Blue-collar job openings have 'gone gangbusters'—workers aren’t finding them on LinkedIn

Story by Rebecca Picciotto • Yesterday - CNBC


Darren Rambo, a 47-year-old industrial mechanic, says he had built a name for himself in the Illinois construction industry and as a result, never had trouble finding work. Then, at the end of 2019, he moved to Florida and had to "start from scratch." So, he got on LinkedIn.


Engineers having discussion on welding jig design data to improve welding process.© Provided by CNBC

Given that it's the largest professional networking site with over 900 million members worldwide, according to its website, Rambo is certainly not the first to flock to LinkedIn in need of job prospects.

But for him, it was to no avail: "To be quite honest with you, I've had a LinkedIn account and I've never had any success with it," Rambo tells CNBC Make It.

LinkedIn's stated vision is to "create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce." Lakshman Somasundaram, the company's director of product management, says the operative word in that sentence "is very much 'every.'"

He says that LinkedIn has been making intentional investments over the past couple of years to become more inclusive for all kinds of workers: "For example, if you are a fry cook and you come to LinkedIn, 'fry cook' should be available as a title for you to put on your profile." Currently, "Fry Cook," "Short Order Fry Cook" and "Fast Food Fry Cook" are all available as job titles on the platform.

According to Somasundaram, 155 million of the platform's 900 million users today are "first-line workers," which LinkedIn defines as any job that requires less than a four-year degree: "It's a growing segment for us."

The company has been trying to grow that segment for a while. In 2015, LinkedIn cofounder Allen Blue told The Financial Times there was "a growing number of blue-collar workers on the site."

Even so, blue-collar workers — those in trade sectors like construction who work outside of office settings — say they're not yet seeing the benefits in their job hunts.

The term "blue-collar" is sometimes applied with derogatory connotations, but Rambo says, "To be quite honest with you, I'm proud of that label."
LinkedIn? 'Never gotten a job on there'


Darren Rambo is an industrial mechanic based in Florida.© Provided by CNBC

Rambo says he uses LinkedIn "to read or as something to look at when I'm bored. But as far as finding employment, it's never done anything for me like that." He's not alone.

Sonja Wiltz, a 54-year-old construction safety coordinator, says, "All the years I've been on LinkedIn, I've never gotten a job on there."

Rodney Brock, a 49-year-old pipefitter, says he has a LinkedIn account but rarely uses it: "To me, it's just something different than what I'm used to as far as the hot sheets or something that feels more construction-y to me." Hot sheets are physical lists of jobs and projects that construction workers have historically used to find open work.

Upon moving to Florida, Rambo also signed up for Monster Jobs and Indeed. He found little success on Monster, which he says recommended jobs that were completely outside his skill set like working for the post office.

Fortunately, Indeed turned out to be a gold mine for his job hunt: "Within three days [of making an Indeed account], I had four or five people calling me." Indeed, he says, was more sensitive to his skills and showed him more jobs that aligned with his qualifications.

Who online networking left behind

Professional networking and job searching looks different in the age of the internet, and as Silicon Valley develops more sites and apps for workers to connect online, blue-collar workers have not always been the target audience.

In a 2001 paper on the increasing use of mobile phones, Jacqueline Brodie, an associate professor at Edinburgh Napier University, and Mark Perry, a professor at Brunel University, wrote that research into what tools blue-collar workers need in the digital age "is strange in its absence."

"Perhaps this research is not seen as 'sexy'," they wrote. "This is a worrying trend in the design of technology — not only is it in a sense discriminatory (in that increasingly technological power is invested in the hands of managers, and not the workers), but also because it is ignoring a potentially large market."

LinkedIn was created in 2002 as a platform for people to share their professional credentials and network within industries. It is primarily used by white-collar workers, but as Somasundaram says, the company is trying to change that "perception historically" with "small things that we tweak," as well as foundational changes like trying to improve "job discovery."

Those tweaks appear to be helping some: Somasundaram reports that now 40% of people who sign up for LinkedIn on any given day are first-line workers.

But workers say that for them, LinkedIn is primarily a social network or, in Brock's words, "a chat room," not a place where they find jobs.

And those jobs are still very much abundant, even in today's tenuous job market.
Where blue-collar workers are finding jobs

So far this year, according to a report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, there have been over 270,000 job cuts, which is a 396% increase from the same period a year ago.

But amid the flurries of layoff headlines, "Construction, on the other hand, has gone gangbusters," says labor economist Marianne Wanamaker of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The Department of Labor reported last week that the construction industry added about 129,000 job openings in February, despite the overall rate of job openings declining 6%.

That resilience might be drawing young workers seeking job stability. A report from the National Student Clearinghouse found that in 2022, enrollment at two-year trade schools increased dramatically. Though all schools took a hit during the pandemic, mechanic and repair schools saw enrollment numbers jump nearly 12% last year while construction increased 19%.

Blue-collar work, which Wanamaker defines as work in the construction, oil, and gas sectors, does have a different cycle of hiring than white-collar industries. They are project-based and therefore, once a project is complete, workers must seek a new position.

Workers like Rambo, Wiltz, and Brock use a variety of platforms to find work including grassroots Facebook groups and even TikTok (some have taken to short-form videos to post construction job openings, according to Wiltz). They also use BoomNation, which, according to CEO Brent Flavin, officially launched last fall and is trying to fill the blue-collar gap in online job hunting.

"It's been historically an archaic word-of-mouth network," says Flavin. "Sometimes they find [jobs] relatively quickly, but it's at least days and most times weeks and in our opinion, that's unacceptable."

Based in Baton Rouge, BoomNation is an online platform and app that provides blue-collar workers with available jobs, allows employers to post openings, and has a messaging platform and newsfeed for people in the industry to stay in touch. In other words, it's LinkedIn but built with blue-collar workers as the target demographic.

