After more than five years, inquiry into Innu children in care begins in Labrador

Story by The Canadian Press • Today

SHESHATSHIU, N.L. — A long-awaited inquiry into the treatment of Innu youth in provincial care has begun in Sheshatshiu, N.L., one of two Innu communities in Labrador.



The Inquiry into the Treatment, Experiences and Outcomes of Innu in the Child Protection System will include examinations of Innu history and the systemic barriers they face.

It will also investigate several cases of Innu children who died in the care of the Newfoundland and Labrador government.

Commissioner Anastasia Qupee said today in her opening statement that Labrador's Innu children and communities have long borne the effects of the foster care system.

The government first announced a memorandum of understanding with the Innu Nation in 2017 to pursue the inquiry.

The latest census data shows that Indigenous youth compose more than one-third of all children provincial care.

The Innu Nation's website says there are around 3,200 members in Labrador, most of whom live in Sheshatshiu, about 40 kilometres north of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and in Natuashish, which sits along Labrador's north coast.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2023.

'We’re stuck in two worlds’

Story by The Canadian Press • TODAY

The Innu of Labrador have waited six years for a promised inquiry to take place into their experiences with the province’s child-protection services.

That day has finally arrived.

The Inquiry into the Treatment, Experiences and Outcomes of Innu in the Child Protection Systems gets underway Monday in the community of Sheshatshiu. The first two weeks will be devoted to the history and culture of the Innu, and will be live-streamed for the public to see.

Other segments of the process will take place throughout the spring and summer, and involve investigative testimony as well as private and community truth-telling sessions.

A report is expected in October.

Lawyers for the commission held a technical briefing for reporters Friday, Feb. 10, to explain the complexities of the inquiry stemming from both its sensitive subject matter as well as the broader impact of colonialism in general.

Some names will be subject to a publication ban unless consent to disclose identities is given.

Contacted Friday, a spokesperson for the Innu Nation said leaders will offer reflections on the inquiry on its opening day.

Residents of the Innu communities of Sheshatshiu and Natuashish share a common ancestry as descendants of Indigenous caribou hunters, but arrived in their current locations through separate paths.

Sheshatshiu is the longest-established reserve, whereas Natuashish was built in 2002 when the Mushuau Innu moved out of Davis Inlet.

Their traditional language is Innu-aimun, although there is some variance between the two groups.

As a people who traditionally lived a nomadic existence following the migratory routes of caribou, the Innu have struggled to adapt to the stationary lifestyle imposed on them by European encroachers.


During the launch of a provincewide suicide prevention initiative in 2021, former Sheshatshiu band chief Anastasia Qupee explained how her people have more recently tried to recapture their traditional way of life by getting children out of the classroom and out on the land as part of their education.

“That’s where people are the happiest. Kids are happy. We need to do more to support those kinds of initiatives and to support our culture and language, and to make the youth feel strong,” she said.

Innu and Inuit communities experience some of the highest rates of suicide, in some cases as much as 20 times higher than that on the island of Newfoundland.

Qupee is one of three commissioners for the inquiry, along with retired social work professor Mike Devine and chief commissioner Judge James Igloliorte.

While the Innu experience with the child-protection system follows a long and tragic arc, perhaps the most visceral moment came in the early 1990s when images of teenagers in Davis Inlet sniffing gasoline were broadcast around the world.

Several of them were extracted from the community and taken to St. John’s for treatment.

The episode sparked a collective movement to rescue residents from their broken surroundings and move them to the newly built community of Natuashish.

However, many of the social problems came with them, and the legacy of lost identity continued as children continued to be farmed out to group homes and foster parents.

As well as addressing broader issues, the inquiry will delve into specific incidents of children dying while under the purview of protection services.

In 2020, former Innu deputy grand chief Simeon Tshakapesh expressed his long-standing frustrations after the death of an Innu boy, Wally Rich, at a group home in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

Tshakapesh’s son, Thunderheart, took his own life three years earlier when he returned to Natuashish after being in care.

The Innu elder summarized the inherent conflict for the Innu under colonization during an earlier interview with The Canadian Press.

“We’re stuck in two worlds,” he said. “We have TVs, satellites, cellphones, the internet, Facebook. … The Mushuau Innu came out of the bush not even 50 years ago. We were a nomadic people.”

The provincial government allocated $4 million in Budget 2022 to establish the inquiry.

Peter Jackson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Telegram

Interview: Enric Sala on the Critical Role of Marine Protected Areas

Malpelo Island off Colombia's Pacific coast is soon to become a marine reserve (CAUT / CC BY SA 2.0)

PUBLISHED FEB 12, 2023 10:09 PM BY CHINA DIALOGUE OCEAN

 

[By Jessica Aldred and Jack Lo Lau]

Enric Sala is both a leading ocean explorer and a visionary. Originally an academic, he grew tired of “writing the obituary of ocean life”, and decided to start a new career finding ways to protect it. He approached National Geographic with an idea for a project that would “combine exploration, research and media to inspire governments to create marine reserves”. Appointed a National Geographic fellow, he launched his Pristine Seas initiative in 2008. Fifteen years on, the project has helped drive the creation of 23 marine protected areas (MPAs) covering more than 6 million square kilometers of ocean.

