Who is Wilma Mankiller, the Cherokee Nation leader on the quarter?

© Jason Connolly/POOL/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

The Wilma Mankiller quarters is displayed when Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen spoke to employees after touring The Denver Mint in Denver, March 11, 2022.

Wilma Mankiller, the first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, can now be seen on U.S. quarters available for purchase.

Mankiller, an activist for Native American and women’s rights, is the third woman to have her face adorned upon a quarter as part of the American Women Quarters Program.

"Chief Mankiller was a true champion for tribal sovereignty, women’s rights, health care, education and building strong communities for the Cherokee people. Every Chief that has followed her looks to her as the standard by which their work should be measured,” Chuck Hoskin Jr., the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, told ABC News Tuesday.

The new coin design shows Mankiller with a “resolute gaze to the future,” the U.S. Mint said in announcing the design.

Mankiller looks to be wearing a traditional shawl, and to her left is the seven-pointed star of the Cherokee Nation. The coin is inscribed with several phrases, including, “E Pluribus Unum,” “Wilma Mankiller,” “Principal Chief,” and “Cherokee Nation,” which is written in the Cherokee syllabary.MORE: Maya Angelou becomes first Black woman to appear on US quarter

“Even years after her passing, Chief Mankiller is making an impact,” Hoskin said at a coin release event held by the Cherokee Nation and U.S. Mint last week.

“She’s not changing the world on this day simply because her likeness is being struck on the quarter. Her likeness is being struck on the quarter because she keeps changing the world for the better,” Hoskin added.

Mankiller served as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1985 to 1995. During her leadership, the nation’s population sprung from 68,000 to 170,000, according to a biography on her website.

The first woman to hold this title, Mankiller advocated throughout her tenure for improved healthcare, education and housing services. While she was principal chief, infant mortality declined and educational achievement rose across the nation, Cherokee Nation officials say.

“She was very driven on behalf of other people she was nurturing, she wanted to make people feel better. She was very approachable,” Ross Swimmer, the Cherokee Nation's former principal chief, said at the release event.

Mankiller worked with the federal government while chief, working to pilot a self-government agreement for the Cherokee Nation through the Environmental Protection Agency. She guarded centuries of Cherokee traditions, customs and legal codes while managing a budget that reached $150 million by 1995, her website says.

“Wilma suffered from several serious illnesses and was almost killed in an auto accident, but she never complained. She would never say, ‘well, I just can’t do that today, I just don’t feel like it,’ or ‘no, I’m in pain,’ you would never hear that from her. She would go right on and get done what needed to be done,” Swimmer said at the event.

“I want to leave you with my mom’s last words. In 1995, the last time she took the podium as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, she said, ‘I did what I could,’” Felicia Olaya, her daughter, said in a speech at the release event.

In 1993, Mankiller was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

After Mankiller finished her term as principal chief, President Bill Clinton honored her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998. In 2018, Mankiller was inducted into the National Native American Hall of Fame as one of the first female inductees.

"Chief Mankiller’s efforts to inspire our Cherokee people to work together at the grass roots level to build strong communities in the spirit of “Gaudgi” is alive and well. Our Cherokee people remain organized to this day working on their own solutions and for every challenge they are confronted with, not simply content to wait for any government to come to the rescue,' Hoskin told ABC News.MORE: Report outlines federal 'abuse' of Native children at boarding schools

Mankiller began her activism in 1969, when she began serving as director of Oakland’s Native American Youth Center, working to restore pride in Native heritage and reduce the downward spiral of Native youth who grew up in the streets.

In the late 1970s, Mankiller founded the Community Development Department for the Cherokee Nation, which focused on improving access to water and housing. A feature film was created around this work, entitled “The Cherokee Word for Water."

"Chief Mankiller is still making an impact today, because now every time a little girl sees Wilma’s face on a quarter, and reads her story, she realizes she can do it too," Hoskin said Tuesday.

Mankiller died in 2010 from pancreatic cancer.


© Peter Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images, FILE

Chief Wilma Mankiller, of the Cherokee, poses for a portrait in June, 1992.

The first coin of the American Women Quarters Program was released in January, with a quarter featuring poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou.

“These inspiring coin designs tell the stories of five extraordinary women whose contributions are indelibly etched in American culture,” Alison L. Doone, the Mint's acting director, said in a statement last year. “Generations to come will look at coins bearing these designs and be reminded of what can be accomplished with vision, determination and a desire to improve opportunities for all.”

In March, Sally Ride, the first woman to travel to outer space, appeared on U.S. quarters.

Nine Otero-Warren, a leader in Mexico’s suffrage movement and the first female superintendent of Santa Fe public schools, and Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood who left a legacy for women in the film industry, are both set to appear on U.S. quarters in the coming months.

 

PROTESTANTS UPSET WITH CATHOLIC CANADA 

Ohio bill calls for Canada to be put on religious-freedom watchlist over COVID restrictions

Tom Blackwell - Yesterday- National Post

About 100 people rallied outside the Edmonton law courts building on Monday May 3, 2021, during court proceedings against GraceLife Church pastor James Coates.

State lawmakers in Ohio have managed to pull Canada into America’s heated culture wars, urging the U.S. government to put this country on a religious-freedom watchlis t — largely because of pandemic-related restrictions.

If the federal agency that oversees the list followed the advice in a resolution passed by the Ohio house of representatives, Canada would join a group of 12 nations from Azerbaijan to Cuba judged guilty of “severe” violations of religious liberties.

