Meta calls out news outlet, says it published stories based on fabricated documents

Oliver Darcy - Yesterday - CNN.com

It is not unusual for Meta to aggressively push back on articles. And it’s not unusual for publications to stand by the stories Meta pushes back on. But the situation that has unfolded over the past 24 hours between Meta and The Wire, a major Indian nonprofit news website, is extraordinary.

Meta has publicly made the very serious charge that The Wire irresponsibly published two widely circulated articles based on fabricated documents, and The Wire has responded by digging its heels entirely into the sand.

The dispute began on Monday when The Wire published what appeared to be an explosive story: that a top official in India’s ruling party effectively had the ability to unilaterally scrub posts from Instagram. Later that day, however, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone poured cold water on it. Specifically, Stone went as far as to say that “the underlying documentation” in the story appeared “to be fabricated.” Stone has a reputation among journalists as a spokesperson who spins on behalf of Meta (after all, doing so is his job), but not as a spokesperson who brazenly lies for the company.

But on Tuesday, The Wire suggested he had done just that. The outlet said that it had obtained an email where Stone appeared to privately acknowledge the documents were authentic. The Wire reported that Stone emailed his team asking “how the hell” the documents leaked and demanding the journalists who wrote The Wire’s story be placed on a watch list. Included in the Tuesday story was a screen grab of the supposed email.

That’s where the story took an even more bizarre turn.

Guy Rosen, Meta’s chief information security officer, issued an on-the-record statement that called the Stone email cited by The Wire “a fake.” Rosen stressed that “there is no” internal journalist watchlist at Meta. Others piled on by pointing out red flags with the supposed Stone email. (Shoshana Wodinsky of MarketWatch has a good thread on that here.)

The Wire, however, has not backtracked on its story. Jahnavi Sen, the lead author of both stories and the outlet’s deputy editor, said via email that “of course” The Wire “stands by both of its stories.” Sen added that “Meta’s claim that the documents are fabricated is preposterous” and insisted the information was provided “by sources we know and trust within Meta.”

The whole matter is quite unfortunate. Meta wields enormous power in India, particularly through WhatsApp, and needs strong news organizations to hold the company accountable. If this is indeed a case where The Wire published reports based on inauthentic documents, it is a massive setback for journalists in the country as it hinders the credibility of the country’s news media writ large.

The episode also shows that Meta has tremendous work to do to earn the trust and confidence of the public. The company’s history and track record, which ironically includes allowing bad faith actors to spread misinformation in unprecedented fashion, makes it easy for people to believe the worst of the company — and disbelieve its firm denials.

THE REAL NUCLEAR THREAT IN UKRAINE
Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant loses external power

10/12/2022


KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's biggest nuclear plant, which is surrounded by Russian troops, has lost all external power needed for vital safety systems for the second time in five days, the head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog said Wednesday, calling it a “deeply worrying development.”




The warning from International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi came amid a flurry of developments in Russia's war in Ukraine. Ukraine's military command said its forces recaptured five settlements in the southern Kherson region, on the western fringe of a zone under Russian control, and Russia's top domestic security agency said eight people had been arrested in connection with the weekend Crimea bridge blast.

Grossi, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, said agency monitors at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant — Europe's largest nuclear power facility — reported the interruption in external power, and said backup diesel generators were keeping nuclear safety and security equipment operational.

“This repeated loss of #ZNPP’s off-site power is a deeply worrying development and it underlines the urgent need for a nuclear safety & security protection zone around the site,” Grossi tweeted.

Ukraine’s state nuclear operator Energoatom said on the Telegram social media platform that a Russian missile attack on the substation “Dniprovska” in the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region to the north was damaged, leading to the shutdown of a key communication line to the plant — prompting the diesel generators to turn on automatically.

Earlier Wednesday, Ukraine's southern command said its forces recaptured five settlements in the southern Kherson region, according to the southern Operational Command.

The villages of Novovasylivka, Novohryhorivka, Nova Kamianka, Tryfonivka and Chervone in the Beryslav district were retaken as of Oct. 11, according to the speaker of the southern command Vladislav Nazarov.

