In The News for March 2 : CSIS, Elections Canada to testify on foreign interference

The director of CSIS, David Vigneault, is set to appear for the first time.

The committee heard Wednesday from national security adviser Jody Thomas and members of a task force that provides government officials with information about possible threats to elections.

At that meeting, New Democrat MP Peter Julian called for a public inquiry into foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections — something the Bloc Québécois and Conservatives also want.

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Also this …

The federal government has stopped shipping rapid COVID-19 antigen tests to provinces as millions are set to expire within the year, and experts say the once-essential tool has lost its importance in the pandemic.

There are 90 million rapid tests in the federal inventory, Health Canada said in an email. About 80,000 of those are set to expire within six months and 6.5 million within the year. The rest expire within two years.

“Canada has robust inventories and is well prepared for COVID response,” Anne Génier, with Health Canada, said in an email.

Ottawa has ordered more than 811 million rapid tests since the beginning of the pandemic with a price tag of about $5 billion. About 680 million of those went to provinces and territories.

Health Canada said the decision to end shipments at the end of January was made in collaboration with provinces and territories, as the regions have enough supply.

On top of the federal stockpile, provincial health authorities said they have millions of tests.

British Columbia has 28 million tests, with more than four million to expire within six months.

Quebec has 63 million tests, Alberta has 47.5 million, Saskatchewan has 6.4 million, Manitoba has 11 million, Nova Scotia has about 8 million and Newfoundland has about 2.5 million.

Nearly every region said they have so far not destroyed or repurposed their rapid antigen tests, because Health Canada extended the expiration date for many brands. They did not explain an expected cost or strategy if the tests expire before being used.

The time frame left for the tests differs depending on the brand, but Health Canada has approved 19 extensions of shelf life ranging from six months to two years.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

A U.S. federal labour judge has ordered Starbucks to reinstate seven fired workers, reopen a shuttered location and stop infringing on workers’ rights after finding that the company violated labour laws “hundreds of times” during a unionization campaign in Buffalo, New York.

The decision issued late Wednesday by Administrative Law Judge Michael Rosas of the National Labor Relations Board requires Starbucks to post a 13-page notice listing its labour violations and workers’ rights in all U.S. stores.

The order also requires Starbucks’ interim CEO Howard Schultz to read or be present at a reading of employees’ rights and distribute a recording of the reading to all of Starbucks’ U.S. employees.

Rosas cited Starbucks’ “egregious and widespread misconduct” in his 200-page decision, which consolidated 35 unfair labour practice complaints at 21 Buffalo-area stores filed by Starbucks Workers United, the labour union organizing Starbucks’ stores. Rosas found that Starbucks had threatened employees, spied on them and more strictly enforced dress codes and other policies.

The order requires Starbucks to reinstate seven workers who were fired for their union activity and provide financial restitution for 27 other workers for violations like refusing to grant time off. It also requires Starbucks to bargain with the union at multiple stores and reopen a location in Cheektowaga, New York, that was closed amid significant union activity.

Starbucks said Wednesday it believes the decision and the remedies ordered are inappropriate and is considering its legal options. The parties in the case have until March 28 to file an appeal to the full National Labor Relations Board. Starbucks said the individuals in the case were fired for clear violations of the company’s policies, and not because of union activities.

Workers are seeking better pay, improved training and more consistent schedules, among other things. The company says it already provides industry-leading benefits and believes its stores function best when it works directly with employees.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

NEW YORK _ Communities around the world emitted more carbon dioxide in 2022 than in any other year on records dating to 1900, a result of air travel rebounding from the pandemic and more cities turning to coal as a low-cost source of power.

Emissions of the climate-warming gas that were caused by energy production grew 0.9 per cent to reach 36.8 gigatons in 2022, the International Energy Agency reported Thursday. (The mass of one gigaton is equivalent to about 10,000 fully loaded aircraft carriers, according to NASA.)

