It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Friday, August 05, 2022
List of students alleging abuse at Sask. Christian school growing rapidly
Fri, August 5, 2022 Former students of the Christian Centre Academy, now called Legacy Christian Academy, say all government subsidies and tax breaks for the school and adjacent Mile Two Church must be halted until police and prosecutors have dealt with their abuse complaints and the government has conducted a full investigation of the school's practices. (Jason Warick/CBC - image credit)
The chorus of former students from a private Saskatoon Christian school with stories of abuse and degradation is growing.
They include children and grandchildren of top officials from Christian Centre Academy and the adjacent Saskatoon Christian Centre Church.
The school is now known as Legacy Christian Academy. The church has also undergone a name change, to Mile Two Church.
"This place has left a long trail of abused and damaged people. I'm glad we got out of that cult-ish community," said 19-year-old Garrison Davis, the grandson of the church's original pastor.
Saskatoon police are encouraging other alleged victims and their supporters to contact them.
"As police, we understand that the decision to file a formal report is a personal one, particularly when it relates to interpersonal violence," reads the statement emailed to CBC News on Thursday. "We ... encourage those who have information believed to be relevant to the investigation to come forward and support those who wish to make a formal report in doing so."
Submitted by Garrison Davis
Earlier this week, a CBC News investigation revealed 18 former students have filed criminal abuse complaints with the Saskatoon police. Since that story was published, CBC News has spoken to nearly a dozen more. Most say they will go to police.
The new allegations cover a wider time period than the initial complaints.
Davis said he was repeatedly paddled as late as the spring of 2012, and it was common to hear of similar assaults on other students at this time.
"It's not like just getting swatted with someone's hand. It's a hard, wood paddle that they had specially made. It would absolutely leave pretty intense bruising [and would] be sore for days afterward," he said.
School says it has apologized
The Supreme Court of Canada declared all corporal punishment by school officials to be illegal as of January 2004. Legal experts said any paddling or other force applied after that time would clearly constitute criminal assault, and private schools are subject to the same laws.
Submitted by Kieran Friesen
School officials have repeatedly refused interview requests, but have issued two written statements.
In the first, they said that paddling has not occurred in "more than two decades." In the second, issued this week, they say they've "offered numerous public and private apologies" to students in recent years.
But students say paddling and other abuse was widespread for years after the Supreme Court ruling, and no student is aware of apologies of any kind.
CBC asked officials for letters, emails, videos or other evidence of previous apologies, but no one from the church or school responded.
'A trauma I'm still dealing with'
Students say the lies must stop, and they want justice.
"It's a trauma I'm still dealing with, [but] I want to stand up and talk about it," said Kieran Friesen, whose estranged father was the principal of the school when he attended.
Friesen, who is transgender, said he was ashamed and confused about his identity throughout his time at the school. After graduation, he engaged in self-harm and contemplated suicide because of the enormous guilt.
"I always knew something was different. I couldn't talk about it because we were always told anything different was wrong. I was in constant fear. I couldn't be myself," said Friesen, who is now living in Edmonton with his partner and two kids.
Friesen and others say they were inspired to finally speak publicly when they saw the interviews with fellow students. They said it showed them they're not alone.
Submitted by Jillian Kudryk
"I saw the story this week and decided I need to file a police report, and I needed to say something," said Jillian Kudryk, who said she was paddled at least 10 times before she left the school in 2005 at age 15 because of deteriorating mental health.
Her brother, Kristian Kudryk, said he was paddled as a Grade 7 student in 2005 because of difficulties caused by an undiagnosed learning disability. Kudryk said he and others were forced to kneel in the school stairwell, extending their arms straight forward as the teacher stacked books in their hands. When their muscles failed and the books fell, they were forced to pick them up, give them back to the teacher and do it twice more.
"These people left a big scar on my life. It was a little cult," he said.
Davis, Friesen, the Kudryks and others said the physical abuse was wrong, but the psychological and spiritual manipulation were worse.
When Kayla Pickles attended in the late-1990s, she said the director would often call her into his office after she broke one of the school's many rules, such as questioning a teacher. She said he would scream and yell at her for two or three hours at a time.
"He said I was filled with the devil and giving in to the dark side," Pickles said.
'It should've been closed down long ago'
In the statement this week, school and church officials say they'll support any former student who asks.
