Advocates call on Biden to act on reparations study by Juneteenth

It's been more than a month since a dozen civil rights and religious groups say they sent a letter to the White House calling on President Joe Biden sign an executive order to study reparations by Juneteenth, or this Sunday, June 19, marking the emancipation of enslaved African Americans.

So, this week, because Biden hasn't yet done so, activists began staging a first-of-its-kind visual installation on the Ellipse, near the White House, to get Biden's and the public's attention leading into America's newest federal holiday.


© Human Rights Watch

Reparations activists outside new art installation calling on President Joe Biden to sign an executive order on reparations in Washington.

The study activists wants comes after a decades-long push to establish a 13-person reparations commission in Congress.

The installation on the Ellipse includes a giant Pan-African flag, made of red, black, and green flowers alongside mulch provided by Black farmers -- what activists say is a visual reminder of the need for reparations.


© Human Rights Watch

Art installation calling on President Joe Biden to sign an executive order on reparations stands in Washington.

MORE: Advocates, lawmaker call for Biden to sign an executive order to study reparations

Shortly after the end of the Civil War, Union leaders promised formerly enslaved families "40 acres and a mule" -- a promise never fulfilled.

However, a reminder of the centuries-old promise has languished in Congress for decades. H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act, has been introduced in every legislative session since 1989.

The measure seeks to establish a commission to study "and consider a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of slavery, legal and other racial and economic discrimination, and the impact of these forces on living African Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies ..."

In recent years, the bill has gained some political traction.

In 2019, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, hundreds of members of Congress and over 350 organizations, including the U.S. Conference of Mayors, NAACP and ACLU publicly announced support for reparations.

At the Tribeca Film Festival, "The Big Payback," a documentary examining reparations, directed by "Living Single" actress Erika Alexander, premiered at the legendary festival in early June.

H.R. 40 passed out of the House Judiciary Committee in 2021 but has failed to come to a vote in the House or Senate.


© Win Mcnamee/Getty 

President Joe Biden delivers remarks in the East Room of the White House, June 13, 2022, in Washington, DC.

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated in 2021 that President Biden supported the study of reparations. However, when asked if he would support a bill on reparations Psaki said, "We'll see what happens through the legislative process."

Asked if Biden supports an executive order on the study of reparations, Psaki said at the time, "it would be up to him, he has executive order authority, he would certainly support a study, and we'll see where Congress moves on that issue."

MORE: California vote to limit reparations makes eligibility difficult, narrows slavery’s impact, experts say

A White House official told ABC News on Thursday, President Biden still "supports a study of reparations and the continued impacts of slavery but he is very clear that we don't need a study to advance racial equity."

The official added, "he is taking comprehensive action to address the systemic racism that persists today, including an executive order on his first day in office establishing a whole-of-government approach to addressing racial inequality and making sure equity is a part of his entire policy agenda."


© Paul Morigi/AP

Nkechi Taifa, center, speaks at Vote For Justice: An Evening of Empowerment with activists and artists at the Newseum, May 9, 2018, in Washington.

MORE: What America owes: How reparations would look and who would pay

Nkechi Taifa is director of the Reparation Education Project, and has been calling for reparations for moire than 50 years. In 1987, she was one of the founders of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N'COBRA), an organization that worked closely with Democratic Rep. John Conyers to draft the introduction of H.R. 40 in 1989. She says now is the time for Biden to sign an executive order so the commission can be up and running before the end of Biden's presidency.

Taifa says she hopes the display at the ellipse sends a message that reparations advocates need to be paid attention to, and Black people should not be taken for granted.

She told ABC News, "If they think they're gonna rest on Juneteenth because it's a holiday and a watered down policing reform bill -- that's not enough. Black people have been run roughshod over, you know, for centuries, and it just, it just cannot continue."

MORE: Nation's wealthiest Black man says corporate America should consider slavery reparations

Joan Neal, deputy executive director and chief equity officer at NETWORK, a social justice advocacy group founded by U.S. religious sisters tells ABC News, that "Slavery was a sin, that was the original sin of this country, and we believe that unless you acknowledge your sin and you make a firm determination to never do it again, and then make restitution for what was lost. You still have not been forgiven."

MORE: How the 1st US city to fund reparations for Black residents is making amends

She added, "All parties have to be willing to stand up and face the sin in order for the sin to be forgiven and in order for things to be whole again."

 

The Enduring Importance of Eric Williams' “Capitalism and ...

https://areomagazine.com › Review

Mar 10, 2022 — First published in 1944, Capitalism and Slavery is an investigation of the notorious relationship between the Atlantic slave trade and the ...

Eighty-year-old study of British slave trade is back in the ...

Mar 2, 2022 — Capitalism and Slavery, by the future first prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago Eric Williams, argues that the abolition of slavery was ...

At last! Eric Williams' classic book Capitalism and Slavery ...

https://socialistworker.co.uk › reviews-and-culture › at-l...

