ARCTIC

C2C: An integrated science approach in the changing north



By: Amanda E Poste* and André Frainer* // Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Bodil A Bluhm and Rolf A Ims // UiT The Arctic University of Norway
* Also affiliated with UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Barents Observer

When we hike on a local mountain we move through different types of vegetation, from barren tundra to meadows and forests. We cross mires, hop over streams, walk along lake shores. When we reach the coast, we see rivers meeting the sea and wade to our knees in salt water to look for sea creatures.

On our hike, without noticing, we have already crossed several ecosystems – freshwater, terrestrial, and marine. While the boundaries between these ecosystems are not always very clear, they often have their own management plans and research traditions.

TOP PHOTO
When we hike on a local mountain we move through different types of vegetation, from barren tundra to meadows and forests. Photo: Helge M. Markusson/The Fram Centre

Terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems are all strongly connected, yet climate change research and environmental management often ignore such cross-ecosystem linkages and impacts. Given the sweeping nature of industrial impacts on the planet, from local-scale effects on soil and drinking water, to global-scale effects on biodiversity and climate, there is a pressing need for a more holistic understanding and management of socio-ecological systems. This type of holistic, integrated understanding requires improved insight into how global change is likely to impact cross-ecosystem connectivity and links between nature and society at the landscape scale – from catchment to coast (C2C).

C2C Goals

The goal of the C2C research programme is to improve our understanding of how terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems are linked, and how we can improve their integrated management. In C2C, we take an integrated approach across ecosystem boundaries, from catchment to coast, in three key study areas: Isfjorden/ Adventdalen in Svalbard, and Målselv/Malangen and Varanger/Tana, both in northern Norway.

In these case study regions, C2C will build understanding about climate change impacts “from catchment to coast” and will contribute much-needed knowledge in support of the development of more holistic integrated ecosystem-based management plans in the case regions. Our ambition is that the work in C2C can also serve as model for other areas in northern Norway and other Arctic regions.
Mission

C2C brings together natural and social scientists and stakeholders to deliver new knowledge related to cross-ecosystem linkages among terrestrial, aquatic, and coastal marine ecosystems, and the importance of these linkages for understanding, managing, and mitigating climate change impacts in the Norwegian north (including Svalbard).

Case studies capture many contexts

The plume of Målselva flowing towards the sea is clearly visible as lighter water. Photo: Amanda Poste / Norwegian Institute for Nature Research

At the core of C2C is a set of case studies in northern Norway and Svalbard, where we carry out coordinated and cohesive research across ecosystem and disciplinary boundaries and engage with key local and regional actors. In the case studies, we link and synthesise existing data, field observations and experiments, local knowledge, climate predictions, and current management approaches. The selected sites cover a range of climate, ecological, social, and governance contexts, and capture a broad range of important cross-ecosystem interactions.

For example, case study sites in northern Norway provide opportunities for relevant cross-ecosystem research related to the effect of vegetation change (e.g. greening, browning, shrubification); effects of pink salmon on freshwater and terrestrial nutrient availability and freshwater invertebrate community structure; the magnitude, timing, and impact of terrestrial carbon and nutrients transported from rivers to fjords; and the effects of climate change on floods, droughts, and snow cover extent.

Interdisciplinary team

C2C brings together over seventy researchers from twelve Fram Centre institutes: together, they provide expertise related to governance and management; climate science; terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecology; socio-ecological systems; hydrology; biogeochemistry; anthropology; geomorphology; environmental monitoring; remote sensing; and outreach. C2C is organised in a work package structure that takes advantage of this expertise and ensures a connection across disciplines. In addition to bringing together new constellations of researchers across disciplines and ecosystems, C2C also takes advantage of ongoing research, existing infrastructure, and monitoring time series in the partner institutes, including data and infrastructure developed through the previous Fram Centre flagships.

Work in progress – 2022 to 2026

C2C has started by working with key stakeholders to identify knowledge gaps and prioritise research needs when addressing cross-ecosystem linkages in northern Norway under climate change (WP1). This important step ensures that different perspectives can be heard and contribute to the planning of new research themes in C2C. Other ongoing activities include the establishment of climate models for better detecting changes in snow cover, seasonality, and vegetation (WP2), analyses of the flux and fate of carbon and nutrients from rivers to the sea (WP3), the interplay between primary producers and consumers across ecosystems (WP4), the assessment of management plans for northern Norway (WP5), and integration and synthesis of the work happening across C2C (WP6).

C2C

In C2C we define cross-ecosystem linkages as movement of water and material (including organisms) across terrestrial–freshwater–marine ecosystem boundaries. Cross-ecosystem impacts occur when changes in one ecosystem have effects that cross over ecosystem boundaries (e.g. impacts of terrestrial climate and vegetation change on freshwater and coastal water quality, impacts of changing stream invertebrate communities on the types and quantities of insects that cross over into terrestrial food webs).

This story was first published by the Fram Forum

Kenney speechwriter called residential schools a 'bogus genocide story'

Elise von Scheel

© Thomson Reuters Alberta Premier Jason Kenney speaks during a news conference after meeting with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada December 10, 2019. REUTERS/Blair Gable

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's speechwriter once wrote an article dismissing the "bogus genocide story" of Canada's residential school system and said Indigenous youth could be "ripe recruits" for violent insurgencies.

