First Internationalist Conference of Rojava releases final declaration

The First Internationalist Conference of Rojava was held with the participation of all internationalist structures and institutions in Rojava. The meeting established the road map for the new period.

•  ANF
 
•  QAMISHLO
 
•  Friday, 25 Mar 2022, 

The Preparatory Committee of the First Internationalist Conference of Rojava, emphasizing the world's expanding crisis and war, as well as the world's widening system crisis, urged all anti-system forces to fight within the framework of the Democratic Confederalism of the Peoples of the World.

The Internationalist Conference of Rojava was held for the first time. After the meeting, the Preparatory Committee issued the following final declaration:

“Today, crises are rising around the world, and an imperialist war is underway. In Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, this crisis has already existed. With the war between Ukraine and Russia, this situation became more visible on the European continent as well. These wars and crises, it appears, will worsen, and their contradictions will be seen more all around the world. This crisis is not limited to the ruling classes. This war's purpose is to shatter and destroy the resistance wave of women, environmentalists, revolutionary movements, youth, anarchists, and popular organizations.

RESISTANCE BECOMES INTERNATIONAL

Today, there is a serious system crisis that is becoming increasingly severe. Today, humanity is confronted with issues of freedom, class, democracy, and ecology. The system that devastates peoples, cultures, women, youth, workers, countries, and nature was met with relentless opposition. From Spartacus' resistance to Bruno's, from witch hunts to Zapata, Mandela, and Rosa, it has survived to the present day under the guidance of Arîn, Ronahî, and Bager in the twenty-first century under the leadership of Abdullah Öcalan. Today, there is a growing global resistance, and this opposition is taking on an international dimension. People’s international self-defense organization is the most powerful response against fascist, reactionary, and racist attacks all around the world. Because the problem is on a worldwide scale, resistance and battle must be international and global as well.

REVOLUTION ON THE BASIS OF DEMOCRATIC CONFEDERALISM

The political system in charge is waging a war against the peoples, movements, and circles that are resisting today. It captures and murders freedom fighters and pioneers, criminalizes movements and resistances, liberalizes the stances they have set, assimilates cultures, and tries to break optimism by weakening their will. In response, there is a Democratic Confederalism-based revolution in Kurdistan, and all over the world, women, ecologists, cultural resistance, oppressed peoples, and all anti-system identities and movements are growing. The rising wave of socialism in Latin America inspires hope like the Rojava Revolution, while women's and environmental radicalism strengthens the resolve to oppose the capitalist system. The Zapatista movement, like the guerrilla resistances in Kurdistan and the Philippines, is carrying out their freedom struggles in Mexico City with revolutionism against occupation and colonialism all over the world.

CONFERENCE DEDICATED TO INTERNATIONALIST MARTYRS

We successfully organized the First Internationalist Conference of Rojava with all the internationalist structures and institutions in Rojava with the motto "Greeting the tenth anniversary of the Rojava Revolution in internationalist spirit" to assess the revolution's achievements. We commemorated all the international martyrs in the persons of martyrs Ronahi, Avaşîn, Dilsoz, Bager, Lêgerîn, Sara, Andok, Paramaz, and Partizan. With the promise to fulfill the dreams of martyrs, the conference was dedicated to all international martyrs and fighters.

THE PURSUIT OF FREEDOM ALWAYS SUCCEEDS

The opening speech was followed by an assessment of the political situation in Kurdistan, the Middle East, and the world. Panel discussions on the development of foreign experiences were held. According to the conference evaluations, the self-proclaimed success of capitalism modernity over socialism, which announced "the end of history" following the collapse of the Soviet Union, was similarly in vain. On the contrary, capitalist modernity has been observed to be increasingly harmful in the previous 30 years, destroying society as well as nature. Although revolutionary movements have been suppressed to varying degrees over the last century, the pursuit of freedom has never diminished. On this basis, societies in Latin America, the United States, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East have today stood up and rebelled under the leadership of women and youth against oppression, labour theft, and colonialism. The democratic flow of history is alive and here.

A NEW CHAPTER IN THE LAST TEN YEARS

With the emergence of the Rojava Revolution, a new chapter in the history of the oppressed peoples' struggle in the last ten years has been written. Tens of thousands of martyrs of this revolution wrote this new chapter with their blood, declaring that the oppressed peoples of the world, particularly the Kurds, will define their own destiny in the twenty-first century and defend the legacy that has been passed down for thousands of years.

