CDC chief says US faces pandemic's hardest time

The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts the country is about to go through “the most difficult time in the public health history of the nation.” (Dec. 3)

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  • Trump shuns 'ex-presidents club' - and the feeling is mutual

    WASHINGTON — It's a club Donald Trump was never really interested in joining and certainly not so soon: the cadre of former commanders in chief who revere the presidency enough to put aside often bitter political differences and even join together in common cause. Members of the ex-presidents club pose together for pictures. They smile and pat each other on the back while milling around historic events, or sit somberly side by side at VIP funerals. They take on special projects together. They rarely criticize one another and tend to offer even fewer harsh words about their White House successors. Like so many other presidential traditions, however, this is one Trump seems likely to flout. Now that he's left office, it's hard to see him embracing the stately, exclusive club of living former presidents. “He kind of laughed at the very notion that he would be accepted in the presidents club,” said Kate Andersen Brower, who interviewed Trump in 2019 for her book “Team of Five: The Presidents’ Club in the Age of Trump." “He was like, ‘I don’t think I’ll be accepted.'” It's equally clear that the club's other members don't much want him — at least for now. Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton recorded a three-minute video from Arlington National Cemetery after President Joe Biden's inauguration this week, praising peaceful presidential succession as a core of American democracy. The segment included no mention of Trump by name, but stood as a stark rebuke of his behaviour since losing November's election. “I think the fact that the three of us are standing here, talking about a peaceful transfer of power, speaks to the institutional integrity of our country,” Bush said. Obama called inaugurations “a reminder that we can have fierce disagreements and yet recognize each other’s common humanity, and that, as Americans, we have more in common than what separates us." Trump spent months making baseless claims that the election had been stolen from him through fraud and eventually helped incite a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He left the White House without attending Biden’s swearing-in, the first president to skip his successor's inauguration in 152 years. Obama, Bush and Clinton recorded their video after accompanying Biden to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider following the inauguration. They also taped a video urging Americans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Only 96-year-old Jimmy Carter, who has limited his public events because of the pandemic, and Trump, who had already flown to post-presidential life in Florida, weren't there. Jeffrey Engel, founding director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said Trump isn't a good fit for the ex-presidents club "because he’s temperamentally different.” “People within the club historically have been respected by ensuing presidents. Even Richard Nixon was respected by Bill Clinton and by Ronald Reagan and so on, for his foreign policy," Engel said. "I’m not sure I see a whole lot of people calling up Trump for his strategic advice.” Former presidents are occasionally called upon for big tasks. George H.W. Bush and Clinton teamed up in 2005 to launch a campaign urging Americans to help the victims of the devastating Southeast Asia tsunami. When Hurricane Katrina blasted the Gulf Coast, Bush, father of the then-current president George W. Bush, called on Clinton to boost Katrina fundraising relief efforts. When the elder Bush died in 2018, Clinton wrote, “His friendship has been one of the great gifts of my life," high praise considering this was the man he ousted from the White House after a bruising 1992 campaign — making Bush the only one-term president of the last three decades except for Trump. Obama tapped Clinton and the younger President Bush to boost fundraising efforts for Haiti after its devastating 2010 earthquake. George W. Bush also became good friends with former first lady Michelle Obama, and cameras caught him slipping a cough drop to her as they sat together at Arizona Sen. John McCain’s funeral. Usually presidents extend the same respect to their predecessors while still in office, regardless of party. In 1971, three years before he resigned in disgrace, Richard Nixon went to Texas to participate in the dedication of Lyndon Baines Johnson’s presidential library. When Nixon’s library was completed in 1990, then-President George H.W. Bush attended with former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford. Trump's break with tradition began even before his presidency did. After his election win in November 2016, Obama hosted Trump at the White House promising to “do everything we can to help you succeed.” Trump responded, “I look forward to being with you many, many more times in the future” — but that never happened. Instead, Trump falsely accused Obama of having wiretapped him and spent four years savaging his predecessor's record. Current and former presidents sometimes loathed each other, and criticizing their successors isn’t unheard of. Carter criticized the policies of the Republican administrations that followed his, Obama chided Trump while campaigning for Biden and also criticized George W. Bush’s policies — though Obama was usually careful not to name his predecessor. Theodore Roosevelt tried to unseat his successor, fellow Republican William Howard Taft, by founding his own “Bull Moose” party and running for president again against him. Still, presidential reverence for former presidents dates back even further. The nation’s second president, John Adams, was concerned enough about tarnishing the legacy of his predecessor that he retained George Washington’s Cabinet appointments. Trump may have time to build his relationship with his predecessors. He told Brower that he “could see himself becoming friendly with Bill Clinton again," noting that the pair used to golf together. But the odds of becoming the traditional president in retirement that he never was while in office remain long. “I think Trump has taken it too far," Brower said. "I don’t think that these former presidents will welcome him at any point.” Will Weissert And Deb Riechmann, The Associated Press

  • Westport shuts arena for season

    Westport is closing its arena for the rest of the season, effective immediately. The Westport Community Arena didn't open this winter season until October. It closed again on Dec. 7 when the village declared a state of emergency in response to an outbreak of COVID-19 in the community. "The arena never had the opportunity to re-open, as the province's lockdown orders then came into effect," said Anne-Marie Koiner, village treasurer. At the same time, demand for ice rentals is dropping off as leagues assess what remains of the season. "We just got confirmation from Leeds Minor Hockey, that they're cancelling the rest of the season," Peter Evans, manager of public works, told council. The cancellations represent a drastic drop in demand, and closing the arena now and decommissioning the ice could save the village about $25,000 this season compared to a normal season. The village usually sees a financial loss of $80,000 between September and March, according to Koiner, but as Mayor Robin Jones points out, the arena's value goes beyond the dollar figure. "The arena is such an important part of the village. So yes, we normally don't break even on the finances - but there is nothing 'lost' about our arena," said Jones. The Westport Community Arena is the recreational hub not just for the village of Westport, but for the surrounding area, providing a range of services and recreation for the larger community. The early shutdown and ice decommissioning mean the village will be out $55,000, this season because even while the facility is shuttered it has to be maintained and heated through the balance of the season. The decision to close the arena at this time was not an easy one, and its impact is going to be felt. "Businesses rely on the moms and dads who bring their hockey player children to the arena for tournaments and slip away to shop. In particular, our grocery store owner will confirm the importance of the arena during the slower months of January-March," said Jones. This year has been anything but normal and with lockdown expected to last until mid-February at best, and numerous restrictions expected to continue indefinitely, keeping the arena open for the balance of the season doesn’t make sense in light of the pandemic, officials said. Heddy Sorour, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brockville Recorder and Times