Paul Bunner penned the column, titled "The 'Genocide' That Failed," for the online magazine C2C Journal in 2013. Brunner was a speechwriter for prime minister Stephen Harper from 2006 to 2009 and was hired by Kenney last spring.

C2C IS A RIGHT  WING NEO CALVINIST JOURNAL PUT OUT BY THE REFORMED CHURCH OF CANADA, FORMERLY OF SOUTH AFRICA, AND ITS FRONT GROUPS CLAC THE FAKE UNION, AND CFAC THEIR FARMERS GROUP. C2C WAS FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE WORK RESEARCH FOUNDATION 

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2005/11/canadas-right-wing-union.html

The article questioned what Bunner deemed the "unchallenged" view of residential schools.

"Vast swathes of the public education system are uncritically regurgitating the genocide story as if it were fact," Bunner wrote, arguing that fuels certain Indigenous activists in their "never-ending demands" for money and autonomy.

Bunner argued that if Indigenous youth are "indoctrinated" in the belief that Canada wilfully tried to annihilate their ancestors it could make them "ripe recruits" for potential violent insurgencies, referring to a novel about an Indigenous uprising that he said was "frighteningly plausible."

He encouraged people to question the balance of residential school stories, to push back against "perverse financial incentives" that "reward stories of abuse" and called for more context about the general hardships of life at that time. © Indian and Northern Affairs/Library and Archives Canada/Reuters Female students and a nun pose in a classroom at Cross Lake Indian Residential School in Cross Lake, Man., in a February 1940 archive photo. Alberta had some of the highest numbers of residential schools.

In at least one interview since, Bunner has stood by the column.

More than 150,000 Indigenous children were removed from their families and compelled by the government to attend residential schools over the course of a century.

Many relayed stories of physical abuse, sexual assault and emotional anguish at the hands of those who ran the schools. Most of the perpetrators were never prosecuted. The last federally run school closed in the late 1990s.

One of the heads of the federal Truth and Reconciliation Commission that investigated residential schools from 2007 to 2015 says he's heard these arguments before, but can't swallow them.

"I really wish he'd walked in my shoes for those 14 years," said Chief Willie Littlechild, who was among those sent to a residential school. "I think you would have a totally different story."

Littlechild recounted how he was stripped of his name and given a number.

"They called me 65. You idiot, 65. Stupid 65."

He said he's "insulted" by the arguments in Bunner's column, but he holds no grudge.

Bunner was Harper's chief speechwriter when the prime minister made a historic apology in the House of Commons to residential school survivors.

"There is no place in Canada for the attitudes that inspired the Indian residential schools system to ever again prevail," he said in 2008.

Bunner has said he didn't write Harper's speech. He told APTN News in 2015 that he stood by his column and wasn't happy with Harper's apology.

The premier's office declined CBC News' request to interview Bunner. Interviews with backroom staff are uncommon.

"Mr. Bunner is a speechwriter. He is employed to take the Government's policy and put it into words. Mr. Bunner is not employed as a policy advisor nor is he involved in policy making," a spokesperson wrote in an email.

"I'll also remind you that the Premier was a senior minister of the federal government which issued the apology and settlement. Elected officials set policy — not staff."

The Kenney government has made several efforts to advance partnerships between the province and Indigenous groups since he was elected last year, particularly around natural resource development. The premier called it an "economic and moral imperative."

Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University in Calgary says the premier's office needs to address Bunner's article. He added it's a blow to Alberta's efforts to build trust with Indigenous communities.

"This isn't written 30 years ago. This isn't written 20 years ago. This was written after a public apology."

Bratt also said that while speechwriters don't dictate policy, they can influence it like any other adviser.

Bunner's column says that not all residential school students had a bad experience, and that white children also experienced abuse at boarding schools. He did acknowledge that Indigenous people endured worse than most.

But he blamed prominent Indigenous activists for using residential schools to propagate an "entitlement narrative" that has morphed into a "gold mine."

"The bogus genocide story of the Canadian Aboriginal residential schools system is an insult to all of us, Native and non-Native, dead or alive, who are justifiably proud of the peaceful, tolerant, pluralistic history and values of our great country," the article concludes.

Gabrielle Lindstrom is from the Kainaiwa First Nation in southern Alberta and teaches Indigenous studies at Mount Royal University. She wasn't surprised when she read the article.

"I would say that these claims are very common," she said, explaining that she often sees university students with similar misconceptions.

Lindstrom says this issue is not just about one man's words, but generations of stereotypes against Indigenous people.

"We've made the abuse of children debatable and we've made the violence against Indigenous people something that is alleged and something that is debatable."

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard from 6,500 witnesses, creating a historical database made up of five million documents. At the end of its work, the commission released 94 calls to action, which were accepted by the federal government.

The commission said the schools amounted to cultural genocide, attempted to eradicate Aboriginal culture and to assimilate Aboriginal children into mainstream Canada.

Littlechild still sees many areas for improvement — and says he wants to work on that shoulder to shoulder with people like Bunner.

"When we have challenges like this, let's talk about it and see how we find a solution to it," he said.

