It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Contorted oceanic plate caused complex quake off New Zealand's East Cape
Subduction zones, where a slab of oceanic plate is pushed beneath another tectonic plate down into the mantle, cause the world's largest and most destructive earthquakes. Reconstructing the geometry and stress conditions of the subducted slabs at subduction zones is crucial to understanding and preparing for major earthquakes. However, the tremendous depths of these slabs make this challenging—seismologists rely mainly on the rare windows into these deeply buried slabs provided by the infrequent but strong earthquakes, termed intraslab earthquakes, that occur within them.
In a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters, a research team led by the University of Tsukuba used seismic data generated by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake that occurred off the northeasternmost tip of New Zealand's North Island on March 4, 2021, detected by seismometers around the world, to investigate the particularly unusual geometry and stress states of the subducted slab deep below the surface in this region.
"The 2021 East Cape earthquake showed a complex rupture process, likely because of its location at the boundary between the Kermadec Trench to the north and the Hikurangi Margin to the south," lead author of the study Assistant Professor Ryo Okuwaki explains. "To investigate the geometry of the stress field and earthquake rupture process, we used a novel finite-fault inversion technique that required no pre-existing knowledge of the area's faults."
This investigation revealed multiple episodes of rupture, generated by both compression and extension in the subsurface at different depths. These episodes included shallow (~30 km) rupture due to extension perpendicular to the trench as would typically be expected in a subduction zone. Unexpectedly, however, the deep (~70 km) rupture occurred with compression parallel to the subduction trench.
"Two alternative or inter-related factors may explain the unique rupture geometry of the 2021 East Cape earthquake," senior author Professor Yuji Yagi explains. "First, subduction of a seamount or multiple seamounts along with the subducted slab could contort the slab and create local changes in the stress field. Second, the transition from the Kermadec Trench to the Hikurangi Margin, where the subducted oceanic crust is considerably thicker, could create the local conditions responsible for the unusual faulting pattern."
Because of the rarity of deep intraslab earthquakes in this region, distinguishing between these two possibilities is currently challenging, and indeed both factors might play significant roles in creating the complex stress field revealed by the East Cape earthquake. Additional earthquakes off the northeast coast of New Zealand in the future may shed further light on this deep tectonic mystery.Investigating links between three earthquakes in New Zealand
More information:Ryo Okuwaki et al, Illuminating a Contorted Slab With a Complex Intraslab Rupture Evolution During the 2021 Mw 7.3 East Cape, New Zealand Earthquake,Geophysical Research Letters(2021).DOI: 10.1029/2021GL095117
An earthquake of magnitude 4.5 struck near Stanton in West Texas on Monday, the US Geological Survey reported. The quake struck at a depth of 7.8 km (4.8 miles), USGS said.
The earthquake happened in the Permian Basin, home of the largest shale oil and gas field. This is the second strongest earthquake in West Texas in the last 10 years, MRT news reported https://www.mrt.com/news/local/article/4-3-magnitude-earthquake-shakes-north-Stanton-16732909.php After a series of smaller earthquakes in recent months, the state’s energy regulator, Texas Railroad Commission in September set limits on the volume of waste water that oil and gas producers could inject underground.
(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
Public safety minister calls on Twitter Canada to address 'abusive' tweet directed at CMA president
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Marco Mendicino writes letter saying tweet poses risks to
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, shown in the House of Commons on Dec. 9, has written to Twitter Canada saying he disagrees with the company's decision not to remove a tweet sent to Canadian Medical Association president Dr. Katharine Smart that he calls threatening. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is calling on Twitter Canada to address a tweet sent to Canadian Medical Association president Dr. Katharine Smart, saying the tweet "poses risks to the health and safety of health-care workers."
His letter, addressed to Twitter Canada's managing director, Paul Burns, concerns a tweet sent to Smart on Dec. 22 by an account under the handle "@AsktheBrownDoc1."
"Are you scared you are next @KatharineSmart?" the tweet reads. "A group of us who can't stand you have been seeing you and your family for weeks ... and already have some great footage ... just biding our time for the perfect time!"
In his letter, Mendicino said the tweet is threatening.
