UPDATE

UK
Protest at Downing Street over treatment of low-paid workers after Gray report

The protest followed the publication of Sue Gray’s report into parties in Downing Street during Covid-19 lockdowns.

Cleaners stage a protest outside Downing Street in London, following revelations in Sue Gray’s report into parties in Whitehall during the coronavirus lockdown 

(Jonathan Brady/PA) / PA Wire

By Danielle Desouza

Demonstrators have gathered outside Downing Street to protest against the treatment of low-paid workers such as cleaners and security guards in government buildings across London.

The protest followed the publication of Sue Gray’s report into parties in Downing Street during Covid-19 lockdowns, which found multiple examples of “unacceptable” treatment of security and cleaning staff in Number 10.

The demonstrators also called for “justice” for a Ministry of Justice cleaner, Emanuel Gomes, who died during the pandemic in April 2020 after working for five days with suspected Covid symptoms.

According to reports, a coroner recorded his official cause of death as hypertension of the heart

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Pictures of Emanuel Gomes at the protest (Jonathan Brady/PA) / PA Wire

United Voices of the World (UVW) – the union Mr Gomes was part of, which represents cleaners and security guards in government buildings – organised the demonstration and called for better treatment of staff.

Chants including “justice for Emanuel” and “one rule for them and another rule for us” were shouted, while others banged drums to make enough noise for those in Downing Street to hear.

Vicente Mendez, a friend of Mr Gomes, attended the protest and said he was “very grateful” to everyone who had turned out to show their support.

Tea light candles, flowers and A4 posters with Mr Gomes’s face on them were laid along the road.

In her report into partygate, published on Wednesday, Ms Gray wrote: “I found that some staff had witnessed or been subjected to behaviours at work which they had felt concerned about but at times felt unable to raise properly.

“I was made aware of multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff. This was unacceptable.”

The report also said staff members “drank excessively” at the Downing Street Christmas party on December 18 2020, and a cleaner found red wine was spilled on one wall the next morning

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Cleaners stage a protest outside Downing Street in London, following revelations in Sue Gray’s report into parties in Whitehall 

(Jonathan Brady/PA) / PA Wire

Petros Elia, UVW general secretary, said: “We’re not in the least bit surprised by the revelations in the Sue Gray report. We have thousands of members who work as cleaners and security guards and these workers face disrespect and discrimination on a daily basis in offices and government buildings across London, not just in Downing Street.

“It is outrageous to have rowdy and illegal parties during the pandemic but to then expect cleaners to mop up after you and to pay them, as well as porters and security guards, poverty wages and deny them full sick pay is abhorrent.

“Most of the cleaners and security guards out there are ethnic minority workers, black, brown and migrant people, who are disproportionately impacted by poor working conditions and racialised inequalities.

“We represent cleaners at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) who had to walk off the job during the pandemic because they were not given adequate PPE and were denied full sick pay, which they eventually won for Covid-19 absences.

“One of our members who worked as a cleaner at the MoJ tragically died an untimely and avoidable death. That’s how far the levels of disrespect and mistreatment went and goes towards low-paid workers.”

Zack Polanski, a member of the Green Party and the London Assembly, spoke at the protest to show his solidarity.

He told the PA news agency: “Like anyone, whether they’re a politician or a member of the public, I made lots of sacrifices during Covid and there were lots of times when I couldn’t see friends or family.

“But we all knew those were the rules and we knew we were doing it for the good of the country, which makes it even more egregious that the people in power are breaking the rules.”

A No 10 spokesman said: “The Prime Minister has been appalled by the findings in Sue Gray’s report around behaviour towards treatment of security and cleaning staff.

“He has personally apologised to these dedicated members of staff, expects anyone who behaved in that way to apologise, and we are committed to addressing the full findings and recommendations in the report.”

FROM YESTERDAY

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/cleaners-and-security-staff-to-protest.html

Vulnerable pink coral will push up UK coastline as climate warms – research

The pink sea fan is likely to be a short-term beneficiary of global warming, researchers found, as the water around the British Isles heats up.

