Climate goal costs, anti-online child abuse legislation : In The News for April 5

Some say Canada’s electricity grid will have to double or even triple in size by 2030 to meet increased demand.

But that new electricity will also have to come from clean sources in order not to add to the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Experts say new interprovincial transmission lines will be needed to move clean power from provinces that have an abundance of renewable energy sources to those that still rely on fossil fuels.

The proposed Atlantic Loop is one example of a regional transmission line. The proposed project is intended to connect Nova Scotia and New Brunswick with clean hydropower from Quebec and Newfoundland.

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Also this …

A leading expert on online child protection says she is “very optimistic” that preparations for a law combating internet harm will map out a way to combat online child abuse.

Lianna McDonald, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, says the Cybertip.ca help line has seen a 37 per cent rise in reports of victimization of children online over the past year.

She says there is an urgent need for action to force tech companies to swiftly remove indecent images of children because the voluntary approach used thus far isn’t working.

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez is preparing to reintroduce a bill tackling online harms, including racist and antisemitic abuse, and last week set up an expert panel to advise them.

The first version was introduced last year but died without being debated when the election was called.

The inclusion of McDonald on the panel suggests that forcing tech firms to take down images of child exploitation will be a key element of the forthcoming bill.

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And also this …

Canadians who are looking to answer Kyiv’s call to arms by joining the so-called International Legion for the Territorial Defense of Ukraine are facing barriers.

Paul Hughes, a 57-year-old Calgary native says he wasn’t given a weapon or ammunition when he showed up to join the legion.

He says he was disappointed by the disorganization and chaos.

About 20-thousand people have answered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call to join the international brigade.

But some Canadians say they have faced unexpected hurdles.

While the Ukrainian Embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment, a visiting MP qualified the invitation saying anyone who knows how to fight or render medical aid is welcome.

Retired Canadian major-general Denis Thompson said military training and the ability to communicate on the battlefield will ensure volunteers are actually assets rather than liabilities.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ A suspect believed connected to the mass shooting in Sacramento was arrested, but the multiple shooters police believe fatally shot six people and wounded 12 on a crowded street in California’s capital are still on the loose

More than 100 shots were fired early Sunday in downtown Sacramento, creating a chaotic scene with hundreds of people trying desperately to get to safety. A day later police announced the arrest of Dandrae Martin, 26, as a “related suspect” on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and being a convict carrying a loaded gun. A court appearance was set for Tuesday.

Detectives and SWAT team members found one handgun during searches of three area homes.

The arrest came as the three women and three men killed were identified. The shooting occurred at about 2 a.m. Sunday as bars were closing and patrons filled the streets near the state Capitol. The fallen included a father of four, a young woman who wanted to be a social worker, a man described as the life of the party, and a woman who lived on the streets nearby and was looking for housing.

The Sacramento County coroner identified the women killed as Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21. The three men were Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and De’vazia Turner, 29.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg read their names during a vigil Monday evening attended by grieving relatives, friends and community members.

“So we gather here to remember the victims and to commit ourselves to doing all we can to ending the stain of violence, not only in our community but throughout the state, throughout the country, and throughout the world,” Steinberg said.

Police were investigating whether the shooting was connected with a street fight that broke out just before gunfire erupted. Several people could be seen in videos scrapping on a street lined with an upscale hotel, nightclubs and bars when gunshots sent people scattering.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

BUCHA, Ukraine _ Russian forces on Tuesday were preparing for an offensive in Ukraine’s southeast, the Ukrainian military said, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared to talk to the U.N. Security Council amid outrage over evidence Moscow’s soldiers deliberately killed civilians.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government is pouring soldiers into Ukraine’s east to gain control of the industrial heartland known as the Donbas. That follows a Russian withdrawal from towns around the capital, Kyiv, which led to the discovery of corpses, prompting accusations of war crimes and demands for tougher sanctions on Moscow.

