Browns could make Steelers regret sitting starters

The Cleveland Browns control their playoff destiny in Week 17 against the Steelers, who will be resting a number of starters. But will that be a decision that comes back to haunt them?

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  • Stars return to inauguration, with J.Lo, Gaga set to perform

    The A-list is back. How A-list? Try Lady Gaga and J. Lo. Inauguration officials announced on Thursday that the glittery duo would appear in person on Jan. 20, with Gaga singing the national anthem as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are sworn in on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, and Jennifer Lopez giving a musical performance. Foo Fighters, John Legend and Bruce Springsteen will offer remote performances, and Eva Longoria and and Kerry Washington will introduce segments of the event. Later that day, Tom Hanks will host a 90-minute primetime TV special celebrating Biden’s inauguration. Other performers include Justin Timberlake, Jon Bon Jovi, Demi Lovato and Ant Clemons. Despite a raging pandemic that is forcing most inaugural events online, it was a sign that Hollywood was back and eager to embrace the new president-elect four years after many big names stayed away from the inauguration of President Donald Trump, hugely unpopular in Hollywood. The question: How would the star wattage play across the country as Biden seeks to unite a bruised nation? Eric Dezenhall, a Washington crisis management consultant and former Reagan administration official, predicted reaction would fall “along tribal lines.” “I think it all comes down to the reinforcement of pre-existing beliefs,” Dezenhall said. “If you’re a Biden supporter, it’s nice to see Lady Gaga perform.” But, he added, “what rallied Trump supporters was the notion of an uber-elite that had nothing to do at all with them and that they couldn’t relate to.” Presidential historian Tevi Troy quipped that the starry Gaga-J. Lo lineup was not A-list, but D-list — "for Democratic.” "When Democrats win you get the more standard celebrities,” said Troy, author of “What Jefferson Read, Ike Watched and Obama Tweeted: 200 Years of Popular Culture in the White House.” “With Republicans you tend to get country music stars and race-car drivers." Referring to Lady Gaga’s outspoken support for the Biden-Harris ticket, he said he was nostalgic for the days when celebrities were not so political. “Call me a hopeless romantic, but I liked the old days when Bob Hope or Frank Sinatra would come to these events and they were not overtly political,” he said. Still, he said, Biden’s unity message won’t be derailed. “In the end, I don’t think having Lady Gaga or J. Lo is all that divisive,” he said. Attendance at the inauguration will be severely limited, due to both the pandemic and fears of continued violence, following last week’s storming of the Capitol. Outside the official events, one of the more prominent galas each inauguration is The Creative Coalition's quadrennial ball, a benefit for arts education. This year, the ball is entirely virtual. But it is star-studded nonetheless: The event, which will involve food being delivered simultaneously to attendees in multiple cities, will boast celebrity hosts including Jason Alexander, David Arquette, Matt Bomer, Christopher Jackson, Ted Danson, Lea DeLaria, Keegan Michael-Key, Chrissy Metz, Mandy Patinkin and many others. Robin Bronk, CEO of the non-partisan arts advocacy group, said she's been deluged with celebrities eager to participate in some way. The event typically brings in anywhere from $500,000 to $2.5 million, and this year the arts community is struggling like never before. Bronk noted that planning has been a challenge, given not only the recent political upheaval in the country but also the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic. Given all that, did a celebration make sense? “I was thinking about this when we were trying to phrase the invitation,” Bronk said. “Do we celebrate? This is the most serious time of our lives.” But, she said, especially at a time when the arts community is suffering, it’s crucial to shine a spotlight and recognize that “the right to bear arts is not a red or blue issue. One of the reasons we have this ball is that we have to ensure the arts are not forgotten." The Presidential Inaugural Committee also announced Thursday that the invocation will be given by the Rev. Leo O’Donovan, a former Georgetown University president, and the Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Andrea Hall, a firefighter from Georgia. There will be a poetry reading from Amanda Gorman, the first national youth poet laureate, and the benediction will be given by Rev. Silvester Beaman of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware. On the same platform, Biden sat in 2013 behind pop star Beyoncé as she sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at President Barack Obama's second inauguration. James Taylor sang “America the Beautiful,” and Kelly Clarkson sang “My Country, ’Tis of Thee.” At Trump’s inauguration in 2017, the anthem was performed by 16-year-old singer Jackie Evancho. A number of top artists declined the opportunity to perform at the festivities, and one Broadway star, Jennifer Holliday, even said she’d received death threats before she pulled out of her planned appearance. There was indeed star power in 2017, but most of it was centred at the Women’s March on Washington, where attendees included Madonna, Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johansson, Cher, Alicia Keys, Katy Perry, Emma Watson and many others. This year, signs are that Obama-era celebrities are returning. Dezenhall said that in the end, it's logical for organizers to go with the biggest talent. “Lady Gaga is as big as you can get, and she is very talented,” he said. “If I were being inaugurated and I could have Lady Gaga, I would take it.” Jocelyn Noveck, The Associated Press

  • Indonesian divers find parts of crashed plane's black box

    JAKARTA, Indonesia — Divers found parts of the cockpit voice recorder on Friday as more personnel joined the search for wreckage and victims from an Indonesian plane that crashed last weekend in the Java Sea with 62 people on board. The aerial search for the crashed Sriwijaya Air jet was being expanded as well, said National Search and Rescue Agency mission co-ordinator Rasman, who uses one name. More than 4,000 search and rescue personnel are supported by 14 airplanes, 62 ships and 21 inflatable boats. They are using an underwater metal detector and remotely operated vehicle to search for human remains, the cockpit voice recorder and more wreckage. Divers narrowed the search for the cockpit voice recorder after finding some of its parts. “We have found the casing, the beacon and the CVR batteries. We need to search for the memory unit,” the commander of the navy's First Fleet Command, Abdul Rasyid, said Friday. “We hope it will be not far from them,” he said. Investigators have downloaded information from the plane's flight data recorder, which was recovered earlier this week. “There are 330 parameters and everything is in good condition. We are learning about it now,” said Soerjanto Tjahjono, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Committee. Families of those on board have been providing DNA samples to help identify them. National Police spokesperson Rusdi Hartono said 12 of the 62 victims had been identified as of Thursday, including a flight attendant and an off-duty pilot. The committee has said the crew did not declare an emergency or report any technical problems before the plane plunged into the sea minutes after taking off from Jakarta in heavy rain. They said it broke apart upon impact with the water, ruling out a midair explosion, because the debris field is concentrated and engine parts indicate it was running until impact. The 26-year-old Boeing 737-500 was out of service for almost nine months last year because of flight cutbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The airline and Indonesian officials say it underwent inspections, including for possible engine corrosion that could have developed during the layoff, before it resumed commercial flying in December. Indonesia’s aviation industry grew quickly after the nation’s economy was opened following the fall of dictator Suharto in the late 1990s. Safety concerns led the United States and the European Union to ban Indonesian carriers for years, but the bans have since been lifted due to better compliance with international aviation standards. Edna Tarigan And Fadlan Syam, The Associated Press

