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pcinews_twt JUNE 2, 2023 www.canadianinquirer.net VOL. 8 NO. 542

PRIDE MONTH

EQUALITY. A pedestrian crossing at the Araneta City commercial center in Cubao, Quezon City on Wednesday (May 31, 2023) is painted with hues associated with the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisex-
ual, transgender, and queer) community which celebrates Pride Month every June. Rainbow colors have long been synonymous to the sector’s struggle for respect and equal rights.
JOAN BONDOC / PNA

23
Maharlika Investment
Fund bill awaits
Marcos’ signature Maria’s Worst Job
Interviews

BY FILANE MIKEE CERVANTES

Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The bill seeking to estab-
lish the Maharlika Investment Fund
(MIF) is now awaiting the signature of
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
This comes after the House of Repre-
sentatives formally adopted the Senate’s
version of the MIF bill during the plena-
ry session on Wednesday night. 30
Earlier in the day, House committee
on banks and financial intermediaries `
chair Irwin Tieng said the House contin-
Legal tussling over
gent to the bicameral conference com- the Emergencies Act
mittee agreed to accept the provisions is far from over Why more foam makes for
under Senate Bill 2020.
PAGE 9
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2 JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
FRIDAY JUNE 2, 2023
29% of Filipinos say quality of life
got better in past 12 months
BY FILANE MIKEE
CERVANTES
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Twenty-nine per-
cent of adult Filipinos said that
their quality of life improved
over the past 12 months, ac-
cording to a survey by the Social
Weather Stations (SWS).
The survey, conducted from
March 26 to 29, 2023, revealed
that 25 percent of the respon-
dents felt that their lives got
worse, while 46 percent said
their lives remain “unchanged”
compared to a year ago.
SWS said this resulted in a net
Bicam report on bill
creating DOH specialty
centers ratified
BY JOSE CIELITO
REGANIT
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The House of
Representatives on Wednes-
day ratified the bicameral con-
ference report on the measure
establishing specialty centers
in hospitals under the direct
supervision and control of the
Department of Health (DOH).
The bicam report reconciling
the provisions of House Bill 7751
and Senate Bill 2212 was ap-
proved through viva voce voting.
Under the measure, the DOH
shall be mandated to establish
specialty centers in select hos-
pitals under its supervision and
control.
At least one center shall be
built in every region within five
years from the enactment of the
bill into law.
The DOH shall prioritize fa-
cilities for 17 specialties, partic-
ularly: cancer care; cardiovascu-
lar care; lung care; renal care and
kidney transplant; brain and
spine care; trauma care; burn
gainer score of +5, which was
computed by subtracting the
percentage of losers from gain-
ers and was classified as “high”.
The pollster pointed out
that the March 2023 net gain-
er score was 3 points below the
“high” +8 recorded in Decem-
ber 2022.
SWS further added that the
current national net gainer score
is also 13 points below the” very
high” +18 in December 2019, not-
ing that it still has not recovered
to pre-pandemic levels.
In Metro Manila, net gainers
dropped from very high to high,
down by 16 points from +18 in De-
cember 2022 to +2 in March 2023.
care; orthopedic care; physical
rehabilitation medicine; infec-
tious disease and tropical med-
icine; toxicology; mental health;
geriatric care; neonatal care;
dermatology care; ear, nose and
throat care; and eye care.
The measure sets criteria for
these facilities, including health
needs and demand, location and
performance of the hospitals
where the centers would be lo-
cated, availability of competent
specialized health care person-
nel, and accreditation with Phil-
ippine Health Insurance Corp.
for patients to avail themselves
of relevant health care packages.
Speaker Martin Romualdez,
author of the measure, earlier
said the establishment of these
facilities “would make special-
ized health care accessible to
our people in the provinces, es-
pecially the poor.”
“We have specialty hospi-
tals built during the time of the
father of President Ferdinand
‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., Presi-
dent Ferdinand Marcos Sr., but
all of these are in Quezon City.
So, our people in the regions and
The net gainer score also fell
from very high +10 to high +6 in
Mindanao, and from fair -4 to
mediocre -14 in Visayas.
Balance Luzon, on the other
hand, slightly climbed by two
points from +10 to +12.
The First Quarter 2023 Social
Weather Survey was conducted
using face-to-face interviews of
1,200 adults aged 18 and above
nationwide -- 300 each in Met-
ro Manila, Balance Luzon, the
Visayas and Mindanao.
The sampling error margins
are ±2.8 percent for national per-
centages, ±5.7 percent each for
Metro Manila, Balance Luzon,
the Visayas and Mindanao. ■
in Visayas and Mindanao who
need the services of these health
facilities will have to travel all
the way to Quezon City to avail
of their services,” he said.
These specialty hospitals are
the Philippine Heart Center,
National Kidney and Trans-
plant Institute, Lung Center of
the Philippines and Philippine
Children’s Medical Center lo-
cated on East Avenue and Que-
zon Avenue, as well as the Phil-
ippine Orthopedic Hospital in
Banawe, Quezon City.
Romualdez said the aim of the
bill is to provide specialized health
services to the general public, es-
pecially with the prevalence and
burden of diseases such as heart,
kidney, and lung ailments, which
are among the top health prob-
lems in the country.
The measure, he said, also
aims to boost the implemen-
tation of the Universal Health
Care Law.
Last month, Marcos con-
firmed that the government is
already identifying areas where
specialty hospitals would be es-
tablished. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
Commuters queue for a public transport to arrive in Philcoa along Commonwealth
Avenue in Quezon City on Thursday (August 11, 2022). (ALFRED FRIAS/PNA)
Lawyer says de
Lima acquittal
final, prosecution
appeal futile
BY BENJAMIN PULTA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The camp of former
senator Leila de Lima said Tuesday
it will ask the Muntinlupa Region-
al Trial Court (RTC) to disregard
the motion for reconsideration
(MR) filed by prosecutors asking
for a second look on her acquittal.
The MR is a “mere scrap of
paper” because the proceedings
in the criminal case have already
been concluded with finality
with the judgment of acquittal,
de Lima lawyer Boni Tacardon
told reporters through Viber.
“De Lima’s defense team will
be filing a motion to expunge
the MR,” Tacardon said.
“Nothing short of a Supreme
Court decision reopening the
case can vest the judge with ju-
risdiction anew to alter a judg-
ment of acquittal which is final
and executory immediately,
hence unappealable, whether
by MR with the trial court or
3
appeal to a higher court.”
The de Lima camp is awaiting
a ruling on their request for bail
in another Muntinlupa court
trying the remaining charge --
tolerating the drug trade inside
the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in
Muntinlupa City when she was
still justice secretary.
On May 12, the Muntinlupa
RTC dropped the case of con-
spiracy to commit illegal drug
trading against de Lima, related
to her alleged involvement in
shady deals at the NBP.
After key witness and former
Bureau of Corrections deputy di-
rector Rafael Ragos recanted his
testimonies last year, presiding
judge Joseph Alcantara of Branch
204 said reasonable doubt was
cast on the guilt of the 63-year-old
de Lima, who has been under de-
tention since February 2017.
“Under the circumstances of
this case, the testimony of witness
Ragos is necessary to sustain any
❱❱ PAGE 17 Lawyer says de Lima
 4 Philippine News
Tax amnesty extension, 2 other priority
measures hurdle Senate
BY WILNARD BACELONIA,
LEONEL ABASOLA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Senate ap-
proved on final reading Monday
the extension of the estate tax
amnesty and two other priority
measures, four days before the
First Regular Session of the 19th
Congress adjourns sine die.
Senate Bill (SB) 2219 extends
the period of Availment of Estate
Tax Amnesty by two years or un-
til June 14, 2025, the second ex-
tension after 2021 to 2023.
“Owing to the challenges of
the pandemic, there are still
people who have not been able
to avail of the amnesty even
with the first extension. Ipina-
sa natin itong second extension
para sa kanila (We passed this
second extension for them),”
Senate President Miguel Zubiri
said in a news release.
Alongside the extension, the
Senate bill also addresses issues
with the ease of paying taxes by
Maharlika Investment Fund..
❰❰ 1 “On behalf of the
Congress panel, we
accept the Senate
version in principle, subject to
style,” Tieng said.
The bill seeks to establish the
Maharlika Investment Corpo-
ration (MIC), which “shall act
as the sole vehicle for the pur-
pose of mobilizing and utiliz-
ing the MIF for investments in
transactions in order to gener-
ate optimal returns on invest-
ments (ROIs).”
Certified as “urgent” by Pres-
ident Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.,
the MIF is a sovereign wealth
fund that will be used to invest in
a wide range of assets, including
foreign currencies, fixed-income
instruments, domestic and for-
eign corporate bonds, commer-
cial real estate and infrastructure
projects. The fund is expected to
generate income for the govern-
ment and help promote econom-
ic development.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said
the adoption of the Senate ver-
sion would allow the Executive
giving a clear list of require-
ments to be submitted to the
Bureau of Internal Revenue,
allowing for easier filing of tax
returns and allowing for an in-
stallment option for payments.
Electric or manual filing of
estate tax amnesty returns,
whichever is more convenient
for the taxpayer, are allowed
under SB 2219, as well as the
payment of taxes with any au-
thorized agent bank, revenue
district office, or authorized tax
software provider.
The bill also grants payment
by installment within two years
from the statutory date, with-
out civil penalty and interest.
SB 2035, or the Trabaho Para
sa Bayan (Jobs for the Nation)
Act, was unanimously approved
to create an Interagency Coun-
cil that will formulate action
plans for supporting micro,
small and medium enterprises,
worker upskilling, employer
incentives, youth employment
and reintegration of overseas
Filipino workers.
to start crafting the rules and
regulations of the proposed law.
Salceda reiterated that the
proposed MIF will not touch the
funds of the Social Security Sys-
tem (SSS), Government Service
Insurance System (GSIS), Philip-
pine Health Insurance Corpora-
tion (PhilHealth), or Home Devel-
opment Mutual Fund (HDMF).
The Senate version, he said,
also retained most of the account-
ability and transparency safe-
guards established by the House.
“To refine the implementation,
I raised some points during our
pre-bicameral conference meet-
ing that I hope can be addressed
by the Executive,” he said.
He suggested some possible
tweaks that can be done during
the drafting of the implement-
ing rules and regulations, such
as the Civil Service Commission
regulating MIF employees, the
listing of the MIF in the stock
market, and allowing multilat-
eral financing institutions like
the World Bank and the Asian
Development Bank to be strate-
The employment masterplan
shall include a 3-year, 6-year, and
10-year development timeline.
“Employment should not
just be an incident to economic
development. Generating more
decent and permanent employ-
ment should be the objective
of economic growth, to make
growth inclusive and a reality
for all,” Senate Majority Lead-
er Joel Villanueva said in his
sponsorship speech.
Specialty centers
Lastly, the Senate gave its
nod on SB 2212 or the Region-
al Specialty Centers Act that
will decentralize the services
of specialty centers such as the
Philippine Children’s Medical
Center, Philippine Heart Cen-
ter, Lung Center of the Philip-
pines and National Kidney and
Transplant Institute, which are
all located in Manila Manila.
“This was my promise to the
people during last year’s cam-
paign, and it is now only one short
step away from becoming law.
This bill is a shot in the arm of
gic partners with a stake in the
founding of the MIF.
“I congratulate House Speak-
er Ferdinand Martin Romual-
dez, Chairman Irwin Tieng,
APPROVED. Senators and the administration’s economic managers pose for a
photo after the almost 12-hour marathon session for the passage of Senate Bill
2020 or the Maharlika Investment Fund Bill at past 2 a.m. on Wednesday (May
31, 2023). Approved with a total of 19 “yes” votes, one “no” vote, and one
abstention, the bill seeks to create a sovereign wealth fund that the govern-
ment will use to invest in a wide range of assets. (AVITO C. DALAN/PNA)
www.canadianinquirer.net
our public health system. To bor-
row a medical term, it is a major
transfusion of resources to gov-
ernment hospitals in the regions,
nearer to the sick who need af-
fordable care,” Zubiri said.
During his first State of the
Nation Address last year, Pres-
ident Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
highlighted the need to make
medical services more accessi-
ble outside Metro Manila.
Villanueva said they are geared
to tackle and pass more crucial
bills beneficial to the public.
“We thank our fellow sena-
tors for working tirelessly from
crafting the bills and resolu-
tions, to participating in com-
mittee hearings and debating
in plenary to see through the
passage of these important mea-
sures,” Villanueva said. “We owe
it to the people to see to it that
the laws we pass here in the Sen-
ate have hurdled the most rigid
scrutiny to ensure that they will
truly impact the people.”
Other measures
Last week, the Senate passed
and our Senate counterparts. I
will continue to offer what I can
by way of prior experience and
subject matter expertise in the
drafting of the IRR,” he said.
JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
on third reading SB 2021 in-
stituting the Shared Services
Facilities Act to benefit micro,
small and medium enterpris-
es; SB 1480 or the Act Ratio-
nalizing the Disability Pension
of Veterans that will provide
a hike in the pension of vet-
erans and their families from
PHP1,000 to PHP1,700 to
PHP4,500 to PHP10,000; and
SB 1964 or the Kabalikat sa Pag-
tuturo Act that will increase the
yearly supplies allowance of ed-
ucators to PHP7,500 per teach-
er for School Year 2023-2024
and PHP10,000 for 2024-2025
onwards.
Meanwhile, the Senate
granted Filipino citizenship to
Canadian vlogger Kyle Douglas
Jennermann.
Popularly known as Kulas,
the 35-year-old came to live in
the Philippines in 2013 and has
since created video contents
that showcase Filipino culture
and the country’s natural re-
sources. ■
Under the bill, the MIC shall
have its principle place of busi-
ness in Metro Manila, but may
maintain branches and agen-
cies in other areas within and
outside the country.
It shall have an authorized
capital stock of PHP500 billion,
with common shares of PHP3.75
billion, to be subscribed by the
national government, its agen-
cies or instrumentalities, in-
cluding government-owned and
controlled corporations or gov-
ernment financial institutions
except Social Security System,
Government Service Insur-
ance System, Philippine Health
Insurance Corporation (Phil-
Health), Home Development
Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund,
Overseas Workers Welfare Ad-
ministration, and the Philippine
Veterans Affairs Office.
Landbank of the Philippines,
Development Bank of the Phil-
ippines, and the national gov-
ernment will each contribute
PHP50 billion to the fund. ■
FRIDAY JUNE 2, 2023 5

