Braid: Smith says her government will be rural in makeup and thinking, with fewer Calgary ministers

OBSEQUIOUS FAWNING OVER A FELLOW SCAB JOURNALIST

Opinion by Don Braid, Calgary Herald - 

Danielle Smith speaks after being sworn in as Alberta Premier-designate

 in Edmonton on Tuesday October 11, 2022.© Provided by Calgary Herald

ONE OF THE WOMEN IN THIS PICTURE SHOULD NOT BE THERE

Check your termination deals, AHS managers.

Snap to attention, federal government lawyers.

Rural MLAs, get ready for big cabinet jobs and a dominant rural tone in government.

RCMP officers, be prepared to work alongside a growing provincial police contingent, very soon.

All that came out before and after Premier Danielle Smith was sworn in at 11:23 a.m. Tuesday. She first appeared on Real Talk with Ryan Jesperson, the masterful interviewer. Later, she spoke at her swearing-in ceremony, and once more at a full news conference in the legislature media room.

Smith has said plenty in the past three months, much of it dismissed as political wind aimed at unhappy UCP members.

Now she’s the premier. The wind is policy.

Calgary’s dominance of cabinet is about to end. This was one of the weirdest features of premier Jason Kenney’s government — a cabinet that at one point had 17 of 26 posts filled by Calgary MLAs. Some rural folks called the UCP the “United Calgary Party.”

“We have a largely rural caucus because we have 39 of 41 seats that are not in Edmonton and Calgary, and yet the bulk of the cabinet was from Calgary,” Smith said.

“And I think what happened is that those rural voices really felt like that couldn’t get on the radar, that there was an inner circle and then an inner-inner circle.”

She doesn’t need to mention what happens when those rural members go into full rebellion. A premier loses his (her) job.

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Danielle Smith sworn in as Alberta's 19th premier

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But she’s comfortable with a much stronger rural voice and tone in Alberta government. “I think people know my style of conservatism is very rural-based, there should be no surprise at that,” she said.

She has also appointed herself as the Brooks-Medicine Hat UCP candidate, using her power as party leader to name the candidates in up to four ridings.

She does that while refusing to call a byelection in vacant Calgary-Elbow .

She seems to feel there’s a problem with “rolling byelections.” But former PC premier Jim Prentice, whose caucus Smith joined, held four simultaneous byelections in 2014 after he became premier, including the one in his own riding.

Smith says she got a call from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and they talked about some things they can agree on, including carbon capture and hydrogen.

“I’m not starting off trying to find things to find areas of disagreement . . . But I did also ask if he would allow us to get out of litigation on Bill C-69 by modifying the law so it actually falls into compliance with the Constitution.

SHE PUTS HER CART BEFORE THE HORSE

“He begged to differ with me on that. That’s a prime example of the way in which the federal government operates. They pass unconstitutional laws all the time. They should not be legislating in our area of jurisdiction any more than we can legislate in theirs.

“Then they force us to go through an extensive court process to try to get laws struck down and rewritten.”



Danielle Smith entering Government House before being sworn in as Premier of Alberta on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022, in Edmonton.© Greg Southam

Although her top aide, Rob Anderson, has said Alberta wouldn’t defy Supreme Court rulings, Smith wants Ottawa to be chasing Alberta in the high court, not the reverse.

She does sound somewhat softer, however. For instance, Smith says she didn’t “holus bolus” adopt the Free Alberta Strategy fronted by Anderson, although it was the political jet fuel in her campaign

She also didn’t say she would replace the Mounties, but promised to quickly “augment” them with a provincial police service to initially deal with the crisis in addictions and mental health.

“We will move right away . . . on provincial entry into these areas.”

There’s no nuance in Smith’s view of Alberta Health Services. She is contemptuous.

“It’s mostly AHS that is in my sights. We’ve been told time after time, leave it to the experts, we’ve got this, we know what we’re doing.

“They don’t know what they’re doing. They made that very clear. COVID didn’t break the system, it just revealed that the system was broken.

“But we want to make sure that we are staffing the front lines properly. If that means we’re going to be reducing some of those bureaucratic layers of management, yep, they should be a little bit worried . . . We’re going to change the management.”

Later she promised front-line health workers: “Reinforcements are coming.”

And that was Day 1.

Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald.

Twitter: @DonBraid

Residents, NDP voice concerns over Smith’s decision not to call byelection for Calgary-Elbow

Michael Rodriguez - Yesterday 


While UCP Leader Danielle Smith has stated her plans to run in a byelection in the freshly vacant riding of Brooks-Medicine Hat, Calgary-Elbow will be left without a representative until next spring’s provincial election, sparking concern among some residents and opposition politicians.


Signs at the Calgary-Elbow constituency office of former MLA Doug Schweitzer were photographed on Monday, October 10, 2022.© Provided by Calgary Herald

Brooks-Medicine Hat MLA Michaela Frey — who had previously announced she wouldn’t seek re-election — stepped down Friday following Smith’s final-ballot win at Thursday’s UCP leadership vote, making way for the new leader and incoming premier to put her name on the ballot in the southeastern Alberta riding. Smith said there’s a convention that new leaders without a seat in the legislature should run in a byelection.

But Calgary-Elbow, which hasn’t had a representative since f ormer UCP minister Doug Schweitzer vacated the riding at the start of September, will not see a similar race, said Smith. The next general election is scheduled for May 29, 2023, and Smith has said she doesn’t plan to call a vote before that date.

“Albertans expect their premier to be in the legislature without delay and it’s important to me that I join the rest of the United Conservative caucus there this fall,” said Smith in a written statement to Postmedia on Monday.

“ I respect grassroots decision-making so my staff have reached out to the president of the Calgary-Elbow constituency association and we are told the local board wants to conduct a comprehensive, open and competitive nomination process for their next candidate.”

She noted there may be other MLAs who resign before the next election and she’d like to see thorough nomination processes in each of their ridings rather than a “rolling series of byelections.”