Pink sea fans will become more abundant as coastal waters warm, scientists predict (Jamie Stevens/PA)

By Tess de La Mare

vulnerable species of coral will become more common in UK waters by the end of the century as global warming drives up temperatures, according to new research.

The pink sea fan is found in shallow waters from the western Mediterranean stretching up to the north-west of Ireland, south-west England and Wales.

Researchers at the University of Exeter modelled which coastlines might become more hospitable to the coral as waters warm, based on greenhouse gas emissions at the high end of current predictions.


In a rapidly changing mosaic of habitats, some species – typically those favouring warmer conditions – may come out as short-term ‘winners’

They found that by the last two decades of this century, the pink sea fan is likely to push northwards into new sites in the British Isles making it a short term “winner” of the climate crisis.

The modelling covered the Bay of Biscay, northern Spain, the British Isles and southern Norway.

In future it could be used to identify waters in need of extra environmental protection, the researchers said.

The soft coral is classified as “vulnerable” worldwide by the Internal Union for Conservation on Nature, and is at particular risk from scallop dredging.

Its slow growth rate means it also struggles to recover from physical disturbance.

The pink sea fan is listed as a species of principal importance in England and Wales under the Natural England and the Commission for Rural Communities Act 2006.

It was given the listing because of its rarity, and the fact the corals can form dense “forests” – boosting biodiversity by providing valuable habitat for other creatures living close to the sea bed.

The health of pink sea fan forests can also be a useful indicator of the wider health of the marine ecosystem, the researchers said.

Dr Jamie Stevens, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Exeter, said: “This research highlights the complex effects of climate change on marine ecosystems, in which the ranges of some species respond to warming by shifting pole-wards.

“In a rapidly changing mosaic of habitats, some species – typically those favouring warmer conditions – may come out as short-term ‘winners’.

“How long these species can continue to expand and benefit in the face of accelerated warming remains to be seen.”

Dr Tom Jenkins, also of the University of Exeter, said it was not yet clear why pink sea fans have not yet colonised greater areas of the coast.

“Possible barriers include insufficient dispersal of their larvae and high competition between species for space and resources,” he said.

He added: “We also found that existing habitat across south-west Britain, the Channel Islands and north-west France is predicted to remain suitable for this species over the next 60-80 years.”

The paper, Predicting habitat suitability and range shifts under projected climate change for two octocorals in the north-east Atlantic, is published in the journal PeerJ.

Winnipegger attending 1st Pride festival after realizing during pandemic she's a lesbian

CBC/Radio-Canada - 

It took the forced isolation of the pandemic to help Lauren Toews come to the realization that she was a lesbian.

"I think like a lot of people, the pandemic was one of the first times I was just forced to stop," she said in an interview with Faith Fundal on CBC Manitoba's morning show, Information Radio.

"I didn't really have a lot else to do, but think about my life and re-evaluate and kind of come to the conclusion that I hadn't really been doing things the way I wanted to. I just had been kind of following a predetermined script that I didn't realize at the time."

Now in her 30s, the Winnipeg massage therapist will be attending the Pride festival for the first time.

The festival kicked off Friday with the raising of the Pride flag at Winnipeg City Hall.

For Carolyn Welsh, the raising of the flag represents hope.

"I'm a grandmother. I'm a great-grandmother. I would want my children, my grandchild, my great-grandchildren to be accepted for who they are," said Welsh, who attended the ceremony on Friday.

Toews says there were moments when she felt attraction to women, but she dismissed those feelings. Once she started to accept them, everything changed, she said.

"Immediately I was like, 'This is how it's supposed to be.' This excitement to date, rather than terrified of going on dates and just completely different."

The flag-raising ceremony is now an annual tradition attended by Mayor Brian Bowman and other city officials, but it wasn't always so.

"The first Pride, I think, back in 1987, was attended by people who wore paper bags on their heads, because they were afraid of losing their jobs, of losing their careers, of being outed to their families and being ostracized," said Trevor Doner.