  • Post-pandemic apocalypse

    Statistic after statistic points to the debilitating state of commerce in Canada. But what exactly do all those pandemic-fuelled business closures mean for cities like Winnipeg, Vancouver or Toronto? Data released this week by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business shows the situation is dire. More than one in six businesses — at least 239,000 across Canada and 5,601 in Manitoba — are at the risk of permanently disappearing because of COVID-19, or have already closed. Economists, public policy stakeholders and municipal planners are split on how exactly this will affect the future of downtown cores and surrounding areas. In interviews with the Free Press, experts described how jarring shifts in local economies will cause hypercompetition in some sectors, while others might completely disappear. It could also cause fewer jobs overall, less walkable areas, limited shopping options, and a rapid loss of the “biz village” concept, they said, along with severe population declines. If there’s one thing they can all agree on, however, it’s that Canadians cities will likely never look the same again. And if governments plan on bringing things back to a sustainable “new normal,” analysts believe preparation for it should begin as soon as possible. “I think there’s an implicit assumption that we’re in a sort of snow globe right now and that everything’s suspended so that one day soon we’ll all go back to normal,” said Vass Bednar, a policy expert who’s held several public and private sector leadership roles, including at Airbnb and Queen’s Park in Toronto. “Those assumptions are almost certainly wrong,” she said. “The fact is, everyone will quickly notice how different things already are when they go on a walk around their cities to see not just closed signs, but also the larger store or restaurant signs taken off to indicate permanent closures for so many of their favourite places. And it will only get more severe.” CFIB’s latest figures suggest that at least 58,000 businesses have already permanently closed their doors following pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions in 2020. Based on a survey of its members done between Jan. 12 and Jan. 16, the organization now says a mid-range of at least 181,000 small business owners are also considering to close down or declare bankruptcy on top of last year’s numbers, adding up to 239,000 in total. But should things remain unchanged, by the end of this year, closures could rise up to 280,117 across Canada. In Manitoba, that’s roughly 6,645 storefronts — with even the lowest estimates suggesting at least six per cent (5,601 businesses) will be lost. That means more than 2.4 million people will likely be out of work — a staggering 20 per cent of private sector jobs, or just about one in seven of all employment in Canada. “They’re all very scary figures,” said Jonathan Alward, Prairies director for CFIB. “I really, truly hope we’re wrong on this. But it just doesn’t seem like we are, at least not right now. “In an ordinary time, businesses would never want to be rescued with help from the government. But right now, I think creating pathways for safe openings by tax breaks, subsidies and other strategies to provide easier access is just as important for communities themselves than the business owners.” Fletcher Baragar is an economics professor at the University of Manitoba who’s extensively researched how bankruptcies and bailouts affect societies and communities. He said he’s never seen more closures than this past year — not during the 2008-09 financial crisis, or even in his studies of recessions that occurred before the turn of the millennium. “It’s a common thing to see exits and entries all the time in the market — healthy changes are the whole point of an entrepreneurial marketplace,” said Baragar. “But when that business change happens so rapidly, it certainly affects everything else... and it’s incredibly uneven in the type of areas and sectors it affects when some benefit from it and others die out of it.” Hospitality and arts are two of the hardest-hit sectors, CFIB data indicates, with 33 per cent and 28 per cent of businesses in those sectors expected to close up shop. In the retail sector, it’s 15 per cent of companies. At the other end of the spectrum, agriculture and natural resources are the lowest-impacted of any sector — still, with six per cent of businesses expected to close. Next is construction, at nine per cent, and manufacturing, at 12 per cent. Provincial breakdowns show Newfoundland and Labrador will see the most severe impact, with a high-end estimate of 28 per cent of all businesses to close. That’s followed by Alberta at 25 per cent and Ontario at 24. Manitoba is right in the middle at 18 per cent, and Nova Scotia is least-impacted at 14 per cent. That’s why business owners have begun to ask themselves tough questions, said Baragar, about whether it’s even worth opening up when they’re allowed to and if it’s something they can afford financially. “Of the ones remaining, I think there’s going to be a lot more consolidation and amalgamation internationally and from one side of the country to the next,” he said. “And that means fewer buying and service options for quite literally everything — restaurants, clothing, you name it.” Sylvain Charlebois, a leading supply chain expert, said these shifts will also cause city demographics themselves to change. Pointing to recent Starbucks coffee shop closures, he said food companies are making note of this, and will “always go where the money is” — which he doesn’t believe is in urban centres anymore. “Of course, the cost of city dwelling is a cruel barrier anyway,” said Charlebois, who’s a professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax. “More than that, there’s other reasons that are also important. When businesses close in areas where they were supposed to be forming villages or walkable communities, it impacts the kind of people that want to live in those cities and how much they actually spend. It’s a cycle.” Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said that’s something he’s already seen with Osborne Village in Winnipeg before, when storefronts began to abruptly shut down a few years ago. “We realized during that time, just how much businesses are more than businesses for livable communities — they’re really the fabric of what binds them together,” he said. “You couldn’t have Little Italy or Little India or even Sage Creek without the actual biz village concept thriving for those ethnographic neighbourhoods.” Remillard said a continuous push is being made to get larger companies to headquarter in Winnipeg, “so that if and when acquisitions or mergers happen during devastating economic periods, we risk little when their main office is here.” But as a policy expert, Bednar believes messaging from government has been a crucial part of what makes the future for urban business so frazzled. “It was so much easier just to tell everyone to move online and give them some subsidies to string along,” she said. “Eventually, when this is finally over, what happens when we’re offline again? Can you actually market or promote tourism if you don’t have physical stores? It might be time to start changing how we’re thinking and talking about these things.” Temur Durrani, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press

  • Couple charged after travelling to Yukon to get COVID-19 vaccine

    WHITEHORSE — A cabinet minister says a couple from outside Yukon travelled to a remote community in the territory this week and received doses of COVID-19 vaccine.Community Services Minister John Streiker says he's outraged the man and woman allegedly chartered a flight to Beaver Creek, the most westerly community in Canada near the border with Alaska, to get the shots.Streiker says he heard Thursday night that the Canadian couple arrived in Yukon on Tuesday and declared they would follow the territory's mandatory two-week self-isolation protocol, but instead travelled to Beaver Creek.He says the two people have been charged under Yukon's Civil Emergency Measures Act for failure to self-isolate and failure to behave in a manner consistent with their declaration upon arrival. Streiker says the couple allegedly presented themselves as visiting workers, misleading staff at the mobile vaccination clinic in Beaver Creek. He says territorial enforcement officers received a call about the couple, who were later intercepted at the Whitehorse airport trying to leave Yukon.The maximum fine under the emergency measures act is $500, and up to six months in jail.The RCMP have been notified, he said in an interview on Friday.Streiker hadn't confirmed where the couple are from, but he said they didn't show Yukon health cards at the vaccination clinic.Yukon has two vaccination teams that are visiting communities throughout the territory with priority going to residents and staff of group-living settings, health-care workers, people over 80 who aren't living in long-term care, and Yukoners living in rural, remote and First Nation communities.Beaver Creek was chosen as a priority community to receive doses of COVID-19 vaccine because it's a remote border community, he said.Yukon's chief medical officer of health has indicated he believes the risk to the community as a result of the couple's visit is low, Streiker added. Streiker said there may be more scrutiny at vaccine clinics when people show up from outside Yukon, but officials are still working through options to prevent such a situation from happening again. "I find it frustrating because what that does is it makes more barriers," he said. "We've been trying to remove all barriers to get the vaccine for our citizens and so if there's another sort of layer of check, I just don't want it to make it harder for Yukoners to get their vaccines."This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2021. The Canadian Press

