RCI | English : Interviews

When we think of hyenas, we usually picture them in the savannah or in a dry environment surrounded by lions or elephants, but this has not always been the case. Thanks to new research, we now know with certainty that ancient hyenas once lived in the Canadian Arctic regions.

The study led by the University at Buffalo reveals that two ice age fossil teeth discovered in Yukon Territory, inside the Canadian Arctic circle belonged to the so-called “running hyena” Chasmaporthetes. The discovery helps us understand how these animals reached North America from Asia.

We spoke to Jack Tseng, the first author of the study and assistant professor of pathology and anatomical sciences at the University at Buffalo.

This ice age fossil tooth — tucked away for years in the collections of the Canadian Museum of Nature. This tooth, found in 1977, and one other are the first known hyena fossils found in the Arctic. (Grant Zazula / Government of Yukon)

The discovery

These two fossils are not a new discovery in themselves. They were found almost four decades ago in the Yukon region among tens of thousands of fossils.

Most of the fossils that were subsequently studied and researched were large animals like mammoths, horses and camels. And these teeth being very rare and from, a potentially rare specie, that needed special attention were simply not studied in depth at the time.Jack Tseng, assistant professor of pathology and anatomical sciences at the University at Buffalo

The two fossils were first identified as belonging to some kind of hyenas and were stored in the collections of the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Ontario.

It is not until last February, when Jack Tseng came to the Canadian capital and compared the two fossils to a global sample of hyena fossils found elsewhere, that they were able to pin down exactly the identity of this particular hyena.

Jack Tseng, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences at the University at Buffalo explains how they made this discovery. (DOUGLAS LEVERE/University at Buffalo)EN_Interview_4-20190618-WIE40

Understand how hyenas got to North America

Scientists long suspected that hyenas crossed from Asia to North America thanks to discoveries of fossils on both sides of the Pacific: in southern North America, on the one hand, and in Asia, Europe and Africa on the other.

This kind of migration was not unique to these mammals as many animals did the same over the years. Scientists think they did so when they discovered new environmental opportunities, new areas. In the case of these hyenas, the assumptions are that they moved when a geologic bridge formed between North America and Asia as sea levels changed, explains M. Tseng.

And this kind of migration also applied later to early humans who colonised North America by travelling on foot.

They must have crossed over Beringia, the northern region between Yukon, Alaska and Siberia at one point. It’s just that we’ve never had physical evidence to show when and how that migration may have occurred.Jack Tseng, assistant professor of pathology and anatomical sciences at the University at Buffalo

This tooth, found in 1973, and one other are the first known hyena fossils found in the Arctic. (Photo: Jack Tseng)

But thanks to this new discovery, scientists now have evidence of this migration, but it also helps them to better understand hyenas.

These two fossils essentially gave us now hard evidence that these hyenas were not only able to travel through the region, perhaps they were there, they lived there, up the Yukon in the Arctic circle, long enough that they were actually preserved as fossils. And that changes our basic assumption about how hyenas were able to live.Jack Tseng, assistant professor of pathology and anatomical scienc...

Canada’s largest pharmacy chain announced its plans on Monday to use blockchain technology to trace the source of the medicinal cannabis it distributes.

Shoppers Drug Mart with about 1,300 pharmacies across Canada is partnering with TruTrace Technologies Inc. on a pilot program that will use blockchain to ensure the traceability of cannabis used by medical patients.

Both companies hope to set new standards for the thriving cannabis industry in Canada but also internationally.

CannTrust employees work with cannabis products at their packaging and extraction facility in Vaughan, Ont. (Nathan Denette/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

What is blockchain technology?

Popularized by its use in the creation of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, blockchain is a decentralized digital registry used to record transactions in a verifiable manner.

For TruTrace Chief Executive Officer Robert Galarza, it’s “the ability to record data rapidly, cryptographically secured, it’s all encrypted and it’s not able to be hacked or changed”.

