Apple just gave Russia a spot on the iPhone to advertise its favorite apps to its citizens

Mitchell Clark 

3/16/2021

WHEN WE GO TO  HANG THE LAST ARISTOCRAT 

IT WILL BE THE CAPITALIST WHO SELLS US

THE ROPE. 

V. I. LENIN

Starting April 1st, users setting up a new iPhone in Russia will see a screen that allows them to automatically install apps that are officially sanctioned by the Russian government, in compliance with Russian law (via Engadget).

IT IS NOT THAT CAPITALIST THAT DEFENDS BOURGEOIS DEMOCRACY, IT IS THE PROLETARIAT

© Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The law in question was passed back in 2019, and requires smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and smart TVs sold in Russia to come pre-installed with specific apps made by Russian companies by April 1st, according to Russian news site Vedomosti. (The law was originally set to go into effect in July 2020, but was pushed back to April 2021). Vedomosti also says that apps won’t be installed if users don’t want them. Apple confirmed to The Verge that it will comply with the law by giving the users the option to install the apps when activating the phone.

Which apps are specifically going to be offered to users remains unclear, though Vedomosti cites a government services app, and apps from Russian companies including Yandex, Mail.ru, and Kaspersky Lab. The government seems to be aware that it might be problematic to favor specific apps, and is planning to expand its list over time: “The Ministry is not at all interested in seeing popular apps included in the mandatory pre-installation list take dominant positions. If alternatives emerge on the market, prove interesting to users and gain popularity quickly, they will be included in this selection and also offered for pre-installation,” a Russian official told Vedomosti.

Apple has historically kept tight control over the iPhone’s setup process, and that appears to now be changing, if only in one market. While Apple has previously made changes to stay on the side of local laws — it’s changed maps, blocked pride watch faces in Russia, and now stores iCloud data on state-run servers in China — this may be one of the more dramatic changes, as it affects a screen that every user will see when they set up their iPhone.

Apple has slowly been allowing users to change how iOS works out of the box, with the ability to change some default apps in iOS 14, but now it’s given a small amount of control over the setup process to the Russian government, too. As the company faces legal challenges from the EU and US over antitrust, and over giving its competitors a level playing field, we may see Apple having to give over some more control to governments if it wants to sell its phones to their citizens — though it probably won’t be compelled to ask users if they want to install Spotify at setup. 

Probably.

Uber to give UK drivers minimum wage, pension, holiday pay

LONDON — Uber is giving its U.K. drivers the minimum wage, pensions and holiday pay, following a recent court ruling that said they should be classified as workers and entitled to such benefits.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The ride hailing giant's announcement Tuesday comes after it lost an appeal last month at the U.K. Supreme Court following a yearslong court battle. The court's decision holds wider implications for the country's gig economy.

Uber said it's extending the benefits immediately to its more than 70,000 drivers in the U.K. Drivers will earn at least the minimum wage, which currently stands at 8.72 pounds ($12.12), after accepting a trip request and expenses, and will still be able to earn more.

Drivers will also get holiday pay equal to about 12% of their earnings, paid every two weeks. And they'll be enrolled in a pension plan that both they and the company will pay into.

“This is an important day for drivers in the U.K.," Uber's regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, Jamie Heywood, said in a filing to the SEC. He noted that drivers will still be able to work on a flexible basis. “Uber is just one part of a larger private-hire industry, so we hope that all other operators will join us in improving the quality of work for these important workers who are an essential part of our everyday lives.”

The drivers who filed the case welcomed the news but said it's not enough.

Uber has “arrived to the table with this offer a day late and a dollar short, literally,” James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam of the App Drivers And Couriers Union said in a statement. They said the changes stopped short of the Supreme Court's ruling that pay should be calculated from when drivers log on to the app until they log off. And they said the company can't decide by itself the expense base for calculating the minimum wage, which should be based on a collective agreement.

