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CanadianInquirer CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER
twitter:
@PhilCanInquirer SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 www.canadianinquirer.net VOL. 9 NO. 390

Newly-installed Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief-of-Staff, Lt. Gen. Noel Clement (3rd from left), troops the line of Philippine Military Academy cadets during the change of command
ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Tuesday (September 24, 2019). Clement is a member of PMA Sandiwa Class of 1985 and hails from Lipa, Batangas.
AVITO C. DALAN / PNA

7
Duterte OKs new
law allowing online,
broadcast media Take cue from Filipinos’
sentiments on drug war,
critics told

protect their sources 32

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA sources.
Philippine Canadian Inquirer This, after Duterte signed Republic ‘You are failing us’:
Act (RA) No. 11458 on August 30, which Plans, frustration
expanded the coverage of RA No. 53 or at UN climate talks
PRESIDENT RODRIGO Duterte now the Sotto Law. A copy of it was released Can a new space race
allows journalists in broadcast and on- ❱❱ PAGE 20 connect the world to the
line media to protect their confidential ❱❱ PAGE 13 Duterte OKs internet?

Get the latest

news & updates
www.canadianinquirer.net
2 SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
Solon seeks to expand coverage of fuel subsidy
program
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — A leader of the House of
Representatives on Wednesday called
for the expansion of the Pantawid
Pasada Program to include operators
of transport network vehicle service
(TNVS) with expected fuel price hikes
seen due to the recent drone attacks on
government-run oil facilities in Saudi
Arabia.
In a statement, House Deputy Speak-
er Michael Romero said also included
in his proposal to expand the coverage
of the government’s fuel subsidy pro-
gram are drivers of commuter taxis, and
freight forwarding cargo trucks.
Romero said the funds that will cov-
er the additional beneficiaries of the
Expanded Pasada program would be
sourced from the Malampaya fund,
which has a reported balance of PHP198
billion.
Romero said his House Resolution No.
349, also calls for the establishment of a
national strategic fuel reserve to address
energy crises such as fuel shortage.
The implementation of the Philippine
Strategic Fuel Reserves (PSFR) program
would be funded through the Malam-
paya fund.
“[This] will cushion the economic im-
China blocking resupply
mission in Ayungin
Shoal ‘objectionable’
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — Malacañang on Monday
said a Chinese Coast Guard ship having
blocked the path of three Philippine ci-
vilian vessels on a resupply mission to
BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal in
the West Philippine Sea is “objection-
able” and the Department of Foreign Af-
fairs is already preparing to file a protest
against this action.
A document from the Department of
National Defense (DND) showed the
incident happened last May 14, almost
a month before the June 9 Recto Bank
(Reed Bank) incident where a Chinese
vessel rammed into and sank a Filipino
fishing boat and abandoned the fisher-
men at sea.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador
Philippine News 3
pact of the sharp rise in oil prices trig-
gered by the drone strikes at Saudi Ar-
amco’s oil processing facilities in Saudi
Arabia,” Romero said.
Romero said HR 349 grants President
Rodrigo Duterte the authority to draw
the necessary amount of funds from the
Malampaya funds to “initially establish
the PSFR and implement an expanded
Pantawid Pasada cash grants programs.
The proposal also urges the Energy
Regulatory Commission to direct oil
firms operating in the Philippines to
“maintain their own fuel reserves” at a
level sufficient to meet 45 to 60 days of
daily consumer demand.
On Tuesday, oil companies have
implemented a price hike on gasoline
by as much as PHP2.35 per liter, diesel
by PHP1.80 per liter and kerosene by
PHP1.75 per liter.
These price upticks are results of a
similar trend overseas due to supply Saudi Aramco oil pipelines. SURESH BABUNAIR / CC BY-NC 3.0
issues following the drone attacks on
government-run oil facilities in Saudi agency group that would implement government may have contingency
Arabia more than a week ago. contingency measures vis-à-vis the im- measures to sustain the country’s eco-
Saudi Arabian authorities, however, pact of supply issues following the drone nomic growth and provide basic services
said supply is expected to normalize in attract on Aramco facilities. to the people,” Energy Secretary Alfonso
the near-term. “We realize the importance of ad- Cusi said in a statement. ■
Meanwhile, the Department of En- dressing issues beforehand so that the
ergy said a team from the DOE met
with the proposed members of the Oil
Contingency Task Force last Sept. 20 to
finalize the draft establishing the inter-
Panelo questioned why China would
block a resupply mission.
“Siyempre objectionable iyon, kung…
Magdadala lang pala ng pagkain, bakit
mo naman iba-block (Of course that’s
objectionable but if they’re only bring-
ing food, why would you block)?” Panelo
said in a Palace briefing.
Panelo, however, said there is a need
to find out China’s reason for blocking
the resupply mission.
The Palace official said Foreign Affairs
Secretary Teodoro “Teddyboy” Locsin
Jr. is already preparing a protest against
China’s action.
“We will leave that to the Secretary of
Foreign Affairs, turf niya na iyon (that’s
his turf ),” Panelo said.
To date, the Philippines has filed sev-
eral diplomatic protests on the contin-
ued presence of Chinese vessels in Phil-
ippine waters. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
4 Philippine News
BI confirms ‘drug queen’
already left PH
BY FERDINAND PATINIO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The Bureau of Immigration
(BI) on Wednesday confirmed that Guia
Gomez Castro, the alleged drug queen of
Manila, has fled the country.
“As per travel records, she indeed re-
cently left the country but with no de-
rogatory records, hence she was allowed
to depart,” BI spokesperson Dana San-
doval said in a statement.
The BI spokesperson, however, re-
fused to give further information on
Castro’s departure.
“I am unable to disclose particulars
of her travel records, unless ordered by
IPs to int’l community:
‘Help save our culture,
youth from dying’
BY MA. TERESA MONTEMAYOR
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — Armed with the mission to
save their culture and the next genera-
tion of their tribes, eight leaders of Fili-
pino indigenous people (IP) appealed
to the members of the European com-
munity to stop funding the front orga-
nizations of the Communist Party of the
Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-
NPA).
www.canadianinquirer.net
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY
the courts or a higher office,” Sandoval
added.
Also on Wednesday, National Capital
Region Police Office chief, Maj. Gen.
Guillermo Eleazar named Castro as
mastermind in the recycling of seized il-
legal drugs by ‘ninja cops.’
Castro, former chairwoman of Baran-
gay 484, Zone 48 in Sampaloc, Manila,
was the same drug queen being referred
to by Philippine Drug Enforcement
Agency (PDEA) Director General Aar-
on Aquino, who he claimed as selling at
least PHP13.6 million of shabu weekly in
just two streets in Metro Manila.
Reports said Castro left the country
on September 21 on board a Cebu Pacific
flight bound for Bangkok, Thailand. ■
KC SACRAMENTO / CC BY-NC 3.0
Datu James Binayao, a leader of the
Manobo-Talaandig Tribe in Maramag,
Bukidnon, told the guests of a forum
titled “A Conversation with Indigenous
Peoples of the Philippines” on Sept. 20
that CPP-NPA groups use front orga-
nizations with a vast knowledge of the
Constitution to deprive the IPs of their
ancestral domains.
The forum, which was organized by
European Institute for Asian Studies, a
❱❱ PAGE 13 IPs to int’l
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 5

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6 Philippine News SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY

NCRPO chief catches 3 Las Duterte to DOE,

Piñas cops sleeping on duty
BY CHRISTOPHER LLOYD
CALIWAN
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — Three cops as-
signed at the Southern Po-
lice District have been caught
sleeping while on duty in Las
Piñas City by National Capital
Region Police Office (NCRPO)
chief, Maj. Gen. Guillermo El-
eazar.
Eleazar made a surprise in-
spection on Monday morn-
ing when he caught Corporals
Eugine Ybasco and Jayson
Monsale sleeping while their
mobile was on standby along
Alabang Zapote Road in Pam-
plona Dos in Las Piñas City.
Also caught sleeping was S/
Sgt. Danny Cerbito while on
duty as desk officer of Police
Community Precinct 2 in Las
Piñas.
“Kasi natutulog (They’re
sleeping). Anybody pwedeng
kunin ‘yung baril (Anybody can
get the gun). Pinag-re-report ko
sila kasi nagtatakipan sila. Na-
kita natin nag-iisa lang, ‘yung
isa naman nagpapahinga (I told
them to report to me) Akala ko
nasa service vehicle, ’yun pala
nasa tricycle (I thought he was
at the service vehicle, but he
Surprise inspection of NCRPO chief Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar.
was inside the tricycle, sleep-
ing). Kailangan talaga mag-
conduct tayo ng inspection (We
need to conduct an inspection).
We have to check,” Eleazar told
reporters on Monday.
He said the policemen were
disarmed while investigation
is ongoing to determine if they
would be held liable for neglect
PIO NCRPO / FACEBOOK
of duty.
“Ang mga nasabing pulis, titi-
yakin natin na makakasuhan
sila ng kasong administratibo
at paiimbestigahan ang mga ito
(We will make sure that an ad-
ministrative case will be filed
against them. We’ll see if they
would be held liable for neglect
of duty),” Eleazar said. ■
other agencies: Find
other sources of oil
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — President Rodrigo
Duterte ordered the Depart-
ment of Energy (DOE) and
other concerned agencies to
look for other sources of oil to
maintain the country’s current
energy supply.
Presidential Spokesperson
Salvador Panelo said this was
Duterte’s directive to cushion
the impact of rising oil prices
following drone attacks on
government-run oil facilities in
Saudi Arabia more than a week
ago.
“Sabi ni Presidente, inatasan
na niya sila … iyong mga in-
volved na agencies na maghanap
ng ibang mga sources ng oil para
manatili iyong ating supply
(The President said, he ordered
involved agencies to look for
other sources of oil to maintain
our supply),” Panelo said in a
Palace briefing.
“In other words, hindi tayo
magre-rely doon (we won’t rely
on that),” he added.
Panelo, meanwhile, said Pal-
ace will also review the pro-
posal of the DOE to issue an
executive order to form an Oil
Contingency Task Force.
“We will wait for their re-
quest, and the Palace, the Office
of the President will study it,”
Panelo said.
Several oil companies will
increase prices of their fuel
products for the second week in
a row on Tuesday (September
24), 6 a.m. due to supply issues.
In advisories, Seaoil, Petro
Gazz, PTT Philippines, Petron
Corporation and Flying V said
prices of their respective gaso-
line products will be hiked by
PHP2.35 per liter and diesel by
PHP PHP1.80 per liter.
Petron, Seaoil, and Fly-
ing V will also adjust upwards
the price of their kerosene by
PHP1.75 per liter.
However, Saudi Arabian
authorities assured supply is
expected to normalize in the
near-term. ■

Israel to open 1K tourism jobs

for Filipinos by December
BY CHRISTINE CUDIS
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — At least a thousand
jobs will be opened for Filipino
workers in Israel’s tourism in-
dustry by the end of the year, an
envoy said on Monday.
In a media interview, Ambas-
sador to the Philippines Rafael
Harpaz said the Philippines
was the first country that Israel
signed an agreement with to fill
hotel and restaurant job open-
ings in its country.
“We decided to open Israel
to a limited amount of overseas
workers all over the world. We
start with 2,000, and 1,000 of
them will be Filipinos,” he said
on the sidelines of the water
technology forum in Makati City.
With the increasing tour-
ist arrivals to Israel every year,
Harpaz noted they saw a lack
of workers in their tourism in-
dustry prompting them to seek
overseas jobs with Filipinos as
priority.
“Why Filipinos? Because you
have the best service in hotels
and restaurants,” the ambassa-
dor added.
Israel has prioritized Filipi-
nos to work and stay in their
country due to the “good rela-
tionship” established by gov-
ernment leaders of the two
countries.
It is also “grateful” for the
service provided by at least
40,000 Filipino caregivers to
their families, he added.
This developed following
President Rodrigo Duterte’s
visit to Israel in September
2018 where he signed the bilat-
eral labor agreement improving
and regulating the recruitment
process and the rights of over-
seas Filipino workers, and dras-
tically reducing placement fees.
It involves government-to-
government hiring process so
private recruitment agencies
are not necessary.
In an earlier report, Philip-
pine Ambassador to Israel Na-
thaniel Imperial said the labor
cooperation agreement will
“hopefully ensure that the ex-
ploitative placement fees that
are being charged to our work-
ers would be substantially re-
duced, if not eliminated.” ■ ACE MORANDANTE / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
Take cue from Filipinos’ sentiments on drug war,
critics told
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — Critics of the
Duterte administration’s anti-
illegal drug campaign should
take their cue from Filipinos
who believe otherwise, Malaca-
ñang said on Monday.
Presidential Spokesper-
son Salvador Panelo made
this comment after the Social
Weather Stations (SWS) re-
leased its second quarter sur-
vey which showed that 82% of
Filipinos are satisfied with the
government’s drug war while
12% were dissatisfied and only
6% were undecided.
He said the survey results are
the Palace’s response to crit-
ics who believe the drug war is
marred by police abuses.
“That is our response to the
critics. The survey shows 82%
and it has been unchanged…
Anong ibig sabihin (What does
that mean)? These are the peo-
ple who know the circumstanc-
es on the ground,” Panelo said
in a Palace briefing.
“These are the respondents
asked by SWS. Kung talagang
may problema tayo sa pag-aa-
buso, lalabas sa survey ’yun (If
there really are problems of
abuse, it will reflect on the sur-
vey),” he added.
In a statement issued af-
ter the briefing, Panelo said it
should also serve as a “refutal”
against those countries that
express “their pretended con-
cern” over the drug war but fail
to consider Filipinos’ prefer-
ence in addressing the social
ills of the country.
“This is once again a loud and
clear repudiation of the incor-
rigible opposition and vocal
detractors of the President and
his administration who con-
tinue to spread lies and taint
the reputation of the current
government,” Panelo said in a
statement.
He pointed out that the Pres-
ident’s approval ratings also re-
mained high despite criticisms
against him.
The right path
Panelo also dismissed claims
that Duterte being a “good
speaker” may have convinced
people into believing the drug
war.
Philippine News 7
“Kahit kako pinakamagaling
na speaker ’yan sa buong mundo
pareho na ni Mr. Marcos, kung
ang reality mo sa ground may
abuso, tatanggalin ka gaya ng
ginawa sa kanya (Even if he is
the best speaker in the world
like former President Ferdi-
nand Marcos, if there are abus-
es, he would be removed just
like him),” Panelo said in a Pal-
ace briefing.
Martial law under the Marcos
regime was remembered for its
record of human rights abuses
particularly targeting political
opponents, student activists,
journalists, and others who
fought against the administra-
tion.
“Our people have spoken, and
indeed, they have felt the genu-
ine change brought about by
the leadership of PRRD, com-
ing from the fact that the most
common reason given by the PDEA TOP STORIES / FACEBOOK
respondents who expressed
satisfaction in favor of the cam- critics is warranted to probe the and bringing down poverty will Director General Aaron Aquino
paign against illegal drugs is Duterte administration’s anti- be President Duterte’s lasting said the high satisfaction rating
that ‘drug suspects have less- drug campaign.” legacy,” Andanar said. leaves the PDEA “more driven
ened,’” Panelo said. “The people themselves are to achieve victory over the drug
He encouraged critics to saying that it is a legitimate and ‘Valid recognition’ menace.”
“take a cue from our people’s effective way to attain peace Philippine National Police “This is a welcome devel-
sentiments, start having an and lift the poor from poverty,” chief, Gen. Oscar Albayalde opment amid the naysayers
appreciation of the efforts he added. also welcomed the survey not- against the government’s cam-
of a tireless Chief Executive, He asked critics to “learn ing that it has been excellent for paign against illegal drugs com-
and contribute in building a from the results of the survey, three consecutive years. ing from domestic and interna-
safe, secure and prosperous engage with the people, and “Consistently, for the third tional critics,” Aquino said in a
nation.”The Palace official, embrace the sweeping tide of consecutive year, since 2017, statement.
meanwhile, said Duterte in- change that has swept the na- there is popular public ac- “PDEA will carry on with its
sisted on maintaining a relent- tion.” knowledgement of the national aggressive supply reduction op-
less drug war be- crusade against erations, and holistic approach-
cause he knew he illegal drugs,” Al- es to prevent people from want-
was on the right bayalde said in a ing and taking illegal drugs,
path. press briefing in while offering interventions to
“Alam niyang Camp Crame. soften the impacts of drug use
tama ang gi- This is a welcome development “The result of and save the lives of drug users
nagawa niya at amid the naysayers against the the 2nd quar- and surrendering drug push-
nakikita mo yung government’s campaign against ter SWS survey ers,” he added.
tao e suportado illegal drugs coming from domestic that shows 82% Aquino said the SWS survey
siya (He knows and international critics. of Filipinos ex- also proves that the Filipinos
he’s doing the pressing satis- felt the anti-drug campaign
right thing and faction in the na- launched by Duterte right after
you can see how tional campaign his election in 2016.
people support against illegal “Meeting the public’s expec-
him),” Panelo said. “This is a call to all the oppo- drugs is a valid recognition of tation is the ultimate reward to
sition to finally stop politiciz- the efforts of government to the hard work, dedication, and
‘Drug war is legit, effective’ ing this campaign, and instead, stamp out this social problem,” sacrifices of PDEA operatives,
Presidential Communica- look at how the anti-drug war he added. giving renewed vitality for the
tion Operations Office (PCOO) has made the people’s lives bet- He said the PNP will con- agency to continue to perform
Secretary Martin Andanar wel- ter,” Andanar said. tinue to perform its mandate its mandate with equal fervor
comed the survey as “timely The PCOO chief stressed that within the bounds of the law and intensity to clear our ba-
and relevant” especially at a the Duterte administration re- and with utmost respect for hu- rangays from the evil clutches
time when opposition has “res- mains committed to providing man rights. of dangerous drugs. ■
urrected” the issue of extraju- Filipinos with better and safer
dicial killings. lives. Inspired by survey With reports from Christopher
Andanar said, “no form of in- “Removing criminality, keep- For his part, Philippine Drug Lloyd Caliwan
vestigation from outsiders or ing our youth away from evil, Enforcement Agency (PDEA)
www.canadianinquirer.net
8 Philippine News SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY

Duterte outraged by death of PMA

cadet: Palace
BY AZER PARROCHA
Correspondent/Hosts Philippine News Agency
Bea Kirstein T. Manalaysay
Joanna Belle Deala
Gianna Llanes
Arianne Grace U. Lacanilao MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte
Violeta Arevelo is outraged by the death of 20-year-old
Babes Newland
Philippine Military Academy (PMA) ca-
Graphic Design det Darwin Dormitorio due to alleged
Shanice Garcia hazing, Malacañang said on Monday.
Ginno Alcantara
Arlnie Colleene Talain Singca
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador
Panelo said the President is confident
Account Manager that authorities will prosecute those
Kristopher Yong
involved in what he described as “an op-
Director/Producer pressive act.”
Boom Dayupay “Siyempre galit siya sa nangyayari (Of
Photographers/Videographers
course he’s angry about what happened).
Ginno Alcantara Alam mo si Presidente, (You know the
Maria Crizandra Baylon President), he’s one man who is always
Sales
outraged by any kind of oppression; and
Aireen De Asis hazing is an oppressive act, kasi sina-
Dennis Cruz saktan mo (because you hurt someone)
Operations and Admin
intentionally. Murder nga ang dating eh
Victoria Yong kapag namatay. Siyempre ayaw niya iyon
Amelia Insigne (It could even be classified as murder if
Management
someone dies. Of course, he doesn’t want
Alan Yong that),” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.
Victoria Yong “We are confident that our authorities
would implement this new law as they
For photo submissions, please email leave no stone unturned in the ongoing
editor@canadianinquirer.net investigation on Mr. Dormitorio’s un-
For General Inquiries, please email
timely demise,” he added. ACE MORANDANTE / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

info@canadianinquirer.net Panelo said there would be no need for

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Member
the President to issue any directives to
the PMA since authorities already know
how to handle such incidents.
In a statement, the Palace official
hailed the PMA for helping Baguio po-
lice identify upperclassmen as persons
of interest or suspects and are now in-
vestigating the incident in coordination
with government authorities
However, he also lamented that there
is a failure in leadership as regards to be-
ing negligent in not stopping this mur-
derous ritual which has no place in a
civilized society.
Panelo also expressed condolences to
Dormitorio’s bereaved family, friends,
classmates, and loved ones.
Last year, Duterte even signed into
law the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018 (Re-
public Act No. 11053) to ensure that all
practices of hazing are checked and all
practitioners thereof are penalized.
On Sunday, the PNP said it was already
considering as suspects the three third-
class cadets who were earlier identified
as persons of interest in the death of
Dormitorio due to blunt force trauma
last Sept. 16.
Panelo backs Rodriguez
Panelo, meanwhile, backed the call of
Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Ru-
fus Rodriguez for PMA Superintendent
Lt. General Ronnie Evangelista to step
down and be held accountable but clari-
fied that it is only his personal opinion.
If results of congressional investiga-
tion show that indeed there has been
negligence on the part of the superiors,
Panelo said they should be prosecuted
administratively.
“I think the superiors in that Academy
should be held accountable, from the
top to the bottom who are supposed to
know what is happening in their Acad-
emy. If they cannot stop the hazing, then
they have no business staying in their
positions. They should be charged ad-
ministratively, if not criminally,” Panelo
said in an interview over ANC.
“How come there is still hazing there,
I cannot even understand that. When
you are the boss, then you should be tell-
ing your underlings, ‘I will not allow it.
I’ll fire all of you or I’ll put you to jail.’
But if you are not … if you’re a weak boss,
then this will happen,” he added.
He said he would personally ask Con-
gress to consider amending the exist-
ing law to make PMA heads and school
authorities criminally accountable for
allowing hazing to happen within aca-
demic institutions.
“That is precisely why personally I’m
suggesting that there must be a law that
will make the heads, like the PMA, ac-
countable criminally,” Panelo said.
“Kapag ginawa mong criminally sub-
ject sila sa prosecution, I don’t think mag-
kakaroon pa ng hazing. Kahit sa mga fra-
ternities, gawin mo iyong pinaka-head,
papakulong mo (If you make them crim-
inally accountable, they will be subject
to prosecution. I don’t think there will
be hazing anymore. Even in fraternities,
if you get the head jailed),” he added.
Panelo, who also experienced hazing
and other forms of corporal punishment
when he was a law student, said he also
supported Rodriguez’s proposal to clas-
sify hazing as a heinous crime.
“Gawin mo ngang heinous crime iyan
at responsible iyong heads and all mem-
bers, tigil iyan (If you classify hazing as
a heinous and make heads and all mem-
bers, hazing will stop),” Panelo said.
One life lost is too many
Presidential Communications Opera-
tions Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin
Andanar also condemned the hazing
death of Dormitorio, who hails from
Cagayan de Oro.
“As the Cabinet Officer for Regional
Development and Security (CORDS) of
Region 10, I am personally outraged that
Cagayan de Oro lost one of its promising
sons,” Andanar said.
Andanar also expressed sympathies to
his family, friends, classmates, and ex-
pected those involved in the hazing to be
held accountable.
“One life lost is one too many. Let this
tragic incident be the last case of shat-
tered dream. Let us put a stop to all
forms of hazing,” Andanar said. ■