  • A look at COVID-19 vaccinations in Canada on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021

    The latest numbers on COVID-19 vaccinations in Canada as of 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. In Canada, the provinces are reporting 37,742 new vaccinations administered for a total of 776,606 doses given. The provinces have administered doses at a rate of 2,049.131 per 100,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to the provinces and territories for a total of 920,775 doses delivered so far. The provinces and territories have used 84.34 per cent of their available vaccine supply. Please note that Newfoundland, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the territories typically do not report on a daily basis. Newfoundland is reporting 3,258 new vaccinations administered over the past seven days for a total of 8,549 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 16.326 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Newfoundland for a total of 13,575 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 2.6 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 62.98 per cent of its available vaccine supply. P.E.I. is reporting 1,423 new vaccinations administered over the past seven days for a total of 6,525 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 41.134 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to P.E.I. for a total of 8,250 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 5.2 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 79.09 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Nova Scotia is reporting 2,975 new vaccinations administered over the past seven days for a total of 10,575 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 10.836 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Nova Scotia for a total of 23,000 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 2.4 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 45.98 per cent of its available vaccine supply. New Brunswick is reporting 2,704 new vaccinations administered over the past seven days for a total of 10,436 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 13.379 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to New Brunswick for a total of 17,775 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 2.3 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 58.71 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Quebec is reporting 14,417 new vaccinations administered for a total of 200,627 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 23.447 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Quebec for a total of 238,100 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 2.8 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 84.26 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Ontario is reporting 11,168 new vaccinations administered for a total of 264,985 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 18.04 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Ontario for a total of 277,050 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 1.9 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 95.65 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Manitoba is reporting 1,954 new vaccinations administered for a total of 25,838 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 18.764 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Manitoba for a total of 55,650 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 4.0 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 46.43 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Saskatchewan is reporting 1,494 new vaccinations administered for a total of 31,275 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 26.523 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Saskatchewan for a total of 32,225 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 2.7 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 97.05 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Alberta is reporting 1,279 new vaccinations administered for a total of 97,785 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 22.214 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Alberta for a total of 101,275 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 2.3 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 96.55 per cent of its available vaccine supply. British Columbia is reporting 5,665 new vaccinations administered for a total of 110,566 doses given. The province has administered doses at a rate of 21.546 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to British Columbia for a total of 133,475 doses delivered so far. The province has received enough of the vaccine to give 2.6 per cent of its population a single dose. The province has used 82.84 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Yukon is reporting 570 new vaccinations administered for a total of 3,730 doses given. The territory has administered doses at a rate of 89.382 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Yukon for a total of 7,200 doses delivered so far. The territory has received enough of the vaccine to give 17 per cent of its population a single dose. The territory has used 51.81 per cent of its available vaccine supply. The Northwest Territories are reporting zero new vaccinations administered for a total of 1,893 doses given. The territory has administered doses at a rate of 41.956 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to the Northwest Territories for a total of 7,200 doses delivered so far. The territory has received enough of the vaccine to give 16 per cent of its population a single dose. The territory has used 26.29 per cent of its available vaccine supply. Nunavut is reporting 447 new vaccinations administered for a total of 3,822 doses given. The territory has administered doses at a rate of 98.693 per 1,000. There were zero new vaccines delivered to Nunavut for a total of 6,000 doses delivered so far. The territory has received enough of the vaccine to give 15 per cent of its population a single dose. The territory has used 63.7 per cent of its available vaccine supply. *Notes on data: The figures are compiled by the COVID-19 Open Data Working Group based on the latest publicly available data and are subject to change. Note that some provinces report weekly, while others report same-day or figures from the previous day. Vaccine doses administered is not equivalent to the number of people inoculated as the approved vaccines require two doses per person. The vaccines are currently not being administered to children under 18 and those with certain health conditions. This report was automatically generated by The Canadian Press Digital Data Desk and was first published Jan. 22, 2021. The Canadian Press

  • How political symbolism brought down Keystone XL

    The new president of the United States described his inauguration on Wednesday as a moment to move forward. But moving forward properly requires a reckoning with the past. In Joe Biden's case, that reckoning came for the Keystone XL pipeline. The project's fate seemed to be sealed years ago, but it haunts us still. And now, with strident words from Alberta Premier Jason Kenney about a trade war, it could haunt Canadian politics indefinitely. Or, Canadian leaders could decide that it's time for them to move forward, too. The executive order that rescinded Keystone XL's permit on Wednesday states that "the United States must be in a position to exercise vigorous climate leadership in order to achieve a significant increase in global climate action and put the world on a sustainable climate pathway." If that sounds familiar, it's because President Barack Obama said almost the same thing when he blocked Keystone in November 2015. "America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change," Obama said. "And frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership." John Kerry — secretary of state in 2015 and now Biden's climate envoy — put an even finer point on the significance of Keystone in his own statement at the time. "The United States cannot ask other nations to make tough choices to address climate change if we are unwilling to make them ourselves," he said. A pipeline that became a referendum In his remarks, Obama argued that the practical value of the pipeline had been wildly overstated — by both sides. Keystone XL, he said, would be neither "a silver bullet for the economy, as was promised by some, nor the express lane to climate disaster proclaimed by others." But the economic arguments in favour of the pipeline could not overcome the profound symbolic value assigned to it by environmental groups and climate-focused voters. On its own, Keystone wouldn't spell the difference between a green future and a "climate disaster." But the pipeline became a referendum on the U.S. government's commitment to combating climate change — a tangible thing on which American activists could focus their energies. Trump, who actively sought to undermine attempts to fight climate change, revived the project. But the political frame that was placed around Keystone XL in 2015 never went away, while legal challenges to the project continued. By the fall of 2019, most of the major Democratic candidates for the presidency had pledged to rescind Trump's order on their first day in office. Last May, Biden insisted that he would kill the pipeline. After Biden's victory in the presidential election, the Eurasia Group said that rescinding the permit was a "table stake" for the Democratic president and that backing away would risk "raising the ire of activists, their committed followers, and — importantly — the left wing of the Democratic party in Congress." "Rescinding KXL would be one area the Biden administration could act [on] and deliver a win to a key political constituency with no congressional interference," the global consulting firm said. Bill McKibben, one of the activists who led the campaign against Keystone, wrote in the New Yorker on Thursday that he was grateful for Biden's decision and never doubted that the new president would follow through. "Even today," he wrote, "Keystone is far too closely identified with climate carelessness for a Democratic president to be able to waver." So the second death of Keystone shouldn't have surprised anyone. It might have seemed rude of Biden to not wait a day or two to allow Canadian officials to make a fuller presentation on the pipeline's behalf, but that only would have delayed the inevitable. The lingering costs of climate inaction Perhaps Biden thought he was doing his neighbours a favour by ripping the Band-Aid off quickly. What might have happened to Keystone XL had Canada and the United States taken more aggressive measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the years leading up to Obama's decision? It's an intriguing hypothetical. Keystone may have paid the price ultimately for decades of global inaction on climate change. In the here and now, any debate about Keystone will have to consider whether its additional capacity is even needed at this point. In the meantime, Premier Kenney wants Justin Trudeau's government to impose trade sanctions on the United States if Biden refuses to revisit his decision. Stephen Harper could be ungracious in his defence of Keystone — he famously said that approving it was a "no brainer" — but his government doesn't seem to have ever publicly threatened to impose sanctions if Obama rejected it. Nor does it appear anyone called for sanctions when Obama officially killed the project shortly after the Trudeau government came to office. Sanctions out of spite? This idea of reprisals seems to have originated recently with Jack Mintz, a Canadian economist, who also conceded that imposing tariffs could be akin to "cutting off our own nose to spite our face." Notably, Erin O'Toole's federal Conservatives have not joined the premier in calling for sanctions. Kenney — whose government is polling poorly and whose party is being out-fundraised by the opposition — is spoiling for a fight. He has seized on the fact that federal officials did not respond to Biden's decision in particularly strong terms — and the Liberals may not have struck the right tone for those listening in the Prairies. WATCH: Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says Ottawa 'folded' on Keystone XL But before launching a trade war against this country's closest ally and its new leader, one should consider the potential results and opportunity costs. Would a trade war convince President Biden to brave the wrath of his supporters and reverse a campaign promise? Or would a renewed fight over Keystone XL simply consume political and diplomatic capital that could be put toward other things? Kenney has said sanctions might discourage the Biden administration from intervening against two other contested pipelines that originate in Alberta — Line 5 and Line 3. Writing in the New Yorker, McKibben did identify Line 3 as a target. But there's also a decent chance that sanctions would only inflame existing tensions around those projects. Threats and futility In May, 2015 — nearly six years ago — former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson wrote that it was time for the Canada-U.S. relationship to move on from Keystone XL. Robertson argued that there were too many other important things to talk about. Six years later, that list of important things includes fostering collaboration on clean energy, fending off 'Buy American' policies and combating China's aggression. Still, Kenney warned that if the Trudeau government does not do more to defend Keystone, "that will only force us to go further in our fight for a fair deal in the federation." But if the battle for Keystone was effectively lost more than five years ago, should the federal government's willingness to keep fighting it have any bearing on Alberta's relationship with the rest of the country? The death of Keystone XL will have a real impact on those Albertans whose jobs depended on it. There are real anxieties and questions that need to be addressed, not least by the federal government. But the question now is whether fighting over Keystone will do anything to address those concerns — or whether it's time to put that political energy toward other purposes.

  • First Nations renewable energy successes on display

    Indigenous communities across Canada are leading the charge toward a renewable energy future as technology advances and networking opportunities are fostered. The successes and advancements are on full display this week at the Indigenous Clean Energy gathering (held virtually this year). Darrell Brown, a Winnipeg-based Cree entrepreneur, chairs the ICE executive board. He was thrilled to see the community come together in support as different First Nations get started down the path of sustainability. “It’s come a long way. The communities get it now. They see what everyone’s doing,” Brown said. Brown started his business, Kisik Clean Energy, last year to support Indigenous development of hydro, solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and microgrid technologies. He’s worked in the clean energy industry for five years, and had a hand in developing the renewable energy project at Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (Gull Bay First Nation) in northwestern Ontario. The KZA project involved solar power and battery storage in a microgrid distribution system developed to reduce the community’s reliance on diesel fuel as a power source. The First Nation is not connected to the provincial power grid. AJ Esquega, KZA energy projects co-ordinator, explained the technologies don’t allow the elimination of diesel as such yet, but the First Nation has lowered its use by approximately 25 per cent (some 120,000 litres per year). One project is positive, Brown said, but it’s even better to see other communities be inspired by these successes. Sayisi Dene First Nation, on the shores of Tadoule Lake in northern Manitoba, 250 kilometres west of Churchill, is one of the off-grid communities looking to take the leap into renewables. Empowerment is a big part of the equation. “They feel like they’re taking care of their land, taking care of their water, and the wildlife and that goes with their beliefs. Everything you do with renewable energy and reducing fossil fuels it does with the whole belief system. It’s what all of us Indigenous people believe, taking care of Mother Earth,” Brown said. Other benefits include new job opportunities, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, lowering environmental risk associated with fuel storage, and an improvement of health outcomes (the burning of diesel is linked to negative health impacts). Even communities that are hooked into provincial grids, such as Fisher River Cree Nation in central Manitoba, are investing in renewables to avoid the high cost of power. This summer, the community unveiled the largest solar farm in the province, with excess energy sold back into Manitoba Hydro’s grid. The three Indigenous communities on the doorstep of the oilsands in northern Alberta — Mikisew Cree First Nation, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, and Fort Chipewyan Métis Association — are operating the largest solar farm in the country. (It began operations in November 2020.) The success of each community is levied off one another, Brown said. “We’re limited with our resources in our isolated communities. So, when you pool it together, that’s where the value comes from because you have people in each community that are wanting the same thing for their own community,” said Vince Robinson, clean energy co-ordinator at Nuxalk Nation, in B.C. “It seems like there’s at least five questions every day that pop up, where you don’t even know how you would go about answering those questions. And then, the ICE network is there, almost like a big brother.” Robinson, Brown and Esquega all benefited from an Indigenous clean energy mentorship program called 20/20 Catalysts, which continues to bring forth new graduates each year and is part of the ICE network. The online conference continues today. Sessions can be attended free of charge (icegathering.com). Sarah Lawrynuik, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press

  • Re-examining the role of the Governor General

    At this critical juncture in the history of Governor General, many Canadians believe it's time to re-examine the role and how it is filled. We speak to some of them, including a First Nation chief who says it's time for an Indigenous candidate.

  • Recall issued for Clover Leaf sardine fillets

    Clover Leaf Seafoods Corp. is recalling its two of its Clover Leaf brand boneless sardine fillets products due to the potential presence of dangerous bacteria. The recalled products — Sardines Boneless Fillets: Garlic & Chive in Oil and Sardines Boneless Fillets: Smoked Jalapeño in Oil — may permit the growth of Clostridium botulinum, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says. The garlic and chive flavoured sardines come in a 106-gram container with the UPC code 0 61362 46008 6. The smoked jalapeño product is in a 106-gram package with the UPC code 0 61362 46009 3. The sardines were sold in New Brunswick, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec, and "possibly national," it says. If you have these recalled products in your home, they should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased. Consumers are warned not to eat the product There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products. However, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says not to eat them. Food contaminated with Clostridium botulinum toxin may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick. The agency says symptoms in adults can include: Facial paralysis or loss of facial expression. Unreactive or fixed pupils. Difficulty swallowing. Drooping eyelids. Blurred or double vision. Difficulty speaking, including slurred speech, and a change in sound of voice, including hoarseness. Symptoms of foodborne botulism in children can include difficulty swallowing, slurred speech, generalized weakness and paralysis. Botulism does not cause a fever, but in severe cases of illness, people may die, the agency says.

