A long solar flare just erupted from the sun and the video is stunning
Mike Wall - Yesterday


The sun flexed its considerable magnetic muscles today (June 13), and two solar spacecraft captured the show on video.

Earth's star unleashed a long-duration solar flare early this morning, blasting high-energy radiation into space for about three hours. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which has been studying the sun from Earth orbit since 2010, observed the dramatic event in multiple wavelengths.

The flare registered as an M3.4, putting it in the "medium" class of solar outburst. It was strong enough, however, to cause temporary radio blackouts in the Asia-Pacific region here on Earth. (Scientists put powerful solar flares into three categories, C, M and X, with C being the weakest and X the most intense.)

Related: The sun's wrath: Worst solar storms in history

This morning's flare was also associated with a coronal mass ejection (CME), a huge cloud of superheated plasma that rockets away from the sun at tremendous speeds. Both SDO and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a NASA/European Space Agency probe that launched in 1995, snapped imagery of today's CME, showing the plasma cloud's immense size and impressive speed.


© Provided by SpaceA NASA view of a long-duration solar flare on June 13, 2022.

The two spacecraft's views were complementary, given their different orbits; SOHO circles the sun at the Lagrange Point 1, a gravitationally stable spot in space about 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth in the direction of our star.

 "Sun blasts pair of strong flares, spits plasma"


Big CMEs that hit Earth can trigger powerful geomagnetic storms, which can have effects both negative (potential satellite damage) and positive (supercharged auroral displays). But it doesn't appear that today's CME was aligned with Earth, experts said.

The sun has been firing off a number of flares recently. That's no surprise, given that our star's 11-year activity cycle is expected to peak in 2025 or so.

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.

Tiny satellite built in Nova Scotia ready for 1st mission to space – CBC.ca

Students with the Dalhousie Space Systems Lab have constructed the first satellite made in Nova Scotia 

 June 13, 2022

By Harry Miller

CBC

Students with the Dalhousie Space Systems Lab have constructed the first satellite made in Nova Scotia and it will soon be launched into space — an Atlantic Canadian first.

Several universities received federal funding to build a nanosatellite in 2018. Teams from Dalhousie and the University of Victoria were first to finish.

Now, the Dalhousie team is getting ready to send its creation off for launch. The satellite is 10 by 10 by 20 centimetres and weighs less than two kilograms.

Project manager Arad Gharagozli said it was satisfying to get the CubeSat built.

“Just being in that environment and having the opportunity to be working very closely with some of the experts in our space industry here in Canada has been amazing,” he said.

“Being able to pull together all the resources and show to everyone that even building a satellite is something that we can do here in Nova Scotia has been immense.”

The device is called LORIS, which stands for low-orbit reconnaissance imagery satellite.

Arad Gharagozli headed the project. The CubeSat will be launched from the International Space Station. (CBC)

The main goal of the satellite is to test how different technologies like computers work in space. It’s also equipped with cameras to take aerial images of earth, and the team hopes to take photos of Halifax.

Katerina Vinogradova started working on the satellite in her first year of engineering at Dalhousie.

She said it is surreal to know she worked on something that will be in space.

“When you’re working toward a goal, in the moment, it feels extremely long,” she said. “And then you come to the end and it feels like it went by extremely fast. So it’s kind of a relief to know that everything worked according to plan and it’s quite satisfying to see everything come together and it going up.”

Bound for the International Space Station

Vinogradova is part of a small team that will transport the satellite to the Canadian Space Agency in Montreal at the end of the month.

After being integrated into the launcher, it will be sent to California, launched to the International Space Station and sent into orbit.

Katerina Vinogradova is an engineering student at Dalhousie University. (CBC)

Luc Charbonneau also worked on the satellite and is part of the transport team.

“I always had my eyes in the stars and stuff like that, and I finally end up actually doing something that was going in space,” Charbonneau said. “So yeah, that’s a really exciting lot of fun.”

As many as 250 students, most in engineering, have been involved in the project since 2018.

Nova Scotia’s first satellite will be on display Thursday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 1345 Norma Eddy Lane on the Dalhousie campus.and it will soon be launched into space — an Atlantic Canadian first.

Several universities received federal funding to build a nanosatellite in 2018. Teams from Dalhousie and the University of Victoria were first to finish.

Now, the Dalhousie team is getting ready to send its creation off for launch. The satellite is 10 by 10 by 20 centimetres and weighs less than two kilograms.

Project manager Arad Gharagozli said it was satisfying to get the CubeSat built.

“Just being in that environment and having the opportunity to be working very closely with some of the experts in our space industry here in Canada has been amazing,” he said.

“Being able to pull together all the resources and show to everyone that even building a satellite is something that we can do here in Nova Scotia has been immense.”

The device is called LORIS, which stands for low-orbit reconnaissance imagery satellite.

Arad Gharagozli headed the project. The CubeSat will be launched from the International Space Station. (CBC)

The main goal of the satellite is to test how different technologies like computers work in space. It’s also equipped with cameras to take aerial images of earth, and the team hopes to take photos of Halifax.

Katerina Vinogradova started working on the satellite in her first year of engineering at Dalhousie.

She said it is surreal to know she worked on something that will be in space.

“When you’re working toward a goal, in the moment, it feels extremely long,” she said. “And then you come to the end and it feels like it went by extremely fast. So it’s kind of a relief to know that everything worked according to plan and it’s quite satisfying to see everything come together and it going up.”

Bound for the International Space Station

Vinogradova is part of a small team that will transport the satellite to the Canadian Space Agency in Montreal at the end of the month.

After being integrated into the launcher, it will be sent to California, launched to the International Space Station and sent into orbit.

Katerina Vinogradova is an engineering student at Dalhousie University. (CBC)

Luc Charbonneau also worked on the satellite and is part of the transport team.

“I always had my eyes in the stars and stuff like that, and I finally end up actually doing something that was going in space,” Charbonneau said. “So yeah, that’s a really exciting lot of fun.”

As many as 250 students, most in engineering, have been involved in the project since 2018.

Nova Scotia’s first satellite will be on display Thursday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 1345 Norma Eddy Lane on the Dalhousie campus.

14 Save Old Growth protesters arrested in Vancouver, Richmond, North Saanich

By Elizabeth McSheffrey 

 Global News
Posted June 13, 2022 

More than a dozen people have been arrested and one person hospitalized in another series of highway blockades by anti-logging protesters in B.C. As Kylie Stanton reports, the actions left Lower Mainland commuters and Vancouver Island ferry travellers frustrated - and angry.

Fourteen people were arrested on Monday for stalling traffic in a series of coordinated Save Old Growth protests in Vancouver, Richmond and North Saanich.

Dozens attended the morning demonstrations on the Second Narrows Bridge, in the Massey Tunnel and on the Patricia Bay Highway, where one protester was injured after falling from a ladder.

That individual, who was perched on the ladder at the centre of the highway, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

2:22 Arrests made in another series of anti-logging protests

“The protest created frustration amongst commuters who attempted to bypass this illegal blockade,” wrote B.C. RCMP Cpl. Alex Bérubé in a Monday morning statement.

“Those blockades are simply dangerous for protesters and for others. … While we understand the commuters’ frustration, the RCMP does not condone the illegal actions taken to bypass blockades.”

Between 12 and 15 people attended the North Saanich demonstration around 6 a.m., bringing northbound traffic on the Patricia Highway to a grinding halt.

Police called in a specialized obstacle removal team to dismantle some of the “physical structures” protesters had attached themselves to. Five were arrested, including the person who fell from the ladder.

“Get out of the way!” one commuter shouted at the person on the ladder. Others cursed at them.

At least one vehicle left the highway and drove on the grassy shoulder to pass the blockade.

2:02 Anti-old growth logging group’s actions under scrutiny – Apr 24, 2022

In Vancouver, police confirmed five people were arrested for blocking traffic on the Second Narrows Bridge, and four vehicles were seized.

In an interview, Sgt. Steve Addison said the Vancouver Police Department had deployed extra officers in advance of the protests and located vehicles “stashed” near the bridge for potential use in blockades.

“There was at one point, one vehicle that did drive onto the bridge with four occupants inside,” he told Global News. “That vehicle stopped and the occupants in the vehicle attempted to lock themselves, we believe, to the steering wheel.”

Officers intervened and arrested the vehicle occupants. Five were taken into custody altogether, and brought to jail, Addison said.

READ MORE: B.C. man ends hunger strike against old-growth logging after 31 days

Mounties in Richmond arrested four people who blocked a portion of the Massey Tunnel just before 7:30 a.m. Three were sitting on Highway 99, and a fourth was perched on a platform ladder, splitting the north and southbound lanes.

One commuter initially tried to make him move by grabbing Save Old Growth signs and tossing them off the road, and attempting to move the ladder, but she was unsuccessful and drove away. Police were unable to coax the man down from the ladder either, and eventually picked it up and moved it to the side of the highway so cars could go around.

“The individual on the ladder was determined to be breaching his conditions from a prior protest in a different jurisdiction,” wrote police in a news release.

“Richmond RCMP is pursuing criminal charges in relation to all those who were arrested.”

0:34 Old growth protesters once again block major Vancouver intersectionOld growth protesters once again block major Vancouver intersection – Apr 27, 2022

The Save Old Growth movement aims to bring about an end to old-growth logging in B.C. by disrupting critical infrastructure to bring government attention to the issue.

The group argues that old-growth forests in B.C. make an invaluable contribution to fighting climate change by sequestering polluting carbon emissions.

“Protecting our last remaining old-growth forests is a complete no-brainer. We’ve been systemically lied to by the BC government,” said Zain Haq, Save Old Growth coordinator, in a news release prior to the demonstrations.

“Through our civil resistance efforts, we’ll create political urgency for the government to represent the will of the people rather than serve the forestry lobby.”

READ MORE: Anti old-growth logging protesters glue themselves to door of Vancouver hotel

In an interview after the demonstrations were over, Save Old Growth coordinator Ian Webber said it was “quite difficult” to see one of their own — the protester on the ladder in North Saanich — physically injured in the course of their activities.

Everyone involved, however, accepts the reality that civil disobedience comes with some risks.

“Moving forward, we’ve learned a lot and we’re going to try and up the safety for the people involved in Save Old Growth,” said Webber.

“It’s inherently unsafe, but we’re approaching tipping points that may lead to economic and societal collapse. Really the alternative is so much worse.”

Webber said he’s willing to put his life on the line to save old-growth forests, because unless the government acts to curb the impacts of climate change, everyone’s lives are on the line.

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

MISOGYNIST FEMICIDE

‘Incel’ who killed 11 in Toronto van murders sentenced to life in prison

Witnesses at Monday hearing describe devastation from 2018 attack in which Alek Minassian ploughed rented van into sidewalk

Family members embrace outside the courthouse in Toronto, after the verdict in the trial of Alek Minassian in March 2021. Photograph: Chris Helgren/Reuters

Tracey Lindeman in Ottawa

THE GUARDIAN

Mon 13 Jun 2022 

A self-described “incel” who killed 11 people when he plowed a rented van into a busy Toronto sidewalk in 2018 has been sentenced to life in prison.

Alek Minassian – who was motivated by a hatred of women – was convicted in March of 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder, after a judge found that he drove a white rental van on to the sidewalk with the intent to kill.

At a hearing on Monday, he was sentenced to 20 years for 15 counts of attempted murder, which are to be served concurrently.


Toronto van attack suspect says he was 'radicalized' online by 'incels'

Earlier, the Toronto court heard testimony from witnesses and victims, who recounted the horror of the attack, and their struggles with PTSD in the aftermath.

“My world has changed forever,” said Janet Zhang, after describing the mental suffering she still experiences after her CPR efforts to save a victim were unsuccessful.

First responder Charlene Mackay told the court that she still has panic-inducing triggers and night terrors, which she manages by drinking and not eating well. “I don’t feel like he should have a normal life,” she said of Minassian.

Other victims detailed the extensive and life-altering injuries they incurred during the attack, with which they continue to grapple.

Minassian’s actions took the lives of Renuka Amarasingha, Betty Forsyth, Ji Hun Kim, Dorothy Sewell, Anne Marie D’Amico, So He Chung, Andrea Bradden, Chul Min “Eddie” Kang, Geraldine Brady and Munir Najjar.

An 11th person – Amaresh Tesfamariam – died of her injuries in October last year, and Justice Anne Malloy said on Monday she considered the woman the 11th victim.

The Crown asked that Minassian be given 10 life sentences – to be served concurrently – with parole eligibility after 25 years.

The sentencing recommendation came after last month’s supreme court of Canada decision, which found that consecutive periods of parole ineligibility were unconstitutional and should be seen as cruel and unusual punishment.

That decision was rendered after a court challenge by Alexandre Bissonnette, the man convicted of six murders and six attempted murders in the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting.

In his original sentencing, Bissonnette’s parole ineligibility terms were added up consecutively, totalling 150 years – meaning he would die in prison.

After the May 2022 supreme court decision, he now qualifies for parole after 25 years. Based on that decision, so will Minassian.

Plans go forward for permanent memorial to victims of van attack

Liz Braun - TORONTO SUN

© Provided by Toronto SunOn the fourth anniversary of the deadly Yonge St. van attack, Willowdale MPP Stan Cho (from right), Toronto Mayor John Tory, Willowdale MP Ali Ehsassi and Willowdale Coun. John Filion prepare to place flowers during a memorial at North York’s Mel Lastman Square on Saturday April 23, 2022.

From the beginning, Mayor John Tory has promised the people of Toronto that the victims of the van attack will never be forgotten.

April 23, 2018 was the day innocent people were mowed down as they walked in the afternoon sunshine on Yonge St., near Finch Ave. and Mel Lastman Square.

Temporary plaques in Olive Square and Mel Lastman Square are to be replaced by a permanent memorial to the victims of what Tory called, “a cowardly and senseless attack,” that left 11 dead and 16 badly injured.

City spokesperson Brad Ross provided an update on the permanent memorial that will be placed near the scene.

Work on the memorial has been ongoing behind the scenes, but the first order of business has been to assist in recovery.

“Since the 2018 Yonge Street tragedy, the City of Toronto has worked to support the victims, their families and the broader community of Willowdale in recovering from this tragedy,” said Ross on Tuesday.

“The City is committed to commemorating the event in a manner that the community determines will support healing, resiliency and honouring the victims and those injured and affected.”

There has been a community consultation process that was conducted over the last two years, he added, and it has given the city comprehensive advice on how best to approach a memorial.

An advisory group will be established next, likely this summer.

“With the time allowed for further consultation, running a design competition, procurement, and fabricating and installing a memorial, a permanent installation could occur in 2024.”

Just this week, those affected by the crime have finally had the chance to give their victim impact statements.

And at last the van driver has been sentenced.

On Monday, the victims of the attack were able to tell the world of the physical, emotional and financial wreckage left in the wake of the van attacks. It was a devastating day of testimony as people spoke out about unimaginable suffering and loss.

'I will sleep in a hospital bed for the rest of my life': Read Toronto van attack victim statements

MANDEL: A dirge of heartache as victims of mass murderer detail their pain

Toronto van attacker gets life sentence after victims describe lost family, survivor’s guilt and financial ruin

Betty Forsyth, Ji Hun Kim, So He Chung, Geraldine Brady, Chul Min Kang, Anne Marie Victoria D’Amico, Munir Najjar, Dorothy Marie Sewell, Andrea Bradden and Beutis Renuka Amrasingha died in the attack.

Amaresh Tesfamariam died three years later (in October 2021) of her injuries, having never left hospital.

The van driver has been sentenced to life in prison. He will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years, as consecutive life sentences were ruled unconstitutional recently by the Supreme Court of Canada.

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for EMOTIONAL PLAGUE 

Mélanie Joly’s office knew that senior official would be at Russian embassy party

Jun 14, 2022 | Canada

Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 13. A spokesperson for the minister said Ms. Joly did not know that Yasemin Heinbecker would be attending a party at the Russian embassy in Ottawa.

Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

The office of Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly knew a senior department official would be attending a party at the Russian embassy in Ottawa last Friday and was pressed to apologize by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Two senior government sources said Ms. Joly’s office was informed before the party that Yasemin Heinbecker, Global Affairs’ deputy chief of protocol, would be attending the event to celebrate Russia Day. But a spokesperson for the minister said Ms. Joly herself did not know and only learned after The Globe’s story came out.

The federal government has been under fire over having a representative at the Russian embassy since Ottawa has repeatedly talked of the need to politically and diplomatically isolate Moscow after its military assault on Ukraine began in February.

The Globe is not identifying the two sources as they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.

One of the sources said it was only after the intervention of top officials at the Privy Council and Prime Minister’s Office that Ms. Joly and Global Affairs were told to issue an apology and to not attend another Russian event as long as the war in Ukraine continues.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his top team of political and bureaucratic advisers were in Los Angeles for the Summit of the Americas and were caught off guard by Global Affairs’ decision to send an official the Russian embassy event, the source said.

Canada apologizes for sending official to Russian embassy party

National Security and Intelligence Adviser Jody Thomas, Foreign and Defence Policy Adviser Dan Costello and senior PMO adviser Patrick Travers were all drawn into the matter Sunday after condemnation from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the main opposition parties.

Global Affairs in a statement on Friday had defended sending Ms. Heinbecker to attend the event hosted by Russian Ambassador Oleg Stepanov.

Hours later after The Globe first published the story on Sunday, Ms. Joly’s department issued an apology for sending a representative to the party in celebration of a country that has been accused of war crimes in Ukraine.

Later Sunday evening, Ms. Joly said on Twitter that the department should not have sent someone to the event and that “no Canadian representative will attend this kind of event again.”

Ms. Joly’s office said the minister herself did not know about Canada’s participation in the Russian embassy party. “I can guarantee you she did not know, and did not sign off,” Maéva Proteau, director of communications for Ms. Joly, said Monday.

Retired Canadian diplomat Dennis Horak said during his time in government, Canadian missions abroad would be given a list of foreign national day events they should not be attending. He said this was normally developed in consultation with the foreign minister’s office.

He said, ultimately, Ms. Joly as minister is responsible for the actions of her ministry and what happened “shouldn’t be fobbed off on Global Affairs.”

During Question Period on Monday, Ms. Joly accepted responsibility for the mishap in response to a question from NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson.

“I am as mad as she is, because this should never have happened, and of course, this will not happen again,” she said, referring to Ms. McPherson. “Of course, I am the minister and the buck stops here, but what I can tell members is …. we need to make sure to send a strong message to Vladimir Putin’s regime. We need to suffocate it diplomatically, economically and politically,” she said.

Ms. McPherson said Ms. Joly should have warned off her department’s officials from attending parties at the Russian embassy. “Instead of apologizing after the fact, why did the minister not tell her staff to not attend events at the Russian embassy?” the NDP MP asked.

Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong said this incident reveals a gap between what the Liberal government says and does.

“Russia has attacked a European democracy and has killed thousands of Ukrainians in the last few months,” Mr. Chong said. “The minister clearly failed in her responsibility to ensure that departmental officials did not go to national day celebrations at embassies that are working in direction opposition to Canada’s interests.

“The government says it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine but fails to act like it.”

The Russian embassy in Ottawa said in a statement Monday that its Russia Day reception attracted ambassadors and diplomatic corps representatives from around the world including the Commonwealth of Independent States, Europe, Africa, South and East Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, as well as Russian compatriots and what it called representatives of civil society in Canada.

The Globe And Mail

Proving the haters wrong, Nemo Zhou is one of the country’s top chess stars

CECIL ROSNER
SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL

PUBLISHED YESTERDAY

At 22, Nemo Zhou is not just one of the top female chess players in Canada, she’s also one of the most-watched streamers.

Two years ago she became the first chess player to join an e-sports company when she partnered with Counter Logic Gaming of California. She currently has 284,000 followers on Twitch, where she streams chess games but also plays and talks about other sports.

Born in China, she became aware of chess at the age of three and quickly showed extraordinary promise. She lived in France and Finland before her family moved to Canada when she was 11, and her chess career kept growing through her early years.

In an interview, she explained some of her motivations to succeed at chess.

“I was bullied in middle school. Those negative comments really drove me to prove the haters wrong,” she said.

She won the World Under-14 championship in 2014, and three years later achieved the women’s grandmaster title. She now has an international following with hundreds of thousands of fans across many social media platforms.

Having lived in Ottawa and now in Toronto, Zhou says she will continue trying to qualify for Canadian national teams, but is contemplating a move to Los Angeles.

Nemo Zhou v Toms Kantans, Stockholm, 2016

HANDOUT

White to play. She can’t capture the Queen, because Black Mates. What does she play?

36. Qd4! Threatens both mate and winning a piece on d8 … Bf6 37.Rxd8+ Be8 38. Rd6 Bxd4 39. Rxe6 fxe6 40. Bxd4 and White won.

Some Canadians Experienced Internet Outages Due To An Unlikely Culprit

Beavers have been to blame for two bouts of service trouble in as many years in British Columbia.

Ben Blanchet
Jun 11, 2022

A beaver builds a dam in central Alaska.

Canadians had trouble logging in this week because a troublesome beaver wanted to bring a log down, according to an electric company.

Officials in northwest British Columbia attributed a service outage on Tuesday to a beaver that had a dam good time ― er, a damn good time ― chewing on a tree, Smithers Interior News reported.

Bob Gammer, an official with the electric company B.C. Hydro, said chew marks were found on a tree that fell and brought down lines, affecting a number of his company’s customers and others, according to the outlet.

The beaver’s apparent actions resulted in sporadic phone, internet and TV service in the northwest part of the province.

“It’s unusual, but it does happen every once in a while,” Gammer said. “I wouldn’t be a rich man if I had a nickel for every beaver outage, but they do happen.”

The downed tree led to a fire, and forced a number of local business to become cash-only for a while. There’s no evidence the beaver itself was harmed, according to reports.

It wasn’t the first time a beaver has caused this kind of trouble.

A beaver “chewed through a fibre cable” in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, in April 2021, affecting internet service for about 900 customers, CBC reported.

The phone service company Telus called the beaver’s actions a “bizarre and uniquely Canadian turn of events.”

Canadians had trouble logging in this week because a troublesome beaver wanted to bring a log down, according to an electric company.

Officials in northwest British Columbia attributed a service outage on Tuesday to a beaver that had a dam good time ― er, a damn good time ― chewing on a tree, Smithers Interior News reported.

Bob Gammer, an official with the electric company B.C. Hydro, said chew marks were found on a tree that fell and brought down lines, affecting a number of his company’s customers and others, according to the outlet.

The beaver’s apparent actions resulted in sporadic phone, internet and TV service in the northwest part of the province.

“It’s unusual, but it does happen every once in a while,” Gammer said. “I wouldn’t be a rich man if I had a nickel for every beaver outage, but they do happen.”

The downed tree led to a fire, and forced a number of local business to become cash-only for a while. There’s no evidence the beaver itself was harmed, according to reports.

It wasn’t the first time a beaver has caused this kind of trouble.

A beaver “chewed through a fibre cable” in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, in April 2021, affecting internet service for about 900 customers, CBC reported.

The phone service company Telus called the beaver’s actions a “bizarre and uniquely Canadian turn of events.”

THUMBNAIL PHOTO

STAN TEKIELA AUTHOR / NATURALIST / WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER VIA GETTY IMAGES

CANADA

Life satisfaction survey: Which provinces scored highest? – CTV News

on June 13, 2022
By Harry Miller

Newfoundland and Labrador topped Canada’s provinces as having the highest life satisfaction in the country, according to Statistics Canada’s survey data from earlier this year.

Drawn from the Canadian Social Survey — which collects data every three months from people 15 and older on health, well-being, the impacts of COVID-19, activities, use of time and emergency preparedness — the figures show that 61.7 per cent of people in Newfoundland and Labrador reported a high life satisfaction, above the Canadian average of 51.7 per cent.

This is followed by Prince Edward Island (59.7 per cent), Quebec (58.7), New Brunswick (56.8) Manitoba (56.1), Alberta (52.2) and Saskatchewan (51.2).

Provinces where a smaller proportion of residents reported high life satisfaction include Nova Scotia (49.9), Ontario (48.4) and British Columbia (46.5).

Life satisfaction is measured on a scale from zero to 10, with zero being “very dissatisfied” and 10 being “very satisfied.”

The ratings are then broken down into three categories: between zero and five, six to seven, and eight to 10.

The latest figures reflect Canadians’ attitudes during the first quarter of 2022 and, overall, more people reported greater life satisfaction compared to the previous year.

In the second quarter of 2021, for example, 42 per cent of Canadians reported a high life satisfaction.



But since March 2022, although provinces and territories have lifted most of their pandemic restrictions, inflation in Canada has continued to climb with the price of gas reaching record highs just this past weekend.

The Bank of Canada also raised its key interest rate in mid-April to one per cent and again by 50 basis points to 1.5 per cent in June.

Another recent survey from StatCan found most Canadians are adjusting their spending habits and are concerned about whether they can afford housing or rent.

The survey data also breaks down life satisfaction by gender.

In the first three months of 2022, 52.6 per cent of men reported a high life satisfaction, compared to 44.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2021.

Meanwhile, 50.8 per cent of women in Canada reported a high life satisfaction in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 39.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2021.

With files from CTV News and The Canadian Press

Amazon accused of using posters, text messages to interfere with Montreal union drive


June 14, 2022
By Sonia Ulebor


MONTREAL — A major labour union in Quebec is calling recent action by the management of an Amazon warehouse in Montreal “tactics of intimidation and harassment” that interfere with a recently launched unionization campaign

The Confédérations des syndicats nationaux said its legal department sent the company two lawyer’s letters — on May 20 and June 2 — over alleged breaches of labour rights. Federation vice-president David Bergeron-Cyr says Amazon’s anti-union messaging is “omnipresent” at the warehouse.

“It’s intimidation,” Bergeron-Cyr said in a recent interview. “This American company needs to respect Quebec labour laws.”

Photos viewed by The Canadian Press of the Montreal warehouse’s employee break room show posters plastered on each of the transparent walls that divide the dining tables.

“We encourage you to speak for yourself,” the posters say. “We do not believe that we need a third party between us.”

The company has sent text messages — also viewed by The Canadian Press — to employees’ personal phones, telling them they have the right to decide whether to sign a union card or an online petition. “It is your fundamental right to sign or to say, ‘No, thank you,’ or ‘I am not interested,’” the text messages say.

Under Quebec’s Labour Code, an employer has free speech rights but is not allowed to interfere with a unionization campaign, nor is it allowed to issue threats or promises. It cannot use its authority to induce employees to adopt its views. And employees must have the option of receiving or not receiving the employer’s messages about unions.

Frédéric Paré, a professor of labour rights at Université du Québec à Montreal, says Amazon’s strategy of posting notices in the break room and sending text messages “could be problematic” if it becomes overwhelming.

“It’s a question of balance,” Paré said in a recent interview. Amazon’s approach, he added, reflects an American mentality that won’t fly in Quebec.

“Amazon comes here … but they have an old American way of doing things where the employer has more leverage,” Paré said. “Here … with unionization, employers don’t have a say.”

Bergeron-Cyr said workers reached out to his labour federation earlier in April and launched an organizing drive, in part, for higher wages, which he said hover around $17 or $18 an hour. Unionized workers in comparable factory jobs in the province make between $26 and $30 an hour, he said.

“The workload and pace of it all are insane,” Bergeron-Cyr said. “People are under pressure .… A lot of them are immigrants who don’t know their rights, and Amazon uses that to its own advantage.”

If more than half of the 250 to 300 employees at the warehouse sign a membership card, the Quebec labour relations commission can certify the union.

Several workers, whom The Canadian Press agreed not to identify because they fear repercussions at work, described what they said are Amazon’s clear attempts to prevent unionization. All spoke of managers’ efforts to separate groups of workers talking about the union and of oral threats to close the warehouse if they unionize.

One worker said his life has become miserable since he uttered the word “union” at work. “Every co-worker who talks to me, after a few seconds, they are interrogated by the manager. When they do that, people don’t want to talk to you anymore. I’m being isolated,” he said.

Another worker said, “Most people you talk to think we deserve more. But they don’t want to sign the union card because they’re afraid that the company will know that they did and will fire them.”

Amazon Canada spokeswoman Ryma Boussoufa said in a statement that the company doesn’t think “unions are the best answer for our employees.” But she added: “No person in our organization will ever force, intimidate, threaten, make promises or unduly influence our employees’ decision to join a union, or not join a union, and any allegations of this nature are simply unfounded.”

Several groups of workers from Amazon warehouses across the world, including in Montreal, have reported difficult working conditions that include 10-hour shifts and the need to package products quickly, which they have said leads to injuries. They have also reported that managers overwork employees in order to get bonuses and that the warehouses are equipped with intrusive surveillance systems.

When asked about allegedly poor working conditions, Boussoufa said Amazon strives for a culture of safety, and she listed the benefits offered by the company, such as dental care and tuition subsidies.

Barry Eidlin, an associate professor of sociology at McGill University and author of the 2018 book “Labour and the Class Idea in the United States and Canada,” said the workers’ allegations aren’t surprising, adding that Amazon’s alleged workplace abuses and its anti-union stance have been well-documented.

“This is just the company culture: viciously opposed to any attempt at workers to have independent control in the workplace,” Eidlin said in a recent interview.

The pandemic, Eidlin said, exacerbated the problems in warehouses because of the explosion of online orders — but it also engendered a widespread unionization movement. “It’s an after-effect where people realized that Amazon prioritizes its products and profit over employees.”

In April, employees at one Amazon warehouse in New York City pulled off the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant’s history. Workers at a second facility in the city, however, voted overwhelmingly against unionizing. Meanwhile, other unionization efforts are underway at Amazon sites in Alberta and Ontario.

“It’s going to be a tough fight,” Eidlin said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2022.

—

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.



Virginie Ann, The Canadian Press

Bitcoin plunges as Caisse-backed crypto company Celsius Network freezes customer withdrawals, transfers – The Globe and Mail

 June 13, 2022
By Megan Johnson

Celsius Network Ltd., which for years touted itself as the “world’s leading crypto earning and lending platform,” is freezing all withdrawals and transfers between its 1.7 million customers, as tokens such as bitcoin continue to plunge and investors rush to exit the digital asset market.

Citing “extreme market conditions,” the New Jersey-based company said in a blog post that a risk management clause about withdrawal obligations in its terms-of-use agreement has been activated indefinitely. That means customers are unable to pull their money out of Celsius, as the unregulated crypto exchange has decided to halt all transactions. As of May, the company held more than US$11-billion in assets.

“There is a lot of work ahead as we consider various options, this process will take time, and there may be delays,” Celsius said late Sunday. “Our ultimate objective is stabilizing liquidity and restoring withdrawals, Swap and transfers between accounts as quickly as possible.”

Major cryptocurrencies tumbled on Monday following the Celsius announcement. Bitcoin touched an 18-month low of $30,349. Ether dropped as much as 16 per cent to $1,585, its lowest price in two years.

While investing and holding cryptocurrencies remains the most common way of entering the digital asset market, many companies have also been offering customers avenues to earn interest on their investments in recent years.

These companies function much like traditional lenders such as banks or credit unions, but they lend cryptocurrency such as dogecoin, instead of a fiat currency such as the dollar. Investors get crypto dividends based on amounts that the companies lend to borrowers, and the lenders can take up crypto loans from different platforms.

Celsius is one of many such crypto lenders, and quickly became the most prominent. Founded in 2017, it has attracted major investors.

Just last October, Canadian pension fund giant Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec invested US$400-million in Celsius. It was an early move into the crypto world by an established Canadian pension fund manager. Shortly afterward, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan participated in a US$420-million funding round for the trading platform FTX Exchange that same month.

“Celsius is the world’s leading crypto lender with a strong management team that puts transparency and customer protection at the core of their operations,” Alexandre Synnett, executive vice-president and chief technology officer at the Caisse, said in a news release for its investment at the time.

