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)
Sunday, February 06, 2022
WHO calls for stronger China collaboration on COVID-19 origins
ByStaff Reuters
Posted February 5, 2022
The head of the World Health Organization said on Saturday he had discussed with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang the need for stronger collaboration on the origins of COVID-19, a subject of controversy that has strained Beijing’s relations with the West.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has previously pressed China to be more forthcoming with data and information related to the origin of the virus.
“Pleased to meet with Premier Li Keqiang,” Tedros tweeted. “We discussed COVID-19 and the need for an aggressive effort on VaccinEquity this year to vaccinate 70% of all populations,” he said, referring to the WHO campaign for fair access to vaccines around the world.
“We also discussed the need for stronger collaboration on COVID-19 virus origins, rooted in science and evidence,” he added.
The WHO last year established the Scientific Advisory Group on the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) and called on China to supply raw data to help any new investigation. China declined, citing patient privacy rules.
China has consistently denied allegations that the virus was leaked from a specialist laboratory in the city of Wuhan, where COVID-19 was first identified at the end of 2019.
A joint study by China and the WHO published last year all but ruled out the theory that COVID-19 originated in a laboratory, saying that the most likely hypothesis was that it infected humans naturally, probably via the wildlife trade.
Last November, China said a declassified U.S. intelligence report saying it was plausible that the pandemic originated in a laboratory was unscientific and had no credibility.
(Writing by Paul Carrel; editing by Clelia Oziel)
Criticism of The Betrayal of Anne Frank puts spotlight on Rosemary Sullivan
Rosemary Sullivan is an award-winning Canadian author renowned for her meticulously researched non-fiction, including Villa Air-Bel: World War II, Escape and a House in Marseille and her last book, Stalin’s Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva, Rosemary Sullivan.Handout
Her latest book is The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation. Published just a few weeks ago, it has already received more attention than anything else she has written.
The book documents an investigation into who tipped off the Nazis to the whereabouts of Anne Frank and seven other Jews in hiding in Amsterdam during the Second World War. Their annex, hidden behind a swinging bookcase, was raided on Aug. 4, 1944. Anne was 15 when she died the following year in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Only her father, Otto Frank, survived the war.
Revealed in the book, the investigation’s conclusion – that the informant was likely a Jewish man named Arnold van den Bergh – has been roundly criticized by some experts.
The book’s Dutch publisher, Ambo Anthos, has apologized in an internal e-mail for offending anyone, saying a more critical stand could have been taken, and has delayed printing more copies until further notice, according to reports.
Sullivan did not respond to requests for an interview this week. But when asked in an interview before the book’s release how she felt about being part of this story, she told The Globe and Mail, “I’m nervous. I didn’t do the research. I trust the research. If it had been a private book, would I have said I’m not going to say it was Van den Bergh? I don’t know. But I’m anxious, I’m anxious.”
The years-long investigation was conceived by Dutch filmmaker Thijs Bayens and journalist Pieter van Twisk. It was led by retired FBI special agent Vince Pankoke, who approached the mystery like a criminal cold case. There was a core team of more than 20 experts and dozens of other researchers and consultants. Sullivan was commissioned to write the book about the investigation, to be published by HarperCollins in Canada and the US
“When they approached me, I thought this is in the cards,” Sullivan said in the interview two days before the book’s Jan. 18 publication. “And who doesn’t feel a deep attachment to Anne Frank?”
An advance from the publisher financed Bayens’s project, along with a grant from the City of Amsterdam and some private donations.
The team began work in 2016 with 30 scenarios and narrowed it down to 12 suspects, then four. The investigators ultimately determined that the likely informant was Van den Bergh, a successful notary before the Second World War. During the war he was a member of the Jewish Council in Amsterdam, a controversial body created by the Nazis.
Van den Bergh had actually been named as the person who tipped off the Gestapo about the Franks’ hiding place in an anonymous note sent in 1945 to Otto Frank, after he returned to Amsterdam from Auschwitz.
Pankoke posited that the informant would have had that information, the opportunity and the motive.
