tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/vancouver-1373/articlesVancouver – The Conversation2024-02-29T21:22:20Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2240542024-02-29T21:22:20Z2024-02-29T21:22:20ZThermal networks: The missing infrastructure we need to help enable carbon-free heating<p>Most of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere have a fundamental problem: we want to reduce our carbon emissions, but we also need to heat our homes.</p>
<p>The good news is there is a way to do both by creating thermal networks. A thermal network is a system of insulated, underground pipes that directly distribute heat to homes and other buildings using heat generated from clean sources — including nuclear reactors.</p>
<p>Rather than using their own furnaces, boilers, fireplaces or electric baseboard heaters to heat buildings, consumers would receive heat directly from a utility. </p>
<p>It’s an opportunity that is set to grow as Canada expands its nuclear energy supply and creates more heat in the process, especially with <a href="https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Canadian-government-launches-SMR-support-programme">small modular reactors</a> expected to start coming on-stream in the next decade.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-small-nuclear-reactors-the-solution-to-canadas-net-zero-ambitions-217354">Are small nuclear reactors the solution to Canada’s net-zero ambitions?</a>
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<h2>Scaling up</h2>
<p>Our research collaboration has produced — with the help of experts from McMaster University, The Boltzmann Institute and Canadian Nuclear Association — a <a href="https://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/mcmaster-institute-for-energy-studies/featured-publications/#thermal-networks-position-paper">position paper</a> presenting the case for large-scale thermal networks to be created across Canada, with nuclear power plants potentially providing up to half of the heat. </p>
<p>Similar technology using heat from non-nuclear sources is <a href="https://cieedacdb.rem.sfu.ca/district-energy-inventory">already a reality in Canada</a> in the form of <a href="https://toolkit.bc.ca/tool/district-energy-systems-2/">district energy systems</a>. </p>
<p>Many buildings in <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/content/dam/sfu/ceedc/publications/facilities/CEEDC%20-%20District%20Energy%20Report%202023.pdf">Toronto, Hamilton, Vancouver</a> and on university campuses, such as McMaster University, are served by hot water or steam-based central heating plants, using heat that is purpose-made and piped across campus. What’s more, Canada already <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/interactive/2021/toronto-deep-latke-water-cooling-raptors/">leads the world in district cooling networks</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">An overview of the basic principle of Toronto’s Deep Lake Water Cooling System produced by the Canada Green Building Council. Thermal networks will move thermal energy similar to the way networked water pipes do, except they will move heat from producer to consumer across a shared system.</span></figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/04/1080795/us-thermal-energy-networks/">Thirteen states in the United States</a> are implementing a thermal networks utility model. In <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/opinion/district-heating-and-cooling-is-one-of-europes-top-solution-to-reduce-fossil-imports-but-we-need-decisive-eu-action-to-tap-into-this-potential/">Europe</a>, 67 million people enjoy heating from thermal networks and district heating systems supplied by a variety of sources in a mix that is increasingly <a href="https://vbn.aau.dk/en/publications/heat-roadmap-europe-4-quantifying-the-impact-of-low-carbon-heatin">less reliant on carbon</a>.</p>
<p>The idea is catching on, and it’s time to scale up.</p>
<h2>Leftover heat</h2>
<p>As many as 70 per cent of Canadians live in communities that could be warmed by thermal networks. The networks would deliver heated water that warms buildings in the same way household radiators distribute heat — but on a much <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2009.12.001">larger public scale</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/zibi-waste-heat-recovery-1.7117832">Such systems</a> are capable of efficiently sending heat through buried pipelines to homes, schools, hospitals, office buildings, shopping malls and other structures, greatly reducing the demand for electricity and heating fuel and making space on the electrical grid to accommodate growing electricity demand from electric vehicle chargers and heat pumps. </p>
<p>One of the most appealing aspects of this opportunity is that most of the required heat is already available and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121291">going unused</a>. Heat from major sources, such as <a href="https://www.powermag.com/district-heating-supply-from-nuclear-power-plants/">nuclear power plants</a>, can be transmitted as far as 100 km to where it is needed. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-nuclear-reactor-gentilly-2-1.6932355">Québec</a>, <a href="https://www.opg.com/releases/capital-power-and-opg-partner-to-advance-new-nuclear-in-alberta/">Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick</a> are all considering building new or re-starting existing reactors. Together with existing reactors, much of Canada’s population would fall within this range.</p>
<p>In the case of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2020.119546">reactors</a>, thermal networks could share their useful leftover heat instead of releasing it into the environment as is typically done today. This water, used in coiling, gathers heat but does not come into contact with nuclear material and is in no way contaminated. </p>
<p>The recent joint declaration at the <a href="https://www.oecd-nea.org/jcms/pl_88702/countries-launch-joint-declaration-to-triple-nuclear-energy-capacity-by-2050-at-cop28">UN climate conference COP28</a> to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050 means there will be significantly more heat from large reactors, such as the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-darlington-nuclear-plant-1.6899969">new nuclear fleet proposed in Ontario</a>, which could supply warmth to homes in the Greater Toronto Area.</p>
<p><a href="https://smrroadmap.ca/">Small modular reactors</a>, which are expected to come on-stream widely as local alternatives to fuel-burning sources of electricity, could supply heat locally while also generating revenue from heat that would otherwise be wasted.</p>
<p>Alternatively, residual heat from <a href="https://www.ngif.ca/harvest-systems-successfully-demonstrates-waste-heat-recovery-from-pizza-pizza-ovens/">restaurants</a>, commercial and industrial processes, water heated by solar or geothermal energy, or the combustion of dried biomass can do exactly the same thing with <a href="https://www.irena.org/publications/2021/March/Integrating-low-temperature-renewables-in-district-energy-systems">little to no greenhouse gas emissions</a>.</p>
<h2>Funding the change</h2>
<p>Though our appetite for thermal networks is growing, apprehension over the cost of creating large-scale public systems has stifled enthusiasm for implementing them here.</p>
<p>Certainly, the challenge of laying new pipelines to every urban home is daunting, but that need not be a barrier. It’s not that long ago that water, electricity and natural gas were not delivered directly to homes and other buildings, either. </p>
<p>The managers of those utilities, both public and private, developed efficient methods for deployment, balanced the <a href="https://energy.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/UTAustin_FCe_History_2016.pdf">cost of their infrastructure</a> over decades and included the financing costs in customers’ bills. All of these techniques could help build thermal networks across Canada. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-need-to-reuse-waste-energy-to-achieve-net-zero-heating-systems-209416">Why we need to reuse waste energy to achieve net-zero heating systems</a>
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<p><a href="https://www.cga.ca/energy-magazine-post/when-was-canadas-natural-gas-distribution-system-built-and-what-is-it-made-of/">Natural gas only started to become commonly available in Canada</a> in the 1950s, with networks of buried pipes being extended to the most populated areas of the country through the 1980s. <a href="https://brilliantio.com/how-were-homes-heated-in-the-1960s/">Before then</a>, people had oil, coal or wood delivered, or used electricity from coal-fired plants — all of them significant sources of greenhouse gases. </p>
<p>The conversion made heating <a href="https://www.fortisbc.com/services/natural-gas-services/considering-upgrading-to-gas-up-to-2700-in-appliance-rebates-available-for-a-limited-time/annual-fuel-cost-comparison">cheaper and cleaner</a>. It <a href="https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/canadas-energy-transition/canadas-energy-transition-historical-future-changes-energy-systems-update-energy-market-assessment-global-energy.html">halved our carbon emissions</a>. It required a huge effort, but it happened, and it can happen again.</p>
<p>Thermal networks present an opportunity to harvest heat from natural sources or <a href="https://futurium.ec.europa.eu/en/urban-agenda/energy-transition/library/action-2-recommendation-paper-maximising-use-waste-heat-cities">heat that would otherwise be wasted</a> and use it for a vital purpose of keeping Canadians warm while helping to reduce carbon emissions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224054/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jim Cotton is the founder and CEO of Harvest Systems Inc. He receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Ontario Centre of Innovation and Boltzmann Institute. </span></em></p>Underground thermal networks have the potential to revolutionize how Canadians heat their homes while helping to reduce carbon emissions.James (Jim) S. Cotton, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2180072023-11-21T20:29:03Z2023-11-21T20:29:03ZBritish Columbia’s proposed bill on ‘alternative shelter’ risks doing serious harm to unhoused people<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/british-columbias-proposed-bill-on-alternative-shelter-risks-doing-serious-harm-to-unhoused-people" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>A <a href="https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023HOUS0150-001730">bill currently before the British Columbia legislature</a> seeks to define “reasonably available” alternative shelter when municipalities go to court to enforce bylaws against homeless encampments. If passed, <a href="https://www.leg.bc.ca/parliamentary-business/legislation-debates-proceedings/42nd-parliament/4th-session/bills/progress-of-bills">Bill 45</a> will undermine the Charter rights of some of the most vulnerable members of Canadian society.</p>
<p>The bill is short and cryptic. It says that, if a local government goes to court for an injunction to enforce its bylaws against someone sheltering in a homeless encampment, alternative shelter is “reasonably available” and meets the person’s basic shelter needs if the person may stay there overnight, they have access to a bathroom and shower at or near the shelter, they are offered one free meal a day at or near the shelter and the shelter is staffed when in use. </p>
<p>Beyond leaving key terms like “homeless,” “encampment” and “near” undefined, the bill simply asserts that shelter spaces are reasonable options if they meet this bare-bones description, regardless of whether they are actually accessible to tent city residents. </p>
<p>This would overturn a series of court decisions that insist shelter must be practically accessible to the individuals the government wants to evict from encampments.</p>
<h2>A punitive approach</h2>
<p>In Greater Vancouver alone, <a href="https://hsa-bc.ca/_Library/2023_HC/2023_Homeless_Count_for_Greater_Vancouver.pdf">more than 4,800 people</a> are homeless, sleeping in shelters, cars or outdoors. That is up a staggering 32 per cent since 2020.</p>
<p>Encampments are a visible sign of this crisis. Yet, despite an overwhelming lack of affordable housing, <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/resource/overview-encampments-across-canada-right-housing-approach">governments have taken a largely punitive approach to them</a>.</p>
<p>Courts have established that prohibiting unhoused people who lack adequate alternatives from sheltering overnight on public land <a href="https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcca/doc/2009/2009bcca563/2009bcca563.html?resultIndex=1">violates their constitutional right</a> to life and security of the person. Yet Canadian municipalities have gone to court repeatedly seeking injunctions to evict encampments from public land.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://allard.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/2023-10/Rush%20to%20Judgment%20Report%20Oct%202023.pdf">new research</a>, we show that courts have been remarkably eager to grant municipalities injunctions even though they are supposed to be drastic remedies for extraordinary situations. </p>
<p>But the tide is shifting. Courts across the country have increasingly begun to doubt and even <a href="https://canlii.ca/t/jv6dc">reject government claims</a> that overcrowded and unsafe shelters actually <a href="https://canlii.ca/t/jjzl4">meet the needs</a> of unhoused people.</p>
<p>Evicting unhoused people from their homes, however makeshift, is a <a href="https://vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/kasari-govender-we-need-to-talk-about-encampments">serious human rights violation</a>. But instead of taking a <a href="https://www.make-the-shift.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/A-National-Protocol-for-Homeless-Encampments-in-Canada.pdf">human rights approach</a> to homelessness, the B.C. government’s new bill makes it even easier to evict already vulnerable people.</p>
<h2>Practical barriers to shelter</h2>
<p>The bill’s definition of “reasonably available” alternative shelter might seem to give encampment residents some protection against arbitrary eviction. But it actually weakens existing legal protections by ignoring the barriers that make many shelters inaccessible, the distinct situation of Indigenous people and the need for shelter and storage during the day.</p>
<p>Violence, theft, mold, vermin and lack of privacy make some shelter options inaccessible to many unhoused people. Inaccessibility is particularly stark for <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/StateofWomenHomelessness">women and gender diverse people</a>.</p>
<p>Strict limits on how many belongings people can bring into shelters also present an impossible choice between <a href="https://belongingsmatter.ca/report/shelters-and-non-tenancy-accommodations">sleeping indoors and safeguarding belongings</a>. Bans on pets and couples are barriers for some. Curfews and abstinence rules limit accessibility for people dealing with substance use and addiction.</p>
<p>Many unhoused people, including those with mental health challenges, are ejected under “one strike you’re out” policies. Limits on shelter stays are another barrier. On top of it all, housing waitlist processes are confusing and frustrating.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeless-people-deserve-the-same-right-to-their-belongings-that-we-all-have-201374">Homeless people deserve the same right to their belongings that we all have</a>
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<p>These barriers are well known to everyone concerned with homelessness, including the B.C. government. Courts say <a href="https://canlii.ca/t/jjzl4">they must be considered</a> when deciding whether to issue injunctions against encampments. </p>
<p>By ignoring them, the bill perpetuates a false stereotype of unhoused people as “choosy beggars” who deliberately refuse adequate shelter. This bill ignores the fact that people experiencing homelessness know best what shelter is safe and adequate for them.</p>
<h2>Indigenous people overrepresented</h2>
<p>Indigenous people are massively overrepresented in the unhoused population. They comprise just two per cent of Greater Vancouver’s population, <a href="https://hsa-bc.ca/_Library/2023_HC/2023_Homeless_Count_for_Greater_Vancouver.pdf">but 33 per cent of its homeless population</a>. Many have been profoundly affected by residential schools, colonial dispossession and anti-Indigenous racism. Existing shelter options reproduce these traumas.</p>
<p>Courts have <a href="https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2021/2021bcsc2089/2021bcsc2089.html?searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAVUHJpbmNlIEdlb3JnZSBzdGV3YXJ0AAAAAAE&resultIndex=1">insisted</a> this context must be considered when determining whether shelter alternatives are adequate and accessible. Yet B.C.’s bill entirely ignores it, violating the province’s obligations to consult Indigenous Peoples on decisions that affect them and pass laws that comply with the <a href="https://social.desa.un.org/issues/indigenous-peoples/united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples">United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a>.</p>
<h2>The need for daytime shelter</h2>
<p>Finally, the claim that having somewhere to spend the night meets a person’s basic needs for shelter is simply untrue. Having somewhere to shelter and store belongings during the day is a basic need that <a href="https://canlii.ca/t/glps4">courts have recognized for years</a>, and have begun to acknowledge as a <a href="https://canlii.ca/t/jv6dc">constitutional right</a>.</p>
<p>To deny unhoused people the ability to shelter throughout the day is to condemn them, in <a href="https://canlii.ca/t/gp40g">one judge’s words</a>, to “constant disruption and a perpetuation of a relentless series of daily moves to the streets, doorways, and parks” of Canadian cities.</p>
<p><a href="https://belongingsmatter.ca">As our research confirms</a>, packing up their homes, carrying all their belongings around all day — including tents, sleeping bags, clothing, toiletries and medicine — and lining up for somewhere to sleep every night is a hardship for all unhoused people and impossible for many.</p>
<p>Like B.C.’s <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/october-2023/b-c-ban-public-consumption/">proposed ban on public consumption</a>, Bill 45 is aimed at excluding poor people from public spaces. Instead of addressing the province’s lack of housing and income inequality, the B.C. government is making it easier for municipalities to police poor and unhoused people.</p>
<p>This bill attempts to roll back existing Charter protections and limit courts’ discretion regarding injunctions against encampments. It will be deeply harmful to unhoused people if enacted.</p>
<p>As the B.C. legislature debates this bill, we need to send elected representatives a clear message: stop trying to justify the punishment, stigmatization and eviction of unhoused people and start to work seriously to <a href="https://make-the-shift.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/NWG-HE-Guidance-w-list.pdf">protect their rights to life, shelter, health and dignity</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218007/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stepan Wood has conducted pro bono legal research and served as an expert witness at the request of lawyers representing residents of homeless encampments. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Flynn receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Estair Van Wagner receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate. </span></em></p>If passed, B.C.’s Bill 45 will trample over the constitutional rights of unhoused people by ignoring shelter barriers, Indigenous rights and the need for daytime shelterStepan Wood, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Law, Society & Sustainability, University of British ColumbiaAlexandra Flynn, Associate Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British ColumbiaEstair Van Wagner, Associate Professor, Law, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2176412023-11-19T13:00:20Z2023-11-19T13:00:20ZRaids on magic mushroom dispensaries are a knee-jerk reaction, but taking a blind-eye approach only allows the market to run wild<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559971/original/file-20231116-26-gz18nx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C46%2C6240%2C4100&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A store selling psychedelics in Windsor, Ont. Recent police raids on psychedelics stores in Vancouver reflect misplaced attitudes toward drug regulation.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/raids-on-magic-mushroom-dispensaries-are-a-knee-jerk-reaction-but-taking-a-blind-eye-approach-only-allows-the-market-to-run-wild" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>On Nov. 3, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-police-raid-3-psilocybin-stores-seize-variety-of-controlled-substances-1.7015692">police raided</a> three Vancouver magic mushroom dispensaries and seized tens of thousands of dollars worth of psilocybin and other psychedelics. </p>
<p>One store has already re-opened, with the owner <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-magic-mushroom-dispensaries-raided-owner-arrested-as-vancouver-police/">saying</a> the other two will reopen soon. </p>
<p>Psychedelics remain predominantly illegal in Canada. But storefronts advertising psychedelics are popping up throughout downtown <a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/07/18/toronto-mushroom-dispensaries-remain-open-despite-being-illegal/">Toronto</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/magic-mushroom-dispensaries-in-vancouver-1.6385792">Vancouver</a>. And there are hundreds more Canadian options online.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Mushroom dispensary owner Dana Larsen criticizes Vancouver police for raiding his dispensary and two others.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Mushrooming trade</h2>
<p>As Canada lags on approving therapeutic psilocybin products, the illicit market is flourishing. Operating in a legal grey area, Canadian stores and websites are increasingly selling psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine and more. To date, the government has largely turned a blind eye to these stores. </p>
<p>The Vancouver police had previously expressed that their primary concern is gang-related opioid trafficking, but this appears to be changing, and police have indicated more raids will come. </p>
<p>We have seen this story before: <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/illegal-pot-shops-slam-city-s-reckless-behaviour-as-police-return-with-more-cement-blocks-1.4515747">repeated raids on cannabis dispensaries</a> failed to dissuade owners while using up vast police resources. </p>
<p>Yet simply ignoring the growing psychedelics storefronts allows stores to prioritize commercial interests over public health: with no regulations, sellers make wild assertions about their products with no oversight. Age checks — particularly online — are rarely conducted. </p>
<p>Perhaps most egregiously, public-facing marketing is totally unrestricted: while cannabis stores cannot even allow products to be viewable from the outdoors nor make any health claims about their products, psychedelics stores regularly showcase splashy branding and make unsubstantiated claims about psychedelics’ possibilities. </p>
<p>The lack of a regulated supply also impedes shops from making reliable dosing recommendations — those would require full knowledge of the actual ingredients.</p>
<h2>An unrealistic medical model</h2>
<p>To date, the Canadian government has solely focused on medical use of psychedelics. In June, Canada <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/institutes-health-research/news/2023/06/government-of-canada-invests-nearly-3-million-to-study-the-potential-benefits-of-psilocybin-assisted-psychotherapy.html">invested nearly $3 million</a> into researching the benefits of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy. </p>
<p>For now, the government <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/substance-use/controlled-illegal-drugs/magic-mushrooms.html">suggests seeking out clinical trials</a> to anyone interested in using psychedelics.</p>
<p>While the medical model is appealing, it also ignores the realities of psychedelics use in Canada. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2023.2242353">recent survey</a> found that less than 34 per cent of Canadians who reported using psychedelics did so to self-medicate a health condition. This means that about two-thirds of those using psychedelics would be unaffected by medical authorization unless able to convince a practitioner that they require the substance. </p>
<p>The recreational and medicinal markets are far more intertwined than many are aware. As so often happens, our denial of medical access has become intertwined with a burgeoning illicit market. We have seen this phenomenon with cannabis and opioids, and it now appears to be happening with psychedelics.</p>
<h2>A better way forward</h2>
<p>Policy reactions to illegal recreational drugs often fall within two categories: ignore the reality and hope the stores simply disappear; or overreact, executing ineffective and costly raids that do little to dissuade store owners (all while promising medical access that takes far too long to transpire). At present, the government appears to be missing the mark on both ends.</p>
<p>Instead of repeating history, a public-health approach would involve providing objective information about the risks and downsides, banning all marketing and promotion, and encouraging substance testing services. Basic age verification, as with tobacco and alcohol, should be required. </p>
<p>Those interested in purchasing should be provided with third-party, objective information on the health risks and benefits. Customers should, for instance, be made aware that psychedelics have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/hup.2742">a well-established risk</a> of exacerbating psychotic symptoms. They are therefore <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2017.0684">highly discouraged</a> for those with psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenic tendencies. </p>
<p>Similarly, customers should understand that Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD), often known as “flashbacks,” are a rare but noteworthy condition linked to psychedelics use. There are also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1503%2Fcmaj.141124">real risks during trips</a> of acute increases in anxiety, fear, heart rate and blood pressure.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559840/original/file-20231116-15-if7wjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="hands wearing surgical gloves hold a canister with desiccated mushrooms" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559840/original/file-20231116-15-if7wjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559840/original/file-20231116-15-if7wjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559840/original/file-20231116-15-if7wjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559840/original/file-20231116-15-if7wjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559840/original/file-20231116-15-if7wjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559840/original/file-20231116-15-if7wjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559840/original/file-20231116-15-if7wjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Canada has yet to approve therapeutic psilocybin products.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Notwithstanding, adults should also not face fear-mongering around psychedelics. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26102948">Research suggests that</a> psilocybin has low physiological toxicity, minimal potential for addiction, and that overdoses are rare. </p>
<p>In short: adults should be trusted to make the right decisions about the non-addictive psychedelic drugs they wish to use. As such, policymakers should ensure that customers do so fully informed about the benefits and risks, conscious of the ingredients in the products, and without commercial pressure.</p>
<p>Psychedelics are an opportunity to do better than our past drug control strategies. Policymakers can avoid fearmongering while preventing commercial interests from running wild. We only have to look back at cannabis to know that our current approach will not be sustainable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217641/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Eisenkraft Klein receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and reports employment with Health Canada's Tobacco Control Directorate and the University of Toronto. </span></em></p>Psychedelics are an opportunity to do better than our past drug control strategies. Adults should be trusted to make the right decisions, but policymakers should ensure they do so fully informed.Daniel Eisenkraft Klein, PhD Candidate, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2173532023-11-16T22:57:51Z2023-11-16T22:57:51ZLet coastlines be coastlines: How nature-based approaches can protect Canada’s coasts<p>Along Canadian coasts, <a href="https://www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/climate-change-means-atlantic-canada-will-see-more-frequent-storms">storm surges</a> and <a href="https://www.uottawa.ca/environment/blog/100-year-floods-are-increasing-canada-due-climate-change-officials-say-true">flooding</a> have gone from breaking news to seasonal norms. </p>
<p>Phenomena Canadians have historically thought of as freak <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2020.1744423">natural disasters are becoming regular predictable occurrences</a>. </p>
<p>Our go-to solution to protect property and infrastructure is to build walls to block wave energy — walls that have become <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ca-Vu/publication/346517536_Coastal_Development_Resilience_Restoration_and_Infrastructure_Requirements_LEAD_AUTHORS_About_the_High_Level_Panel_for_a_Sustainable_Ocean_Economy/links/5fc5e73992851c3012995ca6/Coastal-Development-Resilience-Restoration-and-Infrastructure-Requirements-LEAD-AUTHORS-About-the-High-Level-Panel-for-a-Sustainable-Ocean-Economy.pdf">ineffective and unaffordable</a>. It’s time to look beyond the status quo and consider <a href="https://www.csagroup.org/article/research/nature-based-solutions-for-coastal-and-riverine-flood-and-erosion-risk-management/">nature-based solutions</a> to protect the places we love.</p>
<h2>How we got here</h2>
<p>In many parts of the world, humans have long felt a <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/H/bo14312647.html">strong connection to the coast</a>. We <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95227-9.00007-5">write stories, sing songs and build lives</a> on the lands that touch the sea. We also build walls and other concrete, stone and metal structures to <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/shoreline-armoring.html">protect those lands</a> from the very seas we revere.</p>
<p>From time immemorial, Indigenous Peoples made their homes along the coasts, becoming <a href="https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/knowinghome/chapter/chapter-7/">experts in their knowledge</a> of coastal ecosystems and, on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, used <a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/against-the-tides">salt marshes for food and transportation</a>. Following European settlement, those salt marshes were drained, <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/water/drought-flooding-dikes-dams/integrated-flood-hazard-management/dike-management#:%7E:text=Dike%20consequence%20classification-,History%20of%20dikes%20in%20B.C.,relatively%20little%20damage%20was%20caused.">dykes</a> were built from earth and wood, and the land was cultivated for agriculture.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/storms-or-sea-level-rise-what-really-causes-beach-erosion-209213">Storms or sea-level rise – what really causes beach erosion?</a>
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<p><a href="https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=AjwPEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=how+much+of+Canada%27s+coast+is+hardened+shoreline&ots=ofxRgZFp1q&sig=pudIoHph4rwpz4E5hntGfVx36uc#v=onepage&q=how%20much%20of%20Canada's%20coast%20is%20hardened%20shoreline&f=false">Over time, other hard armour structures</a> such as <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/agriculture-and-seafood/agricultural-land-and-environment/water/drainage-management-guide/533410-1_rock_revetments-drainage_guide_factsheet_no12.pdf">revetments</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/breakwater">breakwaters</a> were constructed to block wave energy and provide additional protection for agriculture, transportation and growing cities.</p>
<h2>Where we are now</h2>
<p>Today, Canada’s coastal infrastructure includes extensive networks of seawalls, dykes, revetments and breakwaters, most of which are made of hard materials. Hard coastal infrastructure is everywhere if you know where to look. The <a href="https://transcanadahighway.com/nova-scotia/canso-causeway/">Canso Causeway</a> connecting Cape Breton Island to mainland Nova Scotia and the <a href="https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/seawall.aspx">Vancouver seawall</a> are just two examples. </p>
