'Komodo dragons on steroids': Fossil of predatory water dweller recovered at mine

Yesterday 
The Canadian Press

MAGRATH, ALBERTA — A fossil of a prehistoric lizard "on steroids" has been found at a mining site in southern Alberta.

The partial fossil of a recently discovered mosasaurus was recently discovered at an ammolite mine south of Lethbridge.

It lived in the inland sea that covered Alberta during the Cretaceous Period about 75 million years ago and would often grow to be seven to eight metres long with a skull that was about one metre.

Donald Henderson from the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology said mining operations have been providing a regular supply of various fossils for years and the museum has about 30 partially complete mosasaurus skeletons.

"It does surprise me because there's long sequences of vertical layers of rock where you don't find any and then you come to a layer where there's a whole bunch," Henderson, the museum's dinosaur curator, said in an interview.

"We're very fortunate here in Alberta. We get so many fossil types of reptiles," he said. "We get a bit, I wouldn't, say blasé, but compared to other parts of the world, they would love to have what we have."

Henderson said every find is a little bit different.

"There's always something new to be learned. One of the things we've been tracking the last few years is exactly where in the rock layers they come from. The vertical layer of rock records time," he explained.

"We can see what species are occurring at what different layers … and possibly the menu items, because these things were the top predators."



Fossils have fascinated humankind from time immemorial. These preserved remains from a bygone era transport us through time to discover more about the world before our arrival. In this gallery, discover the most amazing fossils in the world.

Henderson stressed that the mosasaurus is not a dinosaur. He said it descended from land dwelling lizards and, over tens of millions of years, began to adapt to water with the addition of four modified flippers and extra joints in their skulls.

"If you know what the Komodo dragon is like — the world's biggest living lizard — these things are like Komodo dragons on steroids," he said. "A big Komodo dragon is about 10 feet (and) these things are three to four times bigger."

Henderson said they have been able to identify the mosasaurus as a top predator.

We've got a couple of specimens with stomach contents so they were chomping down on fish, turtles and other mosasaurs," he said. "They would eat whatever they could overpower."

John Issa, vice-president for business development for Korite, a Canadian company that mines and sells Alberta’s official gemstone, ammolite, said the company has found 12 mosasaurs there over the last 40 years.

"So it's not a rare occurrence, but it is a special occurrence when it happens," Issa said.

"This piece had an amazing skull piece. It had a jaw section with the teeth for both the uppers and lowers in the same rock."

Mine foreman Evan Kovacs said it was just a normal day until the skull and jawbone, which have already been sent to the museum, were spotted by the operator of the excavator.

"They just moved some material around, scraping it just to level off the machine and they found some brown material, which ended up being the bones of the mosasaur that they found," Kovacs said.

"Every time we find something (that) ends up being a vertebrate fossil, like this mosasaur, it's always a very great moment, the excitement definitely rises."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2022.

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

Ukraine opens online platform where the world can donate to the country

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF - Friday
© (photo credit: REUTERS/VALENTYN OGIRENKO)

Ukraine has opened an online donation platform where anyone from the worldwide web can donate to the country. President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted on Thursday afternoon that he has launched "United 24."

"Only together we have the potential to stop the war that Russia has started and to rebuild what Russia has destroyed," the Ukrainian leader said. "Together we can help freedom defeat tyranny.

"In one click, you can donate funds to protect our defenders, save our civilians and rebuild Ukraine."

All funds donated will be transferred to Ukraine's National Bank and distributed to all relevant ministries, according to the platform's website.

The site also lists the relevant actions that the funds will support, including defense and medical aid to Ukrainian civilians and soldiers.

The website will also provide reports of how much was donated to the platform, the Zelensky said. Its Twitter account wrote that it is "the main venue for making one-click donations from any country in support of Ukraine."

You can follow their Twitter @U24_gov_ua or donate directly to their website at https://u24.gov.ua

Canadian singer and activist Denise Ho among group arrested in Hong Kong: report

Wednesday
The Canadian Press


HONG KONG — Canadian singer and activist Denise Ho is one of at least four people who have been arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces to endanger China's national security, reports said Wednesday.

U.K.-based human rights group Hong Kong Watch said Ho was detained by Hong Kong’s National Security Police, along with Cardinal Joseph Zen, lawyer Margaret Ng and scholar Hui Po-keung.

The rights group says the arrests are apparently related to their roles as trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which provided legal aid to people who took part in 2019 pro-democracy protests that were quashed by security forces.

Scores of pro-democracy activists have been arrested under a sweeping National Security Law imposed on the city by Beijing in 2020. Ho was previously arrested and briefly detained in December.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, who had voiced her concern following Ho's first arrest, reiterated that sentiment on Wednesday.

"The news of multiple arrests in Hong Kong of former trustees of a legal defence fund, including Denise Ho, is deeply troubling," she wrote on Twitter.

"The ongoing targeting of civil society groups erodes the rights and freedoms of (Hong Kong) residents guaranteed under (Hong Kong's) basic law," Joly added, using pictograms of Hong Kong's flag in place of words.