"I am writing to express serious concerns regarding an abusive tweet that was recently posted to Canadian Medical Association President Dr. Katharine Smart's Twitter timeline and which poses risks to the health and safety of healthcare workers in the discharge of their professional responsibilities," the letter reads.
The letter says Smart reported the tweet to Twitter but that the social media company ruled it did not violate its policies. The company did not remove the tweet.
However, the Twitter account behind it appears to have been deleted.
Mendicino said he disagrees with Twitter's decision not to remove the tweet.
"I am asking you to reconsider your decision to leave the tweet on your platform, given that it appears to directly contravene your rules, and because allowing such comments to be published also puts healthcare workers at risk of further abuse and intimidation," Mendicino said in the letter.
"If left published and unchecked, the content in question could negatively impact the ability of healthcare workers to inform and provide advice to the public regarding the pandemic," he continued.
The letter mentions that Smart reported the tweet to the police.
Mendicino mentioned that Bill C-3, legislation that recently received royal assent, will soon make it a criminal offence for someone to impede a health professional from performing their duties.
"Parliament's speedy passage of Bill C-3 reflects the urgency of this issue," Mendicino said. "However, we cannot rely alone on the criminal law to solve the problem."
"Social media platforms equally have a role to play in rooting out harmful online content. The December 22, 2021 tweet directed at Dr. Smart, as well as many others within the healthcare sector, highlights the significance of that role," he continued.
In a statement to CBC News, a Twitter Canada spokesperson said, "Abuse, harassment and hateful conduct have no place on our service and are against the Twitter Rules.
"As a company, promoting healthy participation on Twitter is our top priority," the statement continues. "We recognize the concerns health practitioners have regarding social media, and we are committed to creating healthy experiences on Twitter."
CANADA
Is the 'she-cession' over? Statistics point to recovery, experts aren't so sure
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55-plus the only group of Canadian women that still haven't
returned to pre-pandemic employment levels
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate toll on the finances and career prospects of Canadian women. While recent data suggests a jobs recovery for working age women, experts say that the statistics fail to capture that many are still struggling to balance work and family life. (Pra Chid/Shutterstock)
When Alicia Dempster started her maternity leave in June 2019, she never dreamed that she would still be at home two and a half years later.
The Stouffville, Ont., woman fully intended to return to her job as an event planner for an area municipality after 15 months at home caring for her infant son and his toddler brother.
But COVID-19 derailed those plans. When her planned return-to-work date rolled around, the complete absence of public events meant the job she once had no longer existed. The alternative work her employer offered her — cutting grass and picking weeds with the parks department — seemed a poor match for her skills, so she opted to stay home "just a little longer."
Now, her sons are five and two and a half and the Omicron variant is on the rise.
Like many Canadian women, Dempster is not only concerned about how long she's been out of the workforce, but should she find a job, she knows she'll be juggling the demands of work and parenting, including COVID tests and mandatory isolation every time one of her children gets a cough or the sniffles.
While recent data suggests a jobs recovery for working age women, the statistics fail to capture the whole picture, one in which many women are still struggling to balance work and family life.
Job quality over quantity
Early in the pandemic, much was written about the disproportionate toll of COVID-19 on the finances and career prospects of Canadian women.
Female-dominated industries like accommodation and food services were the hardest-hit by restrictions and lockdowns, and many women also suffered from a lack of child care as daycares and schools shut down in those early months.
Even one year on, in March 2021, employment among women remained about 5.3 per cent below where it sat in February 2020, compared to a drop of about 3.7 per cent for men, according to a report from the Labour Market Information Council.
WATCH | How the pandemic has made employers more flexible for working parents:
Over the past year, many women have either left their jobs or reduced their hours so they could take care of children during the pandemic. It has pushed some employers to look into how to make work more flexible for parents. 2:31
But as the economy gradually reopened over the summer and fall, women's prospects improved. Canada as a whole caught up with its pre-pandemic job numbers in September of this year, and according to Statistics Canada, the only age group of women that has yet to recover to its pre-pandemic employment level is the 55-plus category.
