UK rail, postal workers cancel strikes after queen's death

Friday

MOURNING IN THE UK FOR QUEEN ELIZABETH AHEAD OF HER FUNERAL.
Duration 1:29
UK begins 10 days of mourning after death of Queen Elizabeth II
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British rail and postal workers on Thursday canceled scheduled strikes after Queen Elizabeth II died earlier that day.

The moves pause worker protests that in recent months have involved hundreds of thousands of workers and at times disrupted train and mail services across England.

The Communication Workers Union, or CWU, which represents 115,000 workers at the Royal Mail, called off a 48-hour strike that began on Thursday and was scheduled to continue on Friday.

"Following the very sad news of the passing of the Queen and out of respect for her service to the country and her family, the union has decided to call off tomorrow's planned strike action," the Communication Workers Union said in a tweet on Thursday.MORE: Queen Elizabeth's passing marks the end of multiple political eras: The Note

A strike by the postal workers late last month across 1,500 locations, the first of several strikes planned for the ensuing weeks, marked the biggest work stoppage in England since 2009.

Postal workers are seeking a wage increase amid the country's near-historic inflation, which reached a 40-year high of 10.1% in July.

CWU said its members would not accept an "imposed" 2% pay raise, the BBC reported. Royal Mail said that the workers rejected an offer with raises of up to 5.5%.


Royal Mail postal workers hold placards and chant slogans as they stand on a picket line outside a delivery office, in north London, Sept. 8, 2022, during a strike.© Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, roughly 40,000 rail workers with the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, or RMT, canceled a two-day strike set for Sept. 15 and 17

"RMT joins the whole nation in paying its respects to Queen Elizabeth," the union said in a statement. "We express our deepest condolences to her family, friends and the country."

The rail workers, who work at Network Rail and 14 train operators, have carried out intermittent strikes since June, when it appeared that their employers would reject a demand for a 7% pay raise.

Network Rail made an offer in July with raises worth more than 5%, but it depended on workers accepting "modernising reforms," the BBC reported. RMT rejected the offer, saying it amounted to a pay cut in inflation-adjusted terms and would require cutting a third of front-line maintenance roles.

In a statement, Network Rail confirmed that RMT had called off the strike, saying it would alert riders "when we receive more information on any confirmed or proposed industrial action."

Study finds possible link between stroke rates, refinery pollutants

Sharon Udasin - Thursday - The Hill

Residential exposure to pollutants emitted by petroleum refineries could be related to the prevalence of stroke rates across the southern United States, a new study has found.



Living near petroleum production sites and refineries was potentially linked to 5.6 percent of strokes among adults surveyed in seven states across the region, according to the study, published on Thursday in Environmental Research Letters.

The process of refining petroleum, a common industry in the U.S. South, releases multiple pollutants that researchers have previously connected to strokes.

But the authors of the new study sought to identify the direct relationship between residential exposure to petroleum refining and the development of strokes.

“The geographic concentration of economic sectors, and their associated by-products, is an underexplored, plausible risk factor for stroke,” lead author Honghyok Kim, who will be joining the University of Illinois at Chicago as an assistant professor this month, said in a statement.

“By-products of petroleum production and refining include a mixture of pollutants that may impact the quality of adjacent air, soil, and potable water in residential areas,” Kim added.

To draw their conclusions, Kim and his colleagues at Yale, Brown and Seoul National universities combed through data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Population Level Analyses and Community Estimates for seven Southern U.S. states.

They narrowed down the data to areas within 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) or 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) of petroleum refineries — zones strongly correlated with high levels of sulfur dioxide, a byproduct of the refining process.

Across these areas, the authors observed that the prevalence of self-reported stroke ranged from 0.4 percent to 12.7 percent, while people of lower socioeconomic status and of Hispanic ethnicity tended to reside closer to the refineries.

After analyzing the data, the scientists concluded that the percentage of strokes potentially explained by residential exposure to petroleum refineries was about 5.6 percent — a total of 2,200 cases.

The results differed by state, with Mississippi showing the highest percentage — 11.7 percent — of strokes possibly linked to such exposure, according to the study.

Zooming in much more locally, the scientists found even more dramatic variations in results based on census tract. One tract in Texas showed the highest prevalence of strokes potentially explained by petroleum refineries, at 25.3 percent, according to the study.

