At Cirque du Soleil, a Russian and a Ukrainian Stand Strong: “Without Trust This Is Not Going to Work”

Seth Abramovitch 
© Seth Abramovitch for THR


In a dark theater in downtown Los Angeles — over 6,000 miles away from Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine — two men face one another standing on raised platforms. One, smiling and sandy-haired, is a Ukrainian named Dmytro Rybkin, 33.

The other, Alexander Grol, 34, is a black-haired Russian of Gypsy descent. Despite Grol’s gruff exterior, flickers of a dry sense of humor peek through.

Together, these two men form an unlikely alliance — and a potent artistic symbol — for these fraught times.

Rybkin and Grol are performers in Cirque du Soleil’s Ovo, an insect-themed fantasia currently installed at Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live, where it will remain for the next five weeks. The show is a slightly tweaked version of the one that debuted in 2016 and was put on ice in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with dozens of other Cirque du Soleil productions around the globe.

Cirque is currently amid a return to a robust, post-COVID performance schedule — what was supposed to be a period of great celebration.

“We went through this crisis of going from 44 shows to zero show, from $1 billion of revenue to no revenue,” says Daniel Lamarre, 69, executive vice chairman of Cirque du Soleil, visiting L.A. from Montreal for Ovo’s March 16 premiere.

In July 2020, Lamarre, then president and CEO, saved Cirque du Soleil from near extinction with a restructuring deal that saw a consortium led by private equity firm Catalyst Capital take the company out of bankruptcy and become its new owners.

But just as the show was about to go on, yet another crisis, this one geopolitical, gathered on the horizon. A high number of world-class acrobats and gymnasts come from the part of the world currently in conflict. Ovo features 52 artists from 25 countries — Russia and Ukraine among them.

Speaking on behalf of Cirque du Soleil, Lamarre avoids making any direct pronunciations on the war in Ukraine. “It’s not the first time there is crisis between countries or nationalities, but we like to see ourselves like citizens of the world,” he says. “And so do our artists. I guess the reality is, when you look to a situation like the one we’re in right now, the crisis doesn’t really involve civilians. It’s politicians. So as long as you stay away from politics and you care about people, I think then you take the right decision, and that’s what we’re doing.”

As for Rybkin and Grol, you sense there is more they’d like to say about the conflict but have been cautioned not to. Rybkin makes a statement with his rehearsal clothes: light-yellow jeans and a royal blue T-shirt, which only later do I realize recall the colors of the Ukrainian flag, which represents a yellow field under a blue sky. Grol wears all black.

The two strongmen, with forearms Popeye would envy, are what is known in the circus world as “catchers” or “porters.”

Their job is to catch and throw acrobats into the air from opposite platforms. In the case of Ovo, they are dressed as scarab beetles while doing so. They’ve been performing this act together since 2016. For catchers and for the aerialists dependent on them, it all comes down to trust.

“We have girls who are flying and the boys who are catching,” says Grol. “So they trust their lives to us. And this responsibility makes us who we are. In the show, in the act, in the circus, the responsibility forms a character, a way of living. It’s made me who I am. And I realize how much trust people give me. Then I start feeling a certain way.”

Adds Rybkin: “I want to make the girl trust me, trust me to fly. It means that I always have to catch and always have to throw very well, so they don’t have any fear. And this is the most difficult part because you cannot be super stable every day. But without trust, this is not going to work.”

Growing up in Perm, a city in central Russia next to the Ural Mountains, Grol observed his musclebound father, also a circus performer, and wanted to follow in his footsteps.

“He was a porter in acrobatics — so catching people but standing on the floor, catching them on his shoulders, that kind of thing. Same discipline as me, but a different act.”

Father and son would travel around the country in a circus caravan. “It was a big Gypsy family,” Grol says. “And you know how everybody thinks of Gypsies that they’re troublemakers? But we are not. We are not troublemakers or hooligans. We have a life of our own, views on life of our own. The way we are brought up on the road, not having the normal childhood like kids have, it’s quite an adventure.”

Rybkin came to the circus through athletics. “I was a sportsman before; I did sport acrobatics,” he explains. “I was never planning to go to the circus. For me, sport was the main goal. But after that, I realized that it can be fascinating for me, and I applied for a circus casting.” He got a job working with a circus in France, then another in Russia.

Then he was scouted for the big time: Cirque du Soleil. “Before that, life in the circus was very difficult, much worse conditions,” Rybkin says. “Here is great. We get accommodation, we get food. Everything is organized.”

For Grol, who returned to Russia during the pandemic, the chance to perform for as many as 7,000 circus fans is something he thought he might never experience again. Based in St. Petersburg, he’d travel to Perm to visit his parents.

“I was in the village. I remember cleaning my well in my parents’ place, chucking the buckets of mud out of the well. And I was saying to the circus god if he exists, ‘I really want to get back, at least once more, onstage. I would give them all I got, 150 percent. I will become the bug, inside and outside. I’ll become that bug. I will show some people some fun times.’ I send that message to the circus god.”

Rybkin is based in Austria now and was unable to return to Ukraine to see his family due to pandemic travel restrictions. “But it was good timing for me because my daughter, she was born exactly when coronavirus started,” he says. “There was no circus. I could have time to be there and help to be with my daughter. And it was even more difficult than the circus. But I’m happy that I was there, and I could see how she was growing.”

Before they are summoned backstage to continue their warmups, I ask the two men if they have any closing thoughts they’d like to share with the world.

“Peace to the world,” says Grol. “We are people of art. The artists. We present art. We’re humans, not of different points of view. There’s plenty of that in the world. The message here is that when we’re here, we spread happiness. We show them what we got.”

Adds Rybkin: “We are very open people, and we are very good with each other. And this gives us a chance to show our acrobatics. And also show our feelings to the people. And we are happy that people appreciate it.”

ROCK STAR ZAMBONI DRIVER

Vladimir Putin celebrates Crimea annexation with rally as Russia continues onslaught of Ukraine

By Tara John, Uliana Pavlova and Anastasia Graham-Yooll, CNN 

© Sergei GUNEYEV/POOL/AFP/Getty Images Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a concert marking the eighth anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow on March 18, 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin justified the invasion of Ukraine at a rally in Moscow on Friday, where his speech was abruptly cut off on the state TV broadcast in what the Kremlin described as a technical error.

Tens of thousands of people waved the Russian flag at the national stadium as they took part in celebrations commemorating the eighth year of Russia's annexation of Crimea -- which is deemed illegal by the Ukrainian government and not recognized in the West.

Speaking from a stage in front of a banner that read, "For a world without Nazism," Putin said Russia "will definitely implement all our plans" in Ukraine.

"To spare people from this suffering, from this genocide -- this is the main reason, motive and purpose of the military operation that we launched in the Donbas [an eastern Ukrainian region] and Ukraine," he said

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© Russia 24 State workers were told by authorities to attend the celebrations.

Russian state TV later replayed Putin's full speech without problems, but the Kremlin refused to confirm or deny if the event was live or pre-recorded.

Putin insisted that national unity was the strongest in a long time, even as many people flee Russia or protest against war in the streets, and as the country is increasingly isolated on the global stage.

"The best proof is the way our boys are fighting in this operation: shoulder to shoulder, supporting each other, and if need be, protecting each other like brothers, shielding one another with their bodies on the battlefield. We haven't had this unity for a long time," Putin told the crowd.

