Google notifying Canadian employees affected by global layoff of 12,000 workers

Mon, February 6, 2023 


TORONTO — Canadian Google employees affected by recently announced job cuts were being told Monday whether they have been laid off.

Google Canada spokesperson Lauren Skelly confirmed in an email that notifications were being sent to staff impacted by the cuts announced last month.

Skelly wouldn't say how many Canadians are due to be laid off and in what departments or cities they work, but said Canada remains an important and priority market for Google.

However, LinkedIn posts showed software engineers and user experience designers in Kitchener, Ont. were among those that lost their jobs.

Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Google and parent company Alphabet, told staff in mid-January that his company would be laying off 12,000 workers.

"Over the past two years we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth," he said, in a blog post revealing the cuts.

"To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today."

The reality that materialized pushed him to undertake a "rigorous" review across product areas and functions to ensure roles are aligned with the company's top priorities.

"The roles we’re eliminating reflect the outcome of that review," Pichai said. "They cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels and regions."

Within days of his announcement, Google shared that it would close the Edmonton office owned by its artificial intelligence subsidiary DeepMind.

The U.K.-headquartered subsidiary plans to consolidate its remaining operations, but maintain its Montreal and Toronto offices, which are located within Google-managed buildings.

Researchers at the Edmonton office have been offered the chance to relocate to another DeepMind site, Skelly said.

Other companies that have laid off staff or reorganized operations in recent months as investor and economic sentiments shift include Shopify, Netflix, Amazon, Wealthsimple, Clearco and Hootsuite.

Layoffs aggregator Layoffs.fyi counts 94,838 staff across 297 global tech companies who have been laid off already this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2023.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press

EV'S IN OIL COUNTRY
Birch Hills County, AB is latest to plug into charging station

Mon, February 6, 2023

Birch Hills County installed three electric vehicle charging stations earlier this month, inclusive of a Level 3 station that is available to the public at all times.

The Hypercharge stations were open to the public on Jan. 20. The Level 3 Charger has connectors for both Tesla and J-1772.

“We were able to access the Electric Vehicle Charging Program under the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre (MCCAC),” says CAO Larry Davidson.

“The grant provided 100 per cent of funding. We actually installed two Level 2 chargers within the Birch Hills County compound for our own future use, as well as a Level 3 charger for public use.”

The Level 3 Charger is the first for Alberta north of Edmonton, a step that is expected to increase electric vehicle traffic that will be visiting the northern part of the province.

“We saw it as an opportunity to attract traffic to our businesses and communities that would otherwise not typically be visited,” says Davidson.

“Council wanted to ensure that EV vehicles could charge within a 30-minute charge cycle as opposed to the typical Level 2 charger which needs several hours.”

Davidson says council is aware it will take time for people to adapt to electric vehicles, but their goal was to attract more visitors to the county.

Birch Hills’ Level 3 charger is located on the southwest corner of the Birch Hills County office parking lot at 4601-50 Street in Wanham.

“Council feels this is an opportunity to utilize grant funding to provide a new service that would otherwise be unavailable for many years,” says Davidson.

“We also see this as an opportunity to take advantage of future grant funding for electric vehicles for our own fleet.”

The Level 3 charger rate is $0.33 per minute, trying to stay similar in cost to Petro Canada and Canadian Tire locations that offer the service in the province. Davidson says a typical charge on an EV at a Level 3 charger will be about $10. The County has recently also added the charger to Plugshare so that public will know that it is accessible.

“It will take time, but based on our energy rates and the rates we charge for charging, we should make a small profit after considering power consumption and maintenance,” Davidson says.

“Council is proud to be a leader in implementing new technologies that will benefit our communities.” A Level 2 charger will be installed at the Falher Town office, a Level 2 and a Level 3 at the M.D. of Smoky River office, and a Level 3 charger in the Town of Slave Lake.

Local municipalities are taking advantage of grants being offered to help improve infrastructure. Two Level 2 chargers were also installed last year at the Northern Sunrise County office near Peace River.

If other municipalities are interested in applying for grant money to apply for EV charging infrastructure, at the time of publication there was still money available through SouthGrow for approximately 46 per cent of the installation and equipment cost.

Emily Plihal Local Journalism Initiative Reporter - South Peace News - southpeacenews.com

Emily Plihal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, South Peace News

Quebec minister 'surprised' asylum seekers given free bus tickets from New York City

Mon, February 6, 2023 



MONTREAL — Quebec's immigration minister says she was "surprised" to learn the City of New York is helping to provide free bus tickets to migrants heading north to claim asylum in Canada.

Christine Fréchette says the story highlights the need for Ottawa to solve the problem at Roxham Road, which is an unofficial border crossing south of Montreal used by tens of thousands of people last year to claim asylum.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams told Fox 5 this morning that his administration helps in the "re-ticketing process" for people who arrive in the city but want to go elsewhere.

