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pcinews_X NOVEMBER 17, 2023 www.canadianinquirer.net VOL. 8 NO. 566

LIFE-SIZE SANTA

Various Christmas decors are on sale at the Christmas Factory in Sampaloc, Manila on Wednesday (Nov. 15, 2023). Christmas Factory is known for selling large figures, such as this life-size Santa,
which is made of polyresin and fiberglass.
YANCY LIM / PNA

Muntinlupa court OKs 21

bail for de Lima, 4

co-accused in drug case
BY BENJAMIN PULTA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Muntinlupa Region-
al Trial Court Branch 206 on Monday
granted former senator Leila de Lima and
her four co-accused temporary freedom.
In a 69-page resolution, Judge Gener
Gito granted the motion for reconsid-
eration filed by de Lima and her co-ac-
cused, former Bureau of Corrections
chief Franklin Bucayu, police asset Jose
Adrian Dera, and the ex-senator’s former
driver and bodyguard Ronnie Dayan and
former security aide Jonnel Sanchez.
They were allowed to post bail worth
PHP300,000, reversing a June 7 ruling
❱❱ PAGE 3 Muntinlupa court OKs
Is time travel even possible?
An astrophysicist explains the
science behind the science fiction
29
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Biden-Xi meeting: 6 essential reads
on what to look out for as US,
Chinese leaders hold face-to-face talks
Cranberries can bounce, float and
pollinate themselves: The saucy
PAGE 13 science of a Thanksgiving classic

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2 NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023
VP Sara vows to PBBM, Silicon Valley
adhere to OVP’s firms eye partnership on
mission to serve AI, cybersecurity
the Filipino people
BY WILNARD BACELONIA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Vice President Sara
Z. Duterte on Wednesday led the
88th-anniversary celebration of
the Office of the Vice President
(OVP) with the commitment to
continuing to be guided by its
mission: “To reach, serve, and
create lasting impact on the lives
of the Filipino people.”
In her speech, Duterte assured
that every step that the OVP
would take would lead to the de-
velopment of the country, and ad-
dress the needs of every Filipino.
"Maraming salamat sa inyong
suporta at pananatili sa tabi ng
OVP. Sa kabila ng mga hamon,
Muntinlupa court OKs..
❰❰ 1 that denied them bail.
"(A)ssessing the to-
tality of the evidence
presented by the prosecution,
the Court is of the firm view and
so holds that the accused should
be allowed to post bail as the
prosecution was not able to dis-
charge its burden of establishing
that the guilt of the said accused
is strong," the court said.
De Lima was arrested in
February 2017 for illegal drug
charges, including an alleged
agreement between the accused
and New Bilibid Prison inmates
to sell and trade illegal drugs to
TEMPORARY FREEDOM. Former senator Leila de Lima leaves the Muntinlupa
City Hall of Justice on Monday (Nov. 13, 2023) after attending the hearing for
her remaining drug case. (YANCY LIM/PNA)
magtatagumpay tayo sa ating mga
hangarin sa bayan (Thank you for
your support and for sticking with
the OVP. Despite the challenges,
we will succeed in our vision for
the country)," she told the OVP
officials and personnel.
Duterte also thanked all for-
mer vice presidents whom she
said should also get the credit
for strengthening the OVP.
"Lubos akong nagpapas-
alamat sa lahat ng bumubuo
ng OVP, kabilang na ang lahat
ng mga dating Pangalawang
Pangulo ng Pilipinas. Sila ang
nagsimula, nagtayo, at nagpat-
ibay sa Office of the Vice Pres-
ident. Dahil sa kanilang sipag,
❱❱ PAGE 6 VP Sara vows
fund her 2016 senatorial bid.
Only one of three cases remain.
“As a matter of procedure,
she will undergo physical and
medical examinations to check
if she is okay,” Philippine Na-
tional Police spokesperson Col.
Jean Fajardo said.
De Lima would then be
turned over to her family or her
lawyers.
“Medical examination is just a
protocol so that at least before she
is received by her family or law-
yers, they would know that she is in
good physical condition,” Fajardo
said. (with Lloyd Caliwan/PNA) ■
BY RUTH ABBEY GITA-
CARLOS
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Silicon Valley
firms have expressed their in-
tent to collaborate with the
administration of President
Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on ar-
tificial intelligence (AI) and cy-
bersecurity.
