Webb telescope spies hidden stars in stellar graveyard

Issued on: 08/12/2022 -

The Southern Ring Nebula, which is around 2,000 light years from Earth, had previously been thought to contain two stars © Handout / NASA/AFP/File


Paris (AFP) – It was one of the first famous images revealed by the James Webb Space Telescope earlier this year: a stunning shroud of gas and dust illuminated by a dying star at its heart.

Now researchers analysing the data from history's most powerful telescope have found evidence of at least two previously unknown stars hiding in the stellar graveyard.

The Southern Ring Nebula, which is in the Milky Way around 2,000 light years from Earth, had previously been thought to contain two stars.

One, nestled in the nebula's centre, is a white dwarf star which in its death throes has been casting off torrents of gas and dust for thousands of years that in turn formed the surrounding cloud.

Sapped of its brightness, the extremely hot white dwarf is the less visible of the two stars seen in Webb images released in July.

The white dwarf has offered astronomers a view of how our own Sun may die one day -- billions of years from now.

Unlike our lonely Sun, it has a companion, the brighter of the two stars in Webb's images.

However this binary system, which is common across the Milky Way, does not explain the nebula's "atypical" structure, Philippe Amram, an astrophysicist at France's Marseille Astrophysics Laboratory, told AFP.

The brighter star is the companion of the white dwarf which has ejected the gas and dust that forms the surrounding cloud © Handout / NASA/AFP/File

Amram is one of the co-authors of a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy on Thursday that has used Webb's observations to uncover more of the nebula's secrets.

Since the nebula was discovered by English astronomer John Herschel in 1835, astronomers have wondered why it has "such a bizarre shape, not really spherical," Amram said.

By analysing the data from Webb's infrared cameras, the researchers said they found evidence of at least two other stars inside the nebula, which has a diameter equivalent 1,500 times the distance from the Sun to Pluto.

While the new pair are slightly farther away from the white dwarf and its companion, all four stars -- or possibly even five -- are located in the centre of the nebula.

They are close enough to interact with each other, and their "exchanges of energy" create the nebula's strange shape, Amram said.

The Webb telescope, which has been operational since July, has already unleashed a raft of unprecedented data and scientists are hopeful it will herald a new era of discovery.

© 2022 AFP

Canada's Alberta province passes bill to ignore federal law

The opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) said the bill remains an unconstitutional "hot mess"


FRANCE 24
Issued on: 08/12/2022 - 

Alberta is pushing back at what it calls federal overreach, citing measures to cut CO2 pollution from oil sands mining facilities such as this one near Fort McKay © Ed JONES / AFP/File


Ottawa (AFP) – Canada's Alberta province passed a bill Thursday that allows its government to ignore federal laws it deems harmful -- pointing to, for example, measures to curb its oil industry's emissions.

Canada is among the world's top oil producers and much of that output comes from the oil sands in northern Alberta.

The so-called Sovereignty Act is the latest volley in a long-festering feud between Alberta and the national government, which in 2018 imposed a carbon tax and other climate measures to curb CO2 pollution.

Several provinces, including Alberta, fought unsuccessfully all the way to the Supreme Court against the levy, which is set to rise from Can$50 (US$37) per tonne of CO2 emissions to Can$170 in 2030.

Alberta's newly minted United Conservative Party leader and premier, Danielle Smith, has said the Sovereignty Act could also be used to push back against federal gun control measures.

"The way our country works is that we are a federation of sovereign, independent jurisdictions," Smith told her legislature during a late-night sitting that stretched past 1:00 am Thursday.

Provinces "have a right to exercise our sovereign powers in our own areas of jurisdiction," she said.

Before the vote, the most controversial provision of the bill -- which would have given Smith's cabinet sweeping powers to rewrite laws as it saw fit and bypass the legislature -- was stripped out.

The opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) said the bill remains an unconstitutional "hot mess" that circumvents the democratic process and risks putting a chill on investing in the province.