"It would serve [us] much greater if we walked that path together."

 Rally held outside ICE detention center in WA for 2 union members arrested

Franque Thompson

FOX NEWS
Thu, March 27, 2025 


The Brief

Communities rallied for the release of union organizer Alfredo "Lelo" Juarez, detained by ICE, emphasizing his advocacy for farmworker rights and the circumstances of his arrest.

Juarez, facing removal despite living in the U.S. since childhood, was arrested after ICE agents stopped his car, raising concerns about targeted enforcement.

The rally also highlighted the detention of Lewelyn Dixon, a permanent resident and union member, due to a past conviction, reflecting broader fears over immigrant worker rights.

TACOMA, Wash. - Communities rallied outside the Northwest Detention Center on Thursday for the release of two union members arrested by immigration agents this month.

Farmworker, Alfredo "Lelo" Juarez, was the most recent arrest, which happened on Tuesday in Sedro-Wooley.

Grassroots organization Community to Community (C2C) used the power of social media to raise awareness and support for Juarez. The 25-year-old is a farmworker leader for C2C, as well as an organizer and member of Familias Unidas por la Justicia.

"Lelo is a labor organizer, a dedicated advocate for farmworkers and a beloved member of our community," said Tony Mellilo, President of the Northwest Washington Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. "We demand he be released and allowed to return to his home here in NW Washington."

The backstory

According to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Juarez, who is a citizen of Mexico, was ordered to be "removed to his home country by an immigration judge on March 27, 2018." ICE said it conducted a joint federal law enforcement arrest in Sedro-Woolley on March 25.

His supporters said on March 25, Juarez was taking his partner to work when ICE agents stopped his car and broke his window to arrest him.

Though ICE did not specify why Juarez was being detained, ICE spokesperson David Yost said Juarez refused to comply with commands to exit his car.

Yost further wrote in a statement, "ICE does not indiscriminately conduct enforcement actions on random people. ICE conducts targeted enforcement actions that are based on intelligence-driven leads focused on aliens identified for arrest and removal from the United States. U.S. immigration laws allow aliens to pursue relief from removal. However, once they have exhausted all due process and appeals, the aliens remain subject to a final order of removal from an immigration judge and ICE must carry out that order."

The National Farm Worker Ministry said Juarez came to the United States as a child and has been an activist for farmworker rights in Washington since he was 12.

"We are quite distressed by his arrest and detention. He has lived and worked in this country for many years and is only seeking to make life better for farm workers and immigrants," said Julie Taylor, Executive Director of National Farm Worker Ministry.

In June 2015, at 15 years old, Juarez was arrested in Bellingham for driving the wrong way down a one-way street, telling officers he was 18 and without a license. Juarez later told FOX 13 Seattle, "I thought I was going to get away with it, but that was a bad mistake that I made."

During the 2015 incident, officers weren’t able to identify Juarez, so they called Border Patrol, who then sent the teen to the Northwest Detention Center. His family sued the City of Bellingham claiming racial profiling and agreed to a settlement.

Now, Juarez and his family are up against a new fight, as ICE said he will "remain in custody pending removal proceedings."

Big picture view

The family of Lewelyn Dixon is in a similar situation.

"She's been here over 50-plus years. You would think that being a permanent resident is protection," said Lani Madriaga, Dixon’s niece.

Dixon, a SEIU Local 925 member and lab technician at the University of Washington, was arrested and transferred to an ICE detention center in early March. Despite holding a green card, in 2001 Dixon was convicted of embezzlement. Madriaga said immigration attorneys told the family that was possibly the reason for her detainment.

"It's been so long that it's happened and that was a mistake," said Madriaga.

Labor leaders, rank and file union members, and community members spoke during the rally outside the Northwest Detention Center.

"Since its founding, the labor movement has been clear: a threat to one of us is a threat to all of us," said April Sims and Cherika Carter, executive officers of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. "We will not stand by while the federal government’s cruel and chaotic attacks on immigrant workers escalate. The rights of all working people – to organize on the job, to exercise our constitutional rights of due process and protection from unlawful search and seizure – are under threat."

UK

Revealed: The first rail services to be brought back into public ownership

Olivia Barber 

Yesterday
Left Foot Forward 

“John Major’s decision to privatise British Rail in 1994 was foolish, ideologically-driven, and doomed to fail.”

South Western Railway, C2C, and Greater Anglia will be the first rail operators to return to public ownership, the government has announced.

​​South Western Railways will be renationalised in May 2025, C2C in July 2025, and Greater Anglia in autumn 2025.

This comes after the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 received royal assent on 29 November.

The services will initially be operated by DfT Operator Limited, with Great British Railways (GBR) taking over control once it has been set up.

“For too long, the British public has had to put up with rail services that simply don’t work”, the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, said in a statement.

Alexander, who took over the role from former transport secretary Louise Haigh on Monday, said that starting with South Western Railway, “we’re switching tracks by bringing services back under public control to create a reliable rail network that puts customers first.”

She added: “Our broken railways are finally on the fast track to repairing and rebuilding a system that the British public can trust and be proud of again.”

The Department for Transport statement said that the move will “clamp down on unacceptable levels of delays, cancellations and waste seen under decades of failing franchise contracts”.