Longtime Calgary-Elbow resident Jodi Miller said she understood the initial decision not to call a byelection with a general election looming. But with Smith now calling a byelection elsewhere, she feels her riding and its residents are being ignored.

“It’s just incredibly frustrating to me that this is being done the way it is,” said Miller. “(Smith is) going to bring forward some things that could have long-lasting repercussions for this province, and I’m a citizen of this province. I’d like to at least have someone to go to and speak my concerns.”

Some residents expressed similar concerns in a Reddit thread that saw more than 200 comments over the weekend, while others said they weren’t too bothered by the situation.

While five of the six constituencies neighbouring Calgary-Elbow are held by the UCP, one is Calgary-Buffalo, represented by NDP MLA Joe Ceci. He said he’d be glad to step in as one of the voices for Calgary-Elbow residents in the meantime.

“She is withdrawing the right of people in Calgary-Elbow to have an elected representative represent them. That shouldn’t be overlooked,” Ceci told Postmedia on Monday, joining multiple other NDP MLAs who’ve criticized the move.

He said Smith has opted for the “safe” seat rather than one that could be a tightly contested battleground in Calgary-Elbow, noting it’s likely Calgarians would view “radical” legislation such as Smith’s proposed Sovereignty Act less favourably than those in Brooks-Medicine Hat.

“It’ll be nine months (from the date Schweitzer resigned) before they get the opportunity to go to the polls and elect their representative,” said Ceci. “That’s crass; that’s political gamesmanship; that’s overlooking and taking advantage of the people of Calgary-Elbow.

Smith said Justice Minister Tyler Shandro, who represents the nearby riding of Calgary-Acadia, is “currently and capably” assisting Calgary-Elbow residents and the constituency office remains open with staff accessible.

Jared Wesley, a professor with the University of Alberta’s political science department, previously told Postmedia if Brooks-Medicine Hat gets a byelection, there’s an expectation that Calgary-Elbow should, too, especially with Smith’s plans for major new legislation like the Sovereignty Act.

“ When 48,000 Calgarians don’t have a voice in what’s expected to be a very monumental legislative session, we’re right to ask questions,” said Wesley. “If she didn’t think that Calgary-Elbow voters would make a difference in the implementation of her agenda, then she’d run the byelection. But, obviously, she feels like their voice is somehow threatening her ability to govern.”

During the leadership contest, Smith said she is from rural Alberta and prefers the dynamic of holding office in a rural riding . She previously served as MLA for Highwood, a constituency comprising mostly smaller communities just south of Calgary.

“During the pandemic, Albertans in rural and small urban communities often felt left out of the conversation. By running for the vacant seat in Brooks-Medicine Hat, I will assure them that forgotten corners of the province are not forgotten and provide the same strong representation they had with former MLA Michaela Frey,” said Smith.

DAY ONE; SMITH WALKS SEPARATION BACK
Sovereignty Act rollback: Incoming Alberta premier would follow rule of law on bill

Yesterday 

EDMONTON — The top adviser to incoming Alberta premier Danielle Smith says her proposed sovereignty act would respect Supreme Court decisions – a reversal of her core policy promise on how she would challenge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.


Sovereignty Act rollback: Incoming Alberta premier would follow rule of law on bill© Provided by The Canadian Press

Rob Anderson, Smith’s campaign chair for the United Conservative Party leadership and now executive director of her transition team, told CBC in a story published Saturday that Smith’s proposed sovereignty act won’t empower Alberta to disregard Supreme Court rulings.

But Anderson promised that the act, which has yet to be drafted, would “have a whole head of very sharp teeth” and “change the dynamic” with Trudeau’s Liberal government.

Smith’s spokesman Jonah Mozeson, responding to an email request for comment Monday, declined to answer specific queries about Anderson’s statement.

In a short statement, Mozeson said, “As the premier-designate has said, the sovereignty act will be drafted in accordance with sound constitutional principles.

“The premier-designate looks forward to working with caucus to draft legislation that protects and asserts Alberta’s constitutional rights in accordance with the rule of law.”

The sovereignty act is the signature policy for Smith, who is to be sworn in as premier Tuesday.

She won the UCP leadership race last week showcasing the act as a vanguard of a broader paradigm-busting challenge against what she has termed Trudeau’s "lawless" intrusion in areas of provincial scope, ranging from energy development to COVID-19 health rules.

The act as proposed by Smith would allow the province to refuse to follow federal laws and court rulings it deemed to be not in Alberta’s best interests and an illegal intrusion into its duly delegated spheres of influence under the Constitution.

As recently as a month ago, Smith said the sovereignty act would only be used in special circumstances using "special motions" requiring the consent of the legislature.

She also stressed Alberta would not consider itself bound by the courts.

“If a court stays or ultimately deems that the actions undertaken by the province under a specific Alberta sovereignty act special motion is unconstitutional, then the government and legislature will have to review the special motion actions in question and make a decision as to whether or not to amend, end or continue with them, understanding the legal implications such a decision could cause,” Smith said in a news release Sept. 6.

The sovereignty act dominated the debate throughout the summer-long leadership campaign to replace Jason Kenney as party leader and premier.

It was denounced by five of Smith's six leadership rivals, and by Kenney, as a profoundly illegal and dangerous plan doomed to ignite economic chaos as Albertans, investors and businesses wouldn’t know which laws they were to follow.

Alberta Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani entered the debate at one point, saying she is duty-bound not to sign into law a bill that violates the Constitution.

Martin Olszynski, an administrative law professor at the University of Calgary, who has written articles on the sovereignty act, said if Anderson’s reversal is as advertised, it is the legally proper way to proceed but represents a fundamental rollback of Smith’s original proposal.

“All of the sovereignty act, as it has been currently described, could only work if the premier and the legislature were prepared to ignore the courts. That’s been very clear. That’s why everybody was so alarmed,” said Olszynski in interview.

“We have to see the details, of course,” he added.

“But if suddenly now the premier-designate and her office are prepared to say, 'of course we're bound by the courts,' then the sovereignty act goes nowhere.”

Smith said the sovereignty act will be introduced in the upcoming fall session.

