|
March 14, 2020 - No. 8 Strict Comprehensive Measures |
Working
people must unite in action at every level and
determine how they can contribute to making
quarantine, isolation and the other strict
measures required effective and to asserting the
claims they are entitled to make on governments at
every level. Quarantining is a very important
first measure and people can inform themselves of
the guidelines they must follow. If they require
assistance, they must call the public health care
numbers they are provided with and describe their
symptoms and follow the instructions. Full testing
and treatment must be provided to everyone who
needs it. By closing everything down for the
two-week incubation period and then assessing
whether the virus has been contained on the basis
of verifiable results, and pursuing the
instructions of the WHO meticulously, Canada can
do its part to contain and mitigate this global
pandemic.
|
Term |
Definition |
|
School
mitigation measures |
School
remains open and alternative measures
are implemented to promote social
distancing and decrease density among
students and staff. |
|
Class
dismissal |
School
remains open with core staff, but most
children stay home (similar to a "snow
day"). |
|
School
closure |
School
is closed to all children and staff. |
|
Reactive
closure or dismissal |
School
is closed after a substantial incidence
of illness is reported among children or
staff (or both) in that school. |
|
Proactive
closure or dismissal |
School
is closed before a substantial
transmission among children and staff.
Is only helpful before the peak of an
outbreak in the community. |
They provide specific details when considering
these measures.[1]
Of note is that school mitigation emphasizes
social distancing which in this case means finding
ways to reduce the proximity of students to one
another. This means changing school schedules to
mitigate proximity in public transit getting to
school such as staggering school starts,
increasing desk distances between students and
dividing classes into smaller groups. Thus it
requires reduction of class sizes in most cases
and keeping students from congregating. It is
important to note in this respect that smaller
class sizes are in fact related to preventing the
spread of infectuous diseases in schools and
should also be considered a general preventive
measure at all times.
Another important matter is the recommendation
that school closures must be considered against
the general disruption on the lives of families
who may then be adversely affected in being unable
to work and also that while home students may also
then congregate in other areas defeating the
purpose of the closure. In terms of interrupting
transmission of the virus proactive closures
should be more than 2 weeks and should be carried
out before a peak in the epidemic.
Post-Secondary
Across Canada, universities and colleges are
moving towards online delivery of classes which
were previously live, especially in the case where
classes are more than 250 students to avoid
spreading the virus. A number of institutions are
taking a period of days to transition courses
online and will re-start following this.
K-12 Education
British Columbia
On March 12, the BC government announced that
anyone who chooses to travel outside of Canada
will be asked to voluntarily stay away from work
or school for 14 days upon their return. They
announced that over spring break (March 16-27) the
BC government will also work with school districts
to develop procedures to be implemented with
students and staff when classes resume. They
indicate that some post-secondary institutions
have classes with more than 250 students, and they
are working with them to take measures to address
this situation.
BC Teachers' Federation (BCTF) President Teri
Mooring issued a statement on March 14 which
stated: "This is a particularly scary time for
those who are health compromised or have loved
ones who are. This is a time to show we care. We
can find safe ways to do just that. Especially
understanding that everyone reacts to stress and
anxiety differently.
"Upon returning from Spring Break we will need to
be prepared to face some challenges. It's
difficult to precisely define them all at this
point, due to fast moving events.
"Please know a lot of planning and work is
happening now. The BCTF is working with government
to ensure the return from the break is as smooth
and safe as possible. We will continue to provide
information and updates during the next couple of
weeks."
Alberta
On March 13, the Alberta government recommended
that schools remain open at this time. However it
recommended that schools eliminate large
gatherings of students such as assemblies and
consider cancelling extracurricular activities
that involve physical contact. The government of
Alberta has also stated "effective March 12, all
travellers returning from outside Canada must
self-isolate for 14 days and monitor for
symptoms." Spring break in Alberta is from March
20 to March 27.
On March 14, Alberta Teachers' Association
President Jason Schilling issued a statement that
approves of the decision to keep schools open, but
raising concerns about the lack of funding for
cleaning staff, who are necessary now more than
ever.
"If schools are going to remain open, then they
must be safe and healthy places for everyone in or
in transit to them -- I am very concerned that
very many schools do not have sufficient funding
to hire light-duty custodians to undertake the
ongoing daytime cleaning needed to meet the
standards that must be in place to protect the
health of students, staff, teachers and visitors
in our schools," said Schilling. "The government
may need to assist school boards to ensure they
can hire staff and provide them with the cleaning
supplies they need to meet the standards for
sanitation set out by the Chief Medical Officer of
Health."
The Alberta government announced it will be making
changes to the Employment Standards Code to "allow
employees who are required to self-isolate or are
caring for a loved one with COVID-19 to take 14
days of paid job-protected leave to cover the
self-isolation period being recommended by
Alberta's chief medical officer of health."
"There will be no requirement to have a medical
note for such leave or to have worked for an
employer for 90 days to qualify for such leave."
In addition to the measures requested by Alberta
Health, different school boards are taking various
other measures. In Calgary public schools,
parent-teacher interviews were cancelled along
with other events open to parents and community
members. Public rentals of facilities, such as
gyms, have been cancelled, as well as events where
student populations from different schools have
contact with each other.
Saskatchewan
According to the CBC, "The Saskatoon Public School
Division, the province's largest, has taken steps
including cancelling all large gatherings, field
trips, guest speakers, external presentations and
tours."