Farrar and Aslam had taken their case to an employment tribunal, which found drivers are not independent contractors, but should be designated workers, which under British law means their work terms are more casual than employees but still come with some benefits. Uber lost two rounds of appeals before the Supreme Court decision.

Providing more benefits for its drivers is likely to raise costs for San Francisco-based Uber, which already was struggling to make a profit and had previously run into regulatory trouble in London, where authorities had sought to revoke its license. It said, however, that it wasn't adjusting its earnings forecast for the year.

The move in the U.K. contrasts with the outcome of a November ballot proposition in California, where voters passed an initiative exempting app-based ride-hailing and food delivery services from classifying their drivers as employees instead of contractors.

___

For all of AP’s tech coverage, visit https://apnews.com/apf-technology

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Follow Kelvin Chan at www.twitter.com/chanman

Kelvin Chan, The Associated Press

American who freed Canadian girl calls on world to repatriate children stranded in Syrian camps

Ashley Burke 

3/16/2021

© Issam Abdallah/Reuters Children look through a chain link

 fence at the al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate,

 Syria, March 8, 2019.

The former U.S. diplomat who freed a 4-year-old Canadian girl from a detention camp in Syria Friday is calling on Canada and other countries to repatriate all of the children still stranded there.

Peter Galbraith said he also wants Canada to bring home the girl's mother. He said he doesn't believe she was radicalized and the Kurds controlling the ISIS detention camp in northeastern Syria agree with him.

At least 23 Canadian children — most of them under the age of six — remain in detention camps in Syria, according to Human Rights Watch. Many are living in al-Roj and al-Hol, where hundreds of adults and children have died from the fighting in the region, or from a lack of medical care or unsanitary conditions, the group said.

Galbraith said the children are "completely innocent" and not responsible for what their parents did, or their ties to ISIS.

"All governments should make an effort to try to get their children back," said Galbraith. "I also think it's possible to distinguish between those those women who are no longer radical and those who still are.

"Certainly the mother of this little girl is somebody who, in my opinion, is not radical."

Canada is a laggard among nations when it comes to repatriating children connected to suspected foreign fighters.

Kazakhstan has repatriated more than 600 of its citizens, mostly women and children, along with some suspected ISIS fighters. Russia took into custody dozens of orphans. Finland freed six children and two mothers last year. The Belgian government says it plans to repatriate dozens of children and is considering accepting some women with children on a case-by-case basis.

The U.S. repatriated 27 Americans from Syria and Iraq last fall, including 10 charged with terrorism-related offences related to alleged support for ISIS.

Canada has helped to process paperwork in two cases so that families could repatriate Canadian children from detention camps in the region — but only after being goaded into action by the families, say human rights advocates.
'The circumstances were exceptional'

A Canadian man went to great lengths to bring his niece — a five-year-old orphan — to Toronto last year after her family was killed in an airstrike in Syria.

He flew to Syria to try to secure her release but was unsuccessful. The family then filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government arguing the girl's rights were being violated by Canada's refusal to help bring her back and issue her travel documents. It was only after those efforts that the Canadian government acted to bring the girl to Canada in 2020.

François-Philippe Champagne, who was the minister of foreign affairs at the time of the orphan's return, said today during an unrelated press conference that the government does not have a diplomatic presence in Syria and will not put consular officials in danger.

Champagne said that, in the case of the orphan, the government mounted a "very complex operation with the help of local authorities" to bring her back. He did not offer details.

"The circumstances were exceptional," said Champagne. "I think we have demonstrated compassion and we will continue, and there are always ways we're trying to support Canadians who are still in Syria."

© Goran Tomasevic/Reuters Children hold water containers in al-Hol camp, Syria, on January 8, 2020.

CBC News spoke to Galbraith after his return to the U.S. He said the four-year-old Canadian girl's mother did everything she could to secure her daughter's release.

