The 4-day work week: Who is trialing it and does it work?

Belgium will now offer employees the opportunity to work a four-day week. Various countries and companies have experimented with the idea, which is gaining traction in many parts of the world.



Who doesn't dream of less time spent at work?

Four days working, three days relaxing with friends and family. And all this for the same money. What's not to like? Surely most employees would jump at the chance. Advocates for the four-day work week suggest that when it is implemented worker satisfaction increases, as does productivity.

Belgium will now be introducing four-day working weeks for those who want it. However, employees will not be working less. They will simply condense their hours into fewer days if they want to. They will be allowed to decide flexibly on whether to work four or five days a week.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo hopes that the model will help to create a more dynamic economy and will make it easier for people to combine their family lives with their careers. But some full-time employees will be working very long days if they choose to condense their hours. Others, like shift workers, will simply not have the option of that flexibility.

DW explores which countries and companies have already experimented with the four-day working week.

Iceland: Fewer hours at full pay

Iceland tested a similar model from 2015 and 2019. However, it reduced the working week from 40 to 35 or 36 hours and maintained pay levels. Some 2,500 people took part in the test phase.

A study by the Icelandic non-profit Alda (Association for Democracy and Sustainability) and the British think tank Autonomy found that the well-being of participants had improved significantly, working processes had been optimized and there was closer collaboration between colleagues. Productivity either stayed the same or improved.

After the test phase, trade unions and associations negotiated permanent cuts in working hours. Some 86% of employees now have the right to a four-day week.

The shorter work week is a success in Iceland, whose prime minister is Katrín Jakobsdottir

Scotland and Wales: An expensive experiment

Scotland is also currently testing the four-day work week, with the state supporting participating companies with about £10 million (ca. $13.6 million). In Wales, Sophie Howe, the future generations commissioner, has also called on the government to introduce a similar four-day working week trial, at least in the public sector.
Mixed results in Sweden

In Sweden, a four-day working week with full pay was tested in 2015, with mixed results. Even left-wing parties thought that it would be too expensive to implement this on a large scale. But some companies chose to keep reduced hours for their workers. The car firm Toyota had already decided to do this for mechanics 10 years ago and has stuck with its decision.

Fake news from Finland

Finland also hit the international headlines for a brief moment, after reportedly cutting working hours dramatically. The northern European country allegedly wanted to introduce a four-day working week, as well as a six-hour day. But it turned out that this was fake news, which the government then had to put straight.

Spain struggles to start trial phase

In Spain, the four-day working week will also be tested at the request of the left-wing party Mas Pais. Some 6,000 employees of 200 small and medium-sized companies will be able to extend their weekend by one day, with full pay. The trial phase is due to run for at least one year, but it is not yet clear when it will begin.
From start-ups to corporate giants

In Germany, it is mainly smaller start-ups that are experimenting with a shorter working week. But in other countries, such as Japan, it is bigger companies that are venturing into this territory: For example, the tech giant Microsoft has experimented with the model by offering employees three-day weekends for a month.

In New Zealand, the consumer goods giant Unilever is currently trialing a four-day work-week at full pay. If the experiment turns out to be a success, it will reportedly be extended to other countries.

This article was originally written in German.

Film review: The Automat recalls a lost era in New York eateries

Chris Knight - Friday

If you could travel back in time to New York City in the 1950s, you would not find a single McDonald’s – the first one wouldn’t arrive until 1972. But you would come across dozens of Horn & Hardart eateries, more commonly known as Automats.


© Provided by National Post

Breakfast at Tiffany's, lunch at the Automat: Audrey Hepburn makes a selection.

Enter, and you’d find a gleaming, Machine Age self-serve restaurant, its nickel and brass, glass and marble construction not unlike a 19th-century time machine itself. For a handful of nickels, you could feed various slots and retrieve from tiny glass doors creamed spinach, meatloaf and apple pies. Dolphin-head spigots served some of the best coffee in America.

Director Lisa Hurwitz has crafted a loving history of the Automat, interviewing former executives and famous fans. Mel Brooks is so happy to participate that he writes and records a song, There Was Nothing Like The Coffee At the Automat.

In a whirlwind 78 minutes we learn the history of the Automat, its glory days through the 1930s and ’40s, and its eventual decline. (The last one closed in 1991.) It survives in songs, old cartoons and movies, including this wonderful documentary. The memories are so vivid you can almost taste them.

