OLD FASHIONED CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Hollywood actor jailed for $650 million movie ponzi scheme

Zachary Horwitz promised healthy returns on investments, but was running a giant ponzi scheme and using the cash to fund a lavish lifestyle

 (AFP/Apu GOMES) 


Mon, February 14, 2022,

An American actor who swindled $650 million in a huge Hollywood ponzi scheme, using it to finance a lavish lifestyle of yachts, jets and fast cars, was jailed Monday for 20 years.

Zachary Horwitz created fake contracts that he told investors were with HBO and Netflix to trick them into handing over vast sums of money, which he splurged on private flights, top-of-the-range autos and a luxury Los Angeles mansion, complete with a wine cellar.

"Horwitz portrayed himself as a Hollywood success story," prosecutors said, according to the Department of Justice.

"He branded himself as an industry player, who... leveraged his relationships with online streaming platforms like HBO and Netflix to sell them foreign film distribution rights at a steady premium.

"But, as his victims came to learn, (Horwitz) was not a successful businessman or Hollywood insider. He just played one."

Horwitz, who acted in small-time horror films under the name Zach Avery, told investors he was buying foreign distribution rights for US movies, and then selling them to streaming platforms.

The 35-year-old gave each victim a note promising a handsome profit six or 12 months later.

Over seven years he kept the scheme going by using new investors' money to repay the old ones.

By the time it all fell apart, more than $230 million had vanished.

He admitted security fraud in October, and acknowledged that he had never bought any film rights, or secured any distribution contracts.

It would be "difficult to conceive a white-collar crime more egregious," prosecutors said in a memo to the judge, noting he started his life of crime by swindling university friends, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"He began by betraying the trust of his own friends, people who lowered their guard because they could not possibly imagine that someone they had known for years would unflinchingly swindle them and their families out of their life savings," they wrote.

Horwitz was jailed for 20 years, and ordered by Judge Mark Scarsito to repay $230 million to his victims.

hg/mlm

'My heart and body shake': Afghan women defy Taliban




In the 20 years since the Taliban last held power in Afghanistan, a generation of women became business owners, university graduates, and held government positions. Now they are battling for their rights

 (AFP/Rouba EL HUSSEINI)

Rouba EL HUSSEINI
Mon, February 14, 2022, 7:13 PM·8 min read

One after the other, quickly, carefully, keeping their heads down, a group of Afghan women step into a small Kabul apartment block -- risking their lives as a nascent resistance against the Taliban.

They come together to plan their next stand against the hardline Islamist regime, which took back power in Afghanistan in August and stripped them of their dreams.

At first, there were no more than 15 activists in this group, mostly women in their 20s who already knew each other.

Now there is a network of dozens of women –- once students, teachers or NGO workers, as well as housewives -— that have worked in secret to organise protests over the past six months.

"I asked myself why not join them instead of staying at home, depressed, thinking of all that we lost," a 20-year-old protester, who asked not to be named, tells AFP.

They know such a challenge to the new authorities may cost them everything.

Four of their colleagues were recently seized for weeks, until the UN confirmed their release on Sunday.

When the Taliban first ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, they became notorious for human rights abuses, with women mostly confined to their homes.

Now back in government and despite promising a softer rule, they are cracking down on women's freedoms once again.

There is enforced segregation in most workplaces, leading many employers to fire female staff and women are barred from key public sector jobs.

Many girls' secondary schools have closed, and university curriculums are being revised to reflect their hardline interpretation of Islam.

Haunted by memories of the last Taliban regime, some Afghan women are too frightened to venture out or are pressured by their families to remain at home.

For mother-of four Shala, who asked AFP to only use her first name, a return to such female confinement is her biggest fear.

A former government employee, her job has already been taken from her, so now she helps organise the resistance and sometimes sneaks out at night to paint graffiti slogans such as "Long Live Equality" across the walls of the nation's capital.

"I just want to be an example for young women, to show them that I will not give up the fight," she explains.

The Taliban could harm her family, but Shala says her husband supports what she is doing and her children are learning from her defiance -- at home they practise chants demanding education.

- 'Fear can't control me' -

AFP journalists attended two of the group's gatherings in January.

Despite the risk of being arrested and taken by the Taliban, or shunned by their families and society more than 40 women came to one event.

At another meeting, a few women were fervently preparing for their next protest.

One activist designed a banner demanding justice, a cellphone in one hand and her pen in the other.

"These are our only weapons," she says.

A 24-year-old, who asked not to be named, helped brainstorm ideas for attracting the world's attention.

"It's dangerous but we have no other way. We have to accept that our path is fraught with challenges," she insists.

Like others, she stood up to her conservative family, including an uncle who threw away her books to keep her from learning.

"I don't want to let fear control me and prevent me from speaking and telling the truth," she insists.

Allowing people to join their ranks is a meticulous process.

Hoda Khamosh, a published poet and former NGO worker who organised workshops to help empower women, is tasked with ensuring newcomers can be trusted.

One test she sets is to ask them to prepare banners or slogans at short notice -- she can sense passion for the cause from women who deliver quickly.

Other tests yield even clearer results.

Hoda recounts the time they gave a potential activist a fake date and time for a demonstration.

The Taliban turned up ahead of the supposed protest, and all contact was cut with the woman suspected of tipping off officials.

A core group of the activists use a dedicated phone number to coordinate on the day of a protest. That number is later disconnected to ensure it is not being tracked.

"We usually carry an extra scarf or an extra dress. When the demonstration is over, we change our clothes so we cannot be recognised," Hoda explains.

She has changed her phone number several times and her husband has received threats.

"We could still be harmed, it's exhausting. But all we can do is persevere," she adds.

The activist was one of a few women flown to Norway to meet face to face with the Taliban's leadership last month, alongside other civil society members, when the first talks on European soil were held between the West and Afghanistan's new government.

- Crackdown on dissent -

In the 20 years since the Taliban last held power, a generation of women -- largely in major cities -- became business owners, studied PHDs, and held government positions.

The battle to defend those gains requires defiance.

On protest days, women turn up in twos or threes, waiting outside shops as if they are ordinary shoppers, then at the last minute rush together: some 20 people chanting as they unfurl their banners.

Swiftly, and inevitably, the Taliban's armed fighters surround them -- sometimes holding them back, other times screaming and pointing guns to scare the women away.

One activist recalls slapping a fighter in the face, while another led protest chants despite a masked gunman pointing his weapon at her.

But it is becoming increasingly dangerous to protest as authorities crack down on dissent.

A few days after the planning meeting attended by AFP, Taliban fighters used pepper spray on the resistance demonstrators for the first time, angry as the group had painted a white burqa red to reject wearing the all-covering dress.

Two of the women who took part in the protests -- Tamana Zaryabi Paryani and Parwana Ibrahimkhel -- were later rounded up in a series of night raids on January 19.

Shortly before she was taken, footage of Paryani was shared on social media showing her in distress, warning of Taliban fighters at her door.

In the video, Tamana calls out: "Kindly help! Taliban have come to our home in Parwan 2. My sisters are at home."

It shows her telling the men behind the door: "If you want to talk, we'll talk tomorrow. I cannot meet you in the night with these girls. I don't want to (open the door)... Please! Help, help!"

Several women interviewed by AFP before the raids, who spoke of "non-stop threats", later went into hiding.

The UN also demanded information about two more female activists allegedly detained two weeks ago, named by rights advocates as Zahra Mohammadi and Mursal Ayar.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied any women were being held, but said authorities had the right "to arrest and detain dissidents or those who break the law", after the government banned unsanctioned protests soon after coming to power.