This developed after Mar-
cos held a roundtable meeting
with technology companies and
venture capitalists in San Fran-
cisco, California on Thursday
(Manila time).
Acknowledging that the Phil-
ippines still has a distinct lack
of trained talents in blockchain
technology, Marcos said his ad-
ministration has been focusing
on the upskilling and reskilling
of Filipino workers to keep up
with the growing demand and
advancements in the fields of
AI and cybersecurity.
“We don't have enough en-
gineers. That simple. So, we
need to get them trained, we
need to get them... as part of the
system,” Marcos said. “And so
again, we have really put a great
deal of emphasis on retraining.
These are new technologies.
The principle that we apply is
really rather simple. It’s that
basically Covid changed every-
thing and after Covid, we have
to transform the economy, and
technology is going to bring the
changes.”
NightDragon chief executive
officer (CEO) David Dewalt said
his company and other tech-
nology firms in the roundtable
discussion are looking forward
to bringing all the technologies,
particularly generative AI to
the Philippines.
Dewalt said the planned in-
vestments of the technology
companies, including Night-
Dragon, would be beneficial to
the Philippines, considering its
“young and powerful” work-
force.
NightDragon is a leading
venture capital firm for cyber-
security, security, safety, and
privacy.
www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
“The way I would say it is
the Filipinos have an unbeliev-
able ability to integrate in the
global business systems like we
do, maybe unmatched by any
workforce on the planet,” De-
walt said.
Visa CEO Ryan McInerney
said generative AI will be a lev-
eling force for small businesses,
noting that Filipinos now use
the largest platforms to buy
things online.
He said generative AI will
give microbusinesses, nano
businesses, and small business-
es the tools and capabilities to
provide Filipinos a “rich” shop-
ping and commerce experience.
‘Ready for AI’
Marcos stressed the need for
capability improvements, as he
acknowledged the vulnerabili-
ty of both the government and
private sector to cybersecurity
threats.
He said the Philippines is
currently embracing the AI rev-
olution to augment the existing
skills of the Filipinos, increase
the productivity of enterprises,
and enhance the competitive-
ness of the economy.
“The Philippines is ready to
become your partner in nav-
igating the AI future. As we
look to the horizon, let's 'Make
It Happen in the Philippines,'
where the promise of a future
defined by technological inclu-
sivity and shared growth is not
just envisioned but actively re-
alized,” Marcos said.
“Currently, the Philippines
is embracing this future of AI
with the crafting of the Na-
tional AI Strategy that seeks to
augment the existing skill set
of Filipino talents with AI. This
strategy also aims to position
the Philippines as a Center of
Excellence in Artificial Intelli-
gence,” he added.
Marcos said the gathering
with the businessmen is a mo-
mentous occasion as the Phil-
ippine economy celebrates a
milestone, marking its highest
growth rate since 1976 with
a 7.6-percent increase in the
country’s gross domestic prod-
uct in 2022.
3
He added that the Philip-
pine economic standing, ac-
companied by USD9.2 billion
in foreign direct investments
last year, “narrates a story of
economic resilience and dyna-
mism.”
This remarkable growth, it
mirrors the persistent dedi-
cation of this Administration,
harmonized with our private
sector partners and with their
initiatives, to cultivate a busi-
ness ecosystem that is not only
conducive but also competitive
and innovative,” Marcos said.
Marcos assured foreign in-
vestors of easier business trans-
actions in the Philippines, not-
ing the fiscal incentives and
ease of doing business in the
country.
“To our current and future
partners, I hope that this meet-
ing will serve as an opportu-
nity to create a shared vision
for a future where the Philip-
pine workforce is empowered,
skilled, and ready to shape the
digital age,” he said.
“We stand on the cusp of the
Artificial Intelligence revolu-
tion and that promises untold
advancements, but it also pres-
ents some rather unexpected
challenges. It hinges on a work-
force equipped with the nec-
essary skills and an ecosystem
that embraces technological
inclusivity.”
The roundtable meeting was
co-organized by Dewalt, Bain
and Company CEO Emmanuel
Maceda, Crescent Point Group
vice chairperson Thomas Pom-
pidou, and the Department of
Trade and Industry.