Galbraith said the woman contacted him in 2019 after his number was passed around the camp. He said he has a relationship dating back 35 years with the Syrian Kurds that allows him to negotiate with their leaders, and has arranged for the release of children from the camp in the past.

Galbraith said he got to know the Canadian woman in the Syrian camp over the past two years. The woman lost a brother to gun violence when she was a teenager, he said, which affected her "enormously." She was recruited by ISIS and taken to Syria by her husband, he said — a decision she regretted almost immediately.

"She told me that she realized she made a huge mistake the second she got to Syria and very much rejected the Islamic State ideology," said Galbraith.
Mother has 'good chance' of being released: Galbraith

Galbraith said there is a "good chance" the Syrian Kurds would agree to a request from Canada to repatriate the woman, adding the U.S. might be willing to help with her evacuation. The U.S. has been urging the international community to repatriate its citizens detained in Syria and hold them accountable for any crimes they may have committed.

But Canada has not agreed to repatriate adults trapped in Syria. So Galbraith focused instead on getting the 4-year-old girl to safety. That process involved years of negotiation and paperwork, culminating Friday in a visit to the camp by the girl's aunt.

Galbraith said he watched the woman say goodbye to her daughter and promise her that they would soon see each other again in Canada. But Canada has not indicated when that might happen — or whether it will happen at all.

"It was a very brave decision on the part of the mother to look after their little girl, one that showed just how much she loved her daughter," said Galbraith.
'There is a future for that child'

"It's wrenching for a child to be taken away from her mother. But there is a future for the child. I was just happy that I could make that happen."

He said that during the trip to Erbil, the capital in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, the girl missed her mother and wanted to know where she was. She kept telling herself she would see her mother soon, said Galbraith.

The Canadian embassy in Baghdad sent a consular officer to Erbil to help complete all of the necessary paperwork, said Galbraith. He said the Canadian government did a "superb job of looking after this little one once the child was brought out of Syria."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made it clear yesterday that the federal government only provided travel documents — that the girl's release was the result of her family's efforts.

"This story was one where the family themselves took the initiative to bring the daughter to Canada. The mother remains in Syria," Trudeau told a press briefing.

Galbraith said he understands why governments wouldn't want to bring adults back who chose to join a terrorist organization and may have committed "unspeakable atrocities." He said he still hopes Canada acts to bring home the girl's mother, along with others the Kurds say do not pose a threat.

"I'm absolutely convinced that the child needs her, that she's a very good mother and that if she had the chance to come back to Canada, she would contribute to Canadian society," said Galbraith.

'Abandoned in a war zone'

Farida Deif, Canada director at Human Rights Watch, said her group is in touch with the mother in Syria. She said the woman is struggling emotionally with being separated from her daughter for the first time.

Deif said the woman told Human Rights Watch that the Canadian government indicated it would not provide her with the proper travel documents to return to Canada.

© CBC News Farida Deif of Human Rights Watch said the 4-year-old girl's mother made it clear to her group that Canada

CBC News asked Global Affairs Canada (GAC) whether it turned down a request to help the mother. In a statement, GAC said that due to privacy reasons, it wouldn't disclose details. It did say, however, that consular officials are "actively engaged with Syrian Kurdish authorities to seek information on Canadians in their custody."

"Given the security situation on the ground, the Government of Canada's ability to provide any kind of consular assistance in Syria remains extremely limited," wrote GAC spokesperson Patricia Skinner.

Deif said only two Canadian children have been repatriated from the detention camps. She said Canada's record on repatriating its citizens from detention in Syria is one of "failure."

"The remaining Canadians have been left abandoned in a war zone amidst a deadly global pandemic with no government plan to repatriate them," she said.

"It's been a piecemeal, case-by-case approach, where the family members here in Canada have to do all of the heavy lifting."
'Canada is really an outlier here'

Former federal lawyer Leah West, now a university lecturer on national security law and counter-terrorism, visited the camps in northeastern Syria in 2019. She said while she was at the refugee camp in al-Hawl, a riot erupted in which a woman was killed and seven others were shot. Just moments before the violence, West said, she was standing surrounded by a group of very young children.

"Canada is really an outlier here," said West. "Most countries in the world who've had citizens travel abroad have to some extent repatriated either children or large numbers of adults.

The Canadian government is now losing control over this situation."

Leah said she expects to see "increased efforts" by those detained in the camps to smuggle themselves out — which means Canadians associated with ISIS could be left at large.

A declassified US intelligence report threw cold water on Republican conspiracy theories about mail-in ballots

ssheth@businessinsider.com (Sonam Sheth)

3/16/2021

Trump makes a statement with Attorney General William Barr in the Rose Garden of the White House on July 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty Images

A US intelligence report released Tuesday debunked GOP conspiracy theories about mail-in ballots.

Trump and Barr claimed foreign countries mass produced mail ballots to rig the 2020 election.

"We have no indications that any foreign actor" engaged in such efforts, the report said.

A newly declassified report from the US intelligence community shot down months of Republican conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and the integrity of the electoral process.

Then-President Donald Trump and some of his allies made headlines in the run-up to the November general election by claiming, without evidence, that foreign adversaries were manipulating mail-in ballots.

But that theory was debunked by the US intelligence community, which said in its declassified report: "We have no indications that any foreign actor attempted to alter any technical aspect of the voting process in the 2020 US elections, including voter registration, casting ballots, vote tabulation, or reporting results."

The determination flew in the face of Trump and his associates' claims about foreign meddling with the voting process.

"There are a number of foreign countries that could easily make counterfeit ballots, put names on them, send them in," and "it'd be very hard to sort out what's happening," then Attorney General William Barr told The New York Times last June.

It's "one of the issues that I'm really worried about," he said.

Days after Barr floated the theory, Trump jumped on the bandwagon.

"RIGGED 2020 ELECTION: MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WILL BE PRINTED BY FOREIGN COUNTRIES, AND OTHERS. IT WILL BE THE SCANDAL OF OUR TIMES!" he tweeted from an account that has since been permanently banned due to the risk of inciting violence.

Barr also doubled down on the conspiracy theory in a September interview with CNN.

"You've said you're worried a foreign country could send thousands of fake ballots" to US voters, anchor Wolf Blitzer said to Barr. "What are you basing that on?"

"As I've said repeatedly, I'm basing that on logic," the attorney general replied.

"Pardon?" Blitzer asked.

"Logic," Barr said.

"But have you seen any evidence?" Blitzer pressed.

"No," Barr responded.

Indeed, US officials ultimately did not uncover evidence to support the claim.

"We have no information or intelligence that any nation or state actor is engaging in any kind of activity to undermine any part of the mail-in vote or ballots," a senior federal official told reporters last year.

Tuesday's report from the ODNI also aligned with that finding.

"We assess that it would be difficult for a foreign actor to manipulate election processes at scale without detection by intelligence collection on the actors themselves, through physical and cyber security monitoring around voting systems across the country, or in post-election audits," it said.

The report went on to say that the intelligence community "identified some successful compromises of state and local government networks prior to Election Day" and "a higher volume of unsuccessful attempts." But those efforts, it added, "were not directed at altering election processes."

That said, foreign actors like Iran and Russia "spread false or inflated claims about alleged compromises of voting systems to undermine public confidence in election processes and results," per the report.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Canadian systems compromised by malware in the Microsoft Exchange breach: officials

Hannah Jackson 
3/16/2021

Computer systems in Canada were among those impacted by a massive hack of Microsoft's Exchange email service earlier this month, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS) said on Tuesday.

© AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File FILE - A man wearing a mask looks at this phone outside the Microsoft office in Beijing, China in a Friday, Aug. 7, 2020 file photo.

In an update posted to the agency's website, the CCCS said a new family of ransomware, known as DearCry, is being "leveraged by actors exploiting the recently disclosed Exchange vulnerabilities."

