Drive the Legend

m 2022 Mustang
info@canadianinquirer.net Starting From

sales@canadianinquirer.net 32,295
Plus Air & Freight
$ Charges of $2,195

facebook.com/
Philippine
CanadianInquirer CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER FORDTO.CA
twitter.com/
pcinews_twt JUNE 24, 2022 www.canadianinquirer.net VOL. 8 NO. 495

RAINBOW CROSSWALK

(From left to right) Director of UP-Center for Women Studies Foundation Dr. Nathalie Africa-Verceles, Punong Babaylan of UP Babaylan Anna Cubacub; Mondelez PH Jean Sevilla, and UP Babay-
lan Pride Month Co-Head Mina Manahan walk through the rainbow crosswalk on M. Roxas Street across the West Wing of Palma Hall in the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City on
Monday (June 20, 2022). JOEY O. RAZON / PNA

Immunocompromised 10

12- to 17-years-old now

eligible for boosters Single-use plastics ban plan
laid out by Canada

BY MA. TERESA MONTEMAYOR going cancer treatment for tumors or

Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Immunocompromised ad-
olescents aged 12 to 17 years old can now
receive their booster shots of Covid-19
vaccines, a health official said Wednesday.
In an online media forum, Health Un-
dersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said
this group include those who are under-
cancers of the blood; undergoing organ
transplant; received stem cell transplant 20
within the last two years; have moderate
to severe primary immunodeficiency; `
BTS take a break: world’s biggest K-pop
have advance or untreated HIV infection;
have active treatment with high dose cor- group is caught between Korea’s soft
ticosteroids or other drugs; undergoing power ambitions and national security
dialysis; living with autoimmune disease Online sessions with
PAGE 16 therapy dogs can help
❱❱ PAGE 7 Immunocompromised 12- to students feel less stressed

Advanced equipment and testing available

We direct bill most insurance companies:

Square One
Sun Life Green Shield
Manulife Blue Cross
Great-West Life Claim Secure Valid only at
Located in Square One Industrial Alliance Square One
inside Pearle Vision
If you are 19 years old and under or 65 years old
905-277-3052
and older, you are covered under OHIP**

visit www.drshekari.com *Eye exams available by Independent Doctors of Optometry inside Pearle Vision.
to schedule your eye exam*
12/31/2021.
2 Philippine News
Bongbong Marcos to head DA ‘for now’
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – President-elect
Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos
Jr. on Monday said he will tem-
porarily head the Department of
Agriculture (DA), citing the need
to urgently address the looming
food crisis in the country.
“As to agriculture, I think that
the problem is severe enough
that I have decided to take on
the portfolio of Secretary of
Agriculture, at least for now,”
Marcos said in a press confer-
ence in Mandaluyong City.
He said heading the DA him-
self will show that the govern-
ment prioritizes agriculture. It
will also allow measures to be
carried out more quickly.
“I think it is important that
the President take that portfolio
so that not only to make it clear
to everyone what a high priority
we put on the agricultural sector,
but also as a practical matter so
that things move quickly because
the events of the global economy
are moving very quickly. We have
to be able to be agile, we have to
be able to respond properly in a
measured way as soon as there
is a situation that needs to be ad-
dressed,” he added.
Marcos said the most press-
ing matters that need to be
addressed in the agricultural
sector are increasing rice pro-
duction and reorganizing the
DA and its attached agencies.
He stressed the need to im-
prove the country’s rice indus-
try because Thailand and Viet-
nam are planning to form a rice
export cartel to mitigate rising
production costs.
“First of all will be to try to
increase production as we come
into the harvest period during,
before, and after the rainy sea-
sons. Hopefully, we can coun-
teract some of the increases in
prices. You may have noted that
Thailand and Vietnam, for ex-
ample, one of our main sources
of imported rice, have decided to
ban their rice exports at least for
JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY
now. So we have to compensate “transformation.” Russia-Ukraine crisis
for that by increasing production As for immediate measures Meanwhile, Marcos said he
here in the Philippines,” he said. to assist sectors severely affect- has instructed agencies to make
Marcos also emphasized the ed by the looming food crisis, economic forecasts in response
need to reorganize DA and its Marcos pointed out the need to to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine
attached agencies – the Nation- accelerate the issuance of na- conflict which is disrupting glob-
al Food Authority (NFA), the tional identification (ID) cards al supplies of basic commodities.
Food Terminal Incorporated to ensure faster aid distribution. “I have asked the DTI [Depart-
(FTI), and the Kadiwa program. “We’re going to digitize the ment of Trade and Industry],
“The other priority which is bureaucracy. It all really de- NEDA [National Economic and
equally important, although it pends on everyone having their Development Authority], De-
is a long-term process, is the national ID. It’s a good database partment of Finance, the DBM
restructuring of the Depart- that the government should
ment of Agriculture. Many of have,” he said. ❱❱ PAGE 19 Bongbong Marcos to
the agencies have changed their
function over the years and
maybe it’s time to return them.
I talk about organizations like
the NFA, FTI, and the Kadiwa
which we have already started
to see, especially at the local lev-
el. But we have to restructure
the actual department so as to
be more responsive to the glob-
al situation now when it comes
to food supply,” he added.
He described agriculture as a
“critical and foundational part”
of the country’s post-pandem-
ic economic development and (BONGBONG MARCOS/FACEBOOK)
www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2022 3
4 Philippine News
Robredo office almost empty
8 days before she steps down
BY MARITA MOAJE
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Eight days before
she steps down from her post,
Vice President Leni Robredo said
the Office of the Vice President
(OVP) located in New Manila,
Quezon City is now almost empty.
During her Facebook live on
Wednesday, Robredo showed
the actual office that she used
to serve as the country’s 14th
Vice President, and the rest of
the QC Reception House that
served as her office for six years.
“For posterity, ito yung ano
na, patapos na kaming mag
empake. Kung nakikita nyo,
itong mga kahon na ito ay pap-
unta siya sa susunod na office,
papunta siya sa Angat Buhay
Vergeire to head Senate panel pushes another
Nat’l Vaccination round of fuel subsidies
Operations Center
BY MA. TERESA
MONTEMAYOR
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Health Undersec-
retary Maria Rosario Vergeire
will head the National Vaccina-
tion Operations Center (NVOC)
as the government transitions
to a new administration.
In an online media forum,
Vergeire confirmed that she
was assigned to replace NVOC
chair Myrna Cabotaje.
The NVOC is mandated to en-
sure the proper storage, invento-
ry and delivery of Covid-19 vac-
cines and develop appropriate
guidelines for the national vacci-
nation program against Covid-19.
“Pero siyempre po kapag
pumasok ‘yung bagong ad-
ministrasyon maaari pa rin ho
magbago ‘yan. Pero sa ngayon
po na naibigay sa atin ‘yung as-
signment, of course, unang-una
gusto ho natin pasalamatan si
(That could still change when
the new administration takes
over. But for now, that as-
signment was given to me, of
office. Yung mga malalaking
kahon ay naiuwi na. Halos bare
na yung office namin, yung mga
personal items ko na lang yung
dadalhin (we are almost done
packing. You see these boxes,
this will go to the next office,
the Angat Buhay office. We have
sent home the big boxes. The of-
fice is now almost bare, just left
are some personal items that
we will bring),” she said.
She added that among those
items left are just a few clothes,
some toiletries, documents, and
artworks given to her as gifts.
Robredo said the last few boxes
would be transferred to the new
office by the end of this week.
She said some of the artworks
and paintings that were given to
her would be placed in an art mu-
seum that she was planning to
course, first of all I would like
to thank) Usec. Myrna, under
of course, the leadership of Sec-
retary Duque, for all her efforts
and excellent way of leading
our National Vaccination Oper-
ations Center where in we were
able to achieve 70 plus million
of our Filipino population have
been vaccinated,” she said.
Vergeire said NVOC’s
achievements under Cab-
otaje are a “big feat to follow
through” but she is committed
to continue on with the work.
She added that all strategies are
in place and implementing units
have been mobilized when the
NVOC started under Cabotaje.
She plans to increase the vac-
cination rate in areas with low
inoculation turn out and engage
in more discussions to generate
more demand for boosters.
“We’re looking at a different
type of vaccine, a reformulated
one para po kung saka-sakali,
makita po natin kung paano
po maipapatupad dito sa ating
bansa (so we could study how it
can be administered here in our
country),” she said. ■
open where memorabilia of her
office, as well as souvenirs she ac-
cumulated during the campaign
period, would be preserved.
No further detail has been
given yet on the said art muse-
um, however, she said all these
would become the property of
the Angat Buhay Foundation.
During her Facebook live, Ro-
bredo thanked everyone, espe-
cially her supporters, for journey-
ing with her for the past six years.
She also vowed that she
would go live over Facebook
more often after June 30, when
she steps down from her post to
give way to incoming Vice Pres-
ident Sara Duterte.
Meanwhile, in a recent in-
terview, Duterte said she wants
the OVP to be housed in a per-
manent structure and would
BY WILNARD BACELONIA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Senate com-
mittee on energy pushed anoth-
er round of “Pantawid Pasada”,
a government program that dis-
tributes fuel subsidies to sectors
affected by the oil price hikes.
The panel made this sugges-
tion to the Land Transportation
Franchising and Regulatory
Board (LTFRB) following a con-
sultative meeting presided over
by Senate committee on energy
chairperson Senator Sherwin
Gatchalian on Tuesday.
“We are calling on the LTFRB
to efficiently distribute the next
round of Pantawid Pasada. I’ve
heard earlier that the database
is in place considering that they
have already distributed this var-
ious times. We’re calling LTFRB
to be more expeditious in terms
of the distribution,” he said.
Senator Imee Marcos, a com-
mittee member, agreed with the
government’s economic man-
agers who said suspending fuel
excise tax is not workable at the
moment.
Marcos called on her col-
leagues to revisit the Republic
www.canadianinquirer.net
like this to be her legacy.
Past vice presidents of the
country have all held their offic-
es in temporary locations.
(VP LENI ROBREDO/FACEBOOK)
Act (RA) 8479 or the Oil Dereg-
ulation Law as suggested by the
Department of Energy (DOE).
“Pag-aralan natin in aid of
legislation yung Section 11,
yung (Let’s study in aid of leg-
islation this) anti-trust safe-
guard. For the DOE, nabanggit
dun (it was mentioned there) to
determine an indicative retail
price at saka dun sa (and there
in) Section 19, may (there is a)
start of full deregulation, may
sinasabing (it mentioned) un-
bundling clause. Siguro balikan
natin yan kasi parating contro-
versial yan pero (Maybe let’s
review that because it is always
controversial but) I think it’s
time to look at it also,” she told
the committee.
Marcos said stakeholders
also question Section 5 of the
law, particularly provision on
the liberalization of industry
mandating a 30-day inventory.
On Monday, Senator Aqui-
lino Pimentel III appealed to
the incoming administration
of President-elect Ferdinand
“Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to iden-
tify and remove taxes and oth-
er fees in fuel transactions to
minimize the effects of surging
prices of petroleum products.
JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY
Robredo has already met
with Duterte’s transition team
to ensure a “smooth transition”
to the new administration. ■
Pimentel, who attended the
Senate committee on energy’s
consultative meeting, said he
will file a bill to formalize his
proposal to remove excise tax
on fuels.
When asked about the rev-
enues that will be affected
by the excise tax removal, Pi-
mentel said the government
should be open to belt-tight-
ening measures.
Senator Grace Poe is also
planning to refile her bill seek-
ing to temporarily halt the
collection of excise tax on oil
products.
Poe said suspending fuel ex-
cise taxes will bring instant re-
lief to the public as it will lower
the prices of fuel products, re-
sulting in the reduction of costs
of goods and services.
“To our people in daily sur-
vival mode, the oil tax reprieve
will provide a crucial lifeline,”
Poe explained worrying that
the revenues that the govern-
ment will generate from the ex-
cise tax to fund cash aid might
come too late.
She said the measure is
among the pieces of legislation
that she will file in the incoming
19th Congress. ■
FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2022 5

Get the latest News & Updates

read daily news

from Philippines,
Canada & the World
www.canadianinquirer.net
The one and only daily Filipino-Canadian live news
6 Philippine News
Gov’t reserves
parcels of land
for IT centers,
industrial park
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (TOTO LOZANO/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Outgoing Presi-
dent Rodrigo R. Duterte has is-
sued three new proclamations
reserving parcels of land for
Information Technology (IT)
centers and an industrial park.
Duterte signed Proclamation
No. 1391 creating and designat-
ing a building and the parcel
of land located along 1 Theater
Drive, Circuit, Barangay Carmo-
na, Makati City as an IT center.
“...I, Rodrigo Roa Duterte,
President of the Republic of the
Philippines, do hereby create
and designate a building, with a
gross floor area of 83,824 square
meters, more or less, and the
parcel of land upon which the
building stands, located along 1
Theater Drive, Circuit, Baran-
gay Carmona, Makati City, as an
Information Technology Cen-
ter to be known as the Circuit
Corporate Center 1…” the proc-
lamation read.
The area covers 2,924 square
meters.
He also signed Proclamation
No. 1392 creating and designat-
ing a building and the parcel of
land located along 3 Theater
Drive, Circuit, Barangay Car-
mona, Makati City, as a Special
Economic Zone (IT Center).
“I, Rodrigo Roa Duterte,
President of the Republic of the
Philippines, do hereby create
and designate a building, with a
gross floor area of 46,817 square
meters, more or less, and the
parcel of land upon which the
building stands, located along
3 Theater Drive, Circuit, Ba-
rangay Carmona, Makati City,
as an Information Technology
Center to be known as Circuit
Corporate Center 2…” the proc-
lamation read.
The area covers 3,572 square
meters.
Duterte also signed Procla-
mation No. 1394 designating
several parcels of land located
in Barangay Santiago, Sto. To-
mas City, Batangas, for inclu-
sion in the existing light indus-
try and science park III-Special
Economic Zone pursuant to
Republic Act 7916 or the Spe-
cial Economic Zone (SEZ) Act
of 1995.
SEZ refers to selected areas
with highly developed or which
have the potential to be devel-
oped into agro-industrial, in-
dustrial, tourist/recreational,
commercial, banking, invest-
ment and financial centers.
These parcels of land are Lot
2940, Lot 2941, Lot 2942, Lot
2952, Lot 2953, Lot 2954-A, Lot
2956-A, Lot 2958, Lot 2960, Lot
5, and Lot 6.
Duterte signed all proclama-
tions on June 13. ■
No need to amend agrarian
reform law: DAR
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Department of
Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secre-
tary Bernie F. Cruz said there is
no need to amend the Compre-
hensive Agrarian Reform Law
(CARL).
“The agrarian reform pro-
gram is not about consolidating
lands. The program awards in-
dividual land titles to beneficia-
ries to give them the freedom of
managing it themselves and to
create more opportunities for
them,” Cruz said in a news re-
lease on Tuesday.
Cruz made this reaction
after of George Barcelon,
president of the Philippine
Chamber of Commerce and In-
dustry (PCCI), pushed for spe-
cific amendments in the CARL
that include easing the rules in
land consolidation and owner-
ship to create opportunities for
Indonesian envoy eyes
new opportunities in PH
BY RAYMOND CARL DELA
CRUZ
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Indonesian Am-
bassador to the Philippines Agus
Widjojo on Tuesday said Indo-
nesia is eyeing to increase its
collaboration with the Philippine
government and private sectors
in exploring new opportunities.
During a lunch with media
partners on Tuesday, Widjojo
said his government is looking
Indonesian Ambassador to the Philippines Agus Widjojo (RAYMOND CARL DELA
CRUZ VIA PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY/FACEBOOK)
www.canadianinquirer.net
better agricultural productivity
by farming larger tracts of land.
Cruz said the agrarian reform
program under Presidential
Decree No. 27 and the Compre-
hensive Agrarian Reform Pro-
gram (CARP) issues individual
land titles to landless farmers
and farmworkers.
“If we will consolidate lands,
that would be going against the
intent and essence of PD 27 and
CARP. We will be destroying
the legacies of the father and
grandfather of President-Elect
Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and
incoming DAR Secretary Con-
rado Estrella, III, respectively,”
Cruz said.
“Under the CARP though, we
have awarded collective land ti-
tles called the collective certif-
icate of land ownership award
(CCLOAs) in the past. Seeing
that the farmers are not pros-
pering in their collective lands,
President Duterte directed us to
to increase the involvement of
Indonesian state-owned enter-
prises in local projects in infra-
structure, transportation, and
“strategic industries.”
“The Philippines is an import-
ant trading partner for Indone-
sia. With a total bilateral trade
value of USD9.5 billion in 2021,
an export value of USD8.6 bil-
lion and import value of USD1.2
billion. This makes Indonesia’s
trade balance surplus at the lev-
el of USD7.3 billion,” he said.
Despite some challenges such
JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY
split these landholdings. We are
now in the process of individual-
izing these CCLOAs to serve the
farmers better,” Cruz added.
Cruz said the farmers who
are bound to CCLOAs are dis-
advantaged in a lot of ways.
“Collective ownership does
not protect the property rights
of our farmers because they do
not have their own titles of their
lands. They also fight over what
to plant,” Cruz added.
He said amending the CARP
law is not the answer to make
the farmers more productive.
“We all want the same thing,
to improve our agricultural
system through massive crop
production, and we can achieve
this through our Mega Farms
project. It involves consolida-
tion of production with support
services and protects the prop-
erty rights of farmers. It is not
consolidation of ownership”
Cruz said. ■
as connectivity and trade bal-
ance between the two countries,
he said there was a “wide range
of opportunities” in strengthen-
ing economic cooperation.
To make logistical transfer
easier between the two coun-
tries, he said the Indonesian
government is encouraging con-
nectivity between the Southern
Philippines and Eastern Indo-
nesia through activating air and
sea transportation routes.
He said Indonesia is also
looking to promote collabora-
tion between businesses and
creating a “joint-balance” pro-
gram in improving trade rela-
tions to “reflect mutually bene-
ficial trade relations.”
“Marked by various high-lev-
el cooperation in various fields,
both in bilateral, regional, and
multilateral context. Indonesia
and the Philippines continue to
strengthen bilateral relations
by seeking ways and means for
mutually beneficial coopera-
tion,” he said.
❱❱ PAGE 7 Indonesian envoy eyes
FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2022
First-ever PH exhibition at
Nairobi Nat’l Museum opens
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Philippine
Embassy in Nairobi, led by
Ambassador Marie Charlotte
G. Tang, opened the first-ev-
er Philippine exhibition at the
Nairobi National Museum ti-
tled “Perfected by Tradition:
Philippine Weaves” on June 17.
Over 50 guests from the Ken-
yan Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Ministry of Sports, Culture and
Heritage, National Museums
of Kenya (NMK), Asean Nairo-
bi Committee, and faculty and
students of the Department of
Fashion Design and Marketing
and the Department of Fine
Arts and Design of Kenyatta
Comelec audit reports 99.9%
accuracy of May 9 polls
BY FERDINAND PATINIO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Commis-
sion on Elections (Comelec) on
Monday achieved a nearly 100
percent accuracy score after its
Random Manual Audit (RMA)
of the May 9 elections.
Commissioner Aimee Ferolino,
in charge of the RMA Committee,
said they started last month and
finished ahead of schedule.
“On behalf of the entire Ran-
dom Manual Audit Committee,
including the civil society organi-
zations, Philippine Statistics Au-
thority, and your Commission, as
well as the teachers who served
as RMA teams, I am happy to
report that we finished ahead of
schedule and that our accuracy
rate as of 4 p.m. yesterday (Sun-
day) stands at 99.95928%,” she
said in a statement.
“The law gives us a maxi-
mum of 45 days to finish the au-
dit, but with the dedication and
cooperation of all parties in-
volved, it took us only 34 days.
We finished early and we fin-
ished strong,” Ferolino added.
On May 10, Comelec ran-
domly selected at least one
clustered precinct per legisla-
tive district for RMA, with 757
University attended the open-
ing ceremony and enjoyed the
showcase of Philippine woven
textile traditions.
Nairobi National Museum,
the premier museum in Kenya,
attracts thousands of students
and tourists, both local and for-
eign, each year.
In her remarks, Tang noted
that as Kenya is also known for
its very rich and colorful tex-
tile traditions, the Philippine
exhibit provides a good oppor-
tunity for Kenyans to discover
their similarities with Filipi-
nos despite the significant geo-
graphic distance between their
respective countries.
“Philippine weaves are a
tapestry of different colors,
Palacio Del Gobernador in Intramuros, Manila (PATRICKROQUE01/WIKIMEDIA COM-
MONS, CC BY-SA 4.0)
clustered precincts represent-
ing one ballot box each.
The activity was publicly held
at the National Board of Can-
vassers at the Philippine Inter-
national Convention Center in
Pasay City, pursuant to the law
and Comelec rules.
“Out of 757, a total of 746 bal-
lot boxes were audited. Some
ballot boxes were no longer
subjected to audit, while 27
are still subject to further ver-
ification of the Technological
Evaluation Committee for the
following reasons: mislabeled
ballot boxes, with wet/torn bal-
lots, and no printed and online
elections returns” she said.
Ferolino acknowledged the
textures and materials. Every
detail of a traditional textile is
a product of craftsmanship and
has a story to tell. The exhibit
provides its visitors a glimpse
into the lives, social structures,
beliefs, and values of the Filipi-
no people,” Tang said.
In his message read by Nairo-
bi National Museum Principal
Curator Mwanaima Salim, NMK
Acting Director-General Stanvas
Onga’llo said the NMK is hon-
ored to host the Philippine exhi-
bition that celebrates humanity
through both history and art.
He said he hopes that this
would be the beginning of more
partnerships between Kenya
and the Philippines.
The guests, particularly stu-
public and stakeholders for the
success of the RMA.
“To every single person in-
volved in the audit, from the
teachers to the verifiers to the
supervisors and security person-
nel, who spent long days and late
nights, allow me to convey my
sincerest thanks and congratula-
tions to all of you,” Ferolino said.
“To the Filipino electorate, it
is my hope that we were able to
successfully carry out the princi-
pal objective of the random man-
ual audit as mandated by law,
which is to verify whether the
vote-counting machines used in
the May 9, 2022 elections read
and counted your sacred votes
accurately,” she added. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
Guests take their time to enjoy the exhibit and ask questions from Embassy per-
sonnel to learn more about the textiles (PHILIPPINE EMBASSY IN KENYA/FACEBOOK)
dents of fashion design, ex-
pressed how engaging and in-
formative the exhibit was, and
proposed a possible collabora-
tive project in which they would
create their own designs using
various Philippine fabrics.
“Perfected by Tradition: Phil-
ippine Weaves” was organized
Immunocompromised 12- to...
❰❰ 1 and treatment with
specific immuno-sup-
pressive medications;
and diagnosed with conditions
considered to be immunocom-
promised like those experienc-
ing malnutrition.
“Ang iba pong mga kabataan
12 to 17 years old ay isusunod
na rin po (Other adolescents 12
to 17 years will be eligible for
booster) soon, maybe next week
or a couple of days after the im-
munocompromised,” she said.
“Gusto lang po natin ayusin
ang pagpapatupad at gusto nating
maiuna muna ang (We just want
the implementation to be orderly
and prioritize the) immunocom-
promised children,” she added.
The booster shot maybe admin-
istered at least 28 days after the
second dose of the primary series.
On June 14, the Philippine Food
and Drug Administration issued
Indonesian envoy eyes...
❰❰ 6 ‘No foreseeable
problems’
Following a recent
courtesy call on President-elect
Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos
Jr., he said the relations between
the two countries will remain
strong and there are no “foresee-
able” problems that may come up
with the incoming administration.
“We are member states of Ase-
an (Association of Southeast Asian
Nations) and I think again, with
7
in close collaboration with the
National Commission for Cul-
ture and the Arts (NCCA) and
the NMK to mark the Philip-
pine National Heritage Month
and the 124th Anniversary of
Philippine Independence Day.
It will run from 17 June to 17
July 2022. ■
an emergency use authorization
allowing Pfizer BioNTech vaccines
as booster doses for adolescents.
The Health Technology As-
sessment Council also gave a
positive recommendation for
the Pfizer booster shot which
Health Secretary Francisco
Duque III approved Tuesday.
As of June 20, the Depart-
ment of Health said almost 9.5
million adolescents are fully
vaccinated along with almost
3.3 million children.
The country has vaccinated
77.85 percent or more than 70
million of its target population.
Meantime, about 14.8 million
have received their first boost-
er shot and more than 682,000
healthcare workers, senior cit-
izens, immunocompromised
and individuals with comorbid-
ities have received their second
booster doses. ■
that we have the same spirit, the
culture of collaboration and coop-
eration within Asean,” he said.
On June 6, Marcos met with
several diplomats, including
Widjojo, and discussed eco-
nomic matters and response to
the Covid-19 pandemic.
Widjojo became the Indone-
sian Ambassador to the Philip-
pines in January and presented
his credentials to President Ro-
drigo Duterte on May 25. ■
8 Philippine News JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY

Family to donate organs of

Filipino lawyer slain in US
BY WILNARD BACELONIA The family found a semblance of hope Althea Ann said she is uncertain how
Philippine News Agency when Laylo “squeezed my mom’s hand to go on each day without her brother.
Correspondent/Hosts three times and started mildly breathing “It’s debilitating, frightening, to say
Bea Kirstein T. Manalaysay
Joanna Belle Deala on his own”, according to a tweet by Al- the least, but as his frequent reminder
Kathleen Mae Guerrero MANILA – The family of lawyer John thea Ann on Sunday night. goes, I will be strong. If not for me, for
Arianne Grace Lacanilao Albert “Jal” Laylo, a victim of a random “I thank God for the 35 years of his my kuya (elder brother). To my kuya,
Violeta Arevelo
Babes Newland shooting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania life. I’m beyond grateful for having a you are the love of my life and no one can
Matte Laurel over the weekend, will donate his organs. good, smart, generous, loving, caring take that away from you,” she said on
Graphic Design
Althea Ann, Laylo’s sister, said in a son. These are the adjectives I can think Facebook.
Shanice Garcia tweet Monday that they find peace in the of now,” she posted on Facebook. Seeking justice
Ginno Alcantara thought that “somewhere in the world, a Leah is thankful that she was with her In a statement, Elmer Cato, Consul
Arlnie Colleene Talain Singca
piece of him is alive and breathing”. son on his last days and made sure they General in New York, said the Philippine
Account Manager “He will do anything in his power to had fun. Consulate is coordinating with author-
Kristopher Yong help. So as one final mission, he will be “We traveled together and we are sup- ities and underscored the importance
Director/Producer
donating his organs to those who need posed to go home together! I will bring the Philippine government places on
Boom Dayupay it,” Althea Ann’s tweet read. him home soon in a box! My son has a lot the case.
Laylo’s mother, Leah, said in a social of dreams a lot of plans, hopes and every- Cato himself went to Philadelphia but
Photographers/Videographers
Ginno Alcantara
media post that her son passed away thing! He’s gone now. I can’t explain the Laylo was declared dead an hour before
at 10:33 a.m. Sunday (US time) at Penn pain the heaviness I have in my heart. It he arrived with leaders of the Filipino
Operations and Admin Presbyterian Medical Center in West took me hours to post this because still I
Victoria Yong Philadelphia where they were both tak- can’t believe this happened!” she added. ❱❱ PAGE 11 Family to donate
Amelia Insigne
en after the shooting incident along 38th
Management and Spruce Streets in University City,
Alan Yong Philadelphia.
They were onboard an Uber vehicle
on their way to the airport to catch their
For photo submissions, please email
flight to Chicago.
editor@canadianinquirer.net Leah said the incident happened at
4:06 a.m., with Laylo struck with a bullet
For General Inquiries, please email
info@canadianinquirer.net
to the head while she sustained wounds
from the car’s broken glass.
For Sales Inquiries, please email Based on initial police reports re-
sales@canadianinquirer.net
or visit
ceived by the Philippine Consulate in
‘www.canadianinquirer.net/advertise-with-us/’ New York, the vehicle was shot at from
behind by still unknown suspects, who
Philippine Canadian Inquirer is located at then pulled over to the Uber driver’s side
#1820-666 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V6C 2X8 Canada and fired more rounds before fleeing.
Laylo was first reported already dead
by incoming Department of Migrant
Email: info@canadianinquirer.net,
sales@canadianinquirer.net Workers Secretary Susan Ople to Depart-
ment of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary
Instagram: @pcinews_ig Teodoro Locsin, but his family later cor-
Twitter: @pcinews_twt rected that he was on life support. (JAL LAYLO/FACEBOOK)

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/pcinews

Philippine Canadian Inquirer is published weekly

every Friday.

Copies are distributed free throughout Metro

‘Be careful’, Palace reminds as
Covid cases start to peak in NCR
Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Greater Toronto.

The views and opinions expressed in the articles

(including opinions expressed in ads herein) are those
of the authors named, and are not necessarily those of
Philippine Canadian Inquirer Editorial Team.

PCI reserves the right to reject any advertising which

it considers to contain false or misleading information
or involves unfair or unethical practices. The advertiser
agrees the publisher shall not be liable for damages
arising out of error in any advertisement.
Member
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Malacañang on Tuesday
reminded Filipinos to continue observ-
ing minimum public health standards
after the Department of Health (DOH)
announced that Covid-19 cases in Metro
Manila are “starting to peak.”
DOH spokesperson and Undersec-
retary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the
Philippines recorded a total of 3,051 new
Covid-19 cases from June 13 to June 19,
which is 82 percent higher than cases re-
ported the previous week.
She said Metro Manila recorded the
most cases in the past two weeks with
2,194 infections followed by Calabarzon
(659), Western Visayas (375), Central
Luzon (324) and Central Visayas (183).
“Wear your masks, social distancing,
wash your hands,” outgoing Communi-
cations Secretary and acting presiden-
tial spokesperson Martin Andanar told
reporters in an ambush interview.
Andanar acknowledged that it is dif-
ficult to avoid crowds nowadays since
all establishments in areas under Alert
Level 1 are now allowed to operate at 100
percent capacity as long as proof of full
vaccination is presented.
“You just really have to be careful,
drink your vitamins, eat healthy, don’t
stay up late, and sleep long,” he added.
He allayed fears that the increase in
Covid-19 cases in Metro Manila could lead to
higher alert level classification or lockdown.
“Sinabi naman ni Usec. Vergeire na (Usec.
Vergeire said) it’s not a cause for another
surge. Pero kailangan tayong mag-ingat
talaga kasi (But we really have to be care-
ful because) it’s not only in the Philippines
❱❱ PAGE 13 ‘Be careful’, Palace

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2022
Newcomers to Canada are supportive of
Indigenous Peoples and reconciliation
BY ANDREW PARKIN,
University of Toronto, ANNA
TRIANDAFYLLIDOU,
Toronto Metropolitan
University, SEYDA ECE
AYTAC, Toronto Metropolitan
University
The Conversation
Public education about Cana-
da’s treatment of Indigenous Peo-
ples is an important component
of the process of reconciliation.
Knowing the history can bet-
ter help citizens understand
current challenges and equip
them with the tools to work
respectfully with Indigenous
Peoples to build a better future,
in keeping with the section on
“education for reconciliation”
in the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission’s final report.
Much of this public educa-
tion occurs in schools, through
the media and even via discus-
sions among friends and within
families. But new immigrants
to Canada might miss some of
this socialization (depending
on their age of arrival) because
they’ll have less exposure to
Canadian schools and media in
their formative years.
This could affect their atti-
tudes to Indigenous Peoples
and support for the process of
reconciliation itself. Given that
one in five Canadians was born
abroad, this would pose a signif-
icant political risk.
Alternatively, it’s possible
that, despite less exposure to
Canadian schools and media,
immigrants might be more sup-
portive of Indigenous Peoples
because they could be more
aware of the legacies of colo-
nialism worldwide, more open
to learn about their new coun-
try or more conscious of their
responsibility as newcomers to
learn Canadian history.
Supportive of Indigenous
Peoples
The question of how immi-
grants perceive Indigenous
Peoples in Canada, and vice
versa, is therefore relevant but
Canada News
rarely explored.
But data from the Confed-
eration of Tomorrow 2021
survey, conducted by the Envi-
ronics Institute and including
sufficiently large samples of
both immigrants and Indige-
nous Peoples, allows us to ex-
amine these issues.
Specifically, we can explore
perceptions of immigrants to-
wards Indigenous Peoples and
reconciliation, and look at re-
sponses to three questions:
1. How familiar do you feel you
are with the history of Indian
Residential Schools in Canada?
2. In your opinion, have gov-
ernments in Canada gone too far
or have they not gone far enough
in trying to advance reconcilia-
tion with Indigenous peoples?
3. Do you believe that indi-
vidual Canadians do, or do not,
have a role to play in efforts to
bring about reconciliation be-
tween Indigenous and non-In-
digenous people?
The survey results generally
show that, despite less famil-
iarity or certainty about these
issues among new immigrants
compared to those born in Can-
ada, they are more likely to sup-
port Indigenous Peoples.
Gap in knowledge
The survey shows a big gap
between how familiar Indige-
nous Peoples and non-Indige-
nous people — both immigrants
to Canada and non-immigrants
— are with the history of Indian
Residential schools.
The findings suggest first-gen-
eration immigrants are less like-
ly than non-Indigenous Canadi-
ans to say they’re “very familiar”
with this history, and are more
likely to express no opinion.
These results indicate that
first-generation immigrants
don’t know as much as other
Canadians about the history
of Indian Schools in Canada. It
is notable, however, that sec-
ond-generation Canadians are
more likely than third-gener-
ation Canadians to feel “very
familiar” with the history of In-
dian Residential Schools.
This lesser familiarity among
first-generation immigrants,
however, does not translate
into lower support for efforts to
advance reconciliation.
Government response
This support is evident when
they were asked about whether
governments have gone too far,
or not far enough, to advance
reconciliation.
The most striking difference
— not surprisingly — is that In-
digenous Peoples are much more
likely than non-Indigenous Ca-
nadians to say that governments
have failed to go far enough to ad-
vance reconciliation.
But first-generation im-
migrants are just as likely to
hold this view than second- or
third-generation Canadians.
First-generation immigrants
are also less likely to say that
governments have gone too
far in their efforts to promote
reconciliation — a result that’s
significant when controlling for
education (which is an import-
ant step since first-generation
immigrants are more likely to
be university-educated than
the rest of the population).
First-generation immigrants
are also less likely to take a de-
finitive position either way, and
are more likely to say “neither”
or “cannot say.”
www.canadianinquirer.net
The role of Canadians
Similarly, Indigenous Peo-
ples are unsurprisingly the
most likely to say that individu-
al Canadians have a role to play
in reconciliation.
But first-generation immi-
grants are just as likely as sec-
ond- or third-generation Cana-
dians to hold this view (although
first-generation immigrants are
also more likely to have no opin-
ion on this question).
These results are encouraging
because they suggest that even if
immigrants aren’t socialized in
Canada at a young age, that’s not an
obstacle to building understanding
and support for reconciliation.
Indigenous support for
immigration
Interestingly, the survey also
allows us to explore the other
side of the relationship between
immigrants and Indigenous
Peoples in Canada, namely sup-
port among Indigenous Peoples
for immigration.
This is a potentially conten-
tious issue. On the one hand, di-
verse sources of immigration in
the post-Second World War pe-
riod have already disrupted the
narrative of Canada as a nation
of two founding peoples (British
and French). That in turn sug-
gests a view of Canada that is not
only multicultural but multi-na-
9
tional, and inclusive of Indige-
nous Peoples and nations.
In this sense, the interests
of immigrants and Indigenous
Peoples could be aligned. But at
the same time, the ongoing ar-
rival of newcomers can be seen
as a continuation of the settler/
colonization process.
Thoughts on immigration
We can explore this issue
by referring to a question in
the survey asking Canadians
whether they agree or disagree
that “overall, there is too much
immigration to Canada.”
The results show that there
are significant differences in
attitudes about immigration
between the general population
and Indigenous Peoples. Thirty
per cent of Indigenous peoples
“strongly agree” with the state-
ment, the highest proportion
among all groups.
However, this general differ-
ence about immigration levels
is driven in large part by the
difference in views between In-
digenous Peoples and first-gen-
eration immigrants. While In-
digenous Peoples, compared to
first-generation immigrants,
are more likely to strongly agree
than strongly disagree that there
is too much immigration to Can-
ada, there are no statistically
significant differences between
Indigenous Peoples and second-
or third-generation Canadians.
This suggests that the key
factor influencing attitudes to-
wards immigration might not
be Indigenous identity, but be-
ing born in Canada.
Nonetheless, this finding is im-
portant because it’s a reminder to
proponents of more immigration
that they should be open to and
engage with Indigenous Peoples’
perspectives on this issue. Im-
migration, as a policy objective,
should be pursued with an eye
on how it might be perceived by
those who were displaced by the
earlier arrival of settlers. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
10
Pride Toronto 2022: This party should be a riot
BY DAVID SEMAAN, York
University, Canada
The Conversation
Pride Toronto has a history
of whitewashing its past. From
the the humiliation of the 1981
bathhouse raids, to the contro-
versial ban of Queers Against
Israeli Apartheid from the 2010
parade and more recently when
the organization only narrowly
voted to prevent uniformed po-
lice from joining the parade.
Pride is rooted in a history
of anti-police and anti-prison
riots and rebellions with ra-
cialized people as its protago-
nists. Pride was founded after
the 1969 rebellion in New York
City when police arrested and
roughed up Storme DeLarverie.
This legacy demands Pride
to work towards a decolonial
future. However, a report re-
leased by York University his-
torian Tom Hooper earlier this
year solidifies that Pride Toron-
to not only continues to white-
wash it’s past, it also replicates
the colonial and racist practices
and systems within Canada.
The report says Pride Toron-
to has been actively exploiting
Indigenous labour and creative
output. It provides examples
of the organization’s contract
with Indigenous artists Kent
Monkman and Jason Baerg (In-
digiqueer) as examples of this
exploitation.
According to the report,
Single-use plastics ban plan laid out by Canada
ANADOLU
Philippine News Agency
TRENTON, Canada – Plastic
straws and grocery bags will be
history by year’s end, the Cana-
dian government announced
Monday.
The long-awaited move hap-
pens three years after Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau prom-
ised to end the use of plastics
that are difficult to recycle and
contribute to pollution.
Six items are affected be-
sides straws and grocery bags,
including Styrofoam take-out
food containers, cutlery, stir
sticks, and plastic rings that
hold together six packs of beer.
The ban means the products
Canada News
Pride Toronto has also failed
to transform its relationship
with Indigenous people — not
living up to the treaty of Niag-
ara (1764) to share the land in
the spirit of friendship, mutual
benefit and respect.
Misleading and fraudulent
In his report, Hooper demon-
strates that Pride Toronto had
misled and fraudulently misrep-
resented the terms of its con-
tracts with Indigenous artists
and the progress on the work
they had commissioned to se-
cure a CA$600,000 dollar grant.
Pride Toronto secured the
funding conditionally based on
promising to collaborate with In-
digenous artists. Artists, howev-
can no longer be made as of the
end of this year. As well, it stops
the sale of the items by the end
of 2023 and their importation
by the end of 2025.
The government listed man-
ufactured plastics as toxic un-
der the Canadian Environmen-
tal Protection Act following a
scientific assessment of plastics
in 2020. It was the first neces-
sary step toward the ban.
Plastics have become a
plague in Canada. In a 2019
study, the Environmental and
Climate Change Canada found
that 3.6 million tons of plas-
tic were thrown out annually.
Most ended up in garbage land-
fills as only about 10 percent of
plastics were recycled. It takes
hundreds of years for plastic to
er, cancelled their collaborations
due to lack of transparency.
The organization demanded
full rights of ownership over
the artists’ work in exchange
for contracts. They misled the
government, claiming support
from several 2SLGBTQIA+ or-
ganizations by recycling old let-
ters of support.
Pride Toronto also active-
ly lied to Indigiqueer claim-
ing that the funding had fallen
through. The organization then
claimed they had fully executed
their contract with Monkman,
despite Monkman cancelling
all association with the project.
Extractive relationships
Pride Toronto’s demonstra-
decompose in landfills.
Also in 2019, a country-wide
shoreline cleanup initiative
collected 359,000 pounds of
plastic waste.
The government data shows
that year also saw huge sales
and use of plastic, including 15.5
billion grocery bags, 4.5 million
pieces of cutlery, 3 billion stir
sticks, 5.8 billion straws, 183
million six-pack rings and 805
million take-out containers, as
reported by Global News.
The items also turned up as
litter in parks and forests.
Some grocery retailers have
already ended the use of plastic
bags, including Sobey’s, while a
number of fast-food outlets have
removed plastic straws and re-
placed them with paper ones. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
tion of fiscal and moral corrup-
tion speaks to more than a lack
of organizational transparency.
It invokes the same exploitative
colonial practices that extract
value from Indigenous labour
for private institutional gains
and gives nothing to Indige-
nous people in return.
The organization’s demands
for ownership over the product
of Indigenous labour entrench-
es ongoing colonial expropria-
tion of Indigenous work and art.
Since this report was re-
leased, Pride Toronto has issued
an apology recognizing that this
is an iteration of settler colonial
harm, yet not much has been
done in terms of reparations.
The organization continues to
snub racialized queer commu-
nities with little scrutiny and
no commitments to materially
compensate for the repeated
exclusion and violence they’ve
committed.
While the organization has
become firmly institutionalized
over the last several decades
(for better or worse) the move-
ment of queer resistance and
Pride is rooted in police and
prison abolition. By not mate-
rially supporting Black, Indig-
enous and racialized queer peo-
ple, Pride Toronto will suffer
the fate of irrelevance.
‘Moves to innoncence’
Decolonizing our relation-
ships, as Eve Tuck and K Wayne
Yang eloquently write, is not
a metaphor. The harms queer
JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY
settlers experience at the hands
of homophobic social struc-
tures cannot be an alibi for
our complicity in colonialism,
something Tuck and Yang coin
as “moves to innocence.”
As queer communities, we
must end an imagined contra-
diction between Indigenous
self-determination and queer
rights. Whiteness is not a syn-
onym for queerness. And an
abolitionist vision of queer lib-
eration must involve Black, In-
digenous and racialized queer
people. We have to reject sim-
ple inclusion as the solution to
homophobic violence, and rec-
ognize the diversity of queer-
ness across racial lines.
Decolonization is tangible,
material work, that begins with
transforming our relations as
queer settlers with Indigenous
people. It involves living up to
treaty obligations, paying rep-
arations to Indigenous people
and stopping colonial theft.
After being called out, Pride
Toronto has the opportunity to
change its relationship with In-
digenous and racialized people.
It is a movement on stolen and
unceded Indigenous lands, and
as a social justice organization,
it has the potential, capacity
and obligation to address these
histories with its work. So far, it
hasn’t. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2022
Why critical race theory
should inform schools
BY CARL E. JAMES, York
University, Canada, VIDYA
SHAH, York University,
Canada
The Conversation
Some parents have been rais-
ing concerns about the teaching
of critical race theory in public
schools in the United States.
Recently, these specious claims
have been showing up in Cana-
da too. School boards are being
questioned for their anti-rac-
ism policies and the teaching of
CRT to students.
The Waterloo Region Record
recently published a story that
detailed how Waterloo Region
District School Board trustees in
Ontario were told by some par-
ents they were concerned their
children could “internalize shame
and guilt because they’re white.”
A school delegation called “for
more transparency about what’s
being taught in classrooms on
critical race theory and white
privilege” and asked education
staff to provide a working defi-
nition of the terms in relation to
“anti-racist lesson plans.”
And last month, a Toronto
Star article on Durham Cath-
olic School Board’s “new an-
ti-racism policy” reported that
trustees and members of the
public had concerns about lan-
guage such as “white suprema-
cy” and “colonialism.”
The language, they said, “re-
flected ‘critical race theory,’ an
academic concept that contends
racism — whether intentional
or not — is systemic and embed-
ded in institutions.” The Star
reported that this language was
removed from the new policy.
What is critical race theory?
Family to donate...
❰❰ 8 community
He assured Leah
that the DFA, Philip-
pine Consulate General in New
York, and Filipino communities
will support them.
“We will assist in the repatri-
ation of her son’s remains. We
are in touch with police author-
ities and have reached out to
others who may have any leads
on the shooting,” Cato said.
Outgoing Senator Leila De
Law professor Derrick A. Bell
is credited with introducing crit-
ical race theory within legal stud-
ies in a 1976 article for Yale Law
Journal and another in 1980 for
the Harvard Law Review.
In those articles, Bell sought to
explain how laws and public and
institutional policies might, on
one hand, offer civic rights pro-
tection for individuals, and on
the other hand, reproduce and
enable racial inequity, racism
and discrimination. Other schol-
ars who contributed to the schol-
arly CRT theoretical framework
include Kimberlé Crenshaw.
The theory explores race and
racialization and is one of sever-
al theoretical frameworks that
explains how racism is built into
our structures and systems.
These systems prevent equal
outcomes in education, health-
care, housing, employment and
more. CRT seeks to consider
how historical, economic, po-
litical, social and cultural con-
texts inform contemporary re-
alities and issues.
CRT also explores the inter-
sections between racism, set-
tler colonialism, ableism, sex-
ism, classism, transphobia and
other forms of oppression.
In education, CRT explains
how notions of fairness, meri-
tocracy, colour-blindness and
neutrality are framed through
dominant perspectives, and ig-
nore the collective experiences
of race and racism that shape
the lives of Black, Indigenous
and other racialized students.
Canadians see racism as a
problem
According to a recent poll, 60
per cent of Canadians see rac-
ism as a serious problem fac-
ing our country. This is hopeful
Lima, who was Laylo’s former
boss, condemned the incident.
“Walang puwang dapat ang
ganitong karahasan sa mundo.
Dapat mapanagot agad ang may
sala at matigil na ang ganitong
mga karumal-dumal na krimen
(These violence should have no
place in this world. The perpe-
trator should be immediately
held liable and stop these hei-
nous crimes),” De Lima tweet-
ed.
news. To help us understand
and respond to racism, we need
a theoretical framework. CRT
is not a policy, structure, train-
ing program or curriculum. It
is a theoretical framework. As
a theory, it is not introduced in
K-12 schooling.
As a framework, it asks
teachers to use equitable ap-
proaches to curriculum, policy
and structures in schools and
school boards. For example,
K-12 curriculum that is viewed
through a CRT lens provides
historical contexts and explains
how history informs contempo-
rary social, political, economic,
cultural situations and issues.
This curriculum would also
include stories written from the
perspective of Indigenous, Black
and other racialized authors.
The ‘moral panic’
Programs and structures like
this have long existed in Cana-
da. Examples of this include: af-
firmative action programs, the
Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms and the Ontario Hu-
man Rights Code.
So why is there such confu-
sion and resistance to these
ideas now? Joshua Sealy-Har-
rington, a critical race scholar
at The Lincoln Alexander Law
School, told the National Post
the “moral panic” around CRT
is “a well-funded and well-or-
chestrated political campaign.”
This moral panic has gained
traction among right-wing con-
servatives in the U.S. and Can-
ada to stall and avert efforts at
racial justice in K-12 schooling
and higher education.
Critics of CRT say addressing
racism in schools creates more
division and is itself, an example
of racism. They say CRT teach-
Laylo worked for de Lima’s
office and helped in drafting
several bills, including Senate
Bill 1433 or the Autism Care Act
in 2017.
Laylo’s Facebook account
indicated he was a graduate of
Makati Science High School,
University of the Philippines
Diliman (Political Science), De
La Salle University (Law), and
Central European University
in Budapest, Hungary (Interna-
www.canadianinquirer.net
Canada News
Parents protested a new anti-racism policy at an Ontario school board saying
their children could ‘internalize shame and guilt because they’re white.’
es white students to feel bad
about themselves and feel guilty
about being white. Instead, they
call for “universal” approaches
to education that focus on our
common humanity.
Indeed, proponents of CRT
are also committed to univer-
sal applications of rights and
to equitable outcomes for all
students’ learning, belonging
and well-being and takes into
account their lived realities.
All students are entitled to
experience a classroom envi-
ronment in which they can build
strong relationships with teach-
ers and fellow classmates, take
risks with their learning and
have their experiences affirmed.
Racism is systemic, not in-
dividual
If racism is seen as individual
actions and beliefs, then sug-
gesting someone has greater
power and privilege in a white
body than a Black or brown
body may feel threatening. But
racism is defined as systemic,
and should be understood as
structural.
Three components consti-
tute the systemic properties of
racism: something that is con-
stitutive of laws, legislations
and policies; something that is
tional Business Law).
He passed the Bar in 2015.
On June 10, Forbes.com re-
leased a report that 22 mass
shootings have taken place in
the US this year.
A massacre at an elementary
school in Uvalde, Texas on May
24 was the deadliest so far with
19 children and two teachers
killed.
It happened 10 days after 10
were shot and killed at a super-
11
comprised of policies, rules and
curricula within institutions;
individual beliefs, perceptions
and attitudes.
Therefore, feeling threat-
ened when talking about white-
ness or white supremacy is not
an example of racism.
In our work with educators,
we have seen the ways in which
delving into issues of race and
racism invite students of all ra-
cial backgrounds to make sense
of the world around them and
reflect on their responsibilities
in creating more just and hu-
mane futures.
Avoiding conversations
about race ensures that racism
flourishes, creates inhospitable
educational contexts and con-
tributes to a deficient learning
experience for all students.
We need dialogue that is
committed to centring the voic-
es of those who live marginal-
ized and racialized realities and
for whom schooling has failed
to meet their interests, needs
and aspirations. Racism needs
to be addressed if we are going
to flourish as a society. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
market in Buffalo, New York.
In 2020, violent gun deaths
spiked by 35 percent and homi-
cide numbers, which are shoot-
ings in 80 percent of cases, re-
mained just as high in 2021 as
they have been in the previous
year, according to the report.
Mass shootings of any kind
also experienced a peak in 2021,
with 77 recorded by Gun Vio-
lence Archive, Forbes wrote. ■
12
UN sustainable development goals failing to
have meaningful impact, our research warns
BY FRANK BIERMANN,
Utrecht University
The Conversation
In September 2015, leaders
from 193 countries gathered in
the UN assembly hall in New
York to plan nothing less than
“transforming our world”. This
was the birth of the sustainable
development goals, which aimed
to “free the human race from the
tyranny of poverty and want and
to heal and secure our planet”.
There are 17 sustainable de-
velopment goals, or SDGs, en-
compassing 169 more detailed
targets and over 200 measures of
progress. There is almost noth-
ing that the UN does not seek to
improve with these goals, from
reducing poverty and hunger to
securing better health, educa-
tion, gender equality, sanitation,
energy, economic growth and
infrastructure, while reducing
social inequality, ensuring sus-
tainable consumption, protect-
ing the climate, ocean, biodiver-
sity and forests, and furthering
peace and justice.
To give just a few examples
of the 169 targets under these
overarching goals, governments
agreed, by 2030, to halve the
proportion of people in poverty,
end hunger, ensure all children
complete a quality education
for free, raise the income of the
poorest 40% of each country’s
population at a rate above the na-
tional average, and significantly
increase funding to conserve and
sustainably use biodiversity and
ecosystems. The list goes on.
World News
Sustainable development
goals are found wherever UN
bureaucrats and international
diplomats meet. You’ll see the
17 flags of the SDGs in the lush
gardens of the UN headquarters
in New York. Posters listing the
SDGs hang in government offic-
es all around the world. Dozens
of international meetings are
held to discuss them each year.
The UN even announced an in-
ternational decade of action for
achieving the goals. In the Neth-
erlands, where I live, the govern-
ment has appointed an SDG co-
ordinator whom I once spotted
in an electric car painted with
the SDG symbols and a suit with
the SDGs printed on the inner
lining. In short, if you turn over
a stone, you may find an SDG.
And yet, it is fair to ask: do
these global goals actually
change anything? Do they tan-
gibly influence the actions of
governments, business leaders,
mayors, UN bureaucrats and
university presidents? For the
last few years, a growing com-
munity of social scientists has
considered this question. With
61 colleagues from around the
world, we analysed more than
3,000 academic studies that
scrutinised aspects of the SDGs.
Our findings are published in the
journal Nature Sustainability,
and a more detailed assessment
will soon be published as a book.
Because we believe it is import-
ant to share what we found with
everyone, both publications will
be free to download and read.
All talk, no action
Unfortunately, our findings
are disheartening. The SDGs
have infiltrated the things peo-
ple say, think and write about
global sustainability challeng-
es. Governments mention the
SDGs in their national reports
to the UN, and some have set
up coordinating units to im-
plement them. Multinational
corporations like to refer to the
SDGs as well – especially those
goals that are least disruptive
to their commercial activities,
like SDG 8 which calls on gov-
ernments to “sustain per capita
economic growth in accordance
with national circumstances”.
And unsurprisingly, UN organ-
isations are all formally sup-
portive of the SDGs.
But nothing has changed
where it matters. We found few
new policies, institutions or
budget allocations designed to
further specific goals. Did any
www.canadianinquirer.net
government change its laws to
achieve the many intersecting
transformations envisioned by
the SDGs? Did any ministry in
those governments create new
programmes for implementing
the SDGs? If so, there is little ev-
idence of it. What we found in-
stead are changes in discourse.
Those in power now refer to the
SDGs often. Yet the way they
govern has not changed.
What should we make of this?
Optimists point to the SDG
timeline: the SDGs were only
agreed upon in 2015 and are to
be achieved by 2030. The anal-
ysis that we published largely
uses research from before 2021.
In other words, we have eight
more years to go. That govern-
ments and corporations talk
differently about sustainability
and refer to the SDGs more of-
ten today can be seen as a sign
JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY
of hope that this talk will be fol-
lowed by action.
And yet, mere talk can back-
fire by conferring legitimacy
on unsustainable behaviour,
letting corporate leaders wave
colourful SDG flags while priz-
ing profits above all else. Simply
talking about SDGs can demo-
bilise civil society by creating a
false impression of action. Even
as promised, transformations
remain elusive. Idle talk acts as
a smokescreen, hiding the reali-
ty of delay and stagnation.
I do not want to belittle the
importance of having the SDGs.
Our study only provides a snap-
shot of the present state of im-
plementing them. The SDGs
do reflect some wonderfully
high-minded global ambitions,
not least by focusing on global
inequalities (SDG 10), neces-
sary improvements to national
and global institutions (SDG
16) and the reduction of harm-
ful consumption patterns in
wealthy countries (SDG 12).
But we have to make the goals
actually work. Civil society and
social movements need to prick
the bubble of SDG talk. Gov-
ernment leaders and industry
bosses must not be allowed to
hide behind SDG flags in their
offices, SDG buttons on their
lapels and SDG logos on their
glossy pamphlets. The SDGs
cannot remain a lofty inspi-
ration. We must convert their
promise to action. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2022
Why including coal in a new
‘capacity mechanism’ will make
Australia’s energy crisis worse
BY TIM NELSON, Griffith
University, JOEL GILMORE,
Griffith University
The Conversation
Australia’s electricity genera-
tors would be paid extra money
to be available even if they don’t
actually generate any energy, un-
der a new mechanism proposed
by the federal government’s En-
ergy Security Board (ESB).
Controversially, the ESB has
recommended all generators
be eligible for the payment, in-
cluding ageing coal-fired gen-
erators that are increasingly
breaking down.
The proposal comes after fed-
eral and state ministers last week
requested the ESB advance its
work on a “capacity mechanism …
to bring on renewables and stor-
age”. The ESB says a mix of gener-
ators is crucial for the mechanism
to be effective, guaranteeing ener-
gy supply to the grid.
So will this capacity mech-
anism lower energy prices for
households? Probably not, be-
cause it includes unreliable coal-
fired power stations, and consum-
ers are likely to pick up the cost
when the plants ultimately fail.
The electricity market is
in crisis
Wholesale electricity prices
have surged due to two main
factors: high coal and gas pric-
es (driven by Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine) and roughly one in
four coal power stations being
out of action at various times in
the past few weeks.
The coal stations are unavail-
able because of maintenance
as well as the sudden exit of
3,000 megawatts of power due
to breakdowns, with almost all
Australian coal-fired power sta-
tions now older than their orig-
inal design life.
The Australian Energy Market
Operator has suspended the mar-
‘Be careful’, Palace...
❰❰ 8 pero meron din sa ibang
bansa (but in other
countries as well)…you
know it’s bound to happen, kasi
nagbukas na nga iyong ekonomiya
ket in response to the crisis, and
it’s unclear when it will restart.
Under the temporary system
now in place, generators provide
their availability and the market
operator tells generators when
to run to ensure secure supply.
Market prices are then fixed at
the past 28-day average for that
hour of the day, between A$150
and $300 per megawatt hour.
If generation costs are high-
er, power station owners can
apply for additional compensa-
tion, which will be later recov-
ered from consumers. Unfortu-
nately, this means all electricity
customers will effectively sub-
sidise the companies that own
the unreliable coal generators
that caused this crisis.
Would a capacity market
have helped avoid this crisis?
The short answer is no. The
long answer is actually worse:
a capacity market is likely to
cause further crises such as the
one we’re currently in.
The ESB suggests that selling
“capacity certificates” three or
four years in advance will mean
coal generators will signal
when they intend to close. But
coal generators are unlikely to
face penalties if they don’t turn
up when needed - they will just
hand back the extra payments
they’ve received.
This sort of arrangement is
what economists call a “free op-
tion” - it costs nothing to partic-
ipate. If the coal stations fail to
deliver, as they have done over
the last two months, it will be
left to consumers to deal with
the consequences.
By including all existing gen-
erators (including coal), a tradi-
tional capacity market is actually
more likely to delay investment
in new, fast-start, dispatchable
technologies (such as batter-
ies, pumped hydro and hydro-
gen-ready gas turbines) than ac-
celerate them, as ministers want.
eh (because we have reopened the
economy),” he added.
On Sunday, the DOH recorded
612 new Covid-19 infections, the
highest daily tally since the 690
Indeed, ESB’s recommenda-
tion is already looking difficult
to implement. Federal Energy
Minister Chris Bowen says it
will be up to the states to choose
which generators are eligible,
and Victoria has already said
fossil fuels will not be.
Most electricity suppliers also
say they don’t want coal included.
What’s the real problem
we’re trying to address?
Any capacity mechanism
needs to have a solution to un-
expected and sudden shortfalls
of capacity.
The ESB has noted the big-
gest risk to consumers is that
coal will exit suddenly with lit-
tle warning because it is old and
prone to breaking down. This
has been a significant contrib-
uting factor to the current crisis.
It also drove higher prices
in 2017 when Hazelwood sud-
denly closed without sufficient
time for investment in new ca-
pacity to be brought online.
The market operator didn’t
foresee any reliability problems
less than two months ago - and
neither did anyone in the mar-
ket. The ESB’s proposed capaci-
ty market would have implicitly
recommended less capacity in
the system.
A capacity mechanism
needs to create a reserve
As older coal power stations
are increasingly unreliable, it
may be prudent to have new
generation in place before coal
power stations fail.
Governments should create a
capacity reserve market. Effec-
tively, a capacity reserve pays
new generators for new capac-
ity until it’s needed, whereas
a traditional capacity market
(like the ESB is recommending)
pays all existing generators that
would have been available any-
way. This is the key difference
between a capacity market and
a capacity reserve.
infections registered on April 3.
The total number of con-
firmed Covid-19 cases stood at
3,696,264 since the pandemic
started in March 2020. Active
www.canadianinquirer.net
World News
Under a capacity reserve,
governments could provide
payments only to new, mod-
ern, reliable, fast-start, firm
capacity such as batteries, hy-
drogen-ready gas turbines and
pumped hydro. This could be
brought into a “waiting room”
and held until it’s needed.
New generators could be de-
ployed immediately when coal
power stations fail, helping pre-
vent the type of crisis we’re go-
ing through now.
Importantly, consumers
would only be paying for new
generation, not coal-fired pow-
er stations. This will cost less,
and is the only way to provide
the insurance the market needs.
We already have the tools
in place
Several years ago, the ESB
introduced the Retail Reliabil-
ity Obligation, which requires
retailers to hold contracts with
generators for their share of
peak electricity demand. This is
intended to encourage retailers
to plan ahead.
The Retail Reliability Obliga-
tion framework could be mod-
ified to address situations such
as what we’re in now.
If coal-fired generators fail
cases were placed at 4,529.
OCTA Research fellow Gui-
do David earlier projected that
Metro Manila could see a peak
in infections during the first
13
and the market operator is
forced to intervene like it did
last week, then any costs the
market operator incurred could
be recovered from the retailers
without enough generation or
contracts in place to supply all
of their customers.
This would be better than to-
day, where the operator’s costs
are recovered from all electric-
ity consumers.
By strengthening price sig-
nals and building some re-
serves, we can help prevent
future crises and deliver what
ministers have rightly request-
ed: a smooth pathway to more
renewables and storage.
It’s also worth remembering
coal-fired generators received
a windfall of up to $5 billion
under the Clean Energy Future
package in 2012. How much
more money do coal generators
need from taxpayers and ener-
gy consumers to simply do the
right thing and make their plant
reliable? Or to shut it down
with sufficient notice to allow
new capacity to be built? ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
two weeks of July.
He said Covid-19 cases in
Metro Manila could reach 1,000
per day by the end of the month
or early next month. ■
14
‘Today is not my day’: how Russia’s
journalists, writers and artists are
turning silence into speech
BY JACOB EDMOND,
University of Otago
The Conversation
“It is impossible to stop a
speeding train by throwing one-
self onto the tracks,” wrote Rus-
sian poet Dmitry Kuzmin back
in March. He was commenting
on Olga Gordienko, a young
teacher who, before she was
arrested, stood for several min-
utes on a Moscow street with a
sign that read:
At least don’t lie to
yourself. War is death.
Enough of this bloody
fight for peace!
While acknowledging
the teacher’s bravery,
Kuzmin warned protes-
tors to take care. Change
would not come through
such isolated acts, how-
ever admirable.
What would you do if
your country launched a
war of aggression, caus-
ing tens of thousands of
deaths and displacing
millions? What if the price of
protest or even posting objec-
tions on social media was arrest
and imprisonment?
What if you knew that over
the past decades many of your
country’s most outspoken jour-
nalists had been killed for refus-
ing to the toe the government
line? What if even mentioning
the word “war” online, in print,
or on the street was illegal?
Would you speak out, or keep
quiet and bide your time?
These are the difficult ques-
tions facing those Russians who
oppose Vladimir Putin and his
invasion of Ukraine. They are,
of course, nothing compared to
what Ukrainians face as their
country is brutalised, their
towns destroyed, their people
raped and murdered. But they
are still important questions for
the future of both countries and
the world at large.
They are questions of ethical,
familial, and national obliga-
tions. They are questions of per-
sonal risk, strategy and tactics.
They are questions about how
best to speak through silence.
One powerful if all too brief
World News
example of how silencing can
be turned into speech is Novaya
Gazeta, the independent Rus-
sian news outlet that held out
longest against the new censor-
ship regime. It did so, strangely
enough, by seemingly agreeing
to be silenced.
On 4 March, just eight days
after Russia began its invasion
of Ukraine, Putin signed into
law legislation criminalising
the “public dissemination of
deliberately false information
Change would
not come through
such isolated acts,
however admirable.
about the military forces of the
Russian Federation”.
Images and news of Russia’s
brutality in Ukraine were con-
demned as “feki” (fakes), a term
borrowed from English that
suggests not just deceptiveness
but also the influence of what
the Russian government likes
to call “foreign agents”.
Already under extreme pres-
sure from the authorities,, and
now faced with the threat of
15 years imprisonment under
the new law, most indepen-
dent Russian media outlets ei-
ther shut down operations or
moved them abroad. Those that
continued to operate had their
websites blocked.
For around a month, howev-
er, Novaya Gazeta adopted a dif-
ferent strategy. It continued to
report on the war using the of-
ficial euphemism “special oper-
ation”, accompanied by paren-
thetical comments to the effect
that “you know what we mean,
but we are not allowed to say it”.
Censorship and absurdity
Far away in Aotearoa, New
Zealand, I followed this cat-
and-mouse game with the au-
thorities, as the newspaper
attempted to carry on its work
while adhering to the letter of
the new censorship laws.
Throughout March, Novaya
Gazeta held up official lies for rid-
icule. The Russian government
had insisted that there were no
conscripts amongst the invasion
force. A headline reported that
Russian conscripts were being
withdrawn from Ukraine “where
they never were”.
Novaya Gazeta deployed a
similarly absurdist use
of blanks to mark the si-
lencing of any mention
of the war:
Asked whether he is
ready to stop the ___ , Pu-
tin answered “no”.
When journalist Ma-
rina Ovsyannikova in-
terrupted a live Rus-
sian Channel One news
broadcast to display a
sign protesting the war
and the official lies, No-
vaya Gazeta reported
this brief puncturing
of the official reality by
showing an image of Ovsyan-
nikova’s sign with all the words
blanked out except the line
“Don’t believe the propaganda.”
Like the blank placards used
by some Russian anti-war pro-
testors, the erasure spoke loud-
ly of Russian censorship and
propaganda.
In its March 16 print issue,
Novaya Gazeta went further in
uncovering the sign:
NO ___
STOP THE ___
DON’T BELIEVE THE PRO-
PAGANDA
THEY ARE LYING TO YOU
HERE
RUSSIANS AGAINST ___
Beneath the cover image with
this text ran the headline “The
Zombification Was Shaken Live
on Channel One”.
Here again, the triple dele-
tion of the word “war” arguably
spoke even more loudly than
Ovsyannikova’s original sign.
Like the minds of the zombi-
fied, brainwashed viewers, it
had been erased.
The loudness of this silence
was confirmed by the reaction
to the cover image. After its re-
www.canadianinquirer.net
lease, Novaya Gazeta reported
that newsagents were refusing to
sell the issue and that copies had
been returned to their offices.
As the month wore on, pos-
sessing a copy of Novaya Gaze-
ta became more dangerous. On
27 March, a St Petersburg news
site reported that a protester
had been arrested, and that the
police had also taken an inter-
est in an elderly woman in the
vicinity who had been holding a
copy of Novaya Gazeta.
Appearing on a news site that
generally follows the govern-
ment line, the article was itself
another dim disturbance in the
blackout of reality. It showed
images and a video of the artist
Yevgeniya Isayeva, dressed all
in white, standing on the steps
of a building on St Petersburg’s
Nevsky Prospect and pouring
red paint over herself while re-
peating the words “my heart is
bleeding”.
Also visible on the video was
Novaya Gazeta’s frontpage
headline:
THERE IS GOOD NEWS.
THE WORD PEACE IS NOT
YET BANNED.
The article reported that the
police removed Isayeva within
the space of seven minutes. The
police asked the elderly woman
to put away her copy of Novaya
Gazeta, but she was not detained.
JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY
On 27 March, holding a copy
of Novaya Gazeta was not yet il-
legal. But the following day No-
vaya Gazeta received its second
official warning and was forced
to close. Despite its meticulous
efforts, the dance with censor-
ship – the newspaper’s attempt
to speak through silence – had
come to an end.
Silence as discretion
Russian writers and artists
living abroad who oppose the
war also have a vexed relation-
ship to speech and silence.
Kuzmin – the Latvia-based
poet with whose words I began –
has turned his energies towards
helping Ukrainian refugees and
translating and disseminating
Ukrainian poetry. This includes
the work of Serghiy Zhadan, the
Kharkiv poet, novelist and mu-
sician, who has for years been
writing poetry in response to
Russian aggression in the Don-
bas. Kuzmin argues for priori-
tising Ukrainian over Russian
voices in this time of war.
Other Russians living abroad
dismiss this view, insisting their
work must carry on regardless of
the war and that the silencing of
Russian culture serves no end.
“Should we shoot ourselves
in the leg out of solidarity?
What is the benefit of that?,”
❱❱ PAGE 20 ‘Today is not
FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2022 World News 15