"We have and will cooperate fully with any officials or authorities that are investigating their actions," read the statement.
"We continue to encourage and support any former student who believes they were abused or assaulted to file a report with the police so these matters can be investigated and dealt with properly and legally."
On Wednesday, the Saskatchewan NDP called on the provincial government to suspend more than $700,000 in public funds given annually to the school, until these serious allegations can be investigated.
Education Minister Dustin Duncan's office said no action will be considered until the police investigation is complete
. Kirk Fraser/CBC
The file has been passed to Crown prosecutors to consider possible charges. But an email sent to students says that process could take another year.
Most students interviewed say Duncan needs to step in to protect other children, and the entire institution must be shuttered permanently.
"It just sickens me," said former student Brooke Parr, 25. "I think it should've been closed down long ago."
Supreme Court won't hear Alberta union's constitutional challenge of Bill
Thu, August 4, 2022 AUPE asked the Supreme Court for leave to appeal the ruling. The court declined without providing reasons why, as it does in all of its leave to appeal denials. \(Michel Aspirot/CBC - image credit)
The Supreme Court of Canada has decided not to hear an appeal of a decision on the constitutionality of the United Conservative Party government's Critical Infrastructure Defence Act.
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees challenged the law, also known as Bill 1, after it came into force in June 2020.
AUPE argued the law is unconstitutional as it would prohibit picketing of what the government deemed "essential infrastructure" during labour disputes and hurt its ability to engage in collective bargaining.
The union wanted the court to declare Bill 1 unconstitutional.
In December, the Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed the AUPE's claim, ruling that the union had no standing in the case because none of its members have been charged under the act. The court said AUPE was basing its arguments on "hypothetical" situations.
AUPE asked the Supreme Court for leave to appeal the ruling. The court declined without providing reasons why, as it does in all of its leave to appeal denials. The Alberta Court of Appeal decision stands.
Eric Adams, a law professor at the University of Alberta, wasn't surprised the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
"For a legal challenge to fully come before the courts, you need evidence," Adams said.
"You need evidence of how it actually is operating on people's lives, what rights and freedoms it actually is impacting.
"And the (Alberta) Court of Appeals said, since we don't have any of that evidence, we don't have any of that information, and the claim could not proceed."
Bill 1 was introduced in response to the blockades of CN rail lines by Indigenous protesters in January 2020.
The bill levies hefty fines against individuals or companies found to have blocked, damaged or illegally entered any "essential infrastructure" including pipelines, rail lines, highways, oil sites, telecommunications equipment, radio towers, electrical lines, dams and farms.
Artur Pawlowski, the controversial Calgary street preacher, was charged under the act in February. He was accused of inciting protesters at the border blockade in Coutts, Alta.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Province invites more wind energy industry
Thu, August 4, 2022
ST. JOHN'S – On Tuesday afternoon, July 26, Minister Andrew Parsons, Industry, Energy, and Technology (IET), and Minister Bernard Davis, Environment and Climate Change, provided an update on wind energy generation across the province. On April 5 the province first announced that the moratorium on wind development in Newfoundland and Labrador was lifted, and this latest announcement moves the province one step further in that process.
IET is launching a call for the submission of nominations of areas of interest for wind energy projects across the province, and any available Crown lands in the province are open for this purpose. All interested parties can provide any number of proposals, and each proposal has no limit on geographical size.
Submissions opened on the same day as the announcement, July 26, and will remain open until Oct. 1. Parsons said that while nominations are open, NL Hydro will be completing their wind integration study that will assess the amount of wind generation that can be supported by the electricity grid.
“These results will be shared with companies and made public to ensure proposed projects are technically viable before the call for land nomination closes.”
Parsons said he understands there will be a lot of questions moving forward, but they will continue to be transparent throughout the process, which will provide an opportunity to have ongoing constructive conversations.
“In late August we will be hosting a Crown land nomination information session to answer questions that interest companies may have. That’s not to say that we will not be available day-to-day as we have been for the past number of months.”
Parsons said his department has been working hard to understand the needs of a wind industry.
“Wind development in Newfoundland and Labrador provides us an opportunity for economic development and for job creation. We know the majority of jobs in this industry occur within the planning, development, and construction phase, but it’s also supplemented by jobs during operation and maintenance. The number of jobs depends on the projects that get approved through the process and this will be an important part of the bid criteria that is currently being developed.”