Carbon dioxide is released when fossil fuels such as oil, coal or natural gas are burned to powers cars, planes, homes and factories. When the gas enters the atmosphere, it traps heat and contributes to the warming of the climate.

Extreme weather events intensified last year’s carbon dioxide emissions: Droughts reduced the amount of water available for hydropower, which increased the need to burn fossil fuels. And heat waves drove up demand for electricity.

Thursday’s report was described as disconcerting by climate scientists, who warn that energy users around the world must cut emissions dramatically to slow the dire consequences of global warming.

“Any emissions growth _ even one per cent _ is a failure,” said Rob Jackson, a professor of earth system science at Stanford University and chairman of the Global Carbon Project, an international group. “We can’t afford growth. We can’t afford stasis. It’s cuts or chaos for the planet. Any year with higher coal emissions is a bad year for our health and for the Earth.”

Carbon dioxide emissions from coal grew 1.6 per cent last year. Many communities, primarily in Asia, switched from natural gas to coal to avoid high natural gas prices that were worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the IEA said.

And as global airline traffic increased, carbon dioxide emissions from burning oil grew 2.5 per cent, with about half the surge resulting from the aviation sector.

Global emissions have grown in most years since 1900 and have accelerated over time, according to data from IEA. One exception was the pandemic year of 2020, when travel all but came to a standstill. Last year’s level of emissions, though a record high, was nevertheless lower than experts had expected. Increased deployment of renewable energy, electric vehicles and heat pumps together helped prevent an additional 550 megatons of carbon dioxide emissions, the IEA said.

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On this day in 2007 …

Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby became the youngest player in NHL history to reach the 200-point plateau, achieving the milestone at the age of 19 years, 207 days. Wayne Gretzky is the only other teen to reach 200 points, doing it just before he turned 20.

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In entertainment …

WASHINGTON _ Alberta-born songstress Joni Mitchell headed up a procession of musical luminaries past and present Wednesday at a gala celebration of her latest lifetime achievement: the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

A roster of performers including Marcus Mumford, Annie Lennox, Cyndi Lauper and Brandi Carlile lit up the stage in tribute to Mitchell at DAR Constitution Hall, a historic venue just down the street from the White House.

Mitchell, 79, is the first Canadian and only the third woman to collect the prestigious accolade since it was established in 2007. But a ruptured brain aneurysm in 2015 had many doubting she would ever perform again.

She’s been proving them wrong ever since.

“My God, it’s overwhelming,” Mitchell, 79, said after climbing to the stage with the help of a handler and a cane to accept the award, alongside an assortment of members of Congress.

“It has been such a gift and so exciting to see all of these musicians that I admire performing my songs.”

With that, she performed the Gershwin classic “Summertime,” her voice strong and pitch-perfect, even as she leaned on a piano for support. She even lingered for a closing encore _ “The Circle Game” _ alongside all of the night’s performers.

A taped broadcast of the Gershwin tribute concert is scheduled to air March 31 on PBS.

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Did you see this?

VICTORIA _ A centrepiece of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria, Woolly the mammoth, was defaced with pink paint by protesters trying to draw attention to climate change.

A statement issued by the new climate campaign “On2Ottawa” says washable pink paint was tossed at the tusks of the three-metre-tall mammoth to protest what it calls “criminal” federal government inaction on the climate emergency.

Victoria Police say three people were arrested for mischief on Wednesday and the incident remains under investigation.

A statement from the museum says staff members cleaned off the water-soluble paint and there was no permanent damage to Woolly, a giant replica of a mammoth whose tusks are made of Fiberglas.

Police say other visitors, including children, were present in the gallery when the paint was splashed.

The exhibition was reopened within 90 minutes.

The On2Ottawa group wants people to join a caravan to Ottawa that’s expected to leave Vancouver on April 1 to push for urgent actions needed to tackle climate change.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 2, 2023.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

In The News for March 2 : CSIS, Elections Canada to testify on foreign interference

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