Also present during the meet-
ing were Microsoft managing
director Michelle Gonzalez,
Mandiant (A Google Company)
CEO Kevin Mandia, Group of
the Government of Singapore
Investment Corporation (GIC)
head Chris Emanuel, Plug
and Play Ventures CEO Saeed
Amidi, Altimeter CEO Brad
Gerstner, HP (formerly Hew-
lett-Packard) CEO Enrique
Lores, Mastercard co-president
Ling Hai, and Anthropic CEO
Dario Amodei.■
4 Philippine News
Solons want MTRCB’s mandate expanded
amid challenges of modern times
BY LEONEL ABASOLA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Senators have
emphasized the need to amend
the Movie Television Regula-
tory and Classification Board
(MTRCB) charter to give it
more power to block inap-
propriate contents on video
streaming platforms that do not
fit the moral values of Filipinos.
During the Senate plenary
debates on MTRCB’s budget
on Tuesday, Senator Jinggoy
Estrada said MTRCB is oper-
ating on “a relatively old law”
and therefore “will not be able
to address the challenges of the
modern times and digital age.”
Responding to Senator Chiz
Escudero’s inquiry on the
MTRCB’s mandate, Estrada said
the MTRCB could only ban sub-
ject films or movies from public
showing in theaters and televi-
sion under Presidential Decree
1986, which created the MTRCB,
and Republic Act 9775 or the An-
ti-Child Pornography Act.
Escudero said MTRCB has
House bill filed to make senior citizens
commission ‘a working one’
BY ZALDY DE LAYOLA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – United Senior
Citizens Party-list Rep. Mi-
lagros Aquino-Magsaysay on
Tuesday pushed for a swift pas-
sage of her House bill seeking to
amend Republic Act (RA) No.
11350 otherwise known as the
National Commission of Senior
Citizens (NCSC) Act.
Magsaysay said he filed House
Bill 9454 or “An Act amending
RA 11350” on Nov. 7 to improve
and make the five-year-old law
beneficial to nearly 10 million
senior citizens in the country.
“We have waited years for
the passage of a commission
that will specifically attend to
the concerns and issues of our
senior citizens and it will be a
no power to prohibit X-rated
films from public exhibition on
the internet.
He also pointed out that it is
not within the competence of
the Department of Information
and Communications Technol-
ogy (DICT) to ascertain that
certain contents or sites should
not be allowed.
"The point I am driving at
is that it is not within the core
competence of the DICT and I
think at some point in time the
waste if the commission will ex-
ist in the name only and will not
be felt by our country’s elderly
sector,” she said.
“This is why we need to make
amendments to the law to make
sure that the NCSC under-
stands its mandate and abides
by it. We don’t want a lame duck
commission. We want a work-
ing one,” she added.
Under HB 9454, Magsaysay
seeks to make the present law
maximize its functionality for
the benefit of senior citizens,
to provide clearer guidance and
direction on the law’s original
intentions.
“We want to make sure that
the elderly sector does not suf-
fer the consequences and inef-
ficiency of a non-functioning
body,” she said.
She said the NCSC has not
MTRCB should be brought into
the picture either via the bill of
Senator (Robinhood) Padilla or
by an amendment to the law,"
Escudero said.
MTRCB Chairperson Lala
Sotto-Antonio said with its lim-
ited jurisdiction, the agency can
only make endorsements while
it is the DICT or the National
Telecommunications Com-
mission (NTC) which have the
power to order a takedown of
inappropriate content.
displayed any capability to as-
sume the responsibilities and
functions “pertaining to the se-
nior citizens’ sector.”
The proposed bill seeks to
place the NCSC under the De-
partment of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD). Under
the present law, the commis-
sion is under the Office of the
President.
The NCSC, under new mea-
sure, will be tasked to develop
an integrated and comprehen-
sive long-term National Plan
for the social protection of
senior citizens at all levels, in-
cluding establishing and main-
taining a National Database on
the Profiling and Referral sys-
tem of senior citizens.
