US proposes ending new federal leases in nation's biggest coal region

Thu, May 16, 2024 



BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday proposed an end to new coal leasing from federal reserves in the most productive coal mining region in the U.S. as officials seek to limit climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions from burning the fuel.

The Bureau of Land Management proposal would affect millions of acres (millions of hectares) of federal lands and underground mineral reserves in the Powder River Basin area of Wyoming and Montana.

The immediate impact is likely to be limited because coal leases take many years to develop and demand has flagged in recent years. But the proposal drew a harsh pushback from Republicans in Congress, coming just weeks after President Joe Biden's Democratic administration unveiled an air quality rule that could force many coal-fired power plants to reduce their pollution or shut down.

Thursday's proposal was made in response to a 2022 court order that said two federal land management plans drafted for the Powder River Basin during former President Donald Trump's administration had failed to adequately take into account climate change and public health problems caused by burning coal.

In response, the Biden administration is issuing plans that would stop further coal leasing in the region while preserving existing leases. The plans are subject to a 30-day public protest period before they become final.

Federal officials said they anticipate coal mining to continue from existing leases through 2041 in Wyoming and through 2060 at a mine in Montana.

Another Montana mine, the Spring Creek Mine, could run out of federal coal reserves by 2035 — more than 50 years earlier than if leases were to continue being issued, according to government analyses of the proposal.

Fourteen active coal mines in the region in 2022 produced almost 260 million short tons of coal — about 40% of total U.S. production.

Yet mining volumes already had dropped by almost half over the past two decades as competition from renewable energy and cheap natural gas shuttered many coal-fired power plants served by the mines.

Conservationists said the proposal marks a historic shift for the nation's coal program, which over the past half-century allowed companies to extract billions of tons of the fuel at low cost from massive strip mines, primarily in Western states.

Mark Fix, a southeast Montana rancher and member of the Northern Plains Resource Council conservation group, said the Biden administration proposal was a “commonsense plan” given the current state of the coal market.

“Coal companies in this region already have decades of coal locked up under leases, and it's hard to imagine they'll find buyers that far into the future given the competition from more affordable energy sources,” Fix said.

Elected officials in Wyoming and Montana responded with outrage, characterizing the proposal as an assault on domestic energy sources that will kill coal jobs and cost the states millions in lost revenue.

“Wyoming has been targeted left and right by rule after rule handed down by this administration,” said Wyoming Republican U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis. “Wyoming coal is needed now more than ever to power our nation and the world."

Montana Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke — who sought to boost coal production with little success while serving as Trump's Interior Secretary — said coal provides reliable power for the electric grid and modern mining technologies have reduced its environmental impacts.

However, the improved technologies have not halted greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal to make electricity.

Ending federal leasing would reduce those emissions by the equivalent of 293 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to the government analyses. That's comparable to emissions from about 63 million gasoline-power vehicles, the analyses said.

Bureau of Land Management spokesperson Brian Hires declined to provide further details on why the agency was proposing to end new leases.

A longstanding partisan divide over federal coal reserves was deepened by 2016 federal lease sale moratorium under former Democratic President Barack Obama. Trump officials scuttled the moratorium before it was revived in 2022 by a federal judge.

An appeals court in February struck it down, raising fears among environmentalists of a potential mining resurgence on federal lands.

Thursday's proposals and the increasingly bleak market for coal in the U.S. would make such a resurgence more difficult.

Conor Bernstein with the National Mining Association said the change to the coal program “handcuffs” the industry's ability to respond to the market and make plans for future mining.

Global coal production has reached new highs in recent years even as mining companies in the U.S. have faced declining demand.

Matthew Brown, The Associated Press

Man accused in death of Sikh activist appeared in court just 2 days before the killing

CBC
Thu, May 16, 2024 

MODI ASSASSINS  COLLECTORS CARD #4

Amandeep Singh, who resided in Brampton, Surrey and Abbotsford, has been arrested in connection with the killing of B.C. Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. (IHIT - image credit)

Amandeep Singh, the fourth man charged in connection with the killing of prominent Sikh-Canadian activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was already caught up in the Canadian justice system at the time of Nijjar's death, CBC News has learned.

The Indian national, who entered Canada on a temporary visa, appeared in a Surrey, B.C. courtroom to answer charges on an unrelated matter just two days before, according to police, he lay in wait for Nijjar at the entrance to the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. Nijjar was shot multiple times and died at the scene.

Amandeep Singh had been arrested in Surrey, B.C. on a warrant after fleeing from police in March 2023. He was charged with flight from police and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and made a first court appearance on June 16, 2023. Nijjar was killed on June 18.


Court documents show that his case came up before the court again 19 days after the killing, on July 7, and was proceeding through the system toward a trial, scheduled for later this year, when he was arrested on separate firearms and drug charges in Brampton, Ont. last November.

B.C. court documents from last June also show that Singh signed an undertaking agreeing to not possess firearms or ammunition, and to not be in the driver's seat of any motor vehicle.

Amandeep Singh was not among the first group of three men arrested by the RCMP in connection with Nijjar's killing on May 3 in raids in the Edmonton area. At the time, he was already in custody in Ontario for the November charges.

British Columbia's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) charged him in the Nijjar case on May 11. IHIT said it had "pursued the evidence and gained sufficient information for the B.C. Prosecution Service to charge Amandeep Singh with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder."

On Wednesday, he appeared in a Surrey provincial court virtually from a detention centre in Ontario to answer those charges.

He now faces the same charges as co-accused Karan Brar, Karanpreet Singh and Kamalpreet Singh, who are all alleged to have participated in killing Nijjar.

This still of security footage shows Hardeep Singh Nijjar leaving the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara on the evening of June 18, 2023.

This still image from security footage shows Hardeep Singh Nijjar leaving the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara on the evening of June 18, 2023. (Submitted by name withheld)

All four men charged with Nijjar's murder are expected to appear in court next Tuesday, May 21. None of them have entered a plea yet.