Parsons said they have to be sure residents of the province will have the necessary training for jobs in this renewable energy sector.
“Newfoundland and Labrador has some of the best wind resources in North America. My department has been engaged with a number of companies interested in exploring industrial development and we know they are anxious to get further information on the multi-stage process. As we work to develop the policies to allow wind development, we need to ensure a fair and transparent process while recognizing that this resource and these opportunities belong to the people of the province. We must ensure that any decisions we make are in the best interests of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, now and into the future."
Following the assessment of nominations, the province will determine what land will be made available for the first round of the competitive land bid process. Parsons said the goal is for the next step, the call for bids, to be launched by mid-December.
Companies have already submitted a request for Crown lands for wind development but currently no applications have been approved. Parsons said the province is taking a timely approach and are trying to expedite it.
“We want to be first into this emerging market, or certainly near the top, but we also know that we have to get it right at the same time.”
Parsons said it is essential that they make sure all decisions made are in the best interest of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
“I believe this step today is certainly a positive one. It’s laying the groundwork for a process that I think will be successful.”
A proposed project for the Port au Port Peninsula has had many residents voicing their concerns about the potential environmental and health impacts the wind turbines could cause.
Minister Davis said all proposed projects will undergo the province’s vigorous and comprehensive environmental assessment process.
“I am pleased to see the development of alternative energy sources in this province. The level of interest in our wind and hydrogen energy potential is indicative of the role we can play in the vital global transition to a green economy. Technologies such as these will be instrumental in ensuring a sustainable energy future. All proposed projects will undergo the province’s comprehensive and rigorous environmental assessment process, which includes an opportunity for the public and interested parties to provide feedback and comments before any decision is made.”
Jaymie White, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Wreckhouse Weekly News
Climate Reality Project creating collaborative poetry, murals for climate action
Thu, August 4, 2022
Using art to connect disparate communities, the Climate Reality Project wants to uplift the voices of those most dramatically affected by the warming of our planet and hopefully get world leaders at the next global climate conference to take notice.
Teams from Canada, the Philippines and across Africa will host a workshop series this summer to create collaborative “pebble poems” about the climate crisis that will then be displayed (and developed further) at the United Nations' COP27 conference, which takes place in Egypt in November.
“We're bringing inside those decision-making spaces voices that don't necessarily have access to those spaces,” explained André-Yanne Parent, the 35-year-old executive director of the Canadian branch of the initiative, which was founded by former U.S. vice-president Al Gore in 2006 and now boasts more than 40,000 trained climate leaders in 174 countries (including more than 1,600 in Canada).
A pebble poem is a short piece of writing that its creator shares and invites other people to reflect on and add to. The group plans for new poems to be created at COP27, where they have so far secured space in the Indonesian pavilion. The project is still seeking a presence with the Canadian and U.S. contingents.
“We strongly believe that through the medium of art, we're able to bring conversation that can be polarizing and … reduce those elements of our polarization by just being able to connect with the beauty of a poem, the beauty of a mural,” she said, adding another goal is to build compassionate communities standing in solidarity.
The poems are the second stage of a project that kicked off with the creation of murals last month in Montreal; Johannesburg, South Africa; and the Philippines (where Agam Agenda is also involved in the collaboration) that riffed on words from poems, which the visual artists also used as inspiration.
Parent’s colleague Gaïa Febvre, the Canadian branch’s community engagement manager, said they want to “express the urgency to act, and the need to be more ambitious in decision and action” directly to the diplomats and decision-makers in attendance at COP27.
Starting this week and running throughout August, the project will host five virtual workshops featuring poet-mentors from the three participating countries and regions. Each will focus on a different type of biome — forest, freshwater, ocean and coastal, alpine and grasslands.
Bringing in mentors from the different regions is designed to help walk participants through that creative process in a linguistically coherent and culturally meaningful way, Parent said, while the groups — which consist of between 10 and 15 participants from each region for each session — will also be mixed into cross-cultural groups in smaller breakout rooms to share and collaborate.
Parent said given the level of interest in the project so far, they are now looking to develop a mini-curriculum to take into schools to further meaningful conversation on climate in the classroom.
Both Parent and Febvre said it was difficult to imagine not working on initiatives related to climate change.