The authors also emphasized their observation that sociodemographic factors influenced the prevalence of strokes in each region, noting that those individuals of lower socioeconomic status were disproportionately affected.

This association with sociodemographic factors, they added, could “be relevant to understanding and addressing entrenched sociodemographic disparities in stroke outcomes.”

10 law professors join calls for more oversight of Newfoundland and Labrador police


ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — A group of law professors in Nova Scotia is joining calls for more civilian-led oversight of police in Newfoundland and Labrador, as the force grapples with allegations of sexual misconduct against its members.



Ten professors from Dalhousie University's Schulich School of Law wrote an open letter to Newfoundland and Labrador Justice Minister John Hogan this week, echoing a St. John's-based Indigenous group's calls for a civilian-led board to oversee police.

"In most provinces in Canada — including Nova Scotia — police services are directly accountable to civilian-led police boards or commissions that are established by statute," said the professors' letter, released Tuesday.

"Ensuring the transparency and accountability of police through comprehensive oversight is critical to the rule of law."

As of last July, Newfoundland and Labrador has its own civilian-led police watchdog agency — the Serious Incident Response Team. Led by lawyer Mike King, the agency investigates injuries, death, sexual assault and domestic violence involving officers from the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and the RCMP, with whom the Constabulary shares policing duties in the province.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary also has an independent, civilian-led public complaints commission.

Justin Campbell of Indigenous coalition First Voice says a civilian-led oversight board would play a different role than those two authorities.

"Both of those bodies are reactive forms of civilian oversight," said Campbell, whose organization has a working group advocating for civilian-led police oversight in accordance with the Calls for Justice laid out by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

"The civilian oversight board that we're proposing would have the power to draft and enforce policies related to the way that policing is conducted here."

The board, Campbell added, would be proactive and aimed at establishing policies that better serve the public, rather than responding to complaints when existing policies fail.

Such a board is needed in Newfoundland and Labrador, he said, pointing as evidence to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary's quiet introduction last year of a policy regarding the transport of members of the public. An access to information request showed that the force put in place new rules last September forbidding officers from offering people rides home unless the ride is part of a service call.

The rules were introduced after public complaints emerged alleging officers had acted inappropriately after offering women rides home from downtown St. John's. Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Chief Patrick Roche's note to officers emphasized that the force's policies are confidential.

Campbell said it was concerning that The Canadian Press had to submit an access to information request to find out about the policy — the force had otherwise refused to answer questions about it. "It raises all kinds of questions about transparency, how the policy was drafted, and who had input," he said. "Never mind how the policy is supposed to be enforced."

The issue of police offering people rides home came up in the trials of Const. Carl Douglas Snelgrove, who was convicted in May of 2021 for sexually assaulting a woman while on duty after driving her home from downtown St. John's. He is appealing that conviction.

Snelgrove first went to trial for the charge in 2017, and testified that it was not uncommon for officers to give people lifts home.

Campbell said a civilian-led board could have helped stop that practice. "Had we had a board in place … that certainly would have come to their attention, and they would have been able to act much more quickly to address that gap in policy."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2022.

Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press

Nearly 30% of Canadians report ‘chronic difficulty’ accessing health care: Poll

Saba Aziz - Wednesday- GLOBAL NEWS


Team of surgeons in operating room at a hospital. As Canada’s health-care system continues to grapple with staffing shortages, long wait times and emergency room closures, nearly 30 per cent Canadians report “chronic difficulty” accessing care, new polling shows.

© Tempura/Getty Images

Code Blue: Canada experiencing shortage of family doctors

As Canada’s health-care system continues to grapple with staffing shortages, long wait times and emergency room closures, nearly 30 per cent of Canadians report “chronic difficulty” accessing care, new polling shows.

The survey results published by the Angus Reid Institute on Wednesday found that an equivalent of nine million Canadian adults said that it was difficult or impossible to access key health services -- from emergency and non-emergency care to surgery, diagnostic testing and specialist appointments.

While 31 per cent of respondents said they faced some challenges, 15 per cent reported comfortable access to care.

“I think the results are quite depressing,” said Angus Reid, chairman of the non-profit institute.

