Sunday, May 05, 2019

THIS IS NOT THE CANADIAN GARBAGE THAT HAS BEEN IN THE PHILIPPINES HARBOUR FOR FIVE YEARS, THAT IS IN A SHIP STILL




Canadian garbage wrongly dumped in the Philippines is coming home
Canada has made an offer to the Philippines to repatriate six dozen shipping containers full of rotting garbage that were erroneously shipped there six years ago

Canada makes formal offer to bring home trash that Philippines threatened ‘war’ over
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte berated Canada on Tuesday in a long-running dispute over the 100 shipping containers of garbage exported to the ...

Canada violated international law by dumping garbage in the Philippines: lawyers
Canada broke international rules when it dumped more than 100 shipping containers of garbage disguised as plastics for recycling into the Philippines six years ...



Inside the global fight over a 2500-ton heap of garbage
Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines, made global headlines last week when he threatened to “declare war” on Canada over some 2500 tons of trash.
Popular Science




You can’t preach environment while ignoring your own trash
Trudeau must accept what his environment minister preaches to the rest of us common folk on a daily basis: pollution isn't free anymore, Scott Thompson says.



Alberta’s Filipino community says president’s trash-related threat is rubbish
EDMONTON—Members of the Filipino community in Alberta are wrinkling their noses over the international spat caused by dozens of containers of Canadian ...
Toronto Star



A Timeline Of The Canada-Philippines Trash War Before Duterte's Threats
The countries have been going back and forth for nearly six years about Canadian trash abandoned in.




Feast your eyes on this spectacular Hubble photo of a spiral galaxy

The Hubble telescope has captured a dazzling new photograph of a spiral galaxy, NGC 2903. 

 


Fake mews? Confusion over cat at Thai king's coronation ceremony



A SCHRODINGER'S CAT CONUNDRUM; IS THE CAT REAL OR FAKE 


WORLD NEWS
MAY 5, 2019 




BANGKOK (Reuters) - Animal lovers in Thailand were thrown into confusion on Sunday over whether a Siamese cat presented to the newly crowned Thai king and his queen was a living feline - or not.

Royal officials place a chicken and a cat next to the bed of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn during the ceremony of Assumption of the Royal Residence inside the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, May 4, 2019. Picture taken May 4, 2019. The Committee on Public Relations of the Coronation of King Rama X via REUTERS

Thailand is holding three days of coronation events for King Maha Vajiralongkorn, 66, who was officially crowned on Saturday in elaborate ceremonies.

It is tradition at royal coronations to present a cat - as well as several symbolic household items - to a new monarch as part of the private Assumption of the Royal Residence blessing ceremony, which was held on Saturday at the Chakrabat Biman residence.

Cats are considered lucky by many Thais and the tradition of giving one as a housewarming gift signifies a stable home.

On Sunday morning, several Thai media outlets carried a photo of two uniformed palace officials next to what appeared to be a docile Siamese cat and a fluffy white rooster. The image, distributed by the Bureau of the Royal Household, was not captioned.

But by afternoon, the Thai-language news site Manager was reporting that the palace had used a “cat doll” instead of a live cat.


A palace official, contacted by Reuters, said: “The royal ceremony required the use of a rooster and a cat. It should not be the focus whether the animals were real or not, but instead the ritual itself is important.”

Reuters was unable to independently confirm whether live animals were used in the ceremony or the photograph


A Facebook page Maewthai.com - “ThaiCat.com” - posted a copy of the palace photo with a message from a well-known cat breeder saying he originally had been asked to select two gentle male Siamese cats for the ceremony but his cats were ultimately not used.

“I feel grateful for His Majesty’s kindness for feeling compassionate about the cats, fearing that the animal would suffer from waiting too long during ceremonies, so the cats were not used,” said the breeder, whose post did not identify him by name.

The breeder did not directly address whether the cat in the palace photo was a doll.

That ambiguity confused some Thais who posted comments online.

“So is it real or fake cat?” a Facebook user called Niphawan Rakpontee asked.

Another user named Krittaya Parichayanan said “It’s a real cat isn’t it?”

“This is likely a stuffed cat,” user Prapaporn Tongprasan said.


Thailand has strict lese majeste laws carrying prison sentences of up to 15 years for insulting the king, queen or the heir-apparent.

Historical images of the 1926 coronation of King Rama VII, the current monarch’s great uncle, show a group photo with female members of the royal family holding both a Siamese cat - a breed that originated in Thailand - as well as a rooster.

