Hydro-Québec's Montreal network is in 'worrisome' state: internal document

FAILURE TO REINVEST CAPITAL

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024 

The Hydro-Québec electricity network in Montreal is in a 'worrisome' state, according to an internal Hydro-Québec document from September 2023. (Radio-Canada - image credit)


Hydro-Québec's mostly outdated strategic equipment on the island of Montreal is posing risks to the public, according to an internal document from the company.

In the document from September 2023 obtained by Radio-Canada, the Crown corporation paints a worrisome picture, saying there is an "urgent need to act on the electricity network on the island of Montreal," where there have been successive outages in recent years.

Hydro-Québec notes that its infrastructure is facing increasing risks. At least 70 per cent of the company's strategic equipment in Montreal, such as distribution stations and transformers, has exceeded its useful life.


And the situation is worse in the city than elsewhere in Quebec. More than 20 per cent of equipment is between 61 and 70 years old in Montreal, whereas in other regions, the percentage of older equipment is less than five per cent.

The Crown corporation also notes that much of its equipment is "dilapidated" and that it is increasingly difficult to work on "an overloaded network."

"We knew that the situation was serious, but we did not know that it was that serious," said Jean-Pierre Finet, an analyst at the Regroupement des organismes environnementaux en énergie (ROEE).

In the document, Hydro-Québec also writes that risks to the health and safety of its resources and the public, such as fires, explosions and outages, are high.

Hydro-Québec president and CEO Michael Sabia has mentioned several times that in the last 25 years, 2023 was one of the worst in terms of outages.

Failures, outages and interruptions

Last year, the continuity index — the annual time of service interruption per customer — reached 1,459 minutes in Montreal, an increase of 998 per cent compared to 2022. That spike is mainly due to the ice storm in the spring of 2023, which affected tens of thousands of customers, according to Hydro-Québec.

In its internal document, the Crown corporation does not rule out the possibility of a major failure of strategic equipment in Montreal's electricity network, which could have repercussions on essential services.

"Hydro is playing with fire by exceeding the useful life of assets," said Finet.

"There are even assets that have more than doubled their lifespan," he said, noting that the risk of incidents occurring increases with age.

For example, Finet said, the Montreal Metro could be plunged into a prolonged outage.

Qubec’s auditor general, Guylaine Leclerc, centre, criticized Hydro-Québec in her December 2022 report.

Quebec Auditor General Guylaine Leclerc, centre, criticized Hydro-Québec in her December 2022 report. (Sylvain Roy Roussel/Radio-Canada)

This observation aligns with the conclusions of a report by Quebec Auditor General Guylaine Leclerc, tabled in December 2022. She found that the reliability of the Hydro-Québec network showed "a marked decline."

The Crown corporation also finds the situation of its distribution network to be "worrisome," the internal document shows. Eleven of the 32 distribution stations were over capacity last September.

In 2020, 17 per cent of transformers were overloaded on the island, while that proportion was nine per cent elsewhere. When there is prolonged overheating, risks of failure causing a fire or explosion must be considered.

"It's difficult to conclude anything other than negligence in recent years. And all this because we wanted to keep prices low and dividends high," Finet said.

Adding to that observation is an increasing lack of electricity in Montreal, which is why the Crown corporation is struggling to meet the energy transition needs of customers on the island, says Hydro-Québec in the document.

Finet said what is even more concerning about the "alleged negligence, is that we cannot decarbonize Montreal's economy as we want because of these limitations."

The Hydro Quebec building is pictured Tuesday, June 21, 2016 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Hydro-Québec says major investments are underway. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press)

But Hydro-Québec was much more reassuring about the state of its network when Radio-Canada contacted the company.

Maxence Huard-Lefebvre, a spokesperson for Hydro-Québec, told Radio-Canada that major investments are underway and will continue in the coming years.

"The development plan for the island of Montreal primarily targets substations and lines with equipment that is reaching the end of its life," said Huard-Lefebvre.

Hydro-Québec has invested more than $1 billion over the last 10 years to strengthen the network in Montreal, and it will inject $3 billion more by 2035 to improve it.

However, according to internal data, conversion projects to increase voltage and capacity won't be enough to meet the network's needs.

Ongoing operations are expected to improve the situation in several boroughs of Montreal, but certain areas will remain problematic, namely the east end, the city centre and the western tip of the island.

Hydro-Québec agrees, however, that the network is older in Montreal because the neighbourhoods were built long before those in many of Quebec's regions.

"It is normal that all the infrastructure, including the electrical network, are also more recent," said Cendrix Bouchard, a spokesperson for the company.

A Hydro-Québec crew works on a power line following an ice storm in Montreal, Friday, April 7, 2023.

A Hydro-Québec crew works on a power line following an ice storm in Montreal on April 7, 2023. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

However, according to Pierre-Olivier Pineau, HEC Montréal chair in energy sector management, it is disappointing to see the network in such a state.

