Quebec public sector unions go on strike, announce 72-hour walkout later this month


Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press

Members of four major public sector unions in Quebec walked off the job on Monday and promised another series of strikes later this month if progress isn't made at the bargaining table.

Schools, health-care facilities and social services were disrupted at various points on Monday as the four unions representing a "common front" of some 420,000 workers protested the province's latest contract offer.

The unions announced their members planned to picket again for three days between Nov. 21 and Nov. 23.

Éric Gingras, president of Centrale des syndicats du Québec, told reporters the province had two weeks to settle before the next walkout.

"Two weeks to negotiate, seven days a week, 24 hours a day … let's negotiate and reach an agreement." Another union official said an agreement in principle was required to put off the 72-hour strike.


The government's latest contract offer was soundly rejected by all labour unions in the province. The offer included a 10.3-per-cent salary increase over five years and a one-time payment of $1,000 to each worker — a proposal some unions have described as "paltry."

However, Treasury Board president Sonia LeBel responded Monday on X, formerly Twitter, that if unions aren't satisfied with the government's offer, they should submit a constructive counter-offer.

"A negotiation cannot be one way," LeBel wrote.

The government has said that in addition to pay raises, its offer includes more money for workers and shifts it considers priorities, such as nurses working nights and weekends and teachers' aides in primary schools. Workers who earn less than $52,000 a year would also receive an additional one-per-cent increase.

The unions have said the government's proposal doesn't cover inflation.

“10.3 per cent over five years is an insult," said Magali Picard, president of Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec. "The message from the common front is clear: if you want a counter-offer, start by making us a real offer."

Unions are demanding a three-year contract with annual increases tied to the inflation rate: two percentage points above inflation in the first year or $100 per week, whichever is more beneficial, followed by three points higher in the second year and four points higher in the third.

One McGill University professor noted that the Quebec labour negotiations exist in a broader context of several high-profile strikes in recent months in North America that have led to big gains for unionized workers, including in the automotive sector.

"That heightened degree of militancy among workers in Canada and the U.S. is really reshaping the power dynamic and reshaping the narrative about work and unions and what workers are entitled to, and it's really raising expectations across the board," said Barry Eidlin, a sociology professor who studies labour movements.

"So (those union wins) really stiffens the resolve of the leadership and it raises the expectations of the membership."

Monday's strike lasted from midnight until 10:30 a.m. in elementary and secondary schools, and until noon in junior colleges. Some health and social services, including mental health care, youth protection and medical imagery were operating between 70 and 85 per cent capacity; however, essential health services were maintained.


For one parents group, there was confusion about what the labour strike could mean for schools in the coming weeks. A union outside the common front and representing some 65,000 Quebec teachers has said it will launch an unlimited general strike on Nov. 23 if an agreement isn't reached.

"(The priority) is always going to be student success and the impact of prolonged strikes will have on this because teachers are one of the most important pieces of the puzzle here," said Katherine Korakis, president of the English Parents Community Association.

"The government keeps saying they prioritize education; well, then they have to show that they prioritize education."

After dropping her kids at a suburban Montreal school, Julie Pitre, a mother of two, said she firmly supported the striking workers.

"They don't have an easy job and they give so much for our children," Pitre said. "I hope they can get what they need."

Later this week, a two-day walkout is planned for Wednesday and Thursday by the union representing 80,000 nurses, auxiliary nurses, respiratory therapists and other health professionals.

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

que in Montreal.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

OSC tribunal approves $8M settlement over RBC accounting practices

BNN Bloomberg

The RBC Royal Bank of Canada logo is seen in Halifax on Tuesday, April 2, 2019.A new report says protracted labour shortages in Canada could fuel more rapid wage growth and inflation, potentially prompting the need for higher interest rates longer term. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan)

 

The Ontario Securities Commission has approved an $8-million settlement with Royal Bank of Canada over issues with its tracking of costs related to internal software development.

The settlement, approved by the OSC's Capital Markets Tribunal on Friday, covers deals the bank reached with the commission as well as with Quebec's Autorité des marchés financiers and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The payments, stemming from its deficient accounting controls between 2008 and 2020, included $4 million to the SEC, $2 million to the OSC and $2 million to the AMF.

The regulators say RBC was not properly monitoring how much of its software development spending should be capitalized, and therefore considered assets, and what should be counted as expenses.

It says the bank, which increased its capitalized spending on software development from $658 million in 2011 to $1.3 billion in 2022, has taken corrective action on the deficiencies and there was no evidence of dishonest conduct.

RBC says in a statement that it was pleased to have resolved the matter, which it "thoroughly investigated and took action to remediate."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2023.