It grew out of the Free Alberta Strategy, a policy paper introduced last September by Anderson, University of Calgary political science professor Barry Cooper and lawyer Derek From.

In the paper, the trio call for radical action, such as refusing to implement federal laws and court rulings, in order to combat decisions deemed to be mortally wounding Alberta's development.

Cooper, in a June newspaper op-ed, said the unconstitutionality of such a proposal is not a bug in the program but its primary feature.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for BARRY COOPER 

In a National Post story published June 17, Anderson was quoted saying, “The idea is that it doesn’t matter what the Supreme Court or the federal government says about it, if it attacks Albertans, the interest of Albertans, and it attacks our jurisdictional rights, we simply won’t enforce it with any provincial agency.”

Anderson told the newspaper at that time that he expected the sovereignty act would likely be found unconstitutional but the province could ignore such a court ruling.

“The Alberta legislature would say, ‘Thanks for that, but we’re not going to enforce it. So you can’t make us.' And what are they going to do? Maybe send in the army? Is that the plan?” said Anderson.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2022.

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press

United Conservative Party Leader Danielle Smith sworn in as Alberta's new premier

EDMONTON — Danielle Smith has become Alberta’s new premier.

United Conservative Party Leader Danielle Smith sworn in as Alberta's new premier

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Smith was sworn into office by Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani in a ceremony at Government House in Edmonton.

Smith will also serve as intergovernmental affairs minister and plans to announce a revised cabinet on Oct. 21.

In her first remarks as premier, the United Conservative Party leader promised to govern on core values of freedom, family, faith, community and free enterprise.

She also promised to challenge the federal carbon tax and to introduce a sovereignty act that would reject federal laws deemed against the province's interests.

The 51-year-old former Wildrose Party leader and journalist doesn't have a seat in the legislature but announced over the weekend that she will run in a byelection in Brooks-Medicine Hat.

That seat became vacant when the constituency's current representative, Michaela Frey, resigned on Friday.

Smith replaces Jason Kenney, who formally handed in his resignation as premier before Tuesday's swearing-in ceremony.

Smith won the UCP leadership race last week to replace Kenney as party leader and premier. Kenney announced he was quitting months earlier following an uninspiring 51 per cent vote of support in a party leadership review.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2022.

 

Who Is Danielle Smith, Alberta’s Controversial New Premier?

Stephen Magusiak | PressProgress | October 8

Last week, the United Conservative Party held their election to determine the new leader of their party after Alberta Premier Jason Kenney stepped down following the last leadership election (which he won, but by a margin he felt wasn’t enough). The winner of said race would also become Alberta’s premier. On the sixth ballot, Danielle Smith won with about 53 per cent of the vote, or about 0.9 per cent of the population of Alberta. People across the province are rightfully worried about what’s next. PressProgress has put together an article to explain why. Stephen Magusiak writes, “Lashing out at Ottawa is standard for Alberta conservatives, each of the leadership candidates did to varying degrees, but [Danielle] Smith’s Sovereignty Act took things much further than many of her UCP leadership rivals could stomach. Last month, four of her fellow leadership contenders denounced the Sovereignty Act in a joint press conference. Even Jason Kenney denounced Smith’s plan as ‘risky, dangerous and half-baked,’ predicting it would lead Alberta to become a ‘banana republic.’ So who is Smith, and how did she come to lead Alberta? Smith’s political career goes back to the 90s in Calgary. Along the way are a few highlights and surprise twists that could give you an idea of what to expect from Alberta’s controversial new Premier.” (5 minute read)

Smith Vows To Roll The Dice On A Radical Right-Wing Reordering Of Alberta

David J. Climenhaga | Rabble | October 6

And here’s another article on Smith, this one from Rabble. David J. Climenhaga writes, “An advocate of quack COVID cures and disseminator of dangerous pandemic conspiracy theories during her tenure in right-wing talk radio, [Danielle] Smith also plans a quick attack on the leadership and structure of Alberta Health Services. Decentralization will be the buzzword. Privatization will be the goal. Chaos will be the result. Don’t plan on getting sick in Alberta during Smith’s unelected premiership. Pensions, Mounted Police, and public services will all be for the wood chipper too, by the sound of it. This is the program the UCP’s backers had hoped outgoing Premier Jason Kenney would deliver. But for all his flaws, he proved too traditional a politician to fully take that risk.” (3 minute read)

METOOISM

'Defending Saskatchewan': Moe prepared to take legal actions over pollution laws


Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says he's prepared to take legal action over federal regulations on pollution.


'Defending Saskatchewan': Moe prepared to take legal actions over pollution laws© Provided by The Canadian Press

Moe says Canadian environmental policies are causing economic harm to his province and creating hardship for farmers, natural resource workers and others.

A cost analysis from Saskatchewan's Ministry of Finance estimates the province could lose $111 billion by 2035 through federal environmental policies. Moe says the province is trying to maintain control over its natural resources, and that includes maintaining emissions from fertilizer and oil and gas production.

Nearly a year after tweeting "Saskatchewan needs to be a nation within a nation," the premier released on Tuesday a policy paper called “Drawing the Line: Defending Saskatchewan’s Economic Autonomy” at a chamber of commerce lunch in North Battleford.

The paper highlights the government’s plan to flex its own autonomy, starting with a bill to be introduced this fall to address federalism.

"We respect the Constitution we have in this nation. But (the bill) will most certainly reassert our provincial jurisdiction that we have and ultimately provide us that opportunity and certainty to move forward and expand some of the most sustainably producing industries on Earth," Moe said.

There will be an opportunity to collaborate with Alberta on the bill, Moe said, as Premier Danielle Smith has promised to table a sovereignty act this fall to assert Alberta's constitutional rights.

Saskatchewan is on the cusp of further investment and opportunity, Moe added, and he doesn’t want to see that disrupted by Ottawa.

The province continues to experience a resource boom in potash, uranium and oil brought on by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and global supply issues. In the first three months of the year, Saskatchewan made nearly $2 billion from potash and oil, enough for the province to balance its budget for the first time since 2014-15.

