NRC SIXTIES SCI FI  
Canadian hyperloop company says ultra-high-speed travel between Calgary and Edmonton is feasible

Lucie Edwardson 

CBC

© Radio-Canada/TransPod Hyperloop Canadian hyperloop company TransPod says it expects to have private funding secured for the first portion of an ultra-high-speed transportation line between Calgary and Edmonton by the end of the year.

Canadian hyperloop company TransPod has completed a feasibility study of the implementation of an ultra-high-speed transportation line between Calgary and Edmonton.

The company says it expects to have private funding secured for the first portion of the line by the end of the year.

TransPod's ultimate goal is to have Albertans shuttling between Calgary and Edmonton in train-like pods — at speeds up to 1,000 kilometres an hour — through magnetic tubes.

In August 2020, Toronto-based TransPod announced it had inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the province that supported the company — but offered no funding — in further studying the feasibility of the technology in Alberta, sharing transportation data and identifying suitable land for a test track.

On Friday, the company released the findings from the feasibility study. It said initial investment proposals for a total amount of $1 billion have been shared with the government.

TransPod co-founder and CEO Sebastian Gendron said the completion of the study moved the project into the next phase of investment and research and development.

"The next step is securing — so we have two proposals for half a billion to finance those first 20 kilometres and we must confirm that before the end of this year," he said.

"Then we'll start the process of looking at the land acquisition or land agreements between the Edmonton airport and the city and public consultation, construction permits and environmental assessments."

© Tony Seskus/CBC Sebastien Gendron, co-founder and CEO of Transpod, a Canadian hyperloop company.

In total, the feasibility study has forecast the project to cost an estimated $22.4 billion, or $45.1 million per kilometre along roughly 350 kilometre of unique track.

It also forecasts an additional cost of $6.7 billion for fixed infrastructure-like stations.

In 2020, the company estimated that to build the full line it would cost between $6 billion and $10 billion, but Gendron said the new cost analysis includes land acquisition costs.

Study findings indicate hyperloop transportation between the two cities would help reduce the province's carbon emissions by 636,000 tonnes per year.

Alberta Transportation Minister Ric McIver said Alberta has a history of innovation and entrepreneurial enterprise.

"That's why we're excited TransPod's feasibility study points toward a possible safe and clean ultra-high-speed passenger and cargo link between Calgary and Edmonton," he said in an emailed statement.

The company hopes to have a test track constructed and complete high speed tests from 2022 to 2027, with construction of the full inter-city line between Edmonton and Calgary to begin in 2025.

"The option of Red Deer was considered, however it would be adding an additional billion to the infrastructure cost," said Gendron.

A release from the company claims the project "will create up to 140,000 jobs" but its full study explains that number was arrived at by multiplying annual "full-time equivalent" positions over a period of nine years.

"In Alberta, over 140,000 FTE-years worth of jobs are expected to be created, or an average of 15,556 per year over the nine year period," the study says.

Just under half of those "FTE-years" would be "direct," according to the study; the remainder would be "indirect" or "induced" jobs from anticipated economic spin-off effects

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© CBC Transportation Minister Ric McIver said he's encouraged to see a project like this come forward with private funding.

"The objective is really to make this project as inclusive as possible and to address any concerns," said Gendron.

"We already started to reach out to some some of the First Nations, for example, and we're working with the Building Trades of Edmonton to make it happen and create jobs."

McIver said it's encouraging to see a project like this brought forward and financed with private capital.

"Since day one, Alberta's government has been focused on making our province the most attractive place in North America for innovators and the incredible opportunities they bring. That work is paying off."

Tickets on the ultra-high-speed hyperloop would cost riders around $90 for an economy ticket and up to $150 for business class tickets.

A one-way trip would take about 45 minutes. It would carry a mix of passengers and cargo.

THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA DEVELOPED A PROJECTED HYPERLOOP SYSTEM AS EARLY AS 1960

Doctors Without Borders

Aid group MSF 'horrified' as colleagues murdered in Ethiopia

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The medical charity Doctors Without Borders said Friday it was “horrified by the brutal murder” of three colleagues in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the latest attack on humanitarian workers helping civilians in the deadly conflict there.

A statement by the aid group, also known by its French acronym MSF, said two Ethiopian colleagues and one from Spain were found dead Friday, a day after colleagues lost contact with them while they were traveling.

“This morning the vehicle was found empty and a few meters away, their lifeless bodies,” the statement said.

“We condemn this attack on our colleagues in the strongest possible terms and will be relentless in understanding of what happened,“ MSF added, calling it “unthinkable” that the three — emergency coordinator Maria Hernandez, assistant coordinator Yohannes Halefom Reda and driver Tedros Gebremariam Gebremichael — paid for their work with their lives.

In a statement, Ethiopia’s foreign ministry expressed condolences for the deaths it said occurred in the town of Abi Addi, and it suggested that Tigray fighters were to blame. It also called for military escorts — a thorny issue for many aid groups because Ethiopian forces, like all sides in the conflict, have been accused of abuses.

Another MSF team was attacked in March after witnessing Ethiopian soldiers pulling men off two public buses and shooting them dead. Soldiers beat the MSF driver and threatened to kill him, the aid group said at the time.

This latest attack occurred amid some of the fiercest fighting in Tigray since the conflict began in November. This week Ethiopia's military acknowledged carrying out an airstrike on a busy market in Tigray that health workers said killed several dozen civilians. The military claimed it was targeting combatants.

Ethiopian soldiers detained six victims of the airstrike en route to a hospital and three were later released, a regional health official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The three who are still being detained — two women and a 15 year-old boy — were not receiving medical care, said the official who added, “this is very desperate.” It's unclear why they're held.

The conflict in Tigray has been deeply challenging for humanitarian workers who have pleaded for better access to the region since the fighting began, with Ethiopian forces backed by ones from neighboring Eritrea pursuing Tigray’s former leaders.

At least 12 aid workers have now been killed since the conflict began.

Death by starvation is another looming crisis in Tigray. On Friday the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, tweeted that “terrifying” new findings show that up to 900,000 people in the region now face famine conditions, “with millions more at risk.”

The United Nations on Thursday warned that at least 33,000 children in inaccessible parts of Tigray “are severely malnourished and face imminent death without immediate help.”

Meanwhile, Ethiopia awaits the results of Monday's national election, the first test at the polls for Abiy who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. a year after taking office. He now stands accused by critics of backsliding on political reforms.

Abiy's government has said the election would be the first free and fair one in Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous country. But on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the vote “was not free or fair for all Ethiopians,” citing opposition boycotts, detentions of political leaders and insecurity in various parts of the country.

The statement also called for a cease-fire in Tigray and the withdrawal of Eritrean forces, who have been accused by witnesses of atrocities including gang-rapes and massacres.

In separate statement Friday, the European Union and 12 countries including Britain and Japan described “problematic conditions” regarding Monday's election and urged a national dialogue to de-escalate conflict.