“It's not a choice, it's really the reality where I have to be involved and it's really part of my purpose in my life,” Febvre said. “I want to be involved and I want to create with people.”
Morgan Sharp, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer
Heat pumps, induction burners and other (free) ways to make your home more green
Thu, August 4, 2022 This heat pump was installed at a home in Prince Edward Island. They can act as a replacement for a furnace and/or air conditioner. While the upfront cost may be more money, climate change consultant Heather McDiarmid says operating costs are much lower and a heat pump is better for the environment. (Danny Arsenault/CBC - image credit)
About two years ago, Heather McDiarmid replaced her furnace and air conditioner with a heat pump.
She says there were a few motivations to make the switch. One was that home heating was the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions for her family.
"As a climate change professional, I know that there is an urgent need to take deep cuts to emissions and I want to do everything that I can," McDiarmid, who runs a climate change consulting firm in Waterloo region, told CBC News.
Statistics Canada reported that in 2019, almost one-quarter of the energy used in the country was by households, and homes were responsible for 18.4 per cent of Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions, "mainly because of the large share of household energy coming from electricity."
In Ontario, household greenhouse gas emissions were 3.8 tonnes per person, per year, which was on par with the national average.
But Evan Ferrari, executive director of Emerge Guelph, says many people don't want to make changes if it's going to cost money.
"Unfortunately, when it comes to the environment, one of the first things that people ask is: Is it economically worth it?" he said.
"I would argue, do you want your children to continue breathing? How economically worth is that for you to make decisions that ultimately are going to prolong the problems of climate change?"
For the McDiarmid family, a heat pump cost more to install than another gas furnace, but in the long run it saved them money.
Heather McDiarmid/LinkedIn
"It's cheaper to operate than our gas system and air conditioner ... and we're going to save back the extra upfront cost," she said.
The McDiarmid family isn't alone in making the switch to a heat pump and seeing the benefits.
Reep Green Solutions, an environmental charity based in Waterloo region, posted a blog post on Wednesday about a Kitchener couple who renovated their home using the Canada greener homes grant. They upgraded the air sealing and insulation in the home and replaced the gas furnace with a heat pump and have lowered their energy consumption by 55 per cent.
How a heat pump works
The Canadian government touts heat pumps as a "proven and reliable technology" that works year-round, including the most humid days of summer and coldest days of winter.
Simply put, "a heat pump is an electrically driven device that extracts heat from a low temperature place and delivers it to a higher temperature place," according to Natural Resources Canada's website.
McDiarmid explains, in the summer, the heat pump takes the hot air inside a house and pumps it outside.
In winter, it extracts heat from the cold air outside and transfers it inside.
"Your home is overall warmer and more comfortable," McDiarmid says of the winter months.
She said she has heard from people who have talked to HVAC installers who have tried to dissuade them from getting a heat pump and she worries there's a lot of misinformation being provided to customers. She says while older heat pumps may have been noisy, didn't work well in winter and cost a lot of money, that's no longer the case.
"Some people are concerned that it may not be able to provide enough heat in the winter time," she added.
"This is a point where heat pumps have improved significantly in the last 10, 20 years and particularly they are much better able to provide heat in really cold temperatures and they're able to do so very efficiently."
Free ways to save on energy
Emerge Guelph is an organization that helps people reduce energy and water use. Ferrari says for those still unsure about doling out cash, there are some free things people can do to bring down their energy bills and help the environment.
Emerge Guelph/Facebook
"People don't operate their homes properly to avoid or to reduce air conditioning," he said.
"A perfect example is, we're about to get into a serious heat later this week … A simple thing for people to do is only open the windows when it's cooler outside," he said.
That often means opening windows overnight and closing them during the day and, if you can, pull the curtains or blinds shut, too.
Ferrari said people also need to understand off-peak hours for electricity and that it's about more than saving money on the hydro bill.
"During peak demand, we burn the dirtiest of fuel to generate electricity," he said.
He will go on the Independent Electricity System Operator website to look at the power data and see what sources Ontario is using for its power at a particular time.
The province largely uses nuclear and hydro power, but also uses wind, solar, natural gas and biofuel. The use of natural gas will increase as demand goes up, such as during heat waves.
If at 9 p.m. he notices the province is still using what he feels is a lot of natural gas, he may wait to run the dishwasher, setting the time for 2 a.m. instead.
