B.C. to begin rolling out pot legislation this week
(via CBC News)
Policy framework for non-medicinal marijuana likely introduced Thursday, but no details yet on pricing, stores.
Trudeau defends summer jobs grant to anti-pipeline activists on free speech grounds
(via National Post)
That may surprise the religious organizations who have been battling the government for months over the same summer jobs grants, thanks to a new abortion clause.
Government insiders say Trans Mountain pipeline approval was rigged
(via National Observer)
Speaking on the condition of anonymity with National Observer, government insiders say a high-ranking public servant instructed them, at least one month before the pipeline was approved, “to give cabinet a legally-sound basis to say ‘yes’” to Trans Mountain. These instructions came at a time when the government claimed it was still consulting in good faith with First Nations and had not yet come to a final decision on the pipeline.
Zoned Out: Critics say police-imposed area restrictions put vulnerable people at risk
(via Star Metro Vancouver)
A growing body of evidence shows that for minor drug offences, common pre-trial release conditions may actually increase crime. So why do the police in British Columbia keep using them?
Senator David Adams Richards quits Independent Senators Group to be ‘totally independent’
(via The Globe and Mail)
A New Brunswick senator and highly regarded novelist has quit the Independent Senators Group in the Red Chamber. David Adams Richards, appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2017, will now sit outside of any Senate caucuses or groups.
Incel, the misogynist ideology that inspired the deadly Toronto attack, explained
(via Vox)
Alek Minassian, the man who killed 10 people by driving a van down a busy street in Toronto on Monday, is a terrorist. We know this because he told us so. On Tuesday afternoon, Facebook confirmed the authenticity of a post in his name, in which he pledged allegiance to something called the “Incel Rebellion.” This is not an organized militant group but rather an ideal developed by the so-called “incel” movement — an online community of men united by their inability to convince women to have sex with them. (“Incel” stands for “involuntarily celibate.”)
Jeff Bezos v the world: why all companies fear 'death by Amazon'
(via The Guardian)
With its profound knowledge of its customers, Amazon can move into almost any sector – striking fear into the hearts of rivals. And the $740bn company is ‘just getting started’.
Peter Madsen, Danish inventor, is convicted of killing Kim Wall
(via The New York Times)
A Danish inventor who admitted to dismembering a journalist and discarding her body from the submarine he built was convicted on Wednesday of killing her, in one of the most gruesome and closely watched cases in Scandinavian history.
ICBC legislation could solve financial crisis, says minister
(via The Vancouver Sun)
B.C.’s attorney general says caps on minor injury claims and a push to an out-of-court dispute resolution could save the Insurance Corp. of B.C. from its financial crisis, though legislation he proposed Monday offered only a vague roadmap for achieving such a goal.
Police in Peru search for two men in killing of Comox Valley man
(via Times Colonist)
The arrest of two men has been ordered in connection with the revenge killing of a Comox Valley man accused by villagers of shooting an elderly spiritual leader.
For B.C.’s ‘invisible people,’ kinship is key to ending child welfare crisis
(via Star Metro Vancouver)
B.C. Métis child welfare agencies are scrambling to keep families together—and their doors open. This concludes a three-part investigation into a crisis generations in the making.
Facebook post connected to suspect in van rampage cites ‘incel rebellion’
(via The Globe and Mail)
The post praised Elliot Rodger, a man who killed six people and then himself in California in 2014, and who also described himself as an “incel” – someone who is involuntarily celibate. While many fake social-media accounts are often created in the aftermath of a tragedy, Facebook said that the account and post did not appear to be fake.
University of Alberta president ‘stands by’ decision to give David Suzuki honorary degree
(via Star Metro Edmonton)
President David Turpin said it’s not the school’s place to “stifle controversy,” after the award for the famed environmentalist draws criticism and decisions by donors to withdraw funding.
Conservatives demand Liberals act to halt illegal border crossings
(via CBC News)
Trust in immigration system could weaken if no action is taken, says Conservative MP and immigration critic Michelle Rempel.
