BC

Hundreds sign petition opposed to industrial barge berth at popular Fraser River park

ITS A SEWAGE PLANT!

CBC
Wed, October 11, 2023

The Iona wastewater treatment plant in Richmond, B.C., is preparing to undergo a 10-year upgrade project. Metro Vancouver plans to build a barge berth so supplies can be delivered to the construction site by water. (Metro Vancouver - image credit)

A proposed industrial barge berth to help build upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant at Iona Beach Regional Park has drawn criticism from hundreds of people concerned about its impact on the area.

The barge berth would support construction of the new Iona Island wastewater treatment plant, located at a popular recreational area in Richmond at the mouth of the Fraser River. The area is home to migratory birds and other wildlife.

As of Tuesday evening, 755 people had signed an online petition to "stop the new barge terminal" proposed for a site directly across the Fraser River from Vancouver's Deering Island Park.

The petition says Deering Island Park — nestled on the shores of Southlands, one of Vancouver's most expensive neighbourhoods — is located on a part of the Fraser River that is already narrow and busy. It says the barge berth will add to the risk of more potential mid-river boat collisions and shoreline strikes.

The petition also notes concerns about air pollutants, noise, light pollution and the impact on fish and bird habitat.

In addition to the park, Deering Island has more than 30 homes on its shores.

Residents 'deeply concerned'

In a letter to Metro Vancouver, Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Kevin Falcon's constituency assistant says the MLA's office had received "numerous pieces of correspondence" from constituents "deeply concerned" about the proposal.

The letter, along with a response from Metro Vancouver CAO Jerry Dobrovolny, is on the agenda for a meeting of Metro Vancouver's liquid waste committee this Thursday.

Dobrovolny told CBC News that Metro Vancouver chose to build a barge berth to avoid sending about 250 dump trucks a day down the narrow, two-lane road to Iona.

"Obviously that has a huge impact," he said.

The 10-year project is estimated to cost $9.9 billion and will include the restoration of ecological areas at Iona Beach Regional Park.

The location across from Deering Island was first chosen because it was the site of the berth when the original plant was built in the '60s, when the island was just an industrial site.

"We heard loudly and clearly that Deering Island residents had a concern with us reusing the existing location because now that was directly across the river from their homes," he said.

There are now three proposed sites for the barge berth, Dobrovolny said — the one across from Deering Island, another further downstream at a Port of Metro Vancouver facility, and a third one in MacDonald Slough.

Dobrovolny says all three options were discussed with about 100 attendees at a public engagement session last week.

'A beautiful setting'

Iona Beach Regional Park is one of Metro Vancouver's most popular recreational areas, he said. The area gets about 400,000 visitors a year.

"It's a beautiful setting," he said. "It's also a location at one of our largest sewage treatment plants that's reached the end of its service licence over the next 20 years."

A rendering of the planned enhanced wildlife habitat at Iona Beach Regional Park includes tidal marshes and wetlands in place of the current sludge lagoons. A rendering of the planned enhanced wildlife habitat at Iona Beach Regional Park includes tidal marshes and wetlands in place of the current sludge lagoons. The 10-year wastewater treatment plant project will include the restoration of ecological areas of Iona Beach Regional Park. (Metro Vancouver)

Dobrovolny said the new wastewater treatment plant is crucial to make sure it can withstand earthquakes and rising sea levels.

In his reply to Falcon, Dobrovolny says Metro Vancouver has hired a third party to identify the most optimal site for the barge berth.

The Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant is the second largest in Metro Vancouver.

The current plant was built in 1963 and serves about 750,000 residents, processing roughly 200 billion litres of wastewater every year.

BC

Trans Mountain pipeline's route change threatens sacred site, says Secwepemc knowledge keeper


CBC
Sun, October 8, 2023 

Pipes for the Trans Mountain expansion project at storage yards in Alberta and B.C. The Trans Mountain pipeline is the country's only pipeline system transporting oil from Alberta to Canada's West Coast. (Kyle Bakx/CBC - image credit)

A Secwepemc law called X7ensq't says that if you disrespect the land and don't take care of it properly, the land and the sky will turn on you.

"It's a serious law," said Mike McKenzie, a Secwepemc knowledge keeper. He said he wonders "how much farther" people want to go in violating it.

McKenzie was speaking about the Trans Mountain Corp., which last week resumed construction close to Pipsell, or Jacko Lake, near Kamloops, B.C., after a federal regulator approved a change to the Trans Mountain pipeline route.

McKenzie, who has been a vocal critic of the pipeline expansion, said he believes the destruction of the site is a continuation of cultural genocide.