The settlements are in one of the four regions recently annexed by Russia.

Also Wednesday, Russia’s top domestic security agency said it arrested eight people on charges of involvement in the bombing of the main bridge linking Russia to Crimea, while an official in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia said Russian forces carried out more strikes there.

The Federal Security Service, known by the Russian acronym FSB, said it arrested five Russians and three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia over Saturday’s attack that damaged the Kerch Bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula — a crucial thoroughfare for supplies and travel whose much-ballyhooed construction under Russian President Vladimir Putin cost billions.

A truck loaded with explosives blew up while driving across the bridge, killing four people and causing two sections of one of the two automobile links to collapse.

Ukrainian officials have lauded the explosion on the bridge, but stopped short of directly claiming responsibility for it.

The FSB, the main successor agency to the KGB, alleged that the suspects were working on orders of Ukraine’s military intelligence to secretly move the explosives into Russia and forge the accompanying documents.

It said the explosives were moved by sea from the Ukrainian port of Odesa to Bulgaria before being shipped to Georgia, driven to Armenia and then back to Georgia before being transported to Russia in a complex scheme to secretly deliver them to the target.

Putin alleged that Ukrainian special services masterminded the blast, calling it “an act of terrorism,” and responded by ordering a barrage of missile strikes on Ukraine.

Russia’s onslaught continued in the Zaporizhzhia region and eponymous city on Wednesday, shattering windows and blowing out doors in residential buildings, municipal council secretary Anatoliy Kurtev said. There were no immediate reports of casualties, though Kurtev warned locals of the possibility of a follow-up attack.

Zaporizhzhia, which sits fairly near the front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces, has been repeatedly struck with often deadly attacks in recent weeks. It is part of a larger region, including Europe’s largest nuclear power plant now in Russian control, that Moscow has said it has annexed in violation of international law. The city itself remains in Ukrainian hands.

To the south, in a Russian-controlled area of the region, a powerful blast struck the city of Melitopol — sending a car flying into the air, mayor Ivan Fedorov said. There was no word on casualties.

The new clashes came two days after Russian forces began pummeling many parts of Ukraine with more missiles and munition-carrying drones, killing at least 19 people on Monday alone in an attack that the U.N. human rights office described as “particularly shocking” and amounting to potential war crimes.

Tuesday marked the second straight day when air raid sirens echoed throughout Ukraine, and officials advised residents to conserve energy and stock up on water. The strikes knocked out power across the country and pierced the relative calm that had returned to the capital, Kyiv, and many other cities far from the war’s front lines.

“It brings anger, not fear,” Kyiv resident Volodymyr Vasylenko, 67, said as crews worked to restore traffic lights and clear debris from the capital’s streets. “We already got used to this. And we will keep fighting.”

The leaders of the Group of Seven industrial powers condemned the bombardment and said they would “stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes.” Their pledge defied Russian warnings that Western assistance would prolong the war and the pain of Ukraine’s people.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the G-7 leaders during a virtual meeting Russia fired more than 100 missiles and dozens of drones at Ukraine over two days. He appealed for “more modern and effective” air defense systems — even though he said Ukraine shot down many of the Russian projectiles.

The Pentagon on Tuesday announced plans to deliver the first two advanced NASAMs anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine in the coming weeks. The systems, which Kyiv has long wanted, will provide medium- to long-range defense against missile attacks.

In a phone call with Zelenskyy on Tuesday, President Joe Biden “pledged to continue providing Ukraine with the support needed to defend itself, including advanced air defense systems,” the White House said.

Ukraine’s defense minister tweeted that four German IRIS-T air defense systems had just arrived, saying a “new era” of air defense for Ukraine had begun.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Adam Schreck And Hanna Arhirova, The Associated Press

Russia launches 7 missiles on Zaporizhzhia and outskirts overnight


Ukrainska Pravda

WEDNESDAY, 12 OCTOBER 2022

Russian forces launched around seven S-300 missiles on the city of Zaporizhzhia and its outskirts on the night of 11–12 October. Three people were rescued from under the rubble of buildings damaged in the attack.