Turns out Facebook moderation sucks because its guidelines suck
(via The Verge)
You can’t post an anus on Facebook unless it’s photoshopped onto a public figure.
Three Mexican film students were killed, their bodies dissolved in acid, authorities say
(via The Washington Post)
The disappearance of the three film students, 25-year-old Javier Salomón Aceves Gastélum and 20-year-olds Marco García Francisco Ávalos and Jesús Daniel Díaz, prompted protests across Mexico and drew outrage from the international filmmaking industry, including Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro. Thousands of enraged college students and others marched the streets of Guadalajara and Mexico City, demanding that officials bring the three young men home safely. “We’re students, not criminals,” they shouted. “Will I be next?”
Trans Mountain spill 'could have significant impacts' says Canadian government scientist
(via Quirks & Quarks)
Dr. Bruce Hollebone, a chemist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, says, "We all have to understand that any spills could have a significant impacts."
B.C. addictions minister to probe overdose death of Oak Bay teen
(via Times Colonist)
B.C. Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy says she will look into claims of a grieving Oak Bay couple who say a “perverse” provincial law blocked them from vital information about their son’s drug use and his medical treatment plan.
New report slams Vancouver Mayor’s Task Force on Mental Health
(via Star Metro Vancouver)
A new report from the Carnegie Community Action Project says that the Mayor’s Task Force on Mental Health and Addictions failed to adequately address needs of people living in poverty in the Downtown Eastside.
More Canadians are getting shingles, and researchers aren’t sure why
(via Global News)
A 2016 study looking at British Columbia found that the rate of shingles in that province increased from 3.2 cases per 1,000 people in 1997 to 4.5 in 2012. Researchers aren’t sure why it’s becoming more common, though they have theories.
Saskatchewan introduces law to allow control of oil, gas exports
(via National Newswatch)
The proposal does not mention British Columbia specifically, but Saskatchewan has said it is supporting Alberta in a dispute with B.C. over the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Nine dead, 16 hurt as van mows down pedestrians along Yonge St. between Sheppard and Finch; ‘Kill me,’ arrested driver tells police
(via Toronto Star)
Multiple tarps covered what appear to be victims’ bodies along the two-kilometre stretch of Yonge. Witnesses described the van driver deliberately mounted the sidewalk along Yonge and mowed down pedestrians outside on the sunny day. A trail of destruction was left in its wake as people screamed for help.
Nicaragua riots: Relatives of US embassy staff told to leave
(via BBC News)
The order comes after days of deadly rioting triggered by planned changes to Nicaragua's social security system. Even though Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega had scrapped the changes, the situation remains tense and more protests are expected.
‘I was wrong’: Armenian leader quits amid protests
(via The New York Times)
Ten days of demonstrations that escalated throughout Armenia forced the resignation Monday of the man who has led the country for the past decade, creating the latest crisis in a post-Soviet state trying to overcome a legacy of weak democratic rule.
'They're not objective at all': educator disputes Fraser Institute's B.C. school rankings
(via CBC News)
This is the 16th year of the think tank's list, which ranks hundreds of schools from across B.C., based on grades from the province's standardized tests on reading, writing and math.
B.C. universities impose steep tuition increases for foreign students
(via The Globe and Mail)
Kwantlen is one of several schools in B.C. and elsewhere in Canada that have imposed steep increases for international students, who already pay tuition rates as much as seven times higher than their Canadian counterparts.
Canadian allegedly lynched in Peru 'gentle' seeker of 'deeper meaning,' friend says
(via CBC News)
Sebastian Woodroffe of the Comox Valley area described as 'gentle' loving father with 'a big personality'.
‘Delete Facebook’ movement stronger in Canada than many other countries, says study
(via Mobile Syrup)
“Certain Canadian cities were especially quick to distance themselves,” Top10VPN.com head of research Simon Migliano wrote in a press release. “The most intense surges in search terms notably centered in the biggest cities, such as Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa.”