Read more:
Code Blue: A Global News series delving into Canada’s health-care crisis

“What this study does is it just puts up some numbers behind a lot of the anecdotal evidence that's been coming out all summer about the horror stories that people are experiencing in accessing care in Canada,” he told Global News.

Those who report challenges are more likely to say their health had deteriorated, the study said.

The online survey included 2,279 Canadian adults and was conducted last month.

According to the poll, over the past six months, two in five people in Canada said they had a difficult time getting either emergency care or a specialist appointment.

Residents of Saskatchewan and Ontario were more likely to say they had some challenges, while people in British Columbia and Atlantic provinces had a more difficult time accessing health care, the poll found.

Read more:
‘Mind boggling’: ERs big and small across Canada struggle amid staffing crisis

Video: Code Blue: Emergency rooms across Canada struggle with staff shortages

At least 58 per cent of respondents said it was very difficult or impossible to see a specialist, while 48 per cent seeking surgery said the same.

Emergency departments, in particular, are bearing the brunt of the many issues plaguing Canada’s ailing health system, with many ERs across Canada having to close intermittently in recent weeks and months.

The strain is being felt in small and big ERs from coast to coast, with patients in need of urgent medical care facing extended wait times.

Experts say what’s happening in emergency departments is due to a number of complex factors, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented shortage of health-care practitioners and lack of beds in long-term care homes.

The situation has dented trust in the health-care system among Canadians, with three in five respondents saying they are not confident about timely access to emergency care, the Angus Reid poll found.

But two in five are more optimistic they will receive urgent care without delays, the survey showed.

Separately, an Ipsos poll in August 2022 found that 16 per cent of Canadians rated the quality of health care in the country as “poor or very poor”

Only half the respondents said they trust the country's health-care system to provide them with the best treatment -- a drop of 11 percentage points from 2020.

The current “crisis”, as described by many front-line workers, has also reignited a longstanding debate over privatization of the Canadian health-care system, with several provinces weighing their options.

Institutional rules and laws of the health-care system are holding Canada back, said Dr. Michael Rachlis, public health physician and adjunct professor at the University of Toronto.

“There are all sorts of rules and laws that deeply influence these dysfunctional behaviours that we see in our health system that need to be changed,” he told Global News in a previous interview.

Compared to the United States, where health is largely covered by private insurance, accessing health care in Canada was “about twice as difficult”, Reid said.

According to a parallel survey of 1,200 Americans also done by ARI, 70 per cent said they were confident of receiving emergency care in a timely fashion, compared to 37 per cent in Canada.

“We’ve always prided ourselves in being number one in relation to the U.S., but certainly in terms of the access that our citizens have to health care, we've slipped badly into second place,” Reid said.

-- with files from Global News’ Teresa Wright and Jamie Mauracher

UN’s Xinjiang report: Canada must stop Uyghur forced labour imports, advocates say

Heidi Lee - Tuesday

The release of a long-awaited United Nations report on China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang should spur Canada and international partners to stop products made with Uyghur forced, advocates say.


Protesters hold placards expressing their opinion during the demonstration. Uyghurs and UK Muslim organizations gathered opposite the Chinese embassy in London to protest against the Chinese government's involvement in ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.

© (Photo by Thomas Krych/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

On Aug. 30, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) released a report on the human rights situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China.

The UN report stated that China‘s detention of Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in the region “may constitute crimes against humanity,” the Associated Press reported. In addition, the report calls for an urgent international response over allegations of torture and other rights violations in Beijing’s discriminatory action.

Read more:

China furious over UN report on Xinjiang. What’s going on?

All of that should serve as a push for Canada to block Chinese products made using Uyghur forced labour said one leader with the Canada-based Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP).

“Because at the end, as Canadians, we end up paying and subsidizing the ongoing genocide indirectly,” said Kayum Masimov, project manager for the project.

“So, unless we have the pockets of the perpetrators, this genocide won’t stop you if you go into any shops in Canada and buy groceries made in China with a very suspicious origin.”

The United Nations report did not call the Chinese treatment of Uyghurs “genocide,” which carries a specific legal definition in international forums — though parliamentarians in countries like Canada have acknowledged it as one.

Masimov said calling it such “could be a good step in a good direction.”

“We have to name the crime by its name,” he said.

Video: China furious over UN report accusing it of “crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang

Although Canada’s House of Commons recognized that genocide is taking place in Xinjiang, many Uyghur advocates said it is concerning that the Canadian government “has not officially recognized it yet.”

