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Many shoppers buy school supplies at a store in Baclaran, Paranaque City on Wednesday (August 10, 2022). Baclaran is one of the go-to places for shoppers of school supplies, such as pencils,
crayons, uniforms, and bags, which are sold at cheaper prices compared to malls and department stores.
DND ‘formalizing’
termination of Russian
helicopter deal
BY PRIAM NEPOMUCENO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Department of Na-
tional Defense (DND) on Wednesday said
it is now formalizing the cancelation of
the contract for the acquisition of 16 Rus-
sian-made Mi-17 heavy-lift helicopters.
“The DND is formalizing the termina-
tion of the contract with SOVTECHNO-
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Taiwan: the US has been strengthening
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way to ease tensions with China
EXPORT LLC of the Russian Federation
for the procurement of 16 units of Mi-17
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FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022
PH economy grows 7.4%
in Q2 despite headwinds
BY LESLIE GATPOLINTAN
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The country’s gross
domestic product (GDP) expand-
ed by 7.4 percent in the second
quarter of 2022, as the economy
recovered strongly with loosened
pandemic restrictions boosting
economic activities.
In a press briefing Tuesday,
Socioeconomic Planning Secre-
tary Arsenio Balisacan said while
the second-quarter economic
growth was slightly lower than
the median forecast of 7.5 per-
cent for this year, the Philippines
was the second best performing
nation among the region’s major
emerging economies that have
released their reports.
Balisacan said the country was
next to Vietnam’s 7.7 percent, but
faster than Indonesia’s 5.4 per-
cent and China’s 0.4 percent.
The GDP growth rate for the
January to March period has
been revised to 8.2 percent. It
averaged 7.8 percent in the first
half of the year. The economy
posted a 5.9-percent pre-pan-
PH retains June 2022 employment rate;
higher than last year
BY WILNARD BACELONIA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Philippine
Statistics Authority (PSA) re-
ported on Monday that the
country’s employment rate for
June 2022 remained nearly the
same as the 94.0 percent listed
in May but higher than the 92.3
percent recorded during the
same period last year.
Undersecretary Dennis
Mapa, National Statistician and
Civil Registrar General, said
46.59 million Filipinos who
are 15 years old and above were
employed in June 2022, high-
er than the 46.08 million em-
ployed in May.
With the unemployment rate
also remaining the same at 6.0
percent, Mapa said it translates
to 2.99 million unemployed Fil-
ipinos out of 49.58 million who
demic growth in 2019.
“Timely changes in Covid-re-
lated policies, such as easing
alert levels, removing tourism
restrictions, and accelerated
vaccine rollout, helped increase
economic activities. As of June
2022, around 85 percent of the
economy is already under Alert
Level 1. That these changes
were implemented during the
recently-held national and lo-
cal elections demonstrate that,
indeed, ‘living with the virus’ is
possible,” Balisacan said.
He said the full reopening of
the economy will generate more
income-earning opportunities.
“But the purchasing power
of that income may be eroded
by the high inflation, primarily
resulting from increased fuel
and food costs. Consequently,
the government is focused on
ensuring food security and re-
ducing transport, logistics, and
energy costs,” he said.
Balisacan, chief of the Na-
tional Economic and Devel-
opment Authority (NEDA),
remained optimistic that the
economy can grow within re-
were in the labor force in June
2022, lower than the registered
rate of 7.7 percent in June 2021.
He said increased employ-
ment rate in the general public
administration and activities
subsector at 164,000 was re-
corded in June.
“Ang malaking nagdagdag
dito ay isa ‘yung (One of the big
increase here is the) defense ac-
tivities. Ito ay sakop ang (This
includes) administration, su-
pervision, and operation of mil-
itary defense affairs; land/sea
combat forces of Army, Navy,
and Air Force reserve; and auxil-
iary forces of the Defense estab-
lishment. Ito ay may dagdag na
37,000. So malamang maraming
nire-recruit ‘yung ating Armed
Forces na bagong mga sunda-
lo (This increased to 37,000. So
maybe the Armed Forces has
recruited many new soldiers),”
Mapa said in a press briefing.
vised expected 6.5 to 7.5 percent
this year despite headwinds,
particularly inflation, citing
some positive developments
like the decline in energy prices
in the world market.
“Nearly 70 percent of our econ-
omy is really consumption, and
services account for 60 percent
of the economy so you are
likely to have growth and
the rest of the economy for
the remainder of the year
largely coming from the do-
mestic front,” he added.
Balisacan said the econ-
omy needs to expand 5.3
percent in the second
semester to achieve the
6.5-percent growth, which
is “very highly achievable”.
The GDP, on the other
hand, needs to accelerate 7.2
percent in July to December to
hit the upper-end of this year’s
growth target, he said.
National Statistician Dennis
Mapa said the country’s GDP
stood at PHP9.6 trillion at constant
prices in the first semester of 2022,
higher compared to the 2019 first
semester of PHP9.49 trillion.
Among the subsectors, Mapa
also took note of agriculture
and forestry (1.26 million); ed-
ucation (141,000); mining and
quarrying (138,000); and other
service activities (132,000).
The subsectors which de-
creased employment include
wholesale and retail trade,
Workers remove the steel braces from the concrete post at the construction
site of the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) along Commonwealth Avenue in
Quezon City on Friday (July 22, 2022). (JOEY O. RAZON/PNA)
www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
At current prices, GDP current
value reached PHP10.32 trillion
in the first semester this year
from PHP9.29 trillion during the
same period in 2019, he said.
“So the first semester of
2022 both in the current pric-
es and constant prices are al-
ready higher compared to the
... the Philippines
was the second
best performing
nation...
pre-pandemic level,” he added.
Meanwhile, Balisacan said all
sectors on the production side
expanded in the second quar-
ter, driven by the services and
industry sectors at 9.1 percent
and 6.3 percent, respectively.
He cited the recovery of the
services sectors that have been
hit hard by the coronavirus dis-
repair of motor vehicles and
motorcycles (minus 1.22 mil-
lion); manufacturing (minus
101,000); accommodation and
food service activities ( minus
91,000); transportation and
storage (minus 90,000); and
financial and Insurance activi-
ties (minus 55,000).
3
ease 2019 (Covid-19)-induced
restrictions.
“Transport, accommodation,
food service, and other ser-
vices have shown continued yet
slow signs of recovery to their
pre-pandemic levels,” Balisa-
can said.
He said the increase in foot
traffic in retail and recre-
ation centers, given im-
provements in mobility
and easing of border re-
strictions, supported the
faster growth in wholesale
and retail trade.
Balisacan said the ag-
riculture sector was still
weak at 0.2 percent growth
as the sector remains vul-
nerable to natural calami-
ties and rising input costs.
“Given the agriculture sec-
tor’s weak performance, the
government will provide sup-
port through lower input costs,
access to new farming technol-
ogies, financial assistance to
farmers, and strengthening the
agricultural value chain,” he
added. ■ (With a report from
Wilnard Bacelonia/PNA)
“The way I assess it, ito ‘yung
parang mga (this is like the)
non-essential items na baka
dahil nga siguro sa paghihigpit
sa (that maybe because of the
tighter) budget, ay medyo bu-
mawas ‘yung ating (we slight-
ly reduced our) consumption
dito kaya nabawasan din ‘yung
bilang ng may trabaho sa mga
ganitong (here that is why the
number of employed also de-
creased in these) subsectors,”
Mapa explained.
The underemployment rate
in June 2022 was down to 12.6
percent from 14.5 percent in
May 2022 which translates to a
decrease of 780,000 underem-
ployed persons from 6.67 mil-
lion to 5.89 million.
Underemployment is defined
as working at less than full-time
or regular jobs or at jobs inade-
quate with respect to the train-
ing or economic needs. ■
4 Philippine News
Minority senators DBM releases P2-B to assist
agree on proposal individuals, families in need
to amend EPIRA
Senators Aquilino Pimentel III and Risa Hontiveros (SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS/
FACEBOOK)
BY WILNARD BACELONIA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The two-member
Senate minority bloc commit-
ted on Monday their support to
review and amend Republic Act
(RA) 9136, or the Electric Power
Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).
It is one of the legislative agen-
da mentioned by President Ferdi-
nand Marcos Jr. in his first State
of the Nation Address last July 25.
Senate Minority Leader Sena-
tor Aquilino Pimentel III said he
supports amending the EPIRA to
give relief to power consumers.
“Basta kami sa minority,
madali lang naman kaming
mag-usap ni (As for us in the
minority, I can talk easily with)
Senator Risa (Hontiveros). Mag-
kape lang kami, minority caucus
na ‘yun eh (Over coffee, it’s al-
ready a minority caucus). This
amendment to the EPIRA, we
are open to this basta (as long as
it is) for the good of the people,”
Pimentel said in his interpella-
tion after Senate President Juan
Miguel Zubiri’s privilege speech
regarding high electricity rates
in the provinces.
“I don’t know kung overhaul
ang kailangan (if overhaul is
needed) or tweaking of the con-
cept. On paper, dapat gwardya-
do ‘yung interest ni consumer
eh (On paper, the interest of the
consumer should be safeguard-
ed),” Pimentel added.
Hontiveros thanked Zubiri for
bringing up the EPIRA, suggest-
ing that the Senate should also be
fair to electric cooperatives.
“I will count on ‘yung (the)
assurance of Senate President
na bilang matagalang champion
ng mga kooperatiba sa Senado
na kapag pinamumunuan tayo
ng Senate President sa pag-re-
view ng EPIRA sa posibleng
pag-amyenda sa kanya, posi-
bleng pag-repeal, at pagpapan-
ganak ng Senado ng bagong ba-
tas na pang enerhiya na (I will
count on the assurance of the
Senate President, being a long
time champion of the coopera-
tives in the Senate, that if we are
being led by the Senate Presi-
dent on reviewing the EPIRA,
on the possibility of amending
it, possible repeal, and to create
a new law on energy), the Sen-
ate will continue to be fair to
the electric cooperatives,” Hon-
tiveros said.
She also suggested requir-
ing stronger rules against
“cross-ownership” in the ener-
gy sector when the EPIRA will
be reviewed.
EPIRA mandates the Energy
Regulatory Commission to pro-
mote competition, encourage
market development,
ensure consumer choice, and
penalize abuse of market power
in the electricity industry.
Senator Raffy Tulfo, chair of
the Committee on Energy, vowed
to conduct hearings as soon as
possible to discuss and find a
solution to the frequent black-
outs experienced by electric con-
sumers in the provinces. ■
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Department of
Budget and Management (DBM)
Secretary Amenah F. Panganda-
man approved on Monday the
release of a Special Allotment Re-
lease Order (SARO) amounting to
PHP2 billion pesos to the Depart-
ment of Social Welfare and Devel-
opment (DSWD) to assist those in
difficult circumstances, including
those in crisis situations.
“Ang pondo ng taumbayan,
dapat pong mapakinabangan rin
ng taumbayan lalo na sa oras ng
peligro (The people must benefit
from government funds, espe-
cially in times of distress). The
release of this fund is a big help to
our kababayans who are caught
Solon bats for one-time
P2-K cash aid to Filipinos
BY FILANE MIKEE
CERVANTES
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – A party-list law-
maker is pushing for a measure
providing a one-time cash aid
of PHP2,000 to all Filipinos to
alleviate the burden brought
about by the coronavirus pan-
demic and the rapid rise of
goods and services.
Kalinga Rep. Irene Saulog
filed House Bill 2022, otherwise
known as the Universal Ayuda
bill, which proposes an amount
of PHP218 billion to fund the
one-time cash aid.
Saulog said the ayuda (cash
aid) will be an equitable means
of providing assistance especial-
ly to those who were neglected
in the previous programs of the
government, such as the social
amelioration program.
“While these programs had
the noblest of intentions, the
implementation was far from
ideal. Many were left out. In fact,
millions of families were includ-
ed in the second tranche of ayu-
da in 2020 after their appeal. It
only proves that the priority list
prepared was not fully respon-
sive and up-to-date,” Saulog said
www.canadianinquirer.net
in difficult situation(s),” Pangan-
daman said in a news release.
“Maganda ang timing ng
karagdagang pondong ito. Gus-
to nating tulungan ang DSWD
para makapagbigay ng tulong at
proteksyon sa mga pamilyang
nangangailangan (The timing
of the release of this additional
fund is good. We want to help
the DSWD in providing aid and
protection to families in need).”
The DSWD’s Assistance to
Individuals in Crisis Situation
(AICS) forms part of the Pro-
tective Services for Individuals
and Families in Difficult Cir-
cumstances.
The AICS provides inte-
grated services, which include
financial assistance for trans-
portation, medical, burial, food,
in her explanatory statement to
the media on Tuesday.
“It did not include all those in
dire need of assistance during
the height of the pandemic. It
is safe to estimate that there are
millions more who fell through
the cracks. Many who lost jobs
during the pandemic simply did
not get a chance to be included
in the priority list,” she added.
She said the bill seeks to im-
plement what the Bayanihan
3 bill or the supposed stimulus
measure in the past Congress in-
tended to do, particularly the ba-
sic universal income to Filipinos.
“With the continuing surge in
An elderly woman receives cash aid during the distribution of the govern-
ment’s emergency assistance at the Caloocan High School in Caloocan City on
Wednesday (April 7, 2021). (ROBERT OSWALD P. ALFILER/PNA)
AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY
and other support services,
which are given to individuals
and families in crisis situations.
As of June 30, the AICS pro-
gram served more than 1.5
million clients, exceeding its
annual target of about 1.4 mil-
lion. About 642,348 remaining
clients are projected for 2022.
“Patunay ito na binibigyan
prayoridad ng pamahalaan ang
pagtulong sa mga vulnerable at
disadvantaged sectors. Hindi lip
service and sinabi ng Pangulo
na walang Pilipino ang maiiwan
(This proves that helping the
vulnerable and disadvantaged
sectors is a government prior-
ity. The President’s remarks
saying no Filipino would be left
behind is not lip service),” Pan-
gandaman said. ■
oil prices and basic commodities,
the ayuda will offer a reprieve
from the rising cost of living for
the ordinary Filipino,” she said.
She said the proposal would
also be beneficial to the econo-
my, as the money that will be dis-
bursed to the people will flow back
and “pump prime” the economy.
“This encapsulates what this
bill intends to accomplish--that
no Filipino be left behind during
the pandemic. This bill proposes
the provision of ayuda for all Fili-
pinos. This is in keeping with the
State policy to free Filipinos from
poverty and provide adequate so-
cial services to all,” she said. ■
FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022 5

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6 Philippine News
Comelec backs bill tagging vote-buying
as heinous crime
BY FERDINAND PATINIO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Commis-
sion on Elections (Comelec) on
Wednesday expressed its sup-
port for the measure seeking
to declare vote-buying as a hei-
nous crime.
“The Comelec, through Chair-
man George Erwin M. Garcia,
fully supports the passage of HB
(House Bill) No. 1709 entitled
“An Act Defining and Declar-
ing Vote-Buying as a Heinous
Crime”, authored and filed by
Malasakit at Bayanihan Rep. An-
thony Golez, Jr.,” said Comelec
acting spokesperson John Rex
Laudiangco in a statement.
Once the bill is approved, the
penalty for such offense will be
punishable by 20 to 40 years
Senators call on gov’t to
ensure safety of OFWs in
Taiwan
BY WILNARD BACELONIA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Senators Bong Go
and Raffy Tulfo are calling for the
guaranteed protection of over-
seas Filipino workers (OFWs)
in Taiwan amid the tension be-
tween its government and the
People’s Republic of China.
Go specifically called on
Wednesday the attention of the
Department of Migrant Work-
ers (DMW) to prepare a contin-
gency plan in case the situation
deteriorates.
“I am deeply concerned for the
safety and welfare of our OFWs
working in various parts of East
Asia because of increasing ten-
sion among stakeholders over
Taiwan,” Go said in a statement.
He also urged the DMW to
ensure that the government has
“potential assistance and reinte-
gration programs” ready should
the concerned OFWs be required
to return home to the Philippines.
“Proteksyunan natin ang bu-
hay ng bawat Pilipino nasaan
imprisonment.
Meanwhile, Laudiangco said
the poll body is seeking to revis-
it the law, particularly Section
261 (a) of the Omnibus Election
Code (BP Blg. 881, as amend-
ed), which provides for the
definition of vote-buying and
vote-selling.
“This specific recommen-
dation is made insofar as the
updating of the definition of
vote-buying and vote-selling,
to be more attuned to current
times and situations, particu-
larly encompassing vote-buy-
ing/selling via online or over-
the-air fund-transfers, internet
cash transmittals and other
analogous modalities,” he said.
Laudiangco said an amend-
ment to the definition will re-
sult in better criminal investi-
gation and case build-up which
man sila sa mundo lalo na ang
mga itinuturing nating mod-
ern-day heroes na OFWs na
nagtatrabaho para mayroong
maitustos sa pamilya nilang nai-
wan (Let us protect the life of
every Filipino wherever they are
in the world especially that the
one we are calling as the mod-
ern-day heroes, the OFWs, who
have been working to provide
for their families),” Go added.
On the other hand, Tulfo has
proposed that the Overseas
Workers Welfare Administration
(OWWA), the Philippine Over-
seas Labor Office (POLO), and
the Department of Foreign Af-
fairs (DFA) should come up with
a coordinated plan to ensure the
safety of OFWs in Taiwan and
other neighboring countries.
“The tension between China
and Taiwan is not something
to be taken lightly. Dapat ngay-
on pa lamang ay gumagawa na
ng contingency plan ang DFA,
OWWA, at POLO in the event
na lumala ang problemang ito
(The DFA. OWWA, and POLO
should have been planning for
will culminate in a “more effec-
tive and efficient prosecution”
of offenders.
“(Chairperson) Garcia fur-
ther stated that these ‘mod-
ernized’ modes of vote-buying/
selling are nefariously designed
to exploit the inherent loop-
holes of the outdated provisions
of law, must be addressed with-
out further delay,” he added.
He said the poll body also
believes that the measure will
serve as a more functional de-
terrent if includes an updated
definition of vote-buying aside
from its escalation as a heinous
crime that will be meted with
stiffer penalties.
Under the Omnibus Election
Code, it is considered an elec-
tion offense if one engages in
vote-buying, wherein an indi-
vidual gives, offers, or promises
a contingency in the event that
this problem worsens). This
is the perfect time for govern-
ment agencies to show their
united force by working togeth-
er for the safety and security of
our workers abroad,” Tulfo said
in a statement.
In preparing for a contingen-
cy plan, the lawmaker said the
concerned government agen-
cies, should consider many fac-
tors, including the safety and
funding assistance to around
200,000 OFWs in Taiwan.
“The national government
should provide enough funding
assistance to all Filipino workers
to ensure that they can smoothly
re-enter the country once they
are evacuated,” Tulfo said.
In a recent statement, DMW
Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople
assured that POLO in Taiwan is
at its “normal operation”.
Ople made the statement
after meeting POLO officers
including the Philippine labor
attaché whom she has ordered
to be always “visible” to OFWs
and even to their employers. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
Palacio del Gobernador (PHILIPPINE CANADIAN INQUIRER)
money or anything of value in
order to induce the public to
vote for or against any candi-
date.
Currently, vote-buying car-
ries the penalty of one to six
years imprisonment, removal
Back-to-school
students get free
LRT-2 rides
starting Aug. 22
BY RAYMOND CARL DELA
CRUZ
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Students will en-
joy free rides at the Light Rail
Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) begin-
ning Aug. 22 until Nov. 5.
In a Laging Handa briefing on
Wednesday, Light Rail Transit
Authority (LRTA) Administra-
tor Hernando Cabrera said the
free ride program is a directive
of President Ferdinand “Bong-
bong” Marcos Jr. to aid students
as they return to the classrooms.
To avail of the program, Cabre-
ra said students would only need
to present their school identifica-
tion (ID) or proof of enrollment
to the LRT-2 passenger assis-
tance center where they will be
given a single-journey ticket.
“After that babalik na po tayo
doon sa normal na 20 percent dis-
count para sa ating mga estudyante
AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY
of the right to vote, and disqual-
ification to hold public office.
As of June this year, the poll
body said 17 complaints that in-
volve alleged vote-buying and
selling are set to undergo pre-
liminary investigations. ■
(After that we will return to normal
and give them the 20 percent dis-
count for students),” he said.
He reminded students and the
rest of the riding public of the
continued implementation of
Covid-19 safety protocols such
as temperature checks, man-
datory wearing of face masks,
physical distancing, and refrain-
ing from eating and speaking
while inside the trains.
“Sumunod din po tayo lagi doon
po sa tinatawag din natin na mga
security protocols. So, ini-inspect
pa rin po natin ang mga bag, iyong
mga deadly weapon po – ang dami
po naming nakukumpiska (Let’s
also follow security protocols. We
still inspect bags for deadly weap-
ons -- we have confiscated a lot al-
ready),” he said.
Earlier, the Department of Ed-
ucation said the school year 2022-
2023 will begin on Aug. 22 and
will slowly transition into five-day
in-person classes by Nov. 2. ■
FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022
No Filipino Don’t delay ‘gratis’
affected amid worst documents of first-time
Seoul flooding in jobseekers: Poe
years: DFA
BY JOYCE ANN L.
ROCAMORA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tues-
day night no Filipino was hurt in
Seoul after torrential rains trig-
gered massive flooding there.
The heavy rain, said to be the
worst in 80 years, wreaked hav-
oc in the South Korean capital
on August 8, killing nine and
leaving scores missing.
“As of now, (there are) no
reported Filipino affected by
the floods in Central Seoul and
surrounding areas like Incheon
and Gyeonggi,” DFA spokesper-
The Department of Foreign Affairs building along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay
City. (LAWRENCE RUIZ - OWN WORK/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CC BY-SA 4.0)
DND ‘formalizing’ termination...
❰❰ 1 diligence in formaliz-
ing the termination of
the project’s contract,
has already been reconstituted.
“We are also preparing to ini-
tiate a diplomatic dialogue with
the Russian side regarding mat-
ters arising from the project’s
cancellation,” Andolong said.
He added that “changes in
priorities necessitated by glob-
al political developments re-
sulted in the cancellation of the
project by the previous admin-
istration.”
Andolong also said the CTRC
will also take on the issues con-
cerning the DND’s down payment
amounting to PHP1.9 billion.
Earlier, then DND Secre-
son Ma. Teresita Daza said in
a text message. “The embassy
continues to monitor and reach
out to the Filipino community
during this record rainfall, the
first in 80 years for Korea.”
Korea-based Yonhap News
Agency said parts of Seoul,
Incheon, and Gyeonggi province
were pounded by heavy rains of
more than 100 mm. per hour,
with per-hour precipitation in
the capital’s Dongjak district sur-
passing 141.5 mm. at one point,
the worst downpour since 1942.
The news site, citing the Ko-
rea Meteorological Administra-
tion, said up to 300 mm. of more
rain is forecast for the capital
area through Thursday. ■
tary Delfin Lorenzana said the
PHP12.7 billion contract was
canceled as the Philippines
could face sanctions from the
United States if the project
pushes through.
Lorenzana added that the
termination of the contract was
approved by former president
Rodrigo R. Duterte before his
term ended on June 30.
The PAF earlier said it is
looking at the possibility of ac-
quiring heavy-lift helicopters as
part of efforts to beef up its heli-
copter fleet.
A heavy-lift helicopter is a
type of rotary aircraft capable
of lifting large numbers of per-
sonnel or cargo.
BY WILNARD BACELONIA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Documents re-
quired of first-time jobseekers,
who can obtain them for free,
must be released without delay.
Senator Grace Poe said on
Tuesday these are certificates or
clearances issued by the Nation-
al Bureau of Investigation (NBI),
police and barangay (village);
Philippine Statistics Authority
(PSA), like birth registration;
Bureau of Internal Revenue, like
tax identification numbers; uni-
fied multi-purpose identifica-
tion cards; state universities and
colleges, including transcript or
records; and other government
agencies.
Poe reminded in a statement
on Tuesday that Republic Act
(RA) 11261 or the First-Time
Jobseekers Assistance Act,
which she authored, mandates
concerned government agencies
not to collect fees for clearances
or documents that job seekers
need, especially the first-timers.
“We must give our all-out
support to every Filipino striv-
ing to get a job for the first time.
They should not miss the op-
portunity to begin a career and,
in turn, help their families cope
with the challenging times,”
Poe said.
She urged fresh graduates
The Mil Mi-17 is a Soviet-de-
signed Russian military heli-
copter family in production
at two factories in Kazan and
Ulan-Ude.
It is known as the Mi-8M se-
ries in Russian service. The he-
licopter is mostly used as a me-
dium twin-turbine transport
helicopter, as well as an armed
gunship version.
It has a maximum speed of
280 kilometers per hour (170
mph, 150 knots) and a range of
800 kilometers.
The Mi-17 has a crew of two
pilots and one engineer and is ca-
pable of transporting 24 soldiers
or 12 stretchers internally. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
to avail of the benefits of the
law that provides support and
lessens constraints to clinching
employment for the first time.
“The costs of these documents
altogether hinder our graduates
from pursuing their desired jobs
at the outset,” Poe said.
She added that after facing
the high costs of education, fac-
ing a new round of expenses to
comply with documentary job
requirements has prohibited
many jobseekers from timely
pursuing employment.
An NBI clearance costs
PHP130 while a PSA-certified
birth certificate costs PHP155, if
they will be obtained personally.
Requesting such documents
online or by courier will entail
added costs.
“One crucial document may
just be the only thing needed
by an applicant to complete a
job application. Furnishing it
to him or her for free can help
make a difference,” Poe said.
Under RA 11261, those avail-
ing of the benefits shall be re-
quired to present a barangay
certification, which should also
be given free of charge, declar-
ing that the applicant is a first-
time job seeker.
Any civil servant who unduly
refuses to comply with the law
shall be subject to administrative
and other sanctions, while any
person found guilty of fabrica-
7
tion or falsification will be liable
under the Revised Penal Code.
Excluded in the list of free
documents are driver’s license,
passport authentication and
“red ribbon” documents from
the Department of Foreign Af-
fairs, and fees for Professional
Regulation Commission and
civil service examinations.
Beneficiaries of the JobStart
Philippines Program under Re-
public Act 10869 and other laws
that give similar exemptions for
the said documents or transac-
tions shall not be qualified to
avail of the benefits of RA 11261.
The JobStart program aims
to shorten the youth’s school to
work transition by enhancing
the knowledge and skills ac-
quired in formal education or
technical training by jobseek-
ers for them to become more
responsive to the demands of
the labor market.
With the participation of the
private sector and other stake-
holders, the program will help
develop the life skills of the
youth and provide trainees with
a conducive and safe work envi-
ronment or venue where they
can apply relevant theories and
code of ethics.
Another objective of the pro-
gram is to further improve the
delivery of employment facil-
itation services of Public Em-
ployment Service Offices. ■
8 Philippine News AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY

Ex-president FVR laid to rest at

Libingan ng mga Bayani
BY RUTH ABBEY GITA-CARLOS,
AZER PARROCHA
Correspondent/Hosts Philippine News Agency
Joanna Belle Deala
Kathleen Mae Guerrero
Arianne Grace Lacanilao
Violeta Arevelo
Babes Newland
MANILA – Former president Fidel V.
Matte Laurel Ramos’ cremated remains were inurned
at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB)
Graphic Design
Shanice Garcia
in Taguig City on Tuesday morning.
Ginno Alcantara Ramos, the country’s 12th president
Arlnie Colleene Talain Singca who served from 1992 to 1998, was accord-
Account Manager
ed a state funeral with full military honors.
Kristopher Yong A private Mass was held at the Heri-
tage Park in Taguig City before Ramos’
Director/Producer
Boom Dayupay
inurnment at the LNMB.
There was also a funeral procession to
Photographers/Videographers the presidential grave site. Flowers were
Ginno Alcantara
dropped during the funeral procession.
Operations and Admin A burial ceremony was likewise held
Victoria Yong before Ramos was laid to rest at Section State funeral of former President Fidel V. Ramos. (BONGBONG MARCOS/FACEBOOK)
Amelia Insigne
A of LNMB where presidents are buried.
Management The area, formally known as Section A: military was tough, but we were able to legacy will stay in our hearts forever.
Alan Yong Presidents of the Republic of the Philip- make it. President Ramos helped. He Journey well, Mr. President. We will
pines, measures 5,000 square meters. Pres- was able to do it). He was able to raise miss you,” Ric Francisco said.
idents are allotted 100 square meters each. five daughters, eight grandsons, and five Another netizen was grateful for Ra-
There was a 21-gun salute, followed by granddaughters,” she said. mos for being a champion of education.
For photo submissions, please email
the turnover of the Philippine flag to the She admitted that it was “hard to ad- “Thank you po FVR. It was during
editor@canadianinquirer.net Ramos family, lowering of the urn, and just”, especially since her husband was your time when teachers beg[a]n to en-
flower offering. often away from their family. joy the luxury or many benefits given.
For General Inquiries, please email
info@canadianinquirer.net
The former president’s urn was placed “Mahirap mag-adjust. Dalawang taon Thank you so much. You will always be
inside his tomb around 11: 43 a.m. and nasa bahay siya. Dalawang taon nasa remembered,” Libra Dah said.
For Sales Inquiries, please email sealed around 11:45 a.m. concluding the probinsya. Tapos nag-volunteer pa siya President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,
sales@canadianinquirer.net
or visit
ceremony. dalawang taon sa Vietnam (It was hard through Proclamation 33, declared July
‘www.canadianinquirer.net/advertise-with-us/’ The 21-gun salute is the highest honor to adjust. He stayed home for two years. 31 to August 9 as national days of mourn-
a nation can provide to anyone. Another two years in the province. And ing for Ramos.
Philippine Canadian Inquirer is located at “(The) 21-gun salute came from a long he volunteered for another two years in Under Proclamation 33, Marcos said
#1820-666 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V6C 2X8 Canada history of military tradition recognized Vietnam),” she added. Ramos’ death “is a great loss to our
by most nations. It is the highest honor a Martinez-Ramos ended her speech country and the Filipino people.”
nation rendered,” Philippine Army (PA) thanking guests anew and quoted her He was also chief of the then-Philip-
Email: info@canadianinquirer.net,
sales@canadianinquirer.net spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad ear- late husband’s primary battlecry. pine Constabulary from 1972 to 1986,
lier said. “...Maraming salamat sa tulong niyo Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the
Instagram: @pcinews_ig The 21-gun salute is rendered to the at sabi niya ‘Kaya natin ito.’ Maram- Philippines from 1986 to 1988, and Sec-
Twitter: @pcinews_twt national flag, sovereign or chief of state ing salamat. Kaya ba natin? Maraming retary of National Defense from 1988 to
of a foreign nation, the President and salamat sa inyong lahat (Thank you for 1991 before being elected as the coun-
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/pcinews ex-President, he added. all your help and he said ‘We can do it.” try’s chief executive in 1992.
“It is also fired on the day of the funeral of Thank you. Can we do it? Thank you Those who are buried in LNMB in-
Philippine Canadian Inquirer is published weekly
every Friday.
the President and ex-President,” he added. very much),” she said. clude Medal of Valor awardees; presi-
Ramos’ favorite music was also played Before becoming president, Ramos dents; secretaries of national defense;
Copies are distributed free throughout Metro
Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Greater Toronto. during the burial rites. was part of the Philippine combat contin- chiefs of staff of the Armed Forces of the
The views and opinions expressed in the articles
PBBM attends rites gent that fought in the Korean War and Philippines (AFP); active and retired
(including opinions expressed in ads herein) are those President Ferdinand “Bongbong” was also involved in the Vietnam War as a military personnel of the AFP who died
of the authors named, and are not necessarily those of
Philippine Canadian Inquirer Editorial Team. Marcos Jr. attended the funeral rites non-combat civil military engineer. in the line of duty; veterans of the Phil-
PCI reserves the right to reject any advertising which
and sat beside Ramos’ widow and for- Fans and supporters of the late presi- ippine Revolution, World War I, World
it considers to contain false or misleading information mer First Lady Amelita “Ming” Marti- dent lined up along Bayani Road, outside War II, and recognized guerillas; gov-
or involves unfair or unethical practices. The advertiser
agrees the publisher shall not be liable for damages nez-Ramos. the Heritage Park, to pay their respects ernment dignitaries and statesmen; and
arising out of error in any advertisement. It was also Marcos who turned over the and wave flags with a picture of Ramos as national artists and scientists.
Philippine flag, which was earlier draped his funeral convoy departed to the Lib- Pope extends condolences
Member on Ramos’ casket, to the former first lady. ingan ng mga Bayani. Meanwhile, Pope Francis expressed
Martinez-Ramos, in a short speech Thousands of netizens watched the his deepest sympathies to the country
after the inurnment ceremony, thanked state funeral rites via online streaming on and the family of the late president.
guests for honoring her late husband. the social media pages of state-run Radio In his letter to Marcos, the Holy Fa-
She also spoke about the difficulties her Television Malacañang and PTV-4. ther acknowledged the contributions of
husband and their family experienced Several netizens also paid tribute to the former chief executive in promoting
when Ramos was still in the military. Ramos in the comment section, where values of peace in the nation.
“Mahirap ang buhay sa military pero one remembered Ramos for his contri- “Upon learning of the death of former
kinaya namin. Tumulong si President butions as a president and soldier.
Ramos. Kayang-kaya niya (Life in the “You will be remembered and your ❱❱ PAGE 17 Ex-president FVR

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022
A digital transformation can make
Canada’s immigration system world-class
BY MARK LAMBERT ,
ZAHRA JADAVJI
Policy Options
How other countries have
moved to digital immigration
provides important clues for
Canada. Modernizing could build
an efficient and fairer system.
A digitally empowered, effi-
cient, strategic and fair immi-
gration system will be essential
for Canada to meet its ambi-
tious immigration target of 1.2
million new residents between
2021 and 2023.
Immigration, Refugees and
Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is
well on its way to making that
happen. It was one of the first
federal departments to work
with the Canadian Digital Service
(CDS) and to express enthusiasm
for digital transformation. The
COVID pandemic was a catalyst
to move faster and address back-
logs while responding to new
travel and entry requirements.
In recognition of the depart-
ment’s ongoing work internally
and with partner organizations
such as the Canadian Border Ser-
vices Agency (CBSA), IRCC has
been recognized as a winner of
the Canadian digital government
community awards 2022, includ-
ing excellence in innovation for
its online citizenship test; excel-
lence in open government for its
digital application status track-
ers; and excellence in product
management for its permanent
residence digital intake portal.
However, ongoing travel and
border restrictions and other
global concerns have slowed
momentum. The federal gov-
ernment is investing hun-
dreds of millions to modernize
IRCC’s IT infrastructure to en-
sure those targets can be met in
the face of these new realities.
Finland, the United States and
Australia have all had success
modernizing their immigration
systems. Canada could look to
their example for inspiration.
Finland: Ten years ago, the
Finnish Immigration Service
Canada News
was experiencing process ineffi-
ciencies and significant backlogs,
inspiring the start of its trans-
formation journey. The service
decided to develop a modern
case-management tool to meet
its demands. The result was the
end-to-end electronic immigra-
tion case-management system.
The system integrates every
process within the immigra-
tion, citizenship and asylum
workflow. It moves from digital
electronic submission through
processing and communication
to electronic archiving. There
are 15,000 potential users
based in Finnish government
locations and offices across the
globe. Authorities consider this
project a best-in-class immi-
gration management system.
It was subsequently expand-
ed through the implementation
of “EnterFinland” – an online
self-service portal, designed for
both residence permits and cit-
izenship cases.
EnterFinland is a testament
to cross-government collabora-
tion, with solutions that have in-
troduced supplementary chat-
bots and artificial intelligence
applications into workflows
across departments. Important-
ly, many departments had to
come on board with the new sys-
tem for it to be successful.
The United States: United
States Citizenship and Immi-
gration Services (USCIS) has
been on a mission to become
fully digital. Several programs
were put in place to achieve
that goal: the end-user experi-
ence design (EUXD) program
and “myUSCIS” program. The
EUXD program puts applica-
tion users at the centre of design
efforts. Working with the com-
munity helped enhance user ex-
perience, define proper project
requirements and increase user
adoption and satisfaction.
The myUSCIS program trans-
forms the immigration process
with a digital portal and digitized
forms for paperless processing.
The driving goal was to allow
users to track progress during
their immigration journey.
A recurring theme of each dig-
ital transformation was under-
standing that it would take more
than a single technology or going
paperless. It required a business
transformation and cultural shift
within the organization.
Accordingly, in Canada, by
framing digital transformation
efforts in terms of people, process
and policy, IRCC will optimize its
own transformation efforts.
Australia: Australia has kept
its annual immigration tar-
get intake steady at more than
160,000 per year for a number of
years. A decade ago, it embarked
on a modernization effort. The
“seamless traveler” vision was
created in response to an in-
crease in citizenship and online
www.canadianinquirer.net
visa applications, increased pro-
cessing times, resource chal-
lenges and security threats.
What officials learned was
that digitizing processes
weren’t enough to achieve op-
erational efficiencies. New pro-
cesses needed to be intuitive,
and human-centred to empow-
er the workforce. In October
2020, Australia introduced its
reusable permissions capabil-
ity, a platform that provides
consistent processing, approv-
als and decision-making for
departments who issue visas,
permits, accreditation, licences
and registrations.
The Australian Department
of Home Affairs streamlined
processes at the border by digi-
tizing existing Incoming passen-
ger cards. This included collect-
ing additional health-related
declarations and passenger con-
tact information to support the
national COVID response and
speed up processing times.
There are three keys to suc-
cess in Canada – people, pro-
cess and policy.
People
Starting with the experience of
the end user is essential. Technol-
ogy adoption must be about meet-
ing the applicants’ needs from
their vantage point – pivoting
existing processes to user-cen-
tric digital experiences, and then
adopting the latest technologies
that can deliver on those goals.
When thinking about a world-
class immigration system from
the perspective of those wishing
to become Canadian, a system
must be fast and efficient with in-
formation that is timely, and each
step of the process well thought-
out. It should be easy to use, with
services and processes that are
intuitive and accessible, and it
should be able to understand and
accommodate the needs of the
applicant. The processes should
also be fair and transparent, so
applicants know the status of
their file as it progresses.
Also, the right stakeholder
groups must be included. The
countries that had the greatest
9
successes valued co-ordination.
Grouping and classifying cas-
es that are related – such as var-
ious categories relating to fami-
lies – will mean that they can be
processed more efficiently and
will potentially address any bi-
ases. Government can then re-
spond with digital systems that
take into consideration vari-
ables including diversity, equity
and inclusion, among others.
Process
To realize a user-first vision,
the government must fully em-
brace digital culture, tools and
capabilities. This is no longer just
an IT exercise. Every directorate
and organization must become
a digital organization for a work-
force that is seamless in adopting
new approaches and sharing in-
formation. As workforces become
increasingly hybrid in nature,
building the right digital culture
and skills in the end-to-end orga-
nization will be essential.
Policy
Even if we fix technologies
and create the best digital ex-
perience, none of that is useful
unless the policy supports it.
Given the transformative and
disruptive nature of digital
transformation, flexible policy
is paramount to capture and re-
spond to input from competing
and changing priorities.
In Canada, we need to find a
faster way to update policy. For
instance, in the U.K., the govern-
ment’s open innovation team
follows a “policy at pace” style to
actively engage citizen users.
Canada has a strong founda-
tion and clear will to improve the
ways it manages immigration
and delivers user-centric digital
experiences to newcomers as
they navigate each step of their
immigration journey. By con-
sidering lessons from around
the globe, we can achieve a truly
modern, innovative and world-
class immigration system. ■
This article first appeared
on Policy Options and is repub-
lished here under a Creative
Commons license.
10
We need a better under- A summer of
standing of race, ‘status’ discontent? Why
and indigeneity in Canada public sector
BY CELESTE PEDRI-
SPADE, Queen’s University,
Ontario
workers are
preparing to
The Conversation
Queen’s University recently
strike in B.C.
released its highly anticipated
report after a year-long explo-
ration into the institution’s ap-
proaches to indigeneity.
The report came about after
a call was made by hundreds
of Indigenous academics and
community members following
the news that several white set-
tler faculty claiming indigene-
ity were, in fact, “pretendians.”
The report offers several rec-
ommendations that touch on
everything from verification
processes to developing a more
robust Indigenous Studies pro-
gram. While some Indigenous
academics and community mem-
bers welcomed the report, others
suggested it relies too heavily on
“colonial, imposed cards” and
the concept of “Indian status.”
This critique based on cards
and status is confusing, as the re-
port is clear that individuals who
have been disconnected from their
communities due to colonialism
have other avenues to demon-
strate their genuine, integral con-
nections. The report highlights the
fact that we need a better under-
standing of race, Indian status and
indigeneity in Canada.
What does ‘pretendian’
mean?
The term “pretendian” is new
and stems from what renowned
Indigenous scholar, Vine De-
loria Jr., termed, “the Indian
Grandmother Complex.”
Recently, president of the In-
digenous Bar Association, Drew
Lafond, penned an opinion edi-
torial suggesting the term “pre-
tendian” is problematic. He said
this is because the first people
labelled as “pretendians” were
“individuals who were unable
to produce a status card under
the Indian Act to ‘prove’ that
they were Indigenous.”
But the word is actually a
modern portmanteau that has
gained traction with an estab-
lished body of critical academic
literature.
Lafond also suggested that
Canada News
the act of calling someone a
“pretendian” has led to divisive
and toxic interpretations of
what it means to be Indigenous.
Indian status and blood
quantum
While the concept of Indian
status was, and continues to be,
a tool that is imposed based on
how much “native blood” one
has, it is dangerous to centre
Indian status, and not white
entitlement and settler colo-
nialism, as the issues plagu-
ing tenuous or false claims to
Indigenous identity. It is also
dangerous to suggest that these
conversations are undermining
Indigenous self-determination.
Characterizing all individu-
als who have been called “pre-
tendians” as simply people who
don’t qualify for Indian status is
misleading and has contributed
to a rise in “anti-status” rheto-
ric that is, quite frankly, racist.
While Indian status is an
imposed mechanism, “blood
quantum” cannot be disentan-
gled from race.
There are hundreds of thou-
sands of Indigenous people
across this country who are vis-
ibly racialized and not only hold
Indian status, but also carry the
trauma of generations of In-
digenous family members who
have endured the Indian Act
and many other forms of colo-
nial violence.
While it is true that many
people were excluded from In-
dian status under the Indian
Act because of gender or kin-
ship ties to multiple Black and
racialized communities, some
of these issues have been cor-
rected due to tireless work, of-
ten led by Indigenous women
— like Mary Two-Axe Earley,
Sandra Lovelace Nicholas, Sha-
ron McIvor, Jeannette Corbiere
Lavell and Lynn Gehl.
The important work of ad-
dressing the erasure of Black
and other racialized Indigenous
kin through state mechanisms
is ongoing. This is why challeng-
ing Indigenous identity fraud in
academia must name and focus
explicitly on structures of white-
ness, white entitlement and set-
tler colonialism so we don’t rec-
reate the harms of past policies.
Misclaiming ‘non-status’
Ongoing efforts to challenge
Indian status exclusion show
us that there’s a massive differ-
ence between 1) someone who
is a non-status First Nations
person and 2) a white settler
who has perhaps one or two In-
digenous ancestors from before
the concept of Indian status
was introduced.
The term non-status is meant
to reflect the experiences of peo-
ple who carry a real and intimate
❱❱ PAGE 18 We need a
www.canadianinquirer.net
BY KENDRA STRAUSS,
Simon Fraser University
The Conversation
Successful unionization drives
targeting corporate employers
like Amazon and Starbucks have
been big news in 2022. But much
larger scale collective action in
the Canadian public sector may
also be on the cards.
In May, the Public Service
Alliance of Canada — the coun-
try’s largest federal union —
walked away from contract ne-
gotiations. In British Columbia,
almost 95 per cent of the B.C.
General Employees’ Union
(BCGEU) voted, in July, to
strike after negotiations broke
down over cost of living ad-
justments and wage protection
from inflation.
It is not only workers in B.C.’s
public sector who voted to take
job action in recent weeks — the
transit and transportation sec-
tors face strikes by truck driv-
ers at the Port of Vancouver and
bus drivers in West Vancouver.
And in addition to the ap-
proximately 33,000 BCGEU
members covered by the recent
Workers in sectors most impacted by the pandemic, like health care, have
gained the least from the recent economic recovery.
AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY
strike vote, more than 350,000
public sector workers have
agreements that expired or
will expire in coming months.
The B.C. Teachers’ Federation
contract expired June 30 and
B.C. Nurses’ Union members
have been working without a
contract since March, with bar-
gaining delayed to the fall.
In other words, B.C. could be
on the cusp of a major period of
labour unrest, similar to what we
are seeing in other parts of the
world like the United Kingdom.
If the labour movement in Cana-
da can mobilize working people,
who are seeing and feeling how
corporations have profited from
the pandemic while ordinary
people have paid the price, the
change could be significant.
Why are workers striking?
Statistics Canada announced
a rise in consumer inflation to
8.1 per cent in June 2022. Sky-
rocketing inflation is the major
cause behind worker unrest
and collective action.
The main driver of inflation
is the price of gasoline, but even
excluding gas the consumer price
❱❱ PAGE 16 A summer of
FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022 11

World News
Taiwan: the US has been strengthening
support for years – now it needs a way
to ease tensions with China
BY OWEN GREENE, The US has taken a range of strategic relationship at a time
University of Bradford, measures to deepen the unof- when the US had to deal with the
CHRISTOPH BLUTH, ficial ties between Washington Ukraine invasion crisis.
University of Bradford and Taipei. These include the But the fear that China’s mil-
Policy Options Taiwan Travel Act (2018) that itary exercises could lead to a
enables informal exchanges military confrontation between
between US and Taiwanese of- China and USA seems misplaced.
The recent visit by the speak- ficials and the 2019 Taiwan As- Both sides have strong interests
er of the US House of Represen- surance Act which has enabled in avoiding this outcome.
tatives to Taiwan, Nancy Pelosi, multiple arms sale packages. Instead China’s actions appear
was made against the wishes The Biden administration to aim to send a powerful signal
of the US government and de- has continued to maintain to the US government to reverse
spite threats from the People’s high-profile support for Taiwan what they see as a Washington’s
Republic of China. Following by continuing military arms “hollowing out” of agreed poli-
Pelosi’s visit, China launched sales and training, enhancing cies towards Taiwan. At the same
the largest military exercises official exchanges and seeking to time this display of China’s mil-
ever held so close to the island include Taiwan in the Japan-US itary might also be designed to
of Taiwan, which simulated, “Two+Two” security agreement. demonstrate Xi’s strength to a
according to the People’s Lib- In May 2022 the US president, domestic audience as he works (HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI/FACEBOOK)

eration Army, an “island attack Joe Biden, said the US would de- to be appointed to a third pres-
campaign” in the actual air- fend Taiwan if it was attacked, a idential term at the 20th party gion, imply that future crises in (the Quad) between Australia,
space and waters where such an statement which appeared to be congress later this year. the Taiwan Straits are likely. India, Japan and the US could be
attack would begin. While the Biden A future crisis could escalate turned into a coalition with tan-
Despite insisting administration re- into an attempted invasion of gible military capabilities.
that the exercises buked China for its Taiwan if China’s leaders believe But this approach also has
would end on Au- disproportionate that the US is unlikely to become great risks. A cold war confron-
gust 7, the drills are actions, the China directly militarily involved. This tation between US and China
reportedly continu- extended its military could lead to a wider war involv- could have disastrous implica-
ing. So is a barrage of
The US government has exercises further as ing China, the US and others – a tions for other US foreign pol-
Chinese propaganda maintained the core elements a “warning to the terrible outcome for all parties. icy priorities. This becomes all
designed to under- United States”. It Stronger messaging the more complex, given Wash-
mine morale in Tai-
of its policy towards Taiwan, has also suspended One approach to achieving ington’s need to tackle Russian
wan and increase including “strategic ambiguity”. cooperation with more robust deterrence would aggression in Europe while also
pressure on Wash- the US on a range be for the US and its allies to addressing global problems
ington over the of issues, including make clearer commitments – such as climate change. More-
question of Chinese on climate change, and also realistic military prepa- over, despite their disputes
sovereignty over the making it clear that rations – to come to the defence with China, virtually all of Chi-
island, which Bei- the signals it is send- of Taiwan in response to a mili- na’s neighbours want to avoid
jing has claimed since the com- in violation of “strategic ambi- ing are not primarily targeted at tary attack by China. This could such an outcome, and are un-
munist takeover in 1949. guity”. The administration soon Taipei but at Washington. reduce the risk that China be- likely to participate.
The US government has walked back Biden’s statements In the longer term, it is un- lieves it can escalate and dees- Instead we can expect contin-
maintained the core elements and reaffirmed that US policy in likely that the Biden admin- calate crises at will, and so make ued US strategic ambiguity com-
of its policy towards Taiwan, in- respect to the security of Taiwan istration will depart from its it more cautious about issuing bined with closer informal rela-
cluding “strategic ambiguity”. had not changed. “one-China” policy. But the threats against its neighbours. tions with Taiwan. The priority
This is the doctrine which main- Biden’s priorities concept of “strategic ambigu- Some analysts draw lessons for the US, China and other inter-
tains that the US will help build Despite its policy of strength- ity” is coming under strain, as from the cold war experience, ar- ested states must be to develop a
Taiwan’s military capabilities, ening US-Taiwan relations, the the US has become much more guing that early crises over Ber- stronger framework for conflict
but provides no guarantees to Biden administration did not concerned with deterring Chi- lin, Korea and Cuba ultimately prevention and crisis manage-
provide direct military support support Pelosi’s trip to Taipei be- na from attempting to reunify led to relatively stable security ment. And to find a way to lower
in response to a military attack cause of the potential for escalat- Taiwan by force. arrangements between the [US the temperature so that informal
by China. But over the past de- ing tension with Beijing. The Pe- Taiwan’s public and politi- and the Soviet Union]. Tensions US visits to Taiwan become more
cade Washington has increased losi trip drew a mixed response cal parties appear content to over Taiwan and the South China acceptable to China. ■
its emphasis towards support in the US press. Some prominent maintain the status quo. But by Sea may accelerate the formation
for Taiwan in response to what commentators considered the contrast, China’s increasingly of multilateral arrangements to This article is republished
it perceives to be increasingly trip unwise as it unnecessari- assertive policies towards Tai- contain China. For example the from The Conversation under a
assertive Chinese actions. ly raised tension in a complex wan, and more widely in the re- Quadrilateral Security Dialogue Creative Commons license.
www.canadianinquirer.net
12
As the FBI raids Mar-A-Lago, Donald Trump
reaches for unconvincing historical parallels
BY RODNEY TIFFEN,
University of Sydney
The Conversation
“These are dark times for our
nation”, former US President
Donald Trump declared when
he announced his mansion at
Mar-A-Lago had been raided
by FBI agents on Monday night
Florida time. An assault like this
“could only take place in broken,
Third World countries […] cor-
rupt at a level not seen before”.
“They even broke into my
safe!” he went on, comparing
the FBI action to Watergate:
What is the difference be-
tween this and Watergate, where
operatives broke into the Demo-
crat National Committee? Here,
in reverse, Democrats broke into
the home of the 45th President of
the United States.
Watergate was the hotel–office
complex in Washington, home to
the Democratic Party nation-
al headquarters, which was fa-
mously burgled in June 1972 by
political operatives working for
the re-election of Richard Nixon.
After more than two years of tor-
tuous judicial and political inqui-
ries, Nixon became the first – and
still the only – American presi-
dent to resign.
The differences between the
UN won’t be able to respond if nuclear
conflict breaks out: UN
TASS
Philippine News Agency
TOKYO – The United Nations
will not be able to respond in any
form to a potential nuclear con-
flict, because in case of a global
nuclear war there will probably be
“no UN, able to respond anymore,”
Secretary-General Antonio Gu-
terres told journalists in Tokyo.
“I believe that if nuclear
weapons will be used, there is
probably no UN, able to respond
anymore,” he said, answering to
a Japanese reporter’s question
about a possible UN response
to a hypothetical use of nuclear
weapons by Russia in Ukraine.
World News
raid on Trump’s mansion and
Watergate are obvious. Trump’s
mansion was raided by law offi-
cers executing a legally issued
search warrant. They entered
by the front door and searched
openly. Watergate was an illegal
break in by political operatives
acting secretly.
And where Trump, playing to
his shrinking base, claimed last
night’s raid was undertaken by
“Democrats”, it was in fact con-
ducted by a group of FBI agents.
The Florida raid took place to
enforce the law; the Watergate
action broke the law.
Speculation intense
As of late Monday night Wash-
ington time, neither the FBI
Former US President Donald Trump at the Prescott Valley Event Center in
Prescott Valley, Arizona. (GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR, CC BY-SA 2.0)
The UN chief also said he
was certain that a nuclear war
would mean “the destruction of
the planet.”
In this regard, he called upon
nuclear powers to commit to the
no-first-use principle and to re-
frain from using nuclear weapons
to threaten non-nuclear states.
“It is clear that if nobody uses
it [nuclear weapons] for the
first time, there would be no
nuclear war,” he said.
Russian Ambassador to Japan
Mikhail Galuzin told a nuclear
disarmament roundtable in To-
kyo last week that Russia’s mil-
itary operation in Ukraine has
nothing to do with scenarios of
possible use of nuclear weapons
nor the Justice Department had
made an official announcement
about the raid. However, on the
basis of background comments
by various officials, most media
reports agree that its purpose
was to secure various documents,
including classified material,
from Trump’s presidency. Some
reports said the FBI officers left
with 15 boxes of documents.
Trump had failed to meet the
requirements of the innocu-
ous-sounding national Archives
Act, which exists to minimise
the scope for corruption and
abuse of process. Trump has
treated these legal obligations,
and any accountability provi-
sions, with contempt. Indeed,
and all allegations on this matter
are mere speculations.
He recalled that only one
country - the United States
- had actually used nuclear
weapons and their use was not
justified from the military point
of view but “actually was a nu-
clear weapons test” in the Jap-
anese cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki and their residents.
On February 24, Russian
President Vladimir Putin
launched a special military op-
eration following a request for
help from the leaders of the
Donbass republics. He stressed
that Moscow’s plans did not
include an occupation of
Ukrainian territories, its goals
www.canadianinquirer.net
a soon to be published book
by New York Times political
correspondent, Maggie Haber-
man, includes photos showing
Trump used to flush unwanted
documents down the toilet.
The FBI raid follows the re-
cent critical scrutiny of Trump’s
actions in inciting a riot against
the Capitol on January 6 2021,
when the congressional vote
for the presidential election
was declared. While politically
humiliating to Trump, it is not
clear that any legal action will
follow from those hearings.
Congress has no power to initi-
ate such action, and some spec-
ulate that Attorney-General
Merrick Garland is reluctant to
be seen to be undertaking polit-
ically motivated prosecutions.
Trump, speaking of himself
in the third person, asserted in
his statement on the FBI raid
that “the political persecution
of President Donald J. Trump
has been going on for years.”
Loyalty or else
More than anything, that re-
sponse is testimony to Trump’s
paranoid worldview, which
demands the loyalty of those
around him despite any inconve-
nient principle or evidence to the
contrary. In another soon-to-be
published book, Trump’s former
White House chief of staff, John
being the demilitarization and
denazification of the country.
In response, the West began
to gradually introduce sweep-
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Geneva on January 18, 2017. (JEAN-
MARC FERRÉ/UN PHOTO VIA UN GENEVA/FLICKR, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY
Kelly, a retired marine gener-
al, recounts how Trump said he
wanted his generals to be loyal to
him the way Hitler’s were loyal to
him under Nazi rule.
One of the Watergate report-
ers, Bob Woodward, wrote a series
of books about Trump and inter-
viewed him several times. He re-
ported an episode where Trump
went through the faces of various
Democratic congressional figures
watching him deliver his State
of the Union address, most of
whom – according to Woodward
– looked bland, bored or unemo-
tional. After each of them, Trump
exclaimed to Woodward “look at
the hate” – “they hate me”.
“It was a remarkable mo-
ment,” Woodward commented.
A psychiatrist might say it was
a projection of his own hatred of
Democrats. But it was so intense
that it did not resemble the sub-
dued reaction of the Democrats.
His insistence that it was “Hate!”
was unsupported by the images
[…] This Trump spectacle was
unforgettable and bizarre.
From the Roe v. Wade an-
ti-abortion and anti-gun con-
trol rulings of the Supreme
Court, to charges against
Trump’s supporters for vio-
lence on January 6, to the vari-
❱❱ PAGE 17 As the FBI
ing sanctions against Moscow
and to supply weapons and
military equipment to Kiev es-
timated at billions of dollars. ■
FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022
If Biden decides not to run for reelection,
he faces a big threat: Being a lame duck
BY MICHAEL J. FABER,
Texas State University
The Conversation
As President Joe Biden’s
approval ratings continue to
hover around 40% and polls
consistently show that most
Americans do not want him
to run for reelection, Biden’s
spokespeople insist that he
plans to run.
It would be more surprising
if he did not run.
No eligible sitting president
has declined to run for reelec-
tion since 1968. Announcing
that he does not plan to run
would make Biden an early lame
duck and make it much harder
for him to accomplish his goals.
‘A lot of little things’
A lame-duck president leaves
office at a known time. Sec-
ond-term presidents and pres-
idents who have just lost their
reelection campaign both fall
into this category, as well as
presidents who choose not to
seek a second term.
In nature, a lame duck is par-
ticularly vulnerable to preda-
tors because it cannot
keep up with the other
ducks. Before the term
was applied to poli-
tics, it was used in the
financial industry in
18th-century England
to refer to someone
in financial distress
and thus vulnerable
to creditors. In poli-
tics, lame ducks are
defenseless against
rivals because the rest
of the political world
has moved on and left
them stumbling be-
hind.
For the period be-
tween the election in
November and inauguration in
January, lame ducks are often
unable to do anything legisla-
tively. Instead, they are able to
accomplish only what they can
do on their own.
This is when many presi-
dents issue a lot of pardons,
particularly controversial ones.
But their legislative records
during their lame-duck period
are dismal, since Congress has
little incentive to work with
someone who will soon be gone.
Post-election lame ducks
have been a political problem
since early in American history.
In 1801, John Adams ap-
pointed dozens of “midnight
judges” to seats created by the
Federalist Congress, to try to
limit the powers of incoming
President Thomas Jefferson
and his allies in Congress.
In 1861, outgoing President
James Buchanan did nothing
to try to stop the secession of
Southern states, seeing them
as Abraham Lincoln’s problem.
Benjamin Harrison took steps
in 1893 to try to damage the
economy just to make it harder
for Grover Cleveland to govern.
Herbert Hoover in 1933 would
not change course on econom-
ic policy, despite the public’s
electing Franklin Roosevelt and
clearly wanting change.
By the early 1930s, frus-
tration with these lame-duck
periods led to the adoption of
the 20th Amendment, which
moved the date of presidential
inaugurations back from March
4 to Jan. 20, shortening the
lame-duck period by six weeks.
With less time to linger, pres-
... a lame duck is
particularly vulnerable
to predators because
it cannot keep up
with the other ducks.
idents have still found ways to
take a lot of little actions to try to
build their legacy, protect their
accomplishments or, especial-
ly for those who have lost a re-
election campaign, to make life
more difficult for the next presi-
dent. Barack Obama used execu-
tive orders in the final two years
of his presidency to achieve pol-
icy goals he had been unable to
push through Congress. Donald
Trump used executive orders
to make last-minute changes
World News 13
intended to create additional
headaches for Joe Biden.
‘Old news’
Some presidents are lame
ducks for longer periods – the
ones who cannot run again after
serving two terms, or the rare
few who have announced during
their first term that they will not
run for reelection. They face a
different governing problem.
Second-term presidents are
generally able to accomplish
things for the first two years
of their second term, perhaps
three if they are popular. But
once the next election cycle
starts, the press and the public
both shift their attention to the
candidates, and the president
loses a great deal of his ability
to control the media narrative
or reach the public.
Once candidates declare that
they are running, the press
treats lame-duck presidents as
old news, with a dismissive at-
titude toward anything the out-
going president might be doing. US President Joe Biden (THE WHITE HOUSE/FACEBOOK)
Congress, especially one
controlled by the opposition dents have declined to run for a lay the announcement to keep
party, will often take a similar second term. The most similar the media focus on his admin-
approach. In Obama’s final year case was Lyndon Johnson, who istration and the policy goals
as president, for ex- had served about five years, fin- he hopes to achieve, especial-
ample, Republicans in ishing the term of the assassi- ly those that require action by
Congress blocked all nated President John F. Kenne- Congress. After all, his term of
his efforts, including dy before being elected to a full office continues until Jan. 20,
his attempt to appoint term of his own in 1964. 2025, whether he runs again or
a justice to a Supreme When Johnson decided not not. To accomplish anything in
Court vacancy. to run for reelection in 1968, those last two years he will need
As a scholar of the he was losing public support in to keep the media and Congress
presidency who has the face of an unpopular war in focused on his administration.
studied elections and Vietnam and major opposition This will cause a strain be-
transitions, I believe from within his own party. tween the would-be presidents
that if Biden announc- It is not clear exactly when he and the man who currently holds
es he is not running decided not to run again, but his the office. But Biden, like any
for reelection, there announcement that he was not president, is more concerned
will be an immediate running was not made until af- with his own agenda than with
and unavoidable shift ter the New Hampshire prima- the campaigns of others. His
in the media, Congress ry in early 1968. By that point, agenda stands a better chance if
and the Democratic his ability to effectively govern he runs than if he does not.
Party leadership to a had already been badly dam- Still, the combination of old
focus on the 2024 elec- aged by fallout from the Viet- age and unpopularity makes it
tion. He will face the same kind nam War, and media attention plausible that Biden would de-
of treatment past lame ducks quickly shifted away from him cide to forgo a second term. If
have experienced, especially to focus on the candidates who he makes that decision, he will
if the Republicans win control might replace him. likely hold off as long as possi-
of the House or the Senate, or If Biden announces he is not ble before announcing it. From
both, in the 2022 midterm elec- running, that will open up the the moment he becomes a lame
tions. field for potential Democratic duck, the most productive days
Opens the field candidates who are not willing of his presidency are sure to be
Biden’s fate at the hands of to run against a sitting presi- behind him. ■
Congress, the press and the pub- dent of their own party. These
lic may be even worse, since a candidates will want to know This article is republished
decision not to run again is very as soon as possible so they can from The Conversation under a
likely to be seen as a failure. launch their campaigns early. Creative Commons license.
Only three first-term presi- But Biden will want to de-
www.canadianinquirer.net
14
Entertainment
Beyoncé has helped usher in a
renaissance for African artists
BY JAMES
CHIKOMBORERO
PARADZA, University of
Pretoria
The Conversation
Beyoncé has released her sev-
enth solo studio album, titled
Renaissance (2022). The album,
an event in global popular cul-
ture, is the first of a three-part
project by the US artist. Her
previous outing, the visual al-
bum Black is King (2020), col-
laborated with a host of African
artists. Renaissance pays tribute
to black dance music and again
features African artists, includ-
ing Nigerian singer-songwriter
Tems, who is having a global mo-
ment of her own.
In history, the renaissance
era (from the 1400s) was char-
acterised by the rebirth and re-
newal of culture and scholarship
in Europe following a period
of stagnation. Today, still, art –
paintings, music, fashion – con-
tributes to how people dress and
behave, what they choose to post
and talk about, and how they
perceive themselves and society.
For the last three decades,
Beyoncé has played a major role
in shaping global popular cul-
ture. She has continuously em-
powered listeners and sparked
debate, and her lyrics have of-
ten been quoted in discussions
on societal issues. Her views on
monogamy on the album Dan-
gerously in Love (2003), for ex-
ample, offer a counter narrative
to the patriarchal depiction of
hypersexuality in black women.
On Lemonade (2016), Beyoncé
uses music genres beyond those
expected of a black female art-
ist. In the process she challeng-
es the discrimination she faces.
On Black is King she reflects a
renaissance of African art forms
in a time when cultural norms
dominated by western thinking
are on the decline and Africa’s
star is rising in popular culture.
In this article, I argue that
throughout her career, Beyon-
cé has contributed to a renewal
of various narratives in popular
music and has in so doing en-
gaged meaningfully with Afri-
can culture and music.
African collaborations
Beyoncé has involved various
African artists in her projects
and many a time introduced
them to international audienc-
es. Before Black is King, these
include poetry by Kenyan-born
Warsan Shire on Lemonade,
a quote by Nigerian novelist
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on
Flawless (2013) and choreogra-
phy by Tofo Tofo – the Mozam-
bique-based dance group – in
the Run the World (Girls) video.
Though not as prominently
as on Black is King, Beyoncé
has included African artists on
Renaissance too, particularly
on the song Move, which has
an Afrobeats-inspired style
and features P2J (Nigeria) and
GuiltyBeatz (Ghana) as produc-
ers, as well as Tems as a writer
and performer.
Tems (Temilade Openiyi),
a versatile vocalist who also
writes songs, rose to fame af-
ter being featured on Essence
(2020) by Nigerian star vocalist
WizKid. Her discography con-
sists of music across different
genres, including alternative
R&B, neo-soul and Afropop.
Her debut single Mr Rebel
(2018) displays her R&B talents
(as both a producer and vocal-
ist), while her 2021 feature on
Canadian rapper Drake’s Foun-
tains shows her ability to con-
vey emotions through her voice.
Tems’ name is on everyone’s
lips following the release of the
trailer for the Black Panther
movie sequel set to her cover
of Bob Marley’s No Woman, No
Cry. She has contributed to the
renewal of perceptions towards
Afropop and commercial Afri-
can music, and its popularisa-
tion across the globe through
her unique style of music.
Black is King
I believe that when Black peo-
ple tell our own stories, we can
shift the axis of the world and tell
our REAL history of generation-
al wealth and richness of soul
that are not told in our history
books. – Beyoncé
Black is King, Beyoncé’s pre-
vious album, is a celebration of
African traditions with a “mod-
ern twist”. In the visual album,
she incorporates a Pan-Afri-
can-inspired lens and inte-
grates elements from several
African countries. She partners
with various African actors, di-
rectors, designers, choreogra-
phers and musicians, highlight-
ing the continent’s diversity.
Viewers are exposed to Afri-
can elements ranging from music
genres like Afrobeats (Nigeria)
and gqom (South Africa) to pop-
ular dance styles like the Network
(Ghana) and Kpakujemu (Nige-
ria). There are also visuals of land-
scapes across the continent.
Beyoncé must not mistaken-
ly be credited with originating
these elements, nor even popu-
larising them. They existed and
were appreciated by people long
before she started filming. How-
ever, one cannot deny the instru-
mental role Beyoncé has played
in bringing these elements to the
forefront of global popular cul-
ture as a result of her platform as
an international star.
Moreover, the visual album
portrays a more accurate repre-
sentation of the African conti-
nent and its diversity than other
works that adopt an African label
in global popular culture. Black
is King has introduced a renais-
sance of Africa’s image in popu-
lar media and empowered many
African and black people as they
finally feel more represented in
mainstream popular culture.
Renaissance
Beyoncé has once again in-
corporated an element of re-
newal on Renaissance. Through
the 16 tracks on the album, she
takes listeners on a journey
with the stated intention of
creating a safe space, free from
judgement, perfectionism and
overthinking. Listeners are ex-
posed to music that channels
the Studio 54 disco era of the
1970s with effortless transi-
www.canadianinquirer.net
tions to more contemporary
pop, R&B and house genres.
Early disco music was influ-
enced by the funk, soul and jazz
of the late 1960s, and combined
these styles with technology
such as synthesisers, multitrack
recordings and drum machines.
This created a lavish and decadent
form of dance-orientated pop
music characterised by a steady
beat and vocals that are promi-
nent, high and reverberated. The
genre was at its peak between
1975 to early 1979, with artists
such as Donna Summer and Glo-
ria Gaynor dominating the charts.
On the appropriately ti-
tled Renaissance, Beyoncé
has brought this style back to
the forefront of pop culture,
introducing many young lis-
teners to it. From the outset of
the lead single Break My Soul,
listeners are exposed to the al-
bum’s pervasive dance-pop and
house-inspired style. Beyoncé
successfully integrates music
genres including pop, electronic
house, Afrobeats, trap and soul,
to name a few, in combination
with various disco influences.
Through the lyrics on the al-
bum, an overarching sense of
self-love and pride is portrayed.
This resembles the music by one
Beyoncé (RONALD WOAN/FLICKR, CC BY-NC 2.0)
AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY
of South Africa’s and the conti-
nent’s most prominent pop art-
ists, Brenda Fassie (1964-2004).
Throughout her career,
Fassie, one of the queens of Af-
rican pop, made disco and pop
music that was influenced by
her township roots. Her iconic
music narrated the stories of
black South Africans during the
country’s apartheid era.
Global stage
When considering how pop-
ular music acts as a locus for so-
cial change within popular cul-
ture, it is evident that Beyoncé
plays a key role in shaping parts
of popular societal thought.
Throughout her career, her
music has challenged and re-
newed various narratives with-
in the popular music industry.
Her work serves as a plat-
form for African artists on a
global stage, using various mu-
sic genres as a method to count-
er people’s perceptions of black
female musicians. Her latest
album continues to do this by
introducing new listeners to a
revival of disco with a contem-
porary flair. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022
Pop icon Olivia Newton-John was the rare
performer whose career flourished through
different phases
BY CATHERINE STRONG,
RMIT University
The Conversation
Olivia Newton-John was a ver-
satile artist with an appeal that
spanned generations, and who
played an important role in claim-
ing a space for Australian popular
culture on the world stage.
She was the rare perform-
er whose career flourished
through different phases, and
who found success exploring
many facets of her talent.
Born in Cambridge in 1948,
Newton-John moved to Mel-
bourne at age 6 (becoming one
of a myriad of non-Australian
celebrities wholeheartedly
claimed by this country).
In her teens she started to
build up her profile on the local
performing circuits, also ap-
pearing on pop music television
program The Go!! Show.
In the 1960s, Australian mu-
sical acts saw moving to the UK
as a vital part of their career
progression. Newton-John be-
came part of the steady stream
of expats pursuing their music
in “the mother country” after
winning a talent competition
that provided her with tickets.
When her friend Pat Carroll
joined her, the two found suc-
cess touring as a pop duo, be-
fore visa troubles meant Carroll
had to return to Australia.
This led to new opportunities
for Newton-John as a solo artist.
Her first album If Not For You
(1971) was a success in the UK
and Australia, establishing her
as a household name in those
countries – and leading to oppor-
tunities such as a performance at
Eurovision representing the UK
in 1974 (she lost to ABBA).
Her break in the US market
came as she found a niche in the
country music genre. Country/
pop crossover songs such as Let
Me Be There were huge hits,
and in 1972 she won a Gram-
my for Best Country Female –
the first of four Grammys she
would win across her career.
Her move to the US in the
mid-1970s was accompanied by
a string of number one hits in
that country, establishing her
as an international superstar.
Life on the silver screen
Her star continued to rise
with the release of the musical
Grease in 1978.
Sandy established her as a gen-
uinely iconic pop culture figure.
Grease was a huge box-of-
fice success, and produced
a multi-million copy selling
soundtrack. Tracks such as
You’re the One That I Want
and Summer Loving were not
only hits in their own right at
www.canadianinquirer.net
Entertainment
the time but have become em-
bedded in our cultural memory,
transcending generations with
their appeal.
Grease was the peak of her
movie career. Attempts to
re-create the on-screen mag-
ic between herself and co-star
John Travolta in Two of a Kind
and the fantastical Xanadu (a
personal childhood favourite)
failed to gain traction with au-
diences or critics.
But her contributions to the
soundtracks of these films – in-
cluding Magic and Twist of Fate
– still charted highly as her mu-
sical career stayed strong.
Away from the spotlight
In the early 1980s she was
seen as part of the “Australian
invasion”, a period where Oz
culture was particularly promi-
nent on the international stage
through acts such as Air Supply
and the Little River Band.
15
Newton-John leaned into the
moment. In 1983, she launched
her Koala Blue boutique selling
Australian fashion and cultur-
al items, in collaboration with
her previous singing partner
Pat Carroll. The boutique last-
ed a little over a decade, during
which time Newton-John had a
family and put less focus on her
music career.
A planned comeback in 1992
had to be put on hold when
Newton-John was diagnosed
with breast cancer shortly be-
fore beginning her tour.
Her journey with the disease
inspired her to take up advocacy
and fundraising work in this area.
The Olivia Newton-John Cancer
Wellness and Research Centre
fundraises in various ways, in-
cluding through events such as
the annual Wellness Walk.
❱❱ PAGE 18 Pop icon Olivia
 16 AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY

A summer of...
❰❰ 10 index rose 6.5 per cent
in June. Hourly wages,
on the other hand, only
increased 5.2 per cent.
The below-inflation increase
in wages comes despite a record
low unemployment rate of 4.2
per cent. A tight labour market
is not resulting in above-infla-
tion wage increases for most
workers. Nor is there evidence
of a wage-price spiral, which is
when wage growth drives price
increases, which in turn drives
wage growth in the economy.
Instead, corporate profits,
global price increases, supply
chain issues and global conflicts
are making consumer goods
more expensive, while wages
fail to keep pace.
But average wages and pric-
es also mask variations in sec-
tor-specific pay increases, and
its impacts on different groups
of workers. The June Labour
Force Survey showed differenc-
es between the wage growth of
unionized versus non-union-
ized employees nationally: the
hourly wages of all workers with
union coverage were up 3.7 per
cent, compared with 6.1 per cent
among non-unionized workers.
Why are unionized work-
ers falling behind?
Recent research by the Canadi-
an Centre for Policy Alternatives
analyzed trends in wages and in-
flation in Canada from 2020-22
and found that three of the four
industries with the lowest wage
gains were public administration,
education and health care.
The report found that several
provincial governments, includ-
ing Manitoba, Saskatchewan,
Alberta and Newfoundland and
Labrador, were actively working
to freeze those wages prior to, and
even during, the pandemic. In
B.C., despite a two per cent aver-
age annual increase in public sec-
tor wage settlements, the average
public sector worker will take a 1.5
per cent pay cut this year.
This means that workers in
some of the sectors most im-
pacted by the pandemic, like
health care, have gained the
least from the recent economic
recovery. Lower paid workers,
such as care aides or education-
al assistants, also feel the im-
pacts of inflation more acutely
because they have to spend
more of their income on neces-
sities, like food and shelter.
As economist Alex Hemingway
has argued in his analysis of B.C.’s
public finances, the province can
afford to pay its essential public
sector workers much more.
Nor are wages the only issue.
Stephanie Smith, President
of the BCGEU, told me the
union wants the government
to address issues made worse
by the COVID-19 pandemic:
occupational health and safety,
especially mental health and
stress; short staffing and exces-
sive workloads; and workforce
planning to recruit and retain
workers in key services.
Clearly, there is a strong ap-
petite among union members to
act collectively to demand better
wages and working conditions.
Changing politics of labour
Economic historian Adam
Tooze, who has analyzed normal
(1979-2019) and recent (2020-
21) drivers of inflation in the U.S.
and Europe, notes that the his-
torical role of wages and corpo-
rate profits in driving inflation
has been reversed. He found that
wages have accounted for less
than eight per cent of U.S. price
increases since 2020, compared
to corporate profits which ac-
counted for almost 54 per cent.
A similar trend is seen in Can-
ada. Workers understand that
the cost of living is going up while
their wages are going down.
Moreover, when central banks
raise interest rates to quell infla-
tion, it hurts employment and
wages and makes life even more
expensive for those with debt.
After years of declining union
density and subdued labour un-
rest, are we seeing a change in
the politics of labour in B.C. and
Canada? It’s too early to tell.
Tooze argues that the low-in-
flation environment of the last
several decades is both a driv-
er and a result of unequal class
power. Governments and cor-
porations have been promot-
ing monetary policy that hurts
workers and unions with little
risk of retaliation.
While the balance of social
power has not shifted dramat-
ically, the upsurge in worker
organizing and policy proposals
for corporate taxes could signal
a change. In the meantime, the
BCGEU members appear com-
mitted to strike action to get
a fair contract that stops their
wages falling farther behind. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.

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www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022
Sunscreen: here’s why it’s an anti-ageing
skincare essential
BY KARL LAWRENCE,
King’s College London
The Conversation
Every month there seems to
be a trendy new product to add
to your skincare collection. Late-
ly, a commonplace product that
many people already use has tak-
en the top spot, with everyone
from dermatologists to influenc-
ers swearing by it as the number
one way to stay looking youthful
through the years: sunscreen.
It’s no wonder. It’s thought
that solar exposure – also
known as “photoageing” – caus-
es up to 80% of skin ageing. So if
you’re someone who’s worried
about fine lines, wrinkles and
uneven pigmentation, limiting
the amount of solar radiation
you get is one of the most im-
portant things you can do.
There are thought to be a
number of different triggers for
photoageing. Most research has
linked it to the expression of a
group of proteins called matrix
metalloproteinases (MMPs).
These proteins are enzymes
that break down elastins and
collagens in the skin’s deeper
layer (called the dermis). Elas-
tins and collagens are respon-
sible for the skin’s structure,
strength and stretchiness.
Expression of these MMP
proteins has been linked to both
DNA damage in skin cells and the
production of reactive oxygen
species. Reactive oxygen species
are highly reactive chemicals
formed from oxygen that can
damage other cellular compo-
As the FBI...
❰❰ 12 ous dubious activities
of Trump himself,
much in American
politics looks likely to be played
out in the courts over the next
year or two – far more than is
healthy in a democracy.
But when Trump has slashed
and burnt his way through
many political conventions,
Lifestyle
nents, such as DNA and proteins.
Both of these factors are
caused by too much sun expo-
sure. Over time, this damage ac-
cumulates to cause character-
istic signs of ageing. This may
explains why one study even
showed people who tended to
avoid the sun had significantly
fewer signs of ageing compared
to people who enjoyed spend-
ing time in the sun.
But it isn’t always possible to
avoid the sun – which is where
sunscreens help. These prod-
ucts contain ingredients (such
as zinc oxide) which absorb or
reflect UV radiation and dis-
sipate it safely before it can
damage our skin cells. This also
reduces the cumulative dose of
radiation received by the skin.
Studies have shown that sun-
screens can prevent many signs
of photoageing by tackling the
triggers, with numerous studies
showing they can prevent the ex-
pression of MMPs. A study that
compared the effects of using
sunscreen versus a placebo on
skin ageing, found that people
in the placebo group had higher
levels of solar elastosis (a sign of
photoageing which causes a loss
of elasticity) after two years.
An Australian study com-
pared levels of photoageing in
groups assigned to daily sun-
screen use versus discretion-
ary sunscreen use. In the daily
sunscreen use group, there was
no detectable increase in skin
ageing over the four-and-a-half
year study period compared to
the discretionary sunscreen
group. Another study has also
recourse to legal sanction may
be the only means of protect-
ing democracy. These are dark
times for the American nation,
but for precisely the opposite
reason Trump asserted. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
shown daily sunscreen use for a
year may reverse visible signs of
ageing when assessed by a der-
matologist.
Choosing the right product
While there is plenty of evi-
dence that sunscreens can pre-
vent photoageing, many only
block the UV (ultraviolet) range
of the solar spectrum. In the case
of photoageing, exposure to visi-
ble radiation (particularly blue
light) and infrared have all been
shown to contribute to photoag-
eing. Basically, this means that
sunscreens can’t protect against
photoageing entirely, but can re-
duce it significantly.
Some newer solar filters used
in sunscreens have been devel-
oped which can block some blue
light. Other ingredients some-
times added to sunscreens (such
Sunscreens can help reduce the amount of damaging radiation our skin gets.
Ex-president FVR...
❰❰ 8 President Fidel V. Ra-
mos, I extend to You
and to the People of
the Philippines heartfelt con-
dolences and assurance of my
prayers,” the pontiff said in the
letter dated August 8.
The letter, which was released
only on Tuesday morning, was
forwarded to the Catholic Bish-
www.canadianinquirer.net
as antioxidants) have also been
shown to prevent the production
of MMPs and reduce reactive ox-
ygen species – which will likely
help in the fight against photo-
ageing beyond the UV spectrum,
too. Antioxidants may also pro-
tect against factors such as pollu-
tion and smoking, which are both
linked to faster ageing.
Photoageing is a cumulative
process that occurs over time.
Doing anything you can to limit
exposure will slow this process
– such as covering up with cloth-
ing when you go outside. But
choosing the right kind of sun-
screen may also help somewhat.
The best product to use comes
down largely to personal prefer-
ence. But in general, the higher
the SPF, the greater protection
you’ll have against photoageing.
ops’ Conference of the Philip-
pines (CBCP) by Monsignor
Alessio Deriu, Secretary of the Ap-
ostolic Nunciature in the country.
“Mindful of the late Presi-
dent’s years of service to the na-
tion and his efforts in fostering
the values of democracy, peace,
and the rule of law,” he added.
The Pope said he will also pray
17
You should also try to find a sun-
screen with five-star UVA pro-
tection on the label, which will
help protect against the broad-
est range of UV radiation.
Be sure to regularly use sun-
screen or SPF-containing prod-
ucts from spring to autumn. If
you’re going to be getting a lot
of sun (such as on a beach holi-
day) it’s best to use a higher SPF
product and reapply regularly.
Although some people recom-
mend wearing sunscreen even
in winter, this is unlikely to be
of much benefit to people liv-
ing in the UK, as UV radiation
is lowest this time of year. But if
you go on a skiing holiday or live
somewhere with lots of snow,
sunscreen will still be beneficial
as snow reflects solar radiation.
All the evidence suggests that
by far the most effective way to
prevent photoageing is with the
use of sunscreens, as these pre-
vent damage from happening in
the first place. Now with more
choice than ever and formula-
tions always being improved,
it’s just a matter of finding what
product works best for you.
But a final word of warning:
slathering on sunscreen before
sitting out tanning won’t be
enough to protect you complete-
ly – and this goes beyond photo-
ageing. Too much sun exposure
can carry other risks – such as
sunburn and skin cancer – which
is something to bear in mind
during the summer months. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
for Ramos’ soul and his family.
“I commend his soul to the
mercy of Almighty God, upon
President Ramos’ family and
all who mourn his passing, I in-
voke the Divine Blessing of con-
solation of peace,” Pope Francis
added. ■ (with reports from Pri-
am Nepomuceno and Ferdinand
Patinio/PNA)
 18
Pop icon Olivia...
❰❰ 15 The return of New-
ton-John’s cancer in
2017, which would
eventually lead to her death,
also spelled the end of her tour-
ing career.
A lasting legacy
Newton-John leaves a legacy
as a sweet girl-next-door type
with a sublime voice, who em-
braced the country that claimed
her as its own, but who also at
times showed a more risqué side,
such as in Sandy’s leather jump-
suit, or the cheeky video to the
unapologetically sexual Physical.
She has already been rec-
ognised through awards and
honours.
She has been inducted into
the ARIA Hall of Fame. In 2020
she was appointed a Dame in the
Queen’s New Year honours list.
She has also been a continuing
part of the cultural conversation
through appearances on pop cul-
ture staples such as Drag Race.
She remained down-to-earth
and friendly, regularly turning
up to events like the Wellness
Walks to chat to participants
and encourage them on.
Like many Australians, ONJ
has been part of the soundtrack
to my life – from arranging
my own little performances to
Xanadu in kindergarten, to sing-
ing along to the Grease megamix
at school discos, to discovering
her earlier work through my re-
Olivia Newton-John (@THEREALONJ/INSTAGRAM)
search much later in life – and
many have benefitted from her
non-musical work, too.
She will be missed but never
forgotten. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
www.canadianinquirer.net
We need a...
❰❰ 10 connection to histori-
cal and contemporary
colonial and non-colo-
nial expressions of recognition.
This is often expressed through
both their exclusion to specific
agreements (like the Indian Act)
and their inclusion and accep-
tance within traditional forms
of Indigenous kinship.
It is not a generic category for
anyone who locates one or two
distant ancestors.
All institutions must be wary
of and challenge the ideas that
support the notion that Indian
status = colonial, therefore any
person inhabiting their Indian
status = bad.
Because status is an imposed
race-based mechanism based
on “Indian blood,” many (not
all) Indigenous people who hold
Indian status in this country are
racialized people and know what
it means to walk into a settler co-
lonial space and speak volumes
as an Indigenous person with-
out uttering a word.
Institutions that aim to ad-
vance equity, anti-racism and
AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY
decolonization must centre the
principles of integrity, truth and
structural transformation. They
must ask pressing questions like:
Do your Indigenous employees
include racialized, gender-di-
verse and socioeconomically di-
verse Indigenous people?
These questions don’t get an-
swered when the loudest voices
within the room say, “being Indig-
enous is not about race or status.”
The focus on status disre-
spects the millions of Indig-
enous people who struggle
to survive in universities and
other settler institutions while
having to endure everyday
forms of anti-Indigenous ra-
cialized violence.
The way forward must cen-
tre the lived experiences of In-
digenous Peoples, while also
refusing the efforts of settlers
to re-centre themselves in the
necessary transformations of
colonial institutions. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022
Cancelled culture comes back: the Edinburgh
Festival turns 75, alive and well after two
years of pandemic disruption
BY SARAH THOMASSON,
Te Herenga Waka — Victoria
University of Wellington
The Conversation
After two years of pandemic
programming, with performers
and audiences moved into virtu-
al online venues, the Edinburgh
International Festival celebrates
its 75th anniversary this year
with the best possible birthday
present – the return of a full pro-
gramme of live performances.
Part of Edinburgh’s immense
cultural legacy has been to inspire
similar events around the world
to innovate to sustain their infra-
structure – including in Aotearoa
Five easy ways to use less water at home –
and not just in a drought
BY NIKO WANDERS, Utrecht
University
The Conversation
With so much of the world
suffering from drought, you
might think your ability to help
is minimal. But when you con-
sider the average person in the
UK uses around 142 litres of
water a day, it’s easy to see how
small changes to your routine
can add up.
More than half of the water
that is extracted from rivers,
streams and aquifers in the UK
feeds the public water supply.
These abstractions, as they’re
called, worsen drought condi-
tions by draining local water-
ways, depriving vegetation, fish
and other aquatic life of the water
they need to survive droughts.
Filling paddling pools to cool
off, taking multiple showers
each day to stay clean, water-
ing the garden to revive wilting
plants – all these extra activities
contribute to a sharp increase in
public water use on hot and dry
days. And these impacts can en-
dure for months, as freshwater
systems need a lot of additional
rainfall to recover from droughts.
New Zealand and Australia,
whose own festivals are modelled
on the Scottish original.
But COVID has had a massive
impact. All arts festivals have
had to quickly cancel and “un-
produce” live events, or offer on-
line alternatives, as restrictions
on mass gatherings and interna-
tional travel undermined their
very reason for existence.
While organisers and per-
formers have shown ingenuity
and resilience, they are very
aware that digital technology
cannot replicate the joy of live
performance. All the more rea-
son to celebrate its return 2022.
A launch pad for talent
As the world’s leading festival
If each person can re-
duce their water use during a
drought, it would significantly
benefit the natural world in its
recovery. Here are five things
you can do, starting today.
1. Shower less
Most of the water you use is
in the shower. For every minute
you’re under the shower head (de-
pending on how powerful it is),
around 10 litres of water drains
away. Since most people shower
for an average of seven minutes,
half of your daily water use takes
place first thing in the morning.
Turning off the shower while
shampooing your hair or applying
shower gel can help conserve wa-
ter, as can shortening the length
of your shower overall. Be sure
not to switch to a bath though –
the average soak in the tub uses
around 80 litres of water.
2. Use rainwater in the
garden
During a dry spell, the average
gardener can use hundreds of li-
tres of water to keep their plants
hydrated. Some people will use
a watering can (good), others
might leave a sprinkler on all
day (bad). Most use drinking
water, which is a waste – plants
are happy with rain water.
city, Edinburgh today hosts 11
events throughout the year, six
of them in summer. These have
launched the careers of count-
less unknowns who have gone
on to become household names.
The playwright Tom Stop-
pard premiered Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern are Dead in
1966, and British theatre greats
Peter Cook, Dudley Moore,
Alan Bennett and Jonathan
Miller all appeared in a single
year, 1960, in their Beyond the
Fringe production.
Two decades later, in 1981,
Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and
Emma Thompson, along with
their Cambridge Footlights
peers, received a Perrier Award
Add a water butt that collects
the rain which falls on your roof
and use it for the garden. To find
out how to install one, watch this.
3. Use the short flush
Per flush, your toilet uses
about 5 litres of water, and up
to 10 litres in older models. If
available, use the short flush to
significantly reduce how much
water is wasted.
4. Cut back on car washing
If you need to wash your car,
do it the old-fashioned way with
a bucket and soap rather than
hosing it down. The water con-
tained in a bucket (roughly 30 li-
For each minute you shave off your shower time, you save 10 litres of water.
Lifestyle
(precursor to the Edinburgh
Comedy Awards). More re-
cently, in 2013, Phoebe Waller-
Bridge’s Fleabag received a
Fringe First award for new
writing before being reinvented
as the hit television series.
Consequently, Edinburgh
has come to be seen as a neces-
sary rite of passage for theatre,
circus and comedy performers
from around the world, includ-
ing Australia and New Zealand.
Each year, the Fringe lures artists
hoping to become the next Rose
Matafeo or Hannah Gadsby.
Edinburgh’s global influence
Edinburgh’s reputation as a
festival city began with the Ed-
inburgh International Festival
tres) is significantly less than the
average that flows through a hose
(around 15 litres per minute).
Better yet, avoid washing your
car entirely during a drought.
5. Reuse water
If you’re washing vegetables,
you could collect the water in a
bowl in the sink and later give
it to the plants in your house or
outside. While you’re waiting
for warm water to come out of
a tap, use the cold to fill the ket-
tle. Close the tap while you’re
lathering your hands with soap
or brushing your teeth. Though
these are only small savings, they
19
of Music and Drama in 1947.
Conceived as a cultural salve to
the social wounds of WWII, its
founders aimed to rejuvenate
European culture, restore post-
war diplomatic relations and
rebuild the Scottish economy.
Its success soon prompted a
wave of similar events around
the world, including the orig-
inal Auckland Festival (1949-
82), its successor the Auckland
Arts Festival/Te Ahurei Toi o
Tāmaki (2003), and Welling-
ton’s Aotearoa New Zealand
Festival of the Arts (1986).
In his foreword to the 1956
programme, mayor John Luxford
❱❱ PAGE 24 Cancelled culture comes
do make a difference over time.
Inflatable pools are lovely
for cooling down on the hottest
days. A cleaning pump can filter
the water and recycle it without
you needing to use more water
to keep the pool clean.
Save water, save money
All these tips can significant-
ly reduce your water use and
combat the effects of drought
on the environment. They can
also save you money.
If you’re able to renovate
your home, it’s worth install-
ing a system for collecting rain
water which, combined with a
pump, can flush toilets. In Bel-
gium, for example, it is common
practice to have such a system
installed (effectively, a large un-
derground water butt) in newly
built houses.
Most people would struggle
to afford these kinds of mea-
sures, and so drought-proof-
ing homes and communities
should be part of the effort to
adapt countries to the extreme
weather expected in a rapidly
warming world. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
20 AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY

Of serenity, sincerity, and

serendipity: Getting to know
Annie Lux’s symphony
BY BEA KIRSTEIN T.
MANALAYSAY
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
If you type in Annie Lux on
your Google search bar, you’d
immediately get clear results
that describe her as a Filipino-
Canadian singer-songwriter.
Normally, one just accepts
the results and absorbs the
information. But in real life,
what happens is:
“Usually, when people meet
me for the first time, I tell them,
‘I’m a musician.’ And they’re
like, ‘What?’”
Looks like the life of a
musician, what they do (which
is… music, attested by Annie),
still pops out several question
marks. Luckily, Philippine
Canadian Inquirer (PCI) got the
opportunity to sit down and have
a sincere conversation with her
to let you know who she really is,
both as a musician and more.
A serene impression
Meeting someone for the
first time draws out tons of
things, may that be excitement
or nerves, it depends. But if
there is one thing that’s pretty
sweet if that makes sense.”
If this is the case, beyond
‘sweet,’ who is Annie, really?
Onto the basics, Annie is a
Filipina by blood, born and
raised in Calgary, Canada.
She describes herself as an
Englishera (who is trying her
best), who understands both
Tagalog and Bicolano.
Leaving their jobs in Manila,
her parents only had two
suitcases, $100, and each other
when they first stepped foot in
Edmonton, Canada years ago.
“They had very, very humble
beginnings.”
One of Annie’s favorite
stories by her mom is when
the couple visited a store in
Edmonton. “They would get
the samples from the perfume
shop. That way, they had nice
perfume. Even though they’re
still kind of making their way,
they have expensive perfume,”
she shared.
According to Annie, her parents
had no blood relatives when they
first immigrated to Canada, but
they found ‘family’ in the friends
they made along the way.
It might have been just a small
apartment with a swimming
in the community meant.
“They care about the
community and I think that’s
just innately who they are…
That’s what my dad would do
when he was in college and mom,
too, liked community work.”
Despite living in Canada, her
parents definitely didn’t forget
their roots and made sure that
Annie, born on this foreign soil, Annie Lux (SUPPLIED)
would know it too.
“My parents really made it
clear how beautiful our culture is.”
Annie said that she truly
loved the sama-sama culture
of the Filipinos which was hard
to find in other countries. It’s
the sense of having someone
be with you when going
somewhere or always being
together in general.
“It’s wholesome to me that
you always wanna be with each
other. That’s the feeling.”
Another of her favorite thing
in the said culture sat itself
comfortably on her palate:
Filipino food.
The Filipino food trip
experience wouldn’t be
complete without visiting
the streets and smelling
the (ironically) good smell (SUPPLIED)

much constant, it’s that there
is always, somehow, a first
impression.
If you allow this writer to
describe Annie in the first
few seconds of the interview,
it’s that she definitely has a
soothing voice fit for a singer.
Not to mention a light aura
about her, affected by her
speech and tone.
“I’m a giggly girl, therefore
I think people think I’m kind or
sweet.”
To which, this writer humbly
agrees, considering the amount
of laughter that surrounded the
hour-long conversation.
However, Annie didn’t beat
around the bush and explained
that she doesn’t want to be a
mean person.
“I guess I could be pretty dark
too… like not really dark, but
emotional. I think people find it
unexpected if I’m anything but
pool for the two newcomers,
but this place made for close-
knit memories.
“Even though it was just a
small area, everybody came to
make sure they’re [doing] good;
not only checking [on them] but
[also bringing] potluck. They
were a support system for my
parents and I’m grateful for
them because they didn’t let my
parents feel alone.”
“I don’t really know the
history all the way about it,
but I just knew that they had a
really, really good community
supporting them. They were
always together.”
Her parents definitely
support other Filipinos,
especially when it comes
to small businesses such as
fashion stores and restaurants
providing food sponsorships
through Pacific Hut Restaurant.
For them, this was what being
of smoke. She particularly
likes kwek-kwek, chicharong
bulalak, and a lot of smoked
foods like barbecue.
Annie also found wonders
in a lot of dishes like sinigang,
lumpiang ubod, and adobo sa
gata. Meanwhile for desserts,
puto bumbong took the crown.
However, getting to know her
roots isn’t limited to practicing
traditions, trying out Filipino
food, teaching her the local
language, and of course, visiting
the Philippines. An extra mile
was bringing her to museums
to expose her to the farming
industry, the textiles and
prints, gold history, and other
rich things in the Philippines
to truly understand the culture
and history of the country.
“When it came to my dad
especially, he really made sure
that I knew how beautiful it was
that I’m a Filipina if that makes
www.canadianinquirer.net
sense,” Annie said, adding, “On
my mom’s side, I think [it’s] her
appreciation for fashion and
music. She knows the Japanese,
Spanish, and American
influence, and how that’s part of
the Filipino story.”
Annie has a deep appreciation
of the Filipino culture and its
diversity, but she’s guilty of one
thing: admittedly, not being
good in Tagalog.
“The thing is they (my parents)
didn’t teach me Tagalog when
I was a kid because in Canada,
basically, they have an ESL
program – English as a second
language program, like they didn’t
want it to hold me back. So they
taught me English first. When I
tried to learn Tagalog, I would get
mixed up with Bicolano.”
Eventually, Annie had a
chance to test her Tagalog skills
more when she lived in the
Philippines.
As a kid, she said that they
often visited the Philippines
but it was usually in Legazpi
and Guinobatan in Bicol.
After graduating high school,
she chose to take the metro
and live in Quezon City for a
few months which is her first
time moving. She called the
experience “interesting” as she
didn’t know much about the
Manila culture, considering
that she was more familiar with
the provinces Bicol and Albay.
Moving wasn’t a one-time
thing for this wandering
musician. She decided to move
to Boston for college, and she
recalled it as true independence
as she didn’t have her family
with her. It was pretty much
a parallel to her parents’
FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022
experiences in Canada before.
“Your friends kinda became
your family,” she explained.
Quezon City became Annie’s
home once more for six months
after she graduated college.
Currently in Los Angeles,
Annie still doesn’t know where
she’s going to land but one
thing’s certain.
“I’m grateful that I have that
kind of free-spirited attitude,
personality. I’m grateful I’m
Canadian and Filipino so
Canada, here, Calgary, it’s
always home. And Philippines
to me is always home. For me, I
see those two places as home. Los
Angeles is my new home and I’m
excited to pursue my dreams.”
A sincere self
With first impressions out
of the way, digging deeper into
Annie’s identity and personality
is easier now.
Throughout Annie’s life, her
parents are figures that always
influenced her as she continues
to find and form her true self.
In fact, she said that she has
a really good relationship with
her parents.
“I’m their only kid, so I’m the
best one they could have,” she
said jokingly after fits of giggles.
Annie made it clear she loves
being an only child. When she was
a kid, her parents asked her if she
wanted a sibling and the answer
she gave was a firm and quick no.
“I don’t have one, but then, I
love being an only child, I won’t
lie. There’s a lot of perks.”
Apart from enjoying her
parents showering her love and
support, Annie said that she’s
used to being independent and
that her cousins also felt like
her siblings in a way anyway.
“I have a big and small family.
It’s large and little, small but
mighty.”
Onto more personal stuff,
music is an obvious love for
Annie, and her parents were
also one of the reasons for this.
“They wanted me to do dance
all throughout me being a kid,”
she said, but shared that despite
being surrounded by friends
who were dancers, she still
never wanted to do that. She
wanted something different,
but also quite physical.
“I wanted to do taekwondo,
but then I wasn’t allowed. But
that was okay.”
The amusing thing about
this is that even when she grew
up, Annie didn’t necessarily
drop this penchant. It just got
converted into something more.
“I just wanted to be an MMA
(mixed martial arts) fighter.”
This writer won’t lie in
admitting that there was some
kind of shock value when gentle
Annie first mentioned it – her
parents are not an exception
from this reaction – especially
her mom.
It was a sixth-grader
Annie who originally got this
inspiration. At age 11, gym class
introduced her to the world of
wrestling and there was some
sort of epiphany for the young
girl.
“In my future life, I’d be
a wrestler,” she told herself,
seeing the fun in it.
Of course, as excited as she is,
she still asked for approval and
permission.
“It was a very solid no,”
she said with little lament in
contrast to the fun spirit of
talking about wrestling.
While her story was a mix of
comedy and internal calamity,
Annie understood the meaning
behind that rejection.
“It’s because they want to
protect you, they don’t want you
getting injured.”
And that was the truth. As
cliché as it sounds, her parents
wanted the best for her and
they prioritized her safety.
She admitted though that
she’s quite brave when it comes
to things that most people
would probably be scared of
like extreme rides and heights.
“For something to scare me,
it would have to be [something
like] it could eat me, like if I ran
into a bear,” she said.
While she wasn’t able to
try out taekwondo and MMA,
Annie said that now that she’s
older, she’s freer to explore
other sports such as diving,
hiking, swimming, and recently,
snowboarding.
This trait of being brave
and facing fears didn’t mean
that Annie got into all kinds of
trouble though. Well, maybe
except for that one time in
second grade.
Despite her parents being
protective of their only girl, she
recalled that her mom often
taught her that she still needed
to stand up for herself.
“I did start standing up for
myself, but I think I took it too
far,” she confessed.
As told by her, back then,
there was a boy who teased her
and called her names. Annie
didn’t want to specify the
bullying but all she said was that
for the kid’s age, he shouldn’t be
saying those words.
“I kicked him on the you know
what and I was wearing boots
too, so they really hurt. Oh my
gosh, I got in so much trouble
with the principal.”
Her parents were called into
the office and it was her mom
who went to her school and
picked her up. Annie recalled her
mom wearing a stern face, but
then being the cool mom that she
is, when they into the car, she got
a “good job” from her.
“Not that she condones
violence. I don’t think she
encourages that. She was just
happy that I stood up for myself.”
This virtue helped Annie
shield herself from the other
times of bullying that she
faced. While thankfully not
experiencing really bad ones,
she still got bullied for her race.
“There’s this stereotype that
Asian women… ‘cause they’re
smaller, [they’re] meeker or frail,
or something. Oftentimes, I have
to kind of… always be graceful
with how I exhibit my strength in
situations where I feel like people
are assuming that I’m ‘smaller.’”
Annie stressed that there’s
nothing wrong with being
feminine and it’s one of the
superpowers of women, but
still, she had to defend herself
with the way society works.
As an artist, her life isn’t
always weaved by eventful
experiences. The mundane
days are also part of it.
One of her hobbies is
reading and it’s something she
loved ever since she was a kid
alongside painting and drawing.
She said that she’s really into
autobiographies and self-care
books because of the storytelling
aspect and the romanticization
of the everyday life.
She’s also very fond of playing
the Rubik’s cube and practicing
skin care.
Outside all the things
mentioned so far about her, the
rest of Annie’s love, time, and
priorities go to none other than
music.
After all, music for her, is
something she views through
two different lenses: her love
for it and her career.
To truly pursue music, she
graduated from Berklee College
www.canadianinquirer.net
Fil-Can In Focus
of Music with Bachelor’s degree
in Contemporary Writing and
Production.
“But I’d say my first musical
education was singing in the
choir at church. I thought it was
gonna be like the movie ‘Sister
Act’ but it kinda wasn’t,” she
shared, laughing at the memory,
and continuing, “I’m still
grateful for the experience.”
Currently, she is based in Los
Angeles, where she writes and
produces music for upcoming
artists as a freelancer. But she
also writes music for herself.
With all these, it is quite
obvious that music is not just a
dream come true, but it is the
tune that plays her life.
‘Serendipity’
“For me, making music… I
find it serendipitous every time.”
This was how Annie
described music.
So how did she exactly come
to know music in her life?
A funny story shared by
Annie was her first trip to
the Philippines, which was
something she couldn’t
remember and only knew
because her parents told her.
“I screamed the whole flight.
Literally, the whole [ flight].
The flight from Canada to
Philippines is 10 - 12 hours.
The whole, entire flight, I was
screaming. There was no break.
My dad told me there was no
breath in between. I attribute
that to why I sing, probably.”
Whether the last part of the
amusing tale is true or not, the
fact remains that Annie still
sings today and is loving every
second of it.
In all honesty, her early
memories of music were mostly
in the car, listening to whatever
was being played during rides.
However, she shared that the
most striking one is probably
when she was four years old
when her mom was playing
music one morning while
cleaning the house.
“I’m in this ballerina’s tutu, the
cute one, and I’m wearing heels
like glass slippers, and a tiara.”
What four-year-old Annie
deemed to be an aid to her
mom’s chore was mostly really
her singing along to the records
that played. From what she can
recall, it was mostly 70s and
80s soul, like Motown music.
The biggest ones on top of her
head included Stevie Wonder,
Grease, and Sister Act.
21
“At some point, my mom
got me a toy keyboard and she
wrote all the letter note names
on it so that I could learn,”
Annie said.
An interesting fact to note
about this is that her mom
didn’t know how to play the
piano and just figured out the
notes by reading books in their
local library. A few months after
that, Annie took the next step
when her mom enrolled her in
piano lessons, which was just
the beginning of everything.
“When I started piano lessons,
I really enjoyed practicing.
Maybe I didn’t enjoy what I was
learning so much, but I really
enjoyed the practice part of it.”
She called practice as
meditative and she felt like she
was in a safe space whenever she
practiced. She also attributed this
fulfillment to filling the space of
having siblings; it was the musical
instruments that gave her the fun.
Despite this, Annie confessed
that she really isn’t “good” at
playing instruments; she just
does it for fun. Apart from the
piano, she’s tried her hand at
drums, guitar, and bass. And if
given the chance, she’s really
interested to try harp next.
This is why she also doesn’t
consider herself a pianist
despite it being her gateway to
the musical world and it being a
childhood dream at some point.
But all these factors make
up the reason why she sees
serendipity in her music.
“When I play certain melodies
in an instrument like on piano,
or bass, or ukulele, sometimes,
these mistakes just sound good.
Luckily, I’m grateful that I went
to school for music and I can
tell if it’s a mistake and if this
mistake is acceptable… that it
still fits in the context of what
I’m trying to make.”
The mixture of mistakes,
of learning, of meditation, of
enjoyment; all these make the
whole experience a happy one
for her both as an artist and as
someone who just genuinely
loves music.
This love for music as a kid
translated into dreams. It’s
easy for children to associate
whatever they find fun with
something they choose to
dream about. For Annie, music
was a definitive number one.
A singist and a pianoist – these
❱❱ PAGE 26 Of serenity, sincerity
22
MILO energizes Fresh from rise in world
kids’ summer with rankings, Obiena reinstated
Barangay Liga to PH team
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – MILO® Philip-
pines has energized the sum-
mer season of kids from all over
the country with its innovative
grassroots sports program, the
MILO® Barangay Liga (MBL).
Filipinos’ love for basketball
was evident during the summer
league, with hundreds of kids
from various barangays in the
country showcasing their skills
on the court, accompanied with
enthusiasm of the crowd.
Players and enthusiasts alike
filled the barangay courts with
excitement as the country’s fa-
vorite sport slowly reopens on-
ground from the pandemic.
“It is with excitement that we
welcome again our Champion kids
from couch to court, and see them
playing on team setting,” said Carlo
Sampan, MILO Sports Executive.
“At the MILO® Barangay Liga,
we see teamwork, discipline and
respect in action. Aligned with
the brand’s purpose of nourish-
ing kids’ journey to success with
nutritious energy and inspi-
ration to grow with sports, the
MILO® barangay Liga served as a
platform for kids to develop their
skills, build confidence, and be-
come a role model to their peers.
More than that, we see a lot of po-
tential talents that we can hone
Sports
and build as champions in and
outside the court,” he added.
Moms also played a vital part
to the Champion journey of
their kids, even as they compete
in the MILO Barangay Liga.
“Yung mga ganitong activities
(MBL) ay malaking tulong para
sa physical and social needs ng
mga bata, kaya full support ako sa
kanya (These kind of MBL activi-
ties are a big boost for the physical
and social needs of children, that’s
why I fully support my child),”
said Jean Calude Bunagan from
Barangay Tablon, Cagayan de
Oro, mother of MBL participant
Jean Jeariel Bunagan.
“Aside from giving him words
of wisdom and encouragement,
I make sure na kumpleto ang
kanyang nutrisyon para sa energy
na kailangan niya sa sports at sa ev-
eryday activities niya (that he has a
complete nutrition for the energy
he needs in sports and every other
activities),” Bunagan added.
MILO® Barangay Liga is
well-supported by local govern-
ment units, as it is aligned with
their development programs
for the youth.
“Sports is the best way to get
them off the unnecessary or
negative influences in the com-
munity. It also sends a positive
message to everybody, that the
❱❱ PAGE 30 MILO energizes kids’
BY IVAN STEWART
SALDAJENO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – EJ Obiena is set
to make his way back to the
Philippine athletics team.
The Philippine Athletics Track
and Field Association (PATAFA)
is now in the process of reinstat-
ing the world’s number three pole
vaulter to the national team af-
ter a successful medal run in the
World Athletics Championships.
The Philippine Sports Com-
mission (PSC) said on Friday
night that it has received a letter
from new PATAFA president
Terry Capistrano expressing its
intent to reinstate Obiena.
Capistrano asked the PSC
that through the reinstatement,
he shall be “given the same al-
lowances previously extended
to him based on his classifica-
tion as a world-class athlete.”
Marcos praises Pinoy para
athletes for triumphant
campaign
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – President Ferdi-
nand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on
Monday praised the Philippine
para-athlete delegation over their
triumphant campaign during the
recent 11th Asean Para Games
(APG) in Surakata, Indonesia.
Competing in 14 disciplines,
the Filipino athletes returned
home with their best-ever fin-
ish of 28 gold, 31 silver, and 47
bronze medals.
“Binabati natin ang ating mga
www.canadianinquirer.net
(@ERNESTOBIENAPV/INSTAGRAM)
For PSC officer-in-charge
Guillermo Iroy, the reinstate-
ment is another good news
considering that the agen-
cy, through former chairman
Butch Ramirez, had a hand in
fixing the spat between Obie-
na and PATAFA, when Popoy
Juico was still the president,
earlier this year.
“I see no problem with the
kampeon sa katatapos lamang
na 2022 ASEAN Para Games na
ginanap sa Indonesia (We con-
gratulate our champions at the
recently concluded 2022 Asean
Para Games held in Indone-
sia),” Marcos said in his official
Facebook page and other social
media accounts.
He also shared a photo col-
lage of Filipino athletes who
raked in medals.
“Pinatunayan nila na hindi
hadlang ang kanilang kapansanan
upang makamit ang tagumpay.
Ang kanilang katatagan at ded-
ikasyon ay isang mabuting hu-
AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY
endorsement, EJ deserves to
be back on the team,” Iroy said,
adding that the PSC will quick-
ly reinstate Obiena once all the
formalities have been settled.
The PSC hopes that Obiena’s
reinstatement “will further mo-
tivate our athlete to perform bet-
ter in the coming international
competitions” as he prepares for
the 2024 Paris Olympics. ■
waran sa bawat kabataang nan-
gangarap maging isang atleta
(They proved that their disability
is not an obstacle to achieve suc-
cess. Their tenacity and dedica-
tion are a good example for every
young aspiring athlete,” he added.
The Philippines retained its
No. 5 ranking at the close of the
11th edition of the sporting event
with majority of the 144-athlete
contingent participating for the
first time at this level since 2017.
To recall, the APG was twice
postponed -- 2020 Philippines
❱❱ PAGE 30 Marcos praises Pinoy
FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022
6 ways Canadians can prepare
for the upcoming recession
BY WALID HEJAZI,
University of Toronto,
GEORGE GEORGOPOULOS,
York University, Canada
The Conversation
Although it certainly feels
like it, and many people believe
it, we are not in a recession yet.
While a recession is defined as
two successive quarters of neg-
ative GDP growth, it is essen-
tially a period where economic
growth falls significantly and
unemployment rates rise.
Given the lack of a precise defi-
nition, there is not always a full
agreement on whether an econo-
my is in recession. In Canada, the
government has not made any
recent declarations of recessions,
but the C.D. Howe Institute, a Ca-
nadian nonprofit policy research
organization, tracks recessions
independently.
According to the Institute,
the most recent recession start-
ed in March 2020 during the
height of COVID-19’s first wave.
The Institute declared the re-
cession over in August 2021.
The current cost of living crisis
has many Canadians wondering
when the next one will be.
Runaway inflation
The general consensus
among economists is that a re-
cession is likely to occur some-
time in 2023. This expectation
is largely because of the aggres-
sive interest rates that central
banks around the world have
increased to combat inflation.
Inflation rates — the rate
of growth in prices we pay for
goods and services — have ris-
Business
en to levels not seen in four de-
cades. High inflation rates nega-
tively impact purchasing power
and make it more difficult for
people to buy everyday neces-
sities, like groceries. Inflation
also has a negative impact on
economic efficiency, resulting in
overall decreased growth.
When interest rates rise, it
becomes more expensive to fi-
nance the purchase of larger
items, like cars, homes and va-
cations. Any purchase that re-
quires financing becomes more
costly when interest rates rise.
When existing debts have
variable interest rates, the
cost to carry these debts also
increases. As a result of these
increases, demand for many
goods and services lessen, and
so does inflation.
What happens in a recession?
During a recession, busi-
nesses are forced to reduce hir-
ing, lay off workers and reduce
working hours. If a recession
does hit, tens of thousands of
Canadians will become unem-
ployed, or have reduced work-
ing hours.
Many of these job losses will
be concentrated in the service
sector, particularly in the gig
economy where incomes tend
to be lower and employment is
precarious.
A loss in income means peo-
ple have to draw on their savings
— assuming they have any — to
pay for essential items such as
food, shelter and transporta-
tion. The potential of job loss-
es or reduced hours of work is,
therefore, the greatest impact of
a recession and the consequence
most people should prepare for.
How to prepare
With a recession seeming
imminent, many Canadians are
rightfully concerned about the
state of their finances. In antic-
ipation of a recession, here are
six tips Canadians can follow to
prepare for a recession:
1. Reduce spending, partic-
ularly spending on non-es-
sential items, immediately.
Take the opportunity to review
your budget and reconsider dai-
ly spending habits that add up.
Rather than buying lunch each
day, consider packing a lunch.
Reconsider those subscriptions
that automatically come out of
your account each month. It’s
a great time to rationalize and
justify your spending habits
and reconsider budgets.
2. Pay off your credit card
debt now. It’s important to
pay down high-interest debt as
much as possible, as soon as pos-
sible. Over the coming months,
interest rates will continue to
rise, making it harder to manage
debts. Lower balances allow a
lower level of interest payments
during any period of lost income
or employment, thus making it
easier to navigate financially dif-
ficult periods.
3. Pay close attention to bill
payments and avoid paying
late charges. These charges
also add up over time. Make a
plan to ensure bill payments are
paid on or before the due date.
Paying bills late results in mone-
tary penalties, which you always
want to avoid, but especially
during a recession.
4. Be prepared to lose your
www.canadianinquirer.net
A recession will result in job losses for many Canadians.
job. Ensure your resumes and
cover letters are up-to-date and
you are prepared to job hunt. In
the event of a job loss, be ready
to find another job at a mo-
ment’s notice.
5. Become more hireable.
Because recessions typically
hit those with less experience
and lower skills harder, you
should keep job-related skills
up-to-date. Explore virtual
options that provide excellent
opportunities for upgrading,
or in-person offerings through
colleges and universities across
the country, to further your ed-
ucation and skills development.
6. If possible, try to move
into a recession-proof job.
The most recession-proof jobs
depend on skill levels, but tend
to be in the government sector,
health care and within educa-
tion. Of course, these jobs are
not for everyone. Each person
should consider options that
are conducive to their skill set
and preferences. This strate-
gy is far more successful when
skills and resumes are updated,
and you are well prepared.
23
Plan for the worst, hope
for the best
Some of these strategies are
easier to pursue than others. But
perhaps the biggest lesson of all
is to always be prepared for the
worst. Recessions, or economic
downturns, are part of what is
called the business cycle, which
describes the ups and downs of
the economy. Recessions typ-
ically occur once every decade
and sometimes more often.
Individuals should always be
well prepared for such downturns.
It’s much easier to pursue the
strategies above well in advance of
a recession, instead of waiting un-
til the last moment. The closer to a
recession someone tries to pursue
the above strategies, the more dif-
ficult it is to be well prepared.
Even if you plan ahead, re-
cessions can be terrifying to live
through. But the good news is
recessions don’t last forever. The
only thing we can do is plan for
the worst and hope for the best. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
 24
PH firm gets US funding to develop
up to 3GW wind power
BY JOANN VILLANUEVA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Philippines’
bid to increase the share of
renewable energy among its
sources got a boost following
the awarding of a grant by the
US government to a local firm
to develop up to three-gigawatt
wind power capacity.
In a briefing on Saturday, US
Secretary of State Antony J.
Blinken highlighted the impor-
tance of coordination among
governments to solve several
issues such as the impact of cli-
mate change.
He said the Philippines, for
one, “is especially vulnerable to
dealing with more intense ty-
phoons, extreme rainfall, rising
temperatures and sea levels.”
“This is a threat by definition
that no one country, no one gov-
ernment can solve alone. We have
to tackle it together and investing
in clean energy is one very power-
ful way to do that,” he said.
The grant was extended
through the US Trade and De-
Cancelled culture comes...
❰❰ 19 hailed Auckland’s festi-
val as following “a less
ambitious but no less
worthy pattern” to Edinburgh’s.
In Australia, too, the founders of
the Adelaide Festival in 1960 pro-
moted their festival as a “more
modest” version of Edinburgh.
(Fittingly, perhaps, the 75th
festival opens with a perfor-
mance of Macro by Adelaide’s
contemporary circus performers
Gravity & Other Myths and Aus-
tralian First Nations dance-the-
atre troupe Djuki Mala.)
International arts festivals
are now annual events in most
Australian state and territory
capitals. In most cases they are
scheduled alongside other arts
and sporting events to capital-
ise on the festive atmosphere
and draw visitors to the city.
Cancelled culture
Nowadays, Edinburgh’s success
is largely due to its most famous
summer festival, the Edinburgh
Festival Fringe. Begun in opposi-
tion to the perceived elitism and
lack of Scottish representation in
the “official” festival, it has since
Business
velopment Agency (USTDA)
and given to Aboitiz Renewable
Inc. to allow the latter to do a
feasibility study to develop up
to three gigawatts of the off-
shore wind project.
“In time, that project will
produce up to 3,000 megawatts
of clean energy every single
year. And to put that in perspec-
tive, 3,000 megawatts of clean
energy, that’s enough to power
more than two million poles,”
Blinken said.
Data from the US Depart-
US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Loss Carlson, US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez,
and Energy Usec. Wimpy Fuentebella (standing, from left) witness the signing
ceremony for the American government’s grant to Aboitiz Renewables, Inc. at
Ayala Triangle in Makati City on August 6, 2022. (RICO H. BORJA/PNA)
pioneered an open-access model
that welcomes any artist who can
find a venue to host them.
The festivals are economically
important, too. Edinburgh’s sum-
mer festivals saw a record-break-
ing 4.4 million attendances in
2019. In total, the festivals had an
estimated £313 million benefit to
the Scottish economy when last
measured in 2015.
But with success comes inev-
itable problems. The festivals
have also seen complaints from
residents about access to public
spaces and blocked views of Ed-
inburgh Castle. There has also
been criticism of the Fringe for
alleged mismanagement, the
high cost of participation, and
the risk of normalising precar-
ious labour practices.
In 2018, a Fair Fringe campaign
successfully pressured the City
of Edinburgh Council to adopt
charters to improve pay and con-
ditions. But it was the pandemic
that presented a genuine exis-
tential threat when Edinburgh’s
summer festivals were cancelled
for the first time in 2020.
ment of State said the USTDA
has provided funding for sev-
eral projects involving smart
grids, renewable power gener-
ation, distributed energy, and
energy storage systems.
It said the agency has, to
date, completed 33 energy ac-
tivities in the Philippines that
have been credited by US firms
to have generated more than
USD557 million in US exports.
Blinken said the US govern-
ment will support the Philip-
pines’ bid to source 35 percent
Live performance returns
Internationally, arts festivals
responded creatively to support
artists, venues and crews whose
livelihoods have been affect-
ed. The expansion of outdoor
venues and reduced seating
capacities helped provide audi-
ences with cultural connection
during an unsettling time.
In 2021, Edinburgh made
tentative steps to open up, pre-
senting a restricted programme
supported by a free digital “At
Home” offering to 350,000 on-
line viewers from 50 countries.
In Auckland and Sydney, bor-
der closures saw festivals pri-
oritise and highlight local work
with their “100% Aotearoa” and
“Australian Made” seasons.
Fringe festivals, too, experi-
mented with online alternatives,
although their ability to adapt
was largely determined by the
level of government support they
received. In the end, though, dig-
ital festival offerings are largely
make-do measures born of ex-
traordinary circumstances.
Not all shows translate well
www.canadianinquirer.net
of its energy mix from renew-
able energy (RE) by 2030 and
50 percent by 2040.
He said the grant for a feasi-
bility study on wind power in
the country will be a major con-
tributor to helping the govern-
ment achieve its goals to tap the
country’s RE potential.
“We hope to galvanize more
investment in wind power.
That’s an industry with tremen-
dous potential for growth in the
Philippines,” he said.
Meanwhile, Philippine
Ambassador to the United
States Jose Manuel Romual-
dez, during the said event, said
the US government has been
among the strong partners of
the Philippine government in
terms of aid and support.
“Beyond the humanitari-
an assistance and disaster re-
sponse, we need to zero in on
the root [cause] of the problem
and pursue solutions that will
have [a] significant impact in
the long run,” he said.
He said the Philippine gov-
ernment hails the Biden admin-
istration’s decision to rejoin the
online and not all audiences have
adequate digital access. These
necessary experiments have
sustained the festival ecosystem
through the pandemic, but enthu-
siasm for them inevitably wanes.
As festival goers return to the
venues and streets of Edinburgh
this month, they will celebrate
the magic of being together –
performers and audiences – in a
shared space for a short time.
Edinburgh International Festival Fireworks 2012 (MAGNUS HAGDORN/FLICKR, CC BY-SA 2.0)
AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY
Paris Agreement, the landmark
accord aimed at limiting coun-
tries’ greenhouse emissions to
limit global warming below two
degrees Celsius.
The decision, he said, “reaf-
firmed the highest level of the
United States’ commitment to
climate efforts.”
“And we are proud and grateful
for the continuing partnership in
this regard,” Romualdez said.
He noted that the latest grant
for a feasibility study for a wind
power project in the Philip-
pines is timely.
“The Aboitiz Renewable In-
corporated, which we hope will
translate to new and better wind
energy infrastructure that will
provide Filipino homes in the
near future with economical,
high quality, and sustainable for-
est-sourced electricity,” he said.
Citing World Bank estimates,
Romualdez said the country
has around 178 gigawatts of off-
shore wind potential.
“We should harness it in sig-
nificantly helping in meeting the
increasing demand for energy in
the country,” he added. ■
The joy of live performance
is about presence, the ability to
eyeball the performer in front of
you, or feel anticipation spread
through a crowd. These festivals
have offered this experience for
75 years. This year, more than
ever, we will cherish it. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022
Why it’s important to think about
social media use as a form of dissociation,
rather than addiction
BY AMANDA BAUGHAN,
University of Washington
The Conversation
In the early days of the
COVID-19 pandemic, I had an
unfortunate Saturday routine.
I would wake up in my studio
apartment and immediately
turn to my phone, telling myself
that I would get breakfast after
quickly checking Twitter.
An hour or so later, I would look
up and realize what time it was -
and how ravenous I’d become. I
had become totally absorbed in
looking at memes, snark and the
24 hour news cycle.
This experience sparked
an idea: What if, instead
of people becoming “ad-
dicted” to social media – as
users often characterize
their excessive engagement
– they’re actually dissociat-
ing, or becoming so engaged
that they lose track of time?
I’ve researched people’s
social media use for four
years as a Ph.D. student at
the University of Washing-
ton, and my collaborators and I
decided to design a study to test
this theory.
What is dissociation?
Many researchers think dis-
sociation occurs on a spectrum.
On one end, there is the kind
of dissociation that is spurred
by trauma and associated with
PTSD flashbacks.
Then there are common, ev-
eryday experiences of dissoci-
ation, which involve attention
being limited to a narrow range
of experience. Everyday disso-
ciation can be passive or active.
Spontaneous daydreaming is
a form of passive dissociation,
while reading a book is an ex-
ample of active dissociation. In
both cases, you can become so
immersed in a fantasy or sto-
ry that time falls away and you
lose track of your surroundings.
You might not be able to hear
Technology
someone calling your name
from another room.
Dissociation is part of
healthy cognitive functioning,
as mind-wandering helps you
learn, and combating stress
though deeply engaging in hob-
bies can boost your mood.
What does dissociation
look like online?
When online, however, disso-
ciation can reflect zombie-like
behavior - scrolling for hours
without realizing it, not being
aware to one’s surroundings
while scrolling, or scrolling on
autopilot and then realizing you
haven’t actually paid any atten-
Dissociation is
part of healthy
cognitive
functioning...
tion to what you’ve read. Have
you ever seen someone so ab-
sorbed in their phone that they
start walking across a street,
oblivious to oncoming traffic?
They’re likely dissociating.
Typically, behavior like this
is classified as smartphone or
internet addiction.
However, researchers have
begun to push back against the
narrative of addiction to describe
excessive smartphone use, ex-
plaining that the behavior – even
if it’s a source of distress – should
not be considered addiction if it’s
better explained by an underly-
ing disorder, is a willful choice, or
is part of a coping strategy.
I am of the belief that choos-
ing to play Candy Crush for
three hours a day is not neces-
sarily “addiction.” I do, how-
ever, think that the complete
disconnect people experience
from their surroundings and
sense of time passing is an in-
teresting phenomenon to ex-
plore. Therefore, I wanted to
understand if people are disso-
ciating during their phone use.
In our study, we recruited
volunteers to use a custom mo-
bile app alternative to Twitter,
called Chirp. Forty-three peo-
ple used Chirp for four weeks,
cycling through four different
design interventions, coupled
with in-app surveys. We then
selected 11 of them to interview
about the experience.
We found dissociation oc-
curred in nearly half of our par-
ticipants, and they often
expressed a sense of dis-
appointment afterwards,
saying that they would
have rather have engaged
in a different activity with
the amount of time they
had spent online. However,
some said their time on so-
cial media was meaningful
to them, and the fact that
they were connecting with
real people was valuable,
even as they dissociated.
Cultivating online agency
Understanding social media
overuse as a byproduct of disso-
ciation, rather than addiction,
can help destigmatize social
media use while empowering
users. This framing also helps
explain why social media sits in
a paradoxical position: people
have frustrating relationships
with social media platforms
that they are simultaneously
unwilling to quit.
Seeking escape from the pres-
ent moment through deep ab-
sorption – including absorption
in social media – is a natural,
common, and often beneficial
thing to do. However, when us-
ers spend much more time dis-
sociating online than they would
have consciously chosen for
themselves, they become frus-
trated and conflicted. And many
social media platforms exploit
www.canadianinquirer.net
this tendency by keeping people
“on the hunt” for new content
through algorithmic design.
This suggests that it is pos-
sible for users to have healthy
and satisfying relationships
with social media – even when
dissociating is involved – if the
platforms can also help their
users disengage.
How design can reduce dis-
sociation
In our study, we deployed
several interventions to help
pause or reduce dissociation
while scrolling on Chirp. One
intervention that was partic-
ularly effective was requiring
our participants to sort their
content into lists by topic – say,
news, sports and reality TV –
rather than having all subjects
appear as an avalanche of in-
formation on one main feed.
People could then click differ-
ent tabs to view their lists. We
found that many users would
only scroll through one or two
tabs before exiting the app.
We paired this intervention
with a “reading history” label
that informed our users when
they were “all caught up” with
previously viewed tweets. Par-
ticipants said that this helped
them feel more in control and
less likely to lose track of time.
25
Of course, many current so-
cial media companies, such as
TikTok, rely on algorithmical-
ly-determined, constantly up-
dating content. Similarly, on
Instagram and Twitter, popu-
lar and trending content gets
inserted into a feed of followed
content. This makes it impos-
sible to ever get “all caught up.”
In these cases, past research
shows that many people would
appreciate reminders to log off
before 30 minutes of use. Oth-
erwise they become disappoint-
ed with the time they’ve spent.
These reminders could be insert-
ed into regular content, which is
something TikTok already does.
Users can do this for them-
selves by becoming familiar
with the suite of digital well-be-
ing tools at their disposal.
Viewing usage page statistics
and setting timeouts is already
available across many sites, al-
though many of these settings
are turned off by default.
However when more people
use these tools, it signals to the
companies that they should con-
tinue to invest time and resourc-
es into developing them. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
 26
Of serenity, sincerity...
❰❰ 21 were little Annie’s
dreams when lips still
couldn’t pronounce
singer and pianist.
Back then when she was
asked why she wanted to be
one, her answer was, “That way,
I can heal the world.’ ‘Cause in
my head, I think that’s what
entertainers do – they make the
world happier. As a child that’s
how I perceived that.”
While she’s been classically
trained and music occupied a
big part of her life, Annie also
said that her interests, career-
wise, were also present in a
lot of fields as she grew up and
discovered more things.
She really liked science,
language arts, and literature.
“[When] I was still studying,
I was thinking [that] I’m gonna
go into Geology or Earth and
Ocean Sciences. I didn’t have a
plan to do music.”
It’s not like music became
a backburner because it still
remained attached to her. It
was just more of something she
did outside of school.
“I would sing on the weekends
at my dad’s restaurant and ‘cause
a lot of Filipinos eat there, they
would ask me to sing in their
shows,” she said, adding that the
pianist there also suggested for
her to try singing in bands which
she also ventured on.
In her senior year, she said that
she stressed on taking science
courses such as physics and
calculus but now it’s funny that
she ended up pursuing the path of
being a musician as a career.
She said that while she doesn’t
regret those decisions and
genuinely enjoyed those courses,
music just remained to be her
number one passion after all.
“It’s important to choose what
you’re passionate about, not just
interested in. So that’s what I chose.”
Nonetheless, choosing was
just the first step.
“With passion, it’s only a
dream unless you put it to work
right? It wasn’t until I saw
other producers when I was in
high school… these producers
were like me, [they were] first
generation Filipinos. So, I saw
other producers do this; being
musicians and being able to feed
and take care of their families.”
Annie had the impression
that musicians struggled all the
time and at first, she didn’t think
that it could be a regular career.
“So, when I saw other people
doing it, I was like, ‘Okay, so I
can do it too,’” Obviously, it’s a
Fil-Can In Focus
different career and you have to
really work hard and also just
love it, but it’s not impossible. I
would say that I’m still learning,
but slowly figuring it out. We
never really stop figuring it out.”
The rest was history with
Annie taking formal education
in music, graduating, and now
being on the job.
This decision, while not met
with outright dismissal, had
some eyebrows mildly twitching.
“It was always like ‘But
you can be a singer AND a
nutritionist. You can be a singer
AND you can be a physician.’ It’s
because I had a lot of scientific
interests. I like economics,
psychology, and physics. But I
just like it. And it would always
be, ‘Well you could be both.’”
While this was inevitable
to come from friends and
extended family, Annie had the
best support she could ever
get from the ones who were
there with her since she first
discovered music: her parents.
“I have extremely supportive
parents. I’m very grateful that they
also allow me to be independent,
that they are also growing with
me in this journey and career
of mine. From the beginning up
until now, they try their best to be
understanding of what this is.”
Annie stressed that this
gratitude extends to a different
level because of how being a
musician isn’t a “traditional
route of a career.”
“My parents are really, really
supportive of me but that
doesn’t mean that there’s no
challenge. There are always
challenges,” Annie admitted
but still highlighted that her
upbringing and her parents’
decisions were founded on trust.
Independence wasn’t
something new for Annie thanks
to being an only child, yes, but
mainly because her parents
raised her in a way that they trust
her enough to know the things
she can handle on her own.
“So, for them to be
supportive, it means the world
to me. I’m grateful that they
believe me and they know that
I can do whatever I set my mind
to,” she said.
With this, Annie continued
to chase her dreams and when
she began her college life, eyes
focused on music, more people
took her seriously. It didn’t take
long for her to get all the support
she can get from the Filipino
communities in Edmonton and
Calgary, especially that she’s
been involved with them.
“I wouldn’t be Annie Lux at all
without all of the Filipinos from
Calgary and Edmonton.”
Fast-forward to the present,
Annie is now in the musical
world as a professional.
And for her, there is still
serendipity in her music.
“Serendipity is… those little
blessings that happen in life.
Sometimes even finding joy in
mundane things. Serendipity is
things that happen by chance
and it’s usually a positive thing
or beneficial.”
An unfinished symphony
The performance is far from
over because the melody has
just started playing again and
Annie is enjoying the beats
including the unintended ones.
She said that part of the
fun in this serendipity are the
blunders. It’s connected to
when she’s experimenting with
musical instruments.
“’Cause it’s by chance that you
make these kinda mistakes or
accidents or risks when you’re
making something. I think that’s
what creativity is. It’s not exactly
planned out.”
This whole part is also related
to the way her musical career is
going.
It’s not perfectly laid on a
clean sheet.
“I won’t lie, it’s not easy at
all by any means. But I can’t
complain. So far so good. It’s
not peaches and rainbows every
time but I just love what I do
so much and it’s just so fun to
me that I could never take it for
granted that I get to do this for
a living, that I get to sing songs
and write songs. Any song or any
performance could be the last
one so I really love to enjoy the
moments I get with music.”
The motivation to start
creating is difficult and Annie or
any artistic person would agree.
However, she also said that once
she’s at least five minutes into
making music, inspired risks pull
her into focus and make it fun.
As someone who creates, it’s
not only the art that is created.
Lots of informed decisions
are created too and Annie
recognizes the fact that being
interested in a lot of different
things and being in tune with
what’s going on in the world
help a lot in the whole process
of making music.
Despite this attention to
detail, gratitude, love, and
patience, Annie still faced
obstacles in the path she chose.
www.canadianinquirer.net
“Especially in the beginning
when I didn’t wanna say no to
things. I thought that if I don’t
say no to this opportunity… it
might stop my career.”
Annie clarified that she never
made music that she didn’t
really like. It was just that she’s
physically just one person
investing effort, time, and
passion and it can be taxing to
take on a lot of things all at once.
Now, this artist learned
to treasure and take care of
her ears, only reserving it for
projects that she really likes
and she’s really into.
“I try to make music [that] my
future self would be like, ‘Okay,
that’s good music.’ I try to say
yes to performances that I really
believe in the story that they’re
trying to tell.”
Another thing that Annie
considered a struggle is entering
this “male-dominated industry.”
She said that there’s a different
sense of understanding when
she’s working with women.
“I think when we’re trying to tell a
story, how can we make it as honest
as we can… sometimes, it’s easier
when it’s just girls or women.”
She also revealed that
collaborative works were a
personal challenge for her as she
was used to writing in her room
by herself. But these collaborative
experiences are parts of her
learning process to be a better
musician; learning to trust her
ideas and being more assertive
with different people in the room.
“I’m also grateful though
because the peers that I
generally choose to work with,
they’re really respectful. They
always make sure that I’m heard
and they’re also honest enough
to let me know that the idea is
not a good idea,” she shared.
While a big part of Annie’s
career now deals with other
people in terms of sharing and
collaborating, she still has a
sense of fulfillment for herself.
A feeling that she can keep in
her pocket and call her own.
“The most fulfilling part for
me as a singer-songwriter is
finishing a song. Finishing a song
and putting [it] out is one thing
but finishing a song that you
really like is… really, really good!”
She said that she still hopes
that people would like whatever
she releases but at the same
time, there’s just a different
kind of emotion knocking in
her, as the creator, to hear a
room full of people sing that
song that’s personal for her.
AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY
“It’s so rewarding,” she added.
Annie shared that her most
memorable song is “Hurry Up.”
“It’s the first time that I was
able to put what was in my head
out on paper into the world.
‘Cause ever since before then,
I kinda can do it but it’s not all
the way precise. ‘Hurry Up’ was
the first time I precisely did what
was exactly in my head.”
It was something she wrote for
her class and when her classmates
listened to it, she remembered
how they were grooving to it and
how she was overjoyed.
“That’s my favorite song and
I’m so lucky that I had friends
who added to it and made it even
better than what it is,” she said.
Annie also tried several gigs
such as modeling and acting
though she did say that these
are things that “just kinda
happened.” As of writing, she
really hasn’t landed on any
major role, but she did give these
other careers a short thought
when she was a child. Music was
just always the champion and
the other entertainment-based
careers had not got the chance
to shine. However, Annie still
thought that these can be
related to music.
“There are disciplines in
acting that are transferable
in music. Like committing to
emotion or being authentic with
your emotions. Or even creating
a character,” she explained.
According to her, she’s deeply
interested in playing the role of
a villain if given the chance. Or a
character that has a twist.
“I think it’s just more fun and
challenging… I hope that in the
future, I can do more acting. If
not, I’m totally fine to be a stunt
double for the wrestling scene,”
she said with a loud laugh.
If the tune changes, we might
see Annie in action, living some of
her early dreams, but right now,
she’s still very much in love with
singing and songwriting, heavily
focused on it. Because after all
the giggles and talks during this
interview, Annie had one wish.
“Hopefully, if I’m having fun
making the music, people will
also have fun listening to it.”
And to all the people following
her since day one, as well as her
new listeners, she hopes for
them to keep on following her
on this journey that just started.
On this symphony that’s still in
the making.
“I hope you like the music as
much as I like making it.” ■
FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022
Six Locations Behind the Summer’s Most
Binge-worthy Dating Shows
BOOKING.COM
A whirlwind summer of love
is upon us, with the return and
launch of some must-see dating
shows around the globe. With
over a third (37%) of global travel-
ers wanting to travel to a destina-
tion or accommodation that was
featured in a TV show or movie*,
in the spirit of love we selected
six picturesque havens behind the
popular dating shows the world
just can’t get enough of. Wheth-
er travelers are looking for love
or wanting to inject a bit of va-va
voom into their relationship, they
will be sure to find their perfect
match in one of these romantic
hotspots. From a tropical paradise
in Mexico to a picture-perfect
town in Italy, there’s something
for everyone to fall in love with.
Majorca, Spain
It’s no surprise that the OG of
dating TV shows has returned to
play cupid in a brand-new villa
on the idyllic Spanish island for
its eighth season this summer.
Well-known as the island of
love, Majorca is the crown jewel
Masskara returns with street dance,
‘electric’ float contests
BY NANETTE
GUADALQUIVER
Philippine News Agency
BACOLOD CITY – Performers
from 30 barangays will compete
in the highly-anticipated return
of the street dance and “electric”
performing float competitions
during the 43rd edition of Mass-
kara Festival this October.
The official list released by
organizers as of Friday showed
16 villages will participate in
the street and arena dance com-
petition and 14 others, in the
Electric Masskara showcase.
Among the competitors in
Travel
of the Balearic Islands and the
perfect destination for vaca-
tioners seeking a sun-drenched
escape. With its dramatic land-
scapes, ravishing beaches and
soulful hill towns, visitors will be
spoilt for choice with the activi-
ties on offer. Couples can Kayak
the Bay of Sant Elm and the Is-
land of Dragonera in tandem on
turquoise waters, discover the
plethora of wineries, admire the
Cathedral La Seu in the roman-
tic capital of Palma, or simply
relax at one of the many beach
clubs like a true islander.
Where to stay: Encircled by the
natural beauty of Sant Llorenç
des Cardassar, the adults-only
boutique hotel, Cas Cabo Nou
Agroturismo, is a particular hit
for those seeking a peaceful and
private getaway. Relax in the out-
door heated hot tub and infinity
pool, or for a more adventurous
date, couples can experience the
breathtaking views from high
above with a hike or bike ride
through some of the surrounding
mountainous trails.
Punta Mita, Mexico
This sun-soaked beach resort
the street and arena dance tilt,
which is part of the final-day
highlights of the festival are
former champions, barangays
Estefania and Granada.
Unlike other fiestas in the
country held in honor of their re-
spective patron saints, Masskara
Festival is different as this event
celebrates the Bacolodnon’s te-
nacity in conquering hardships
such as the coronavirus disease
2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
The MassKara will be back
two years after it was shelved
due to the threats of the chal-
lenges brought about by the
deadly virus.
Organizers led by festival
is a Pacific Coast hotspot for
those seeking a glamorous get-
away. Nestled within a private
peninsular situated in the Riv-
iera Nayarit, with sensation-
al sunsets and pristine sandy
beaches, Punta Mita is the per-
fect location for a steamy reality
dating show full of temptation.
The tropical paradise comes
with no strings attached for va-
cationers; with a balmy, breezy
climate all year round, it’s so
tranquil that even during peak
season visitors can hear the
soothing sounds of indigenous
birds and ocean waves. Travel-
ers can opt to submerge them-
selves in aesthetic bliss and
world-class service, dip their
toe into the fabulous nightlife
on offer, or simply head to one
of the secluded beaches for a
truly out-of-this-world expe-
rience. If beach fatigue sets in,
the resort features two sprawl-
ing golf courses and tennis
courts for a love-all experience.
Where to stay: The Punta Mita
Surf Lodge with spectacular sea
views and an onsite massage ser-
vice is the perfect place to relax
director Pinky Mirano-Oca-
mpo are promising “a new su-
per charged, high-energy and
spectacular Masskara Festival
2022” on October 1 to 23, with
the theme “Balik Yuhum”.
“Yuhum” is the Hiligaynon
term for smile, and the theme
has reference to Bacolod’s tag as
the “City of Smiles”, home of the
world-renowned festival, which
returns after a two-year hiatus
due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“A new season of celebration
in Bacolod City will begin in Oc-
tober,” organizers said with the
release of the festival’s official
logo and theme.
Other events, so far include
www.canadianinquirer.net
and recharge. The boutique hotel
has a saltwater swimming pool
in its courtyard garden, a surf
school and a terrace with a bar,
making it an ideal stay if travel-
ers are looking to meet new peo-
ple. Head to nearby town Puerto
Vallarta for a Snorkeling Cruise
where lovers will discover se-
cluded coves and hidden water-
falls, or try the country’s favorite
drink at a Tequila Tasting.
Avignon, France
Forget Paris, this idyllic
south-eastern Provence, known
for its architectural beauty and
bursting with culture is the ulti-
mate destination for a first date
– and home to a famous match-
making hotel on a popular dating
show. Packed to the brim with
art galleries, museums, cobbled
streets, quaint shops and deli-
cious food, in all its splendor and
exuberance, Avignon is the per-
fect setting for an intimate date
for two. Visitors can immerse
themselves in the mysteries of
the gothic and UNESCO-listed
Palais des Papes, experience the
Rhône Valley’s best winemaking
appellations on a Wine-tasting
Masskara Festival (HERBERT KIKOY - OWN WORK/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CC BY-SA 4.0)
the Masskara Queen pageant,
Mr. Bacolod bodybuilding and
fitness competition, hip-hop
dance challenge, drag fest,
27
Tour, and walk hand-in-hand
along the River Rhône. In fact,
boasting an array of laidback
date activities, this beautiful city
is the perfect backdrop for a va-
cation full of romance.
Where to stay: Located in the
heart of the small medieval vil-
lage of Castillon-du-Gard, Le
Vieux Castillon offers enchant-
ing views of the famous Roman
aqueduct bridge, the Pont du
Gard, whilst the heated out-
door swimming pool overlooks
sprawling vineyards. The quaint
Renaissance building features
a luxury spa and a restaurant
serving refined regional dishes,
and couples can wind down for
a romantic evening together at
the hotel’s open-air cinema.
Dalat, Vietnam
Whether it’s the mini Eiffel
Tower, the horse-drawn carriag-
es or the colorful hearts dotted
around the city, Dalat certainly
takes romance seriously. So it’s
little wonder that Vietnam’s hon-
eymoon capital, with its poetic
scenery and picture-perfect land-
❱❱ PAGE 30 Six Locations Behind
chess, volleyball and football
tournaments, BMX riding con-
test, DJ controller battle, and
auto convention. ■
28
Two classic Canadian flavours come together
to create the new Tim Hortons Maple Bacon
Breakfast Sandwiches
(TIM HORTONS)
Food and drinks are getting sweeter.
Even if it’s not all sugar, it’s bad for our health
BY CHERIE RUSSELL,
Deakin University, CARLEY
GRIMES, Deakin University,
MARK LAWRENCE, Deakin
University, PHILLIP BAKER,
Deakin University, REBECCA
LINDBERG, Deakin
University
The Conversation
Humans have an evolution-
ary preference for sweetness.
Sweet foods, like fruit and hon-
ey, were an important energy
source for our ancestors.
However, in the modern
world, sweetened foods are
readily available, very cheap
and advertised extensively.
Now, we are consuming too
much sugar in foods and drinks
– the kind that is added rather
than sugar that is naturally oc-
curring. Consuming too much
added sugar is bad news for
health. It is linked to obesity,
type 2 diabetes and tooth decay.
Because of these health con-
Food
cerns, manufacturers started
using non-nutritive sweeteners
to sweeten food as well. These
sweeteners contain little to no
kilojoules and include both arti-
ficial sweeteners, such as aspar-
tame, and those that come from
natural sources, such as stevia.
Our research, published today,
shows the amount of added sug-
ars and non-nutritive sweeteners
in packaged foods and drinks has
grown a lot over the last decade.
This is especially true in mid-
dle-income countries, such as
China and India, as well as in the
Asia Pacific, including Australia.
From lollies to biscuits to
drinks
Using market sales data from
around the globe, we looked at
the quantity of added sugar and
non-nutritive sweeteners sold
in packaged foods and drinks
from 2007 to 2019.
We found per person vol-
umes of non-nutritive sweeten-
ers in drinks is now 36% higher
globally. Added sugars in pack-
TIM HORTONS
Canadians can now enjoy a
delicious new twist on their fa-
vourite breakfast at Tims with
the introduction of the Tim
Hortons Maple Bacon Break-
fast Sandwiches. Merging two
classic Canadian flavours to-
gether, our crispy and naturally
smoked bacon is topped with
a sweet and savoury glaze that
has just the right hint of spice.
The new lineup of Tim Hor-
tons Maple Bacon Breakfast
Sandwiches includes Farmer’s
Wraps, Classic or Specialty Ba-
aged food is 9% higher.
Non-nutritive sweeteners are
most commonly added to con-
fectionery. Ice creams and sweet
biscuits are the fastest-growing
food categories in terms of these
sweeteners. The expanding
use of added sugars and other
sweeteners over the last decade
means, overall, our packaged
food supply is getting sweeter.
Our analysis shows the amount
of added sugar used to sweeten
drinks has increased globally.
However, this is largely explained
by a 50% increase in middle-in-
come countries, such as China
and India. Use has decreased in
high-income countries, such as
Australia and the United States.
It is recommended men con-
sume less than nine teaspoons
of sugar a day, while women
should have less than six. How-
ever, because sugar is added to
so many foods and drinks, over
half of Australians exceed rec-
ommendations, eating an aver-
age of 14 teaspoons a day.
www.canadianinquirer.net
gel BELTs, and Breakfast Sand-
wiches with an English Muffin
or Homestyle Biscuit. They’re
all prepared fresh to order with
a 100 per cent Canadian freshly
cracked egg.
“We’re dialing up our classic
breakfast sandwiches at Tims by
adding a new sweet and savoury
flavour option for our guests to
enjoy,” says Tallis Voakes, Di-
rector of Culinary Innovation
at Tim Hortons. “Each bite of
our new Maple Bacon Breakfast
Sandwiches delivers the perfect
balance of savoury and sweet,
with a hint of spice, that will
switch up your morning rou-
The shift from using added
sugar to sweeteners to sweeten
drinks is most common in car-
bonated soft drinks and bottled
water. The World Health Orga-
nization is developing guide-
lines on the use of non-sugar
sweeteners.
Rich and poor countries
There is a difference in add-
ed sugar and sweetener use be-
tween richer and poorer coun-
Icecreams are among the foods increasing in sweetness the fastest.
AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY
tine. Plus, guests can also add
our delicious new maple-fla-
voured bacon to any sandwich
or wrap for lunch or dinner for
an additional charge.”
Also new in Tims restaurants
is a lineup of Redeye beverages
featuring a shot of our rich and
bold espresso – brewed with
100 per cent ethically sourced
premium Arabica beans – in
one of three iconic Tims drinks.
Guests can get their day start-
ed or have an afternoon pick me
up with a Redeye Iced Capp,
Redeye Original Blend Coffee,
or Redeye Iced Coffee. ■
tries. The market for packaged
food and beverages in high-in-
come countries has become
saturated. To continue to grow,
large food and beverage corpo-
rations are expanding into mid-
dle-income countries.
Our findings demonstrate a
double standard in the sweeten-
ing of the food supply, with manu-
❱❱ PAGE 30 Food and drinks
 AUGUST
JULY 12, 2022
17, 2020 29
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 30
Marcos praises Pinoy...
❰❰ 22 and 2021 Vietnam --
due to the Covid-19
pandemic.
The last edition the Philip-
pines competed in was in 2017
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
where the country won 20 gold,
20 silver and 29 bronze medals.
Earlier, Philippine Paralympic
Committee president Michael
Six Locations Behind...
❰❰ 27 scapes, is the location
for an exciting dating
show where partici-
pants go to put their relationships
to the test. Couples can lose them-
selves in the heart-shaped maze
or swan-shaped boats in the Val-
ley of Love, admire the panoramic
views from Lang Biang Mountain
or enjoy a breathtaking sunrise
or sunset at the banana-shaped
Xuan Huong Lake. A guided Da
Lat Countryside and Elephant
Falls Tour into the Vietnam-
ese countryside scattered with
French-colonial villas and farms
cultivating strawberries and flow-
ers provides a dreamy setting to
inspire love.
Where to stay: The family-run
resort Zen Valley Dalat, a short
drive away from Xuan Huong
Lake and the Dalat Flower Gar-
dens, looks down on exceptional
views of the forest of the valley,
has a superb outdoor swimming
pool and offers rooms and bun-
galows with private terraces.
Dalat is known as the adven-
ture-sports capital of southern
Vietnam; if couples can tear
themselves away from the ho-
tel, popular adrenaline-packed
activities include white-water
rafting, mountain biking and a
Canyoning Adventure.
Food and drinks...
❰❰ 28 facturers providing less
sweet, “healthier” prod-
ucts in richer countries.
Unexpected consequences
of control
To reduce the health harms
of high added sugar intakes,
many governments have acted
to curb their use and consump-
tion. Sugar levies, education
campaigns, advertising restric-
tions and labelling are among
these measures.
But such actions can encour-
age manufacturers to partially
or completely substitute sugar
with non-nutritive sweeteners to
avoid penalties or cater to evolv-
ing population preferences.
Barredo said Filipino para-ath-
letes have laid the foundation
in training harder and better so
they can continue to bring home
glory and honor to the country.
With their recent perfor-
mance, he said the team is ready
to take on rising challenges in
the next Asean Para Games in
Cambodia in 2023. ■
Telese Terme, Italy
Italy is the backdrop to
countless historic, literary and
legendary love stories of all
time – and now a popular blind
dating series, where singles
travel overseas in search of love
in idyllic surroundings. Wheth-
er visitors plan on traveling for
a first date or the hundredth,
this small town in the Campan-
ia region of southern Italy is the
perfect setting for love. Boast-
ing tranquil thermal baths and
spas, untouched nature, strik-
ing lakes and historical sites,
those seeking the date of a life-
time will be spoilt for choice.
Visitors can relax and recharge
in this peaceful setting, or es-
cape to the coast for the day on
an Amalfi Coast Tour, and lose
themselves in the pastel-col-
ored architecture, history and
beauty of this magical coastline.
Where to stay: Housed in an
ancient and historic building, the
stylish Aquapetra Resort & Spa
surrounded by olive groves is set
in the picturesque Sannio Valley
and just a short walk into town.
Elegantly decorated and full of
character, the resort features
a large outdoor pool, a heated
indoor pool, indulgent spa and
hammam – ideal spots to unwind
In our study, we found re-
gions with a higher number of
policy actions to reduce sugar
intakes had a significant in-
crease in non-nutritive sweet-
eners sold in drinks.
Why is this a problem
While the harms of consum-
ing too much added sugar are
well known, relying on non-nu-
tritive sweeteners as a solution
also carries risk. Despite their
lack of dietary energy, recent
reviews, suggest consuming
non-nutritive sweeteners may
be linked with type 2 diabetes
and heart disease and can dis-
rupt the gut microbiome.
And because they are sweet,
MILO energizes kids’...
❰❰ 22 government and pri-
vate sector can work
together for the devel-
opment of the kids. Initiatives
like the MILO® Barangay Liga
are for our next generation. This
is part of our shared legacy with
MILO®, and it adds to the posi-
tive perception of the communi-
ty in engaging into sports. When
and relax together. An expansive
wine cellar and a restaurant of-
fering delicious regional dishes
made from local produce means
lovebirds won’t have to wander
far if they want to stay put.
Tainan City, Taiwan
From ancient temples and
tropical oceans to green rice
paddy fields and lantern-lit al-
leyways, the oldest city in Tai-
wan is both romantic and in-
spiring. Known as the historical
and cultural heart of the coun-
try, this alluring coastal city is
home to a dating show where
nothing is off the cards. With
a deep-rooted food and drink
culture, let things get spicy in
a traditional wooden teahouse
sipping aromatic oolong tea, or
at the celebrated night markets
where Chinese delicacies are
found amongst local favorites
such as Danzai noodle soup and
shrimp rolls. Travelers can en-
joy the old-world charm of the
captivating Confucius temple or
mosey around the lagoons and
mangrove swamps in the beauti-
ful Taijiang National Park.
Where to stay: The stylish Fun
Simon Hotel is a cozy homestay
which is both classic and modern
in design. A stone’s throw away
from the Confucius temple, it’s
ingesting non-nutritive sweet-
eners influences our palates
and encourages us to want more
sweet food. This is of particular
concern for children, who are
still developing their lifelong
taste preferences. Additionally,
certain non-nutritive sweeteners
are considered environmental
contaminants and are not effec-
tively removed from wastewater.
Non-nutritive sweeteners are
only found in ultra-processed
foods. These foods are industri-
ally made, contain ingredients
you would not find in a home
kitchen, and are designed to be
“hyper-palatable”. Eating more
ultra-processed foods is linked
www.canadianinquirer.net
kids step into the court, kids just
play and be active!,” said Michael
Denton Aportadera, Officer in
Charge, Sports Development
Division in Davao City.
Faced with a new reality and
challenges, MILO® Philippines
and the Department of Edu-
cation have proven to parents
across the country that there
only a short walk to Singda Har-
bor and Lover’s Wharf – both ro-
mantic spots to watch the golden
sunset. The location also offers
easy access to street food, shop-
ping areas and the beach. ■
*Research commissioned by
Booking.com and conducted
among a sample of adults who
plan to travel for business or lei-
sure in the next 12-24 months. In
total 24,055 respondents across
31 countries and territories were
polled (including 501 from Argen-
tina, 1003 from Australia, 500
from Belgium, 1001 from Brazil,
500 from Canada, 1000 from
with more heart disease, type 2
diabetes, cancer and death.
Ultra-processed foods are also
environmentally harmful because
they use significant resources
such as energy, water, packaging
materials and plastic waste.
Foods that contain sweeten-
ers can receive a “health halo”
if they don’t contain sugar,
misleading the public and po-
tentially displacing nutritious,
whole foods in the diet.
Focus on nutrition
When making policy to im-
prove public health nutrition, it is
important to consider unintend-
ed consequences. Rather than
focusing on specific nutrients,
AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY
are opportunities to adapt and
continue their child’s Champi-
on journey at home.
As schools and sports venues
start to open up again, MILO®
Philippines is excited to wel-
come back kids to continue to
their Champion journeys in
the upcoming MILO® Summer
Sports Clinics. ■
China, 1007 from Colombia, 1001
from Croatia, 508 from Denmark,
1002 from France, 1000 from
Germany, 1005 from Hong Kong,
1000 from India, 502 from Israel,
1003 from Italy, 1002 from Japan,
500 from Mexico, 501 from The
Netherlands, 501 from New Zea-
land, 500 from Peru, 1000 from
Russia, 1005 from Singapore,
1002 from South Korea, 1002
from Spain, 501 from Sweden, 501
from Switzerland, 504 from Tai-
wan, 500 from Thailand, 1000
from the UK, 1002 from the US
and 501 from Vietnam). Respon-
dents completed an online survey
in August 2021.
there is merit in advocating for
policy that considers the broader
aspects of food, including cultural
importance, level of processing
and environmental impacts. Such
policy should promote nutritious,
minimally processed foods.
We need to closely monitor
the increasing sweetness of
food and drinks and the grow-
ing use of added sugars and
non-nutritive sweeteners. It is
likely to shape our future taste
preferences, food choices and
human and planetary health. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY AUGUST 12, 2022
MORE TRANSIT FOR
WHAT MATTERS MOST TO YOU.
Metrolinx is creating better, faster and more affordable public
transit to connect you to the places, experiences, and people
that matter most. This means better access to jobs, schools
and shopping. And more opportunities to enjoy your favour-
ite attractions, concerts, sports and cultural events with
family and friends. When transit comes in, the possibilities
are endless.
Creating more possibilities in your community
Metrolinx’s vision to connect communities across the Greater
Golden Horseshoe is about more than transit. It’s about
people and possibilities. It's creating more seamless connec-
tions to the places you want to go, when you need to go
there. Real progress is being made on priority projects across
the region.
The Ontario Line will make getting across Toronto a quick
30-minute ride. This 15-stop subway will run from Exhibition
Place, through the heart of downtown, to the Ontario
Science Centre – connecting you to jobs, shopping hotspots
and food destinations. You’ll be able to experience the
melting pot of Toronto’s many cultures with direct access to
neighbourhoods across the city, including Greektown, Little
India, Chinatown, the Distillery District and St. Lawrence
Market.
The Scarborough Subway Extension will give you a fast and
dependable ride to essential services such as the Scarbor-
ough General Hospital, Civic Centre and Library, and Scar-
borough Town Centre – all along a 7.8 km line that will extend
the speed and convenience of subway access to and from
downtown. The new extension will benefit students, linking
them to Centennial College and the University of Toronto’s
Scarborough Campus. Riders will be able to hop on the
Crosstown LRT or the Stouffville GO line at an upgraded
Kennedy Station to go even farther.
www.canadianinquirer.net
31
The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension takes you from
Etobicoke to Mississauga in a matter of minutes along a
seven-station 9.2 km line. Riders can connect to their MiWay
bus, GO train or bus to go even farther. This is good news for
commutes to the office in midtown or downtown and for
those living downtown, who will have a quicker ride to enjoy
the variety of Mississauga’s food, culture and entertainment
options. Plus, the extension will offer a transfer to the Kitch-
ener GO line, allowing easy access to a huge tech hub.
The Yonge North Subway Extension will make the journey
between Toronto and York Region easier than ever, and give
you back more time in your day. The extension will feature
five new stations along the 8 km line. Those living close to
the subway extension will be conveniently connected to all
the ethnic food options in the Richmond Hill area, while
having easy and direct access to downtown and other corpo-
rate hubs.
GO Expansion will bring Metrolinx’s vision of a connected
region to every community across the Greater Golden Horse-
shoe. You can look forward to faster trains, more stations and
three times more service. This means freeing your schedule
to travel when you need to. Faster and more efficient trips
will be enabled by a fleet running on electricity, and new
stations will be opening in Toronto at King-Liberty, St.
Clair-Old Weston, Bloor-Lansdowne, Mount Dennis, Wood-
bine, Caledonia, and Finch-Kennedy.
For more information on how Metrolinx is building better
transit to create possibilities in communities across the
region, visit metrolinx.com/itshappening.
32 AUGUST 12, 2022 FRIDAY

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