Enric Sala at the UN Ocean Conference in Portugal last year (Image: Regina Lam / China Dialogue Ocean)

Under the Pristine Seas banner, Sala has travelled the world examining all sorts of different ocean ecosystems. He has studied everything from microbes and algae to large marine mammals, and he’s reached places very few humans have been before. These experiences have shown him how important and beneficial it is to protect the world’s marine environments, and given him evidence to convince politicians that changes need to be made. And he is succeeding. He considers himself an optimist, and as he told China Dialogue Ocean, he even dreams of one day taking Chinese President Xi Jinping on an expedition to the bottom of the ocean.

We caught up with Sala in June at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, to talk about his expedition earlier in the year to the Pacific and Caribbean waters of Colombia.

Note: The map only shows the protected areas mentioned in this article. The islands of Serranilla and Bajo Nuevo are currently administered by Colombia but in an area disputed by Nicaragua. (Data source: Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia; Graphic: Ed Harrison / China Dialogue Ocean)

China Dialogue Ocean: Can you tell us about your expedition?

Enric Sala: We went to provide scientific research to inform the process of creating several MPAs that the Colombian government committed to as part of their plan to protect 30% of their waters – not by 2030, but before 2030. We’re talking eight years before the deadline. The expedition was fantastic, we were able to explore deep reefs with our submersible. We found an extraordinary abundance of deep-sea fish that were larger than anybody thought. Also, deep coral systems that had never been described before.

Why is this area important to study?

Colombia has this gem, Malpelo Island, which is protected as a large marine sanctuary. We were able to survey the areas around the sanctuary. Malpelo sits on top of an underwater ridge. It’s the only part of that ancient ridge that actually breaks the surface. We explored underwater seamounts, and we were able to demonstrate that not only Malpelo, but Malpelo Ridge – the entire chain of underwater mountains ­– is extremely important. Not only for the biodiversity that is there, but also for the endangered species that migrate between these protected islands: Malpelo in Colombia, Cocos Island in Costa Rica [and the] Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. And very often they follow these underwater ridges. We found incredible abundances of hammerhead sharks – on the surface, in the middle of nowhere, 200 metres over the top of seamounts. These are features that we cannot see from the surface, but animals can feel them, and they use them as a migratory highway, like stepping stones between islands.

Where does this highway go to and from?

There is not a single highway. When people talk about a [wildlife] corridor, there is not “a” corridor. Animals migrate throughout the entire eastern tropical Pacific, and different species have different migratory pathways. For example, hammerhead sharks have been tagged in the Galápagos, and they travel to Cocos Island, they travel to Malpelo, and then from there, the females travel to the coast to give birth in the mangroves. So the connectivity of these corridors is very complex and they not only link these oceanic islands, they also link with the coast. Different habitats are essential for different life stages of these species.

Did you use any new tools or techniques during your expedition? 

We used Argo. It’s a diving live-aboard [vessel] for tourists based in Costa Rica. They have this wonderful machine, the DeepSee submersible that goes down to 450 metres. Also we have our drop cams, which are basically glass balls that we can drop over the side of the boat and explore as deep as 6,000 metres. Then we have our scuba [gear] and diving rebreathers and remote cameras, so we were able to explore everything from the surface to the deepest habitats.

What was the most amazing thing that you saw?

We saw many amazing things. When we retrieved one of the cameras that we had on the surface, we saw over 20 hammerhead sharks in one frame, in the middle of nowhere – we were 200 miles from the shore. We also saw groupers that were so large they were 40% larger than the maximum size ever reported in scientific literature. We saw deep coral reefs with an extraordinary abundance of fish that had never been described. And in the Caribbean, also, we saw some of the largest abundances of sharks, on an atoll, one of the most remote atolls in the Caribbean – Serranilla – in the northernmost part of Colombia’s waters. That place is protected, because there is a little navy garrison there, so nobody goes there to fish. So it’s not only one of the most remote places in the Caribbean, it is also one of the best preserved.

How will your discoveries be used now?

The scientific data that we collected has already been used by the Colombian government to designate protected areas around the underwater mountains that we visited. We are now producing a National Geographic film that is going to showcase Colombia’s ocean conservation leadership.

Will your findings change any of the policies or the management of these areas?

What we found helped to inform the expansion of the Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary. That’s a no-take area where fishing and other damaging activities are banned. And our data also informed the creation of two new no-take marine reserves around the two northernmost atolls in the Caribbean belonging to Colombia [Serranilla and Bajo Nuevo]. Plus, the creation of a new area, the Colinas y Lomas Submarinas – underwater mountains and hills – which is going to be a marine managed area, also on the Pacific coast.

What about other Latin American countries – what’s their record when it comes to protecting the ocean?