Under Section 8 of the pro-
posed bill, the approval of the
Department of Budget and
www.canadianinquirer.net
There are five proposals
pending in the upper chamber,
including Senate Bill No. 1940
or the MTRCB Act of 2023 au-
thored by Padilla, chairperson of
the Senate Committee on Public
Information and Mass Media.
Padilla stressed the need for
the MTRCB to "address the
changing demands of our time."
Meanwhile, Senator Alan Pe-
ter Cayetano urged the MTRCB
to conduct a study on how it can
ensure that Filipino values are
maintained in digital content.
He said with the wide-
spread use of the internet, the
MTRCB's role in protecting
young viewers from indecent
content has decreased.
Cayetano urged the MTRCB
to form a research arm that
will study how it can expand its
mandate under the law to cover
various digital platforms, in-
cluding Netflix.
"Since nakikita ko sa MTRCB
y'ung heart na maging guardian
ng values ng ating youth ngayon
(Since MTRCB has the role of
guardian of values of our youth),
let me encourage MTRCB to
Management (DBM), the Com-
mission shall have an orga-
nizational structure, staffing
pattern, offices, divisions, or
units based on the responsibil-
ities and functions it shall also
absorb and take over from the
DSWD and such other elder-
ly-related concerns and emerg-
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY
look at contemporary Filipi-
no values that we can agree on,
and [determine] if they (digital
platforms) are allowed na kahit
ano pwedeng ipakita (whatever
they want to see)," he said.
Cayetano clarified that the
aim is not to censor but to en-
sure that young Filipinos do
not consume content that is
violent, lewd, or against Filipi-
no morals, especially in today's
"much more confusing time"
in which illegal drugs, teenage
pregnancy, and sexually trans-
mitted diseases have become
rampant.
"It's not more of censorship,
but more of giving the young
people the right ideas and in-
formation, and then they can
make their own choices later
on," he said.
He said putting in PHP10
million to PHP15 million for
the proposed research "will go a
long way" in achieving this ob-
jective.
Estrada said he is certain that
the MTRCB “will seriously con-
sider the valid suggestions” of
the senators. ■
ing trends. However, it may
create other offices, divisions
or units as it may deem neces-
sary to fully operationalize and
maintain its functionality.
The proposed amendment
would allow the Commission to
accept donations which is not
found under the present law. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023 5

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 6 Philippine News
APEC economies must be ‘resilient,
sustainable’ – PBBM
BY RUTH ABBEY GITA-
CARLOS
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC)
members must address “nega-
tive” externalities to make their
economies “resilient and sus-
tainable,” President Ferdinand
R. Marcos Jr. said on Thursday
(Manila time).
During the opening of the
APEC CEO Summit at the
George Moscone Conven-
tion Center in San Francisco,
California, Marcos said the
economic model and inter-
national trading system that
heightened economic growth
in the Asia-Pacific region “are
now getting undermined by
criticisms due to apparent and
exacerbating gaps.”
“Strengthening the system
that has led to our cooperation
and development must entail
addressing the core issues and
areas for improvement which
are – from the perspective of
the Philippines and most if not
all of our economies – distrib-
uting wealth and welfare effects
more effectively and equitably,
and ensuring that our econo-
mies develop in a manner that
is resilient, sustainable, and
mitigates negative externali-
ties,” Marcos said.
“These are of paramount
importance because we can
only be as strong as the weak-
est members of our economies,
of our societies. Regardless of
how much progress we make
in these halls, if such does not
translate to a better quality of
VP Sara vows..
❰❰ 3 talino, at matatag na
pamumuno, naging
mahalagang bahagi ng
kasaysayan ng Pilipinas at ng
buhay ng mga Pilipino ang OVP
(I thank all those who are part
of the OVP, including all the
former vice presidents of the
Philippines. They started, built,
and strengthened the Office of
the Vice President. Because of
their perseverance, intellect,
and strong leadership, the OVP
life and resiliency, we will re-
main derailed by even the most
subtle of shocks and insecuri-
ties that are beyond our con-
trol,” he added.
Marcos emphasized the im-
portance of capacitating and
empowering disadvantaged
groups to ensure “bandwagon
support” for sustainability and
an expeditious and decisive
push essential in the carving of
a collectively beneficial path.
He also stressed the need for
the continued implementation
of actions and initiatives from
existing agreements and part-
nerships, as well as the iden-
tification of areas for further
collaboration in pursuit of eq-
uitable development.