Sources inside the police investigation, and sources in the government of Canada with knowledge of its intelligence-gathering and intelligence-sharing with Five Eyes partners, have told CBC News that evidence connects the murder plot directly to the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, now campaigning to win a third term as leader of the world's most populous nation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, walks past India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at Raj Ghat, Mahatma Gandhi's cremation site, during the G20 Summit in New Delhi, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, walks past India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at Raj Ghat, Mahatma Gandhi's cremation site, during the G20 Summit in New Delhi on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Like the other three accused, Amandeep Singh is believed by investigators to be affiliated with an Indian organized crime group led by Punjabi gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

He divided his time between Surrey, Abbotsford B.C. and Brampton, all home to large Sikh communities.

Amandeep Singh has been in custody since his car was stopped in Brampton on Nov. 3 by the Special Enforcement Bureau of the Peel Regional Police. Police say he was found in possession of a Fabrique Nationale Model 509 semi-automatic pistol with a 24-round extended magazine loaded with 20 9mm rounds.

Another car stopped later the same day was searched and found to contain two more extended magazines.

Pistol magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds are prohibited items under Canadian law.

Singh was charged with a number of firearms offences as well as two counts of possession of a controlled substance.

Four other men were arrested in the two vehicle stops: Jobanpreet Singh, 20, Maninder Singh, 21, Ramanpreet Singh, 30, and Swaranpreet Singh, 20. All are listed as residents of Brampton and all remain in custody on firearms possession charges. They were not charged with drug offences and are not accused in the Nijjar murder.

SCOTLAND

Care staff ‘left in limbo’ over pay rise balloted on strike action

Ryan McDougall, 

PA Scotland
Thu, May 16, 2024

Council workers are to be balloted on strike action after being left “in limbo” as local authority leaders delay making a pay offer, a union has said.

GMB Scotland and Unite’s care worker members employed by Scottish councils will receive a ballot on strike action next week, with the vote to close on June 19.

Unison will also be balloting its refuse and recycling worker members in the coming days, with members in schools and social care to be balloted later in the summer.

The unions have accused council leaders of time wasting and creating uncertainty among workers.

GMB Scotland members have already voted overwhelmingly in a consultative ballot to back industrial action if the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) does not make an acceptable pay offer.

The union said council leaders were told on Wednesday that GMB’s residential and home care workers will make a decision on strike action after no offer was received, despite being told one was due.

Workers in other areas are also being balloted on industrial action as council leaders reputedly discuss an offer of 2%, the union said.

Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser in public services, said: “This offer is already far too late and, from what we have heard, is almost certain to be far too low.

“Our members have already shown great patience, but enough is enough.

“Council leaders must already suspect their offer will not be accepted but continue to waste time and inflict uncertainty.

“They claim to have no money but have made no serious attempt to persuade Scottish Government ministers to provide the money needed for a realistic, acceptable offer.

“They are leaving our members in limbo and Scots relying on frontline council services facing disruption.

“Our members in social care are among the lowest paid council workers delivering some of the most important frontline services.

“They deserve better than this. So do their colleagues, and so does every Scot relying on them to deliver the services Scotland is built on.”

Graham McNab, Unite’s industrial officer, said on Wednesday the lack of action from Cosla is “history repeating itself”.

Unions said social care staff ‘deserve better’ (Alamy/PA)

He added: “There isn’t even an offer on the table for our local government membership to consider.

“Unite has no choice but to initiate an industrial action ballot process which will in the end force Cosla into making a credible pay offer.

“It really is a sorry state of affairs and the pay negotiation process has clearly demonstrated that is not fit for purpose.

“Let’s also be clear that the Scottish Government are equally to blame for this unacceptable situation.”

Unison Scotland lead for local government David O’Connor said: “The employers promised an improved offer would come this week. Council staff have made it very clear that they’re not willing to be strung along.

“If Cosla makes a better proposal soon, it’ll be considered. Strike action is always the last resort but, as it stands, there’s no choice but to start an official ballot.”

A Cosla spokesman said: “Learning from the last few years, we are working hard to maintain a dialogue with our SJC trade unions partners, whilst we explore all avenues.

“We are doing all that we can to get the best possible offer on the table. It is important to reiterate that this is against the context of a flat-cash settlement from Scottish Government, which leaves very little room to manoeuvre without service reductions and job losses, which we want to avoid at all costs.

“We understand our unions’ frustrations over the difficulties in getting a realistic pay offer to them given the constraints noted above.

“We remain committed to doing the best by our workforce, who deliver essential local services in every community across Scotland.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Local government pay negotiations are a matter for unions and local authorities as the employers.

“Ministers recognise the crucial role councils and their employees play in communities across Scotland.

“That’s why, despite UK Government cuts, this year the Scottish Government has made available over £14 billion to local councils – a real-terms increase of 2.5% compared with the previous year.

“The Scottish Government urges all the parties involved to work together constructively to reach an agreement which is fair for the workforce and affordable for employers.”

Council workers could strike as union says sides are ‘miles’ apart in pay talks

Nick Forbes, PA Scotland
Wed, May 15, 2024



The largest union in local government has said its members could take strike action over a pay offer that it describes as “miles away” from what staff could accept.

Unison officials will meet on Thursday to decide whether to ballot members for strike action over the latest pay offer from Cosla, which is involved in setting salaries for local government employees.

They are unhappy with the delay in a formal offer being made, saying they had been expecting to receive this last week but have now been told it could take until the last week in May.

Union officials also describe the prospective pay offer of 2% or 39p per hour, as set out in a letter from Cosla, as “another real-terms pay cut” which council staff are unlikely to accept.

Unison local government lead David O’Connor said: “Unison’s local government committee will meet tomorrow to decide whether we ballot our members for strike action. Local government workers are getting very frustrated with the delays.

“The figures quoted by the employer are miles away from anything staff are likely to accept, it is asking council workers to take another real-terms pay cut, which is unacceptable.

“No one wants a repeat of last year’s disruption but it’s been made abundantly clear that staff cannot wait for months to get a fair pay offer.”

A spokesperson for Cosla said: “Learning from the last few years, we are working hard to maintain a dialogue with our Scottish Joint Council trade unions partners, whilst we explore all avenues – this includes a third meeting next week.

“As our trade unions know, we are very close to making an offer, based on the mandate given by council leaders. We are doing all that we can to get the best possible offer on the table.