"All of the moves we are taking from here ... are about Saskatchewan. And they're about the opportunity we have in this province to grow and prosper, to attract investment and to ultimately reinvest back into our communities," Moe said.

Under the Constitution, natural resources mainly fall under provincial jurisdiction, said Dwight Newman, a law professor at the University of Saskatchewan.

"The complication is the federal government has some jurisdiction that can overlap with that. And on some certain types of environmental legislation, that may end up affecting resources," Newman said.

If conflicts between federal and provincial governments can’t be resolved through negotiation, it must be decided by the courts, he said.

That is being done with Canada's Impact Assessment Act, which allows the government to assess environmental impacts of projects on federal lands before they go ahead.

In May, Alberta’s top court gave its opinion that the law is unconstitutional, but the federal government plans to appeal. Saskatchewan had participated in the legal reference in support of its western neighbour, and Moe has said Saskatchewan would intervene should it move to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Moe's announcement Tuesday that he's prepared to take legal action "certainly indicates a possible readiness to pursue constitutional challenges or to support others in pursuing constitutional challenges in respect to federal legislation that creates issues," Newman said.

"Whether it indicates something beyond that, it’s difficult to know."

Saskatchewan previously challenged the federal government on the constitutionality of the price on carbon, but lost after the Supreme Court ruled Ottawa is acting within its jurisdiction.

Moe’s policy paper also includes previously announced initiatives, including pursuing greater control over the province's immigration and developing its own carbon credit program.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2022.

Mickey Djuric, The Canadian Press

Murray Mandryk: Moe's western grievances sound like what we've heard from Quebec

Opinion by Murray Mandryk - 

There's little doubt that Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's paper Tuesday will spark heated debate on what the province should or shouldn't be demanding.© Provided by Leader Post

It’s hard to say which is now easier for people in Saskatchewan: To rally behind Premier Scott Moe’s latest nation-within-a-nation sentiments that emerged out of disdain for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government or to simply write it off as political pandering.

Sadly, it likely depends on your politics.

For those trying to live a somewhat reasoned and neutral existence in this ever-polarizing social media age, this one may be especially hard to process.

But maybe we all need to step back a moment and think about how we got here.

No matter whether you’re wildly cheering Scott Moe today or rolling your eyes, these demands do stem from the failure of this nation to have meaningful debate that addressed Quebec’s incessant demand for special considerations, not unlike the ones we heard from Saskatchewan on Tuesday.

Really, is much of what we are hearing from Moe in excess of what we’ve seen demanded by Quebec?

Moe unveiled Tuesday his policy paper to “protect” Saskatchewan against “federal intrusion” into provincial jurisdictions. It included talk of:
“Provincial legislation to clarify and protect constitutional rights belonging to the province;”
“Greater autonomy over immigration policy to ensure Saskatchewan has the people it needs;”
Greater autonomy on tax collection;
“Better recognize Saskatchewan industry contributions to sustainable growth” like the development of a “carbon credit market to support our natural resource industries” and;
Calls to prepare “legal actions, legislative or otherwise, to maintain control of electricity, fertilizer emission/use targets and oil and gas emissions/production.”

While some may find this more tepid than some of the recent rhetoric, these are still rather aggressive measures.

Also, the white paper makes the massively bold claim that federal climate change policies will “cost Saskatchewan’s economy $111 billion between 2023 and 2035.” This will clearly be challenged and debated in the coming days.

It’s clear why Moe has now been emboldened to pursue his grievance list more aggressively — not that he’s ever needed much to be egged on.

After all, he began his leadership as premier in January 2018 by telling people “just watch me” take on Trudeau and the federal government.

For too many politicians in this post-Donald Trump, post-COVID-19 era where feeding anger and validating grievances gets you elected, leadership has become a form of performance art.

There was a time when even the most fervent Western leaders — Allan Blakeney or Grant Devine in Saskatchewan or Peter Lougheed or Don Getty in Alberta — did approach matters with the interests of the nation as a whole in mind.

But there’s no longer much of a political price to be paid for being little more than a regionalist who’s uncompromising or perhaps a little irrational in one’s demands.

Consider Danielle Smith’s selection as leader of Alberta’s United Conservative Party in which she campaigned on an Alberta Sovereignty Act that would ignore federal court rulings.

“No longer will Alberta ask permission from Ottawa to be prosperous and free. We will not have our voices silenced or censored,” Smith said upon winning the UCP leadership and become Alberta’s premier-designate last week.

“We will not have our resources landlocked or our energy phased out of existence by virtue-signalling prime ministers.”

As for Moe’s response? “I look forward to working alongside you as we advance the priorities of Western Canada,” the Saskatchewan premier said.

Smith has retracted slightly in her worldview, saying that she will not breach the Canadian constitution. But what we are likely to see from her — and are now seeing from Moe stemming from his “economic sovereignty” meetings this summer — is an appeasement of this regional anger.

We need to examine this approach for the nation. But as we debate, shouldn’t we ask if it’s really all that much more outrageous than Quebec’s demands on language, prohibiting religious freedoms (possibly in violation of human rights), and, of course, immigration.

One gets the Western politics. But maybe we also need to step back and better understand how we got here.

Mandryk is the political columnist for the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

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Moe slams Trudeau's 'outright attack' on Sask. energy sector

UNDP calls for restructuring the debt of the poorest countries to avoid «a major systemic crisis».

Daniel Stewart - Yesterday 

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has warned that failure to relieve the debt of half of the world's poorest people will lead to "a major systemic development crisis".


United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, Achim Steiner -

 MA JIANGUO / ZUMA PRESS / CONTACTOPHOTO

The claim is based on the fact that 54 developing countries representing more than half of the world's poorest people need urgent debt relief as a result of "cascading global crises," according to a UNDP report.

"Debt relief would be a small pill for rich countries, but the cost of inaction is brutal for the world's poorest. We cannot afford to repeat the mistake of providing too little relief, too late, in managing the debt burden of developing economies," said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.