"It's not just electricity that we're seeing this. We saw this with the Metro, the road network," he said. "Our society thinks a lot about growth and does not think about maintaining its infrastructure."

Pineau said Hydro-Québec must encourage its customers to consume less by adjusting their rates or offering more dynamic pricing.

Refusing to adapt prices to reflect the real cost of infrastructure and production "encourages overconsumption and contributes to a saturated network," he said.

A loss of expertise, an overloaded workforce

Hydro-Québec also emphasizes in the document that its workforce is often overloaded or dispatched to emergencies in Montreal, where there is currently "a loss of expertise" and "a difficulty to attract resources."

Publicly, however, Hydro-Québec says it is not worried about its workers on the ground.

In 2023, Hydro-Québec's total workforce reached 22,806 people, an increase of 22 per cent compared to 2022.

However, last April, the union of Hydro-Québec trade employees said the size of its membership had declined over 13 years. Meanwhile, the number of subscriptions increased to 4.5 million customers.

The union said the growing number of subscribers and an aging network combined with an unchanged amount of employees is a "perfect recipe for the degradation of service quality."

QUEBEC

Poor management, communication led to construction worker's death, report reveals

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024

Police in western Quebec are seen in this photo from September 2023, responding after a 63-year-old worker from Bouchette, Que., was killed at a construction site.

 (Michel Aspirot/Radio-Canada - image credit)


An investigation into the workplace death of a man who was pinned between two heavy vehicles at a construction site in Chelsea, Que., last year reveals significant shortcomings led to his death — deficiencies in management, organization and communication.

On Sept. 11, 2023, a 63-year-old worker from Bouchette, Que., was pronounced dead at the site managed by Construction FGK.

The man had been fuelling a vehicle and ended up trapped when a colleague driving a 10-wheel dump truck backed into him.


A French-language report released Wednesday by Quebec's workplace standards body CNESST determined that a lack of organization and communication at the start of the work shift was a major factor in the man's death.

The worker was in the reversing path of the dump truck, the report said, and the truck driver didn't see their colleague or the vehicle he was fuelling.

According to Geneviève Cadotte, CNESST's occupational health and safety inspector, the lack of planning for the movement of heavy vehicles on site led to the death.

Cadotte said that "reversing manoeuvres on a construction site must be carried out in a marked area where no one can move on foot."

"Otherwise, they must be carried out with the help of a construction site marshal who guides the driver throughout the manoeuvre," Cadotte said.

This graphic shows how the worker who died after being pinned against a vehicle he was refuelling at a construction site in Chelsea, Que., in 2023 would not have been visible from the dump truck that struck him.

This graphic shows how the worker who died after being pinned against a vehicle he was refuelling at a construction site in Chelsea, Que., in 2023 would not have been visible from the dump truck that struck him. (CNESST)

Clear guidelines needed

The incident happened during repairs on chemin de la Rivière, while the designated marshal had not yet arrived to work. The municipality said at the time that road rehabilitation work was happening in the area.

According to the investigation, Construction FGK workers got no formal instructions at the start of their shift that morning as to when the excavation work would begin.

At around 7:15 a.m., the victim was preparing to start work when he was hit by the truck. The driver thought the work had already started, the investigation found.

According to Cadotte, there was inadequate communication and co-ordination on the part of the project manager when starting the day's activities.

Clear guidelines would allow workers to be on the same page as to when work begins, she said.

Following the collision, CNESST ordered a stop to all work requiring reversing manoeuvres on the site. It also demanded the company submit a safe work plan for co-ordinating and managing reversing manoeuvres of heavy vehicles.

The company complied, she said, adding that Construction FGK co-operated during the investigation.

27 deaths

Steve McCann, director of the Prevention-Inspection Service in the Outaouais for CNESST, said 27 workers have died in Quebec in the past five years after being hit by a heavy vehicle.

At least 577 are also believed to have suffered injuries due to a collision with a heavy vehicle, he added.

McCann said Wednesday's report will be sent to several organizations and companies to inform them of dangers involving heavy equipment, as well as the province's Ministry of Education.

He said the goal is not to blame anyone but to prevent another tragedy.

Radio-Canada contacted Construction FGK for an interview, but has not yet received a reply.

Air Canada wins right to test flight attendant's hair for pot use

THANK THE BLDG. TRADES AND THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY FOR ON THE JOB DRUG TESTING

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. MDT·4 min read


A federal labour arbitrator has given Air Canada the green light to test a strand of a flight attendant's hair for drugs. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press - image credit)

A federal labour arbitrator has given Air Canada the green light to test a strand of a flight attendant's hair for drugs after two of the man's housemates — and fellow employees — claimed he was smoking a bong and making jokes about hijacking.

According to a decision posted last week, the flight attendant — known as CB — was expelled from a home housing 14 Air Canada employees, following a group meeting prompted by his behaviour.