With regards to cannabis, this technology would help trace the different aspects of cannabis and in the end create standardized data that can then be used in the medical field. It would help doctors prescribe the right strains to their patients and contribute to the clinical trials that are underway in many parts of the industry.

Being able to have full-scale traceability and really, at the end of the day, being able to validate all aspects of data on each of the particular strains and then being able to push them into a larger supply chain infrastructure gives us the ability to validate products at a level that we see being necessary for medical use to really be able to see long-term regressive data on what this product is doing on patients over a period of time.Robert Galarza, CEO of TruTrace Technologies Inc.

Robert Galarza, CEO of TruTrace Technologies Inc. talks about the blockchain technology (Photo: TruTrace Technologies) EN_Interview_4-20190617-WIE40

How is Cannabis traced today?

If we look at the cannabis sold in Canada today, “the one core facet of those products that currently isn’t yet been controlled has been the product identification”, explains Robert Galarza, “so a lot of it has been traced through straining and product identification given by the producers as opposed to the specific genetic and chemistry make-up of the product.”

For the CEO of TruTrace, this lack of specific information is the reason why the traditional medical community does not trust cannabis.

In cannabis, we have track and trace solutions but at the end of the day, what we really have been tracking and tracing has been kind of the name of the products themselves and that isn’t what the medical industry wants to see when looking to prescribe products to patients over a period of time.Robert Galarza, CEO of TruTrace Technologies Inc.

Shoppers vice president Ken Weisbrod told AFP news agency that for patients to feel confident about using medical cannabis, its source must be “traceable and accountable”.

When a patient takes medication, there is an expectation that it is standardized, and they can expect consistent clinical outcomes and results. Although that's not always a guarantee within the medical cannabis industry at the moment, we're hoping this new program can help change that.Ken Weisbrod, Vice president of Shoppers Drug Mart

Robert Galarza, CEO of TruTrace Technologies Inc. talks about how cannabis is traced today ( Tijana Martin / THE CANADIAN PRESS)EN_Interview_7-20190617-WIE70

A new partnership to set standards in the industry

TruTrace Technologies Inc. sees a lot of potential in this new partnership with Shoppers Drug Mart to “be a part of a pathway forward for patient information and medical community at large to really be able to look at cannabis in a better light”.

They were not dinosaurs but reptiles which flew at the time of dinosaurs about 215 to 66 million years ago. Their bones were fragile so their fossils are relatively rare. But what has been found tells a fascinating story about pterosaurs and is now explained in an exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Nature from June 15 to September 2, 2019.

“Pterosaurs were their own thing, their own group of reptiles,” says Jordan Mallon, research scientist in paleobiology at the museum. “They’ve often got these funny-looking head crests, and these big extensive arms that are formed by an outgrowth of the fourth finger. And from that long, long finger, they’ve got these wing membranes...that stretch down to reach the body and form wings. They’re very distinctive looking.”

The Quetzalcoatlus northropi is the largest pterosaur known to date with a wingspan of 10 meters. A model of it hangs from the ceiling of the museum. (©AMNH/D. Finnin)

Hatched from eggs, soon ready to fly

Some were small enough to fit in the size of a palm. Others were as big as fighter jets. They lived in all kinds of ecosystems and ate all kinds of things, perhaps including dinosaurs smaller themselves.

Like snakes and lizards, pterosaurs laid soft, leathery eggs on the ground. It is likely they hatched fully formed and could fly within a short time. Scientists think they could survive on their own right off, without help from parents.

Visitors to the museum will be able to see fossils, life-sized models, interactive games, videos and several displays that will immerse them in the world of pterosaurs.

The Canadian Museum of Nature is located in Canada’s capital city, Ottawa.

Visitors are invited to ‘pilot’ a pterosaur over a prehistoric landscape in a ‘whole-body’ interactive exhibit. (©AMNH/D. Finnin)

Scientist Jordan Mallon talks about pterosaurs and the display at the Canadian Museum of Nature.

