Proposed language law changes pose more 'barriers' for Indigenous people, AFN says


Tue, November 29, 2022 



OTTAWA — Proposed changes to the Official Languages Act are likely to create more "arbitrary barriers" for Indigenous people hoping to work in federal institutions and advance to higher levels, says the Assembly of First Nations.

The national advocacy organization, representing more than 600 First Nations across the country, issued its warning to a parliamentary committee that is studying amendments to the law.

Last spring, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government introduced plans to reform the Official Languages Act to modernize the legislation, including more measures to promote the use of French.

In a brief submitted to the committee, the Assembly of First Nations says the bill "continues the federal government’s approach of privileging English and French while devaluing Indigenous languages."

Among the amendments proposed to the existing language law, last touched in 1988,is the extension of language rights to federally regulated private businesses in Quebec or regions elsewhere in Canada that have a francophone population.

It also specifies that managers and supervisors in federal institutions within Ottawa and Gatineau, Que., should be able to communicate in both French and English.

Only about 10 per cent of First Nations people can speak both official languages, according to the assembly's submission, so the proposed changes risk limiting who can access those jobs.

"First Nations peoples should not be forced to learn additional colonial languages to be eligible for positions within federal institutions," the document says.

"The government of Canada's approach to languages has privileged English and French over Indigenous languages. This is a modern reflection of Canadian colonialism's exclusion of Indigenous Peoples."

The document recommends that Parliament, in considering changes to the law, should exempt Indigenous employees in federal institutions from bilingual language requirements.

Despite presenting its concerns to the official languages committee that is studying the bill, the Assembly of First Nations has not appeared as a witness. And a list of 45 witnesses scheduled to appear does not include representatives of other Indigenous groups.

Members of Parliament on the committee have already begun debating a Liberal motion to see the bill and all of its amendments move onto the next stage of the legislative process.

Liberal MP Marc Serré, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of official languages, said Tuesday that "we're going to look at passing the bill the way it is now."

Serré said that organizations were invited to provide their thoughts in writing, and that the government heard from Indigenous individuals and groups during earlier consultations. But it was not clear whether he was aware of the assembly's submission or the concerns that it contained.

Conservative MP Joël Godin, who is also a member of the committee, said Indigenous languages are separate from the matter of improving Canada's laws around providing services in French and English.

Godin also said it appears the governing Liberals don't want to hear from any other witnesses who could speak about the concerns brought forward by the AFN.

The office of the president of Treasury Board said in a statement Tuesday that the government recognizes that speaking an Indigenous language is an asset and it is analyzing data collected on the use of Indigenous languages by public servants in the delivery of services to Canadians.

"The Government of Canada understands that some Indigenous public servants may consider official language requirements a barrier to career progression in the federal public service," reads the statement.

"We are developing a new second language training framework for the public service that is responsive to the needs of all learners, including the specific needs of Indigenous persons. We are also working with Indigenous employees to address any barriers they may face to learning French and English."

Tensions over bilingual language requirements are nothing new for some Indigenous employees.

Earlier this year, the federal Treasury Board rejected a call to extend an $800 annual bonus for public servants who are required to speak French and English at work to those who speak an official language and an Indigenous language.

Some have also called for the public service to exempt Indigenous employees from having to speak both languages as a way to increase Indigenous representation within its ranks, particularly in senior positions.

The federal Liberals have said they want to preserve and promote the use of Indigenous languages. In 2019, their government passed legislation aimed to help communities do just that, after previous policies such as the residential school system sought to eradicate the languages' existence.

But the assembly says in its submission that the 2019 legislation fails to provide anything close to the language protections offered to French in the Official Languages Act.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2022.

Stephanie Taylor and Michel Saba, The Canadian Press

Smaller Canadian cities rank high on environmental scorecard that has a few surprises


Wed, November 30, 2022 


HALIFAX — A new environmental scorecard says Canada's biggest cities have lower scores than most small and medium-sized municipalities, but a closer look at the data reveals some surprises.

The study, published Tuesday in the journal Environment International, rates 30 of the country's largest cities and towns on nine indicators related to health, including air quality, heat and cold waves, ultraviolet radiation, and access to green spaces. The results are compiled in the new Canadian Environmental Quality Index, produced by Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Daniel Rainham, the study's senior author and a professor in Dalhousie's faculty of health, says Canada's largest cities — Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton — posted relatively low scores, but he says some of their neighbourhoods scored on the high end, especially in Toronto.

"It's not an easy story to tell," Rainham said in an interview. "Even though the average values may tell you one thing, there's a lot of variability within those cities."

As an example, he noted that Toronto has some of the unhealthiest neighbourhoods in Canada, though he said the city ranked highest among the biggest cities as a whole. That variability is worthy of more study, Rainham said.

Medium-sized cities scored the highest, including Victoria, Sherbrooke, Que., and the Ontario cities of London, Guelph, Barrie, Kitchener and Kingston. As well, Halifax, Regina and Moncton, N.B., made the top 10.

Again, all of these smaller cities' results come with a caveat: "Even though they may be high on the list, they may have neighbourhoods that are not doing as well," Rainham said. "At a city level, all have some extremes."

At the other end of the scale, one small city — Kelowna, B.C. — received a lower score than all of the big cities, except Edmonton and Calgary. But some of Kelowna's neighbourhoods rated at the very top of the scale.

"You wouldn't really think that Kelowna, being nested in the beautiful fruit-and-berry valleys and wineries, would have a low score, but we're really talking about urban Kelowna," Rainham said. "But it also has one of the highest neighbourhood values as well."

The study focused on towns and cities with populations near or over 100,000.

In the middle of the pack in descending order are Winnipeg, St. John's, Hamilton, Ottawa and the Ontario cities of Windsor, St. Catharines and Oshawa.

