Freedom Convoy organizer testifies about 'power struggle' inside the anti-mandate movement

John Paul Tasker - 

Freedom Convoy organizer Chris Barber said Tuesday the anti-vaccine mandate protest that gripped Ottawa for weeks last winter was beset by "conflict" among different factions pushing their own agendas.

Barber, a Saskatchewan trucker and small business owner, testified at the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) investigating the convoy that he and Brigitte Belton, an unvaccinated Alberta trucker, were the first to pitch a cross-country drive to protest a vaccine mandate for cross-border workers.

Tamara Lich, a former Western Canadian separatist, then joined the team to help organize the trek.

This trio then "organically" aligned with other groups also keen to take on the Liberal government and its COVID-19 policies, Barber said.

A self-described "internet troll," Barber said he connected with these disparate groups through social media platforms such as TikTok — where he has tens of thousands of followers who flocked to his account during the worst of the pandemic as he attacked COVID-related policies.

"The word started to spread. It was completely organic — everything just fell right into place," Barber said. "A bunch of different groups came together and had input in the planning."

The result was a "power struggle" between his group of mostly Western Canadian truckers and other elements like Canada Unity, an outfit opposed to mask mandates and vaccine passports. Canada Unity produced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) calling for the overthrow of the Liberal government.

The group's founder, James Bauder, called for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be arrested and "charged with treason."

Barber said he never actually read the MOU and didn't support a movement to seize power in Ottawa.

"I believe I just ignored it. I have no clue what's in the document. I wasn't into that sort of thing," Barber said.

Barber said that had he known at the outset that Bauder and his organization would join the convoy while calling for the government's overthrow, he would have "promptly told them to go home."

Barber, who testified that he is vaccinated, said he only came to Ottawa to protest border restrictions — policies he said hurt his business because he employed unvaccinated drivers who couldn't travel to the U.S.

"I remember calling on Mr. Bauder and having him renounce the MOU part of the way through the convoy," Barber testified.

Related video: City of Ottawa, police were warned about convoy protesters’ plans
Duration 2:33  View on Watch

"There was too much highlight, too much spotlight on this document that we didn't have anything to do with."

"We had a little bit of conflict between Canada Unity and Taking Back Our Freedoms," he said, referring to a group led by former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Brian Peckford.



Pat King, left, poses for photos in front of Parliament Hill as truckers and their supporters protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Ottawa on February 16, 2022.© Patrick Doyle/Reuters

Barber said he also occasionally clashed with Pat King, a far-right organizer with a history of incendiary social media posts.

King, who amassed a large following on Facebook, encouraged people to flock to Ottawa to join the movement.

"Pat and I had a power struggle between each other — that was evident. It was a power struggle back and forth over control," Barber said.

Barber said the original convoy organizers felt "some concern" when the media reported on King's previous violent and racist comments. While he said he was bothered by some of the bad headlines King's comments had generated, Barber added he never actually asked King to leave the convoy.

Text messages tabled at the commission Tuesday show the convoy organizers were worried about losing King-aligned supporters if he was removed.

Freeland received a death threat

Barber testified that all he wanted was a peaceful protest against mandates he perceived as unfair. But the government of Canada's lawyer tabled documents before the commission Tuesday that showed the Barber-Lich faction disseminated "daily event and safety report" flyers to their contingent offering questionable information about Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and her association with the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The WEF has been the focus of multiple bogus conspiracy theories throughout the pandemic.

The day after one flyer about Freeland was disseminated among some in the convoy, she received a death threat from someone named "Larry Jenkins."

Jenkins said Freeland would "get a bullet to the head" for "lying about COVID-19."

Barber said he "unequivocally" denounces such violent threats.

He said he played no role in writing the flyers that cited Freeland and the WEF.

"I was purely here for the mandates. My job was truck safety, truck issues, making sure everyone was looked after. My main job was working with law enforcement," Barber said, speaking of his role as liaison with police who were trying to maintain order.

Barber also was forced to account Tuesday for his past anti-Muslim and racist social media posts. He's also previously displayed a Confederate flag — a holdover from the U.S. Civil War that is often associated with racist and far-right elements — in his truck shop.

Barber said he's a changed man.

"I can honestly say that if anyone learned anything or grew during the convoy, it was me. I was a different person nine months ago. Coming out here and seeing the amount of love, all different colours, all different races ... it changed me," he said.

Nova Scotia team restoring the 'Canada Mayflower' will use trees downed by Fiona


PICTOU, N.S. — When post-tropical storm Fiona ripped through Nova Scotia in September, it led to another setback for the team restoring the historic ship Hector — and a surprise gift of old-growth lumber.


Work to restore the replica of a ship that brought about 190 settlers from Scotland to Pictou, N.S., in 1773 had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain issues.

