nationalobserver--2020-06-11--Top court upholds ruling in favour of Coquitlam RCMP in cocaine entrapment case

When police in Coquitlam , B.C.
, phoned up a suspected cocaine dealer and ordered drugs , it was not entrapment because they had done other investigative work and had a reasonable suspicion before calling , Canada ’ s top court ruled Thursday .
The decision adds to the Supreme Court of Canada ’ s body of work dealing with the balance between individual liberties and police powers , and the doctrine of entrapment — the idea that police should not randomly test people ’ s virtue , and that the state should be limited in how it can manipulate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Justice Sheilah Martin read out the court ’ s ruling following a virtual hearing .
Justices appeared via Zoom video-conferencing , and used the virtual background setting to display a photo of the court behind them as they spoke into headsets .
The ruling upholds a B.C .
Court of Appeal decision in the case of Cheung Wai Wallace Li , who pleaded guilty to trafficking in cocaine .
A B.C .
trial judge had stayed proceedings on Li , saying that before the Mounties made the initial phone call to buy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t have a reasonable basis to suspect that the phone number they were about to dial was associated with a drug-dealing operation .
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But the appeals court lifted the stay , saying it had found “ several errors in the judge ’ s analysis.
” On Thursday , Eric Purtzki , the Vancouver-based counsel for the appellant , had argued for the Supreme Court to restore the B.C .
trial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involved an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip received by the Coquitlam RCMP in 2015 .
The tipster provided a phone number and said it was being used to deal cocaine in the area .
They also gave a description of a tan Honda Odyssey minivan they said was involved , and gave the licence plate number .
The Mounties ran the phone number against a police database and came up empty , but when they ran a vehicle registration check on the plate , it confirmed the minivan description .
Further records checks revealed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history of suspected drug trafficking '' and had five other vehicles registered in his name .
When an RCMP constable tried the phone number , a man answered , later identified as Li .
The constable asked how the man was doing , and he said , “ good ” and then asked who was calling .
The constable said it was “ J ” or “ Jen ” and the man said , “ OK. ” The constable then asked for “ half of soft , ” or half a gram of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the Coquitlam Centre mall and the police bought the drugs .
Over the following months , the Mounties bought drugs 21 more times , with Li involved in 16 of those deals , according to the B.C .
Court of Appeal ruling .
When police in Coquitlam , B.C .
phoned up a suspected cocaine dealer and ordered drugs , it was not entrapment because they had done other investigative work and had a reasonable suspicion before calling , Canada ’ s top court ruled Thursday .
Purtzki argued Thursday that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been seen as disconnected from the records check on the phone number .
Allowing police to bring together such disparate elements would create a “ moral hazard , ” he said .
There was no reasonable grounds to support a suspicion of drug dealing either before the call or during the call , argued Purtzki .
“ There ’ s nothing in the course of the call ... linking the analysis and the tip to the content of the call , ” he said .
'The police confirmed the assertion of illegality ' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s action was not based on a hunch , but a “ constellation ” of factors .
While the reliability of the tipster was unknown , the tip itself was detailed , including not just the phone number , but the make , model and colour of the vehicle and the licence plate .
As well , the Crown asked why Li , after the constable identified themselves as “ J ” or “ Jen , ” did not ask any follow-up questions about the person 's identity .
And the Crown argued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use `` burner '' phones , or disposable , prepaid phones , so it was not uncommon for a phone number check to come back negative .
Purtzki replied that the sergeant who was questioned on the burner phone issue was asked in court proceedings if he agreed that , in his experience , drug dealers changed their phone numbers frequently , and his answer was that he didn ’ t necessarily agree .
Martin , when reading out the court ’ s ruling Thursday , confirmed that the justices agreed with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of another Supreme Court case , R. v. Ahmad , dated May 29 .
That case is considered to be the first time the court had looked at entrapment in the context of so-called “ dial-a-dope ” trafficking cases .
In that case , the Supreme Court found that the entrapment doctrine should be focused on “ abuse of process , ” and that stays of proceedings should be “ only issued in the clearest of cases of intolerable state conduct.
” “ The police confirmed the assertion of illegality by connecting this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other vehicles , to a person with an extensive and recent history of suspected dial-a-dope drug dealing , ” said Martin .

When police in Coquitlam, B.C., phoned up a suspected cocaine dealer and ordered drugs, it was not entrapment because they had done other investigative work and had a reasonable suspicion before calling, Canada’s top court ruled Thursday. The decision adds to the Supreme Court of Canada’s body of work dealing with the balance between individual liberties and police powers, and the doctrine of entrapment — the idea that police should not randomly test people’s virtue, and that the state should be limited in how it can manipulate people for the purpose of scoring convictions. Justice Sheilah Martin read out the court’s ruling following a virtual hearing. Justices appeared via Zoom video-conferencing, and used the virtual background setting to display a photo of the court behind them as they spoke into headsets. The ruling upholds a B.C. Court of Appeal decision in the case of Cheung Wai Wallace Li, who pleaded guilty to trafficking in cocaine. A B.C. trial judge had stayed proceedings on Li, saying that before the Mounties made the initial phone call to buy drugs off him, they didn’t have a reasonable basis to suspect that the phone number they were about to dial was associated with a drug-dealing operation.
But the appeals court lifted the stay, saying it had found “several errors in the judge’s analysis.” On Thursday, Eric Purtzki, the Vancouver-based counsel for the appellant, had argued for the Supreme Court to restore the B.C. trial judge’s finding. Crime Stoppers tip led to Mounties buying drugs Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions The case involved an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip received by the Coquitlam RCMP in 2015. The tipster provided a phone number and said it was being used to deal cocaine in the area. They also gave a description of a tan Honda Odyssey minivan they said was involved, and gave the licence plate number.
The Mounties ran the phone number against a police database and came up empty, but when they ran a vehicle registration check on the plate, it confirmed the minivan description. Further records checks revealed that the owner "had an extensive history of suspected drug trafficking" and had five other vehicles registered in his name. When police in Coquitlam, B.C. phoned up a suspected cocaine dealer and ordered drugs, it was not entrapment because they had done other investigative work and had a reasonable suspicion before calling, Canada’s top court ruled Thursday. When an RCMP constable tried the phone number, a man answered, later identified as Li. The constable asked how the man was doing, and he said, “good” and then asked who was calling. The constable said it was “J” or “Jen” and the man said, “OK.” The constable then asked for “half of soft,” or half a gram of cocaine. They then arranged to meet at the Coquitlam Centre mall and the police bought the drugs. Over the following months, the Mounties bought drugs 21 more times, with Li involved in 16 of those deals, according to the B.C. Court of Appeal ruling. Purtzki argued Thursday that the police investigation into the vehicle should have been seen as disconnected from the records check on the phone number. Allowing police to bring together such disparate elements would create a “moral hazard,” he said. There was no reasonable grounds to support a suspicion of drug dealing either before the call or during the call, argued Purtzki. “There’s nothing in the course of the call ... linking the analysis and the tip to the content of the call,” he said.
'The police confirmed the assertion of illegality' Crown counsel countered that the RCMP’s action was not based on a hunch, but a “constellation” of factors. While the reliability of the tipster was unknown, the tip itself was detailed, including not just the phone number, but the make, model and colour of the vehicle and the licence plate. As well, the Crown asked why Li, after the constable identified themselves as “J” or “Jen,” did not ask any follow-up questions about the person's identity. And the Crown argued it was typical for drug dealers to use "burner" phones, or disposable, prepaid phones, so it was not uncommon for a phone number check to come back negative.


nationalobserver--2020-06-11--Doug Ford tests negative for COVID-19

Doug Ford tests negative for COVID-19

Premier Doug Ford has tested negative for COVID-19 , his office said Thursday .
Ford , along with Health Minister @ @ @ @ @ for the virus Wednesday after Education Minister Stephen Lecce , who had attended a media @ @ @ @ @ before , learned he 'd been in in contact with someone who had COVID-19 .
@ @ @ @ @ both Premier Ford and Minister Elliott have had no known contact with anyone who has @ @ @ @ @ and as a result , there is no need for either of them to self-isolate @ @ @ @ @ 's office in a statement .

Premier Doug Ford has tested negative for COVID-19, his office said Thursday.
Ford, along with Health Minister Christine Elliott, were tested for the virus Wednesday after Education Minister Stephen Lecce, who had attended a media briefing with them the day before, learned he'd been in in contact with someone who had COVID-19.
"To be clear, both Premier Ford and Minister Elliott have had no known contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19, and as a result, there is no need for either of them to self-isolate," said the premier's office in a statement.
Lecce was tested Tuesday after being exposed on June 6, and his results came back negative. Ford's office said the premier and Elliott had both tested negative as well Thursday morning.
It's not clear whether the negative tests mean Ford and Elliott are fully virus free — it can take several days for the virus to incubate, and studies show false negatives are common.


nationalobserver--2020-06-11--Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says police must acknowledge racism

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says all federal agencies , including police , must understand that systemic racism is a problem , but advocates say they want more than the minister 's acknowledgment that there is a problem .
`` It 's paying lip service , '' said Dieulita Datus , the co-organizer of an anti-racism group in central Alberta .
`` We are beyond simply understanding .
We are beyond simply having conversations .
What we need now is change — systematic change . ''
Freeland 's comment came in response to media questions Wednesday about the commanding officer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no systemic racism in Canadian policing .
`` It is very important for all federal government institutions , including the police , to operate from an understanding that systemic racism is a problem for us here in Canada , to not be complacent about that , and we have to work together against it , '' she said .
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Freeland added that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brenda Lucki about acknowledging racism .
`` We know that a really big challenge for our government and for all of us is , first of all , of course , to acknowledge that this systemic racism exists and to take concrete action to work against it and , ultimately , to dismantle it , '' Freeland said .
Later Wednesday , in an story published in The Globe and Mail , Lucki disputed that there 's systemic racism in the force and that the problem is unconscious bias of a minority of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` I really struggle with the term ‘ systemic racism , ’ ” Lucki was quoted as saying .
“ I think that if systemic racism is meaning that racism is entrenched in our policies and procedures , I would say that we don ’ t have systemic racism.
” On Monday , Alberta Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki said Canada is different than the United States , in response to a question about the wave of protests around the world following the death of a George Floyd , a Black man , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` I do n't believe that racism is systemic through Canadian policing .
I do n't believe it 's systemic through policing in Alberta , '' Zablocki told reporters in Edmonton .
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says all federal agencies , including police , must understand that systemic racism is a problem , but advocates say they want more than the minister 's acknowledgment that there is a problem .
But he did say that racism is `` prevalent '' in all aspects of society , including in police services .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday , saying that he had thought there was no systemic racism within his department until he talked to Black Lives Matter demonstrators .
`` Two weeks ago , I might have told you , 'No . '
And I thought that was the case , '' Neufeld said .
`` I think when we listened downtown , when we were hearing the community talk about situations they 've experienced , it does make you stop and think . ''
Datus , who co-founded Ubuntu — Mobilizing Central Alberta in Red Deer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zablocki 's comment is naive and shows a lack of dialogue with communities of colour .
Khan , however , added that Freeland 's response also shows a lack insight about what demonstrators are asking for : real action on racism .
Simply recognizing systemic racism exists is not sufficient for a federal minister anymore , said El Jones , a community activist in Halifax .
`` If ( Freeland ) wants to deal with racism , she could deal with migrant work conditions .
If she wants to deal with racism , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She has the power to do all those things , '' Jones said .
She added that many reports and inquiries could have been acted on prior to recent demonstrations .
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls called for policing reforms , including teaching officers about the `` history of police in the oppression and genocide of Indigenous People . ''

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says all federal agencies, including police, must understand that systemic racism is a problem, but advocates say they want more than the minister's acknowledgment that there is a problem. "It's paying lip service," said Dieulita Datus, the co-organizer of an anti-racism group in central Alberta. "We are beyond simply understanding. We are beyond simply having conversations. What we need now is change — systematic change." Freeland's comment came in response to media questions Wednesday about the commanding officer of the Alberta RCMP saying there is no systemic racism in Canadian policing. "It is very important for all federal government institutions, including the police, to operate from an understanding that systemic racism is a problem for us here in Canada, to not be complacent about that, and we have to work together against it," she said.
Freeland added that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair had spoken to RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki about acknowledging racism. "We know that a really big challenge for our government and for all of us is, first of all, of course, to acknowledge that this systemic racism exists and to take concrete action to work against it and, ultimately, to dismantle it," Freeland said. Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions Later Wednesday, in an story published in The Globe and Mail, Lucki disputed that there's systemic racism in the force and that the problem is unconscious bias of a minority of officers who fail to follow RCMP values.
"I really struggle with the term ‘systemic racism,’” Lucki was quoted as saying. “I think that if systemic racism is meaning that racism is entrenched in our policies and procedures, I would say that we don’t have systemic racism.” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says all federal agencies, including police, must understand that systemic racism is a problem, but advocates say they want more than the minister's acknowledgment that there is a problem. On Monday, Alberta Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki said Canada is different than the United States, in response to a question about the wave of protests around the world following the death of a George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis last month. "I don't believe that racism is systemic through Canadian policing. I don't believe it's systemic through policing in Alberta," Zablocki told reporters in Edmonton. But he did say that racism is "prevalent" in all aspects of society, including in police services. Calgary police Chief Mark Neufeld weighed in Wednesday, saying that he had thought there was no systemic racism within his department until he talked to Black Lives Matter demonstrators.
"Two weeks ago, I might have told you, 'No.' And I thought that was the case," Neufeld said. "I think when we listened downtown, when we were hearing the community talk about situations they've experienced, it does make you stop and think." Datus, who co-founded Ubuntu — Mobilizing Central Alberta in Red Deer, Alta. with Sadia Khan, said Zablocki's comment is naive and shows a lack of dialogue with communities of colour.


nationalobserver--2020-06-11--Opposition parties kill bill with one-time, tax-free payment of up to $600 for Canadians with disabi

Opposition parties kill bill with one-time, tax-free payment of up to $600 for Canadians with disabilities

The non-partisan spirit that has allowed Parliament to swiftly pass emergency legislation during the COVID-19 pandemic evaporated Wednesday , with opposition parties refusing to give unanimous consent to the Trudeau government 's latest bill .
The Conservatives then blocked the government 's bid to split the bill in two , to allow a promised benefit for Canadians with disabilities to go ahead .
That benefit — a one-time , tax-free payment of up to $ 600 for Canadians with disabilities — and other measures in the bill are now in limbo , while the parties point fingers at one another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House leader Pablo Rodriguez said he was disappointed that no opposition parties supported the bill but vowed to keep negotiating with them in hopes that a resolution can be found .
He conceded , however , that this will delay the disability benefit and other measures .
`` I 'm not going to quit on this because it 's too important , '' he said in an interview shortly after the bill was rejected in a sitting of the House of Commons that lasted just 15 minutes .
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`` Canadians need it , people with disabilities need it . ''
The bill includes a proposed expansion of the wage subsidy program to include seasonal workers and some additional businesses , as well as proposed penalties for fraudulently claiming the Canada Emergency Response Benefit .
The Liberals needed unanimous consent from all MPs in the House of Commons to allow the bill to be debated and passed in a matter of hours , as has been done with four previous pandemic-related @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parties was willing to support the latest bill .
The NDP balked at the prospect of Canadians who fraudulently claim the $ 2,000-a-month CERB being fined or sent to jail — despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 's assurances that the punishment is aimed at those who deliberately defraud the government , not those who make honest mistakes .
New Democrats also wanted a firm commitment that the CERB will be extended and changes to the proposed disability benefit , which they maintained would apply only to 40 per cent of Canadians with disabilities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Parliament to swiftly pass emergency legislation during the COVID-19 pandemic evaporated Wednesday , with opposition parties refusing to give unanimous consent to the Trudeau government 's latest bill .
The Conservatives held out for a full resumption of Commons business .
And the Bloc Quebecois demanded three conditions be met before it would support the bill : a fiscal update this month , a first ministers ' meeting before September on health-care transfers to the provinces and a ban on political parties accessing the wage subsidy to avoid laying off staff .
Rodriguez @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bit more politics in the middle of this than before and it 's bad because it should be about people , not politics , definitely not partisan politics . ''
The Bloc 's conditions for supporting the bill `` have nothing to do with the bill , '' he noted .
However , Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet accused the Liberals of playing politics , arguing they 're acting like a majority government in trying to force through legislation while not providing transparency about the country 's finances .
`` The most poisonous pill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trying stubbornly to act as if there were not 338 people having been elected last October and doing as if it was a majority government led by some kind of prince , which is not the case , '' Blanchet told reporters .
`` They are not asking us for negotiations , they are asking us for a rubber stamp . ''
He also accused the Liberals of deliberately including the disability benefit in the bill in order to coerce opposition parties into going along with the controversial fraud penalties .
He likened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chocolate cake . ''
Both Blanchet and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh suggested the disability benefit should be dealt with separately .
But when Rodriguez moved to do just that , the Conservatives refused to give their consent .
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer instead proposed his own motion to have the House of Commons resume sitting later in the day — and resume business as usual thereafter .
The Liberals rejected that .
`` Had we been sitting normally , we could have debated this bill , we could have facilitated the government 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Rodriguez called Scheer 's motion `` some kind of procedural trick '' that `` looked very innocent but was loaded . ''
It would have undone last month 's decision , supported by the NDP , to continue with sittings of the special COVID-19 committee that has been acting as a stand-in for the Commons during the pandemic .
What happens to the bill now is not clear .
The Commons is not scheduled to sit again until next Wednesday , when it is supposed to deal with the supplementary estimates — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , mostly on pandemic-related matters .
The bill — or just the disability benefit portion of it — could be added to the agenda but opposition parties have already complained they have too little time to debate the estimates .
Rodriguez said the government can ask that the Commons be recalled at any time .
Blanchet called for it to sit on Monday to deal separately with the disability benefit .
The minority Liberals need the support of at least one opposition party to pass any legislation .
While New Democrats want amendments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Canadians , a party spokesman indicated Wednesday that they would n't block the government 's proposal if it 's put in a separate bill .
To deal with such a bill quickly , the Liberals would also need the support of at least one opposition party to shut down debate and bypass the normal , lengthy legislative process .
The current bill includes a provision to allow the Canada Revenue Agency to share information so that the benefit can be delivered to Canadians who are eligible for the disability tax credit .
Government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be found if necessary to get that benefit flowing .
The bill also includes changes to the CERB in response to concerns that the benefit is discouraging people from returning to low-paying jobs .
People would be cut off if they fail to return to work when `` it is reasonable to do so '' and their employer has asked them to come back , or if they are able to work but decline a reasonable job offer .
It would also allow people to make claims for the CERB for a two-week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks .
It would also protect Canadians from penalties for missing deadlines in civil legal matters , such as bankruptcy proceedings , due to the pandemic .
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10 , 2020 .

The non-partisan spirit that has allowed Parliament to swiftly pass emergency legislation during the COVID-19 pandemic evaporated Wednesday, with opposition parties refusing to give unanimous consent to the Trudeau government's latest bill. The Conservatives then blocked the government's bid to split the bill in two, to allow a promised benefit for Canadians with disabilities to go ahead. That benefit — a one-time, tax-free payment of up to $600 for Canadians with disabilities — and other measures in the bill are now in limbo, while the parties point fingers at one another over who is to blame. Government House leader Pablo Rodriguez said he was disappointed that no opposition parties supported the bill but vowed to keep negotiating with them in hopes that a resolution can be found. He conceded, however, that this will delay the disability benefit and other measures. "I'm not going to quit on this because it's too important," he said in an interview shortly after the bill was rejected in a sitting of the House of Commons that lasted just 15 minutes.
"Canadians need it, people with disabilities need it." The bill includes a proposed expansion of the wage subsidy program to include seasonal workers and some additional businesses, as well as proposed penalties for fraudulently claiming the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions The Liberals needed unanimous consent from all MPs in the House of Commons to allow the bill to be debated and passed in a matter of hours, as has been done with four previous pandemic-related bills.
But none of the opposition parties was willing to support the latest bill. The non-partisan spirit that has allowed Parliament to swiftly pass emergency legislation during the COVID-19 pandemic evaporated Wednesday, with opposition parties refusing to give unanimous consent to the Trudeau government's latest bill. The NDP balked at the prospect of Canadians who fraudulently claim the $2,000-a-month CERB being fined or sent to jail — despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's assurances that the punishment is aimed at those who deliberately defraud the government, not those who make honest mistakes. New Democrats also wanted a firm commitment that the CERB will be extended and changes to the proposed disability benefit, which they maintained would apply only to 40 per cent of Canadians with disabilities. The Conservatives held out for a full resumption of Commons business. And the Bloc Quebecois demanded three conditions be met before it would support the bill: a fiscal update this month, a first ministers' meeting before September on health-care transfers to the provinces and a ban on political parties accessing the wage subsidy to avoid laying off staff.
Rodriguez said "there's been a little bit more politics in the middle of this than before and it's bad because it should be about people, not politics, definitely not partisan politics." The Bloc's conditions for supporting the bill "have nothing to do with the bill," he noted. However, Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet accused the Liberals of playing politics, arguing they're acting like a majority government in trying to force through legislation while not providing transparency about the country's finances.


nationalobserver--2020-06-11--A dozen conservation and Indigenous groups ask Wilkinson to force Alberta to reinstate oilpatch moni

A dozen conservation and Indigenous groups ask Wilkinson to force Alberta to reinstate oilpatch monitoring

A dozen conservation and Indigenous groups have written federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson asking him to force the Alberta government to reinstate environmental monitoring in the province 's oilpatch .
`` We feel the federal government does have something at risk here , '' said Gillian Chow-Fraser of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society , one of the groups that signed the letter sent Tuesday .
The province 's energy regulator decided earlier this spring that companies no longer have to live up to a wide array of environmental monitoring requirements that are a condition of their licences .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and wildlife measures .
Most have no end date .
The regulator says the decision was made to protect workers and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic .
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Chow-Fraser said the suspensions will affect Wood Buffalo National Park , a UNESCO World Heritage Site downstream from Alberta 's oilsands .
Federal assessments have already acknowledged the park is under threat and UNESCO has warned that the park 's status could be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a federal action plan .
`` That action plan references all these provincial regulations and regulatory bodies that the plan said should protect the park , '' Chow-Fraser said .
`` Those are the exact regulations that have been unilaterally suspended . ''
The signatories want Wilkinson to urge Alberta to end the suspensions and find out how they may have affected ongoing work at Wood Buffalo .
They also want him to withhold any pandemic-related aid to the province 's energy industry until the suspensions end .
The groups include the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Territory Metis Nation and the Smith ’ s Landing First Nation .
Environmental groups include the Alberta Wilderness Association .
The mayor of Fort Resolution , N.W.T.
, has also signed .
Other area First Nations are in favour of the letter .
`` We do support it , '' said Melody Lepine of the Mikisew Cree .
A dozen conservation and Indigenous groups have written federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson asking him to force the Alberta government to reinstate environmental monitoring in the province 's oilpatch .
In an email sent Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspensions could come off as early as Aug. 15 if two ministerial orders from the province 's energy and environment departments are left to expire .
It said that figures supplied by industry suggest that between 95 and 98 per cent of environmental regulations remain in place .
It also said Alberta 's chief scientist , Fred Wrona , believes the suspensions wo n't harm the long-term quality of the province 's monitoring data .
Chow-Fraser said waiting for the United Conservative government to decide when monitoring will resume is n't good enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but we still do n't have any certainty on that .
`` They are very vague suspensions .
There are no deadlines .
We do n't have any certainty that it wo n't be several months , half a year , a year . ''
Earlier this week , three different northern Alberta First Nations filed a request to appeal the regulator 's decision to suspend monitoring .
Their request points out First Nations were n't consulted , despite the decision 's impacts on their treaty rights .
It also says the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ specific activities to COVID-19 risks and despite work continuing at energy facilities .
It adds the hold on monitoring came weeks after the province declared a state of emergency over the pandemic and just as Alberta was starting to ease its lockdown .

A dozen conservation and Indigenous groups have written federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson asking him to force the Alberta government to reinstate environmental monitoring in the province's oilpatch. "We feel the federal government does have something at risk here," said Gillian Chow-Fraser of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, one of the groups that signed the letter sent Tuesday. The province's energy regulator decided earlier this spring that companies no longer have to live up to a wide array of environmental monitoring requirements that are a condition of their licences. The suspensions include air, water, land and wildlife measures. Most have no end date. The regulator says the decision was made to protect workers and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chow-Fraser said the suspensions will affect Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site downstream from Alberta's oilsands. Federal assessments have already acknowledged the park is under threat and UNESCO has warned that the park's status could be endangered if environmental problems aren't addressed in a federal action plan. "That action plan references all these provincial regulations and regulatory bodies that the plan said should protect the park," Chow-Fraser said. "Those are the exact regulations that have been unilaterally suspended." Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions The signatories want Wilkinson to urge Alberta to end the suspensions and find out how they may have affected ongoing work at Wood Buffalo. They also want him to withhold any pandemic-related aid to the province's energy industry until the suspensions end.
The groups include the Fort Chipewyan Metis Association, the Northwest Territory Metis Nation and the Smith’s Landing First Nation. Environmental groups include the Alberta Wilderness Association. The mayor of Fort Resolution, N.W.T., has also signed. A dozen conservation and Indigenous groups have written federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson asking him to force the Alberta government to reinstate environmental monitoring in the province's oilpatch. Other area First Nations are in favour of the letter. "We do support it," said Melody Lepine of the Mikisew Cree. Wilkinson's office wasn't immediately available for comment. In an email sent Tuesday, the Alberta Energy Regulator said the suspensions could come off as early as Aug. 15 if two ministerial orders from the province's energy and environment departments are left to expire.
It said that figures supplied by industry suggest that between 95 and 98 per cent of environmental regulations remain in place. It also said Alberta's chief scientist, Fred Wrona, believes the suspensions won't harm the long-term quality of the province's monitoring data. Chow-Fraser said waiting for the United Conservative government to decide when monitoring will resume isn't good enough.


nationalobserver--2020-06-12--Lawyers for youth say prosecutors going easier amid pandemic challenges

With Ontario ’ s largely shuttered justice system likely to face a backlog of cases once in-person hearings resume , lawyers for youth say prosecutors are showing leniency in some matters .
Since courts were shuttered in mid-March due to COVID-19 , lawyer Emma Rhodes said she has had several cases relating to breach of bail withdrawn , or downgraded from performing community service to writing an essay .
“ Everyone is taking a look at their cases and deciding which ones should be prosecuted , ” said Rhodes , a criminal justice lawyer who works mostly on cases involving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a very different triage system happening now , ” she said .
“ I think it ’ s an excellent thing , and if something shouldn ’ t be prosecuted now , perhaps it shouldn ’ t have been prosecuted ever.
” But the pandemic is also complicating their ability to represent their underage clients , with trials facing delays and bail hearings via conference call making it impossible to discreetly discuss terms .
• Opposition parties kill bill with one-time , tax-free payment of up to $ 600 for Canadians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or asking whether ... certain things will work , you can ’ t have those private conversations anymore , ” Rhodes said .
“ That ’ s difficult.
” Mary Birdsell , the executive director of Justice for Children and Youth , said one of her biggest concerns was that youth facing charges who also deal with challenges related to mental health or homelessness , for example , have lost access to many services .
Still , she said prosecutors are collaborating with defence lawyers to keep cases moving .
“ Crown attorneys @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to counsel .
That ’ s happened to me personally , ” she said , adding prosecutors and judges are also making themselves available for discussions about how matters should be handled .
When she raised concerns about possible delays in one of her cases heading to trial , the court arranged for a judicial pretrial meeting via phone within a week .
“ I am worried about things getting dragged out , but the prosecution side will also be worrying about things dragging on longer than they might otherwise because that creates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Ontario 's youth justice system say prosecutors have shown more leniency during the pandemic-enforced shut down of the province 's courts as they face a backlog of cases .
A Supreme Court of Canada ruling from 2016 tightened the rules on how long court processes can last , and Ontario ’ s Youth Criminal Justice Act makes clear that underage accused should not face extended trial processes .
Between 2017 and 2018 , an average of 275 youth under the age of 18 were held in detention in Ontario , while another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ service , according to Statistics Canada data .
Nicole Myers , an associate professor at Queen ’ s University who researches the criminal justice system , said there have been concerns that judicial delays make it more likely that accused , and especially youth , agree to forgo their right to a trial and instead plead guilty — an option that remains open at this time .
She said the pandemic was making prosecutors more closely consider questions that advocates argue should have always been front of mind , such as whether an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sentence , and if not whether they should be detained ahead of trial .
“ Custody is always dangerous , but is now especially dangerous and risky for health reasons , ” Myers said .
“ And we ’ re not setting up any trials , so this trial wait period is not just long , it ’ s indefinite .
”

With Ontario’s largely shuttered justice system likely to face a backlog of cases once in-person hearings resume, lawyers for youth say prosecutors are showing leniency in some matters. Since courts were shuttered in mid-March due to COVID-19, lawyer Emma Rhodes said she has had several cases relating to breach of bail withdrawn, or downgraded from performing community service to writing an essay. “Everyone is taking a look at their cases and deciding which ones should be prosecuted,” said Rhodes, a criminal justice lawyer who works mostly on cases involving youth accessing legal aid. “There’s a very different triage system happening now,” she said. “I think it’s an excellent thing, and if something shouldn’t be prosecuted now, perhaps it shouldn’t have been prosecuted ever.” But the pandemic is also complicating their ability to represent their underage clients, with trials facing delays and bail hearings via conference call making it impossible to discreetly discuss terms.
“Those quiet questions, or asking whether... certain things will work, you can’t have those private conversations anymore,” Rhodes said. “That’s difficult.” Mary Birdsell, the executive director of Justice for Children and Youth, said one of her biggest concerns was that youth facing charges who also deal with challenges related to mental health or homelessness, for example, have lost access to many services. Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions Still, she said prosecutors are collaborating with defence lawyers to keep cases moving.
“Crown attorneys are arranging to have disclosure packages delivered to counsel. That’s happened to me personally,” she said, adding prosecutors and judges are also making themselves available for discussions about how matters should be handled. Lawyers who work in Ontario's youth justice system say prosecutors have shown more leniency during the pandemic-enforced shut down of the province's courts as they face a backlog of cases. When she raised concerns about possible delays in one of her cases heading to trial, the court arranged for a judicial pretrial meeting via phone within a week. “I am worried about things getting dragged out, but the prosecution side will also be worrying about things dragging on longer than they might otherwise because that creates a constitutional risk.” A Supreme Court of Canada ruling from 2016 tightened the rules on how long court processes can last, and Ontario’s Youth Criminal Justice Act makes clear that underage accused should not face extended trial processes. Between 2017 and 2018, an average of 275 youth under the age of 18 were held in detention in Ontario, while another 2,478 are serving some form of community service, according to Statistics Canada data.
Nicole Myers, an associate professor at Queen’s University who researches the criminal justice system, said there have been concerns that judicial delays make it more likely that accused, and especially youth, agree to forgo their right to a trial and instead plead guilty — an option that remains open at this time. She said the pandemic was making prosecutors more closely consider questions that advocates argue should have always been front of mind, such as whether an accused was likely to receive a custodial sentence, and if not whether they should be detained ahead of trial. “Custody is always dangerous, but is now especially dangerous and risky for health reasons,” Myers said. “And we’re not setting up any trials, so this trial wait period is not just long, it’s indefinite.”


nationalobserver--2020-06-12--Why 'apocalypse' is the wrong word when describing insect declines

It ’ s a joke among entomologists that , within a margin of error , all animals are insects .
When you examine the hopeless complexity of global biodiversity , us mammals are a rounding error when compared to the beasts beneath our boots .
There are more species of beetle than species in any other category , and at any given time , there are an estimated 10 quintillion insects on planet Earth , putting our global population of 7.8 billion into comical context .
A few years ago , the world was electrified when someone , somewhere , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ignominious end of all those tiny creatures we depend on daily , pay virtually no notice , and who , all by themselves , make up the vast majority of the animal kingdom .
The idea that these multitudes of pollinators , recyclers and soil engineers — “ the movers and shakers of the biosphere , ” in the words of population ecologist Soren Bondrup-Nielsen — were in the grips of universal collapse captured public imagination in ways previously impossible for this class of animal .
Suddenly , the masses of creepy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ became the subject of intense consideration and sympathy , an important and overdue shift in public perspective , though perhaps on the heels of very misleading language .
Biology professor Jeremy Kerr of Ottawa University has lent a great deal of time and research to the study of biodiversity loss , and has concluded that insects are not enduring a unique collapse when compared to the rest of wildlife .
Instead , they are just another player in the same mass extinction impacting the rest of the biosphere , with winners and losers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ species .
Some insects appear resilient to the changes we ’ ve wrought on this planet ; many don ’ t .
He said we can not use isolated and extreme insect declines in some regions as evidence of global collapse .
It would be like tracking the declines of woodland caribou in Atlantic Canada , grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park and northern white rhinos in Kenya , then using these results to declare a “ mammalian apocalypse , ” when , in fact , many mammals are doing just fine , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beings .
You simply can not lump the largest , most widespread and most diverse family of animals on the planet — insects — under a single sweeping phrase like “ insect apocalypse.
” These are sobering statistics and deserve to be taken seriously .
But whenever claims of an insect apocalypse are made by media outlets , respected or obscure , you can be certain one or both of these papers will be used as evidence , the same two data points serving time and again as journalistic mic drops .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
These claims can reasonably be traced back to 2017 when a group of researchers published a paper in the journal PLOS One concluding that between 1989 and 2016 , the biomass of flying insects in German protected areas dropped 76 per cent .
And then , in October 2018 , another paper was published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrating an even more staggering 98 per cent decline in the biomass of ground insects in Puerto Rico ’ s El Yunque National Forest Reserve since the mid-1970s .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ where biodiversity has declined very dramatically ( such as in Germany ) , there are also lots of other places where it has not , ” said Kerr , referencing the north boreal .
“ If we look at the overall picture — not extrapolating from Puerto Rico to planet Earth — do we have evidence of serious ( insect ) declines ?
The answer is yes .
Do we have evidence of declines that resemble what Puerto Rico seems to have experienced in this one high-altitude forest reserve ?
The answer is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the wrong word for the woes of Canadian insects .
They ’ re not all collapsing in symphony .
Instead , like birds , mammals , fish , amphibians and reptiles , insects persist , but are taking some losses .
When broaching the decline of Canadian insects , I always think back to my 2018 interview with retired coleopterist and lepidopterist ( beetles and butterflies , respectively ) Reggie Webster , who has more than doubled the number of beetles known to live in New Brunswick over the last 15 years , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over 3,000 using just his free time and home laboratory .
“ I ’ m quite sure a number of these will be new to science , ” he told me .
Your average Canadian might assume the discovery of a new species is a big deal , but not so with insects .
There are still some wide gaps , even in well-known taxa like bees , several dozen new species of whom have been discovered in Canada since 2014 .
In fact , it ’ s been estimated there are 27,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be discovered in Canada , primarily insects .
“ In Canada , and North America generally , we are perhaps second only to Europe in terms of the amount of information we have on insects and how they ’ re doing , ” explained pollination ecologist Nigel Raine of Guelph University .
“ Yet I ’ d still say that even in North America , we have very patchy information and we ’ re still learning a huge amount about the insects around us and how they ’ re changing in response to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went on to explain that simply discovering an insect and describing it in the literature , as Webster has done for his own amusement for almost two decades now , still doesn ’ t tell us much about the ecology of the insect in question .
What ’ s worse , there are precious few people like Webster who can help confirm the identity of these insects when they ’ re found elsewhere .
The encyclopedia of insect life is colossal , and no one on Earth has memorized more than a few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reason predictions about the near future of insects are so impractical .
There are so many species we have yet to identify , especially outside Europe and North America , and even those we ’ ve graced with a name are relative unknowns .
Two meta-analyses , published in the journals Biological Conservation and Science , respectively , attempt to tackle this point .
The first , published in April 2019 , concluded that 40 per cent of the world ’ s insects could go extinct in the next few decades ( on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ groups of animal , specifically amphibians ) , whereas the second , much larger analysis from this April estimates a drop in insect abundance globally of 25 per cent since 1990 .
Again , not dissimilar to other groups of animal .
The limitations of the data , as outlined above , have been acknowledged in both cases .
So , for an informative and useful glimpse into the health and trends of Canadian insects , we must consult the bugs we know best , and be careful about the conclusions we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Ottawa University , who said earlier there are winners and losers in every corner of the biosphere these days , also said the insect declines we have observed in Canada tend to occur at the intersection of habitat loss and climate change .
For example : The Karner blue is a butterfly once commonplace in Canada , enjoying a specialized relationship with the wild lupine ( Lupinus perennis ) , which is not the insanely prolific plant found in most gardens .
The wild lupine is a more humble and fragile flower @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for farmland , particularly in southern Ontario , it only grew in a few ditches and protected areas by the 1990s , dramatically shrinking the range of the dependent Karner blue .
The butterfly disappeared from Canada entirely in 1991 , when its few remaining reserves of wild lupine were struck with unseasonably hot weather , drying up all available nectar .
The butterfly persists , barely , in isolated populations in the United States , but has never returned to Canada .
And there you have it — the intersection of habitat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the monarch butterfly , once a sublime sign of spring and now a seasonal bad news story .
Its staple food , milkweed , has been the target of agricultural repulsion for decades , becoming scarce and frustrating the survival of monarchs throughout the continent .
The fewer of these milkweeds prevail , the fewer monarchs there are to weather the uncertainties of climate change .
Their population has plummeted over 90 per cent in a couple decades and hasn ’ t yet shown signs of sustained improvement .
Here again , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it comes to bumblebees , we all have the vague notion that pesticides are driving their disappearance , but the truth is considerably more complicated .
While pesticides are , of course , a factor , conservation scientist Sheila Colla of York University puts the blame elsewhere .
There are just shy of 900 bee species native to Canada , of which the most popular , and thus the easiest to study , are the bumblebees , numbering 42 species north of the border , with about a quarter considered at risk .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the panda bears of the insect world , ” said Colla , who , among other things , assembled the first quantitative evidence of wild bumblebee declines in North America for her PhD , is the North American co-ordinator of the IUCN Red List for continental bumblebees , and was the last person ever to see a rusty patched bumblebee on Canadian soil .
This species went from being one of the most common species of bumblebee in southern Ontario to the absolute rarest in 40 years .
Colla found the last one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Incredibly , she spotted it through the window of a moving car .
“ At that point I ’ d been looking for it every summer since 2005 , ” she told me .
The primary factors causing bumblebee decline in Canada , she said , are climate change , which destroys spring and fall food flowers with extreme cold and heat , and pathogen spillover from managed bees , chiefly honeybees .
Pesticides kill bees , she assured me , but it ’ s important to note that a modern cornfield @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether it ’ s been sprayed or not , is still terrible bee habitat .
The lack of diversity among its flowering plants means that pollen is super available for very short periods of time and absent the remainder of the year .
And , lacking any nesting habitat in the vicinity , like hedgerows , bumblebees are disincentivized to establish themselves on or near modern farms anyway .
In order to fill this pollination gap , managed hives of introduced European honeybees have become extremely common , trucked into these fields and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the evicted wild pollinators .
Pesticides killing these introduced honeybees , said Colla , has resulted in the widespread narrative of pesticides and bee collapse .
Managed honeybees carry several introduced pathogens , which they spread among native bees .
The rusty patched bumblebee , which Colla studied in the final days of its decline , disappeared so rapidly , even from habitats as remote as the Great Smoky Mountains , that she suspects they fell victim to just such a pathogen introduced by European honeybees .
The only rusty patch bumblebees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wisconsin and Iowa — farm country , where pesticides reign supreme .
Once again , pesticides kill insects , and neonicotinoid pesticides have proven especially harmful to bees , with even mild exposures .
But these sprayed habitats were already forbidding to bees .
Those species most vulnerable to climate-related shifts in seasonal temperature , and to the pathogens of introduced honeybees , are the ones in serious decline , such as the rusty patched , yellow-banded and American bumblebees , while others have proven remarkably resilient .
The common eastern bumblebee has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ range in recent years , questing into the Maritime provinces , perhaps filling a void .
Jeremy Kerr made the point that the number of individual bumblebees in Canada , certainly in his backyard , hasn ’ t dropped that dramatically , at least not that we ’ ve quantified .
What has dropped is the number of species , his backyard flowers now pollinated by one or two bumblebee species where once there might have been five or six .
Mass extinction , which is a slow and evil process , weeds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A final , informative decline among our native insects concerns the lady beetles , known commonly as ladybugs .
In the Maritime provinces alone , there are something like 51 recognized species , some you wouldn ’ t give a second glance , others exuding strangeness and beauty not so easily overlooked .
Denis Doucet has been many things over the years — a zoologist , biologist , entomologist and interpreter for research and conservation organizations within government and without — so it ’ s perhaps best to call him a naturalist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attending the entomology program at Université de Moncton , Doucet took part in beetle collecting expeditions around campus , which were then catalogued .
In and around 1983 , he said , the most common lady beetles identified by these catalogues were the transverse lady beetle and the two-spotted lady beetle ( this one overwintering in people ’ s homes ) .
In 1984 , you start to see introduced species entering the catalogue , such as the seven-spotted lady beetle and the Asian lady beetle .
By 1987 , when Doucet did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lady beetle wasn ’ t even found .
Nowadays , the lady beetles in your home , crawling on windows during sunny days , are more often than not exotic Asian lady beetles .
Consult the Lady Beetles of Atlantic Canada project page on iNaturalist — an online citizen science website and smartphone app empowering regional research and data collection — and you ’ ll see that , to date , not a single entry of the transverse lady beetle has been made .
Of the top six species most often identified by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In order of occurrence are the Asian lady beetle ( exotic ) , seven-spotted lady beetle ( exotic ) , fourteen-spotted lady beetle ( exotic ) , three-banded lady beetle ( native ) , variegated lady beetle ( exotic ) and eye-spotted lady beetle ( native ) .
The two-spotted lady beetle , once a fixture of our lives , has been relegated to eighth place .
Exotics , it seems , have conquered the market .
While invasive insects have had spectacular consequences for Canadian forests , like the emerald ash @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their impacts on other , native insects are poorly understood , and draw a great deal of Doucet 's concern .
You do not have my permission to calm down .
This piece put me in the awkward position of redefining a crisis , not debunking one .
As with the remainder of the animal kingdom , our impositions on this planet — climate change , habitat destruction , invasive species and the rest — are applying more pressure on some species than they can endure .
The spike in public concern for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but I suspect our widespread ignorance of insects caused us to misinterpret the evidence and leap to unfair conclusions , which lumped all the world ’ s bugs into a single unknowable mass .
There are species of insect which are not in peril and there are others which , without rapid action and empathy , will disappear .
We can not afford to misinterpret this issue , overvaluing or undervaluing a class of animal that will require the full force of academia to understand , and of conservation to preserve intact .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with words like “ apocalypse , ” and recognize them instead as members of a broader community of life , with strengths and weaknesses , and a common struggle against the indiscretions of humanity .

The idea that these multitudes of pollinators, recyclers and soil engineers — “the movers and shakers of the biosphere,” in the words of population ecologist Soren Bondrup-Nielsen — were in the grips of universal collapse captured public imagination in ways previously impossible for this class of animal. Suddenly, the masses of creepy crawlies we’ve reviled for generations became the subject of intense consideration and sympathy, an important and overdue shift in public perspective, though perhaps on the heels of very misleading language.
It’s a joke among entomologists that, within a margin of error, all animals are insects. When you examine the hopeless complexity of global biodiversity, us mammals are a rounding error when compared to the beasts beneath our boots. There are more species of beetle than species in any other category, and at any given time, there are an estimated 10 quintillion insects on planet Earth, putting our global population of 7.8 billion into comical context.
A few years ago, the world was electrified when someone, somewhere, declared an “insect apocalypse,” the ignominious end of all those tiny creatures we depend on daily, pay virtually no notice, and who, all by themselves, make up the vast majority of the animal kingdom.
These are sobering statistics and deserve to be taken seriously. But whenever claims of an insect apocalypse are made by media outlets, respected or obscure, you can be certain one or both of these papers will be used as evidence, the same two data points serving time and again as journalistic mic drops. And here is where McCorquodale draws his skepticism.
These claims can reasonably be traced back to 2017 when a group of researchers published a paper in the journal PLOS One concluding that between 1989 and 2016, the biomass of flying insects in German protected areas dropped 76 per cent. And then, in October 2018, another paper was published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrating an even more staggering 98 per cent decline in the biomass of ground insects in Puerto Rico’s El Yunque National Forest Reserve since the mid-1970s.
He said we cannot use isolated and extreme insect declines in some regions as evidence of global collapse. It would be like tracking the declines of woodland caribou in Atlantic Canada, grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park and northern white rhinos in Kenya, then using these results to declare a “mammalian apocalypse,” when, in fact, many mammals are doing just fine, like white-tailed deer, coyotes and human beings. You simply cannot lump the largest, most widespread and most diverse family of animals on the planet — insects — under a single sweeping phrase like “insect apocalypse.”
Biology professor Jeremy Kerr of Ottawa University has lent a great deal of time and research to the study of biodiversity loss, and has concluded that insects are not enduring a unique collapse when compared to the rest of wildlife. Instead, they are just another player in the same mass extinction impacting the rest of the biosphere, with winners and losers depending on the needs of each individual species. Some insects appear resilient to the changes we’ve wrought on this planet; many don’t.
“If we say there are places where biodiversity has declined very dramatically (such as in Germany), there are also lots of other places where it has not,” said Kerr, referencing the north boreal. “If we look at the overall picture — not extrapolating from Puerto Rico to planet Earth — do we have evidence of serious (insect) declines? The answer is yes. Do we have evidence of declines that resemble what Puerto Rico seems to have experienced in this one high-altitude forest reserve? The answer is clearly no.”
“Apocalypse” is the wrong word for the woes of Canadian insects. They’re not all collapsing in symphony. Instead, like birds, mammals, fish, amphibians and reptiles, insects persist, but are taking some losses.
A mess of ignorance
When broaching the decline of Canadian insects, I always think back to my 2018 interview with retired coleopterist and lepidopterist (beetles and butterflies, respectively) Reggie Webster, who has more than doubled the number of beetles known to live in New Brunswick over the last 15 years, taking the province from 1,200 species to over 3,000 using just his free time and home laboratory.
“I’m quite sure a number of these will be new to science,” he told me. Your average Canadian might assume the discovery of a new species is a big deal, but not so with insects. There are still some wide gaps, even in well-known taxa like bees, several dozen new species of whom have been discovered in Canada since 2014. In fact, it’s been estimated there are 27,000 to 42,600 species of arthropod yet to be discovered in Canada, primarily insects.
“In Canada, and North America generally, we are perhaps second only to Europe in terms of the amount of information we have on insects and how they’re doing,” explained pollination ecologist Nigel Raine of Guelph University. “Yet I’d still say that even in North America, we have very patchy information and we’re still learning a huge amount about the insects around us and how they’re changing in response to all these different stress factors.”
Raine went on to explain that simply discovering an insect and describing it in the literature, as Webster has done for his own amusement for almost two decades now, still doesn’t tell us much about the ecology of the insect in question. What’s worse, there are precious few people like Webster who can help confirm the identity of these insects when they’re found elsewhere. The encyclopedia of insect life is colossal, and no one on Earth has memorized more than a few chapters.
This is part of the reason predictions about the near future of insects are so impractical. There are so many species we have yet to identify, especially outside Europe and North America, and even those we’ve graced with a name are relative unknowns. Two meta-analyses, published in the journals Biological Conservation and Science, respectively, attempt to tackle this point. The first, published in April 2019, concluded that 40 per cent of the world’s insects could go extinct in the next few decades (on par with the expected losses of other groups of animal, specifically amphibians), whereas the second, much larger analysis from this April estimates a drop in insect abundance globally of 25 per cent since 1990. Again, not dissimilar to other groups of animal. The limitations of the data, as outlined above, have been acknowledged in both cases.
So, for an informative and useful glimpse into the health and trends of Canadian insects, we must consult the bugs we know best, and be careful about the conclusions we’re willing to draw.
Butterflies, bumblebees and lady beetles
Jeremy Kerr of Ottawa University, who said earlier there are winners and losers in every corner of the biosphere these days, also said the insect declines we have observed in Canada tend to occur at the intersection of habitat loss and climate change. For example:
The Karner blue is a butterfly once commonplace in Canada, enjoying a specialized relationship with the wild lupine (Lupinus perennis), which is not the insanely prolific plant found in most gardens. The wild lupine is a more humble and fragile flower, so when we cleared its meadows for farmland, particularly in southern Ontario, it only grew in a few ditches and protected areas by the 1990s, dramatically shrinking the range of the dependent Karner blue. The butterfly disappeared from Canada entirely in 1991, when its few remaining reserves of wild lupine were struck with unseasonably hot weather, drying up all available nectar. The butterfly persists, barely, in isolated populations in the United States, but has never returned to Canada. And there you have it — the intersection of habitat loss and climate change.
Another example is the monarch butterfly, once a sublime sign of spring and now a seasonal bad news story. Its staple food, milkweed, has been the target of agricultural repulsion for decades, becoming scarce and frustrating the survival of monarchs throughout the continent. The fewer of these milkweeds prevail, the fewer monarchs there are to weather the uncertainties of climate change. Their population has plummeted over 90 per cent in a couple decades and hasn’t yet shown signs of sustained improvement. Here again, habitat loss and climate change.
When it comes to bumblebees, we all have the vague notion that pesticides are driving their disappearance, but the truth is considerably more complicated. While pesticides are, of course, a factor, conservation scientist Sheila Colla of York University puts the blame elsewhere.
There are just shy of 900 bee species native to Canada, of which the most popular, and thus the easiest to study, are the bumblebees, numbering 42 species north of the border, with about a quarter considered at risk.
“They’re kind of like the panda bears of the insect world,” said Colla, who, among other things, assembled the first quantitative evidence of wild bumblebee declines in North America for her PhD, is the North American co-ordinator of the IUCN Red List for continental bumblebees, and was the last person ever to see a rusty patched bumblebee on Canadian soil.
This species went from being one of the most common species of bumblebee in southern Ontario to the absolute rarest in 40 years. Colla found the last one in 2009, in Pinery Provincial Park. Incredibly, she spotted it through the window of a moving car.
“At that point I’d been looking for it every summer since 2005,” she told me.
The primary factors causing bumblebee decline in Canada, she said, are climate change, which destroys spring and fall food flowers with extreme cold and heat, and pathogen spillover from managed bees, chiefly honeybees.
Pesticides kill bees, she assured me, but it’s important to note that a modern cornfield or potato field or canola field, whether it’s been sprayed or not, is still terrible bee habitat. The lack of diversity among its flowering plants means that pollen is super available for very short periods of time and absent the remainder of the year. And, lacking any nesting habitat in the vicinity, like hedgerows, bumblebees are disincentivized to establish themselves on or near modern farms anyway.
In order to fill this pollination gap, managed hives of introduced European honeybees have become extremely common, trucked into these fields and set to work distributing pollen in place of the evicted wild pollinators. Pesticides killing these introduced honeybees, said Colla, has resulted in the widespread narrative of pesticides and bee collapse.
Managed honeybees carry several introduced pathogens, which they spread among native bees. The rusty patched bumblebee, which Colla studied in the final days of its decline, disappeared so rapidly, even from habitats as remote as the Great Smoky Mountains, that she suspects they fell victim to just such a pathogen introduced by European honeybees. The only rusty patch bumblebees that survive today are in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa — farm country, where pesticides reign supreme.
The only rusty patch bumblebees that survive today are in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa — farm country, where pesticides reign supreme. Photo by Susan Carpenter
Once again, pesticides kill insects, and neonicotinoid pesticides have proven especially harmful to bees, with even mild exposures. But these sprayed habitats were already forbidding to bees. Those species most vulnerable to climate-related shifts in seasonal temperature, and to the pathogens of introduced honeybees, are the ones in serious decline, such as the rusty patched, yellow-banded and American bumblebees, while others have proven remarkably resilient. The common eastern bumblebee has gone so far as to expand its range in recent years, questing into the Maritime provinces, perhaps filling a void.
Jeremy Kerr made the point that the number of individual bumblebees in Canada, certainly in his backyard, hasn’t dropped that dramatically, at least not that we’ve quantified. What has dropped is the number of species, his backyard flowers now pollinated by one or two bumblebee species where once there might have been five or six. Mass extinction, which is a slow and evil process, weeds out diversity first. Winners and losers.
A final, informative decline among our native insects concerns the lady beetles, known commonly as ladybugs. In the Maritime provinces alone, there are something like 51 recognized species, some you wouldn’t give a second glance, others exuding strangeness and beauty not so easily overlooked.
Denis Doucet has been many things over the years — a zoologist, biologist, entomologist and interpreter for research and conservation organizations within government and without — so it’s perhaps best to call him a naturalist and leave it at that.
While attending the entomology program at Université de Moncton, Doucet took part in beetle collecting expeditions around campus, which were then catalogued. In and around 1983, he said, the most common lady beetles identified by these catalogues were the transverse lady beetle and the two-spotted lady beetle (this one overwintering in people’s homes). In 1984, you start to see introduced species entering the catalogue, such as the seven-spotted lady beetle and the Asian lady beetle. By 1987, when Doucet did his own collection, the native transverse lady beetle wasn’t even found.
Nowadays, the lady beetles in your home, crawling on windows during sunny days, are more often than not exotic Asian lady beetles. Consult the Lady Beetles of Atlantic Canada project page on iNaturalist — an online citizen science website and smartphone app empowering regional research and data collection — and you’ll see that, to date, not a single entry of the transverse lady beetle has been made.
Of the top six species most often identified by this project, only two are native. In order of occurrence are the Asian lady beetle (exotic), seven-spotted lady beetle (exotic), fourteen-spotted lady beetle (exotic), three-banded lady beetle (native), variegated lady beetle (exotic) and eye-spotted lady beetle (native). The two-spotted lady beetle, once a fixture of our lives, has been relegated to eighth place. Exotics, it seems, have conquered the market.
While invasive insects have had spectacular consequences for Canadian forests, like the emerald ash borer and the hemlock woolly adelgid, their impacts on other, native insects are poorly understood, and draw a great deal of Doucet's concern.
Redefining a crisis
You do not have my permission to calm down. This piece put me in the awkward position of redefining a crisis, not debunking one. As with the remainder of the animal kingdom, our impositions on this planet — climate change, habitat destruction, invasive species and the rest — are applying more pressure on some species than they can endure. The spike in public concern for insects is very heartening and well-deserved, but I suspect our widespread ignorance of insects caused us to misinterpret the evidence and leap to unfair conclusions, which lumped all the world’s bugs into a single unknowable mass.
There are species of insect which are not in peril and there are others which, without rapid action and empathy, will disappear. We cannot afford to misinterpret this issue, overvaluing or undervaluing a class of animal that will require the full force of academia to understand, and of conservation to preserve intact. Step one is to stop patronizing them with words like “apocalypse,” and recognize them instead as members of a broader community of life, with strengths and weaknesses, and a common struggle against the indiscretions of humanity.


nationalobserver--2020-06-12--Are transit gaps on rural B.C. islands enough to drive demand for community bus service?

“ I don ’ t have a car , and it ’ s never been an issue because hitchhiking was such an easy way to get around , ” says Cortes Island resident Kristina Purcell .
But the COVID-19 crisis is driving up the risks while simultaneously curbing traditional workarounds that rural residents rely on to navigate the lack of transit .
Residents living in isolated communities without public transit and no access to or desire to own cars always face challenges getting to medical appointments , work , essential services and in maintaining social connections .
“ Now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is going who is comfortable with me in their car.
” “ I ’ m finding it much more challenging to go Campbell River for medical appointments or to pick up stuff , ” she said .
Purcell has lived eight years on Cortes Island , located off B.C.
’ s west coast and two ferry rides away from the nearest city of Campbell River on Vancouver Island .
“ But now with COVID , I don ’ t know how to get to the ferry or across Quadra ( Island ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used to hitch rides across the neighbouring island to get to town .
“ So , alternative transit options are often born of necessity and by grassroots movements because the community can ’ t convince local government that transit will be successful or sustainable locally.
” “ Lots of small communities might not fall under the BC Transit umbrella due to a combination of politics and community priorities , ” said community planner Ericka Amador .
Quadra and Cortes , like other ferry-dependent island communities or many isolated rural populations , fall outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in cities .
“ I do feel bad about it , but I just ca n't afford to make a mistake.
” “ Since the pandemic arose , I have not once risked picking anyone up .
I simply have too many pre-existing conditions .
“ Since the day I became a resident , I would never pass a hitchhiker on Quadra if I had any room for them .
It was a point of pride for me , ” Windrim said .
Longtime Quadra resident Mike Windrim used to regularly transport people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I just never had a car or felt the need for one , ” she said .
“ But , I ’ m feeling the need more now.
” Purcell doesn ’ t own a vehicle because she grew up in a city with public transit , but managed on Cortes in the past through a combination of biking , walking and flagging rides .
In particular , Amador explored the Gabriola Island community bus system , known as GERTIE , as both islands have similar populations , demographics and both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from a city with public transit .
The study examined the social and economic factors and transit needs on Quadra , and in part on Cortes , and looked at how other island communities successfully developed a community bus service .
Amador researched the feasibility of establishing a community bus on Quadra Island for her thesis for her master 's degree at Vancouver Island University ( VIU ) .
As a result , Amador suggested Quadra Island explore the idea of running a small 20-passenger bus on a circular weekday route five times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ busy BC Ferries commuter sailings at the two terminals .
The proposed route would do a loop along West Road and Heriot Bay Road between Quathiaski Cove and Heriot Bay and be timed to connect with Campbell River and Cortes Island ferry sailings .
The net cost of running the service would be $ 53,600 annually , not including the one-time cost of $ 40,000 to purchase the bus , according to the study .
The fares would be $ 2 for one-way ticket , with an anticipated ridership of 4,500 rides annually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demonstrated on similar systems .
Based on these figures , its annual revenue is estimated to be $ 8,600 .
The costs of initiating and running a community bus are significant , but other island communities have succeeded in overcoming the financial challenges , Amador said .
A number of B.C .
Gulf Islands ( Galiano , Mayne , Saturna , Pender and Gabriola ) have established some form of micro-transit to address gaps , Amador said .
“ Most public transit is heavily subsidized , ” she said .
“ Each community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it 's comfortable with.
” In other community bus systems , grants and donations make up large part of the operating revenue , she said .
Gabriola ’ s community bus fare revenue is approximately 15 to 20 per cent of total revenue since its inception in 2013 , her study found .
The system had significant community support and after three years , held a referendum to partially fund the system through community taxes .
A community based micro-transit system often considers the environmental and social value , as well as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can ’ t ( or don ’ t wish ) to drive , youth , people with low incomes , as well as folks who want to get out of their cars for environmental reasons , are potential riders of a Quadra system , she said .
Not to mention tourists , cross-island passengers to Cortes , or commuters on Quadra going to Campbell River .
Should Quadra want to explore a community bus model , the next step is to do broad form consultation to gauge local support and confirm the results @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The success of local micro-transit projects depends on community drive , she said .
“ From my research , it looks like the deciding factor is an interested group ... usually a community organization , or a group of folks who either want to reduce carbon emissions or have a greater purpose to get behind the cause and make it happen.
” Claire Trevena , North Island MLA and B.C .
's Transportation and Infrastructure minister , agreed community initiative is key to securing funding either under the BC Transit model or to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she recognized there was a lot of frustration on the islands about the lack of public transit .
“ But the community needs to show that there is the passenger base , the commercial base … before BC Transit will look at it.
” The B.C .
government has supported the establishment of some micro-transit options to connect small Indigenous communities to Highway 16 in northern B.C .
— infamously known as the Highway of Tears due to the high numbers of disappearances and murders of Indigenous women along the route .
However @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to help rural communities with the costs it takes to get a community-led transit project underway , she said .
“ We don ’ t have a pot of money anywhere saying this is going to small communities to help them develop a public or micro-transit system , ” Trevena said .
But pointing to the GERTIE system and other initiatives on north Vancouver Island , she noted community agencies , groups and service providers often launch an initiative that later evolves into a more formalized publically funded transit system .
“ As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needs , but our main focus is the broader public transit ( system ) ” said Trevena .
Regardless , smaller rural communities can still seek support from local government or the province , she said .
“ There ’ s always the opportunity of conversation through the ministry of Transport or Municipal Affairs or the regional district about how best to support the community , ” Trevena said .
B.C .
rural communities like Quadra and Cortes islands are not exceptional in their struggle with lack of public transit .
Even critical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ find it tough to survive .
The only coach company operating on Vancouver Island north of Campbell River wants to shutter the route .
Citing insufficient revenue and ridership , Wilson ’ s Group , which took over the Tofino Bus Service route to Port Hardy , is applying to the Provincial Transportation Board ( PTB ) for permission to drop the route .
Plus , many northern B.C .
communities lost service from Greyhound Canada in 2018 .
Covid-19 dealt Greyhound another blow with the company announcing mid-May that it was suspending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stem some of the isolation felt by small communities not connected to one another , the province launched BC Bus North , which offered less frequent transport between some of the larger community centres , such as Prince George and Prince Rupert .
With the exception of BC Bus North , the province doesn ’ t typically fund intercity buses and the PTB will examine how to best to keep North Island communities connected to Campbell River , Trevena said .
“ It ’ s up to the PTB ... to decide whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s ) application or not , ” she said .
“ I know it ’ s a huge issue to get from Port Hardy down , and the PTB is aware of that gap in service .
And they ’ ll obviously be looking at options for people when they make that decision.
” Cortes resident Romina Jones gets around the island on her electric bike .
“ I ’ ve never had a car in my life .
It ’ s not a lifestyle I want to partake in , ” Jones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Cortes a decade ago , there was a private company running a shuttle across Quadra Island to Campbell River that she could take to medical appointments and to pick up items that couldn ’ t be delivered .
But the shuttle ceased service about three years ago , and no other private operator has emerged to fill the gap .
“ Without the Cortes connection , it ’ s very challenging , ” said Jones , adding now she shops online more when she can .
“ It ’ s restrictive and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a ride , and that ’ s not as easy with COVID.
” She would love to see some sort of regular transit return , she said .
“ Any type of return would be helpful , ” Jones said , adding it would be useful if governments offered subsidies to small companies to make a transportation service more viable .
“ It ’ s odd that it doesn ’ t exist with climate change , and so many initiatives to get people out of their vehicles , ” said Jones .

Purcell has lived eight years on Cortes Island, located off B.C.’s west coast and two ferry rides away from the nearest city of Campbell River on Vancouver Island.
“But now with COVID, I don’t know how to get to the ferry or across Quadra (Island),” Purcell said, adding she typically used to hitch rides across the neighbouring island to get to town.
“I don’t have a car, and it’s never been an issue because hitchhiking was such an easy way to get around,” says Cortes Island resident Kristina Purcell.
But the COVID-19 crisis is driving up the risks while simultaneously curbing traditional workarounds that rural residents rely on to navigate the lack of transit.
Residents living in isolated communities without public transit and no access to or desire to own cars always face challenges getting to medical appointments, work, essential services and in maintaining social connections.
“Now, I try to co-ordinate with someone who is going who is comfortable with me in their car.”
“I’m finding it much more challenging to go Campbell River for medical appointments or to pick up stuff,” she said.
“Since the pandemic arose, I have not once risked picking anyone up. I simply have too many pre-existing conditions.
“Since the day I became a resident, I would never pass a hitchhiker on Quadra if I had any room for them. It was a point of pride for me,” Windrim said.
Longtime Quadra resident Mike Windrim used to regularly transport people across the island. But not anymore.
“I just never had a car or felt the need for one,” she said. “But, I’m feeling the need more now.”
Purcell doesn’t own a vehicle because she grew up in a city with public transit, but managed on Cortes in the past through a combination of biking, walking and flagging rides.
“Lots of small communities might not fall under the BC Transit umbrella due to a combination of politics and community priorities,” said community planner Ericka Amador.
Quadra and Cortes, like other ferry-dependent island communities or many isolated rural populations, fall outside the traditional public transit model typically based in cities.
“I do feel bad about it, but I just can't afford to make a mistake.”
“So, alternative transit options are often born of necessity and by grassroots movements because the community can’t convince local government that transit will be successful or sustainable locally.”
Amador researched the feasibility of establishing a community bus on Quadra Island for her thesis for her master's degree at Vancouver Island University (VIU).
The study examined the social and economic factors and transit needs on Quadra, and in part on Cortes, and looked at how other island communities successfully developed a community bus service.
In particular, Amador explored the Gabriola Island community bus system, known as GERTIE, as both islands have similar populations, demographics and both are just a short ferry ride away from a city with public transit.
As a result, Amador suggested Quadra Island explore the idea of running a small 20-passenger bus on a circular weekday route five times a day and have it connect to busy BC Ferries commuter sailings at the two terminals.
The proposed route would do a loop along West Road and Heriot Bay Road between Quathiaski Cove and Heriot Bay and be timed to connect with Campbell River and Cortes Island ferry sailings.
The net cost of running the service would be $53,600 annually, not including the one-time cost of $40,000 to purchase the bus, according to the study.
The fares would be $2 for one-way ticket, with an anticipated ridership of 4,500 rides annually based on five passengers per hour as demonstrated on similar systems. Based on these figures, its annual revenue is estimated to be $8,600.
The costs of initiating and running a community bus are significant, but other island communities have succeeded in overcoming the financial challenges, Amador said.
A number of B.C. Gulf Islands (Galiano, Mayne, Saturna, Pender and Gabriola) have established some form of micro-transit to address gaps, Amador said.
“Most public transit is heavily subsidized,” she said.
“Each community needs to determine what level of subsidy it's comfortable with.”
In other community bus systems, grants and donations make up large part of the operating revenue, she said.
Gabriola’s community bus fare revenue is approximately 15 to 20 per cent of total revenue since its inception in 2013, her study found.
Gabriola's Environmentally Responsible Trans-Island Express, or GERTIE, was a community-led micro-transit initiative that secured some public transit funds with support from the community. Photo courtesy GERTIE.
The system had significant community support and after three years, held a referendum to partially fund the system through community taxes.
A community based micro-transit system often considers the environmental and social value, as well as the economics, noted Amador.
Seniors who can’t (or don’t wish) to drive, youth, people with low incomes, as well as folks who want to get out of their cars for environmental reasons, are potential riders of a Quadra system, she said.
Not to mention tourists, cross-island passengers to Cortes, or commuters on Quadra going to Campbell River.
Should Quadra want to explore a community bus model, the next step is to do broad form consultation to gauge local support and confirm the results of her study, Amador said.
The success of local micro-transit projects depends on community drive, she said.
“From my research, it looks like the deciding factor is an interested group ... usually a community organization, or a group of folks who either want to reduce carbon emissions or have a greater purpose to get behind the cause and make it happen.”
Claire Trevena, North Island MLA and B.C.'s Transportation and Infrastructure minister, agreed community initiative is key to securing funding either under the BC Transit model or to establish a community bus.
Trevena said she recognized there was a lot of frustration on the islands about the lack of public transit.
“But the community needs to show that there is the passenger base, the commercial base … before BC Transit will look at it.”
The B.C. government has supported the establishment of some micro-transit options to connect small Indigenous communities to Highway 16 in northern B.C. — infamously known as the Highway of Tears due to the high numbers of disappearances and murders of Indigenous women along the route.
However, there is no dedicated provincial funding to help rural communities with the costs it takes to get a community-led transit project underway, she said.
“We don’t have a pot of money anywhere saying this is going to small communities to help them develop a public or micro-transit system,” Trevena said.
But pointing to the GERTIE system and other initiatives on north Vancouver Island, she noted community agencies, groups and service providers often launch an initiative that later evolves into a more formalized publically funded transit system.
“As government, we look at smaller community needs, but our main focus is the broader public transit (system)” said Trevena.
Regardless, smaller rural communities can still seek support from local government or the province, she said.
“There’s always the opportunity of conversation through the ministry of Transport or Municipal Affairs or the regional district about how best to support the community,” Trevena said.
B.C. rural communities like Quadra and Cortes islands are not exceptional in their struggle with lack of public transit.
Even critical private modes of transport for rural communities find it tough to survive. The only coach company operating on Vancouver Island north of Campbell River wants to shutter the route.
Citing insufficient revenue and ridership, Wilson’s Group, which took over the Tofino Bus Service route to Port Hardy, is applying to the Provincial Transportation Board (PTB) for permission to drop the route.
Plus, many northern B.C. communities lost service from Greyhound Canada in 2018. Covid-19 dealt Greyhound another blow with the company announcing mid-May that it was suspending all intercity service across Canada.
To stem some of the isolation felt by small communities not connected to one another, the province launched BC Bus North, which offered less frequent transport between some of the larger community centres, such as Prince George and Prince Rupert.
With the exception of BC Bus North, the province doesn’t typically fund intercity buses and the PTB will examine how to best to keep North Island communities connected to Campbell River, Trevena said.
“It’s up to the PTB ... to decide whether it will accept the (Wilson’s) application or not,” she said.
“I know it’s a huge issue to get from Port Hardy down, and the PTB is aware of that gap in service. And they’ll obviously be looking at options for people when they make that decision.”
Romina Jones typically travels on Cortes Island by bike, but struggles to get to town two ferry rides away. She'd like to see government subsidize private operators to run shuttles off-island to address the transit gap. Photo courtesy Romina Jones.
Cortes resident Romina Jones gets around the island on her electric bike.
“I’ve never had a car in my life. It’s not a lifestyle I want to partake in,” Jones said.
However, when she moved to Cortes a decade ago, there was a private company running a shuttle across Quadra Island to Campbell River that she could take to medical appointments and to pick up items that couldn’t be delivered.
But the shuttle ceased service about three years ago, and no other private operator has emerged to fill the gap.
“Without the Cortes connection, it’s very challenging,” said Jones, adding now she shops online more when she can.
“It’s restrictive and I have to find ways to get a ride, and that’s not as easy with COVID.”
She would love to see some sort of regular transit return, she said.
“Any type of return would be helpful,” Jones said, adding it would be useful if governments offered subsidies to small companies to make a transportation service more viable.
“It’s odd that it doesn’t exist with climate change, and so many initiatives to get people out of their vehicles,” said Jones.
“It’s just such a shame.”
Rochelle Baker/Local Journalism Initiative/Canada's National Observer