Environment minister defends BP Canada’s plans to drill in Nova Scotia
(via Toronto Star)
Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna is defending BP Canada’s plans to drill a deep-water exploration well roughly 330 kilometres off the coast of Halifax. This comes one day after the oil and gas company was granted approval by the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB).
Patrick Brown files $8M defamation lawsuit against CTV News
(via CTV News)
Former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown has filed a defamation lawsuit against CTV News over its reporting of what he alleges are false accusations of sexual misconduct.
The global crisis of plastic pollution
(via Mother Jones)
Cleaning up the ocean will require an international agreement on par with the Paris climate accord.
Report for America supports journalism where cutbacks hit hard
(via The New York Times)
A group of journalists have decided to do something about the diminution of newsrooms at the local level. They’re making reporting part of a national service program.
Support growing for Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in British Columbia
(via Vancouver Courier)
In February, 48 per cent of B.C. residents surveyed supported the pipeline expansion and 40 per cent opposed, but now support has risen to 54 per cent while opposition dropped to 38 per cent.
Family of missing B.C. man appeals to public for help solving decade-old case
(via The Globe and Mail)
Kellen McElwee was 25 years old when he vanished in March 2008, and his parents, Paula and Len McElwee, say they never thought he would disappear off the face of the world without saying goodbye.
Supreme Court beer ruling could apply to Alberta-B.C. pipeline war, experts say
(via National Newswatch)
The court seemed to be addressing the issue in its decision when it noted that while some trade barriers can be allowed in some circumstances, those designed to punish another province or to protect a local industry would not be permissible, they said.
Tory Leader Andrew Scheer says he doesn’t feel betrayed by Maxime Bernier
(via National Newswatch)
But Scheer couldn't escape answering questions about Bernier, who announced the day prior he would "indefinitely" postpone publication of his new book in the interests of party unity. Bernier had suggested in the book that Scheer was elected leader last May after thousands of people in Quebec bought memberships in the party just to vote for a candidate who would continue the policy of supply management.
Ottawa's plan B for Trans Mountain could be to find someone else to build it
(via CBC News)
The officials say that finding a path forward with Kinder Morgan is still the preferred option. But with the company's CEO saying the political squabbles over the pipeline could make the project "untenable," Ottawa is looking for a plan B in case the company walks away.
Michelle Rempel: designate Canada-U.S. border as official point of entry to stem flow of illegal crossings
(via HuffPost)
Making such a change would give the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency more tools to deal with an ongoing influx of asylum seekers crossing the border at unofficial entry points in Quebec and Ontario, Rempel said in an interview Thursday.
Trudeau not ready to join British PM's ban on single-use plastics
(via CBC News)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stopped short today of echoing British Prime Minister Theresa May's call for Commonwealth members to ban single-use plastics — but pointed to a planned discussion at the next G7 summit, being hosted by Canada later this year.
Being black in public
(via Slate)
When you’re black in America, you’re either seen as a problem or not seen at all. A conversation between Slate reporters Jamelle Bouie and Aisha Harris, NPR’s Gene Demby, and sociology professor Tressie McMillan Cottom about the significance of two black men being arrested for trespassing at Starbucks in particular and about navigating public spaces while black.
B.C. Premier says no ‘majority rule’ needed for Indigenous support of Trans Mountain expansion
(via Global News)
B.C. Premier John Horgan says there is no “majority rule” when it comes to First Nations on the Trans Mountain pipeline. This comes as First Nations who are supportive of the pipeline start to question what will happen to the benefit sharing agreements they have signed.
B.C. to spend $1.9 billion to build rental housing
(via Ottawa Citizen)
While money for the initiative was included in February's budget, its delivery wasn't unveiled until Wednesday when the government announced the Building B.C. Community Housing Fund to which organizations can apply.
Loophole in B.C.’s new campaign-finance law to be fixed: communities minister
(via The Globe and Mail)
A grey area in B.C.’s new campaign-finance law that appears to allow civic parties to continue accepting contributions from corporate and union donors so long as the money wasn’t used for campaign expenses will be amended, says the province’s communities minister.