ListenEN_Interview_2-20190614-WIE20

(photo: Trina Bron)

Huge crowds were on the streets of Hong Kong again last night protesting a proposed extradition law with China.

Hong Kong chief executive, Carrie Lam, has said the proposal will become law and compared protesters to spoiled children.

Andrea Chun (J.D.) who emigrated from Hong Kong, is a Toronto lawyer, broadcaster and long-time commentator.

Andrea Chun, Toronto lawyer, Hong Kong political commentatorEN_Interview_1-20190613-WIE10

The protestors say the proposed law is another example of their eroding rights and freedoms in the semi-autonomous Hong Kong as China seeks to increase its control.

They have no confidence in the Chinese legal system and are concerned how this may affect the Hong Kong legal system. The rule of law has allowed Hong Kong to flourish as a safe place to do business.

A protester is tackled by riot police Wednesday during a massive demonstration outside the Legislative Council in Hong Kong. Canada says it's concerned about the potential effects the proposed extradition bill could have on the large number of Canadian citizens in Hong Kong. Organisers are reported to be telling people now to go home to avoid further injuries. (Kin Cheung/Associated Press)

Most residents however fear China is slowly reneging on the promise of 50 years of the “one state–two systems” policy which was guaranteed when Britain handed the region back to China in 1997.

Chun, as a lawyer, says judges in Hong Kong are already experiencing some pressure, and the new law would increase that pressure on them to conform to the central government’s wishes.  She says she’s not sure the system could survive with the added pressure.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam appeared on local TV on Wednesday comparing herself as a mother who can't give in to a spoiled child, referring to the protesters. and that she personally has sacrificed a lot for Hong Kong (TVB screengrab via Hong Kong Free Press)

There are some 300,000 Hong Kong residents with Canadian citizenship, and many others with Australian, U.S, and other citizenships. With the chilling atmosphere in the former British colony, Chun feels that while many of those may begin to leave out of fears of the future of the region, it’s still only a small segment of the some 7 million residents whom she says will not be able to leave as China continues to exercise its growing power and authority. However this flexing of Chinese muscle is not only in Asia, but as a growing world power that seems to have little concern for international criticism.

Protesters hold pictures of Chief Executive Carrie Lam as they march against the extradition bill in central Hong Kong on June 9. (Kim Cheung- AP-TT)

Yesterday Canada’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement which read in part, “"Freedom of expression and assembly are the bedrock of Hong Kong's free society. It is vital that any legislation preserve Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy, rule of law and independent judiciary."

It didn’t take long for China to react, and rather bluntly, through its Canadian Embassy in Ottawa.

A statement today reads in part. “Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs. No other country, organization or individual has the right to interfere in. (…) Since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, the “One Country, Two Systems” policy has been faithfully implemented. Hong Kong people’s rights and freedoms have been fully guaranteed (…) No country should interfere in the internal affairs of other countries on the grounds of caring for its expatriates”.

 Canada’s Foreign minister Chrystia Freeland said she often attempted to speak with her Chinese counterpart on the tensions between the two countries, but with no success. It has also come to light that China had also ignored a direct request from Prime ...

An international survey of 38 countries shows Canadians generally have a positive view of journalism and relatively high trust in the news media. The survey shows that 52 per cent trust “most news, most of the time” and that 60 per cent belive the news media help them understand the news. And 70 per cent agree they help keep them up to date with what’s going on.

Trust high compared to other countries

“In general, the level of trust is high compared to other countries,” says Prof.Colette Brin, head of media studies at Laval University and a contributor to the report.

“Canadians are among the top five countries of the 38 surveyed in terms of general trust towards media and news. But looking at more specific issues of content, depth of coverage...the fact that news helps them understand the world, we’re at the very, very top of the list of countries.”

Younger Canadians are more likely to pay for online news and to access it on their mobile phones. (iStock)

Unwillingness to pay is ‘a major concern’

That said, only nine per cent of respondents say they have paid for online news.  And although one in five who had not paid for news said they would consider doing so in the coming year, the percentage who did pay did not change from the previous year.

