nationalobserver--2020-06-05--Canada's managed forests have turned into super-emitters, and 2018 set a record

Sadly , this is n't a short-term aberration .
The long-term trends are relentlessly grim .
They show that our forests switched from much-needed CO2 sinks into dangerous CO2 emitters more than a decade ago .
And what started as a trickle has grown into a flood of CO2 pouring into our atmosphere .
In 2018 , the flood of CO2 pouring out of them reached record levels , at nearly a quarter billion tonnes of CO2 in a single year .
That 's more than Canada 's once biggest climate pollution source — the oil and gas sector — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are winning in Canada 's vast managed forest lands .
And this victory is unleashing a rising flood of climate pollution .
Put simply , our forests are dying and being cut down faster than they can grow back .
As all these billions of trees grow , they breathe in CO2 and strip off the carbon to construct new wood .
When the wood rots or get burned , that carbon gets reoxidized into CO2 again .
If there is more growth than decay , the forests are net CO2 absorbers ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decay wins out , the forests emit CO2 ( `` carbon sources '' ) .
Canada reports this net CO2 balance each year in the NIR .
That 's the line on this first chart .
As you can see , our huge managed forests used to be huge CO2 sinks .
During the 1990s , they were able to absorb and store hundreds of millions of tonnes of CO2 .
Canada 's managed forests are enormous .
They span the continent from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic Ocean , and cover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Spain , Italy and the United Kingdom combined .
That 's all according to the latest forest carbon data in Canada 's recently released National Inventory Report ( NIR ) .
To illustrate the speed and scale of this unfolding crisis — and the role logging is playing in it — I 've created a series of charts from this latest data .
The first part is shown by the bottom black line .
This is the annual CO2 balance between growth versus all forms of decay except from harvested wood .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ kills , droughts , and some logging impacts , such as slash burning and exposed soils .
What 's causing such a dangerous surge in emissions ?
And what role is logging playing in it ?
To answer these questions , we need to dig a little deeper into the data .
But the data shows that this crucial carbon sink has disappeared .
Instead , our forests transitioned to being net CO2 emitters more than a decade ago .
And in 2018 , they emitted a record 240 MtCO2 .
That 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In fact , our managed forests were the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in Canada for three of the last four years in the NIR data .
A couple years ago , Canada switched to reporting wood CO2 in the year it got emitted back into the air .
That 's a smaller number , because about a quarter of the wood is in long-lasting products , such as building materials , that have n't rotted yet .
Overall , this change retroactively shifted 2,500 MtCO2 from Canada 's current and past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deal with later .
As you can see , these forces of decay have been gaining ground for decades .
And the data shows that in extreme years now , death and decay are winning outright , tipping the forests into net emitters .
And that 's before we add on Part 2 — the additional CO2 emitted by harvested wood ( the yellow area ) .
Harvested wood CO2 is often a source of confusion .
All harvested wood will turn to CO2 eventually .
But not all of it does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ logged .
International climate rules require countries count it all .
But there are options for when to count it .
Canada used to count it all in the year the wood was cut .
As a result , the harvested wood CO2 numbers listed in older NIRs indicated how much wood got logged that year .
This showed the amount of future CO2 locked in by that year 's harvest .
All charts in this article show this new official `` when emitted '' number .
( Readers wanting more details on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ find them in my recent forest carbon explainer . )
The chart above now lets you see the role of harvested wood versus everything else .
For example , the 2018 record was the result of all other forms of decay emitting 110 MtCO2 more than new growth absorbed — plus the additional 130 MtCO2 emitted by the burning and decay of harvested wood products .
What this chart also shows is how large the swings in the data can be from year to year .
For example , a big wildfire year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confronted with data this `` noisy , '' scientists and policymakers rely on long-term averages to better see and understand the underlying trends .
My next chart shows these underlying trends .
In this chart , I 've faded out the annual lines and charted their 10-year running averages on top .
Each point on these trend lines shows the average over the 10 years leading up to it .
As you can see , the transition of our forests into super-emitters is n't a short-term aberration .
It 's a long-term trend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The lower black trend line shows that back in the 1990s , the forests were healthy enough to absorb an average of 175 MtCO2 more each year in new growth than they lost to all forms of decay — except from harvested wood .
But now this forest sink trend line has hit zero — the tipping point .
That means the net CO2 balance over the last 10 years has been zero .
The vital carbon sink at the heart of our enormous forests has vanished .
As I explained in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ explainer article , the primary driver of this dangerous trend has been increasing droughts , wildfire and insect outbreaks — combined with poor land use actions .
Humans have been turbo-charging these trends via our fossil-fuelled climate disruption .
And the best science says that droughts , wildfires and insect kills are all expected to grow worse in Canadian forests until climate change is brought under control .
And once again , sitting on top of this black line is the additional CO2 emitted by harvested wood ( yellow area ) .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decades , with the 10-year average ranging between 127 MtCO2 and 140 MtCO2 in emissions per year .
That 's a huge amount of CO2 for any sector to be emitting .
But , in the past , our forests were healthy enough to grow back as much wood as we cut out of them , and more .
That meant the harvested wood was considered `` carbon neutral . ''
Unfortunately for our logging industry — and our future climate safety — our faltering forests ca n't provide that essential service anymore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , our logging levels started to exceed what our faltering forests could regrow ( `` offset '' ) back in the early 2000s .
I 've highlighted in red the amount of harvested wood CO2 that exceeded what the forests could absorb .
All that excess CO2 has been accumulating in our atmosphere , fuelling the climate breakdown .
Just like the CO2 from our fossil fuel burning .
What started as a trickle has grown into a flood of CO2 .
The total so far — the entire red area — exceeds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CO2 .
And the 10-year average is now up to 125 MtCO2 emitter per year .
That 's also a record set in 2018 .
To put these emission numbers into context , let 's compare them to the emissions from the rest of Canada 's economy .
The grey lines on this next chart show the annual emissions from all the other Canadian sectors .
The brown line is the same 10-year running average for forest CO2 we discussed above .
It looks steeper on this chart because I 've stretched the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to visually separate the other sector lines .
Emissions from our managed forests have already rocketed past most other sectors .
Their long-term average is now twice as much as what Canada 's entire electricity sector emits .
And individual extreme years — like the record 240 MtCO2 emitted in 2018 — are literally off this chart .
As a final comparison , let 's look at how rising CO2 from our managed forests impacts Canada 's total emissions .
The black line on this chart shows Canada 's official climate pollution total @ @ @ @ @ @ @ land use sector ( which contains managed forests ) .
The falling green arrow is the path to Canada 's climate target under the Paris Agreement .
And the rising brown line shows Canada 's total emissions when our managed forest CO2 is included .
This line shows how much is actually ending up in our atmosphere , fuelling the climate crisis .
And — critically — we are in control of all the emissions on this chart .
That includes the entire red area showing managed forest CO2 .
We could reduce @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our logging to what our forests can reabsorb each year .
If we want to continue logging at current high levels , we will need to restore the carbon sink in our forests or find another way to offset the huge emissions of CO2 from our harvested wood .
But we need to do those things anyway to achieve `` net zero '' in all other sectors of economy .
The climate science is clear that the path to a safe and sane climate future requires us to eliminate all sources of excess @ @ @ @ @ @ @ far , however , Ottawa has responded to this emerging CO2 threat by trying to push this rising new flood of CO2 off the books .
To do this , they 've had to roll out a series of big and controversial changes in how they account for forest carbon .
But the atmosphere and the laws of physics do n't care what kinds of creative accounting we try .
They only react to the total amount of CO2 accumulating in the air .
And in Canada , total emissions of CO2 are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ required for a safe future .
They are n't even flatlining-to-failure as our official numbers say .
We control it all .
We need to start lowering our rising flood of climate pollution while we still can .