"And really, 1987 is not that long ago."

This year marks 35 years since the first Pride march in Winnipeg.

Although there has been progress in the decades since, the struggle is not over, Doner said.

"There's still a lot of rights and recognition to be won for lots of different members of our community."


© Randall McKenzie/CBC

Members of Winnipeg city council and volunteers with Pride Winnipeg raise the Pride flag in a ceremony at city hall on Friday.

Welsh came out as a lesbian when she was in her 40s. She was outed to her employer in 1999, who told her that had it been known when they hired her, they might not have given her the job, she said.

"We think we've come a long way, but we've got a long way to go," she said.

This will be the last Pride festival of Bowman's time as mayor of Winnipeg, he said in a speech at the ceremony.

He spoke about the work the city has done to create a culture of inclusivity, such as the creation of a human rights committee of council and an LGBTQ employee resource group.

"The hospitality and the generosity that many of you have provided to myself and to our family has really made me feel welcomed, and I just hope that each of you feel that same warmth and sense of belonging in our community and the city that we all call home each and every day," Bowman said.

The festival has more than 50 events throughout the week, culminating in the annual Pride parade on June 5.

CANADA IS BILINGUAL QUEBEC IS UNILINGUAL

English school board says it will file legal challenge of Quebec language law reform


MONTREAL — The English Montreal School Board says it will launch a legal challenge of Quebec's recently adopted language law reform.

The board said in a news release today that it believes the law, commonly known as Bill 96, violates English-speaking Quebecers' constitutional right to manage and control their own educational institutions.

The language law, adopted on Tuesday, caps enrolment at English-language junior colleges and requires students at those colleges to take three additional classes in French.

The English school board was one of several groups to challenge Quebec's secularism law, which bans teachers, police officers and certain other public sector employees from wearing religious symbols.

Both laws invoke the notwithstanding clause of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to shield them from court challenges.

In April 2021, a Superior Court judge struck down provisions of the religious symbols ban that applied to English school boards but upheld the bulk of it due to the use of the notwithstanding clause.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2022.

The Canadian Press

Mexican judge suspends bullfights in world's largest ring

French bullfighter Sebastian Castella is seen here in 2016 at the Plaza de Toros -- a Mexican judge has ordered a suspension of bullfighting in the arena, the world's largest bullring 

(AFP/AGV PLAZA DE ARMAS) 

Fri, May 27, 2022,

A Mexican judge on Friday ordered a suspension of bullfighting in Mexico City's Plaza de Toros, the world's largest bullring, after activists filed a lawsuit against the centuries-old practice.

Organizers "must immediately suspend bullfighting shows... as well as the granting of permits," the federal court ruled in response to a petition by the group Justicia Justa.

Another hearing is due to be held on Thursday to consider arguments and evidence from the two sides, ahead of the next scheduled event at the Plaza de Toros on July 2.

It is the first time that a court has ordered such a suspension, following years of legal action by civil organizations seeking a ban.

Mexico is a bastion of bullfighting but the tradition -- and the 50,000-capacity Plaza de Toros -- face an uncertain future.

In December, an animal welfare commission in Mexico City's legislature approved a proposal to prohibit the tradition in the capital.

Lawmakers have yet to vote on the plan, which dismayed supporters of bullfighting as well as the multimillion-dollar industry surrounding it.

So far, only a handful of Mexico's 32 states have banned the practice, which was brought by the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.

sem/dr/sst

Monkeypox may have been spreading in UK for year

This is one hypothesis to explain the monkeypox strain currently spreading.

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Monkeypox belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus, which also includes variola virus (which causes smallpox), vaccinia virus (used in the smallpox vaccine) and cowpox virus. (Image credit: dotted zebra / Alamy)

The monkeypox virus may have been spreading at low levels in the United Kingdom for years now, only becoming detectable in the last month, according to health officials.