“It is important to reiterate that this is against the context of a flat cash settlement from Scottish Government, which leaves very little room to manoeuvre without service reductions and job losses which we want to avoid at all costs.”

Siemens Energy boss says there can be no energy transition without China

BACK TO FREE  MARKET BASICS

Christoph Steitz
Thu, May 16, 2024 

FILE PHOTO: Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch
In this article:

By Christoph Steitz

MUELHEIM AN DER RUHR, Germany (Reuters) - Europe's energy sector relies too much on China to entertain the idea of de-risking, the CEO of Siemens Energy said, reflecting the dilemma of an industry in need of supplies from the world's No.2 economy - but not the competition that comes with it.

The comments by Christian Bruch come as global trade tensions with China are heating up, with the U.S. raising tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles this week and the European Union looking into similar steps to protect local players from unfair competition.

Meantime, the EU has launched an investigation into Chinese wind turbine makers and whether they benefit from subsidies in their efforts to undercut the pricing of Western companies like Vestas, Nordex and GE Vernova.

"The last thing I would do is advocate something like departing or de-risking. We have a connectivity between the two regions that is fruitful and unavoidable," Bruch told a briefing with journalists this week.

"Trying to build a wind turbine without any Chinese supply will be close to impossible. Energy transition without China doesn't work."

The manufacturing of wind turbines heavily depends on materials from China, most notably rare earths and permanent magnets and there are limited options for the sector to change that, usually at much higher prices.

While Siemens Energy makes only a fraction of its sales in China, around 1.5%, its wind division relies almost entirely on rare earth and permanent magnets from China.

Bruch's comments also indicate a divide between Germany's government, which has suggested companies cut their relative exposure to China, and the leaders of companies such as Volkswagen and BASF, which have increased their engagement.

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

Bruch said it was vital that Chinese wind turbine makers be held to the same local standards as European companies when they sell their turbines locally, adding there had to be a middle ground between full-on protectionism like in the United States and a free market.

"I'm not in favour of blocking the European market. But I think we still need clear rules in terms of how companies are financed, where do they get guarantees from and what do they pay for it. This needs to be somewhat consistent," Bruch said, adding he hoped that the EU investigation would achieve this.

Siemens Energy last week announced far-reaching changes to its crisis-ridden wind turbine division, including cutting or paring back the number of markets where it wants to compete, such as Latin America and Africa, which is partly a consequence of cheap Chinese competitors.

Bruch said wind unit Siemens Gamesa would not compete in markets where it was up against two or three Chinese players if price was the only differentiator.

He said that while the company had weighed an exit from onshore wind, which has been plagued by quality issues, Siemens Energy had decided against it for now because it would have been more expensive than staying in.

Bruch made clear, however, that the turnaround plan for onshore, which includes a target for double-digit profit margins, had to produce tangible results within the next 4-5 years or a different solution would have to be found.

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Susan Fenton

Muslim, Jewish voters leaning away from the federal Liberals as Gaza war grinds on: poll

CBC
Thu, May 16, 2024 

Protesters for Gaza gather outside a downtown hotel in Toronto, the planned location of an event for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on Friday, Mar. 15, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press - image credit)


A new poll suggests Muslim and Jewish voters are leaning away from the federal Liberals in voting intentions — a possible sign that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to straddle gaps in public opinion over the Israel-Hamas war are falling short.

The new poll of voting intentions by the Angus Reid Institute says the federal NDP is leading the Liberals among Muslim voters 41 per cent to 31 per cent, while the federal Conservatives are beating the Liberals among Jewish voters 42 per cent to 33 per cent.

"This does feel to the Liberals, in terms of their outreach around diaspora politics, to now be a fairly untenable situation," Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute, told CBC News.

"The Jewish diaspora is now saying, 'You haven't gone far enough in condemning Hamas and condemning the violence and stopping antisemitism in Canada.' And you've got pro-Palestinian voters and populations, many of whom are Muslim, obviously saying, 'You haven't gone far enough to condemn the Israeli Defence Forces for its counterattack in Gaza.'"

The data shows only 15 per cent of Muslims polled say they would vote for the Conservatives, while just 20 per cent of Jewish voters say they would support the New Democrats.

Protestors are seen on Parliament Hill during a pro-Israel protest on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.

Protesters attend a pro-Israel rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)

Kurl said that under Trudeau's leadership, the Liberals have made a concerted effort to appeal to Muslim voters since 2015, when the Conservatives under Stephen Harper ran an election campaign that included controversial promises like a ban on the niqab and a "barbaric cultural practices" tip line.

An Environics Institute poll looking back on that election found 65 per cent of Muslims who said they voted cast their ballots for the Liberals, while only 10 per cent voted for the NDP.

"We saw the Liberals go out and court Muslims in Canada to vote Liberal," Kurl said.

She said the Liberals appear to be feeling the fallout from trying to appease both Muslim and Jewish voters since Hamas's attack on Israel of Oct. 7, 2023. Israeli officials say up to 1,200 Israelis were killed and 253 were taken hostage in that attack. Health authorities in Gaza say the Israeli military operation launched in response has killed almost 35,000 people.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre addresses the national Conservative caucus on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. The Conservative Party of Canada raised more than $35 million during Pierre Poilievre's first full year as leader — and the federal Liberals brought in less than half that amount.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre addresses the national Conservative caucus on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Asked at a news conference Thursday about his party's apparent slide among Muslims and Jewish voters, Trudeau defended the Liberals' approach and accused the other parties of picking sides while he has been striving for unity.

"To put it in political terms, I think it's important that there be at least one major party in this country, in our democracy, that has both lots of Jewish MPs and lots of Muslim MPs," he said, adding that he will continue to advocate for a two-state solution and a ceasefire.

In December, CBC News reported a group representing influential Canadian Muslim donors was leaving the top donor ranks of the Liberal Party, citing Trudeau's disinclination at the time to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The government started to call for one a few days later after that announcement.

In February, hundreds of mosques and Muslim organizations co-signed a letter telling Canadian MPs not to appear at mosques during Ramadan unless they were willing to openly call out Israel for "war crimes" or demand the government stop sending weapons to Israel.

The Liberals have pointed out that they have not exported lethal aid to Israel since the start of this latest conflict and also voted in favour of a heavily amended NDP motion that called on Canada to "cease the further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel."