  • Ontario recovers $11M allegedly taken by senior civil servant accused of fraud

    TORONTO — A former senior employee with the Ontario government has repaid more than $11 million in COVID-19 benefits the province alleges he took fraudulently, his lawyer said Friday. The unproven civil claim named Sanjay Madan, who had a senior IT role and helped develop the computer application for applying and approving the benefit for families with children. In a brief statement, Madan's lawyer Christopher Du Vernet confirmed his client had made the repayment. "In fact, the province has recovered in excess of the funds it presently alleges Mr. Madan took from the Families Support Program," Du Vernet said. "However, it is also seeking its legal costs, interest and punitive damages, so the action continues." In its untested lawsuit filed last fall, the province alleged Madan, his wife and two adult children who all worked for the Ontario government in information technology defrauded the province of at least $11 million. The civil claim, which also sought $2 million in punitive damages, accused them and others of illegally issuing and banking cheques under the program that aimed to defray the cost of children learning at home. "The Madan family exploited their positions of employment with Ontario and unique access to the (program) and payment processing system," the government alleged in the claim. "The plaintiff was uniquely vulnerable to Sanjay, particularly with respect to the integrity of the...application." Late Friday, the Ministry of the Attorney General said funds had "now been seized" pursuant to a judicial order and were being held by the court pending litigation of the province’s claims. "The government takes these allegations seriously," ministry spokesman Brian Gray said. "(It) has retained KPMG to conduct a thorough investigation, and that investigation is ongoing." Du Vernet said his client "deeply regrets" his actions and was awaiting results of medical opinions on his condition. According to the lawsuit, Madan and his family opened more than 400 accounts at the Bank of Montreal between April and May. They then deposited around 10,000 cheques made out to fictitious applicants with thousands of non-existent children under the support program. Most deposits were made over a four-week period starting on May 25, coinciding with a rule change that allowed more than five payments to be made to an applicant. The government alleges Madan either sparked the rule change or knew about it and took advantage. In other court filings, Madan is said to have told the government that he could explain "all of this" and that he has "helped many families." The government had served notice it intended to seize any money the family allegedly obtained fraudulently and obtained a court order to have their bank accounts turned over to the court pending the outcome of the lawsuit. The government also obtained a court order freezing the family's assets, which included a list of properties in Toronto. The government said it will be in court next week to extend the freeze. Madan was fired in November. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2021. Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press

  • Coyote attacks in Vancouver's Stanley Park prompt new wildlife safety campaign

    The Vancouver Park Board has launched a new public education campaign after more than a dozen incidents in Stanley Park over the past three weeks involving aggressive coyotes including an attack Thursday night which resulted in a person being bitten. A park ranger has set up a booth near Lumberman's Arch in the park with pamphlets and educational material about how humans can co-exist with coyotes. They are offering simple safety advice that includes telling people to be big, brave and loud to scare away coyotes so they retain their fear of humans. Park staff closed trails for a second time this month after more reports emerged of coyotes nipping, chasing and approaching people. The Park Board says people are removing barriers or walking around them which adds to the problem. Conservation officers seek aggressive coyotes Safety concerns have continued to grow after two coyotes were caught and killed by the conservation officers last week, but the attacks didn't stop. So far, the Park Board says 13 people including cyclists and joggers have been chased by coyotes in the areas around Brockton Oval on the park's east side and the Hollow Tree on the west side. The B.C. Conservation Officer Service is back in the park and attempting to capture the animals responsible for the attacks, according to the board. An estimated dozen coyotes live in Stanley Park and conservation officers have warned that they can become aggressive and bold if they are fed by humans. People are being asked to not feed wildlife and respect trail barriers. The Park Board is asking people to report any coyote sightings to 311 and, in the case of aggressive coyote behaviour, to contact the B.C. Conservation Officer Service at 1-877-952-7277.

  • Through the looking screen

    Excessive screen-time was once the common enemy in the Milne-Karn, Parenteau and Blum-Payne households. But the COVID-19 pandemic and related stay-at-home orders have given each family pause when considering each of their children’s relationships with computers. Students are now learning how to use video-conferencing platforms, including Zoom, Google Meets and Microsoft Teams to participate in lessons and discussions online. Homework is being posted in virtual-classroom portals, such as Edsby and Seesaw. Even after-school playdates have moved into a virtual sphere, as kids connect online to play Roblox, Among Us and other games. Krystal Payne says her daughter’s online activities have been taking up much of the family’s internet bandwidth, but as maddening as it may be, she has learned to be forgiving about it. “It just feels so wild right now. It really doesn’t feel like these are OK or stable times, and it’s really hard to know how to parent,” Payne says, adding that virtual interaction is the only way the remote learner can socialize with kids her own age right now. The increase in screen time and decrease in outside activity is having an impact on fitness levels for kids, teenagers and adults. During the first lockdown last spring, ParticipACTION, a Canadian non-profit that promotes healthy living, surveyed nearly 1,500 parents about physical activity levels during the initial COVID-19 wave. The study found five per cent of children and only 0.8 per cent of teenagers were meeting national guidelines for physical activity (an hour of moderate to vigorous exercise per day), sleep and sedentary time. Pre-pandemic, 15 per cent of students combined were meeting the recommended thresholds. In order to improve those figures, the organization recommends parents be active role models, set limits on screen use and encourage outdoor time. The wind chill complicates matters in Winnipeg, but the three families are layering up to take advantage of the frozen Assiniboine River. Skating and fishing are on the Parenteau winter activity list. Mother Anna Parenteau says she can tell her youngest misses hockey. Carter Parenteau, 9, is one of thousands of Winnipeg kids forced to sit out the season instead of playing in leagues. He is, however, getting a thrill out of cheering on NHL defenceman Zach Whitecloud of the Vegas Golden Knights, who is from Sioux Valley Dakota Nation and one of his icons. Emby Blum-Payne, 8, and her dad, Andy Blum recently did some father-daughter bonding in their front yard by building a quinzhee. The Milne-Karn family plans to cross-country ski their way through the winter. “We all feel like we’re in a holding pattern now,” says mother Luanne Karn about halfway through the academic year. Amid constant pandemic pivots, the families are finding normalcy in Winnipeg winter and their kids’ academic progress. Carter’s new-found love for reading and declaration that the Harry Potter books are better than the movies based on the series have excited his parents. The Isaac Brock School fourth-grader is determined to finish Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban so he can watch the next movie, his mother says. Grade 3 student Anna Milne-Karn is also reading the fantastical series with her mothers. The Ecole Laura Secord student is proud to share that she has progressed from reading at a Grade 2 level to a Grade 4 level this year. Emby Blum-Payne, who hopes to return to Ecole Sacre-Coeur for the fourth grade next year, just finished adventure novel My Side of the Mountain. “I’m really impressed by her ability to comprehend and think critically about the novels that we’ve been reading,” Emby’s mother says. Early assessment data from school divisions in Manitoba suggest COVID-19 learning disruptions have affected literacy levels most significantly among third-grade and younger students, given many of them are not yet independent readers. As evidenced by their lengthy reading lists, learning loss isn’t much of a concern for these three Winnipeg families. They remain more focused on how to regulate screen time. Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press