[Many] countries have a lot of work to do. For example, Peru apparently has 8% of its waters protected. But the area that’s truly protected from fishing, where there is no fishing or other extractive or destructive activities, is negligible. It’s much less than 1%. Peru happens to be a big fishing country, and its fishing industries oppose protections because they argue that this will harm them. This is a false argument. We have evidence from all over the world that when you create no-take zones, it allows species to recover and help repopulate the rest of the ocean. One example is Chile, which is also a big fishing country. It has protected 25% of its waters completely from fishing and other extractive activities. And now its fishing industry is very happy, because their catches are better. Marine reserves are not against fishing, they are an essential tool to allow fishing to continue in the future.

What other reasons are there to protect the ocean?

It’s very important that everyone understands that protecting the ocean is not just something that benefits fish and corals. We all depend on a healthy ocean. It gives us more than half of the oxygen we breathe, which is produced by marine bacteria and microscopic algae. Most people don’t know this. The ocean also helps to regulate the climate and capture some of the carbon pollution we put into the atmosphere. So we need a healthy ocean if we are to continue to thrive on this planet.

Science has a fundamental role to play in providing information, but science takes time. Do we have enough time to make the changes we need?

Science takes time, but we have enough science to make decisions now.

So why aren’t decisions being made?

Given all that we know, if decisions are not being made, it’s because of pressure from economic and industrial groups that have short-term interests and do not really care about long-term sustainability.

What can ordinary people do?

There are many things ordinary people can do to help solve environmental issues. One is to vote properly for politicians who have a programme that is in line with conservation needs. The choice of politicians decides public policy. So, electing the right candidate is the most important thing the ordinary citizen can do. The other thing they can do is to eat more plants and fewer animals. We consume too much meat, and livestock use a lot of resources, land and fresh water, and also produce huge amounts of methane. So reducing meat consumption would help combat climate change. Half of agricultural land is used to feed livestock, which is a huge inefficiency. To be able to restore that land, which is in many cases degraded, to recover the natural ecosystems that offer so many benefits to society, that would be ideal. Besides, eating more plants is good for your health.

At this conference there has been a lot of talk about deep-sea mining. What are your feelings about what has been said so far?

Deep-sea mining has the potential to cause an ecological disaster. We don’t have enough information about the ecosystems that would be affected by mining. And what would the climate change impacts be? We have seen that trawling, by disturbing sediments on the seabed, generates carbon dioxide emissions that are even greater than those from aviation globally. Deep-sea mining would disturb sediment on the seabed on a much larger scale, so it is very likely to generate carbon emissions that would contribute to and amplify global warming.

You were at the first ever UN Ocean Conference in 2017. How far have we come since then?

It’s been five years since the first UN Ocean Conference in New York. There is much more awareness about ocean issues. Back then, many – including conservation organisations – thought that the 30×30 target [to protect 30% of the planet by 2030] was too ambitious. Now we have over 100 countries supporting it. So that’s progress. We have more countries that have created significant marine reserves where marine life thrives.

But on aggregate, the ocean is in worse shape than it was in 2017. There’s been more fishing: today more than three-quarters of our fish stocks are exploited to the limit or over-exploited. Plastic pollution has grown dramatically. Dead zones continue to increase. Invasive species continue to invade ecosystems, destroying the natural balance and also creating huge economic losses. We have more extreme weather events because of global warming, which is also raising the sea level and destroying coastal habitats and infrastructure. So we are in worse shape, even though we’ve had some progress.

The good news, and this is what I’m optimistic about, is that we know that when we give space to the ocean, the ocean comes back spectacularly. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. We see it in these marine reserves that have been created by local communities, Indigenous peoples and governments. And we know what we have to do, we just have to replicate this on scale. 

How optimistic can we be about conferences like this one?

The problem with these conferences is that much of the time is spent repeating the obvious: that the ocean is vital to our lives, that we are degrading the ocean, that it is important that we do something, that such-and-such a country is committed to policies to conserve the ocean. Things we’ve heard for 20 years. People who come here to repeat the same thing are wasting their time; they’re wasting everyone’s time.

But I am optimistic because there have been extraordinary announcements at this conference. There has been action beyond empty words. For example, the government of Colombia has designated new MPAs that bring its protected waters to 30%. And they have achieved this eight years from 2030, which was the proposed target. If they have done it, more countries can do it. I wish more countries had come to Lisbon to announce similar things. But the fact that both Colombia this year and Costa Rica last year have met this goal gives me hope that other countries can achieve it.

Jessica Aldred is special projects editor for China Dialogue, focusing on globally important environment themes including the oceans, palm oil and biodiversity. She spent 10 years as deputy environment editor at the Guardian, and has nearly 20 years’ experience working in the newsrooms of major media organisations in London, Sydney and Melbourne. 

Jack Lo Lau is Latin America editor for Diálogo Chino (Andean Region), based in Lima.

This article appears courtesy of China Dialogue Ocean and may be found in its original form here. 