The motion cites cases where church leaders like Alberta’s James Coates were charged and/or jailed temporarily for repeatedly flouting public-health rules that affected services at the height of the pandemic.

Those measures, which paralleled restrictions placed on other, non-religious venues, make Canada akin to one of the most repressive countries in the world when it comes to religious practice, declared a Republican representative who co-sponsored the motion.

“While Ohio has stood up for religious freedom and protected the right to attend religious services, it is clear Canada has not done the same,” said Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus, according to the Statehouse News Bureau .

Canada’s actions are “very similar to what we see in Communist-controlled China,” he said.

The bill’s co-sponsor, Republican Tim Ginter, could not be reached for comment.

But a Democratic member of the state’s House of Representatives who voted against the resolution called it a slight against a long-time ally — and part of an increasingly hard-right conservative agenda that’s making Ohio “the Mississippi of the mid-West.”

The same day the motion passed just over a week ago, the house approved a bill allowing school boards to arm teachers. Ohio legislators have also recently removed a training requirement for people who carry concealed guns and barred transgender girls from high school sports.

“These culture wars are starting to take over,” Rep. Daniel Troy said in an interview. “A lot of this is just folks playing to their base. They throw out this red meat … I thought ‘My God, this is a horrible message to send a very good, polite neighbour.’”

In the house, he warned humorously that the measure — passed along party lines in the Republican-controlled chamber — risked reigniting the War of 1812.

Meanwhile, courts in Canada have ruled that the restrictions, also applied for public health reasons to restaurants, bars, movie theatres and other places where people gather in numbers, did not contravene the religious freedom guarantee in the Charter of Rights.

The resolution suggested Canada had not followed the “civilized” practice of protecting places of worship from any form of government interference.

It cited the arrest of Coates, who was put behind bars for 35 days after repeatedly ignoring orders from public-health agencies to follow lockdown rules that required parishioners at his GraceLife church and others to wear masks and limit attendance.

It also mentioned Artur and David Pawlowski and Tobias Tissen, three other pastors who had been arrested for similar alleged infractions.

Although churches and other places of worship in Ohio did at times voluntarily impose restrictions to help combat COVID-19, the state never forced such measures on them.


© Ed Kaiser/

A women chanting as a crowd of about 400 gathered outside GraceLife Church on the first Sunday after the closure west of the Edmonton city limits, April 11, 2021.

The pandemic also took a much higher toll in Ohio. It has suffered three times the number of deaths per 100,000 population from the virus — 331 compared to 111 for Canada.

While most of the document dealt with pandemic restrictions, it also cited the federal government’s new l aw banning conversion therapy of gay or transgender people. It alleged the legislation includes “a prison sentence of up to five years for merely expressing a biblical view of marriage.”

The law bars any “practice, treatment or service” designed to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, but makes no reference to marriage or the bible or to expressing views about them.

The resolution was addressed to the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom . It calls out problematic countries, with the worst offenders — those where there are “very severe” violations — included under the heading of “particular concern.”

The watchlist is a further group of merely “severe” violators. They generally include nations whose governments have directly or indirectly subjugated minority religious groups.

Algeria, one of the 12 on the list, has escalated repression of its evangelical protestant community with church closures and raids, says the commission’s 2022 report. Cuban authorities employ “persistent harassment and intimidation” against Catholic priests and other religious leaders.

A commission spokesman could not be reached for comment on the Ohio resolution.

Some churches in Canada have challenged public-health measures as violations of the Charter’s guarantee to “freedom of conscience and religion,” and at least two rulings on their constitutionality are still pending.

But at least one case has already been resolved, with Manitoba Justice Glenn Joyal saying the restrictions on religious freedom were “rational, reasoned and defensible in the circumstances of an undeniable public health crisis” and thus justified under section one of the Charter. The head of a non-profit group funding such challenges admitted earlier that he had a private investigator follow Joyal.

A judge in the Coates case ruled last year that a ticket the pastor received for repeatedly violating public-health laws did not violate the Charter’s religious-freedom section, saying, “Individual rights and freedoms are not absolute.”

Watchdog launches probe into actions of police in 8 B.C. departments

VICTORIA — An investigation has been launched into the conduct of 19 officers from eight separate British Columbia police departments, the provincial police complaints commissioner announced Monday.



The serious nature of the alleged misconduct means it will seek the appointment of one or more special provincial constables, a statement from the commissioner said.

The special constables are to be appointed by the Ministry of Public Safety to complete an investigation independent of any B.C. police agencies, the statement said.

Officers from departments in Victoria, Vancouver, New Westminster, Delta, Surrey, Saanich, Victoria and the Metro Vancouver Transit Police are being investigated, it said.

A number of concerns were identified during an undercover training course last month, said the commissioner’s office.

"The nature of the allegations includes serious and concerning conduct performed in front of course supervisors and other course participants."

The Independent Investigations Unit of Manitoba will be the investigating agency and arrangements between the provinces are being finalized, it said.

Chief Const. John Lo of the West Vancouver Police Department has been appointed as the discipline authority.

The investigation will look into undercover candidates who took the course, as well as officers in supervisory positions.


The office said none of the allegations have been proven against any of the officers

The Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner is a civilian and independent agency that oversees complaints, investigations and discipline involving municipal police in B.C.

Prof. Rob Gordon from Simon Fraser University's school of criminology said appointing someone from outside the province was the right first step.

Officers from B.C. could possibly be material witnesses who may also have taken part in the course, he said.

"They want to ensure that whatever the recommendations are at the end, are not contaminated by allegations of bias in some way."