"Now if you look at younger women, their employment rate is higher than it was before the pandemic. A little more than one percentage point higher," said University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe.
"It's the same story for the 25-54 age group — their employment rate is one percentage point higher."
But Armine Yalnizyan, a Toronto-based economist and the Atkinson Foundation's Fellow on the Future of Workers, cautions against declaring the "she-cession" over. She pointed out that statistics offer an aggregate look at a population, and many individual women are still struggling with the impacts of the pandemic on their careers and finances.
In addition, Yalnizyan said, it's crucial to remember that Statistics Canada employment data only looks at the "quantity" of jobs, not "quality" — a key part of the story when it comes to COVID-19 and its affect on gender and the workforce.
According to Armine Yalnizyan, a Toronto-based economist and the Atkinson Foundation's Fellow on the Future of Workers, the question of the quality of work is 'really, really important to the question of what's been happening to women.' (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives)
"The quality of work question is really, really important to the question of what's been happening to women," she said.
"For the 'I'm not able to get a promotion, I've had to change jobs or I have stress about possibly losing my job, I'm barely hanging on because my kids are home half the time,' the binary of 'are you employed or aren't you employed' isn't a very good metric."
Impact on working mothers
Before the pandemic hit, Stephanie Bakker-Houpf of High River, Alta., was excited to finally have time to focus on getting her creative consultancy and content management business off the ground after years of putting her own career dreams on the back-burner to raise her two now-teenage daughters.
But not only did her bread-and-butter contracts with musician and entertainer clients dry up in the absence of live performances last year, the divorced Bakker-Houpf found herself sacrificing precious work time as she helped her daughters with home-schooling and supported them through all of the disruptions and anxieties that go along with being a kid in a pandemic.
"Kids today are constantly dealing with uncertainty and their lives being interrupted. And yet, we as moms are still supposed to be able to function the same way and show up at our jobs the same way," Bakker-Houpf said.
Jennifer Hargreaves, founder and CEO of diversity recruitment organization Tellent — which aims to help women in career transition find new opportunities — said while it's true that as many women may be working now as before the pandemic, the numbers don't tell the whole story.
Jennifer Hargreaves, the CEO of diversity recruitment firm Tellent, says it's frightening to hear some employers say things are back to normal when more women are reaching out for mental health support 'because they've just got to a tipping point with burnout.' (Andy Heics photo )
In fact, Hargreaves said she worries Canadian working women may be heading into another crisis in 2022, as employers begin to urge employees to come back to the office on at least a part-time basis even as schools and daycares continue to struggle with COVID cases and children under five remain unvaccinated.
"What's frightening is some employers seem eager to say, 'we're going back to normal this year,' " Hargreaves said.
"Because what I actually see on the ground is more and more women reaching out and getting mental health support, because they've just got to a tipping point with burnout. And women are taking stress leave."
WATCH | Child care among key policies needed for she-covery, economist says:
The federal government is planning a national child-care program as one way to help get women — who bore the brunt of pandemic job losses — back to work. It’s a key support that one economist says is key to a ‘she-covery.’ 2:02
If women have one thing working in their favour, Hargreaves said, it's the fact that employers across a wide range of industries are struggling with systemic labour shortages right now.
She said she hopes that will spur employers to recognize that the way to retain talent is to continue to prioritize flexibility.
"I hope employers can take the lessons learned during COVID-19 and start implementing them and doing that culture shift," Hargreaves said.
"I think they're absolutely going to need to do that in order to stay agile in this new economy."
Regulator orders Shell to stop output at Prelude FLNG until safe
The Australian offshore regulator NOPSEMA has ordered Shell (LSE:RDSA) to stop production at its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit until the energy major can demonstrate the giant floater’s ability to recover power and services safely.
Pictured is Shell's Prelude, the world's largest floating LNG project
The Australian offshore regulator NOPSEMA has ordered Shell (LSE:RDSA) to stop production at its Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit until the energy major can demonstrate the giant floater’s ability to recover power and services safely.
Repeated attempts to establish stable electricity supply at the FLNG unit was jeopardising the health and safety of staff onboard. “The failure to restore reliable power was seen to represent an ongoing impact and risk to the health and safety of the personnel on the facility,” said NOPSEMA.
