NCN’s first female chief wants to focus on housing, healing and opportunity

Dave Baxter Local Journalism Initiative reporter 

A northern Manitoba First Nation has elected its first female chief and the community’s new leader says she plans to get to work immediately looking for ways to improve the lives of those living in her community.


The Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) has voted in Angela Levasseur as the community’s newest Chief, and Levasseur will be the first female to ever hold that position in NCN, when she is officially sworn in on Sept.6. 

Handout photo© Provided by Winnipeg Sun

“I want to help our people achieve self-sufficiency,” newly-elected Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) Chief Angela Levasseur said on Tuesday.

“I don’t want to see the continuation of First Nations people and Indigenous people depending on the government. I believe we are capable of producing our own revenue and I want to see a community where no one is left behind.”

Last week voters in NCN, a remote First Nations community more than 850 kilometres north of Winnipeg and about 65 kilometres west of the city of Thompson, voted in Levasseur as chief, and she will now step into the role with an impressive background and resume.

Levasseur recently completed a law degree, specializing in Indigenous Law, at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Minnesota, while she also holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Education, and a Post-Baccalaureate degree in education from the University of Manitoba.

She said she believes that education is very important for helping people in her community and other First Nations to succeed.

“I really strongly support education for my people,” Levasseur said. “I do believe education and training are keys to improving conditions for First Nations people.”

Related video: Southern Manitoba First Nations walk to raise support for new health authority

Duration 2:01  View on Watch

According to Levasseur, the biggest problem facing NCN community members currently is a lack of quality and affordable housing, which she said often forces multiple people and multiple families to live under one roof in the community that is home to approximately 3,000 on-reserve members.

“The most pressing need is housing for sure,” she said. “Things have really not changed in a very long time. In many ways, the conditions have gotten worse because our growth is happening exponentially and the building of homes does not match that growth.

“There is severe overcrowding and for most people, the most important thing in their lives is their home, it’s important to get a good night’s sleep, it’s important to be able to take care of your family, and give people a safe space to raise children, and a lot of people just don’t have that.”

Levasseur said she also knows there needs to be a focus on supporting the community’s children and youth, as she said when she worked as a teacher she would sometimes visit student’s homes in NCN, and see as many as 16-20 people living in one small house, and she saw how those living conditions affected students.

“I found some kids were really struggling because of their living conditions and dealing with a lack of sleep or often not even having their own bed, so I also really want to have our community work together to build pathways for our children,” Levasseur said.

According to Levasseur, she would like to see more NCN residents trained in skills that would allow them to build homes and work on other construction-related jobs and projects in the community, as there is a need for homes, but also for jobs and employment, and for people to build those homes.

“Let’s get people trained and trained in trades that can be used in the community, because we need to bolster employment, “she said. “And when we do, that is how we create that self-sufficiency.”

In her community, and in First Nations communities across the country, Levasseur said there is also a great need for healing from the many traumas that many Indigenous people have faced over successive generations.

“Empowerment is very important as a result of the many traumas brought on by colonization,” Levasseur said. “Many of our people are suffering from collective historical and intergeneration trauma.

“I want to focus on having our people heal, and focus on reconciliation, so we can move forward in a good way.”

Levasseur will be officially sworn in as Chief of NCN on Sept. 6.

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

Reflections on the Pope’s Apology – Another perspective on Healing

Yesterday 

(ANNeww) – On June 24, Pope Frances came to Maskwacis, to deliver an apology on indigenous soil at the former site of one of Canada’s largest Indian Residential Schools on Ermineskin Cree Nation.

The visit stirred up a lot of mixed emotions within the four nations of Maskwacis and many people were conflicted about attending; a lot of their seats were empty during the Pope’s visit. Maskwacis is in many ways still on a very active healing journey. On the morning of the Papal Visit, a young man was brutally murdered in Montana First Nation. Intergenerational trauma continues to play havoc in the community. If you dig into the background of most of the crimes, violence, trauma, and murders, the root cause is often residential schools and aggressive programs of forced assimilation.

Patrick Buffalo is a former leader of the Samson Cree Nation, and he is a well-respected member who has dedicated his life to healing and wellness through his therapy ranch where agencies and people with post-traumatic stress come to be helped with their relationship building.

In an interview, Buffalo offered his insights on the Papal visit. “I started my healing journey years ago and I didn’t need the Pope’s apology,” he said. First and foremost, the apology is about healing, he explained, and some people believe they need somebody else to feel better.

According to Buffalo, the messaging behind the Pope’s visit, was that now that an apology has been delivered, Indigenous peoples of Canada can start healing, but for some, like him, it started 30 years ago.

Buffalo says that the healing journey is a personal choice that each Indigenous person must make for themselves.