That motion outraged many Jewish-Canadians. "We are deeply disappointed that the Liberal government has chosen to effectively sub-contract Canadian foreign policy to anti-Israel radicals within the NDP and the Bloc Québécois," the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said in a media statement at the time.

No party leader making a dent with either group

Angus Reid also polled respondents on their opinions of Trudeau, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. Fifty-one per cent of Muslims said their opinion of Trudeau had "worsened recently," according to the Institute, while a similar share, 47 per cent, said the same about Poilievre.

Forty-seven per cent of Muslim respondents said their opinion of Singh had not changed.

Among Jewish voters, 49 per cent said their opinion of Trudeau had worsened; a slightly lower number, 38 per cent, said the same of Singh. A quarter of Jewish respondents said their opinion of Poilievre had improved, but 31 per cent reported the opposite.

By law, the next federal election must be held by October 2025.

As with most recent polls since last summer, this latest one shows the Conservatives would be in a comfortable position to form a majority government if an election were held today.

Kurl said the data held no big surprises, given recent events. "You just see the hill that the Liberals now have to climb, or call it the corner they have painted themselves into," she said.

Editor's note: The Angus Reid Institute survey was conducted online from April 19-23, 2024 among 3,459 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. A probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

From April 19 to May 9, the Institute also polled 166 Canadian Muslim, 164 Canadian Hindu, 165 Canadian Jewish and 118 Canadian Sikh adults online. These samples are not included in the general population sample.

Canada sanctions four Israeli 'extremist settlers' accused of attacking Palestinians

THERE ARE 700,000 ILLEGAL SETTLERS ***

IN THE WEST BANK & EAST JERUSALEM 

The Canadian Press
Thu, May 16, 2024 



OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is imposing sanctions on Israelis she accuses of "extremist settler violence" in the West Bank, three months after pledging to do so.

"While I was in the region recently, I heard directly from families that have been forced to leave their homes and farming lands as a direct result of violence and threats by extremist settlers," Joly wrote in a statement.

"With these measures, we are sending a clear message that acts of extremist settler violence are unacceptable and that perpetrators of such violence will face consequences."

Joly originally promised these sanctions in February, and calls them "a significant step" in Canada's approach to the region, as it tries to maintain the prospect of a two-state solution involving a Palestinian country living in peace next to Israel.

Israel has occupied the West Bank, which is separate from the Gaza Strip, since 1967, and settlers have increasingly built communities that Canada and many other countries say violate international law.

An attack last October by Hamas in Gaza prompted Israel to bombard that territory, and the United Nations says there has been a sharp uptick in West Bank settlers attacking Palestinians.

The sanctions announced Thursday apply to four men Ottawa accuses of "violent and destabilizing actions against Palestinian civilians and their property in the West Bank." All four were listed by the U.S. and U.K. earlier this year.

They include David Chai Chasdai, whom the U.S. State Department has accused of leading a rampage in which multiple vehicles and buildings were set on fire and one civilian was killed.

Yinon Levi has regularly led settlers to assault Palestinian and Bedouin civilians, Washington says, setting their fields on fire and threatening more violence if they don't leave.

Moshe Sharvit "repeatedly harassed, threatened, and attacked Palestinian civilians and Israeli human rights defenders," according to the State Department, including making 100 Palestinians flee after ordering them to leave.

Zvi Bar Yosef was accused by Washington of "repeated violence against Palestinians" and blocking access to their lands.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that Canada will no longer automatically vote against most UN resolutions targeting Israel, because the right-wing coalition government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been thwarting efforts toward a two-state solution.

The Israeli Embassy in Ottawa has been asked for comment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2024.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

Canada sanctions 'extremist' Israeli settlers

CBC
Thu, May 16, 2024 

A Palestinian girl looks through her family home's shattered window after a settlers' attack in the West Bank village of al-Mufagara, near Hebron, on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. (Nasser Nasser/Associated Press - image credit)


Canada is imposing sanctions on "extremist" Israeli settlers in the West Bank, Global Affairs Canada announced Thursday.

"The sanctions are a response to the grave breach of international peace and security posed by their violent and destabilizing actions against Palestinian civilians and their property in the West Bank," Global Affairs said in a news release.

Canada is sanctioning four people, the department said: David Chai Chasdai, Yinon Levi, Zvi Bar Yosef and Moshe Sharvit. Global Affairs Canada said the four have engaged in violence against Palestinian civilians and their property.

The four men are among the eight people the U.S. sanctioned earlier this year. Canada's sanctions come months after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly first said the government would be imposing them.

The U.S. government also sanctioned the two outposts the settlers have established: Zvi's Farm, northwest of the West Bank's main city Ramallah, and Moshe's Farm in the Jordan Valley. It also sanctioned agricultural enterprises run out of the outposts. Canada has sanctioned only individuals.

"With these measures, we are sending a clear message that acts of extremist settler violence are unacceptable and that perpetrators of such violence will face consequences," Joly said in a media statement Thursday.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly speaks to reporters in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Monday, March 18, 2024.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly speaks to reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Monday, March 18, 2024. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)

The United Nations has reported an escalation in settler attacks in the Palestinian territories since the Oct. 7 attacks.

Acts of violence by settlers and moves to dispossess Palestinians of their property were on the rise before the attacks and followed the election of the current Netanyahu government at the end of 2022.

That government is dominated by pro-settler parties and includes a number of West Bank settlers in its cabinet. Prominent members of the government have visited and spoken in support of the outposts where the sanctioned settlers live.

About 4,000 Palestinians were displaced from their land and homes in 2023, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. It's the highest number recorded in the past 20 years.

"Attacks by extremist Israeli settlers — a long-standing source of tension and conflict in the region — have escalated alarmingly in recent months," the Global Affairs statement said. "This has undermined the human rights of Palestinians, prospects for a two-state solution and posed significant risks to regional security."

Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, it is considered a war crime for a country to move its own population into territory occupied in war. Violations of the Geneva Convention are also offences under Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act.

Historically, however, little action has been against the more than 700,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, who include a significant number of Canadian citizens.

Earlier this year, Canada sanctioned nearly a dozen people connected to Hamas's Oct 7 attack on Israel, including Hamas leaders. It was the first time Canada had imposed individual sanctions on non-state actors.

Israel ‘needs to do more’ to stop settlers sacking Gaza aid trucks, US says

John Bowden and Andrew Feinberg

THE INDEPENDENT 
Thu, May 16, 2024 



Israeli officials “need to do more” to stop settlers attacking trucks loaded with food, water and other critical supplies from entering Gaza, a State Department spokesman said on Thursday.

The remarks came after videos emerged on X/Twitter showing Israeli settlers destroying packages of humanitarian assistance held on trucks bound for Gaza.

Vedant Patel, state spokesperson, said that he could not verify the fate of the trucks seen in the video. But he added that Israeli officials “need to do more to hold actors like this accountable when action is taken that is inconsistent with what we know is important, which is getting more humanitarian aid into Gaza”.

“What I can say...humanitarian aid must not, and can not, be restricted, stopped or interefered with,” he said.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre also addressed the issue of aid convoys being blocked or harrassed on Thursday. “We remain concerned about ongoing limited operations at the Rafah boarding crossing,” she said.

“This level of aid remains insufficient,” said Jean-Pierre at her daily briefing. “And we want to continue to press Israel to increase the level of assistant moving into Gaza. I cannot speak to the prime minister or domestic politics that is for him to speak to, what I can speak to is what we have been working on doing, and how much we understand the importance of getting that humanitarian aid in. And that's what we've been doing.”

A video posted by Axios’s Barak Ravid on Twitter on Monday showed at least a dozen if not more Israelis throwing packages appearing to contain bottled water on the ground, smashing them, as they crossed from the West Bank into Israel, bound for Gaza. Other videos and news reports, such as one from Haaretz this week, have also indicated that truck drivers have been subject to assaults for participating in aid convoys.



The US continues to insist that these incidents (and the inability or unwillingness of Israeli security forces to stop them from occurring) do not amount to officially-sanctioned efforts by Israel’s government to restrict or halt the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, which would violate international law. But the State Department in particular has faced heavy criticism for that finding, in particular following the publication of a report last week which also found that in some “instances” Israeli forces could be reasonably found to have violated international humanitarian assistance laws.

In general, the Biden administration continues to tread a fine line on the issue of aid to Gaza and Israel’s treatment of Palestinian civilians. The US has repeatedly fought back against accusations that Israel (with US assistance) is committing a genocide in Gaza, and rejected the authority of an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the matter. At the same time, White House and State Department officials have repeatedly publicly pressed Israel’s government to increase aid crossings and to take further steps aimed at protecting civilians from harm, while condemning rhetoric from rightwing Israeli politicians embracing the destruction of Gaza.

President Joe Biden drew his red line for Israel’s conduct in a recent interview with CNN, saying that he would halt the transfer of some weapons to Israel should a major military assault against the city of Rafah in southern Gaza begin. While violence has been reported in the area, State Department officials have told reporters that the Israeli operations in the area are limited and have thus far avoided population centres, skirting the president’s threat.

Israeli officials have pushed back against the US president’s warning and have vowed to move forward with an invasion of Rafah, where more than one million refugees have fled fighting that has utterly leveled large parts of Gaza’s north. More than 35,000 people, with over half being children, are thought to have been killed since the fighting began last year following a deadly Hamas terrorist attack in Israel that killed 1,152 people and resulted in hundreds being taken hostage by militants.

Over the weekend, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was questioned about the US’s handling of relations with Israel during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press and denied that the US was avoiding more serious criticism for fear of angering a US ally.

“We don’t have double standards,” Blinken said.“We treat Israel, one of our closest allies and partners, just as we would treat any other country, including in assessing something like international humanitarian law, and its compliance with that law.”




‘Barbaric’: Palestinian lorry drivers recount settlers’ attack on Gaza aid convoy

Lorenzo Tondo, Sufian Taha and Jason Burke in Jerusalem

Thu, May 16, 2024 

A worker clears piles of spilled food parcels scattered across the ground in a lorry park.Photograph: Oren Ziv/AFP/Getty Images

Palestinian lorry drivers delivering aid to Gaza have described “barbaric” scenes after their vehicles were blocked and vandalised by Israeli settlers, preventing humanitarian supplies reaching the territory where much of the population face imminent starvation.

Drivers and contractors who were targeted on Monday at the Tarqumiya checkpoint in the occupied West Bank also said Israeli soldiers escorting the convoy did nothing to stop the attack.

The incident sparked international condemnation after videos emerged on social media that appeared to show Israeli settlers throwing boxes of much-needed supplies on the ground and at least one vehicle being set ablaze.

Yazid al-Zoubi, 26, said between 50 and 60 lorries had set out in the convoy.

“We were carrying oil, sugar and other things and driving from the Tarqumiya crossing,” he said. “We left in a convoy with an army vehicle in front of us and an army vehicle behind us, and we took a special army road that civilians could not cross. Suddenly, after 20 minutes on the road, near the crossing, we were surprised by at least 400 settlers. They attacked us. The rest of the drivers and I escaped from the vehicles after the settlers starting throwing stones at us.’’

Zoubi said the situation escalated when the settlers started breaking the windscreens of the lorries and piercing the tyres, then climbed on to the vehicles and threw packages of food into the road.

Aid agencies have described famine conditions in parts of Gazathat they have said have been caused by Israeli restrictions on aid entering the Palestinian territory. Humanitarian officials say the population of Gaza needs at least 500 daily lorryloads of food, fuel and other essentials but have received a fraction of that amount.

Zoubi said that during Monday’s attack the Israeli soldiers escorting the convoy stood back and watched as the settlers rampaged.

“We are shocked and surprised that the army did not provide us with any kind of protection,” he said. “Even though they were present and watching what was happening. The army was at the service of the settlers.’’

Zoubi said the drivers fled the scene but that when they returned later to retrieve their belongings, they were attacked by the settlers, some of whom were armed.

‘’At that point the army gathered us and ordered us to raise our hands on the walls,” he said. “The settlers were free to terrorise us. I have never been attacked so brutally before.