A spokeswoman for the group Alliance Canada Hong Kong says the arrests are a sign of worsening repression in Hong Kong. "It's not exactly surprising that it happened, but it's still shocking," Ai-Men Lau said. "Especially arresting a 90-year-old cardinal for his peaceful activities," she added in reference to Zen.

Lau said Ho was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Brossard, Que., on Montreal's South Shore. Ho has previously cited her time in Canada as a source of inspiration for her activism, Lau said.

Since returning to Hong Kong, Ho has become a "significant figure" in the pro-democracy community, and she helped run the 612 Fund, said Lau, who urged the Canadian government to ensure Ho receives proper consular support.

Global Affairs Canada said in a statement Wednesday the department was providing consular services to Ho.

Ho's manager, Jelly Cheng, confirmed Ho’s arrest on Wednesday but said she had no other information.

The arrests follow the selection on Sunday of Hong Kong’s new leader, John Lee, a hardline former security chief who ran unopposed in a process controlled by Beijing.

The European Union and foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized countries — including Canada — condemned the election as fundamentally undemocratic and a betrayal of the “one country, two systems” principle under which Hong Kong was supposed to retain its own political, legal and economic system for 50 years after the end of British colonial rule.

Lau, however, urged the Canadian government to go even further in supporting democracy in Hong Kong.

While the statement was a good step, "we haven't seen that followed up with concrete actions: for example, sanctions against Hong Kong officials responsible for the political crackdowns," she said.

She said she also believes Canada should further expand humanitarian programs for those impacted or those seeking to flee Hong Kong due to political persecution.

Hong Kong's government and police had no immediate comment on the reported arrests.

Zen, the retired archbishop of Hong Kong, is a fierce critic of China and has been blistering in his condemnation of the Vatican’s 2018 agreement with Beijing over bishop nominations, which he has said was a sellout of underground Christians in China.

The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said the Holy See “learned with concern the news of the arrest of Cardinal Zen and is following the evolution of the situation with extreme attention.”

Hui was arrested at Hong Kong’s international airport as he sought to leave the city, Hong Kong Watch said.

“Today’s arrests signal beyond a doubt that Beijing intends to intensify its crackdown on basic rights and freedoms in Hong Kong,” said the group’s chief executive, Benedict Rogers.

“We urge the international community to shine a light on this brutal crackdown and call for the immediate release of these activists,” Rogers said.

The White House also called on China and Hong Kong authorities to cease targeting Hong Kong advocates and immediately release Zen and others who were “unjustly detained and charged,” deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday.

Several leading Hong Kong activists have fled to Taiwan, Britain or elsewhere, while thousands of other Hong Kongers have chosen to leave the city, raising concerns about the economic future of the Asian financial centre of 7.4 million.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2022.

— by Morgan Lowrie in Montreal; with files from The Associated Press.

The Canadian Press

As Australia votes, indigenous people press call for inclusion in constitution

By Praveen Menon - Yesterday 

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Activists at one of the world's longest-running protests for the rights of indigenous people are not pinning their hopes for change on Australia's May 21 general election.

The election campaign has been dominated by debate about rising prices, COVID-19 and climate change, with the plight of Australia’s 700,000 or so indigenous people, who track near the bottom of its 25 million citizens on almost every economic and social indicator, far from the top of the agenda.

Indigenous Australians maintain presence at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra

"I don't vote and wouldn't vote until we have our own voice," said Gwenda Stanley, an activist living at the "aboriginal tent embassy" camp of shelters on a lawn across from the old parliament building in Canberra.

The site was first occupied 50 years ago to protest against Australia's treatment of its indigenous people, who trace their roots back 65,000 years before British colonialists arrived.

While there may be cynicism about the election, indigenous activists are taking advantage of the campaign to remind political parties of their core demand - that Australia for the first time recognises its original inhabitants in its constitution.

The constitution makes no reference to indigenous people, whose leaders have struggled for generations to win recognition for injustices suffered since the beginning of European colonization in the 1700s.

Denied the vote until the mid-1960s, indigenous people face a 10-year gap in life expectancy compared with other Australians and make up 30% of the prison population. Aboriginal deaths in police custody have been a problem for years despite a Royal Commission looking into the issue since 1991.

The government only issued a formal apology for all injustices in 2008.

Campaigners are seeking a referendum, which is required to make changes to the constitution, on recognising indigenous minorities in the constitution and mandating governments to consult Aboriginal people on decisions that affect their lives.

Activists launched an information campaign last week running on all major television networks calling on political parties to back a referendum in 2023.

Constitutional recognition is a complex issue in a country that only started counting its indigenous people as part of its population in 1967.

But Australians are coming around in ever greater numbers in support of change. Public broadcaster ABC News said last week that 73% of people agreed there should be constitutional change to give indigenous Australians a greater say over their lives.

This was higher than the 64% of voters agreeing to a referendum in the 2019 election.

A successful referendum would bring Australia in line with Canada, New Zealand and the United States in formally recognising indigenous populations.

But the big political parties are divided on how to handle the demand.

Campaigning for the polls, Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week refused to back a referendum saying instead his government's policy was to establish indigenous representation in parliament through legislation.