The world’s affluent must start eating local food

to tackle the climate crisis, new research shows
BY ARUNIMA MALIK,
University of Sydney,
MENGYU LI, University of
Sydney
The Conversation
The desire by people in richer
countries for a diverse range of
out-of-season produce imported
from overseas is driving up glob-
al greenhouse gas emissions, our
new research has found.
It reveals how transporting
food across and between coun-
tries generates almost one-fifth
of greenhouse gas emissions
from the food sector – and af-
fluent countries make a dispro-
portionately large contribution
to the problem.
Although carbon emissions
associated with food produc-
tion are well documented, this
is the most detailed study of its
kind. We estimated the carbon
footprint of the global trade of
food, tracking a range of food
commodities along millions of
supply chains.
Since 1995, worldwide ag-
ricultural and food trade has
more than doubled and inter-
nationally traded food provides
19% of calories consumed glob-
ally. It’s never been clearer that
eating local produce is a pow-
erful way to take action on cli-
mate change.
A web of food journeys
The concept of “food miles”
is used to measure the dis-
tance a food item travels from
where it’s produced to where
it’s consumed. From that, we
can assess the associated envi-
ronmental impact or “carbon
footprint”.
Globally, food is responsible
for about 16 billion tonnes of
greenhouse gas emissions each
year – or about 30% of total
human-produced carbon emis-
sions. The sources of food emis-
sions include transport, land-
use change (such as cutting
down trees) and the production
process.
Our study used an account-
ing framework we devised in an
innovative platform called the
FoodLab. It involved an unprec-
edented level of detail, spanning:
• 74 countries or regions
• 37 economic sectors
• four transport modes - wa-
ter, rail, road and air
• more than 30 million trade
connections: journeys of a single
food from one place to another.
Our results
We found global food miles
emissions were about 3 billion
tonnes each year, or 19% of to-
tal food emissions. This is up to
7.5 times higher than previous
estimates.
Some 36% of food transport
emissions were caused by the
global freight of fruit and vege-
tables – almost twice the emis-
sions released during their pro-
duction. Vegetables and fruit
require temperature-controlled
transport which pushes their
food miles emissions higher.
Overall, high-income coun-
tries were disproportionate
contributors to food miles
emissions. They constitute
12.5% of the world’s population
yet generate 46% of interna-
tional food miles emissions.
A number of large and emerg-
ing economies dominate the
world food trade. China, Japan,
the United States and Eastern
Europe are large net importers
of food miles and emissions –
showing food demand there is
noticeably higher than what’s
produced domestically.
The largest net exporter of
food miles was Brazil, followed
by Australia, India and Argen-
tina. Australia is a primary pro-
ducer of a range of fruits and
vegetables that are exported to
the rest of the world.
In contrast, low-income coun-
tries with about half the global
population cause only 20% of
food transport emissions.
❱❱ PAGE 20 The world’s affluent

Meet the 2022 Ford Mustang EcoBoost

The 2022 Ford Mustang EcoBoost has the features and finesse to confidently drive you to what’s next.
Drive the Legend
The available 2.3L High-Performance Package packs a punch with features like active valve performance exhaust, heavy-duty front springs, unique
chassis tuning and a powerful EcoBoost Engine. Enjoy precise handling thanks to the Integral Link Rear Suspension that helps minimize roll and isolate
road imperfections.
The 2022 Ford Mustang comes with a range of safety features such as the Ford Safe and SmartTM Package, BLIS® blind spot information system,
with two-way car alert, lane keeping system, Active cruise control system and front anti-collision warning with brake assist system and enhanced version
of active parking assist system— all designed to keep you at ease while driving.
Now’s your chance to drive the legend: Get the new 2022 Mustang EcoBoost starting from $32,295 Plus Air Freight Charges $2,195, at your nearest
Toronto Area Ford Dealer.

Find out more at FORDTO.CA

www.canadianinquirer.net
16
Entertainment
BTS take a break: world’s biggest K-pop
group is caught between Korea’s soft
power ambitions and national security
BY SARAH A. SON, University
of Sheffield
The Conversation
The decision by K-pop sen-
sations, BTS, to take a hiatus is
breaking hearts globally. But,
unlike the Beatles or One Di-
rection, their decision
is tied to Korean pen-
insula politics and the
challenge of balancing
national security and
Korea’s soft power am-
bitions.
The seven members
of BTS broke the news
during their annual din-
ner, which was streamed
live to fans worldwide on
June 15, citing exhaustion
and a desire to pursue solo
projects. Some confusion
arose afterwards when, in
a bid to slow their tumbling stock
price, the band’s entertainment
company, Hybe, said BTS would
continue to work both together
and individually.
However, discerning fans sus-
pect the decision is more calcu-
lated than suggested, speculat-
ing that some BTS members will
soon be fulfilling their military
service duties. The split comes
just weeks after an intense polit-
ical debate in South Korea over
whether the group’s members
should be exempt from South
Korea’s compulsory military
service requirement.
No exemptions
Typically, exemptions are
only allowed for medical rea-
sons, although the exemption
system has been subject to
abuse over the years. Major in-
ternational competition win-
ners may do forms of commu-
nity service instead, such as
that completed by Tottenham
Hotspur’s Son Heung-min in
2022. This involved a few weeks
of basic military training and
volunteer football coaching for
school children in London.
There had been some specu-
lation that winning a Grammy
in 2022 might secure BTS an
exemption, but they left emp-
ty-handed – despite being one
of the world’s top-selling acts.
The debate around military
service has not been limited to
... BTS would
continue to work
both together
and individually.
K-pop stars. It has also been the
subject of wider public discus-
sion in recent years. These de-
bates have mostly be driven by
disaffected young men who feel
increasingly frustrated at hav-
ing to pause study and work to
bolster South Korea’s defences,
primarily against North Korea.
Military culture
Military service was intro-
duced at the founding of the
South Korean state in 1948. It
proved necessary after the Ko-
rean War (1950-53) to ensure
South Korea could defend it-
self against another attack from
North Korea.
The military then remained
front and centre of Korean na-
tion-building throughout the
country’s rapid industrialisa-
tion under a succession of mil-
itary dictatorships, from the
1960s until democratisation in
the late 1980s.
Even though Korea has had a
series of non-military, civilian
presidents since 1993, serving
in the military continues to be
a central part of men’s qualifi-
cations for work and life, bind-
ing them to the nation-state’s
persisting culture of milita-
rism. For example, completing
national service is still consid-
ered proof a man is a commit-
ted South Korean citizen. It is
a prerequisite for many civil
service and corporate jobs, and
military alumni net-
works continue to influ-
ence a man’s opportuni-
ties throughout his life.
While young men no
longer need to serve the
three years’ conscription
demanded of their fathers
and grandfathers, the cur-
rent 18 months required
before they turn 28 is reg-
ularly cited as a top com-
plaint among South Ko-
rea’s youth in recent years.
In 2015, young people
began describing life in
South Korea’s hyper-compet-
itive society as “Hell Joseon”.
This is, they argue, a reincar-
nation of the feudal and hierar-
chical Joseon Dynasty society
(1392-1897), which was marred
by extreme social and econom-
ic inequality. Military service
is seen as one of a long list of
demands on an already over-
burdened male demographic
fighting for access to a reputa-
ble education, a secure job and a
good marriage in system that is
stacked against them.
Competing national interests
In this contentious environ-
ment, allowing seven seemingly
healthy, young, male citizens to
skip military service might not
be a good decision for South Ko-
rea’s newly elected president,
Yoon Suk-Yeol. Yoon has been
keen to win over young male
voters, the leading voices of
discontent in the “Hell Joseon”
debate. But Yoon also knows
the need to maintain a credible
defence capacity against the
threat posed by North Korea.
The South Korean govern-
www.canadianinquirer.net
ment faces another pressure
though: the need to continue
promoting and exploiting the
success of its popular culture
industries.
The “Korean Wave”, which
refers to the global popularity
of Korean music, film, televi-
sion and other aspects of pop-
ular culture, is a major source
of export income that also gen-
erates considerable soft power
gains for Korea. BTS has been
at the top of the wave for years,
alongside Korea’s global suc-
cess in film (Parasite, 2020) and
television dramas (Squid Game,
2021). BTS was the first Korean
pop group to “break America”
and the world, thanks to En-
glish lyrics, catchy tunes, digital
fan networking and high-profile
international collaborations.
Beyond the music, BTS’s in-
fluence over legions of Kore-
an and international fans won
them a place on the podium at
the opening of the 76th session
of the UN General Assembly
alongside then president Moon
Jae-In in 2021. More recently,
they appeared at a White House
summit on anti-Asian hate.
K-pop group BTS (@WHITEHOUSE/TWITTER)
JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY
They are Unicef Ambassadors
and have travelled the world
spreading their message of love.
With their success has come
considerable gains for South
Korea’s international standing.
So there is a tension between
South Korea’s soft power im-
peratives and its need to main-
tain conscription. K-pop groups
since the 1990s have given up
lucrative success to serve their
country’s national security
needs. Members of the K-pop
groups SHINee, VIXX and 2AM
have all announced a hiatus to
complete their military service.
BTS’s global fame, however,
may make them an exception. It
might be possible that the mem-
bers fulfil their national service
duty and return to the K-Wave
fold, either individually, in twos
or threes, or all together. Judg-
ing by the outpouring of love
for them online at present, they
would be welcome on any stage,
anywhere, if the opportunity to
reunite emerges. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2022
Lightyear’s same-sex kiss –
the controversy that led to Disney’s
first ‘real’ LGBTQ+ representation
BY MATT WEAVER,
University of Portsmouth
The Conversation
Disney-Pixar’s latest animated
escapade is about to hit our cine-
ma screens. It’s the origin story of
one of their most beloved char-
acters – Toy Story’s Buzz Light-
year. In the lead-up to its release,
online speculation soared after
it was confirmed that Lightyear
would include the company’s
first same-sex kiss. The film’s
producer, Galyn Susman, stated
that the female character Haw-
thorne, voiced by Uzo Aduba, is
in a “meaningful” relationship
with another woman and a kiss
occurs between them.
In response, several countries
– including the United Arab
Emirates, Malaysia, Egypt and
Indonesia – recently announced
they would be banning Light-
year from cinemas due to its “vi-
olation of their country’s media
content standard” (in short, the
inclusion of LGBTQ+ themes).
Susman responded by say-
ing that no scenes would be
cut, adding: “It’s great we are a
part of something that’s mak-
ing steps forward in the social
inclusion capacity, but it’s frus-
trating there are still places that
aren’t where they should be.”
Disney’s complicated
LGBTQ+ history
While this may seem par-
ticularly progressive in a Dis-
ney-Pixar animation, it isn’t the
New “Darna” mural affirms
presence of ‘hero’ in everyone
ABS-CBN
Modern-day heroes take cen-
ter stage in a mural by visual
artist Anina Rubio
ABS-CBN formally unveiled its
“Darna” mural that speaks of em-
powerment, heroism, and hope in-
spired by and dedicated to today’s
frontliners and everyday heroes.
Lightyear will be the studio’s first film to include an overt reference to LGBTQ+
relationships.
first time online speculation has
created a sense of “queer hype”
around a new Pixar film. In 2016,
Disney released the trailer for
Finding Dory and fans spotted
a supposedly lesbian couple in
one of the scenes. And after the
highly anticipated Toy Story 4
was released, online communi-
ties highlighted a small glimpse
of a lesbian couple dropping off
their child at daycare.
Yet despite small inclusive
moments such as these, LGBTQ+
communities and fans have often
been left disappointed with the
final product. So while the Light-
year kiss marks a huge step for-
ward for Disney, which has shied
away from any overt LGBTQ+
representation in the past, it’s
not surprising that many view-
ers remain sceptical. Will this be
Jane De Leon, lead star of
the much-awaited series “Mars
Ravelo’s Darna,” led the un-
veiling ceremonies at the ABS-
CBN Compound along Eugenio
Lopez Drive in Quezon City.
“We offer this to our real-life
heroes who prove in their own
little ways that there is a hero in
all of us, that we can always find
Darna in everyone,” she said.
another minuscule attempt to
please the LGBTQ+ audience, or
is it really a groundbreaking mo-
ment for Disney and Pixar?
Susman’s insistence that
Hawthorne’s kiss will be retained
in all versions could be seen as a
little ironic when considering
Disney’s representational past.
According to some reports, the
same-sex kiss in Lightyear had
originally been cut. However, it
was later restored following the
recent “Don’t Say Gay” ordeal
that brought the company into
the headlines.
Disney and ‘Don’t Say Gay’
In March 2022, the Florida Sen-
ate passed the Don’t Say Gay bill,
which forbids schools from dis-
cussing and promoting topics sur-
rounding sexual orientation and
gender identity. Given its huge cul-
“Darna” stars Janella Sal-
vador and Joshua Garcia also
joined the special tribute.
Multidisciplinary visual art-
ist Anina Rubio, known for her
artworks on nature’s beauty
and sustainability, designed the
huge mural featuring people
from all walks of life wearing the
❱❱ PAGE 21 New “Darna” mural
www.canadianinquirer.net
Entertainment
tural reputation in the state, fans
and employees were left frustrated
by Disney’s lack of response to, or
condemnation of, the bill.
Following a staff walk-out
and major social media reac-
tion, Disney changed its tune,
halting all political donations
to Republican and Democrat-
ic parties and giving a pledge
to donate $5 million (£4.1 mil-
lion) to LGBTQ+ charities and
organisations. The company’s
CEO, Bob Chapek, also stated
in an internal memo that the
“biggest impact” the company
could make “in creating a more
inclusive world is through the
inspiring content we produce”.
Responding to this, a letter
attributed to “the LGBTQIA+
employees of Pixar and their al-
lies”, published by Variety, sug-
gested that “nearly every mo-
ment of overtly gay affection is
cut at Disney’s behest, regard-
less of when there is protest
from both the creative teams
and executive leadership”.
Disney did not comment
directly on the letter but in
another internal memo, Cha-
pek responded by saying: “You
needed me to be a stronger ally
in the fight for equal rights and I
let you down. I am sorry.”
Keeping the kiss
Now, in a dramatic shift, it
appears Disney is refusing to
budge over Lightyear – opting to
take the inevitable financial loss
of not playing in those banned
markets for the sake of wider
(ABS-CBN)
17
LGBTQ+ awareness and values.
In hindsight, the backlash
from Disney’s slow reaction to
the Don’t Say Gay bill may have
elevated this need for change,
and for an improved and con-
temporary public image. But it’s
still important to acknowledge
that this change is happening.
A vastly wider landscape of
queer media is forming amid
popular streaming shows such
as Sex Education, Heartstopper
and Euphoria – and Lightyear
might signal that Disney is (slow-
ly) joining in. Disney’s major
reputation and cultural impact
have the power to shape viewers’
perceptions and awareness. With
an audience primarily consist-
ing of children and families, see-
ing a same-sex kiss between two
characters could be very import-
ant for self-identification, and
could contribute towards wider
LGBTQ+ acceptance.
Criticism of Lightyear and its
same-sex kiss will inevitably en-
sue, so it is important that Dis-
ney stands its ground by staying
true to LGBTQ+ values. I and
other Disney-Pixar LGBTQ+
fans and allies, frustrated at its
previous lack of representation,
will be watching Lightyear with
eagle eyes, waiting for the glori-
ous moment we’ve been antici-
pating – some true representa-
tion for the first time. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
18
Summer reading: 5 books on the joys and
challenges of LGBTQ teen and young adult life
BY JONATHAN
ALEXANDER, University of
California, Irvine
The Conversation
In recognition of LGBT
Pride Month, The Conversation
reached out to Jonathan Alexan-
der – an English professor with
a scholarly interest in the inter-
play between sexuality and lit-
erature – for recommendations
of young adult fiction books that
feature LGBT characters. What
follows is a list that Alexander –
who serves as the children’s and
young adult fiction section edi-
tor for the Los Angeles Review
of Books – considers as “must-
reads” for this summer.
1. “Juliet Takes a Breath”
Written by Gabby Rivera, this
novel focuses on the experienc-
es of Juliet, a Latina lesbian liv-
ing in New York who takes an in-
ternship to serve as the research
assistant for a famous white
feminist writer, Harlowe Bris-
bane, living in Portland, Oregon.
Juliet heads to Portland, a bit
unsure of herself and still trying
to figure out what being a lesbi-
an will mean for her life, partic-
ularly given how unsettled her
mother is at the prospect. She
hopes that Harlowe will help
her out. Complications ensue.
“Juliet Takes a Breath” is a su-
per-smart book that challeng-
es readers by looking carefully
and critically at feminist and
feminist-of-color histories and
interactions.
2. “Heartstopper”
This book is getting a lot of
Lifestyle
attention as a television series.
What you might not know is that
the heartwarming queer story
began as a webcomic and then
morphed into a series of im-
mensely popular graphic books.
Originally written by Alice
Oseman, the narrative focuses
on the burgeoning relationship
of Charlie and Nick. Charlie is
an “out” teenager at his school,
and he falls in love with the
charming and sporty but not-
so-sure-of-his-identity Nick.
What makes “Heartstopper”
engaging – and even ground-
breaking – is how it presents
sexuality as an identity for some
but a possibility of exploration
for others. Charlie knows he’s
gay, but Nick might be gay or bi;
he’s still figuring it out. Validat-
ing sexuality as fluid and even
changeable seems like an im-
portant next step in represent-
ing intimacy, love and identity
itself as complex experiences.
3. “Felix Ever After”
This work of fiction by Ka-
cen Callender also refuses to
shy away from complexity. Fe-
lix is a young African American
trans boy trying to make his way
through a summer arts program.
A talented young person, he
is still struggling somewhat
with his gender identity, de-
spite having commenced his
own transition. He eventually
finds the term “demiboy” while
researching gender identity
and comes to identify with this
term as an apt description of his
deeply felt sense of gender.
A challenging but immense-
ly relatable book, “Felix Ever
After” also presents frankly
the experience of transphobia
while ultimately offering read-
ers a message of empowerment
for those working on their gen-
der identity.
4. “The House in the Ceru-
lean Sea”
This book by TJ Klune fol-
lows very much in the vein of
young adult books that feature
the presence of young people
with magical abilities trying to
make their way in a world of
“normals,” or people who do
not have such abilities and fear
those who do.
Such a narrative formula,
popular in young adult fiction
as it sets up dramatic conflict
between two distinct groups,
gets a twist in Klune’s novel.
The narrative is told primarily
from the point of view of Linus
www.canadianinquirer.net
Baker, a nonmagical casework-
er who is assigned the task of
visiting and inspecting vari-
ous orphanages or homes that
house magical youths who have
been taken from their parents
and relocated to be raised sep-
arately. This is much like Na-
tive peoples’ children across
the North American continent
being relocated to white-run
schools throughout the 19th
and early 20th centuries to as-
similate them into white soci-
ety and culture.
What makes “The House in
the Cerulean Sea” particularly
queer is not just the queerness
of many of its characters, in-
cluding Linus, but the ways in
which it shows us how outsid-
ers have generally been ostra-
cized, and how many outsiders
have in turn learned to embrace
JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY
their queerness, not just to sur-
vive, but to thrive.
5. “The Outsiders”
This is a “classic” or older
work of young adult fiction, one
of the first written by a relative-
ly young person for other young
people: S.E. Hinton. She started
writing the book at age 16.
For those who say this isn’t a
queer book, on the surface, no,
it’s not. But many contempo-
rary readers, including many
of my students, have picked up
and enjoyed the book from a
queer perspective, “queering”
it in the process.
Set in rural Oklahoma, “The
Outsiders” concerns a group of
working-class teen boys. These
“greasers” are always rumbling
with the “socs” or “socials,” the
middle-class preppy kids. The
book’s focus on class conflict
still resonates, but even more
so does its portrayal of intimacy
between the boys.
While they are never overt-
ly sexual, there’s something
delightfully warm, caring and
intimate about these relation-
ships that could serve as a mod-
el for young men today, wheth-
er or not they are questioning
their gender or sexuality. Read
– or reread – “The Outsiders”
and think about how gender
roles continue to change and
as humanity evolves in its un-
derstanding and acceptance
of what is “normal,” and what
should be. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2022
When texts suddenly stop:
Why people ghost on social media
BY ROYETTE T. DUBAR,
Wesleyan University
The Conversation
Check your phone. Are there
any unanswered texts, snaps or
direct messages that you’re ig-
noring? Should you reply? Or
should you ghost the person
who sent them?
Ghosting happens when
someone cuts off all online
communication with someone
else, and without an explana-
tion. Instead, like a ghost, they
just vanish. The phenomenon
is common on social media
and dating sites, but with the
isolation brought on by the
COVID-19 pandemic – forcing
more people together online –
it happens now more than ever.
I am a professor of psychology
who studies the role of technol-
ogy use in interpersonal rela-
tionships and well-being. Given
the negative psychological con-
sequences of thwarted relation-
ships – especially during the
emerging adulthood years, ages
18 to 29 – I wanted to understand
what leads college students to
ghost others, and if ghosting has
any impact on mental health.
To address these questions,
my research team recruited
76 college students through
social media and on-campus
flyers. The sample is 70% fe-
male. Study participants signed
up for one of 20 focus groups,
ranging in size from two to five
students. Group sessions lasted
an average of 48 minutes each.
Participants provided respons-
es to questions asking them to
reflect on their ghosting expe-
riences. Here’s what we found.
The results
Some students admitted they
ghosted because they lacked
the necessary communication
skills to have an open and hon-
est conversation – whether that
Bongbong Marcos to...
❰❰ 2 [Department of Bud-
get and Management],
I have asked them to
start to make economic forecasts
on what it is we think we will have
to face for the rest of this year so
that we can prepare,” he added.
He also stood firm on his de-
conversation happened face to
face or via text or email.
From a 19-year-old female:
“I’m not good at communicat-
ing with people in person, so I
definitely cannot do it through
typing or anything like that.”
From a 22-year old: “I do not
have the confidence to tell them
that. Or I guess it could be be-
cause of social anxiety.”
In some instances, partic-
ipants opted to ghost if they
thought that meeting with the
person would stir up emotional
or sexual feelings they were not
ready to pursue: “People are
afraid of something becoming
too much … the fact that the re-
lationship is somehow getting
to the next level.”
Some ghosted because of safe-
ty concerns. Forty-five percent
ghosted to remove themselves
from a “toxic,” “unpleasant” or
“unhealthy” situation. A 19-year-
old female put it this way: “It’s
very easy to just chat with total
strangers so [ghosting is] like a
form of protection when a creepy
guy is asking you to send nudes
and stuff like that.”
One of the least-reported yet
perhaps most interesting rea-
Research suggests that many people prefer ghosting rather than open and
honest conversations that might lead to conflict and stress.
cision not to suspend excise tax
on oil products, saying there are
other ways to address the rising
cost of fuel.
“If you reduce the excise
taxes that does not necessari-
ly help those who are most in
need…So ang aking iniisip kung
sons for ghosting someone: pro-
tecting that person’s feelings.
Better to ghost, the thinking
goes, than cause the hurt feel-
ings that come with overt rejec-
tion. An 18-year-old female said
ghosting was “a little bit politer
way to reject someone than to
directly say, ‘I do not want to
chat with you.’”
That said, recent data sug-
gests that U.S. adults generally
perceive breaking up through
email, text or social media as
unacceptable, and prefer a per-
son-to-person conversation.
And then there’s ghosting af-
ter sex.
In the context of hookup cul-
ture, there’s an understanding
that if the ghoster got what they
were looking for – often, that’s
sex – then that’s it, they no lon-
ger need to talk to that person.
After all, more talk could be in-
terpreted as wanting something
more emotionally intimate.
According to one 19-year-
old female: “I think it’s rare for
there to be open conversation
about how you’re truly feeling
[about] what you want out of a
situation. … I think hookup cul-
ture is really toxic in fostering
sino yung kaagad tinamaan,
example yung lumabas kaagad,
yung nagpapasada, ifocus muna
natin sa kanila, yung nangan-
gailangan talaga (So what I am
thinking is that those immedi-
ately affected, example, public
utility vehicle drivers, let’s put
Lifestyle
honest communication.”
But the most prevalent rea-
son to ghost: a lack of interest
in pursuing a relationship with
that person. Remember the
movie “He’s Just Not That Into
You”? As one participant said:
“Sometimes the conversation
just gets boring.”
The consequences
Attending college represents
a critical turning point for es-
tablishing and maintaining re-
lationships beyond one’s family
and hometown neighborhood.
For some emerging adults, ro-
mantic breakups, emotional
loneliness, social exclusion and
isolation can have potentially
devastating psychological im-
plications.
Our research supports the
idea that ghosting can have neg-
ative consequences for mental
health. Short term, many of
those ghosted felt overwhelm-
ing rejection and confusion.
They reported feelings of low
self-worth and self-esteem.
Part of the problem is the lack of
clarity – not knowing why com-
munication abruptly stopped.
Sometimes, an element of para-
noia ensues as the ghostee tries
to make sense of the situation.
Long term, our study found
many of those ghosted report-
ed feelings of mistrust that de-
veloped over time. Some bring
this mistrust to future rela-
tionships. With that may come
internalizing the rejection, self-
blame and the potential to sab-
otage those relationships.
However, just over half the
participants in our study said
being ghosted offered opportuni-
ties for reflection and resilience.
“It can be partly positive for
the ghostee because they can re-
alize some of the shortcomings
they have, and they may change
it,” said an 18-year-old female.
As for the ghoster, there were
a range of psychological con-
our focus on them, those who
really need assistance,” he said.
In March, outgoing Presi-
dent Rodrigo Duterte approved
the recommendation of the De-
partment of Finance to provide
direct aid to the most vulnera-
ble sectors, allocating PHP33
19
sequences. About half in the
focus groups who ghosted expe-
rienced feelings of remorse or
guilt; the rest felt no emotion at
all. This finding is not entirely
surprising, given that individu-
als who initiate breakups gen-
erally report less distress than
the recipients.
Also emerging from our discus-
sions: The feeling that ghosters
may become stunted in their per-
sonal growth. From a 20-year-old
male: “It can [become] a habit.
And it becomes part of your be-
havior and that’s how you think
you should end a relationship
with someone. … I feel like a lot
of people are serial ghosters, like
that’s the only way they know how
to deal with people.”
Reasons for ghosting out of
fear of intimacy represent an
especially intriguing avenue
for future research. Until that
work is done, universities could
help by providing more oppor-
tunities for students to boost
confidence and sharpen their
communication skills.
This includes more courses
that cover these challenges. I
am reminded of a psychology
class I took as an undergrad-
uate at Trent University that
introduced me to the work of
social psychologist Daniel Perl-
man, who taught courses about
loneliness and intimate rela-
tionships. Outside the class-
room, college residential life
coordinators could design sem-
inars and workshops that teach
students practical skills on re-
solving relationship conflicts.
In the meantime, students can
subscribe to a number of relation-
ship blogs that offer readers re-
search-based answers. Just know
that help is out there – even after a
ghosting, you’re not alone.■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
billion for unconditional cash
transfers to poor families in-
stead of suspending excise tax
on oil products.
Under this cash aid, quali-
fied households would receive
PHP200 a month or a total of
PHP2,400 as aid. ■
20
Online sessions with
therapy dogs can help
students feel less stressed
BY SIMONE HONIKMAN,
University of Cape Town
The Conversation
For college students, stress
relief can take many forms on-
line: shopping, ordering food,
gaming with friends and meet-
ing new romantic partners.
And now they can add hanging
out with therapy dogs to that
list. Virtual canine comfort is
emerging as a successful way for
students to reduce their stress
as they interact with therapy
dog-handler teams.
Because they are nonjudg-
mental, engaging and welcom-
ing, interacting with therapy
dogs can be used as a comple-
mentary intervention that re-
duces student stress which may
encourage students to seek more
formal support services if need-
ed. Once introduced on campus,
the interest from students typi-
cally surpasses most programs’
abilities to meet the demand.
Even prior to COVID-19, be-
ing a college student was con-
sidered a stressful experience;
college administrators have
increasingly been seeking inno-
vative ways to encourage stu-
dents to safeguard their men-
tal health. Spending time with
therapy dogs is one proactive
way for students to chip away at
potentially debilitating levels of
heightened stress.
Virtual support
In-person canine visitation
programs or canine-assisted
interventions are themselves
a relatively new way for stu-
dents to enhance their well-be-
ing. Programs such as the Uni-
versity of British Columbia’s
Building Academic Retention
through K9s (B.A.R.K.) pro-
gram at the Okanagan campus
was established in 2012 as a
way for students to reduce their
homesickness, decrease their
stress and foster interpersonal
connections.
Several randomized con-
trolled trials out of the B.A.R.K.
lab, and elsewhere, now attest
to the efficacy of spending time
with therapy dogs to elicit a
host of well-being outcomes.
Lifestyle
Online sessions with therapy dogs and their handlers provided students with
stress relief and a brain break.
Restrictions on in-per-
son sessions saw the B.A.R.K.
program collaborate with
human-animal interaction
researcher Christine Tar-
dif-Williams’ pre-recorded vir-
tual canine comfort modules.
We set out to conceptualize,
design and deliver a series of
virtual canine comfort modules
that mirrored, as close as possi-
ble, the experience of students
in an in-person canine visita-
tion session. These sessions
consisted of a trained dog-han-
dler team following a script
that saw handlers welcome stu-
dents and encourage reflection
around stress reduction and
mindfulness. Students were
also asked to reflect on their so-
cial support networks.
Students could access these
modules remotely, which support
the well-being of students who
are geographically isolated or in
areas where well-being resources
are overtaxed or nonexistent.
The modules are posted on-
line on a platform that students
(and others) can access without
needing to sign-up for an ap-
pointment or join a waitlist.
Stress reduction
Prior to releasing these mod-
ules, we conducted a random-
ized controlled trial to assess
how the modules would affect
students’ self-ratings of stress.
We assigned 467 undergradu-
ate students to either synchro-
nous (via Zoom) or asynchro-
nous (pre-recorded YouTube
videos) five-minute sessions
that invited them to observe
a dog—handler team or a han-
dler-only condition.
We assessed well-being be-
fore and after the sessions us-
ing measures like anxiety, lone-
liness, connections to others,
positive and negative affect. We
found that all students, regard-
less of condition, reported sig-
nificant pre-to-post improve-
ments in self-reports of most
well-being measures. Howev-
er, the conditions in which the
therapy dog was present elicit-
ed the most significant reduc-
tion in self-reports of stress.
Although additional research
is needed, these initial findings
are encouraging. They sup-
port the contention that, for
students for whom attending
in-person sessions are not an
option, accessing virtual canine
therapy modules can offer a
momentary reduction in stress.
Unlike in-person sessions
that are scheduled at the con-
venience of program personnel,
virtual canine comfort modules
may be accessed as needed by
students. Further, college in-
structors can make use of vir-
tual canine comfort modules as
part of “brain breaks” incorpo-
rated into a lecture to encour-
age students to reflect on, and
take care of, their well-being. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
www.canadianinquirer.net
The world’s affluent...
15 Where to now?
❰❰
To date, sustain-
able food research has
largely focused on the emis-
sions associated with meat and
other animal-derived foods
compared with plant-based
foods. But our results indicate
that eating food grown and pro-
duced locally is also important
for mitigating emissions associ-
ated with food transport.
Eating locally is general-
ly taken to mean eating food
grown within a 161km radius of
one’s home.
We acknowledge that some
parts of the world cannot be
self-sufficient in food supply.
International trade can play an
important role in providing ac-
cess to nutritious food and mit-
igating food insecurity for vul-
nerable people in low-income
countries.
And food miles should not
be considered the only indica-
tor of environmental impact.
For example, an imported food
produced sustainably may have
a lower environmental impact
than an emissions-intensive lo-
cal food.
But there is much scope to re-
‘Today is not...
❰❰ 14 asks the film director
Kirill Serebrennikov,
who sees no contra-
diction between his opposition
to the war and his high-profile
directorial work.
Sunday June 12 marked the
30th annual Russia Day cele-
bration. That day, a protest sign
was unveiled on the banks of
the Moskva River in front of the
Ministry of Defence building in
Moscow. “Today is not my day,”
it read.
The statement holds true
for Russians who oppose the
war both outside and inside
the country. Many outside the
country recognise that now is
not the time for their voices to
dominate. Those inside lack the
strength and numbers to stop
the runaway train of Putin’s
bloody war.
Novaya Gazeta’s editor Dmi-
try Muratov, who was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021
for his journalism, has found an-
other way of underscoring that
today is not the day of Russian
journalists, artists and writers.
As he first announced back
in March, he is marking World
JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY
duce food transport emissions,
especially in richer countries.
Potential measures include:
• carbon pricing and import
duties
• investing in less-polluting
vehicles
• encouraging businesses to
cut emissions in their produc-
tion and distribution chains
• planning laws that allow
more urban agriculture projects.
Consumers also have the
power to reduce food transport
emissions by adopting a more
sustainable diet. For instance,
next time you go to buy fruit
out of season – which may have
been grown overseas or on the
other side of the country – per-
haps consider whether a local
alternative might do.
The problem of food transport
emissions will only worsen as the
global population grows. Govern-
ments, corporations and every-
day people must work together
to ensure the production and
consumption of food does not
make climate change worse. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
Refugee Day, on June 20, by
auctioning his Nobel medal
and donating the proceeds to
aid Ukrainian refugees. Mura-
tov’s act once again transforms
self-abnegating silence into
protest speech.
In August 1991, hundreds of
thousands of Russians protest-
ed the attempted coup by Soviet
hardliners. By comparison, the
lone protesters now unveiling
signs on Russian streets only
to be arrested and taken away
might seem utterly inconse-
quential. Like the small group
who unveiled banners in Red
Square in August 1968 to protest
the Russian invasion of Czecho-
slovakia, today’s protesters will
probably have little to no effect
this year or next, perhaps even
this decade or next.
But let us hope that, like the
Red Square protest over five
decades ago, today’s efforts
to speak through silence are
heard, if not now, then in the
years to come. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2022
Cricket: what happens when an elite player
like England’s Jonny Bairstow is ‘in the zone’
BY ANDY M MORLEY,
University of Central
Lancashire, PAUL JOHN
TAYLOR, University of
Central Lancashire
The Conversation
Jonny Bairstow played the
“innings of a lifetime” when he
scored the second fastest cen-
tury by an England cricketer in
a Test match to help his team
beat New Zealand, currently
the world’s top-rated Test team.
To find an English cricketer
who scored a Test century more
quickly you have to go back to
Gilbert Jessop in 1902.
Anyone who watched Bairstow
bat could see that he was “in the
zone”. But what does this mean?
How do we know that someone is
in the zone – or, more technically,
experiencing “flow”? And how do
they get there?
Within sport, athletes achiev-
ing top performances often re-
port being “in the zone”. The
feelings that they report involve
a change in the perception of
their senses. Tennis players re-
port seeing the ball as “big as a
beach ball”, long distance run-
ners can complete a race with
little perception of time passing.
Athletes also report being free
from distractions – in a state of
extreme focus – and will often
say how good they feel when
performing in this state.
Hungarian-American psy-
chologist Mihali Csíkszentmi-
hályi was the first scientist to
recognise, and name, flow. This
is a mental state where some-
one becomes so immersed in
the moment, so completely ab-
sorbed in a task, their senses so
heightened and their percep-
tions so clear, that they reach a
New “Darna” mural...
❰❰ 17 Darna insignia.
Following its timely
theme “Ikaw, ako, tay-
ong lahat si Darna,” the mural
paints a picture of a ‘hero’ in ev-
Sports
level of optimal performance.
In defining flow, he outlined
nine dimensions: having clear
goals, a balance between chal-
lenge and skill, a sense of con-
trol, total concentration on
the task at hand, unambiguous
feedback, a loss of self-con-
sciousness, the merging of ac-
tion and awareness, undergo-
ing an intrinsically rewarding
experience and experiencing a
transformation of time.
Looking at Bairstow’s per-
formance, we can see many of
these dimensions at work. The
England team was faced with a
challenging situation and Bair-
stow had the skill level to per-
form in those conditions, was
able to get feedback from every
shot and found the performance
rewarding. Perhaps the most
important of those nine attri-
butes is the idea that the athlete
has complete concentration on
the task before them and conse-
quently is totally absorbed in the
moment. Nothing else matters.
Nothing else is on their mind.
In his book, “Flow: The Psy-
chology of Optimal Experi-
ence”, Csíkszentmihályi notes:
“Anyone who has experienced
flow knows that the deep en-
joyment it provides requires an
equal degree of disciplined con-
centration.”
What is concentration?
Fundamentally, concentra-
tion is about not being distract-
ed. This has parallels with men-
tal toughness and being able to
remove thoughts about previ-
ous poor performances. Nega-
tive thoughts are placed in a box
with the lid closed tight. The fo-
cus is instead on the here and
now, to stay focused on the per-
formance and not about the im-
portance of winning or losing. If
ery person who manages to bring
hope and positivity amid today’s
uncertainties and realities.
It was commissioned by ABS-
CBN in line with the modern-day
the internal, negative thoughts
take over, then flow disappears
as quickly as it arrives, so at-
tending to the positive is key.
Focusing on the important
aspects of the task is what sets
experts apart from novices.
Concentrating on the elements
of the environment that are in-
fluential on the outcome of the
performance, while ignoring
things in the environment that
act as a distraction, maximises
attention on the task at hand.
This is often done without con-
scious awareness when a play-
er’s skill matches the level of
challenge before them – it is not
too easy or too hard. If the chal-
lenge is too low then full focus
is not required and the mind
wanders. If it’s too high, it leads
to anxiety and stress.
Athletes report this attention
on the important aspects relates
to changes in perceptions. For
batters in cricket, they can see
the moment when the bowler
releases the ball (sometimes at
speeds of 90mph or faster) more
Jonny Bairstow (NIC REDHEAD/FLICKR, CC BY-SA 2.0)
retelling of Darna’s story, which
will highlight the plight of the
iconic and courageous Pinay su-
perhero and her heroic battles to
help those in need.
www.canadianinquirer.net
clearly and the ball might seem
bigger or even seem to move
more slowly towards them, giv-
ing them more time to decide on
and execute the correct shot.
But consistency in reaching
a state of flow, remains elusive.
Many people claim to have
found the secret to enable this
state, the evidence for this is,
however, less convincing.
How to achieve ‘flow’
There are visible indicators
that someone has achieved flow.
Bairstow’s team mates talk of
“Jonny Eyes” when they know
he is in the zone and something
special is about to happen.
When in a flow state, physio-
logical changes have been ob-
served, such as increased heart
rate, deeper breathing and even
changes in the facial muscles
we use to express emotion.
Australian researcher Scott
Goddard and colleagues re-
viewed 29 studies and identified
the common approaches used
to attempt to reach a flow state.
One-third of the work he and his
Helmed by master director
Chito S. Roño together with
Avel Sunpongco under ABS-
CBN’s JRB Creative Produc-
tion, “Darna” will soon air on
21
colleagues reviewed identified
athletes using mindfulness tech-
niques: focusing on thoughts,
sensations and breathing. Half
of the 29 papers explored them
imagining peak performance
and thinking about how this
would feel. A similar number
found they used hypnosis to
reach a flow state.
You would hope these would
work. They do, after all, draw on
the experiences and sensations
reported when people feel flow.
But they are at best inconsistent
– and at worst unsuccessful. This
is perhaps unsurprising given the
absence of an accepted scientific
model for what causes flow on
which to base the interventions.
They do, however, provide a
starting position for researchers
to explore the complex relation-
ship between the sport, compet-
itor and situation specific factors
that might determine flow.
If you can manage to achieve
flow, it is pleasurable – and leads
to other benefits such as improv-
ing performance and developing
skill. These improvements have
been linked to a growth in con-
fidence and self-esteem. This
perhaps accounts for the way
that when athletes hit form, one
good performance often follows
another.
Athletes know when they
experience flow, coaches can
recognise it, commentators
and spectators can see that a
player is in the zone – but un-
til we clearly identify how to
get there, we will continue to
be amazed and stunned by per-
formances such as Bairstow’s
match-winning innings. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, TV5,
Kapamilya Online Live on ABS-
CBN Entertainment’s YouTube
channel and Facebook page,
and iWantTFC. ■
22
London’s Olympic legacy: research reveals
why £2.2 billion investment in primary
school PE has failed teachers
BY VICKY RANDALL,
University of Winchester,
GERALD GRIGGS, University
Campus of Football Business
(Etihad Campus)
The Conversation
The 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games in Lon-
don were billed as the “Legacy
Games”. The euphoria in the
lead up was palpable. London
was poised to host a global
event that, through the power
of sport, promised to have a ma-
jor impact on health, education
and culture, as well as boosting
the economy through ambi-
tious infrastructure projects.
Physical education (PE) in
primary schools in England
was to be a significant benefac-
tor, with the aim to inspire the
youngest school-aged children.
Renewed investment in PE
would be crucial when it came to
delivering much of the Games’
legacy. The prime minister at the
time, David Cameron, pledged a
commitment to school sport in
a speech delivered just before
the Games started. He said: “The
Olympic spirit of taking part can
make a real difference to young
people,” adding:
Sustaining the momentum of
the Games means opening peo-
ple’s eyes to the possibility of sport.
Getting young people to follow
their heroes and to take part and
to get schools to take part as well …
But as the tenth anniversary
of the London Olympics ap-
proaches, our research – un-
dertaken over the past six years
– tells a very different story.
Despite a direct investment of
more than £2.2 billion into pri-
mary PE since 2012 – making it
the highest-funded subject at
primary age – most PE lessons
in the primary sector are out-
sourced to sports coaches and
instructors who often possess
“limited qualifications [and] a
minimal knowledge of the pu-
pil recipients”, according to a
high-profile cross-party group
of MPs and experts called in to
investigate the funding.
We have identified a clear
failure of this Olympic invest-
Sports
ment – known as the Primary
PE and School Sport Premium
(or “Premium”) – to deliver on
one of its stated aims of increas-
ing the “confidence, knowledge
and skills of all [primary] staff
in teaching PE and sport”. We
found there is little evidence
of any legacy of improved PE
teaching within England’s pri-
mary school sector. Final-year
primary education trainees
who took part in our latest re-
search told us it was difficult for
them to even observe a primary
PE lesson as part of their teach-
er-training. For most, teaching
a PE lesson was not an option.
The London Olympics
windfall has instead seen staff
teachers sidelined in favour of
an army of outsourced provid-
ers, looking for business in a
well-funded marketplace for
the best part of a decade. Many
schools say they are happy to
pay for this extra expertise, and
are happy with the work the
private sports coaches do. But
there has been a striking lack of
auditing of how this taxpayers’
money has been spent.
Our research highlights
61 different permutations of
who has been teaching PE to
children in English primary
schools, ranging from accred-
ited sports coaches to parent
helpers and teaching assistants.
With the government still in
discussions about the future of
the Premium beyond the cur-
rent academic year, and amid
growing budgetary pressures,
the failure to build primary
PE teachers’ skills could lead
to a rapid erosion of provision
should the funding be cut.
This has in-part been allowed
to happen by the extraordinary
lack of accountability over the
use of this money. Earlier this
year, Ofsted concluded that “it
is still unclear what precise and
sustained positive effect it [the
Premium] is having on teach-
ers’ expertise and pupils’ out-
comes in PE”.
So what has happened to the
£2.2 billion of taxpayers’ mon-
ey, and what is the real legacy
of London 2012 on the teach-
ing profession? We turned to
primary schools and recently
qualified teachers to find the
answers. Perhaps surprisingly
in the wake of London 2012, no
such extra funding was invested
into secondary schools, so the
promise of change through PE
was left almost entirely to the
primary sector.
Since 2015, we have analysed
more than 1,800 school web-
sites and documents detailing
primary PE investment. We
have also surveyed 1,200 train-
ee teachers – the largest study
of its kind to investigate trainee
teachers in primary PE – and
conducted a further survey of
625 trainee teachers.
The aim was to understand
and scope their experience of
teaching PE. Our culminated
findings have huge implications
for the future of primary PE
teaching.
Primary PE and the school
sport ‘Premium’
The post-2012 era triggered a
flurry of political interest and fi-
nancial investment into prima-
ry PE. A government document
at the time – Inspired by 2012:
The legacy from the London
2012 Olympic and Paralympic
Games – heralded:
Sport should be a central and
important part of any school.
Great schools have long known
that sporting excellence and
participation, alongside strong
cultural opportunities, go hand
in hand with high academic
standards. To support this aim,
physical education will remain
a compulsory part of the curric-
ulum at all four key stages of ed-
ucation, with a greater emphasis
on competitive sport.
The upshot of this publication
was the announcement that an
initial ring-fenced investment
of £150 million per year would
be made to primary PE. It would
be payable directly to all main-
tained primary schools in En-
gland. The Premium was later
doubled in 2017 to £320 million
per year – made possible by a tax
on sugary drinks.
With investment accrued
from three government depart-
ments – the Department for
Education (DfE), the Depart-
www.canadianinquirer.net
London 2012 (PAUL DE GREGORIO/FLICKR, CC BY-NC 2.0)
ment of Health, and the Depart-
ment of Digital Culture, Media
and Sport – the Premium was
meant to have a major impact
on young people’s education,
health and sport participation.
But crucially it was also sup-
posed to improve the confi-
dence and competence of pri-
mary teachers to teach PE. This
was made explicit through the
Premium’s five key indicators
as outlined by the DfE – and
most obviously the third:
1. engagement of all pupils in
regular physical activity
2. the profile of PE and sport is
raised across the school as a tool
for whole-school improvement
3. increased confidence,
knowledge and skills of all staff
in teaching PE and sport
4. broader experience of a
range of sports and physical ac-
tivities offered to all pupils
5. increased participation in
competitive sport.
More investment than maths
Initial government guidance
about how schools could spend
this extra money was flexible.
Head teachers were given au-
tonomy to determine how to
achieve the goal of improving
the quality of PE and sports
provision in their schools.
To this day, primary PE re-
mains the highest funded sub-
ject in the school curriculum
– when you take into account
additional funding. As a con-
temporary comparison, math-
ematics – a core area of the
curriculum, typically taught
to children on a daily basis
and part of a national stan-
dardised annual testing pro-
JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY
gramme – has received a total
extra investment of £52 million
over nine years, on top of what
schools get in the annual bud-
gets. (This includes £11 million
of additional government fund-
ing since 2013, across primary
and secondary schools, to sup-
port a “mathematics mastery”
agenda.) This extra funding is
dwarfed compared to the £2.2
billion provided to primary
schools for PE over ten years
through the Premium.
And the investment into pri-
mary PE continues to rise year
on year, with few questions be-
ing asked about what impact it
is having. But based on our ev-
idence, it would seem that the
funding is without infrastruc-
ture and accountability, and
has created cracks in the foun-
dation of primary PE teaching
that might now be irreversible.
Out-sourcing
In the absence of any trans-
parent and independent re-
view of the Premium, univer-
sity teacher-training providers
in England commissioned the
All-Party Parliamentary Group
on a Fit and Healthy Childhood
to look at the issues around it.
The 2019 report highlighted a
number of mounting concerns
stemming from the funding –
the most prominent being how
the Premium was left to plug
the gaps in school budgets by
outsourcing PE to private spe-
cialists who were “not quali-
fied” to teach PE. The parlia-
mentary report concluded:
The Premium has seemingly
had the unfortunate and unfore-
seen consequence of virtually
FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2022
‘ceding’ the subject in its entirety
to non-qualified individuals; spe-
cifically, sports coaches/instruc-
tors with limited qualifications,
a minimal knowledge of the pupil
recipients and imperfect under-
standing of key pedagogical mat-
ters such as inclusion, progres-
sion and assessment.
Ofsted, Her Majesty’s Inspec-
torate for Schools, has written
two critical reports on the ef-
fectiveness of the Premium. Its
March 2022 report questioned
the overall “positive effect” on
teachers and pupils alike when it
came to PE, while its 2018 report
noted that some schools were
not following guidance on how
the Premium should be spent.
Despite these reports, Ofsted is
not responsible for auditing the
Premium or tracking its spend-
ing, compounding the overall
lack of accountability around it.
It is important to underline
that we do not believe the Pre-
mium has been a total failure.
Some of the key indicators have
been met and many private
sports coaches are doing a great
job when it comes to teaching
primary PE. Indeed, all of the
schools we sampled in 2018
were clear that the funding had
had a significant impact on how
they deliver PE.
Nevertheless, there is a to-
tal lack of recorded figures or
evidence related to Premium
spending – and that is a con-
cern. Investigations attached
to our 2018 research revealed
that there were significant
challenges with accountability,
quality assurance and sustain-
ability. And the testimony from
head teachers overwhelmingly
revealed there was little or no
concern for long- or even medi-
um-term strategy in PE delivery.
Removal without renewal
Perhaps an even bigger prob-
lem is that this funding was sup-
posed to be sustainable and of
long-term benefit to primary ed-
ucation. The word “sustainabili-
ty” was attached to the Premium
from the start. In short, what
schools invest in now should have
a long-lasting impact in the fu-
ture. Within the field of conserva-
tion, sustainability is often asso-
ciated with renewal or regrowth;
what is lost is then replaced.
But in the context of primary
PE, outsourced providers have
now replaced swathes of teach-
ers for the best part of a decade.
And this has led to the deskill-
ing of a profession which was
already lacking confidence and
competence to teach PE in pri-
mary schools.
Guidance from the DfE states
that if Premium funding is used
to buy in external expertise,
it should be done so to upskill
teachers, not to replace them.
But according to the trainee
teachers we spoke with, this
upskilling was only happening
in 4.5% of the lessons they ob-
served (where a qualified teach-
er worked alongside an external
sports coach to glean valuable
PE knowledge).
There have been warn-
ing signs for years. Our earli-
er research findings revealed
that the use of external sports
coaches, who do not hold pri-
mary teaching qualifications,
has been growing for the best
part of two decades, raising
questions about how such an
approach could be sustainable
without continued levels of in-
vestment.
Another 2018 study we con-
ducted investigated more de-
tailed experiences of seven
schools in one local authority.
Through semi-structured in-
terviews with head teachers,
the study aimed to find out how
the Premium had been spent
and what impact it had had.
The sample of schools demon-
strated there were no robust
or transparent mechanisms
for recording the impact of the
funding. This is despite the gov-
ernment stipulating this as a
requirement of the Premium,
with guidelines published by
both the Association for Phys-
ical Education and the Youth
Sport Trust, linked to the DfE
guidance.
What if the funding was
pulled?
So what would happen if the
funding was removed? One obvi-
ous solution would be for prima-
ry schools to return to delivering
PE via their existing teaching
workforce and stop the expen-
sive outsourcing programme.
But two decades of government
policies have quietly eroded the
PE expertise that once could be
found in every school. Restoring
this would undoubtedly require
an increase in school staffing
budgets.
When the Department for
Education (DfE) published its
Qualifying to Teach document
in 2002, it specified that train-
ee teachers were no longer re-
quired to hold a subject special-
ism beyond their basic general
primary training (for example,
in PE, Science, Art or History).
Consequently, many uni-
versities moved from offering
three- and four-year under-
graduate teaching courses, to
one-year postgraduate courses.
One likely suggestion for this
was to speed up the time it took
for teachers to become qualified
and reduce the cost of doing so
(a standard single honours de-
gree has less than half the hours
of a teacher-training degree. So
over a three/four-year period
the resources required to de-
liver a teacher-training degree
are considerably more expen-
sive). If placements can be done
in school too that’s even better
as it’s someone else’s staff, time
and facility.
With less specialist subject
teaching required in schools,
this also meant fewer staff were
needed and subjects, such as
PE, began to be delivered with
minimum provision and limit-
ed content.
The leaching of specialist ex-
pertise from primary PE had be-
gun. We are now two decades on
from the DfE’s revised profession-
al standards detailed in Qualifying
to Teach and two decades on from
outsourced PE “specialists” rou-
tinely entering primary schools.
In short, most primary teachers
under the age of 40 have entered
the profession with limited and
generalist teacher-training. They
don’t always have a related de-
gree and have little opportunity to
teach PE.
The inevitable conclusion is
that if schools chose to deliver
PE via their existing workforce,
and if the Premium funding
were removed, the quality of
provision would be patchy and
inconsistent at best. While
some schools may well have a
Tower Bridge (PETER BURGESS/FLICKR, CC BY 2.0)
www.canadianinquirer.net
Sports
PE graduate, others will have
no one either interested or
qualified to lead the subject.
Is the policy still fit for
purpose?
As we await an announce-
ment from government on
whether the Premium will con-
tinue in 2022-23, it is timely
to reflect on what tangible im-
pact the funding has had on the
physical education of young
people so far.
Nobody in the primary sec-
tor wants to see this funding
pulled. But the sheer volume
of investment, over such a long
period and with very little ac-
countability, requires that se-
rious questions are asked about
its future.
At the very least, greater ac-
countability and investment
into a sustainable PE infra-
structure and professional de-
velopment is needed to ensure
that qualified teachers are not
permanently absent from the
PE curriculum.
One such response has come
from a recent Lords Committee
report and Westminster debate
advocating that PE be made a
core subject, alongside English,
mathematics and science – a
view shared by many within the
profession.
It is true that many young peo-
ple, and teachers, will have ben-
efited from the Premium and its
outsourcing legacy through in-
creased opportunities and access
to physical activity. But those
benefits are not known beyond
the point of delivery and are de-
pendent on continued invest-
ment in a complex infrastructure
of external personnel.
This is not to disparage the
23
role that such a diverse and out-
sourced workforce has brought
to PE and school sport over the
last decade, but it does suggest
that clarity is needed about
what its role is, or could be.
External providers are exact-
ly that: external. They should
complement teachers’ exper-
tise, not replace it. In the wake
of the pandemic, the health and
wellbeing of children is more
important than ever. But the
value of a subject cannot be
based on money alone.
The subject is at a crossroads:
it can either continue with high
levels of investment to sus-
tain a complex outsourcing
workforce or it can commit to
a change in policy that focuses
on initial teacher-training and
continued professional devel-
opment that starts to build a
teaching profession that is con-
fident and knowledgeable in de-
livering primary PE.
This government has nailed
its colours to the mast with its
so-called levelling up agen-
da, which includes action on
healthcare, wellbeing and stan-
dards of primary education-
al attainment. If it is serious
about delivering these, it can-
not ignore how we provide PE
at primary level.
Whatever the right direction,
if we are not to squander the leg-
acy of London 2012, we should
ensure that the physical educa-
tion of young people is fully in-
tegrated into the school curric-
ulum with funding that is both
sustainable and accountable. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
24
Shovel-ready but not shovel-worthy: how
COVID-19 infrastructure projects missed the
opportunity to transform the way we live
BY IAIN WHITE, University
of Waikato, CRYSTAL
LEGACY, The University
of Melbourne, GRAHAM
HAUGHTON, University of
Manchester
The Conversation
When it comes to infrastruc-
ture planning, there are plenty
of promises, especially in times
of crisis.
COVID-19 brought with it
severe economic impacts and
many governments quickly an-
nounced major infrastructure
stimulus packages alongside le-
gal reforms to fast track delivery.
The promise was that these
emergency infrastructure in-
vestments would “build back
better”, responding to the im-
mediate economic challenges
of COVID-19, as well as spur so-
cietal transformation.
The possibilities sparked
plenty of hope. There was no
shortage of public opinion
pieces calling for things like a
“green recovery” or a reduction
in the geographical inequalities
in jobs and well-being the pan-
demic helped reveal.
Transformational possi-
bilities
Our research investigated
the substance and the politics
of these much vaunted trans-
formational promises in Aus-
tralia, New Zealand and the
United Kingdom.
Each country had its own
high profile crises, as well as ex-
isting social, economic, spatial,
ecological and intergeneration-
al challenges.
While an increase in infra-
structure spending was promot-
ed as a universal solution, the
urgent timescale meant there
was little focus on the details.
The urgency also limited any
public debate and scrutiny of
the proposed projects. Ques-
tions about their value, their
Business
purposes, and what communi-
ties would be affected and how,
faced little examination.
Before the pandemic, all
three countries had similar de-
bates on infrastructure “defi-
cits” and the need to reduce
“red tape” from planning and
public consultation.
Recognising infrastructure
projects can become toxic and
lead to electoral backlashes,
politicians had also sought to
depoliticise aspects of the deci-
sion-making process.
Each country established
“independent” infrastructure
commissions to develop na-
tional strategies and advise on
priorities. Inevitably perhaps,
these commissions confirmed
the need for more infrastruc-
ture spending and for faster
processes.
With the need for emergency
response at the forefront, these
preexisting arguments for re-
forms were quickly revived as
the pandemic hit. Most of the
decision-making power was
given to technical experts and
politicians.
In New Zealand, the Infra-
structure Industry Reference
Group was established to help
select projects and bidders. In-
terested parties were given just
two weeks to make submissions.
In the UK, Project Speed was
set up and led by the Treasury,
again with urgency very much
to the fore.
The usual strategies in an
unusual crisis
In the end, the economic im-
pact of the pandemic was com-
parable to previous crises in
terms of, for example, contrac-
tions in gross domestic prod-
uct. The societal impact, on the
other hand, was like no other
crisis we have seen.
In hindsight, insufficient
time was given to understand-
ing how the pandemic was re-
shaping the way we live.
Profound changes to how
work is done, whether working
from home, commuting less, or
moving out of the major urban
centres, ultimately had little in-
fluence on the stimulus plans.
There was some progress in
more transformational infra-
structure investments, but this
was limited by challenges over
public acceptance. Initiatives
to pursue low traffic neighbour-
hoods and cycle lanes met with
significant local opposition in
some areas, for example.
Urgency played a role here too.
www.canadianinquirer.net
The short timescale limited
space for public consultation,
high quality designs, or to posi-
tion these as part of a city-wide
strategy.
As research for the UK’s Lo-
cal Government Association
found, more stakeholder en-
gagement was needed for these
schemes, not less, to help iden-
tify and address community
concerns.
In stark contrast to such fal-
tering progress, much more
headway was apparent in in-
troducing reforms to speed up
decision making on large in-
frastructure projects, not least
by reducing opportunities for
public feedback.
The shift towards centralised
and expert-led decision making
facilitated a rapid “pipeline” of
investment. Yet this pipeline cur-
tailed the space for the necessary
politics typically associated with
more transformative futures.
So rather than allowing a
major rethink of infrastructure
priorities, existing reforms,
narratives and projects all be-
came entrenched, some of
which were fast-tracked.
Promises unrealised
While well intentioned, the
promises of building back bet-
ter did not constitute the radi-
cal rupture initially promised.
This failure is in part due to the
urgent, expert-led processes
which were ill-suited to more
transformative futures.
A key message is that if we
really want to be transforma-
tive in future crisis we must
hold those making promises ac-
countable.
Accountability can be
achieved by resisting the closure
of political space that typically
accompanies emergency claims
and asking the question: “what
infrastructure ought to be built,
for whom, where and why?”
This invites us to question
the normalisation of new infra-
JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY
structure as a solution – almost
regardless of the problem – and
instead challenges us to un-
pick the existing assumptions
of promoting high growth and
productivity, not least where
these negatively affect climate
change mitigation.
Towards ‘shovel-worthy’
projects
There seems to be growing
acknowledgement, from Aus-
tralia’s Grattan Institute, the
OECD and others, that rapidly
building infrastructure is not
the answer to the complex cri-
ses we face.
Additionally, the infrastruc-
ture we do build should be
limited in scale and localised -
focusing on creating coherent
networks of smaller infrastruc-
ture projects as much as head-
line-grabbing mega-projects.
This two-pronged approach
would better reflect the more
local ways in which life has
been conducted in cities since
the early years of the pandemic.
We argue that to chart a dif-
ferent pathway, politicians will
need to spend more time ac-
tively identifying “shovel wor-
thy” alternatives – projects that
cultivate more equitable and
climate-friendly cities and re-
gions of the future.
“Shovel-worthy” means
working with local communities
and planning for infrastructure
in an integrated way that cen-
tres climate justice and moves
away from mega-projects.
Engaging with local knowl-
edge and allowing open public
scrutiny will greatly assist pol-
icy makers in identifying the
kinds of infrastructure that can
better address current inequal-
ities and facilitate the societal
transitions that cities and re-
gions desperately need. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2022
NSW’s biggest coal mine to DTI transitioning
close in 2030. Now what with over P500-B
about the workers? investment leads
BY LIAM PHELAN,
University of Newcastle,
KIMBERLEY CROFTS,
to next admin
University of Technology
Sydney
The Conversation
The clock is now ticking on
New South Wales’ largest coal
mine. BHP has announced it
will close its Mount Arthur
mine in the Hunter Valley in
2030 – 15 years ahead of its
scheduled end of life.
This decision comes after
two years attempting to sell the
mine, in keeping with BHP’s
strategy to divest itself of ther-
mal coal operations.
Given the collapsing market
for coal assets, the lack of in-
terested buyers is not a huge
shock. But this announcement
is still significant. The end is
no longer speculative. There’s a
firm deadline for the thousands
of workers employed at the
mine, and for the surrounding
What’s a bear market?
An economist explains
BY VIDHURA S
TENNEKOON, IUPUI
The Conversation
A 16th-century proverb ad-
vises: “It’s unwise to sell a bear’s
skin before catching it.”
That’s one of the stories
used to explain why, in mod-
ern times, Wall Street types
call someone who sells a stock
expecting its price to drop a
“bear.” It follows that a market
in which securities or commod-
ities are persistently declining
in value is known as a “bear
market,” like the one U.S. stocks
are experiencing now.
The opposite, when assets
are steadily rising over a period
of time, is a “bull market.”
In my money and banking
classes, I teach students about
the efficient market hypothesis,
communities.
This use-by date should focus
the attention of the local, state
and federal governments on the
much talked-about need for a just
transition for coal communities.
How to assist those commu-
nities to survive (and prosper)
after coal has been talked about
for decades? Now with less than
a decade to go, that talk must
turn into concrete plans and
action.
End of the line for 2,000
workers
The Mount Arthur mine
is the one of the biggest coal
mines in the world by estimated
reserves. Mining began in 2002,
extending on existing mining in
the area dating back to the late
1960s. Up to 20 million tonnes
of thermal coal a year have been
extracted. About 2,000 workers
are employed at the site.
It’s worth noting BHP only
has permits from the NSW gov-
ernment to operate the mine
until 2026. So it will need to
which states that stock pric-
es are rational, in that they are
always fairly priced based on
available information. But when
there are big swings in the stock
market, it’s hard for my students
and others to resist using more
emotive terms like “bulls” and
“bears,” which call to mind the
“animal spirits” of investing.
So how do you know when
you’re in a bear market?
The Securities and Exchange
Control Commission defines
a bear market as a period of at
least two months when a broad
market – measured by an index
such as the S&P 500 – falls by
20% or more. When it rises by
20% or more over two months
or more, it is a bull market.
The Standard & Poor’s 500
index, which includes most of
the most well-known U.S. com-
panies, has declined about 24%
seek an short extension to keep
to its schedule. The NSW gov-
ernment can be expected grant
that extension.
The NSW government will
probably be glad for the extra
time to plan on the transition.
It has already been caught off-
guard once this year, by Origin
Energy’s February announce-
ment of the early closure of its
Eraring coal-fired power sta-
tion in Lake Macquarie, also in
the NSW Hunter region.
Federal government plan-
ning on just transitions for coal
communities, meanwhile, has
been stymied by the Coalition’s
focus over the past decade on
prolonging coal mining as long
as possible.
What Labor will do is yet to
be seen, though new federal
member for the electorate of
Hunter, Dan Repacholi, has
said his key concern is the wel-
fare of workers.
❱❱ PAGE 27 NSW’s biggest coal
since its its peak on Jan. 3, 2022.
Not everyone strictly follows
this two-month rule. For exam-
ple, in March 2020, when the
S&P 500 plunged 34% in a matter
of weeks due to the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic, many ana-
lysts still called it a “bear market.”
A milder form of a bear mar-
ket is “correction.” During a
correction, prices drop by 10%
to 20% from the previous peak.
Some analysts estimate there
have been 26 bear markets in
the S&P 500 since 1928, exclud-
ing the one that began in 2022.
The average length was 289
days, with a decline of about
36%. The longest was in 1973-
74 and lasted 630 days.
There have been fewer dis-
tinct bull markets, with 24 in
that period. They tend to last
a lot longer, though, often for
multiple years.
www.canadianinquirer.net
Business
BY KRIS CRISMUNDO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI) Secre-
tary Ramon Lopez said Monday
the agency will turn over more
than PHP500 billion worth of
prospective investments to the
next administration.
Lopez told reporters that
these investment leads could be
realized in the next 18 months.
“These are actual pledges al-
ready. (These are) in various
stages of preparation (like) site
identification, company regis-
tration, (and) IPA (investment
promotion agency) application,”
he said in a Viber message.
Lopez cited that these invest-
ment leads are from sectors of
manufacturing, shipbuilding,
agribusiness, digital infrastruc-
ture, renewable energy, infor-
Why a bear market matters
A bear market may signal a re-
cession is coming, though it’s not
a perfect correlation. Since World
War II, there have been three bear
markets – out of a total of 12 – that
didn’t precede a recession.
A bear market is bad news
for anyone with a stock invest-
ment, whether it’s a direct stake
in Apple or Walmart or a 401(k).
The impact is particularly hard
on recent retirees, who are see-
ing their nest eggs shrink just as
25
mation technology and busi-
ness process management, and
logistics.
He added that the main driv-
ers for companies in investing in
the country include the robust
post-pandemic recovery and
growth, market size, and young
and competent workforce.
The economic reforms of the
Duterte administration, partic-
ularly the Retail Trade Liber-
alization Act, Foreign Invest-
ments Act, and Public Service
Act, were recently enacted into
law, as well as the Corporate
Recovery and Tax Incentives
for Enterprises (CREATE) law.
Investors are also looking
into the initiatives and govern-
ment measures to further ease
doing business in the country,
and the country’s ratification
of the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership. ■
they need to start withdrawing
income from them.
In addition, entering a bear
market can have a psychological
impact on investors, creating a
self-fulfilling cycle. Perceiving
a bear market tends to prompt
investors to sell even more,
thus pushing prices down fur-
ther and prolonging the pain. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
26
A celebrated AI has learned a new trick:
How to do chemistry
BY MARC ZIMMER,
Connecticut College
The Conversation
Artificial intelligence has
changed the way science is
done by allowing researchers
to analyze the massive amounts
of data modern scientific in-
struments generate. It can find
a needle in a million haystacks
of information and, using deep
learning, it can learn from the
data itself. AI is accelerating
advances in gene hunting, med-
icine, drug design and the cre-
ation of organic compounds.
Deep learning uses algo-
rithms, often neural net-
works that are trained on large
amounts of data, to extract in-
formation from new data. It is
very different from traditional
computing with its step-by-step
instructions. Rather, it learns
from data. Deep learning is far
less transparent than tradi-
tional computer programming,
leaving important questions
– what has the system learned,
what does it know?
As a chemistry professor I like
to design tests that have at least
one difficult question that stretch-
es the students’ knowledge to
establish whether they can com-
bine different ideas and synthe-
size new ideas and concepts. We
Board games: how playing them online
can bring grandparents and grandchildren
closer together
BY ROSE CAPDEVILA, The
Open University, Lisa Lazard,
The Open University
The Conversation
We’re all familiar with the
blissful image of grandma or
Technology
have devised such a question for
the poster child of AI advocates,
AlphaFold, which has solved the
protein-folding problem.
Protein folding
Proteins are present in all
living organisms. They provide
the cells with structure, cata-
lyze reactions, transport small
molecules, digest food and do
much more. They are made up
of long chains of amino acids
like beads on a string. But for a
protein to do its job in the cell,
it must twist and bend into a
complex three-dimensional
structure, a process called pro-
tein folding. Misfolded proteins
can lead to disease.
In his chemistry Nobel ac-
ceptance speech in 1972, Chris-
tiaan Anfinsen postulated that
it should be possible to cal-
culate the three-dimensional
structure of a protein from the
sequence of its building blocks,
the amino acids.
Just as the order and spacing
of the letters in this article give it
sense and message, so the order
of the amino acids determines
the protein’s identity and shape,
which results in its function.
Because of the inherent flex-
ibility of the amino acid build-
ing blocks, a typical protein can
adopt an estimated 10 to the
power of 300 different forms.
This is a massive number, more
grandpa playing snakes and
ladders with their grandchild –
or a large family sat round a ta-
ble at Christmas over a game of
Scrabble, Monopoly or Cluedo.
You’d be forgiven for think-
ing that the popularity of board
games might have waned in
than the number of atoms in
the universe. Yet within a mil-
lisecond every protein in an
organism will fold into its very
own specific shape – the low-
est-energy arrangement of all
the chemical bonds that make
up the protein. Change just one
amino acid in the hundreds of
amino acids typically found in a
protein and it may misfold and
no longer work.
AlphaFold
For 50 years computer scien-
tists have tried to solve the pro-
tein-folding problem – with little
success. Then in 2016 DeepMind,
an AI subsidiary of Google parent
Alphabet, initiated its AlphaFold
program. It used the protein da-
tabank as its training set, which
contains the experimentally
favour of the smartphone, tab-
let or other online gaming. In
fact, the market value of board
games has been growing con-
siderably in recent years.
While board games were al-
ready on the rise pre COVID,
lockdown fuelled this trend. A
www.canadianinquirer.net
determined structures of over
150,000 proteins.
In less than five years Alpha-
Fold had the protein-folding
problem beat – at least the most
useful part of it, namely, deter-
mining the protein structure
from its amino acid sequence.
AlphaFold does not explain
how the proteins fold so quickly
and accurately. It was a major
win for AI, because it not only
accrued huge scientific pres-
tige, it also was a major scien-
tific advance that could affect
everyone’s lives.
Today, thanks to programs
like AlphaFold2 and RoseTTA-
Fold, researchers like me can de-
termine the three-dimensional
structure of proteins from the
sequence of amino acids that
study conducted during the lock-
downs suggested nostalgia may
have been an important factor in
how people coped with isolation,
both dusting off board games for
solace and watching classic films.
According to a study carried
out in Sweden, board games
JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY
make up the protein – at no cost
– in an hour or two. Before Al-
phaFold2 we had to crystallize
the proteins and solve the struc-
tures using X-ray crystallogra-
phy, a process that took months
and cost tens of thousands of
dollars per structure.
We now also have access to
the AlphaFold Protein Struc-
ture Database, where Deep-
mind has deposited the 3D
structures of nearly all the pro-
teins found in humans, mice
and more than 20 other species.
To date they it has solved more
than a million structures and
plan to add another 100 mil-
lion structures this year alone.
Knowledge of proteins has sky-
rocketed. The structure of half
of all known proteins is likely
to be documented by the end of
2022, among them many new
unique structures associated
with new useful functions.
Thinking like a chemist
AlphaFold2 was not designed
to predict how proteins would
interact with one another, yet
it has been able to model how
individual proteins combine to
form large complex units com-
posed of multiple proteins. We
had a challenging question for
AlphaFold – had its structur-
al training set taught it some
❱❱ PAGE 30 A celebrated AI
can help children learn about
relationships, to become more
socially adept and develop their
cognitive abilities. Research
suggests playing board games
can also enhance family togeth-
❱❱ PAGE 28 Board games: how
FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2022
How the travel industry uses your sense of
smell to enhance your holiday
BY ADRIANA MADZHAROV,
University of Bath
The Conversation
Freshly baked bread. New-
ly cut grass. A salty sea breeze.
Most people have a favourite
smell that evokes fond memo-
ries or feelings of comfort.
This sensory appeal
has long been harnessed
by businesses to sell
scented candles, ex-
pensive perfumes, and
even homes. Now it is
increasingly being used
in the travel industry
– where airlines, ho-
tels and entertainment
venues are deliberately
incorporating scents
into the “tourism expe-
rience”.
These businesses are
seeking to benefit from consum-
er research that has established
that there is much more to pleas-
ant scents than smelling nice.
Smells have a particular ability
to act as a source of information.
Because they are intangible – we
cannot see or touch them – our
brains automatically associate
them with experiences.
The travel industry is all
about experiences. One of the
main reasons people are willing
to spend large amounts of mon-
ey on visiting new places is to
stimulate their senses with new
sights, sounds, tastes and smells,
such as the fragrant lavender of
southern France, or eucalyptus
NSW’s biggest coal...
❰❰ 25 Three community
priorities
Communities in
NSW’s Hunter Valley are more
than aware that time is running
out for coal mining. Last year
community workshops were
held around the region to discuss
what is needed for a just tran-
sition to occur. Three priorities
emerged from those discussions:
• a local authority to coordi-
Travel
on the Italian Amalfi coast.
A simple way to monetise
this is for a hotel to sell its own
signature shower gels or soaps
so that customers can take a
little part of their holiday home
with them. Ideally, when they
are used in your own bathroom,
they will be a reminder of a hap-
py, relaxed stay – which you
Smell can also be
used to influence
customers’ behaviour.
may consider repeating with
another booking.
My research suggests that
major tourism operators are be-
coming increasingly ambitious
about using different smells as
part of the services they pro-
vide. Specialist manufacturers
now offer thousands of familiar
scents for commercial use on an
industrial scale.
One popular area of “sensory
marketing” is where ambient
scents are strategically emitted
into the built environment to
make it more appealing. Trav-
el companies are already using
this tool in everything from
aeroplanes (rose, lavender and
nate transition efforts
• funding for a “flagship”
job-creation project
• more resources for techni-
cal and vocational education.
The first priority has been
somewhat met by the NSW gov-
ernment creating a Royalties
For Rejuvenation Fund and Ex-
pert Panel, which has $25 mil-
lion a year to spend on mining
communities.
citrus at Singapore Airlines,
for example) to airport lounges
(orange peel and figs at United
Airlines) and even in customs
areas and carparks.
Bathrooms and lobbies are
often made to smell of lemon
(or citrus in general), which,
thanks to its widespread use
in cleaning products, is now
linked with cleanliness.
There are also scents
that are considered
“warm” (cinnamon and
vanilla, for example) or
“cool” (peppermint and
eucalyptus). My previ-
ous research showed
that these scents can
have surprising effects
on people’s perception
of space.
Warm scents lead to a
feeling of physical prox-
imity, making spaces
seem busier or more crowded.
In the world of travel, these
would not be wisely used in lifts
or security lines at airports. In-
stead, a cool scent in these ar-
eas will make travellers feel less
confined.
Scents and sensibility
Smell can also be used to in-
fluence customers’ behaviour.
For example, there are studies
which show that those same
warm scents can reduce peo-
ple’s calorie consumption. Per-
haps surprisingly, it seems the
more we are exposed to the aro-
mas of sweet treats like choco-
late cookies, the less likely we
are to want to eat them. In a
But compare that to the $660
million the Western Australian
government has allocated to
fund the coal transition of a sin-
gle town, Collie.
Lessons from the past
Research shows the best
transitions are those that
are equitable, just, and well-
planned.
The good thing is that the
Hunter Valley has experience
www.canadianinquirer.net
hotel or spa, this could poten-
tially be used to nudge tourists
towards healthier food choices.
Studies have also shown that
the smell of coffee makes people
feel more energetic and alert,
mimicking the actual effects of
consuming caffeine. Hotels and
airports could explore using cof-
fee scent in business centres and
conference rooms, potentially
to improve the cognitive perfor-
mance of business travellers.
There might also be bene-
fits for airlines dealing with
tired passengers. A coffee scent
emitted at the end of a long-
haul flight might energise pas-
sengers, ultimately leading to
a better travelling experience
and a more positive opinion of
the airline.
Those customer opinions
matter a great deal for an in-
dustry that has been so badly
hit by COVID. As tour operators
seek to entice travellers back
with transition, from when
BHP shuttered its Newcastle
steelworks in 1999. While not a
perfect case study, it does pro-
vides lessons for today.
Particularly important is
a collaborative approach be-
tween unions and manage-
ment. This ensured workers
had support for redundancy,
retraining, financial planning
and finding new employment. A
27
onto planes and into foreign
countries, they need to find new
ways to stand out.
For many of those customers,
the desire to travel will already
be strong. In a digital world, our
ever-dominant screens have
come to prioritise the visual and
auditory sense at the expense of
touch and smell. The pandemic
exacerbated this situation with
its limits on movement and so-
cial interaction.
Away from those screens,
travel retains the potential to
deliver valuable and invigorat-
ing multi-sensory experiences.
Tapping into our sense of smell
and recognising its impact on
perceptions and behaviour
brings huge opportunities for
the industry to come up smell-
ing of roses. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
Hunter Valley alliance between
unions and environmental
groups is pushing for the same
level of collaborative planning.
Without a co-operative and
inclusive approach, drawing on
local knowledge, no transition
plan is likely to succeed. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
 28
Cannabis tourism: how a new
travel trend is taking off
BY MICHAEL O’REGAN,
Swansea University
The Conversation
Legal cannabis consump-
tion rose in the US and Europe
during the COVID pandemic,
with some people turning to
marijuana to help them cope
with lockdowns and broken rou-
tines. Meanwhile, fewer people
today view the drug as harmful
compared to previous decades.
These factors may have con-
tributed to a trend towards
cannabis-related tourism, with
destinations developing new
holiday products to tempt cus-
tomers, and rising travel book-
ings to destinations where can-
nabis is legal. But there are risks
for both destinations and tour-
ists in embracing this trend.
Work by MMGY Travel In-
telligence found 29% of leisure
travellers are interested in can-
nabis-related tourism. A study by
the Dutch government revealed
that 58% of international tourists
choose Amsterdam in order to
consume drugs. And business in
Dutch coffee shops has increased
since the start of the pandemic.
Nine months after Illinois le-
galised recreational cannabis in
Board games: how...
❰❰ 26 erness across the gen-
erations.
Close but far
The COVID lockdowns
gave us a unique opportunity
to study the extent to which
families separated by geogra-
phy managed to maintain that
warm glow of togetherness all
year round. Suddenly, even rel-
atives who were used to seeing
their grandchildren, nieces and
nephews on a regular basis were
forced to depend upon technol-
ogy to communicate.
Those with experience of
family video calls will know
that conversations between
older and younger people can
often be uncomfortable. Grand-
parents ask formal questions
– how’s school? What’s your
favourite subject? – and get
monosyllabic responses. The
children will then wander away,
leaving their parents to contin-
ue the conversation.
Travel
January 2020, nearly 30% of pur-
chases were by non-residents.
Thailand has just announced
it has legalised cannabis and is
hoping this will boost tourism.
The tourism sector and spe-
cific destinations have reacted
quickly to the demand for can-
nabis, hemp and CBD-related
products by designing experienc-
es that include those elements.
They are also responding to the
expected economic potential
related to increased hotel occu-
pancy, tax revenues, increased
land values, business expansion,
jobs and public health and safety
benefits that could be connected
to cannabis sales.
Yet although tourism to oth-
er destinations with legalised
cannabis is growing in popular-
ity, data is only beginning to be
collected. And so far no desti-
nation is ready to be labelled as
the “next Amsterdam”.
Big potential
While cannabis-related trav-
ellers are believed to be high
spending and well educated, au-
thorities don’t want to replicate
the Dutch model, which led to
massive concentration of can-
nabis coffee shops in Amster-
dam and raised concerns over
hard drug use and criminality.
We wanted to explore how
families can use technology to
connect and build their rela-
tionships, and how game play-
ing, specifically board games,
could improve the quality of in-
teractions between grandpar-
ents and grandchildren.
Extended family members
who lived in different places
became more separate than
ever during the pandemic and
many families struggled to sus-
tain intergenerational relation-
ships. This kind of geographical
separation, research suggests,
can hinder the development of
emotional closeness in the re-
lationships between grandpar-
ents and grandchildren.
Our research aimed to ad-
dress this gap. We know that the
relationship between grand-
parents and grandchildren can
be mutually beneficial. It can
contribute to children’s devel-
opment and help grandparents
New business models are fo-
cusing on agri-tourism (meet-
the-farmer sessions) and culi-
nary tourism and events such as
cannabis festivals. Tourists can
choose from farm tours, “bud
and breakfast” hotels, city tours,
cannabis festivals, cannabis
trails, food, wine and marijuana
pairings, “ganja yoga”, and pack-
ages that combine accommoda-
tion and cannabis experiences.
The potential for cannabis
tourism is widespread around the
world. More than 19 US states and
Washington DC have now legal-
ised recreational cannabis, along
with Canada, Mexico, Uruguay
and others. In Europe, Luxem-
bourg allows the consumption of
personally cultivated cannabis,
while Switzerland is trialling can-
nabis sales from pharmacies for
recreational purposes.
Malaysia and Thailand have
made initial steps towards le-
galising recreational use. Costa
Rica and Morocco have also ap-
proved legalisation for medici-
nal purposes.
Risks for tourists
However, few countries have
clarified the legality of cannabis
use by tourists with legislation
directed at recreational use by
residents. This means tourists
adapt to the ageing process.
Studies have shown that
play using technology can help
maintain grandparent-grand-
child relationships, as well as
improving older people’s digital
literacy and reducing their so-
cial isolation. It may also bene-
fit children’s development and
support parents in replacing
“bad” screen time.
We gave families something
to talk about. We asked pairs of
grandchildren and grandpar-
ents living in the UK to play the
well known board game Articu-
late, adapted for online play. We
interviewed 12 pairs of grand-
parents and grandchildren to-
gether before the game, and
then observed their game play
during a video call.
We found that it was an over-
whelmingly positive experience
for grandparents and grandchil-
dren alike. During play, they talk-
ed about shared memories rele-
www.canadianinquirer.net
risk breaking the law uninten-
tionally, by interacting with
street dealers and police as well
as the health implications of
consuming real and fake drugs.
There is some evidence can-
nabis can improve some mental
health conditions and provide
pain relief. But tourists with
pre-existing mental health disor-
ders, for example, may risk their
physical and psychological well-
being. Cannabis-related mental
health events including depres-
sion can also occur among those
who have not been diagnosed
vant to the game and there was
much fun and laughter. Grand-
parents also showed grandchil-
dren love and care through cel-
ebrating their game successes.
All participants reported that, in
contrast to their standard video
call, game-playing enabled lon-
ger, more enjoyable and mean-
ingful interaction.
We partnered with child de-
velopment experts Anna Tay-
lor and Amanda Gummer from
play consultancy Fundamen-
tally Children for this research.
Their face-to-face research on
intergenerational play found
that grandparents feel pressure
to adopt technology for fear
of missing out on their grand-
child’s lives.
After lockdown
Children develop impressive
expertise in online gaming early
in life. Older adults, however, are
often less familiar with new tech-
nology but are far more experi-
JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY
with mental health issues.
A patchwork of complicated
laws and regulations regarding
recreational cannabis use by
overseas tourists means ques-
tions remain about the legality
of consumption, the transport
of cannabis vape pens overseas
as well as issues of insurance
cover and health care, during
and after travel.
While Uruguay is planning to
allow consumption by tourists,
countries like Portugal, where
❱❱ PAGE 29 Cannabis tourism:
enced in traditional pastimes.
A key barrier to intergenera-
tional play on the video calls in
our study was that online board
game instructions did not take
advantage of children’s exper-
tise. Grandparents looked to
grandchildren for help setting
up but game instructions are
written for adults.
Our findings suggested that in-
tergenerational board game play
normally happens on special oc-
casions or holidays, particular-
ly Christmas. Playing games in
everyday life is something that
children do. But video-calling
technologies mean family time
is no longer reliant on physical-
ly coming together. Technology
allows those family dramas over
Monopoly to happen anytime,
not just at Christmas. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY JUNE 24, 2022
Is intermittent fasting actually good for
weight loss? Here’s what the evidence says
BY DAVID CLAYTON,
Nottingham Trent University
The Conversation
If you’re someone who’s
thought about losing weight
or has wanted to get healthi-
er in the past few years, you’ve
probably come across these two
words: intermittent fasting.
From celebrities to fitness en-
thusiasts, intermittent fasting
has many thousands of loyal
advocates online, claiming this
way of eating has helped them
lose weight better than other
diet methods have.
It’s easy to see the appeal of
intermittent fasting as a weight
loss method. Not only is it sim-
ple, it’s also flexible, can be
adapted easily to every person,
and doesn’t require you to elimi-
nate foods or count calories. But
despite its popularity, intermit-
tent fasting may not actually be
better than other diet methods
when it comes to weight loss.
To date, numerous studies
have shown intermittent fast-
ing is as good as counting cal-
ories when it comes to weight
loss – including a recent study,
which tracked participants for
more than a year.
This has even been shown
with many different types of in-
termittent fasting, including al-
ternate-day fasting (where you
fast or restrict calories every
other day), 5:2 dieting (eating
normally five days a week, then
fasting or restricting calories
Cannabis tourism:...
❰❰ 28 cannabis has been
decriminalised since
2001, still doesn’t allow
them to buy it legally. In Spain,
cannabis clubs allow visitors
to donate to the club instead of
purchasing a product. But Spain
and other large markets like
South Africa are focused on do-
mestic cannabis tourism rather
than international visitors.
Few countries have carried
Food
for two days) and time-restrict-
ed eating (where you eat all of
your days calories within a set
time window, such as only eat-
ing during an eight hour win-
dow, then fasting for 16 hours).
But no studies have yet shown
intermittent fasting to be any
better than conventional diets.
Intermittent fasting reduces
the amount you eat, but it may
have a downside. It both reduc-
es the amount of physical activ-
ity we do, and reduces how hard
we push during exercise.
This is true regardless of the
type of intermittent fasting you
do. This suggests that when
calorie intake is substantially
reduced – even for a short peri-
od of time – the body adapts by
reducing the number of calories
used during exercise. Research-
ers aren’t entirely sure why this
happens, however.
While this may not neces-
sarily affect weight loss, lower
physical activity levels can have
other negative effects on health.
For example, a recent alter-
nate-day fasting study found
that even just three weeks of
this diet reduced physical ac-
tivity levels and led to a greater
loss of muscle mass than a dai-
ly calorie restriction diet. The
fasting diet was also less effec-
tive than daily calorie restric-
tion for fat loss.
Muscle mass is crucial for
many reasons, including reg-
ulating blood sugar levels and
staying physically able as we
get older. So diets that cause
out a cost-benefit analysis
around legal cannabis and tour-
ism, or fully discussed issues
of land and water use, police
powers and benefits to local
communities. While cannabis
tourism can generate tourism
and jobs, and reduce the pow-
er of organised crime, the goal
of sustainable development is
threatened by theft, racism,
and a market stacked against
muscle loss are best avoided.
However, combining intermit-
tent fasting with exercise pro-
grammes – such as resistance
training – may help people bet-
ter maintain lean muscle mass
while encouraging fat loss.
Are there other benefits to
fasting?
While intermittent fasting
might not be a miracle solution
when it comes to weight loss,
that doesn’t mean it might not
still have other health benefits.
A recent review on intermit-
tent fasting found that it im-
proved blood pressure, insulin
sensitivity (how effectively the
body regulates blood sugar) and
lowered cholesterol levels to a
small local operators who often
can not secure funding or insur-
ance. There are also possible in-
creases in pollution and public
health and safety concerns.
Mexico and Canada have
promised funding for indige-
nously owned businesses to aid
social and racial equality, while
New York plans to create a
US$200 million (£162 million)
public-private fund to support
www.canadianinquirer.net
similar extent as daily calorie
restriction.
It is likely this effect is due to
weight loss. But since few stud-
ies have followed participants
for longer than a year, it’s hard
to know whether the these ef-
fects persist.
Some research also suggests
how you fast may also be key. A
number of studies have shown
promising results from early
time-restricted eating, which
involves eating all your day’s
calories in the early part of the
day and fasting in the evening,
usually from 4pm onwards.
Eating early in the day aligns
food intake with our natu-
ral circadian rhythms, which
social equity goals. Resident
support, and continual conver-
sations with communities on
how to plan the sustainable de-
velopment of cannabis tourism
should be a vital part of devel-
opment of the sector.
While it appears that the
COVID pandemic helped stim-
ulate and legitimise the use of
marijuana, with dispensaries
declared an essential service in
29
means nutrients are processed
more efficiently.
Early time-restricted eating
has also been shown to improve
several markers of health, such
as insulin sensitivity, which is a
key risk factor for type 2 diabe-
tes. These improvements were
even seen without weight loss.
There’s also evidence that
outcomes from the 5:2 inter-
mittent fasting diet can be im-
proved by positioning the two
very-low or no calorie diet days
consecutively. This may lead to
improvements in insulin sensi-
tivity greater than what would
be seen when practising daily
calorie restriction.
This might be due to spend-
ing more time in a fasted-state,
which increases the amount of
body fat you burn. Interesting-
ly, exercising while fasting may
also help you burn more fat and
improve insulin sensitivity.
So while intermittent fasting
might not be better than oth-
er diets for weight loss, making
changes to how you do it – such as
fasting in the evening – may help
you see other health benefits.
For people who struggle to
stick with calorie restriction di-
ets, intermittent fasting is safe
and may still be effective. It’s
also worth noting that it’s best
to combine intermittent fasting
with exercise to experience the
best results. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
parts of the US during the pan-
demic, tourism could expand and
normalise acceptance of its use.
Perceived risks may fade and
and tourist guilt may dissipate.
Cannabis tourism is likely to
become just another segment
of the holiday industry. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
30
Laoag’s malunggay fest reveals
Ilocanos’ secret to long life
BY LEILANIE ADRIANO
Philippine News Agency
LAOAG CITY – One of the
Ilocanos’ secrets to longevi-
ty was unveiled on Sunday as
some residents here showcased
their finished products from
malunggay (moringa) plant as a
superfood.
Once considered a poor man’s
vegetable, malunggay takes the
center stage as Laoag’s high-val-
ue commercial crop during this
year’s second malunggay festival
promoting its many uses as a nu-
tritious food.
A cooking competition was
held at the Laoag City gymna-
sium where the participants
made use of malunggay leaves,
flowers, and fruits either pre-
pared as the main dish, snack,
or dessert on the Ilocano table.
Presented during the Dulang
food fair are simple malung-
Foodservice Singled Out in
Single-Use Plastics Ban
RESTAURANTS CANADA
Today, Canada’s Minister
of Environment and Climate
Change, the Honourable Ste-
ven Guilbeault, and the Minis-
ter of Health, the Honourable
Jean-Yves Duclos, announced
the published final regulations
to prohibit single-use plastics
including:
• checkout bags;
• cutlery;
• foodservice ware made
from or containing problematic
plastics that are hard to recycle;
• ring carriers;
• stir sticks; and
• straws (with some excep-
tions).
The ban on manufacturing
and importing these single-use
plastics, barring a few targeted
exceptions to recognize specif-
ic cases, will come into effect
in December 2022. The sale of
these items will be prohibited
as of December 2023. The gov-
ernment indicated that they do
not intend to add any additional
Food
gay recipes like moringa jelly,
malunggay balls with mush-
room and garlic sauce, malung-
gay chips, malunggay graham,
malunggay empanada, malung-
gay crepe dessert, and malung-
gay shanghai, among others.
“It feels good to know that
there have been so many chang-
es in Laoag now,” Artemio Aco-
ba, a resident of this city, said on
Saturday as he feasted on the
sample dishes presented during
the food fair.
Acoba arrived home last
April after spending three years
as an overseas Filipino worker
at Desroches Island in Africa.
For Acoba and other visi-
tors who attended the food
fair, the dishes are all delicious
and these can be introduced
to tourists as additional “must
try” products of Laoag.
In an interview, city agricul-
turist Sheila Marie Opelac said
the cooking festival aims to pro-
items to the list of six.
Restaurants Canada is con-
cerned with today’s announce-
ment and its timelines, as the
news is placing added pressure
on the foodservice industry as
it continues to struggle and re-
build following the pandemic.
Single-use items pose a unique
challenge for foodservice op-
erators, as Canadians are in-
creasingly turning to delivery
and takeout. While on-premise
dining still accounts for most
foodservice sales nationwide,
on-premise sales have been los-
ing market share to takeout and
delivery orders.
Restaurant operators know
that consumers want their
dining experiences to be as
environmentally sustainable
as possible, but also want con-
venience. Given this market
reality, restaurants are seek-
ing solutions that reduce the
environmental impacts of sin-
gle-use items while allowing
them to meet the needs of their
customers in ways that are ac-
cessible and safe.
mote malunggay as a superfood
due to its nutritional values like
calcium, potassium, zinc, mag-
nesium, iron and copper, and
vitamins A to E.
All 80 barangays of Laoag
are currently expanding their
malunggay plantations, utiliz-
ing idle lots including village
streets which are now planted
with malunggay trees.
In the city alone, malunggay
has been a “very profitable live-
lihood source” for the impover-
ished community.
Through the government’s
various intervention programs
to provide livelihood training,
including those on food process-
ing, malunggay leaves are now
turned into noodles, cookies,
pretzels, pan de sal (salt bread),
and beauty products such as
soaps, lotions, and many others.
Aside from processing, some
are also selling at PHP15 per
bunch of malunggay leaves
In removing single-use plas-
tics from the market without
enough affordable and sus-
tainable replacement options
in place, the industry will take
on an estimated 125% increase
in costs. This does not account
for the costs associated with
the increased demand for such
products resulting in supply
shortages.
Restaurants Canada would
have appreciated a more gradual,
phased-in approach to new plas-
tics regulations, to give restau-
rant operators time to source
safe and cost-effective packaging
alternatives, and give manufac-
turers time to produce them.
Above all, Restaurants Cana-
da will continue to call for a “do
no harm” approach to any new
government policies impact-
ing foodservice operations as
our members continue to focus
on survival and recovery from
the continued impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic. We will
continue to work closely with
the government to ensure our
concerns are recognized. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
Malunggay leaves (PANDAKEKOK9 - OWN WORK/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CC0)
while its fruits are pegged as
high as PHP75 per bunch at the
Laoag supermarket.
The Department of Agricul-
ture is promoting the planting
of malunggay nationwide.
The Department of Educa-
tion is also actively involved in
the campaign by encouraging
parents and school children to
A celebrated AI...
26 chemistry? Could it
❰❰
tell whether amino
acids would react with
one another – a rare yet import-
ant occurrence?
I am a computational chem-
ist interested in fluorescent
proteins. These are proteins
found in hundreds of marine
organisms like jellyfish and cor-
al. Their glow can be used to il-
luminate and study diseases.
There are 578 fluorescent
proteins in the protein data-
bank, of which 10 are “broken”
and don’t fluoresce. Proteins
rarely attack themselves, a pro-
cess called autocatalytic post-
translation modification, and it
is very difficult to predict which
proteins will react with them-
selves and which ones won’t.
Only a chemist with a signifi-
cant amount of fluorescent pro-
tein knowledge would be able
to use the amino acid sequence
to find the fluorescent proteins
that have the right amino acid
sequence to undergo the chemi-
cal transformations required to
make them fluorescent. When
we presented AlphaFold2 with
the sequences of 44 fluores-
cent proteins that are not in the
protein databank, it folded the
JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY
plant malunggay trees to be-
come aware of its nutritional
and medicinal value to prevent
malnutrition and other diseases.
Even a growing number of
centenarians in the city and
province acknowledged that
malunggay consumption every
day does wonders to their long
life. ■
fixed fluorescent proteins dif-
ferently from the broken ones.
The result stunned us: Alpha-
Fold2 had learned some chem-
istry. It had figured out which
amino acids in fluorescent
proteins do the chemistry that
makes them glow. We suspect
that the protein databank train-
ing set and multiple sequence
alignments enable AlphaFold2
to “think” like chemists and look
for the amino acids required to
react with one another to make
the protein fluorescent.
A folding program learning
some chemistry from its train-
ing set also has wider implica-
tions. By asking the right ques-
tions, what else can be gained
from other deep learning algo-
rithms? Could facial recognition
algorithms find hidden markers
for diseases? Could algorithms
designed to predict spending
patterns among consumers also
find a propensity for minor theft
or deception? And most import-
ant, is this capability – and sim-
ilar leaps in ability in other AI
systems – desirable? ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
 JUNE
JULY 24, 2022
17, 2020 31
28

CANADA

PINOY EXPRESS DELIVERY

TRUCK OR CARGO AVAILABLE FOR RENT WITH A DRIVER.
Driver will help: Load-Pack-Unload

Perfect for: *Furniture Pick-up *Online Purchases

Room * Bachelor * 1-2 Bedroom
No More Hassle and Headache of going out to Rent.
Just pick up the phone and will show up at your door.
Let your Kababayan help you!!! We Speak your language
Maraming Salamat

Call: (416) 841-0244 for more details.

Leave a Message and we will call you back.

Electronic Technicians Needed

Experience in Low Voltag
Electrical System
installation and Servicin
Computers with Networking
Email resume to suda@alarmboss.com
Call 416-432-1902

CHRISTMAS SIGNING BONUS!!! TIN TIN DIM SUM Spectrum Health

re Ca
is Hiri
Do you have: Personal Support
W orkers
Cleaning, sweeping and moping experience (Outside Retail)
Experience in using a power washer & leaf blower
Enjoy Working Outdoors
Proudly serving fresh
and not frozen dim sum allday who w ant more!
Good time management skills and can work unsupervised
Have your own transportation $10.99 only More hou
rs
Iron Platter Style (w ith rice & veg in soup)
Competitive Pay Rates Tonkatsu Com bo (Chicken or Pork)
Spicy Ram en Pot
$500 Signing Bonus
Pay Via Direct Deposit

6455 Macleod Trail SW, Unit 192A, Calgary, AB T2H 0K9

(Located inside Chinook Mall)
Please email your resume to S ec uredG ro u p
info@securedsecuirty.com or fax 604-239-0251 securedsecurity.com
(403) 253-7742 Learn mo
re atw w w.spectrumhealth
care.com

www.canadianinquirer.net
32 JUNE 24, 2022 FRIDAY

Drive the Legend

2022 Mustang
Starting42 From
Plus Air & Freight
$ 32,295 Charges of $2,195

FIND OUT MORE AT FORDTO.CA

Vehicle(s) may be shown with optional equipment. Dealer may sell or lease for less. Limited time offers. Offers only valid at participating dealers. Retail offers may be cancelled or changed at any time without notice. See your Ford Dealer for complete details or call the Ford Customer
Relationship Centre at 1-800-565-3673. For factory orders, a customer may either take advantage of eligible raincheckable Ford retail customer promotional incentives/offers available at the time of vehicle factory order or time of vehicle delivery, but not both or combinations thereof. Retail offers
not combinable with any CPA/GPC or Daily Rental incentives, the Commercial Upfit Program or the Commercial Fleet Incentive Program (CFIP). ©2022 Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. All rights reserved.

www.canadianinquirer.net