Read more: White House recounts ‘active threat,’ calls for action despite Microsoft patch

According to CCCS, in addition to DearCry, "multiple proofs of concepts leveraging the Exchange vulnerabilities resulting in remote code execution have been made publicly available."

"These vulnerabilities are being leveraged to gain a foothold within an organization’s network for malicious activity which includes but is not limited to ransomware and the exfiltration of data," the update read.

The CCCS said some systems within Canada have been "further compromised with malware."

Video: White House warns of ‘large number of victims’ following Microsoft email hack

"All organizations are encouraged to refer to the updated Indicators of Compromise and Mitigation sections of this Alert for additional detection, mitigation and post-compromise guidance."

In an email to Global News Tuesday evening, the CCCS said its Cyber Centre "does not comment on reporting by Canadian organizations or individuals regarding cyber incidents."

"As a result, we do not have any further information to add on potential victims and/or targets," the email read.

In a blog post earlier this month, Microsoft corporate vice president Tom Burt, announced the company had discovered serious vulnerabilities in its Exchange software.

The company identified Hafnuim as the threat actor behind the attack.

"Hafnium operates from China, and this is the first time we’re discussing its activity. It is a highly skilled and sophisticated actor," the blog post read.

Burt said while Hafnuim is based in China, it "conducts its operations primarily from leased virtual private servers (VPS) in the United States."

Recently, he said, Hafnium has engaged in a number of attacks "using previously unknown exploits tageting on-premises Exchange Server Software."

Read more: U.S. government SolarWinds hack was largest, ‘most sophisticated attack’ ever: Microsoft

According to Burt, the hackers gain access to an Exchange Server using stolen passwords or by disguising as someone who should have access.

Next, he said, "it would create what's called a web shell to control the compromised server remotely."

"Third, it would use that remote access — run from the U.S.-based private servers — to steal data from an organization's network," he wrote.

Video: FireEye CEO says SolarWinds hack was found after security staff noticed issue with employee account

Microsoft released security update "patches" for multiple versions of Exchange, including for older, out of date versions of the server.

"We strongly encourage all Exchange Server customers to apply these updates immediately," the blog post read. "Exchange Server is primarily used by business customers, and we have no evidence that Hafnium’s activities targeted individual consumers or that these exploits impact other Microsoft products."

However, Burt said "promptly applying" the patches "is the best protection against this attack."

A 'crazy huge hack'

Speaking at a press conference on March 5, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the cyberattack could have "far-reaching impacts."

"We are concerned there are a large number of victims, and are working with our partners to understand the scope of this, so it's an ongoing process," she told reporters.

"Network owners also need to consider whether they have already been compromised and should immediately take appropriate steps,” Psaki said.

Read more: Over 20,000 U.S. organizations breached through Microsoft email flaw: source

A source familiar with the U.S. government's response told Reuters on Friday that more than 20,000 U.S., organizations have been compromised in the breach.

In a series of tweets last week, Christopher Krebs, former director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), called the attack a "crazy huge hack."


Krebs said first, if you think you've been impacted, you should patch "if you haven't already."

Next, he said to look for activity, and hire a team to "help, disconnect & rebuild."

This Walrus Fell Asleep on an Iceberg and Woke Up in Ireland


Ever drift off to sleep on the train, subway, or in a cab and completely miss your stop? Don't worry, you're not the only one in the animal kingdom who gets a bit lost while catching some Zs.

© Provided by Travel + Leisure Paul Souders/Getty Images

Earlier this month, a walrus was spotted on the western shore of Ireland, a very rare sight. So, how did it get there? According to experts, the animal likely fell asleep on an iceberg somewhere in the Arctic and floated to Ireland during its nap.