This is the first time the smallpox-related virus has spread locally outside of West and Central Africa, where it is endemic, as all known past cases outside Africa were related to foreign travel. As of May 25, more than 200 people across 20 countries are confirmed to have monkeypox, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control(opens in new tab) (ECDC) reported. Currently, about 106 cases are people in the U.K., according to the U.K. Health Security Agency(opens in new tab) (UKHSA). The majority of cases worldwide have been identified in men who have sex in men, and officials have tentatively traced the origin of the current outbreak to two raves, one in Spain and the other in Belgium, according to news reports. 

Officials are now suggesting the possibility that local transmission of monkeypox has been occurring in the U.K. for two to three years. For instance, four monkeypox cases were reported in the U.K. between 2018 and 2019 in individuals who had traveled to Nigeria; another three cases from similar travel were confirmed there in 2021, The Guardian reported(opens in new tab).

By Jeanna Bryner  LIVESCIENCE

‘Transformative’ effects of mass gatherings like Burning Man are lasting

By Bill Hathaway

may 27, 2022

(Photo by Curtis Simmons, Flickr: simmons_tx)

Throughout history, mass gatherings such as collective rituals, ceremonies, and pilgrimages have created intense social bonds and feelings of unity in human societies. But Yale psychologists wondered if modern day secular gatherings that emphasize creativity and community serve an even broader purpose.

The research team studied people’s subjective experiences and social behavior at secular mass gatherings, such as the annual Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. They found that people who reported transformative experiences at the gatherings felt more connected with all of humanity and were more willing to help distant strangers, the researchers report May 27 in the journal Nature Communications.

“We’ve long known that festivals, pilgrimages, and ceremonies make people feel more bonded with their own group,” said Daniel Yudkin, a postdoctoral researcher and first author of the paper. “Here we show that experiences at secular mass gatherings also have the potential to expand the boundaries of moral concern beyond one’s own group.”

The research team, led by M.J. Crockett, an associate professor of psychology at Yale, conducted field studies of more than 1,200 people attending multi-day mass gatherings in the United States and United Kingdom: Burning Man, Burning Nest, Lightning in a Bottle, Dirty Bird, and Latitude, all events that feature art, music, and self-expression.

The researchers set up booths at the events inviting passersby to “Play Games for Science.” Those who agreed to participate were asked about their experiences at the events along with their willingness to share resources with friends and strangers.

Overall, 63.2% of participants reported having transformative experiences so profound that they left the events feeling radically changed, including a substantial number of people who did not expect or desire to be transformed. (And yes, transformative experiences were more intense among the 28% of subjects who reported taking psychedelic substances.)

People who reported transformative experiences also reported feeling more socially connected with all human beings, and with every passing day they spent at these events, participants expanded their circle of generosity beyond family and friends towards including distant strangers. They recontacted some of the original attendees and also 2,000 people who had attended the event but were not originally interviewed.  The researchers found that transformative experiences and their prosocial feelings persisted at least six months.

“The findings are an important reminder of what we’ve missed in years of pandemic isolation: powerful social experiences, or what the sociologist Emile Durkheim called ‘collective effervescence,’” Yudkin said.

Crockett concluded, “Transformative experiences help people transcend the borders of the self and connect with all of humanity — crucial qualities to cultivate as we work to end this pandemic and prevent future ones.”

The research was conducted as part of The Experience Project funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Denver and University of Bath in the United Kingdom contributed to the study.

Coastal Cities are Sinking as Sea Levels Rise

Rhode Island researchers identify at-risk areas in cities worldwide for subsiding land.

By Gabe Allen

May 27, 2022 

(Credit: MainlanderNZ/Shutterstock)

In a recent study, researchers examined 99 coastal cities and found nearly all of them were rapidly sinking. The study showed development and groundwater depletion has been depressing the surface. In many of these coastal communities, subsiding land may create a compounding risk of flooding, adding to the rising sea levels due to global warming.

“Anywhere you are worried about sea level rise, you should also be worried about subsidence,” says study author Matt Wei, a University of Rhode Island associate professor of oceanography.