In particular, UNDP warns that "the risks of inaction are dire" if these countries fail to access an "effective restructuring" of debt, as poverty will increase and the "much needed" investments for adaptation and mitigation of the effects of climate change will not be forthcoming when it is precisely these countries that are most vulnerable to changes in the climate.

The report, entitled 'Avoiding 'Too Little Too Late' on International Debt Relief', highlights the effects of government responses to the recent economic crisis and warns of its potential repercussions. Against this backdrop, the paper outlines a series of policy measures for debt restructuring that could help stem the debt crisis.

APROPRIATE TIME FOR AGREEMENT 

UNDP recalls that market conditions are changing rapidly, as synchronized fiscal and monetary tightening and low growth are fueling volatility around the world: 19 developing economies are now paying more than 10 percentage points above U.S. Treasury bonds to borrow money in the capital markets, pricing them out of the market. Holders of many developing economy bonds are seeing them trade at deep discounts of 40 to 60 cents on the dollar.

A debt deal could now be on the horizon: these market conditions encourage private creditors to negotiate debt relief within the G-20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment. Rising interest rates, the strong dollar and the looming global recession could change their negotiating position.

UNDP stresses that rich countries have the resources to end the debt crisis, which has deteriorated rapidly in part as a result of their own domestic policies. These policies have driven up interest rates in developing economies and sent investors fleeing.

This week the G-20 finance ministers will meet in Washington just before the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF. Conditions are ripe for creditors and debtors to begin debt restructuring talks within the G-20 Common Framework and avoid a developing country debt crisis that could otherwise lead to a long-term development crisis.

The paper proposes a way forward for the Common Framework on debt restructuring, focusing on key areas: debt sustainability analysis, coordination of official creditors, participation of private creditors, and the use of state contingent debt clauses that target future economic and fiscal resilience.

UNDP proposes that the CDF focus on comprehensive restructurings that will allow countries a faster return to growth, financial markets and development progress.

"When emerging market bonds are trading at 40 cents on the dollar, private creditors suddenly become more open to negotiation. The missing ingredient at the moment is financial guarantees from major creditor governments to close a deal. Brady bonds were reason enough for creditors to come to the table in the 1980s. We are approaching a similar moment in 2022," said UNDP Chief Economist George Gray Molina.

6,000-year-old skull found in Taiwan may confirm ancient local legends

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF - 

An archeological research team found a 6,000-year-old skull and femur bones in a cave in a mountainous part of Taiwan that might prove the existence of an ancient Indigenous tribe told of in local legends.

The research paper, published in the journal World Archaeology, was conducted by a team of researchers with members from Australia, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam. The researchers found the skull and leg bones in a cave that have been dated back to approximately 6,000 years ago—a time before the ancestors of people currently inhabiting Taiwan had arrived.

In Taiwan, there have been stories passed down through the generations about an ancient tribe of short, dark-skinned people that once lived in mountainous parts of the island. But until now, there has been no physical evidence to confirm the tales.

"The cranial morphometric study of human skeletal remains unearthed from the Xiaoma Caves in eastern Taiwan, for the first time, validates the prior existence of small-stature hunter-gatherers 6000 years ago in the preceramic phase," the research team said.

"The cranial morphometric study of human skeletal remains unearthed from the Xiaoma Caves in eastern Taiwan, for the first time, validates the prior existence of small-stature hunter-gatherers 6000 years ago in the preceramic phase,"Research team

This study solves the several-hundred-year-old mysteries of ‘little dark people’ legends in Formosan Austronesian tribes and brings insights into the broader prehistory of Southeast Asia.

6,000-year-old skull found in Taiwan may confirm ancient local legends

The legends of Taiwan

These legends have been possibly referring to a group who had descended from an even older population, pre-dating the Austronesian context, who somehow continued to dwell in isolated and mountainous areas until one or two centuries ago.

The researchers also note that the mention of small, dark-skinned people was made in documents from the Qin Dynasty, and all but one of the 16 Austronesian groups living in Taiwan today have stories that describe small, dark-skinned people who once lived in the mountains.

Such tales differ between groups, however, with some believing that the earlier people were ancestors of theirs. Others see them as former enemies. One group claims to have killed off the last of the ancient people 1,000 years ago.

In studying DNA from the skull, the researchers found it genetically related to African samples from around the same time period. But they also found that its size and shape resemble that of a people who lived in parts of what is now South Africa and in the Philippines.

The study of bones left behind in those areas showed them to be quite short with small body size, similarly to the remains of the woman found in Taiwan, which was 1.3 meters tall.

The researchers suggest their findings confirm the existence of the ancient people in Taiwan but they do not explain what might have happened to them. They were apparently gone by the time other early Austronesian groups of people began arriving.

"The observations of the Xiaoma burial remains, together with 258 traditional Austronesian legends, indicate that ‘little dark people' at one time had lived in Taiwan, resembling the Negrito groups in Southeast Asia," the research paper explained. "The new findings bring attention to the period of co-existing overlap of the older hunter-gatherer communities with the new immigrant Austronesian-speaking farmers in Taiwan."

HORSES NOT TANKS

Kingston, Ont. police horse’s future uncertain due to lack of funding

Fawwaz Muhammad-Yusuf -  Global News

The days of having a police horse on the streets of Kingston could be numbered.


If funding doesn't come through, Murney, the Kingston police horse, may not patrol the streets anymore.

City and police officials are once again looking for funding to keep Murney the police horse on the beat.

Read more:
Kingston police horse Murney needs fundraising to continue service in 2022

The fate of the mounted unit has been under scrutiny for the past couple of years due to budget restraints.

In order to save Murney, the Downtown Kingston BIA is launching a campaign to keep the horse on patrol.

"Now the BIA has put a challenge out to anybody who is interested in helping keep Murney on the streets," says Marijo Cuerrier, executive director of the BIA.

"We will match any funds given between now and the end of December up to $8,000."

Read more:
Fate of Murney the Kingston police horse up for debate again

It costs about $75,000 every two years for food, housing and training to keep the mounted unit operational, with money that's been coming from the community.