“Some people believe in forgiveness; some people believe in making amends and some people believe in an apology,” said Buffalo. “They believe somebody will make them feel better and they need others to make them feel better.”

“It’s all a choice.”

For him, the Pope represents The Catholic Church and a Christianity-led colonization, that enforces rigorous efforts towards forced assimilation.

Related video: Residential school survivor, Indigenous leader respond to Pope's use of word genocide    Duration 2:21  View on Watch

“Many of our people in Maskwacis spoke about decolonization, and some of our leaders and members are so colonized that they do not recognize that Christianity is the core of colonization,” said Buffalo.

“Some of our people’s colonization mindset still honours and believes in a Great White Pope, and that it takes a Great White Pope. That reflects where the community is in terms of colonization and decolonization.”

“We have leaders who go to church and do the rosary once a week – they are colonized. That’s what the residential schools were designed for to kill the Indian and save the child,” explained Buffalo.

And yet so many people are stuck in that mindset of our victimhood, he added, noting that his definition of healing is taking ownership of who you are and what you create, making positive choices.

There is no room for victimhood, said Buffalo. No room for blame – just ownership and choices.

The purpose of the Pope being here was for healing, he added, and what we need to do is let go of the heaviness that we carry based on past experiences.

Buffalo offers advice on letting go of past trauma, and that’s recognizing that anger is a secondary emotion, don’t hide it, bring it front and centre, feel it, and decide if you can let it go. Verbalize what hurt you and say I let this hurt go, I let this disappointment go.

There are many paths to wellness and Buffalo, a facilitator of healing, does this work on his ranch in Maskwacis with horse therapy, based on the therapeutic power of communing with horses.

He also offers this program through Maskwacis Mental Health; he recommends it for people in active addiction, PTDS, childhood abuse victims, abuse victims, and people who have experienced trauma in their lives.

Buffalo invites our readers to watch Breaking Stigmas, at

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=iCrU-YshDUU

Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News

Who is Mary Peltola? The Democrat leads Sarah Palin for Alaska's House seat

Merdie Nzanga, USA TODAY - Yesterday

Mary Peltola is the only Democrat running to replace the late Republican Rep. Don Young for the state's at-large congressional seat, which he held for nearly 50 years.

If Peltola wins, she will be the first Alaska native to serve in Congress.

Alaska primaries: Liz Cheney, Trump foe, loses Wyoming primary; Murkowski, Tshibaka to face off in Alaska: primary recap

Peltola, former Gov. Sarah Palin and Nick Begich are running in both a special election to fill out the rest of Young's current term and in the general election for a new term. All three candidates advanced out of the primary to the election in November.


Mary Peltola, a Democrat seeking the sole U.S. House seat in Alaska, speaks during a forum for candidates on May 12, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska.© Mark Thiessen, AP

Alaska's new ranked-choice voting system allows the top four candidates to proceed to the general election, regardless of a political party.

Here is what to know about Peltola.

 
Who is Mary Peltola?

Mary Sattler Peltola was born in Anchorage, Alaska. Peltola, 48, went to the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Alaska. She established the lobbying firm Sattler Strategies.

Peltola is a Yup'ik woman, and if she is elected, she would be the first Alaska native in Congress.

She served as the executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, and a councilwoman in Bethel, a small city in Alaska, from 2011-2013, according to the New York Times.
Peltola's political beliefs

Peltola said in an interview with Anchorage Daily News that Congress should act to preserve abortion access and codify Roe v. Wade.

While she said that guns are part of Alaskan culture, she said she wants commonsense actions to be taken on guns. Provisions such as "secure storage laws, reasonable waiting periods, and universal background checks can make all of us safer while still preserving the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment," Peltola told Anchorage Daily News.

Alaska special election results

Unofficial results in the special election are expected Aug. 31.

The latest results of the special election show Peltola leading the race at 39.6%, Palin is behind at 30.9%, and Begich in third place at 27.8%, Anchorage Daily News reports, based on a new batch of results released Friday.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Mary Peltola? The Democrat leads Sarah Palin for Alaska's House seat

Tesla faces proposed class action lawsuit in the U.S.

MobileSyrup - Yesterday


Tesla is facing a proposed class action lawsuit over a phantom braking problem.



The California-based Tesla Model 3 owner who filed the suit states the problem causes vehicles to abruptly stop without any obstacles in their way and is a “nightmare,” according to Reuters.

The complainant, Jose Alvarez Toledo, states the automaker rushed its vehicles to market with technology that isn’t safe.

“When the sudden unintended braking defect occurs, they turn what is supposed to be a safety feature into a frightening and dangerous nightmare,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit, which covers U.S. Tesla owners facing the same issue, also states Tesla didn’t disclose safety risks related to Autopilot.