"Without that place, we lose a big part of ourselves," said McKenzie, who noted the Secwepemc creation story takes place in Pipsell, and their laws and customs are born from that land.

"This is our Vatican. This is our Notre Dame. This is a place that gives our people an identity and kept our people grounded since time immemorial."

'Profound spiritual and cultural significance'

The Canada Energy Regulator approved Trans Mountain Corp.'s application to modify the pipeline's route in late September — a decision that could spare the government-owned pipeline project from an additional nine-month delay.

The regulator made the ruling just one week after hearing oral arguments from Trans Mountain and Stk'emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation, which opposed the route change.

The Nation said the corridor near Jacko Lake holds "profound spiritual and cultural significance," and while it supported the project overall, it didn't support the deviation application.

The Nation said it only consented to construction in the first place under the understanding that the company would minimize surface disturbances.

A written response that Stk'emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation provided to the regulator said a change in construction methodology would cause "significant and irreparable harm" to its culture.

It added that it did not provide free, prior and informed consent for the route deviation, as prescribed under the United Nation Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

It had told the federal regulator in 2018, when the Trans Mountain expansion project was still in the approval process, that Pipsell is a "cultural keystone place and sacred site."

Trans Mountain Corp. said the route change was required because it ran into engineering difficulties in the area related to the construction of a tunnel.

The regulator ultimately decided the pipeline's route could deviate from what was originally planned for a 1.3-kilometre stretch of pipe, and the company could change its construction method for that section.

The company confirmed Wednesday that it has resumed work at the Pipsell site.

It said in a statement that it recognizes the area is of "sacred importance" and it is "committed to remaining respectful of the spiritual and cultural significance of this land."

"All care will be taken to ensure existing archeological and traditional land use sites are completely avoided and not touched by this construction," the statement went on.

"We greatly value our partnership with the (Stk'emlupsemc te Secwepemc) and will continue to invite representatives to walk the site and share contingency and mitigation plans."

The company said it is committed to "meaningful engagement and effective relationships" with Indigenous communities along the pipeline corridor, and noted 69 agreements are in place with communities along the right-of-way, including Stk'emlupsemc te Secwepemc.

Still, McKenzie, often speaking through tears, said he was devastated to hear the news that construction had resumed.

McKenzie said the project flies in the face of reconciliation, and Canada's reputation as a "model site" for what better relationships could look like.

"We showed the world that we can reconcile and we can do work together based on something good," said McKenzie.

But he said the recent decision, and the fact the community did not provide consent, goes against that.

"The fact that they're going to desecrate a sacred site, after all the work that we've done, tells me that they're not serious about reconciliation at all."

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree said he doesn't 'want to pass the buck,' but said the decision was not in his purview. He noted government departments and agencies are required to follow the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. (Darren Calabrese/Canadian Press)

In an interview Friday, federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree said he doesn't "want to pass the buck," but said the decision was not in his purview. He noted government departments and agencies are required to follow the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

"I certainly can say that as a federal government, we're very much committed to ongoing consultation."

It's not the first time Jacko Lake, or Pipsell, has been proposed as a development site.

In 2017, Stk'emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation stated it did not give its free, prior and informed consent for the Ajax Mine Project to be developed in the area.

"The oral histories associated with Pipsell are foundationally connected to our Secwepemc laws that deal with the reciprocal and mutually accountable relationships between humans and the environment," reads a March 2017 document the Nation submitted as part of the approval process for the Ajax project.

"We assert the right to maintain and exercise our traditional and contemporary cultural practices, and carry on our customs and spiritual activities in the distinct locations marked by our ancestors."

The federal government ultimately decided not to approve the project.

McKenzie said the site continues to hold significant meaning for his community — and for him personally, since it was where he did his vision quest.

A vision quest, in the simplest terms, refers to a spiritual journey present in some Indigenous cultures where people seek and receive knowledge, guidance and teachings from spirits.

Given that the hearing for the Trans Mountain route change decision was held in Calgary, McKenzie said, it was hard for individual community members to express just how important the site is, as they would have to travel more than 700 kilometres to attend.

The Trans Mountain pipeline is Canada's only pipeline system transporting oil from Alberta to the West Coast. The expansion, which is currently underway, is expected to boost the pipeline's capacity to 890,000 barrels per day from 300,000.

The pipeline was bought by the federal government for $4.5 billion in 2018, after previous owner Kinder Morgan Canada Inc. threatened to scrap the planned expansion project in the face of environmentalist opposition and regulatory hurdles.

It has already been plagued by construction-related challenges and delays.

And the projected price tag has since spiralled: first to $12.6 billion, then to $21.4 billion and most recently to $30.9 billion, the capital cost estimate as of March.