Vern Shea, restoration manager for the Ship Hector Society — the team working on the historic vessel — said Tuesday that when he went to the site a couple days after the Sept. 24 storm that took out power to most of the region, he wasn't sure what work the team would be able to do. It was then that a board member phoned and asked if he needed any of the many pine trees that had been felled by the storm.

"So then I got thinking … I bet there's a heck of a lot of trees that we might be able to salvage here," Shea said.

The restoration team posted a request on Facebook for any downed trees that needed removal and could be used for the shipbuilding project. Shea says they were immediately inundated with calls from people wanting felled trees taken away.

"We had to shut that down after just two days — we were overwhelmed with people wanting the tree cleanup," he said.

Shea said the team prioritized requests from seniors, adding that staff quickly got to work cutting up and removing trees from across Pictou, located about 160 kilometres northeast of Halifax.

"We just remobilized the crew because we couldn't do anything on the ship," he said. The work site was without power for about two weeks due to the storm, and the ship's protective cover had been blown off.

"We've got a lot of wood, old-growth stuff that fell down on properties that were actually originally owned by some the first settlers to the area," he said.

Shea said the team recently received an offer from a descendant of one of the Hector’s Scottish passengers to mill the wood — at no cost — some of which is up to 250 years old.

"People really want to help, and it's a really good feeling," Shea said.

The wood, which includes old-growth pine and high-quality cherry wood, will be used for interior parts of the ship, such as the galley and captain’s cabin.

Shea said the team of about 10 staff is hard at work to ensure the ship can be back in the water by September 2023, in time for the 250th anniversary of Hector's landing in Pictou. The ship was the first carrying Scottish immigrants to Pictou, an area that would go on to be the entryway for thousands of other settlers from Scotland.

"(Hector) opened up the floodgates, that's why we call it the Canada Mayflower," Shea said, referring to the English ship that brought the Pilgrims to America, who in 1620 established the first permanent New England colony.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2022.

— By Lyndsay Armstrong in Halifax.

---

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

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M
Sparks fly at Rogers-Shaw case conference with Competition Bureau

Barbara Shecter - Financial Post - TODAY

A person walks near the Rogers Communications Inc. building in Toronto.
Sparks flew between lawyers for merger partners Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. and the Competition Bureau — which objects to their proposed $26-billion combination — at a case conference Tuesday, with one of the cable giants’ representatives threatening to go to court Monday to seek to have the case thrown out.

Federal court Chief Justice Paul Crampton, who is to preside over a weeks-long tribunal hearing beginning Monday, oversaw the conference at which the two sides sparred over whether the trial would include the original merger proposal or a revised one that would see Shaw’s Freedom Mobile wireless unit sold to Quebecor Inc. subsidiary Vidéotron for $2.85 billion.

Rogers and Shaw favour the latter, but Competition Bureau lawyer Derek Leschinsky insisted that determining whether competition would be substantially lessened would require the pre-divestiture combination of Rogers and Shaw to be examined.

Jonathan Lisus and Kent Thomson, lawyers for Rogers and Shaw, respectively, told the judge the Competition Bureau is trying to litigate a “conjured transaction” and a “non-existent transaction” that “cannot occur and will not occur.”

Thomson went further, calling the bureau’s position “stubborn and intransigent,” with no precedent in the past 40 years, and said he was considering asking to have the case thrown out as a result.

He said it is “crystal clear” — and backed by three affidavits — that Freedom Mobile will have been purchased Quebecor’s Vidéotron unit before Rogers and Shaw close their merger transaction.
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“There is uncontested evidence to demonstrate that the Commissioner’s entire theory of this case is removed from reality,” Thomson told the judge.

Lisus added that a case cited by Leschinsky to justify his position involved a transaction that had already closed.

But Leschinsky argued that assessing the original Rogers-Shaw merger transaction is crucial because the “competitive effects will linger in Videotron,” with Freedom separated from Shaw’s wireless services and infrastructure.

He said Rogers and Shaw have known the bureau’s position for months, and have “stubbornly refused to acknowledge that (the) Commissioner has been consistent that getting rid of wireless alone isn’t enough.”

• Email: bshecter@nationalpost.com | Twitter: BatPost

Arctic peers warn 'no return' to prewar times as Russia frozen from circumpolar talks

OTTAWA — Canada's allies are calling for a rethink in Arctic relations after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.



"We are only an accident or an incident or a misinterpretation away from escalating things quite quickly," said University of Manitoba international relations professor Andrea Charron.

This month, Washington updated its Arctic strategy, which includes an increased military presence in the Far North.

"The United States values the unique spirit of international co-operation that has generally characterized the Arctic since the end of the Cold War," reads the new strategy.