But with only $31,000 raised so far, there is quite a bit of ground to cover before the end of the year.

TEAM GANG RAPE COVER UP 

Hockey Canada departures may not be enough as sponsors seek policy, culture change


A leadership change at Hockey Canada may not be enough to bring back its biggest corporate sponsors, with broader concerns over its direction and policies cited as the reason some companies pulled support in the first place.


Hockey Canada departures may not be enough as sponsors seek policy, culture change© Provided by The Canadian Press

The national sport organization's chief executive and board of directors stepped down on Tuesday after months of controversy over how it handled sexual assault allegations.

The departures came hours after Bauer Hockey became the latest major sponsor to cut ties, saying it would pause its role as the official equipment provider to Hockey Canada's men's teams and its sponsorship of men's tournaments.

It's unclear whether an overhaul of Hockey Canada's leadership will be a significant enough change to address corporate concerns.

"It's really the policy and strategy (change) and a revised charter and focus that we believe needs to evolve before we would feel comfortable jumping back in," Bauer CEO Ed Kinnaly said in an interview before the resignations were announced.

"If Hockey Canada were a business, they would be failing," he added. "The number of kids getting involved in hockey in Canada is spiralling downward ... but nobody's talking about that. Instead, people are pointing to national team victories."

Bauer vice-president of global marketing Mary-Kay Messier said Hockey Canada's focus needs to shift from "elite performance to growing the game."

"This is about trying to do the right thing for families that want to access the game," said Messier, sister of former professional ice hockey player Mark Messier.

"We need a new structure that will foster inclusivity, increase equity and encourage more Canadians to play."

Sponsors responded favourably to changes within Hockey Canada's management and boardroom but indicated more action would be needed before they would resume support for the embattled organization.

Tim Hortons called the leadership change a "first step" toward restoring the faith and trust of Canadians.

Related video: Hockey Quebec loses confidence in Hockey Canada

"We will not consider reinstating our support for Hockey Canada’s men’s programming until we’re confident that progress is being made and Canadians once again believe in the organization’s leadership and its ability to do what’s right for the game we all love," the coffee and doughnut chain said in a statement.

Chevrolet Canada spokeswomanJennifer Wright said it sees the leadership change as "a step in the right direction if Hockey Canada is to now address its culture and organization."

The automaker will continue to evaluate its support and sponsorship going forward "to ensure this organization, under its new leadership, fits with our values," she said.

An emphasis on cultural problems was a common thread in many of the statements explaining why companies were backing away from Hockey Canada.

Telus said last week it was disheartened by the lack of action driving "necessary cultural change" and referred to necessary "systemic change" within the sport. Canadian Tire also spoke of "meaningful change" being necessary.

Earlier this year, Scotiabank CEO Brian Porter wrote in an open letter to Hockey Canada that their paused sponsorship would not resume "until we are confident the right steps are being taken to improve the culture within the sport."

Bauer is currently in the middle of a multi-million dollar, eight-year partnership with Hockey Canada.

The company provides players on national teams with helmets, visors and gloves, with the option of using Bauer sticks and skates.

Hockey Canada will be able to purchase gear for men's programs, with profits being invested in hockey programs for girls, women and other under-represented communities, Bauer said.

The hockey equipment maker will continue to supply equipment to the women's programs.

The company's aim is to drive policy change and not to impact athletes or "paint everyone with the same brush," Messier said.

"There are so many people doing good work in Hockey Canada," she said. "There's a lot of people working in the grassroots."

Bauer's move follows similar announcements by sponsors including Nike, Canadian Tire and Tim Hortons.

It also comes after Andrea Skinner resigned as the interim chair of Hockey Canada's board of directors on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2022.

Brett Bundale, The Canadian Press

SEE NOT ONE WORD ABOUT WHAT CAUSED THIS IGNOBLE DOWN FALL

KULT WATCH

Tulsi Gabbard’s ties to secretive cult may explain her perplexing political journey

Bevan Hurley -  The Independent

Tulsi Gabbard has staked out extreme positions on LGBT+ rights, spread disinformation about Ukrainian biolabs, and claimed she was being shadowbanned by Big Tech while using her vast social media footprint to label Joe Biden a “warmonger”.

In one breath Gabbard expresses a desire to bring love and aloha from her native Hawaii to the world, in the next she is fanning conspiracy theories on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show.

This week, Gabbard announced she was leaving the Democratic Party, claiming it had become “an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness”.

The decision came as little surprise to anyone who has followed her political trajectory from 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to darling of Russian propagandists and the American far-right.

To understand her ambitions, her aunt Dr Carolina Sinavaiana Gabbard tells The Independent in an interview that it is necessary to look to her upbringing in a secretive cult called the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF) whose members show absolute loyalty to a reclusive guru, Chris Butler.

A former member toldThe Independent the group’s teachings are virulently homophobic, often anti-Islamic and misogynist, and how they were forced to worship Butler, who is considered to be akin to a God.

Ms Savaiana Gabbard says her niece’s career is all about the pursuit of power, and her bid for the presidency in 2020 was the culmination of four decades of Butler’s efforts to seek political influence.


Dr Carolina Sinavaiana Gabbard says her niece Tulsi Gabbard is heavily influenced by reclusive Hawaiian guru Chris Butler (Supplied)

“Once again I find my niece’s apparent penchant for parroting extremist toadies such as Tucker Carlson and vile ‘strongmen’ such as Vladimir Putin, to be problematic and deeply troubling,” Ms Sianavaiana Gabbard, a retired professor of English at the University of Hawaii, told The Independent.

“​It gives me no pleasure to ​note that Tulsi’s single governing principle seems to be expedience, which is in effect no principle at all.”

‘Tulsi, our friend’

In her keynote address to the Conservative Political Action Conference back in February, Tulsi Gabbard described the various ways she had been smeared by her political opponents.

“I’m sure you’ve all heard them before,” Gabbard said. “Russian asset. White supremacist. Bigot. Racist. Extremist. Traitor.”