Source: Oleksandr Starukh, Head of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram; State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) on Telegram

Quote from Starukh: "Two missiles hit a neighbourhood in the [administrative] centre of [Zaporizhzhia] Oblast but did not cause significant damage.

Another five missiles struck the [city’s] outskirts. Three of them caused damage in a village near Zaporizhzhia, partially destroying a residential building; our rescue workers rescued three people from under the rubble. The final two missiles landed in a field near another village.``

Details: Starukh said that there are no casualties. The SES reported that a family hiding in a cellar of their house was trapped as a result of the building’s collapse. The rescuers freed a woman, a man and a child [who were trapped]. Neither of them required medical assistance.

Afghans languish in hotel rooms while Ukrainian refugees are quickly settled: advocate

Bill Kaufmann - © Provided by Calgary Herald

Refugees, primarily those from Afghanistan, are being stranded in Calgary hotels due to skyrocketing rents, limits to assistance and racism, says an advocate helping newcomers.

Newcomers to Canada from Afghanistan shop for traditional dresses in a northeast Calgary store on March 1, 2022.

There’s far more willingness in Calgary to offer rental accommodation or temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees than there is for those from Afghanistan, said Anila Lee Yuen, CEO of the Centre for Newcomers.

“We’re seeing factors of systemic racism . . . When people are asked, ‘would you take in an Afghan family’ and they say ‘no,’ there’s issues with that,” said Lee Yuen.

“They’re more happy to get Ukrainian families – who often don’t speak English – than Afghan families into their homes.”

She also said that because the federal government is working with only one organization in Calgary to settle those refugees — the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) — there’s a backlog of them in two Calgary hotels being used to temporarily accommodate them.

Some of the families have been living in those hotels for several months, say advocates and the refugees themselves.

In contrast, Lee Yuen said her agency and about 20 others that form the Calgary Newcomers Collaborative have been able to work effectively in helping settle those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

“There’s only one organization that can assist Afghans and that creates barriers,” she said.

“We’re really advocating for more than one organization to help . . . If the Calgary Newcomers Collaborative were able to work with them, none of them would be held up in a hotel.”

Then there’s the cost of rent in Calgary, which has been rising more quickly than in other major Canadian centres, that stretches federal benefits paid to support refugees and temporary residents, said Lee Yuen.

According to Rentals.ca data, Calgary ranked 22nd in Canada for average rental costs, but those have risen the most over the past year with a one-bedroom suite pegged at $1,597 in September — an increase of nearly 30 per cent.

“It’s a perfect storm, especially for the Afghan refugees,” she said.

Even so, there are also challenges facing Ukrainian newcomers, who aren’t classified as refugees but as temporary residents whose lump sum benefit of a few thousand dollars doesn’t go far in an increasingly pricey rental market, said Lee Yuen.

They also don’t have the one year of federal financial support that’s accorded refugees, she added.

But individual Calgarians’ generosity and the work of faith groups have helped Ukrainians, she said, of whom about 12,000 have arrived in the city since the Russian invasion began in February, according to the CCIS.

Related
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After six months of war, Ukrainian refugees in Calgary grateful, uncertain
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The cost of rent and completing immigration paperwork are creating some delays in moving Afghan and other refugees to more permanent housing, said Fariborz Birjandian, CEO of the CCIS.

But overall, he said, the CCIS process is working, though 300 to 400 of them are in temporary accommodations.

In the past year, about 3,500 refugees have arrived in Calgary, roughly 2,000 from Afghanistan after the Taliban toppled the U.S.-backed government in August 2021.

“For 90 per cent of them we’ve found permanent accommodation,” said Birjandian, adding for most refugees, that hotel stay lasts three weeks.

“But the cost of rent is always a challenge . . . affordable housing doesn’t exist, but the good news is we don’t have any going to (homeless) shelters.”

The pressure on Calgary to house refugees and other newcomers isn’t likely to ease, with thousands more expected in the coming months, said both Lee Yuen and Birjandian.

One of the reasons for that is Calgary’s still relatively affordable rental costs and more vibrant job market is becoming increasingly known among those coming to Canada, said Birjandian.

“When they get to Calgary they have a relatively good experience,” he said.

“It’s a positive thing for the economy but it also brings more challenges.”

Another is the fact there’s no federal cap on Canada accepting those newcomers, said Lee Yuen, “so (the influx) will continue.”

A man who heads an agency assisting immigrant youth said he hasn’t seen the racism mentioned by Lee Yuen “but we’re focused on children and youth.”

But Frank Cattoni of the Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth said it’s vital agencies work together in the face of simultaneous refugee crisis’ which has resulted in the largest displacements since the Second World War.

“You have to have a collaborative mindset if you want to manage this…you can’t be competitive about it,” said Cattoni.

And he said sufficient resources must be earmarked to ensure youths from vulnerable newcomer families aren’t left adrift to possibly fall into lives of crime.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has been allotted $543.5 million in this year’s federal budget to help provinces and municipalities handle the influx of refugees and other newcomers, said spokesman Stuart Isherwood.

“We recognize that housing affordability and availability are challenges for Canadians and newcomers,” he said in an email.

“IRCC will continue to support the ongoing work to address the current housing challenges many individuals are facing by working together with our federal and provincial counterparts.”

In some cases, he said, that federal support will be extended from the usual one-year limit, who are also eligible for provincial assistance after that time.

BKaufmann@postmedia.com

Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn

KINSELLA: Remember hockey's just a game and our kids won't make the NHL

Opinion by Warren Kinsella - Toronto Sun

Ice Technician Ryan Smith (with hose) and Blayne Sproule prepare the ice over top of a Team Canada logo on the Calgary Flames locker room on Aug 21/ 09 as Hockey Canada prepares to take over the Pengrowth Saddledome for the team Canada Olympic Camp next week.


Three hockey truths.

One, our kids are never going to play in the NHL.

Two, it’s just a game.

Three, our kids are never ever going to play in the NHL.

I’ve got four kids, three boys and a girl. All of them played hockey. I spent a lot of time in cold hockey rinks over the years. Those three points above were my motto.

I was one of those hockey dads who wouldn’t say much. If the kids scored a goal, I’d clap. If the team needed a sponsor, I’d be it. If someone needed a ride, on either team, I’d give it.

Every once in a while, I’d be standing beside a dad, or a mom, who was not setting a good example. You know: the parents who would scream at the kids, or the officials, or the coaches. The ones who thought their little angel was going to play in the NHL. The jerks.

So, I’d sidle up beside the loud parents — I stand 6-foot-5 in my Doc Martens, and I usually was wearing a biker jacket and a punk rock T-shirt with an offensive band name on it — and I’d quietly remind them of the three points above. They’d look a bit uneasy. Then I’d move on.

The people who ran Hockey Canada — now blessedly gone — remind me of those parents. Hanging out in rinks, bossing people around, clueless about the harm they were causing: that was the leadership at Hockey Canada.

The loud parents and the ex-execs at Hockey Canada share one other character flaw, too: they were apparently always willing to excuse, and cover up, any and all sorts of misconduct with the use of non-disclosure agreements when settling sexual assault cases. Because, they thought, they were sending the kids to the big show.

Except they weren’t. Instead, they were teaching the kids — young males, almost entirely — that any type of wrongdoing, even criminal, was fine. As long as they were devoted to the game.

As noted, however: it’s just a dumb game. Hell, it’s not even Canada’s game anymore. No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since 1993. So much for the national pride exemption.

It’s a game, mom and dad. It’s a game, Hockey Canada white-washers. It’s a game mainly for kids. Chasing a lump of vulcanized rubber across frozen ponds with some wooden sticks.

The bad parents, and the bad Hockey Canada execs, lost sight of that. They believe and believed they are/were on some higher mission. That they were in pursuit of some higher divine purpose, all truth and decency be damned.

But, but. When the boy-men start to get charged criminally with sexual assault and assault and gang rape, will the bad parents and the bad Hockey Canada people wake up from their infantile fantasy on skates? Probably not.

If you are willing to overlook rape, and gang rape, you’ll probably forgive anything. But at that point, you’re not just a hockey mom or dad or more. You’re not just an executive who has selflessly devoted yourself to the national game.