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
UN human rights
experts laud PH’s
milestones in
crucial fronts
PHILIPPINE NEWS
AGENCY
MANILA — There is sad irony
at the United Nations in Ge-
neva!
While a handful of Filipino-
led nongovernment organiza-
tions have once again taken to
vilifying the Philippines at the
ongoing 42nd session of the
United Nations Human Rights
Council (UNHRC) in Geneva,
Switzerland, with rehashed al-
legations of human rights vio-
lations against the Duterte ad-
ministration, no less than key
independent experts and spe-
cial rapporteurs of the UN are
looking positively at the Philip-
pines.
At parallel side-meetings
with said experts by the Phil-
ippine delegation led by Un-
dersecretary Severo Catura of
the Presidential Human Rights
Committee Secretariat, the
Philippines was hailed for its
achievements in several crucial
human rights fronts.
Special Rapporteur on the
right to development Saad
Alfarargi of Egypt lauded the
socio-economic achievements
in the Philippines that uplift
the dignity of Filipinos, even
as he emphasized that devel-
opment is a “pivot” in human
rights promotion, protection,
and fulfillment by the State.
Alfarargi noted the respon-
siveness of the Philippine De-
velopment Plan 2017-2022
which the Philippine delega-
tion explained is anchored on
the Sustainable Development
Goals and on a long-term vision
of Ambisyon Natin 2040 that
aims for a strongly rooted, com-
fortable, and secure life for the
majority of Filipinos.
Also highlighted in the dis-
cussions was the administra-
tion’s “Build, Build, Build”
program to accelerate infra-
structure development to en-
hance people’s access to work,
education, health care, hous-
ing, and other services that will
uplift standards of living.
Alfarargi also expressed ap-
proval as he was informed of
the continuing effective imple-
mentation of the Philippine
Plan for Gender Responsive
Development 1995-2025; the
development perspectives of
the Philippines’ magna cartas
of women and of persons with
disabilities, and the Indigenous
Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997; the
Payapa at Masaganang Pama-
yanan (PAMANA) program;
the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management
Plan 2011-2028; and the Com-
prehensive Integrated Climate
Adaptation and Resiliency Pro-
gram.
He encouraged the Philip-
pines to work hard in refuting
the false news being perpetu-
ated by rabid critiques as “your
country has many best practic-
es to share.”
As theses fake news are being
spread by enemies of the Phil-
ippine government, Alfarargi
encouraged the Philippines to
“fight back” against this false
information, and to continue
actively participating in inter-
national and regional human
rights discussions “to have the
right image that it wants to
project.”
Access to water
On the other hand, UN Spe-
cial Rapporteur on the right to
safe drinking water and sanita-
tion Leo Heller of Brazil noted
the “very good” initiatives of
the Philippines to ensure water
and sanitation for Filipinos.
In his report, Heller par-
ticularly cited the country for
being one of the governments
that have developed and imple-
mented frameworks to ensure
access to water and sanitation
in public space. He pointed out
that in the Philippines, “specif-
ic regulations are in place that
govern the design, availabil-
ity, and accessibility of water
and sanitation in bus stations,”
among others.
Heller also took note of the
country’s Sagana at Ligtas na
Tubig Para sa Lahat (Abun-
❱❱ PAGE 10 UN human
House to get additional
P1.6-B for research, facilities
BY FILANE MIKEE
CERVANTES
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – House Speaker Alan
Peter Cayetano on Monday
said the additional PHP1.6 bil-
lion for the 2020 budget of the
House of Representatives will
be used to enhance legislative
research, improve the cham-
ber’s facilities, and establish
new committees.
Cayetano made the clarifica-
tion following reports that the
House is seeking augmentation
of its proposed PHP14-billion
2020 budget for additional dep-
uty speakers.
“For the past two days, may
mga nangungulit about, actu-
ally fake news ’yung nasa isang
blogger na sinabi niyang we
added PHP1.6 billion for the 22
deputy speakers (there are peo-
ple persistently asking about
[a report], [which is] actually
fake news by a certain blogger
claiming that we added PHP1.6
billion for the 22 deputy speak-
ers),” Cayetano said during an
event by the Congressional
Spouses Foundation Inc.
“We used to have 14 deputy
speakers, we now have 22, if
we’re going to add PHP1.6-
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Philippine News 9
billion for additional 8 deputy
speakers, that’s PHP200 mil-
can also help us,” he added.
Cayetano said he also wants
lion for deputy speaker… Asaan
‘yung PHP200 million para sa
distrito, para sa mga tao kung
to enhance the House facilities
by adding more elements of the
country’s culture and history
maniniwala ka doon? (Where to encourage more visitors and
then is the PHP200 million for make it “pro-people.”
the district and for the peo- “That’s another thing that
ple, if you were to believe that the funds are for, to improve
claim?),” he added. the facilities so that the House
The Speaker said the addi- of Representatives is the House
tional funding would be allot- of the People, we want field
ted to boost the chamber’s Con- trips to come here rather than
gressional Policy and Budget the noontime shows na lang
Research Department. (only). They learn something
The said body provides ideas, from noontime show, but they
policy advice, technical assis- can learn much more here if we
tance, and information support make this facility pro-people,”
in the formulation and over- he said.
sight of socio-economic legis- Cayetano said the last area
lation that promotes sustained for funding is for the creation of
inclusive growth. new committees.
“The PHP1.6-billion, first, is “Let me just assure you, that
to enhance research, hindi pu- you will see a different kind of
wedeng nakikipagdebate tayo House of Representatives, one
dito na ‘yung executive o ‘yung that is very accountable, one
mga industriya kumpleto sa na walang takipan sa mga prob-
research tapos tayo hindi (we lema, at (one that will not cover
can’t engage in debates with the up problems and) corruption.
executive branch and industry But also one that will provide
players backed with complete resources to each and every
research),” Cayetano said. congressman, and committee
“So we are going to strength- needed to be able to do your
en the congressional planning job,” he said. ■
and budget office, and put up
some fellowships para ‘yung
ibang (so that other) professors
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UN human...
❰❰ 9 dance of Natural Wa-
ter for All program)
spearheaded by the
Department of the Interior Lo-
cal Government which seeks to
provide potable water to the en-
tire country, and the Philippine
Water Supply Sector Roadmap
which targets all municipalities
in the Philippines to have im-
proved water supply by 2025.
Heller was also informed of
the Water Demand Manage-
ment that sets the direction for
the Philippine government in
managing its water resources.
Mention was also made of the
proposed Water Supply and
Sanitation Master Plan which
aims to set the direction in ad-
dressing the water supply and
sanitation challenges of the
country.
He was likewise informed of
the Philippines’ Human Rights-
Based Local Water and Sanita-
tion Governance Toolbox that
serves as a guide for water sup-
ply service providers and local
communities in understanding
access to water and sanitation
as a human right. The toolbox
outlines both the human rights
standards and the human rights
principles that guide policy and
programming for water and
sanitation services.
Finally, the Brazilian UN
Rapporteur lauded the efforts
of the Philippines, through the
Department of Health and in
cooperation with partner agen-
cies, in launching a handbook
that contains new guidelines
to curb the number of gastro-
enteritis cases, which cost the
government PHP2 billion an-
nually.
Global champion for older
persons’ rights
Rosa Kornfeld-Matte of
Chile, UN independent expert
on the enjoyment of all human
rights by older persons, lauded
the Duterte administration
for its initiatives to advance
the rights of the country’s se-
nior citizens and has noted the
Philippine News
country’s potential as a global
champion for older persons’
rights.
Matte explained that older
persons have a right to dignified
living and the Philippines has
been able to effectively advance
this right through responsive
milestone programs, activities,
projects, policies, and laws.
These milestones include the
creation of the National Com-
mission of Senior Citizens; en-
actment of the Centenarian Act
of 2016; mandating PhilHealth
coverage for all senior citizens;
expanding the Senior Citizens
Act for additional benefits and
privileges to senior citizens; es-
tablishment of Senior Citizens
Centers in all cities and munic-
ipalities, as venue for the rec-
reational, educational, health
and social programs designed
for the full enjoyment and ben-
efit of senior citizens; ensuring
the effective work of the senior
citizens affairs offices in local
government units, enactment
of Republic Act 10911 which
promotes equal work opportu-
nities for everyone by prohibit-
ing age limitations in the hiring
of applicants, and the govern-
ment’s appropriation of PHP23
billion for indigent senior citi-
zens’ social pension to finance
the Social Pension Program for
indigent senior citizens.
Matte said that she is “happy
that the Philippines has a lot of
things to offer to the older per-
sons sector.”
UN Special Rapporteur on
the promotion of truth, justice,
reparation, and guarantee of
non-recurrence Fabian Salvi-
oli of Argentina considered as
“very good news” the extension
by the Duterte administration
of the release and payment of
claims of martial law victims
until the end of the year.
This was made possible
through the President’s direc-
tive to the Bureau of Treasury
and the Land Bank of the Phil-
ippines to effect the said exten-
sion period.
Salvioli also expressed sat-
isfaction that the Ampatuan
massacre case is nearing its
resolution under the Duterte
administration.
PH with ‘nicest people’
Meanwhile, UN Special Rap-
porteur on contemporary
forms of slavery Urmila Bhoola
of South Africa said that the
Philippines “can play a very
key role in Southeast Asia to
encourage other countries to
take positive steps in address-
ing contemporary forms of
slavery.”
She added that “other coun-
tries stand to learn from Phil-
ippines,” citing efforts of the
Philippines to protect overseas
Filipino workers from falling
victim to modern-day slavery.
Having worked in the Philip-
pines, Bhoola remembers that
when President Duterte was
still mayor of Davao City, he
made sure that the city “was
free from all forms of child la-
bor.” And while she hears nega-
tive news about the country,
she always remembers that
“the Philippines is a wonderful
country with the nicest people.”
Bhoola expressed confidence
in the effectiveness of the Phil-
ippines’ initiatives to combat
modern-day slavery, such as
the creation of the Office of
the Social Welfare Attaches for
overseas Filipino workers, As-
sistance-to-Nationals program
of the Department of Foreign
Affairs, Recovery and Reinte-
gration Program for Trafficked
Persons, 1343 Action Line, on-
line free legal counseling for
victimized overseas Filipinos,
and the construction of a multi-
purpose building to house vic-
tims of human trafficking for
their full rehabilitation and re-
covery.
‘Demystify’ negative
information
UN Independent Expert on
the promotion of a democratic
and equitable international
www.canadianinquirer.net
LUDOVIC COURTÈS, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CC BY-SA 3.0
order Livingstone Sewanyana
of Uganda, while agreeing that
democracy is at work in the
Philippines, there are negative
portrayals about the country by
critiques.
He said that the challenge for
the Philippines is to “demys-
tify” the negative information
being spread by these same cri-
tiques.
Sewanyana was likewise
briefed on the threats to the
democratic order in the country,
such as terrorism, and expressed
interest in the work of the Na-
tional Task Force to End Local
Communist Armed Conflict.
In pointing out the challenge
for the Philippines to portray
the correct image of and the
situation in the country, he sug-
gested the need to highlight the
positive updates on the Philip-
pine government’s efforts to
address these same threats and
that “it would be good for these
efforts to continue.”
He specially commended the
efforts of the Duterte adminis-
tration in distributing lands in
the Hacienda Luisita and in Bo-
racay to farmers as this affirms
the Philippines’ strong adher-
ence to social justice.
Catura said the words of ap-
proval and encouragement
coming from no less than hu-
man rights experts in the UN
inspire the Philippine govern-
ment, under the Duterte ad-
ministration, to stay true to its
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY
mission to uplift the lives of Fil-
ipinos everywhere, especially
those in the vulnerable sectors
and those at the margins of so-
ciety. In the process, it also en-
riches the general public’s un-
derstanding that human rights
cover a wide range of freedoms
and guarantees that uplift hu-
man dignity.
“We welcome the opportu-
nity to be deemed as cham-
pion in the vast field of human
rights advocacy not only in the
Southeast Asian region but in
the world as well. And this ad-
ministration under President
Duterte shall deliver,” Catura
said in a statement.
The Philippines has insti-
tutionalized periodic engage-
ments with UN Special Rappor-
teurs and Independent Experts
at the sidelines of the UNHRC
sessions. There have been 14
side-engagements of this kind
since the last two UNHRC ses-
sions.
As an active member of the
UN, as well as of the UNHRC
for a fifth term, the Philippines
deems it a responsibility to help
strengthen the UN Special Pro-
cedures System that supervises
the UN Special Rapporteurs
and Independent Experts by
providing it with truthful and
validated the information. ■
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles. KARLO NOGRALES / FACEBOOK
Parents need convincing
to have their kids
vaccinated: Palace
PHILIPPINE NEWS
AGENCY
MANILA — Malacañang ex-
pressed alarm over the reemer-
gence of polio in the Philippines
stressing that there should be
greater effort to convince par-
ents to have their children vac-
cinated.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo
Nograles said because polio is
highly-contagious among chil-
dren, the government must act
fast to “stop and reverse” the
viral disease.
“Nakakabahala na (It’s
alarming that) after 19 years,
nagkaroon tayo ng (we have)
findings of the presence of polio
here,” Nograles said in an inter-
view on Friday.
“Kailangang bilisan natin
yung actions natin to (We need
to act fast to) stop this and to
reverse it,” he added.
Nograles pointed out that al-
though immunization is free,
the Department of Health
(DOH) has taken action to
boost its immunization cam-
paign and address the 68 per-
cent decline of polio vaccine
coverage.
“Alam naman natin na libre
naman yung bakuna na binibig-
ay ng Department of Health (We
know that the vaccines from
the DOH is free), it’s just a mat-
ter of convincing the parents,
their families, the children na
magpabakuna (to have their
children vaccinated)),” he add-
ed.
“Kung ano man ‘yun (What-
ever the cause of the decline
may be), the Department of
Health has its hand full in push-
ing and promoting again yung
immunization against polio
and all other sicknesses,” he
said.
The Palace official said Presi-
dent Rodrigo Duterte himself
is willing to help promote the
polio immunization campaign.
“As far as support from the
administration, whether bud-
getary or support in terms of
media or sa panawagan (an-
nouncements) from the Presi-
dent, the President made a dec-
laration before that he is open
to, even himself, campaigning
to the people na magpabakuna
(to have their children vac-
cinated), na (and) to avail of
the immunization program of
the Department of Health,”
Nograles said.
He said the reemergence of
polio will be discussed in the
Cabinet meeting next month.
On Friday, the DOH con-
firmed that a five-year-old boy
from Laguna is the latest and
second confirmed polio case in
the country.
The first case was a three-
year-old girl from Lanao del
Sur.
DOH Secretary Francisco
Duque III has encouraged
parents of children below five
years old, health workers, and
local chief executives to take
part in the synchronized polio
vaccination to be scheduled in
their communities. ■
Marcos martial law ‘necessary’
but spawned abuses: Palace
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — While former Pres-
ident Ferdinand Marcos had a
valid reason to declare martial
law on September 21, 1972 to
supposedly prevent a commu-
nist takeover, Malacañang on
Sunday said it spawned abuses
which still continue to haunt
Filipinos today.
Presidential Spokesperson
Salvador Panelo pointed out
that even the framers of the 1987
Constitution acknowledged the
“necessity” of martial “to save
the Republic from ruin against
the enemies of the state.”
However, Panelo acknowl-
edged that despite the good
it has done, its abuses have
scarred an entire generation.
“The imposition of martial
law and the abuses it spawned
even as it instilled discipline
among the citizenry at its in-
ception, as well as reaping suc-
cess in dismantling the then
spreading communist insur-
gency in the country, created a
deep wound to an entire gen-
eration,” Panelo said in a state-
ment released a day after the
47th martial law anniversary.
“Regardless of political per-
suasion, the Marcos martial law
continues to haunt those who
have traumatic experiences
during the one-man rule,” he
PH, US conduct first-ever
airborne exercise
BY PRIAM NEPOMUCENO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The Philippine
Army and the United States
Army conducted its first-ever
combined airborne operations
at Cesar Basa Air Base, Flor-
idablanca, Pampanga Sunday
morning.
“This training will enhance
our troops’ technical exper-
tise in airborne operations,
enabling our combat units to
better respond to future con-
tingency operations and other
security challenges. Likewise,
www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
Ailing Ferdinand Marcos during the campaign for the 1986 Snap elections.
MALACANANG PALACE PRESIDENTIAL MUSEUM AND LIBRARY, PUBLIC DOMAIN
added.
Panelo said Filipinos should
reflect to learn the lessons from
the past and use them to unite
as one people and one country.
He, however, emphasized
that if not for the abuses, mar-
tial law would have been demo-
cratic.
“Those who perceive that a
declaration of martial law is
anti-democratic are oblivious
of the fact that its application
is precisely the very tool to save
the exercise of democracy,”
Panelo said.
“It is only when it is clothed
with abuse by its enforcers that
it becomes obnoxious. Neces-
the combat interoperability
with our US counterparts will
also be strengthened,” said PA
chief, Lt. Gen. Alberto Macai-
rog.
Sunday’s exercise aimed to
enhance the combined air-
borne and territorial defense
capabilities and other compe-
tencies in urban combat op-
erations of both Filipino and
American troops.
Around 500 soldiers from the
PA’s First Scout Ranger Regi-
ment and Special Forces Regi-
ment (Airborne) and the US Ar-
my’s 4th Brigade Combat Team
(Airborne) participated in the
11
sarily, its proclamation arises
only upon constitutional dic-
tates. Any violation thereof
subjects the transgressors to
the wrath and vengeance of the
Constitution,” he added.
Panelo urged all Filipinos to
“look at the past to guide us on
what to do with the present…
that it may serve us better in
the future.”
He, meanwhile, said it was
wise to add more safeguards in
the law for its abuse to diminish
martial law abuses.
After a 14-year period of mar-
tial law, Marcos was ousted by
the historic People Power Rev-
olution on February 25, 1986. ■
activities.
Macairog and Brig. Gen.
Gregory Day, US Army Alaska
deputy commanding general,
witnessed the exercise which
started when the troops from
the two nations jumped off
four US Lockheed C-130 cargo
planes to simulate a massive
and rapid deployment of troops.
Airborne operations are criti-
cal in responding to conven-
tional threats, especially when
the land and water forces are
unable to infiltrate war areas
to resupply troops and equip-
ment. ■
12
Palace allays fears over order New AFP chief commits
blocking loans from 18 countries to end insurgency
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — Malacañang allayed
fears that President Rodrigo
Duterte’s order to suspend ne-
gotiations for and signing of all
loan and grant agreements from
the 18 countries that voted to
approve an Iceland-sponsored
United Nations Rights Council
(UNHRC) resolution calling for
an investigation on the coun-
try’s anti-drug campaign will
have a negative impact on the
Philippine economy.
“We assure the nation and
its citizenry that this directive
will not have a negative and
significant impact on the coun-
try,” Presidential Spokesperson
Salvador Panelo said in a state-
ment on Monday.
Citing Finance Secretary
Carlos Dominguez II, Panelo
said there will be no negative
impact because it will not affect
existing loans or grants which
are already being implemented.
Panelo said all proposed en-
gagements with the 18 coun-
tries, except for one small
project loan in the amount of
EUR21 million, are technical
assistance grants and will not
greatly affect the government’s
Build, Build, Build infrastruc-
ture program.
He explained that multilat-
eral development financial in-
stitutions and other bilateral
partners have already signified
their intention to finance the
EUR21 million.
The Palace official said the
rates offered by said countries
are no better than the rates al-
ready offered by multilateral
development financial insti-
tutions and bilateral develop-
ment partners.
Meanwhile, he rejected
claims made by critics that the
President’s decision to shun
financial assistance is “ill-ad-
vised” noting that the Chief
Executive would never put the
nation’s dignity over monetary
aid.
“The position of PRRD has al-
ways been clear and consistent:
He will not compromise the na-
tion’s dignity over any amount
of foreign loan, or even aid or
grant,” Panelo said.
“In fact, the President has
rejected in previous occasions
Philippine News
offers of assistance with any
condition that would interfere
with our domestic policies. This
policy remains unchanged. And
it will not waver,” he added.
Earlier, Dominguez bared
that the total pipeline that will
be affected by Duterte’s ban will
include the USD109.41-million
Metro Manila Bus Rapid Tran-
sit Project.
Clarification
Meanwhile, Panelo clari-
fied why he initially denied
that Duterte issued the order
explaining that the President
“momentarily forgot” about it.
He said Duterte himself
called for it “at the height of the
Iceland resolution” but some-
how had a “lapse in memory.”
“It was not I who is denying.
When I asked him he said, ‘no,
I did not.’ Apparently, as I said,
he might have forgotten mo-
mentarily. So, when I asked him
again he said, ‘yes I remember
calling the Secretary about it,’”
Panelo said in an interview over
ANC.
“That is more on lapse in
memory a few minutes, because
when I asked him again, he said,
‘yes I did.’ But what is impor-
tant is that memo exists and it
is maintained,” he added.
Panelo pointed out that
Duterte initially denied it be-
cause despite having made the
order, it was issued by Execu-
tive Secretary Salvador Medi-
aldea.
He stressed that Duterte is-
sued the order because he felt
“insulted” by the resolution
which called for a probe into
the drug war.
“I asked him, ‘why did you
issue that memo, Mr. Presi-
dent?’ He said, ‘this country is
insulted of that kind of Iceland
resolution and we cannot allow
this country to be insulting us.
A country who condemns al-
legedly our slaying of certain
victims and yet it allows abor-
tion of unborn children up to
less than 6 months old,’” Panelo
said.
In a Palace briefing, Pan-
elo explained that the Iceland
resolution “presupposes” that
Philippine courts are not doing
anything about the complaints
and abuses.
“We have been prosecut-
ing. In fact, every death aris-
ing from police operations on
drugs is automatically subject
to administrative and criminal
prosecution,” he said.
Panelo also reiterated
Duterte’s earlier remark slam-
ming Iceland for being con-
cerned about the alleged slay-
ing of suspected criminals when
the country legalized abortion.
“He cannot comprehend
what Iceland is so concerned
about the alleged brutal slaying
of suspected criminals which
occur because the lives of those
people who are enforcing the
law are endangered and yet it
has a law that allows killing,
murdering unborn children,”
Panelo said.
Not a knee-jerk reaction
Panelo, meanwhile, rejected
the remark made by Cagayan
de Oro 2nd District Rep. Ru-
fus Rodriguez who described
Duterte’s order to shun all fi-
nancial assistance from the 18
countries as a “knee-jerk reac-
tion.”
“‘Yun na ang response namin
na hindi totoo ‘yun; ang nag-
knee-kneejerk siya, sila (That’s
our response, that it’s no true;
that it was a knee-jerk reac-
tion) They don’t know the facts,
they don’t even know kung
mayroong (if there are) existing
loans,” Panelo said.
The Palace official denied
that Duterte would also shun
other countries that would also
support any probe into the drug
war in the future.
“Kapag nangyari iyon (When
it happens), I’ll respond to you.
Puro ispekulasyon lang iyon eh
(Right now, they’re all specula-
tion),” Panelo said.
For the meantime, Palace will
focus on countries that voted in
favor of the Iceland-sponsored
resolution.
The 18 countries that voted in
support of the drug war probe
were Argentina, Australia, Aus-
tria, Bahamas, Bulgaria, Croa-
tia, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Fiji, Iceland, Italy, Mexico,
Peru, Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine,
the United Kingdom, and Uru-
guay. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
BY PRIAM NEPOMUCENO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — As he formally
assumed the top post in the
Armed Forces of the Philip-
pines (AFP) Tuesday, Lt. Gen.
Noel Clement said the mili-
tary will remain committed to
ending the threat posed by the
communist armed insurgency.
“On our operational engage-
ments, we will remain commit-
ted to ending the armed insur-
gency, similarly our focused
operations will be sustained and
surgically conducted on those
who threatened the peace in our
communities,” he said during the
formal Change of Command at
the AFP headquarters in Camp
Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
Clement, a member of Philip-
pine Military Academy Class of
1985, succeeded his classmate
at the PMA, Gen. Benjamin
Madrigal Jr., who left the ser-
vice as he will be reaching the
mandatory military retirement
age of 56 on September 28.
The newly-appointed AFP
chief said the “enemies of peace
will be dealt with accordingly.”
Clement also urged all re-
maining communist rebels and
their allies to return to the path
of peace like what their former
colleagues in the insurgency
movement have done.
“I, therefore, call on the left-
over of a lost cause, peace is not
elusive. we have worked with
your comrades. We have worked
with our people; we engage com-
munities who now partake of the
Newly-installed Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief-of-Staff,
Lieutenant General Noel Clement (right), shakes hands with outgoing AFP
Chief-of-Staff, General Benjamin Madrigal (left). Clement, a multi-decorated
officer, says the military will remain committed in ending the threat posed by
the communist armed insurgency.
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY
fruits of our peaceful endeavors.
Therefore, I enjoin the remain-
ing peace spoilers to work with
us,” he added.
Clement said under his
watch, the AFP will remain
professional, non-partisan, a
staunch defender and advocate
of human rights, and respectful
of International Humanitarian
Law but at the same time assur-
ing the Rule of Law.
“My leadership aims to high-
light values, advocates for the
collective good of most people,
and our uniformed personnel,”
he said.
Clement, who was born
Jan. 5, 1964 in Lipa, Batangas,
studied at DOLE Philippines
School, Stella Maris Academy
of Davao and had his first year
in Bachelor of Science in Com-
merce at Ateneo De Davao
University, before entering the
PMA in 1981.
Prior to his appointment as
AFP chief, Clement was desig-
nated as the head of the Cebu-
based Central Command on
Nov. 16, 2018. He also com-
manded the 10th Infantry Divi-
sion, 602nd Infantry Brigade,
and the 56th Infantry Battalion
and Joint Task Force Sulu.
A multi-decorated officer,
Clement earned four Distin-
guished Service Star medals, an
Outstanding Achievement Med-
al, three Bronze Cross Medals,
two Meritorious Achievement
Medals, among others.
He is also happily married to
Geraldine Anne Valerio and is
blessed with two sons, Cheeno
and Carl Angelo. ■
JOEY O. RAZON/PNA
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 Philippine News 13

PRRD to skip Japan Emperor’s enthronement

BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — President Rodrigo
Duterte will skip the enthrone-
ment ceremony of Japanese
Emperor Naruhito on October
22, Malacañang said on Mon-
day.
Presidential Spokesperson
Salvador Panelo said the Presi-
dent will be sending a repre-
sentative to attend because of
the amount of work he has to
prioritize.
“He (Duterte) has so many
works to do. He might be just
sending somebody there,” Pan-
elo said in a Palace briefing.
Panelo said Duterte has yet to
announce who he will be send-
ing on his behalf.
Last June, Duterte said it
would be a “great honor” for the
Philippines to receive the Japa-
nese emperor in the future.
Panelo said Duterte made
this remark during his bilateral
meeting with Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe.
“The President likewise con-
veyed the best wishes of the
Filipino people to Emperor
Naruhito’s ascension to the
throne adding that it would be
a great honor for our country to
receive Emperor Naruhito and
Empress Masako in the Philip-
pines in the future,” Panelo said ruhito’s assumption would
in a statement. augur well for the Philippines-
Philippine Ambassador to Ja- Japan relations.
pan Jose Laurel V said Duterte “We hope to build the ‘gold-
would not be able to meet the en age’ for Philippines-Japan
emperor because of protocols strategic partnership during
and traditions. the reign of the new Emperor.
Naruhito ascended the As PRRD himself said, Japan is
throne on May 1, 2019, upon the our friend, closer even than a
abdication of his father, former brother,” Panelo said.
emperor Akihito. Naruhito, 59, is the elder of
Malacañang earlier ex- former emperor Akihito’s two
pressed confidence that Na- sons. ■

IPs to int’l...

Duterte OKs...
❰❰ 1 on Wednesday, Sep-
tember 25.
Under the Sotto
Law, only the publisher, editor,
or reporter from any publica-
tion are not required to reveal
the confidential source of their
news items.
But with this development,
the new law covers “any pub-
lisher, owner, or duly recog-
nized or accredited journalist,
writer, reporter, contributor,
opinion writer, editor, colum-
nist, manager, media practitio-
ner involved in writing, editing,
production, and dissemination
of news for mass circulation, of
any print, broadcast, wire ser-
vice organization, or electronic
mass media, including cable TV
and its variants.”
These people, the new law
said, “cannot be compelled to
reveal the source of any news
item, report or information ap-
pearing or being reported or
disseminated through said me-
dia, which was related in confi-
dence by the abovementioned
media practitioners.”
Journalists are only obli-
gated to divulge their sources
if the court, the House of Rep-
resentatives, the Senate, or any
committee of Congress finds
that such revelation is needed
for national security.
RA No. 11458 is a consolida-
tion of Senate Bill (SB) No. 1255
and House Bill (HB) No. 684. The
Senate version of the measure
was authored by Senate Presi-
dent Vicente Sotto III and for-
mer Senator Antonio Trillanes
IV, while the House version was
authored by Cebu First District
Representative Raul del Mar.
It was former Senator Vicen-
te Sotto, the Senate President’s
late grandfather, who authored
the Sotto Law in 1946.
The new law will take effect
15 days after its publication in
at least two newspapers of na-
tional circulation. ■
❰❰ 4 leading think tank in trated by the communist groups Services Foundation, Inc.,” Ili-
Brussels that special- and they did not allow me to gan said.
izes in Asian issues, teach because I’m a graduate Iligan appealed to the forum
was attended by representa- from a government school. They attendees to help them inform
tives of Reuters and Euronews said I can only teach my tribe if I the whole world about the
at Rue de La Loi 26, Brussels. belong to their group but I don’t atrocities brought about by the
want to be a ‘parateacher’ for CPP-NPA in Mindanao and to
‘We are dying everyday’ them because I know they’re no stop supporting their groups
This is how Binayao de- good,” Dahusay said. who are responsible for killing
scribed their situation in Min- He added that he has wit- the next generation of IPs.
danao. nessed how a number of Salug-
“For over 50 years, they stole pungan schools teach the chil- Government efforts
the peace in our community. dren communist ideologies Meanwhile, Dr. Annette
They stole our privileges and – preparing them to become Mangrobang of the University
the youth of our tribes who professional activists after of the Philippines Diliman-
they train as child warriors to graduation. Philippine Institute for Devel-
go up against the government,” “They are the violators of the opment Studies said certain ac-
he said. IPs rights because their com- tions can be done even if the list
Binayao shared that their manders kill the tribal leaders. is unavailable.
culture is also “We at the civil
on the verge of society can and
vanishing as the should do some-
CPP-NPA groups thing about this
establish their They stole our privileges and the to prevent funds
communities youth of our tribes who they train from being used
within the IP as child warriors to go up against in illegal activi-
communities. the government. ties that we’ve
“Our indig- heard from our
enous peoples’ IPs,” Mangro-
knowledge sys- bang said.
tem is almost 60 percent de- They destroy the culture of the
stroyed because they’re killing indigenous people like farming More careful
our tribal leaders. When our and our natural laws so we’re un- Earlier, the United Nations
leaders die, the culture and tra- able to practice our laws because Food and Agriculture Organi-
dition that are supposed to be the CPP NPAs have governed our zation (UN-FAO) has promised
passed on the next generation communities,” Dahusay said. that it would be more careful in
die with them because these are While stressing that some choosing which non-govern-
only transmitted through oral non-government organizations ment organizations (NGOs) to
practice,” he said. (NGOs) are “only using IPs” help in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Joel Dahusay, and not actually helping them, This, after a group of indige-
member of the Matigtalomo Bae Magdalina Iligan from nous people’s (IP) leaders visit-
tribe in Talaingod, Davao, said Mamanwa tribe of San Miguel, ed their office in Rome, Italy to
he wanted to educate his tribes- Surigao urged the internation- report about communists and
men about their rights as stated al community to be careful in left-leaning groups taking ad-
in the Republic Act Number choosing organizations to help vantage of the help they send.
8731 or An An Act to Recog- in the Philippines. UN-FAO Partnerships and Ca-
nize, Protect, And Promote the “I was tasked to capture some pacity Development Division Di-
Rights of Cultural Communi- leaders and even some people rector Marcela Villareal said she
ties and Indigenous Peoples” in my family. They force kill- is touched by the stories of the IP
which the IPs consider as a cov- ings within families and orga- leaders’ bitter experiences under
enant between them and the nized evacuations or “haran” to the Communist Party of the Phil-
government. raise funds by the same NGOs ippines-New People’s Army con-
“But our area is already infil- like the Mindanao Interfaith quest of their respective areas. ■

www.canadianinquirer.net
14

Trudeau and Scheer attack Ford and Wynne in
battle for bountiful Ontario
BY MIKE BLANCHFIELD
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — Ontario lead-
ers — old and current — were
pinned in the crossfire of Justin
Trudeau and Andrew Scheer’s
battle Monday for the vote-rich
province that’s the gateway to
federal victory.
Their fight focused in large
part on whether a Liberal or
a Conservative government
would be best suited to work
with the provinces to protect
Canada’s public health-care
system. Over in Atlantic Cana-
da, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh
and Green Leader Elizabeth
May also jockeyed over their
party’s health-care policies.
Scheer and Trudeau, were
Canada News
of telling the truth. Scheer
promised to make it cheaper for
Canadians to buy homes, pledg-
ing to resurrect 30-year mort-
gages and ease the so-called
stress test on mortgages, while
accusing Trudeau of digging
Canadians deeper into debt.
In Hamilton, Trudeau posi-
tioned himself as a defender
of public health who will stand
against Conservative cost-cut-
ting, mentioning Ford by name
at least a dozen times. He talked
about Ford, former Conserva-
tive prime minister Stephen
Harper, and Scheer as a troika
of bogeymen.
“The question becomes for
Canadians: who do you want
negotiating with Doug Ford
when it comes to your health?”
Trudeau said.
people who are the architects
of the failed Kathleen Wynne-
Dalton McGuinty government
that raised taxes, ran massive
deficits, mired in scandal and
corruption, are now working
for Justin Trudeau, and they’re
following the same playbook,”
said Scheer.
“So voters in Ontario know
that they can limit the damage
from Justin Trudeau to one
term.”
Scheer said he is commit-
ted to increasing transfer pay-
ments to the provinces for
health care and education by
three per cent.
“I am ready to run against
Justin Trudeau. I am holding
Justin Trudeau to account. And
he is desperate to run against
anybody other than me,” he Canadian PM Justin Trudeau. ART BABYCH / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

trying to plunder a bounti- The Liberal leader repeated said.

ful crop of votes in the dense-
ly populated communities
around Toronto and the rest of
the Golden Horseshoe around
the west end of Lake Ontario.
Trudeau fired the first shot,
telling Ontario voters not to
“double down” on Conserva-
tives after they elected Doug
Ford premier in 2018. Trudeau
used a new promise of a na-
tional pharmacare program
to portray Scheer as a faithful
Ford follower who won’t defend
people’s interests in fighting for
better access to doctors, drugs
or mental-health counsellors.
Scheer, meanwhile, evoked
the vanquished Ontario Liberal
premier Kathleen Wynne, and
her predecessor Dalton Mc-
Guinty, linking Wynne’s politi-
cal demise to a federal leader he
branded corrupt and incapable
that line, using it as a mantra
to frame himself as the best
defender of Canada’s public
health-care system.
“That is the choice people are
facing: whether we continue to
move forward, or we go back to
the Harper years by doubling
down on Conservatives who
believe in cuts,” Trudeau said,
deriding the “trickle-down”
economics approach of Harper,
who Trudeau said had “failed”
Canadians.
In the suburban Toronto
community of Vaughan, Ont.,
Scheer deflected questions
about his affiliation with Ford
by lampooning Trudeau’s focus
on other Conservative leaders.
“The real question is:
What’s the difference between
Kathleen Wynne and Jus-
tin Trudeau? The very same
In Halifax, Singh criticized
both his frontrunning oppo-
nents, saying only a New Demo-
crat government could help de-
liver the health care Canadians
need.
“Justin Trudeau attacked
Harper so viciously but he ac-
tually implemented his cuts to
health care. And Mr. Scheer is
going to keep it going,” Singh
said, sparking applause at a
town-hall meeting.
The upbeat response allowed
Singh to pivot from his uncom-
fortable debut in neighbour-
ing New Brunswick earlier in
the day where he was forced
to address criticism that he
has forgotten that province
by never visiting, amid a sum-
mer controversy that saw some
NDP candidates switch to the
Greens.
Former NDP MP Yvon Godin,
who held Acadie-Bathurst for
about 18 years before the Liber-
als took it in the 2015 election,
told the CBC in August he was
concerned about Singh’s inat-
tention to the province.
“I’m really sorry,” Singh said
in Bathurst, N.B. as he intro-
duced Daniel Theriault as the
candidate in Godin’s old riding.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get here ear-
lier. I’m happy to be here. I’m
honoured to be here and it’s a
beautiful place.”
In Fredericton, May outlined
her party’s plan to break down
barriers to mental health care,
including reducing wait times
and putting more money into
services in rural and remote
areas. “Universal health care is
under attack,” she declared.
Monday was Trudeau’s sec-
ond straight day courting sub-
urban family voters in the To-
ronto area; he spent Sunday in
Brampton, Ont., promising a
big-ticket tax cut worth billions
and a 25-per-cent reduction in
their cellphone bills.
Ford responded to the at-
tacks on Monday by leverag-
ing them in a mass email fun-
draising pitch. “You’ve got the
media repeating Liberal and
NDP talking points about cuts
to this, cuts to that,” Ford said
in the message. He said he had
increased spending on health
care and education by $2 bil-
lion. “When Kathleen Wynne’s
Liberals were in power, only
the insiders did well. Now, bit
by bit, it’s you.” ■
With files from Allison Jones

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
Tory plan to ease mortgage ‘Insulting, racial
stress test rules may increase mockery:’ Trudeau’s
debt, raise prices behaviour panned
BY ALEKSANDRA SAGAN
The Canadian Press
CONSERVATIVE LEADER
Andrew Scheer’s pledge to ex-
tend mortgage amortization
maximums for some homebuy-
ers and loosen a contentious
stress test would likely lead to
more debt and higher property
prices, some experts say.
“Oh my god, here we go
again,” said Tsur Somerville, a
professor at the Sauder School
of Business at the University
of British Columbia, when he
heard Scheer’s announcement
Monday.
Scheer plans to loosen rules
around the stress test, which
was designed to ensure buyers
requiring mortgages could af-
ford payments if interest rates
rose, and remove it altogether
for mortgage renewals.
He also plans to allow first-
time property buyers to take
out 30-year mortgages — re-
versing moves by Stephen
Harper’s previous Conserva-
tive government that reduced
terms from 40 years to 25 years.
With a longer amortization,
first-time homebuyers can opt
for a larger mortgage than they
might be able to afford pay-
ments on if it were for a shorter
time frame. Meanwhile, lend-
ers may be able to approve bor-
rowers for larger mortgages if
the stress test requirements are
loosened.
The stress test — originally
introduced in 2010 and signifi-
cantly modified in 2018 — has
helped to slow accelerating
house prices, according to vari-
ous reports.
The Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corp. CEO Evan Sid-
dall defended both measures
amid industry lobbying for
changes earlier this summer.
In a strongly worded letter to
the Standing Committee of Fi-
nance Siddall said his job is to
“protect our economy from po-
tentially tragic consequences.”
The stress test has helped
reduce house prices in Canada
by 3.4 per cent compared to
what they otherwise would
have been, he said. The CMHC
declined to comment Monday,
saying they were not in a posi-
tion to comment on political
parties’ promises or announce-
ments during the election pe-
riod.
A TD report released ear-
lier this year estimated home
prices could rise six per cent by
the end of next year if the stress
test was removed and all else
remained equal.
Canadian realtors cheered
the proposal.
“Realtors have long asked for
common-sense solutions de-
signed to help Canadians pur-
chase a home of their own,” said
Jason Stephen, The Canadian
Real Estate Association’s presi-
dent, adding Scheer’s campaign
promises include some of their
suggested policy changes.
The Scheer plan also includes
launching an inquiry into
money laundering in the real
estate sector, as well as mak-
ing surplus federal real estate
available for development to
increase housing supply.
The supply issue is one the
two professors were in favour
of addressing, as increased sup-
ply tends to better affordability.
“There’s no magic bullet on
housing,” said Somerville.
Canadians’ high level of
household debt has been a con-
cern. The CMHC previously
warned that high debt levels
with looming interest rate
hikes could lead to lower con-
sumption, less savings or loan
defaults.
Canadians owed roughly
$1.77 in credit market debt — a
figure that includes consumer
credit, mortgages and non-
mortgage loans — for every dol-
lar of their disposable income,
according to Statistic Canada’s
most recent figures.
“If we’re concerned about
Canadians’ level of debt, why
are we helping them take on
more debt?” asked Somerville.
To call these strategies a
pure win for first-time buyers,
would ignore the feedback into
housing prices, said Thomas
Davidoff, a professor at UBC’s
Sauder School of Business.
“In certain markets, ignoring
that — I think — is a mistake.”
Davidoff also believes anoth-
er issue is how much risk tax-
payers should put themselves
in.
The Liberal party’s plan, by
contrast, provides less risk for
taxpayers, he said.
Liberal leader Justin
Trudeau announced earlier
this month his party would
expand a recently launched
program aimed at helping first-
time home buyers lower their
monthly payments through a
shared-equity mortgage with
CMHC. The expansion would
boost the maximum qualify-
ing price of a home in Victoria,
Vancouver and the Toronto re-
gion from about $500,000 to
nearly $800,000.
“There’s an element of subsi-
dy there,” Davidoff said, adding
that means taxpayers are not
getting a great financial deal.
But, the risk is lower because a
borrower can’t default on eq-
uity if interest rates rise or they
lose their income, like they can
on the payments for their mort-
gage.
Andrew Pavlov, a professor
at Simon Fraser University’s
Beedie School of Business, sup-
ported the implementation of
the stress test and scaling back
mortgage amortization terms
when both changes happened.
“Today the situation is very
different,” he said.
Federal governments made
those changes to prepare bor-
rowers and the financial system
for looming interest rate in-
creases at the time, said Pavlov,
but now “there’s virtually no
possibility of interest rate in-
creases” with declines expected
instead.
In flat or declining housing
markets, which many Cana-
dian cities have become thanks
partly to a host of government
intervention measures, there’s
a case for relaxing mortgage
borrowing rules, he said.
If house prices decline sub-
stantially, defaults will start to
occur and put the financial sys-
tem at risk, Pavlov said. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
Canada News
by Alberta premier
BY BILL GRAVELAND
The Canadian Press
CALGARY — Alberta’s premier
says images of federal Liberal
Leader Justin Trudeau wearing
black and brown face makeup
should make it easier for voters to
choose in next month’s election.
Jason Kenney, who is just
back from a tour urging invest-
ment in Alberta’s energy sector,
calls the prime minister’s past
behaviour embarrassing and
unacceptable.
“I found the revelations
about the prime minister’s pen-
chant for blackface frankly bi-
zarre. He is trying to blame this
on society, that we must learn
from this. No, prime minister
this is about you, not us,” Ken-
ney said Monday.
“I’m 51 years old. I’ve hardly
lived a sheltered existence and
I’ve never seen anybody, ever do
that — insulting, racial mockery.”
Trudeau has apologized for
the photographs. One was taken
when he was a teacher in 2001
at a Vancouver private school.
Another was taken when he was
in high school.
He has said he had a blind
spot because of his privilege
growing up in a well-known
family and now recognizes the
photos were racist.
The Liberal party had no im-
mediate response to Kenney’s
comments.
Kenney used the opportunity
to pump up his friend, Conser-
vative Leader Andrew Scheer,
who Kenney says grew up in a
Jason Kenney. POLICY EXCHANGE / FLICKR, CC BY-NC 2.0
15
family that didn’t own a car and
lived in a modest townhouse.
“I very much hope that Ca-
nadians will opt for a prime
minister that is in touch with
the lives of ordinary people,
who is dignified, who is focused
on the cost of living, and who
doesn’t have to apologize for
these types of embarrassing in-
cidents in the future.”
Kenney has had a long his-
tory of locking horns with
Trudeau going back to the time
when Kenney was the federal
minister of citizenship and im-
migration and Trudeau was the
Liberal critic on the file.
Kenney has previously referred
to Trudeau as an “empty trust-
fund millionaire who has the po-
litical depth of a finger bowl” and
“one of the worst prime ministers
for Alberta in our history.”
Kenney said Trudeau’s name
was on the lips of many interna-
tional investors on the premier’s
recent trip to the United States.
“What I heard in New York
from some of the world’s largest
investors is the re-election of a
Trudeau government would
likely continue the freeze on in-
vestment in the Canadian ener-
gy sector in particular,” he said.
“These are very sophisticated
folks who invest tens of billions
of dollars and they are not, as
I heard, prepared to risk addi-
tional investment with a federal
government that seems openly
hostile to the energy sector.”
Kenney said if that happens
Alberta will have to find other
ways to persuade investors to
return to the province. ■
16
Border officials, RCMP followed law in arrest
of Meng Wanzhou: Attorney General
BY AMY SMART
AND LAURA KANE
The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER — Canadian of-
ficials followed the law when
they detained Huawei execu-
tive Meng Wanzhou at Vancou-
ver’s airport and the defence
has no proof to substantiate
its “conspiracy theory” that
she was illegally arrested, the
Crown says.
The Attorney General of Can-
ada says in court documents
released Monday that there’s
no evidence to suggest that the
RCMP or the Federal Bureau
of Investigation in the United
States asked border agents to
elicit information from Meng
during the detainment.
“There is no evidence that
lends an air of reality to these
allegations, nor is there evi-
dence that would suggest there
is any documentation that
would substantiate these alle-
gations,” it says.
Meng, whose arrest has
sparked a diplomatic crisis be-
tween Canada and China, re-
turned to British Columbia Su-
preme Court on Monday where
her lawyers are asking for docu-
ments that they say would sup-
port their allegations.
The Huawei chief financial
officer was arrested on Dec. 1,
2018, during a stopover in Van-
couver on her way to Mexico.
The arrest was at the request
of the United States, which
is seeking her extradition on
fraud charges.
The U.S. alleges that Meng
misrepresented facts to HSBC
regarding Huawei’s business
dealings in Iran, which put the
bank at risk of prosecution for
violating sanctions against the
country.
Both Meng and the Chinese
tech giant have denied any
wrongdoing and none of the
allegations have been tested in
court.
The court released hundreds
of pages of documents on Mon-
day, including the Crown’s
written reply to the defence’s
request for documents and sur-
veillance video without sound
showing Meng speaking with
agents from the Canada Border
Services Agency at the airport.
In its reply, the Crown says
border agents followed proper
procedure in examining Meng
and her goods to determine
her admissibility to Canada
and her charter rights were not
breached.
It says the border agency is
empowered by law to examine
a traveller’s cellphones, and in
this case they placed Meng’s
phones in evidence bags and re-
quested her passcodes but ulti-
mately decided against looking
through the devices.
The RCMP also followed pro-
cedure by waiting to execute
the provisional arrest warrant
until after border officials had
suspended their examination
of Meng, it says, adding that
the Mounties legally seized her
phones at that point.
Officials and solemn declara-
tions by the RCMP and border
service officers record their en-
counter with Meng, the Crown
adds.
“If the CBSA and RCMP to-
gether have engaged in a ‘well-
coordinated scheme’ and ‘stra-
tegically drafted’ their notes
to conceal misconduct, why
would the RCMP … record the
contents of their meeting in de-
tail?” the Crown asks.
The Crown also says Meng’s
lawyers have failed to justify the
“draconian remedy” of a stay of
proceedings. It adds that it has
already provided Meng’s law-
yers with extensive disclosure
and much of what they seek has
Meng Wanzhou. STOCKED HOUSE STUDIO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
already been turned over.
However, the defence team
alleges extensive misconduct
including delaying the arrest,
deceiving Meng about the na-
ture of her detention and abus-
ing their statutory powers in
order to collect evidence for the
fraud case in the U.S.
Defence lawyer Richard Peck
told court Monday that border
services and the RCMP “col-
laborated, arranged a plan” to
deal with Meng in a way that
violated the provisional arrest
warrant.
“This plan delayed the imple-
mentation of Ms. Meng’s rights
and afforded the CBSA an op-
portunity to interrogate her
and that such information was
arranged to be shared with the
RCMP and with the FBI,” Peck
said.
Peck told the court that bor-
www.canadianinquirer.net
der officials handed Meng’s
phone passcodes to the RCMP.
They made efforts to obscure
the nature of interactions with
Meng and omitted details in
documents including notes and
declarations to fulfil that pur-
pose, he said.
“Lifting language from the
authorities, we refer to this as
a ‘covert criminal investigation’
under the pretext of an admis-
sibility exam for immigration
purposes,” Peck told the court.
Peck also alleges Meng’s ar-
rest is part of a history of Amer-
ican officials detaining Huawei
employees at airports, pointing
to “expected testimony” from a
confidential witness who says
her work laptops were searched
or seized at ports of entry.
He argued that there’s
enough evidence to suggest
further documents exist to sup-
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY
port the argument that Cana-
dian officials acted as agents of
U.S. law enforcement.
He pointed to an email that
he said is from an FBI agent to
a Canadian official.
“It says ‘Ben, thank you,’ —
this is from the FBI — ‘thank
you for all the work. Appreciate
the co-ordination. As soon as a
warrant is obtained, the infor-
mation should be heading to
RCMP and CBSA,’ “ Peck read
to the court.
The other documents re-
leased Monday include corre-
spondence in August between
Crown lawyer John Gibb-Cars-
ley and defence lawyer David
Martin, which says the U.S. no
longer seeks the electronic de-
vices seized from Meng.
Another document is an af-
fidavit by Meng, in which she
details her family’s “extensive”
ties to Canada and Vancouver.
Huawei appears to be ramp-
ing up its public relations strat-
egy around the case, tweeting
a photo taken Monday outside
her Vancouver home that says,
“Ms. Meng walks to media to
thank them for waiting in the
rain before leaving for court.”
The company also posted a
brief video statement in which
spokesman Benjamin Howes
said Huawei believes she is
innocent and has every con-
fidence that she will be vindi-
cated.
Meng wore a royal purple
dress to the hearing along with
a court-ordered ankle bracelet
and sparkling stiletto heels.
When she arrived, she
stopped to speak with a pair
of supporters. She smiled at
reporters and replied she was
“fine” when asked how she was
doing.
Her extradition trial won’t
begin until Jan. 20 and she is
free on bail while living in Van-
couver. ■
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 Canada News 17

Groups say court must force Nova Scotia to

protect endangered species
BY KEITH DOUCETTE
The Canadian Press
HALIFAX — In what is being de-
scribed as a first in Nova Scotia,
conservation groups are asking
the courts to order the province
to respect the provisions of its
Endangered Species Act.
The Federation of Nova Sco-
tia Naturalists, Blomidon Natu-
ralists Society, the Halifax Field
Naturalists and wildlife biolo-
gist Bob Bancroft were in Nova
Scotia Supreme Court Monday,
where they argued that Lands
and Forestry Minister Iain
Rankin has failed to meet re-
quirements under the act.
Their lawyer, James Simp-
son, said the lack of action
represents a “systemic fail-
ure” within the department to
meet statutory duties, includ-
ing requirements to devise and
implement recovery plans for
species at risk, create recovery
teams and identify core habi-
tats.
Simpson noted that 71 spe-
cies were listed by regulation
under the act as of 2017, with 33
listed as endangered.
“On the whole, species at risk
appear to be near the bottom of
the priority list for the Depart-
ment of Lands and Forestry,” he
told Justice Christa Brothers.
“These failures are not isolat-
ed incidences, but rather they
demonstrate a systemic failure
within Lands and Forestry to
meet statutory duties regarding
species at risk, and these fail-
ures have occurred over a num-
ber of years.”
Simpson cited six animal and
plant species as examples — the
mainland moose, Canada war-
bler, eastern wood pewee, wood
turtle, ram’s head lady’s slipper
and black ash.
In the case of the mainland
moose, Simpson said the de-
partment released a recovery
plan in 2007 that was based on
data contained in a 2003 study.
That showed the number of an-
imals in Nova Scotia at between
1,000 and 1,200.
He said the act requires the
minister to review a recovery
plan every five years.
“How many mainland moose
remain surviving today? We
don’t know … because the min-
ister has failed to conduct a re-
view of the 2007 recovery plan.”
Simpson said that’s still the
case, even though the minister
formed a new recovery team for
moose in August.
“This is extremely concern-
ing given the dire straits facing
moose back in 2003,” he said.
He also told the court that the
call to action by the applicants
follows a 2012 letter to the
minister by the East Coast En-
vironmental Law Association
and Dalhousie University law
students, a 2015 report by the
association, a 2016 audit by the
province’s auditor general and a
2018 study on forestry practic-
es by Bill Lahey, the president
of the University of King’s Col-
lege.
Simpson said the applicants
believe the language in the act,
with its use of the word “shall”,
creates an imperative and they
want the court to force the de-
partment to enforce the exist-
ing law.
They are also asking the court
to set deadlines for specific pro-
vincial actions to protect spe-
cies at risk and to ensure the
deadlines are respected.
Jeremy Smith, the lawyer
for the province, immediately
questioned the standing of the the court the province believes available to help him make a
groups, submitting to Broth- the language in the act amounts decision.
ers that they are not “public to a directive and is not manda- Outside court, Bancroft, who
interest litigants” and there- tory. was on the department’s re-
fore don’t have the legal right to He said the case raises issues covery team for the mainland
seek a court order. of discretion and policy that moose between 2004 and 2012,
The judge quickly questioned “involves intertwined legal and said the court’s decision is cru-
his assertion. factual issues.” cial because of what’s happen-
“It was for you to challenge “For these reasons I conclude ing in the province’s forests.
that a long time ago,” said that the appropriate standard “The government, in my
Brothers. “They are not the of review is reasonableness,” opinion, are actually listen-
moose, they are not the ram’s Smith said. ing to the industries who are
head lady’s slipper, they are not As an example, he said it out there for profit,” he said.
the pewee or the worbler, so would be unreasonable for the “I think we’ve got to turn this
what are they?” minister to set out core habi- around.”
Smith, who didn’t finish his tat for the black ash without The court review is sched-
submission Monday, also told the appropriate scientific data uled to resume Oct. 1. ■

Poll suggests Canadians concerned about

fake news, but struggle to spot it
BY MICHELLE MCQUIGGE
The Canadian Press
A NEW survey suggests Ca-
nadians are concerned about
the proliferation of fake news,
but they aren’t necessar-
ily equipped to stop it from
spreading.
The poll from Historica
Canada, the organization be-
hind Canada’s Heritage Min-
utes, surveyed Canadians on
the state of the news media and
their own capacity to distin-
guish fact from opinion.
The results were rife with
contradictions: 88 per cent of
respondents were concerned only 12 per cent got a perfect dian students, which Historica What’s less clear is the degree
about the quality of informa- score when asked to classify six CEO Anthony Wilson-Smith to which people are thinking
tion circulating online, but 61 test statements included in the sees as a sign Canadians are about the veracity of the stories
per cent said the public concern poll. aware of the complexity of the that they’re reading.”
over fake news is issue. Wilson-Smith said the sur-
overblown. “There’s enor- vey suggests most respondents
More than half mous appetite are following at least one fun-
of survey partici- and effort to fol- damental rule of proper infor-
pants admitted So now I am aware of it and I will low news,” Wil- mation-seeking by turning to
to either reading scrutinize it carefully before giving son-Smith said, multiple sources for their daily
or sharing a story my approval. citing the fact news. About 76 per cent of par-
that later proved that 94 per cent ticipants looked to traditional
to be inaccurate of survey partici- outlets such as print or televi-
or out of date. pants professed sion, while 70 per cent turned
Historica says to keep on top of to online sources, and the ma-
69 per cent of current events. jority of respondents said they
survey respondents believed About 86 per cent suggested “People clearly understand the drew upon both.
they could tell the difference media literacy should become importance of being aware of
between fact and opinion, but mandatory learning for Cana- what’s going on in the world. ❱❱ PAGE 22 Poll suggests

www.canadianinquirer.net
18
Johnson says he’ll tell Trump: Hands off UK
health service
BY JILL LAWLESS
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Britain’s prime minister
has promised to tell U.S. President Don-
ald Trump that any notion of American
firms buying parts of the U.K.’s beloved,
state-funded health service will be off
the table in future trade negotiations,
and that the United States will have to
open its markets to British goods if it
wants to make a deal.
Boris Johnson said he would draw his
red lines for the protectionist president
when the two leaders meet this week at
the United Nations General Assembly
in New York. He also planned to tell U.S.
business leaders and politicians that
Britain will have a loosely regulated
market “that is open to the world” after
it leaves the European Union.
Johnson arrived at the global gath-
ering on Monday with a balancing act
to effect. He’s trying to persuade Euro-
pean Union leaders to strike an elusive
divorce deal with Britain, while also lay-
ing the groundwork for a post-Brexit
World News
trade agreement with the United States
— seen by the government as one of the
main prizes of Brexit.
The Conservative prime minister is
keen to forge a strong relationship with
the Republican president, who has called
the British leader “a really good man.”
But Johnson told reporters flying
with him to New York that he would tell
Trump “that when we do a free trade deal,
we must make sure that the (National
Health Service) is not on the table, that
we do not in any way prejudice or jeopar-
dize our standards on animal welfare and
food hygiene in the course of that deal,
and that we open up American markets.”
He also said the U.S. would have to ac-
cept British lamb and beef, which are
barred, and lower tariffs on manufac-
tured British goods.
Opponents of Brexit fear the NHS
— an overstretched but much-loved in-
stitution founded in 1948 to provide
free health care to all Britons — will
be opened to private U.S. firms as part
of trade negotiations. They also have
suggested Britain may have to accept
chlorine-washed chicken, a U.S. poultry
www.canadianinquirer.net
UK PM Boris Johnson. BORIS JOHNSON / FACEBOOK
industry practice that is banned in the
European Union.
Johnson’s political opponents, and EU
leaders, worry that post-Brexit Britain
wants to become a low-tax, low-regula-
tion economy — what some have dubbed
a “Singapore on Thames.”
Johnson is likely to stir those fears
Tuesday, when he plans to tell U.S. and
Canadian business leaders the U.K. will
“roll out the red carpet” for investors.
Johnson’s office said he would say
that “we want a market that is open to
the world, with the most competitive tax
rates and the best skilled workforce in
the hemisphere.”
Johnson is likely to be dogged by Brit-
ain’s divisive — and stalled — departure
from the EU throughout his three-day
trip to the U.N.’s annual gathering of
world leaders.
More than three years after Britain
voted to leave the EU, the departure date
has been postponed twice, and the U.K.
Parliament has repeatedly rejected the
only divorce deal offered. The country
is facing a chaotic exit on Oct. 31 unless
Johnson’s government can, against the
odds, secure a new agreement — or ar-
range another delay, something John-
son vows he will not do.
The British leader is seeking to per-
suade a skeptical European Union to give
Britain a new divorce deal before the U.K.
is due to leave the bloc on Oct. 31.
Johnson said he didn’t think there
would be a “New York breakthrough” in
meetings with European leaders at the
U.N., but he was encouraged by the prog-
ress talks had made since he took office
less than two months ago. He replaced
Theresa May, who resigned in failure
after her EU withdrawal agreement was
rejected three times by Parliament.
“I think a large number of the impor-
tant partners really do want a deal,” he
said.
They may want a deal, but many lead-
ers of the 28-nation bloc mistrust John-
son, a brash Brexit champion who played
a big role in persuading British voters in
2016 to opt to leave the EU. And they
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY
say Britain has not come up with pro-
posals for maintaining an open border
between EU member Ireland and the
U.K.’s Northern Ireland — the key stick-
ing point in the dispute. An open border
underpins both the local economy and
the peace process that ended years of
sectarian violence in Northern Ireland
Chief EU Brexit negotiator Michel Bar-
nier said Monday that “based on current
UK thinking, it is difficult to see how we
can arrive at a legally operative solution.”
After meeting Johnson, European
Council President Donald Tusk tweeted
succinctly: “No breakthrough. No break-
down. No time to lose. #Brexit”
The U.K. says the border can be kept
free of customs posts and other obsta-
cles through a mix of as-yet unproven
technology and an all-Ireland zone for
animals and agricultural products.
“I think colleagues around the table in
Brussels can see how we might do that,”
Johnson said. “All it will take is a politi-
cal will to get there.”
Johnson is also facing claims that during
his tenure as mayor of London between
2008 and 2016, he gave public money and
places on overseas U.K. trade trips to a
close friend running a startup business.
He denied wrongdoing, saying Monday
that “everything was done with complete
propriety. Completely in the normal way.”
The British government is also brac-
ing for a Supreme Court ruling on
whether Johnson broke the law when
he suspended Parliament for five weeks
ahead of the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline.
Johnson says the suspension was a
routine measure to prepare for a new
session of Parliament. Opponents claim
he acted illegally to stop lawmakers from
interfering with his plan to leave the EU,
with or without a Brexit deal.
The 11 justices say they will rule Tues-
day morning. A ruling that the suspension
was illegal would be a huge blow to John-
son’s authority and could see lawmakers
recalled to Parliament immediately. ■
AP journalist Geir Moulson in Berlin con-
tributed.
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
Trump insists he never pressed UK, France,
Ukraine to dig for Biden dirt Germany blame Iran
BY EDITH M. LEDERER
AND JILL LAWLESS
for Saudi oil attacks
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Congres-
sional Democrats on Monday
pressed their demands for full
disclosure of a whistleblower’s
complaint about President
Donald Trump and intensified
calls for impeachment. Trump
insisted anew he did nothing
wrong in his conversation with
Ukraine’s leader that is at the
centre of the complaint.
Republican lawmakers re-
mained largely silent amid
the reports that the president
pressured Ukraine’s leader to
help investigate political rival
Joe Biden at the same time the
White House was withholding
$250 million in aid to the East-
ern European nation.
Trump acknowledged the
phone call and said he didn’t
want to give money to Ukraine
– if there were corruption is-
sues. Trump’s comments raised
further questions about wheth-
er he improperly used his office
to pressure the country into
investigating the former vice-
president and his family as a
way of helping his own reelec-
tion prospects.
“It’s very important to talk
about corruption,” Trump told
reporters as he opened meet-
ings at the United Nations. “If
you don’t talk about corrup-
tion, why would you give money
to a country that you think is, is
corrupt?”
Later Monday, Trump denied
telling the Ukraine president
that his country would only get
U.S. aid if it investigated Biden’s
son. “I didn’t do it,” he said.
Trump has sought, without
evidence, to implicate Biden
and his son Hunter in the kind
of corruption that has long
plagued Ukraine. Hunter Biden
served on the board of a Ukrai-
nian gas company at the same
time his father was leading the
Obama administration’s dip-
lomatic dealings with Kyiv.
Though the timing raised con-
cerns among anti-corruption
advocates, there has been no
evidence of wrongdoing by ei-
ther the former vice-president
or his son.
The matter is under new
scrutiny following the whis-
tleblower’s mid-August com-
plaint, which followed Trump’s
July 25 call with Ukraine Presi-
dent Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The
person who filed the complaint
did not have firsthand knowl-
edge of the call, according to a
person familiar with the mat-
ter.
Lawmakers are demanding
details of the complaint, but the
acting director of national in-
telligence, Joseph Maguire, has
refused to share that informa-
tion, citing presidential privi-
lege. He is set to testify Thurs-
day before the House.
The chairmen of three House
committees are threatening
to subpoena Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo if he does not
produce information about
whether Trump and his lawyer,
Rudy Giuliani, inappropriately
tried to influence the govern-
ment of Ukraine for political
gain.
The House intelligence, For-
eign Affairs and Oversight and
Government Reform commit-
tees asked for documents two
weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Senate Demo-
cratic Leader Chuck Schumer
of New York called on Repub-
lican Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell to investigate the
whistleblower’s complaint. In
THE WHITE HOUSE / FACEBOOK
a letter to McConnell, he said
that the Republicans’ “see no
evil, hear no evil” attitude to-
ward the president’s actions
“is unacceptable and must
change.”
Schumer called on McCon-
nell to take five specific steps
to probe the current situation,
including issuing a subpoena
to compel the whistleblower’s
complaint to be delivered to
Congress. He said Republicans
should tell the White House to
release transcripts of Trump’s
conversation with the Ukraine
president and identify who in
the White House sought to de-
lay the money to Ukraine.
“The Republican-led Senate
has remained silent and sub-
missive, shying away from this
institution’s constitutional ob-
ligation to conduct oversight,”
Schumer wrote in the letter.
Still, Democrats themselves
remained divided on moving
forward with an effort to im-
peach Trump. House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi has resisted calls
for impeachment and is stick-
ing with her position that Con-
gress must not start formal pro-
ceedings unless the American
public demands it.
However, Pelosi said Sunday
❱❱ PAGE 20 Trump insists
www.canadianinquirer.net
World News
BY EDITH M. LEDERER
AND JILL LAWLESS
The Associated Press
BRITAIN, FRANCE and Ger-
many joined the United States
on Monday in blaming Iran for
attacks on key oil facilities in
Saudi Arabia, but the Iranian
foreign minister pointed to
claims of responsibility by Ye-
meni rebels and said: “If Iran
were behind this attack, noth-
ing would have been left of this
refinery.”
Fallout from the Sept. 14 at-
tacks is still reverberating as
world leaders gather for their
annual meeting at the U.N.
General Assembly and inter-
national experts investigate,
at Saudi Arabia’s request, what
happened and who was respon-
sible.
The leaders of the United
Kingdom, France and Germa-
ny released a statement reaf-
firming their support for the
2015 Iran nuclear deal, which
the U.S. exited, but telling Iran
to stop breaching it and say-
ing “there is no other plausible
explanation” than that “Iran
bears responsibility for this at-
tack.”
They pledged to try to ease
tensions in the Middle East
and urged Iran to “refrain from
choosing provocation and esca-
lation.”
British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson said late Sunday while
flying to New York that the U.K.
would consider taking part in a
U.S.-led military effort to bol-
ster Saudi Arabia’s defences af-
ter the drone and cruise missile
attacks on the world’s largest
oil processor and an oil field.
Iran’s foreign minister, Mo-
hammad Javad Zarif, denied
any part in the attacks. He said
Monday that Yemen’s Houthi
rebels, who claimed respon-
sibility, “have every reason to
retaliate” for the Saudi-led co-
alition’s aerial attacks on their
country.
He also stressed on the eve
of President Hassan Rouhani’s
visit to the United Nations in
New York City that “it would
be stupid for Iran to engage in
such activity.”
19
Zarif called it an attack “with
high precision, low impact”
and no casualties. Facilities hit
in the refinery would take the
Saudis a year to repair, he said.
“Why did they hit the lowest
impact places?” Zarif asked,
saying if Iran was responsible,
the refinery would have been
destroyed.
France has been trying to find
a diplomatic solution to U.S.-
Iranian tensions, which soared
after the Saudi attacks.
French President Emmanuel
Macron said at a news confer-
ence at the U.N. that he planned
to meet separately with both
Trump and Rouhani over the
next day and would work to fos-
ter “the conditions for discus-
sion” and not escalation.
Macron called the Sept. 14
strikes “a game-changer, clear-
ly” but reiterated France’s will-
ingness to mediate.
Zarif, however, ruled out any
Iran-U.S. meeting. He said Iran
had received no request from
the U.S., “and we have made
clear that a request alone will
not do the job.”
He said Trump “closed the
door to negotiations” with the
latest U.S. sanctions, which
labeled the country’s central
bank a “global terrorist” in-
stitution — a designation the
Iranian minister said the U.S.
president and his successors
may not be able to change.
“I know that President
Trump did not want to do that. I
know he must have been misin-
formed,” Zarif said in a meeting
with U.N. correspondents.
Zarif said he plans to meet
Wednesday with ministers of
all five countries remaining
in the 2015 nuclear deal from
which Trump withdrew, in-
cluding Russia and China.
Johnson, the U.K. prime min-
ister, said Britain still backs the
existing nuclear agreement and
wants Iran to stick to its terms
but urged Trump to strike a
new deal with Iran.
“Whatever your objections
with the old nuclear deal with
Iran, it’s time now to move
forward and do a new deal,” he
said.
❱❱ PAGE 38 UK, France
20
Man passes away in underwater
proposal to girlfriend in Tanzania
BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
What was supposed to one of
the moments in Kenesha An-
toine and Steven Weber, Jr.’s
life as a couple has turned into
something tragic after the lat-
ter drowned while proposing
marriage to his girlfriend un-
derwater.
As per reports, the couple
was on a vacation in Tanzania
in Eastern Africa when the inci-
dent happened.
Antoine remembered her
boyfriend in a heartbreaking
post on Facebook, where she
also attached a few photos from
their trip and an actual video
clip of Weber proposing to her
through the window of their
underwater hotel room.
Weber was seen holding a pa-
per placed in a reclosable plas-
Trump insists...
❰❰ 19 that unless the ad-
ministration provides
more information
to Congress by the scheduled
Thursday hearing at the intel-
ligence committee, its officials
“will be entering a grave new
chapter of lawlessness which
will take us into a whole new
stage of investigation.”
More than half the House
Democrats have said they sup-
port impeachment, and more
are expected this week to pub-
licly favour such an investiga-
tion, but others worry it is too
politically divisive and would
only alienate more centrist vot-
ers.
One Democratic freshman,
Rep. Dean Phillips of Minne-
sota, became the latest to move
closer to impeachment.
“I came to Congress on a
mission to clean up corruption
and restore America’s trust in
our government,” the new law-
maker said in a statement. “If
the reports are corroborated,
we must pursue articles of im-
peachment and report them to
the full House of Representa-
tives for immediate consider-
ation.”
Republican Sen. Mitt Rom-
ney of Utah tweeted over the
weekend that if Trump pres-
World News
tic bag that read: “I can’t hold
my breath long enough to tell
you everything I love about you.
BUT… Everything I love about
you I love more EVERY DAY!”
He then flipped the paper
to asked this life-changing
question to Antoine, “Will
you please be my wife. Marry
me???” and pulled out a small
box from his pocket. Antoine,
meanwhile, was heard squeal-
ing as Weber showed her a ring.
“You never emerged from
those depths, so you never got
to hear my answer, ‘Yes! Yes! A
million times, yes, I will marry
you!!’“ she said.
“We never got to embrace
and celebrate the beginning of
the rest of our lives together, as
the best day of our lives turned
into the worst, in the cruelest
twist of fate imaginable,” she
added.
Describing Weber, Antoine
sured the Ukraine president it
would be “troubling in the ex-
treme.”
Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell said Monday
the matter is best left behind
closed doors in the classified
setting of the intelligence com-
mittee, though he did push into
the spotlight his own role in se-
curing the Ukraine aid.
McConnell said he had been
“personally pressuring” the
Trump administration this
summer in calls to Pompeo and
Secretary of Defence Mark Es-
per to release the U.S. aid mon-
ey.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey
Graham, one of the president’s
closest allies, urged Trump on
Monday to be “as transparent
as possible” and predicted the
White House transcript would
be released.
“I believe that President
Trump is going to blow you
away with his willingness to
disclose and be transparent
about this phone call, because I
think he did nothing wrong and
he has nothing to hide,” Gra-
ham said on the Hugh Hewitt
radio show.
Trump said Monday he may,
or may not, release details or
a transcript of the call but has
said her boyfriend was a “bright
light” to everyone he met.
“You never met a stranger,
and you brought so much joy to
so many people. You were kind,
compassionate, you regularly
made me cry with laughter, and
you showered me with a love
like none I’d ever experienced,”
she said.
She also asked everyone
for prayers for the family and
friends of Weber, whom she
said, is now “probably enter-
taining someone with a story
about how he royally screwed
up that proposal and died while
being extra.”
“I will find you and marry
you in the next lifetime, and
the next, and the next, and the
next… I love you so much, and I
always will.” Antoine said.
As of writing, there are no
further details regarding the in-
cident. ■
stressed that foreign leaders
should feel free to speak frank-
ly with an American president
without fear that the details of
their conversations will later be
disclosed.
A person familiar with the
matter has told The Associated
Press that Trump urged Zelens-
kiy to investigate Hunter Biden.
The person wasn’t authorized
to discuss the issue publicly and
spoke on the condition of ano-
nymity.
Hunter Biden was hired by
the Ukrainian gas company Bu-
risma Holdings in April 2014,
two months after Ukraine’s
Russia-friendly former presi-
dent was ousted by protesters
and as Biden’s father was heav-
ily involved in U.S. efforts to
support the new pro-Western
government. The move imme-
diately raised concerns that the
Ukrainian firm, whose owner
was a political ally of the ousted
president, was seeking to gain
influence with the Obama ad-
ministration.
Trump and Zelenskiy plan to
meet on the sidelines of the U.N.
General Assembly this week. ■
Associated Press writers Mat-
thew Daly and Michael Balsamo
in Washington contributed
www.canadianinquirer.net
On my way to the United Nations. Today I’m speaking in the General Assembly
at the Climate Action Summit. This is such a crucial day, world leaders are
gathering at the UN in New York to decide on our future. The eyes of the world
will be upon them.
‘You are failing us’:
Plans, frustration
at UN climate talks
BY SETH BORENSTEIN
The Associated Press
SCOLDED FOR doing little,
leader after leader promised
the United Nations on Monday
to do more to prevent a warm-
ing world from reaching even
more dangerous levels.
As they made their pledges
at the Climate Action Summit,
though, they and others con-
ceded it was not enough. And
even before they spoke, teenage
climate activist Greta Thunberg
shamed them over and over for
their inaction: “How dare you?”
Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres concluded the sum-
mit by listing 77 countries that
committed to carbon neutral-
ity by 2050, 70 nations pledg-
ing to do more to fight climate
change, with 100 business lead-
ers promising to join the green
economy and one-third of the
global banking sector signing
up to green goals.
“Action by action, the tide is
turning,” he said. “But we have
a long way to go.”
Businesses and charities also
got in on the act, at times even
going bigger than major na-
tions. Microsoft founder Bill
Gates announced Monday that
his foundation, along with The
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY
GRETA THUNBERG/FACEBOOK
World Bank and some Europe-
an governments, would provide
$790 million in financial help
to 300 million of the world’s
small farmers adapt to climate
change. The Gates foundation
pledged $310 million of that.
“The world can still prevent
the absolute worst effects of
climate change by reducing
greenhouse gas emissions and
developing new technologies
and sources of energy,” Gates
said. “But the effects of rising
temperatures are already un-
der way.”
As the day went on Monday
and the promises kept coming,
the United States seemed out in
the cold.
Before world leaders made
their promises in three-min-
ute speeches, the 16-year-old
Thunberg gave an emotional
appeal in which she scolded
the leaders with her repeated
phrase, “How dare you.”
“This is all wrong. I shouldn’t
be up here,” said Thunberg, who
began a lone protest outside the
Swedish parliament more than
a year ago that culminated in
Friday’s global climate strikes.
“I should be back in school
on the other side of the ocean.
Yet you have come to us young
❱❱ PAGE 22 ‘You are’
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
At UN, Trump focuses on religious freedom,
not climate
BY JONATHAN LEMIRE
AND DEB RIECHMANN
The Associated Press
PRESIDENT DONALD Trump made his
political priorities clear Monday within
an hour of arriving at the United Na-
tions for a three-day visit: He breezed by
a major climate change summit to focus
instead on religious persecution, an is-
sue that resonates with his evangelical
supporters.
The climate summit, a centerpiece
of this year’s U.N. schedule, was not on
Trump’s agenda at all. But he stopped
in to observe for about 15 minutes be-
fore heading to what he saw as the main
event, a meeting on protecting religious
freedom.
Trump said it was an “urgent moral
duty” for world leaders to stop crimes
against faith, release prisoners of con-
science and repeal laws restricting reli-
gious liberty.
“Approximately 80% of the world’s
population live in countries where re-
ligious liberty is threatened, restricted
or even banned,” Trump said, adding
that when he first heard the statistic, he
didn’t believe it and asked for verifica-
tion.
Trump’s speech Monday extends a
long-running focus on international re-
ligious freedom that speaks to a key pri-
ority of his evangelical base. His admin-
istration has hosted annual meetings on
the topic in Washington, and Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo announced dur-
ing this year’s event that he would cre-
ate an international alliance dedicated
to the issue.
Underscoring the importance of
Trump’s action on the issue to evangeli-
cal voters who are critical to his 2020
reelection bid, one prominent evangeli-
cal backer Dallas-based pastor Robert
Jeffress lauded Trump for focusing on
religious freedom instead of climate
change.
“What president in history would have
the guts to do what President Trump is
doing?” Jeffress, who was set to be in
the audience for Trump’s speech, said
on Fox News. “And it’s this kind of lead-
ership that is absolutely infuriating the
president’s enemies, but it’s also ener-
gizing his base, especially his religious
base of voters.”
Trump listed his administration’s ef-
forts on religious freedom and declared,
“We’ve done a lot.”
As for the climate summit, he told re-
porters as he left: “I’m a big believer in
clean air and clean water and all coun-
tries should get together and do that,
and they should do it for themselves.
Very, very important.”
World News 21
The Republican president arrived in
New York against a backdrop of swirl-
ing international tensions, including
questions about his relationship with
Ukraine, the uncertain future of Brexit,
the U.S. trade war with China, stalled nu-
clear negotiations with North Korea and
a weakening global economy. The presi-
dent scheduled meetings Monday with
leaders of Pakistan, Poland, New Zea-
land, Singapore, Egypt and South Korea.
His most immediate challenge may
be Iran. He will try to convince skepti-
cal global capitals to help build a coali-
tion to confront Tehran after the United
States blamed it for last week’s strike at
an oil field in Saudi Arabia. US Pres. Donald Trump. THE WHITE HOUSE / FACEBOOK
Asked as he arrived at the U.N. build-
ing if he will meet soon with Iran Presi- dum to update defenceco-operation be- His meeting with New Zealand Prime
dent Hassan Rouhani, Trump was non- tween the two nations. Minister Jacinda Ardern was closed,
committal: “We’ll see what happens,” he With President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi but the White House said their talks in-
said. “We have a long way to go, we’ll see of Egypt, Trump talked about the recent cluded a discussion of the March shoot-
what happens.” attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, ing deaths of 49 people at mosques in
Trump’s fulfilment of a campaign which the U.S. has blamed on Iran, and Christchurch. ■
promise to exit the Iran nuclear deal about Libya, which slid into chaos after
has had wide ripple effects, leading Teh- a 2011 uprising that left the country split Riechmann reported from New York. As-
ran to bolster its nuclear capabilities between rival authorities in the coun- sociated Press writer Elana Schor con-
and dismaying European capitals who try’s east and west. tributed to this report from New York.
worked to establish the original agree-
ment.
Tensions between Washington and
Tehran spiked after a Saudi Arabia oil
field was partially destroyed in an attack
that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
blamed on Iran and deemed “an act of
war.”
He also was noncommittal about a
possible fourth meeting with North
Korea’s Kim Jong Un to discuss the eas- Are you an
ing of sanctions in exchange for Pyong- Internationally
yang’s commitment to give up its nucle-
ar weapons. He said only that it “could Trained Professional
happen soon.” in need of financial
Trump’s meetings with other leaders
highlighted other hot spots around the support for your
globe. Foreign Credential
In his meeting with Pakistani Prime
Minister Imran Khan, Trump was pep- Recognition?
pered with questions from Pakistani
reporters about India’s role in the crisis
For more information contact:
in Kashmir. Khan has invited Trump
to mediate the long-running conflict 778-372-6609
between Pakistan and India over the globaltalentloans@issbc.org
issbc.org/globaltalentloans
disputed Himalayan region. India has
not agreed to mediation, but Trump re- Global Talent Loans program
newed his offer to play middleman be- is delivered in partnership with
tween the two nuclear-armed nations. Funded in part by the Government
“I’ve never failed as an arbitrator,” he
of Canada’s Foreign Credential
Recognition Program
said.
With Polish President Andrzej Duda,
Trump said more U.S. troops will be
stationed in Poland as a result of a new
defenceco-operation agreement they
signed. He said Poland asked the U.S. to
station more troops there and will pay
for the new facilities.
Global Talent Loans Program
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien-
Loong and Trump signed a memoran-
www.canadianinquirer.net
22
‘You are...’
❰❰ 20 people for hope. How
dare you. You have
stolen my dreams and
my childhood with your empty
words.”
“We are in the beginning of a
mass extinction and yet all you
can talk about is money,” Thun-
berg said. “You are failing us.”
Later, she and 15 other youth
activists filed a formal com-
plaint with an arm of the U.N.
that protects children, saying
that governments’ lack of ac-
tion on warming is violating
their basic rights.
Outside experts say they
heard a lot of talk Monday but
not the promised action needed
to keep warming to a few tenths
of a degree. They say it won’t
produce the dramatic changes
the world requires.
“Sometimes I feel that Greta
is still out in front of the Swed-
ish parliament out on her own,”
said Stanford University’s Rob
Jackson, who chairs the Global
Carbon Project, which targets
carbon emissions across the
world.
Bill Hare, who follows na-
tional emissions and promises
for Climate Action Tracker,
called what was said “deeply
disappointing” and not adding
up to much.
World News
“The ball they are moving
forward is a ball of promises,”
said economist John Reilly, co-
director of MIT’s Joint Center
for Global Change. “Where
the ‘ball’ of actual accomplish-
ments is, is another question.”
Of all the countries that came
up short, World Resources In-
stitute Vice-President Helen
Mountford said one stood out:
the United States for “not com-
ing to the table and engaging.”
“What we’ve seen so far is not
the kind of climate leadership
we need from the major econo-
mies,” Mountford said. She did
say, however, that businesses,
as well as small- and medium-
sized countries had “exciting
initiatives.”
Nations such as Finland and
Germany promised to ban coal
within a decade. Several also
mentioned goals of climate
neutrality — when a country is
not adding more heat-trapping
carbon to the air than is being
removed by plants and perhaps
technology — by 2050.
U.S. President Donald Trump
dropped by the summit, lis-
tened to German Chancellor
Angela Merkel make detailed
pledges — including going coal-
free — and left without saying
anything.
The United States did not ask
to speak at the summit, U.N. of-
ficials said. And Guterres had
told countries they couldn’t be
on the agenda without making
bold new proposals.
Even though there was no
speech by Trump — who has de-
nied climate change, called it a
Chinese hoax and repealed U.S.
carbon-reduction policies — he
was talked about.
In a jibe at Trump’s plans to
withdraw the United States
from the 2015 Paris climate
agreement, Chinese Foreign
Minister Wang Yi said coun-
tries “must honour our com-
mitments and follow through
on the Paris Agreement.”
“The withdrawal of certain
parties will not shake the col-
lective goal of the world com-
munity,” Wang said to applause.
Also Monday, Russia an-
nounced that it had ratified the
Paris pact, which it had signed
already.
Former New York Mayor
Michael Bloomberg, the U.N.’s
special climate envoy, thanked
Trump for stopping by, add-
ing that it might prove useful
“when you formulate climate
policy,” drawing laughter and
applause on the General As-
sembly floor.
Poll suggests...
❰❰ 17 However, the num-
bers also indicated
that survey par-
ticipants struggled to sort the
wheat from the chaff within
those diverse sources.
The poll found 56 per cent of
respondents admitted to read-
ing or sharing inaccurate news
reports, while 45 per cent indi-
cated they’d had to step in and
correct dubious reports circu-
lated by others.
Wilson-Smith said the sur-
vey’s most troubling finding
was the struggle to distinguish
fact from opinion, particularly
given the survey participants’
tendency to overestimate their
own abilities.
Historica included six state-
ments as part of the poll and
asked participants to identify
which category they fell into.
When presented with a sen-
tence such as “the battle of
Vimy Ridge was the most im-
portant moment in Canadian
history,” for instance, only 41
per cent were able to correctly
www.canadianinquirer.net
Thunberg told the U.N. that
even the strictest emission
cuts being talked about only
gives the world a 50% chance of
limiting future warming to an-
other 0.4 degrees Celsius (0.72
degrees Fahrenheit) from now,
which is a global goal. Those
odds, she said, are not good
enough.
“We will not let you get away
with this,” Thunberg said.
“Right now is where we draw
the line.”
As this all played out, scien-
tists announced that Arctic sea
ice reached its annual summer
low and this year the ice shrank
so much it tied for the second
lowest mark in 40 years of mon-
itoring.
Hilda Heine, president of
the Marshall Islands, said she
represents “the most climate-
vulnerable people on Earth.”
Her tiny country has increased
its emissions-cut proposals in a
way that would limit warming
to that tight goal of 1.5 degrees
Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahren-
heit) since pre-industrial times.
“We are now calling on others
to join us,” Heine said.
Several leaders talked about
getting off coal, but Climate
Action Tracker’s Hare said it
wasn’t enough and Barbados
classify it as a statement of
opinion.
When confronted with the
sentence “The Montreal Ca-
nadiens have won more Stanley
Cups than any other team in
the NHL,” just 54 per cent were
able to identify the statement
as factual.
Only 12 per cent of survey re-
spondents were able to provide
the correct classification for all
six test statements, while five
per cent failed to get a single
one right.
The survey also found re-
spondents under the age of 55
were more discerning than old-
er news consumers. About 45
per cent of respondents from
that age group got at least four
questions right compared to 33
per cent of those over 55.
The online survey of 1,000
respondents was conducted by
Ipsos on Historica’s behalf be-
tween Aug. 23 and 26.
The polling industry’s pro-
fessional body, the Marketing
Research and Intelligence As-
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY
Prime Minister Mia Mottley
said if the world can make driv-
erless cars, it can tackle climate
change.
“There simply can be no
more coal power plants after
2020 if we are serious about our
future,” she said.
Speaking for small nations
that are already being eaten
away by sea level rise and blast-
ed by stronger storms, Mottley
said, “We refuse to be relegated
to the footnotes of history and
be collateral damage.”
“The nations of the world
are not fighting a losing battle,
but the nations of the world are
losing this battle today,” Mot-
tley said. “It’s within our battle
to win it. The only question is:
Will it be too late for the small
nations of the world?”
Guterres opened the summit
Monday by saying: “Earth is is-
suing a chilling cry: Stop.”
He told the more than 60
world leaders scheduled to
speak that it’s not a time to ne-
gotiate but to act to make the
world carbon neutral by 2050.
“Time is running out,” he
said. “But it is not too late.” ■
AP Science Writer Seth Boren-
stein has covered climate issues
for nearly 25 years.
sociation, says online surveys
cannot be assigned a margin of
error as they are not a random
sample and therefore are not
necessarily representative of
the whole population.
Wilson-Smith acknowledged
the ability to parse fake news
from the real thing is more
complex than simply being able
to tell fact from fiction, noting
that language choice in con-
trasting news reports can frame
the same set of facts in a very
different light.
He said the survey findings
should serve as a caution both
to media outlets and news con-
sumers. Reporters must exer-
cise care and consideration in
their coverage, he said, while
those reading or viewing their
work should actively seek out
multiple sources to ensure
they’re hearing as many per-
spectives as possible.
“Reporting, much like cur-
rent events themselves, is very
seldom black and white,” he
said. ■
 23

Entertainment
Inspiring speeches on diversity,
equal pay rule Emmy night
BY JOCELYN NOVECK
The Associated Press

EMMY NIGHT is always a

@CINTAITUBUTAOFFICIAL / INSTAGRAM
chaotic mix of the humorous,
the emotional and the inspira-
tional, mixed with some major
sequins and glitter. And on this
Emmy night, all those elements
came together in one glorious
moment: Billy Porter’s win as
best actor in a drama for “Pose,”
the first openly gay actor to win
the award.

Rom-com film But Porter’s speech wasn’t

the only knock-your-socks-off
moment. Michelle Williams

‘Kita Kita’ has gave the audience an eloquent

and impassioned lesson on the
importance of equal pay for

Indonesian remake! women, especially women of

colour.
And Patricia Arquette paid
tearful tribute to her late trans-
BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA poy, whom she befriends and gender sister, issuing a rous- THOMAS HAWK / FLICKR, CC BY-NC 2.0

Philippine Canadian Inquirer
FROM LOCAL actors and ac-
tresses starring in an interna-
tional film or series to Pinoy
movies being recognized and
praised in other countries, Fili-
pinos could not get any prouder
of its craft, especially now that
a film of their own earned a for-
eign adaptation.
“Kita Kita,” a romantic com-
edy film starring Alessandra de
Rossi and Empoy Marquez, got
an Indonesian remake titled
“Cinta Itu Buta” or “Love is
Blind.”
In her Instagram account,
“Kita Kita” director Sigrid
Andrea Bernardo shared the
trailer of the adaptation where
she wrote in the caption, “Ugh..
got teary-eyed on this. Con-
gratulations team #KitaKita
and #CintuItuButa!” She also
mentioned the accounts of
Alessandra and Empoy on her
post, telling them to watch the
trailer.
“Kita Kita” follows Lea,
played by Alessandra, who
works in Japan and goes blind
one day. She then meets her ka-
babayan, Tonyo, played by Em-
eventually fell in love with.
Based on its trailer, the In-
donesian version, which stars
Shandy Aulia and Dodit Muly-
anti, stuck close to the original
story but was shot in Busan,
South Korea. Apart from being
faithful to the Pinoy version,
netizens also pointed out the
resemblance between Empoy
and the lead Indonesian actor.
The movie, directed by Rach-
mania Arunita, will be shown in
theaters in Indonesia this Octo-
ber 10.
Breaching the P300 million
mark, “Kita Kita” obtained the
distinction of being the highest-
grossing local indie movie of all
time, besting the P257 million
record of “Heneral Luna.”
Erickson Raymundo of Spring
Films, one of the production
companies behind “Kita Kita,”
earlier shared that it was defi-
nitely a miracle that the film’s
earning suddenly escalated to
P300 million in its third week
from garnering only two million
pesos in its premiere.
He added that their faith goal
was only to make P60-P80 mil-
lion and that they will still be
happy if they only made P30
million. ■
ing call for better treatment of
transgender people.
Some key moments of Em-
mys 2019:
Phoebe rules
If you didn’t know Phoebe
Waller-Bridge before, well, you
certainly do now.
First, the British writer-
actress of “Fleabag” won for
writing on a comedy series, tell-
ing the crowd that she found
writing “really hard and pain-
ful” — but that she did it for the
awards. She got to repeat the
joke when she won best actress
in a comedy, a huge upset over
prohibitive favourite Julia Lou-
is-Dreyfus for the last season of
“Veep.”
And then Waller-Bridge, 34,
made it up to the stage yet again
when her show won for out-
standing comedy series, again
besting “Veep.”
“This is getting ridiculous!”
she exulted. In true Britspeak,
she called her show’s journey
to success “absolutely mental.”
She was pretty entertaining
when she presented an award
with funnyman Bill Hader, too
— all in all, a massive night, as
the Brits would say.
A memory both powerful and
empowering
Alex Borstein, winning her
second consecutive Emmy for
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,”
started out in predictably hu-
morous mode, making a racy
underwear joke.
Then she made a dramatic
pivot to a poignant and harrow-
ing memory about her grand-
mother, a Holocaust survivor,
who during the war had been in
line “to be shot into a pit.”
She said her grandmother
had asked a guard, “What hap-
pens if I step out of line?” and
the guard had replied that he
didn’t have the heart to shoot
her, “but somebody will.”
She did — and they didn’t.
“And for that, I am here,” Bor-
stein said. “And for that, my
children are here.”
“So step out of line, ladies!”
she told the crowd, to cheers.
Far from the Bronx
When Jharrel Jerome won
his Emmy for “When They
See Us,” he said he felt like he
“should just be back home in
the Bronx right now chilling,
waiting for my mom’s cooking
or something.” But, said the
21-year-old, “I’m here in front
of my inspirations.”
He thanked, of course, di-
rector Ava DuVernay, and his
“beautiful mother,” who ac-
tively cheered him on from the
audience. But he saved his most
important thanks “for the men
we know as the Exonerated
Five.” And all five stood up and
cheered from their seats: An-
tron McCray, Kevin Richard-
son, Yusef Salaam, Raymond
Santana, and Korey Wise, the
man Jerome played onscreen.
The four-part Netflix series
tells story of the Central Park
Five, black and Latino teenag-
ers from Harlem who were co-
erced into confessing to a rape
they didn’t commit.
A sister remembered
When Patricia Arquette won
an Oscar in 2015, she made a
plea for pay equality. On this
Emmy night, rights for trans-
gender people was on her mind,
and for a very personal reason.
Accepting her award for “The
Act,” Arquette said she was still
❱❱ PAGE 24 Inspiring speeches

www.canadianinquirer.net
24
Fil-Am Bailey Muñoz is ‘So You Think You Can
Dance’ Season 16 winner
BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
ANOTHER FILIPINO-AMER-
ICAN brought home the bacon
after being named as the win-
ner of dance competition “So
You Think You Can Dance”
Season 16, becoming the first B-
boy to win the top spot.
Bailey Muñoz, 19, bested
other finalists Mariah Russell,
Gino Cosculluela, and Sophie
Pittman who landed on the
second, third, and fourth spot,
respectively. He walked away
from the competition with a
$250,000 cash prize, a cover ap-
pearance on Dance Spirit mag-
azine, and of course, the title of
“America’s Favorite Dancer.”
Martin del Rosario
wins ‘Best Actor’
in PPP 2019
PHILIPPINE NEWS
AGENCY
GMA ARTIST Center talent
Martin del Rosario received his
first-ever ’Best Actor’ award in
the Pista Ng Pelikulang Pilipino
2019 for his exceptional role as
Daniel Panti in the comedy flick
‘The Panti Sisters.’
The 26-year-old actor
couldn’t help but feel over-
whelmed by the great turnout
of his career this year, “Nak-
agawa ako ng isang character
na kahit na sobrang extreme
niya, nabigyan ko siya ng puso.
Nakaka-overwhelm, bukod sa
topgrosser, nanalo pa ng Best
Actor, kasabay pa ‘yung world
premiere ng The Gift. Overflow-
ing ‘yung blessings, hindi ko na
ma-explain ‘yung saya na nara-
ramdaman ko.”
Martin is now gearing up for
his role in the GMA primetime
series ‘The Gift,’ where he plays
Jared, a politician and Sep’s
(Alden Richards) half-brother.
According to him, his new role
is a big shift from his character
in The Panti Sisters, but he is up
for the challenge.
Entertainment
In his Instagram post, Bailey
cannot thank enough his fam-
ily and the show’s judges Nigel
Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Lau-
rieann Gibson, and Dominic
“D-Trix” Sandoval.
“Through all the obstacles
and struggles I faced every
week, you guys have always
been there for me! I love you
with all my heart. You guys are
my motivation and the reason
I do what I do,” he talked of his
family.
Meanwhile, Bailey said he
will forever cherish all the judg-
es’ feedback and advice which
he will use as his “fuel to what-
ever dance will take me in life.”
He also thanked those people
who have helped him in hon-
ing his dancing skills, as well as
“Gustung-gusto ko talagang
magplay ng iba’t ibang roles.
Sa bawat character na ‘yan,
feel ko nagagawa ko ‘yung best
ko, etong mga awards na ito, ito
‘yung nakakainspire bilang ar-
tista. Pag na-recognize kasi pa-
rang may affirmation na tama
pala ‘tong ginagawa ko, nasa
tamang landas ako.”
Furthermore, Martin also
shared his preparations for yet
another complex role in The
Gift, “Physically, ngayon nag-
palaki ako. Two weeks na akong
nag-gym kasi kontrabida eh, si
Alden mas matangkad sa akin,
marami kaming confrontation,
tapatan. Maganda ‘yung be-
lievable, maganda ‘yung tindig
mo in terms of look, pinalitan
ko ng mas clean ‘yung gupit ko.
In terms of character, nilagyan
ko ng glasses para magmukha
akong karespe-respeto.” ■
Catch Martin in ‘The Gift,’ Mon-
days to Fridays, after ‘Beauti-
ful Justice’ on GMA Telebabad.
Viewers abroad can also catch
these shows via GMA Pinoy TV.
For the program guide, visit
www.gmapinoytv.com.
his supporters, the “Team BAI-
LEY.”
“I can’t believe I’m living one
of my biggest dreams! All glory
to you GOD,” he wrote.
“To the rest of my family and
friends. I wouldn’t be here to-
day and standing before you
as America’s Favorite Dancer
without all of your love and
support. This trophy is for ya’ll.
I LOVE YOU GUYS! WE DID
IT!” he added.
The Fil-Am B-boy and rest
of the Top 10 finalists will join
together for the “So You Think
You Can Dance LIVE! 2019”
tour which will stop in 40 cit-
ies. It will begin on October 12
in Atlantic City, New Jersey and
will end on December 6.
Bailey followed the footstep
Inspiring speeches...
❰❰ 23 in mourning over the
death of her sister,
Alexis Arquette, who
died at age of 47 in 2016.
Alexis, who was transgender,
died from a heart attack and
battled HIV for 29 years, ac-
cording to her death certificate.
“I’m so sad that I lost my sis-
ter Alexis, and that trans peo-
ple are still being persecuted,”
she said. “Let’s get rid of this
bias that we have everywhere.
They’re human beings and let’s
give them jobs.”
In the audience, transgender
actress and activist Laverne
Cox stood and cheered. Cox
was carrying a purse that bore a
message: “Oct. 8, Title VII, Su-
preme Court,” it said, referring
to an upcoming court decision
on workplace discrimination
and LGBTQ rights.
Passionate about equal pay
It was actress Michelle Wil-
liams who raised the flag for
equal pay, with an eloquent
speech that was one of the most
effective of the night.
Accepting the award for
“Fosse/Verdon,” she called the
honour “an acknowledgment of
what is possible when a woman
is trusted to discern her own
needs, feel safe enough to voice
them, and respected enough
that they’ll be heard.”
She explained that when
she’d needed anything to help
www.canadianinquirer.net
Bailey Muñoz. @BAILROK / INSTAGRAM
of Filipino-American Han-
nahlei Cabanilla who emerged
as the victor of the show’s sea-
son 15.
It was not the first televised
her better play dancer Gwen
Verdon — more dance classes,
more voice lessons, a different
wig — she heard “yes,” not “no,”
even though they cost money.
She also thanked the FX net-
work and Fox 21 studios “for
paying me equally, because they
understood that when you put
value into a person it empowers
that person to get in touch with
their own inherent value.”
“And then where do they put
that value? They put it into
their work,” she continued,
pointing out that a woman of
colour makes 52 cents on the
dollar compared to her white,
male counterpart.
So when that woman “tells
you what she needs in order to
do her job, listen to her, believe
her,” Williams said. “Because
one day she might stand in front
of you and say thank you for al-
lowing her to succeed because
of her workplace environment
and not in spite of it.”
The remarks won cheers not
only in the room, but on social
media. “Michelle Williams just
took us to the church of wom-
en’s equality,” wrote actress
Kerry Washington on Twitter.
Love, y’all!
It was obvious that it was
Billy Porter’s night the moment
he sauntered into the Emmy
Awards in a huge, lopsided
black cowboy hat, a sparkling
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY
competition that Bailey took
part in. Back in 2010, he earned
a spot on the semifinals of
“America’s Got Talent.” ■
striped black-and-silver suit,
and platform shoes.
Porter has emerged as a huge
red carpet star of late. But this
time, the “Pose” actor matched
his carpet prowess with a huge
Emmy victory, becoming the
first openly gay actor to win
best actor in a drama.
“The category is love, y’all!”
he crowed to the audience upon
arriving onstage.
He then met the histori-
cal moment by quoting James
Baldwin. “It took many years
of vomiting up the filth I was
taught about myself and half-
way believed before I could
walk around this Earth like I
had a right to be here,” went
the powerful quote. “I have the
right. You have the right. We all
have the right!”
As he did years ago when his
won his Tony, Porter paid trib-
ute to his mother, Clorinda,
saying “there’s no stronger,
more resilient woman who has
graced this earth.”
He also thanked his show’s
co-creator, Ryan Murphy:
“Ryan Murphy, you saw me!
You believed in us.”
He added that “We as art-
ists are the people that get to
change the molecular structure
of the hearts and minds of the
people who live on this planet.
Please don’t ever stop doing
that.” ■
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
Area 51 festival wraps up in Nevada; Earthlings
head home
BY KEN RITTER
The Associated Press
HIKO, NEV. — The festivals are over
and Earthlings from around the globe
headed home Sunday after a weekend
camping and partying in the dusty Ne-
vada desert and trekking to remote gates
of Area 51, a formerly top-secret U.S.
military base long the focus of UFO and
space alien lore.
They left in peace, officials and the
host of a free “Alienstock” festival said
Sunday.
Visitors hailed from France, Russia,
Germany, Peru, Sweden, Australia and
many U.S. states — many toting YouTube
cameras — in answer to an internet post
in June suggesting that if enough peo-
ple rushed a military base to “see them
aliens” at 3 a.m. Sept. 20, authorities
couldn’t stop everyone.
More than 2 million Facebook users
clicked their interest, but in the end only
a few thousand made the trip to the tiny
Nevada desert city of Rachel, population
about 50, a more than two-hour drive
north of Las Vegas. A few hundred more
camped and attended one night of an ab-
breviated festival about 40 miles (64 ki-
lometres) away in Hiko, population 120.
Campers and festival-goers in Rachel
peaked at about 3,000 on Friday, said
Eric Holt, the Lincoln County official
who headed planning for a feared influx
of at least 30,000.
“It seems like a lot of good people chill-
ing and having a good time,” observed
Dave Wells, a 56-year-old stonemason
and festivals-seeker from Cincinnati
wearing a day-glow green festival T-
Shirt and taking in the scene Saturday.
Did anyone find actual extraterrestri-
als or UFOs? (As if anyone could really
tell among the masked and costumed
beings posing for photos and cavorting
in on the desert floor.)
“We didn’t,” said Little A’Le’Inn own-
er-turned-”Alienstock” festival host
Connie West, proprietor of the 10-room
motel and cafe that became the centre of
the alien-themed universe.
“But we found peace. And friendship,”
she said Sunday as campers packed up to
leave and volunteers began cleaning up.
Another event, dubbed “Area 51 Base-
camp” at the Alien Research Center sou-
venir shop in Hiko, didn’t fare as well.
Organizers pulled the plug Saturday
on a second concert after drawing only
about 500 ticket-buyers for a Friday
show. Preparations had been made for
up to 5,000.
Authorities said more than 1,000 peo-
ple visited Area 51 gates Thursday and
Friday. Officials didn’t report the num-
ber making the trek on long dirt roads
Entertainment 25
near Rachel on Saturday. Holt said Lin-
coln County sheriff’s deputies on the
public side of the gates were sent home
early Sunday.
In the end, no one actually “stormed”
Area 51, although deputies in rural Nye
County resorted to “heated warnings”
to disperse as many as 200 people who
gathered before dawn Friday near a con-
spicuously green “Area 51 Alien Center”
in Amargosa Valley, Sheriff Sharon Weh-
rly said. No one was arrested.
A permit for a festival at that site,
which is about a 90-minute drive west
of Las Vegas, was denied by county of-
ficials.
In Lincoln County, six people were
arrested during the weekend for misde- Matty Roberts, the 20-year-old from Roberts hosted a Thursday evening
meanours, mostly trespassing beneath Bakersfield, California, has acknowl- event at an outdoor venue in downtown
the floodlights and cameras of two mili- edged his “storm Area 51” Facebook post Las Vegas, also using the “Alienstock”
tary base gates and the watchful eyes of was a hoax. name. He said he wants to trademark
sheriff’s deputies from far-flung corners But he promoted events in Rachel be- the name and take a themed event on
of Nevada. fore breaking earlier this month with tour to reach people who couldn’t travel
Sheriff Kerry Lee said he watched West. to Nevada.
about 20 people feign a rush before He said Sunday that Lincoln County “That’s pretty much the plan for me,”
dawn Saturday toward a base gate out- officials didn’t have to spend money and he said. “It’s been a ton of fun.”
side Rachel, before stopping short. could have simply prevented the festi- West, in Rachel, said she is open to
Two men were detained by military vals in Rachel and Hiko by denying per- holding the event again next year.
security officers inside the perimeter mits, like Nye County did in Amargosa “As well as it turned out? Why the
of the vast Nevada Test and Training Valley. heck not?” she said. ■
Range, an area almost twice the size of
Delaware where the U.S. Air Force con-
ducts aerial combat and bomb training,
PSYCHIC
and tests stealth aircraft. The men were
turned over to sheriff’s deputies and
charged with trespassing, Lee said, and
their vehicle was impounded.
FAITH
Holt said three people critically hurt
in rollover crashes during the weekend
were sent to hospitals in Las Vegas and
St. George, Utah. Motorists involved in
crashes that killed two cows on the open
range escaped serious injury.
At the festival clinic in Rachel, one
man was treated for dehydration on
Friday, and one woman was treated for
Reader, Healer and Adviser
drug-related issue early Sunday.
“I’m going to call it a success from TELL PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE
our end. It’s because we got out in front
of it,” said Varlin Higbee, a rancher and
Lincoln County commissioner who specializes on removing all types negative
signed an emergency declaration earlier energy, bad luck and evil influences
this month.
Officials had feared unruly crowds
would overwhelm water, electricity, food, helps in all life problems such
fuel, internet and telephone service in a as love life, business matters,
county with just 5,200 people covering
an area the size of Massachusetts. immigration and family issues
Higbee said commissioners who al-
located $250,000 in emergency funds A l l i n P r i v a t e a n d C o n fi d e n t i a l
to brace for trouble might sue to recoup
costs. Call today for a better tomorrow
“Think about it,” Higbee said, com-
778-379-4070
paring the initial internet post to an in- 99% OVER
citement to violence. “Here’s an illegal
event, supporting an illegal activity — ACCURATE 30 YRS EXP
storming the gate. We’re not sure what
we’re going to do at this point.”
www.canadianinquirer.net
26
Climate explained: Why are climate change
skeptics often right wing conservatives?
BY YU LUO
PhD student Psychology
University of British Columbia,
JIAYING ZHAO
Assistant Professor Psychology
University of British Columbia,
AND REBECCA M. TODD
Associate Professor Psychology
University of British Columbia
WHY ARE climate change
skeptics often right-wing con-
servatives?
The scientific evidence for
climate change is unequivocal:
97 per cent of actively publish-
ing climate scientists agree
that human activities are caus-
ing global warming. Given the
same evidence, why do some
people become concerned
about human-caused climate
change while others deny it?
In particular, why are people
who remain skeptical about cli-
mate change often identified as
right-wing conservatives?
According to a recent poll
conducted in Canada, 81 per
cent of Liberal and 85 per cent
of New Democrat voters believe
that climate change is a fact and
is mostly caused by emissions
from vehicles and industrial
facilities. Only 35 per cent of
Conservative voters believe the
same thing.
Within the United States, a
poll in 2006 showed that 79 per
cent of Democrats versus 59 per
cent of Republicans said there
was solid evidence that the av-
erage temperature on Earth
has been getting warmer. This
divide has not only endured,
but widened over time to 92 per
cent of Democrats and 52 per
Lifestyle
cent of Republicans by 2017.
Such a growing divide has sig-
nificant implications for setting
policy agendas that aim to fight
climate change. For example,
77 per cent of Democrats versus
36 per cent of Republicans in
2017 say stricter environmental
laws and regulations are worth
the cost.
What is driving the partisan
divide?
Past studies provided sev-
eral accounts to explain public
skepticism on climate change,
such as a lack of knowledge or
understanding of the causes
of climate change, a lack of
sense of urgency or insufficient
awareness about the issue.
However, these accounts do not
completely explain the parti-
san polarization over the years
when an increasing volume of
information and evidence on
climate change has been pre-
sented to the public.
Recent efforts to explain
partisan polarization suggest
that people seek and interpret
information that is consistent
with their political ideology
and party identification, and
selectively expose themselves
to news media that is consis-
tent with their existing motiva-
tions and beliefs.
Conservatives may seek evi-
dence that challenges the sci-
entific knowledge regarding
climate change, which aligns
with their existing knowledge
acquired from political lead-
ers whom they trust. Extend-
ing beyond these studies, we
suggested a new explanation of
how motivations and ideologies
lead to this polarized view on
climate change.
Explaining the divide
Our previous work dem-
onstrates that liberals who
are concerned about climate
change pay more attention to
climate-related words, such
as carbon, over neutral words,
such as coffee. Conservatives
who are not concerned about
climate change do not show a
difference in the amount of at-
tention they pay to climate-re-
lated words and neutral words,
suggesting that political orien-
tations are associated with the
amount of attention paid to
climate-related information.
Based on these findings, we
recently proposed that people’s
political motivations shape
their visual attention to cli-
mate change evidence, which
www.canadianinquirer.net
influences their perception of
the evidence and subsequent
actions to mitigate climate
change. These altered percep-
tions and actions can reinforce
their initial motivations, fur-
ther entrenching the divide. To
put simply, what you believe
influences what you see, and
guides your future actions.
In our study, we presented a
graph showing the global tem-
perature change from 1880 to
2013 to participants. We found
that the more liberal people
were, the more attention they
paid to the rising phase of the
temperature curve (1990 to
2013) relative to the flat phase
of the curve (1940 to 1980). This
shows that liberals and conser-
vatives naturally pay more at-
tention to the part of the graph
that is consistent with their be-
liefs.
In another experiment, we
manipulated attention by co-
louring different parts of the
temperature curve to deliber-
ately bias attention to stronger
change (the rising phase) or
smaller change (the flat phase)
in temperature. After viewing
the graph, we tested whether
biasing people’s attention to
different climate evidence in-
fluenced their actions to miti-
gate climate change. Would
they, for example, sign a climate
change petition or donate to an
environmental organization?
We found that liberals were
more likely to sign the petition
or donate when the rising phase
was highlighted than when the
flat phase was highlighted. In
other words, when attention
was drawn to climate evidence
that aligns with their prior be-
liefs, people were more likely
to act.
In contrast, conservatives
were less likely to sign the pe-
tition or donate when the ris-
ing phase was highlighted than
when the flat phase was high-
lighted. This shows that when
attention was drawn to moti-
vational evidence that was in-
consistent with their beliefs,
people were less likely to act.
It may seem paradoxical,
but our research shows that an
action can be encouraged by
drawing people’s attention to
the evidence that matches their
prior motivations.
Overall, our framework
suggested that people’s mo-
tivations prevent them from
attending to and perceiving cli-
❱❱ PAGE 28 Climate explained
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
Fendi lets sun shine on post Lagerfeld era,
glancing back
BY COLLEEN BARRY
The Associated Press
MILAN — A naive streak is run-
ning through the collections on
preview during Milan Fashion
Week — with a return to sim-
pler times, yesteryear prints
and patterns and unfussy sil-
houettes.
Checked gingham is making a
comeback, while crushed velvet
is making inroads into the sum-
mertime wardrobe as fashion
takes comfort in nostalgia. Raf-
fia bags and weave details also
are on display.
Highlights from Thursday
previews for Spring/Summer
2020 womenswear collections:
The sun shining on Fendi
Fendi seemed to have an ata-
vistic, perhaps artistic, need to
return to the brand’s ready-to-
wear roots in the mid-1960s
to confront the first collection
since the loss of Karl Lagerfeld,
the brand’s founding womens-
wear designer from 1965 until
his death last February.
The new collection by Silvia
Venturini Fendi drew on easy
1960s mom styles, like quilted
jackets and matching mini-
skirts, garden floral cropped
raincoat and skirt and easy-
to-wear terry-cloth skirts and
canvas jackets. Woven bags
and matching woven sweaters
had a nostalgic, almost naive
feel, countered by a plunging V-
line and translucent print mini
or matching macrame weave
Creativity without the pressure at ‘paint and sip’ studios
BY COLLEEN BARRY
The Associated Press
THEY’VE BECOME a global
sensation — ”paint and sip”
studios where adults can spend
evenings out learning to make
art in a relaxed, BYOB setting.
Thousands of franchises now
exist to help us all unleash our
inner creative.
One of the places where it all
began was a little studio in Bir-
mingham, Alabama. In 2002, at
age 28, Wendy Lovoy quit her
corporate job to pursue a career
skirts.
Florals and gardening refer-
ences tied in neatly with the
menswear Spring/Summer
2020 collection previewed
last June in Milan. A series in
golden honey yellow and brown
gave a down-to-earth buzz to a
checked fur coat, or gingham
dress with short-sleeved fur in
matching trim. For the queen
bee, there was a fur-check in-
tarsia coat, with sheer checked
skirt and a cropped marigold
knit top. The look finished with
bug-eye glasses, fastened with a
librarian eyeglass chain bearing
the double FF logo, and large
brim prairie bonnets.
The 1969 hit “The Age of
Aquarius” played throughout
the show, setting an optimistic
tone for Fendi’s debut collec-
tion flying as the solo headliner.
And she took her bows standing
in front of the image of a rising
orange sun to the companion
melody “Let the Sunshine In.”
The lightness of Emporio
Armani
Giorgio Armani says he want-
ed to dress his Emporio Armani
woman in air. He just about
succeeds.
The Spring/Summer 2020
collection was a study of light-
ness and movement, softness in
materials, silhouette and colour
palette.
“It is difficult to define beau-
ty,” the designer said after the
show. “There are many women
who can be beautiful in their
own way. Once there was the
as a painter. She began teaching
adult and kids’ classes in her
Birmingham studio. The adults,
she noticed, were taking far too
long to finish their paintings.
They were nervous about mak-
ing them perfect. They couldn’t
get out of their own heads.
When Lovoy encouraged them
to relax and move more quickly,
their work always turned out
better.
So she began holding two-
hour sessions during which she
would guide adult students to
create an entire painting from
start to finish. As it turned out,
beauty of the woman with the
cigarette. Today women can be
different, differently beautiful.”
Opening the show and setting
the tone, an airy trench floated
over a transparent pink top and
gray crushed velvet trousers,
anchored by an urban pill-box
crossbody bag.
The youthful-dressing Em-
porio Armani woman can show
some skin in a velvet bra-top
and matching trousers, unified
with a double-breasted pink
blazer. A wide-trouser jump-
suit in denim blue had a hippie
feel with a cropped crushed
velvet jacket. Tulle tops danced
over silky trousers, accented by
a tangle of beads. By nightfall,
a silvery mood descended with
a metallic sheen on organza
trousers and gathered zipper
jackets, accented by chain-
mail earrings and breast-plates
recalling the 1970s disco era.
Footwear included pointy flat
mules, high-top sneakers and
knee-high military boots.
“There’s a need for air, at-
tention to nature and, most of
all not, to be swept away by the
vortex of novelty that some-
times can be too intellectual,
other times too basic and yet
other times suffer an excess
of eclecticism,” Armani said.
“Let’s return to being more nor-
mal, thinking of the men and
women who live around us.”
I spy Max Mara
Max Mara pays tribute to
the under-represented female
spy in the latest collection, tak-
they loved it. The paintings
were coming out great, and
classes were filling up. Students
began bringing mimosas. The
atmosphere was relaxed and
pressure-free.
So in 2004, her company,
Sips ‘N Strokes, was born. Sips
‘N Strokes pioneered the model
of BYOB recreational painting
classes that teach students to
reproduce a work of art step-
by-step.
“My vision was to inspire the
world to create,” says Lovoy.
She hoped to transform the
painting process from some-
www.canadianinquirer.net
Lifestyle
ing a cue from British feminist
writer Natasha Walter who
reasons “fiction needs more fe-
male spies. After all, women are
trained to keep secrets.”
The secret of the Max Mara
Spring/Summer 2020 collec-
tion was discipline. The looks
had a military appeal, balanced
with silky flowing femininity.
The centerpiece look was
Bermuda shorts, tailored shirts
and matching monochrome
ties, worn with matching sheer
knee socks and pumps. The all-
black version was nearly mar-
tial in its impact, while a series
in pastels softened the impact
considerably. Taking the femi-
nine counterpoint were a series
of silky skirts in sexy diagonal
tiers worn with billed caps and
knee-high boots, all in trade-
mark monochromes of pastel.
Mixing it up with some prints,
thing intimidating and seem-
ingly out of reach to something
approachable and fun.
The business grew slowly
at first, going from one class a
month to two, and then, sud-
denly, it was seven days a week.
By 2007, Lovoy was squishing
100 people per night into her
studio. By 2009, when she fran-
chised Sips ‘N Strokes, similar
businesses, like Painting With
a Twist and Pinot’s Palette, had
begun springing up around the
country.
“It became an industry that
the customer base really gravi-
27
SIMONQ錫濛譙 / FLICKR, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
the collection also paired mas-
culine Prince of Wales jackets
with feminine paisley dresses,
and a silky polka-dot series
had a tromp-l’oeil catch-me-if-
you-can effect. The looks were
styled with tight twin braids
and dark lipstick — contrasting
innocence with a femme fatale
touch.
Top runway models Candice
Swanepoel, Gigi Hadid and
Doutzen Kroes opened the
show as a Charlie’s Angels trio
in Sherlock Holmes gray, made
sleek with tight silhouettes ac-
cented by zipped pockets and
cinched waists. Joan Smalls
and Kaia Gerber joined Had-
id and her sister Bella Hadid
in the closing look of silky
sheaths with tiered detailing
and military caps. The four
clasped hands as they walked
backstage ■.
tated to,” says Joe Lewis, CEO
of the Mandeville, Louisiana-
based Painting With a Twist.
“With the increase in the DIY
industry, it has really caught on
and become popular.”
Because the investment
needed to start a paint and
sip franchise is relatively low,
Lewis says, the industry has
grown quickly. Painting With a
Twist recently acquired a com-
petitor, Chicago-based Bottle
and Bottega, and the merged
companies have a total of 300
❱❱ PAGE 36 Creativity without
28
Parents play a key role in fostering children’s
love of reading
BY LORRAINE REGGIN
PhD student Cognitive
Psychology University of
Calgary,
PENNY PEXMAN Professor
of Psychology University of
Calgary,
SHERI MADIGAN
Assistant Professor Canada
Research Chair in Determinants
of Child Development Owerko
Centre at the Alberta Children’s
Hospital Research Institute
University of Calgary,
AND SUSAN GRAHAM
Professor and Director Owerko
Centre University of Calgary,
The Canadian Press
LEARNING TO read is one of
the most important develop-
mental achievements of child-
hood, and it sets the stage for
later school and life success.
But learning to read is not
straightforward. As child devel-
opment researchers, parents
often ask us how they can help
their children to become good
readers.
Parents can play a key role in
supporting the development of
children’s early language skills
and fostering a love of reading,
before and after children start
formal schooling.
Literacy begins early
The building blocks of litera-
cy are laid down during infancy.
Even newborn babies’ brains
are sensitive to the sounds and
complexities of language. Ba-
bies don’t just need to hear lan-
guage, they need to participate
in language too.
Even though babies may
only be able to say sounds like
“ga,” “ba,” and “da,” they ben-
efit from having these sounds
repeated back to them in what
are called conversational turns.
A recent study found that the
number of conversational turns
Climate explained...
❰❰ 26 mate change evidence
accurately, which
influences their sub-
sequent actions. Specifically,
conservatives may focus se-
lectively on climate data that
confirm their beliefs, leading to
inaction on mitigating climate
Lifestyle
between babies and parents is a
key ingredient to building lan-
guage skills.
So, when your baby says “ba,”
respond. You can repeat “ba” or
ask “Is that so?” or try to guess
what they are saying (“Did you
see a ball?”).
We know that babies who
hear more words, speak more
words and who hear more
complex language produce
more complex language later
in childhood. These language
skills help children get ready to
read.
Early childhood
As babies turn into toddlers
and preschoolers, their lan-
guage gets more complex and
they start to build the knowl-
edge of words that they will
eventually need for reading.
By building language skills,
preschoolers are also develop-
ing the attention, memory and
thinking skills that will prepare
them for school.
Preschoolers benefit from
having books read to them.
When parents read to children,
it helps build children’s vocab-
ulary and expands conversa-
tions. You can start with short
picture books like Goodnight
Moon and move onto longer
picture books like Where the
Wild Things Are or Corduroy.
Preschoolers also learn im-
portant language skills during
play. Board games, games like
“I Spy,” singalongs and acting
out stories all help build the
language skills they need for
learning to read. When parents
interact and talk out loud with
toddlers and preschoolers dur-
ing play, it supports the child’s
learning of sounds and words.
Having conversations, read-
ing books to your child and
playing with your child are all
activities that help your child
build a positive attitude to-
change.
Our findings, along with tra-
ditional accounts, offer a few
ideas to aid our understanding
on why conservatives are more
skeptical about climate change.
To encourage accurate inter-
pretation of climate data and
wards language and literacy.
They will learn to connect read-
ing with feelings of warmth and
sharing. You can encourage
them to choose the books, and
the place where you will read
them, and in turn start to foster
their identity as a reader. These
positive experiences support
your child’s emotional and in-
tellectual development.
Ready to read
Researchers have long de-
bated how children learn how
to read, and how best to teach
them. Today, it is clear that
children need explicit phonics
instruction (learning which
sounds match different letters),
lots of practice, and support for
understanding written mate-
rial. This means that children
must learn how to “crack the
code” of reading.
Children need to learn that
lines, curves and dots make
up a letter and that each letter
matches to a sound. Although
the English language has 26
letters, these letters make up
44 different sounds. Children
start to learn that the letters are
paired up with certain sounds
through various activities at
school, and you can help your
child practise when they read
out loud to you at home.
Once children have learned
to map sounds to letters, they
need to learn to map the sounds
to meaning or match the
sounds to the words they know.
They also need to build reading
fluency. Fluency means reading
accurately, smoothly and with
expression. As a child gains flu-
ency, they read more naturally,
faster and more easily.
Parent tips for early readers
Most children begin home
reading programs in Grade 1
and continue with home read-
ing into grades 2 and 3. Below
actions among conservatives,
we can frame climate change
consistently with their values,
such as framing mitigation ef-
forts as promoting economic
or technological development.
Or, we can provide information
on peer group norms to shift at-
www.canadianinquirer.net
are some suggestions for nur-
turing and building a positive
home reading experience.
1. Try to set aside at least
15 minutes a day for reading
time.
2. Consider the factors
that set reading up for success
in your home. For example:
What times of day might work
best for your child to do their
home reading with you? Where
do they most like to read, on the
couch or in their bed?
3. Practise reading books
that are simple and easy for
your child to repeat. If your
child cannot get through the
book, the level may be too ad-
vanced.
4. Point out periods
and commas where your child
should pause, and talk about
using different voices. Point out
different kinds of expressions.
For example, if the character
in the story said “STOP IT,” you
could explain to your child that
they could use a louder voice.
5. Indulge and support
your child’s love of certain sto-
ries. The best way for children
to become fluent readers on
their own is through practice,
and repeating beloved stories is
one way to encourage practice.
tention, since people may have
incorrect beliefs of how their
peers view a controversial is-
sue. ■
This article is part of The Cover-
ing Climate Now series. This is
a concerted effort among news
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY
6. Continue to read to
your child. When parents read,
children can listen and en-
joy books that they wouldn’t
be able to read yet. This helps
build their vocabulary and en-
joyment.
7. Check your child’s un-
derstanding of the book. You
can help your child by asking
questions before, during and af-
ter reading. Your questions cre-
ate opportunities for conversa-
tion. You might ask questions
like:
“Why do you think the chil-
dren snuck downstairs?”
“Does this story remind you
of anything we have done?”
“Leaped is an interesting
word. What does that mean?
Do you know another word we
could have used there?”
Then you could mention
jumped, hopped or skipped.
Some children will learn to
read more quickly than others,
but all children need practice to
become skilled readers. A con-
sistent home reading program
can start children on the path to
literacy and all of its benefits. ■
This article is republished from
The Conversation under a Cre-
ative Commons license.
organisations to put the climate
crisis at the forefront of our cov-
erage. This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license. Dis-
closure information is available
on the original site.

Rapinoe, Messi win FIFA
player of the year awards
BY DANIELLA MATAR
The Associated Press
MILAN — Lionel Messi won his
sixth FIFA player of the year
award, while Megan Rapinoe
won her first at a lavish cer-
emony at Milan’s iconic Teatro
all Scala on Monday.
Rapinoe was rewarded at the
FIFA Best awards for leading
the United States to the wom-
en’s World Cup title in July, as
was Jill Ellis who won the wom-
en’s coach award.
Rapinoe scored six goals in
the tournament, earning her
the Golden Boot for the tourna-
ment’s top scorer and the Gold-
en Ball as the top player.
The outspoken star often
uses her success as a platform to
speak out about issues and the
34-year-old did so again in Milan,
pleading for her male and female
colleagues to join the likes of
Manchester City winger Raheem
Sterling in speaking out on rac-
ism and other inequalities.
“If we really want to have
meaningful change what I
think is most inspiring would
be if everybody other than Ra-
heem Sterling and (Kalidou)
Koulibaly, if they were as out-
raged about racism as they
were, if everybody was as out-
raged about homophobia as the
LGBTQ players, if everybody
was as outraged about the lack
of equal pay and investment in
the women’s game other than
just women, that would be the
most inspiring thing to me,”
Rapinoe said.
“That’s my ask of everybody.
As professional footballers ...
we have so much success, we
have incredible platforms, I
ask everybody here to lend
your platform, to lift people up,
to use this beautiful game to
change the world for better.”
Rapinoe finished with 46
ranking points to 42 for team-
mate Alex Morgan and 29 for
England’s Lucy Bronze.
After the ceremony, Rapinoe
said being able to speak out
about issues is more important
Sports
Megan Rapinoe. JAMIE SMED / FLICKR, CC BY-NC 2.0
to her than the actual award.
“I’ve been very lucky to have
this incredibly platform that
seems to be growing by the day
and I plan to use it to the best of
my ability,” she told reporters.
“The award’s amazing of course
but I don’t do this for individual
awards, certainly not.
“Even the team awards, the
World Cup’s obviously incred-
ible to win but when we sort of
all look back on it, it will be the
way we’ve changed the game
and moved the game forward
and really been a part of chang-
ing the world, this incredible
movement that’s happening
right now, that we’ll all be most
proud of.”
Messi’s award moved the Bar-
celona and Argentina forward
one ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Juventus forward did not
attend the ceremony despite
being among the three finalists.
The duo has dominated the
award since 2008, with their
string of victories only inter-
rupted by Luka Modric last year.
Liverpool defender Virgil van
Dijk was the other finalist
Messi finished with 46 rank-
ing points to 38 for van Dijk and
36 for Ronaldo.
Aaron Long, given the U.S.
captain’s vote because he was
among two players who wore
the armband twice this year,
voted for van Dijk, as did Amer-
ican coach Gregg Berhalter.
Van Dijk’s club manager Ju-
rgen Klopp was voted coach of
the year after steering Liver-
pool to the Champions League
title in June, while teammate
Alisson won the best men’s
goalkeeper award.
“I have to thank my team be-
cause as coach you can only be as
good as your team is,” Klopp said.
Ellis also thanked her play-
ers.
“I owe so much to them,” she
said.
Ellis resigned in July, shortly
after the U.S. beat the Nether-
lands 2-0 to win its second suc-
cessive World Cup.
The 53-year-old Ellis was
hired as coach of the U.S. team
in 2014 and led it to eight over-
all tournament titles, including
back-to-back World Cup suc-
cesses. Over the course of her
tenure, the United States lost
just seven matches.
Her players made up nearly
half of the women’s team of the
year, with Kelley O’Hara, Julie
Ertz, Rose Lavelle and Morgan in-
cluded in the 11 as well as Rapinoe.
“I think I walked out with
Messi and no one noticed me,”
Ellis said jokingly to reporters,
before adding: “It was such an
honour, it really was. Fantastic
night ... happy for my players to
do so well as well on that stage
so it was great.”
The award for the best wom-
en’s goalkeeper went to van
Veenendaal of Atletico Madrid
and the Netherlands.
The 29-year-old Van
Veenendaal captained the
Netherlands to the final of the
women’s World Cup. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
Skaters hope to
contribute big in PH
SEA Games campaign
PHILIPPINE NEWS
AGENCY
MANILA — Skateboarding in
the Philippines was catapulted
to prominence when Margielyn
Didal captured a gold medal in
the 2018 Asian Games.
Didal’s brilliance will cer-
tainly rub off to the rest of the
national skaters as they seek
to rule skateboarding competi-
tions in the coming 30th South-
east Asian Games on Nov. 30-
Dec. 11 this year.
Skateboarding chief Monty
Mendigoria won’t count the
number of medals that they can
probably seize in the discipline
yet but is certain that the team
will be pumped up in front of
the hometown crowd during
the meet to be held in Tagaytay
City.
“Malaki ang chance natin,
lalo na (We have a big chance
especially that) we are consid-
ered as a powerhouse in South-
east Asia,” said Mendigoria,
president of the Skateboarding
and Roller Sports Association
of the Philippines (SRSAP),
the local governing body of the
sport.
“But of course we have to
work really hard lalo na sa mga
ensayo (particularly during
Margielyn Didal. @MARGIELYNDIDAL / INSTAGRAM
29
practice),” added Mendigoria.
Eight golds are at stake in
skateboarding’s street event,
game of skate and downhill
events for men’s and women’s
categories.
Aside from Didal, the sport
will display fresh local and in-
ternational talents that will
surely play their hearts out for
a successful SEA Games cam-
paign.
Filipino-Americans Christi-
ana Means and Jericho “Kiko”
Francisco will join Didal in
donning the national colors
along with eight other skaters.
Mendigoria, however, would
keep the final list of Filipino
skaters confidential until the
deadline of submission of
names to the SEA Games Fed-
eration.
“I don’t want to give any de-
tails for now kasi baka masilip
tayo ng mga kalaban (because
opponents might scout us). But
definitely, kumpleto na ang line-
up natin (our line-up is already
final),” said Mendigoria.
“We have 11 athletes who will
compete, including Margie, of
course. Kapag okay na ‘yung
line-up ng ibang countries (if
the line-ups of other countries
are already out), we will dis-
close the line-up for our team,”
said Mendigoria. ■
30

Business
Dar assures
safeguards in place
on rice imports
BY LILYBETH ISON other basic food items, that are
Philippine News Agency priced way below the current
fair market value.
Another option is to impose
MANILA — Agriculture Sec- stringent sanitary and phyto-
retary William Dar on Monday sanitary (SPS) and inspection
assured that safeguards are in measures of rice imports.
place, such as increasing tariff Dar said that to date, some
on imports, against over im- 2.4 million metric tons (MT) of
portation of rice as one of the rice has already been imported,
measures to stabilize the sup- which has gone beyond what is
ply and price of the commodity. needed by the country.
This, as the DA has started “We will protect our small
the investigation on the exces- farmers by not allowing addi-
sive importation of rice par- tional imports especially this
ticularly with the forthcoming main harvest season. We want
main harvest season. them to benefit from the re-
Things to know
“We have started investiga- spectable farmgate prices of
tions and we ex-
pect to complete
palay set by the
government
about cash cards
them by (the) through the Na-
end of Septem- tional Food Au- BY JOANN VILLANUEVA mand since people have started ture,” he said.
ber or early Oc- thority (NFA),” Philippine News Agency to realize its benefits such as Ung said the company has no-
tober,” Dar said he said. safer to carry than cash, and ticed “a lot of pent-up demand”
in a statement. Meanwhile, because the central bank con- for payments card, and projects
C u r r e n t l y, We have to Dar assured MANILA — Banks and tech- tinues to push for the increase an additional 2 million OmniP-
the Philippines be stricter farmers the nological solutions companies of electronic payments, with a ay Diners Club Forex Prepaid
could only pro- on the delivery of continue to introduce new target for it to reach 20 percent Card issuance by its first year.
duce 93 per- standards high-quality products that cater to specific of total transactions by 2020. He stressed hey have put in
cent of its total and quality equipment and groups such as those who love Earlier this month, Filipino- place measures to prevent their
national rice of the machinery as shopping and traveling, and owned infrastructure platform cards from being used for mon-
r e q u i r e m e n t s, equipment part of the rice take-up is strong not only be- firm OmniPay and global pay- ey laundering.
while the re- that we are tariffication law. cause of incentives but security ments services company Din- “We do all traditional (mea-
maining 7 per- giving. “I am now di- features as well. ers Club International Ltd. sures) but more importantly,
cent is imported. recting the re- However, some people said launched their tie-up for the I think the KYC (know-your-
“We have to gional directors the limit on the amount they dollar-denominated OmniPay customer) has to be very strong.
holistically and and the Philip- can load in their prepaid cards Diners Club Forex Prepaid And one of the things that we’re
systematically pine Center for is smaller compared to the Card. working with the central bank
protect the con- Postharvest De- amount they can spend when A plus for this card is it comes on this to do an e- KYC,” he said.
suming pub- velopment and they use their credit cards. with a mobile app that allows Ung noted they intend to
lic and much more, our small Mechanization (PhilMech) to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas holders to do real-time card- undertake the KYC process by
farmers,” Dar said. see to it that the equipment, fa- (BSP) Deputy Governor Chu- to-card transfer, and quick re- getting prospective customer’s
“So, I have taken the neces- cilities, and machinery that we chi Fonacier told the Philippine sponse (QR) payments on top biometrics.
sary steps and the direction give as grants must be of high- News Agency (PNA) Friday that of the usual balance inquiry, “You can do things like that.
where we will enforce legal quality standards,” he said. the regulatory loading limit for which can only be done through That’s part of our front-end
measures during these times “We have to be stricter on a cash card is PHP100,000. automated teller machines mitigation for the risk for mon-
when we have greatly exceeded the standards and quality of the But Fonacier stressed the (ATMs) for some prepaid cards. ey laundering,” he said.
the volume needed to fill up the equipment that we are giving,” load cap “is not absolute.” OmniPay President and “And the backend, of course,
slack in national rice supply, he noted. “EMIs (electronic money is- Chief Executive Officer Simoun we track where the money goes.
most particularly in Metro Ma- Dar warned employees and suers) can always request for a Ung said ensuring the safety of You can do that in terms of the
nila and major urban rice con- officials of the DA that they higher limit provided that the the cards issued by their part- velocity checks — whether we
sumption centers,” he added. would be dismissed if found purpose and use can be justi- ner company is a must, and is see a lot of same cards or same
This measure is in line guilty of corruption. fied and there are mechanisms one of the challenges they need series of cards all spending at
with Republic Act 8752 (Anti- He also encouraged the agri- in place to ensure that such to face to be ahead of the pack. the same place and those types
Dumping Act of 1999), where culture stakeholders to report cash cards will not be used for “I guess one of our advantag- of things are on our system,” he
government can impose anti- any incident of corruption. money laundering and other il- es is that we built our own and added. ■
dumping duties on imports of “Write to us, so we can formal- licit activities,” she added. operate our entire IT (infor-  
any product, including rice and ly investigate this,” he said. ■ Cash cards are now in de- mation technology) infrastruc-

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
Apple keeps Mac Pro assembly in Texas after
tariff relief
BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple will
continue manufacturing its
Mac Pro computers in Texas af-
ter the Trump administration
approved its request to waive
tariffs on certain parts import-
ed from China.
The commitment announced
Monday clears up several
months of uncertainty while
Apple mulled shifting produc-
tion of the Mac Pro from an
Austin, Texas, plant where it
has been assembling the high-
end computer since 2013. In
late June, The Wall Street Jour-
nal reported Apple was on the
verge of shifting the Mac Pro’s
assembly line to a factory near
Shanghai.
But Apple apparently had a
change of heart after the Of-
fice of the U.S. Trade Represen-
tative agreed to waive tariffs
on the Mac Pro parts made in
China. Those tariffs could have
A New York diocese filed for bankruptcy. Will others follow?
BY CAROLYN THOMPSON
The Associated Press
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Roman
Catholic Diocese of Roches-
ter was the first in New York
to seek bankruptcy protection
under the weight of new sexual
misconduct lawsuits, but law-
yers and church leaders say it
may not be the last.
All eight of the state’s Roman
Catholic dioceses face finan-
cial pressures as a result of the
state’s new Child Victims Act,
which temporarily set aside the
usual statute of limitations for
lawsuits to give victims of child-
hood sexual abuse a year to pur-
sue even decades-old claims.
More than 400 cases have
been brought against the dio-
ceses since Aug. 14, when the
law’s one-year “look back” pe-
riod for such suits began.
Representatives from the
dioceses of Buffalo, Rockville
Centre, Albany and Ogdens-
burg told The Associated Press
they haven’t decided as they
consult with legal, financial and
made the $6,000 Mac Pro even
more expensive.
“We thank the administra-
tion for their support enabling
this opportunity,” Apple CEO
Tim Cook said in a statement.
Apple is deeply rooted in
Austin, where it has built its
second largest campus outside
its Cupertino, California, head-
quarters. The company says
about 6,000 of its employees
currently work in Austin and
it has plans to create another
5,000 jobs as part of a $1 billion
expansion announced last year.
The Mac Pro assembly plant is
run by Flex Ltd.
Apple emphasized the new
Mac Pro, unveiled in June with
the company’s typical fanfare,
also contains parts from more
than a dozen U.S. companies
and that the computer also is
designed and engineered in its
home country.
Even with the tariff break on
the Mac Pro, Apple still could
be hit later this year.
President Donald Trump has
insurance experts.
“While we evaluate our op-
tions, filing for bankruptcy pro-
tection remains one of those
options,” said Darcy Fargo,
spokeswoman for the Diocese
of Ogdensburg, which covers
the rural, northernmost tip of
the state.
Buffalo Bishop Richard
Malone has said he is close to
deciding whether to file for
bankruptcy protection or liti-
gate the nearly 140 new law-
suits his diocese is facing.
The Diocese of Albany, mean-
while, faces more than 30 law-
suits so far, but spokeswoman
Mary DeTurris Poust said the
diocese won’t make any deci-
sion until “the full financial
scope” of the Child Victims Act
is known.
The Diocese of Rochester
sought bankruptcy court pro-
tection Sept. 12 because of the
new wave of lawsuits, becom-
ing the 20th Roman Catholic
diocese to do so nationwide in a
sexual abuse reckoning that has
now stretched on for 17 years.
Bankruptcy proceedings
promised to broaden the pen-
alties he has been rolling out
in his trade war against China.
A 10% tariff scheduled to take
effect Dec. 15 could affect Ap-
ple’s most popular product, the
iPhone, which is mostly assem-
bled in China.
If the tariffs are applied to
the iPhone, Apple could be in
a bind. It would be forced to
either pass the cost on to con-
sumers and risk losing busi-
ness at a time when sales of the
device have been slumping, or
undercut its profit margins by
absorbing the tax itself.
Both prospects are unnerv-
ing to investors, which is one
reason Apple’s stock price has
remained below its peak of
$233.47 reached nearly a year
ago while other key market in-
dexes have hit new highs since
then. Apple’s shares gained
99 cents Monday to close at
$218.72
Cook has proven adept at
convincing Trump to protect
the Apple from the China tariffs
don’t immunize dioceses from
lawsuits, but they put claims
under the supervision of a fed-
eral bankruptcy judge and re-
quire victims to get in line with
all other potential church cred-
itors. Plaintiffs’ attorneys say
proceedings also can limit their
access to records exposing ad-
ditional wrongdoing by priests
or senior church officials who
failed to act against suspected
abusers.
With New York’s window for
lawsuits open until next Au-
gust, attorney Michael Pfau,
who has represented abuse
victims in church bankruptcies
outside New York, said addi-
tional bankruptcies are likely.
Such filings are usually met
with distrust by claimants, Pfau
said, but can have positive re-
sults.
“Bankruptcy in the context of
the Catholic Church is a misun-
derstood thing, in that this isn’t
a liquidation, it’s a reorganiza-
tion,” Pfau said. “The Catholic
Church in Rochester will con-
tinue. Its mission won’t be af-
fected. It won’t sell churches
www.canadianinquirer.net
Business
so far. The Apple CEO has made
a case that the tariffs would
hurt the company’s ability to
compete against key rivals such
as Samsung and ultimately di-
minish its investments in the
U.S.
Apple reiterated on Monday
that it’s on track to fulfil its
promise to pour $350 billion
and schools and a hospital, but
it will be a painful process for
them, a self-inflicted painful
process.”
The Rochester diocese’s
bankruptcy filing outraged the
Senate sponsor of the Child
Victims Act, Brad Hoylman,
who said victims he has spo-
ken to are motivated more by a
sense of justice than money. A
silver lining, he said, is that any
diocese that seeks bankruptcy
protection will see its assets
scrutinized.
“It will lead to an accounting
of the wealth of these institu-
tions,” he said.
Rochester’s bishop, Salvatore
Matano, called the decision to
file for bankruptcy painful but
said it was the best way to en-
sure all victims would be com-
pensated.
“Had the diocese not filed
under Chapter 11, it would face
multiple civil actions, a slow,
unpredictable and costly pro-
cess that would require years
of court involvement,” he said,
“and those claimants who filed
suits first would receive all
31
into the U.S. economy, a pledge
that Cook made last year short-
ly after Congress passes huge
reductions in corporate taxes
that Trump supported.
Wedbush Securities analyst
Daniel Ives hailed Apple’s de-
cision to keep making the Mac
Pro in Texas as a “smart poker
move.” ■
available funds to pay victims.
As a result, later claimants
would receive nothing.”
Two New York dioceses that
are among the largest in the
U.S., the Archdiocese of New
York and the Diocese of Brook-
lyn, as well as the Diocese of
Syracuse, said they didn’t an-
ticipate having to file for bank-
ruptcy.
Several dioceses in the state
attempted to head off lawsuits
in recent years by establishing
independently run compensa-
tion programs that paid out
tens of millions of dollars to vic-
tims, on the condition that they
gave up their right to sue.
Insurers have covered a large
portion of settlements reached
in previous diocesan bankrupt-
cy cases, a 2018 study by Penn
State professor Marie Reilly
found, with victims receiving
an average award of $371,500. ■
Associated Press Writer David
Klepper contributed from Al-
bany.
32
Can a new space race connect
the world to the internet?
BY TALI ARBEL
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — It’s a 21st centu-
ry space race: Amazon, SpaceX
and others are competing to get
into orbit and provide inter-
net to the Earth’s most remote
places.
And like the last century’s
battle for space supremacy
that was triggered by the So-
viet Union’s launch of Sputnik
1, this one involves satellites.
Thousands of them.
More than a dozen compa-
nies have asked U.S. regula-
tors for permission to operate
constellations of satellites that
provide internet service. Not all
are aimed at connecting con-
sumers, but some have grand
and global ambitions.
“The goal here is broadband
everywhere,” Amazon founder
Jeff Bezos said at a conference
in June.
With half the world’s popula-
tion — more than 3 billion peo-
ple — not using the internet , it’s
a huge potential market. And
there’s the obvious benefit on
the ground: Not having internet
access makes it difficult or im-
possible to apply for many jobs,
for kids to do homework, for
people in remote areas to get
medical care, and to participate
in the global economy.
But this new wave of spaced-
based internet faces hurdles.
It is expensive to launch, tech-
nologically complex and could
prove too costly for the very
people it hopes to reach.
And then there’s space junk.
More on that in a moment.
Technology
Satellite internet already ex-
ists, dominated by a handful
of companies like HughesNet
and Viasat that have huge, ex-
pensive satellites sitting 22,000
miles (35,000 kilometres) from
Earth and covering big territo-
ries on the ground. But the ser-
vice is expensive and limited,
comes with data caps and lags,
and doesn’t have many users.
The new satellites are small-
er, cheaper, and closer to Earth,
so theoretically signals travel
faster and applications like on-
line gaming that need instant
responses would work better.
And they have some heavy-
weight backers. In addition
to Amazon and SpaceX — the
company of eccentric billion-
aire and Tesla founder Elon
Musk — the race has also been
joined by OneWeb, which is
backed by investors including
Virgin founder Richard Bran-
son, U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm
and Japanese tech conglomer-
ate SoftBank.
But the industry is still in its
infancy, and at least three years
away from widespread commer-
cial service, said Kerri Cahoy,
professor of aeronautics and
astronautics at MIT, and even
further from making any money.
“I would be surprised if
something were profitable in 10
years,” she said. There are also
competing efforts at extending
connectivity, including Google
with its Loon balloons, which
are solar-powered cell towers
made of plastic sheets that float
on the winds, and others work-
ing on solar-powered drones.
The satellite companies need
to build dishes and antennas
that are more complicated
and costlier than those for tra-
ditional satellites that don’t
move. SpaceX, for example,
has filed for permission with
U.S. regulators to build 1 mil-
lion “earth stations” that would
help connect customers to the
internet.
There’s no way to have a via-
ble mass service unless the cost
of this type of equipment drops,
said Caleb Williams, economic
analyst at aerospace engineer-
ing company SpaceWorks En-
terprises.
Launches have already been
pushed back: OneWeb had once
said it would be operating in
Alaska this year. But service is
now expected to start in late
2020.
The logistics of becoming an
internet service provider also
aren’t easy. The new crop of
space-internet companies are
more likely to set up arrange-
ments with existing telecom
companies than try to sell in-
ternet service directly, Wil-
liams said, because it’s easier
than setting up a sales and mar-
keting operation of their own.
Those same telecom com-
panies don’t want to build in
remote areas because it’s too
expensive. A Federal Com-
munications Commission of-
ficial in 2017 estimated that
extending fiber to the roughly
20 million U.S. homes and busi-
nesses that lacked broadband
would cost $80 billion. And in
developing countries, where
the underlying infrastructure
is worse, internet is primarily
available through a cellphone.
The new satellite companies
www.canadianinquirer.net
may have an infrastructure
alternative that’s cheaper for
companies to build than wires
on the ground. A telecom com-
pany needs to pay to build out to
a handful of customers in a large
area, with huge per-customer
costs. With satellite, costs can
be shared out over a bigger pool
of potential customers all over
the world. A SpaceX executive
in 2018 predicted that it would
cost $10 billion to deploy a con-
stellation of mini-satellites.
Bezos predicted that Amazon’s
satellite-internet arm will cost
“multiple billions of dollars” to
build.
Making sure that people have
access to internet is just one
step to getting them online,
however. People also need to
be able to afford internet, and
those in rural areas are more
likely to be poor.
It’s not clear what the pricing
will be but high costs swamped
satellite phone service two de-
cades ago. It could do so again
with internet.
“If you would have to pay
20% or more of your income to
go on the internet, in a situa-
tion where you make a few dol-
lars per day, you don’t, because
it’s too expensive,” said Mar-
tin Schaaper, an analyst at the
United Nations’ information
and communications technol-
ogy agency.
Then there are concerns
about the growth of space junk,
or “orbital debris,” which could
crash into each other and even
potentially set off a chain reac-
tion of collisions that make or-
bit “no longer usable,” accord-
ing to NASA.
SpaceX, for one, says it’s
trying to avoid adding to the
junk layer by moving satellites
to avoid crashes and design-
ing them to burn up in atmo-
sphere when they’re used up.
The space companies have laid
out their plans to avoid debris
with U.S. regulators, but critics
say more needs to be done, like
setting up an air traffic control
system for space. ■
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 Technology 33

New LNG technology Huawei debuts phone without

developed at University Google apps as US sanctions bite
of Calgary touted BY JONA KALLGREN
AND KELVIN CHAN

as greener, cheaper The Associated Press

MUNICH — Huawei launched

BY DAN HEALING Shell Canada which is now un- a new flagship smartphone on
The Canadian Press der construction — will make it Thursday but it comes without
impossible for the province to popular Google apps such as
meet its GHG emission reduc- Chrome or YouTube after U.S.
CALGARY — University of Cal- tion targets. sanctions kicked in, limiting its
gary researchers focused on Travis Balaski, vice-presi- appeal to consumers.
nanotechnology say they have dent of Calgary-based Ferus The Chinese tech giant’s
developed a cheaper and more Natural Gas Fuels, said he was Mate 30 phone series, includ-
environmentally friendly way impressed after seeing a pre- ing one for new 5G networks,
to create liquefied natural gas. sentation on the new LNG runs on an open source ver-
The Split Flow Integrated technology but is concerned sion of Google’s Android oper-
LNG process uses specialized about its actual operating costs. ating system, which by default
materials and chemistry to re- “This technology is obviously doesn’t come preinstalled with
move carbon dioxide and other quite attractive to a company the U.S. company’s suite of
impurities from the natural like us but it’s got to be proven popular apps and services that
gas stream without having to before we would ever be in a po- licensed versions have. KĀRLIS DAMBRĀNS / FLICKR, CC BY-NC 2.0

cool and then warm the gas, sition to deploy it,” he said. It also doesn’t come with the
as is done now in the leading Ferus is planning a $40-mil- Google Play Store, the main that curves nearly 90 degrees gaining chip between two great
LNG process, say its develop- lion expansion to triple the way users outside China access around its long edges, for a bor- nations,” Yu said.
ers, associate professor Nassar output from its LNG plant near Android apps. derless effect. Prices start at Losing access to Google’s mo-
Nashaat and student Arash Os- Grande Prairie in northern Al- Richard Yu, CEO of Hua- 799 euros ($880). bile apps will make it harder for
tovar of the Schulich School of berta. wei’s consumer business, told Huawei is using its own, Huawei to battle Samsung for
Engineering. The five-year- reporters after the launch that stripped-down version of An- top spot in the mobile phone
The result is old plant pro- consumers “can download (the droid, whose basic code is pro- market, because it will be less
that capital costs duces about apps) by themselves” from vided free of charge by Google. attractive to wireless carriers,
are reduced be- 50,000 gallons third party sites. The Chinese company’s said Jean Baptiste Su, principal
cause less equip- of LNG per day “For us, we can’t really install phones are popular in Europe analyst at Atherton Research.
ment is needed, The idea is from about four the apps.” and Asia. but little known in the “I don’t think operators will
while operating that anybody million cubic Huawei, the world’s second- U.S., where its telecom switch- risk having millions of disap-
costs and green- who is feet of natural biggest smartphone maker, is ing gear has been effectively pointed customers that rely
house gas emis- producing gas. fighting to save its business af- blocked for years over fears it on Google services (who) see
sions are low- natural gas can It uses con- ter the Trump administration could be used for spying by Chi- it doesn’t work on their brand
ered because less now produce ventional LNG blocked access to U.S. compo- na’s communist rulers. new devices,” he said.
energy, water LNG. technology to nents and technology in May on The Mate 30 will go on sale In a bid to reduce reliance
and chemicals produce fuel for national security grounds. next week in China but won’t on Google, Yu said Huawei is
are consumed. oil well drilling Washington has issued tem- hit European stores until next spending $1 billion encouraging
The duo are operations and porary exemptions that let month as the company gathers global developers to make apps
seeking an industrial partner community electricity gen- Huawei maintain software for consumer feedback, said Yu. compatible with its own app
to use the technology on a pilot eration in remote communi- existing devices, but they don’t He said the company hadn’t gallery, which is mainly used in
basis to prove its benefits. ties, using trucks to deliver the cover new products such as the expected the trade dispute to China. It will take a 15% com-
“We have plenty of natural product. Mate 30. last so long when it was plan- mission, compared with 30%
gas resources here in Alberta The new LNG technology also The Mate 30, powered by ning the launch. rivals such as Apple charge, he
and existing facilities where produces a purer carbon diox- Huawei’s new Kirin 990 ad- “This U.S.-China trade war said. ■
our technology can be inte- ide as a byproduct than conven- vanced chipset, sports a four- delayed us and is still not stop-
grated,” said Nassar, estimating tional technology, Nashaat and camera system and screen ping, so we’ve become the bar- Chan reported from London.
there are 50 potential locations. Ostov pointed out.
“The idea is that anybody Balaski said that’s another
who is producing natural gas selling point for Ferus as its PH opens...
can now produce LNG.” sister company sells carbon di-
Proponents tout LNG as a oxide to customers for use in oil
transition fuel which can re- and gas enhanced recovery op- ❰❰ 36 ippines has to offer. next “top diving destination tries for our photography con-
place coal or diesel as a more erations. “The divers have al- in Asia,” the numbers of diver- tests from outsiders so that’s
environmentally friendly way The technology developers ways been considered tourists have already grown as really an indication that our
to generate electricity and are hoping to find a partner to a high-yield market. The chal- accredited dive shops in the is- dive industry is growing,” DOT
power vehicles. Natural gas vol- build a project that produces lenge for us now is to expand land also increase. 10 (Northern Mindanao) Direc-
umes are reduced by about 600 about 500,000 pounds of LNG the current base, which is, we “For Camiguin, we are very tor Marie Elaine Unchuan told
times when converted to LNG. per year, enough to power a estimate at about 350,000 out ready, we have six PCSSD (Phil- the PNA.
But environmentalists have 250-megawatt electrical gen- of the seven million foreign vis- ippine Commission on Sports “The island itself, Camiguin,
charged that building B.C.’s eration plant. itors last year and also to make Scuba Diving) accredited dive is very unique because you can
many proposed LNG projects The LNG Canada project is de- them stay longer and spend operators, in fact, we conclud- do a lot of things and visit beach
— including the $40-billion signed with capacity for 14 mil- more,” Bengzon told reporters. ed the 1st Dive Festival in the destinations,” she added. ■
LNG Canada project led by lion pounds of LNG per year.■ In Camiguin, said to be the province. We had about 400 en-

www.canadianinquirer.net
 SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 34

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Montreal Burlesque Festival an ode to city’s Sin
City days of 1940s and ‘50s
BY GIUSEPPE VALIANTE
The Canadian Press
MONTREAL — The Montreal
Burlesque Festival wants to
take spectators back to a time
when we used to wait.
When homes didn’t have
entertainment systems and
people would invest time in
courtship rituals before even
so much as holding hands, says
Scarlett James, whose three-
day festival runs Oct. 17-19.
“Today, with the click of a fin-
ger, we can access the most in-
timate little corner of a human
being,” James said in an inter-
view, referring to the plethora
of flesh-filled content found
online.
“So, it’s important for us to
make the audience wait, to de-
sire.”
The festival is an ode to Mon-
treal’s Sin City days of the 1940s
and 1950s, when hundreds of
brothels, nightclubs, gambling
dens and bookmaking counters
attracted tourists from across
the world — and especially from
south of the border.
Some of the biggest names in
‘I’ve got one!’ Hunting neon scorpions in the Arizona desert
BY PETER PRENGAMAN
The Associated Press
LOST DUTCHMAN STATE
PARK, ARIZ. — As the setting
sun left a yellow tinge on dirt-
colored cactuses as far as the
eye could see, park ranger Anna
Roberts gave us a lesson on
what we were about to hunt.
“Scorpions know they will
not kill us because we are much
larger,” said Roberts, explaining
that the animals’ first instinct
would be to escape, not sting,
and that fatalities from bites
in the U.S. were rare. “So, you
don’t have worry about that.”
The light-hearted preparato-
ry chat also came with a serious
Travel
jazz and blues played nightly
shows along the city’s famed
streets, and many of those mu-
sical evenings were capped
by burlesque performances,
James said.
When the singers, trumpet-
ers and pianists left the stage,
the smoke-filled rooms lit up for
burlesque queens such as the in-
ternationally renowned Lili St.
Cyr, originally from Minneapo-
lis, but who made her name in
Hollywood and Montreal.
She was a regular performer
at one of the historical venues
in the city called the Gayety
Theatre, located at the eastern
tip of downtown on St. Cath-
erine Street, where her popu-
lar shows reportedly included
elements such as bathtubs and
parrots as props on stage.
St. Cyr became one of the
most famous entertainers in
the city and her name graces
the award that will be present-
ed to the best burlesque dancer
on the second day of the festi-
val, James said.
The festival’s first night,
Thursday, Oct. 17, will be host
to a dinner and burlesque per-
formances at Parisian-style
message: Don’t be dumb with
scorpions, which move quickly
on eight legs and are equipped
with pincer claws and curved
tails that lash enemies and de-
posit venom.
Closed-toed shoes were a
must, the critters should only
be picked up with tongs, and
they should not be played with
— a message I made sure my
oldest children, boys ages 8 and
9, heard.
Having just moved with my
family to Arizona, the excur-
sion struck me as a uniquely
desert-life thing to do. How-
ever, my wife, who rightly said
taking our 3-year-old would
have been a bad idea, thought I
was nuts.
brasserie, Le Pois Penche. The
show will feature entertainers
Egypt Blaque Knyle and Vayda
Rhinestone.
On Saturday, Oct. 19 six danc-
ers will hold workshops during
the day to teach participants
burlesque techniques including
bumping and grinding and the
“naughty peel.”
About 30 burlesque danc-
ers from around the world are
scheduled to perform over the
three nights. James said they’ll
seduce, titillate, amaze and hu-
mour — but most of all, she ex-
plained, they’ll take their time
on stage and peel off one layer
at a time.
“We are going back to the
days when you needed to, kind
of, deserve it,” she said. “You
needed to wait. To enjoy the
journey.”
The burlesque dance can be
as erotic as the more standard
striptease, but the two differ in
several important ways, James
said.
Strippers take the stage
wearing few items of clothing
— if any at all — and their show
is essentially an advertisement,
says James, enticing men to
For whatever reason, I’ve al-
ways found scorpions intrigu-
ing, if not a little terrifying. A
glance at popular culture tells
me I’m not alone.
In movies, on the skin of
many tattoo lovers and in one
of the 12 astrological signs,
scorpions’ distinct shape and
supposed attributes are often
on display. They are portrayed
as savage, lethal, true warriors
— not far off from what we were
about to see on the hunt.
As we walked into the desert
under the moonlight, we car-
ried flashlights to see where we
were stepping. The terrain was
rocky, dusty and uneven, mixed
with rough underbrush. Cru-
cial to the hunt, however, were
www.canadianinquirer.net
spend money on lap dances in
backrooms.
For burlesque dancers, it’s all
about the show — and the peel,
James said.
Dancers design and make
their own costumes, develop
choreography, and produce
their routine. “There is so much
going on ... that in order to pre-
pare an act like this it could
take between six months and a
year,” she said.
Every move is calculated, said
black lights: Scorpions glow un-
der ultraviolent lights for rea-
sons that scientists don’t know.
“Why they fluoresce is the
million-dollar question,” said
Lauren Esposito, curator of
arachnology at the California
Academy of Sciences. Some
theorize that the light scares off
would-be predators, while oth-
ers think it might attract polli-
nators, potential prey.
A few minutes into the hike,
neon green shapes began ap-
pearing. They ranged in length
from a small grasshopper to
a human finger. Upon our ap-
proach, the scorpions would
sometimes scurry away, some-
times duck into a hole and, just
as often, raise their pincers and
35
MONTREALBURLESQUEFESTIVAL.COM
James. The glove peel, the wink,
the sultry walk across the stage
— it’s all timed to specific points
in the musical score, she said.
“Everything about the show
is important. You are going to
peel on a punchline and on the
rhythm of the music. Every-
thing is choreographed.” ■
For details about the workshops,
shows and to purchase tickets,
visit montrealburlesquefestival.
com
arch their tails in preparation
for battle. There is a reason
they are apex predators in the
invertebrate food chain.
“I’ve got one! I’ve got one!”
people began shouting, captur-
ing them with tongs from be-
hind. “I need a box over here!”
A handful of people carry-
ing plastic containers, includ-
ing my sons, would come over,
opening the cap so a writhing
scorpion could be placed inside.
Everybody around would stop,
shine black lights and stare
as the scorpion began moving
from one side of the box to the
other.
“This is awesome!” said
❱❱ PAGE 38 ‘I’ve got’
36
Bacolod’s 40th MassKara
Festival to open Oct. 7
BY NANETTE
GUADALQUIVER
Philippine News Agency
BACOLOD CITY – Mayor Eve-
lio Leonardia has announced
that the 40th MassKara Festi-
val will open on October 7, a day
earlier than its original sched-
ule of October 8.
“Last night (Sunday), I talked
to festival director Eli Francis
Tajanlangit and we agreed to
adjust the opening day,” Leon-
ardia confirmed in a press con-
ference on Monday.
He said that the adjustment
was made as he would be at-
tending an event at the Korean
Embassy on October 8.
On Sept. 8, during the start of
the countdown to the Ruby An-
niversary, the mayor said this
year’s MassKara would be a cel-
ebration “like no other.”
“This is a MassKara like no
other even if we just simply
think in terms of its being 40
years. This is a milestone, no
doubt about that. (We have)
seen MassKara metamorphose
to what it is today,” he added.
This year’s festivities, themed
“Bacolod, City of Smiles,” will
run until October 27.
Also behind the festival are
Councilor Israel Salanga, as-
sistant festival director for
festival sites; Rudy Reveche,
chair of the street and arena
dance competition; Ryan Saez,
PH opens 1st int’l dive expo in Manila
BY JOYCE ANN L.
ROCAMORA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The country’s first
international dive expo was
launched Friday in a bid to fur-
ther position the Philippines as
a premier dive hub in Asia.
The Philippine International
Dive Expo (Phidex), hosted by
the Department of Tourism
(DOT), began at the Conrad
Manila in Pasay City on Friday
and will run until Sunday.
In her remarks read by DOT
Undersecretary Benito Beng-
zon Jr., Tourism Secretary Ber-
nadette Romulo-Puyat boasted
Travel
director of Electric MassKara;
Sonny Cabahug, pageant direc-
tor of the Search for the Ruby
MassKara Queen; digital art-
ist Mark Lester Jarmin, who
created the 2019 festival logo;
artist-photographer RJ Lac-
son, who is putting together
the Ruby MassKara art instal-
lation; and filmmaker Claudia
Diaz-Cojuangco, who is doing a
documentary on the MassKara
dancers.
On Oct. 26, a total of 11
schools, including seven in the
elementary category and four
in high school, will join the
MassKara Street and Arena
Dance Competition.
In the elementary level,
the participating schools are
Banago Elementary School- I
for District 1; Estefania El-
ementary School for District
of the Philippines’ rich marine
biodiversity as recognized by
prominent dive publications
and marine experts.
Citing this, Romulo-Puyat
highlighted dive as a market
segment in the country that
DOT wants to promote and de-
velop.
“(The) DOT recognizes Div-
ing and Marine Sports Tourism
as both a key and niche product
that can deliver larger numbers
of visitors, longer length of stay,
and higher expenditure along a
broad spectrum of destinations
and communities, as well as
strong attractiveness to a wide
range of country markets,” she
said.
JOHN ALBERT PAGUNSAN / CC BY-NC 3.0
2; Fr. Gratian Murray, AFSC
Integrated School for District
3; Jose J. Gonzaga Elementary
School for District 4; E. J. Gar-
cia Elementary School for Dis-
trict 5; Education and Training
Center School-III for District 6;
and R.A. Medel Sr. Elementary
School for District 7.
Domingo Lacson National
High School for Unit 1, Angela
Gonzaga National High School
for Unit 2, Luisa Medel National
High School for Unit 3, and M.G.
Medalla Integrated School for
Unit 4 will be the competing
teams in the secondary category.
For the barangay competi-
tion on Oct. 27, 14 villages have
also confirmed participation.
These include Tangub, Bana-
go, Bata, Handumanan, Es-
fenia, Barangays 40, 4, 12, 16, 3,
39, 32, 5, and 6. ■
More than 40 international
dive buyers from DOT-iden-
tified markets, such as the
United States, Thailand, Tai-
wan, Singapore, Russia, the
Netherlands, the Middle East,
Malaysia, South Korea, Japan,
Italy, Israel, Indonesia, India,
France, Denmark, China, Cana-
da, and Belgium were expected
to attend the three-day event
to conduct business meetings
with Philippine dive stakehold-
ers.
At the Phidex, diving exhib-
its, including a 270-sqm. Phil-
ippine pavilion, featured the
country’s foremost dive desti-
nations, among them Anilao,
Batangas; Camiguin; Misamis
www.canadianinquirer.net
Creativity without...
❰❰ 27 locations around the
country.
Lovoy is amazed
at how popular paint-and-sip
places have become since she
opened her studio.
“When you’re 28 years old
and you see something that was
your passion blow up to some-
thing so big, it’s phenomenal,”
says the now-43-year-old.
While many people come to
the classes to relax with a glass
of wine, Lovoy believes that a
huge piece of the success of the
Sips ‘N Strokes model is the
way it forces students to speed
up their painting.
“When you give an adult
time, we overanalyze and over-
think everything,” she says.
“When you give them that time
restraint, they can create any-
thing. They just have to get out-
side of themselves, and you do
that when you move fast. You
shut down that anal side of your
brain and your creative side
opens up.”
She enjoys watching students
U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO BY SENIOR AIRMAN JUSTINE RHO
Oriental; Puerto Galera, Orien-
tal Mindoro; Coron and Tub-
bataha, Palawan; Malapascua
and Moalboal, Cebu; Balicasag,
Bohol; and Southern Leyte.
Lynn Funkhouser, an inter-
nationally published dive pho-
tographer and author, said the
country is “already a power-
house” in dive tourism since a
number of inviting underwater
destinations are located in the
Philippines.
“There isn’t a bad area in the
Philippines. You’ve got South-
ern Leyte, you’ve got Cebu and
you’ve got Ticao Island, and
that’s really, really gorgeous,”
she said in an interview with
Philippine News Agency (PNA).
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY
gain confidence. “People like to
learn things,” she says. “It’s very
satisfying for people to create
something themselves.”
Some of her most dedicated
students have even become
professional artists.
Mary Posey, a regular student
of Lovoy’s who began attend-
ing Sips ‘N Strokes classes in
2006, has produced hundreds
of paintings.
“I went from needing a lot of
help to fix paintings at the end
of class to, I really started to
figure out what they meant by
doing a stroke a certain way,”
she says. “I started figuring out
I could do it on my own.” Her
growing confidence in her art,
she says, “spilled over into oth-
er things. I just noticed I had
more confidence.”
Lovoy also hopes her stu-
dents gain an appreciation for
art and the work that goes into
it.
“Go out and support your lo-
cal artists,” she says. “Get into
the art scene.” ■
With the diving industry al-
ready faring “very well” in the
country, reminders for sus-
tainable practices should now
accompany efforts to promote
destinations, she said.
Funkhouser, also an envi-
ronmentalist, has visited and
photographed more than 260
islands in the Philippines since
1975.
Aside from Phidex, the DOT
will continue promoting new
dive destinations throughout
the year with familiarization
tours and more campaigns to
increase awareness among for-
eign markets on what the Phil-
❱❱ PAGE 33 PH opens

What makes Impossible meat possible?
A “bloody” ingredient
BY CANDICE CHOI
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — What makes
Impossible burgers possible?
An engineered ingredient that
makes the veggie patty look
bloody — and one of many new
concoctions food regulators ex-
pect to see more of in the com-
ing years.
Several new vegetarian prod-
ucts are competing to win over
meat lovers, but two California
companies — Impossible Foods
and Beyond Meat — are grab-
bing attention for patties that
are red before they’re cooked,
making them resemble raw
beef.
The ingredient Impossible
uses hadn’t been sold before,
and regulators and the com-
pany disagreed about whether
its purpose was to add colour,
or just flavour. The company’s
cooked burgers have been in
restaurants since 2016, but it
wasn’t until July that the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration
gave the OK that let Impossible
sell its red, uncooked “beef” in
grocery stores.
This week, Impossible an-
nounced its first retail loca-
tions, grocery stores in South-
ern California.
What’s the ingredient?
To replicate the taste of
Yes, there is an art to the perfectly peeled egg
BY ELIZABETH KARMEL
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — I love eating
deviled eggs and egg salad, but
I had been avoiding making
either because it was so much
trouble peeling the eggs. I re-
searched the subject online and
tried many of the techniques
that promised perfectly smooth
eggs. I even went so far as to
purchase an egg holder for my
Food
beef, Impossible Foods said it
scanned plants for molecules
that would mimic a protein in
meat that contains iron and
makes blood red. It eventually
settled on something called soy
leghemoglobin, found in the
root of soy plants.
To make it, Impossible in-
serts synthetic versions of sec-
tions of soy DNA into yeast so
the yeast produce soy leghemo-
globin during fermentation.
“No plant is actually touched
in the process of us making this
protein,” said Smita Shankar,
a biochemist with Impossible
Foods.
The ingredient is supposed
to be no more than 0.8% of the
patty.
Do new ingredients have to be
approved?
For many ingredients, com-
panies don’t have to get FDA
approval before putting them
in food.
Companies and the scientific
experts they hire can indepen-
dently declare ingredients to be
“generally recognized as safe,”
or GRAS. They don’t have to tell
regulators, but often do to gen-
erate confidence among inves-
tors and the public.
The FDA doesn’t technically
approve a company’s GRAS
declaration, but will issue a let-
ter saying it has “no questions,”
which is seen as agreement.
pressure cooker. None of these
“a-ha” techniques were any
better than the way I’ve always
boiled eggs.
Peeling them was a strug-
gle, and they were left looking
pockmarked and homely.
Then this summer, I visited
my friend Kirsten. She had a
dozen perfectly peeled eggs in
her refrigerator. I thought may-
be she had succumbed to buy-
ing the mass-market boiled and
peeled eggs. But no.
Impossible says soy leghemo-
globin had “self-declared GRAS
status” since 2014 when a panel
of experts it convened declared
the ingredient safe.
The company also later sub-
mitted a GRAS notification to
the FDA that received a “no
questions” response last year.
More ingredients coming
They don’t usually get much
attention, but companies are
constantly developing new fla-
vours, sweeteners and other
ingredients. As startups try to
change the way food is made,
including by replicating meat
and eggs without animals, the
regulators expect innovation to
accelerate.
The FDA notes companies
are responsible for ensuring
the safety of their food and that
it has the power to determine
a substance is not safe. Still,
groups including the Center for
Science in the Public Interest
and Environmental Defence
Fund have criticized the system
that lets companies make their
own safety determinations.
A lawsuit by advocacy groups
challenging the system is ongo-
ing.
Is ‘bloody’ a look or a taste?
Unlike some other ingredi-
ents, new colour additives have
to be approved to be used in
food. That led to a quibble be-
Her secret — which I’m now
revealing — is that you crack
the egg on the bottom (that’s
the egg’s larger side, while the
top is the more pointed side).
I had always cracked my hard-
boiled eggs on the side.
When I got home, I boiled
a dozen eggs to make egg sal-
ad, tried cracking the eggs on
the bottom, and it was a game
changer. The eggs were much
easier to peel, but it still took
too long to peel them. So the
www.canadianinquirer.net
Burger using the Beyond Meat meat patty. OFER KOR / CC BY-NC 4.0
tween Impossible and regula-
tors.
Impossible Foods has said
the sole purpose of soy leghe-
moglobin is flavour. But the
FDA noted the company’s
own website said the ingredi-
ent contributes to the patties’
meat-like colour. Impossible
responded by removing such
language, emails show.
The FDA still said soy leghe-
moglobin would need to be ap-
proved as a colour additive for
the uncooked meat substitute
to be sold in supermarkets,
since the red colour would be
part of the appeal.
next time I made boiled eggs, I
went rogue and didn’t cool the
eggs down first. I realized that
cooling down the eggs was the
only common denominator
with my hard-to-peel eggs.
I was taught that you have to
pour out the hot water that the
eggs were boiled in and imme-
diately cover them with cold
water to prevent them from
turning gray around the yolk.
This may be true, but I dis-
covered that it also makes the
37
The dispute was resolved af-
ter Impossible filed paperwork
to get the ingredient approved
as a colour additive. The FDA
approved that in July.
Beyond Meat’s patties, which
have already been available in
supermarkets, get their colour
from beet juice extract and
their meaty taste from “natural
flavours.”
Companies don’t have to
specify what’s in them, but
natural and artificial flavours
are common in packaged foods.
Natural flavours are also part of
Impossible’s recipe. ■
shell stick to the eggs. I decided
to see what would happen if I
peeled the eggs while they were
still hot. I put on my kitchen
gloves and started peeling. I
cracked the bottom of the egg
as Kirsten instructed me, and
the egg shells literally slipped
off. I peeled a dozen eggs in un-
der five minutes. A few of the
eggs did have a gray cast to the
yolk, but once I sliced them and
❱❱ PAGE 38 Yes, there is
38 SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY

Yes, there is... ‘I’ve got ...’

❰❰ 37 mixed them up in egg
salad, you couldn’t see
it.
So here’s my simple method
for “easy-to-peel eggs”:
Fill a heavy-duty 4-quart pot
with cold water. Gently place
eggs in the pot. Bring the water
to a boil and cover the pot. Turn
the heat off and let the eggs sit
in the hot water for 30 minutes
to 1 hour. Remove the pot from
the stove with the eggs inside,
and place it in the sink. Remove
the eggs one by one to peel
them, leaving the rest in the wa-
ter they were boiled in. Crack
the bottom of each egg and slip
the eggshell off. Rinse them in
the hot water to remove any
small shell fragments.
You will be shocked at how
fast this method is and how
foolproof. And you may be
shocked to realize how much
you start putting boiled eggs in
your food repertoire. This sum-
mer, I rediscovered egg salad. I
make it with shallots, fresh dill,
mayo and a touch of strong Di-
jon mustard. It is great to have
on hand for a protein-packed,
keto-friendly lunch or even
breakfast. ■
❰❰ 35 James Brine, a Esposito said that of about of the box only to charge and
37-year-old machinist 2,500 species of scorpions continue trying.
from Tempe, a Phoe- worldwide, only 25 or so are My 8-year-old, Lucas, and a
nix suburb, who wore a black truly dangerous. The most haz- few other kids captured some
T-shirt with a neon scorpion on ardous in the United States is moths and put them in the
the front. “I love it.” found in Southwestern states: box. A few of the bigger scor-
Brine, who came out with two the Arizona bark scorpion, pions, thrusting the smaller
friends, said it was fun to see which is light brown and blends ones aside, circled the moths
scorpions in a different way. into the desert landscape. in preparation for consump-
When he was growing up, his While scorpions get a “bad tion. And then something hap-
family considered them pests. rap,” they are an important in- pened that made the group go
The hearty arthropods, dicator of the overall health of silent: One of the larger scorpi-
which have roamed the earth the ecosystems where they are ons devoured a small scorpion,
for millions of years, can indeed found, said Esposito. thrusting its entire body into its
be unwanted guests. Dozens “If something is going wrong mouth.
of Phoenix companies offer to in an area, scorpions are a place “Why didn’t he go for the
spray, kill and seal scorpions to look” to understand what is moths?” shouted Lucas.
out of homes. Online ads in- going on, she said. “Why go for moths,” Roberts
clude pictures of joked, “when
smiling and un- they can eat each
suspecting little other?”
children, and
warnings that “If something is going wrong in an If you go
scorpions could area, scorpions are a place to look. Scorpion
even show up in hunts are done
your bed. in Southwest
While scor- states like Arizo-
pion stings hurt na, New Mexico,
— experts say they are like a bee After an hour, our group had Nevada and others. The best
sting — they are rarely lethal, gathered about 25 scorpions. way to find excursions is to
especially in the United States. All were placed in a large plastic search online for the dates you
A 2008 study, “Epidemiology box, around the size of a home will be in the area. Remember
of scorpionism: A global ap- aquarium. Roberts, the ranger, to wear closed-toed shoes and
praisal,” found that of about 1.2 identified three kinds we had pants and bring black lights.
million stings annually, 3,250, captured: straight tail, yellow While children adore such out-
or 0.27%, resulted in death. ground and giant hairy scorpi- ings, make sure they are old
The highest risk areas are in ons. enough to follow directions of
parts of Africa, the Middle East, Watching them interact, I the tour leader. For more on
South India, Mexico and south- was awed by their ferocity. Sev- the scorpion hunt, check out
ern Latin America, and fatali- eral attacked each other, pinch- the latest episode of The Asso-
ties were often a result of a lack ing and whipping their tails, ciated Press’ “Get Outta Here”
of anti-venom treatments, ac- while others tried in vain to podcast. ■
cording to the study. climb out, slipping on the side

UK, France...

❰❰ 19 Asked about John-
son’s suggestion,
Trump said he re-
spects the British leader and
believes the current agreement
expires too soon.
The joint U.K., France, Ger-
many statement urges Iran to
reverse its rollback on key pro-
visions in the 2015 nuclear deal
and calls for a new agreement.
“The time has come for Iran
to accept negotiation on a long-
term framework for its nuclear
program as well as on issues
related to regional security,
including its missiles program
and other means of delivery,”
the three countries said.
Shortly before leaving for the
U.N. meetings Monday, Iran’s
Rouhani said on state televi-
sion that his country will invite
Persian Gulf nations to join an
Iranian-led coalition “to guar-
antee the region’s security.”
Rouhani said the plan also
encompasses economic co-
operation and an initiative for
“long term” peace. He planned
on presenting details while at
the United Nations.
Zarif said the new Hormuz
Peace Initiative — with the
acronym HOPE — would be
formed under a U.N. umbrella
with two underlying principles:
nonaggression and noninter-
ference. He said it would re-
quire a major shift from coun-
tries “buying” security from
other nations or mercenaries
and instead promote the no-
tion that “you can gain security
relying on your own people and
working with your neighbours.”
Johnson said he would meet
Rouhani at this week’s U.N.
gathering. He said he wanted
Britain to be “a bridge between
our European friends and the
Americans when it comes to the
crisis in the Gulf.”
Johnson stressed the need
for a diplomatic response to the
Gulf tensions but said Britain
would consider any request for
military help.
The Trump administration
announced Friday that it would
send additional U.S. troops and
missile defence equipment to
Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates as part of a “de-
fensive” deployment. Officials
said the number of troops was
likely to be in the hundreds.
“We will be following that
very closely,” Johnson said.
“And clearly if we are asked,
either by the Saudis or by the
Americans, to have a role, then
we will consider in what way we
could be useful.”
A U.K. official told The As-
sociated Press that a claim of
responsibility for the attacks by
Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Ye-
men was “implausible.” He said
remnants of Iran-made cruise
missiles were found at the at-
tack site, and “the sophistica-
tion points very, very firmly to
Iranian involvement.”
The official, who spoke on
the condition of anonymity to
discuss intelligence findings,
did not say whether Britain be-
lieved the attack was launched
from Iranian soil. Iran denies
responsibility and has warned
any retaliatory attack targeting
it will result in an “all-out war.”
Meanwhile Monday, Iranian
government spokesman Ali Ra-
biei suggested the release of a
British-flagged oil tanker held
by Tehran since July would be
imminent, though he doesn’t
know when it will leave.
The Stena Impero has not
turned on its satellite-tracking
beacon in 58 days and there has
not been any sign that it has left
its position near Iranian port
city of Bandar Abbas.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard
seized the vessel after authori-
ties in Gibraltar seized an Ira-
nian crude oil tanker. That ship
has since left Gibraltar, lead-
ing to hopes the Stena Impero
would be released. ■
Associated Press writers Jenni-
fer Peltz at the United Nations;
Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran;
and Jon Gambrell in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates, contrib-
uted to this report.

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 39

www.canadianinquirer.net
40 SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 FRIDAY

GOOD ENOUGH TO WORK

GOOD ENOUGH TO STAY
Caregivers and domes�c workers face more barriers to immigra�on than any other
class of workers, including longer processing �mes, more stringent work No more separated families!
requirements, and policies that force family separa�on. This is an injus�ce.
Caregivers and domes�c workers provide invaluable care work for Canadian families, No more abused workers!
and should be able to obtain Permanent Resident status upon arrival like other
Landed Status Now!
streams of economic class immigra�on. LANDED STATUS NOW!

ADVOCATING FOR CHANGE: APPLICATION BACKLOGS

2014 The Live-in Caregiver Program applica�on On October 28, she ques�oned the Immigra�on
Minister if PR on arrival for caregivers will be
backlog reached over 60,000. Some families and
announced in the Immigra�on Levels Plan. On
caregivers were separated from their children for as
December 6, MP Kwan calls for alloca�on of
long as 10 years. There were many accounts of abuse
money for a special measure to clear the
and exploita�on due to aws in the program.
caregiver applica�ons backlog. 2017 MP Kwan holds a press conference in
2015 Jenny Kwan is elected as the Member of Toronto, Caregiver Joy Godroy tells her story in
Parliament for Vancouver East and appointed as Cri�c public for the rst �me. Joy was separated from
for Immigra�on, Refugees and Ci�zenship. her children for 13 years, missing their birthdays,
gradua�ons, and communions.
2016 MP Jenny Kwan begins taking on caregiver December 3, 2017, the Minister of Immigra�on
applica�on casework from across Canada, hearing announced to change the processing �me for
story a�er story of pain and suffering from caregivers to 12 months, ci�ng Joy’s story in his
caregivers separated from their families. announcement.

FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION: INTERIM PATHWAY & STILL FIGHTING:

MEDICAL INADMISSIBILITY NEW PILOT PR STATUS ON ARRIVAL
2018 February, the Liberal government quietly
announced the end of the Caring for Children
and High Medical Needs program, providing no
informa�on on a pathway forward. MP Kwan
raised the issue in Ques�on Period.

2018 Shirley Benigno shared her story of being It is injus�ce for

denied PR status because of her son’s medical
condi�on. MP Kwan argues that this is deeply caregivers to face the
discriminatory towards people with disabili�es,
and calls for the complete removal of the medical
uncertainty of pilots
inadmissibility clause. a�er pilots.
April 16, the Immigra�on Minister announced that 2019 Interim Pathway for Caregivers and new Jus�ce means equality.
the excessive demands threshold will be increased, pilot were announced in spring, but challenges
making 75% of families eligible but 25% of families
s�ll discriminated against. MP Kwan con�nued to
remain, including interna�onal tui�on fees for
children, and serious ques�ons about nancial
LANDED
STATUS NOW.
call for the complete removal of the clause to put requirements with the pilot. There is s�ll no PR
an end to all discrimina�on. on arrival.

Office of Jenny Kwan, Member of Parliament for Vancouver East

NDP Cri�c for Immigra�on, Refugees and Ci�zenship
www.canadianinquirer.net
www.jennykwan.ndp.ca |jenny.kwan@parl.gc.ca | 604 - 775 -5800