Two of CB's fellow cabin crew members wrote reports which made their way to a Vancouver-based service director manager for Air Canada — sparking a request for a strand of CB's hair along with a battle between the airline and the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

The decision provides a window into the lives and responsibilities of the cabin crew members tasked with looking after the safety of passengers on the country's largest airline.

It also highlights the question of hair strand testing — which the union was already in the process of grieving when CB's situation arose.

'He referred to hijacking a plane'

Arbitrator William Kaplan was called in after CB had already volunteered a strand of his hair on April 18 for "reasonable cause substance testing."

The union filed what Kaplan called an "extraordinary" motion to prohibit Air Canada from relying on any information revealed by the test until CB got a chance to challenge the request.

WATCH | Cannabis use is still a deal-breaker for some employers:

CB booked off sick in March and was slated to return to work in mid-April.

But his housemates gathered on March 29, voting to kick him out of the shared home as of May 1 and encouraging CB to seek help through the company's employee assistance program.

Unbeknownst to the union or CB, two of them also wrote letters to a supervisor.

"[He] seemed dazed every other day and appeared to be under the influence of substances,'" Kaplan wrote, describing one complaint.

"According to this crew member, [CB] made some disturbing reference to hijacking a plane (albeit 'with the intention of dark humour, but it still raised safety concerns')."

Kaplan said the second crew member said CB owned a bong, was using it to smoke pot and was "reported to have said that if he was caught by the company — using marijuana — that he had other work options available (and he also referred to hijacking a plane, again 'with dark humour')."

CBC

No right to 'control the lives' of employees

Hair strand testing can detect substance use in the past three months — as opposed to saliva testing which can only determine very recent consumption and urine testing which can detect pot use in the last seven days.

The company claimed the hair testing was necessary because more than two weeks had passed between the day CB's co-workers reported him and the day he was ordered in for screening.

The union claimed it was given no notice that Air Canada planned to initiate hair strand testing for suspected substance abuse, arguing the move was in violation of the rules governing the principles of collective agreements.

Kaplan said the union claimed hair strand testing was "an unacceptable intrusion" into CB's personal life and that employees who are not on duty or subject to duty can't be screened for substances unless random testing is part of a contract.

"Simply put, the company does not, union counsel argued, have any right to control the lives of its employees when they are not on duty or subject to duty," Kaplan wrote.

By contrast, Air Canada argued that the company did not normally request hair strand tests: "this case was an exception, and one fully justified by the facts."

"The risk of returning an employee to work in circumstances like those presented here far outweighed any of the identified interests of either the union or the grievor," Kaplan wrote, stating the company's position.

"Those results needed to be known and, if they indicated substance use, the company needed to take action."

CBC/Radio-Canada

'An entirely legitimate safety interest'

Kaplan said the union was right to safeguard the privacy interests of its members, but sided with Air Canada.

The arbitrator said the company had "an entirely legitimate safety interest to protect."

"Indeed, in the face of those reports from the grievor's colleagues and housemates, it would have been derelict of the company to ignore the information it had received," Kaplan wrote.

He said the company faced a "quandary" because only hair strand testing would have revealed whether CB was using drugs at the time when the reports against him were filed — two weeks before he was screened.

Kaplan pointed out that Air Canada's policies prohibit cabin crew from using illegal drugs and marijuana "at all times, even when not on duty or not in the workplace" except when prescribed as medication.

He noted that the union can still fight management's handling of the case and any associated discipline, but said in the meantime "the hair strand test results will yield useful information."

In a statement, Air Canada said "we are pleased this decision confirms that safety is essential in our business."

 

Nova Scotia Teachers Union elects new president

CBC

Wed, May 29, 2024 

The Nova Scotia Teachers Union has elected Peter Day as its new president.

Day defeated Shawn Hanifen in a second ballot election held on Wednesday, receiving 60.6 per cent of the vote.

In a news release, the NSTU said Day has been a teacher for 22 years and is currently a technology mentor for the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education. The union said he has taught grades 3 through 12 across schools in the Strait and Cape Breton-Victoria regions.

Day is a member of the provincial executive and serves as the secretary-treasurer for the union.

The first round of votes by the 10,000 members of the union was done electronically last week, but did not produce a winner.

The union said 69 per cent of its membership voted in the runoff vote held Wednesday.

Day's first day of being president will be Aug. 1, 2024. He is replacing Ryan Lutes, who has been president since Aug. 1, 2022.

Trudeau must more publicly support ICC decisions amid Israel-Hamas war: ex-ministers

The Canadian Press
Wed, May 29, 2024



OTTAWA — A group of prominent former politicians and current academics is asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to change his tone on the possibility of arrest warrants for senior Israeli leaders.

Former foreign minister Lloyd Axworthy and former attorney general Allan Rock are among 375 signatories taking issue with Trudeau suggesting the International Criminal Court committed a false equivalency by requesting charges against leaders of both Hamas and Israel.