You’re beneath contempt, and you don’t belong near any hockey rink, hurting some kids who are just trying to have fun — chasing a bit of vulcanized rubber and a dream of new friends and laughter.

UCP ANTI-VAX KULT LEADER
"Most discriminated-against group': Alberta premier pledges to protect unvaccinated

ANTI-SCIENCE ANTI-MEDICINE

EDMONTON — Danielle Smith, sworn in Tuesday as Alberta's new premier, said she will shake up the top tier of the health system within three months and amend provincial human rights law to protect those who choose not to get vaccinated.


"Most discriminated-against group': Alberta premier pledges to protect unvaccinated© Provided by The Canadian Press

“(The unvaccinated) have been the most discriminated-against group that I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime,” Smith told reporters at the legislature.

“I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a situation in my lifetime where a person was fired from their job or not allowed to watch their kids play hockey or not allowed to go visit a loved one in long-term care or hospital, not allowed to get on a plane to either go across the country to see family or even travel across the border.

“We are not going to create a segregated society on the basis of a medical choice.”

Earlier in the day, Smith was sworn into the job by Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani at a ceremony at Government House.

In a speech there, Smith said, “Albertans have been through so much over these last 2 1/2 years. Our rights and freedoms have been tested.

“I will ensure as head of this government that those rights and freedoms are protected and will never be taken for granted again.”

Smith, 51, ran and won the United Conservative Party leadership race last week to replace Jason Kenney as leader and premier.

She ran on a promise to provide human rights protections for the unvaccinated and fire the top management of Alberta Health Services, the province’s front-line provider of care.

She said AHS botched the job during the COVID-19 pandemic by not fulfilling cabinet direction to increase surge capacity as hospitalizations soared, while also implementing vaccine rules that depleted staffing levels.

“When they fail to meet targets and fail to meet direction, you change the management. And so that’s what we’re going to do,” said Smith. “My intention would be to have a new governance structure in place within 90 days.”

Smith also announced she plans to be replace Dr. Deena Hinshaw as Alberta's chief medical health officer.

Hinshaw was lauded in the early days of the pandemic then faced criticism as hospitals were overwhelmed.

“I appreciate the work that Dr. Deena Hinshaw has done, but I think that we are in a new phase where we are now talking about treating coronavirus as endemic, as we do with influenza. So I will be developing a new team of public health advisers,” said Smith.

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

Prior to the swearing-in ceremony, Kenney formally submitted his resignation as premier. He announced he was quitting months earlier following an uninspiring 51 per cent vote of support in a party leadership review.

Smith and Kenney sparred publicly during the leadership campaign. He characterized her core promise to create an Alberta sovereignty act to reject federal laws and court decisions as “nuts” and a fuse to light a powder keg of political and economic turmoil.

Smith said she hasn’t heard directly from Kenney since her victory last Thursday.

“I reached out to him and he has not accepted my invitation for a meeting," she said. “I think the premier needs a little bit of time and I’m prepared to give him a little bit of time. It’s a big adjustment.”

Smith doesn't have a seat in the legislature but announced over the weekend that she will run in a byelection to fill a vacant seat in Brooks-Medicine Hat in southern Alberta.

Elections Alberta has called the byelection for Nov. 8.

Almost all of Smith’s leadership rivals and others in the UCP caucus have criticized Smith’s proposed sovereignty act as unconstitutional and untenable.

In Calgary, Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley said she and justice critic Kathleen Ganley have written to every UCP caucus member and asked them to oppose it in person in the legislature.

“If they were speaking the truth on the leadership contest trail, the bottom line is they cannot allow this bill to pass. It is time to put province before party and do the right thing,” said Notley.

The next general election is set for May 29 and Smith has said she won’t call an earlier vote.

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

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press

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.

Related
Danielle Smith sworn in as Alberta's 19th premier

Danielle Smith defends plan to hold byelection in Brooks-Medicine Hat but not Calgary-Elbow

Outgoing premier Kenney warns of fringe elements in Canada's conservative movements

Smith will need to show she can win broader public support, political experts say

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.

Related
Mandryk: Wilkinson faces harsh reactions to inability to compromise
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.