He told the news station that the city does not push or force people to leave but some express a desire to move on to other places, including Canada.

His comments come after the New York Post reported that some migrants in New York City are being given free tickets to Plattsburgh, N.Y., from where they travel about half an hour by shuttle or taxi to cross into Quebec at Roxham Road.

An official with Adams' office said the city doesn't treat requests for bus tickets to Plattsburgh any differently than those for other American cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2023.

Why some migrants turn around and head back to NYC after free bus ride to near Canadian border

Tue, February 7, 2023 

Freezing rain clings to a 'do not enter' sign at Roxham Road on Jan. 5, 2022. Migrants are being bused near the area from New York City. (Charles Contant/CBC - image credit)

At the Port Authority in New York City, Ilze Thielmann greets would-be refugees as they step off buses.

Many of them were put on buses in southern U.S. states, where officials say they are unable to deal with the deepening migrant crisis.

Thielmann's non-profit organization, Team TLC, and others like it get funding from New York City to help those new arrivals get where they want to go. The process is called "re-ticketing."

Many of them want to go north, to Plattsburgh, N.Y. — the closest town to Roxham Road, an irregular border crossing into Canada used by asylum seekers.

CBC

"They want to cross the Canadian border and take their chances there," Thielmann said. "They think that there are all these jobs up there. They think they're going to be able to get asylum very easily up there and that's just not the case."

Re-ticketing in New York City is not a shocking or surprising process, advocates in Montreal say. But getting a job is often not as easy as the migrants think and overburdened community services are struggling to handle the number of people who are crossing into Canada. As a result, Theilmann said some re-ticketed migrants turn around and come right back.

The New York Post first reported on Sunday that migrants in New York City were receiving free bus tickets — courtesy of charities funded by New York taxpayers — to go to Plattsburgh.

From there, many of them board taxis to Roxham Road, where they enter Canada illegally and claim asylum.

New York Mayor Eric Adams said in an interview with a local television station on Tuesday morning that the city has a partnership with charities to help migrants leave.

"Those who are seeking to go somewhere else, [we're] not we're pushing or forcing — if they're seeking to go somewhere else, we are helping in the re-ticketing process," he told Fox 5 TV's Good Day New York.

"We found that people had other destinations, but they were being compelled only to come to New York City … Some want to go to Canada, some want to go to warmer states, and we are there for them as they continue to move on with their pursuit of this dream."

Not so different from Quebec

Eva Gracia-Turgeon, the co-ordinator of Foyer du Monde, a shelter for asylum claimants in Montreal, said she was not shocked to learn New York City was helping asylum seekers leave the city.

New York is aware "that a lot of people cannot live in that city anymore because of the prices, because of the lack of housing," and so it gives tickets for people to go elsewhere, she said, "somewhere they can actually find a house or maybe meet a family member."

The move, in her opinion, is not so different from migrants in Montreal being encouraged to move to Quebec's regions, and New York City is providing migrants with safe transportation to reach locations they would likely be heading to anyway.

CBC

"I don't see where the problem is exactly," she said. "I think the problem is, for a lot of politicians, the fact [that] Roxham Road exists. And they want to point to [re-ticketing] as another element for closing Roxham Road, where it's not the solution."

"You can put a wall, you can close a road, but it's still not going to change the situation. You still need to take care of the people you receive in your own province, in your own country."

Abdulla Daoud, the executive director of the Refugee Centre in Montreal, says he doesn't think New York paying for bus tickets for migrants is contributing to a new wave of people crossing at Roxham Road.

The bigger problem, he says, is the slow crawl of federal government bureaucracy that delays asylum seekers as they seek work permits in Canada. These delays leave them reliant on public assistance and overburdened community services.

The Quebec government on Monday announced an investment of $3.5 million to 12 organizations in Montreal, Laval, Montérégie and Quebec City to provide support to migrants.

"I appreciate Quebec's announcement of investing more into community groups," Daoud said, "but this should also be a federal thing. And if we regulate the crossings in a way, by cancelling [the Safe Third Country Agreement] completely, it will actually help individuals cross at different points throughout Canada. That way, the brunt isn't just on Quebec."

Suspend Safe 3rd Country Agreement

It's a sentiment echoed by opposition parties in Quebec, who say the flood of migrants using Roxham Road demonstrates the need to suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement.

The agreement, signed in 2002 between Canada and the United States, means that migrants must submit their asylum application in the first of the two countries they enter and cannot try a second time at an official border crossing.

If they try to cross into Canada at an official land border crossing, because of the agreement, they will be turned away.

