East Calgary groups feel ignored as downtown focus displaces social disorder

Story by Michael Rodriguez •  Calgary Herald

A cohort of east Calgary groups say the bolstering of resources downtown in a bid to quell social disorder has pushed the issue — and a number of people — to communities outside the city’s core.


Some organizations say crime and disorder in the downtown is now being pushed east into communities such as Forest Lawn.© Provided by Calgary Herald

International Avenue BRZ executive director Alison Karim-McSwiney says there’s “no question” social issues in communities outside the city centre have been ignored as attention falls on more frequented downtown areas.

She said security staff employed by the BRZ have had 601 interactions through the first three months of the year — nearly doubling the year-to-date 2022 numbers —and have noted at least 30 vulnerable or unhoused people who’ve never been in the community before that have fled the downtown area.

“The throwing of resources (downtown) clearly is creating a displacement that is further exacerbating issues in east Calgary,” Karim-McSwiney told Postmedia on Tuesday. “What the solutions are, are not working. We have to talk about what is the root of this problem.”

Euan Thomson, a harm reduction advocate and the executive director of Each and Every, said he feels for communities struggling with the burden of what he called a “significant displacement issue.”

“A lot of people have already been pushed to east Calgary over the last few years out of downtown with all the hostile architecture, the alarms that go off in the back alleys when you walk through them, to keep people from seeking shelter there, and so on,” he said.

“You don’t see that as much along International Ave. They’ve certainly taken on a lot of extra burden just as a result of the added resources and added policing across downtown.”

The issues, as Karim-McSwiney and other community organizations described them, include an increase in the unhoused population, public substance use, growing encampments and more frequent violent incidents.

“It’s not the people who live here, it’s not the people who grew up here or moved here,” said Wendy Whitehouse, president of the Southview Community Association. “This is a problem that … landed here post-pandemic.”

Global News

Calgarians rally to save Ogden heritage building from demolition for Green Line LRT
2:21

Global News

Calgary announces action plan to improve safety on transit
2:55

The City of Calgary last week unveiled a number of new actions to target increased crime on the city’s transit line — many focused on downtown — and has been beefing up police and security resources downtown for the better part of a year. The provincial government followed up that announcement with a commitment to fund 100 new police officer positions in Calgary and Edmonton , with officials mostly speaking to ongoing issues in the cores of both cities.

“We know that if we squeeze the water balloon on transit, we will see displacement up and down in the lines,” said Calgary police Chief Mark Neufeld at a news conference announcing transit initiatives last Tuesday. “And if we squeeze in all of those places, the water may burst and recede into the community.

“Displacement is definitely a concern that we’re looking at … This needs to be a sustained effort moving forward.”

Larry Leach, executive director of the 12 Community Safety Initiative, an organization focused on crime prevention throughout CPS’s District 4, said the displacement of vulnerable and unhoused people to eastern communities — and others abutting the city centre — has been going on for a number of years, but recent downtown-focused actions have compounded the issue.

“If people see there’s lots of cops in an area, they’re going to move to another area. It’s just human nature,” said Leach. “(We need) a balance of resources … and to understand that there are consequences of putting resources in one place that then the problem ends up in other areas.”

But Thomson said that balance shouldn’t come via additional police officers. He said the root of the issue is a lack of basic services for those vulnerable populations, including bolstered affordable housing supply and more supports for people who use substances.

“If people don’t like public drug use, demand drug use sites, demand supervised consumption sites that are safe for people to go and use — and they will,” he said. “You’ll reduce public drug use, you’ll reduce needle discard, all that sort of thing, and that will instantly create a bit more perceived public safety.”

Karim-McSwiney noted east Calgary has a concentration of social services and what she called “negative land uses” — businesses like payday loan centres and pawn shops — that attract vulnerable populations to the area.

“We’re not against social services in any way,” Karim-McSwiney asserted, noting that her organization’s own outreach has helped at least 11 unhoused people find suitable living options.

“We’re just saying that sometimes if there’s not that holistic approach happening, and no one’s kind of watching what’s happening, that’s when you’re gonna have problems.”

Thomson questioned Karim-McSwiney’s notion of an oversaturation of services attracting vulnerable residents to east Calgary, saying that “services get set up in places where they’re needed.”

“Most people aren’t travelling all over the place to hang out around services; they’re part of that community. They’re using the services that are available to them, for the most part,” he said.

“These people are not going to disappear. In fact, the population is only going to keep growing until we address housing, and that has to happen at every level of government.”

mrodriguez@postmedia.com

Twitter: @michaelrdrguez

B.C. single mother faces eviction after landlord refuses money from nonprofit subsidy

Story by Paul Johnson • 

A Vancouver mother said her landlord refused to accept money for rent that was a subsidy from a nonprofit.© Global News

Playing with her young son in her lawyer's office, Kate Power's got a story to tell about making it in Vancouver as a single mom.

"I was looking for something that was going to be affordable — a very small space,” she said.

Pregnant with her son in the summer of 2021, Power landed an apartment in a downtown Vancouver building and planned to make a go of it, when an unexpected financial problem left her unable to make rent.

She scrambled and she managed to cover the shortfall with help from some nonprofits.

"I was granted a subsidy towards our situation, which is essentially money that comes from these amazing donors, which goes directly to the landlord,” Powers told Global News.

The single mother said she received a subsidy to pay the rent from the YWCA.

What happened next shocked her and upended her life.

She said the landlord refused to accept the assistance money she'd lined up, which put her in arrears and in a position where she could be evicted, just days before she gave birth.

"She flat out, initially refused, ‘I will not be accepting these payments’," Powers said.

Lawyer Ashley Syer said landlords in B.C. can’t create a situation where a tenant ends up in arrears because they won't accept money.

She managed to stave off Power's eviction by taking the case to the BC Supreme Court. The hearing is set for June.

"I haven't seen this before,” Syer said. "The BC Human Rights Code prohibits landlords from discriminating based on a lawful source of income."

Court documents identify the landlord as Susan Wong of Bonnihon Enterprises.

Global News reached out to the office for comment.

As for Power, she said she's a reluctant litigant but one that scrambled to try to make good on her end of the deal during a tough time in her life.

Renting less costly than mortgages in Calgary despite rent increases

Story by Joel Schlesinger, for the Calgary Herald • 

Calgary renters are still paying less in monthly rent than they would for a mortgage payment for an average-priced home in the city, a new report has found.


The average rent in Calgary is $1,740 a month.© Provided by Calgary Herald

National online realty firm Zoocasa recently released a study comparing monthly average rents in 21 cities, finding most were less than the monthly mortgage payment for an average priced home despite rent increases in recent months.

Overall, Calgary was the sixth least costly market with an average rent of $1,740 a month. By comparison, the report found the average monthly mortgage payment was $2,136 for an average priced home of $518,100.

In contrast, Vancouver had the highest average rent at $3,136 per month as well as monthly mortgage payment at $4,631, based on an average price of more than $1.1 million.

Related video: Rising Cost of Rent (Cheapism)

Duration 1:00 View on Watch

Regina was the least costly market with an average rent of $1,150 and a mortgage payment of $1,279 per month, based on an average price of $310,200.

Saskatoon was the second least costly place to live. Its average monthly rent was actually the lowest in Canada at $1,147, but its monthly mortgage payment was $1,535 where home prices average $372,400.

Edmonton was the third least costly market with rent at $1,258 per month versus a $1,505 monthly mortgage payment based on an average price of $365,100.

Quebec City and Winnipeg, the fourth and fifth least costly markets respectively, were the only cities where mortgages were less than the average rent.

In Quebec, monthly rent averaged $1,355 while its average mortgage payment was $1,300 for an averaged priced home of $315,300.

In Winnipeg, average monthly rent was $1,435 while the average mortgage payment was $1,360 for an average priced home of $329,900.

All mortgage payments were based on a 20 per cent down payment and 4.69 per cent interest rate.

Mobile home park residents form co-ops to save their homes

Story by The Canadian Press • 8h ago

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — When Gadiel Galvez learned that the owner of his mobile home park south of Seattle was looking to sell, he and other residents worried their largely Latino community would be bulldozed to make way for another Amazon warehouse.


Mobile home park residents form co-ops to save their homes

© Provided by The Canadian Press

So, they decided to form a cooperative and buy their park in Lakewood, Washington. With help from a nonprofit that advises communities like theirs and helps them secure loans, they bought it for $5.25 million. Since becoming owners in September, everyone’s worked to make improvements.

“Everybody thought, ‘You know what? ... I’m going to make this place the best that I can,’” said Galvez, 22, who is a co-op board member. “Some people painted their homes, some people remodeled their interiors and exteriors, and some are working on their roofs.”

With rents rising at mobile home parks nationwide, advocates tout the cooperative model as a way to preserve one of the last affordable housing options for people with low- or fixed-incomes and to give them a greater voice in managing their parks.

So far these resident-owned communities are proving to be a reliable option. None of the more than 300 in the network of nonprofit ROC USA have defaulted or closed. One decided to sell back to the county housing authority it originally purchased from.

“They have a 100% track record of success, which tells you that it’s working for the residents,” said George McCarthy, president and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, think tank. “Resident ownership is an absolute bulwark against the intrusion of institutional capital in the market.”

The push to promote resident ownership comes as parks have become a favorite target of investment banks, hedge funds and other deep-pocketed investors.

Nearly a third of mobile home parks in the U.S. have been bought by such investors since 2015, lured by reliable cash flow and high returns from raising rents at nearly double the general rental market rate, McCarthy said.

“They’re trading on the desperation of people living in the parks,” he said. “There’s no place that they can take their homes if they can’t afford to keep paying the increasing rents.”

Park residents often own their home but rarely the land beneath it. So if a landlord raises rent, residents can be evicted or forced to sell their home. If a park is sold to be redeveloped, mobile homes that can’t be moved are demolished.

“Homelessness is really what residents are facing" if investors aggressively raise rents, said Victoria O’Banion, ROC Northwest’s marketing and acquisitions specialist.

At Rimrock Court in the central Oregon town of Madras, rent increased from $350 to $495 over five years. When the owner notified residents he planned to sell, they feared further increases — or worse, that it would be torn down to make way for apartments. So they decided to buy it.

“We were really worried about being forced out of our homes,” said Shawn King, who lives there with her husband on a fixed income and had experienced homelessness before.

To pay off the purchase loan, residents now pay $520 a month — a stretch, but one that comes with reassurance, King said.

“Just to have that peace of mind, to know that our rent is going to be locked in for awhile and not keep going up, and also knowing that our rent monies ... are going back into the property, that is the cool part,” she said.

The required rent increase to go co-op was even steeper in Evergreen Village Cooperative in Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, — from $460 a month to $750 to pay off the $12 million loan.

Related video: Residents of mobile home parks face eviction (ABC15 Phoenix, AZ)
people in three mobile home parks now have just weeks  Duration 2:18  View on Watch

Still, more than two-thirds of residents voted in favor, figuring their rent would stabilize in the long run.

“We are not for profit. All the money that we get has to go back into the village and pay the mortgages off," said Stephen Laclair, board president.

Evergreen Village has earmarked funds for improvement projects for the next decade, and this year plans to enhance the sewer plant and fix electrical issues, he said.

Co-ops can also provide social support to residents. At Liberty Landing Cooperative in Missouri, residents started a food pantry to help neighbors in need.

“If there's a hardship, we're willing to work with somebody. ... It's emotional when you find out that somebody's lost their job, their child support ... and they don't know what to do,” said Kristi Peterman, the board vice president. “Our president likes to say: ‘If it doesn’t work for the poorest of us then it’s not going to work for anybody.'"

Despite the talk of better management and stronger community, most parks aren't co-ops.

The country’s roughly 43,000 mobile home communities are home to 22 million people, according to the Manufactured Housing Institute, a national trade organization. But only about 1,000 are resident-owned, according to Carolyn Carter, deputy director at the National Consumer Law Center.

Some resistance comes from residents, many of whom are seniors and people with disabilities who may not want the responsibility of managing their park. Others argue rent control or stricter zoning regulations protecting mobile home parks from redevelopment are more effective.

“Zoning is critical. ... That is what we ought to be fighting for everywhere,” said Jan Leonard, who lives in a park in Walla Walla, Washington, and worked with other residents to successfully push the city council to amend zoning codes to add mobile home parks as a land-use type.

Other residents considering buying their parks are running up against the same forces that make them popular with investors — a red-hot market and competition from private equity firms and other prospective buyers.

Sarah Marchant, vice president of Community Loan Fund, ROC USA’s New Hampshire affiliate, recalled Tara Estates, a 380-home park in Rochester. The steep $45 million asking price discouraged residents from organizing.

Another challenge is that few states provide funding for residents looking to buy their parks. The lack of grants can make it difficult for residents to finance large loans.

New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Colorado and Oregon are among states with laws that have been effective in helping residents buy their parks, the National Consumer Law Center said.

A new bill in Oregon would allocate $35 million in grants to help residents purchase their parks. Washington passed a bill last month requiring that landlords offer tenants a chance to compete to purchase their park. It also requires two years' notice if a park will be closed, although that can be reduced if landlords financially compensate residents.

Mobile homes are “an important and affordable housing option for a lot of folks, especially older people aging in place, and we need to make sure it’s preserved," said state Sen. Noel Frame, the Washington bill's prime sponsor.

Some real estate groups and park owners argue the bill places an undue burden on landlords.

“If you want tenants to organize and make offers to purchase their communities ... they should not wait until there's a clock ticking,” said Robert Cochran, property manager of Contempo Mobile Home Park in Spokane.

Housing advocates say they hope that $225 million in recently approved federal funding may provide some relief for mobile home park residents. Starting this year, the money will be funneled through grants to states, resident-owned parks, nonprofits, and local and tribal governments to preserve mobile home communities and improve infrastructure.

King cherishes the mobile home that going cooperative at Oregon’s Rimrock Court saved from rent increases and a potential buyout by investors.

“It’s so hard to find affordable housing when you’re low income. To be able to own your own home is so empowering,” she said.

“It’s 600-square-feet. It’s not much, but it’s a castle to me.”

___

AP writer Michael Casey in Boston contributed.

Claire Rush, The Associated Press

Liberals pledge revamp of forced-labour bill, possible enforcement rules surprise MP

Story by The Canadian Press • 

OTTAWA — The Trudeau government is revamping its approach to modern-day slavery, promising new legislation that caught off guard the Liberal MP who has been steering a bill on forced labour through Parliament.


Liberals pledge revamp of forced-labour bill, possible enforcement rules surprise MP© Provided by The Canadian Press

"There is a limited lifespan to this Parliament," Toronto MP John McKay said in an interview.

McKay has been stickhandling Bill S-211, which would update Canada's laws of forced labour and child labour in supply chains.

The bill is nearing its final phase before becoming law as soon as this month. It would require Canadian firms and government departments to scrutinize supply chains, with the aim of protecting workers.

Firms would have to check that none of their products or components are made in sweatshops employing children or people forced to work excessive hours for free or for paltry pay, and issue reports.

The bill was first tabled in the upper chamber by Sen. Julie Miville-Dechêne, whose office did not respond to an interview request.

Miville-Dechêne has previously warned that products including coffee, cocoa and sugar cane may be linked to child labour or made in factories in the Xinjiang region of China where members of the Uyghur community are forced to work.

The bill has been criticized by the NDP, Bloc Québécois and human-rights advocates for imposing only a duty to report instead of actually weeding out things like child labour.

They argue the reporting requirement falls short of the Liberals' platform commitment "to eradicate forced labour from Canadian supply chains."

McKay said that's the result of what is politically possible, and would introduce more transparency in Canada than many other countries.

"It's where you're coming from to where you're going to, and right now we're at Ground Zero, because we have no legislation," he said, arguing consumers and bankers could use the information to pressure corporations.

"Hopefully with some generation of the information we could move to more onerous pieces of legislation, where companies who don't comply expose themselves to lawsuits," said McKay, who said his government hadn't informed him of what the new bill will entail.

Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan was not available for an interview for three days during the Liberals' post-budget tour.

But his office said the intent of the new legislation is to create an impetus for firms and governments to actually act when they identify an instance of forced labour.

"We're eradicating forced labour from Canadian supply chains," O'Regan said in a supplied statement.

"My job is to make sure we draft the most effective legislation possible that not only identifies these goods, but has the teeth to act on them. It will send a clear message to the world: forced labour has no place in Canada."

McKay said he hopes O'Regan tables something fast.

"I would hope that he would introduce whatever he has in mind sooner than later," he said.

"He's clear that he wants to do something that is fairly robust, and I'm doing nothing but encouraging him to do so."

The Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project has called Bill S-221 "weak legislation" and argued that Canada already has tools and obligations under the Customs Act to prevent goods made through slavery from entering supply chains.

"As other governments are making strides in addressing goods produced by the use of Uyghur forced labour, Canada is falling behind," the group wrote in a news release on March 28.

"Responses to this topic have ranged from denial of a problem to limitations in Canadian law, to lack of access to information."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2023.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

RIGHT WING #FREEDOM4ME MOVEMENT
Anti-vaccine gathering at Holocaust monument disgusting, says human rights group

Story by CBC/Radio-Canada 

A human rights organization is condemning a recent rally near the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa, saying it dishonours the memory of the six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

Video posted online of the April 2 gathering shows a few dozen people with flags and signs associated with various conspiracy theories protesting in front of the Canadian War Museum.

They then cross the street and wander through the austere monument.

Several carry placards with anti-vaccine messages, while people can be heard comparing the plight of Jews during the Holocaust to the restrictions unvaccinated Canadians faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We're disgusted and frustrated by the comparison, but unfortunately we're not surprised," said Dan Panneton, director of allyship and community engagement with the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center.

"What's so particularly offensive about this is that they're comparing something like not being able to go to the movies for a few months to things like the mobile killing squads or the gas chambers at Auschwitz."



The National Holocaust Monument is seen in this file photo.© Francis Ferland/CBC

No arrests, tickets

The footage posted online shows a low-key gathering, with police officers present on the scene. Officers did not arrest or ticket anyone involved, an Ottawa Police Service spokesperson told CBC.

The Holocaust is humanity's "dominant moral metaphor," Panneton said. And while people have certainly compared their personal suffering with its victims before, that's escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Part of the reason is there are fewer survivors left to provide first-hand testimony about the Holocaust's horrific reality, Panneton said.

"There's fewer, fewer witnesses by the years, so it's easier to present distorted views of what actually happened," he said.

The rally also included a flag referencing Jewish billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who is often the subject of various conspiracy theories where he's seen as a one-world mastermind.

CBC reached out to the person who posted the video on social media, but did not hear back in time for publication.

Hundreds chant 'we are not trash,' close Portage and Main in honour of woman found dead in Winnipeg landfill

Story by Bryce Hoye • Yesterday 

Hundreds formed a ring around drummers and singers in the middle of Portage Avenue and Main Street in Winnipeg Friday evening to honour Linda Beardy after the mother of four was found dead in a city landfill earlier this week.

Demonstrators closed down the intersection at 5 p.m. while some chanted "we are not trash," "search the landfill" and "shut Brady down." Police diverted traffic away from the intersection.

"It's important for me to be here today because time and time again Indigenous women, people, are ending up in our landfill," Jessica Courchene said at the rally.

"It's not a place for our Indigenous people, it's showing that people think that we're disposable, that we're garbage, that we're not worth any dignity."

The rally eventually made its way to Winnipeg police headquarters.

The revelation of another Indigenous woman found dead in Winnipeg's Brady Road landfill renewed calls for a complete search of the site for missing and murdered people.

The remains of Rebecca Contois — one of four women police believe was killed by Jeremy Skibicki — were found in that landfill in June.

Remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are believed to be north of the city at the privately-run Prairie Green Landfill.

The location of the remains of a fourth woman police believe was killed by Skibicki is not known. She remains unidentified, and community members have given her the name Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman.

On Tuesday, police said 33-year-old Beardy was found dead in the Brady landfill hours after investigators believe her body was deposited there by a garbage truck Monday. They initially said the death was considered suspicious.

Within days of the announcement, Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth said investigators determined foul play is not suspected in the death of the mother of four from Lake St. Martin First Nation.


Hundreds of people attended a rally Friday at Porage Avenue and Main Street in honour of Linda Beardy, 33, who was found dead in the Brady Road landfill on Tuesday. Her death is not considered a homicide, according to Winnipeg police.© Bartley Kives/CBC

Video surveillance showed Beardy climbing into a garbage bin after leaving a retail store on Pembina Highway near the University of Manitoba at about 11 a.m. on Monday, police said.

Related video: Young Winnipeg woman fights to escape her family’s horrifying history with landfills (cbc.ca) Duration 8:57  View on Watch

cbc.caWinnipeg police say woman climbed into garbage bin before she died

4:19

cbc.caHundreds close Winnipeg's Portage and Main in honour of woman found dead in Winnipeg landfill

1:10

cbc.caFamily of woman found dead in Winnipeg landfill shocked over police handling of investigation

3:39

Several hours later, a commercial dump truck picked up and emptied that bin and deposited its contents at Brady landfill, where landfill staff found Beardy's body.

An autopsy suggested she sustained injuries consistent with what would result from being stuck inside a bin as it was handled by a garbage truck, according to police on Thursday. The death is not considered a homicide.

People at a rally hours after that announcement on Thursday repeated calls to permanently shut down the Brady landfill.

Some of Beardy's family are also now calling for an independent investigation into her death.

Supporters at the Friday rally called for change, citing disproportionately high rates of violence faced by missing and murdered Indigenous women.



Two demonstrators standing in the Portage and Main intersection hold out a sign that reads 'We are the back bone of our tribe, we are not trash.'© Bartley Kives/CBC

As an Indigenous mother herself, Alexis Tachnak said it was important for her to be at the Friday rally.

"We are losing far too many of our women…. Nobody is doing anything. We feel disposable, under-appreciated," said Tachnak.

"Indigenous culture is shunned in many ways and our women are at super high risk and it has to come to a stop."


The group walked into the intersection at 5 p.m. chanting 'search the landfill,' echoing calls to search Brady Road and Prairie Green landfills for remains of missing or murdered people.

© Bartley Kives/CBC

Despite the tragic circumstances that brought people to the prominent intersection, Tachnak was encouraged to see so many people attend.

"I feel love with the numbers that are here right now," said Tachnak. "This is how we mourn."

There have also been repeated calls to fully search Brady and Prairie Green landfills. A federally-funded feasibility study is underway looking into that possibility right now with respect to Prairie Green.

"We do need to recognize that the landfills are a crime scene, and we need to show that respect and go through them as we would any crime scene," Katherine Rushton said at the Friday rally.

Rushton is part of the Southern Chiefs' Organization's mobile crisis team that attended the Friday rally to support people mourning Beardy's death.

"It's very important to be able to say the women's names who we've lost and then it also allows for all the other people to feel that same support and same sort of hope that there's forward movement and change," said Rushton.

"These are all our relatives and so by being our best selves and supporting one another in their lived experience will always make for stronger families, stronger feelings and a stronger province."

If you or someone you know needs immediate emotional assistance, call 1-844-413-6649. This is a national, toll-free 24/7 crisis call line providing support for anyone who requires emotional assistance related to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

B.C. First Nations do what they can to protect their communities from this year's wildfires

Story by Jackie McKay •CBC

Dozens of people from Yunesit'in First Nation will burn lands this spring as a mitigation effort for the upcoming wildfire season.

The community, about 300 kilometres north of Vancouver, is revitalizing traditional fire keeping practices, burning dried grass and debris to protect the community from wildfire and foster regrowth of vegetation.

"Fire is just a part of our landscape," said Russell Myers Ross, community leader for the Yunesit'in fire stewardship program and member of the Yunesit'in First Nation, part of the Tŝilhqot'in Nation.

Myers Ross's community started the program after wildfires in 2017 scorched the forest surrounding the community, and forced an evacuation of Yunesit'in.

There is a small window for the burns to take place: in April when the frost is lifting and in the fall as the air is cooling.

"It's different for Indigenous people because we're going to be seeing the growth over the years," said Myers Ross.

"Somebody from the province who might be doing prescribed burning might not have the same level of care."

He said the impacts of the burns are visible — berry bushes and grasses thrive and fire doesn't jump to the areas that were burned.

Yunesit'in is bringing in Victor Steffensen, from the Tagalaka Clan in Australia, for the spring burn. Steffensen practises traditional fire keeping in Australia and has worked with them since the onset of the program.

Myers Ross said Yunesit'in is collecting data on the vegetation and animals that return after burns, and how they improve the wellbeing of people in the community.

Work is underway in First Nations communities across B.C. to mitigate the potential for catastrophic damage from the summer wildfire season.

The fire season for 2022 was below normal with 1,758 wildfires, B.C. Wildfire Service data showed. In 2021, 1,610 wildfires burned 868,000 hectares of land.

Drought 'a huge hazard'

For the last two years, Lytton First Nation, about 150 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, has been grappling with rebuilding their community from a devastating 2021 wildfire while needing to prepare for future fires.

A wildfire came within two kilometres of the community last summer.

"I'm always worried," said Jason Robertson, a council member in charge of emergency management.

"We really need to ensure that we're prepared on every level."


Burnt homes and vehicles in Lytton, B.C., nearly eight months after a wildfire swept through the village. Taken Feb. 18, 2022.© Gian Paolo Mendoza/CBC

Prescribed burns are underway around Lytton with the help of the B.C. Wildfire Service, and community members are cleaning up yards and forest fuel around their homes.

Robertson said even though the snow has just melted, the ground is extremely dry.

"We're actually in severe drought conditions here in Lytton so there's a huge hazard," said Robertson.

His top priority is establishing a First Nations initial attack crew on the west side of the Fraser River, where the community was impacted by wildfires the most in recent years.

The First Nation also conducted a feasibility study on the community water system to improve and increase water flow to fight fires. He said they're planning significant upgrades including backup power.

"That was a huge lesson learned over the past couple of years ... once hydro infrastructure is impacted then we have 15 minutes or less of water to utilize from our reservoirs," said Robertson.

Robertson said fire prevention is a year round conversation with the province and First Nations Emergency Services.

Working on communication

"I feel like we're just like sitting in a matchbox," said Carmen Mcphee, chief of the Tahltan Band.

Mcphee said Telegraph Creek is still recovering from a 2018 wildfire that burned more than 20 homes and dozens of structures including the community's daycare and nursing residence.

Mcphee said some people only moved back into their homes last year.

"I feel like we could have been a lot more prepared than we were," said Mcphee about the 2018 fire.

Now the Tahltan Band brings in trainers every year so residents can get wildfire suppression training, to assist the Wildfire Service.

There's an emergency trailer with sprinklers and a pump that can be shared in any of the communities throughout the territory, and they're looking at getting a trailer for every community.

Mcphee said fire guards are underway around Telegraph Creek, preparing for the summer.

But Mcphee said the biggest difference in the last two years is clearer communication between the First Nation and the Wildfire Service.

She said during the 2018 fire the community didn't have the same radio channels as the firefighters, and sprinklers were never put on houses because it was unclear whose responsibility it was.


Reconstruction underway in Telegraph Creek after wildfires, 2018.

© Philippe Morin/CBC

Last year when a fire broke out about 30 kilometres from the community, Mcphee said there was constant communication between her and the Wildfire Service.

"We were emailing, we work on the phone, we helicoptered together to where the fire was so I can report to my community," said Mcphee.

But she said she thinks there is still room for improvement and that all parties should be meeting to plan for these disasters.

"I feel like there's a lot of gaps," said Mcphee.

"I think that we need to sit at a table together."

Senegal harvests first experimental homegrown wheat

Story by AFP • 10h ago


With the whir of a mower, under a clear blue sky, Senegalese researchers have begun harvesting a crop of experimental homegrown wheat, the latest step in a years-long effort to reduce reliance on imports.


Senegalese researchers have begun harvesting an experimental plot of homegrown wheat© SEYLLOU


Senegal, like many of its neighbours, depends entirely on foreign supplies of wheat© SEYLLOU

The second most consumed cereal after rice, wheat is an important staple in the bread-loving West African nation.

But Senegal, like many of its neighbours, depends entirely on foreign supplies.

It imports 800,000 tonnes of the grain per year.

Its tropical climate is not naturally suited to wheat but domestic trials have been underway for years.

Supply chain problems, rising grain prices and inflation caused by the war in Ukraine have added urgency to the country's efforts to achieve self-sufficiency.

Since late last week, researchers from the Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research (ISRA), a public research institute, have been harvesting four varieties of wheat on a demonstration plot in Sangalkam, 35 kilometres (22 miles) from the capital Dakar.



One challenge is a lack of adequate water for irrigation© SEYLLOU

Three of the varieties are Egyptian and the fourth was developed by the institute.

It operates five demonstration plots in total -- two near Dakar and three in the Senegal River Valley -- and has tested hundreds of wheat varieties, Amadou Tidiane Sall, one of the researchers, told AFP.

Many have proved unsuitable.

The Sangalkam crop, one of several successful experiments by the institute, was sown in early January and matured in three months during Senegal's cold season.

Agriculture Minister Aly Ngouille Ndiaye visited the plot earlier this month.

He said he had requested Egyptian seeds on a visit to the North African country for the United Nations' COP27 climate conference in November.


Researchers have tested hundreds of wheat varieties in Senegal© SEYLLOU

"We have significant potential," the minister said during his visit, promising the government would work with the private sector to expand trial plots.

He acknowledged that a lack of adequate water for irrigation posed a significant challenge.

Not everyone is convinced that wheat can be grown at scale in Senegal.

Amadou Gaye -- the president of the National Federation of Bakers of Senegal, who represents some 2,500 bakeries across the country -- told AFP he would prefer to see resources dedicated to producing local cereals such as millet, maize and sorghum.

mrb/lal/nth/prc

Indonesia’s new capital raises fears for orangutans, dolphins and more

Story by Richaldo Hariandja • 

BALIKPAPAN, Indonesia — As the small red car came to a halt, the window slid down and a hand emerged, tossing some yellow crackers on the ground. Seconds later, a group of southern pig-tailed macaques, a monkey species native to the island of Borneo, swarmed the area and devoured the food in an instant.

Until recently, this road in the wilds of Indonesia was seldom used by either people or macaques, an endangered species that spends most of its time in trees. But with its repairs as part of the development of a new national capital, Nusantara, it is drawing macaques who have discovered the road’s new users are a reliable source of food.

“They were rarely seen before that,” said Satwika Satria Prahita, a resident of the nearby port city of Balikpapan.

The Indonesian government says the new capital is necessary because the 11 million residents of the congested current capital, Jakarta, face environmental threats including pollution, sinking land and rising seas. Construction has started on the chosen site 1,200 miles away in Borneo, an island shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei that has some of the world’s highest levels of biodiversity.

Officials say Nusantara will adopt a “forest city” concept, in which more than 75% of the area is green space, and that it will be carbon neutral by the time construction is completed is 2045. But conservationists worry about the impact on orangutans, dolphins and other wildlife in and around the new capital, citing the public’s lack of conservation knowledge.



Indonesia is offering more tax cuts and looser terms for land acquisitions under a new rule as it struggles to attract more investors to its $34 billion new capital project. 

(Rony Zakaria / Bloomberg via Getty Images)© Rony Zakaria

“Our big homework now is figuring out how to educate the people,” said Hadi S. Alikodra, a professor in the faculty of forestry and environment at IPB University in Bogor, Indonesia.

Experts have urged the government to protect wildlife from construction workers, as well as the 1.9 million people who are expected to eventually live in Nusantara, which is set to be inaugurated in August next year. Otherwise, there could be some disastrous conflicts between humans and animals, said Muhammad Ali Imron, a wildlife expert at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

“And it will lead to biodiversity loss,” he said.

Wiratno, an official with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, acknowledged the concerns but said the government was making wildlife protection a top priority.

“We will intensively educate the workers and all of the people about conservation and how to live among wildlife in this forest city,” said Wiratno, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

He said Nusantara’s 75% forest cover would make it an attractive place for animals to live. As a safeguard against conflict between humans and animals, he said, the government is establishing a wildlife response unit and call center.

Some of those potential conflicts can be dangerous. Conservationists say large-scale mangrove clearings and an increase in activity by large ships have already spurred crocodile attacks on local fishermen, putting them in a bind.

“If I can choose, I would rather go fishing in daylight to avoid encounters with crocodiles,” said Hasanudin, a fisherman in the village of Gersik. “But the outcome will be less than doing it at night or before dawn.”


Indonesia is offering more tax cuts and looser terms for land acquisitions under a new rule as it struggles to attract more investors to its $34 billion new capital project.

 (Adek Berry / AFP via Getty Images)© Adek Berry

According to the Indonesian Ministry of National Development Planning, the new capital — whose name means “archipelago” — could one day encompass almost 1,000 square miles of East Kalimantan province, or four times the size of Jakarta.

About 125 square miles of that land is classified as primary forest that has been untouched by human activity, according to Auriga, an Indonesian nongovernmental organization focused on biodiversity. There are also about 75 square miles of mangroves, about three-quarters of which is considered nonforest, meaning it can be converted for agricultural, residential or industrial use.

Mangroves are the natural habitat for the proboscis monkey, a primate native to Borneo that has been classified as endangered since 2015.

“You can’t find the monkey anywhere but in Indonesia,” Alikodra said.

About 1,400 proboscis monkeys live in the mangroves of Balikpapan Bay, or 5% of the total population in Borneo, according to a coalition of local civil society groups.

The bay, which will serve as Nusantara’s harbor, is also home to the Irrawaddy dolphin, another critically endangered species. According to the most recent survey by the Conservation Foundation for Rare Aquatic Species of Indonesia, there were only 71 dolphins left in the area in 2015.

The escalated activity in Balikpapan Bay, either during construction or once Nusantara is populated, is likely to put stress on the dolphins’ environment, the coalition said, pointing to a 2018 oil spill that killed four of the creatures.



Indonesia is offering more tax cuts and looser terms for land acquisitions under a new rule as it struggles to attract more investors to its $34 billion new capital project. 

(Rony Zakaria / Bloomberg via Getty Images)© Rony Zakaria

Another endangered species that could be affected by the Nusantara project is orangutans, about 200 of whom live in a local sanctuary. Aldrijanto Priadjati, East Kalimantan program manager for the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, said the new capital would consume all of the sanctuary’s 28 square miles.

He said the Nusantara project was an opportunity for officials to demonstrate their commitment to orangutan protection.

“We welcome the project with open arms, and (are) open to help the government establish safeguards for these orangutans,” Priadjati said.

Medrilzam, director of environmental affairs at the Ministry of National Development Planning, said the Nusantara project would create environmental solutions rather than problems.

“We have carefully planned this project in all aspects, including the environment,” said Medrilzam, who also goes by one name.

He said he was confident that no mangroves would be converted and the orangutan sanctuary would be unaffected.

“We will protect these iconic ecosystems,” he said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com