The ruling coalition had promised in 2019 to hold a referendum and allocated $160 million for the process but little came of it.

Morrison's office did not respond to a request for comment on its views and plans on the issue.

The opposition Labor Party, however, has promised a referendum, a demand first enshrined in a 2017 Uluru Statement at a convention that brought together more than 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders at the sacred monolith in central Australia.

"Five years after the Uluru Statement was presented to the Australian people, there should be no more delay. We believe the Australian people are ready," a Labor spokesperson told Reuters.

'BEGGING FOR RIGHTS'

Constitutional change requires approval through a referendum, with the backing of a majority of votes in a majority of states - a rare feat achieved only eight times in 44 attempts since 1901.

But it's the only way to bring about real reform, analysts say.

"If we want to see true structural change that changes how our country works then we need to have a referendum," said James Blackwell, research fellow in Indigenous Diplomacy at the Australian National University, who belongs to the Wiradyuri people.

"It's disappointing in many aspects that we have to keep coming back begging for rights, begging for recognition. But it is the way our system works," said Blackwell, a member of the Uluru Dialogue group of community leaders, legal scholars and activists.

The activists at the Canberra protest are staying put as the politics plays out.

"That's the whole point of this embassy ... to remind the government and the rest of the world that we are still oppressed people," said Stanley, who is from the Gomeroi people.

"We are staying here forever."

(Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Robert Birsel)

PHOTOS © Reuters/LOREN ELLIOTT

KANADA*

Struggle against “violent erasure” of Indigenous languages continues today

The Canadian Press

Federal funding for NEȾOLṈEW̱, an Indigenous-led language revitalization research project, would not be needed if it weren’t for the devastating impacts of colonialism.

“The heart of the matter is really that our field (of Indigenous linguistics) only exists because of the history of this country, of the intentional historical violent erasure of Indigenous languages,” said Dr. Onowa McIvor, director of the NEȾOLṈEW̱ Research Partnership.

NEȾOLṈEW̱, meaning “one mind, one people” in the SENĆOŦEN language, is currently in year six of seven years of funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

McIvor, maskékow-ininiw (Swampy Cree) and Scottish-Canadian, is a professor in Indigenous education and holds a President’s Research Chair at the University of Victoria.

She was joined by Kahtehrón:ni Iris Stacey in a one hour Zoom presentation May 12 on the first of three days for the Big Thinking lecture series hosted virtually by the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Stacey, who is Turtle Clan of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation from Kahnawà:ke, Mohawk Territory, represents the Kahnawà:ke Education Centre (KEC), one of nine NEȾOLṈEW̱ partners.

While McIvor said it was important to understand the history of the language loss, she also stressed that challenges still existed today.

“It’s also important to remember that this is not only historic. There is an ongoing hostile environment towards Indigenous languages in Canada,” she said. “So acknowledging that ongoing difficulty is also critically important.”

McIvor said it was an “uphill battle” when it came to acknowledging Indigenous languages as the first languages of this country, in creating space and fighting for resources.

“It’s really important for us to pause and acknowledge the truth, even when it makes us uncomfortable, because then we can have a conversation in an honest space because we’re experiencing it. We can’t shy away from it. We experience it every day,” she said.

She added that there could be no reconciliation without first acknowledging the truth.

NEȾOLṈEW̱ is a “radical reclamation of Indigenous languages,” said McIvor, that has been built from the ground up in the nine partnership communities across the country.

The program focuses on adult-language learning. Over the years, it has become apparent that the majority of speakers are becoming elderly, McIvor said.

“We have far too few adult speakers, especially adult speakers who are working age, childbearing age…so there needs to be a specific and special focus on the creation of new adult speakers,” she said.

Stacey said that while in 2022 there are many initiatives and successes to celebrate, the number of language speakers continues to decline.

“The challenges in raising up new speakers are still apparent. So as a community and as the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation we’re stepping up our efforts once again,” said Stacey.

Immersion programs have proven to be the most impactful, she said, and to that end, KEC is focused on supporting their immersion staff who are teaching the language to elementary-aged children.

One in three Elders speak their language, but only one in 10 youth can claim the same.

“It’s not just about elderly speakers, but it’s also those of us who are kind of driving the movement right now that we have a responsibility (to the youth),” said McIvor.

She added that it was important to shift the focus to youth and that it was equally important to have youth guide that focus.

Stacey said language revitalization needed to have the goal of “an intergenerational community of speakers.”

She also pointed out that because of how descriptive Indigenous languages are, they are able to grow and evolve so they can continue to be used and to create vocabulary to represent new concepts or new objects.

McIvor said the focus, at this point, needed to remain with and on Indigenous communities. She said there were still too few Indigenous language speakers and too few resources to branch out into teaching non-Indigenous people.

“I do think that our movement could be strengthened by greater opportunities for non-Indigenous people to learn our languages when appropriate to do so,” she said.

But non-Indigenous people—or allies—still had a role to play in revitalizing Indigenous languages.