But the agreement only applies to claims made at official border crossings. If a refugee enters Canada illegally, via Roxham Road, for example, and then claims asylum on Canadian soil, the Safe Third Country Agreement does not apply.

Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said the agreement should be suspended so migrants stop crossing irregularly at Roxham Road, where the passage can be dangerous, and instead seek asylum at official crossings.

"It has been going on for too long already," Nadeau-Dubois said. "It's easy to play politics on the back of Roxham Road. It's harder to propose pragmatic solutions that will work and protect people."

Marc Tanguay, the interim leader of the Liberal party, urged the federal government to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement so "the U.S. takes more responsibility and doesn't become just a crossing ground, that the U.S. doesn't let states take these poor people and put them on buses that bring them to the border. These are people, not merchandise."

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Manchester City F.C. Could Face Expulsion From the Premier League



Jack Lynch
Mon, February 6, 2023 

The current Premier League champions, Manchester City, have been charged with breaking financial regulations for more than 10 years and it could see the club face expulsion from England’s top-flight league.

Since 2008 -- the year the blue side of Manchester was taken over by its current owner of Sheikh Mansour -- City has been one of the most dominant sides in England, while the team has also picked up four Premier League titles over the last five years under its current manager, Pep Guardiola.

The charges, which have been released by the Premier League this morning, have been outlined as "unprecedented" and they accuse the club of repeatedly failing to provide accurate financial information. In addition, the Cityzens have also been accused of not disclosing contractual payments and failing to cooperate with Premier League investigators.

With this in mind, a spokesperson on behalf of Manchester City said: "Manchester City F.C. is surprised by the issuing of these alleged breaches of the Premier League rules, particularly given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials that the EPL has been provided with.

"The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in the support of its position. As such, we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all."

The current accusations date back to 2009, a year after the club's takeover by the brother of the ruler of Abu Dhabi which lead to an incredibly quick turnaround of both financial spending and success. During this period, there have been reoccurring suspicions about City's financial spending on both transfers and wages by the Premier League and also Europe's football governing body, UEFA.

In 2020, UEFA banned Manchester City from the Champions League for two years for financial rules violations, however, the club appealed the decision and had the ban overturned. But, unlike UEFA, the Premier League does not have a statute of limitations in its regulations.

The sheer scale of the wrongdoing Manchester City has been accused of has never been seen before and no previous investigation has lasted as long as this current case against the current Premier League champions.

How Manchester City came to face Premier League charges

Mon, February 6, 2023 



GENEVA (AP) — The English Premier League vs. Manchester City: a legal fixture for the ages.

Soccer’s richest and most watched club competition challenged its defending champion on Monday with more than 100 charges of alleged financial wrongdoing and failures to cooperate with an investigation that took more than four years.

Dozens of charges allege breaches of the league’s financial monitoring rules dating from 2009, or the first full season Man City was owned by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. Thirty more charges relate to Man City’s lack of cooperation in the past five seasons with a Premier League investigation that opened after leaked, and likely hacked, club internal communications were published in 2018.

That leaked evidence led UEFA investigators to examine likely breaches of financial rules designed to create stability in an often-volatile European soccer industry. UEFA-appointed judges imposed a two-year ban from the Champions League in 2020, which the club overturned on appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Man City seems more at risk from the English case, which does not involve a statute of limitations on evidence that was a problem for UEFA lawyers.

The Premier League rule book — signed off by member clubs like Man City — gives its disciplinary commissions sweeping powers to punish teams if charges are proven. That could range from imposing a fine to taking away a title or even ejecting Man City from England's top division.

Here's a closer look at the case:

WHAT ARE THE FINANCIAL RULES?

Known as Financial Fair Play, the regulations are aimed at preventing clubs from spending more than they earn. FFP was established in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, which deepened worries in European soccer that clubs could go out of business if the cost of player transfers and wages kept rising.

Critics believed they would favor storied clubs with established global appeal, such as Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester United. They said FFP would be used to thwart emerging clubs who had wealthy owners ready to spend heavily and accelerate growth.

At the same time, historically underachieving Manchester City was bought in September 2008 with sovereign wealth from the United Arab Emirates. When UEFA in 2011 began monitoring finances of clubs who qualified for European competition, City had made progress by big spending on players.

The first round of FFP judgments in 2014 saw the heaviest penalties for Man City and Paris Saint-Germain — each lost 20 million euros ($21.4 million) in Champions League prize money.

Both were suspected of booking inflated revenue in their accounts through sponsor deals at above market rates with companies from Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

“If clubs use unrealistic deals as a way to get around Financial Fair Play,” Arsène Wenger had warned in 2012 when coach at Arsenal, "it will make a mockery of the rules.”

The English Premier League later adopted a version of UEFA FFP rules.

WHAT WAS THE LEAKED EVIDENCE?

