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President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. led the opening of the 2022 National Science and Technology Week (NSTW) at the World Trade Center in Pasay City on November 23, 2022. The latest innovations of Filipino
scientists and engineers are featured at the event.
Senate OKs P5.268 trillion
2023 national budget
BY WILNARD BACELONIA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Senate on Wednesday
approved on third and final reading House
Bill 4488 or the PHP5.268 trillion General
Appropriations Bill (GAB), also known as
the 2023 proposed national budget.
The measure was immediately ap-
proved after its second reading with 21
affirmative votes, zero negative votes,
and zero abstentions.
Senator Sonny Angara, who chairs
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OPS
21
the Senate Committee on Finance and Rosetta Stone: a new museum
sponsor of the measure, thanked his fel- is reviving calls to return the
low senators for the support in passing artefact to Egypt
the the 2023 GAB.
“To our colleagues, a very big word
of gratitude to all of you that we’re on 26
schedule and we hope to have a new bud-
get on time under the new administra- `
COP27 key outcomes: progress
tion,” Angara said at the Senate plenary. on compensation for developing
In his sponsorship speech, Angara de- countries, but more needed on
scribed the 2023 budget measure as one
climate justice and equity Thinking of breaking up with
that addresses the needs of the people
Twitter? Here’s the right way
PAGE 13
❱❱ PAGE 6 Senate OKs P5.268 to do it
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2 Philippine News NOVEMBER 25, 2022 FRIDAY

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FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022
Marcos trusts Navy account on
PH-China sea encounter
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – President Ferdi-
nand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday
said he has “complete trust” in
the Philippine Navy’s account
following another confrontation
with the Chinese Coast Guard in
the disputed South China Sea.
The Puerto Princesa, Pala-
wan-based Western Command
(Wescom) earlier said the Chi-
nese Coast Guard ship “forci-
bly” seized floating debris that
its personnel was towing to
Philippine-held Pag-asa Island
on Sunday, while China said
they only acquired the floating
object after a “friendly consul-
tation” with the Philippine side.
“Hindi nagtugma ‘yung re-
port ng Philippine Navy at saka
‘yung report na galing sa China
(The report coming from the
Philippine Navy and the re-
port from China do not match)
because the word forcibly was
UN expert coming to help BI, CICC ink pact
upgrade PH forensic for creation of
capabilities cybercrime hubs
BY BENJAMIN PULTA
Philippine News Agency in airports
MANILA – The Department
of Justice (DOJ) has invited a
special rapporteur from the
United Nations (UN) to improve
the government’s forensic pa-
thology capabilities as part of
efforts to address extrajudicial
killings (EJKs).
In a press briefing Monday on
the recently concluded fourth
Universal Periodic Review
(UPR) of the Philippines human
rights situation in Geneva, Swit-
zerland, Justice Secretary Jesus
Crispin Remulla said upgrad-
ing the skill will also be helpful
during disasters.
Remulla said forensic doctor
Morris Tidball-Binz will be ar-
riving in the country, along with
used in the Philippine Navy
report. And that was not the
characterization in the Chinese
navy report or the report com-
ing from China,” Marcos said in
a chance interview with report-
ers following his attendance at
the 49th founding anniversary
of the Career Executive Service
Board in Pasay City.
He said he wanted to get to the
bottom of the issue, adding that
he would ask China to explain
their statement’s stark contrast
to the Philippine Navy’s report.
“We have to resolve this is-
sue. Of course, I have complete
trust in our Navy and if this is
what they say happened, I can
only believe that that is what
happened,” Marcos said.
“We have now asked the
Chinese, why is it that their
account is so different and it’s
much more benign – shall we
use that word. Because the forc-
ibly was used in the – at least in
the initial reports of the Philip-
pine Navy,” he added.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla (DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE - PHILIPPINES/FACEBOOK)
two other rapporteurs for chil-
dren and human rights, in the
early part of 2023.
“(I)f there are murders or
there are deaths that are un-
timely in the provinces, at least
they can help us with investiga-
tions. If our people are trained
already in the art and the sci-
ence of forensic pathology, then
Note verbale
Marcos expressed support
for the recommendation of Na-
tional Security Adviser (NSA)
Clarita Carlos for the Phil-
ippines to file a note verbale
against China.
“I think that that’s what we
need to do because when it was
first reported to me by the Chief
of Staff, I asked him to immedi-
ately call the military attaché in
the Chinese embassy and to get
a report,” he said.
He likewise said he looked
forward to his upcoming state
visit to China in January 2023
as it would be an opportunity
to discuss ways to prevent con-
frontation and conflict in the
highly-contested sea.
“These kinds of incidents are
some of the things that I’m glad
that I’m going to Beijing early
January because these are the
things that we need to work out
because, with the way that the
region, our region, Asia-Pacific
is heating up, baka may mag-
we will have experts determin-
ing the results,” Remulla said.
“But the other side of it of
course is the long term, the ca-
pacity building for disasters. Re-
member (Supertyphoon) Yolan-
da (in November 2013) where
there were thousands of bodies
❱❱ PAGE 7 UN expert coming
www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (OPS)
kamali lang, may mistake, may
misunderstanding then lalaki
‘yung sunog (if someone makes
a mistake, there’s a misunder-
standing and the fire gets big-
ger),” he said.
“We don’t want that to hap-
pen. So we want to have a mech-
anism na we have to find a way
BY FERDINAND PATINIO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Bureau of
Immigration (BI) and the Cy-
bercrime Investigation and Co-
ordinating Center (CICC) have
strengthened their campaign
against online fraud with the
establishment of cybercrime
hubs in major airports.
Immigration Commissioner
Norman Tansingco and CICC
Executive Director Alexander
Ramos signed the memorandum
of agreement (MOA) at the BI of-
fice in Manila on Nov. 15, which
provides for the creation of cy-
bercrime centers in these areas.
The creation of these hubs
3
na hindi na mangyari ‘yun, na
wala tayong mga incident na
ganyan (that incidents like that
don’t happen again),” he added.
Marcos and Chinese Presi-
dent Xi Jinping have both called
for the immediate conclusion of
❱❱ PAGE 4 Marcos trusts Navy
will cater to cases of online fraud
and other types of cybercrime.
Under the agreement, the
bureau will also provide assis-
tance in investigations of cy-
bercrime and fraud involving
foreign nationals.
“This invaluable partnership
between government agencies
is a major step towards elimi-
nating cybercrime in the coun-
try,” the BI chief said in a state-
ment Tuesday.
At the same time, Tansingco
warned foreign nationals in-
volved in cybercrime that they
cannot escape liability and will
be deported and blacklisted.
The CICC is the government’s
lead coordinating agency for the
suppression of cybercrimes. ■
 4 Philippine News
House OKs bill
reviving PH
traditional
writing systems
BY FILANE MIKEE
CERVANTES
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – A measure pro-
moting, protecting, and con-
serving the country’s indige-
nous and traditional writing
systems hurdled second read-
ing approval at the House of
Representatives.
During Tuesday’s plenary
session, the chamber voted
through voice voting House Bill
6069, or the proposed “Philip-
pine Indigenous and Tradition-
al Writing Systems Act”.
TINGOG Party-list Reps. Yed-
da Romualdez and Jude Acidre
emphasized the need to pre-
serve indigenous and traditional
writing systems within which
the history and culture of the
Philippines are incorporated.
“And while these writing sys-
tems are being revived again, it
is becoming vulnerable and in
danger of misrepresentation
and alteration due to techno-
logical advancements. Proper
and official recognized stan-
dardization, publication, and
documentation must be estab-
lished in order for the writing
systems to sustain its intrinsic
characteristics,” they said.
They said the bill aims to use
the Philippine writing systems
Marcos trusts Navy..
❰❰ 3 negotiations for the fi-
nal and binding Code
of Conduct (COC) in
the South China Sea (SCS) to
address the maritime disputes
among littoral states during a
bilateral meeting in Bangkok,
Thailand.
The two leaders agreed that
the issuance of the COC in the
SCS is vital in resolving disputes
among sea claimants, including
the Philippines and China.
The Philippines, China, and
several other littoral states have
as tools to enhance cultural
development, instill national
pride, and safeguard Filipino
cultural heritage and identity.
The bill recognizes the pro-
tection and promotion of the
indigenous and traditional
writing scripts of the country as
part of its cultural treasures.
Under the proposed law, the
country’s indigenous writing
systems shall be included in
relevant subjects of basic and
higher education.
The National Commission
for Culture and the Arts shall be
the lead policymaking unit for
the promotion of Philippine In-
digenous and Traditional Writ-
ing Systems.
The bill proposes the conduct
of activities to be spearheaded
by the Department of Educa-
tion, Commission on Higher
Education, and local govern-
ments that promote awareness
of the writing systems, particu-
larly during Buwan ng Wika and
similar occasions and events.
Other measures to promote
and preserve these writing sys-
tems could be done through
the conduct of seminars, con-
ferences, conventions, and
symposia, as well as a good re-
cord-keeping of relevant docu-
ments and the preservation of
oral evidence on these writing
systems. ■
overlapping claims in the SCS.
Beijing is claiming about 80
percent of the contested waters.
However, the Hague-based
Permanent Court of Arbitra-
tion on July 12, 2016, ruled
against China’s supposed his-
toric rights over nearly the en-
tire SCS.
Military accounts
Department of National De-
fense (DND) officer-in-charge
Undersecretary Jose Faustino
Jr. said they are standing by the
accounts of Filipino military
Disaster officials urged to
study best practices of US
FEMA
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – President Ferdi-
nand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday
called on Philippine disaster of-
ficials to study the “best practic-
es” of the United States Federal
Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) as part of efforts to make
the government more responsive
to people’s needs in the immedi-
ate aftermath of disasters.
FEMA, an agency under the
Department of Homeland Se-
curity, primarily coordinates
the response to a disaster that
has occurred in the US.
Marcos said using FEMA as a
model would help prevent red
tape and other delays in gov-
ernment disaster responses in
the Philippines.
“So that kind of authority…
basta’t pag (as long as there is
a) disaster, within a day or two,
hopefully within a day, pasok na
sila (they’re there) and they’ll
see what’s going on and then
report back to us and start with
the assessment,” Marcos said in
a meeting with disaster officials
at Malacañan Palace.
“And pagka they assess (After
they assess) on the ground, they
can already start calling the oth-
er agencies...‘Yun lang habol ko
eh. ‘Yung mabilis, para mas ma-
bilis (That’s what I’m after. We
need it done quickly),” he added.
Rather than going through a
tedious bureaucratic process,
personnel in the debris snatch-
ing incident off Pag-asa Island
last Nov. 20.
“We stand by the accounts of
our personnel in the area that,
contrary to the narrative of the
Chinese side, the debris being
towed by a Philippine vessel to
Naval Station Emilio Liwanag
for inspection was rudely tak-
en by personnel from CCGV-
5203,” he said in a statement
Tuesday night.
Faustino also said the Phil-
ippine authorities are also in-
www.canadianinquirer.net
Aerial ocular inspection of areas affected by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng. (OPS)
Marcos said he wanted disas-
ter agencies to have the power
to facilitate the immediate re-
lease of government funds after
immediate assessment and re-
lease of a report.
“And then, they will come up
with report, sasabihin DSWD
[Department of Social Welfare
and Development] ‘we need
this’… and then they will have
the power…Under the OP [Of-
fice of the President], will give
them the authority,” he said.
He likewise underscored the
need for repair and reconstruc-
tion to start immediately after
damages are identified.
“I’m just trying to parang ma-
daliin kasi ‘pag (speed things up
because if ) you are in that con-
dition sa LGU lahat urgent kasi
‘yung tao walang matitirahan,
walang makain (in the local gov-
ernment unit is should be urgent
because people have nowhere to
stay, nothing to eat),” he said.
On Nov. 8, Marcos broached
vestigating the reported explo-
sions near Pag-asa Island after
the incident involving the float-
ing debris.
“The situation is still devel-
oping; thus, we cannot provide
additional details at this time,”
he added.
Faustino also said the Armed
Forces, together with rele-
vant government agencies, are
working to ensure the safety of
our Filipino community in Pag-
asa and the surrounding areas.
“We are reviewing all reports
NOVEMBER 25, 2022 FRIDAY
placing the National Disas-
ter Risk Reduction and Man-
agement Council (NDRRMC)
under the OP to improve the
country’s disaster response by
cutting bureaucratic red tape.
He also expressed support for
the plan of his elder sister, Sen-
ator Imee Marcos, to upgrade
NDRRMC, with enhanced pow-
ers under the OP and a more
significant budget, rather than
creating a new department.
It was the older Marcos who
said that the new NDRRMC
should be patterned after FEMA,
whose primary purpose is disas-
ter preparedness and response.
The NDRRMC is the highest
organized and authorized body
for the country’s disaster risk
reduction and management.
Established by virtue of Repub-
lic Act 10121 in 2010, the NDRRMC
is composed of representa-
tives from various government,
non-government, civil sector and
private sector organizations. ■
to determine our future ac-
tions,” he added.
Faustino also said events like
these are exactly why they are
continuing to advocate for open
lines of communication and di-
alogue mechanisms.
“We support the diplomat-
ic efforts of Philippine gov-
ernment agencies to engage
our Chinese counterparts to
address the incident,” he add-
ed. (with reports from Priam
Nepomuceno/PNA) ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022 5

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6 Philippine News
Start of voter sign-up resumption
moved to Dec. 12: Comelec
BY FERDINAND PATINIO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Commission
on Elections (Comelec) has
moved the resumption of the
voter registration period from
December 9 to December 12.
Comelec spokesperson John
Rex Laudiangco, in a phone in-
Increase of ‘employable’
Filipinos should be
maximized: POPCOM
BY WILNARD BACELONIA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The national
government needs to provide
steady streams of quality jobs
to fully tap the significant rise
in the number of employable
Filipinos, the Commission on
Population and Development
(POPCOM) said on Wednesday.
According to Philippine Statis-
tics Authority’s (PSA) 2020 Cen-
sus of Population and Housing, out
of the total number of 109,035,343
individuals, more than half -- or
69.40 million are within the 15 to
64 years old working-age bracket
which provides an opportunity to
elevate the country’s socio-eco-
nomic conditions for POPCOM.
POPCOM Officer in
Charge-Executive Director
Lolito Tacardon said this mile-
stone should be prioritized for
a chance to further improve the
quality of life of every Filipino.
Tacardon said the rise in the
number of productive Filipinos
is a result of collective efforts in
decreasing the levels of fertility
and mortality nationwide.
“Since couples and individu-
als have effectively limited and
spaced the number of their chil-
dren in previous decades, the
young base of the population has
declined, and those in the work-
ing-age gradually increased. This
reflects the effective implemen-
tation of POPDEV programs,
terview Tuesday, said the voter
sign-up activities will run until
Jan. 31, 2023.
“This is to allow more time to
prepare for the Register Any-
where Program (RAP) after the
initial internal demonstration.
We had committed to conduct-
ing a public simulation on it,”
Laudiangco added.
The resumption of the reg-
such as family planning,” he not-
ed, adding the Philippines is for-
tunate to have an almost 70-mil-
lion strong work-ready citizenry.
Aside from women and young
people, the disabled, immi-
grants, and the elderly should
also be tapped, POPCOM’s in-
terim chief said echoing the
UN’s position on inclusivity .
Tacardon also urged the private
sector, as well national and local
leaders, to set policies and provide
programs that can capture the ben-
efit of having a larger work force.
“That said, we call on the pres-
ent administration to exert sup-
plementary efforts in investing in
the nation’s human and physical
capital by channeling resources
on health, education, infrastruc-
ture and technology, which can
help our country further boost
productivity,” Tacardon said.
“Now is the best time to ful-
Workers stack the plastic packs of different varieties of sweet potatoes from
the province of Bataan in front of a house on Congressional Avenue, Barangay
H2, City of Dasmarinas, Cavite on Oct. 5, 2022. (GIL CALINGA/PNA)
istration period will feature
the pilot test of the RAP in five
malls in Metro Manila.
On the other hand, Comelec
chairman George Erwin Garcia
said other institutions have ex-
pressed interest to participate
in the initial test of the project.
“The Comelec is now getting
in touch with the House of Rep-
resentatives, the Senate, and,
ly utilize our human resources.
We need to ensure that there are
available jobs out there. We also
need to capacitate our workers,
so that they can be more produc-
tive members of society,” he said.
“This demographic opportunity
can be a key factor to achieve the
country’s higher socio-economic
objectives. It is rare, and we can-
not afford to miss it,” he added as
the agency marks Population and
Development (POPDEV) Week
from Nov. 23 to 29.
By virtue of Proclamation
No. 76, the annual celebration
of POPDEV Week establish-
es the significant relationship
between population dynamics
and overall development.
This year’s observance focuses
on ways the growing number of
the country’s labor force will be in-
strumental in contributing to the
nation’s sustainable progress. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
possibly, at our Bicol region and
Eastern Visayas regional offic-
es,” he said in a statement.
Those who would like to reg-
ister as voters have to proceed
to the RAP booths to submit the
required documents, have their
oaths administered, and have
their biometrics data captured,
even if they are residing in an-
other city or municipality.
Senate OKs P5.268..
❰❰ 1 post-pandemic, sup-
ports the goal of ensur-
ing food security, re-
viving education and preparing
the country for the impacts of
climate change, among others.
“Sa ilalim ng 2023 budget ay
magkakaroon pa din ng ayuda
para sa ating mga kababayan pero
hindi na ito tulad ng nakaraang
ayuda kung saan ay halos lahat ng
tao ay nabigyan ng pera. Ngayon
pili na sektor na ang bibigyan ng
tulong at naka base ito sa bigat ng
pangangailangan at naging epek-
to ng pandemya sa kanila (Under
the 2023 budget, there will also
be aid for our people but will not
be the same from the previous aid
wherein almost all people were
given cash. Now, only selected
sectors will be given help and it is
based on the weight of their need
and the effects of the pandemic
to them),” the lawmaker said.
Angara was referring to the
Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Pro-
gram (4Ps), Protective Services to
Individuals in Crisis Situations,
Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating
Diisadvantaged/Displaced Work-
ers Program (TUPAD) and the
Sustainable Livelihood Program.
He assured that even there
has been a decline in new coro-
navirus disease 2019 (Covid-19)
cases in the country, the 2023
budget will ensure that the gov-
ernment will still be able to re-
spond to the continuing threats
of the pandemic and that the
health system is strengthened.
Support for Health Facilities
Enhancement Program of the
Department of Health, Angara
said, will also continue including
different DOH-operated hospi-
tals and the National Children’s
Hospital with additional funding.
Funds were also allocated for
the establishment of specialty
NOVEMBER 25, 2022 FRIDAY
The documents and biomet-
rics data will be endorsed and
transmitted by the recipient
RAP teams to the Office of the
Election Officer of the district/
city/municipality having juris-
diction over the residence of
the applicant.
The poll body will release the
dates, as well as the participat-
ing malls for the activity. ■
hospitals in different regions of
the country.
The Philippine Health In-
surance Corporation, Angara
noted, will receive a significant
amount to support its Benefit
Package Improvement under
the Universal Health Care Law.
He said members of the pub-
lic transport sector, farmers,
and fisherfolk will continue to
receive fuel assistance.
Angara said scholarships for
indigent students were also
well funded as well as benefits
for senior citizens.
Among the increases in the
2023 national budget is its ca-
lamity fund which was hiked
from the PHP20 billion to
PHP31 billion with PHP1 bil-
lion for the Marawi Siege Vic-
tims Compensation Fund.
As part of the continuing ef-
forts to decentralize and devolve
several functions of the national
government to the local govern-
ment units, the 2023 budget will
contain PHP820.27 billion which
represents the National Tax Al-
lotment, formerly known as the
Internal Revenue Allotment.
The bicameral conference
committee meetings for the
2023 GAB is expected to start on
Friday where the members of the
Senate and the House of Repre-
sentatives will work to come up
with a reconciled version of the
General Appropriations Bills.
Senate President Juan Miguel
Zubiri assigned Senators Anga-
ra, Pia Cayetano, Loren Legar-
da, Imee Marcos, Cynthia Villar,
Bato Dela Rosa, Win Gatchalian,
Bong Go, Risa Hontiveros, Nan-
cy Binay, Grace Poe, Francis To-
lentino, Mark Villar, JV Ejercito,
Alan Cayetano, Chiz Escudero,
and Jinggoy Estrada as members
of the Senate Bicameral panel. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022
Unpaid Saudi OFWs
warned: Don’t accept
offers of help
BY MARITA MOAJE
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Department
of Migrant Workers (DMW) has
warned Filipinos with unpaid
salaries from their Saudi Ara-
bian employers not to transact
with anyone, even from with-
in the agency, who will offer to
mediate in their behalf.
In a press briefing on Mon-
day, DMW Secretary Susan
Ople said aside from her, the
only other person authorized to
transact with claimants is Un-
dersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac.
“We would like to reach out
to all the claimants and their
families and inform them that,
number one, walang middlemen
dito (there are no middlemen
here). This is a purely govern-
ment-to-government transaction
and at the heart of it is ‘yung wel-
fare ng ating (is the welfare of our)
affected displaced OFWs (over-
seas Filipino workers),” Ople said.
The DMW has received re-
ports from OFW claimants that
people have approached them,
offering help and mediation.
Ople said there are no details
yet on how the payment will be
made following the bilateral
talks between President Ferdi-
nand R Marcos Jr. and the Sau-
di Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman on the sidelines of
the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation Summit in Bang-
kok, Thailand on Friday.
UN expert coming..
❰❰ 3 that had to be pro-
cessed? International
pathologists went here
to help us,” Remulla said.
Tidball-Binz began his career
with forensic and human rights
organizations and helped create
the International Committee of
the Red Cross’ forensic unit, of
which he was the first director
until early 2017.
Remulla said the country’s
outright acceptance of 200
out of the 279 recommenda-
tions made during the UPR was
groundbreaking.
“It was very fruitful and en-
The prince pledged that the
Saudi government would shoul-
der the wage claims of some
10,000 OFWs who were displaced
after several Riyadh-based con-
struction firms declared bank-
ruptcy in 2015 and 2016.
“So kung may lumalapit po
sa inyo, nagsasabi sa inyo na ito
ang paraan para makakuha kayo
ng wage nyo kaagad or may nag-
sasabi sa inyo pahingi ng con-
tact details ninyo at kami na ang
magsasabi sa inyo kung ano ang
development, hindi po totoo
‘yun (So if someone approaches
you, telling you that this is the
way to get your wages immedi-
ately, or someone asks for your
contact details and will tell you
about the developments, that is
not true),” Ople said.
The prince committed about
2 billion riyals for the unpaid
salaries of OFWs employed by
Saudi Oger Ltd., Mohammad
Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Maria Susana “Toots” Ople (AVITO
DALAN/PNA)
lightening and of course, very
satisfying that we saw the atti-
tude change within the different
countries that we had to face
from what we did in October.
Three years ago, what we saw in
Geneva at this time was a com-
plete turnaround,” he said.
DOJ Undersecretary Raul
Vasquez said the Philippine del-
egation rejected outright those
which are culturally incompati-
ble to the Philippines.
“Normally there are three op-
tions given you – accept, reject
or you defer. There are sever-
al items that [we had to reject]
Al Mojil Group and other con-
struction firms.
Based on records, there are
8,829 claimants from Saudi
Oger and 3,454 from Moham-
mad Al Mojil.
Ople said the DMW has zero
tolerance for employees in-
volved in corruption and other
scammers.
“If someone approaches the
claimant or their families, pre-
tending to be a DMW staff or
offering assistance in obtaining
the claims, whether that is on-
line, please take a screenshot,
or even through telephone
calls, please report them to us.
We will not tolerate. We will re-
port this to the cybercrime au-
thorities,” Ople said.
If a scammer is indeed from
DMW, it is tantamount to cor-
ruption of “the worst kind” and
the offender will face dismissal
from the service, Ople added. ■
because of our national iden-
tity, our religious beliefs, and
our cultural traditions and the
Philippine sovereignty, that we
need to protect and uphold at all
times,” Vasquez said.
Among the rejected recom-
mendations were the legaliza-
tion of divorce and same-sex
marriage.
“This legislation is there ev-
ery Congress. Someone files it. It
is a matter of policy whether we
will accept it or not. And I think
that we know as a country that
we are not ready for those,” he
added. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
Marcos to DENR:
Make mining
firms comply
with safety policies
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – President Fer-
dinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tues-
day directed the Department
of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) to require
small and large-scale mining
firms to comply with policies
that ensure safe working condi-
tions for mining workers.
In a meeting with DENR of-
ficials at Malacañan Palace on
Tuesday, Marcos lamented the
failure of mining firms, particu-
larly those involved in illegal ac-
tivities, to provide adequate safe-
ty measures inside the mines.
“Ang kawawa diyan ‘yung mga
miners. They have no safety. Ang
daming namamatay (The miners
are victims here. They have no
safety. A lot of them die),” he said.
Marcos said there is a need to
enhance social protection and
security for workers in the min-
ing industry.
“We might be able to access fi-
nancing, they might be able to ac-
cess social protection,” he added.
He also urged the DENR to
address bottlenecks to regulate
the small-scale mining industry.
“Gusto natin ma-legalize ang
mga small-scale mining firms
kasi marami sa kanila illegal,
kaya walang protection ang
mga minero (We want to legal-
ize the small-scale mining firms
because many of them are ille-
gal, so the miners have no pro-
tection),” Marcos said.
“Gusto nating palakasin ang
regulatory framework para ma-
ka-operate sila ng legal, upang
mabigyan ang ating minero ng
assistance at protection para sa
ligtas nilang pagtatrabaho (We
want to strengthen the regula-
tory framework so they can op-
erate legally, to give our miners
assistance and protection for
their safe work),” he added.
Reducing carbon emissions
Meanwhile, Marcos also under-
scored the need for the seafaring
industry to create habits to help
with carbon emission reduction.
7
He raised the need to “upskill
and reskill” the seafaring work-
force to address the scheduled
shift of ocean-going vessels to
green hydrogen as a fuel source
from 2030 to 2040.
He said seafarers would need
“additional training” to be able to
handle alternative fuels to meet
global decarbonization objectives.
During the recently-con-
cluded 27th Conference of the
Parties of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Cli-
mate Change (COP27) in Egypt,
leading organizations across the
shipping value chain and pro-
ducers of green hydrogen signed
a joint statement committing to
the rapid production and use of
low-carbon fuels based on green
hydrogen to accelerate decar-
bonization of global shipping.
The shipping sector currently
accounts for 3 percent of global
greenhouse gas emissions but is
expected to grow to 50 percent
by 2050 without intervention.
Marcos has repeatedly
pushed for the development
of renewable energy sources
to address the problem of high
power costs in the country.
In his attendance at the 29th
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooper-
ation (APEC) Summit in Bang-
kok last week, he said the Phil-
ippines is currently focused on
using renewable energy sourc-
es such as hydropower, geo-
thermal power, solar and other
low-emission energy sources.
He said his administration is
particularly setting a target of a 35
percent share of renewable ener-
gy in the power generation mix by
2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
Marcos earlier called for the
amendment of the Republic
Act (RA) 7076 or the People’s
Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991
to incentivize small-scale min-
ing and provide social assis-
tance and labor protection for
all small-scale miners.
Under the law, small-scale
mining refers to a mining activ-
ity that relies heavily on manu-
❱❱ PAGE 11 Marcos to DENR:
8 Philippine News
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Member
PH seeks cooperation with US on
climate ‘loss, damage’: DFA
BY JOYCE ANN L. ROCAMORA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – President Ferdinand R.
Marcos Jr. has sought for a possible co-
operation with the United States on cli-
mate loss and damage during his bilater-
al meeting with Vice President Kamala
Harris on Monday.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
said Marcos is interested to partner with
Washington D.C. beyond climate mitiga-
tion and relief.
“(President Marcos) expressed inter-
est in pursuing further discussions and
possible cooperation with the US on the
damage and loss concept, beyond miti-
gation and relief, to build on the discus-
Lifting women’s economic status
benefits society: Harris
BY JOYCE ANN L. ROCAMORA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – US Vice President Kamala
Harris said on Monday lifting the eco-
nomic status of women benefits society.
Harris met with Filipino women as
part of her visit to the Philippines.
In a town hall meeting with women lead-
ers, youth, and civil society organizations,
Harris highlighted the importance of access
to capital, equal access to financial literacy,
and all opportunities critical to give women
“a good idea, vision, and a plan” to thrive.
“You lift up the economic status of a wom-
an, her family will be lifted, the community
will be lifted, all society will benefit,” she said.
The meeting came as the US an-
nounced its plan to invest in Filipino
women entrepreneurs.
According to a White House fact sheet
dated Nov. 21, the US International Devel-
opment Finance Corporation will provide
a USD15.5 million loan guarantee through
a framework agreement with Citibank to
support ASA Philippines Foundation, a
microfinance institution helping women
entrepreneurs access capital and contrib-
ute to economic growth in the Philippines.
During the town hall meet, Harris also
zeroed in on the importance for leaders to
continue supporting and promoting the
political and civic participation of women.
“[P]art of what you must remember is
that there are people who came before you
who charted a course for you,” she said.
www.canadianinquirer.net
sions at the COP27,” the agency said.
Loss and damage refers to climate
change’s negative impact that cannot be
avoided by mitigation and adaptation,
such as extreme weather events, sea lev-
el rise, and glacial retreat among others.
Last Sunday, the 2022 United Nations
Climate Change Conference (COP27) in
Egypt closed with a breakthrough agree-
ment to establish a new fund to help vulner-
able countries respond to loss and damage.
One of the main focus of Harris’ trip to
the Philippines is to spur cooperation on a
range of issues, including advancing clean
energy and addressing the climate crisis.
Among the United States’ latest initia-
tives are the establishment of an energy
policy dialogue as well as the launch of ne-
gotiations for civil nuclear energy cooper-
ation or the so-called “123 agreement”.
“It’s basically a relay race. And so the
people who are heroes, whichever gen-
der they are, they ran their part of the
race and then they passed the baton.
And the question is, what will we do with
the time we’re carrying it,” she added.
Quoting American author and activist
Coretta Scott King, Harris said the fight for
justice, human rights, equality, and fairness
must be fought and won each generation as
gains from this would not be permanent un-
less the public are vigilant to keep them up.
Maica Teves, executive of SPARK Phil-
ippines, agreed that women’s political
participation should be advocated more.
With years spent in promoting women
empowerment and inclusion, Teves said
women had to work harder than their
US Vice President Kamala Harris (right) gives a talk on women empowerment before students and
non-government organizations at Sofitel Manila in Pasay City on Nov. 21, 2022. US Ambassador to
the Philippines MaryKay Carlson (left) served as a moderator at the event. (AVITO DALAN/PNA)
NOVEMBER 25, 2022 FRIDAY
The 123 agreement, once in force, would
allow the US exports of nuclear equipment
and material to support the country’s en-
ergy security and climate goals.
Aside from climate change, Marcos
and Harris also discussed peace and se-
curity against the backdrop of the global
and regional developments.
The two underscored the impor-
tance of upholding an international
rules-based regime and maintaining
open communication lines between and
among partners to prevent any miscal-
culations and misunderstandings.
“President Marcos reiterated the in-
dependent foreign policy adopted by the
Philippines, which is based on national
interest and the country’s commitment
to peace,” the DFA said. ■
male counterparts in the Philippines.
“Without naming names, for example,
there’s a woman mayor who does certain
programs, and it’s been institutionalized.
And what happens is nobody really talks
about it. But four weeks later, I saw her
male counterpart do it on a lower scale, but
he trended on Twitter. That makes me feel
bad when I see that the women don’t get the
same recognition,” she said in an interview.
Also in Manila, Mayor Honey Lacuna
said men have been in the “topmost posi-
tion” in public office for the longest time.
“(Vice President Harris) said that
shouldn’t stop you and it has been proven
in Manila because I got this chance and got
elected as the first ever female mayor in the
451 years of the city of Manila,” she said. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022
No, invoking the Emergencies Act isn’t the
same as using the notwithstanding clause
BY GEOFF CALLAGHAN,
University of Windsor
The Conversation
Some commentators are
comparing the federal gov-
ernment’s use of emergency
legislation to deal with the
prolonged “freedom convoy”
protests in Ottawa and the On-
tario government’s decision,
since abandoned, to invoke the
notwithstanding clause to im-
pose back-to-work legislation
on education workers.
Is there any merit to the com-
parison?
Virtually none.
At worst, it’s based on a
crude depiction of what each
legal mechanism allows a gov-
ernment to do. Since both the
Emergencies Act and the not-
withstanding clause authorize
governments to suspend the
rights of citizens, each is equal-
ly offensive to the principles of
liberal democracy. Or so the ar-
gument goes.
Motivations are critical
What this argument fails to
appreciate is that the reason for
the suspension in either case
makes all the difference.
The Emergencies Act permits
the federal government to take
“special temporary measures
to ensure safety and security
during national emergencies.”
Written into the act is an
explicit definition of what con-
stitutes a national emergency,
a declaration that the exercise
of powers under the act must
comply with obligations under
Canada News
various rights documents (in-
cluding the Charter of Rights
and Freedoms) and that an in-
quiry into the appropriateness
of its use begin within 60 days
of the order being lifted.
The notwithstanding clause,
on the other hand — or Sec. 33
of the Charter — permits both
the federal and provincial gov-
ernments to enact legislation
even if it violates other rights
protected under the Charter.
In a word: the presence of an
“emergency” distinguishes one
from the other.
Emergency legislation oper-
ates in response to an emergency
situation, and only for as long as
an emergency situation persists.
Not so with the notwithstand-
ing clause. Invoking the clause
is not a legislative response to
an emergency, but rather to a
disagreement. More specifically,
it’s a response to a disagreement
between a legislative body and a
body of judicial review.
‘Rogue judiciary’
The notwithstanding clause
offers a check against the possi-
bility of a rogue judiciary becom-
ing overly radical in its duties,
which, as I’ve written before,
is in alignment with Canada’s
unique constitutional history.
Safeguards that apply to the
Emergencies Act don’t apply to
the notwithstanding clause.
It would make little sense, for
instance, to set up an inquiry to
review whether a government
was justified in violating the
rights of citizens via the not-
withstanding clause since the
entire rationale of Sec. 33 was
to grant final say in the matter
to the government in question.
And it would make little sense
to require use of the clause to
comply with broader obliga-
tions under the Charter. That’s
because its very use makes clear
that a government has declared
its legislative intentions are
worthy of a rights violation.
So comparing the Emergen-
cies Act to the notwithstand-
ing clause due simply to the
rights-violating potential of
each is misguided.
‘Antagonistic’
Recent uses of the notwith-
standing clause by the Qué-
bec government, which used it
pre-emptively in two bills, and
Ontario, which invoked it after
passing legislation in 2021 and
then invoked it pre-emptive-
ly last month, are antagonistic
to our broader constitutional
commitments.
Freedom Convoy protest in Toronto on May 21, 2022. (MAKSIM SOKOLOV (MAX-
ERGON.COM) - OWN WORK/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CC BY-SA 4.0)
www.canadianinquirer.net
The legitimacy of the not-
withstanding clause is grounded
in the possibility that an elected
legislative body may disagree
with how a court has balanced a
rights violation in a given case.
Under these conditions, it
could be argued that granting fi-
nal say to the elected body over
the unelected court is demo-
cratically appropriate.
But when a government
chooses to invoke the clause
pre-emptively — as appears to
now be the trend — even before
disagreement with a review
body has had a chance to mate-
rialize, that’s no longer a dem-
ocratically appropriate way to
resolve a dispute. Pre-emptive-
ly invoking Sec. 33 transforms
it into an authoritative mecha-
nism to enforce legislation that
violates constitutional rights.
There’s no argument that can
square this manoeuvre with the
9
principles of liberal democracy.
The point is seen clearly if we
consider Sec. 1 of the Charter,
the so-called “reasonable lim-
its” clause.
In every case where a review
court finds that a given piece of
legislation violates a Charter
right, the government in ques-
tion is given an opportunity to
explain why that violation rep-
resents a justifiable limit on the
enjoyment of the right.
Shutting down dialogue
That opens a dialogue between
the offending government and
the review court on the objec-
tives of the legislation at issue,
and whether those objectives are
pressing enough to justify a lim-
itation of the violated right.
Pre-emptive use of the not-
withstanding clause circum-
vents this vital step in the pro-
cess. Far from being part of the
dialogue, it shuts down dialogue
altogether.
Pre-emptively invoking Sec.
33 does great damage to our
constitutional heritage. Invok-
ing the Emergencies Act in the
event of an emergency does no
such thing.
If the notwithstanding clause
becomes little more than a tool
for political expediency, any
rationale for including it in the
Charter in the first place is lost.
Its pre-emptive use effective-
ly guts Canadian democracy
and nullifies the Charter. The
consequences could be dire. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
10
Ontario’s Bill 23 proposes more homes built
faster, but this comes at an environmental cost
BY MICHAEL DRESCHER,
University of Waterloo, LUNA
KHIRFAN, University of
Waterloo
The Conversation
The Ontario government
recently proposed a new bill,
the More Homes Built Faster
Act, or Bill 23. This bill con-
tains some positive elements,
like the removal of duplicate
plan approval requirements
and adding measures aimed at
increasing urban density and
housing mix.
However, Bill 23 also pro-
poses weakening or eliminat-
ing many housing development
regulations, such as site plan
controls, that protect us and our
natural environment from the
negative effects of poorly built
development. If implemented as
tabled, the bill will severely dis-
rupt the province’s environmen-
tal housing regulations.
The housing sector is one
of the largest contributors to
Ontario’s greenhouse gas emis-
sions. It contributes 23 per cent
of total greenhouse gas emis-
sions of the province, second
only to transportation.
Agriculture and food should be front and
centre in the Freeland Doctrine
BY TYLER MCCANN, TED
BILYEA
Policy Options
The food security issues from
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
point to the need for friend-shor-
ing of countries to avoid supply
chain vulnerabilities.
Deputy Prime Minister
Chrystia Freeland has put the
world on notice. The era of
open trade and increasing in-
ternational co-operation is
over. Systems need to change to
empower liberal democracies
and to take leverage away from
autocracies. Those liberal de-
mocracies need to work togeth-
er to “friend-shore” and estab-
lish new, stronger ties.
Canada News
Poorly regulated housing can
lead to more greenhouse gas
emissions through energy loss,
increased energy requirements
and greater exposure to weath-
er extremes. This would con-
tribute to accelerating climate
change, exposing many Ontario
residents to the accompanying
risks to human health, well-be-
ing and property.
Climate change and housing
A recent poll showed that 74
per cent of Ontario residents
are worried about climate
change. Sixty-eight per cent of
the province’s population agree
that climate change is caused by
human activities; over half said
that they personally have ex-
perienced the consequences of
climate change. Therefore, cli-
mate change should be central
to the policies that shape our
province’s future.
Recent research has demon-
strated that substantial
amounts of urban green spaces
and trees — more than 40 per
cent tree canopy cover — may
be required to help us protect
urban communities against ex-
cess heat. However, most Cana-
dian cities, including those in
Ontario, continue to lose green
While much attention is paid
to computer chips and rare
earth minerals, it is actually ag-
riculture and food that should
be front and centre in her charge
towards a more sustainable way
of doing business globally.
Freeland’s October speech at
the Brookings Institute in Wash-
ington unveiled a doctrine built
on three pillars: closer economic
co-operation between democra-
cies; inclusive engagement with
other countries including devel-
oping small and middle econo-
mies that share our democratic
values; and avoiding strategic
supply chain vulnerabilities and
over-dependence on autocratic
countries.
Agriculture and food have
been increasingly in the cross-
spaces and trees.
Research also shows that our
most disadvantaged and vul-
nerable populations are dispro-
portionately exposed to climate
change risks. Green spaces in
Canadian cities are not evenly
distributed.
Wealthier neighbourhoods
and those with fewer immi-
grants enjoy more green spaces
and the benefits they provide
in comparison to poorer neigh-
hairs of those autocrats. China
has challenged the rules-based
trading system by disrupting
agriculture trade flows from
Canada, Australia, Norway and
others for geopolitical purpos-
es. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
has blocked critical grain ex-
ports and caused the destruc-
tion of critical Ukrainian agri-
cultural trade infrastructure.
The recent escalation in pro-
tectionism and aggressive ac-
tions by these autocracies ap-
pears to go beyond traditional
measures and instead appears
intended to weaken export-
ers, most of whom are liberal
democracies. The aim appears
to be to make them more easi-
ly-controlled. The disruption
across major agriculture and
www.canadianinquirer.net
bourhoods and those with more
immigrants.
In Toronto, recent research
confirms that the poorest neigh-
bourhoods are the most vulner-
able to flooding due to a lack of
vital natural infrastructure such
as bodies of water and green
spaces. These environmental
injustices should be a main con-
cern addressed by new policy.
In addition, recent research
reveals that high air tempera-
food commodities has shocked
supply chains, increased vola-
tility, and driven up food prices,
affecting farmers and consum-
ers around the world.
Freeland’s new policy should
therefore put agriculture and
food to the forefront. Her doc-
trine can help address problems
facing farmers and food proces-
sors in Canada and around the
world. These farmers can be ma-
jor allies in her fight to change
how the world does business.
It is important to understand
the position that major liber-
al democracies play in food
exports. Canada, the U.S., the
European Union, Australia,
New Zealand, Ukraine, Argen-
tina and Brazil often deliver the
most net exports of a number of
NOVEMBER 25, 2022 FRIDAY
tures are connected to increased
risk of hospital admissions. By
2050, summer temperatures
increased by climate change are
expected to lead to significant
growth in the demand for in-pa-
tient hospital care.
Worsening climate risks
Unfortunately, Bill 23, as
currently conceived, may make
all of this worse. It removes all
municipal controls over exteri-
or design of residential devel-
opments.
First, this may lead to poorly
regulated housing and compro-
mised visual quality and ap-
peal that would inevitably de-
tract from, instead of increase,
property value. Over time, this
would put the financial invest-
ment of owners in their proper-
ty at risk.
Second, removing all sus-
tainable site plan controls may
encourage the increase of im-
pervious surfaces that signifi-
cantly amplify the risk of urban
floods from rainwater runoff.
This is exacerbated by Bill 23’s
reduction of parkland dedi-
cation requirements by half,
which is likely to cause a loss of
❱❱ PAGE 21 Ontario’s Bill 23
major food commodities.
The world relies on these
countries to supply staples such
as wheat, barley, corn, canola
oil, beef, pork and dairy. These
exports are critical to the econ-
omies of the exporting nation,
but they are also critical to the
food security of many import-
ing countries.
While it can be a challenge
to get countries that see each
other as competitors to work
together, the food security fall-
out of the Russian invasion of
Ukraine has already pushed
them in that direction.
This summer, the G7 released
a food security statement,
which included committing
❱❱ PAGE 30 Agriculture and food
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022
Saving Main Street: Local businesses need
community support to stay afloat
BY SARAH TRANUM, OCAD
University
The Conversation
Main Street businesses that
survived COVID-19 restric-
tions are now navigating a
pandemic recovery where pre-
dicted changes in the retail in-
dustry have been accelerated by
five to 10 years.
The ability to adapt to these
changes, coupled with poli-
cies, programs and consumer
behaviour supporting small
business, are crucial to ensur-
ing our Main Streets thrive.
Main Streets are central areas
in towns or neighbourhoods
where small, independent
shops offer goods and services.
As a social innovation design-
er, I study complex challenges
with the aim of finding common
approaches needed to solve
them. My goal is to discover the
principles that can help us de-
sign a more humane future.
This future includes vibrant
communities that support small
businesses. To better under-
stand how to get there, I spoke to
entrepreneurs and stakeholders
championing Main Street areas
in Toronto and across Canada.
The backbone of the economy
In Canada, small businesses
employ 9.7 million people or
roughly two-thirds of the total
labour force, contributing 37.5
per cent of the GDP.
Many small businesses pay
their employees liveable wages,
offer paid sick leave and engage
in fair scheduling practices. They
help to beautify streets, support
community initiatives and create
events that enrich lives.
But small businesses are also
struggling to stay afloat. Ac-
cording to the Canadian Fed-
eration of Independent Busi-
ness, 56 per cent of businesses
across Canada are reporting
below normal sales compared
to pre-pandemic numbers. The
Marcos to DENR:..
❰❰ 7 al labor using simple
implementations and
methods.
RA 7076 also pertains to
small-scale mining as an activ-
ity that “does not use explosives
The historic Main Street in Newmarket, Ont. Main Street businesses are a
crucial part of Canadian culture and the economy. (SEAN MARSHALL/FLICKR, CC
BY-NC 2.0)
majority are also still carrying
debt from the pandemic and are
navigating supply chain issues,
labour shortages, rising infla-
tion and a looming recession.
Small businesses facing
challenges
While sales are still below
normal, business costs contin-
ue to climb. A report from the
Better Way Alliance, a Canadian
business network advocating for
ethical business practices, found
that rent for many Ontario busi-
nesses is commonly increasing
between 10 and 50 per cent.
Commercial insurance costs
are also a top concern for busi-
ness owners. The third quarter
of 2022 saw a six per cent in-
crease in global commercial in-
surance prices — the 20th con-
secutive quarter of hikes.
Canada’s high cost of telecom
is another challenge. A 2021
study shows that the price tag of
mobile wireless and internet is
higher in Canada than Europe-
an countries and the U.S. across
most service categories.
or heavy mining equipment.”
The DENR expressed com-
mitment to review mining laws,
including small-scale mining,
to ensure that standards are
updated and that the provision
While big businesses are bet-
ter positioned to negotiate ris-
ing expenses, small businesses
are left feeling the brunt of ris-
ing costs — all while navigat-
ing pandemic uncertainty and
shifts in the market.
Main Street businesses are
also facing demands for online
and curb-side sales options.
The hybridization of in-person
and online sales — referred to as
“bricks and clicks” or “phygital”
— are being forecast as the new
normal for retailers.
Transitioning to a mix of on-
line and physical sales involves
more than just launching a
website. It requires a shift in
how a business operates, in-
cluding technology upgrades
and changes to its human re-
sources and physical footprint,
which necessitate significant
time and financial investment
— things that small businesses
often run short on.
How to walk the talk
According to a recent survey,
supporting small businesses is
of the implementing rules and
regulations takes full advantage
of remote sensing and innova-
tion in artificial intelligence.
Mining accounts for less than
1 percent of the country’s gross
www.canadianinquirer.net
Canada News
important to 86 per cent of Ca-
nadians. At the same time, 67
per cent of Canadians are shop-
ping less in stores, compared to
before the pandemic. Some have
cut back on spending entirely,
but most have shifted online.
With Amazon as the most
popular e-commerce plat-
form in Canada — earning over
US$9.8 billion (followed by
Walmart, Costco and Apple) —
there is a concerning discon-
nect between support for small
business and where Canadians
are spending their money. This
gap could mean the difference
between having independent
shops or vacant storefronts.
I encourage Canadians to visit
neighbourhood businesses, post
positive reviews, buy gift cards
and resist purchasing from large
online retailers when buying
local is an option. Increasingly,
local retailers can offer quick de-
livery on par with the big guys.
When you can, buy directly to
help small businesses save on
fees charged by e-commerce and
delivery platforms.
Here are five additional ways
Canadians can help small busi-
nesses remain an important
part of our communities:
1. Support the Better Way Al-
liance as it calls on the Ontario
government to reform com-
mercial rent in the province. It
recently launched a petition to
reform commercial rent and
lease agreements.
2. Champion the Canadi-
an Federation of Independent
Business’s efforts to encourage
the insurance industry to make
affordable commercial insur-
ance accessible to small busi-
nesses by discussing the issue
with your local MPP.
3. Learn more about the ef-
forts of organizations campaign-
ing for more competition, choice
and affordability for wireless
and internet services in Canada.
4. Spread the word about initia-
tives like Digital Main Street that
domestic product (GDP), al-
though the Marcos administra-
tion is eyeing the industry to be
one of the major contributors
to the country’s economic de-
velopment.
11
are helping small businesses tran-
sition online. It offers one-on-one
support and access to services and
funding to help Main Street busi-
nesses innovate digitally.
5. Support your local business
association’s efforts to create
community spaces and events,
and volunteer for activities that
spotlight independent retailers.
Looking to the future
These solutions all come
down to one thing: valuing con-
nection over just transaction. A
common thread in the research
is a clear desire for people to
connect with and support small,
neighbourhood businesses.
Judy Morgan, a retail consul-
tant I interviewed, emphasized
the importance of creating
valuable spaces that people will
want to visit, in a process known
as placemaking: “There needs
to be the physical infrastruc-
ture to facilitate coming to the
area and then enjoying it while
you’re there, as opposed to just
being purely transactional.”
As Aaron Binder, business
owner and director of the Bet-
ter Way Alliance, said: “There’s
a difference between consum-
ers and customers. Customers
are people. Consumers are a
group. We want to focus on peo-
ple… People are looking for that
personal interaction.”
Our Main Streets offer more
than just goods and services.
They are integral to the fabric
of a healthy community. A fu-
ture where small businesses
thrive must include more sup-
port through how we spend and
through policies and programs
aimed to keep expenses fair and
our streetscapes business- and
people-friendly. This is key to
ensuring our communities are
designed for making connec-
tions, not just transactions. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
It has been estimated that
70 to 80 percent of small-scale
miners in the Philippines oper-
ate illegally. ■
12
Public service will swell to 409,000
in five years, PBO says
BY KATHRYN MAY
Policy Options
“Oh, yes, they’re growing the
public service,” parliamentary
budget officer says, with an ex-
tra $2.3 billion earmarked for
salaries and benefits.
OTTAWA – The seven-year
hiring spree in Canada’s public
service will continue with billions
of dollars in additional spend-
ing that will push the size of the
workforce to about 409,000 jobs
within five years, says the parlia-
mentary budget officer.
Treasury Board President
Mona Fortier tabled the gov-
ernment’s latest spending plans
– known as supplementary es-
timates (B) – asking Parliament
to approve another $21 billion.
That’s among some of the biggest
asks in supplementary estimates
other than emergency spending
to deal with the pandemic.
In his latest report, Parlia-
mentary Budget Officer
Yves Giroux estimates
$2.3 billion of this ad-
ditional spending is
needed for the salaries
and benefits of an ex-
panding bureaucracy,
which pushes the wage
bill to $55 billion this
year. That’s more than
$130,000 per full-time
employee.
The government has
been on a hiring binge
since 2015, which
kicked into overdrive
to deal with the pan-
demic. The big hires
were at:
• Canada Revenue
Agency: 9,900 new recruits,
• Employment and Social
Development Canada: 8,500,
• Public Health Agency of
Canada: 1,900,
• Immigration, Refugee and
Citizenship Canada (IRCC):
1,750.
But there’s more coming.
In the fall economic statement:
• Canada Border Services
Agency got $137 million to re-
cruit and train more border
guards,
• Veterans Affairs snagged
$115 million to help hire and
keep case managers,
• IRCC is filling 1,250 new
positions to tackle backlogs.
Canada News NOVEMBER 25, 2022 FRIDAY
On top that, Chief Informa- raft of spending measures that by-
tion Officer Catherine Luelo passed the normal financial cycle.
says the public service needs About a third of the money is
to fill about 7,000 IT jobs. The tied to spending announced in
military is short about 10,000 April’s budget, another third is
members. for Indigenous reconciliation
By PBO’s count, the public and the rest is for initiatives that
service – including the military – were not in the budget or the fall
grew from 342,000 jobs in 2015- economic update. The spending
16 to 391,000 in 2020-21. That approval for them was crammed
means the public service bounced in the six months between the
back bigger than a decade ago, budget and fall update.
when the Harper government And the spending and stra-
eliminated thousands of jobs. tegic reviews announced in
The PBO said spending on budget 2022 to save $9 billion
personnel grew an average of over five years? Federal unions,
6.7 per cent a year – from $39.6 which have faced four reviews
billion to $60.7 billion – in the since the Mulroney era, initial-
seven years since the Trudeau ly saw them as code for cuts.
government was elected. That’s But Giroux said the impact of
about a four-per-cent increase the reviews will barely be noticed.
in compensation for each full- For the spending review, the
time employee. government was looking for $3
All this extra spending should billion in savings to begin in
appease jittery public servants 2023-24. It expected to find the be processed. vice is difficult to track with
who may have braced for re- money by reviewing previously Big barriers to improving seemingly no overall human re-
straint and for the axe to begin announced spending to ensure service are investment in tech- sources plan. CIO Luelo is work-
to fall on federal jobs. Finance programs fit the government’s nology and recruiting the right ing on a digital talent plan, but
“changing circum- people. It’s unclear whether the Treasury Board didn’t respond
stances.” government is hiring people to questions on its human re-
The government de- with the skills for the future or source plan for the future.
clared victory on the simply scrambling for people to For some skills, like IT ex-
spending review in deal with the pressure of back- pertise, the government can’t
the fiscal update and logs and delays. compete with private sector sal-
All this extra spending booked $3.8 billion in The passport backlog, for ex- aries. The high-level IT experts
savings for COVID-19 ample, was the result of a num- it wants to build in-house are at-
should appease jittery benefits it didn’t have ber of converging factors that tracted to the complexity of the
public servants who may to spend. Giroux ar- swamped the system with more work but often prefer to work
gued it is misleading to applications than it could han- remotely, are often not bilingual
have braced for restraint take last year’s savings dle. Among them were mod- and are not drawn by pensions
and for the axe to begin as credit for savings ernization plans to automate and benefits, the traditional
the government prom- passport processing that got lures of a bureaucratic career.
to fall on federal jobs. ised to find later in a delayed by COVID-19. The rub is departments will
review. “There was a lot of hiring for have to fill the gap with more
As for the strategic an ancient system that’s been in outsourcing, which some ar-
review, Giroux said it place since the late 1990s. We gue is already over-the-top and
will be “fairly easy” for were on the cusp of completely should be reined in.
departments to find replacing it with one that would Sean Boots, a senior policy
Minister Chrystia Freeland’s savings with all the money com- dramatically improve auto- advisor at Canadian Digital Ser-
economic update revealed near- ing their way. mation,” said one official who vice who worked on a Carleton
ly $22 billion in new spending, On top of that, the govern- worked on the modernization University research project that
much of it on internal services, ment is spending another $2.25 plan and is not authorized to examined contracting, recently
since the April budget. (p. 61-66) billion over six years to improve speak publicly. told a parliamentary committee
Giroux said anyone look- service delivery rather than re- Giroux said the extra funding is that departments don’t know
ing to the economic update for viewing the effectiveness of op- aimed at resolving the service cri- how contractors are working for
signs of the departments re- erations to trim costs. ses. Ideally, however, the govern- them – using government lap-
allocating money or reducing “They’ll probably find that ment is also hiring workers with tops, emails and building passes.
spending found a “very differ- they can’t spend all the money skills it needs down the road. Data gathered so far suggests
ent” story. that they’re allocating to de- “Is the government gear- at least 7,700 contractors are
“It’s growing,” he said. “With partments, and they’ll claim ing up for that?” asked Giroux. working in departments, mak-
the amounts that were an- that as a saving,” Giroux said. “They know the demographics ing an average of $1,400 a day
nounced in or before the fall But the big question is why, and the composition of the pub- and up to $2,800 a day. ■
economic statement, oh yes, with all this hiring, are services lic service, so they should have a
they are growing the public ser- not any better? For months, pretty good sense of where they This article first appeared
vice,” he said. people have been waiting for want to go and, hopefully, hire on Policy Options and is repub-
The $21-billion ask in the sup- passports, immigration appli- to that effect.” lished here under a Creative
plementary estimates covers a cations and veterans benefits to The growth of the public ser- Commons license.
www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022
COP27 key outcomes: progress on compensation
for developing countries, but more needed on
climate justice and equity
BY IMRAAN VALODIA,
University of the
Witwatersrand, JULIA
TAYLOR, University of the
Witwatersrand
The Conversation
There were high expecta-
tions for COP27, the 27th Con-
ference of the Parties to the UN
Framework Convention on Cli-
mate Change.
COP conferences broadly
provide a platform for the nego-
tiation of international climate
change agreements. This was to
be the first COP held in Africa
since 2016. It was also framed
as the implementation COP,
which would lead to action.
COP27 was expected to make
progress on “loss and damage”.
This is financing to compensate
developing countries for the
harm to the climate that has
been caused primarily by the
developed world.
The outcome – the establish-
ment of a new fund for loss and
damage – is a relief for climate ac-
tivists and developing countries.
Below we unpack this, and oth-
er key outcomes from this crucial
climate change conference.
Urgency, justice and equi-
ty missing in negotiations
Outside the formal negoti-
ations, there were clear and
consistent messages about the
urgency of climate action from
scientists, NGOs and climate
activists. They gathered at the
event and in small, peaceful pro-
tests. The same urgency wasn’t
seen among party negotiators.
Inside the formal negotia-
tions, mostly wealthy country
parties pushed back on imme-
diate action in these areas:
• support for people dis-
placed by extreme events
caused by climate change
• strong and transparent gov-
ernance of carbon markets
• the phasing out of all fossil fuels.
World News
This disconnect was striking
and has led to significant delays
and setbacks in agreements rel-
evant to climate justice.
Further, the decision-making
process raises questions about
the equity of different voices at
COP, and whose reality counts.
All decisions within COP are
made by consensus, not a vote.
Decisions can be overruled by
one dissenting party.
There’s also inequality in
representation of countries and
the prevalence of lobby groups
at COP27. Certain countries
can support large teams of par-
ty delegates and technical sup-
port. Poorer countries can’t.
New fund for loss and
damage
A significant achievement of
COP27 was an agreement to es-
tablish a new fund for loss and
damage finance.
This negotiation was very
contentious, with some parties
threatening to walk out at var-
ious points. The central tension
was between developed and de-
veloping countries. Developed
countries did all they could to
avoid a new financing entity for
loss and damage.
Developing countries are
largely represented by the G77
and China. This is a negotiating
group of 134 developing coun-
tries initially founded by 77
countries in 1964. Rich nations
tried to divide the G77 and Chi-
na negotiating group by arguing
that China, India, and other less
vulnerable countries should also
have to pay for loss and damage.
It’s true that China and In-
dia are currently large emitters
of greenhouse gases, but this
approach shows a refusal to ac-
knowledge the historical cumu-
lative emissions mostly attribut-
ed to the early industrialisers.
The responsibility for cumu-
lative emissions does vary based
on which emissions are count-
ed, how they are counted, and
whether it is analysed on a per
capita basis. However, North
American and European regions
stand out as the largest emitters.
While the agreement on a fund
for loss and damage is a signifi-
cant step forward, a lot of work
needs to be done before it is set
up. The parties agreed to set up a
transitional committee to make
recommendations for adoption
at COP28, in November 2023.
Technical assistance to ad-
dress loss and damage
An additional positive move
was made with the agreement on
the institutional arrangements
to operationalise the Santiago
Network, which was established
at COP25 to help developing
countries identify their techni-
cal needs and connect with pro-
viders of assistance to address
them. For example, in the case
of flooding, improved systems
to prepare and implement early
warning systems and evacuation
processes.
The next step will be to iden-
tify the host for the Santiago
Network Secretariat.
No decision on the gover-
nance of the Warsaw Inter-
national Mechanism
www.canadianinquirer.net
The Warsaw International
Mechanism (WIM) was es-
tablished in 2013 to provide
coordination and encourage
dialogue on loss and damage.
Unfortunately, discussions on
the governance of the WIM
went nowhere.
Parties could not agree on
whether it should be under the
governance of COP or the Paris
Agreement.
Developed countries want
the mechanism to be governed
under the Paris Agreement
alone. Developing countries
want a dual governance system.
Governance under COP
would hold developed coun-
tries to account, whereas the
Paris Agreement has a para-
graph which excludes liability
and compensation.
Carbon market governance
There were similar tensions
in the discussions around the
governance framework for car-
bon markets.
Carbon markets allow coun-
tries or entities that can reduce
or absorb emissions to sell them
as carbon credits to high emit-
ters. The markets can therefore
reduce emissions and increase
13
flows of climate finance if held
to high standards of integrity
and transparency.
However, new language in
the decision text allows for con-
fidentiality around the details
of carbon credits. This could
jeopardise transparency and ac-
counting processes and reduce
the likelihood of carbon markets
contributing to mitigation.
New climate finance goal
This COP was supposed to
develop a new collective quan-
tified goal on climate finance, to
replace the US$100 billion an-
nual target which has not been
met. It was also supposed to de-
velop an action plan to double
adaptation finance, which has
not materialised.
The new finance goal has
been delayed to next year, along
with a status report on the com-
mitment to double adaptation
finance by 2025.
Various parties pointed out
that climate finance should not
worsen the indebtedness of de-
veloping countries. For the first
time, the decision document
acknowledged this issue. It
also encouraged reform of the
way multilateral development
banks support climate finance.
Phasing out fossil fuels
This COP failed to get a com-
mitment from all parties to
phase out all fossil fuels.
Instead of committing to
this obvious solution to reduce
emissions, parties insisted on
using the wording “accelerating
efforts towards the phase-down
of unabated coal power and
phase-out of inefficient fossil
fuel subsidies.”
“Unabated coal power” in-
sinuates that coal (with carbon
capture technology) could be
continued. Specifying “ineffi-
cient fossil fuel subsidies” may
allow for loopholes due to the
definition of “inefficient.”
❱❱ PAGE 23 COP27 key outcomes:
14
Ebola: Uganda’s schools were closed for two
years during COVID, now they face more
closures – something must change
BY SIMONE DATZBERGER,
UCL, MUSENZE JUNIOR
BRIAN, Makerere University
The Conversation
Children in Uganda missed
out on more school because of
the COVID pandemic than their
peers anywhere else in the world.
An estimated 15 million pupils
in the East African nation did
not attend school for 83 weeks
– that’s almost two years. Statis-
tical models predict a learning
deficit of 2.8 years in Uganda
because of the time lost through
COVID-related closures.
Now the education system
has been hit by another pub-
lic health emergency. In early
November the government an-
nounced that preschools, prima-
ry and secondary schools must
close their doors for the year ten
days earlier than planned. This
is part of its attempt to contain
an Ebola outbreak which had, by
16 November, killed 55 people;
eight were children.
Of course, it’s crucial for Ugan-
da to try and stop Ebola from
spreading. The disease has a far
higher fatality rate than COVID.
The country’s packed classrooms
and poor school infrastructure,
such as poor ventilation and
sanitation, make students highly
vulnerable to infections.
NASA’s Artemis I Orion spacecraft makes
closest flyby of moon
ANADOLU
Philippine News Agency
HOUSTON, United States –
NASA’s Artemis I moon mission
made a monumental achieve-
ment on Monday, with the Ori-
on space capsule passing about
80 miles (130 kilometers) above
the lunar surface.
“This orbit is different than
the orbit done during the Apol-
lo program, in which the space-
World News
But young Ugandans have al-
ready fallen far behind in their
learning because of COVID.
And, as the effects of climate
change worsen, Africa is becom-
ing increasingly vulnerable to
health emergencies, including a
number of infectious diseases.
That makes it incredibly im-
portant for Uganda to find a way
to balance the realities of public
health emergencies with chil-
dren’s right to education. This
is a particularly pressing issue
in low-income contexts where
many children struggle to com-
plete their schooling even out-
side emergency situations.
Kids are already far behind
In a previous study emerging
from a larger project called Co-
VAC(led by Karen Devries, Jen-
ny Parkes and Dipak Naker),
we outlined the many harms
and losses Ugandan children
and youth faced due to the pro-
longed closure of schools.
When schools finally re-
opened in January 2022, one
in ten students did not report
back to school. Some schools
had closed for good.
The government tried to sup-
port distance learning through
TV, radio, newspapers, down-
loadable curricula or, in some
instances, via mobile phones.
However, most interventions,
in particular those that re-
craft and its crew orbited much
closer to the lunar surface in a
more circular fashion,” NASA’s
Sandra Jones said during the
livestream of Orion’s flyby.
“Distant retrograde orbit is
important because it helps us
to learn about how a spacecraft
functions in a deep space envi-
ronment.”
The flyby took place at 7:44
a.m. Eastern Time and the
spacecraft completed an engine
burn required to continue its
quired access to a mobile phone
or computer only benefited
urban elites with the means to
send their children to expen-
sive private schools.
Almost all of the participants
in our study had no or limited
access to the resources needed
to effectively engage with these
materials. Girls in remote areas
were especially disadvantaged,
as they tended to have less ac-
cess to mobile phones than boys.
Most of our study partici-
pants were not able to contin-
ue their schooling via distance
learning. They eventually gave
up on their education.
Homeschooling became a
common practice in wealthier
countries. But in Uganda it was
mission around the moon.
“Shortly after the burn, Orion
passed 81 miles (130 kilometers)
above the Moon, travelling at
5,102 mph (8210 kph),” according
to the US space agency’s blog. “At
the time of the lunar flyby, Ori-
on was more than 230,000 miles
(370,149 kilometers) from Earth.”
The unmanned Artemis I
mission is a 25-day journey
around the moon and back to
test NASA’s ability to one-day
return astronauts there.
www.canadianinquirer.net
a privilege reserved for only a
few children from higher so-
cio-economic backgrounds and
expensive schools. The major-
ity of Ugandan caregivers have
to make an income in any way
they can and often lack the time,
space and resources to learn
with their children at home.
Although schools will be only
closed for a relatively short
time, losing another ten days
of learning may weaken the
trust among Ugandans in the
functioning of their education-
al institutions. Many Ugandans
struggle to pay for their chil-
dren’s school fees and will ques-
tion the real value of education
in light of current and poten-
tially more interruptions.
Orion is expected to travel
more than 40,000 miles (64,373
kilometers) beyond the far
side of the moon, the furthest
a spacecraft intended to carry
humans has ever traveled.
After months of technical
and weather-related delays, Ar-
temis I finally blasted off last
Wednesday and is completing
its mission checklist as planned,
remaining in its current orbit
around the moon for about a
week to test spacecraft systems.
NOVEMBER 25, 2022 FRIDAY
Overhauling current model
Uganda’s education sector
needs to be strengthened so
that disruptions caused by fu-
ture health emergencies do not
leave children even further be-
hind in their schooling.
This will require an overhaul
of how education is governed,
implemented and made acces-
sible during emergency situa-
tions. Uganda inherited its ed-
ucation system from its former
British colonial administration.
The appropriation of western
and former colonial education
systems by countries in sub-Sa-
haran Africa has been ques-
tioned and critiqued by many,
particularly African scholars.
Schooling, it is argued, was
initially used as a tool by for-
mer colonisers to “conquer the
African mind”. It ignored local
culture and context with the
intention to sustain colonial
administration and nurture ex-
ploitative economic structures.
Today, part of the problem
with adopting a universal mod-
el of schooling is that the many
flaws inherent in western-style
education are exacerbated in
times of crisis. For instance,
the model champions a form of
schooling that is time and loca-
tion bound. It does not easily
❱❱ PAGE 19 Ebola: Uganda’s schools
“Orion’s greatest distance
from the Moon will be on Nov.
25 at 3:53 p.m. CST at more
than 57,250 miles (92,134 ki-
lometers),” said NASA. “Ori-
on’s greatest distance from the
Earth will be Nov. 28 at 3:05
p.m. CST at more than 268,500
miles (432,108 kilometers).
The ultimate goal of the Ar-
temis program is to eventually
establish a lunar outpost that
❱❱ PAGE 23 NASA’s Artemis I
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022 World News 15

Parliament now has to justify keeping the

voting age at 18 – it’s a hard argument to make
BY NICK MUNN, University
of Waikato
The Conversation
This week’s Supreme Court
judgment on lowering New
Zealand’s legal voting age has, at
times, been interpreted as some
kind of mandate for change.
That’s not quite the case, but
the court’s ruling does at least
make change a possibility.
What the court has done
is accept the claims made by
members of the Make It 16
campaign that the current vot-
ing age limit of 18 is inconsis-
tent with section 19 of the New
Zealand Bill of Rights Act. Es-
sentially, it found, preventing
16- and 17-year-olds from vot-
ing discriminates against them
on the basis of their age.
The court also accepted that
this inconsistency has not been
justified. While that doesn’t
mean the age limit cannot be
justified, the New Zealand Bill of
Rights (Declarations of Inconsis-
tency) Amendment Bill means
legislation can be found to be in-
consistent with the Bill of Rights.
The decision effectively
means parliament now has to
defend the 18 age limit if it wants
to keep it. However, Prime Min-
ister Jacinda Ardern has already
announced her government will
draft a bill to lower the voting
age (requiring a three-quarter
majority to pass). She’s also said
she personally supports lower-
ing the voting age.
This rapid shift of the elec-
toral landscape provides a good
opportunity to restate the argu-
ments in favour of lowering the
voting age – and to ask whether
retaining the 18 age limit can be
justified at all.
Voting is a human right
When the 2020 general elec-
tion was delayed due to COVID,
it meant a group of young peo-
ple were suddenly eligible to
vote because they had turned 18
in the interim.
As I noted then, the choice of
where to set the voting age is not
made on the basis of some im-
mutable facts about the capaci-
ty of the young to vote. Rather,
it is a procedural decision.
Setting the voting age at 18
made some sense when it was
introduced in 1974 (down from
21). It was a convenient number
that coincided with some (but
not all) other age limits for the
granting of rights in our society.
But the right to vote is differ-
ent to the right to buy alcohol, for
example, which is also restricted
to those 18 or over. Unlike buying
alcohol, voting is a human right.
Any restrictions on human rights
must be demonstrably reason-
able restrictions.
The Make It 16 campaign ar-
gued, and the Supreme Court has
now agreed, that parliament has
not provided that justification for
setting the voting age at 18.
Improve civic education
Parliament will find it diffi-
cult to provide a satisfactory
justification for continuing to
exclude 16- and 17-year-olds.
The most popular arguments
against letting these young
people vote – that they aren’t
interested or capable – are sub-
jective, anecdotal or simply not
very good. Another common
argument – that they don’t pay
tax – is both wrong (many work
and they also pay GST) and ir-
relevant to enfranchisement.
A key part of a good argument
is that it can be applied consis-
tently. If we wanted to exclude
young people for being unin-
terested or incapable, we would
have to be willing to exclude the
many adults who are uninter-
ested or incapable. We do not
do this, and nor should we.
If an adult doesn’t want
to vote, they don’t have to.
The same would be true for a
16-year-old if the voting age was
lowered. Making the voting age
16 simply gives young citizens
the opportunity to vote.
It then falls to society to en-
courage them to learn who they
should vote for. If we want bet-
ter-educated voters, we should
look to improve civic education.
Good habits start young
There are, however, two good
arguments in favour of lowering
the voting age: it seems to improve
voter turnout, and voting from
a young age increases the likeli-
hood people will become regular
voters, consistently participating
in the democratic process.
Both these claims may seem
counter-intuitive. After all, isn’t
it well known that young peo-
ple vote in lower numbers than
older people? It is. But that may
simply be because we don’t give
young people the opportunity
to vote until it’s too late.
In Austria, which has allowed
voting from 16 since 2008, par-
ticipation rates among young
voters improved significantly
once the voting age was lowered.
One theory is that 16- and
17-year-olds are often in more sta-
ble situations than 18- or 19-year-
olds – still in school, usually still
living with family. When they are
allowed to vote, they are more
likely to be supported or encour-
aged by their family and school.
A strong indicator of wheth-
er someone will vote is whether
they voted the last time they had
the opportunity. Given more
young people vote when offered
the chance earlier in life, a lower
voting age will result in higher
levels of lifetime voting.
It is much easier to care about
politics when you are allowed to
participate in it. Lowering the
voting age will give young peo-
ple more reason to be invested in
their political system. Over time,
this will make our democracy
stronger and more legitimate. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.

Winter threatening lives of millions in

Ukraine amid war: WHO
ANADOLU
Philippine News Agency
GENEVA – This winter has
been “life-threatening” for
millions of people in Ukraine,
as half the country’s energy
infrastructure is damaged or
destroyed due to the war with
Russia, further straining its
healthcare system, the regional
head of the World Health Orga-
nization (WHO) in Europe said
on Monday.
“The devastating energy press conference from the cap- Russia-Ukraine war began lion more people in Ukraine to
crisis, the deepening mental ital Kyiv. nine months ago, Kluge noted, leave their homes in search of
health emergency, constraints The WHO has so far veri- underlining that such attacks warmth and safety through the
on humanitarian breach internation- winter following the start of the
access, and the risk al humanitarian law war on Feb. 24.
of viral infections and the rules of war. Winter about survival
will make this win- He said Ukraine is “Put simply, this winter will
ter a formidable test He said Ukraine is facing facing a “therma-cri- be about survival,” said Kluge,
for the Ukrainian sis,” referencing the stressing that continued at-
health system and
a “therma-crisis,”... dropping winter-time tacks on health and energy in-
the Ukrainian peo- temperatures, “on frastructure mean hundreds of
ple, but also for the top of a perma-crisis hospitals and healthcare facil-
world and its com- brought on by the war ities are no longer fully oper-
mitment to support Ukraine,” fied 703 attacks on healthcare and the pandemic.”
Hans Kluge said at a hybrid facilities in Ukraine since the The WHO expects 2 to 3 mil- ❱❱ PAGE 17 Winter threatening lives

www.canadianinquirer.net
16
Red flag laws and the Colorado LGBTQ club
shooting – questions over whether state’s
protection order could have prevented tragedy
BY ALEX MCCOURT, Johns
Hopkins University
The Conversation
The killing of five patrons in a
Colorado LGBTQ bar on Nov. 19,
2022, is the latest mass shooting
to garner headlines in the U.S.
Police have said they have yet
to determine a motive. But one
thing that has emerged is that the
suspect had a history of violent
plans, having allegedly threat-
ened to attack his mother with
a homemade bomb more than a
year before the attack at Club Q.
It has led to questions over
why that earlier alleged incident
did not trigger Colorado’s “red
flag” law – something that may
have prevented him from acquir-
ing the AR-15-style semi-auto-
matic weapon that police say
was used in the Club Q attack.
The Conversation asked Alex
McCourt, an expert on gun laws
at Johns Hopkins University, to
explain how red flag laws are
supposed to work – and why they
weren’t triggered in this case.
What are red flag laws?
Red flag laws – also know as
extreme risk protection orders
– allow for judges to make a
ruling that results in firearms
being taken away temporarily
from a person who is deemed to
be at high risk of harming them-
selves or others. They also pre-
vent that person from purchas-
ing guns for a set period of time.
They are aimed at protect-
ing against the actions of indi-
viduals who have made violent
threats or may be going through
some sort of crisis.
The way they work is that
specific people can petition a
court to issue an order when
someone is deemed to be be-
having dangerously or making
violent threats.
The categories of individu-
als who can petition in this way
vary from state to state. But all
the states that have enacted
such laws – 19 plus the District
of Columbia – include law en-
forcement officers among those
who can petition the court to
have a red flag order imposed.
Household and family mem-
World News
bers are also commonly listed.
And in Maryland, Hawaii and the
District of Columbia, health care
officials can petition the court
should they be concerned over
the behavior of a patient. In Cal-
ifornia, Hawaii and New York,
teachers or school administrators
are included in the list of people
who can petition the court.
Typically, if the court finds
there is sufficient evidence of
risk of violence, a judge will is-
sues an ex parte – or temporary
– order. These cover a very short
period until a hearing can take
place. At that subsequent hear-
ing the potential subject of the
order can provide an argument
that they aren’t dangerous.
If the court decides there is
indeed a risk, it will deliver a
longer-term order. In most cas-
es it covers a period of up to a
year. The subject of the gun ban
may be able to petition for the
order to be ended early, should
they be able to prove, for exam-
ple, that their moment of men-
tal crisis is over or that they
have sought sufficient treat-
ment. The petitioner can also
ask for the order to be renewed
at the end of the year.
Does research show that
red flag laws work?
The first thing to note is that
the laws are relatively new –
most have come in over the past
decade. So researchers are still
evaluating the data. But stud-
ies have shown that they can
be effective in preventing mass
shooting events and possibly
suicides.
Research from 2019 found
that, among a group of cases in
which guns were removed from
individuals who made threats
of mass shootings in California,
none of the individuals went on
to carry out mass shootings. A
2022 study evaluated extreme
risk protection orders in six
states. It found that all the states
being observed were issuing or-
ders on the basis of mass shoot-
ing threats – 20% of these cases
involved threats toward schools
and 15% toward intimate part-
ners or family members.
Though these laws are rela-
tively new, research analyzing
the legislation suggests that
they may help prevent suicide.
So there is enough evidence
to say they can be used to pre-
vent deaths. But these mea-
sures are so new, we need to
know more about how well
they are being implemented by
states. So far, research suggests
that public awareness of ex-
treme risk protection orders is
low and that efforts to educate
the public and facilitate filing of
petitions might help.
How well are red flag laws
implemented across states?
Connecticut and Indiana both
had early versions of red flags
laws, in place in 1999 and 2006
respectively, but the policy was
really developed after the San-
dy Hook shooting of 2012. Since
that incident – in which 20 chil-
dren and six adults were killed
by a gunman – a further 17 states
and Washington, D.C., have
added extreme risk protection
orders to their statutes. Most
have come in since the Parkland
school shooting of 2018.
One of the areas in which
more research is needed is on
implementation of red flag
laws. There appears to be wide
variation – both state by state,
but also within states that have
laws in place.
Spotty implementation
might be the result of a com-
bination of factors. As they are
quite new, there is a knowledge
gap – that is, would-be petition-
www.canadianinquirer.net
ers might not know that a red
flag order is an option, or how to
go about filing for an order.
But it is also true that there
has been a fair amount of push-
back from certain counties and
sheriffs who have said that they
won’t enforce these laws out of
Second Amendment concerns.
This appears to be the case
more in rural areas. But that
has not been systemically stud-
ied to date.
Any chance of a federal red
state law?
There has been some discus-
sion among advocates about
trying to pass federal legisla-
tion. But to date, the main ac-
tions taken at the federal level
are to make it easier for indi-
vidual states to adopt red flag
laws. The Biden administration
has pushed for their adoption,
and the Justice Department has
issued model legislation that
states can use.
Meanwhile, the Bipartisan
Safer Communities Act passed
in June 2022 allows for the dis-
tribution of funds to states for
crisis intervention programs,
including the rollout of extreme
risk protection orders.
What was in place in Colo-
rado?
Colorado’s red flag law was
enacted 2019. It allows for law
enforcement and family or
household members to file a
petition to a court. If it is ap-
proved, a court can order that
NOVEMBER 25, 2022 FRIDAY
an individual’s guns be removed
for up to one year.
A 2021 study of the first year
of implementation of Colorado’s
law found that in 85% of cases it
was law enforcement that initi-
ated proceedings, and in 15% of
cases it was household or family
members that petitioned.
There has been slower up-
take in Colorado than in some
other states. But there have
been some questions over
whether that is over the timing
of the law – it was implemented
just before COVID-19 pandem-
ic began, so for a large chunk
of the first year it has been in
operation, people were under
stay-at-home orders.
Nonetheless, the study found
there were a significant num-
ber of sheriffs and counties that
said they would not enforce the
law. There is no real legal basis
for them to do this; it is more of
a symbolic or political stance.
But it does have implications
for red flag laws, as law enforce-
ment officers may not have the
training or inclination to pur-
sue red flag orders.
Why was it not triggered in
this case?
There hasn’t been an awful
lot of detail released on why a
red flag order was not imposed
on the Colorado shooter. Early
reporting suggests that this ap-
pears to be a classic example of
someone who made a threat, in
this case threatening his moth-
er with a homemade bomb –
and as such would qualify for an
order. But there is reportedly
no public record indicating that
law enforcement or any family
member acted on that threat
and petitioned the court.
Experts can only speculate
about why this might be the
case. But one point of note is
that it occurred in a county
where the sheriff has expressed
opposition to Colorado’s law
and has previously said that
his officers will not petition for
an order except under “exigent
circumstances.” ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022 World News 17

Itaewon victims’ families Winter threatening lives..

15 ational, lacking fuel, or wood or using generators fu-

demand punishment of
❰❰
water, and electricity
to meet basic needs.
He said this was his fourth vis-
eled by diesel or electric heat-
ers,” Kluge said.
“These bring health risks, in-

those responsible
YONHAP
Philippine News Agency
SEOUL – The bereaved fami-
lies of some Itaewon crowd crush
victims held a news confer-
ence Tuesday, calling for the
punishment of those respon-
sible for the tragic accident.
The conference was or-
ganized in southern Seoul
by Minbyun-Lawyers for a
Democratic Society, an or-
ganization of progressive
lawyers, which it says legally
represents the families of 34
of 158 people killed during
and after Halloween cele-
brations in Seoul’s Itaewon
district on October 29.
It marked the first press con-
ference by the victims’ families.
The families put forth a six-
point demand, which includes a
sincere apology, a thorough inves-
tigation into those responsible,
and prevention of secondary harm.
They also asked the govern-
ment to ensure communication
and humanitarian measures for
the families of the disaster vic-
The families
put forth
a six-point
demand...
tims, and take proactive mea-
sures for full memory and re-
membrance of the victims.
Lee Jong-gwan, who lost his
daughter, Mina, a university stu-
dent majoring in computer sci-
ence, said the tragedy was caused
by the failure to properly manage
a crowd of 130,000 people.
“The police’s failure to send a
riot squad to Itaewon that night
indicates they were more in-
terested in the management of
protesters and security work
than in the safety of ordinary
people,” Lee said, accusing the
government of failing to orga-
nize a gathering of the bereaved
families and secure a space for
their psychological stability.
A weeping woman whose son
died in the accident said she
cannot send off her son without
knowing the cause, place, and
time of his death.
A Minbyun lawyer said the
organization would official-
ly announce what legal ac-
tion would be taken after fur-
ther consultations with the
bereaved families. ■
it to Ukraine in 2022, hoping to
draw the world’s attention, days
after the largest wave of missile
strikes across the country.
The WHO regional chief said
he was to meet officials, health
workers, and patients to offer
the UN body’s unwavering sup-
port to the Health Ministry, gov-
ernment, and Ukrainian people.
“And to express my gratitude
and respect for Ukraine’s doc-
tors, nurses, and other health
workers who continue to show
their heroism,” Kluge said.
He said hundreds of thousands
of premises across the country,
including private homes, schools,
and hospitals, have no essen-
tial gas supplies for cooking and
heating, while 10 million people
-- a quarter of the population --
are without power.
Temperatures are predicted
to plummet as low as minus 20 C
(minus 4 F) in parts of the country.
“As desperate families try to
stay warm, many will be forced
to turn to alternative heating
methods, like burning charcoal
cluding exposure to toxic sub-
stances harmful to children,
older people, and those with
respiratory and cardiovascular
conditions, as well as accidental
burns and injuries.”
Those leaving their homes
will face unique health chal-
lenges, including respiratory
infections such as Covid-19,
pneumonia, and influenza, and
the severe risk of diphtheria
and measles in under-vaccinat-
ed populations.
The WHO official said the war
was also taking its toll on the
mental health of Ukrainians.
“This week, the war enters its
ninth month, and already, some
10 million people are at risk of
mental disorders such as acute
stress, anxiety, depression, sub-
stance use, and post-traumatic
stress disorder, or PTSD,” Kluge
said.
He also expressed great con-
cern for 17,000 HIV patients in
Donetsk who may soon run out
of critical antiretroviral drugs
that help keep them alive. ■

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www.canadianinquirer.net
18
Entertainment
Pokémon’s Ash wins World Championship
after 25 years – here’s why the franchise is
still capturing fans
BY JENNIFER COATES,
University of Sheffield
The Conversation
Twenty-five years ago, an an-
imated ten-year-old boy was
united with Pikachu, his very
first “pocket monster” and set an
ambitious goal: to become “the
very best, like no one ever was”
by winning the Pokémon
World Championships.
On November 11, over
200,000 Twitter users
joined in congratulating
Ash on his victory. But
now that Ash has achieved
his goal, where does that
leave the future of the
Pokémon franchise?
Pokémon’s potential as
a world-dominating fran-
chise wasn’t immediate-
ly apparent in the early
years of its development.
The designer of the orig-
inal Game Boy Pokémon
games, Satoshi Tajiri, had more
local goals at first. He had ob-
served the stress that children
in Japan seemed to be experi-
encing in the 1990s due to an
“academic record society” that
prized hard study and achieve-
ment over play and imagination.
The original game design
drew from Tajiri’s memories of
growing up in the 1960s, using
his imagination to create his
own entertainment, and draw-
ing from such common child-
hood activities as bug catching.
Pikachu’s name is often at-
tributed to the Japanese word
pika, which was used to describe
the flash of atomic weapons det-
onating. Early Pokémon culture
was rooted in memories of post-
war Japan, in contrast to the
dominant trend at the time which
removed Japanese associations
from products destined for over-
seas consumption to make them
... over 200,000
Twitter users joined
in congratulating
Ash on his victory.
“culturally odourless”.
Despite these obstacles,
Pokémon captured the global
imagination. It became such a
success that journalists and ac-
ademics wrote of a “Pokémon
craze” sweeping the media
landscape of the 1990s. By 2004
however, scholars writing in
Pikachu’s Global Adventure de-
scribed “the spectacular, com-
plex, and unpredictable rise
and fall of Pokémon in coun-
tries around the world” as they
predicted the end of the fran-
NOVEMBER 25, 2022 FRIDAY
chise’s peak popularity. As you incarnation, Pokémon Red, and the traditional tennis commu-
might have noticed, however, fans independently document nity in 2016 when a journalist
Pokémon didn’t go anywhere. the stream’s history and records. asked her what her career goal
Pokémon’s evolutions Pokémon’s character aes- was. She replied: “To be the very
Pokémon’s ability to incorpo- thetics and motivations also best, like no one ever was.”
rate new developments in audi- continue to appeal to gamers Osaka later clarified the joke for
ence engagement has been key to and viewers alike. Ash’s 25-year the uncomprehending press and
its success. In its early franchis- quest has been interpreted by since has been regularly asked
ing into animated television, film, some UK fans as a message to Pokémon-related questions in
and merchandise, the Pokémon “keep trying”, while each tour- interviews. Relating herself to
phenomenon is a prime example nament win has been marked the Pokémon Snorlax, Osaka
of the “media mix” or “me- by fans noting the time invested expressed her love of sleeping,
dia ecology” in which one in Ash’s improvement. while emphasising her explosive
story or character appears As subsequent generations strength and power, like the char-
across a range of different move on from the “academic re- acter when he wakes up.
media and entertainment cord society” observed by Tajiri Growing the Pokédex
products. to our present-day understand- The range of character types
Pokémon proved high- ing of the value of rest and men- included in the franchise, from
ly adaptable across new tal health, Pokémon references the energetic Pikachu to the
platforms appearing in the even appear in the speeches slow and sleepy Snorlax, sug-
2010s and 2020s, with the of world-famous tennis pros.
development of Pokémon Naomi Osaka won fans outside ❱❱ PAGE 22 Pokémon’s Ash wins
Go and Twitch channels
dedicated to Pokémon
trading. You can even
watch a fish play Pokémon.
The Pokémon storyline
fits neatly into many of
these newer ways of engaging
with the franchise. A simple nar-
rative involving the collection
and training of various “pocket
monsters” to compete at ma-
jor tournaments nicely mirrors
the “completionism” trend that
researchers have observed in
many gaming communities.
Fan groups similarly often
collect, organise, and archive
objects of their fandom, as in
the Twitch stream Twitch Plays
Pokémon, where viewers con-
trol and play the franchise’s first
www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022
Star Wars Andor captures the essence of
resistance that is happening in the real world
BY OLI MOULD, Royal
Holloway University of London
The Conversation
Andor is the newest Star
Wars series on Disney+. It tells
the backstory of Cassian Andor,
one of the heroes who helped
steal the Death Star plans in
the 2016 film Rogue One (itself
a prequel to the original Star
Wars movie from 1977).
As the series draws to a close,
Andor has become a favourite for
Star Wars fans. This is despite the
fact that it has yet to mention the
Force or the Jedi and there hasn’t
even been a lightsaber.
One of the major appeals of
the show is the level of detail
and “everydayness” that it de-
picted. The characters from the
evil, imperialistic and in many
cases, overtly fascist Galactic
Empire are, in the grand scheme
of things, relatively low-level. It
optimises what cultural theorist
Hannah Arendt, in describing
the everyday seemingly mind-
less tasks undertaken by some
of those in the Nazi Party, called
“the banality of evil”.
Take the fast-rising military
tactical supervisor Dedra Mee-
ro and the embittered civil ser-
vant-style employee Syril Karn.
They are seen scouring reports,
sat behind desks, performing
menial tasks and in Karn’s case,
living at home with his over-
bearing mother.
It is the intricacy of their work,
the levels of bureaucracy and
military hierarchy they must
navigate, that characterises the
massive scale and sheer terror of
the Empire. In this, it also not-so-
subtly critiques the military-in-
dustrial complex by exposing
the intricate (and often fraught)
Ebola: Uganda’s schools..
❰❰ 14 adapt to alternative
forms of education
that allow for a more
flexible mode of learning in the
absence of a functioning school.
If adequately resourced and
well implemented, alterna-
tive modes of learning during
school closures can help the
most vulnerable children and
youth in their educational tra-
jectories and overall well-be-
links between private military
corporations and state.
The series also takes a great
deal of care to build up the reb-
els’ backstories, giving far more
emotional weight to their rea-
sons for rebelling. The rebel
networks of deceit and subter-
fuge that the show painstaking-
ly outlines adds real complexi-
ty, dynamism and a heightened
sense of jeopardy that is some-
what missing from the fast-
paced stories of the Star Wars
cinematic films.
In essence, Andor is the
“grown-up” Star Wars story that
many of the fans were craving
after the rather one-dimension-
al and insipid calamity that was
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
But there is a deeper reason
I think that Andor is striking a
chord: it is capturing the essence
of resistance that is happening
in the real world around us.
There are the people in Iran
protesting against the country’s
strict laws. Climate activism
is increasing across the world,
Black Lives Matter movements
continue to fight against insti-
tutional racism, reproductive
rights groups are campaigning
again in the US and resistance
is increasing against rampant
transphobia. There are very
real, and widespread networks
of activism across the world.
As Star Wars creator Geroge
Lucas has stated, the saga has
always been about rebellion
against colonialism and fas-
cism. That’s why Andor really is
a true Star Wars story and why
it speaks very intimately to the
troubles, but also the exhilara-
tion and specific triumphs, of
effective resistance campaigns
and debates around how action
should be “done”.
ing. This could be in the form
of supporting distance learning
in a different manner, such as
the potential of outdoors teach-
ing and learning where there is
enough space for social distanc-
ing. Nearby teachers could be
engaged to support locally or-
ganised, small learning groups
of children in their respective
communities.
Another option could be to
Life-long resistance
The series introduces us to
one of the “lead” organisers of
the rebellion, Luthen. Luthen
is “hiding in plain site” in the
Empire, where he poses as a
wealthy antiques shop own-
er while secretly coordinating
rebel activities.
In his utterly captivating and
brilliantly written monologue at
the end of Episode ten “One Way
Out”, he encapsulates the deep
sacrifices he had made for life-
long resistance. This is brilliantly
summed up with the quite haunt-
ing line: “I burn my life to make a
sunrise I know I’ll never see.”
This again echoes the many
times we have heard climate
activists claim that they risk jail
time, ridicule and everything
else that comes with activism
because they want a better fu-
ture for the children – a future
they might never see.
For scholars of activism like
myself, one of the more in-
triguing lines from the speech
is: “I’m condemned to use the
ensure safe and continuous ac-
cess to education in a staggered
manner under strict hygienic
measures. Investments in part-
nerships with local agencies
and community-based organi-
sations could help to facilitate
radio, TV or internet-based
learning spaces for children
and youth with no access to
learning technology.
Urgent
Entertainment
tools of my enemy to defeat
them.” Here, he is talking about
having to live a lie in order to
infiltrate the Empire. But these
lines also importantly echo a
very live debate in activist and
academic circles about how re-
sistance should be “done”.
Whose tools should be
used?
To summarise the argument,
a more traditional Marxist ap-
proach will agree with Luthen,
that to defeat the enemy, you
must use their tools in a moment
of insurrection. This is essential-
ly a political argument that says
to change the world, you have
to achieve power first. Through
political pressure or, if needed,
full-scale revolution (such as in
Russia in 1917), the aim is to seize
power first before using that
power to affect change.
More feminist and anarchist
approaches will argue that re-
sistance means building your
own house with tools you create
yourself. This is perhaps most
famously captured by the words
Some Ugandans told us that
they fear schools will be closed
for far longer than initially an-
nounced. This happened repeat-
edly during the COVID pandem-
ic. It is also sadly likely that Ebola
will not be the last epidemic the
country must manage.
That’s why novel strategies
and more resources are ur-
gently needed to finally address
deeply rooted social injustices
19
of the American civil rights ac-
tivist and poet Audre Lorde who
wrote the now famous words:
“The master’s tools will never
dismantle the master’s house.”
She is arguing here that we
cannot solve problems of op-
pression working with the tools
of a system of oppression. This
thinking sees activism as less
about changing the system so
that it supports us better, but
building entirely new systems.
The show teases this form of
activism with Vel and Cinta, two
rebels who are in a relationship.
After a major successful heist
against the Empire, Vel seems
to want to run away with Cinta,
to stop fighting and leave the
system of oppression that they
currently operate in and instead
forge new lives under new sys-
tems of their own making. And
in a more subtle, “soft” form of
activism, the indigenous people
of the occupied planet of Ald-
hani are seen maintaining their
“folk” traditions in spite of clear
disdain from the colonial impe-
rial occupiers.
But whichever side of this ac-
tivist positioning people are on,
Andor shows the struggles of at-
tempting each. The time spent
detailing the nuances of the Em-
pire’s fascism as well as the var-
ious practices of resistance that
grow to meet it are why I think
Andor is as popular as it is.
In a world where all sorts of
groups are fighting for different
causes, there are debates about
the right and wrong way to go
about enacting change. Art and
culture thrives when it speaks
to the real world. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
in and outside education that
arise before, during and after
public health emergencies.
Otherwise, children will be
continuously at a high risk of
dropping out of school, making
them vulnerable to child labour
or teenage pregnancies. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
20
Scientists need help to save nature.
With a smartphone and these 8 tips,
we can get our kids on the case
BY JUDY FRIEDLANDER,
University of Technology
Sydney, THOMAS
MESAGLIO, UNSW Sydney
The Conversation
Citizen science is touted as
a way for the general public to
contribute to producing new
knowledge. But citizen science
volunteers don’t always repre-
sent a broad cross-section of so-
ciety. Rather, they’re often white,
male, middle-aged, educated and
already interested in science.
This lack of representation
has several problems. It can un-
dermine the potential of citizen
science to bridge the divide be-
tween lay people and experts. It
also means fewer people bene-
fit from the chance to advance
their informal science educa-
tion and gain valuable life skills.
It’s important that citizen sci-
ence projects engage volunteers
from across society, including
young people. A new Australian
initiative is doing just that.
The B&B BioBlitz aims to
get school students gathering
data about Australia’s natural
environment. This year’s event
shows how citizen science in
school can help develop STEM
skills and make gains in biodi-
versity research.
More hands on deck
It’s broadly acknowledged
that Australia needs more hands
on deck when it comes to scien-
tific data collection. For exam-
ple, only about 30% of Austra-
lia’s estimated 750,000 species
have been formally named and
documented. Rectifying this will
require an enormous uptick in
information gathering.
What’s more, Australia has
one of the world’s worst extinc-
tion records. Citizen science is
an important way to fill infor-
mation gaps, identify species’
declines and their causes, in-
Lifestyle
form conservation decisions
and evaluate their effectiveness.
This year’s State of the Envi-
ronment report recognised the
need for more citizen science.
It said the level of biodiversity
research required “cannot be
achieved by professionals and
institutions alone”.
That’s where the B&B
BioBlitz comes in.
What exactly is a BioBlitz?
The B&B BioBlitz is a national
school citizen science program
co-ordinated by PlantingSeeds
Projects – a non-profit sustain-
ability organisation founded by
the lead author of this article.
The inaugural event ran in Na-
tional Biodiversity Month in
September this year. Both au-
thors of this article were project
organisers and educators.
Sixty schools from across ev-
ery Australian state and territory
participated. Participants com-
prised students from infants to
high school, and their teachers.
Most schools are located in
urban areas, which makes them
particularly valuable sites for
scientific research. Many threat-
ened plant and animal species
live in urban areas, yet, only 5%
of citizen science projects in
Australia are urban-based.
The project involved students
taking images of plant and animal
species in their school grounds on
devices such as tablets and smart-
phones provided by the school.
Students also recorded informa-
tion such as the time, date and lo-
cation of the photo.
A designated teacher upload-
ed the photos and data to the
B&B BioBlitz project on iNat-
uralist, one of the world’s most
popular biodiversity citizen
science platforms and apps. At
the time of writing, iNaturalist
contained more than 121 mil-
lion observations uploaded by
citizens from around the world.
Throughout September, stu-
NOVEMBER 25, 2022 FRIDAY
dents made more than 2,300 volvement in the BioBlitz. plant to give a sense of its
observations in school grounds, Teachers are busy and face growth habit
involving 635 plant, animal and many pressing demands. How- 3. Photograph fungi from
fungi species. Students could ever, if the benefits of citizen above, below (showing the gills
log onto iNaturalist to see a science are to be fully realised, or pores) and the side
project “leaderboard”, browse there’s a need to broaden teach- 4. Record the “substrate” you
the observations submitted and er awareness of the practice, and find a fungus on, such as soil or
learn about species’ taxonomy improve their skills in accessing dead wood, and the type of soil a
and distribution. databases such as iNaturalist. plant is growing in
A study has demonstrated 8 tips for successful biodi- 5. Insect identification can
young people can contribute versity citizen science often be helped by the number
observations to iNaturalist So how can young people be and position of veins in an in-
that are “research grade” – and helped to take a good citizen sect’s wing. Try and capture this
therefore more accessible and science observation? The fol- by getting shots from directly
potentially useful to biodiver- lowing eight tips offer a guide: above
sity research and monitoring. 1. Capture as many angles 6. Noting the plant you find a
And the longer they participate and as much information as you beetle or bug on can aid identi-
for, the better their observa- can. While some groups such as fication and provide useful eco-
tions become. birds can often be recognised logical data
Observations of species from a single photograph, many 7. If you find a spider in a web,
during this project contributed other taxa require multiple fea- photographs of both the upper
to more comprehensive data- tures for a positive identifica- and undersides can be helpful
sets that scientists can now tion to be made 8. If in doubt, just record as
draw upon. Of note were im- 2. When observing plants, much information as you can.
ages of an uncommon “Balsam photograph as many features You never know who might find
Beast” katydid and the iconic as possible. This includes flow- your data useful! ■
Sturt’s desert pea. ers and leaves (from above and
Almost all observations up- below), bark, fruit if present, a This article is republished
loaded to iNaturalist are also di- branch showing leaf arrange- from The Conversation under a
rectly exported to the CSIRO’s ment, and a shot of the whole Creative Commons license.
Atlas of Living Australia.
The pros and cons
Verbal and online feedback
by students reveals how citizen
science can be a practical and
positive experience.
One North Melbourne pri-
mary school student said the ac-
tivity made her feel “like being
more a part of a community”.
One student in Darwin said
the activity was “the most fun
he had ever had” and his teach-
er reported that while taking
part, the student was “the most
engaged he had seen”.
But the B&B BioBlitz was not
without its challenges.
Many teachers, including
science teachers, had limited
knowledge of citizen science
and often hadn’t heard of the
term. This meant that teachers
needed basic education on the
topic prior to any school in-
www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022
Rosetta Stone: a new museum is reviving
calls to return the artefact to Egypt
BY CLAIRE GILMOUR,
University of Bristol
The Conversation
With the Arab spring of 2011,
a downturn in tourism and the
devastation of COVID, the odds
have been stacked against the
opening of Giza’s Grand Egyp-
tian Museum, work on which
began in 2005 and is due to
complete 2023.
Nevertheless, it will house
over 100,000 artefacts and be-
come the largest archaeological
museum complex in the world.
It is sure to draw millions of vis-
itors to see the most complete
story yet of ancient Egypt, told
by Egyptians.
Highlights will include the
entirety of Tutankhamun’s trea-
sure, displayed together for the
first time. However, as dazzling
as this will be, it is unlikely to
completely distract from the ev-
er-present repatriation debate.
In fact, the museum’s open-
ing looks set to mark a turning
point in the academic debate
around returning its most ob-
vious missing artefact – the Ro-
setta Stone – to Egypt.
The case against repatriation
The Rosetta Stone has been
the subject of a lengthy repatri-
ation campaign. Rediscovered
in 1799 by the French military
campaign in the Egyptian Del-
ta, following Napoleon’s defeat
by the British, the stone was
shipped to England in 1802. It
has been on display at the Brit-
ish Museum ever since.
The British Museum has
maintained a steady resistance
Ontario’s Bill 23..
❰❰ 10 the green spaces and
bodies of water that
we need to cope with
climate-related risks like heat
and flooding.
Worse still, by curbing the au-
thority of conservation author-
ities, Bill 23 may endanger peo-
ple’s lives and property when
their houses are built in areas
exposed to risks from flooding
and pollution. Bill 23’s envi-
ronmental peril is compounded
with the proposed changes that
will open up the Greenbelt for
The Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. (ASHYCATINC. - OWN WORK/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CC BY-SA 4.0)
to the stone’s return to Egypt.
Legislation, including the Brit-
ish Museum Act 1963 (which
prevents the British Museum
from disposing of its holdings),
covers its legal right to the stone.
But there is now increasing
pressure to return it to Egypt
as a gesture of goodwill, recog-
nition of the stone as Egypt’s
cultural property and a symbol
of a country that is increasingly
reclaiming its heritage.
Some academics maintain
that the stone should stay in
London. There, they argue,
more visitors will see it, and it
takes pride of place among arte-
facts representing the collective
efforts of humanity. They also
highlight that the British Muse-
um has kept it safe for two cen-
turies and without British and
French efforts, the stone’s signif-
icance would remain unknown.
For many years, one of the
main academic arguments
questioned the suitability of
development.
While the housing crisis
clearly needs to be addressed,
Bill 23 proposes to solve one
crisis (housing) at the expense
of another (climate change).
Despite the bill’s positive com-
ponents, the removal of many
environmental regulations will
saddle future homeowners with
the costs of having to upgrade
and repair their houses when
their properties get flooded or
when it turns out that their land
doesn’t have trees and other
the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir
Square, Cairo, as a home for the
Rosetta Stone.
The case for repatriation
The argument that the stone
is safer from a conservation
perspective in the British Mu-
seum no longer carries the same
weight in light of the new Grand
Egyptian Museum, which now
houses many objects formerly
in Tahrir Square.
Ironically, the infrastructure
of the British Museum is also
in need of upgrading and refur-
bishment. The next few years
will see this work commence in
a radical overhaul called, appro-
priately, the “Rosetta Project”.
The British Museum posi-
tions itself as a repository of
world culture, and there is cer-
tainly a case to be made for a
more inclusive cultural heri-
tage network. It can be argued
that the Rosetta Stone is also
part of British and French his-
tory, due to the decipherment
plants that help protect against
increasing urban heat.
These are not just concerns
of a few environmental groups
that can be easily ignored in the
political calculus. In the future,
all Ontario residents may have
to pay the price for some of the
worrying policy choices that
are included in Bill 23.
For Ontario municipalities
and conservation authorities
to continue their work to pro-
tect, expand and maintain ur-
ban green spaces, forests and
www.canadianinquirer.net
Lifestyle
success by Thomas Young and
Jean-François Champollion,
but in the end, it may come
down to perceptions.
To some Egyptians, the stone
is a symbol of colonialism, and
the British Museum’s retention
of it signals that the western
dominance of Egyptian archae-
ology is still present. The Brit-
ish Museum, understandably,
does not wish to relinquish its
star object, but the pressure
may eventually make its posi-
tion untenable.
As one of the world’s most
high-profile museums, its de-
cisions are in the spotlight and
any change in its stance on the
Rosetta Stone could lead to
other institutions being ap-
proached about the repatria-
tion of Egyptian collections.
This year, more than 2,500
archaeologists signed a petition
to repatriate the stone and, in
2021, a YouGov poll on the wid-
er issue of returning artefacts
bodies of water, Bill 23 must be
amended.
There are land developers
who make great efforts to build
residential developments that
are meeting or exceeding sus-
tainability standards, regard-
less of whether they’re required
by environmental regulations.
These progressive businesses
deserve our support. However,
a wholesale removal or weak-
ening of environmental regu-
lations opens the door for an
increase in housing develop-
21
to their country of origin found
62% in favour.
Implications for world-
wide heritage
The British Museum has
stated that they have received
no formal request for the return
of the Rosetta Stone, but as the
1963 Act prevents its return,
the most logical way forward is
the establishment of a partner-
ship with Egypt’s Ministry of
Tourism and Antiquities.
George Osborne’s position as
chair of the British Museum is
that the strength of the collec-
tion is in the representation of
common humanity, but that the
museum is willing to enter into
a dialogue to ensure a satisfac-
tory outcome for all parties.
However, as ownership will
still reside with the British Muse-
um, advocates for the stone’s re-
turn may feel this does not go far
enough. On the other hand, there
is a concern about the potential
for cultural regression if muse-
ums start to divide their collec-
tions, although the likelihood of
having to empty stores is small.
The Rosetta Stone is a perfect
example of the continuing bi-
ographies of objects. Its signifi-
cance no longer rests only on its
role in the decipherment of hi-
eroglyphs, and 18th- to 19th-cen-
tury relationships between Brit-
ain, France and Egypt. It has
taken on new meaning, and its
importance now is as a symbol
of the decolonisation debate,
and of Egypt itself. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
ments that do not meet these
standards.
We cannot afford to lose our
urban green spaces and bodies
of water. These natural spac-
es are not a luxury, but are vi-
tal infrastructure needed to
help protect our communities
against the worst effects of cli-
mate change. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
 22
18 athletes to join Thailand Subic hosts
Open Track and Field World Beach
Championships volleyball tourney
BY JEAN MALANUM
Philippine News Agency
in December
MANILA – The Philippines
will send 18 athletes to the
Thailand Open Track and Field
Championships scheduled from
Nov. 28 to Dec. 1 at the Nation-
al Athletics Centre in Samkhog
district, Pathumthani province.
The athletes were selected
based on their performances
in the finals of the Philippine
Amateur Track and Field Asso-
ciation (PATAFA) weekly relay
series which started last Aug. 14
and ended on Nov. 20.
The lineup is composed of
Leonard Grospe (men’s high
jump), Alfrenza Braza and Mari-
ano Masano (men’s 1500-m),
Francis Medina (men’s 400-m
hurdles), Jome Sequita, Mico
del Prado and Edgardo Alejan
(men’s 400-m), Melvin Cala-
no (men’s javelin), Janry Ubas
(men’s long jump), Hokett Delos
Santos (men’s pole vault), Albert
Mantua (men’s shot put), Jelly
Paragile and Melissa Escoton
(women’s 100-m hurdles), Jose-
fa Ligmayo and Sarah Dequinan
(women’s heptathlon), Eloisa
Medina (women’s 100-m), Joida
Gagnao (women’s 3,000-m stee-
Pokémon’s Ash wins..
❰❰ 18 gests that there is
something for every-
one to relate to, from
the millennial striver to the
laid-back gen Z.
Digital streaming platforms
like Netflix make Japanese
popular culture more accessi-
ble and actively generate sug-
gestions for content that we
might like to watch, meaning
a broader range of anime and
franchised content is now avail-
able to global viewers. Rather
than creating competition for
Sports
plechase) and Kath Khay Santos
(women’s long jump).
Coaches Danilo Fresnido and
Joebert Delicano are also join-
ing the trip.
During the 2019 edition, the
Philippines placed fourth with
three golds, one silver and two
bronzes.
The medalists were Ari-
es Toledo (men’s decathlon),
Marestella Sunang (women’s
long jump) and Natalie Rose
Uy (women’s pole vault), gold;
Ubas (men’s long jump), silver;
Ronne Malipay (men’s triple
jump) and Dequinan (women’s
heptathlon), bronze.
Host country Thailand
Pokémon stories, the ability to
“nostalgia-watch” 25-year-old
episodes while also engaging
with newer titles appears in-
creasingly popular.
It is unclear whether Ash’s
adventures will continue past
his ultimate win. Rumours cir-
culating in fan communities
include speculation that Ash
could return as a teacher or
mentor to new characters. This
could be in the school which
features at the start of the up-
coming Pokemon Scarlet and
topped the medal tally board
with 10 golds, 10 silvers and 15
bronzes followed by Malaysia
(5-2-5) and Vietnam (5-2-2).
“I will try to duplicate my per-
sonal best in long jump and to
win the gold medal in the com-
ing Thailand Open,” said Ubas in
an interview on Tuesday. He set
a personal best of 7.88 meters at
the PhilSports athletics field in
Pasig City last Sunday.
Ubas, who hails from Cagay-
an de Oro, captured the silver
medal in the long jump (7.73
meters) and the bronze med-
al in decathlon in the Vietnam
Southeast Asian (SEA) Games
last May. ■
Violet, in a nice mirroring of Ta-
jiri’s original inspiration to pro-
vide entertainment for stressed
schoolchildren.
While we watch to see what
Ash, or a new would-be Pokémon
master, does next, the saturation
of the franchise in our global
everyday lives ensures that we
won’t be short of Pokémon con-
tent any time soon. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
www.canadianinquirer.net
BY JEAN MALANUM
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Volleyball fans are
in for another high-caliber tour-
nament as the Volleyball World
Beach Pro Tour Futures goes
to the Subic Bay sand court in
Zambales on December 9 to 11.
The Futures is the third level
of tournament in the pro tour,
after the Elite 16 and Challenge,
which features the world’s top
24 teams in the men’s and wom-
en’s divisions.
The pairs of Jude Garcia and
Anthony Lemuel Jr., Alnakran
Abdilla and Jaron Requinton,
and James Buytrago and Pol
Gringo Salvador will carry the
national colors in the men’s side.
Entered in the distaff division
are the tandems of Floremel
Rodriguez-Genesa Jane Esl-
apor, Cherry Ann Rondina-Jo-
velyn Gonzaga, and Grydelle
Joanice Matibag and Khylem
Hari Progella.
Philippine National Volley-
ball Federation (PNVF) pres-
ident Ramon Suzara said the
Philippines is in the 16-team
main draw with two teams from
Japan, Thailand, Singapore,
NOVEMBER 25, 2022 FRIDAY
Lithuania, Israel and Italy.
The four remaining slots in
the main draw will be disputed
by 14 teams in the men’s divi-
sion (four from the Czech Re-
public, three from Japan, two
each from Thailand and Aus-
tralia, New Zealand, Austria
and Israel) and 13 teams in the
women’s side (seven from Ja-
pan, two from South Korea,
the Czech Republic, Singapore,
Canada and France).
The qualification round will
be held on Dec. 8.
Tournament format is the
modified pool play, to be fol-
lowed by single elimination
rounds.
The World Pro Beach Tour is
the third major international
event organized by the PNVF
after the Volleyball Nations
League men’s and women’s
tournaments in June and the
Asian Volleyball Confederation
Women’s Cup in August.
Another Futures tournament
will be played in The Hague,
Netherlands on Nov. 27 to 30.
The Beach Pro Tour season
will culminate in a finals fea-
turing the 10 best teams in the
world on Jan. 26 to 29 in Doha,
Qatar. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022
World Cup 2022: Fifa’s clampdown on
rainbow armbands conflicts with its own
guidance on human rights
BY SOPHIE KING-HILL,
University of Birmingham
The Conversation
The 2022 men’s World Cup
host nation Qatar is known for
its human rights abuses relat-
ing to women, migrant workers
and those from the LGBTQ+
community. Same sex relation-
ships in Qatar are illegal and
punishable by up to seven years
in prison. As Qatar is hosting
one of the most popular global
sporting events, these human
rights abuses are now under
scrutiny on the world stage.
The latest issue arose as the
England and Wales captains
were set to defy Fifa by wearing
“OneLove” armbands during
the tournament. The rainbow
armbands are a gesture against
discrimination and in support of
LGBTQ+ rights. However on the
eve of the tournament, Fifa an-
nounced its own social campaign
armbands and its president, Gi-
anni Infantino, stated “we have
clear regulations on armbands.”
It was said that players found
to be wearing the rainbow arm-
bands could face on-the-pitch
sanctions, including yellow
cards. That threat seemed to
have worked, as the teams sub-
sequently decided not to wear
the armband, explaining in a
joint statement from several
football associations:
We were prepared to pay fines
that would normally apply to
breaches of kit regulations and had
a strong commitment to wearing
the armband. However, we cannot
COP27 key outcomes:..
❰❰ 13 Moving forward
While COP27 has
delivered significant
progress on finance for loss and
damage, it remains to be seen
whether this will translate into
action. The lack of progress on
mitigation and adaptation is a
worry. In failing to deal with the
central challenge of reducing fos-
sil fuel use and reaching agree-
ment on further reducing car-
bon emissions, COP27 has not
put our players in the situation
where they might be booked, or
even forced to leave the field of play.
There has been a passive
acceptance of discrimination
from many, including Fifa and
the UK government. This is
reflected in comments made
by UK foreign secretary James
Cleverley who stated that “a lit-
tle bit of flex and compromise”
needs to be shown by LGBTQ+
fans attending the Qatar World
Cup. Cleverly urged fans to be
“respectful of the host nation.”
In response to the issues with
Qatar, the UK Football Associ-
ation states that it has received
“the unequivocal answer that
all fans, including those from
LGBTQ+ communities, will be
welcome at Qatar 2022, and that
the safety and security of every
fan is Qatar’s top priority.”
However, just two weeks be-
fore the start of the World Cup a
Qatari official stated to German
media that homosexuality is
“damage in the mind” and said
that gay people “have to accept
our rules here”.
These comments seemingly
appear misguided on the sur-
face but they conceal a much
bigger issue. There should
be no “flex and compromise”
around human rights. Crimi-
nalising LGBTQ+ people is not
a cultural choice but a human
rights assault and it is a univer-
sally important issue. Yet the
lines appear blurred for many
in the case of the World Cup.
Fifa’s contradictory stance
Qatar’s stance on LGBTQ+ hu-
man rights is seemingly in con-
addressed the key challenges of
climate change.
The UN multilateral process-
es that govern climate change
need developed countries to
seriously commit to loss and
damage. And treaties must be
given greater enforcement ca-
pabilities. The parties will also
need to find a mechanism to
place common interests at the
top of the agenda, above that of
party interests.
flict with Fifa values and raises
serious questions as to the gov-
erning body’s position in relation
to this. Fifa claims that it is “com-
mitted to respecting all interna-
tionally recognised human rights
and shall strive to promote the
protection of these rights.” This
policy states that discrimination
of any kind, including against
sexual orientation, is “strictly
prohibited and punishable by
suspension or expulsion”.
Fifa adopted the United Na-
tions Guiding Principles on
Business and Human Rights in
2016. The UN has repeatedly
confirmed that discrimination
based on a person’s sexual ori-
entation, gender identity and
sex characteristics is contrary to
international human rights law.
Fifa also created a human
rights and anti-discrimination
department in 2020. This is un-
It may also be time to assess
the equity of representation
and power in these processes.
It has taken 30 years to make
progress on loss and damage
finance. Existing treaties are
inadequate to hold parties to
account on mitigation and ad-
aptation targets. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
www.canadianinquirer.net
Sports
derpinned by the requirement
for the body to take measures
to mitigate and prevent human
rights infringements.
The treatment of people from
the LGBTQ+ community in Qa-
tar appears to be in direct con-
flict with Fifa’s purported values.
Instead of condemning Qatar’s
human rights abuses, Fifa has
asked nations competing to “fo-
cus on football” and stop “hand-
ing out moral lessons”.
Long-term repercussions
Former Fifa president, Sepp
Blatter, recently stated that giv-
ing Qatar the World Cup was a
mistake and was the result of
political pressure. Qatar is said
to invest billions into world
football, which highlights the
stark reality that human rights
do, apparently, have a price.
The long-term impact of the
Qatar World Cup on LGBTQ+
NASA’s Artemis I..
❰❰ 14 can permanently host
astronauts for the first
time in history. If that
part of the program is successful,
NASA hopes it will one day pave
the route for a mission to Mars.
After completing its nearly
month-long mission, Orion will
splashdown on Dec. 11 in the
Pacific Ocean off the coast of
California.
NASA will then start gearing
up for Artemis II, which will
23
issues in football, despite the
verbal condemnation of the
discrimination by some, may be
felt for many years to come.
Historically football in the UK
has been notoriously discrim-
inatory against those from the
LGBTQ+ community. However,
this appears to be improving.
Blackpool player Jake Daniel is
the UK’s first – and only – active
male professional footballer to
come out publicly as gay since
Justin Fashanu in 1990. This is
a huge step forward for LGBTQ+
people in sport.
However, there is still stigma
surrounding LGBTQ+ people in
football. The harsh rhetoric and
lack of action from various gov-
erning bodies and the govern-
ment around the World Cup may
compound football’s homopho-
bia and impact further footbal-
lers from coming out. It could
also influence career choices of
budding players or those who
want to work within the sector.
LGBTQ+ fans are already
boycotting the World Cup, stat-
ing that they feel excluded from
the game.
Being LGBTQ+ is not a life-
style choice or a value that
people can or should be made
to compromise or “flex”. And
freedom from discrimination
because of sexuality is a fun-
damental human right. Those
who take part in this World Cup
are arguably complicit in such
discrimination. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
send astronauts around the
moon in 2024.
Artemis III is expected to
send a crew to the moon In
2025 near the lunar south pole,
the site of NASA’s envisioned
research base.
If successful, Artemis III will
be the first crewed lunar land-
ing since the final Apollo mis-
sion in 1972, and the first ever
to put a woman and a person of
color on the moon. ■
24
How the Russian economy is defying and
withstanding western sanctions
BY ALEXANDER HILL,
University of Calgary
The Conversation
Since Russia first invaded
Ukraine in February 2022, west-
ern media has frequently sug-
gested that economic sanctions
against the Russians are going to
stifle the war effort or even bring
the country to its knees.
As recently as early Novem-
ber, for example, the Wall Street
Journal reported that “mobi-
lization, sanctions and falling
energy prices” were hurting the
Russian economy and that the
economic outlook “bodes poor-
ly for Vladimir Putin’s ability to
fund Russia’s war in Ukraine.”
Credit agency Standard and
Poor’s so-called Global Russia
Services Purchasing Managers’
Index is a good example of the
sort of data being used to argue
that sanctions are now starting
to really hurt Russia.
The data is based on informa-
tion provided by Russian compa-
nies willing to talk to them. Con-
sequently, the survey could be
drawing on a distorted sample.
The impact of mobilization
Nonetheless, media cov-
erage also contains Russian
DOST releases P1.5-M aid for abaca weaving
project in Catanduanes
BY CONNIE CALIPAY
Philippine News Agency
LEGAZPI CITY – The De-
partment of Science and Tech-
nology (DOST) has released
PHP1.5 million in fund assis-
tance for the modernization of
the abaca weaving industry in
Catanduanes through the Small
Enterprise Technology Up-
grading Program (SETUP).
Business
government and other Rus-
sian-sourced statistics that
highlight some of the economic
problems confronting the coun-
try. One example is the impact
that the recent mobilization of
reservists to fight in Ukraine has
had on the Russian workforce.
The Russian daily Kommer-
sant — a sort of Russian Finan-
cial Times — has reported that
Russian companies have lost
workers due to them either be-
ing drafted to serve in Ukraine
or fleeing the country to avoid it.
According to both Kommer-
sant and the Wall Street Journal,
a third of Russian companies
have reported being hit with
war-related labour issues. But
Kommersant also went on to re-
port that half of the Russian com-
panies affected were able to rap-
idly adapt to new circumstances.
It wouldn’t make much sense
if Russia’s economy hadn’t been
affected by unprecedented west-
ern sanctions and the wider
burden of the war. But media
coverage of western sanctions
against Russia rarely mentions
that western economies are also
struggling, due in part to those
measures — as Standard and
Poor’s itself recently pointed out.
Is Russia actually faring any
In an interview on Mon-
day, Marie Grace Molina,
DOST-Catanduanes director,
said the project is awarded
to the Apanti Agri-Industrial
Products and Development en-
terprise in Paniquihan, Baras
town in Catanduanes.
“The fund was awarded last
Nov. 17, and is expected to help
the group to acquire higher ca-
pacity technologies that will
enable them to upgrade its
worse? In some key areas, no.
Positive indicators
Russia’s current economic
situation has been helped by a
bumper grain harvest this year.
Russian agriculture has produced
more than 150 million tonnes of
grain in 2022, giving it enough to
send some to Africa free of charge.
As in the West, Russians too
have been facing high inflation in
the double figures. But Russian
pensions, the country’s minimum
wage and salaries are keeping
pace with inflation better, in some
cases, than those in the West.
There is also evidence that in
recent months, the Russian in-
flation rate has been dropping
after spring highs.
weaving capabilities, like por-
table weaving looms, electric
warping machine, and rotary
press with cutter and presser,”
Molina said.
She said the weaving enter-
prise started with five to 10 wom-
en trainees. It was able to modi-
fy its weaving looms and other
equipment for almost four years
of continuous training and re-
search development, she noted.
The business produces hand-
www.canadianinquirer.net
There are other positive trends
and areas in which the economic
picture might improve for Rus-
sia, including the replacement of
western products and companies
with Russian equivalents.
Businesses quickly replaced
Western icons like McDon-
ald’s may have pulled out of
Russia, but some have been re-
placed. McDonald’s was bought
out in Russia and renamed
Vkusno i tochka — meaning
“tasty, full stop” in English.
As someone who recently
visited Russia, I can personal-
ly vouch from recent visits to
Vkusno i tochka restaurants in
both Murmansk and Moscow
that they’re doing a brisk trade
woven abaca fabrics called
“banaca” (banana-abaca) using
high-quality abaca fibers,” Mo-
lina said.
The weaving industry en-
countered a series of calamities
such as typhoons, which affect-
ed the supply of high-quality
abaca fiber in the province.
The Covid-19 pandemic, on
the other hand, resulted in an
almost 60-percent decline in
sales and labor force.
NOVEMBER 25, 2022 FRIDAY
offering products that are es-
sentially the same or very simi-
lar to McDonald’s standbys.
There’s been a lot of report-
ing in the West about how Rus-
sia is finding it difficult to ob-
tain microchips for its weapons.
What’s less frequently reported
is the efforts the Russian gov-
ernment is making to try to deal
with the problem.
Russia is working on ramp-
ing up its own production of
microchips, though Russian
media has also pointed out it’s
facing an uphill struggle to be
self-sufficient on this front. But
even relatively easily sourced
basic and older chips intended
for consumer electronics can
be used in the defence sector, as
Russia adapts to new realities.
Many countries and compa-
nies may not be willing to ad-
here to sanctions on the sort of
western technology that is be-
ing found in Russian weapons.
An under-estimated Russia?
The West seems to have un-
der-estimated Russia’s ability to
withstand sanctions and Russian
acceptance and understanding of
difficult economic times.
As one Russian recently re-
❱❱ PAGE 30 How the Russian
With the upgrading program,
Molina noted an increase in pro-
duction capacity by 40 percent.
“It will also eliminate 65
percent to 75 percent rejects
on abaca ‘pinukpok’ fabric and
also produce other higher value
products made of abaca that can
be used in interior designing and
accents to furniture and materi-
als for upholstering. They can
also hire three additional em-
ployees,” Molina said. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022
Retailers may see more red after Black Friday
as consumers say they plan to pull back on
spending – acting as if the US were already
in a recession
BY AYALLA A. RUVIO,
Michigan State University,
FORREST MORGESON,
Michigan State University
The Conversation
Retailers are gearing up for
another blockbuster holiday
shopping season, but consum-
ers burned by the highest infla-
tion in a generation may have
other ideas.
Industry groups are predict-
ing another record year of retail
sales, with the National Retail
Federation forecasting
a jump of 6% to 8% over
the US$890 billion con-
sumers spent online and
in stores in November
and December of 2021.
But Jeff Bezos, founder
and chairman of the big-
gest retailer of them all,
seems to be anticipating
a much less festive hol-
iday for businesses. In
November 2022, Amazon
said it is laying off 10,000
workers, one of several
big companies announc-
ing job cuts recently. Bezos even
cautioned consumers to hold off
on big purchases like cars, tele-
visions and appliances to save in
case of a recession in 2023.
Results from our new survey
suggest consumers appear to be
already taking Bezos’ advice, as
a combination of soaring con-
sumer prices, rising borrowing
costs and growing odds of a re-
cession weighs on their wallets.
And if our survey results do pan
out, it may mean the recession
everyone’s worried about hap-
pens sooner than expected.
Crisis behaviors
We conducted our survey in
mid-November, about a week
before Black Friday, the histori-
cal start of the holiday shopping
season. The day after Thanks-
giving is known as Black Fri-
day because it signals the peri-
od when retailers hope to sell
enough goods so that their in-
come statement shows “black,”
or profit, for the year rather than
“red,” which refers to losses.
We asked over 500 consum-
ers a series of questions about
their spending plans, concerns
and priorities during this year’s
holiday season. Participants
were split evenly between men
and women, and almost two-
thirds had a household income
of $70,000 or less.
Overall, the most alarming con-
clusion from our research is that
consumers are reporting con-
sumption behaviors typically ex-
hibited during an economic crisis,
similar to those observed in 2009
Not surprisingly,
cutting spending
is the first thing
consumers do during
economic turmoil.
by consultancy McKinsey during
the Great Recession.
One data point stands out: An
overwhelming 62% said they
were concerned about their job
security, while almost 35% in-
dicated they were “very” or “ex-
tremely” worried about their
financial situation.
Here are three behaviors we
found in our survey that sug-
gest consumers are behaving as
if the U.S. economy is already in
a recession.
1. Spending less
Not surprisingly, cutting spend-
ing is the first thing consumers do
during economic turmoil.
A study by McKinsey in ear-
ly 2009 found that 90% of U.S.
households cut spending due to
the Great Recession, with 33%
of consumers indicating a sig-
nificant cut.
Similarly, respondents to our
survey said they plan to spend, on
average, around $700 this holi-
day season, substantially lower
than the roughly $880 consum-
ers spent during each of the past
three seasons – including early in
the pandemic in 2020.
About a third of our sample
intended to spend “slightly” or
“much” less than in 2021, while
35% said they would spend
“about the same” – which from
a retailer’s perspective means
spending less because last
year’s dollars don’t go as far to-
day. The rest said they planned
to spend a little or much more.
Inflation is one of the key
reasons consumers say they
are spending less. Almost
80% of respondents said
they are either moder-
ately, very or extreme-
ly concerned about the
surge in prices, and 87%
said those concerns
would affect their holi-
day spending behavior,
such as by buying gifts
for fewer people or pur-
chasing less expensive
items.
Some of our respon-
dents even said they were
planning to make their
own gifts or buy used goods,
rather than shop for new items.
The secondhand market has
boomed in the last few years,
and many shoppers view this
option as a way to combat infla-
tionary pressures.
2. Planning ahead
Another thing consumers
do when they sense a troubled
economy is they plan their pur-
chases more carefully and main-
tain self-control over spending.
Common strategies include
spending more time searching for
the best deals, adhering to strict
shopping lists, prioritizing neces-
sities and making purchases ear-
lier to spread out their spending
– all of which were mentioned by
our survey respondents.
We may already be seeing
signs of this last strategy. Retail
sales for October were up 1.3%
from the previous month and up
8.3% from October 2021, which
may reflect consumers’ early hol-
iday shopping. If that is the case,
www.canadianinquirer.net
Business
this early shopping may result in
slumping sales in December.
Also, purchasing early, aid-
ed by the plethora of steep dis-
counts offered well in advance
of Black Friday, allows consum-
ers to control their shopping
behavior better and reduces
the risk of impulse buying. Re-
duction of impulse buying is a
strong indicator that consum-
ers are shopping like the econ-
omy is in recession.
In our survey, we found that
over 50% of participants said
that they would be using sav-
ings to cover the cost of holiday
spending, with many stressing
that they would pay with cash.
Using cash as a primary form of
payment is the main tool con-
sumers have to control spending.
Only 15% of our respondents
said that they would use buy-
now-pay-later options, which to
us is another sign that consumers
are preferring cash over forms of
credit that creates a new debt.
3. Hypersensitivity to price
During economic crises, con-
sumers become hypersensitive
to prices, which trump most
other considerations in the
minds of consumers.
A whopping 90% of our re-
spondents confirmed that price
is their major consideration
when shopping during the hol-
idays this year. Other elements
Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
25
of price sensitivity are free
shipping, product value and the
level of discount, if any.
The singular focus of con-
sumers on price gives retailers a
wide range of potential respons-
es, including promoting house
brands and private labels that
are perceived as having greater
value for money. In fact, accord-
ing to the 2009 McKinsey re-
port, one of the biggest shifts in
consumer behavior during and
after the 2008 recession was the
switch in preference from high-
priced premium brands to value
brands that tend to have lower
prices but still decent quality.
During an economic slowdown,
consumers typically stop buy-
ing brands they are not strongly
connected with or loyal to.
Consumers in our survey said
buying brand names will be one
of the least important influences
on their purchases this season.
While economists debate
whether a recession is coming,
or even whether the U.S. is al-
ready in one, our data suggests
consumers are beginning to
behave like one is already here.
That risks becoming a self-ful-
filling prophecy as consumers
tighten their belts. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
26
Thinking of breaking up with Twitter?
Here’s the right way to do it
BY DANIEL ANGUS,
Queensland University of
Technology, TIMOTHY
GRAHAM, Queensland
University of Technology
The Conversation
After a few chaotic weeks it’s
clear Elon Musk is intent on
taking Twitter in a direction
that’s at odds with the prevail-
ing cultures of the diverse users
who call it home.
Musk has now begun reinstat-
ing high-profile users – includ-
ing Donald Trump, Alex Jones
and Kanye West – who had been
removed for repeated violations
of community standards.
This comes off the back of a
mass exodus of Twitter staff,
including thousands that Musk
unceremoniously fired via
email. The latest wave of res-
ignations came after an ulti-
matum from Musk: employees
would have to face “extremely
hardcore” working conditions
(to fix the mess Musk created).
All of this points to a very
different experience for users,
who are now decamping the
platform and heading to alter-
natives like Mastodon.
So what threats are we likely
to see now? And how does one
go about leaving Twitter safely?
#TwitterShutDown
With so many experienced staff
leaving, users face the very real
possibility that Twitter will expe-
rience significant and widespread
outages in the coming weeks.
Enterprise software experts
and Twitter insiders have already
been raising alarms that with the
World Cup under way, the sub-
sequent increase in traffic – and
any rise in opportunistic mali-
cious behaviour – may be enough
for Twitter to grind to a halt.
Aside from the site going
dark, there are also risks user
data could be breached in a cy-
berattack while the usual de-
fences are down. Twitter was
exposed in a massive cyberat-
tack in August this year. A hack-
Technology
er was able to extract the per-
sonal details, including phone
numbers and email addresses,
of 5.4 million users.
One would be forgiven for
thinking that such scenarios are
impossible. However, common
lore in the technology community
is that the internet is held togeth-
er by chewing gum and duct tape.
The apps, platforms and sys-
tems we interact with every
day, particularly those with au-
diences in the millions or bil-
lions, may give the impression
of being highly sophisticated.
But the truth is we’re often rid-
ing on the edge of chaos.
Building and maintaining
large-scale social software is
like building a boat, on the open
water, while being attacked by
sharks. Keeping such software
systems afloat requires designing
teams that can work together to
bail enough water out, while oth-
ers reinforce the hull, and some
look out for incoming threats.
To stretch the boat metaphor,
Musk has just fired the software
developers who knew where
the nails and hammers are kept,
the team tasked with deploying
the shark bait, and the lookouts
on the masts.
Can his already stretched and
imperilled workforce plug the
holes fast enough to keep the
ship from sinking?
We’re likely to find out in the
coming weeks. If Twitter does
manage to stay afloat, the credit
more than likely goes to many
of the now ex-staff for building
a robust system that a skeleton
crew can maintain.
Hate speech and misinfor-
mation are back
Despite Twitter’s claims that
hate speech is being “mitigat-
ed”, our analysis suggests it’s on
the rise. And we’re not the only
researchers observing an up-
tick in hate speech.
The graph below shows the
number of tweets per hour con-
taining hate speech terms over a
two-week period. Using a peer-re-
viewed hate speech lexicon, we
tracked the volume of 15 hateful
terms and observed a clear in-
crease after Musk’s acquisition.
Misinformation is also on
the rise. Following Musk’s swift
changes to blue tick verification,
the site tumbled into chaos with a
surge of parody accounts and mis-
leading tweets. In response, he is-
sued yet another stream-of-con-
sciousness policy edict to remedy
the previous ones.
With reports that the entire
Asia-Pacific region has only one
working content moderator
left, false and misleading con-
tent will likely proliferate on
www.canadianinquirer.net
Twitter – especially in non-En-
glish-speaking countries, which
are especially at risk of the
harmful effects of unchecked
mis- and disinformation.
If this all sounds like a recipe
for disaster, and you want out,
what should you do?
Pack your bags
First, you may want to down-
load an archive of your Twitter
activity. This can be done by
clicking through to Settings > Set-
tings and Support > Settings and
Privacy > Your Account > Down-
load an archive of your data.
It can take several days for
Twitter to compile and send
you this archive. And it can be
up to several gigabytes, depend-
ing on your level of activity.
Lock the door
While waiting for your ar-
chive, you can begin to protect
your account. If your account
was public, now might be a good
time to switch it to protected.
In protected mode your
tweets will no longer be search-
able off the platform. Only your
existing followers will see them
on the platform.
If you’re planning to replace
Twitter with another platform,
you may wish to signal this in
your bio by including a notice
and your new username. But
before you do this, consider
whether you might have prob-
lematic followers who will try
to follow you across.
Check out
Once you have downloaded
your Twitter archive, you can
choose to selectively delete any
tweets from the platform as you
wish. One of our colleagues,
Philip Mai, has developed a free
tool to help with this step.
It’s also important to consid-
er any direct messages (DMs)
you have on the platform.
These are more cumbersome
and problematic to remove, but
also likely to be more sensitive.
You will have to remove each
DM conversation individually,
by clicking to the right of the
conversation thread and select-
NOVEMBER 25, 2022 FRIDAY
ing Delete conversation. Note
that this only deletes it from
your side. Every other member
of a DM thread can still see your
historic activity.
Park your account
For many users it’s advisable
to “park” their account, rather
than completely deactivate it.
Parking means you clean out
most of your data, maintain
your username, and will have to
log in every few months to keep
it alive on the platform. This
will prevent other (perhaps ma-
licious) users from taking your
deactivated username and im-
personating you.
Parking means Twitter will
retain some details, including
potentially sensitive data such
as your phone number and other
bio information you’ve stored. It
also means a return to the plat-
form isn’t out of the question,
should circumstances improve.
If you do decide to deactivate,
know that this doesn’t mean
all your details are necessarily
wiped from Twitter’s servers.
In its terms of service, Twit-
ter notes it may retain some
user information after account
deactivation. Also, once your
account is gone, your old user-
name is up for grabs.
Reinforce the locks
If you haven’t already, now is
the time to engage two-factor
authentication on your Twit-
ter account. You can do this
by clicking Settings > Security
and account access > Security >
Two-factor authentication. This
will help protect your account
from being hacked.
Additional password protec-
tion (found in the same menu
above) is also a good idea, as
is changing your password to
something that is different to any
other password you use online.
Once that’s done, all that’s
left is to sit back and pour one
out for the bird site. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022
How to test if we’re living
in a computer simulation
BY MELVIN M. VOPSON,
University of Portsmouth
The Conversation
Physicists have long strug-
gled to explain why the uni-
verse started out with condi-
tions suitable for life to evolve.
Why do the physical laws and
constants take the very specific
values that allow stars, planets
and ultimately life to develop?
The expansive force of the uni-
verse, dark energy, for example,
is much weaker than theory
suggests it should be – allowing
matter to clump together rath-
er than being ripped apart.
A common answer is that we
live in an infinite multiverse of
universes, so we shouldn’t be sur-
prised that at least one universe
has turned out as ours. But anoth-
er is that our universe is a com-
puter simulation, with someone
(perhaps an advanced alien spe-
cies) fine-tuning the conditions.
The latter option is support-
ed by a branch of science called
information physics, which sug-
gests that space-time and mat-
ter are not fundamental phe-
nomena. Instead, the physical
reality is fundamentally made
up of bits of information, from
which our experience of space-
time emerges. By comparison,
temperature “emerges” from
the collective movement of at-
oms. No single atom fundamen-
tally has temperature.
This leads to the extraordinary
possibility that our entire uni-
verse might in fact be a computer
DOST urges LGUs to learn charcoal briquetting
BY MA. CRISTINA
ARAYATA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Department of
Science and Technology (DOST)
on Friday urged local govern-
ment agencies to consider put-
ting up charcoal briquette busi-
nesses in their respective areas
to provide an alternative source
of income for their constituents.
Forest Products Research
and Development Institute
(FPRDI) director Romulo Ag-
simulation. The idea is not that
new. In 1989, the legendary phys-
icist, John Archibald Wheeler,
suggested that the universe is
fundamentally mathematical
and it can be seen as emerging
from information. He coined the
famous aphorism “it from bit”.
In 2003, philosopher Nick Bo-
strom from Oxford University in
the UK formulated his simula-
tion hypothesis. This argues that
it is actually highly probable that
we live in a simulation. That’s
because an advanced civilisation
should reach a point where their
technology is so sophisticated
that simulations would be indis-
tinguishable from reality, and the
participants would not be aware
that they were in a simulation.
Physicist Seth Lloyd from
the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in the US took the
simulation hypothesis to the
next level by suggesting that the
entire universe could be a giant
quantum computer.
And in 2016, business mag-
nate Elon Musk concluded
“We’re most likely in a simula-
tion” (see video above).
Empirical evidence
There is some evidence sug-
gesting that our physical reali-
ty could be a simulated virtual
reality rather than an objective
world that exists independently
of the observer.
Any virtual reality world will
be based on information pro-
cessing. That means everything
is ultimately digitised or pix-
elated down to a minimum size
that cannot be subdivided fur-
gangan said the department is
willing to make an arrangement
for LGUs to be trained on char-
coal briquetting.
“For advance information,
they can view the videos on
the FPRDI Youtube (channel)
to see lecture and audio-visual
presentations on how to make
briquettes,” he told the Philip-
pine News Agency.
The FPRDI, he said, can con-
duct training in the community
when requested. Participants
could learn charcoaling and bri-
quette, and briquette making.
ther: bits. This appears to mim-
ic our reality according to the
theory of quantum mechanics,
which rules the world of atoms
and particles. It states there is
a smallest, discrete unit of en-
ergy, length and time. Similar-
ly, elementary particles, which
make up all the visible matter
in the universe, are the smallest
units of matter. To put it simply,
our world is pixelated.
The laws of physics that gov-
ern everything in the universe
also resemble computer code
lines that a simulation would
follow in the execution of the
program. Moreover, mathemat-
ical equations, numbers and
geometric patterns are present
everywhere – the world appears
to be entirely mathematical.
Another curiosity in physics
supporting the simulation hy-
pothesis is the maximum speed
limit in our universe, which is
the speed of light. In a virtual
reality, this limit would corre-
spond to the speed limit of the
processor, or the processing
power limit. We know that an
overloaded processor slows
down computer processing in
a simulation. Similarly, Albert
Einstein’s theory of general rel-
ativity shows that time slows in
the vicinity of a black hole.
Perhaps the most supportive
evidence of the simulation hy-
pothesis comes from quantum
mechanics. This suggest nature
isn’t “real”: particles in deter-
mined states, such as specific
locations, don’t seem to exist
unless you actually observe or
According to the DOST, char-
coal briquettes, which are more
efficient than ordinary char-
coal, burn longer, are easier to
ignite, produce intense heat,
and with very little smoke.
Last month, the FPRDI
trained farmers in Santa Mag-
dalena, Sorsogon on charcoal
briquette production. “The LGU
requested it so that the benefi-
ciaries could have an alternative
source of income, something
like a small enterprise in the
community,” Aggangan said.
While there are no talks yet
www.canadianinquirer.net
Technology
measure them. Instead, they are
in a mix of different states si-
multaneously. Similarly, virtual
reality needs an observer or pro-
grammer for things to happen.