“The state of terror I experienced is indescribable. Even now I have nightmares at night. My psychological state is broken, I cannot think properly, I can’t sleep. I cannot work. We are not smugglers. We agreed to transport goods legally from the crossing under the watch and supervision of the Israeli authorities.”

Footage of the incident appears to show the Israeli soldiers taking no action against the settlers.

Haitham abu Khairo was also part of the aid convoy and the owner of one the lorries vandalised. He said he had lost approximately 250,000 Israeli shekels (£53,700) in the attack, which came after several trouble-free trips transporting aid for Gaza across the West Bank and Israel from the Jordanian border.

“I managed to escape but what happened is serious. The Israeli government must punish those who commit such an act with the most severe punishment. Because it will affect the country’s economy in the future, as many truck drivers will leave their jobs to ensure their safety,” he said.

The violence has prompted dozens of Palestinian drivers to refuse to transport supplies to Gaza. Adel Amer, a member of a hauliers’ union based in the West Bank, told Reuters about 15 lorries had been damaged in the attack and that the total damage amounted to about £1.6m.

Monday’s attack sparked strong condemnation from Israel’s allies. The US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, described the incident as a “total outrage” while the UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, said it was “appalling”.

This month, the UK and EU imposed sanctions against Israeli settlers including some accused of violence towards Palestinians on the West Bank. The US has imposed sanctions on a handful of individuals and organisations linked to attacks on Palestinian civilians, with measures first announced in February then expanded twice in March and April.

The Israeli police said the incident, in which several people were arrested, was being investigated.

The Israeli military said it had worked throughout the seven-month war “to allow and facilitate the entry and delivery of extensive humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, out of its commitment to international humanitarian law”.

It added: “Each incident involving humanitarian aid convoys, facilities or personnel is being thoroughly examined, including those mentioned in the report, and according to the examination’s findings, lessons are learned and implemented in order to prevent reoccurrence of such incidents and if so required, command, disciplinary and other measures are taken against individuals responsible.”

Monday’s attack was claimed by a group calling itself Order 9, which said it had acted to stop supplies reaching Hamas and accused the Israeli government of giving “gifts” to the Islamist group.

It was not the first time that Israeli settlers have tried to stop the flow of aid to Gaza. Last week, demonstrators blocked a road near the desert town of Mitzpe Ramon to protest against the delivery of aid lorries into Gaza.

This year, there were frequent demonstrations at crossings from Israel into Gaza, which hindered aid shipments into the territory. In March, the international court of justice ordered Israel to allow unimpeded access of food aid into Gaza.

• The second video embedded in this article was amended on 16 May 2024. An earlier version said that a convoy of around 50 trucks carrying oil, sugar and other supplies was attacked by Israeli soldiers; this should have said Israeli settlers.Un.org
www.un.org/unispal/document/human-rights-council-hears-that-700000-israeli-settlers-are-living-illegally-in-the-occupied-west-bank-meeting-summary-excerpts/

***  Human Rights Council Hears that 700,000 Israeli Settlers are Living ...
Mar 28, 2023 ... These settlers lived illegally in 279 Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank, including 14 settlements in the occupied East ...

Canada provides $40 million in new assistance for Palestinians

The Canadian Press
Thu, May 16, 2024 

OTTAWA — Canada is providing $40 million to help Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid concern over what it calls a catastrophic humanitarian situation, worsened by an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah.

Ottawa says the funding will support the provision of food, water, emergency medical assistance, protection services and other life-saving assistance in the region.

The money will go to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, as well as trusted partners in the region including the Canadian Red Cross and other Canadian non-governmental organizations.

The government says Canada’s funding has also helped establish an International Committee of the Red Cross field hospital in Rafah.

The hospital is being supported by the Canadian Red Cross with surgical equipment, medicine and supplies, diagnostic equipment, disinfection materials and personnel.

The need for humanitarian aid has become more dire in the last week following a ground offensive in Rafah by Israel, which said it must invade to dismantle Hamas and return hostages.

"Because of our extreme concern about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, we not only have to step up assistance, but we've also been relentless in our efforts to get more humanitarian aid in," International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said in an interview.

The $40 million is in addition to a $25-million payment Ottawa recently delivered to UNRWA as part of a multi-year commitment to help Palestinian refugees in the region, including those living in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the West Bank.

Canada temporarily suspended funding to the agency in January after Israel alleged some UNRWA employees participated in the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, when Hamas and other Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people and seized some 250 as hostages. The attack sparked the Israel-Hamas war, which Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry says has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, including combatants.

Canada lifted that suspension in March.

UN investigators are looking into allegations against 14 of the 19 staffers.

A separate review of UNRWA’s neutrality said last month that Israel had never before expressed concerns about anyone on the staff lists that UNRWA had given Israel every year since 2011.

The report said UNRWA has "robust" procedures to uphold the UN principle of neutrality, but cited serious gaps in implementation, including staff publicly expressing political views, textbooks with "problematic content" in schools the agency runs and staff unions disrupting operations. It made 50 recommendations to improve UNRWA's neutrality.

Canada helped with the report led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, said Hussen.

He said he accepts the report's recommendations and continues to uphold the organization as the "backbone" of aid in the territory.

"UNRWA's network, presence, expertise and logistics, and ability to provide direct support to Palestinians inside Gaza, is unmatched," he said.

"Other organizations also use their network and their connections to reach vulnerable populations inside Gaza, and that's why we're supporting them, because they're very effective."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2024.

— With files from The Associated Press

Mickey Djuric, The Canadian Press

Opposition says Sask. Party politicians should be investigated for 'cashing in' on gov't contracts

GOOD OLD CROOKED CONS-

- ERVATIVES

CBC
Thu, May 16, 2024 

Saskatchewan NDP politician Meara Conway has requested investigations into the conduct of two Saskatchewan Party politicians. (Alexander Quon/CBC - image credit)


The NDP is accusing two Sask. Party politicians of unethical dealings — suggesting they did not follow appropriate protocol as their private businesses received money from government.

Members of the Legislative Assembly can trigger an investigation if they have reasonable grounds to believe that another has breached the Members' Conflict of Interest Act.

Meara Conway, the Opposition's critic for ethics and democracy, triggered two investigations on Wednesday as she raised concerns about how public money is flowing to private companies connected to politicians.