Gabbard was given several standing ovations by the grandees of the Republican Party for her scattershot attacks on cancel culture, the power elite, and “Biden-Clinton-neocon-neolib foreign policy”.

Ms Gabbard is a veteran who served a tour of Iraq, still serves with the National Guard, and has spoken about how witnessing first-hand the horrors of war led her to take an anti-interventionist stance on US foriegn policy.

In statements after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Gabbard contended that Ukraine was not worth protecting because it “isn’t actually a democracy,” and that the US-funded “biolabs” could result in the release of “dangerous pathogens”.

This baseless claim echoed Russian propaganda that the United States was funding labs in Ukraine to make illegal biological weapons for use against Russia.

Republican Senator Mitt Romney responded by saying Gabbard was spreading “treasonous lies”.


Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat congresswoman for Hawaii (Fox News)

© Provided by The Independent

Gabbard was not deterred, telling Jesse Watters on 15 March that freedom of speech in the US was at similar risk to Russia, which has banned all criticism of the government and imprisoned tens of thousands of protestors.

“It is striking when you see Putin propaganda and you line it up against Biden propaganda,” she said.

Politifact rated the statement a “pants on fire” lie.

Her pro-Kremlin talking points led to Russian state-TV introducing her as “Tulsi, our friend.”

After airing part of her Fox interview, a panelist asked: “Is she some kind of Russian agent?”

Gabbard went on to guest host Tucker Carlson’s show in August.

Gabbard’s political donations have also come under scrutiny over her pro-Russian positions.

Forbes revealed earlier this year that Gabbard’s biggest political donor in 2021 is a pro-Putin apologist.

And in March, it was revealed that Elena Branson, a dual US-Russian citizen accused of spying for the Kremlin, donated to her campaign for reelection to Congress in 2019.

Gabbard has consistently echoed GOP positions on immigration and LGBT+ issues, and recently claimed that Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill was too moderate.

“When I first heard about Florida’s Parental Rights bill, I was shocked it only protects children K-3. Third grade? How about 12th grade—or not at all,” she said.

In 2015, she flew to Syria to meet with the dictator Bashar al-Assad as he was waging a brutal war against his own people.

She has courted Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, whose regime has killed and imprisoned thousands of subjects since assuming power in a coup in 2014.

And the authoritarian-leaning Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a personal emissary to her 2015 wedding in Hawaii.

She also declined to vote to impeach Donald Trump during his first trial in December 2019, instead registering herself as “present”.

Her defection from the Democrats could pave the way for the 41-year-old to potentially run for the Republican nomination in 2024.



Tulsi Gabbard speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando in February (REUTERS)

‘They said he could read your mind’

Related video: Tulsi Gabbard Announces She Cannot Stay In ‘Today’s Democratic Party’

Despite holding trenchant views on all manner of subjects, Gabbard has been vague about her links to the Science of Identity Foundation, and did not respond to several requests for comment for this article.

In an online biography, she describes herself as “interfaith”, and says some of her earliest memories are from the “fragrant aromas of both Christian and Hindu celebrations”.



Science of Identity founder Chris Butler, who Tulsi Gabbard has referred to as her ‘guru dev’, or spiritual leader (Science of Identity Foundation / YouTube)

But in interviews and speeches, she has acknowledged and defended her links to Butler, referring to him as her “guru dev” – or spiritual leader – in 2015.

Butler is rarely seen in public these days, with the Science of Identity Foundation regularly posting decades old clips of his teachings on YouTube.

The foundation did not respond to a request for comment for this article.

In a 2017 interview with The New Yorker, Gabbard said she had never heard Butler “say anything hateful, or anything mean about anybody”.

“I can speak to my own personal experience and, frankly, my gratitude to him, for the gift of this wonderful spiritual practice that he has given to me, and to so many people.”

Butler gave a rare interview for the same New Yorker article in 2017, saying that he did have disciples, but rejecting claims he was an authoritarian.

Butler, who also goes by the name Jagad Guru, or teacher of the world, said he preferred to think of himself as a follower or student, rather than a teacher or leader.

He described his relationship with his devotees as one of love.

Ms Sinavaiana Gabbard, remembers learning some 40 years ago that her brother Mike – Tulsi’s father and longterm Hawaiian state lawmaker – had joined the Science of Identity.

The extended family were gathering for Sunday brunch, a weekly feast and cultural institution in Samoa. When Mike announced he and his family had become strict vegetarians, her mother was deeply upset.

Then seemingly overnight, her nephews, Tulsi’s older brothers, had new Sanskrit names.

She says as a child of the ‘60s, she didn’t find this strange, but it was an “unsettling” adjustment for her parents.

She later learned that the whole family were “prostrating at the feet” of Butler, a “white surfer dude”.



Dr Carolina Sinavaiana Gabbard with her brother Mike Gabbard, 

a Hawaiian state senator (Supplied)

Tulsi attended a Science of Identity boarding school in the Philippines, according to several sources, and spent her formative years and schooling sheltered from outside influences, her aunt said.

The Science of Identity Foundation (SIF) was formed in 1977 by Chris Butler as a breakaway sect of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as the Hare Krishna movement.

Its stated aim is to “pass on the ancient teachings of yoga in a scientific, logical, and clear manner so that people can, with intelligence, seriously contemplate upon, consider”.

However, former members have been speaking out about the abusive practices of the Science of Identity Foundation for several years.

‘Degrading language’

Oklahoma woman Robin Marshall, 40, who spent six months at a SIF retreat in Hawaii in the early 2000s, told The Independent recruits were taught to be “highly homophobic”.

“They told us: ‘We don’t associate with f***s’,” using a homophobic slur.

“The hatred, the degrading language, it was just one thing after another.”


Robin Marshall, a mother from Oklahoma, said the Science of Identity Foundation are an abusive cult (Supplied)

She was played recordings of Butler who she says espoused extreme homophobic views.

“They said he could read your mind. They were wholly and fully indoctrinated into this idea that Chris Butler was basically God.”