"I'd say what happened is he fell asleep on an iceberg and drifted off and then he was gone too far, out into the mid-Atlantic or somewhere like that down off Greenland possibly," Kevin Flannery, director of Oceanworld Aquarium in Dingle, Co. Kerry, told the Irish Independent. "That is usually what happens... they fall asleep on an iceberg and get carried off from the Arctic."

According to the Independent, the animal was first spotted by a local man named Alan Houlihan and his five-year-old daughter, Muireann, as it was breaching out of the water along Glanleam Beach.

"I thought it was a seal at first and then we saw the tusks. He kind of jumped up on the rocks. He was massive. He was about the size of a bull or a cow, pretty similar in size, he's big, big," Houlihan said. "He was right beside us, less than 50 meters away from us. He went off again for a while and he came back and went back to the rocks."

While absolutely adorable, Flannery noted that the animal is likely very tired, and very hungry, after such a long journey. He urged the public to make sure to give the animal plenty of space if they encounter it.

"Hopefully he'll get a few scallops around Valentia. But at this point, he wants to rest. He's come from the North Pole, possibly off Greenland," Flanner said. "He could also be island-hopping and went to Iceland and on to Shetland but that's unlikely. I'd say he came in out of the Atlantic. It's thousands of miles away. If he regains his strength hopefully he'll make his way back up."

Exclusive: Honda temporarily cutting production at all U.S., Canada plants


FILE PHOTO: Honda's logo on its Modulo model is pictured at its showroom at its headquarters in Tokyo

David Shepardson
Tue, March 16, 2021

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co said late Tuesday supply chain issues will force a halt to production at a majority of U.S. and Canadian auto plants for a week.

The Japanese automaker added the issue will result in some production cuts next week at all U.S. and Canadian plants, citing "the impact from COVID-19, congestion at various ports, the microchip shortage and severe winter weather over the past several weeks."

"In some way, all of our auto plants in the U.S. and Canada will be impacted," Honda said.

Some U.S. and Canadian plants are expected to have smaller production cuts next week, but a spokesman for Honda added "the timing and length of production adjustments could change."

The company declined to specify the volume of vehicles impacted but said "purchasing and production teams are working to limit the impact of this situation."

The company added when production is suspended Honda workers "will continue to have the opportunity to work at the impacted plants." Honda workers were notified of the production cuts Monday.

Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, said Honda typically produces about 30,000 vehicles a week in the United States and Canada.

The production issues are hitting Honda plants in Ontario, Ohio, Alabama, and Indiana. Honda said its Mexico operations have not announced any production cuts.

The chip shortage, which has hit most of the global automakers, stems from a confluence of factors as carmakers, which shut plants for two months during the COVID-19 pandemic last year, compete with the sprawling consumer electronics industry for chip supplies.

General Motors Co has cut production at many plants and warned it could shave up to $2 billion from this year's earnings.

GM's U.S. rival Ford Motor Co previously said the shortage could hurt 2021 profit by up to $2.5 billion and said it had curtailed production of its flagship F-150 pickup.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Ben Klayman; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Christopher Cushing)

Southern Alberta farmers look to soil moisture levels as spring seeding nears
Quinn Campbell 
GLOBAL NEWS

3/16/2021

© Global News A photo of Gary Stanford working in his field near Magrath, Alta.

Gary Stanford farms near Magrath, Alta. He is keeping a close eye on his fields as the warm weather has many farmers in the area eager to get in the field.

He said soil moisture levels are good in the southwestern part of the province, but frost is still in the ground.

"It's still very wet, it sticks together very good and the ground is still very cold," Stanford said.

He said he is still about three to four weeks away from seeding, but seeing the moisture in the soil is a promising sight.

Read more: 2020 harvest begins in southern Alberta

"We had a lot of snow in October and November -- south of Lethbridge, towards the Montana border -- and so we had a lot of good moisture go in the ground when the ground was warm last fall," Stanford said.

It's a different story in other areas of the province.

A map on the Alberta government's website shows precipitation accumulations from mid-December to mid-March. Pink indicates very dry conditions.

"It depends where you are, but for southern Alberta, its nice to have soil moisture," said Ralph Wright with the agro-meteorological applications and modelling unit at Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.

"It's like money in the bank, but typically you don't have a lot of soil moisture this time of year."

Winter precipitation only accounts for roughly 20-25 per cent of the annual moisture received in the dry areas shown on the map. With the more rainy months ahead, Wright said it means farmers are more dependent on a rainy spring.

"April is when you start seeing the moisture coming back a little bit, and then May and June are your wettest months -- with June being the wettest -- and then July comes around and someone turns the taps off it seems like, and it gets hot," he said.

Read more: Alberta farmers seeding and hoping to get last year’s crop off

Frost is another big indicator in seeding. Wright said it can cause damage to crops seeded too early.

There is a 25 per cent chance, on average, that you will see -3 C after May 10, and another 25 per cent chance, on average, that you will see -1 C after May 22.

Stanford said it is important for farmers to get their crop in early, but in southern Alberta, patience is key.

"We want to seed as soon as we can, and I think most farmers do, but you only get one chance at it," he said.

"We seed one time in Canada so we've got to be careful about our risk -- Mother Nature is a big player

Alberta and Ottawa put $13M into Indigenous housing projects across the province

CBC/Radio-Canada 

© Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Cameron Alexis, the CEO of Tribal Chiefs Ventures, pictured above, says the project will help Indigenous people find affordable homes.

The provincial and federal governments are committing $13.1 million for Indigenous housing projects in several cities and towns across Alberta.

In Edmonton, a 34-unit building will be purchased for Indigenous affordable housing. While in Calgary, Lac Ste. Anne and Victor Lake, Alta., which is near Grande Cache, 36 senior housing units will be built.

The province says all of the affordable housing units will be designed, delivered and owned by Indigenous peoples.

"This means that over 100 Indigenous families across the province of Alberta will have a new place to call home," said Ahmed Hussen, the Minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

"We're committed to addressing the barriers faced by Indigenous communities every single day and it starts [with] ensuring that the solutions for the community are provided by the community."

He adds that the project will create around 100 jobs.

"Our targeted investment will not only stimulate the economy and create well-paying jobs where they are needed the most, they will also ensure the needs of Indigenous families … are met," he said.

Cameron Alexis, the CEO of Tribal Chiefs Ventures, says this initiative will help Indigenous people find alternate housing solutions.

"Just recently we visited the downtown core of Edmonton and it is really painful to see our people on the streets. When we saw that, our chiefs signalled that we have to do something," he said.

"Collectively, we worked hard with the respective governments to do our part."

Alexis says the project is just the "beginning.

Edmonton to see new affordable housing project with funding from province, federal government

Ashley Joannou 2 hrs ago

Indigenous Relations Minister Rick Wilson, right, dances a Métis jig with Seniors and Housing Minister Josephine Pon, centre, and Métis Nation of Alberta President Audrey Poitras, left, during a tour of a Métis Capital Housing Corporation affordable housing project at 13027 133 St., in Edmonton Wednesday Sept. 2, 2020. Photo by David Bloom

A 34-unit building in northwest Edmonton will be purchased and turned into affordable housing in part with funding from the federal and provincial governments.

A total of $13.1 million in grants, provided through the Indigenous Housing Capital Program, will go towards that project as well as building 12 seniors housing units each in Calgary, Lac Ste. Anne and Victor Lake, near Grande Cache.

The four Indigenous-owned projects were announced by Alberta Seniors and Housing Minister Josephine Pon and Federal Families, Children and Social Development Minister Ahmed Hussen Tuesday as well as representatives from Tribal Chiefs Ventures Inc. which will own the Edmonton building.

“We know that every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home but far too many are forced to make the impossible choice between paying rent and buying groceries,” Hussen said.

The Edmonton project received $6 million of the funding. The Calgary units received $2.3 million and will be owned by the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary. Victor Lake Cooperative and The Evergreens Foundation received $2.2 million for their 12 units and Lac Ste. Anne Metis Community Association and Communitas Group received $2.6 million for their 12 units

Okimaw Vernon Watchmaker the chair of Tribal Chiefs Ventures Inc. said he was hoping for a groundbreaking of the Edmonton building in June, depending on COVID-19 restrictions.

“I’m looking forward to the first of many more commitments towards addressing long standing issues of affordable housing for TCVI nations within Treaty Six territory,” he said.

First Nations governments in the areas also contributed 10 to 50 per cent equity to the projects, Pon’s press secretary Natalie Tomczak said in an email.

“Some of these projects will set rents at 30 per cent of income, while others will be a mixed market model, in which some units are rented for market rates, which helps subsidize lower rents in other units,” she said.

The projects are expected to create about 100 jobs.

The money for the grants, split 50/50 between the federal and provincial governments, comes as part of 10-year bilateral housing agreement between the two.

The Albertan Government Is Very Upset About a Netflix Film About Bigfoot

The animated film, 'Bigfoot Family', is too mean to the oil industry, says the provincially funded defender of the oil industry.

By Mack Lamoureux
TORONTO, CA

3/15/2021

PREMIER OF ALBERTA, JASON KENNEY, LEFT. HIS ENEMIES IN THE BIGFOOT FAMILY, RIGHT. PHOTO VIA CP IMAGES AND SCREENSHOT.

Alberta is upset with the Netflix children’s film Bigfoot Family, saying it’s “brainwashing our kids with anti-oil and gas propaganda.”

The provincially funded Alberta War Room—set up to counter anti-oil messaging and “defend” the oil industry—deemed the animated film about sasquatches to be full of “misinformation

The film’s premise is that the titular Bigfoot family (a sequel to the popular Son of Bigfoot) saves a wilderness preserve in Alaska from an oil company that wants to ravage the lands for profits. By all accounts, it has all the schlock you would expect from a kid’s movie including over-the-top villains.

In a blog post called “Tell the Truth Netflix,” the Albertan War Room, officially known as the Canadian Energy Centre (CEC), outlined why that is not cool.

“It even shows oil being extracted by blowing up a valley using glowing red bombs that look like something out of an action movie,” says the blog. The blog post does not make note of the plan that some in the Albertan oil industry had in the 1960s to use underground nuclear explosions to extract that sweet, sweet black gold.


What the blog does do is ask people to send a pre-written email to a Netflix communication employee about some good things the oil industry has done, including the interesting math that “since 2012, Canadian oil sands producers have spent $13 billion with Indigenous-owed businesses, including a record $21.1 billion in 2018.” It also demands that Netflix creates pro-oil-industry films and television shows.

“Children are the future, and they deserve the truth,” reads the blog.

Pundits and social media users unsurprisingly dunked on the campaign. In a statement to CBC News, Canadian Energy Centre CEO Tom Olsen said it launched the campaign after a parent flagged the film, and that more than 1,000 parents had sent letters to Netflix. According to the CBC, Olsen makes $195,000 a year.

Alberta’s War Room has been an embarrassment for the United Conservative Party government since it was first announced in 2019. The CEC originally received a budget of $30,000,000 (which after many, many embarrassments was recently cut by 90 percent).

The ineptitude started at the very beginning with accusations of cronyism after it hired Olsen, a failed UCP candidate, as CEO, and got two scandals for the price of one after ripping off not one but two logos from software companies. The CEC now just uses its name as a logo.

The CEC has been widely criticized as being ineffective, lacking transparency, and being a big ol’ waste of money. To date its biggest campaigns to defend the oil industry’s honour are demanding space in small-town papers so it can counter editorials making fun of the CEC, having to apologize for tweeting out incorrect information, and now attempting to cancel a Netflix show about an environmental Bigfoot family.

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