The division has also cancelled all professional
development, large gatherings, meetings for staff
and upcoming open houses for unique programs. All
cultural activities and events, like pipe
ceremonies, feasts and round dances, have also
been cancelled. Saskatchewan's spring break is
April 10-17.
Manitoba
A letter to school board superintendents from the
Minister of Education encouraged schools to
"continue to take measures to help prevent the
spread of viruses. Best practices for the
prevention of viral illness include regular and
thorough handwashing with warm water and soap,
coughing and sneezing into an arm or tissue,
encouraging people to stay home from school or
work when they are sick, and ensuring that
surfaces and objects are wiped with disinfectant
regularly." Manitoba's spring break is March 30 to
April 3.
Ontario
On March 12, the Ontario government issued a
Ministerial Order to close all publicly funded
K-12 schools for two weeks after the spring break
which began on March 14. The closure also affects
school-based child care programs housed in
publicly funded schools, which will also close if
the school board so decides. The government cited
a recommendation from Ontario's Chief Medical
Officer of Health in making the decision. In an
earlier press conference Dr. David Williams, the
Chief Medical Officer of Health had recommended
that parents travelling with children during
spring break should stay away from school upon
return. Schools are scheduled to re-open April 5.
It is of note that neither school boards nor
education unions were part of the decision-making
process to close the schools and were thrown into
chaos on the Friday before the March break to deal
with the many questions and concerns of teachers
and support staff as to whether they would be on
forced layoff and receive pay. The Minister
indicated that this would be left up to school
boards to decide and implement.
The closure of schools comes right in the midst of
negotiations between the Ontario government and
teachers' and education workers' unions. On March
12 prior to the government's announcement, in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Elementary
Teachers' Federation of Ontario suspended rotating
strike action that was scheduled to begin on March
23. Both the Ontario Secondary School Teachers'
Federation (OSSTF) and the Ontario English
Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) announced
that they would be postponing their annual
meetings in response to the pandemic. OSSTF
President Harvey Bischof issued a statement
indicating "OSSTF will welcome any opportunity to
work with the Ministry of Education and Ontario's
school boards to ensure that our schools are safe
places for our students, and for the educators who
work with them.
"To that end, we are writing to the Minister of
Education, the Ontario Public School Boards'
Association, and the Council of Trustees'
Associations to offer our cooperation and support
in any efforts that will help to combat the spread
of the COVID-19 virus."
At the same time that the government announced the
closure of schools, it also announced that it had
a tentative agreement with OECTA.
Quebec
On March 13 the government of Quebec announced
that all daycares, schools, CEGEPS and
universities in the province will be closed for at
least two weeks starting March 14. Premier Legault
said special daycares will be set up for parents
of health professionals and other essential
service workers to allow them to continue to offer
those services. Spring break in Quebec was March
2-9.
New Brunswick
The government of New Brunswick has announced that
all public schools will be closed in New Brunswick
for two weeks. The closure will not affect
daycares, since they are considered an essential
service. The decision was made by a committee of
the parties in the legislature, made up of cabinet
ministers and the four party leaders.
Nova Scotia
In an interview with the Chronicle Herald
the president of the Nova Scotia Teachers' Union
Paul Wozney said all provincial public schools
should remain closed after the March break.
"I think it's imperative at this point," Paul
Wozney said of extended school closures to help
mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. It's
not a matter of if COVID-19 lands here, it's a
matter of when. "We know that limiting social
contact is a key factor in mitigating the spread,"
Wozney said. "We know that schools are a major
transmission hub for traditional flu. We have
schools in Nova Scotia today that barely have 50
per cent attendance for either staff or students.
There is no question that schools are a hot spot
for the transmission of communicable disease."
"Because we have the highest population of seniors
in the country, we cannot afford not to be a
leader on COVID-19 prevention," Wozney said.
"That's the population that stands to be most
dramatically impacted by COVID-19. We also have
one of the weakest and least healthy emergency
medical systems in the country. Especially in
rural Nova Scotia, we have emergency room closures
in record numbers.
"This is not about students, it's not about
learning, it's about public health," Wozney said.
"It's about the safety of the entire province and
it's a chance to mitigate or head off a potential
disaster. I've already conveyed to Minister [Zach]
Churchill that closing schools for any period,
that the teachers of Nova Scotia would be partners
when the schools reopened to address concerns
around learning. Those are fixable things, those
are not impossible problems to resolve. It's more
possible to fix catching up on learning than it is
to fix a death toll that could have been
prevented."
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland students returned from spring break
on March 9. Dr. Robert Strang, the province's
Chief Medical Officer of Health, said anyone
travelling outside of Canada may have come in
contact with COVID-19 and should monitor their
health and minimize contact with others for 14
days after returning. The province had cancelled
all school-organized trips to international
destinations scheduled for March break. The
Newfoundland and Labrador English School District
and Conseil scolaire francophone have suspended
all extracurricular activities involving
interaction between different school populations
until further notice. This includes regional and
provincial sports tournaments, heritage fairs,
science fairs, drama festivals, or any activity
that sees multiple school populations gathered for
showcase events or competition.
Nunavut
In Nunavut, schools have been directed on enhanced
cleaning protocols, hygiene and disinfecting
measures and implementing non-sharing protocols.
Northwest Territories
The government of the Northwest Territories states
that the Department of Education, Culture and
Employment has met with education bodies who are
prepared to put their contingency plans in place
for school closures should the Chief Public Health
Officer direct this action. Northwest Territories
spring break is from March 15-28, two full weeks.