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Cara Anna, The Associated Press

Brazil judge revokes passport of ex-environment minister under probe

BRASILIA (Reuters) - A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Friday revoked the passport of former Environment Minister Ricardo Salles, who stepped down earlier this week amid an investigation into his alleged role in allowing illegal exports of timber from the Amazon rainforest

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© Reuters/ADRIANO MACHADO Brazil's Environment Minister Ricardo Salles attends a news conference at the Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia

Justice Carmen Lucia said in a ruling that Salles was barred from leaving the country after federal prosecutors entered a motion that he be considered a flight risk. The former minister was given 24 hours to hand over his passport to police, according to court documents.

Salles could not immediately be reached for comment. The former minister has denied any wrongdoing.

In May, federal police disclosed that Salles and several other government officials were under investigation for allegations of possible corruption and other crimes in allowing illegal logged Amazon rainforest wood to be exported to the United States and Europe.

Video: Brazil's environment minister resigns amid probe (Reuters)

Earlier this month, Lucia also launched an investigation into whether Salles had obstructed the police logging probe.

Salles resigned on Wednesday, saying he wanted to allow for Brazil's international and domestic agenda to be carried out as smoothly as possible.

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon surged during Salles' tenure, hitting a 12-year high in 2020 with an area seven times the size of London destroyed.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; writing by Jake Spring; editing by Chris Reese)

Toronto-area priest resigns after backlash from sermon on 'good done' in residential schools
CBC/Radio-Canada 

© Merciful Redeemer Parish/YouTube Monsignor Owen Keenan, a Roman Catholic priest in Mississauga, Ont., west of Toronto, gives daily mass at the Merciful Redeemer Parish on June 15, 2021. He has resigned as a pastor following his comments about the…

A priest who referred to the "good done" by the Roman Catholic Church in residential schools has resigned from his role as pastor, the Archdiocese of Toronto confirmed on Friday.

During a sermon last Sunday, Monsignor Owen Keenan, the pastor of the Merciful Redeemer Parish in Mississauga, west of Toronto, talked about the the remains of an estimated 215 children discovered at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. run by the church

"Two-thirds of the country is blaming the church, which we love, for the tragedies that occurred there," he said on a video that was posted to the church's YouTube page but was later deleted.

"I presume the same number would thank the church for the good done in those schools, but of course, that question was never asked and we are not allowed to even say that good was done there. I await to see what comes to my inbox."

In a statement on Twitter Friday, the Archdiocese of Toronto said Keenan resigned from his role as pastor and has been placed on an indefinite leave of absence.

"We apologize for the pain caused by his remarks," the Archdiocese said.

Keenan's resignation comes after remains were found at another former residential school site in Saskatchewan earlier this week. The Cowessess First Nation said it has discovered hundreds of unmarked graves at the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School.

Keenan also said in his sermon that while the church should apologize for its participation in the "ill-devised government project," it should wait to find out who was buried at the Kamloops site, and why, before "rendering ultimate judgment."

"Many people had very positive experiences of residential schools. Many people received health care and education and joyful experiences," he said, while calling for prayers and reconciliation.

His comments were met with widespread criticism, including from Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, who said his comments showed "a fundamental misunderstanding of one of the core tragedies of the residential school system in Canada."

He defended his comments on Wednesday in a statement to CBC News, saying he was trying to help his congregation struggling with negative news about the church.

"I am deeply sorry, embarrassed, ashamed and shocked at the revelations of abuse, destruction and harm done in residential schools across this country," he said in the statement. "I in no way condone the system ... As a Catholic and a priest, I wish I could say 'I'm sorry' to everyone who suffered harm."

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation estimates that about 4,100 children died at residential schools, based on death records, but has said the true total is likely much higher. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission said large numbers of Indigenous children who were forcibly sent to residential schools never returned home.

In the same sermon, Keenan criticized Catholic schools for flying Pride flags this month, saying the church hoped they'd show "courage" by displaying a cross or sacred heart instead.

Mississauga priest’s residential school comments raise questions about future of Catholic Church

Leaders in Mississauga have condemned a local pastor after he made comments referencing “the good that was done” in the Canadian residential school system, while critics are raising questions about the Catholic Church’s place in modern society.

Monsignor Owen Keenan of the Merciful Redeemer Parish in Mississauga told his congregation over the weekend positive impacts of the residential school system had been ignored. In a homily that was clipped and shared on social media, Keenan can be heard pushing a narrative that the church deserved praise for elements of the residential school system and its legacy.

“I presume that the same number would thank the church for the good that was done in those schools, but of course that question was never asked,” he said, after suggesting that “two-thirds of the country” blames the Catholic Church for residential schools. “And, in fact, we’re not allowed even to say that good was done in those schools. I await to see what comes to my inbox.”

The remarks illustrate the lack of compassion the Catholic Church and many of its leaders have shown in recent decades as reports of atrocities carried out by the institution around the world have added to the demise of Catholicism in the eyes of more and more people.

Canada’s residential school system operated from the 1880s until 1996, taking Indigenous children from their families and forcing them to live in boarding schools run by religious institutions. The schools banned children from speaking their traditional languages or connecting with their roots.

The Canadian government has admitted both physical and sexual abuse were rampant. Students were beaten for speaking their native languages. Canada’s Truth and Reconcilliation Commission said the system amounted to cultural genocide.

The Catholic Church worked hand-in-glove with the federal government to eradicate First Nations, and other Indigenous ways of life and spiritualism from the country.

Two recent discoveries have pushed Canada’s residential school system, and the country’s colonial legacy, to the top of the public consciousness. At the beginning of June, the remains of 215 children were discovered in Kamloops, British Columbia, and on Thursday, 751 unmarked graves were found near a former residential school in Saskatchewan.

Keenan’s harmful remarks followed the unwillingness of Pope Francis to issue a formal apology after the remains were found in Kamloops.

Stacey LaForme, Chief of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, told The Pointer Keenan’s comments initially angered him. He said the pastor should consider if he was suitable for the position of community leadership he holds.

“I think making a statement like that — not understanding what is occurring in the world around you — shows a real and complete lack of awareness,” he said. “For someone who is actually in a leadership role, I would suggest the gentleman seriously go away for a little while and take some time to reflect [on if he is in] a role he’s suited for.”

Pope Francis has given a speech “expressing sorrow” over the discovery in Kamloops, but has not apologized for the role played by the Catholic Church.

In recent weeks, social media has been flooded by comments suggesting the Catholic Church and the Vatican, which has carried out centuries of brutality around the world, operates more like a corporation consumed by power and profit, while making decisions based on legal considerations, not morality.

The Catholic Church’s refusal to apologize for its role in the residential school system has angered critics. The church’s central teachings are based on the premise of seeking forgiveness, but its leadership has resisted pressure to apologize. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called on the Pope to take responsibility and issue a formal apology.

“You should reflect on that before you just open your mouth to defend something you don’t understand,” LaForme said.

Keenan’s comments were also condemned by Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie. In a statement, Crombie — a practising Catholic — said she was “extremely disappointed” to see what the pastor had said.