State workers were told by authorities to attend the celebrations. In an invitation given out to teachers in one of Moscow's state schools and obtained by CNN, attendees were told they would have Russian flags and should put white "Z" marks on their clothing, a pro-war symbol seen daubed on the country's military vehicles in Ukraine.

But not everyone was happy to go. Ekaterina, 26, an elementary school teacher at the school, told CNN that she and her colleagues were asked by their school administration to attend the concert the morning before. She asked only to be identified by her first name.

© Getty Images Russians hold flags and cheer during the concert that featured live music and speeches from high-profile Putin supporters.

"I refused to go because this goes against my moral principles and I told them that it is not part of my work contract to attend such events. However, I also have a friend from another school who refused to go and was fired," Ekaterina told CNN.

CNN could not independently verify that her friend was fired. SO WE REPORT IT ANYWAYS

The hour-and-a-half event featured live music and speeches from high-profile supporters, including RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Presenters and many in the crowd wore pins on their clothes with an orange and black letter Z. The hosts said "well done" when the audience clapped, and Russian pop stars and singers including Polina Gagarina sang tunes at the event.

Lyube, believed to be Putin's favorite Russian band, performed patriotic songs about honor, war and sacrifice.

Presenters, who accused the West of aggression towards Russia, also introduced Russian Olympic athletes like Dina Averina on stage while the crowd chanted "Russia, Russia."

The rally comes at a tense moment for Russia, as its military struggles to capture key cities like Ukraine's capital Kyiv and Western officials estimates the country's troop losses are in the thousands.

US and Western intelligence officials have also observed that Russia is having difficulty replacing its forces, which is having a significant impact on troop morale, senior NATO officials said on Wednesday.

"It becomes more evident every day that Putin gravely miscalculated," a senior NATO intelligence official told reporters at the alliance's headquarters on Wednesday night, speaking on the condition of anonymity to disclose sensitive assessments. "Russia continues to face difficulties replacing its combat losses, and increasingly seeks to leverage irregular forces, including Russian private military corporations and Syrian fighters."

But none of that pessimism was evident in Putin's speech on Friday. "It so happened that the beginning of the operation ... quite by chance coincided with the birthday of one of our outstanding military leaders [and] canonized saints, Fyodor Ushakov, who in his entire brilliant military career did not lose a single battle," he told the crowd.

"He once said that these thunderstorms will go to the glory of Russia. So it was then, so it is today, and so it will always be!"

© ALEXANDER VILF/POOL/AFP/Getty Images Putin gave an upbeat assessment of the invasion during his speech at the concert

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Putin appears at big rally, praises Russian troops as Ukraine fights back invasion

WE (HAND SIGN) 'HEART' RUSSIA

Rammstein Singer, ‘Matrix’ Producer Sign Pro-Russian, Anti-War Petition
Scott Roxborough 

A group of film, television and music industry figures, among them The Matrix: Resurrections producer Grant Hill, Oscar-winning director Stefan Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters) and Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann, have signed a petition condemning Vladimir Putin’s “war of aggression” in Ukraine and calling for an immediate end to the conflict.

What sets the petition, posted on Change.org Friday, apart from dozens of similar calls from industry players large and small since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, is the group’s deliberately pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian stance.

“We love Russia and the people of Russia! And we love Ukraine and the people of Ukraine!” the petition begins. The group says it stands behind the people of Ukraine “who are defending their independence and young democracy” but also pays tribute to “everyone in Russia who has the courage to protest against the war” in the face of the Russian government’s brutal crackdown on dissent within the country.

Since the start of the war, there has been a call among many in the international film and television industry to broadly sanction both Russia and Russian artists. In addition to a broad entertainment economy boycott — virtually every major film and TV company, including all the studios, Netflix, the BBC, ITV and others, have paused or stopped doing business in or with Russia — several industry bodies, including the European Film Academy, the Polish Film Institute and every official film organization in Ukraine, have demanded an all-out ban on Russian cinema.

Among the initial signatories to the petition are DDA agency founder Dennis Davidson, German actors Anna Loos (The Weissensee Saga) and Jan Josef Liefers (Tatort), the French-Polish actress Elisabeth Duda (La Belle Époque), Cloud Atlas producer Alexander van Dülmen and Austrian actress Susanne Wuest (Goodnight Mommy).

Europe’s major film festivals have taken a middle road. Cannes has barred the presence of any Russian government delegations at its festival but said it will not boycott movies by Russian directors. Berlin on Wednesday took a similar stance, saying it will ban official Russian state institutions and delegations as well as “supporting actors of the regime” from participating in the Berlinale “as long as the Russian government is waging this cruel war against Ukraine,” but drawing the line at banning Russian filmmakers, saying to do so would “suppress many critical voices” of the Putin government.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Praises Fox News for 'Alternative Points of View'

Haleigh Foutch 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had plenty of harsh words for "western media" on Friday — except Fox News.

© Provided by TheWrap

Lavrov gave an "exclusive" interview with the state-funded Russian TV news network RT, during which he praised Fox News for "trying to represent some alternative points of view."

During the interview, which was conducted in English, Lavrov took aim at "the West" and America in general, saying, "If there was any illusion that we could one day rely on our Western partners, this illusion is no longer there."

However, his comments regarding Fox News came during a diatribe about Western media. Read the full quote below.

"We know the manners and the tricks which are being used by the Western countries to manipulate media. We understood long ago that there is no such thing as an independent Western media. If you take the United States only Fox News is trying to present some alternative points of view.

But when you see, you watch other channels, and when you watch, read the social networks and internet platforms, when the acting president was blocked, as you know, and this censorship continues in a very big way and the substitution of notions whenever something is happening by the way of mass protest mass demonstrations, which they don't like, they immediately call it domestic terrorism. So it's a war, and it's a war which involves the methods of information terrorism. There is no doubt about this."

Lavrov's praise for Fox News comes as no surprise; Russian state TV has been regularly featuring clips from the network amid the Ukraine invasion, and Mother Jones previously reported a leaked Kremlin memo that called for state media to feature Fox News host Tucker Carlson "as much as possible."


Fox News hosts, and Carlson in particular, have earned consistent criticism for their pro-Putin coverage of the war in Ukraine, and Lavrov's praise comes the morning after Carlson leveled claims of slander against Texas GOP Rep. Michael McCaul in response to McCaul calling the Fox News host's show "an organ of Russian disinformation."

"In recent days, McCaul has told a number of people that this show is an organ of Russian disinformation," Carlson said on his Thursday night show. "In other words, not only are we wrong, which is fine, we are disloyal Americans. We're doing the bidding of a foreign power. That is not fine. That is slander."

"We don't care what the Russian government says," Carlson said on Thursday night's show, chalking up claims of Russian disinformation as "a well-worn Democratic Party talking point." McCaul is a Republican congressman.

OPEN & TRANSPARENT GOVT

Province rejects findings calling for release of factors behind N.S. youth jail riot


HALIFAX — Nova Scotia's Justice Department is rejecting a ruling by the provincial information commissioner that documents about a 2016 riot at a youth detention facility should be made public.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press had asked under the province's freedom of information for recommendations the department made after five staff members were injured in the Sept. 4, 2016, melee at the Waterville youth detention facility.

Backlogs at the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner meant it took more than five years for the commissioner to decide in The Canadian Press's favour last month.