"Russia's brutal war in Ukraine has made this co-operation in the Arctic virtually impossible."

In a call with reporters, Washington's top foreign-policy adviser noted that Russia has been spending billions of dollars modernizing military bases, buying icebreakers and testing new weapon systems.

Derek Chollet, counsellor with the U.S. State Department, said Finland and Sweden's ascension to the NATO alliance will change the dynamic.

"A significant amount of territory … will now be covered in the Arctic region under NATO’s Article 5, the mutual self-defence clause. So it will be a fundamental shift in the thinking for the alliance," he said.

Last week, the Finnish government released a study it commissioned on how the war in Ukraine changes the Arctic policy it released the year before.

The report argues a new Cold War is underway and Finland needs to try to keep a "functioning relationship" with neighbouring Russia on matters like the environment and Indigenous Peoples, but must see everything through a security lens.

"There will be no return to the prewar reality," reads the report's English summary. "Even chaos is possible."

This month, Russia issued its own document on Arctic relations, and stressed its refurbishment of military infrastructure is meant to shore up its national security and search-and-rescue capability for resource extraction projects.

"There is no serious potential for conflict in the Arctic, especially with the participation of Russia," reads the Russian-language document.

"Russian security policy in the Arctic is transparent. We do not threaten anyone in this region."

Despite the rising rhetoric, Charron said all Arctic nations, including Russia, seem to be steering away from sabre-rattling.

"Everybody's trying to be particularly careful," she said.


She noted that Moscow jammed GPS systems and had its jets buzzing ships during NATO's 2018 exercises, but during similar drills in Norway this May, Russia seemed to be moving carefully.

On Monday, Norad intercepted Russian jets near Alaska in international airspace. Norad command said the move was "not seen as a threat, nor is the activity seen as provocative."

Charron said Russia relies on northern gas and oil extraction for a substantial amount of economic output, and it wants foreign ships to use a northern passage that could reinvigorate remote towns.

"They benefit most when the Arctic has a rules-based, international order," she said.

That's become increasingly difficult since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which put the Arctic Council on hiatus.

The intergovernmental forum is meant to co-ordinate research, shipping routes and search-and-rescue services among the eight circumpolar countries as well as Indigenous nations.

Russia currently chairs the council, but the other seven members halted participation in March, instead having informal meetings on the side.

While Finland argues this is not viable, Chollet noted that "anywhere from 60 to 75 per cent of the Arctic Council’s projects — and this includes areas like education, fisheries, things of that nature — can occur without Russia being involved."

"We also have to be realistic, given Russia’s behaviour in Ukraine and around the world, that we’re going to see limited possibility for co-operation with Russia in the Arctic Council," he said.

Russia's foreign ministry argues that is unnecessarily provocative.

"Washington, with the support of other westerners, especially the Russophobic officialdom in Ottawa, is trying to isolate Russia without whose participation co-operation in the Arctic is impossible," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in Russian last week.

Meanwhile in Ottawa, the House defence committee heard Tuesday from defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre, who said Canada needs to invest in the North for the future.

"We don't see a clear and present threat to our sovereignty; not today, not this week, not next week, not next year," he said.

"However, in the decades to come, that threat, that tenuous hold that we have on our sovereignty at the extremities of this nation, is going to come under increasing challenge."

This month, the Liberals had Gov. Gen. Mary Simon attend a major Arctic conference, at which security was a frequent topic. Simon was instrumental in crafting the Arctic Council in the 1990s and wrote the precursor to Canada's northern framework.

In August, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg visited Cambridge Bay, Nvt.

It was the first time the head of the military alliance has been in Canada's Arctic, which Charron said was meant to symbolize Ottawa's steadfast support of its allies.

Yet she doesn't expect NATO to have a large presence in the Canada's North, with the alliance primarily focused in the European Arctic and Norad's systems helping to monitor Russia's air sorties.

Putting NATO ships in Canada's backyard would be seen as too provocative to Russia, given it sits less than 100 nautical miles away. Canada sees the Northwest Passage as part of its domestic waters, and hasn't requested NATO protection.

Charron said if Canada wants to be a serious player in the region it needs goals, a plan and resources.

"We don't really have an Arctic policy; we have a framework, which to me is a prelude to a strategy," she said.

"We've always kind of been flying by the seat of our pants."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2022.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

Canada's Sea-Doo powered the Ukrainian marine drone used against Russian fleet: analyst

Tom Blackwell - 


This marine drone washed ashore in Crimea last month, with photos of it posted on social media. H.I. Sutton says the water jet's distinctive shape and design matches those of the Sea-Doo.© Provided by National Post

They’re a fixture on countless Canadian lakes, a source of high-speed amusement for some — and noisy aggravation for others.

Now the Sea-Doo brand of jet ski may be at the heart of Ukraine’s latest weapon against Russian invaders, a remote-controlled innovation that could play a growing role in naval warfare.

A marine drone like those used in the recent attack on ships of Moscow’s Black-Sea fleet appeared to be propelled by a water-jet — and probably an engine — from one of the archetypal Canadian watercraft, says a British naval-defence expert.

The drone washed ashore in Crimea last month, with photos of it posted on social media. H.I. Sutton, who publishes the Covert Shores website and is the author of a number of naval-warfare books, says he could clearly see a water jet in the pictures, prompting him to compare the image to photos of commercial jet skis made by various manufacturers.

The distinctive shape and design of the jet matched those of the Sea-Doo and bore a sticker saying “No step” that is also unique to craft made by Quebec’s Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), he said in an interview. It likely came from a recent model — the GTX or Fish Pro.

“It is a Sea-Doo (water jet),” said Sutton, who posted about the drone on the U.S. Naval Institute website. “It’s beyond any reasonable doubt. You could do what I did and look at photographs of every conceivable commercial jet ski and you’d say, ‘the pattern is distinctive.’… Sea-Doo shape things differently to other competitors.”

He said he wasn’t alone in noticing the origins of the drone’s propulsion system. Sutton knows naval officers who have their own personal watercraft and also made the connection. An aluminum hull had been built around the engine and jet, with what appeared to be a satellite receiver on top that could be used in controlling it remotely, and detonators in the bow.

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BRP spokeswoman Biliana Necheva said Tuesday the company couldn’t speculate on the source of the parts without more details or serial numbers, but stressed “our products are not designed for military purposes” and sales are made only to end users, not resellers.

The company played no part in creating the Ukrainian vessel, she said.

Russia’s defence ministry says nine aerial drones and seven autonomous boats attacked its ships at the port of Sevastopol in Crimea on Saturday. The unmanned marine weapons appear to have been jet powered, but it’s unclear if they used the Sea-Doo equipment like the one found earlier, said Sutton.

If they were propelled by the Quebec firm’s gear, it would be the second possible Canadian link to the autonomous-vehicle attack.

Russia has said that the aerial drones used navigational modules manufactured in Canada . That assertion couldn’t be verified, but the federal government did earlier make a donation to Ukraine of precision targeting cameras, which are used in the Turkish Bayraktar drones that have proven an effective tool against Russian forces.

Russia claims that all the drones were destroyed, with only minor damage to a minesweeper. It later announced that because of the attack it would no longer protect Ukrainian ships taking grain to market, as it agreed to do under an earlier agreement.

But little information has been released about the incident, leaving analysts unclear about the extent of the harm done.

A low-light video posted online purports to show the view from marine drones as they approach warships, including one with a similar profile to the frigate Admiral Makarov, the Black Sea fleet’s new flagship after the Ukrainians sunk the missile-cruiser Moskva in April. Even some damage to the ships would mark the operation as a success, said Sutton.



And it appeared the Russian fleet began behaving differently after the original, Sea-Doo powered drone was found in September, keeping closer to port and being more vigilant, he said.

But “you can’t keep your guard up very long.”

Independent experts say the attack heralds a new era of marine combat.

What happened last weekend to Russia’s Black Sea fleet shows that expendable drones will pose a significant threat to “multi-million dollar ships,” said researcher Tayfun Ozberk on the Naval News website.

“In future conflicts … drone swarms will be a major problem for large combat ships,” he wrote.

Sutton said military experts are already accepting the marine-drone trend as “inevitable and obvious” but he gave credit to Ukraine for actually putting the idea into action.

“The reality is that very few people thought of that, navies didn’t think of that.”

He said such autonomous kamikaze boats have a number of advantages, including the fact they don’t risk the life of a human operator and are “incredibly cheap” compared to most military equipment.

Personal watercraft work by the internal engine sucking up water, then shooting it out the back, forcing the boat forward. The invention is credited to American Clayton Jacobson , who first licensed it to Bombardier as the Sea-Doo in 1968, then to Kawasaki as the Jet Ski.

While re-purposing the engine to power a drone is new, the special forces of several countries already use them as actual vehicles, noted Sutton. Greek commandos are among those that employ Sea-Doos, one photo showing two soldiers on each vessel, the passenger resting a sub-machine gun on the driver’s shoulders.

Necheva says BRP, based in Valcourt, Que., allows its dealers to only sell to end users, not resellers, for recreational and professional purposes, such as water rescue.

Former national chief lands job with law firm AFN hired to lead class action against federal government

Brett Forester - CBC - TODAY

When it came time for the Assembly of First Nations to hire a firm to lead a multi-billion dollar class-action lawsuit against the federal government, Perry Bellegarde would've likely had a say in that decision. Now, that same firm has hired the former national chief as a special adviser.