"If that isn't the land and the sky turning on this company, I don't know what is," said McKenzie.

CAPE BRETON

Membertou filmmaker shines light on Mi'kmaw ghost stories in new TV show


CBC
Mon, October 9, 2023

After years of perfecting her craft, Dawn Wells is watching her vision come to fruition in the TV series Creepy Cape Breton, coming this October. (Dawn Wells - image credit)

A Mi'kmaw filmmaker from Membertou First Nation is creating a television show about the unexplained and paranormal tales of Cape Breton.

Six years ago, Dawn Wells had nothing but a love of horror films, an iPhone and support from friends and family. Today she's busy producing six episodes of her show Creepy Cape Breton for one of Canada's biggest media companies.

"You don't really see Mi'kmaq as part of ghost stories and legends," Wells said. "I think that's something really interesting that people never really heard of."

In 2017, Wells started uploading videos for fun to her Youtube channel, Cape Haunts Till Dawn Film Production. She also made other short films on ghost stories and the island's legends. After being laid off from a job in radio due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she decided to go back to school and focus on film.

"I hope the show grows more because I didn't think I'd be doing this," Wells said. "It was a joke with my sisters at first, saying 'it'd be cool if we could make horror films,'" Wells said. "And here I am now."

It's the perfect opportunity to broadcast stories she and other community members grew up with, she said, including examples of Mi'kmaq folklore like Kukwes (a Bigfoot-like creature), and even UFO sightings.

'One day I'm going to work for her'

Donna Davies, an executive producer on the show who is based in Halifax, said the focus of the series on Mi'kmaw stories and Cape Breton's landscape makes it unique.

"I've got every paranormal supernatural book out there," Davies said. "I've never heard the versions of some of these stories that people are telling, with the perspective they have."

Years of dedication and commitment will pay off this October on Dawn Wells new 'Creepy Cape Breton' series that explores the islands unexplained phenomena. (Dawn Wells)

Wells said she first heard of Davies while watching one of her productions years ago, and she said to herself: "One day I'm going to work for her."

Wells said that making Creepy Cape Breton is a "game changer" for her career, recalling how she used to shoot, edit, and write all of her videos by herself. With the help of Davies, she was able to strike a deal with Bell Canada to produce the show for the company's Fibe TV1 channel.

"It makes us all so happy to see someone that has true artistic skill and talent and taste listen and work with us," Davies said.

Wells said some of the stories have never been told outside of the community. The show is scheduled to be released in October, ahead of Halloween.

"Some of the episodes are from a skeptical view. But you never know, we try as best to be diverse and not do the same stories as everyone else. As a Mi'kmaq, I try to get more perspectives and interesting topics as best as I can."

Wells said the show will also talk about superstitions unique to Membertou.

'We're keeping the culture alive'

"On the reserve, we have this old saying that if a dog howls at night, that's a sign that someone within the community is going to die. And that's something you don't hear in other places," Wells said. "It's scary and bone chilling."

It was essential to get Mi'kmaw elders involved to talk about their stories based on oral traditions or storytelling, she said, because if their voices aren't heard or recorded, all of that knowledge will be lost.

"We're keeping the culture alive with modern technology," Wells said. "Back then, they had oral tradition. And that's why I think it's important to get as many elders who know anything about Mi'kmaw ghost stories because you can learn a lot from the past."

She hopes the project will open new doors for more funding, access to a larger cast and crew and more runtime for her stories.

"What I learned from my journey is to not give up and keep doing what you're doing if you're enjoying it," Wells said. "You'll come face to face with a lot of things but don't take no for an answer."

MORE TOP STORIES

Documentary about Indigenous history and migration includes a popular southern Alberta beach

Story by The Canadian Press 

What started as a saliva sample and curiosity has evolved into an expedition spanning two continents, four countries, and eight locations.

Alberta-born documentary maker Barbara Todd Hager is currently filming a piece titled ‘Leaving Beringia’ which explores theories of Indigenous migration to North America from both archaeological or scientific perspectives, and that of cultural oral history. 

Curious about her genetic origins, Hager took a mail-in DNA test, and says although she has aways known she is Cree and Metis, the results of the test expanded on that much further.

“I have Mongolian DNA, I have Siberian, I have DNA from Asia, but I also have DNA from Canada, Mexico, and South America,” Hager says. “So, it started me thinking maybe we are all from the same people, maybe we are related.” 

The term Beringia refers to a passageway, also known as the Bering land bridge, which sits near the west coast of Alaska and is said to have allowed for the migration of people who are now referred to as Indigenous into what is now known as North America around 12,000 to 14,000 years ago. Though it is now under the ocean, before the melting of the glaciers it is said to have connected the land masses of North America and Eastern Russia.