On Sunday the UN said all four women were released after being held by the "de facto authorities" of Afghanistan.

- Starting from scratch -

The women are learning to adapt quickly.

When they began the movement last September, demonstrations would end as soon as one of the participants was pushed or threatened by the Taliban.

Hoda says they have now developed a system where two activists take care of the victim, allowing the others -- and the protest -- to continue.

As the Taliban prevents media coverage of protests, many of the female activists use their phones to take photos and videos to post on social media.

The content, often featuring them defiantly showing their faces, can then reach an international audience.

"These women... had to create something from scratch," says Heather Barr of Human Rights Watch.

"There are a lot of very experienced women activists who have been working in Afghanistan for many years... but almost all of them left after August 15," she adds.

"(The Taliban) don't tolerate dissent. They have beaten other protesters, they have beaten journalists who cover the protests, very brutally. They've gone and looked for protesters and protest organisers afterwards."

Barr believes it is "almost certain" those involved with this new resistance will experience harm.

A separate, smaller women's group is now trying to focus on protest that avoids direct confrontation with the Taliban.

"When I am out on the streets my heart and body shake," said Wahida Amiri.

The 33-year-old used to work as a librarian. Sharp and articulate, she is used to fighting for justice having previously campaigned against corruption in the previous government.

Now that is no longer possible, she sometimes meets a small circle of friends in the safety of their homes, where they film themselves holding candlelit vigils and raising banners demanding the right to education and work.

They write articles and attend debates on audio apps Clubhouse or Twitter, hoping social media will show the world their story.

"I have never worked as hard as I have in the past five months," she says.

Hoda's biggest dream was to be Afghanistan's president, and it is difficult for her to accept that her political work is now limited.

"If we do not fight for our future today, Afghan history will repeat itself," the 26-year-old told AFP from her home.

"If we do not get our rights we will end up stuck at home, between four walls. This is something we cannot tolerate," she said.

Kabul's resistance is not alone. There have been small, scattered protests by women in other Afghan cities, including Bamiyan, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif.

"(The Taliban) have erased us from society and politics," Amiri says.

"We may not succeed. All we want is to keep the voice of justice raised high, and instead of five women, we want thousands to join us."

rh/aya/ecl/lto/jts/jd/ser

 

Rocket set to hit Moon was built by China, not SpaceX, say astronomers

A rocket will indeed strike the lunar surface on March 4, but contrary to what had been announced, it was built not by Elon Musk's company, but by China, experts now say 

(AFP/Laurent EMMANUEL) 

Mon, February 14, 2022, 4:19 PM·

Astronomy experts say they originally misread the secrets of the night sky last month: it turns out that a rocket expected to crash into the Moon in early March was built by China, not SpaceX.

A rocket will indeed strike the lunar surface on March 4, but contrary to what had been announced, it was built not by Elon Musk's company, but by Beijing, experts now say.

The rocket is now said to be 2014-065B, the booster for the Chang'e 5-T1, launched in 2014 as part of the Chinese space agency's lunar exploration program.

The surprise announcement was made by astronomer Bill Gray, who first identified the future impact, and admitted his mistake last weekend.

"This (honest mistake) just emphasizes the problem with lack of proper tracking of these deep space objects," tweeted astronomer Jonathan McDowell, who advocates for greater regulation of space waste.

"The object had about the brightness we would expect, and had showed up at the expected time and moving in a reasonable orbit," he wrote in post.

But "in hindsight, I should have noticed some odd things" about its orbit, he added.

NASA said in late January that it would attempt to observe the crater that will be formed by the explosion of this object, thanks to its probe that orbits around the Moon, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

The agency called the event an "exciting research opportunity."

la/ia/caw

Beijing 2022: Even before gold, Kaillie Humphries had already won

Kaillie Humphries has picked up her third Olympic gold medal, winning the inaugural monobob competition. 

After a hard transition from Canada to the United States, the Olympic veteran won long before Beijing 2022.

AMERICA'S KIND OF MIGRANT;

WHITE MIDDLE CLASS WITH SOMETHING TO OFFER

Winning in the inaugural monobob was just the icing on the cake for former Canadian Kaillie Humphries

Although she has been competing for the United States for three years, seeing Kaillie Humphries in red, white and blue at the Yanqing National Sliding Center on Monday was still a bit strange. Born in Calgary, Alberta, the 36-year-old had previously won two gold medals and a bronze for Canada in the two-woman bobsled.

But after filing a harassment lawsuit against a former coach, her bobsled now sports the stars and stripes, and her gold medal in the women's monobob gives the US seven at Beijing 2022.

The event, the first of its kind at the Olympics, was Humphries' to lose. She set a course record on her first run on Sunday and had a second-and-a-half lead going into the final run on Monday. She wound up with a total time of 4:19.27, 1.54 seconds ahead of Monobob World Series winner Elana Meyers Taylor.

Afterward, Humphries jumped out of her sled, threw an American flag in the air and yelled "USA! USA!" During the medal ceremony, she proudly sang along with the "Star Spangled Banner," the American national anthem.

The gold medal was Humphries' third, and given all she's done for bobsledding, it was only appropriate that she is the first monobob Olympic champion. But her victory came long before her arrival in Beijing.

Change of allegiance

Humphries has admitted that after every Olympics there is a lull when the fanfare and press tours are done. Following the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, the lull led to a depression she didn't fully understand.

"It's not something I chose. I'm not ashamed of it, either," Humphries told the Player's Own Voice, a podcast from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, in 2019. "My body had given up. My mind had shut off completely from what had occurred during the Olympics."

This Olympic hangover was also different, Humphries said, because of the verbal and mental abuse received from head coach Todd Hays leading up to the Pyeongchang Games. In 2018, she filed a harassment complaint against Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton (BCS) and asked to be released from the federation.

An initial independent investigation found in September 2019 that there was "insufficient evidence" to support Humphries' harassment complaint. However, the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada found that the investigation, conducted by Hill Advisory Inc., was "neither thorough nor reasonable."

Meanwhile, Humphries had been released by Canada bobsled and began competing for the United States in the 2019-20 World Championships.

"I didn't recognize myself. I felt unsafe in my environment, I was scared physically for my safety as well as for my mental health," Humphries told DW before Beijing 2022.

"I love the country and the support and the people, the citizens of Canada. I just could no longer work with Bobsled Canada as a federation and needed to move on."

Learning who 'real friends are'

She added that the switch hasn't necessarily changed her relationships within the bobsledding world. If anything, it has strengthened the way people have always felt about her.

"The people that liked me still like me. The people that didn't like me were given more ammo to not like me," she said. "I've definitely seen the true colors of people and you learn very quickly who your actual real friends are and who actually cares about you.

"When it comes to issues of abuse and harassment and safety within sport, it's a very hard topic to discuss and you learn very quickly who actually believes in you, is on your side and wants you to be in a very safe, positive, great environment and who wants to see you fail."

Kaillie Humphries (left) also won Olympic medals for her former country

For Meyers Taylor, Humphries' longtime rival and training partner, the switch to the US team hasn't really changed much about their relationship.

"It's funny actually because I train less with her now than I did when she was Canadian," Meyers Taylor said. "Whether she has the Canadian flag on her or the American flag, I was going to have to go toe-to-toe with her and beat her, regardless."

Becoming part of Team USA

Although she was already in her third year of competing for the United States, until just a few weeks ago it still wasn't clear whether Humphries, who now resides with her husband Travis Armbruster in San Diego, would be able to compete in her fourth Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) requires an athlete to have citizenship in the country they represent, and until December, the bobsled legend only had residency. She admitted that the cloud of her citizenship was "extremely hard and it weighed a lot on my heart and my mind."