The Automat opens Feb. 18 in Vancouver and Ottawa; March 4 in Regina and Saskatoon; and March 16 in Toronto.

4.5 stars out of 5

'Amazement and happiness': Canadian sensor on James Webb telescope passes first tests

Far out in deep space, four times the distance between Earth and its moon, a piece of Canadian technology that could help reshape our understanding of the universe has passed its first crucial tests.


© Provided by The Canadian Press

'Amazement and happiness': Canadian sensor on James Webb telescope passes first tests

The systems that aim the massive James Webb Space telescope, designed and built through the Canadian Space Agency, have been used to lock on to a target star — a sign that the millions of dollars and thousands of hours spent on the signature project are going to work out just fine.

"It's extremely satisfactory seeing everything coming into place," said Jean Dupuis, a senior mission scientist with the agency. "It's a sense of amazement and happiness."

The James Webb, the result of $13 billion and more than two decades of work, is meant to be the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, the instrument that mesmerized stargazers with its stunning images of the heavens. Webb, however, will orbit much deeper in space — about 1.6 million kilometres out — and be anywhere from a hundred to a million times more sensitive.

Launched in late December, it is designed to study the nature of planets beyond our solar system and what the oldest galaxies around can tell us about the birth of the universe. Webb will be able to analyze exoplanetary atmospheres and gather data from so-called "First Light'' galaxies, formed 13.6 billion years ago.

But it all would have been a goofy-looking piece of space junk if the Fine Guidance Sensor had failed.

"(The sensor) is mission critical," said Dupuis, who was in the NASA control room Jan. 31 when operators flicked on its power switch after the long voyage from Earth.

"There was a lot of pressure on us," he said. "Everybody was very happy."

The sensor is now up and running, being used to align the telescope's 18 mirrors. It also needs to cool down to below -200 C. That's all likely to take until the summer.

Then, the sensor will be able to aim James Webb with stunning precision — down to a few milli-arcseconds.

"You would be able to point at a human hair from a couple kilometres away," Dupuis said. "It's pretty much pushing the limit of what can be done."

Things have been going well for the mission. NASA announced in December that the telescope slipped into its orbit so neatly that the fuel savings mean it could operate for significantly longer than the original 10-year planned lifespan.

It's not the only Canadian contribution to the James Webb. Its Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph, which will help analyze light the telescope observes, was also designed and built in Canada.

Canada has been part of the Webb project almost from the start. At least half of the 600 scientists in the Canadian Astronomical Society have been involved with it and dozens of scientists and engineers are part of its design team.

Canada has contributed almost $200 million since the project began in 1996. As a result, Canadian astronomers are entitled to five per cent of the telescope's observation time.

In addition to exoplanets and First Light galaxies, Canadian researchers will use Webb to study asteroids and comets close to home to the effect stars have on the space around them in distant regions of the galaxy where new stars are born.

And anticipation is building.

"I can't wait to see the data we'll get," said Dupuis.

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

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

Halal financing program helping Alberta Muslims become homeowners

CBC/Radio-Canada -

A new Albertan financing group is helping Muslims buy homes while adhering to their faith.

Interest is forbidden in Islam, locking some religious Canadians out of mortgages and banks. That means many faithful have been stuck renting as they try to save up enough money to buy a home outright.

Edmonton-based Canadian Halal Financial Corporation, created last December, works as a partner in home buying while charging fees to maintain profitability.

"Having the ability to be able to fulfil our faith and also invest in a home for the families is great," said Blanca Lima, who deals with applications as part of the Al Rashid Mosque's monitoring of the program.

She hopes to one day access the program herself.

"Inshallah, in the future, I would love to use this service for me and my family."


© Scott Neufeld/CBC

The Al Rashid Mosque has been trying for years to find a way for Muslim Albertans to buy homes without violating the tenets of their faith.

The arrangement was created in consultation with scholars and lawyers to ensure compliance with both Islamic practice and Canadian law, according to Imam Mahmoud Omar of Al Rashid.

"Everyone was working for the past two years around the clock to finally bring a product that is Islamic compliant and at the same time that protects the investor and our Muslim clients."

Each transaction is reviewed by the Al Rashid Fatwa committee before funding occurs.

