WAGE THEFT
A restaurant in Massachusetts denied overtime pay to workers and took their tips, a federal court says

gdean@insider.com (Grace Dean) - Yesterday 

© Provided by Business InsiderA restaurant in Weymouth, Massachusetts (not pictured) didn't pay staff an overtime premium and kept all the tips the servers earned, the DOL said. Thomas Barwick/Getty Images

A Massachusetts restaurant and its owner have been ordered to pay staff $344,798 in back wages, tips, and damages.
The restaurant didn't give staff tips or overtime pay, a federal court found.
Sweet Lemons also didn't keep accurate records of wages and retaliated against some workers.

A federal court has ordered a Massachusetts restaurant to pay more then $340,000 in back wages and damages to 13 servers who were found to have been denied tips and overtime between 2016 and 2019.

The US District Court for the District of Massachusetts found that Sweet Lemons Thai Restaurant in Weymouth also didn't keep accurate records of wages and retaliated against some workers, violating the Federal Labor Standards Act.

The restaurant ultimately "deprived workers of their hard-earned wages and tips," the Department of Labor, who filed the civil-action lawsuit in December 2020, said in a press release on Friday.

The ruling comes as the US engages in heated and often politicized debate over fair minimum wage for workers, particularly for tipped staff whose employers can pay them as little as $2.13 an hour. During the pandemic, workers have been leaving the industry over low wages, a lack of benefits, and poor or unsafe working conditions.

"The court's decision recognizes that employers who retaliate against employees who assert their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act may pay the price in punitive damages," Maia Fisher, the DOL's regional solicitor of labor in Boston, said in the press release.

Sweet Lemons didn't pay staff an overtime premium when they worked more than 40 hours in a week and kept all the tips the servers earned, the DOL said in the lawsuit.

The restaurant paid staff in cash "off-the-books" and had "false and incomplete" payroll records, the DOL said. It didn't keep accurate records of staff names and addresses, how long they worked, and when or how much they were paid, per the lawsuit. The records that were available didn't include all the restaurant's staff, the lawsuit said.

The restaurant also gave the DOL "inaccurate" time records that "consistently underreported" how many hours staff worked, per the lawsuit.

It also charged that owner and director Pornthip Neampong retaliated against workers by "coercing" them into signing false statements, telling them to lie to a DOL investigator, and telling staff not to be on site at the restaurant when the investigator was there, per the lawsuit.

The lawsuit said that Sweet Lemons and Neampong willfully violated labor laws.

"Defendants' actions of making off-the-books cash payments to employees and manipulating payroll records demonstrate that Defendants knew or showed reckless disregard for the fact that their pay practices violated the FLSA," the DOL said in the lawsuit.

The restaurant and its lawyer did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

In a filing in February 2021, the restaurant's attorney said that it denied all the offenses in the lawsuit.

But in a motion for summary judgment in December 2021, the DOL said that Sweet Lemon had admitted to not paying overtime premium, keeping staff tips, failing to keep accurate records, and asking staff to sign false statements during the DOL's investigation.

In early January 2022, the court ordered Sweet Lemons and Neampong to pay 13 affected workers $130,018 in back wages, $29,881 in tips that were taken, and $159,899 in liquidated damages. They were also ordered to pay $25,000 in punitive damages, for a total of $344,798.

UPDATED

A US ban on Mexican avocados could have a major impact on US fast-food chains
mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com (Mary Meisenzahl)

© Provided by Business Insider

Chipotle restaurant workers fill orders for customers on the day that the company announced it will only use non-GMO ingredients in its food on April 27, 2015 in Miami, Florida. The company announced, that the Denver-based chain would not use the GMO's, which is an organism whose genome has been altered via genetic engineering in the food served at Chipotle Mexican Grills. 

Joe Raedle/Getty

The US banned avocados from the Mexican state that produces the bulk of imports to the US.
Experts say that California producers cannot grow enough to keep up with demand.
Chipotle says it has enough avocados for several weeks of guacamole.

Avocados are about to get much more expensive as the US limits imports from Mexico.

The US banned importation of avocados from Michoacán, Mexico, which exports about $3 billion of avocados annually, on Friday. The ban started because of a US safety inspector who received a threatening phone call, Bloomberg reported, although details are scarce. It will "remain in place for as long as necessary to ensure the appropriate actions are taken, to secure the safety of APHIS personnel working in Mexico," the Department of Agriculture told The New York Times, referring to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Slowing the flow of avocados to the US is bad news for consumers, who are consuming record volumes of avocados and already paying more than 10% more than they were at this time last year.

About 80% of US avocados are imported from Mexico, so even a temporary ban could have wide-reaching affects, reducing availability and spiking prices. Fast-food chains that rely on avocados are adding yet another product to their lists of supply-chain woes.

Experts say California isn't able to produce enough avocados to meet demand. California supplier Eco Farms says wholesale clients are reaching out about securing their supplies, Bloomberg reported. Prices could increase as much as 25%, Eco Farms president Steve Taft said.

At Chipotle, guac is famously extra but beloved by many customers.

"We are working closely with our suppliers to navigate through this challenge. Our sourcing partners currently have several weeks of inventory available, so we'll continue to closely monitor the situation and adjust our plans accordingly," Jack Hartung, chief financial officer, told Insider.

Hartung previously commented on avocado prices during a fourth-quarter earnings call earlier in February, when he noted high avocado prices cut into the margins gained by raising prices. Hartung said that he didn't expect a supply-chain crisis around the fruit, because prices typically jump seasonally. Historically, avocado prices tend to increase in the first quarter, as Hartung previously warned in 2021.

Moe's, Subway, and Taco Bell all also sell products that contain avocado, but did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comments.


Mexico Hopes to Resolve Avocado Spat With U.S. in Coming Days


Max de Haldevang, Bloomberg News


(Bloomberg) -- Mexico says it hopes to resolve the U.S. ban on avocado imports in a matter of days after finding the source of a threat to an inspector that triggered the suspension.

The country’s presidential spokesman Jesus Ramirez played down the nature of the threat to the U.S. inspector, but said the government is working with its northern neighbor to guarantee everyone’s safety.

The ban on avocados from Michoacán, a coastal state just west of Mexico City that has been plagued with violence in recent years, went into effect on Feb. 11 after an inspector said he received a threatening call to his cell phone. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador responded by suggesting there were political and economic interests at play in the U.S. decision.

