TORY RECONCILLIATION AND UNDERSTANDING

Protest camp at Manitoba legislature removed by provincial personnel, minister says




WINNIPEG — An Indigenous-led protest camp on the east lawn of the Manitoba Legislative Building grounds that's been in place for more than a year was removed over the weekend.

Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen says in a statement posted on Facebook that illegal structures were taken down Saturday in an operation that was "led by provincial enforcement personnel."

The Winnipeg Police Service says it was not involved in the removal and none of its officers were present.

The camp began with a ceremonial fire that was lit following news in May 2021 that what are believed to be 215 unmarked graves of children were discovered near a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs says in a statement the demonstrators had committed to staying until all the undiscovered children's bodies at residential schools across Canada were found and returned home.

Deputy Grand Chief Cornell McLean says in the statement it was troubling to hear that the province had bulldozers on site, handcuffed and arrested elders and gave out $672 tickets.

"Everyone has the right to demonstrate peacefully and to publicly express their frustration over the continued ignorance towards First Nations peoples in this province and across this country," McLean said.

"This early morning raid on the camp sends a threatening message to all First Nations that Manitoba does not support our rights to criticize the government and to demonstrate our concerns peacefully."

Another, separate camp on the north lawn of the legislature was dismantled by police at the beginning of October. That camp was adorned with signs and flags highlighting a variety of issues, from the discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools to COVID-19 restrictions to conflict in the Middle East.

Several people were arrested in connection with the north camp and police say they recovered axes, body armour, a spear, a machete and a metre-long club, although protesters have said there were no weapons on-site and they only had materials to chop wood and build teepees.

Goertzen says the legislature should always be a place to express democratic opinions, but the safety of visitors, including schoolchildren, staff, elected officials and protesters, must be protected.

"Unauthorized permanent structures and encampments are not lawful or safe on the grounds of the Legislature. This has been seen by the significant security concerns that have arisen over the past few months at the Manitoba Legislature," Goertzen said in his statement Saturday.

The Progressive Conservative government passed a law earlier this year that forbids encampments on the legislature grounds and bans people from supplying generators, firewood and other goods.

People who break the rules can be evicted from the grounds and face fines of up to $5,000.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs says the province created the law in response to last winter's Freedom Convoy, but has only used it to remove peaceful First Nations protesters.

"The Manitoba government's still evicting First Nations people from our unceded territory and doing it while advertising their 'reconciliation work.' This kind of doublespeak is gravely concerning," McLean said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2022.

Stigma around opioid deaths needs to change, say medical professionals

Sun, October 23, 2022 

From left, Emily Wadden of the Safe Works Access Program, Khadija Ibrahim and Dr. Bruce Hollett say the stigma around opioids has affected people for decades and more needs to be done to combat it. (CBC - image credit)

CBC

Medical professionals and community groups dealing with opioid addiction in Newfoundland and Labrador say it's time to address the stigma around the drugs, especially when it comes to who they affect.

Khadija Ibrahim, a former epidemiologist and current medical student researching harm reduction and opioids, says the misconceptions of who is affected by substance use disorder remain prevalent — and they need to change.

"You conjure up an image in your head of who you think has substance use disorder. You can let that go," Ibrahim said Wednesday.

"It's your mom, it's your dad, it's your nan, it's your pop, it's your cousin, it's your friend. It's everybody. These are our neighbours and friends who are passing away."

Ibrahim said the ages of people who die as a result of an opioid overdose can range dramatically, from young people in their 20s to people in their 40s and 50s who self-medicate and don't seek treatment.

Important work has been done to help tackle the opioid crisis in the province, she said, like improving access to methadone and the increased presence of Naloxone kits, which can buy someone who has overdosed on opioids more time, similar to how an epipen is used during an allergic reaction.

She also said a drop in the prescriptions for "inappropriate" opioids like Demerol is good to see, but says more can still be done when it comes to prescribing opioids in the first place.

For Dr. Bruce Hollett, a family physician specializing in chronic pain and addictions, a prescription for the drugs comes with special planning and monitoring to see how the medication is affecting an individual patient.

"You have to have a plan," Hollett said. "We don't say, 'Here, go out and take that and do your work,' and make the thing much worse, because that's what will happen. You use it as an adjunct to your other physical therapy."