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

Canada promises Indigenous partnerships, 10 new marine conservation areas as international oceans summit kicks off

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday

Canada is promising to establish 10 new federal marine protected areas as IMPAC5, a global summit on ocean conservation, kicks off Friday in Vancouver.

The goal is critical to the federal government’s 30x30 pledge to protect 30 per cent of Canada’s waters and lands by 2030 in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, said federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.

“Protecting marine ecosystems in Canada is a critical nature-based solution to the dual challenge of biodiversity loss and climate change,” Guilbeault, who is also responsible for Parks Canada, said in a statement Friday.

The minister also unveiled a new policy blueprint enshrining collaboration and stewardship with Indigenous Peoples in all existing and future national marine conservation areas.

The policy honours Indigenous Peoples’ role as stewards of their traditional lands and their use and connections to the land, waters and ice in Canada for millennia, while prioritizing the protection of marine ecosystems and biodiversity.

“It also delivers nature conservation that lives up to our commitment for reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples,” said Guibeault, noting traditional land uses will be protected in conservation areas.

Work is well underway for seven of Parks Canada’s proposed marine protected areas in the Southern Strait of Georgia, the Central Coast of British Columbia, the northern coast of Labrador, along James and Hudson bays and in the Magdalen Islands. Three more conservation areas will be determined in the future, according to the ministry.

First Nations anticipate federal announcements at IMPAC5 around an Indigenous-led effort to create a vast network of marine protected areas along the B.C. coast. Led by 15 nations, B.C. and Canada, the proposed Great Bear Sea MPA network will protect the rich biodiversity of the central coast and iconic species like salmon, herring, eulachon and others while ensuring a range of uses and activities important to coastal communities.

Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Joyce Murray celebrated the new federal policy at the launch of IMPAC5, where she stressed how vital it was to protect oceans in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and combat climate change.

The largest ecosystem on the planet, the ocean produces 50 per cent of the planet’s oxygen, mitigates global warming and regulates the climate and weather patterns. It also sinks nearly a third of carbon dioxide produced by humans.

“Oceans are as crucial to our survival as the air we breathe, and if we truly want to protect our planet, we must protect the oceans,” Murray said. “And we can’t do this without Indigenous Peoples.”

IMPAC5 is the first chance to set the course for a global network of marine protected areas worldwide after international leaders adopted the 30x30 pledge at the United Nations biodiversity conference (COP15) in Montreal in December.

Despite the challenges oceans face from warming water, biodiversity loss and pollution, there is cause for optimism, Murray said.

Less than one per cent of Canada’s coastal areas were protected, but over the last eight years, that number has grown to 14 per cent and the federal government is on track to meet its targets in 2025 and beyond, she said.

The more than 3,000 scientists, Indigenous knowledge holders, scientists, policy experts and young professionals attending the summit from across the globe represent the best and brightest pushing the envelope on ocean conservation, she added.

“IMPAC5 can help us truly put marine conservation front and centre on the global agenda and ensure oceans are firmly anchored in all future climate negotiations.”

Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer

Canada women's soccer team reluctantly returns to training under protest in Florida

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday 

As promised, the Canadian women's soccer team returned to training Sunday in Florida.


Canada women's soccer team © Provided by The Canadian Press

But they did so under protest after Canada Soccer threatened legal action if they continued their job action.

"We are being forced back to work for the next few weeks." midfielder Quinn, who goes by one name, said on social media. "While stepping on a field continuing to provide labour for an organization that upholds gender inequality goes against every fibre of my being, I will continue to do so (for now) in protest."

Added captain Christine Sinclair: "To be clear. We are being forced back to work for the short term. This is not over. We will continue to fight for everything we deserve and we will win. The She Believes (Cup) is being played in protest."

The sixth-ranked Canadian women are scheduled to open the four-country tournament on Thursday against the top-ranked U.S. in Orlando.

The Canadian women boycotted training Saturday, saying they would not take the field unless Canada Soccer addressed their grievances. They were supported by the Canadian men, who refused to play a friendly against Panama in Vancouver last June over dissatisfaction with ongoing labour talks.

The women are demanding the same backing in preparing for this summer's Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand that the men received last year before Qatar. And they want Canada Soccer to open its books.

Both teams are also upset at cuts to their program this year.

In a statement Saturday night, Canada Soccer said the players "were not and are not in a legal strike position under Ontario labour law."

"Canada Soccer was not prepared to jeopardize the SheBelieves Cup tournament, the preparation it would afford the women’s national team for the upcoming World Cup, nor the experience it would afford countless fans who had undoubtedly travelled to Orlando to see their Olympic heroes," it said.

The governing body said it took "the necessary steps" to ensure that such games will be played as scheduled.

"Canada Soccer has heard the women’s national team and has committed to a path to addressing each of the demands made by the players. But Canada Soccer knows that is not enough. There is still work to do."

It said a labour settlement "once concluded, will be a historic deal that will deliver real change and pay equity in Canadian Soccer. It is a goal worth getting right."

In a separate statement, the women said Canada Soccer told them if the job action continued it "would not only take legal action to force us back to the pitch, but would consider taking steps to collect what could be millions of dollars in damages from our Players’ Association and from each of the individual players currently in camp," the women said.