Ramirez, who said he didn’t personally know the culprit’s identity, said the threat wasn’t concerning. “It has no importance,” he said in a phone interview with Bloomberg News, saying he understands it wasn’t a “direct threat.” He noted that Mexico’s national guard accompanies inspectors to ensure their safety. “There’s no problem so we’re going to see what more is required.”

Separately, Mexico’s avocado export group APEAM met with several U.S. and local authorities to review security measures and protocols, according to a tweet from the organization.


Mexico accounts for 80% of the U.S. market, and the ban could drive up prices for American shoppers on yet another product in an economy grappling with its worst inflation surge in four decades.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.

Avocado Spat Brews After U.S. Inspector Is Threatened in Mexico

Elizabeth Elkin, Carolina Gonzalez and Leslie Patton
Mon., February 14, 2022, 


(Bloomberg) -- The great avocado affair of 2022 began with a little-noticed weekend press release from Mexico’s Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry. The U.S. was shutting down imports of avocados from Mexico because one of its inspectors received a threatening phone call.

Details are hard to come by -- who made the threat? what was the threat? -- but what’s known is this: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has not taken kindly to the U.S. action. In a Monday morning press conference, he said Mexican authorities would look into the allegations but also made clear he believes there’s something fishy about the incident. There are political and economic interests, Lopez Obrador said, who want to keep the Mexican avocados out of the U.S. market.

One group that wants the avocados to keep flowing north: U.S. consumers, who now eat more guacamole than ever. It’s only a matter of time before the import halt will squeeze supplies, as Mexico accounts for 80% of the U.S. market, and drive up the price on yet another product in an economy grappling with its worst inflation surge in four decades.

“We could see a significant reduction in availability” of avocados in the U.S. and higher prices as a result, said David Magana, senior analyst for Rabobank International in Fresno, California.

The ban on avocados from Michoacán, a coastal state just west of Mexico City, went into effect on Feb. 11, a day before Mexico issued its statement. The U.S. Department of Agriculture only confirmed its actions on Monday. Neither side would answer questions on the nature of the alleged threat, but Michoacán has been riddled by violence since drug cartels took over large swathes of the state years ago.

Read more: Did Avocado Cartels Kill the Butterfly King?

Avocados are already the most expensive for this time of year in government data going back two decades due to the labor shortfalls, higher production costs and wage hikes that have plagued the broader economy. It’s one of the many products that’s helping to push global food prices closer to a record high.

At the same time, demand for the fruit is booming. Per-capita consumption doubled in the 10 years through 2020 to 9 pounds, and could surpass 11 pounds by 2026, Magana said, citing industry projections.

Many of Michoacán’s avocados will likely have nowhere to go. It will be difficult to find new markets for the fruits, a spokesperson for Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture said. Other possible destinations could be Chile, China, Korea, the European Union, United Arab Emirates, Canada and Japan. But those countries will buy fewer fruits and pay less for them.

In the U.S., avocado buyers are closely monitoring the situation. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.’s suppliers have “several weeks” of inventory available, Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung said in a statement. Mission Produce, the biggest U.S. distributor, said it’s trying to source additional products from around the world. There may be limits to that, however, as there isn’t enough global supply to make up for the loss of Mexican avocados, especially on a near-term time horizon, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts said.

Francesco Brachetti, co-founder of Avocaderia, an avocado bar in New York City, said it’ll be a couple of weeks before consumers see impacts because there’s a lag between when fruit ships and when it’s sold in the U.S. Disruptions to the avocado supply chain usually don’t last longer than a few days or at most a week or two, but this time could be different, he said.

“The last couple of years have been unique, so we’ll take it with caution and wait for this situation to evolve,” Brachetti said.

Read more: Guacamole Prices Hit Record Before Super Bowl: Supply Lines

Avocado supplier Eco Farms in California is seeing an uptick in inquiries from wholesale clients worried about securing extra product in light of the ban, according to the company’s president Steve Taft. Taft said he could foresee raising prices by as much as 25% depending on how long the ban goes on.

Michoacán is “the big bully on the block. They dictate the market,” he said.

(Adds comments fromMexico’s Ministry of Agriculture, Chipotle in eighth and ninth paragraphs.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

UPDATED

First woman reported cured of HIV after stem cell transplant

By Julie Steenhuysen - Yesterday 

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A U.S. patient with leukemia has become the first woman and the third person to date to be cured of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant from a donor who was naturally resistant to the virus that causes AIDS, researchers reported on Tuesday.

The case of a middle-aged woman of mixed race, presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunisitic Infections in Denver, is also the first involving umbilical cord blood, a newer approach that may make the treatment available to more people.

Since receiving the cord blood to treat her acute myeloid leukemia - a cancer that starts in blood-forming cells in the bone marrow - the woman has been in remission and free of the virus for 14 months, without the need for potent HIV treatments known as antiretroviral therapy.

The two prior cases occurred in males - one white and one Latino - who had received adult stem cells, which are more frequently used in bone marrow transplants.

"This is now the third report of a cure in this setting, and the first in a woman living with HIV," Sharon Lewin, President-Elect of the International AIDS Society, said in a statement.

The case is part of a larger U.S.-backed study led by Dr. Yvonne Bryson of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and Dr. Deborah Persaud of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. It aims to follow 25 people with HIV who undergo a transplant with stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood for the treatment of cancer and other serious conditions.

Patients in the trial first undergo chemotherapy to kill off the cancerous immune cells. Doctors then transplant stem cells from individuals with a specific genetic mutation in which they lack receptors used by the virus to infect cells.

Scientists believe these individuals then develop an immune system resistant to HIV.

Lewin said bone marrow transplants are not a viable strategy to cure most people living with HIV. But the report "confirms that a cure for HIV is possible and further strengthens using gene therapy as a viable strategy for an HIV cure," she said.

The study suggests that an important element to the success is the transplantation of HIV-resistant cells. Previously, scientists believed that a common stem cell transplant side effect called graft-versus-host disease, in which the donor immune system attacks the recipient’s immune system, played a role in a possible cure.

"Taken together, these three cases of a cure post stem cell transplant all help in teasing out the various components of the transplant that were absolutely key to a cure," Lewin said.

