has been warming at twice the global average rate, at about 0.45 degrees Celsius per decade, since the 1980s, scientists say.

Flood damage in Yemen's Mukalla in the southern Hadramawt province after Cyclone Shaheen hit the region and neighbouring Oman in October 2021 - AFP/File

Deserts are expanding and dust storms intensifying as the region's rare mountain snow caps slowly diminish, impacting river systems that supply water to millions.

By the end of the century, on a business-as-usual emissions trajectory, temperatures could rise by six degrees Celsius -- and by more during summertime in "super- or ultra-extreme heatwaves" -- said Dutch atmospheric chemist Jos Lelieveld.

- 'Future conflicts' -

"It's not just about averages, but about the extremes. It will be quite devastating," Lelieveld of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Chemistry told AFP.

In this file photo from July 3, 2021 a giant fire rages in the Troodos mountains of Cyprus, the worst blaze on record on the Mediterranean island 

Georgio PAPAPETROU AFP/File

Peak temperatures in cities, so-called 'heat islands' that are darker than surrounding deserts, could exceed 60 degrees Celsius, he said.

"In heat waves, people die, of heat strokes and heart attacks. It's like with corona, the vulnerable people will be suffering -- the elderly, younger people, pregnant women."

Fabius, like other speakers, warned that as farmlands turn to dust and tensions rise over shrinking resources, climate change can be "the root of future conflicts and violence".

The region is already often torn over freshwater from the Nile, Jordan, Euphrates and Tigris river systems that all sustained ancient civilisations but have faced pressure as human populations have massively expanded.

Sachs pointed to the much-debated theory that climate change was one of the drivers behind Syria's civil war, because a 2006-2009 record drought sent more than a million farmers into cities, heightening social stress before the uprising of 2011.

Solar panels on rooftops in Binnish in Syria's rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib, which has had no reliable state supply since Damascus pulled the plug in 2012

 Omar HAJ KADOUR AFP/File

"We saw in Syria a decade ago how those dislocations of the massive drought spilt over, partially triggered and certainly exacerbated massive violence," he said.

Some of the MENA region's highest use of solar power is now seen in Syria's last rebel-held area, the Idlib region, which has long been cut off from the state power grid and where photovoltaic panels have become ubiquitous.

© 2021 AFP

Space tourism may be taking off, but critics not taken with its aims

CBC/Radio-Canada 13 hrs ago

A handful of billionaire-backed ventures are proving that space tourism could be a part of our future, but some critics say those resources would be better directed toward solving the problems we face on Earth today.

"We need some of the world's greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live," as Prince William put it this week, summing up a less-than-laudatory attitude among critics watching the tourism-minded space race of our times unfold.

Since the summer, space tourism companies have taken passengers on brief journeys above the Earth and garnered a lot of attention for doing so — in part because of the people they took with them.
Rivals ride rockets in same month

Billionaire Jeff Bezos went to space in July, along with three other passengers, on a Blue Origin spacecraft. The company sent four more people to space this past Wednesday — including William Shatner, best known for playing Star Trek's Capt. James Kirk.

"What you have given me is the most profound experience," Shatner told Bezos after his ride to space.

And yet for all the coverage that Bezos has received, he wasn't even the first billionaire to go to space this year — Richard Branson got there first, on a Virgin Galactic flight that carried six passengers, nine days before his Blue Origin competitors.

"The whole thing, it was just magical," Branson said after the flight.

© Joe Skipper/Reuters Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity is seen descending after reaching the edge of space on July 11, 2011.


What about the planet?

But not everyone is applauding. Ryan Katz-Rosene, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa's School of Political Studies, said these recent space tourism efforts and the competition to claim achievement from them are "completely tone-deaf to the realities of the sustainability challenges" the planet is facing.

"I don't think we should be spending so much focus and effort and attention and money into private space travel," he said.

Yet Philip Metzger, a planetary physicist at the University of Central Florida, says this kind of space tourism could end up driving support for the problems at home. Astronauts and the like often say the experience of seeing the Earth from above left them with a renewed appreciation for environmentalism.

Metzger predicts that having more people see the Earth from above will drive a greater marshalling of "resources and talents towards protecting the Earth."
Possible benefits

Chris Hadfield, the retired Canadian astronaut, sees what Prince William and like-minded critics are getting at — acknowledging there's some justification for their concerns about the problems on Earth.

But he said the push to explore is what inspires the discovery of new ideas and new technologies — including some of the satellite tools we now use to measure and observe the parts of our planet and the problems it faces.

"That technology doesn't just instantaneously appear," said Hadfield. "You have to inspire people, they have to develop it."

As for the future of a broader world of space travel, Hadfield said "it opens up so much opportunity and I think that's the part that's worth focusing on."

© Mikhail Metzel/Reuters Chris Hadfield is shown after landing back on Earth, via a Soyuz space capsule, in central Kazakhstan in May 2013.

Coast Guard investigates vessel following California oil spill


The owner and operator of a ship will be questioned as part of another marine casualty investigation after a pipeline leaked thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The agency has designated the MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, the owner of the MSC DANIT, and the Dordellas Finance Corporation, the operator of the vessel, as parties of interest into the investigation into a Jan. 25 incident in which an anchor was dragged during a heavy weather event that impacted the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

MORE: Criminal investigation launched into Amplify Energy after oil spill off California coast

The incident occurred in "close proximity" to the underwater pipeline known as Elly, which was the source of the leak that spilled up to 144,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean, according to the Coast Guard

.

© Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register via AP Workers with Patriot Environmental Services pick up oil-contaminated sand and plants south of the pier in Huntington Beach, Calif., Oct. 8, 2021.

Investigators from the Coast Guard boarded the container ship at the Port of Long Beach on Saturday as part of the probe, authorities said. The "party in interest" designations provide the owner and operator of the MSC DANIT the opportunity to be represented by counsel, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to call witnesses who are relevant to the investigation, according to the Coast Guard.

© Ringo H.w. Chiu/APMORE: Huntington Beach oil spill: Officials raise potential oil spill amount to 144,000 gallons amid cleanup efforts

The investigation into the oil spill is ongoing.

The pipeline was split open after a section measuring about 1 mile long was pulled along the ocean floor after it was hit by a shipping container, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and to call witnesses who are relevant to the investigation, the Associated Press reported.

© Ringo H.w. Chiu/AP Oil washes up on Huntington Beach, Calif., Oct. 4, 2021.

Cleanup crews are continuing to remove crude oil from California's southern coast after thousands of gallons were leaked from a broken pipe earlier this month.MORE: Risk of oil spills may rise as climate change creates more monster storms

The U.S. Coast Guard has removed about 1,281 gallons of an "oily water mixture" from the Pacific Ocean since the pipeline operated by Amplify Energy about 4.5 miles off the coast of Huntington Beach since the leak was reported on Oct. 2.

Thousands of gallons of oily water mixture have been recovered from the water and beaches by the Coast Guard and other response teams. Dozens of oiled wildlife have also been treated by veterinarians.

ABC News' Will Gretsky contributed to this report.

First heavy-duty electric truck rolls into Manitoba

globalnewsdigital 1 day ago

A Winnipeg-based trucking company is making history with the province's first heavy-duty electric truck.

 Global News The first heavy-duty electric truck in Manitoba.

Gardewine Group Inc. has transformed a vehicle almost 20 years old, into the first electric truck of its kind in Manitoba.

"This truck in the coming months will operate throughout the yard," Darin Downey, President & CEO of Gardewine Group said. "It will back trailers into the docks. It'll run 20 hours a day approximately five days a week."

The province chipped in $150,000 for the project from its Conservation and Climate Fund.

Downey said the industry needs to lead this and the government should support.

"While we don't believe this model is feasible from a financial standpoint, we do believe that as good co-operate citizens we need to take this step forward."

READ MORE: Federal government announces electric vehicle chargers coming to Southern Manitoba, Winnipeg

Terry Shaw, executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association, hopes it will set the tone for other businesses across the province.

"Everybody understands that truck transportation needs to evolve," Shaw said. "It's not as simple as going to the electric truck store and buying an electric, so clearly there's been a lot of time, effort and thought put into this acquisition."

According to the Manitoba Electric Vehicle Association, the number of electric vehicles on Manitoba roadways has increased dramatically this year, but that's after a slow start in years prior compared to other provinces.

"Quebec is a great example," Robert Elms, president of the Manitoba Electric Vehicle Association said. "There are over 140 companies employing over six thousand people manufacturing electric vehicles, charging equipment and other associated EV technologies."