Five strategies, approaches
During the summit, Marcos
enumerated five strategies and
approaches that would benefit
the APEC.
Marcos said the Asia-Pacific
region must continue to expand
to accommodate seats to “repre-
sent all our people,” noting that
it could be done through stake-
holder engagements, policy dia-
logues, and expert consultations.
"As decision-makers, ours
is the role to take heed and
constructively discuss how to
stitch our differing contexts
together, and multi-directional
approaches,” he said.
Marcos also stressed the
need to expand and deepen
APEC members’ partnership
with stakeholders.
“Examples include shar-
ing of aggregated consumer
data from industries to enable
evidence-based and scalable
public programs and projects;
became an important part of
Philippine history and the lives
of Filipinos)," she said.
Better education for BARMM
Meanwhile, Duterte, as con-
current Education Secretary,
assured that the Department
of Education (DepEd) is ready
to assist the Bangsamoro Au-
tonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (BARMM), as part of
its mandate of making sure that
no one will be left behind in the
recalibration and standardiza-
tion of reporting structures and
assessment templates to take
stock of our progress in an eq-
uitable and sustainable growth;
and not least, collaboration on
the development of environ-
mental, social, and governance
(ESG), responsible business
conduct (RBC), and good reg-
ulatory practices (GRP) and
other partners and frameworks
that will balance profit and
prosperity with our account-
ability to the environment and
our people and help ensure that
not one group is adversely af-
fected,” he said.
Marcos said capacity-build-
ing, economic cooperation and
technical assistance, knowl-
edge and data sharing among
APEC economies must also be
intensified, in order for each
member to be empowered and
provided with the tools toward
sustainable development.
However, he cautioned that
the race to sustainability comes
with the risk of escalating pro-
PBBM highlights APEC’s economic governance platform to avert conflict,
promote peace (PCO)
reforms being implemented in
the country's basic education.
She made the assurance after
the visit of Presidential Advis-
er on Muslim Affairs Almarim
Tillah at the OVP on Tuesday to
discuss steps to maintain peace
and development, as well as
how to improve basic education
in the region.
"Mahalaga sa atin na mas
mapabuti ang kalidad ng edu-
kasyon sa buong bansa, at
www.canadianinquirer.net
tectionism, and noted that de-
veloping economies are “most
at risk of such alienation.”
“As economies embrace
new technologies, temptations
abound to push for one’s own
profit from the development of
these technologies or to discrim-
inate imports from those deemed
non-compliant to environmental
standards,” Marcos noted.
“Those have deleterious ef-
fects to not only our supply
chains, but will also further ex-
clude our people, especially our
small-scale producers, suppli-
ers, and exporters, from partic-
ipating in global value chains,
and thereby limiting their par-
ticipation in the production and
distribution of products and ser-
vices that facilitate our sustain-
able transition,” he added.
Marcos said economic re-
forms should be made to in-
crease the effectiveness of pro-
vision of services; redistribute
benefits to reduce inequalities
and increase living standards;
and strengthen economic foun-
kasama na rito ang rehiyon ng
BARMM. Kaya naman ibina-
hagi ko kay Honorable Tillah
na ang DepEd ay kasalukuyang
nagbubuo ng DepEd focal team
na pangunahing tutuon sa pa-
kikipag-ugnayan at maghanap
ng paraan paano makatulong
sa BARMM Ministry of Basic
and Higher Education hinggil
sa mga pangangailangan sa edu-
kasyon ng ating mga mag-aaral
sa BARMM (It is important for
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY
dations to resist shocks and cri-
ses and propel growth.
He said policy dialogues, es-
pecially those that promote in-
clusion, should remain an im-
portant tool in APEC to narrow
income divides and afford de-
veloping economies with some
policy space.
He said APEC members
should also address the “big-
gest” challenges that they are
facing, including supply chain
shocks, food and energy inse-
curity, natural disasters, health
emergencies, climate crisis, and
the negative economic impacts
of Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“Guiding us is the APEC Pu-
trajaya Vision 2040 which, it-
self, recognizes that progress
must be delivered not only in
trade and investment liberal-
ization and facilitation, but also
in digitalization and innova-
tion, and a strong, balanced, se-
cure, inclusive, and sustainable
growth,” Marcos noted.
“These are just a few ideas,
and we have a panel here to guide
us with their expert insights on
a clear and pragmatic way for-
ward. We must leverage APEC’s
core value propositions as the
premier regional forum in the
Asia-Pacific, incubator of inno-
vative ideas, pathfinder for col-
laborative solutions to emerging
trade issues, and platform for
forward-looking and responsive
economic and trade policies.”
The APEC CEO summit
brings together chief executive
officers (CEOs), entrepreneurs,
thought leaders, senior political
leaders, and other stakeholders
❱❱ PAGE 17 APEC economies must
us to improve the quality of ed-
ucation in the entire country,
including the BARMM. That's
why I told Honorable Tillah
that the DepEd is currently
forming a DepEd focal team
that would focus on coordinat-
ing and finding ways to help
the BARMM Ministry of Basic
Education and Higher Educa-
tion regarding the education-
al needs of our learners in the
BARMM)," she said. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023
Puerto Princesa
dubbed 'Green
Justice Zone' vs.
environmental
crimes
BY CHRISTOPHER LLOYD
CALIWAN
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Interior Secretary
Benhur Abalos Jr. said on Thurs-
day Puerto Princesa has been
tagged as a Green Justice Zone
to stop environmental crimes.
Abalos made the statement af-
ter joining officials from the Su-
preme Court (SC) and the Depart-
ment of Justice (DOJ) in launching
the Puerto Princesa Green Justice
Zone, which is regarded as the
first-ever in the country.
The Green Justice Zone deals
with matters concerning envi-
ronmental protection and natu-
ral resource management with-
in its jurisdiction with the aim of
addressing climate change and
environmental degradation.
Abalos said the Green Justice
Zone project in Puerto Princesa
is significant as the Philippines
is considered one of the me-
ga-diverse countries that hosts
more than 36,000 species of
plants and animals, according to
a 2017 study of the World Bank’s
Global Environment Facility.
“However, economic pres-
sures combined with wide-
spread illegal activities, such as
illegal logging and wildlife trade,
make the country a major biodi-
versity hotspot,” Abalos said.
He said such environmental
crimes result in a loss of natural
resources valued at over USD1
billion or some PHP50 billion
per year.
“On the ground, in terms of
policies and capacity-build-
ing, rest assured that we in the
DILG will always be there to
contribute to our goals in this
Justice Zone,” he said.
Puerto Princesa City Mayor
Lucilo Bayron thanked the Jus-
tice Sector Coordinating Council
(JSCC) and partner internation-
al organizations for choosing
Puerto Princesa as the first Green
Justice Zone in the country.
“This initiative reflects our
collective commitment to envi-
ronmental justice and sustain-
ability, ” Bayron said.
The JSCC Puerto Princesa
City Justice Zone is also the
country’s third “specialty” jus-
tice zone.
The first specialty justice zone
was put up in Zamboanga City
in February to handle cases of
trafficking of persons while the
second was launched in Tagaytay
City to handle cases arising from
economic development projects.
'Justice Zones' are areas
where local justice sector ac-
tors such as police, prosecutors,
public attorneys, judges and
prison staff work together to
identify common problems and
generate common solutions to
address them. ■
Bigger budget for crack-
down on human trafficking,
child abuse pushed
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – A lawmaker has
proposed increasing the budget
for the enforcement of Anti-Traf-
ficking in Persons (ATIP) to boost
the government’s crackdown on
human trafficking, including on-
line sexual abuse and exploita-
tion of children (OSAEC).
In a news release on Wednes-
day, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian
said he proposed to add PHP70.74
million to the PHP76.28 million
allocated under the National
Expenditure Program (NEP) for
ATIP enforcement.
From this proposed fund for
ATIP enforcement, he aimed
to allocate PHP39.42 million
to the Inter-Agency Council
Against Trafficking Secretariat
(IACAT) and PHP31.32 million
to the National Coordination
Center (NCC) Against OSAEC
and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse
or Exploitation Materials
(CSAEM) Secretariat.