“In regard to his comments on residential schools, what Monsignor Keenan said was deeply insensitive to Indigenous Canadians, particularly at a time when Indigenous communities are in pain as they unearth more mass graves at the sites of former residential schools,” she wrote. “His comments show a fundamental misunderstanding of one of the core tragedies of the residential school system in Canada: that children were forcibly separated from their parents.”

Keenan and the Archdiocese of Toronto, which oversees his parish, both issued apologies, following widespread backlash over his disturbing remarks over the weekend.

“I apologize sincerely for any hurt I have caused and pledge to do better, especially at a time when there is a national conversation underway regarding residential schools,” Keenan wrote. “I am deeply sorry, embarrassed, ashamed and shocked at the revelations of abuse, destruction and harm done in residential schools across this country. As a Catholic and a Priest, I in no way condone the Residential School System, I regret deeply that these places existed, and I lament the harm that was caused... I ask for your pardon, understanding and prayers.”

But his comments ring hollow for many who have pointed out that the priest mocked the expected response his remarks would provoke, when he said, “I await to see what comes to my inbox.”

The Pointer contacted Keenan’s parish to ask if he could explain how his understanding had evolved since he gave his sermon over the weekend and if he could articulate why his comments were hurtful. He did not reply in time for publication.

“The archdiocese has been in contact with Msgr. Keenan to convey the deep pain and anger felt by those hurt by his words,” the Archdiocese of Toronto wrote in a statement. “Msgr. Keenan has pledged to fully educate himself, with the appropriate support, to gain a more wholesome understanding of the full history of residential schools and their impact in our country. We apologize to anyone who was offended by his remarks.”

Keenan will not lead any services in the coming days, including this weekend.

The Merciful Redeemer Parish Church where he presides over the weekly liturgy was apparently vandalized with graffiti Thursday, in response to Keenan’s harmful words.

Two Catholic Churches were burned to the ground this week in B.C. in what was believed to be a response to the horrific findings in Kamloops and the Church’s continued refusal to issue an apology for what it did to generations of Indigenous peoples who were subjected to unspeakable atrocities in the name of Catholicism.

Its leaders have systematically fought against those who have exposed decades of sexual abuse and more recently have refused to take ownership for what the Church has done to indigenous communities around the world.

In May, German Cardinal Reinhard Marx sent a letter to Pope Francis that rocked the foundations of the Church. In offering his resignation, he said: "In essence, it is important to me to share the responsibility for the catastrophe of the sexual abuse by Church officials over the past decades."

Marx characterized the Catholic Church as being at a “dead end” and wrote that factual evidence has “shown that there have been many personal failures and administrative mistakes but also institutional or 'systemic' failure".

He said remaining silent would make him “personally guilty and responsible.”

“We have failed,” he added.

In Canada, there has been no such admission or apology for the generations of genocide and destruction the Catholic Church caused to those who were here long before Europeans arrived with their brand of religion.

The Catholic Church has been in sharp decline for decades, as participation has fallen dramatically. In the U.S., survey data from Gallup show affiliation with a parish among Catholics dropped from 76 percent in 2000 to 58 percent in 2020, meaning more and more born into the denomination are even ignoring the Church.

Speaking at Crombie’s weekly press conference on June 3, LaForme said he hoped the Kamloops discovery would be a moment for the country to take action and reflect together. “The pain you feel is because we’re all connected and on some level you realize that — or at least your spirit does,” he said, reading a poem he had written in response to the discovery.

Video: 'A moment of grace': Priest says he wants Pope Francis to apologize for residential schools (cbc.ca)

The poem is reproduced with permission below.

Reconciliation

I sit here crying

I don’t know why

I didn’t know the children

I didn’t know the parents

But I knew their spirit

I knew their love

I know their loss

I know their potential

And I am overwhelmed

By the pain and the hurt

The pain of the families and friends

The pain of an entire people

Unable to protect them, to help them

To comfort them, to love them

I did not know them

But the pain is so real, so personal

I feel it in my core, my heart, my spirit

I sit here crying and I am not ashamed

I will cry for them, and the many others like them

I will cry for you, I will cry for me

I'll cry for the what could have been

Then I will calm myself, smudge myself, offer prayers

And know they are no longer in pain

No longer do they hurt, they are at peace

In time I will tell their story, I will educate society

So their memory is not lost to this world

And when I am asked

what does reconciliation mean to me

I will say I want their lives back

I want them to live, to soar

I want to hear their laughter

See their smiles

Give me that

And I'll grant you reconciliation

– R. Stacey Laforme

Keenan’s comments, if they are charitably viewed as ignorance, show the importance of updating Ontario’s education system, LaForme says.

In 2018, the Province cancelled a curriculum revision designed to increase Indigenous voices. The project had planned to revise how social studies, geography and history were taught in schools in response to the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

LaForme wants to see significant resources put toward vital education improvements to properly teach the next generation of Canadians about their own history, which has been completely ignored by text books for more than a century.

“It’s important that we reinstate these things and get them up and running,” he said. “Our kids — and I say our kids in the context of kids in this country — need to be educated. They’re way smarter than we are and they’re ready to do the right thing… I see such bright and ready faces to meet the challenges of the world.”


Isaac Callan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Pointer

Historic heat wave blasts Northwest as wildfire risks soar
By SARA CLINE and MANUEL VALDES


1 of 9

People gather at the Sandy River Delta, in Ore., to cool off during the start of what should be a record-setting heat wave on June 25, 2021. The Pacific Northwest sweltered Friday as a historic heat wave hit Washington and Oregon, with temperatures in many areas expected to top out 25 to 30 degrees above normal in the coming days. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Pacific Northwest sweltered Friday and braced for even hotter weather through the weekend as a historic heat wave hit Washington and Oregon, with temperatures in many areas expected to top out up to 30 degrees above normal.

The extreme and dangerous heat was expected to break all-time records in cities and towns from eastern Washington state to Portland to southern Oregon as concerns mounted about wildfire risk in a region that is already experiencing a crippling and extended drought.

Seattle was expected to edge above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) over the weekend and in Portland, Oregon, weather forecasters said the thermometer could soar to 108 F (42 C) by Sunday, breaking an all-time record of 107 F (42 C) set in 1981. Unusually hot weather was expected to extend into next week for much of the region.
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Seattle has only hit 100 F three times in recorded history, the National Weather Service said, and there was a chance it could eclipse the record of 103 F (39 C) on Monday.

“If you’re keeping a written list of the records that will fall, you might need a few pages by early next week,” NWS Seattle tweeted, as it announced that the city had already tied a record Friday for the highest morning-low temperature.

The extremely hot weather comes a week after a heat wave in the intermountain West broke records from Montana to Arizona.

The Northwest heat wave sent residents scrambling in a region accustomed to mild summers where many people don’t have air conditioning. Stores sold out of portable air conditioners and fans, some hospitals canceled outdoor vaccination clinics, cities opened cooling centers, baseball teams canceled or moved up weekend games, and utilities braced for possible power outages.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee lifted COVID-19 capacity restrictions on publicly owned or operated and non-profit cooling centers in light of the heat. Capacity is currently limited to 50% until the state fully reopens next Wednesday. And in Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown suspended capacity limits for movie theaters and shopping malls — places with air-conditioning — as well as swimming pools ahead of a statewide reopening Wednesday.

According to 2019 figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, Seattle has the lowest rate of air-conditioned homes of any major American city. Only 44% of the homes in the metro area have air conditioning. In the Portland metro area, that figure was 79%.

At a hardware store in Seattle, about a dozen people lined up before opening hoping to snag an air conditioning unit. A worker opened the door at 8 a.m. with bad news: there were only three units.

One of the lucky buyers was Sarah O’Sell, who was worried for her cat amid predictions of triple digits.
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“Unfortunately, we’re starting to see this year after year,” said O’Sell, who used a dolly to transport her new unit to her nearby apartment. “We’re going to be like California, and that’s going to be desert down there. It’s only going to get hotter.”

The sweltering temperatures expected on the final weekend of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials in Eugene, Oregon, also prompted USA Track and Field to reschedule several weekend events to times earlier in the day to avoid the peak heat.

The Portland Pickles, the city’s semi-professional baseball team, offered weekend tickets for $1.11 — the possible high on Sunday — to keep people in the stands. And families lined up in the beating sun for ice cream and a few precious hours at community pools still operating under capacity restrictions due to COVID-19.

Sara Stathos was selling ice cream from inside an air-conditioned food truck in Portland and said the business would shut down over the weekend because the ice cream “basically melts as we hand it to customers” in such hot weather.

“We don’t want people standing out in the sun, waiting and getting sick,” she said.

The extended “heat dome” was a taste of the future for the Pacific Northwest as climate change reshapes weather patterns worldwide, said Kristie Ebi, a professor at the University of Washington who studies global warming and its effects on public health.

“We know from evidence around the world that climate change is increasing the frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves. We’re going to have to get used to this going forward. Temperatures are going up, and extreme temperatures are going up even faster,” she said.

“I tell my students when they get to be as old as I am, they’re going to look back and think about how nice the summers used to be.”

The heat is also worrisome for the region because warm air sucks moisture out of the soil and vegetation more efficiently than cooler air and that makes everything more prone to fire, she said.

Oregon in particular was devastated by an unusually intense wildfire season last fall that torched about 1 million acres (404,685 hectares), burned more than 4,000 homes and killed nine people. Several fires are already burning around the Pacific Northwest, and much of the region is already in extreme or exceptional drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Fire crews were being positioned ahead of time in areas where fire risk was high. Counties and cities across the region enacted burn bans — in some cases even temporarily prohibiting personal fireworks for the July 4 holiday weekend.

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Valdes reported from Seattle. Associated Press writers Gillian Flaccus in Portland and Rachel La Corte in Olympia, Washington, contributed. Cline is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Edmonton activates extreme weather response, seven city sites will be open to help residents beat the heat

Dustin Cook , Allison Pelech 

Edmonton Journal

© Provided by Edmonton Journal A strawberry full moon rises behind downtown Edmonton, on Thursday, June 24, 2021.

Seven City of Edmonton facilities will be open to vulnerable residents needing a place to stay cool and beat the prolonged heatwave on the horizon.

The city enacted its extreme weather response Friday morning, the first time its been activated for hot weather, in an effort to support Edmontonians in need of a cool place to go. Kinsmen, Commonwealth, Clareview, Terwillegar, The Meadows and Mill Woods recreation centres will be open to public access as well as The Orange Hub during their normal operating hours. Capacity limits of one-third capacity are still in effect until at least July 1 under provincial health regulations. Bottled water will also be handed out at these locations.

Heat in the 30 C range next week will envelope most of northern Alberta, possibly climbing to 40 C in some areas north of Edmonton, Environment Canada warns.

For the next week, areas surrounding St. Paul, Lac La Biche, Bonnyville and Smoky Lake will experience a prolonged, dangerous and potentially historic heat wave, warns the weather alert issued Friday.

Temperatures are to strike 30 C in most of northern Alberta Friday, climbing to the mid-30 C range by Sunday. Forecasters warn 40 C temperatures could be recorded early next week. And there will not be much relief at night, with the mercury only dipping between 15 C and 20 C.

Seven other city sites will be offering bottled water although they don’t have indoor space to accommodate people inside. These include the city’s three currently open outdoor pools of Fred Broadstock, Queen Elizabeth and Oliver, although they are mostly booked up throughout the next week for public and lane swimming.

The Bonnie Doon Leisure Centre, Muttart Conservatory, Edmonton Valley Zoo and Jasper Place Leisure Centre, when it opens on June 26, will also be offering water. All of the city’s 72 spray parks are up and running and the fountain out front of City Hall is also turned on.

Peace officers will be carrying bottles of water on their patrols to distribute to vulnerable people in need.

The city is also working to create more free water options throughout the summer including the launch of a pilot project in late July to adapt five fire hydrants into water stations to provide access to free water, with locations still being determined. Activation of river valley park fountains has also started.

The extreme weather protocol is expected to remain active until at least July 5 based on the current forecast.

Environment Canada is reminding the public to be aware of the dangers of such a prolonged wave of heat, encouraging people to reschedule outdoor activities to cooler hours very early or very late in the day. Those who have to be in the heat should take breaks from it where possible, spending time in cooled indoor spaces and drinking plenty of water and other non-alcoholic or non-caffeinated beverages. And always check that no children or pets are left behind in vehicles.

Watch for signs of heat stroke in yourself and others, including a high body temperature, lack of sweat, confusion, fainting and unconsciousness. Pay particular attention to children, seniors, outdoor workers and those with health conditions who may experience earlier or more severe effects. Those who are socially isolated are also highly vulnerable to heat stroke as they remain indoors so if and when you can, check on neighbours, family and friends in such states.

For more heat health advice, visit www.albertahealthservices.ca/news/heat.aspx.

Climate change boosted heat deaths by more than a third: Study

Daniel Martins 

WEATHER NETWORK

Extreme heat events aren’t just a matter of having a few uncomfortably warm days: they’re a real and recognized threat to public health, particularly for society’s most vulnerable.

Video Rate of extreme heat deaths accelerating with climate change

Now, with global temperatures continuing to rise, a new study says heat-related deaths over the last three decades were 37 per cent over and above what they would have been without the effects of climate change.

“Burdens varied geographically but were of the order of dozens to hundreds of deaths per year in many locations,” the researchers wrote in their paper, published this month in Nature Climate Change. “Our findings support the urgent need for more ambitious mitigation and adaptation strategies to minimize the public health impacts of climate change.”

The study arrived at those figures by comparing two climate models: one factoring in global warming due to human emissions, and one without. It was based on temperature and mortality data collected from 732 locations across 43 countries over a 28-year period from 1991 to 2018.

The researchers point out that the 37 per cent estimate is an average, and the figure would vary from country to country — for parts of the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America, heat-related deaths were at least 50 per cent higher than what they would have been without the effects of climate change.

Global warming has been on the rise since the industrial era, but has been accelerating in recent years. NASA says the per-decade average increase since 1880 was 0.08°C, more than doubling to 0.18°C from 1980 to the present. The 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 2005, and 2020 came within a hair’s breadth of taking the top spot from 2016.