Aside from Canada's five largest cities, the bottom of the list in descending order includes the Quebec communities of Gatineau, Quebec City, Trois-Rivières and Chicoutimi, as well as Milton, Ont., Abbotsford, B.C., Saskatoon and Kelowna in 28th place. Calgary and Edmonton are in the basement.

The study also took into account the amount of green vegetation in each neighbourhood. That's important because studies show a link between good health and being close to nature. The same correlation is true for those who live close to the water, another factor measured in the study.

Researchers also measured the proximity of residents to fuel-fired power plants, and the length of roads in each neighbourhood. But there is nothing about noise or water quality because Canada does a poor job of collecting such data.

Rainham said the long-term goal is to make all of the data available to the public by allowing residents to look at an electronic map and zoom in to their neighbourhoods.

The study was paid for by the Public Health Agency of Canada. It was co-written by Zoe Davis, at the University of Melbourne's School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, in southern Australia, and Margaret de Groh, who works with Canada's public health agency.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 30, 2022.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press

In a Wisconsin town, voters fear for WHITE America under attack


Tue, November 29, 2022 



HUDSON, Wis. (AP) — In a picturesque corner of western Wisconsin, a growing right-wing conservative movement has rocketed to prominence.

They see the broader America as a dark place, dangerous, where democracy is under attack by a tyrannical government, few officials can be trusted and neighbors might have to someday band together to protect one another. It’s a country where the most basic beliefs -- in faith, family, liberty -- are threatened.

John Kraft looks beyond his quiet rural community and sees a country that many Americans wouldn’t recognize.

And it’s not just about politics anymore.

“It’s no longer left versus right, Democrat versus Republican,” says Kraft, a software architect and data analyst. “It’s straight up good versus evil.”

He knows how he sounds. He’s felt the contempt of people who see him as a fanatic, a conspiracy theorist.

But he’s a hero in a growing right-wing conservative movement that has rocketed to prominence in this part of western Wisconsin.

Just a couple years ago, their talk of Marxism, government crackdowns and secret plans to destroy family values would have put them at the far fringes of the Republican party.

But not anymore. Today, despite midterm elections that failed see the sweeping Republican victories that many had predicted, they remain a cornerstone of the conservative electoral base. Across the country, victories went to candidates who believe in QAnon and candidates who believe the separation of church and state is a fallacy. In Wisconsin, a U.S. senator who dabbles in conspiracy theories and pseudoscience was re-elected - crushing his opponent in St. Croix County.

Take Mark Carlson. He's a friendly man who exudes gentleness, loves to cook, rarely leaves home without a pistol and believes that despotism looms over America.

“There’s a plan to lead us from within towards socialism, Marxism, communism-type of government,” says Carlson, a St. Croix county supervisor who recently retired after 20 years working at a juvenile detention facility.

He was swept into office earlier this year when insurgent right-wing conservatives created a powerful local voting bloc, energized by fury over COVID lockdowns, vaccination mandates and the unrest that shook the country after George Floyd was murdered by a policeman in Minneapolis, just 45 minutes away.

In two years they have taken control of the county Republican party, driving away leaders they deride as pawns of a weak-kneed establishment, and helped put well over a dozen people in elected positions in county and town governments and school boards.

In their America, the U.S. government orchestrated COVID fears to cement its power, the IRS is buying up huge stocks of ammunition and former President Barack Obama may be the country’s most powerful person.

Today, polls indicate that well over 60% of Republicans in the U.S. don’t believe President Joe Biden was elected in 2020. Around a third refuse to get the COVID vaccine.

Carlson, a bearded, middle-aged, gun-owning white guy who voted for former President Donald Trump, knows he looks like a caricature to some. But he's not.

“I’m just a normal person,” he says, sitting on a sofa, next to a picture window overlooking the large garden that he and his wife tend. “They don’t realize that we mean well.”

He can be confounding. He calls peaceful Black protesters “righteous” for taking to the streets after Floyd’s murder. He makes organic yogurt. He drives a Tesla. He’s a conservative Christian who loves AC/DC. In an area where Islam is sometimes viewed with open hostility, he says he’d back the small Muslim community if they wanted to open a mosque here.

Sometimes you'll hear people around here talk about what they intend to do if things go really bad for America.

There are the solar panels if the electricity grid fails. There’s extra gasoline for cars and diesel for generators. There are shelves of non-perishable food, sometimes enough to last for months.

There are the guns, though that is almost never discussed with outsiders.

“I’ve got enough,” says one man, sitting in a Hudson coffee shop.

“I would rather not get into that with a reporter,” says Kraft.

The suggestions of violence worry people like Paul Hambleton, who lives in Hudson and works with the county Democratic party.

“Something’s really wrong out here,” says Hambleton.

He spent years teaching in small-town St. Croix County, where the population has grown from 43,000 in 1980 to about 95,000 today. He watched as the student body shifted. Farmers’ children gave way to the children of people who commute to work in the Twin Cities. Racial minorities became a small but growing presence.

He understands why the changes might make some people nervous.

“There is a rural way of life that people feel is being threatened here, a small town way of life,” he says.

But he’s also a hunter who saw how hard it was to buy ammunition after the 2020 protests, when firearm sales soared across America.

For nearly two years, the shelves were almost bare.

“I found that menacing,” says Hambleton. “Because no way is that deer hunters buying up so much ammunition.”

Tim Sullivan, The Associated Press

US Abortion rights groups look to next fights after 2022 wins

Wed, November 30, 2022 



CHICAGO (AP) — Emboldened by the results of November's midterms, abortion rights supporters say they are preparing for even bigger fights in state legislatures and pivotal elections to come, including 2024 races for Congress and president.

Victories for abortion rights ballot measures and candidates who support abortion provided a roadmap for how to win future campaigns, Democrats and leaders of several organizations say. Mobilization efforts brought together women of different races, ages and ideologies who disagreed with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision this summer to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion, forming more diverse and larger coalitions.

The election also changed the way people talk about abortion, they say. Long seen as a polarizing issue Democrats were advised to pivot away from, it’s now considered a fundamental topic that must be addressed — and one that will help them win.

“We think, based on the enthusiasm and what we saw on our exit polling and in the election results, that this is an enduring issue,” said Mini Timmaraju, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. The group, along with Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and EMILY’s List, committed $150 million to the 2022 election.

“We got very, very far. But we could do a lot more and we’ll have to build toward that for 2024,” she said.

Heading into the November election, skeptics — including some within the Democratic Party — believed the Supreme Court's June ruling overturning Roe v. Wade had faded as a motivator for voters, overtaken by concerns about inflation, crime or President Joe Biden’s unpopularity.

But in the first nationwide election since the ruling, voters protected abortion rights via ballot measures in five states. Democrats performed better than anticipated, keeping control of the Senate and winning races for governor and other top statewide offices, and among the biggest winners were Democratic candidates who made preserving abortion rights a centerpiece of their campaigns.

VoteCast, a broad survey of the midterm electorate, found 7 in 10 voters said the high court’s ruling on abortion rights was an important factor in their midterm decisions. VoteCast also showed the decision was broadly unpopular. About 6 in 10 say they are angry or dissatisfied by it. And roughly 6 in 10 say they favor a law guaranteeing access to legal abortion nationwide.

“The election showed how motivating this is for people and I don’t think that is going away any time soon," Jen Klein, the Biden administration’s Gender Policy Council director, said of abortion rights.

A key takeaway for supporters of abortion rights was that voters care about, and vote based on, more than a single issue. And for many women, reproductive rights is an economic issue, activists said.

House Democrats, who lost the majority but held more seats than expected to give the GOP a narrow advantage, mentioned abortion in 51% of the TV and radio ads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ran in its most competitive districts, according to a post-election DCCC memo. The economy, extremism and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol also were mentioned, though less often, in DCCC ads.

“There were a lot of skeptics, a lot of pundits saying we’re going to lose. They said abortion was polarizing, don’t talk about it, it’s not going to mobilize women,” recalled Amanda Brown Lierman, executive director of Supermajority, a multiracial, progressive organization formed after Donald Trump’s 2016 election to organize women and turn out the vote. “They could not have been more wrong. You now have an electorate that feels powerful."

With near-total bans on abortion in place in over a dozen states, abortion-rights groups expect many of their next efforts will be in state legislatures, where Republicans continue to push for restrictions. They also are active in the runoff for U.S. Senate in Georgia between Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and GOP football legend Herschel Walker.

Other next tests include a spring election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court that could shift the balance of the court in a state where abortion is banned, and the November 2023 governor's race in Kentucky. Several Republicans are vying to challenge Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who supports abortion rights, in a conservative-leaning state where voters in November rejected a Republican-backed ballot measure aimed at denying any constitutional protections for abortion.

Then will come 2024, when the nation will choose a president and which party controls Congress.

Abortion opponents, meanwhile, also are looking at what worked — and what didn't — in the midterms, and debating their strategy going forward.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, argued that to the extent abortion rights opponents lost, it was more a sign of how advertising money was spent than the direction the country is moving on the issue in light of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Democrats, notably vulnerable incumbents in competitive U.S. House races, spent hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising pointing to their Republican opponents’ strict opposition to abortion rights. Meanwhile, Republican campaigns and related groups spent a fraction on abortion-specific messaging, allowing attacks — at times misrepresentations of GOP positions and records — to receive little or no response.

“The lesson I hope is learned — some lessons are hard ones — is that that doesn’t happen again,” Dannenfelser said. “Our goal is for there to be a lessons-learned lightbulb moment, and that there is a shift from the ostrich strategy of putting your head in the sand.”

The money bought what Dannenfelser called “unanswered lies.”

For example, a national Democratic House campaign group aired ads to help two-term Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig, a Democrat who supports abortion rights, stating her Republican challenger Tyler Kistner supported banning abortion without exceptions for women who become pregnant as the result of rape or incest. That is despite Kistner stating he supported such exceptions in June.

Kistner’s campaign aides protested during press interviews during the campaign. But neither Kistner nor Republican groups aired ads responding. Still, Kistner, who ran unsuccessfully against Craig in 2020, made no mention of his abortion position on his campaign website this year, unlike two years ago.

“When party committees and their leaders are saying, ‘No matter what they say, don’t talk about abortion,’ then the lies stick,” Dannenfelser said.

With a divided Congress, the focus for Dannenfelser’s group shifts to closely evaluating Republican candidates for president, she said. That means sorting out of the field candidates who see no federal role to restrict abortion, she said.

“The one thing that is unacceptable is the idea that they have no job to do if they are elected,” she said.

Other Republicans say the lesson may be that the GOP should move away from supporting strict prohibitions. They point to elections like one this summer in conservative Kansas, where voters overwhelmingly supported abortion rights.

“I think there are quiet conversations about whether the party at a national level should be paying careful attention about what happened for instance in a state like Kansas," said Jennifer Young, a Republican health care lobbyist.

___

Associated Press reporters Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, and Colleen Long and Amanda Seitz in Washington contributed to this report.

Sara Burnett, The Associated Press


RIGHT WING CANCEL CULTURE

AG: Penalize doctor who spoke of Ohio 10-year-old's abortion


Wed, November 30, 2022 



INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana's Republican attorney general on Wednesday asked the state medical licensing board to discipline an Indianapolis doctor who has spoken publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled from Ohio after its more-restrictive abortion law took effect.

The complaint alleges Dr. Caitlin Bernard violated state law by not reporting the girl’s child abuse to Indiana authorities and violated patient privacy laws by telling a newspaper reporter about the girl’s treatment.