The statement said the actions of some of the officers while performing various physical acts in the scenarios could be defined as misconduct under the Police Act.

Gordon, who is a former police officer, said he has "never heard anything like it anywhere else before" and called the incident and investigation "astonishing."

While he doesn't know what happened, he said it's possible that ethical boundaries were breached.

"The whole thing would be comical if it wasn't so tragic. It's such a betrayal of common standards amongst police officers," he said.

"We'll have to wait to see what actually comes out as a result of the investigation."

The report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2022.

The Canadian Press

Ottawa wants sweeping new powers to direct companies’ ‘critical’ cyber defence

Feds introduce act requiring businesses to report ransomware attacks or face penalties

Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety, responds to the four performance audit reports of the Auditor General of Canada on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. 

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Amanda Connolly - GLOBAL NEWS - TODAY

The Canadian government wants sweeping new powers, including access to confidential information, in order to "direct" how critical infrastructure operators prepare for and respond to cyberattacks.

And it wants to prohibit those companies from disclosing to the public anything about the directions issued by the federal government — including the mere existence of any orders to beef up protections.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne held a press conference to announce the details of the new legislation, which also grants the government the promised power to bar companies from using technology from firms like Huawei and ZTE.

The announcement, however, comes at a time when the government is increasingly facing questions about its secretive approach to cyber operations, cyber protections, and what duty of transparency about the country's threat level is owed to Canadians who could bear the frontline impact of any critical infrastructure attacks.

Canada ‘not ready’ for growing national security threats, former officials warn

Critical infrastructure refers to the networks, systems, services and supply chains that are paramount to Canadian national security and the country's security interests. That can apply broadly to things like 911 phonelines, electric grids, pipeline operations, hydroelectric dams, food supplies and emergency medicine stockpiles, and the IT networks protecting critical government operations and information.

It is a broad term that encompasses the ever-shifting nature of national security, particularly in light of the increased focus on cyberattacks and ransomware targeting critical infrastructure by actors like Russia and China, or proxies working in alignment with them.

Video: Ex-officials warn Canada unprepared for national security threats

Russia is frequently cited as one of the major attackers in the cyber sphere, most recently in the context of the invasion of Ukraine and Russian attacks on both Global Affairs Canada and Ukrainian government institutions.

And although the federal Liberals have been building out the capacities of Canadian cyber forces working with the military and the Communications Security Establishment, they remain secretive when it comes to basic questions about what actions are being taken in the name of their citizens.

Read more:
Canada providing cyber ‘support’ to Ukraine against Russian invasion. Here’s what we know

Now, the government wants to hand additional responsibilities to the CSE, which is tasked with protecting government infrastructure and signals intelligence, through the new legislation.

Under the new provisions, the government wants the power to compel cyber security action from a new category of what it calls "designated operators" working in four federally-regulated sectors: finance, telecommunications, energy, and transportation.


If passed, the legislation would let the federal cabinet "direct any designated operator or class of operators to comply with any measure set out in the direction for the purpose of protecting a critical cyber system."

It adds: "Every designated operator that is subject to a cyber security direction is prohibited from disclosing, or allowing to be disclosed, the fact that a cyber security direction was issued and the content of that direction."

Increasing concern about cyberattacks in Canada

The legislation would also grant the government the power to order companies in the telecommunications sector not to use products deemed to be a high risk to the national security — a power officials say they need in order to implement a promised ban on Huawei and ZTE technology.

It will also require companies to disclose cyberattacks to federal security authorities -- but the public will not be able to know about any such attacks on service providers they might rely on, such as banks or internet service providers, that are covered by the proposed new changes.

News of the proposed changes comes after Mendicino had hinted last week that mandatory reporting by companies hit by ransomware and cyberattacks was on the table.

He had also vowed while announcing plans to implement the ban on Huawei and ZTE that additional legislation would come shortly aiming at the cyber protections in place for the four critical sectors.

Last month, a report from security experts at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs warned the government is not prepared for an increasingly dangerous environment marked by economic espionage, foreign interference in domestic politics and cyber attacks.

“It’s a dangerous world. Canada, not just its governments, but its people writ large, have not always taken national security seriously,” said Vincent Rigby, who advised Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on national security issues, in an interview with Global News last month.

“I’m not sure that the threat is really coming home to Canadians at the moment. … There are all these threats out there. We need a comprehensive strategy to deal with all that."

Mendicino told the House of Commons public safety committee last week that Canada is on "high alert" for cyberattacks by Russia and others.

The proposed legislation contains two separate parts: one part dealing with the creation of the powers the government says it needs to order a ban on high-risk telecommunications equipment, and one part dealing with the proposed new powers to direct the activities of critical infrastructure operators.

It is not clear whether those parts could be split into two separate bills for a quicker passage, if parliamentarians raise concerns about the second part of the legislation.

Under Part Two, the government wants to create a Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act that lets the federal cabinet place federally regulated sectors on a list of "designated operators."

Those designated operators would be required to establish a cyber security program within 90 days of the bill becoming law or of a new operator being added to the list. The operator must then provide that plan to an "appropriate regulator" who can then provide the CSE with "any information, including any confidential information" about that plan in order to get "advice, guidance or services" from the CSE.

Read more:
Global Affairs Canada suffers ‘cyber attack’ amid Russia-Ukraine tensions: sources

With the House of Commons now set to rise for the summer on June 23, it appears unlikely the legislation unveiled on Tuesday would be able to make it through the chamber before that recess.

It's also not yet clear whether the Senate would raise concerns when the bill comes to the Red Chamber for review, potentially in the fall.