In February 2021, the Canadian House of Commons passed a motion calling China’s treatment of Uyghurs “genocide,” with 266 votes to zero while the Liberal cabinet abstained from voting.

Masimov said in the past, the Liberal Party’s argument was that the world “genocide is very heavy and we don't use it lightly.”

“Now, there is a UN report which alleged crimes against humanity might have taken place. So, I'm wondering what other proof Trudeau needs to go ahead and recognize this is a genocide,” he said.

Read more:

Canadian posts on UN Xinjiang report censored on Chinese social media: embassy

Shortly after the UN report was published, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly issued a statement on Sept 1., saying that Canada has repeatedly expressed concern “with the ongoing gross and systemic human rights violations occurring in Xinjiang affecting Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities.”

Joly said Canada urges the Chinese government “to uphold its international human rights obligations and respond to the concerns and recommendations raised in the High Commissioner’s report.”

She said Canada will continue to collaborate with its international partners to hold the Chinese government accountable.

Video: Hostage Diplomacy: The forgotten Canadian imprisoned in China

On Sept. 2, Canada tweeted that the country’s embassy in Beijing said its posts about a United Nations report on human rights in Xinjiang were taken down from two Chinese social media platforms.

In June, Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi submitted a motion calling for Canada to resettle 10,000 Uyghurs across the globe. Debate on the motion will begin in October.

Masimov said even though it is impossible to rescue Uyghurs directly from concentration camps in China, there are Uyghurs who have fled to neighbouring countries.

“We have people in Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey,” said Masimov. “These people are stateless, and they might be deported to China because these governments cooperate with China because they depend on Chinese money very much.”

Raziya Mahmut, who is a scientist and an activist with the International Support for Uyghurs, said Canada should stop funding Chinese companies that are linked to the allegations of crimes against humanity.

She said Canada should also facilitate the immigration process of the Uyghurs coming to settle in Canada, and make it easier for those seeking to come to do so.

“For example, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is asking Uyghurs to provide police checks from China, which is just impossible for them to obtain,” she wrote.

She added that Canada doesn’t easily issue visas to Uyghurs with a Chinese passport. She also urges IRCC to expand the family reunification or family sponsorship eligibility for Uyghurs.

Read more:

Document reveals China’s attempt to stop UN rights chief from releasing Xinjiang report

Mahmut said countries should also work together to build a program to find missing Uyghur family members in China.

At the same time, China remains Canada’s second-largest trading partner.

Mahmut said Canada is “too dependent on China in manufacturing, which impacts us negatively when they cut off the supply chain for their own agenda.”

“Canadians need to recognize China’s deeply regressive governing ideology and act accordingly,” she said.

URAP’s policy and advocacy Director Miri Teich said China “weaponizes the issues of trade and climate change” to ensure countries like Canada continue to be partners with them.

Teich said Canada needs to evaluate its trade with China more critically going forward.

“There are areas where we think it benefits Canada to continue to cooperate with China when in reality it doesn't,” said Teich.

Major telecoms agree to emergency outage deal: Minister Champagne


VANCOUVER — Canada's major telecom companies have reached a formal agreement to "ensure and guarantee" emergency roaming and other mutual assistance in the case of a major outage.



"Going forward, should one of these providers be faced with a major network outage, the other companies have committed to provide the support and assistance necessary so that Canadians can reach loved ones, access 911, and conduct business transactions," François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, said to reporters during a cabinet retreat In Vancouver Tuesday.

"As part of this agreement, the companies also commit to providing clear and timely communications to keep Canadians and appropriate authorities informed about response and restoration during major network outages."

The deal comes after a massive Rogers Communications Inc. service disruption on July 8 that affected millions of Canadians.

In the days after the outage, Champagne directed the CEOs of Rogers and other telecom companies to develop a backup plan to prevent a similar scenario, giving them 60 days to do so.

Rogers was unable to transfer customers to competing carriers during the unprecedented service outage, despite offers of assistance from Bell and Telus.

It was also unable to shut down its radio access network, which would have automatically connected customers to another carrier for 911 calls.

And in a letter requested by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in August, Rogers said it does not have the necessary data to determine the exact economic losses caused by the outage.

Many businesses were impacted due to the disruption.

Champagne noted that the agreement is only a first step in his network resiliency agenda, which involves strengthening accountability and preparedness.

He also said additional steps were being taken, including directing the Canadian Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (CSTAC) to come up with further measures within six months to ensure robust and reliable telecom networks across the country.

"We're not going to rest. Trust me. We're going to hold them accountable and take any measures we can to strengthen resiliency," he said to reporters.

Champagne also reiterated that the outage will be on the back of his mind as he considers and reviews Rogers' $26-billion proposed takeover of Shaw Communications Inc.

When asked if he would use his powers to step in as Rogers navigates the Competition Bureau's concerns about the deal and to prevent the whole process from dragging on, he indicated he would not.

"My job is to protect the interest of Canadians and when it's my turn, certainly, we'll make that clear," he said to reporters.

One telecom industry analyst recently predicted the process going in to mid-2023.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2022.

U.K. PM Liz Truss's B.C. school days — pink jumper, big fringe and a sense of humour


VANCOUVER — Brenda Montagano, a teacher at Parkcrest Elementary School in Burnaby, B.C., had a special item for show-and-tell on Tuesday — her own class photo from the same school 34 years ago, with new British Prime Minister Liz Truss in the second row.



Truss, who attended Grade 7 at Parkcrest in 1987-88, is remembered by Montagano as a bright and funny student with a "cool British accent."

"I would sometimes sit with her in the hallway doing work and she had this witty sense of humour,” said Montagano.

"You know, she would tell a joke and then have a little bit of a half-smile after she told the joke."

Montagano, who teaches Grades 5 and 6 at Parkcrest, had her pupils guess which classmate in the photo was Truss.

Truss had shared the same photo on Instagram and Twitter to mark Canada Day in 2018.

"30 years ago, I spent a year in Canada that changed my outlook on life," wrote Truss, who included the hashtags "CanadaDay," "maplespirit" and "pioneercountry."

Asked to identify herself, Truss had said: "Pink jumper. Big fringe."

Montagano — flipped collar, red hair — said it was "a bit surreal" to hear of her former classmate's new job.

On Monday, Truss, 47, succeeded Boris Johnson as the Conservative leader and became the U.K.'s third female prime minister.

Truss lived in Canada when her mathematician father taught at Simon Fraser University.

Montagano, a teacher for almost 25 years, recalled that Truss was also interested in mathematics and "settled in very quickly” during her brief time at Parkcrest, “no small feat” for a little girl from a different country.


“Sometimes it takes a while for kids to settle in and make friends .… She was only here for a year, but everybody remembers her, that she fit in very quickly, made friends quickly and was part of the community,” said Montagano.

Montagano used Truss as the basis for a class activity on Tuesday in which she invited students to write down their goals and dreams for this semester and the future.

“We talked about how you never know where the person beside you is going to end up. And we also talked about how your actions and your words really carry forwards with people,” said Montagano.

Truss's former teacher at Parkcrest, Bill Chambers, who has been retired for 15 years, said he doesn’t recall any “vivid details” of what exactly happened in Truss’s class.

Chambers said he almost dropped his phone when a reporter called to ask if he remembered the would-be prime minister was in his class 35 years ago.

“I’ve had lots of kids in my career, and they are all successful in whatever they choose, but I think that this is the only prime minister I think I’ve ever taught,” laughed Chambers.

After Googling Truss’s journey and seeing her Instagram post with all his students’ faces, the memories came back for him, said Chambers.

“That was a really, really good year and we did all kinds of great stuff,” said Chambers.

Chambers, who had spent at least 35 years in education, said it’s nice to be recognized for the work he did, but this is another level of recognition for him.

Andrew Lee, principal of Parkcrest Elementary, said there was excitement in the hallways as news spread of the connection to Truss at the start of the school year.

"To know that a student who walked these same halls as them went on to become prime minister of Britain is inspiring to students," said Lee in a written statement.

"It’s something tangible to show that they, too, can dream big and succeed — no matter what their interests and aspirations. We are proud of all of our students and staff — both current and former — and it is very nice to hear that Ms. Truss remembers her time so fondly at our school."

Truss became prime minister after winning the Conservative leadership race, beating former treasury chief Rishi Sunak in a party vote.

Truss has vowed to press ahead with the tax cuts and action to tackle Britain's energy crisis and heavily burdened health service.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2022.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press

RCMP resistant to change despite repeated calls for action: former senior Mountie


HALIFAX — A public inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia heard Wednesday from a former assistant commissioner of the RCMP who said the police force has a long history of ignoring calls for change.


RCMP resistant to change despite repeated calls for action: former senior Mountie

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Cal Corley, who is now CEO of the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance, said the RCMP has long resisted outside advice because of its deep-rooted paramilitary culture, lack of diverse views and dearth of what he called "transformational leadership."

"It's been an organization that's been historically very slow to adapt to its external environment," Corley said during a roundtable discussion. "There's an institutional culture that has been rather closed for many years."

Corley was among eight academics and bureaucrats who talked about community policing, a concept that Corley says was initially embraced by the RCMP but failed to take root. "The institutional culture is more powerful than any single leader or any single group of leaders," he said.

Corley said transformation of the RCMP into a modern police force has been stymied by leaders who lacked the competence to undertake such a task.

"This includes the ability to work with others to accomplish a shared vision, to assemble a change-capable team, develop a sense of urgency and ultimately to execute a strategy," he said.

As for the lack of diversity within the RCMP, Corley acknowledged the organization has worked hard for the past 20 years to recruit more women, people of colour and Indigenous people.

"It hires for diversity, but then it trains that diversity out of them," he said. "It becomes abundantly clear early in one's career that to succeed, one should, above all else, conform with the existing cultural norms."

As well, Corley said the RCMP's military-style command-and-control structure remains incompatible with the softer skills needed for tackling social issues, which he said is what police spend most of their time doing.

Related video: Former head of N.S. RCMP acknowledges communication failures during mass shooting

Duration 2:02 View on Watch

The former senior Mountie, who also served as head of the Canadian Police College, cited a 2017 study that included a 41-page list of recommendations for change that he said were largely ignored by the RCMP.

The study, produced for the Ottawa-based Macdonald-Laurier Institute, said that independent reports submitted over two decades repeatedly found that change in the RCMP had been impeded by "a lack of accountability and a culture of fear."

The study was written by Christian Leuprecht, a professor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., who specializes in police and security issues.

"We keep coming up with the same recommendations, over and over," Leuprecht said in an interview Wednesday. "It's well established what the problems are. And I suspect the Mass Casualty Commission will come up with things we've known for 50 years."

Leuprecht said part of the problem is that the RCMP has a mandate that is too broad.

"No other police force has a greater span of tasks, from writing traffic tickets to investigating outlaw bikers, criminal hackers, fentanyl smugglers, and money launderers," his 2017 report says. "In terms of the number of units and range of responsibilities, the RCMP is without parallel ... among democracies of comparable size."

It's important, however, to recognize the RCMP does not decide what its functions are, he said. That's up to the federal government.

"Everyone knows the organization is broken, but they're too afraid of making change for fear of breaking it completely," Leuprecht said in the interview. "And the RCMP can't fix its own mandate .... When you look for political leadership, the politicians just scatter."

The public inquiry, which started hearings in February, is expected to conclude its investigation later this month, and a final report is slated for release by March 31 of next year.

Among other things, the inquiry is investigating why it took the RCMP 13 hours to stop a man from killing people in northern and central Nova Scotia in April 2020.

The inquiry has heard Gabriel Wortman, a denture-maker based in Dartmouth, N.S., assaulted his common-law wife on the night of April 18, 2020, and then fatally shot 13 people in Portapique, N.S., while disguised as a Mountie and driving a car that looked exactly like an RCMP cruiser.

The next day, he killed another nine people — including a Mountie and a pregnant woman — before two RCMP officers shot him to death at a gas station in Enfield, N.S.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2022.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press

B.C. government and public service union reach tentative deal for 33,000 workers


VICTORIA — The biggest union representing public service workers in British Columbia announced Wednesdayit had reached a tentative contract agreement with the province covering 33,000 of its members.


The B.C. General Employees Union said in a statement the proposed deal with B.C.'s Public Service Agency came togetherafter almost two weeks of limited job action and more than seven months of negotiations

The union suspended limited job action last week as its bargaining committee returned to negotiations in what it said was "a sign of good faith."

The job action targeted certain distribution warehouses and left liquor and cannabis store shelves empty of many products.

The union said the three-year agreement would offer wage increases of between 10.74 and 12.99 per cent, with hikes in the second and third years linked to the inflation rate.

The deal also offers a one-time economic subsidy payment equivalent to $4 per hour for a 16-week period for 20 job classifications ranging from store clerks to machine operators.

It covers jobs in core public services such as public safety, social services and environmental management. Those working at the Liquor Distribution Branch, BC Pension Corp., Destination BC and the Royal BC Museum are also part of the contract.

Union members voted 95 per cent in favour of strike action in June before taking job action in mid-August.

BCGEU president Stephanie Smith said her members were clear that their top priorities were wage increases and wage protection.

“I’m proud of the work our committee has done and I’m proud of the solidarity our members have shown over the last eight months, especially the hundreds who walked picket lines at liquor and cannabis locations and the thousands who refused much-needed overtime as part of our job action," Smith said in the statement.

The union said the timeline for a ratification vote will be confirmed in the coming days.

Premier John Horgan said his government believes the contract offer is fair and meets the interests of taxpayers.

“We’ll see what comes back from the membership," Horgan said at a news conference in Langford, B.C., where he announced a cap of 2 per cent rent increases and $600 million in tax credits and family benefits to help residents counter the increased cost of living.

Finance Minister Selina Robinson told reporters at the same news conference that she'll wait for the results of the ratification vote before discussing the affect the agreement will have on the province's bottom line.

The B.C. Finance Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that the agreement was reached under the so-called shared recovery mandate.

The mandate was set out by the New Democrat government with three key priorities: protecting government services, improving health care and supporting a strong and inclusive economic recovery.

The tentative agreement covers the first of several public sector unions that will be bargaining with the government this year.

Contracts expire in 2022 for more than two-thirds of the BCGEU’s 85,000 members, including those working in community social services and health, post-secondary instructors and support staff, and health science professionals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2022.

The Canadian Press

NATIONALISM IS FASCISM
Quebec election: Comments linking immigration to violence continue to haunt Legault

Thursday


MONTREAL — Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault found himself on the defensive Thursday, trying to clarify comments made a day earlier that linked immigration to the province with extremism and violence.


Quebec election: Comments linking immigration to violence continue 

to haunt Legault© Provided by The Canadian Press

On Day 12 of the election campaign, Legault was peppered by questions from journalists about whether he was friends with any immigrants or whether he feared newcomers.

"Not at all," Legault said when asked whether immigrants scare him, "… we have many candidates who are immigrants."

A day earlier, Legault discussed what he described as the "challenges of integration" and repeated his policy that he wouldn't increase immigration to Quebec beyond 50,000 people a year. "Quebecers are peaceful," he said, "they don't like bickering, they don't like extremists, they don't like violence. We have to ensure that we keep it the way it is right now."

Late Thursday, Legault said immigration was a source of wealth to Quebec and that he never meant to tie immigrants to violence.

But his clarification wasn't good enough for Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade, who told reporters in Laval, Que., that the premier revealed what's in the bottom of his heart regarding immigrants. Anglade, a former member of the CAQ, said she left the party years ago because of its stance on immigration, adding that Legault hasn't evolved on the issue.

“The first thing a premier must do is elevate the debate — that’s clearly not what François Legault did yesterday," Anglade told reporters. "I deplore it and I find that it’s dangerous. Our responsibility is to bring Quebecers together."

Related video: Quebec’s 43rd general election officially kicks off
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Legault has often been accused by his opponents of suggesting immigrants are a threat. Earlier this year, he said that Quebec risks losing its language and culture if the province doesn’t have more control over immigration. The premier even warned that Quebec could become like the state of Louisiana — formerly under the control of France — where only a fraction of the population still speaks French.

Meanwhile, Québec solidaire spokesman Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said Legault underestimates the impact of tying immigration to violence.

"Immigration isn't just a debate about statistics, it's people, and when we debate or we talk about them all wrong, it has an impact on their daily lives, and I don't think François Legault is conscious of that," Nadeau-Dubois said in Sherbrooke, Que.

Asked if immigration could become a ballot question, Legault said it's an important issue for the long-term preservation of French in the province, noting that the Liberals and Québec solidaire have both proposed increasing immigration levels.

"It's a question, I think, that is very important to many francophones in Quebec," Legault said, after making an announcement about helicopter service for patients in regions who require transport for urgent and specialized medical care.

Also Thursday, the Liberals promised that if elected they would introduce free lunchtime care for elementary school students.

Québec solidaire's Nadeau-Dubois was in Sherbrooke, where his party's incumbent is in a tight race with the CAQ. He promised to build 25,000 social housing units in the province during a first term if elected.

Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon campaigned on measures to better balance powers in the legislature between backbench members and the premier's office.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2022.

— With files from Caroline Plante and Patrice Bergeron.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press

Legault apologizes for comments citing 'extremism,' 'violence' as reasons to limit immigration

Verity Stevenson, Antoni Nerestant - Wednesday - CBC


François Legault has apologized for comments he made citing the threat of "extremism" and "violence" as well as the need to preserve Quebec's way of life as reasons to limit the number of immigrants to the province.


CAQ Leader François Legault said integrating newcomers poses a challenge for the province of Quebec, especially as it relates to preserving its values and way of life

.© Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press

"Immigration is a richness for Quebec," the leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec tweeted Wednesday late afternoon, hours after he made the statement at an election campaign stop in Victoriaville, Que.

"Integration will always be a challenge for a French-speaking nation in North America. I didn't mean to associate immigration with violence. I am sorry if my comments caused confusion. My desire is to unite."

By the time Legault sent the tweet to apologize at 5:44 p.m., his comments had drawn criticism from other party leaders vying for the premiership and were beginning to overshadow other election campaign news of the day.

When he said them, Legault had been asked why he was so adamant about keeping Quebec's immigration levels lower than 50,000, despite the province's serious labour shortage.

"Quebecers are peaceful," he'd said. "They don't like conflict and extremism, and violence. And we have to make sure to keep things the way they are now."

Legault also repeated an argument he and other CAQ candidates have often used to defend the party stance, saying Quebec struggles to integrate newcomers, and that it wasn't alone in among provinces and jurisdictions around the world having that challenge.

He did not explain what he meant by integration or how immigrants in the province were having difficulty doing it — but said it was harder in Quebec because of its francophone status on a mostly English-speaking continent.

"It presents a big challenge of integration [as far as] the type of society we want. After all, in our society, we have [certain] values," Legault said, pointing to secularism and "respect" as examples.

"There is way of living here and we want to keep it."

On Thursday, the CAQ leader expanded on his apology during another appearance on the campaign trail. He said he was wrong to single out specific values as belonging to Quebec society and that doing so could sow confusion.

"I was answering questions and I answered questions pertaining to values and that's a delicate topic that I should avoid," he said.

During the campaign, competing parties have established different immigration targets. Legault has said a limit of about 50,000 newcomers per year would help protect the French language.

The Parti Québécois has promised to slash the number of newly arrived immigrants to 35,000. Only Québec Solidaire and the Quebec Liberals are committed to welcoming more than 50,000 newcomers.

Quebec's immigration levels have been set at between 40,000 and 50,000 annually in recent years, but the province has said it would welcome nearly 70,000 immigrants in 2022 to make up for shortfalls during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal Liberal government, meanwhile, wants to bring in 450,000 immigrants annually across the country.

Business groups have called for more immigrants to help address the labour shortage.

Comments divisive and 'dangerous,' Quebec Liberal leader says

Legault's comments swiftly drew criticism from members of other parties, including Dominique Anglade, the leader of the Quebec Liberals.

Anglade called Legault's comments "dangerous," and said the last thing the province needs is people who stoke division.

"François Legault never ceases to divide Quebecers," she said.

Stéphanie Valois, the president of the province's association of immigration lawyers, said people who choose to come to Quebec and other provinces do so because they want to participate in the Quebec and Canadian way of life.

"I don't see any immigration that would bring violence or any conflicts. This is really not the immigration I know about," Valois said.

"I think we all need to remember that immigration is an important issue for our society for sure. In our society we're already composed of a vast majority of immigrants, whether it be first, second or third generation."

Quebec Conservative Party Leader Éric Duhaime and Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon had also condemned the comments. The Conservative party candidate for Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Louise Poudrier, is set to appear on the Youtube show of André Pitre, who has shared racist conspiracy theories, this evening.