"The Conflict of Interest Commissioner will have the final word on that," Conway told reporters after question period Wednesday, noting they have 90 days for the review.

Conway said she believes Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill breached Section 15 of the Act, which prohibits government contracts for elected officials unless they get an exemption.

She said Cockrill managed Fortress Windows and Doors in 2020 and after he was elected he continued with the business in the role of advisor and salesperson. The business received "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in contracts from SaskTel and the Battlefords Housing Authority.

She said Cockrill did not obtain an exemption for this work.

"When he was elected in 2020, he should have stepped away from this company if they were going to continue to do work with government," Conway said. "That's what Section 15 requires, and there's good reason for that. Otherwise it gives rise to concerns, on behalf of the public, that people are using their public offices to derive a public benefit."

Saskatchewan's education minister Jeremy Cockrill said he used a poor choice of words in the private meeting with Taya Thomas.

Saskatchewan's education minister Jeremy Cockrill. (CBC/Radio-Canada)

Conway also said she believes Minister Gary Grewal breached the act by not seeking an exemption from the Commissioner, related to his two motels in Regina.

The NDP said records show Grewal's motels did almost no business with the Ministry of Social Services prior to Grewal's election. However, after he was elected, "government business increased to $731,194 in a few short years."

The party has also accused Grewal of inflating prices when serving Social Services clients.

Conway said the evidence and rationale for her concerns are laid out in public letters to the commissioner.

The Saskatchewan Party did not put up Ministers Cockrill or Grewal for comment after Conway requested the investigations.

Instead, they put up Jim Reiter, Saskatchewan's Minister of Energy and Resources. Reiter broadly criticized the NDP, accusing the Opposition of repeatedly raising allegations against people without evidence.

In regards to the allegations against Cockrill and Grewal, Reiter said Wednesday he wasn't aware of the specifics but the party would "wait for the response from the conflict of interest commissioner. That's how it should be dealt with."

Meanwhile, the Conway tabled five private member's bills aimed at making existing laws require more transparency and documentation. The proposed amendments are:

The Members' Conflict of Interest Amendment Act. The NDP says it would "strengthen the Act and make provincial politicians disclose the business interests of their spouses and relatives that are held in private companies and/or holding companies."


The Lobbyists Transparency Amendment Act. The NDP says it would "close lobbying loopholes and require lobbyists to file monthly activity logs containing information about the dates, participants, particulars, and methods of communication for all lobbying activity, as well as monetary political contributions made within the month."


The Election (Fairness and Accountability) Amendment Act. The NDP says it would "ban out-of-province, corporate, and union donations to Saskatchewan political parties and set a yearly total donation limit of $1,275 for Saskatchewan residents."


The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Amendment Act. The NDP says it would "make the Saskatchewan government more transparent, including by speeding up and making FOI requests financially accessible, and strengthening the powers of the Privacy Commissioner to force public bodies to release documents."


The Child and Family Services (Betty's Law) Amendment Act. The NDP says it would "require the Minister responsible to preserve all records relating to Indigenous children in residential schools, and make these records more accessible for public inquiries relating to the child's safety, truth and reconciliation, and the pursuit of answers about deceased relatives in care or Indigenous people's grievances."

City of Saint John, NB,  'vicariously liable' for police officer's sexual abuse of children

"This has been going on for 11 years because the city has denied their responsibility every step of the way."

The Canadian Press
Thu, May 16, 2024 

HALIFAX — Hundreds of sexual abuse survivors in New Brunswick could be eligible for compensation following a decision delivered Thursday by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Canada's highest court dismissed a bid by the City of Saint John to overturn a ruling that found the city bears some responsibility for the sexual abuse of children by a member of its police force who served between 1953 and 1975.

As is its practice, the court did not give reasons to justify its decision not to hear the case.

"It is a final decision that the city is now on the hook and is responsible for compensating every single … child that (the police officer) abused while he was a cop in Saint John," Halifax lawyer John McKiggan said in an interview.

"This has been going on for 11 years because the city has denied their responsibility every step of the way."

A spokesperson for the city issued a brief statement Thursday, saying officials had just heard about the decision and were "getting advice on next steps."

In 2013, a private investigation company hired by the city to investigate allegations involving former police Sgt. Kenneth Estabrooks determined the number of potential victims was 263, though 33 people on that list were no longer alive.

Later that year, Saint John resident Robert Hayes, who is now 65, filed a class-action lawsuit alleging he had been sexually assaulted when he was a boy by Estabrooks, who died in 2005. In his statement of claim, Hayes accused the city, the police force and the police commission of failing to act to prevent the abuse in order to protect their reputations.

A key question in the case was whether the city could be held vicariously liable, meaning it was responsible for the actions of someone under its authority.

In March 2023, New Brunswick's Court of King's Bench decided the city was not vicariously liable for harm caused by the police officer, but that decision was overturned by the province's Court of Appeal in September 2023. That's when the city filed an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

McKiggan, who represents Hayes, said case law prior to the offences in question held that municipalities were not vicariously liable for the actions of officers while carrying out their duties.

McKiggan said the provincial Court of Appeal was aware none of the abuse happened while Estabrooks was actually doing his job, but the three-judge panel decided the city was partly responsible for his actions because it had granted him the authority of a police officer.

"They put him in a position of authority over these children, and he used that authority … to sexually abuse children," McKiggan said in an interview Thursday.

He said his client was thrilled with the decision.

"He was over the moon today," the lawyer said. "He's never wavered in his determination to follow this through to the very end."

McKiggan said the city has the option of negotiating a compensation package or insisting that each survivor appear in court for an individual damages assessment, which could take years to complete.

Allegations against Estabrooks first surfaced in 1975 when he was a 22-year veteran of the Saint John Police Force, and he resigned that year when confronted with sexual abuse allegations from two teenage boys.

Court heard Estabrooks confessed to his superiors about the assaults, but instead of laying criminal charges, the city transferred him to a job with the public works department, where he continued to sexually abuse children. The lower court found the city vicariously liable for Estabrooks's actions as a public works employee.

"He had confessed to abusing these kids, so they knew he was an abuser," McKiggan said.

In 1999, Estabrooks was convicted of indecently assaulting four young people between 1957 and 1982 and he was sentenced to six years in prison.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2024.

— By Michael MacDonald in Halifax.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press

DEMILITARIZE, DISARM, DEFUND

Crown declines to lay charges against Edmonton police officer who fatally shot unarmed man

DEMAND FEDERAL HATE CRIME CHARGES

CBC
Thu, May 16, 2024 

From left, Steven Nguyen's brother, nephew, mother and sister outside the Edmonton courthouse on May 15, 2024. (Madeline Smith/CBC - image credit)


An Edmonton police officer won't face charges for fatally shooting an unarmed man in 2021, despite Alberta's police watchdog finding reasonable grounds that the officer committed a crime.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) investigation concluded there are "problematic" pieces about the officer's account of what happened.

The family of Steven Nguyen identified him as the 33-year-old man who was killed in the north-central Rosslyn neighbourhood on the night of June 5, 2021. They've filed a lawsuit against the Edmonton Police Service, and the officer who shot Nguyen, who is identified in court documents as Const. Alexander Doduk.


The officer shot Nguyen four times "within seconds" of encountering him, according to the ASIRT report, released Wednesday.

"In this case while [the officer] subjectively believed that it was reasonable to shoot [Nguyen], objectively this belief is lacking," ASIRT executive director Michael Ewenson wrote in the report.

Doduk and his EPS partner were responding to a report from a resident who said he saw a man with a weapon that looked like a screwdriver or a knife.

The man who called 911 described the person he saw acting erratically, but not aggressively. A toxicology report later showed Nguyen had methamphetamine in his system at the time.

Steven Nguyen was fatally shot in Edmonton's Rosslyn neighbourhood on the night of June 5, 2021.

Steven Nguyen was fatally shot in Edmonton's Rosslyn neighbourhood on the night of June 5, 2021. (Submitted by Melisa Solano)

The agency referred the case to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service to consider a culpable homicide charge, but after a review, the Crown won't pursue a criminal case.

In a statement to CBC News, an ACPS spokesperson said the Crown prosecutor who assessed the case determined it couldn't be proven that the officer's actions were unreasonable.

"In hindsight, the perception of the constable was mistaken, and the result was tragic, but the action taken could not be proven to be criminal."

Nguyen's family members said Wednesday the decision left them shocked.

"What happened to him was not right. It was not fair. … We want the public to be aware of what is happening," Nguyen's sister Melisa Solano said.

Maria Nguyen leans on her grandson Christian Nguyen as she speaks about her son, Steven Nguyen, who was shot and killed by a police officer in 2021.

Maria Nguyen leans on her grandson Christian Nguyen as she speaks about her son, Steven Nguyen, who was shot and killed by a police officer in 2021. (Madeline Smith/CBC)

His brother, Chris Nguyen, said the family plans to keep seeking justice.

"Nobody deserves to die from the people that are supposed to protect and serve our community."

Doduk is facing assault charges in an unrelated case, and is scheduled to go to trial next year. According to an EPS spokesperson, he's currently on unrelated paid leave.

Details of the investigation

Doduk refused an interview with ASIRT investigators, but he provided his police report and notes. He wrote that Nguyen was reaching into his pocket despite commands to stop, and he pulled out a "black rectangular object" that the officer believed was a gun.

The object was actually a cell phone, the ASIRT report says.

A photo of the phone that Steven Nguyen was carrying the night he was killed is included in the ASIRT report investigating his death.

A photo of the phone that Steven Nguyen was carrying the night he was killed is included in the ASIRT report investigating his death. (ASIRT)

A blue barbecue lighter was also in Nguyen's pocket, which the report says could have been what the person who called 911 mistook for a weapon.

"No weapon of any sort was located on [Nguyen], and [the officer's] justification for shooting is that an item resembling a firearm was pointed at him in poor lighting conditions," Ewenson wrote.

According to the ASIRT report, a senior officer showed up after the shooting and told Doduk to leave the scene, but Doduk returned and took a photo of the phone found near Nguyen on the ground.

Ewenson wrote that Doduk's subsequent description of what he felt was a firearm "may be purposely tailored to fit the description of his photo of the phone."

Doduk's notes also repeatedly describe Nguyen being "engulfed in shadow" on the residential street where the officers found him past 11 p.m., with trees and bushes blocking the nearby streetlights and making it difficult to see.

Part of the ASIRT investigation included a recreation of the lighting conditions at the scene, finding they were "markedly better" than Doduk claimed.

The officer also said he didn't use his flashlight, but video from an EPS helicopter "captures a discarded and operational flashlight on the ground in close proximity to where [he] would have been standing when he fired the shots."

Lawyers call for transparency

Samantha Labahn, one of the lawyers representing the Nguyen family in their civil suit, said the Crown's decision not to lay charges in the case is "perverse."

"The Alberta Crown's refusal to explain itself most importantly to the Nguyen family, as well as Steven's loved ones, is reprehensible," she said.

"To make matters worse, we have no way to scrutinize it. … We're left wondering, why did the Crown make that choice?"

The ASIRT report says the agency received an opinion from the Crown about whether charges should be laid. The ACPS told CBC News that opinion won't be publicly provided because it's privileged, and therefore confidential.

Ewenson notes that ASIRT and the Crown are bound by different standards when they assess cases, and that can result in different outcomes.

Defence lawyer Tom Engel is one of the lawyers for the Nguyen family in a civil lawsuit. (Madeline Smith/CBC)

The decision follows two recent Edmonton-area cases where the Crown declined to prosecute police after ASIRT concluded charges should be considered.

In March, the ACPS didn't pursue a criminal case against RCMP officers who arrested an autistic 16-year-old boy in St. Albert. He was injured while in custody, and ASIRT concluded he was unlawfully detained.

Last year, no charges were laid against an Edmonton police officer who kicked an Indigenous teenager in the head, leaving him with life-altering injuries.

Tom Engel, also representing the Nguyen family, said there should be policy changes to ensure these decisions are publicly explained.

"The broader issue is the integrity of the criminal justice system when it comes to decisions made whether to prosecute police officers," he said.

"Because they're not transparent, they're opaque, I think the public is left with the inescapable conclusion that there's a double standard."