The California-based Tesla Model 3 owner who filed the suit states the problem causes vehicles to abruptly stop without any obstacles in their way and is a “nightmare,” according to Reuters.

The complainant, Jose Alvarez Toledo, states the automaker rushed its vehicles to market with technology that isn’t safe.

Related video: Tesla hit with proposed class action over phantom braking issue
Duration 1:47  View on Watch

“When the sudden unintended braking defect occurs, they turn what is supposed to be a safety feature into a frightening and dangerous nightmare,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit, which covers U.S. Tesla owners facing the same issue, also states Tesla didn’t disclose safety risks related to Autopilot.

MISSISSIPPI

Everyone knew Jackson's water crisis was coming

Zachary B. Wolf - Yesterday 

While drought has parched the West and threatens the region’s water supply, in Jackson, Mississippi, it’s deluge that’s overwhelmed the water system and threatens normal life.

Flooding taxed the city’s frail water system, leaving many unable to flush toilets.

What’s more shocking is that this is becoming a routine occurrence in Jackson. Residents had already been under a boil-water notice since late July. It wasn’t the first time.

Freak storms. In February 2021, it was a freak winter storm that froze and burst pipes and left many residents without water for a month.

A broken system. In January of this year, the Clarion Ledger published a report from Jerry Mitchell of the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting that detailed the problem: erupting sewer lines unable to deal with rainstorms, leaking 100-year-old pipes, faulty meters, malfunctioning water treatment plants, an understaffed water utility unable to keep up and a lack of money devoted to any one problem, much less all of them.

A visit from the EPA. Back in November, when the Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan visited Jackson to talk about water equity, he saw the city’s issues for himself.

A local school he visited was cleared out earlier that morning due to low water pressure, and that same evening, officials issued a boil-water notice due to what they said was a “bad batch of chemicals” used to clean the water, according to a local report.

Soon after, Regan referenced Jackson when he announced the EPA would give Mississippi $75 million from the bipartisan infrastructure law for water projects. The money is to be split across the state.

“We have been actually lifting up our persistent water challenges for the better part of two years, crying out for any assistance that we could get,” Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, a Democrat, said on CNN on Tuesday.

Jackson resident and Mississippi state Rep. Ronnie Crudup Jr. told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on Tuesday that his family couldn’t boil water Monday night because there was nothing but air coming out of the faucets.

By Tuesday morning, discolored water was coming out of his faucets, which he could use to flush his toilets. But the discolored water is unsafe to drink.

“This is something that has been occurring for years, but sometimes it takes these catastrophes to make sure that this disaster comes to light,” he said.

The state steps in. Concerned there’s not enough water pressure to fight fires, the state’s governor stepped in on Tuesday to activate up to 4,500 members of the National Guard. Read CNN’s full report.

“We will do everything in our power to restore water pressure and get water flowing back to the people of Jackson,” the state’s Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Tuesday.

Related video: South Jxn Water Problems

ONGOING WATER CRISIS NOW IN IT'S 28TH DAY.

Duration 0:55 View on Watch

But the state did not help earlier. The city asked for $47 million to get ahead of the crisis with water and sewer repairs after the 2021 storm. The state’s legislature gave Jackson only $3 million, according to a report from CNN in April.

Help for crumbling infrastructure. The need to address the problem of crumbling infrastructure is something that has bipartisan agreement. Republicans and Democrats in Washington came together to pass the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law last November.

Of Mississippi’s four US House members, only one, Rep. Bennie Thompson, voted to spend money on things like water resources. In the Senate, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi was among the Republicans who helped the bill defeat a filibuster to become law. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith opposed the spending. See how your senators voted for the infrastructure package.

It’s probably not enough money. The infrastructure law dedicates $283 million for water infrastructure, according to Wicker, but as of July, a White House information sheet lists $75 million in this type of funding for the entire state for fiscal year 2022, most of which is focused on lead pipe replacement.

Jackson’s mayor has said his city “literally” needs $1 billion for its entire water system to be replaced.

A disagreement on funding. A separate bill, the American Rescue Plan, passed by only Democrats during the pandemic, also created funding for water programs. Mississippi is making these funds available through a grant program in which it will split costs with cities like Jackson, according to the nonprofit Mississippi Today.

Lumumba and Reeves have previously disagreed on exactly how much money Jackson got from the American Rescue Plan: In early August, Reeves accused Lumumba and the city of squandering $90 million in Covid-19 relief funds. Lumumba said the city got only around $44 million and that the money went to the water system and public safety, according to a WJTV report from before the floods but during the boil-water notice.

Splitting costs. Reeves also made clear in his disaster declaration statement that he would be splitting costs for the emergency actions with the city.

Problems for a decade. The EPA has cited Jackson multiple times over the past decade, including most recently in July 2021 demanding plans to fix the water system.

Camerota asked Crudup Jr. whom he would blame for the situation.

“I’m not here to play the blame game right now. We’ve been passing this buck around for years. This thing has been decades in the making,” Crudup Jr. said. “Even the last two years, we’ve been dealing with things over and over again, and so I’m just glad right now that the governor has decided to go ahead and step up to the plate and help us out right now.”

A lot of people worry about drinking water. Clean, safe drinking water is a top environmental concern of Americans.

A majority, 56%, said in a 2021 Gallup survey that they worry a great deal about pollution of drinking water. An additional 24% worry a fair amount about drinking water.

But people are not as worried as they used to be – 72% said they were worried a great deal about pollution back in 2000. Democrats tend to be more worried than Republicans.

In separate polling in May of this year, Pew Research Center’s director of political research Carroll Doherty notes that lower-income adults were more likely to cite the safety of drinking water as a problem for their local communities. Black Americans were also more likely than White and Hispanic people to cite the safety of drinking water as a problem.

That communities of color are more likely to be affected by water issues is a well-documented and sad phenomenon.

A government-appointed civil rights commission in Michigan found that systemic racism helped contribute to the Flint water crisis. Read more from CNN’s reporting in 2017.

Years later, as Politico reported in 2020, many Flint residents still don’t trust the water.

Pakistan floods caused by 'monsoon on steroids,' says UN chief in urgent appeal

Sophia Saifi - Yesterday 



UN Secretary General António Guterres on Tuesday launched a flash $160 million appeal for flood-ravaged Pakistan, where more than 1,100 people have been killed and 33 million others impacted in one of the worst monsoon seasons in over a decade.

See volunteers use bed frame to rescue people from deadly floods

View on Watch

The appeal comes as Pakistani officials said the floods had already caused more than $10 billion in damages and urged more international assistance.

“The Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids – the relentless impact of epochal levels of rain and flooding,” Guterres said during the appeal’s launch.

“As we continue to see more and more extreme weather events around the world, it is outrageous that climate action is being put on the back burner as global emissions of greenhouse gases are still rising, putting all of us – everywhere – in growing danger,” he said.

“Let’s stop sleepwalking towards the destruction of our planet by climate change,” he said. “Today, it’s Pakistan. Tomorrow, it could be your country.

Images of water gushing down streets, swallowing villages and destroying bridges serve as a stark reminder of the inequities of the climate crisis, which impacts the developing world disproportionately. Richer countries also bear a much larger historical responsibility for the crisis in the first place.

Pakistan last year ranked as the eighth most affected nation by climate change from 2000 to 2019, in the Global Climate Risk Index by non-profit group Germanwatch. People living in hotspots like South Asia are 15 times more likely to die from climate crisis impacts.

“This is a climate crisis,” Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF’s representative in Pakistan told CNN. “A climate that has been mostly done by richer countries, contributing to the crisis, and I think it is time that the world responded to support Pakistan in this time of need.”

The deadly floods are threatening to engulf up to a third of the nation by the end of the monsoon season, taking a high toll on lives but also infrastructure, and wreaking havoc on crops across farmland in the middle of a food crisis.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal revealed the estimated $10 billion cost to the country on Monday, telling CNN: “The world needs to come to Pakistan’s assistance to deal with the effects of climate change.”

In a statement Monday, IRC’s Pakistan country director Shabnam Baloch said that Pakistan produced less than 1% of the world’s carbon footprint.

A lack of hygiene facilities and clean drinking water has exacerbated the risk of diseases spreading in flooded areas, with nearly 20,000 people in need of critical food supplies and medical support, Baloch added.

“Our needs assessment showed that we are already seeing a major increase in cases of diarrhea, skin infections, malaria and other illnesses,” she said. “We are urgently requesting donors to step up their support and help us save lives.”
One-third of Pakistan could be under water soon

In a statement Tuesday, Pakistan’s military said rescue missions were ongoing and international aid was beginning to arrive in the country, including seven military aircraft from Turkey and three from the United Arab Emirates.

Helicopters had evacuated more than 300 stranded people and distributed over 23 metric tons of relief items, while more than 50 medical camps have been established with over 33,000 patients being treated, the statement said.

Also on Tuesday, China will send two aircraft carrying 3,000 tents and Japan will send tarpaulins and shelters, the statement said, adding that the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Azerbaijan have announced financial assistance.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided another lifeline Monday, releasing $1.17 billion in bailout funds to avert a default on the South Asian nation’s debt obligations as it grapples with political and economic turmoil worsened by the unprecedented floods.

Peter Ophoff, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Pakistan told CNN he had not seen anything on the scale of the floods in nearly three decades working for the aid agency. The country was, however, hit with similarly devastating floods in 2010.

“Pakistan is in dire need and the damages are here and we will be in this a very long time,” Ophoff said. “It’s not months but years we are talking about.”

The 33 million people impacted by the floods and rain represent 15% of the population.

Among 1,136 people killed since mid-June were 386 children, the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) said Monday, as the unrelenting rain raised fears of more fatalities to come. Nearly half a million homes have been destroyed, according to NDMA.

“By the time this is over, we could well have one quarter or one third of Pakistan under water,” Pakistan’s climate change minister Sherry Rehman told Turkish news outlet TRT World last week.

‘Water gushed in’

Dramatic scenes of disaster have unfolded in Pakistan as floods inundated the country.

It was raining but not heavily, Ali Jan told Reuters Monday, as he stood surrounded by water in Chadsadda in northern Pakistan. But that quickly changed.

“Suddenly the outer wall of the compound collapsed and water gushed in,” Jan said. “We barely managed to save ourselves. By the time the women were leaving the house, the water had become almost waist-deep. We evacuated the women and the cattle. The rest is there for you to see. Crops have also been destroyed.”


Families sit near their belongings inundated by flood waters in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on August 28, 2022. - Zahid Hussain/AP

In videos shared by the Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan, its volunteers used a bed frame and makeshift pulley system to help a child and elderly man cross rushing floodwaters, according to the NGO’s digital media manager Ihtisham Khaliq Waseer.

More than 3,000 volunteers from the NGO are distributing aid across the country, he said.

“We are getting aid but it’s not enough with what we need on the ground, because the damages are very much higher than expected,” he said, adding that volunteer teams have been stretched thin delivering supplies to hard-to-reach areas for weeks.

Waseer said he hopes that as rains weaken and flood waters recede in the coming week based on weather forecasts, his team would be able to deliver food rations and set up medical centers in remote areas.

Additional reporting by Reuters.

Ford planning all-new EV truck, electric Explorer made in Ontario

MobileSyrup - Yesterday 

Ford has plans to make a new electric truck with the aim for it to go on sale starting in 2025, although it remains unclear what the new truck will be.


Ford planning all-new EV truck, electric Explorer made in Ontario

© Provided by MobileSyrup

The report comes from Automotive News (via The Verge) and notes that the new electric truck will exist alongside an electric Ford Explorer, due in 2024, and the automaker’s other EVs — the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning. Ford CEO Jim Farley teased the new truck back in April, indicating the company would build it at the upcoming Blue Oval City campus in Tennessee.

The electric truck will feature an “all-new” nameplate and won’t be a redesigned F-150, Farley said. Automotive News expanded on speculation around the truck, writing that it could be a “distinctly styled full-size pickup under the F-Series umbrella” aimed at retail buyers, while the F-150 Lightning would be focused on commercial sales.

That Ford wants to introduce a new nameplate rather than electrifying an existing product suggests the company is optimistic about its EV plans.

As for the electric Explorer, the Automotive News report reiterated Ford’s plan to launch production by the end of 2024 at the company’s Oakville, Ontario factory. Ford scrapped a previous plan to build the Explorer in Cuautitlan, Mexico, alongside the Mach-E. The Oakville factory built the gas-powered Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus but will be converted to an EV-only plant, per Automotive News.

The electric Explorer is expected to go on sale starting in 2025, although supply chain issues and battery material shortages could cause delays, as they have in the past.

Finally, it’s worth noting that Farley has previously hinted at making all-electric versions of the Bronco SUV and Maverick compact pickup. However, Automotive News reports that we’ll likely only see a hybrid Bronco by 2024 to compete with the Jeep Wrangler 4xe.

Photo of Biden quietly talking to homeless man resurfaces: ‘Character is what you do when no one is watching’

Abe Asher - Yesterday 

A photograph of President Joe Biden speaking to a homeless man has resurfaced, thanks to a popular Reddit post.

The post, captioned “After seeing a movie with his family, Biden takes a moment to speak with a homeless man”, shows Mr Biden leaning down on a public street speaking with a man in a gray sweatshirt and black jacket. The post already has more than 76,000 engagements since it was published on Monday.

The photo of Mr Biden is indeed authentic, but it is not new. Politico reported that the photograph was taken in March of 2018 outside of a movie theater on K Street in Washington DC, where Mr Biden had seen a movie with his granddaughter.

The photograph was taken outside the Georgetown AMC movie theater by Caleb Baca, who told local television station FOX 5 that Mr Biden appeared to write something down on a piece of paper and hand it to the man before departing. A public affairs consultant and businessman named Paul Equale posted the photo on Facebook, praising Mr Biden in his caption.


Joe Biden speaking with a man in Washington, DC in 2018 

(Reddit)© Provided by The Independent

“Joe Biden took his granddaughter to the movies in Georgetown last night.....on his way out he stopped to speak w/ a homeless man,” Mr Equale wrote. “A bystander took this candid shot. Character is about what you do when no one is watching.”