Independent Electricity System Operator/ieso.ca
Another tip: Plan ahead and defrost your food in the fridge.
"If you put it in there in the refrigerator the night before, the energy that you've used to freeze it in the first place goes into the refrigerator. So the refrigerator works less," he said. "When you take it out, it winds up being at refrigerator temperature as opposed to frozen."
He added people make their homes hot by cooking inside on hot days. He suggested people could get a single burner and boil water outside on a patio or back deck.
McDiarmid agrees with using an external burner and recommends people consider an induction burner.
"It uses far less energy than my electric coil cooktop does. It boils water way faster and compared to a gas, it has the same ability to go up and down in temperature really quickly, but I'm not burning gas in my home and therefore I get far better indoor air quality than I could ever get with gas," she said.
McDiarmid says people who have to replace their hot water tank may also want to look into a heat pump water tank. It looks similar to an electric one, and they often have an electric back-up in case the house needs a lot of hot water all at once, but it uses less energy to operate day-to-day.
Both Ferrari and McDiarmid suggest talking to people who have heat pumps or other green technology to get a better sense of how it works for them.
Groups like Reep Green Solutions or Emerge Guelph have information on their websites and they say by doing a little research, it will help people understand what's right for their home and their pocketbook.
WATCH | Reep Green Solutions posted this video to YouTube explaining how heat pumps work to heat and cool a home:
Myanmar charges Japanese journalist with spreading fake news
Thu, August 4, 2022
BANGKOK (AP) — A Japanese video journalist detained in Myanmar while covering a brief pro-democracy march has been charged with violating a law against spreading false or alarming news, the Southeast Asian country’s military government announced Thursday.
Toru Kubota, a Tokyo-based documentary filmmaker, was arrested Saturday by plainclothes police after taking images of the protest.
He is the latest of about 140 journalists arrested since the military seized power last year from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. More than half have been released, but the media remains under tight restrictions.
A military information office, the Tatmadaw True News Information Team, said in a statement that Kubota was charged with incitement, specifically causing fear, spreading false news, or agitating against a government employee. It carries a penalty of up to three years in prison. Most of Myanmar’s imprisoned journalists were charged under the same law.
Kubota is also charged with violating visa regulations The statement said Kubota arrived in Yangon from Thailand on July 1 with a tourist visa.
Kubota is the fifth foreign journalist detained in Myanmar, after U.S. citizens Nathan Maung and Danny Fenster, who worked for local publications, and freelancers Robert Bociaga of Poland and Yuki Kitazumi of Japan. They were all eventually deported.
The army’s takeover was opposed by widespread peaceful protests that were suppressed with lethal force. Opposition continues with peaceful flash protests in cities and towns, and armed resistance in the countryside.
According to a detailed tally by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 2,148 civilians have been killed by the security forces and 14,970 arrested since the military took power.
The military statement said Kubota was detained in Yangon’s South Dagon township while taking pictures and videos of 10-15 protesters. It said he confessed to police that he had contacted participants in the protest a day earlier to arrange to film it.
The statement didn’t mention where he is being held. Two protesters in Saturday’s march were also arrested, according to the protest organizers, but there was no comment about them from the military.
Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara said on Monday that “a Japanese male citizen in his 20s” was arrested Saturday while filming a demonstration in Yangon and that Japanese Embassy officials have requested his early release.
Friends of Kubota in Japan on Wednesday called for his immediate release, and an online petition has collected more than 41,000 signatures demanding his freedom.
A graduate of Tokyo’s Keio University with a master’s degree from the University of the Arts London, Kubota, 26, has done assignments for Yahoo! News Japan, Vice Japan and Al Jazeera English.
His work has focused on ethnic conflicts, immigrants and refugee issues, including the plight of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority.
The Associated Press
Solomon Islands takes tighter control over state broadcaster
Wed, August 3, 2022
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The government of the Solomon Islands has taken tighter control over the nation's state-owned broadcaster — a move opponents say is squarely aimed at controlling and censoring the news.
The government this week accused the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation of a “lack of ethics and professionalism” and said it was its duty to to “protect our people from lies and misinformation, especially when these very lies and misinformation are propagated by the national broadcaster.”
But in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, Johnson Honimae, the SIBC's chief executive, said he was proud of the broadcaster's award-winning journalism. He said it was business as usual and there were no government censors vetting stories before they were broadcast, contrary to what was being reported by some news outlets. The government's move comes at a politically tumultuous time in the Solomon Islands.
The SIBC has been reporting those developments and including the views of Sogavare's opponents. The broadcaster, which began as the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Service, has been a fixture for 70 years in the Solomon Islands.
Employing about 50 people and operating under the slogan “Voice of the nation," the broadcaster remains the main source of radio and television news for the nation's 700,000 people, and is listened to and watched from the capital to the smallest village.
In late June, the government moved to delist the SIBC as a state-owned enterprise and take more direct control, saying it had failed to make a profit, something which was expected of such enterprises.
Opposition Leader Matthew Wale said Wednesday the delisting was a scheme orchestrated by Sogavare as “a clear attempt to directly control and censor the news content of SIBC.”
“This will hijack well-entrenched principles of law on defamation and freedom-of-speech, thus depriving the public using SIBC to freely express their views, or accessing information on government activities,” Wale said.
Honimae told the AP that the broadcaster had been taking calls from Sogavare's office in recent months.
“They believe we've been running too many stories from the opposition side, causing too much disunity,” Honimae said.
Honimae said the broadcaster and its staff had won several recent journalism awards, including for newsroom of the year and journalist of the year. He said the broadcaster plays the national anthem when broadcasts begin each morning at 6 a.m. and again when they finish at 11 p.m.
“We believe we are a great force for unity and peace in this country,” Honimae said.
Honimae added that the broadcaster needed to “balance our stories more” and leave no opportunity for criticism. He said Sogavare — who is also the broadcasting minister — had said in Parliament that the government wouldn't tamper with the broadcaster's editorial independence.
“There is no censorship at the moment,” Honimae said. “We operate as professional journalists.”
Nick Perry, The Associated Press
Farmers reap research rewards
Wed, August 3, 2022
THUNDER BAY, ONT. — There hasn’t been too much rain this summer, but that doesn’t mean the Lakehead University Agricultural Research Station isn’t producing results.
The experimental farm to enhance farmers and their crops — which has been around in some form since 1991 — gave farm owners, their families and LU students a tour of their work Tuesday, showing off different varieties of wheat, barley, hops, oats, flax, canola and alfalfa amongst others which are being grown with environmentally-friendly fertilizers such as anvol and super urea.
Later in the day, the crew visited Jaspers Dairy Farm on Boundary Drive in Neebing to analyze two different strains of canola and how corn would stand up to being cloaked in biodegradable plastic and what it was like using none of the pliable material.
The mastermind behind the research facility is director Tarlok Singh Sahota. His relationship with the farms and the farmers — you might say — has grown quite nicely over the years.
“We believe seeing is believing,” said Sahota, who deals with approximately 50 farms in and around Thunder Bay. “If (farmers) see something happening here, they will try to apply that to their farms. . . . We keep in close contact with the farmers. I keep advising them, keep talking to them. We also consult with them, send them a list of the projects we’re doing and I’ll send them a list if they want to do anything else other than what we are proposing.”
The key to keeping the research facility around is funding. Currently, the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario (ARIO) anted up more than $2.5 million in 2018 in a five-year plan that ends next year.
Sahota is hoping the funding continues to keep the agricultural-based research going.
“We had very strong public support,” said Sahota at the Little Norway Road facility. “People immediately (contacted) ministers, wrote letters . . . It was originally called Thunder Bay Agricultural Research Station (TBARS) and (the Ontario ministry of agriculture) gave us stop-gap funding of $200,000. Then (ARIO) gave $2.65 million for five years for the university (in 2018) to take over the research station.
“This is our last funding year. It will end in March 2023 and we hope we will get other funding . . . because we do good work and that good work shows because we supply the farms.
“My wish is that the research station continues to get funding. . . . The level of change for farmers in Thunder Bay, it’s hard to match elsewhere. Not only in Ontario, but Canada.”
Thunder Bay Soil and Crop Improvement Association chairman Andrew Brekveld is a believer. While his group studies LUARS research thoroughly each year, the Brekveld farm — Woodstar Farm in Murillo — has taken advantage of the knowledge provided by the research facility.
“Our affiliation with (LUARS) is that they are doing these trials, they’re doing these experiments and we would take them further,” said Brekveld. “We get excited when we can try them on our own fields.