Commenting on the announcement, Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, said: ‘Keir Starmer, Louise Haigh, and Heidi Alexander have delivered on the Labour Party’s manifesto commitment by bringing Britain’s railways back into public ownership.”

Whelan stated: “This is the right decision, at the right time, to take the brakes off the UK economy and rebuild Britain.”

He described the prime minister John Major’s decision to privatise British Rail in 1994 as “foolish, ideologically-driven, and doomed to fail”.

“It was described even by that arch-privateer Margaret Thatcher as “a privatisation too far” and so it proved.

“The privateers have taken hundreds of millions of pounds from our railways and successive Conservative governments have pursued a policy of managed decline which has sold taxpayers, passengers, and staff short.

“Now we are going to see the wheels and the steel put back together, an end to the failed fragmentation of our network, and a railway brought back into the public sector, where it belongs, to be run as a public service, not for private profit.”

The RMT released data last year estimating that railway privatisation has drained at least £31 billion from the system over the past 30 years, which has mostly gone into shareholders pockets, while passengers are paying 8% more to travel.

Labour has not indicated whether it will renationalise lucrative freight services and rolling stock companies (ROSCOs), which own and lease trains to rail operators.

The three ROSCOs that the government created to privatise rail in 1993 – Angel Trains, Eversholt and Porterbrook – paid dividends of over £400m in 2022-23.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

UK

RMT chief says pay ‘no longer primary issue’ as new wave of action sparks chaos - when will train strikes end?

Sophie Wills
Sat, 26 August 2023 

Secretary-General of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) Mick Lynch stands with union members at a picket line outside Euston Station

RMT general-secretary Mick Lynch says “pay is no longer the primary issue” and accused industry chiefs of “attacking” workers as a new wave of strike action begins. Thousands of rail workers staged a mass walk out today (Saturday, August 26), sparking bank holiday travel chaos amid huge events such as Leeds and Reading festivals.

Drivers represented by ASLEF are holding a separate strike next week on Friday (September 1) while the union will also ban overtime on the same day as the second RMT strike on Saturday, September 2. Disputes between unions and train companies have been dragging on for well over a year, but Mr Lynch said that pay is no longer in the spotlight after the recent closure of hundreds of ticket offices.

He told Sky News: “Pay is not the primary issue because they are attacking our people and telling them they’re going to be made redundant. My members won’t get a pay deal if they’re made unemployed.

“So, just on the stations they want to get rid of a quarter of staff. You don’t get any pay if you’re not employed by the company. The Government is saying they’re going to take people out of the ticket offices and employ them in the stations, but what they’re actually going to do is give them P45s and say you’re out of the industry.”

Mr Lynch said in order for the strikes to be resolved the very structure of the rail industry would need to change. He added: “They’ve got some demands that they’re making on our members about how they want them to work - they want them to have new contracts, they want to introduce lower pay rates [even lower] than the ones we’ve got now. So if we can sort that stuff out, we can move on then to dealing with pay.

“And if they want to make us a pay proposal without the condition that we have to accept massive job cuts then we will consider that proposal. But we’ve never had a suggestion that we can have a pay rise independent of these changes they want to make at any stage in the last two or three years.”

What dates are the train strikes in August and September?

RMT are set to strike on the following dates in August and September 2023:

• Saturday, August 26

• Saturday, September 2

Drivers represented by ASLEF are holding a separate strike on Friday, September 1, while the union will also ban overtime on the same day as the second RMT strike on Saturday, September 2. The last strikes took place over three days on Thursday, July 20,Saturday, July 22 and Saturday, July 29.

Which train operating companies are affected by the strikes?

The 14 train operating companies affected by the most recent RMT train strikes are:

• Avanti West Coast

• c2c

• Chiltern Railways

• CrossCountry (also affected by industrial action on Saturday 9 September)

• East Midlands Railway

• Gatwick Express

• Great Northern

• Great Western Railway

• Greater Anglia

• Heathrow Express

• Island Line - ASLEF strike only

• London Northwestern Railway

• LNER

• Northern

• South Western Railway

• Southeastern

• Southern

• Stansted Express

• Thameslink

• TransPennine Express

• Transport for Wales (not on strike, but service changes on some routes)

• West Midlands Railway

The companies affected by the driver union’s action (ASLEF) are:

• Avanti West Coast

• Chiltern Railways

• c2c

• CrossCountry

• East Midlands Railway

• Greater Anglia

• GTR Great Northern Thameslink

• Great Western Railway

• Island Line

• LNER

• Northern Trains

• Southeastern

• Southern/Gatwick Express

• South Western Railway

• TransPennine Express

• West Midlands Trains

Alberta's human rights commission chief under fire for Islamophobic book review

Mrinali Anchan - 

Community groups are condemning the appointment of the new chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission and Tribunals, following the resurfacing of a 2009 academic book in which he made Islamophobic comments.

Calgary lawyer Collin May began his new five-year role as chief this week after serving on the commission since 2019.

"It was very shocking and hurtful and just troubling to see some of the statements Collin May expressed," said Said Omar, Alberta advocacy officer for the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM).