INSPIRATION FOR THE ANTI-SYSTEM MOVEMENTS

With its 50-year history, the Kurdish Freedom Struggle serves as an inspiration and source of strength for all anti-system movements around the world. We must unite under the Democratic Confederalism of the Peoples of the World to start a new international liberation struggle against all forms of imperialism, colonialism, occupation, patriarchy, and plunder. Let's brighten the light of revolution against reactionism and fascism, broaden the radical struggle against liberalism, which has infected humanity like a virus, and weave the web of a communal, equal, honorable, and free life.

THE INTERNATIONALISTS WILL FULFILL THEIR DUTIES

Our conference covered a wide range of topics concerning the role of international struggle. The international fight served as a bridge of solidarity between peoples in the defense and development of the revolution. During our conference, we came to the conclusion that the 10th anniversary of the revolution is a success for the hope of a free life. Without a question, the area of an internationalist struggle for the defense of the hope of a free life is strategically significant. The internationalists will successfully fulfill their duties in protecting the revolution's values and promoting the hope of a free existence in the new period.

THE SOURCE OF FREEDOM AND HOPE

Discussions and assessments based on these foundations have resulted in a significant amount of power and emotion. At a time when capitalism violates all human values, Rojava emerged as a source of hope, enlightenment, freedom, equality, friendship, and love. The conference will finalize the revolution's defense with an international struggle alliance, because internationalism is the best weapon of revolutionaries. We, as conference participants, will defend and develop the Rojava Revolution through international alliance and struggle.

THE REVOLUTION OF THE AGE: WOMEN'S REVOLUTION

The conference also put emphasis on the role and pioneering mission of women in revolution defense. The conference determined that the women's revolution in Kurdistan, led by women, was the revolution of the age, and established women's resistance culture and jineology as a set of criteria and roadmap for them to transform the twenty-first century into a century in which the gender conflict was resolved.

In this context, our conference decided on joint plannings to expand the international fight against occupation, colonialism, and the patriarchal system, as well as to promote the Democratic Confederalism of the Peoples of the World and internationalist efforts.

COMMITMENT TO END THE OCCUPATION

Our conference hailed Rêber Apo's [Abdullah Öcalan’s] resistance against Imrali isolation and emphasized its determination to broaden the campaign for the freedom of all prisoners of liberty, particularly Rêber Apo's physical freedom.

At the same time, the conference demonstrated the tenacity required to fight for the liberation of occupied areas such as Afrin, Serêkaniyê, and Girê Spî. In this context, important discussions were made to expand the 'RiseUp4Rojava' and 'WomenDefendRojava' campaigns, and it was agreed that an International Anti-fascist front should be developed to fight the global fascism wave all over the world.

THE CENTER OF ANTI-SYSTEM MOVEMENTS

Our conference concluded that Rojava should play the required role in order to become the core of global anti-system movements in the next era. In this framework, and inspired by the conference's commitment and enthusiasm, we call on all revolutionary, socialist, anarchist, feminist, ecological, and democratic movements and organizations to ‘come to Rojava’. Let’s all work together to make the tenth anniversary of the Rojava Revolution a reason for growth and expansion. Let's unite under the banner of the Democratic Confederalism of the Peoples of the World to expand the struggle for freedom. Let's elevate the future's hopes together. Let's work all together to beautify the planet in the spirit of the women's movement."

GERMANY

Kurdish youth organizations to rally for Öcalan in Duisburg

With a demonstration through Duisburg, the Kurdish youth organizations TCŞ and TekoJIN will demand the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan on April 2. People in solidarity are invited to participate in the action.


ANF
DUISBURG
Sunday, 27 Mar 2022,

The Kurdish youth organizations TCŞ and TekoJIN are calling for participation in a demonstration for freedom for Abdullah Öcalan. The NRW-wide event under the slogan "In the year of success - take part in the struggle for freedom" is to take place in Duisburg on April 2, the organizing committee announced on Sunday. In addition to the local groups of TCŞ and TekoJIN in Duisburg, young people from cities such as Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Bochum and Münster will also participate in the demonstration.