“The last two years, (Woodstar Farm) actually grew a wheat variety that was a top-yielding variety recommended by Sahota. We found in our field that it was the highest yield we’ve ever had on wheat.”
In recent years, Sahota has been releasing the detailed LUARS annual report in late November or early December.
John Nagy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal
MANITOBA Province announces annual funding for Bear Clan
Wed, August 3, 2022 at 11:40 p.m.·4 min read
The Bear Clan will start to receive annual government funding for the first time, Manitoba’s justice minister announced Tuesday — before he joined a pack of volunteers for an evening patrol of streets in the North End.
Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen, who oversees the justice file, visited the inner-city safety initiative’s Selkirk Avenue den to tout the province’s commitment to providing $100,000 annually to support operations and ensure the organization has predictable funding in the future.
Treasurer Brian Chrupalo said the core funding is a first of its kind for the Bear Clan.
The community organization typically relies on donations and grants from all levels of government in order to equip staff and volunteers with items ranging from sunscreen to sandwiches to hand-out to community members throughout patrols.
“This will help us go a long way,” Chrupalo told reporters, during an evening news conference.
“We are a small, grassroots group of volunteers. You’ll see our volunteers outside. Those people are here volunteering their time, for whatever reason — and bless their hearts for doing it, but the core dollars that we have (will) keep the lights on.”
Manitoba also announced an additional allocation of $100,000 from the Criminal Property Forfeiture Fund, bringing the tally to $200,000. This one-time sum is for the purchase of new safety equipment and other supplies for volunteers, including puncture-resistant gloves, naloxone, flashlights, multi-tool pocket knives and first aid kits.
Originally created by a trio of organizers in 1992, the Bear Clan aims to provide security to residents in and around the North End and downtown Winnipeg “in a non-threatening, non-violent and supportive way.”
The Indigenous-led initiative resumed patrolling city streets in 2014 after a hiatus. Since then, it has grown to encompass regular safety patrols across five Winnipeg neighbourhoods. There are approximately a dozen employees and roughly 275 regular volunteers at present.
Volunteers can often be seen walking in groups at night and on weekends, dressed in signature high-visibility vests with supplies in hand or in wagons. On Tuesday, nearly 20 volunteers — Goertzen included — walked down streets and alleys near Selkirk Avenue to greet area residents, distribute water bottles and clean up discarded needles, among other tasks.
Ahead of the photo-op walk, Goertzen acknowledged that violent crime has risen across Winnipeg and North America following the initial arrival of COVID-19 and related public health orders. Police are only part of the equation when it comes to both preventing incidents and ensuring Manitobans feel safe in their communities, he said.
“We need community members, who are able to outreach and connect with people in a different way than police officers are intended to do. Bear Clan does that exceptionally well,” the justice minister added.
A summer spate of serious crime involving random victims has both made headlines and prompted the union that represents frontline officers to criticize the chief of police for his categorization of the situation as typical.
The latest alarming incidents include: the Canada Day stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee who accidentally bumped into a group of men near The Forks; a random attack near Grant Park Shopping Centre that sent a senior to hospital in critical condition on July 12, and an attempted assault with a knife on a Winnipeg Transit driver, who narrowly escaped injury via bus window late last month.
While overall crime decreased last year, new police data show that violent incidents have been on the rise in Winnipeg.
There were nearly 11,000 more violent crimes — a category that encompasses sexual assault and uttering threats, among other incidents — reported to the Winnipeg Police Service in 2021 versus 2020. The total figure represents a five per cent increase from one year prior and a six per cent hike when compared to the five-year average.
In police Chief Danny Smyth’s opening remarks in WPS’ latest statistical report, he cited a resurgence in assaults as the driving force and called the number of violent crimes involving knives “notable.”
“Stabbings, across the board, are up, both for youth and adults,” said Const. Jay Murray, a public information officer, at a recent news conference during which he indicated it is difficult to pinpoint a specific reason for the trend.
“Knives are readily available, they’re something that you can get from any household, they can be bought relatively easily and I think that speaks to how common stabbings are in the city.”
maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @macintoshmaggie
Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press
NEW BRUNSWICK Ousted Horizon CEO pushed for COVID 'red phase' in hospitals
Thu, August 4, 2022 Dr. John Dornan, former president and CEO, Horizon Health Network
(Horizon Health Network - image credit)
The former CEO of Horizon Health wanted to move the province's hospitals back to the "red phase" of COVID-19 measures just days before he was fired from the job.