"To assert that there is something objectionable about holding Israeli officials to the same standards of international criminal justice as Hamas officials is to promote a double standard, and to suggest that the rights of Palestinians matter less than those of Israelis," reads the letter.


"That is a racist, dehumanizing and discriminatory approach to international justice which Canada cannot countenance in any way."

The ICC's chief prosecutor requested arrest warrants last week for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister, as well as three senior Hamas leaders.

Canada has avoided taking a clear stance on the issue, but Trudeau has raised concerns about what he called "an equivalency between the democratically elected leaders of Israel and the bloodthirsty terrorists."

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly made similar comments, which the letter argues has undermined a motion the Liberals passed in March that included a pledge to support the work of the ICC.

Joly has recently avoided saying whether Canada would arrest Israeli officials if they did end up subject to an international arrest warrant and visited Canada. She has said that this is a theoretical situation, while noting that senior Hamas leaders are already barred from Canada due to terrorism and sanctions laws.

The Wednesday letter calls on Trudeau to issue a statement of "unwavering" support for the court, including a pledge to co-operate with any requests, including for arrests, and to condemn threats of personal sanctions against the court's personnel.

The letter includes 11 former Canadian ambassadors, numerous lawyers and activists. One of the signatories, University of the Fraser Valley criminology professor Mark Kersten, a global expert on the ICC, has noted that the court laid different charges against Hamas and Israeli leaders.

The letter notes that the court considers charges based on suspected breaches of international law, instead of comparing the actions of warring parties.

"Strong support is vital at this time given that the prosecutor, ICC staff and the ICC as an institution are facing considerable political pressure, unfounded and inflammatory criticism (and) attacks on the Court’s independence," the letter reads.

"This is clearly no time for champions of international justice to waver or to be ambiguous."

The charges stem from the Israel-Hamas War, which started when the militant group killed 1,200 people in Israel last October, which the ICC prosecutor says included rape, torture and murder that amounts to crimes against all of humanity

In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip, saying it is trying to defeat Hamas. The group, which Canada deems a terrorist organization, runs the territory's health ministry, which says 36,000 people have been killed, including combatants.

The ICC prosecutor says Israel has been starving civilians as a method of warfare and intentionally directing attacks against civilians, which are war crimes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2024.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

Trudeau 'in no way' supports Israeli offensive in Rafah, but is mum on taking action

The Canadian Press
Tue, May 28, 2024 




OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is "horrified" by Israeli strikes that killed civilians in Rafah earlier this week, but walked away from reporters when asked what he will do about it.

His comment comes two days after gruesome images emerged of children injured in airstrikes and fires burning among encampments of displaced people in Rafah.

Trudeau says Canada "in no way" supports the attacks on Rafah, which had become a safe haven for more than a million Palestinians fleeing Israeli attacks elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.

Canada supported Israel's right to defend itself following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, but Trudeau says Canada urged Israel not to proceed with an offensive in the southern city.

Israel says Rafah has become a Hamas stronghold and is crucial to routing the militant group that killed 1,200 people in Israel last October, and it described Sunday's carnage as a mistake.

Humanitarian groups including the Mennonite Central Committee say the area is far too crowded for any safe military operation, pointing to the scenes that occurred Sunday.

"Canada in no way supports the military operations by Israel in Rafah. Indeed, we have been calling for a ceasefire, including at the United Nations, since December, and we’ll continue to," Trudeau told reporters Tuesday on Parliament Hill.

"We need to see much more humanitarian aid flow into Gaza, and we need to see all hostages released."

But when pressed for information on what Canada might do, he walked away from the scrum.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza reports 36,000 people have been killed in the war, including combatants.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2024.

The Canadian Press

Police clear road, arrest one pro-Palestinian protester on University of B.C. campus

The Canadian Press
Wed, May 29, 2024



VANCOUVER — Police have arrested one person during the clearance of pro-Palestinian protesters who were blocking a main intersection at the University of British Columbia campus in Vancouver.

But there was no obvious move against a protest encampment that has occupied a sports field at the campus for a month.

A statement from the RCMP says the clearance involved officers from the University and Richmond detachments, RCMP critical response officers, Vancouver police and the B.C. Highway Patrol.


It says police were called to the intersection of University Boulevard and Wesbrook Mall where protesters were "impeding access" to the main entrance into the university.

The statement says demonstrators were given the opportunity to get off the road but police action was required to clear the intersection.

It says one person "did not comply with police direction" and was arrested.

The intersection was clear by 12:15 p.m., though several unoccupied RCMP vehicles remained nearby.

"The intersection has reopened to the public, however the RCMP will continue to monitor the situation and take necessary action should there be any criminal activities that pose a threat to the safety of individuals and/or property," the RCMP statement said.

UBC said in a statement that the protest at the intersection had "created difficulties and traffic delays."