“The reason I called it Leaving Beringia is as a kid growing up in Alberta, I was taught in my history…social studies class that native people - back then we were called Indians, now we’re Indigenous people – got to Canada and North America by walking across this land bridge,” adding that the name has a few meanings.

Related video: Indigenous couple walking across Canada made a stop in N.B. (cbc.ca) It's all across Turtle Island,   Duration 1:56  View on Watch

“Leaving Beringia as if we had walked here; this was the theory, and also leaving Beringia behind, looking at other ways.”  

In her travels, Hager is speaking with leading archeologists and Indigenous knowledge keepers to hear both oral histories and scientific theories of natural history and migration.

“My idea was to go to about my journey to these places where our ancestors are known to be, so the oldest archeological sites, and talk to the Indigenous people from those places about where they came from or how they originated. Then talk to the archeologists who excavated these sites. So, I’m looking at the two sides to the same story.” 

Of the eight locations to be featured in her documentary is Wally’s Beach,. Located at St. Mary Reservoir, northeast of Cardston, Wally’s Beach has been an important location for archeological study since the discovery of tools used by Paleoindian hunters. The area is believed to have been inhabited 11,000 years ago.

While there, Hager spoke with one of the first researchers at the site, Brian Kooyman, and Blackfoot knowledge keeper Martin Heavy Head. Hager says she saw “two perspectives talking about the same history, and it was unbelievable how much overlapped; the two stories, one science, one Indigenous.” She says that alone is proof of the strength of oral histories. 

Hager and her team have already visited the location of what was once the Bering land bridge in Alaska and filmed in three Alberta locations (Wally’s Beach, Drumheller, and Edmonton). In the coming months they plan to head south with plans to film in Oregon, New Mexico, California, Mexico and Chile.

‘Leaving Beringia’ is part of the Telus Originals program and will be featured on OptikTV. 

Theodora Macleod, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lethbridge Herald

Norway activists renew protest against wind farm on land used by herders

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Dozen of activists protested Wednesday at Norway's parliament to express frustration over the Norwegian government's failure to shut down a wind farm they say endangers the way of life of Sami reindeer herders.

At the center of the dispute are the 151 turbines of Europe’s largest onshore wind farm, which is located in central Norway’s Fosen district, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) north of Oslo. The activists say a transition to green energy shouldn’t come at the expense of the rights of Indigenous people.

They have demonstrated repeatedly against the wind farm's continued operation since the Supreme Court of Norway ruled in October 2021 that the construction of the turbines had violated the rights of the Sami, who have used the land for reindeer for centuries.

”The trust of Sami in the state is at a breaking point,” activist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen said Wednesday. “It is absurd, because the reindeer owners of Fosen won in court. The government simply does not respect the democracy.”

A group of about 20 Sami, many dressed in traditional garments, entered the parliament building and started chanting in a central hallway. Norwegian broadcaster NRK said some protesters chained themselves outside the building and hundreds had gathered on the main street leading up to Norway's parliament, the Storting.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has acknowledged “ongoing human rights violations” and the government has repeatedly apologized for failing to act despite the Supreme Court ruling.

NIMBY CAUSE IT LOWERS PROPERTY VALUES

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A proposed wind turbine farm near the Iowa Great Lakes
Duration 1:51  View on Watch

Energy Minister Terje Aasland wrote Wednesday on Facebook that it was the Norwegian government's responsibility to find a solution.

“However, the demolition of all wind turbines at Fosen now, as the protesters demand, is not relevant,” Aasland wrote. The protesters want the wind mills removed from their land.

In June, activists protested outside Gahr Støre's office. They occupied the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for four days in February, and later blocked the entrances to 10 ministries.

The Associated Press

Climate activist Greta Thunberg fined again for a climate protest in Sweden

Associated Press
Wed, October 11, 2023 

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg at the Malmo district court in Malmo, Sweden, Wednesday Oct. 11, 2023. Thunberg is charged with disobedience to law enforcement for the second time. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)






STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Swedish court on Wednesday fined climate activist Greta Thunberg once again for disobeying police during an environmental protest in July in southern Sweden.

The Malmo District Court ordered her to pay a 2,250 kroner ($206) fine.

Thunberg, who already had been fined for a similar offense, took part in a July 24 environmental protest at an oil terminal in Malmo, where activists temporarily blocked access to the facility by sitting down and were removed by police.

On Sept. 15, she was charged with disobedience to law enforcement for refusing to obey police asking her to leave the scene. She then was dragged away by two uniformed officers.

Thunberg, 20, has admitted to the facts but denied guilt, saying the fight against the fossil fuel industry was a form of self-defense due to the existential and global threat of the climate crisis.

”We have the science on our side and we have morality on our side. Nothing in the world can change that and so it is. I am ready to act based on the conditions that exist and whether it leads to more sentences,” she said after the verdict.

On June 24, the same court fined her 2,500 kronor (about $230) for refusing to obey police orders when taking part in a similar demonstration the previous month where she and others blocked access to the same oil terminal days earlier and were removed by police.

On Thursday, the Swede is due to travel to neighboring Norway to take part in a protest with activists, including Indigenous Sami. They're protesting a wind farm of 151 turbines and want it removed because they say it endangers the reindeer herders’ way of life. The activists say a transition to green energy shouldn’t come at the expense of the rights of Indigenous people.

Two years ago, Norway’s Supreme Court ruled that the construction of the turbines had violated the rights of the Sami, who have used the land for reindeer for centuries. The Norwegian government has no plans to remove the wind farm.

Thunberg inspired a global youth movement demanding stronger efforts to fight climate change after staging weekly protests outside the Swedish Parliament starting in 2018.

Aid groups warn devastation from Afghanistan earthquake ‘worse than we imagined’

Heather Chen, CNN
Mon, October 9, 2023 

International aid groups in Afghanistan are scrambling to send help to survivors of an earthquake which has left more than 2,000 people dead and many more injured in a war-ravaged nation already stricken by an economic crisis.

The 6.3 magnitude quake struck on Saturday 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Herat city in the western Herat province – the third largest in Afghanistan.

It’s one of the deadliest quakes to hit Afghanistan in recent years – last June, a 5.9 magnitude earthquake in the eastern Paktika and Khost provinces bordering Pakistan, killed more than a thousand people.

Images shared by aid and rescue teams on the ground showed massive heaps of debris and rubble after buildings collapsed.

People could be seen digging in the rubble to try to find survivors as others gathered in the streets to avoid being hit by debris during aftershocks.

“The situation is worse than we imagined with people in devastated villages still desperately trying to rescue survivors from under the rubble with their bare hands,” said Thamindri de Silva, national director at World Vision Afghanistan.

Reinforcement teams from the capital Kabul had arrived to help but there was only one hospital and it was “at full stretch with serious cases being transferred to other private facilities.”

“We are responding with everything we have. People need urgent medical care, water, food, shelter and help to stay safe,” de Silva added.

Mark Calder, World Vision Afghanistan’s advocacy lead, told CNN that the latest earthquake was “yet another devastating episode” for Afghans following decades of conflict, successive droughts and a collapsed economy.”

Funding from the international community, Calder added, “has been inadequate.”

“Organizations like ours are able to provide relief and help recovery but without commitment from international governments and donors, more will fall into humanitarian need, displacement will increase and lives will be lost,” he said.

“The world must not look away from Afghanistan now.”

A badly destroyed house, one of thousands across Herat province in western Afghanistan. - MUHAMMAD BALABULUKI/AFP/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

‘A crisis on top of a crisis’

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Sunday put the number killed at 2,053 people, with more 1,240 people hurt and 1,320 houses completely or partially destroyed. But there are fears the toll could rise further.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday expressed solidarity and called on the international community to “come together and support Afghans impacted by the earthquake – many of whom were already in need before this crisis,” he added.

UN agencies and partners have stepped up support and emergency operations following the earthquake on Saturday – deploying more teams on the ground to join ongoing humanitarian efforts.

“We are coordinating with the de facto authorities to swiftly assess needs and provide emergency assistance,” said spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

UNICEF, the UN’s children’s fund, has dispatched 10,000 hygiene kits, 5,000 family kits, 1,500 sets of winter clothes and blankets, 1,000 tarpaulins, and basic household items to ongoing humanitarian efforts.

Teams are also conducting additional assessments on the ground and are providing emergency drugs and tents for overburdened health clinics.

“This is by far the worst earthquake Afghanistan has endured in many years,” Siddig Ibrahim, UNICEF Afghanistan’s Chief of Field Office, told CNN.

Lack of water is also a serious challenge, Ibrahim added, with women and children being the most disproportionately affected.

“Afghanistan is home to one of the world’s worst humanitarian and child rights crises,” he said. “The international community should not, and cannot, look away from children in Afghanistan, especially now, when help is needed most.”

Save the Children said the scale of the damage in Herat was “horrific” and anticipates the death toll will rise as bodies are pulled from the rubble.

“This is a crisis on top of a crisis,” said Save the Children’s Afghanistan director Arshad Malik. “Even before this disaster, Afghan children were already suffering from a devastating lack of food.”

“We’ve been scaling up our response to support the increasing number of children in need, delivering health, nutrition, education, child protection, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, and food security and livelihoods support … but (international) donors must provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance.”

“Without an urgent injection of money, existing humanitarian programs will be impacted as already overstretched funding is strained further.”

UNICEF teams on the ground are calling for more urgent action and aid for families devastated by the latest earthquake. - UNICEF

Afghanistan has long been one of Asia’s poorest countries and has been ravaged by conflict for decades.

The Taliban seized power in August 2021, 20 years after their ouster by US troops – an event that saw many major aid groups and NGOs pull out and crucial aid programs halted.

The Taliban’s takeover further isolated Afghanistan from the rest of the world and led to Washington and allies cutting off international funding – crippling an economy already heavily dependent on aid.

Last week the World Bank warned that two thirds of Afghan families currently faced “significant challenges in maintaining their livelihoods” – making it harder for Afghans to recover from earthquakes.

International aid groups have said their ability to respond to calls during major disasters has been heavily impacted by the Taliban’s takeover and called for more urgent global aid – but so far only a handful of countries have publicly offered support.

“Even before this earthquake, with recent floods and instability within the country, over 29 million people in Afghanistan were in need of humanitarian assistance,” said IRC director Salma Ben Assia.

“The earthquake has further exacerbated the situation of already vulnerable communities and upcoming harsh winter conditions spell disaster for the welfare of those that have become displaced, especially for women and children who are most at risk of exploitation and abuse in their displacement.”

“Thousands are now without homes or shelter – they have lost everything,” added Arshad Malik from Save the Children.

“The international community cannot turn its backs on children and families in Herat who need urgent help.”

With previous reporting by Masoud Popalzai.

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

6.3 magnitude earthquake shakes part of western Afghanistan where an earlier quake killed over 2,000

CHAHAK, Afghanistan (AP) — Another strong earthquake shook western Afghanistan on Wednesday morning after an earlier one killed more than 2,000 people and flattened whole villages in Herat province in what was one of the most destructive quakes in the country’s recent history.

The magnitude 6.3 earthquake on Wednesday was about 28 kilometers (17 miles) outside Herat, the provincial capital, and 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It triggered a landslide that blocked the main Herat-Torghondi highway, Information Ministry spokesman Abdul Wahid Rayan said.

Janan Sayiq, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban government’s national disaster authority said Wednesday's earthquake killed at least one person and injured around 120 others.

The aid group Doctors Without Borders said Herat Regional Hospital received 117 who got injured in Wednesday’s temblor. The group, also known by its French acronym MSF, said it sent additional medical supplies to the hospital and was setting up four more medical tents at the facility.

“Our teams are assisting in triaging emergency cases and managing stabilized patients admitted in the medical tents,” MSF said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Wednesday’s quake also flattened all 700 homes in Chahak village, which was untouched by the tremors of previous days. Now there are mounds of soil where dwellings used to be. But no deaths have been reported so far in Chahak because people have taken shelter in tents this week, fearing for their lives as tremors continue to rock Herat.

Villagers are distraught over the loss of their homes and livestock, often their only possessions, and worry about the coming harsh winter months. Some said they had never seen an earthquake before and wondered when the shaking of the ground would stop.

Many said they have no peace of mind inside the tents for fear the "ground will open and swallow us at any moment.”

The epicenter of Saturday's quake — also of the same magnitude 6.3 — was about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of the provincial capital, and several aftershocks have been strong.

Taliban officials said more than 2,000 had died across Herat after the earlier quakes. They subsequently said the quakes killed and injured thousands but didn't give a breakdown of casualties.

Besides rubble and funerals after Saturday’s devastation, there is little left of the villages in the region's dusty hills. Survivors are struggling to come to terms with the loss of multiple family members and in many places, living residents are outnumbered by volunteers who had come to search the debris and dig mass graves.

In Naib Rafi, a village that previously had about 2,500 residents, people said almost no one was still alive besides men who were working outside when the quake struck. Survivors worked all day with excavators to dig long trenches for mass burials.

On a barren field in the district of Zinda Jan, a bulldozer removed mounds of earth to clear space for a long row of graves.

“It is very difficult to find a family member from a destroyed house and a few minutes to later bury him or her in a nearby grave, again under the ground,” said Mir Agha, from the city of Herat, who had joined hundreds of volunteers to help the locals.

Nearly 2,000 houses in 20 villages were destroyed, the Taliban have said. The area hit by the quakes has just one government-run hospital.

On Tuesday, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Zinda Jan was the worst-affected area, with more than 1,300 people killed and nearly 500 people still reported missing.

He said U.N. satellite imagery also indicated extreme levels of destruction in the district of Injil.

“Our humanitarian colleagues warn that children are particularly vulnerable and have suffered severe psychological distress from the earthquake,” he said.

Earthquakes are common in Afghanistan, where there are a number of fault lines and frequent movement among three nearby tectonic plates. Afghans are still reeling from recent quakes, including the magnitude 6.5 earthquake in March that struck much of western Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan, and an earthquake that hit eastern Afghanistan in June 2022, flattening stone and mud-brick homes and killing at least 1,000 people.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the main spokesman for the Taliban government, listed the countries that have so far aided the people affected by the quake in Herat, in a statement posted on X.

He said Iran sent 15 vehicles loaded with aid alongside support and technical teams, while Turkey sent medical teams food, non-food items and medicine. The United Arab Emirates and Turkmenistan also helped with food, medicine, and clothes.

He added a technical team of 49 members from Kazakhstan is assisting those affected by the quake.

In his post, Mujahid said Saudi Arabia provided financial assistance to the people of Herat while China donated $200,000 in cash aid through the Afghan Foreign Affairs ministry.

Neighboring Pakistan is among the countries that have offered assistance but the delivery of its humanitarian aid has been on hold since Monday.

On Wednesday morning, the pledged supplies had yet to leave Pakistan. Authorities were waiting for “clearance” from the Taliban, two government officials in Islamabad said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Ties between the two countries have come under pressure since Pakistan announced a deadline for undocumented migrants, including 1.7 million Afghans living illegally in the country, to leave before Oct. 31 to avoid arrests and forced deportation.

___

Faiez reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Ebrahim Noroozi And Rahim Faiez, The Associated Press

4.5-magnitude earthquake felt in Greater Victoria area

CBC
Mon, October 9, 2023 

The epicentre of the 4.5-magnitude earthquake was to the east of the Olympic Peninsula, around 65 kilometres southeast of Victoria (Earthquakes Canada - image credit)

An earthquake in northwestern Washington state was felt around the Greater Victoria area Sunday evening.

The 4.5-magnitude quake hit about 65 kilometres southeast of Victoria, just to the east of the Olympic Peninsula, at a depth of 39 kilometres at 7:21 p.m. PT, according to Earthquakes Canada.

The agency said there were no reports of damage and none would be expected.

"It would be very mild, just a little tiny rumble or jolt," said Alison Bird, earthquake seismologist with the federal government.

People reported on social media feeling the jolt and noticed buildings shaking.


The national tsunami warning centre said no tsunami was reported.

Bird said it's a reminder that British Columbians live in an area susceptible to earthquakes.

She says people can prepare by practising what to do in an earthquake — drop, cover and hold on — and by preparing an emergency kit.

Next week, on Oct. 19, people across the world will practice earthquake drills for International ShakeOut day.

B.C. residents can register to participate in the drill online.

NB

Wolastoqey chiefs slam Higgs, ready to work with new government should election be called


CBC
Mon, October 9, 2023 

Wolastoqey chiefs have shared an open letter criticizing the government of Blaine Higgs. Shown are five of the six chiefs, including from left, Gabriel Atwin of Kingsclear First Nation, Patricia Bernard of Madawaska First Nation, Allan Polchies Jr. of St. Mary's First Nation, Shelley Sabbatis of Oromocto First Nation and Ross Perley of Tobique First Nation. (Logan Perley/CBC - image credit)More

Leaders of the six Wolastoqey nations in New Brunswick have issued an open letter slamming Premier Blaine Higgs's government for how it has handled its duty to consult and have signaled their readiness to work with a new provincial leader, should a snap election happen this fall.

"We are ready to work with any government that is ready for a consistent, reliable, and Nation-to-Nation relationship founded in good faith," stated the chiefs in the letter, issued Friday.

The letter is signed by Chief Ross Perley of Neqotkuk (Tobique), Chief Patricia Bernard of Matawaskiye (Madawaska), Chief Gabriel Atwin of Bilijk (Kingsclear), Chief Shelley Sabattis of Welamukotuk (Oromocto), Chief Tim Paul of Wotstak (Woodstock) and Chief Allan Polchies of Sitansisk (St. Mary's).

Much of the letter is a critique of the way the provincial Department of Aboriginal Affairs has been "overhauled" in a way that centralizes all interactions with First Nations "through a group that takes its lead from expensive external lawyers and Higgs."

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs raised the idea of an election when asked Thursday whether he might be forced to step down.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has said a title claim by Wolastoqey nations for half of the province could affect private homes, an assertion Wolastoqey leaders have called false. (CBC)

In August, CBC News reported that the department has doubled its spending and staffing since Higgs took power, including millions spent on lawyers from Cox & Palmer and Stewart McKelvey, who advise the government and sit with Higgs and key ministers on a steering committee guiding the province's legal position.

The chiefs say in their letter that relations were becoming positive and productive with bureaucrats across many departments prior to Higgs.

"Now, all discussions with First Nations are funnelled through a group of expensive corporate lawyers who answer only to Premier Blaine Higgs," they said.

"We are not being consulted ... a constitutional requirement and legally protected right. Instead, we are expected to be thankful for getting talked at by bureaucrats whose sole mandate is to check a box, tally the interaction and ensure those numbers get reported up the chain."

Post-Secondary Education, Training, and Labour minister Arlene Dunn said the department will fund the Study NB program for the first year.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn said she and Higgs have both met with First Nations on 'many occasions' and have always been open to further meetings and discussions. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

CBC News asked for an interview with Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn but she was not available Friday.

In an emailed statement, she said her department identified a need two years ago for further consideration on how the province manages its day-to-day interactions with First Nations.

"Through this process, opportunities for improvement were identified, to do better for First Nations and to ensure the Province is not just responding but is making concrete proactive steps to improving the lives of all members of First Nation communities," she said.

Dunn said a mandate was later developed for a "whole-of-government approach," that would help create a better understanding of First Nations' needs and ensure that the province could deliver on commitments.

Dunn said she and Higgs have both met with First Nations on "many occasions" and have always been open to further meetings and discussions.

"There are many other consultations, negotiations and engagements that are ongoing with First Nations on a daily basis, and I hope to be in a position to announce more successes in the coming weeks and months."

Tensions between Wolastoqey leaders and the government have been particularly high in the wake of a notice of a court action filed by the six communities in 2020, that claims title to about half of the province. The claim also specifically names N.B. Power and six of the province's major forestry companies and 19 of their subsidiaries.

The move prompted Justice Minister Ted Flemming to direct civil servants to use specific wording when declaring First Nation land acknowledgements at public events.

It's also prompted Higgs to say the claim would impact smaller landowners, which Wolastoqey leaders have denounced as false and an attempt at fear mongering.

The Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick announced that they have filed a notice of intent to pursue an aboriginal title claim for the Wolastoq, or St. John River, and its tributaries and lands on Monday morning. Wolastoqey nations in New Brunswick filed a claim in 2020 seeking title to about half of the province. (Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick)

The Wolastoqey chiefs have aired their disagreements with the Higgs government multiple times in recent months, however, their letter comes as the premier's political fate could be put to the test.

New Brunswick's political parties have positioned themselves in recent days for what could be an early provincial election this fall.

It comes after Higgs said the defiance of six rebel Tories in June "remains a big concern" and could lead him to call an election before the scheduled date of Oct. 21, 2024, to avoid "12 months of political drama causing instability and stagnation in government."

The spectre of an early election has prompted Liberal Party Leader Susan Holt and Green Party Leader David Coon to make recent announcements about which ridings they intend to run in.

Coon pitches Crown land co-management

Coon said in an interview that Wolastoqey and Mi'kmaw people have been "tremendously disrespected" by Higgs's government, adding that he thinks it's failed to build any kind of relationship with them.

Green Party Leader David Coon says if he were premier of New Brunswick, he'd give Wolastoqey and Mi'kmaw leaders a say in how the province's Crown lands get used and developed. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

Responding to the chiefs' letter, Coon said if he were premier, he would seek to build a relationship based on respect and recognition of the Peace and Friendship Treaties.

"As a gesture of respect from the beginning, I would say let's move into shared management of Crown lands ... and go from there," he said.

"That's shared decision-making over how those Crown lands are used, what kind of forest management occurs on those Crown lands, and you know, we could sure use an Indigenous worldview applied to how our vast, vast Crown lands are managed."

Liberal Leader Susan Holt suggested Wednesday that changes to the governance structure of district education councils was part of the government's plan to alter sex education curriculum. Liberal Leader Susan Holt says if she were premier her government would renew the relationship with Indigenous communities. (Aidan Cox/CBC)

Holt wasn't available for an interview before deadline Friday, but in an emailed statement said she agrees with the six chiefs that Higgs and his government have not built respectful or meaningful relationships with Indigenous people in the province.

"Mishandling this significant relationship with First Nations shows a lack of leadership and demonstrates an unwillingness to understand the law in Canada and quite frankly it's an embarrassment to our province," she said.

"A Holt government would renew the relationship with Indigenous communities by starting with respect and a shared understanding of our treaty obligations."