But on December 2, Humphries was granted American citizenship, making her eligible to compete for Team USA. So there she was, pushing her stars-and-stripes monobob sled at the Yanqing Sliding Center with the same power and ferocity she had for years.

She's also set to compete in her specialty, the two-woman bobsled, later this week. For her, winning the gold medal will undoubtedly be another career highlight, but her real victory in Beijing came long before the Games started.

"I stood up for myself. A lot of people don't, won't, and it was extremely hard," Humphries said. "I feel mentally so much stronger as a female athlete to have pulled myself out of such a dark place and to know that a country supports me in the process." 

Earth's Core Is in a Weird Superionic State: 'Quite Abnormal'

Orlando Jenkinson 

Newsweek
© Rost-9D/Getty Images

Earth's inner core is likely a weird composition of superheated elements making it both liquid and solid at the same time, a study has suggested.

The extreme temperatures and pressures found at the center of the Earth were once thought to cumulate in a solid inner core made mostly of iron. This core gives the planet its magnetic field that shields us from solar radiation.

However, research published by scientists with the Institute of Geochemistry at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGCAS) in the journal Nature said that various "lighter" elements were likely present at the center of the Earth in a stew of superheated solid and liquid states known as "superionic."

The materials found in the inner core of the Earth behave in this way due to the extreme conditions found there. Including huge pressure, the temperature at the center of the Earth is believed to be over 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit—as hot as the surface of the sun.

Researchers used the study of earthquake data, known as seismology, to reach their conclusions. The scientists also used quantum mechanics theory, which helps explain how atoms and particles behave at the microscopic level, to create simulations that mimicked the intense pressures and temperatures found at the inner core. Their simulations showed how some alloys transformed into a superionic state when placed under conditions found in the Earth's inner core.

The findings add to a paper published in Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors in December 2021, which also used earthquake readings to suggest that the inner core was likely composed of elements in several different states including "mushy" material.

The latest findings could have implications for our understanding of processes that relate to Earth's core. These include volcanism, earthquakes and Earth's magnetic field, the authors said.

The paper found that the superheated solids that occur in the inner core create strong convection currents, giving buoyancy for lighter elements there. These in turn float around and produce the convection currents of the outer core that drives liquid metal found there in motion and combine with the inner core to give Earth its magnetic field.

"It is quite abnormal," He Yu, the study's lead author, said in a statement. "The solidification of iron at the inner core boundary does not change the mobility of these light elements, and the convection of light elements is continuous in the inner core."

Related Articles

How a 'Huge, Silent' Earthquake Caused a Mysterious Global Tsunami
Earth's Core Is Cooling Faster Than Expected, Creating Uncertain Future for Planet

NO DEBATE IN PARLIMENT

Canada is sending lethal aid to Ukraine amid Russian invasion threat: Trudeau

Rachel Gilmore -
Global News

Canada is sending $7.8 million worth of lethal equipment and ammunition to Ukraine as Russia continues to escalate tension in the region, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday.

Canada to offer $500M loan and $7.8M worth of weapons, ammunition to Ukraine: Trudeau

On top of that, Canada will be sending Ukraine a $500 million loan -- in addition to the $120 million the government previously promised.

"The intent of this support from Canada and other partners is to deter further Russian aggression," Trudeau said, speaking during a press conference on Monday.

"We're not seeking confrontation with Russia. But the situation is intensifying rapidly, and we are showing our resolve."

The decision marks an escalation for Canada, which had refused to send any lethal aid to Ukraine earlier this month. At the time, Canada had only sent Ukraine non-lethal aid – a decision that drew criticism, since the country had specifically requested lethal help.

Russia has been building up its forces near Ukraine, with well over 100,000 troops lined along the border. Meanwhile, CBS reported on Monday that Russian troops are currently leaving their assembly points and moving into “attack positions” — the latest escalation in Russia’s ongoing aggression towards Ukraine.

“It’s important for Canadians and the world to know that Canada will continue supporting Ukraine and its independence, integrity, sovereignty,” Trudeau said, ‘including its right to defend itself.”

As tensions have continued to escalate, countries have been urging their citizens to return home.

U.K. prime minister meets with Ukrainian president in Kyiv amid soaring tensions with Russia

The U.K. government warned its citizens in Ukraine to “leave now.” Canada has issued a similar warning to its citizens, telling them to “avoid all travel to Ukraine” due to the ongoing threats from Russia.

“If you are in Ukraine, you should leave while commercial means are available,” Canada’s advisory adds.

The U.S. government has given similar directives to its own citizens, as well.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, asked state officials, politicians, and business leaders who have recently left the country to return within 24 hours. The goal, he said, is to show solidarity amid fears of an impending Russian invasion.

"It is your direct duty in such a situation to be with us, with the Ukrainian people. I suggest that you return to your homeland within 24 hours and stand shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainian army, our diplomats, and our people," Zelenskiy said in the video address.

Meanwhile, he says his country stands ready to respond to whatever “aggressive actions” Russia may take.

“We clearly know where exactly the enemy's army is located next to our borders, number of troops, locations, equipment and plans,” Zelensky said.

Ukraine president plays down U.S. warnings of imminent Russian invasion

Trudeau, meanwhile, has said it’s apparent Russia is “looking actively for excuses” to act against Ukraine.

“Russia must de-escalate,” Trudeau said, speaking to reporters on Friday.

“This is an evolving situation, but the bottom line is this: we’re not seeking confrontation with Russia, but we’re resolved to stand firm with the Ukrainian people’s right to determine their own future.”

– With files from Reuters

ALBERTA

Scrapped school mask mandates draw student walkouts, court challenge

The first day in months that Alberta students were not required to wear masks in class was marked with school walkouts and a failed court challenge, as the premier continued to downplay safety concerns.


© Provided by Calgary Herald

A group of students organized a walkout at Nelson Mandela High School due to the end of mask mandates in Calgary on Monday, February 14, 2022.

Jason Herring - 

Calgary Herald

Mask use is now optional in Alberta schools as of Monday, one of the first steps in the United Conservative government’s plan to ease nearly all COVID-19 restrictions by March 1.

In Calgary, about 50 students walked out of class at Nelson Mandela High School Monday afternoon in protest of the decision. A similar demonstration also took place at Central Memorial High School.

Navreet Sandhu said he took part in the walkout because he feels unsafe at school with masking rules removed and because students didn’t have a say in the mandate’s removal.

“I also think if we take our masks off now it’s going to affect all our summers, and we’ll be back in quarantine,” he said.

“I don’t want to get COVID too, because I have a little sister and my dad’s a truck driver … I don’t want to affect him from working.”

“The average student doesn’t feel safe not wearing a mask,” added William Devine, a Grade 11 student who helped organize the walkout.

Students who spoke with Postmedia said the majority of students were still wearing masks in the classroom Monday, but a small number had decided to forgo them.


© Darren Makowichuk/PostmediaA group of students organized a walkout at Nelson Mandela High School due to the end of mask mandates in Calgary on Monday, February 14, 2022.

Opposition to the province’s decision to axe the mandate ranged from the classroom to the courthouse, as an Edmonton judge dismissed an application for an emergency injunction which would have maintained in-school mask requirements until the issue could be argued in court.

Edmonton law firm Roberts O’Kelly Law filed for the emergency injunction late Sunday. Applicants included the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) and a group of parents of children with disabilities, who argue their children will face discrimination with mandatory masking in schools rescinded.