But even before that time in 2020, Fasken, one of Canada's leading business law firms, worked for the AFN on challenging legal issues — and could eventually be paid legal fees for its work on the class action if a proposed $20-billion settlement is approved.

"A few of our colleagues have known Chief Bellegarde for years," said Martin Denyes, Fasken's regional managing partner for Ontario, in a Monday news release announcing Bellegarde's hiring.

"More of us have come to know him over the last few months as we have discussed the possibilities around this opportunity. You cannot help but broaden your world view after a good conversation with Perry."

The AFN has hired Fasken, which employs more than 800 lawyers countrywide and internationally, as external counsel to help navigate both high-stakes and low-profile situations.

Since 2019, Fasken lawyers have conducted two probes into the conduct of regional chiefs and defended the AFN against two lawsuits filed by former employees in provincial court.

The release did not mention the firm's long-standing relationship with the AFN due to the confidential nature of those arrangements, a spokesperson for the firm said in an emailed statement supplied in response to an interview request.

"Our news is about Chief Bellegarde joining the firm and enhancing our team," the statement said.

"He has joined us because Fasken is a tremendous platform on which he can continue his life's work, continue to engage in meaningful conversations around the Indigenous experience and bring about transformational change."

Fasken asked to handle harassment probe

In 2019, the AFN hired Fasken to conduct a probe into harassment allegations against Morley Googoo, the AFN regional chief for Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, who had been suspended at the time.

Chiefs in Googoo's region voted to remove him from the post a few months later, a day after Fasken investigators completed their report. Googoo would eventually stand trial and be found not guilty on sex assault charges his lawyer deemed "unfounded."

Related video: South Australia's independent financial watchdog has refused to say if he's referred the government's sports and community grants schemes to investigative authorities

In January 2020, the AFN filed the class action against Canada, seeking compensation for victims of the underfunded First Nations child-welfare system. Xavier Moushoom had filed a similar lawsuit in 2019.

The AFN decided to sue after the organization "became concerned that it would be sidelined in discussions related to long-term reform and compensation" happening in the Moushoom case, according to an affidavit sworn this year by AFN CEO Janice Ciavaglia.

A different firm represented the lobby group in the initial filing, but the AFN swapped legal firms in August 2020. Fasken has represented the AFN in the case since then, including in confidential talks that led to the proposed settlement, according to court files.

Under that deal, any legal fees paid out to lawyers would be negotiated between class counsel and Canada and would need to be approved by the court. Canada would pay these fees separately, not out of the $20 billion, the files state.

The settlement is currently on hold, however, after the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal last week refused to declare that the deal would satisfy the tribunal's pre-existing compensation order from 2019.

Ciavaglia's affidavit included a draft copy of an AFN executive committee motion authorizing the lawsuit's filing in 2020, which lists Bellegarde among several other participants in the AFN's decision to sue.

Bellegarde, a long-serving First Nations political leader from Little Black Bear First Nation in Saskatchewan, was elected to two consecutive terms as AFN national chief between 2014 and 2021.

A public relations team managing the announcement did not respond to CBC's request to interview Bellegarde. In the Fasken release, Bellegarde said he looks forward to the new role.

"I know firsthand how important it is for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples to connect and to understand one another in order to advance human rights, as well as economic prosperity and development," he said in the release.

In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Bellegarde said he anticipates occasionally working with corporate clients who are on the opposite side of issues with Indigenous groups.

Firm did preliminary probe into current national chief

Fasken's work for the AFN continued into 2021 when it conducted a preliminary probe into bullying allegations against RoseAnne Archibald, who was then the regional chief for Ontario.

The probe found the "allegations and evidence to be credible," and the AFN executive ordered a full investigation, which a different firm was hired to do.

At the time, Archibald, who is now national chief, claimed the allegations were a reprisal. She had been requesting a review of AFN's financial policies and practices, claiming to have documents that showed "financial improprieties" within the AFN.



Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald at the annual general assembly in Vancouver in July following the results of a vote on an emergency resolution that looked to continue her suspension. A total of 252 First Nations chiefs and proxies voted against the resolution, while only 44 voted in favour.© Andrew Lee/CBC

A Fasken lawyer also represented AFN as a defendant in a $100,000 wrongful dismissal suit filed by former communications officer Gail Boyd in December 2020. The case was dismissed on consent in June 2021.

The same lawyer is currently representing AFN in another wrongful dismissal lawsuit the organization's former HR director Robin Henry filed in June 2022, according to the Ontario Superior Court registry.

This one seeks $200,000 in damages and has not been tested in court.

Pod of Dolphins Found Accompanying Body of Drowned Teen

Jess Thomson - 


The body of a 15-year-old girl who drowned after she was swept off the rocks on a South African beach was recently found floating in the water with a pod of dolphins nearby.

The girl fell into the ocean at Llandudno beach in Cape Town, South Africa, on October 28, and was swept away by rip currents, according to the National Sea Rescue Institute. Her body was found on October 29 around 0.6 miles offshore, alongside a group of dolphins.

"An NSRI rescue craft patrolling deep sea about a kilometer offshore reported ... that the body of the teenager was located floating on the water surface accompanied by a pod of dolphins near to the rescue craft," NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon told local news outlet The South African.

Dolphins are highly intelligent creatures, with sophisticated communication and social skills in their communities. Anecdotal cases of dolphins saving humans have been reported several times, including one case in 2004 where a pod of dolphins seemingly rushed to the aid of a group of swimmers in New Zealand, circling the group until a nearby ten-foot great white shark left them alone.

"I am certain they would recognize a dead human body in the water," Olaf Meynecke, a whale and dolphin researcher at Australia's Griffith University, told Newsweek.

"However, the stories we sometimes hear about dolphins actively trying to save people need to be taken with caution. It is not unheard of that some whales and dolphins have shown altruistic behavior towards other species. Even defending them against predators, so it is not impossible, but in many cases, a close encounter with people is often curiosity, not an intention to save them."

Other experts agree that it is possible that the dolphins may have been attempting to help, but that it is just as likely that they were merely investigating an unusual scene, or even playing with the body.

Related video: Watch These Dolphins Get Up Close and Personal

Duration 1:00

View on Watch

"There are plenty of anecdotes about dolphins rescuing drowning swimmers. Some could be true, many others are likely exaggerations. What you won't always hear about are the times when animals drag swimmers out to sea because the victim isn't alive to tell the story. It is impossible to know what the dolphins were thinking or doing here, however, I think it is just as likely they were trying to help as they were just playing with the body," Jason N. Bruck, a biology professor at Stephen F. Austin State University, told Newsweek.

Regardless of if the dolphins were attempting to come to the girl's aid in this case, they have been noted to appear to recognize death as a concept and grieve losses in their social groups.

"When dolphin calves are born their mothers will help steer them to their first breath. Calves that are stillborn or die soon after birth may set the mother into a behavior pattern where they are constantly trying to steer the lifeless body to the surface," Bruck said.

Meynecke agreed, saying: "Dolphins certainly do feel strong emotional pain in association with the death of close individuals (peers, relatives and friends). They have been [seen] carrying their dead young for days. This is true for many dolphin species from orcas to pilot whales to bottlenose dolphins."



Stock image of a bottlenose dolphin and her calf.

 iStock / Getty Images Plus

This behavior may not be what we as humans recognize as mourning, though.

"In this case, she may not be able to understand her calf is dead, or this drive may be overwhelming that recognition. What is normally an adaptive behavior towards a healthy calf quickly turns into something maladaptive in this case. It is this behavior that is often interpreted by some as whale grief. In truth, it is impossible to know exactly what they are thinking as their minds are separated from ours by 95 million years of evolution, but the urge to anthropomorphize in humans is strong," Bruck said.

Paul Pelosi's Suspected Attacker's Nudist Ex-Lover Says David DePape Was 'Constantly Paranoid' & 'Mentally Ill For Long Time'

The nudist ex-lover of the man accused of attacking Nancy Pelosi’s husband recently spoke out and revealed the suspect has been “mentally ill for a long time” and suffers from “paranoid delusions,” RadarOnline.com has learned.


Mega© Radar Online

Oxane “Gypsy” Taub, the 53-year-old former lover of 42-year-old David DePape, is currently in jail for attempting to kidnap a 14-year-old boy in 2021.


Mega© Radar Online

But during a phone call from prison on Monday with the San Francisco Bay Area affiliate outlet ABC 7, Taub revealed she witnessed DePape slowly succumb to his mental illness during their nearly two-decade relationship together.

“He came back in very bad shape. He thought he was Jesus. He was constantly paranoid, thinking people were after him,” Taub said regarding one incident where DePape disappeared for almost an entire year.

“And it took a good year or two to get back to, you know, being halfway normal,” she added. “He is mentally ill. He has been mentally ill for a long time.”

Related video: Paul Pelosi's Alleged Attacker Identified; Authorities Say He Assaulted 82-Year-Old in Front of Officers Duration 2:08   View on Watch

Even more surprising was Taub’s claim that, when she and DePape first met roughly 20 years ago, the suspected assailant held progressive political views. She also described herself as the “ex-life partner of David DePape and the mother of his [three] children.”

“Well when I met him, he was only 20 years old, and he didn't have any experience in politics, and he was very much in alignment with my views and I've always been very progressive,” she explained. “I absolutely admire Nancy Pelosi.”