But on March 11, the government advised it would not follow the commissioner's recommendations. Under the province's access to information system, which the current Progressive Conservative government has promised to reform, the only avenue to appeal the government's refusal is before the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

Information and privacy commissioner Tricia Ralph's Feb. 15 decision says the Department of Justice didn't provide sufficient support for its claim that releasing the requested information would harm the security of the facility or the privacy of those involved.

Ralph wrote that the department was refusing to release information about the risk of violence in the facility, concerns the employees' union raised and the department's response to those concerns, as well as an investigation report.

She said the department "did not establish a reasonable basis for believing that danger or harm would result from disclosure."

In its response, the Justice Department said the requested information needs to remain secret because it would provide details about security practices at the facility.

"The security practices included in the severed information are used to protect the health and safety of the staff and individuals in custody," the letter rejecting the commissioner's findings said.

The Department of Justice added that blacking out the names of those involved would not adequately protect the young people's right not to be identified under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, because there could be other identifying information.

Under the province's freedom of information system, if the provincial government rejects the commissioner's findings, the applicant faces a potentially costly and lengthy court process to enforce the decisions.

Progressive Conservative Premier Tim Houston, who in opposition was often critical of the former Liberal government for its refusal to release documents, committed in last summer's election campaign to giving the commissioner the power to make orders rather than recommendations.That would force the public agency to contest a decision from the commissioner it disagreed with rather than putting the onus on citizens.

However, the timeline for the promised change is unclear, other than it is expected to occur within the government's four-year mandate. And the new government also hasn't made a commitment to further increase staffing at the commissioner's office to help deal with a backlog of review cases.

However, a spokesman for the Department of Justice said in an email on Thursday evening that the Information and Privacy Commissioner was provided with "additional resources" to reduce the backlog last year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2022.

Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press

UPDATED

UNFAIR BARGAINING

CP Rail will lock out 3,000 conductors and engineers if they don't have a deal with the union by Sunday

THEY RELY ON BACK TO WORK LAW

Jake Edmiston 

Financial Post

 CP Rail and Teamsters Canada have been negotiating a new collective agreement since September, and earlier this month, union members voted to authorize a strike if necessary.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. will lock out 3,000 conductors and locomotive engineers if union officials won’t make a deal by this Sunday, March 20, the company said.

CP and Teamsters Canada have been negotiating a new collective agreement since September, and union members earlier this month voted to authorize a strike if necessary. While a strike was possible as of March 16, the union hadn’t yet opted for one. CP said it decided on a lockout to avoid dragging out the situation indefinitely.

“Delaying resolution would only make things worse,” CP chief executive Keith Creel said in a news release. “We take this action with a view to bringing this uncertainty to an end.”

Hours after CP gave notice of the March 20 lockout, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference said the union intends to strike on the same day, according to a statement from federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan. He urged both parties to “consider making the compromises necessary to reach a deal” before the March 20 deadline.

“We understand what’s at stake,” O’Regan said in a Tweet on March 16, adding that he and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra are monitoring the situation.

Canadian business and agricultural leaders have been warning that a work stoppage at the railway would be “catastrophic” for the flow of goods across the country, at a time when supply chain disruptions have already driven up food costs to a level not seen in almost 13 years.

This growing season, Canadian grain farmers are under more pressure than usual to produce a good crop, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has destabilized farming operations in one of the world’s most important grain-growing regions. At a time when the world needs more Canadian grain, a rail stoppage would “directly damage Canada’s capacity to act as a reliable source,” said the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, which represents more than 200,000 farmers across the country.

Company and union officials have been meeting daily with federal mediators over the past week, but “our positions remain far apart,” CP said.

TCRC, which represents about 3,000 of CP’s engineers, conductors, yardpersons and trainpersons, said the lockout threat will only sour negotiations, not speed them up.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” said Teamsters Canada spokesperson Stéphane Lacroix. “They’re upsetting our negotiators at the negotiation table. It’s really not a good strategy.”

TCRC has said the main issues are wages, pensions and work rules. But Lacroix said the main issue holding up negotiations is the work rules, since the union has been pushing for more “human” schedules for train staff.

The company noted that the average annual salary is $135,442 for a TCRC locomotive engineer and $107,872 for a conductor, yardperson or trainperson. CP said it tabled an offer on Tuesday that addressed 26 outstanding issues, but the offer was rejected.

In its lockout notice, CP gave TCRC until 12:01 a.m. on March 20 to either come to a negotiated settlement or agree to binding arbitration before a lockout.

“The Canadian economy could avoid all the pain and damage of a work stoppage if the TCRC would agree to binding arbitration,” Creel said.

Tom Steve, general manager at the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, said a rail disruption would cause serious operational issues for the coming spring planting season. Farmers depend on rail to carry crucial inputs, such as fertilizer and pesticides, but they also depend indirectly on rail to generate enough cash to cover their spring costs.

Steve said farmers at this time of year tend to sell the last 10 to 20 per cent of the previous season’s harvest to help finance planting. But if a grain company can’t get access to rail capacity, they’ll order less crop from farmers.

“They need the rail cars to move that crop, or they will not call in the deliveries,” he said. “The farmer doesn’t get paid until they dump it in the pit.”

The threat of rail disruptions is a “recurring nightmare” for farmers in Western Canada, where CP dominates much of the southern Prairies and Canadian National Railway Co. dominates the central and northern areas, he said. The geographical split means CP’s clients are likely out of options when service shuts down.

“If CP goes on strike, CN is not able to pick up all that business. It would be virtually impossible,” Steve said, adding that in 2019, a weeklong CN rail strike backed up the entire grain supply chain. Grain shippers move product every week, so missing even one week means “we’re playing catch-up” for the rest of the year.

“It’s time to start thinking about making the rail system an essential service,” he said. “How do we create a more reliable system that isn’t, every few years, held captive by the inability of railways and their unions to get along?”

The Western Grain Elevator Association (WEGA), which represents major grain companies including Cargill Ltd. and Viterra Canada Inc., said both CP and the union need to realize a work stoppage would have “serious consequences” for Canada’s agricultural sector, which is already reeling after last summer’s drought dramatically reduced crop yields.

Grain companies with operations on CP rail lines are “beholden to a monopoly service provider and do not have any competitive options in shipping grain to flour mills, grain processing facilities and feedlots both domestically and internationally,” the association said.

“The world needs Canada’s grain now more than ever, and it is unconscionable that anyone would leverage the current domestic and global circumstances to benefit their individual interests,” WGEA executive director Wade Sobkowich said on March 15.

• Email: jedmiston@postmedia.com | Twitter: jakeedmiston

Canada, U.S. shippers brace for possible CP Rail strike, latest supply-chain disruption

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square takes new stake in CP Rail worth $280 million

Union issues strike notice to CP Rail as groups ask Ottawa to prevent work stoppage


TORONTO — Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. said Thursday it has received strike notice from the union representing its engineers, conductors and other train employees.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The move is the latest escalation in a labour dispute at the Calgary-based railway that could result in a potential nation-wide work stoppage as early as 1 a.m. EST on Sunday.

CP Rail indicated Wednesday night that it had issued a 72-hour notice to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference of its plan to lock out almost 3,000 employees on Sunday, if the union and the company are unable to come to a negotiated settlement or agree to binding arbitration.

The two sides are at odds over 26 outstanding issues, including wages, benefits and pensions.