"Our goal is the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan. We will be on the streets of Duisburg on April 2 for this demand," a spokeswoman for the organizing committee told ANF. “The current phase is marked by the desire to demand accountability of the Turkish state, which is acting in a fascist and genocidal" manner. We want to make it known that the Kurdish youth movement will oppose isolation, occupation and fascism in Kurdistan everywhere. We call on like-minded people and people in solidarity to join the demonstration," the activist said.

The youth demonstration in Duisburg will begin on April 2, next Saturday, at 15:00. The starting point is the Duisburg main station.

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ISRAEL

Settler leaders launch campaign calling to topple government

Yesha Council heads torch coalition's decision to 'freeze' Jewish construction in the West bank while ignoring illegal Arab construction, a move they say 'endangers national security'

Elisha Ben Kimon|

Published: 03.27.22, 

Settler leaders launched a campaign Sunday to bring down the coalition and force a new round of elections due to what they deem as biased government policies vis-à-vis construction in the West Bank.

The heads of the Yesha Council — an umbrella organization of municipal councils of Jewish settlements in the West Bank — said that the move was prompted by the government’s decision to “freeze” Jewish construction in the West bank, all while effectively ignoring any illegal Arab construction.

Yesha council presser

(Photo: Amit Shabi)

"I supported [the government's] lines when it was established,“ said David Elhayani, the chairman of the Yesha Council, during a press conference launched in front of the Jerusalem office of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett — himself a former chairman of the Yesha Council.

“The agreements said that the status quo would be preserved as it had in the past.

Elhayani added that “recently, it became clear to us that Defense Minister Benny Gantz violated all coalition agreements, and in fact froze all [construction] plans. This reality cannot continue,” said Elhayani.

Illegal Bedouin construction in the West Bank

(Photo: Forum Otef Yerushalayim)

The Yesha chair accused Gantz of ceding Israeli territory to the Palestinians and endangering national security. “Thus this government has no right to exist and should be toppled," he concluded.

The head of the Shomron Council in the northern West Bank, Yossi Dagan, added: “The government is destroying [the Homesh outpost] and freezing construction in the West Bank, all while abandoning the Negev. Such a government will fall.”

The settler leaders added that the Civil Administration’s planning committee — which issues construction permits in the West Bank on behalf of the Israeli government — has not convened in several months.

Police officers tearing down makeshift housing in the northern West Bank outpost Homesh

(Photo: Israel Police)

In addition, the Yesha heads claim that the Defense Ministry’s policy regarding the demolition of illegal outposts has become more aggressive.

"The prime minister was once the director-general of the Yesha Council… I remember him explaining how very important construction is in the West Bank,” said Yesha Council Director Yigal Dilmoni, who added that the settler movement “will not give up until the freeze is over or until the government falls.”

SYRIA

Areas held by Autonomous Administration | Teachers go on strike for salary increase in Al-Raqqah and Al-Hasakah

On Mar 27, 2022

With increasing numbers of teachers striking the educational process in Autonomous-Administration held areas in north and east Syria, SOHR activists have reported that teachers in Al-Qahtanyah area in the western countryside of Al-Raqqah have announced their strike to exert pressure on Autonomous-Administration and demand a pay increase.

This coincided with a strike initiated by teachers in Al-Arisha educational complex in Al-Hasakah countryside to demand a pay rise too.

On March 25, SOHR sources reported that teachers in the western countryside of Al-Raqqah issued a statement on March 24, announcing starting a strike and suspension of work until the Autonomous Administration fulfil their demands. Meanwhile, teachers at schools in the countryside of Al-Tabaqah started a similar strike, where they demanded salary increase, equality, improvement of their living conditions, dissolution of the Teacher’s Union and restructure of the education commission.

This development coincides with strikes by teachers of schools in Deir Ezzor and Al-Hasakah countryside, where the teachers have also demanded an increase in salaries and improvement of education.

On March 23, SOHR activists reported renewed popular protests in areas controlled by SDF in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, where residents in Al-Jarazi Al-Sharqi town staged a protest, condemning the deteriorating living conditions, poor services and the lack of fuel. The residents also set fire to tyres.

While on March 20, SOHR activists reported that teachers and employees in Al-Shafa’a town in Deir Ezzor countryside went on a strike, protesting against low salaries, and in response to a call to strike in Deir Ezzor countryside, where people in several villages and towns participated in the strike.