That's all according to the latest forest carbon data in Canada's recently released National Inventory Report (NIR). To illustrate the speed and scale of this unfolding crisis — and the role logging is playing in it — I've created a series of charts from this latest data.
Sadly, this isn't a short-term aberration. The long-term trends are relentlessly grim. They show that our forests switched from much-needed CO2 sinks into dangerous CO2 emitters more than a decade ago. And what started as a trickle has grown into a flood of CO2 pouring into our atmosphere.
In 2018, the flood of CO2 pouring out of them reached record levels, at nearly a quarter billion tonnes of CO2 in a single year. That's more than Canada's once biggest climate pollution source — the oil and gas sector — emitted that year.
Death and decay are winning in Canada's vast managed forest lands. And this victory is unleashing a rising flood of climate pollution. Put simply, our forests are dying and being cut down faster than they can grow back.
Canada's managed forests are enormous. They span the continent from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic Ocean, and cover an area larger than Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom combined.
What's causing such a dangerous surge in emissions? And what role is logging playing in it? To answer these questions, we need to dig a little deeper into the data.
But the data shows that this crucial carbon sink has disappeared. Instead, our forests transitioned to being net CO2 emitters more than a decade ago. And in 2018, they emitted a record 240 MtCO2. That's more than any other sector in Canada. In fact, our managed forests were the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in Canada for three of the last four years in the NIR data.
As all these billions of trees grow, they breathe in CO2 and strip off the carbon to construct new wood. When the wood rots or get burned, that carbon gets reoxidized into CO2 again. If there is more growth than decay, the forests are net CO2 absorbers ("carbon sinks"). If decay wins out, the forests emit CO2 ("carbon sources"). Canada reports this net CO2 balance each year in the NIR. That's the line on this first chart. As you can see, our huge managed forests used to be huge CO2 sinks. During the 1990s, they were able to absorb and store hundreds of millions of tonnes of CO2.
My next chart shows both.
The first part is shown by the bottom black line. This is the annual CO2 balance between growth versus all forms of decay except from harvested wood. Major decay sources include wildfires, insect kills, droughts, and some logging impacts, such as slash burning and exposed soils.
As you can see, these forces of decay have been gaining ground for decades. And the data shows that in extreme years now, death and decay are winning outright, tipping the forests into net emitters.
And that's before we add on Part 2 — the additional CO2 emitted by harvested wood (the yellow area).
Harvested wood CO2 is often a source of confusion. All harvested wood will turn to CO2 eventually. But not all of it does so in the same year it was logged. International climate rules require countries count it all. But there are options for when to count it.
Canada used to count it all in the year the wood was cut. As a result, the harvested wood CO2 numbers listed in older NIRs indicated how much wood got logged that year. This showed the amount of future CO2 locked in by that year's harvest.
A couple years ago, Canada switched to reporting wood CO2 in the year it got emitted back into the air. That's a smaller number, because about a quarter of the wood is in long-lasting products, such as building materials, that haven't rotted yet. Overall, this change retroactively shifted 2,500 MtCO2 from Canada's current and past books onto the future books for Canadians to deal with later.
All charts in this article show this new official "when emitted" number. (Readers wanting more details on this change and its generational burden-shifting can find them in my recent forest carbon explainer.)
The chart above now lets you see the role of harvested wood versus everything else. For example, the 2018 record was the result of all other forms of decay emitting 110 MtCO2 more than new growth absorbed — plus the additional 130 MtCO2 emitted by the burning and decay of harvested wood products.
What this chart also shows is how large the swings in the data can be from year to year. For example, a big wildfire year can create a short-term spike. When confronted with data this "noisy," scientists and policymakers rely on long-term averages to better see and understand the underlying trends.
Visualizing the long-term trends
My next chart shows these underlying trends.
In this chart, I've faded out the annual lines and charted their 10-year running averages on top. Each point on these trend lines shows the average over the 10 years leading up to it.
As you can see, the transition of our forests into super-emitters isn't a short-term aberration. It's a long-term trend that has marched consistently upwards over decades.
The lower black trend line shows that back in the 1990s, the forests were healthy enough to absorb an average of 175 MtCO2 more each year in new growth than they lost to all forms of decay — except from harvested wood.
But now this forest sink trend line has hit zero — the tipping point. That means the net CO2 balance over the last 10 years has been zero. The vital carbon sink at the heart of our enormous forests has vanished.
As I explained in more detail in my recent forest carbon explainer article, the primary driver of this dangerous trend has been increasing droughts, wildfire and insect outbreaks — combined with poor land use actions. Humans have been turbo-charging these trends via our fossil-fuelled climate disruption. And the best science says that droughts, wildfires and insect kills are all expected to grow worse in Canadian forests until climate change is brought under control.
And once again, sitting on top of this black line is the additional CO2 emitted by harvested wood (yellow area). This amount has stayed fairly consistent over the decades, with the 10-year average ranging between 127 MtCO2 and 140 MtCO2 in emissions per year.
That's a huge amount of CO2 for any sector to be emitting.
But, in the past, our forests were healthy enough to grow back as much wood as we cut out of them, and more. That meant the harvested wood was considered "carbon neutral."
Unfortunately for our logging industry — and our future climate safety — our faltering forests can't provide that essential service anymore.
Logging more than grows back
As these trend lines make clear, our logging levels started to exceed what our faltering forests could regrow ("offset") back in the early 2000s.
I've highlighted in red the amount of harvested wood CO2 that exceeded what the forests could absorb.
All that excess CO2 has been accumulating in our atmosphere, fuelling the climate breakdown. Just like the CO2 from our fossil fuel burning.
What started as a trickle has grown into a flood of CO2.
The total so far — the entire red area — exceeds one and a half billion tonnes of CO2. And the 10-year average is now up to 125 MtCO2 emitter per year. That's also a record set in 2018.
To put these emission numbers into context, let's compare them to the emissions from the rest of Canada's economy.
Rocketing past other sectors
The grey lines on this next chart show the annual emissions from all the other Canadian sectors.
The brown line is the same 10-year running average for forest CO2 we discussed above.
It looks steeper on this chart because I've stretched the Y axis a bit to allow you to visually separate the other sector lines.
Emissions from our managed forests have already rocketed past most other sectors.
Their long-term average is now twice as much as what Canada's entire electricity sector emits.
And individual extreme years — like the record 240 MtCO2 emitted in 2018 — are literally off this chart.
Canada's total — accounting versus atmosphere
As a final comparison, let's look at how rising CO2 from our managed forests impacts Canada's total emissions.
The black line on this chart shows Canada's official climate pollution total. It includes all sectors except the land use sector (which contains managed forests).
The falling green arrow is the path to Canada's climate target under the Paris Agreement.
And the rising brown line shows Canada's total emissions when our managed forest CO2 is included. This line shows how much is actually ending up in our atmosphere, fuelling the climate crisis.
And — critically — we are in control of all the emissions on this chart.
That includes the entire red area showing managed forest CO2. We could reduce this back down to zero by limiting our logging to what our forests can reabsorb each year. If we want to continue logging at current high levels, we will need to restore the carbon sink in our forests or find another way to offset the huge emissions of CO2 from our harvested wood. But we need to do those things anyway to achieve "net zero" in all other sectors of economy.
The climate science is clear that the path to a safe and sane climate future requires us to eliminate all sources of excess CO2, regardless of origin.
So far, however, Ottawa has responded to this emerging CO2 threat by trying to push this rising new flood of CO2 off the books. To do this, they've had to roll out a series of big and controversial changes in how they account for forest carbon.
But the atmosphere and the laws of physics don't care what kinds of creative accounting we try. They only react to the total amount of CO2 accumulating in the air. And in Canada, total emissions of CO2 are not going down as promised and as required for a safe future.
They aren't even flatlining-to-failure as our official numbers say.
They are rising dangerously fast.
We control it all. We need to start lowering our rising flood of climate pollution while we still can.


nationalobserver--2020-06-05--Calls to defund police grow, but Toronto's mayor not buying in

Calls to redirect police funding to mental health and other social services are growing amid massive protests over police brutality and systemic racism , but Toronto ’ s mayor seems determined to stick with more police training and community outreach instead .
The death of George Floyd , a Black man , at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer last month has revived calls to defund police amid frustration that reforms — such as more sensitivity training for officers and the use of body cameras — has not stopped police violence , which disproportionately targets people of colour .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a form of harm , ” says author Robyn Maynard , whose book Policing Black Lives chronicles the history of state violence against Black people in Canada .
“ What do we need to prioritize instead of these massive , bloated policing budgets , of over a billion dollars in the case of Toronto .
What would it mean to direct that towards people ’ s real needs ?
” she asks .
“ This is a project that in many ways is calling for us to imagine and think about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she says .
• It ’ s time to call out denialism — on racism and on climate change Robyn Maynard says police budgets can and should be diverted to programs that better address underlying racial inequalities .
Photo by Stacy Lee But the concept of actively diverting funding from Toronto ’ s police force , which has a long-acknowledged history of racial discrimination , is not on the agenda for John Tory , the city ’ s mayor .
“ People present this as an either/or case and I just don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he said this week when asked about diverting funding from police to provide more mental health services .
Tory is calling for the provincial and federal governments to step up on mental health funding and said the city is actively looking to purchase body cameras for officers and is expanding community outreach .
“ We ’ ve got to restore trust in the police .
We ’ re going to restore trust by having police officers in the community for years at a time , the same police officers actually walking through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he said .
“ This notion that we ’ re going to defund the police , and I don ’ t know whether we ’ re not going to have police or whatever , is not a credible option .
I don ’ t think anybody can realistically put it forward.
” Calls for police funding to be redirected towards social services that could improve the lives of those most susceptible to police violence are growing , but Toronto 's mayor sticking to $ 1 billion police budget But it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which is the fourth-largest city in North America and boasts of being the most ethnically diverse metropolis in the world .
In 2016 , Councillor Michael Thompson ( now deputy mayor ) proposed that city council redirect $ 24 million from the municipal police force ’ s budget to transit , child care and other social services .
( The motion did not pass . )
The city launched an initiative , the Neighbourhood Community Officer Program , several years ago to try to improve the police service 's relations with marginalized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lauded by Dexter Voisin , dean of the University of Toronto 's Factor-Inwentash faculty of social work .
But he says the current climate of protest across the United States should also prompt Canadians to reassess how to deal with structural obstacles such as poverty , social exclusion and lack of access to quality education that create the conditions where crime flourishes .
“ It ’ s an opportunity for communities , law enforcement , policymakers , social advocates to come together and start discussing these things in more earnest ways , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to defund law enforcement is a growing part of the protest movement and political response in the U.S .
In Minneapolis , activist groups are calling on the mayor to cut $ 45 million US from the budget of the city ’ s police department in the wake of Floyd ’ s death .
In Los Angeles , Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Wednesday that he is scrapping plans for a massive boost to the city 's police department .
One of the key arguments of the defund police movement is that law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to solve , including when responding to people dealing with a mental health crisis .

Calls to redirect police funding to mental health and other social services are growing amid massive protests over police brutality and systemic racism, but Toronto’s mayor seems determined to stick with more police training and community outreach instead. The death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer last month has revived calls to defund police amid frustration that reforms — such as more sensitivity training for officers and the use of body cameras — has not stopped police violence, which disproportionately targets people of colour. “It is recognizing that policing itself is a form of harm,” says author Robyn Maynard, whose book Policing Black Lives chronicles the history of state violence against Black people in Canada. “What do we need to prioritize instead of these massive, bloated policing budgets, of over a billion dollars in the case of Toronto. What would it mean to direct that towards people’s real needs?” she asks. “This is a project that in many ways is calling for us to imagine and think about the possibility of safety entirely differently,” she says.
But the concept of actively diverting funding from Toronto’s police force, which has a long-acknowledged history of racial discrimination, is not on the agenda for John Tory, the city’s mayor. “People present this as an either/or case and I just don’t accept that polarized decision-making tree,” he said this week when asked about diverting funding from police to provide more mental health services. Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions Tory is calling for the provincial and federal governments to step up on mental health funding and said the city is actively looking to purchase body cameras for officers and is expanding community outreach.
“We’ve got to restore trust in the police. We’re going to restore trust by having police officers in the community for years at a time, the same police officers actually walking through the neighbourhoods, developing relationships with people,” he said. Calls for police funding to be redirected towards social services that could improve the lives of those most susceptible to police violence are growing, but Toronto's mayor sticking to $1 billion police budget “This notion that we’re going to defund the police, and I don’t know whether we’re not going to have police or whatever, is not a credible option. I don’t think anybody can realistically put it forward.” But it’s not an unprecedented idea for Toronto, which is the fourth-largest city in North America and boasts of being the most ethnically diverse metropolis in the world. In 2016, Councillor Michael Thompson (now deputy mayor) proposed that city council redirect $24 million from the municipal police force’s budget to transit, child care and other social services. (The motion did not pass.) The city launched an initiative, the Neighbourhood Community Officer Program, several years ago to try to improve the police service's relations with marginalized communities.
It’s a program lauded by Dexter Voisin, dean of the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash faculty of social work. But he says the current climate of protest across the United States should also prompt Canadians to reassess how to deal with structural obstacles such as poverty, social exclusion and lack of access to quality education that create the conditions where crime flourishes. “It’s an opportunity for communities, law enforcement, policymakers, social advocates to come together and start discussing these things in more earnest ways,” he says.


nationalobserver--2020-06-05--Under fire over systemic racism in Ontario, Doug Ford creates anti-racism panel

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the creation of an advisory group to tackle inequality Thursday , the day after backpedalling to acknowledge that systemic racism exists in the province .
After refusing to say whether he thought systemic racism was a problem Tuesday — adding , “ We ’ re different than the United States , we don ’ t have the systemic , deep roots that they have had for years ” — Ford reversed course Wednesday and said , “ Of course there ’ s systemic racism in Ontario.
” Though the premier said Thursday the advisory council @ @ @ @ @ @ @ critics said he was doing damage control .
“ Just this week , Doug Ford denied systemic racism even existed in Canada , ” said Ontario NDP anti-racism critic Laura Mae Lindo , who is also chair of the party ’ s Black caucus .
“ This announcement is even more evidence that Mr. Ford doesn ’ t take addressing the cancer of systemic racism seriously.
” • It ’ s time to call out denialism — on racism and on climate change Ford also said his comments earlier this week were “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that systemic racism in Ontario has existed for “ decades.
” In fact , it has existed for centuries — Canada ’ s very founding was based on the genocide of Indigenous peoples , and Canadians were actively involved in the enslavement of Black people for more than two centuries .
The panel will have $ 1.5 million in funding , and is led by lawyer Jamil Jivani , Ford ’ s adviser on community opportunities .
It is focused on giving advice to the premier on how young people can overcome systematic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to support youth during the COVID-19 pandemic .
Ford ’ s announcement comes as violence erupts across the United States in response to the death of George Floyd , a Black man who died pleading for his life as a police officer knelt on his neck .
Demonstrations in Canada have also sprung up in response to Floyd ’ s death , and that of Regis Korchinski-Paquet , an Afro-Indigenous woman who fell to her death from a 24th-floor balcony while police were present .
( Ontario ’ s police watchdog is investigating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — who represents Etobicoke North , the riding in Ontario with the highest percentage of Black residents — has a history of coming under fire for what critics say is a fundamental lack of understanding of racism and its causes .
“ Racism is n't just about religion and colour and race .
It 's about going after someone relentlessly on a daily basis , ” he said in 2014 , incorrectly .
Critics said the new anti-racism council was an attempt at damage control , and pointed to Ford 's history of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a fundamental lack of understanding of racism and its causes .
# onpoli “ You can be racist against people that eat little red apples , you can be racist against people that have a drinking problem , you can be racist against people that are too fat.
” When he was running for premier in 2018 , Ford was the only candidate to decline to attend a debate organized by Black community leaders .
He was also booed after saying he supported bringing back a controversial policing program that used `` carding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ critics and community members who said it worsened tensions between people of colour and police .
Carding is now banned in Ontario , and evidence suggests such tactics alienate racialized people and harm the long-term ability of police to investigate crime in racialized communities .
Ford claimed on the campaign trail that no other politician in Canada had supported the Black community as much as he did .
When reporters asked him how , he said : `` I brought 80 kids from the Black community up to my cottage , every single @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We have a great time.
” After he was elected , Ford posed for photos with Faith Goldy , who praised white nationalists at the deadly Charlottesville neo-Nazi protest , said a neo-Nazi slogan on a podcast for the neo-Nazi site the Daily Stormer and added that she `` does n't see that as controversial , '' advocated to “ return ” Canada to a population that is “ 96 per cent Euro-Canadian ” and said she wants to `` launch the next Crusade '' to `` reclaim Bethlehem . ''
After three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anti-hate groups , Ford said in a tweet that he wouldn ’ t tolerate hate speech from anyone , including Goldy .
Ford also took fire after his election for appointing a cabinet that included one person of colour .
He has expressed support in the past for U.S. President Donald Trump , who has a long history of making racist comments and policies .
Ford ’ s press secretary did not respond to questions from National Observer about the premier ’ s definition of systemic racism , whether it has changed since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still supports Trump .
Stephen Warner , a spokesperson for Ford ’ s solicitor general , Sylvia Jones , said in an email that the Progressive Conservative government has “ zero tolerance for racism , hate , or discrimination in all of its forms.
” “ You have a premier that is deploying the language of ‘ systemic racism , ’ but clearly doesn ’ t understand what systemic racism is and how it is actively maintained through policy , funding and legislative decisions , ” said Nisha Nath , an assistant professor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ One need only trace just some of the premier ’ s funding decisions to see where there is a clear racialized impact and racialized harm.
” 'There is distrust in the community , and rightfully so ' On Thursday , opposition parties criticized Ford for the creation of the panel , which they said did not make up for previous government cuts to programs benefiting racialized people .
Liberal MPPs Michael Coteau and Mitzie Hunter pointed out in a joint statement that Ford cut a previous council with a similar function in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black Youth Action Plan , which provides services and supports to young Black people .
“ This is two years of lost progress , ” the MPPs said .
“ We would invite him to reverse further cuts he made to programs to fight systemic racism and support Black youth.
” Ford said the creation of the council was not an attempt to backtrack , and Jivani said previous government efforts seemed focused more on talking than making real changes .
“ We want to impact policy so we can see real action @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he wanted to address the pain felt by Ontario ’ s Black communities due to racial inequality and racism in Canada and in the U.S. “ There is distrust in the community , and rightfully so , ” he said .
Ford previously cut a $ 25-million program that included grants to support racialized students .
His government also held back funding for a cultural hub in Toronto ’ s Lawrence Heights , and cut funding to the Anti-Racism Directorate , which gives advice on ending systemic racism in Ontario .
Ford @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racialized youth — including funding for post-secondary , public health and libraries .
And Health Minister Christine Elliott said collecting race-based data on COVID-19 — which , in Toronto , has hit Black neighbourhoods the hardest — was “ not considered to be particularly relevant.
” ( The government is now working on collecting race-based data . )
This pattern “ specifically perpetuates and sustains anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism , ” Nath said .
“ Particularly as we are confronted with such great clarity with the fascist state police violence in the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is a fundamental part of our story in Canada , ” she said .
“ The role of the police in sustaining and carrying out racist violence is established .
And this surveillance and targeting of Indigenous , Black and other racialized communities in Canada by the police is intrinsically connected to this broader racialized infrastructure signalled by the cuts of this government.
” South of the border , communities are discussing possible ways to reallocate police resources to support communities instead .
“ I certainly think this would be an integral @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Nath said .
“ I support more funding for community resources , ” he said .
“ I don ’ t believe in cutting the police .
Everybody in our community has to be part of solutions .
That ’ s what it comes down to .
”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the creation of an advisory group to tackle inequality Thursday, the day after backpedalling to acknowledge that systemic racism exists in the province. After refusing to say whether he thought systemic racism was a problem Tuesday — adding, “We’re different than the United States, we don’t have the systemic, deep roots that they have had for years” — Ford reversed course Wednesday and said, “Of course there’s systemic racism in Ontario.” Though the premier said Thursday the advisory council had been planned long in advance, critics said he was doing damage control. “Just this week, Doug Ford denied systemic racism even existed in Canada,” said Ontario NDP anti-racism critic Laura Mae Lindo, who is also chair of the party’s Black caucus. “This announcement is even more evidence that Mr. Ford doesn’t take addressing the cancer of systemic racism seriously.”
Ford also said his comments earlier this week were “spun out of context,” and that systemic racism in Ontario has existed for “decades.” In fact, it has existed for centuries — Canada’s very founding was based on the genocide of Indigenous peoples, and Canadians were actively involved in the enslavement of Black people for more than two centuries. The panel will have $1.5 million in funding, and is led by lawyer Jamil Jivani, Ford’s adviser on community opportunities. It is focused on giving advice to the premier on how young people can overcome systematic, socioeconomic barriers, and how best to support youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions Ford’s announcement comes as violence erupts across the United States in response to the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died pleading for his life as a police officer knelt on his neck. Demonstrations in Canada have also sprung up in response to Floyd’s death, and that of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, an Afro-Indigenous woman who fell to her death from a 24th-floor balcony while police were present. (Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating Korchinski-Paquet’s death.)
Ford’s record on race Ford — who represents Etobicoke North, the riding in Ontario with the highest percentage of Black residents — has a history of coming under fire for what critics say is a fundamental lack of understanding of racism and its causes. Critics said the new anti-racism council was an attempt at damage control, and pointed to Ford's history of statements and actions that they said showed a fundamental lack of understanding of racism and its causes. #onpoli “Racism isn't just about religion and colour and race. It's about going after someone relentlessly on a daily basis,” he said in 2014, incorrectly. “You can be racist against people that eat little red apples, you can be racist against people that have a drinking problem, you can be racist against people that are too fat.” https://twitter.com/sdbcraig/status/1267946608764661761
When he was running for premier in 2018, Ford was the only candidate to decline to attend a debate organized by Black community leaders. He was also booed after saying he supported bringing back a controversial policing program that used "carding," which was widely maligned by critics and community members who said it worsened tensions between people of colour and police. Carding is now banned in Ontario, and evidence suggests such tactics alienate racialized people and harm the long-term ability of police to investigate crime in racialized communities. Ford claimed on the campaign trail that no other politician in Canada had supported the Black community as much as he did. When reporters asked him how, he said: "I brought 80 kids from the Black community up to my cottage, every single year for the last three years. We have a great time.”


nationalobserver--2020-06-05--Building greener more inclusive communities across Canada with Graham Saul

How can we create a green stimulus package that 's inclusive and just for communities across Canada ?
Executive Director of Nature Canada , Graham Saul joins Linda Solomon Wood to talk about environmental justice , how nature conservation projects could engage women and BIPOC communities and how we can build better cities in our next Conversation series this Thursday , June 11th at 4pm PT / 7pm ET .
Saul has been working on social and environmental justice issues for more than 25 years and is the former head of Climate Action Network Canada and Ecology Ottawa .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Observer , Saul reflects on U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt ’ s Civilian Conservation Corps ( CCC ) that put millions of people back to work on nature conservation projects after the Great Depression .
“ Hundreds of thousands of jobs can be created if we work with nature , ” writes Saul .
He argues it ’ s , “ time for a Canadian nature corps.
” If you ’ re not ready to sign up for the nature corps , you can still sign up for this free , online discussion .

How can we create a green stimulus package that's inclusive and just for communities across Canada? Executive Director of Nature Canada, Graham Saul joins Linda Solomon Wood to talk about environmental justice, how nature conservation projects could engage women and BIPOC communities and how we can build better cities in our next Conversation series this Thursday, June 11th at 4pm PT / 7pm ET.
Saul has been working on social and environmental justice issues for more than 25 years and is the former head of Climate Action Network Canada and Ecology Ottawa. In a recent opinion piece for The National Observer, Saul reflects on U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that put millions of people back to work on nature conservation projects after the Great Depression. “Hundreds of thousands of jobs can be created if we work with nature,” writes Saul. He argues it’s, “time for a Canadian nature corps.”
If you’re not ready to sign up for the nature corps, you can still sign up for this free, online discussion.
Bring your questions and join the conversation by registering here through Zoom: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/9115904378909/WN_CW32yG2KSuCA-S-ag2jQpQ


nationalobserver--2020-06-05--Inside Amazon with a fired whistleblower and former VP: Maren Costa and Tim Bray

“ The problem is not an Amazon problem , the problem is a power-balance problem , ” Bray told Linda Solomon Wood , editor-in-chief of Canada 's National Observer .
And the solution to that “ deep societal problem , ” he says , is to split up Amazon and other big tech companies .
Bray called for the breakup of Amazon and other top tech companies during a public Zoom conversation hosted by Canada ’ s National Observer .
“ One of the first things we could and should do is aggressive anti-trust action to break up a whole @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” former Amazon vice-president Tim Bray told Canada 's National Observer on Thursday .
“ It felt like stepping outside the lines of what decent human beings should do , ” Bray recalled about his reaction to the firings .
“ It also felt , to me , egregiously stupid.
” Bray abandoned a “ great job ” in May — resigning in protest after the company fired employees who raised red flags about COVID-19 dangers in its warehouses .
“ I think you should take the top 10 big tech companies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Bray said .
“ Amazon has really failed horribly in protecting their workers , despite the fact that they are using their huge PR megaphone to try to convince the world they are doing an absolutely fantastic job , ” Costa said Thursday , acknowledging that entirely new work and safety protocols are tough to roll out in any major operation .
“ How can you expect to keep production running full-throttle and keep shipping non-essential items , and at the same time keep workers safe ?
Before her firing on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amazon in 2002 — had risen to become the company ’ s principal user-experience designer , before which she held that top design position for Amazon subsidiaries Alexa and Amazon Go .
On April 29 , Bray resigned from his high-level position in the firm , writing on his website , “ I quit in dismay at Amazon firing whistleblowers who were making noise about warehouse employees frightened of COVID-19.
” The Seattle-based multinational did not return requests for comment by time of publication , but it previously said Costa and several other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ multiple internal policies , ” and insisted that its “ top concern is ensuring the health and safety of our employees , ” including touting US $ 4 billion spent on COVID-19 measures and denying claims it risked worker health .
“ We said , ‘ We will absolutely stand with you ’ … Amazon , clearly , desperately , did not want that conversation to happen.
” “ Warehouse workers had been contacting us and telling us how scared they were , ” Costa told attendees of the Zoom event .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and their families ’ lives every day going to work , and they didn ’ t have the safety protections they needed .
Maren Costa , a senior Amazon designer , was fired after promoting an event organized to bring together Amazon employees concerned about the company ’ s COVID-19 safety measures in its warehouses .
The coronavirus has killed at least eight Amazon warehouse workers and many others have been diagnosed with the virus , sparking a U.S. employees ' lawsuit alleging a “ facade of compliance , ” and allegations in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of failing to inform all co-workers of workplace cases .
Bray , who spent the past five years as the e-commerce giant ’ s senior principal engineer and vice-president for its cloud-computing branch , joined one of those fired employees Thursday for the public Zoom conversation .
Costa , who lives in Seattle , alleged that the tech giant refused to make “ any substantial safety measures ” until pressured by its own workers “ standing up , speaking up , walking out and , ultimately , getting fired.
” “ It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knew it … They were really putting profit ahead of people .
`` I think there 's a lack of empathy , '' she said .
`` I think there 's a lack of understanding of how things land on people , '' But Amazon , on its corporate blog , touted that health initiatives during the pandemic include increasing existing health benefits to allow two weeks of paid sick leave for any employee with COVID-19 , as well as sending 100 million masks to work sites , adding nearly 6,000 janitors to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and spending US $ 85 million “ redeploying ” employees as “ social distancing ambassadors ” to take co-workers ’ temperatures and encourage two-metre spacing at work .
Costa and Bray agreed that the company had fallen far short in targeting what both called “ whistleblower ” workers during COVID-19 .
“ Large companies always have a message , and they tend to be very good at staying on the message , ” Bray said from his home in Vancouver .
“ Amazon has pushed back very hard against the proposition they ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the warehouse .
“ They just fired everybody involved … It seemed malevolent and stupid , and I just couldn ’ t go on.
” On February 17th Amazon ’ s chief executive , Jeff Bezos pledged $ 10 billion to address the climate crisis .
Called the Bezos Earth Fund , the money is pegged for scientists , activists and nongovernmental organizations .
Despite that Costa said the world 's richest man had `` some blind spots '' when it comes to the climate crisis and that even though he eventually went @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what was actually going on '' he has a too rosy picture of the crisis .
`` I think he wants to believe that we can maintain the same level of production and profit and expansion and growth and have a liveable planet , '' Costa said .
`` But he ’ s counting on terraforming other planets and colonies in space and I don ’ t think have time for that , I don ’ t think that ’ s going to be up and running in time . ''
Costa says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transparent about its climate impact .
`` I would wish that every product on Amazon had a carbon footprint rating , '' she said , `` There should be the equivalent of a LEED standard for vendors and products .
I think if customers knew the full price they were actually paying , they would make different choices . ''
That standard could let customers know how far their product is coming from , if the vendors they 're buying from treat their workers ethically , and if they use ecological packaging .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ doable , but she says there is little motivation for Bezos and his company to get behind it .
`` You know he won ’ t really be in trouble he has his spheres , his bio-domes set up and he ’ s a billionaire , he has his shelter ready , so I think there is a lack of empathy . ''
Amazon , which owns Whole Foods , Audible , Prime Video and soon a planned “ constellation ” of 3,000 satellites , has nearly a million employees and revenues last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That makes Amazon the world 's second-largest retailer , after Walmart .
Forbes ranks its CEO , Jeff Bezos , as the world ’ s wealthiest person , estimating he ’ s worth US $ 200 billion .
“ Amazon is so big , the scale is hard to imagine unless you ’ ve been there , ” Bray said .
If the company were actually a country , it would rank 30th among the top states by gross domestic product , according to the World Bank — on par with Norway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bray said he doesn ’ t believe the root of the problem protecting whistleblowers or workers ’ health and safety lies solely with his former employer , but rather a systemic problem with corporations .
“ Amazon is a symptom of a problem , ” he said .
“ What we have is a deep societal problem with an unacceptable imbalance of power and wealth that has been building steadily since the 1970s … and a regulatory framework that allows warehouse workers to be treated poorly.
” He said the COVID-19 pandemic has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were there all along at major corporations .
Not just on workers ’ health and safety or labour rights , either , he said , but on another issue dear to his heart : climate change .
He recalled getting into a heated discussion with a senior vice-president above him about the urgency of climate action , but was told , “ What you say makes a point , but that ’ s not my job .
My job is to make Amazon Web Services run more efficiently.
” He said it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ play nice ” on issues like carbon emissions or labour rights .
It must be legislated and enforced on all players on the field .
Bezos ’ s famous about-face on climate over the past year — having previously funnelled money to anti-environmental causes and campaigns , offered tech support for oil and gas exploration and admitted Amazon 's own operations emit 44 million tonnes of CO2 a year — saw him announce US $ 10 billion in donations to climate organizations and science in February .
Just months earlier , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by 2040 and order 100,000 electric delivery trucks .
“ Honestly , I think Jeff had some blind spots about the climate crisis , ” said Costa , who during her time there helped start Amazon Employees for Climate Justice .
“ We heard from internal channels that when we started pressuring , he started getting more active and ( would go ) to some of the scientists he had on staff , asking , ‘ Tell me what is going on here.
’ “ I think he didn ’ t have as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think he wants to believe we can maintain the same level of production and profit and expansion and growth , and have a livable planet.
” The problems that saw the showdown and walkouts by Amazon employees over COVID-19 safety , as well as finally ceding to massive employee pressure over climate change , reveal something wrong “ across the whole economy ” — and how we as consumers think about it , Bray told attendees of the conversation with Canada ’ s National Observer .
Costa says Bezos ' empathy has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` He used to be on the floor with employees and go to the fulfillment centers at the Xmas rush and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with warehouse workers .
That 's so far in the past at this point . ''
“ Telling Amazon or big companies to play nice just isn ’ t going to do it , ” he said .
“ That ’ s why we need legislation and regulation to set the rules — so they don ’ t have the option of ignoring this problem .
“ Who could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ selection and fast delivery ?
Yeah — but what ’ s the cost ?
” This live interview is part of Linda Solomon Wood 's Conversations series , sponsored by Canada 's National Observer and featuring topics around COVID-19 , the economy , politics and climate change .
To watch more Conversations , head over to our YouTube channel .
To stay up to date on upcoming interviews , subscribe here .

Bray abandoned a “great job” in May — resigning in protest after the company fired employees who raised red flags about COVID-19 dangers in its warehouses.
“I think you should take the top 10 big tech companies and make them into 40 or 50,” Bray said.
“The problem is not an Amazon problem, the problem is a power-balance problem,” Bray told host Linda Solomon Wood, editor-in-chief of Canada's National Observer. And the solution to that “deep societal problem,” he says, is to split up Amazon and other big tech companies.
Bray called for the breakup of Amazon and other top tech companies during a public Zoom conversation, sponsored by Canada's National Observer.
“One of the first things we could and should do is aggressive anti-trust action to break up a whole bunch of companies, notably including Amazon,” former Amazon vice-president Tim Bray said on Thursday.
“It felt like stepping outside the lines of what decent human beings should do,” Bray recalled about his reaction to the firings. “It also felt, to me, egregiously stupid.”
“We said, ‘We will absolutely stand with you’ … Amazon, clearly, desperately, did not want that conversation to happen.”
“Warehouse workers had been contacting us and telling us how scared they were,” Costa told attendees of the Zoom event. “They felt they were risking their lives and their families’ lives every day going to work, and they didn’t have the safety protections they needed.
Maren Costa, a senior Amazon designer, was fired after promoting an event organized to bring together Amazon employees concerned about the company’s COVID-19 safety measures in its warehouses. The coronavirus has killed at least eight Amazon warehouse workers and many others have been diagnosed with the virus, sparking a U.S. employees' lawsuit alleging a “facade of compliance,” and allegations in Canada of overcrowding and accusing the firm of failing to inform all co-workers of workplace cases.
Bray, who spent the past five years as the e-commerce giant’s senior principal engineer and vice-president for its cloud-computing branch, joined one of those fired employees Thursday for the public Zoom conversation.
And in its website insisted insisted that its “top concern is ensuring the health and safety of our employees,” including touting US$4 billion spent on COVID-19 measures and denying claims it risked worker health.
"We support every employee’s right to criticize their employer’s working conditions, but that does not come with blanket immunity against any and all internal policies," the spokesperson wrote. "We terminated these employees not for talking publicly about sustainability working conditions or safety, but rather, for repeatedly violating internal policies."
A spokesperson for the Seattle-based multinational disputed the account in an email, stating workers were informed about any Covid-19 cases.
On April 29, Bray resigned from his high-level position in the firm, writing on his website, “I quit in dismay at Amazon firing whistleblowers who were making noise about warehouse employees frightened of COVID-19.”
Before her firing on April 11, Costa — who joined Amazon in 2002 — had risen to become the company’s principal user-experience designer, before which she held that top design position for Amazon subsidiaries Alexa and Amazon Go.
“Amazon has really failed horribly in protecting their workers, despite the fact that they are using their huge PR megaphone to try to convince the world they are doing an absolutely fantastic job,” Costa said Thursday, acknowledging that entirely new work and safety protocols are tough to roll out in any major operation. “How can you expect to keep production running full-throttle and keep shipping non-essential items, and at the same time keep workers safe?
“It’s just not possible, and they knew it … They were really putting profit ahead of people.
Costa, who lives in Seattle, alleged that the tech giant refused to make “any substantial safety measures” until pressured by its own workers “standing up, speaking up, walking out and, ultimately, getting fired.”
She characterized the company's response to employees' concerns as: “firing, silencing and censorship.”
"I think there's a lack of empathy," she said. "I think there's a lack of understanding of how things land on people,"
But Amazon, on its corporate blog, touted that health initiatives during the pandemic include increasing existing health benefits to allow two weeks of paid sick leave for any employee with COVID-19, as well as sending 100 million masks to work sites, adding nearly 6,000 janitors to its staff for “enhanced cleaning” and spending US$85 million “redeploying” employees as “social distancing ambassadors” to take co-workers’ temperatures and encourage two-metre spacing at work.
Costa and Bray agreed that the company had fallen far short in targeting what both called “whistleblower” workers during COVID-19.
“Large companies always have a message, and they tend to be very good at staying on the message,” Bray said from his home in Vancouver. “Amazon has pushed back very hard against the proposition they’re doing anything less than perfect in the warehouse.
“They just fired everybody involved … It seemed malevolent and stupid, and I just couldn’t go on.”
Bezos' blind-spots
In February Amazon’s chief executive, Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion to address the climate crisis. Called the Bezos Earth Fund, the money is pegged for scientists, activists and nongovernmental organizations.
Despite that, Costa said Bezos had "some blind spots" when it comes to the climate crisis and that even though he eventually went to scientists on staff to understand "what was actually going on" he had too rosy a picture of the crisis.
"I think he wants to believe that we can maintain the same level of production and profit and expansion and growth and have a liveable planet," Costa said. "But he’s counting on terraforming other planets and colonies in space and I don’t think we have time for that, I don’t think that’s going to be up and running in time."
“I think he didn’t have as much a sense of the urgency," said Costa who during her time there helped start Amazon Employees for Climate Justice.
Costa says Amazon could, and should, be transparent about its climate impact.
"I would wish that every product on Amazon had a carbon footprint rating," she said, "There should be the equivalent of a LEED standard for vendors and products. I think if customers knew the full price they were actually paying, they would make different choices." That standard could let customers know how far their product is coming from, if the vendors they're buying from treat their workers ethically, and if they use ecological packaging.
Costa said that type of initiative is doable, but she says there is little motivation for Bezos and his company to get behind it. "You know he won’t really be in trouble he has his spheres, his bio-domes set up and he’s a billionaire, he has his shelter ready, so I think there is a lack of empathy."
Amazon a symptom of a larger societal problem
Amazon, which owns Whole Foods, Audible, Prime Video and soon a planned “constellation” of 3,000 satellites, has nearly a million employees and revenues last year of almost US$400 billion. That makes Amazon the world's second-largest retailer, after Walmart. Forbes ranks its CEO, Jeff Bezos, as the world’s wealthiest person, estimating he’s worth US$200 billion.
“Amazon is so big, the scale is hard to imagine unless you’ve been there,” Bray said. If the company were actually a country, it would rank 30th among the top states by gross domestic product, according to the World Bank — on par with Norway, Ireland or Hong Kong.
But Bray said he doesn’t believe the root of the problem protecting whistleblowers or workers’ health and safety lies solely with his former employer, but rather a systemic problem with corporations.
“Amazon is a symptom of a problem,” he said. “What we have is a deep societal problem with an unacceptable imbalance of power and wealth that has been building steadily since the 1970s … and a regulatory framework that allows warehouse workers to be treated poorly.”
He said the COVID-19 pandemic has merely revealed the underlying systemic gaps that were there all along at major corporations. Not just on workers’ health and safety or labour rights, either, he said, but on another issue dear to his heart: climate change.
He recalled getting into a heated discussion with a senior vice-president above him about the urgency of climate action, but was told, “What you say makes a point, but that’s not my job. My job is to make Amazon Web Services run more efficiently.”
He said it’s not adequate to expect companies to “play nice” on issues like carbon emissions or labour rights. It must be legislated and enforced on all players on the field.
Bezos’s did a famous about-face on climate over the past year — having previously funnelled money to anti-environmental causes and campaigns, offered tech support for oil and gas exploration and admitted Amazon's own operations emit 44 million tonnes of CO2 a year — and then announce the US$10 billion in donations to climate organizations and science. Just months earlier, he’d pledged Amazon would become carbon-neutral by 2040 and order 100,000 electric delivery trucks.
The problems that saw the showdown and walkouts by Amazon employees over COVID-19 safety, as well as finally ceding to massive employee pressure over climate change, reveal something wrong “across the whole economy” — and how we as consumers think about it, Bray told attendees of the conversation with Canada’s National Observer.
Costa says Bezos' empathy has a reverse correlation with his increasing wealth. "He used to be on the floor with employees and go to the fulfillment centers at the Christmas rush and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with warehouse workers. That's so far in the past at this point."
“Telling Amazon or big companies to play nice just isn’t going to do it,” Bray said. “That’s why we need legislation and regulation to set the rules — so they don’t have the option of ignoring this problem.
“Who could possibly be against low prices, wide selection and fast delivery? Yeah — but what’s the cost?”
This live interview is part of Linda Solomon Wood's Conversations series, sponsored by Canada's National Observer and featuring topics around COVID-19, the economy, politics and climate change. To watch more Conversations, head over to our YouTube channel. To stay up to date on upcoming interviews, subscribe here.


nationalobserver--2020-06-05--Federal restart fund could revive TransLink, mayors’ council chairman says