The tradition of using cats in royal household ceremonies dates back centuries, said historian and writer Sujane Kanparit.


“The meaning of having a cat is that it brings warmth to the household. It is an old court tradition that has appeared in the royal chronicles,” he told Reuters.

Asked if the cat in the palace photo was alive or a doll, Sujane said: “I have no idea.”
Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Frances Kerry


Energy industry, legal experts push back against Kenney’s B.C. pledge

JAMES KELLER
CALGARY
MAY 3, 2019 



Jason Kenney proclaimed the law, previously known as Bill 12, within hours of taking office this week, escalating Alberta’s attack on B.C. for its opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.


Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s decision to press ahead with a law allowing his government to cut off oil shipments to British Columbia faces two significant threats: a risky court battle and the possibility of inflicting pain on the province’s already struggling oil industry.

Mr. Kenney proclaimed the law, previously known as Bill 12, within hours of taking office this week, escalating Alberta’s attack on B.C. for its opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The B.C. government immediately responded with a constitutional challenge, which will have its first court hearing in Calgary on Tuesday.

Mr. Kenney has said he doesn’t intend to use the law immediately, insisting it would be a last resort.

Oil producers have been cautious about weighing in on the debate about Bill 12, though several have urged the two governments to avoid any disruption of shipments to B.C.

“We understand and share the frustration of the premier – and of Albertans,” wrote Mel Duvall, a spokesman for Husky Energy Inc., in an e-mail.

“We sincerely hope it will never come to needing to use the legislation. Any market intervention by government can have unintended consequences and shake investor confidence.”

Earlier in the week, the CEO of Suncor Energy Inc. told reporters in Calgary that Bill 12 represented a “fairly significant intervention” that would hurt the company.

“We’re hoping that through the government’s negotiations this can get sorted out, because the last thing we want to do is have an impediment in serving our customers,” Mark Little said.

And Parkland Fuel Corp., whose refinery in Burnaby relies on Alberta crude to produce gasoline and diesel, urged the provinces to find another way to resolve the conflict.

“Any measure that restricts the supply of oil to British Columbia would be negative for the economies of both B.C. and Alberta,” the company said in a statement.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers declined to comment specifically on Bill 12. It issued a statement from CEO Tim McMillan that simply reaffirmed the group’s support for the Trans Mountain expansion.

Richard Masson, a former head of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission who is now a fellow at the University of Calgary School of Public Policy, predicted that any interruption related to Bill 12 would be short-lived.

“The producers can survive a little bit of pain. It hurts them some, but it would be way more impactful on consumers,” Mr. Masson said in an interview.

“The impacts on the B.C. consumer and the economy would be felt so quickly and so sharply. I don’t think it would last weeks. I think it would last days.”

At any rate, legal experts have cast doubt on Mr. Kenney even getting the chance to inflict such pain on B.C.

Joel Bakan, a law professor at the University of British Columbia, predicted B.C. will get an injunction and Alberta will eventually lose in an “open and shut” case. He said that while provinces have the power to restrict natural resource exports in some circumstances, they can’t discriminate against other provinces – which is precisely what Mr. Kenney says he wants to do.

“Premier Kenney did not do himself any favours by directly targeting B.C. in his remarks, because that simply feeds the narrative that the whole purpose behind this law is to target British Columbians,” Prof. Bakan said in an interview.

Michael Hurst, whose Calgary-based law firm, Dentons, has argued that Bill 12 could withstand a legal challenge, said it could depend on what the eventual licensing system looks like.

"It is entirely possible that it would restrict the export of the controlled commodities in all directions,” he said. “The possibilities are actually quite broad.”

With a report from The Canadian Press
Israeli Soldiers Shoot Bound, Blindfolded Palestinian Teen Trying to Flee 
The minor was detained for suspected stone throwing in the West Bank, then shot in the groin. Palestinians managed to evacuate the suspect to receive medical treatment after arguments with the soldiers 
Yotam Berger
Apr 21, 2019



The next time someone complains about how poorly treated Israel is or how could those Palestinians have done something heinous, or worse

Share this with them

 Remember this is a daily occurrence in occupied Palestine 
This is illegal under international law and standards of Human Rights

https://bdsmovement.net/

For those you know who claim (falsely) 
That #BDS is anti Semitic (like our PM Justin Trudeau does)

Jan 17, 2019 - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reaffirmed his opposition to the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel

Apr 2, 2019 - Israeli President Reuven Rivlin met in Ottawa with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and thanked him for our country's strong stance ...
#BDS is not only fuelled by hatred, but is counterproductive to peace. Its' obsessive campaign against exclusively one country and one community can only be described as #antisemitic. Watch his full statement here: https://bit.ly/2FxfNng 

Justin Trudeau's pack of lies about BDS | The Electronic Intifada 2019

Justin Trudeau Conflating BDS With Anti-Semitism Is Dangerous ...