The emergency application was dismissed Monday afternoon, with a further hearing for the injunction adjourned to a yet-unscheduled date.

Premier Jason Kenney celebrated the court decision on Twitter, calling the application “ridiculous,” saying it would “force kids to wear masks indefinitely.”

“Common sense is prevailing,” said Kenney, who has advocated strongly against mask mandates in schools, saying the restrictions have unfairly impacted school-aged children.



Roberts O’Kelly Law argued the decision to remove mask mandates was rushed and carried out without giving school boards adequate time to prepare. They raised concerns with a letter from Education Minister Adriana LaGrange last week which said individual school boards do not have the authority to introduce their own masking requirements.

“Removing universal masking in schools forces many children to choose between their education and their health — and in some cases, their life,” said Orlagh O’Kelly, co-counsel on the injunction, in a news release.

AFL president Gil McGowan, meanwhile, called the lifting of mask requirements for children “premature, reckless and irresponsible.”

Kenney took exception to the AFL’s involvement in the legal application, telling reporters in Calgary Monday those upset with the government should “go down to the AFL headquarters and protest, peacefully.”

In a statement to Postmedia, Lagrange said she was pleased the emergency application was dismissed, also criticizing the AFL.

“Today’s application for an injunction is yet another stunt from the NDP’s union friends at AFL to spark more fear on Alberta parents and kids,” she said. “They want to keep masks on children indefinitely — and we know that this is not in the best interest of students.”


© Darren Makowichuk/PostmediaA group of students organized a walkout at Nelson Mandela High School due to the end of mask mandates in Calgary on Monday, February 14, 2022.

The government’s move to scrap masking for children has drawn criticism from Alberta doctors. A Calgary Herald column authored by three members of the Alberta Medical Association Section of Pediatrics and cosigned by 11 other pediatricians said the decision puts children’s health at risk.

“Although COVID is often milder in children, it is not harmless,” the column read.

“We also need a commitment to other evidence-based mitigations such as masking in schools to reduce the transmission of COVID amongst children and their families. There is currently no evidence that masking in these situations negatively impacts children’s mental health or development.”

Elsewhere Monday, Alberta announced 35 new deaths from COVID-19 since last reporting data Friday. Those deaths include two men in their 30s who did not have pre-existing health conditions.

Hospital and intensive-care occupancy among COVID-19 patients declined slightly over the weekend. There are now 1,528 Albertans in hospital with the virus, down from 1,566, and 124 in ICU, down from 127.

The province also reported 2,647 new PCR-confirmed cases of the virus over the three-day period, with a test positivity rate of 25 per cent.

Daily case numbers provide an incomplete snapshot of COVID-19 prevalence in the community, however, due to restricted access to PCR testing over the course of the virus’s fifth wave.

— With files from Ashley Joannou

Parents, labour union seek injunction against Alberta's move to end mask mandates for students

Alberta's decision to eliminate mask mandates for school-aged children, which became effective today, is being challenged in court.

© Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

Starting Monday, students are no longer required to mask up. An application for an emergency injunction, filed Sunday, asks that the public health order exempting students from wearing masks in school be rescinded pending a judicial review.

Wallis Snowdon - 
cbc.ca

Edmonton law firm Roberts O'Kelly Law filed an application Sunday for an emergency injunction to reinstate the mask mandate for students.

The applicants include the parents of five immunocompromised children and the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) which represents about 170,000 unionized Alberta workers.

The application asks that the public health order exempting students from wearing masks in school be rescinded pending a judicial review of the policy and how the decision to end the mandate was reached.

Lawyers involved are in an Edmonton courtroom Monday, waiting to have the application heard.

"Removing universal masking in schools forces many children to choose between their education and their health and in some cases, their life," Sharon Roberts, a partner with Roberts O'Kelly Law, said in a statement.

The application argues that the sudden end of the masking mandate infringes on the charter rights of immunocompromised children.

It alleges that the order is a policy based on politics, not public health — and that the decision was made not by Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, but by government officials who don't have jurisdiction over public health restrictions.

As of Monday, students in Alberta schools are no longer required to wear masks. Children 12 and under don't have to wear masks in any setting.

The decision was announced by Premier Jason Kenney last week. Hinshaw outlined the change in a public health order later in the week.

The injunction application asks that the mask mandate remain in place in schools until at least March 1, or until the application can be reviewed by the court

On Twitter, Premier Jason Kenney characterized the application as a political manoeuvre that threatens the well-being of Alberta children.

 
'Let kids be kids'

"The [Alberta Federation of Labour] is in court today seeking an order to force all kids to wear masks in school," Kenney said on Twitter Monday morning.

"The AFL is a legal affiliate of the NDP. Children have carried an unfair share of the burden during COVID. It's time for the NDP and AFL to stop. Let kids be kids!"

The case alleges that the decision to end the mask mandate was political, swayed by the demands of protesters at the Coutts, Alta., border blockade.

Only the chief medical officer of health or another medical officer of health have the legislative authority to render a decision under the public health act, the application says.

But it alleges that Hinshaw did not make the decision to end the mask mandate.

"The decision was made by the premier, ministers and/or cabinet, and therefore without jurisdiction under the Public Health Act," the application says. "Further and/or in the alternative, the decision is unlawful as it was improperly based on the demands of an illegal blockade to the exclusion of most if not all public health evidence."

The application calls on the courts to order Hinshaw to make "a new decision, herself, and in accordance with her obligations under the Public Health Act."

The applicants challenge what they describe as Education Minister Adriana LaGrange's strict "prohibition" against schools enforcing their own mask mandates.

Within hours of Tuesday's announcement about the pending end of masking for students, LaGrange issued a statement informing school boards they don't have the authority to enforce masking in the classroom.

"We are seeking an immediate pause of the decision to remove masking, as well as the incorrect assertion that school boards cannot continue their own mandates," Orlagh O'Kelly, co-counsel on the application, said in a statement.

The decision was made without adequate time for school boards to review and address the needs of all students, and without proper notice to families, O'Kelly said.

Banning schools from making their own decisions and from requiring masks violates the rights of school-aged children, she said.

"Parents want schools open, but open to all regardless of disability, which means keeping the mandate in place."

If the court agrees to hear the case, the applicants will bring evidence showing that the decision to lift the mask mandate was premature, AFL president Gil McGowan said.

"They will also argue that the decision was based on narrow political concerns, not a careful consideration of the public interest," McGowan said in a statement Monday.

Judge rejects part of application to reinstate mandatory masking in Alberta schools, rest of case to be heard later

An Alberta judge has dismissed part of an application looking to reverse the government’s decision to end mandatory masking of students in schools.


© Provided by Edmonton Journal

Most students leaving Austin O'Brien High School to get on a bus wear masks on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022 even thought the provincial mandate to wear a mask in schools has been stopped.

Ashley Joannou

EDMONTON JOURNAL

But the fight over the change, and what it means particularly for disabled students, is expected to continue.

Lawyers representing a number of disabled students and the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) were in the Court of Queen’s Bench Monday looking for a judge to immediately reinstate the right of Alberta school boards to enforce their own masking mandates.

That part of the application was dismissed. However, lawyers say their broader application, which argues that ending mandatory masking appears to be arbitrary, unreasonable, and not founded in medical literature or current public health conditions, will still be heard by a judge. No date has been set yet.

The application says the students all have disabilities and/or complex medical conditions and will suffer discrimination if mandatory masking, particularly in schools, is discontinued.

“The decision made by the chief medical officer was rushed,” Sharon Roberts, a partner at Roberts O’Kelly Law who is arguing for the injunction, said in a statement.

“Removing universal masking in schools forces many children to choose between their education and their health — and in some cases, their life.”

Parents made decision prior to mask announcement

In an interview with Postmedia Monday, Orlagh O’Kelly, co-counsel on the injunction, said most parents had to decide by Feb. 1 whether their kids would attend online or in-person learning and they did that with the understanding that masks would be mandatory.

A week later the government announced it was ending the mask requirement and Education Minister Adriana LaGrange sent a letter to school boards saying they no longer had the power to institute rules of their own.

“For these vulnerable kids that changed their ability to attend in-person … they’re going to have to be homeschooled or have no school,” O’Kelly said.

“So I think that’s the harm here. Every day that goes by that a child has no access to school is unacceptable in our view.”

Masks are still optional in schools but O’Kelley said for her clients part of what helped keep them safe was that the rules were universal.

“This is just basic adverse impact discrimination. So, even though on its face it seems neutral — everyone can make a personal choice — at law, that neutral impact has adverse effects on the vulnerable and therefore is contrary to Section 15 which protects equality rights in the charter,” she said.

The court application argues that the decision was based on the demands of protestors at Alberta’s illegal border blockade and not public health evidence. It alleges the decision was made by politicians, who don’t have jurisdiction under the Public Health Act, and not Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw.

Premier Jason Kenney slams application

Responding to the court’s decision Monday on Twitter, Premier Jason Kenney called the application ridiculous and said that “common sense is prevailing.”

In a statement of her own, LaGrange called the application a “stunt” by the AFL and said the pandemic has impacted all Albertans, especially children.

“Alberta’s government has aimed to balance the risks of COVID-19 to children with the impacts caused by public health restrictions. Such measures can have an adverse effect on the physical, mental and social development of children,” she said.

Unions representing school employees, including educational assistants, are members of the AFL.

In a statement of its own, AFL president Gil McGowan called the decision to end the masking requirement “premature, reckless and irresponsible.”


© Ed Kaiser

Students in favour of wearing masks in school held a rally near the Alberta legislature, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022.

Meanwhile, some students co-ordinated a province-wide protest against the government’s decision by walking out of class at 2:45 p.m. Monday and rallying outside Alberta’s legislature.

Sam Clark, a Grade 12 student and one of the protest organizers, said demonstrators want the government to reimpose a mask mandate for students.

“We find that it was a dangerous decision that did not consider the well-being of students, staff and health-care professionals,” Clark told Postmedia in a phone interview. “Letting ‘kids be kids’ really involves letting them be safe.”

Masks are still required for those two and older in Edmonton’s indoor, public places despite the province’s removal of mask requirements for kids.

Edmonton’s mask bylaw remains in effect and supersedes the end of the provincial mandate. The city’s rule doesn’t extend to elementary schools, post-secondary institutions or child-care facilities.

The city’s mandate is slated to be in effect until at least 28 days after Edmonton’s case rate falls below 100 per 100,000 people. The current case rate is 470.

But Kenney said the provincial government is looking at potentially changing legislation to prohibit municipalities from making their own decisions when it comes to masking.

“We’re looking at our options, we have not made a final decision,” Kenney said Monday. “I think it’s much better if the province, as we try to get life back to normal, has one simple, easy to understand and consistent policy on public health.”


© Provided by Edmonton Journal

2,647 new COVID cases over weekend

Alberta reported 2,647 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, which includes 1,146 cases from Friday, 866 from Saturday and 635 Sunday. There are currently 20,865 active cases in the province, 3,289 fewer cases than reported Friday.

The province also has 1,528 people in hospital infected with COVID-19 (38 fewer than reported Friday), which includes 124 intensive care patients.

Alberta’s COIVD-19 death toll has climbed to 3,776 after the province reported 35 more deaths Monday.




© Provided by Edmonton Journal

– With files from Dustin Cook and Hamdi Issawi

Dismantling 'freedom convoy' must be coupled with education on the dangers of extremism

Kawser Ahmed, Adjunct Professor at the Political Science department, University of Winnipeg

The Conversation

The “freedom convoy” that has taken over downtown Ottawa and inspired other protests is a diverse group of people who have shown themselves not to be interested in “freedom,” “unity” or “vaccine mandates.”

Over the past two weeks, the protest has caused un-freedom; it has allowed extremist groups to gain space, ushering in counter-protesters. Their demands have become a laundry list that began with talk of protesting a vaccine mandate for truckers and overthrowing a democratically elected government (a notion protest leaders now say they reject).

But also worthy of note is that protesters in Ottawa raise some topics of concern for those traditionally on the right and the left of the political spectrum. If some Canadians empathize with some convoy concerns while disagreeing with tactics and visible signs of hate, they must also take a closer look at the sustained mayhem protesters are causing.

This should be seen in the context of extremist white supremacist views emphasizing how corrupt western governments can be undone by creating chaos.

Extremism in many forms and shapes are seen in this protest movement that drive radicalization to violence. Counter-radicalization efforts will be needed by governments in collaboration with other non-government representatives. But the immediate vexing question seems to be finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Similar protests were emulated in New Zealand and elsewhere, setting a dangerous precedent in the global West.


© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrick Doyle

Counter-protesters gather in Ottawa on the third weekend of the convoy.

Far-right support

By now, the public is familiar with some detail about protest leadership and social media influencers behind the Ottawa event. These include James Bauder, founder of the group Canada Unity, a conspiracy theorist who participated in another convoy linked to white nationalist hate groups, and Pat King, a far-right figure who previously broadcast rants about the “depopulation of the Caucasian race.”

Wired reports many of successful social media posts about the protests are coming from familiar figures from the American far right.

As the protest spread to multiple communities, patience of the mayors of Ottawa and Winnipeg, where I live, has seemed to wane.

Nonetheless, in Ottawa and elsewhere, many protesters are digging in their heels and have promised not to concede to pressure.

Some experts have suggested the ability of Ottawa protesters to barricade themselves and keep the siege going is related to their knowledge of military tactics and law enforcement — including some endorsement and support from retired or active police.

Political leaders are now faced with a dilemma: whether to end vaccine mandates at the cost of public health hazard (in order to acquiesce to the demands) or to quash the rebellion and restore public order.

Even though there may not be an easy way to fix this, some believe if the government doesn’t act now, it would expose the fragility of our society.
‘Hard’ and ‘soft’ tactics needed

Some protesters have brought young children with them, which makes it even more difficult to enforce violation. That means a mix of hard and soft tactics should be used to reach a quick resolution.

Although every protest has a shelf life, a protest’s trajectory can be difficult to predict. The fact that the “freedom convoy” has garnered support from from elected Conservative party members contributes to its unpredictable nature.

A carefully crafted two-pronged strategy might be advisable in ending the protest peacefully.

Hard security should be based on a containment approach using court injunctions, combined with measured police action. While enforcement remains a sensitive matter, necessary intervention must be carried out according to the law. Violence begets violence and must be avoided.

As such, clear rules of engagement must be determined. The fact that counter-protests are gaining momentum could imply greater challenges for police managing conflict.


© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

The presence of children at the Ottawa protests is one reason that soft tactics are important.

Lines of communication with protesters

In the soft approach, a line of communication with the protesters must be kept open with appointed negotiators, as dialogue is one of the best means to diffuse tense situations.

Appointed negotiators should be able to connect with some protesters and convince them to speak against the rest. Political leaders from all stripes should emphasize the dangers of extremism and economic impacts caused by the protest.

Scanning through posts on Facebook in groups supportive of the protests, it is evident that many users are either ignorant of extremist infiltration in the protest or portray far-right presence as a few bad apples only.
Spotting the rhetoric of violence

That means there’s a need to expose links to extremism by raising awareness through education. Greater awareness about the signs, symbols and rhetoric of violence should be made available not only to the protesters but also to the broader public to build opinion against the protest.

Civil society and faith-based organization representatives should be invited to speak against polarization and the risk of violence, since these organizations enjoy legitimacy and bipartisan support. Negotiators could be considered from among the leadership of such organizations.

Read more: Donald Trump is hardly the 'Republican Jesus'

In this movement, when the mainstream media is accused of spreading “fake news,” information in the form of education from people who aren’t part of the mainstream media might get more traction.

In the past decade, we have observed numerous cases where “lone wolf” terrorists picked up guns and went on mass shootings. Experts with the National Consortium for Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism in the United States highlight that research on deradicalization has noted a difference between people having extreme opinions and taking extreme action. “Lone-wolf” terrorists are likely to have depression or other mental disorder, to have weapons experience and to experience social isolation.

Such figures have taken their cues from accelerationist ideology, which stresses corruption of western governments and bringing change through chaos and violence.
Troubling fault lines

In the end, it all depends on how unified we become first by understanding the social fault lines exposed by the protesters and then take actions to become resilient.

Right now, public discourse is hinting towards a perceived double-standard in policing white people-led protests compared to the Black Lives Matter and Indigenous ones. There are also concerns about potential negative reverberations in the trucker community, particularly for racialized truckers.

And finally: when provincial governments eventually end restrictions or pandemic measures, will this be understood as a victory for the protesters and encourage similar civic unrest in the future?

As the adage says, united we stand, divided we fall. A broader social reconciliation is urgently needed to heal the wounds that have been caused by the “freedom convoy.”

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

Read more:

Communities can combat racism, hate and extremism with education

The occupation of Ottawa by the ‘freedom convoy’ has the potential for an urban siege

Kawser Ahmed has received Community Resilience Fund to develop guidelines for educators to prevent extremism in MB schools.

Civil servants, NASA employees and an American billionaire among donors leaked in GiveSendGo hack

Bryan Passifiume - 

National Post

An American tech billionaire, two NASA employees and Canadian civil servants are among a leaked list of nearly 100,000 Freedom Convoy donors, according to information released by hackers responsible for taking down the group’s crowdfunding site.

Late Sunday night, hackers took down the website of GiveSendGo, the U.S.-based crowdfunding website flocked to by convoy organizers after GoFundMe cancelled their multi-million dollar campaign earlier this month.


The hackers also released a spreadsheet of raw donor data containing names, emails and dollar amounts of nearly 93,000 individuals who purportedly donated money to the Freedom Convoy.

GiveSendGo’s website was still offline by late Monday afternoon.

On Sunday night the site’s homepage was replaced with “GiveSendGo IS NOW FROZEN!” in bold, blue text, as well as a manifesto scrolling over a clip from the Disney film Frozen II , depicting Elsa singing Show Yourself while riding across the Dark Sea on a horse made of water.

“Attention GiveSendGo grifters and hatriots,” read the manifesto.

“The Canadian government has informed you that the money you a–holes raise to fund an insurrection is frozen.”

The hacker accused Boston-based GiveSendGo of being complicit in funding last year’s Jan. 6 raid on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump supporters, and likewise funding of ongoing blockades and protests in Ottawa and across Canada.

“You are committed to funding anything that keeps the raging fire of misinformation going until that it burns the world’s collective democracies down,” the manifesto read.

While the hacker didn’t identify themselves, an individual claiming responsibility told British news outlet The Guardian they intended to prove Canada was’t immune to foreign political interference.

The immense spreadsheet, available for download Sunday night on GiveSendGo’s hacked website, accounts for $8,421,806.50 in donations from 92,844 individuals.

While most donations came from the United States — 52,000 American donors were listed compared to 36,000 originating in this country, Canadians gave the most money overall, about $4.3 million compared to $3.62 million from U.S. donors.

'An occupation': GoFundMe pulls plug on fundraiser for convoy protesters

Trudeau wants the 'foreign money' funding illegal protests in Canada to stop

While GiveSendGo has yet to issue a statement on the hack or the veracity of the leaked donors list, several names on the spreadsheet were independently confirmed as donors by the National Post. Inquiries for comment were also made to email addresses for major donors on the list but were not immediately acknowledged.

As well, it’s impossible to determine how many opted to donate via bank transfer or cryptocurrency.

All but 686 of received donations were under $1,000.

The largest donation is $215,000 made on Feb. 6, listed as ‘Processed but not recorded’ and without any further data.

The largest named donation — $90,000 — was apparently made on Feb. 9 by American tech billionaire Thomas Siebel, including a $9,000 donation towards GiveSendGo.

That same day saw the largest Canadian donation, $75,000 — plus an extra $1,000 in GiveSendGo’s tip jar— by the president of a New Brunswick-based pressure washer manufacturer.

Other large donations include $25,000 from a London, Ont. based vice-president of the AutoCanada car dealership chain, and $20,000 from the chair of a Cannington, Ont.-based community and family support organization.

Dallas, Texas-based construction magnate Ben Pogue appears to have donated $20,000. According to reports by both ABC News and the Associated Press, Pogue donated over $200,000 to help re-elect former U.S. president Donald Trump, including providing private jet access for Trump’s re-election campaign.

Canadian public employees are also listed as donors, including a Quebec man who used a Correctional Service of Canada email address to donate $102.

Several U.S. donors apparently gave money using U.S. government emails, including the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Department of Justice, and NASA.

A Conservative Party of Canada spokesperson confirmed a $200 donation from a “Candace Bergen” in Saskatchewan was not made by the interim CPC leader, pointing to differences in the spelling of her first name.

Sunday’s hack comes a little over a week after TechCrunch reported security lapses in GiveSendGo’s website , specifically 50 gigabytes of unencrypted cloud storage space that exposed thousands of scanned drivers’ licences and passports submitted by donors as part of the site’s payment process.

Experts say Sunday’s attack highlights the importance of security for those with high-profile online presences.

“Attackers only have to be right once, while defenders have to be right all of the time,” said Richard Henderson, chief information security officer with cybersecurity firm WithYouWithMe.

“It just takes a single mistake to allow a skilled attacker in, and once they’re inside its game over.”

The scope of the attack, which saw intruders not only take control of GiveSendGo’s DNS records but also get their hands on their donor lists, suggests they had “free rein” inside the company’s data.

“We’ve seen this multiple times in the past with other ‘copycat’ sites quickly thrown up rapidly by right-leaning groups,” he said.

“Get something online quick with little to no attention paid to security or secure deployment, and all it takes is a skilled hacker to come along and rip it all to shreds.”

As GiveSendGo’s first data leak involved thousands of donors’ scanned identity documents left out in the open, Henderson suggested people give serious thought about who they share sensitive information with online.

“People regularly just hand over their personal information without taking even an extra second to consider the security implications of doing so,” he said.

“You really have no idea what protections a company have in place to protect your personal information.

“Clearly in this case, there was very little.”

• Email: bpassifiume@postmedia.com | 

Feds go after blockade financing with expanded Fintrac powers, directions to banks

OTTAWA — The federal government is broadening the scope of anti-money laundering rules and directing banks to cut off services to those suspected of aiding the trucker protesters as it looks to put an end to what it says are illegal blockades.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland also said in a late afternoon news conference Monday that crowdfunding sites, some of which are being used to channel money to the protesters, will now be required to report to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada


The move, to be made permanent, will allow Fintrac to make more information available to police and other enforcement agencies, she said.

"We are making these changes because we know that these platforms are being used to support illegal blockades and illegal activity, which is damaging the Canadian economy," she said.

Freeland said that under the Emergency Act, the government has also authorized banks to cut off services to both individual and business clients who they suspect are aiding the blockades.

She said the banks would be protected against civil liability in doing so.

The government has directed financial institutions to review their relationship with anyone involved in the blockades and to report findings to the RCMP or CSIS, she said.

"This is about following the money. This is about stopping financing of these illegal blockades."

The measures allow for such actions as an insurer suspending coverage and a bank freezing a truck owner's corporate or personal accounts.

As well as chartered banks and credit unions, Fintrac requires reporting from institutions such as insurers and securities dealers, and from professionals such as accountants and real estate brokers.

Freeland said federal institutions have broad new authority to share information with the banks and work to end funding for the groups behind the blockades.

Canada's big banks did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Canadian Bankers Association declined to comment.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act to bring to an end to antigovernment blockades he says are illegal and not about peaceful protest.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2022.

The Canadian Press

JUST LIKE DADDY DID
Trudeau mulls invoking emergency powers to quell protests

By ROB GILLIES and TED SHAFFREY

28 minutes ago

1 of 9

Don Stephens, 65, a retired graphic designer, holds a sign on Parliament Hill to support trucks lined up in protest of COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions in Ottawa, Ontario, on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. Stephens said he’s come into Ottawa twice to show support for protesters there. He views them as representatives of a “silent majority that had been longing to have their voice heard.” (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

OTTAWA (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government weighed whether to invoke emergency powers Monday to quell the protests by demonstrators who have paralyzed Ottawa and blocked border crossings in anger over the country’s COVID-19 restrictions.

For the past two weeks, hundreds and sometimes thousands of protesters in trucks and other vehicles have clogged the streets of Ottawa, the capital, railing against vaccine mandates and other virus precautions and condemning Trudeau’s Liberal government.

Members of the self-styled Freedom Convoy have also blockaded various U.S.-Canadian border crossings, though the busiest and most important — the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit — was reopened on Sunday after police cleared out the last of the demonstrators and broke the week-long siege that had disrupted auto production in both countries.

In recent days, the prime minister rejected calls to use the military but said “all options are on the table” to end the protests, including invoking the Emergencies Act, which gives the government broad powers.

“Our government is prepared to do what is required to uphold the rule of law and to restore order in our communities and in particular to protect critical infrastructure, particularly at our borders,” Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said when asked Monday about whether the Emergencies Act should be invoked.

In other developments, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they arrested 11 people at the U.S. border crossing at Coutts, Alberta, after learning of a cache of guns and ammunition. Demonstrators in trucks and other vehicles have been blocking that crossing since late January.



Police said a small group within the protest was said to have a “willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade.” Authorities seized 13 long guns, handguns, sets of body armor, a machete, a large quantity of ammunition and high-capacity magazines.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney also said protesters in a tractor and a heavy-duty truck tried to ram a police vehicle at Coutts on Sunday night and fled. “This underscores the severity of what has been happening,” he said. 

AND HE STILL HAS DONE NOTHING ABOUT IT DESPITE UCP DRACONIAN ANTI PROTEST LAW BILL 1 CAUSE THIS IS THEIR BASE

Over the past weeks, authorities have hesitated to move against the protesters around the country. Local officials cited a lack of police manpower and fear of violence, while provincial and federal authorities disagreed over who had responsibility for quelling the unrest.

“This is the biggest, greatest most severe test Trudeau has faced. And if using the Emergencies Act they fail to clear the protest, I think he’s done,” said Wesley Wark, a University of Ottawa professor and national security expert.


Invoking the Emergencies Act would allow the federal government to declare the Ottawa protest illegal and clear it out by such means as towing vehicles, Wark said. It would also enable the government to make greater use of the Mounties, the federal police agency.

An earlier version of the Emergencies Act, called the War Measures Act, was used just once during peacetime, by Trudeau’s late father, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, to deal with a militant Quebec independence movement in 1970.

 Trudeau: Just Watch Me

Former CBC reporter Tim Ralfe discusses the famous interview in which Pierre Trudeau said "Just Watch Me."

 

Trudeau planned to meet virtually Monday with the leaders of Canada’s provinces and with lawmakers.

Invoking emergency powers would be “a signal to both Canadians across the country and also an important signal to allies like the United States and around the world who are wondering what the hell is Canada been up to,” Wark said.

The demonstrations in Canada have inspired similar convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands. U.S. authorities have said that truck convoys may be in the works in the United States.

In other developments, Ontario’s premier Doug Ford announced Monday that Canada’s most populous province will lift its COVID-19 proof-of-vaccination requirements in two weeks — not because of the protests that have blocked the border and paralyzed Ottawa, he said, but because “it is safe to do so.”

Ford said that on March 1, the province will drop its requirement that people show proof of vaccination to get into restaurants, restaurants, gyms and sporting events. A surge of cases caused by the omicron variant has crested in Canada.

The province will also remove its 50% capacity limit on restaurants on Thursday, four days earlier than planned. Ford gave no timetable for dropping the requirement that people wear masks in public places.

“Let me very clear: We are moving in this direction because it is safe to do so. Today’s announcement is not because of what’s happening in Ottawa or Windsor but despite it,” Ford said.

Ford said he would support Trudeau’s government if it proposed further measures to quell the protests.

““We need law and order. Our country is at risk now. It’s not just not happening here in Ottawa, but it’s happening in Alberta and British Columbia,” Ford said. “We won’t accept. it”

Police in Windsor, arrested 25 to 30 protesters and towed several vehicles Sunday near the Ambassador Bridge. The span, which carries 25% of all trade between the two countries, reopened to traffic late Sunday night.

After protesters began blocking bridge access Feb. 7, automakers began shutting down or reducing production at a time when the industry is already struggling with pandemic-induced shortages of computer chips and other supply-chain

About 470 miles (750 kilometers) northeast of Windsor, the protest in Ottawa has paralyzed downtown, infuriated residents who are fed up with police inaction and turned up the pressure on Trudeau.

“It’s stressful. I feel angry at what’s happening. This isn’t Canada. This does not represent us,” Colleen Sinclair, a counter-protester who lives in Ottawa.

Sinclair said all demonstrators have had their say and need to move on — with police force, if necessary.

“They’re occupiers,” she said. “This is domestic terrorism and we want you out of our city. Go home.”

While the protesters are decrying vaccine mandates for truckers and other COVID-19 restrictions, many of Canada’s public health measures, such as mask rules and vaccine passports for getting into restaurants and theaters, are already falling away as the omicron surge levels off.

Pandemic restrictions have been far stricter in Canada than in the U.S., but Canadians have largely supported them. The vast majority of Canadians are vaccinated, and the COVID-19 death rate is one-third that of the United States.

_____

Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press writers Ted Shaffrey in Ottawa, Ontario, and Gene Johnson in Seattle contributed to this report.

Canada: PM Trudeau invokes emergency powers to deal with protests

After meeting provincial leaders, Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act to deal with protests. For more than two weeks people have been protesting against COVID measures, blocking a vital trade route in the process.





Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that government will invoke the "Emergencies Act"

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday invoked never before used emergency ordinance in a bid to quash protests that have brought the capital city Ottawa to a near standstill.