Indigenous leaders also expressed concern over its uncertain impact.

With an election in Alberta less than six months away and the province's NDP vowing to repeal the bill if they win, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sought to avoid being dragged into a grudge match.

"The Alberta government is trying to push back at the federal government," he told reporters in Ottawa.

Rather than arguing with them, Trudeau said his liberal administration would seek to "work as constructively as possible" on federal priorities such as jobs, child care, dental care and help for renters.

© 2022 AFP

France to make condoms free for young adults aged 18-25


Thu, 8 December 2022 


French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that condoms would be made available for free in pharmacies for 18- to 25-year-olds in a bid to reduce unwanted pregnancies among young people.

"It's a small revolution for contraception," Macron said during a health debate with young people in Fontaine-le-Comte, a suburb of Poitiers in western France.

The move comes after the government began offering this year free birth control for all women under 25, expanding a scheme targeting under-18s to ensure young women do not stop taking contraception because they cannot afford it.

Condoms are already reimbursed by the national healthcare system if prescribed by a doctor or midwife, a measure intended to fight the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

On sexual education overall, "we are not very good on this subject. The reality is very, very different from the theory. It's an area where we need to much better educate our teachers", Macron said.

Macron wore a face mask at the conference, saying he was following "health ministry guidelines", as the government weighs its response to a rise in Covid cases ahead of the holidays, though so far no mask mandates have been reintroduced.

"Faced with the new spread of the epidemic... I think it's good to set an example because we don't necessarily want to return to overall mandates," he said.

Officials are urging people to wear masks in crowded venues and to get Covid vaccine booster shots as winter approaches.

vl/js/adp/raz

‘Once-in-a-lifetime’ ancient necklace found in tomb of powerful Anglo-Saxon woman

Story by Kathryn Mannie • Yesterday 


A tomb that is being hailed as "one of the most spectacular" of its kind ever discovered in the U.K. is garnering international attention over a stunning, 1,300-year-old necklace that was unearthed at the site.


An opulent necklace found in Harpole, Northamptonshire alongside an illustration of what it may have looked like 1,300 years ago.© MOLA

Experts believe the resting place belonged to an Anglo-Saxon woman who may have been a powerful, early Christian leader based on the sumptuous artifacts she was buried with.

The find has been dubbed the "Harpole Treasure," after the Northamptonshire parish in which it was found, and was dug up by the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA). The day before an eight-week excavation for a housing development was meant to end, one archaeologist spotted a twinkle in the dust.

Read more:
Mysterious 24-metre structure discovered under sand on Florida beach

"When the first glints of gold started to emerge from the soil, we knew this was something significant," said MOLA site supervisor Levente-Bence Balázs. "However, we didn’t quite realize how special this was going to be."

The "once-in-a-lifetime" necklace consists of 30 pendants, made of precious gemstones, glass and Roman coins, spaced out with gold beads. The centrepiece showcases a cross motif in red garnet, set in fine gold laces.

MOLA archaeologists believe the centre pendant may have been one-half of a hinge clasp that was repurposed.

Archaeologists also discovered a large ornate cross inlaid with more garnets among the grave goods. The artifact is still being X-rayed, but researchers have been able to spot an "unusual depiction of a human face cast in silver" in the design of the cross.

The sheer size of the cross and the richness of the necklace have led researchers to suggest that the woman who was buried at the Harpole site was wealthy, devout, and "may have been an early Christian leader," according to MOLA. The only human remains found so far are tooth enamel fragments, but researchers are confident this is the tomb of a woman based on the necklace and the extravagant burial.

The burial site dates back to between 630 and 670 CE, a few centuries after Roman rule ended in Britain, and a full 400 years before William the Conqueror would eventually supplant the reigning Anglo-Saxons.

Christianity had been spreading in southern England for some decades, though intermingling with the resident pagan traditions meant that women could still hold powerful positions in the early church at this time. Later on, graves rarely featured such opulent objects as the early church took stronger root and discouraged such practices.