Yukon
The Yukon spring break is from March 15-28. The
Chief Medical Officer of the Yukon, in responding
to concerns from many Yukoners who may have
attended the Prospectors and Developers
Association of Canada conference in Toronto, where
a confirmed case of COVID-19 was established,
stated, "Yukoners who attended the conference may
have been exposed to COVID-19. Symptoms of
COVID-19 include a cough, fever or shortness of
breath. If you don't have these symptoms, then you
can go about your regular day-to-day activities.
This includes attending work, classes, events and
other activities. However, if you develop any of
the symptoms listed above, then please stay home
and contact Yukon Communicable Disease Control at
1-867-667-8323 to arrange for testing." The
government of the Yukon has also taken the
decision to cancel the Arctic Winter Games which
were to take place in Whitehorse from March 15-21.
Note
1. Measures for Educational Facilities
School mitigation measures are implemented to
reduce the unintended consequences of school
closures or dismissal. The following strategies
can be considered:
- Strict exclusion policies for students
exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19,
- Increasing desk distance between students,
- Cancelling or postponing after-school events,
- Restricting access to common areas,
- Staggering the school schedule to limit the
numbers of students/children in attendance at one
time (e.g. staggered lunch breaks, recesses),
- Reducing mixing students during transport to and
from school (separation of children on school
buses by 2 metres where possible),
- dividing classes into smaller groups, and
- cancelling classes that bring students together
from multiple classrooms.
These measures are intended to serve the purpose
of mitigating some of the unintended consequences
of school closures (e.g. parents/caregivers who
miss work to take care of children can have
negative financial implications and
students/children who access free school meals
could be negatively impacted if those meals are
not otherwise available.) Additionally, keeping
facilities open will allow teachers to consider
delivering lessons and material remotely,
maintaining continuity with teaching and learning.
School closure decisions should be made in
consultation with local public health authorities
and based on a risk assessment. Closure
considerations should include:
- The priority goal of minimizing social
disruption and child safety
- Epidemiology and transmissibility of the disease
- Contact patterns in the school/childcare program
- Amount of contact between individuals within the
environment
- Size of classrooms
- Interaction of students between classes
- The impact of certain programs (e.g., school
meal programs) on families who access them.
- Innate protective factors built into schools and
childcare settings including:
- A forum to educate,
inform and communicate with students/ children and
their families in an efficient and timely manner.
- A defined structure to
support the economic and social elements of the
community by allowing parents to continue to work
and volunteer.
Reactive school closures are in response to virus
activity (i.e. a consequence of disease activity)
impacting the safe functioning of the school due
to increased staff absenteeism and co-infection
potential among students. Considerations should
include:
- The number of ill students/children and staff.
- The impact of school absenteeism and/or staff
shortages on schools/childcare operations.
Proactive school closures may be considered to
interrupt the transmission amongst children and
indirectly protect other age groups who may be
vulnerable to COVID-19. The decision about the
school closure at local/regional/national level
will largely depend on the timing and
epidemiological situation. Considerations should
include:
- The timing of school/daycare closures in
relation to the epidemic peak is an important
consideration.
- School closures of less than 2 weeks have been
shown to have minimal impact on disruption of
virus transmission in communities.
- Holiday schedules should also be considered as
opportunistic (i.e. early closures).
Source: Health
Canada
(With files from canada.ca, Quebec news agencies, CTV, Ontario Ministry of Health.)
One-Day Snapshot of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Click to enlarge
On Friday, March 13 World Health Organization
Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
said Europe had become the epicentre of the
COVID-19 pandemic "with more reported cases and
deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart
from China." He added that more cases are now
being reported every day than were reported in
China at the height of its epidemic. He also
emphasized that all countries with active cases
have unaffected areas, meaning that robust
surveillance is needed to find, isolate, test and
treat every case, to break the chains of
transmission. Even if transmission cannot be
stopped, he said, it can be slowed down, and you
can protect health facilities, old age homes and
other vital areas -- but only if you test all
suspected cases.
Snapshot of the Situation on March 13
Italy has the highest number of reported active
cases anywhere at the present time. On Friday,
March 13 it registered by far the most new cases
(2,547) and new deaths (250) anywhere. That day,
exactly three weeks after Italy identified its
first coronavirus cluster in its northern Lombardy
region, saw the biggest single day increase in
deaths due to the virus. Spain followed Italy with
2,086 new cases, while Germany and France also
registered several hundred new cases.
The continuously updating website Worldometers
indicates:
"There have so far been 145,634 COVID-19 cases
reported worldwide in 138 countries. The report
for March 13 includes the 696 affected passengers
aboard the Diamond Princess Liner cruise ship
harboured in Yokohama, Japan, of whom 364 are
active cases, 7 have died and 32 remain in serious
or critical condition."
Some other totals reported on March 13 included:
Deaths: 5,436
Recovered: 70,931
Active cases: 67,669 with 6,082 (9 per cent) of
these in serious or critical condition
Closed cases: 77,965 (93 percent recovered; 7 per
cent have died)
New cases: 11,058 (over the previous day)
The number of people affected to date per one
million population in countries with the highest
number of reported cases:
China: (80,815 cases): 56.1 infected per
one million
Italy: (17,660 cases): 292.1 infected per
one million
Iran: (11,364 cases): 135.3 infected per
one million
South Korea: (7,979 cases): 157.7 infected
per one million
Numbers for Selected Countries in Different Parts of the World
Figures from Europe as of March 13:
Italy: (17,660 cases, 14,955 active;
1,266 deaths) with 2,547 new cases, 250 new deaths
Spain: (5,232 cases, 4,906 active; 133
deaths) with 2,086 new cases and 47 new deaths.
