WISCONSIN

Panel of right-wing activists claim schools are 'sexually grooming' children by teaching gender identity, event at Pewaukee hotel draws protests


Quinn Clark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Fri, January 27, 2023 

Community organization Trans Advocacy Madison held a protest outside of the Ingleside Hotel to speak out against Parents on Patrol's "Stolen Innocence" panel. The panel was held to educate parents and taxpayers on how to combat "sexual grooming" of children in schools, according to Parents on Patrol's description of the event on Eventbrite.

Demonstrators organized by grassroots group Trans Advocacy Madison gathered outside the Ingleside Hotel Thursday night to protest a scheduled panel that, they said, was formed to spread harmful propaganda against trans and nonbinary youth.

"There should be no hate in the state of Wisconsin," said longtime LGBTQ+ activist AJ Reed, the demonstration's spokesperson. "If we're really, truly following the mantra of the state, which is 'forward,' then how are we moving forward (by) having events like this?"

The ticketed event, "Stolen Innocence: A Panel on the Insidious Ideology Infecting Your Children's Education," took place inside the Pewaukee hotel, 2810 Golf Road. Hosted by local organization Parents on Patrol, five panelists explained to the sold-out venue how schools are "sexually grooming" children by teaching them about gender identity and sexual orientation. A reporter covering the protest was not allowed access to the event.

Fact check:LGBTQ community rejects false association with pedophiles

"The reality is, they are coming for your child," read the event's description on Eventbrite. "You need to stand in the way."

The event comes at a time when Muskego-Norway, Germantown, Arrowhead and Waukesha school boards have enacted policies that prohibit staff from referring to students by their preferred name and/or pronouns without express parental permission. Nationally, over 200 anti-trans bills have been introduced this year, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Around 30 protesters stood for hours in the snow holding signs that supported anti-hate and trans acceptance.

"If we're going to actually truly understand things, talk to us, talk to people," Reed said. "If you're going to do events like this because you're stuck in your own conservative isolation, then you're going to get more public blowback."

Locals Stephani Lohman, Pippa Linzwright and MJ Hubert joined the group of trans advocates on Golf Road to protest the "Stolen Innocence" panel hosted by Parents on Patrol inside the Ingleside Hotel.

Behind Parents on Patrol is southeastern Wisconsin parent-activist Alexandra Schweitzer. The organization's Twitter banner asks, "What is the transgender movement doing to your child?"

Schweitzer, also president of the Wisconsin chapter of right-wing group No Left Turn in Education, was sent a cease-and-desist letter last year from the Oconomowoc Area School District after she claimed students had access to age-inappropriate books on their school-issued Chromebrooks. The books in question, such as "It's Perfectly Normal" and "Queer," make references to gender and sexuality.

In response, the conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty sent OASD a letter on Schweitzer's behalf to assure that her statements are protected by the First Amendment.

OASD denied that students had access to literature unsuitable for their age groups.

Accredited medical organizations such as the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, American Psychiatric Association and Yale School of Medicine support gender-affirming care for youth, meant to treat a diagnosable condition called gender dysphoria, which causes psychological distress from feeling one's biological sex does not match their gender identity.

Research shows that transgender youth who have access to gender-affirming medical care experience improvements in mental health, according to professional association the Society for Research in Child Development.

Among the panelists was activist Chloe Cole, an 18-year-old from California who "destransitioned" at 16 years old. Cole travels the country speaking out against gender-affirming care after, she says, she was coerced by social media and medical professionals into taking puberty blockers and undergoing a double-mastectomy when she was 15.

Cole recently spoke in favor of a bill proposed in Utah that would prohibit minors from undergoing "sex-transitioning procedures."

Researchers at Princeton University last year found that trans youths very rarely "detransition." For five years, Princeton studied over 300 early-transitioning youth and, of the group, 94% remained transgender.

The Endocrine Society's guidelines, which are followed by most hospitals, including Children's Wisconsin, advise against prescribing hormone-replacement therapy before a patient is 16, as well as against performing sex reassignment surgery before a patient is 18.

Protest remains peaceful

A few days before the "Stolen Innocence" panel, Schweitzer issued a statement that said, in order to protect attendees and speakers from "potential plans to disrupt" the event, Parents on Patrol was working with the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department and Waukesha Police Department.

As protesters arrived, local law enforcement asked that anyone who was not a hotel resident to park elsewhere. Ingleside Hotel management was also quick to approach those on the premises who seemed to be part of the group. Protesters complied, agreeing to remain off of hotel property, including the parking lot.

Protest organizers never planned to be a danger to speakers or attendees, Reed said.

"I've been in communication with some of these folks, at least the core organizers of this event, and nothing has been like that whatsoever," Reed said.

Protesters did, however, repeatedly contact the Ingleside Hotel for the past month, calling for them to cancel the event, Reed said.

"At this point, they have not really communicated back to us about this event other than saying that this event is still going to go on," Reed said.

The Ingleside Hotel confirmed that it received requests to cancel the panel but said it cannot comment on any particular groups who use the venue.

More:Republican lawmakers vote to allow 'conversion therapy' aimed at changing a patient's sexual orientation

More:A second Black transgender woman has been murdered in Milwaukee. Her family believes it was a hate crime.

Quinn Clark can be emailed at QClark@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Quinn_A_Clark.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Parents on Patrol event at Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee draws protest

Brazil's government eyes compensation deal for 2015 Vale-BHP dam burst

Fri, January 27, 2023 at 12:09 PM MST

BRASILIA, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Brazil's government will try to reach a deal "as soon as possible" on compensation for the 2015 burst of a tailings dam owned by Samarco, a joint venture between Vale and BHP, Institutional Relations Minister Alexandre Padilha said on Friday.

In a news conference in Brasilia, Padilha said the matter had been discussed at a meeting with state governors earlier in the day.

The dam collapse in the southeastern city of Mariana killed 19 people and severely polluted the Rio Doce river, compromising the waterway all the way to its outlet in the Atlantic Ocean.

Padilha said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's chief of staff would set up a meeting with the governments of Minas Gerais, where Mariana is located, and Espirito Santo, where the Doce river also flows, for further discussions.

The states are seeking compensation for the damage done by the disaster.

"We will try and reach this compensation agreement as soon as possible in light of the environmental crime that was committed in Mariana," Padilha said. "We want to speed up the final negotiations for this deal."

In late 2021, a study done by a company contracted by prosecutors showed the "socio-environmental" damage caused by the dam rupture was between 37.6 billion reais ($7.35 billion) and 60.6 billion reais ($11.85 billion).

($1 = 5.1126 reais) (Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Isabel Woodford and Paul Simao)

FortisBC Holdings Inc. signs agreement with First Nation over B.C. LNG project


Fri, January 27, 2023 



SURREY, B.C. — FortisBC Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal with a First Nation in British Columbia over the Tilbury liquefied natural gas expansion projects.

The subsidiary of utilities company FortisInc. says it will collaborate with the Snuneymuxw First Nation on the expansion of the Tilbury LNG facility in Delta, B.C., and related projects.

FortisBC Holdings says it respects Snuneymuxw's rights in relation to the potential effects of the project and is committed to sharing project benefits with the First Nation.

It says Snuneymuxw has committed to supporting the projects and participating in the required regulatory processes.

The company says the Tilbury LNG facility expansion is intended to help strengthen FortisBC's gas system, while also serving the growing demand for LNG as a marine fuel.

FortisBC says switching from traditional marine fuel to LNG can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships by up to 27 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2023.

Companies in this story: (TSX:FTS)

The Canadian Press

PATRIARCHICAL PERMISSION 
Judge grants bail for Alberta spiritual leader charged with sexually assaulting 4 women

Fri, January 27, 2023 

College of Integrated Philosophy leader John de Ruiter has been charged with four counts of sexual assault. (johnderuiter.com - image credit)

John de Ruiter, the self-appointed leader of an Edmonton-based spiritual group, was granted bail Friday after being charged earlier this week with sexually assaulting four women.

Edmonton provincial court Judge Randal Brandt released the 63-year-old de Ruiter on strict conditions, including that he surrender his passport and provide a $30,000 cash deposit.

He is not to contact any of the complainants or their family members, either directly or indirectly through his followers.

He can't be within 100 metres of the complainants' places of worship, schools or workplaces.

The judge also directed that de Ruiter not be alone with any female person except for his wife, daughters or immediate family members unless under the supervision of a responsible adult who is not his wife.

That bail condition does not apply to a 49-year-old woman described as a roommate to de Ruiter and his wife at their rural home.

De Ruiter must also report to a bail supervisor regularly, live at residence approved by the bail supervisor, and remain in Alberta unless relocation is approved by the bail supervisor.

Edmonton police arrested de Ruiter on Jan. 21. Police allege he assaulted four women in separate incidents between 2017 and 2020. None of the allegations has been proven in court.

Police believe there may be additional complainants. Investigators are urging anyone with information to come forward.

"It was reported that the accused informed certain female group members that he was directed by a spirit to engage in sexual activity with them, and that engaging in sexual activity with him will provide them an opportunity to achieve a state of higher being or spiritual enlightenment," Edmonton police said in a statement Monday.

Oasis Group has hundreds of followers

Known by his followers simply as John, de Ruiter is the leader of a group known as the College of Integrated Philosophy, or the Oasis Group, which has been operating in Edmonton for decades. The group boasts more than 300 followers in Edmonton and others around the world.

On Friday, de Ruiter appeared from the Edmonton Remand Centre via CCTV.

He often looked directly into the camera with a piercing stare familiar to his devotees.

The hearing had to be relocated to accommodate spectators, including 33 people who identified themselves as de Ruiter's supporters. His wife and two sons sat in the front row of the courtroom.

Details of the bail hearing, and the complainants' identities, are protected under publication bans.

De Ruiter, who grew up in Stettler, Alta., worked as a shoemaker and a Christian preacher in Alberta before eventually transitioning to New Age practices and developing his own philosophy.

He soon began hosting meetings in his home and founded the college in 2006.

The group previously operated out of the Oasis Building in Edmonton. De Ruiter holds regular spiritual retreats at a former campground near Smith, Alta., a purchase supported by donations from group members.

Followers also attend regular meetings at an office building in St. Albert, outside Edmonton.

Intense group meetings often involve de Ruiter silently staring intently at his devotees for hours. His teachings promise that enlightenment and spiritual awakening can be achieved by letting go of egoistic desires and realizing deeper levels of consciousness.

On de Ruiter's official website, it says that by gazing into his followers' eyes, he is "establishing a connection with everybody in the room."

De Ruiter has acknowledged having sexual relationships with women outside of his marriage.

On his website, he details how he engages in "consensual sexual relations with women beyond the traditional scope of marriage," and characterizes these acts as "independent of desire."

In a statement to CBC Monday, a spokesperson for de Ruiter said he will continue to vigorously contest the charges in a court. "This situation is deeply impactful for those who know Mr. de Ruiter," the statement said.

De Ruiter's next scheduled court appearance is Feb. 24.

THE PROVINCE HAS BILLION$ IN $URPLU$

AB Government won’t fund Peace River, AB lift station for $289K

Fri, January 27, 2023 

Town of Peace River council received notice at its Jan. 9 meeting that nearly $300,000 would no longer be given to them from the Government of Alberta to complete Lift Station 7 in the community.

“The Province decided not to provide $289K at this time,” says Mayor Elaine Manzer, disappointed with the news.

“In part, this will cause the Town to postpone the lift station but other budget considerations are also the reason for the postponement until at least 2024. The Town hopes to have other grant opportunities to facilitate the work on Lift Station 7,” adds Manzer.

Currently, the new Lift Station 4 in Lower West Peace is doing the intended work that Lift Station 7 will do with wastewater of the West Peace Area and Shaftesbury Estates. Manzer says this was intended to be a temporary arrangement, as when Lift Station 7 is complete it will take the material from Shaftesbury Estates bypassing Lift Station 4.

“At this time, with the briefing presented to council on Jan 9 and other budget discussions, the Lift Station 7 has been removed from the 2023 budget,” explains Manzer.

“Other funding from water/wastewater capital reserve or other grants would be used to build the lift station in a future year.”

Manzer says that because Lift Station 4 can handle the material from both sides, the stall in building Lift Station 7 will not impact residents in the short term. The Town aims at having the job done within the next couple of years so that the entire water/wastewater system can be more efficient and move the materials more effectively.

“The engineering planning has been completed, so this is a shovel ready project,” she says.

“If other funding is acquired before 2024, council and administration would be discussing the project again in the shorter term.”

Peace River’s plan is to complete the project at the next availability of adequate funding.

Emily Plihal Local Journalism Initiative Reporter - South Peace News - southpeacenews.com

Big Tech layoffs are a problem of the industry's own making: Morning Brief

Daniel Howley
·Technology Editor
Sat, January 28, 2023

The tech industry is reeling from a seemingly nonstop parade of layoffs across Silicon Valley and beyond.

And we're not talking small numbers either.

Meta (META) started the mass layoff train, cutting 11,000 jobs in November. Then, on Jan. 4, Amazon (AMZN) piled on by laying off 18,000 employees. Two weeks later, Microsoft (MSFT) let go of 10,000 workers, and two days after that, on Jan. 20, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) laid off 12,000 employees.

And those are just the major announcements.

According to Layoffs.fyi, tech companies have cut 240,000 jobs since the start of 2021. Since the start of 2023? 68,149 jobs have been lost in the industry.

And there’s no sign that the bleeding will stop anytime soon. Just this week, IBM laid off 3,900 employees, while SAP said it will cut 3,000 jobs.

But the numbers of jobs lost are not the entire story.

The tech layoffs that have roiled the industry over the last two years are a disaster of the tech companies' own making. From over-hiring, to a belief that the world would remain perpetually online after the pandemic, the industry is contending with its own miscalculations.

And now the employees who pinned their futures on these strategic misfires are left to deal with the fallout.

So how did we get here? The easy answer is that the economy soured as the world started pulling out of the pandemic. Inflation rose, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, and that was that. At least that's how tech executives tell it.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 25: A man walks near Google offices on January 25, 2023 in New York City. The U.S. Justice Department and a group of eight states sued Google accusing it of illegally abusing a monopoly over the technology that powers online advertising. (Photo by Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress)

Microsoft's Satya Nadella told employees that the consumers are looking to do more with less now after spending so much during the pandemic. Google's Sundar Pichai told employees that the company staffed up during the pandemic, but the economic situation has changed. And Amazon’s Andy Jassy said the uncertain economy and its decision to hire so many people during the pandemic is why the company is moving forward with layoffs.

The reality is, companies hired for a world in which they thought the growth experienced during the pandemic was permanent. We'd all stay inside, order goods online, and stream content.

Or to use the parlance of analysts and investors, the pandemic appeared to dramatically increase the TAM — or Total Addressable Market — these companies were going after. Using this logic, growing at all costs into a larger-than-expected market was not only reasonable, but necessary, to stay competitive.

From Q4 2019 to Q3 2022, Microsoft grew its headcount 53.5%, while Google added 57% more workers. Amazon and Meta brought on 93.5% and 94.3% more employees, respectively.

With revenue growing by leaps and bounds, and stock prices soaring, Big Tech was looking for a means to keep the party going, and adding more workers was seemingly the best way to do that.


And now that someone — read: Jay Powell — flipped on the lights and turned off the music, those same tech companies have to reckon with their shoddy decisions. And reckon with a sea change in how the industry will measure success going forward.

As Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wrote when disclosing his own company's decision to cut 20% of its team earlier this month: "Over the past 10 years, we, along with most tech companies, became too focused on growing headcount as a metric for success. Especially in this economic environment, it's important to shift our focus to operational efficiency."

Even before the pandemic, we can remember Meta Platforms — then known as Facebook — talking up the investment it would need to make hiring to capture an ever-growing opportunity that seemed in front of them.

Those days, clearly, are gone for now.

But it's not just workers that Big Tech is cutting, either.

Firms like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are reevaluating their product portfolios to see what can stay and what can go. Amazon, which dramatically expanded its warehouse footprint during the pandemic, is looking for ways to sublet some of its warehouse space to third-parties.

