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.

Early earthquake alert system successful in Tofino could be launched in B.C. by 2024

Wed, November 30, 2022 

British Columbians nervously joke about the 'Big One' hitting the West Coast, but a system aimed at alerting residents early of an incoming quake proved effective in Tofino last week.

 (Yvette Brend/CBC - image credit)

Researchers are one step closer to being able to warn the public of an incoming earthquake after a small one struck B.C.'s West Coast last week, providing a 35-second warning that demonstrated the effectiveness of sensors and an alert system they've been working on for several years.

On Friday, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit Tofino, B.C. While that quake didn't do any damage, researchers say their alert system could have saved lives if it had been bigger.

In 2017, Ocean Networks Canada, a University of Victoria initiative, started installing sensors both on Vancouver Island and offshore as part of a project led and funded by Emergency Management B.C. The federal government signed on in 2019, hoping to create a nationwide early earthquake alert system.

Now, dozens of sensors are located throughout the island, creating a network of real-time information about seismic sensors.

On Friday, those sensors detected the primary wave — an energy signal that doesn't cause ground shaking but tells those monitoring that it's coming. That sensor data delivered an alert to researchers.

"If it had been a big earthquake, it would provide at least 35 seconds of advanced warning for ground shaking to arrive at both Victoria and Vancouver," Ocean Networks president and CEO Kate Moran said, adding that warnings could go anywhere but it would be especially helpful for densely populated areas.

Those 35 seconds could give firehalls a chance to open their doors so that they could get out of the building before it is damaged. It could also give elevator operators time to send elevators to the ground floor and time for trains to slow down and avoid a possible derailment.

"Infrastructure operators really could find [the system] useful for protecting infrastructure that ultimately protects lives," Moran said.

Right now, the system is focused on coastal earthquakes. While it did register recent earthquakes in Alberta and northern B.C., an alert would not go out to those regions.

According to Emergency Management B.C., Canada's first early earthquake sensor station was installed in March 2022 in Horseshoe Bay. It's the first in what will become a national early earthquake alert system, which is expected to be up and running by early 2024.

"We will be testing with these partners with a few of them over the next few months to make sure that the system is working well, and so far, what we've seen is very promising," said Natural Resources Canada seismologist Allison Bird.

Once it launches, the public would automatically be alerted to an imminent earthquake through phones, TV and radio.

CANADA
Deadline to sign on to safe drinking water settlement is extended to the relief of Wunnumin Lake Nation

Wed, November 30, 2022 

A last-minute reprieve is both a blessing and a surprise for Wunnumin Lake First Nation with council poised to sign a band council resolution “under duress.”

The BCR would have seen Wunnumin Lake Nation sign on to a settlement agreement for a class-action litigation, delivering the Nation in Ontario funding for Canada’s failure to provide safe drinking water in First Nations communities. That same settlement, however, left the vast majority of the Nation’s members without individual compensation.

“Just (Tuesday) morning we were talking to our legal counsel about signing this resolution under duress,” said Deputy Chief Dean Cromarty. “I’m relieved it’s extended.”

Cromarty didn’t find out about a four-month extension granted by the courts to consider the agreement until he was contacted by Windspeaker.com late on the afternoon of Nov. 29.

In December 2021, an $8 billion settlement of two national class-action lawsuits was approved by the Federal Court and Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench. That settlement covered First Nations and their residents who were subject to a water advisory for at least one year between Nov. 20, 1995, and June 20, 2021.

First Nations that met the criteria initially had until Dec. 2, 2022 to opt into the settlement in order to receive a no-strings attached amount of $500,000. Whatever compensation their individual members would receive, the band would also get 50 per cent of that amount.

But the issue, Cromarty told Windspeaker.com, was that council was struggling with how best to serve its 506 members. Only 84 met the timeframe set out in the settlement agreement for individual compensation.

“It would be unfair. The 84 would get the full compensation and the rest will get nothing,” said Cromarty, even though those members were impacted by boil water advisories as well, but just outside of the timeframe of the settlement.

It was always known that some First Nations members who had experienced boil water advisories would fall outside of the starting date of the settlement, said legal counsel Harry LaForme of Olthuis Kleer Townshend (OKT). He told Windspeaker.com earlier this year that limitation periods are standard.

OKT was one of two law firms involved in negotiating the settlement.

“This was the date that was fixed up because it was the best date and the most generous to First Nations that would be able to get more First Nations involved and individuals involved,” said LaForme.

The settlement does not impact the rights of those who suffered boil water advisories for less than the specified one-year time frame, or those who suffered prior to Nov. 20, 1995. Those members can pursue their own legal recourse, LaForme said.

However, moving forward with more litigation isn’t what Wunnumin is after, said Cromarty.

“…The decision has been made that First Nations under boil water advisories will be compensated, which is fine for maybe a lot of the communities. But for Wunnumin it’s different. It excludes the majority of our community members,” he said.

“We’re asking (the government) to make a political decision to correct that problem and provide the compensation for the remaining members.”

Cromarty said that talks with Indigenous Services Canada Minister Patty Hajdu and her staff have resulted in nothing solid.

Windspeaker.com reached out to Hajdu’s office and did not receive a direct response.

Instead, spokesperson Vincent Gauthier said the department was working “closely” with Wunnumin Lake First Nation to advance a water and wastewater feasibility study.

“That (study) will inform the required investments to ensure that the community has reliable access to safe clean drinking water as well as wastewater treatment that meets the immediate and the long-term needs of Wunnumin Lake First Nation,” wrote Gauthier in an email.

The class-action settlement includes an infrastructure commitment of at least $6 billion to support reliable access to safe drinking water on reserves.

The decision to extend the deadline four more months came as orders from the courts on Nov. 24, said Darian Baskatawang, class counsel for the First Nation drinking water class action and an associate with OKT.

The deadline has been extended to March 7, 2023.

“Notice will be provided to the class members informing them of this extension shortly. Class Counsel is also in touch with nations to let them know directly,” Baskatawang told Windspeaker.com in an email.

He said the deadline extension would allow OKT to work with communities and do follow up, providing more details and support on the settlement agreement.

“Now we can have more time to reach out to the government,” said Cromarty.

The settlement agreement included $1.5 billion in compensation to individuals deprived of clean drinking water. Individuals who did qualify under the class action, could opt out of the agreement. No one opted out, said Baskatawang.

The settlement agreement also included the creation of a $400-million First Nation Economic and Cultural Restoration Fund and the creation of a First Nations Advisory Committee on Safe Drinking Water.

Windspeaker.com

By Shari Narine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com, Windspeaker.com

Train derailment in southeastern Saskatchewan leads to massive fire

Thu, December 1, 2022 

A train derailed near the village of Macoun in southeastern Saskatchewan Thursday morning. (Amber Mantei/Facebook - image credit)

Amber Mantei and her husband were travelling Thursday morning along Highway 39 near the village of Macoun, Sask., when they noticed that a train had derailed.

Suddenly, flames burst more than 30 metres into the air.

"It was pretty intense," Mantei said. "We've never seen anything like that before."

Some time before 10 a.m. CST Thursday, people in the area heard sudden shrieks from braking wheels, then saw a large plume of smoke, said Carmen Dodd-Vicary, the chief administrative officer for the Village of Macoun.

A Canadian Pacific Railway freight train had derailed about two kilometres northwest of the village, located about 160 kilometres southeast of Regina.

Amber Mantei/Facebook

A large fire ignited as a result of the derailment and thick black smoke affected visibility in the area, RCMP say.

Photos and videos taken of the scene show several oil tankers burning, as well as some freight cars that were carrying vehicles. About two dozen train cars were off the tracks.

Mantei said the fire was so intense that she and her husband felt as if they had put their face too close to a bonfire, even though they were driving by with their windows closed.

Highway 39 was closed to traffic in both directions, police say. Detours were being organized, but RCMP asked drivers to avoid the area.

An emergency alert was issued early Thursday afternoon. People within a 2.2-kilometre radius of the derailment will be contacted if they need to evacuate, the alert said.

Anyone told to evacuate would be asked to go to the Midale Civic Center, it said.

Amber Mantei/Facebook

When Dodd-Vicary spoke with CBC News, the local K-8 school had been advised to keep students and staff sheltered in the building, pending notifications as the situation changes, she said.

CP Railway was on scene to investigate, police say.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is gathering information and assessing what transpired, but could not provide any information, a spokesperson told CBC News around 1:30 p.m. CST.

The TSB was sending a team investigators to the site, the spokesperson said.

No injuries have been reported, police say.

The engineers appeared to be safe, with the engine sitting about 100 metres from the burning cars, Mantei said.

There appeared to be two cars separating the engine from the tankers where the fire was burning, she added.

Mantei said she teared up when she saw the scene, both because of the disaster itself and because the rail line will have to shut down to be cleaned-up and repaired, which could affect shipments coming to farmers in the area. She and her husband farm near Estevan, Sask.