“It’s a major concern for newspapers especially, because they are relying more on income from readers as their advertising revenue declines and as online advertising goes mostly to large digital companies like Google and Facebook,” says Brin.

Newspapers say their annual ad revenues have declined 60 per cent since 2000.

Many Canadians take steps to check the accuracy of online news including turning to more reputable sources like the public broadcaster CBC.

Many check accuracy

Among the positive results in the report, 70 per cent of Canadian respondents say they carried out various actions to check the accuracy of news. These include checking several sources and starting to rely on more reputable sources.

A total of 44 per cent use mainly online media to access news, whereas 56 per cent were more likely to use media such as television, radio or print. Younger people were more likely to use social media.

Few pay, despite intentions

Where people are paying for online news, they tend to pay for only one service. Brin says media outlets might consider offering a service that is bundled similar to the way cable companies offer bundles of different channels in one package.

Given the results of the report, she suggests news media erect paywalls and try to appeal to younger consumers who seem more willing to pay for a service. She adds, these are actions already being taken by several outlets.

The report was compiled by Oxford University and the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Hear Prof. Colette Brin explain the survey about online news that she co-authored.

ListenEN_Interview_2-20190613-WIE20

There are employers who classify their employees as “independent contractors” in order to avoid paying benefits, overtime and other entitlements such as holiday pay, says employment lawyer Andrew Monkhouse. This is against labour law in the province of Ontario and elsewhere in Canada.

“A growing number of Canadians do face this situation of being called contractors even though they should be (called) employees,” he says. “We’ve seen certainly a rise in what’s considered the gig economy where companies call workers contractors for their own tax and benefit purposes. And those employees lose out on the benefit of being a full employee.”

Recourse is available

In such case, an employee can try to be classified correctly by appealing to a labour board or to tax authorities. But there have been five groups of employees who have chosen to file class action lawsuits over this issue in the province of Ontario.

A class-action lawsuit is pending against Deloitte Management Services launched by people who allege they lost out on benefits because they were inaccurately classified as ‘independent contractors.’ (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press/file)

Five class-actions in Ontario

Monkhouse represented the first of such cases in March 2015 where individuals filed a suit alleging lost pay by Deloitte Management Services. The case is pending.The law firm also seeks to certify a class-action proceeding against Solar Brokers Canada alleging the company misclassified sales representatives and failed to pay them appropriate wages, vacation, overtime and public holiday pay. About 120 employees in Ontario and Alberta are part of this suit alleging they were employees, followed work schedules, wore company badges and other details that will be used to try to prove their case. The companies in both cases are expected to deny the charges.

If the cases are won, Monkhouse hopes it will discourage employers from classifying people as independent contractors when they should be called employees. “We hope that more people are going to have more stable jobs, more people are going to have benefits and that it’s going to improve overall the working life of the average Canadian or Ontarian.”

Lawyer Andrew Monkhouse explains allegations that companies misclassified workers depriving them of better compensation.

ListenEN_Interview_2-20190612-WIE20

(photo: Monkhouse Law)

Most of us probably have never thought about it. We have perhaps often heard that anything put on the internet is there forever, but that of course means it’s all still there after you are not.

A legacy is what you leave behind, and in these technological times, you also leave behind your digital legacy, and it can be extensive and complicated

Vicki McLeod is a consultant, columnist, and co-author of Digital Legacy Plan: A Guide to the Personal and Practical Elements of Your Digital Life Before You Die

Vicki McLeod on how to manage your digital footprint left behind after you dieEN_Interview_1-20190612-WIE10

Your online life possibly includes email accounts, private messages, social media accounts, financial accounts, photos and other information stored “on the cloud”. You also leave behind trails of personal relationships and perhaps there might also be some things you’d like to remain completely private even from those close to you.

Whatever the situation, McLeod says  you should be thinking of what happens to all that should you die.

She says there is always a danger that abandoned accounts can be hacked with unpredictable results.

There’s also the situation which might be emotionally difficult, for family and friends to come across your digital footprints in postings and accounts after you’ve gone.

Deleting unused online accounts is a good security measure. The new online tool Deseat.me helps you find many accounts in one place and close them. (CBC-Facebook)

McLeod suggests you create a digital assets inventory.

You might also name a sort of digital executor or steward who would be given various passwords and other information in order to have those accounts deleted, or otherwise monitored. Also, perhaps before you create another account or profile ask yourself if you really do need that added web presence.

In any case, the important thing to realise that your online presence will outlive you.

She says a “digital legacy” plan is something to consider as part of a will or estate planning documents.

Rather than leave your online legacy to fate, this is a way to take charge of your online history with instructions for what you want to happen to your virtual self when you die in this life.

Additional information

Book: Digital Legacy Plan: Crocker/ McLeod

Guardian (UK): A Tait: Jun 2/19 What happens to our online identities when we die?

Walrus: May 29/19: What happens to your social media accounts after you die

Time: R Greenspan: Apr 30/19: Facebook: your history

CBC: D Misener: Nov 30/16: tool to delete online presence

Diseases that were virtually gone are making a come-back and there are growing gaps between people’s perceptions and the medical reality about the safety of vaccines, says the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC).  The issue can be particularly acute and sensitive for pregnant women. So, at their annual conference today the doctors have dedicated an entire session to addressing this topic.

'Vaccination does save lives'

“To be absolutely clear, the science is in,” says Dr. Jennifer Blake, CEO of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.”Vaccination does save lives and does improve quality of life. And it is a mystery to me why doubt would have been sown so harmfully about something that has done so much good.”

Whooping cough can be bad for children and deadly for infants. (YouTube)

Pregnant women can confer immunity to fetus

Recent research has found that a mother’s immunity to pertussis, also called whooping cough, is passed on to her baby. So if the mother has had pertussis or been vaccinated against it, the infant is protected at the very vulnerable early stages of life before its own immune system has developed or it has been immunized.

A single vaccine protecting against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis can be given to pregnant women between weeks 21 and 32 unless they have medical conditions preventing it.

Some vaccines are better for women to get before they get pregnant. Rubella, or German measles, can cause deafness or other abnormalities in a fetus. If a woman has not had the disease herself and become immune, it would be important for her to be vaccinated before conceiving.

Other diseases like influenza can be hard on a pregnant woman, whose own lungs may be compressed by the fetus. So, vaccination is recommended to protect her health.

Dr. Jennifer Blake says doctors must help pregnant women understand the importance of immunization.

ListenEN_Interview_2-20190611-WIE20

(photo: SOGC)

Vaccines recommended in pregnancy have been very carefully tested, says doctor

Some vaccines are not safe to administer during pregnancy. Others are. But Blake says there has been rigorous scientific research on this and women can consult their health care providers for information.

“(The) best advice is to maintain your vaccination status up to date and there are easy ways to do that. There are apps that help us keep track of our vaccination. There are those...booklets that we all get given when we have our vaccines. If you keep them up to date then you are always in good shape.” she says.

“Second...don’t be afraid of being vaccinated when you’re pregnant. The vaccines that are recommended in pregnancy have been very carefully tested...They are really important for your health and for your baby’s health.”

At today’s conference, health care providers discussed the causes of vaccine hesitancy and strategies to address patients' concerns.

The World Health Organization has named vaccine hesitancy one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019.

The average North American buys 60 per cent more clothing than 20 years ago and keeps it for half as long resulting in more than 36 kg of discarded clothing going into landfills every year, says Kelly Drennan. She is the founder and executive director of Fashion Takes Action, a non-profit dedicated to sustainability in the fashion industry.