That chamber has balked at provisions viewed as overreach in government legislation before, most recently amending a controversial bill on Monday, according to Postmedia, that sought to create a new legal threshold for the search of personal digital devices by border guards.

With a file from Global's Alex Boutilier.

THE DANGER OF EV'S

Lithium ion batteries the leading cause of Vancouver fire fatalities, firefighters warn

Vancouver firefighters have issued another stark warning about lithium ion batteries, in the wake of a fatal fire at a Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotel on the city's Downtown Eastside.


© Global News  One person has died after a fire ignited in Vancouver's Empress Hotel, officials say.

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services says the fire on the second floor of the Empress Hotel was caused by an exploding battery.

It was the seventh fire-related death in the city this year. Of those seven, five have been linked to lithium ion batteries — including a house fire in East Vancouver in January that killed a child, their mother and their grandfather.

Read more:
Child, mother, grandfather killed in East Vancouver house fire

"If we're on trend with where we are right now, we're in big trouble," Fire Chief Karen Fry told media Monday. "Last year had five deaths in total. And this year five of our deaths have been related to batteries."

Lithium ion batteries are becoming increasingly common in Canadians homes, and are found in devices ranging from e-bikes and e-scooters to mobile phones.

Video: Increase in lithium ion battery fires due to unsafe use

Capt. Matthew Trudeau, the fire service's public information officer, said the city has documented a 500-per cent increase in fires linked to lithium ion batteries since 2016.


The fires have generally been related to the charging, care, handling and maintenance of equipment, with some user error, he said.

Read more:
Vancouver firefighters issue warning amid five-fold increase in battery fires

"We have seen a couple of fires where overcharging has been the problem. In these batteries we're seeing a thermal runaway effect that can cause chemically inside them which make it extremely dangerous and hard to extinguish."

In particular, firefighters are concerned about people modifying their equipment, or using damaged cables or chargers.

Video: E-bike battery issue causing fires

Lithium ion batteries are safe, Trudeau said, so long as people are using quality equipment and exercising caution.

"That includes making sure everyone operates and charges these with care, charges them in accordance with manufacturers' recommendations, they repair and replace their cords, their charging equipment and their batteries with approved devices and avoid the use of any kind of knock-off devices," he said.

Read more:
E-bike battery malfunction in North Vancouver prompts warning for consumers

Fry recommended that people buy electronic devices from a reputable dealer in Canada or that is CSA certified. She said cheaper equipment purchased online is of particular concern.

She said the city's fire service was meeting with BC Housing to look at ways to reduce risks in SROs. It is also looking for help from the province on safety measures, such as a possible ban on keeping e-bikes inside residential units.

"These are all preventable deaths," she said. 

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services says fires caused by lithium-ion batteries are an increasingly deadly problem in the city.

Megan Devlin
Jun 13 2022


Fishman64/Shutterstock


So far this year, five people have died in fires associated with the batteries — making battery fires the number one cause of fire deaths in Vancouver. In total, seven people have died in fires in 2022.

Lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable cells with relatively high power for their size. They’re often used in portable electronics such as laptops and cellphones and are also present in e-bikes — which have been growing in popularity.

Most recently, one person died in a lithium-ion battery-caused fire in an SRO this weekend, captain of public information with VFRS Matthew Trudeau told Daily Hive.

He spoke at a news conference Monday, saying fires caused by these types of batteries have increased fivefold since 2016.

“It’s very concerning and it’s Canada and US-wise,” he told Daily Hive in a phone interview. “We’re just seeing an inherent problem operating lithium-ion batteries safely.”

Most problems occur when people charge the battery with a cable that’s not approved for use in Canada or is damaged. Although buying a charging cable or a replacement battery online may be cheaper and more appealing, Trudeau urged customers to opt for an option that’s manufacturer-approved — even if it means spending more.

In addition, he recommended people charge devices outside their bedrooms, or outside their homes entirely, if possible.

“If you overcharge them or you charge them incorrectly you can heat them up and it causes an internal runaway effect that … causes a subsequent fire and explosion.”

He mentioned the lithium-ion battery fires have been increasing in frequency ever since people have turned to electric modes of transport with fuel prices increasing. While e-bikes and e-scooters have many benefits, Trudeau urged owners to become familiar with safe charging practices.

“Even outside of these five [fatal] fires we have seen numerous fires for these types of batteries resulting in damage and injury.”

Fires from lithium-ion batteries kill five Vancouverites in six months

Take care charging or modifying lithium ion batteries, experts warn

Joanne Lee-Young - Vancouver Sun

After the death of a tenant at a Downtown Eastside single-room occupancy hotel this weekend, fire safety advocates are urging consumers to take care when storing and charging lithium ion batteries.


© Provided by Vancouver Sun

A memorial for a man killed in an explosion at the Empress Hotel, in the west alley off East Hastings Street in Vancouver on June 14, 2022. Reports say the man, identified in the memorial as Shayne Charleson, was killed when an electric bike battery charging in his room exploded.

These batteries have become increasingly ubiquitous, used to power a range of electronics, including cellphones, power tools, e-bikes and e-scooters.

Laypeople and companies not only need help storing and charging them properly, but should also understand the risks of trying to save money by making their own DIY versions and modifying batteries, observers say.

“The technology has, quite frankly, outpaced the legislation and other practices,” says Gerry Van Houdt, regional sales manager for Denios Canada, which specializes in storage of hazardous materials.

A 32-year-old man died when an e-bike battery exploded, potentially causing him to fall out his window at the Hotel Empress on East Hastings Street.

Vancouver Fire Rescue is connecting with fire prevention services across North America to deal with a trend they are all experiencing, said Capt. Matthew Trudeau.

Of the seven fire-related deaths in Vancouver this year to date, five have been linked to lithium ion batteries, Trudeau said. The number of Vancouver fire deaths for all of 2020 was five.


In New York City, the fire department’s figures for fires related to e-bike lithium batteries are also spiking higher this year and the chief fire marshal has said he is expecting the number to double.

“It’s not one shipment of bad batteries. If it was, you could do a recall notice and get them out, but we’re seeing it every city,” said Trudeau.

The problem is how lithium ion batteries are being handled. With increased fuel prices, it’s possible more people are seeking alternative modes of moving around.

However, the cost of replacing batteries for e-bikes and e-scooters can be in the range of $2,000 to $4,000 compared to a fifth of that if you buy ones that might not be compatible or approved for use by Canadian or other standard-setting body, said Trudeau.

He said that in one of the Vancouver fires, the battery for an e-bike or e-motorcycle hybrid was “modified” extensively, reconfigured to be more powerful.

Instead of taking a battery to a professional who will charge for the service, some people following YouTube videos which show how to rewire systems so that you can, for example, change a battery that was designed to supply 12 volts into one that supplies 48 volts. Quadrupling the power supply like this raises the resistance and heat in a battery.

And that can lead to what is called a “thermal runaway effect” that is very challenging to extinguish once it starts.

Not all of the fatal Vancouver fires are tied to modified lithium ion batteries for bikes and scooters. One just involved a cellphone that was plugged into a damaged cable, said Trudeau.

Van Houdt suggested that instead of having consumers charging medium and high power batteries, like the ones for e-bikes and larger appliances, indoors or in the home, they could use supervised and outdoor workspaces or areas that are separate for doing this.

Denios recently started selling large, metal boxes that are specifically designed for storing new or damaged or questionable lithium ion batteries. It’s an option for companies who might be handling a large batch of batteries or for a building where there are many users of e-bikes. They are resistant to fire for up to two hours, allowing a user to toss in and isolate a lithium battery that has exploded or is on fire and then call the fire department for more help.

jlee-young@postmedia.com

Alberta teachers, schools scrambling to prepare for launch of new curriculum

Janet French - CBC-Yesterday

In Candice Conrad's Grade 1 classroom, learning to read looks much different than the lessons adults might remember.

On a recent morning, Conrad leads her Thorsby Elementary School students through a sequence of phonemic awareness exercises.

Their desks are clustered into three groups. Conrad sits at the front of the room, her finger on a word list in a thick guidebook.

"We're going to punch that last sound out. Ready?" Conrad says. "Shrink."

"Shrin-kuh," the 18 kids repeat, emphasizing the "kuh" sound and punching their teeny fists into the air.

The group of mostly six-year-olds also say syllables aloud, then blend them into words with a clap of their hands. They chop up word sounds in the air with their hands pressed together, then say the full word while sweeping their hands away.

Conrad is using multi-sensory techniques encouraged by Alberta's new English language arts and literature curriculum, which will be mandatory in all the province's kindergarten to Grade 3 classrooms starting this fall.

So will a new K-3 math curriculum, along with a revamped K-6 physical education and wellness curriculum.

Usually, teachers prepare for new curriculum without fanfare. But Alberta's journey to rewrite its K-12 curriculum in all subjects at once, in English and French, has been on a topsy-turvy path for more than a decade.

Under three governments — Progressive Conservative, NDP and finally the United Conservatives — rewriting the curriculum became a political football.

The schedule of which subjects and grades would be mandatory for the 2022-23 school year changed twice during the last six months.

Some educators, academics and parents pleaded with the government to "ditch the draft" of the proposed elementary school curriculum.

Most school divisions refused to pilot test those drafts, and less than one per cent of Alberta teachers formally participated.

As the deadline approaches for 25,000 Alberta elementary teachers to bring the new curriculum to life, CBC News spoke to 11 educators and school board leaders about preparation. Their message to Alberta politicians was clear: step out of the way, and let us make this work for kids.
How ready are teachers? Depends who you ask

Conrad, who loves teaching literacy, says she's excited about September. She will need to be ready for all three new subjects — a departure from the past, when Alberta introduced just one at a time.


© Janet French/CBC

Grade 1 teacher Candice Conrad shows some of the resources she's using to teach Alberta's new English language arts curriculum in Thorsby, Alta.

Although Leduc-based Black Gold School Division, which includes Thorsby, didn't officially pilot any new curriculum, Conrad has been using some of the guides and resources this year.

In addition to regular meetings with colleagues, Conrad, who has two young kids, spent hours of her own time taking professional development sessions online.

She feels the least ready for physical education and wellness, which is the most different from the current curriculum.

She's far less enthusiastic about the new science, social studies and fine arts curriculum, which are slated to be required in 2023 and 2024.

Conrad says not all her colleagues feel as prepared for September as she does.

Alberta education minister warns districts that opt out of curriculum pilot won’t give ‘rich feedback’

Although the first drafts of all elementary school subjects were publicly released in March 2021, K-6 math, English and phys ed and wellness curriculum wasn't finalized until mid-April, about 10 weeks before summer break.

Some school divisions had just one professional development day left on their calendars.

Others, like Ponoka-based Wolf Creek Public Schools, hustled to get three full days of professional development ready for all elementary teachers.

Although the government has promised to provide funding for substitutes so teachers can step away from class to go through the curriculum, Wolf Creek superintendent Tim De Ruyck says they can't rely on that approach while subs are scarce.

Edmonton Catholic Schools, meanwhile, is growing its contingent of curriculum consultants to 17 to get teachers ready for fall.


© Nathan Gross/CBC

Roffey is manager of elementary curriculum at Edmonton Catholic Schools. She's leading a team of curriculum consultants who are helping prepare teachers for the new K-3 math, English and wellness curriculum.

Trish Roffey, manager of elementary curriculum for Edmonton Catholic, says the consultants have laid out year-long plans suggesting the pace for the new material.

Her goal is to stay a month ahead, by assembling sample lesson plans, suggested resources — like videos, software, tests or games — and curriculum guides as the next school year progresses.

The division has five voluntary professional development "PD parties" planned for the summer, for teachers to learn some classroom-ready examples, she said.

Like many other divisions, Edmonton Catholic is relying on online training sessions organized internally, offered by the government and third parties like the Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia.

Edmonton Public Schools is leaving decisions about how much professional development to take up to individual teachers.

Too much, too fast, too soon, some educators say

The pressure is compounding at the end of the school year while employees are still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Grading assignments. Writing report cards. Planning next year's class lists. Organizing field trips. Hosting year-end parties.

"It's very tight, it's very stressful, and our teachers are burned out," said Jennifer Lefebvre, director of instruction for the Rocky Mountain House-based Wild Rose school division.

Other hurdles will be cultural and psychological. Many educators and academics disagree with the content and philosophy of the curriculum, including math, English and wellness.

Government-run surveys found the concerns persisted even after Alberta Education released the final drafts of those three subjects.

Critics say some math concepts are introduced too early for children to understand, that language arts excludes critical thinking and isn't culturally inclusive enough, and that wellness mishandles issues of consent and body image.

The surveys also showed the public doesn't feel the government is acting to correct these problems.

The Alberta School Boards Association has lobbied, with partial success, for a delay of mandatory implementation of all subjects until 2024.

A spokesperson for Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said the timeline was set based on recommendations from a curriculum implementation advisory group that included school board representatives.

Sandra Haltiner, president of Edmonton Catholic Teachers Local 54, says educators will have to balance their advocacy for change with making the curriculum work as best they can for the time being.

"Can we be ready for it? OK, sure, absolutely," she said. "Does that make it right? No."

Teachers feel pressured by employers to attend "voluntary" summer training when what they really need is a break, she says.

The government's rush baffles Maren Aukerman, a University of Calgary professor who specializes in literacy education. She says three subjects at once is too much.

"The biggest risk is for kids," Aukerman said. "I really worry about the children in the classroom who are going to be faced with a bunch of stuff that their teachers are not that prepared for."

More enthusiastic curriculum adopters worry critics are unnecessarily frightening parents, and undermining teachers' abilities.


© Janet French/CBC

Students at Edmonton's Suzuki Charter School play an ensemble piece. Teachers at Suzuki have been informally working with elements of the new curriculum this school year.

Lynne Paradis, superintendent of Suzuki Charter School in Edmonton, said schools like hers were preparing for the shift long before the final versions of curriculum were made public.

"Teachers are not going to let children get harmed," she said.

What educators want is for politicians and parents to have faith in teachers' professionalism and judgment, said Terri Reid, a curriculum consultant with the Black Gold school division.

"We need everyone now to stop and take a breath and let our teachers do their job," Reid said. "Teachers do phenomenal work with children. And they need to have the time and the space to do that."

Eyes out for Ontario's only venomous snake: Massasauga rattlesnake


Lexy Benedict - 
The Weather Network

Ontario is home to over a dozen types of snakes, but only one of them is venomous – the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus).

According to Tianna Burke with the Georgian Bay Biosphere, a charity organization that works to preserve wildlife and endangered species, these rattlesnakes tend to move out of hibernation late May into early June – so if you’re at the cottage or on a hike in a wooded area, now is the time to keep your eyes out!

While the sound of a venomous snake is alarming, Burke says that these snakes have an introverted personality and generally like to keep to themselves. They have no interest in interacting with humans, and typically when you see snakes on the move, they’re just trying to get from one spot to another.

“Snakes don't attack people, they just want to be left alone,” explains Burke. “Most snake bites occur because you haven't taken precaution to see what's around you or you have gone to try and harm it, so it’s just acting in defence".A massasauga rattlesnake (Credit: Georgian Bay Biosphere).

RELATED: These alarmingly large snakes are more common than you may realize in Ontario

HOW TO IDENTIFY THE EASTERN MASSASAUGA RATTLESNAKE

You can find these snakes primarily along the eastern side of Georgian Bay and on the Bruce Peninsula, according to the Government of Ontario. Two small populations are also found in the Wainfleet Bog on the northeast shore of Lake Erie and near Windsor. The massasauga was once more widespread in southwestern Ontario, especially along the shores of the Great Lakes.


© Provided by The Weather NetworkEyes out for Ontario's only venomous snake: Massasauga rattlesnakeThe massasauga rattlesnake was listed as threatened when the Endangered Species Act took effect in 2008. On June 27, 2014, the population was split into two, with the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence population listed as threatened, and the Carolinian population listed as endangered.

 (Photo credit: Georgian Bay Biosphere).

According to Burke, massasauga rattlesnakes can grow to a maximum of one-metre-long. It’s distinguished usually by the figure ‘8’ pattern on its back, its diamond shaped head, cat-like eyes, and of course, the rattle. The body is grey to dark brown with darker brown "butterfly" or "saddle-shaped" blotches down the back, with alternating blotches along the sides. If you hear the tail rattle, that means you’re too close – and take a step back.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET BIT

While it's highly unlikely to get bit by an unprovoked snake, it’s still important to know what to do if in the event you do get bitten. Medical Director of the Ontario and Nunavut Poison Centre, Dr. Margaret Thompson, says no matter what severity of the bite, it’s important to get it checked out by a professional.

She also emphasizes the importance of leaving these critters alone, and not moving them or picking them up. In fact, it’s actually illegal in Ontario to move a rattlesnake more than one kilometre from where you find them.


© Provided by The Weather NetworkEyes out for Ontario's only venomous snake: Massasauga rattlesnakeThe massasauga rattlesnake is Ontario’s only venomous snake, though it will only bite in self-defence if it is threatened or harassed. (Photo credit: Georgian Bay Biosphere)

Dr. Thompson adds the first thing you need to do if you get bit is stay calm. The second, is to go to your nearest emergency room.

“If you are in massasauga habitat, the best thing you can do to protect yourself from any potential sites is to be aware if you are walking. The most common places people get bit is around the ankle, usually when people are walking to and from somewhere or are barefoot, and the wrist. The wrist bites are usually from risky behaviour and trying to pick up and interact with a snake, which you shouldn't be doing. Snakes act based on how you act.”

To learn more about Ontario’s only venomous snake, watch the video

Methane leak at Russian mine could be largest ever discovered

Fiona Harvey

THE GUARDIAN

Environment correspondent 


Possibly the world’s biggest leak of methane has been discovered coming from a coalmine in Russia, which has been pouring out the carbon dioxide equivalent of five coal-fired power stations.



About 90 tonnes an hour of methane were being released from the mine in January, when the gas was first traced to its source, according to data from GHGSat, a commercial satellite monitoring company based in Canada. Sustained over the course of a year, this would produce enough natural gas to power 2.4m homes.

More recently, the mine appears to be leaking at a lower rate, of about a third of the highest rate recorded in January, but the leak is thought to have been active for at least six months before January’s survey.

The leak, which comes from the Raspadskaya mine in Kemerovo Oblast, the largest coalmine in Russia, is about 50% bigger than any other leak seen by GHGSat since it started its global satellite monitoring in 2016. The company believes it is bigger than any leak yet traced to a single source.

Brody Wight, director of energy, landfill and mines at GHGSat, said that methane was an often overlooked side-effect of coalmining that added to the climate impact of burning coal. The Raspadskaya leak would add about 25% to the greenhouse gas emissions of burning any coal produced from the mine, he estimated.

“We are seeing an increase in methane from this site generally, which could be the result of increased coal production, linked to global trends in coal use,” he said.

Russia is one of the world’s biggest sources of methane from fossil fuel extraction. The country’s gas infrastructure, including production facilities and pipelines, is notoriously leaky despite calls for the government to take action

Mining for substances such as gold and coal has been big business for hundreds of years. But as technology develops, we need an increasing number of other materials to power new industries in our changing world. Read on as we look at some of the most popular elements, metals, minerals, and more being mined in the 21st century – and how the Russian attack on Ukraine has sent shockwaves throughout the sector.

Paul Bledsoe, a former White House adviser to Bill Clinton and now with the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington DC, said: “Deeply cutting methane is the only sure way to limit near-term temperatures and prevent runaway climate change, yet every month brings new evidence that Russia is hiding the world’s most massive and destructive methane leaks. Putin is desperately hiding these enormous emissions so he can continue to profit from sales of Russian coal, oil and gas and fund his war-making regime. But those nations like China who continue to buy Putin’s oil and gas are equally abetting his climate and war criminality

All underground coalmines produce methane, which can cause explosions if it builds up. A blast at the Raspadskaya mine in 2010 killed 66 people.

Venting methane can be done for safety reasons. However, there are ways of capturing methane when it is produced at a high rate, or venting through oxidisation, so that it causes less harm to the climate.

Methane is about 80 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, though it degrades in the atmosphere over about 20 years. In February, the International Energy Agency warned that most countries were under-reporting their methane emissions, and the true amounts pouring into the atmosphere were far greater than had been thought.

Recent studies have shown that cutting methane could be one of the fastest ways of holding down global temperature rises, and that sharp cuts now could prevent a rise of about 0.25C by 2050.

Durwood Zaelke, the president of the Washington-based Institute for Governance, said the Raspadskaya leak showed the urgent need for action. “It’s critical to set up a comprehensive satellite monitoring system for methane. We also need to deploy a system of incentives and sanctions that can remedy these emissions, focusing first on the super emitters,” he said.

The IEA also found that at current high gas prices, the cost of capturing methane was far less than the value of using it or selling it as a fuel source, which should give companies and governments an incentive to capture the gas rather than venting or flaring.

Related: Sharp cut in methane now could help avoid worst of climate crisis

At the Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow last November, more than 100 countries agreed to reduce their methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030. Russia was not among them, however.

GHGSat said it measured 13 distinct methane plumes, ranging in size from 658 to 17,994 kg an hour, from the mine. The discovery was made on 22 January, but the company took time to verify its findings and contact the operator of the mine, which has not responded.

MATURE TREES ARE BIRD APARTMENTS

Edmonton city councillors consider new bylaw to protect trees on private land

Natasha Riebe 


The City of Edmonton is considering ways to protect trees on private land, as it works toward the goal of adding two million more trees to its urban forest.