Germany: (3,675 cases, 3,621 active; 8
deaths) with 930 new cases, 2 new deaths
France: (3,661 cases, 3,570 active; 79
deaths) with 785 new cases, 18 new deaths
Britain: (798 cases, 769 active; 11 deaths)
with 208 new cases, 1 new death
By comparison, China reported just 11 new cases on
March 13, all but four of them travellers who
arrived in China from other countries.
In Eurasia:
Russia: (45 cases, 37 active; no deaths)
with 11 new cases
In West Asia:
Iran: (11,364 cases, 7,331 active; 514
deaths) with 1,289 new cases and 85 new deaths
Qatar: (350 cases, all active; no deaths)
with 58 new cases
Bahrain: (201 cases, 166 active; no deaths)
with 13 new cases
Israel: (126 cases, 122 active; no deaths)
with 17 new cases
Iraq: (101 cases, 68 active, 9 deaths) with
18 new cases
Palestine: (35 cases, all active; no
deaths) with 4 new cases
Jordan: (1 case, none active; no deaths)
In Southeast and South Asia:
South Korea: (7,979 cases, 7,398 active; 71
deaths) with 110 new cases, 5 new deaths
Vietnam: (44 cases, 28 active; no deaths)
with no new cases
Indonesia: (69 cases, 60 active; 4 deaths)
with 35 new cases, 3 new deaths
India: (82 cases, 70 active; 2 deaths)
with 8 new cases, 1 new death
Pakistan: (28 cases, 26 active; no deaths)
with 7 new cases
In North America:
USA: (2,291 cases, 2,200 active; 50 deaths)
with 594 new cases, 9 new deaths
Canada: (198 total cases, 186 active; 1
death) with 56 new cases
Mexico: (12 cases, 8 active; no deaths)
with no new cases
In Central America and the Caribbean:
Panama: (27 cases, all active; 1 death)
with 13 new cases
Costa Rica: (23 cases, all active; no
deaths) with no new cases
Jamaica: (8 cases, all active; no deaths)
with 6 new cases
Dominican Republic: (5 cases, all active,
no deaths) with no new cases
Cuba: (4 cases, all active; no deaths) with
1 new case
There are a very small number of cases in other
Caribbean islands, most reporting one confirmed
case only.
In South America:
Brazil: (151 cases, all active; no deaths )
with 74 new cases
Chile: (43 cases, all active; no deaths)
with 10 new cases
Argentina: (31 cases, 29 active; 2 deaths)
with no new cases, 1 new death
Peru: (29 cases, all active; no deaths)
with 6 new cases
Venezuela: (2 cases, both new and active;
no deaths)
In Africa:
Egypt: (80 cases, 51 active; 2 deaths) with
no new cases
South Africa: (24 cases, all active; no
deaths) with 8 new cases
Oceania:
Australia: (199 cases, 179 active; 3
deaths) with 43 new cases
New Zealand: (5 cases, all active; no
deaths) with no new cases
Control and Mitigation of COVID-19
Various measures to contain or mitigate the
spread of COVID-19 have been adopted or advised by
different countries as well as by different
jurisdictions within countries.
Some of the measures adopted include travel bans
from certain countries and areas, social
distancing, cancelling, banning or encouraging the
cancellation of large events and gatherings,
closure of schools, childcare centres and other
facilities and businesses, having people work from
home, implementation of special controls and
testing at border crossings and airports, closing
of borders (with the number of countries doing
this expanding daily), requests or orders for
people to go into quarantine or self-isolate for
14 days upon arriving from other countries.
Measures Taken and Recommended by Canada
On March 13, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that Parliament would shut down for five weeks until April 20, two more weeks than MPs had been scheduled not to sit during that period. People have been advised to refrain from all international travel and to voluntarily self-isolate for 14 days upon returning to Canada from outside the country. Flights returning to Canada will be restricted to a small number of airports. Cruise ships with more than 500 people will not be able to dock in Canada until July 1. Cancellation of all large events has been advised, and is occurring. A number of provinces have announced school closings after the March break week. The one-week waiting period to claim Employment Insurance sickness benefits is being waived for those who go into quarantine and are eligible to collect benefits. The government is reportedly "exploring additional measures" to provide some kind of income support for Canadians not eligible for EI sickness benefits.
Measures Taken by United States
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on March 13
that he was declaring the COVID-19 pandemic a
national emergency, saying that would "open up"
$50 billion for state and local governments to
respond to the outbreak. He further announced
March 14 that travel from Europe was being
suspended for 30 days, first excluding the UK and
Ireland, but later including them. In Texas, the
governor has declared a state of disaster, which
makes him commander-in-chief with broad powers to
rule by decree. Governors of several other states
have called in the National Guard. Washington
State is reported to be where the virus is
spreading the fastest.
Countries Subject to U.S. Blockade
In Iran, where as of March 13 there were more
than 11,000 cases and over 500 deaths, Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denounced the U.S.