This is a corrected story. A previous version incorrectly stated the penalties against RBC were $10 million.

Youth unemployment higher among racialized groups and Indigenous youth: StatsCan

Daniel Johnson , BNN Bloomberg

While youth unemployment rose slightly in October, it was even higher for younger Canadians who are part of a racialized group and Indigenous youth.

Statistics Canada data released Friday showed the overall youth unemployment rate for those between the ages of 15 and 24 rose by 0.9 per cent in October to 11.4 per cent. According to Statistics Canada, youth unemployment has been historically elevated compared to older adults. 

On an annual basis, youth unemployment rose 1.9 per cent to 11.1 per cent in October, according to Statistics Canada. Between March and October, the unemployment rate rose by 2.7 per cent among female youth, compared to 1.8 per cent for male youth.

“In October, the unemployment rate remained notably higher for youth who were part of a racialized group and for Indigenous youth,” Statistics Canada said.

“Among the largest racialized groups, the unemployment rate was higher in October for Black (17.7 per cent) and Chinese (14.7 per cent) Canadian youth than for the total youth population (three-month moving averages, not seasonally adjusted).”

Youth unemployment rates among South Asian Canadians came in at 12.7 per cent, the data found.

On an annual basis, Statistics Canada found unemployment rates were “little changed” for South Asian and Chinese youth, however, rose by 3.9 per cent among Black youth.

“In October, the unemployment rate for First Nations youth living off-reserve was 16.4 per cent, up 4.2 percentage points on a year-over-year basis,” Statistics Canada said.

“Among Métis youth, the unemployment rate was 13.2 per cent, little changed from the same month in 2022.” 

 

Abortion is on the ballot in Tuesday’s key elections

BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL - 11/07/23 

Abortion is on the ballot on Tuesday, and key elections in Ohio, Virginia and Pennsylvania will be a test of the staying power of the issue more than a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. 

Abortion rights have won in every state that voted on the issue since the fall of Roe v. Wade, and groups on both sides have been pouring tens of millions of dollars into off-year elections.  

While Ohio is the only state that will vote directly on an abortion measure Tuesday, it’s a central issue in both the Pennsylvania Supreme Court race and Virginia’s legislative elections.

Voters have sided with abortion rights in six states since the end of Roe v. Wade, including in conservative Kentucky and Kansas. Democrats have been able to ride a wave of post-Roe anger over abortion, and are looking to use it as a powerful cudgel against Republicans in 2024. 

Their efforts on Tuesday are likely to be a sign of whether the strategy can continue to be successful, especially as more states look to take up abortion ballot measures. 

“We’re hoping to come out of Ohio and Virginia, Pennsylvania, with a clear national message that when abortions are on the ballot, abortion wins,” said Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All. 

Virginia 

Virginia Democrats are hoping to gain full control of the commonwealth’s Statehouse, and are arguing a victory is the only way to ensure abortion access is protected.   

Popular GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has voiced his support for a 15-week ban on most abortions with exceptions, and has tried to paint his views as a moderate compromise. 

“I think this is one where Virginians come together around reasonableness,” Younkin said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week.”  

An earlier ad sponsored by Youngkin’s PAC accused Democrats of spreading misinformation and said state Republicans favor a 15-week “limit,” rather than a ban.  

While Democrats are trying to tie Virginia GOP candidates to an extreme abortion position, some Republicans are saying Democrats hold the extreme position for refusing to place any limits on the procedure. 

Pennsylvania

People in Pennsylvania meanwhile will head to the polls to fill a seat on the state Supreme Court. The race could decide the ideological makeup of the court in the future, and could further cement a Democratic majority.

Republican Carolyn Carluccio and Democrat Dan McCaffery are vying for an open seat after Chief Justice Max Baer, a Democrat, died last year. If Carluccio wins, Democrats would hold a slim 4-3 majority, with three Democrats up for retention in 2025. 

Abortion is looming large in the race. McCaffrey has touted his endorsement from Planned Parenthood, which sponsored an ad campaign attacking Carluccio on abortion. 

Carluccio has insisted that abortion law in Pennsylvania is settled, and has repeatedly stressed her judicial independence. But she has also received the backing of several anti-abortion groups in the state. 

Abortion rights groups argue the issue has staying power, and aren’t concerned about their message losing its potency.  

“This is an issue that resonates with the vast majority of the population. Support for abortion access is incredibly high,” said Ryan Stitzlein, vice president of political and government relations at Reproductive Freedom for All. 

“And so while you have an example in Ohio, where abortion is quite literally on the ballot, our message to voters is in every race, you know, up and down the ballot, abortion is on the ballot.” 

Ohio

Ohio will vote on a ballot measure that would enshrine abortion protections into the state’s constitution.   

Anti-abortion leaders and GOP politicians acknowledge the campaign against the ballot measure is a major test of whether conservatives can prevail on the issue.  

Ohio is the first red state where voters are being asked to affirmatively vote in favor of changing the laws to protect abortion, rather than voting against the status quo.  

“When Ohioans understand the sweeping consequences of enshrining this measure in the state constitution, whether they are pro-choice or pro-life, they understand it is far too extreme and we see minds change right before our eyes,” said Kelsey Pritchard, director of state public affairs at the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.  

Like in Virginia, Republicans in Ohio are trying to moderate their messaging. They focus on the issue of parental rights and on late-term abortions, and they rarely mention that a six-week ban currently paused by the courts could go back into effect any day. 

Gov. Mike DeWine (R), who signed the six-week ban in 2019, has suggested that if Issue 1 is defeated, he will consider adding exceptions for rape and incest into current law. 

On the other side, abortion-rights supporters say a victory would send a powerful message to other states, especially in the face of an avalanche of misinformation and confusing messaging, some of it coming directly from state Republican leaders.  

Politicians called a single-issue special election in August to try to change the rules for future ballot measures to make them harder to pass.  

That effort failed, but Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R), a vocal opponent of the measure who is running for U.S. Senate, used language favored by anti-abortion groups to write the official summary that will appear on the ballot.   

The title of the measure is also the same as the one that voters defeated in August. So most who voted “no” on Issue 1 in the earlier election will now be voting in favor of Issue 1.  

In a memo sent Monday, Planned Parenthood’s PAC called out anti-abortion politicians for “deceiving” voters and predicted victories across the states. 

“These victories for abortion rights will come despite desperate politicians who have stooped to new lows in their efforts to take away our rights — doing anything to get elected and advance their dangerous agendas,” the group said. 

“But make no mistake: Voters will see through the lies, and abortion rights champions will win at the ballot box.” 

  

Johnson embraces deficit fight, setting up battle over Medicare, Social Security

BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL - 11/06/23 

Democrats and progressive advocacy groups are homing in on Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) past support for steep cuts to entitlements, as the new Speaker embraces a deficit commission that could spotlight the issue in the run-up to the 2024 election. 

President Biden called out congressional Republicans during his State of the Union address for wanting to cut the program. While budget experts say Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are unsustainable in their current form, most Republicans acknowledge the political risks of wanting to shrink benefits — but are also opposed to tax increases to bolster the programs. 

Johnson’s fervent support for trillions of dollars in cuts during his time as chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) could be a blueprint for GOP budgets if the party wins control of the government.

“The greatest threat to our national security is our nation’s debt,” Johnson said during his first speech in the House chamber after he was elected Speaker. “We know this is not going to be an easy task and tough decisions will have to be made, but the consequences if we don’t act now are unbearable.” 

Johnson promised to establish a bipartisan debt commission “immediately,” and indicated at a press conference this past week that he was close to naming members.  

The idea for a 16-member debt commission that would examine Social Security and Medicare solvency was initially floated by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as part of debt limit negotiations.

Entitlements have long been a political third rail, but some in the GOP wanted to use the debt ceiling negotiations to extract promises to reduce entitlement spending.

Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid currently make up nearly half of the entire federal budget, with a total annual price tag of $2.7 trillion.

The commission’s recommendations would receive priority consideration by Congress. But they would be scheduled for a final vote during the lame-duck session immediately after the 2024 election, putting maximum distance between representatives and voters.  

McCarthy’s proposal was slammed by the White House, though it was eventually included in a stopgap government funding bill introduced in September. The bill would have reduced discretionary spending for most domestic programs by nearly 30 percent.

“On top of breaking their promise to the country about keeping the government open, the House GOP is now threatening to single-handedly shut the American government down unless they can jam a death panel for Medicare and Social Security down the country’s throat,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a post at the time on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. 

But that bill failed to advance amid House GOP infighting, and the commission was not included in the legislation that ultimately passed both chambers to keep the government funded through mid-November. 

Still, Johnson is pushing ahead. 

“I believe we’re going to have very thoughtful people on both sides of the aisle in both chambers come together and have some very productive discussions about that,” Johnson told reporters. “When I said I want to do it immediately, I meant that, and it’s a top priority right now.” 

While Johnson said he doesn’t believe he should dictate objectives or benchmarks, Democrats and left-wing advocacy groups have said his record speaks for itself. 

“Mike Johnson was one of the chief architects of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Mike Johnson also wants to end Social Security and Medicare as we know it,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said during a CNN interview after Johnson was elected. 

“The kind of commission Johnson announced is designed to give Congress political cover for cutting Americans’ earned benefits,” Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said in a statement Oct. 25 after Johnson was elected. 

“It is unfortunate and disappointing that one of the Speaker’s first priorities is creating a mechanism intended to slash programs that American workers pay for in every paycheck, fully expecting the benefits to be there when they need them,” Richtman said. 

Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, said he thinks President Biden learned important lessons from former President Obama trying to negotiate the debt limit with Republicans after they took control of the House in 2011 and forced a series of deep spending cuts.

“The fiscal cliff, the supercommittee, sequestration, all of those things were a disaster for President Obama’s ability to push his agenda,” Lawson said. “And I think you’ve seen that President Biden learned those lessons really well and understands that this is just a political trap by the Republicans to try to get Democrats to take the blame for Republicans’ long-standing policy of cutting and or destroying Social Security.” 

As RSC chair in 2020, Johnson authored a budget that called for raising the Medicare and Social Security eligibility ages. It called for $2 trillion in cuts to Medicare and $750 billion in cuts to Social Security. 

It also called for turning Medicare into a premium support program, where private plans compete alongside traditional Medicare. Instead of a guaranteed benefit, beneficiaries would use a voucher to buy coverage on either a private or Medicare plan.  

Johnson’s past support for cutting spending on Medicare and Social Security is in line with longtime Republican dogma. GOP leaders in the past have hammered Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid as socialist initiatives — inefficient and anti-American — that threaten individual freedoms. 

Earlier this year, the RSC — now chaired by Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) — issued a budget proposal that called for gradually raising the Social Security retirement age to 69. 

The RSC is the largest conservative bloc in the House, and it currently includes nearly 80 percent of all Republicans. But at least some members argue the group’s plans shouldn’t be taken seriously.

“RSC budgets have always been a joke. Period,” said Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.). “They’ve never been implemented.”

Aris Foley contributed reporting

Bottom Line: Speaker Johnson’s new policy director lobbied for Ford during union strikes

BY TAYLOR GIORNO - 11/07/23 

Greg Nash

A K St. banner is seen in downtown Washington, D.C., on Monday, January 30, 2023.

Automotives

Ford Motor Company hired Williams and Jensen to lobby on issues impacting the automaker. The registration was effective Oct. 1, when Ford was one of the “Big Three” auto giants engaged in negotiations with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. Ford, General Motors and Stellantis each reached agreements with the UAW at the end of October after six weeks of targeted strikes, although the tentative deals are now up for a vote by union members. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced last week that one of the lobbyists on the account, Dan Ziegler, will join his leadership team as policy director. Ziegler is the former executive director of the Republican Study Committee, which Johnson previously chaired.

Defense

Williams and Jensen also registered to lobby on behalf of the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining on issues related to the annual defense authorization bill as well as additive manufacturing and machining. Jordan Mills, former regional director for Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), will work on the account.

The defense contractor ​L3 Harris Technologies hired Velocity Government Relations to lobby on national defense and intelligence appropriations. One of the lobbyists on the account is Jo-Anne Sears, a former senior strategic communications adviser to the Air Force Secretary and the principal space adviser.

Caregiving

The ​Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers hired Healthsperien to advocate for federal support for U.S. caregivers. Around 53 million Americans are currently caring for aging, ill or disabled family members, according to the Institute, which was founded by former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who was diagnosed with dementia in May. Andrew MacPherson, a Capitol Hill and Democratic Governors Association alumnus, will work on the account.

State governance

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP hired Northern Compass Group to lobby on issues related to Alaskan statehood defense and autonomy on behalf of the State of Alaska’s Department of Law. Former Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) will work on the account.

K-pop seduces youth in communist Cuba, birthplace of salsa


By AFP
Published November 6, 2023

Many Cuban K-pop fans have dreams of traveling to Seoul - 

Copyright POOL/AFP JONATHAN ERNST

Jordane BERTRAND

In Cuba, the home of salsa, young people are being seduced by a music phenomenon from a place that could hardly be more geographically — or ideologically — remote.

K-pop, the South Korean sensation that has already swept over much of the rest of the world, has made it to the shores of a communist isle that once banned the music of the Beatles.

“I am myself (with) K-pop. I can free myself,” said afficionado Mikel Caballero, a 17-year-old who like many of his peers, spends hours each week perfecting the carefully choreographed paces of South Korean sensations like BTS and Blackpink.

Since Cubans gained access to the mobile internet just five years ago, much has changed in a nation where the one-party state nevertheless retains a firm grip on many aspects of life.

There are ride and food-delivery apps, social media, and access to some entertainment sites such as YouTube.

Some Cubans now celebrate Halloween, one of the most quintessential festivals of the United States — which has held sanctions against Caribbean nation for more than six decades.


– ‘I like everything’ –


Caballero’s friend Samyla Trujillo has been a K-pop devotee for the last four of her 14 years on Earth.

“When I saw BTS… I told myself: ‘I want to dance like them,” Trujillo told AFP, her hair dyed bright red in homage to the fashion of her idols.

“And then, when they showed me Blackpink, I thought: ‘Ooh, they’re girls, I want to be like them!”

She has posters and T-shirts plastered with K-pop artists’ faces, and watches K-dramas with subtitles.

In the house she shares with her grandmother in the capital Havana, Trujillo regularly transforms the lounge into a dance floor for her and Caballero to practice the steps for their K-pop routines.

It is serious business: one day, Trujillo — who was in a traditional Caribbean dance troupe as a child — hopes to become Cuba’s first home-grown K-pop idol.

For Trujillo and Caballero both the dream is to go to Seoul one day. “I like everything from there,” the 17-year-old told AFP with bright eyes.

Cuba has diplomatic ties with fellow-communist nation North Korea, but not with its democratic neighbor to the south.

– ‘Completely new’ –

Alejandro Achin, 21, said K-pop “is a completely new experience” for Cubans, who are “used to always the same rhythm, the same routine” of salsa and Reggaeton.

In 2019, Achin realized a personal dream of performing in Seoul after winning an amateur K-pop competition with his group in Havana.

For Hohyun Joung, who teaches at a South Korean cultural and language center which opened its doors in the Cuban capital last year, K-pop has a universal appeal that transcends politics.

“In Korean songs… most of them express the concerns of young people, what they think, their concern about the future,” the South Korean national told AFP.

The center where she teaches with four Cubans has 150 students and not enough space to admit more as the appetite for everything South Korean just keeps growing.

Student Ia Gonzalez, 20, has been learning Korean at the center for several months and gets excited every time she recognizes a word in some of her favorite K-pop songs.

“Korean is not difficult. There are difficult parts, but when you really love what you’re doing, you invest impetus and passion and you can learn,” she told AFP.

Four charged with theft of gold toilet from English stately home

By AFP
November 6, 2023

The golden lavatory was stolen from Blenheim Palace in southern England in 2019 - Copyright POOL/AFP JONATHAN ERNST

Four men are facing charges in relation to the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet that was stolen from an English country house, prosecutors said on Monday.

The fully functioning convenience, dubbed “America” and valued at £4.8 million ($5.9 million), was stolen from Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, near Oxford, southern England, in September 2019.

It was one of the star attractions of an exhibition by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan at the palace, home to the dukes of Marlborough and birthplace of Britain’s former prime minister Winston Churchill.

The 18th century stately home is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which decides on whether to bring cases to court in England and Wales, said the four men — aged between 35 and 39 — would appear in court in Oxford on November 28.

James Sheen, 39, is facing one count of burglary, one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property, and a further charge of transferring criminal property.

Michael Jones, 38, is facing a charge of burglary while Fred Doe, 35, and Bora Guccuk, 39, are both accused of conspiracy to transfer criminal property, a CPS statement read.

Visitors were able to book time slots to use the precious metal privy but only for three minutes at a time, to limit queues.

More than 100,000 people used it during the year it was on display at New York’s Guggenheim Museum.

British police at the time said thieves broke into Blenheim Palace during closing time and made off with the toilet, ripping it from its plumbing and causing “significant damage and flooding”.

Captain found guilty of ‘seaman’s manslaughter’ in boat fire that killed 34 off California coast

A photo collage of the 34 victims of the Sept. 2, 2019 fire aboard the dive boat, Conception, at Santa Cruz Island, is held by a family member arriving at federal court in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. A federal jury on Monday, Nov. 6, found scuba dive boat captain Jerry Boylan was criminally negligent in the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019, the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history. 

 The burned hull of the dive boat Conception is brought to the surface by a salvage team off Santa Cruz Island, Calif., on Sept. 12, 2019. A federal jury on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, found scuba dive boat captain Jerry Boylan was criminally negligent in the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019, the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history. 

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via AP, File)

 Defendant Jerry Boylan, captain of the Conception, right, arrives at federal court in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. A federal jury on Monday, Nov. 6, found the scuba dive boat captain was criminally negligent in the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019, the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history. 

(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

 (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)


BY STEFANIE DAZIO
November 6, 2023

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A scuba dive boat captain was convicted Monday of criminal negligence in the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019, the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history.

Jerry Boylan, 69, was found guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer following a 10-day trial in federal court in downtown Los Angeles. The charge is a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as seaman’s manslaughter that was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters.

Boylan is the only person to face criminal charges connected to the fire. He could get 10 years behind bars when he’s sentenced Feb. 8, though he can appeal. His public defenders declined to comment as they left the courthouse.

The verdict comes more than four years after the Sept. 2, 2019, tragedy, which prompted changes to maritime regulations, congressional reform and several ongoing civil lawsuits.

Relatives of those killed hugged one another and wept outside the courtroom Monday after the verdict was read.

Clark and Kathleen McIlvain, whose son Charles died at age 44, said they were relieved that there is finally some accountability for their loss.

“We are very happy that the world knows that Jerry Boylan was responsible for this and has been found guilty,” Clark McIlvain said.

The families also applauded and cheered outside the courthouse when the federal prosecutors arrived for a news conference to discuss the case.

“The captain is responsible for everything that happens on the ship, including, most importantly, the safety of everyone on board that ship,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada told reporters.

While Estrada said Boylan “failed, utterly failed” in those duties, he declined to comment when asked if the boat’s owners would be charged now that prosecutors have secured a guilty verdict against the captain.

The Conception was anchored off Santa Cruz Island, 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Santa Barbara, when it caught fire before dawn on the final day of a three-day excursion, sinking less than 100 feet (30 meters) from shore.

Thirty-three passengers and a crew member perished, trapped in a bunkroom below deck. Among the dead were the deckhand, who had landed her dream job; an environmental scientist who did research in Antarctica; a globe-trotting couple; a Singaporean data scientist; and a family of three sisters, their father and his wife.

Boylan was the first to abandon ship and jump overboard. Four crew members who joined him also survived.

Although the exact cause of the blaze remains undetermined, the prosecutors and defense sought to assign blame throughout the trial.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Boylan failed to post the required roving night watch and never properly trained his crew in firefighting. The lack of the roving watch meant the fire was able to spread undetected across the 75-foot (23-meter) boat.

Boylan’s attorneys sought to pin blame on boat owner Glen Fritzler, who with his wife owns Truth Aquatics Inc., which operated the Conception and two other scuba dive boats, often around the Channel Islands.

They argued that Fritzler was responsible for failing to train the crew in firefighting and other safety measures, as well as creating a lax seafaring culture they called “the Fritzler way,” in which no captain who worked for him posted a roving watch.

The Fritzlers have not spoken publicly about the tragedy since an interview with a local TV station a few days after the fire. Their attorneys have never responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press, including on Monday.

Kendra Chan, 26, was killed on the Conception, along with her father, Raymond “Scott” Chan, 59. Vicki Moore, who was Raymond’s wife and Kendra’s mother, said Monday that justice was served.

“A strong message came through that if you are captain of a boat, you are truly responsible and there are consequences if you don’t follow the law,” Moore said after the verdict.

While the criminal trial is over, several civil lawsuits remain ongoing.

Three days after the blaze, Truth Aquatics filed suit under a pre-Civil War provision of maritime law that allows it to limit its liability to the value of the remains of the boat, which was a total loss. The time-tested legal maneuver has been successfully employed by the owners of the Titanic and other vessels, and requires the Fritzlers to show they were not at fault.

That case is pending, as well as others filed by victims’ families against the Coast Guard for alleged lax enforcement of the roving watch requirement.

The Channel Islands draw boaters, scuba divers and hikers. Five of the eight Channel Islands comprise the national park and Santa Cruz is the largest within the park at about 96 square miles (249 square kilometers).

Up to 2,000 jobs are put at risk as British Steel announces the closure of blast furnaces in Scunthorpe

Coal-fired furnaces to be replaced with green alternatives in £1.25 billion plan

By JESSICA CLARK

DAILY MAIL
6 November 2023

British Steel today announced plans to close its blast furnaces, putting up to 2,000 jobs at risk.

China's Jingye Group, which owns the firm, unveiled proposals to replace the coal-fired blast furnaces in Scunthorpe with green alternatives as part of a £1.25billion decarbonisation drive.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 jobs could be axed, according to reports, on top of the 3,000 roles already under threat at rival Tata Steel.

Unions said the proposals would be a 'hammer blow' for the UK steel industry.

The blast furnaces are set to be replaced with two electric arc furnaces – one at British Steel's headquarters in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, and another at its Teesside manufacturing site.

British Steel has announced it will close its blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, putting up to 2,000 jobs at risk

The coal fired blast furnaces will be replaced by greener alternatives as part of a £1.25 billion project

The Chinese Jingye Group, which owns the firm, said the proposals would be subject to 'appropriate support' from the Government

It said the proposals are 'subject to appropriate support from the UK Government', worth at least £300million.

A Government spokesman said: 'Our commitment to the UK steel sector is clear, and we continue to work closely with industry, including British Steel, to secure a sustainable and competitive future for the sector and its workers.'

British Steel, which is planning to open the new furnaces by late 2025, has kicked off preliminary talks with unions and agreed for an external specialist to review the plans.

READ MORE: Rishi Sunak must save British Steel's last blast furnace or risk relying on hostile states for high-quality steel, northern Tory MPs warn

Chief executive and president Xijun Cao said: 'Decarbonisation is a major challenge for our business but we are committed to manufacturing the home-made, low-embedded carbon steel the UK needs.

'We have engaged extensively with the public and private sector to understand the feasibility of producing net zero steel with our current blast furnace operations. However, thorough analysis shows this is not viable.'

He said Jingye Group is 'committed to the unprecedented investment our proposals require'.

In September, Tata Steel secured a £500million government bailout to fund its green strategy, which includes closing its blast furnaces in Port Talbot and the loss of thousands of jobs.

Unions warned that the combined closures mean the UK will no longer be able to manufacture virgin steel.

Instead, the sector will be able to repurpose scrap steel using the new electric furnaces.

Community Union general secretary Roy Rickhuss said it 'would leave the UK unable to make steel from raw materials and dangerously exposed to international markets'.

He said: 'All options for decarbonisation must remain on the table and Community will do whatever it takes to protect our members' interests.'

Together with job losses at rival Tata Steel, over 5,000 British jobs could be lost following the proposals

Around 5,000 British jobs will be axed in total following the proposals by British Steel and Tata Steel.

India's Tata Group is expected to make 3,000 workers redundant, although a statement on its Port Talbot plans was cancelled last week.

GMB national officer Charlotte Brumpton-Childs said the proposals are a 'hammer blow for UK steel'.

'Potential job losses on this scale would be devastating for the people of Scunthorpe,' she said.

'Formal consultation has not begun – although the business has started to talk to GMB and other unions about the various options on the table.

'GMB remains committed to decarbonising the industry in a way that protects virgin steelmaking in the UK and the jobs it supports.'

Jobs at risk as British Steel considers electric arc furnaces

The Engineer
06 Nov 2023

Jobs are set to be lost if British Steel builds two electric arc furnaces as part of a £1.25bn programme to accelerate its decarbonisation programme.

British Steel's plant in Scunthorpe - AdobeStock

The proposals, which are subject to appropriate support from the UK government, could see British Steel install two electric arc furnaces (EAFs) at its headquarters in Scunthorpe, and its manufacturing site in Teesside. The proposal follows analysis of the company’s current operations, available technology and market conditions.

British Steel said the new furnaces could be operational by late 2025 and would replace the aging iron and steelmaking operations in Scunthorpe that account for most of the company’s CO2 emissions. The company proposes maintaining current operations until a transition to electric arc steelmaking.

British Steel has started preliminary talks with trade unions about electrification, and said it will support employees affected by the decarbonisation plans. It has agreed for its proposals to be reviewed by an external specialist on behalf of the trade unions.

The company is also working with North Lincolnshire Council on a masterplan to attract new businesses and jobs to the Scunthorpe site, parts of which could become vacant if the proposals go ahead.

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In a statement, British Steel CEO and president, Xijun Cao, said: “Decarbonisation is a major challenge for our business but we are committed to manufacturing the home-made, low-embedded carbon steel the UK needs.

“We have engaged extensively with the public and private sector to understand the feasibility of producing net zero steel with our current blast furnace operations. However, thorough analysis shows this is not viable.

“Detailed studies show electrification could rapidly accelerate our journey to net zero and drive British Steel towards a sustainable future. It would also ensure we can provide our customers with the steel they require.”

British Steel unveiled its Low-Carbon Roadmap in October 2021, pledging to invest in technologies to deliver net-zero steel by 2050, and significantly reduce its CO2 intensity by 2030 and 2035. The company is now proposing to accelerate decarbonisation with the potential new operating structure able to reduce its CO2 intensity by around 75 per cent.

Xijun said: “Our desire to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint, coupled with current market conditions, means we can’t wait and need to transform our business as quickly as possible. And while decarbonisation will not happen overnight, it’s imperative we take swift and decisive action to ensure a sustainable future for British Steel.

“We studied having one large electric arc furnace based in Scunthorpe, one which was capable of manufacturing all of the steel we require for our rolling mills in the Humber and the North East. However, such a large furnace would require a new National Grid connection and it is anticipated this would not be available until 2034. We therefore believe the most viable and timely option is to have two smaller furnaces which combine to produce the volumes of steel we require.”

Commenting on British Steel’s announcement, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “There is absolutely no need for mass redundancies at British Steel. We do not accept the need for one single job cut. Taxpayers should not be footing the bill for new investment unless that is linked to binding job guarantees. Only by the government taking a stake in the company will the right choices be made for the UK’s economy.”

Everyday philosophy: Happy birthday Albert Camus

The French philosopher and writer was a publisher's dream


NIGEL WARBURTON

The New European

Nov 7,2023

Today is Albert Camus’s birthday. His stock was high during the pandemic: everyone was reading La Peste (The Plague), a novel that has uncanny parallels with how things unfolded under lockdown. I read it for A-level French back in the late 1970s and didn’t really appreciate it at the time. Now I do.

Back then L’Étranger (translated as The Outsider, or sometimes as The Stranger), with its existential themes, was the one to read. The alienated central character Mersault doesn’t seem to care about anything (his mother’s recent death, shooting and killing a man on a beach) until faced with the prospect of his own death. Like Jean-Paul Sartre (whose novel Nausea was less compelling), Camus reflected back at us the utter meaninglessness of existence: no god, no objective values, a sense of anguish and absurdity.

Born in Algiers in 1913, a pied noir (a white descendant of European colonialists), Camus went on to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. He was the first person born in Africa to do so. He embraced life, playing football (as goalie for the Racing Universitaire Algerios junior team), dancing, swimming, and spending time on the beach with friends. Tuberculosis set him back, but it didn’t prevent him being active in the wartime resistance in Paris, where he edited and wrote for the underground magazine Combat. He was a successful novelist and theatre director, wrote for the newspapers, and hung out in cafes with Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir – until he fell out with them. He was also in favour of a European federation – an attractive trait.

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But above all he was handsome. Possibly the best-looking philosopher so far. Women found him irresistible, and he had numerous affairs, including a long term extra-marital relationship with the Spanish-born actress María Casares. He looked like a philosophical Humphrey Bogart, with his slicked back hair and dark and quizzical stare. He could easily have been a movie star.

Sartre, who was short, cross-eyed, had bad skin, didn’t care for his teeth, and wasn’t overly concerned with personal hygiene, relied on his silver tongue and existential credentials to seduce women; that worked for him. Camus didn’t need to say anything for women to be enchanted by him. His bedroom eyes would do the trick. Sartre thought that a human being was ultimately “a useless passion” and love either a form of sadism or masochism – a character in his play Huis Clos (No Exit) declares that “Hell is other people”. He was a pessimist in many respects and emphasised the anguish of existence in a world without pre-existing values.

He was also a far better philosopher than Camus, as was de Beauvoir. Camus was more cheerful about our lot: he told us that we should embrace the futility of existence and imagine that Sisyphus was happy with his fate rolling his rock up the mountain only to have it roll right back down again every day for eternity.

Perhaps there is a connection between Camus’s good looks and his optimistic response to the absurdity of the human predicament. Lookism is a well-documented phenomenon. In many aspects of life people who are by consensus physically attractive get treated better than those who are rated ugly, disfigured, or unattractive. It’s a very widespread form of discrimination and we’ve all seen it happening.

Life isn’t fair in this respect. It first makes some people better looking than others, and then prejudices other people favourably towards them, often without their realising that they are giving them special treatment. Academic research has shown, for example, that people rated as physically attractive are more likely to get job interviews, be hired, and then promoted and paid more, than those perceived as less attractive.

Doors open for those who, like Camus, have ridiculously good looks. Perhaps it’s easier for them to be optimistic because of this. The world treats them better. And Camus’s looks continue to work for him even after his death (he died at the age of 46 when a sports car in which he was a passenger crashed into a tree).

Articles illustrated with Henri Cartier-Bresson’s iconic 1944 photograph of the young philosopher with his coat lapels up, turning to face the photographer, a cigarette in the corner of his mouth, still draw the eye.

People still get a crush on him, and not just sapiosexuals. His image on the cover of a book can still help sell it. He is a publisher’s dream. Perhaps, though, this is further evidence that Camus was right: the world is absurd.