The UN report’s first recommendation is to recognize the right to a healthy environment. This was recommended by the House of Commons environment committee in 2017 as part of a suite of measures to strengthen the outdated Canadian Environmental Protection Act. This right is recognized in more than 150 countries and has proven to produce better environmental outcomes.
So far, the Trudeau government has declined to recognize this right, despite more than 100 MPs from all parties pledging their support and Liberal Party of Canada members voting for it to be a policy priority. While the federal government has committed to “modernizing” CEPA, there is no guarantee that this right will be recognized.
The report also recommends implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which includes the recognition of Indigenous legal systems and free, prior and informed consent for resource projects on Indigenous land. We call on Trudeau to act swiftly to introduce UNDRIP legislation, as committed to in the recent speech from the throne and during the 2015 election.
Finally, Liberal MP Lenore Zann has put forward Bill C-230, which calls for the development of a strategy to redress environmental racism. It is expected to proceed to second reading in early December. This bill could serve to establish an environmental justice framework, as recommended in the UN report, and stimulate solutions to environmental racism across Canada. However, as a private member’s bill, it faces an uphill battle and needs support.
Photo by William Chen – (CC BY-SA 4.0) Protester holding sign stating No Pipeline, No Consent, during a Kinder Morgan Pipeline Rally on September 9th, 2017 in Vancouver, Canada.
A British Columbia provincial court judge has ordered the Government of Canada-owned Trans Mountain Corp. to hand over security correspondence relating to the arrest of three Secwepemc land defenders in 2018.
The Secwepemc land defenders were arrested on December 10, 2018 when they protested a consultation on the pipeline being held by former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Frank Iacobucci at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC.
Defence lawyer Joe Killoran has suggested the altercation was a result of over-policing and a bias among the RCMP and three Trans Mountain security officers (two of whom were previously RCMP officers). Killoran suggested the documents may shed light on alleged racism and bias toward the land defenders.
In December 2019, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, called on Canada to stop construction on the pipeline until it had secured the free, prior and informed consent of the Secwepemc peoples.
The Sipekne’katik band will not fish its commercial lobster licences this season in southwest Nova Scotia, citing intimidation and violence that followed the launch of its moderate livelihood fishery in St Marys Bay.
The decision followed an emergency meeting Friday with fishermen working in the band’s commercial fishery.
“The consensus is that they don’t want to fish in the upcoming season due to concerns of safety. There is also the concern of not being able to sell our lobster,” said Chief Mike Sack.
“As of right now, our people aren’t comfortable taking that big risk and especially risking their life for that.”
Sipekne’katik’s decision means band members won’t fish the nine lobster licences Sipekne’katik holds in Lobster Fishing Area 34 when the season opens next month.
The First Nation still has the option to lease those licences to non-Indigenous fishermen, which could be worth as much as $450,000.
The Assembly of First Nations is coming under fire for exercising their rights
Members of the Sipekne’katik First Nation prepare to go fishing in Saulnierville, N.S., on, Sept. 17, 2020.THE CANADIAN PRESS — Andrew Vaughan
The Assembly of First Nations is coming under fire for exercising their rights under a treaty signed in the Treaty of 1760-61. According to the treaty Mi’kmaq have a right to barter and trade any goods they can acquire by hunting, fishing, and gathering, so they can make a moderate living. In the 1999 Marshall Decision, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the treaty rights of the Mi’kmaq and other Nations along the Atlantic coast when it was disputed.
Mi’kmaw are facing aggression from non-Indigenous fishermen in Saulnierville, Nova Scotia where Sipekne’katik First Nation is launching a fishery. They are having their boats surrounded, so they are unable to drop their traps and engage their rights.
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Landing only days after the UCP government’s refusal to rule out job losses for nearly 800 nurses, the Oct. 13 announcement from the Minister of Health and the CEO of AHS comes as a devastating blow to health-care support workers and Albertans.
Thousands of AHS positions will be outsourced – privatized – to “reduce labour costs.” The cuts, based on recommendations from the self-serving Ernst & Young review released in January will affect nearly 11,000 workers in laboratory services, medical laundry, housekeeping and food services – the very people who have been on the front line of this pandemic, ensuring testing and sanitation under the most challenging conditions.
They are also overwhelmingly female, and many from racialized backgrounds (over 83 per cent of our health services workforce is female, according to statistics from 2015). This is a demographic that has been hit hard by the triple burden of the pandemic-related shutdown, additional unpaid care work and targeted government cuts to the public sector. Not only is there no plan from the Alberta government to address the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women, but the UCP are also doubling and tripling down on women’s economic obstacles.
Minister Tyler Shandro claims there will be no job losses, and this is merely “a change of employers,” but this ignores the reality of outsourcing and privatization.
At this point, most of us know the drill when it comes to COVID-19: proper hand hygiene, mask wearing and social distancing.
But does setting fire to cell towers make your list? Probably not. A conspiracy theory linking 5G mobile technology to the COVID-19 outbreak has ignited fears worldwide, prompting just this response from a few individuals in Québec, who set ablaze seven mobile towers.
My research focuses on critical media studies and ideological representations in news and popular culture. I regularly offer workshops to schools and community groups that engage the public in contemporary media literacy issues. My book, Won’t Get Fooled Again: A Graphic Guide To Fake News, helps readers identify the underlying purpose of the messages they receive and learn how to do basic research before accepting the validity of what’s being presented to them.
As consumers, we need to learn how to filter content and become our own educators, editors and fact-checkers to ensure the information we act upon is trustworthy. In a constantly changing informational and political environment, it’s no wonder we often struggle to separate fact from fiction.
Research indicates people create misinformation for two primary reasons: money and ideology.
Articles, videos and other forms of content can generate large amounts of money for the websites that host these pieces. Most of their income comes from clicks on advertisements, so the more people who visit their sites, the better chances they have of boosting ad revenue. This feedback loop has led many publishers to lean on false information to drive traffic.
The threshold for making believable fake news has fallen as well. A conspiracy theorist, for example, can create a web page using a professional template with high-quality photos in just a few clicks. Once the content has been added, sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms requires even less effort.
Focus groups with students informed the content for ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again,’ a graphic narrative teaching media literacy. (Alan Spinney), Author provided
Dubious and inflammatory content can undermine the quality of public debate, promote misconceptions, foster greater hostility toward political opponents and corrode trust in government and journalism.
Aside from a few social media platforms that identify misleading content and provide a brief explanation, most information online or in print can appear factual. So how can we figure out which sources to trust?
As a sociologist who focuses on critical media studies, I formed focus groups and collected input from my students to create a resources to guide readers through identifying fake news. While regulation and legislation are part of the solution, experts agree we must take swift action to teach students how to seek verification before acting on fake news.
In my findings, students identified several reasons why media outlets post or re-publish fake news, including making mistakes, being short-staffed, not fact-checking and actively seeking greater viewership by posting fake news.
The students pointed to holistic media literacy and critical thinking training as the best responses. This finding runs counter to the tactics currently used by publishers and tech companies to label or “fact-check” disputed news.
One student summarized this mindset best: “As citizens and consumers, we have a responsibility to be critical. Don’t accept stories blindly. Hold those in power responsible for their actions!”
Getting multiple perspectives is a great way to expand our digest of viewpoints. Once we can see a story from more than one angle, separating truth from falsehood becomes much simpler.
At this point, I transitioned from recording perceptions of fake news to determining how to identify it. Providing students with information about the nature and agendas of fake news, in an immersive format, seemed to be a key step in engaging and cultivating their critical literacy capabilities. Information delivery was a key consideration.
Graphic narratives can help communicate complex and multiple ideas at the same time, such as research skills and mcivic rights. (Alan Spinney), Author provided
A major goal of my book involves unpacking the motivations behind the news we consume. Consider why a particular person was interviewed: Who do they represent? What do they want us to believe? Is another point of view missing?
Won’t Get Fooled Again: A Graphic Guide to Fake News is the culmination of my research and the insights drawn from media literacy scholarship. This guide helps readers understand what fake news is, where it comes from, and how to check its accuracy.
If there’s one habit my students and I hope everyone will develop, it’s this: pause before sharing news on social media. Double-check anything that immediately sparks anger or frustration and, remember, fake news creators want a reaction, not thoughtful reflection.
The UN report’s first recommendation is to recognize the right to a healthy environment. This was recommended by the House of Commons environment committee in 2017 as part of a suite of measures to strengthen the outdated Canadian Environmental Protection Act. This right is recognized in more than 150 countries and has proven to produce better environmental outcomes.