Although subsidence, a fancy word for sinking ground, is more prevalent in East Asia, Wei and his colleagues also observed it in the U.S., Africa, Europe and Australia. In short, it is a global phenomenon with global implications. In many places, research like Wei’s could help prevent disastrous consequences during natural disasters.

Accounting for Subsiding Land

U.S. Geological Survey employee Richard Ireland took a photograph in San Joaquin Valley, Cali. in 1977 of a local farmer standing beside a telephone pole. A sign that read, “1925” in bold print was nailed to the pole at two-thirds height. In the 52 years preceding the photograph, the ground below the farmer's feet had sunk nearly 30 feet.

Booming agriculture — grapes, nut and citrus farms — depleted a subterranean aquifer system below the valley floor. As the aquifer collapsed, the ground sank and the underground water-holding capacity of the area was permanently diminished.

In recent decades, the valley has developed systems to closely monitor subsidence. Extensometers and a GPS network watch out for signs of further aquifer compaction. The network might soon prove a useful model far beyond the bucolic Californian farmlands.

“A lot of U.S. and European countries have plans where they look at flood risks for different scenarios of sea level rise,” Wei says. “Rarely do they take into account subsidence in their models.”

Making this shift will require collaboration between municipalities and scientists. Since the phenomenon is rarely uniform, cities can’t use the same subsidence models. Certain areas may sink while others rise within a city, or even a neighborhood.

In an attempt to map out at-risk locations, Wei and his colleagues identified areas that sit below 10 meters above sea level and are experiencing subsidence at an equal or greater rate to sea level rise. In other words, low-lying coastal zones that are sinking faster than the water is rising.

Of 99 cities, all but six contain these danger zones and some have many. Shanghai, China and Hanoi, Vietnam top the list, each with more than 1,000 square kilometers of at-risk real estate. The U.S. cities of Hampton, Va., Tampa, Fla. and Corpus Christie, Texas break the top 10 as well.
Underlying Geology

Similar to the San Joaquin valley, researchers think the leading cause for subsidence worldwide is groundwater depletion. But water alone doesn’t offer a satisfactory explanation. Large construction projects tend to compact the soil beneath them, and also pump out large quantities of water to support their operations. Oil and gas extraction can contribute as well. The process can weaken underground structures and cause the ground to sink rapidly.

Underlying geology drives local variations of subsidence. A neighborhood built on the soft alluvial soils of a former riverbed is more prone to subsidence than one built on solid granitic bedrock. Similarly, areas that sit on top of large aquifers are more prone to subsidence from groundwater depletion.

Wei hopes that his research will motivate municipalities to pay attention to subsidence. Once a city knows where subsidence is happening, they can take inventory of the area, assess the flood risk and take measures to protect it.

“First you have to be aware that it is happening, then you need resources to improve it,” Wei says.

GPS stations are an important tool. While much of Wei’s research relied on satellite images, GPS data is more accurate. But, even in the U.S., cities rarely contain more than a handful of GPS stations. Long-term monitoring of subsidence risks will require governments to invest in on-the-ground technology.

“The expansion of ground geodetic data is very important,” Wei says.

As cities around the world grow and expand, so does our understanding of their unintended consequences. Wei’s research provides insight into how one of these consequences may collide with the global effects of climate change to create a unique problem. But it is also a reminder of something more. That disaster mitigation, on both global and local scales, is done best through careful observation and anticipation.

‘This will emerge again’: Communities organize to tackle far-right rhetoric of ‘freedom convoy’

By Natasha Bulowski | May 26th 2022

Counter-protesters are seen during a rally against the trucker convoy in 

Ottawa on Feb. 5, 2022. 

Photo by Spencer Colby / Canada's National Observer

The streets of downtown Ottawa are no longer blocked with trucks and peppered with hate symbols, but residents are not ready to rest while the extreme rhetoric of the so-called “freedom convoy” permeates Canadian politics and society.

“This will emerge again,” said Andrea Harden, an Ottawa resident who participated in many counter-protests against the month-long occupation. “The question for me is when and where?”

Recent events support Harden’s assertion that similar hateful and divisive actions are inevitable.

Less than one month ago, a convoy of motorcyclists continued the work of the “freedom convoy” by protesting public health measures in Canada’s capital, but unlike the demonstration that inspired the motorcycle convoy, they did not linger.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cancelled plans to attend a fundraising dinner after two speakers at the event said protesters hurled racial slurs at the mostly South Asian attendees entering a convention centre in Surrey, B.C.

One protester carried a noose attached to two flat sticks printed with the words "treason" and "Trudeau." Trudeau says the safety of Canadians participating in democracy should never be jeopardized by the kinds of racist insults and threats of violence witnessed at the fundraiser.

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh faced verbal abuse in Peterborough, Ont., earlier this month when protesters shouted expletives at him and called him a "traitor."

The freedom convoy’s extended stay in the nation's capital and police inaction led many citizens to push back with counter-protests, a class-action lawsuit and mutual aid. When a protest in solidarity with the freedom convoy rolled into Vancouver, it was met by a group of cyclists who blocked the road to try to keep the convoy from disrupting access to hospitals.

Counter-protesters, right, argue with protesters from Canada First, an organization designated by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network as “young white supremacists.” 

Photo by Spencer Colby / Canada's National Observer

Harden believes that if armed with the right tools, communities can come together to challenge the rise of the far-right exemplified by the freedom convoy. She recounts a successful counter-protest in Ottawa — dubbed the “Battle of Billings Bridge” — where a few dozen neighbours decided to block an intersection to prevent more trucks from joining the convoy. Over the course of the day, a small but determined group of 30 grew into a community-wide resistance of over 1,000 frustrated people saying “enough is enough,” Harden said. Throughout the roughly 10-hour event, counter-protesters managed to turn trucks away and got protesters to give up their flags, jerry cans and other “various paraphernalia.”

A national movement was birthed out of citizen resistance to the Ottawa freedom convoy and now the Community Solidarity Project wants to arm communities with the resources to challenge far-right rhetoric and push for systemic change.

 #FreedomConvoy

A trucker convoy protestor holds up a jerry can with the words 'Filled with Love' during the eleventh day of protest on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022 in Ottawa, Ont.

 Photo by Spencer Colby / Canada's National Observer

The community’s spontaneous resistance to the convoy inspired a national project seeking to arm communities with tools to challenge individualistic far-right rhetoric and long-standing systemic issues. In Ottawa, organizers were teaching people how to conduct themselves peacefully and how to be legal observers during rallies to make sure folks are protected, said Diwa Marcelino, national organizing lead of the Community Solidarity Project and member of the Council of Canadians board of directors.

“Looking at the experiences of folks in Ottawa, Toronto (and) Winnipeg, we have found ways that we can peacefully talk to folks … across the divides,” said Marcelino. “We have more in common with the people protesting on the other side of the street than folks like Elon Musk, who is promoting the convoy.”

At the Battle of Billings Bridge, Harden and community members were able to engage with members of the convoy and discovered many were apparently shocked at the frosty reception. Many expected to be welcomed with open arms, which lends insight into the social media echo chambers where the convoy was organized, said Harden.

The national project will seek to provide communities with resources to directly respond to events and address underlying systemic issues that contribute to the rise of the far-right. The Council of Canadians is supporting grassroots organizing in communities by sharing contacts and offering webinars and other forms of political education. There are also ready-made templates for posters to be used at rallies so grassroots groups can tailor the message to the event. Ottawa organizers put these posters around the city in anticipation of the “Rolling Thunder” motorcycle convoy.

To speak across the divide and penetrate those echo chambers, people need an alternative message to rally around, said Harden, who got involved with the Community Solidarity Project as a senior strategist with Emdash, a progressive strategic communications firm.

The slogan “together we can” cuts to the root causes of why people are struggling and acknowledges that while there are problems in our society, the answer isn't hate or putting folks in a position where the vulnerable are sacrificed to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

By coming together to demand economic justice, climate justice, health care for all, affordable education or reconciliation, communities can challenge the individualistic narrative of movements like the freedom convoy, said Marcelino.

“There's been years of underfunding of our social safety net that's left millions of Canadians feeling unheard, unsupported and forgotten,” said Marcelino.

A goal of the national project is to make sure people aren't left in the far-right echo chambers, said John Cartwright, chair of the Council of Canadians. Giving people who are frustrated about the pandemic, cost of living or other issues a space to put their energy into hopeful and inclusive work instead is key, he said.

Cartwright says the current situation is “a huge battle of ideas” and that the coming years will be a time of “deep uncertainty” in Canada.

Creating spaces where people can voice their unhappiness and work toward real solutions without dividing and scapegoating is paramount, he said. The Community Solidarity Project lays the groundwork to pursue systemic solutions.

The national project is uniting countless social justice groups, from health-care coalitions to student groups to unions. “It's very inspiring to see all these groups coming together of all faith backgrounds, of all demographics, to work together towards this,” Marcelino said.

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On May 16, students rallied in front of the Manitoba legislature to raise awareness that international students don't have equitable access to health care.

 Photo by Elizabeth Shearer / Canadian Federation of Students Manitoba

Ariel Troster is an Ottawa resident who took part in the Battle of Billings Bridge and other local events.

“It felt incredibly empowering to hold those trucks back from entering our downtown neighbourhoods for a day,” said Troster, who intends to run for Somerset Ward city councillor. After three weeks of complete police inaction, this spontaneous citizen movement stepped up when the city, police and all levels of government failed to, she said.

At the Battle of Billings Bridge, Troster felt “very worried” because there were “violent and criminal elements associated with the convoy” and “a lot of white supremacist extremism.”

As a queer Jewish woman, Troster was deeply uncomfortable seeing swastikas and Confederate flags on display in the city.

“We know that racism is very much alive and well in Canada, but this is just this extreme explosion,” she said.

MUST BE FROM ALBERTA 

On Jan. 28, a truck brandishing a Confederate flag was photographed on Elgin Street near Parliament Hill in downtown Ottawa. Photo from Ariel Troster via Twitter

Though the convoy is long departed, communities are dealing with residual trauma, said Troster.

“My daughter's school was right in the middle of where the convoy was gathering. There were people parking trucks and carrying jerry cans of fuel right behind her school. There were people yelling at kids in the schoolyard, and it was terrifying for her,” said Troster. She added that schoolchildren in the area — many of whom are immigrants, refugees or have disabilities — were terrified by protesters hurling hateful slurs at them on their way to school.

Her nine-year-old daughter, Daphne, had a “really significant” panic attack after hearing the convoy was going to target schools, said Troster.

It was “incredibly upsetting” to see her daughter’s mental health deteriorate so profoundly, and Troster had to pull her from school for a few days.

It took weeks for Daphne to feel safe walking down the street again.

Ariel Troster, an Ottawa resident involved in freedom convoy counter-protests, stands at the intersection of Kent Street and Somerset Street on May 25, 2022. Back in February, this street was lined with vehicles protesting public health mandates as part of the "freedom convoy." Troster said community members conducted safe walks to escort frightened or vulnerable residents through the area. 

Photo by Natasha Bulowski / Canada's National Observer

“I hope that this is a lesson for other communities to stand up to and stop white supremacy when you see it, to not welcome it into your communities, to not allow it to fester and take up residence,” said Troster. Citizens took care of each other, both on the front lines at counter-protests and behind the scenes. “There was a lot of queer and trans people and disabled people and people of colour who were taking care of each other, delivering meals, checking in, doing safe walks,” she said.

This “hate-filled, conspiracy-filled movement” is deeply concerning, Troster said, pointing to the federal Conservative leadership campaign as an example of “racist dog whistles being adopted by mainstream politics.”

The recent verbal attacks on NDP Leader Singh are just one example of the temperature heating up, but we can cool things down by fighting for better social safety nets so people are supported and less likely to be driven to extremes, she said.

Part of this is fighting the simplistic Conservative messaging that promises freedom for all and one-off rebates to put a few hundred dollars in our pockets, said Troster. She said a few bucks here or there means nothing compared to an actual pharmacare program, dental care program, paid sick days and investment in other social supports for people.

Although the convoy was a “horrible experience,” Troster said gathering at counter-rallies and solidarity picnics was “really comforting because it was nice to be together in the community again, and in a community that was opposed to this kind of extremism.”

— With files from The Canadian Press

Natasha Bulowski / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer

ONTARIO

'Like a war zone:' Tornado shown touching down in Uxbridge in new video footage

Video captures tornado touching down in Uxbridge


New video shows the moment a tornado touched down in Uxbridge over the weekend, ripping the roof off a local brewery.

Chris Fox, CP24.com Managing Digital Producer
Published Friday, May 27, 2022

New video has emerged showing the moment a tornado touched down in Uxbridge over the weekend, ripping the roof off a local brewery in the process.

The footage was captured by several cameras attached to a Tesla that was parked outside the Second Wedge Brewery on Victoria Street.

It shows the sky quickly darkening as the EF2 tornado first touched down in the area on Saturday afternoon.

PHOTOS

Debris is shown hitting a vehicle in Uxbridge as a EF2 tornado touched down over the weekend. (CanuckChris/YouTube)

A camera positioned at the rear of the vehicle initially shows heavy winds pummeling a tent that had been set up outside the brewery, tearing up the canopy and bending the metal frame.

Then within seconds a stream of debris, including what appears to be lumber and insulation from the brewery’s roof, starts to fly through a shot captured by a front facing camera.

The whole thing unfolds over about two minutes of footage and by the time it is done you can see another parked vehicle with at least two broken windows and a mound of debris in the foreground.

The Toronto resident, whose vehicle captured the footage, told CP24.com that he had just arrived at the brewery with his wife and seven-month-old son when the rain started falling.

He said that he did get the emergency alert warning of approaching thunderstorms on his phone but was seated inside and wasn’t particularly concerned at first.

The situation, however, quickly changed.

“The rain started to pick up quite heavily and as the staff was closing the bay doors at the front of the building I looked over at my wife and said ‘Wow, it is coming down really heavy.’ A second or two later it had picked up to the point that it wasn’t a ‘oh wow’, it was an ‘oh no.,’” Chris Kreasul said. “We were going to relocate to the back off the bar. We got two steps away from the table we were sitting at and then there was a really loud cracking sound. My wife turned around to protect our seven-month old son from the glass shattering from the windows and I bear hugged them, covered them up and covered my head. I just waited it out as all the debris from the roof fell on top of me.”

Saturday’s storm caused widespread damage throughout Uxbridge, prompting the town to declare a state of emergency.

Environment Canada has previously said that the tornado was embedded within the leading edge of a derecho, which is a widespread and long-lived windstorm associated with a line of thunderstorms.

At one point a maximum wind speed of 195 kilometres per hour was recorded.

“It was like a war zone,” Kreasul said of the scene outside the brewery after the storm passed. “There was downed tress everywhere, debris of all kinds all over the place, the roof from the brewery was missing and across the parking lot on top of two vehicles. It just didn’t look like the same place as it was when we got there.”

Kreasul said that he didn’t actually think to check the video footage from his Tesla until a few days after the tornado, as he was pretty shaken up by what transpired.

He said that while his car was “beaten up” with a cracked windshield and a damage roof, he was able to drive his family home to Toronto following the storm.

More importantly, he said that nobody was injured.

“It is a miracle we got away as well as we did. Looking at the video I can’t believe nobody was seriously hurt,” he said.

The co-founder of the brewery told CTV News Toronto earlier this week that the business could be closed for upwards of a year due to the damage

The brewery is one of at least 35 properties in Uxbridge that was heavily damaged as a result of the storm.