Mega© Radar Online

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, DePape was arrested on Friday morning after allegedly attacking Paul Pelosi at his and the House Speaker’s Pacific Heights, San Francisco home.

DePape was found to have had zip ties, rope and duct tape when he broke into the couple’s $6 million California home, and he allegedly attacked Paul with a hammer before demanding to see Nancy.

"Officers told the men to drop the hammer, at which point DePape allegedly wrestled the tool free and struck Paul Pelosi with it in the head, knocking him unconscious," a newly released sworn affidavit read regarding the incident.

"DePape stated that he was going to hold Nancy hostage and talk to her,” the court documents continued. “If Nancy were to tell DePape the 'truth,' he would let her go, and if she 'lied,' he was going to break her kneecaps.”



Mega© Radar Online

House Speaker Pelosi’s 82-year-old husband has since undergone surgery for a skull fracture and injuries he sustained to his hands during the altercation with DePape. He is expected to make a full recovery.

DePape is currently facing at least two federal charges for Friday’s incident, including one count of assault of an immediate family member of a United States official and one count of attempted kidnapping of a United States official. He is facing upwards of 50 years in federal prison and is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.

FIRST INDIGENOUS G.G.
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon unveils a highly personal coat of arms

Richard Raycraft - Sunday

Rideau Hall unveiled Gov. Gen. Mary Simon's coat of arms Friday — one that it says reflects her personal story and commitment to reconciliation.

Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and her husband Whit Fraser for tea in the Oak Room at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England on March 15, 2022.

© Steve Parsons/Pool/The Associated Press

Simon became Governor General last year, making history as the first Indigenous person to hold the ceremonial post.

Simon grew up in the Inuit community of Kangiqsualujjuaq in northern Quebec. Prior to her appointment as Governor General, Simon was a broadcaster, civil servant and diplomat.

In a news release, the Governor General's Office said her coat of arms is a symbol of Simon's northern upbringing, her heritage and her career as a diplomat.

"This coat of arms is my story, my true history, and it speaks of my lifelong commitment to bridge-building and family, and of my hopes for a future where we respect and share each other's stories to help foster better relationships between peoples." Simon said in the news release.

Canada's Chief Herald Samy Khalid, who is responsible for official coats of arms, said in the release that Simon's coat of arms is "simple in its composition and, at the same time, exquisitely complex in its meaning."

"It is a personal emblem that serves a public purpose. It exemplifies how heraldry can express many layers of a person's identity in a structured yet creative way," he said.

The motto

Simon is the first Governor General to have a coat of arms with a motto in an Indigenous language. "Ajuinnata" is an Inuktitut word meaning "to persevere" or never give up.

"This motto inspires her own journey and embodies her message of hope to young people and to all Canadians confronted with adversity," the release said.

A Rideau Hall description of the coat of arms says the motto is "a guiding principle for [Simon] and an indication of her hopes for the truth and reconciliation process."

The shield

The shield is white — a colour which the coat of arms description says is meant to represent reconciliation, as well as the snow and sky of Canada's North. The crown symbolizes Simon's role as representative of the monarchy in Canada.

The shield is the shape of an amauti, a traditional parka worn by Inuit women.

A horizontal line in the shield's centre represents Simon's "trailblazing career in Inuit and circumpolar affairs" while the disc and circle around it represent "an inclusive relationship between Indigenous peoples and all Canadians."

The crest

The Snowy Owl is meant to symbolize wisdom, agility and adaptability.

"It thus alludes to Her Excellency's life experience and her diplomatic skills," the coat of arms description said.

The caribou antlers represent the link between humans and nature. It's also an important animal in Inuit culture.

Supporters

Two arctic foxes flank the coat of arms. The animal is "famed for its endurance and long-distance migratory treks," the description said. They represent Simon's "career as a diplomat and advocate for circumpolar affairs."

The mountain sorrel on the left fox's pendant is a common plant Quebec's Nunavik region, where Simon grew up. The strawberry flower on the opposite pendant is to honour Simon's husband, Whit Grant Fraser. The flower is a symbol on the crest of the Scottish Fraser Clan and the name is derived from "Fraise," the French word for strawberry.

Two kakivak harpoons separate the foxes. The spears represent Simon's grandmother, "who taught her many traditional values and life skills," the description said.

Compartment

Simon enjoys picking berries in her spare time, according to her official biography. The blueberries at the bottom of the crest represent that hobby. The cottongrass that surrounds them is used to make the wicks of a traditional Inuit lamp called the qulliq.

Insignia

The three insignia are, from left to right, the Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Companion of the Order of Canada and Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.

Coat of arms has unique elements

Khalid said in an interview that a Governor General's coat of arms is usually revealed much closer to their installation date, but the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the process in this case.