Teachers demanded higher salaries and called to activate the role of organizations in the area and provide these organisations working freedom without imposing taxes on them, and appoint school guards in different SDF-held areas.

“This was a systematic machinery of death”: Syrian eyewitness details crimes against humanity

On Mar 27, 2022

A key eyewitness to Syrian crimes against humanity is speaking out for the first time on CBS News, describing the atrocities he witnessed at a pivotal moment — as the West sounds alarms about civilian deaths in war-torn Ukraine.

“The Gravedigger,” a codename he is using because of ongoing threats against him and his family, described in an interview the wrenching details of the Russian-backed assaults on the Syrian population, and said they provide worrying indications of what is to come. 

“I see the news coming out of Ukraine, my heart hurts because I know what Russia has done in Ukraine — what it can do — because I know what it’s done in Syria,” he said. 

Russia’s support has been critical for years in keeping the government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in power. The human cost of the more than decadelong civil war has been staggering: United Nations estimates put the number of Syrians dead at 400,000 in the conflict that followed the peaceful Arab Spring pro-democracy movement.

“As far as Putin and Assad are concerned, they should go to the trash bin of history for what they’ve done in the world,” the eyewitness told CBS News. 

Earlier this month, he spoke to committees on Capitol Hill about the heinous crimes in Syria, including the dumping of thousands of bodies in mass graves. CBS News has learned that he also briefed officials at the White House and the State Department. He is working with the advocacy group, the Syrian Emergency Task Force.

In a landmark decision in January, a German court found former Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan guilty of crimes against humanity, based on the Gravedigger’s account and other evidence.

“Twice a week, multiple trailer trucks would come and each truck would have upwards of 100 to 400 or more bodies,” he said. “They were tortured to death, you could see clearly the signs of torture on their bodies. … This was a systematic machinery of death.” 

At one point during the interview, he put his head in his hands, saying one prisoner dumped at the mass grave was not yet dead.

“When the intelligence officer saw that this person was alive, he ordered the bulldozer driver to drive over the body and killed him on the spot,” he said. 

He pointed CBS News to a site called Al Qutayfah near the Syrian capital, where satellite images show its transformation from a barren field to a series of trenches. 

“Everything that was going on, the mass graves, were systematic and were part of what the Assad regime wanted to do,” he said. 

 

Envoy terms Iran president's visit to Moscow turning point in bilateral ties

Tehran, IRNA – Russian Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan said on Sunday that a recent visit to Moscow by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was a turning point in Tehran-Moscow ties.  

Dzhagaryan made the remarks during a meeting with Governor-General of Iranian eastern province of East Azarbaijan Abeddin Khorram.

Noting that after a meeting in Moscow between the two presidents, three Iranian ministers also visited the Russian capital, the ambassador expressed hope that the two countries will witness further expansion of ties in the Persian New Year.

He said that he had frequently visited Tabriz, the capital city of East Azerbaijan Province, during his 10-year presence in Iran and is thus fully familiar with the capacities of the province.  

Currently there are good relations between Tabriz and Russia’s Tatarstan, the ambassador said, adding that the head of Tatarstan Chamber of Commerce is scheduled to visit Iran within three months.

Dzhagaryan said that visiting Tabriz will be on the agenda of the visit to Iran by head of Tatarstan’s Chamber of Commerce.  

9341**2050

Nowruz will not be erased: how Iranians are preserving Persian new year celebrations


Kourosh Ziabari
22 Mar, 2022

With so much global despair and uncertainty, Nowruz celebrations should be seen as a period of rejuvenation. Instead, the Iranian state has attempted to wash away its 3,000 year-old history, but the people won't let them, writes Kourosh Ziabari


Nowruz celebrations were widely celebrated worldwide in the hope that the Persian new year brings better days. [GETTY]


Our world is engulfed by chaos and grief. Two years after the deadly pandemic hit, at least 34 percent of the world’s population haven’t even been vaccinated yet. The Russian war on Ukraine, begetting a full-scale humanitarian disaster and flattening cities at the doorstep of the European Union, has upended the global order and portends the worst to come.

Amid the avalanche of ailments that have made it irrelevant to feel upbeat, the celebrations of Persian new year, Nowruz, heralded a respite from the many preoccupations that have submerged us in inertia and desolation.