LNG production at Prelude offshore Western Australia could remain shut for months.
The 488 metre long Prelude, the world’s biggest FLNG unit, has been beset with problems since it shipped its first cargo of LNG in June 2019. Prelude was shut down in February 2020 for nearly a year after a reported electrical problem. The floater had previously suffered two incidents that saw the unintended release of gas, which NOPSEMA described as “dangerous”. Shell restarted production in January 2021 and it steadily produced LNG over 2021.
Shell operates Prelude FLNG with a 67.5% interest. Its partners include INPEX (17.5%), CPC (5%), and KOGAS (10%)
The FLNG facility can produce at least 5.3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquids: 3.6 mtpa of LNG, 1.3 mtpa of condensate and 0.4 mtpa of liquefied petroleum gas.
Shell waiting on approval for CCS to exit Abadi LNG
Shell’s (LSE:RDSA) attempt to divest its stake in the Abadi liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, proposed in the Masela Block offshore Indonesia, is likely to be further delayed as operator Inpex (TYO:1605) seeks approval for a revised plan of development (POD).
Chachoengsao, Thailand - Jan 28, 2018: Shell gas station logo with blue sky background during sunset. Shell is seeking to divest its share of Masela in Indonesia.
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Shell’s (LSE:RDSA) attempt to divest its stake in the Abadi liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, proposed in the Masela Block offshore Indonesia, is likely to be further delayed as operator Inpex (TYO:1605) seeks approval for a revised plan of development (POD).
The revised plan of development is required as Inpex want to make revisions to the proposed LNG project, including adding carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technology amid increasing global pressure to cut emissions, said deputy chairman of upstream regulator SKK Migas, Fatar Yani Abdurrahman.
“Shell can only divest (its participating interest in Masela) if the POD has been revised by including CCUS. We’re still studying that. Otherwise, it will be difficult (for Shell) to sell (the shares), because (the gas) will not be considered as green product,” he told dunia-energi.com recently.
However, it remains to be seen if adding carbon capture and storage (CCS) or CCUS to the proposed project will help Shell’s divestment process.
Shell has so far failed to generate any significant interest in the sales process for its share of the giant Abadi LNG project 18 months after the Indonesian government announced the Anglo-Dutch supermajor’s intention to divest.
Shell’s 35% stake in the Masela Block offshore Indonesia is valued at $800 million to $1 billion, according to analysts. But, despite the block’s proximity to Asian demand markets, it is proving tough to find buyers for one of the world’s largest undeveloped gas resources. Japan’s Inpex operates the project with the remaining 65% share.
Development of Abadi’s proposed 9.5 million tonne per year (mtpy) onshore liquefaction scheme will be technically, as well as commercially challenging, and is expected to cost around $18 billion to $20 billion. The project includes a large FPSO unit capable of handling 51 million cm per day of gas and up to 36,000 barrels per day of condensate, as well as a deep-water trunk pipeline from the Abadi field to proposed liquefaction facilities on Yamdena in the remote Tanimbar Islands.
The Abadi field is carbon dioxide (CO2) heavy. Adding CCS or CCUS will likely make the project even less commercially appealing. But the growing push towards decarbonisation, especially among Japanese companies, makes development of Abadi almost impossible without CCS.
Inpex said in August that it does not plan to take a final investment decision until around 2024-2025, two years later than previous guidance of 2022-2023. This is the latest in a series of delays for Abadi. Inpex blamed the delay on the COVID pandemic, which has disrupted site survey work ahead of front-end engineering and design (FEED). Inpex also said the project may need to be redesigned to incorporate carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS).
XAG Unveils an Upgraded Version of Its R150 Autonomous Agricultural Robot
While China-based manufacturer XAG is primarily renowned for its agricultural drones, the company is also good at making unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), and its R150 stands as proof. The vehicle is described as the first mass-produced agricultural robotic platform of its kind and the recently announced 2022 version of the vehicle brings some upgrades to the table.
7 photos
The XAG R150 is a versatile autonomous solution that has a variety of applications. It comes with a modular, extensible design that allows users to switch between different wheelsets, depending on the terrain they plan to use it on. Thanks to the adjustable ground clearance of its chassis, the R150 can even find its way through dense orchards.
XAG’s 2022 version of the UGV comes as a scalable open payload platform, with the robot being suitable for a variety of tasks, from high-precision crop spraying, fertilization, to mowing, and on-farm transportation. The vehicle has a 150-kg (330-lb) load capacity.
A 15-minute charge of its dual batteries gives you four hours of endurance.
For the new R150, XAG also added a HydraulicSpray system that lets users quickly install a group of liquid pumps and pressure spray nozzles for crop protection, in various landscapes, as explained by the manufacturer. XAG claims the UGV can spray up to 5 hectares (12 acres) per hour, with a maximum spray width of 12 meters (almost 40 ft).
The R150 is equipped with a SuperX 4 Pro control system, featuring auto-location, visual tracking, and automatic obstacle detection. It comes with high-speed 4G and wireless capabilities, offering real-time transmission. A handheld control stick allows you to remotely control the robot and a mobile app allows you to pre-program routes.
XAG equipped the unmanned ground vehicle with a high-performance brushless motor with a maximum torque of 1,000 Nm. The robot has a standard operating speed of 2.6 mph (4.3 kph).
Right now, XAG doesn’t offer any information on the availability of the R150 other than it’s “coming soon” nor does it tell us how much it will cost. You can fill in a form on the company's website if you want to find out more about the UGV.
Maine farmers concerned about solar developers using up 'prime' farming land
There are growing concerns in Maine's farming community about the increased use of farmlands for large-scale solar development.
Carl Wilcox, who owns Intervale Farm in New Gloucester, says he has received more than a dozen offers from solar developers to build on his property but has declined them all. Wilcox isn't against solar power — he has solar panels on his barn — but says his land is more valuable without solar panels on it should he ever sell it.
Wilcox says he has a friend nearby who farms and leases land to grow corn but recently sold his prime land to a solar developer.
"Whatever land he was growing corn on... we'll apparently it's not as good as that land that's now under solar panels," Wilcox said.
Farmland only makes up 6% of the state of Maine, and 14% of that is classified as prime farmland, which means the soil is ideal for growing crops.
Ellen Griswold of Maine Farmland Trust says a 25-year contract for a solar farm on prime soil can significantly impact Maine agriculture and, in turn, the state's local food source. Griswold says developers should look to build on degraded land instead.
"We may find that there is land now that just can't be remediated because of the extent of the PFAS contamination. Maybe that is an area where we should be thinking about renewable energy development," Griswold said.
Maine Sen. Ned Claxton, a Democrat from Androscoggin County, agrees that solar developers should avoid looking to prime farmland. But he also notes that solar investment is a key part of Maine becoming independent of fossil fuels.
"Pictures of deer grazing underneath solar panels works for me," Claxton said. "If we're going to get away from fossil fuels we have to be doing this."
Griswold says renewable energy does have a positive impact on Maine farmers because it can reduce energy costs and provide a steady income to farmers when a developer pays for that land.
Toronto health-care worker denied residency, could be deported because she had a baby
Idayat Saka did exactly what her doctor told her to do to protect herself and her baby.
The 33-year-old mother of four who lives in Toronto stopped working at the beginning of her third trimester of pregnancy due to “high-risk” complications from prior cesarean births.
What Saka couldn’t have known at the time was that her decision to stop working when she did – on March 18, 2020 – would later be used by an immigration officer to deny her permanent residency in Canada.
This rejection means Saka, her husband and two of their children could soon be deported to Nigeria. Her youngest sons, ages three and one, can’t be deported because they’re Canadian.
“I was crying. I was done,” Saka said, explaining the heartbreak she felt when her application to remain in Canada was rejected.
Saka and her husband are failed asylum seekers. They came to Canada in October 2017 after they say their lives were threatened by gunmen in Nigeria. These claims were later dismissed.
After they arrived in Canada, Saka went back to school to become a personal support worker and has spent more than 2,000 hours caring for sick and elderly patients in Ontario since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of this work occurred during the deadly third and fourth waves of the virus.
She applied for permanent residency in Canada through a special program set up by former Liberal immigration minister Marco Mendicino. The program recognizes the “exceptional service” of failed and pending asylum seekers who’ve worked on the front lines of the pandemic by offering them an alternative pathway to residency.
Toronto health care worker Idayat Saka, who cared for sick and elderly patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, could be deported after her application to remain in Canada permanently was rejected by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Idayat Saka
When the program was announced, Mendocino said these workers were heroes who displayed the uniquely Canadian quality of looking out for people in need. He also said they put themselves at risk to take care of their communities.
But Saka’s application was rejected by an officer at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada because she didn’t meet one of the program’s basic requirements: having worked at least 120 hours between March 13, 2020 (the day pandemic travel restrictions were first introduced in Canada) and Aug. 14, 2020 (the day Mendicino announced the program).
Because the program was announced months after Saka went on leave, there was no way for her to know this decision would later be used to deny her residency.
“Whenever I think about it I’m so depressed,” she said.
Saka is appealing the decision to the Federal Court.
Her lawyer, Kes Posgate, said the decision is unreasonable because it doesn’t recognize the unique circumstances she experienced while pregnant, nor does it recognize her contributions to the struggle against COVID-19.
Posgate also said the policy violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms because it discriminates against pregnant people by not offering them an accommodation to the 120-hour work requirement.
“This speaks to the spirit of the policy,” Posgate said. “How do you technically account for who is and who isn’t a hero?” An ‘unintelligible’ decision
One of the most basic principles of Canadian law is that administrative decisions, including those made by immigration officers, must be “justified, intelligible and transparent.” This was confirmed by the Supreme Court in a 2019 landmark decision.
Failing to adhere to this principle can, and often does, result in decisions being overturned by the courts.
In Saka’s case, the immigration officer was asked to consider both the “humanitarian and compassionate” circumstances that meant she didn’t meet the 120-hour work requirement, plus the “best interest” of her children.
Saka openly acknowledged that she didn’t work the number of hours needed during the specified time period, but said she would have if her doctor hadn’t told her to stop working due to her high-risk pregnancy.
She also said her work history, before and after she went on leave, shows she is committed to working full-time as a health-care professional in Ontario. This is further demonstrated by the fact that she went back to work less than three months after giving birth in June 2020 by cesarean section and has been working full-time ever since.
But the immigration officer who rejected her application didn’t mention any of these factors in their written decision.
The only explanation the officer provided for rejecting her case was that Saka didn’t meet the 120-hour work requirement and that they didn’t believe it wasn’t an oversight that an exemption for maternity leave wasn’t built into the policy.
Posgate said this decision is no good because immigration officers are required by law to assess humanitarian circumstances whenever a foreign national who lives in Canada requests an exemption from “any applicable criteria or obligation” of the country’s immigration act.
He said the decision also fails to meet minimum standards of transparency because it offers almost no insight into the immigration officer’s rationale for why a humanitarian exemption wasn’t granted.
“If this decision stood, I think it would be unjust,” Posgate said.
Other exemptions offered
The program announced by Mendocino isn’t so stringent that no exemptions are offered.
Applicants must also show that they worked the equivalent of at least six months full-time as a health-care worker before Aug. 31, 2021 in order to qualify. But unlike the less onerous 120-hour requirement that must have been completed during the first five months of the pandemic, this requirement is eligible for exemptions due to maternity leave, disability or illness.
This means Saka – who worked 42.5 hours of the 120-hour requirement – is automatically rejected, even though she’s worked thousands of hours caring for people during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, a person who meets the 120-hour requirement, but who doesn’t meet the six-month requirement because they went on maternity leave, would still be eligible for the program even if they didn’t work a minute more than 120 hours.
Posgate said this is arbitrary and illogical. If exemptions for maternity leave are made for the more onerous requirement, exemptions should also be made for the less onerous one.
Global News asked the office of Immigration Minister Sean Fraser if he believes the policy announced by Mendicino discriminates against pregnant persons and why there isn’t an exemption to the 120-hour work requirement for maternity leave. Fraser’s office did not answer these questions. Instead, he referred the request to department officials.