“We invite settler allies to take up their responsibility and to have an active role in the continuation and revival of Indigenous languages,” said McIvor, by recognizing that as Canadians, Indigenous languages are also part of their heritage.

The United Nations has declared 2022 to 2032 the Decade of Indigenous Languages.

Organized by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Congress 2022 serves as a platform for the unveiling of thousands of research papers and presentations from social sciences and humanities experts worldwide. The goal of the three-day event is to inspire ideas, dialogue and action that create a more diverse, sustainable, democratic and just future. More than 6,000 visitors are expected to log in.

Windspeaker.com

By Shari Narine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com, Windspeaker.com

*ORIGINAL SPELLING KANADA MEANS VILLAGE IN HURON

Quebec woman raises alarm after region's only horse vet forced out over language law

The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — Horse owners in a part of western Quebec say the province's language laws are forcing them to lose their only veterinarian at a time when there's already a critical shortage of animal doctors.

Local farmer Chantal Chrétien said she learned in late April that her vet, Melissa Jowett, would have to stop treating her two horses at her farm in Quyon, Que., because her French isn't strong enough to pass the language test required to get a permanent licence.

Chrétien said that with Jowett gone, the closest vet who specializes in horses is about a two-hour drive away — which could potentially put the welfare of animals at risk.

"I’m a good advocate for French. I think there’s a good base in that (language) law," she said in a phone interview. "But when the population and the animals need care, we don’t care which language is spoken."

Chrétien said more than half of residents in the Pontiac region where she lives are native English speakers, and the rest are mostly bilingual. She said Jowett's language skills have never posed a problem.

A petition she started asking the province for an exemption for Jowett had gained more than 6,400 signatures as of Wednesday morning.

Jowett could not be reached for comment. But in a statement provided to The Canadian Press, the U.K.-born veterinarian said she had been working under a temporary licence, which she said can no longer be renewed.

"There have been many vets over the years that have been restricted from working in Quebec because of this, and in this, I am no different," she said in the statement dated April 29.

"Unfortunately, languages are not my forte, and although I get by relatively well due to the anglophone/bilingual nature of the Pontiac and La Peche regions, this does not alter the rules of the (French language office)."

Jowett added that she has been discussing with Quebec's veterinary order to see if an exemption is possible, but she says there's no indication one will be granted.

The rules state that a vet can receive a temporary one-year licence that can be extended three times — giving them four years to pass the language test needed to get a permanent permit from the province's order of veterinarians.

Quebec's language watchdog, l'Office québécois de la langue française, says that while licensing is up to professional orders, there is "no provision that allows the Office to exempt a candidate from passing the French exam."

The news comes as Quebec continues to struggle with a lack of veterinarians that has been made worse by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In her statement, Jowett said that, besides the issue with the licence, the pressure of being the area's only veterinarian who treats horses has pushed her "dangerously close to burnout."

"There was no support; no team members to give relief emergency cover for the equine work; I was regularly having to refer cases which I would have been able to deal with had I had access to appropriate equipment and assistance," she wrote.

Gaston Rioux, the president of Quebec's order of veterinarians, said Jowett's description of her work is unfortunately common.

He said there is only one university in Quebec that trains vets, and more people have adopted animals during the pandemic when health restrictions also limited how many animals vets can could treat.

He said vets have large overhead costs, often work alone, have to be on call nights and weekends and sometimes face anger or harassment from clients who are upset with outcomes or fees. A survey of 2,800 vets taken a year and a half ago found that 53 per cent of them were considering shifting jobs or leaving the profession altogether, he said.

In that context, he said to lose a vet such as Jowett would be too bad, especially because she works in an area where many people speak English.

"On our side, we want to be in solution mode," he said in a phone interview. "If there's a possibility to allow her to keep practising in Quebec, that's certainly what we'd like."

On the other hand, he said that professional orders in Quebec are bound by the province's language laws, and it's unclear what he can do in this case.

Rioux said the order is working on other solutions to relieve the pressure on vets, including allowing more work to be delegated to technicians, recruiting foreign-trained vets and adding another campus where candidates can study veterinary medicine.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2022.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press

Canadians supportive of federal measures to regulate internet: survey

MobileSyrup - Wednesday

The federal government has shared two legislations to regulate the internet, and recent survey results show most Canadians support the measures.

Commissioned by the Globe and Mail, the results show 55 percent of respondents support the government’s work to regulate the internet, 37 percent oppose it in some way, and 8 percent are unsure. Those against the regulations largely come from the Prairies.

The Online Streaming Act, also known as Bill C-11, was presented in February. It focuses on applying the same rules to streaming services as Canadian broadcasters. If passed, the act would also require streaming services to create Canadian content.

The bill has been met with harsh criticism from several parties.

YouTube’s chief business officer, Robert Kyncl, said the act could threaten Canadian content creators. In March, two creators who create content on TikTok, Darcy Michael and Oorbee Roy, raised similar concerns at a Canadian Heritage Committee meeting.

The second measure the government has taken to regulate the internet is the Online News Act. Known as Bill C-18, it would require digital giants, including Google and Meta, to pay Canadian news organizations for the content they display on their platforms.