But Jarrett Vaughan, a business professor at the University of British Columbia who studies blockchains and cryptocurrencies, said it’s hard to see how institutional investors will not be scared away from the market by the Celsius announcement. “With risk can come reward, so if you’re investing into a risky environment like crypto, you have to be aware of something like this happening. And hopefully, now, that’s a risk you’ll be more aware of,” he said.

The Caisse’s investment, in partnership with San Francisco-based venture capital firm WestCap Investment Partners LLC, placed a total value of US$3-billion on Celsius. Other investors in Celsius include Tether International Ltd., an issuer of tether, a stablecoin cryptocurrency pegged to and backed by the U.S. dollar.

WestCap and Celsius did not respond to requests for comment.

In a statement to The Globe and Mail on Monday, the Caisse defended Celsius. “In an environment of generalized market declines, investors are reducing their risk in all asset classes. In this context, Celsius has been impacted by very difficult markets in recent weeks, more specifically, the strong volume of withdrawals by customers,” wrote Kate Monfette, a senior spokesperson for the Caisse, adding that her team is “closely monitoring the situation.”

Ms. Monfette would not say if the Celsius announcement will impact future plans at the Caisse for investments into cryptocurrency. “Celsius is taking proactive action to uphold its obligations to its customers and has honoured its obligation to its customers to date,” she said.

Ledn, a Toronto-based cryptocurrency lending company that works much like Celsius, has seen its digital assets under management grow to billions over the past three years. “I really hope this one-off item about Celsius does not lead to broad conservatism in the space, certainly not from investors,” said Adam Reeds, chief executive officer of Ledn, in an interview.

This is not the first time Celsius has faced scrutiny, however. Earlier this year, Celsius came under immense pressure from crypto market observers, who believed the company played a role in the dramatic meltdown of luna and terrasUSD cryptocurrencies. Celsius had disputed those claims.

Late last year, a month after the Caisse’s investment, Celsius chief financial officer Yaron Shalem was implicated in a fraud investigation by Israeli police. The company suspended him.

In a tweet on Monday, rival lending platform Nexo offered to buy qualifying assets from Celsius, calling it an “insolvency” that is causing repercussions for retail investors in the crypto community.

Nexo attached a letter of intent to its tweet, which mentioned its interest in the Celsius collateralized loan portfolio, but did not provide a price for its offer.

Celsius Crypto FOMO Proved Irresistible to Finance Pros Too

Analysis by Lionel Laurent | Bloomberg
June 14, 2022 

Another day, another blow-up in the hype-driven world of cryptocurrency lending.

And this time there’s a cautionary tale where even sophisticated bankers and pension funds were vulnerable to crypto’s Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) chasing unrealistic rewards in the unregulated world of “decentralized finance.”

Celsius Network Ltd.’s freezing of withdrawals, swaps and transfers on its platform Monday came just weeks after the $60 billion implosion of stablecoin Terra, and barely a day after Celsius boss Alex Mashinsky dismissed talk of halted withdrawals as “misinformation.”

Even before selling pressure began to batter DeFi platforms, regulators had been ringing alarm bells on Celsius for some time. The platform, which in 2021 said it had over $20 billion in crypto assets and 1 million customers, was hit by actions from several US states amid scrutiny on whether interest-bearing crypto accounts ran afoul of securities laws.

With lucrative yields of up to 18%, those warnings were easily ignored — even as terms clearly stated that collateral posted on the platform may not be recoverable in the event of bankruptcy.

Yet the FOMO that won over punters seems to have also worked its magic on professional financiers, too.

Those apparently unsustainable rewards appeared to sway those in charge of Quebec’s 420 billion Canadian-dollar ($326.7 billion) pension fund, which together with venture-capital firm WestCap Group led a $400 million investment valuing Celsius at $3 billion last year — even after the US warnings.

Not to mention the move by Royal Bank of Canada’s former chief financial officer, Rod Bolger, to take up the same position at Celsius in February — replacing an executive who was suspended after his arrest in Israel in connection with suspected fraud. (He rejected the allegations.)

The official view from the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ) at the time of its reported $150 million investment was that this was a bet on the disruptive potential of blockchain technology — or, as the Quebecois say, “les chaines de blocs.”

Those rewards seem to have drowned out the risks of DeFi’s bank-like products that lack bank-like oversight. Such risks include the panic spiral of falling prices, forced selling and bank-run-style loss of confidence that would stretch a lending business to the limit.

And the excitement of what CPDQ called a hunt for a crypto “diamond in the rough” also seems to have relegated US fears over Celsius to the background.

Now, to be clear, it’s easy to criticize in hindsight. This is only a drop in the ocean of the crypto market, which exceeded $3 trillion in November but slipped below $1 trillion Monday. “Our team is closely monitoring the situation,” the Canadian pension fund said in a statement.

Still, even in calmer times, Mashinsky’s own description of Celsius’s business model last year showed the pressure to keep swinging for the fence: With more than 100,000-115,000 bitcoin held in return for 6-7% interest rates, the platform had to generate 6,000-7,000 bitcoin “just to break even” with customers, he explained — hence expansion into Bitcoin mining, a capex-heavy and competitive business, and plans for a credit card.

For a pension fund unable or unwilling to directly touch cryptocurrencies, this kind of business might have seemed like an ideal “picks and shovels” play — especially at a time of low interest rates. But even then, only after gulping a fair amount of blockchain Kool-Aid and ignoring the rumblings of concern from watchdogs.