The team concluded that Van den Bergh, who died in 1950, had the information (they argued he was in possession of lists of addresses where Jews were hiding); the opportunity (he had access to high-level Nazis); and the motive (a married father of three daughters, he wanted to keep his family safe).
In the January interview, Sullivan told The Globe the team was 95-per-cent certain of its conclusion.
But doubts have been raised, including about the hypothesis that the Jewish Council would have had lists of addresses where people were hiding, something the book says is “almost certain.” Sullivan explained that the lists may have been used to ensure food got to people in hiding.
Another criticism involves the anonymous note: Who’s to say it wasn’t sent by someone who had reason to implicate Van den Bergh, perhaps to remove suspicion from themselves? The cold case team did consider that, according to the book. “But why send the note to Otto?” it asks.
The group points out that Frank himself took the note seriously enough to make a copy of it and give it to an investigator. And it was sent before the publication of Anne’s diary, so the writer of the note could not have been trying to somehow capitalize on Anne’s fame – or have been concerned about it.
The process behind this book was unusual for Sullivan, who is used to doing her own digging rather than writing about research done by others to which she has had access.
When asked by The Globe how she navigated this unfamiliar situation, she said “it was very hard.” She noted that she had access to all the research files, which were stored in a digital system called the Bookcase. “So by the time they got from the 30 scenarios down to 12 suspects, I could go to the Bookcase and read everything they had,” she said in the January interview.
“I always had the Bookcase with the summaries of these different individuals and their biographies and so on to go on,” Sullivan said. “So while [the investigators] were doing the research, I was doing the summaries.”
Sullivan, who said she was “not getting paid very much” for the book, sat in on a few team meetings in Amsterdam but was not part of the investigation insofar as offering suggestions or ideas. When the pandemic prevented her from returning to the Netherlands, the back-and-forth continued via Zoom and e-mail. “It would be me asking questions and Vince responding,” she said. “Or I would send them something and they would say, ‘You’ve got this wrong,’ and I’d correct it. It was that kind of dialogue.”
Ahead of the book’s publication, Sullivan said she was nervous about how people might react to the conclusion. “Mostly that it be used by anti-Semites,” she said.
In response to a request for an interview, HarperCollins Canada e-mailed a statement. “At this time, HarperCollins and international affiliates will not be commenting on another Publisher’s decision.”
An e-mail to Ambo Anthos Publishers on Wednesday did not receive a response.
Losing amphibian diversity also means losing poison diversity
A harlequin toad, Atelopus hoogmoedi, from Oriximiná in the Brazilian state of Pará. Harlequin toads are smoother than many toads, and are often mistaken for frogs. While all toads are frogs, however, not all frogs are toads. Credit: Jaime Culebras
While frog and salamander declines worldwide have made scientists outspoken about the need to preserve amphibian genetic diversity, two University of California, Berkeley, biologists emphasize another important reason for conserving these animals: Their poisons.
In a recent review of an endangered group—the colorful, yet poisonous, harlequin toads of Central and South America—Rebecca Tarvin and Kannon Pearson emphasize how little is known about the toxins these animals produce or sequester, or why they have them at all. Yet, of the 113 known species of harlequin toads, most are in decline, and a quarter may already be extinct.
Given that animal toxins have proved to be a useful source of pharmaceuticals—drugs already on the market derive from snake and snail venom, while toxins from the pufferfish, centipede and scorpion are in trials—inspiration for new drugs will be lost, along with the animals.
"In Central America, there's nine species of Atelopus, and seven of them have been assessed for toxin diversity and quantity," said Tarvin, UC Berkeley assistant professor of integrative biology. "But the majority of the Atelopus species actually live in South America, where a minority of the studies have been done. There are entire countries, like Bolivia and Guyana, where not a single species has been assessed. We don't know of any reports of whether Indigenous people use them. We don't know if they're toxic or not. One of the takeaways from our paper is that by losing these animals, we're probably losing some chemical diversity, as well. They have some toxins that are found nowhere else in the world."
The Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki), a harlequin toad, is now extinct in the wild, but small numbers have been rescued for captive breeding and reintroduction into the wild. Credit: Jaime Culebras
Tarvin's main interest is how poisonous animals, which range from monarch butterflies and shellfish to snakes and frogs, evolve to synthesize toxins, eat toxic plants and animals and sequester their poison, or host toxin-producing bacteria, all without succumbing themselves to the toxins. Some species of harlequin toads are unusual in the animal kingdom in having toxins of different origins: They host skin bacteria that produce toxins, such as tetrodotoxin, but the toads also synthesize their own toxins, including chemicals known as bufadienolides (bufo is Latin for toad).
"One of the very first research projects I did was with Atelopus toads in Ecuador, and I just love them," said Tarvin, who also is assistant curator of herpetology at UC Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. "But from a scientific perspective, there's a lot that's unknown, and they are a huge conservation concern. So, I feel like they're kind of a priority. Some of the species are doing fine, but they were really hit hard by chytrid (a fungal disease). A lot of species were completely wiped out."
A 2005 survey found that of 53 Atelopus species with sufficient data, 81% were in decline, and 56% were possibly extinct. One harlequin toad, the Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki), is extinct in the wild, but its last members were rescued and are being raised in captivity so they can later be reintroduced into the wild. Degradation and loss of habitat, but also chytridiomycosis, or chytrid, have been implicated in these declines.
Tarvin and Pearson, who led the paper as an undergraduate transfer student and now is a graduate student in Tarvin's lab, will publish their review in the March issue of Toxicon: X, the official open-access journal of several international societies that study animal, plant and microbe toxins. The article appeared online Jan. 22.
Once abundant toads now rare
To graduate student María José (Majo) Navarrete-Méndez, the rapid disappearance of harlequin toads became real only after she discussed them with her grandparents. As recently as the 1980s, at their farm in the province of Imbabura, Ecuador, the family used to see the colorful toads—they called them jambato—all the time. Today, Navarrete said, you're lucky to stumble across any.
A harlequin toad gets a water spritz before its back is swabbed. The spray removes transient bacteria so that the skin swabs will pick up bacteria that actually live on the skin. Credit: Jose Vieira
While chytrid is likely one cause of their disappearance, she thinks that habitat destruction was and is a major threat today. The longnose harlequin toad (Atelopus longirostris), a photo of which was shared on Instagram this week by actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio, is at the center of protests against the environmental destruction of a planned mine in Ecuador's Intag Valley.
The beauty, yet vulnerability, of these toads convinced her to study them and their toxins after she joined Tarvin's lab a year ago, fresh from the Pontifical Universidad Católica del Ecuador in Quito, the capital, where she obtained her undergraduate degree.
"My grandparents lived in the countryside—they were campesinos—and they remembered that (the toads) were extremely abundant," said Navarrete. "I started realizing that we are in a race against time, and if it is not me, and if it is not now—we still have them available, and we have the technology and the resources to study them—it might be too late later."
In the new study, with which Navarrete was not involved, the UC Berkeley researchers searched published papers and found studies of the toxins of only 16 harlequin toad species out of 113 known species. About half of these toads contained toxins known as guanidinium alkaloids, such as tetrodotoxin and a toxin, zetekitoxin, which was first identified in the Panamanian golden frog. It's been estimated that the skin of a single Panamanian golden frog contains enough toxins to kill 1,200 mice. Tetrodotoxin is also produced by pufferfish, which are eaten very carefully in Japan as the delicacy fugu, despite the fact that its organs contain deadly amounts of the poison.
These toxins, Pearson said, are likely produced by bacteria living on the skin, though that claim has yet to be proven for most amphibians known to harbor tetrodotoxins.
Four harlequin toad species contained bufadienolides, which are cardiac glycosides that are synthesized by the frog itself. Cardiac glycosides interfere with the sodium/potassium pump in cells and can cause cardiac arrest, among other symptoms.
Using the new survey as background, all three researchers plan future studies of Atelopus, both in South America and in Tarvin's lab at UC Berkeley, to understand whether and how the toads produce these poisons and what they use them for. While the toads' bright colors imply that they're toxic and serve as a warning to predators, not all Atelopus may contain toxins. And, Tarvin said, the toxins may have other uses: To protect the toads from disease, including perhaps the chytrid fungus, to help them communicate with others of their species, or to indicate a toad's reproductive fitness.