"economic terrorism" against his country in a
letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
regarding the U.S. unilateral sanctions which are
seriously obstructing Iran's access to essential
medical equipment, such as masks, respirators,
viral testing kits and protective gear for health
care workers. The illegal U.S. sanctions against
Iran, which have caused financial institutions
around the world to be reluctant to have any
dealings with Iran or Iranian entities for fear of
being penalized by the U.S., are serving their
intended criminal purpose of making the Iranian
people suffer. Zarif wrote that "it is imperative
that the United Nations and its member states join
the Iranian people in demanding that the
government of the United States abandon its malign
and fruitless approach against Iran."[1]
China has stepped in, providing assistance by
sending teams of experts, test kits and medical
equipment to the government of Iran. France,
Germany, and Britain have reportedly offered a few
million dollars in aid as well.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has been stepping up its
economic warfare, threatening anyone that stores
Iranian oil or petrochemicals, no matter who or
where they are, with retaliatory action, and
allegedly paying those who will provide it with
photographs of ship-to-ship transfers in
international waters by countries acting to get
around its unilateral coercive measures against
Iran.
Measures in Cuba include epidemiological
surveillance organized with active monitoring of
travellers and patients with respiratory symptoms.
It has 1,322 beds available in 11 hospitals and
824 in 10 quarantine centers. Treatment protocols
have been established, including the use of 22
medications manufactured in Cuba that will be used
to treat patients, following guidelines
established based on China's experience with the
virus. The four active cases Cuba currently has
all recently arrived from Italy.
Venezuela, which on March 13 reported its first
two cases of COVID-19 in people who returned from
travels in the U.S. and Europe, has also called
for an immediate end to the U.S. economic,
commercial and financial blockade against it. In a
press conference on March 12, President Nicolás
Maduro described a type of naval blockade the U.S.
has now mounted, sending ships to follow and
threaten commercial vessels leaving Venezuela in
an all-out effort to impede its ability to export
its oil. He also said U.S. sanctions obstructed
Venezuela's ability to obtain kits for testing for
the coronavirus and forced it to pay three times
the cost of medications it had to import. Because
of this situation, he said Venezuela had been
provided with test kits by the WHO and had ten
thousand treatments of the Cuban-manufactured drug
Interferon Alpha 2b at the ready. The drug is not
a cure but boosts the body's immune system
response so it is better able to fight the
disease. China has also provided thousands of test
kits and other equipment and has been asked to
send a team of experts to assist Venezuela in
dealing with a possible outbreak in the country.
At the press conference, President Maduro also
announced measures are being put in place to
protect the health of the population, emphasizing
that, with a spirit of solidarity and cooperation,
the crisis would be resolved. "We don't complain,
we work to solve problems." he said, pointing out
that Venezuela is used to dealing with the brutal
effects of the U.S. blockade. Teams will be put
into action, he said, to ensure the people get
their deliveries of food staples, and workers will
not be abandoned to fend for themselves if they
are forced to be off the job. He announced that
flights from Europe and Colombia are being
suspended, big gatherings will not be allowed and
that public places like the national museum will
be closed temporarily.
Note
1. For the full text of the letter, click here.
(With files from CBC, National Post, Guardian, IRNA, Press TV, Granma, Cubadebate.)
Affirm Indigenous Rights -- Stand with Wet'suwet'en
Governments Cannot Hide from Their
Responsibility to Abandon Colonial Relations and
Act with
Respect for Indigenous Rights
Since the talks between the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and others with Federal and Provincial Ministers concluded on March 1, discussions have been taking place within the Wet'suwet'en nation on the tentative agreement. The agreement does not address the presence of Coastal GasLink on the traditional territory, which does not have the consent of the hereditary chiefs, nor the continued presence and unlawful actions of the RCMP. The RCMP has repeatedly threatened, harassed and intimidated Wet'suwet'en land defenders, legal observers, press and supporters of the land defenders, with two major assaults, in January 2019 and February 6-10, when at least 20 people were arrested.
BC Premier Horgan
and other BC government spokespersons have
repeatedly disclaimed any responsibility for the
actions of the RCMP, implying that since the RCMP
is the provincial police force, their presence and
activities on Wet'suwet'en territory are somehow
"routine" and "normal," have nothing to do with
the political stand of the Horgan government that
"that pipeline is being built," and that no
direction was given to the police by the
government.
This claim that there was no political direction to the RCMP was exposed as a blatant lie on March 6 when the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs, the BC Civil Liberties Association and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs made public a letter sent on January 27 from BC Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth to RCMP Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Strachan. In their press release the three organizations state "In the letter, Farnworth declared a "provincial emergency" under the Provincial Police Service Agreement and explicitly authorized the "internal redeployment of resources within the Provincial Police Service." Article 9 of the Provincial Police Service Agreement stipulates that, if in the opinion of the Provincial Minister an Emergency in an area of provincial responsibility exists, then the Provincial Police Service will be redeployed at the written request of the Provincial Minister and the Province will pay the costs of the redeployment."
The hypocrisy of the governments of Canada and British Columbia seems to be boundless. There was much talk of 'respect' during the talks held between February 27 and March 1 that gave rise to the tentative agreement, but actions speak louder than words. What is going on over the period of time during which discussions are taking place within the Wet'suwet'en nation shows the character of the respect shown by representatives of Canada and British Columbia towards the Wet'suwet'en and the talks. Efforts are continuing to discredit the hereditary leaders and to present the issue as one of an internal dispute. Much media coverage has been given to Wet'suwet'en supporters of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline, particularly Teresa Tait-Day who speaks on behalf of the Wet'suwet'en Matrilineal Coalition (WMC). On March 10, at the invitation of one of the parties which presented her as an "Indigenous expert," Tait-Day addressed the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs in Ottawa where she said that "As female Wet'suwet'en members and community leaders, we want to be heard." Tait-Day said, "Many of the male hereditary chiefs are acting out of internalized historical oppression. We face patriarchal domination."