But Canadian business organizations are calling on Ottawa to prevent a potential work stoppage at Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., which could further hamper companies recovering from COVID-19 restrictions and supply chain problems.

Roughly 45 industry groups said Thursday that any disruption would hinder Canada's freight capacity and hurt the broader economy as it grapples with inflation, product shortages, rising fuel costs and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"Any disruption would further cripple Canada’s freight capacity and have a profound impact on not only rail shippers, but all shippers, including trucking and air, throughout the broader Canadian economy," the groups said in a statement.

"It would do irrevocable damage to Canadian supply chains that would extend beyond our borders and harm our reputation as a reliable partner in international trade."

The groups behind the statement included the Retail Council of Canada, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters and the Business Council of Canada.

Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan said Wednesday night that Ottawa is "monitoring the situation closely" and wants both parties to consider making compromises to reach a deal that is fair for workers and the employer.

But the industry groups want the government to go further.

"CP has stated that it is willing to immediately enter binding arbitration to resolve this matter without a work stoppage," the groups said.

"The government must do everything in its power to get the union to agree."

One of the groups that was part of the statement, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, added that it's important for the government to ensure both parties remain at the negotiation table and service remain uninterrupted because it is already a challenging time for businesses.

The organization, which represents at least 110,000 small businesses, estimates only 35 per cent of businesses have returned to normal sales and about 89 per cent of small businesses are impacted by supply chain challenges, with retail, manufacturing, and construction businesses being the hardest hit sectors.

Three in ten business owners have seen their business’ costs increase by more than 20 per cent due to supply chain issues, while 39 per cent have waited waiting more than a month for shipments, CFIB said.

"The work stoppage will cause additional burdens on many of these businesses and put their future and the livelihood of their employees at a greater risk," said Jasmin Guenette, vice-president of national affairs.

Canada's agriculture industry has also expressed concern about a potential work stoppage at CP.

Farm groups have warned any delay on the rail lines would affect everything from shipments of fertilizer and other inputs during the crucial spring seeding season, as well as deliveries of emergency livestock feed to drought-affected parts of the Prairies.

"Disruptions such as this can reverberate and have consequences throughout the entire food supply chain," said Keith Currie, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, in a news release.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2022.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CP)

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press

PERHAPS ASSAD DID

Lebanon's Hezbollah chief denies sending fighters to support Russia in Ukraine -Al Mayadeen TV

CAIRO (Reuters) - Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday denied reports about sending fighters and experts to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine, Lebanese Al Mayadeen TV reported

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© Reuters/ALI HASHISHO Hezbollah fighters sit on a back of a truck mounted with an anti-aircraft weapon in Jroud Arsal, near Syria-Lebanon border

"No one from Hezbollah, neither a fighter nor an expert, went to this arena or any of the arenas of these wars," Beirut-based Al Mayadeen TV quoted him as saying.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the green light for up to 16,000 volunteers from the Middle East to be deployed alongside Russian-backed rebels to fight in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Moataz Mohamed; Editing by Chris Reese)

Google internet cable lands in Africa, promising fast connection

DAKAR (Reuters) - A subsea cable owned by Google that promises to double internet speeds for millions in Africa arrived in Togo on Friday, the company said, the latest step in a multi-year project to provide cheaper access to users across the continent.

© Reuters/Dado Ruvic FILE PHOTO: The Google app logo is seen on a smartphone in this illustration

The Equiano cable, the first of its kind to reach Africa, has wound its way from Portugal and will double internet speed for Togo's 8 million residents, Google said in a statement.

That may be a taste of things to come for other countries set to benefit in a region where internet use is rising fast but where networks are often cripplingly slow and are a drag on economic development.

The new line will also make land in Nigeria, Namibia and South Africa, with possible branches offering connections to nearby countries. It is expected to start operating by the end of the year.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the world's least-connected region, with around a quarter of the population still lacking mobile broadband coverage compared to 7% globally, according to a 2020 report by GSMA Intelligence.

Most countries in West Africa are at the bottom of a World Bank global ranking on internet penetration.

Togo will be the first to benefit. The cable is expected to reduce internet prices by 14% by 2025, according to an Africa Practice and Genesis Analytics assessment commissioned by Google.

Google said the cable will indirectly create 37,000 jobs in Togo by 2025 and boost GDP by $193 million.

(Reporting by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Edward McAllister)

UPDATED

University of Lethbridge Faculty Association to review proposed collective agreement Saturday

Danica Ferris,  Global News

The University of Lethbridge Faculty Association (ULFA) strike is into its fifth week, but a new development shows signs of potential progress.

© Tom Roulston / Global News A ULFA flag flies at a student rally in support of University of Lethbridge faculty on Sunday, January 30, 2022. The event took place on University Drive W.

ULFA president Dan O'Donnell confirmed to Global News on Friday afternoon that the faculty association is set to hold a special meeting on Saturday to place a proposed collective agreement in front of the membership for a ratification vote.

O'Donnell says if ratified, U of L faculty could return to work as early as Tuesday and classes could resume by Wednesday.

U of L nursing students kept from practicum placements during strike: ‘It’s pretty sad’

ULFA has about 500 members, who all went on strike as of Feb. 10, 2022; the association's contract ended in July 2020.

The two parties entered mediation to try to settle the terms of a future collective agreement earlier this week.

TELL BOG TO BARGAIN

Lethbridge business sector concerned about  of L labour issues: ‘It’s troubling’

The labour dispute between the University of Lethbridge and its faculty association continues and the Lethbridge business community says it's being impacted.

© Global News The Lethbridge business community says the University of Lethbridge faculty strike is disrupting its customer base.

The province lifting most COVID-19 restrictions on March 1 was a boost for Backstreet Pub & Pizza. But despite the return to some form of normalcy, a large part of owner Lauren Kielly's client base -- university students -- has not come back with the changes.

Read more:
U of L nursing students kept from practicum placements during strike: ‘It’s pretty sad’

"We even wanted to put on student events and things like that, but that's been postponed," Kielly said.

"A lot of students left Lethbridge just because they're waiting around, so we can really feel it."

According to the U of L, the total direct annual cash flow into the Lethbridge region from the school totals $338 million.

A portion of that figure is made up by student spending.

Read more:
U of L students host sit-in protest as faculty association strike continues

Economic Development Lethbridge CEO Trevor Lewington says that cash goes into many different industries.

"The vast majority of those students, about 75 per cent, come from outside the region. So those 8,000 students are bringing money for accommodations, food and those kind of things," Lewington said.

"The university is a huge impact on so many levels."

While fewer students are grabbing tables at Backstreet, Kielly is also losing another important part of her business; employees.

"Students are the best. They're eager to work and they're a nice energy," she said. "We have a couple of staff on, but some have left."

The hope is both sides of the labour dispute can come to an agreement soon, before any long-term impact occurs.

Read more:
U of L Faculty Association begins strike

"For those students that see Lethbridge as a destination, if they're not guaranteed they'll have the ability to access classes or they're worried about professors leaving or the environment that's created once this labour dispute is settled, that could cause people to stay away," Lewington said.

"It's troubling for sure, and if it continues, it's not good," Kielly said.

The school and its faculty entered mediation on Tuesday.

Lobbying group backed by Apple, Google pushes for weaker U.S. privacy laws

MobileSyrup 

A lobbying group backed by tech companies including Apple, Google, Meta (Facebook), and Amazon has reportedly backed weaker privacy legislation in the U.S.

According to Axios (via 9to5Mac), tech lobbying group State Privacy and Security Coalition (SPSC) promoted an upcoming state privacy law in Utah as the model that other U.S. states should adopt. However, critics have called Utah’s legislation too weak.

Specifically, Axios reported that consumer groups said the Utah bill wasn’t clear about how much control consumers would have over whether their information was used for targeted advertising. Moreover, the groups said the bill’s enforcement mechanism is weak.

Utah lawmakers considered and passed a state privacy bill in under two weeks. The bill is currently awaiting the governor’s signature. Utah is set to become the fourth state with a privacy law, joining Colorado, Virginia, and California. 9to5 notes that California’s law is more along the lines of Europe’s GDPR.

States have begun stepping up to introduce privacy laws and regulations while the federal government’s attempts to do the same languish in Congress. However, there’s an incentive for a single, federal law over multiple state laws since it’s easier for tech companies to comply with one law instead of 50 individual laws. Moreover, one effective law is easier for people to understand.

Axios says that Iowa is considering a similar bill to Utah, and other states are also weighing their own privacy bills. Although the SPSC told Axios it’s trying to help align state privacy laws in the absence of federal law, it’s concerning that the lobbying group has chosen to promote alignment around weaker regulations.

Also concerning is Apple’s involvement, given the company’s strong messaging about its privacy commitments — commitments that may not actually help consumers that much.

Although U.S. state and federal regulation won’t apply to Canadians, it’s important to follow how the U.S. approaches privacy legislation as it could become a blueprint for other countries. On that note, Canada is in the process of updating some of its own tech legislation, including Bill C-10 and C-11. However, critics say C-11 doesn’t go far enough in curtailing tech companies’ ability to gather data on Canadians.

Source: Axios Via: 9to5Mac

Photographer Sergey Makarov recounts terrifying escape from Mariupol

By Sergey Makarov and Daria Tarasova 

Editor's note: Sergey Makarov, 34, a photographer from the city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, told CNN about his experience surviving the Russian siege and his eventual evacuation.

© Courtesy Sergey Makarov Sergey Makarov is a photographer from the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukraine.

On February 24, I woke up to a friend calling me. He said that the war had begun. He suggested I move with my family to Ivano-Frankivsk. I refused. It seemed to us that Mariupol was a safe place in this time. A lot of defense equipment and Ukrainian military had appeared since 2014.

Then on February 26, air raid sirens began to sound in the city. The suburbs came under fire, but in the city center where I lived it was quiet. I thought it would be like during the war in 2014 -- two houses would suffer and it would be over. In those days, many people left. You don't know how much I used to envy them.

Things had begun heating up. Every day got worse.

On March 1, I realized that it was becoming increasingly difficult to leave Mariupol. Russian troops began to take control of the roads from the city.

On March 3, electricity and water were turned off. I have not washed since March 4. Since then we have only been able to wash our hands in cold water. The mobile connection disappeared. We could not communicate. And we were forced to walk to each other on foot and share information.

Looting had already begun. In the first days of the war, I bought food and about 100 liters of gasoline. This is what ultimately saved us. In the early days, I helped people move from the outskirts of the city closer to the center.

On March 5, the gas supply to houses got turned off. It was the only thing we had left for light and heating. Before it was cut off, we could at least warm ourselves with tea. After that, the nightmare began. It was -9C (around 16F) outside at night. In the afternoon, -2 or -3C (28 or 27F). At the same time, we were hiding from bombs and air strikes in a bomb shelter. We cooked food on fires. Trees were sawn up in the yard. We couldn't get warm. No words can describe what it was like.

At first, there were only residents of our house in our shelter, but then more and more people arrived. There were 100 people in a space of 150 square meters, including young children.

It's a concrete basement without light and ventilation. As long as we could, we burned kerosene and candles. Fortunately we had a toilet.

All this time I was trying to contact people outside the city, charging my phone from the generator from the Red Cross. Many people accepted the fact that the connection was gone, but I was not ready to give up on it. From March 6-9 there was no connection at all. For a moment, I thought we had been forgotten.

On March 8, the worst began. Russia began to launch airstrikes. First with an interval of a couple of hours, and then every minute. Several times we did not have time to reach the shelter and fell to the ground to save ourselves.

I wanted to take my family out, but I would only get one try. If they stopped us and brought us back, there would not be enough gasoline to go out a second time. Those who went to the evacuation on March 5 spent the night in their cars and then came back to Mariupol. They returned and have been left without gasoline.

On March 13, my friends told me that it was possible to get out using the old road to Berdyansk. But there was a mined checkpoint and you had to drive around the mines. We decided we'd rather take the risk than stay to die in the city.

On March 14 at 12:45 p.m. we left in a column of eight cars. There wasn't any luggage, only people and animals. There were six people in our car. On the way we saw mines and carefully avoided them.

At one of the Russian checkpoints, the soldiers told us with a sneer: "It is your own fault that this happened to Mariupol. You didn't have to show off."

We had to spend the night in Berdyansk. The Russians at the checkpoint told us that the city was under a curfew, "Moscow time." So we didn't get to leave.

On March 15, we left Berdyansk for Zaporizhzhia. There were about 20 Russian checkpoints along the way. They checked our luggage, phones, messages, laptops.

In a couple of hours we reached the Ukrainian checkpoint and were free. Now we want to go as far west as possible.

See more photos from Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Multiple refugee crises across globe put pressure on Canada's immigration system

Raffy Boudjikanian 
CBC

© Wojtek Radwanski/AFP/Getty Images

 Refugees from Ukraine wait for further transportation at the railway station in Przemysl, Poland, on March 17.

The war in Ukraine forced Lina Borets and her seven-year-old son, Tymur, to flee their home city of Dnipro on a commuter train earlier this month. When it skirted too close to Russian forces, she and other passengers were told not to use their cell phones and all the lights were turned off to avoid detection.

"I told him that it was time to sleep," she recalled in an interview from an apartment unit in Wroclaw, Poland, where they are currently sheltered by a Polish family. "He believed me because it was dark outside."

Borets has not explained anything about the war to her son, instead pretending they are on vacation.

"I didn't want him to pass through that trauma," she said, though she is sure he must have questions about why his father, who stayed behind in case he is called to fight, has not come along.

The pair applied for a tourist visa to come to Canada with the assistance of her husband's aunt, who lives in Vancouver and helped get important papers like birth certificates translated and certified. With their documents all submitted, they're now anxiously awaiting a response, which can take up to 36 days.

But there is a new process, which was introduced by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada on Thursday, that would potentially allow Ukrainians to be in Canada in as little as two weeks. The emergency immigration program would let Ukrainian refugees stay here for up to three years, and apply for open working permits.

"It's actually a very exciting response that Canada is looking to offer visas, short-term visas, to Ukrainians," said Janet Dench, the executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees.

But her organization is hoping some of these measures created by the Canadian government to help Ukrainian refugees could also be applied to the myriad other crises around the world.

Dench says it would be good for the government to have a framework with objective criteria for all refugees instead of "being responsive based on a criteria such as what gets most media coverage or who has the best political connections in Ottawa to get the government to respond."
Afghan families stuck waiting

The hope for more attention was echoed by several Afghan families stuck waiting in Islamabad, Pakistan, many since October. Thousands of Afghans fled after the Taliban took over when the U.S. withdrew its troops from the country last August. About 40 families are living in limbo in that city, waiting to come to Canada.

"Now we're having a bad time, and nobody's there for us," said Mohammad Nasimi, who is living in a single hotel room with his wife and six children.

Nasimi worked with a bomb-detection crew for Canadian Armed Forces for several years, sent ahead of diplomatic delegations on roads where the Taliban were likely to have laid explosives.

"Working with the Canadian Armed Forces and the International Security Assistance Force at that time was risking, every second, your life," he said, recalling that when he spoke with his parents at the time, they would tell him, 'We never, ever thought that you're going to come back home.'"
Web of red tape

Nasimi and his family crossed over into Pakistan in October, fleeing for their lives, fearful that the Taliban could seek revenge. But they and the other families don't feel safe in Islamabad, either.

"[Pakistan] was encouraging the world to recognize Taliban," he said. "Why would you say that? How can you recognize people who slaughtered human beings?"

Like many others, Nasimi's family has already completed much of his paperwork, and gotten mandatory fingerprint ID and retinal scans done. He said the Canadian embassy has referred him to Pakistani officials for exit interviews before he can fly to Canada.

It was the same for Asad Ali Afghan and his family, who are renting a small apartment unit in Islamabad, worried the scarce funds he escaped with will run out before authorities in Canada and Pakistan cut through the red tape.

"If you don't have a proper place to live, if you don't have proper food to eat, your kids will be sick."
Help on the way, Ottawa says

The federal government said it is not buckling under the strain of fulfilling obligations to Afghans and Ukrainians simultaneously.

But since August of last year, just 8,815 Afghans have arrived in Canada. And according to the immigration department, 9,000 Ukrainians have come to the country since just the start of January, more than a third of them since Russia's invasion.

"This is the kind of thing where the competing crises around the world demand that we respond to both," said Immigration Minister Sean Fraser in an interview with CBC News.

The department also pointed to differences between each group. In a statement, it said a number of factors are out of its full control on the Afghanistan matter, such as the lack of a safely functioning airport in Kabul.

Fraser also says there are difficulties in some of Afghanistan's neighbouring countries that can result in obstacles to helping people leave.

"To the extent we can continue to work with our partners in the region, be it Pakistan or others, we're going to continue."

Meanwhile, in a statement, the Canada Employment and Immigration Union, which represents Immigration Canada employees, also pointed out Ukrainians and Afghans are not necessarily using the same streams to arrive here.

"Whereas someone coming from Afghanistan was automatically filtered through the Refugee Program, Ukraine is seeing much more uptake of family reunification and temporary residency requests," it said.

It also noted Canada has the third-highest population of Ukrainians outside of Ukraine. "Thus many have visited family members or may have already been an applicant. These persons do not need to repeat the whole process, so the landing is much faster."

But the union warned of future bottlenecks once arrivals through these streams come to an end, and more Ukrainians start having to go through the refugee system.

"We may end up with a situation similar to the one that happened in Afghanistan," it said

BOURGEOIS ECONOMICS

What is stagflation? 

Understanding the economic phenomenon that stifled growth through the 1970s

insider@insider.com (Jean Folger) 

Stagflation took hold in the US in the 1970s and lasted for about a decade.

 Jose Luis Pelaez/Getty

Stagflation is an economic condition that's caused by a combination of slow economic growth, high unemployment, and rising prices.

Stagflation occurred in the 1970s as a result of monetary and fiscal policies and an oil embargo.

Concern about stagflation has emerged as economic growth cools and inflation remains high amid the COVID-19 recovery.

Stagflation is a combination of the words stagnation and inflation. It describes an economic condition characterized by slow growth and high unemployment (economic stagnation) mixed with rising prices (inflation).

The term appeared as early as 1965, when British Conservative Party politician Iain Macleod in a speech to the House of Commons said: "We now have the worst of both worlds — not just inflation on the one side or stagnation on the other, but both of them together. We have a sort of 'stagflation' situation and history in modern terms is indeed being made."

Initially, many economists believed stagflation wasn't possible. After all, unemployment and inflation rates generally move in opposite directions. However, as the "Great Inflation" period of the 1970s ultimately proved, stagflation is real, and it can have a devastating effect on the economy.
Stagflation vs. inflation

Stagflation and inflation are related, but they shouldn't be confused. The term inflation refers to a sustained increase in the average price level of all goods and services, not just a few of them, in an economy over time. Inflation happens when the money supply grows at a faster rate than the economy can produce goods and services.

Quick tip: You can have inflation without stagflation. But stagflation always involves inflation.

© Alyssa Powell/Insider Alyssa Powell/Insider

Stagflation happens when inflation exists in tandem with slow economic growth and high unemployment. 

Typically, these economic conditions don't occur together. Unemployment and inflation tend to be inversely correlated. So, as unemployment rates increase, inflation usually decreases and vice versa. Of course, as the stagflation of the 1970s illustrated, this relationship isn't always stable or predictable.

What causes stagflation?

Stagflation is a perfect storm of economic ills: slow economic growth, high unemployment, and high prices. The two root causes of stagflation economists generally agree upon are supply shocks and fiscal and monetary policies.

A supply shock is anything that reduces the economy's capacity to produce goods and services at given prices. For example, throughout the pandemic, there have been supply shocks in:
Labor, with fewer people working
Goods, for example, semiconductor shortages, which started even before the pandemic
Services, as people postponed elective surgeries and other health-care procedures

Poor fiscal and monetary decisions also prompt stagflation. "Many things contribute to stagflation, but excess growth in the money supply is most important," says Richard J. DeKaser, executive vice president and chief corporate economist at Wells Fargo & Co.

"During the 1970s, for example, Fed Chairman Arthur Burns responded to soaring commodity prices with inappropriately easy monetary policy that allowed inflation to persist and get firmly entrenched in expectations," says DeKaser. "The record now shows that, to some degree, this was because he succumbed to political pressure at the time."
What are the consequences of stagflation?

The trifecta of slow growth, high unemployment, and fast inflation puts significant pressure on the economy.

"Stagflation is unambiguously harmful to the economy, as high inflation and inflation uncertainty distort investment decisions," says DeKaser. "It is also damaging to-fixed income markets, as rising interest rates push bond prices lower and depress equity valuations."

For households, stagflation means people are earning less money while spending more on everything from food and medicine to housing and consumer products. As consumer spending slows, corporate revenue declines, exacerbating the overall effect on the economy.
Stagflation in the 1970s

By the late 1960s, the post-World War II economic boom began to fade. As the US faced greater international competition, a drop in manufacturing jobs, and a massively expensive war in Vietnam, unemployment rates and inflation climbed.

Then, in 1971, former president Richard Nixon undertook a series of measures intended to create better jobs, remedy inflation, and protect the US dollar:
A 90-day freeze on wages and prices
A 10% tariff on imports

The removal of the US from the gold standard

Now known as the "Nixon Shock," these moves ultimately became the primary catalyst for the stagflation of the 1970s. Federal Reserve attempts to fight stagflation using monetary policy only worsened it. Between 1971 and 1978, the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate to fight inflation, then lowered it to fight the recession. The stop-and-go measures confused households and businesses and ultimately drove inflation higher.

But the US had even more difficulties. An Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil embargo on the US starting in 1973 caused prices to skyrocket. Businesses passed those costs on to consumers, but they also cut back on production (increasing unemployment) as the supply shock made goods more scarce. The price of oil per barrel initially doubled, then quadrupled, pushing inflation higher and further straining an already struggling US economy.

"The worst part of the experience from the 1970s was the aftermath," says DeKaser. "To reverse the momentum of ever-higher inflation, a severe recession was required (1981-82), and it took over a decade to wring out the fears of an inflation resurgence. It wasn't until the 1990s that investors began to seriously discount such a threat."

The bottom line

Stagflation weighed heavily on the US through the 1970s, and there have been concerns that it may reemerge as the economy recovers from the pandemic-induced recession.

Economists are closely watching the trends in growth, unemployment, and inflation along with the potential catalysts that could trigger stagflation including supply disruptions and central bank policies. Persistently high energy prices have caused particular concern among some.

While DeKaser says he's not especially worried about stagflation and sees the recent spike in inflation as temporary, he points to two main risks that could lead to it.

"First, if the Federal Reserve is too complacent about inflation, it may let the money supply get too big," he says. "Second, if the situation of temporarily elevated inflation persists for long — say, two years or more — they may get baked into expectations and lead to a cycle of self-fulfillment."

RBI wants to sell Burger King Russia stake after franchisee refused to end operations

TORONTO — Restaurant Brands International wants to sell its ownership stake in Burger King Russia after the business' main operator refused to suspend operations in the country.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

David Shear, RBI's international president, said in an open letter to employeesreleased today that the company has started the process to dispose of the stake and would like to do so immediately, but it's taking time because of the joint venture agreement.

He says his company wants to back out of the venture because of the "horrifying" attacks Russia is staging on Ukraine, but there are no legal clauses that allow RBI to unilaterally change the Burger King Russia contract or allow it to walk away or overturn the agreement.

RBI owns a 15 per cent stake in the joint venture. The other parties, who also hold minority stakes, are Investment Capital Ukraine, VTB Capital — one of Russia's largest banks — and Alexander Kolobov, who oversees the 800 restaurants in Russia.

Shear says any attempt to exit the business would require the support of Russian authorities and that "no serious investor" would agree to a long-term business relationship with flimsy termination clauses.

RBI, which also owns Tim Hortons and Popeyes, has been facing pressure to depart the country after Russia invaded Ukraine and other international brands such as KFC, McDonald's and Starbucks backed away from operating in Russia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2022.

Burger King says Russia franchisee 'refused' to shutter restaurants

By Hilary Russ 

© Reuters/MAXIM ZMEYEV FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO:

 Women walk outside a Burger King restaurant in Moscow

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Burger King's parent company said on Thursday it has not been able to close its 800 restaurants in Russia because its independent operator there "refused" to do so.

Restaurant Brands International Inc said that to enforce its contracts with the franchisee, Alexander Kolobov, it would need the help of the Russian government, but "we know that will not practically happen anytime soon," according to a letter to employees from David Shear, president, international, of the company.

It was not immediately clear how to reach Kolobov for comment.

Shear's long letter highlights the many complications bedeviling some American fast-food brands as they try to halt operations in Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

It also exposes what can become a point of weakness in international franchising, which is how most American restaurant brands expand overseas: the relationships with their independent operators.

On March 8, Starbucks Corp and a wave of other companies followed McDonald's Corp in saying they would suspend or limit operations in Russia.

Like Burger King, Starbucks does not own or operate its more than 100 cafes there.

But unlike Burger King, it had a willing partner - Kuwait-based Alshaya Group - that immediately agreed to shut its Starbucks' locations in Russia and support its 2,000 employees.

Restaurant Brands entered Russia a decade ago through a joint venture partnership with three entities: Kolobov, who controls day-to-day operations, private equity and asset management firm Investment Capital Ukraine, and Russia's state-owned VTB Bank, which has been hit by Western sanctions.

Restaurant Brands has started the process to dispose of its 15% ownership stake in the joint venture. It wants to do so immediately, Shear said, but it will take "some time" based on the terms of the agreement.

There are "no legal clauses that allow us to unilaterally change the contract or allow any one of the partners to simply walk away or overturn the entire agreement," Shear wrote.

"Would we like to suspend all Burger King operations immediately in Russia? Yes. Are we able to enforce a suspension of operations today?" he wrote. "No."

(Reporting by Hilary Russ in New York; Additional reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath, Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)

Turkey opens record-breaking bridge between Europe and Asia

President Tayyip Erdogan opened a massive suspension bridge across Turkey's Dardanelles Strait on Friday, the latest in a series of major infrastructure projects which he has prioritized during his two decades in power.

An aerial view of the 1915 Canakkale Bridge, connecting Lapseki district to the Gelibolu and to be opened on March 18, as preparations continue for its opening in Canakkale, Turkiye on March 14, 2022.

Connecting Turkey's European and Asian shores, the 1915 Canakkale Bridge was built by Turkish and South Korean firms with an investment of €2.5 billion ($2.8 billion). It has the longest main span -- the distance between the two towers -- of any suspension bridge in the world.

Such mega projects have been central to Erdogan's achievements since his AK Party first came to power in 2002, including a new Istanbul airport, rail and road tunnels beneath Istanbul's Bosphorus strait, and a bridge over it.

"These works will continue to provide profit for the state for many years," Erdogan said at an opening ceremony on the anniversary of a 1915 Ottoman naval victory against French and British forces in the Dardanelles during World War One.

"These projects have a large share in putting our country ahead in investment, workforce and exports," he said.

Last year he launched what he previously called his "crazy project": a $15 billion canal in Istanbul intended to relieve pressure on the busy Bosphorus Strait. However critics have questioned the project's viability given Turkey's economic woes, environmental risks and public opposition.

Costly venture

Ahead of national elections scheduled for 2023, opinion polls have shown a slide in the popularity of Erdogan and his AK Party, boosting the opposition's prospects of ousting him.

The main opposition CHP has criticised the potential cost of the bridge to the public purse, with media reports saying the build-operate-transfer agreement includes an annual payment guarantee of €380 million ($420 million) to the operators or a total €6 billion over the duration of the accord.

Erdogan said the price for passenger vehicles to use the bridge would be 200 lira ($13.50).

Work on the Dardanelles bridge project was launched in March 2017, with more than 5,000 workers involved in the construction.

The 2,023 meter (1.25 mile) length of its midspan is an allusion to the Turkish Republic's 100th anniversary in 2023.

It is the fourth bridge linking the European and Asian shores in Turkey, alongside the three built in Istanbul.

Its towers are 318 meters (347.8 yards) high and the total length of the bridge is 4.6 km (2.9 miles) including the approach viaducts.

Until now, vehicles travelling between Anatolia and the Gallipoli peninsula had to cross the Dardanelles in a one-hour ferry journey, which including waiting time amounted to as much as five hours. The journey will now take around six minutes.

Top image credit: Sergen Sezgin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

© Sergen Sezgin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images The aerobatic team of the Turkish Air Force perform at the inauguration of 1915 Canakkale Bridge.

© Ali Atmaca/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated the bridge, part series of major infrastructure projects.

PANDEMIC XENOPHOBIA

Hate crimes up 37 per cent in 2020, 

other crime down: Statistics Canada

OTTAWA — Canada saw a 37 per cent increase in hate crimes during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, a statistic that advocates say shows the need for awareness of what racialized citizens face.

Statistics Canada said 2,669 hate crimes were reported to police in 2020 — the highest number since comparable data became available in 2009.

That's even as the report shows the overall rate of police-reported crimes, excluding traffic offences, dropped 10 per cent from 2019 to 2020.

Statistics Canada says police-reported hate crimes targeting race or ethnicity rose 80 per cent in 2020 compared with 2019 and accounted for the bulk of the national increase.

It says reported hate crimes targeting East or Southeast Asian people went up 301 per cent; those aimed at Black people went up 92 per cent; hate against Indigenous people was up 152 per cent; and those against South Asian people went up 47 per cent.

Queenie Choo, the chief executive officer of the United Chinese Community Enrichment Services Society in B.C., said she's concerned about the rise in hate crimes across population groups.

"It's not the theme of this week or month. It's an ongoing issue," she said in an interview.

The report notes that the COVID-19 pandemic "brought to light" how Canadians of different races viewed their safety.

"We're all Canadians. There's no one less Canadian than anyone else. (Race) shouldn't be an issue in our country," Choo said.

The highest increases in police-reported hate crimes were in Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, the report says.

Kasari Govender, B.C.'s human rights commissioner, said the report's findings are not surprising.

"It mirrors closely what community members across B.C. have been saying for nearly two years about not only hate crimes, but hate incidents more broadly," she said in a statement.

Govender's office launched a public inquiry in August 2021 into hate during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she said "the pandemic has created a breeding ground for pre-existing hateful beliefs."

"We need to acknowledge the conditions under which hate flourishes in order to address it."

No rise was reported in Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick or Northwest Territories, but the report notes the relatively small population counts and number of hate crimes in the territories usually make year-over-year comparisons less reliable.

Both violent and non-violent hate crimes increased compared with 2019 and contributed “fairly equally” to the overall rise in hate crimes in 2020, Statistics Canada says.

Hate crimes targeting religion declined for the third year in a row following a peak in 2017, the report says. But the 515 incidents reported in 2020 are still higher than what was recorded annually before 2017, it notes.

The Jewish and Muslim populations continue to be the most common targets of religion-based hate crimes, it says.

Shimon Koffler Fogel, the president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said in a statement that the report should be a "call to action" for Canadians.

“This is deeply alarming when balancing the number of hate-motivated attacks against the relatively small Jewish population," he said. "We are grateful that police services across the country take these incidents seriously, but more needs to be done to prevent them and protect vulnerable communities."

There was a two per cent decrease in hate crimes targeting sexual orientation in 2020, but the 259 incidents reported are the second highest since comparable data became available in 2009, the agency says.

Statistics Canada says the increase in hate crimes in 2020 may still underestimate the number of incidents, given that not all such crimes reported to police.

- By Nick Wells in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2022.

The Canadian Press

Hate crimes under-reported in Canada, say anti-racism advocates

While on his way to the park last April, at the “height of the pandemic,” Steven Ngo had stopped at a traffic light near his Vancouver home when passengers in a car that had pulled alongside threw garbage and hurled racial insults at him.

“It was a traumatic experience, but what happened next was even more troubling,” the Vancouver-based lawyer told New Canadian Media.

Ngo then worked to develop forms in multiple languages that are now on the VPD’s website to make reporting of hate crimes easier.

He is currently documenting his experience and findings to recommend tech solutions for easier reporting of hate crimes that will be delivered to the BC Humans Rights Commissioners office later the month.

“We must make reporting hate crimes as accessible as possible. There are thousands of cases that are not reported and that’s because it is nearly impossible to report a hate crime,” Ngo says.

“The status quo doesn’t work anymore. We cannot force victims to call a phone line that no one picks up…Vancouver has an online hate crime reporting system in place, but cities like Richmond, Burnaby and Surrey require residents to call a non-emergency phone line.”

But those numbers “don’t tell the whole story,” Ngo says while commenting on a new report by Statistics Canada showing that in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, police reported 2,669 hate crimes in Canada, up 37 per cent from 2019.

The report found that while the number of hate crimes rose sharply in 2020, this may still represent an underestimation.

Statistics Canada said the rate of hate crime was highest in British Columbia (10.1 incidents per 100,000 population), Ontario (7.9 incidents per 100,000 population) and Alberta (6.6 incidents per 100,000 population).

- Between 2019 and 2020, the number of police-reported crimes motivated by hatred of a race or ethnicity increased 80%, from 884 to 1,594. Much of this increase was a result of more police-reported hate crimes targeting the Black population (+318 incidents), East or Southeast Asian population (+202 incidents), the Indigenous population (+44 incidents) and the South Asian population (+38 incidents).

- Police-reported hate crimes targeting religion declined 16% from 613 incidents in 2019 to 515 incidents in 2020. This decrease was primarily due to fewer hate crimes targeting the Muslim population, which declined from 182 to 82 incidents in 2020 (-55%). Hate crimes against the Jewish population rose slightly in 2020, from 306 to 321 incidents (+5%).

- Hate crimes targeting the Black and Jewish populations remained the most common types of hate crimes reported by police, representing 26% and 13% of all hate crimes, respectively. These were followed by hate crimes targeting the East or Southeast Asian population (11%) and those targeting a sexual orientation (10%).

- Analysis of all police-reported hate crimes between 2011 and 2020 shows that victims of violent hate crimes committed on the basis of their perceived Indigenous identity or sexual orientation tended to be the youngest among hate crime victims and sustain the highest proportion of injury.

Gurpreet Singh, a South Asian radio broadcaster and journalist, agreed that the number of hate crimes is higher than the reported numbers released today.

Together with the CEO of Burnaby-based Spice Radio, Shushma Datt, they are staging the annual Hands Against Racism campaign tomorrow.

“The recent reports suggesting spike in hate crimes during the pandemic has made the Spice Radio campaign against racism even more relevant,” he said.

The campaign includes on air conversations every year on racism from Jan. 15 to March 21, which is the international day for the elimination of racial discrimination. The campaign was started in 2015 on the birth anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.

The 2022 Hands Against Racism event can be watched live online at noon on March 19 on the Spice Radio Facebook page.

Fabian Dawson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, New Canadian Media

The Strike At 24 Ontario Colleges Has Officially Been Called Off & Here's Why


The impending strike of 16,000 Ontario college faculty members has been called off, and classes will stay as scheduled at all 24 colleges across the province.

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On March 18, the College Employer Council stated that they had virtually met at the bargaining table with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union with a mediator appointed by the Ministry of Labour.

After engaging in a 12-hour discussion, both parties agreed to enter the binding interest arbitration, which was first offered up by the OPSEU.

"The CEC and OPSEU/SEFPO have reached an agreement to enter binding interest arbitration and the strike that was scheduled to commence at 12:01 a.m. on March 18, 2022, is called off. This also includes all work-to-rule strike activities," they said in a joint statement in the press release.

The OPSEU's college faculty and the CEC have not been able to make a collective agreement for the past few months, with 62% of faculty members who voted in contract negotiations having rejected an offer made by the CEC back in February.

"A strike is always the option of last resort," said OPSEU Vice-President/Treasurer Eduardo Almeida in a release on March 17.

"As long as the parties are talking, there’s hope an agreement can be reached at the bargaining table."

Now that the strike has been called off, college students can carry on with their schooling without a hitch.

"After all that students, faculty and the College community have been through over the past two years, we felt it was essential that we put our differences aside and conclude these negotiations without a strike," said Graham Lloyd, CEO of the CEC, in their announcement today.