Navarrete noted that related research on the tetrodotoxin produced by a California salamander, the rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa), may also shed light on how amphibians acquire the bacteria on their skin that make these poisons.
"The most important reason for me to study them is that they are almost gone. If there is something that we can do to help them recover or to learn more from them before they become extinct, we have to do it. It's our responsibility," Navarrete said.
Several conservation groups have sprung up to help preserve the toads, including the Atelopus Survival Initiative. And some supposedly extinct species have been rediscovered. Yet, the fate of the genus remains uncertain.
More information:Kannon C. Pearson et al, A review of chemical defense in harlequin toads (Bufonidae: Atelopus),Toxicon: X(2022).DOI: 10.1016/j.toxcx.2022.100092
A Cosmic Water Cloud Shadow Has Revealed The Temperature of The Early Universe
Close-up fragment of the CMB. (NASA/WMAP Science Team)
DAVID NIELD 4 FEBRUARY 2022 SPACE Sometimes astronomers and astrophysicists are working at such gigantic, mind-bending scales – in terms of both distance and time – that you can't help but be awestruck at the new discoveries they keep coming out with.
Case in point: a temperature check of the Universe in its youngest phase, just 880 million years after the Big Bang, made possible by observing the shadow cast by a cloud of cold water gas some 13.8 billion light-years away from Earth.
It's our earliest look so far at the temperature of the Universe, which scientists think is cooling over time as it expands and spreads, and it's another really useful data point in the hunt for that most mysterious of forces behind the expansion: dark energy.
"This important milestone not only confirms the expected cooling trend for a much earlier epoch than has previously been possible to measure, but could also have direct implications for the nature of the elusive dark energy," says astronomer Axel Weiss, from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Germany.
The key to how this was done centers on a contrast of temperatures. Using the NOEMA (Northern Extended Millimeter Array) telescope in France, astronomers focused in on the HFLS3 galaxy – known as a starburst galaxy because of the unusually high number of new stars that it's producing.
Light is taking so long to reach us from HFLS3 that we're seeing it as it was less than a billion years after the Universe came into existence. What we're also seeing is a large cloud of water vapor between us and the galaxy, a cloud that's cooler than the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) that indicates the Universe's temperature.
The temperature difference between the cooler gas and the CMB creates what are called absorption lines, and by studying these lines it's possible to determine the temperature of the CMB. It's a fairly complicated bit of astrophysics made possible by the infrared light emitted by the newborn stars in HFLS3.
The researchers calculate a CMB of between 16.4 and 30.2 Kelvin (-256.8 to -243 °C) at the time period represented by HFLS3, which fits with previous cosmological model predictions of 20 Kelvin. That's an important confirmation of our modeling.
"Besides proof of cooling, this discovery also shows us that the Universe in its infancy had some quite specific physical characteristics that no longer exist today," says astrophysicist Dominik Riechers, from the University of Cologne in Germany.
"Quite early, about 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang, the cosmic microwave background was already too cold for this effect to be observable. We have therefore a unique observing window that opens up to a very young Universe only."
The findings show that previous estimates of the rate of temperature decrease as it corresponds to expansion are in the right area. Trying to take this sort of reading now wouldn't work – the CMB is too cool to produce the same temperature contrast.
When it comes to dark energy, this is thought to be driving the expansion of the Universe, but being able to directly observe it remains outside the scope of our current instruments. However, we can learn more about it by observing its effects – including the rate of Universe expansion and drop in CMB temperature.
As usual, one piece of research begets many others. The research team is now looking for other cold water clouds that the same technique can be applied to, with the aim to get another reading within the first 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang.
"Our team is already following this up with NOEMA by studying the surroundings of other galaxies," says astronomer Roberto Neri, from the Institute Radio Astronomie Millimétrique (IRAM) in France.
"With the expected improvements in precision from studies of larger samples of water clouds, it remains to be seen if our current, basic understanding of the expansion of the Universe holds."