"This isn't new technology we're talking about. This is just kind of matchmaking and transparency of opportunity," says Flavin.

"White-collar workers have had that for a very long time," says Wanamaker, who is also a BoomNation board member. "All you have to do is open LinkedIn."

Flavin says that even as LinkedIn tries to pivot to be more inclusive, "We could seriously compete, because we're built for the worker."

Rambo says that BoomNation is where he goes when he needs to find work fast: "There's a running joke from construction workers in my field anyway that if you get mad at one job, just jump on BoomNation and you'll be working somewhere else tomorrow."

Check out:
Hiring is still booming in some industries, but falling in others—and job seekers are worried

Canada short tens of thousands of oil and gas workers, government says

Story by Bryan Passifiume • Yesterday -  National Post

Despite industry transition plans that advocates fear will eventually phase out Canada’s oil and gas industry, government projections show the sector is short tens of thousands of workers.

Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan speaks during a news conference, 

Wednesday, October 19, 2022 in Ottawa.

Those numbers were contained in a response to an order paper question submitted by Bow River MP Martin Shields, who asked Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan to elaborate on comments made earlier this year to senators saying Canada “needs more” oil and gas workers, not less.

During the red chamber’s Feb. 9 question period in which O’Regan was invited to take part, Newfoundland and Labrador Senator David M. Wells asked the minister how the government’s “just transition” strategy to shift away from carbon-based energy would impact his province’s energy workers.

“Can you tell us how that phasing-out of the oil and gas industry is ‘just’ for the Newfoundland and Labrador workers on all our offshore rigs, all our on-shore suppliers,” Wells asked O’Regan, adding that workers have invested in education to “learn about their craft,” and are well-paid to do so.

“I can’t stand the phrase ‘just transition,’ I’ve said this for years,” replied O’Regan, who represents the Newfoundland riding of St. John’s South—Mount Pearl.

“‘Just transition’ is a word that workers hate and my constituents don’t like, so I don’t like it either.”

O’Regan countered that “just transition” isn’t about phasing out the oil and gas industry.

“The oil and gas industry is going to be with us for quite some time, and I would argue proudly so,” O’Regan said.

“I am proud of what we have done in this country and what our workers have accomplished in this country.”

Describing Canada’s place as one of the world’s top oil and gas producers as a “remarkable accomplishment,” the minister admitted that his government’s policies “sometimes, frequently, isolate the very people that we need to lower emissions and build-up renewables, which is the workers of this industry,” he said.

“I need more workers in the oil and gas industry, not less. We need more.”

In the response to Shields’ inquiry, models produced by Employment and Social Development Canada across nearly 300 national occupation groups projected 14,000 job vacancies in the oil and gas extraction industry over the 2022-2031 period.

“These represent approximately 13 per cent of the sector’s employment levels in 2021,” the reply read.

Back in February’s senate proceedings, O’Regan said Canada is on a “mission” because the world’s eyes are upon us due to our abundance of natural resources and a skilled workforce.

Everything we know about Canada's 'just transition' plan for oil and gas workers

Liberals' 'just transition' clean energy jobs plan is a plan for more plans

Senate Opposition Leader Donald Neil Plett asked O’Regan to elaborate on the plans the government has made with provinces — specifically Alberta and Saskatchewan.

“Will you listen to the oil and gas producing provinces, and put this ridiculous notion of ‘just transition’ where it belongs, in the garbage bin,” he said.

O’Regan explained that his pedigree of being a thrice-elected MP from an oil and gas producing province makes him “keenly aware” of both the challenges and prosperity of Canada’s energy industry.

“We will work with industry and unions,” he said, adding that he’d “quietly” embarked on a trip to Alberta to speak with stakeholders, assuring them that the Trudeau Liberals are “on task and on mission” to ensure Alberta and Saskatchewan — as well as Newfoundland and Labrador — will be world leaders in transitioning to a low-carbon economy.

“I can tell you quite proudly in my home province that they’ve gotten the message, and that we are moving forward and are determined to lower emissions where we can find them, as are many, many oil and gas workers who I knew in the industry who know which way the puck is going, and are determined to skate to it.”

Inquires to the Labour Minister’s office seeking insight on O’Regan’s comments were instead directed to Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, whose office maintained the challenge facing the government is not that there will be too few jobs in 2050, but there won’t be enough Canadians with the skill needed to participate in tomorrow’s labour market.

“This legislation will help to ensure that every region of Canada and every Canadian worker is at the centre of every policy and decision the Government makes,” said ministry spokesperson Keean Nembhard, referring to a 2019 government promise to introduce legislation meant to “support the future and livelihoods of workers” as Canada shifts to a low-carbon economy.

“This approach has been adopted by a number of other countries and jurisdictions, which have embedded ‘sustainable jobs’ commitments within climate legislation, including Germany, Scotland and New Zealand.”

Lisa Baiton, president & CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, told the National Post that Canada needs to continue building on the expertise of oil and gas workers to ensure the continued production of Canada’s safe, secure and affordable petroleum industry.

“Working in this industry means working with national leaders in clean technology, environmental protection, biology, conservation, data analysis and machine learning in addition to engineering and energy development,” she said.

“We would support every effort to attract, retain and enhance the nation’s energy workforce.”

HINDUTVA IS FASCISM
Recent mosque attacks raise questions about the affinity between white supremacy and far-right Hindu nationalism
Story by Zeinab Farokhi, Assistant Professor (limited term appointment), Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, University of Toronto Mississauga, University of Toronto • Yesterday 2:43 p.m.

During Ramadan, a man attacked a mosque in Markham, Ont. He allegedly yelled slurs, tore up a Qu'ran, and attempted to run down worshippers in his vehicle.