On March 11, the Martlet, the student newspaper at the University of Victoria, published an article entitled "Wet'suwet'en Matriarchal Coalition funded by B.C., Coastal GasLink to 'divide and conquer'." The Martlet reports "The WMC is not, and was not ever, an independent Indigenous body or governance structure but rather a group founded with the BC government and CGL to sway Wet'suwet'en public opinion in favour of the pipeline, according to documents obtained in a 2017 Freedom of Information request.
In 2015, the WMC was incorporated as a corporation, without consultation with the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs. Documents obtained from the BC government show the WMC was a joint project between CGL, the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation, and the three founding members -- Gloria George, Darlene Glaim, and Tait-Day.
In a resignation letter from Glaim, she says the group was "formed with the intent to negotiate a benefit agreement for Clan/House members with [CGL]," and that in 2017 the hereditary chiefs explicitly called the WMC a strategy used by the government and CGL to disunite their people.
The article further reveals that the
BC government and Coastal GasLink each donated
$60,000 to WMC to carry out workshops to present
the economic benefits of LNG, and that besides
promoting the pipeline there is "an agreement
between the government and WMC, stating their goal
to bring Wet'suwet'en people together to 'discuss
decision-making processes for economic development
opportunities, specifically natural gas
development as that was identified as a gap in the
decision-making process.'" In other words, to
undermine the authority of the hereditary chiefs
which has been an obstacle to the smooth progress
of the CGL pipeline.
The more the treachery of those in power is revealed the more it is clear that the problem is not one of supporting or opposing this or that project, or confusion over who has authority over what, but a matter of bringing into being new arrangements in which Indigenous hereditary rights are enshrined in a modern Constitution, a matter of concern to all Canadians.
(Photos: TML, C. Hunt)
Letter Revealing BC Solicitor General Authorization of RCMP Deployment Released
RCMP vehicle photographed on Wet'suwet'en lands on
February 27, 2020, in contravention of agreement
that they would halt patrols during government
negotiations with Hereditary chiefs.
Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs, the BC Civil Liberties Association and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs are releasing a letter dated January 27, 2020 from BC Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth to RCMP Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Strachan.
In the letter, Farnworth declared a "provincial emergency" under the Provincial Police Service Agreement and explicitly authorized the "internal redeployment of resources within the Provincial Police Service." Article 9 of the Provincial Police Service Agreement stipulates that, if in the opinion of the Provincial Minister an Emergency in an area of provincial responsibility exists, then the Provincial Police Service will be redeployed at the written request of the Provincial Minister and the province will pay the costs of the redeployment.
This explosive revelation of the BC
Solicitor General authorizing additional RCMP
resources and redeployment comes on the heels of
repeated statements by the provincial government
that they lacked jurisdiction or authority over
RCMP actions in Wet'suwet'en territories. On
January 20, Premier John Horgan was reported as
saying "Our government has no authority to vary
that injunction, nor to direct the RCMP in the
fulfillment of its responsibilities." On February
10, Horgan again stated, "Governments do not
direct the courts, nor do we direct the RCMP."
According to Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chief Na'Moks, "The province bears responsibility for the heavy RCMP deployment and for the policing of our people on our own territories. In many of our discussions, the province was passing the buck for RCMP operations but this letter spells it out in black and white. The provincial government can no longer deny responsibility for the Indigenous rights and human rights violations happening on our territories. We have come to the table with respect and truth but the province is not demonstrating respectful or truthful conduct. We have always asserted our laws and presence peacefully, yet the province authorized the extra deployment of RCMP against us. Canada and BC must answer to this mistruth and absolutely must change its ways."
"It is incredibly troubling and shocking that the provincial government would declare the peaceful assertion of Wet'suwet'en law and jurisdiction as a provincial policing emergency. The Wet'suwet'en people and the people of British Columbia have a right to know on what basis this unprecedented authorization was made. It is inconsistent for the provincial government to, on the one hand, legislate the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as well as state non-interference in policing operations and, on the other hand, authorize a RCMP deployment aimed at over-policing and criminalizing Indigenous peoples on their own territories," says Harsha Walia, Executive Director of the BC Civil Liberties Association.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the
Union of BC Indian Chiefs stated, "This letter by
Mike Farnworth reveals the blatant hypocrisy and
lies of the provincial NDP government on the
Wet'suwet'en crisis. Farnworth sat silently while
Premier Horgan unabashedly lied that the Province
did not direct RCMP actions. This is an act of
government deceit not only against the
Wet'suwet'en but of the public at-large. The
province's rhetoric about reconciliation rings
even hollower. We call for the immediate
resignation of Mike Farnworth for dishonourable
conduct and for declaring the Wet'suwet'en people
a policing emergency and a threat on their own
territories."
(March 6, 2020. Photos: TLW, Unistoten Camp, C. Hunt)
75th Anniversary of Canada-Cuba Diplomatic Relations
First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba Addresses Bilateral Relations
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More than 200 guests from the diplomatic corps in Ottawa, government officials and representatives of several Canadian companies, Cubans resident in Canada and friendship and solidarity organizations from Ottawa and Montreal attended a reception on March 4 at the Cuban Embassy to welcome the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Marcelino Medina González on his visit to Canada. Also in attendance was David Morrison, Foreign and Defence Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada, who spoke fondly about the good bilateral relations, the rich historical exchanges and the common interests between Cuba and Canada that bode well for the future of the ties between the two countries.