Collin May's review of Israeli-British historian Efraim Karsh's Islamic Imperialism: A History came to light again earlier this month in an article published by The Progress Report, an Alberta news outlet.

May's commentary highlighted Karsh's racist assertion that Islam is inherently militaristic in nature, under the guise of analysis.

"[Karsh] defies the multicultural illusion regarding pacific Islam and goes to the heart of the matter. Islam is not a peaceful religion misused by radicals. Rather, it is one of the most militaristic religions known to man, and it is precisely this militaristic heritage that informs the actions of radicals throughout the Muslim world," May wrote in his 2009 review.

C2C Journal is mainly an online publication, whose "unabashed bias is in favour of free markets, democratic governance and individual liberty," according to its website.

C2C USED TO BE THE WORK RESEARCH FOUNDATION; A FRONT FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN ORIGINATED REFORM CHURCH OF CANADA AND IT POLITICAL ARM THE CHRISTIAN LABOUR ASSOCIATION OF CANADA (CLAC) WHOSE LEADERSHIP HATES THE SOCIAL DEMORCATIC CLC AND THE NDP AND ARE TRYING TO BE A RIGHT WING ALTERNATIVE

It is the same outlet in which Paul Bunner, Premier Jason Kenney's former speech writer, wrote an article that dismissed the "bogus genocide story" of Canada's residential school system, and said Indigenous youth could be "ripe recruits" for violent insurgencies.


The NCCM is now working with May to see that he better serves Muslim communities.

May's review is problematic because it's based on stereotypes of Islam that most — if not all — Muslims do not hold, and it is based on an understanding of Islam that is incorrect, Omar said.

The council approached May and members of the Alberta government, and work is ongoing to rectify the situation with community members, he said.

"A true apology must be a commitment to ongoing action and a true commitment to making amends," Omar said. "We will let the community be the arbitrator of his good faith efforts and sincerity."

CBC News requested an interview with May. The commission responded, saying its policy mandate prevents a chief from giving media interviews in order to maintain neutrality, given the nature of the position, but passed along a statement from May issued last week.

"I do not believe or accept the characterization of Islam as a militant religion or movement, especially in light of important recent and diverse scholarship that is working to overcome misconceptions regarding Muslim history and philosophy," May said in the statement.

"I specifically want to affirm that Muslim Albertans are entitled to the full and equal respect accorded all our communities."

The commission, in a separate statement, said it is independent from the provincial government and commits to upholding the Alberta Human Rights Act.

"We have a long history working with Islamic organizations and the Muslim community, and will continue our efforts to enhance those relationships going forward," the commission said.


© Gareth Hampshire/CBCOpposition NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir has called for May to resign from his position as chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission and Tribunals.
'Not a position to get on-job training'

Opposition NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir has called for May's resignation, saying Albertans would be better served by someone who is educated and connected with Muslim communities.

"The Alberta Human Rights Commission should not be a position for him to get on-job training," Sabir said.

"That position should be filled by a person who understands the diversity of this province, who understands what challenges BIPOC communities, Indigenous communities face."

Sabir is also calling out May for only addressing the review now, 13 years after he wrote it — and just as he takes up his role as chief.

"He'd been on this commission for a while ... had he evolved his views, he should have come forward," he said.

He added that this situation casts further doubt on the the provincial government's vetting process, as well as the United Conservative Party's commitment to tackling racism, particularly because of the lack of major action regarding 48 recommendations from the Alberta anti-racism advisory council released last year.

The Alberta government is scheduled to share details of an action plan to combat racism in the province next week.

The office of the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General handled the vetting process for May.

CBC News requested an interview with Tyler Shandro, Alberta's justice minister and solicitor general. Shandro's press secretary provided a statement.

"Alberta's government does not agree with the characterization of Islam or the position expressed in the book review written in 2009," the statement said.

The justice ministry accepted May's statement, and the government "will continue to hold the commission to their mandate of fostering equality and reducing discrimination in our province," it added.

Alberta in showdown with human rights chief in Islamophobia controversy


EDMONTON — A day after Justice Minister Tyler Shandro publicly directed the head of Alberta's human rights commission to quit, the commissioner’s office lobbed the issue back at him, saying it’s Shandro who does the hiring and firing.

“The commission does not have any information to share regarding the status of Collin May’s resignation,” the Alberta Human Rights Commission said Tuesday in an emailed statement.

“The minister of justice and solicitor general is responsible for managing who is appointed as chief of the commission and tribunals.

“Please get in touch with (his office).”

Shandro’s office declined to comment.

It’s the latest turn in an issue that beset Collin May even before he was officially appointed chief of the commission in July.

At that time, critics pointed to a book review he wrote in 2009 and said the article raised concerns that May was Islamophobic and therefore unfit to serve as head of the commission dedicated to ensuring Albertans don’t face discrimination.

May responded in a statement, categorically rejecting the Islamophobic allegations and promising to “commit to continuing my personal education about Islam and all faiths."

“I will be meeting with leaders in Alberta’s Muslim community to learn more about their lived experiences in Alberta and to work towards overcoming discrimination against the Islamic community,” he added.

Matters came to a head Monday when the National Council of Canadian Muslims published an open letter accusing May of failing to meet despite repeated attempts to reach out to him.

The council said May’s intransigence cast doubt on his commitment to learn and reflect, and its letter was signed by 28 community Muslim groups.

Hours later, Shandro’s office issued a statement reiterating that May had promised more than two months ago to meet with the Muslim community.

Related video: Alberta teachers included in new provincial registry fear discrimination, harassment
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“Minister Shandro requested an explanation from Mr. May,” wrote Shandro’s office. “After reviewing the explanation, Minister Shandro has asked for Mr. May’s resignation.”

The statement did not elaborate on the conversation or on what specifically triggered the call to quit.

Said Omar, spokesman for the Muslims council, said he was pleased Shandro called for the resignation.

He said May has not reached out to the group since it sent the letter, and it may be too late for him to mend fences anyway.

“We are always open to meeting with individuals and to try to reconciliate, but I think at this point the community has spoken,” said Omar in an interview.

May, a Calgary-based lawyer, was appointed to the commission in 2019. In years past, he has contributed articles to C2C Journal, an online and print publication focusing on political, cultural and economic issues.

In June 2009, he reviewed Efraim Karsh’s book “Islamic Imperialism: A History,” which examines the forces and cultural attitudes that have shaped the religion.

In one line in the review, May notes that the book states “Islam is not a peaceful religion misused by radicals. Rather, it is one of the most militaristic religions known to man, and it is precisely this militaristic heritage that informs the actions of radicals throughout the Muslim world.”

The Muslims council has focused on that paragraph in its criticism, characterizing it as a "shocking" and stigmatizing stereotype.

Opposition NDP Justice critic Irfan Sabir echoed the call for May’s dismissal, stating Monday: “Muslims in Canada are targeted for harassment, assault and murder purely because of their faith."

However, May and the editors of his article disagree.

May in his July statement said, “I wish to state clearly that I do not believe or accept the characterization of Islam as a militant religion or movement.”

C2C Journal editors George Koch and Peter Shawn Taylor, in a rebuttal published on its site in July, said May made it clear that it was the book author’s viewpoint — not his own — in the controversial paragraph.

“Whether a reviewer agrees or disagrees with an author’s position, he or she has a duty to convey the book’s thesis in good faith,” wrote the editors.

“The critics and complainers simply defaulted to the worst possible interpretation as a matter of course,” they added.

“This sort of behaviour has become outrageously common and is doing great damage to public discourse in Canada.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2022.

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press


Alberta justice minister asks head of Human Rights Commission to resign after calls from Muslim community

Lisa Johnson - Yesterday

Justice Minister Tyler Shandro has asked for the chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission to resign after over two dozen Muslim organizations and mosques signed a public letter calling for action.


Justice Minister Tyler Shandro.© Provided by Edmonton Journal

Calgary lawyer Collin May began his five-year term as chief of the Commission and Tribunals on July 14, but had already come under fire from critics who said a book review May penned in 2009 was Islamophobic.

On Monday, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) published a letter calling on Shandro to take action, alleging that May had shirked offers to meet with community leaders and issued letters threatening to sue unnamed critics.

Joseph Dow, Shandro’s press secretary, said in a statement once Shandro got the NCCM’s letter, he demanded an explanation from May.

“After reviewing the explanation, Minister Shandro has asked for Mr. May’s resignation,” Dow wrote.

The dismissal came after a series of tweets Monday from the NCCM, who also called the book review “ deeply problematic,” and as Muslims in Alberta have faced a rash of physical and verbal attacks recently, including at least nine attacks reported to Edmonton police over the course of six months in 2021.

Monday’s letter, signed by 28 community organizations and mosques across the province, noted that when the book review first came to light, May committed to engaging with the province’s Muslim community.

“May did not prioritize scheduling those meetings, but far more importantly, decided to threaten to sue his critics. This behaviour cannot be countenanced from the chair of the Alberta Human Rights Commission,” it said.

Said Omar, Alberta advocacy officer for the NCCM, told Postmedia the book May reviewed contains views that are stereotypical and Islamophobic.

“We've received many calls from Muslim community members who are honestly just shocked and appalled that Mr. May would review this book favourably,” he said, adding it’s another example of why minority communities lose trust in institutions.

“Many community members were at a loss for words — they do not understand how they would be able to trust this institution if they need to,” he said.

First flagged by left-wing media organization the Progress Report, May’s review of historian Efraim Karsh’s book Islamic Imperialism: A History, underscores Karsh’s argument that Islam is inherently combative.

“(Karsh) defies the multicultural illusion regarding pacific Islam and goes to the heart of the matter. Islam is not a peaceful religion misused by radicals. Rather, it is one of the most militaristic religions known to man, and it is precisely this militaristic heritage that informs the actions of radicals throughout the Muslim world,” May wrote in the review.

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May did not immediately provide a statement to Postmedia Monday, but in a July statement, May said his review agreed with some of the book’s assertions, but rejected others.

“I wish to state clearly that I do not believe or accept the characterization of Islam as a militant religion or movement, especially in light of important recent and diverse scholarship that is working to overcome misconceptions regarding Muslim history and philosophy. I specifically want to affirm that Muslim Albertans are entitled to the full and equal respect accorded all our communities,” he wrote.

Earlier Monday, NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir said in a statement the views expressed by May in the book review “perpetuate hatred,” calling on Shandro to remove May from the Human Rights Commission.

UCP leadership hopeful Rajan Sawhney had previously called for an investigation into May’s appointment , but in a Monday tweet quoting the letter sided with the NCCM.

“Important read. And I agree,” she wrote.

Fellow leadership candidate Leela Aheer also weighed in by retweeting the NCCM’s letter, saying “it is imperative that all communities feel safe and supported by their government institutions.

 

Train drivers strike for third time in four days

Sky News
Sun, 7 April 2024




Passengers on some of the UK's busiest rail routes will face travel chaos on Monday as train drivers are set to strike for the third time in four days.

Members of Aslef will walk out resulting in significant reductions in services, especially in East Anglia and the South East.

Aslef is embroiled in a near two-year long dispute over pay, with no sign of a breakthrough and no talks planned.


The strike will hit c2c, Gatwick Express, Greater Anglia, Southeastern, Southern, South Western Railway, Great Northern and Thameslink.

The union says the dispute has cost the industry over £2bn, far more than it would have cost to resolve the conflict.

Aslef members at 16 train companies are also banning overtime on Monday and Tuesday which will further disrupt services.

Picket lines will be mounted outside the railway stations of operators affected by the strike.

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said his members remained solidly behind the industrial action and criticised the government and rail companies for the lack of contact over the past year.

The government introduced a new law last year aimed at ensuring minimum levels of service during strikes, but none of the train companies have opted to use it.

A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: "Train companies are working through plans to manage the unnecessary disruption to our passengers caused by this damaging industrial action.

"Minimum service levels are one potential tool for that but they are not a silver bullet.

"In the meantime, we remain committed to resolving this dispute and our offer, which would take average driver salaries to £65,000 for a four-day week without overtime, remains on the table."

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Aslef is the only rail union continuing to strike, targeting passengers and preventing their own members from voting on the pay offer that remains on the table.

"Having resolved disputes with all other rail unions, the transport secretary and rail minister have ensured that a pay offer is on the table - taking train drivers' average salaries from £60,000 up to £65,000."

UK Train drivers mount picket lines outside railway stations as strikes continue

Alan Jones, PA Industrial Correspondent
Sat, 6 April 2024 



Train drivers mounted picket lines outside railway stations on Saturday as strikes continued in a long-running pay dispute.

Aslef said the 22-month-long row had cost the industry £2 billion, much more than it would have cost to resolve the conflict.

Rail passengers suffered more travel disruption when six operators were hit by strikes.


Some areas of the country will have no services all day on Saturday.


Chiltern, TransPennine Express and Northern will not run any trains, while there will be reduced services on Great Western Railway, LNER and Heathrow Express.

LNER said it plans to run 35 services between London, Edinburgh and West Yorkshire, while no Heathrow Express trains will run before 7.25am or after 7pm.

GWR said services will be reduced, with many parts of its network having no trains all day.

Engineering work means there will be no trains between London Paddington and Reading.

The strikes follow walkouts at Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Railway, CrossCountry and London NorthWestern on Friday, which crippled services.

Several train operators, including those serving busy commuter routes in the South East, will be hit by a strike on Monday.

A ban on overtime on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday at 16 train companies is also leading to cancellations and disruption.

Aslef says it wants to meet with train companies and ministers to try to break the deadlock, claiming that the Government does not want to resolve the row.

No meetings have been held between the union and the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) for a year, or with Transport Secretary Mark Harper since December 2022.

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: “We’ve done 17 pay deals in the last 12 months across all sectors, nations and regions – freight, open-access, Elizabeth line, and Tube.

“And yet we only have a problem with one place and the place we have a problem with is the Westminster Government, who are interfering with our pay deals with the private companies we work for.”

A new law was introduced last year aimed at ensuring minimum levels of service during strikes, but none of the train operators have applied to use it.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Aslef is the only rail union continuing to strike, targeting passengers and preventing their own members from voting on the pay offer that remains on the table.”

A spokesperson for the RDG said: “Minimum service level legislation is one of many useful tools for managing strike disruption, but it is not a silver bullet.”

UK

PM accused of ‘playing games’ as rail strike continues

Alan Jones, PA Industrial Correspondent
Tue, 30 January 2024 

The Prime Minister has been accused of “playing games” rather than trying to help resolve the long-running train drivers’ dispute as another strike caused travel disruption across parts of England.

Members of Aslef on some of the busiest commuter routes, including many into London, walked out on Tuesday, crippling services on operators such as Southern, SouthEastern, Gatwick Express and South Western Railway.

Some areas had no trains all day, forcing many people onto the roads, leading to huge traffic jams in parts of the country.

Train drivers at Northern Trains and the TransPennine Express will strike on Wednesday as part of a rolling programme of action until early next week in a bitter row over pay and conditions.

None of the operators hit by strikes used new regulations aimed at ensuring a minimum level of service during industrial action.

Downing Street said it will consider if they can “strengthen” minimum service level (MSL) rules after train operators opted not to use the new law during strikes.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “This is something that the rail companies have asked for and we have delivered it for them.