That account sparked a national political uproar in the weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, with some news outlets and Republican politicians falsely suggesting Bernard fabricated the story and President Joe Biden nearly shouting his outrage over the case during a White House event.

Bernard and her lawyers maintain the girl’s abuse had already been reported to Ohio police and child protective services officials before the doctor ever saw the child. A 27-year-old man has been charged in Columbus, Ohio, with raping the girl.

Bernard’s lawyers argue Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, who is stridently anti-abortion, has been spreading false or misleading information about the doctor with his investigation allegations for several months.

The attorney general’s complaint asked the licensing board to impose “appropriate disciplinary action” but doesn’t specify a requested penalty. State licensing boards ensure physicians have the appropriate training and education to practice in the state and can suspend, revoke or place on probation a doctor's license.

“Dr. Bernard violated the law, her patient’s trust, and the standards for the medical profession when she disclosed her patient’s abuse, medical issues, and medical treatment to a reporter at an abortion rights rally to further her political agenda,” the office said in a statement. “Simply concealing the patient’s name falls far short of her legal and ethical duties here.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday condemned Rokita’s request.

“This is not about the concerns of the victim,” she said. “This is not about the victim at all. This is an elected official going after a doctor for helping a child who was raped and seeking health care.”

The attorney general’s office filed the action as an Indianapolis judge considers whether to block the attorney general’s office from trying to obtain patient medical records for its investigation. The judge's ruling is expected later this week.

Kathleen DeLaney, a lawyer for Bernard, pointed to testimony from that investigation, including from Bernard, who on Nov. 21 testified that both child abuse authorities and law enforcement in Ohio were involved in the case before the child came to Indiana for treatment.

Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Katharine Melnick also testified that day and said child abuse would be reported by hospital social workers, not doctors, and such reports would be referred to law enforcement where the crime occurred.

“Though I am disappointed he has put my client in this position, we are not surprised given Mr. Rokita’s consistent efforts to use his office to seek to punish those with whom he disagrees at the expense of Indiana taxpayers,” DeLaney said in a statement Wednesday.

Bernard treated the girl in Indianapolis in late June, as she said doctors determined the girl was unable to have an abortion in neighboring Ohio. That’s because Ohio’s “fetal heartbeat” law took effect with the Supreme Court’s June 24 decision. Such laws ban abortions from the time cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo, which is typically around the sixth week of pregnancy, before many realize they are pregnant.

Deputy Attorney General Caryn Nieman-Szyper said during a court hearing last week that Bernard wouldn’t be under investigation if she had not disclosed the girl’s rape to a reporter to advance her own advocacy of abortion rights. Nieman-Szyper said Bernard had not shown she had permission from the girl’s family to discuss her care in public, exposing the child to national attention.

Bernard testified that she spoke with an Indianapolis Star reporter about the girl’s impending abortion at an event protesting the Supreme Court’s abortion decision.

After the newspaper cited that case in a July 1 article about patients heading to Indiana for abortions because of more restrictive laws elsewhere, Rokita told Fox News that he would investigate Bernard’s actions, calling her an “abortion activist acting as a doctor.”

Rokita has kept the investigation going even after rape charges were filed in Ohio and public records obtained by The Associated Press show Bernard met Indiana’s required three-day reporting period for an abortion performed on a girl younger than 16.

___

Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed from Washington, D.C. Arleigh Rodgers is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/arleighrodgers

Tom Davies And Arleigh Rodgers, The Associated Press

Moderna exec says COVID trials improved diversity recruiting

Caroline Humer
Wed, November 30, 2022 

Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event in New York City


By Caroline Humer

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Moderna Inc's top scientist said on Tuesday that the vaccine maker has learned how to better recruit from diverse populations for its clinical trials from running its COVID-19 vaccine studies.

Moderna Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton, speaking at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York, said that in 2020 the company needed to slow enrollment in its initial COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial in order to include more people in communities of color.

"We recognized that to get good uptake to get real acceptance, you need to have representation of all sorts of people from different communities," Burton said, noting that the company was eventually able to enroll 37% of its 35,000-person trial from communities of color.

Moderna has worked to match that diverse enrollment in its other ongoing trials, Burton said. He said enrollment of people of color in its Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine trials was probably over 35%.

Burton also said the company had used new technologies to allow people to take part in studies from home, which he said could help democratize research by reaching even further flung populations.

To view the Reuters NEXT conference live on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, please click here.

(Writing by Michael Erman; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M
Tax implications of Rogers-Shaw deal discussed at hearing before tribunal


Wed, November 30, 2022 



OTTAWA — Canada's competition watchdog is warning that the tax revenue implications of Rogers Communications Inc.'s $26-billion proposed takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. will not necessarily benefit consumers, while one economist says he is not concerned about the deal lessening competition.

During the cross-examination of economics expert and witness Roger Ware during the hearing before the Competition Tribunal on the deal Wednesday, counsel for the Competition Bureau tried to make the case that if there are job losses resulting from the merger, there would ultimately be a reduction in tax revenue, noting the possibility of job cuts that is typical of mergers.

The Competition Bureau said anyone out of a job would likely spend less, which would be a cost to the government in the form of a loss in tax revenue.

Ware's argument is that the tax revenue that would accrue from any increase in the profits of Rogers and Shaw stemming from the merger would be income for the government and all Canadians.

Ware also said competition analysis assumes that freed resources, as a result of a merger, will be employed elsewhere in the economy.

Mark Israel, a competition economist at consulting firm Compass Lexecon, spoke before the tribunal as well, arguing that the proposed merger represents a "pro-competitive realignment" of wireline and wireless assets.

He said there will be no reduction in the number of competitors in the telecom market because of the way the deal is structured.

Israel also said Shaw Mobile subscribers will benefit from the increased quality of Rogers' wireless network.

He added that the proposed sale of Shaw-owned Freedom Mobile to Quebecor Inc.-owned Videotron Ltd. would make Videotron a disruptive competitor in Western Canada with strong economic incentives to compete vigorously.

The marginal cost savings for Videotron would put downward pressure on prices, Israel said.

Quebecor agreed to buy Freedom in a $2.85 billion deal earlier this year.

The proposed sale of Freedom to Videotron is part of Rogers' strategy to get its broader deal across the finish line.

The sale of Freedom to Videotron would see Quebecor buy all of Freedom's branded wireless and internet customers as well as all of Freedom’s infrastructure, spectrum and retail locations in a move that would expand Quebecor’s wireless operations nationally.

The hearing before the Competition Tribunal is expected to last until mid-December and aims to resolve the impasse between the Commissioner of Competition, who wants to block the deal, and Rogers and Shaw.

The Competition Bureau is one of three regulatory agencies that must approve the deal, in addition to the CRTC and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

Rogers wants to close the Shaw deal by the end of the year, with a possible further extension to Jan. 31, 2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 30, 2022.

Companies in this story: (TSX:RCI.B, TSX:SJR.B, TSX:QBR.B)

The Canadian Press

ITALY
Experts blame intensive construction for Ischia landslide tragedy

By Euronews with Reuters & AP • Updated: 01/12/2022 -

A house is left standing on the edge of a landslide in Casamicciola, on the southern Italian island of Ischia, in this picture taken Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022. - Copyright Salvatore Laporta/Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved

Experts and activists have said that the construction of illegal buildings increased the risks of natural disasters on the Italian island of Ischia.

One person was still missing after Saturday’s disaster in the port of Casamicciola Terme, where houses were brought down and mud submerged the streets.

Authorities confirmed on Thursday that the death toll had risen to 11 after the bodies of two missing women were found.

The confirmed victims included the 22-day-old infant and two other young children.

Exceptionally, heavy rain caused a chunk of Mount Epomeo to come crashing down before dawn, gaining speed as it entered the populated port town of Casamicciola.

The World Wildlife Fund said the ground in the worst hit areas composed of agglomerated ash and rock from nearby Mount Vesuvius on the mainland, should have been left free for runoff, instead, it is the site of rampant unauthorised construction.

"This material doesn't perfectly attach itself to the island’s surface, it stays there as a layer. So when we have heavy rainfall, its triggers a sort of snowball effect which goes downstream and accumulates in high-risk areas.

So if there are buildings in these areas, the situation becomes explosive", said Gaetano Benedetto, the President of Italy's WWF research centre.

Deadly Ischia landslide was caused by climate change and illegal construction, experts say

"Everyone knows that Italy is a fragile country, with a high hydro-geological risk. But not everyone knows that risk areas have been surveyed and mapped with accuracy.

"Today over 16% of the Italian territory is in high-risk areas" he continued.

Ischia, whose thermal baths and picturesque hilly coastline draw visitors from across the world is known for its high concentration of residential buildings.

Geologist Arcangelo Francesco Violo said that Ischia, which sits in an earthquake zone across the sea from Naples, was vulnerable to natural disasters.

According to environmentalists and the mayor of Forio, Francesco Del Deo, local authorities in the hardest hit area received over 27,000 requests under successive government amnesties since 1985 to gain official approval for structures that in some way violated building codes.

However, the mayor told Sky Italia, “it's not that 27,000 villas have been built illegally or 27,000 flats have been built illegally. Let's start by clarifying this, otherwise, people will think that the island is completely covered in concrete.”

Mariateresa Imparato, the Legambiente chief in the Campania region around Ischia, said excessive construction had weakened the land and urged authorities to remove buildings that did not have permits.

Granting amnesties for illegal construction put people at risk, he added.

The Casamicciola town bureau in charge of buildings could not immediately be reached for comment.

As a political row about the granting of the amnesties gathered pace, Environment and Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said in a statement he would seize illegal buildings to investigate them for safety, with pardons granted only for small violations.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government earmarked an initial aid package of €2 million for Ischia and suspended tax payments for residents until the end of the year.

Claudio D’Ambra, the head of the Ischia engineers association, said the tragedy on the island’s highest mountain, showed investment was needed for safety.

RIP

Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter, dies at 79

Wed, November 30, 2022 



NEW YORK (AP) — Christine McVie, the British-born Fleetwood Mac vocalist, songwriter and keyboard player whose cool, soulful contralto helped define such classics as “You Make Loving Fun,” “Everywhere” and “Don’t Stop,” died Wednesday at age 79.

Her death was announced on the band’s social media accounts. No cause of death or other details were immediately provided, but a family statement said she “passed away peacefully at hospital this morning” with family around her after a “short illness.”

“A few hours ago I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975, had passed away,” bandmate Stevie Nicks said in a handwritten note posted to Instagram.

She added that one song has been “swirling around” in her head since she found out McVie was sick, quoting the lyrics to HAIM's “Hallelujah": “I had a best friend/But she has come to pass.”

McVie was a steady presence and personality in a band known for its frequent lineup changes and volatile personalities — notably fellow singer-songwriters Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.

Her death is the first among Fleetwood Mac's most famous incarnation of McVie, Nicks, Buckingham, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, Christine's ex-husband. In recent years, the band had toured without Buckingham, who was kicked out in 2018 and replaced on stage by Mike Campbell and Neil Finn.

Fleetwood Mac started out as a London blues band in the 1960s, and evolved into one of the defining makers of 1970s California pop-rock, with the talents of McVie, Nicks and Buckingham anchored by the rhythm section of Fleetwood and John McVie. During its peak commercial years, from 1975-80, the band sold tens of millions of records and fascinated fans as it transformed personal battles into melodic, compelling songs. The McVies' breakup — along with the split of Nicks and Buckingham — was famously documented on the 1977 release “Rumours,” among the bestselling albums of all time.

Everyone in the group played a distinctive role: Fleetwood and John McVie formed a deep and bluesy groove, Buckingham was the resident mad genius and perfectionist, Nicks the charismatic dramatist and idol to countless young women and Christine McVie the grounded counterpoint, her economy as a singer and player well suited to her birth surname: Perfect.

“I was supposedly like the Mother Teresa who would hang out with everybody or just try and (keep) everything nice and cool and relaxed," she told Rolling Stone earlier this year. “But they were great people; they were great friends.”

Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, when at the ceremony they played McVie's “Say You Love Me." The group’s many other hit singles included Nicks’ “Dreams,” Buckingham’s “Go Your Own Way” and McVie’s “Little Lies.” One of McVie’s most beloved works, the thoughtful ballad “Songbird,” was a showcase for her in concert and covered by Willie Nelson, among others.

The midtempo rocker “Don't Stop," inspired by the end of her marriage, would gain unexpected political relevance when Bill Clinton adopted the song — and its “Don't stop thinking about tomorrow” refrain — as a theme to his 1992 presidential run. The band, which had essentially stopped making albums at the time, reunited to perform at his inauguration gala.

McVie’s two marriages, to John McVie and Eduardo Quintela, both ended in divorce. Her boyfriends included the Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson, about whom she wrote “Only Over You."

McVie, born Christine Anne Perfect in Bouth, Lancashire, came from a musical family. Her father was a violinist and music teacher and her grandfather played organ at Westminster Abbey. She had been playing piano since childhood, but set aside her classical training once she heard early rock records by Fats Domino and others.

While studying at the Moseley School of Art, she befriended various members of Britain’s emerging blues scene and, in her 20s, joined the band Chicken Shack as a singer and piano player. Among the rival bands she admired was Fleetwood Mac, which then featured the talents of blues guitarist Peter Green along with the rhythm section of Fleetwood and John McVie. By 1970, she had joined the group and married John McVie.

Few bands succeeded so well as Fleetwood Mac, which has sold well over 100 million records, against such long odds. Green was among the many performers who left the group, and at various times Fleetwood Mac seemed on the verge of ending, or fading away. It was rescued by unexpected returns and interventions and one of rock's most fortuitous and lucrative hunches.

In the mid-1970s, Fleetwood Mac was down to just three members, Fleetwood and the two McVies. While spending time in Los Angeles, Fleetwood learned of a young duo from California, Buckingham and Nicks, that had recorded the little known album “Buckingham Nicks.” Impressed by their sound, he initially planned to ask just Buckingham to join, but the guitarist insisted the band also include Nicks, his girlfriend at the time.

The new lineup proved almost instantly magical. Nicks and Christine McVie formed a lasting friendship, agreeing that as two of the rare women in rock they would always stand up for each other. And the harmonies and music making of Nicks, Buckingham and Christine McVie insured that such albums as “Fleetwood Mac," “Rumours” and “Mirage” had an enviable quality and variety of songwriting and vocal styles.

But the group's overwhelming success also led to inevitable conflicts and the desire for solo work. Over the following decades, Nicks became a star in her own right. McVie released solo albums, including “Christine McVie" and “Christine Perfect,” as well as a 2017 collaboration with Buckingham, “Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie.”

Fleetwood and John McVie were there at the founding of Fleetwood Mac and were the only ones to remain all the way through. McVie departed in the 1990s, when she was seemingly done forever with the rock star life. By 2014, she had changed her mind.

“I just wanted to embrace being in the English countryside and not have to troop around on the road. I moved to Kent, and I loved being able to walk around the streets, nobody knowing who I was," she said of her hiatus during a 2022 interview with the Guardian.

“Then of course I started to miss it. I called Mick and asked: ‘How would you feel about me coming back to the band?’" she said. "He got in touch with everybody and we had a band meeting over the phone and they all went: ‘Come baaaack!!' I felt regenerated and I felt like writing again."

Hillel Italie, The Associated Press

Stevie Nicks Shares Emotional Statement About Christine McVie's Death


Katie Bowlby
Thu, December 1, 2022 


Stevie Nicks Speaks Out About Christine McVieKevin Mazur

Christine McVie, the iconic Fleetwood Mac keyboardist and singer-songwriter has died at the age of 79.

Her family confirmed the news with a statement on her official Instagram feed. The family's statement says Christine "passed away peacefully at hospital this morning, Wednesday, November 30th 2022, following a short illness. She was in the company of her family."

Michael Ochs Archives

After Fleetwood Mac formed in 1967, Christine married the band's bassist, John McVie, and joined the band three years later. Four years later, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined, and the group went on to record the Grammy Award-winning album, Rumors, which has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.

Christine, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, is credited with writing eight of the band's hits, including "Over My Head" and "Say You Love Me."

Though Christine and John divorced in the 70s, and she left the band in 1998 (and later rejoined in 2013), the group remained close.

Fleetwood Mac issued a statement about Christine's death, which called her "the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life."

And Stevie personally took the time to share a hand-written letter on her social media to honor her friend.

"A few hours ago I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975 had passed away. I didn't even know she was ill...until late Saturday night. I wanted to be in London; I wanted to get to London—but we were told to wait. So, since Saturday, one song has been swirling around in my head, over and over and over. I thought I might get to sing it to her, and so, I'm singing it to her now. I always knew I would need these words one day, written by the Ladies Haim. It's all I can do now." Stevie follows her words with powerful lyrics from HAIM's song, "Hallelujah."




Christine was recently nominated for a Grammy for the 2023 ceremony for "Songbird (Orchestral Version)" from her first solo album is nominated in the Best Arrangements, Instruments and Vocals category.

Our thoughts are with her family during this difficult time.

Trudeau says nothing is off the table when it comes to Smith's new 'sovereignty' act


Wed, November 30, 2022 



OTTAWA — Nothing is off the table when it comes to responding to newly proposed legislation that would give Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government "exceptional powers," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.

Trudeau stopped briefly on his way into a Liberal caucus meeting to address the long-awaited legislation Smith's government introduced Tuesday in the provincial legislature.

The bill, called the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act, proposes to give Smith's cabinet the power to rewrite provincial laws without legislative debate.

Trudeau said his government will be watching closely what happens next.

"I'm not going to take anything off the table," he said.

"I'm also not looking for a fight," he added. "We want to continue to be there to deliver for Albertans."

Smith promised the legislation when she was a candidate in the United Conservative Party leadership race to replace former premier Jason Kenney. She characterized the bill as a way to push back against Ottawa and made it a major focus of her campaign.

Frustration with the federal government over equalization payments and resource development has been a long-standing issue in Alberta. That anger is part of what Smith is hoping to tap into with the new bill.

But critics say what it really proposes is to consolidate power around Smith's cabinet.

Kenney, who waded into the leadership race for his replacement to call the sovereignty proposal "catastrophically stupid," resigned after she tabled her plan Tuesday.

"We know that the exceptional powers that the premier is choosing to give the Alberta government in bypassing the Alberta legislature is causing a lot of eyebrows to raise in Alberta," Trudeau said Wednesday. "We're going to see how this plays out."

Under Smith's bill, her cabinet would have the power to direct "provincial entities," from municipalities to regional health authorities, to defy federal rules it deems would hurt Alberta's interests.

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, who represents a Montreal riding, says Smith's proposal goes too far.

"I don't think that this is appropriate for a province to determine whether or not a federal law exceeds its constitutionality. That is for a court," he told reporters.

"If Alberta eventually adopts this bill, we'll have to see how they use it," he said.

Smith's vision for Alberta has drawn comparisons to Quebec, which administers its own provincial pension plan and immigration programs and — in many Albertans' minds, at least — appears to garner more jurisdictional respect from Ottawa when it wants to go its own way.

Housefather said people should be "wary" to use that analogy.

He pointed out that many head offices and residents left Montreal for Toronto when true Quebec sovereignty, meaning the province's formal separation from Canada, was on the table.

"Businesses want stability, I think people want stability, and I don't think the sovereignty act, even if it's called 'the sovereignty act in a united Canada,' offers stability."

Housefather says the bigger question Smith's bill raises is about "how Canadians see their country." Do they see a role for a federal government beyond their province or territory?

"I feel very strongly that as a Canadian, everybody should play in their lane, and playing in their lane means that legislatures don't determine whether something is constitutional from a different level of government," he said.

While Smith has said she hopes the bill does not need to be used, briefing materials provided to reporters show her government is prepared to do so as early as next spring to deal with issues ranging from health care to property rights.

Conservatives in Ottawa were largely silent on the matter Wednesday, with two Alberta MPs saying they still needed to read the bill.

Garnett Genuis, another MP from the province, said the best way to allay Albertans' frustrations with Ottawa is to replace Trudeau.

Genuis had more to say about the proposal during the provincial leadership race, when he backed Travis Toews, who is now a member of Smith's cabinet.

In an opinion piece published in August, he called the prospective sovereignty act a "cheap trick" that violates the constitution and the rule of law.

"If asserting provincial authority were as easy as passing such a law, it would have been done already," Genuis wrote.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 30, 2022.

Stephanie Taylor and Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press

Politicians clash over whether sovereignty act would give province unchecked powers

Wed, November 30, 2022

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the sovereignty act wouldn't give Alberta's cabinet unchecked law-changing powers. A law professor says it's not that straightforward. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press - image credit)

Premier Danielle Smith says the government's proposed sovereignty act would not give the provincial cabinet unchecked powers to rewrite laws, while critics say the premier's signature bill would do just that.

"It gives unprecedented ability to a brand new premier to overwhelm and sidestep the legislative assembly of this province and it is an attack on the democratic rights of Albertans, and through that, an attack on the stability of our economy," NDP Leader Rachel Notley said on her way into the legislative chamber Wednesday.

In question period and in scrums, members of the Smith government denied the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act allows cabinet to change, add or suspend laws without the oversight of the legislature.

Smith said she looked forward to educating Notley, who is a lawyer, on the contents of the 12-page Bill 1.

"We know that Albertans want us to act on this," Smith said.

If passed, the bill would allow the legislature to pass a motion identifying an area where it believes the federal government has acted unconstitutionally or in a way that harms Alberta.

That motion would empower cabinet to amend laws or regulations to resist perceived federal incursions into provincial jurisdiction, and could require other provincially controlled public bodies to also disregard the offending federal law.

At a news conference Tuesday, Justice Minister Tyler Shandro acknowledged that once empowered by the act, cabinet's decision to change a law would not have to return to the legislature for a vote — the kind of power that is usually granted to governments temporarily during emergencies.

However, the province's justice ministry issued a clarification on Wednesday saying any proposed legal changes made by cabinet must first be included in a resolution approved by the legislature.

University of Alberta law Prof. Eric Adams said it's not that simple. The bill wanders into uncharted territory in Canadian law, and could be open to interpretation by courts, he said.

Legislatures don't usually make laws by passing a motion, he said. A motion comes with a lesser degree of public scrutiny and debate than introducing, debating and voting on legislation, he said.

"The idea that the democratic legitimacy of whatever the cabinet does can be traced back to and authorized by a simple vote on a motion is fundamentally flawed reasoning," Adams said in an interview.

Notley said it's clear the bill isn't ready, and the government should withdraw it before it causes economic damage. She says even talk of the legislation during the nearly-five month UCP leadership campaign spooked investors.

Cabinet ministers change their tunes

Also defending the act Wednesday were three cabinet ministers who panned the idea during this summer's United Conservative Party leadership race.

In September, leadership candidate Travis Toews called it a "false bill of goods." Brian Jean said Smith was "deceiving UCP members about reality" by making unachievable promises with the act. Rajan Sawhney called it a "Pandora's box" and urged Smith to call a general election before introducing the bill.

All three are now cabinet ministers in Smith's government. They said on Wednesday the premier listened to feedback from caucus and cabinet, and made changes to the proposed legislation that quelled their concerns.

Jean, now minister of jobs, economy and northern development, said it's "not the case at all" the act would give cabinet unchecked law-making power.

"It says specifically that we're going to have more democracy in this place than anywhere else in Canada, because nothing can happen without us voting on it first, which is unlike what's been happening in the past," Jean told reporters.

The bill has raised questions — even by the Alberta government — about whether Canada's governor general could use the power of disallowance to forbid a provincial law that could enable Alberta to ignore federal laws the province says are harmful or unconstitutional.

In Ottawa Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he wasn't ruling any options out, but wasn't looking for a fight.

"We know that the exceptional powers that the premier is choosing to give the Alberta government in bypassing the Alberta legislature is causing a lot of eyebrows to raise in Alberta, and we're going to see how this plays out," he said.

Additional supports roll out Thursday to help unhoused Calgarians stay warm, access services

Wed, November 30, 2022 

Frigid temperatures in Calgary continue to drive more people to emergency shelters. (Dave Gilson/CBC - image credit)

The City of Calgary and its community partners are rolling out additional warming spaces and supports Thursday in an effort to help unhoused Calgarians find refuge from the cold.

The added measures come as some city shelters report hitting full capacity at times this month, with frigid temperatures driving more people indoors.

Rowena Browne, chief development officer at the Mustard Seed, said they stretched above their 370-person limit this week to ensure no one was left outdoors.

"Our team on the front lines are figuring out ways to get people somewhere to sleep," she said.

"All of our partners are experiencing just an influx of increased numbers amongst the homeless population for individuals, families, the elderly population."

Monty Kruger/CBC

Starting Thursday, the city will add 200 warming spaces at five locations throughout the city, available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., creating a total of 335 spaces at 10 locations.

The additional warming locations will remain open until March 31.

Free emergency shelter shuttles will be available between 8:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. until Friday — when the cold snap is expected to ease — between select LRT stations and the Drop-In Centre/Alpha House.

They'll be staffed with a peace officer and members of the city's Downtown Outreach Addictions Partnership (DOAP) team. The city says running more emergency shuttles will be dependent on weather throughout the winter.

In a media release, the city also said 24-hour emergency shelters continue to operate seven days a week, with occupancy rates across the system at about 80 per cent.

"We want to ensure that anyone who needs help can get it," said Mayor Jyoti Gondek in the release.

The DOAP team operates its own 24/7 mobile support program, locating individuals experiencing homelessness or addiction and transporting them to the appropriate service.

Shaundra Bruvall, communications and program manager with Alpha House — which runs the DOAP program — says the team is on track to provide more transports this year than ever before in its 17-year history.

Submitted by Alpha House Society

It made nearly 27,000 transports last year, serving about 4,000 individuals.

"We do add some teams on the road, particularly overnight, where we are trying to get people to come to shelters," she said.

The shelter run by the Alpha House Society also hit its 120-person maximum this week.

Availability of support

The city received criticism last month for waiting until December to add more warming spaces, rather than opening them when a certain temperature is reached.

The Calgary Homeless Foundation helps to manage the city's cold weather response.

President and CEO Patricia Jones says they're always monitoring to ensure there's enough warm spaces for vulnerable people in the city.

"We would have expanded earlier if we needed to," she said in an interview on The Homestretch.

"December 1st to March … usually are the coldest months of the year. So we just want to rev up and make sure we're available for all Calgarians during those time periods."

James Young/CBC

The foundation started offering the added winter supports for unhoused Calgarians last year after the city approved new funding. They programs were well used, Jones says, but they did not hit capacity.

Calgary's Drop-In Centre in the city's core continues to have space for those who need it, but Nathan Ross, manager of marketing and communications with the centre, says they're seeing needs grow.

This week, 672 people used the 1,028-capacity shelter for an overnight stay. The facility had averaged about 583 people a night throughout early November.

"Being able to make sure there are no turn-aways due to the cold is a major priority for us," said Ross.

"We know that there is a community that chooses to rough sleep, and we respect that their autonomy in that decision lies with them. We do get concerned though, because … exposed skin does have that risk of freezing, which leads to frostbite."

Mobile warming stations

The city says it is also bringing additional support directly to vulnerable populations.

The Salvation Army, in partnership with the city and the Calgary Homeless Foundation, will begin operating a mobile warming station beginning Thursday.

Each morning, they'll load up a refurbished truck with coffee, hot drinks and food to drive to different spots around the city. There, they'll set up pop-up tents with heaters.

"It's not a place to necessarily come and hang out for a long time, but it's a place to come out, come and make a connection with our team," said Cliff Wiebe, executive director of Calgary's community services with the Salvation Army.

"We get to know their names, where are they at, where they're staying for the night, can we help them in any way."

They'll also have tablets onsite, connected to the Calgary Homeless Foundation system, to input data from people who want to connect with other services.

Transport vans will bring people to a shelter should they choose.

Submitted by Salvation Army

The mobile sites will be set up in one location over the first week, expanding to two locations each day afterward, running from early afternoon to early evening.

"We'll be around quite a few CTrain stations and other areas in the city where people experiencing homelessness are kind of gathering," Wiebe said.

For those wishing to donate to the city's shelters, winter clothing such as hats, mittens and coats, as well as underwear, towels and moisturizers, are much-needed items. Food donations and volunteers are also needed.

If you see someone who needs help, the DOAP team can be reached at 403-998-7388. If someone is in serious distress or non-responsive, call 911.