WATCH: ‘THIS SCARES US ALL IN MEDICINE,’ A LOOK INTO EXTREME HEAT IN 2100
Extreme heat events are on the rise, what this means for your health

In recent years, there’ve been several instances of large amounts of excess deaths that could be plausibly linked to individual extreme heat events. In August 2003, a heat wave in Europe was responsible for around 11,000 deaths in France alone, many of them seniors. In Montreal, a 2018 heat wave killed or hastened the deaths of 66 people, many of them among people with low income or social isolation, and triggered a public health investigation.

Many cities across Canada have extreme heat event protocols that open public cooling centres and employ other methods to reduce the risk to residents, but the researchers say more concerted action will be needed in the coming century.

"We expect the proportion of heat-related deaths to continue to grow if we don't do something about climate change or adapt," one of the lead authors, Dr. Ana Vicedo-Cabrera, said in a release from the University of Bern. "So far, the average global temperature has only increased by about 1°C, which is a fraction of what we could face if emissions continue to grow unchecked."

Even with efforts to limit future temperature rise, a certain amount of global warming is baked in at this point. Even the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which advises governments on the science of climate change and recommends courses of action, doesn’t aspire to completely reverse the warming process: its current stated goals are to limit the warming to no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and closer to 1.5°C if possible.

Canada, meanwhile, is actually warming twice as fast as the global average, and a study released last year by the Prairie Climate Centre offered a grim outlook on what that means for the kind of extended heat events that threaten public health.

The study found that, across most of Canada’s major cities, heat waves will be more frequent, last longer, and be slightly hotter on average than in previous decades, even in communities where they are relatively rare. In Ottawa, for example, heat waves could last at least 17 days by 2051–2080, up from the current average of four days. In Regina, the number of days that reach at least 34°C is expected to jump from three to at least 23 over the same period.

Thumbnail credit: David Bradley

Western Canada heat wave expected to break daily, all-time temperature record
Courtney Dickson 

© Ben Nelms/CBC Vancouverites hit the beach on June 25, 2021, as a heat wave sets in throughout the province.

A heat wave stretching across Western Canada, from B.C. into southern Saskatchewan and up through the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, is set to break daily and all-time temperature records much earlier in the year than usual.

High pressure is trapped under a "heat dome," unable to be pushed through the country by wind, creating long-lasting high temperatures wherever the pressure sits, according to Armel Castellan, warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.

"Temperatures are then going to build on the previous day," he said.

"So you wake up in the morning and it's warmer than the day before."

© CBC News Western Canada is in for higher-than-average temperatures this weekend and through to next week.

Castellan said maximum temperatures in B.C. are expected Sunday and Monday, and Alberta will see its highest heat early next week.

Temperatures could approach 40 C in some parts of B.C. this weekend and through next week, and in Alberta early next week.

In Kamloops, B.C., the temperature is forecast to hover around 40 or 41 C for six consecutive days.

"Nobody's ever seen this because it's never happened, not in record keeping," Castellan said.

Little to no reprieve is expected overnight, he said, as overnight lows will remain between 15 and 20 degrees C.

It's the overnight temperatures that are the problem, Castellan said. They aren't going to dip low enough for our bodies to recover from the long, hot days.

© CBC News Heat warnings remain in effect for much of B.C.

Video: What is a true heat wave? (cbc.ca)

"Even if we're in the shade, if we're dealing with temperatures well up into the 30s, in fact, even into the 40s for parts of southern B.C. and eventually into Alberta as well, those values are so extreme that our bodies need to recover," Castellan said.

This is where it becomes critical to watch for heat related illness, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Symptoms of heat related illness include, but are not limited to, heavy sweating, weakness, dizziness, nausea, headache and muscle cramps.

© Ben Nelms/CBC A cooling centre is pictured at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia on Thursday, June 24, 2021.

The increased heat comes with an increased risk of other climate emergencies, including forest fires, as trees and grasses dry out, creating more fuel.

Castellan said there is a zero per cent chance of lightning strikes in B.C. until Sunday afternoon, so if any fires start, they will likely be human caused.
Result of climate change

All this, Castellan said, is the result of climate change.

"What's important here is not so much the [temperature] itself today because, of course, the forecast isn't going to be perfect and it will maybe hit a couple degrees below or a couple of degrees above."

"What's important is to realize that this is part of what climate change is bringing us: more frequent, higher amplitude and longer lasting heat events."

Simon Donner, interdisciplinary climate scientist and geography professor at the University of British Columbia, said this heat wave is exactly what scientists have been warning will become more common because of human activity, in particular, if we don't reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"As the climate warms, it basically means it's shifting the distribution of the weather," he said.

"So we're going to have more events like this and fewer cool summers."

As temperatures remain high at night over the coming days, sleeping will become a challenge for many without air conditioning in their homes. People, infrastructure and ecosystems will all struggle to manage during the extreme weather.

Donner said this is the essence of climate change.

Climate change isn't inherently a bad thing," he said. "The problem is the climate is changing faster than we can adapt."

Musician Bryan Adams calls for B.C. government's ouster over old-growth logging

Christian Paas-Lang 
CBC
3

© Kieran Oudshoorn/CBC News A blockade in the Fairy Creek watershed on Vancouver Island on Sunday May 30, 2021.

Canadian musician Bryan Adams is urging British Columbians to vote out the NDP government in the next election over its support for old-growth logging in the province.

"I mean, this is disgraceful. This isn't what we voted for. People don't vote for tearing down ancient trees. If people knew more about what was going on, they would seriously be outraged," Adams told host Chris Hall in an interview for CBC's The House airing Saturday.

Protests against logging in the Fairy Creek watershed area have intensified this year, with activists blocking a road to the area. On May 17, the RCMP began enforcing an injunction to clear the camps and more than 260 people have been arrested since then.

On June 7, three First Nations in the area called for a two-year deferral of the logging. The provincial government agreed to pause operations two days later.

Adams is one of over 100 prominent Canadians who signed an open letter calling on B.C. Premier John Horgan to end old-growth logging in the province. For Adams and activist TJ Watt, who also joined The House, the temporary deferral granted by the provincial government isn't good enough.

"People are not going to be happy when they see that old-growth trees are still falling just outside those deferral areas. And the government's not taking this seriously," Watt said.

© Harry How/Getty Images Singer-songwriter Bryan Adams performs during the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games 2017 at Air Canada Centre on September 30, 2017 in Toronto, Canada.

'It's just barbaric'

Adams said he and others were not calling for the end of all logging in the province. He said they want steps taken to protect old-growth trees, instead of letting loggers "plow through and cut everything down."


"It's just barbaric," he said.

Adams said that the protests in the Fairy Creek area are no different from other anti-logging protests that have taken place in British Columbia over the years — including those at Clayoquot Sound, one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in Canadian history.

"It's just the same old story over and over, over again," he said.

"This is my backyard again. It's still going on. When are people going to learn that these trees are invaluable to us? They don't come back and we've got to protect them."
Respecting role of First Nations

A key issue in the Fairy Creek situation has been the positions of First Nations, both for and against old-growth logging.

Soon after the Ditidaht, Huu-ay-aht and Pacheedaht First Nations requested the deferral, Huu-ay-aht Chief Coun. Robert J. Dennis Sr. told CBC Radio it was the protesters who were not being respectful of Indigenous rights.

"If you respect First Nations in what they stand for, if you respect First Nations Aboriginal title and if you respect First Nations people, period, you would honour their request not to protest," said Dennis.

Watt said Saturday it's up to governments to give First Nations additional resources so they aren't "forced to choose between logging of old-growth forests or losing the jobs and revenues that come from logging old-growth."

Provincial Forestry Minister Katrine Conroy told The House that working with Indigenous groups on developing forestry plans is the government's priority.

"I think it shows respect to ensure that we are talking to the Indigenous nations," Conroy said, urging others involved to do the same.

© Kieran Oudshoorn/CBC Activists from Ridge Camp watch the sunset from the top of the Fairy Creek watershed. Most have vowed to continue their opposition despite the recently negotiated two-year deferment of logging in the Fairy Creek and central Walbran areas.

"I really hope that people will respect the nations and respect their voices because reconciliation is tough.

"We can't only move forward with reconciliation when it serves our needs. We have to respect reconciliation is something we're doing in this province and we're very serious about it."

She said the government is working to adopt the 14 recommendations made in a report on old-growth forests released last year. The provincial government started that work last year, with the deferral of logging in nearly 200,000 hectares of old-growth forest.

Watt argued that the government's actions this year are not in line with the report's recommendations to halt logging on old-growth forests that are at risk.

Conroy said the provincial government would not be putting an end to logging in British Columbia altogether.

Conroy said that she wants to make sure that her grandchildren could, if they so choose, work in a sustainable and successful forestry industry.

"But I also want, if they so choose, to have the opportunity to walk in an old growth forest with their kids."

Hundreds brave sweltering heat for Black Lives Matter rally in Vancouver

Hundreds of people turned out to pressure the city for more action against racism at a Black Lives Matter protest at Vancouver City Hall on Friday.

© Global News Protesters try and keep to the shade at a Black Lives Matter rally in Vancouver on Friday amid near-record temperatures.

Organizers said the rally was about demanding justice and accountability, and standing in solidarity against white supremacy.

It came as former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd, and amid a dispute between Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart and the city's police chief about the presence of systemic racism in policing.

Azuke Neuka-Agwu, one of the event's organizers, said the city has not done enough since demands from the Vancouver BLM chapter last June around defunding police, addressing systemic racism and redressing historic wrongs against the city's Black community.

"Even though the mayor recently chose to step down as (spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Board) and let someone else take it over, we're just not seeing enough progress, and COVID has provided so many distractions that people are just crashing form one spectacle to the next, without realizing all these things are connected," he said.

Video: Dispute over prevalence of ‘systemic racism’ causes friction on Vancouver Police Board

Neuka-Agwu drew a link between anti-Black racism, anti-Asian racism and anti-Indigenous racism and the rising number of hate crimes in Canada.

"The origin of the Canadian state, from clearing the land moving, the people out to residential schools, all of that is connected," he said, pointing to the recent discovery of the remains of hundreds of people at the sites of former Indian residential schools.

Read more: Vancouver police apologize for handcuffing retired Black B.C. judge

The recent wrongful handcuffing of an Indigenous grandfather and his 12-year old granddaughter and a retired Black B.C. Supreme Court judge in separate incidents were recent examples of systemic racism at work, he said.

"We are gashing to put pressure on the city to remind people that yeah, there are a lot of other things going on but this is still happening."

Video: A new tool to report racism within B.C.’s healthcare system

On Thursday, anti-racism advocate Markiel Simpson addressed the police board, calling for Chief Adam Palmer's resignation, amid the latter's refusal to acknowledge the presence of systemic racing in policing.

Later in the board meeting, Deputy Chief Steve Rai announced a review of VPD policies and procedures to ensure "systemic biases" were not embedded in the organization.

Read more: Over 50% of Canadians think systemic racism built into country’s institutions, poll says

Sekoya Baker, who is Afro-Indigenous and a member of the Squamish and Tla'amin First Nations, said he was at the protest to remind the public that racism is not just something that happens in other countries.

"Even if we live in Canada and Vancouver, there's still a lot that's swept under the rug and not paid attention to. We're here to make a statement," Baker said.

"We need more allies, we need every person of colour to come together to let it be known, Indigenous lives matter, Black lives matter, stop Asian hate, everything.

His brother, Sekawnee Baker, said the priority was raising awareness.

Read more: Vancouver police chief hears call for his ouster as systemic racism debate lands at police board

"It's very important to me because I'm Afro-Indigenous. On both sides of my culture we've suffered some racism," he said.

"Being Black growing up here in Vancouver, I've faced some struggles. Being Native growing up here in Vancouver I've also faced some struggles."

Following speeches, demonstrators planned to march over the Cambie Street Bridge before ending at Emery Barnes Park for music and to hear from more speakers.

ROFLMAO MYOB
U.S. senator wants Canada on religious freedom watch list over pastor COVID arrests

EDMONTON — A U.S. senator has asked that Canada be investigated for violating religious freedom over the arrests of Alberta pastors accused of flouting COVID-19 restrictions.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

In a letter released Thursday, Missouri Republican Josh Hawley asked his country's Commission on International Religious Freedom to consider putting Canada on its special watch list.

"I am troubled that our Canadian neighbours are effectively being forced to gather in secret, undisclosed locations to exercise their basic freedom to worship," Hawley wrote.

"Frankly, I would expect this sort of religious crackdown in Communist China, not in a prominent western nation like Canada."

Hawley refers in his letter to the arrests of Alberta pastors James Coates and Tim Stephens.

Coates spent a month in the Edmonton Remand Centre after he violated a bail condition not to hold church services that officials said were ignoring COVID-19 measures on capacity limits, physical distancing and masking. He was released March 22 after pleading guilty and was fined $1,500.

Coates, who is a pastor at GraceLife Church in Spruce Grove, has argued provincial regulations meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 infringed on his and his congregants' constitutional right to freedom of religion and peaceful assembly.

Earlier this month, a judge ruled his religious freedoms under the Charter were not violated.

Stephens remains in remand after being arrested last week following repeated public complaints over an outdoor service that officials say broke public health orders. Calgary police and Alberta Health Services allege that Stephens of Fairview Baptist Church chose to keep holding services without respecting orders on physical distancing and capacity limits, even after his church had been twice ordered closed.

Litigation director Jay Cameron of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which is representing Stephens, has accused Alberta Health Services in a statement of being "engaged in an intentional act of public deception and abuse of authority in arresting pastor Stephens and others."

The U.S. commission lists three requirements to declare that a country oppresses religious freedom. It says the oppression must be systematic, ongoing and egregious. Any two of those is enough to be placed on the special watch list. Countries already on the list include Afghanistan, Egypt, Cuba and Turkey.