Jan 28, 2022 — Penguin has republished Eric Williams' Capitalism and Slavery for the first time in Britain in almost 40 years.

Atlantic Slavery and the Rise of the Capitalist Global Economy

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu › doi › pdf

by JE Inikori · 2020 · Cited by 16 — Oxford University doctoral dissertation by Eric Williams, “The. Economic Aspect of Abolition of the West Indian Slave Trade and Slavery,” was published

Capitalism and Slavery - Penguin Books

https://www.penguin.co.uk › ... › Capitalism and Slavery

Feb 24, 2022 — Arguing that the slave trade was at the heart of Britain's economic progress, Eric Williams's landmark 1944 study revealed the connections ...

WHILE PROMOTING INCREASED PETROLEUM PRODUCTION

Biden announces new initiatives to curb methane during international climate meeting

Ella Nilsen - CNN


President Joe Biden on Friday convened a meeting of more than 20 of the world’s largest economies to discuss steps to curb methane emissions to address the climate crisis as well as efforts to stabilize global energy markets amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

At the US-hosted Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, the President argued Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war has “sharpened the need to achieve long-term reliable energy security and stability,” and fueled a “global energy crisis.”

Biden on Friday announced the US and European Union have launched the next step of their global methane pledge to reduce emissions of the planet-warming gas by 30% by 2030. The so-called energy pathway will focus on eliminating routine flaring in fossil fuel operations – the burning of natural gas that happens in oil extractions – and focus on ways to cut methane pollution in the oil and gas sector.

“Each year our existing energy system leaks enough methane to meet the needs for the entire European power sector. We flare enough gas to offset nearly all of the EU’s gas imports from Russia. So by stopping the leaking and flaring of the super potent greenhouse gas and capturing this resource for countries that need it, we’re addressing two problems at once,” Biden said, speaking virtually with the other leaders from the White House.

Biden on Friday also announced a new global initiative focused on raising $90 billion to develop and scale new clean technologies to decarbonize. The US will devote $21.5 billion to this effort, with funds already passed in Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law.

The President said the new initiatives – which do not require congressional approval – were part of the US’ overall efforts to bolster energy security, reduce dependence on Russian gas, bring down gas and energy prices and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“A critical point is that these actions are part of our transition to a clean and secure long-term energy future. And the good news is climate security and energy security go hand in hand,” Biden said.

The meeting comes as the bulk of President’s sweeping climate agenda remains stalled in Congress, leaving Biden without any major domestic climate policies to present to other world leaders. It also comes as the President acknowledges there is little he can do to immediately bring down the price of gas in the US, which recently hit $5 a gallon on average nationwide for the first time ever.

Friday’s meeting was the largest climate meeting of world leaders in the run-up to the United Nations climate summit, COP27, in November. Twenty-three of the world’s largest economies were represented at the virtual meeting, as well as other countries participating in climate pledges. Several foreign nations were also expected to announce strengthened climate targets in line with the Paris agreement.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that’s around 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in the short term. Climate scientists say reducing methane emissions is a necessary but easy way to begin turning down the dial on the climate crisis.

The President invited other countries to join his previously announced domestic goal that by 2030, half of vehicles sold in the US will be battery electric, fuel-cell electric or plug-in hybrid. Biden’s zero-emissions vehicles target is not binding and some other countries are moving more aggressively on it. For instance, the European Union is considering its own more stringent standards to ban the sale of new combustion engine cars by 2035.

Countries participating in Friday’s meeting include China, Australia, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – which will host COP27 in November.

Chinese President Xi Jinping did not attend the meeting; China instead was represented by its climate envoy Xie Zhenhua, officials said.

A senior administration official said Zhenhua and US Climate Envoy John Kerry have met multiple times in the last month and continued work on the agreement the two countries announced at COP26 in Glasgow last year is “intensifying” and a “top priority.”

“We are committed to working with them on topics like their plan to address methane emissions in China for the first time,” that official said. “We’re also of course engaging on other topics including the energy transition and illegal deforestation in China.”
The US faces a steep path to hitting its own emissions target

As promising as Biden’s early goals on reducing US greenhouse gas emissions were, progress on achieving them has been mixed, independent analysis shows.

After rejoining the Paris accord after taking office, Biden announced a goal to slash US emissions in half from 2005 levels – a record-high year for planet-warming emissions – by 2030.

In order to do that, the nonpartisan research firm Rhodium Group found that three major things would have to happen: Biden would have to pass massive investments in clean energy through Congress, enact several ambitious federal regulations cutting emissions from things like vehicles, power plants and industry, and states would have to make significant progress.

On Thursday, Rhodium released a progress report showing little progress has been made, and the window to act is rapidly closing.

Rhodium Group partner John Larsen told CNN that the things Biden has able to get done so far – including passing his bipartisan infrastructure bill and getting through some government regulations – is still nibbling around the edges of his Paris commitment.