Octopus makes rare appearance at South Carolina beach
Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Wildlife officials in South Carolina shared video of an octopus that made a rare visit to the state's shoreline.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said in a Facebook post that Heather Leon was walking along the water with her mother in North Myrtle Beach when they spotted an octopus in the shallow water.
Leon captured video of the common Atlantic octopus resting in the water before swimming off to deeper waters.
The department the species is "native to our waters, but rarely seen inshore." The post posited the octopus "may have been warming itself in the sunny pool."
Leon said it was a powerful sight.
"It was truly a once-in-a lifetime experience, and I'm so grateful," she told the department.
$30 drawing from yard sale found to be worth more than $10 million
A drawing purchased for $30 at a yard sale in 2017 is now believed to be worth more than $10 million after being identified as "The Virgin and Child," a previously unknown piece by German Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer.
Photo courtesy of the Agnews Gallery
Feb. 4 (UPI) -- A drawing purchased for $30 at a yard sale has been valued at more than $10 million after being identified as a previously unknown work by German Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer.
The London-based Agnews Gallery said Clifford Schorer, a Boston-based art collector and consultant for the gallery, was in a Massachusetts bookstore in 2019 when the owner asked him to take a look at a drawing purchased by a friend.
The bookseller told Schorer the drawing, which had been purchased for $30 at a yard sale in 2017, might be a Durer original.
Schorer said he was skeptical, but he visited the owner, who wished to remain anonymous, a few weeks later and was shocked to see the drawing, titled The Virgin and Child, appeared to be the work of Durer, who died in 1528.
"When you're in my world you spend your life looking for unknown things that lead to fascinating research avenues ... and I could see I was at the beginning of something extremely exciting," Schorer told CNN.
Schorer said he spent three years traveling around the world to verify the authenticity of the piece. The art collector said experts agree that technical age analysis places the drawing in the right time period and the piece bears the hallmarks of Durer's work.
Schorer said he believes the drawing could be worth more than $10 million.
"In terms of relative value, I think you have to compare it to other old master drawings," Schorer said.
Alberta First Nation says response to Coutts blockade shows Bill 1 is ‘racially profiled’
RM Wood Buffalo mayor calls for councillor to resign over comments about Indigenous people
By Chris Chacon Global News Updated February 5, 2022 The mayor and council of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Fort McMurray are calling on council member Shafiq Dogar to resign. This comes after reports of derogatory comments aimed at Indigenous people were made during a council meeting Thursday. Chris Chacon reports.
There was an emotional meeting inside the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo council chambers on Friday.
Councillor and after councillor called on one of their own to quit.
“I ask you to resign, will accept nothing else,” Ward 1 Councillor Ken Ball said.
“I also call on Dogar to resign immediately,” Ward 3 Councillor Stu Wigle said.
“Humbly, I request the resignation of Councillor Dogar,” Ward 1 Councillor Allan Grandison said.
The controversy is over a statement made during a debate on missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Ward 1 councillor Shafiq Dogar.
RMWB Website/Global News
According to the mayor, Councillor Shafiq Dogar said: “Indigenous people reside in the rural areas and only come to Fort McMurray to get drunk or fight or have other legal issues.”
In a statement, mayor Sandy Bowman apologized to Indigenous people on behalf of council. He also called for Dogar’s resignation, as are Indigenous groups in the area, saying they’re appalled.
“I could not believe that someone would be that disrespectful, thinking that you could say those words and not figure there’s going to be any kind of action against it,” CEO of the McMurray Métis Bill Loutitt said. 4:22Alberta study shows non-Indigenous people prioritized for urgent health careAlberta study shows non-Indigenous people prioritized for urgent health care – Jan 22, 2022
On Friday, council reacted: “I walked out, I sat in my vehicle and I was in tears,” Ward 2 Councillor Loretta Waquan said.
In a Friday council meeting to address the issue, Dogar responded.
“I apologize, I take my words back,” he said.
But his apology came with a few additional jabs, calling this reaction a mob mentality.
“I would ask all 10 of you… were you people asleep yesterday?” Dogar said.
“This sort of attitude is just not understood, the ladies are weeping today, I respect my sisters but I don’t know about the men, how chicken-hearted they are behaving,” Dogar said.
Legally, council can’t remove Dogar. So instead, councillors voted to send the matter to the integrity commissioner for investigation, a course of action that could lead to sanctions.
“You need to think about what you’re saying. You can’t say these things. These are not nice things that you’re saying. I ask for your resignation and still you will not resign,” Ward 2 Councillor Kendrick Cardinal said.
Despite pressures to leave, Dogar did not submit his resignation.
The RM of Wood Buffalo is in northern Alberta, roughly 500 km northeast of Edmonton.
Giant Supermountains Stretching Across Entire Supercontinents Controlled the Evolution of Life on Earth
ByAUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITYFEBRUARY 6, 2022
Rapid erosion of supermountains released large amounts of nutrients, which were eventually carried into the oceans.
Giant mountain ranges at least as high as the Himalayas and stretching up to 8,000 kilometers across entire supercontinents played a crucial role in the evolution of early life on Earth, according to a new study by researchers at The Australian National University (ANU).
The researchers tracked the formation of these supermountains throughout Earth’s history using traces of zircon with low lutetium content — a combination of mineral and rare earth element only found in the roots of high mountains where they form under intense pressure.
The study found the most giant of these supermountains only formed twice in Earth’s history — the first between 2,000 and 1,800 million years ago and the second between 650 and 500 million years ago. Both mountain ranges rose during periods of supercontinent formation.
Lead author, ANU PhD candidate Ziyi Zhu, said there are links between these two instances of supermountains and the two most important periods of evolution in Earth’s history.
“There’s nothing like these two supermountains today. It’s not just their height — if you can imagine the 2,400 km long Himalayas repeated three or four times you get an idea of the scale,” she said.
“We call the first example the Nuna Supermountain. It coincides with the likely appearance of eukaryotes, organisms that later gave rise to plants and animals.
“The second, known as the Transgondwanan Supermountain, coincides with the appearance of the first large animals 575 million years ago and the Cambrian explosion 45 million years later, when most animal groups appeared in the fossil record.”
Co-author Professor Jochen Brocks said: “What’s stunning is the entire record of mountain building through time is so clear. It shows these two huge spikes: one is linked to the emergence of animals and the other to the emergence of complex big cells.”
When the mountains eroded they provided essential nutrients like phosphorous and iron to the oceans, supercharging biological cycles and driving evolution to greater complexity.
The supermountains may also have boosted oxygen levels in the atmosphere, needed for complex life to breathe.
“The early Earth’s atmosphere contained almost no oxygen. Atmospheric oxygen levels are thought to have increased in a series of steps, two of which coincide with the supermountains,” Ms. Zhu said.
“The increase in atmospheric oxygen associated with the erosion of the Transgondwanan Supermountain is the largest in Earth’s history and was an essential prerequisite for the appearance of animals.”
There is no evidence of other supermountains forming at any stage between these two events, making them even more significant.
“The time interval between 1,800 and 800 million years ago is known as the Boring Billion, because there was little or no advance in evolution,” co-author Professor Ian Campbell said.
“The slowing of evolution is attributed to the absence of supermountains during that period, reducing the supply of nutrients to the oceans.
“This study gives us markers, so we can better understand the evolution of early, complex life.”
The research has been published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
Reference: “The temporal distribution of Earth’s supermountains and their potential link to the rise of atmospheric oxygen and biological evolution” by Ziyi Zhu, Ian H.Campbell, Charlotte M. Allen, Jochen J. Brocks and Bei Chen, 28 January 2022, Earth and Planetary Science Letters. DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117391
Another convoy descends on Edmonton to show local support for protesters in Ottawa
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About 1,000 to 2,000 people now in Edmonton for convoy, with several hundred more possibly on way: police
Edmonton police estimate about 1,000 to 2,000 people were in Edmonton participating in a local convoy to show support for demonstrators in Ottawa, with several hundred more potentially on the way. (Nicholas Frew/CBC)
Blaring truck horns echo throughout downtown Edmonton for a second consecutive weekend, as at least 1,000 Albertans converge to support an anti-vaccine-mandate convoy in Ottawa. Hundreds are still in Ottawa as the protest continues.