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6 Philippine News
Marcos eyes enhanced roadmap to attain rice
self-sufficiency
BY RUTH ABBEY GITA-
CARLOS
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – President Ferdi-
nand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednes-
day emphasized the importance
of ramping up the government’s
efforts to attain the “97.4-per-
cent” rice self-sufficiency target
in the country.
In an interview in Pasay City,
Marcos said he convened a rice
industry convergence meet-
ing at the National Irrigation
Administration’s (NIA) Con-
vention Hall in Quezon City to
discuss the consolidation and
digitalization efforts to improve
the rice sector.
“It is essentially the roadmap
to the eventual goal of reaching
97.4-percent self-sufficiency for
PBBM not keen on using state pension funds
as seed money for MIF
BY RUTH ABBEY GITA-
CARLOS
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The state pen-
sion funds will not be used as
“seed fund” for the proposed
Maharlika Investment Fund
(MIF), President Ferdinand R.
Marcos Jr. assured the public
on Wednesday.
Marcos gave the assurance on
the sidelines of the 86th anniver-
sary celebration of the Govern-
ment Service Insurance System
(GSIS) in Pasay City, as the Sen-
ate’s version of the MIF bill was
adopted by the House of Rep-
resentatives during a bicameral
conference held Wednesday.
“I perfectly agree. We have
no intention of using ang pera
– kukuha tayo ng pera ng pen-
sion fund (get the money from
the pension fund). That’s not
the (intention). We will not use
it as a seed fund,” Marcos told
reporters, when quizzed about
the possibility of using the
rice,” he said.
“Ninety-seven percent is suf-
ficient. You do not have to real-
ly go to 100 percent kasi ‘yung
three percent, iba ‘yung mga
least products, ‘yung mga organ-
ic ‘yung mga special grain, Jap-
anese rice. ‘Yung mga ganoon.
‘Yun, hindi na natin kailangang
i-provide ‘yun (because the re-
maining 3 percent are the least
products, which include the
organic, special grain and Japa-
nese rice. We no longer need to
provide that),” he added.
Marcos said farm consoli-
dation, or the reallocation of
land parcels, is vital to boost
rice production and enable lo-
cal farmers to take advantage of
the new technologies.
Land consolidation, Marcos
said, would be a prerequisite
to large-scale mechanization
state pension funds as funding
source for the proposed MIF.
Marcos, however, noted that
pension funds may invest in
the MIF, if they consider it as a
“good investment.”
“If the pension fund decides
the Maharlika Invest-
ment Fund is a good
investment, it’s up to
them if they want to
invest in it,” he said.
“GSIS, this is pre-
cisely what they have
been doing. They are
making sure they are
very solid, that they
are very stable so that
all the payments that
they need to give out.
So we have to differen-
tiate those two things,”
Marcos added.
The MIF bill, which
was earlier certified
as urgent by Marcos, was ap-
proved by the Senate at past 2
a.m. on Wednesday following
more than 12 hours of delib-
erations. The House of Repre-
which would help increase crop
productivity in the country.
“We talked about the con-
solidation of the farmers dahil
ang unang hakbang na kailan-
gan nating gawin para magka-
roon ng increased production
at saka ibaba ‘yung presyo ng
produksyon ay kailangang
i-mechanize (because the first
step that we need to increase
production and bring down
the price is to mechanize [the
farms]),” Marcos said.
“Hindi ka makapag-mech-
anize kung ang inaararo mo
is only .6 hectares. Kung min-
san ganoon lang ang lupa (You
would not be able to mechanize
if you are only plowing only .6
hectares. That is the common
size of land),” he added.
Marcos noted that there was
also a plan to entice more young
sentatives, on the other hand,
approved its version of the bill
in December 2022.
During the bicameral confer-
ence committee meaning, the
House of Representatives agreed
to adopt Senate Bill (SB) 2020.
If the pension fund
decides the Maharlika
Investment Fund is
a good investment,
it’s up to them if they
want to invest in it,
The Senate’s version of the
bill orders the absolute prohi-
bition of the use of funds of the
GSIS, Social Security System
(SSS), the Philippine Health
www.canadianinquirer.net
Filipino farmers who will be
trained to use new agriculture
technologies.
“To do that, again, we engage
HARVEST TIME. Farmers get their chance to harvest their rice fields on a sunny
morning in Poblacion II, Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija on Thursday (Sept. 22, 2022). The
activity was in time for the September harvest season. (OLIVER MARQUEZ/PNA)
Insurance Corporation, Home
Development Mutual Fund
(Pag-IBIG), the Overseas Work-
ers Welfare Administration and
the Philippine Veterans Affairs
Office in the capitalization and
investments in the MIF.
Under SB 2020, the pro-
posed Maharlika Invest-
ment Corporation (MIC)
will act as the sole vehicle
for the purpose of mobiliz-
ing and utilizing the MIF
for investments in transac-
tions to generate optimal
returns on investments.
Budget Secretary
Amenah Pangandaman
said the latest move would
bring “long-term” prog-
ress in the Philippines and
sustain the country’s eco-
nomic growth.
Pangandaman also
backed the Senate’s ver-
sion of the MIF bill for having “a
lot of safeguards against possi-
ble abuse,” making the proposed
state wealth fund more accept-
able to the Filipino people.
JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
them with new technologies be-
cause they will be the ones who
❱❱ PAGE 8 Marcos eyes enhanced
She said the MIF’s funding
sources include the Landbank
of the Philippines, the Develop-
ment Bank of the Philippines,
privatization proceeds, the Phil-
ippine Amusement and Gaming
Corporation and Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas dividends.
The proposed MIF is an inde-
pendent fund that adheres to the
principles of good governance,
transparency and accountabili-
ty and shall be sourced from the
investible funds of select gov-
ernment financial institutions
(GFIs), from contributions of
the national government, de-
clared dividends of the BSP and
other fund sources.
Under the scheme, the MIF
shall be used to invest in a
strategic and commercial ac-
tivities in a manner designed
to promote fiscal stability for
economic development and
strengthen the top-perform-
ing GFIs through additional
investment platforms that will
help attain the national govern-
ment’s priority plans. ■
FRIDAY JUNE 2, 2023
House bill on PH natural gas industry dev’t
hurdles 2nd reading
BY FILANE MIKEE
CERVANTES
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The measure pro-
moting the development of the
country’s downstream natural
gas industry hurdled second
reading approval at the House
of Representatives.
During Wednesday’s plena-
ry session, the chamber passed
through voice voting House Bill
8456, or the proposed Philip-
PBBM welcomes Thai firm’s $2.5-B invest-
ment pledge to boost agri
BY RUTH ABBEY GITA-
CARLOS
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – President Ferdi-
nand R. Marcos Jr. welcomed
Tuesday the plan of Thailand con-
glomerate Charoen Pokphand
Group (CP Group) to invest about
USD2.5 billion (PHP140.8 billion)
to further boost the Philippines’
agriculture sector.
The investment pledge was
discussed when Marcos met
with officials of CP Group, led by
its chairman Soopakij Cheara-
vanont, at Malacañan Palace in
Manila, Communication Secre-
tary Cheloy Garafil said.
Garafil said the CP Group’s
expansion plans involve the use
of new technologies, covering
swine (USD1.3 billion), poul-
try (USD280 million), shrimp
(USD800 million), and food
(USD120 million).
During the meeting, Mar-
cos said the CP Group’s goal
of bringing “state-of-the-art”
technology to the country is
what he wants to be replicated
in the Philippines.
“We’re very impressed with
the new technologies that you
use. I remember you told me
that each plant farm you build
is different from the last one
because you immediately in-
pine Downstream Natural Gas
Industry (PDNGI) Develop-
ment Act, which is a legislative
priority of President Ferdinand
R. Marcos Jr.
House Committee on En-
ergy chair and Marinduque
Rep. Lord Allan Velasco said
the priority legislative mea-
sure aims to promote the role
of natural gas as a safe, envi-
ronment-friendly, efficient and
cost-effective source of energy.
Velasco further noted that
the measure would be an indis-
corporate and adopt new tech-
niques in technology,” Marcos
told the CP Group executives,
as quoted by the Presidential
Communications Office (PCO).
“Learning new things and ap-
plying new things, that’s the only
way I think to compete as well.
CP Group has done so well... to
be a state-of-the-art company.”
During the meeting, the CP
Group sought the Marcos admin-
istration’s assistance in locating
suitable land covering about 400
hectares for aquaculture (shrimp)
and 300 hectares for swine and
poultry, including eggs.
The group also wants the use
of modern technology to fulfill
the whole upstream and down-
stream raw materials up to the
finished product for the market
and future exports.
Marcos said the country also
has the raw materials and a
good labor force to complement
available technology to boost
the value chain in the agricul-
ture sector.
“Even in terms of the ecosys-
tem of agronomists and agri-
culturists, experts in fisheries,
experts in rice, in broiler pro-
duction… we have many people
who are very, very good. It’s the
system that we need,” he said.
“They’re not working inde-
pendently as if the other parts
of the system don’t exist. That’s
pensable contributor to grid se-
curity, especially with the entry
of more intermittent renewable
energy sources through the cre-
ation of favorable conditions
for establishing the PDNGI.
He pointed out that the Phil-
ippines still lacks a clear, com-
prehensive and integrated leg-
islative framework that would
serve as a pillar toward achiev-
ing the rapid development of
the country’s natural gas sector.
“The lack of such clear poli-
cies is detrimental to the thrust
more or less where we find
ourselves. Now…, I suppose we
could start from where we are
and try to just keep improving.”
Acknowledging the govern-
ment’s role to support the pri-
vate sector’s initiatives, Marcos
said he would discuss with other
stakeholders the viability of put-
ting together a project that would
boost the production and resil-
iency of the agriculture sector.
Marcos vowed to keep the
momentum in agriculture and
“move forward,” as he cited the
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday hailed the Bangkok-based
business conglomerate which is planning to invest some US$2.5 billion in
agricultural technology development in the country. (PCO)
www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
of the Department of Energy
to attract foreign investors to
invest in our natural gas poten-
tials or importation or trans-
mission of the same,” he said.
He said the bill would pro-
mote the development of the
Philippines as a liquefied nat-
ural gas trading and transship-
ment hub within the Asia-Pacif-
ic region.
The measure mandates the
Department of Energy to be
the lead government agency
responsible for the supervision
non-mechanization as a reason
for the country’s failure to con-
tinue the process of consolida-
tion to improve systems.
“That’s why now we’re try-
ing to catch up. So yes, we, I’m
sure we can. I’m sure that there
has to be a way… to get all the
lessons that have been learned
by not only you, but everyone
around the world,” he said. “We
will discuss amongst ourselves
with all the others, those who
will be helping put together the
project. We will certainly see
7
and monitoring of the devel-
opment of the PDNGI, and the
regulation of the construction
and operation of natural gas
pipelines and related facilities
for the transmission, distribu-
tion and supply of natural gas.
Meanwhile, the Energy Reg-
ulatory Commission shall have
the sole regulatory responsibil-
ity for establishing the rates and
related terms and conditions
of service for the transmission
and distribution, regasification
and supply of natural gas. ■
what is the most ideal way.”
The CP Group executives
first met with Marcos during
his November 2022 visit to
Thailand.
The CP Group is now a lead-
ing holding company in Thai-
land, holding investments in
21 countries and economies
worldwide, operating through
more than 200 subsidiaries,
and employing more than
300,000 people.
It operates across eight busi-
ness lines – agro-industry and
food; retail and distribution;
media and telecommunica-
tions; e-commerce and digital;
property development; auto-
motive and industrial products;
pharmaceuticals; and finance
and investment.
Present during Marcos’ meet-
ing with the CP Group were
business tycoons Sabin Aboitiz
and Francis Chua, as well as of-
ficials and representatives of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Coopera-
tion Business Advisory Council
(ABAC) Philippines.
Philippine officials who at-
tended the meeting were Gara-
fil, Presidential Adviser on In-
vestment and Economic Affairs
Frederick Go, House of Rep-
resentatives Speaker Martin
Romualdez, and Deputy House
Speaker and Pampanga Rep.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. ■
8 Philippine News
Correspondent/Hosts
Arianne Grace Lacanilao
Matte Laurel
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Ginno Alcantara
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Member
DOH warns public vs.
illnesses due to El Niño
BY MA. TERESA MONTEMAYOR
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Department of Health
(DOH) on Tuesday warned the public
against certain illnesses that may arise
due to the El Niño season.
In a message to reporters on Tuesday,
the DOH reminded the public to take
precautionary measures, saying that
extreme weather heat, scarcity of clean
water, and frequent rains could cause
diseases like asthma, cholera, dengue,
diarrhea, fatigue, food poisoning, heat
cramp, heat stroke, nausea, sunburn,
typhoid fever, and other diseases due to
consumption of food affected by red tide.
“To avoid heat stroke and exhaustion,
hydrate yourself and drink water always,
and refrain from going out during 10
a.m. to 3 p.m.,” the DOH said.
“Wear sunglasses, sunscreen, and
light clothes. Bring an umbrella when-
ever you have to get exposed to the sun.”
To prevent dengue, the DOH re-
minded the school administrations and
the public to observe the 5S strategy of
search and destroy mosquito breeding
sites; uphold self-protection like using
insect repellents; seek early consulta-
tion at the nearest health care facility;
Marcos eyes enhanced..
❰❰ 6 operate those systems, those
new technological systems.
And that will make it interest-
ing for young people to come in to the
sector,” he said.
He added that his administration in-
tends to provide “good data” to the farm-
er leaders.
The meeting at the NIA office was held
a day after the executives of Thailand con-
glomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (CP
Group) paid a courtesy call on him at Mala-
cañan Palace in Manila and expressed
their intent to invest about USD2.5 billion
(PHP140.8 billion) to further boost the
Philippines’ agriculture sector.
The CP Group’s expansion plans in-
volve the use of new technologies, cov-
ering swine (USD1.3 billion), poultry
(USD280 million), shrimp (USD800
million) and food (USD120 million).
Marcos said he is “excited” about the
CP Group’s planned expansion of oper-
ations in the country, stressing that he
wants the immediate adoption of the
Thailand firm’s “very aggressive” use of
new technologies.
He said the country has “good” and
“highly-experienced” scientists, agri-
www.canadianinquirer.net
support fogging, spraying, and misting
in hot spot areas; and sustain hydration.
“The implementation of the 5S strategy
calls for everyone to become prime mov-
ers in controlling mosquito population
and avoiding any possible dengue deaths
within the community,” the DOH said.
“Our health and consultation services
are available through our primary care
and KonsulTayo services.”
Early this month, the Philippine At-
mospheric, Geophysical and Astronom-
BEATING THE HEAT. Kids in Barangay Bato, Toril District in Davao City romp at the Ramihan
River after their classes on Wednesday (March 10, 2023). The grade schoolers said the river water
refreshed them amid the scorching heat of the sun. (ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./PNA)
culturists, agronomists and researchers
who could help in facilitating the inno-
vations in the agricultural industry.
“We have all the elements but these
elements do not seem to be in place right
now. So, what we’re trying to do is to put
these elements together. And they (CP
Group) can help us dahil nagawa na nila
(because they have done it already),”
Marcos said.
“Three years later, they’re going to
build another plant... That’s where we
want to be. That’s how quickly we want
to be moving and how agile we would
like to do. That’s what we’re hoping they
could help us with and they have com-
mitted to do so,” he added.
During the meeting, Marcos approved
the Masagana Rice Industry Develop-
ment Program (MRIDP) crafted by the
Department of Agriculture (DA) which
he currently chairs, Communications
Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a sepa-
rate statement.
Garafil noted that under the MRIDP,
several strategies would be carried out to
support rice farmers, increase rice produc-
tion and strengthen the rice value chain.
“The program will be carried out
JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
ical Services Administration (PAGA-
SA) raised the El Niño alert status as it
expects the weather phenomenon to
emerge in June.
PAGASA said it could cause be-
low-normal rainfall conditions and dry
spells, and droughts may be experienced
in some parts of the country.
The heat in the National Capital Re-
gion and certain areas will continue to
be around 40°C in the succeeding weeks,
it said. ■
through several strategies such as cli-
mate change adaptation; farm clustering
and consolidation or convergence of in-
tervention; value chain approach; and,
digital transformation,” she said.
“A key component of the MRIDP is the
convergence of all stakeholders involved
in the development of the rice industry
with the objective of pooling resources,
sharing knowledge, and coordinating ef-
forts to achieve sustainable rice produc-
tion and higher income for rice farmers,”
Garafil added.
Data from the DA showed a decline in
the total palay (unhusked rice) harvest
area and average palay yield in 2022.
The DA reported that around 75.6
percent or 14.94 million metric tons
(MMT) of the 19.76 million metric tons
of unhusked rice in 2022 came from ir-
rigated areas, while the remaining 24.4
percent or 4.82 MMT were from non-ir-
rigated areas.
The top five highest rice-produc-
ing regions in 2022 were Central Lu-
zon (3.62 MMT), Cagayan Valley (2.93
MMT), Western Visayas (2.32 MMT),
Ilocos Region (1.96 MMT) and Bicol Re-
gion (1.33 MMT). ■
FRIDAY JUNE 2, 2023
Legal tussling over the Emergencies Act
is far from over
BY PAUL DALY
Policy Options
Our courts will be kept busy for
a long time on questions that may
ultimately guide whether and
how the act is ever used again.
The honking trucks, blaring
megaphones, blocked-off streets
and general sense of disorder
around Parliament Hill during
the convoy protests may be long
behind us. But Canada’s legal
community is just getting start-
ed on the Trudeau government’s
use of the Emergencies Act to
end that in February 2022. Even
though the Rouleau Commis-
sion concluded that the govern-
ment met the high threshold for
invoking the act, whether the
declaration of a public emergen-
cy was lawful is a question that
is likely to occupy the courts for
several years yet.
In early April, Justice Rich-
ard Mosley of the Federal Court
heard arguments about whether
the emergency declaration was
consistent with administrative
law principles and whether the
measures enacted under the au-
thority of the declaration were
consistent with the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms
and the Canadian Bill of Rights.
Several individuals and groups,
including the Canadian Civil
Liberties Association and the
Canadian Constitution Founda-
tion, challenged the lawfulness
of the emergency declaration
and associated measures.
With so much drama on Par-
liament Hill prior to, during and
immediately after the emergen-
cy declaration, the subsequent
legal wrangling has played out
below the public and political
radar. Lawyers for the challeng-
ers and the attorney general of
Canada have been battling about
a variety of important issues re-
lating to what sort of material
should be put before the court.
Justice Mosley is a vastly ex-
perienced judge who served at
Canada News
the upper echelons of the pub-
lic service prior to his appoint-
ment to the bench. At hearings
in early April, he asked probing
questions of both the challeng-
ers and the attorney general.
One thing seems clear: Jus-
tice Mosley does not consider
himself to be bound in any way,
shape or form by the conclu-
sions of the Rouleau Commis-
sion. Indeed, as he commented
in deciding one of the proce-
dural questions raised in Cana-
dian Civil Liberties Association
v. Canada (Attorney General),
the Federal Court has “a duty to
hear and rule on the judicial re-
view applications” and it cannot
“abdicate that responsibility.”
What does that mean in plain
language? Unlike the Rouleau
Commission, Justice Mosley
will primarily be considering
administrative law and consti-
tutional law issues. So, too, will
the Federal Court of Appeal if
(as seems inevitable) the losing
side appeals Justice Mosley’s
eventual decision, which may
eventually make its way before
the Supreme Court of Canada.
These issues are both fasci-
nating and challenging from a
legal point of view, and they may
end up having a very real impact.
Issues stemming from ad-
ministrative law will be consid-
ered using the Supreme Court
of Canada’s revamped frame-
work, set out in detail in Cana-
da (Minister of Citizenship and
Immigration) v. Vavilov. This
framework applies to all ad-
ministrative decision-makers,
big and small. Cabinet is no ex-
ception. In the years since Vavi-
lov was decided, judges have
heeded the Supreme Court’s
message that decision-makers
“must adopt a culture of justi-
fication,” making decisions that
are not only justifiable but jus-
tified by reasoned analysis. In
many cases, front-line officials,
high-volume tribunals and
government ministers exercis-
ing policy-laden discretionary
powers have found the stan-
dards of Vavilov hard to meet.
The question for Justice
Mosley will be whether cabi-
net’s reasons for the emergency
declaration are justifiable given
the legal and factual context.
This will involve considering
questions such as:
1. Did cabinet engage with the
language and purpose of the act?
2. Did cabinet grapple with
relevant evidence?
3. Did cabinet account for the
significant consequences of in-
voking the act?
In particular, Justice Mosley
will have to determine wheth-
er cabinet had “reasonable
grounds” for invoking the act.
This is not a test of whether cab-
inet believed, subjectively, there
was a good reason for declaring
an emergency. It was deliberate-
ly designed with a high thresh-
old, requiring cabinet to demon-
strate an objective rationale for
an emergency declaration.
It is difficult to know exactly
what test Justice Mosley will ap-
ply. In other contexts, a reference
to “reasonable grounds” has been
taken to require the presence of
“compelling and credible infor-
mation.” Whatever the precise
2022 Canadian Freedom Convoy
www.canadianinquirer.net
test applied, Justice Mosley will
closely parse the reasons provid-
ed to him to determine whether
cabinet adequately justified re-
course to the act. Eventually, the
Federal Court of Appeal and, per-
haps, the Supreme Court, will do
the same.
Justification will be central
to resolving constitutional is-
sues as well. The measures
made under the emergency
declaration swept very broadly
indeed: assemblies liable to lead
to a breach of the peace were
banned nationwide, and any-
one financially supporting the
protesters directly or indirect-
ly committed an offence. As I
noted at the time, the measures
covered “everything from the
individual (anywhere in Can-
ada, or even abroad) sending
money to support those partic-
ipating in an unlawful assembly
to the Quickie cashier who sells
a can of propane to someone en
route to an unlawful assembly.”
These were obvious breaches
of the Charter rights to freedom
of expression and association.
In addition, financial institu-
tions were obliged to freeze the
accounts of anyone covered by
these extremely broad measures.
9
Moreover, there was no process
for identifying whose accounts
should be frozen or for unfreez-
ing accounts wrongly frozen.
This is probably a breach of the
Charter protection from unrea-
sonable searches and seizures.
Breaches of the Charter can,
however, be justified. These
breaches were undoubtedly se-
rious and will certainly focus
the minds of anyone planning
a mass protest in Canada in the
future. But they turned out to be
time-limited. Justice Mosley will
have to consider whether a seri-
ous Charter breach can be justi-
fied due to its temporary nature.
Lastly, the Canadian Bill of
Rights, which has been over-
shadowed by the Charter in re-
cent decades, may be relevant
in determining whether the
emergency economic measures
were lawful. Unlike the Charter,
the Bill of Rights protects prop-
erty interests and guarantees
due process for the determina-
tion of “rights and obligations.”
Justice Mosley has been
asked to find that the Bill of
Rights narrows the scope of the
Emergencies Act, preventing
❱❱ PAGE 22 Legal tussling over
10
Emergency law needs to change for the
climate crisis era
BY NOMI CLAIRE LAZAR
Policy Options
Improved and quicker ac-
countability, fixing perverse in-
centives and revamping emer-
gency powers for conflicts at
home and abroad are all vital to
prepare for the future.
Last February, the federal gov-
ernment used the Emergencies
Act for the first time, ending the
convoy crisis that had
paralyzed Ottawa for
weeks. That action led
Canadians to debate
how well the act worked
and whether the rule
of law was respected in
the process. But Canada
sits at a critical juncture
regarding emergencies
and we would be remiss
to restrict our attention
to future public order
crises that might repeat
past singular events.
Climate change is al-
ready causing layered, multiju-
risdictional crises, the shape and
rhythm of which may be quite
different from the emergen-
cies for which our current legal
framework was designed. While
we need to review how well the
act worked last year, our emer-
gency laws and institutions must
also be ready for what’s next.
Foundational problems,
flexible solutions
Emergencies pit an urgent
need for flexibility to act against
democracy’s central demand
for accountability for those ac-
tions. Nail that balance in emer-
gency legislation and the rule of
law prevails, even in a crisis. Get
it wrong and we threaten our
most cherished values.
On paper, the Emergencies
Act looks exemplary. It sur-
rounds emergency power with
rule-of-law constraints. The
act demands compliance with
the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms, and the Inter-
national Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights. It sets an intri-
cate threshold for declaring an
emergency – one so high that
the act wasn’t used for 34 years
after it was passed in 1988. Its
provisions enable near-con-
tinuous judicial and legislative
oversight. Then, Section 63
Canada News
calls for a commission of in-
quiry – in the Ottawa case, the
Rouleau commission – for pub-
lic accountability after the fact.
In practice, the act worked
largely as designed in the Ottawa
case. Its powers were used im-
perfectly, yes, but briefly, safely,
effectively and under properly
intense scrutiny. The crisis was
resolved with minimal harm.
But emergency legislation is
designed for the unpredictable
... our emergency
laws and institutions
must also be ready
for what’s next.
case, so such laws necessarily
have elements of ambiguity.
Inevitably, any specific emer-
gency will reveal gaps and loose
drafting, and will provoke calls
to tighten its provisions.
What’s more, the Emergen-
cies Act is growing old. Rouleau
and a range of scholars, myself
included, have recommended
convoy-inspired reforms. Rou-
leau recommends divorcing
the act’s definition of a threat
to national security from the
Canadian Security Intelli-
gence Services Act, to which it
is currently bound. CSIS has
a very specific mandate which
does not map neatly onto the
range of possible serious fu-
ture threats. Others disagree,
finding in the CSIS definition
the necessary stricture for what
might otherwise become a dan-
gerously low threshold.
We should approach these
threshold reform proposals with
caution. There is no getting the
threshold just right: too high and
some future government will
have to weasel around it; too low
and some future government
may abuse emergency power.
Emergency thresholds will al-
ways be a question of political
judgment, first for politicians,
then for the citizens who hold
them accountable. But wherev-
er drawn, thresholds set stan-
dards that inform judgments. So
it behooves us to do our best.
Preparing for cascading
climate crises
While we look to backward
and ask what might prevent a
similar crisis next time, Can-
ada runs the risk of missing a
crucial turn. Climate change is
already altering the rhythm and
pattern of the crises Canadians
face. What’s coming
may only grow more
radical. Our legislative
framework, across and
between jurisdictions,
is not ready for that.
Climate change
threatens a braid of in-
terconnected threats:
cascading natural di-
sasters, mainstreamed
extremism, novel pan-
demics and economic
crises, even calls for au-
thoritarian governance
to address the climate
challenge. The convoy itself had
deep links to anti-climate activ-
ism and this is just the tip of the
iceberg. This climate crisis cas-
cade will have its own rhythms
which will likely be badly mis-
matched with the design of ex-
isting emergency powers. These
were made to address discrete,
intermittent crises, mostly
confined within jurisdictional
boundaries. To address this cli-
mate challenge, Canada needs
to take action in four areas.
Make provinces accountable
First, provincial and territori-
al emergency law, which stands
on the front line of increasing-
ly frequent “natural” disasters,
needs reform. Emergency law
in non-federal jurisdictions still
looks disturbingly like that old
War Measures Act: almost no
accountability mechanisms, al-
most free rein for governments.
There is no reasonable excuse
for this. We’ve seen how well
emergency accountability can
work at the federal level, and
that should be every jurisdic-
tion’s norm. Canadians must
demand that provincial emer-
gency legislation incorporate
accountability mechanisms.
Correct perverse incentives
Second, the 2022 Ottawa oc-
cupation illustrated what we all
www.canadianinquirer.net
knew from other contexts: our
federal system creates perverse
political incentives. Despite
promises of federal-provin-
cial-territorial joint emergency
planning groups, in practice,
when it serves a leader’s polit-
ical interest, it’s too easy to off-
load responsibility for hard de-
cisions to another jurisdiction.
We cannot risk a dysfunctional
response to a future crisis be-
cause of interjurisdictional
wrangling. Given that Canadi-
an politics is becoming more
polarized and prone to extrem-
ism, including around climate
measures, this may grow worse.
To address this within constitu-
tional bounds may be difficult
indeed. But our collective life
may depend on it.
Adapt accountability mea-
sures to frequent crises
Third, we must consider how
the Emergencies Act’s account-
ability measures may fare if
emergencies shift in frequency
and rhythm. The act envisions
emergencies as discrete enti-
ties that will fit within one of
the act’s four categories, and
it assumes stability will be re-
stored sufficiently for prompt,
after-the-fact accountability to
take place: commissions of in-
quiry, federal court cases. What
happens if the climate crisis
cascade means there’s too lit-
tle time for these mechanisms
to work? To address this likely
JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
scenario will demand institu-
tional creativity.
Look internationally
Finally, the Ottawa occupa-
tion generated plenty of atten-
tion to the public order features
of that emergency category, but
scant attention to the act’s oth-
er three emergency categories
– public welfare, international,
and war emergencies. Notably,
we already see shifts in the mode
of conduct of international con-
flict: are the latter two catego-
ries, their thresholds and pow-
ers, ready for what’s coming?
To preserve the rule of law
requires we be prepared for
the shifting rhythms of emer-
gencies. As climate change
sparks more frequent natural
disasters, as climate response,
and reactions to climate re-
sponse, become more polarized
and fraught, the rhythm of ac-
countability and the interjuris-
dictional framework through
which we address emergencies
may cease to make sense.
Let’s make sure we are pre-
pared, so that Canadians may
continue to live under the rule
of law together. ■
This article is part of the Les-
sons from the Rouleau Commis-
sion special feature series.
This article first appeared
on Policy Options and is repub-
lished here under a Creative
Commons license.
FRIDAY JUNE 2, 2023
What Danielle Smith’s remarkable
comeback means for Canada
BY LISA YOUNG, University
of Calgary
The Conversation
The United Conservative Par-
ty’s victory in the Alberta election
represents a remarkable come-
back for Premier Danielle Smith.
Smith’s win over the NDP’s
Rachel Notley will likely lead to
heightened conflict for Alberta
within the Canadian federation as
she returns to the populist play-
book that got her back into politics.
Her victory — a reduced but still
comfortable majority for the UCP
— came after an election campaign
that was upended by wildfires that
raged across the province.
Smith’s return to politics af-
ter a decade as a radio host was
The Rouleau report and the politics of living
next to a powerful neighbour
BY VANESSA
MACDONNELL
Policy Options
In late March, Joe Biden made
his first trip to Canada as pres-
ident of the United States. His
speech to the House of Commons
emphasized the importance of
the Canada-U.S. relationship, not-
ing that the countries’ interests
are “fundamentally aligned.” In a
joint statement issued at the end
of the trip, Biden and Prime Min-
ister Justin Trudeau made several
commitments on issues of shared
concern, the most controversial
of which were measures to clamp
down on refugee flows at unoffi-
cial border crossings.
The visit was a reminder of how
closely Canada’s fortunes are tied
to those of the United States. It
was also a reminder of the politi-
cal complexities involved in living
next to a powerful neighbour.
The recently released Rouleau
Commission report provides
a rare inside look into how the
federal government attempts to
navigate this delicate relation-
ship. The report’s most import-
ant conclusion is that the federal
improbable, but she was able to
build support among two groups
of Albertans: those angry about
COVID-19 public health restric-
tions and others who wanted to
see fundamental changes to Al-
berta’s place in Canada.
Her key promise was to pass
the Alberta Sovereignty Act that
would let the provincial govern-
ment opt out of enforcing feder-
al legislation it deemed not to be
in the province’s interests.
Moderating her stance
After her narrow win in the par-
ty leadership, Smith led a caucus
where she had relatively little sup-
port. She responded by moderating
her stance on her two key issues.
On COVID-19, she fired se-
nior health officials but did not
follow through on her promise
government was justified, if nar-
rowly, in its decision to invoke the
Emergencies Act in response to
the convoy protests that descend-
ed on Ottawa in January and Feb-
ruary of 2022. But the report also
contains important insights into
just how integrated Canada’s fate
is with that of the United States,
and into the very real risks as-
sociated with friction between
Canada and the U.S. on matters of
social and economic policy.
Ottawa was the epicentre
of the convoy protests, but
demonstrations also occurred
at other sites across the coun-
try, including at key border
crossings. Commissioner Paul
Rouleau found that the stakes
of the convoy demonstrations
escalated dramatically when
the Windsor-Detroit border
crossing was blocked by pro-
testers in early February.
The Ambassador Bridge is
Ontario’s most economically
important border crossing. Even
temporary closure has highly
significant effects on the Cana-
dian and the U.S. economies.
When high-level American offi-
cials, including Biden’s top eco-
nomic adviser, Transportation
to pass a law to protect the un-
vaccinated from discrimination.
Instead, she appointed for-
mer federal Reform Party leader
Preston Manning to lead a panel
to make recommendations about
the issue after the election.
Her Sovereignty Act morphed
into the Alberta Sovereignty
Within a United Canada Act, with
the title change and certain provi-
sions designed to reassure Alber-
tans that Smith was not intent on
taking Alberta out of Canada.
Extreme stands were a liability
Unlike the supporters who
helped Smith win the UCP leader-
ship, the Alberta electorate tends
to be considerably more centrist.
Smith’s history of extreme polit-
ical stands and commentary ap-
peared to be a significant liability
Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and
ultimately President Biden him-
self, picked up the phone to ex-
press concern about the border
closures, discussions of invoking
the Emergencies Act kicked into
high gear in Ottawa.
After speaking to Brian
Deese, then-director of the
U.S. National Economic Coun-
cil, Finance Minister Chrystia
Freeland reported in an email
that, “They are very, very, very
worried. If this is not sorted out
in the next 12 hours, all of their
northeastern car plants will
shut down. He said that he sup-
posed this proved the point we
had made previously to them
about how closely integrated
our economies are. (He did not
seem to see this as a positive.)”
Freeland was referring to ne-
gotiations she had been leading
through much of 2021 seeking
an exemption from Buy Ameri-
can legislation under consider-
ation in the United States Con-
gress. Commissioner Rouleau
explained that “a key part of her
argument was that the United
States needed Canada as much
as Canada needed the United
States. She emphasized that Can-
www.canadianinquirer.net
Canada News
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (DAVE COURNOYER/FLICKR, CC BY-SA 2.0)
for her and her party.
In the weeks prior to the elec-
tion, it became public knowledge
that Smith had spoken with an
extremist religious leader charged
with mischief for his role in a border
blockade at Coutts, Alta., and tried
to intervene in his prosecution.
During the election, the prov-
ince’s ethics commissioner is-
sued a report indicating Smith’s
actions violated Alberta’s con-
ada was a reliable trading part-
ner, and that the Canada-U.S.
relationship was one that the
Americans could depend on.”
The conversations with
American officials were a turn-
ing point in the federal gov-
ernment’s discussions about
whether to invoke the Emer-
gencies Act. Faced with wide-
spread economic losses flowing
from the border closures, as
well as ongoing unrest in Ot-
tawa and elsewhere, invoking
the Emergencies Act emerged
as a real possibility, not only as
a way to clear the protests but
also as a way of demonstrating
to the Americans that Canada is
a dependable trade partner.
The report emphasizes the
close relationship between Can-
ada and the United States in a
second way. Leaders of the con-
voy protests received consider-
able financial support from pri-
vate donors – to the tune of tens
of millions of dollars. Most of
those funds originated in Can-
ada, but substantial sums also
flowed across the border from
the United States. In short, Can-
ada’s border is not only porous
where trade is concerned, but
11
flict-of-interest legislation.
Smith pivoted from her pop-
ulist playbook to the traditional
stance of Alberta conservative
governments: an alluring com-
bination of well-funded public
services and low taxes.
Reversed cuts
Smith partially reversed the
government’s cuts to public
❱❱ PAGE 17 What Danielle Smith’s
the health and vitality of Cana-
da’s democracy is closely linked
to political developments in the
United States, among them the
rise in populism.
For better or for worse, the
well-being of Canada and the
United States is closely inter-
twined. The Rouleau Commis-
sion report shows the delicate
balance that Canadian politi-
cians must strike in making de-
cisions in areas of common con-
cern. It also underscores that the
Canada-U.S. relationship is not
confined to the official level. So-
cial trends flow across borders
and shape the politics of both
countries. We should take advan-
tage of these insights in reflecting
on the wisdom of the political po-
sitions Canada adopts in a range
of contexts, and in strategizing
about how best to secure Cana-
da’s democracy in the face of ris-
ing populism globally. ■
This article is part of the Les-
sons from the Rouleau Commis-
sion special feature series.
This article first appeared
on Policy Options and is repub-
lished here under a Creative
Commons license.
12
The “failure of federalism” at the siege of
Ottawa was primarily a failure of governance
BY ERIC CHAMPAGNE
Policy Options
Governments are vulnerable
when they do not work togeth-
er; their roles have to be clari-
fied and they need to be better
equipped.
In early 2022, the capital of
a G7 country was paralyzed by
a few hundred protesters who
arrived with their trucks. Ot-
tawa was under siege, and the
federal, provincial and munici-
pal governments seemed com-
pletely overwhelmed.
How could this happen, and
what lessons in governance can
we learn from the public au-
thorities’ response to the “Free-
dom Convoy”? The findings of
the Public Order Emergency
Commission, chaired by Com-
missioner Paul Rouleau, sug-
gest some possible remedies to
strengthen governance mecha-
nisms so that our government
authorities can better respond
if similar events occur again.
We will focus on two aspects of
public governance that, accord-
ing to the commissioner’s anal-
ysis, contributed to plunging the
country into a major avoidable
crisis. The first is the complex
relationship between the city,
the province and the federal
government during the events,
which led the commissioner to
conclude that there had been a
“failure of federalism”. The sec-
ond, which has gone somewhat
unnoticed, is the corporate gov-
ernance that was illustrated by
the messy and chaotic relation-
ship between the Ottawa Police
Services Board and the Ottawa
Police Service at the outset of
the crisis.
Apathetic governments
In the third volume of his final
report, Commissioner Rouleau
severely criticizes the lack of
communication and consisten-
cy between the federal and On-
tario governments and the City
of Ottawa. In his view, the scale
of the crisis could have been re-
duced, and the use of the Emer-
gencies Act avoided, if public au-
thorities had co-operated better
in enforcing existing laws.
It must be said that the con-
text itself was confusing, which
partly explains the apathy of
Canada News
public policymakers. The dem-
onstrators occupied Wellington
Street, a highly symbolic loca-
tion directly opposite the Cana-
dian Parliament, even though
the management of this street
is normally the responsibility of
the City of Ottawa.
The main target of the dem-
onstrators was the prime minis-
ter of Canada, who was criticized
for requiring truckers to be vac-
cinated in order to enter the
country, whereas health mea-
sures are generally imposed by
the provinces. Finally, the feder-
al government was faced with a
dilemma between citizens’ legit-
imate right to protest, maintain-
ing public safety and the smooth
functioning of the economy and
trade with the United States.
In retrospect, the various
levels of government took no
responsibility for managing the
crisis. The federal government
blamed the provincial govern-
ment for not having grasped
the magnitude of the situation.
The provincial government ex-
pressed frustration with the
way the City of Ottawa’s chief of
police and then-mayor Jim Wat-
son had handled the situation,
and with the federal govern-
ment for failing to mobilize the
necessary resources. According
to Ontario Premier Doug Ford,
management of the convoy was
a national rather than a provin-
cial issue. Municipal represen-
tatives blamed both the premier
of Ontario and the prime minis-
ter of Canada for not sufficiently
sharing intelligence informa-
tion or mobilizing their respec-
tive police forces.
For his part, Commissioner
Rouleau points to communi-
cation problems between the
intelligence services of the On-
tario Provincial Police and the
Royal Canadian Mounted Po-
lice, which had disastrous con-
sequences for co-ordination
and co-operation between the
players. In particular, the com-
missioner notes that the RCMP
provided conflicting informa-
tion to other police forces. He
also noted inconsistencies in
information collected on social
media and in open-data sources.
Confused municipal author-
ities
It didn’t get any better on the
municipal front. Commissioner
Rouleau and, shortly before the
release of his report, the City of
Ottawa’s auditor general, who pro-
duced a very interesting report on
the city’s management of the crisis,
observed serious co-ordination
and communication problems and
misunderstandings between the
police service, elected officials and
city administrators.
Firstly, elected officials were
not all on the same wavelength,
and we now know that there was
also friction within the police
department itself. From a gov-
ernance perspective, there are
also serious questions about the
role of the City of Ottawa Police
Services Board, which could
have played a more decisive role
as a crisis unit, given that it is
supposed to oversee the actions
of the police service and that it
is made up of both municipal
councillors and community rep-
resentatives appointed by the
province and the city.
So why was the Ottawa Police
Services Board unable to play a
key role in the risk analysis and
management of this crisis? All re-
ports indicate that at the time of
the incident, the board had a con-
fused understanding of its own
role in the crisis. Its ability to pro-
vide adequate civilian oversight
of the Ottawa Police Service was
restricted by the police service’s
own resistance to providing rel-
evant information it requested in
www.canadianinquirer.net
order to play its role.
The commission should have
ensured that the police had con-
tingency plans in place in case
the protest turned into a longer
occupation. In his report, the
commissioner concluded that the
commission’s terms of reference
authorized him to order the po-
lice department to provide more
information. In other words, the
commission should have assumed
a greater role in crisis manage-
ment and in the governance of
emergency measures.
How do we avoid another
failure?
In short, public players at all
levels completely failed to take
measure of the situation and react
quickly. They let the convoy pro-
testers settle in beyond the first
weekend, with the consequences
we now know. From a governance
point of view, we must remember
the absolute confusion in roles
and responsibilities, the lack of
accountability and the communi-
cation problems.
Who is responsible for what
when such a crisis occurs? And
what are the mechanisms to
foster co-operation? Commis-
sioner Rouleau’s report offers
suggestions for the future.
Better information gather-
ing, sharing and co-ordination
The commissioner suggests
that the federal government
work with other stakeholders to
develop or strengthen protocols
JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
for the sharing, collection and
dissemination of public safe-
ty information. This includes
clarifying who is responsible
for collecting, analyzing and
distributing information in the
event of a major event, and im-
proving the ability to assess the
reliability of information while
respecting the Canadian Char-
ter of Rights and Freedoms and
the protection of privacy.
Such protocols should also aim
to ensure compliance with legis-
lative mandates, better monitor
social media and open-access
information, and ensure that de-
tailed and reliable information
is shared between police forces.
The commissioner also propos-
es that stakeholders agree to
designate a national intelligence
co-ordinator for events whose
scale exceeds a single province
or territory. Finally, the commis-
sioner recommends that all gov-
ernments and their respective
police forces work together to
develop pan-Canadian standards
for dealing with major events of
national, inter-provincial or in-
ter-territorial dimensions.
Improve oversight and
governance of police services
Commissioner Rouleau also
offers some interesting avenues
for improving civilian oversight
and governance of police ser-
vices. He acknowledges that the
Ottawa Police Services Board
did not have the information it
needed to carry out its duties,
and that its police service did
not understand (or recognize)
the extent of the responsibilities
the board had to assume. This
confusion resulted in part from
an overly broad interpretation
of the prohibition on interfer-
ence by a commission in the day-
to-day activities of the police.
In this regard, the commis-
sioner recommends that all pro-
vincial police services boards
clarify their oversight and gov-
ernance role for major incidents.
At a minimum, policies should
explain what constitutes a major
incident, identify best practices
for policing within their juris-
diction, differentiate between
planned (normal police over-
sight) and unplanned events
(such as a crisis), define the scope
❱❱ PAGE 21 The “failure of
FRIDAY JUNE 2, 2023
Drone strikes hit Moscow and Kyiv – in the
growing world of drone warfare, anything
goes when it comes to international law
BY TARA SONENSHINE,
Tufts University
The Conversation
At least eight drone strikes
hit Moscow in the early morn-
ing of May 30, 2023, damaging
several buildings and injuring
civilians.
This follows Russia’s targeting
residential buildings in Ukraine
with a wave of drone attacks in
late May, killing civilians.
While Ukraine has said it is
not “directly” responsible for
the strikes on Moscow, Rus-
sia’s government has called the
strikes a “terrorist attack.”
For more than a year, daily
life in Ukraine has been marked
by aerial vehicles known as
drones littering the sky, creat-
ing unease and inflicting real
damage in the war with Russia.
Both Russia and Ukraine are
using drones in this war to re-
motely locate targets and drop
bombs, among other purposes.
Today, drones are used in
various other conflicts but are
also used to deliver packages,
track weather and entertain
drone hobbyists.
Military drones range from
small consumer quadcopters to
remotely piloted warplanes –
and all types are being used by
militaries around the world.
As a scholar of public diplo-
macy and foreign policy – and a
former United States undersec-
retary of state for public diplo-
macy and public affairs – I know
how important it is for people
to understand drones and their
proliferation, given the risks of
war, terrorism and accidental
drone clashes in the world today.
A buying spree
The U.S. is among more than
100 countries using drones in
times of conflict.
Terrorists have also been
World News
known to deploy drones be-
cause they are relatively low-
cost weapons with high degrees
of civilian damage.
Consumer drone shipments,
globally, topped 5 million units
in 2020 and are expected to
surpass 7 million by 2025.
Sales of drones globally were
up 57% from 2021 to 2022.
With the exponential rise in
drone purchases over the last
few years, there are few con-
straints for buyers, creating a
wild, wild west of uncontrolled
access and usage.
Each country is free to de-
cide when and where drones
fly, without answering to any
other country or internation-
al authority governing drones.
There is little on-the-ground
guidance on the rules of the sky.
Different purposes
Each country has a unique
interest in getting and using
drones.
China is increasingly using
sophisticated drones for covert
surveillance, especially in in-
ternational waters to patrol the
disputed islands in the South
China Sea. Its expanding drone
program has influenced other
countries like the U.S. to also
invest more in the technology.
Turkey’s military has a high-
ly sophisticated drone, the
Bayraktar TB2, which is ca-
pable of carrying laser-guided
bombs and small enough to fit
in a flatbed truck.
The United Arab Emirates
imports drones from China and
Turkey to deploy in Yemen and
Libya to monitor warlords in
case conflict breaks out.
And South Korea is consid-
ering starting a special drone
unit after it failed to respond
to a recent North Korean drone
incursion. When North Korea
deployed five drones toward its
southern neighbor in Decem-
ber 2022, South Korea had to
scramble its fighter jets to issue
warning shots.
No rules in the air
The countries with armed
drones are individually navigat-
ing their own rules instead of an
international agreed-upon set
of regulations.
International law prohibits
the use of armed force unless
the United Nations Security
Council authorizes an attack, or
in the case of self-defense.
But short of launching a full
war, drones can legally be de-
ployed for counterterrorism
operations, surveillance and
other non-self-defense needs,
creating a slippery slope to mil-
itary conflict.
Figuring out the national and
international rules of the sky
for drone usage is hard.
For 20 years, experts have
tried to create international
www.canadianinquirer.net
agreements on arms – and some
countries supported an infor-
mal 2016 U.N. agreement that
recommends countries docu-
ment the import and export of
unmanned aerial vehicles.
But these efforts never
evolved into serious, compre-
hensive standards and laws
that kept pace with technolo-
gy. There are several reasons
for that. In order protect their
national sovereignty, govern-
ments do not want to release
drone data. They also want to
avoid duplication of their tech-
nology and to maintain their
market share of the drone trade.
US and drones
The U.S. has wrestled with
how to balance drone warfare as
it became involved in overseas
operations in Iraq, Afghanistan,
Syria and other conflict zones.
The U.S. killed a top al-Qaida
leader with a drone strike in Af-
13
ghanistan in 2022.
But there have been other in-
stances of drone strikes that re-
sulted in unintended casualties
and damage.
In 2021, The New York Times
reported that a U.S. drone strike
on a vehicle thought to contain
an Islamic State bomb resulted
in the deaths of 10 children –
not three civilians, as the U.S.
said might have happened.
There is scant public opin-
ion research on how American
feel about the use of drones
overseas, which makes building
public support for their mili-
tary use difficult.
Drone dangers
Drone dangers are real.
Many drone experts, includ-
ing myself, believe it is unsafe
for each country’s military
to make its own decisions on
drones with no rules guiding
drone transfers, exports, im-
ports and usage – and no major
forum to discuss drones, as the
technology continues to evolve.
Multiple drones can commu-
nicate with each other remote-
ly, creating shared objectives
rather than an individual drone
path or pattern. Like a swarm of
bees, these drones form a dead-
ly and autonomous aerial army
ripe for accidents.
With the advent of artificial
intelligence and more sophis-
ticated unmanned aerial vehi-
cles, drones can change speed,
altitude and targeting in sec-
onds, making them even more
difficult to track and investi-
gate. Attacks can happen seem-
ingly out of the blue.
Drone detection is another
complication, especially on the
battlefield.
Ukrainian and Russian forces
each want to know exactly where
a drone originated. That can be
❱❱ PAGE 22 Drone strikes hit
14
COVID-19 clawbacks, spending caps and a
cut – what House Republicans got in return
for pushing the US to the brink of default
BY RAYMOND SCHEPPACH,
University of Virginia
The Conversation
House Republicans pushed
the U.S. to the edge of a fiscal
crisis because they wanted deep
cuts in government spending.
So, based on the tentative
deal announced on May 27,
2023, how did they do?
In broad strokes, the deal
would suspend the debt limit
until January 2025, freeze non-
defense discretionary funding
at current levels and make a few
additional cuts and policy chang-
es designed to appeal to enough
Republicans and Democrats to
get it through Congress. The deal
also included incentives to moti-
vate lawmakers to pass a budget
on time in four months.
That provision and the 2025
expiration date should mean
the U.S. should avoid a self-in-
flicted fiscal crisis – including
an unprecedented default – un-
til at least after the next presi-
dential election.
No one got everything they
wanted. President Joe Biden
didn’t get the clean debt ceil-
ing increase he had insisted on
for months. Republicans didn’t
get most of what they sought
in a bill they passed in April –
though they did get some of it.
As a professor of public pol-
icy and former deputy director
at the Congressional Budget
Office, I believe the deal, which
still needs to pass both houses
of Congress by June 5 to avoid
a default, does hardly anything
to address America’s long-term
debt problem, which to me
shows why a debt ceiling stand-
off is not the right way to solve it.
Let’s take a closer look at
what I would consider the five
main components of the deal to
see what they’ll accomplish.
1. Expanded work require-
ments for SNAP
The Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program has been a
Republican target for a while.
Under current law, an in-
dividual must work or be in
training for 80 hours per month
World News
if they receive SNAP food ben-
efits in three or more out of 36
months, is able-bodied, does
not live with dependent chil-
dren and is under 50 years old.
This entitlement program is
100% funded by the federal gov-
ernment but is administered by
states, which have the ability
to waive the requirements in
some low unemployment areas.
The new deal would expand
the definition to people up to
age 54 and limit some of the
state waiver authority. It would
exclude veterans and homeless
people from the tougher work
requirements and expire in 2030.
The Congressional Budget
Office had estimated that a sim-
ilar provision in the House bill
– based on extending the age
requirement to 55 – would kick
275,000 people off the SNAP
roles and save US$11 billion
over a decade.
Since states would have to ex-
pand their work reporting sys-
tems, their increased costs would
offset some of the federal savings.
The bill also contains some
additional work requirements
for welfare recipients for the
temporary assistance for needy
families program, but the
changes are relatively minor.
2. Cap on nondefense dis-
cretionary spending
The main way the agreement
would restrict federal spending
is through the temporary cap
on nondefense discretionary
spending.
Spending on everything oth-
er than defense, entitlements
like Social Security and veter-
ans benefits, would stay flat in
next year’s budget relative to
the 2023 amount and increase
1% the following year, with no
limits after that.
But, ultimately, the caps ap-
ply to just a small share of to-
tal government spending – less
than 13%. So not only is it a very
minor reduction in spending, it
involves a small fraction of the
federal budget.
In their House bill, Republi-
cans had sought a larger cut in
discretionary spending.
Entitlement programs would
be unaffected by the deal, while
defense spending would grow
by 3.3% next year, as Biden re-
quested in his budget.
One item that would see actu-
al cuts would be the $80 billion
that had previously been allocat-
ed to beef up IRS enforcement of
tax cheats. The deal would trim
that by about $20 billion, and
the savings would be used to off-
set cuts to other areas of discre-
tionary spending.
Republicans had wanted to
slash this by $71 billion – which,
ironically, would have actually
resulted in a larger budget defi-
cit because much of that money
was going to be used to beef up
enforcement to collect more
revenue from people who didn’t
pay all the taxes they owed.
3. Streamlining energy leas-
ing and permitting
Both Republicans and Demo-
crats have interest in expediting
the environmental review pro-
cess for new energy leases, but
they have very different priorities.
Republicans are more inter-
ested in gas pipelines and fossil
fuel projects, while Democrats
are more interested in wind,
solar and other alternative en-
ergy installations. The problem
for both is that the approval of
environmental and technical
plans is very slow and often in-
volves all three levels of govern-
www.canadianinquirer.net
ment. Also, at the federal level
decisions often involve federal
agencies with overlapping ju-
risdictions.
The new deal would make
some minor changes to the en-
vironmental review process to
make it go faster – though it’s
less than what Republicans ini-
tially wanted.
4. COVID-19 funding clawback
White House and House Re-
publican negotiators agreed to
claw back as much as $30 bil-
lion in unspent funds from six
COVID-19 programs passed by
Congress. The estimate is based
on the broadly similar House bill.
Some of these funds were
allocated to various agencies,
while others have already been
distributed to states and even
to local governments. The actu-
al amount recovered will likely
be less than estimated because
funds continue to be spent and
will take a while to recover.
5. No government shutdown
Negotiators included a pro-
vision that would ensure there
isn’t another fiscal crisis when
Congress must pass 12 appro-
priations bills by October to
keep the government funded
into the next fiscal year. I think
this is the most important com-
ponent of the deal.
It automatically funds ev-
erything at 99% of the previous
JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
year’s level if Congress fails to
pass the bills in time. Besides
eliminating the possibility of a
shutdown over the budget, as the
U.S. has experienced in the past,
the 1% decrease in funding pro-
vides a strong incentive for Re-
publicans and Democrats to ne-
gotiate a compromise that keeps
their priorities fully funded.
The bottom line
The deal would limit some
spending in the short run but
does very little to tackle Amer-
ica’s long-term debt problem,
which I believe urgently needs
to be addressed.
The U.S. national debt has ex-
ploded, most recently as a result
of trillions of dollars in spend-
ing related to the COVID-19
pandemic. At a little under $32
trillion, it’s over 120% of gross
domestic product, which is con-
sidered unsustainably high and
is costing well over half a trillion
dollars in annual interest pay-
ments. At some point, investors
may begin to see U.S. govern-
ment bonds as a risky invest-
ment and stop buying, which
would lead to higher borrowing
costs and could bring down the
entire U.S. financial system.
But using the debt ceiling as a
negotiating tactic is unlikely to
achieve the kinds of tough choices
needed to meaningfully slow the
growing mountain of U.S. debt.
About 60% of total govern-
ment spending goes to fund
just a few items, such as Social
Security, Medicare and nation-
al defense, that are very hard,
politically, to cut. And political
realities make it nearly impos-
sible to increase taxes.
But a budgeting process
known as reconciliation was
created specifically for this pur-
pose because it allows Congress
to cut any mandatory spending
and entitlement program and
increase taxes in one bill. It also
can’t be filibustered in the Sen-
ate – it just needs a majority.
To truly address the debt
problem, what is needed, in my
view, is a balanced bipartisan
proposal that includes cuts to
❱❱ PAGE 17 COVID-19 clawbacks
FRIDAY JUNE 2, 2023 World News 15

Why learning to smile like Boris Johnson

should be top of Keir Starmer and
Rishi Sunak’s to-do lists
BY CARL SENIOR, Aston
University, ERIK P. BUCY,
Texas Tech University, NICK
LEE, University of Warwick
The Conversation
Personality is not everything
in politics, but it can go a long
way. The UK’s next general
election, set to take place in
2024, is already shaping up to
be a “battle of the dull”.
The prime minister, Rishi Su-
nak, may not have presided over
quite the same level of chaos as
Boris Johnson but nor does he
have the personality of the man
who led the Conservatives to
election victory in 2019. Mean-
while, the Labour party’s leader,
Sir Keir Starmer, is also widely
described as being boring.
British voters will likely face
a choice between leaders who
lack charisma or are seen as
managerial – between court-
room (Starmer) and boardroom
(Sunak). Our recent research
suggests that party leaders are
well served by paying attention
to their personal appeal as the
election approaches – particu-
larly the way they smile.
Carried out in the week lead-
ing up to the December 2019
general election, our experi-
mental study analysed emotion-
al responses to the three major
political leaders at the time: Bo-
ris Johnson, then Labour lead-
er Jeremy Corbyn and Liberal
Democrat leader Jo Swinson.
A total of 546 potential voters
took part in the study. All could
be considered partisan, mean-
ing they had a declared political
preference.
For the study, we asked par-
ticipants to watch campaign
footage of the three leaders then
report the extent to which they
felt happiness, affinity, anger or
distress in response to different
ways that each politician smiled.
Importantly, not all smiles are
equal. Some convey “affiliation”,
or a desire for social interac-
tion, while others convey what
is termed “reward” and indicate
merely that the person smiling
is feeling happiness.
Affiliative smiles engage the
main muscles typically used for
smiling, such as the zygomati-
cus major, which pulls the cor-
ners of the mouth upward. Re-
ward smiles engage this muscle
too, but also involve the orbi-
cularis oculi, which produces
wrinkles around the eyes. This
fosters an overall impression
of softness, which is sometimes
associated with empathy. The
combination of the masseter,
a muscle involved in chewing,
and the depressor labii inferior- the corner unlike the appeal that Ronald
is, which exposes the teeth, may These findings highlight the Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack
also result in a slight jaw drop. importance of considering the Obama had for certain cross-
Johnson’s grin role of emotional responses in over voters in the US. Recogni-
Participant emotions were politics. Johnson’s personal ap- tion of the affective dynamics
measured in response to all three peal as a politician clearly tran- between leaders and followers
leaders as they displayed both scended his party’s policies. could be decisive in the context
affiliative and reward smiles. Ul- Whatever else voters might of 2024, when votes feel excep-
timately, we wanted to know if think of him, this appeal is pre- tionally up for grabs.
the facial expressions of political cisely what Starmer and Sunak The upside for the likely
leaders had any impact on politi- are striving for. “managerial” leaders of next
cal attitudes and decisions. Indeed, our study showed year’s election is that charis-
Our results showed that only that Johnson appealed emo- ma is not innate but can actu-
one type of smile from one lead- tionally to people who weren’t
er – the affiliative smile of Boris planning to vote for him, not ❱❱ PAGE 17 Why learning to
Johnson – had any significant
influence. His smile drove the
highest degree of positive affect
across the partisan divides. In
other words it didn’t matter if
you intended to vote for John-
son, Corbyn or Swinson, if you
saw Johnson’s affiliative smile,
you felt good. The smiles of
Corbyn and Swinson failed to
generate a significant shift in
participant emotion – as did
Johnson’s reward smile.
A smile alone can’t win
an election but Johnson’s
strengths are precisely Sunak
and Starmer’s weaknesses. Be-
yond party policies, the person-
al appeal of Johnson to enough
voters saw him take the Conser-
vatives from a minority govern-
ment to a huge majority.
Smile, 2024 is just around (BORIS JOHNSON/FACEBOOK)

WHO report warns of accelerating food inse-

curity worldwide
WAM
Philippine News Agency
NEW YORK – The World
Health Organization (WHO)
new report, “Grow food, not to-
bacco”, has recalled that around
349 million people are facing
acute food insecurity, many of
them in some 30 countries on
the African continent, where to-
bacco cultivation has increased
by 15 percent in the last decade.
Ahead of World No Tobacco
Day on May 31, WHO deplored
that 3.2 million hectares of fer-
tile land across 124 countries
are being used to grow deadly
tobacco -- even in places where
people are starving.
With hunger spreading
worldwide and tobacco respon-
sible for eight million deaths
each year, countries should
stop subsidizing tobacco crops
and help farmers grow food.
According to WHO, nine of
the 10 largest tobacco cultiva-
tors are low and middle-income
countries. Tobacco farming
compounds these countries’
food security challenges by tak-
ing up arable land. The envi-
ronment and the communities
which rely on it also suffer, as the
crop’s expansion drives defor-
estation, contamination of wa-
ter sources and soil degradation.
The report also exposes the
tobacco industry for trapping
farmers in a vicious cycle of de-
www.canadianinquirer.net
pendence and exaggerating the
economic benefits of tobacco as
a cash crop.
Dr. Rüdiger Krech, WHO Di-
rector for Health Promotion,
said the crop contributes less
than 1 percent of gross domes-
tic product (GDP) in most to-
bacco-growing countries and
that the profit go to the world’s
major cigarette-makers.
WHO, along with the UN’s Food
and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) and the World Food Pro-
gram (WFP), have joined forces
around the Tobacco Free Farms
initiative to help thousands of
farmers in countries like Kenya
and Zambia to grow sustainable
food crops instead of tobacco.
The program provides farm-
ers with microcredit lending to
pay off their debts with tobac-
co companies, knowledge and
training to grow alternative
crops, and a market for their
harvest, thanks to WFP’s local
procurement initiatives. ■
16
What Erdoğan’s reelection means for Turkey’s
political system, economy and foreign policy
BY AHMET T. KURU, San
Diego State University
The Conversation
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has
been reelected as president, en-
suring that his term as leader of
Turkey will extend to a quarter
century.
The electorate returned Er-
doğan to power in a runoff vote
on May 28, 2023, with 52% of
votes. But with 48% of voters
siding with opposition leader
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Erdoğan
will have to govern a divided na-
tion in its centennial year.
As a professor of political
science, I have analyzed Turk-
ish politics for many years. The
election provided a stark choice
for Turkey’s voters: To end or
extend Erdogan’s two-decade-
long creep toward authoritar-
ian-style governance. The de-
cision to opt for the latter will
dictate the country’s future in
key ways, both domestically
and in terms of its relationships
with Western countries.
What’s next for Turkey’s
political system?
Turkey had its first demo-
cratic election in May 1950.
Since then it has had a multi-
party competitive system, al-
beit one that has been sporad-
ically interrupted by several
military coups.
In the last 10 years, Erdoğan
has taken Turkey down a more
autocratic, one-man-rule style
of governance. This has includ-
ed restrictions on freedom of
speech, freedom of the press
and free assembly.
There is a little reason to be-
lieve that Erdoğan, enboldened
Japan aims to halve heatstroke deaths by 2030
XINHUA
Philippine News Agency
TOKYO – The Japanese gov-
ernment adopted a five-year
action plan on Tuesday aimed
at halving the number of deaths
World News
by a fresh mandate, will reverse
this trajectory.
Erdoğan won the election
without making any promises
about restoring or expanding
rights and freedoms. Rather, his
campaign signaled an intention
to continue Turkey’s path toward
being a conservative, religious
state – a far cry from the vision
of a modern, secular nation of
founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
In the run-up to the election,
Erdoğan presented himself as
the leader of religious conser-
vatives – reciting the Quran in
Hagia Sophia and addressing
the people in another mosque
following the Friday prayer. He
also presented himself as a mil-
itarist leader, using battleships,
drones and other weapons as
campaign instruments and up-
loading a new Twitter profile
photo with an air force pilot
jacket. This posturing combined
with his accusations that the op-
position was collaborating with
the PKK – a Kurdish separatist
organization designated as a ter-
rorist organization by Turkey –
suggests that Erdoğan continues
to promote Turkish nationalism
and militarism.
The runoff victory for Er-
doğan comes just two weeks
after his Justice and Devel-
opment Party and coalition
partners won a parliamentary
majority. It means that the op-
position will have no executive
or legislative power to restrict
Erdoğan’s agenda.
Future relations with the
U.S. and the West
Another important and consis-
tent characteristic of Erdoğan’s
presidential campaign was his crit-
icism of the West in general and
from heatstroke by 2030 from
an annual average of 1,295 over
the past five years.
The action plan, adopted at a
cabinet meeting, was in line with
a law revised in April to step up
measures to fight heatstroke.
Under the plan, the govern-
(RECEP TAYYIP ERDOĞAN/FACEBOOK)
the United States in particular.
Erdoğan has accused the U.S.
of a variety of perceived slights
and Washington’s stance on
issues affecting Turkey. In the
past year, the Turkish leader
has criticized over Washing-
ton’s support of the Syrian af-
filiate of the Kurdish PKK and
protested the deployment of
U.S. armored vehicles on two
Greek Islands. Meanwhile, he
has pointedly distanced himself
from NATO allies on the issue
of Russian sanctions, and in-
stead talked up Turkey’s “spe-
cial relationship” with Russia.
In mid-April, Erdoğan framed
the election as a chance for voters
to “send a message to the West”
which, he claimed, was supporting
the opposition candidate. “This
country does not look at what the
West says, neither when fighting
terrorism nor in determining its
economic policies,” he said.
Some of this was campaign
rhetoric. And Erdoğan may
ment will call on elderly people
to use air conditioners when
necessary and take enough wa-
ter and salt between April and
September and consider ways
to evacuate the elderly and peo-
ple with disabilities during ex-
treme heat waves.
www.canadianinquirer.net
make some attempts to heal
rifts with Western countries,
such as approving Sweden’s
NATO membership bid – some-
thing he has to date refused to
do over what Turkey sees as the
Nordic country’s harboring of
Kurdish terrorists.
But even such a concession
would not amount to a trans-
formation of Erdoğan’s deep-
ly critical attitude to Western
countries overall.
Indeed, the only factor that
may force Erdoğan to return
Turkey to a pro-Western posi-
tion is Turkey’s ongoing eco-
nomic crisis – which might ne-
cessitate the support of wealthy
Western states and institutions.
What’s next for Turkey’s
shaky economy?
Since 2018, the Turkish econ-
omy has shown symptoms of a
crisis. Turkey’s currency, the
lira, has fallen in value precipi-
tously. In March, it fell to a new
low of 19 to the dollar. More-
People aged 65 and older ac-
counted for more than 80 per-
cent of the deaths from heat-
stroke in the past five years.
Some 90 percent of those who
died indoors were found not
to have used, or had air condi-
tioners.
JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
over, in 2022, the annual infla-
tion rate surpassed 80%.
In order to win the elections,
Erdoğan pursued several poli-
cies that appealed to voters but
may further stress the economy
and bleed national reserves.
They include dropping the re-
tirement age and giving a 45%
pay raise to public workers.
Meanwhile, economic crisis
and authoritarian policies have
resulted in a “brain drain” with
many educated young people
moving to Western European
countries.
If the election result leads to
a further exodus of skilled, edu-
cated workers, then it will only
weaken Turkey’s capability of
confronting its economic cri-
sis. Such thinking could nudge
Erdoğan towards a rethink over
policies that alienate younger,
secular Turks.
It could also force Erdoğan to
reevaluate his foreign policy. At
present, the Turkish leader has
looked to Qatar, Saudi Arabia
and Russia for financial sup-
port. If this appears to be insuf-
ficient, Erdoğan may be forced
to seek stronger relations with
the United States to facilitate
financial aid from the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund and oth-
er international organizations.
Erdoğan won the election
without making any promises
of change regarding domes-
tic or foreign policy. But if the
economic crisis he faces fails
to abate, change may be forced
upon him. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
The government will also sup-
port the installation of air condi-
tioners at school classrooms and
gyms, and promote measures to
prevent children from being left
in school buses. ■
FRIDAY JUNE 2, 2023 17

What Danielle Smith’s.. Lawyer says de Lima..

❰❰ 11 health care and K-12
education brought in by
her predecessor Jason
Kenney, increased payments to
disabled Albertans, offered up a
generous set of payments to fam-
ilies and seniors and offered sav-
ings on gasoline and energy costs.
On the first day of the cam-
paign, Smith announced her key
platform plank: a reduction in
Alberta’s already low personal in-
come tax rate. This was followed
by a commitment to pass legisla-
tion requiring the Alberta govern-
ment to hold a referendum before
introducing any tax increase.
Smith was able to make these
promises because of the resource
royalties flowing in to the provin-
cial treasury. Should the price of
oil decline, the level of spending
and tax cuts she has promised will
force the province into a deficit.
With her election win built
on the foundation of oil and gas,
Smith has every reason to inter-
pret her victory as a mandate to
vigorously protect that industry
and the extraordinary wealth it
produces for Albertans.
It’s expected her government
will link arms with Saskatche-
wan’s and try to stir up feder-
al-provincial relations. Smith’s
Alberta Sovereignty Act — like
Saskatchewan’s Saskatchewan
First Act — is intended to signal
a new constitutional toughness
aimed at pushing the federal
government back into its lane.
These two provinces efforts to
assert their jurisdiction over natu-
ral resource development means
the federal government cannot act
to reduce greenhouse gas emis-
sions. This sets the stage for conflict
between Alberta and Saskatche-
wan and Ottawa, at least as long as
the federal Liberals are in power.
Conflict with Ottawa in de-
fence of oil and gas offers Smith
a way to reconcile the political
challenges she faces. To win the
election, she had to move toward
the political centre and spend
public money liberally. In office,
she is likely to find herself under
considerable pressure from the
populists who helped her launch
her comeback.
A shared resentment for
Ottawa
The one stance that reconciles
these competing pressures is
conflict with the federal govern-
ment in support of oil and gas.
This reassures those who want
to ensure that Alberta remains
an affluent, low-tax jurisdiction.
It also reassures populists who
share her resentment of Ottawa.
Are there lessons for Cana-
dian conservatives in Smith’s
win? It may offer reassurance
that centrist voters are willing
to look past a leader’s associa-
tion with the so-called Freedom
Convoy if the party offers a good
enough economic proposition.
But Alberta may be the only
Canadian jurisdiction where
this kind of offer can be made,
and only as long as its signature
industry remains viable.
Smith’s remarkable comeback
promises to shake up Canadian
politics. Her government is likely
to engage in conflict in Ottawa. If
these conflicts are not resolved in
a way that favours Alberta, pro-
posals to fortify the province by
establishing its own police force,
pension plan and revenue collec-
tion agency are not far behind.
Danielle Smith has long been
a prominent figure in Alber-
ta political circles. With her
election win, she will become a
prominent — and controversial
— national figure. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
❰❰ 3 possible conviction.
Without his testimony,
the crucial link to estab-
lish conspiracy is shrouded with
reasonable doubt,” the court said.
The prosecution claimed
proceeds from the sale of illegal
drugs were delivered to de Lima
Why learning to..
❰❰ 15 ally be taught. Sunak
and Starmer can still
leverage the pow-
er of emotional responses by
paying attention to their facial
behaviour and ensuring they
display the right type of smile
in the right context. This may
help them connect with voters.
COVID-19 clawbacks..
❰❰ 14 all programs, as well
as some significant
tax increases. Political
brinkmanship won’t get Ameri-
ca there.
For all the debt ceiling dra-
ma and the risks of profound
economic damage and global
tensions that resulted from it,
Republicans achieved only a two-
in two tranches of PHP5 million
on Nov. 24 and Dec. 15, 2012.
Ragos and intelligence agent
Jovencio Ablen were initially
presented as witnesses but the
judge noted that only the former
claimed knowledge of the sup-
posed source of the money. ■
We’ve seen that even small ges-
tures and behaviours can have a
significant impact on political
attitudes – and, with a tight race
ahead, every gesture counts. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
year cap on a small fraction of the
total budget. Reconciliation –
and lawmakers willing to govern
and compromise – is a far superi-
or way to attain a comprehensive
deficit-reduction plan. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.

The 2023 Mustang. Drive Like Everyone is Watching.

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www.canadianinquirer.net
18
Entertainment
Tina Turner: an immense talent with
a voice and back catalogue that unites
disparate music lovers
BY FREYA JARMAN,
University of Liverpool
The Conversation
On a few rare occasions (of-
ten at the end of a night), I’ve
confided to my friends that Tina
Turner was one of my
biggest celebrity crush-
es. The revelation has
usually been met with
some surprise, and not
unreasonably. Born in
1939, Tina was older
than my mother and
nearly 40 years older
than me.
But to me, she was
a complete goddess
from the moment I
first encountered her.
I vividly recall a white
button-down shirt and
figure-hugging blue
jeans (probably the
Foreign Affair tour of
1990) and an awaken-
ing of teenage desire.
Turner has died aged
83. Reflecting now on
her 50-year-long career, I can
see the threads that made her
the perfect icon for the young
queer feminist I was in the ear-
ly 90s. She was a strong and re-
silient woman who escaped the
control of abusive men and went
on to forge a stronger solo career
afterwards.
But her music also pushed
boundaries of genre in ways
that start to defy categories of
gender, race and age, thereby
changing the way female per-
formers could be thought of.
In 1967, Turner was both the
first Black artist and woman to
appear on the cover of Rolling
Stone. She remains the only
Black woman to have been in-
ducted twice into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame. In 2013, she
became the oldest person (at 73)
to appear on the cover of Vogue.
Vocally, Turner was raised in
the church, Spring Hill Baptist
Church in Nutbush, specifical-
ly. However, her voice was dif-
ferent from the others she came
up alongside.
Unlike Dionne Warwick,
Aretha Franklin or Diana Ross,
... her music also
pushed boundaries of
genre in ways that start
to defy categories of
gender, race and age,
thereby changing the
way female performers
could be thought of.
Turner’s voice had a grit and a
rasp, qualities that always added
an unexpected edge to her early
work. It was also a sound that
enabled her to move beyond
soul and blues in her solo career.
A genre-fluid singer
Turner’s first solo album (in
1974) was country, replete with
steel guitars and talk of the
bayou. The very next year, she
performed the role of the Acid
Queen in film of The Who’s psy-
chedelic operetta fantasy, Tom-
my. The role gave its name to an
album featuring several notable
rock covers by Turner, such as
Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love.
Famously, she escaped from
an abusive relationship with
her singing partner Ike Turner,
securing the rights to her stage
name to her comparative finan-
cial detriment in their divorce
JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
settlement in 1978. Ike exerted er developed a remarkable ca- the only woman, and perhaps
his dominance in plain sight, pacity to push through boundar- uniquely as a Black woman – on
slipping verbal threats of vio- ies and exist between categories. compilations targeted at a pre-
lence into a live performance of Along the way, she also changed dominantly male audience.
I’ve Been Loving You Too Long how a woman in popular music The world of “dad rock” and
at a concert in Ghana (1971). was positioned for consumption. “driving anthems” is a strong-
From the early 1980s, Turn- This magic made her fans in all hold of largely white, male
er made what has repeatedly sorts of music listeners. baby boomers. Think Robert
been described as one A musical uniter Palmer, ZZ Top, The Jam and
of the most remarkable Turner’s musical agility al- Whitesnake. There alongside
career comebacks of lowed her to inhabit contradic- them is Turner with songs like
the century. The chart tory musical spaces simultane- The Best, We Don’t Need Anoth-
success of her cover of ously. For instance, there is the er Hero and Nutbush City Limits.
Al Green’s Let’s Stay Tina Turner who makes regular Tina Turner’s capacity to
Together (1983) came appearances on the setlists of transcend these borders of
from left of field and the DJs at retro club nights, inspir- genre, and with them, borders
ensuing album, Private ing inebriated patrons to shake of race, age, and gender, is what
Dancer (1984) went their tail feathers in unison. made her the absolute legend
platinum five times. There is an exuberance here that she was. To me, it will also
Private Dancer that crosses times and identities always represent a hybridity
represented anoth- to bring a crowd together in the that calls to my identity as a
er musical turn, this ritual of “rolling on the river”. It’s queer feminist. ■
time towards the elec- a song that also invites all shades
tro-synth pop world of drag performance to honour it. This article is republished
inhabited by Heaven 17, Then there is the Tina Turn- from The Conversation under a
whose Rupert Hine and er who appears – frequently as Creative Commons license.
Martyn Ware produced
several of the songs.
The title song of the
album exemplifies the
narrative of Tina as a
feminist powerhouse. Even 40
years on, the idea of a woman in
her mid-40s singing a pop song
about sex work is somewhat
surprising.
It’s not just an allusion to sex
work (like, for instance, Blond-
ie’s Call Me). And it’s far from
the many songs about female
sex workers written and per-
formed by men (take Roxanne
by The Police or Killer Queen
by Queen for instance).
Private Dancer is an explicit
and unambiguous declaration
of female desire and power in
the first person. If anyone were
in any doubt that Beyoncé owes
a great deal to Turner’s trail-
blazing, her video for Partition
is surely evidence, being a direct
descendant of Private Dancer
with its cage-dancing sex show.
Over her 14 solo albums, Turn- Tina Turner at Madame Tussaud’s New York (SCARLET SAPPHO/FLICKR, CC BY-SA 2.0)
www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY JUNE 2, 2023
Gripping Trailer for ‘Bloodhounds’
Promises Nail-Biting Fight Scenes
and a Friendship Like No Other
NETFLIX
When good goes head-to-
head with evil, everyone loves
an epic showdown.
The trailer for upcoming ac-
tion series Bloodhounds offers
a peek into the exhilarating
combat that unfolds when two
rookie boxers find themselves
throwing punches outside the
ring in a fight for justice.
After meeting at the finals of a
boxing championship, up-and-
coming boxer Gun-woo (Woo
Do-hwan) and fellow competi-
tor Woo-jin (Lee Sang-yi) forge
a friendship that is cemented by
their shared experience in the
Celebrating Central Park With Spotify
and KIDZ BOP
SPOTIFY
New York City residents and
visitors alike have made count-
less memories in each of Central
Park’s 21 playgrounds. While
climbing the Egypt-themed jun-
gle gym near the Met or swing-
ing to the sound of hooting mon-
keys near the zoo, anyone can
delight in the beauty and magic
of the park, and kids can do what
they do best: play.
Keeping the playgrounds clean
and safe is an important task,
one that the Central Park Con-
servancy’s Playground Partners
takes on with pride. Yesterday,
the Playground Partners host-
ed their Annual Family Party at
Heckscher Playground, the larg-
est in the park. Kids and families
flocked to games, sports, a magic
show, arts and crafts, and much
more. And since you can’t have a
party without great music, Spoti-
fy was in attendance as the Fam-
ily Party Main Stage Sponsor to
entertain the next generation of
listeners and their families.
grueling Marine Corps.
Their newfound brotherhood
is taken up a notch when schem-
ing loan sharks from Smile Cap-
ital trick Gun-woo’s mother into
debt and trash her café, spurring
Woo-jin to help avenge her.
With the help of President
Choi (Huh Joon-ho), a retired
legend in the moneylending in-
dustry, Gun-woo and Woo-jin
take their boxing chops into the
real world to take down Smile
Capital’s cruel head honcho, Kim
Myeong-gil (Park Sung-woong),
and his ruthless runners.
While the pair of “brothers”’
may only be rookie boxers, the
grit and determination these
underdogs honed inside the
The family-friendly musical
performances included a DJ set
from 14-year-old Annie Red, the
award-winning resident DJ for
the Brooklyn Nets. PAW Patrol’s
Skye and Rubble were on a roll
leading the “Pup Pup Boogie” and
a PAWsome game of freeze dance.
KIDZ BOP, the most popu-
lar artist on Spotify for families,
headlined. Since 2002, KIDZ
BOP has recorded kid-friendly
versions of today’s biggest pop
music hits sung by kids, for kids.
“KIDZ BOP has been an estab-
lished brand that families love for
years—before Spotify even exist-
ed!” noted Dustee Jenkins, Head
of Public Affairs at Spotify. “Even
putting on this event, many of
our employees who are twenty-
and thirtysomething have been
so excited about partnering with
them because it’s the music they
grew up on. Today, KIDZ BOP is
the most popular music on Spoti-
fy for families.”
Annual Family Party Co-
Chairs Sarah Johnson, Dust-
ee Jenkins, Paige Betz, Sugie
Hong Bruttomesso, and Sayuri
fight ring could prove to be the
game-changer in their bloody bat-
tle. Just like bloodhounds, once
they bite down, they never let go.
Premiering on June 9, the
eight episodes of Bloodhounds
promises to deliver a series of
thrilling fight scenes that will
keep audiences on the edge of
their seats. But more than just a
nail-biting showdown between
good and evil, it is a story of two
loyal friends—and the lengths
they would go to protect those
they love.
Series Information
Title: Bloodhounds
Director and Screenwriter:
Jason Kim
Cast: Woo Do-hwan, Lee
Ganepola-Kaczynski
“I think KIDZ BOP is such
a fantastic example of a group
embracing streaming to meet
their audiences where they
are,” said Dustee. “But I also
see it as a reflection of Spotify’s
ability to cater to a wide-rang-
ing audience and be a platform
that they can grow up on. Mu-
sic is such a powerful means
of connection, especially for
young families, where we’ve
seen Spotify become a natural
fixture in car rides and birthday
parties, but also in education
and generational connection.”
The KIDZ BOP Kids Live
Tour is the first concert expe-
rience for many. The group’s
most-streamed song on Spoti-
fy is “Shake It Off,” followed by
“Uptown Funk.” Another pop-
ular track is “Dance Monkey,”
which the group performed live
along with “Never Stop,” “About
That Time,” “Good 4 U,” “Shut
Up and Dance,” “Break My
Soul,” and “Made You Look.”
The KIDZ BOP kids are per-
formers—but they also know
www.canadianinquirer.net
Entertainment
(NETFLIX)
Sang-yi, Huh Joon-ho, Park
Sung-woong etc.
Production: Studio N, SEE
the importance of getting out-
side to play. For the Record
asked Tyler, Jackson, Kiya, and
Shila about their own favorite
parts of the playground, and of
course, performing.
What’s your favorite part
of the playground?
Tyler: Monkey bars because I
want to see how many times I can
get to the end and back again.
Jackson: My favorite part
about the playground is the
swings. Whenever I go on them
I feel so free!
Kiya: My favorite part is the
swings because I feel like I’m
flying!
Shila: My favorite part of the
playground is the monkey bars.
I feel strong when I’m on them!
Why is it important for
kids to be able to go outside
and play?
Tyler: I think it’s important
because nowadays everyone is
spending so much time on their
cell phones. It’s nice to go out-
side, get some fresh air, and en-
joy the day with friends.
Jackson: It’s important to go
19
AT Film, Seven O six
Distributed by: Netflix
Release Date: June 9, 2023 ■
outside and play because your
body needs exercise to stay
healthy. Playing outside is my
favorite way to exercise!
Kiya: It’s important for kids
to be outside because it’s a
healthy way to get exercise and
be with their friends.
Shila: Going outside and play-
ing is one of my favorite activi-
ties. I love a good playground! It
keeps kids active and healthy.
What’s your favorite KIDZ
BOP song?
Tyler: “About That Time”
because it’s very fun to perform
and I can dance with the other
KIDZ BOP Kids.
Jackson: My favorite KIDZ
BOP song is “As It Was” because
Harry Styles is one of my favor-
ite artists.
Kiya: I love “Dance Monkey”
because the music video is so
awesome!
Shila: My favorite KIDZ BOP
song is “KIDZ BOP Never Stop.”
It is a super-fun song with a
great vibe.
❱❱ PAGE 28 Celebrating Central Park
20
‘It’s actually a human person, undergoing
real emotions’: how podcasts can impact
attitudes around mental health
BY ELISE CARROTTE, The
University of Melbourne, LISA
PHILLIPS, The University of
Melbourne
The Conversation
Millions of people listen to
podcasts each year. Podcast
content is diverse, with popu-
lar genres including true crime,
comedy, and society and culture.
In our research, we’re specifi-
cally interested in podcasts that
talk about mental health.
People listen to mental
health-themed podcasts for
many reasons: to understand
mental health issues better, to
learn self-help strategies to sup-
port their mental health, and for
inspiration or motivation.
Podcasts can also bring at-
tention to issues faced by mar-
ginalised communities.
People living with mental
health issues regularly face stig-
ma and discrimination, such as
being unfairly treated in work-
places and healthcare settings.
Podcasts have the potential
to raise awareness about unfair
treatment and challenge myths.
There are certain features of
podcasts which can potentially
impact listeners’ knowledge and
attitudes around mental health.
In our newly published re-
search, we have explored how
podcasts about mental health
can be designed in a way that
reduces stigma and discrimina-
tion in the community.
Powerful storytelling
Podcasts can be “edutain-
ment”: a great way to draw listen-
ers’ attention to important topics
and explore complex issues.
Conversational language, expert
interviews, compellingly crafted
stories and clever use of sound and
music can help make these topics
dynamic and interesting.
Podcast listening is intimate.
Lifestyle
People often listen to podcasts
alone via headphones, mak-
ing the experience immersive.
Many podcast listeners feel
very connected to podcast hosts
and guests. They also connect
with other listeners through
online communities.
Podcasters can use these fea-
tures to connect with listeners
around complex topics like men-
tal health. As a result, listeners
may absorb and trust messages
received through the podcast.
Researchers argue engaging
with personal stories can help
people experience empathy –
like they are stepping into the
shoes of someone else. They
can be taken on an emotional
journey, which can help them
see things differently.
TV host and media person-
ality Osher Günsberg speaks
candidly with Todd Sampson
about mental illness on Güns-
berg’s podcast Better Than
Yesterday. Across a two-part
episode Günsberg dives into his
experiences with alcohol use,
intense anxiety, psychosis and
post-traumatic stress.
The episodes challenge listen-
ers’ perceptions about what it
means to be unwell, demonstrat-
ing how a person can seem to be
thriving on the outside, while
struggling on the inside. Güns-
berg also talks openly about how
stigma prevented him from ac-
cessing therapy and medication
when he first needed it.
It’s an emotional episode.
Both Günsberg and Sampson
shed tears by the end – and some
listeners probably did, too.
Voices that matter
Contact with people living
with mental health issues is an
effective way to reduce stigma.
This contact does not have to be
face-to-face to be effective.
Many popular podcasts cen-
tre around hearing directly from
people with lived experience. In
the podcast Mental Illness Hap-
py Hour, host Paul Gilmartin
explores mental illness, trau-
ma, and addiction through real
stories – both his own, and his
guests’ experiences.
Some podcasters also share
lived experience on podcasts
which are not specific to mental
health.
Author and activist Aubrey
Gordon regularly speaks about
her experience with eating dis-
orders while co-hosting the
podcast Maintenance Phase,
which debunks health fads and
wellness scams. Her personal
disclosures make the episodes
even more engaging, and il-
lustrate the real-life impact of
these fads and scams.
Personal stories
As part of our research, we
have been talking with people
who have lived experience of
complex mental health issues,
media professionals, healthcare
professionals and workplace
mental health champions.
We looked at the features of
podcasts they felt could effec-
tively combat stigma.
www.canadianinquirer.net
Our participants felt real
stories from people with lived
experience, shared via podcast
episodes, are impactful:
This is mental health, and
it’s stigma, but at the root of it,
it’s stories, it’s personal stories.
It’s lived experience and that’s
what people are resonating with.
And that’s what connects [with
listeners]. And it’s kind of from
that, the behaviours, the aware-
ness, the behaviour change kind
of gets a jumping off.
Our participants also told us
they appreciated episodes that
explicitly talked about stigma
and discrimination, rather than
just talking about lived experi-
ence generally.
It would be nice to have a pod-
cast that is actually going to deep
dive into some of the real issues
[…] and why people struggle.
Though stories can be pow-
erful on their own, participants
also felt podcasts could also
highlight the very real impacts
of marginalisation and inform
listeners how they can make
positive change. As one partic-
ipant told us:
[With] real stories, they can
JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
relate to it more, to the human
face to it […] it’s not just an ab-
stract thing that they see like
a statistic or TV or like, things
that they cannot really see […]
it’s actually a human person, un-
dergoing real emotions.
It makes sense many mental
health organisations and advo-
cacy groups are releasing pod-
casts – they are popular, acces-
sible, engaging, and a novel way
to share real stories. We suspect
podcasts will continue to be
used in the fight against stigma
and discrimination.
Our next steps are to release
our own mental health podcast
which we hope will impact lis-
teners’ attitudes in a positive
way. We have taken on the ad-
vice from those we interviewed,
and we are currently exploring
the impact of listening to this
podcast on listeners’ attitudes
and behaviours towards com-
plex mental health issues. We
plan to release it to the public
later in 2023. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY JUNE 2, 2023
Is it true the faster you lose weight the
quicker it comes back? Here’s what we
know about slow and fast weight loss
BY NICK FULLER, University
of Sydney
The Conversation
When people decide it’s time
to lose weight, they’re usually
keen to see quick results. May-
be they have an event coming
up or want relief from health
problems and discomfort.
But expert guidelines typically
recommend slower weight loss
for the treatment of obesity. This
tallies with a widely held opin-
ion that fast weight loss is more
quickly regained. Slow weight
loss is generally perceived as
better for your health and more
sustainable. Many programs of-
fering “the fastest way to lose
weight” are considered fad diets
that severely restrict calories or
eliminate some foods.
But does slow and steady re-
ally win the weight-loss race?
Or is fast weight loss just as ef-
fective and safe?
What’s the difference be-
tween slow and fast weight loss?
Governing bodies typically rec-
ommend a weight loss of 0.5 to 1
kilogram each week, which would
be defined as slow weight loss.
So fast weight loss – also
termed “rapid weight loss” – is
losing more than 1 kilo a week
over several weeks.
What does the research
say about fast weight loss?
There are several well-con-
ducted studies examining dif-
fering approaches.
One study of 200 people ran-
domly assigned them to fast or
slow weight loss – 12 weeks ver-
sus 36 weeks – aimed at a 15%
reduction in weight.
The fast weight loss group was
The “failure of..
❰❰ 12 of prohibitions on in-
terference with day-
to-day operations, and
clarify the role of commissions in
supporting requests for addition-
al resources from other levels of
government.
Commission members should
put on a very low energy diet us-
ing meal replacements, includ-
ing shakes, bars and soups, three
times per day. The slow weight
loss group was advised on the
Australian Guide to Healthy
Eating with the goal to eat 500
calories less than they used for
energy (creating a calorie defi-
cit) each day. They also used one
to two meal replacements daily.
Some 50% of the slow weight
loss group and 81% of the fast
weight loss group achieved
12.5% or more weight loss
during this time.
After this initial phase, those
who had lost 12.5% or more
were then placed on a weight
maintenance diet for approxi-
mately 2.75 years.
By the three-year mark, 76% of
those in the slow weight loss and
the same percentage of those in
the fast weight loss group had re-
gained their lost weight.
So, it didn’t matter if they had
lost it slow or fast, they still re-
gained the weight.
However, another study on 101
postmenopausal women found
fast weight loss resulted in better
outcomes than a slow weight loss
group at the three-year mark.
But there are other factors
to consider, aside from weight
loss, when it comes to the differ-
ing ways of losing weight – such
as changes in body composition
and bone mineral density.
This is best highlighted by a
large meta-analysis. These type
of studies combine the results
of all previous well-conducted
studies on the topic.
While this analysis found the
magnitude of weight loss was
similar for both approaches, slow
weight loss resulted in better out-
also receive better training on
their roles and responsibilities
in crisis management so as not
to be caught unprepared. It may
be necessary to create local pro-
cedures to clarify the role and
responsibilities of police ser-
vices boards vis-à-vis police ser-
comes than fast weight loss with
respect to metabolism or how
many calories we burn at rest.
There were no differences in the
amount of fat-free mass or muscle
mass lost between the slow and
fast weight loss groups. But slow
weight loss resulted in greater re-
ductions in fat mass and therefore
a better fat-to-muscle ratio.
Slow weight loss also seems
better for bone density, because
rapid weight loss results in a
twice as much bone loss and
puts a person at increased risk
of brittle bones or osteoporosis.
What about other diet ap-
proaches?
Research shows it doesn’t mat-
ter what type of macronutrient
diet you follow – moderate or
high-protein diet, low or high-car-
bodyrate diet, low or high-fat diet.
All diet approaches achieve simi-
lar weight loss outcomes.
The same can be said for fash-
ionable ways of cutting calories
from the diet, such as intermit-
tent fasting. Research has shown
such diets don’t result in any bet-
vices in crisis situations.
Three lessons in governance
In short, the Rouleau report
offers three lessons in crisis
management governance. The
first is that public authorities
become vulnerable when they
fail to work together. The sec-
www.canadianinquirer.net
Lifestyle
ter weight loss results than any of
its predecessors. This is because
our body is extremely good at
protecting against weight loss.
When you want to lose
weight consider …
Your metabolism When you
lose large amounts of weight, you
resting metabolic rate – the en-
ergy you burn at rest – will lower.
Keeping your resting metabolic
rate high is essential for keeping
the weight off. Unfortunately,
once it slows down, your resting
metabolic rate doesn’t recover to
the level it was pre-dieting even
after you regain weight.
However, research has con-
firmed slow weight loss pre-
serves your resting metabol-
ic rate compared with rapid
weight loss. As does a weight
loss program that includes ex-
ercise rather than one that fo-
cuses on diet alone.
Side effects While restric-
tive diets can achieve rapid re-
sults, studies suggest they can
come with adverse effects. This
includes a higher risk of gall-
ond is that roles and respon-
sibilities must be clarified
between different levels of gov-
ernment before major events
occur. The third is that our
public institutions must be bet-
ter equipped to anticipate and
manage risks in the future. ■
21
stones and deficiencies that can
result in poor immune func-
tion, fatigue and a decrease in
bone density. Such restrictive
diets can make it challenging to
meet your nutritional needs.
Sustainability Many fast
weight loss diets restrict or ex-
clude foods required for long-
term health. Carbohydrates are
often banned, yet wholegrain
carbohydrates are an essential
source of nutrition, helping with
weight loss and prevention of
disease. Including meal replace-
ments as part of a restrictive diet
is also not sustainable for long.
The bottom line?
Regardless of how you lose
the weight, it’s very difficult to
maintain losses. Our bodies
work to keep our weight around
a set point by adjusting our bi-
ological systems and imposing
a series of physiological chang-
es within the body to ensure
we regain weight we lose. This
stems from our hunter-gath-
❱❱ PAGE 28 Is it true
This article is part of the Les-
sons from the Rouleau Commis-
sion special feature series.
This article first appeared
on Policy Options and is repub-
lished here under a Creative
Commons license.
 22
Focusing on consent ignores better ways
of preventing sexual violence
BY NICOLE K. JEFFREY,
University of Windsor
The Conversation
In early May, a New York jury
found Donald Trump liable for
sexually abusing the writer E.
Jean Carroll in 1996. The jury
did not find him liable for al-
legedly raping her.
In the wake of this high-pro-
file case, and the many others of
the #MeToo movement, what
should we be doing to prevent
sexual violence and promote
equitable sex? So far, consent is
getting too much of the spotlight.
Schools, universities and popu-
lar media are focusing heavily on
consent in their efforts to curb
high rates of sexual violence.
Many advocates and educa-
tors have recently shifted their
messaging from “no means no”
to “yes means yes” and “consent
is sexy.” This messaging pro-
motes voluntary and affirmative
agreement. That is, the idea that
silence does not mean consent.
Regardless, consent is much
too low a standard for promoting
ethical sex — even if it may be the
best available legal standard. And
focusing on consent limits our
ability to create better approach-
es to dealing with sexual violence.
It’s time to stop focusing
on consent
Sexual violence is the use of
verbal pressure or physical vi-
olence to engage in any sexual
activity with someone who is
unwilling or hasn’t consented.
It is most often committed by
men against women and other
marginalized groups and is sup-
ported by societal stereotypes
about gender and sexuality.
As part of my research over the
past decade, I have interviewed
Legal tussling over..
❰❰ 9 cabinet from using
the act to impose mea-
sures that interfere
with property (such as money
in bank accounts) without due
process. If this argument suc-
ceeds, new life will be breathed
into the Bill of Rights, which
has foundered on the periph-
ery of the Canadian legal con-
Lifestyle
women who were victimized
and men who perpetrated sexu-
al violence. I have also conduct-
ed focus groups with men about
heterosexual sex and dating. My
critique of consent is based on
this and other research.
Here are five reasons we
should stop focusing on con-
sent and start thinking about
more ethical values and norms.
1) Consensual sex is not al-
ways wanted, pleasurable or
free from coercion.
People can consent to sex they
don’t want or enjoy. Women of-
ten agree to sex they don’t want
to avoid hurting a partner’s feel-
ings, to maintain a relationship
or to be seen as a good partner.
People can also obtain con-
sent by pressuring or coercing
someone. Men are more likely
than women to use violence
and coercion in order to obtain
someone’s consent, often after
they’ve gently declined.
Messaging about consent like
“no means no” and “yes means
yes” implies that it’s okay to
continue trying if one’s partner
hasn’t clearly said “yes” or “no.”
2) Teaching people how to
give and understand consent
isn’t going to prevent sexual
violence because sexual vio-
lence isn’t usually about mis-
understanding.
There’s little to no evidence
that education about consent
reduces sexual violence. Most
men already understand when
women don’t want to have sex,
even without a firm “no.” And
knowing how to ask for con-
sent isn’t going to stop those
who choose to ignore refusals
or use violence. In the context
of men’s sexual violence against
women, consent doesn’t change
men’s feelings of entitlement to
sciousness.
With these important ques-
tions of administrative law and
constitutional law to resolve,
the Trudeau government’s use
of the Emergencies Act in 2022
will keep lawyers and courts in
Canada busy on questions that
may ultimately guide the de-
cision by future governments
sex and women’s bodies.
In the words of one woman I
interviewed who was victimized:
“He didn’t necessarily…force
himself upon me, but…he knew
that there wasn’t really consent.
Like I gave it, but not really fully.”
3) Consent doesn’t require
meaningful, collaborative deci-
sion-making between partners.
Consent boils down to one
partner’s agreement in re-
sponse to another’s request. It
is insufficient for promoting
deeper collaboration in decid-
ing whether and how sex will
take place. In the case of sex
between women and men, this
usually means that men’s de-
sires are prioritized. Consent
is also something you do before
sex, rather than an ongoing and
embedded part of sex.
4) Consent doesn’t disrupt
the stereotypes that support
sexual violence.
For example, false stereotypes
suggest men can’t control their
sex drives. Some men use these
stereotypes to claim it’s not
right or fair for their partners to
about whether and, if so, how to
use it again. ■
This article is part of the Les-
sons from the Rouleau Commis-
sion special feature series.
This article first appeared
on Policy Options and is repub-
lished here under a Creative
Commons license.
www.canadianinquirer.net
change their minds or stop sex
once started or consented to.
The expectation that sex
should be natural and sponta-
neous can make it difficult for
women to stop unwanted sex. It
also means that many young peo-
ple view consent as disruptive to
this “natural” progression.
5) Consent can be used as
an excuse for sexual violence.
It allows perpetrators to jus-
tify sexual violence because
they can claim the victim gave
unclear responses. Popular
consent messages like “yes
means yes” and “no means no”
are easily co-opted and provide
a ready-made excuse.
For example, men in two of
my studies used the importance
of consent to blame sexual vio-
lence on women for not clearly
communicating their lack of
consent. And because we often
see communication as being
up to women, these men didn’t
need to take any responsibility
for asking or clarifying.
One perpetrator I inter-
viewed even referred specifical-
Drone strikes hit..
❰❰ 13 difficult to determine,
especially at night, as
drones are fast-moving
vehicles. Traditional radar de-
tection has grown more sophis-
ticated with new drone detection
platforms to more accurately
decipher the exact location of the
drone operator.
In my view, the world needs
JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
ly to a consent message heard on
campus to simultaneously ad-
mit that he should have listened
to his partner while blaming her:
“I also told her to maybe be a
bit more direct when it comes to
‘Yes’ and ‘No,’ because she was
providing answers that were a
little cloudy. Which I know with
all the consent stuff up on the
walls here it’s, you know, ‘only
yes means yes.’”
If not consent, then what?
Moving beyond the language
of consent will open new possi-
bilities for promoting truly equi-
table and ethical sex. At a mini-
mum, we need to teach young
people how to communicate
more meaningfully about sex.
We need to teach that empa-
thy, mutual decision-making and
ongoing communication are in-
tegral components of sex, rather
than preconditions that only take
place before sex. And we need to
teach and expect boys and men
to listen to women’s desires and
care about their well-being.
Reducing sexual violence
and promoting ethical sex is
also going to require substan-
tial cultural change. Prevention
programs that, in part, chal-
lenge what it means to relate
as women and men are some
of the most effective at reduc-
ing sexual violence. Compre-
hensive sexual health educa-
tion that teaches young people
about these issues early in life is
also essential.
The idea of consent should
have never had more than a
supporting role in defining eth-
ical sex. It’s time to shift the
spotlight. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
new and consistent rules on
drone usage for the decade
ahead – better international
monitoring of drone incursions
and more transparency in the
outcome of drone attacks. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY JUNE 2, 2023
Maria’s Worst Job Interviews
BY MATTE LAUREL-ZALKO
Job interviews are like first
dates — good first impressions
count, awkwardness can occur,
and outcomes are unpredictable.
There’s no doubt about it: job in-
terviews can be nerve-wracking.
Going for a job interview can be
one of the most stressful events
in our lives. It can either make or
break our career paths and yes,
our bank accounts.
The pressure of the actual in-
terview process is both painful
and real — from the struggle of
finding the winning outfit that
screams: “Hire me, I’m the best
one for this job!” to remain calm
and composed as you try your
best to give the correct answers
to the interviewer(s). On top of
these, the agony of having to wait
for the call back is also enough to
spike up your anxiety attacks.
Maria in Vancouver has be-
come such a polished professional
when it comes to job interviews.
She knows the art of power dress-
ing and the importance of it. She
works with a top head-hunter or
agent who matches her with the
right employers. Maria carefully
examines each job description.
She performs a thorough research
on the company, its culture, and
the role itself. Maria also has a list
of thoughtful questions she may
want to ask for her interviewer(s).
Maria has perfected her elevator
pitch on describing herself, her
qualifications, and her experienc-
es. She’s also perfected the answers
to common questions such as:
“Why do you want to work here?”,
“What are your strengths and
weaknesses?”, and “What interests
you about this role?” In addition,
Maria has practiced her speaking
voice and proper body language.
However, Maria totally under-
stands no matter how well you
prepare for a job interview, some-
times due to recklessness, plain
stupidity, and mostly nerves, a
job interview can go horribly
wrong in most hilarious ways. In
the spirit of being like-minded
human beings, Maria has agreed
to share her own past “job inter-
views gone wrong” experiences.
Three Little Birds (Don’t
Worry About a Thing)! Maria’s
agent sent her to an interview
with a CEO of a private equity
firm. The CEO’s office was at the
prestigious Marine building —
Vancouver’s world-renowned
heritage building with its art deco
inspired architecture. It’s famous
for its brass revolving door. The
interview went extremely well
and Maria was 99% sure she’s
got the job. The CEO suggested
they continue the interview at
lunch next door, the Nightingale
restaurant. When coming out
of the Marine building, the CEO
walked ahead of Maria. Mid-turn,
the whole revolving door stopped
with a click. The CEO was able to
get out. Maria, unfortunately, got
stuck in the revolving door! She
can’t seem to get out. She kept
pushing. The CEO had to call se-
curity. Finally, security came and
asked Maria if she was okay. D-uh.
Maria nodded and tried to remain
calm. Even though crazy thoughts
filled her mind: “Dear God, please
don’t let me die inside a revolving
door, in front of strangers!”, and
“Dear God, please don’t let me pee
in front of my future boss!” Maria
was holding her pee when she got
stuck in the revolving door.
Meanwhile, passersby ogled
and looked at Maria as if she
were some exotic animal trapped
inside a glass cage. To top it off,
Maria is claustrophobic! To take
her mind off wanting to pee, Ma-
ria started singing Bob Marley’s
“Three Little Birds (Don’t Worry
About a Thing)! It took security
15 minutes to fix the revolving
door and let Maria out. It was the
longest 15 minutes of her life! On
a more positive note, Maria got
the job. It turned out the CEO was
a huge fan of Bob Marley! Moral
experience: Stay calm even under
a crisis. Staying calm in the midst
of chaos is a superpower!
Panel interview nightmare.
Don’t you just loathe panel job in-
terviews? Maria’s agent matched
her with a top pharmaceutical
company to handle and manage
their contracts and patents da-
tabases. Maria already had two
successful interviews with the HR
Department and the CEO of the
pharmaceutical company. They
invited Maria for a final inter-
view — a panel interview. On the
day of the interview, Maria faced
a panel of seven interviewers. The
interview turned out to be a long
1.5 hours of tough questions that
sounded more like interrogations.
Nevertheless, Maria aced the
panel interview. She was confi-
23
dent, articulate, and poised. Just
as she thought the panel interview
was over, one of the interviewers
asked her a final question: “If you
were to have a special superpower,
what would it be and why?” With-
out batting an eyelash, Maria
replied: “I would have the super-
power of making you all disappear
from this room right now!” Maria
gasped! That didn’t sound right.
Maria elaborated: “Well, I am just
watching out for your wellness.
We’ve been in this room for nearly
two hours. I’m sure you’re all want-
ing to go and have your favourite
happy hour cocktails. It’s half past
five, it’s ah… uhm… wine o’clock
time! Yay! But then again, if you’re
all enjoying this panel interview
as much as I am, ah, I would use
my superpower to bring you back
again to this room?” The CEO
smized and ended the interview.
The next day, Maria received
an offer from the pharmaceutical
company! The HR Director told
Maria: “We nearly did not hire
you because your answers were
almost too perfect! But when you interviews was with a CEO of a personal interview. The SVP end-
answered the superpower ques- mining company. Maria gave the ed up wanting to date her! Maria
tion, we thanked the universe that perfect answers to all the ques- immediately called her agent and
you’re normal after all!” Moral ex- tions. The interview lasted for withdrew her job application.
perience: Just be yourself. There about 55 minutes. Maria shook Moral experience: Never ever mix
is nothing rare, nor more beauti- the CEO’s hand, while maintain- business with pleasure. It nev-
ful, than a woman being unapol- ing effective eye contact. Ma- er works! It will only complicate
ogetically herself, comfortable in ria said goodbye and turned to your office life and your personal
her perfect imperfection. After walk out — straight into the glass life, leading to conflicts in both.
all, imperfections are perfections door! Ouch. Maria felt dizzy and Panda eyes. Maria went for a
to a beautiful perspective. crashed head-first into a heap of job interview at a tech company.
Ooopps, Maria did it again! filing boxes. In an instant, papers Since the office was close to her
Maria went for another panel in- went flying everywhere! Suffice to home, she decided to walk to the
terview for a non-profit organiza- say, Maria didn’t get the job. The office location. On the way there,
tion. She applied for a high-level CEO found her too much of a lia- it started to rain heavily. Maria
position and the competition was bility. Moral experience: It takes forgot to bring her umbrella! In
fierce. On the appointed day and real skills to choke on air, fall up Vancouver, you never leave your
hour, Maria arrived at the inter- stairs, and trip completely over home without an umbrella. Maria
view right on time. She shook ev- nothing. Sometimes, no matter was drenched. She arrived at her
eryone’s hands with confidence. how perfect you are — nature in- interview rocking a wet look. The
Maria sat down and began with tervenes and screw things up for interview itself went relatively
her elevator pitch. When Maria you! And there’s nothing much smooth and again, she aced the
finished speaking, the panel of you can do but laugh about it. questions. When the interview
five interviewers sat in silence. An intimate interview. was over, Maria went to the loo. As
One of them finally spoke, “Your Maria’s agent set her up for an she washed her hands, she glanced
experience and qualifications are interview with the SVP of a con- at the mirror and shrieked, “Mon
most ideal for a senior executive struction company. During the Dieu!” Her mascara was smeared,
assistant to our CEO. However, latter half of the interview, the and her eyes looked like panda
this interview is actually for a SVP asked Maria questions such eyes! It’s not even Halloween! Ma-
Chief Financial Officer.” Oops. As as: “What are your interests and ria didn’t get the job. Moral expe-
it turned out, Maria got off the el- hobbies?”, “What’s your favou- rience: Always be prepared. Never
evator at the wrong floor! Need- rite restaurant?”, “What is the leave your home without a brolly,
less to say, she didn’t get the job. first thing you noticed about me?”, especially if you live in Vancouver.
Moral experience: Always have “How many past partners have Take the time to check yourself
presence of mind. Double check you had?”, “Are you available this first in the mirror before your in-
the location of your interview! Friday evening?” What started terviews. And yes, invest in a good
A most memorable exit. One out as a legitimate job interview
of Maria’s most memorable job ended up as an intimate and more ❱❱ PAGE 26 Maria’s Worst Job Interviews
www.canadianinquirer.net
24
As teams from the U.S. Sun Belt proceed
to the Stanley Cup finals, has the NHL
forgotten its Canadian fans?
BY JOHN VALENTINE,
MacEwan University
The Conversation
Hockey is supposed to be
Canada’s game. Yet the last two
Canadian-based NHL teams in
the Stanley Cup playoffs, the To-
ronto Maple Leafs and the Ed-
monton Oilers, have been elim-
inated from the tournament.
This lengthens the three-decade
drought since a Canadian team
won the Stanley Cup.
The Vegas Golden Knights,
Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers,
and Carolina Hurricanes made
it to the final four teams vying
for the Stanley Cup. For the first
time in NHL history, the final
four are located in the U.S. Sun
Belt in places Canadian snow-
birds usually go to escape the
snow and ice, not play on it.
The Florida Panthers will
play against the winner of the
Western Conference Final for
the Stanley Cup.
What does the success of
these teams mean for the NHL?
And should Canadian hockey
fans be frustrated with the suc-
cess of non-traditional hockey
markets at the expense of Ca-
nadian teams?
The NHL expands southward
The fact that the final four
teams are from non-traditional
markets in the United States rep-
France’s 1st female Olympic president steps down
ANADOLU
Philippine News Agency
ISTANBUL – Brigitte Hen-
riques, France’s first female
Olympic president, announced
her resignation from the posi-
Sports
resents a success for the NHL’s
Sun Belt expansion strategy. The
plan was to seek new revenue by
expanding the game to large U.S.
cities with no hockey history.
NHL superstar Wayne Gretz-
ky’s 1988 trade to Los Angeles
was the perfect catalyst to start
the expansion strategy. The ad-
dition of the San Jose Sharks
in 1991 as an inter-state rival
to Gretzky’s Kings began this
process. Next were new teams
in Tampa Bay, Miami and Ana-
heim. The Winnipeg Jets moved
to Phoenix, and the Hartford
Whalers to North Carolina.
Additional NHL teams were
added in Nashville, Atlanta (since
moved to Winnipeg) and Co-
lumbus, Ohio. The NHL targeted
these unlikely destinations while
ignoring Canadian markets like
Québec City and Hamilton despite
research suggesting Canada could
support more franchises. The
team in Minnesota was moved to
Dallas, and an expansion team was
added in Las Vegas, resulting in
more teams being based in the U.S.
Sun Belt than Canada.
The Sun Belt expansion strat-
egy was not without its prob-
lems, and some argued that
strong markets in Canada and
elsewhere had to subsidize some
of the weaker expansion teams.
However, most of these new
teams have achieved success.
Since 1993 — the last time a
tion on Thursday, 14 months pri-
or to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“At the opening of the CNOSF
general assembly held today at
the Maison du Sport Français,
Brigitte Henriques announced
her decision to step down as
president of the French Nation-
Canadian-based team won the
Stanley Cup — Sun Belt teams
have won eight times, while Ca-
nadian-based teams have lost
in the finals on six occasions.
Four losses were at the hands of
Sun Belt teams: in 2004 Calgary
lost to Tampa Bay, the Carolina
Hurricanes beat the Edmon-
ton Oilers in 2006, Anaheim
defeated Ottawa the following
year and most recently Tampa
Bay beat Montréal in 2021.
Canadian hockey vs. the
Sun Belt
Many Canadians might feel
frustrated this year with four un-
conventional hockey markets left
to compete for the Stanley Cup.
Disappointment might be made
worse by comparing the four U.S.
cities left in the playoffs with tra-
al Olympic and Sports Com-
mittee,” the French National
Olympic and Sports Committee
(CNOSF) said in a statement.
CNOSF stated that General
Secretary of Committee Astrid
Guyart would assume the pres-
idency during the transitional
www.canadianinquirer.net
ditionally hockey-crazy markets
like Toronto or Edmonton.
Texas, North Carolina, Neva-
da and Florida have a combined
population of 65 million people
— almost ten times the combined
population of Edmonton and the
Greater Toronto Area (GTA). But
according to 2022 USA Hockey
registration reports, those four
states have less than 50,000 play-
ers in organized hockey.
Meanwhile, the GTA alone
has more players in hockey. Ed-
monton, a city of one million
people, had 10,000 kids partic-
ipate in a single minor hockey
tournament last year.
Perhaps there are fewer play-
ers in the U.S. states because of
the dearth of hockey rinks. Texas,
North Carolina, Nevada and Flor-
period and would oversee the
election process for a new lead-
er within three months.
Henriques, 52, was a former
football player on the French
national team and had been
serving as the president of the
organizing committee since
JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
ida have fewer than 75 rinks in to-
tal. Meanwhile, the GTA and Ed-
monton have more indoor rinks
than each of the four U.S. states.
Fewer players and rinks un-
doubtedly contribute to the
lack of NHL players produced
in these four U.S. states. Only 22
players born in the four states
have played more than 100
games in the NHL. This com-
pares to the 347 players from
the GTA and Edmonton.
Tickets and ratings
It’s not surprising that there
are more players and rinks in
Canada, but what about fans?
Three of the remaining teams
in this year’s playoffs are in the
cheapest eight NHL markets for
tickets. That suggests demand
is not driving up ticket prices
in these non-traditional mar-
kets. Toronto has the league’s
most expensive tickets, while
small-market Edmonton has
the 14th most expensive tickets.
While it is difficult to access
television ratings for specific
regions, we know that Canadi-
ans are hockey consumers. This
year, the Toronto-Florida series
averaged around 3.5 million
viewers in Canada compared to
1.378 million in the U.S. meaning
that, per capita, 22 times more
Canadians watched the series.
The Vegas-Oilers series aver-
❱❱ PAGE 30 As teams from
June 2021.
The Paris 2024 Games, set
to be the largest sporting event
ever organized in France, are
scheduled to take place from
July 26 to Aug.11, 2024. ■
FRIDAY JUNE 2, 2023
Why taxing the world’s biggest companies at
15% won’t fix the gaping hole in global tax rules
BY KERRIE SADIQ,
Queensland University of
Technology, RICHARD
KREVER, The University of
Western Australia
The Conversation
Australia’s federal government
has a plan to discourage compa-
nies from shifting profits to tax
havens. The idea is to impose a
“global minimum tax” on large
Australian and foreign-owned
companies with subsidiaries in
low or no-tax countries.
Australia’s largest mining
companies are notorious for
shifting profits to avoid the
30% company tax rate. It is
common to use marketing hubs
in Singapore, where the head-
line tax rate is 17% but various
incentives often lower the ef-
fective rate to about 5%. Paying
Singaporean subsidiaries for
“services” performed, such as
marketing or to use trademarks
or patents owned by the group,
can reduce a company’s Austra-
lian profits, and its tax bill.
The Albanese governent’s
proposal, announced in the
federal budget, embraces an
OECD/G20 program to reduce
profit shifting by multinationals
through a uniform global 15%
tax on all companies. Almost
140 countries have agreed to im-
Domestic trade up in first quarter of 2023
BY ANNA LEAH GONZALES
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The volume and
value of local trade posted dou-
ble-digit growth in the first quar-
ter of the year, the Philippine Sta-
tistics Authority (PSA) reported.
Data released late Mon-
day showed that the value of
domestic trade amounted to
PHP199.72 billion, up by 46.7
Business
plement the tax, though to date
only a handful have enacted it.
Any locally or foreign owned
company in Australia that has
overseas subsidiaries and annu-
al global group revenue of more
than €750 million (about A$1.2
billion) will be taxed the differ-
ence between the rate paid by
the associated entities overseas
and the 15% rate.
A 15% minimum tax rate will
also apply to domestic com-
panies with revenue of €750
million. Currently generous
tax concessions – such as gen-
erous deductions or credits for
activities like research and de-
velopment – allow Australian
businesses to reduce their tax
burden from the headline 30%
rate to less than 15%.
At first glance, these new tax-
es seem like a good idea. Propo-
nents argue that putting a floor
on corporate tax rates will slow
“the race to the bottom”, which
has seen governments lower
corporate tax rates to attract or
keep corporate capital.
However, for Australia it is
likely to accelerate the prob-
lem. By implicitly accepting the
legitimacy of profit shifting, the
government does nothing to ad-
dress the fundamental problem
that enables multinationals to
exploit the global tax system.
Recouping a pittance
percent from the PHP136.18
billion a year ago.
By mode of transport, almost
all of the commodities were trad-
ed through water, while the re-
maining were traded through air.
“Machinery and transport
equipment topped in terms of
value of traded commodities
with PHP68.24 billion or 34.2
percent share to the total do-
mestic trade value in the first
quarter of 2023,” PSA said.
The budget papers don’t say
how many companies will be
affected, but globally the OECD
says no more than 100 corpora-
tions will have to pay the tax.
The budget estimates the
Australian government will
raise an extra $160 million in
2025-26, and $210 million in
2026-27. This is less than 0.5%
of the $93 billion in company
tax revenue in 2023-24, and a
pittance compared with the tax
lost through profit shifting by
multinationals
For example, in the Austra-
lian Taxation Office’s most re-
cent settlement with a compa-
ny over disputed profit shifting,
fuel company Ampol agreed to
pay $157 million for avoided
taxes dating back to 2014. This
This was followed by food
and live animals and manufac-
tured goods classified chiefly by
material.
Among the regions, Western
Visayas recorded the highest
value of traded commodities
with PHP44.70 billion, fol-
lowed by Central Visayas with
PHP42.90 billion and Eastern
Visayas with PHP26.01 billion.
In terms of volume, the PSA
said total quantity of domes-
www.canadianinquirer.net
arose from Ampol Australia
unnecessarily paying for oil im-
ports acquired through a relat-
ed Singapore procurement hub,
instead of buying oil directly.
Rio Tinto, the world’s sec-
ond-biggest mining company,
agreed in 2022 to pay almost
$1 billion to the tax office over
money channelled to its Singa-
pore marketing hub.
BHP, the world’s biggest min-
ing company, agreed in 2018 to
pay the tax office $529 million
in extra taxes for profit-shifting
arrangements between 2003 to
2018. This dispute also related
to transactions between its Aus-
tralian headquarters and mar-
keting operations in Singapore.
In each of these settlements the
companies admitted no wrongdo-
tic trade in in the first quar-
ter reached 5.34 million tons,
higher by 56.7 percent from last
year’s 3.41 million tons.
“By commodity section, food
and live animals led in terms of
quantity of domestic trade in
the first quarter of 2023 with
1.31 million tons or a share of
24.6 percent to the total domes-
tic trade,” PSA said.
This was followed by mineral
fuels, lubricants and related ma-
25
ing. Details are confidential, so it is
impossible to know how much tax
the Australian Tax Office claimed
was due. But it seems likely Aus-
tralian taxpayers got less than the
tax avoided.
Fundamental problem re-
mains
Rather than ending the race
to bottom from international
profit shifting, the 15% tax is
likely to entrench it. It ensures
companies that successfully
shift profits out of Australia will
pay no more than a 15% tax rate.
This will continue so long as
different parts of a multination-
al corporation are treated as if
they are separate entities for
tax purposes. This is nothing
more than a legal fiction.
The only way to prevent this
is through real and substantive
changes in the way govern-
ments tax multinationals.
The obvious solution is to
treat multinationals as the global
entities they are. Then allocate
profits for tax purposes to the
countries in which real activities
creating those profits take place.
In the case of Australian min-
ing companies, that should be
where they dig their riches out
of the ground. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
terials with 1.25 million tons and
machinery and transport equip-
ment with 1.04 million tons.
Central Luzon registered the
highest quantity of traded com-
modities with 1.29 million tons
or 24.1 percent share to the to-
tal domestic trade in the first
quarter of 2023.
This was followed by Central
Visayas with 1 million tons and
Western Visayas with 660,000
metric tons. ■
 26
Expert advice for budding UK entrepreneurs
during a cost of living crisis
BY ROBERT CRAMMOND,
University of the West of
Scotland
The Conversation
Getting your foot on the ca-
reer ladder can be a challeng-
ing experience. Looking for the
right role within the right organ-
isation or sector is often com-
petitive, uncertain and stressful.
These kinds of concerns may
be partly what persuades some
young people to strike out on
their own instead – to pursue
an entrepreneurial path that
will allow their creativity and
individuality to thrive.
But of course, that is not a path
without risk. Entrepreneurs face
a wide range of other obstacles
and pitfalls. Without the safety
net of an employer, they operate
at the mercy of the market, and
failure rates are high.
My research highlights some
of the key attributes required
to be a successful entrepreneur,
particularly in the digital age,
when social media makes any
response from consumers im-
mediate and intense.
Maria’s Worst Job Interviews..
❰❰ 23 waterproof mascara!
Wrong shoes! Ma-
ria’s agent scheduled
her a job interview right after a
long weekend. On the day itself,
Maria’s alarm didn’t ring. Maria
found herself getting ready in
haste! She has half an hour to get
to her interview. It took her 15
minutes to get ready and anoth-
er 15 minutes to arrive at her in-
terview. Whew. Maria managed
to be on time. The job interview
was for a high-level position at
an architectural company. It
was another panel interview and
Maria sat across four architects.
As always, Maria did well during
the interview — she answered all
questions with poised and confi-
dence. As she stood up, one of the
female architects praised her, “I
love your fashion sense. Are those
the latest from Ferragamo?” Ma-
ria looked down at her shoes and
was mortified. Her left shoe was
Business
Put simply, for an entrepre-
neur to succeed, they require
a good idea, a well researched
target customer, and funding.
They also need the resilience
and ability to take calculated
risks, and a network which pro-
vides advice and support.
So it’s not easy. And in the UK
(as with many other countries)
the current economic climate
adds further difficulties for en-
trepreneurs, including the on-
going cost of living, the costs of
being sustainable, and supply
chain issues.
These all make the role of
the state even more vital in
sustaining enterprising envi-
ronments and entrepreneurial
spirits. This generally happens
through the provision of things
like grants, loans and tax relief.
But the current government
has come up with plans it hopes
will make it easier for busi-
nesses to grow, which include
a more manageable tax system
(to allow small businesses to
focus on their day-to-day oper-
ations) and new funding for re-
search and development.
Post-Brexit, it is also keen to
black, and her right shoe was red!
Maria did get the job — it turned
out — they loved her bold fashion
taste and colour coordination.
Moral experience: Don’t let your
agent schedule an interview af-
ter the long weekend. Hangovers
and interviews don’t mix well.
Buttons, the pooch has an
expensive taste. One time, Ma-
ria arrived way too early for an
interview. The Lady CEO was
still out for lunch. Eventually, the
receptionist took her to the Lady
CEO’s office. The receptionist
also told Maria that the Lady
CEO is on her way. Inside the of-
fice, Maria found herself playing
with the boss’ pooch. Maria loves
dogs! As she waited, Maria acci-
dentally kicked off her right shoe.
Suddenly, the pooch grabbed her
shoe by its mouth! Oh no, not her
Ferragamo Gancini pump! Ma-
ria ended up wrestling with the
pooch — to get her shoe off its
attract global entrepreneurs
with a programme providing
free mentoring, visa assistance
and networking opportunities.
There are welcome moves as
well to improve links between
businesses and universities in
England, Scotland, Northern
Ireland and Wales. The idea here
is for new firms to benefit from
mouth. Maria was angry at the
pooch, “Give me back my shoe,
you mutt! Do you know how much
overtime I had to do to be able to
afford this shoe? Give it back to me
now, you ugly mutt!”
Unbeknownst to Maria, the
Lady CEO had been watching the
whole spectacle. The Lady CEO
called her pooch, “Come here,
Buttons!” The pooch dropped
Maria’s shoe and ran towards its
owner. Maria blushed, “Your dog
is so adorable, I enjoyed playing
with her! Don’t worry about my
shoe; my shoe is simply fine!” Ma-
ria never heard back from the
Lady CEO. Moral experience: Be
punctual, but not too early for
your interviews. Arriving 15 to
20 minutes before your sched-
uled interview is acceptable. Any
more than that, and you may
be sending the wrong message
or worse, end up wrestling with
your future boss’ pet!
www.canadianinquirer.net
the specialist research and skills
that universities can provide.
British universities have an
important role in encouraging
entrepreneurial activity and
supporting small businesses.
Between now and the end of the
decade it is thought that they will
provide over £11 billion worth of
guidance, advice and research. In
Interviewee down! During
one of Maria’s job interviews,
the hiring manager cracked a
joke. Maria laughed out loud! As
she laughed, Maria leaned back
in her chair when it tipped over.
Maria was exposed in a most un-
comfortable position! It’s a good
thing, she was wearing knick-
ers that day. Eventually, Maria
picked herself up, straightened
her hair and her suit. Maria told
the hiring manager, “Lol, your
joke was so hilarious, I literally
flipped over my chair! Shall we
continue with the interview?”
The hiring manager gave the
job to Maria. It must’ve been
the Victoria’s Secret underwear
that sealed the deal. Moral ex-
perience: You can always turn
an unfortunate incident into a
winning moment. There are no
circumstances, however unfor-
tunate, that clever people do not
extract some advantage from.
JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
the five-year period up to 2026, it
has been estimated that around
20,000 businesses will be created
through universities.
There are also related organ-
isations such as the National
Association of Colleges and Uni-
versity Entrepreneurs, Young
Enterprise Scotland, Elevator,
and Converge, which all support
budding entrepreneurs, helping
students and graduates to devel-
op their business-building skills.
Inspiration and insight
Research confirms that both
the government and the uni-
versity sector are vital parts of
the entrepreneurial landscape.
They have the resources and ex-
pertise to be a decisive influence
on whether or not the UK is a
place that truly welcomes and
encourages entrepreneurship.
There is no question that it
ought to be. Entrepreneurs are
important in any economy, cre-
ating jobs and wealth, and in-
creasing competition and qual-
ity in a variety of sectors.
After years of researching en-
trepreneurship, I am optimistic
❱❱ PAGE 30 Expert advice for
The biggest lesson we’ve
learned from Maria’s worst job
interviews is that the best strategy
you could have in a job interview
is to be your natural self. Just be
honest because the worst thing
that can happen is that you won’t
get the job and will spend the rest
of your life foraging for food in the
forest and may end up seeking
shelter underneath the awning
of a strip club that has gone out
of business. So yes, be yourself by
all means, but don’t forget to be
smart and to come prepared for
an interview! After all, Life is one
big balancing act. ■
Matte Laurel-Zalko is a former
restaurateur and hotelier, a moth-
er, a wife, a health and wellness
aficionado, food and wine enthu-
siast, a dog-lover, and lifestyle col-
umnist exclusively for Philippine
Canadian Inquirer (PCI).
FRIDAY JUNE 2, 2023
The FDA finally approved Elon Musk’s
Neuralink chip for human trials. Have
all the concerns been addressed?
BY DAVID TUFFLEY, Griffith
University
The Conversation
Since its founding in 2016, Elon
Musk’s neurotechnology compa-
ny Neuralink has had the ambi-
tious mission to build a next-gen-
eration brain implant with at least
100 times more brain connec-
tions than devices currently ap-
proved by the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA).
The company has now reached
a significant milestone, having
received FDA approval to begin
human trials. So what were the
issues keeping the technology
in the pre-clinical trial phase for
as long as it was? And have these
concerns been addressed?
What is Neuralink?
Neuralink is making a Class
III medical device known as
a brain-computer interface
(BCI). The device connects the
brain to an external computer
via a Bluetooth signal, enabling
continuous communication
back and forth.
The device itself is a coin-
sized unit called a Link. It’s
implanted within a small disk-
shaped cutout in the skull using
a precision surgical robot. The
robot splices a thousand tiny
threads from the Link to cer-
tain neurons in the brain. Each
thread is about a quarter the di-
ameter of a human hair.
Potential benefits
If Neuralink’s BCI can be made
to work safely on humans, I be-
lieve the potential benefits would
make the effort worthwhile.
The company says the device
could enable precise control
of prosthetic limbs, giving am-
putees natural motor skills. It
could revolutionise treatment
for conditions such as Parkin-
son’s disease, epilepsy and spinal
cord injuries. It also shows some
promise for potential treatment
Technology
of obesity, autism, depression,
schizophrenia and tinnitus.
Several other neurotechnol-
ogy companies and researchers
have already developed BCI
technologies that have helped
people with limited mobility
regain movement and complete
daily tasks.
BCIs have also been used to
help older people train their mo-
tor and cognitive abilities to mod-
erate the worst effects of ageing.
The long road to FDA ap-
proval for human trials
In February 2021, Musk said
Neuralink was working with
the FDA to secure permission
to start initial human trials lat-
er that year. But human trials
didn’t commence in 2021.
Then, in March 2022, Neura-
link made a further application
to the FDA to establish its read-
iness to begin humans trials.
One year and three months
later, on May 25 2023, Neu-
ralink finally received FDA
approval for its first human
clinical trial. Given how hard
Neuralink has pushed for per-
mission to begin, we can as-
sume it will begin very soon.
The approval has come less
than six months after the US
Office of the Inspector General
launched an investigation into
Neuralink over potential ani-
mal welfare violations.
What were the FDA’s con-
cerns?
The FDA had quite a list of is-
sues that needed to be resolved
before human trials could com-
mence, as was reported in a
Reuters investigation, which
claimed to have spoken to sev-
eral Neuralink sources.
Most of these concerns called
for Neuralink to perform thor-
ough and repeated testing and
data collection over an extend-
ed period. This was likely a
deciding factor in why the ap-
proval process to begin human
testing took as long as it did.
It can’t be said with certainty
that all of the issues have been
fully resolved. But considering
the rigour of the FDA’s approval
process, we might conclude they
have at least been resolved to a
point of satisfaction for the FDA.
Safe surgery
A precision robot known as
Implant/r1 performs the sur-
gical procedure to implant the
Neuralink BCI. This robot sur-
geon had to be put through its
paces to gather evidence that it
could reliably and safely implant
and remove the Neuralink BCI
www.canadianinquirer.net
without damaging surrounding
brain tissue, or creating the risk
of infection, bleeding, inflam-
mation or scarring.
Harmful side effects
Once implanted, the Neu-
ralink BCI must function as
intended. It must not uninten-
tionally influence other brain
functions, or cause any unwant-
ed side effects such as seizures,
headaches, mood changes, or
cognitive impairment.
Safe power supply
In particular, overheating
lithium-ion batteries can pose
great risk to BCI users. When
defective, such batteries have
historically been known to
overheat. They can even ex-
plode if the insulation between
the cathode and anode (the
metal electrode components)
breaks down, resulting in a
short circuit.
The longevity of the battery
was also taken into account, as
well as how easy it would be to
safely replace from its position
under the skin behind the ear.
Since the FDA’s previous rejec-
tion, extensive tests have been
conducted on the specially de-
signed Neuralink battery to
evaluate its performance, dura-
bility and bio-compatibility.
27
Wire migration
Then there is the risk of wire
migration. The Link consists
of a disk-shaped chip with very
thin wire electrodes that con-
nect to neurons in the brain.
Connecting these wires by
means of a surgical robot is a ma-
jor challenge in itself. But there
is also the possibility the elec-
trodes could move elsewhere in
the brain over time due to nat-
ural movement, inflammation,
or scar tissue formation. This
would likely affect the proper
functioning of the device, and
could cause infection or damage
to the brain tissue.
Neuralink had to conduct ex-
tensive animal studies and pro-
vide evidence its wires did not
migrate significantly over time, or
cause any adverse effects on the
brain. The company also had to
show it had a method for tracking
and adjusting the position of the
wires if this became necessary.
Implant removal
Another challenge Neuralink
faced was that of safe implant re-
moval. The FDA wanted to know
how easy or difficult it would be
to remove the device from the
brain if this became necessary.
Data privacy and security
Strong safeguards are required
to prevent data collected by the
Link from being hacked, manipu-
lated or otherwise misused. Neu-
ralink would have had to assure
the FDA it could avoid nightmare
scenarios of hackers rendering
its Link users vulnerable to inter-
ference, as well as guaranteeing
the privacy of brain-wave data
generated by the device.
The way ahead
Critics acknowledge the po-
tential benefits of Neuralink,
but caution the company to
hasten slowly. Adequately ad-
dressing these issues will take
time – and corners must not be
❱❱ PAGE 30 The FDA finally
 28
AI could threaten some jobs, but it is more
likely to become our personal assistant
BY JONATHAN AITKEN,
University of Sheffield
The Conversation
BT recently announced that
it would be reducing its staff by
55,000, with around 11,000 of
these related to the use of arti-
ficial intelligence (AI). The re-
mainder of the cuts were due to
business efficiencies, such as re-
placing copper cables with more
reliable fibre optic alternatives.
The point regarding AI rais-
es several questions about its
effect on the wider economy:
what jobs will be most affect-
ed by the technology, how will
these changes happen and how
will these changes be felt?
The development of technol-
ogy and its associated impact on
job security has been a recurring
theme since the industrial rev-
olution. Where mechanisation
was once the cause of anxiety
about job losses, today it is more
capable AI algorithms. But for
many or most categories of job,
retaining humans will remain
vital for the foreseeable future.
The technology behind this
current revolution is primarily
what is known as a large lan-
guage model (LLM), which is
capable of producing relatively
human-like responses to ques-
tions. It is the basis for Ope-
nAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard
system and Microsoft’s Bing AI.
These are all neural networks:
mathematical computing sys-
tems crudely modelled on the
way nerve cells (neurons) fire
in the human brain. These com-
plex neural networks are trained
on – or familiarised with – text,
often sourced from the internet.
The training process en-
Is it true..
❰❰ 21 erer ancestors, whose
bodies developed this
survival response to
adapt to periods of deprivation
when food was scarce.
Successful long-term weight
loss comes down to:
1. following evidence-based
programs based on what we know
Technology
ables a user to ask a question
in conversational language and
for the algorithm to break the
question down into compo-
nents. These components are
then processed to generate a
response that is appropriate to
the question asked.
The result is a system that’s
able to provide sensible sound-
ing answers to any question it
gets asked. The implications
are more wide-ranging than
they might seem.
Humans in the loop
In the same way that GPS
navigation for a driver can re-
place the need for them to know
a route, AI provides an opportu-
nity for workers to have all the
information they need at their
fingertips, without “Googling”.
Effectively, it removes humans
from the loop, meaning any situa-
tion where a person’s job involves
looking up an item and making
links between them could be at
risk. The most obvious example
here is call centre jobs.
However, it remains possi-
ble that members of the public
would not accept an AI solving
their problems, even if call wait-
ing times became much shorter.
Any manual job has a very
remote risk of replacement.
While robotics is becoming
more capable and dexterous, it
operates in highly constrained
environments. It relies on sen-
sors giving information about
the world and then making de-
cisions on this imperfect data.
AI isn’t ready for this work-
space just yet, the world is a
messy and uncertain place
that adaptable humans excel
in. Plumbers, electricians and
complex jobs in manufacturing
– for example, automotive or
about the science of obesity
2. losing weight under the
supervision of qualified health-
care professionals
3. making gradual changes
to your lifestyle – diet, exercise
and sleep – to ensure you form
health habits that last a lifetime.
At the Boden Group, Charles
aircraft – face little or no com-
petition in the long-term.
However, AI’s true impact
is likely to be felt in terms of
efficiency savings rather than
outright job replacement. The
technology is likely to find
quick traction as an assistant
to humans. This is already hap-
pening, especially in domains
such as software development.
Rather than using Google to
find out how to write a particu-
lar piece of code, it’s much more
efficient to ask ChatGPT. The
solution that comes back can be
tailored strictly to a person’s re-
quirements, delivered efficiently
and without unnecessary detail.
Safety-critical systems
This type of application will
become more commonplace as
future AI tools become true intel-
ligent assistants. Whether compa-
nies use this as an excuse to look
to reduce workforces becomes
dependent on their workload.
Perkins Centre, we are studying
the science of obesity and run-
ning clinical trials for weight
loss. You can register for free
here to express your interest. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
www.canadianinquirer.net
As the UK is suffering a
shortage of Stem (science, tech-
nology, engineering and mathe-
matics) graduates, especially in
disciplines such as engineering,
it’s unlikely that there will be a
loss of jobs in this area, just a
more efficient manner of tack-
ling the current workload.
This relies on staff making the
most of the opportunities that
the technology affords. Natural-
ly, there will always be scepti-
cism, and the adoption of AI into
the development of safety-crit-
ical systems, such as medicine,
will take a considerable amount
of time. This is because trust
in the developer is key, and the
simplest way that it develops is
through having a human at the
heart of the process.
This is critical, as these LLMs
are trained using the internet,
so biases and errors are woven
in. These can arise accidentally,
for example, through a person
Celebrating Central Park..
❰❰ 19 What’s your favor-
ite thing about sing-
ing and performing?
Tyler: Expressing myself
and inspiring others.
Jackson: Making people
happy by doing what I love.
Kiya: I think I was born to
perform. I just love entertain-
JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
to a particular event simply be-
cause they share the same name
as someone else. More serious-
ly, they may also occur through
malicious intent, deliberately
allowing training data to be
presented that is wrong or even
intentionally misleading.
Cybersecurity becomes an in-
creasing concern as systems be-
come more networked, as does
the source of data used to build
the AI. LLMs rely on open infor-
mation as a building block that is
refined by interaction. This rais-
es the possibility of new meth-
ods for attacking systems by cre-
ating deliberate falsehoods.
For example, hackers could
create malicious sites and put
them in places where they are
likely to be picked up by an AI
chatbot. Because of the require-
ment to train the systems on
lots of data, it’s difficult to verify
everything is correct.
This means that, as workers,
we need to look to harness the
capability of AI systems and
use them to their full poten-
tial. This means always ques-
tioning what we receive from
them, rather than just trusting
their output blindly. This peri-
od brings to mind the early days
of GPS, when the systems often
led users down roads unsuit-
able for their vehicles.
If we apply a sceptical mind-
set to how we use this new tool,
we’ll maximise its capability
while simultaneously growing
the workforce – as we’ve seen
through all the previous indus-
trial revolutions. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
ing people while doing what I
love.
Shila: Being onstage. I love
to entertain.
Looking to hold your own park
dance party? Look no further than
KIDZ BOP’s latest album. ■
FRIDAY JUNE 2, 2023
Booking.com and Disney Invite Travelers To Be
“Part of Their World” This Summer With “Under
The Sea” Inspired Stays in Celebration of “The
Little Mermaid” Only In Theaters On May 26
BOOKING.COM
NEW YORK, May 24, 2023
– In celebration of Disney’s
The Little Mermaid, in the-
aters May 26, Booking.com and
Disney have teamed up to kick
off the summer travel season
with a campaign that’s sure to
make a splash! Booking.com,
along with spokesperson Me-
lissa McCarthy - who plays the
iconic Ursula - is offering The
Little Mermaid travel inspira-
tion to help you discover your
next adventurous getaway.
The global campaign will run in
the U.S., U.K, France, Germany
and Australia, and highlights
the amazing travel experiences
and wide range of properties
- from hotels to vacation rent-
als and everything in between
- available on Booking.com for
families around the world to
enjoy, including once-in-a-life-
time “Under the Sea” themed
stays for lucky travelers. These
seaworthy stays will become
bookable on June 7, and will
give three pairs of lucky fans
from anywhere in the world the
chance to immerse themselves
in a travel experience fully in-
spired by The Little Mermaid.
The three limited-edition
overnight stays will take place
at a Booking.com beach house
in Malibu that has been com-
pletely transformed for a true
“Under the Sea” experience.
Guests will enjoy a mermaid-in-
spired stay – from exploring
Insta-worthy rooms with decor
centered around iconic char-
acters including Ariel, Ursula,
King Triton and Prince Eric, to a
private dinner in the home with
a personal chef, and of course, a
screening of The Little Mermaid
Travel
at a nearby theater. Three sepa-
rate overnight stays will become
bookable on June 7 at noon
ET, and will take place on June
9, 10 and 11. Each experience
will include flights and airport
transfers available on Booking.
com, and will be available on a
first-come, first-served basis for
$5.26, in honor of the day the
new film will dive into theaters.
Much like travel itself, The
Little Mermaid is all about ex-
ploring the world and expand-
ing horizons, with this unique
experience developed for trav-
elers looking to book some-
where new and truly magical
this summer. The lucky trav-
elers who book this incredible
stay inspired by the film cer-
tainly won’t be ‘poor unfortu-
nate souls,’ as they sing along in
theaters as part of this exclusive
experience. Booking.com’s #1
Travel Fan Melissa McCarthy
even said “if someone told me
I could stay in a Malibu beach
house inspired by The Little
Mermaid, I would pack my bags
and move in tomorrow.”
With the summer travel sea-
son around the corner, the cam-
paign will also showcase the vast
selection of property offerings
on Booking.com inspired by The
Little Mermaid – from dreamy
beach bungalows and a variety
of beachfront vacation rentals to
family-friendly seaside resorts
and everything in between. Ad-
ditional properties that can be
booked throughout the year on
Booking.com that will give travel-
ers “under the sea” vibes include
Atlantis, The Palm (Dubai, UAE),
Beach Plum Resort (Montauk,
NY, U.S.), Château d’Esparron
(Esparron-de-Verdon, France),
Fanad Lighthouse(Letterkenny,
Ireland), Lighthouse on La Palma
Island (Barlovento, Spain), Corse-
wall Lighthouse Hotel (Kirkcolm,
UK), Aleria Luxury Cave Santo-
rini(Santorini, Greece).
The campaign kicked off
with Booking.com at the film’s
red-carpet premiere in Los An-
geles on May 8, and on May 15,
the global travel leader launched
a co-branded spot to run across
TV and digital channels in five
markets across the globe. Social
content inspired by The Little
Mermaid will also run across all
Booking.com channels celebrat-
ing the bookable consumer stays
and the summer travel season.
“Booking.com is committed to
making it easier for everyone to
experience the world, which is why
this collaboration with Disney
was a perfect fit,” says Arjan Dijk,
Senior Vice President and Chief
Marketing Officer at Booking.
com. “Collaborating with Disney
to celebrate the iconic film, The
Little Mermaid, and making the
premise of exploring the world
from the film a reality through
The Little Mermaid - Under The Sea Stay (BOOKING.COM)
www.canadianinquirer.net
bookable travel experiences
– from beach homes and fami-
ly-friendly hotels to lighthouses,
boats and castles – is something
we’re excited to share with Disney
fans and travelers alike looking
for a little magic and inspiration
this summer season.”
“Disney’s The Little Mermaid
kicks off the summer by taking
global audiences under the sea for
a stunning cinematic event only in
theaters, May 26th. We couldn’t
be more excited to collaborate
with Booking.com and bring this
film to life for fans through unique
and fun travel experiences,” says
Lylle Breier, SVP Global Market-
ing Partnerships, Promotions,
Synergy & Special Events.
Booking.com research re-
veals that 73% of Americans
plan to travel this summer with
beach vacations being one of
the top trip types. Main moti-
vations for Americans to trav-
el this summer include taking
time to relax and mentally un-
wind for a true mood booster,
29
while visiting and exploring
somewhere new. This unique
initiative celebrates the in-
credible diversity of travel ex-
periences offered on Booking.
com and is an example of just
one of the many unforgettable
stays customers can enjoy at
one of the more than 6.6 mil-
lion instantly bookable report-
ed listings in vacation homes,
apartments and other unique
places to stay on the platform.
From vacation rentals to hotels,
as well as a range of transpor-
tation options including rental
cars and flights, Booking.com
has travelers covered wherever
their “Somewhere, Anywhere”
is this summer. ■
Methodology
Research commissioned by
Booking.com and independent-
ly conducted among a sample
of 42,513 respondents across 33
countries and territories, includ-
ing 2000 from the US. In order to
participate in this survey, respon-
dents had to be 18 years of age or
older, had to have traveled at least
once in the past 12 months and be
either the primary decision maker
or involved in the decision making
of their travel. The survey was tak-
en online and took place in Janu-
ary and February 2023.
About Booking.com:
Part of Booking Holdings Inc.
(NASDAQ: BKNG), Booking.
com’s mission is to make it easi-
er for everyone to experience the
world. By investing in the tech-
nology that helps take the fric-
tion out of travel, Booking.com’s
marketplace seamlessly connects
millions of travelers with memo-
rable experiences every day. For
more information, follow @book-
ingcom on social media or visit
globalnews.booking.com.
 30
Why more foam makes for the best
beer-drinking experience – and always has
BY ANISTATIA RENARD
MILLER, University of Bristol
The Conversation
What makes for the ultimate
beer drinking experience?
Some like theirs in a frosty glass,
others with a wedge of lime. But
when it comes to froth – or the
head as it’s commonly known –
what’s the best amount and how
can it be achieved?
Too much froth and you’re
left with a smear of bubbles
across your face and hanging
from your nose as you desper-
ately try to get at the beer be-
neath. But too little will cause
problems in your stomach.
You see, if there’s no foam the
CO2 stays dissolved in the beer.
If you then eat something, the
foam erupts in your stomach
rather than the glass, causing
beer bloat. That’s why tipping a
glass to avoid a frothy head is a
rookie error.
Hoping to solve this issue, a
company in Japan has designed
a beer can with two pulls, which
control the level of foam pro-
duced by opening the can, result-
ing in the perfect amount of froth.
The FDA finally..
❰❰ 27 cut when arriving at a
solution.
Beyond the Link’s
potential medical uses, Musk
has made many radical claims
regarding his future vision for
the technology. He has claimed
Neuralink could augment hu-
man intelligence by creating an
on-demand connection with
artificial intelligence systems –
allowing, for example, improved
cognition through enhanced
memory, and improved learning
and problem-solving skills.
He has even gone as far as
to say the Link could allow
high-bandwidth telepathic
communication between two
Food
This is just the most recent
development in beer technolo-
gy. Humanity has been chasing
the perfect pint since beer’s
inception, which evidence sug-
gests was roughly 13,000 years
ago near Haifa, Israel – the
oldest known record of hu-
man-made alcohol.
Under pressure
Beer consumption has
evolved through the ages.
Those first producers and
consumers of beer in Israel
or more people connected via
a mediating computer. Com-
mon sense would suggest these
claims be put in the “I’ll believe
it when I see it” category.
The situation with Neuralink
has clear parallels with current
advancements in AI (and the
growing need to regulate it). As
exciting as these technologies
are, they must not be released
to the public until proven to be
safe. This can only be achieved
by exhaustive testing. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
were the Natufian people, a
group of hunter-gatherers in
the eastern Mediterranean.
Their beer would have been un-
filtered, which made it look like
thin porridge.
This led to the invention of
beer straws around the fifth to
the fourth millennium in Iran
and Iraq, which featured a fil-
ter on the tip that held back the
beer solids. These straws were
similar in design to a modern
bombilla (a yerba mate tea
Expert advice for..
❰❰ 26 that despite the ev-
er-present challenges,
there is good support
out there if you know where to
look for it. And my main piece
of advice for any young person
seeking to set up a business is to
find that support.
Once you’ve found it, learn
from it, and be inspired by it.
Don’t assume that you will know
the solution to every problem
you encounter – instead, seek
advice and expertise from as
broad a network as possible.
Aside from that, always plan
your next business move and
be thorough in your research.
Consider your unique selling
www.canadianinquirer.net
straw used for at least four cen-
turies in South America).
The next significant leap in
brewing was not the glass bot-
tle, but another airtight closure:
the barrel.
Advances in cooperage (the
making of wooden casks and
barrells) during the Middle
Ages meant that the CO2 pro-
duced by yeast during fermen-
tation remained in the solution
within the container, rather
than dissipating and giving it
the porridge-like consistency of
previous beers. This meant beer
could be held and dispensed un-
der pressure for the first time.
This inexorably altered the ap-
pearance and flavour of beer,
as it became effervescent and
foamy when served fresh.
Foam was a vital compo-
nent of proper beer because it
showed its freshness.
A good head
The foamy head was at one
time called a “collar” – a term
that first appeared in print in
John Steinbeck’s 1945 novel
Cannery Row. There seems to
be no origin story attached to
the monicker. And sadly, there
seems less need to apply a name
point: how will your business
enter the market, and what will
keep customers interested?
For those with entrepreneur-
ial ambitions, it is important to
stress that it is never easy. They
may be in for a rough (and often
exciting) ride. But if you know
where to find expertise and
funding and are blessed with
the necessary resilience and
perseverance to navigate this
volatile terrain, the opportu-
nities for a fulfilling future are
there for the taking. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY
to beer foam since society has
strayed from proper beer pour-
ing techniques.
Traditionally, beer was al-
lowed to foam up so much as it
was being poured that a “foam
scraper” (also known as a “foam
flipper” or “head cutter”) was
needed to shave the excess off
the glass rim. A large head was
achieved by pouring the beer
in an upright glass and en-
couraging excessive foaming.
This technique dissipates the
trapped CO2 and brings pos-
itive flavour elements to the
forefront.
These days you’ll notice that
glasses are tipped while beer is
poured. This is done to minimise
foam but leads to a less pleasur-
able, gaseous experience instead
of a creamy, toasty sip.
Next time you order a pint
you should ask your bartender
to pour the amber stuff into an
upright glass. This is all to say,
don’t fear the foam, it’s integral
to your enjoyment. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
As teams from..
❰❰ 24 aged 1.7 million view-
ers in Canada com-
pared to less than 1.2
million in the U.S. resulting in
almost 13 times more Canadian
viewers per capita.
Perhaps Canadians have a
right to be disappointed with four
non-traditional hockey markets
left to battle for the Cup, partic-
ularly when comparing hockey
culture between the two regions.
But as the old adage in sports goes:
just wait until next year. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
 JUNE
JULY 2, 2020
17, 2023 cx328
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 32 JUNE 2, 2023 FRIDAY

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