Ms Marshall says she was aware back then of Tulsi Gabbard as a rising star within the foundation. She said it was “inconceivable” that anyone involved with the group was not being directed by Butler.

“I feel like when you vote for somebody who is heavily tied into SOF, you’re not voting for that person, you’re voting for Chris Butler, as a servant of the servant of God.”

In 2019, the Iowa Informer published an investigation by freelance journalist Christine Gralow that reviewed Butler’s decades of teachings, including the many homophobic references he has made over the years.

In a 2017 Medium post, a woman who has since left SIF described how she was taught that life was an “illusion”, and followers were instructed to only develop a relationship with Butler.

“We were in effect isolated from our parents who did their best to not love us as per his recommendation, and instead looked at him like a surrogate father/messiah figure.”

“What I am concerned about is the control I know Chris Butler has over her, the influence he has over her ability to make decisions, decisions that could become law and impact a whole lot of people,” describing him as an abusive, misogynistic, homophobic, germophobic, narcissistic nightmare.

When Gabbard ran for president in 2020, virtually her entire campaign staff were members of the Science of Identity, Ms Sinavaiana Gabbard told The Independent.


Mike Gabbard is running for reelection to the Hawaiian state senate

 (Mike Gabbard / YouTube)

Indeed, her political career has been guided by her father Mike Gabbard, a Hawaiian state senator, and the former “poster boy” of anti-LGBT+ activism in the island state.

Before she was elected to the Hawaii state house of representatives in 2002 at the age of 21 years old, the youngest legislator in the state’s history, Gabbard worked for Mike’s The Alliance for Traditional Marriage, a political action committee that opposed LGBTQ rights legislation.

After 9/11, Gabbard enlisted in the Hawaii National Guard so she could “go after the terrorists who attacked us”.

Gabbard was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2013 at the age of 33, becoming the first Hindu and Samoan-American in Congress.

She quickly became a regular critic of President Barack Obama for his refusal to use the term “radical Islam”, and a favourite of Fox News host Sean Hannity.

Those views align with tapes of Butler’s Islamaphobic teachings that have been widely circulated online.

The Science of Identity Foundation is thought to have just a few thousand members in the US, Philippines, New Zealand and Australia.

But due to its outsize influence on Hawaiian politics, and possible future presidential candidate, Ms Sinavaiana Gabbard said she felt it was important to speak out about the group - and her niece.

“As a historian and lifelong student of eastern philosophies and religions, I find SIF’s role as uncritical cheerleader, if not patron and primary generator, of Tulsi’s checkered political agenda and intemperate, right wing associations to be troubling in the extreme.

“In any case, I feel impelled to state for the record that in no way whatsoever does Tulsi speak for me, nor my family or culture.”

‘Anti-white racism’

In a statement released to Twitter this week, Gabbard claimed the Democrats were trying to “divide us by racialising every issue”, stoking “anti-white racism”, and actively working to undermine “God-given freedoms”.

“President Biden and Democratic Party elites have pushed us to the precipice of nuclear war, risking starting World War III and destroying the world as we know it,” she said, while spouting Republican talking points about “wokeness” and “elites”.

Gabbard also announced the launch of a podcast series on YouTube called “The Tulsi Gabbard Show”.

She did not respond to a request for comment.

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Tulsi Gabbard quits Democratic party, attacking ‘elitist cabal of warmongers’

Erum Salam 

The former congresswoman and 2020 presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard has announced her departure from the Democratic party, calling it an “elitist cabal of warmongers”.

Photograph: Octavio Jones/Reuters

Related: US midterms 2022: the key candidates who threaten democracy

In a video announcement posted to Twitter, she said: “I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers who are driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoking anti-white racism.”

In 2012, Gabbard became the first Samoan-American voting member and Hindu elected to Congress, but her views have often sat uncomfortably with the Democratic party. In 2016, the then congresswoman from Hawaii announced she was leaving the Democratic National Committee to endorse Bernie Sanders for president.

Her attitudes on foreign policy, meanwhile, have often favored authoritarian figures disavowed by the Democrats. In 2013, Gabbard was criticized for voting against a bipartisan House resolution condemning anti-Muslim violence in the state of Gujarat. The 2002 Gujarat riots left more than 1,000 dead, a majority of whom were Muslim, and were widely attributed to Indian PM Narendra Modi’s stoking of sectarian fires.

Gabbard said there was “a lot of misinformation” surrounding the violence and has spoken highly of Modi. She met with him on his visit to the US and even spoke at a fundraising event for his rightwing Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) in 2014.

In a debate during the 2020 presidential race, Gabbard caught flak from then candidate Kamala Harris for not calling Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad a “war criminal”, after she attacked Harris on her record as a California prosecutor. A US army veteran, Gabbard secretly visited Syria in 2017 and met Assad on what she called a “fact-finding mission”. She expressed skepticism about the atrocities carried out under Assad’s leadership.

The late Republican senator John McCain said Gabbard’s trip “kind of legitimizes a guy who butchered 400,000 of his own people”.

Gabbard made the claims about the Democratic party during the debut of her new YouTube show The Tulsi Gabbard Show, the first episode of which was uploaded on Tuesday.

In August she filled in for the far-right Fox News talk show host Tucker Carlson.

"War Pigs"

 

Album: Paranoid Song: "War Pigs" ~ LYRICS ~ Generals gathered in their masses Just like witches at black masses Evil minds that plot destruction Sorcerers of death's construction In the fields the bodies burning As the war machine keeps turning Death and hatred to mankind Poisoning their brainwashed minds Oh lord yeah! Politicians hide themselves away They only started the war Why should they go out to fight? They leave that role to the poor Time will tell on their power minds Making war just for fun Treating people just like pawns in chess Wait 'til their judgement day comes Yeah! Now in darkness world stops turning Ashes where the bodies burning No more war pigs at the power Hand of God has struck the hour Day of judgement, God is calling On their knees the war pig's crawling Begging mercy for their sins Satan laughing spreads his wings oh lord yeah!