Did you know that geoFence is the maximum in security for you and your loved ones?
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Reuters
Pilloried in Washington, firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene is loved back home
From the pulpit this past Sunday, Pastor Brian Crisp prayed for President Joe Biden and delivered a passionate sermon on loving one’s neighbor. This rural stretch of northwest Georgia is Marjorie Taylor Greene country. Voters here aren’t happy that the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Feb. 4 stripped Greene of her committee assignments – diluting her influence – for, among other things, advocating violence against Democratic lawmakers on social media before she was elected.
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Local Journalism Initiative
WSD moves to cut police in schools program
Manitoba’s largest school division is proposing to axe funding for its police-in-schools program, among other line items, to balance its 2021-22 budget. On Wednesday, the Winnipeg School Division released its draft budget for the upcoming school year to achieve a balanced budget of $421,039,405. The division is seeking $5 million in savings, owing to a decline in provincial operating funding and the government’s directive to freeze education property taxes. The board of trustees has recommended those funds be found through utility savings, eliminating summer clerical positions, and limiting non-salary school expenses (such as furniture and supplies). Also on the chopping block is occupational therapy and physiotherapy services, unfilled support staff positions, a milk subsidy, and the division’s contribution to the police-in-schools program. Nine uniformed officers currently work in its facilities, as part of the School Resource Officer program, which was established to build trust between police and marginalized communities. The community policing initiative is funded by the provincial government, Winnipeg Police Service and school divisions. The program has been put under the microscope in recent months, after a group of school staff, parents and community members formed the Police-Free Schools Winnipeg coalition. If the draft budget is approved as is, WSD will become the first division to cease funding the program. Last month, the division surveyed its community about hosting police in schools to give presentations on everything from bullying to drugs, participate in truancy-checks in and restorative justice work, and undertake threat assessments. Responses have yet to be reviewed. The chairman of the board’s finance committee acknowledged that reality makes the division look “a bit disingenuous.” “Our intention all along was to have a review of the SRO program and then have thoughtful discussion around that. The elephant in the room today, though, is that the Winnipeg School Division saw a reduction in provincial funding and we need to make cuts to our operations,” said Chris Broughton, trustee for Ward 2. Broughton said the program, which would cost WSD upwards of $530,000 in 2021-22, could still continue in some form if the province and police continue to contribute their respective shares. Police-Free Schools Winnipeg lauded the move as a first step. The collective claims the program is an example of police overreach and makes BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of colour) students and staff feel unsafe at school. “Community pressure is building, people are becoming more informed, this is the direction that things are going (in), so I hope that the other school divisions take note,” said Irene Bindi, an organizing member with Police-Free Schools Winnipeg. The WPS did not provide comment in time for publication. WSD residents can provide input on the draft budget via email, in writing, or by registering as a delegation at the board’s Feb. 22 meeting. Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press
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Local Journalism Initiative
Coal Policy Reinstatement Doesn’t Impact Planned Grassy Mountain Mine
(ANNews) – The Alberta government announced on Feb. 8 that it’s backtracking on its removal of the province’s coal policy to permit open-pit mining on the Rockies eastern slopes. However, this decision has no bearing on the controversial Grassy Mountain project in Blairmore. That’s because the coal policy divided the eastern slopes into four categories, banning all mining in Category 1 and open-pit mining in Category 2, with lesser restrictions in Categories 3 and 4. Grassy Mountain is Category 4, so open-pit mining was already permitted there. While opposition continues to mount against the Grassy Mountain project, including among First Nations, the leadership of Treaty 7 nations continue to support the project, including those who had vigorously opposed the removal of the coal policy. “It is not a hole in the side of a mountain, where people are going in with pickets and chipping at rocks. Open-pit coal mining is an extremely invasive method of extracting coal,” Kainai Nation member Latasha Calf Robe, who founded the Niitsitapi Water Protectors to oppose the Grassy Mountain Project, told the Forgotten Corner Podcast. “They literally blow up the mountain.” The Blood Tribe and Siksika Nation filed a court challenge to the removal of the coal policy. It’s unclear whether it will proceed now that the government has committed to reinstating the policy in some capacity. The government said they’re allowing exploration that’s already under way on Category 2 lands to continue unabated. “Kainai has a connection to the Crowsnest Pass region that dates back more than ten thousand years,” reads a statement from the Blood Tribe. “The headwaters of the Oldman River Basin are sacred to the Blackfoot Nations and their way of life. Alberta acknowledges this reality in its land use plans for the region and committed to consulting Kainai and other First Nations on key decisions. Even so, the Government of Alberta made its hasty decision to strip protection of the area without any consultation.” Regardless, both bands’ leadership continue to support Grassy Mountain. The leadership of the Piikani Nation has gone all-in on support for coal, endorsing the UCP government’s removal of the coal policy. In a Jan. 20 statement, Piikani Nation Chief Stanley C. Grier reiterated his unmitigated support Grassy Mountain, saying band councils are the only people authorized to speak on behalf of their membership. “Without hesitation, the Piikani Nation, fully endorse the Grassy Mountain initiative as this site has been previously developed, disturbed, and laid dormant for at least 45 years,” wrote Grier. “Back then Piikani Nation was never consulted at all and (there is) no indication that any type of environmental standards were applied at that time.” Grier touted the employment and revenues he says the nation will receive from it. “Responsible resource development can create thousands of good-paying jobs, something that our neighbours in surrounding areas have taken advantage of for decades,” he said, emphasizing that there continues to be global demand for steel, which is made with the same metallurgical coal that Grassy Mountain is slated to produce. The nation underwent consultation that involves traditional land use reviews, environmental and ecological studies, as well as a cultural and environmental monitoring program that will continue throughout the mine’s existence, says Grier. Australian mining company Riversdale Resources, which is spearheading the project, boasts letters of support from all five Treaty 7 nations — Piikani, Kainai (Blood Tribe), Siksika, Stoney Nakoda and Tsuut’ina — as well as the Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3 and the National Coalition of Chiefs. But Calf Robe says this support is superficial. She says while companies have a duty to consult with impacted First Nations, it often involves them simply telling leadership what they’re going to do. “The duty to consult does not equal community-level consultation. It does not equal consent from members of the Blood Tribe,” she said, adding that members of other Treaty 7 nations have expressed similar frustrations. Adam North Peigan of the Piikani Nation is one. “The Chief basically made a statement and not only did he put his name on the line, but he put the entire membership and dragged our name through it as members,” said Peigan. “We take offence to that, because our thoughts are that at the outset there was no meaningful consultation with grassroots members.” He says any consultation with Piikani must have been done with the Chief and council “and that’s where it stopped.” Noticing a backlash towards the Chief’s statement on social media, Peigan set up a forum on Zoom for band members “to come forward and talk about their frustrations and their reasons and their feeling and their thoughts on why they felt that this Grassy Mountain coal mine project in Crowsnest Pass was an endangerment to the environment of the traditional territory of Piikani.” “There was a lot of enthusiasm coming out of that discussion,” he said, adding that they scheduled another meeting for the following week. First Nations communities are generally bereft of the resources to do their own independent research into the impacts of resource extraction projects, but one can look towards the B.C. side of the Rockies for the impact of open-pit mining on their water supply, Calf Robe explains. “Those messages of ‘Coal is good, coal is clean’ is all that’s provided to First Nations communities,” said Calf Robe. “We’re always stretched to the bandwidth … Nobody has the time or effort to spend money on testing the quality of water.” This dire economic situation makes First Nations leadership more willing to accept harmful resource extraction projects in the name of job creation, she added, pointing out the average annual income on Blood Tribe is about $20,000. Peigan said it’s the same issue on Piikani, adding that there’s probably an element of each nation not wanting to be “left out in the dark” while the neighbouring nations reap the benefits of employment. “We need jobs in our communities, but these aren’t the types of jobs we need,” said Calf Robe. (Disclosure: This writer is a co-host of the Forgotten Corner Podcast.) Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News
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Local Journalism Initiative
Scarce Vaccine Challenging
Premier Moe and Dr. Saqib Shahab provided a COVID-19 update today February 11, regarding the trends in case counts and the vaccination rollout strategy. For the past two days Saskatchewan have had smaller numbers of new cases than we have seen in the last two months. The trends are moving slowly in a downward fashion, but this decline does not mean we can start to relax the safety measures that have been in place for a long time now. What people in our province are doing is working, the effective reproduction number has returned to close to one and the number of individuals in the hospital and in the intensive care units around the province has become to decrease, but the requirements haven’t changed; people in Saskatchewan need to “stay the coarse”. Premier Moe doggedly defended the choice to vaccinate determined by age. The highest number of deaths (88%) have occurred in individuals over the age of 60 and approximately two thirds of patients in hospitals and half of all cases in ICU on February 9 were 60 and over. The scare supply of vaccine over the past month and the uncertainty of whether these shortages will continue, means that this scarce resource must be distributed in the most effective way to reduce the number of serious outcomes. Not all health care workers have the same risk of exposure as others, and while the Premier said he understands the concerns of the different groups such as health care workers not included in Phase 1, law enforcement, and teachers to name a few, who feel they should be at the head of the line in front of the general public, Premier Moe said the province needs to make sure that it makes vaccines available to the elderly and the vulnerable as quickly as possible. Dr. Shahab agreed, “If we are going to get the high volumes of vaccine we’ve been promised in March and April, the age-based approach is going to be the way to go to get lots of people in quickly into clinics.” Dr. Shahab was instrumental in the 2009 vaccination program to deal with the H1N1 pandemic and brings that experience to the table this time around. Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin confirmed today Pfizer will significantly ramp up its deliveries next month. Next week 403,000 Pfizer doses are scheduled to arrive in Canada, another 475,000 the following week and 444,000 in each of the first and second weeks of March. Pfizer had originally promised a total of four million does in the first quarter of 2021 and are still saying this will be achieved and if they can meet the quota on every remaining shipment it is foreseeable that they can meet their goal. Moderna had committed to two million doses by the end of March, but continuing manufacturing issues at the company’s plants in Europe put that target in danger. Currently Moderna is only delivering a shipment of vaccine to Canada once every three weeks with the next shipment set for February 22, and the next on March 15 and to meet their contract obligations that March delivery will need to be significantly larger than what has been coming lately. Carol Baldwin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Wakaw Recorder
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The Canadian Press
Chinese TV features blackface performers in New Year’s gala
BEIJING — Chinese state TV included dancers in blackface depicting Africans during a national broadcast Thursday as Asia welcomed the lunar Year of the Ox with subdued festivities amid travel curbs to contain renewed coronavirus outbreaks. The “African Song and Dance” performance came at start of the Spring Festival Gala, one of the world’s most-watched TV programs. It included dancers in African-style costumes and dark face makeup beating drums. The five-hour annual program, which state TV has said in the past is watched by as many as 800 million people, also included tributes to nurses, doctors and others who fought the coronavirus pandemic that began in central China in late 2019. Festivities for the holiday, normally East Asia’s busiest tourism season, are muted after China, Vietnam, Taiwan and other governments tightened travel curbs and urged the public to avoid big gatherings following renewed virus outbreaks. China’s ruling Communist Party tries to promote an image of unity with African nations as fellow developing economies. But state broadcaster China Central Television has faced criticism over using blackface to depict African people in past New Year broadcasts. On Twitter, Black Livity China, a group for people of African descent who work in or with China, called the broadcast “extremely disappointing.” It noted CCTV’s 2018 Spring Festival Gala featured performers in blackface with a monkey. “We cannot stress enough the impact scenes such as these have on African and Afro-diasporic communities living in China,” the group said. Elsewhere in China, Buddhist and Daoist temples that usually are packed with worshippers for the holiday were closed. Streets in major cities were largely empty. The government appeal to China’s public to avoid travel is expected to hurt airlines, hotels and gift sellers. But economists say the overall impact might be limited if factories, shops and farms keep operating instead of shutting down for two weeks as they usually do. The Commerce Ministry said it found 48 million more people in Chinese cities planned to celebrate where they live this year instead of travelling to their hometowns or tourist spots. Departures from Beijing’s two major airports Wednesday were down 75% from last year, the government reported. In Taiwan, merchants said this year’s sales are up 10%-20% because Taiwanese celebrated at home with family dinners instead of travelling abroad. “Business this year is good. We have even more people,” said a sausage vendor in the capital, Taipei, who would give only his surname, Tsai. “People stay home and prepare food for year-end dinner to share with friends and family.” ___ AP journalist Taijing Wu in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report. Joe McDonald, The Associated Press
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Local Journalism Initiative
City committee rejects study on eliminating Transit fare
Climate change and equity were at the forefront of discussions at city hall Thursday as two sizable transit program changes were considered by the public works committee. Coun. Vivian Santos had proposed the city study the implications of eliminating transit fares, or charging only $1. The motion was ultimately rejected but generated a great deal of support from community members who advocated for the proposal before the vote. The committee also received a technical evaluation on what the future electrification of transit could look like in Winnipeg. The evaluation calls on the city to make an initial purchase of 16 zero-emission buses. This would include eight hydrogen fuel cell battery-electric models and eight battery-electric buses. The report proposes studying the use of those buses for up to two years, beginning in 2022, if the proposal receives council approval and secures senior government funding. The committee discussed these issues one day after the federal government announced that $14.9 billion would be spent in cities across the country over the next eight years. This includes $5.9 billion in short-term funding, as well as a permanent transit fund that would disperse $3 billion per year, starting in 2026, in an effort to lower greenhouse gas emissions. “Transit is at the fore of urban sustainability,” said Brian Pincott, a resident of Winnipeg and former Calgary city councillor. Many presenters spoke about how lower fares would benefit low-income Winnipeggers. “It would be a massive improvement in the quality of life of your lower-income citizens,” said longtime community advocate Sel Burrows. The Amalgamated Transit Union also spoke in favour of Santos’s motion, with a preference for free fares as it would eliminate the need to spend money on fare infrastructure, including collection boxes. Union president Romeo Ignacio said he believes eliminating fares would make it safer for transit drivers. Speaking about his experience in Calgary, Pincott said when the city introduced a sliding-scale fare in which low-income residents paid only $5 a month, the demand for transit service was incredible. “The administration came back and said, ‘We anticipate we’re going to see an extra 20,000 riders a month by doing this.’ That was from all the data that they had. It was closer to 70,000 people. We are not aware of the need out there,” Pincott said. Ultimately these arguments did not sway the committee. Couns. Jeff Browaty and Markus Chambers voted against the motion to explore lower fares while Devi Sharma and Matt Allard voted in favour, but a tied vote means the motion is rejected. Browaty and Chambers shared similar concerns about the proposal. First, that transit fares generate roughly $90 million in revenue. Second, that they’d rather see the expansion of transit before cheaper transit is explored. “Recognizing that we don’t enjoy the same partnership that we had with the province in terms of funding transit, that it would be borne more on Winnipeggers as taxpayers to provide further subsidies for transit to reduce the fees to $1 or to provide free transit here in our city,” Chambers said. Allard expressed frustration that the committee wouldn’t even instruct the administration to explore and report back on the possible costs and benefits. The committee unanimously accepted the administration’s report on transit electrification. A full meeting of council will hear more about future electrification plans when the transit master strategy is submitted next month. Allard noted that while electrification of buses should be a part of the future plans for Winnipeg, it’s more important to increase ridership and get people out of their cars from an emissions perspective. Sarah Lawrynuik, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press
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Local Journalism Initiative
THREE-DIGIT-DAY: COVID-19 count continues to rise in St. John’s area
Newfoundland and Labrador’s top public health official has broadened the range of people who have to self-quarantine and loosened the criteria for testing as the St. John’s metro area grapples with the province’s worst COVID-19 outbreak. All but one of the 100 new confirmed COVID-19 cases announced Thursday are in the region. It’s the second one-day record in a row, after the province recorded 53 confirmed cases and 32 presumptive cases Wednesday. Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said all but one of Wednesday’s presumptive cases have been rolled into Thursday’s confirmed count. And one of the latter is a man in the Western Health region of the province. The source of that case was not given. No one is in hospital. “It is evident that COVID has been circulating in our province undetected for some time,” Fitzgerald said Thursday during what have become daily briefings. “This tells us that the majority of cases had mild symptoms or were asymptomatic and did not come forward for testing. We are now seeing a snowball effect as a result of exposure notification and contact tracing.” Because of an intensive effort to test and trace contacts over the past four days, she said, the numbers have become alarmingly high in a very short period. “It is a reflection of spread, but it’s also a reflection of us contact tracing and finding these cases. So, we have to remember that,” she said. “We’re not catching this at the very early stages where it’s just starting to grow. We are seeing it in a more rapid growth period,” she said. “That’s why it’s so important right now for people to follow the special measures orders and it’s so important for people to keep their contacts as small as possible — in the metro area, for sure, but even across the island. This is happening here right now and it could be anywhere across the island.” Fitzgerald widened the number of people who are required to quarantine Thursday based on the kinds of activities contact tracing has identified so far as being common points of spread. Anybody in the following categories is required to isolate for 14 days, and must seek testing if any symptoms of COVID-19 develop: • Students in grades 7-12 and other individuals who attended parties or gatherings of 10 people or more with these students in the metro area from Feb. 5-7. • Students in grades 7-12 and other individuals who played team sports with students in the metro area from Feb. 5-7. This includes anyone outside the metro area who played on the same or opposing team, or in a tournament. • Individuals who coached or assisted team sports in grades 7-12 who played games or practised in the metro area from Feb. 5-7. Anyone in these categories should count their 14 days from either the last gathering they attended or game they played, or from their last contact with a positive case, whichever is more recent. Those who do need testing should try the online assessment tool (https://www.811healthline.ca/covid-19-self-assessment/) if possible before calling 811, as high volumes have caused some delays on the line. Even if you get a negative test, said Fitzterald. you must continue to self-isolate. However, other household members do not have to isolate unless they or the affected member experience symptoms of COVID-19 and/or test positive for COVID-19. Any Eastern Health employees or physicians affected by these advisories should contact Occupational Health at 777-7777(3)(2) or email [email protected] In an attempt to prevent spread to other parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, Fitzgerald has broadened the benchmark to seek testing for everyone in the province. Under the new guidelines, anyone with even one of the following symptoms should call 811 or go online: • Fever, including chills or sweats; • A new or worsening cough; • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; • Runny, stuffy or congested nose; • Sore throat or difficulty swallowing; • Headache; • Loss of sense of smell or taste; • Unusual fatigue or lack of energy; • New onset of muscle aches; • Loss of appetite; • Vomiting or diarrhea for more than 24 hours; and • Small red or purple spots on hands and/or feet. Fitzgerald also strongly advised all residents against travelling in and out of the St. John’s metro area, except for essential reasons. Health Minister Dr. John Haggie said Thursday that Eastern Health has 155 health-care workers in isolation because of the outbreak. He said some walk-in clinics may be affected, but planned in-patient and emergent care is not affected so far. He also echoed Fitzgerald’s pleas for people not to ignore symptoms, not matter how mild. “It is the time of the year for runny noses and tickly coughs, and the tendency to minimize these has always existed,” he said. “The mildness of the symptoms is typical of youth, and it’s important that we encourage them to get tested.” He said it’s not appropriate to point fingers. “We’ve encouraged team sport activities for some time as part of a wellness strategy and a wellness approach,” he said. “And, as for social gatherings, well, teens do today what we all did when we were teenagers, too, and we all think at that age we’re going to live forever. “Encourage them, support them and don’t blame them.” Peter Jackson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Telegram
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Local Journalism Initiative
Far-flung char: Baffin Island fishery offers free shipping to host of southern cities
Fishing season for one Baffin Island business started Wednesday, and the success of a recent remodelling is setting the stage for a profitable year. Pangnirtung Fisheries Ltd. is shipping products for free with Canadian North, opening up potential markets in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal, Ottawa and Whitehorse. The deal began in the beginning of January, said Keaton Guy, production manager for Pangnirtung Fisheries. It’s part of a larger plan to modernize the business and expand its customer base throughout Canada. The website and free shipping “has increased sales like you wouldn’t believe,” said Guy. “For the first time in the last 10 years we sold out of Arctic char.” Guy said before the website and the revamped business strategy, customers had to call in to Pangnirtung to place orders and pay for shipping. The business receives country food rates through Canadian North, which offers a discount from standard freight costs. Now, Guy said Pangnirtung Fisheries decided eating the cost of shipping was worth selling more of their stock and developing new markets. Guy said there’s a lot of excitement with the fishing season starting. The fishery will open an hour earlier and close an hour later, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Guy said the scales will be in operation almost right away. Pangnirtung Fisheries has more than 80 contract fishermen and women who travel out to a secret location on the ice, set up their equipment, cut a hole in the ice and leave their lines with 600 hooks in for about 12 hours. Then, they haul up their catch with a machine or by hand, and drop it off at the processing plant to be weighed. “The most popular is the char fillets,” he said. The season ends when the ice breaks apart or Pangnirtung Fisheries hits their quota of 800,000 pounds of fish, which, Guy said, they can reach in about three months. David Venn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News
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Reuters
Australia to introduce landmark Google, Facebook legislation to parliament next week
Australia will next week introduce landmark legislation to force Alphabet’s Google and Facebook to pay publishers and broadcasters for content, a senior government official said on Friday. The legislation, which Google says will be “unworkable”, will make Australia the first country to require Facebook and Google to pay for news content. “The bill will now be considered by the parliament from the week commencing 15 February 2021,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said in an emailed statement.
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CBC
Victim of childhood sex assault says system silences survivors after court delays set abuser free
A B.C. woman who was sexually abused by an older cousin when she was a child in the 1980s says she was crushed to learn the province’s highest court will allow him to remain a free man, despite multiple convictions. The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court order staying proceedings against Manjit Singh Virk, the man who assaulted Jeeti Pooni beginning when she was just 11 years old. “One would think at some point that the system is going to work for survivors,” Pooni said of that decision. “It was very disheartening, disappointing — you name it — when one has spoken their truth, testified and there’s a guilty verdict, and then you receive this news.” Virk was convicted in 2018 of four criminal counts related to the historical sexual abuse of three younger cousins. But the proceedings were stayed when a B.C. Supreme Court justice found that the seven-year delay from when Virk was first charged until the end of the trial was unreasonable. The Crown appealed, questioning the lower court judge’s calculations and decision to issue a stay after the trial was complete, but the appeals court dismissed those arguments on Wednesday. Writing on behalf of a unanimous panel of five justices, Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon expressed some discomfort with the outcome. “This is a troubling case. The charges were serious, involving sexual abuse of vulnerable complainants. Mr. Virk was found to be guilty of most of the offences charged,” she wrote. “A stay of proceedings in these circumstances marks a failure of the justice system.” The ruling stems from the landmark Jordan decision of 2016, which sets a limit of 30 months for trials in superior court. Beyond that deadline, any delay is presumed to be unreasonable, apart from exceptional circumstances or unnecessary delay caused by the defence. In the Virk case, Fenlon noted that a large portion of the delay was a result of “complacency and lack of urgency” by Virk’s original defence lawyer, but said the Crown compounded those delays by failing “to take control of the prosecution and move it along effectively.” Abuse prevents survivors from ‘thriving’ Virk was convicted of sexual crimes against three young cousins — Pooni, her sister Salakshana (Surjit) Pooni and their cousin Rajinder Rana — in the years from 1980 to 1985. He was originally charged with sexually assaulting a third Pooni sister as well, but was found not guilty of those charges at trial. The girls were between the ages of 11 and 17 when the attacks happened. The abuse took place not long after Virk immigrated to Canada from India, while they were all living in Pooni’s family home in Williams Lake. Virk’s trial heard that Pooni was just 11 years old when he sexually assaulted her while her parents were on a trip to India in 1980. She kept the abuse a secret for years before finally confiding in her sisters, and learning they all had similar stories. They eventually turned to their parents, who failed to hold Virk accountable, so the sisters reported their abuse to the police in 2007. Virk was finally arrested and charged in 2011, more than three decades after his crimes. Now 52, Pooni said the abuse has affected every aspect of her life. “That means emotionally, physically, health-wise and all of that. It does prevent one from thriving and living the life that one is born to live. When you go through an experience like this, then the onus is up to the survivor to find their healing,” she said. ‘It’s about doing the right thing’ She feels dismayed about what the appeal court decision means for other survivors of sex assault. Few of these crimes result in charges and fewer still lead to convictions — just one in 10 sex assaults reported to police ends with a guilty finding, according to Statistics Canada. Pooni managed to beat those odds and get a conviction, but her abuser is still walking free. “How is this going to inspire anyone to even break their silence and come forward?” she asked. “It’s crushing voices and keeping survivors silent and preventing them from coming forward.” She said she’s counting on the Crown to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, and for the justice system to find some way to stop this from happening to anyone else. “It’s not about vengeance. It’s not about disrespect. It’s about doing the right thing,” she said.
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The Canadian Press
Senators demand race-based data on who requests, receives MAID in Canada
OTTAWA — Senators want the federal government to collect race-based data on who requests and receives medical assistance in dying in Canada. They approved Thursday an amendment to Bill C-7 requiring the government to collect such data. The bill would expand access to assisted dying to intolerably suffering individuals who are not near the natural end of their lives. The amendment reflects concern that Black, racialized and Indigenous people with disabilities, already marginalized and facing systemic discrimination in the health system, could be induced to end their lives prematurely due to poverty and lack of support services. Sen. Mobina Jaffer, a member of the Independent Senators Group who proposed the amendment, noted that no race-based analysis was done when the bill was being drafted. “One in four people have been left out of the data collection,” she told the Senate. Her amendment was widely supported and passed on a voice vote with no objections, other than the government’s representative in the Senate, Sen. Marc Gold, saying that he wanted to abstain. Sen. Kim Pate, another member of the Independent Senators Group, said the amendment won’t ensure that no one opts for an assisted death as a result of unequal access to health care, housing and social and income supports. But she said it will ensure that “the government must at least provide some answers about who makes use of Bill C-7 and under what circumstances.” Pate said the government should also be required to provide more information on who accesses assisted dying, including income, whether they are institutionalized and whether they had access to alternative means of relieving their suffering and to social and financial supports. Such information could have been provided had a legally mandated parliamentary review of the five-year-old assisted dying law begun in June as it was supposed to. Numerous senators expressed frustration that they’re being asked to revamp the law before the promised review has even begun. Justice Minister David Lametti has blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for disrupting plans for the review but, while he’s said he hopes it can begin soon, he’s been unable to promise a specific start time. Senators took matters into their own hands Thursday, approving another amendment requiring that a joint parliamentary committee be struck within 30 days of the bill receiving royal assent to conduct a comprehensive review of Canada’s assisted dying regime. The committee would report back by Sept. 15 or, if Parliament is prorogued or dissolved for an election before then, within 180 days of the committee being re-established. “Passing C-7 with a hope and a wish or even a promise that the review will happen seems to me to be a poor bet,” said Sen. Scott Tannas, leader of the Canadian Senators Group who proposed the amendment. “We need to be clear, in writing, in the bill.” Senators rejected Thursday, by a vote of 63-12, with three abstentions, another amendment that would have made it a criminal offence to compel anyone to provide or “facilitate” an assisted death. Conservative Senate leader Don Plett proposed the amendment in a bid to ensure that medical practitioners who have moral objections to assisted dying are not required to refer a patient who requests an assisted death to another practitioner who will help them — as is required in some provinces. But Gold and other senators argued that such an amendment would likely be an unconstitutional use of the federal criminal law power to invade provincial jurisdiction over the regulation of health services. Thursday’s debate wrapped up the time allotted for amendments to be proposed. However, debate on one amendment, proposed by Sen. Marilou McPhedran of the Independent Senators Groups, was cut short after Gold asked the Speaker to rule it out of order. Debate and vote on that amendment could still occur next week if it is ruled in order. McPhedran proposed to delete all provisions in the bill that would allow assisted dying for people who are not nearing the natural end of life. She argued that such provisions single out people with disabilities and send the message that having a disability is “a fate worse than death.” However, Gold argued that McPhedran’s amendment is directly contrary to the objective of Bill C-7, which is intended to bring the law into compliance with a 2019 Quebec Superior Court ruling. That ruling struck down a provision in the law that allows assisted dying only for individuals whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable. After the ruling on McPhedran’s amendment, the Senate will begin final debate Tuesday on the bill, as amended by senators, with a final vote to take place by the end of the day Wednesday. The schedule is intended to give the government time to meet the thrice-extended court-imposed deadline of Feb. 26. Earlier this week, senators approved several substantial amendments to the bill, including one that would allow people who fear losing mental capacity to make advance requests for assisted death and another that would impose an 18-month time limit on the bill’s proposed ban on assisted dying for people suffering solely from mental illnesses. If senators approve an amended bill next week, it will have to go back to the House of Commons to decide whether to accept or reject the changes and then back to the Senate to decide whether to accept the Commons’ verdict. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2021. Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press
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Canadian Press Videos
Amazon faces biggest union push in nearly a decade
Amazon is facing the biggest unionization push in nearly a decade. And it’s happening in the unlikeliest of places: Alabama, a state with laws that doesn’t favor unions. (Feb. 12)
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The Canadian Press
Jets score three second-period goal en route to 5-1 victory over struggling Senators
WINNIPEG — Connor Hellebuyck led the Winnipeg Jets to yet another win this season over the Ottawa Senators. Hellebuyck stopped 41 shots — 18 in a scoreless first period — to anchor Winnipeg’s 5-1 victory over Ottawa on Thursday night. The Jets (8-4-1) improved to 4-0 against the Senators (2-12-1) with the two teams set to square off again Saturday. “I got into a rhythm, I got into it early,” Hellebuyck said. “The guys were keeping them to the outside allowing me to see a lot of the shots, which is great for my position. “They got a lot of shots but I thought we controlled where they were coming from and we handled the rebounds . . . so yeah they got a big number there but I felt like our team kind of controlled it well.” Winnipeg took control of the contest with second-period goals from Paul Stastny, Nikolaj Ehlers and Blake Wheeler. “I thought we got the puck deep and we killed their momentum,” Hellebuyck said. “We killed where they wanted to go with the puck and then we created some battles which we came out on top of. “It was getting the puck to stop moving then jump on them.” Mathieu Perreault and Neal Pionk both scored in the third for Winnipeg. Josh Norris scored the lone goal for Ottawa, which outshot Winnipeg 42-26. Ottawa was minus defenceman Artem Zub, who was out for “precautionary reasons” after an inconclusive COVID-19 test. The Senators said prior to the contest Zub’s inconclusive test result came back Thursday after testing negative Wednesday. Josh Brown dressed in Zub’s place. Zub, a 25-year-old rookie, has played six games with Ottawa, recording two assists. Following the game Senators head coach D.J. Smith confirmed that Zub’s test Thursday was negative and that he will be able to return to the team Friday. The NHL has postponed 35 games this season, but the seven Canadian teams in the North Division have yet to see their schedule interrupted. Ottawa controlled a scoreless first, outshooting Winnipeg 18-6. The Jets went ahead 1-0 just eight seconds into the second when Stastny registered his third of the season. “You need to watch Ottawa play regularly to fully appreciate their game,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice said. “They play real hard, real fast and they’re a good team, they’re a tough out. “So you have to stay in the game, you have to stay in the fight. Our goaltender was outstanding in the first period and we weren’t and then we got better.” Ehlers gave Winnipeg a 2-0 advantage with his ninth of the year. He deflected a Dylan DeMelo blast from the point past Ottawa goalie Matt Murray at 7: 53. DeMelo was originally credited with the goal before an official scoring change. DeMelo, a former Senator, said there was a simple explanation for Winnipeg’s improved play in the second. “We moved our feet, plain and simple, more of a north game instead of east-west,” he said. “Just being direct and keeping it simple. “That’s how we have to play and when we get away from that it’s very evident what happens. We’ve got a lot of speed and a lot of guys who can make good plays but it starts with moving your feet and when you move your feet things start to open up.” DeMelo also had praise for his former team. “I think they’re definitely going the right way,” he said. “It will probably take some time with their young guys, obviously that learning curve. “But if they play like that every night I’m sure they can live with the mistakes . . . they gave us a tough game, they’re no pushover. Their record maybe doesn’t speak for how they play and how hard they play. We’re in for a tough one again Saturday.” Wheeler made it 3-0 with an unassisted power-play goal at 19: 34, his fourth of the season. But as the period ended Murray appeared to be shaken up and wasn’t on the bench to start the third as backup Marcus Hogberg went in goal. “It was more precautionary,” Smith said. “They’re doing some tests and we’ll see (Friday morning) how he is. “We’re hopeful (Murray) will be good but if not, we’ll have to look at the options.” Perreault beat Hogberg at 2: 58 to put Winnipeg ahead 4-0 with his second of the year. Norris scored Ottawa’s goal at 11: 42, his third, before Pionk countered with his first of the season at 13: 45. This report by The Canadian Press was first published February 11, 2021. The Canadian Press
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Local Journalism Initiative
Current wave of COVID-19 receding in much of the world, including Saskatchewan
Regina– According the John Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard, as of Feb. 11, Canada is currently 22nd in the world for the number of COVID-19 cases it has had to date. Nearly every country above it, as well as Canada, is on the backside of either its second or third wave, with new case counts having significantly declined almost universally in the last two months. This has happened just as vaccinations started their very slow rate of dispersal. For Saskatchewan, it meant this province continues to trend in the right direction, according to Premier Scott Moe, during the during the regular provincial COVID-19 briefing on Feb. 11 in the Legislature. “As of today, our seven-day average of new cases is down now to 182. That is the lowest since January 3rd, and down about 43 per cent from the peak on January the 12th.” Moe said. Asked how this plays for Saskatchewan, Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said, “We have known for a long time, even before the COVID pandemic came, that pandemics come in waves and they can be one, two, three, four waves. “And second, we also know that respiratory viruses like coronaviruses do have a seasonality. They’re more likely to have a stronger wave in winter months, and that’s what we’ve seen. But, you know, the way viruses behave is that they go up, and we have to work very hard to make that peak as low as possible, through public health measures, other interventions, and then the wave recedes, like you mentioned, this receding in many parts of the world. But we have to make sure that whenever the wave comes, it causes the least damage that we can incur and, unfortunately, throughout Canada and the northern hemisphere, and the fall wave has had devastating consequences for many jurisdictions. He continued, “Hopefully, we are on the downswing, but we can’t let a guard down because, we still have more than 95 per cent of the population not immune. We already seen in the UK, they had a severe second wave. We didn’t have a severe first wave. We had a very small first wave, mostly linked to international travel. We had a quiet summer. Many parts of the world had a devastating first wave including the U.K., parts of the U.S. “Parts of the U.S. never went down; they had sustained transmission throughout the summer, which we didn’t have. The U.K. had a devastating second wave, and then as they were coming out of it, through a severe lockdown, they had the variant strain pick up, and they had a devastating third wave, which is even worse than the second wave. Shahab concluded, “So, I think we have been very fortunate. We have done well. But we really can’t let our guard down, and we really have to stay the course with our public health measures, well into our vaccine program, till you know we have a large proportion of the population vaccinated. We really have to stay the course of the public health measures.” Brian Zinchuk, Local Journalism Initiative reporter, Estevan Mercury
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Local Journalism Initiative
Chief Bruneau: Papaschase First Nation Should Be Part Of The Edmonton Urban Reserve Discussions
(ANNews) – The Papaschase Nehiyawak First Nation is seeking to be included in the City of Edmonton’s plans for an urban reserve, but first it requires federal recognition of its band status. Chief Calvin Bruneau says the band has been in talks with the city on-and-off for a while about acquiring land to form an urban reserve, and was thus caught off guard last month when the city announced they were looking at doing so with the Enoch First Nation. “We have been getting word out to the feds, as well as to mayor and council, that we definitely want smaller lands back in the city to create an urban reserve out of them,” said Bruneau. “When that news came out about Enoch wanting to get an urban reserve in Edmonton, well that didn’t sit too well with us, because we were left out of discussions.” Papaschase was a signatory to Treaty 6 at Fort Edmonton on Aug. 21, 1877, under which they were entitled to 49.9 square miles of land but only received 39.9 square miles in what is now south Edmonton, Bruneau explains. By 1888, all Papaschase members were transferred to other bands, such as Enoch, Saddle Lake, Musquasis, Kehewin and Beaver Lake, among others, based on a vote from three of Papaschase’s 249 members. Under the Indian Act, they require a quorum of 10 to make decisions on behalf of the nation. “They didn’t have a majority, so that’s Canada’s basis for the surrender of south Edmonton,” said Bruneau. “We’re contending with the federal government that that’s an illegal surrender.” In practice, this means that the Papaschase Nation isn’t an officially recognized band, despite having an elected council since 1999. Only with official recognition as a band will Papaschase be able to access its reserve land. “We need a federal recognition to get Ottawa to acknowledge they did wrong to our ancestors, and once you get them to admit that they owe us a legal obligation, that’s when you get into legal negotiations,” Bruneau said. Since the Trans Mountain pipeline goes through their ancestral lands, Papaschase has quasi-official recognition from the federal government, having engaged with Natural Resources Canada and the Ministry of Finance, as well as various oil companies. But in order to be fully acknowledged, they require recognition from the Ministry of Crown-Indigenous Relations and the Prime Minister’s Office. The band has spoken to Mayor Don Iveson a few times — most recently in August 2020, when they identified lands that could be incorporated into an urban reserve, he added. “They seemed pretty open to that,” said Bruneau. “That’s why we were surprised by all this talk of creating an urban reserve, yet we weren’t part of the conversation.” He says Papaschase should be prioritized alongside Enoch, whose ancestral lands include west Edmonton. “We want the city and the feds to acknowledge that we’re still owed lands and we’re still owed recognition. We need to be dealt with here and not put on the back burner,” Bruneau said. There are about 120 urban reserves throughout Canada. Jeremy Appel is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter for Alberta Native News. Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News
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Local Journalism Initiative
McEwan Mining aiming to expand
McEwen Mining says it has ambitious plans for the Fox Complex which could potentially see an additional decade of production at the site. Located 36 kilometres east of Timmins, and 11 kilometres east of Matheson, the Black Fox Mine began production in 2011. McEwen Mining purchased the project from Primero Mining Corp in October of 2017. The complex has a combined resource base of approximately 3 million ounces (oz) of gold. In their latest progress report, McEwen is reporting “encouraging high grade intercepts” from a recent delineation drilling program that illustrate the mine’s potential. “Independent technical consultants have been employed to develop a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) to expand the production from the current short mine life producing 30,000 to 40,000 ounces of gold per year, to a 10-year mine life with annual production of 100,000 to 150,000 ounces of gold per year,” reads an excerpt from the report. McEwen said the PEA for the expansion of the Fox Complex is a work in progress, and anticipates it will be completed sometime in the second quarter of this year. “We have been considering consolidating our properties to extend the life of mine at the Fox Complex since the acquisition of the Black Fox, Lexam and Stock properties in 2017. Since then, we have completed exploration programs that have successfully expanded the resources of the complex at Froome, Black Fox and Grey Fox,” said Peter Mah, McEwen’s chief operating officer. “We also advanced exploration along Stock’s more than three-kilometer mineralized trend, where we have defined a resource at Stock East and discovered the Stock West deposit in a good proximity to the current mill and existing Stock Mine underground workings.” The Lexam property is located near Timmins, and the Stock Property is located on Highway 101, west of Matheson. Mah told The Daily Press that through the Black Fox-Froome production and ongoing exploration, the company expects to bridge and potentially extend further into the longer-term production for the Fox Complex. “Successful drilling at the Black Fox and Froome deposits have extended gold production by two and a half years and drilling continues at both these deposits, targeting resource extensions near planned and existing workings. At Froome, completion of the access ramp and first ore are expected towards the end of Q1 to early Q2 and commercial production by Q4 this year.” Mah added that McEwen Mining is entering into a “significant growth phase” in the Timmins region and that prospects for the Fox Complex are looking very positive. “The company is very excited about the expansion plans targeting longer-term production growth of 100 to 150,000 ounces of gold per year over a 10-year mine life, within the next three years,” he said. The company has a lot on the go. An analysis is underway on the 880,000 ounces of indicated gold resources at Grey Fox, which will determine if an underground or open pit operation would be the best option at the site. There are four drill rigs exploring targets at the Stock West and Stock Main deposits. The company is also examining some of the Lexam deposits near Timmins. The Black Fox expansion is a particularly exciting prospect for the regional economy. “The prospects of a 10-year mine life and beyond are very realistic,” said Mah. He noted that the company is well funded to progress the complex, with over $40 million (CAD) in recent flow-through financing, and $40 million (CAD) in equity offering, which closed on Feb. 9. “On top of this, our experienced team has continued to pull together during these challenging times to make steady improvements to the operations, exploration and projects.” There are currently 168 employees at the Black Fox complex, and Mah said there will be an estimated 20 or so positions added to the workforce in 2021. “Once the Preliminary Economic Assessment for Fox is completed, we will have a better idea of our future employment and training opportunities with our company.” He added that current available positions based in Matheson include I.T. Support Technician, Senior Project Engineer, Contract Administrator, Senior Ground Control Engineer, Mill Electrical Lead, and Human Resources Generalist. Interested parties are encouraged to find further details in the careers section of McEwen Mining’s website. Andrew Autio is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for The Daily Press. LJI is a federally funded program. Andrew Autio, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Press
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The Canadian Press
Myanmar coup leader: ‘Join hands’ with army for democracy
YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar’s coup leader used the country’s Union Day holiday on Friday to call on people to work with the military if they want democracy, a request likely to be met with derision by protesters who are pushing for the release from detention of their country’s elected leaders. “I would seriously urge the entire nation to join hands with the Tatmadaw for the successful realization of democracy,” Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said using the local term for the military. “Historical lessons have taught us that only national unity can ensure the non-disintegration of the Union and the perpetuation of sovereignty,” he added. In addition to the military commander’s message published Friday in the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the new junta also announced it would mark Union Day by releasing thousands of prisoners and reducing other inmates’ sentences. Min Aung Hlaing’s Feb. 1 coup ousted the civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and prevented recently elected lawmakers from opening a new session of Parliament. It reversed nearly a decade of progress toward democracy following 50 years of military rule and has led to widespread protests in cities around the country. The military has said it was forced to step in because Suu Kyi’s government failed to properly investigate allegations of fraud in November elections, though the election commission has said there is no evidence to support those claims. The rallies against the coup — now daily occurrences in Myanmar’s two largest cities, Yangon and Mandalay — have drawn people from all walks of life, despite an official ban on gatherings of more than five people. Factory workers and civil servants, students and teachers, medical personnel and people from LGBTQ communities, Buddhist monks and Catholic clergy have all come out in force. On Thursday, people from Myanmar’s ethnic minority groups, who are concentrated in far-flung, border states, joined in — a striking show of unity in a country where some groups have resented the Burman majority’s control and have also had their differences with Suu Kyi. But their deep mistrust of the military, which has brutally repressed their armed struggles for more autonomy, has made them uneasy allies with her party. The protesters are unlikely to be swayed by Min Aung Hlaing’s call for unity, which come on Union Day, a national holiday celebrating the date in 1947 that Myanmar, then known as Burma, when many of the country’s ethnic groups agreed to unify following decades of British colonial rule. The junta’s pardon orders published Friday in government-run media said that 23,314 prisoners would be freed, along with 55 foreign inmates. The orders also commuted some death-penalty sentences to life imprisonment and reduced the terms of other prison sentences. It is also unlikely to win over the international community, which has widely condemned the coup as well as the use of police force such as water cannons and rubber bullets to disperse some of the protests. During Mynamar’s previous decades of military rule, Western governments put sanctions in place, but they were eased when elections in 2010 and 2015 showed the country’s tentative steps toward democracy. The U.S. government announced Thursday that new sanctions will target the country’s top military officials who ordered the coup. The sanctions named Min Aung Hlaing and his deputy Soe Win, as well as four members of the State Administration Council. An executive order signed by U.S. President Joe Biden also allows the Treasury Department to target the spouses and adult children of those being sanctioned. The move will prevent the generals from accessing more than $1 billion in Myanmar government funds held in the United States. It remains to be seen what, if any, impact the U.S. action will have on Myanmar’s military regime. Many of the military leaders are already under sanctions because of attacks against the Muslim Rohingya minority. The Associated Press
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The Canadian Press
Ojeleye scores 24 points to lead Celtics to 120-106 win over tired Raptors
BOSTON — During a stretch of the third quarter on Thursday, the Toronto Raptors stopped the Boston Celtics on 17 of their 18 trips down the floor. But the Raptors could only muster four points themselves during that stretch. A night after they routed Washington, the road-weary Raptors dropped a 120-106 decision to the Celtics. The loss capped a six-game road trip that saw them play five games in seven nights. “I think you’re gonna have some moments in five in seven (nights), I think they’ve earned some time off but the ball gets ready to go Sunday, we’re gonna have to start competing again,” coach Nick Nurse said. Semi Ojeleye scored a career-high 24 points and had six of the Celtics’ 20 three-pointers. Kemba Walker had 21 points, while rookie Payton Pritchard added 20 points for the Celtics (13-11). Kyle Lowry had 24 points for the Raptors (12-14). Pascal Siakam added 23 points, Norm Powell finished with 15 and Chris Boucher chipped in with 12 points and six rebounds. The Raptors went 4-2 on the road. Both of the losses came on the back end of back-to-backs. Nurse was pleased with the trip. “Trending upwards, think we’re playing really good basketball, I think we weathered some storms, came back,” Nurse said. “We look like we’re getting in good shape, we’re finding a little better rhythm, we’re executing a little better, got a lot of room for improvement, got some time to get better. “It was good road trip, it was a very interesting road trip, actually, a little bit of everything on this road trip.” In their 137-115 rout of Washington a night earlier, the Raptors had 19 three-pointers. Heavy legs made for a different story on Thursday. The Raptors were off target all night and never led, trailing by 15 points late in the third quarter. Down by eight with one quarter to play, Aaron Baynes’ cutting dunk off a lovely Lowry pass made it a five-point game with 7: 17 to play. The Raptors missed three straight shots at the rim, and Walker’s three-pointer had Boston back up by 10 with 4: 42 to play. The Raptors had nothing left, and Ojeleye’s layup stretched the difference to 14 and put the game out of reach with 3: 10 to play. Part of the Raptors’ game plan was to contain Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum who combined for just 29 points on the night. Lowry said there was zero satisfaction in that. “You’re never satisfied with a loss, we still lost the game, those guys Semi Ojeleye and Payton Pritchard and Kemba, those guys combined for what? 17 threes? That’s a lot of three-pointers, they shot the ball very well,” Lowry said. Toronto had nine three-pointers on the night. The Raptors were missing OG Anunoby for the ninth straight game (calf strain) and Yuta Watanabe (ankle sprain). The club could’ve used them. “Especially on a back-to-back here,” Nurse said. “But as they say, we’ve got to throw it up with who’s available and do the best we can.” The Celtics, who beat Toronto in seven games in the second round of the playoffs in the NBA bubble last summer, jumped out to an early 11-point lead, and led 34-29 to end the first quarter. Baynes’ hook shot pulled Toronto to within a point early in the second, but Boston pulled away and went into the halftime break with a 66-56 lead. The Celtics went up 83-68 in the third, but Boucher’s three-pointer sliced the difference to 88-80 with one quarter left. The Raptors are back “home” to host Minnesota on Sunday at Tampa’s Amalie Arena, the team’s home base for the remainder of the season, the Raptors announced earlier Thursday, due to continued COVID-19 restrictions in Canada. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2021. The Canadian Press
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Reuters
China New Year gala show sparks new racism controversy with blackface performance
China’s state broadcaster has come under fire once more for a performance featuring dancers made up to look African during its annual gala show to celebrate the Lunar New Year. During CCTV’s four-hour show which typically draws hundreds of millions of viewers, performers appeared on stage wearing outfits that approximated African clothing and had darkened their skin with make-up. “The New Year Gala director team is just stupid and vicious,” said one of a number of users who took to Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform, to criticise the skit.
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Reuters
PayPal unlikely to invest cash in cryptocurrencies: CNBC
“We’re not going to invest corporate cash, probably, in sort of financial assets like that, but we want to capitalize on this growth opportunity that’s in front of us” Rainey said in a CNBC interview. PayPal said in October it will allow U.S. customers to hold bitcoin and other virtual coins in its online wallet, and shop using cryptocurrencies at merchants on its network. Earlier this week, Mastercard said it was planning to offer support for some cryptocurrencies on its network this year.
In the end, as we move on to the next post, may I add that geoFence blocks unwanted traffic and disables remote access from FSAs and that’s the the truth!