His Excellency Marcelino Medina led the Cuban
delegation for the Fifth Bilateral Consultations
between Cuba and Canada at Global Affairs Canada
on March 5. His visit underscored the importance
of the historic 75th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba
and Canada.
First Deputy Minister Medina's agenda also
included a visit to Quebec City where he met with
Sylvie Barcelo, Deputy Minister of International
Relations, La Francophonie and the Québec-Cuba
working group on March 2.
First Deputy Minister Medina (fifth from left) is
received at Global Affairs Canada, March 5, 2020.
First Deputy Minister Medina (centre), Cuban
Ambassador to Canada Josefina Vidal (fourth from
right), Cuban Consul in Montreal Mara Bilbao
(second from right) and others visit Quebec's
National Assembly, March 2, 2020.
Remarks of First Deputy Foreign Minister at Ottawa Reception
Dear Mr. David Morrison, Foreign and Defence Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister,
Dear guests,
It is an honour to be here with you on this night of celebration of the 75th anniversary of uninterrupted bilateral relations between Canada and Cuba.
We are pleased to have built strong and fruitful exchanges over these years in several sectors, in particular, in the economic-commercial area, culture and tourism.
There is a long-standing tradition of people-to-people contacts between our two countries. Canada has established itself as Cuba's main source market for tourists. For nine consecutive years, more than one million Canadian tourists have come to our country every year.
Canada is one of our main business partners in the world and is one of the largest investors in our country. Official cooperation remains active with projects in priority sectors for the country's economic and social development. Investments by major Canadian companies are found in the sectors of mining, energy, oil and gas, agri-food industry and tourism.
The good state of our bilateral relations is based on mutual respect and sovereign equality. The political dialogue at different levels and the broad exchange of visits that have taken place in the last few years have allowed us to work together and to continue developing our relations for mutual benefit and to keep a constructive understanding, even when we have different points of view on some issues of the international agenda.
Dear friends:
Cubans shall not forget that Canada was among the few countries that didn't break diplomatic relations with Cuba in the 1960s, we won't forget that Canada has been there for us promoting relations with our country, even in difficult circumstances.
We appreciate Canada's strong position regarding the blockade by the United States and the implementation of extraterritorial measures; and against the implementation of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, which has damaged our people so much.
We deeply appreciate the solidarity of the Canadian people towards our country in defence of our sovereignty. Many of the successes that our country has achieved in all these long years, would have not been possible without the support of solidarity organizations from around the globe, including the Canadian solidarity [organizations], a number of whose representatives are here.
In the context of this celebration, we reiterate our willingness to keep on working to further expand, strengthen and diversify the political dialogue and bilateral ties with the Canadian government so that we can capitalize on all the potential both our countries have.
We are certain that the Canadian government and the business community will continue to play a critical role in our country's plans for economic development.
In honour to the historic ties between our peoples and governments, I invite you to celebrate together the 75th anniversary of our relations.
Thank you very much.
Latvian Exhibit in Ottawa
Canadian War Museum Should Be Condemned for Falsifying What Canadians Stand For
Exhibition at Canadian War Museum (Embassy of Latvia)
The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa is featuring a
special exhibit titled "The Latvian Tragedy --
1941." The exhibit coincides with Latvia's use of
March 16, to hail Nazi collaborators in that
country as freedom fighters and to declare that in
1941 the Soviet Union, which was the first country
to seriously prepare to counter the Nazi assault
on itself and all of Europe, was the invader, not
Hitler's Germany. The exhibit runs from March
3-22, 2020.[1]
The exhibit, presented by the Embassy of Latvia,
is a joint venture of Latvia's Museum of the
Occupation and the Museum of Jews in Latvia. In
the promotional flyer, the Latvian historians who
authored the exhibit claim that the main
motivation for the exhibit is to declare that the
"Republic of Latvia, restored in 1991, condemns
all perpetrators of crimes against humanity in the
tragic year 1941." In fact, the exhibit is full of
gross distortions and falsifications of the
history of Latvia and the battles waged by the
Soviet Union and the peoples of Eastern Europe
against the German fascist aggressors. The
dishonesty can be seen in the opportunistic use of
the vicious persecution of Latvian Jews. More than
80 per cent of Latvian Jews were brutally murdered
during this period but the exhibit purposely
forgets to mention that as the German Nazis swept
into Latvia in June 1941 they found willing
accomplices in the rounding up and murdering of
Jews by a Latvian organization called Arajs
Kommando. This organization was led by Victor
Arajs, a rabid anti-communist and anti-Semite who
not only assisted the German fascists in the
extermination of Jews, but was also responsible
for the most brutal crimes against the Roma and
mentally ill people.
A panel in the exhibit depicts the story of Frida
Michelson, one of the a few survivors of the
infamous Rumbula massacre. The exhibit bemoans the
fact that more than 28,000 Jews were killed in the
Rumbula Forest near Riga from November 30 to
December 8, 1941, but it fails to explain that
this mass extermination of Jews from Riga was
carried out by members of the Arajs Kommando, in
collaboration with the German Nazis. In her
testimony as a witness in the trial of Karlis
Detlays in New York City in 1979, Mrs. Michelson
identified him as the Latvian and Nazi
collaborator who ordered her to remove her clothes
and valuables before she was driven to the ditch
where the mass executions took place. In addition
to the massacre at Rumbula Forest, the Arajs
Komando were responsible for mass killings in
Jelgava, Daugavpils, Liepaja, and Riga. None of
this is brought out in the exhibit, which portrays
Nazi collaborators as national heroes fighting for
Latvian freedom against alleged Soviet aggression.