He says the government and private sector should look towards colleges and universities across the province to further explore opportunities for electric innovation.

The pandemic laid bare the deep problems in America - from healthcare to housing. Now the question is: will we do anything about it?
insider@insider.com (Joshua M. Sharfstein) 9 hrs ago

 Sophia Garcia, center, with Legacy LA in Boyle Heights joins housing advocates and tenants gathered against eviction of tenants from the 50 unit Tokio Hotel apartments n downtown Los Angeles. 

Al Seib / Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

As COVID's Delta wave begins to subside, we can see glaring holes in our nation's resilience.

Whether the pandemic leads us back to the status quo or triggers reform depends on the story the nation tells itself about what happened.

The pandemic was a catastrophe. It doesn't have to be a lost opportunity as well.

Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein is Professor of the Practice in Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.

As the COVID pandemic's Delta wave begins to subside, people across the US are itching for life to return to normal.

But still unclear is how different the new normal will be from our world prior to the pandemic. We now know there are better ways to do things - from flexible work to telemedicine. We can also see glaring holes in our country's preparedness and resilience, including profound underfunding of public health agencies, enormous racial and ethnic disparities in housing, education, and employment, and poor access to healthcare in many rural communities. Now is a unique opportunity to tackle these problems.

At least, that's one lesson of history, which is full of examples of reforms that were previously unthinkable actually happening in the wake of a crisis. But change is not automatic. For every example of a national event that cast a long shadow on policy, there is a counterexample of an event that barely budged the national agenda.

Whether the pandemic leads us back to the status quo or triggers fundamental reform may depend most of all on the story the nation comes to tell itself about what happened.
Who is trusted to tell the story?

The story told depends first on who has the credibility to be the storyteller.

In 1937, a deadly batch of a medication called the Elixir Sulfanilamide killed more than 100 people. A small federal agency named the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) jumped into action, earning public acclaim by sending inspectors across the country to track down remaining doses. The agency then wrote a comprehensive report explaining why the public was so vulnerable to dangerous medications. Congress responded by passing the landmark Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which for the first time in history required medications to be reviewed and approved before marketing.

A very different scenario unfolded in 1976, however. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a campaign to immunize every "man, woman, and child" in the nation against a new strain of influenza. But the feared "swine flu" pandemic never came; even worse, the vaccine was linked to some rare but severe neurological side effects. Its reputation damaged by tough news coverage, CDC could do little to stop a slide in vaccine confidence.

What story is told?

A good story compels attention, recounting not just the tragedies that transpired but the heroes who prevented further harm.

In 1961, a new sedative called thalidomide caused thousands of severe birth defects in Europe -- but very few in the United States, because the FDA had refused to approve the medication. Sensing an opportunity, Tennessee Sen. Estes Kefauver encouraged journalists to tell the story of how a single heroic drug reviewer, Dr. Frances Kelsey, had protected thousands of American babies from tragedy. Kelsey subsequently appeared in every major national magazine and newspaper and on every major television news program.Kefauver and his colleagues used this hero's tale to make a larger change by passing historic legislation to transform the regulation of medical products.

By contrast, the more than 12,000 US deaths from the H1N1 pandemic in 2009 drew no serious national review of what had gone right and wrong with the response. The desire to return to normal and move on undermined serious consideration of urgently needed investments in preparedness for infectious threats.

What energy does the story generate?

Stories that inform are important; stories that inspire people to action are the ones that lead to the most significant reforms.

The 2017 shooting rampage from a hotel room in Las Vegas killed 60 people and wounded 411. This terrible tragedy, however, led to few reforms. Media attention and policy discussions centered on the narrow question of bumper stocks, which were banned by the Justice Department in 2018 and then reinstated by an appeals court in 2021.

Less than six months later, a shooting at the Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida killed 17 people and wounded 17 others. Defying local elected officials who predicted that yet again, "nothing" would happen because "we've seen this show before," survivors of the shooting attacked the gun lobby as blocking even the most common sense reforms. Young people across the state and the nation mobilized. Despite blocking similar provisions for years, Florida legislators quickly passed major legislation establishing background checks, a waiting period, and a new program to remove guns from those considered to be at extreme risk for using them. These laws have now passed in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

So what changes after COVID-19?

It is easy to imagine this scenario: The nation's profound polarization leaves little room for story-telling or lesson-learning. Harassed and demoralized, public health leaders and agencies are unable to command enough trust or respect to play a major role outlining a path forward. As cases decline, policymakers fall back into their regular routines, and the public embraces a return to normalcy.

And yet. It is also possible to think of an alternative scenario. First, a source of authority emerges, such as a bipartisan national commission or panel. Its investigation covers not only why the US fell short of the best COVID responses in the world, but also why the US had one of the most inequitable and divisive pandemic experiences anywhere.

Second, a compelling story of what happened captures the nation's attention. Millions of Americans come to understand what might have been done differently, and what could yet be done differently, to avoid the needless loss of life.

Third, and finally, the story gets people moving. The time window for reform may be short, and obstacles of all kinds are likely to block the path to reform. Nonetheless, advocates will have a chance to make their case: The pandemic was a catastrophe. It doesn't have to be a lost opportunity as well.

US Childcare staffing is 'at a critical point' as workers leave the industry and it can't afford to hire them back. A CEO says it's 'beyond a shortage.'

insider@insider.com (Madison Hoff)

© Provided by Business Insider Ariel Skelley/Getty Images

Some childcare centers are still having a hard time finding enough staff to meet demand.

One childcare CEO and a lead toddler-level teacher said they've seen people leave for opportunities at school districts.

Another CEO told Insider that they've recently been able to hire more teachers and assistants.

Ted Hockenberry knew that once the economy began to reopen and vaccines started rolling out, demand for childcare would pick up and he would need to hire more teachers.

Hockenberry is CEO of Children of America, a daycare and childcare provider which has 59 preschools primarily in the Northeast and Midwest. And he badly needs staff.

Children of America stayed open during the pandemic, but enrollment plummeted from 7,500 students before the pandemic, which meant cuts to staff, along with quits. Enrollment dropped both because of capacity limits and because of a period when it was forced to only accept the children of essential workers. From about 1,600 employees before the pandemic, it hit a low of 500 before recovering to 1,100. Hockenberry says hundreds of jobs need to be filled.

Convincing workers to sign on has been even harder than he imagined.

He tried sign-on bonuses and increased pay, but he told Insider he's competing for talent against not just other childcare centers, but also public schools and businesses of all kinds - as well as with the wider labor shortage and still-present fear of Covid-19.

Hockenberry said the situation is "beyond a shortage" and instead "at a critical point." He added that there's a waiting list of students needing childcare, in some cases six months long, because the demand is "outpacing the supply of teachers" and they can only have a certain number of children per teacher. He knows how important the industry is, calling it a "gatekeeper" for some families who need to get back to earning two incomes.

Like other industries, childcare providers are trying their best to find new workers. Their struggles to hire have huge stakes - with less teachers around, the job is harder than ever, and more and more childcare workers are considering leaving the industry altogether. It's not an exaggeration to say the future of childcare is at stake.
Childcare is missing 100,000 workers and there's no guarantee they'll come back

Early education teachers told Insider one main reason they think there's a shortage is because of the low pay. Without adequate staff, daycares can't accept more kids and parents who left jobs because of childcare may continue to struggle to return to work, hamstringing the labor market recovery.

Ted Hockenberry, CEO of Children of America. Courtesy of Children of America

Hockenberry said that as demand increased and it was time to call teachers back, some didn't want to because they had already made the transition to other industries or didn't feel safe returning yet. "Between doing this small job and this small job and collecting unemployment," he said of their mindset, "I'm actually making more than I was working with you."

He added that nearby public schools are also facing a teacher shortage and some of his childcare workers with years of experience have left to go work there.

One lead toddler teacher whose name and employer is known to Insider but omitted from this article because she still works there, said she has also seen workers at her preschool leave for positions in elementary and secondary education because of the better pay, incentives, and benefits at local school districts.

With 194,000 jobs added in the US last month - a dismal report compared to previous months in 2021 - child daycare services gained 17,800 jobs. However, childcare employment is down by 108,700 from February 2020.
Workers want higher pay now, but many childcare firms are tied to annual contracts

Employers in childcare increasingly just can't afford to retain their workers.