"The safety and security of our community members and visitors remains our foremost priority. Any protest actions must be conducted with respect for others and within the boundaries of UBC policy and the law," it said.

It added that graduation ceremonies were proceeding as scheduled.

Video posted shortly after 11 a.m. by an Instagram account associated with the protests showed dozens of uniformed officers walking down the main route into the university.

The account called "People's University for Gaza at UBC" had earlier posted an update asking people to gather for a rally at the intersection.

Footage provided by a protester who did not want to be identified showed RCMP officers standing over a woman sitting on the road, her hands behind her back.

A voice over a loudspeaker tells protesters: "This is the RCMP. You need to clear the area immediately or you will be under arrest."

The protest occurred during spring graduation ceremonies at UBC that have been going on since last week.

After police cleared the road, a few dozen demonstrators marched across campus from the Rose Garden near the ceremonies to McInnes Field, the site of the protest encampment established April 29.

Cst. Tania Visintin with the Vancouver police said the department was asked to go on "standby," and video posted by the protest group showed Vancouver police vehicles near the intersection, but Visintin said they did not deploy any officers.

Organizers behind Wednesday's rally issued a statement saying an "autonomous coalition" of student protesters had blocked the intersection on campus.

It said that over the past week, "thousands of graduates have walked the stage on this unceded Musqueam land," and this was in "stark contrast" to the current situation in Gaza "wherein there are no graduation ceremonies whatsoever."

The pro-Palestinian encampment at UBC was the first of three similar camps to spring up in the province in response to Israel's actions in its war with Hamas.

Protesters at UBC as well as the University of Victoria and Vancouver Island University have called for the schools to end financial and academic ties with Israeli companies and institutions they say are complicit in the "genocide" of Palestinians.

At an unrelated press conference on Wednesday, Premier David Eby said the protests require a "difficult balance" for post-secondary institutions to strike between the right of free speech and the need for people to feel safe at school.

"They need to feel comfortable in their classes, they need to be comfortable on campus and everyone needs to feel welcome there," Eby said.

"I would encourage everybody to do their best to ensure those twin values are respected on our campuses."

A spokeswoman for UBC said earlier this week that the school had no update to its May 16 statement from president Benoit-Antoine Bacon, which called for "productive dialogue with members of the encampment to work toward a peaceful resolution."

The letter from organizers on Wednesday called on Bacon to condemn the "clearly documented genocide (and) scholasticide" in Gaza in order to start a dialogue.

The camp had about 60 tents on Wednesday, fewer than during its early days.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2024.

Nono Shen and Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press


1 arrest after pro-Palestinian protesters block UBC intersection

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024 


Pro-Palestinian protesters march during a demonstration at the rose garden at the University of British Columbia. (Ethan Cairns/CBC - image credit)


RCMP say one person was arrested after pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of British Columbia ramped up action in their month-long demonstration on Wednesday by blocking off a major intersection at the Point Grey campus.

Since late April, demonstrators have camped on MacInnes Field to protest the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, hanging up signs calling for "Freedom for Palestine" and urging Canada to "stop arming the genocide," referencing the sale of arms to Israel.

On Wednesday morning the protesters moved to the road, with about 100 of them blocking the intersection of University Boulevard and Wesbrook Mall, about 250 metres east of the camp.

Chants of "we will not stop, we will not rest" and "no peace on stolen land" could be heard.




In a press release, an RCMP spokesperson said its Critical Response Unit responded, along with officers from the Vancouver Police Department, Richmond RCMP and B.C. Highway Patrol.

Officers formed a line before walking into the intersection, clearing it by around 12:15 p.m. PT.

Police said they arrested one person.

"Demonstrators were given the opportunity to relocate off the roadway to avoid enforcement action," RCMP said in a statement. "Despite attempts to facilitate communication with protesters, police action was required to clear the intersection."

The protesters moved off westward, still chanting.

Const. Tania Visintin with the Vancouver Police Department said the department was asked to go on "standby" but added that no officers were deployed.

Pro-Palestinian protest encampments have been set up on university campuses across the country, as the war between Israel and Hamas continues in the Middle East.

Police block pro-Palestinian protesters from entering an area with recent graduates at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Police block pro-Palestinian protesters from entering an area with recent graduates at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)

Protesters have called for schools to end financial and academic ties with Israeli companies and institutions.

A spokesperson for UBC said earlier this week that the school had no update to its May 16 statement from president Benoit-Antoine Bacon, which called for "productive dialogue with members of the encampment to work toward a peaceful resolution."

On Monday, Bacon joined the presidents of Concordia University, McGill University and the University of Toronto to tell a committee of MPs that they are working to combat antisemitism on their campuses.

Demonstrators at the University of British Columbia protesting the Israel-Hamas conflict moved to Wesbrook Mall and University Boulevard on Wednesday.

Demonstrators at the University of British Columbia protesting the Israel-Hamas war blocked off the intersection of Wesbrook Mall and University Boulevard on Wednesday morning. (CBC News)

The meeting comes after claims that Jewish students have experienced a rising number of incidents of antisemitism since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked communities in southern Israel.

The militants killed around 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage in the surprise attack, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent assault on the Gaza Strip has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Protestors chanted "we will not stop we will not rest" as they moved onto the road.

Protesters chanted 'we will not stop, we will not rest' as they moved onto the road. (CBC News)

U of T's injunction request hearing won't happen before convocation

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024 

A drone image of the Pro-Palestinian protest encampment at University of Toronto's King's College Circle. The image was taken after notices of trespass were issued by the university to end the encampment on Friday. (Patrick Morrell/CBC News - image credit)


The University of Toronto's request for an injunction to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment on its campus won't be heard before the start of convocation events.

Court documents show the hearing at Ontario Superior Court of Justice is set for June 19 and 20, after the scheduled start of convocation ceremonies. On its website, the school says the ceremonies will run from June 3 to 21.

In an email on Wednesday night, a spokesperson for U of T said convocation will be held as scheduled. More than 13,000 graduating students are expected to receive their degrees during the ceremonies, the school said.


"Our spring convocation ceremonies are proceeding in person as planned at Convocation Hall on our St. George Campus," the university said in a statement.

In a court document, Ontario Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen says the court is aware that the university would like the hearing to be held sooner.

"I appreciate that those hearing dates do not accommodate the university's interest in having the issue resolved before graduation ceremonies are over. In my view, however, that is the earliest that the hearing can be held in order to afford the respondents a fair opportunity to answer the application," Koehnen writes.

A number of groups are seeking intervener status in the injunction hearing and have until end of the day Thursday to make their written submissions, the judge said.

Order sought to authorize police to end encampment

The university has asked the court to authorize police action to remove protesters who refuse orders to leave the encampment, which was set up on campus on May 2 on the grassy area of King's College Circle. The encampment is near Convocation Hall, where graduation ceremonies at U of T are traditionally held.

The school filed a notice of motion this week, aimed at bringing an end to the demonstration, saying the encampment was causing irreparable harm to the institution.

As part of the relief sought, the university is asking for an order authorizing police to "arrest and remove persons, objects and structures" who violate the terms of a court order.

It is also seeking to prevent protesters from blocking access to university property or setting up fences, tents or other structures on campus.

Two students sit on the grass at King's College Circle on Thursday, May 9, where the pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Toronto is located. (Aloysius Wong/CBC)

On Tuesday, a handful of faculty members spoke out against the university's actions, saying they are appalled at the idea of the school administration calling the police on its own students.

On Friday, the university issued trespass notices to people in the encampment that said the protest was unlawful and they had until Monday morning to leave. The students in the encampment defied the notice.

Encampment organizers have called on the university to cut its ties with Israel, divest from companies profiting from Israel's offensive in Gaza and terminate partnerships with the country's academic institutions deemed complicit in the war.

School administrators have already said U of T will not end any partnerships with Israeli universities, and that no matter the outcome of the negotiations, demonstrators must vacate the school's St. George campus.

On Oct. 7, Hamas and other militants attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies. More than 100 were released during a November cease-fire in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Israel's offensive in Gaza against Hamas has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry.

Judge sets dates to hear University of Toronto's injunction bid against encampment

The Canadian Press
Wed, May 29, 2024 

TORONTO — The University of Toronto's request for a court order to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment on its downtown campus is expected to be heard in three weeks.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen has set a timetable that lists June 19 and 20 as the injunction hearing dates.

The judge acknowledges in a court filing that those dates "do not accommodate" the university's interest in resolving the issue before convocation ceremonies begin in early June but he says a fair opportunity must be given to the respondents to make their case.

The university wants to end the encampment that was set up on May 2 and is asking the courts to authorize police action to remove protesters who refuse orders to leave.

The university is arguing that the encampment prevents others from accessing and enjoying school property, poses health and safety risks and has prompted numerous reports of harassment, hateful speech and violence – claims denied by protest organizers.

The protesters are challenging the injunction request and have refused to leave the site, ignoring a trespass notice issued last week.

In a court document filed Wednesday, the judge said there is an urgency to the university's injunction request because the encampment on a grassy area known as King's College Circle is adjacent to Convocation Hall, where graduation ceremonies are held.

But he said it's his view that June 19 and 20 is the earliest an injunction hearing can be held "in order to afford the respondents a fair opportunity to answer the application."

The university has scheduled convocations from June 3 to 21.

Protesters have said that they don't see how their presence at King's College Circle would disrupt convocations at the downtown campus. University president Meric Gertler has stressed that graduation ceremonies would proceed "no matter what."

A number of groups are seeking intervener status in the injunction hearing and they have until end of the day Thursday to make their written submissions, the judge said.

Since filing its motion, U of T has submitted affidavits to the court from its assistant director of campus safety, students, faculty members "and the wider community about their experiences with the encampment."

The school says the injunction is necessary “to restore the university’s ability to preserve the space as an open, free and public atmosphere for respectful discourse and debate.”

Demonstrators have said they will stay put until the university meets their demands, which include disclosing investments in companies profiting from Israel's offensive in Gaza.

Similar encampments on university campuses have cropped up across Canada in recent months, with several schools considering or taking legal action against the protesters.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2024.

The Canadian Press

U of T seeks court injunction to clear encampment as protesters stay put

The Canadian Press
Tue, May 28, 2024 




Protesters at a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Toronto said Tuesday they will stay at the site despite threats of discipline from the school and a looming legal action.

Protesters reaffirmed their commitment to the encampment as the university seeks expedited court scheduling for its request for an injunction.

"Having been threatened by the university with academic sanctions, including suspension and expulsion, having been threatened with arrest and police violence — despite all of this, despite all these threats being made, we remain," said Erin Mackey, one of the encampment organizers.

"We've been clear from the very beginning that by virtue of being here, it does not warrant the University of Toronto calling the police on their own students," she added.

Deborah Cowen, a professor at the university who came to support the protesters, said she was "deeply, deeply disappointed" by the administration's decision to seek an injunction to dismantle the encampment.

"I'm outraged by our administration's actions," she said, pointing to what she called an "unprecedented" and "egregious" threat of mass termination and other forms of discipline.

"And that comes when we haven't seen a serious good faith effort at negotiation,” she said.

The University of Toronto is asking the courts to authorize police action to remove protesters who refuse orders to leave the encampment, which was set up on campus earlier this month.

The university has filed a notice of motion in court aimed at bringing about an end to the demonstration while saying the encampment was causing irreparable harm to the institution.

Among the relief sought, the university is asking for an order authorizing police to "arrest and remove persons, objects and structures" who violate the terms of a court order.

It is also seeking to prevent protesters from blocking access to university property or setting up fences, tents or other structures on campus.

The protesters have said they are prepared to fight back with their own legal team and refused to leave the site, ignoring a Monday morning deadline set in a trespass notice issued last week.

Richard Moon, a University of Windsor law professor whose areas of expertise include freedom of expression, said injunction requests before the courts have to be decided "on a kind of balance of probabilities," taking into account the interests and rights of both parties.

"On one side is: what are the harms to the university and the members of the university community ... that stem from this encampment and its continuation, and on the other side: what would the injury be to those engaging in the encampment – their speech interests – if the encampment was shut down?" he said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Moon said that, in his view, U of T's court filing does not "clearly demonstrate" that antisemitic hate speech has been coming from the encampment itself, or that protesters are blocking entry to buildings or restricting other people's movements across the campus.

The university said in its court filing that it has received "many concerning reports" about violence, property damage and discriminatory speech "within and surrounding the encampment area."

It said areas around the encampment have had reports of confrontations between protesters and counter-protesters, as well as antisemitic slurs, among other things.

Moon said a recent court decision to grant Université du Québec à Montréal a partial injunction against pro-Palestinian protesters who set up an encampment on that campus shows that such court orders can be limited and still allow people to protest.

A Quebec judge ruled Monday that safety measures such as removing obstructions and allowing the fire department to visit the camp to make sure it's safe need to be put in place, and that doing so won't infringe on the encampment members' right to protest.

"It is possible to issue an injunction that is limited in scope and addresses particular issues of that kind," Moon said. "It doesn't involve shutting down the entire encampment."

A court date to hear U of T's injunction request has yet to be set. A number of groups sought intervener status in the matter during a case conference on Tuesday, with the judge now set to consider those submissions.

Sohail Adish, a U of T student not involved in the protest, said he has mixed feelings on the encampment and on the university's response.

"I feel like they're in their right to protest as long as it's peaceful and the university is in their right to allow or disallow people on the campus," he said.

"As for students getting expelled, staff getting fired, I'd say, it really depends on what kind of actions they commit."

Adish said he had concerns for the safety of the encampment, particularly when it came to fire safety.

Similar encampments on university campuses have cropped up across Canada in recent months, with several schools considering or taking legal action against the protesters.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2024.

 

Bombardier plots defense against lawsuit over 2018 stock tumble

Monique Mulima, Bloomberg News

Bombardier Inc. said it plans to “vigorously defend itself” against a shareholder lawsuit after the Superior Court of Quebec authorized the class action case to proceed.

, Bloomberg

Bombardier Inc. said it plans to “vigorously defend itself” against a shareholder lawsuit after the Superior Court of Quebec authorized the class action case to proceed.

The lawsuit brought by Denis Gauthier alleges that Bombardier and top executives including former Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare and former Chief Financial Officer John Di Bert “made false and misleading representations” in their 2018 financial outlook, according to a statement from the company.