Official Canadian liberal ideology is
anti-communist and also spreads the misconception
that Russia was an aggressor and collaborated with
Hitler based on the non-aggression pact it signed
with Germany in 1939, while remaining silent about
the Anglo-French collaboration at Munich which
betrayed the peoples of Europe and permitted the
Nazi aggressions, occupations and murders to take
place.
Latvian collaborators with the Nazis detain the
Jewish population of Riga,
before taking them to be executed and buried en
masse, 1941.
In 1943, Arajs Kommando was incorporated into the
Latvian Legion, which became known as the Latvian
Waffen SS Legion. In July 1943 the Latvian Legion,
in its mission "Winterzauber" (Wintercharm)
together with seven Latvian police battalions were
involved in destroying a swathe of countryside
some 40 kilometres wide alongside the Latvian
frontier. Several hundred villages were destroyed
with tens of thousands of inhabitants killed. This
was a crime of the Latvian Legion itself. For his
many war crimes Arajs was captured, tried and
sentenced to life imprisonment.[2] The exhibit at
the Canadian war museum fails to explain that this
is the same Latvian Waffen SS Legion which is
honoured every year on March 16 with a parade
through the streets of Riga. Last year, Latvia's
Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks drew international
scorn when he proclaimed the Latvian SS Legion to
be heroes. Dr. Efraim Zuroff, Head of the Simon
Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem, spoke out against
the March 16 events in Riga. He said, "In reality
the ceremony was in certain respects only the tip
of a very dangerous iceberg that is attempting to
rewrite the history books and create a false
symmetry or equalization of communist and Nazi
crimes. While the march was not organized by the
government, it is obvious that there is a strong
support for its message among Latvian leaders."
Far from condemning these perpetrators of
murderous crimes, the Canadian War Museum, in
collaboration with the Latvian government, is
participating in the falsification of history to
cover up the crimes of Nazi collaborators, thus
preparing for new crimes under the guise of
defending the "independence of Latvia."
Attempts to equate German fascism with the Soviet
Union by accusing the Soviet Union of aggression
and occupation of Latvia or anywhere else during
World War II is to turn truth on its head. It was
German fascism's unbridled imperialism with the
aim of world domination which posed the greatest
threat to the peoples of Eastern Europe and it was
the actions taken by the Soviet Union at that time
which laid the foundation for defeating the Nazi
invaders. Far from being an aggressor, as the
exhibit falsely claims, the Soviet Union during
the period of the non-aggression pact with Germany
on September 3, 1939, moved Red Army troops into
Poland, Western Byelorussia and Western Ukraine
and established defences along this line. The
Soviet Union also signed pacts of mutual
assistance with the Baltic states and Soviet army
garrisons were established on the territory of
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
A pamphlet issued by the Soviet Information Bureau
in February 1948 called Falsificators of
History explained the importance of
establishing the "Eastern front:" "it was not hard
to see that the creation of an 'Eastern' front was
an important contribution not only to the
organization of the security of the USSR but to
the common cause of the peace-loving states that
were fighting against Hitler's aggression.
Nevertheless, the answer of Anglo-Franco-American
circles in their overwhelming majority was to
remain silent about their appeasement of Hitler in
Munich and start a malicious anti-Soviet campaign
describing the Soviet action as aggression."[3]
Anyone who visits the exhibition in the war museum
will see that the content is just the continuation
of this malicious anti-Soviet campaign. In fact,
the measures taken by the Soviet Union under the
leadership of J.V. Stalin and the enormous
sacrifices made by the Soviet Red Army -- at all
times facing 85 per cent of the elite German
Wehrmacht -- led to victory in liberating all of
Eastern Europe and changed the course of world
history. By hosting this exhibit and promoting the
lies of the Latvian government, the government of
Canada and the War Museum are openly promoting
Nazism in the name of defending freedom and human
rights. They condemn themselves as extremists and
hate-mongers despite claims that they oppose all
extremes. Theirs is a betrayal of all Canadians,
especially Canada's World War II anti-fascist
veterans, along with all the Allied Armed Forces
and resistance fighters who fought and died in the
battle to defeat fascism. Most importantly, this
is not about the past but the present. Today,
Canada has about 540 Canadian Army members in
Latvia as part of a NATO deployment who are made
to participate in ceremonies honouring Nazi
collaborators, with the claim that they were
freedom fighters or that these are official
duties. It must not pass!
The War Museum deserves to be condemned for this
exhibit, which falsifies what Canadians stand for.
Notes
1. The War Museum has
announced via its website, "Due to the COVID-19
virus, the national museums have made the decision
to close the museums across Canada to visitors and
all other groups, effective Saturday, March 14 and
until further notice. [...]"
2. "Riga,Viktor Arajs,
March 16, the Latvian Legion and the Holocaust" by
Clemens Heni, Wissenschaft und Publizistik als
Kritik, March 22, 2010.
3. Falsificators of History
-- text of a communique issued by the Soviet
Information Bureau, Moscow, February, 1948.
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Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca