New UAW president says Big 3 have left workers behind, says adjustment to EV shift is key

By Dave Kinchen , David Komer and online producer

Published March 27, 2023
FOX 2 Detroit

Shawn Fain, UAW president.


New UAW president looks ahead to next Big 3 negotiations, shaking off past scandals

Shawn Fain backs the state legislature’s very recent repeal of Right-To-Work, but says the real battle lies ahead with negotiating new contracts with Detroit's Big 3 automakers. He put them on blast for raking in big profits while he says workers have been left behind.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Brand new UAW President Shawn Fain is looking ahead on his first full day as union boss.

"I believe it’s vastly important, and I greatly appreciate the work of Governor Whitmer and our state legislature to overturn that decision," he said.

Fain backs the legislature’s very recent repeal of Right-To-Work but says the real battle lies ahead with negotiating new contracts with Detroit's Big 3 automakers. He put them on blast for raking in big profits while he says workers have been left behind.

"These corporations have been flush with profits for years and our members have not kept up," he said. "So we have a lot of work ahead of us."

Stellantis closed out last year with more than $24 billion in operating profit…up 5 billion from the year before.

That’s ahead of GM at $14.3 billion and Ford with nearly 10.5 billion, all at varying margins.

Fain says the old days of UAW negotiating are over. He promises a much more aggressive approach.

FOX 2: "Would a strike be a more immediate tool as opposed to a last resort given what you’ve said about corporations and profits?"

"We’re going to do what we have to do," Fain said. "I have no timetable but I guess we’re going to see where corporations are with protecting our workers. Our job is to protect our members. Their job security comes first. There is no excuse for some of the things that are going on right now."

FOX 2: "What are the absolute deal breakers in your eyes as you look at it, with what you call a more aggressive approach to the Detroit 3?"

"I think job security is obviously a top priority, ending tiers, we really have to focus on that," he said. "I don’t know what we’ll call a deal breaker. As we transition to the (electric vehicle) world. We’ve got to secure a lot of that work. Members, if we're going to transition there, we are going to need someplace to go. We have our work cut out for us there."

The Automakers are keeping tabs on the new UAW administration and its convention downtown this week. Especially as Fain works to unite a fractured membership anxious for action and sick of past union scandal.

Stellantis is weighing in. It tells Fox 2 in a statement:

"Stellantis congratulates Shawn Fain on being elected UAW president in a historic election. We look forward to working with President Fain on issues that will further contribute to our mutual success while securing Stellantis' position in this highly competitive market."

Unity ahead of bargaining battles is key theme on Day 3 of UAW special bargaining convention

Eric D. Lawrence
Detroit Free Press

Chuck Browning had a message for delegates during the final day of the UAW special bargaining convention in Detroit and for anyone else who cared to hear it:

The United Auto Workers isn’t a divided union; the election is over, and the companies better get ready.

“Let the world hear: We’re united when it comes to our enemies and bargaining,” said Browning, a UAW vice president and director of the Ford department. “We’re sticking together, and we’re taking on the boss.”

That’s when chants of “U-A-W” broke out from the crowd, with most in attendance sporting red shirts for Wednesday, Solidarity Day. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, said during her own rousing call to action a bit earlier in the day: “Solidarity is the word for the next few months. … At the bargaining table, there is no room for division.”

More:How UAW's transforming itself ahead of contract talks with automakers

The division referenced stems from the union’s first direct election and campaign that wrapped up last weekend, with a new president, Shawn Fain, and new officers holding seats on the International Executive Board.

Browning ran with Fain’s opponent, former UAW President Ray Curry, but Browning told the crowd that Fain is his president, a clear statement about the leadership moving forward together as one and an urging for the membership to put any differences aside.

Differences were on display at times during the convention at Huntington Place, formerly Cobo Center. Efforts pushed by dissidents to prevent a minority of delegates from ending debate, to prioritize expanding cost-of-living adjustments and to end tiers related to pay for electric vehicle production failed to garner enough support to move forward. At times, the clapping in the convention hall was clearly limited to certain sections.

More:Whitmer touts repeal of right-to-work at UAW bargaining convention

But the convention also saw standing ovations for members in both factions of the union, polite exchanges as members rose to speak and the celebratory singing of “Solidarity Forever” at the conclusion.

Browning reiterated a theme Fain stressed during the campaign when Browning said he’s fed up, “we’re fed up.”

That message was designed to push the two factions in the union past a divisive campaign in preparation for the bargaining fights ahead with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, owners of Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat as well as other industries. Browning introduced the Ford bargaining committee as well as the bargaining teams at Caterpillar, CNH Industrial and John Deere during his time at the podium. The union struck both CNH and John Deere in recent years and Browning, who offered an emotional recounting of those efforts, noted that “strikes are effective.”

More:Fain calls it 'new day in the UAW' on first day of convention

Fain delivered a closing speech that sought to drive home a message of common purpose and reinforced the idea that the UAW plans to adopt a significantly more aggressive and even militant approach going forward.

Fain’s speech aligned the UAW and a membership representing not just the auto sector, but also higher education, gaming and other industries, with the fight for worker rights elsewhere, specifically naming Starbucks.

He said the founders of the UAW didn’t wait for the law.

“They wanted their dignity and they wanted their fair share, and they did what the hell they had to do to get it,” he said. “Employers don’t give a damn about breaking the law if it serves their interests.”

The UAW, he said, is ready to go from defense to offense, shortly before Van Halen’s “Right Now” rang out in the hall for emphasis.

More:UAW to bring militant negotiations like Detroit Three haven't seen in years, experts say

“When will we say enough is enough? Right now. The question is, when will we demand what we deserve?” Fain said, as the crowd chimed back, “Right now.”

Fain continued: “Another question: When will we unite in a common cause?”

“Right now,” echoed through the hall as the crowd responded, standing and clapping.

“That’s right,” Fain said, as the cheering continued.

“I want to be clear. This is what democracy looks like.”

FORD CONTRACT TALKS WITH UAW COULD GET UGLY THIS YEAR


By Brett Foote
March 29, 2023 

Amid ongoing supply chain issues and the dawn of the electrification era, the automotive industry has undergone some major changes in recent years, all of which figure to have a major impact on the United Auto Workers union (UAW), which has more represented Ford employees than any other automaker. Recently, the UAW has come out against the Biden Administration’s plan to extend EV tax credits to other countries, called on the industry to cut ties with Chinese forced labor, and is looking to unionize future battery plants like Ford BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, particularly as the future of some plants remains in doubt amid the EV transition. Now, it looks like upcoming contract talks between Ford and the UAW are poised to get pretty ugly, according to the Detroit Free Press

“It’s a new day in the UAW,” said new president Shawn Fain, who recently unseated former union head Ray Curry in a hotly contested runoff election. “We’re here to come together to ready ourselves for the war against our one and only true enemy – multibillion-dollar corporations and employers who refuse to give our members their fair share.”

Fain’s campaign centered around using more aggressive tactics during negotiations with automakers, including a possible restructuring, as well as a broader focus on both human and worker rights. Among his chief focuses, Fain plans to fight plant closures, improve health care, fortify retirement benefits, and eliminate compensation tiers.

“Our union is moving from rights on paper to rights in action,” Fain said. “Our membership’s fed up. They’re fed up with the status quo.” The new UAW president also stated that the union’s members deserve “their share” and added that the organization would “use every resource we have” to make that happen.

 

Closed loop for circular economy: New polymer recycling strategy ensures both high stability and complete recyclability

by Shinshu University

In a new study, researchers from Japan proposed a new recycling strategy that facilitates

 material recycling without any loss in their properties. In “closed-loop” recycling, a polymer 

film composed of polyacrylate-based microparticles is disassembled into individual 

microparticles, which can be reassembled to form the film without losing any properties.

 This process could also be applied to recycle polymer microparticles in composite 

materials. Credit: Daisuke Suzuki from Shinshu University

The ever-increasing generation of plastic solid waste has resulted in global plastic pollution both on land and in the oceans. Projections show that plastic waste will double in the next 20 years, causing further environmental problems. Large amounts of plastic waste are, at present, incinerated or deposited in landfills. This not only degrades the environment but also depletes valuable resources.

In this light, recycling plastics such as polymers is a promising sustainable alternative for waste management. But this involves the breaking of chemical bonds between monomers (building blocks of polymers), which diminishes their overall stability and quality. Addressing this concern, researchers have developed methods to recycle polymers in a "closed loop," that is, without the loss of these properties. However, these methods are complicated and expensive and require specialized monomers, necessitating further innovation.

In this direction, a group of researchers led by Daisuke Suzuki, an Associate Professor at Shinshu University, has recently proposed a closed-loop recycling process based on polymer microparticles. Their work, co-authored by Dr. Takumi Watanabe and Dr. Haruka Minato of Shinshu University, has been published in Green Chemistry.

Prof. Suzuki briefly explains the rationale behind their strategy: "Recycling materials without deterioration (closed-loop recycling) is attractive in terms of reducing anthropogenic waste. However, this currently remains very difficult given that there usually is a trade-off between mechanical stability and degradability of polymer materials."

"Our material recycling concept with microparticles enables the recycling of a huge amount of functional polymer materials that we use in our day-to-day lives and has the potential to solve the problems of resource depletion and environmental pollution."

In their study, the authors prepared polymer microparticles via the aqueous emulsion polymerization of methyl acrylate (MA) monomers in water, which resulted in polymer chains. These aggregated to form a solution containing uniform spherical poly-MA microparticles. The solution was then dried to get a thin polymer film with physical (as opposed to chemical) cross-linking among the microparticles, which could be reobtained by dissolving the film in ethanol. These recycled microparticles, in turn, could be reused to form various recycled materials.

The films synthesized in this work exhibit several desirable properties, which they retain upon recycling. They have high mechanical stability and fracture energy, which is an indicator of their toughness. The latter property increases with the interfacial thickness between the poly-MA microparticles. This, in turn, decreases with the degree of interparticle cross-linking but increases upon heating the film.

The researchers further enhanced the fracture energy of the polymer films by mixing the microparticles with silica nanofillers. Moreover, adding colored pigments gave the resulting composite films tunable optical properties, which did not diminish upon recycling. These results suggest that closed-loop recycling based on polymer microparticles will enable resource circulation for polymers as well as numerous other composite materials that contain polymer microparticles to create adhering interfaces between their different layers.

Prof. Suzuki says, "Our concept can lead to the production of fully recyclable films with high fracture energy. Therefore, it will enable the recycling of huge amounts of various polymer materials, thus reducing plastic waste and potentially solving the problems of environmental degradation and plastic pollution."

The "closed"-loop recycling strategy certainly "opens" new doors for the efficient and sustainable recycling of polymer materials!

More information: Takumi Watanabe et al, Closed-loop recycling of microparticle-based polymers, Green Chemistry (2023). DOI: 10.1039/D3GC00090G

Journal information: Green Chemistry 

Provided by Shinshu UniversityTechnology transforms plastic waste bottles into polymers for lithium-ion batteries

 

Anti-aging, wound-healing potential found in an invasive weed

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A study finds that fruit from the cocklebur plant, an invasive weed, may have anti-aging and anti-inflammatory capabilities. Nick Bush/Getty Images

• There is a growing amount of consumers who want more naturally-derived skin care.
• Researchers presenting at Discover BMB say fruit from the cocklebur plant has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may make it useful as a skin protectant.
• Scientists also found cocklebur extracts helped reduce UVB damage and speed wound healing in 3D tissue models.

When it comes to skin care, more and more people are looking for naturally-derived ingredients. Previous consumer surveys suggested that many women want their skin care products to be considered all-natural.

Now new research suggests the fruit of a noxious weed called the cocklebur plant has antioxidant and anti-inflammatoryTrusted Source properties that may not only make it useful as a skin protectant but also help reduce UVB damage and speed wound healing.

The findings are presented at Discover BMB — the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, March 25–28 in Seattle, WA.

What is the cocklebur plant? 

The cocklebur plant — scientifically known as Xanthium strumarium — is a weed that grows in the summer. The weed grows with both male and female heads. When fully grown, it can reach as high as six feet.

The weed creates flowers with burs. These burs contain the “fruit” of the plant. When an animal or human brushes up against the plant, the burs can become attached to them, helping to spread them to other areas.

Cocklebur plants are native to areas of Southern Europe, Central Asia, and China. However, they can now be found in other areas of the world, including the United States.

The cocklebur has been used in traditional Chinese medicineTrusted Source for centuries, commonly used to treat rhinitisTrusted Source and headaches.

More recently, scientists have looked at using the cocklebur plant to help treat rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and cancer.

Cocklebur extract and skin protection

For this study, researchers used cell cultures and a 3D tissue modelTrusted Source similar to human skin to assess how the molecular properties of cocklebur fruit extracts might affect collagen production, wound healing, and damage from UVB radiation.

Upon analysis, scientists found the cocklebur fruit extracts increased both the production and degradation of collagen and sped-up wound healing. At lower doses, it also provided a protective effect against UVB radiation, but at the highest tested dose, it impaired the cell response to UVB.

“There are many published (pieces of) research identifying the composition of cocklebur fruit,” Eunsu Song, a doctoral candidate at Myongji University in South Korea and lead author of this study, explained to Medical News Today.

“Solvents play an important role in the confirmation of bioactive compounds in natural products. Most published research used methanol (to) extract solvents, which may not (be) usable for food or cosmetic ingredients. So, extraction with ethanolTrusted Source and analysis of bioactive composition in the cocklebur fruit was the first step in our research,” Song said.

“As a result, chlorogenic acidTrusted Source, (an) antioxidant, was the main phenolic compoundTrusted Source in cocklebur,” she continued. “Furthermore, ß-sitosterol was the main phytosterolTrusted Source in cocklebur. Both bioactive compounds have been studied due to (their) antioxidant, skin allergic, and wound-healing effects.”

Potential toxicity of cocklebur in high doses

While the research team’s findings are promising, they also cautioned that high doses of cocklebur fruit extract could be harmful. Therefore, additional research must be conducted to determine the safe levels for cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications.

“Toxicant characteristics in cocklebur happen due to carboxyatractyloside present in burs,” Song detailed. “It may be one of the reasons for toxic results in a high concentration of cockleburs. Not only carboxyatractyloside but also other compounds with high concentrations can result in toxicity. Therefore, it is very important to find the proper dose through acute toxicity tests.”

“Until now, we figured out whether cocklebur really helps wound healing and the production of collagen, which plays an important role in skin health at the molecular level,” she continued. “To move on to the next step, we have to determine mechanisms at the molecular levels which may involve. After that, we are going to test cocklebur with other animal alternative methods.”

Intriguing anti-aging, healing potential 

Dr. Alexis L. Young, a dermatologist with Hackensack University Medical Center and clinical assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, shared her thoughts about this research:

“This new study is very intriguing with (the) potential for (a) huge impact in the area of wound healing, maintaining the skin barrier but also in the world of cosmeceuticals,” she told Medical News Today. “The core fundamentals of anti-aging products include stimulating collagen growth, inhibiting the breakdown of collagen, applying antioxidants to prevent DNA damage and aging effects of free radicals, and increasing the elasticity and volume of the skin. In cell and tissue culture, this plant might have the ability to do those things.”

“Moisturizers containing hyaluronic acid add HA to the skin temporarily to plump the skin for about 15 minutes and then it’s gone,” Dr. Young continued. “A topical product that can actually stimulate HA production plus collagen would be novel. Currently available retinols which stimulate collagen growth and inhibit the breakdown of collagen can be very irritating to the skin. We are always looking for better-tolerated but effective agents for the skin.”

Medical News Today also spoke with Dr. Angela J. Lamb, an associate professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York and vice chair of clinical strategy and operations, dermatology at Mount Sinai in New York.

Dr. Lamb said this report is exciting because it shows that there is something new on the forefront that could be used as a skin protectant, as well as an antioxidant:

“Naturally-derived products have been trending recently, and this is a new one that can easily be added to the armamentarium.

The largest question will be if something like this creates an allergic contact dermatitis because the actual plant does. It actually appears to be quite irritating so although the research is promising, as with anything new that is used, we have to see long-term if we need to use (it) on the skin if it can create more problems than it solves.”

NEWS
RCMP arrest five land defenders on Wet’suwet’en territory as Coastal GasLink construction continues

Police enforcement of a search warrant for theft under $5,000 led to five arrests for obstruction, including the arrest of the daughter of a Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief

By Matt Simmons (Local Journalism Initiative Reporter)
March 30, 2023 

Jocey Alec, daughter of Dinï ze' (Hereditary Chief) Woos, alleges circulation to her hands were cut off by zip ties that were applied too tightly during her arrest.
Photo: Matt Simmons / The Narwhal


The mood was sombre at a Wet’suwet’en camp and village site near the confluence of Ts’elkay Kwe (Lamprey Creek) and Wedzin Kwa (Morice River) in the early afternoon on March 29. A group of Wet’suwet’en chiefs, community members, land defenders and their supporters wrapped up a debriefing meeting after five people were arrested and taken off the territory by the RCMP. Then someone cracked a joke and the mood lightened.

“It must annoy them to hear us laughing,” Dinï ze’ (Hereditary Chief) Na’moks chuckled.

That morning, land defenders at the camp watched as a convoy of RCMP vehicles pulled up outside the fenced-off area, according to community members. More than a dozen officers filed through the gates and said they were there to conduct a search, under a warrant issued by the B.C. courts, land defenders told The Narwhal.

“I’m going to ask everyone to leave the area so we can conduct a safe search,” an officer said, according to video footage shared with The Narwhal. “Anyone who refuses to leave the area will be arrested for obstruction,” he added, handing out copies of the warrant. “I’m not going to tell you guys 17 times that you need to leave, so …”

“We need to talk to our lawyer,” one land defender interrupted.

“No, that’s not how this works,” the officer replied.

The land defender insisted they should be given 15 minutes to talk to their lawyer to confirm the warrant was “legit” but the officer said police were not required to provide any time. Staff Sergeant Kris Clark, senior media relations officer with the RCMP, told The Narwhal there was no obligation to provide access to legal counsel prior to the search. After a few seconds and a brief back-and-forth exchange, several officers moved in and started the arrests.

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Among those arrested and taken to the Houston, B.C., RCMP detachment was Jocey Alec, daughter of Dinï ze’ (Hereditary Chief) Woos. Several hours later, after being released, she showed The Narwhal her wrists, marked and bruised from the zip tie handcuffs. She said the arresting officer initially put them on too tight, making her hands go numb. Another land defender said they were punched in the head while on the ground, and showed a bruise on their right temple.

Clark, with the RCMP’s media relations, said he was unable to speak to specific allegations but noted there are processes available for those who wish to file a complaint. According to an RCMP statement, four individuals were arrested for refusing to cooperate with police direction and one for attempting to prevent officers from executing the warrant.

“Any allegations of misconduct by the RCMP are taken seriously and will be investigated fully,” Clark told The Narwhal in an email. “I can say that the search and arrests were captured on video which will constitute part of the disclosure for court purposes.”

A land defender alleges a bruise to their head was sustained during arrest.

 Photo: Matt Simmons / The Narwhal

‘No such thing as Crown land’

The area, about 50 kilometres south of Houston, B.C., has been the site of numerous clashes between Wet’suwet’en land defenders, police and industry workers building the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

The pipeline is being built to connect shale gas sources in the province’s northeast with two liquefaction and export facilities in Kitimat — LNG Canada and Cedar LNG. It crosses about 190 kilometres of Wet’suwet’en territory. Five of six elected band councils signed agreements with the company and the province in support of the project but the hereditary leadership remains opposed. RCMP have made nearly 100 arrests over the past four years, during conflicts related to the pipeline project.

According to the RCMP statement published following the March 29 arrests, the search was related to an incident that had happened a few days earlier, in which local police received a complaint from a Coastal GasLink security worker. The worker alleged a group of individuals wearing masks and camouflage “fired flares and gained access to the work vehicle when the worker left the area because of the intimidation” at just before midnight on March 26. The police statement added, “these persons allegedly poured liquid onto the vehicle and stole a chainsaw from the truck bed.”

TC Energy, the pipeline operator, declined an interview request and referred The Narwhal to the RCMP for more information.

“We are thankful that no one was injured during this incident,” a TC Energy media spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement. “We will continue to cooperate with the Houston RCMP in their investigation of this and, as always, will prioritize the safety of our work crews and the communities around us.”

The search warrant, issued for theft under $5,000, noted the courts agreed with a Houston RCMP officer that a chainsaw, “olive drab coloured masks” and a pair of “coyote brown fatigues” had been stolen and there were reasonable grounds to believe those items would be found in the Gidimt’en camp.

Na’moks said he was not previously aware of the March 26 incident and questioned why anyone associated with the Gidimt’en camp would have cause to steal equipment, noting the camp is outfitted with numerous tools.

“Why would anyone here steal a chainsaw?” he asked, pointing to a line of chainsaws in an outbuilding.

The RCMP did not indicate whether they had retrieved any of the items during the search.

“The results of the search are subject to the investigation and no further details are being released at this time,” Clark wrote.

According to the wording of the search warrant, the Gidimt’en camp is on “Crown land.”

To Dinï ze’ (Hereditary Chief) Gisday’wa, who drove out to the location when arrests were underway, it’s a moot point.

“There’s no such thing as Crown land in Canada,” he told The Narwhal in an interview. “It belongs to us, the Natives.”

In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the Wet’suwet’en never gave up their Rights and Title to the territory in a landmark case called Delgamuukw-Gisdaywa.

The Gidimt’en camp and village site was referred to as “Crown land” in a search warrant authorizing police access to the area. RCMP were trying to locate allegedly stolen items, including a chainsaw. Dinï ze’ Na’moks noted the camp is well-equipped with tools, including several chainsaws. 

Photos: Matt Simmons / The Narwhal

Unlike previous RCMP raids on Wet’suwet’en territory, the enforcing officers were a mix of local police and members of the force’s Community-Industry Response Group, commonly called C-IRG. The C-IRG is a special B.C. unit set up in 2017 to police opposition to industrial projects like Coastal GasLink. In 2019, the B.C. Supreme Court issued an injunction against anyone impeding construction of the pipeline, which set the stage for much of the police enforcement to date.

However, the search and arrests were not an enforcement of the injunction.

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission, a federal watchdog agency responsible for responding to allegations of police misconduct, recently launched a systemic review of C-IRG, including an examination of whether its actions are in line with standards and expectations of provincial and federal Indigenous Rights legislation. A spokesperson with the RCMP told the CBC the force is working cooperatively with the commission to make sure it has “comprehensive access and a fulsome understanding of the C-IRG’s policies, procedures, practices, guidelines, training and deployments.”

Adam Olsen (SȾHENEP), a Green party representative and member of Tsartlip First Nation (WJOȽEȽP), questioned Mike Farnworth, B.C. Minister of Public Safety, about the RCMP unit in the Legislative Assembly shortly after the arrests were made. In his question, he referenced a recent government decision to allocate an additional $36 million to the task force.

“Right now, this crew is rolling, and the minister knows this, on Indigenous people in their own territories, as we speak,” he said. “The extent of the human rights abuses and violations of Indigenous Peoples on their own lands by this unit has not yet fully come to light. How does this government justify giving a controversial RCMP unit tens of millions of dollars, and will this B.C. NDP government stand this militarized police unit down while they’re under this investigation?”

Farnworth said the police have a job to do.

“It costs money to do that. We have to pay for the costs of the policing that takes place in the course of the enforcement of these injunctions,” Farnworth said.
RCMP enforcement in contravention of UNDRIP: Indigenous leaders

The RCMP operations were quickly condemned by human rights advocates and Indigenous leaders.

“Under the governance of their Hereditary Chiefs, the Wet’suwet’en are standing in the way of the largest fracking project in Canadian history — today’s raid constitutes a federal response to Indigenous defense of their land against this fracking project,” Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, said in a statement.

“The rights of Indigenous Peoples to live free of violence and intimidation in their own homelands must never be subjugated to the interests of fossil fuel companies.”

K̓áwáziɫ Marilyn Slett, elected Chief councillor of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council, noted the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples visited Canada in February and met with Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and land defenders, including Woos’ daughter.

“His preliminary report after the visit raised the exact concerns that we have raised again and again — that the criminalization of Indigenous human rights defenders is rampant and must be stopped,” she said in a statement. “Today’s raid is in contravention of the [United Nations] Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which both Canada and B.C. have passed legislation to implement, and is a gross display of the ongoing supremacy of the colonial military industrial complex.”

A Wet’suwet’en land defender films an RCMP vehicle assigned to the force’s Community-Industry Response Group, shortly after police arrested five land defenders. Photo: Matt Simmons / The Narwhal

Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, spokesperson for the Gidimt’en camp, said the police actions reflect a long history of injustice to Indigenous Peoples.

“The constant threat of violence and criminalization for merely existing on our own lands must have been what our ancestors felt when Indian agents and RCMP were burning us out of our homes as late as the ‘50s in our area,” she said in a statement.

Gisday’wa frowned when asked how he felt about the police enforcement.

“What they’re doing out here, they’re just doing that to bully the people here, the land protectors — it’s not right. This is our own land.”

All five land defenders were released from custody and told to appear in court in July.

OPINION,

For real climate justice, it’s time for a food revolution

Climate finance and innovation need to focus on agriculture – now – if the planet is to withstand global warming.

Aditi Mukherji
IPCC writing team member and director of CGIAR’s Climate Impact Area Platform
Published On 29 Mar 2023
Farmer Osvaldo Bo examines the soil in a field of corn ruined by drought in Pergamino, Argentina on March 20, 2023 [Natacha Pisarenko/AP]


Among the bleakest findings in the latest report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released last week, is the conclusion that climate resilient development will be increasingly out of reach in some regions if global temperatures increase above 2C. And this challenge will be even harder to overcome with every subsequent incremental increase in warming.

A warmer world would compound the climate injustice already playing out today in the least developed and vulnerable countries of the Global South. These countries and communities have historically contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions, which have already pushed temperatures up by 1.1C, yet they are on the front line of climate impacts.

A 2C increase would mean that primary sectors like agriculture would be increasingly unable to cope with extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, undermining long-term food, nutrition and economic security in many parts of the world. The consequences could put 80 million people across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Central America at risk of hunger by 2050, thereby also increasing the risk of displacement.

The stark IPCC warning should, therefore, be an urgent invocation to accelerate agricultural innovation on two counts.

Front-line countries simultaneously need more and better ways to adapt to new climate realities to keep food on the table and clean, sustainable solutions that limit emissions and ensure such adaptation remains possible. Both are critical for keeping alive the possibility of delivering climate justice and must be implemented through context-specific policies.

The new report was released at a moment of global stocktaking both for climate action and food systems. It is as much a status update as it is a warning for the future. Climate change is already affecting farmers worldwide with about half of the world’s population facing severe water scarcity for at least some of the year, in part because of climatic factors.


But it is hitting those hardest who have emitted the least and who are least equipped to adapt – in particular, smallholder farmers in the Global South. As the most climate-exposed sector, agriculture, especially in developing countries, urgently needs integrated solutions that can minimise environmental impacts, support adaptation and reduce inequality.

Yet only 1.7 per cent of climate finance in 2020 supported the world’s hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers. If the international community does not ramp up climate finance for food systems to correct this imbalance, more people will go hungry.

The good news is that governments, development donors and philanthropic foundations need not wait for breakthrough solutions to invest in this sector. Many either already exist or are in development.

Agricultural innovations offer opportunities to adapt to extremes such as droughts, floods and heatwaves while also delivering up to 30 percent of the urgent emissions reductions needed to limit temperature rises to 1.5C, a threshold the world is likely to reach within the next decade.

For example, scientists are testing climate-resilient varieties of staple crops like rice that can both thrive in extreme conditions and reduce agricultural emissions. Evidence suggests that direct seeded rice requires up to a third less water and emits up to 90 percent less methane, all while providing the same yields.

Similarly, research has found that an improved variety of grass can increase soil carbon storage while reducing nitrous oxide emissions to offset the climate impact of livestock. Koronivia grass, native to Africa, can also grow on marginal land, meaning farmers can make use of degraded soils to maintain livestock production even where food crops cannot grow.

And technologies such as solar-powered irrigation pumps that allow farmers to sell surplus solar energy back to the grid can replace high-emitting diesel pumps while disincentivising the overconsumption of groundwater. A vast and growing suite of agricultural innovations exists to give developing countries the best chance of preserving food security in the face of crippling climate extremes.

While such technological innovations are an important part of the solution, the IPCC report also emphasises the importance of inclusive institutions and policies to ensure the most impacted communities have a voice in decisions that affect their lives. Technologies deployed without adequate understanding of local contexts and constraints can lead to counterproductive outcomes.

The question now is how to scale up these innovations quickly enough to withstand the climate extremes that are already inevitable while holding even worse outcomes at bay by reducing emissions around the world.

Without rapid, deep and sustained mitigation by the highest-emitting economies, adaptation alone will not suffice.

The latest IPCC report should be the starting point for urgent, comprehensive action at a global level. Success in climate-proofing food systems would not only position all of humanity to cope with the impacts of rising temperatures but would also create the conditions for greater equality, delivering climate justice through climate resilience.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance

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Aditi Mukherji
IPCC writing team member and director of CGIAR’s Climate Impact Area Platform
Dr. Aditi Mukherji, core IPCC writing team member and a section facilitator for the Synthesis Report, and director of CGIAR’s Climate Impact Area Platform

Two First Nation leaders escorted out of legislature after protesting Ontario’s accelerated mining development plans

NIALL MCGEE

MINING REPORTER
JEFF GRAY

QUEEN'S PARK REPORTER

PUBLISHED MARCH 29, 2023
Neskantaga Chief Wayne Moonias, centre in green, speaks alongside First Nations community members during an improvised press conference inside the Ontario legislature at Queen's Park in Toronto on March 29

.ALLISON JONES/THE CANADIAN PRESS

Two senior leaders of an Ontario First Nation were escorted out of the provincial legislature Wednesday, after loudly accusing Premier Doug Ford’s government of failing to consult them about mining in Northern Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” region.

The Ring of Fire, located about 550 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, has been a focus for the provincial government since significant mineral deposits were discovered there in 2006, and has long been championed by Mr. Ford as a key critical-minerals project. Calling it a “generational” economic opportunity for Ontarians, Mr. Ford has repeatedly vowed to accelerate mining in the remote area, to supply future electric-vehicle and battery factories in the south.

Currently, six provincial and federal environmental studies are under way on a proposed road into the Ring of Fire, which would connect the provincial highway network to the development – but could cost at least $2-billion. Mr. Ford’s government has pledged $1-billion, and repeatedly asked the federal government to match its commitment.

At least nine Indigenous communities are being consulted as part of that process, and two of them, Marten Falls First Nation and Webequie First Nation, are broadly in favour of development and are themselves leading an environmental assessment process on the building of a road.

Opinion: To develop Ontario’s Ring of Fire, we must develop trust with First Nations

Neskantaga First Nation says it wasn’t adequately consulted in key Ring of Fire environmental study

Several other First Nations whose traditional territories overlap on the Ring of Fire are vehemently opposed and argue they have not been adequately consulted.

The leaders of Neskantaga First Nation and four other First Nations, as well as about 80 community members, travelled to Queen’s Park from Northern Ontario, and pleaded with Mr. Ford on Wednesday to put the brakes on mining development.

“There will not be a Ring of Fire. [There has been] no free and prior informed consent,” Christopher Moonias, incoming chief of Neskantaga, told Mr. Ford from the gallery in Ontario’s legislature on Wednesday. “Doug Ford, you come and meet me.”

Mr. Moonias was escorted out of the room shortly after. Wayne Moonias, the current chief of Neskantaga, who joined Christopher in a chant against the Ring of Fire, was also escorted out.

Responding to questioning from MPP Sol Mamakwa, Greg Rickford, Minister of Indigenous Affairs, told the legislature that the Ford government is focused on “consensus and relationship building.”

Caitlin Clark, a spokesperson for Mr. Ford, said in an e-mail to The Globe and Mail that the Premier is in “constant communication” with Indigenous chiefs from across the province, but that his office is not aware of a formal invitation to meet with the First Nations communities that raised concerns on Wednesday

In addition to Neskantaga, Grassy Narrows, Wapekeka, Muskrat Dam First Nation and Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (known as KI) also raised concerns in a news conference at Queen’s Park about Ontario’s open prospecting system, which allows individuals and corporations to amass mining claims without Indigenous consent.

Grassy Narrows Chief Rudy Turtle said that hundreds of thousands of hectares in additional claims have been staked over the past year or so in its traditional territories and that is having a detrimental environmental impact.

He said the community doesn’t want any mining development, fearing it would harm the environment and the land upon which the community depends for sustenance.

Grassy Narrows has waged a decades-long battle after a paper mill dumped large amounts of mercury into its rivers in the 1960s and 1970s, contaminating the First Nation’s rivers and supply of fish, and leaving many of its population suffering health effects from mercury poisoning.

While advanced exploration work requires Indigenous consultation before proceeding, currently, mining claims can be staked in Ontario without consultation, a reality Grassy Narrows would like to change.

Two First Nations in British Columbia have legally challenged the similarly open system for prospecting in that province. The First Nations say the system is unconstitutional, and that it violates the provincial government’s duty to consult. In April, the Supreme Court of British Columbia will hear their case against the provincial government.

The Ford government has shown no signs it is intending to change the rules of consent around prospecting. In fact, earlier this month, the government tabled legislation aimed at speeding up mine approvals.

The proposed changes would make it easier for companies to obtain permits to mine metals from tailings, allow companies to defer upfront payments on plans to close mines, and loosen restrictions related to the rehabilitation of shuttered mine sites.

Ontario has said that the measures would not compromise environmental standards and would not interfere with the government’s constitutional duty to consult Indigenous communities on mining projects.

Earlier this month, Neskantaga warned Ring of Fire Metals, the Australian mining company bent on developing the region, that it will have to use force against members of the First Nation before it would allow development.

Neskantaga said it was unable to participate in consultations on the Ring of Fire, or meet the process’s deadlines, in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With a population of just 400, Neskantaga is located about 430 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, and is among the most impoverished places in Canada. The First Nation has been under a boil-water advisory for more than 28 years.