<p>In some cases, using <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/48703231?seq=2">hard infrastructure</a> is unavoidable. Indeed, <a href="https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/research-collaboration/programs/ocean-program-coastal-resilience-technology-theme">hard infrastructure</a> is critical for maintaining transportation and energy infrastructure, including roads, railroads and ports. </p>
<p>However, hard infrastructure almost always <a href="https://www.intactcentreclimateadaptation.ca/rising-seas-and-shifting-sands-combining-natural-and-grey-infrastructure-to-protect-canadas-eastern-and-western-coastal-communities/">increases erosion</a> in adjacent areas, is expensive to maintain and degrades over time. Engineers predict that repairs, including <a href="https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/trans/Chignecto/chignecto-isthmus-project-report-e.pdf">raising the dykes along the Chignecto Isthmus</a> between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, will cost between $189-300 million. </p>
<p>With such an astronomical price tag, even smaller projects are simply not an option for many municipalities or individual landowners.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coastal-erosion-is-unstoppable-so-how-do-we-live-with-it-186365">Coastal erosion is unstoppable – so how do we live with it?</a>
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<p>In the face of such challenges, there are opportunities to adapt engineering and protective infrastructure to be more sustainable by integrating natural elements and processes.</p>
<h2>Nature-based solutions</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.transcoastaladaptations.com/nature-based-climate-change-adaptation">Nature-based approaches</a> preserve or reintroduce natural structures and materials into the environment, recognizing and respecting natural systems and their benefits for humans. </p>
<p>Nature-based approaches range from those that are entirely natural to hybrid solutions, which incorporate traditional hard engineering with natural features.</p>
<p>Examples of nature-based solutions <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c83d5c63560c33561cc74de/t/61aeca0bf994d4620c5aba87/1638844941547/MRfM_BelcherStMarsh_Case_Study_Final__Dec_05_21_Updated.pdf">include</a> dyke realignment to restore natural water flow and allow saltmarsh reestablishment, wetland and dune restoration, and living shorelines which utilize plants, sand and rock to protect the coast. </p>
<p>Nature-based approaches can involve <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2022.100044">reserving land for natural systems by protecting them from development</a> and making room for the evolution of natural systems; they can also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105960">involve moving back from the coast, and releasing land back to nature</a>.</p>
<p>Hard infrastructure weakens over time while nature-based solutions grow stronger as plants establish roots, biodiversity increases and natural processes adjust. </p>
<p>Nature-based solutions provide a wide array of benefits. In addition to protecting coastal places from flooding, storm surges and erosion. Nature-based solutions <a href="http://stewardshipcentrebc.ca/PDF_docs/greenshores/Resources/Green%20Shores%202020_%20Impact,%20Value%20and%20Lessons%20Learned_%20Full%20Report_July2020.pdf">prevent shoreline pollution</a>, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/2/523/htm">support biodiversity</a>, can <a href="http://stewardshipcentrebc.ca/PDF_docs/greenshores/Resources/Green%20Shores%202020_%20Impact,%20Value%20and%20Lessons%20Learned_%20Full%20Report_July2020.pdf">increase property value</a> and contribute to overall <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910950">human well-being</a>. </p>
<p>Incorporating nature-based solutions requires innovation and open-mindedness that may feel intimidating and it is often <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220329065340id_/https:/nhess.copernicus.org/preprints/nhess-2022-104/nhess-2022-104.pdf">easier to trust a stone or concrete wall</a> over the energy absorbing power of plants and soil. </p>
<p>As such, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2022.100044">raising awareness</a> about different nature-based options and being transparent about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frstb.2019.0120">costs and benefits</a> can help build confidence in nature-based solutions. </p>
<p>Successful nature-based solutions also require place-based <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220329065340id_/https:/nhess.copernicus.org/preprints/nhess-2022-104/nhess-2022-104.pdf">collaboration and knowledge sharing</a> between impacted peoples, engineers, scientists and decision-makers that consider social
and ecological interests. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/st-lawrence-shoreline-erosion-we-must-work-with-not-against-nature-184721">St. Lawrence shoreline erosion: We must work with, not against, nature</a>
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<p><a href="https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/biodiversity/nature-based-solutions/">Nature-based solutions cannot be prescribed as top-down interventions</a>. Every situation is unique, and many people with diverse knowledge and perspectives should come together to decide how specific nature-based approaches can meet various infrastructure, ecological and social needs as well as increase flood resilience.</p>
<h2>What now?</h2>
<p>For natural resource and permitting agencies, as well as many property owners, the tradition of building hard armoured shorelines remains deeply ingrained. Current guidance documents, policies and habits were built for hard infrastructure. In some cases, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236735">bureaucratic decision-making structures</a> move slower than hazards from flooding. </p>
<p>In other cases, including lack of or delayed implementation of legislation, such as <a href="https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/government/province-house/houston-government-once-again-delays-implementation-of-coastal-protection-act/">the Coastal Protection Act</a> and regulations in Nova Scotia, <a href="https://ecologyandsociety.org/vol28/iss2/art25/">political interests</a> hinder planning actions that would limit hard infrastructure and development along the coast.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iXkrS1u5fl8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An overview of the problems of erosion facing many communities across Canada, particularly in the North. Produced by the CBC.</span></figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://climatechoices.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Infrastructure-English-FINAL-Sep29.pdf?utm_source=vancouver%20is%20awesome&utm_campaign=vancouver%20is%20awesome%3A%20outbound&utm_medium=referral">Many Canadians</a> are buying homes in areas with high flood risk. The infrastructure they rely upon is <a href="https://changingclimate.ca/national-issues/chapter/2-0/">aging</a> and requires adaptation. Infrastructure supporting <a href="https://highways.dot.gov/public-roads/autumn-2021/02">bridges, roads</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2022.100013">rail lines</a> needs to be upgraded or removed, providing opportunities to incorporate nature-based solutions.</p>
<h2>Hope for the future</h2>
<p>As we look towards what can feel like an ominous future, there are many resources for individuals or organisations seeking additional information and guidance about nature-based solutions. <a href="https://www.transcoastaladaptations.com/">TransCoastal Adaptations: Centre for Nature-based Solutions</a> is a practitioner, academic and government partnership in Nova Scotia focused on restoration, managed realignment and climate change adaptation. </p>
<p>Privately owned companies, also in Nova Scotia, <a href="https://helpingnatureheal.com/">Helping Heal Nature</a> and <a href="https://www.cbwes.com/">CB Wetlands and Environmental Specialists</a>, focus on ecological restoration, living shorelines and community stewardship and education. Nation-wide <a href="https://coastalzonecanada.org/nbcs/">communities of practice</a> exist to build capacity for natural and nature-based approaches.</p>
<p>As more people learn about nature-based solutions, there will be more opportunities to incorporate natural processes into coastal protection. We know the stakes, and we have nature-based solutions at hand. It’s time to give dirt and plants a chance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217353/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keahna Margeson receives funding from the Ocean Frontier Institute Ocean Graduate Excellence Network, Canada First Research Excellence Fund, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and National Research Council Canada. </span></em></p>As seas rise, it is clear that traditional coastal defence approaches are unable to keep pace. Nature-based solutions offer considerable potential to protect coasts, people and biodiversity.Keahna Margeson, IDPhD Student, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2137072023-10-05T19:10:17Z2023-10-05T19:10:17ZHow Arctic landscapes and Canadian cityscapes share a similar pattern<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-arctic-landscapes-and-canadian-cityscapes-share-a-similar-pattern" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The year 2023 has been one of extremes, from heatwaves that baked millions across the globe and made the summer the <a href="https://climate.copernicus.eu/summer-2023-hottest-record">world’s hottest on record</a> to the fires that forced <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/world-on-fire-canada-s-worst-wildfire-season-on-record-1.6946472">tens of thousands to evacuate across Western Canada</a>. From the feel of surprising warmth in the mid-winter sun to the crinkle and cracking of leaves dried by drought, you can witness climate change with all of your senses.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yellowknife-and-kelowna-wildfires-burn-in-what-is-already-canadas-worst-season-on-record-211817">Yellowknife and Kelowna wildfires burn in what is already Canada's worst season on record</a>
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<p>Our perception of climate change is shaped by personal experiences of such extremes, and our first-hand climate experiences are rooted in where we live. As a result, there is a profound disconnect between the experiences of those who live in cities far from the planet’s northernmost reaches and those who live in the Arctic, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD029726">where the climate is changing faster than anywhere else on Earth</a>. </p>
<p>Despite this gulf of experience, there are surprising parallels between Canadian urban cores and northern Arctic islands where the shape of the landscapes hold our shared histories.</p>
<h2>Polygons</h2>
<p><a href="https://nsidc.org/learn/parts-cryosphere/frozen-ground-permafrost/science-frozen-ground">Polygons are perhaps one of the most visually striking features that can be found in the high Arctic</a>. They are vast areas of ground that are patterned by geometric protrusions, 10 to 20 metres in width, rimmed by metre-deep troughs. </p>
<p>From above, the landscape looks like it has been tiled by puzzle pieces as wide as school buses; up close, walking through polygon troughs feels like being an ant wandering the cracks in dried mud.</p>
<p>Polygons can form when seasonal temperatures interact with perennially frozen sub-surface soil, known as permafrost. Winter cold first contracts the ground so fiercely that cracks form, penetrating into the frozen sub-surface. These cracks fill with meltwater in spring, and, because permafrost has typically stayed cold year-round, the pools of meltwater freeze, expand and further push apart ground.</p>
<p>Such cracks form troughs that meet others, and since both permafrost and seasons span large areas, so too can fields of polygons. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40795-9">The topographic pattern of polygons shapes the history of a place</a>. They efficiently organize where and how water moves through the landscape, and as such, they alter more than how the landscape looks: they fundamentally reshape how it functions.</p>
<p>Over time, streams can develop along the angular polygon boundaries where channels erode and deepen as water flows. Deeper channels expose previously-buried permafrost to warm summer air, furthering thaw and intensifying methane emissions as once-frozen organic matter decomposes. Polygons shape where water goes, and, in turn, the water reshapes the world in which it travels. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thawing-permafrost-is-roiling-the-arctic-landscape-driven-by-a-hidden-world-of-changes-beneath-the-surface-as-the-climate-warms-174157">Thawing permafrost is roiling the Arctic landscape, driven by a hidden world of changes beneath the surface as the climate warms</a>
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<p>The impact of polygons persists even after the permafrost has thawed: looking at a map, you can spot where polygons were by the zig-zagging nature of rivers and streams that follow where polygon troughs used to be. Landscapes hold memory.</p>
<h2>Urban memories</h2>
<p>Cities, too, hold memory. If you live in a larger Canadian city, you live in a place whose character and function have been shaped by transitional patterns that facilitate flow, like in the Arctic. While in the Arctic we can look to polygons to find memory, in cities we can look to streetcars.</p>
<p><a href="https://barrydsilverstein.medium.com/the-unlikely-rebirth-of-the-streetcar-in-america-ea2207ec5c88">Networks of streetcar lines were built</a> in most major North American cities between the late 1800s and the mid 1900s in response to growing populations, from Vancouver to Miami, Toronto and San Francisco. When these streetcars patterned the cityscape, they shaped where people went. </p>
<p><a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Streetcar_Renaissance.html?id=0FsQcgAACAAJ&redir_esc=y">Areas near streetcar stops developed rapidly and reshaped the character of the neighbourhoods themselves</a>. Businesses, services and entertainment emerged and grew along the interconnected corridors that newly criss-crossed cities, and a particular urban vibrance came from the intermingling nature of these places where people could find services and amenities, live and work, gather and stay.</p>
<p>Most streetcars have been removed or replaced across North America since the mid-20th century. However, despite the loss of streetcar lines themselves, neighbourhood character has persisted along the corridors where the lines once were. Zoning laws locked in neighbourhoods just as eroded channels locked in the course of Arctic streams. </p>
<p>In patterning large areas of cities, streetcars organized how people moved, and as such, they altered more than how the city looked: they fundamentally reshaped how the city functioned. Neighbourhoods have memory in their character, as Arctic streams have memory in theirs: both products of patterned landscapes in transition.</p>
<h2>Patterns and flow</h2>
<p>Looking at a map of century-old streetcar networks is a surprisingly good way to find where interesting neighbourhoods are today. </p>
<p>Take Vancouver, where <a href="https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/vancouver-city-and-suburban-lines">historical streetcar lines mark modern commercial corridors</a>: in Kitsilano, streetcars ran along both 4th and Broadway, while downtown, streetcars formed a loop along Davie, Denman, Robson and Granville streets. </p>
<p><a href="https://cityarchives.edmonton.ca/edmonton-alberta-car-flow-on-existing-lines-1930">In Edmonton</a>, streetcars ran on Whyte Avenue between 109th and 99th streets, where cafes, bars, restaurants, and festivals bring energy to the 10-block stretch. In Toronto, where the streetcar system still remains, it is unsurprising that vibrance follows the lines on Queen, Yonge, Church and other streets. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thawing-permafrost-is-triggering-thousands-of-landslides-across-the-arctic-114702">Thawing permafrost is triggering thousands of landslides across the Arctic</a>
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<p>You can search for old streetcar maps for your city, too, and see how your home was shaped in a similar way. They are places where you can step out your front door and find cafes, restaurants, businesses and shops, all having grown organically on the same block, in part due to the streetcars that fostered growth along fixed lines. </p>
<p>The rapidly changing Arctic environment is a place with surprising similarities to Canadian urban histories, where polygons do to landscapes what streetcars did to cities, and where water moves as we do to shape its world. Polygons highlight the common ground between the character of Canada’s urban cores and the world’s furthest northern reaches. </p>
<p>As the Arctic continues to experience climate change at a pace more rapid than anywhere else on the planet, we would do well to see ourselves in once-frozen lands: perhaps then we will finally act.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213707/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sam Anderson receives funding from The National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonas Eschenfelder receives funding from Simon Fraser University, Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shawn M. Chartrand receives funding from the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and from the Faculty of the Environment, Simon Fraser University, Canada. </span></em></p>While a seemingly remote and unfamiliar landscape, the Arctic shares many surprising similarities with contemporary Canadian cityscapes.Sam Anderson, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Simon Fraser UniversityJonas Eschenfelder, PhD Candidate, Simon Fraser UniversityShawn M. Chartrand, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2117242023-09-27T21:23:33Z2023-09-27T21:23:33ZExtreme heat, extreme inequality: Addressing climate justice in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/extreme-heat-extreme-inequality-addressing-climate-justice-in-vancouvers-downtown-eastside" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/07/un-climate-change-hottest-week-world">hottest summer ever recorded in the northern hemisphere</a> is a stark reminder of the immediacy of the climate crisis. And the hardest hit by climate impacts, <a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/7bf7141bb6fd41fb9b61a02cfbc61ecd">such as residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside</a>, are often those with the least capacity to adapt. </p>
<p>People who live in this community are exposed to climate hazards made worse by a lack of green space and shoddy and aging housing. Residents experience the <a href="https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/Strategy_DTES_provincial_response_plan.pdf">cumulative impacts</a> of factors such as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.2217/fvl-2020-0156">opioid epidemic</a>, poverty, limited employment opportunities, intergenerational trauma and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-012-9771-x">criminal justice and mental health issues</a>.</p>
<p>As a result, residents have had little space for participation in climate adaptation policy. But when climate shocks occur, this community is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00708-z">disproportionately at risk</a>. </p>
<p>In times like these, people need clear advice, and access to knowledge that allows them to have a voice in policymaking. However, the often-opaque research on climate impacts, hallmarked by inaccessible language and exclusionary methods of communication, do little to help those most affected.</p>
<p>It is of urgent importance that universities live up to their stated desires for impact and work directly with the most vulnerable populations on the front lines of the climate crisis.</p>
<h2>Climate change impacts</h2>
<p>The Downtown Eastside is the <a href="https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/profile-dtes-local-area-2013.pdf">historic heart</a> of Vancouver consisting of seven adjoining yet distinct neighbourhoods with a total population of 18,500. A changing climate has a <a href="https://www.evergreen.ca/our-projects/climate-risks/">heightened impact</a> on residents due to several intersecting challenges. </p>
<p>During a heat wave, <a href="https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/vanplay-strategic-bold-moves-equity-chapter.pdf">urban tree canopy</a> and <a href="https://sustain.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/2020-52a_Access%20to%20nature%20in%20Vancouver_Fitzgibbons.pdf">access to nature</a> can be lifesaving public goods. Highly paved areas can be as much as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26768-w">12֯ C</a> hotter than areas with an urban tree canopy due to the <a href="https://climateatlas.ca/urban-heat-island-effect">urban heat island effect</a>.</p>
<p>While much of Vancouver enjoys significant cover, the Downtown Eastside is the <a href="https://sustain.ubc.ca/about/resources/growing-equitable-and-resilient-urban-forest">least forested</a> part of the city. This lack of trees worsened the neighbourhood’s extra high temperatures during the deadly 2021 heat dome. To address the loss of trees through densification and urbaniziation, Vancouver has a <a href="https://vancouver.ca/your-government/protection-of-trees-bylaw.aspx">tree protection bylaw</a> and an <a href="https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/urban-forest-strategy.aspx">Urban Forest Strategy</a> that sets targets on tree canopy for the city.</p>
<p>The unhoused population also faces a risk of heat-related mortality up to <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/extreme-heat-can-be-deadly-for-people-who-are-homeless">200 times</a> greater than those with access to shelter. Chronic housing precarity in the neighbourhood <a href="https://council.vancouver.ca/20201007/documents/pspc1presentation.pdf">far exceeds</a> anywhere else in the city.</p>
<p>Disproportionate risk is also borne by individuals living with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029%2F2022GH000729">chronic health conditions</a> such as substance use disorder, schizophrenia, and mood or anxiety disorders. The provincial “Death Review Panel” found that <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/birth-adoption-death-marriage-and-divorce/deaths/coroners-service/death-review-panel/extreme_heat_death_review_panel_report.pdf">91 per cent</a> of the more than 600 lives lost during the <a href="https://www.chf.bc.ca/2021-heat-dome-report/">2021 Vancouver heat dome</a> were individuals with at least one chronic disease. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/statistically-impossible-heat-extremes-are-here-we-identified-the-regions-most-at-risk-204480">'Statistically impossible' heat extremes are here – we identified the regions most at risk</a>
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<p>Too often research on disproportionate climate impacts like this fails to reach those most affected. Purposeful collaboration with these populations needs to be respectfully sought in determining the direction, execution and communication of research. Researchers need to take the time to make their practices more accessible and connected to community-driven climate research needs. </p>
<h2>Overcoming barriers</h2>
<p>The urgency of the climate emergency accelerates the need for research to be translated into policy. A crucial step lies in universities such as the University of British Columbia seeking out opportunities to work more closely with climate-vulnerable groups. </p>
<p>Residents deserve access to research on climate impacts and a voice in advocating for fairer climate policies. Making climate research easier to access and understand can set the conditions for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s44168-022-00024-3">transformative adaptation</a> and help build resilience.</p>
<p>Tools <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/facets-2020-0032">such as graphic visualisations can help increase community engagement</a> in decision-making. Researchers should think about who will use the information, seek out their involvement early on, and find accessible ways to communicate findings. </p>
<p>University staff dedicated to <a href="https://innovation.ubc.ca/how-engage/knowledge-exchange">knowledge exchange</a>, <a href="https://climateemergency.ubc.ca/climate-emergency-fund/">community climate partnerships</a>, and applied <a href="https://sustain.ubc.ca/teaching-applied-learning/ubc-sustainability-scholars-program">research internships</a> — as well as satellite “<a href="https://learningexchange.ubc.ca/about-us/">learning exchange</a>” offices — can help busy faculty make climate research accessible. </p>
<h2>Centres of change and empowerment</h2>
<p>As trusted sources of knowledge, universities have a key role to play in addressing this communication gap. The UN Secretary General has <a href="https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20201204092017670">pointed out</a> that universities are “essential to our success” on climate action. Naomi Klein, co-director of UBC’s Centre for Climate Justice, <a href="https://www.arts.ubc.ca/news/naomi-klein-on-the-future-of-climate-justice/">notes</a> that universities can boost the influence of marginalized communities in policy responses by emphasizing equity and justice in climate research and communication.</p>
<p>Impact, dissemination and knowledge exchange are university buzzwords, but it is still rare for researchers to work directly with the most vulnerable populations. Collaborating on all aspects of research, from design to presentation, empowers at-risk communities to co-create, access and advocate for adaptive climate policies that meet their priorities.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/transformational-change-is-coming-to-how-people-live-on-earth-un-climate-adaptation-report-warns-which-path-will-humanity-choose-177604">Transformational change is coming to how people live on Earth, UN climate adaptation report warns: Which path will humanity choose?</a>
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<p>UBC’s 2019 <a href="https://president3.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2019/12/Climate-Emergency-Declaration.pdf">Climate Emergency Declaration</a> commits the university to build just and inclusive climate solutions that work towards dismantling historic and existing barriers faced by marginalized communities. </p>
<p>For these commitments to be fully realized and reflected in policy outcomes, climate research needs to be accessible and actionable. Amplifying underrepresented voices will improve climate policies and outcomes. Together, we can create a more equitable neighbourhood and a more resilient city.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211724/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Linda Nowlan receives funding from the McConnell Foundation for the CLEAR project. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Linsell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Often those most impacted by climate change are those least able to engage with climate discourse. Universities have a responsibility to engage with these communities.Linda Nowlan, Senior Director, UBC Sustainability Hub, University of British ColumbiaTim Linsell, Graduate Research Assistant, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2139562023-09-20T18:46:30Z2023-09-20T18:46:30ZThe fraught history of India and the Khalistan movement<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the-fraught-history-of-india-and-the-khalistan-movement" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The Indian government has warned its citizens living in Canada to exercise “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/20/india-warning-citizens-canada-sikh-activist-trudeau">extreme caution</a>” due to a “deteriorating security environment” in the country. </p>
<p>The warning came after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canadian police were investigating “credible allegations” of the Indian government’s involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.</p>
<p>On June 18, 2023, 46-year-old Nijjar, who migrated to Canada in 1997 and became a Canadian citizen in 2015, was shot dead by two masked gunmen in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, B.C.</p>
<p>The Indian government has denied any involvement, and as a result of the allegations, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/19/india-expels-canada-diplomat-sikh-assassination/">both countries have expelled diplomats from the other</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/justin-trudeaus-india-accusation-complicates-western-efforts-to-rein-in-china-213922">Justin Trudeau's India accusation complicates western efforts to rein in China</a>
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<p>In late 2022, the Canadian government <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2023/02/minister-joly-to-travel-to-india-to-deepen-indo-pacific-strategy-partnerships.html">spoke of building a stronger partnership</a> on the shared tradition of democracy between the two countries. But now, after a brief interlude of bonhomie, the Indo-Canadian relationship has reverted to a deep chill.</p>
<p>Canada correctly points out that the involvement of any foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is a violation of its sovereignty. India insists that Canada, particularly Trudeau’s Liberal government, has consistently ignored so-called terrorist activities against India by supporters of the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/khalistan-explained-canada-india-nijjar-1.6971803">Khalistan movement</a>.</p>
<h2>The Khalistan movement</h2>
<p>The Sikh population in India is estimated to be <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/20/canada-india-tensions-sikh-population/">about 22 million</a> (1.7 per cent of the population), the majority of whom reside in the northern state of Punjab. The demand for a separate independent homeland for Sikhs — Khalistan — can be traced back to the 1940s when the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-62467438">British partitioned India</a> and created Pakistan.</p>
<p>The movement was quiet until the 1970s, largely as a result of the <a href="https://powermin.gov.in/sites/default/files/uploads/Punjab_Re_organisation_Act_0.pdf">Indian government dividing Punjab</a> into a Punjabi speaking majority Sikh state (Punjab) and a Hindi-speaking state (Haryana) in 1966.</p>
<p>However, during the 1970s and 1980s, Punjab was engulfed in a violent political mass movement. Demand for a separate independent homeland was driven by the need to protect the Sikh religion and identity from the assimilationist policies of the Indian state, the need to address the rising unemployment in the agricultural community and Sikh youths.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/indias-great-untapped-resource-its-jobless-young-people-188290">India’s great untapped resource: its jobless young people</a>
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<p>The violence came to a head in June 1984. Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the army to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23514583">storm the Golden Temple</a> in the city of Amritsar, the most sacred and central pilgrimage site for Sikhs, where the leaders of the Khalistan movement had taken refuge.</p>
<p>After a week of fighting, not only was the temple desecrated, but more than 400 people were killed — including the leaders of the movement — and hundreds more were injured.</p>
<p>The Sikh community was deeply shocked both within and outside India. Just four months later, in October 1984, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-rebukes-canada-over-parade-float-showing-assassination-indira-gandhi-2023-06-08/">Gandhi was assassinated</a> by two of her Sikh bodyguards. Her Congress party’s Hindu workers led <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/17/asia/sajjan-kumar-verdict-intl/index.html">anti-Sikh riots</a> that killed thousands of Sikhs.</p>
<p>For the Sikh diaspora, many of whom left India after the riots, the suffering of their community has remained etched in their memories. </p>
<p>The Indian state has taken little action to convict those behind the violence against the Sikh community or to enter into a truth and reconciliation process with the community.</p>
<h2>Khalistan activists killed</h2>
<p>Nijjar’s murder is the <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/explained-how-three-khalistani-terrorists-died-suddenly-in-past-two-months-12765982.html">third targeted killing</a> of Khalistan leaders outside India. </p>
<p>In May, Paramjit Singh Panjwar, head of the Khalistan Commando Force, was shot dead by two identified gunmen in Lahore, Pakistan. In June, Avtar Singh Khanda of the U.K.-based Khalistan Liberation force was suspected of death by poisoning.</p>
<p>Nijjar was head of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) as well as an active member of the United States-based group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ); both organizations are pursuing an independent Sikh homeland. Since 2022, SFJ has been <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/khalistan-referendum-surrey-bc-1.6960101">conducting referendums</a> in Canada and elsewhere in support of Khalistan. </p>
<p>In 2016, <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Khalistan-terror-camp-in-Canada-plotting-attacks-in-Punjab-India-to-Trudeau-govt/articleshow/52495693.cms"><em>The Times of India</em> reported</a> that, according to intelligence officials in Punjab, Nijjar had taken over as the “operational head” of the KTF and was forming groups to launch attacks. </p>
<p>It also claimed that Nijjar frequently visited Pakistan and was in contact with Pakistani intelligence. There have also been allegations that Nijjar was <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/surrey-man-accused-on-running-terror-camp-near-mission">running a camp near Mission, B.C.,</a> to carry out an attack in Punjab.</p>
<p><a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/2731101/canadian-officials-not-talking-about-b-c-terror-camp-claim/">Mission Mayor Randy Hawes says that report is not credible</a>. Ralph Goodale, then Canada’s public safety minister, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/extremist-allegations-bc-1.3608111">would not comment</a> at the time when asked if there was any basis to that allegation.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-sikh-extremism-really-active-in-canada-93566">Is Sikh extremism really active in Canada?</a>
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<p><a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/2736482/b-c-man-accused-of-being-terror-suspect-writes-letter-to-justin-trudeau/">In an open letter to Trudeau</a>, Nijjar pointed out that allegations against him were “factually baseless and fabricated.” He added: </p>
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<p>“Because of my campaign for Sikh rights, it’s my belief that I have become a target of an Indian government media campaign to label my human rights campaign as ‘terrorist activities.’”</p>
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<p>The Nijjar episode is the latest in the ongoing saga between India and Canada over the Khalistan movement. The Indian government claims that Canada’s failure to ban groups like KTF and SFJ compromises India’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and security.</p>
<p>Canada has so far refused to stop the referendums. Meanwhile, India’s current Hindu populist regime remains intolerant of any dissenting voices — especially from minority communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213956/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Reeta Tremblay has received funding from SSHRC. </span></em></p>Hardeep Singh Nijjar is one of three high-profile Sikh political activists to be killed in recent months.Reeta Tremblay, Adjunct and Professor Emerita, University of VictoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2139222023-09-19T22:19:19Z2023-09-19T22:19:19ZJustin Trudeau’s India accusation complicates western efforts to rein in China<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/justin-trudeaus-india-accusation-complicates-western-efforts-to-rein-in-china" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegation that the Indian government <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-indian-government-nijjar-1.6970498">was involved</a> in the assassination on Canadian soil of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh independence advocate, will undoubtedly erode Canadian-Indian relations at a time when the West is trying to appeal to India. </p>
<p>Trudeau has made international headlines with his allegation in Parliament this week that India had a hand in the murder of Nijjar, who was <a href="https://bc.ctvnews.ca/police-tight-lipped-as-b-c-sikh-leader-s-slaying-flares-international-tensions-1.6568266#:%7E:text=Nijjar%20was%20the%20president%20of,the%20evening%20of%20June%2018.">gunned down last June in the parking lot of a gurdwara — a Sikh place of worship — in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey.</a></p>
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<p>Both government and opposition parties have unanimously condemned India, saying the allegations suggest an unacceptable violation of Canadian sovereignty. </p>
<p>Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9971043/canada-has-expelled-a-top-indian-diplomat-who-is-pavan-kumar-rai/">has announced</a> the expulsion of Indian diplomat Pavan Kumar Rai. The federal government says Rai led the Canadian branch of the Research and Analysis Wing, India’s foreign intelligence service. Joly says she’ll raise the issue with the G7 foreign ministers in New York. </p>
<p>India, meantime, has denied the allegation and <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/19/india-expels-canada-diplomat-after-india-envoy-expelled-in-sikh-killing-row">expelled a Canadian diplomat</a> in retaliation.</p>
<h2>Tensions running high</h2>
<p>Tensions between Canada and India were apparent when Trudeau recently visited New Delhi for the G20 summit.</p>
<p>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/aircraft-glitch-delays-canada-pm-trudeaus-departure-india-2023-09-10/">had raised concerns</a> to Trudeau about <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-khalistan-sikh-india-canada/">Sikh Khalistani protests in Canada</a>. The Sikh independence movement is considered a threat to Indian territorial sovereignty and integrity. </p>
<p>Canada has the largest Sikh diaspora outside Punjab, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/who-was-hardeep-singh-nijjar-the-sikh-activist-whose-killing-has-divided-canada-and-india-1.6567734">and activists like Nijjar have been staging demonstrations</a> to demand an independent Khalistan state separate from India. Trudeau defended these demonstrations as freedom of expression, assembly and peaceful protest. </p>
<p>But Trudeau also made his allegations about India’s involvement in Nijjar’s death <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/canada-trudeau-khalistan-modi-g7-b2414088.html">to U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minster Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron at the G20</a>.</p>
<p>This complicates efforts by Canada and its allies to improve relations with India in a strategic attempt to counter-balance what they view as an increasing threat posed by China. </p>
<p>In response to China’s growing might, Canada unveiled its <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2022/11/canada-launches-indo-pacific-strategy-to-support-long-term-growth-prosperity-and-security-for-canadians.html">Indo-Pacific strategy</a> in 2022 that characterized China as a “disruptive power” and underscored the Canadian commitment to strengthening ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific region. That strategy has a particular focus on India.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-indo-pacific-strategy-the-same-old-starry-eyed-thinking-about-asian-trade-195491">Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy: The same old starry-eyed thinking about Asian trade</a>
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<h2>Improving India-Canada trade</h2>
<p>Canada has also committed to improving trade relations with India by negotiating a free-trade agreement. </p>
<p>There have been nine rounds of negotiations, but those talks stopped amid allegations about India’s role in Nijjar’s death. Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9963069/mary-ng-canada-india/">cancelled her planned visit to India</a> in October. </p>
<p>Despite the importance countering China’s influence, the Indian government’s authoritative tendencies, human rights violations and interference in Canadian internal affairs have created obstacles to Ottawa’s efforts to improve the India-Canada relationship.</p>
<p>It’s <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/britain-to-continue-trade-talks-with-india-despite-murder-of-sikh-leader-in-canada/ar-AA1gX58a">highly improbable</a> that Canada’s allies, including the U.S., the U.K. and France, will cut ties with India due to Trudeau’s allegations. India is simply too important for strategic and economic reasons. </p>
<p>India holds significant importance when it comes to countering China’s geopolitical influence. <a href="https://www.international.gc.ca/country-pays/india-inde/relations.aspx?lang=eng">Ottawa has previously indicated India was a “priority” market for Canada</a>; in 2022, India was Canada’s 10th largest trading partner.</p>
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<h2>‘Democracy’ partnership</h2>
<p>A strategic agreement between the U.S. and India is primarily aimed at tempering China’s growing influence and has been called <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/09/24/fact-sheet-the-united-states-and-india-global-leadership-in-action/#:%7E:text=President%20Biden%20hosted%20Prime%20Minister%20Narendra%20Modi%20today%2C,freedom%2C%20pluralism%2C%20openness%2C%20and%20respect%20for%20human%20rights.">a partnership</a> between “the world’s oldest democracy” and “the world’s largest democracy” to highlight shared democratic values. </p>
<p>But the Modi government has been harshly criticized for <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-56393944">democratic backsliding and authoritarian tendencies</a>, including fostering Hindu extremism, violating minority and human rights and cracking down on the media, academia and civil society.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, Biden refrained from criticizing Modi publicly when he visited the White House in June <a href="https://www.oneindia.com/international/these-lawmakers-are-boycotting-pm-modis-us-congress-address-3575665.html">despite being pressured</a> to raise human rights issues with the Indian leader. </p>
<p>Seventy-five U.S. congressional representatives wrote a letter to Biden urging him to do so. Half a dozen Democrats also boycotted Modi’s speech to U.S. Congress. But the Biden administration <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/08/biden-india-modi-g20-autocrat">reportedly believes</a> expressing concerns about Modi’s autocratic policies would harm the relationship.</p>
<h2>Holding India accountable</h2>
<p>Indeed, Canada’s allies have often turned a blind eye to Modi’s misdeeds due to strategic considerations.</p>
<p>But it’s now time for Canada and its allies to assertively hold India accountable for its actions. </p>
<p>The strategic partnerships formed between western nations and India were originally founded on the premise of shared democratic values. As the world’s most populous country, with the fifth largest economy and second-largest military, India is still an invaluable partner to the West.</p>
<p>But if India is diverging from these apparent shared principles, it’s essential to maintain the integrity of these partnerships by ensuring that Indian officials remain committed to democratic ideals and human rights.</p>
<p>Even if Canada’s allies won’t publicly back Trudeau, the federal government should stay committed to its core values by ensuring India faces consequences for its authoritarian actions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213922/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Saira Bano does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations that India was involved in the murder of a Canadian citizen complicates efforts by Canada and its allies to woo India to counter-balance Chinese might.Saira Bano, Assistant Professor in Political Science, Thompson Rivers UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2129602023-09-17T12:07:42Z2023-09-17T12:07:42ZWe gave $7,500 to people experiencing homelessness — here’s what happened next<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/we-gave-7500-to-people-experiencing-homelessness-heres-what-happened-next" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Homelessness is a deeply misunderstood and complex issue. When people hear the term, they <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2787093">tend to associate it</a> with mental illness or problematic substance use. Individuals experiencing homelessness are heavily <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13884">stigmatized</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04544.x">dehumanized</a> and perceived to be less competent and trustworthy. But the reality is far more complicated than these perceptions. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.vancitycommunityfoundation.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/HC2020_FinalReport.pdf">2020 count by the BC Non-Profit Housing Association</a> in Metro Vancouver found there were 3,634 people experiencing homelessness; among them, 1,029 unsheltered and 2,605 sheltered. Only about half had mental health challenges or substance use issues. This count did not include the hidden homeless: people who might couch surf or sleep in their cars. </p>
<p>The longer someone remains homeless, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17523281.2011.618143">more likely</a> they are to face trauma, problematic substance use and mental health challenges. This often leads to worse health outcomes in the long term.</p>
<p>Present approaches are failing, as evidenced by the <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/resource/addressing-homelessness-metro-vancouver">rapidly increasing</a> number of people experiencing homelessness. Relying on short-term shelters has been shown to be <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/homelessness-101/cost-analysis-homelessness">more expensive</a> than providing stable housing. It is therefore imperative to try something else.</p>
<h2>Trying something new</h2>
<p>In 2016, we teamed up with Claire Williams, co-founder of <a href="https://forsocialchange.org/who-we-are#:%7E:text=Claire%20Elizabeth%20Williams%20is%20the,impact%20on%20the%20global%20stage.">Foundations for Social Change</a>, to create a new solution. </p>
<p>We gave a one-time cash transfer of $7,500 to people experiencing homelessness in Vancouver. This lump sum, equivalent to the 2016 annual income assistance in British Columbia, provided people the financial freedom to pay rent and meet other living costs. The cash transfer also represented a dignified way to empower people to escape homelessness.</p>
<p>It took us two years to galvanize support from partner organizations and donors. We first established a policy agreement with the B.C. government to let cash recipients keep the $7,500 while still being eligible for social assistance. We then worked with credit union Vancity to provide free checking accounts where people could receive their funds.</p>
<p>In 2018, we launched the world’s first pilot <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2222103120">randomized controlled trial</a> to examine the impact of the cash transfer on people experiencing homelessness. Our goal was to start with people who recently became homeless at a time when they needed cash the most to avoid being trapped in homelessness.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548587/original/file-20230915-25-vg01wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man lying on a bench" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548587/original/file-20230915-25-vg01wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548587/original/file-20230915-25-vg01wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548587/original/file-20230915-25-vg01wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548587/original/file-20230915-25-vg01wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548587/original/file-20230915-25-vg01wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548587/original/file-20230915-25-vg01wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548587/original/file-20230915-25-vg01wg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supporting people with cash transfers can prevent them from becoming trapped in homelessness.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Our participants</h2>
<p>Our team visited 22 shelters in B.C.’s Lower Mainland to screen people who were homeless for less than two years, were Canadian citizens or permanent residents, were between the age of 19-65 and who did not have severe levels of substance or alcohol use and mental health problems. Our sample represented 31 per cent of the shelter population in Vancouver.</p>
<p>A total of 229 people passed the screening. They had no knowledge about the cash transfer. But when we tried to reach out to them again to conduct the baseline survey, we were unable to reach half of them because they didn’t have a stable address, phone or email. Despite our best efforts, we couldn’t reach 114 people. So we ended up recruiting 115 participants into the study.</p>
<p>Fifty were randomly assigned to a cash group and 65 to a non-cash group in the randomized controlled trial. The 50 participants in the cash group were informed about the cash transfer only after completing the baseline survey. The 65 in the non-cash group were not.</p>
<p>We tracked participants for a year to assess the effects of the cash transfer. We lost contact with around 30 per cent of participants during this time while some relocated away from Vancouver.</p>
<p>We provided a workshop and coaching to a subset of the participants as additional support. The workshop consisted of a series of exercises to help participants brainstorm ways to regain stability in their lives. Coaching consisted of phone calls with a certified coach trained to help participants achieve their life goals.</p>
<p>Since a study like this has never been done before, we had little evidence to guide our predictions on the impact of the cash transfer. But following best practices, we came up with a few hypotheses on short-term well-being and cognitive function based on previous cash transfer studies. Unsurprisingly, none of the hypotheses turned out to be true.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548156/original/file-20230913-33750-rfgloa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person counting cash." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548156/original/file-20230913-33750-rfgloa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548156/original/file-20230913-33750-rfgloa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548156/original/file-20230913-33750-rfgloa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548156/original/file-20230913-33750-rfgloa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548156/original/file-20230913-33750-rfgloa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548156/original/file-20230913-33750-rfgloa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548156/original/file-20230913-33750-rfgloa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Most participants spent the money they received on rent, food and to purchase items like furniture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>What astonished us was the significant positive impacts of the cash transfers. Cash recipients spent 99 fewer days in homelessness on average over one year. </p>
<p>That led to net cost savings of $777 per person per year. That means the cash transfers actually saved the government and taxpayers money. Cash recipients increased spending on rent, food, transit and things like furniture or a car. </p>
<p>Importantly, they did not increase spending on alcohol, drugs and cigarettes. That challenges the stereotype that people in homelessness would squander money they receive on alcohol and drugs.</p>
<p>Between 2018 and 2020, the housing vacancy rate in Vancouver was around <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9439394/vancouver-rental-market-vacancy-cost/">one per cent</a> and the wait to get into housing could be up to <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/blog/long-wait-times-social-housing-what-can-be-done-meet-housing-needs-homeless-people-and-those">one year</a> for someone living in a shelter.</p>
<p>However, around 50 per cent of participants in our study moved into housing just one month after the cash transfer. This goes to show how prepared they were to get back to stability. All they needed was the cash support to do so.</p>
<p>But what we didn’t see was substantial improvements in food security, employment, education and well-being. This might be because $7,500 was still a relatively small amount of money in an expensive city like Vancouver.</p>
<p>The average personal annual income among participants was $12,580. So, the cash transfer represented a 60 per cent boost. But despite that, they were still below the poverty line and nowhere close to meeting the living costs in Vancouver.</p>
<p>We also found that neither the workshop nor coaching had an impact on the participants. One reason was compliance; most participants didn’t take part in the workshop or coaching after the first month. Another reason was a possible mismatch between the support on offer and participants’ needs. The support provided was aspirational, designed to clarify life goals and boost their self-efficacy.</p>
<p>But what our participants needed was instrumental support, like getting identity documents, completing resumes and applying for jobs. These instrumental needs could not be easily met by completing a few workshops or coaching.</p>
<p>This study adds more evidence to a growing body of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD011135.pub3">cash transfer studies</a> around the world that demonstrate the need to raise the income floor of marginalized people.</p>
<p>This study is a promising start, laying the groundwork for future research and policies. Governments and experts should explore cash transfers as a way of supporting unhoused and marginalized people.</p>
<p><em>Ryan Dwyer, a senior researcher at the Happier Lives Institute, co-authored this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212960/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jiaying Zhao has received funding from Employment and Social Development Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Daly-Grafstein works for the Foundations for Social Change.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anita Palepu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Researchers found that most homeless people spent the money they received on rent, food and other living costs.Jiaying Zhao, Associate Professor, Psychology, University of British ColumbiaAnita Palepu, Professor of Medicine, University of British ColumbiaDaniel Daly-Grafstein, PhD student in statistics, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2124352023-08-30T21:16:09Z2023-08-30T21:16:09ZDecriminalization: How police drug seizure, even without arrest, can create harms<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/decriminalization-how-police-drug-seizure-even-without-arrest-can-create-harms" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://www.overdoseday.com/">International Overdose Awareness Day</a>, an annual campaign to end overdose and drug poisonings while also remembering those who have died, is Aug. 31. Events are being held in <a href="https://www.momsstoptheharm.com/ioad23">communities across Canada</a>, a sign of a worsening crisis that has taken more than <a href="https://health-infobase.canada.ca/substance-related-harms/opioids-stimulants/">36,000 lives since 2016</a>.</p>
<p>The day also represents an opportunity to discuss much-needed policy changes. The <a href="https://drugpolicy.org/issue/decriminalize-drugs-invest-in-health-services/">decriminalization of people who use drugs</a> has long been one of the proposed solutions, an approach that is currently being piloted in British Columbia.</p>
<p>On Jan. 31, 2023, B.C. began a first-in-Canada <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-concerns/controlled-substances-precursor-chemicals/policy-regulations/policy-documents/exemption-personal-possession-small-amounts-certain-illegal-drugs-british-columbia.html">pilot “decriminalization” policy</a>, in which criminal sanctions for the possession of small amounts of certain illegal drugs for personal use were removed for adults aged 18 or above.</p>
<p>Seven months into this experiment, the impact of this policy remains unclear. Because <a href="https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/data-on-b-c-s-drug-decriminalization-plan-to-be-publicly-available-on-dashboard-1.6252744">a dashboard</a> of policy impact indicator data has not yet been published at the time of writing, it is difficult to weigh <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/six-months-into-b-c-s-decriminalization-experiment-whats-working-and-whats-not">the initial effects of the policy</a>.</p>
<p>However, in the city of Vancouver, a policy of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370819887514">depenalization</a> (also referred to as de facto decriminalization) has been in place since 2006, providing an opportunity to understand how the provincial pilot may be working — or even improved.</p>
<h2>Depenalization in Vancouver</h2>
<p>Seventeen years ago, the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) launched <a href="https://vpd.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/vpd-policy-drug.pdf">its drug policy</a> to promote <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370819887514">the depenalization</a> of simple possession offences. Under this policy, VPD officers were encouraged to not arrest or charge people for simple drug possession for personal use except for certain circumstances.</p>
<p>The VPD’s policy differed from B.C.’s pilot decriminalization in several important ways. For example, the VPD’s policy did not specify the class or threshold quantity of drugs to define simple possession. VPD officers were given broad enforcement discretion with respect to drug possession.</p>
<p>Although publicly available VPD data are limited, <a href="https://vpd.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cleared-drug-charges-january-2014-to-present.pdf">available data</a> indeed indicated low and declining numbers of simple possession charges recommended by the VPD to Crown counsel from 2016 to 2019. These numbers have often <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/drug-possession-charges-vary-widely-by-police">been cited</a> as the indicator of success of the VPD’s depenalization policy: fewer people are sent to the criminal justice system for the sake of personal drug use.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.straight.com/news/1213101/vancouver-police-stats-suggest-softer-touch-drugs-users-say-its-different-story-streets">anecdotal reports</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103471">previous qualitative research</a> suggested that police officers might not arrest people for simple possession, but they would still seize drugs. Local communities of people who use drugs and public health advocates in Vancouver expressed concern about the harm created by this policing behaviour.</p>
<p>We undertook <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-023-00833-7">surveys involving more than 1,800 people</a> who used drugs on a daily basis in Vancouver to investigate this often undocumented discretionary policing practice.</p>
<h2>Police drug seizures without arrest</h2>
<p>During a 16-month study period in 2019-2021, we found that six per cent of 995 people who used drugs daily in Vancouver (60 per cent residing in the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood that is known for high rates of marginalization and drug use) had had their drugs seized by police without arrest at least once in the past six months. Of those, more than one in four experienced it more than once during the same six-month period.</p>
<p>Of particular concern, 68 per cent of our study participants who had their drugs taken by police without arrest reported having obtained new drugs immediately after the seizure. This portion of the data was collected from the same study population between 2009 and 2012.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.pivotlegal.org/project_inclusion_full">Previous qualitative research</a> documented that acquiring drugs this way could put health and safety at risk in multiple ways. For example, it can put people at a higher risk of drug market violence by creating drug debts.</p>
<p>Some users may also be compelled to acquire new drugs in a rush from an unknown supplier, especially when experiencing painful withdrawal. <a href="https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiOGFhMTkwOTktYWQ1My00MzQ4LThlNzItMzVhOWY3NGFmOWQ4IiwidCI6IjZmZGI1MjAwLTNkMGQtNGE4YS1iMDM2LWQzNjg1ZTM1OWFkYyJ9">Amid the ongoing drug toxicity crisis</a>, increasing the frequency of buying drugs in the unregulated drug market, especially through an unknown source, increases risk of drug poisoning.</p>
<p>This is contrary to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103471%22%22">a belief held among some police officers</a> that seizing drugs would prevent harms, including drug poisoning.</p>
<h2>The role of police in the toxic drug crisis</h2>
<p>A broader question is: Are there any circumstances where police drug seizures are beneficial in preventing drug poisoning? <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307291">A recent study from the United States</a> highlighted that police efforts to reduce the unregulated drug supply may worsen the drug toxicity crisis by showing a consistent pattern. As police seizures of drugs increased, drug poisoning cases also increased.</p>
<p>Several scholars noted that <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307328">police drug seizures would not address the toxic drug supply</a>, that <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307329">the narrow mission of police may exacerbate drug-related harms</a> and that <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307320">more harm reduction interventions to address the toxic drug supply are needed</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-023-00833-7">Findings from our study</a> indicate that the VPD’s depenalization policy essentially “<a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/pivotlegal/pages/3494/attachments/original/1639066365/Decriminalization_Report_Final_Revised.pdf">mimics the health and safety harms associated with criminalization</a>” and likely undermines overdose prevention efforts.</p>
<p>Under B.C.’s pilot decriminalization policy, police officers can no longer seize drugs from an adult who possesses up to 2.5 grams of certain illegal drugs. However, the threshold quantity of drugs that defined simple possession has been shown to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104126">too low</a> to fulfil the policy objectives. Some people who use drugs, particularly those more marginalized and engaging in high-intensity drug use, may carry more than 2.5 grams of drugs. They may get arrested or experience police drug seizures without arrest.</p>
<p>The annual International Overdose Awareness Day compels us to reckon with ongoing toxic drug deaths and what we can do to reverse this worsening crisis. If decriminalization is going to contribute to positive change, police need to stop seizing drugs from people who use them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212435/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kanna Hayashi holds the St. Paul's Hospital Chair in Substance Use Research and is supported in part by a U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) grant (U01DA038886) and the St. Paul’s Foundation. For the research work presented here, she received funding through a NIDA grant (U01DA038886), a Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar Award and the William and Ada Isabelle Steel Fund through Simon Fraser University. She also receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to support her ongoing research in this area. She is also affiliated with the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority as research staff and the Division of Social Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia as an affiliate assistant professor. </span></em></p>A police policy of not making arrests for simple possession is a way to essentially decriminalize personal drug use. However, confiscating drugs — even without arrests — can be harmful in many ways.Kanna Hayashi, Research Scientist at the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use & St. Paul's Hospital Chair in Substance Use Research and Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2105062023-08-27T13:32:46Z2023-08-27T13:32:46ZBike and EV charging infrastructure are urgently needed for a green transition<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/bike-and-ev-charging-infrastructure-are-urgently-needed-for-a-green-transition" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The green transition is happening too slowly. We are in a climate emergency and it is clear that we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by transitioning to more sustainable transportation.</p>
<p>However, without sufficient infrastructure to enable electric vehicles (EVs) or cycling for <a href="https://www.burnhamnationwide.com/final-review-blog/bike-infrastructure-key-to-healthier-cities-reduced-emissions">commuting</a>, these options will remain too inconvenient or unsafe for most. Canada’s <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/climate-plans-remain-insufficient-more-ambitious-action-needed-now">climate obligations</a> will not be met without these infrastructure changes.</p>
<p>We just experienced the hottest July <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/july-2023-set-be-hottest-month-record">on record</a>. We cannot burn more carbon, no matter the remaining <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/chapter-2/">carbon budget</a>. Climate <a href="https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/photos-extreme-weather-events-2023-climate-change/">disasters around the world today</a> are dictating timelines now. Meanwhile, gas cars are needlessly on city streets, adding to traffic congestion and pollution while urban sprawl means gas <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2022/aug/31/how-car-culture-colonised-our-thinking-and-our-language">car driving habits</a> expand.</p>
<p>Canada requires urgent investment in transport infrastructure and incentives to reverse this trend.</p>
<h2>Policy breakdowns</h2>
<p>Here in Toronto, a recent mayoral election provided a platform for two candidates who made election promises to close down <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/traffic-congestion-byelection-campaign-trail-1.6883005">cycling lanes</a>. Meanwhile, a lack of high-quality cycling infrastructure in the city incentivizes travel by car to the <a href="https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2020/cities-and-happiness-a-global-ranking-and-analysis/">detriment of the city’s happiness</a> and carbon budget.</p>
<p>This stands in stark contrast to a city like Copenhagen, Denmark where <a href="https://cyclingmagazine.ca/advocacy/over-60-per-cent-of-people-in-copenhagen-commute-to-work-or-school/">62 per cent of people commute by cycling</a>. A city which, by some metrics, <a href="https://www.earthtrekkers.com/copenhagen-happiest-destination-europe">may also be the happiest in the world</a>. </p>
<p>Closer to home, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-canadas-first-national-cycling-map-will-benefit-both-riders-and-public-planners-208347">cycling infrastructure remains poor</a> and bike theft rose by <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/bicycle-thefts-in-canada-soar-by-429-per-cent-during-summer-months-report-1.6467265">429 per cent in Canada this summer</a>. However, the solutions to this problem, such as bicycle lockers, are not widely enough installed and where they do exist, they are only for regular users and require a <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-transportaon/cycling-in-toronto/bicycle-parking/bicycle-lockers/">reservation and monthly payments</a>. </p>
<p>Solutions such as an <a href="https://www.translink.ca/news/2021/june/translink%20launches%20new%20on-demand%20bike%20lockers">on-demand bicycle storage system</a> being piloted in Vancouver and the <a href="https://thebicyclevalet.ca/our-locations">Vancouver City Centre Bike Valet</a> show promise for nation-wide implementation but will require effort to implement at scale.</p>
<h2>Nowhere to charge</h2>
<p>Likewise, a recent survey says that <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/two-thirds-of-canadian-drivers-unlikely-to-buy-an-electric-vehicle-1.6462200">Canadians are not switching</a> to cleaner EVs partly because of a lack of charging infrastructure. In a climate emergency, bike and electric vehicle infrastructure should have been installed long ago. </p>
<p>Toronto’s mandate is to reach <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/musservices-payments/water-environment/environmentally-friendly-city-initiatives/transformto/">net zero by 2040</a>, but its efforts pale in comparison to the actions of other cities in Canada and around the world.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-far-to-the-next-electric-vehicle-charging-station-and-will-i-be-able-to-use-it-heres-how-to-create-a-reliable-network-209222">How far to the next electric vehicle charging station – and will I be able to use it? Here's how to create a reliable network</a>
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<p>A variety of <a href="https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/global-ev-policy-explorer">incentives and legislation</a> are accelerating an EV transition including fee exemptions, grants and mandated targets. Brazil is proposing that all gas stations offer EV charging. </p>
<p>Ireland’s <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/oireachtas/2022/07/13/all-car-sales-will-have-to-be-electric-by-2030-to-reach-climate-targets-oireachtas-committee-told/">zero emissions office</a> is aiming for 100 per cent of new car sales to be EVs by 2030. France supports EV purchases with funding and bonuses for low income individuals. Ecuador’s public transport will be 100 per cent electric by 2025 and Sweden’s government fleet will be electrified by 2035. Colombia and South Africa are setting EV charging infrastructure minimums.</p>
<p>There are notable Canadian EV initiatives in <a href="https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/global-ev-policy-explorer">Québec and British Columbia</a>. Québec has ambitious electrification plans including expanding EV charging, funding further vehicle electrification across the province. B.C. is improving upon the Canadian national mandate by installing more EV charging stations and planning a changeover to clean vehicles. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/right-to-charge-laws-bring-the-promise-of-evs-to-apartments-condos-and-rentals-206721">Right-to-charge laws bring the promise of EVs to apartments, condos and rentals</a>
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<p>In contrast, Ontario and Toronto are without any unique innovations in electric vehicle infrastructure or policy.</p>
<h2>An electric future</h2>
<p>EVs are already addressing local air pollution around the world and reducing <a href="https://aafa.org/asthma/asthma-triggers-causes/air-pollution-smog-asthma/">health issues such as asthma</a>. Higher EV sales are also associated with higher <a href="https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/human-development-index#/indicies/HDI">human development indexes</a> (HDI). An HDI is a national measure of wealth, and a good reflection of standard of living, including health and education. Countries with higher EV sales also tend to lead worldwide in the development of environmental inventions. Healthier inventions make a <a href="https://hdr.undp.org/">better life</a>.</p>
<p>Perhaps in Sweden, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Norway and certain Canadian provinces such as Québec and B.C., the connection is clearer between switching to cleaner technologies and increasing levels of personal health and <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/happiest-countries-in-the-world">happiness</a>. Improving <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/climate-solutions/education-key-addressing-climate-change">education</a> is a catalyst for change. </p>
<p>If Canada is to meet its climate commitments, it has to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. Infrastructure investments, such as for EVs and cycling, improve our quality of life and the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/080816/can-infrastructure-spending-really-stimulate-economy.asp">economy</a> at the same time. Building infrastructure is a classic approach to boosting an economy. It is also a green economic opportunity if the right choices are made.</p>
<p>Canada can start by applying well-known policy solutions and rapidly installing infrastructure nationwide. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114961">Studies have validated this recommendation</a> and additional phased-in electrical grid capacity is neither controversial nor impractical. Emissions reductions with EVs as compared to gas cars, no matter the energy fuel source, ultimately validate EVs green utility over gas powered cars. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/batteries-in-electric-vehicles-have-more-mileage-in-city-driving-rather-than-highway-driving-206564">Batteries in electric vehicles have more mileage in city driving rather than highway driving</a>
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<p>Around the world, such as in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b05264">China</a> where they have energy mix variations <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-021-02209-6">across regions</a> including coal, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2022.122063">EVs make sense</a>. Emissions reductions for Ontario have been calculated at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b01519">around 80 per cent</a> when EVs are driven. </p>
<p>The International Energy Agency offers a <a href="https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/global-ev-policy-explorer">comprehensive policy database of worldwide examples</a> for places like Toronto that are lagging on clean transportation transition policy and change. Beyond benchmarking, Canada could strive for leadership on the world stage by investing in university research and applying ambitious initiatives across the country. </p>
<p>Canada has an opportunity that should not be missed to stimulate its economy by investing in sustainable transportation infrastructure to accelerate the green transition.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deborah de Lange receives funding from SSHRC and ESRC. </span></em></p>Canada should invest in sustainable transportation infrastructure to accelerate the green transition.Deborah de Lange, Associate Professor, Global Management Studies, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2107792023-08-02T19:55:27Z2023-08-02T19:55:27ZB.C. labour dispute: It’s time for an industrial inquiry commission into ports and automation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540889/original/file-20230802-19-98ffbc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C379%2C6120%2C3940&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Striking International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada workers march to a rally as gantry cranes used to load and unload cargo containers from ships sit idle at port, in Vancouver, on July 6, 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/bc-labour-dispute-its-time-for-an-industrial-inquiry-commission-into-ports-and-automation" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>A <a href="https://www.bcmeanegotiations.com/joint-ilwu-canada-and-bcmea-news-release/">new tentative agreement was reached</a> on July 30 between the two groups involved in a labour dispute affecting British Columbia ports with the help of the Industrial Relations Board.</p>
<p>At the beginning of July, about 7,400 port workers went on strike for 13 days <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-port-workers-resume-strike-1.6910572">over issues including automation</a>, outside contracting and the increasing cost of living.</p>
<p>This new deal — between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) and the B.C. Maritime Employers Association — comes <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9866982/bc-port-strike-tentative-deal-oregan/">after union members rejected a previous deal on July 28</a>.</p>
<p>By initially rejecting the first contract, ILWU members implied that a generous wage and benefit package — which employers had agreed to pay — was not enough to address their concerns about potential job losses and workplace changes.</p>
<p>This isn’t a one-sided problem; under <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/atlantic-canada-opportunities/services/researchstudies2.html">current workplace arrangements and labour market pressures</a>, port operators are unlikely to attract and retain workers with the skills required to implement the coming automation.</p>
<p>With the prospect that the <a href="https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/02/16/Union-Fears-Robots-Will-Kill-Jobs-Port-Expansion/">new container terminal at Roberts Bank port</a>, south of Vancouver, will be the first fully automated terminal in B.C., this issue is more important than ever.</p>
<h2>Canada Labour Code</h2>
<p>After the initial deal between the union and the employer’s association was rejected, Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2023/07/statement-by-minister-oregan0.html">asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board</a> whether a negotiated resolution was still possible, and to impose a new collective agreement or binding arbitration if it was not. </p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9811240/alberta-minister-back-to-work-legislation-bc-port-strike/">many people demanding back-to-work legislation</a>, O'Regan followed the <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/l-2/">Canada Labour Code</a>, which encourages free collective bargaining and advocates for the constructive settlement of disputes.</p>
<p>In support of the idea that negotiated settlements are best, the code provides the minister with tools to prod, push or force parties in an industrial dispute to find a deal they can both live with.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A Black man in a blazer and newsboy cap speaks to a crowd of people waving flags and holding signs that say ILWU CANADA" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540525/original/file-20230801-15-z5grx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540525/original/file-20230801-15-z5grx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540525/original/file-20230801-15-z5grx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540525/original/file-20230801-15-z5grx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540525/original/file-20230801-15-z5grx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540525/original/file-20230801-15-z5grx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540525/original/file-20230801-15-z5grx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Willie Adams, International President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, speaks at a strike rally in Vancouver, on July 9, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns</span></span>
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<p>Drawing on my <a href="http://www.sfu.ca/%7Epvhall/#seaports_logistics_and_port_cities">research on B.C. ports</a>, I’d encourage the minister to make use of one more tool provided in the code: appoint an industrial inquiry commission on port skills and automation.</p>
<h2>Dockworkers and new technologies</h2>
<p>To understand the current dispute, we need to overturn <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691170817/the-box">the myth that west coast unionized dockworkers</a> have refused to accept new cargo handling technologies.</p>
<p>Since the 1960s, ports on the west coast of North America have benefited enormously from mechanization and modernization agreements, <a href="https://www.bcmeanegotiations.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Collective-Agreement-April-1-2018-to-March-31-2023.pdf">now enshrined in various collective agreements</a>. </p>
<p>In exchange for giving employers the freedom to implement technological changes — which often displace labour — employees secured a share of the resulting productivity gains in some form of compensation.</p>
<p>In the United States, this takes the form of a <a href="https://digicoll.lib.berkeley.edu/record/72012">minimum earnings guarantee</a>; in B.C. ports, full members <a href="https://summit.sfu.ca/_flysystem/fedora/sfu_migrate/3516/b14062914.pdf">receive a generous payout at retirement</a>.</p>
<p>But one result of a “jobs-for-income” agreement, in an industry where labour demand fluctuates, is a large pool of casual workers. As a result, <a href="https://www.bcmea.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/BCMEA_AR2018-Digital-v4FA.pdf">not everyone working in B.C. ports is a full union member</a>: roughly two-fifths are members, one-fifth are casuals with benefits and two-fifths are casuals without benefits.</p>
<p>The prospect of being a casual employee for several years is not particularly attractive, least of all to a tradesperson or computer programmer with employment options elsewhere. </p>
<h2>Commissions have helped before</h2>
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<img alt="Cargo cranes seen at a port" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540529/original/file-20230801-28-txabzn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540529/original/file-20230801-28-txabzn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540529/original/file-20230801-28-txabzn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540529/original/file-20230801-28-txabzn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540529/original/file-20230801-28-txabzn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540529/original/file-20230801-28-txabzn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540529/original/file-20230801-28-txabzn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=999&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Gantry cranes used to load and unload cargo ships sit idle at port in Vancouver, B.C., on July 4, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
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<p>Industrial commissions have helped management and union find a path out of an impasse before — even if not everyone likes what they recommend. </p>
<p>One of the original clauses in the 1963 Mechanization and Modernization Agreement stated that Vancouver-bound containers had to be filled and emptied by ILWU members. </p>
<p>Against the wishes of many union members, the container clause was eliminated on the recommendation of the <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/978222691">1987 Weiler Commission</a> and <a href="https://ilwu500.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Gainshare.pdf">replaced by a pension funding arrangement</a> to ensure ILWU members shared the resulting gains.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/in-the-matter-of-the-canada-labour-code-part-i-industrial-relations-report-of-the-industrial-inquiry-commission-into-industrial-relations-at-west-coast-ports/oclc/461336129?page=citation">1995 Jamieson and Greyell Commission</a> strongly rejected the notion that port workers be denied the right to strike — as requested by some agricultural and business interests — but it did recommend the 72-hour strike/lockout notification period now included in the Canada Labour Code.</p>
<h2>Industrial inquiry commission</h2>
<p>A commission on port automation can share information, promote understanding and make recommendations. It would examine trends in <a href="https://www.itf-oecd.org/container-port-automation-impacts-and-implications">container terminal automation</a>, as well as technology trends in non-containerized and commodity-exporting terminals.</p>
<p>It can determine the nature and extent of the skills shortage in B.C. ports and look into the adequacy of existing recruitment, retention and training systems. And it can learn from the experiences of port workers, especially casual workers and skilled tradespersons.</p>
<p>We need a new agreement between employers and employees in the B.C. ports that will allow both sides to continue to enjoy the benefits of new workplace technologies. </p>
<p>Employers will only benefit from automation if they can train, recruit for and retain the new skills that will be required. Employees will only support automation if they see a future for themselves, their families and communities in the industry. </p>
<p>An industrial inquiry commission might help tackle this challenge.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210779/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Hall receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, including funding to support research partnerships that involve the port union (<a href="http://www.sfu.ca/waterfront.html">http://www.sfu.ca/waterfront.html</a>) and shipping industry (<a href="https://greenshippingproject.com/">https://greenshippingproject.com/</a>).</span></em></p>We need a new agreement between employers and employees in the B.C. ports that will allow both sides to enjoy the benefits of new workplace technologies.Peter Hall, Professor of Urban Studies, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2047432023-05-07T12:38:09Z2023-05-07T12:38:09ZBehind the blue wall: The toxic culture that left a Vancouver police officer dead<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524401/original/file-20230504-29-ccoc6k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1586%2C6500%2C2724&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Vancouver police cruiser is seen on city streets. The Vancouver Police Department is under fire for the suicide of a police officer and other alleged misconduct that highlight the dangers of the 'blue wall of silence.'</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In January 2019, Const. Nicole Chan — a 30-year-old, nine-year member of the Vancouver Police Department — <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/nicole-chan-inquest-1.6727111">took her own life hours after being discharged from Vancouver General Hospital</a> amid a mental health crisis.</p>
<p>Chan said she had been subjected to a pattern of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/nicole-chan-sexual-coercion-1.6725591">abuse by senior members of the Vancouver police force</a> starting when she was being recruited to the department. Her story exposes how cop culture and the impenetrable “blue wall” turned their back on her during her time of need. </p>
<p>Chan’s <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-const-nicole-chan-may-have-had-suicide-attempts-prior-to-2019-death/">history of mental health issues</a>, a direct result of her treatment by the Vancouver Police Department, made her particularly vulnerable to the predatory behaviour of those in positions of power. </p>
<p>As is often the case, the perpetrators were the very people responsible for keeping all members of the public safe. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1631528075555995649"}"></div></p>
<h2>The dark side of cop culture</h2>
<p>Chan’s story hasn’t gone unnoticed yet it’s sadly not new. Law enforcement agencies across Canada have <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/rcmp-class-action-tiller-civilian-women-final-report-1.6491165">been plagued with allegations of bullying</a>, harassing and sexually abusing their own members.</p>
<p>In January 2023 — four years after Chan’s suicide — a <a href="https://bc.ctvnews.ca/inquest-jury-delivers-12-recommendations-in-death-of-vancouver-police-const-nicole-chan-1.6255834">coroner’s inquest into her death</a> delivered 12 recommendations highlighting severe systemic issues within the Vancouver Police Department. </p>
<p>The five-person jury noted that department leadership, human resources and the police board have failed to address the culture of bullying and harassment within the force, and recommended support systems to help members struggling with their mental health.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man and woman walk out of a courthouse. The man is carrying a coffee cup." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524400/original/file-20230504-25-2hir0m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524400/original/file-20230504-25-2hir0m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524400/original/file-20230504-25-2hir0m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524400/original/file-20230504-25-2hir0m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524400/original/file-20230504-25-2hir0m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524400/original/file-20230504-25-2hir0m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524400/original/file-20230504-25-2hir0m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Jennifer Chan, left, the sister of late Vancouver Police Const. Nicole Chan, who died by suicide in 2019, leaves a coroner’s inquest, in Burnaby, B.C., in January 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
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<p>One recommendation called for “mandatory, rigorous, in-person and respectful” workplace training on a regular basis for officers of all ranks in the department. That’s already mandated by <a href="https://www.worksafebc.com/en/health-safety/hazards-exposures/bullying-harassment">WorkSafe BC law and policy</a>, although the legislation does not speak to the quality nor duration of training.</p>
<p>The jury also noted that members of the Vancouver Police Department’s human resources department weren’t qualified for their positions, and lacked training, certification and proper oversight. </p>
<p>Other recommendations included creating a protocol that would require admitting physicians to consult with friends, family, first responders and other professionals to assess suicide risk properly — something that should have already been happening since it’s a <a href="https://www.patientsafetyinstitute.ca/en/toolsResources/SuicideRisk/Documents/Suicide%20Risk%20Assessment%20Guide.pdf">best practice standard</a>.</p>
<p>The inquest jury performed well after hearing heart-wrenching testimony. Their recommendations reflect common sense, which is often sorely lacking not just at the Vancouver Police Department, but at other organizations.</p>
<h2>The truth about cop culture</h2>
<p>Loyalty and solidarity can be positive qualities — until they aren’t. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/how-police-brutality-gets-made/613030/">Cop culture is a phenomenon</a> that encompasses the shared values, practices and beliefs held by members of law enforcement. </p>
<p>It can foster support among officers and camaraderie, but it also contributes to the unwritten live-or-die mentality of the <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/records/605-blue-wall-of-silence">“blue wall of silence”</a> that results in cops protecting cops when misconduct occurs. </p>
<p>Respecting that blue wall can include subverting the law, turning a blind eye to major misconduct and ignoring blue-on-blue crime. It means the police have lost the ability to police themselves.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/alleged-political-interference-in-the-n-s-mass-shootings-means-the-rcmp-must-be-restructured-185674">Alleged political interference in the N.S. mass shootings means the RCMP must be restructured</a>
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<p>The blue wall of silence is a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/16/opinion/police-brutality-chauvin-minnesota-chicago-virginia-blue-wall.html">serious issue for police forces around the world</a>. Officers tend to protect one another by failing to report misconduct, which perpetrates a lack of accountability, creating a toxic work environment and eroding public trust. </p>
<p>Take the <a href="https://bc.ctvnews.ca/myles-gray-died-by-homicide-b-c-coroner-s-inquest-finds-1.6378761">recent inquest into the death of Myles Gray</a> after he sustained a severe beating by the Vancouver Police Department in 2015. The inquest jurors deemed his death a homicide and six police officers were charged under the Police Act for failing to take notes of the incident. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Protesters hold banners with a photograph of a man in a ski jacket and red ball cap that says Justice for Myles Gray." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524402/original/file-20230504-23-zf44g7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524402/original/file-20230504-23-zf44g7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524402/original/file-20230504-23-zf44g7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524402/original/file-20230504-23-zf44g7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524402/original/file-20230504-23-zf44g7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524402/original/file-20230504-23-zf44g7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524402/original/file-20230504-23-zf44g7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protesters hold banners with a photograph of Myles Gray, who died following a confrontation with several police officers in 2015, before the start of a coroner’s inquest into his death in Burnaby, B.C. on April 17, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fact, even as the inquest into Chan’s death was proceeding, it was revealed that <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9489377/criminal-investigation-allegations-vpd-officer-interference-crash/">new allegations of misconduct by members of the Vancouver Police Department</a> are being investigated by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner.</p>
<p>It’s alleged that as many as a dozen officers, including Supt. Tanya Whysker and Insp. Kelly Risebrough, obstructed the RCMP following a traffic incident involving a Vancouver Police Department member. </p>
<p>There’s now an ongoing criminal investigation into obstruction of justice — further underscoring that the department considers some of its members above the law.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1626049500220358657"}"></div></p>
<p>Vancouver police chief Adam Palmer has responded to the allegations by saying: “We have to get the facts and find out what happened. Based on what I’ve heard, (I’m) not that concerned.” </p>
<p>In fact, Whysker has since been promoted to lead the department’s 2026 FIFA World Cup preparation, and Risebrough is representing the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9621961/vpd-officer-obstruction-of-justice-probe-gets-sought-after-assignment/">Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police on a publicly funded trip to South Africa</a>, Botswana and Turkey to look at how to build police trust with youth. </p>
<h2>Failure of leadership</h2>
<p>Chan’s ordeal was not an unknown secret in the Vancouver Police Department. Her colleagues, senior constables, sergeants, human resources staff and an inspector knew what was happening. </p>
<p>Not one of them did what was right. They did what was easy, which was to bend to cop culture, turn a blind eye and cover things up.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-blue-wall-of-silence-allows-bullying-sexual-abuse-and-violence-to-infect-police-forces-198487">The 'blue wall' of silence allows bullying, sexual abuse and violence to infect police forces</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Three months after the release of the coroner’s inquest recommendations, <a href="https://vpd.ca/news/2023/02/01/statement-from-chief-constable-adam-palmer-on-coroners-inquest-verdict/">Palmer released a statement</a> sending heartfelt condolences to Chan’s family and accepting the recommendations. He made no mention of holding his force accountable for events that contributed to her death.</p>
<p>Time and time again, law enforcement leadership has failed to address the systemic and profoundly <a href="https://escipub.com/Articles/IJPRR/IJPRR-2020-01-1205.pdf">ingrained culture of bullying and harassment</a> within its ranks.</p>
<p>Studies show that <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinecomaford/2016/08/27/the-enormous-toll-workplace-bullying-takes-on-your-bottom-line/?sh=63a4f7b65595">75 per cent of workers have reported being impacted by workplace violence in the form of bullying and harassment</a>. In addition, approximately 80 per cent of women and 30 per cent of men have faced sexual harassment and abuse at work — and 72 per cent of the time, <a href="https://biocoreopen.org/ijcc/Real-Trouble-The-Mental-Health-Impact-of-Workplace-Bullying-and-Sexual-Harassment-Amongst-First-Responders.pdf">the perpetrator was someone in a position of authority</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/workplace-bullying-should-be-treated-as-a-public-health-issue-190330">Workplace bullying should be treated as a public health issue</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The consequences of workplace bullying and harassment are profound. They can include anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide among employees. </p>
<p>This is an urgent public health issue that requires actual intervention by lawmakers. Maybe Chan’s death — perhaps a “Nicole’s Law” — could help reshape the legal system’s response to preventable violence at work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204743/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Walker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Chan had been subjected to a pattern of abuse by senior members of the Vancouver police force starting when she was being recruited to the department.Jason Walker, Associate Professor, Graduate Studies, Leadership and People Management, University Canada WestLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2000542023-03-16T20:10:24Z2023-03-16T20:10:24ZUncovering the violent history of the Canadian sugar industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514332/original/file-20230308-20-sn5ci6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=130%2C8%2C2784%2C1818&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">By reflecting on sugar's origins, we can trace the pathways that have made this commodity so abundant.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/uncovering-the-violent-history-of-the-canadian-sugar-industry" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Sugar, we are often told, is bad for us. According to <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-sweet-danger-of-sugar">recent health advice</a>, adults should restrict their sugar intake to between six and nine teaspoons daily. But what is more upsetting about sugar is its atrocious history. </p>
<p>Western Europe’s <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/322123/sweetness-and-power-by-sidney-w-mintz/">appetite for “sweetness</a>” helped fuel the horrific transatlantic trade of enslaved peoples, in which at least 15 million enslaved people from Africa were forced to work on <a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9781469663685/capitalism-and-slavery-third-edition/">plantations in the Americas</a>. To this day, working conditions in sugar <a href="https://theconversation.com/child-labour-poverty-and-terrible-working-conditions-lie-behind-the-sugar-you-eat-95242">are among the world’s worst</a>.</p>
<p>Given its heinous human rights record, the question becomes: why do we continue to eat sugar? The answer is complicated. Crucial, however, are <a href="https://sugar.ca/international-trade/canadian-sugar-market/value-of-sugar-to-the-canadian-economy">the significant profits that sugar represents</a>, together with the low prices that sugar commands. </p>
<h2>History of sugar</h2>
<p>For nearly five centuries, European planters made dizzying fortunes in sugar, made possible by <a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9781469663685/capitalism-and-slavery-third-edition/">enslaving workers in colonized lands</a>. Sugar became so integral to European profiteering that it started <a href="https://doi.org/10.7312/beck18524-016">being produced on a global scale</a>. Canadian investors, too, have reaped massive sugar profits.</p>
<p>During the 1700s and 1800s, most Europeans, in what is now Canada, were implicated in the transatlantic sugar and slave trades. Not only did many consume the fruits of the enslaved sugar industry — including molasses and rum, in addition to sugar, <a href="https://cha-shc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/The-Enslavement-of-Africans-in-Canada.pdf">as historian Afua Cooper writes</a> — but some also invested in Caribbean trade, itself powered by enslaved sugar work. </p>
<p>Several Canadian banks — including the Imperial Bank of Commerce and the Bank of Nova Scotia (now known as Scotiabank) — have their origins in the West Indies, where their forerunners <a href="https://doi.org/10.1215/07990537-2642737">established themselves early in the 19th century</a>. According to Cooper, the Bank of Nova Scotia exists “in the shadow of West Indian slavery.”</p>
<p>Western Canadians have also profited from unfree sugar labour. The famed western Canadian brand, Rogers Sugar, was established by American Benjamin Tingley Rogers who moved to Canada in 1889. Having grown up in the sugar industry, <a href="http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?id_nbr=7676">Rogers had both sugar connections and expertise</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A black and white photo of old factory bulidings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514551/original/file-20230309-2232-l3hp15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514551/original/file-20230309-2232-l3hp15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514551/original/file-20230309-2232-l3hp15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514551/original/file-20230309-2232-l3hp15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514551/original/file-20230309-2232-l3hp15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514551/original/file-20230309-2232-l3hp15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514551/original/file-20230309-2232-l3hp15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Original B.C. Sugar refinery buildings in Vancouver in 1892.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(City of Vancouver Archives)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Building <a href="https://blogs.ubc.ca/buildingempire/2021/02/21/rogers-sugar-vancouver-1981/">a refinery in Vancouver</a>, a city newly constructed on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, Rogers created a western Canadian sugar empire — one that sourced raw sugar cane through the Pacific, refined it in British Columbia and sold it throughout the Canadian West. </p>
<p>Railway magnate <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sir-william-cornelius-van-horne">William Cornelius Van Horne</a>, together with noted investors such as <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/richard-bladworth-angus">Richard Bladworth Angus</a>, Edmund Boyd Osler and <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/donald-alexander-smith-1st-baron-strathcona-and-mount-royal">Donald Alexander Smith</a>, were among the ventures’ early shareholders. By the time of his death in 1918, <a href="http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?id_nbr=7676">Rogers had become “quite wealthy</a>.”</p>
<p>Now owned by Lantic Inc., <a href="https://www.lanticrogers.com">Rogers Sugar remains a recognized Canadian brand</a>. Less well known, though, is Rogers Sugar’s violent past.</p>
<h2>Sugar plantations</h2>
<p>To make the refined sugar that is so familiar to Canadians today, B.C. Sugar (the name of the company that owned Rogers Sugar) sourced both beet and cane sugars. Canadian beet sugar has its own atrocious labour history, as <a href="https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/thesescanada/vol2/002/NR33801.PDF?is_thesis=1&oclc_number=530949579">University of Saskatchewan professor Ron Laliberté</a>, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-of-law-and-society-la-revue-canadienne-droit-et-societe/article/abs/cartographies-of-violence-women-memory-and-the-subjects-of-the-internment/F291FCC6A7EC2F460E89E7C3CE07E610">York University professor Mona Oikawa</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0829320100006360">other experts</a> have demonstrated. </p>
<p>Refined predominantly in Vancouver, Rogers Sugar was made mostly from raw cane sugar. Since sugar cane cannot grow in Canada, <a href="https://worldcat.org/en/title/20094617">B.C. Sugar sourced internationally</a> from places including Mauritius, Java, Peru, Hawaii, Cuba, Fiji and the Dominican Republic. </p>
<p>B.C. Sugar also ventured into sugar cane plantation ownership: in Fiji between 1905 and 1922, and in the Dominican Republic between 1944 and 1955. Notably, it purchased the latter from the Bank of Nova Scotia.</p>
<p>In both cases, workers reported horrendous conditions. The pay was so low and the work was so menial in the Dominican Republic that, as historian Catherine C. Legrand points out, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1215/00182168-75.4.555">workers left the plantation whenever they could</a>.</p>
<p>In Fiji between 1905 and 1920, B.C. Sugar employed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/001946468502200103">indentured workers from India</a> who migrated to the colony on five-year contracts. As on other Fiji plantations, workers were subject to numerous atrocities and treated in ways similar to how enslaved and indentured people <a href="https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/chalo-jahaji">were treated on plantations globally</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Black and white photo of rows of tram cars full of sugar cane. In the distance a factory building can be seen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514535/original/file-20230309-305-61e1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514535/original/file-20230309-305-61e1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514535/original/file-20230309-305-61e1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514535/original/file-20230309-305-61e1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514535/original/file-20230309-305-61e1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514535/original/file-20230309-305-61e1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514535/original/file-20230309-305-61e1pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sugar cane cars lined up in front of a cane factory in Fiji in the early 20th century.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(City of Vancouver Archives)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Forced into hard physical labour with little time for sleep, indentured workers at B.C. Sugar’s Fiji plantation endured sickness, confinement, hunger, abuse, injuries, whippings, beatings and more, all for below subsistence pay and the <a href="http://girmit.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/vnaidu_violence_preface.pdf">eventual chance to move out of indentured work</a>. </p>
<p>Conditions were so dire that some workers <a href="https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p212781/pdf/16.-Death-On-Fiji-Plantations-1900-1909-Nicole-Duncan.pdf">tragically perished in B.C. Sugar’s cane fields</a>. When Fiji de-criminalized the desertion of indenture contracts in 1916, it is little wonder that hundreds of workers left the colony’s sugar plantations. These <a href="https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/132695/1/PRM_05.pdf">included plantations operated by B.C. Sugar</a>.</p>
<h2>Understanding Canadian history</h2>
<p>Refined sugar is now so common it is difficult to imagine life without it. But, by reflecting on its origins, we can trace the pathways that have made this commodity so abundant. Canadian sugar was built upon violence, including upon enslaved and indentured labour. </p>
<p>By building upon <a href="https://teaching.usask.ca/indigenoussk/import/grab-a-hoe_indians.php">existing research</a> into <a href="https://doi.org/10.24908/ss.v7i1.3305">Canadian</a> <a href="https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/llt/1978-v3-llt_3/llt3art05.pdf">sugar</a>, and by continuing to probe <a href="https://worldcat.org/title/281643610">Canadian sugar companies’ local</a> and <a href="https://worldcat.org/en/title/988075349">global</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00223349508572786">histories</a>, we can gain a clearer picture of how sugar became central to the Canadian diet. </p>
<p>And we can also work toward greater recognition for those who have laboured in the local and global Canadian sugar industry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200054/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Donica Belisle currently holds an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for the project, "Canadian Sugar: A Local and Global History."</span></em></p>By reflecting on the violent origins of the Canadian sugar industry, we can bring wider attention to the exploitation underpinning the history of Canadian cuisine.Donica Belisle, Professor of History, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1979602023-03-02T17:48:30Z2023-03-02T17:48:30ZA white riot in Vancouver: Tracing the steps of the 1907 anti-Asian mob<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508708/original/file-20230207-31-wcsbid.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In 1907, a large anti-Asian riot took place in Vancouver. Here is a colourized photo of 245 Powell St., a stop on a walking tour that retraces the steps of the angry mob.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(360 Riot Walk, Henry Tsang)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/a-white-riot-in-vancouver--tracing-the-steps-of-the-1907-anti-asian-mob" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p><em>Editor’s note: Below is an edited account from the forthcoming book, <a href="https://arsenalpulp.com/Books/W/White-Riot">‘White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver,’</a> by Henry Tsang (Arsenal Pulp Press)</em>. </p>
<p>On Sept. 7, 1907, a crowd gathered at 7 p.m. at the Cambie Street Grounds, now known as Larwill Park in downtown Vancouver. Led by Major E. Brown from the British Columbia Regiment at the Beatty Street Drill Hall, a cavalcade, made up of labour and church leaders and Mayor Alexander Bethune and his wife, Catherine, was accompanied by 5,000 people, many waving white banners reading, “A White Canada for Us.” They proceeded downtown toward city hall.</p>
<p>The event was organized by the conservative <a href="https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/asiatic-exclusion-league-riot-1907/">Asiatic Exclusion League</a>, founded just months before by the Vancouver Trades and Labour Council. The mayor and several city councillors were founding members, along with many Christian leaders. Its first meeting was held on Aug. 12 and attended by 400 white men. </p>
<p>The league was modelled after the <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/this-week-in-history-1907-the-asiatic-exclusion-league-is-formed">Japanese and Korean Exclusion League in San Francisco</a> and many others like it along the West Coast. These groups advocated for a “white man’s country” and the prohibition of Asian labour, to be achieved through legislation and, if necessary, violence. A resolution calling on the federal government to exclude Asians from Canada was enthusiastically passed by the newly formed organization. </p>
<p>By the time the group reached city hall, many more thousands had joined in. Estimates of the crowd range from 25,000 to 30,000 people — over a third of the city’s population at the time. Guest speakers included clergymen, lawyers, politicians and anti-Asian activists from New Zealand and the United States.</p>
<p>As the rally grew, an angry mob formed; and marched toward Chinatown. The people there were initially taken by surprise. But they began to organize and to fight back. <em>The Daily Province</em> reported that, “the Chinese armed themselves as soon as the gun stores opened. Hundreds of revolvers and thousands of rounds of ammunition were sold before the police stepped in and requested that no further sale be made to Asians.”</p>
<h2>Police could not contain the mob</h2>
<p>The police force called in all of their off-duty officers, totalling about two dozen. The fire brigade was also called in to help. Badly outnumbered, they were unable to have any impact.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512014/original/file-20230223-738-k80qo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512014/original/file-20230223-738-k80qo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512014/original/file-20230223-738-k80qo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512014/original/file-20230223-738-k80qo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512014/original/file-20230223-738-k80qo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512014/original/file-20230223-738-k80qo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512014/original/file-20230223-738-k80qo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A colourized photo of Shanghai Alley after the Chinatown riots in 1907.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">360 Riot Walk/Philip Timms/ University of British Columbia Library, Chung Collection, Vancouver, CC-PH-10626</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although there were no documented deaths due to the riots, there were close calls. Arrests were few, in part because the crowd would rescue anyone captured. Only five rioters were eventually found guilty and given jail terms of one to six months.</p>
<p>The local English-language press blamed American labour leaders for inciting the riot. However, local Chinese-language newspapers placed the blame on white unions, most of which were involved in anti-Asian activism and provocation.</p>
<h2>The rioters encountered resistance</h2>
<p>On late Sunday afternoon, the rioters regrouped to attack the <a href="https://heritagevancouver.org/top10-watch-list/2017/9-powell-street-area-nihonmachi/">Japanese residents</a>, who had almost a full day’s warning to prepare for the attack. </p>
<p>They stockpiled bricks and rocks to throw at the rioters and armed themselves with guns and knives. Hand-to-hand combat took place on the streets. From rooftops, rocks, bricks, bottles and blocks of wood were thrown at the rioters, who made it as far as the Powell Street Grounds (now Oppenheimer Park). </p>
<p>The mob did not expect such resistance, nor the escalating number of casualties.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="colourized yellow storefront from 1907" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512015/original/file-20230223-2933-ldl4st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512015/original/file-20230223-2933-ldl4st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512015/original/file-20230223-2933-ldl4st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512015/original/file-20230223-2933-ldl4st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512015/original/file-20230223-2933-ldl4st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1419&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512015/original/file-20230223-2933-ldl4st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512015/original/file-20230223-2933-ldl4st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1419&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Colourized image of 122 Powell St., 1907.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from 360 Riot Walk/Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, PA-067275</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By Monday morning, the riots had died down, in part due to heavy rains. The <a href="http://www.chinatownsocieties.org/society/chinese-benevolent-association/">Chinese Benevolent Association</a> and clan associations organized a general strike that continued until Wednesday morning, shutting down many parts of Vancouver, including the sawmills and a third of the restaurants.</p>
<p>The Japanese went to work Monday, but left in the afternoon to attend a public meeting at the Powell Street Grounds to demand reparation from the city. Mayor Bethune came to address the crowd’s concerns — ironic, given that he was one of the Asiatic Exclusion League’s co-founders.</p>
<h2>A federal inquiry and demands for compensation</h2>
<p>The Japanese and Chinese communities petitioned the federal government to pay for damages. </p>
<p>Ottawa sent the federal deputy minister of labour, <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/william-lyon-mackenzie-king">William Lyon Mackenzie King</a>, to conduct a <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/bcp-pco/Z1-1907-7-eng.pdf">Royal Commission inquiry</a>. </p>
<p>Pressure applied to England by Japan resulted in a swift response, with over $9,000 in settlement for damages. Compensation for the Chinese was slower, as they lacked the political support of an up-and-coming nation, but eventually the compensation was almost $27,000.</p>
<p>King’s investigation revealed that some of the Chinese claims were for businesses related to opium. This eventually led to the creation of Canada’s first anti-drug law.</p>
<p>Shortly after, Japan and Canada reached a “Gentlemen’s Agreement” to <a href="https://bcanuntoldhistory.knowledge.ca/1900/japanese-immigration-limited">reduce Japanese immigration to 400 people a year</a>. In 1928, that number was further reduced to 150.</p>
<p>The Chinese head tax remained at $500, but in 1923, the <a href="https://humanrights.ca/story/chinese-head-tax-and-chinese-exclusion-act">Chinese Exclusion Act</a> came into effect. Under the act, Chinese immigration to Canada was completely banned. The exclusion act was repealed in 1947, mainly as a result of Canada’s signing the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.</p>
<h2>100 years later: A surge in anti-Asian sentiments</h2>
<p>Since the formative decades of Vancouver’s founding, much has been gained from a human rights perspective. But 2020 ushered in the COVID-19 pandemic, and with it a <a href="https://www.project1907.org/reporting-centre">dramatic rise in anti-Asian violence</a>, fanned by anti-China sentiment. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/anti-asian-racism-during-coronavirus-how-the-language-of-disease-produces-hate-and-violence-134496">Anti-Asian racism during coronavirus: How the language of disease produces hate and violence</a>
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<p>Vulnerable people, especially lower-income <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/asian-community-hate-crime-charge-jamie-bezanson-1.6403063">seniors</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-police-investigate-potential-raciallly-motivated-assault-1.6599437">women</a>, were targeted. Such instances, along with anti-Black, anti-Muslim and anti-Indigenous attitudes, are all part of the legacy of historic and current racism.</p>
<p>Raising awareness of the 1907 anti-Asian riots will hopefully encourage dialogue and reflection on who has the right to live here as we pursue equality and justice for all.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="People stand in front of a row of buildings, some have broken windows." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508460/original/file-20230206-25-zvjd4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508460/original/file-20230206-25-zvjd4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508460/original/file-20230206-25-zvjd4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508460/original/file-20230206-25-zvjd4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508460/original/file-20230206-25-zvjd4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508460/original/file-20230206-25-zvjd4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508460/original/file-20230206-25-zvjd4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Book cover for ‘White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://arsenalpulp.com/Books/W/White-Riot">(Arsenal Pulp Press)</a></span>
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</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://arsenalpulp.com/Books/W/White-Riot">‘White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver’</a> is based on <a href="https://360riotwalk.ca/">360 Riot Walk</a>, an interactive 360 video walking tour that traces the route of the mob that attacked Vancouver Asian communities. It can be streamed on location with a mobile device or remotely on a web browser, and is available in four languages: English, Cantonese, Japanese and Punjabi. The events occurred on the unceded land of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Contributors include the Asian Canadian Labour Alliance, Michael Barnholden, Paul Englesberg, Melody Ma, Angela May, Nicole Yakashiro, Jeffery R. Masuda, Aaron Franks, Audrey Kobayashi, Trevor Wideman, Andy Yan, and Patricia E. Roy.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197960/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Henry Tsang has in the past received funding from SSHRC, the Canada Council, BC Arts Council, Creative BC, and others. He works for Emily Carr University of Art & Design. His art project, 360 Riot Walk, is affiliated with the Powell Street Festival which stewards the public guided tours.</span></em></p>A virtual walking tour traces the route of a white mob that attacked Asian communities of Vancouver in 1907. Learning about past contexts may shed light on the recent surge in anti-Asian violence.Henry Tsang, Associate Dean, Associate Professor, Emily Carr UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2004272023-03-01T19:15:03Z2023-03-01T19:15:03ZFirst Nations are using ‘creative disruption’ to foster economic growth in their communities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512515/original/file-20230227-2379-atkjkh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=194%2C389%2C6149%2C4057&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Squamish Nation councillor Khelsilem hold a ceremonial paddle after a groundbreaking ceremony at the First Nation's Sen̓áḵw housing development site in Vancouver in September 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>First Nations have been resisting the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019879137">historic and ongoing impacts of Canada’s extractive economy</a> on their communities by exercising <a href="https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100032275/1529354547314">their right to self-governance</a> and taking control of their economic futures.</p>
<p>Creative disruption stands in contrast to <a href="https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Schumpeter.html">creative <em>destruction</em></a>, a term coined by Austrian political economist Joseph Schumpeter. Schumpeter argued that capitalism causes old ideas and technology to quickly become obsolete through the process of innovation. In the pursuit of profit, capitalism ruthlessly and relentlessly eliminates old ideas and installs new ones.</p>
<p>Creative disruption, on the other hand, aims to make space for new ideas by forcing the old ways to adapt and adopt. First Nations communities are doing this in a number of ways.</p>
<p>As an academic with a background in urban land economics, I have studied how First Nations are using creative disruption to shape businesses, urban communities and the health-care system in Canada.</p>
<h2>Sen̓áḵw development project</h2>
<p>One of the ironies of modern Indigenous land law is how the reserve system defined by the Indian Act, originally <a href="https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_indian_act">designed to assimilate Indigenous nations and communities into mainstream Canadian culture</a>, has morphed into a strategic asset for First Nations.</p>
<p>As author Bob Joseph notes in <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/books/21-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-indian-act-1.4635204"><em>21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act</em></a>, the Squamish Nation lost 14 acres (about 0.05 square kilometres) of their territory in Vancouver to a lumber company through expropriation in 1904.</p>
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<img alt="A man in a suit speaks from behind a podium that says 'Building More Homes' on the front of it. In the background a group of people wearing fluorescent vests and hard hats stand in front of an excavator." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during an announcement and groundbreaking ceremony at the Squamish Nation’s Sen̓áḵw housing development site in Vancouver in September 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>After a century of litigation, the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/little-known-history-of-squamish-nation-land-in-vancouver-1.5104584">Squamish Nation recovered some of the lost land</a> and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9109033/squamish-nation-breaks-ground-housing-development/">is now in the process of building Sen̓áḵw</a>, a massive economic development project in Kits Point, Vancouver.</p>
<p>Sen̓áḵw is the largest Indigenous-led housing retail development in Canadian history and will add much-needed housing supply <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-study-reveals-intensified-housing-inequality-in-canada-from-1981-to-2016-173633">to a market that has become unaffordable</a> for most. The development plans to build <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-squamish-nations-planned-development-on-reserve-land-in-vancouver/">11 towers and 6,000 housing units</a>.</p>
<h2>Naawi-Oodena urban reserve</h2>
<p>A second example of creative disruption is the creation of the <a href="https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/naaawi-oodena-now-official-urban-reserve-in-winnipeg/">Naawi-Oodena urban reserve</a> in Winnipeg. It’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/naawi-oodena-repatriation-winnipeg-largest-urban-reserve-1.6691359">the largest urban reserve in Canada</a>, covering 64 hectares. </p>
<p>Naawi-Oodena was officially established after the land the reserve sits on — the former Kapyong Barracks — was recently repatriated to <a href="https://treaty1.ca/treaty-one-nation/">the seven Treaty One First Nations</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-reserves-are-tests-of-reconciliation-114472">Urban reserves are tests of reconciliation</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Treaty One Nation <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/first-nations-file-lawsuit-over-kapyong-land-1.695601">fought to have the land returned to them</a> under the provisions of the <a href="http://www.tlec.ca/framework-agreement/">Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement</a> after the Canadian government tried to transfer the land to a Crown corporation years ago.</p>
<p>After a prolonged legal process, a judge ruled the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/first-nations-not-consulted-on-kapyong-barracks-sale-court-rules-1.3192485">federal government failed to adequately consult with Treaty One Nation</a> and the land transfer was ruled illegitimate in 2015.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1604975015509868544"}"></div></p>
<p>An incorporated consortium run by the Treaty One Nation, called <a href="https://lpband.ca/treaty-one-development-corporation/">the Treaty One Development Corporation</a>, will oversee developments on Naawi-Oodena.</p>
<p>As a self-governing nation, Treaty One will set its own land management policies, potentially in contrast to the zoning and building codes of Winnipeg. In reality, it’s likely to gently push or disrupt urban development, rather than outright destroy current practices since its goal is to attract tenants, the majority of which will be non-Indigenous.</p>
<h2>First Nations health care</h2>
<p>First Nations entrepreneurs are also seeking out ways to revolutionize the Canadian health-care system. Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta entered into an agreement with contractors to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/private-orthopedic-surgical-facility-coming-to-enoch-cree-nation-next-year-1.6474534">create a private health clinic</a> offering simple hip and knee surgeries. </p>
<p>The provincial government will fund the procedures through medicare and publicly funded hospitals will still handle more complicated surgeries. </p>
<p>Enoch Cree Nation joins a growing number of private health clinics in Canada forming public-private partnerships. They are not the first First Nation to get involved with health care, either. </p>
<p>In 2012, Westbank First Nation <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-first-nation-plans-private-hospital-1.1298463">announced a plan to build a private, for-profit hospital</a>. Some constitutional experts <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/westbank-first-nation-hospital-likely-unconstitutional-says-expert-1.1288670">warned that Westbank First Nation was violating the Canada Health Act</a>, but <a href="https://infotel.ca/newsitem/westbank-first-nations-private-hospital-still-on-shaky-legal-ground/it22697">the nation responded by arguing</a> that, as a self-governing nation, it was not bound by federal laws.</p>
<p>Enoch Cree Nation’s private clinic will face other challenges. While COVID-19 has shaken the faith Canadians have in our health-care system, and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9458260/health-care-private-options-majority-canadians-support-poll">receptivity to private health care may be growing</a>, the affinity for public health care remains strong.</p>
<h2>Legal redress</h2>
<p>First Nations have also become creative disrupters by pursuing legal redress for past injustices. The courts have reached back through treaties all the way back to <a href="https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/royal_proclamation_1763/">the Royal Proclamation of 1763</a> to widen Canada’s constitution beyond the formal acts to include treaties with First Nations.</p>
<p>Institutional changes supporting disruption include <a href="https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/Const_index.html">Article 35 of the 1982 Constitution Act</a> that recognizes the “existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada.” This clause is widely interpreted as creating a nation-to-nation relationship between First Nations and Canada.</p>
<p>Equally important for commercial ventures is <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-5/">Article 87 of the Indian Act</a> which exempts First Nations land from taxation by any order of government. This means an urban reserve does not pay property tax to a municipality.</p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/02/06/bob-joseph-why-the-indian-act-must-go-and-canada-will-be-better-for-it.html">criticism of the Indian Act by authors like Joseph</a>, Article 87 offers a major fiscal benefit for First Nations individuals and businesses on reserve. Although a complex area of law, this tax exemption is an important reason why First Nations may prefer to add land to existing reserves or to create new reserves, rather than owning land conventionally like corporations.</p>
<h2>Furthering reconciliation</h2>
<p>Despite some First Nations regaining rights and titles to their lands, Indigenous communities in Canada still <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/441/INAN/Reports/RP11714230/inanrp02/inanrp02-e.pdf">face many barriers to economic participation</a>. By engaging in the examples of creative disruption here, First Nations are working toward economic prosperity for their communities and, in the process, are also working toward reconciliation.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf">United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a> — <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/indigenous-people/aboriginal-peoples-documents/calls_to_action_english2.pdf">the framework for reconciliation according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada</a> — states Indigenous people have the right to pursue their own means of economic development. By starting their own entrepreneurial and developmental projects, First Nations are engaging in their inherent “right to maintain and develop their political, economic and social systems or institutions.”</p>
<p>Reconciliation also works best when all parties involved benefit from changes. These examples of creative disruption will benefit non-Indigenous Canadians as well as Indigenous people by increasing the housing supply in Vancouver and Winnipeg, bringing remote First Nations into the economic orbit of cities and offering increased health treatment options.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200427/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregory C Mason receives funding from The University of Manitoba and the Thorlakson Family Foundation Fund (Health related research).
</span></em></p>By starting their own entrepreneurial and developmental projects, First Nations are working toward economic prosperity for their communities and furthering reconciliation.Gregory C Mason, Associate Professor of Economics, University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1921332022-10-16T12:28:06Z2022-10-16T12:28:06ZIf cities don’t want homeless encampments they should help people, not punish them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488932/original/file-20221010-59059-5j2c9m.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=161%2C125%2C5829%2C3826&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tents line the sidewalk on East Hastings Street in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Cities like Vancouver should not clear encampments when people have nowhere else to go.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/if-cities-don-t-want-homeless-encampments-they-should-help-people--not-punish-them" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>This summer, homeless encampments in cities such as <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tents-structures-downtown-eastside-vancouver-removal-1.6545853">Vancouver</a> and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-08-14/in-a-vacant-lot-in-watts-a-homeless-camp-gets-swept-away-by-l-a-along-with-the-brush">Los Angeles</a> and <a href="https://www.coastreporter.net/in-the-community/homeless-camp-on-toredo-street-dismantled-police-report-5325829">others</a> were dismantled. </p>
<p>The reasons varied. In Vancouver, it was fire hazard concerns on Hastings Street, a major artery in the Downtown Eastside, where the encampment had sprung up over several blocks.</p>
<p>In Los Angeles, the encampment was on city-owned land intended for other uses. There, officials have gone even further to curtail encampments, with the city council <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/tension-boil-at-la-city-council-meeting-over-controversial-homeless-encampment-ban/">approving a ban</a> on homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and daycare centres.</p>
<p>Encampments of those experiencing homelessness have become a fixture in large cities as well as smaller communities. It should not be surprising that people who are unsheltered seek out the relative security, community and resources encampments can provide. </p>
<p>Yet, the ineffective, and often punitive, responses by various levels of government are alarming. These policy failures are most evident in the troubling encampment evictions occurring across North America.</p>
<p>More than <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/homelessness-101/how-many-people-are-homeless-canada">235,000 people are estimated to be homeless in Canada</a>. In addition to these visibly homeless, another <a href="https://www.acto.ca/production/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Factsheet-4-Homelessness-in-Canada-and-Ontario2.pdf">450,000 to 900,000 are among the “hidden” homeless</a>: those staying with family and friends because they have nowhere to live.</p>
<h2>Policing not the answer</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.canadahousingcrisis.com/">Our country has a housing crisis</a>. Homelessness results from a severe shortage of affordable housing, poverty and insufficient support services. For people who end up homeless, it is a tortuous and difficult route. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of people stand in front of a brown building carrying a banner that reads: where are we supposed to go?" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A woman addresses the crowd during a protest against Vancouver’s removal of a homeless encampment on the sidewalks in the Downtown Eastside, August 16, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For many, their path to living on the streets starts with childhood trauma, mental health issues and substance misuse. For others, in low paying jobs with no savings or family support, they can be one pay cheque away from homelessness. Regardless of how they end up homeless, people deserve to be treated with dignity and understanding. </p>
<p>Instead, shockingly, police have been carting away belongings from encampments, leaving people with few options of where to stay, other than another street or park. Even worse, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tents-structures-downtown-eastside-vancouver-removal-1.6545853">evictions have turned violent</a>.</p>
<p>Los Angeles is not the only city that has tried to enforce bans on people sleeping in public space with so-called vagrancy by-laws. When Victoria tried to enforce city by-laws to that effect in 2005, homeless people took the city to court. The B.C. Supreme Court sided with the unhoused people, <a href="https://commons.allard.ubc.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1358&context=fac_pubs">saying that it was an infringement of their rights</a>. </p>
<p>A similar court decision occurred in 2021 when residents of a <a href="https://nst.ca/win-for-homeless-residents-of-crab-park-vancouver/">CRAB Park encampment</a> in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside challenged an injunction by the Vancouver Parks Board forcing an eviction. Elsewhere in British Columbia, the city of Prince George was <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/prince-george-apologizes-homeless-1.6396206">forced to apologize</a> for the trauma it caused by destroying part of an encampment even though a judge ruled that the encampment must remain because there is not enough adequate accessible housing in the city to justify its closure.</p>
<p>Dismantling encampments has a dire impact on people’s lives. It severs social relationships, causes stress, and increases fear and distrust of authorities. It dehumanizes unhoused populations even more.</p>
<h2>Long-term solutions needed</h2>
<p>It is clear that dismantling encampments is not the answer. Some people, even if they have been provided with shelter, will opt for encampments. In other cases, which occurred in Vancouver this summer, there was no shelters or other housing available. And in previous encampment evictions, some residents were offered <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/majority-people-moved-strathcona-park-1.6009673">substandard SRO housing</a>, the same kind of housing some were fleeing when they opted for living on the streets.</p>
<p>By-laws and practices which target activities like sleeping on streets, parks or in cars and panhandling <a href="https://www.nlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Overview-of-Homeless-Encampments-Brief.pdf">criminalize individuals</a>. And the consequences of criminalizing homelessness disproportionately falls on racialized people. Marginalized communities often face discrimination in accessing housing and other services which is compounded if they have a criminal record due to homelessness. </p>
<p><a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220314/dq220314b-eng.htm">Ten per cent of the off-reserve First Nation and Inuit populations</a> have experienced homelessness in Canada. In 2020, the last year that a <a href="https://council.vancouver.ca/20201007/documents/pspc1presentation.pdf">homeless count was conducted in Vancouver</a>, 39 per cent of the city’s homeless population was Indigenous even though they comprise two per cent of the total population. </p>
<p>People who identified as Black, Hispanic and Arab were also significantly over-represented compared to their percentage of the general population.</p>
<p>As the federal Housing Advocate Marie-Josée Houle said in a September visit to Vancouver’s homeless encampments, “<a href="https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/09/08/Housing-System-Failed-Everyone/">the housing system has failed everyone there</a>.” Homeless encampments have become a last resort because of lack of better housing alternatives. The <a href="https://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/en/resources/unsafe-conditions-people-experiencing-homelessness-a-pressing-human-rights-issue">shelter system</a> is overcrowded and too restrictive for many people. </p>
<p>But sanctioning encampments should not be the only solution. Encampments can be unsafe and dangerous places, and provide little opportunity for moving out of homelessness. We need a holistic approach to ending homelessness that addresses the reasons for homelessness.</p>
<p>For those who fall into homelessness out of economic necessity we need more plentiful affordable rental housing, rental assistance and stronger rent controls to ensure that renters’ rights are upheld. For those struggling with multiple health and substance issues, we need more <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/solutions/transitional-housing/permanent-supportivesupported-housing">supportive housing</a>. </p>
<p>For Indigenous people experiencing homelessness we need more, better funded, and culturally appropriate housing and services. For those ending up in encampments we need to ensure, at the very least, that their <a href="https://www.make-the-shift.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/A-National-Protocol-for-Homeless-Encampments-in-Canada.pdf">rights are upheld</a>.</p>
<p>Homeless encampments are not going to go away any time soon. The federal government has already declared housing to be a human right. We must work to end homelessness now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192133/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Penny Gurstein does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cities are clearing homeless encampments, sometimes violently, without providing those who live there any alternatives. Long-term solutions are needed to help people off the streets.Penny Gurstein, Professor Emeritus, and Director of Housing Research Collaborative, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1808482022-05-11T19:33:53Z2022-05-11T19:33:53ZA new earthquake warning system will prepare Canada for dangerous shaking<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462078/original/file-20220509-24-50jx1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C35%2C2955%2C2065&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Damaged wood houses after the San Francisco Earthquake, April 18, 1906. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Large earthquakes can wreak enormous violence upon lives, livelihoods, infrastructure and the environment. High-density urban populations in the relatively small, seismically active areas of British Columbia and the Québec City-Montréal-Ottawa corridor leaves residents extremely vulnerable to earthquakes. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://assets.ibc.ca/Documents/Studies/IBC-EQ-Study-Summary.pdf">2013 report commissioned by the Insurance Bureau of Canada</a> notes that “a major earthquake would have a significant economic impact regionally, and cause a domino effect on the economy of Canada, with major impacts on critical infrastructure, such as roads, electricity, communication and agriculture, public assets, residences and much more.” </p>
<p>It concluded that a 9.0-magnitude earthquake in British Columbia would rack up almost $75 billion in costs, and a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in the Québec City-Montréal-Ottawa corridor would cost almost $61 billion.</p>
<p>Canada does not have an earthquake early warning system to provide alerts to the 10 million people who live in these areas — or a national education initiative to develop an earthquake-aware culture. But that will soon change.</p>
<h2>10 million at risk</h2>
<p>Canada’s most active seismic zones fall into three main areas: </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://csegrecorder.com/articles/view/earthquakes-of-the-charlevoix-seismic-zone-quebec">Charlevoix-Kamouraska seismic zone</a>, along the St. Lawrence River in southeastern Québec.</li>
<li><a href="https://doi.org/10.17953/aicr.31.4.3374595624774617">Cascadia Subduction Zone</a>, stretching from the north end of Vancouver Island to Cape Mendocino, Calif., and connected to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1785/0120140181">Queen Charlotte Fault</a>, from Haida Gwaii northward along the Alaska coast. </li>
<li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1785/0220210014">Baffin Island and the Boothia and Ungava peninsulas in the Arctic</a>, due to post-glacial rebound, where the ground slowly rises as glaciers melt.</li>
</ul>
<p>Seismologists forecast significant shaking for Québec (Montréal, Québec City, Rivière-du-Loup), Ontario (<a href="https://brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/contrary-to-popular-belief-eastern-canada-is-more-at-risk-of-earthquakes-than-perceived/">Ottawa, Toronto</a>) and British Columbia (<a href="https://www.dnv.org/sites/default/files/edocs/earthquake-risk-summary.pdf">Vancouver</a> and <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.14288/1.0167639">Victoria</a>) in the future. But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.1997.tb06588.x">earthquake prediction timelines are an imprecise science</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462074/original/file-20220509-26-3gv3b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and white photo of people standing the street, watching smoke billow from the city below." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462074/original/file-20220509-26-3gv3b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462074/original/file-20220509-26-3gv3b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462074/original/file-20220509-26-3gv3b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462074/original/file-20220509-26-3gv3b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462074/original/file-20220509-26-3gv3b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462074/original/file-20220509-26-3gv3b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462074/original/file-20220509-26-3gv3b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A massive earthquake struck San Francisco on April 18, 1906, triggering several city fires that burned for days and destroyed nearly 500 city blocks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Arnold Genthe/Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, the recurrence interval for a large earthquake in the Pacific Northwest is about 500 years — there have been seven in the past 3,500 years. Seismologists say there’s a 30 per cent chance of a <a href="https://earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/zones/cascadia/qa-en.php">megathrust earthquake</a> — a very powerful quake that occurs at a subduction zone — in this fault zone in the next 50 years. But earthquakes are quasi-random — they don’t occur at regular time intervals.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/contrary-to-popular-belief-eastern-canada-is-more-at-risk-of-earthquakes-than-perceived-167743">Contrary to popular belief, Eastern Canada is more at risk of earthquakes than perceived</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In my work with communities in <a href="https://ageconcerncan.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Earthquake-preparedness-ageing-society.pdf">New Zealand</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2011.03.001">Samoa</a> and <a href="https://www.cfes-fcst.ca/single-post/2015/12/16/the-2015-gorkhanepal-earthquake-hazard-and-risk-information-innovations">Nepal</a> that have experienced lethal earthquakes, I’ve learned about <a href="https://www.rmmagazine.com/articles/article/2012/06/01/-Cultural-Barriers-to-Earthquake-Preparedness-">individuals’ heightened risk awareness after an earthquake</a>. Their stories taught me that time lost is lives lost, and that those who took protective action survived.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-19-2887-2019">This life-risk awareness is the foundation of an earthquake early warning system</a>. With only seconds of advance warning, people can take protective action such as drop, cover and hold on. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2167-0587.1000154">But developing an earthquake-aware culture can take time</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462076/original/file-20220509-13-u2ang1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A police officer looks over the edge of a section of the bridge to cars below." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462076/original/file-20220509-13-u2ang1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462076/original/file-20220509-13-u2ang1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462076/original/file-20220509-13-u2ang1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462076/original/file-20220509-13-u2ang1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462076/original/file-20220509-13-u2ang1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462076/original/file-20220509-13-u2ang1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462076/original/file-20220509-13-u2ang1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The upper deck of the Bay Bridge collapsed during the Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco on Oct. 17, 1989.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/George Nikitin)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Earthquake-prone communities often experience fatalities, anxiety and fear, and widespread damage to homes, infrastructure and economies. A community with an earthquake-aware culture has grasped lessons from seismology, social science and economics, painfully aware of what damages and losses <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.1997.tb06588.x">it might experience</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/how-canada-is-preparing-for-the-next-big-earthquake/">Developing an earthquake-aware culture relies on the data collected by seismologists</a>. Their interpretations help us understand how local fault lines will shake during an earthquake, how often the shaking has occurred in a location and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.1991.tb06724.x">how fast the shockwaves might travel</a>.</p>
<h2>2024: All systems go</h2>
<p>In March, Natural Resources Canada set up an earthquake-monitoring station <a href="https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/national-earthquake-early-warning-system-launches-in-horseshoe-bay-5207149">at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal in West Vancouver, B.C.</a>, the first station in what will become a national early earthquake warning system by 2024. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The front page of Le Soleil newspaper on Feb. 28, 1925, comprising only stories about the earthquake" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462306/original/file-20220510-16-8cfmuu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462306/original/file-20220510-16-8cfmuu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462306/original/file-20220510-16-8cfmuu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462306/original/file-20220510-16-8cfmuu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462306/original/file-20220510-16-8cfmuu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462306/original/file-20220510-16-8cfmuu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462306/original/file-20220510-16-8cfmuu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The 1925 Charlevoix-Kamouiraska earthquake was felt all the way in Virginia and along the Mississippi River. It damaged several towns and cities along the St. Lawrence River and the aftershocks lasted for weeks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Natural Resources Canada)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The system uses <a href="https://earthquake.usgs.gov/data/shakemap/">the same software as the early-warning system located along the U.S. West Coast</a>. It aims to reduce the number of injuries, the cost of damage and losses, and the impact to critical infrastructure operations. </p>
<p>Millions of people — and the Canadian economy — could benefit from the early earthquake alert system. Once it is fully operational, it should provide five to nine seconds advance warning to those in Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte and Masset, B.C., for ruptures in the Queen Charlotte Fault, and 43 to 91 seconds for the mainland towns of Bella Bella, Prince Rupert and Kitimat, B.C. In Québec, a repeat of the <a href="https://earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/historic-historique/events/19881125-en.php">1988 Saguenay earthquake</a> would offer 84 seconds advance warning for Montréal and 29 seconds for Québec City. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-earthquakes-are-so-deadly-104880">Why some earthquakes are so deadly</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>How people will respond to the alerts remains unknown. But Natural Resources Canada has funded the <a href="https://live-ucalgary.ucalgary.ca/tamaratt-teaching-professorship/projects/historical-case-studies/earthquakes">University of Calgary</a> to work with the U.S. Geological Survey and the <a href="https://www.iris.edu/hq/">Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology</a> to learn from their experience of building an earthquake-aware culture, as well as with other nations, including Japan, China, Turkey, Greece and Italy. </p>
<h2>Challenges and next steps</h2>
<p>By 2024, the Canadian earthquake early-warning system will have more than 400 land-based sensors deployed throughout Ontario, Québec and British Columbia. It will send the alerts to radio, television, internet and cellular networks, allowing people to take action quickly.</p>
<p>The advance notice is meant to avert deaths. A mere 10 to 90 seconds warning could save lives, protect infrastructure and utilities. Researchers, however, still need a better understanding of how Canadians will respond to these alerts. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A black and white photo of a two-storey building with bricks strewn in the street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462072/original/file-20220509-21-rar6h3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462072/original/file-20220509-21-rar6h3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462072/original/file-20220509-21-rar6h3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462072/original/file-20220509-21-rar6h3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462072/original/file-20220509-21-rar6h3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462072/original/file-20220509-21-rar6h3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462072/original/file-20220509-21-rar6h3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vancouver Island’s historic earthquake was a 7.3 magnitude event that occurred at 10:13 a.m. on June 23, 1946. It damaged buildings in nearby communities, including the Bank of Montreal in Port Alberni.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/historic-historique/events/images/19460623_1946bank.jpg">(NRCan)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, Canada’s earthquake hazard maps suggest there are two widely separated seismically active areas: one in Ontario, Québec and New Brunswick, and the other in British Columbia. But each location will suffer different types of damage and losses after a large earthquake. </p>
<p>These maps give the erroneous impression that the earthquake risk applies to everyone equally. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.20620.46727">My preliminary research</a> shows distinct geological, political, economic and emergency management contexts between Eastern Canada and Western Canada. </p>
<p>For example, those in Eastern Canada are very vulnerable to seismic hazards: The soft soils in the Charlevoix-Kamouraska seismic zone amplify ground motion and the heritage housing cannot withstand shaking. There’s also low participation in earthquake preparedness exercises.</p>
<p>According to a <a href="https://www.swissre.com/institute/research/topics-and-risk-dialogues/climate-and-natural-catastrophe-risk/earthquake-risk-in-eastern-canada-mind-the-shakes.html">2017 report by Swiss Re</a>, 65 per cent of home owners in Vancouver and Victoria have purchased residential property earthquake insurance. In contrast, in the Charlevoix–Kamouraska seismic zone, only two per cent of home owners in Québec City and five per cent in metropolitan Montréal have residential property earthquake insurance. </p>
<p>The ultimate goal of the earthquake early warning system is to ensure that those most at risk — the disabled, elderly, very young, caregivers and those living in remote rural areas — have <a href="https://ascip.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Safety-Spotlight-What-to-do-during-an-earthquake-ER-kit-Oct2016.pdf">practical knowledge of what to do — and what not to do — during an earthquake</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180848/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shona L.van Zijll de Jong receives funding from Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary
</span></em></p>About 10 million people live in Canada’s earthquake-prone zones. Yet few have practical knowledge of what to do with new early warning system alerts which aim to save lives and protect livelihoods.Shona L.van Zijll de Jong, Adjunct Professor, Geological Sciences and Engineering, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1728462021-12-14T15:52:21Z2021-12-14T15:52:21ZHousing is both a human right and a profitable asset, and that’s the problem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435882/original/file-20211206-17-1y6xiow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C43%2C3600%2C2576&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Demand for real estate throughout Canada has made housing unaffordable.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It seems like everyone is talking about housing these days. For many, it is in a state of crisis. But for others, it is a market doing exactly what it should be doing: <a href="https://torontolife.com/real-estate/im-28-and-own-six-properties-in-ontario-heres-how-i-built-a-7-million-real-estate-portfolio/">making money</a>. The crux of the housing problem is that it is both a basic <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-housing-rights-human-rights-1.4414854">human</a> <a href="https://housingrights.ca/right-to-housing-legislation-in-canada/">right</a> and a <a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1872/housing-question/">commodity from which to extract wealth</a>.</p>
<p>Most housing debates largely ignore this <a href="https://www.acme-journal.org/index.php/acme/article/view/1347">contradiction</a>. Those who oppose new developments and those who believe we need more housing both focus on numbers, design, zoning and density. These perspectives miss key questions about <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/2111-in-defense-of-housing">housing for whom</a>, against whom, <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/2870-capital-city">who profits</a> and who is excluded.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U_sGdZ7DDow?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The CBC takes a look at housing and the widening wealth gap.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Upzoning and affordability</h2>
<p>In many neighbourhoods in Canada, zoning rules dictate that the only type of development permitted is the <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/03/20/how-monster-homes-are-transforming-toronto-neighbourhoods.html">demolition of a small house</a> to replace it with a big one. </p>
<p>This has no net effect on supply and can dramatically raise prices. It’s not uncommon for <a href="https://chbooks.com/Books/H/House-Divided">desirable neighbourhoods to both gentrify and decrease in population</a>, while the number of homes remains static. </p>
<p>As a result, there have been <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-toronto-has-lots-of-room-to-grow-its-time-to-let-that-happen/">calls to change zoning rules to increase density in neighbourhoods</a> where only detached or semi-detached houses are permitted. Known as upzoning, this allows for taller buildings and more housing units, including triplexes, town houses or small apartments, often referred to as the “<a href="https://missingmiddlehousing.com/">missing middle</a>.” </p>
<p>There are many good reasons to do this. Zoning rules have historically restricted opportunities for <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-planning-as-a-tool-of-white-supremacy-the-other-lesson-from-minneapolis-142249">racialized and low-income populations</a>. Older neighbourhoods in particular tend to have good transportation choices, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.05.013">fewer housing options</a> for low-income populations.</p>
<p>Increasing density in the city can curb sprawl at the periphery, which preserves valuable farmland. This was an important aspect in <a href="https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2021/11/19/council-rejects-hamilton-urban-expansion.html">the recent decision made by councillors in Hamilton, Ont.</a>, to <a href="https://www.thespec.com/opinion/contributors/2021/12/01/building-a-denser-inclusive-hamilton.html">stop urban boundary growth</a>.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://tcf.org/content/report/minneapolis-ended-single-family-zoning/">number of cities</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-15/newsom-win-clears-the-way-for-california-zoning-reform">U.S. states</a> and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-new-zealands-bold-housing-law-may-be-a-fit-for-canada/">New Zealand</a> have all eliminated single-family zoning. Although, in each case, the question of what to build (and for whom) has been left to the market. </p>
<p>While there are many good reasons to upzone, there is little research indicating that on its own, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098019859458">market-driven upzoning</a> produces the types of housing cities need <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/11/28/laneway-houses-were-supposed-to-help-ease-torontos-housing-crisis-so-why-are-so-few-being-built.html">in sufficient quantity</a> to tackle affordability problems. </p>
<p>There is also evidence to suggest upzoning can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087418824672">raise prices without actually adding new supply</a>, further fuel speculation and lead to the <a href="https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14266-minneapolis-and-the-end-of-the-american-dream-house">development of more luxury units</a>.</p>
<p>Despite this, there is still a persistent belief that upzoning specifically, and increasing supply more broadly, is the key to solving the affordability crisis.</p>
<h2>Supply and demand?</h2>
<p>There is growing evidence to indicate that in Canada, <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-solve-the-housing-crisis-address-super-charged-demand-169809">new housing supply meets or even exceeds population growth</a>, especially in the biggest cities and hottest property markets. Some of the biggest price increases on record have been in the last quarter, <a href="https://betterdwelling.com/canada-is-now-completing-18-homes-for-every-person-the-population-grows/#">when 18 homes were completed for every new person</a>.</p>
<p>But we need to move beyond focusing purely on the number of new houses, and how this relates to population or household change. The answers to the housing problem are far more complex, and require a deeper understanding of what type of supply gets built, what does not and what is lost as cities grow and redevelop. </p>
<p>Reducing demand from speculators is key. In Ontario, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/investors-in-ontario-real-estate-market-1.6258199">a quarter of all home buyers are investors</a>. A recent survey found that <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/07/28/nearly-20-per-cent-of-gta-homeowners-under-35-own-more-than-one-property-survey-finds.html">20 per cent of homeowners under 35 in the Greater Toronto Area own more than one property</a>. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-cmhc-worried-about-speculative-investment-in-housing/">links skyrocketing housing costs to speculative investment</a>. Even the Bank of Canada is now concerned about the role the commodification of housing is playing, and has noted how <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-cmhc-worried-about-speculative-investment-in-housing/">investor buying has doubled in the past year</a>. </p>
<p>Therefore, simply adding supply isn’t the solution. Speculators both increase demand for housing, and shape the supply that gets built. Investors love small condos, so most new towers going up across our cities contain small studio and one-bedroom units. This does little to address demand for shelter, particularly for those on low- to moderate-incomes, or <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/environment/news/renters-kitchener-waterloo-are-diverse-their-rental-options">families looking for larger dwellings in urban neighbourhoods</a>.</p>
<p>This fixation on uncritically adding new market-driven supply also ignores existing affordable housing that is lost when neighbourhoods gentrify, or are upzoned. Some of this occurs when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2021.06.013">small apartments and rooming houses are demolished</a>, a process known as “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.09.011">demoviction</a>.” My research team, working closely with the <a href="http://www.waterlooregion.org/">Social Development Centre Waterloo Region</a> has been <a href="http://www.waterlooregion.org/displacement-in-urban-core-mapping-project">documenting the rapid erosion of housing which is affordable for people on low-incomes</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.renovictionsto.com/">Renovictions</a> also contribute to this loss. This is a process where landlords evict tenants, renovate their units and rent them out at higher rates. As planning scholar Martine August has found, this is often carried out by large, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2019.1705846">financialized landlords</a> who have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2017.04.011">acquiring apartment buildings across Canada for many years</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/B2emJajnw2f","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Decommodify housing</h2>
<p>To make cities affordable, upzoning will need to consist primarily of new <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/kitchener-neighbourhoods-approved-for-affordable-housing-build-1.5316408">social housing</a> and other forms of ownership such as <a href="https://chfcanada.coop/about-co-op-housing/">co-ops</a> and rent-controlled apartments that are off limits to speculators. </p>
<p>Fortunately, there are many examples across Canada and beyond that treat housing as homes, not investments. Private developers do not hold a monopoly on adding supply. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jan/16/radical-model-housing-crisis-property-prices-income-community-land-trusts">Community land trusts</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/metro-matters-whistler-1.4989556">housing authorities</a> offer possibilities to decommodify housing by taking it out of the speculative market in creative and sustainable ways. </p>
<p>Publicly owned land provides <a href="http://spacing.ca/toronto/2019/05/06/lorinc-want-affordable-housing-then-city-shouldnt-sell-publicly-owned-land/">the spaces to create the kind of housing that the market is unwilling or unable to build</a>. It should not be sold to private developers, especially at <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ryerson-university-report-affordable-housing-downtown-parcel-sold-1.5115645">discounted prices</a>, for a quick profit.</p>
<p>Changes in zoning also need to be accompanied by proactive policies to shape what gets built and for whom. Montréal has new rules stipulating that many developments need to consist of at least <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bylaw-mixed-metropolis-montreal-1.6034993">20 per cent social housing, 20 per cent affordable housing and 20 per cent family units</a>. </p>
<p>Other approaches include primary residency requirements for owner-occupied units to restrict investors, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-city-councillor-calls-for-speculation-tax-1.6271555">speculation taxes for investment properties</a> and incentives for purpose-built rentals. <a href="https://www.burnaby.ca/our-city/programs-and-policies/housing/rental-use-zoning-policy">After implementing the latter</a>, Burnaby, B.C., has seen a <a href="https://www.burnabynow.com/local-news/burnaby-credits-new-policies-for-historic-surge-in-cheaper-non-market-rentals-4830007">surge in new non-market rentals</a>.</p>
<p>To protect existing affordable housing, strong rent controls, including <a href="https://www.acto.ca/vacancy-decontrol-what-is-it-and-why-does-it-matter/">when a unit becomes vacant</a>, also have an important role to play. Rent controls on vacant units were eliminated in Ontario in 1996; this creates an incentive for landlords to evict tenants, <a href="https://monitormag.ca/articles/rents-keep-going-up-pandemic-or-not">even during the pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>Other examples include rules in New Westminster, B.C., that <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6543840/new-westminster-renoviction-court-ruling/">fine landlords who do not provide temporary accommodation while their apartments are renovated</a>. The City of Montréal also has the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/right-of-first-refusal-social-housing-1.5466347">right of first refusal of any property that comes up for sale</a>. </p>
<h2>Housing for whom?</h2>
<p>To make housing more affordable, we need to confront its roles as both shelter and commodity. Housing supply needs to grow with our population, but it must address need, and not investor demand. All levels of government can implement proactive policies to make existing and new housing affordable. The provincial and federal governments need to return to funding new, non-market housing, <a href="https://data.fcm.ca/documents/corporate-resources/policy-statements/Municipal_Finance_and_Intergovernmental_Arrangements_Policy_Statement_EN.pdf">as they did until the early 1990s</a>.</p>
<p>Solutions need to focus on decommodifing housing while supporting its role as a human right. That means that the rights of some to profit from housing will need to be curtailed so that everyone has the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13604810902982177">right to live in cities</a>. <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/2111-in-defense-of-housing">Decades of housing research</a> have shown that leaving the question of supply to market forces, developers and speculators will add some new housing and make some people a tidy profit, but will do little to address the crisis facing a growing number of Canadians.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172846/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Doucet receives funding from SSHRC and the Canada Research Chairs program. Some of his research is conducted in partnership with the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region. He has co-written reports on housing and mobility for local governments in Ontario.</span></em></p>As demand grows for real estate and housing prices rise, more people are being priced out of the market. Government intervention is needed to produce affordable housing and control speculation.Brian Doucet, Canada Research Chair in Urban Change and Social Inclusion, University of WaterlooLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1698092021-11-25T20:34:50Z2021-11-25T20:34:50ZWant to solve the housing crisis? Address super-charged demand<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433526/original/file-20211123-19-sudh2d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6016%2C4007&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A house in Ottawa that sold over the listing price. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang </span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 175px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/want-to-solve-the-housing-crisis-address-super-charged-demand" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>A <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/could-new-zealands-radical-new-housing-law-help-canada-curb-its-skyrocketing-real-estate-prices">recent news item about New Zealand’s radical new housing law</a> and whether such measures could work in Canada implies that soaring home prices are due to a lack of supply. </p>
<p>In its election platform, the <a href="https://liberal.ca/our-platform/1-4-million-new-homes/">Liberal party proposed to invest $4 billion in a municipal supply accelerator</a> aimed at building more housing. This is the wrong approach.</p>
<p>If policy-makers and the newly re-elected government want to improve housing affordability and the ability of young families to become homeowners, they need to turn their attention to the primary driver of price increases — <a href="https://financialpost.com/opinion/george-fallis-supply-isnt-the-whole-housing-problem-the-growing-demand-for-more-house-is-too">super-charged demand</a>, abetted by the sacred cow of <a href="https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/news/canada/2021-02-12-principal-residence-exemption">non-taxation of capital gains on a principal residence</a>.</p>
<p>A chorus of voices, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-things-are-heating-up-again-toronto-home-prices-climbed-in-october-as/">from bank economists</a> to the <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/real-estate/video/canada-s-housing-market-faces-supply-shortage-economist%7E1725889">real estate industry</a>, perpetuate the argument that the primary cause of skyrocketing house prices is lack of supply. This view has been reinforced <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ndp-liberals-election-platforms-toronto-ontario-1.6161531">in media reporting, and was emphasized in recent election platforms</a>.</p>
<p>This “lack of supply” view draws on basic Economics 101 textbooks, where using the example of widgets and a simple supply and demand curve, an increase in supply causes a reduction in price. </p>
<p>But houses are not widgets. They are unique entities, both a basic need and, increasingly, an investment commodity. They are also fixed in location and their values reflect the attributes of the locales that purchasers value and are willing to pay a premium for.</p>
<hr>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-election-2021-more-supply-wont-solve-canadas-housing-affordability-crisis-167620">Federal election 2021: More supply won't solve Canada's housing affordability crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Homes outpace households</h2>
<p>Nationally between 2006 and 2016, Canada added 1.636 million households and built 1.919 million new homes, according to the <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3410013501">Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation</a> and <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/171025/dq171025c-eng.htm">Census data</a>. So, on average, almost 30,000 extra homes were constructed each year compared to the increase in the number of households.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graph shows the differences between homes and households in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Montréal from 2006 to 2016" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433263/original/file-20211122-17-5xh2tg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433263/original/file-20211122-17-5xh2tg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433263/original/file-20211122-17-5xh2tg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433263/original/file-20211122-17-5xh2tg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433263/original/file-20211122-17-5xh2tg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433263/original/file-20211122-17-5xh2tg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433263/original/file-20211122-17-5xh2tg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Homes versus households in major Canadian cities between 2006 and 2016, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Census data.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(CMHC/Census data)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Vancouver, new construction exceeded household growth by 19 per cent. In Toronto it was one per cent, and Ottawa fell short of household growth by four per cent. </p>
<p>So, in theory, between 2006 and 2016, we should have seen the greatest price growth in Ottawa and less price pressure in Vancouver. But prices increased by 93 per cent and 96 per cent in Vancouver and Toronto respectively, but by only 47 per cent in Ottawa. </p>
<p>Insufficient supply may be a contributing factor, especially in cities where household growth exceeds new home construction, but it’s not the primary or most important cause.</p>
<p>The more significant cause is demand — and not just the quantity of demand, but the quality of demand. </p>
<p>Over the last few decades we have seen a new phenomenon of super-charged demand created by households that have substantial accumulated equity from persistent appreciation in their home values, combined with strong income growth and declining and historically low mortgage rates.</p>
<h2>Homeowners trade up</h2>
<p>In Canada, <a href="https://creastats.crea.ca/en-CA/">we sell approximately 700,000 homes per year</a> via resales plus <a href="https://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/hmip-pimh/en#TableMapChart/1/1/Canada">newly constructed homes</a>. There are 14 million households, so this represents only five per cent of all households. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two construction workers work on the roof of a house being built" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433532/original/file-20211123-13-1jsakcc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433532/original/file-20211123-13-1jsakcc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433532/original/file-20211123-13-1jsakcc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433532/original/file-20211123-13-1jsakcc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433532/original/file-20211123-13-1jsakcc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433532/original/file-20211123-13-1jsakcc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433532/original/file-20211123-13-1jsakcc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New homes are built in a housing construction development in the west end of Ottawa in May 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many of these buyers are existing owners who are trading up. Only a quarter to one-third of buyers are first-time buyers (most in higher income brackets and with <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/article-parents-gave-their-adult-kids-more-than-10-billion-to-buy-houses-in/">parental help</a>). It’s the larger group — buyers who are trading up — that has the capacity to pay these high prices. <a href="https://www.rentalhousingbusiness.ca/cmhc-and-stats-canada-release-foreign-buyer-numbers/">Certainly a small percentage of them may also be foreign buyers</a> and <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/first-time-home-buyers-in-toronto-being-pushed-out-by-investors-1.5678556">some are investors</a>, but most are just regular households. </p>
<p>Many existing owners have <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/professionals/housing-markets-data-and-research/housing-data/data-tables/household-characteristics/real-median-household-income-after-tax-tenure">incomes well above the median</a>. They also have substantially increased purchasing power from <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/mortgage-pre-approval-1.6242958">historically low interest rates</a>, and substantial wealth from unearned windfall gain created by years of rising prices. </p>
<p>More significantly, they undermine the concept that added supply will stall or slow the rate of pricing increases. All cities have coveted properties in desired neighbourhoods — often modest, older dwellings on sizeable lots. Because of the prime location, homes for example in inner-city Vancouver might sell for between $2 million to $3 million or in Ottawa perhaps for $800,000. </p>
<p>Developers often buy those lots, demolish the existing home and replace it with two or three contemporary new homes. The pricing will reflect the values that consumers attribute to that area, inevitably exceeding the original home price. </p>
<h2>The role of developers</h2>
<p>In central Ottawa, for example, <a href="https://www.agentinottawa.com/stats/">existing modest homes are being purchased for $600,000 to $700,000, demolished and replaced</a> with a semi with each side selling for $1.2 to $1.4 million. </p>
<p>The same thing is occurring <a href="https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/courier-archive/news/almost-1000-homes-per-year-slated-for-demolition-in-vancouver-3026242">all across the country</a>, with new homes priced well over — as much as double — what the price would have been for the existing house. That older house would have been moderately affordable to a young family if they hadn’t been outbid by the developer.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A construction worker carries lumber on the roof of a home mid-build." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433534/original/file-20211123-27-7x7x79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433534/original/file-20211123-27-7x7x79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433534/original/file-20211123-27-7x7x79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433534/original/file-20211123-27-7x7x79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433534/original/file-20211123-27-7x7x79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433534/original/file-20211123-27-7x7x79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433534/original/file-20211123-27-7x7x79.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Builders work on a new home build in North Vancouver, B.C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Clearly this form of intensification (<a href="https://www.realestatemagazine.ca/end-exclusionary-single-family-zoning-says-orea/">the rezoning the exclusive single-family neighbourhoods</a>) and expanded supply will do nothing to stall or slow price growth, especially given the demand from buyers with accumulated wealth seeking properties in these locations. More supply, therefore, doesn’t mean lower prices.</p>
<p>So if super-charged home purchasing power is driving up home prices, not insufficient supply, then the necessary policy response must aim to stall or suppress this demand by confiscating part of the windfall gain of accumulated appreciation. </p>
<p>This means taking on the sacred cow taxation of capital gains on homes — younger Canadians will thank them for it, and may even vote for the party that has the guts to do it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169809/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve Pomeroy is affiliated with the Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative (CHEC) at McMaster, which is funded under a SSHRC/CMHC grant. </span></em></p>More housing supply doesn’t mean lower prices. If policy-makers want to make homes more affordable, they must tackle developers who drive up prices and consider taxing capital gains on homes.Steve Pomeroy, Industry Professor, Department of Health Aging and Society, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1721872021-11-19T12:43:37Z2021-11-19T12:43:37ZCanada’s flood havoc after summer heatwave shows how climate disasters combine to do extra damage<p>People living in British Columbia will feel like they have had more than their fair share of climate disasters in 2021. After a record-breaking heatwave in June, the province in western Canada has been inundated by intense rain storms in November. It’s also likely the long-lasting effects of the heatwave made the results of the recent rainfall worse, causing more landslides – which have destroyed highways and railroads – than would otherwise have happened. </p>
<p>In June 2021, temperature records across western North America were shattered. The town of Lytton in British Columbia <a href="https://www.rmets.org/metmatters/record-breaking-heat-canada">registered 49.6°C</a>, breaking the previous Canadian national record by 5°C. The unprecedented weather was caused by a high pressure system, a so-called “<a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/western-north-american-extreme-heat-virtually-impossible-without-human-caused-climate-change/">heat dome</a>”, which sat over the region for several days. </p>
<p>Heat intensified within the dome as the high pressure compressed the air. Dry ground conditions forced temperatures even higher, as there was less water evaporating to cool things down. Although unconfirmed, it’s estimated that the heatwave caused <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/07/21/estimate-on-number-of-suspected-heat-related-deaths-rises-to-808.html">over 400 deaths</a> in British Columbia alone.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A helicopter flies over a burning pine forest beneath a blue sky." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432855/original/file-20211119-23-diejng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432855/original/file-20211119-23-diejng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432855/original/file-20211119-23-diejng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432855/original/file-20211119-23-diejng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432855/original/file-20211119-23-diejng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432855/original/file-20211119-23-diejng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432855/original/file-20211119-23-diejng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wildfires ravaged British Columbia during the hot and dry summer of 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/helicopter-fighting-bc-forest-fires-during-1331361830">EB Adventure Photography/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The hot and dry weather also sparked wildfires. Just days after recording the hottest national temperature ever, the town of Lytton <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57678054">burned to the ground</a>. The summer’s fires and drought left the ground charred and barren, incapable of absorbing water. These conditions make landslides more likely, as damaged tree roots can no longer hold soil in place. It also ensures water flows over the soil quicker, as it cannot soak into the baked ground.</p>
<p>The huge rain storm which lasted from Saturday November 13 to Monday 15 was caused by an atmospheric river – a long, narrow, band of moisture in the atmosphere stretching hundreds of miles. When this band travels over land it can generate extreme rainfall, and it did: in 48 hours, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/flooding-mudslides-bc-by-the-numbers-1.6252453">over 250mm of rain</a> fell in the town of Hope, 100km east of Vancouver. </p>
<p>This much rainfall on its own would probably cause extensive flooding. But combined with the parched soil, the results have been catastrophic. Landslides have destroyed many of the region’s transport links, leaving <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-17/you-can-t-get-to-vancouver-by-car-or-train-after-epic-storm">Vancouver cut off</a> by rail and road. But the bad news doesn’t end there; sediment washed away by these floods could make future floods this winter even worse.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-an-atmospheric-river-drenched-british-columbia-and-led-to-floods-and-mudslides-172021">How an 'atmospheric river' drenched British Columbia and led to floods and mudslides</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>British Columbia is in the grip of what scientists call a compound climate disaster. The effects of one extreme weather event, like a heatwave, amplify the effects of the next one, like a rain storm. Instead of seeing floods and wildfires as discrete events, compound disasters force us to comprehend the cascading crises which are likely to multiply as the planet warms.</p>
<h2>How to understand compound climate disasters</h2>
<p>The port of Vancouver is the <a href="https://www.csatransportation.com/blog/largest-ports-in-the-us-canada#:%7E:text=Port%20of%20Vancouver,the%20rest%20of%20the%20world.">busiest in Canada</a>, moving US$550 million worth of cargo <a href="https://financialpost.com/news/economy/b-c-flooding-could-be-canadas-costliest-disaster-as-cut-off-port-of-vancouver-snarls-supply-chain">every day</a>. Because rail links are damaged, ships laden with commodities sit offshore. Canada’s mining and farming industries are having to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/canadian-shippers-find-few-easy-alternatives-grain-oil-cut-off-by-flood-2021-11-17/">divert exports</a> through the US. Depending on how quickly the rail links recover, significant economic impacts are possible.</p>
<p>Both the June heatwave and the November rainstorm are unprecedented, record-breaking events, but is their occurrence in the same year just bad luck? A rapid attribution study found that the heatwave was <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/western-north-american-extreme-heat-virtually-impossible-without-human-caused-climate-change/">virtually impossible</a> without climate change. The atmospheric river which brought the deluge is also likely to become <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2017GL074175">more common and intense</a> in a warming climate. </p>
<p>In British Columbia, future flooding is almost guaranteed to be <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2020GL088679">more frequent and severe</a>. This is life at <a href="https://library.wmo.int/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=21804#.YZZvCWDP1PZ">1.2°C</a> above the pre-industrial temperature average, yet most politicians don’t seem too worried about taking the necessary action to prevent warming beyond <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement">1.5°C</a> – the limit which countries agreed in 2015 is a threshold beyond which catastrophic climate change becomes more likely. </p>
<p>Western Canada’s year of weather extremes did not come from nowhere. <a href="https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/climate-change/impacts-adaptations/canadas-changing-climate-report/21177">Past trends</a> and <a href="https://www.fraserbasin.bc.ca/_Library/CCAQ/fbc_ne_climatereport_web.pdf">future projections</a> tell us to expect hotter summers and wetter winters in this part of the world, and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01092-9">record-shattering climate extremes</a> are on the rise.</p>
<p>Worldwide, compound climate disasters are becoming more common as climate change accelerates. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0156-3">Risk assessments typically</a> measure the impacts of one event at a time, like the damage caused by intense rain storms, without considering how the earlier drought influenced it. This leads to scientists and insurers underestimating the overall damage. With so many combinations of climate extremes – flooding following wildfires, hurricanes passing as cold spells arrive – we must prepare for every possibility.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was updated on November 22. British Columbia is a Canadian province, not a “state”.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172187/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vikki Thompson receives funding from NERC.</span></em></p>Compound climate disasters are likely to become more common as the Earth warms.Vikki Thompson, Senior Research Associate in Geographical Sciences, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1671662021-09-22T17:55:07Z2021-09-22T17:55:07ZThe solution to homeless encampments is making them unnecessary, not illegal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420581/original/file-20210910-27-1n757d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=32%2C0%2C3600%2C2382&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A woman prepares to pack her belongings during an eviction process at a homeless encampment in Toronto last June.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The number of people visibly living in encampments has <a href="https://www.thefreepress.ca/news/rise-in-homeless-tent-cities-encampments-linked-to-health-confidence-advocate/">increased throughout the COVID-19 pandemic</a>. This has led to cities — including Toronto, Victoria and Vancouver — to <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-launches-program-to-help-encampment-residents-move-into-city-run-hotels-1.5349247">work with encampment residents to move them into shelters, hotel spaces and more rarely, stable housing</a>.</p>
<p>When those offers are declined, the next step can be the removal of residents’ belongings, and sometimes — such as recent events <a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/07/21/homeless-encampment-lamport-stadium-park/">in Toronto</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/arrests-made-as-halifax-protestors-stand-against-clearing-of-shelters-from-city-land-1.6144592">Halifax</a> — violent evictions by police. </p>
<p>As researchers who work to improve the health and well-being of people who experience of homelessness, we are deeply concerned about the long-term consequences of this approach. Not only is it morally questionable to punish the most vulnerable, it isn’t an effective strategy for addressing homelessness. <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-turning-homelessness-into-a-crime-is-cruel-and-costly-97290">Criminalizing poverty doesn’t work</a>.</p>
<h2>Encampment life is difficult</h2>
<p>The first step in addressing this problem is understanding the answer to this basic question: Why are some people in encampments insisting on staying where they are?</p>
<p>Encampment life is difficult. Year-round exposure to the elements and lack of running water or sanitation can make daily survival an enormous challenge. Yet, some do not feel safe in the shelter spaces they are being offered. </p>
<p>In Toronto, the number of violent incidents in shelters has more than doubled from <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/like-a-rat-cage-toronto-s-homeless-describe-packed-shelters-surge-in-violence-and-death-1.5471155">120 incidents in 2016 to 368 in January 2021</a>. And in April 2021, there were <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-shelters-in-outbreak-unhoused-people-one-death-covid-19-1.6003201">COVID-19 outbreaks across 20 shelters</a>.</p>
<p>Although the city of Toronto reports that <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/311/knowledgebase/kb/docs/articles/social-development,-finance-and-administration/homeless-encampments-covid-19.html">1,670 people have been referred to inside</a> spaces since April 2020, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/07/30/torontos-mayor-urged-homeless-camp-occupants-to-enter-the-shelter-system-saying-its-a-pathway-to-permanent-housing-for-the-majority-that-has-yet-to-happen.html">only nine per cent</a> of those people have been moved into stable housing. The rest are still in shelters or hotel rooms. With little hope of moving into stable housing, people may be skeptical of leaving encampments only to get stuck in the shelter system. </p>
<p>Other <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7955520/toronto-homeless-encampments-clearing-safety/">encampment residents may feel that their mental health and well-being depends on the support systems they’ve established in their encampments</a>. Being homeless comes with powerful stigma and social exclusion — but an encampment can be a place to belong.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Advocates and supporters link arms to protect a structure during an eviction process at a homeless encampment" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420582/original/file-20210910-26-lyxm8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420582/original/file-20210910-26-lyxm8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420582/original/file-20210910-26-lyxm8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420582/original/file-20210910-26-lyxm8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420582/original/file-20210910-26-lyxm8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420582/original/file-20210910-26-lyxm8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420582/original/file-20210910-26-lyxm8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Advocates and supporters link arms to protect a structure during an eviction process at a homeless encampment in Toronto last.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Destroying trust</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.make-the-shift.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/A-National-Protocol-for-Homeless-Encampments-in-Canada.pdf">Encampments are not long-term options</a>. People cannot live in public parks indefinitely, and no one is arguing for that as a solution. However, forcibly displacing people from encampments destroys trust with service providers and actually makes it harder to convince people to move into shelters or hotel spaces. </p>
<p>For Indigenous people living in encampments, forced evictions can be linked to intergenerational memories and trauma of <a href="https://twitter.com/ZoeDodd/status/1420079984643817472">residential schools, the ‘60s Scoop and other colonial practices</a>. Exacerbating trauma and breaching trust can push people further away from the very services we are trying to connect them to — including housing programs, mental health support and COVID-19 vaccination efforts.</p>
<p>The end-goal is stable housing. Encampments are a result of a <a href="https://www.make-the-shift.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/A-National-Protocol-for-Homeless-Encampments-in-Canada.pdf">national housing and affordability crisis</a>. As we push for a real solution — an increase in housing supply and related supports — the encampment evictions must stop. We need to make encampments unnecessary. </p>
<h2>Building trusting relationships</h2>
<p>We can make encampments unnecessary with a trauma-informed, person-centred approach that builds trusting relationships between service providers and clients. Not all individuals have the same needs, and we need to offer people a range of options: hotel spaces, rent supplements, case managers, peer support workers and other social and health supports.</p>
<p>When offering people spaces, we must recognize that people are part of existing communities and these connections are vital to their well-being. Allowing people to move in groups to the same locations can help people combat social isolation, stay housed and support their mental health. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman drinks from a plastic water bottle as she walks through a bunch of tents at a homeless encampment" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420583/original/file-20210910-25-qmisbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420583/original/file-20210910-25-qmisbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420583/original/file-20210910-25-qmisbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420583/original/file-20210910-25-qmisbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420583/original/file-20210910-25-qmisbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420583/original/file-20210910-25-qmisbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420583/original/file-20210910-25-qmisbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Being homeless comes with powerful stigma and social exclusion – but an encampment can be a place to belong.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some incredible work has already been done. In September of last year, the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/campaigns/speech-throne/2020/speech-from-the-throne.html">federal government announced a goal to end chronic homelessness</a>. During the pandemic, federal, provincial and municipal governments <a href="https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021MUNI0014-000291">mobilized resources, developed solutions and coordinated efforts in unprecedented ways</a> — <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-oct-12-2020-1.5757769/pandemic-is-creating-a-new-type-of-homelessness-says-outreach-worker-1.5757770">including in encampments</a> — and bolstered investments in affordable housing development. </p>
<p>Some cities, such as Victoria, have committed to full-scale <a href="https://pub-victoria.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=69943">transformation of the homeless-serving system</a>, rooted in a right to housing and human-rights approach.</p>
<p>Our hope is that the unprecedented efforts from governments and community groups are just the beginning of a more humane, consistent and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-it-is-possible-to-end-chronic-homelessness-if-we-act-now/">evidence-based approach</a> to addressing chronic homelessness in Canada. There is momentum now, and with it the newly elected federal government has an opportunity and responsibility to move people off the streets and into safe, permanent homes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167166/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jesse Jenkinson receives funding from Canadian Institutes of Health Research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Hwang receives research funding from Canadian Institutes of Health Research and St. Michael's Hospital Foundation. Stephen is also the director of MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health Toronto, and a physician at St. Michael's Hospital.</span></em></p>As we push for a real solution — an increase in housing supply and related supports — the encampment evictions must stop. We need to make encampments unnecessary.Jesse Jenkinson, Postdoctoral Fellow, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, University of TorontoStephen Hwang, Professor, Department of Medicine, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1677432021-09-15T15:22:32Z2021-09-15T15:22:32ZContrary to popular belief, Eastern Canada is more at risk of earthquakes than perceived<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421121/original/file-20210914-23-1cofej0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C21%2C3593%2C2381&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cities in Eastern Canada, like Montréal, are at risk of damage from earthquakes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/photos/montreal-skyline-city-town-406895/?download">(Life-of-Pix/Pixabay)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 175px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/contrary-to-popular-belief--eastern-canada-is-more-at-risk-of-earthquakes-than-perceived" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Most Canadians believe that the greatest national <a href="https://www.citynews1130.com/2021/01/02/bc-earthquake-period-big-one/">risk of a devastating earthquake lies in British Columbia</a>. </p>
<p>The whole Pacific northwest coast, with its rugged topography and <a href="https://www.earthquakeauthority.com/California-Earthquake-Risk/California-Earthquake-History-Timeline">history of the San Francisco and Los Angeles earthquakes farther south</a>, is what typically comes to mind when we talk about the “<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/where-the-pacific-northwest-rsquo-s-ldquo-big-one-rdquo-is-more-likely-to-strike/">big one</a>” that has yet to hit. We want to change that perception while there’s time.</p>
<p>A closer look at the complex factors at play, both under and on the Earth’s surface, shows that some of the worst risk is actually <a href="https://www.seismescanada.rncan.gc.ca/zones/eastcan-en.php">where Canadians are probably least expecting it</a>: in a zone running from the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence River that includes major cities like Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Montréal and Québec City.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421195/original/file-20210914-15-qtofdb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing earthquakes in or near Canada between 1627 and 2020." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421195/original/file-20210914-15-qtofdb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421195/original/file-20210914-15-qtofdb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421195/original/file-20210914-15-qtofdb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421195/original/file-20210914-15-qtofdb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421195/original/file-20210914-15-qtofdb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421195/original/file-20210914-15-qtofdb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421195/original/file-20210914-15-qtofdb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map showing earthquakes in or near Canada between 1627 and 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/historic-historique/caneqmap-en.php">(Natural Resources Canada)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Experienced preparedness</h2>
<p>It’s true that the same faults that put California and parts of the West Coast of the United States at risk also make B.C. a serious earthquake concern. The notorious “<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/ring-fire/">Pacific Ring of Fire</a>,” where <a href="https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/animation/plate_boundaries_three_types_described">massive tectonic plates are constantly threatening to reshape the landscape as they shift, collide and overlap</a>, is aptly named.</p>
<p>It’s safe to say coastal B.C. has <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-management/preparedbc/know-your-hazards/earthquakes-tsunamis/earthquakes">a culture of earthquake readiness</a>. People on the West Coast are much more aware and better prepared. They are familiar with emergency protocols, and many keep a survival kit handy in case a quick exit becomes necessary. Seismic monitoring is abundant, and far more buildings are designed or retrofitted to mitigate the potential for serious earthquake damage. </p>
<p>This is not the case in southern Ontario and southwestern Québec, even though the risk is significant as <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710000901">more than half of Canada’s population lives</a> in this vulnerable corridor. What is the source of this complacency?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420880/original/file-20210913-21-lsqb4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Sign reading TSUNAMI HAZARD ZONE IN CASE OF EARTHQUAKE GO TO HIGHER GROUND" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420880/original/file-20210913-21-lsqb4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420880/original/file-20210913-21-lsqb4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420880/original/file-20210913-21-lsqb4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420880/original/file-20210913-21-lsqb4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420880/original/file-20210913-21-lsqb4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420880/original/file-20210913-21-lsqb4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420880/original/file-20210913-21-lsqb4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Earthquake preparedness education in Vancouver.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Understanding risk</h2>
<p>It likely has to do with the type of risk. In Eastern Canada, the threat is not directly from the interplay between plates of the Earth, as it is in the west. </p>
<p>In Ontario and Québec, the risk is from the less sexy but still deadly intraplate activity — seismic activity that occurs in the middle of tectonic plates which are not directly associated with plate boundaries. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2020TC006509">Intraplate areas also have faults</a>. Some, dating as far back as the formation of the continents, can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EA001825">reactivated under certain stresses</a>, such as when pressure on the edges of plates thousands of kilometres away push on them, causing them to move. </p>
<p>Lines of weakness dating back millions of years can become hazardous once again when new stresses come into play.</p>
<p>When the last of the glaciers receded about 11,000 years ago, for example, their <a href="http://www.antarcticglaciers.org/glaciers-and-climate/sea-level-rise-2/recovering-from-an-ice-age/">massive weight left the Earth’s surface dented</a>. That’s a long time to us, but it’s a snap of the fingers in geological time. In places <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/1999GL011070">where the ground has not yet “popped” back into place, it is overdue to do just that</a>, potentially violently pushing people, buildings and infrastructure out of the way.</p>
<p><a href="https://earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/info-gen/faq-en.php#can_how_often">Earthquakes happen all the time in Canada</a>. There are about 4,000 every year, most of them too small or too remote to notice. But from time to time, <a href="https://www.seismescanada.rncan.gc.ca/pprs-pprp/pubs/GF-GI/GEOFACT_ValdesBois2010.pdf">there are much stronger quakes</a>. A disproportionate number of those have happened in Eastern Canada, especially in the Ottawa Valley and western St. Lawrence Valley, in seismic zones that include Ottawa, Montréal and Québec City, but also farther west, in the highly populated seismic zones of the lower Great Lakes.</p>
<p>We are not the first to suggest these hazards in Ontario and Québec need more attention, but our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EA001825">recent research confirms these risks are real and the threat is imminent</a>.</p>
<h2>Reading the landscape</h2>
<p>In Canada, there isn’t a very long <a href="https://earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/stndon/NEDB-BNDS/bulletin-en.php">record of instrument-recorded seismological activity</a>, especially in the eastern region, but we do have abundant physical evidence of significant earthquakes from the past, which still remains the best predictor of future events. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106070">bottoms of major lakes in Ontario and Québec</a>, for example, provide a significant and still visible record of sediment upheaval that could only have been caused by major earthquakes long before human settlement.</p>
<p>As scientists we feel bound not to panic anyone unduly. At the same time, we feel a duty to offer warnings where they are needed, and this is certainly one of those instances.</p>
<p>The risk in Eastern Canada has <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-magnitude-does-damage-begin-occur-earthquake?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products">less to do with magnitude</a>, which can be measured on the familiar <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/earthquake-hazards/science/earthquake-magnitude-energy-release-and-shaking-intensity?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects">Richter scale</a>, and more with vulnerability. A lower magnitude quake that strikes in a vulnerable area, such as a densely populated city like Montréal, can still be catastrophic, especially if it happens at the wrong time of day, such as rush hour or in the middle of the night.</p>
<p>Predicting the timing of earthquakes is still beyond the reach of science, and even if we knew precisely when and where a quake was coming, there would still be nothing we can do to stop it. </p>
<p>What we can do is take action to mitigate harm from seismic events through <a href="https://www.cdhowe.org/public-policy-research/fault-lines-earthquakes-insurance-and-systemic-financial-risk">infrastructure design</a>, pinpointing more specific areas of heightened risk through research and making sure that resources, including <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w29144">insurance</a>, are available for recovery.</p>
<p>In Canada, most of the anticipation of big earthquakes focuses on the Pacific coast. We’d like everyone to add the Great Lakes and the western St. Lawrence region to that mental file — and to be ready.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167743/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeremy Rimando's postdoctoral fellowship at McMaster University was funded in part by the Keith MacDonald structural geology advancement fund</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Lewis Peace receives funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) through Discovery Grant RGPIN-2021-04011.</span></em></p>Some of the worst risks of earthquakes are in a zone running from the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence River that includes major cities like Toronto, Ottawa and Québec City.Jeremy Rimando, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Structural Geology and Tectonics, McMaster UniversityAlexander Lewis Peace, Assistant Professor (Structural Geology), McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1662452021-09-02T16:17:02Z2021-09-02T16:17:02ZAs people continue working from home, the monthly transit pass needs to change to remain worth it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416622/original/file-20210817-17-9uhcms.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=307%2C150%2C2861%2C1961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People are shoulder to shoulder inside a city bus while commuting at rush hour during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Public transit <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/coronavirus-covid19-public-transit-1.5509927">use dropped sharply when the pandemic hit</a> as many people stayed home. And over a year and a half later, as fall approaches, vaccination rates increase and “normalcy” feels within reach, it is important to think about how commuting has changed and how we will need to adapt the way we plan for transit. </p>
<p>As people moved to cars and non-motorized transport over fear of infection through what some have called “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/opinion-public-transit-covid-19-pandemic-1.5556374">forced togetherness</a>,” transit agencies are worried it may take years to regain lost users — up to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/pandemic-public-transit-montreal-loss-1.5666607">10 years in Montréal’s case</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Graph illustrates decline in public transit and travel as pandemic began" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417260/original/file-20210820-25-1p8iqf8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417260/original/file-20210820-25-1p8iqf8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417260/original/file-20210820-25-1p8iqf8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417260/original/file-20210820-25-1p8iqf8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417260/original/file-20210820-25-1p8iqf8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417260/original/file-20210820-25-1p8iqf8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417260/original/file-20210820-25-1p8iqf8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sharp drops in public transit and all other travel were experienced early on in the pandemic. Transit has since gained back some, but not all of its ridership. Note: The baseline is the median value across Canada, for the corresponding day of the week, during the 5-week period Jan. 3 – Feb. 6, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is because people changed their habits, and changing habits takes time: research suggests <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/328407">it can range from 60 to 250 days</a>. The pandemic has been long enough for habits to have changed; avoiding public transit, using a car and working from home are likely to stick. </p>
<p>With fewer riders funding the system, agencies and governments will need to rethink public transit promotion, funding, operation and expansion. </p>
<p>As researchers who look at <a href="https://cirano.qc.ca/fr/sommaires/2019RP-07">telecommuting and travel</a>, <a href="https://publications.polymtl.ca/5266/">travel disparities</a> and the <a href="https://cirano.qc.ca/fr/sommaires/2019RP-06">economics of transit project funding</a>, the past year has challenged much of our understanding of the way these issues will interact in the future.</p>
<h2>Getting essential workers where they need to be</h2>
<p>Throughout the pandemic, public transit played an important role in getting essential workers where they needed to be. By the end of 2020, 34 per cent of Americans were <a href="https://moovit.com/press-releases/2020-global-public-transport-report/">using public transit just as much as they did pre-pandemic</a>. </p>
<p>Those still using transit were likely <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-07/in-a-pandemic-we-re-all-transit-dependent">“transit dependent” riders</a>, or individuals with no other available alternatives to access the workplace — like grocery store clerks with jobs deemed essential.</p>
<p>Transit operators had to adapt to maintain services. In England, some operators actually increased service to prevent packed trains and enable social distancing, leading to additional expenses while <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51736185">receiving less revenue</a>. Other operators, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-layoffs-transit-covid-19-1.5541108">like in Winnipeg</a> and <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/12/09/ttc-plans-to-continue-at-reduced-pandemic-service-levels-in-2021.html">Toronto</a>, had to reduce service given reduced revenues. </p>
<p>In March 2020, <a href="https://www.stm.info/fr/presse/communiques/2020/covid-19---la-stm-rappelle-de-ne-pas-utiliser-le-transport-en-commun-si-vous-pensez-etre-atteint-par-le-virus">Montréal operators asked users travelling for COVID-19 tests to not use public transit</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Passengers wear face masks on a Halifax Transit ferry. Ferry is seen with a dozen passengers on the top deck, Halifax harbour peaks through the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416638/original/file-20210817-15-rsh6dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416638/original/file-20210817-15-rsh6dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416638/original/file-20210817-15-rsh6dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416638/original/file-20210817-15-rsh6dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416638/original/file-20210817-15-rsh6dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416638/original/file-20210817-15-rsh6dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416638/original/file-20210817-15-rsh6dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Passengers wear face masks on a Halifax Transit ferry as it arrives in Dartmouth, N.S. in July, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A new world with increased remote work</h2>
<p>One objective of public transit has always been to get people to work. For those who can’t work from home, the situation remains the same, but for the hundreds of thousands who can, getting the economics of transit fares right will be crucial. </p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1803588/table-discussion-evolution-transport-commun-avenir-outaouais-mobilite-quebec">virtual conference of Québec transit operators</a> raised the question over reconciling public transit with working from home.</p>
<p>Monthly transit passes having been the tool to entice users to stick with transit for decades. But the “new” weekly commute — now expected by <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2021001/article/00012-eng.htm">Statistics Canada</a> and <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/2-in-3-remote-it-workers-in-canada-will-quit-rather-than-return-to-the-office-full-time-kovasys-survey-finds-896942142.html">some recruitment firms</a> to range between two and five days — may make a monthly transit pass hardly seem worth it. Just how much remote work will stick remains to be seen, but <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2021001/article/00012-eng.htm">Statistics Canada</a> suggests 41 per cent would prefer spending half of their work week at home. </p>
<p>One way to weigh this decision would be to assess at what point a pass is more economical than single fares. By dividing the cost of a monthly transit pass by the single fare or bundled rebate, we can assess how many trips are needed before riders actually save money.</p>
<p>Depending on the city, it is currently profitable to own a pass for as little as 15 workdays in Montréal (one round trip per day), or as many as 26 in Toronto. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Table illustrating recovery cost ratio of standard adult monthly passes for selected agencies" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417285/original/file-20210821-19-2owx6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417285/original/file-20210821-19-2owx6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417285/original/file-20210821-19-2owx6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417285/original/file-20210821-19-2owx6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417285/original/file-20210821-19-2owx6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417285/original/file-20210821-19-2owx6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417285/original/file-20210821-19-2owx6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Recovery cost ratio of standard adult monthly passes for selected agencies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Société de transport de Montréal (STM), Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), Calgary Transit, Vancouver Translink)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to Statistics Canada’s estimates, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2021001/article/00012-eng.htm">transit agencies may need to cater to constant commuters, as well as commuters with 12 in-office days a month</a> (three per week) and eight in-office days a month (two per week). By this account, only workers with abundant use of transit for other activities will be enticed to continue purchasing transit passes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People sit on a Montreal metro wearing face masks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416796/original/file-20210818-15-1ctt7ia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416796/original/file-20210818-15-1ctt7ia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416796/original/file-20210818-15-1ctt7ia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416796/original/file-20210818-15-1ctt7ia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416796/original/file-20210818-15-1ctt7ia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416796/original/file-20210818-15-1ctt7ia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416796/original/file-20210818-15-1ctt7ia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many transit users commute wearing face masks on a metro in Montréal in July 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What to do, or at least to consider</h2>
<p>Riders will need to recalculate the value of purchasing monthly passes and many may drop their use. Transit agencies need to consider adjusting fares to cater to commuters and become imaginative as to what will work for a variety of work weeks. </p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.transport-network.co.uk/New-seasons-to-leave-part-time-workers-worse-off/17258">Britain</a>, a flexible tap-in tap-out system and automatic capping of fares may offer better deals for frequent users. An increasing discount as transit passes are used more frequently could reward frequent users and enable lower off peak fares. In the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/remote-work-pushes-transit-agencies-to-rethink-monthly-rail-passes-11610978401">United States</a>, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority started selling <a href="https://www.septa.org/media/releases/2020/10-15-20.html">three-day transit passes</a>, while New Jersey Transit announced a pilot program which will include a <a href="https://www.njtransit.com/press-releases/nj-transit-launches-njt-rewards-program">rewards program sponsored by local businesses</a>.</p>
<p>The challenges to transit in coming years will be multiple: regaining riders, adapting fares, competing with and complementing other modes. The impact of remote work on downtown parking prices is another unknown. If property owners reduce parking fees, this could make transit even less attractive. </p>
<p>Some transit agencies now describe themselves as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-16/transit-needs-to-compete-for-post-covid-commuters">mobility managers</a>, focusing not on getting people to use transit but rather on how to avoid driving. The potential for additional government funding given growing climate change wariness, may motivate other agencies to follow suit. </p>
<p>Perhaps the only good coming out of this pandemic is to have made the essentialness of transit more visible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166245/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ugo Lachapelle received funding from the City of Montreal and the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) on a project relevant to this article. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Georges A. Tanguay does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Increasing even part-time remote work disrupts public transit revenue. Agencies need to adapt fare structures and business models to meet the changing work market.Ugo Lachapelle, Professeur au département d'études urbaines et touristiques, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Georges A. Tanguay, Professor, Department of Urban Studies and Tourism, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1588612021-05-24T13:30:55Z2021-05-24T13:30:55ZPolicing and evicting people living in encampments will not solve homelessness in Canada<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399855/original/file-20210510-18-1mpmylc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C5%2C3413%2C2551&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Police clear a homeless camp in Montréal's east end May 3, 2021. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/homelessness-101/how-many-people-are-homeless-canada">Research conservatively estimates that 35,000 Canadians</a> experience homelessness on any given night, with an average of one person sleeping outdoors for every five individuals staying in a shelter. </p>
<p>As those numbers continue to increase during the pandemic, there is a corresponding increase in <a href="https://www.make-the-shift.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/A-National-Protocol-for-Homeless-Encampments-in-Canada.pdf">policing of encampments at the municipal level</a>. In the past month alone, there has been media coverage around <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-rv-campers-ordered-off-streets-1.6031878">ticketing to clear RV camps in Vancouver</a> and the use of police officers to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/hochelaga-homeless-encampment-1.6011462">enforce camp evictions in both Montréal</a> and <a href="https://www.cp24.com/news/clearing-of-homeless-encampment-in-liberty-village-halted-after-standoff-with-community-1.5434741">Toronto</a>.</p>
<p>As an occupational therapist with front-line experience working on a community mental health team in Toronto, I have witnessed peoples’ daily battles with discrimination, surveillance and policing. And my experiences have taught me that compassion in Canada often depends on who you are or how you are perceived. </p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/99s08">Ontario Safe Streets Act</a> is meant to keep citizens safe from “aggressive solicitation,” but in practice, <a href="https://theconversation.com/ontarios-safe-streets-act-will-cost-lives-amid-the-coronavirus-pandemic-135665">enforcement of this act targets</a> those who are visibly poor.</p>
<p>A woman I worked with was ticketed several times under this act. She was trying to stop engaging in sex work and was panhandling, thinking it could be a safer way to make money. She told me: “Police are here to keep people like you safe, not people like me.”</p>
<p>This is the reality for many Canadians experiencing poverty But, aren’t we all citizens, deserving of safety and protection?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People around homeless camp, garbage bags in the front and portable toilets in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399853/original/file-20210510-5613-s4fg0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399853/original/file-20210510-5613-s4fg0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399853/original/file-20210510-5613-s4fg0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399853/original/file-20210510-5613-s4fg0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399853/original/file-20210510-5613-s4fg0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399853/original/file-20210510-5613-s4fg0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399853/original/file-20210510-5613-s4fg0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People wait for police to arrive to clear a homeless camp in the east end of Montréal on May 3.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Breaking the law and various kinds of enforcement</h2>
<p>Joe Hermer, a sociologist at the University of Toronto, has spent his career studying the survival strategies and policing of vulnerable people. He is now leading a project called <a href="http://policinghomelessness.ca/"><em>COVID-19 Policing and Homelessness Initiative</em></a> to study how municipal bylaws, such as anti-loitering and anti-camping laws, work together to criminalize being homeless.</p>
<p>“A homeless person simply could not exist in public space without breaking one of these laws,” says Hermer. “Individual offences may seem harmless, but if you view how they are actively enforced, it actually ends up being like the old vagrancy laws.”</p>
<p>Historically, <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/blog/mapping-vagrancy-type-offences-municipal-laws">vagrancy laws made it a crime</a> to be jobless or homeless. The laws were written in vague terms that allowed the state to regulate people based on their income level, sexual orientation and race. To this day, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/homelessness/reports-shelter-2016.html">racialized communities are overrepresented</a> among people experiencing homelessness in Canada due in part to compounding experiences of stigma and discrimination.</p>
<p>Preliminary findings from Hermer’s study show that 75 per cent of Canadians live in a jurisdiction with laws that he describes as “neo-vagrancy” laws. And these issues are not limited to large cities.</p>
<p>“It’s civil society enforcement, too, because (police are) responding to complaints,” says Patti Fairfield, executive director of Ne-Chee Friendship Centre in Kenora, Ont.</p>
<p>Fairfield says the people of Kenora will “open their wallets and give” to people in need, but there is still a pervasive not-in-my-backyard philosophy that drives people to complain about things such as seeing men from the local emergency shelter playing street hockey.</p>
<p>In Toronto, the city’s new <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/news/city-of-toronto-supporting-people-living-in-encampments-with-safe-supportive-indoor-space/">Pathway Inside program</a> has been <a href="https://nowtoronto.com/news/housing-activists-toronto-shelter-hotel-program-for-encampment-residents-isnt-a-solution">criticized for keeping shelter hotel rooms empty for people living in four of the largest and most visible encampments</a>, while people who want to be indoors are left waiting. People in the parks say <a href="https://nowtoronto.com/news/toronto-mobilizes-parks-ambassadors-to-clear-encampments">the use of trespass notices</a> and bylaw enforcement leaves them feeling vulnerable and threatened.</p>
<h2>Keeping rooms empty</h2>
<p>Ivan Drury, a political organizer in British Columbia and a member of the Red Braid Alliance for Decolonial Socialism, says the same strategy of keeping rooms empty exclusively for encampment residents is a longstanding practice of the B.C. government.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Policing people out of (encampments) into a shelter is not about taking people off the street, because most people are not in camps. Most people are scattered into terrible congregate shelters, which in our moment of the pandemic are more unsafe than being outside.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Social scientist Eric Weismann, who has lived experience of homelessness, says that people underestimate <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/sites/default/files/cenfdthy.pdf">the mental-health impacts of being homeless</a>. He describes the cruelty of the promise of support and housing that simply doesn’t exist or exists with a long waitlist, as well as the inability to feel safe due to the constant policing.</p>
<p>“You’re in survival, anxiety mode all the time,” he said. “It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, making bad choices. It’s not like you can make good choices. Good choices (like being housed) are not there.”</p>
<p>Drawing from his own experiences couch surfing and living on the street, Weismann believes that “if we really want people to transcend these horrible encampment experiences, we need to support them, and organize them, and give people the safety and security to address their needs; to be able to sit back and not worry.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Drone shot of tent camp in park in Vancouver's Strathcona Park. Tents amid baseball field" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399856/original/file-20210510-18-15mahpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399856/original/file-20210510-18-15mahpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399856/original/file-20210510-18-15mahpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399856/original/file-20210510-18-15mahpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399856/original/file-20210510-18-15mahpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399856/original/file-20210510-18-15mahpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399856/original/file-20210510-18-15mahpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tents and other structures are seen in an aerial view of a homeless encampment at Strathcona Park in Vancouver, B.C. as city workers erect fencing after a 10 a.m. deadline for people to vacate the park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Drury expresses concern that too much organizing in encampments could lead to more regulation and policing of the people staying in them. Advocating for better support in the encampments should not be about making encampments an “acceptable part of Canada’s housing continuum” but rather about making the camps as humane as possible until permanent housing options are in place.</p>
<p>Both Drury and Weismann agree that moving forward, a key component in any planning around encampments is the voice of people with lived experience. It is clear the go-to response of policing is not working.</p>
<p>“Sweeping campgrounds is worse than somebody needing to sleep in one,” says Weismann. “I don’t want people to have to stay in camps for very long, but when people do need to stay in camps, I want the camps they’re staying in to be supportive. The primary concern is for the people living in these places. Not the city. Not the neighbours.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158861/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amie Tsang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A key component in any planning around encampments is the voice of people with lived experience. It is clear the go-to response of policing is not working.Amie Tsang, Dalla Lana Fellow, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.