"As individual players who have received no compensation yet for any of our work for Canada Soccer in 2022, we cannot afford the risks that personal action against us by Canada Soccer will create. Because of this, we have advised Canada Soccer that we will return to training (Sunday) and will play in the SheBelieves Cup as scheduled."

Canada Soccer general secretary Earl Cochrane and president Nick Bontis held emergency talks with the team after Sinclair and other players said they could no longer represent the federation unless the issues around the national teams were resolved.


The governing body has repeatedly said that pay equity will be a pillar of the new deal.

That has not been the case in the past. In 2021, Canada Soccer spent $11 million on the men's team and $5.1 million on the women. Sinclair notes some $2.5 million of that women's funding came from Own The Podium, not Canada Soccer.

The men played 19 games that year, including 14 World Cup qualifiers. The women played 17 and won Olympic gold.

"We are not mad at the men's team. They deserve what they get. They deserved to be treated how they were treated last year (a World Cup year). These teams deserve to have proper preparation for the biggest stage. We're just asking for the same," Sinclair said before Saturday's meeting.

"The financial struggles of the CSA (Canadian Soccer Association) didn't just happen overnight. People made decisions in recent years that have put us here. And it just constantly seems like it's the women's team that has to take the brunt of it."

Canada Soccer's total revenue for 2021 was $33.1 million while reported expenses were $28.1 million.

The labour dispute has drawn attention.

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, a member of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, suggested the parliamentary committee should look into Canada Soccer.

"I think it is crucial we now move this organization to the top of the list and hear from Women’s Team members as well," he said on Twitter.

And the Canadian men's team, in an open letter Friday, asked for the government to intervene.

The women sent Canada Soccer a list of their demands Thursday, opting to take job action when they did not get a response. They include playing a home game ahead of the World Cup.

"We stand with Canada's women's national team," Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, CEO of Canadian Women & Sports, said on social media. "This team has expanded the national view of what's possible for women's sport in Canada. There are essential players in the growing movement to support more opportunities for girls and women in sport at all levels. They deserve to be treated equitably. The time is now."

A key part of the labour impasse is Canada Soccer's deal with Canada Soccer Business, which represents all corporate partnerships and broadcast rights related to Canada Soccer’s core assets including its national teams.

Under the deal, Canada Soccer Business pays Canada Soccer an agreed-on amount each year. It keeps the rest under an agreement that helps fund the Canadian Premier League.

Canada Soccer saw the deal — announced in March 2018 — as short-term pain for long-term gain. But it soon found its hands tied in terms of reaping the financial awards of the women winning Olympic gold and the men becoming the toast of CONCACAF in returning to the World Cup for the first time in 36 years.

The prize money from the men's World Cup — Canada earned US$9 million from the tournament purse plus US$1.5 million to prepare for the soccer showcase — is not part of the Canada Soccer Business deal.

"How Canada Soccer is allocating or using funds is unclear and cloaked in secrecy," the men said in a statement Friday.

Both teams are currently negotiating labour agreements with Canada Soccer. The women's previous deal expired at the end of 2021.

The men are negotiating their first formal agreement in the wake of forming their own players association, the Canada Men’s National Soccer Team Players Association.

The women have their own group, the Canadian Soccer Players' Association.

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Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2023.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press

'More whitewashing': Smith stands by her account of Canadian history
Story by Hamdi Issawi • Yesterday

On her Saturday morning Corus Radio program (Your Province. Your Premier.), Alberta Premier Danielle Smith doubled down on what a caller called asked.

© Provided by Edmonton Journal

On her Saturday morning radio show, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith doubled down on her controversial version of Canada’s history with Indigenous people when a disappointed caller asked her to explain and apologize.

Identified only as Bev from Banff, the caller who dialled into the weekly Corus program (Your Province. Your Premier.) described Smith’s account as disrespectful, referring to a recent video in which the premier shared her vision.

“To me it’s such a slap in the face,” the caller said, adding that Smith’s words compare to an October comment in which the premier described unvaccinated people as “the most discriminated against group” she’s seen in her lifetime.

The video, which was recorded in Ottawa, shows Smith characterizing Canada’s origins as a cooperative effort between overseas settlers and Indigenous people “united to tame an unforgiving frontier, ensuring prosperity for countless future generations.”

‘A genocidal policy’

Smith did not apologize for the comments made in the video, and chose instead to describe and affirm Alberta’s “partnership with First Nations” who the province aims to include in its economic activity.

The answer said nothing of Métis or Inuit people.

“This part of the world would not have been opened up if our First Nations partners had not been willing to trade with us, and show us the routes and develop a vibrant industry,” Smith told the caller. “We would not have been able to settle here if they hadn’t been willing to sign Treaties 6, 7 and 8.”

The account Smith related in the video imposes a kind of “contemporary multicultural narrative” on past centuries that doesn’t align with Canada’s policy toward Indigenous people at the time, said Kim TallBear, a professor in the University of Alberta’s faculty of native studies.

“It was a genocidal policy, because genocide is not only about killing people, it’s about eliminating a nation as a nation,” she told Postmedia in an interview, adding that settlers attempted to clear Indigenous inhabitants from the land and tried to replace their permanent structures, ceremonies and religious lives.

“Children were incarcerated in residential schools,” TallBear added. “This was not multiculturalism. This is settlement replacement — the elimination of Indigenous peoples by eliminating the possibilities for them to exercise their life ways that had developed over millennia in these lands.”

Koren Lightning-Earle, legal director of Wahkohtowin Law and Governance Lodge at the university, took issue with the vision of Indigenous societies and lands described in Smith’s video.

“I don’t know if my ancestors would categorize our land as ‘unforgiving frontier,’” she said. “We lived and we thrived and we had societies before people came across the ocean.”

‘An obligation to Albertans’

Moreover, Lightning-Earle had trouble reconciling the purportedly shared goal of settlers and Indigenous people ensuring prosperity for future generations.

“I’m just wondering where the word ‘prosperity’ comes in when we have a clean drinking water class action (lawsuit) going across Canada — where First Nations communities don’t have access to clean drinking water,” she said. “People rely on the statement she’s making, so she has an obligation to Albertans to apologize and correct her facts.”

In answering the caller, Smith said that while the country has fallen short on living up to its treaty commitments, she believes there are efforts underway to provide historical reparations.

“You will hear me talk a lot about our First Nations partners because I don’t want people to forget that history,” Smith said. “I want people to understand that this is an equal relationship, and we’ve got to do our part to make amends for the errors of the past.”

For TallBear, the history Alberta’s premier evokes is “more whitewashing” that barrels over Indigenous perspectives on history, and flies in the face of reconciliation.

”Reconciliation is about non-Indigenous Canadians learning about Indigenous peoples, learning about their history, and changing the way that they think about and treat Indigenous people.”

Lightning-Earle referred to a free Indigenous Canada course offered online by the University of Alberta.

 

Premier rejects NDP claim oilwell cleanup help is linked with her leadership campaign

Story by The Canadian Press • Saturday


EDMONTON — Alberta's premier is rejecting Opposition claims her planned $100-million pilot project for cleaning up old oil wells was influenced by her United Conservative party leadership campaign, arguing that federal money to get the job done missed many of the province's worst sites.



Speaking on her province-wide radio call-in show Saturday, Danielle Smith noted the worst wells have been inactive for decades and repeated her argument that government shares some of the blame for the fact regulators let companies off without fulfilling their responsibilities.

Smith said many of the companies that left those wells without cleaning them up aren't around anymore.

"Because we're targeting it so closely on the worst wells, we're looking at sites, for instance, that have been inactive for 20 years that were drilled prior to 1990, so these are kind of the worst of the worst sites," Smith told listeners Saturday after being asked about the NDP's claims the program is linked with her leadership fundraising.

"Now we're left with somebody holding the bag that may not have been responsible for the initial liability. We have regulators who allowed for those transfers to occur. We have regulators in the past who didn't require cleanup."

"I think we have to take some of the responsibility as government for the fact that we didn't manage it the way that we should have historically."

NDP Energy critic Kathleen Ganley said Friday it's a "huge concern" that before Smith re-entered politics, she lobbied for an oil well cleanup bailout that she made a government priority when she became premier.

The sources of the $1.3 million Smith raised for her leadership campaign last year have not been revealed, and her office has not responded to requests to address questions about how her campaign fundraising has affected her governing priorities.

The Liability Management Incentive Program proposes to give $100 million in royalty breaks to companies that fulfil their legal obligations to restore old oil and gas wells. A royalty is the price Alberta charges a company to develop a resource.

Analysts with Scotiabank said in a report that the proposal "goes against the core capitalist principle that private companies should take full responsibility for the liabilities they willingly accept."

An Independent legislature member and former member of the UCP caucus, Drew Barnes, has called the plan "corporate welfare."

Smith on Saturday praised the federal government's Site Rehabilitation Program which provided $1 billion for well-site recovery, but she noted the program is about to end and that it missed the worst sites.

She said flare pits -- which she described as pools of water where waste materials were just thrown in -- are the biggest problem and have sat in some cases for 40 to 60 years. She said they're not being cleaned up because "it's a huge environmental liability expense companies are worried that they're not going to be able to get the signoff on it."

Landowners, she said, are left with the unremediated sites.

"The reason I advocated for this program when I first heard about it was because I feel so passionately about landowner rights. I feel so passionately that this has been a long-term problem. No one's ever found a way to address it," Smith told listeners.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2023.

The Canadian Press

France's lynx at high risk of extinction: study

Mon, February 13, 2023 


The elusive Eurasian lynx is at risk of vanishing completely from France, according to a study Monday that called for urgent measures to boost the population of isolated wild cats.

There are at most 150 adult lynx hidden in the mountains of northeastern France, cut off from healthier wild cat populations in Germany and Switzerland, according to the scientists behind the genetic study published in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science.