A commission spokesperson said the agency is aware of Hawley's letter and is "looking into it."

A spokesman for Alberta Justice said the department couldn't comment on Hawley's accusations because the matters are still before the courts.

Hawley is a longtime supporter of former U.S. president Donald Trump. He gave a clenched-fist salute to the hordes outside the Capitol as he arrived on the day of the Jan. 6 riots to press his challenge of the presidential election results.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2021.

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

Alberta cabinet minister says daughter victim of hate-fuelled attack


CALGARY — An Alberta cabinet minister says her daughter has been the victim of hate-fuelled violence.

Rajan Sawhney, minister of community and social services, says her 25-year-old daughter was attacked Friday in downtown Calgary near her office in broad daylight.

In a post on Twitter, she says her daughter was grabbed, pushed, sworn at and chased as bystanders looked on.

She says her daughter wasn't physically hurt but is shaken, and so is she.

Sawhney noted that it happened at a time when there have been frequent attacks on racialized women over the past year.

She says she is now more motivated than ever to ensure that women, no matter where they come, can walk in public without fear of being attacked.

"I am outraged, saddened and disgusted at the same time, as I have been with every single attack on racialized women," Sawhney said.

The Calgary Police Service was not available for comment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2021

The Canadian Press

Edmonton rally demanding protection for Muslim women draws hundreds
CBC/Radio-Canada

© Jamie McCannell/CBC An attendee at the anti-hate rally Friday night holds up a sign. 

The rally comes after a series of hate-motivated attacks against Muslim women in Alberta.

Just days after two Muslim women were attacked in St. Albert, hundreds of people attended an anti-hate rally in Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton.

Organizers called on Edmontonians to gather and demand action to protect Muslim women.

© Tricia Kindleman/CBC Ahmed Ali addresses the crowd of hundreds gathered in Churchill Square.

The St. Albert attack is the latest in an alarming string of incidents, including another attack on a woman wearing a hijab in central Edmonton.

© Jamie McCannell/CBC A man and woman both carried signs displaying anti-hate messages at a rally demanding protection for Muslim women .

The attacks have been focused on Muslim women.

Chants of "make our streets safe!" rang out from the stage as speakers addressed the crowd, which included people from many different backgrounds.

Video: Muslim woman in Edmonton says recent attacks have left her afraid (Global News)

© Jamie McCannell/CBC A mother and daughter, both wearing hijabs, embraced as they watched speakers address a crowd of hundreds at an anti-hate rally in Edmonton.

Activist Ahmed Ali told the crowd he hoped the rally would help heal those that have been attacked but that they shouldn't have to gather to fight hate.

"It is not OK for my sisters to have to worry about walking outside and determining what colour of hijab to wear so they don't stand out," Ali said.

© Tricia Kindleman/CBC Two young rally attendees show off their signs made for the event.

Amira Shousha, National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) Alberta representative, said that extra security precautions were taken to ensure the safety of rally attendees and participants.

"It's sad that we even have to police officers and peace officers here to ensure that the people who want to speak against injustice are [protected]," Shousha said.

Shousha said the NCCM would like to see a committee formed to address Islamophobia.

© Jamie McCannell/CBC Amira Shousa, one of the organizers of the rally, hopes to continue to educate people on the dangers of Islamaphobia.

UBC faculty of medicine apologizes for harms to Indigenous Peoples


VANCOUVER — The University of British Columbia's faculty of medicine formally apologized Friday for its role in past and present harms to Indigenous Peoples and committed to expand its response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Dr. Dermot Kelleher, the faculty's dean and vice-president of health, said the school recognizes that Indigenous-specific racism exists within the faculty and it apologizes for harmful attitudes and behaviours.


In the wide-ranging apology, he said the school regrets its role in educating and training anyone involved in colonial policy, and for excluding Indigenous people from admissions and in its hiring.

"We acknowledge the deep distress these actions have caused," Kelleher said.

"We intend to collectively forge a new path that takes us beyond this past and present by never, ever, ever forgetting it."

Kelleher made the apology during the faculty's official launch of "Reckoning with the Truth, Working Together for a Better Future: The UBC Faculty of Medicine Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action."

Although the school has made progress toward implementing the commission's calls to action related to health and education, it had not yet issued a formal response. Kelleher said the years-long process has taken longer than expected and there is still progress to be made.

"We now view the response as a living document and we know that it will change over time as additional insights and contributions are gained that expand our understanding of the issues."

Seven of the 94 calls to action in the commission's 2015 report relate specifically to Indigenous health. They include calls to recognize the value of traditional Indigenous health systems, to increase the recruitment and retention of Indigenous health-care practitioners, and for cultural sensitivity training for health workers.

Video: "We're all pained" - Canada indigenous leaders dismiss Pope remarks (Reuters)

Kelleher said as part of its response, the school is expanding a program that brings students into rural and Indigenous communities. It is also expanding a cultural safety training program. The school has hired more Indigenous faculty members and created positions to advise it on how to do better, he said.

Access to health care is a basic human right, yet Indigenous Peoples do not have equitable access to it, which must be corrected, Kelleher said.

"We know there is a long road ahead and more needs to be done," he added.

Several Indigenous leaders, elders and faculty members spoke at the event.

University chancellor Steven Point, a former lieutenant-governor, challenged other educational institutions to commit to implementing the commission's calls to action.

"Let's not repeat the same errors of the past but rather create a different future that's inclusive, that's fair, that acknowledges Indigenous contributions, that breeds a fair and level playing field," Point said.

Musqueam elder Larry Grant thanked the school for the apology and said he was also encouraged that the faculty of pharmacy is assigning practicum students to remote areas of the province. It gives the students first-hand knowledge of the inadequacies of health programs and the quality of medicine available to Indigenous communities, he said.

University president Santa Ono apologized in 2018 to residential school survivors and Indigenous people for its role in the system that supported the operation of the schools.

A report released in November by former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond found widespread systemic racism in British Columbia's health-care system. She said 84 per cent of the review's Indigenous respondents reported some form of discrimination in health care and 52 per cent of Indigenous health-care workers said they experienced racial prejudice at work, mostly in the form of comments.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2021.

Amy Smart, The Canadian Press

Potato and rice protein shakes may be a viable vegan alternative to whey protein shakes

UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER

Research News

 

A study from the Centre for Nutraceuticals at the University of Westminster found that plant-based protein shakes may be potential viable alternatives to milk-based whey protein shakes, particularly in people with need of careful monitoring of glucose levels.

The study, published in the journal Nutrients, is the first to show potato and rice proteins can be just as effective at managing your appetite and can help better manage blood glucose levels and reduce spikes in insulin compared to whey protein.

During the study the blood metabolic response of participants was measured after drinking potato, rice and whey protein shakes. Appetite was also monitored in the following three hours to understand how these drinks may affect the participants' hunger and their desire to eat.

The research observed that vegan protein shakes led to a lower rise in blood insulin compared to whey, while potato protein prevented any rise in insulin. This may explain the better blood glucose control following consumption of the plant-based protein and poses the question of whether vegan protein shakes are more suitable for individuals who need to need control their blood glucose levels such as diabetic and obese individuals.

Interestingly, release of the key appetite regulating hormone GLP-1 was greater after drinking the whey protein shake. However, the greater GLP-1 response did not translate to an increased feeling of fullness as there were no differences observed in appetite perception between the three different protein shakes.

Consumer trends in protein intake are on the rise with milk protein derivatives such as whey extensively used in consumer products such as protein shakes, fortified food and beverage products.

There are alternative protein products available for vegetarians and vegans such as soy, rice, wheat and pea proteins but there is a relative lack of evidence on their health benefits in comparison to milk proteins. Potato protein is a novel plant-based protein product that is obtained from the waste material from potato starch production and is a sustainable economic protein source. This study provides the first evidence to suggest that it may be an alternative to whey protein sources.

Professor M Gulrez Zariwala, corresponding author and Director of the Centre for Nutraceuticals at the University of Westminster, said: "Global concerns on sustainability have led to consumer shifts towards ethical eating and a change in dietary habits with increased adoption of vegetarian and vegan diets.

"However, research in this area is still lacking and it would be interesting to clarify whether proteins from plant sources can provide identical metabolic health benefits as those with traditional sources such as milk.

"Our results shed new light in this area and improves our understanding of how plant source proteins can be a more sustainable yet nutritionally beneficial food source. We plan to conduct follow-up studies further research this exciting area."

###

Notes to editors:

• The full study was published in the journal Nutrients (https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/7/2157)
• For more info head to the Centre for Nutraceuticals website

For further information please contact: University of Westminster Press Office E: press@westminster.ac.uk

About the Centre for Nutraceuticals

The Centre for Nutraceuticals is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the area of nutraceuticals, supplements, and functional foods. The Centre will act as a catalyst for improving health and wellbeing guided by research and innovation. The Centre seeks to be a globally recognised source of scientifically validated knowledge to better inform governments, regulatory bodies, the industry and consumers.

It launches from a springboard of established international partnerships, with past and current engagements with national governments and sector leading corporate organisations.

The core expertise of the Centre is unique and distinctive. The focus areas including supplementation and functional foods transcend disciplines that range from nutrition and public health, physiology and metabolism, and formulation science and nanotechnology.

The Centre will focus on the following activities:

• Collaborative, contract research and consultancy projects (product development, analysis and validation services, and clinical testing via human intervention studies)
• Subject relevant training (B2B and B2C) and CPD-certified lectures, workshops and events
• Knowledge dissemination via publications, conferences and public engagements

You can keep up to date with our latest news by following the Centre for Nutraceuticals on Twitter and Instagram.

About the University of Westminster

The University of Westminster offers a vibrant learning environment attracting more than 19,000 students from over 160 nations and we continue to invest in our future with new developments, research projects and new ideas. The University ranked 4th in the UK and 32nd in the world for 'International Outlook', according to the Times Higher Education Young University Ranking in 2021.

Established as London's first polytechnic in 1838, we have, from our earliest days, opened our doors to provide educational opportunities to people regardless of their background and supported them on their journey to develop their skills, knowledge and expertise.

We offer highly attractive practice-based courses which are independently rated as excellent, many with international recognition. Our distinguished 175-year history has meant we lead the way in many areas of research, particularly Politics, Media, Art and Design, Architecture and Biomedical Sciences, and our position in the city of London allows us to continue to build on our close connections with leading figures and organisations in these areas as well as in the worlds of business, information technology, politics and law. Our commitment to educating graduates for the needs of professional life attracts high quality students from within the UK and around the globe.

Global engagement, employability and sustainability are key elements in the University of Westminster's vision for the future and we strive to ensure the very highest standards are met and maintained.

 

'Subterranean estuaries' crucial to sustainable fishing and aquaculture industries

TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN

Research News

 

Pioneering research, led by a team from Trinity College Dublin and the Marine Research Institute of the Spanish Research Council (IIM-CSIC) in Vigo (Galicia, Spain), suggests "subterranean estuaries" may be critical in managing sustainable fishing and aquaculture - two growing industries of global importance.

Subterranean estuaries are analogous to surface water estuaries, where freshwater flowing out to sea mixes with seawater, but are instead located underground, invisible to the naked eye. Yet the newly published research shows these hidden features are very important in the ecology of coastal systems and in filtering pollutants - some of which have been slowly travelling to sea for decades having leached from agricultural soils.

The research, just published open access in Limnology and Oceanography, uncovered subterranean estuaries in the Ria de Vigo in Galicia (one of the most productive coastal ecosystems in Europe and leader in bivalve production for human consumption) and assessed their importance to the coastal environment.

By employing a selection of natural environmental tracers that carry the chemical fingerprints of groundwater sources on land out to sea, the team estimated that almost 25% of the continental freshwater discharged to the Ria de Vigo comes from this invisible source.

The Biogeochemistry Research Group of Trinity's School of Natural Sciences, led the study (Project SUBACID). Explaining the significance of the work, and its wider implications for Irish waters, Carlos Rocha, Professor in Environmental Change, said:

"Bivalve aquaculture is a strategic, expanding sector in Irish sustainable development and features highly in the national plans to diversify food production. While our work was conducted in the Ria de Vigo, this area was carefully selected because of its capability to support aquaculture and its biogeographic similarity to parts of the Irish coastline.

"These subterranean estuaries have a high capability to filter out pollutants, like fertilisers, from freshwater. Given the extent to which they supply large ecosystems with incoming freshwater, they have a much more important role to play than many would have believed."

Juan Severino Pino Ibánhez, researcher from the Marine Research Institute-CSIC (Spain), added:

"We will now focus in more detail on which specific ecosystem services these invisible structures provide, and how they might affect, for example, the ongoing threat to this industry posed by ocean acidification caused by anthropogenic CO2 emissions to the atmosphere.

"We are currently strengthening the collaborative network established with the Marine Research Institute of Vigo to elucidate the functioning of these hidden ecosystems and their role in coastal health and resilience. Lessons learnt in Vigo together with ongoing research made by our group in Irish coastal ecosystems will help to understand the future of Irish coastal ecosystem services and food production."

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SOMNAMBULISM

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari's 100th Anniversary - Cinemassacre Review

Feb 26, 2020

Cinemassacre

DrCaligari #JamesRolfe
It's the 100th anniversary of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. So James Rolfe decided to review it on this week's Cinemassacre movie review! Dr. Caligari is a German silent horror film released on February 26th, 1920. Directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. Considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema, it tells the story of an insane hypnotist (Werner Krauss) who uses a somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) to commit murders. The film features a dark and twisted visual style, with sharp-pointed forms, oblique and curving lines, structures and landscapes that lean and twist in unusual angles, and shadows and streaks of light painted directly onto the sets.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)  Fantasy, Horror, Mystery Silent Film

Premiered May 1, 2020

Cult Cinema Classics

Hypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders

original title: Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari 

Director: Robert Wiene

Writers: Carl Mayer, Hans Janowitz

Stars: Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Feher

Genre:  Classics, Cult Film,  Fantasy, Horror, Mystery