"It's emotional on how intense it was, and the horribleness of the situation," she said. "But then the trickle down of the cause-and-effect moment."

Canadian ‘father’ of evidence-based medicine wins global Einstein Foundation award


Thu, December 1, 2022 


A Hamilton researcher has won an international prize for work that jurors say makes him the "father of evidence-based medicine."

The Berlin-based Einstein Foundation Award named Dr. Gordon Guyatt the winner of a €200,000 prize — worth about C$280,000 — for his pioneering work promoting quality in medical research leading to better patient care.

Guyatt, distinguished professor of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact at McMaster University, develops guidelines that help doctors incorporate high-quality, up-to-date research into their treatment decisions so they don't have to rely solely on what a textbook says or the way something has always been done in the past.

“Historically, physicians received no training whatsoever in reading and understanding the medical literature and original studies,” Guyatt, 69, said from Hamilton.

Unlike many other research prizes, the Einstein Foundation Award recognizes the "importance of doing research properly rather than just getting flashy results," jury vice-president Dorothy Bishop said at a virtual news conference in advance of Thursday's announcement in Berlin.

The jury, made up of 15 international scientists, chose one individual and one institution that "have made scientific results globally more trustworthy and useful," said award secretary Ulrich Dirnagl.

Guyatt has "transformed the quality of clinical research in the health sciences by influencing how research is done and how evidence is transformed into practice," said Bishop, also an emeritus professor of developmental neuropsychology at the University of Oxford.

"He's the father, I would say, of evidence-based medicine."

Guyatt credits his mentor, the late Dr. David Sackett, as the real founder.

Sackett started Canada's first clinical epidemiology program — the practice of applying health research knowledge to making patient care decisions — at McMaster University in 1968.

Guyatt took Sackett's course when he was an internal medicine resident and it changed the course of his career. He said that's just one example of the "happenstance and phenomenal good luck" that led up to winning the Einstein award.

In fact, Guyatt didn't plan to be a doctor or researcher at all.

"In high school I never did any biology. I never did any science. When I went to university I did psychology and English," he said.

But during his undergrad years Guyatt realized he didn't like the career options available to him and decided he wanted to be a doctor.

“At the time there was one medical school in the country where they let people in without a science background," he said.

"I applied to that institution and got in. And it turned out to be McMaster University in Hamilton, where I grew up.”

Sackett taught him about evaluating and applying scientific findings to make decisions at the patient's bedside.

"It certainly felt to me like this was a profoundly different way of practising medicine,” Guyatt said.

High-quality findings that translate into patient care often come from randomized clinical trials, but clinicians need to know how to assess the quality of the methodology and results — something not all physicians have time or the ability to do, Guyatt said.

Systematic reviews of many randomized clinical trials can go a step further. But what's most helpful is transforming high-quality research results into evidence-based guidelines that doctors can easily turn to, he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated the importance of those kinds of guidelines, Guyatt said. The quick turnaround of safe and effective vaccines and treatments in response to an unknown virus has been a "triumph" of evidence-based medicine, he said.

“One of the things I’ve done that I’m most happy with is helping the WHO make their trustworthy recommendations,” he said.

He's been working with the World Health Organization on establishing evidence-based treatment guidelines — including when doctors should prescribe the antiviral drug combination nirmatrelvir-ritonavir, also known under the brand name Paxlovid, to COVID-19 patients.

Using an online decision-making tool on the WHO's website, doctors can click through to get the recommendation that applies to their patient, including factors such as their risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19. They can also find an assessment of the quality of the studies that were used to come to those conclusions, as well as graphics to help in discussing the decision with patients.

Shared decision-making is another hallmark of evidence-based medicine, Guyatt said, because the best way to use the medical evidence sometimes depends on the patient's values and preferences.

“There are some decisions that are slam dunks. The benefits so clearly outweigh the downsides and vice versa,” he said.

But in other cases, it's not as clear. The evidence may show that a patient with cancer can expect to live another three months with chemotherapy, but those three months won't be pleasant, he said. In that case, the right course of action depends on the value the patient places on living longer versus quality of life.

Guyatt wasn't able to make it to Berlin to accept his Einstein award in person on Thursday, but said he is "honoured, grateful, and as usual, thankful for my extraordinary good luck."

The Einstein Foundation's institution award went to the Psychological Science Accelerator, a global network that works to gather better data for psychological science evidence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2022.

This report has been produced with the financial assistance of the Canadian Medical Association. It has no say in editorial choices.

Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press

DECRIMINALIZE DRUGS

Odds of fatal overdose higher in B.C.'s rural areas, report says

Wed, November 30, 2022 

Amanda Slaunwhite, a senior scientist at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control and an assistant professor in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia, is one of the researchers involved in the study. (Cory Correia/CBC - image credit)

A new study has found the odds of a fatal drug overdose are about 30 per cent higher in rural areas of British Columbia than in urban centres and concludes a lack of access to harm reduction services may partly explain the elevated risk.

The study, conducted by researchers from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and the University of British Columbia (UBC), was published in mid-November by the online journal BMC Public Health. The research team used overdose statistics from 2015 to 2018 to determine fatal overdose odds ratios.

One of the researchers is Amanda Slaunwhite, a senior scientist at the BCCDC and an assistant professor in the School of Population and Public Health at UBC.

"Peers have been telling us for quite some time that they're concerned about overdose in rural and remote places in B.C.," Slaunwhite told CBC.

"And we've also seen from the coroner monthly reports that northern and rural areas tend to have the highest rates of fatal overdose in B.C., and so we wanted to understand more about that — to really understand the geography of fatal overdose and if where you live has an impact on the likelihood of an overdose being fatal."

Toxic drug crisis serves as backdrop for study

The study looking into the odds of rural and urban fatal drug overdoses comes at a time when B.C. is in the midst of a toxic drug crisis. From April 2016, when the province declared a public health emergency, to June 2022, more than 10,000 people have died from toxic illicit drugs.

In October 2022 alone, the B.C. Coroners Service said at least 179 British Columbians died from toxic drugs. That number, released Wednesday, brings the total number of deaths to 1,827 between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31.

According to the study, illicit drug overdose is "the foremost cause of unnatural deaths in B.C., exceeding all other causes combined."

The study notes that the primary cause of the overdose crisis in B.C. has been the contamination of the illicit drug supply with fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid. Fentanyl, the report says, was detected in about 90 per cent of the 1,550 fatal overdose cases in B.C. in 2018.

Provincial map shows hot spots and cold spots

Geographically, the most significant "hot spot" on the map for the odds of fatal overdose is an area in B.C.'s far north. That area includes the community of Fort Nelson, which has a population of about 3,400.

The biggest "cold spot" cover most of Haida Gwaii, the northern tip of Vancouver Island and a stretch along B.C.'s Central Coast, moving inland toward the west of Prince George and Quesnel. Population density in that area is low.

Submitted

Slaunwhite says hot spots and cold spots on the map are consistent with how much access people in those areas have to harm reduction services.

Bringing the picture down to a city level, she says the study found that people living in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver — a cold spot on the map — had lower odds of a fatal overdose because "there are lots of overdose prevention sites" in that area.

Advocate has on-the-ground perspective on services

Charlene Burmeister, the founder of the Coalition of Substance Users of the North, says the conclusion of the report — that lack of access to harm reduction services in rural locations may be a factor in the elevated risk of overdose deaths in these areas — is consistent with what she sees on the ground.

"Some rural locations in the north have … access to no harm reduction and people with lived and living experience have to navigate the best they can to get access to supplies," Burmeister said in an interview with CBC.

Burmeister lives in Quesnel, a city of about 10,000 people located in B.C.'s central Interior, 120 kilometres south of Prince George. She's also a stakeholder engagement lead with the BCCDC's harm reduction team.

In Quesnel, Burmeister says accessibility to harm reduction services is "much better" than in some northern B.C. rural communities. She says Quesnel residents can access services that run until 11 p.m. and receive assistance on the streets from a community outreach team. But even in Quesnel, she says more could be done.

"Quesnel certainly could use more programs and programs that kind of support people [with] more holistic and wraparound services," she said. "Definitely, we're lacking in that."

Low-cost fashion chain H&M to cut 1,500 jobs worldwide

November 30, 2022

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Low-cost fashion brand H&M said Wednesday that it will be reducing its global workforce by around 1,500 positions as part of a plan to reduce costs and further improve efficiency.

The Sweden-based company said a restructuring charge of 800 million kronor ($76 million) will be booked in the last three months of the year. The staff reduction is estimated to provide annual savings of about 2 billion kronor ($190 million).

CEO Helena Helmersson said H&M was “very mindful of the fact that colleagues will be affected by this. We will support our colleagues in finding the best possible solution for their next step.”

H&M was founded in Sweden in 1947. Besides the clothing retailer, the group includes brands like COS, Monki, Weekday, Cheap Monday, & Other Stories, H&M Home, ARKET and Afound. It counts about 4,664 stores in 77 markets and has 57 online markets.