The chairman of the Mayors ’ Council on Regional Transportation says he ’ s encouraged that the federal government ’ s offer of $ 14 billion in “ safe restart ” funding could include a much-needed lifeline to public transit systems like TransLink .
New Westminster Mayor Jonathan Cote told Canada 's National Observer that there appeared to be a “ clear intent ” from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that a portion of the new federal funding commitment would go toward municipal needs like transit .
That would be welcome news for Metro Vancouver 's TransLink , which Cote said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dollars in revenue this year , as ridership plummeted while people stayed home and avoided enclosed spaces to slow the spread of the coronavirus .
“ This is really encouraging news , ” Cote said .
“ We ’ re talking about a significant amount of funding ...
I think if we ’ re starting to talk in dollar figures in the hundreds of millions , we ’ re getting to the point where we can start to see financial sustainability come back to transit agencies.
” Today 's announcement by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for provincial reopening plans is good news for @ TransLink and transit agencies across Canada .
Lots of work still to come but bringing all three levels of govt together is a key step .
pic.twitter.com/BTkJrudzVd — Mayors ' Council ( @ mayors_council ) June 5 , 2020 Cote and the mayors ’ council approve TransLink transportation plans and appoint most members of its board of directors .
The council includes representatives from municipalities across the transit system 's service area .
• It ’ s time to call out denialism — on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the announcement on Friday from Rideau Cottage in Ottawa .
He said it would cover the next “ six to eight months ” and help pay for things like protective equipment , child care , seniors , sick pay and municipal needs including “ public transit and community programs.
” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government wanted to ensure Canada has the conditions in place for a safe economic restart — and that means making sure people have the things they need to stay healthy .
The way to do this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through a collaborative conversation with the provinces.
” The federal government is still negotiating with the provinces and territories about how the money will be distributed .
On Friday , British Columbia Finance Minister Carole James said she ’ s “ keen to partner up with the federal government ” on economic recovery , but was waiting on more information .
“ We haven ’ t received those details yet , and I know we ’ ll be working on them in the upcoming week , ” James said .
“ I want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to British Columbia , and I heard a long list of areas that it ’ s intended to cover , so we ’ ll want to see which areas the prime minister sees being cost-shared with the federal government , how much is coming simply to British Columbia , for us to determine where our priorities are.
” The chair of the Mayors ’ Council on Regional Transportation says he ’ s encouraged that the federal government ’ s offer of $ 14 billion in “ safe restart ” funding could include a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TransLink .
B.C .
Transportation Minister Claire Trevena was part of a joint statement of four populous provinces this week calling on the federal government to provide transit funding , to be allocated directly to them .
On a per capita basis , with B.C.
’ s 13 per cent of the national population , the province might expect to see roughly a $ 1.8-billion slice of the pie , Cote said .
In a tweet sent Friday , the mayors ’ council thanked B.C .
Premier John Horgan for “ working with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Canada to the table on transit relief funding.
” “ Now we look forward to working with you and ( Municipal Affairs Minister Selina Robinson ) and ( Trevena ) in the coming weeks to finalize a recovery and rebuilding strategy for transit across B.C .
”

The chairman of the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation says he’s encouraged that the federal government’s offer of $14 billion in “safe restart” funding could include a much-needed lifeline to public transit systems like TransLink. New Westminster Mayor Jonathan Cote told Canada's National Observer that there appeared to be a “clear intent” from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that a portion of the new federal funding commitment would go toward municipal needs like transit. That would be welcome news for Metro Vancouver's TransLink, which Cote said is expected to lose almost a half-billion dollars in revenue this year, as ridership plummeted while people stayed home and avoided enclosed spaces to slow the spread of the coronavirus. “This is really encouraging news,” Cote said. “We’re talking about a significant amount of funding ... I think if we’re starting to talk in dollar figures in the hundreds of millions, we’re getting to the point where we can start to see financial sustainability come back to transit agencies.” http://twitter.com/mayors_council/status/1268972746261716992
Cote and the mayors’ council approve TransLink transportation plans and appoint most members of its board of directors. The council includes representatives from municipalities across the transit system's service area. Trudeau made the announcement on Friday from Rideau Cottage in Ottawa. He said it would cover the next “six to eight months” and help pay for things like protective equipment, child care, seniors, sick pay and municipal needs including “public transit and community programs.” Billion-dollar land deals in Ontario raise corruption suspicions Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government wanted to ensure Canada has the conditions in place for a safe economic restart — and that means making sure people have the things they need to stay healthy. The way to do this successfully, she said, is “through a collaborative conversation with the provinces.”
The federal government is still negotiating with the provinces and territories about how the money will be distributed. On Friday, British Columbia Finance Minister Carole James said she’s “keen to partner up with the federal government” on economic recovery, but was waiting on more information. The chair of the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation says he’s encouraged that the federal government’s offer of $14 billion in “safe restart” funding could include a much-needed lifeline to public transit systems like TransLink. “We haven’t received those details yet, and I know we’ll be working on them in the upcoming week,” James said. “I want to see how many resources are coming to British Columbia, and I heard a long list of areas that it’s intended to cover, so we’ll want to see which areas the prime minister sees being cost-shared with the federal government, how much is coming simply to British Columbia, for us to determine where our priorities are.” B.C. Transportation Minister Claire Trevena was part of a joint statement of four populous provinces this week calling on the federal government to provide transit funding, to be allocated directly to them. On a per capita basis, with B.C.’s 13 per cent of the national population, the province might expect to see roughly a $1.8-billion slice of the pie, Cote said.
In a tweet sent Friday, the mayors’ council thanked B.C. Premier John Horgan for “working with us” to “bring the Government of Canada to the table on transit relief funding.” “Now we look forward to working with you and (Municipal Affairs Minister Selina Robinson) and (Trevena) in the coming weeks to finalize a recovery and rebuilding strategy for transit across B.C.”


nationalobserver--2020-06-05--Indigenous and environmental groups ask for restart of oilpatch monitoring

Seven environmental and Indigenous groups have asked the Alberta government to restart oilpatch monitoring as soon as possible given that other activities are coming out of the COVID-19 shutdown .
In a letter delivered to the Energy and Environment departments Wednesday , the signatories also urge the government to make public its decision-making criteria for when that work will begin again .
`` We 're seeking that understanding and a commitment to fully restore ( monitoring ) , '' said Chris Severson-Baker of the Pembina Institute , a clean-energy think tank and one of the signatories .
`` Restore the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criteria you 're going to use . ''
Last month , the province 's energy regulator suspended a wide array of environmental monitoring requirements in the entire oilpatch that were originally imposed as licence conditions .
The regulator said the decisions were made to protect workers and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic .
• It ’ s time to call out denialism — on racism and on climate change Companies no longer have to monitor fumes released by burning , or look for and repair leaks of methane , a potent greenhouse gas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tested , unless it escapes into the environment .
Most soil and groundwater monitoring is gone .
In-situ oilsands operations no longer have to conduct any wildlife monitoring or research .
Reclamation and wetland monitoring is also suspended .
Although some operations must resume Sept. 30 , most suspensions have no end date .
Severson-Baker said that as the province releases guidelines on how businesses can safely reopen , it should do the same for environmental monitoring .
`` Our assumption is that there is a plan .
We 're pretty interested in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environmental and Indigenous groups have asked the Alberta government to restart oilpatch monitoring as soon as possible given that other activities are coming out of the COVID-19 shutdown .
He said signatories anticipate being able to comment on it before it 's implemented .
Jess Sinclair , a spokeswoman with Alberta Environment , said in an email that requests to defer monitoring will be considered by experts with the department and the regulator , and any temporary deferrals will be considered for low-risk monitoring .
`` We continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is underway to determine when exemptions will be lifted . ''
Severson-Baker said delaying monitoring longer than necessary will have an economic as well as environmental cost .
In addition to concerns it would create among investors , he said , it would keep small consulting firms that do monitoring work from completing contracts out in the field .
Other businesses are already opening , he noted .
`` We hope the same clearance is extended to these sorts of ( monitoring ) activities . ''

Seven environmental and Indigenous groups have asked the Alberta government to restart oilpatch monitoring as soon as possible given that other activities are coming out of the COVID-19 shutdown.
In a letter delivered to the Energy and Environment departments Wednesday, the signatories also urge the government to make public its decision-making criteria for when that work will begin again.
"We're seeking that understanding and a commitment to fully restore (monitoring)," said Chris Severson-Baker of the Pembina Institute, a clean-energy think tank and one of the signatories.
"Restore the requirements or be transparent about what decision-making criteria you're going to use."
Last month, the province's energy regulator suspended a wide array of environmental monitoring requirements in the entire oilpatch that were originally imposed as licence conditions. The regulator said the decisions were made to protect workers and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.