Emily Wadden, manager of the Safe Works Access Program, a needle distribution and overdose education program in St. John's and Corner Brook that provides people with Naloxone kits, says keeping people safe should be the main priority.

Ben Nelms/CBC

While the opioid crisis is a complex issue that has been present for decades, she said, more can be done on all fronts.

"People aren't wanting or intending to die. However, they're not in a place where they're also able to just stop drugs because there might be potentially something stronger in it," Wadden said.

"This is such a multifaceted issue that it's quite literally impossible to break it down.… So from our perspective, it's about keeping people safe."

Listen to Wednesday's edition of CrossTalk in full to hear a panel discussion on the opioid crisis:

CANADA
Advocacy groups raising concerns about 'anti-trans' school board trustee candidates

ANTI-LGBTQ LOBBY/ANTI-HUMAN RIGHTS

Advocacy groups are raising concerns about a number of candidates vying for school trustee positions across Canada, saying a higher number than usual are spreading transphobic rhetoric or other discriminatory messages targeting the LGBTQ community.

Groups like the Canadian Anti-Hate Network say it's an increasing concern nationally as elections for trustees are taking place in several provinces, while a coalition of groups in Ottawa have named specific candidates they say will likely endanger the rights and safety of trans students if elected.

Hazel Woodrow, an education facilitator with CAHN, says she's seeing more vocal and co-ordinated efforts among candidates pushing against policies designed to make schools more inclusive for trans kids.

She says that while trustees can't change the curriculum, by setting budgets and board policies they're still able to influence the school environment which is directly linked to health outcomes, particularly for marginalized students.

Some candidates singled out by the groups say they're concerned about how gender issues are being managed at schools, as well as the effects on the well-being of students.

Ontario's school board trustee elections take place on Monday, while Manitoba votes on Wednesday and British Columbia's elections took place on Oct. 15.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2022.

PEI

Newcomers hope community garden grows friendships as well as food

Sun, October 23, 2022

Rhea Szarics says she hopes to build lasting friendships with others involved with the community garden. (Tony Davis/CBC - image credit)

Some newcomers to P.E.I. are helping create a community garden in Charlottetown.

The ground was tilled this weekend and soil put down for flowers and vegetables to be planted in the spring at J. Frank Macauley Park.

Rhea Szarics, who is helping with the project, says community gardens are about much more than coming together to plant seeds — it also builds human connections.

"I just feel so privileged I have gotten to work with a group of six amazing people," Szarics said. "It's just been great to get to know them, build relationships with them. I really hope that over the course of the next few weeks we are able to create something that will last, you know, five to 10 years."

Tony Davis/CBC

The group will be out at the park again next weekend creating raised beds for people who may struggle with mobility.

Susie Zavala, who moved to P.E.I. just over a year ago, said everyone is welcome to join.

Tony Davis/CBC

"The hope is absolutely that more newcomers will use the community garden as a hub to get together, to form relationships, form community but also we want to be very inclusive and welcome anyone who would like to garden here."

Sheri Monk loves snakes. She wants Albertans to respect, and protect, them, too

Sun, October 23, 2022 

Monk says this particular snakeskin is from a bullsnake. It's long, the tail has a tip rather than a rattle and the scales are smooth, whereas rattlesnake scales are rougher.

 (James Young/CBC - image credit)

As Sheri Monk walks through an expansive plain near Medicine Hat, Alta., about 270 kilometres southeast of Calgary, she notices something in the yellowing prairie grasses.

A white snakeskin is poking out of a hole just off the dirt pathway, and she leans down to examine it.

A quick look around confirms there's no snake nearby. So she pulls the snakeskin toward her.

"This is a good sized snake. Oh, this is so fun," she said.

"When I see good-sized sheds, it makes me so happy that this huge adult snake that's capable of breeding has made it back safely for the year."

This area of southeastern Alberta is pretty "snaky," according to Monk. Warm summers, abundant prey and a low population density allows several snake species to live well.

They're also able to build their dens near rivers in the area — such as the Milk River, the South Saskatchewan River and the Red Deer River — where caverns underground provide a refuge below the frost line in the winter.

James Young/CBC

These are some of the several dozen snake facts Monk easily calls out as she continues her walk, poking at the ground with a long stick. She's searching for dens to report to the provincial government so they can be protected.

Needless to say, Monk loves snakes. She has since she was little, when she learned that some of the slithering reptiles live in Canada.

She realizes it's not a popular passion, but in her mind, that's because snakes are so misunderstood.

"We just look like a very large predator to them. So they don't want to die," she said. "When you can change the perception of an animal from aggressive to defensive, that changes things."

Monk has made it her mission to share her knowledge through her business, Snakes on a Plain, which offers snake relocations, educational seminars and environmental surveys for companies throughout southern Alberta and Saskatchewan.

To be clear, she doesn't want humans to seek out snakes. She's permitted to handle them by the province, she says. But she does want to reduce human-snake conflict and help to conserve the reptiles.

James Young/CBC

Prairie rattlesnakes are considered a species of special concern in Alberta — meaning they're sensitive to human activities — and are vulnerable to habitat loss and road mortality.

"You cannot conserve successfully unless you have people on board. So I wanted to make that a big, big part of what I do," Monk said.

And as Albertans continue to hike, bike and hunt throughout the fall, snake sightings are still possible, especially on sunny days.

"I've heard reports of basking in January in Lethbridge," Monk said. "The latest day that I've seen them out enjoying the sunshine myself has been October 31st."

'They're super vulnerable'

Yes, snakes do like to sunbathe, Monk says, but she does hear her fair share of myths about the creatures.

"Baby rattlesnakes are the most dangerous. They're not," she said.

"That they form mating balls and they'll tumble down the hill and they'll just be a big ball of rattlesnakes and you get … bit by all of them. There's that."

In reality, it's not really beneficial for snakes to engage with you, she says.

The reptiles work hard throughout the summer to build up enough calories to make it through the winter, hunting small rodents, gophers and even birds.

WATCH | Snake conservationist Sheri Monk says it's good to be wary of rattlesnakes year-round:

When they feel threatened, causing them to rattle their tail, rise up or even strike, they burn those valuable calories, risking their ability to make it to the spring.

That's in addition to other challenges like potential poaching, a low reproductive rate and no ability to cool themselves off in extremely hot temperatures.

"That's why we try and safeguard where they den so closely," Monk said. "They're super vulnerable."

Facing fears

These are all lessons Monk passed on to Allison Carroll, who has been terrified of snakes for most of her life.

Carroll moved from New Brunswick to Medicine Hat in 2012, and when she learned snakes resided in Alberta, the phobia started to impact her social life.

She gave up her passion for mountain biking because she was terrified of seeing a snake on the trails.

"The panic, the sweaty hands, the racing thoughts, wanting to just curl up into a ball.… I thought I would live with this crippling fear probably for the rest of my life," Carroll said.

About five months ago, Carroll contacted Monk — who emphasized she's not a therapist, just a snake lover — trying to educate her way out of her fear.

She says the change happened when she better understood snake behaviour.

"When I see a snake on the trail, I actually start to think about what is it doing and why," Carroll said.

"And oftentimes as mountain bikers, we see these snakes spread out on the trail sunning themselves. So when I encounter one now, what I can say is, 'Hey, it's sunning itself.'

The mindset shift has allowed Carroll to get back on her bike, and she hopes others with the same fear can do the same.

"Get some education, understand why they're here and how they can contribute to our wildlife."

James Young/CBC

Handling a snake sighting

Stories like Carroll's are a big win for Monk.

But along with better understanding snakes, she wants Albertans to know what to do if they come across one, too.

The best thing to do is give it space, Monk says — at least eight feet to ensure you're out of striking range. Take a look at your surroundings to ensure there aren't other snakes around, then slowly move away to avoid additional stress on the reptile.

"They're not going to chase you. That is a myth," she said.

James Young/CBC

Alberta Environment and Parks says it doesn't often hear of rattlesnake bites, and no one has ever died from one in the province, but anyone bitten should seek immediate medical care in an emergency room.

"Keeping your eyes peeled and your ears listening is always a good idea in rattlesnake country," Monk said. "No matter what time of the year."

'I had my mushroom eyes on': Cyclist finds elusive giant puffball near Haines, Alaska

Sun, October 23, 2022 

Liz Landes found this giant puffball mushroom while she was riding her bike outside of Haines, Alaska. (Submitted by Liz Landes - image credit)

If Liz Landes hadn't spent so much time foraging for mushrooms this year near Haines, Alaska, she might have missed the mycological discovery of the season.

"I just happened to look up onto the grassy slope above me and said, 'That's a really weird place for a river rock to be,' because there's a big, smooth, white object sitting in the middle of the slope," she said.

"I had my mushroom eyes on ... I couldn't pass this weird thing without going back to it."

It was a rare giant puffball — a round mushroom so big and meaty that those lucky enough to find them often cut them into steaks. Like their smaller counterparts, giant puffballs are a smooth white colour inside if they're still fresh enough to eat.

Landes' discovery weighed in at between 11 and 13 kilograms, "like an oblong beach ball," she said — the biggest mushroom she's ever foraged.

"I didn't know they existed here."

Neither did other people she's spoken to. The reaction from her friends, she said, was "total disbelief."

"That was just growing by the side of the road. That's incredible."

Landes found it while cycling along the Chilkat River, about 30 kilometres outside Haines. It was too much mushroom to fit in her backpack, so Landes balanced it on her leg for an awkward mile while she cycled back to a parking lot where she found someone she knew to drive it back to town for her.

It was too much mushroom for her fridge, too — she gave about a third of it to a gourmet chef who lives next door.

Since then, she's had mushroom stir fry, mushroom jerky and mushroom French toast. She's had it blended into chocolate mousse and hummus.

Of all of those, she said the jerky was the best.

"I wasn't sure about it at first, but I wish that I had turned the whole mushroom into jerky. That was by far my favourite," she said.

"The possibilities are endless, especially when you have that much to deal with."

Nova Scotia's retirement home for captive whales facing obstacles, delays: documents



HALIFAX — An ambitious plan in Nova Scotia to build North America's first coastal refuge for captive whales is at least five years behind its original schedule, newly released documents show.

The project, announced in February 2020, calls for construction of a 40-hectare underwater enclosure that would provide a natural environment for beluga and orca whales retired from marine parks. It would be as large as 50 football fields and about 300 times larger than the biggest captive whale tanks.

Organizers behind the U.S.-based Whale Sanctuary Project had originally predicted the site on Nova Scotia's rugged eastern shore could be ready to receive whales this year.

But the COVID-19 pandemic, regulatory hurdles and environmental concerns have slowed the project's progress, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the province's freedom of information law.

An internal government presentation prepared in May 2021 says that once the project is granted a Crown lease for a small cove and some land south of Port Hilford, N.S., it would take at least another five years before the site is ready to accept whales. That pushes the start date to 2027.

Charles Vinick, executive director of the non-profit Whale Sanctuary Project, said the government's timeline is flawed because it includes construction of an interpretive centre, which won't happen until after the whales arrive. The group's own timeline now has a late 2023 start date, though Vinick said 2024 is more likely.

The pandemic is largely to blame for slowing down the project, but Vinick also pointed to a demanding provincial permitting process.

"It's brand new ground for them and brand new ground for us," he said in an interview from his home in Santa Barbara, Calif. "We have to focus on moving forward every day."

As an example, he cited his group's plan to extract small core samples from submerged soils for testing. A permit application was filed in April, but it took almost five months for the Department of Natural Resources to decide that an archeological assessment was required before the testing could start.

"These things do come up, and I suspect there will be more," Vinick said. "But every time one comes up, we're going to do it."

The documents also point to serious concerns about 20 abandoned mine shafts and contaminated tailings left behind from nearby gold mines that operated between 1862 and 1900.

The sanctuary project says recent work has identified some shafts that remain unfilled on or near land that the project plans to occupy, and soils throughout the property have been analyzed. More testing will determine whether any areas require mitigation.

"All mitigation requirements that will be assessed, we will meet," Vinick said. "We're not going to do anything to jeopardize the health of the whales."

On another front, the documents show that Nova Scotia's Environment Department was concerned about nearby wetlands, and the federal Department of Fisheries wanted to know what kind of animals would be admitted to the refuge to allow officials to prepare for disease mitigation and an application under the Species at Risk Act.

As for the 40-hectare enclosure — to be surrounded by underwater nets — it will be designed to hold eight to 10 beluga whales and two to three orcas in a separate area. The animals will not be returned to the wild because of their lack of survival skills.

The $20-million project, which will rely on private donations for support, also calls for the construction of a veterinary clinic, observation tower and other support buildings. Another $2 million would be needed annually for operations. A visitor centre was opened last year.

About 200 belugas and 50 orcas are being kept in marine parks and aquariums around the world. The Marineland Park in Niagara Falls, Ont., has about 35 belugas and Canada's lone captive killer whale, Kiska.

"None of this work can happen soon enough for the whales who are languishing in concrete tanks and are subject to intolerable conditions," the group said in an online post last month.

"Yet it is essential to get everything right for the health and safety of those very whales when they are introduced to an entirely new life. It is also the law."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2022.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press

Paying for plasma is the new normal: Why policy has changed decades after Canada’s tainted blood scandal


Sandor Demeter, 

Associate Professor, Community Health Sciences, 

Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

THE CONVERSATION
Sun, October 23, 2022 

Blood plasma and products made from it are used to treat conditions ranging from blood clotting disorders to immunodeficiencies to Rh-negative pregnancies.

 THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Arnulfo Franco

There has been a monumental policy shift in paying plasma donors in Canada.

In September, Canadian Blood Services (CBS) made a 15-year deal with Spanish health-care giant Grifols for blood plasma collection and products. The deal upends the 1997 recommendations from the commission of inquiry into the tainted blood scandal that urged no paid donations of blood or blood products.

More than 30,000 Canadians were infected with hepatitis C and another 2,000 contracted HIV from tainted blood and blood products during the ‘70s and ‘80s, resulting in more than 8,000 deaths.

“The hemophilia community was decimated by HIV and hepatitis C through tainted blood,” David Page, national director of health policy at the Canadian Hemophilia Society, said at a 2019 Senate hearing.

The Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System in Canada released its final report in 1997. The recommendations were clear: do not pay blood donors, including those who donate plasma, “except in rare circumstances.”

Policy shift

Fast forward almost three decades and paying plasma donors is standard practice for private plasma collection sites. It’s supported by CBS (although it does not pay donors directly at its own sites), Health Canada and many of the groups most adversely affected by the tainted blood scandal, including hemophiliacs and those with primary immunodeficiency disorders whose lives rely on plasma products.

In September, Canadian Blood Services made a deal with Spanish-based health-care giant Grifols for blood plasma collection and products. 

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Paid plasma donors can donate up to twice per week and can earn in excess of $500 per month by donating at the maximum frequency and volume of plasma collected, according to Canadian Plasma Resources, a company with plasma collection centres in the Prairie provinces as well as New Brunswick.

What caused this policy shift? Essentially: enhanced donor screening, rigorous regulation by both Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, viral inactivation by heat or solvent processes and synthetic methods to produce some plasma products, namely clotting factors.

Page’s opinion has changed. In an interview, he said he feels that sufficient measures have been put in place to make plasma products safe, and supports using plasma from paid donors as a necessity to meet the health-care needs of Canadians.

In the quarter of a century since the tainted blood scandal there has not been a single case of disease transmission via a blood product in Canada, Page pointed out. He attributed this to enhanced regulatory and safety measures.

Canada’s plasma supply

The change in policy reflects a little-recognized truth about Canada’s blood system: It doesn’t come close to meeting the nation’s need.

In 2017 Health Canada established an expert panel on Immune Globulin Product Supply and Related Impacts. It reported that more than 80 per cent of fractionated plasma products, namely immunoglobulins, comes from imported product, almost all from paid donors in the United States. It has cost CBS more than $700 million a year.

CBS has set an objective of reducing dependence on imports of plasma-derived immunoglobulins to at least 50 per cent, and must do so “with a degree of urgency” says Graham Sher, CEO of CBS.

The new deal with Grifols will provide 2.4 million grams of plasma-derived immunoglobulins, collected from Canadian donors, helping CBS reach its targets.

The company entered the Canadian market in 2011 and has a plasma fractionation plant in Montréal and a plasma collection site in Winnipeg. In addition, Grifols plans to expand paid plasma donor sites in Ontario and British Columbia as agents of CBS.

Neither side will reveal the contract details.

The deal with Grifols, by itself, will not meet CBS’s 50-per-cent target. To make up the difference CBS plans to increase its own dedicated plasma collection sites from five to 11 by 2024. CBS’s own plasma donation sites will remain uncompensated.
Plasma and plasma products

Plasma donation can take up to two hours, significantly longer than donating whole blood. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Plasma differs from the whole blood that is collected for transfusion at donor clinics across the country.

During plasma collection, red and white blood cells and platelets are returned to the donor, leaving a straw-coloured liquid called plasma. This process is called plasmapheresis.

Essential proteins, such as albumin, clotting factors and immunoglobulins, are recovered from the plasma through fractionation.

Such plasma is called “source plasma” and is used only after it has been treated to remove or inactivate viruses and other pathogens. CBS cannot supply sufficient source plasma products, namely immunoglobulins, from unpaid donors, to meet the needs of Canadians and has been buying fractionated plasma products since its inception in 1998. It spent more than $200 million on plasma in 2000 and within the last five years has spent more than $700 million per year.

For patients with immunodeficiencies, those requiring protection from diseases such as rabies or tetanus or Rh-negative pregnant patients, there are no other treatment options.

Opposition

Meanwhile, there is still opposition to paying plasma donors. BloodWatch, a not-for-profit organization, opposes paying donors for plasma or other human tissues. It is a strong proponent of a fully public blood collection system, as is the Canadian Health Coalition.

BloodWatch cites safety, profit making and potential exploitation of plasma donors as reasons to reject the Grifols deal. A hybrid system of paid and unpaid donors competes with, and compromises, Canada’s ability to become self-sufficient, it argues.

The Canadian Hemophilia Society’s Page disagrees.

“We generally do not make drugs with our public health-care system,” he says, likening fractionated plasma products to drugs. Not least, he adds, plasma collection takes up to two hours, more than twice as long as conventional blood donation.

Dr. Sandor Demeter is Fellow of the Dalla Lana Fellowship in Global Journalism

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Sandor Demeter, University of Manitoba. I

Read more:

Not compensating Canadian blood plasma donors means potentially risky reliance on foreign plasma

Why Canadians should be paid for blood plasma donation

Social media misogyny: The new way Andrew Tate brought us the same old hate


Luc Cousineau, 

Postdoctoral Fellow in International Network on Technology, Work, and Family, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

THE CONVERSATION
Sun, October 23, 2022 

Andrew Tate's use of social media might make his messaging sound novel, but in reality, it is the same anti-woman rhetoric of past misogynists. (Vimeo/FreeTopG)

If you don’t recognize the name Andrew Tate, you have (luckily) avoided one of the most significant waves of misogyny on mainstream social media in recent memory.

Tate, a pseudo right-wing influencer who espouses deep misogyny, rocketed to fame (and infamy) thanks to clever manipulation of social media algorithms — especially TikTok. Many articles have been written about Tate’s rise to fame and subsequent banning on social media.

However, most articles fail to acknowledge that the only thing new or innovative about Tate and his rhetoric was his ability to leverage platform algorithms. Tate’s example highlights how proponents of misogyny are using new technology to amplify their messaging. And while his content is not new, his tactics present an important site of innovation and inquiry.

Andrew Tate in the history of misogyny

Andrew Tate got famous fast. In July 2022 Google searches for Tate exceeded Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian combined. Over a short period, he was transported from marginal fame to social media stardom.

Banned from Twitter in 2017 (for anti #MeToo tweets, among other things), Tate surged into mainstream consciousness on TikTok in 2022 where videos of him have been viewed more than 12 billion times.

These videos, which ranged in content from cryptocurrency tips to overt calls for violence against women, were promoted and shared heavily by the platform’s users. Arriving on the TikTok scene at the right time with the right approach worked.

Tate has said that his popularity has more to do with the appeal of his message and the desire for “real masculinity” than the outcome of algorithmic manipulation. But examining his rhetoric belies the fact that nothing Tate says is new — not the violence, not the domination, not the body politics, not the cigars, not even the shaved head to hide the changing hairline — none of it.

Daryush Valizadeh, also known as Roosh V, was also not the first to leverage these anti-feminist, anti-women sentiments. (Public domain/Bartek Kucharczyk)

Tate is the newest addition to the lineup of masculinist grifters who have existed since the rise of the men’s movement. His approach works because it is modelled after previous successful masculinist grifts that have sought to attract young men with promises of power. A famous example is Daryush Valizadeh (aka Roosh V), who 20 years ago pivoted from pickup artist persona to anti-feminist and pro-rape notoriety.

This fame also resulted in organized resistance and one instance where he and his supporters were challenged to a boxing match by the Newsgirls women’s boxing club in Toronto.

Valizadeh was also not the first to leverage these anti-women and pro-sexual violence sentiments. What each of these men tap into is a desire for power over others that is socialized into young men, often subconsciously, through framing boys as protectors, leaders and budding stoics through ideas like “boys don’t cry.”

Searching for power and control

Tate and those who have come before him adopt these personas to meet a single, personal desire: power. In Tate’s case, his endeavors in the 2020s have been about accessing power through money and (potential) social media influence. Tate’s anti-woman and anti-feminist rhetoric taps into the latent violent misogyny that underpins most traditional patriarchal social structures.

This is a component of what philosophy scholar Kate Manne frames as male entitlement. The desire for power over others is one way that men find self-worth in neoliberal capitalist cultures; and for some, the easiest way is through power over women.

We see similar processes occurring in white supremacist and white nationalist spaces where violence against women and the racialized other often occur in tandem. Each version of right-wing masculinity like Tate’s is a re-hashing of the same appeals to supremacist power structures. They are tired and boring, but unfortunately no less engaging to a certain segment of the population.

Figures like Andrew Tate develop their personas in a bid to appeal to young men. (YouTube/PBD Podcast)

Social media and deplatforming

TikTok and other social media had no interest in banning Tate until public outrage over his rhetoric became impossible to ignore. They are, after all, in the business of getting the most users to spend the most time on their platforms. Having someone like Tate get 12 billion views is good for the bottom line, even if it is bad for society.

However, deplatforming can address the actions of an individual, or at least take that person out of the spotlight. It is impossible to get all their content off the internet, but social media platforms can cut the revenue streams to individuals and have dramatic effects on how these people finance their lives and lies.

Does deplatforming eliminate misogynist or gender-violent rhetoric? No, it doesn’t. But it does pull the rug out from under some of its loudest proponents. Tate has been banned from most mainstream media, but this isn’t because his message had stopped resonating. It is because platforms faced enough pressure and outrage to do the right thing.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Luc Cousineau, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). 

Read more:

Regulating online hate will have unintended, but predictable, consequences

Meet Rumble, Canada’s new ‘free speech’ platform — and its impact on the fight against online misinformation

Luc Cousineau is the Co-Director of Research with the Canadian Institute for Far-Right Studies (CIFRS) and he receives funding for his postdoctoral research from the Université du Québec à Montréal À nous la recherche programme.

LinkedIn experiment changed job prospects for millions — and it raises red flags: privacy experts



Sun, October 23, 2022 

The online professional networking platform LinkedIn conducted a five-year experiment on 20 million users, testing which types of contacts resulted in new job opportunities. But it did so without the express consent of users, something that privacy experts told CBC is concerning. 

(iStock - image credit)

A five-year study by LinkedIn on nearly 20 million of its users raises ethical red flags since some unknowing participants in the social experiment likely had job opportunities curtailed, experts in data privacy and human resources suggest.

The online networking and social media platform randomly varied the number of strong and weak acquaintances present in users "People You May Know" suggestions to test a long-held theory: that people are more likely to get a new job through distant acquaintances than they are close contacts.

The resulting study, published in Science Magazine on Sept. 15, by LinkedIn, MIT, Stanford and Harvard researchers, confirmed the idea: users shown contacts with whom they had only 10 mutual friends doubled their chances of a new job, compared to those shown people with 20 mutual friends.

But that also means the LinkedIn users whose algorithms were inundated with "close contacts" — those with 20 or more mutual friends — connected with fewer opportunities through the networking site.

Given the possible consequences, it's unlikely many people would knowingly consent to have their network, and livelihoods, manipulated as they were for the study, said Jonathon Penney, a law professor whose research focuses on internet, society and data policy at York University's Osgoode Hall Law School.

'No way they would have consented'

It was "a huge number of people that could be negatively affected in terms of job prospects simply because of this study," Penney said of the 20 million subjects. More than five million participants were said to be from North America in the 2019 phase of the study.

"Most users, if you asked them, would say there's no way they would have consented to this kind of study … I have real concerns with the ethics."

Submitted by Jonathon Penney

While academics are held to a rigorous standard of ethics and disclosure, it's not unusual for marketing or media companies to use an algorithm to gauge the success of new products or services. It's a process known as A/B testing, in which users have access to different online tools or experiences to analyze how a person engages with it.

In an email to CBC News, a LinkedIn spokesperson said the company hoped to use the data to tailor its services.

"Through these observations we were able to determine that you're more likely to get a job from an acquaintance over your best friend," LinkedIn said in an email. "We can't wait to see how the study helps companies, recruiters and job seekers change the way we think about the labour market."

A blanket privacy policy

Though the company never notified its users of the experiment while it was underway, its privacy policy states that LinkedIn can use members' profiles to conduct research.

But online privacy experts who spoke to CBC News suggest that the standard privacy policies people click through when registering for an online platform give the companies too much latitude in how they use people's information.

LinkedIn

In fact, the purpose limitation principle in Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) states that user data can only be used for the purpose declared at the moment of collection — but companies often push the envelope, said Ignacio Cofone, Canada Research Chair in artificial intelligence law and data governance at McGill University.

"The problem … is that corporations very rarely know the purpose for which they're going to use data later on," Cofone said in an interview.

As such, "the way the law has evolved in business has allowed very wide purposes [of user profile use]."

LinkedIn's study "is a perfect illustration of how empty the meaning of consent is in our online interactions for companies," Cofone continued. For example, it would take someone 250 hours to read the average number of privacy policies they agree to in a year, he said — and those policies often change unilaterally.

Penney said he recognizes the purpose of LinkedIn's study: a practical look at big data and human behaviour. And the study had been subject to an institutional review board for human subject research, unlike Facebook's hidden 2014 psychological experiment, which sparked investigation from British data protection authorities.

Nonetheless, Penney said accepting a lengthy and intentionally vague privacy policy upon registration is not the same thing as the "informed consent" required of typical human subject studies — especially ones that may carry real-life consequences.

There are often significant hoops university-level studies need to clear to conduct research on human subjects, Penney said. "You have to be very [precise] about the study and its purposes. If there's any kind of deception, there's often additional safeguards that have to be put in place."

He also shared concerns that LinkedIn might be using their study to test new avenues for profit.

"You can easily imagine that the kind of design affordance that LinkedIn is testing could be used for intention bias, where the best jobs [and] hiring opportunities are channelled to wealthier users," said Penney.

Favouring wealthier users

The platform has already made a notable shift to offer paying users benefits in the past five years, said Neil Wiseman, senior consultant for Pivotal recruitment and HR services in Mississauga who uses LinkedIn in his line of work.

LinkedIn's premium subscription, starting at $30 a month, allows users to directly contact anyone on the platform. Those with free accounts, meanwhile, can only contact people they've connected with.

"When people reach out [via LinkedIn Premium], I try to give them something of value. They're taking the time, and they're paying to touch base with me," said Wiseman. And he notes that those who directly reach a company or hiring manager usually see more success in the job market.

Relying on the algorithms

Refer HR, a recruitment firm that's served 42 corporate clients since opening in Vancouver in 2019, also scours LinkedIn for potential hiring candidates, said general manager Kobe Tang. Recommendations made by LinkedIn's algorithms play a significant role in his search and eventual hiring, he said.

The networking site was also an essential space for Canadian tech workers following prominent layoffs by Shopify, Wealthsimple, Hootsuite and Unbounce in 2022, said Refer HR marketing manager Rob Gido.

"Adding so-called weaker [connections] definitely improves your chances of finding new opportunities and new work," said Gido.

Ignacio Cofone

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) said in an email that it had not received a complaint regarding the study, but if it does, it could prompt an investigation.

But Cofone and Penney said Canada's privacy legislation's leniency around consent is one sign of how the law is less rigorous than its counterparts around the world. The European Union's general data privacy policy was updated twice since Canada's legislation was enacted 22 years ago, while this country's personal protection law has seen no major change in that time.

Penney said he would like to see legislative changes that give the federal privacy commissioner more powers for investigation and enforcement — and that limit how company privacy policies can be used when it comes to personal data, said Penney.

The act should be updated to reflect fundamental user rights — and instead place liability on companies who tread on those, said Cofone. Were employment to be harmed by a company's use of a user's profile, for example, "we should not be exempting them from liability just because they have the illusion of consent," he said.

"If Canadians are unhappy with being guinea pigs in a platform study like this, they should vote with their feet for the party that is proposing more robust data protection and privacy laws," Penney said.

"Politicians should be paying attention to this issue … these kinds of platform practices may entrench social and economic inequality."