Threat of violent extremism rising in Canada, MPs told

Elizabeth Thompson -

cbc.ca

The threat of violent extremism has increased in Canada during the pandemic — fuelled by misinformation and resulting in threats to politicians and public servants — top security and policing officials told members of Parliament on Thursday.

But while police and intelligence agencies are taking steps to detect extremists and prevent them from carrying out attacks, the government must also work proactively to counter the extremism in the first place, they added.

Testifying before the public safety and national security committee, Cherie Henderson, assistant director, requirements for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) described the rise of ideologically motivated violent extremism (IMVE) over the past two years.

"Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, IMVE activity has been fuelled by an increase in extreme anti-authority and anti-government rhetoric, often rooted in the weaponization of conspiracy theories," Henderson told the committee.

"CSIS has noted a marked increase in violent threats addressed at elected officials and public servants."

Henderson said CSIS has moved more resources to monitor IMVE.

The hearing came only a couple of days after an ugly altercation in Peterborough, Ont., where protesters shouted profanities at NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh after a provincial election campaign event.

That incident appeared to weigh on the minds of some committee members Thursday as they wrapped up their hearings on IMVE.

"This has been a very sombre time for the NDP caucus," said New Democrat MP Alistair MacGregor.

"Our leader Jagmeet Singh had to wade through a group of people who were calling him a traitor. They were hurling expletives at him, saying they hoped that he would die," he said.

"This is the exact same kind of behaviour that we saw littered throughout the occupation of Ottawa and it's time for us to wake up to the fact that this kind of behaviour has real, physical manifestations and real threats."

Liberal MP Pam Damoff said she and other MPs have received threats but that they don't necessarily lead to criminal charges.


© Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

Former security adviser Richard Fadden told MPs the key to countering ideologically motivated violent extremism is dialogue.

"It feels like it's a matter of time before this rhetoric and this kind of aggressive anger turn into something more violent," she said.

RCMP Deputy Commander Michael Duheme said the Mounties have also seen a rise in IMVE incidents, most by people "who are not clearly affiliated with a group and who are motivated by very individualized ideologies."

Duheme said the RCMP has identified gaps in how it has dealt with IMVE and has developed a strategy to address them over the next three years and to work with local police forces and other groups.

By "improving information sharing and building up our own intelligence capacities," specifically online, the RCMP will "be in a better position to identify individuals and groups who pose a threat before they are motivated to violence," he said.

Leslie Soper, director general of national security policy for the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, described IMVE as "a serious threat" to Canada.

While some people on the right of the political spectrum are drawn to IMVE, such extremists come from a wide range of political perspectives, she said.

"It may be aligned to what we might traditionally call right-wing extremism. It may be motivated by other factors; anti-mandate. It could be motivated by other societal factors," Soper said.

Earlier, Conservative MP Dane Lloyd challenged Soper and CSIS officials to tell him what they were doing to investigate 30 churches that were set on fire in 2021. Both responded that those were police matters.

Richard Fadden, a former national security adviser and director of CSIS, said IMVE has been around for a while but it is now more intense, organized and co-ordinated.

Fadden said if Canada wants to counter IMVE, it must get to the roots of the dissatisfaction felt by those attracted to it, and their feeling that their views aren't being heard.

Fadden called for more dialogue with those being attracted to IMVE, saying countering it needs to go beyond the federal government to provinces, municipalities and schools.

However, he also acknowledged it can be difficult these days to talk openly about some things.

"I really do think that political correctness has reached the point today where it's almost impossible to have a conversation about a whole raft of issues and if you're frustrated with government and with society to begin with, this is not helpful," he said.

RCMP ‘following up’ after Jagmeet Singh harassed by protesters in Peterborough

Alex Boutilier - Yesterday 
Global News


The RCMP say they’re “following up” on an incident in Peterborough, Ont., Tuesday, in which NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was harassed by protesters who called him a “traitor” and followed him to his car.

Deputy Commissioner Michael Duheme called the incident “unacceptable” and said the national police force has been in contact with party leaders and cabinet ministers about security threats.

Read more:
Protesters harass federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh during visit to Peterborough

“It’s unacceptable, it’s not the first time (it has happened) … We’re following up on it to determine what can be done,” Duheme told the House of Commons’ public safety committee Thursday.

“When we do have a file with regards to potential threats, be it online or via phone or directly, we do engage with (federal prosecutors) to discuss the file and see if we’ve met the threshold (for criminal charges). It is a challenge, I can say from the RCMP perspective.”

Singh was in Peterborough Tuesday to stump for Jen Deck, the Ontario NDP candidate for Peterborough-Kawartha. Protesters gathered outside the event, calling Singh a “traitor” and “liar” as he left, hounding him to his waiting vehicle. Singh was able to get into the truck, which sped off.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa Thursday, Singh said the experience was one of the most “intense, threatening (and) insulting” experiences he’s had as a public figure.

“I’ve experienced worse in my life and experienced it regularly. So it’s not something for me; it doesn’t faze me or shake me in any way. But I am worried about what that means for politics, generally,” Singh said.

Read more:
Canada’s security agencies drawing on lessons from ‘extraordinary’ convoy blockade

Duheme told MPs the RCMP have been meeting with cabinet ministers every month to discuss threats, which have risen over the course of the global pandemic, as well as with the party leaders.

While the threats against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet have been increasing in recent years, they have not been limited to the Liberals — or to federal politicians.

“When we do have a file with regards to potential threats, be it online or via phone or directly, we do engage with (federal prosecutors) to discuss the file and see if we’ve met the threshold,” said Duheme, who is responsible for federal policing and the Mounties’ national security investigations.

Duheme said that when politicians receive credible threats, the RCMP collaborates with local police through the force’s regional integrated national security teams.

Threats against politicians have seen an uptick in recent years, with some high-profile incidents — like when a former Canadian Armed Forces reservist drove his truck through a barrier near Trudeau’s official residence, armed with multiple firearms — breaking through to make headlines.

Read more:
Manitoba man who rammed gate at Rideau Hall sentenced to 6 years in prison

Singh has faced multiple incidents of harassment, including an attempted “citizen’s arrest” just steps from Parliament Hill in 2020.

“This is the exact same kind of behaviour that we saw littered throughout the occupation of Ottawa,” said NDP MP Alistair McGregor on Thursday.

“And it’s time for us to wake up to the fact this kind of behaviour has real physical manifestations and real threats.”

Duheme told the committee that the RCMP has developed a “comprehensive” three-year plan to revamp how the national police force deals with “ideologically-motivated violent extremism” (IMVE) — the Canadian intelligence community’s catch-all term for a wide array of grievance-based violence, including far-right extremism and anti-government sentiment.

“We know that the IMVE threat environment is rapidly evolving and complex, and is increasingly fuelled by misinformation and hostile rhetoric surrounding a host of grievances, many of which focus on the government’s response to COVID-19 and other matters,” Duheme said.

“This has sown distrust in government institutions, including law enforcement, and has augmented the ability for extremist groups to both recruit new members and increasingly foster hostility.”

Duheme said the Mounties are trying “get (their) own house in order” on investigating ideological extremism.

USA

Coronavirus committee: Meat companies lied about impending shortage and put workers at risk

Parija Kavilanz -
CNN

At the height of the pandemic, as the coronavirus infected tens of thousands of meat industry workers and caused hundreds to die, executives at the nation’s largest meat producers were aware of the transmission risk in their plants and successfully lobbied the Trump White House and the USDA to circumvent coronavirus prevention measures and regulations, according to the latest findings of a congressional investigation.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, which launched its probe in February 2021 into meatpackers’ Covid response, also found that meat processors’ warnings about the nation being on the brink of a meat shortage were not based in fact, and that industry experts at the time believed them to be intentionally misleading.

“The Select Subcommittee’s investigation has revealed that former President Trump’s political appointees at USDA collaborated with large meatpacking companies to lead an Administration-wide effort to force workers to remain on the job during the coronavirus crisis despite dangerous conditions, and even to prevent the imposition of commonsense mitigation measures,” committee chairman, US Rep. James Clyburn, said in a statement Thursday.

The North American Meat Institute, an industry trade group, criticized the committee’s report as “partisan” and said it “distorts the truth about the meat and poultry industry’s work to protect employees during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“The House Select Committee has done the nation a disservice. The Committee could have tried to learn what the industry did to stop the spread of Covid among meat and poultry workers, reducing positive cases associated with the industry while cases were surging across the country. Instead, the Committee uses 20/20 hindsight and cherry picks data to support a narrative that is completely unrepresentative of the early days of an unprecedented national emergency,” Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO of the North American Meat Institute, said in a statement.
Ignoring the risk

The investigation centered on meat producers Tyson (TSN), Smithfield, JBS USA, Cargill and National Beef along with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and its response to worker illnesses. Meat plants became a hotbed for Covid outbreaks in the first year of the pandemic as workers grappled with long hours in crowded work spaces.

The initial results of the probe, released last October, showed infections and deaths among workers in plants owned by those five companies in the first year of the pandemic were significantly higher than previously estimated, with over 59,000 workers infected and at least 269 deaths.

The report cited examples, based on Internal meatpacking industry documents, of at least one company ignoring warnings by a doctor of the risk of rapid transmission of the virus in their facilities.

For example, the report found that a JBS executive received an April 2020 email from a doctor in a hospital near JBS’ Cactus, Texas, facility saying, “100% of all Covid-19 patients we have in the hospital are either direct employees or family member[s] of your employees.” The doctor warned: “Your employees will get sick and may die if this factory continues to be open.”

The emails prompted Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s chief of staff to reach out to JBS, but it remains unclear whether JBS ever responded to the email, the report said.

“This coordinated campaign prioritized industry production over the health of workers and communities and contributed to tens of thousands of workers becoming ill, hundreds of workers dying, and the virus spreading throughout surrounding areas,” said Rep. Clyburn.

“The shameful conduct of corporate executives pursuing profit at any cost during a crisis and government officials eager to do their bidding regardless of resulting harm to the public must never be repeated,” he said.

