RCI | English : Interviews

In 2015 and 2016, children in a British Columbia elementary school took part in a First Nations smudging ceremony and prayer. A mother objected saying the school obliged her children to take part in a religious ceremony and a later First Nations prayer contrary to the School Act and her own religious beliefs.

A judge in the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled this week that the practice did not infringe on religious beliefs.

Jay Cameron (MA. LLB) is with the legal advocacy organisation, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) and the is the Litigation Manager and Counsel for Candice Servatius and her young children

ListenEN_Interview_1-20200109-WIE10

In his ruling against the claim, the judge said, the woman "failed to establish that the Nuu-chah-nulth smudging in her children's classrooms or the prayer said by the hoop dancer at the school assembly interfered with her or her children's ability to act in accordance with their religious beliefs”.

Jay Cameron, M.A., LLB, (supplied)

The school argued the smudging and prayer and dance was part of their obligation and desire to teach and informing the young students about indigenous practices of the local Nuu-chul-nuth First Nations.

This is something that Ms. Servatius has no problem with.

However, the question hinges on the issue that showing items connected with a religious or cultural practice is much different than actually involving the children in the practice. Later she learned that a prayer based on First Nations spirituality had been performed at a mandatory student assembly, with explicit references to an unspecified “god”.

Smudging involves sage, sweetgrass and cedar boughs. The grass is set alight and the smoke is wafted over persons or objects to 'cleanse" their spirit (CBC)

There were various opinions expressed in court also as to whether these were cultural or religious practices. The ruling dismisses the challenge saying no imposition of religious beliefs took place.

John Carpay of the JCCF is quoted by the CBC in 2016 said, "The distinction here that the school board is not honouring is a difference between teaching about religion and actually practising religion by forcing kids to go through a religious ceremony," He added, “

"The way the school explained it was that everything has a spirit, the chair, the tables, the furniture, the classroom, the children. If that's not religious, then I don't know what it is.

In court it was stated that a letter which Ms Servatius received after the smudging had taken place, indicated in detail how the ritual would “cleanse” the classroom of “energy” and cleanse the “spirits” of the students. The letter claimed that without cleansing, the classroom and even the furniture would harbour negative “energy” and would not be safe until the “energy” was “released.” The letter stated that each student would participate in the cleansing ritual by holding onto a cedar branch while having “smoke from Sage fanned over [their] body and spirit.”

Cameron says that the aspect of energy and that all things have a spirit involves the supernatural and enters into the area of spiritual ritual. He also notes that other legal rulings have given credence to the religious aspect as they have decided in favour of certain individuals such as prisoners having access to smudging ceremonies claiming it as a religious right.

Cameron says the ruling is very concerning because of its implications and they are reviewing the ruling towards a possible appeal

Additional information- sources

BC Supreme Court decision: Jan 8/20

JCCF media release on court decision

CBC: M.Thomas: Nov 15/16: B.C. mother takes school district to court over Aboriginal spiritual ceremony 

Victoria News: N. Pescod: Nov 22/19: Province argues in B.C. Supreme Court for smudging in schools, says it relates to curriculum

We've all seen it, we all know it when we see it, and we've all most certainly wondered just how downright stupid our species can so often be.

For most of us, witnessing the insanity of drunken driving, is something we experience (hopefully) just in passing.

Anecdotal.

Until it isn't: until the time when somebody we know or love is involved in a fatal accident that has alcohol at its root.

A woman, 21, died in this crash in Richmond Hill, Ont. in August, 2018. A Toronto driver, also 21, was charged with impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm and refusing to provide a breath sample. (Tony Smyth/CBC)

Still, there is cause for hope that eventually we'll get it right.

In fact, it appears that a great many of us are actually wising up.

For instance, in 2016, the most recent year for which data is available, 480 Canadians were killed in road crashes involving a drinking driver.

Horrible!

But that was a 55 per cent decrease from the 1,057 people killed in 1995, according to Traffic Injury Research Foundation, which has released the results of its annual investigation into drinking and driving in Canada.

More good news: In 2016, the percentage of persons killed in a crash on a public roadway involving a drinking driver in Canada was 28.8 per cent--down from a peak of 37.3 per cent in 1995.

Montreal police trying to keep an eye on things in December 2018. In 2016, the last year for which data is available, 480 Canadians were killed in road crashes involving a drinking driver. (Radio-Canada)

But an uptick in negative statistics--especially in the percentage of people admitting to drinking and driving when they thought they were over the legal limit--has the road safety watchdog wondering if progress to reduce drinking and driving in Canada "may have stalled."

For a look at the 2019 survey and an overall perspective on drinking and driving in Canada and what the future may--or may not--hold, I spoke by phone today with Steve Brown, one of the authors of the TIRF study.

ListenEN_Interview_4-20200107-WIE40

With files from CTV (Cillian O'Brien), Traffic Injury Research Foundation,

With the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the entire mid-east situation is in turmoil.

Hundreds of thousands are turning out in the streets of Tehran and other major centres, to mourn the general.

But was there more behind the killing and what of internal politics in Iran?

Ali Dizboni (Ph.D.) is Director of Military and Strategic Studies-MSS and professor in the Department of Political Science and Economics at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario.

ListenEN_Interview_1-20200107-WIE10

Dizboni notes that Soleimani was in Iraq trying to extend Iran’s influence and power in the area. He also says that while reporting to Iran’s leader, the general nonetheless seemed to be operating as a state within a state acting on his own initiative in both foreign and domestic affairs, and as Dizboni says, was to some extent was running foreign policy.  The professor says because of that some in the top echelons of the regime may indeed have wanted to see the general moved out the way to reduce his increasing political influence.  However, while not entirely out of the question, he feels it is unlikely that the dislike would go so far as to have anyone in the regime involved in the general’s death.

Political science professor Ali Dizboni (Queen's University)

Elsewhere, Dizboni says the U.S. may feel that removing the top military figure will hamper the regime externally in its influence in the region while economic sanctions are squeezing the regime internally.  He believes the U.S. hope is that this will force the Iranian leadership to the negotiating table.

Vast crowds gather in Tehran to hear military officials call for revenge. (via CBC)

For the moment however, the move is having the opposite effect as there is popular unity against the U.S. and the west amid loud calls for revenge.

Protests against the U.S. and allies in Tehran.. Once the anger fades, will Iranians begin to turn against the regime in the face of ongoing economic hardship? (Reuters-WANA News Agency)

At the same time however, the professor notes there is also a very great concern among the population that the country could end up fractured like Syria, or involved in some wider conflict. This may temper the official response to the attack, especially as Dizboni says, the hardship of economic sanctions could begin to turn on the leadership as internal demonstrations in the past couple of years have already shown, and once the immediate anti-U.S. anger dissipates.

A few dozen Iranian-Canadians gathered in Toronto last week to celebrate the death of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Some loud arguments and scuffles broke out between groups supporting the Iranian regime and Soleimani and those opposed to the general and what he and the regime have done to the country. This is the kind of division that Dizboni feels may grow within Iran itself, even though dissent there is tightly controlled (Cole Burston/Canadian Press)

He feels that if that happens, and the economy continues to suffer, there is the possibility that some kind of takeover or at least additional pressure by the military may occur to ensure security and perhaps head to negotiations with the U.S.

After the U.S. drone strike on Friday that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, and several other important Iranian military or militia leaders on Iraqi soil. U.S. President Trump said Soleimani's "reign of terror" was over.  The U.S. action appears to be a unilateral attack without consultation with NATO allies.

That strike has caused outrage in Iran and with Iranian expats around the world. Iran has threatened retribution, and NATO is holding an emergency meeting today. Of immediate concern are the many NATO troops in Iraq leading training exercises.  Canada has about 500 troops there and the entire NATO mission is led by Canada.

Christian Leuprecht (PhD) is a professor of political science at the Royal Military College of Canada and Director of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario, and Fulbright Research Chair of Canada-US Relations at Johns Hopkins University in Washington.

ListenEN_Interview_1-20200106-WIE10

The attack on Soleimani, 62,  came from a missile armed drone. He was head of Iran's elite Quds Force which is the special operations arm of the Revolutionary Guard and in charge of Iran's proxy forces, which has been blamed for many attacks outside Iran including the deaths of U.S. troops in Iraq.

RMC and Queen's University professor Christian Leuprecht ( Sonja S Photography)

The attack may lead to retribution attacks against the many NATO troops in various locations in the Middle East, or within NATO countries. It is believed there are many sleeper cells of Quds groups in many foreign countries which have the potential to launch what has been termed in recent years as “kinetic” attacks, such as with bombs or guns. Leuprecht notes that Iran may also launch cyber attacks although he says the Iranians seem not quite as sophisticated as some other countries in cyber disruption.

Anti-American protests were staged in cities around the world. Here Kashmiri Shia Muslims shout anti-American and anti-Israel slogans during a protest against the U.S. airstrike in Iraq that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani, seen in the photographs, in Indian-controlled Kashmir, on Friday. (Mukhtar Khan/The Associated Press)

While the regime is expressing outrage and threatens retaliation, Leuprecht and other experts have also wondered whether the Iranian regime was beginning to feel threatened by the popular military leader. Soleilmani operated largely on his own initiative and was also a substantial drain on already stretched Iranian resources. More so however, he was becoming a powerful political force in his own right as evidenced by his chairing the Iraqi cabinet meeting in December. The suggestion is that allowing him to travel to Iraq may have been an acceptable risk for the regime.

About 100 people demonstrated against the drone strike in front of the U.S Consulate in Toronto on Saturday. Similar demonstration were held in other Canadian cities with most concerned about the potential threat of war for relatives still in Iran and Iraq. There was some tension as some held a candlelit vigil for the General, while others, against the current regime expressed opposition. Police however kept things in control.(Angelina King/CBC)

Meanwhile, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General responding to reporters today said he would not speculate on NATO potential actions or reactions as that could only inflame the situation. He said that the members were unified in their support of the organisation and in calling for restraint on all sides. Later noting the attack was solely a U.S decision he added however that all members were concerned about Iran’s role in destabilising the region.

Canadian Brigadier-General Jennie Carignan shown here at Canadian base on July 15,2019, leads the NATO training mission. The future of the mission is currently in some doubt due to tensions from the killing of an Iranian military leader (Sean Kilpatrick-CP)...

Looking back on 2019--a year lacking Olympics, another year missing a Canadian-based Stanley Cup champion, a year with a less than stellar performance by the Canadians at the Women's World Cup of Soccer.

What are we left with?

How about basketball? How about tennis? How about another terrific year in moguls skiing by Mikaël Kingsbury?

And--maybe most of all--how about a lot of stories about hockey that those in the hockey world would just as soon forget--like abusive coaches and racist behaviour?

Following a terrific 2019, Bianca Andreescu heads into the coming WTA tennis season No. 5 in the world rankings. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Let us begin with the good.

Certainly, Bianca Andreescu provided everyone with more than their share of thrills, winning--among other things--the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the U.S. Open to finish the year ranked No. 5 in the WTA world tennis rankings.

Meanwhile, her male counterparts astounded a lot of folks by making it to the finals of the Davis Cup before finally meeting their match in Rafa Nadal and Spain.

Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil of Canada celebrate victory with Canada team captain Frank Dancevic in the semifinal doubles match between Russia and Canada at the 2019 Davis Cup on November 23 in Madrid, Spain. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

But it was what happened in the late spring that will go a long way to marking 2019 as a year to remember.

The Toronto Raptors wowed what seemed to be the whole country during their wild and crazy run to the National Basketball Association title.

It was extraordinary, really.

Much was made about basketball somehow supplanting hockey as Canada's sport of choice.

Is such a thing even possible?

Given the rough year the National Hockey League had--both behind various team benches--and on the iconic Hockey Night in Canada telecasts, one begins to wonder about what once would have been branded a ludicrous idea.

Don Cherry, who parlayed a sharp tongue, immaculate timing and a lot of bluster into a long career on television went one step too far in November. His words and the backlash they stirred cost him his job. (Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

Don Cherry left his Saturday night perch on our television sets and two NHL head coaches left their spots behind their teams' benches for reasons having nothing to do with their win-loss records.

Another who left was later accused of less than ideal treatment of some of his players.

All this coming in a year the Raptors and a bunch of terrific tennis players were catching Canada's collective fancy.

So how, one wonders, do these combination of events play out?

Might hockey be in more than a bit of danger of having its supremacy in the Canadian Sporting Ethos seriously challenged?

Bruce Dowbiggin (cbc. ca)

I know few--if any--people who know more about hockey and its place in Canada's emotional and sociological firmament than Bruce Dowbiggin, author of a number of books on all phases of the game.

Dowbiggin, a long-time friend of RCI and host of the website Not the Public Broadcaster, joins us at the end of every year for a look back at the world of sports.

This year, I could not resist asking about the hold hockey has held in our national imagination for so long.

Here is our conversation.

ListenEN_Interview_4-20191230-WIE40

Animal rights activists, a determined lot at any time, are looking back at their gains in 2019 and feeling pretty good about both themselves and the animals they seek to protect.

https://youtu.be/u3O7RoSWMTI

The year, according to the executive director of Animal Justice, Camille Labchuk, was marked by some historic wins--including the ones making the most news–-a new law to ban keeping whales, dolphins and porpoises in captivity, new federal legislation cracking down on animal cruelty that will list those convicted of bestiality on Canada's national sex offenders registry.

and new legislation in Ontario strengthening that province’s animal cruelty laws.

Labchuk believes there are even better days ahead, as she told me when I spoke with her by phone at her office in Ottawa.

ListenEN_Interview_2-20191230-WIE20

In 2015 a study of over 200 lakes around the world (containing a total of half the world's freshwater supply) showed a clear warming trend. At the time, it was suggested that this is affecting drinking water quality, fish habitat, and has an effect on other animals.

A new study looks at how declining ice cover has an detrimental economic affect on people.

Sapna Sharma (PhD) is a professor in the Department of Biology at York University in Toronto.

ListenEN_Interview_1-20191224-WIE10

The study showed that about 15,000 lakes around the world that in the past would regularly freeze in winter, are no longer regularly freezing as they did. The study estimates up that as global warming continues, up to 200,000 lakes around the world would no longer freeze every winter.

York University professor Sapna Sharma (PhD) in Brantford Ontario Dec. 24.,2019

The study was published earlier this year in the journal for the Association Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography under the title Consequences of lake and river ice loss on cultural ecosystem services. (open access here)

Professor Sharma says that warming isn’t linear, meaning a given lake will freeze less and less each year, but that as a trend over many years, there will be less occurrence of freezing, which will become more frequent as decades pass.

Supplies brought in over winter ice roads are critical for remote northern communities, but the seasons are getting shorter. Here a fuel truck has gone through while crossing the lake toward Deline N.W.T on Mar, 5, 2019.

The study notes that here in N. America major ice fishing competitions which can bring in up to hundreds of thousands of dollars to a community have also had to be cancelled.

The ice road between Detah and Yellowknife had one of its latest openings ever starting only on Jan 11, 2019. It has has opened later than usual for several years in a row now (Steve Silva- CBC)

Communities that depend on scheduled winter activities to boost local economies have seen those hopes dashed as unexpected spells of warm weather spoil or force cancellation of the event.

She points out that a skating race which began in the Netherlands in 1797, has had a sketchy history of late as cold periods long enough to freeze the canals had become rarer with the last event held in 1997 . A similar long distance race is now held on Lake Malaren in Sweden called the Viking Run where even there it was cancelled in 2000, 2002 due to poor ice, and in 2008 when there was practically no ice at all throughout the winter.

Ice fishing huts on a Saskatchewan lake. Competitions can attract hundreds of fisherfolk and contribute vast sums to a local economy, but the number of cancellations due to unsafe ice has been slowly increasing over time, hurting communities that depend on the income. (Radio-Canada)

Remote northern communities in Canada which depend on winter ice roads for supplies are also seeing their supply season shortened. In the study, a warmer winter could mean a delay in supplies reaching them by up to three weeks.

Ski resorts in many cases must now rely on expensive snow making equipment to continue functioning.

She notes that her Ontario community is where hockey legend Wayne Gretzky grew up practicing on a frozen winter backyard rink, something that she says is not really possible anymore, adding there’s almost no snow at all on the ground this Christmas.

Additional information

Muskoka Tourism: M. Bidding: Dec 20/19: Warming Winters Threaten Culture In Northern Communities, Report Says

A new analysis of hundreds of studies covering two decades of studies related to genetics and about 200 diseases. The result may come as a surprise to many.  It finds, in most cases, little correlation between a genetic mutation and risk of the disease.

David Wishart (PhD, FRSC) t, professor in the University of Alberta’s Department of Biological Sciences , the Department of Computing Science, and the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. He is the supervising co-author on the study

ListenEN_Interview_1-20191223-WIE10

It is the largest meta-analysis ever conducted into the issue of the relationship between common gene mutations, also known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and different diseases and conditions.

University of Alberta professor David Wishart (PhD FRSC) led the study. (John Ulan-University of Alberta)

It was published this month in the science journal PLOS ONE under the title, ‘Assessing the performance of genome-wide association studies for predicting disease risk’ (open access here)

The study found that conditions like many cancers, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimers, and many others, only have a limited genetic predisposition for getting the particular disease of five to ten per cent.

Wishart says of the result show , “Simply put, DNA is not your destiny, and SNPs are duds for disease prediction. The things that influence disease come more from what you are exposed to and diet and lifestyle”

It does note that for certain other diseases, including Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, and macular degeneration, there is a a much higher and more relevant genetic contribution of approximately 40 to 50 per cent. Still, Wishart says the results indicate the risks for getting most diseases arise from your metabolism, your environment, your lifestyle, your gut microbiome or your exposure to various kinds of nutrients, chemicals, bacteria, or viruses”.

He notes that measuring one’s metabolites,  microbes or proteins, is a better predictor of health risks, versus your genes,”

Indeed, his research page notes, “Metabolites aren't simply the “bricks and mortar” of cells or  fuel for cellular energetics, they appear to have a more varied and important role as signaling molecules, immune modulators, endogenous toxins, and environmental sensors.

In short, he feels our environment plays a more relevant role in determining health and risks and “highlights the need to understand our environment and the safety or quality of our food, air, and water”.

University of Alberta-Science- YouTube

Additional information

Wishart Research Lab

The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear a case involving a 44-year-old ailing elephant, dashing the hopes of animal activists and likely confining her to the Edmonton Valley Zoo for the rest of her days.

Zoocheck Canada has been going to court-unsuccessfully--for years to have the elephant, named Lucy, moved to a warmer location, a move that is supported by celebrities who include famed author Margaret Atwood and prominent former game show host Bob Barker.

The group says the zoo is violating provincial standards by keeping her isolated from her own species and failing to provide her with a facility that meets her "biological and behavioural needs," and wanted Alberta to impose conditions on the zoo's permit to force compliance.

The debate surrounding the relocation of Lucy the elephant resurfaced again last year after the Edmonton Valley Zoo received a dishonourable mention on a list of the worst zoos for elephants. Lucy, who has lived at the zoo since 1977, is ailing. (CBC)

The top court dismissed an appeal application Thursday morning and--as per custom--did not give a reason.

Officials at the zoo, where Lucy has lived since 1977 after being orphaned in Sri Lanka, say she is treated well and is continually monitored by veterinarians

The zoo's website calls her "charming and precocious."

Lucy has long been the focus of a fight between animal rights groups and the City of Edmonton, which runs the Valley Zoo. (CBC)

She is also a sick Asian elephant, who is having problems with her feet, hips, teeth and respiratory system, illnesses that the zoo and Zoocheck say make her too sick to move.

"It is possible that the zoo has created a self-fulfilling prophecy by stalling for so long that she may be too ill for transport, since her medical records now show that she is going down due to colic, a very dangerous situation for elephants," Julie Woodyer, Zoochek's campaign's director, told CBC News' Kathleen Harris.

"However, even if it is too late to move her safely, there are still things they could do to improve her life."

Prior to Thursday's ruling, Camille Labchuk, the executive director of Animal Justice, was optimistic the Supreme Court would decide to hear the case.

I spoke with her by phone at her office in Ottawa afterwards.

ListenEN_Interview_4-20191219-WIE40

With files from CBC (Kathleen Harris)

It’s a worldwide problem that nets scammers untold wealth from unsuspecting and trusting phone users.

Telephone scams, along with simple spam, have been increasing dramatically in the last couple of years, and now the Canadian government is ordering companies to act against it.

Greg O'Brien is the editor and publisher of Cartt DOT ca - which covers the telecom and TV industry. We reached him in Hamilton, Ontario

ListenEN_Interview_1-20191219-WIE10

In a press release on Tuesday, the oversight and regulatory agency, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced the implementation of a first level of action against unwanted calls. Ian Scott, Chairperson and CEO of the CRTC wrote,

"Canadians need to have the right tools to manage nuisance calls. With the implementation of a call blocking system, calls that are malformed will be stopped within the network. At the same time, we are working with the industry on other tools to better protect Canadians from nuisance calls, including a process to alert them when the caller ID has been spoofed. "

Greg O'Brien is the editor and publisher of Cartt DOT ca - which covers the telecom and cable industry. (supplied)

-The new phone call blocking rules come into effect today. Telecom companies are ordered to block illegitimate calls from reaching consumers. These are calls with ID information that either exceeds 15 digits or doesn’t conform to a number that can be dialled (for example, 000-000-0000).

This will block obvious illegitimate calls, but for the moment will not block ‘spoofed’ numbers. These are legitimate numbers that the scammers have hijacked to appear on call display.

Spoof numbers are ones that scammers have used to hide their own number and substitute another actual number. New technology to take effect next year should help detect and block spoofed numbers (CBC News)

A technology called, ‘Stir/Shaken’  which is a caller ID authentication and verification measure which should hamper spoofed number calling is to be implemented in September 2020.

The CRTC and police agencies continue to recommend never giving out personal information (such as banking information or Social Insurance Numbers) over the phone without first verifying whether the request is legitimate. Experts also say if you answer and there’s a delay of more than a second and it sounds like you’re being connected to a call centre, you should hang up. They also note that in Canada, government agencies like Revenue Canada (taxes), Border Services (immigration), the Department of Justice etc. will not call you.

Scammers have collected a known amount of more the $24 million from victims in Canada last year alone. As  O’Brien points out, the actual amount scammed from Canadians may be much higher due to people’s reluctance to tell the police they were fooled.

CBC News (2:02)

Additional information

CRTC- Call ‘spoofing’

CRTC- manage unwanted calls

CRTC- Press release Dec 17/19: Call blocking comes into force: Canadians to have more protection against nuisance calls

CARTT- Dec 17/19: First stage of spam call blocking comes into force Thursday

650 CHOM: Dec 13/19: Tech expert: new phone regulations won’t stop scammers

Globe and Mail: P.Nowak: The CRTC is cracking down on spam calls, but Canada’s wireless carriers should go further