Omar said similar programs exist in other parts of Canada but within Alberta they have not had the same approvals and strict oversight from Muslim leaders.

"I've been renting for as far as I remember," Omar said. "Finally, I can breathe and I can enjoy and I can say, 'You know what? Now I can own my own house, keep my faith, and I do not have to get involved with riba, with interest.'"

Years in the making

The program is only operating within Alberta for the time being but has already processed hundreds of applications.

Al Rashid has been working for years to find away the financing obstacle that has prevented Muslims from buying a home.

Together with Thomas Lukaszuk and John Stainton, the mosque developed the Sharia law-compliant program.

Lukaszuk, a former MLA and deputy premier, and Stainton, a lawyer, are the principal executives at the financing corporation.

"We finally have families who are not renters for their entire life. They can now will out the house to their children and have the sense of pride of owning their own house," Lukaszuk said.

Unlike an agreement with a bank where repeated failed payments would lead to foreclosure, he said the enterprise has a mediation process through spiritual leaders to resolve issues.

"Our biggest challenge right now is not processing and financing but actually clients are having a hard time finding houses on the market because there's a shortage," said Lukaszuk.

Taco Bell says it's not affected by the US import ban on Mexican avocados thanks to a distinction in US customs laws

mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com (Mary Meisenzahl) - Friday


A man selling avocados in Mexico City, Mexico, in February 2018. 

Edgard Garrido/Reuters

The US banned avocado imports from the Mexican state that produces the bulk of imports to the US.

Taco Bell imports guacamole, which is subject to a different set of import laws than whole avocados.

Some smaller chains say they're close to running out of avocados.

The US recently banned the importation of avocados from Michoacán, Mexico, which exports about $3 billion of avocados annually, but some restaurants, including Taco Bell, are still able to serve guacamole.

Avocado imports, like other fruits and vegetables, are governed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). About 80% of avocados consumed in the US are imported from Mexico, so restaurants that rely on them could be looking at tough times and high prices ahead.

Taco Bell, which sells guacamole as part of its menu of Mexican-style fast food, doesn't have to worry though. The chain imports guacamole, not whole avocados, Taco Bell told Insider.

"Taco Bell is not impacted by the US halting avocado imports from Mexico," the chain told Insider in a statement.

Guacamole is a processed food, and governed by different rules than avocado, which is its main ingredient, John Armonda, director of trade services at Trade and Export Control Solutions, told Insider.

"Everything that comes across the border has its own number," used for product identification, he explained, and avocados and guacamole are classified differently. He likened them to apples and applesauce, one of which is governed by the USDA, while the other is a processed food under the authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Taco Bell and other restaurants and grocery chains that import pre-made guacamole are not impacted by the ban, which is on whole avocados. Taco Bell did not respond to further questions seeking clarification on its import strategy.

The avocado ban began on Friday because a US safety inspector received a threatening phone call, Bloomberg reported. It will "remain in place for as long as necessary to ensure the appropriate actions are taken, to secure the safety of APHIS personnel working in Mexico," the Department of Agriculture told The New York Times, referring to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Experts say California isn't able to produce enough avocados to meet demand. California supplier Eco Farms says wholesale clients are already reaching out about securing their supplies, Bloomberg reported. Prices could increase as much as 25%, Eco Farms president Steve Taft said. Wholesale prices have already increased by 22% since November, according to data released in February from Restaurant365.

At Chipotle, workers make fresh guacamole daily in stores. The chain told Insider it has just "weeks of inventory available," and told Bloomberg it is working to use its network to bring in avocados from other regions, including Peru.

Smaller restaurants that don't have the same supply chain pull, like 75-unit Salsaritas, will be out of guacamole in a week, Bloomberg reported.

RING OF FIRE
Metis group, miner discuss benefits

Marathon, Ont. — The company behind a proposed palladium and copper mine on Marathon’s outskirts continued this week to reach agreements with Indigenous parties and attract new investment, while the price for the project’s main commodity continued its market rebound.

Toronto-based Generation Mining announced it has reached an agreement with the Metis Nation of Ontario (MNO) to works towards a potential community benefit agreement for MNO members.

“The agreement focuses on establishing a mutually-beneficial relationship, engagement, participation, and social and economic opportunities throughout the life of the Marathon project,” said a Generation Mining news release.