Dr. John Dornan said in an email on July 11 that "a seventh COVID wave is amongst us," with hospitalizations and staff outbreaks increasing.
A Horizon infectious disease and infection protection control committee was "recommending moving to Hospital Red phase next week if numbers continue to deteriorate," Dornan wrote in the email obtained by CBC News.
Dornan wrote that officials "could make that call collectively on Monday or Tuesday next week," referring to July 18 and 19.
The red phase move never happened, even though the numbers did continue to deteriorate.
The following Tuesday, the two health authorities reported an increase in weekly COVID-19 admissions, active hospitalizations, hospital outbreaks and staff infections between July 10-16.
A major element of red phase protocols would be a ban on routine visitors seeing patients in hospitals.
In his email, the then-CEO said moving to the red phase was "contingent" on Vitalité and Public Health agreeing to it.
But Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell said Wednesday she had no insight into why there was no move to red.
"I don't want to speak for the RHAs. They are the decision-makers in this case, so they're the authority on what happens in their own operations," she said.
Dornan said in the July 11 email it was "probable" Horizon would communicate the possibility of a move to the red phase "publicly this week as a heads up. It is good to be transparent."
That never happened.
At the time of Dornan's firing, Premier Blaine Higgs said a change in leadership was needed to break a "bureaucratic stalemate" in the health system and push forward reforms to address long wait lists and clogged emergency departments.
Higgs made the changes after the death of a patient who was waiting for care in the emergency department at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton.
Jacques Poitras/CBC
Vitalité vice-president of medical services Natalie Banville replied to Dornan's July 11 email that she had spoken to CEO France Desrosiers, and officials at the health authority wanted to "analyze the situation more closely."
She said cases were increasing but only two of Vitalité's 17 admissions were "COVID related."
"We need to look more closely at the epidemiology and zone situation before moving to red phase," Banville wrote, saying Vitalité's leadership would meet July 12 and respond with a recommendation.
Dornan thanked her and said Horizon would "strive to be on the same page." It's not clear what Vitalité ended up recommending the next day or why Dornan's replacement, interim CEO Margaret Melanson, didn't follow through with his plan.
Unlike Dornan, Desrosiers remains in her position as CEO of Vitalité.
Dornan turned down an interview request from CBC News about his email. "I have no comments," he said Wednesday.
In a statement to CBC News, Melanson said Horizon has "gained more knowledge of the virus" during the pandemic and can now adopt "more targeted and flexible" measures while maintaining important services and allowing visitors.
The statement did not address why Dornan felt differently and favoured a full move to red phase less than four weeks ago.
Three days after his email, and one day before his firing as CEO, Dornan encouraged Horizon staff in an internal memo to "consider showing an example" by masking in indoor public spaces due to "escalating" COVID-19 transmission.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said on July 18 Dornan's firing was "not related" to that memo.
Horizon and Vitalité moved to the red phase Dec. 31 during a surge of Omicron cases. They returned to the orange phase on June 20.
Dornan's July 11 email referred to a "seventh wave" arriving, even though the province's public health officials have been reluctant to use the term.
Russell told Brunswick News July 12 she might not define future increases in cases as waves.
"I don't want to call it a wave in a sense that everybody defines that differently. I'm saying it's an increased number of cases," she told the newspapers. "Whether it's a wave or not a wave, we're seeing an increased activity level in COVID cases."
Between July 10 and 16, the same week Dornan wrote the email and was fired, 30 people were newly admitted to hospitals because of COVID-19, up from 15 the previous week.
That number jumped again to 40 people between July 17 and 23.
The two health authorities had 209 staff out sick between July 10 and 16. That increased to 229 the week of July 17-23.
As of July 16, Horizon and Vitalité had 84 active hospitalized COVID-19 patients. It increased to 90 a week later.
The number of weekly new cases dropped last week for the first time in weeks. Those numbers tracked infections from July 17-23 and officials said that could indicate that hospitalisation numbers, which lag behind cases by a week or two, would soon peak and start to come down as well.
In new numbers released Wednesday for July 24-30, the number of weekly new cases dropped again and the number of hospital admissions and active hospitalizations for COVID-19 decreased slightly.