Google just closed its Stadia game streaming service, though that's been in the works for some time. Meta, for its part, cut portions of its experimental product division, according to Platformer.

Despite these layoffs and moves, friend of Yahoo Finance Sam Ro points out the tech industry makes up just 2.8% of total U.S. employment. Moreover, the U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs in December and 4.5 million jobs last year.

And while the big name tech companies might be cutting jobs, other industries are adding.

Chipotle announced plans this week to hire 15,000 workers amid continued expansion plans. And Boeing said it would hire 10,000 workers in 2023 as production ramps up.

So while tech giants seemingly got out over their skis extrapolating short-term trends into the future, other industries see the current economic one as one calling out for expansion.

Which side of this divide is proven right long-term could have big implications for the economy in the years ahead. Or, perhaps, both positions will get to be right.

FAUX OUTRAGE FOR THE BASE
Alberta premier wants meeting with Trudeau before 'just transition' bill tabled
TOO WOKE FOR HER 
Smith also wants Trudeau to call the legislation the "Sustainable Jobs Act" and stop using the term "just transition,"

Thu, January 26, 2023 

The phrase

Alberta's premier has asked to meet the prime minister in advance of anticipated federal legislation guiding a transition away from high-pollution jobs.

In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made public on Thursday, Premier Danielle Smith asked for a February meeting to reach a joint agreement on proposed pieces of federal "just transition" legislation.

The Liberal government says the bill will lay out a path to help well-paid workers in emissions-intensive industries like oil and gas move to equivalent, greener jobs for the good of the environment.

"It would be premature and ill-advised to signal the end of a vibrant, thriving industry that has the ability to reduce Canada's and the world's emissions through technological innovation and increased exports of LNG (liquefied natural gas) and other clean burning fuels the world so desperately needs," Smith wrote in the letter.

In it, she makes five requests of Trudeau to extend good faith to Albertans, including a promise to incent job creation in conventional oil and gas — not just greener industries and carbon capture, utilization and storage projects.

Smith also wants Trudeau to call the legislation the "Sustainable Jobs Act" and stop using the term "just transition," which stems from Canada's commitment to the international Paris accord to reduce global emissions.

No portion of the act should be designed to reduce Alberta's oil and gas workforce, Smith writes. She also wants Trudeau to work with the province to expand LNG exports to Europe and Asia.

Alberta should also be part of the discussion to set "reasonable and meaningful" emissions reduction targets, she said. She wants Trudeau to pledge he won't impose any targets on any industry.

To prevent irreversible damage to the climate, the federal government aims to cut Canada's emissions 42 per cent below 2005 levels by the year 2030.

It also aims to reduce emissions from fertilizer by 30 per cent by 2030.

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson posted a letter on Twitter, in response to Smith. The letter was from Wilkinson, Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan and Edmonton Centre MP Randy Boissonnault. The response thanked Smith for the letter and stated that "much of what you outlined is very much in line with what the federal government will bring forward."

The post says the federal government looks forward to work with the province, unions and other partners on sustainable jobs.

Smith's letter is a change in tone from earlier this month, when she cited a seven-month-old federal ministerial briefing note to claim the just transition bill was going to eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Smith said the plan was worse than she feared and left her with a "pit in her stomach."

The federal government says the job numbers in the document refer to current employment in various industries, and the premier misinterpreted them.

Lori Williams, associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University, said the letter sends contradictory messages by seeming to offer an olive branch while also making demands of the federal government.

'It's a bit odd that the premier is asking the prime minister to work with her on a more co-operative and collaborative arrangement when she has spent much of the last few months telling the federal government to stay out of Alberta's lane and accusing the federal government of interference that is inappropriate," Williams said.

Williams said some of Smith's requests are steps the federal government is already taking, such as investing in hydrogen and carbon capture, and changing the language around the initiative.

Deborah Yedlin, president and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, said her organization would be happy to host the prime minister and premier to have that conversation before an audience of the people working on the nation's energy transition.

"We don't get very far when we want to yell at one another across the country," Yedlin said.

The industry is also waiting for news about the province's plans for investment in carbon capture, she said — and time is running out, as generous subsidies are attracting investors to the United States.

NDP leader Rachel Notley said in a statement Smith's change in tone won't bolster Albertans' faith in Smith to hold productive negotiations.

"Many of the objectives in today's letter are laudable, but Danielle Smith lacks credibility among working people and investors as a result of her combative and inflammatory positioning to date," Notley's statement said.

Notley has also previously said the federal government's emissions reduction goals are unrealistic for Alberta.

Review of oilsands cleanup funding program needs public input, says Alberta NDP

Fri, January 27, 2023



EDMONTON — Alberta's New Democrat Opposition says a government review of the program that's supposed to ensure oilsands companies can clean up their mines was conducted too privately and should have been done in public.

Environment critic Marlin Schmidt said Albertans now know even less than before the review of the Mine Financial Security Program began.

"Given how much money is at stake and how important this sector is to our economy, the fact the public was completely shut out of this process is really concerning," he said.

Alberta's United Conservative Party government wrapped up consultations this month on how industry financially backstops its cleanup obligations.

It held a yearlong series of meetings with industry and First Nations. No public input was sought.

Estimates of the environmental liability of the mines and their tailings ponds vary widely. Official figures peg it at $34 billion, while an internal estimate from Alberta Energy Regulator staff put it at $130 billion.

The government currently holds no more than four per cent of the security required for a cleanup. Even that level of public disclosure has now been obscured, Schmidt said.

Schmidt said that during the program review, the government changed its rules on how companies must ensure their cleanup obligations can be met. Instead of relying on lines of credit or other forms of capital, the totals of which were made public, companies can now provide demand bonds from insurance companies.

The number of companies using such bonds and the size of the liability they insure against is not released, even on an aggregate basis.

"We need to have a simple accounting of how much money is available to cover liability," Schmidt said. "If the government and industry won't tell us how much of the liability these demand bonds cover, how will we know if the financial security program is working?"

Thomas Schneider, associate professor of accounting at Toronto Metropolitan University, said accepting insurance instead of requiring resources to be set aside allows producers to delay reserving the billions of dollars the cleanup would take even as some mines approach end of life.

The program review was called after two scathing reports from Alberta's auditor general. But First Nations consulted during the review have said the government's current direction holds on to most of the old program's mistakes and makes some new ones — including failing to account for changes in the oil market as countries move to low-carbon economies.

An analysis of the government's direction by University of Alberta energy economist Andrew Leach, who acted as a consultant to the First Nations, concluded the assumptions used in the government's modelling of the industry's future "provide a false and dangerous sense of security."

A spokesman for Alberta Environment and Protected Areas said the government expects to complete its review this year and begin implementing changes — "if any" — in 2024.

The department did not immediately respond to a request for an explanation of why the review shut out the public.

Schmidt said the process needs to open up. Proprietary business information can be kept confidential, he said.

"We're generally good at what needs to be protected and what doesn't," he said.

"Every mine, at some point, will have to end its operations. We need to have a plan for making sure there's enough money in the bank to cover those liabilities.

"We can't make that mistake, especially considering how big the bill to taxpayers will be if we get this wrong."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2023.

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

First Nations groups upset with exclusion from health-care funding talks

Thu, January 26, 2023 

Bobby Cameron is the chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents more than 70 First Nations in Saskatchewan. (Rob Kruk/CBC - image credit)

First Nations groups are criticizing their exclusion from an upcoming meeting between federal, provincial and territorial governments aiming to reach a funding deal to improve the country's ailing health-care system.

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) in Saskatchewan said in a Thursday news release both it and the national Assembly of First Nations (AFN) are "dismayed" by the snub.

"Our people and their government were here before the provincial borders were even formed," said FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron in the release.

"There is no reconciliation for First Nations when we continue to be excluded from these crucial discussions and decision-making processes."

Trudeau announced this week he plans to host a first ministers' meeting in Ottawa next month to try and reach a much-anticipated deal. First ministers' meetings under Trudeau's Liberals have previously included Indigenous leaders.