Khalid worked with Simon to design the coat of arms and said he was grateful for the extra time.

"We wanted to do this at this pace this time around, and I think it gave us the opportunity to really develop something very meaningful for Her Excellency," Khalid said.

He said several elements make Simon's coat of arms stand out compared to those of her predecessors. One is the use of the colour white, while another is the Inuktitut motto, which is spelled in both the Latin alphabet and in syllabics.

"In this case what's interesting, in my opinion, is that it's a simple word that's very difficult to translate," Khalid said of the motto.

Khalid added that the use of three insignia is also notable. Most governors general opt for just one, the Order of Canada.

Khalid said he hopes the coat of arms helps Canadians get to know Simon.

"Heralds like to say that they're storytellers, and there's a lot of details here that will allow Canadians to learn a little more about the Governor General, her life and her career."

Feds look to international missing persons commission for help on unmarked graves


OTTAWA — The Canadian government approached an international commission that helped identify the remains of those killed during 9/11 and the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster to potentially aid its response to the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential schools.

A spokesperson for the International Commission on Missing Persons confirmed Monday that the federal government had approached it for support,but said it had no further information to provide and didn't specify when the outreach happened.

Headquartered in The Hague, the organization works in different countries to help identify people who have gone missing or been killed in major conflicts and disasters using DNA testing. It also helps governments and institutions shape policies related to such issues.

Andreas Kleiser, the policy director for the International Commission on Missing Persons, confirmed the organization has been speaking with officials from the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations, including recently. organization, confirmed


"We checked in on developments," Kleiser said in an interview Tuesday.

He said going ahead would depend on factors such as funding and "buy in" from Indigenous communities.

Over the past year, First Nations across Western Canada have announced the presence of what are believed to be the unmarked graves of Indigenous children who died while forced to attend residential schools.

At least nine communities have reported discovering 1,685 such graves, according to government statistics provided in May.

Ottawa has committed to providing money and resources to the First Nations to investigate the discoveries.

The federal government also appointed Kimberly Murray, a member of the Kahnesatake Mohawk Nation in Quebec and a former executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to serve as an independent special interlocutor.

Murray was tasked with recommending policy changes and identifying options to protect and preserve the sites.

She said that while the commission does valuable work, the fact the federal government had been inpreliminary discussions with it raised some concerns because it's unclear if the request for their involvement came from Indigenous communities themselves, which she says must lead the process.

"We're speaking about Indigenous children in these graves," she said in an interview Monday.


"We're talking about Indigenous communities. We have Section 5 constitutional sovereignty rights. It's a little bit of a different approach that needs to happen with these investigations."

Murray added that while planning for a recent conference in Edmonton, the federal government asked if her office was interested in hearing from the commission.

In a statement late Monday, the office of Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said "there is currently no contract in place" between the department and the missing persons commission, but did not address discussions between the two.

"I would hope that if Canada is engaging in any kind of contract with the commission to do any kind of work that they would have discussed it with Indigenous leadership and survivors," Murray said.

"How does their work incorporate Indigenous law?"

Some details on Ottawa's thinking around possibly turning tothe commission are contained in an undated briefing note prepared for the deputy minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, which was released to The Canadian Press under federal access-to-information legislation.

Titled, "Contracting the ICMP (International Commission on Missing Persons) for Engagement Services,)" the heavily-redacted document says the government has heard "repeated calls by Indigenous leadership to develop a national strategy to address the identification of unmarked graves and repatriation of human remains."

It says communities have made it clear that Ottawa can't be involved. Successive Canadian governments funded and oversaw the residential school system, though churches operated the institutions.

"The first step in developing this strategy is engagement," the briefing note reads, saying the commission has "expertise exclusively focused on addressing the complex issue of the identification and repatriation of human remains."

"As an arm's length international organization, the ICMP has a reputation as a trusted interlocular with a strong reputation for independence and impartiality."

It goes on to list how the organization worked with Quebec authorities to help identify some of those killed in the 2013 Lac-Mégantic disaster, when nearly 50 were killed after the downtown derailment of train cars carrying crude oil.

More recently, the organization says on its website that it has been tapped to help in Ukraine, where thousands of civilians have been killed or gone missing since Russia launched its invasion in February, and where recent mass gravesites have already been found.

Murray said it is critically important that investigations into unmarked graves remain independent of the Canadian government.

"It's the state police, the state government, that caused the problem that we're currently trying to investigate our way out of," she said.

Murray has independently pursued outside expertise, including during the recent conference in Edmonton.

Her office invited the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala, which has helped communities set up labs to investigate and try to identify the remains of those killed in its civil war.

The organization has specific experience working with Indigenous communities, Murray said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2022.

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press