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Bill Berkrot and David Gregorio)

Third person apparently cured of HIV using novel stem cell transplant


Patient is mixed-race woman treated in New York using umbilical cord blood, in technique raising chances of finding suitable donors

Doctor involved in the treatment estimates 50 people a year in the US could benefit. Photograph: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Maya Yang

THE GUARDIAN
Tue 15 Feb 2022

Scientists appear to have cured a third person, and the first woman, of HIV using a novel stem cell transplant method, American researchers in Denver, Colorado, said on Tuesday.

The patient, a woman of mixed race, was treated using a new method that involved umbilical cord blood, which is more readily available than the adult stem cells which are often used in bone marrow transplants, according to the New York Times.

Umbilical cord stem cells also do not need to be matched as closely to the recipient as bone marrow cells do.


HIV after Covid: Anthony Fauci and an army of researchers seek to regain momentum

“We estimate that there are approximately 50 patients per year in the US who could benefit from this procedure,” said Dr Koen van Besien, one of the doctors involved in the treatment.

“The ability to use partially matched umbilical cord blood grafts greatly increases the likelihood of finding suitable donors for such patients.”

The group of researchers revealed some of the case details at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Denver. The woman is being called the “New York patient” by scientists, because she received the treatment at the New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center.

In 2013, she was diagnosed with HIV. Four years later, she was diagnosed with leukemia. In a procedure known as a haplo-cord transplant, she was given cord blood from a partially matched donor to treat her cancer. A close relative also provided her with blood to boost her immune system as she underwent the transplant.

After patients receive an umbilical cord blood transplant, they are then given additional adult stem cells. The stem cells grow quickly but are eventually replaced by cord blood cells.

Although cord blood is more adaptable than adult stem cells, it does not yield enough to serve as effective treatments of cancer in adults. As a result, in haplo-cord transplants, the additional transplant of stem cells helps make up for the scarcity of cord blood cells.

“The role of the adult donor cells is to hasten the early engraftment process and render the transplant easier and safer,” said Van Besien.

Since the woman’s transplant in August 2017, she has been in remission from her leukemia for more than four years. Three years after the transplant, she and her doctors discontinued her HIV treatment. Fourteen months since, she has yet to experience any resurgent virus.

According to the scientists, the majority of donors in registries are of Caucasian descent. As a result, allowing for only partial matches can open up the potential to treat patients who have both HIV and cancer, and also those who come from more diverse racial backgrounds.

“The fact that she’s mixed race, and that she’s a woman, that is really important scientifically and really important in terms of the community impact,” Dr Steven Deeks, an Aids expert at the University of California, told the Times.

Even though more than half of the world’s 35m HIV cases are found in women, women only make up 11% of participants in cure trials.

Although Deeks was not involved in the case, he acknowledged that “these are stories of providing inspiration to the field and perhaps the road map.

“Umbilical stem cells are attractive,” he added. “There’s something magical about these cells and something magical perhaps about the cord blood in general that provides an extra benefit.”

Woman Cured of HIV Using New Method Shows Potential for Others: Scientists

BY LORA KORPAR ON 2/15/22 

A stem cell transplant has appeared to cure the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in a woman for the first time.

This is the third known case of HIV remission from a stem cell transplant, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said in a news release. It's a massive breakthrough in treatment for a virus that for decades was completely incurable.

The woman, who has not yet been named, joins two men who have been cured or likely been cured of the virus, NBC News reported. However, there is still a ways to go before the treatment can be widely used. It's a risky procedure involving the destruction of the immune system, so scientists have only tried it on those suffering from potentially deadly cancers. The patient had received the stem cell transplant to treat her acute myeloid leukemia, according to the NIAID.

The new treatment uses stem cells from umbilical cord blood, which are more widely available than adult stem cells, The New York Times reported. There has been no detected HIV in the woman for 14 months, the NIAID release said, even after stopping antiretroviral therapy, an HIV treatment.

A woman has likely been cured of HIV for the first time.

Above, a woman is seen holding an HIV/AIDS awareness ribbon.

STOCK IMAGE/GETTY IMAGES

The treatment works by essentially destroying one's immune system and replacing it with a new one, which treats the person's cancer while curing their HIV.

"By killing off the cancerous immune cells via chemotherapy and then transplanting stem cells with the CCR5 genetic mutation, scientists theorize that people with HIV then develop an HIV-resistant immune system," the NIAID said.

Experts told NBC News that this treatment would be "unethical" if tried on someone without life-threatening cancer or another medical condition that qualifies them for it, as it is "toxic" and "sometimes fatal."

Dr. Deborah Persaud, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and one of the leaders of the study, told the outlet while the stem cell transplant is an exciting development, it is "still not a feasible strategy for all but a handful of the millions of people living with HIV."

The first man cured using the stem cell treatment, known as the "Berlin patient," was in HIV remission for 12 years and deemed cured of it before his death from leukemia in September 2020, according to the NIAID. The second man, dubbed the "London patient," continues to be in remission after 30 months.

HIV attacks the immune system and, if not treated, can lead to AIDS, which makes one susceptible to many severe illnesses, called "opportunistic infections," according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While cases of HIV and AIDS have declined since peaks in the 1980s and 1990s, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported as of June 2021, there were 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States.

Remedy Deemed Too Risky for Healthy Patients After First Woman Cured of HIV

Justin Klawans - Yesterday 
Newsweek

While a risky stem cell therapy has successfully cured the first woman of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the procedure is deemed too dangerous to use on the average patient.


© iStock/Getty

An experimental stem cell treatment has successfully cured a woman of HIV. However, the procedure is considered extremely risky and potentially dangerous, and as a result it is only being offered to HIV patients with end-stage cancer. Here, stem cells from human bone marrow can be seen under a microscope.

The therapy—known as a cord blood stem cell transplant—was given to an American woman from a donor who was naturally immune to HIV, according to a press release issued Tuesday from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). She became the third person overall and first woman to be declared cured of HIV after the virus was not detected in her system within 14 months.

The case is also reportedly the first involving the use of umbilical cord blood, a newer approach could provide further breakthroughs.

However, despite the woman appearing to have been cured, researchers have reiterated that the therapy is still considered extremely risky and has only been tested on patients suffering from end-stage cancers, such as the woman—who had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Experts told NBC News that it would even be considered "unethical" to attempt the transplant in an otherwise healthy patient due to its danger.

The risk comes, scientists stated, because of the nature of the transplanted bone marrow, which attacks a patient's cancerous immune system in an effort to replace it with one containing the HIV-immune cells of the donor. This, in theory, means that the patient's immune system is being completely replaced by another person's, which both treats the cancer and cures them of HIV.

"By killing off the cancerous immune cells via chemotherapy and then transplanting stem cells with the CCR5 genetic mutation, scientists theorize that people with HIV then develop an HIV-resistant immune system," NIAID said.

However, the complex procedure can often result in the death of the patient, scientists told NBC News, and as a result the treatment is not offered for those who do not already have a potentially fatal illness.

"[The stem cell treatment is] still not a feasible strategy for all but a handful of the millions of people living with HIV," Dr. Deborah Persaud, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University and one of the chairs of the case study, stated. However, Persaud added that, despite this, her team was still "very excited" about the potential future of the treatment.

Additionally, Sharon Lewin, the president-elect of the International AIDS Society, expressed hope that the three combined cases could eventually be used to develop a stem cell therapy that is safe for the masses.

"Taken together, these three cases of a cure post stem cell transplant all help in teasing out the various components of the transplant that were absolutely key to a cure," Lewin said in a statement.

HIV and its associated illness, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), are most often treated using a combination of drugs and experimental tests, as in the three people who have been cured therapeutically. However, there have been extremely rare cases of an HIV-positive person being "naturally" cured of the virus.

In November 2021, a woman in Argentina became the second documented HIV patient whose own immune system cured her of the disease, with no outside intervention.

"This is really the miracle of the human immune system that did it," Dr. Xu Yu, one of the leaders of the Argentine case study, said at the time.

Newsweek has contacted the CDC's National Center for HIV, Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention for comment.

SEXISM IN SPORTS

Mother vs. athlete: University of Alberta study highlights gaps in gender equity in sport

Elite athletes who become mothers need better support from sporting bodies to continue their careers after birth, a University of Alberta study suggests.
Clare Bonnyman - 
cbc.ca

© Trent Stellingwerff

After her first race back from pregnancy, Hilary Stellingwerff crossed the finish line to her one-and-a-half-year-old son, Theo. As an elite athlete and mother, she wants to make sports more equitable for elite athletes doing both.

Tara-Leigh McHugh, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Alberta, interviewed 20 women who competed at elite levels before becoming pregnant.

"There's so little support and there's so little value given to pregnant athletes and to women who want to be able to be mothers and compete," McHugh said.

"We need to start to normalize and value pregnancy … to demonstrate that it is possible and women can actually succeed and thrive as mother athletes."

For McHugh, the findings identified a clear gap in support for athletes during and after pregnancy and the effect it has on careers.

"Girls need to know they belong in sport," she said. "Even if they do want to start a family."

Pregnancy as injury

Hilary Stellingwerff is a former Olympian and nationally ranked track-and-field athlete who took part in the study.

As a "carded" athlete, she received financial assistance from the federal government throughout her career and her first pregnancy.

Under Athletics Canada, athletes that compete at a certain level can apply for the Athletic Assistance Program or AAP, and those that qualify for funding receive their 'card' for the year. There are different kinds of cards, including one medical card for athletes who are pregnant, ill or injured.

When Stellingwerff was competing, athletes could only receive one medical card in their career.

In a bid to make the Olympic team for Rio, Stellingwerff, a new mom, returned to training and hit the ground running. In 2015, she had a stress fracture and applied for another medical card.

"I applied for a medical card and they said, you've already used your medical card for pregnancy and you can't have a second," she said.

"And I said, 'That's unfair.'"

Stellingwerff appealed and brought her complaint to the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, where she was allowed to apply for a second medical card. But she still wasn't approved for financial support through the AAP.

While raising her young son, Stellingwerff continued training and qualified for the Canadian team in 2016. She received financial assistance retroactively.

In 2016, Athletics Canada changed its policy, allowing athletes to be nominated for a medical card for pregnancy more than once.

In her current role as head coach at the University of Victoria, Stellingwerff makes a point of sharing her story with female athletes.

"More people need to be thinking about these things and women need to stand up for each other," she said.

Mother vs. athlete

McHugh and co-researcher Margie Davenport identified key recommendations for sporting organizations.

Davenport, who specializes in exercise and pregnancy, said a first step is understanding the physical effects of training on pregnant athletes.

"We don't have a lot of information about what is safe and beneficial for athletes who are regularly exceeding current recommendations [of physical activity]," Davenport told CBC's Radio Active.

The study calls for more research to create evidence-based guidelines specific to athletes who continue to train at high levels during and after pregnancy.

In interviews, many athletes also identified the need for clear policies and expectations around pregnancy from sporting organizations.

The study asks sporting bodies to be clear about when and how an athlete can return to sport after pregnancy, including whether or not their spot on a team is safe.

"We heard from a number of athletes who are really scared to disclose that they were pregnant for fear that they were going to lose their position," she said.

"We need to start to normalize and value pregnancy. To be able to demonstrate that it is possible and women can actually succeed and thrive as mother athletes."

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

COVID Dead Could 'Poison' the Living 

Due to Groundwater Pollution

Ed Browne - Yesterday 

Newsweek
© vyasphoto/Getty

Experts are warning that an increase in buried bodies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic could be having an impact in the environment.

In the U.S. alone, the number of people who have died with COVID-19 exceeded 900,000 this month and the number is increasing all the time.

Around the world, the death toll is over 5.8 million according to the World Health Organization (WHO), though some estimates of excess mortality—a measure comparing all deaths recorded with those expected to occur—have put that figure close to 20 million.

What this means is that burial facilities have faced unprecedented pressure as they attempt to allocate space and resources to store the bodies of those who have passed away.

This presents an environmental problem, since dead bodies and the processes used to bury them respectfully are not always particularly clean. Buried bodies release what is known as cemetery leachate, a liquid composed of organic substances that can be highly toxic, and with associations with cancer.

Metallic elements, medicines used by the person when they were living, preservation chemicals and even pacemakers can all contribute to this leaking substance.

One study from 2019 suggested that coffin materials, too, may leak into the environment and potentially pose health problems. These materials included metals such as aluminum, iron, and copper.

In a study released in October last year, researchers noted that the environmental impact caused by decomposing bodies was "another casualty of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic".

It described how this cemetery leachate can flow into the soil near to burial sites and potentially reach underground water resources.

According to the study, "it is possible to infer that the high number of human losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may also raise the level of contamination in cemetery environments and, consequently, in the surrounding urban environment, especially for medium to large cities."

Alcindo Neckel is an environmental engineer and professor at the School of Architecture and Urbanism at IMED in Brazil. He led a similar study investigating the problem there, which concluded that vertical rather than horizontally-designed cemeteries could allow for the implementation of technologies that adequately treat the liquid pollutants.

Neckel told Popular Science last week that cemeteries need to have disposal systems in place "similar to how wastewater is treated in coastal areas before it is released in the ocean."

"This is not just a public health issue but also an economic problem of growing cities," he added. "At this rate, dead people are slowly poisoning those who are alive."

THE TRUCKER CONVOY IS OPPOSED TO MIGRATION

Canada's New Immigration Plan Wants To Welcome More Than 1.3 Million Newcomers By 2024

Canada Edition (EN) -
Narcity

New targets have been announced for Canada's immigration plan and the federal government wants to welcome more than 1.3 million newcomers into the country in the next three years.

On February 14, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser tabled the 2022‒2024 Immigration Levels Plan which lays out the government's framework for newcomers to help the Canadian economy recover and stimulate post-pandemic growth.

It outlined that even though many jobs lost during the pandemic have been recovered, there are still hundreds of thousands of positions that need to be filled.

Since immigration accounts for almost all of the labour force growth in Canada and it's expected that millions of Canadians will retire by the end of the decade, that gave a "clear sign" to the government that there is "a strong economic need for increased immigration."

"The 2022–2024 Immigration Levels Plan aims to continue welcoming immigrants at a rate of about 1% of Canada's population."

For the next three years, the plan is to let in 431,645 permanent residents in 2022, 447,055 in 2023 and then 451,000 in 2024 which works out to 1,329,700 people in total.

This goal is bigger than the previous plan for 2021–2023 which aimed for 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021, 411,000 in 2022 and 421,000 in 2023 for a total of 1,233,000 people.

Since there are increased targets, the government plans to address challenges with Canada's immigration system by modernizing it which will reduce application backlog and create predictable processing times.

In 2021, Canada welcomed more immigrants – 405,000 – than it ever had in a single year and broke the record from back in 1913!

If the goals of the new plan are met, the country would smash the record every year from 2022 to 2024.

Emergencies Act could harm truckers unconnected with blockades: trade group


Sweeping powers invoked by the federal government risk dropping the hammer on drivers and companies that have no direct role in blockades, the head of a trucking association says.

The Emergencies Act triggered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday authorizes financial institutions to freeze protesters’ bank accounts and cancel vehicle insurance coverage without a court order.

Mike Millian, president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, said he condemns the demonstrations but worries rogue drivers who defy head-office directives to avoid the blockades could jeopardize the operations of entire companies.

Because insurance policies encompass whole fleets rather than individual drivers, thousands of truckers employed by a single carrier could be punished for the choices of a few, he said.

"Insurance being cancelled could be an issue because you don't just insure one truck," Millian said. "Now we've got a whole fleet put down. And if you seize the corporate bank accounts, we now have nobody getting paid."

Authorities must also make sure they don't penalize truckers who happen to be near a blockade but are not participants, he said.

"If people are willingly breaking the law, we've got no issues — put the boots to them with every enforcement power you got," he said. "But it's our concern about affecting those that may not have anything to do with this."

The government has assured the association, which represents companies with in-house fleets such as Loblaws and Walmart Canada, that officers will be instructed to give drivers an opportunity to leave the protest area before "severe measures" come down, Millian added.

Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act to bring to an end what he deems illegal blockades that sprang up in Ottawa and border crossings.

The measures grant police and financial instructions extraordinary powers to stop public assemblies that “breach the peace” in established no-go zones, force towing companies to remove vehicles involved in road blockades, and require banks to suspend or freeze accounts suspected of supporting them.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government is "serving notice" to trucking companies with vehicles at the blockades that they will have their corporate accounts frozen and lose their insurance.

However, a corporate account may not be suspended unless it appears to be the source of large contributions to blockaders, said Wesley Wark, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. Donations from truckers' personal accounts can also be frozen, with no impact on their colleagues.

"The financial sanctions will be used surgically, not least to avoid legal challenges. But they are also meant to act as a threat and deterrent in the hope that companies would also put their own pressure on 'rogue drivers' — a two-pronged attack," Wark said.

Surveillance, licence plate information, open-source intelligence — social media monitoring, for example — and now-mandatory registration by all crowdfunding and payment services with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, known as Fintrac, will all play a roll in identifying and penalizing protesters, he said.

Truckers who have camped out below Parliament Hill for more than two weeks said they were undeterred by the emergency measures.

"I'm afraid of nothing," Quebec big-rigger Martin Thibault said from his cab downtown. He said he has been at the protest for 17 days and plans to stay until all vaccine mandates end.

Cristian Munteau, whose bright yellow rig has been parked near Parliament Hill since the first day of the protest, said the steps taken by Trudeau reminded him of authoritarian powers adopted by regimes in his native Romania.

"This reminds me of the Communists. They try everything to hurt people through laws ... They have the power — the power to make me homeless," he said. "But this is about freedom of speech. It doesn't scare me."

Breaching any order or regulation made through the emergencies law could also result in a penalty of up to five years in jail and a fine of $5,000.

The truck council says the government must offer protection against threats to tow-truck drivers who can be compelled by the law to remove vehicles and big-rigs.

"I may be protected when I'm on scene removing the truck, but how are you protecting my business's safety after that?" Millian asked.

Stakeholders say they believe the majority of truckers involved in the demonstrations are independent drivers who own their semi trucks and work on contract. For owner-operators a suspended or frozen account, insurance certificate or licence — or an impounded tractor — would severely dent their income.

“They can’t survive. It’s going to impact them hugely on their bottom line," said Lisa Garofalo, vice-president of the trucking division at Baird MacGregor Insurance Brokers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2022.

— With files from Marie Woolf in Ottawa

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press

KENNEY & UCP WERE HANDS OFF

'It could have been deadly': Truckers end blockade at Alberta border crossing

The Canadian Press

COUTTS, Alta. — A blockade that paralyzed a United States border crossing for more than two weeks ended Tuesday as trucks and other vehicles with horns blaring rolled away from a southern Alberta community.

Protesters had been restricting access to the busy crossing near Coutts since Jan. 29 to rally against COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truckers and broader pandemic health restrictions.

Canada Border Services Agency said operations had resumed at the crossing and RCMP confirmed later Tuesday that traffic was moving smoothly.

The exodus of vehicles came one day after RCMP arrested 13 people and seized a cache of firearms and ammunition.

Charges laid include possession of weapons and mischief to property.

Four people also face a charge of conspiracy to murder RCMP members, said Chief Supt. Trevor Daroux. He said police worked closely with the Crown to ensure they had the necessary evidence to lay those charges.

Some of the accused were granted release in a Lethbridge, Alta., courtroom on Tuesday. A judge also ordered that they can't contact one another or be within a 200-metre radius of any protest.

Mounties said an early-morning raid Monday uncovered 13 long guns, handguns, a machete, a large quantity of ammunition and body armour. Two additional weapons were seized later in the day.

RCMP also said a semi-truck and farm tractor had attempted to ram a police cruiser on Sunday.

"The dangerous criminal activity occurring away from the TV cameras and social media posts was real and organized," said Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki on Tuesday evening.

"It could have been deadly for citizens, protesters and officers."

Daroux said the RCMP became aware of the heavily armed group a few days after the protest began. He said investigations are ongoing into this group and other events that took place during the blockade.

"Alberta RCMP will remain in the area until we are confident that the situation is safe and stabilized for all who travel through here," he said.

Protesters are dissociating themselves from the group of people facing serious charges. Organizer Marco Van Huigenbos said that is why the convoy decided to leave peacefully.

He said he has no regrets about participating in the blockade.

"I think we've started a movement where people are going to get more involved ... at the municipal level, provincial possibly, but also more involvement in politics in general."

Two tactical vests seized by the RCMP had badges on them, which the Canadian Anti-Hate Network said have links to troubling movements.

One vest had a "Diagolon" patch on it, a white diagonal line across a black rectangle, that is linked to an often conspiratorial and antisemitic group, said Peter Smith from the network. He said the group often talks about a soon-approaching civil war.

"(Their) rhetoric is very violent," said Smith. "One of the, kind of, common phrases used within the community is 'A gun or rope?'"

The other patch said "Infidel" in both English and Arabic in yellow. Smith said the patch doesn't indicate membership to a specific network but is known among Islamophobic militias and biker-style hate groups.

He said the biggest worry is having niche extremist networks that could work to inflame supporters linked to what was supposed to be a peaceful protest.

There was celebrating when the protest started winding down late Monday. A video posted to social media showed RCMP members shaking hands with and hugging protesters. People holding hats or hands to their chests or with arms draped across each other's shoulders sang O Canada.

Cpl. Gina Slaney confirmed the scene was from Monday night in Coutts.Zablocki said RCMP is aware of the video.

"I will say, we do encourage our members to engage with the public and develop respectful, professional relationships with all Albertans," said Zablocki. "We will be looking further into this matter."

Jim Willett, mayor of the village of 250 people, said it had been a while since he had seen anything but semi-trailers on Highway 4.

"I can see all the way to Regina," he said with a laugh.

Willett said he doesn't blame the blockade leaders for the cache of weapons.

"They were a well-behaved bunch of people," he said. "I think the organizers were taken aback as much as we were by what the RCMP discovered."

The number of protesters at a police checkpoint, north of Coutts, had also dwindled and work was underway to start clearing away a first-aid trailer, a sauna and electric generators.

"Last night, emotions were high ... I think a lot of people felt that we were giving up, but we're not giving up," said John Vanreeuwyk, a feedlot operator from Coaldale, Alta., also a protest organizer.

"Is it a victory? No. A victory means we're done," he said.

The blockade was one of several demonstrations in Canadian cities and border points that stalled trade, stranded travellers and disrupted lives of area residents, particularly in Ottawa.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has said $48 million in trade was lost each day that the Coutts border was closed.

— With files from Alanna Smith in Calgary

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2022.

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

From snakes to Spartans: The meaning behind some of the flags convoy protesters are carrying

Katie Nicholson -

cbc.ca

Thousands of people have taken to the streets in the nation's capital and other cities across Canada over the last three weeks to protest vaccine mandates, pandemic restrictions and lockdowns.

While many protesters have been carrying the Canadian flag, some have been waving flags that are less recognizable.

But for experts who study extremism in Canada, the symbols on some of these flags are familiar.

Here's what some of them mean.

Gadsden flag

"If you step on a snake, you're going to get bitten. That's the idea," said Matthew Chen of the coiled-snake symbol on the yellow flag with the words "Don't Tread on Me" written on it that he was carrying to Saturday's convoy protest in Toronto.

Chen is vaccinated but said he was there to stand up for individual rights because he doesn't think public health measures are fair to people who choose to be unvaccinated.


© Turgut Yeter/ CBCMatthew Chen said he decided to carry a Gadsden flag to the Feb. 12 Toronto protest because of its message to government: 'Don't tread on me.'

"It only takes one generation to let freedom slip, and then you have Communist China, you have Putin's Russia," Chen said. "They can't do anything unmonitored. And I don't want that here."

The Gadsden flag dates back to the 18th century, with its roots in the American Revolution. Named for Christopher Gadsden, a South Carolina politician and brigadier general in the Continental Army who is believed to have designed it, it was originally adopted by the navy as a warning to British forces who sought to control the colonies.

It later became a favourite among Libertarians in the United States.

The flag was also used by the Tea Party movement and was spotted outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot in Washington, D.C.


© Shannon Stapleton/ReutersA Gadsden flag in the crowd during the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former U.S. president Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.

"The snake that's at the centre of the Gadsden flag refers to this notion of defensive violence — that whoever is carrying that flag is there to defend their territory, to defend themselves," said Barbara Perry, director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University.

"In this case, to defend themselves or the movement or Canadians from a tyrannical government."

To many who brandish the Gadsden flag, it doesn't necessarily signal far right extremism so much as anti-government sentiment and libertarianism.

Gadsden flag, but with a Canadian twist


© Turgut Yeter/CBCA Canadian version of the Gadsden flag, seen here at the Feb. 12 protest at Queen's Park in Toronto, substitutes the goose for the original snake.

A Canadian variation of the Gadsden has been on display at a number of the convoy protests, with the snake swapped out for an aggressive Canada goose.

"I think that's a very clever use of the flag because the Canada Goose is also territorial, also protective, also defensive," Perry said.

"What we've heard through the protests here is that emphasis on the need to defend themselves against a tyrannical state — that our freedoms are being taken away from us."


© Katie Nicholson/ CBCA Canadian Gadsden flag flies at the Queen's Park protest on Feb. 5.

Steve, a protester who carried a Canadian Gadsden flag to the Queen's Park protest Saturday said the Canadian version seemed appropriate since Canadian geese "honk," and honking has played a large role in the convoy protests.

"It essentially is self-explanatory," said Steve, who gave his surname as "defund the CBC."

"Don't tread on me, right? You don't mess with me. And you know, no one will mess with you. The non-aggression principle.

"Clearly we want government off our back … I'm a proud, strong Canadian, but, you know, minimal government."

Molon Labe flag

This black and white flag with an image of a Spartan helmet was spotted outside Queen's Park during the Feb. 5 Toronto protest. The words "Molon Labe" are Greek for "Come and take them."

The phrase and the image are popular among supporters of the Second Amendment (the right to bear arms) in the U.S.

"It's very similar to what Charlton Heston said when he was president of the NRA (National Rifle Association) in the U.S. 'Take these guns from my cold, dead hands,'" said Perry.


© Katie Nicholson/ CBCThis Molon Labe flag paired with a Canadian flag was unfurled outside Queen’s Park Feb. 5.

"To have that gun-rights narrative enter into this movement was a little disconcerting, but it also speaks to the fact that we are seeing more of that American-style emphasis on gun rights in the Canadian context, within some of the far right groups, specifically."

The appearance of flags that have their origins in the U.S. at the protests isn't surprising to those who study extremism.

"The United States is and remains the greatest [exporter] of far right ideology," said David Hofmann, who researches far right extremism at the University of New Brunswick.

Hofmann said homegrown extremists and those on the far right often borrow images and symbols from the United States even if they are based on laws — such as the Second Amendment — that have no bearing in Canada.

"This is more about evoking core ideas, about freedom, about rights for the far right movement as a global entity," he said.

Patriote flag

Some of the flags are homegrown, including variations on the Patriote flag, which dates back to the 1830s.

Historically, the flag has been associated with the Patriote movement in Lower Canada (which included the southern portion of present-day Quebec) and the rebellions of 1837 and 1838, explained Frédérick Nadeau, who works at an anti-radicalization research centre at Cégep Édouard-Montpetit, a public francophone college in Longueuil, Que.


© CBCA patriote flag hangs off the shoulder of an Ottawa protester. The flag has become a symbol of far right Quebec nationalists, according to experts.

Those rebellions sought to make Lower Canada independent from the British Empire. The green, white and red colours of the flag are likely a nod to the province's Irish, French and British inhabitants, respectively, at the time, Nadeau said.

IT WAS USED BY THE FLQ FOR THEIR MANIFESTO IN 1970 DURING THE LAPORTE KIDNAPPING AND CRISIS THAT LED TO THE WAR MEASURES ACT BEING INVOKED BY PAPA TRUDEAU

The flag was resurrected around the time of the 1995 Quebec referendum, with new details: a star to light Quebec's way forward and a rebel figure holding a musket, Nadeau said.

"We saw it make a reappearance recently in ultra-nationalist and far right demonstrations," said Nadeau.

Patriote flag, but with a gnome

Pictures from the protests in Ottawa also show a variation of the Patriote flag, with an image of gnome holding a Quebec flag added.


© CBCA Patriote flag with a gnome on it, seen in Ottawa, is a symbol of the Quebec-based anti-COVID restriction group Les Farfadaas

"This is the symbol of a particular group that was created in the beginning of the pandemic, and the group is called Les Farfadaas. Farfadet is the translation of 'gnome,' more or less, in French," Nadeau said.

The group was formed in Quebec to protest against public health measures.

"And so that group originated from the far right group La Meute."

La Meute is a Quebec-based group widely regarded by experts as being far right, anti-Islam and anti-immigration.

Les Farfadaas' cheerful gnome figure may seem odd, but Louis Audet Gosselin, the scientific and strategic director of the Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence, said it started when one of the group's leaders joked that politicians and newspapers treated them as if they were "Farfadaas."

"Movements like that, they throw out a lot of imagery and some of them stick," Gosselin said. "Those symbols always evolve and that will probably continue to do so in the future."

The gnome-like figure isn't the only symbol used by Les Farfadaas.

"They also use … some symbols of the biker universe. So they have leather suits … with badges on," Gosselin said.

Canadian flag, but upside down

Another familiar sight at the protests has been an upside down Canadian flag. Flying a nation's flag upside down is generally meant to convey a distress signal or a sign of extreme danger to life.

Federal rules say the flag should never be flown upside down, burned or marked, among other things.

Protesters have used the upside-down Canadian flag at pandemic-related protests since the first months of the lockdown. In May 2020, anti-lockdown protesters gathered at Queen's Park in Toronto to demand Premier Doug Ford lift restrictions.

"What just burns me up, more than anything, more than them standing out there, is I look out the window, and I see our Canadian flag being flown upside down," Ford said at the time.

Flags are window into protest, expert says

While these are just a small sample of some of the flags and symbols on display at the protests, researchers who have studied them say they offer a window into some of the groups fuelling the protests.

"There are multiple intersecting and converging elements to this movement, which is providing a strength for the movement as a whole," said Perry.

Hofmann said many of the converging groups have the same goal: attention.

"They're not monolithic, but they're all there to get attention. They want people watching," he said.

"This isn't a single entity as much as it is a bunch of groups with their own agendas and their own focus and their own goals, seizing the opportunity to to be seen and to spread their messaging."

And Nadeau says the pandemic has played a key role in this convergence.

"So many political fringes that were until then evolving in separate political spheres, and that were even in conflict with one another sometimes, really came together to protest against the public health measures," he said.

"Those different symbols that we saw this weekend and the variety of it, and, it really tells us about the complexity of that movement."

More data on Canadian 'Freedom Convoy' donors leaked -website


By Christopher Bing and Anna Mehler Paperny

WASHINGTON/TORONTO (Reuters) -The leak website Distributed Denial of Secrets on Tuesday said it has posted more donor files from the fundraising platform GiveSendGo relating to the Canadian movement of people opposed to pandemic health measures, including COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

On Sunday, the DDoS website, which is devoted to disseminating leaked data, said it was releasing donor information relating to the "Freedom Convoy 2022" campaign, which raised more than $2 million in donations. It includes funds raised from several Canadian business owners.

Tuesday's leak contains donor information about a similar “Adopt-a-Trucker” campaign, which says it is operating “in partnership with the Freedom Convoy." The Adopt-a-Trucker effort appeared to raise less money and involved fewer donors.

The funding of the Canadian protests has emerged as a key point of interest as authorities in Ottawa and elsewhere try to get a grip on rallies led by truckers since late January that have blockaded cities and border crossings across Canada with demands that include deposing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.


© Reuters/CHRIS HELGRENFILE PHOTO: Truckers continue to protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Ottawa

GiveSendGo did not immediately respond to a request for comment about any hack or the status of its campaigns.

The Sunday data from the U.S.-based Christian fundraising site included names, email addresses, ZIP codes and internet protocol addresses. Tuesday's leak offered similar material in addition to payment details, based on a review of the data.

The new GiveSendGo data also came from a "hack" according to DDoS, which did not provide further information. The Adopt-a-Trucker campaign has pulled in nearly $600,000, according to GiveSendGo.

DDoS said that because the donor information contained sensitive personal information, it would not be making the data available publicly but would instead be offering it to journalists and researchers.

DDoS describes itself as a nonprofit devoted to enabling the free transmission of data in the public interest.

GiveSendGo became a prime conduit for money to the protesters after mainstream crowdfunding platform GoFundMe blocked donations to the self-declared Freedom Convoy. Earlier this month the group said it had raised $8 million for the protests.

The Ontario government obtained an injunction last week freezing GiveSendGo's "Freedom Convoy 2022" and "Adopt-A-Trucker" campaign funds. [L1N2UL3GW] GiveSendGo said at the time it was not subject to Canadian law and continued to fundraise.

Brad Howland, president of EasyKleen Pressure Systems Ltd, which is headquartered in New Brunswick and manufactures high-pressure cleaning systems, donated $75,000 to GiveSendGo's "Freedom Convoy" on Feb. 9, according to leaked information confirmed by Reuters.

In a statement sent by a company spokesperson, Howland confirmed his support for the convoy, saying he wants the government to remove mandates "to restore all our freedoms."

"We drove to Ottawa this weekend and witnessed the protest for ourselves," the statement reads in part. "They have a beautiful, legal, peaceful protest that overwhelmed us with emotion. To see the love, peace, and unity that many of us have longed for, for a long time – It was an experience of a lifetime."

Holden Rhodes, a London, Ontario-based lawyer and mountain resort owner, confirmed in an email to Reuters that he and his wife donated $25,000 to the Freedom Convoy. It was the among the highest value donations from Canada.

"Without freedom, we have nothing. ... That is why I am doing what I am doing," said Rhodes, adding Ontario's decision on Monday to remove proof-of-vaccination requirements and other restrictions early is proof the movement has succeeded.

(Reporting by Christopher Bing in Washington, Anna Mehler Paperney in Toronto and Julie Gordon in Ottawa; Writing by Chris Sanders; Editing by Franklin Paul, Jonathan Oatis and Marguerita Choy)

Convoy protesters pursue new funding, including own crypto token, as feds swoop in

OTTAWA — Figures behind the protests blockading Parliament Hill and various border crossings are championing new ways to finance their movement — including through their own crypto token — as Ottawa invokes sweeping powers to crack down on their cash flow.

Pat King, an influential organizer, appeared in a video streamed live on Facebook Monday, hours after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he was invoking the Emergencies Act in hopes of bringing an end to the protests.

The never-before-used federal legislation is designed so that Ottawa can introduce temporary measures to deal with what it deems to be a public emergency.

The measures include the power for banks to suspend or freeze the accounts of those supporting the blockades and force crowdfunding platforms and cryptocurrencies to follow anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws.

At the end of the 24-minute video, in which King tells his supporters "don't back off" in the face of the new federal powers, he encourages them to check out a website for a "freedom convoy token."

The website lists King, who is identified as a so-called freedom fighter, as a founder of the token, along with several others and a team of developers.

It's not the first time leaders of the protest movement have advocated for supporters to turn to the more complicated world of cryptocurrency as a channel to generate funds, including last week when others promoted the use of Bitcoin.

King's site instructs users to download a crypto wallet, purchase an already established token and then swap that for the convoy's coin.

University of Toronto finance professor Andreas Park says anyone can create a crypto token and it appears the organizers are using it as a way to fundraise online.

"What they do is they sell these tokens in return for cash," he said.

"They create this token. You give them a token that actually has value. They can take that token, convert it to money and do their thing."

Compared to the regulated banking system, this one is much more difficult for governments to control and enforce rules, Park said.

The convoy coin website lists its initial cause to be fundraising, but also references a later goal as starting "development of a GoFundMe-like killer decentralized platform."

"Being able to push our cause to a worldwide audience with no entity to control our vision meant going decentralized," its reads. It adds that four per cent of every transaction will go into what's called the "Freedom Convoy Foundation."

As of Tuesday at around 5 p.m., it reported nearly 3,000 transfers had occurred.

Creating their own crypto coin began after protesters were initially raising funds on GoFundMe. Donors contributed more than $10 million before the website pulled the plug, saying the demonstration had become an "occupation."

Police and local leaders had expressed concerns about the platform's role in financing the Parliament Hill blockade, which was causing headaches for residents because of the truckers' incessant honking and forcing nearby businesses to shut their doors due to worries about harassment and public health rules being broken.

Organizers then turned to GiveSendGo, a Christian crowdfunding platform, where it raised more than $US8.4 million before an Ontario court froze access to the funds at the request of the provincial government.

All the while, those protesting on Parliament Hill have been seen collecting cash donations and passing out bills.

Matt McGuire, an anti-money laundering expert and cryptocurrency investigator who also reviewed the convoy's coin, said it appears to be designed in such a way that makes it more challenging to connect the individuals who donated to the actual funds.

"The amount of layering involved will also make it difficult to know the ultimate use of the funds," he said.

Unlike Bitcoin, which has been around long enough the cryptocurrency can be transferred into something like a prepaid card, he said nothing yet exists for those holders of the convoy coin.

"The problem they're going to have next is how do you get this (freedom convoy token) into real money," he said. "You have to try to swap it for something else that you could actually get out of the system."

King's video Monday evening also teased another fundraiser for supporters to use. A woman who was identified as "Dayna" from within the movement touted a website that paired donors with a family or a truck driver in need of support funds.

By Tuesday afternoon, that website was no longer available.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2022.

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press