As for Bolger’s own view of his move to Celsius as CFO, it includes pride in “a world-class risk management team” using practices “similar to other large financial institutions” — and also a hefty dose of optimism that crypto lending reduces “barriers” to finance. None of that is on display today.

He wouldn’t be the first banker to be tempted by the lure of crypto riches: The prospect of fewer regulatory constraints and more money has seen plenty of finance workers switch jobs. The staff flows from banks to fintech firms between 2020 and 2022 are revealing, such as the 37 Goldman Sachs Group Inc. employees who moved to Coinbase Global Inc.

Even as crypto dominoes topple, the pressure on banks and funds to clamber onto the crypto and DeFi train won’t go away easily: JPMorgan Chase & Co. wants to bring “trillions of dollars” of assets into DeFi, and PWC’s annual crypto hedge fund report this year found more than 40% of funds used borrowing and lending to juice returns — perhaps one reason why Mike Novogratz thinks two-thirds of crypto hedge funds will fail.

Yet the irony now is that as regulators sift through the wreckage, they’ll seek to make DeFi look more like banking — with the higher costs, lower profits and increased box-ticking that implies. ING Groep NV economist Teunis Brosens says of Celsius: “If this does not illustrate why crypto regulation is welcome, I don’t know what does.”

When the first banker moves back to TradFi from DeFi, we’ll have Quebec’s pensioners to thank.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering digital currencies, the European Union and France. Previously, he was a reporter for Reuters and Forbes.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.

Bitcoin falls 14% after crypto lender Celsius Network freezes withdrawals

Tom Wilson and Elizabeth Howcroft and Hannah Lang
Publishing date: Jun 13, 2022 

LONDON — Bitcoin slumped 14% on Monday after major U.S. cryptocurrency lending company Celsius Network froze withdrawals and transfers citing “extreme” conditions, in the latest sign of the financial market downturn hitting the cryptosphere.

The Celsius move triggered a slide across cryptocurrencies, with their value dropping below $1 trillion on Monday for the first time since January 2021, dragged down by bitcoin , the largest token.

New Jersey-based Celsius, which has around $11.8 billion in assets, offers interest-bearing products to customers who deposit cryptocurrencies with its platform. It then lends out cryptocurrencies to earn a return.

After Celsius’s announcement, bitcoin touched an 18-month low of $22,725, before rebounding slightly to around $23,924. No.2 token ether dropped as much as 18% to $1,176, its lowest since January 2021.

“It’s still an uncomfortable moment, and there’s some contagion risk around crypto more broadly,” said Joseph Edwards, head of financial strategy at fund management firm Solrise Finance.

Crypto markets have dived in the past few weeks as rising interest rates and surging inflation prompted investors to ditch riskier assets across financial markets.

Markets extended a sell off on Monday after U.S. inflation data on Friday, which showed the largest price increase since 1981, prompting investors to raise their bets on Federal Reserve rate hikes.

Cryptocurrency investors have also been rattled by the collapse of the terraUSD and luna tokens in May which was shortly followed by Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin, briefly breaking its 1:1 peg with the dollar.

In a blog post on Monday, Tether said that while it has invested in Celsius, its lending activity with the crypto platform has “always been overcollateralized” and has no impact on Tether’s reserves. The token was last trading flat at $1.

Also on Monday, BlockFi, another crypto lending platform, said it was reducing its staff by about 20% due to “dramatic shift in macroeconomic conditions worldwide.” BlockFi said that it has no exposure to Celsius and has “never worked with them.”

Bitcoin, which surged in 2020 and 2021, is down around 50% so far this year. Ethereum is down more than 67% this year.

Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky and Celsius did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

CRYPTO LENDING

Celsius says on its website that customers who transfer their crypto to its platform can earn an annual return of up to 18.6%. The website urges customers to “Earn high. Borrow low.”

In a blog post on Sunday evening, the company said it had frozen withdrawals, as well as transfers between accounts, “to stabilize liquidity and operations while we take steps to preserve and protect assets.”

“We are taking this action today to put Celsius in a better position to honor, over time, its withdrawal obligations,” the company said.

Celsius’s Token, which crypto borrowers and lenders on its platform could earn interest on or pay interest in, has fallen about 97% in the last 12 months, from $7 to around 20 cents, based on CoinGecko data.

‘GREY AREA’

Crypto lending products have surged in popularity and many companies have launched offerings within the last year.

That has sparked concerns among regulators, especially in the United States, who are worried about investor protections and systemic risks from unregulated lending products.

Celsius and crypto firms that offer services similar to banks are in a “grey area” of regulations, said Matthew Nyman at CMS law firm. “They’re not subject to any clear regulation that requires disclosure” over their assets.

Celsius raised $750 million in funding last year from investors, including Canada’s second-largest pension fund Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec. Celsius was valued at the time at $3.25 billion.

As of May 17, Celsius had $11.8 billion in assets, its website said, down by more than half from October, and had processed a total of $8.2 billion worth of loans.

Mashinsky, the CEO, was quoted in October last year saying Celsius had more than $25 billion in assets.

Rival crypto lender Nexo said on Monday it had offered to buy Celsius’ outstanding assets.

“We reached out to Celsius Sunday morning to discuss the acquisition of its collateralised loan portfolio. So far, Celsius has chosen not to engage,” said Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev.

Celsius did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Nexo’s offer.

 (Reporting by Tom Wilson and Elizabeth Howcroft in London and Hannah Lang in Washington; additional reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru and Alun John in Hong Kong; Editing by Bradley Perrett, Jane Merriman and David Evans)