“It’s another important step for the project as it continues to move forward in the environmental assessment process,” the release added.

In the same release, Metis Nation of Ontario Regional Coun. Tim Sinclair said he looked forward to seeing the proposed mine “benefiting all of the region and the company long into the future.”

Generation Mining earlier announced it had reached a similar agreement with the nearby Biigtigong Nishnaabeg First Nation. The company has held discussions about its project with eight Indigenous groups.

If the proposed mine is approved following a review by a provincial-federal panel, it is slated to create about 400 jobs north of Marathon’s airport and operate for 13 years.

A 30-day environmental hearing into the project will start on March 14. The panel will make a recommendation on whether the project should be supported or declined, but it is up to the provincial and federal governments to decide if it can proceed.

Also this week, Generation Mining announced it had raised $7.4 million through the sale of warrant shares, and received an additional $3.6 million by an investment from Canadian billionaire businessman Eric Sprott.

Sprott “now beneficially owns and controls 16,423,079 shares representing approximately 9.1 per cent of the company’s outstanding shares,” the company said in its news release.

“We are extremely excited to have (Sprott) increase his equity ownership in the company,” Generation Mining president Jamie Levy said.

Meanwhile, palladium continued its rebound on Wednesday, selling for about US$2,300 per ounce.

Mining commodity analysts attributed last year’s price plunge to a slump in automotive sales due to a shortage of computer chips.

Palladium is a main ingredient in the manufacture of catalytic converters in gasoline-fuelled cars and pickup trucks.

Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal

Tahltan Nation becomes distributor for Swedish mining equipment company

Tahltan Nation Development Corporation (TNDC), the business arm of the northwest B.C. First Nation, is set to become a distributor for the Swedish mining equipment company Sandvik.

TNDC will resell mining equipment, parts, tools and digital solutions for Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions and Sandvik Rock Processing solutions in B.C. and Yukon.

Tahltan Nation has well-established business relations with most mining and exploration companies on their territory, including Newcrest Mining Ltd., Seabridge Gold Inc. and Skeena Resources. Tahltan traditional territory covers roughly 70 per cent of B.C.’s mineral rich Golden Triangle.

With more economic growth expected to take place in these mining jurisdictions in northwest B.C. and Yukon, TNDC is the “perfect partner” for Sandvik in this rapidly developing region, Sandvik Canada’s managing director Peter Corcoran said.

“Sandvik is committed to continuous improvement in the area of sustainability, which includes economic sustainability for the communities surrounding mining operations that Sandvik is involved in, and TNDC has demonstrated that they are highly capable of bringing this value back to the communities,” Corcoran said in a statement.

TNDC’s chief executive officer, Paul Kruger, said they look forward to working together to support the growing industry and create innovative opportunities for Tahltans, local Indigenous communities and all residents in the region.

“The future of mining lies in technology and sustainability. Coupled with the outlook for the sector and our pending expansion of fibre optics in the region, TNDC is keen to be at the forefront through this partnership with Sandvik,” Kruger said.

Sandvik’s full suite of mining products including surface and underground drills, underground loaders and trucks, stationary crushers and screens, automation and digital solutions, rock tools, and parts are available through TNDC.

Binny Paul, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Terrace Standard

Government won't elaborate on claims 'foreign interference' played role in Freedom Convoy protests

Bryan Passifiume - Yesterday 

NATIONAL POST 


The Trudeau government has yet to elaborate on claims made earlier this week that suggest Freedom Convoy-linked occupations and blockades are the work of foreign actors working to subvert Canada’s sovereignty.


© Provided by National Post

On Wednesday, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair described the protest actions — which saw hundreds of people take part in a weeks-long occupation in downtown Ottawa and bring international trade to a halt by blocking key border crossings — as an overt attempt to disrupt both Canada’s economy and democracy .

“We have seen strong evidence that it was the intention of those who blockaded our ports-of-entry in a largely foreign-funded, targeted and coordinated attack,” Blair said, accusing the movement of intentionally idling factories, halting trade and sabotaging our already-fragile supply chain.

“We will not let any foreign entities that seek to do harm to Canada or Canadians erode trust in our democratic institutions, or question the legitimacy of our democracy.”

Those statements left security consultant and former CSIS and CSE intelligence analyst Phil Gurski with more questions than answers.

“That’s a hell of an accusation to make,” he said.

“It’s a fairly alarming accusation that what started out as a protest — whether you believe in it or not is irrelevant, people have a right to protest under the charter — is actually a threat to our sovereignty as a nation.”

Liberal ministers call blockades a foreign attempt to subvert Canada's democracy, economy

Trudeau wants the 'foreign money' funding illegal protests in Canada to stop

While he said it’s clear donations from outside Canada ended up in Freedom Convoy coffers, Gurski isn’t as clear on how the occupations or blockades undermined Canada’s democracy.

“It affects our economy, especially the blocking of the Ambassador Bridge because of the amount of trade that crosses between Detroit and Windsor, but how does it undermine our sovereignty as a nation?” he asked.

“How is Canada any less sovereign because of protests?”

With today’s ease in moving money — either by online crowdfunding or using cryptocurrency — the spectre of antagonistic or controversial movements benefiting from “foreign funding” has become a moot point these days, particularly when they’re organizations transplanting themselves into Canada from the United States or elsewhere.

Last Sunday’s donor list leak from the hacked website of the Freedom Convoy’s crowdfunding site threw some doubt over allegations the movement was awash in foreign money.

While a good portion of the $8-million contained in the leak did originate out-of-country, most of the money raised was donated by Canadians.

“I don’t doubt that there are foreign actors involved, I don’t doubt there’s money coming in from the States,” Gurski said.

“But if they’re suggesting that there are other actors that have somehow directed — not just funded — and pulling the strings from abroad, that would mean we have a foreign interference problem.”

He also questions why the government would so casually drop such a startling revelation without providing more information.

“In the past they haven’t hesitated to say ‘the Russians did this’ or ‘the North Koreans did this,’ or ‘the Chinese did this,’ ” Gurski said.

“So why so reticent about who the foreign actors are in this case?”

While inquires to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino went unacknowledged, a spokesperson for Blair replied to the National Post’s requests for clarity with details on the tools Wednesday’s invocation of the Emergencies Act would provide to law enforcement.

While the government’s ability to quote sources is naturally restricted if the intelligence did come via CSIS, Gurksi concedes the real message is buried somewhere beneath the spin and political narrative.

“Governments use intelligence in interesting ways,” he said.

“They choose to release certain details based on what they’re trying to get across.”

Foreign meddling in Canada’s affairs is nothing new, Gurski said — pointing to reports issued last year by CSIS that both China and Russia are responsible for levels of espionage and interference unseen since the end of the Cold War.

“It is made up of so many disparate elements, some of which I would agree are problematic in that they may be members of groups that could, potentially in some situations resort to violence,” Gurski said.

He also dismissed claims describing the situation as “domestic terrorism.”

“This is many things, but it’s not terrorism,” said Gurski, who specialized in homegrown terrorism and radicalization during his intelligence career.

Thursday’s violent attack against workers at a Coastal GasLink work site in Northern British Columbia , he said, fits the definition of domestic terrorism far better than anything he’s observed with the Freedom Convoy.

Blair’s comments came as no surprise to Royal Military College and Queen’s University professor Christian Leuprecht, who recalled being ridiculed early on for questioning the influence of foreign interference in the Freedom Convoy.

“Nobody in Canada amateurishly raises $10-million dollars in a matter of days,” he said.

“The government has not divulged what their sources are, but clearly for the minister’s come out and say this unequivocally, both FINTRAC and CSIS have pretty hard evidence.”

Leuprecht said the government has no excuse to feign surprise over how the Freedom Convoy turned out.

“It’s only new to a government that’s been sitting on its hands since 2013 and done nothing about it,” he said.

“They either decided it wasn’t a priority or decided it was too controversial.”

As reported Thursday in the U.K. Guardian, intelligence provided by Canada’s Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre (ITAC) suggests officials were warned well before the Freedom Convoy’s arrival in Ottawa that extremists were entrenched in the movement , and were prepared to use “rudimentary capabilities,” including trucks, fuel and cargo and fuel to disrupt infrastructure.

While occupations and extremism were forecast, ITAC determined that a Jan. 6-style siege on Canada’s houses of government was unlikely.

Leuprecht said Blair’s comments — and the Trudeau government’s reaction to the crisis — speakers of larger, institutional problems that the convoy has laid bare.

“Our national security comes under stress from a couple of thousand occupiers that are externally funded, and totally collapses on itself,” he said.

“This suggests our entire national security process is not fit-for-purpose for the 21st century.”

“The Liberal Government has nobody to blame but itself.”

Five unpleasant encounters between convoy supporters and the Ottawa media caught on video

by Charlie Smith on February 18th, 2022 

• 

• TVA's Raymond Filion was shoved to the ground during a live report.

With the Ottawa protests coming to a close, there will likely be far fewer encounters between national reporters and those who've been ocupying the national capital for 22 days.

And that might mean a whole lot less targeting of journalists in the future.

"Every news crew has been harassed repeatedly trying to work," CTV's Glen McGregor tweeted after journalist Raymond Filion was shoved to the ground during a live report.

McGregor's colleague, Annie Bergeron-Oliver, tweeted that she's been told to go home and hang herself.

One thing is clear—many of these vaccine-mandate opponents have no use for the mainstream media.

That's obvious in "The Media Is the Virus" protests that take place outside TV news stations every couple of weeks in many cities.

Below, you can see five examples of reporters trying to do their jobs under difficult circumstances in Ottawa.

1. Journalist Raymond Filion is pushed from behind while doing a live report.

2. Evan Solomon is harassed by a strange man. 

3. Global's Sean O'Shea is repeatedly interrupted while doing a live standup from the field.

4. Global's Sean O'Shea is lectured about media law by someone who doesn't know much about media law.

5. Convoy spokespeople shut down a news conference after being asked if any of the protesters have guns.

Charlie Smith

 @charliesmithvcr

Charlie Smith has been editor of the Georgia Straight since 2005. Before that, he was the paper's news editor.

Protecting infrastructure from the 'freedom convoy' could forever silence legitimate dissent

Philip Boyle, Associate Professor, Public Safety, University of Waterloo
Tue., February 15, 2022

Traffic flows over the Ambassador Bridge joining Detroit and Windsor, Ont., a day after protesters who were blocking it were cleared by police under Ontario's declaration of emergency. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Invocation of emergency measures may succeed in breaking the “freedom convoy” siege of Ottawa and restoring the flow of people and goods across the Canada-United States border (estimated to be $300 million a day at the Ambassador Bridge alone).

But we should be concerned that powers instituted in the midst of crises could become permanent fixtures. A plausible outcome of the current crisis is enhanced police powers to stifle legitimate public dissent in the future.

Despite the gravity of Emergencies Act being invoked temporarily at the federal level for the first time, this outcome is most pernicuous at the provincial level.

Read more: Canada in crisis: Why Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act to end trucker protests

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s declaration of emergency on Feb. 11 contained provisions for enhanced police powers in relation to “critical infrastructure” described as “international border crossings, 400-series highways, airports, ports, bridges and railways.”

Ford said he had “every intention” to make the temporary emergency measures pertaining to critical infrastructure “permanent in law” as soon as possible.
Assigning points to infrastructure risks

For much of the Cold War, the federal government operated a civil defence program known as the vital points program, which is a rough precursor to what we recognize today as critical infrastructure.

What I’ve learned from researching 50 years of these efforts is that what’s deemed “vital,” “essential” and “critical” to a country is shaped by expectations of the threats and sources of vulnerability that prevail in a given period.

For example, the list of vital points compiled in 1958 (about 150) to protect civilian industry from sabotage is quite different from the list of vital points crafted only a few years later when the threat of a nuclear strike became a distinct possibility (about 500). It looked different yet again in the 1970s after the FLQ crisis (about 8,000).

Each of these lists are glimpses at what was deemed to be important in relation to political calculations on threats, vulnerabilities and collective priorities of the time.

Today there are multiple sources of danger to society: climate change, pandemics and extremist-driven social unrest directed at democratic institutions. Yet the focus on distinct risks to society is almost exclusively economic in nature, particularly the national competitiveness of our largest industries.

Highway 1 is seen covered in flood waters looking towards Chilliwack, B.C., in November 2021 after massive rainfall and flooding. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

In other words, in an era of neoliberal economic expansion in which global competitiveness is paramount, what gets counted as “critical” infrastructure is what links local and regional economic activity to global economic flows.

Read more: What exactly is neoliberalism?

While this may seem as obvious and invisible as water is to a fish, the benefit of a historical perspective is in revealing how contingent, fragile and above all recent this particular understanding of critical infrastructure is.

And made invisible in these calculations are the more endemic sources of harm that afflict our most vulnerable and politically powerless populations, such as the lack of safe drinking water for Indigenous and northern communities in Ontario. This and other infrastructure deficits that can be life-or-death for some communities literally do not get accounted for in what is considered “critical” today.
Enhances police powers

Ford’s emergency order is intended to enhance police powers in relation to the material systems of global capitalism.

Just look at the Toronto G20 protests for a cautionary tale of how these powers can be misused. The province drew upon the Public Works Protection Act of 1939, which enhanced police powers to secure “any railway, canal, highway, bridge, power works, or any other public works.”

While the public works designation applied to the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre and surrounding security fence, deliberate obfuscation over the limits of the designation led police to arrest people across the downtown core, which contributed to the largest mass arrests in Canadian history.

Police club a crowd of activists during the protest at the G20 Summit in Toronto in June 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

And even if comparable powers are used with restraint today, the sheer density of locales that could be construed as “critical” to some form of important economic activity could make cities like Toronto, Vancouver or Montréal effectively no-go zones for displays of public dissent.

Protests, if allowed to occur at all, will have fewer and less strategic places to be visible at all.
Shutting down dissent

Legislation in other provinces, such as Alberta’s Critical Infrastructure Defence Act, may provide a model for what Ford envisions for Ontario. Or we may see the cobbling together of existing laws to regulate public dissent in the vicinity of critical infrastructure.

Ontario Provincial Police officers make arrests at a 2020 rail blockade in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory as they protest in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en Nation hereditary chiefs attempting to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline on their traditional territories. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Who loses most? Racialized and marginalized populations whose protest movements who are already subject to ongoing forms of monitoring, infiltration, violence and pre-emptive police action that were conspicuously missing from the convoy now occupying Ottawa.

For them, protesting the conditions of white settler liberalism may be further constrained by enhanced powers to secure critical infrastructure once the immediate crisis has passed.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Philip Boyle, University of Waterloo.

Read more:

Dismantling ‘freedom convoy’ must be coupled with education on the dangers of extremism

Like the truck-machines in ‘Mad Max,’ the ‘freedom convoy’ relies on access to fuel

Philip Boyle receives funding from the University of Waterloo and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Kenney to table motion in Alberta Legislature opposing invocation of federal Emergencies Act

By Paula Tran Corus Radio
Posted February 17, 2022 



Almost two hours after warning demonstrators that their window to leave the Ottawa was closing, police arrested a number of individuals from the convoy blockade near Parliament Hill on Thursday.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney plans to table a motion opposing the invocation of the Emergencies Act when the Alberta Legislature resumes next week.

In a video posted to Twitter on Thursday, Kenney said the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act “disturbs (him) greatly.” He also said the Act sets a dangerous precedent because it allows the federal government to freeze people’s bank accounts without a court order.

“This is outside of our democratic norms and it’s disproportionate. Yes, the law must be enforced, but we can do that in Canada without resorting to these kinds of extreme measures,” said Kenney in the video.

The tweet comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time on Monday in response to the so-called “freedom convoy” that has gripped Ottawa for 21 days.

The act gives the government never-before-used emergency powers to support provinces in ending the blockades and public disorder.

It also comes after four people were charged with conspiracy to murder after an Alberta RCMP raid on the Coutts border blockade.

READ MORE: Tamara Lich, convoy organizer, arrested amid ‘major’ push to oust blockade

Kenney has previously disagreed with the use of the Emergencies Act in Alberta, deeming it “not necessary.”

“I think at this point, for the federal government to reach in over top of us without offering anything in particular would frankly be unhelpful,” Kenney said during a press conference on Monday.

“I think we need to find ways to effectively enforce without escalating the situation.”

READ MORE: Kenney says federal government’s use of Emergencies Act ‘not necessary’ in Alberta

Two other independent Alberta MLAs have also condemned the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act.

Central Peace-Notley MLA Todd Loewen and Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes also called the use of the act “extreme” in a joint press release published on Thursday.

“Alberta must fully and forcefully push back against Justin Trudeau’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act,” said Barnes.

The Alberta Legislature is scheduled to resume next Tuesday.