‘Lifelong trauma on families’: Métis parents reel from losing their kids
(via StarMetro Vancouver)
Last month, Peter Lang stood beside the grave of Métis leader Louis Riel. It was at this very spot, just a stone’s throw from Manitoba’s Red River, that he’d scattered the ashes of his 15-year-old son two years earlier.
Tory leadership candidate worries weed will make Nova Scotians lazy like Jamaicans
(via The Coast)
“I have a best friend in Amherst who is from Jamaica,” she said, as recorded in Hansard transcripts. “She said to me, ‘Elizabeth, smoking marijuana in Jamaica is completely accepted and there’s a completely different work ethic and very low productivity in Jamaica.’ I think we already have a productivity problem here in Nova Scotia. We do not need something else making it worse.”
Liberal MP Scott Simms punished for backing Tory motion on summer jobs attestation
(via HuffPost)
Scott Simms was quietly ousted as chairman of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans Monday — losing a $11,900 salary bump that comes with the job.
Supreme Court decision means an end to cross-border beer runs: Comeau
(via National Post)
A New Brunswick man whose beer run to Quebec in 2012 sparked a constitutional question over cross-border liquor sales says today’s high court decision will mean an end to his beer-buying trips.
How Jerry Falwell Jr.'s Liberty University built a billion-dollar empire online
(via The New York Times Magazine)
With a hard sell to prospective students and huge amounts in taxpayer funding, Jerry Falwell Jr. transformed the evangelical institution into a behemoth.
B.C. judge stays charges against 3 Mounties due to delays getting cases to trial
(via National Post)
A written ruling says RCMP Cpl. Michelle Lebrun and constables Mick White and Scott Jones were on duty at the Oceanside detachment in Parksville when the alleged incident occurred on June 10, 2013.
Meet the heiresses who funded an alleged cult’s legal battles
(via Vice)
Clare and Sara Bronfman, heirs to the Seagram’s fortune, bankrolled “silencing” lawsuits against Nxivm adversaries, ex-members say.
City of Vancouver begrudgingly gears up for annual 4/20 smoke up
(via Global News)
The event, billed as a protest by organizers but criticized by others as an unlicensed festival, will be returning to the city’s Sunset Beach for the third consecutive year.
Sri Lankan asylum seeker allegedly killed by McArthur led a lonely life: friends
(via CTV News)
Friends and lawyers confirmed that Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam was one of 492 Sri Lankan Tamils aboard the MV Sun Sea, a dilapidated cargo vessel that reached the coast of British Columbia in 2010 after a harrowing six-week voyage.
Gray ghosts, the last caribou in the lower 48 states, are ‘functionally extinct’
(via The New York Times)
A recent aerial survey shows that this international herd of southern mountain caribou, which spends part of its year in the Selkirk Mountains of northern Idaho and Washington near the Canadian border, has dwindled to just three animals and should be considered “functionally extinct,” experts say.
I kept all my plastic for a year – the 4,490 items forced me to rethink...
(via The Guardian)
Daniel Webb accrued a mountain of plastic – including many packets of Hula Hoops – and made it into a mural, now on display at Dreamland in Margate. We are overproducing and overconsuming, he says, and recycling is not the answer.
....But scientists accidentally produce an enzyme that devours plastic
(via Engadget)
Researchers studying a newly-discovered bacterium found that with a few tweaks, the bug can be turned into a mutant enzyme that starts eating plastic in a matter of days, compared to the centuries it takes for plastic to break down in the ocean.
AggregateIQ, Canadian data firm at centre of global controversy, was hired by clients big and small
(via The Globe and Mail)
AggregateIQ, the Victoria consultancy that was suspended by Facebook amid controversy over its role in political campaigns in Britain and elsewhere, worked on a range of smaller elections in Canada – including an ill-fated comeback last year by a former mayor in Newfoundland.