“We believe they should be ready to use the legislation to reduce the impact of rail strikes on passengers, but we are always open to looking at how we can strengthen the rules around MSLs to ensure they deliver for the best interests of passengers.

“That’s something we will continue to look at and of course we will keep discussing with the rail companies themselves.”

Sources told the PA news agency that rail companies had not asked for the regulations amid warnings from unions and opposition politicians that they were unworkable.

Alan Jones, PA Industrial Correspondent

Tue, 30 January 2024 at 9:23 am GMT-7·4-min read

The Prime Minister has been accused of “playing games” rather than trying to help resolve the long-running train drivers’ dispute as another strike caused travel disruption across parts of England.

Members of Aslef on some of the busiest commuter routes, including many into London, walked out on Tuesday, crippling services on operators such as Southern, SouthEastern, Gatwick Express and South Western Railway.

Some areas had no trains all day, forcing many people onto the roads, leading to huge traffic jams in parts of the country.

Train drivers at Northern Trains and the TransPennine Express will strike on Wednesday as part of a rolling programme of action until early next week in a bitter row over pay and conditions.

None of the operators hit by strikes used new regulations aimed at ensuring a minimum level of service during industrial action.

Downing Street said it will consider if they can “strengthen” minimum service level (MSL) rules after train operators opted not to use the new law during strikes.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “This is something that the rail companies have asked for and we have delivered it for them.

“We believe they should be ready to use the legislation to reduce the impact of rail strikes on passengers, but we are always open to looking at how we can strengthen the rules around MSLs to ensure they deliver for the best interests of passengers.

“That’s something we will continue to look at and of course we will keep discussing with the rail companies themselves.”

Sources told the PA news agency that rail companies had not asked for the regulations amid warnings from unions and opposition politicians that they were unworkable.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak told PA: “This is a desperate attempt to distract from the Government’s failings.

“Employers from rail to health warned months ago these new laws are unworkable and would escalate industrial tensions.

“The PM should stop playing games and help resolve this dispute.”

A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group, said: “Minimum Service Level legislation is one of many useful tools for managing strike disruption, but it is not a silver bullet.

“Operators’ guiding principle is always to make sure they can offer the best, most reliable services possible for their passengers on and around industrial action days, and to do that they need to make careful assessments of their own particular operational circumstances before deciding the best way forward.”

Meanwhile, the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) announced a strike by London Overground workers in a separate dispute over pay.

More than 300 union members will walk out for 48 hours on February 19 and again on March 4.

Security, station, revenue and control staff are among those taking industrial action.

Rail services are already being affected by a nine-day ban on overtime by Aslef members, which started on Monday.

On Tuesday, drivers went on strike at Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Thameslink and South Western Railway followed by walkouts at Northern Trains and TPE on Wednesday, at LNER, Greater Anglia and C2C on Friday, at West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast and East Midlands Railway on February 3 and at Great Western, CrossCountry and Chiltern on February 5.

Aslef says it has not met with Transport Secretary Mark Harper for more than a year despite a series of strikes which have caused travel misery and cost industries such as hospitality tens of millions of pounds in lost business.

A Department of Transport spokesperson said on Monday: “Aslef’s leadership is refusing to let their members vote on an offer that would see the average train driver’s salary increase to £65,000.

“The Transport Secretary and Rail Minister have already facilitated talks that led to this fair and reasonable offer from industry – Aslef bosses should put it to their members so we can resolve the dispute, which has already happened with the RMT, TSSA and Unite unions.

“With passenger revenues not having recovered since the pandemic, the taxpayer has had to prop up the railways with £12 billion in the past year alone – these strikes will not change the need for urgent workplace reforms that Aslef continue to block.”

UK
Rail services will be 'severely impacted' by strikes


Alice Cunningham,BBC News, Essex

Greater AngliaGreater Anglia services will be impacted this week by strikes

Strikes will impact rail commuters in the East of England next week.

The Aslef union announced action from Tuesday through to Thursday impacting different rail operators, including Greater Anglia, each day.

An overtime ban was also called between Monday and Saturday.

Passengers have been advised to check before travelling and plan accordingly.

What is happening on Tuesday?

Greater Anglia said services would be "severely impacted" on Tuesday.

It planned to run a reduced train service on a small number of key routes into London across fewer hours.

The affected routes are:Norwich/Colchester and London Liverpool Street
Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street
Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street
Cambridge and London Liverpool Street

The operator added that most routes would have no services at all.

Other operators including c2c, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern and South Western Railway including Island Line are also expected to be impacted on Tuesday.

What is happening on Wednesday and Thursday?

On Wednesday, Greater Anglia's first trains of the day on most routes will start at about 07:00 BST.

"Most of our train services will be running," a Greater Anglia spokesperson said.

"West Anglia services are expected to be extremely busy, passengers are advised to check before they travel and consider travelling at alternative times.

"Stansted Express will be operating a reduced service of two or three trains per hour."

Wednesday will see operators including Avanti, Chiltern, CrossCountry and others impacted by the strike.

Thursday will similarly see LNER, Northern and TransPennine disrupted.

Some engineering works on Saturday may also impact journeys on Greater Anglia routes.

Greater Anglia recommended making use of its journey planner before setting out.