"The Harpole Treasure, it's not the richest (burial) in terms of the number of artifacts, but it is the richest in terms of investment of wealth ... and it has the highest amount of gold and religious symbolism," said Lyn Blackmore, MOLA's senior finds specialist, at a news briefing.

Two pots of Frankish origin (modern-day France and Belgium) were also entombed with the woman, though archaeologists have not yet been able to identify the residue left within. Their analysis so far has ruled out myrrh.

The Harpole Treasure was actually found back in April, but the discovery was made public on Wednesday following the preliminary analysis by experts. MOLA said that there is still further analysis that must be done to conserve the artifacts before they can go on display.

Canada expected to become a soccer nation as its fan base grows

Yesterday 

The 2022 World Cup of Soccer in Qatar has kicked off, and although Team Canada was the second team to be out of the match following a 4-1 loss against Croatia, the event was a golden opportunity for Canada Soccer to grow their franchise, particularly their immigrant fan base.

Soccer is growing in Canadian popularity and is carrying a bigger influence and responsibilities that come with it.

According to Canada Soccer, there were nearly 1 million registrants across 13 provincial/territorial member associations, surpassing that of Hockey Canada (600,000 active participants). At the elite level, the Canadian Premier League was launched in 2019 and it continues to expand from coast to coast. Toronto FC in Major League Soccer won their first-ever MLS Cup in 2017, and Canada’s women’s soccer team became the darlings of the nation by capturing gold in the Tokyo Olympic Games. That final game versus Sweden drew a record-breaking 4.4 million Canadians to watch the match live, setting a new record on Canadian television.

Soccer’s global fan base

As the immigrant population grows in Canada, especially from countries that already have a strong sense of allegiance to soccer, the possibility for Canada to capture the hearts of new fans is strong. Statistics Canada reported in March 2022 that nearly 80 per cent of the 1.8 million population increase in Canada — from 2016 to 2021 — was due to immigrants. The report said that India and China took top spots as the home countries of new immigrants. Soccer in these countries is highly popular, in terms of both player participation and viewership. Both India and China have held the FIFA U-17 World Cup and hold the first and second-place records for highest attendance.

Canada Soccer’s participation in the World Cup also has the potential to attract immigrant followers who were not previously soccer fans. The opening ceremony of the match was headlined by South Korean singer Jungkook alongside Qatari singer Fahad Al-Kubaisi. The ceremony also featured many aspects of Qatari culture and embraced multiculturalism by displaying flags from all over the world. All of this could resonate with immigrants from diverse backgrounds, even if they aren’t soccer fans.According to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the 2022 World Cup is expected to pull in 5 billion viewers from around the world; few events can even come close to that viewership and potential influence.

Canada Soccer’s participation in the World Cup looks highly promising for the future of the franchise’s fan base, many fans were expecting the franchise to influence Qatar to make transformational changes following concerns about the nation’s human rights issues that continue to spark controversies

The political side of the sport

According to the Guardian’s report in 2021, more than 6,500 foreign workers have died in Qatar since the nation won the rights in 2010 to host the World Cup. In addition, Qatar has been criticized over the lack of LGBTQ+ rights, as fans were asked to remove their rainbow-coloured clothing while attending the World Cup matches.

“It is a foreign affairs issue, not Canada Soccer’s,” said Germán Camacho, technical director at Calgary City FC, who came from Colombia nearly two decades ago.

Related video: 2 teams signed on so far to new professional women’s soccer league (cbc.ca)   Duration 2:02    View on Watch

He said Canada Soccer has done a good job developing new talent, and that the federal government needs to advocate for human rights to shield Canada Soccer from controversies.

“There are consequences, you talk and you get punished by FIFA. The federal government needs to be the entity to make a statement right now,” Camacho said.

Following the 2022 World Cup, Camacho said Canada will soon become a soccer nation because it is a country of immigrants.

“It is just night and day — these young kids I coach these days know soccer, know the players, the tactics, everything, and even the parents have huge knowledge.”

Ingo Ionescu, a second-generation Canadian of Romanian descent, said: “We all know what is going on. I always tell my friends, ‘I cheer for only good football.’ In the ideal world, sports should stay away from politics but it is a business now so it’s impossible.”

Ionescu believes soccer players need to focus on the game.

“Look at how much money Cristiano Ronaldo makes, but what can he do?” he said. “Having said that, I think Canada Soccer needed to take the stance and should be a leader to fight for human rights.”

In October, many major soccer associations advocated for a Workers Compensation Fund for labourers and their families. In response to a CTV exclusive interview just a day before the opening ceremony of the World Cup, Canada Soccer’s Secretary Earl Cochrane stated he disagreed with Canada Soccer being accused of a “deafening silence” on Qatar’s human rights issues.

Cochrane also stood by a statement released on Oct 28 in which Canada Soccer “encouraged all partners to continue the efforts to implement labour reforms.” That statement drew criticism from human rights watchdogs, such as Amnesty International.

“International sport, as much as it tries to distance itself from politics, will always be tied to it,” says David Legg, a professor in the Department of Health and Physical Education at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

Legg said professional sports organizations have the right and duty, because of their stature in the public, to voice opinions and concerns about issues important to society. By refraining from making an adequate statement, some may say Canada Soccer is not showing the integrity that is expected of a major sports organization, particularly one that has not yet established itself on the world stage.

Brian Wong and Mohana Holloway, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, New Canadian Media

Jennifer Valentyne not surprised at Corus investigation results

Story by Liz Braun • Yesterday - Toronto Sun



Jennifer Valentyne.© Provided by Toronto Sun

Q107 Radio posted on Twitter Nov. 29 that their investigation into complaints about the working environment at the show Derringer In the Morning had concluded.

Their statement described the investigation as independent and external, but as Q107 parent company Corus Entertainment hired, paid for and directed Turnpenney Milne LLP in the investigation, “independent” and “external” may be considered window dressing.

Their statement notes that though personnel matters remain private and confidential, “we understand and accept the findings and recommendations. Where not already in place, we intend to implement the investigator’s recommendations.”

Jennifer Valentyne, the media personality whose video on Twitter earlier this year sparked a closer look at an allegedly toxic workplace where at least five women had formally complained, said Tuesday that the statement came as no surprise to her or anyone else.

Valentyne had already tweeted in response to the Q107 statement:

“This statement says nothing. I didn’t participate because investigating mgmt was not included. Execs, the CEO and HR knew what was going on for years. FOUR women before me. We all begged for help. We were all denied. The women were blamed. The men were protected. #accountability.”

Valentyne declined to be part of the investigation (as did another woman) when she was given to understand that it did not involve management. She also had no faith in it.

“For all I know, they could have put it all on me. Now they’ll say I didn’t take part — I viewed it as a no-win situation. But I don’t regret what I did. It saves another woman,” she said.

Her objective was never to see Derringer get fired, she said.

Speaking of her time at the station, Valentyne said, “My whole thing was always, ‘let’s make it better.’

“I was trying to figure it out myself, and I was offering managerial advice, such as, let’s get him more anger management, let’s put an observer in the room — let’s work on this!”

Bottom line: M anagement knew what was going on but did nothing over many years, Valentyne said.

“They could have dealt with it 20 years ago but chose not to,” she said.

Early on in the Derringer debacle, attention turned from the on-air personality himself to Corus Entertainment.

Indeed, Valentyne’s complaint of gender discrimination with the Canadian Human Rights Commission is against Corus Entertainment, not Derringer.

So what about Corus management? Any accountability there?

“Maybe that’s next,” said Valentyne, “but I doubt it.”

John Derringer finished at Q-107 amid investigation

BRAUN: Problem bigger than allegations against Q-107's John Derringer

Still, anyone observing the situation wonders why the Shaw family and the Corus board remain silent.
“They failed their employees. They failed their women,” said Valentyne.

Nobody is expected an apology from Corus, because that’s viewed as an admission of guilt. But the complaints from female staff go back many years, and what’s mystifying is that nothing was done over all those years.

It’s perhaps fair to question why so much time and money might have been spent to seemingly cover up the mess instead of trying to fix it.

(Current rumours say Derringer got $8 million when he parted company with Corus.)

Maureen Holloway, Supriya Dwivedi, Jacqui Delaney — each of these high-profile women has spoken about the alleged enablers of Derringer.

When will that be addressed?

“I never expected anything,” said Valentyne of the investigation.

“We knew what this was from the beginning. The result is no surprise to anyone.

“They just want it to go away,” she said.

A request for more information from Corus was unanswered at press time.

DEPORTATION FROM CANADA

Transgender Irish teen given chance to argue risks of his deportation after family speaks out

Story by Yvette Brend • 


A transgender teen from Ireland who had been facing removal from Canada due to an immigration error made by his family has won a short stay in his case — he can apply for a risk assessment to explain the family's concerns he could face discrimination, bullying or violence in his home country.

Adam Tyrrell Haslam's small victory comes after the 19-year-old's family began a legal fight in September to try to stop Canada from deporting the young man.

Adam had been facing removal after the Irish family, while seeking assistance at the border with their passports, permanent residency paperwork and visas that had expired by one day, made a wrong turn and crossed into the U.S. — a mishap that led to orders that they leave Canada.

For the past 21 months, they've been trapped in immigration limbo, unable to work or go to school. But the other four family members had been given the opportunity to fill out a pre-removal risk assessment, a document that allows them to make a case to stay in the country.

It wasn't until Friday, a day after the family spoke to CBC, that Adam's parents received an email from the manager of intelligence and enforcement operations division for Canada Border Services Agency's (CBSA) pacific division.

In it, was an invitation to fill out an attached pre-removal risk assessment. It also explained that anyone ordered to leave Canada at a point of entry or border did not need to be notified they are eligible for a risk assessment — an issue that had caused confusion for the family as to why only four of them were given the opportunity initially.


Haslam hugs his son. Adam was recently invited send in a pre-removal risk assessment application, which will offer him a temporary stay of deportation as it's reviewed.© Padraig Mac Roibeaird

That said, John Haslam says he's relieved his son can now make a case to stay for his safety, but he's not sure how long it will take before the application is processed and a decision about the entire family's future is made.

"I felt excited but worried at the same time," Haslam told CBC in a phone interview on Tuesday night.

"They're offering us an opportunity. It's still not a guarantee. I mean, there's still the chance they will remove us from the country. And it's quite scary."

Padraig Mac Roibeaird, who acted as a legal agent for the family, says they will now drop their civil case.

"We got what we were asking for. I was surprised at the speed at which it came through," said Mac Roibeaird. For that speed he credits CBC's story last week.

But he also believes this stops details from emerging.

"Something bad happened at the border, and they did not want to have to go through the discovery process," he said.

Zool Suleman, an immigration lawyer who did not represent the family but did review the case for CBC, says Adam will likely not face removal until the process is over, which could take weeks or months.

"[Immediate removal] now is unlikely, partly because of the work [CBC] has been doing. The moment somebody like you reports, then people get very sensitive about the process," Suleman said. "Attention on this in the media is going to make them absolutely careful on how they deal with it."

'5 steps backward'

Adam says he's eager to fill out the risk review application, hoping it will make it possible for him to return to building a life here.

"I'm thankful for the opportunity to be able to stay [for now]. But as my dad said, it's not really a guarantee that we're going to stay here," Adam said in a phone interview from Vernon, B.C.

If after a hearing, Adam is ordered to leave Canada, he says he'll feel lost.

"I really don't know what I'd do," he said. "I have pretty much everything planned for this to go right and if it doesn't, it's just like five steps backwards."

The family filed a civil lawsuit against the Attorney General of Canada last September arguing that Adam faced discrimination, bullying and stigma back in Ireland — and they've been trying to become permanent residents of Canada since 2013. They are looking to make a life in Canada for economic and safety reasons, saying it's a better environment for Adam, their eldest son, who transitioned as a teen.

In recent years, hate crime targeting the LGBT community has been on the rise in Ireland, so much so that in October Ireland's Minister for Justice Helen McEntee introduced new legislation that criminalizes the incitement of acts of hate against transgender people and others.


Ireland's Minister of Justice Helen McEntee, shown here speaking in Dublin in 2019 when she was minister for European affairs.© Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

Although Adam will be able to outline the risks to him in returning to Ireland, Suleman says these risk assessment hearings are a long shot.

Criteria are strict and the success rate of such a hearing is low; between five and seven per cent of claims are approved, he says.

"A risk assessment is not a refugee claim," Suleman said. "They need to be more specific."



Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser makes an announcement in Ottawa in October. Immigration lawyer Suleman suggested that ministerial intervention is the family's best chance at being able to stay in Canada now.© Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press

A pre-removal risk assessment gives those facing a deportation or other removal order the chance to outline the risk they would face if they were returned to their home country. If the application is approved, then they may stay in Canada. Applications are assessed based on whether the applicant could face a danger, torture, a risk of death or cruel and unusual punishment, according to the federal criteria.

Applicants can also argue to stay if there is a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or being part of a particular social group.

But upon rejection, removal is swift and restarting a permanent residency application is very difficult, Suleman said.

"Their ability to restart the irregular immigration process is exceedingly low. Once you're on the enforcement track, there's a very high chance that they will be asked to leave Canada," he said.

Requests for interviews from CBSA and Immigration Canada were declined, despite the family signing consent agreements to deal with privacy concerns.

CBSA said in an email that the decision to remove people from Canada is "not taken lightly," adding that the pre-removal risk assessment applications act as a stay of removal until Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada makes a final decision.

The family, who are restricted from working or studying, have been living in a hotel for 15 months with help from charities as they are barred from working or going to school in Canada. Haslam said Adam and his two younger brothers spend their days at the library or tobogganing behind the hotel.

Adam says he's looking forward to the holidays, watching the movie Elf with his family and he hopes Christmas dinner will be chicken.

"We've got a little tree and just waiting for Christmas — it's all we can do," his father said.

Swedish self-driving truck start-up Einride raises more cash

Story by By Marie Mannes • 

Handout photo shows Einride's electric self-driving truck Einride Pod© Thomson Reuters

(Reuters) - Swedish electric self-driving truck start-up Einride said on Wednesday it had agreed to raise capital of $500 million from debt, equity and the conversion of earlier loans, speeding up the company's ability to pursue new markets and customers.

A $300 million debt facility was signed with Barclays Europe, while $200 million in equity came from new and existing investors, including EQT and Northzone, Einride said in a statement.

Some $90 million of the equity came in the form of earlier debts being converted to shares. Einride declined to say how much the company was valued at following the latest share issue.

Some fast-growing tech companies have struggled to raise funds this year while others, such as Swedish payments firm Klarna Bank, have attracted investors by giving deep discounts compared to earlier valuations.

"The time is now to act on not only developing but accelerating the implementation of technology that will create a cleaner, safer and more efficient way to move goods," said Einride's founder and Chief Executive Robert Falck.

The company's business is based on self-driving technology for freight trucks, which has attracted investor attention in recent years as it is deemed to be cheaper as well as easier to roll out compared to self-driving cars.

Self-driving freight services require less mapping than other technology as they run on fixed routes between predefined points, mostly on major highways without intersections or pedestrians.

(Reporting by Marie Mannes, editing by Terje Solsvik and Louise Heavens)

Marie-Philip Poulin named Canadian athlete of the year

Story by Arun Srinivasan • 


Marie-Philip Poulin has been named the winner of the 2022 Northern Star Award, granted to the best Canadian athlete during the calendar year, as voted by a cohort of sports writers and broadcasters across the country.


Marie-Philip Poulin led Canada to a dominant year in women's hockey, claiming gold medals at the 2022 Winter Olympics and the women's world hockey championship. (Getty Images)

In the interest of transparency, we did not have an official ballot, but we selected Poulin as our winner, over Brooke Henderson and Cale Makar in a contested race. You can read Yahoo Sports Canada’s rationale here.

It’s the first time the award — formerly known as the Lou Marsh Award — was granted to a women’s hockey player. Poulin submitted another tour-de-force season, leading Canada to the gold medal at the 2022 Olympics, where she finished second in tournament scoring behind teammate Sarah Nurse with six goals and 17 points in seven games, while notching two goals in the gold medal game against the United States. Poulin became the first player — both men or women — to have scored in four consecutive Olympic finals.

Poulin wasn’t finished there. She captained Canada to another gold medal at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championships, where she recorded 10 points. During a time where women’s hockey has nearly unparalleled depth, she stands above them all as the best player in the sport. Poulin frankly should’ve won this award before and she now sits among Angela James, Hayley Wickenheiser, Cammi Granato and Geraldine Heaney as the best women’s players of all-time.

Other finalists included Henderson, Makar, cross-country skier Brian McKeever, swimmer Summer McIntosh and tennis star Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Poulin first female hockey player to win Canada's athlete of the year honour

TORONTO — Marie-Philip Poulin was surprised to hear she was the first female hockey player to win the Northern Star Award, but she expects to have some company soon.


Poulin first female hockey player to win Canada's athlete of the year honour© Provided by The Canadian Press

Poulin, the captain of Canada's women's team who led her team to Olympic and world championship gold in 2022, was named this year's recipient of the award given annually to Canada's athlete of the year.

"Honestly, I didn't think I was the first one," the 31-year-old from Beauceville, Que., said in a video conference on Wednesday when asked about being the first female hockey player honoured with the award.

"It's a real honour because the ladies have been there before us, before me, I've watched them on TV. They're my idols and my role models."

"Obviously I'm not going to be the only one," she added.

Poulin was instrumental in Canada's gold medal in Beijing. She scored twice in a 3-2 win over the U.S. in the championship game and finished the tournament second in scoring with 17 points, one behind teammate Sarah Nurse.

She had 10 points in seven games at the world championship in Denmark, including an assist on Brianne Jenner's opening goal in a 2-1 win over the U.S. in the gold-medal game.

Poulin's award comes a little over a week after she played in a Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association Dream Gap Tour event in Pittsburgh. She had a hat trick to lead Team Harvey's to a 5-2 win over Team Scotiabank on Nov. 27.

The PWHPA formed after the collapse of the Canadian Women's Hockey League in 2019. Its members are working to build a sustainable women's professional league.

"There is light at the end of the tunnel and we truly believe that next year something is going to be in place," she said.

Poulin said the women's game is growing past something that only gets attention during an Olympic year.

"I think the more that little girls and boys come to see us, and having Sarah Nurse on the cover of NHL 23 (video game), the more you see that I think it creates so much more and you can see people are talking about it as a year-to-year thing."

Poulin is the 10th hockey player overall to win the award. Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price was the last to win in 2015.

Media members from across Canada voted Wednesday on the annual Toronto Star award. Other contenders included tennis player Felix Auger-Aliassime, golfer Brooke Henderson, swimmer Summer McIntosh, speedskater Isabelle Weidemann, soccer player Alphonso Davies, Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar and B.C. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke.

The Northern Star Award has been handed out annually since 1936.

Until this year it was named the Lou Marsh Award after a former football player and NHL referee who spent more than 40 years working in the Toronto Star's sports department.

The award was recently renamed after concerns surfaced in recent years over some of the racist language used in Marsh's writing.