Health-care delivery in Indigenous communities is jurisdictionally complex, and the federal government has promised to introduce Indigenous health legislation, though it remains unclear when.

The FSIN, which advocates for 74 First Nations, said provincial governments use First Nations populations to secure funding and yet First Nations still experience racism and inadequate care in health-care settings.

"Our people don't have access to services and care the same as non-First Nations. We expect and demand to be at the table every step of the way from beginning to end," said Cameron in the release.

The AFN didn't respond when asked if it had anything to add on top of the federation's statement.

The premiers have asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government for a multi-billion-dollar boost of up to 35 per cent to the cash Ottawa transfers to the provinces for health-care delivery.

Asked to respond to the federation's release, the Prime Minister's Office referred the request to Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, whose office supplied a statement.

"Indigenous Peoples face unique challenges when it comes to having fair and equitable access to quality and culturally safe health-care services, and we must continue to work in partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis to properly address these gaps," the statement said.

The statement said the federal government regularly engages with Indigenous communities on a suite of issues and has invested millions into culturally sensitive, Indigenous-led health initiatives.

It did not say whether Indigenous leaders will be included in the talks.

Senators Urge Biden on Mexico, Canada Trade Compliance

Eric Martin
Thu, January 26, 2023



(Bloomberg) -- The top senators on the committee that deals with trade urged President Joe Biden to pursue enforcement action against Canada and Mexico in areas where the nations aren’t complying with rules in their free-trade agreement especially around energy and agriculture policies.

“The Office of the United States Trade Representative must continue to pursue full implementation and, where necessary, robust enforcement” of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Ron Wyden and Mike Crapo, the leading Democrat and Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, wrote in a letter to the USTR Thursday seen by Bloomberg News. The pact’s “full potential remains unrealized,” they said.

The senators said the USTR “must ensure that the United States gets what it bargained for” and asked trade chief Katherine Tai to take “decisive action to ensure full compliance” with every chapter of the pact.

Wyden and Crapo highlighted Washington’s dispute with Mexico over the southern neighbor’s nationalist energy policy, as well as compliance shortcomings by Canada over tariff-rate quotas on dairy products, among other issues.

The letter comes a day after Deputy US Trade Representative Jayme White met with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts in San Diego and emphasized the the importance of making meaningful progress in the ongoing talks over Mexico’s energy policy under the USMCA that went into effect in 2020, replacing the two-decade-old Nafta.

The US has repeatedly urged Mexico and Canada to follow through on their commitments under the USMCA, including through the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism to enforce workers’ rights in Mexico and by requesting dispute consultations with Canada over its dairy policies, a USTR spokesperson said in a statement. The agency continues to seek resolution on those issues, including through White’s meeting this week, and will continue to implement the USMCA, the spokesperson said.

Discussions between the US and Mexico on energy have largely stalled due to the departures of negotiators from the Latin American nation’s side and its reluctance to make concessions, people familiar with the matter said in December.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s policy privileges Mexican state-owned oil producer Petroleos Mexicanos and the electricity provider known as CFE over private companies in areas including natural gas distribution and power generation, including wind and solar companies. The US says this violates the USMCA, treats American companies unfairly, hurts US economic interests and discourages investment by clean-energy companies.

Lopez Obrador denies that his policies violate the pact, saying that the US must respect Mexico’s sovereignty. If a panel were to rule against Mexico, it might have to pay tariffs on as much as $30 billion in exports. The US first lodged the complaint in July, with Canada also protesting Mexico’s electricity policy.

“USTR must use the USMCA dispute-settlement process to push Mexico to abandon these discriminatory policies,” Wyden and Crapo said.

On the long-running dairy issue with Canada, the US in December requested dispute-settlement consultations for a third time over Ottawa’s quotas that many American producers say shuts them out of the Canadian market, saying it has found more areas of “deep concern” and that the nation’s measures are inconsistent with its obligations under the trade pact.

Wyden and Crapo commended Tai’s office for the follow-up and asked it to monitor Canada’s compliance.

The senators also pushed the USTR for resolution on Mexico’s imposition of export tariffs on white corn, environmental, and digital-trade issues.