symbol

Wednesday June 9, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday June 9, 2021

Muslim family in Canada killed in ‘premeditated’ truck attack

The attack took place in the city of London, Ontario province. A boy aged nine, the family’s only survivor, is in hospital with serious injuries. 

A 20-year-old Canadian man has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

The attack was the worst against Canadian Muslims since six people were killed in a Quebec City mosque in 2017.

“It is believed that these victims were targeted because they were Muslim,” Det Supt Paul Waight told a news conference on Monday. 

Police are weighing possible terrorism charges, he said, adding that it is believed to be a hate crime.

Two women – aged 74 and 44 – a 46-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl were all killed. They have not been named, in accordance with the wishes of the family. A nine-year-old boy was in hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, said police.

Police named the alleged attacker as Nathanial Veltman, 20, of London, Ontario. He was arrested without incident at a shopping centre about 6km (4.8 miles) from the crime scene. 

It is not yet known if the suspect has ties to any hate groups, said Det Supt Waight.

“There is no known previous connection between the suspect and the victims,” Det Supt Waight said, adding that the suspect was wearing a vest that appeared to be “like body armour”. 

Police said Mr Veltman had no previous convictions.

Officials added that there was good weather and high visibility conditions when the black truck was seen mounting the kerb on Hyde Park Road at around 20:40 local time on Sunday.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford was among those who paid tribute to the victims, tweeting: “Hate and Islamophobia have NO place in Ontario.” 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that he was “horrified” by the news.

“To the loved ones of those who were terrorised by yesterday’s act of hatred, we are here for you,” he wrote.

“This was an act of mass murder, perpetrated against Muslims, against Londoners, and rooted in unspeakable hatred,” said London Mayor Ed Holder.

In a statement, Mayor Holder said he was speaking “on behalf of all Londoners when I say our hearts are broken”. 

“We grieve for the family, three generations of whom are now deceased.”

Nawaz Tahir, a London lawyer and representative of the Muslim community, said during the police news conference: “These were innocent human beings who were killed simply because they were Muslim.”

“We will stand strong against Islamophobia. We will stand strong against terror with faith, with love, and a quest for justice,” he continued. 

“Hate will never overshadow the light of love.”

It is not the first time members of the Muslim community in Canada have come under attack.

In January 2017, a Canadian man fatally shot six worshippers at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre, and seriously injured five others. The perpetrator was sentenced to life in prison. 

Canada’s deadliest vehicle-ramming attack happened in 2018, when a self-described “incel” (involuntary celibate) ploughed his van into a group of pedestrians in Toronto, killing 10 people. (BBC) 

 

Tuesday June 8, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 8, 2021

‘No more crocodile tears’: Residential school survivor demands action from feds

A residential school survivor says she is sick of talk, and is demanding action from the federal government on reconciliation between Canada and residential school survivors.

June 3, 2015

“Canada, no more talk! No more promises. No more crocodile tears. It’s time to take action,” said Evelyn Korkmaz, speaking at an NDP press conference Thursday.

Korkmaz said that survivors like herself have known that children’s remains were buried across Canada even before 215 bodies were found last week at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.

The federal government should fund the investigation of the 139 residential school sites across Canada, Korkmaz said, calling them “crime scenes.” She’s also urging Ottawa to identify the missing children and notify their families, complete the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, honour the residential school settlement agreement and stop fighting settlement cases in court.

Korkmaz was speaking at a press conference on a motion put forward by NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh that calls on Ottawa to drop a pair of Federal Court appeals he says represent a “belligerent” approach to justice for Indigenous children.

June 2, 2021

Singh says symbolic gestures are not sufficient and that the moment demands action, accusing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of hypocrisy in sympathizing with Indigenous communities while fighting them in the courts.

The Liberal government is appealing a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling ordering Ottawa to pay $40,000 each to some 50,000 First Nations children separated from their families by a chronically underfunded child welfare system.

It is also fighting a tribunal decision that widened the applicability of Jordan’s Principle, a rule stating that when governments disagree about who’s responsible for providing services to First Nations children, they must help a child in need first and argue over the bills later.

Trudeau said earlier this week that “an awful lot” of work remains before reconciliation can be achieved, stating that residential school survivors need more support amid profound intergenerational trauma.

Singh is also asking the government for faster implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action, trauma resources for survivors and a progress report to be tabled in 10 days.

June 3, 2021

Korkmaz would also like to see the Catholic Church account for its role in residential schools.

“The Catholic Church also needs to acknowledge and take ownership to repent and pay for their sins,” she said.

Last week, the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) called on Pope Francis to address the atrocities that happened at residential schools, days after the remains of 215 children were found on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

The Catholic Church was responsible for operating up to 60 per cent of residential schools in Canada and is the only church involved in residential schools that hasn’t made a formal apology.

Korkmaz said that it’s past time for Canada to take concrete steps toward reconciliation.

“The time has come to act. No more talk. We’re tired of talk. We need action and we need action now. Today.” (Global News) 

 

Friday October 30, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday October 9, 2020

Industry has known for decades that most plastic just can’t be recycled, says investigative journalist

There has been a decades-long push to get the public to recycle plastic, even though the people behind the idea knew most plastic is too costly and difficult to recycle, says one investigative journalist.

April 22, 2020

“They have known since the 1970s how difficult and almost impossible it is to recycle the vast majority of plastic,” said Laura Sullivan, a three-time Peabody Award-winning investigative correspondent for NPR News. 

Sullivan conducted an in-depth investigation into the recycling industry, and said the problem starts with trying to separate the recyclable material from the non-recyclable, which adds to the overall high cost of the process. 

“Then, most importantly, the plastic degrades every time you try to reuse it,” she told The Current’s Matt Galloway, adding that this means some recycled items cannot be recycled again.

“In one speech, a former industry insider said that it was unlikely that the vast majority of plastic would ever be economically viable to recycle.”

June 1, 2019

Earlier this week, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced that the province will work to become a major plastics recycling hub for western North America, as part of his government’s new natural gas strategy. The federal government has also announced its intention to ban six types of single-use plastic by the end of 2021, but insisted the move would support, not hinder, Alberta’s plans.

Announcing plans to reach zero plastic waste by 2030, the federal government’s website noted that “every year, Canadians throw away 3 million tonnes of plastic waste, only 9% of which is recycled, meaning the vast majority of plastics end up in landfills.”

Sullivan’s investigation looked at plastic industry records over the last 40 years. She spoke to industry insiders involved in promoting plastic recycling to the general public.

April 24, 2018

She said that “in the 1990s, plastic was under fire, that people didn’t like plastic, there was just too much trash and they needed to do something about it.”

“The obvious answer was to recycle it all, but as we know, they knew they couldn’t do that,” she said.

“It began this campaign to sort of subtly suggest and imply and even outright say, ‘You can recycle plastic,’ when they knew that wasn’t true.”

At the time, Sullivan said the industry was hopeful that technology would improve and recycling costs would become more manageable, but that didn’t happen.

She said her investigation looked at 12 of the most highly touted projects to increase the amount of plastic being recycled, and found that all of them “fell apart” within five to seven years.

“They were started with great fanfare, they got a ton of publicity … and then they died quietly.” (CBC)