Several hundred people of all ages gathered on the Alberta Legislature Grounds, next to the Federal Building. A tent there was set up with a sound system that, at one point before speeches began, was playing an anti-COVID song.
But many other demonstrators — some of whom are coming from the blockade in Coutts, Alta. — set up on 109th Street. Traffic was clogged for blocks in both directions, while people cheered from the sidewalks, waving signs and flags.
Many signs call for vaccine mandates to be lifted or suggested the government is taking away freedoms. Some flags read "Trump 2024," and one appeared to be a QAnon flag — a Canada flag with a large 'Q', a nod to the online conspiracy theory group.
The Edmonton Police Service estimated about 1,000 to 2,000 people are in the city participating in the convoy, but "several hundred" more could arrive later Saturday afternoon, a spokesperson said.
Many protesters, either in vehicles or on the sidewalk, lined 109th Street in both traffic directions. A police officer, in the reflective coat, is shown here directing traffic at 109th Street and 99th Avenue. (Julia Wong/CBC)
Canada Unity, an anti-public-health-mandate group, organized a national convoy late last month to protest the federal vaccine policy that came into effect for truckers crossing the Canada-U.S. border — a group of travellers previously exempt from pandemic entry requirements.
As of Jan. 15, Canadian truck drivers who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 must get a PCR test outside Canada within 72 hours of planned entry; get tested when they arrive; and then self-test on Day 8 of a mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
On Jan. 22, a similar policy took effect in the U.S. that stops all unvaccinated and partially vaccinated non-U.S. travellers, including essential workers such as truckers, from coming into the country.
Combined, the policies stop Canadian truckers who are not fully immunized against COVID-19 from leaving the country for work — though they are free to cross Canada's interprovincial borders.
Police said Friday the force was aware of the planned convoy and, with support from "municipal and provincial partners," was allocating "crowd and traffic management resources" to protect public safety, while upholding peoples' right to peaceful demonstration while within city limits.
Mitigation of "disorderly conduct" may include warnings, tickets, arrests and evidence-gathering for ensuing investigations, police said in a statement.
Several hundred people gathered on the Legislature Grounds to listen to speeches during Saturday's convoy. (Alicia Asquith/CBC)
Edmonton police warn the convoy may result in traffic congestion on Anthony Henday Drive, Yellowhead Trail, Stony Plain Road, Whitemud Drive, Gateway Boulevard, Walterdale Hill, Queen Elizabeth Road and parts of downtown Edmonton until 6 p.m. Saturday.
In anticipation of the convoy, the City of Edmonton said Friday that city hall is closed to the public until further notice.
On Saturday, Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi released a statement upholding people's right to peaceful protest, but denouncing the message of many participating in these convoys.
"One thing is becoming clear. This convoy is not about truckers or about freedom," said Sohi, adding that he has family and friends who work in the trucking industry who are vaccinated.
"This convoy does not reflect their values or the values of the vast majority of Edmontonians."
Some businesses impacted by convoy last weekend
Last weekends convoy brought a lot of noise and traffic to Edmonton — the latter of which hurt local businesses.
Business owners who contacted the Edmonton Downtown Business Association, an advocate for downtown businesses, reported revenue losses of 60 to 90 per cent, with businesses located closer to the Legislature bearing the brunt, said executive director Puneeta McBryan.
"The sheer difficulty of customers and staff getting in and out was just really, really tough. And I don't think most of the protesters had much interest in showing their proof of vaccination and wearing a mask," McBryan said.
"It's almost an impossibility to do business physically anywhere near the Legislature building when they're causing such massive traffic backlogs."
Given that, and how uncomfortable some employees were, many business owners will have to decide whether it's wise to open this weekend at all, she said.
Shaosi Wang, owner of Let's Grill Sushi & Izakaya, told CBC News Friday that he will open his restaurant, but expects revenue losses stemming from the convoy.
Delivery drivers may have a hard time accessing the restaurant, located near Jasper Avenue and 107th Street, but it will be enforcing provincial public health measures, Wang said.
"Once [customers] come into the restaurant, they need to wear masks."
Truck convoy protesting COVID-19
restrictions clogs central Edmonton streets
Author of the article: Dustin Cook Publishing date: Feb 05, 2022 •
People gather near the Alberta legislature on Feb. 5, 2022, in Edmonton to support the trucker convoy that is protesting vaccine mandates as well as measures taken by the provincial and federal governments to curb the spread of COVID-19.
PHOTO BY GREG SOUTHAM /Postmedia
Central Edmonton streets were clogged with vehicles and hundreds of people waving Canadian flags Saturday afternoon as part of a truck convoy calling for an end to COVID-19 measures.
Just after noon, trucks and tractors began to line 109 Street south of Jasper Avenue in both directions with passengers honking horns and waving signs as part of a Freedom Convoy to protest current COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.
Access to some roads around the Alberta legislature were closed off to vehicles and Edmonton police officers were on scene to assist with traffic and crowd management.
In a statement to Postmedia Saturday afternoon, Edmonton Police Service spokeswoman Lauren Wozny said no arrests or charges have been laid and police are continuing to monitor impacts to traffic and safety. Response times to police calls for service hadn’t been impacted by the convoy, Wozny said.
“As participants arrive throughout the afternoon, our approach is to continue maintaining public safety and mitigate any disorderly conduct that might arise,” she said in a statement.
But Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said the convoy was very disruptive to residents in the Downtown core and that behaviour creating fear shouldn’t be tolerated by law enforcement.
“This convoy is not about truckers or about freedom. I have family members and friends who work in the trucking industry. They are all vaccinated. They have done their part to protect themselves, their colleagues, their families and their communities,” Sohi said in a statement.
“I understand and share the worries and frustrations of Edmontonians. These protests are disrupting their daily lives, particularly of those living and doing business in the Downtown core and surrounding communities.”
As a result of the traffic disruptions and loud honking throughout the afternoon, several businesses in the area decided to close their doors Saturday including District Café and Buok Fresh Korean Kitchen.
The Common , a restaurant right on 109 Street, decided to keep its doors open and hope for the best since Saturday is typically the busiest night of the week for businesses that have been struggling during the pandemic. Co-owner Kyla Kazeil said increased protests in the area over the last year have impacted business.
Making matters worse, The Common was hit with vandalism Friday when almost every window was broken, causing a significant amount of damage. Kazeil said this was unrelated to the convoy and the individual involved was arrested by police.
“Everybody Downtown is struggling, it’s tough,” she said. “There’s lots of different things that are impacting hospitality and the convoy and stuff, it’s a very small part of what’s been a very long time. But there’s only so much that you can overcome.”
The protest followed one held last week at the same location as well as a weeklong blockade on the Canadian side of the U.S. border crossing in Coutts. Convoys across the country initially began as a response to a federal vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers travelling to and from the U.S. Protesters are also challenging the current vaccine passport programs in place and other COVID-19 measures such as masks and capacity restrictions.
In Alberta, Premier Jason Kenney said the cabinet’s COVID-19 committee will be meeting next week to determine a plan for lifting measures, including the restrictions exemption program requiring proof of vaccination to enter many facilities including recreation centres and restaurants.
Reacting to the convoy on social media, Kenney called for protesters to be peaceful and not cause significant roadway disruptions. He said police can issue stiff fines if protesters were to block roads under the province’s Infrastructure Defence Act.
“Disrupting the lives of your fellow Albertans and creating illegal, dangerous road hazards is totally unacceptable,” Kenney said in a tweet.
Police said traffic disruptions were expected to last until about 6 p.m.
People line Edmonton’s 109 Street near the Alberta legislature on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, as a truck convoy drives by. PHOTO BY GREG SOUTHAM /Postmedia
People gather near the Alberta legislature on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Edmonton to support the trucker convoy that is protesting vaccine mandates as well as measures taken by the provincial and federal governments to curb the spread of COVID-19. PHOTO BY GREG SOUTHAM /Postmedia
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