Quantum “entanglement”
also allows two particles to be
spookily connected so that if
you manipulate one, you auto-
matically and immediately also
manipulate the other, no mat-
ter how far apart they are – with
the effect being seemingly fast-
er than the speed of light, which
should be impossible.
This could, however, also
be explained by the fact that
within a virtual reality code,
all “locations” (points) should
be roughly equally far from a
central processor. So while we
may think two particles are mil-
lions of light years apart, they
wouldn’t be if they were created
in a simulation.
Possible experiments
Assuming that the universe is
indeed a simulation, then what
sort of experiments could we
deploy from within the simula-
tion to prove this?
regarding further assistance,
Aggangan said the DOST pro-
vincial office had mentioned its
willingness to assist the prov-
ince when it decides to proceed
with the project.
“The DOST Provincial Sci-
ence and Technology Office
(PSTO) - Sorsogon is yet to have
a formal coordination with the
Santa Magdalena LGU regard-
ing the project, and the office is
waiting for the LGU’s decision
if they will proceed with the
acquisition of equipment for
that technology,” said DOST V
27
It is reasonable to assume
that a simulated universe would
contain a lot of information bits
everywhere around us. These
information bits represent
the code itself. Hence, detect-
ing these information bits will
prove the simulation hypoth-
esis. The recently proposed
m a s s - e n e r g y- i n f o r m a t i o n
(M/E/I) equivalence principle
– suggesting mass can be ex-
pressed as energy or informa-
tion, or vice versa – states that
information bits must have a
small mass. This gives us some-
thing to search for.
I have postulated that infor-
mation is in fact a fifth form
of matter in the universe. I’ve
even calculated the expected
information content per ele-
mentary particle. These studies
led to the publication, in 2022,
of an experimental protocol to
test these predictions. The ex-
periment involves erasing the
information contained inside
elementary particles by letting
❱❱ PAGE 30 How to test
Regional Director Rommel Ser-
rano told the PNA in a separate
interview.
Serrano added that the PSTO
- Sorsogon made a commitment
to extending its assistance to
the FPRDI once the training
beneficiaries decide to go on
with the project.
The training involves the
process of producing charcoal
briquettes out of abundant
biomass resources such as
bamboo, corn cobs, rice husk,
among others. ■
28
When’s the best time to use frequent flyer
miles to book flights? Two economists crunched
the numbers on maximizing their dollar value
BY H. SAMI KARACA,
Boston University, JAY
L. ZAGORSKY, Boston
University
The Conversation
Traveling during major hol-
idays like Thanksgiving can be
expensive, since so many peo-
ple want to see their friends and
families, wherever they might be.
It’s especially hard this year
with inflation soaring at the
fastest pace since the early
1980s. Airline fares were up
43% in October from a year ear-
lier – only a handful of catego-
ries increased by more.
One way to ease the blow to
your wallet or purse is by us-
ing frequent flyer miles. While
there’s quite a bit of research on
when is the best time to use cash
to buy flights, we wondered – as
travel lovers – if there’s an opti-
mal time to use miles. So with
the help of our research assis-
tant, we investigated this ques-
Baguio presents ‘Christmas Around
the World’ at Botanical Garden
BY LIZA AGOOT
Philippine News Agency
BAGUIO CITY – The Baguio
Botanical Garden is expected to at-
tract more visitors as it transforms
into a Christmas village at night-
time during the holiday season.
In a media advisory, city
information officer Aileen
Refuerzo said the garden’s
“Christmas Around the World”
display will be opened to the
public from 8 p.m. until mid-
night, following its inaugura-
tion at 6 p.m. Friday.
The displays also include a
Travel
tion, with a focus on flights over
the Thanksgiving holiday.
Americans return to the skies
The day before Thanksgiv-
ing is one of the busiest days to
travel in the U.S.
Before the COVID-19 pan-
demic upended travel, the Trans-
portation Security Administra-
tion screened 2.6 million people
on Thanksgiving eve of 2019,
just shy of the 2.9 million re-
cord. While the number plunged
in 2020 as demand dropped, it
picked up to 2.3 million last year
and is expected to return to pre-
COVID-19 levels this year.
The surge in demand, along
with significantly higher jet fuel
costs, are key factors in leading
to more expensive air fares.
To offset these higher costs,
many consumers may turn to
frequent flyer miles – whether
accumulated from other travel
or from credit cards – to avoid
forking over so much cash.
Frequent flying 101
Frequent flyer mile pro-
portrayal of the Nativity of Jesus
Christ.
“It is a new Christmas ave-
nue in the city that will give the
public an alternative Christmas
destination aimed at reducing
the overcrowding and heavy
traffic at the Baguio Country
Club,” Refuerzo added.
Aside from light displays,
there will also be performanc-
es to complement the Christ-
mas-themed garden such as
busking and Christmas carols.
Starting Saturday, the park’s
daily admission schedule will
be from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6
p.m. until midnight.
grams started in the late 1970s
after the federal government
stopped regulating airfares. Be-
fore the change, fares, routes
and schedules for all domestic
flights were set by the federal
Civil Aeronautics Board.
Besides slashing fares, air-
lines reacted by creating fre-
quent flyer programs. Texas
International Airlines, which
ultimately merged with Unit-
The value of frequent flyer miles can change significantly in the weeks and
months ahead of a given travel date.
“The three hours gap will give
workers a break in preparation
for the evening operation of the
park,” she said.
The park charges PHP5 for
children and PHP10 for adults,
regardless of residence or address
but this is being proposed to be
increased to PHP150 for tourists
and PHP50 for adult residents.
The city government earlier
said it has used existing materi-
als and donated Christmas lights
and decorations for the displays.
After the Christmas season,
the garden is expected to be
decorated for the Panagbenga
or Baguio Flower Festival cele-
www.canadianinquirer.net
NOVEMBER 25, 2022
ed, and Western Airlines, which
later joined Delta, were among
the first to institute frequent
flyer programs.
In a particular airline’s fre-
quent flyer program, you earn
miles when you fly with that
airline. Many people get miles
by using their credit cards as
well. These accumulated miles
can then be redeemed for free
air travel.
bration that opens on Feb. 1.
The city government has ear-
“Christmas Around the World” feature of Baguio’s Botanical Garden. (BAGUIO
CITY PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE/FACEBOOK)
FRIDAY
Frequent flyer programs were
designed to build customer loy-
alty, as they provide a rebate to
regular passengers. They are
also meant to lock travelers into
a particular airline – since they
have a strong incentive to only
fly with that carrier.
One downside is that many
business flyers go out of their
way to use their preferred air-
line, which boosts their compa-
ny’s travel costs.
And although airlines use fre-
quent flyer programs to increase
customer goodwill, they frequent-
ly change the rules and rewards,
which often frustrates customers.
Researchers have looked at
the optimal time to buy airplane
tickets with cash. In general,
they have found prices tend to
dip anywhere from two months
to three weeks before the trav-
el dates. Prices are highest for
those who want to book their
flights very early, to lock it in,
❱❱ PAGE 30 When’s the best
lier spent PHP60 million for the
full rehabilitation of the garden. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022
The story of the purple tomato —
and why its success is a win for GM foods
BY YANG YUE, Quadram
Institute
The Conversation
The first genetically modified
(GM) food ever made commer-
cially available to the public was
a tomato, invented in the US in
1994. Since then, a number of
different genetically modified
foods have been created, in-
cluding corn, cotton, potatoes
and pink pineapple.
Although genetically modi-
fied foods still get a bit of a bad
rap, there are actually many
good reasons why modifying
an organism’s genetics may be
worthwhile. For example, many
breeds of genetically modified
foods have made them more re-
sistant to disease.
It’s also possible to modify
foods to make them more nutri-
tious. Take for example golden
rice. This grain was engineered
to have higher levels of vitamin
A, in order to tackle deficiencies
There’s Snowplace like Tims for the holidays!
Tim Hortons holiday baked goods, beverages
and festive packaging now available
TIM HORTONS
• The Tims holiday menu
includes the Gingerbread Oat
Latte, the Gingerbread Choco-
late Dream Donut and Choco-
late Fudge Pretzel Dream Donut,
Candy Cane-flavoured Iced Capp
and Hot Chocolates, and more!
• This year’s fun and festive
holiday designs on hot bever-
age cups, baked goods boxes
and takeaway bags feature the
theme Snowplace Like Tims.
With the holiday season
quickly approaching, Tim Hor-
Food
of this nutrient in impoverished
countries.
But despite all the develop-
ments in genetically modified
foods since 1994, few products
have actually made it to the mar-
ket. The continued ignorance of
the general public about GM
products alongside the reluc-
tance of government policy-
makers in some countries have
Purple tomatoes have been approved for sale in the US. (MICHELE DORSEY WAL-
FRED/FLICKR, CC BY 2.0)
tons is helping guests get into the
festive spirit with our much-an-
ticipated holiday-themed menu
featuring magical flavours of
the season like gingerbread and
peppermint throughout our
baked goods and beverages line-
up. Also available this year are
Snowplace Like Tims-themed
hot beverage cups, baked good
boxes and takeaway bags des-
tined to be featured in a winter
wonderland.
“In crafting our annual hol-
iday menu, we always want to
feature flavours and aromas
that are evocative of this special
impeded the progress of genet-
ically modified foods moving
from the lab to the market. This
is why the regulatory approval of
purple tomatoes in the US this
September is so exciting.
Making a purple tomato
For the last 14 years, Cath-
ie Martin and Eugenio Butelli
from the John Innes Centre
in Norfolk, England, and their
time of year and give guests that
feel warm and comforting feel-
ing,” says Chef Tallis Voakes,
Director of Culinary Innova-
tion at Tim Hortons. “This year,
we’re amplifying flavours like
gingerbread and peppermint to
get guests excited for the hol-
iday season and to help trans-
port them back to some of their
favourite holiday memories
shared with family and friends.”
This year’s Tims holiday
beverages menu includes:
• Gingerbread Oat Latte, a
creamy and handcrafted beverage
• Candy Cane Hot Chocolate
www.canadianinquirer.net
team have been working on
developing the purple toma-
to. Their aim was to engineer a
tomato that contained higher
levels of anthocyanins – which
can be used alongside unmod-
ified tomatoes to study the
benefits of anthocyanins. The
team chose to modify a tomato
because the fruits are delicious
and widely consumed.
Anthocyanins occur natural-
ly in many fruits and vegetables
that have a red, purple or blue
flesh or peel – such as blueberries,
strawberries, aubergines and red
cabbages. In order to produce a
purple tomato, the team incor-
porated genes from snapdragons
into the DNA of tomatoes.
The end result of these exper-
iments was a unique fruit – and
not just because of it’s colour.
They also succeeded in engineer-
ing tomatoes that contained high
levels of anthocyanins – com-
parable to the amount found in
blueberries – which is beneficial
for a number of reasons.
and Candy Cane White Hot
Chocolate
• Candy Cane Iced Capp
• Roasted Hazelnut Cold
Brew, made with espresso-in-
fused foam
• Mocha Latte
Our Tims holiday baked
goods menu includes:
• Gingerbread Chocolate
Dream Donut and Chocolate
Fudge Pretzel Dream Donut,
which are baked fresh through-
out the day
• Chocolate Hazelnut Muffin,
which is packed with delicious
chocolate hazelnut filling
29
The higher levels of anthocy-
anins in purple tomatoes actu-
ally work to double their shelf
life compared to red tomatoes.
This is because anthocyanins
help to delay over-ripening and
reduce the fruit’s susceptibility
to fungus attack post-harvest.
Another benefit of high levels
of anthocyanins is that they at-
tract pollinators and animals to
disperse seeds, which increas-
es reproductive success of the
plants and their yield. Anthocy-
anins also protect plants from
UV damage and protect them
from pathogens, which maxi-
mises their survival.
Anthocyanins may also be
good for your health. Studies
on other foods containing them
have linked them to lower in-
flammation, lower risk of type 2
diabetes and cancer. They may
also protect the brain against
disease, such as dementia.
While studies into the ben-
❱❱ PAGE 30 The story of
• Filled Sugar Cookie
The Snowplace Like Tims-
themed hot beverage cups,
baked good boxes and takeaway
bags feature vibrant holiday
colours and festive designs in-
cluding snow globes, stockings,
wreathes and snowmen. Tims
Hortons will also have a Holiday
Merchandise Collection avail-
able at participating Tim Hor-
tons restaurants nationwide and
there’s a Tims gift ready to wrap
for everyone on your list. More
details to come soon! ■
 30
Agriculture and food..
❰❰ 10 additional funding to
protect against hun-
ger and malnutrition,
ensuring that sanctions do not
target food and sustainably in-
creasing the availability of ag-
ricultural products. This G7 call
to action could form the basis
for Canada to advance the Free-
land Doctrine.
First, liberal democracies that
are major food exporters and
importers need to work more
closely together. This includes
developing new approaches to
rules-based trade, as was done
when Canada and the EU agreed
on an interim trade-dispute
resolution mechanism. Cana-
da could also do more through
groups such as the Sustainable
Productivity Growth Coalition
to boost production to meet
food security needs.
How to test..
❰❰ 27 them and their anti-
particles (all particles
have “anti” versions of
themselves which are identical
but have opposite charge) anni-
hilate in a flash of energy – emit-
ting “photons”, or light particles.
I have predicted the exact range
of expected frequencies of the
resulting photons based on infor-
mation physics. The experiment
is highly achievable with our ex-
isting tools, and we have launched
a crowdfunding site) to achieve it.
There are other approach-
es too. The late physicist John
Barrow has argued that a sim-
ulation would build up minor
computational errors which
When’s the best..
❰❰ 28 and last-minute travel-
ers booking just before
their departure dates.
How frequent flyer miles
compare
To see when’s the best time
to book with miles, we looked at
one of the busiest routes in the
U.S. – New York (JFK) to Los
Angeles (LAX). Each month,
airlines have over a quarter of
a million seats flying direct on
that route. There are about 30
nonstop flights a day, run by
three different airlines.
Starting about three months
before Thanksgiving, we collect-
ed weekly data from the online
booking sites of these three air-
lines. We tracked the frequent
flyer miles needed as well as
Second, there is an opportunity
to be more inclusive of like-mind-
ed countries that are not major
exporters or importers but that
rely on agriculture and food trade
for security and economic suc-
cess. Many countries in Asia and
Africa fall into this category. Can-
ada should be working with these
countries to facilitate trade and
boost the sustainability of their
domestic production. Agriculture
and food should be an integral
part of our foreign affairs agenda,
including the upcoming Indo-Pa-
cific strategy.
Finally, Freeland should
encourage like-minded large
food-exporting countries to
better use the leverage they
have as sources of food security
in countries that do not share
our democratic ideals. This
leverage can help reset rules,
the programmer would need to
fix in order to keep it going. He
suggested we might experience
such fixing as contradictory ex-
perimental results appearing
suddenly, such as the constants
of nature changing. So moni-
toring the values of these con-
stants is another option.
The nature of our reality is
one of the greatest mysteries
out there. The more we take the
simulation hypothesis seriously,
the greater the chances we may
one day prove or disprove it. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
the price for every coach flight
scheduled to take place within
one week of Thanksgiving.
As miles are not interchange-
able between airlines in gen-
eral, we needed an alterna-
tive measure for more direct
comparison between different
airlines. So we calculated how
much a frequent flyer mile is
worth by dividing the number
of frequent flyer miles need-
ed by the ticket price. We then
compared the dollar worth of
1,000 miles, depending on the
airline, when the booking was
made and the flight date.
Economic theory tells us that
when there is lots of competi-
tion and the product is almost
identical, competition should
standards and the terms of en-
gagement to nudge autocratic
countries that rely on food im-
ports into taking more respon-
sibility in development of sus-
tainable international trade.
The world is changing and it
is positive to see Freeland lead-
ing the charge. Marie-Claude
Bibeau, minister of agriculture
and agri-food, should be a core
part of the team making that
change happen. Canada is a sus-
tainable agriculture and food
superpower. Our government
should not forget that. It should
also not be afraid to use that
power as leverage it has to build
a better, more peaceful world. ■
This article first appeared
on Policy Options and is repub-
lished here under a Creative
Commons license.
The story of..
❰❰ 29 efits of purple toma-
toes specifically on
humans are still on-
going, one study which fed can-
cer-prone mice food supple-
mented with purple tomatoes
found they actually lived 30%
longer compared to the mice
given red tomatoes.
The future of GM
There have been a number
of exciting developments in
the field of GM foods in the last
few years, including the first ge-
nome-edited GABA tomatoes in
Japan and vitamin D enriched
tomatoes in the UK. Both were
developed using CRISPR ge-
nome-editing technology.
result in all businesses charging
roughly the same price.
That wasn’t what we found.
In mid-October, Delta was
asking 69,000 miles to fly the
Tuesday before Thanksgiving.
American Airlines was only
asking 33,000 miles for rough-
ly the same flight. This means
if you have a general travel re-
wards credit card that lets you
use miles on different airlines,
it pays to shop around.
Just because an airline has a
high price in miles doesn’t mean
the price will not come down.
At the start of November, Delta
wanted 69,000 miles to fly at din-
nertime on the Tuesday before
Thanksgiving. A week later the
airline cut the price to 53,000
www.canadianinquirer.net
How the Russian..
❰❰ 24 marked to me: “We
know why we’re hav-
ing to put up with in-
flation — do westerners?”
Russian support for Vladimir
Putin’s leadership and the war in
Ukraine remains high. Anecdotal
evidence from my many conversa-
tions with Russians from all walks
of life in both Moscow and Mur-
mansk in late October and early
November certainly support this.
Some university-educated
younger Russians opposed to
the war have left the country to
avoid mobilization or to contin-
ue working for western compa-
nies that have left Russia. The
absence of this group leaves Rus-
sians more committed than ever
to the war, given that older citi-
zens are more likely to support it.
In the face of recent Ukrainian
battlefield successes, many Rus-
Genetic modification can offer
many benefits. Not only might it
help us tackle the challenges of cli-
mate change by developing more
resilient crops, breeding plants
with higher levels of certain vi-
tamins and minerals may poten-
tially allow us to improve health
and lower the burden of many
common diseases. And, GM crops
may help us ensure that everyone,
regardless of where they live, has
access to high-quality fresh pro-
duce that’s good for them and the
environment.
GM foods are also tightly reg-
ulated in many countries, which
means that any products which
are approved for consumption
miles. A week after that, it was
down to 36,500 miles, a price
drop of almost 50% in two weeks.
While in general the earlier
you book, the better, booking
too early can cost you. We found
the best time to spend your fre-
quent flyer miles for Thanks-
giving travel was to book during
the first week of October, which
was about eight weeks out. In
early October, 1,000 frequent
flyer miles were worth over $14
in airfare. The last week of Oc-
tober, about four weeks before
Thanksgiving, those same miles
were only worth shy of $12.
The best day to fly
As for what is the best day on
which to travel to get the most
from your miles, there are two
NOVEMBER 25, 2022 FRIDAY
sians are finally waking up to the
seriousness of the war in Ukraine.
Four Ukrainian regions have
now been nominally incorporated
into Russia. The Russian govern-
ment slogan “we don’t abandon
our own” seems to be resonating
for many in Russia who view the
war as being about the protection
of a Russian-speaking minority in
Ukraine.
Russia’s population as a
whole is likely able to tolerate
more economic hardship, given
what Russians regard as being
at stake. It remains to be seen if
the same can be said for popu-
lations in western Europe that
are also struggling under the
weight of western sanctions. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
are safe for human, plant and
animal health.
The greatest challenge now
is getting more governments
around the world to approve
these genetically modified foods
for sale. Although the UK is
ahead of other countries when it
comes to regulation of gene-ed-
ited crops, it’s currently un-
known whether the GM purple
tomato will be offered for sale
there. But it’s expected that pur-
ple tomatoes will be available for
sale in the US as soon as 2023. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
answers. On the Monday before
Thanksgiving, your miles are
typically worth the most, on av-
erage $15 per 1,000 miles. This
is in sharp contrast to $11 for
the day before Thanksgiving.
However, flying Thanksgiving
Day itself had required the low-
est average number of miles,
about 27,000 miles.
If you haven’t booked flights
yet, you may be too late to find
the best value in frequent flyer
miles. However, while we are still
gathering and analyzing data,
these tips look like they will hold
up for future holidays. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
 NOVEMBER
JULY 25, 2022
17, 2020 cx328
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