Anchored in antiquity, Nowruz is documented to have been celebrated for at least 3,000 years. Its provenance is the Achaemenid Empire that ruled Persia, the modern-day Iran, and whose borders stretched from India to Egypt.

Today, a population of at least 300 million people worldwide join to rejoice at the advent of spring and the vernal equinox. Iranians not only enshrine Nowruz for the exquisiteness of its rituals, but also associate it with the grandeur of their ancestors, who once presided over one the world’s mightiest empires – a grandeur that has been supplanted in the 21st century by unsavoury geopolitical realities of vulnerability and fragility.

''Religious fundamentalists, for nearly four decades, have smeared Nowruz as a secular tradition that is a deviation from divine connections and resonates with Iran’s pre-Islamic, imperial past, thereby insisting that it should be expunged.''

Nowruz is observed in a number of countries where Persian-speaking populations maintain a presence: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. But the list doesn’t end here. There are communities in as far places as Albania, Georgia, Kosovo and North Macedonia that also mark it.

Celebrating Nowruz is an imperative, particularly among the diaspora in Europe and North America. Families make sure they don’t miss the moment of the “transition of the year” while huddling around their elegantly-decorated Haft Seen tables, featuring at least seven blessed items whose names in Persian start with the letter sounding “s,” a gesture of welcoming the new year.

Each item on the symbolic table setting, broadly inspired by nature, epitomises a certain concept, derived from Persian mythology, including red apples for beauty, coins for wealth, wheat or lentil sprouts for rebirth, garlic for health, vinegar for patience, oleaster fruit for love, and the hyacinth flower – springtime. And let’s not forget the goldfish, candles and mirror, which are more recent additions to the arrangement.

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Nowruz celebrations continue to grow in Washington

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Brooke Anderson

Nowruz is preceded by a set of customs that attest to its graceful nature. Families usually embark on a thorough spring cleaning a few weeks ahead of the new year, in a practice called “Khaneh-Tekani,” literally translated as “house-shaking,” which means they clean and tidy up every nook and cranny of their homes, wash carpets, replace old appliances and add some new furniture.

During Nowruz, it is traditional for households to throw parties with the members of the extended family, feasting upon delicious local meals, home-made pastries and sweets, and children and youngsters are expected to receive monetary gifts from parents and grandparents.

Philanthropic activities, ranging from donating to charities, raising funds for orphanages, distributing food among the underprivileged and donating blood go into high gear during what Iranians and others celebrating Nowruz consider as a ripe time for showing compassion and embracing the new year with good vibes.

But, however captivating and delightful Nowruz sounds to be, it has detractors that wish to wipe it off and dislodge it from the collective memory of Iranians. Religious fundamentalists, for nearly four decades, have smeared Nowruz as a secular tradition that is a deviation from divine connections and resonates with Iran’s pre-Islamic, imperial past, thereby insisting that it should be expunged.

It might appear hyperbolic, but in the eyes of an influential clique of radical clerics in Iran, Nowruz qualifies for obliteration because it is a festive occasion, and people shouldn’t be left to themselves to celebrate too much lest they consign their religious duties and the remembrance of God to oblivion.

For years, Nowruz has been treated as an alien creature in its birthplace. The state TV dedicated little airtime to special Nowruz shows, and even refused to screen Haft Seen tables. People were constantly reminded that every day in which no sin is committed can be a day of Eid, so there’s no point in singling out Nowruz as a unique occasion. Government officials, despite issuing new year messages, downplayed the cultural and civilisational aspects and infused inordinate religious talking points.

''Whether they are religious or secular, pro-government or dissident, affluent or disadvantaged, Iranians try to have a memorable celebration, awaiting better times.''

Those attitudes have been moderated as of late, and despite malignant intrigues to stamp out an ancient festival that has been intertwined with the Iranian identity, the voices of intolerance haven’t prevailed. Excluding their contorted readings of the religion recycled as sharia law and the tenets of Shia faith, there is nothing in Islamic teachings that has denigrated or outlawed Nowruz, or other cultural assets of the nations.

Nowruz continues to be a healing force and a sound connection between Iranians of all stripes. At a time the Iranian society is divided along ideological lines, people are frustrated at the nation’s chronic economic woes and ballooning isolation, the establishment is clueless on how to mitigate the crises induced by the sanctions, and such social vices as suicide and depression are spiralling due to endemic corruption, Nowruz interrupts the desolations that afflict the Iranians.