In a response to CNN’s request for comment, JBS, in an email, did not address the doctors warning, highlighted by the committee.

“In 2020, as the world faced the challenge of navigating Covid-19, many lessons were learned, and the health and safety of our team members guided all our actions and decisions. During that critical time, we did everything possible to ensure the safety of our people who kept our critical food supply chain running,” said Nikki Richardson, a spokeswoman for JBS USA & Pilgrim’s.

The investigation surfaced examples of some meatpacking industry executives acknowledging that being transparent about the lax mitigation measures and high infections rates in plants would cause alarm.

The report, citing a company email, said on April 7, 2020, managers at National Beef discussed avoiding explicitly notifying workers when an infected plant worker returned to work with physician clearance, saying they should instead “announce line meeting style,” likely referring to announcements made during informal in-person huddles of production line workers, “hoping it doesn’t incite additional panic.”

Meatpacking companies and the United States Department of Agriculture “jointly lobbied the White House to dissuade workers from staying home or quitting,” according to the report.

Further, meatpacking companies successfully lobbied USDA officials to advocate for Department of Labor policies that deprived their employees of benefits if they chose to stay home or quit, while also seeking insulation from legal liability if their workers fell ill or died on the job, according to the report.

The probe found that in April 2020, the CEOs of JBS, Smithfield, Tyson and other meatpacking companies asked Trump cabinet member and then Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to “elevate the need for messaging about the importance of our workforce staying at work to the POTUS or VP level,” and to make clear that “being afraid of Covid-19 is not a reason to quit your job and you are not eligible for unemployment compensation if you do.”

On April 28th, 2020, President Trump signed an executive order directing meat packing plants to follow guidance being issued by the CDC and OSHA on how to keep workers safe, so processing plants could stay open

Sec. Perdue would later send a letter to governors and to the leaders of meat processing companies.

“Meat processing facilities are critical infrastructure and are essential to the national security of our nation. Keeping these facilities operational is critical to the food supply chain and we expect our partners across the country to work with us on this issue.”

The Committee report said meatpacking companies and lobbyists worked with USDA and the White House in an attempt to prevent state and local health departments from regulating coronavirus precautions in plants.

Calling the contents of the report deeply disturbling, a spokesperson for the USDA said “many of the decisions made by the previous administration are not in line with our values. This administration is committed to food safety, the viability of the meat and poultry sector and working with our partners across the government to protect workers and ensure their health and safety is given the priority it deserves.”

A spokesman for Perdue, who is currently Chancellor of the University of Georgia, said Perdue “is focused on his new position serving the students of Georgia” and did not provide a comment on the committee report.

Former President Trump has not responded to CNN Business’ request for comment.
False claims of impending meat shortage

As their workers fell ill with the virus, several meat suppliers were forced to temporarily shut plants in 2020 and their companies’ executives warned the situation would put the US meat supply at risk.

The report slammed those warnings as “flimsy if not outright false.”

“Just three days after Smithfield CEO Ken Sullivan publicly warned that the closure of a Smithfield plant was ‘pushing our country perilously close to the edge in terms of our nation’s meat supply,” he asked industry representatives to issue a statement that ‘there was plenty of meat, enough … to export,” while Smithfield told meat importers the same, the report said.

The investigation found industry representatives thought Smithfield’s statements about a meat supply crunch were “intentionally scaring people.”

At the time, food experts told CNN Business that while there were meat shortages, at times, various cuts of meat might not be available.

Tyson said via an email response that it was reviewing the report.

Smithfield said it took “every appropriate measure to keep our workers safe” when it encountered a “first-of-its-kind challenge” two years ago.

“To date, we have invested more than $900 million to support worker safety, including paying workers to stay home, and have exceeded CDC and OSHA guidelines,” Smithfield spokesman Jim Monroe, said in an email to CNN Business.

“The meat production system is a modern wonder, but it is not one that can be re-directed at the flip of a switch. That is the challenge we faced as restaurants closed, consumption patterns changed and hogs backed-up on farms with nowhere to go. The concerns we expressed were very real and we are thankful that a true food crisis was averted and that we are starting to return to normal…. Did we make every effort to share with government officials our perspective on the pandemic and how it was impacting the food production system? Absolutely,” he said.

Cargill and National Beef could not immediately be reached for comment.

The committee said its report was based on more than 151,000 pages of documents collected from meatpacking companies and interest groups, calls with meatpacking workers, union representatives, and former USDA and OSHA officials, among others.

– CNN Business’ Jennifer Korn contributed to this report

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Jagmeet Singh says grocery chains are ‘profiteering’ amid inflation. Is it true?

‘Excess profits tax’ needed for affordability of living: NDP’s Singh

Sean Boynton - 

Yesterday
Global News


NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is calling out Canada's major grocery chains for making record profits amid soaring inflation, which he calls "profiteering."

Speaking to Global News Radio 640 host Greg Brady Tuesday, Singh accused corporate grocers of "gouging" Canadians with marked-up food prices while still reporting higher profits, which he says doesn't add up.

"If you're increasing prices to offset increased costs, they would have the same level of profit," he said. "But we're seeing a significant increase in their profits.