Poulin is also a nominee for the The Canadian Press female athlete of the year award, which will be announced on Dec. 28.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2022.

'Why won't you search for us': Family of slain woman in Winnipeg take call to AFN


OTTAWA — Calls from the daughters of a slain Indigenous woman to bring her remains home from a landfill that police in Winnipeg won't search turned into a rallying cry Wednesday to end the violence against their women and girls.


Police call not to search for women's remains "a breach of human dignity," AFN hears© Provided by The Canadian Press

Cambria Harris, speaking before an Assembly of First Nations gathering in Ottawa, says her mother, Morgan, was a "bright and loving soul" who had her life stolen by a "monster."

The 39-year-old mother and grandmother is one of four victims police believe were killed by 35-year-old Jeremy Skibicki, now facing first-degree murder charges.

Despite police saying they believe Harris's remains and those of Marcedes Myran to be in a landfill outside the city, it says too much time has passed and garbage dumped at the site to make a search "feasible."

Their response is "vile," Harris said, who the day before spoke on Parliament Hill. Her sister, Kera Harris, added Wednesday if police won't search the landfill, then it should close.

"They deserve to have a final resting place that isn't a landfill. Why won't you search for us?" Cambria Harris said.

Harris told chiefs she was the same age as Tina Fontaine was when she disappeared in Winnipeg back in 2014.

Fontaine's death ignited calls for the federal government to launch an inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls, following the discovery that her small body, wrapped in a duvet and weighed down by rocks, had been dumped into a river.

"I protested when she was found because it hurt me personally as a young Indigenous girl," Harris said.

"Why does this keep happening and why do we allow it happen?"

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau granted the request for an inquiry when he took office in 2015. By 2019, it concluded that the years of violence against Indigenous women and girls amounted to a genocide — a term Trudeau at first didn't use but has since adopted.

His government's action plan and spending on initiatives to try to better protect Indigenous women has been criticized as falling short of the actions outlined in the report's 231 calls to justice.

Related video: Slain woman's daughters demand Winnipeg police search landfill for remains (cbc.ca)
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The killing of four more Indigenous women and police decision not to search a landfill for their remains shone a fresh light on the issue of violence against Indigenous women at the chiefs' assembly and prompted widespread criticism of the service itself.

"We would ask every Canadian to consider how they would feel if it was their mother or daughter or sister or best friend whose body was lying at the bottom of a landfill. Would they not demand that she be found?" said Carol McBride, president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, in a written statement Wednesday.

"We can’t help but wonder if the Winnipeg police would have continued to look for Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran if they had been white."

McBride added that if police in Winnipeg don't have the capacity to do this work, they should look to another investigative body.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said the decision not to search sends a "dark message."

"Human beings deserve the effort, no matter how dismal or difficult the task may seem. It is unnerving that the (Winnipeg Police Service) is creating unmarked graves in these landfill sites," Grand Chief Cathy Merrick said in a statement Wednesday.

Kimberly Murray, whom the government appointed to serve as a special interlocutor to help First Nations investigate unmarked graves, told the assembly on Tuesday the decision by police "is a breach of human dignity."

"Those families have a right to know," said Murray, a former executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

"International convention says they have a right to know."

During question period Tuesday, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller told members of Parliament it is "very puzzling to hear the news that this landfill will not be searched," saying he hoped to get clear answers from the city.

"Clearly the federal government needs to play a role in an area where jurisdiction is a poisonous word and continues to kill Indigenous women and children in this country."

Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth also said he hadn't spoken to anyone in the federal government about the matter.

The force's head of forensics spoke to the media Tuesday to provide more details about the decision not to carry out a search.

Insp. Cam MacKid said police determined it wouldn't be feasible given how much time has passed and how much has been dumped at the site, which is regularly compacted using heavy equipment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2022.

— With files from Brittany Hobson and Steve Lambert in Winnipeg

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press