“This temporary public policy was put in place (with) specific criteria recognizing the service of those who were actively working in the health-care sector, where there was an urgent need for help, and putting their own lives at risk to care for others during this very challenging time,” said Immigration Canada spokesperson Sonia Lesage.
“While applicants cannot request an exemption from individual criteria in a public policy, requests to be granted permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds may be considered outside the context of the public policy.”
If Saka wins her case at the Federal Court, her application will be sent back to another immigration officer for reconsideration. Fraser could also intervene and allow her and her family to stay.
Whatever the outcome, Saka feels like she’s earned the right to remain in Canada.
“I’ve worked for it and I’m still working,” she said.
Opinion: Bill 21 failed Fatemeh Anvari. But it also fails her students like my son, and Quebec secularists like me
DECEMBER 28, 2021 Aidan Seaton’s two children attend Chelsea Elementary School in Quebec. she works at The Low Down to Hull and Back News, Local newspaper serving Gatineau Hills.
My son was begging me to come to his Class 3 class, and so, thanks to his teacher’s enthusiastic arrangement of logistics, I came on December 3rd to give a brief presentation about Hanukkah. This is something that Chelsea Elementary School welcomes every year during the festival of lights. I was dismayed when, the day before, his teacher sent me an email asking him to miss our time together—but still, the next day, my son and I told our classmates the Hanukkah story.
According to legend, in the 2nd century BC, Jewish practices were forbidden in Jerusalem by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of the Seleucid Empire. Most of the people obeyed, hiding their religious activities out of fear. But a small group called the Maccabees resisted their oppressors and refused to renounce their religion. In 168 BC, the king’s army descended, massacred thousands of Jews, destroyed the temple, and defiled it by sacrificing pigs and building an altar to the Greek god Zeus. But the Maccabees stood for two years and pushed back Antiochus’ troops, gaining access to the temple and rekindling the menorah’s eternal flame with a day’s worth of oil, which instead miraculously burned for eight days. And so, voila: to this day, we celebrate those eight days of Hanukkah. advertisement
When I shared that ancient story, I didn’t know that on the same day, my son’s teacher, Fatemeh Anwari, She is sent on duty outside the classroom because she wears a hijab. According to the Quebec government, that religious symbol made her ineligible for the teaching role she was already holding, even though Ms. Anvari They say That she sees the hijab more as a part of her identity and how she chooses to represent herself. As a result, a clever, kind, trained teacher was barred from doing his job because of his symbolic clothing. And now, Ms. Anvari has been reassigned to work on a literacy project focused on diversity in the school – a bitter irony.
I was born in Quebec and have lived happily in this province for most of my life. I myself am committed to secularism, which is known in this province secularism, And I think it has a lot to offer. I remember as a Jewish kid living in rural Ontario in the 1980s, religion was a regular part of life in public schools. In Class 5, I was given a Gideon Bible during class time—part of Gideon’s regular visit for all students at the time—and each morning in class, I recited the Lord’s Prayer. While I still appreciate the beauty of those words today, prayer should never have been part of my school’s early practice, a debate that was widespread across much of Canada after the Ontario Court of Appeals ruled in 1988 That the school’s prayer had violated Canadians. Charter. - Advertisement -
But there is a difference between forcing a child to read or sit through religious devotional prayer during class and giving individuals the freedom to dress according to their wishes and beliefs. Ms. Anwari taught my son the art of the English language, not Islamic doctrine; Her hijab never interfered with the education she taught, and it had no effect on the curriculum she was teaching the children in her class. In short, he teaching was secular, as a public school should be. The problem, the provincial government would assure us, was that She was insufficiently secular, at least in her appearance.
Some proponents of Bill 21 claim that allowing the presence of any religious symbol amounts to conversion. This caricature portrays religious people incredibly willing to participate in public life. It is precisely this intolerance that has led many to doubt John F. Kennedy’s ability to serve as the first Catholic President of the United States in the 1960s – concerns that are unimaginable today.
And as many have pointed out, there are crosses on many public buildings throughout the province. Personally, I do not want them to be removed: they are part of the development of Quebec, and are relics of a bygone era that remind us of the significant cultural change that this province has undergone. These symbols may still resonate with some people, but they no longer hold their former power.
Maybe we could all benefit from having a little more let it go On issues of personal expression, even if there is a hint of religion. What are the disadvantages of wearing a hijab in the open? In this case the children certainly did no harm – that is, until they lost their teacher. On the other hand, there have been huge losses to individuals who lose the opportunity to be hired, individuals who find themselves suddenly unfit for advancement, and entire groups of people who are explicitly told that they are not eligible for certain jobs. There is no need to apply when they are fully capable of performing those roles. How does excluding people who wish to participate and contribute to their communities serve the interests of Quebec society?
Part of the beauty and freedom of secularism is the belief that we can follow a religion – or not – without punishment. But I can see how this noble idea can be distorted. After all, coercion doesn’t promote anything positive, let alone a subtle concept like secularism. Bill 21 has eroded open old conflicts, created new conflicts, and led to layers of polarization within Quebec and across the rest of the country. Its interpretation of secularist principles will lead us to no good place.
Chelsea’s current situation has put many in unstable moral positions, caught between fulfilling their official duties and their sense of justice. My children’s school and school board are officially against Bill 21, yet they must abide by it. Could this be a moment of conscientious denial? Doing so would not simply follow a moral sense: it would be based on the Canadian Constitution, Quebec’s own charter, as well as the simple human understanding that all people should be free to practice their religion.
Secularism is the foundation for Quebec society, and a liberal reading of Bill 21 may claim that the law is trying to promote neutrality. And it has been disappointing to see that Quebecers who support Bill 21 are all dismissed as bigotry, when the complex reality is that Quebecers have many reasons to support this law. But with the enactment of the bill, we have seen how quickly any laudable goal is broken.
The Maccabees conquered their oppression and, as Dreidel of the Jewish diaspora reminds us, a great miracle happened there. But I don’t think that’s necessarily what we need here in Quebec. We just need to take a deep breath and decide to be together instead of apart.
2 injured workers file $10 million lawsuit against ExxonMobil after Baytown refinery explosion
Both men suffered head injuries, major orthopedic injury to their spines, and were burned all over their bodies, according to the lawsuit.
Two contract workers who were severely injured in an explosion at ExxonMobil’s Baytown refinery last week have filed a $10 million lawsuit against the oil and gas company.
According to the lawsuit, plaintiffs Dylan Purcell and Nicholas Moore were tasked with sealing a leaking pipe that contained Naphthalene, a flammable gas, with two other individuals who worked for Team Industrial Services.
As the four contactors worked, a metal piece became stuck on a bolt, prompting one of the Team Industrial workers to using their wrench “as a hammer” to loosen the piece, the lawsuit read.
The other Team Industrial worker, who was tasked with ensuring that steam was sprayed on the area to prevent sparks, failed to do so, according to the lawsuit. The wrench created a spark, causing the flammable gas to ignite, which knocked all four workers down, and engulfed them in flames, according to court documents.
The lawsuit says Purcell and Moore were forced to jump down more than 20 feet to avoid further injury. Both men suffered head injuries, major orthopedic injury to their spines, and were burned all over their bodies, according to the lawsuit. Additionally, Moore suffered a broken leg due to the fall.
All four men were transported to the Texas Medical Center after the explosion. The resulting fire took emergency crews several hours to extinguish.
The Harris County Fire Marshall's office is currently investigating the incident.
The lawsuit names Team Industrial Services and Exxon Mobil as defendants, and alleges negligence and gross negligence. According to the lawsuit, the permit for the work had been issued by ExxonMobil without taking appropriate precautions while also failing to provide proper safety equipment.
Purcell and Moore are now being represented by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee, and are seeking $10 million in damages.
“Workers in this country are routinely exposed to extreme danger while management and shareholders reap the profits,” Buzbee said in an email. “Profits over the safety of the workers is a short-term strategy that ultimately costs companies like Exxon Mobil much more in the long run.”