The post and photograph went viral. Mr Biden was praised by a range of citizens and public figures like Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, who wrote that the then-former Vice President “shows us what a leader is”.

At the time, Mr Biden was weighing a third bid for the presidency after serving two terms as Barack Obama’s vice president. Mr Biden ultimately launched his campaign in late April, more than a month later, saying that he decided to make his bid in part out of a “sense of duty” to the nation.

Mr Biden was considered a strong contender for the nomination, but his campaign sputtered for much of the rest of 2019 — with questions about Mr Biden’s viability mounting as other candidates like Sen Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Sen Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg all surged.

Both Mr Sanders and Mr Buttigieg claimed victory in the Iowa caucus that began the nominating contests in 2020, after which consecutive victories in New Hampshire and Nevada made Mr Sanders the favourite to secure the nomination. But after a sizable victory in South Carolina, moderates in the Democratic Party rallied around Mr Biden to stop Mr Sanders ahead of Super Tuesday. Mr Biden wrapped up the nomination shortly thereafter.

Mr Biden, 79, is now enjoying the most successful period of his presidency. Congress passed Mr Biden’s signature spending and climate bill earlier this summer, after which Mr Biden announced a much-anticipated plan to cancel a portion of Americans’ student debt.

Mr Biden’s poll numbers have begun to climb, as have Democratic hopes about maintaining control of at least one chamber of Congress during the November midterms.

Indepaz reports four killed in massacre in Colombia

Daniel Stewart - Yesterday 

The Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz) reported Tuesday the death of four people in a new massacre that this time took place in the town of Valle del Guamuez, in the south of the country.

Archive - Protests in Colombia against recent spike in massacres - 

DANIEL GARZON HERAZO / ZUMA PRESS / CONTACTOPHOTO

Of the total number of people killed, two of them were indigenous community members belonging to the Awá people and who had been reported missing since August 14 by Colombian authorities.

The other two were killed near the site of the first of the two attacks, Indepaz said in a statement.

The organization recalled that the First Carolina Ramirez Front, the Bolivarian Border Commandos, as well as other local gangs are active in the area. The Sixth Division of the Colombian Army is responsible for maintaining security in this jurisdiction.

This is the 73rd massacre so far in 2022, according to Indepaz.

Final UCP leadership debate focuses on same issues that ended Kenney's term: Alberta autonomy (FIREWALL ALBERTA)

and COVID-19 (2021 BEST SUMMER EVER)

Tyler Dawson -

EDMONTON — On a stage in a theatre at the heart of downtown Edmonton, the seven men and women running for the leadership of Alberta’s United Conservatives pitched their visions of the future.


From left, candidates Rajan Sawhney, Travis Toews and Danielle Smith take part in the United Conservative Party of Alberta’s final leadership debate, in Edmonton on Tuesday, August 30, 2022.© Provided by National Post

It was a discussion largely without sides — an at-times rollicking debate on politics and principle — but certainly both torn between and focused on the questions of autonomy that, along with COVID-19 public health measures, have dominated the UCP leadership race.

Yet, over the course of two hours, candidates were also put on the spot on a variety of issues, such as arts and culture, supporting the agriculture sector and the future of the oil and gas industry in the province.

While each fielded these questions — with Travis Toews, the former finance minister, making a quip about how a rancher, accountant and finance minister somehow ended up with the question about arts and culture — hanging over the debate were the big issues.

Autonomy and COVID-19 are the same issues that, just months ago, helped end Premier Jason Kenney’s time as leader of the province, so, unsurprisingly, they’re the exact issues that party faithful want to see their prospective party leaders discuss.

“We’re in a leadership race because we made these decisions … (the government) allowed themselves to be bullied and pushed around by the NDP. They didn’t stand up for the little guy,” said Danielle Smith, a former host of the now-defunct Wildrose Party.

While all candidates have views on these issues, it has been a particular boon for Smith, who has since done a stint as a talk radio host and newspaper columnist, and who has emerged as a widely perceived frontrunner in the race, and the person from whom the other six candidates have had to work to differentiate themselves.

Indeed, most notably, Rajan Sawhney, the former transportation minister and Rebecca Schulz, the former children’s services minister, both pressed Smith on the proposal. “Distracting constitutional turmoil is not a top priority for Albertans,” said Sawhney. And, Toews joined in, saying “we can’t wave a magic wand and get rid of federal law, that’s simply a fallacy.” Smith, for her part, hit back at Toews, saying his own proposal for tariffs to fight back against policies that punish Alberta, was perhaps also unconstitutional.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney resigns as UCP leader after getting 51.4% support in leadership review

'Very effective': Why Alberta is talking about autonomy — again

While there’s little doubt the dominant issue of the night was autonomy — indeed, Smith took every possible opportunity to pivot back to her Alberta Sovereignty Act — the candidates were pressed on issues from education, both primary and secondary, to rural policing and what to do with an expected $13.2 billion budget surplus.