Hockenberry said that early education schools have always had to compete against other centers and public schools for talent, but now they're competing against other industries as well.

In a recent survey from the nonprofit National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), 81% of respondents said low pay is a main reason educators leave, and 78% said pay is the main challenge in recruiting. "Compensation remains both the challenge and the solution for staffing recruitment and retention problems," NAEYC wrote.

According to 2020 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, childcare workers make a median hourly wage of $12.24, much lower than the median hourly wage for all occupations at $20.17.

The lead toddler teacher who talked to Insider makes $15 an hour in Missouri - and she says that's after a recent raise. She has worked in early childhood education for almost six years. She has, however, been applying for new jobs outside of early education and is particularly interested in an apprenticeship.

She listed several reasons she's looking elsewhere. She wants to better provide for her children, and has had feelings of burnout. She also noted that pay in early education is low, and low staffing has created a difficult, more stressful teaching environment.

"Having done early ed for so long and in a couple of different states, it's pretty standard - the low rates of pay, the lack of benefits, the strenuous nature of it," she said. "So that's doesn't seem like it's going to change anytime soon and since the pandemic doesn't seem like it's letting up, it's maybe just time to make that change."

Hockenberry, like others, said Children of America has tried to attract new talent and compete with competitors by increasing pay and by offering a sign-on bonus of $500, but there's only so much it can do because it can't increase tuition quickly enough. Although they do increase public rates, existing families in the schools are under a contract to pay a certain rate, but there are small annual increases.

"Unlike a restaurant where we could maybe put up the food prices week by week, we can't put up the tuition costs without putting an undue challenge to our parents as fast as we're actually having to pay teachers more," Hockenberry said. "So it's really two tough situations, careening towards each other as we need to recruit, retain, and bring on more teachers."

The lead toddler teacher, who is also a member of NAEYC, said there needs to be political change and reform because childcare centers themselves, especially small ones, can't afford to pay workers more.

"American families can't necessarily afford to pay more for their tuition," she said. "It's already astronomical, and centers can't afford to pay the employees more, but there's a huge discrepancy there and it just needs attention and it needs help."

Beyond higher pay, she said there needs to be better benefits in early education - including paid time off, vacation days, mental health benefits, and medical benefits.
The importance of a message in lean times

Richard "Richie" Huffman, founder and CEO of Celebree School, said his early childhood education franchisor is seeing a spike in enrollments. After enrollment dropped from about 90% capacity before the pandemic to 40% once the pandemic hit, he thinks that by the end of October they can "easily" reach 90% again.

Huffman said his firm is "extremely aggressive on attracting the best talent available along with a really strong message of why you should come work for us." For instance, Celebree has done radio ads to promote the job opportunities at the school.

Richard "Richie" Huffman, founder and CEO of Celebree School. Courtesy of Celebree School

Celebree School has 26 locally owned locations in Maryland and Delaware. Huffman said that from August to September, when he talked to Insider for this article, his company interviewed 285 candidates and hired over 140 as lead teachers and assistants. He said many applicants had reached out to and about a quarter of the new hires had come from employee referrals.

Huffman said some firms will find the labor shortage "a short-term issue" and the way through for struggling companies is to figure out a consistent "message" for employees.

Hiring issues aside, Hockenberry said the job is great for those who want to make a difference in the early stages of children's lives.

"It's pretty rewarding to know that when you are working with those kids, they are blank canvases and you could make a huge difference in their lives," Hockenberry said. "And I think the biggest thing that people that want to get in the industry have to think about is whether they could be that person. And if they can be that person, it's a very rewarding experience."

Hockenberry says it's clear that employers across industries are struggling.

"The labor force is just under duress," he said. "It doesn't matter really what type of job it is. I think everybody's having a really hard time recruiting quality employees to actually come to work."

Biden's Commerce Secretary demands higher pay for childcare workers. 'Our economy cannot run without these women.'

insider@insider.com (Juliana Kaplan,Madison Hoff) 1

© Provided by Business Insider VP Kamala Harris and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo browse in Books on the Square in Rhode Island. Andrew Harnik/AP Photo

Childcare is one of the lowest-paying occupations in America, and it's suffering from a labor shortage.

Commerce Sec. Gina Raimondo told Insider that childcare workers should be paid more than minimum wage.

The lack of childcare workers - and affordable childcare - is holding up economic recovery.

It's well documented that the pandemic caused a childcare crisis - one of its many devastating effects on parents.

As childcare providers shuttered, women dropped out of the labor force to care for their children. Some struggled to balance work and caregiving responsibilities, facing burnout with no end in sight.

Now, labor shortages abound as workers hesitate to return, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Insider that childcare plays a significant role.

"Women are not able to answer the help wanted ad if they don't have steady, affordable childcare, because they know they can't be reliable, productive employees," Raimondo said. "So they're not applying for these jobs."

But on the other end is an equally devastating shortage: Childcare centers are struggling to staff up. That's likely due in part to the low wages that childcare workers make.

Childcare workers made a median hourly wage of $12.24 in 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.

"If you are a full time childcare worker working in a daycare center, making $13 an hour - which by the way is higher than typical - and you work full-time, 40 hours a week every week, you make $27,000 a year," Raimondo said. "That's really hard to live on, $27,000 a year, and that's working full-time. It's a problem."

Pay for the childcare industry has slowly ticked up - alongside other industries - as employers scramble to lure in workers. As employment in the child daycare services industry continues its recovery from the pandemic, wages for production and nonsupervisory employees in this sector have gone up. As seen in the following chart, average hourly earnings for these workers were $15.77 as of August.

The industry, however, lost 10,000 production and nonsupervisory employees jobs in August, so the earnings increase that month could partially be coming from lost jobs among lower-wage workers that month. These employees have mainly seen job and earnings gains throughout 2021, as some centers in the industry try increasing pay and offering sign-on bonuses to attract new workers.

"We got to get to a higher minimum wage - frankly, it's even more than just minimum wage. Taking care of our elderly loved ones and our children, it's the most important work we can do," Raimondo said. "Why shouldn't childcare workers have the same wages and benefits as teachers?"

Paying these workers more would go a long way. The federal minimum wage hasn't been raised since July 2009, and raising it to $15 would be especially beneficial for women and Black childcare workers, according to an analysis from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The left-leaning think tank writes that 48.5% of Black childcare workers would benefit as well as 43.8% of women in childcare.

"Our economy cannot run without these women who are in the childcare industry," Raimondo said. She added: "These childcare workers are, in a very real way, the backbone of our economy, and it's time that we started treating them that way."

In February, a measure to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour was struck from President Joe Biden's first stimulus package. Eight Democrats voted against putting it back in. Now, the Biden administration wants to make childcare affordable and raise wages for workers through a $3.5 trillion social spending infrastructure package. But even that package is at risk as centrists call for it to be pared down.

"Low wages for childcare workers have for too long been treated as a 'solution' to help make child care affordable," EPI wrote. "This has failed on every count. Despite the low wages of child care workers, these services remain unaffordable for many low- and middle-income families. Meanwhile, low wages leave child care workers economically vulnerable and compromise the quality of care children receive."

CRTC provides final $53.4 million for Nunavik high-speed internet project

MobileSyrup 2 days ago

Nunavik’s Kativik Regional Government (KRG) announced that the region’s first-ever high-speed internet expansion is officially fully funded.

© Provided by Mobile Syrup CRTC provides final $53.4 million for Nunavik high-speed internet project

The infrastructure project was originally announced in August 2018, following a pledge from the federal and Quebec governments to each invest $62.6 million — a total of $125.2 million — to provide folks living in the remote northern Quebec region with access to high-speed internet.


In addition to $500,000 from the KRG, the initiative was recently bolstered by a final contribution: $53.4 million from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), as reported by Nunatsiaq News.

Installation began on Nunavik’s first-ever undersea fibre optic cable network in August of this year.

The cable runs north along the coast of James Bay, starting in Chisasibi and connecting through to Kuujjuaraapik, Whapmagoostui, Umiujaq, Inukjuak, all the way up to Puvirnituq.

According to Nunatsiaq News, KRG telecommunications advisor Dan Pellerin says this stretch of the fibre network should be ready to use by January 2022.

In 2022, the plan is to expand the undersea cable network further along the Hudson Strait, in order to connect to the communities of Akulivik, Ivujivik, Salluit, and Kangiqsujuaq.

The entire project is expected to be completed towards the end of 2023.

Image creidt: Shutterstock

Source: Nunatsiaq News