Nov 15, 2018As Canadian scholars, we urge Trudeau to retract his wrong-spirited comments that demonize the work students, community members and ...







TRUDEAU HAS BEEN CONSISTENT AS ALL WESTMOUNT LIBERALS ARE ON DEFENDING ISRAEL AS HE SAID SPRING 2015 WHICH WAS AN ELECTION YEAR

Justin Trudeau on Twitter: "The BDS movement, like Israeli Apartheid ...


Share this with them 

Then ask them to say two words; #FreePalestine 
Bet they can't






#Islamophobia is just the flip side of #Antisemitism 

The white supremacist & the right winger despite
their protestations to the contrary hates both equally

The average person whose ideas are those of the
Ruling class sides with Israel with no idea about
the Palestinians

Share this with them







FORD NATION 

Ontario terminates compensation for victims of violent crimesDeirdre McDade, CALC’s Co-Director of Legal Services, says the cuts are regressive, draconian and an attack on the province’s most vulnerable.

Published on: May 2, 2019 |

TIM MEEKS/THE INTELLIGENCER 



TIM MEEKS/THE INTELLIGENCER Dierdre McDade, the Community Advocacy and Legal Centre's Co-Director of Legal Services, says the Ontario government's plan to dismantle the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board will disproportionately affect women who are victims of crime and who account for two-thirds of CICB applications. JPG, BI

Dierdre McDade, the Community Advocacy and Legal Centre's Co-Director of Legal Services, says the Ontario government's plan to dismantle the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board will disproportionately affect women who are victims of crime and who account for two-thirds of CICB applications. 

Plans by the Ontario government to terminate the compensation program for victims of violent crime, currently administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB), will cause even more pain and suffering, say advocates.


The Criminal Injuries Compensation Board currently provides victims of violent crime with up to $25,000 to cover therapy, lost wages, medical bills, funeral expenses and intangible costs for pain and suffering. However, the province plans to cap awards for pain and suffering at $5,000 for all victims, even if they have suffered extensive childhood abuse, sexual assault, or were the target of domestic violence.

According to the board’s 2017-18 annual report, pain and suffering accounted for almost $33 million of the compensation claims it paid out in a year that saw 3,569 cases resolved at a hearing.

By comparison, if each of those cases had resulted in a maximum payment of $5,000, the board would have paid out less than $18 million.

Compensation for pain and suffering accounted for 95 per cent of the board’s payments in 2017-18.For 30 years the Community Advocacy & Legal Centre (CALC) has helped local victims, mostly women, to recover up to $25,000 to help compensate for pain and suffering they experienced at the hands of their abuser.

Deirdre McDade, CALC’s Co-Director of Legal Services, says the cuts are regressive, draconian and an attack on the province’s most vulnerable.

“We recover approximately $1 million annually for victims of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault. The average compensation received for pain and suffering is $20,000. These awards are life-changing and allow victims to receive trauma therapy, cover medical expenses, and move on with their lives after receiving official recognition that they were victims of crime and their recovery is recognized as important,” McDade said.

“Locally we represent about a hundred people a year and across the province they handle about 5,000 files a year,” she said.

“The really draconian thing about it is that in the past drastic changes to programs like this didn’t affect the people already in the system having their files dealt with. They just continued on through the process and it only affected new files. But this will actually change as soon as the Budget Bill receives Royal Asscent in probably in June or July. It’s really unusual to change the process for people who are already in the middle of it and who had a reasonable expectation that there would be a different outcome than there was,” McDade said.

The budget also proposed increasing the total available funding for one victim to $30,000, however, McDade said that is to cover potential expenses for victims.

“The maximum is now $5,000 and the maximum is usually set aside for children of murder victims, the most catastrophic incidents. So who knows, people could get $500.

“They’re only going to put $16 million into the new system, so they know they’re going to save money. They’ve probably over budgeted on the $16 million, I don’t think that will actually get spent because the $30,000 maximum they said they would give people is for expenses and nobody has $30,000 in expenses. We have people who had a prescription for a hundred bucks or physio for $500, nobody is going to get $30,000 in expenses because they’re probably not going to incur it. The pain and suffering reduction is the big loss,” McDade said.

McDade, who also co-chairs the government’s CICB Practice Advisory Committee, said the provincial committee was not consulted about this change or any other threatened changes, including dismantling of the CICB.

“Under this new proposed system, victims will now get significantly less compensation and will no longer have an opportunity to have their case heard before an impartial adjudicator,” she said. McDade, also observed that hearings provide victims with a sense of justice they have often been denied, noting these hearings help provide an opportunity for victims to heal.

“The CICB’s current victim-centered trauma-informed approach will soon be replaced by a bureaucratic system that reduces compensation for the most vulnerable,” she said.


The dismantling of a system that has worked well since 1971 will disproportionately affect women who are victims of crime and who account for two-thirds of CICB applications.
CALC has met with Bay of Quinte MPP and Government House Leader Todd Smith, and asked for further information about the proposed changes, and asked him to ensure that the voices of victims and their advocates are heard about these unjust changes.

“If the government cares about victims, their rights, and fair treatment and compensation, why are they making these regressive changes?” asked McDade.

The next big hit McDade is expecting comes May 14 when they find out how much is being slashed from Legal Aid.

“The government said they’re cutting 30 per cent, but we don’t know how much that is to the clinic side and we’ll find that out. We cover all of Hastings, Prince Edward and Lennox and Addington, we’re already stretched, we’re not a big bureaucracy with hundereds of staff,” she said, adding it will result in reduction of services.

The Community Advocacy & Legal Centre (CALC) is a non-profit community legal clinic principally funded by Legal Aid Ontario. The clinic was founded in 1980 and provides poverty law services to low income residents of Hastings, Prince Edward and Lennox & Addington counties. The clinic’s main office is in Belleville, with satellite locations in Trenton, Picton, Tyendinaga, Napanee, Amherstview, Tweed, Madoc and Bancroft.

For more information, visit CALC’s website at www.communitylegalcentre.ca.

FORD NATION BRING BACK THE GUILLOTINE




John Clarke

5/5/2019

At the risk of running into guillotine fatigue, I must offer one more comment on the matter. The use of this symbol of popular retribution on the lawns of the Ontario Legislature has sparked 'controversy' and, for that reason, has assumed some importance. The point is that the Tories have seized on this little incident because it gives them an opportunity to test the vulnerabilities of those who oppose them. They must have been pleased to see Andrea Horwath offer an apology for being photographed with someone whose protest sign included the words 'Fuck Ford.' The fake blade gesture offered a means to apply a bit more pressure and see how it worked. When Ford denounced the guillotine as if it were a serious threat to his life, he wanted to see who would dutifully fall in line and issue denunciations. He could not have been disappointed with the results. In the unlikely event charges are laid in this matter, the accused will count themselves lucky that NDP MP, Charlie Angus, won't be the judge because he sent out a tweet presenting their actions as an evil attack on 'civil society' itself. He was not alone in this kind of reaction.

The whole point here is that Doug Ford can't be allowed to set the boundaries for the movement of opposition against him. If it wasn't the guillotine, it would have been something else. Any union leader who talks of strike action, any social activist who makes a militant speech will breech the highly restrictive Tory rules on respectable dissent. If we are going to stop their austerity attack, we're going to have to build a movement that acts in ways that has Doug Ford gnashing his teeth and the editorial boards foaming at the mouth. We'll need to unleash social action that empties the workplaces and fills the streets and that makes a guillotine replica look like a friendly gesture.


Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan premier plans to appeal carbon tax decision to Supreme Court

Court rules 3-2 in favour of federal government; but dissenters say carbon tax wholly unconstitutional

THIS IS A WASTE OF TAXPAYERS MONEY, ALBERTA HAS THE BEST CARBON TAX WHICH IS PROVINCIALLY REDEEMABLE FOR 60% OF THE POPULATION
THIS LEGAL CHALLENGE WILL GO NOWHERE AS DID THE PROVINCES CHALLENGES TO THE FEDERAL GUN REGISTRY (EP)


Saskatchewan's Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the federal government by a margin of 3-2 in a legal battle against the federal carbon tax. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says the province will appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. (Michael Bell/Canadian Press
Saskatchewan's Court of Appeal has ruled that the carbon tax imposed on the
province by the federal government is constitutionally sound and falls within the
legislative authority of Parliament. The ruling was released Friday.

Premier Scott Moe said the decision will be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. The province has about 30 days to appeal, according to Saskatchewan Attorney General Don Morgan. The provincial government would act as intervenor in other court challenges against the carbon tax. 

"I remain hopeful for a different outcome," Moe said in the aftermath of the decision's release.
"No one in this nation should confuse climate action with a carbon tax."
Lawyers for the provincial government had argued the tax is unfair and unconstitutional. The 155-page decision was not unanimous. Three judges ruled in favour of the federal government while two ruled the law was wholly unconstitutional.
Justices Ralph Ottenbreit and Neal Caldwell were the dissenting opinions as they argued Part 1 of The Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act,which imposes a charge on greenhouse gas-producing fuels and waste, is invalid and an unconstitutional delegation of Parliament's law-making power. 
Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna speaks in the foyer of the House of Commons in Ottawa on Friday. McKenna called out political opponents of the carbon tax, challenging them to 'stop the partisan games and join in on serious and effective climate action.' (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Moe said Saskatchewan, and the rest of Canada, will be able to have their say on the federal carbon tax when the next general election rolls around. He pointed out that the carbon tax became a hot button issue in recent provincial elections and will be a factor again in October.
"It was forced on the provinces across the nation ... by the prime minister of Canada," Moe said of the carbon tax. "The only effectiveness this tax has is ultimately moving jobs out of our jurisdiction into other areas of the world, and we won't stand for that."
Saskatchewan had introduced its own carbon plan, Prairie Resilience, but did not place a price on carbon. The federal government's carbon price starts at a minimum of $20 a tonne and is to rise $10 each year until 2022. 
Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna praised the court's decision to uphold Ottawa's jurisdiction. 
"It confirms that putting a price on carbon pollution and returning the revenues to Canadians through the Climate Action Incentive rebate is not only constitutional, it is an effective and essential part of any serious response to the global challenge of climate change," McKenna said in Ottawa on Friday.
McKenna challenged opponents of the carbon tax to "stop the partisan games and join in on serious and effective climate action." She re-emphasized the court's findings that a price on carbon is "an essential aspect or element of the global effort to limit GHG emissions."
Brett Dolter, an economics professor at the University of Regina, said the decision means the Saskatchewan government must now look at how it should modify its own made-in-Saskatchewan carbon reduction plan — whether it's similar to the federal plan, or offering rebate cheques, or moving the revenue to other sectors of government which could use the funding.
Watch CBC Saskatchewan's special coverage:
"The policy can be designed to ensure people don't fall behind. That's the message I want people to realize," said Dolter. "We often talk about carbon pricing as if it's just this cost — and we often forget about the money coming in that could offset this impact."
Ontario has also launched a court challenge against the carbon tax, which was implemented by the federal government on April 1 in provinces that did not have their own carbon pricing plan that satisfied criteria laid out by Ottawa.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said in a statement that the decision from the Saskatchewan court is "far from the broad victory the federal government sought." 
Kenney also said Alberta would be joining Saskatchewan's case as it appeals it to the Supreme Court. Kenney touted his province's plan, which includes carbon-capture storage but does not mention phasing out coal. Alberta's plan instead looks at emissions targets that could force some coal plants to close or switch to a cleaner fuel to remain profitable.
"We believe that our strong plan makes a federal carbon tax redundant and that a consumer-punishing retail carbon tax — whether imposed by the NDP or by Justin Trudeau ­— is the wrong way to go. It's all economic pain and no environmental gain," Kenney's statement reads.
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs said he's disappointed by the decision, and that the province would consult its attorney general to "determine the most effective means to continue our opposition."
"The unfair federal tax does not, and will not, work within the strategies developed in New Brunswick to address one of the most pressing issues of our times," he said in a statement. 
Manitoba's Premier Brian Pallister has said his province will also launch its own court challenge.
There's also the possibility that the Supreme Court may not hear the case if courts in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Manitoba come to similar conclusions about the constitutionality of carbon pricing, according to experts.
DOCUMENT
PAGES
Zoom
Mobile users: View the document
(PDF KB)
(Text KB)
CBC is not responsible for 3rd party content