  • Despite pandemic costs, 38 municipalities didn't apply for COVID relief money

    Municipalities lost revenue in the first year of the pandemic and faced COVID-related costs for such things as masks and plexiglass, but if they hired fewer summer students, cancelled events or found ways to cut costs, many of them couldn't get federal aid from the province. Thirty-eight municipalities didn't bother applying for aid after realizing the decisions they had to make to balance their budgets would make them ineligible under the province's rules. Ottawa allotted New Brunswick $41.1 million for local governments as its share of a $2 billion national rescue package announced in July 2020. Of the 104 municipalities in the province, 66 applied for some help, and all but one received it. Saint John topped the list with $3.37 million in relief, Moncton is set to receive $2.56 million, and Fredericton $1.12 million. The Village of Gagetown, at the bottom of the list, received $460. Sackville's entire claim of $290,000 was denied. "We were a bit frustrated with the lack of clarity around, you know, eligible and ineligible expenses," said Jamie Burke, Sackville's chief administrative officer. He said two town employees spent days poring over the budget, looking at COVID expenses and costs to submit to the province. "It was a considerable amount of work, you know, a considerable work that was there was unsuccessful," said Burke. Like many municipalities, Sackville saved money cancelling events and programs and hiring fewer summer students. Burke said the town submitted costs for such things as masks, sanitizer, plexiglass and setting up a welcome centre for Mount Allison University students in the fall to make sure they had the resources and information to isolate properly if necessary. "Which we felt was really important for the community safety perspective," said Burke. Those expenses were acceptable to the province, but other costs, such as lost productivity and a summer concert on Silver Lake were not. 38 municipalities don't apply Riverview was among the municipalities that didn't go after the federal money. CAO Colin Smith said that looking at the provincial guidelines, the town knew it wouldn't get any. "We're not going to run a deficit for the year and we manage our expenses, so we didn't feel we were in a position to go and submit based on the criteria that the province had put forward," he said. Smith said the town did have a number of expenses, but the greater loss was in programs and events. "While it wasn't a financial loss, it was a loss in services that people didn't see in the community." Challenges different for small centres The City of Moncton asked for $2.9 million and received $2.5 million. Isabelle LeBlanc, director of corporate communications, wrote that one item claimed by the city was denied, but overall she said, the process wasn't too complicated. "We have been tracking the impacts of COVID throughout the year, and we had a lot of the information required already at our disposal," said LeBlanc. But as Margot Cragg, executive director of the Union of the Municipalities of New Brunswick said, smaller centres have fewer staff and, "more work gets piled onto onto a smaller and smaller group of administrators." This made compiling the information more difficult for some smaller municipalities. Cragg said it's also important to point out that, "municipalities, as a level of government aren't allowed, by legislation, to run operational deficits." When COVID looked as it was going to cost money, local governments had to act fast because they can't go into the red. "Think of things that look like savings but really represent services that were cut, people that unfortunately didn't have jobs," said Margot. She said some municipalities could have made different choices if they'd known how much of the federal money they were getting. But Cragg does credit the province with giving security to the municipalities in their biggest budget item: property taxes. "In New Brunswick, the province guaranteed municipalities property taxes and that's a big deal," she said. Across Canada, some local governments have to collect property taxes themselves. If citizens are struggling to pay them, the village, town or city goes without. In New Brunswick, the province does this. "They weren't in the situation of literally having to scramble to keep the lights on, this was the situation of other provinces around the country." Another difference is that most provinces paid the federal money out shortly after it was received on a per-capita basis, but New Brunswick went a slower route. Daniel Allain, the minister of local government, said the process was set up to make sure those who needed the most received the most. He said places like Sackville didn't get money because they showed a surplus rather than a deficit. "It was really easy to follow or we weren't overbearing, it wasn't complicated, it was very simple," said Allain. After going over all the applications, a little less than $30 million is left over. Allain said it will be dispersed to all 104 municipalities on a per-capita basis in the next few weeks.

  • L’Estrie attire les Montréalais

    L’Estrie affiche son meilleur bilan migratoire en près de 20 ans alors que plus de 8000 personnes sont venues s’installer dans la région entre le 1er juillet 2019 et le 1er juillet 2020. C’est ce qui ressort du dernier bulletin démographique de l’Institut de la statistique du Québec publié en janvier. En soustrayant les personnes qui ont quitté l’Estrie, on obtient un bilan positif de 2322 nouveaux habitants dans la région. L’Estrie est la quatrième région avec la plus forte croissance derrière la Montérégie, les Laurentides et Lanaudière et se classe au tout premier rang des régions dites intermédiaires, donc relativement éloigné de Montréal. « La Mauricie et l’Estrie se démarquent avec les gains les plus importants parmi ces régions, toutes proportions gardées, peut-on lire dans le rapport. Dans les deux cas, le solde a franchi le seuil de 2 000 personnes, ce qui constitue de loin leurs plus forts gains depuis 2001-2002. Leurs principaux gains se font aux dépens de Montréal et des régions de la zone adjacente. » De son côté, la région de Montréal enregistre des pertes de 35 900 personnes dans ses échanges migratoires avec les autres régions du Québec en 2019-2020. Il s’agit de son plus lourd déficit depuis que les données sont disponibles. Est-ce que la COVID a eu un impact ? Le rapport évalue que oui, mais souligne que « ces résultats s’inscrivent souvent dans des tendances amorcées au cours des années précédentes. La pandémie pourrait ainsi surtout avoir donné un élan à des tendances préexistantes. » Les MRC en hausse On apprend également dans le rapport que pour la toute première fois, toutes les MRC de L’Estrie ont obtenu un bilan migratoire positif. La MRC de Memphrémagog vient en tête de liste avec une augmentation de 1,74 %.  Au total, 309 300 personnes ont changé de MRC de résidence au Québec au cours de l’année 2019-2020. Simon Roberge, Initiative de journalisme local, La Tribune

  • Nova Scotia looking for ways to attract offshore wind industry

    It may be many years before turbines jut out of the Atlantic Ocean around Nova Scotia to spin wind into energy for the electric grid, but the growth of the offshore wind industry in other parts of the world has sparked the province's interest. "In Nova Scotia we are blessed with a long coastline. We're blessed with a tremendous wind resource," said Alisdair McLean, executive director of the Offshore Energy Research Association, which is using $50,000 from the provincial government to commission a report on offshore wind potential. The association wants to find out how Nova Scotia might use government policy to attract the offshore wind industry to build wind farms off the province's coasts, where winds are typically stronger than over land. "The purpose of our work is to try to understand whether it could be viable in Nova Scotia or not," McLean said in a recent interview. "Although it is viable in other jurisdictions, clearly, every jurisdiction has its own peculiarities. And so our role here is to evaluate whether or not it could be useful and productive and affordable in Nova Scotia." Nova Scotia already has hundreds of turbines at dozens of wind farms across the province. They generate about 20 per cent of the electricity on Nova Scotia's grid, and make up the single largest renewable energy source, but they're all onshore. Offshore wind energy farms were established in parts of Europe in the 1990s and the industry is still growing. The European Union released an offshore renewable energy strategy last fall that includes a goal of increasing offshore wind capacity five-fold by 2030, and five-fold again by 2050. The offshore wind industry started developing in the U.S. more recently, particularly along the Eastern Seaboard. According to the American Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the country's first offshore wind farm started operating off Rhode Island in 2016. Targets difficult to meet All the while, Nova Scotia has renewable energy targets that are proving difficult to meet. In 2020, renewable energy sources made up about 30 per cent of electricity on the grid — 10 per cent shy of what the province had hoped to achieve by last year. After the already-troubled Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project faced further delays in 2020, Nova Scotia's 40 per cent renewable energy target has been pushed back to 2022. McLean said "there's no way" any offshore wind projects would develop quickly enough to help achieve that goal, but offshore could fit in with the province's longer-term goals, like reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050. Dan Roscoe said he expects to see more onshore wind farms built in Nova Scotia before any offshore development begins. Roscoe, an engineer and lead of renewable energy at Cape Breton University's Verschuren Centre for Sustainability in Energy and the Environment, said jurisdictions where offshore wind has taken off typically have space constraints on land, which is not currently a problem in Nova Scotia. "I think what it comes down to is what are we going to use that offshore wind energy for? And how can we get it to a spot where it's going to be cost-competitive?" Roscoe said. According to Nova Scotia Power's latest resource plan, released last fall, the cost of generating offshore wind in Nova Scotia in 2021 would be about double the cost of onshore wind — $113 per megawatt hour versus $56 per megawatt hour. The utility has forecast the cost of generating energy from both sources will drop, and the gap between them will tighten. By 2045, NSP's plan predicts onshore wind will cost $44 per megawatt hour and offshore will cost $59 per megawatt hour. Roscoe said wind energy costs are coming down in part because of the economies of scale. Wind turbines are getting bigger, with some recent offshore projects boasting capacities as high as one gigawatt — "which would be more than half the demand and roughly half of the needs of Nova Scotia, all in one project." In order to make projects of that size viable in Nova Scotia, Roscoe said some of the power generated would likely have to be sold for export. Researchers pinpoint best locations for wind energy Two researchers at Dalhousie University's Renewable Energy Storage Lab just published some findings that they think might help with the cost of wind energy. Mechanical engineering professor Lukas Swan and research engineer Nathaniel Pearre mapped out the best places around the Maritime provinces for wind farms, with an eye to mitigating one of the resource's major drawbacks: variability. Because wind speed and strength are constantly changing, the amount of energy generated through wind turbines is also constantly changing. At peak, there can be congestion on the grid. At base, wind power needs to be backed up by other energy sources. Swan and Pearre's mapping study shows potential wind farm locations around the Maritimes that could naturally balance what's already on the grid. "To put it into a bullet point … if you build out more resources towards the periphery of the area, the better," Pearre said in an interview. In Nova Scotia, the offshore area around Sable Island scored well, according to the researchers, as did parts of the Bay of Fundy, on the New Brunswick side. Onshore, they found potential in parts of Cape Breton and northwestern New Brunswick. Swan said he thinks offshore wind's potential deserves more exploration in Nova Scotia, but he isn't counting on the industry exploding any time soon. "Everything is harder than it looks and probably takes a little bit longer than you'd think." MORE TOP STORIES

  • Firefighters rescue dog from icy river in Michigan

    Firefighter Morrison was able to break a path through the ice out to the dog while safely secured by ropes. Just before he got to the dog, it gave out a crying type howl and as soon as he grabbed it, it went completely limp from exhaustion. Video credit Alpena City Firefighters

  • Pelosi's nine impeachment managers hope to 'finish the job'

    WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped nine of her most trusted allies in the House to argue the case for President Donald Trump’s impeachment. The Democrats, all of whom are lawyers and many of whom have deep experience investigating the president, face the arduous task of convincing skeptical Senate Republicans to convict Trump. A single article of impeachment — for “incitement of insurrection” — was approved by the House on Wednesday, one week after a violent mob of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol. At the time, lawmakers were counting the votes that cemented Trump’s election defeat. As members of the House who were in the Capitol when it was attacked — several hiding under seats as rioters beat on the doors of the chamber — the Democrats are also witnesses to what they charge is a crime. So are the Senate jurors. “This is a case where the jurors were also victims, and so whether it was those who voted in the House last night or those in the Senate who will have to weigh in on this, you don’t have to tell anyone who was in the building twice what it was like to be terrorized,” said California Rep. Eric Swalwell, one of the managers. It is unclear when the trial will start. Pelosi hasn’t yet said when she will send the article of impeachment to the Senate. It could be as soon as next week, on President-elect Joe Biden’s first day in office. The managers plan to argue at trial that Trump incited the riot, delaying the congressional certification of the electoral vote count by inciting an angry mob to harm members of Congress. Some of the rioters were recorded saying they wanted to find Pelosi and Vice-President Mike Pence, who presided over the count. Others had zip ties that could be used as handcuffs hanging on their clothes. “The American people witnessed that,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., one of the managers. “That amounts to high crimes and misdemeanours.” None of the impeachment managers argued the case in Trump’s first impeachment trial last year, when the Senate acquitted the president on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice. The House impeached Trump in 2019 after he pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate Biden’s family while withholding military aid to the country. Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, another manager, says the nine prosecutors plan to present a serious case and “finish the job” that the House started. A look at Pelosi’s prosecution team in Trump’s historic second impeachment: REP. JAMIE RASKIN, MARYLAND Pelosi appointed Raskin, a former constitutional law professor and prominent member of the House Judiciary Committee, as lead manager. In a week of dramatic events and stories, Raskin’s stands out: The day before the Capitol riots, Raskin buried his 25-year-old son, Tommy, after he killed himself on New Year’s Eve. “You would be hard pressed to find a more beloved figure in the Congress” than Raskin, says House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who was the lead manager during Trump’s first trial. He worked closely with Raskin on that impeachment investigation. “I know that part of what gives him strength to take on this burden that he now carries is knowing that this is something that would be enormously meaningful to his son.” REP. DIANA DEGETTE, COLORADO DeGette, who is serving her 13th term representing Denver, is a former civil rights attorney and one of Pelosi’s go-to allies. The speaker picked her to preside over the House during the first impeachment vote in 2019. DeGette said Pelosi trusted her to do it because she is “able to to control the passions on the floor.” She says she was surprised when Pelosi called to offer her the prosecutorial position but quickly accepted. “The monstrosity of this offence is not lost on anybody,” she says. REP. DAVID CICILLINE, RHODE ISLAND Cicilline, the former mayor of Providence and public defender, is in his sixth term in Congress and is a senior member of the Judiciary panel. He was heavily involved in Trump’s first impeachment and was one of three original authors of the article that the House approved on Wednesday. He and California Rep. Ted Lieu began writing the article together, in hiding, as the rioters were still ransacking the Capitol. He tweeted out a draft the next morning, writing that “I have prepared to remove the President from office following yesterday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.” REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO, TEXAS Castro is a member of the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs panels, where he has been an outspoken critic of Trump's handling of Russia. He was a litigator in private practice before he was elected to the Texas legislature and came to Congress, where he is in his fifth term. Castro’s twin brother, Julian Castro, is the former mayor of San Antonio and served as former President Barack Obama’s secretary of housing and urban development. Julian Castro ran in the Democratic primary for president last year. REP. ERIC SWALWELL, CALIFORNIA Swalwell also serves on the Intelligence and Judiciary panels and was deeply involved in congressional probes of Trump’s Russian ties. A former prosecutor, he briefly ran for president in 2019. “The case that I think resonates the most with the American people and hopefully the Senate is that our American president incited our fellow citizens to attack our Capitol on a day where we were counting electoral votes, and that this was not a spontaneous call to action by the president at the rally,” Swalwell said. REP. TED LIEU, CALIFORNIA Lieu, who authored the article of impeachment with Cicilline and Raskin, is on the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs panels. The Los Angeles-area lawmaker is a former active-duty officer in the U.S. Air Force and military prosecutor. “We cannot begin to heal the soul of this country without first delivering swift justice to all its enemies — foreign and domestic,” he said. DEL. STACEY PLASKETT, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS Because she represents a U.S. territory, not a state, Plaskett does not have voting rights and was not able to cast a vote for impeachment. But she will bring her legal experience as a former district attorney in New York and senior counsel at the Justice Department — and as one of Raskin's former law students. “As an African American, as a woman, seeing individuals storming our most sacred place of democracy, wearing anti-Semitic, racist, neo-Nazi, white supremacy logos on their bodies and wreaking the most vile and hateful things left not just those people of colour who were in the room traumatized, but so many people of colour around this country," she said Friday. REP. JOE NEGUSE, COLORADO Neguse, in his second term, is a rising star in the Democratic caucus who was elected to Pelosi’s leadership team his freshman year in Congress. A former litigator, he sits on the House Judiciary Committee and consulted with Raskin, Cicilline and Lieu as they drafted the article the day of the attack. At 36, he will be the youngest impeachment manager in history, according to his office. “This armed mob did not storm the Capitol on any given day, they did so during the most solemn of proceedings that the United States Congress is engaged in,” Neguse said Thursday. “Clearly the attack was done to stop us from finishing our work.” REP. MADELEINE DEAN, PENNSYLVANIA Like Neguse, Dean was first elected when Democrats recaptured the House in 2018. She is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee, and is a former lawyer and member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. She says she hopes the prosecutors can convince the Senate and the American people “to mark this moment" with a conviction. “I think I bring to it just the simple fact that I’m a citizen, that I’m a mom and I’m a grandma," Dean said. "And I want my children, my grandchildren, to remember what we did here.” Mary Clare Jalonick, The Associated Press

  • Husky and Suncor sue N.L., claiming overpaid royalties for White Rose oilfield

    The companies behind the White Rose offshore oil project are taking the Newfoundland and Labrador government to court, saying they have overpaid royalties. Husky Oil Operations and Suncor Energy are seeking a ruling from a judge that their interpretation of the regulations is correct, and would apply to "all past, current and future royalties payable" for White Rose. The application does not specify an exact amount being sought by the oil companies. However, affidavits from Husky and Suncor officials contend that they overpaid more than $32 million, in total, from 2014 through 2017. Those amounts apply to both the original White Rose field, and the White Rose expansion. In a nutshell, the oil companies say the intent of the royalty regulations is for them to pay the greater of two royalty levels in a certain period, but not both. They say that is sometimes happening, even though it's not the way the system is supposed to work. Husky spokeswoman Colleen McConnell said that is the unintended result of an "an anomaly" in the royalty regulations. "We have been working to address this with the province over the past three years; however, it remains unresolved," McConnell said in an email to CBC News. "As a result, we have referred it to court for a decision, which is a mechanism is available to the parties to resolve matters in dispute." The province had not yet filed any documents in reply as of midweek, and the Energy Department declined comment, saying it would be inappropriate to do so while the case is before the courts. Similar issues with Terra Nova settled in the past In court documents, Husky and Suncor pointed to past disputes involving similar issues with the Terra Nova oilfield. The owners of Terra Nova filed court actions in 2010 and again in 2015 over comparable concerns about royalty calculations. Both cases were settled before a judge could issue a final ruling. The second dispute was resolved by both sides essentially deciding to split the difference. The White Rose case is due to be called at Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in early February. Husky is the operator of White Rose, owning a 72.5-per-cent share, with Suncor holding the remaining 27.5 per cent. Husky owns 68.875 per cent of the White Rose expansion. Suncor has 26.125 per cent, with Newfoundland and Labrador taxpayers holding the remaining five per cent through a Crown-owned corporation. Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador

  • Économie : les chambres de commerce sont préoccupées

    COVID-19. La Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ) demeure vivement préoccupée par l'état des entreprises québécoises et s'inquiète pour la survie de plusieurs. Elle accueille tout de même favorablement l'ouverture du gouvernement pour maintenir certaines activités économiques tout en rappelant qu'une aide financière directe plus importante que ce qui a été annoncé par le passé devrait être prévue. «Les Québécois sont fatigués. La situation actuelle est extrêmement difficile pour de trop nombreux secteurs économiques et les annonces d'aujourd'hui sont un autre coup dur pour des milliers d'entrepreneurs. Nous reconnaissons toutefois que les décisions du gouvernement visent à maintenir le plus d'activités économiques possible sans nuire aux efforts pour lutter contre le virus, notamment pour le secteur manufacturier et celui de la construction. Les entrepreneurs québécois ont fait d'énormes efforts pour rendre les lieux de travail les plus sécuritaires possible.  Voici leur chance d'en faire la démonstration», souligne Charles Milliard, président-directeur général de la FCCQ pour qui le gouvernement doit maintenant plancher sur deux priorités nationales : maximiser la distribution et l'administration des vaccins et s'assurer que les aides de soutien aux entreprises soient les plus directes et les plus efficaces possible. «Le gouvernement doit présenter et exécuter rapidement un plan de vaccination cohérent et efficace.  En plus de pouvoir compter sur les professionnels de la santé, il devrait aussi prêter rapidement l'oreille aux offres d'aide du secteur privé pour accélérer la vaccination de la population», indique-t-il. Par ailleurs, pour couvrir un maximum d'entreprises ayant besoin d'une aide financière pour survivre, l'enveloppe globale devrait être augmentée et la notion d'aide directe devrait être privilégiée selon le réseau de 130 chambres de commerce et 1 100 membres corporatifs. «Le surendettement des entreprises était déjà une réalité bien présente qui sera aggravée par ces fermetures prolongées de plusieurs entreprises. La situation est exceptionnelle et impose des mesures exceptionnelles comme le couvre-feu, mais nos entreprises n'ont plus la capacité de s'endetter davantage et le gouvernement doit en tenir compte», précise Charles Milliard.  Stéphane Lévesque, Initiative de journalisme local, L'Hebdo Journal

  • Cogeco reports first-quarter profit and revenue up from year ago mark

    MONTREAL — Cogeco Inc. reported its first-quarter profit rose compared with a year ago as its revenue also climbed. The company says its profit attributable to owners of the corporation totalled $40.5 million or $2.53 per diluted share for the quarter ended Nov. 30, up from $31.3 million or $1.94 per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue was $646.4 million, up from $618.5 million. Cogeco owns radio broadcaster Cogeco Media as well as a controlling interest in Cogeco Communications Inc., a cable company with operations in Canada and the United States. Cogeco Communications reported a profit attributable to owners of the corporation of $106.7 million or $2.22 per diluted share for the quarter ended Nov. 30, up from $84.2 million or $1.70 per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue at Cogeco Communications totalled $618.9 million, up from $586.8 million. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2021. Companies in this story: (TSX:CGO, TSX:CCA) The Canadian Press

  • Former U.S. regulator questions small nuclear reactor technology

    A former head of the United States' nuclear regulator is raising questions about the molten-salt technology that would be used in one model of proposed New Brunswick-made nuclear reactors. The technology pitched by Saint John's Moltex Energy is key to its business case because, the company argues, it would reuse some of the nuclear waste from Point Lepreau and lower the long-term cost and radioactivity of storing the remainder. But Allison Macfarlane, the former chairperson of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a specialist in the storage of nuclear waste, said no one has yet proven that it's possible or viable to reprocess nuclear waste and lower the cost and risks of storage. "Nobody knows what the numbers are, and anybody who gives you numbers is selling you a bridge to nowhere because they don't know," said Macfarlane, now the director of the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia. "Nobody's really doing this right now. … Nobody has ever set up a molten salt reactor and used it to produce electricity." Macfarlane said she couldn't comment specifically on Moltex, calling information about the company's technology "very vague." But she said the general selling point for molten-salt technology is dubious. "Nobody's been able to answer my questions yet on what all these wastes are and how much of them there are, and how heat-producing they are and what their compositions are," she said. "My sense is that all of these reactor folks have not really paid a lot of attention to the back end of these fuel cycles," she said, referring to the long-term risks and costs of securely storing nuclear waste. Moltex is one of two Saint John-based companies pitching small nuclear reactors as the next step for nuclear power in the province and as a non-carbon-dioxide emitting alternative to fossil fuel electricity generation. Moltex North America CEO Rory O'Sullivan said the company's technology will allow it to affordably extract the most radioactive parts of the existing nuclear waste from the Point Lepreau Generating Station. The waste is now stored in pellet form in silos near the plant and is inspected regularly. The process would remove less than one per cent of the material to fuel the Moltex reactor and O'Sullivan said that would make the remainder less radioactive for a much shorter amount of time. Existing plans for nuclear waste in Canada are to store it in an eventual permanent repository deep underground, where it would be secure for the hundreds of thousands of years it remained radioactive. Reduced storage time and expense O'Sullivan said extracting and removing the most radioactive parts would reduce the needed storage time to only hundreds of years, and therefore lower the long-term expense. "The vast majority will have decayed within a couple of hundred years back down to regular natural levels," he said in an interview. Estimates for storing what's called intermediate radioactive material are from a hundred to a thousandfold cheaper, he said. "It's very different in cost, complexity, depth underground. … That's obviously a very big, very appealing factor." There is no permanent repository for storing spent nuclear fuel deep underground. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization, a national agency, is looking at two sites in Ontario but there's been no decision on a location. Shorter-term radioactivity complicates storage Macfarlane said a shorter-term radioactivity life for waste would actually complicate its storage underground because it might lead to a facility that has to be funded and secured rather than sealed up and abandoned. "That means that you believe that the institutions that exist to keep monitoring that ... will exist for hundreds of years, and I think that is a ridiculous assumption," she said. "I'm looking at the United States, I'm seeing institutions crumbling in a matter of a few years. I have no faith that institutions can last that long and that there will be streams of money to maintain the safety and security of these facilities. That's why you will need a deep geologic repository for this material." My response is: prove it. - Allison Macfarlane, nuclear waste expert And she said that's assuming the technology will successfully extract all of the most radioactive material. "They are assuming that they remove one hundred per cent of the difficult, radionuclides, the difficult isotopes, that complicate the waste," she said. "My response is: prove it. Because if you leave five per cent, you have high-level waste that you're going to be dealing with. If you leave one per cent, you're going to have high-level waste that you're going to be dealing with. So sorry, that one doesn't fly with me." Macfarlane, a geologist by training, raised doubts about molten-salt technology and waste issues in a 2018 paper she co-authored for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In the U.S., she questioned plans for a long-term nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev. 'Baffled' by environmental backlash A New Brunswick group opposed to small modular reactors, or SMRs, the Coalition for Responsible Energy Development, has been pointing to her research as another reason to doubt their viability. O'Sullivan said he is "personally very baffled and frustrated" by opposition to SMRs by anti-nuclear activists. He said such activists have long complained about nuclear waste as a key concern "and we think we've finally got a solution that's cost effective to deal with it, and we're still getting this backlash. … We're environmentalists and we have this backlash." ARC Nuclear, the other Saint John-based company working on SMRs, also plans to use some existing nuclear waste in its reactor design. The company said in a statement Thursday that its technology "has successfully been demonstrated, therefore proven, at the engineering scale," but no one was available for an interview. Nuclear power essential to reduced emissions NB Power has predicted the creation of thousands of job and a $1 billion boost to the provincial economy if SMRs are built here. The utility did not respond to a request for comment on Moltex's plan for Point Lepreau's nuclear waste. The previous Liberal government handed Moltex and ARC a total of $10 million to support their research and development. The federal government said nuclear power is essential to Canada reducing its emissions but has not provided funding to the two Saint John companies.

  • Iran tests ballistic missiles, drones in military exercise, state TV says

    Iran's Revolutionary Guards fired "abundant" surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and tested locally manufactured new drones in a military exercise on Friday, state television reported. The drill, which it said was overseen by Guards commander Major General Hossein Salami in the central desert region, came in the waning days of high tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. "Also, an abundant number of a new generation of ballistic missiles were fired at selected targets, inflicting deadly blows to the hypothetical enemy bases."

  • This Windsor woman spent 11 days in hospital with COVID-19. Here's what she took away from it

    A friendship and an eye-opening appreciation for health-care workers are what 38-year-old Colleen Kelly was lucky enough to take away from the 11 days she spent in hospital with COVID-19. For most of her stay, Kelly says she was on an oxygen machine and was told she was close to needing a ventilator. Despite how uncertain it all was, she walked away alive, befriended her 87-year-old COVID-positive roommate and came to better understand the unwavering efforts of the region's healthcare workers, she said. "The nurses were so kind and they would come in and check on you and there's a lot going on on that floor," she said. "These people need to be recognized ... it was just like an eye-opener for me, the whole experience, not even with me but just what the health-care workers do." Kelly shared her experience in the Facebook group Windsor Frontline Health Care Workers and told CBC News that she posted so that people working the front lines know that they are "changing people's lives" with their care. The group was started two weeks ago to offer support to local healthcare workers during the pandemic and already has more than 6,000 members. 'I'm going to make it' The whole experience has left Kelly in disbelief, mainly because throughout the entire illness, she said she never really felt "deathly" sick. While battling the illness she said she never felt scared, but looking back she realizes that she could have died. Now she worries about whether others are taking the appropriate action when they test positive. "Trust your instincts and listen to your body," she said. "They told me because my oxygen was so low my organs would start to shut down and I would not have made it through the night." Like many people who have contracted the disease, Kelly said shortly after testing positive on Dec. 9, she felt tired, lost her sense of taste and smell and had persistent headaches. A nurse friend told Kelly that the headaches might be from a lack of oxygen and that she should check her levels with an at-home monitor. When Kelly told her friend that her oxygen was around 65 per cent, the friend told her to immediately go to the hospital, as she said that was low. "I've never been in a hospital before in my life so I've no idea what's going on and when I went in and sat down and the guy hooked the [oxygen] machine up to my finger, it was like pure panic," she said. "And he just kind of went, 'oh my God, your oxygen's at 54 per cent' ... they kept asking me how I got to the hospital, did I walk into the hospital? because they couldn't understand how I was still walking and talking." Once admitted, Kelly said she spent the next nine days on oxygen. During this time, she bonded with her roommate. "She was incredible, like this lady was so funny, our energy in our room was always good, like we laughed and laughed all day long," Kelly said. "This 87-year-old lady was never scared either right. Like, never once did I hear anything negative come out of her mouth and I'm thinking like 'OK, you're going to make it, I'm going to make it.'" Eventually Kelly recovered and was discharged from the hospital and two days later, so was her roommate. Kelly says the two have already made plans to grab lunch together when it's safe to gather again.

  • Small but successful Indigenous deer hunt inside Killbear Provincial Park

    Eleven adult male deer, or bucks, were harvested by hunters from the Shawanaga and Wasauksing First Nations during last month’s controlled harvest inside Killbear Provincial Park west of Parry Sound.  The figures were released Jan. 11, by Shawanaga band manager Adam Good.   It was the first time since the park opened in 1964 that Indigenous  hunters were allowed inside the park boundary in order to harvest deer  on their traditional and treaty hunting grounds.  It was held from Dec. 15 to 18 and the park was closed to the public  for the hunt for safety reasons. Hunters were restricted to shotguns  only.  Good said that 15 hunters in total from the two territories took part in the event.  There had been concerns that protesters, who had expressed opposition  to the harvest on social media, might also try to invade the park for  the harvest but Good said that never materialized.  “We were thinking that there could’ve been some sort of petition or a  protest but that never occurred. It wasn’t a huge hunt. The number of  hunters was low … there were some COVID scares but it was good for the  first start. It was more about awareness,” Good said.  He added that the harvest was the culmination of years of  negotiations between park staff, other officials and the two First  Nations. Good said that it is not yet clear if the harvest will become an  annual event. He said they may look at making it a bow hunt in the  future.  He added that youngsters and Elders also accompanied the hunters  with a goal of educating the young people about responsible harvesting  on land that had used been used by Indigenous hunters for hundreds of  years.   Good said that the two First Nations will work with the park on just exactly what future hunts might look like.  Prior to the hunt getting underway, Good said that a prayer and smudging ceremony was held.   Both chiefs, Shawanaga’s Wayne Pamajewon and Warren Tabobondung,  took part, he added. Good said that some hunters also brought their  families with them for the historic harvest.  “The (kids) were amazed. It’s a learning experience and they loved  being outdoors. It’s something you can’t teach in the classroom. It’s  being outdoors and experiencing it first hand. It was a life lesson that  the youth won’t soon forget,” Good said.  “They now understand that this is traditional territory where they  can exercise their rights whether that be hunting, fishing or picking  berries.”    Good said the venison from the harvest has been shared with community  members, particularly Elders. He added that the food was appreciated by  all, especially during the global pandemic when getting out of the home  to shop has been more complicated.  “The meat was delivered to the Elders’ homes. They were very  thankful. The Elders always enjoy receiving venison or moose,” Good  said.  Kenton Otterbein, education leader for the park, stated in an email that the harvest went off without a hitch.  ​John McFadden is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering Indigenous issues for MuskokaRegion.com, ParrySound.com and Simcoe.com.  His reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local  Journalism Initiative.  John McFadden, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Parry Sound North Star

  • Burnout mounting for families in need of respite services, advocates say

    It was a decision parent Katerina Gamlin never wanted to make: continue struggling to care for her young daughter Kassie or hand her over to a government-funded care centre for at least a year. The 13-year-old suffers from multiple neurological disabilities, including autism and requires constant supervision. Last year, she went into psychosis and was hospitalized. "Our child is so complex, there's not just one person that can come along and care for her," said Gamlin. The family has been desperate for respite services, which give short-term relief to primary caregivers. But in B.C., those are in short supply, and many that were available have been put on hold because of the pandemic. It puts a heavy burden on parents like Gamlin, with few prospects of relief. "You're emotionally exhausted, you feel like you're not a good parent, that you're not doing everything you can. I hate to admit it, but at some point, you question whether you love the person you take care of," said Gamlin. The lack of respite services in B.C. has advocates sounding the alarm over the emotional and physical toll on parents, many of whom are burned out while also grappling with the economic and social challenges brought on by the pandemic. For some, it means making the hard decision to give up their children. Respite removed Gamlin says once her daughter was discharged from the hospital following her psychosis early last year, the Nanaimo-based family was provided with three-days-a-week respite services in a fully staffed group home. "We were starting to get some rest," said Gamlin. "I can't tell you how fabulous that was. That was the first time in her life that I was hopeful that things were going to be OK." But after three months, the Ministry of Children and Family Development pulled the services from them. Gamlin says she was told that children already in government care were taking priority. According to the ministry, the pandemic prompted MCFD to make service adjustments in April 2020 to "prioritize vulnerable youth and children and youth with support needs." Gamlin said she advocated for the services to be reinstated for nearly a year but with no success. Whether it was writing to ministries, social workers or politicians, she says she would run into brick walls and closed doors. Two months ago, after Cassie was hospitalized again, Gamlin made the decision to sign a special needs agreement with MCFD, which means her daughter now lives in a ministry-funded care centre about an hour-and-a-half away. The agreement lasts for one year, and Gamlin retains guardianship. "I'm thankful every day because she's in a place that is amazing," said Gamlin. "[But] I often get frustrated thinking about how it would be if we did have the respite that we so desperately needed." Care crisis Behaviour analyst Jemana Elsharkawi works with special needs children and says she's witnessed first-hand the toll the lack of services has had on families, which has been compounded by the pandemic. "Many parents have lost their jobs, it's very, very difficult," said Elsharkawi. "We're really in a crisis." She penned a letter to the MCFD last April calling for more funding for respite for families amid the pandemic, citing a noticeable uptick of parents coming to rely on specialists like her as a lifeline. "We didn't have enough services prior to the pandemic, and now as things have exacerbated, with families and their children desperately needing more support, what we're seeing is a lot more 911 phone calls ... the toll on the mental health of the families is incalculable," she said. A ministry spokesperson said B.C. has seen an increase in the number of homes "resuming respite care services since November." "We aren't yet back to pre-pandemic levels, but we are trending in that direction," read the statement. For parents that have already made big sacrifices, a return to "pre-pandemic levels" won't be enough. "The system seems really flawed in why are we not preventing burnout, why are we not preventing children going into care, if there were respite beds," said Gamlin.

  • Higher travel subsidies, more destinations for Yukon medical travellers

    Yukoners have more options for where they can go for outside medical treatment as well as higher daily subsidies under new rules that went into effect on Jan. 1. The territorial government had committed last year to raising the subsidies from $75 per day to $150. It was one of the recommendations in last spring's wide-ranging Putting People First, a report by an independent expert panel that conducted a comprehensive review of health and social services in Yukon. At a briefing Thursday morning, officials went over the new rules. Affordability Along with doubling the daily rate for multi-day medical travellers, they can now claim the subsidy for the first day of travel. Outpatient escorts receive $75 per day, inpatient escorts $150 per day and same-day travellers and their escorts $75. Affordability was a major issue raised during a public consultation in 2019 when officials heard that Yukoners are often left paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for medical travel. "The cost of accommodation, meals, and local transportation, combined with lost wages, is much more than $75 per day," a report on the consultation said. It says people were even refusing to travel for medical care because of the cost. Under the previous rules people could generally only be sent for medical treatment to Vancouver, Calgary or Edmonton. Their doctors can now ask for them to be sent anywhere in Canada where the treatment is available. That would let people request travel to cities where they have close family members. "That is one of the guiding principles where people can actually go where they have family, where it's less cost for them," said Marguerite Fenske, acting director of insured health and hearing services with Health and Social Services. "But we also know that being close to your families will provide those additional supports that you really require," she said. The government eliminated rural travel subsidies for people who live close to Whitehorse and were able to claim money for medical appointments in the city. Health and Social Services Minister Pauline Frost says the government will also be opening a new unit to provide support to people going on medical travel by coordinating travel arrangements, answering questions and other support. "What happens when they come out of a small community and are not familiar with that type of interaction, where do they go? What do they do? They needed a point contact and this will allow for that," said Frost.

  • Askar Mamin reappointed as Kazakh prime minister after election

    NUR-SULTAN (Reuters) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev nominated Askar Mamin as prime minister on Friday, and the newly elected lower house of parliament swiftly approved his appointment after ruling party leader Nursultan Nazarbayev asked his lawmakers to back Mamin. Mamin had stepped down after a Jan. 10 parliamentary election, as required by the constitution, after almost two years in office. Nazarbayev's Nur Otan party swept this month's vote to retain control over the lower house.

  • Boil water advisory for Bracebridge, Ont., lifted: public health

    BRACEBRIDGE, Ont. — A boil water advisory has been lifted for an Ontario cottage country town affected by a water main break. The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit says lab tests have confirmed the water in Bracebridge, Ont., is now safe to drink. The order lifted Thursday had been issued Jan. 10. The health unit says residents should run cold water for five minutes to ensure it’s running clean.Larger users like restaurants, hospitals and schools may have to run water for longer to ensure it isn't cloudy. People are also advised to replace water filters, drain water heaters, dispose of ice made after Jan. 10 and clean any appliances connected to the water.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2021. The Canadian Press

  • Fake US leg band gets pigeon a reprieve in Australia

    CANBERRA, Australia — A pigeon that Australia declared a biosecurity risk has received a reprieve after a U.S. bird organization declared its identifying leg band was fake. The band suggested the bird found in a Melbourne backyard on Dec. 26 was a racing pigeon that had left the U.S. state of Oregon, 13,000 kilometres (8,000 miles) away, two months earlier. On that basis, Australian authorities on Thursday said they considered the bird a disease risk and planned to kill it. But Deone Roberts, sport development manager for the Oklahoma-based American Racing Pigeon Union, said on Friday the band was fake. The band number belongs to a blue bar pigeon in the United States which is not the bird pictured in Australia, she said. “The bird band in Australia is counterfeit and not traceable,” Roberts said. “They do not need to kill him.” Australia's Agriculture Department, which is responsible for biosecurity, agreed that the pigeon dubbed Joe, after U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, was wearing a “fraudulent copy” leg band. “Following an investigation, the department has concluded that Joe the Pigeon is highly likely to be Australian and does not present a biosecurity risk,” it said in a statement. The department said it will take no further action. Acting Australian Prime Minister Michael McCormack had earlier said there would be no mercy if the pigeon was from the United States. “If Joe has come in a way that has not met our strict biosecurity measures, then bad luck Joe, either fly home or face the consequences,” McCormack said. Martin Foley, health minister for Victoria state where Joe is living, had called for the federal government to spare the bird even if it posed a disease risk. “I would urge the Commonwealth’s quarantine officials to show a little bit of compassion,” Foley said. Andy Meddick, a Victorian lawmaker for the minor Animal Justice Party, called for a “pigeon pardon for Joe.” “Should the federal government allow Joe to live, I am happy to seek assurances that he is not a flight risk,” Meddick said. Melbourne resident Kevin Celli-Bird, who found the emaciated bird in his backyard, was surprised by the change of nationality but pleased that the bird he named Joe would not be destroyed. “I thought this is just a feel-good story and now you guys want to put this pigeon away and I thought it’s not on, you know, you can’t do that, there has got to be other options,” Celli-Bird said of the threat to euthanize. Celli-Bird had contacted the American Racing Pigeon Union to find the bird’s owner based on the number on the leg band. The bands have both a number and a symbol, but Celli-Bird didn’t remember the symbol and said he can no longer catch the bird since it has recovered from its initial weakness. The bird with the genuine leg band had disappeared from a 560-kilometre (350-mile) race in Oregon on Oct. 29, Crooked River Challenge owner Lucas Cramer said. That bird did not have a racing record that would make it valuable enough to steal its identity, he said. “That bird didn’t finish the race series, it didn’t make any money and so its worthless, really,” Cramer said. He said it was possible a pigeon could cross the Pacific on a ship from Oregon to Australia. “In reality, it could potentially happen, but this isn’t the same pigeon. It’s not even a racing pigeon,” Cramer said. The bird spends every day in the backyard, sometimes with a native dove on a pergola. “I might have to change him to Aussie Joe, but he’s just the same pigeon,” Celli-Bird said. Lars Scott, a carer at Pigeon Rescue Melbourne, a bird welfare group, said pigeons with American leg bands were not uncommon around the city. A number of Melbourne breeders bought them online and used them for their own record keeping, Scott said. Australian quarantine authorities are notoriously strict. In 2015, the government threatened to euthanize two Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo, after they were smuggled into the country by Hollywood star Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard. Faced with a 50-hour deadline to leave Australia, the dogs made it out in a chartered jet. Rod McGuirk, The Associated Press

  • Kahkewistahaw First Nation security worker's dance at COVID-19 checkstop goes viral

    One January night at the COVID-19 checkstop at Kahkewistahaw First Nation, about 150 km east of Regina, security worker Mike Bitternose put on his red basketball shorts, an orange tied-at-the-midriff safety vest and his granddaughter's heart-shaped sunglasses. Then he started to dance for the camera. In the resulting video, which has been shared on social media more than 5,000 times, Rod Stewart's Da Ya Think I'm Sexy plays in the background while Bitternose dances toward the camera with a red, handheld stop sign. "I never, ever thought that I would do something like it," Bitternose said with a laugh, during an interview this week about the video. "The outfit that I had on was just a spur of the moment thing." Bitternose works in Kahkewistahaw but is originally from the George Gordon First Nation, about 200 km northwest. Like many First Nations, Kahkewistahaw has implemented check-in stops at its border during the COVID-19 pandemic to screen people as they come into the community. Bitternose did the dance as part of the #RezSecurityChallenge, a social media trend that started late last year to inspire people working at COVID-19 checkstops on First Nations. It can be a tough job, the stops aren't always welcomed by people coming in. Bitternose said he was inspired to join the challenge after seeing a security guard from another First Nation dancing in a video. He almost backed down, but went for it. "If it ever came down to it, I would do something like it again," Bitternose said. "I can't save the whole world. But I can be there for my team. Always be there from my team, day and night." He said he's feeling sorry he didn't wear a mask for the video challenge. He said he normally wears one, and always does when working security. 'It's not getting any easier' The pandemic has not been easy for First Nations, and Bitternose said he wanted to do something to lift up his security team. "It's not getting any easier with this, with everything. It's a challenge," Bitternose said. "A lot of our elderly people are really facing it in the hardest of times. And it's something that we have to recognize as a nation." The First Nation has put in protective rules such as an overnight curfew order to help prevent spread of the virus. Bitternose said he didn't expect the video to go viral. That night, after the camera was off and the song ended, jigging music blasted from the speakers and six other security members joined in for a jigging dance, he said. We need laughter. As Indigenous people, we believe that laughing is our medicine. - Shauna Taypotat Security worker Shayna Taypotat was one of the people who videotaped Bitternose dancing. She said the group wanted to join the challenge because the community has been going through a difficult time. "There's a lot of tragedies and things going on here and so we're kind of having a hard time. So we decided just to do it because we need laughter," she said. "As Indigenous people, we believe that laughing is our medicine." The community recently lost a member — a 52-year-old previously healthy man — to COVID-19. In a social media post, Chief Evan Taypotat said the man was exposed at a housewarming party. In that post, the chief said that as of Jan. 12 there were 14 active cases on the First Nation and that 30 people were waiting for test results. Moments of joy Shayna Taypotat said the death left a dark feeling in the community. "Everyone's scared," she said. "It's very scary." Little moments of joy make help, said Shayna Taypotat, who also said she hopes the video helps community members appreciate what the security guards do. She said people don't usually like being asked the COVID-screening questions, even though the purpose is to keep community members safe. The job can take a toll on security guards, she said. Bitternose said other security groups should join in and issued a challenge to other dancers: "I will do another challenge if you can beat this one." CBC Saskatchewan wants to hear how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted you. Share your story with our online questionnaire.