"Given the rapid loss of genetic diversity, we estimate that this population will go extinct in less than 30 years," said co-author Nathan Huvier of the Centre Athenas, a wildlife refuge in eastern France.

"This population urgently needs new genetic material to become sustainable."

The lynx, which disappeared in France in the early 20th century, was reintroduced in the 1970s, spreading through the Jura mountains along the French-Swiss border, where the majority of the population remains.

Huvier said poaching may be occurring but that the main threat to the lynxes is cars because their territory is "highly fragmented" by roads.

Last year conservationists in the area recorded 22 collisions with vehicles. Only one lynx survived.

To study the population in the Jura, the researchers collected genetic samples between 2008 and 2020 from lynxes that were treated for injuries, orphaned cubs or those that were found dead.

They compared 78 of the samples to reference data from the parent population in central Europe's Carpathian Mountains in central Europe.

The researchers found that while the total French population is estimated to be between 120 and 150 individuals, there are only an estimated 38 lynxes thought to have sufficient genetic diversity for healthy breeding.




The authors warned that without a breeding programme to introduce new genetic material into the population, it will likely collapse.

"The lynx is an apex predator and thus a keystone of its ecosystem," Huvier told AFP.

"The fact that it is back in France is excellent news and that's why it is so important to protect this population (as well as all the other populations) and help it to develop further."

French authorities last year expressed concern at the decline of the lynx population and launched a national plan to restore the species.

But calls to boost the population by introducing more lynxes have met with resistance from hunters and farmers, who prefer that the animal's population is left to increase naturally.

klm/mh/rox

'Enlightened tingle': Aussie cafe offers $140 cup of coffee

Issued on: 13/02/2023 -

The Proud Mary cafe in Melbourne offered US$140 cups of coffee made from Black Jaguar beans from Panama © William WEST / AFP

Melbourne (AFP) – At US$140 a pop, one cafe in Melbourne, Australia is serving up no ordinary cup of joe.

Melbourne has long been famed for its coffee culture, with Italian and Greek migrants infusing the city with all things bean and cup since the 1940s.

And for those looking for a next-level experience, one cafe is selling a cup at 50 times the price of a regular flat white or espresso.

The coffee -- hailed as one of the world's finest -- is grown in Panama's Chiriqui region.

Dubbed "Black Jaguar", the beans came first at the prestigious 2022 Best of Panama auction in the Natural Geisha category, scoring 96.5 out of 100.

They sold for over US$2,000 per pound (450 grams). Only 100 pounds were up for grabs and Australian cafe group Proud Mary snapped up a pound.

"I had an out-of-body, enlightened kind of tingle. It was really clearly a special cup of coffee, taste-wise, character-wise," said Proud Mary owner Nolan Hirte, who was on the judging panel.

"It was right in your face, so expressive and so clear.

"There's something about it that's just 'wow'."

The Black Jaguar is the most expensive coffee Proud Mary has ever bought.

They made 22 cups available in Melbourne, and a limited amount was stocked at their cafes in Austin and Portland in the United States.

One connoisseur flew two hours from Sydney to buy the deluxe drop, which is served as a pour-over.

Melbourne is one of the richest cities in one of the richest countries in the world. Even so, US$140 is well above what most people would pay for a cup of coffee.

Proud Mary owner Nolan Hirte (2nd R) said the coffee made from Black Jaguar beans gave him 'an out-of-body, enlightened kind of tingle' © William WEST / AFP

But cinematographer Jake Reeder, a self-described "massive coffee nerd" who won a taste of the Black Jaguar in a competition, said he would have no qualms paying for it.

The 27-year-old described it as a "moving experience".

"Anytime you're on the receiving end of a product that's received so much love and care and attention," he said, "it makes you feel something."

Hirte believes coffee is a snip compared with more expensive drinks such as wine and tea.

"Coffee is far more complex than wine will ever be, but it often gets roasted dark, has sugar added to it and milk poured on it -- it can be so much more," he said.

"And does anyone talk about how expensive tea can be, because it outplays coffee massively."

"Why are we trying to hold it back, to think coffee can just have a ceiling?"

© 2023 AFP

Protesters, rights groups condemn closure of Cambodian news outlet

Issued on: 13/02/2023 

People gathered in Phnom Penh to protest the forced closure of Cambodian media outlet Voice of Democracy © Suy Se / AFP

Phnom Penh (AFP) – A handful of protesters gathered in Phnom Penh on Monday to condemn the shutdown of one of Cambodia's last independent media outlets, with rights groups also slamming the portal's closure just months before national elections.

Prime Minister Hun Sen -- among the world's longest-serving leaders -- ordered the shuttering of online Khmer- and English-language outlet Voice of Democracy (VOD) on Sunday over what he said was an erroneous report about his eldest son.

Sitting in the meeting room at VOD, journalist Khan Leakhena burst into tears as management halted broadcasting at 10 am following the revocation of the outlet's licence.

"I have been here since I was an intern," she said. "I do not want to cry, but I am so shocked."

"Shutting down VOD is like shutting down the voice of the people," she added.

Outside the outlet's offices, protester Prum Chantha said: "It's only VOD that speaks about the truth... The government must not shut them down."

"They are cracking down (on VOD) so that other media outlets don't dare to rise up, to speak the truth," she added. "Other media outlets will be scared -- this is a threat."

A dozen police officers blocked the road as information ministry officials delivered the closure notice.

In the now-empty VOD studio, Ith Sothoeuth, media director of the Cambodian Centre for Independent Media which oversees VOD, told reporters: "For now we will stay silent".

"We hope that this is not the end of everything yet," he said, adding they were working with stakeholders to find a solution.

In the run-up to the election later this year, Hun Sen has increasingly cracked down on dissent and freedom of speech.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday condemned the "outrageous and ridiculous order" to shut VOD, which "barely masks the government's real intent to further suppress media freedom".

"Going after VOD is a good indication that (the) scheduled July 23 poll will be neither free nor fair," HRW deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said in a statement.

"The real losers in all of this are the people of Cambodia."
'A clear warning'

VOD, which has broadcast since 2003, published a story on February 9 alleging that Hun Sen's son, Lieutenant General Hun Manet, had signed off on funds to help earthquake-hit Turkey.

Hun Manet has denied the claim, with Hun Sen stating that he himself authorised the $100,000 relief package.

The Cambodian leader demanded an apology from VOD, but has refused to reconsider his decision to revoke its licence even after the outlet complied.

As of Monday afternoon, some Cambodian internet service providers had blocked access to the site, requiring readers to use a VPN.

"This is a blatant attempt to slam the door on what's left of independent media in the country," said Amnesty International.

They added it was "a clear warning to other critical voices months before Cambodia's national elections".

Damar Juniarto, executive director and co-founder of digital rights group SAFENet, called the shuttering "bad for democracy".

The United States embassy said it was "deeply troubled" by VOD's closure, urging authorities to reconsider.

The German and French embassies also expressed concerns about the move in the run-up to the national polls.

In 2017, the Cambodian Daily was forced to close after it was hit with a disputed multi-million dollar tax bill, though it later restarted operations online.

And ahead of 2018's elections, many independent outlets were forced to close after being stripped of their operating licences.

© 2023 AFP

Earthquakes: Many in Turkey blame faulty construction for worsening the devastation

Issued on: 13/02/2023 -

VIDEO Earthquakes: Many in Turkey blame faulty construction for worsening the devastation - France 24   02:12

Turkey's Justice Minister says 131 people are under investigation for their alleged responsibility in the construction of buildings that failed to withstand the quakes. Although the quakes were powerful, many in Turkey blame faulty construction for worsening the devastation. The country's construction codes are in line with current earthquake-engineering standards but they are rarely enforced - a possible explanation for the thousands of buildings that fell or collapsed. This report from FRANCE 24's Shona Battacharyya and our team on the ground.

Greenpeace Joins Suit to Block New FSRU at Italian Seaport

Piombino (Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mar Tirreno Settentrionale)

PUBLISHED FEB 6, 2023 2:32 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Federation have joined the city of Piombino in a suit to block the installation of an FSRU at the city's seaport. The project has already been approved by the regional government, but opponents contend that it could potentially be harmful to the marine environment and to local aquaculture interests. 

State-owned gas company Snam wants to bring in an FSRU to the western Italian port of Piombino as early as April, and it is moving ahead with preparations. The project has urgency for the Italian government because of the need to reduce reliance on Russian natural gas. According to Reuteres, Italy is looking to source over eight billion cubic meters of LNG from other suppliers, primarily in Africa, Qatar and the U.S., before the next winter. Italy's existing terminals do not have that much extra capacity, but the Piombino project alone could handle five billion cubic meters. 

Piombino's mayor, Francesco Ferrari, opposes the FSRU project and filed a court challenge to block it last year. The suit sought an injunction to halt work pending further study, citing safety and environmental concerns. 

"We are aware of the energy emergency and that new gas supply measures are in the national interest, but this cannot disregard safety guarantees for the community in Piombino," said Ferrari at the time. 

WWF and Greenpeace have joined the suit as supporting parties, calling for a more thorough review of the project's impact. 

"There was a lack of risk assessment for the environment (starting from the [environmental impact assessment]) and for people, above all of an entire phase of the life of the work . . . which is certainly worrying. Very little attention was also paid to the study of emissions and pollutants," said President of WWF Italy Luciano Di Tizio and President of Greenpeace Italy Ivan Novelli in a joint statement. 

Separately, Italian trade union USB has filed a criminal complaint with the Livorno prosecutor's office, accusing Snam of "environmental crimes" in connection with the FSRU project. The union has objected to purchasing American natural gas (LNG) at a price "four times that of Russia," and it has expressed displeasure at development projects in Piombino which it considers objectionable, like the FSRU and a new landfill at Ischia di Crociano.