“The big-ticket items are all either in a holding pattern or at very early stages,” Larsen told CNN.

The biggest item left undone is a climate and clean energy package passing through Congress. Talks between West Virgina Sen. Joe Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on a limited spending package that likely will include clean energy tax credits are continuing – but so far it’s unclear if they will produce a deal.

The timeline to pass any such legislation is extremely narrow, as Democrats risk losing their majority in November.

Larsen said Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency has several regulations either in the works or yet to start that could make a dent. But even that has roadblocks.

Another barrier to progress has been the looming Supreme Court decision on EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, which could limit the tools the administration has to cut down planet-warming gases in the electricity sector.

“When [White House national climate adviser] Gina McCarthy says the federal government has all the tools to get to the target, it’s almost certainly the case that they do,” Larsen said. “But how they use these tools and how ambitious they choose to be will almost certainly be influenced by whether there’s legislation in place.”

CNN.com

THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESS

Wangersky: We don't have to agree with an opinion to publish it

Russell Wangersky is the editor in chief of the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.


Leader Post Newspapers publish a variety of opinions to try to spark a more comprehensive public debate on issues.

You take your openings where you can find them.

This starting point for this column comes from Twitter, where a reader questioned our publication of a Toronto Sun columnist on the editorial page of the Leader-Post last week.

“We don’t regularly see a piece by Lorrie Goldstein in the Leader-Post but have him write a piece about a Fraser Institute health-care study suggesting user fees and the Leader-Post gives him a spot on the editorial page. I thought Editor-in-Chief Russell Wangersky was a breath of fresh air, but …”

First off, let me say that I understand the sentiment.

Goldstein’s opinions trend, shall we say, to the right side of the political spectrum.

But if he appears on our op-ed pages, does that automatically mean we agree with his position?

No.

Does it mean I agree with him? Do I believe that things like a two-tiered health-care system or user fees will strengthen the public health-care system by taking the strain off the public system, and in the process, improve health care for Canadians?

No, I don’t — for a simple reason. Policy-makers and the people whose voices are most heard by those policy-makers will fall into the camp that’s both able to pay for private services and not notice the personal impact of user fees.

User fees could dissuade lower-income Canadians from seeking early intervention for medical conditions, and potentially lead to Canadians not getting medical care until their illnesses are considerably advanced (and potential treatments are correspondingly more expensive).

I feel the same way about building a parallel health-care system, where those who can afford care can essentially jump to the front of the line.

I think that won’t just take strain off the public system — I think the public health-care system will continue to deteriorate and, in fact, deteriorate even faster as concerns vanish from view and also as doctors and other health-care workers move to a better-paying, better-resourced and less-difficult-to-work-in private system.

When decision-makers aren’t looking for their own care within a public health system, their involvement in the system becomes second-hand at best — and their attention can be, shall we say, diverted from the needs at hand.

I also think that there are legitimate reasons to question the role of think-tanks like the Fraser Institute in the Canadian political system.

I find a particular irony in agencies questioning public policy, particularly around government spending, while at the same time depending in part for their fiscal existence on a taxation loophole.

As charitable research operations, think-tanks get to issue tax receipts to donors who agree with the think-tanks’ choice of issues to study, and how to study them.

But I’m also keenly aware that I’m only one voice in a debate that involves us all — from the cost of the service to the equity of its delivery to its flaws and potential improvements — and that since it does involve us all, we all have a right to speak.

The goal, hopefully, is a health-care system that serves all Canadians in the best way it can, and that means a no-holds-barred discussion.

That can’t be only publishing the side of the debate you agree with. (I should point out, as long as there is really a debate. And that’s key.)

Does that mean it’s open season for repeated letters or op-eds dismissing climate change or touting unproven COVID cures? Not without a cogent argument and a healthy dose of something approaching facts — because airing things that are demonstrably false doesn’t advance the debate at all.

But if we’re all so precious that we can’t even find a place for a different opinion on public policy, how do we ever hope to reach common ground?

Sometimes, readers won’t agree with opinion pieces. And sometimes, I won’t agree with opinion pieces either.

That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be printed.

Luckily, anything that does get printed can be responded to as well.

So, if you disagree with something on the editorial page, find your keyboard and get writing.

Russell Wangersky is the editor in chief of the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. He can be reached at rwangersky@postmedia.com.

Polytechnique shooting survivor Nathalie Provost receives honorary doctorate

MONTREAL — More than 32 years after a gunman motivated by a hatred of feminists opened fire at École polytechnique, killing 14 women and injuring others, Nathalie Provost finally got to attend a convocation.



The gun control advocate and survivor of the 1989 shooting received a standing ovation as she was recognized on Thursday with an honorary doctorate at a ceremony in downtown Montreal.