Leela Aheer, a former Kenney cabinet minister, who was ejected after a photograph circulated of Kenney and his confidants drinking on the balcony of the so-called Sky Palace, talked about the necessity of protecting the vulnerable. A balanced budget, she argued, could never come on the “backs of children, their education or our most vulnerable.”

Others, too, feuded over the potential for a new, provincial police force that would replace the RCMP. It’s a proposal Smith and Toews back, with tacit support, maybe, from Jean. Sawhney, though, took Smith to task on it, saying many rural municipalities don’t support the idea. “You are not listening when you are enforcing the idea of an Alberta Provincial Police force,” Sawhney said.

“I think you’ve just said you don’t accept the wisdom of our UCP members,” Smith hit back.

For Albertans, who haven’t had a premier finish a term other than Rachel Notley, the NDP leader, for more than a decade, it’s been a winding road for the leadership race, which will wrap up in roughly six weeks, as candidates attempt to differentiate themselves.

“I may not be the flashiest person, I may not be the best speaker, but I can form great teams,” said Jean, pitching voters on his leadership abilities.

Related video: Alberta’s UCP leadership candidates prepare for final debate

Duration 2:06

View on Watch

The race kicked off back in May when Kenney, having narrowly won a review of his leadership after a tumultuous couple years of pandemic governance, announced he would step aside. The new party leader — the new premier — will be announced Oct. 6 in Calgary, roughly six months before the next provincial election.

“It’s clear that so far, this race has seen Danielle Smith dominate the discussion about policy, about where the party should go,” said Matt Solberg, a partner with New West Public Affairs. “That doesn’t mean though, that in any real sense, she’s a frontrunner. Votes are still available to candidates.”

That said, it’s tough to say who actually might be in the lead.

There has been very little polling in recent weeks, although a Leger poll from late July showed Smith with 22 per cent support, compared to Jean, another former Wildrose leader, with 20 per cent and Toews with 15 per cent.

The premier’s bombastic strategy to fight back against Ottawa and perceived enemies of the oil and gas sector, and the deep unpopularity in parts of the province of COVID-19 public health measures, not only fuelled Kenney’s ouster, but are proving to be critical in the race to replace him.

“Kenney’s approach, his whole ‘fight back strategy’ now looks moderate in comparison to what’s being promised by the other candidates,” said Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Calgary’s Mount Royal University.

In particular, Solberg said, Smith has got out ahead of the pack, and has tapped into a still-simmering resentment over Alberta’s perceived shabby treatment by the Justin Trudeau Liberals in Ottawa.

“That seems to be the most unifying issue so far,” Solberg said.

Three candidates — Todd Loewen, Smith and Jean — attended a forum last week hosted by a pro-independence group. And last week, Chrystia Freeland, the deputy prime minister, was verbally harassed on a visit to Grande Prairie, a city in northwestern Alberta. This in fact earned a comment from Sawhney, who thanked those who condemned the attack. “We cannot let the politics of anger win,” she said.

Early in the campaign, Smith made a provocative promise: to introduce legislation, the Alberta Sovereignty Act, that purports to allow Alberta to simply ignore federal laws, court rulings and regulatory decisions the legislature believe runs contrary to Alberta’s interests.

It led to an immediate backlash: constitutional scholars condemned it as flagrantly unconstitutional, and fellow candidates have joined in, as they did again Tuesday night.

But the Alberta Sovereignty Act, combined with lingering anger over COVID-19 public-health measures, has proved a potent mix for Smith. Prior to entering the race, Smith was still weighed down by her decision in December 2014 to cross the floor from the Wildrose Party to the Progressive Conservatives under then-premier Jim Prentice; the party would lose to the New Democrats just months later, ending a four-decade stretch of conservative rule in the province.

This once-unforgivable sin seems all but forgotten now, as her particular brand of red-meat conservatism has found willing recipients among the UCP faithful.

“It appears that both candidates and members seem to be ready to bury that hatchet,” said Solberg.

The leadership race has also marked a remarkable period of growth for the party. At the time of Kenney’s resignation, the party numbered perhaps 60,000 members; it has roughly doubled, to 123,915 members.

Membership sales have closed, and the available votes are locked in, but there’s still ample room for competition in the race. While Smith appears to be the frontrunner, it’s not clear who second and third choice candidates might be, which could be critical, Bratt said, given the party’s ranked ballot system of selecting a leader.

When it comes to the hot issues, several candidates have been bullish on COVID-19 measures, in particular. Health care is also clearly an important issue, but candidates are going to need to figure out how to talk about the system itself — which laboured heavily under an influx of COVID patients — can be improved, rather than just railing against public-health measures, Solberg said.