At a meeting Tuesday, council's urban planning committee discussed creating a bylaw to regulate the removal of trees on private property.

The city considers the urban forest to be a "significant municipal asset," which provides "many environmental, ecological, economic and social benefits to Edmontonians," according to a committee report. An estimated 380,000 trees exist on boulevards and in open spaces.

Coun. Aaron Paquette put forward a motion that administration outline ways the city can achieve its goal of adding two million trees, including the option of drafting a private property tree bylaw.

The committee heard from several people who support the idea of a private tree bylaw and others who oppose the idea.

Kristine Kowalchuk with the Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition pressed councillors to adopt a new bylaw to protect trees, which she said would have numerous benefits.

"Trees do critical work in mitigating climate change, cleaning the air, cooling the city, helping to prevent both drought and flooding," Kowalchuk said. "They also contribute greatly to Edmontonians' physical and mental health and are essential to the beauty of our city."

Don Tolsma, a director with the Canadian Home Builders Association, said he doesn't think the city should introduce a bylaw to regulate tree removal.


© Wallis Snowdon/CBC

Also the president of Timber Haus Developments, Tolsma said they try to preserve mature trees as much as possible, which are highly valued by most of their clients, but he would oppose a bylaw that affects trees on private land.

It's not feasible to save all of them, he argued, for a variety of reasons: trees may restrict the development area or impede access to the building, or the tree could be unhealthy and needs to be removed.

Competing goals

Requiring permits or limiting the ability to remove trees will directly impede infill and new housing growth, Tolsma argued.

"If densification is the way to go, which is the city plan, then you are going to lose more trees," Tolsma said. "So we need to keep planting more trees."


© Adrienne Lamb/CBC

Edmonton's tree bylaw requires a permit to remove or work within five metres of a tree on public property.

Kowalchuk suggested the city consider an alternative approach to density like repurposing parking lots and reducing vehicle lanes.

"Densification cannot be a single-minded goal of fitting in more people," Kowalchuk said.

Paquette suggested the city needs more time to balance the goals of increasing density and protecting trees.

"There is a tension here in that some of the redevelopment we need for density, in order to further our climate goals, also means that some of these trees on private land don't lend themselves to that redevelopment," Paquette said.

City managers are expected to report back to the urban planning committee in early 2023.

Bylaw options

Last August, city council passed the Public Tree Bylaw but the new permit process for tree protection and preservation takes effect Wednesday.

The current bylaw says that no work can be done within five metres of the trunk of a boulevard or open space tree or within 10 metres of a natural boundary unless someone has a permit, permission or is doing the work according to an approved tree protection plan.

Drafting a new bylaw and developing a new permitting system for removing trees from private land would require funding, the report says.

Several municipalities in Canada, including Ottawa, Vancouver, Toronto, Surrey, and Oakville, have private tree bylaws with mixed results.

"All municipalities cited difficulties with the volume of enforcement associated with regulating private trees by way of permit," the report says.

Deaths due to homelessness in Edmonton up by 70 per cent last year: advocacy group

Nearly as many Edmontonians died due to homelessness in 2021 than in the prior two years combined, representing a yearly increase of nearly 70 per cent, according to numbers from a homeless advocacy group.


© Provided by Edmonton JournalA homeless encampment on 106 Avenue near 99 Street in downtown Edmonton on Friday April 22, 2022.

Matthew Black - EDMONTON JOURNAL

Figures from the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness (ECOHH) indicate 222 identified people died due to homelessness in 2021. The group also deemed homelessness to be a significant factor in the deaths of a further 30 unidentified individuals, 20 men and 10 women.

The rise continues a recent increasing trend, but also represents the sharpest jump over that time period, with 132 deaths in 2020, 99 deaths in 2019, and 96 deaths in 2018.

“Too often people die much too young when they are in such circumstances. The alarming increase in deaths is terrible and should call us to action,” said Susan Watson.

Watson is organizing a public memorial for Wednesday afternoon that will honour those who died in the past three years after the pandemic forced its cancellation in 2020 and 2021.

“This has always been a painful event,” she said. “No one should see their life cut short because they have been without safe, healthy housing.”

ECOHH says it identifies those who have died due homelessness with the help of frontline organizations that work with individuals struggling for housing security.

It says the count includes those who it determines would have not died as soon if they had been in adequate housing as well as a much smaller number of cases where individuals died on the streets.

© Provided by Edmonton JournalDeaths due to homelessness in Edmonton up by 70 per cent last year: advocacy group

ECOHH numbers state 453 identified people have died due to homelessness in Edmonton over 2019, 2020 and 2021.

The figures skew heavily towards men, with just over two-thirds of those deaths being of males.

Last year saw deaths recorded in those aged under 20 for the first time in at least two years. Seventeen people in their twenties died, up from 12 in 2020 and 10 in 2019.

The group says 1,255 identified people have now died over the past 17 years with homelessness as a significant factor.

There were about 50 deaths in identified individuals each year until 2016, when the number of deaths spiked to more than 100, according to ECOHH numbers.

Since the memorial was first held in 2005, 802 people have been remembered at the service.

This year’s event will be held Wednesday at Homeless Memorial Plaza located north of City Hall on 103A Avenue at 100 Street, starting at 2 p.m.

“The memorial service is a time to grieve the people — our family, friends, neighbours — who are no longer with us, a time to gather together in our sorrow and support each other in our losses,” said organizer Jim Gurnett.

“But we need to be leaving the event asking what can be done to end this shameful reality in our city.”

mblack@postmedia.com

Twitter: @ByMatthewBlack