  • From Tent Cities to Affordable Housing on One Downtown Eastside Lot

    It’s been used for a tent city twice, a community garden, a street market and informal overdose prevention site, and for an emergency medical unit during the early days of Vancouver’s overdose crisis. Now construction of badly-needed social housing for the Downtown Eastside, promised in 2016, is set to start at 58 W. Hastings St. The lot has a long history of housing protests. It was a tent city during the 2010 Olympics and again in 2016 as housing prices and rents spiked and homelessness numbers rose. The 2016 tent city lasted from July to November. In August 2016, then-mayor Gregor Robertson met with community members and agreed to bring a rezoning proposal for the site to city council, promising 100-per-cent social housing on the lot. Karen Ward, one of the community activists who met with Robertson, now works for the city as a drug policy advisor. Fundraising for the project and getting the province and federal government on board took a long time, Ward said, but she’s happy to see the project finally break ground. “We definitely need a new way to do this because the supportive housing thing is just not working great,” Ward said, referring to increasing death rates in many supportive housing buildings and friction between tenants and housing providers over visitor restrictions. After Robertson signed the agreement with Downtown Eastside community members, the Chinatown Foundation signed on to develop a 10-storey building with 230 housing units and a health-care centre run by Vancouver Coastal Health. The Chinatown Foundation also fundraised $30 million for the building, and the provincial and federal governments will fund the rest of the $115-million project. Robertson originally promised that all the housing units in the building would be rented at rates affordable to people on welfare or pensions. The current plan is to rent 117 of the apartments at the income assistance shelter rate of $375 a month, while the other 113 are to be rented at rates considered affordable for people making no more than $55,500 for a one-bedroom and no more than $67,500 for a two-bedroom unit. Some activists have protested the plan in the past because not all the units will be rented at the welfare shelter rate. But Ward defended the project, saying the non-shelter rate units will provide housing for people with low incomes who still can’t afford to rent in the private market. “People will qualify for this housing if they make minimum wage, or [work] part-time,” Ward said. Construction will displace the Downtown Eastside Street Market, which has been located at the site for a year, and an informal outdoor overdose prevention site that operates beside the market. Vendors were initially told they had to be out by the end of January, but that deadline has been extended to Feb. 28 while the city looks for an alternate spot for the market. Sarah Blyth, a founder of the Overdose Prevention Society, said she was relieved to hear the deadline had been extended because the market provides a vital source of extra income for people who live in the neighbourhood. “Obviously, we don’t want to fight housing,” Blyth said. “But there should be an alternate location if you’re going to ask people to leave.” Jen St. Denis, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Tyee

  • Lessons from the land

    In nature’s classroom, bundled up around a hole drilled into the frozen Red River, the roles of student and teacher flip. Last weekend, the Parenteaus set out for what would prove to be a successful ice-fishing trip in Selkirk — not because they caught any channel catfish nor walleye, but because Carter Parenteau, 9, beamed as he taught his mother how to angle. “Out there, you don’t even think about all the worries of being in a pandemic. That’s probably the best part for me, and for Carter, too,” Anna Parenteau says, recalling the family field trip. Sunday marked Anna’s first time ice fishing so Carter showed her the lines; the fourth grader explained that because they were using frozen minnows, she needed to jiggle her rod to lure fish to the bait. “It’s his element, when he’s out on the land,” she says. The ability to connect and reflect on what it means to be Anishinaabe has proven to be one of the only constants for the Parenteaus this year, as COVID-19 continues to pause outings to school, ceremonies and swimming lessons. It feels good to be able to uphold treaty rights and observe how the land is ever-changing, says Jason Parenteau, an experienced ice-fisher, who has been organizing cultural activities for Anna and their two sons all year. The family braced for pandemic pivots in early autumn, but had always planned to ensure Ojibwe lessons were at the forefront of Carter and 17-year-old Josiah’s education. Their cousins, the Kennedys and Patricks were also involved, until the recent breakup of their home-school bubble, owing to the second COVID-19 wave. The families are uneasy about the prospect of returning to school — let alone their original 2020-21 academic setup. They have learned first-hand how painful it is to lose a loved one during a pandemic and be unable to attend a funeral, community feast and gather around a drum. Three relatives from Roseau River First Nation died after contracting the virus. In recent days, Anna’s father, an elder and traditional wellness worker in Roseau River, received his first vaccine dose. While she says she’s excited for him, safe family gatherings are still a long way off. Anna, Jason and cousin Dawnis Kennedy, however, are also hesitant about the vaccine rollout, citing the government’s history of non-consensual experiments and forced sterilization on Indigenous people. Kennedy says she had hoped the families were being overprotective when they mapped out a home-school plan last summer and expected a vaccine would bring normalcy. Now, she is unsure what it will take for her to feel safe about Kenny, a third grader, returning to Ojibwe Immersion at Isaac Brock School. In September, the boys called their home-school bubble “fake school.” The nickname later evolved to “our school.” Kenny and Carter, who would have been in a Grade 3-4 split class together if they were in school, connected with their teacher and classmates on video calls during the optional two-week remote-learning period after the holiday break. Their families’ shared priority is staying connected to Ojibwe programming at Isaac Brock, so they have opted for home-school lessons and check-ins with Ojibwe teachers rather than fully participating in the Winnipeg School Division’s virtual English program, thus far. Kennedy’s son has been asking about when they can return to “our school” again. She doesn’t know the answer, but she says she looks forward to the day they can gather again. Learning on the land affects the boys’ self-esteem and how they carry themselves, she says — for the better. Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press

  • Alberta Mountie injured during pursuit, 2 Onion Lake residents arrested

    Two Onion Lake, Sask., residents were arrested after an Alberta RCMP officer was injured following a police pursuit. Police arrested Michael Patrick Hill, 23, and a 21-year-old woman, whom they didn’t identify. Both were wanted on outstanding warrants. The incident started in Vermillion, about 60 kilometres east of Lloydminster, after a suspect allegedly pointed a gun at a person at about 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 19, 2021. RCMP say the suspects involved fled Vermillion in a black SUV, which police located about an hour later near Edmonton. According to police, at about 3:30 p.m., two RCMP cruisers spotted the vehicle driving south in the northbound lane on Highway 21 south of Fort Saskatchewan near Township Road 542. An RCMP vehicle pursuing the black SUV went in the ditch and rolled near Range Road 540. A second RCMP vehicle was able to stop the SUV near Township Road 534. One RCMP officer was taken to hospital, treated for minor injuries and released. Strathcona County RCMP and Fort Saskatchewan RCMP assisted Vermillion RCMP in the pursuit. Hill was charged with assault with a weapon, dangerous operation of a vehicle, flight from a peace officer, pointing a firearm, operation of a motor vehicle while prohibited, possession of stolen property under $5,000, possession of stolen property over $5,000, and failing to comply with conditions. Hill was remanded in custody and is scheduled to appear in Sherwood Park Provincial Court on Jan. 27. The woman was charged with theft of a vehicle. She was released on an undertaking and is scheduled to appear in Sherwood Park Provincial Court on March 17. ljoy@glaciermedia.ca Lisa Joy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter / Battlefords News - Optimist Lisa Joy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Battlefords Regional News-Optimist

  • Fraser Health declares COVID-19 outbreak at B.C. jail after 20 people test positive

    SURREY, B.C. — Fraser Health has declared four new COVID-19 outbreaks, including at the North Fraser Pretrial Centre, where 20 people in custody have tested positive. The health authority says it is working to identify others who may have had contact with those who tested positive at the jail in Port Coquitlam, B.C. There have been several outbreaks in prisons and jails across Canada, including at Mission Institution in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, where an inmate died in April. Fraser Health says there are also new outbreaks at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, the rehabilitation unit at Queen's Park Care Centre in the same city, and the Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre. It says two patients tested positive for COVID-19 in a surgical unit at the hospital and the outbreak is limited to that unit. The emergency department remains open and the health authority says other areas of the hospital are not affected by the outbreak. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2021. The Canadian Press

  • A few ruts in the ice

    A morning sun dog gave way to a blustery -20 C afternoon, but Emby Blum-Payne was still keen to show off tricks and twirls on her ice skates. Krystal Payne helped her eight-year-old daughter suit up at the edge of their front yard skating rink in Elmwood, one of several features of the family’s homemade winter wonderland, which includes a snow fort that doubles as a miniature tobogganing hill. Sporting hot pink-and-white skates, Emby effortlessly glided around the glossy surface to burn off some energy after a virtual school day. Payne and her partner, Andy Blum, share in their daily goal to get Emby to participate in at least 30 minutes of exercise — an idea a child psychologist prescribed when the parents voiced concerns about their daughter’s remote-learning frustrations. They have been encouraging Emby to walk the dogs, skate in the yard, and watch and follow along with kid workout videos to meet that target. “On the days when we fail to facilitate that, there’s definitely a lot more frustration and trouble sleeping,” Payne says. As the school year nears the halfway mark, the parents have learned how to navigate Emby’s emotions amid constant uncertainty in education and life, in general. Their third-grader was assigned a new online classroom teacher — the third one she’s had since the first day of remote learning in September — earlier this month. The only progress report Emby has received in 2020-21 to date was more blank than usual; instead of numbers, there were “incomplete” notices next to every subject, alongside comments about strengths and next steps. “There have been continued disruptions in terms of her losing work and losing access (to different apps) and sort of starting from scratch again. It’s super-frustrating,” Payne says. For instance, with every change there has been a reset of Emby’s progress on Raz-Kids, a program that gamifies learning by giving users points when they finish reading levelled books and answer related comprehension questions. Despite the hurdles, Payne says transitions have become easier over time and remote learning feels a lot different than it did last March. Emby attends two 40-minute video-call classes, which start and end with a French song to encourage students to sing and dance, during the school day. In between sessions, she works on independent assignments and completes home-school book studies with her mom. The family is searching for a math tutor to supplement the setup. Given Emby hasn’t been able to hang out with friends in months, she’s been connecting with them online, often playing group games on one device and messaging on another. Payne says she’s had to re-evaluate her hesitations about screen time because it’s the only way Emby can socialize. In the Blum-Paynes’ basement suite, Emby’s grandfather Edward Payne has also been spending much of his time staring at a screen. The provincial COVID-19 briefings are part of his daily routine. He hasn’t visited the library, gone for a haircut or left the house much since the pandemic was declared. Being immunocompromised, he is taking every precaution — as is the rest of the family, which is why Emby is learning at home. “That’s just the way it is right now,” says the man of few words, in contrast to his chatty granddaughter. Like Emby, he has been reading lots of books this year. His preferred genre is mystery, while his granddaughter favours graphic novels. Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press

  • Bus heading to Grand Canyon rolls over; 1 dead, 2 critical

    PHOENIX — A Las Vegas-based tour bus heading to the Grand Canyon rolled over in northwestern Arizona on Friday, killing one person and critically injuring two others, authorities said. A spokeswoman for the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said the cause of the Friday afternoon wreck was not yet known, but a fire official who responded said speed appeared to be a factor. No other vehicles were involved. “It was a heavily damaged bus. He slid down the road quite a ways, so there was a lot of wreckage,” said Lake Mohave Ranchos Fire District Chief Tim Bonney. “Just to put it in perspective, on a scale of zero to 10, an eight.” None of the passengers was ejected from the vehicle but they were all in shock, Bonney said. “A lot of them were saying the bus driver was driving at a high rate of speed,” he said. A photo from the sheriff's office showed the bus on its side on a road that curves through Joshua trees with no snow or rain in the remote area. There were 48 people on the bus, including the driver, authorities said. After the crash, 44 people were sent to Kingman Regional Medical Center, including two flown by medical helicopter, spokeswoman Teri Williams said. All the others were treated for minor injuries, she said. Two people were critically injured, said Mohave County sheriff's spokeswoman Anita Mortensen. The bus was heading to Grand Canyon West, about 2 1/2 hours from Las Vegas and outside the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. The tourist destination sits on the Hualapai reservation and is best known for the Skywalk, a glass bridge that juts out 70 feet (21 metres) from the canyon walls and gives visitors a view of the Colorado River 4,000 feet (1,219 metres) below. Before the pandemic, about 1 million people a year visited Grand Canyon West, mostly through tours booked out of Las Vegas. The Hualapai reservation includes 108 miles (174 kilometres) of the Grand Canyon’s western rim. In addition to the Skywalk, the tribe has helicopter tours on its land, horseback rides, a historic guano mine and a one-day whitewater rafting trip on the Colorado River. Rafters who are on trips through the Grand Canyon also can get on and off the river on the reservation. In a statement issued late Friday, the Hualapai Tribe and its businesses said they were saddened by the rollover and that safety is the highest priority for guests, employees and vendors. “As a people, our hearts go out to those so deeply affected,” the statement read. “We wish speedy recoveries to those requiring medical attention.” National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway said he didn't immediately have more details about the crash. The agency doesn't send investigators to all bus crashes. Other, deadly crashes have happened before in the area. Four Chinese nationals died in 2016 when their van collided with a Dallas Cowboys staff bus headed to a preseason promotional stop in Las Vegas. In 2009, a tour bus carrying Chinese nationals overturned on U.S. 93 near the Hoover Dam, killing several people and injuring others. The group was returning from a Grand Canyon trip. Federal investigators cited driver inattention as the probable cause of that crash. The bus driver was attempting to fix a problem with airflow through his door before the crash and became distracted, then veered off the road and overcorrected before crossing a median and overturning. Most of the passengers were ejected. ___ Fonseca reported from Flagstaff. Associated Press reporters Ken Ritter and Michelle L. Price in Las Vegas, Terry Tang in Phoenix and AP/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative corps member Sam Metz in Carson City, Nevada, contributed. Jacques Billeaud And Felicia Fonseca, The Associated Press