"It shows that they're just gouging Canadians at this difficult time."

Read more:
Global food, fuel prices won’t ease until 2024 due to Ukraine war: World Bank

On Wednesday, Singh called for an "excess profits tax" on major grocery chains and oil and gas companies, expanding the Liberals' plan to place a higher 18 per cent tax on bank profits exceeding $1 billion.

The NDP say the revenue collected from their proposed tax would help raise the annual GST tax credit and Canada Child Benefit by $500 each per year.

"Why is it that wealthy companies get to make more, and families have to suffer, and why do governments allow that to happen?" he asked.

"The whole point of government is to level that, to ensure companies aren't gouging or exploiting a difficult time."

A look at the latest earnings reports from the three major grocery chains — Loblaw, Empire Co. and Metro — shows sales and profits have indeed risen, which CEOs have attributed to higher food inflation and "cost and margin discipline."

Loblaw saw net earnings rise nearly 40 per cent compared to last year in its latest quarter, to $437 million, while sales rose just 3.3 per cent to $12.26 billion for a profit margin of 3.56 per cent — up from 2.68 per cent in 2021.

The grocery and drugstore retailer said last week it will now pay shareholders a quarterly dividend of 40.5 cents per share, up from 36.5 cents per share.

A spokesperson for Loblaw pinned the increased profits on higher-margin sales like cosmetics purchased at Shoppers Drug Mart locations, adding grocery sales are increasingly being driven by discount house brands as consumers try to curb their spending.

Read more:
Canadian shoppers moving to discount stores as inflation soars: Loblaw

Empire, which owns Sobeys, Safeway and FreshCo among other brands, reported a quarterly profit in March of $203.4 million, up 15.4 per cent from $176.3 million a year earlier. Its profit margin compared to sales, which rose by just 5.1 per cent, climbed from 2.51 per cent last year to 2.75 per cent.

That profit amounted to 77 cents per diluted share, which president and CEO Michael Medline called "our highest in memory" on an earnings call in March. He praised the company's ability to keep operating costs low amid "choppy waters" that have disrupted supply chains, including fuel costs and the flooding in British Columbia last fall.

As for Metro, it reported a second-quarter profit of $198.1 million, up 5.3 per cent from $188.1 million a year earlier, as sales gained 1.9 per cent. The Montreal-based grocery and drugstore retailer's profit margin sits at 4.63 per cent, up slightly from 4.49 per cent last year.

Metro president and CEO Eric La Fleche said in January that the company was actually using its higher profit margin to absorb some of the higher costs from food producers to keep shelf prices stable.

Empire and Metro both declined to comment on Singh's remarks when contacted by Global News.

Those profit margins have risen significantly since before the pandemic.

In 2019, Empire's profit margin was just 1.17 per cent, while Loblaw's was 1.86 per cent and Metro's was 3.28 per cent.

In Empire's case, that marks a 135-per-cent increase over the course of the pandemic. Loblaw's profit margin has soared 91 per cent, and Metro's shot up 41 per cent.

Yet James Brander, an economics professor at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business, said the increases likely do not rise to the level of profiteering, which would suggest the higher profits are due to illegal or nefarious practices.

Read more:
High food costs shaping grocery shopping habits and buying patterns, Metro CEO says

"I wouldn't view this as profiteering and I wouldn't view it as unusual, and I certainly wouldn't think that it calls for government intervention," he said.

"Businesses are in business to make profits, and they are focused on growth, so that's what they're trying to do."

Brander said he also wouldn't support Singh's idea of an "excess profits tax" on grocery chains, arguing it would drive down incentives to keep costs down and retain staff.

"We want the producers of food to be investing more in producing food," he explained. "And we'll get that by having grocery stores promise to spend more on that food. You don't get that by limiting their profits."

In a statement, a spokesperson for Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland's office said the government remains focused on "building a fairer and more inclusive economy," which includes ensuring the wealthiest Canadians and businesses pay their fair share in taxes.

Video: Why global food and fuel prices may not ease until 2024

Back in December, the Canada Food Price Report from Dalhousie University predicted Canadians would spend between five to seven per cent more on groceries in 2022.

That was before record inflation and the war in Ukraine drove prices up even further. Statistics Canada reported last month that grocery store prices rose 8.7 per cent year-over-year in March, the fastest annual rate since 2009, aided by the largest annual increase in dairy and egg prices since February 1983.

Four-fifths of respondents to a Leger poll released in March said they had started or planned to buy cheaper items at the grocery store to save on food bills and were cutting back on food waste.

Read more:
Most Canadians are cutting back their food spending as inflation soars: poll

While Metro said its food prices inflated by just under five per cent, compared to 3.5 per cent in the most recent quarter, Loblaw said its consumer price index rose 7.5 per cent after hitting just 0.9 per cent the year before.

Both companies have noted that sales of their discount house brands have increased as customers look to curb spending.

Empire's Medline said the company is focused on its supplier relationships to ensure competitive pricing for customers as inflation continues to push up the cost of goods. He also noted that higher fuel costs are also starting to make an impact on shipping expenses.

— with files from the Canadian Press