In November 2018, Man City was the Premier League champion with three titles in the first decade of its Abu Dhabi era, and a lavishly talented squad coached by Pep Guardiola.

Yet skepticism remained about the club's commercial results.

German magazine Der Spiegel then published the “Football Leaks” series of articles based on the club's internal documents and communications.

They suggested Man City had broken FFP rules in financial relationships with "related-party" sponsors from Abu Dhabi, its use of image rights payments to players and the contract of Roberto Mancini, who was manager from 2009-13. He allegedly doubled his base salary for advising a club in Abu Dhabi.

Man City did not deny the documents were authentic but said they were illegally obtained by a Portuguese man, Rui Pinto. He later went on trial in Lisbon. A verdict is scheduled in April.

WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE UEFA CASE?

After the Football Leaks publication, UEFA’s club investigators revisited their case and asked the judging chamber to ban Man City from European competitions.

In February 2020, those judges banned Man City for two seasons for “serious breaches” of rules from 2012-16, including overstating sponsor revenue and failing to cooperate with investigators.

Three CAS judges overturned the ban in July 2020, ruling that some UEFA charged were not proven and other evidence was excluded as time-barred. The court “strongly condemned” Man City for obstructing UEFA’s investigation, though a €10 million ($10.7 million) fine was one-third of the original punishment.

Allowed to play in the next Champions League, Man City reached the final and earned 119 million euros ($128 million) in prize money.

WHAT IS THE PREMIER LEAGUE CASE?

The English case against Man City continued separately from the UEFA process in Switzerland.

The Premier League announced charges Monday. A lawyer who chairs the league’s judicial panel will appoint a disciplinary commission of three judges.

A hearing will be held in secret, with no timetable yet for a verdict. Any subsequent legal challenge should go to the Premier League’s Appeal Board.

Man City said it was surprised by the charges and “we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.”

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press

Strip Manchester City of their titles?

This is what I would do if they are guilty

Jason Burt

TELEGRAPH
Mon, February 6, 2023 

Sergio Aguero wins Man City the 2012 title - Getty Images/Ed Garvey

If – and it must be remembered that it remains a very big if at present – Manchester City are found guilty of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League then the Sergio Agüero moment will be forever tainted.

So much focus is on what happens next for City if they are guilty of wholesale cooking the books – heavy fines, points deductions even expulsion from the league – but what is also exercising fans is what happens about the past?

City won three league titles during the nine seasons in which they stand accused of breaching financial regulations and three more during the five years of allegedly failing to co-operate. If those charges are proven should all those titles stand? And what of City’s six League Cups and two FA Cups?

Agüero’s late, late goal delivered that first title in May 2012, taking it away from Manchester United only on goal difference. The timing of it – 93.20 minutes – is emblazoned on the side of the Etihad Stadium. There is a statue of Agüero ripping off his shirt in celebration. It was voted the most iconic Premier League moment ever.

And yet if they are found guilty can it ever be viewed the same? At the very least there will be an asterisk beside it in the history books.

Taking away titles is difficult and such retrospective punishment does not actually appear to be within the powers of the independent commission, although there is a catch-all “make such other order as it thinks fit” which could cover that. Like so many things in this case, it would be open to further appeal.

Nevertheless it feels like a step too far. It will be hard for clubs to prove that they lost out on a trophy or, more pertinently for some because of the finances involved, Champions League qualification directly because of City’s behaviour even if they were seeking an unfair advantage.

Yet United and Liverpool may take note – especially with the words of Lord Justice Males, the Court of Appeal judge, who said in July 2021 of the length of time the Premier League investigation was taking “during which, it may be noted, the club [City] have twice been crowned as Premier League champions.”

City claim 'body of irrefutable evidence' supports them

City’s defence is fiercely robust. In a terse 79-word statement the club could not be clearer in its belief that there is “a body of irrefutable evidence” to support its case and that needs to be aired. There has been too much secrecy and cloak-and-dagger about all of this.

What the charges also show is that the Premier League clubs are at war. City sources believe that the Premier League has acted under huge pressure from other clubs and point to the fact that nine of them – Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Leicester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle United and Burnley – wrote to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on in March 2020 to argue that City should be excluded from Europe while their successful appeal was heard. Wolves later pulled out.

In the early Abramovich years Chelsea also acted in a similar spending manner to City, provoking Arsène Wenger’s famous “financial doping” comment, and then worked to change the rules to stop others following them. That is also true but it is not a good argument. After all if the speed limit is lowered on a road it is no defence for a driver to claim he should not be prosecuted for speeding because his neighbour drove past his house at 30mph and not 20mph the year before.

'City feel their rivals have ganged up on them'

Even so the next meeting of the Premier League clubs promises to be spicy. City will feel that their rivals have ganged up on them. The gloves are off. At the same time this is the ultimate test for the Premier League to show how strong it is, whether it can prove there is no need for an independent football regulator (timely given the Government White Paper was due out this week) as it has decided to take on City and the legal might its owners have threatened to employ.

The sheer scale of the charges suggests that the endgame is not just a fine and a rap over the knuckles while City will fight every point. This will take months, maybe even years. In English football, this is unprecedented and potentially seismic.

There is so much going on here. So much potential ‘whataboutery’ and politicking – and geo-politicking – but it needs to be stripped down to the facts: if City have been caught out, if they have broken the rules, then they should be punished. And punished severely. Other clubs are sailing close to the wind on Financial Fair Play and this will serve as a warning to them.

City should not have their titles taken away from them, though. What purpose would that serve? It may delight rival fans yet would not only feel vindictive but, as already stated, it is hard to prove that the title was directly won because of financial irregularities. Even so those titles will be spoilt as they will forever be associated with wrongdoing.

Certainly though, if guilty, City need to be severely punished in a meaningful way that affects their future. The sheer volume of charges is shocking and warrants sanctions such as a very large points deduction and being restricted in the way they can operate in a number of subsequent transfer windows.

The bigger question is whether they should face immediate expulsion from the Premier League and there will be demands for that and the answer clearly depends on what is proven and the scale of it.

Instinctively it feels a step too far given the grievous damage it would do to the club and the people it employs but it is something that City might have to contemplate. After all, other clubs could then argue that they have been damaged, and had to make cuts, because of City’s behaviour. If the charges stick and the book is thrown at them then City can have no complaint. They will also have spoiled their own history.

Board cancels vote to shut down Vancouver Folk Music Festival Society

Mon, February 6, 2023 

Vancouver-based band Five Alarm Funk headlined the 2022 edition of the Vancouver Folk Festival, performing on Sunday, July 17. (Josh Grant/CBC - image credit)

Leaders at the society behind the struggling Vancouver Folk Festival have paused their plan to vote on whether the society should be dissolved.

A statement from the Vancouver Folk Music Festival Society on Monday said the board voted to withdraw its motion to dissolve the society, which was put forward last month as the festival faced mounting financial difficulties.

The society's president said the board did an about-face after hearing from the public, partners and other festivals.

"The Vancouver Folk Music Festival has long been, and is currently, in a financially dire condition. Our main goal as the board has always been to see a strong, sustainable festival," said board president Mark Zuberbuhler.

"Because of the strong support that has come from the community and our partners we now see the possibility of building that festival."

The statement did not say whether the society has solidified financial plans, but said it was launching a fundraising and volunteer drive as a result of the public's support.

"We were absolutely heartened and touched by the outpouring of love and passion that came from the community," the festival board's vice president Philip Hemming told Gloria Macarenko, the host of CBC's On the Coast.

"We saw that there may well be a way forward. And we took the motion off the table."

In January, organizers said the festival would not return to the city this summer because production costs have risen and the event landscape has changed after years of pandemic shutdowns.

According to Hemming, costs for the 2022 event ballooned by 40 per cent when compared to the last edition, in 2019. Looking ahead to 2023, the society estimated it would have to go $500,000 in debt to make the festival happen.

Hemming says the festival is still low on cash and facing a difficult situation, but organizers are confident the offers of help that have come in since they announced plans to shut it down will translate into financial support.

"We need partnerships. We need sponsorships, and we need donations to save the festival."

The society — a not-for-profit, charitable organization — hosts year-round concerts and events in addition to the flagship, volunteer-run festival.

The three-day event has been a fixture in the city's arts and culture scene for nearly 45 years.

Vancouver Folk Music Festival/Facebook

Strike, lockout notices loom over negotiations between City of Yellowknife, union

Mon, February 6, 2023 

YELLOWKNIFE — Unionized staff with the City of Yellowknife are gearing up for a strike, and the city is preparing to lock out employees as the two sides try to reach a new collective agreement.

The city and Union of Northern Workers, a component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, are in mediation today and Tuesday to negotiate the new deal.

The union gave notice to the city Saturday saying if an agreement is not reached, the staff it represents will go on strike Wednesday.

The city responded by saying it would lock out staff at that time.

A work stoppage would include the closure of the public library, pool, community arena and dump to the public, although emergency services, including fire and ambulance, could continue.

Both the city and union say they are committed to the bargaining process and hope to negotiate an agreement.

The previous collective agreement expired at the end of 2021.

Collective bargaining between the city and union broke down late last year and the parties entered conciliation.

After the union rejected a final offer from the city, unionized employees voted to strike last month.

The city and union then agreed to re-enter mediated negotiations this week.

The city says it is disappointed with the strike notice from the union, saying it would result in reduced services.

The union, however, said the strike notice was a legal requirement, and the lockout notice "casts serious doubts" on the city's intentions to reach an agreement.

"Workers will not be intimidated by this surprise lockout notice," Lorraine Rousseau, regional executive vice president of Public Service Alliance Canada North, said in a statement.

"Workers don't want disruption in services. Workers deserve respect, to be valued and a fair deal."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2023.

Emily Blake, The Canadian Press

Third wave of French pension protests keeps pressure on Macron









Mon, February 6, 2023 
By Dominique Vidalon and Stephane Mahe

PARIS (Reuters) - Public transport, schools and refinery supplies in France were disrupted on Tuesday as trade unions led a third wave of nationwide strikes against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to make the French work longer before retirement.

Tuesday's multi-sector walkouts come a day after pension reform legislation began its bumpy passage through parliament, and are a test of Macron's ability to enact change without a working majority in the National Assembly.

The government says people must work two years longer - meaning for most until the age of 64 - in order to keep the budget of one of the industrial world's most generous pension systems in the black.

The French spend the largest number of years in retirement among OECD countries - a deeply cherished benefit that a substantial majority are reluctant to give up, polls show.

At the start of a protest march in Paris, union leaders Philippe Martinez of the hardleft CGT and Laurent Berger of the moderate CFDT stood side by side to denounce the pension reform.

"This reform will upend the lives of several generations. If the government stubbornly forges ahead, we will step up our protest with longer and harder actions," Martinez said.

Berger, whose union traditionally takes a more conciliatory stance, rejected sweeteners offered by the government, such as increasing the lowest pensions.

"These concessions are just patches. Increasing the legal retirement to 64 is the core of this reform and it is deeply unfair. It is a democratic folly for the government to turn a deaf ear to the protest," he said.

Strike participation appeared lower than a week earlier, data showed, but the government will be watching street protests to gauge how strong public opposition remains.

"We're worn out by work," pensioner Bernard Chevalier said at a protest in the Riviera city of Nice. "Retirement should be a second life, not a waiting room for death."

Labour Minister Olivier Dussopt dismissed opposition accusations that the government was in denial over the scale of public protests, and said change was needed.

"The pension system is loss-making and if we care about the system, we must save it," the minister told RMC radio.

'YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND'

Strike participation among teachers fell to 14% from 26% the previous week, while among workers at state-run energy giant EDF it was 30%, down from 40%.

TotalEnergies said deliveries of refined oil products from its sites had been suspended. Power production was down by some 4.3 gigawatts (GW) - roughly 6% of capacity.

The government says the reform will allow gross savings of more than 17 billion euros ($18 billion) per year by 2030.

Unions and leftwing opponents say the money can be found elsewhere, notably from the wealthy, and that workers need protecting.

"Those of you who support this reform don't understand how tough jobs are, what it's like to wake up with an aching back," Rachel Keke, the first cleaner in France to become a lawmaker, told a raucous debate in parliament on Monday.

"You don't understand what it's like to take medication to get through the work day. You don't understand because it's not a world you live in," the leftist lawmaker continued to applause from opposition benches.

Conservative opponents, whose support Macron needs for a working majority in the National Assembly, want concessions for those who start working young.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has offered to let some people who start work early also retire early - but Les Republicains lawmakers are divided over whether the proposed starting age of 20-21 is low enough.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, Dominique Vidalon, Tangi Salaun, Benjamin Mallet, Forrest Crellin and America Hernandez; writing by Richard Lough and Geert De Clercq; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Kylie MacLellan)

France hit by new strikes, protests over pension reform

Tue, 7 February 2023 
Fresh strikes hit trains, schools and refineries in France on Tuesday over an unpopular pension reform pushed by President Emmanuel Macron, with nationwide protests planned for later in the day.

A third day of union-backed demonstrations since January 19 is set to test momentum for the protest movement which has vowed to block Macron's bid to raise the retirement age.

"We are dealing with a president -- because he is at the heart of all this -- who, with his over-sized ego, wants to prove that he is capable of passing this reform," the head of the hardline CGT union, Philippe Martinez, told RTL radio.

Macron put raising the retirement age and encouraging the French to work more at the heart of his re-election campaign last year, but polls estimate that two-thirds of people are against the changes.

Lawmakers began debating the reform, which would see the age for a full pension raised from 62 to 64 and the mandatory number of years of work extended for a full pension, during a stormy session in parliament on Monday.

Last week's demonstrations brought out 1.3 million people across the country while a first round on January 19 saw 1.1 million, according to the police.

A security source told AFP that between 900,000 and 1.1 million people were expected on Tuesday.

The crowds so far have been the largest anti-government protests since 2010 during pension reform by right-wing former president Nicolas Sarkozy.

- 'Reform or bankruptcy' -

Trains and the Paris metro again faced "severe disruptions", while around one in five flights at Orly airport south of the capital were expected to be cancelled.

But the overall level of disruption, including in schools, was expected to be lower than on the previous two days.

Around half of long-distance trains were running, the state railway company said.

"It's ok, it's manageable," Sylvain Magnan, a 23-year-old told AFP at the main station in the city of Marseille on the Mediterranean. "I just took a later train."

Around one in two workers at oil refineries run by energy giant TotalEnergies had stopped work, the company said, but stocks at petrol stations are sufficiently high to handle any temporary pause in deliveries.

Macron's proposals would bring France closer into line with its European neighbours, most of which have retirement ages of 65 or more.

But the government has struggled to defend the overhaul as necessary or fair, given that the system is currently in balance and that low-skilled workers are said by many economists to bear the brunt of the changes.

"It's reform or bankruptcy," Public Accounts Minister Gabriel Attal said in parliament on Monday, leading to criticism from opponents that he was exaggerating.

Forecasts from the independent Pensions Advisory Council show the pensions system in deficit on average over the next 25 years.

- 'Unfair' -

The changes would lead to annual savings of around 18 billion euros ($19.5 billion) by 2030 -- mostly from pushing people to work for longer and abolishing some special retirement schemes.

France's spending on pensions is the third highest among industrialised countries relative to the size of its economy. The country is number one in terms of overall public spending, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

In parliament, the government will need to rely on the right-wing Republicans opposition party to pass the draft legislation, without having to resort to controversial executive powers that dispense with the need for a vote.

Macron's allies are in a minority in the hung National Assembly after elections in June.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Sunday offered a key concession, saying people who started work aged 20 or 21 would be allowed to leave work a year earlier.

Republicans' head Eric Ciotti has promised his backing, in theory giving the government the numbers needed to pass the legislation.

But the left-wing opposition group and the far-right nationalist and Eurosceptic party of Marine Le Pen are staunchly opposed and have filed thousands of amendments.

Speaking in parliament on Monday, Le Pen said the government's reform "unfair" and "dictated by your desire to please the European Commission."

burs-adp/ah/jm

Legal sizes for lobsters could change to protect population

Mon, February 6, 2023 


PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The rules about the minimum and maximum sizes of lobsters that can be trapped off New England could soon become stricter, potentially bringing big changes to one of the most valuable seafood industries in the country.

Fishers are required to measure lobsters from eyes to tail and must throw back the crustaceans if they're too large or too small. The rules, which can vary slightly based on fishing grounds, are intended to maintain a breeding population of the lobsters in key areas such as the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank.

The regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering changing the standards by a fraction of an inch in some of the fishing grounds. The commission said it's considering the changes because of a worrisome lack of baby lobsters growing off New England.

The changes would arrive at a time when the lobster industry is experiencing record highs in both catch and value, and consumers are paying more for lobsters — already a premium product — than they were just a few years ago. The industry is also challenged by warming oceans and new fishing rules designed to protect rare whales.

Recent surveys that show declining levels of young lobsters are a concern for the future of the fishery, said Caitlin Starks, senior fishery management plan coordinator for the commission.

“Those numbers were declining,” Starks said. “The levels of new lobsters recruiting into the fishery were particularly low, and there was concern that was going to foreshadow decline.”

The commission is soliciting public comment on the proposal and plans to hold public hearings about it in March, Starks said. The changes would affect lobster fishers from Maine to the waters off southern New England, and the hearings will be held in those places, Starks said.

Changes could be implemented by fall 2024 if they are approved, Starks said.

Lobster fishing groups such as the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association are following the developments, said Beth Casoni, executive director of the group. The association doesn't have a stance yet because the exact specifications of the proposed changes are still to come, she said.

“We're waiting to see what the preferred management options are,” Casoni said.

The size of the U.S. lobster catch has increased dramatically in the last 15 years. The catch in Maine, which is by far the largest producer of lobsters, is typically more than 100 million pounds (45 million kilograms) per year. Fishermen had never even eclipsed 80 million pounds (36 million kilograms) in a single year as recently as 2008.

But the population of lobsters off southern New England has crashed. And scientists who perform surveys of baby lobsters from eastern Canada to Long Island, New York, have found a below average number of them settling on the ocean bottom in areas such as the Gulf of Maine since 2012, the commission said in a statement.

“Given the economic importance of the lobster fishery to many coastal communities in New England, especially in Maine, potential reductions in landings could have vast socioeconomic impacts,” the statement said.

Canadian fishers harvest the same species of lobster and have their own measurement standards, which throws a wrinkle into efforts to manage the population.

The rationale for changing the U.S. measurement standards is that it gives lobsters more opportunity to reproduce, said Richard Wahle, a marine science professor at University of Maine who directs the Lobster Institute at the university. The change would also have ramifications such as marketing consequences for the U.S.-Canada trade, he said.

More restrictive measurement guidelines “would be consistent with the precautionary approach to hedge bets against poor year classes," Wahle said.

Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press

CRIMINAL CANNABIS CAPITALI$M

Ontario cannabis shop sales data circulating, provincial pot regulators investigate

Mon, February 6, 2023 



TORONTO — Ontario cannabis stores are seeing their sales data shared among competitors without approval for at least the second time in a year, sparking concerns for shops competing in an already intense industry.

Jennawae McLean, the co-founder of Kingston, Ont. cannabis store chain Calyx + Trichomes, said she reported to provincial cannabis regulators last week that a spreadsheet with sales data was being shared among retailers.

The data set she saw was a Excel file with sales figures for Hamilton stores but had hundreds of hidden cells, which could mean data affecting other locations is also available.

The file featured store names and sales figures for each category of product, including flower, edibles, vapes and accessories, McLean said.

While it's unclear how precise and complete the data was, its release can be dangerous for store owners, said McLean, who does not believe her stores' data was affected.

"If you are a store that's doing great and the numbers are accurate, you become a target for robbery or for other things like that," she said.

"But on the other side of things, it's damaging if you are a store that is pretending to be doing great and if your numbers are public and not that great, it sort of eliminates your leverage when negotiating."

Competition within the sector has been stiff since cannabis was legalized in 2018, but rivalries have been exacerbated in recent months because, by the OCS's count, the number of pot shops in Ontario soared to 1,460 last year.

With several stores steps away from one another, many are being pushed out of business or having to drop prices to keep up with nearby shops and the illicit market.

These stresses are heightened even more when store data is floating around the industry yet again.

Ontario cannabis stores previously saw other sales data “misappropriated, disclosed, and distributed unlawfully" after an OCS breach last spring.

The affected data included revenue, number of kilograms of cannabis sold, total units sold and sell-through rates for individual stores in Ontario, along with store names, license numbers and whether they are owned independently, by a corporation or by a franchisee, three sources with knowledge of the incident said at the time.

The Canadian Press is not identifying the sources because they were not authorized to share the data’s contents.

The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), which is the province's pot distributor, and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), which regulates cannabis stores, said in emails to The Canadian Press that stores informed them last week that confidential sales data was circulating within the industry.

Both organizations said they launched internal investigations into the matter, but determined the data being shared was not theirs.

"The AGCO is closely monitoring this matter and will determine if it gives rise to any regulatory concerns relating to licensed retailers in Ontario," AGCO spokesperson Raymond Kahnert added.

While Ontario pot stores submit sales data to the OCS and AGCO, McLean said neither organization collects figures on accessories, which was included in the most recent document circulating.

However, such numbers are often available to point of sale and menu software companies that cannabis businesses use to facilitate transactions and keep track of inventory.

McLean said she canvassed many of the stores listed in the latest spreadsheet and learned they use several different software providers, leading her to believe the data was scraped from websites and compiled into a single document.

Scraping is when algorithms and technology are used to locate, collect and compile large quantities of data from websites.

The succession of data incidents is "a reality check for other mom and pops that this isn't just selling weed," McLean said.

"It's not like I can just go to my store and sell weed every day," she said.

"Now I have to go to my store and sell weed and worry about search engine optimization and worry about crawling and scraping and all this stuff that was not supposed to be a part of my romantic idea of selling weed."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2023.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press

Canadian government announces $46.5 million for deepsea research

Mon, February 6, 2023 

Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray

VANCOUVER — The federal government is investing more than $46 million over the next five years to see what’s under Canada’s oceans and then protect it.

Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray said understanding of the marine environment is "relatively meagre" given that oceans cover 70 per cent of the Earth's surface.

"It's imperative that Canada better understand our oceans in terms of how they're changing, how we can support their ecosystems and how we can sustainably manage resources," Murray told a Vancouver news conference at the International Marine Protected Areas Congress Monday.

She said the research will "solidify Canada's reputation as an ocean leader recognized around the world for (its) commitment to science, collaboration, technology and environmental sustainability."

The funding will come from the government's $3.5-billion Ocean Protection Plan.

Kate Moran, CEO of the University of Victoria’s Ocean Networks Canada, said the $46.5 million will be used to gather data about the deep ocean for scientific research, government decision-making and to support Canada's ocean industries.

Ocean Networks Canada will study currents, marine safety and incident response, ocean sound information to mitigate the harm of human noise on marine life and ocean monitoring for coastal communities, Moran said.

"This new funding strengthens important national priorities that make the connection between ocean science and communities a real one," she told the news conference.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2023.

Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press