Provost explained before the ceremony that while she had two previous degrees from the school, traditional graduation ceremonies weren't held back when she was a student, so Thursday's was her first.

Onstage at the ceremony, wearing a cap and gown, she said the tragedy marked her deeply, but also allowed her to learn her own strength and "take the measure of the woman I could become."

She also read the names of the 14 women who died in the tragedy.

In an interview beforehand, Provost said her thoughts would be on how deeply the school has marked her life — not only by the tragedy but also by the lifelong friends she made and the education she received.

"The adult person I've become is an engineer to the core," she said in a phone interview. "Even if I don't work as a classic engineer, I am one."

Provost said she returned to class less than a month after being shot four times by Marc Lépine in the Dec. 6, 1989, massacre that's widely believed to be Canada's worst mass shooting specifically targeting women. She graduated with an engineering degree a few months later, in May 1990, and would go on to earn a master's degree from the same school.

In retrospect, she said has realized that she felt she had something to prove in returning to class so soon.

"I think it was kind of a way to say to the world and to Marc Lépine, 'You won't stop me,'" she said.

"'You tried, but you won't succeed.'"

Provost's honorary doctorate comes at a very different time in her life. Her four children, several of whom were in attendance, are the same age as the young graduates.

At 55, she's had a successful career as a civil servant and has climbed the ranks at her job.

"I'm getting to the age of wisdom, where I can look back at what I’ve lived," she said.

In a statement, Polytechnique said it wanted to honour Provost because of her life of "remarkable achievements, driven by uncommon determination and social values, (and) for the example of audacity that she embodies for the new generation of engineers in Quebec, in Canada and around the world."

Pierre Baptiste, interim director of academic affairs and student experience, said Provost has remained connected to the school and has always encouraged young engineering students, especially women.

He said that today, 30 per cent of the school's engineering students are female — a rise he attributes in part to women like Provost who serve as role models to the next generation.

Provost, who became a gun control advocate after the shooting, said she is feeling encouraged by the federal government's new firearms legislation that includes a national freeze on importing, buying, selling or otherwise transferring handguns.

However, she said she feels there's more to do — on gun control as well as on other issues, including gender discrimination and violence against women.

"Equality between men and women is something we have to keep fighting for," she said.

"It's not a closed case," she said, citing the debate over abortion in the United States as an example.

She said the young female engineers who are graduating will likely face less of an uphill battle professionally than she did, but she said they still face complex challenges. "I don't know if they know how important they are, but they are," she said.

After decades of advocacy, Provost said she hasn't yet felt the need to stop telling her story — as long as she feels it can help lead to better gun legislation and concrete change.

“When I no longer believe in my contribution, I won't be able to speak up anymore and probably I'll shut up," she said. "But for the moment, I think I can bring something."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2022.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: The Real Crime In Canada 

Small Ontario town rallies to replace Pride decorations after flags cut up, destroyed

People in the town of Minto, Ont., are supporting the local LGBTQ community after Pride decorations were cut up and destroyed in acts of vandalism that police are calling hate-motivated crimes.


© Submitted by Caitlin HallMinto Pride members Raissa Rogers, Sam Greer and Rosie Krul, left to right, tie decorations to a light post in celebration of Pride Month in June. After decorations were stripped from the streets of Palmerston and Harriston in Ontario, community members and local businesses chipped in to replace them.

Jackie Sharkey - Yesterday

Between June 4 and 13, Pride flags at schools in Listowel, Harriston, Drayton and Mapleton were torn down, cut up and shredded, say Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

Over that same period, streets in Palmerston and Harriston were twice stripped of virtually all Pride decorations, Const. Joshua Cunningham told CBC News.

"The focus seemed to be eradication — complete removal — of all of them," in Palmerston and Harriston, said Cunningham.

At the beginning of the month, members of Minto Pride had wrapped bands of fabric around light standards lining the streets in Palmerston, Harriston and Clifford, the communities that make up Minto, a town of about 9,000.

In one surveillance video, posted to Twitter by the OPP, a person can be seen scaling a flag pole "and manhandling, grabbing and ripping down the flag," said Cunningham. A photo distributed by police shows a rainbow flag torn down the side and cut into six pieces.

"It seemed the goal was not to damage the flag, but to destroy the flag," he said. "We're treating it as a hate-motivated crime."
Message to youth

Caitlin Hall, one of the founding members of Minto Pride, said that in past years, they've had Pride flags go missing, but there's never been anything on this scale.


"It's beyond little acts of mischief to something that was a little more worrisome and offensive," said Hall, adding she's most concerned about what message is being sent to youth who saw Pride flags torn down from outside their schools.

"I'm worried more for kids or young people that might be thinking about coming out or who recently have come out and were maybe starting to feel this was a safe place ... to have that very visual reminder that, 'OK, there are still people that have a problem with me and who I am."

It has Hall feeling parts of her community are still "way behind the times in terms of being the loving, accepting, open community we're trying hard to have Minto be," she said.

But an outpouring of support at a Pride event on Sunday has Hall and Minto Mayor George Bridge feeling optimistic the vandals are a minority in the community.

 
Community replaces decorations

"We had over 300 people — for a small town — at our Pride picnic," said Bridge. "In fact, we had quite a few people come out to support the event because of the previous vandalism — they felt that it doesn't reflect the true nature of what the town is, and I truly believe that."

"It was a great community display of love and acceptance," agreed Hall.

Now, some of those community members and businesses are banding together to pay to replace the decorations, which were all paid for by the Pride committee.

Most want to stay anonymous, said Hall, and aren't looking for recognition — instead donating money to replace the rainbow fabric that was torn from the light standards.

On Friday, they'll install new fabric bands on the light standards in Palmerston and Harrison, in solidarity with Minto Pride.

"It's business and community that's really coming together and not standing for this," said Ron McTaggart, owner of the Foodland in Palmerston.

"Right after it happened, we had businesses reach out to our [economic development staff] and say, 'We'll replace their stuff,'" said Bridge.

"And that's an example of what this community's really about."

'Pride is more than just like a party': Protest to replace weekend parade in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Heather Kitching - 

© Submitted by Lak Williams  Pride is a Protest co-organizer Lak Williams said the original Pride was a demonstration against police brutality, and questioned why Pride organizers must pay police for their services during the parade.

In June 1969, police raided New York City's Stonewall Inn, roughing up and arresting its 2SLGBT patrons.

More than 50 years later, the Pride celebrations held across North America, often on or close to the anniversary of the event, bear little resemblance to that uprising against police repression that served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement.

As the two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has gained acceptance from the dominant culture and even recognition as a lucrative consumer group, Pride events have at times become a source of tension in the community.

Some embrace them as a colourful cultural celebration of liberties already won; others regret seeing Pride being used by corporations and in marketing campaigns while the continued struggles of more marginalized members of the community are moved to the sidelines.

Those perspectives will be juxtaposed Saturday in Thunder Bay, Ont., beginning with a protest march called Pride is a Protest — which has the support of the city's established Pride organizer, Thunder Pride.

Later in the day, Thunder Pride and the Rainbow Collective will hold two events more conventionally associated with Pride: an afternoon street festival and nighttime drag show.
'Taking matters into our own hands'

Protest co-organizers Lak Williams and Sarah DiBiagio said they organized the march after learning that Thunder Pride didn't have the resources to hold a formal Pride parade this year.

"A lot of our community members, especially people who have finally come out of the closet this year, they were so excited to be a part of the Pride parade but left disappointed or beyond disappointed because some of our questions weren't even able to be answered," Williams said.

"We're taking matters into our own hands and ensuring that Pride is more than just like a party. Everybody knows it started as a protest."

Some people had expressed concerns to the duo about losing out on the opportunity to march proudly through the streets, DiBiagio said, while others were frustrated with corporate-sponsored parades.

"A lot of the events that are being held this year for Pride Month do revolve around partying, alcohol consumption and pay-to-plays," she added.

"The average cost of one of the drag shows is around $30. So that's also a way that Pride has been limited this year for a lot of people who needed access to it."

This year is a particularly important one to return politics to Pride, DiBiagio said, as the rights of two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans/non-binary people have come under attack, particularly in the United States.

As well, Ontario Provincial Police are investigating after Pride decorations and flags in several communities were torn up, cut and shredded.

"It's very troublesome to see how backwards it's going," said Scotia Kauppi, the new executive secretary and treasurer of Thunder Pride.

Kauppi said she takes seriously the concerns raised to activists like Williams and DiBiaigio, and the organization has tried to be transparent about the reasons for not holding the Pride parade this year.

"Our board was down to nothing, and with COVID-19, our funding was not there," she said. "We didn't have the resources or volunteers to even start parade planning. Parade planning has to start in, like, January."

Thunder Pride put out notices earlier in the year looking for new directors; it is now one short of a full complement, though the organization currently has no Indigenous board members, Kauppi said, something she is trying to rectify.

The struggle to attract board members has multiple sources, she said.

"With COVID, there was such a lull where we couldn't really do anything anyway," Kauppi said. "But there was also drama that happened before.… It did obviously leave a bad taste in people's mouths about our board and about our association."

In 2020, the organization announced it had suspended a member for racism and that two board members were also being suspended.
Events spread out over a month

Later that summer, then board chair Jason Veltri resigned following public criticism of his handling of an initiative to bring rainbow crosswalks to the city.

Thunder Pride worked with Veltri's new organization, Rainbow Collective, on some of this year's Pride events.

"I'm a very olive branch type of person," Kauppi said.

The organization spread this year's Pride events out over an entire month to prevent excessive spread of COVID-19 and provide more opportunities for people from out of town to catch an event in the city, Kauppi said.

The parade, however, was simply too expensive to organize in the time available, she said, saying the cost of hiring police to close the streets and protect protesters would amount to thousands of dollars.

Williams was critical of the idea the 2SLGBT community should fundraise to cover policing costs.

"Pride started as a protest against police brutality," they said. "So if police really wanted to show their allyship to the queer community, we shouldn't have to be paying them to, you know, monitor the streets to ensure our safety."

Kauppi said the new board members share the protest organizers' desire to see politics return to Pride, saying many of them too are tired of "the corporate, very entertainment side of Pride."

"I think historically, Thunder Pride was always very … surface-level events: Pride parade, flag raisings and maybe, like, a little bit of activism but not too much," she said.

"I'm finding that the main group … still has lots of fight in us. And I think activism is going to become a bigger role for us now."

She said she hopes people will give the new board a chance, and welcomes the work of Williams and DiBiagio in organizing the protest.

"I believe Saturday is going to be a good mix of everything we need for Pride," she said. "It has the activism. It has the community and it has the fun."

The Pride is a Protest march begins Saturday at 11 a.m. ET at Waverly Park, while the street festival takes place from noon to 6 p.m. in the city's waterfront district.

RED TORY - SHE IS RUNNING
Michelle Rempel Garner exits Patrick Brown campaign to consider UCP leadership run


OTTAWA — Michelle Rempel Garner, a longtime Conservative MP from Calgary, says she's stepping back from the federal Conservative leadership race to consider running for Jason Kenney's job.


Michelle Rempel Garner to consider UCP leadership run

Rempel Garner was serving as co-chair on Patrick Brown's leadership campaign when Kenney stunned many last month by announcing he was resigning as premier of Alberta and leader of the United Conservative Party after narrowly surviving a leadership review.

Rempel Garner's name soon started to circulate as a potential successor to Kenney.

She confirmed on Twitter she has been encouraged to run and is giving "serious consideration" to mounting a UCP leadership bid.

Rempel Garner says she will step back from the federal Conservative leadership race to focus her attention on a potential leadership run.

"I will make my decision based on the conversations I have with the people I represent — Albertans."

In his own statement on Twitter, Brown thanked Rempel Garner for contributing to his campaign and wished her well in her deliberations.

Announcing that Rempel Garner, who was first elected in 2011, would serve as one of his national campaign co-chairs was seen by some to be a key get for Brown, whose political roots lie in Ontario.

Her departure follows a decision by two MPs to forgo their endorsement of Brown and instead back his main rival, longtime Ottawa-area MP Pierre Poilievre.

At the time, a spokesman for Brown's campaign brushed off the decision by Ontario MPs Kyle Seeback and Dan Muys to switch sides, saying they only represent two votes.

A spokesman has not yet responded to a question of whether Brown will name a replacement to the role Rempel Garner filled as a campaign co-chair.

Almost since the race began, Poilievre and Brown, as well as their wider teams, have taken to attacking one another back and forth, which continued Thursday with Poilievre tweeting Brown's leadership bid was in "free fall."

Recently, the party opened an investigation into Brown's campaign based on a complaint lodged by Tim Uppal, a Conservative MP from Edmonton who is helping chair Poilievre's campaign.

In a letter sent last week to Ian Brodie, chair of the party's leadership election organizing committee, Uppal alleges that Poilievre's campaign has been made aware of "concerning membership sales practices" by Brown.

Uppal details how the Poilievre campaign "received repeated reports" that organizers working for Brown "were arranging to reimburse the membership fees paid by individuals who agreed to join the party using the Brown campaign's web portal."

In a statement, party executive director Wayne Benson confirmed that it had received the complaint from Poilievre's campaign about Brown and is investigating the allegations.

He added the party wouldn't say more until the investigation was over.

Brown's campaign has dismissed the allegations, with spokesman Chisholm Pothier saying it looked forward to "debunking their delusions."

When it comes to Rempel Garner's departure, Pothier said the campaign still enjoys her support and that she left to fulfil other obligations.

He added her leaving doesn't change anything about the campaign's organization.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2022.

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press

AS A RED TORY RUNNING FEDERALLY SHE WAS ENDORSED LAST ELECTION BY THE FORMER CULTURE MINISTER IN THE NDP 

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

LET HIM IN

Edmonton MLA says he's been cleared of hacking charges; seeks return to NDP caucus

EDMONTON — An Alberta legislature member investigated by the RCMP after he admitted to hacking into a government health website says he has been cleared of criminal charges.



Thomas Dang says in a statement he will instead have to pay a yet-to-be-determined fine for contravening the Health Information Act.

Dang was removed from the NDP caucus when charges were laid in December 2021.

He has been sitting in the house as an Independent but says he wants to return to caucus.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley, when asked in Calgary, said she was not aware of the development but would get more information and discuss it with the caucus and party.

She had said Dang, who represents the constituency of Edmonton-South, would not be allowed to sit in caucus or run for the party in the next election while under police investigation.

“I am excited to put this matter behind me, and I am grateful to the RCMP and the Crown prosecutor for working quickly to achieve this resolution," Dang said in his statement Thursday.

“I’ve learned a lot from this experience and will absolutely do things differently in the future if similar concerns or issues are brought to me.

RCMP spokesman Fraser Logan said he could not confirm details about the case but that the investigation had been referred to prosecutors.

The Alberta Crown prosecution service declined to comment.

Dang is a second-term legislature member.

He was charged after he admitted to using his computer to follow up on a tip from a constituent about possible loopholes that were allowing access to people's private health information on the province’s COVID-19 vaccine website.

He later said that when he ran into roadblocks trying to breach the vaccination site, he used Premier Jason Kenney's birth date and vaccination dates — both publicly available — which allowed him to breach the site's privacy safeguards.

At that point, Dang said, he immediately stopped the search and told the NDP caucus, which in turn advised the government of the security breach. It was remedied soon after.

Dang said using Kenney's details was a reasonable decision to make under the circumstances, given the premier has a high profile and could be a target of hacking.

He rejected suggestions he was engaging in a form of identity theft.

The United Conservative Party caucus, in a statement, said, “Given the serious nature of this RCMP investigation and the resulting fine under the Health Information Act, MLA Dang should not be allowed to rejoin the Official Opposition caucus.

“Many questions still remain about Dang’s online activities, as well as Notley’s knowledge of them.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2022.

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press

OFFICE POLITICS

AFN national chief under investigation over bullying, harassment allegations

Olivia Stefanovich - Yesterday 

The national chief of the country's most influential First Nations organization is under pressure to step aside as she faces an external investigation over bullying and harassment allegations from four of her staff members, CBC News has learned.


© Chris Young/The Canadian Press

Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald was the subject of a previous bullying and harassment investigation in her former role as Ontario regional chief.

The complaints against Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald were filed under the organization's whistleblower policy.

In a statement issued Thursday, the AFN confirmed it received a number of complaints last month against Archibald and determined the findings supported further inquiry by an external investigator.

In her own statement released Thursday, Archibald said she welcomes the investigation and called for a forensic audit and independent inquiry into the last eight years of AFN operations.

In her statement, Archibald claims she never had a human resources complaint launched against her prior to her work at AFN.

"This is the second time that I've endured a smear campaign as a result of my relentless pursuit of the truth," Archibald said.

"I hope people can see the toxic pattern at the AFN."

Archibald alleges the four staff members filed complaints against her after they tried to secure $1 million in contract payouts.

"The background deals, the large payouts to staff and other documented incidents of corruption and collusion has caused us to lose sight of our shared goal: to fight for the collective rights of more than 900,000 Indigenous Peoples living in more than 600 First Nations communities, cities and towns across Turtle Island," she wrote in her statement posted to social media.

Sources say problems began after Archibald took office

The whistleblower mechanism the staff used to file complaints against Archibald was created last year following a separate bullying and harassment investigation of her while she was Ontario regional chief.

The new complaints include objections to Archibald's alleged introduction of a Hawaiian cultural practice called ho'oponopono during weekly meetings. The complaints claim that the practice sees Archibald recite prayers for staff members' healing or in response to their errors, and say that she asks them to share their childhood traumas.

Multiple sources who spoke to CBC News said some staff members complained this practice served to re-traumatize them. The sources spoke on the condition they not be named because they fear reprisals.

Archibald's counsel Aaron Detlor told CBC News he's unaware of any Hawaiian cultural practices employed by the national chief, or of her asking people to reveal childhood traumas. He said he's aware Archibald believes strongly in Indigenous-based healing.

The investigation is being conducted by an outside firm hired by the AFN.

The four staff members who made the complaints are on paid leave. Archibald remains in her role as national chief.

Sources said the problems at the AFN office in Ottawa began shortly after Archibald took office last summer.

They describe the workplace as toxic and said staff dread coming to work each day.

The same sources, who have direct knowledge of the workings of the national chief's office, said staff claim they've been yelled at by the national chief and reduced to tears by her criticism of their work.

Archibald denies she sought higher salary

Three sources said Archibald still has not signed her employment contract and has demanded she be paid the same salary as the prime minister.

In a recording of a meeting held Wednesday with Ontario regional chiefs — reviewed by CBC News — Archibald is heard denying she requested a prime ministerial salary.

Detlor also said the allegation is "simply incorrect."

"It would quite frankly raise issues of, broader issues related to some of the underlying problems where breaches of confidentiality and an attempt to resolve matters through the press is … undermining the national chief's efforts to engage in a healing path forward," he said.

At the same meeting with Ontario chiefs, the sources said, Archibald asked for support to dissolve the AFN secretariat — the administrative and operational arm of the organization, which employs about 200 people.

Archibald is also facing pressure from some First Nations chiefs to step down.

McLeod Lake Indian Band Chief Harley Chingee, whose band is in British Columbia, drafted a resolution to be tabled at next month's AFN gathering of chiefs to force Archibald's ouster. It was seconded by Long Plain First Nation Chief Kyra Wilson, whose community is in Manitoba.

B.C. chief questions Archibald's election victory

Chingee said Archibald's 2021 election victory may not be legitimate under the organization's charter. The charter requires that a national chief be elected with 60 per cent of the vote.

Archibald was elected on 205 ballots, accounting for only 50 per cent of votes cast during the election, which was held virtually because of COVID-19 restrictions. Her opponent, Reginald Bellerose, dropped out after receiving 144 votes, or 35 per cent of the total.

Chingee said the AFN is currently adrift.

"Her administration is sort of messed up because if you have a leader that's not leading the troops in a good way, the people underneath it are also discombobulated," he said.

"That's a problem for morale and thinking forward and looking after the interests of the First Nations."

Chingee expressed concern about reports he said he's heard regarding how Archibald is treating people in her office.
'Her silence is deafening'

He also said Archibald is largely absent from the national stage and only deals with a select number of chiefs.

"Her silence is deafening," Chingee said. "I'm concerned to the degree that we're a leaderless bunch. Just bobbing in the ocean sort of, with no leader, no paddle.… We're going over the Niagara Falls."

Detlor said chiefs are entitled to their opinions.

"I believe the national chief's position is that she was legitimately elected and she stands legitimately as the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations," Detlor said.

In her statement, Archibald thanked Ontario chiefs for passing two resolutions on Thursday validating the election results and her calls for an oversight body for the AFN executive, which is composed of regional chiefs.

"In the coming days, more information will be revealed," Archibald said.

"What was done in darkness shall always find a way into the light."

A report dated May 3, 2021, by independent investigator Bryna Hatt into bullying and harassment complaints against Archibald when she was Ontario regional chief involved 10 complaints, but only seven of the complainants agreed to be interviewed.

It hit a dead end after the complainants refused to file formal claims because they said they feared workplace retribution. Archibald was not interviewed for the investigation.

The investigator reported that each of the seven complainants was credible and had genuine concerns about pursuing their complaints further.

Freedom movement' rallies planned to run in Ottawa all summer: organizer

OTTAWA — Events are set to take place in Ottawa in late June through Canada Day and the rest of the summer for what organizers say are to protest remaining COVID-19 pandemic-era restrictions.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Andrew MacGillivray, steering committee member for Veterans for Freedom, said in an interview posted on YouTube that it will hold a three-day conference in Ottawa next week, from Wednesday to Friday.

Veterans for Freedom describes itself on its website as a group made up of Canadian veterans working to "restore fundamental freedoms for all Canadians" and "uphold Canadian laws."

The organization has partnered with other groups that oppose pandemic mandates, including those calling themselves Police on Guard and Canadian Frontline Nurses.

The “Freedom Convoy” protest, which occupied downtown streets for three weeks earlier this year, is still in recent memory for many Ottawa citizens.

The members of the Veterans for Freedom steering committee all have ties to the earlier protests, including one person who was among the convoy's spokespeople. Others appeared in YouTube videos supporting convoy demonstrators.

MacGillivray said the group’s aim is to have the federal government repeal remaining mandates, reinstate federal workers who lost their jobs related to mandates and pay those workers for lost wages.

He said his group plans to hold a meeting with up to 17 MPs on Wednesday, who are "mostly Conservative," and the next two days will be town hall events with key people in the "freedom movement."


On June 30, Veterans for Freedom is co-ordinating a route for James Topp and his supporters to walk through parts of Ottawa to the National War Memorial. The route has received a police escort, said MacGillivray.

Topp is a Canadian soldier who was charged by the Department of National Defence in May after publicly speaking out against federal vaccine requirements while in uniform.

He left Vancouver in February to walk to Ottawa in protest of pandemic mandates, according to the Canada Marches website.

In the interview on YouTube, MacGillivray shared plans for Canada Day celebrations, set to take place on the lawn in front of the Supreme Court of Canada, which will include a march to City Hall, and a dance party on Parliament Hill that evening.

Heritage Canada said this year's Canada Day celebrations will largely take place in LeBreton Flats Park in the city.

When asked about all the planned “freedom”-related events, Ottawa police said it would be sharing information Friday afternoon in partnership with Heritage Canada on its security approach to Canada Day.

MacGillivray said it will also set up a semi-permanent camp east of Ottawa called "Camp Eagle" and will be holding events all summer. The camp sits about 40 minutes outside the city on private property.

"Basically, we're going to stay there the entire summer. We're going to implement our strategy and our plan to lean on the government through education, information, et cetera."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2022.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Erika Ibrahim, The Canadian Press