Canada gymnasts break silence on abuses and sport's 'toxic culture'

France24 – AFP, 

Amelia Cline performs on the balance beam at a national competition in Winnipeg,
Canada, in 2002 Handout Amelia Cline/AFP

Montreal (AFP) – They excelled in the athletic spotlight, but their feats on the beam and bars masked a darker reality: Canadian gymnasts are taking legal action to denounce a "toxic" culture of physical, sexual and psychological abuse by the sport's top brass. 

Having tolerated the harm for decades, victims around the world have come forward in the wake of a US gymnastics scandal that broke in 2015 before spreading abroad, including to Britain where athletes launched a similar legal action last year. 

As a child gymnast in Vancouver, Amelia Cline dreamed of Olympic glory. In her teens, the elite athlete devoted thirty hours a week to training. 

"Unfortunately the early years of my gymnastics days, as positive as they were, they've been somewhat wiped out by those last three years that were so brutal," the former gymnast, now 32, told AFP. 

She and other athletes on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Gymnastics Canada and several provincial federations for tolerating a climate of abuse and mistreatment for decades. 

"The lawsuit is essentially designed to hopefully hold these institutions accountable for systemic psychological, emotional, physical and sexual violence," she said. 

At the end of March, a group of more than 70 present and former gymnasts published an open letter to Sports Canada denouncing a "toxic culture and abusive practices that persist within Canadian gymnastics." 

The number of signatories has since grown to more than 400, with the group calling for an independent investigation to shed light on the sport's problems. 

The "general public really doesn't understand the magnitude of the abuses that are occurring at the gyms," said Kim Shore, a former gymnast and spokeswoman for Gymnast For Change Canada, who says her daughter has also suffered mistreatment in the sport. 

Micheline Calmy-Rey, president of the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation created in 2019 in response to the scandal said "it seems logical to us that an independent investigation be conducted." 

Gymnastics Canada has not yet responded to a request for comment about the lawsuit by AFP. 

'Grilled about my weight'

In a blog post, Cline says that at 14, she weighed 85 pounds (38.5 kg) and was "grilled about my weight on a weekly basis." 

Photo courtesy of Amelia Cline shows her performing a 2002-2003 balance beam move
during training in Coquitlam, Canada Handout Amelia Cline/AFP

Some 20 years after giving up gymnastics, she says she still suffers from the "long-term effects" of mistreatment that left her with chronic pain and made it hard for her to maintain healthy eating habits. 

Like many of her peers, she laments a "culture of fear and silence" in gymnastics clubs across the country. "You don't question what (the coaches) are doing. They're the experts, and they're the ones who are going to take you to the Olympics," she explained. 

"I was always afraid of my coaches," another gymnast told AFP on condition of anonymity. "I loved gymnastics. I loved travelling. I loved being with the other girls, but I was so afraid of them." 

She described a powerful loneliness felt by child gymnasts, whose parents were often banned from practices. Very young athletes were even told never to speak about their training. 

"Many times the kids are told what happens in the gym stays in the gym," recalled Shore. 

She says gymnastics has been corrupted by a "culture of control and dominance" over athletes. 

"The provincial bodies are made up of individuals who are conflicted," she said, explaining that "in some provinces, the chair of the board is also the head coach of a gymnastics club." 

Now that a claim has been filed and the problems have been exposed, Cline and her lawyers believe that the number of plaintiffs will increase "significantly." 

Cline just wishes her nightmare will never be experienced by other young gymnasts. 

"There's really no other mechanism within Canada to actually hold institutions like this accountable except through the legal system," she said.

New 'threat' against former Saudi spy in Canada: media

Yahoo – AFP, Brendan Smialowski, August 8, 2020

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is seen in Osaka,
Japan in June 2019

A former senior Saudi intelligence official who has accused Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of trying to have him assassinated in 2018 has been placed under heightened security after a new threat on his life, a Canadian newspaper reported.

The Globe and Mail said Canadian security services had been informed of a new attempted attack on Saad Aljabri, who lives at an undisclosed location in the Toronto region.

Aljabri served as a counterespionage chief under a rival prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, who was ousted in 2017 by Prince Mohammed.

The newspaper said its source -- someone "with knowledge of the situation" -- would provide no further details on the more recent threat by Saudi agents.

Aljabri is now under protection by "heavily armed" officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as private guards, the news report said.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday with a court in Washington, Aljabri accused Prince Mohammed of having sent a hit squad to Canada to kill and dismember him in 2018, the same fate that two weeks earlier befell dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.

Aljabri's suit said he was wanted dead because he had intimate knowledge of Prince Mohammed's activities that could sour the close relationship being fostered with the Trump administration in Washington.

Asked to comment on the Globe report, Mary-Liz Power, spokeswoman for Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair, directed a reporter to an earlier comment by Blair about the 2018 attempt.

"While we cannot comment on specific allegations currently before the courts," he said then, "we are aware of incidents in which foreign actors have attempted to monitor, intimidate or threaten Canadians and those living in Canada.

"It is completely unacceptable and we will never tolerate foreign actors threatening Canada's national security or the safety of our citizens and residents."

Aljabri was already abroad in June 2017 when Prince Mohammed seized power, removing Prince Nayef as crown prince and placing him under house arrest.

After his children in Riyadh were hit with travel restrictions, Aljabri refused entreaties to return, fearing for his life, and moved to Canada, where a son lives.

In March his children in Saudi Arabia were taken away and haven't been heard from.

The suit against Prince Mohammed and several others was filed as a claim of attempted extrajudicial killing under the Torture Victim Protection Act. Aljabri asked the court for unspecified damages.

Canada bans assault weapons in wake of worst-ever mass shooting

Yahoo – AFP, May 1, 2020

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ordered a sweeping ban on many
assault weapons after a deadly mass shooting (AFP Photo/Dave Chan)

Ottawa (AFP) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced an immediate ban on military-grade assault weapons, responding to a mass shooting and arson spree that left 22 people dead earlier this month.

"These weapons were designed for one purpose, and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time," Trudeau told a news briefing.

He said his government has approved a decree banning the sale, purchase, use, transport and import of 1,500 models of military-grade assault weapons and variants of them.

"There is no use, and no place for such weapons in Canada," Trudeau said.

The killing spree, the worst in Canadian history, began on the night of April 18 in Nova Scotia and led to a 13-hour manhunt for the shooter, who was eventually shot dead by police.

Authorities have said the assailant -- identified as 51-year-old denturist Gabriel Wortman -- was wearing a police uniform, driving a mock police car, and had several guns with him including at least one assault-style weapon.

Trudeau said there will be a two-year amnesty for people who currently own assault-style weapons to protect them from liability, and parliament will eventually pass legislation to compensate them for turning in their guns.

"For many families, including indigenous people, firearms are part of traditions passed down through generations, and the vast majority of gun owners use them safely, responsibly, and in accordance with the law, whether it be for work, sports shooting for collecting or for hunting," Trudeau said.

"But you don't need an AR-15 to bring down a deer," he added.

Mass shootings are less common in Canada than in the US "but the heartbreaking truth is, they're happening more often than they once did," the prime minister said.

He mentioned for instance a shooting at a mosque in Quebec City in 2017 that left six dead and 19 wounded.

Trudeau made banning assault weapons part of his campaign for elections that brought him to power in 2015. He repeated it in the campaign for the October 2019 elections in which he won another term.

Nearly four of five Canadians back such a ban, according to an Angus Reid poll released Friday.

Leaked report calls indigenous women's deaths a 'Canadian genocide'

Yahoo – AFP, May 31, 2019

Indigenous leaders participate in a protest against the expansion of Texas-based
Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline project in Burnaby, British Columbia
on March 10, 2018 (AFP Photo/Jason Redmond)

Ottawa (AFP) - A public inquiry report leaked to Canada's public broadcaster Friday called the disappearances and slayings of possibly thousands of indigenous women over recent decades a "Canadian genocide."

The report concluded that through "state actions and inactions rooted in colonialism and colonial ideologies" indigenous women and girls faced a disproportionately high level of violence.

"We do know that thousands of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual) have been lost to the Canadian genocide to date," said the report, titled "Reclaiming Power and Place."

"The fact that First Nations, Inuit and Metis Peoples are still here and that the population is growing should not discount the charge of genocide."

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls's 1,200-page final report is set for public release Monday at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -- who has made reconciliation with Canada's 1.6 million indigenous peoples a government priority -- and families of the victims.

CBC said it contains more than 230 recommendations.

The inquiry was the culmination of years of lobbying by native leaders, activists and victims' families seeking to know why possibly thousands of indigenous women were murdered or have gone missing over the past three decades.

Indigenous women represent four percent of Canada's population but accounted for up to 16-24 percent of homicide victims during the period, said the report's authors.

According to official estimates, almost 1,200 women and girls went missing or were killed between 1980 and 2012.

But inquiry commissioners have said that figure is probably too low.

The commissioners held 24 hearings across Canada over the past 2.5 years and heard from more than 2,000 witnesses, including family members of missing or murdered women, survivors of violence, experts and officials.

Canada's Ontario province says will sue opioid makers

Yahoo – AFP, May 27, 2019

A 500ml bottle of liquid oxycodone, an opioid pain relief medication, and a dose
of 5ml of the solution; the Canadian province of Ontario has joined a suit against
opioid makers and distributors (AFP Photo/EVA HAMBACH)

Ottawa (AFP) - Canada's most populous province of Ontario on Monday announced plans to sue opioid makers to recover health care costs related to the deadly addiction epidemic.

Ontario's attorney general, Caroline Mulroney, said the province will join a lawsuit launched last year by British Columbia against more than 40 opioid manufacturers and wholesalers.

"The opioid crisis has cost the people of Ontario enormously, both in terms of lives lost and its impact on health care's front lines," Mulroney said.

She unveiled legislation to set up the legal action "to battle the ongoing opioid crisis and hold manufacturers and wholesalers accountable for their roles in it."

More than 10,000 Canadians have died of opioid-related overdoses since 2016, according to government figures. Combatting the crisis is estimated to have cost Ottawa nearly Can$400 million (US$300 million).

Historically, opioid overdose deaths -- mainly from the powerful painkiller fentanyl -- were concentrated among drug addicts.

But many victims became addicted to prescribed painkillers before turning to street drugs and others were experimenting with recreational drugs for the first time.

Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario have been the hardest hit provinces but the epidemic has affected every part of the country.

The British Columbia suit named opioid manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors as defendants -- including Purdue, whose popular OxyContin drug has been blamed for triggering the crisis.

"These opioid manufacturers and wholesalers failed to warn doctors and the public of the dangers of opioids and marketed them as safer and less addictive than other medications when they were not," Ontario alleged in a statement.

Mulroney said Ontario intends to invest any award from the suit in mental health and addiction services.

Neither British Columbia nor Ontario have yet said how much they would be seeking in damages.

Church in Canada opens probe of child sexual abuse by clergy

Yahoo – AFP, March 27, 2019

A former Quebec superior court judge will assess "the number and the nature" of
allegations of sexual abuse of children against clergy members going back to 1950
(AFP Photo/ANNE LEVASSEUR)

Montreal (AFP) - The Catholic Church in Quebec has commissioned a former judge to investigate possible sexual abuse of children by clergy in the Canadian province over seven decades, the archdiocese of Montreal said Wednesday.

Former Quebec superior court judge Anne-Marie Trajan will assess "the number and the nature" of such allegations against clergy members going back to 1950, the archdiocese said in a statement.

It said the investigation was "inspired" by similar probes of clergy sexual abuse elsewhere in the world, which have uncovered hundreds of previously unacknowledged cases.

"We all wish to prioritize transparency and to get to the bottom of things in the search for truth," Montreal Archbishop Christian Lepine said.

Trajan has been assured access to all pertinent church archives and the results of the investigation will be published.

The investigation will focus solely on "individuals working in diocesan parishes, services and institutions," the archdiocese said.

Trajan is expected to begin in September and take 18 months to two years to complete the probe.

"The report to be made public will present an aggregate statistical overview of sexual abuse allegations involving minors that occurred in the five dioceses combined, while respecting the requirements under Quebec's privacy laws."

The clergy pedophile scandal has reached to the very top of the church, with disgraced Australian Cardinal George Pell recently sentenced to six years in prison for the sexual abuse of two choirboys.

Massive lawsuit says Sackler family broke laws to profit from opioids

The Guardian, Joanna Walters in New York, Fri 22 Mar 2019

Group of more than 500 cities, counties and tribes accuses family of helping to create ‘worst drug crisis’ in US history

Photographer Nan Goldin leads a protest out of the Guggenheim Museum in
Manhattan, New York, against its funding by the Sackler family, the owners of
Oxycontin manufacturer Purdue. Photograph: Yana Paskova/The Guardian

A group made up of more than 500 cities, counties and Native American tribes across the United States has filed a massive lawsuit accusing members of the Sacklerfamily, who own the maker of the opioid painkiller OxyContin, of helping to create “the worst drug crisis in American history”.

The lawsuit represents communities in 26 states and eight tribes and accuses Sackler family members of knowingly breaking laws in order to enrich themselves to the tune of billions of dollars, while hundreds of thousands of Americans died.

“Eight people in a single family made the choices that caused much of the opioid epidemic,” the lawsuit, filed earlier this week in federal court in the southern district of New York, states.

The same eight members of the family had recently been added to a small number of lawsuits that are underway against a string of opioid-makers, including the Connecticut-based pharmaceutical company the Sacklers wholly own, Purdue Pharma, but they have not been sued as individuals on anything like this scale before.

“This nation is facing an unprecedented opioid addiction epidemic that was initiated and perpetuated by the Sackler defendants for their own financial gain, to the detriment of each of the plaintiffs and their residents. The ‘Sackler defendants’ include Richard Sackler, Beverly Sackler, David Sackler, Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, Jonathan Sackler, Kathe Sackler, Mortimer DA Sackler, and Theresa Sackler,” this week’s lawsuit states.

The eight are the most high-profile members of a family which has long been known for prolific philanthropy to famous arts and education institutions, including the Metropolitan and Guggenheim museums in New York, which have faced fierce recent protests against the taking of Sackler money. Other institutions include Columbia, Yale, MIT, Tufts and other US universities, and, in the UK, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Serpentine Gallery, Glasgow University and other recipients.

Earlier this week Britain’s National Portrait Gallery decided not to take up the offer of a £1m Sackler family grant and, in the US, Columbia University and the University of Washington, which have both received Sackler donations in the past, have announced they are not now accepting gifts from the family.

Court documents accuse the eight family members of purposely playing down the dangers of the prescription painkiller OxyContin, which is more potent than heroin or morphine. They are accused of deceiving doctors and patients and directing sales and marketing techniques that drove huge over-prescribing and ever stronger doses for many patients who should never have been prescribed the pills in the first place.

“The defendants’ actions caused and continue to cause the public health epidemic…caused deaths, serious injuries, and a severe disruption to public peace, order and safety, it is ongoing and it is producing permanent and long-lasting damage,” the court documents allege.

Many of the allegations have already been made public in a lawsuit naming the same eight family members in Massachusetts, and are contained in court documents in the multi-district litigation taking place in a federal court in Cleveland, Ohio, which has been brought against Purdue and other companies, though no members of the Sackler family individually, by more than 1,200 cities and counties.

The family and Purdue deny wrongdoing.

“This complaint is part of a continuing effort by contingency-fee counsel to single out Purdue, blame it for the entire opioid crisis in the United States, and try the case in the court of public opinion rather than the justice system,’’ Robert Josephson, a Purdue spokesman, said in an emailed statement to the Bloomberg news agency.

“These baseless allegations place blame where it does not belong for a complex public health crisis, and we deny them,’’ the Mortimer and Raymond Sackler families said in a statement. They also noted OxyContin sales “represented a tiny portion of the opioid market”.

The lawsuit filed in New York on 18 March is extraordinary because it focuses almost entirely on the individual Sacklers.

Richard and Jonathan Sackler are sons of the late Raymond Sackler, one of the founding brothers of Purdue. Beverly is Raymond’s widow and David his grandson.

Ilene, Kathe and Mortimer David Alfons are children of the late Mortimer Sackler, another of the founding brothers of Purdue, and Theresa is his widow.

The only other defendants named in the lawsuit are the family trust connected to Raymond Sackler’s branch of the family and Rhodes Pharmaceuticals, a company owned by the Sacklers that produces generic opioid painkillers.

Other cases focus mostly on Purdue and other well known pharmaceutical giants involved in opioid production, such as Johnson & Johnson and Allergan.

The lawsuit in the southern district of New York has been brought by city and county authorities across America, including, for example, 42 counties and cities in Alabama, 31 counties in California, 21 cities and counties in Florida, 28 counties in Illinois, 51 cities and counties in Kentucky, more than 100 towns and cities in Massachusetts and dozens of cities and counties in other states including Wisconsin, Virginia, Utah, Tennessee, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Indiana and Michigan.

Among the eight Native American tribes suing the Sacklers are parts of the Cherokee, the Chippewa and the Sioux, the Oneida Nation and the Blackfeet.

Drug overdoses now kill more than 72,000 people in the US a year, according to government figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 49,000 of those are caused by opioids.

Purdue’s business has attracted a wave of lawsuits alleging deception about the safety of OxyContin, which the company had admitted misbranding in a 2007 criminal case.

Purdue has not ruled out filing for bankruptcy, which would cause a hiatus in the civil cases brought against it, but also indicates it could be short of the kind of funds that would be needed for a massive settlement or a fine at trial in the cases against it, to compensate communities for the cost of the crisis.

But a victory in the latest lawsuit against the Sacklers would give the plaintiffs access to the Sacklers’ personal fortune.

Related Articles:

Canadian province sues opioid makers, distributors

Oxycodone overdoses in the Netherlands soar as prescriptions rise

Painkiller overdose deaths up 5x among US women

Dutch Seroxat teen users to sue drug maker for side effects

Science & Spiritually Conference 2018, BC – Canada (4), June 16-17, 2018 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) (Text version “Predictions”)

".... Let me tell you what else is in the field. Two things: These are going to be things that exist now in the field and they are upcoming potentials. The reason I give you these potentials is so if they happen, just like the handshake, you might believe a little more in this process.

There will come a time when Big Pharma will fall over because of a growing higher consciousness of the public. [Applause in the audience] There is a consciousness growing here that begins to have a new respect for each other, so that abuse of women will no longer be tolerated. Things that never happened before will begin happening, like bishops and cardinals resigning. [All 34 bishops in the Catholic Church resigned May 2018 after the new wild card pope called them on their reaction to child abuse for years by their colleagues.] All the things my partner brought today [in the seminar] are actually happening now. Why should some of these drug companies fail? Because there will be a strong reaction from your general public when they realize there are companies that have policies that would keep a Human sick or let him die for money. [Applause in the audience] It would be unconscionable, and the potential grows stronger daily that it's going to happen. The trigger? It's coming. When it does, that industry will be in trouble. Not all pharma is this way, dear ones - understand this - but the ones who are will fall. ..."

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Dallas Texas, Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

Sexual abuse of minors pervades Canadian youth sports: CBC

Yahoo – AFP, February 10, 2019

Canada's most emblematic sport, hockey, had the most cases of sexual misconduct
by coaches -- 86, of which 59 resulted in convictions, the public TV network CBC
reported (AFP Photo/Don Emmert)

Montreal (AFP) - More than 200 coaches of amateur sports in Canada have been convicted of sexual crimes against minors over the past 20 years, the public television network CBC reported Sunday.

The network's survey, covering a period from 1998-2018, found that 340 coaches were accused of sexual offenses, which resulted in 222 convictions in cases involving more than 600 youths under the age of 18.

It added that 34 more cases were still working their way through the courts.

CBC/Radio Canadia said it went through thousands of case files and visited numerous courts around the country to compile its database.

Sandra Kirby, a sociology professor at the University of Winnipeg and a former Olympic athlete, said the CBC findings were "just the tip of the iceberg" because sexual abuse is often not reported.

She said "massive reform" was needed to ensure youths can safely participate in organized sports.

"It's pretty gut-wrenching to see the findings," Lorraine Lafreniere, head of the Coaching Association of Canada, told CBC. "There is a misguided sense of security when you drop your child off at the clubhouse."

CBC said the offenses it reviewed ranged from sexual abuse, to sexual exploitation to the production or possession of child pornography.

Nearly all of those convicted -- 213 to 222 -- were men but the victims were both boys and girls.

Canada's most emblematic sport, hockey, had the most cases of sexual misconduct by coaches -- 86, of which 59 resulted in convictions.

Soccer, which attracts the largest number of youthful participants in Canada, was second with 40 people accused of sexual offenses and 27 convicted.

But cases of sexual abuse of minors turned up in every sport, the CBC said.

Canadian found dead in Thai cell wanted over 'dark web' market

Yahoo – AFP, Sally MAIRS, July 15, 2017

Thai police arrested Canadian Alexandre Cazes in Bangkok on July 5 and had
planned to extradite him to the US, where he faced drug trafficking and money
laundering charges (AFP Photo/MANAN VATSYAYANA)

Bangkok (AFP) - A 26-year-old Canadian found dead in his Thai police cell this week was wanted in the US for allegedly running a massive "dark web" marketplace for drugs and other contraband, a police source told AFP Saturday.

Thai cops arrested Alexandre Cazes in Bangkok on July 5 and had planned to extradite him to the US, where he faced drug trafficking and money laundering charges.

But the computer programmer hanged himself with a towel in his detention cell a week later on July 12, according to Thai anti-narcotics police, who have been tight-lipped on the details of his case.

On Saturday a Thai officer confirmed Cazes was accused of being an "operator" of a major online black market.

"It's a huge dark web market that trafficks drugs and sells other illegal stuff," the police officer said, requesting anonymity.

Speculation is rife that the underground marketplace was AlphaBay, considered the world's largest and most lucrative darknet bazaar until it was taken down within hours of Cazes' arrest.

Like its predecessor Silk Road, which was shut down by the FBI in 2013, AlphaBay used the encrypted Tor network and virtual currencies like Bitcoin to shield customers from detection.

According to Nicolas Christin, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, AlphaBay gained prominence in 2015 and mostly traded in drugs, stolen credit cards and forged IDs.

It was "more than twice as big as Silk Road was in its heyday, with a revenue of somewhere between 600,000 and 800,000 dollars a day in early 2017, and that's a rather conservative estimate," he told AFP.

Luxury lifestyle

Cazes appeared to be living a life of luxury in Thailand, where he owned three houses and four cars -- including a Lamborghini -- according to Thai police who have seized the assets.

He slipped into the country around eight years ago, according to police.

"He was a computer expert involved with international transactions of Bitcoins," said Major General Soontorn Chalermkiat, a spokesman for Thailand's Narcotics Suppression Bureau.

"He didn't have any business in Thailand but he had many houses," the officer said, adding that Cazes' Thai wife has since been charged with money laundering.

The US Embassy in Bangkok refused to comment on the details of the case, saying only that Cazes was detained at the request of the US "with a view toward extradition to face federal criminal charges".

The founder of Silk Road -- the world's first and most famous digital drug market -- was sentenced to life in prison by federal court in New York in 2015.

Canada province axes rule forcing women to wear high heels at work

Yahoo – AFP, April 8, 2017

"In some workplaces in our province, women are required to wear high heels
 on the job. Like most British Columbians, our government thinks this is wrong,"
the province's premier Christy Clark said (AFP Photo/Andrew Chin)

Montreal (AFP) - Believe it or not, some companies in Canada's British Columbia province can force women to wear high heels at work. But not any more.

The premier of the province, Christy Clark, announced Friday that companies can no longer impose such a rule.

"In some workplaces in our province, women are required to wear high heels on the job. Like most British Columbians, our government thinks this is wrong," Clark said Friday.

Clark, who belongs to the Liberal Party, called the practice dangerous and discriminatory.

"There is a risk of physical injury from slipping or falling, as well as possible damage to the feet, legs and back from prolonged wearing of high heels while at work," she added in a statement Friday, co-signed by the province's labor minister, Shirley Bond.

"I expect employers to recognize this very clear signal that forcing someone to wear high heels at work is unacceptable," said Bond.​

Clark has thus endorsed a Green party bill aimed at changing workplace laws so that safety regulations -- including those involving footwear -- are the same for men and women.

A month ago, 25 restaurant chains in Ontario stopped forcing female employees to wear heels and short skirts as part of their uniform.

Related Article:

"Listening to the Voice of Spirit" (2) - Feb 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (DNA Efficiency is on average at 35 percent now) - (Text version)

“… With free choice, the percentage of DNA efficiently started to go down as humanity grew. As soon as the DNA started to lose percentage, the gender balance was dysfunctional. If you want to have a test of any society, anywhere on the planet, and you want to know the DNA percentage number [consciousness quota] as a society, there's an easy test: How do they perceive and treat their women? The higher the DNA functionality, the more the feminine divine is honored. This is the test! Different cultures create different DNA consciousness, even at the same time on the planet. So you can have a culture on Earth at 25 percent and one at 37 - and if you did, they would indeed clash. …”

“… You're at 35. There's an equality here, you're starting to see the dark and light, and it's changing everything. You take a look at history and you've come a long way, but it took a long time to get here. Dear ones, we've seen this process before and the snowball is rolling. There isn't anything in the way that's going to stop it. In the path of this snowball of higher consciousness are all kinds of things that will be run over and perish. Part of this is what you call "the establishment". Watch for some very big established things to fall over! The snowball will simply knock them down. …”

Former Valeant executive arrested in fraud probe: US justice

Yahoo – AFP, 17 November 2016

A former executive at the Canadian pharmaceutical company Valeant was arrested Thursday in connection with a probe of fraud allegations, according to federal prosecutors in New York.

Former executive Gary Tanner was arrested in Pennsylvania while Andy Davenport, former head of the mail-order pharmacy Philidor Rx Services, was taken into custody in Arizona.

Federal prosecutors have reportedly been investigating whether the Canadian company cheated investors by hiding its connections to the now defunct Philidor in a bid to boost sales.

The news pushed shares in the company lower on Wall Street, with stock trading down 4.4 percent shortly after 1600 GMT.

Valeant in October 2015 severed ties with Philidor RX following sharp criticism over their relationship. Valeant was forced to restate its financial accounts as a result of faulty accounting related to Philidor.

German authorities shut down Canada's Maple Bank

Germany's financial watchdog has closed down the German subsidiary of a Canadian bank. The company has been accused of tax evasion and money laundering.

Deutsche Welle, 7 February 2016

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) said Sunday it was shutting down the German arm of Maple Bank, which is part of Canada's Maple Financial Group.

BaFin, which is headed by Felix Hufeld (pictured), accused the Frankfurt-based lender of tax evasion and money laundering, saying the company will have to set aside funds to cover tax payments.

A small lender, Maple Bank has total net assets of just $5.6 billion (5 billion euros) and liabilities of $2.9 billion, and is therefore at risk of "impending financial over-indebtedness." Authorities are closing the bank to customers and preventing the bank from taking payments not related to its debt.

No threat to Germany's stability

The watchdog said its closure poses no threat to Germany's financial stability.

Maple Bank is best known in Germany for having assisted carmaker Porsche in its attempt to take over German auto manufacturer Volkswagen in 2008.

German authorities launched the tax probe in September.

blc/sms (AP, AFP)

Court upholds fraud sentence for former Bank of China branch head

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-02-14

Gao Shan. (Internet photo)

A higher court in northeast China's Heilongjiang province on Friday upheld the sentences given to a former Bank of China (BOC) banker and six others for fraud and embezzlement.

Harbin Intermediate People's Court convicted Gao Shan, former head of a BOC sub-branch in the city, of embezzlement of over 800 million yuan (about US$129 million) and sentenced him to 15 years in prison on Sept. 12.

The court said that between 2000 and 2004, Gao collaborated with other suspects to transfer the bank's money to fake accounts and shell companies' controlled by prime suspects Li Dongzhe and Li Donghu.

Li Dongzhe was sentenced to life in prison for fraud, contract swindling, extortion and blackmail. Li Donghu was given 25 years in jail. Four others were also given prison terms.

Gao and another suspect accepted their sentences but the other five including Li Dongzhe and Li Donghu appealed to the higher people's court in the province.

The case was exposed when employees of a highway construction company and a court came to Gao's bank to transfer 320 million yuan (US$51.3 million) from an account and were unsuccessful due to the bank's lack of funds. Gao and his accomplices fled to Canada at the end of 2004 before the case came to light.

Gao was arrested by Canadian police in 2007 and turned himself in to Chinese police in 2012.

The case sent shockwaves through the banking sector, and along with other corruption cases led to a large-scale personnel reshuffle by the China Banking Regulatory Commission in its local branches.

Police reopen probe into Toronto mayor's drug use

Yahoo – AFP, 1 May 2014

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford speaks during the kick off of his re-election campaign at
a rally in the city's north end April 17, 2014 (AFP Photo/Geoff Robins)

Ottawa (AFP) - Police reopened an investigation into illicit drug use by Toronto's scandal-plagued Mayor Rob Ford, who left for rehab Thursday after a new video emerged allegedly showing him recently smoking crack.

"Investigators would be interested to see what new information there is" in the case, Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash said in a statement.

Ford announced late Wednesday that he was taking a leave of absence in order to enter rehab, even as he continues to campaign for re-election.

Television cameras showed the mayor leaving his home in the early morning, with a large stuffed suitcase in tow.

Ford, 44, has already admitted to binge drinking and smoking crack and has been campaigning on a give-me-another-chance platform.

The Globe and Mail newspaper published a screen grab from video it said its reporters had viewed, in which Ford is seen holding a metal pipe alleged to contain the addictive cocaine derivative.

In the full video, which the paper said was shot by a self-described drug dealer, the mayor of North America's fourth largest city is seen taking a hit from the copper-colored pipe, exhaling a cloud of smoke and shaking his right hand frantically, the Globe and Mail said.

The dealer says the video was shot in the early hours of Saturday in the basement of the apartment building where Ford's sister Kathy lives.

A man resembling Alessandro Lisi -- the mayor's former driver who has been charged with drug dealing and extortion -- and Kathy Ford are also seen in the video, the Globe and Mail said.