  • Secwepemc Nation raises spirits through song

    An afternoon of drumming and song was devoted to raising Secwepemc Nation members’ spirits during a time of stress and significant loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Today, the prayers we do and the songs that we do are prayers for our people,” Splats’in Chief Wayne Christian said in a virtual ceremony hosted Friday, Jan. 22 by the Secwepemc Health Caucus. “It’s really important for boosting our heart and our spirit to raise it up, especially for those that have lost loved ones because we can’t gather in our tradition, our custom and our culture to help the family,” he added. Tsq’escen’emc (Canim Lake Band) is mourning the loss of language speaker and knowledge keeper Ella Gilbert, the community’s first death due to COVID-19. Christian said it was essential to know and understand that their ancestors would be standing with them as they sang. “They’re watching and helping as much as they can, and I think it’s up to us to ask for the help that we need not only for the people as a whole but also ourselves because many times in ceremony we forget to ask for help for ourselves,” he said, calling everyone a leader in their own way. “So much of what we need to do is within us, within our mind and our heart.” Among those performing was T’exelcemc (William Lake First Nation) cultural co-ordinator David Archie, who sang Amazing Grace for Gilbert and recently passed T’exelcemc members Byron Louie and Michelle Wycotte. While the song was dedicated to anyone facing loss and dealing with COVID-19, Archie said it was primarily for Louie and his family. Mike Archie from Tsq’escen’emc participated by singing the Honour Song. “I know that my community is hit pretty hard by COVID and there’s a lot of people that are asking for prayers,” he said. From their home at Cemetem’ (Deep Creek) north of Williams Lake, Cheryl Chapman said while it was good to virtually see everyone, it was hard not to reach out and be able to physically hug them. Before Chapman joined her partner, Mike Retasket, in singing Remember Me, Retasket said his daughter in Wisconsin was experiencing headaches, fever, chills and body pains that would likely last 24 hours after receiving her second Pfizer vaccine shot. “There are so many people in our nation to help hold up today and I’m really happy to be able to help out with that work,” Retasket said. Prior to singing the Horse Song with his son, Tk’emlups (Kamloops), member Garry Gottfriedson explained how the song he sang during his childhood, about family coming together for strength, originated. “It’s’ really important that we understand that, and we must acknowledge where these songs come from so that we don’t make mistakes in our nation and have to pay the price for it,” he said. “I think so many times I see how we make a mistake and then we suffer for it, but now is the time to sing this song to bring us all together, so we remember for this little child for his future, for the future of our nation — the Secwepemc Nation.” Esk’etemc First Nation (Alkali Lake) elder Fred Johnson led a peace song and closing prayer in Secwepemctsin, which Mary Harry wrote they need to hear more often as it is how they learn to speak in their traditional language. Skeetchestn Chief Ron Ignace advised communities heavily impacted by COVID-19 and needing supplies such as Tsq’escen’emc and T’exelcemc to reach out to other communities who would see how they could help. Chief Christian reminded Secwepemc Nation members to continue following COVID-19 protocols and be cautious with their interactions. “COVID doesn’t travel,” he said. “It’s the people that travel.” Rebecca Dyok, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Williams Lake Tribune

  • Biden calls Canada's Trudeau, Mexico's López Obrador

    WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden made his first calls to foreign leaders as America's commander in chief on Friday, dialing up Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at a strained moment for the U.S. relationship with its North American neighbours. Biden's call to Trudeau came after the Canadian prime minister this week publicly expressed disappointment over Biden’s decision — one of his first acts as president — to issue an executive order halting construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The long disputed project was projected to carry some 800,000 barrels of oil a day from the tar sands of Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. In their private conversation, Biden told Trudeau that by issuing the order he was following through on a campaign pledge to stop construction of the pipeline, a senior Canadian government official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation between the nations' leaders. Biden also spoke with López Obrador on Friday, days after the Mexican president accused the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration of fabricating drug trafficking charges against the country’s former defence secretary. While Mexico continues to pledge to block mass movements of Central American migrants toward the U.S. border, there has been no shortage of potential flashpoints between the two countries. Mexico demanded the return of former defence secretary Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos after he was arrested in Los Angeles in October, threatening to restrict U.S. agents in Mexico if he wasn’t returned. U.S. prosecutors agreed to drop charges and return Cienfuegos to Mexico. But Mexico passed a law restricting foreign agents and removing their immunity anyway, and went on to publish the U.S. case file against Cienfuegos, whom Mexican prosecutors quickly cleared of any charges. López Obrador said in a statement that the conversation with Biden was “friendly and respectful." The two discussed immigration and COVID-19, among other issues. Trudeau told reporters before the call on Friday that he wouldn’t allow his differences with Biden over the project to become a source of tension in the U.S.-Canada relationship. “It’s not always going to be perfect alignment with the United States,” Trudeau said. “That’s the case with any given president, but we’re in a situation where we are much more aligned on values and focus. I am very much looking forward to working with President Biden.” Biden signed the executive order to halt construction of the pipeline just hours after he was sworn in. “Leaving the Keystone XL pipeline permit in place would not be consistent with my Administration’s economic and climate imperatives,” Biden’s executive order said. Critics say the growing operations increase greenhouse gas emissions and threaten Alberta’s rivers and forests. On the U.S. side, environmentalists expressed concerns about the pipeline— which would cross the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the world’s largest underground deposits of fresh water — being too risky. But proponents of the project say it would create thousands of jobs on both sides of the border. The project was proposed in 2008, and the pipeline has become emblematic of the tensions between economic development and curbing the fossil fuel emissions that are causing climate change. The Obama administration rejected it, but President Donald Trump revived it and was a strong supporter. Construction already started. Biden and Trudeau also discussed the prospects of Canada being supplied with the COVID-19 vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer's facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, according to a second senior Canadian government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a private conversation. Canada has been getting all its Pfizer doses from a Pfizer facility in Puurs, Belgium, but Pfizer has informed Canada it won’t get any doses next week and will get 50% less than expected over the next three weeks. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has publicly asked Biden to share a million doses made at Pfizer’s Michigan facility. The U.S. federal government has an agreement with Pfizer in which the first 100 million doses of the vaccine produced in the U.S. will be owned by the U.S. government and will be distributed in the U.S. Anita Anand, the Canadian federal procurement minister, has said the doses that are emerging from the Michigan plant are for distribution in the United States. The two leaders also spoke broadly about trade, defence and climate issues. Trudeau also raised the cases of two Canadians imprisoned in China in apparent retaliation for the arrest of a top Huawei executive, who was apprehended in Canada on a U.S. extradition request, according to the prime minister's office. ___ Gillies reported from Toronto and Stevenson from Mexico City. Rob Gillies, Mark Stevenson And Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press