People carry placards and shout anti-government slogans during a protest against Islamophobia in Bengaluru, India in April 2022.© (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Some people on Twitter have raised the idea that the attacker was connected to Hindu extremist groups; however, the investigation is still ongoing.

This is one of two hate-motivated incidents at mosques in Markham in a week. Although police said they don’t believe the incidents are connected, as a researcher of online extremism I can theoretically link these events to a global trend of Islamophobic violence.
Legal discrimination and violence

From the United States’ Muslim ban, to India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, to Québec’s Bill 21, Muslims face legal discrimination globally.

Read more: Niqab bans boost hate crimes against Muslims and legalize Islamophobia — Podcast


Muslims have faced legal discrimination globally. Here community members gather outside the Islamic Society of Markham in Ontario.

© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Alongside these laws, Muslims face physical violence. This includes: the beating, lynching and burning of Muslims in India, the Christchurch massacre in New Zealand in 2019, the Québec City mosque shooting in 2017, and more recently the murder of the Afzaal family in London, Ont.

Collectively, these policies and killings demonstrate a transnational quality of Islamophobic prejudice and violence.

While the two incidents in Markham may not be directly linked to extremist groups, they have occurred within this global ecosystem of Islamophobia. To me, the attacks indicate that these online conspiracies do not occur in a vacuum and can have potentially horrifying real consequences.

Hindutva-based terrorism in Canada

Over the last several years, I have carefully examined the digital and transnational connections between white supremacists in North America and far right Hindu nationalists in India.

My preliminary findings show how these two seemingly unrelated extremist far-right groups have become increasingly allied on social media platforms as they position Muslims as a “common enemy.”

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the right-wing Hindu nationalist organization, promotes the Hindutva ideology which believes India only belongs to Hindus.

A recent published report by the National Council of Canadian Muslims and the World Sikh Organization documents how this organization has gained ground in Canada. Jasmin Zine is a Canadian scholar whose recent report also outlines a network of Hindu nationalists that aids in the circulation of ideologies that promote Islamophobia.

Governments spreading misinformation

In 2014, the BJP, the most prominent Hindu nationalistic right-wing party in India came to power. Like the RSS, the BJP and other Hindu nationalist parties believe that India belongs only to Hindus.

Since elected, the BJP has actively spread misinformation and conspiracies about Muslims through social and mainstream media, intensifying hostilities between Muslims and Hindus.



The BJP and other Hindu nationalists believe that India belongs only to Hindus, not minorities like Muslims.

© (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)


The Canadian Press  Officials speak out after alleged mosque attack in Markham
3:15

While seemingly different on the surface from white supremacy, my research shows how these two movements similarly mobilize emotional rhetoric and visual content to spread their influence.

Twitter, as one of the main platforms for both groups, has been used extensively to perpetuate new forms of gendered Islamophobia and to forge surprising alliances and affinities.

The Love Jihad conspiracy

One of the conspiracy theories shared by these groups is called Love Jihad. Originating in India by Hindu nationalists in 2013, this conspiracy alleges Muslim men actively seduce non-Muslim women to marry and convert them to Islam.

The #LoveJihad hashtag was quickly picked up on social media by white extremists and other Islamophobic groups in North America, modulating it to fit their own conspiracies such as The Great Replacement.

This example demonstrates how anti-Muslim sentiment online spreads quickly and transnationally.

Groups I monitor on Twitter from India constantly talk about the perceived threat of Love Jihad. One such Hindu nationalist group, Hindu Jagruti Org, warns Hindu women against “dangerous, sexually aggressive” Muslim men. The tweet below is an example:

These tweets portray Muslim men as “deceitful, sexual monsters” who view Hindu women as “objects to fulfill their lust.” Hindu extremists argue that to combat these “Muslim monsters,” precautionary measures are needed.

#LoveJihad travels to North America

The #LoveJihad conspiracy was quickly taken up by Islamophobic groups in North America. For example, Robert Spencer, who runs Jihad Watch which has a large following among Hindu nationalists, tweeted the following:

The tweet includes an article that claims the Islamic State encourages Love Jihadis to target non-Muslim women and “abduct,” “forcibly convert, and marry” them.

Love Jihad has been proven a farce.

Yet, Spencer continues to claim there are “real cases that show how Muslim men have duped Hindu women into toxic romantic relations year after year.”

Responses from users to Spencer’s post demonstrate his success in establishing #LoveJihad as fact. For instance:

As these posts indicate, Love Jihad easily reinforces belief in Muslim men as “terrorists” and “groomers” — that is, men who create trust with girls and young women in order to exploit them.

Transnational alignment of hate

This shared intense hatred of “monstrous” Muslim men brings Hindu and white extremists into a “transnational affective alignment.” That is, the mutual hate of Muslims and a mutual love for Hindu and white national ideals.

Social media platforms such as Twitter are important in creating these alignments and perpetuating related conspiracies, gaining considerable traction through their repetition.

This alignment is produced through the demonization of Muslim men and extremists’ shared hate and fear of them across borders. Through transnational responses and retweets, extremists forge a layered and cumulatively condensed affective message: Muslim men are dangerous. We fear them. Thus, we hate them.

While it remains to be seen whether or not the recent mosque attackers were directly influenced by online, transnational and affective Islamophobia, recurring incidences such as this should remind us that hate does not abide by international borders.

Misinformation and conspiracies find fertile ground in the echo chambers of social media.

Our response to such crimes — and their online equivalents — must consider that the fear and hate of Muslims does not happen by accident.

As the #LoveJihad conspiracy demonstrates, strange bedfellows are easily made when there is a perceived common enemy. Conspiracies and acts of anti-Muslim hate impact us all.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

Read more:

Narendra Modi’s victory speech delivers visions of a Hindu nationalist ascetic

In India, Modi’s nationalism quashes dissent with help from the media

Zeinab Farokhi receives funding from SSHRC.

India court acquits 69 Hindus of murder of 11 Muslims during 2002 riots

Story by Reuters • Yesterday 

An Indian court on Thursday acquitted 69 Hindus, including a former minister from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of the murder of 11 Muslims during communal riots in the western state of Gujarat in 2002.

The killings occurred in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002, a day after a suspected Muslim mob set fire to a train carrying Hindu pilgrims, setting off one of independent India’s worst outbreaks of religious bloodshed.

A total of 86 Hindus were accused of the killings in the Naroda Gam district of Ahmedabad, 17 of whom died during trial. All the accused were free on bail.

“We have been saying from the first day that they were framed,” defense lawyer Chetan Shah, who represented 82 of the accused, said. “Some of the accused were not present at the scene on the day of the incident.”

Shamshad Pathan, who represented the victims, said they would challenge the court’s decision in a higher court.

“Justice has eluded the victims once again. We will study the grounds on which the court has acquitted the accused persons,” Pathan said.

Those acquitted include Maya Kodnani, a former minister of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP, who was a lawmaker at the time of the riots, former Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Jaydeep Patel.

Bajrang Dal and VHP are Hindu nationalist groups and have close links to the BJP.

Kodnani was also an accused in a case in which 97 people were killed in the 2002 riots. She was convicted but later acquitted by a higher court.

At least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed across Gujarat in the 2002 riots. Activists put the toll at over twice that number.

Critics accused Modi, who was chief minister at the time, of failing to protect Muslims. Modi denied the allegations and a Supreme Court-ordered investigation found no evidence to prosecute him.

The acquittal comes eight months after 11 men jailed for life for the gang-rape of a pregnant Muslim woman during the riots were freed on remission, according to Reuters, drawing condemnation from the victim’s widower, lawyers and politicians.

The men were convicted in early 2008 and released from jail in Panchmahals in the western state of Gujarat on August 15, when India celebrated 75 years since the end of British rule.

Panchmahals’ top bureaucrat told Reuters that the district jail advisory committee had recommended the release after considering the time the 11 had spent in jail and their good behavior.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

BECAUSE CCS IS A TECHNO MYTH

2050 a more important climate target than 2030, proponents of carbon capture say

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday 

CALGARY — Alberta's new climate plan drew criticism this week for its lack of interim emissions reduction targets, but proponents of carbon capture and storage technology say it's important to be realistic about how quickly major projects can be deployed.



"Whether we like it or not, it's going to take time," said James Millar, president and CEO of the International CCS (carbon capture and storage) Knowledge Centre, a non-profit organization based in Regina.

"It comes down to getting these projects built. And in an optimal world, that will take six or seven years."

Most climate models suggest the large-scale deployment of carbon capture technology — which is used to trap harmful greenhouse gas emissions from industrial processes and store them safely underground — will be necessary if Canada is to have a chance of meeting the net-zero-by-2050 target the federal government has committed to.

There are currently more than 50 proposed carbon capture and storage projects in various stages of development by industry across the country. The vast majority of those are proposed to be located in Alberta, home to Canada's oil and gas sector and the country's heaviest-emitting province.

But while some of those projects could be getting close to a final investment decision, companies have said they need more policy and regulatory certainty before they can pull the trigger on what is expected to be billions of dollars in capital investment.

They're racing against the clock. The federal government's net-zero plan includes an interim target of reducing Canada's emissions by at least 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 — a goal and time frame that the oil and gas industry has long suggested is unrealistic.

“The question is, how fast do you want us to go?" said MEG Energy Corp. CEO Derek Evans at an oil and gas industry conference in Toronto earlier this month.

MEG is part of the Pathways Alliance, a consortium of oilsands companies that has committed to spending $16.5 billion on a massive carbon capture and storage network to be built in northern Alberta.

Evans said Pathways intends to apply for regulatory approval for its carbon pipeline as early as this fall, but 2030 is fast approaching and building a 400 kilometre-long piece of infrastructure is a heavy lift.

"Do you want me to jam that ($16.5 billion investment) through that knothole in that time frame? Or if we’re making progress on that, is that the key?" Evans asked.

Alberta's climate plan, in contrast to the federal vision, doesn't contain any interim targets. Instead, it asks for proposals for consultants to go through the provincial economy sector by sector and analyze what's achievable.

Millar said he believes industry wants to gets shovels in the ground sooner rather than later — not just to meet the federal 2030 target, but also because the federal price on carbon is set to rise by $170 per tonne by 2030.

But he pointed out that Canada doesn't have a history of building large infrastructure projects quickly, which may mean that making progress towards a 2050 goal is more important than a 2030 target. The industry is still waiting for more policy certainty from the federal government around future carbon pricing, and there are also concerns around how long the regulatory and permitting process could take for some of these projects.

"We'd all like to move a lot quicker, but we just have to look at history, at the length of time it takes to get things done," Millar said.

"So I think it's 2050 for those reasons. This is going to take time."

Jan Gorski, oil and gas director for the Pembina Institute — a clean energy think-tank — said interim targets on the road to 2050 are an important accountability measure. He said the lack of a near-term target without a clear emissions reduction signal could lead to decisions that lock in higher emissions, such as building natural-gas fired power plants to produce electricity instead of investing in renewable energy.

However, Gorski added that targets on their own mean nothing, which is why the federal government's pledge to introduce a legislated cap on emissions from the oil and gas sector is so important.

"What we need is both a target and policy," Gorski said. "The target on its own is only one part of the equation."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2023.

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

Report finds Canadian Tire stores violated privacy laws with facial recognition technology

Story by MobileSyrup • Yesterday 

Several Canadian Tire stores that used facial recognition technology have been found to have violated privacy laws.


As reported by The Globe and Mail, British Columbia’s privacy commissioner, Michael McEvoy, published a report revealing that the stores that used facial recognition technology did not adequately notify their customers or obtain consent to collect their personal information.

Further, according to the report, even if the stores using facial recognition technology obtained customer consent, they would still need to provide a valid reason for collecting the information. The report found no reasonable reasons.

A total of 12 Canadian Tire stores used the technology for about three years, quoting precautionary measures against theft and safety. The systems were subsequently removed when Canadian Tire learned that the privacy commissioner was investigating four of its stores using the technology.

The report also revealed that the systems collected sensitive biometric information between 2018 and 2021, and that the stores would have needed to make a compelling case to justify the collection of such information. Further, the commissioner recommended that the stores develop and maintain a robust privacy management plan, while the British Columbia government should change the laws that regulate the sale of biometric technology and create additional obligations for organizations that use it.

He emphasized that retailers must carefully consider the privacy rights of their customers before implementing new technologies that gather sensitive personal information.

Source: The Globe and Mail

After the migrant deaths in Akwesasne, Canadian immigration law must reckon with its colonial history

Story by Vincent Wong, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Windsor

THE CONVERSATION • Yesterday 

On March 29, two families of four died while attempting to cross the St. Lawrence River from Canada to the U.S. Their bodies were found in Akwesasne Mohawk territory which straddles the Canada-United States border.


Searchers pulled the bodies of two families who had attempted to cross the Canada-U.S. border from the St. Lawrence River in Akwesasne, Que. on March 31.

© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Media coverage quickly began to frame the fatal incident as an issue of illegal human smuggling. Reports characterized the Akwesasne Mohawk territory as a “smuggling hotspot” and an “ideal location for trafficking of humans and contraband.”

Articles featured exposés on migrants who helped smuggle people across the border as well as Akwesasne individuals who assisted in crossings rendered illegal by U.S. and Canadian governments.

This type of news coverage, which focuses on individuals, allows governments on both sides of the border to elude responsibility for enacting policies which limit options to cross borders legally, make irregular crossings more dangerous and deflect blame onto those facilitating those crossings.

But perhaps the most glaring omission in media coverage is any meaningful reflection on what it means for this tragedy to occur on Indigenous territory.

Indigenous communities and the border

Scholars have drawn attention to historical amnesia when it comes to colonialism and racism in the western media coverage of migration. Unless this amnesia is addressed, the precarious conditions, suffering and death that many migrants fleeing persecution and displacement face will continue.

The Akwesasne tragedy must be understood in the context of colonial history and the imposition of the U.S.-Canada border on Indigenous nations.


The Canadian side of Akwesasne beside a frozen St. Lawrence River in March 2022. The Indigenous territory straddles both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.

© (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

The 1783 Treaty of Paris established a rough initial boundary between American settler claims and British settler claims, which ran through the St. Lawrence River, present-day Akwesasne territory and the Great Lakes.

The 1794 Jay’s Treaty codified the inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples to move freely across the border and to carry out trade and commerce. Yet, in practice, neither colonial government expended much effort to monitor or restrict the movement of people across the boundary.

But as American and Canadian governments hungrily expanded to the west, the idea of freedom of movement for Indigenous Peoples began to fade away in the face of settler colonial objectives.

Instead, Indigenous Peoples were made foreigners in their own land with mobility and land rights inferior to those of European settler migrants. After the Métis-led 1885 North-West Rebellion was put down, Canada implemented a regime of racialized migration control known as the Indian pass system.

Related video: Egyptian families say delayed refugee applications linked to Canada Border Services Agency (The Canadian Press)

Duration 1:03  View on Watch

Global NewsSome Canadians detained in Syria returning home

2:09

WPTZ Plattsburgh-Burlington illegal crossings from Canada ramping up and concerning NNY residents

3:04

NBC NewsU.S. and Canada strike new deal to turn back asylum seekers

3:25

This system made it illegal for Indigenous people to leave their reserve without a pass issued by an Indian agent for a specific duration and purpose. Those caught violating pass conditions faced jail time and could be “deported” back to their reserve. The pass system remained enforced in some locations until the 1940s.

As Historian Benjamin Hoy writes, “[f]rom the very outset, Canada and the United States believed that building a national border on Indigenous lands required erasing pre-existing territorial boundaries.”

Colonial dispossession

Canadian immigration law has historically served as a key mechanism of colonial dispossession. The first Immigration Act of 1869 was designed to promote “a liberal policy for the settlement and colonization of the uncultivated lands”, particularly as part of westward expansion.

It did this by actively encouraging white European settlers to come to Canada by granting them protections and rights. These included travel support, affordable homesteads, no removal after arriving and naturalization after three years’ residence.

Additionally, the 1872 Dominion Lands Act granted large plots of land to any settler who paid a small fee and made certain improvements on the land. Yet this land was not Canada’s to claim, grant or sell, but rather belonged to Indigenous nations whose traditional territories were swept up through military violence and unfair treaties.


A Mohawk flag flies in front of a Canadian border crossing near Akwesasne. Canadian immigration law has historically served as a key mechanism of colonial dispossession.

© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Undermining Indigenous self-determination

Canada has continued to assert unilateral sovereignty in immigration while simultaneously erasing diverse Indigenous laws and customs.

This came to a head in the 2006 federal court case of Sister Juliana Eligwe, a Nigerian nun in Canada who faced deportation. Sister Juliana claimed asylum in Canada, saying that she would face persecution if she returned to Nigeria.

Sister Juliana worked as live-in nanny and housekeeper. She also volunteered with the Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation in Manitoba where she supported youth experiencing the emotional trauma of losing peers and loved ones to suicide.

In a bid to prevent her deportation, the First Nation made Sister Juliana a band member. The First Nation’s lawyers argued that Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act should be read in a way that recognized the inherent right of Indigenous communities to determine political membership, as well as any member’s right to enter and remain in Canada.

The court rejected that argument, saying the First Nation was attempting “to usurp the discretion of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration by accepting non-residents as band members and thereby granting them permanent resident status.”

Ultimately, Sister Juliana was deported to Nigeria, another country deeply affected by the legacies of British colonialism. In siding with the federal government, the court effectively took away the First Nation’s right to decide on its own membership.

A key part of the truth and reconciliation process is for settlers to acknowledge treaty relationships with Indigenous communities and their treaty rights to be on this land. It is untenable that immigration policy remains untouched by the obligations of reconciliation and decolonization.

To help avoid more tragedies at the border, Canada must make a commitment to reckon with its unfair and colonial history of immigration. One of the first steps is to acknowledge and respect Indigenous sovereignty, laws and treaty relations when it comes to immigration.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

Read more:

3 ways Ottawa can rebuild trust following changes to the Safe Third Country Agreement

Tragedies, not accidents: Tougher Canadian and U.S. border policies will cost more lives

ONTARIO

Food of the Future challenges ideas of agriculture at APL

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday 

As our population grows, our traditional methods of farming might not be able to keep up with demand. But new, innovative ideas for sustainable and “community-based indoor agriculture” have been recently highlighted by Dr. Matt Hammond and Phil Fung in a new partnership with the Aurora Public Library.

On Thursday, April 20, the duo will host Food of the Future, an Earth Day presentation, through the Aurora Public Library’s (APL) channels. The live, virtual presentation, at which the presenters will take questions from participants, has worked hand-in-hand with a model biome, which has taken pride of place in the Library Living Room since April 4 before being wrapped up this Saturday, April 22.

The biome, located near APL’s central elevator, is a mix of hydroponics and aquaculture, bringing fish into the mix.

“As Phil and Matt are so passionate about the project, they started off saying they would like to do a little sample model and then, ‘We don’t want to have a little aquarium on top of the stands? We’re going to build one that is 6.5 feet tall and we’re going to attach it to the elevator,’” explains Reccia Mandelcorn, APL’s Manager of Community Collaboration, with a chuckle. “They wanted to give people the idea that you could grow kale, microgreens, and all kinds of stuff in there. The fish are a huge draw (for visitors to APL) and we even have a contest now where kids can name the fish they’re looking at. When they go to look at the fish, the parents are talking to them about growing.”

Bringing the work of Fung and Hammond to APL is “major,” says Mandelcorn as their engineering work and work on innovation has garnered them significant recognition in recent years.

“We are getting a lot of registration not only from our local community, but from different municipalities who are really interested in this project,” she says. “I am personally really honoured that Phil and Matt decided to host this at Aurora Public Library because I think they would have been welcome in any municipality and certainly by any library and it is really big for us. I am so excited.”

Making this presentation particularly relevant for the community, she adds, is the awareness of what is happening to Ontario’s Greenbelt and to local farmlands.

“The pandemic also brought up the whole supply chain and many people are living in condos or apartments and don’t have access to community gardens. I think the whole concept of food and food instability has hit people in a way that they haven’t ever thought of before. This is a way of thinking of new ways to do agriculture that works with our changing urban environment. Even in Aurora, which is suburb, we look around us and see we are becoming more urban and we need to look at other ways of making food local and taking ownership of our food. Also, I think people are just excited about new technologies – it’s new technology that is really meaningful and what can be more meaningful than food that sustains us?”

This week’s presentation and installation is just one of the many ways APL has supported food programs. They have partnered with the York Region Food Network on several initiatives, including the Culinary Traveller program, which has resulted in the publication of some of the best-loved recipes of Aurorans who have roots in all parts of the world, as well as gardening programs.

“We are very interested in continuing our partnership with them and I think they are with us as well. If there are any other environmental groups in the area who are interested in partnering with the Library, we are very passionate,” says Mandelcorn. “Food is community, it’s culture, and certainly with our staff, we’re very passionate about environmental concerns and about good food and bringing people together. We’re happy to work with anybody!

“This is a small little piece that Phil and Matt are showing as an example of something larger that a municipality can take on as a project, but we have had people who have come through and said, ‘We can actually do this in my own space,’ so I think people are looking at this as a template for something creative they can do in their own homes. That is a very exciting side piece. We looked at it from a macro level but people are coming to say from a personal level how they can see this working within their own spaces, so I think that is very exciting, too.”

For more on Food of the Future, including registration, visit bit.ly/3Hjle8b

Brock Weir, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Auroran

P.E.I. firefighters get lessons on handling solar panel fires

Story by Thinh Nguyen • Yesterday .

When firefighters pull up to a call and find a home's solar panels on fire, can they use water to beat down the flames?

The answer is yes, but with specific precautions, said David Candy, who's training firefighters on Prince Edward Island this week.

"You can flow water on it, but it's got to be a solid screen nozzle, [it] has to be greater than 20 feet away, and you can flow ... pressures between 100 and 150 GPM [gallons per minute]," said Candy, who is with the Riverview Fire Department in New Brunswick.

Maintaining that six-metre distance is important because those panels might still be generating power, posing a risk of electrocution. Firefighters must also wear specialized gloves designed for those fighting electrical fires, he said.

That's just one of the lessons Candy is bringing to a number of fire departments on the Island, including the Borden-Carleton Fire Department.

"It actually was very eye-opening," said Shawn Jessome, the department's chief.

"We haven't seen anything on our side with solar panels. But it's becoming more and more [common] on P.E.I. to have solar panels on houses and now commercial buildings. So it's good to have that training."

Departments in Crapaud, Tyne Valley and New London are taking the program this week.

A three-step process

Candy developed the training program when he began to notice more photovoltaic systems around Atlantic Canada. The course teaches firefighters how to deal with incidents involving these systems, giving them a basic understanding of solar technology as well as the hazards and safety concerns that come with it.

Related video: 4 Things to Consider Before Installing Solar Panels on Your Home (Martha Stewart Living) Duration 0:47  View on Watch

Better Homes and Gardens9 Things to Consider Before Installing Solar Panels
0:54

CNBCTV18Did You Know? Installing Solar Power Is More Affordable Than Ever Before !
0:51

Daily Paws4 Things to Consider Before Installing Solar Panels on Your Home
0:47

During his classes, he talks about a three-step process when firefighters pull up to the scene of a fire.

First, they need to do a 360-degree walkaround and look up to see if there are any solar panels on the house. They also need to watch out for any ground-mounted solar systems.


Solar panels are becoming more popular on P.E.I. as a safe source of electricity, but they come with some hazards for firefighters.© CBC

Step two is to shut down any solar panel connections.

"As you walk around the building, there's disconnects that are part of the system. They're the built-in safety feature. We want them to shut down any components that can be shut down."

Step three is to watch out for the remaining electrical hazards, since solar roof panels might still be generating power during normal daylight conditions. They will have to be disconnected, Candy said, "or they have to be covered with a heavy black canvas or opaque material, so it doesn't generate power."

Preparation is key

It's important to control the safety risks that come with solar panels, just like any other kinds of utilities, Candy said.

When propane started to become more popular in homes, many fire departments had concerns about dangers that were different from what they were used to, Candy noted. Training helped them mitigate problems associated with that energy source, he said — and he's expecting the same with solar panels.

"We have a whole lot of utilities that we're controlling now… the solar voltaic is something new. They're extremely safe, but still, there are some challenges and risks.

"And we want to make sure that firefighters are properly prepared because the more information and training you have prior to the emergency happening, it's going to make it safer for the members responding."

As for homeowners, Candy said they need to make sure their panels are set up by a qualified installer and the components meet national electrical codes.

After taking the course, Jessome said his department intends to scout its coverage area and see which houses and businesses have solar panels.

Eventually, the department will send a questionnaire to these property owners to find out the panels' output, where the disconnects are, and whether there's a backup battery.

"I hope to see more fire departments do this training," Jessome said. "It's very valuable and has a lot of information into it."

Up in smoke: Human activities are fuelling wildfires that burn essential carbon-sequestering peatlands

THE CONVERSATION

Mike Waddington, Professor, School of Earth, Environment & Society, McMaster University 

Sophie Wilkinson, Assistant professor, Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University

 • Yesterday

For centuries, society has scorned bogs, fens and swamps — collectively known as peatlands — treating them as wastelands available to be drained and developed without realizing they’re important buffers against climate-changing carbon emissions.

Smouldering fire in a drained peatland near Fort McMurray, Alta. produces smoke from underground. These ecosystems are affected by rising temperatures, drought, wildfire and various human actions including drainage.© (Leyland Cecco)

It’s only recently that humans have realized how vital these wetlands are to regulating our climate, despite negative connotations in derisive expressions like “swamped,” “bogged down” and “drain the swamp.”

Draining the swamp, wherever it might be, could be a catastrophic mistake for humankind as climate change throws punches that these ecosystems can handle much better than others.

But as the changing climate exacerbates the extent of droughts and wildfires, especially in the vast peatlands of the north, these ecosystems are now fighting a losing battle.
Threats to carbon-sequestering peatlands

A majority of all the world’s peatlands are found in northern regions. Layered by waterlogged peat topped by living mosses, these peatlands absorb and expel carbon, typically storing a little more than they give off, making them carbon sinks over time. 

Over thousands of years, peatlands have accumulated massive amounts of carbon.

Collectively, peatlands hold more carbon than all the world’s forests. Peatlands account for just three per cent of the world’s land mass but hold about a third of the planet’s stored soil carbon, making them Earth’s most carbon-dense ecosystems.

However, peatlands are under pressure everywhere. They are affected by rising temperatures, drought, wildfire and various human actions, including drainage. In this process of draining, the water from the peatlands is allowed to run off through dug-out ditches, thus making the wetland drier.

Individual bogs are drained for agriculture, mining, urban development, wind turbine placement or peat harvesting. So far, between seven and 10 per cent of all northern peatlands have been drained.

Fire and bogs

Wildfires are becoming more frequent and more severe, meaning peatlands will have to be at their best to continue absorbing carbon.

Healthy peatlands are remarkably resilient to the impacts of fire. A significant amount of carbon is lost both to burning itself and through burn damage that impairs the growth of carbon-sequestering mosses. But these ecosystems are typically able to recover and restore their climate-regulating function within 10 to 30 years.

Related video: Wildfire Smoke Might Be Coming For Your Favorite Vegetable (The Weather Channel)  Duration 0:43   View on Watch

However, when bogs have been damaged, especially by drainage, they become vulnerable to wildfire.

Even without fire, drained bogs are net contributors of carbon. When they burn, they burn much more deeply because their peat reserves are dry and dense. These self-propagating smouldering fires can spew millions of tonnes of carbon and harmful, toxic smoke into our atmosphere.

The time to save our peatlands is now

As climate change accelerates over the coming decades, the interplay between degraded peatlands and hotter fires significantly changes the carbon equation in the environment.



A burned peatland in the Fort McMurray wildfire. It is critical to keep our peatlands from burning up,© (Mike Waddington)

In our recently published paper, we found that the direct threat from drainage, coupled with climate-change enhanced wildfires, is accelerating the release of carbon from these peatlands. Simply put, our actions are turning climate-friendly peatlands into liabilities, with potentially devastating consequences.

Our study of natural, degraded and restored forms of peatlands in boreal and temperate regions revealed that the once stable carbon-storing power of our northern peatlands is gradually losing to the effects of fire, and drained peatlands are the biggest culprits for this.

Compromising the healthy peatlands that remain — even if it’s for otherwise beneficial uses such as growing food or helping us move away from fossil fuels — could backfire badly, especially as climatic conditions worsen.



Sophie Wilkinson demonstrates the resistance of moss to an experimental fire in a bog during a project conducted in partnership with FP Innovations, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry and the Canadian Forest Service.© (Greg Verkaik)

We found that without deliberate restoration efforts for already drained peatlands, and protection for those that remain, our carbon-collecting northern bogs could flip to carbon contributors by the end of this century. This will further accelerate the overall pace of global warming and climate change.

Fire is natural, of course, and some peat will always burn, but the degree and frequency of wildfire is making it harder for peatlands to recover their ability to store carbon after a fire.

Our research shows that it is not only critical to keep our peatlands from burning up, but that there is also an important and viable opportunity to mitigate this impending disaster. But the window for action is shrinking quickly.

Canada is home to one-third of the world’s northern peatlands and a proven force in restoring drained bogs.

The looming peat fire crisis demands that Canada prioritize protecting its intact peatlands and accelerate their restoration. Reviving the carbon-storing capacity of peatlands would delay their broader conversion from climate benefactors to liabilities, providing precious time to act on climate change.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

Read more:

How scientists are restoring boreal peatlands to help keep carbon in the ground

Peatlands protect against wildfire and flooding, but they’re still under attack in Canada

Sophie Wilkinson receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Mike Waddington receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Blazing Star Environmental, McMaster University, Ganawenim Meshkiki, and Henvey Inlet Wind LP.

Canada’s support of Line 5 pipeline to come under scrutiny of United Nations

Story by The Canadian Press • Windspeaker.com

Canada is being called out by Indigenous nations on both sides of the border for its support of the continued operations of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline.

A report signed by the Anishinabek Nation, which represents 39 First Nations in Ontario, along with 10 tribes in Michigan and two tribes in Wisconsin, as well as a handful of environmental organizations, was submitted earlier this month to the United Nations Human Rights Council as part of the fourth universal periodic review of Canada.

The periodic review is a mechanism of the human rights council aimed at improving human rights situations in countries by hearing periodic scrutiny.

The Canadian government must work with Anishinaabe people on both sides of the “international border (which) creates an artificial divide between our Canadian and American families,” said Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe of the Anishinabek Nation.

Niganobe joined Indigenous leaders from Canada, including Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archbild, in addressing media at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York on April 19.

“At the United Nations we will continue to seek clarity on the application of the principles of free, prior and informed consent when it comes to state actors and Indigenous peoples who do not live within their domestic jurisdiction,” said Niganobe.

Niganobe is part of an international delegation of environmental and Indigenous groups attending the UN forum to call on Canada and the United States to shut down the Line 5 pipeline.

Line 5 is a 70-year-old pipeline owned and operated by the Canadian company Enbridge in traditional Anishinaabe territories. It transports 87 million litres of crude oil and natural gas daily just over 1,000 km crossing through Wisconsin into Michigan and terminating in Ontario. The line runs under the Straits of Mackinac, a channel connecting the Great Lakes of Michigan and Huron.

The operation of the line is an “urgent issue.” Tribal Nations and environmental groups are concerned an oil spill could decimate fisheries, damage animal and plant species, pollute sacred places and cultural resources, and jeopardize access to drinking water.

The submission to the UN Human Rights Council says one study found that 4.2 million litres of oil has spilled from Line 5 over 33 incidents since 1953.

“Tribes in the U.S. and Canada…have worked for years to decommission Line 5 given the risks a catastrophic oil spill poses to their health, culture and environment,” says the submission.

It states “a catastrophic oil spill” could contaminate more than 375,000 acres of land and wetlands, 450 lakes and thousands of shorelines and rivers.

“It would irreversibly devastate the environment, impacting Indigenous communities’ livelihood, ability to practice their culture, and way of life,” the submission goes on to say.

To this end, the 51 Tribal Nation signatories admonish Canada for its continued support of Line 5, which includes legal and diplomatic action while excluding Indigenous communities from directly being involved in the decision-making process.

They also say that Canada’s stand is in direct contradiction to the seven international human rights treaties the country has ratified and its passage of United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples legislation.

They call on Canada “to abandon its current posture in the Line 5 litigation in U.S. courts, respect and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and prioritize the pursuit of a sustainable future.”

“Line 5 could effectively be shut down,” said Niganobe. But Canada and Enbridge “choose to keep that line in operation for no reason at all…there are more effective things they can do that they’re not doing.”

The Tribal Nations’ submission points out that Line 5 “exacerbates the climate crisis” with its upstream and downstream greenhouse gas emissions amounting to approximately 87 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.

Windspeaker.com contacted Natural Resources Canada for comments as NRC is mandated to develop Canada’s natural resources. However, NRC directed Windspeaker.com’s inquiry to Global Affairs Canada, which, in part, promotes international trade.

"Canada is committed to working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and will engage with Indigenous groups on the Universal Periodic Review report on Line 5. Canada takes into account all reports sent to the UN and is reviewing the one sent by Indigenous and environmental groups," said Global Affairs in an email statement.

"We encourage civil society and Indigenous Peoples to propose recommendations to help us better defend and promote human rights. We look forward to receiving the next set of recommendations.”

The next session of the UN Human Rights Commission’s universal period review of Canada will take place Nov. 6 thru Nov. 17.

By Shari Narine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter