FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Aug 24

It’s About Time that Canada Does Something Concrete to Deal With Wrongful Convictions

by bcurry

On Sept. 15, 1990, Tim Rees was sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole for at least 15 years for a ten-year-old girl’s murder in Ontario, Canada.  Rees always denied killing the girl.  However, after serving 26 years in prison for the murder, it was announced that Rees, who is now sixty years old, will have his sentence reviewed by the Ontario Court of Appeal, after Canada’s Attorney General recently ordered a new appeal.  The AG noted in his press release that there is a “reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred.”  Rees was released on parole in 2016, where he remains.  On the year he was released, Innocence Canada — a non-profit organization that advocates for wrongfully convicted citizens — took his case.  Two years later, an application was filed with the former minister of justice claiming Rees had been wrongfully convicted.  Their strongest argument for the application was an undisclosed “highly incriminating statement” by the landlord of the victim’s family home, which he had made to the Toronto police homicide squad.

Tim Rees case is only the most recent example of someone who was wrongfully convicted of a crime and later could be exonerated due to new evidence.  Many more cases came about in the U.S. and Canada with the arrival of DNA tests used to investigate previous convictions years ago, used eventually to determine the innocence of those wrongfully convicted.  I would highly recommend that one read *Wrongfully Convicted by Kent Roach which highlights several cases of wrongful convictions in Canada to get a fuller understanding of this past and current issue.

As noted, under the current system, it’s the justice minister who decides on miscarriage of justice applications, often a long and costly process.  Recently, the current federal government in Canada introduced Bill C-40 which if passed would create an independent commission to review such applications and make decisions about whether to order a new trial or appeal.  James Lockyer, co-founder of Innocence Canada, said his organization has been pushing for the creation of an independent commission for some 30 years.  The proposed Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission would be an independent administrative body.  It would have a full-time chief commissioner and four to eight other commissioners.  According to background briefing materials, at least one-third, but not more than half, must be lawyers with experience in criminal law.  Such independent bodies and processes already exist in countries such as the U.K., Scotland and New Zealand.  They apparently have seen the appeals system move much more quickly and flexibly with respect to the applications that come forward.

In recent years, there understandingly has been much attention given to the rights of victims of crime.  To have introduced any legislation facilitating the review of potentially wrongful convictions does take a certain degree of political courage as noted by James Lockyer.  However, there has been one too many cases of wrongful convictions to simply ignore the issue.  In Canada, the issue was raised years ago in the sensational case of David Milgaard who was wrongfully convicted for rape and murder in 1969 and spent 23 years in jail.  As Lockyer noted in a National Post article published on February 16, 2023 that: “If this commission had existed back in the early 1970s, it can safely be said it would have saved David Milgaard at least two decades of those 23 years that he spent in prison.”

Everyone recognizes that our justice systems, including law and enforcement, are not always about justice but sometimes about process and political pressures.  The system is not infallible. There needs to be better means for those who possibly were wrongfully convicted to have their cases reviewed in an independent, fair and timely manner.

*Wrongfully Convicted (Guilty Pleas, Imagined Crimes, and What Canada Must Do To Safeguard Justice): Kent Roach (Simon & Schuster, Toronto, 2023)

Canada Federal Government Justice Systen

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Aug 18

Environmental Crisis for Governments Only Heightened by the Impact on People

by bcurry

This has been a summer of extreme weather events followed by natural disasters such as flooding and wildfires — not only in North America but globally.  Whether we’re talking about wildfires near Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories or the devastation in Maui’s seaside community of Lahaina, everyone agrees that this year so far has been the worst one on record for wildfires.  In addition, one has the flooding throughout the American south and northeast, and the earlier floods that greatly damaged Halifax and its surroundings in Nova Scotia, Canada.  In several cases, we were not adequately prepared for the consequences of such extreme weather patterns involving droughts and severe storms, often a deadly combination.  Severe storms are frequently followed by or include tornado activity, which also has proven to be deadly in many cases.

Those of us who live in regions which for the most part have avoided such calamities should be thankful for what we have, and not complain about poor vacation weather or extreme heat.  Even lengthy periods of extreme heat can be deadly as witnessed in the southern U.S. and west coast of Canada.  Yes, we will complain of smoke flowing in from our wildfires.  However, while poor air quality at certain levels can be hazardous to our health, we can do something ourselves to mitigate the impact.  The same cannot be said for those directly facing wildfires, flooding and tornadoes. 

Then there are the enormous costs to all of us as a result of natural disasters.  In the case of Maui, damage estimates already range in the 6 to 7 billion dollars U.S.  The current evacuation of Yellowknife’s population, some 20,000 people, involves the largest single airlift of people in Canadian history.  Fighting the wildfires across Canada will amount to hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.  For individuals in high risk zones for natural disasters, the cost of insuring their property has gone sky high.  In some cases, insurers are even refusing to insure many properties in such areas.  Food costs will also increase as a result of the negative impact of climate weather on farming and agriculture in general.  Certain harvests will certainly be affected this year, including grain, fruit and vegetable crops.  Then there is the immediate impact on tourism dollars, such as in Lahaina where tourism represented about 70 percent of their local economy.  Nova Scotia has also seen a significant downturn in tourism as a result of the earlier wildfires and recent floods.

Let’s not forget the physical and mental toll on individuals facing such disasters.  Many are losing their homes and places of employment.  The consequential stresses will increase demands on our health care sector.  Then there are those on the front lines, especially those fighting wildfires.  In Canada, four individuals working in related fire services have already died this past spring and summer.  The health and moral of first responders is probably at an all time low.  There is also the impact on our military, who often are asked to help in rescue missions, flood prevention and with logistics for evacuations.  The Canadian military is already stretched thin because of international commitments, all this adding to additional costs that they have to bear.  

While many of us sit and complain about poor weather for vacations, we should remember that there are our follow citizens who are greatly suffering from the impact of natural disasters on their communities.  As I have argued in the past, governments, industries and non-profit agencies, such as the Red Cross, need to adapt in a timely manner in the face of continuing challenges associated with the eventuality of more extreme weather events.  Failure to do so will only result in more costs, both economically and on a personal level.  For now, affected communities will require our continuing assistance and support.  Those of us who are fortunate enough to avoid such disasters need to stop complaining and find ways to support these communities and their people.

Canada Cimate Change Climate Change US

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Aug 14

American Media Under Attack By Local Law Enforcement, Now Physically

by bcurry

In June 2020, the arrest of a CNN news crew live on air in Minneapolis, where unarmed black man George Floyd died at the hands of police, first drew global attention to how law enforcement authorities in the city were treating reporters covering protests that had descended into riots.  At the same time, a reporter from Germany’s international news broadcaster Deutsche Welle was shot with projectiles by Minneapolis police while preparing to go live on air.  In September 2020, Los Angeles NPR station KPCC reporter Josie Huang was forced to the ground and arrested outside the hospital where two Sheriff deputies had been taken after having survived an ambush shooting.  Her press credentials were clearly visible in a recording of the incident.  At the time, the US Press Freedom Tracker, a non-profit project, said it was investigating in total more than 100 “press freedom violations” at similar protests. About 90 cases reportedly involved physical attacks. 

More recently, a small town in Kansas has become a battleground over the First Amendment, after the local police force and county sheriff’s deputies raided the office of the local newspaper, The Marion County Record.  A search warrant for the raid was issued by a judge roughly an hour before the search, which in itself was highly unusual.  As the New York Times reports, the advocacy director at Freedom of the Press Foundation, Seth Stern, noted that federal law allowed the police to search journalists when the authorities have probable cause to believe the journalists had committed a crime unrelated to their journalism.  That exception does not apply, however, in the above case where the alleged crime is simply gathering the news.  The Foundation is a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of journalists and whistle-blowers.  Mr. Stern also noted that, although news organizations are sometimes the targets of legal actions by government officials including subpoenas seeking interview notes and other records, the search and seizure of the tools to produce journalism are rare.  Normally, when journalists are suspected of committing crimes as part of news gathering, the government’s option is to serve a subpoena, which can be challenged in court before it is actually enforced.

For this reason, raids of news organizations are exceedingly rare in the U.S., with its long history of legal protections for journalists.  However, in recent years, particularly those under Donald Trump’s former administration, the mainstream media has come increasingly under attack for what Trump called “fake news”.  If he felt that the coverage was negative towards him, he immediately accused the reporting as being biased and inaccurate.  Often Trump refused to take questions from certain journalists known to report what he perceived to be negative news about his administration.  However, he never had any problem supporting right-wing media sources, such as Fox News, as presenting the truth, including his belief that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and illegitimate.  Conservative authorities appear to have been given the green light to increase their attacks on journalists and news outlets, especially in cases such as that in Marion County.

Whether at the local level or nationally, it is extremely dangerous that legitimate journalists can be attacked or threatened, physically or otherwise.  In addition, it’s becoming very difficult to keep newspapers in businesses and journalists employed.  According to a new report from Northwestern University’s journalism school in 2022, over 360 newspapers in the U.S. have gone out of business since just before the start of the pandemic.  The last thing that journalists need right now is to be threatened with legal action or physically while covering news stories.  What one particularly needs at this time is a strong mainstream media comprised of ethical and credible journalists willing to get the facts by following up and verifying their sources.  They should never be subject to intimidation for simply doing their jobs, which is the backbone of any democracy.

This most recent attack by local authorities on The Marion County Record is just the latest example of the inappropriate use of the judicial system to intimidate publishers and journalists.  It may only be a local incident, but it represents a much greater threat to the free press.  For this reason, it should be taken seriously as demonstrated by national support given to the publisher by more than 30 news organizations and press freedom advocates, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Dow Jones and the publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

Mainstream Media US

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Aug 9

Political Polarizations Has Increased Mistrust in Many of Our Public Institutions

by bcurry

The New York Times in a very recent article (August 7th) notes that Republican (G.O.P.) contenders in the presidential primaries are bent on feeding voter distrust in public institutions such as the courts, schools and the military.  Obviously, most appear to be following the lead of Donald Trump who, for example whenever he has the chance, publicly attacks the U.S. Justice Department and the F.B.I.  During the pandemic Trump even disparaged the Surgeon General, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Resources.  Now, facing a barrage of indictments by the Justice Department, Trump has further accelerated his personal attacks on these major institutions.  Unfortunately, several other G.O.P. candidates have followed suit in an apparent attempt to appease Trump’s core followers.

All of the rhetoric, including that disseminated by social media and right-wing media, has created an environment where recent polls show that Americans’ trust in their institutions has apparently fallen to historical lows.  Feeding on voters’ already deeply embedded scepticism might have once been seen as politically risky, but social media and the right-wing media have helped change that.  The Republican governor of Florida and a candidate, Ron DeSantis, has led the charge against what he sees as a biased and liberal-influenced education system in his state.  Not to be outdone, another G.O.P. candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, has gone on record that he would shut down the F.B.I. and the I.R.S. as part of his fight against the so-called “deep state”.

My primary question is what would replace all these important institutions in a democracy that claims to need independent bodies to deal with issues like law and order, public health, the environment, new technologies and the role of the military?  In a modern society, freedoms are important, but there still has to be some oversight of those matters as they relate to the public good.  Campaign rhetoric perpetuating conspiratorial themes does not help to ensure a rational and knowledge-based debate on many of the challenges that, as a democracy, we face daily.  It’s easy to argue that things should be eliminated, but no one Republican has yet rationally put forward any ideas about how one would go about replacing these institutions — and with what.

The Republican Party, just as the Conservative Party in Canada, has long stood for “smaller government in size and role” going back to the days of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.   However, the current G.O.P. extreme rhetoric goes far beyond the past political stances of Republican presidents, from Richard Nixon to the Bushes.  As the Times article notes: “The proliferation of attacks has alarmed both Republicans and Democrats who worry about the long-term impact on American democracy.  Public confidence in core institutions — from the justice system to voting systems — is fundamental to a durable democracy, particularly at a time of sharp political division.”

Just as I am certain that there are a good number of moderate Republicans in the U.S. and conservatives in Canada who oppose such extreme rhetoric, I am hoping that cooler heads will prevail among our electorates in both countries.  Our democracies are closely watched by countries around the world, and defending our democratic institutions has never been more important in the face of the growth of autocratic regimes globally.  These institutions are essential to defending our democratic values and promoting the public good.  We need to strengthen them rather than knock them down as the result of excessive political polarization.  It’s one thing to push for smaller government influence in our lives, it’s another to suggest that one can simply eliminate or emasculate its influence in highly complex modern societies.  Doing so would just replace democracies with autocracies by centralizing political and economic powers under one regime.  We now have checks and balances, including the courts and justice system, to prevent this from happening.  Unfortunately, the Republicans appear more than willing to minimize such oversight.  Ultimately, the current split in their party, led by Donald Trump’s extremism, could greatly weaken their platform in the eyes of the American electorate, and particularly those of independents.

Donald Trump Judicial System Media Populism Populism in Canada Republican Party Social Media US Politics

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Aug 4

Artificial Intelligence Cannot Offer An Opinion, But I Can

by bcurry

Over the last year, the number of articles and books emerging about artificial intelligence (AI) has exploded.  Some issues have been raised particularly dealing with the matter of AI’s involvement in writing, creatively or otherwise.  For me, this raised the matter of whether AI produced outcomes can offer a real opinion on a subject.  After all, an opinion is a view or judgement not necessarily based solely on fact or current knowledge.  In fact, in some of my blogs I may be expressing an opinion based on my background experiences and my past acquired knowledge base.  Humans cannot avoid having some preconceived opinions which are often attributed to such factors as their history, education, socioeconomic status and culture.  This is what makes opinions so much more interesting than merely providing an overview of information and data simply gathered from varying sources.  Varying opinions among people are what makes debates so valuable and interesting since they provide opportunities to view issues from different perspectives.

In some fields, such as medicine, engineering and most sciences, AI can be very effective in providing an initial interpretation of potential causes and effects based solely on factual evidence.  However, in the social sciences and literary fields from a creative point of view, I don’t see AI as being all that much useful.  When it comes to problem solving and critical thinking, a lot of the needed information resides through engagement within our communities.  Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson in their recent book, “Power and Progress”, note that our reasoning is primarily based on “social communication”.  Decisions need to be made with the use of this social dimension of intelligence.  With respect to many of today’s major issues, we often develop additional skills and capabilities based on our empathy for others and the consequential sharing of goals, values and objectives.  You and I can appreciate this human need, but AI cannot.

In my opinion, there is little substitute for years of experience involving different situations and circumstances over one’s lifetime.  Life-long skills are nurtured and opinions are developed which take into consideration a wide variety of influences.  Sometimes, others come forward with different views and will influence one’s opinion on issues, greatly or in small ways.  Indeed, in the face of good arguments, one will often be forced to soften or alter one’s views.  This is not something that AI can really respond to.

Most importantly, the advent of hundreds of thousands of sources of information in the digitalization age, frequently including misinformation, will influence the use of AI and its accuracy.  Humans on the other hand need to employ critical thinking skills to discern what information is based on reliable facts and is not information based solely on preconceived bias.  This is not easy, and requires extensive research beyond what is contained in digitalized sites.  For example, authors, so-called experts and researchers involved in socioeconomic fields can take years to consolidate their positions on most issues.  From a community point of view, these positions are then often peer-reviewed as a means of validating the methodical approaches taken.  AI cannot consistently and effectively do this.  Whether the results of AI can satisfy such processes has yet to be determined — no easy matter.

In the meantime, I would suggest that bloggers like myself will continue to study and write according to our opinions formulated over decades of experiences and research.  I prefer to provide a human perspective to many of the important issues and challenges we all face in our communities on a daily basis.  After all, mine is but one of many existing opinions on these issues, largely intended to stimulate discussion and debate. 

Artificial Intelligence

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Jul 26

Why Canada’s Infatuation With Public Inquiries Is Flawed

by bcurry

Recently, opposition parties in the federal legislature have been demanding that the federal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau create a public inquiry into the matter of Chinese and other foreign interference in our national security scene.  I touched on this issue in a recent blog: Why would the Canadian government need a public inquiry on national security matters. 

Now, we have several health and medical related bodies asking the federal government to have a public inquiry into the handling by governments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. On July 24th, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a letter by more than a dozen Canadian physicians and health advocates shining a spotlight on what they’ve dubbed the country’s “major pandemic failures,” from the devastation in long-term care homes, to vaccine hoarding, to higher death rates among lower-income communities.  Why would one need a public inquiry when there are already a number of federal and provincial bodies, such as Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), which were directly involved in the coordination of policies and actions in response to COVID-19?  Indeed, Health Canada has already indicated that there are a number of audits and studies underway, including the launch of an independent public health review panel and a series of comprehensive audits on the agency’s pandemic response being undertaken by the federal Office of the Auditor General. 

The difficulty in Canada is that the responsibility for health matters is a shared one between the federal government and thirteen provincial/territorial governments.  The implementation of a national COVID-19 strategy had to be coordinated among the provinces which for the most part were responsible for the actual implementation of actions on the ground, including the eventual mass vaccination of Canadians across the country.  In addition, the on-going responsibility for long-term care residences lies with the provinces, and these facilities were known prior to COVID-19 to have major resource issues, including health care personnel shortages.  The unfortunate high level of pandemic-related deaths at the outset was largely due to numerous systemic problems in long-term care residences in several provinces.  As a result, plans are already underway by the provinces to attempt to correct these problems, especially when it comes to health care resources.  The state of our hospitals and emergency services are also the responsibility of each province, and would require a thorough investigation of problems arising during the pandemic with respect to the handling of patients.  There have already been several studies as to why communities with low incomes, immigrants and essential workers were hardest hit by COVID-19.

In addition, this past spring it was reported that there is a citizen-led, cross-Canada inquiry, the National Citizens Inquiry into Canada’s Response to COVID-19, which aims to examine how governments and institutions reacted to the pandemic. This appears to be a unique inquiry in many ways since it is citizen run and citizen funded.

Yes, there is little doubt that there were frustrations and concerns about the impact of existing complexities within the Canadian health care system, with its joint responsibilities between the two levels of government.  Some, like the physicians and health advocates, might conclude that Canada was ‘ill-prepared’ and ‘lacked coordination’ in the COVID-19 pandemic.  However, the same could be said for most Western countries, including the U.S. and Britain.  No one disagrees that it is time to investigate what happened and learn how to prepare for the next pandemic.  Having another full-scale public inquiry is probably not the best way to go.

There are enough expert organizations already out there, both federally and provincially, which need to examine their roles and resources when it comes to meeting the challenges associated with pandemics.  By doing so, each of the necessary blocks can be strengthened and improved so as to develop more coherent and appropriate policies and actions in the future.  In the past, Canada was infatuated with so-called royal commissions related to economic and social matters.  However, they were top-heavy in resources and took a very long time to complete.  In most cases, the resulting reports were simply shelved and forgotten about until the next crisis occurred.  I truly believe that our existing institutions can carry out their post-mortem studies in a lot faster and more efficient matter.  This way, they each will ultimately be accountable for the results, especially when it comes to carrying out any subsequent recommendations in a timely manner.

Canada COVID-19 Health Care Systen

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Jul 21

Sensationalist Reporting of Paul Bernardo’s Prison Change Overlooks Major Problems in Canada’s Correctional System

by bcurry

Recently, serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo was transferred to a medium-security prison from a maximum-security prison, drawing the ire of numerous mainstream media sources.  Bernardo is serving an indeterminate life sentence — the harshest sentence possible in the Canadian criminal justice system — for the kidnapping, torture and murders of two teenage women in the early 1990s in Ontario, Canada.  Bernardo’s security classification was reviewed 14 times between 1999 and 2022, and each time he met the criteria to be moved to a medium-security institution as confirmed by a recent review by the independent Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada.  When the public became informed via the media, this case naturally raised the anger of the victims’ families and various federal and provincial politicians.  However, the institution was simply following the law in place at this time.

Unfortunately, while this emotional situation raised a number of potential issues regarding the correctional system, it again overlooks very serious questions about Canada’s prison system that have been around for decades.  According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Canada has one of the highest levels of recidivism, which is the act of re-offending after leaving prison, among western industrialized countries.  Remember that the Canadian correctional system is supposed to be fundamentally based on the rehabilitation of offenders, regardless if the nature of their crimes.  In 2015, one Canadian research effort, known as the national trajectory project, found that people who go through the prison system have a 40 percent chance of re-offending within three years of release. 

Then there are the working, health and safety conditions in the country’s 53 federal prisons, which have led to many concerns by prison guards and observers over many years.  The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers says many more guards are needed if they are to deal with harassment from inmates and to do their jobs in a safer environment.  Deaths and riots in prisons often don’t even make headlines in mainstream news, unless it involves the death of a prison guards or officials, or a family’s request for a public review of a family member’s death while in prison.  Prisoner abuse by guards has also been an ongoing issue.  Canada’s prison guards are essentially being left to their own devices when it comes to treating inmates with basic human respect.  It’s difficult to recruit qualified people for prison guard positions given the reputation surrounding working conditions and dangers within our prisons.

In addition, prisons are dealing with an increasing number of inmates suffering from mental health issues, including those determined to be “not criminally responsible” because of the state of their mental health when they have committed a crime.  Fortunately, those inmates having this designation apparently do receive more appropriate medical care and supervision, unlike those in the general prison population who may have less evident and underlying mental health concerns.  Lack of resources and guard training is a concern.  Studies have also shown that with such treatment, persons found to not be criminally responsible are far less likely to re-offend, especially if they continue to follow their treatment regime.

Unfortunately, during the conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the early 2000s, there was a shift toward punishment of prisoners and away from rehabilitation.  The current Liberal government under Justin Trudeau has taken a more liberal approach to dealing with prison reform and punishment criteria.  Needless-to-say, this has divided people between those wanting stronger punishment and those supporting more humane and rehabilitative approaches.  There is even a small minority that would like to see the death penalty brought back, similar to what exists in several American states.  Politically, a very unlikely possibility in Canada.

Whether one is in agreement or not, prisoners have rights and expect to be treated in a humane manner.  Basically, we designated the courts and an independent institution to oversee the rule of law, including that pertaining to penalties and terms of imprisonment.  Hopefully, this respects prisoners’ rights and reduces the chances of prison violence and inmate-related violations, while ensuring the public safety and reducing the level of offenders’ recidivism upon returning back into society.  Focusing on this one sensational case really doesn’t help when it comes to all of the other urgent issues that need our immediate attention.

Canada Federal Government

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Jul 14

Severe Weather Patterns Topping News Headlines This Summer

by bcurry

Never have I seen as many news headlines about the weather both in Canada and the U.S. then this summer.  Severe droughts in Arizona and California, flooding in the Northeast states, tornadoes throughout the mid-West, extreme heat waves through the southern states, extensive flooding in Vermont and New York State, etc., etc.  A day doesn’t go by when some form of extreme weather event occurs in both countries.  Dry conditions throughout British Columbia and Quebec led to a record number of wildfires during the spring, creating clouds of smoke which not only permeated Ontario and Quebec, but also as far away as New York and Chicago. 

For most governments — local, state/provincial and federal — the consequences of extreme weather events have been enormous.  Not only are people dying as a result of extreme heat, flooding and wildfires, but homes, businesses and infrastructure have been severely damaged or destroyed.  This has resulted in the insurance industry having to re-examine the impact of an increasing number of compensation claims, often in the billions of dollars.  In the near future, insurance companies will be withdrawing from more high risk areas.  Where insurance continues to be offered, the premiums will be such that few people will be able to afford them.

Most scientists are attributing the extreme patterns as being a consequence of “climate change” and the continued warming of the planet.  Most would also agree that it would take extraordinary measures by countries to slow down the current progression of subsequent impacts.  For the time being, societies will have to make significant changes in order to adapt to this new reality.  Such adaptation will not take months, but years and possibly decades.  Every day, targets developed through bodies such as the United Nations become less and less credible.  Rapidly moving away from our dependence on fossil fuels to more green energy sources is increasingly becoming an illusion. 

Countries continue to argue that the transition can only be made if economic impacts are taken into consideration.  However, they also continue to understate the costs associated with weather extremes, especially when it comes to assessing those associated with such sectors as agriculture, tourism, transportation, housing, etc., etc.  The costs of many essential inputs to maintain a viable industry are going to keep on increasing exponentially.  One only has to look at the impact on freshwater sources due to annual droughts.  Demand is outstripping supply in several regions.  Access to water is critical to one’s survival.

There are those who argue that new technologies need to be factored into future adaptations.  However, there are those who believe that the introduction of new technologies may not be adequate and timely enough.  In the meantime, news headlines about severe weather patterns and their impact on affected communities and scarce resources will continue to appear on an almost daily basis.  Whether we react in a constructive manner and on an urgent basis, only time will tell?  Whether such regular reported events will change the minds of the ‘Nay Sayers’ is another matter.  Is humanity prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to effectively tackle the enormous challenges before us, is the biggest question of them all?

Canada Cimate Change Climate Change Climate Change US

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Jul 6

Technology Is Great, Except When It’s Abused

by bcurry

Having followed the growth of new technologies during the last four or so decades, it’s hard to believe how fast things have changed.  Perhaps too fast!  All aspects of modern society are affected — everything from communications, transportation, medical practices, banking, employment, data storage, etc., etc.  However, with new technologies there are also opportunities for such innovations to be abused, for all the wrong reasons.

Let’s start with hacking.   The Internet and World Wide Web allows governments, corporations and individuals to communicate and interact in a timely fashion.  However, having so many critical infrastructure computerized, it also allows for potential hacking.  We unfortunately have seen increasing incidents of malware and other hacking tools affecting the security of institutions such as hospitals, municipalities, and airports for example.  In addition, data being collected by different organizations needs to be protected from outside hacking.  Today, our personal information is being gathered and kept in a multitude of sites.  The question of the privacy and security of such information can often be suspect.  Such info can give criminals and others a substantive amount of personal data which can then be used for nefarious purposes such as ID theft.  In some cases, there are criminals who use the technology, including artificial intelligence, to blackmail institutions and individuals.  This growing risk has led to a whole new industry providing high-tech security measures, another major cost to all of us. 

Then there is the case of an increase in the theft of high end vehicles.  Today, there are literally hundreds of microchips in our vehicles.  Some vehicles don’t even need a key to enter or start their ignition, and simply have a start button.  However, despite the fact that manufacturers have introduced some technology to prevent unlawful entry, the crooks appear to have caught up by using new digital means.  With computer devices and mobile apps, they can access and start most makes of newer high end vehicles, while overriding tracking devices used by the police to locate stolen vehicles.  There is plenty of evidence that these crimes involve highly organized criminal groups, both national and international.  Many stolen vehicles end up in Asian and African countries, and are never recovered.  Of course, this adds to the insurance costs associated with vehicles in general.

Now, we have the growing field of artificial intelligence (AI) which again has introduced new concerns about unlawful use.  The use of AI to imitate a person’s voice patterns is an interesting development.  It has already created a stir in the music industry.  For example, it was announced that Sir Paul McCartney says he has employed AI to help create what he calls “the final Beatles record”, including a song by John Lennon.  However, it has also brought about scams and more scams.  For example, someone using AI could duplicate the voice patterns of a loved one, using it to convince someone that the person is in trouble with the law and needs a transfer of money.  Seniors, as in the past, are particularly at risk.

Then there is the question of the increasing use of AI in one’s work, especially affecting white collar workers.  Employers could use the threat of displacing workers through the introduction of AI, notably with respect to productivity and compensation matters.  Research conducted in recent years varies widely on how many jobs will be displaced due to AI.  A 2016 study from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimated that 9 percent of jobs would be completely displaced in the next two decades.  Many more jobs will be transformed, if not eliminated.  AI is increasingly making its way across industries, changing jobs from retail to medicine to marketing.  However, there are those that believe that such technology is also essential to improving the country’s productivity growth, a key measure of how efficiently the economy produces goods.  That could ultimately lead to higher average wages and fewer work hours.  For that reason, they argue that our economy actually needs more AI, not less.  Time will tell.

Everyday there are new studies that dwell on the impact of new technologies such as AI, now and in the near future.  Like with any new technology, there are risks.  It is up to researchers to explore the potential risks and recommend how one can eliminate or at least reduce the risks.

New Technologies

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Jun 30

So-Called Passive Protests Against Pride Month Awareness in Ontario Schools

by bcurry

When one is practising tolerance, one is allowing the existence or occurrence of (something that one dislikes or disagrees with) without interference, and tolerance is the ability, willingness or capacity to tolerate something.  Unfortunately, when it comes to several religions practiced in North American, there is a demonstrated hostility to anything having to do with the LGBTQ community and issues surrounding “sexual orientation”.  June 1 marked the start of Pride Month in Canada, marking a number of activities associated with the celebration of LGBTQ rights and achievements, including several pride parades in many Canadian cities.  In some cases, certain public school boards took it upon themselves to include information about the history and achievements of the LGBTQ community in their classrooms.  Such was the case for the public Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), in Ottawa, Ontario.

June 1, claiming that they were raising concerns about beliefs and practices pertaining to LGBTQ that they believe do not align with their own religious beliefs.  They didn’t want their children to be educated about such things.  Unfortunately, their actions meet the very definition associated with intolerance.  OCDSB chair Lyra Evans believes that while parents have every right to keep their children home, they’re depriving them of an important learning opportunity. (Quote) “People who choose to opt out of human rights-related criteria are doing a disservice to their children because they’re not adequately allowing their child to be prepared for the realities of the world around them”. (Unquote)

The Muslim leaders in Ottawa argued that this form of “passive protest” was not intended to promote hate against the LGBTQ community, including those students affected within the schools.  However, the occurrences of outside protests by such groups, including Muslims, has resulted in many students feeling unsafe within the school environment, especially those belonging to the LGBTQ community.  What is even more surprising is that the protests came from the Muslim community which itself has faced increasing intolerance leading to recent hate crimes and discriminatory practices.  You’d think that they would have a bit more empathy for a visible minority fighting for its human rights!  No one is trying to indoctrinate our children in this context, but are simply providing information and increasing awareness about diversity issues within the environment of a modern progressive democratic society.

Canada is a diverse country, and has recognized the rights of LGBTQ individuals and couples through the legalization of gay marriages and inclusion of sexual orientation rights within human rights legislation.  Such ingraining of these rights reflects the recognition of the country’s diversity and pursuit of equality and fairness for all groups, regardless of gender, race, religion or sexual orientation.  In the public sphere, there are no grounds for intolerance and especially hate promotion, especially within our public educational institutions.  

Call it what you want, but so-called “passive protest” simply demonstrates what is intolerant behaviour by its very definition.  Be careful that one isn’t throwing stones at a glass house.  For example, as part of her disagreement, Lyra Evans is also quoted in CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning show: “If we had 70 percent of students opt out of Ramadan events, I think there would be the school board standing up to defend the rights of Muslim students and making sure that all of our students understand why this is culturally important”.. “I don’t think that we would see people just sort of passively accepting [it]. We would see outrage, and I think that outrage would be justified.”  Interestingly, it should be noted that Lyra Evans is the first openly transgender school trustee in Canada.

Canada Sexual Orientation

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