For the past two weeks, hundreds and sometimes thousands of protesters in trucks and other vehicles have blocked the streets of Ottawa, as they vented their frustration over vaccine mandates and other virus-related restrictions.

As a result, Trudeau conducted a meeting with the country's provincial leadership and announced the measures in a national address.

"The Federal government has invoked the Emergencies Act to supplement provincial and territorial capacity to address the blockades and occupations... The scope of these measures will be time limited, geographically targeted, as well as reasonable and proportionate to the threats they are meant to address... This is about keeping Canadians safe," Trudeau told a news conference.

"The blockades are harming our economy and endangering public safety," said Trudeau. "We cannot and will not allow illegal and dangerous activities to continue."

What is the Emergencies Act?

The Emergencies Act is an unprecedented measure and grants government greater authority to deal with matters deemed to be a national emergency.

It was passed in 1988 and must only be invoked if the situation exceeds the capabilities of existing measures.

The act grants police greater power and more resources to deal with illegal protests and come into effect immediately.

While the scope of the act covers the entire country, the measures will only apply in areas where they are needed.

When asked whether there would be any military involvement, Trudeau said he would not deal with hypothetical scenarios.

The prime minister did however stress that the move "in no way brings in the military as a solution against Canadians" and that it was about "empowering law enforcement."

The decision comes after the so-called "freedom convoy" converged on the capital city in trucks, demonstrating primarily over COVID-19 regulations.

Illegal occupations the catalyst for emergency measures

The Ambassador Bridge which connects Windsor, Ontario with Detroit in the US was shut down for around a week. It was eventually cleared on Sunday when authorities announced the standoff had come to an end.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has called the protesters a "fringe" of Canadian society, had rejected calls to bring in the military. But his office has said authorities would not hesitate to pull out all the stops, if necessary.

kb/jsi (AP, Reuters)

'Caution must be taken against overreach': Premiers react to Trudeau's call for Emergencies Act

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau briefed premiers on a proposal to invoke the Emergencies Act Monday morning, a sweeping piece of legislation that would give the government extraordinary powers to clear protests that have swamped downtown Ottawa and blockaded border crossing in several provinces.


Quebec Premier Francois Legault said he doesn’t support a state of emergency in his province.

Several premiers have already spoken out against the possible move, including Premier Jason Kenney in Alberta and Quebec Premier Francois Legault.

Legault said he doesn’t support a state of emergency in his province.

“I understand there is a particular problem in Ontario and in Ottawa, and we are ready to support what needs to be done by the federal and Ontario government as well as the municipal government in Ottawa, but we do not wish to have Emergency State in Quebec.”

Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said using the act in her province would be ill-advised.

“The sweeping effects and signals associated with the never-before-used Emergencies Act are not constructive here in Manitoba, where caution must be taken against overreach and unintended negative consequences,” she said, while conceding the situation in Ottawa might be different.

The Emergencies Act is the modern-day replacement to the War Measures Act. It allows the federal government to force companies to provide services, it can require public protests to end, and limit mobility rights by preventing people from moving to designating areas.

The act also allows for the military to be used as police, but several sources said that is not under active consideration.

Several sources provided information to the National Post, all speaking on the condition they not be named.

In the call with the premiers, one provincial source told the National Post it was clear the decision was still under consideration.

The protests around Parliament Hill have been going on for more than two weeks, restricting movement throughout downtown Ottawa.

Trudeau invokes emergency powers to quell Canada protests





Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the military would not be deployed at this stage, but that authorities would be granted more powers to arrest protesters and seize their trucks (AFP/Dave Chan)

Michel COMTE, Genevieve NORMAND in Montreal
Mon, February 14, 2022

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday invoked rarely used emergency powers to bring an end to trucker-led protests against Covid health rules, after police arrested 11 people with a "cache of firearms" blocking a border crossing with the United States.

It marked only the second time in Canadian history such powers have been invoked in peacetime, and came as hundreds of big rigs still clogged the streets of the capital Ottawa, as well as two border crossings.

"The federal government has invoked the Emergencies Act to supplement provincial and territorial capacity to address the blockades and occupations," Trudeau told a news conference.


The prime minister said the military would not be deployed at this stage, but that authorities would be granted more powers to arrest protesters and seize their trucks in order to clear blockades, as well as ban funding of the protests.

"We cannot and will not allow illegal and dangerous activities to continue," Trudeau said.

"This is about keeping Canadians safe, protecting people's jobs and restoring confidence in our institutions," he added, noting that the scope of the measures would be "time-limited" and "geographically targeted," but without providing specifics.

As the threat of violence lingered, federal police said they arrested 11 protesters with rifles, handguns, body armor and ammunition at the border between Coutts, Alberta and Sweet Grass, Montana, just a day after another key US-Canada border crossing was cleared in Ontario.

"The group was said to have a willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.

The protests by Canadian truckers and their supporters -- opposed to mandatory coronavirus vaccines and pushing a wider anti-establishment agenda -- have triggered copycat movements from France to New Zealand, with US truckers mulling similar rallies.

Under pressure to act, Trudeau on Sunday convened a special federal response group on efforts to end the occupation of Ottawa and the remaining, economically damaging, blockades of border crossings in Alberta and Manitoba.

The Emergencies Act was previously used by Trudeau's father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, during the October Crisis of 1970.

It saw troops sent to Quebec to restore order after the kidnappings by militant separatists of a British trade attache and a Quebec minister, Pierre Laporte, who was found strangled to death in the trunk of a car.

- Protests spreading -

Canada's so-called "Freedom Convoy" started with truckers protesting against mandatory vaccines to cross the border with the United States.

But its demands now include an end to all Covid-19 health measures and, for many of the protesters, for the toppling of Trudeau's Liberal government -- only five months after he won re-election.

The truckers have found support among conservatives and vaccine mandate opponents across the globe, even as Covid-19 measures are being rolled back in many places.

In Paris on the weekend, police fired tear gas and issued hundreds of fines in an effort to break up convoys coming from across France.

The Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria have also seen copycat movements, and Belgian authorities said Monday they had intercepted 30 vehicles as police scrambled to stop a convoy of trucks.

- Truckers dig in -

Canadian police over the weekend cleared a blockade on the Ambassador Bridge, which handles an estimated 25 percent of trade with the United States, and had disrupted business in the world's largest economy.

But Monday morning in Ottawa, as a deep freeze rolled in, protesters remained defiant despite threats of jail and fines of up to Can$100,000 (US$80,000).

Leaving "is not in my plans," Phil Rioux, behind the wheel of a large truck, told AFP before Trudeau's announcement.

"It's by maintaining the pressure that we have a better chance of achieving our goal," the 29-year-old explained.

"There are other customs checkpoints that are blocked, more will be blocked elsewhere," he added.

Protest organizer Tamara Lich also told a news conference, "We are not afraid... We will hold the line."

Earlier Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the lifting of vaccine passport requirements by March 1 in the province -- following in Alberta and Saskatchewan's footsteps.

Ontario, Canada's most populous province, had reimposed at the end of December among the most restrictive health measures in the world.

Residents of the capital, meanwhile, have grown increasingly frustrated, saying the protest has made them prisoners in their own homes.

Most businesses downtown are also closed or have had almost no customers after officials warned residents to stay clear.

"It's a little quieter now, there are less honking but it's annoying... (because) there's no other way to get to work than by walking" past the demonstrations, said Haley, a young woman on her way to work who declined to give her last name.

Like thousands of counter-protesters who blocked more trucks from entering the downtown this weekend, she'd been looking to the prime minister to end the crisis.

bur-amc/caw