Bombardier shares lost about two-thirds of their value in the space of less than four months in the second half of 2018 as its cash flow failed to improve at the pace investors expected. At the time, the company was dealing with costly aircraft-development programs and laying off staff. Management was also under scrutiny from Quebec’s securities regulator for a controversial executive stock sales plan. 

The class action suit alleges that Bombardier failed to disclose material facts to investors in a timely matter. Gauthier is the plaintiff on behalf of everyone who acquired Bombardier securities from Aug. 2, 2018 to Nov. 8, 2018, and then held them until Nov. 8, 2018, according to the press release.

Bombardier, Bellemare and Di Bert have denied any wrongdoing and the company said in its press release that it is considering its options including the potential to file an appeal.

The Montreal-based company eventually sold the centerpiece of its commercial jet program to Airbus SE and unloaded its rail transportation division in a successful effort to stay solvent. The firm is now focused on manufacturing private jets. 

 

CANADA

Airline prices, concentration key concerns driving Competition Bureau scrutiny

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press

Market concentration, higher prices and a mounting tally of customer complaints are fuelling a Competition Bureau study into Canada's airline industry.

In a release Monday, the regulator said two carriers continue to dominate the skies while new airlines seem to struggle to enter the market. Domestic fares also appear "relatively high" and more and more passengers are filing complaints, it said.

The backlog of customer complaints about airlines has hit a record high topping 72,000, according to the Canadian Transportation Agency.

The bureau's review, which will draw on feedback from the public and interested parties, looks to pave the way for recommendations to government that would "make it easier for new businesses to compete and easier for consumers to make informed choices."

First announced on May 9, the market study is the bureau's first since it gained new powers in December that include the ability to compel information from companies.

Matthew Boswell, the competition commissioner, stressed the importance of the airline industry to residents and the economy.

"Since the Canadian population is spread out over vast distances, other modes of transportation may not be feasible replacements for air travel. More competition in the industry will mean lower prices, better services, and improved productivity," Boswell said in the release.

Over the past 13 months, newer low-cost carriers Swoop and Lynx Air have disappeared from the skies and WestJet scooped up Sunwing Airlines. The latter two made up 72 per cent of seat capacity from Western Canada last year, according to the bureau.

Meanwhile, Air Canada and WestJet have strengthened their grip on the domestic market over the past year, even as rival Porter Airlines rapidly expands in a bid to become the country's third major airline.

Canada's two largest carriers commanded 82 per cent of domestic traffic among national carriers last month versus 74 per cent in April 2023, statistics from aviation data firm Cirium show.

The diminishing set of operators coincides with a six per cent decrease in domestic flight volume between April 2023 and this month, though that may be due in part to a renewed focus on international trips.

While big cities remain amply served, smaller ones have fewer options, which can also result in higher prices and, when things go awry, stranded passengers.

Over the past five years, the Competition Bureau has raised concerns about the merger of Canadian North and First Air and the would-be acquisition of Transat by Air Canada, which scrapped the plan in 2021 amid regulatory hurdles in Europe.

The latest study is not an investigation into specific allegations of wrongdoing, the Competition Bureau noted Monday.

"However, if the bureau finds evidence that someone may be doing something against the law, we will investigate and take appropriate action," the regulator said.

John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, said the review should consider service levels to various parts of the country as well as rules around flight changes by airlines after the ticket was purchased.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2024.

China can’t use Canada as trade path for cheap goods, Freeland says

Brian Platt and Erik Hertzberg, Bloomberg News

Chrystia Freeland (Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Canada won’t allow itself to become a foothold for oversupplied Chinese goods that could pass through to its democratic allies, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said.

But she did not commit to following the path of U.S. President Joe Biden, who announced massive tariff hikes against Chinese goods earlier this month. For now, Canada is simply reviewing its trade measures toward China, Freeland said. 

“Canada absolutely recognizes that China has an intentional, state-directed economic policy which is leading to overcapacity and oversupply in specific sectors,” Freeland told reporters on Tuesday. She said the Asian country isn’t “playing by the rules” when it comes to steel, aluminum, some critical minerals and metals and manufacturing products.

“We cannot let Canadian industry be wiped out by Chinese oversupply and overcapacity,” Freeland said.

She pointed out Canada also has a free trade agreement with every other Group of Seven country, and suggested China could try to exploit those connections.

“Canada will not be a country through which there can be transshipment, and we’re very mindful of that,” Freeland said.  

The new U.S. tariffs quadrupled the country’s tariffs on Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles, bringing the rate up to 102.5 per cent, and targeted other products including semiconductors and solar cells. Canada currently imposes a small tariff of about six per cent on Chinese vehicles.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trade Minister Mary Ng have said Canada is watching what the U.S. has done, but have declined to say whether Canada intends to hike its own tariffs.

Trudeau’s government has also been cracking down on Chinese investment in certain mining sectors, and is further toughening its investment screening rules in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and space technology. 

With assistance from Jay Zhao-Murray.