This year, Nowruz celebrations have been lively in the Iranian diaspora, particularly in the US, where a number of prominent Iranian-American TV personalities, academicians and entrepreneurs have acquainted their non-Iranian friends with the spirit of the ancient fiesta through their ornate “Haft Seen” tables and cordial get-togethers. In departure from the tense years of Trump’s presidency, the White House, instructed by President Biden, hosted a Nowruz ceremony with a Haft Seen. Google’s ‘doodle’ on March 20 was an observance of Nowruz featuring a bouquet of spring flowers.

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Iraqi Kurds mark Nowruz amid dire economic conditions

MENA

Dana Taib Menmy

In Iran, municipalities and local authorities have just opted to look the other way without bothering to take the most rudimentary measures embellishing the cities for the arrival of the new year after the arduous months of pandemic-induced suffering.

But the everyday Iranians resist foreswearing the legacy of this centuries-long, intergenerational treasure. Whether they are religious or secular, pro-government or dissident, affluent or disadvantaged, Iranians try to have a memorable celebration, awaiting better times. In observing this cultural tradition, Iranians throw out their differences. It is safeguarding a nation’s cultural heritage that elevates its standing in the world. Political brinkmanship and vapid sloganeering cannot do the job.

KENNEY WHINES AGAIN
Jason Kenney calls for halt to the scheduled federal carbon tax increase

By Paula Tran 770 CHQR
Posted March 28, 2022 


Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, Finance Minister Travis Toews and Government House Leader Jason Nixon will make an announcement on Monday that will call for an end to the federal carbon tax increase scheduled for April 1.


The event comes after the Alberta government announced a temporary halt of the provincial gas tax in response to rising gasoline prices on Mar. 7.

Kenney previously called this move a “back-door way” to scrap the federal carbon tax in the province, which he said punishes people for consuming energy.

“Those economists, the NDP and Liberals are in favour of carbon taxes that drive up energy prices. This is a fundamental philosophical difference,” Kenney said on Mar. 10.

“Albertans spoke to this in the last provincial election and we are fulfilling our commitment in a way to scrap the carbon tax.”

READ MORE: Alberta’s fuel tax holiday is a ‘back-door’ way to scrapping federal carbon tax, says Premier Jason Kenney

A University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy report released that week, however, said the fuel tax holiday cannot be called a “reverse carbon tax” because it is tied to oil prices and only applies to two types of fuel: gasoline and diesel.

The report also said the tax holiday is more beneficial to higher-income families because they purchase more fuel compared to lower-income families.

“Relative to the carbon tax, which the government cites as an important motivation behind this policy, the holiday more than offsets it… The holiday, however, is not a ‘reverse carbon tax,'” the report reads.

In response to Kenney’s comments, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said pricing carbon pollution is a central part of the federal government’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and is the lowest overall cost to the economy.

“Wherever the federal carbon pricing system is in place, all direct proceeds are returned to the jurisdiction of origin – the federal government does not keep one penny,” an ECCC spokesperson said.

READ MORE: How carbon pricing works across the country

The ministry also said the policy is designed so that most households receive more in Climate Action Incentive payments than they pay in increased costs because of the carbon tax. The federal government uses most of the proceeds to support individuals and households through Climate Action Incentive payments in Alberta, according to ECCC.

“Carbon pricing has been in place across Canada since 2019 through a mix of federal, provincial and territorial pricing systems. The federal government sets minimum national stringency standards that all systems must meet,” the ECCC spokesperson said.

“The federal carbon pricing system applies in any jurisdiction that requests it, or that does not implement its own system that meets these minimum standards.”

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‘In a daze’: Métis delegates fired up for papal meeting as flight lands in Rome

By Elizabeth McSheffrey Global News
Posted March 27, 2022 10:47 am

A group of Indigenous peoples from across the country is making history with a journey to Vatican City for meetings with Pope Francis to talk about reconciliation. Neetu Garcha is in Rome and brings us the latest.

Warning: This story deals with disturbing subject matter that may upset and trigger some readers. Discretion is advised.

Outside the arrivals terminal at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, Métis Elder Angie Crerar stood up from her wheelchair right away when asked for an interview and a photo.