Clothing production pollutes in many ways

“The textile industry is the second largest polluter of water,” she says. “You have all of these chemicals that are being used, from the pesticides they use to grow our cotton through the chemicals that are used to process and make our fabric to dyeing the fabric and even finishing chemicals are used like formaldehyde which is anti-stain and wrinkle repellent.”

Toxic chemicals are often dumped into the rivers near factories in developing countries and pollute the water that millions use for drinking. When synthetic clothing is washed it releases microfibres that are too small to be caught in water filtration plants. And the fabrics do not degrade.

Cheap clothing is made in developing countries and must be transported great distances to market leaving a large carbon footprint, says Kelly Drennan. (iStock)

More clothing, more carbon

It has become much cheaper to make clothing in developing countries, so there is much carbon pollution involved in transporting them from where they are produced to where they are sold. “The average t-shirt travels about 35,000 km before it lands on our back. That’s about one trip around the world...so that’s a really huge impact,” says Drennan. And there is the energy required to make the clothing. Drennan says for every kilogram of natural fibre apparel produced, four kilograms of carbon dioxide are emitted.

Advice offered to industry, consumers and students

She concludes it is time for the clothing industry to take steps to become more sustainable. Fashion Takes Action has convened a cross sector collaborative to address textile waste diversion and recycling.

Consumers have a major role to play and she recommends the seven Rs. These involve the common advice to reduce, reuse and recycle. But she also advises them to research the brands to find which produce more sustainably. People can also repurpose clothing to give it a second life, learn to repair and rent clothing for important occasions like graduations and weddings.

Fashion Takes Action offers advice for consumers on its website and also goes to schools to raise awareness among children. Says Drennan, “we quite simply have to stop buying as much as we're buying... We need to choose well, and we need to make it last... it’s time for us to really start to rethink how we’re buying our clothes.”

Kelly Drennan explains the over consumption of clothing and  the pollution it causes.

ListenEN_Interview_2-20190610-WIE20

(photo: Nanda Santos)

Stress, lifestyle unhealthy results

It’s a fact. Men, on average, die sooner than women and its often  because they’re working themselves to death. The Japanese have a word for it, karoshi.

Along with increased stress levels, come a number of work-related habits that worsen the physical and mental health situation.

Wayne Hartrick is president of the  Canadian Men’s Health Foundation, a non-profit Canadian Men’s Health Foundation (CMHF) is a national, not for profit organisation, which along with related sites "Don't Change Much" and "You Check" has a mission to inspire Canadian men and their families to live healthier lives

Wayne Hartrick, president of Canadian Men's Health Foundation on how job stress and work-related factors are leading men to an earlier graveEN_Interview_1-20190610-WIE10

The study was released during Men’s Health Week, which leads up to Fathers Day on the third Sunday of June.

The report notes that a majority of men will go in to work even when they’re not well. A significant percentage reported they continue to work while on vacation, while half of respondents said they work extended hours.

Survey-related image from the Canadian Men's Health Foundation

The stress and hours mean many report a negative effect on the ability to get a good night’s sleep.

The stress also leads to other negative habits like skipping meals, or eating more junk food, which along with other habits or job-related issues like sitting all day, can in turn lead to other health problems like obesity, while other issues can develop such as in emotional or mental health concerns.

Hatrick notes than far more men commit suicide than women for example.

Example of survey questions and results (CMHF)

He is quick to note that the report is not all about doom and gloom, by saying it shows a number of small and simple changes can together result in a large improvement in health.

They are indicated in a related website called, “Don’t Change Much” meaning it doesn’t take a big effort to make the significant health and lifestyle changes towards improving men’s health outlook.

Additional information

Canadian Men’s Health Foundation

Canadian Men’s Health Foundation: Men working themselves to early grave

You Check-Health Awareness tool

Don’t Change Much: website-video

CBC:Apr 22/19: How modern work pressure distorts our identity

CBC: Passionate Eye: Jan 1/19: one of the biggest killers of men is themselves

Canadian Press, (via CBC): Oct 28/16: Worked to death