That applies, too, to the economy — which gets very little attention on the candidates’ websites, even though it was the conversation that not only dominated Alberta politics for the past seven years, but was the primary issue that catapulted the UCP to power in the first place in 2019. And, said Solberg, what they’re going to do with the fiscal windfall the next premier will inherit; spend, save, cut spending? All are questions to hash out in advance of the next election.

“Candidates for leadership are going to find the best success finding solutions to the issues with the most complaints,” said Solberg.

And that is the issue looming over the party and its potential leader. During the Kenney years, Rachel Notley’s New Democrats polled ahead of the United Conservatives. But, after his resignation, the UCP began to creep back up in the polling. The next leader — and the party writ large — will need to think about how they can win the next election.

“A lot of the vote switchers who were more than willing to vote for the NDP, even if they came back to the UCP in 2019, we can’t take those votes for granted, and so far this leadership race, I think we kind of have,” said Solberg.

• Email: tdawson@postmedia.com | Twitter: tylerrdawson

Danielle Smith faces renewed attacks in final Alberta UCP leadership debate

EDMONTON — Danielle Smith, the perceived front-runner candidate in the race to replace Jason Kenney as Alberta’s United Conservative Party leader and premier, faced renewed attacks on multiple fronts Tuesday in the campaign’s final debate.


Danielle Smith faces renewed attacks in final Alberta UCP leadership debate© Provided by The Canadian Press

Smith was criticized for her proposed Alberta sovereignty act and for leading a mass floor crossing to the Progressive Conservatives in late 2014 that nearly decimated her Wildrose party.

Former Kenney finance minister Travis Toews said the floor crossing tarnished both parties with drastic consequences in the 2015 election when they lost to Rachel Notley’s NDP.

“Leadership and unity matter,” Toews told about 700 members watching the debate at the downtown Citadel Theatre.

“Mere months before the 2015 election, (Smith) walked the floor. I believe it was (the floor crossing and the resulting fractured conservative movement) that ultimately contributed to an NDP government."

Smith was also attacked by multiple candidates for her centrepiece policy plan to pass her proposed Alberta sovereignty act this fall, if she were elected.

The act would grant the province the right to ignore federal laws and court rulings deemed harmful to its interests.

Critics, including legal scholars, say such a bill is not only illegal but will create a constitutional crisis.

Smith has in recent weeks downplayed the act, labelling it a symbolic document to seek rights that provinces such as Quebec are employing. But she has stressed her Alberta will refuse to enforce federal rules particularly in areas such as COVID-19 health restrictions.

Former Kenney cabinet minister Leela Aheer bluntly labelled the act “crap.”

“The sovereignty act is an attack on our Canadian and Albertan values. It’s an excuse to leave Canada when we should be looking for ways to lead Canada,” Aheer said.

Former Kenney cabinet minister Rajan Sawhney urged Smith to wait for the scheduled general election next spring to seek a mandate for such a radical piece of legislation.

“These are the kinds of things that require a mandate from Albertans,” Sawhney said.

Smith said she feels she has a mandate from Albertans through public consultations.

Rebecca Schulz, a former Kenney cabinet minister, questioned passing such a controversial bill so soon.

“I think we can't go into the very first legislative session with a bill that other candidates on this stage don’t support,” Schulz said.

“I don’t think that’s good for unity.”

Smith acknowledged she has taken “bold” positions, but said that is what leaders do.

“Too long conservatives have been leading and governing by opinion poll,” Smith said.

She noted other candidates have adopted versions of her sovereignty act in their platforms along with polices on preventing future health restrictions tied to COVID-19.

“Every other candidate on stage has followed my lead,” said Smith.

“That’s what leadership looks like: you take a bold position, you bring people around, you consult, you get feedback and you modify and then you allow people to disagree."

The other candidates are UCP backbencher Brian Jean and former UCP caucus member Todd Loewen.

Jean stressed that inflation is the biggest issue to be addressed, promising to end royalties on gasoline and reduce transmission and distribution fees on power bills.

Loewen stressed that Alberta needs to ratchet back the spending that has seen debt levels grow by the billions in recent years.

The leadership race is in the home stretch.

There are close to 124,000 party members signed up and eligible to vote. Smith is seen as the front-runner based on how she has been the focus of opposition attacks throughout the campaign.

The deadline to sign up for a party membership to vote was two weeks ago and candidates are now focused on winning support from members as their first or second choice as leader.

The winner will be announced Oct. 6 using a preferential ballot, which means lower-tier choices may come into play if the first-place finisher doesn’t capture a majority in the first round of voting.

Ballots are to be mailed out starting Friday and members can vote by mail or in person.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2022.

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press