With a warm smile on her face, the 85-year-old residential school survivor said she was “totally humbled” to have two Métis national presidents standing next to her, and pulled them in tightly to be part of the conversation on camera.

“Unbelievable. I don’t know, I’m in a daze,” she said of her meeting with Pope Francis on Monday. “Very emotional, that’s very important to us and to my life too.”

The Grande Prairie, Alta., resident blew kisses at the camera as Audrey Poitras, Métis Nation of Alberta president, helped her to the bus that took the group to their hotel in Rome.

Métis Elder Angie Crerar and Métis Nation of Alberta President Audrey Poitras make their way to the bus on their way to their hotel in Rome on March 27, 2022. The pair are part of a large group of Indigenous representatives who will meet with Pope Francis this week. Elizabeth McSheffrey/Global News


READ MORE: ‘Let’s think big’: Historic Indigenous delegation arrives in Rome to meet Pope Francis

On Sunday morning, 32 Indigenous representatives arrived in Rome for a week of meetings with the Pope, arranged by the Holy See and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. They flew nearly nine hours from Montreal, accompanied by a support team of friends, family, community members and staff.

They travelled in buses to their hotel, about 20 minutes from the Vatican, and spent the afternoon recharging for what is expected to be — like Crerar said — a “very emotional” week.

“I think it’s really important that everyone, not only our citizens, understand the significance of actually being able to bring our elders to Rome,” said Poitras.

“You know, I think about the times I’ve spent with Angie and the stories she’s told. What her wish has always been, is to have people understand what actually went on so that they can move past it and get to a better place.”
2:45Indigenous delegation to meet with Pope FrancisIndigenous delegation to meet with Pope Francis

Shortly after the delegates landed, Pope Francis delivered his weekly Angelus devotion to a crowd of thousands at St. Peter’s Square. Some waved rainbow flags and others waved the yellow and blue flag of Ukraine. He urged political leaders to end the violence in the Eastern European country, calling war a “barbarous and sacrilegious act.”

He also greeted congregants in the square from Rome and elsewhere in the world, giving special mention to the visiting faithful from Mexico, Madrid and Lyon, a student group from Spain, and runners in the Rome Marathon on Sunday.

He did not mention Canada or the Indigenous delegation.





More than 150,000 Indigenous children attended Canada’s 139 residential schools, described by some as institutions of assimilation. Their purpose, writes the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, was to “kill the Indian in the child.”

Thousands of children were beaten, raped and stripped of their culture by the priests and nuns charged with their care, studies say, and while estimates range between 4,000 and 6,000, the true number of Indigenous children who died is unknown.

READ MORE: Pope must come to Canada if he is serious about reconciliation: Chief Stacey Laforme

Crear, who was born in Fort Resolution, N.W.T., was taken on a plane by the RCMP as a girl and spent 10 years in residential school. She said she was given the number ‘6,’ endured beatings, and was told she was a savage and a half-breed.

“We have a lot of work to do within the Métis Nation to really make sure that we have all of our stories captured so that we know the truth of what happened to Métis children in residential schools,” said Cassidy Caron, president of the Métis National Council.

“We’re really looking forward to sharing those stories with the Pope so that he understands there are three distinct Indigenous peoples in Canada, and that we share a history, but we all have very unique experiences.

“By bringing Angie and our elders together to the Pope to share their stories, it will be one really powerful moment.”
2:08Hope and optimism within Indigenous delegation heading to meet Pope FrancisHope and optimism within Indigenous delegation heading to meet Pope Francis

The Métis delegation of eight people meets the pontiff for one hour on Monday.




Asked what she would say to one of the most influential men in the world the next morning, Crerar choked up and said Pope Francis must understand that delegates are doing this for “our kids,” and that she is “no longer lost.”

“Nobody wanted us,” she said firmly, still holding Poitras and Caron. “I got news for them — I have an identity. I belong to the Métis Nation of Alberta and I have a wonderful life.”

Crerar is the president of Métis Local 1990 Grande Prairie, a founder of the Elders Caring Shelter in Grande Prairie, and a long-time volunteer for several organizations that promote healing and opportunities for Indigenous people and members of other underserved communities. In 2005, she received the Governor General’s Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers.

The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line (1-800-721-0066) is available 24 hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of their residential school experience.