Russian forces are focused on seizing the cities of Popasna and Rubizhne in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the Black Sea port of Mariupol, the General Staff said on its Facebook page. Donetsk and Luhansk are controlled by Russian-backed separatists and recognized by Moscow as independent states. The General Staff said access to Kharkiv in the east, Ukraine’s second-largest city, was blocked.

“The enemy is regrouping troops and concentrating its efforts on preparing an offensive operation in the east of our country,” the statement said. “The goal is to establish full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.”

Zelenskyy, speaking from Ukraine, planned to address Security Council diplomats Tuesday amid demands for an investigation of possible war crimes.

Germany and France reacted by expelling dozens of Russian diplomats, suggesting they were spies.

Before Zelenskyy speaks, the most powerful U.N. body is due to be briefed by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres; his political chief, Rosemary DiCarlo; and U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, who is trying to arrange a ceasefire. Griffiths met with Russian officials in Moscow on Monday and is due to visit Ukraine.

After touring neighbourhoods of Bucha and speaking to hungry survivors lining up for bread, Zelenskyy pledged in a video address that Ukraine would work with the European Union and the International Criminal Court to identify Russian fighters involved in any atrocities.

“The time will come when every Russian will learn the whole truth about who among their fellow citizens killed, who gave orders, who turned a blind eye to the murders,” he said.

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On this day in 1875 …

An Act of Parliament created the Supreme Court of Canada. The court sat for the first time on Jan. 17, 1876.

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In entertainment …

TORONTO _ John Zaritsky, the Academy Award-winning documentarian, has died at the age of 79.

His family says the Canadian filmmaker died of heart failure on March 30 in Vancouver.

Born in St. Catharines, Ont., Zaritsky had a career that spanned over 40 years and often tackled controversial subjects, including disease, drugs and assisted suicide, while giving a voice to survivors.

He directed such notable and heavy-hitting titles as 2016’s “No Limits: The Thalidomide Saga,” 2010’s “Leave Them Laughing,” and various critically acclaimed episodes of the docuseries “Frontline,” including 1996’s “Murder on ‘Abortion Row.”’

In 1983, Zaritsky won the Oscar for best documentary feature for an episode of “The Fifth Estate” titled “Just Another Missing Kid,” about a missing Ottawa teenager.

He was also a two-time Gemini Award winner, for an episode of 2005’s “College Days, College Nights” and 2008’s “The Suicide Tourist.”

Zaritsky is survived by his wife, Annie Clutton, his stepdaughter Errin and son-in-law Bern, and his grandchildren, Imogen and Reid.

“In his memory he would like you to do two things,” Clutton wrote in a press statement. “Take a friend out for a beer or two, and watch a locally made documentary and allow your life to be changed a little.”

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Did you see this?

VANCOUVER – A BC researcher has won a prestigious Canada Gairdner Award for his pioneering contributions to the development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, such as those manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

University of British Columbia biochemistry professor Pieter Cullis is among the winners of this year’s Gairdner Awards, which recognize some of the world’s most significant scientific discoveries impacting human health.

Cullis is being honoured as part of the team that developed the foundational technology behind COVID-19 vaccines that use messenger RNA to teach our cells to make a protein that trains the body to identify and fight the COVID-19 virus.

His Vancouver lab laid the groundwork for the vaccine’s drug-delivery system, which uses tiny fat bubbles _ known as lipid nanoparticles _ to protect and transport mRNA into our cells.

Cullis says it’s been “remarkable” to see research he’s been working on since the 1980s benefit hundreds of millions of people across the globe.

He says that COVID-19 vaccines represent the “tip of the iceberg” of the technology’s potential applications for preventing infectious disease and treating a host of conditions.

Cullis says winning the Gairdner is a reminder of the importance of supporting industries that allow scientific innovation to stay in Canada.

Each year, seven awards — which are nicknamed the “baby Nobels” because 96 Gairdner winners have gone on to receive Nobel Prizes — are handed out along with $100,000 cheques.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2022.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Climate goal costs, anti-online child abuse legislation : In The News for April 5

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