According to the Cybercrime
PBBM: PH ready to work
with US for semiconductor
sector expansion
BY RUTH ABBEY GITA-
CARLOS
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – President Ferdi-
nand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday
(Manila time) expressed the
Philippines’ readiness to work
with the United States (US) for
the development of the semi-
conductor industry.
During a roundtable meeting
with the US’ Semiconductor In-
dustry Association (SIA) in San
Francisco, California, Marcos
said his administration puts the
semiconductor and electronics
industries as among its top pri-
www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
Investigation and Coordinating
Center (CICC), the Philippines
ranked second worldwide when
it comes to OSAEC.
Gatchalian also referred to the
Scale of Harm Survey by the In-
ternational Justice Mission (IJM)
and the University of Nottingham
Rights Lab, which estimated that
471,416 Filipino children were traf-
ficked to produce new child sexual
exploitation material in 2022.
He said the country has wit-
nessed a rise in human traf-
ficking incidents related to
Philippine Offshore Gaming
Operators (POGOs), citing an
Oct. 27 raid of POGO hub in
Pasay City where authorities
rescued 731 foreign and Filipi-
no workers, most of them were
victims of human trafficking.
“These criminal activities --hu-
man trafficking and sexual ex-
ploitation of children are real and
they’re happening in our country.
Hardened criminal syndicates are
operating freely within our juris-
diction,” Gatchalian said.
“I am suggesting increasing
ority sectors.
“You can depend on partners
in the Philippines that we are
ready to work with you. From the
government, the Department of
Trade and Industry, the Board of
Investments, the Philippine Eco-
nomic Zone Authority will all be
at the forefront,” Marcos said.
“From the private sector, we
have the Semiconductors and
Electronics Industries in the
Philippines Foundation, repre-
sented today by the Chairman
and some of its member-com-
panies. Another is the Private
Sector Advisory Council or the
PSAC, the members of whom
come from different private
7
the budget of the anti-traffick-
ing in persons enforcement
group from (PHP)76 million
to (PHP) 147 million. This is to
enable them to continue their
work in apprehending and res-
cuing all human trafficking
victims, as well as investigat-
ing and curbing online sexual
abuse of our minors,” he added.
The budget for ATIP enforce-
ment under the 2024 NEP is
PHP76.28 million. This was
reduced in the 2024 GAB by
PHP10 million, or a 13.11 per-
cent decrease.
Gatchalian also noted that
under the Expanded Anti-Traf-
ficking in Persons Act of 2022
(Republic Act No. 11862) and
the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse
or Exploitation of Children
(OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual
Abuse or Exploitation Materials
(CSAEM) Act (RA 11930), the
IACAT’s structure, composition,
and role were expanded to su-
pervise both the IACAT and the
NCC-OSAEC-CSAEM Secre-
tariats. (Leonel Abasola/PNA) ■
sector groups,” he added.
Marcos noted that Republic
Act 11534 or the Corporate Re-
covery and Tax Incentives for
Enterprises (CREATE) Act can
grant incentives for up to 40 years
for highly desirable projects with
a minimum investment capacity
of PHP50 billion (roughly more
or less USD1 billion) or at least
10,000 job generation.
He also touted the 50 mil-
lion-strong Filipino work force
who are “highly educated, English
proficient, and highly trainable
with very fast learning curves.”
“We assure you of this Ad-
❱❱ PAGE 8 PBBM: PH ready
8 Philippine News
Correspondent/Hosts
Arianne Grace Lacanilao
Matte Laurel
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Babes Newland
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Management
Alan Yong
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PCI reserves the right to reject any advertising which
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Member
UN expert cites PH efforts
on climate change, calls
for int'l support
BY MA. TERESA MONTEMAYOR
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – United Nations Special
Rapporteur Dr. Ian Fry on Wednesday
said the Philippines has “very good” pol-
icies and legislation on climate change
yet there is more to be done.
In a news release, the Department
of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported that
Fry’s 10-day official country visit end-
ed with a meeting with representatives
from the Climate Change Commission
(CCC), Presidential Human Rights
Committee Secretariat (PHRCS), De-
partment of Environment and Natural
Resources and the DFA others.
During the meeting, Fry shared a sum-
mary of his preliminary observations as
he conducted site visits across the coun-
try, including in Manila, Valenzuela City,
Leyte and Iloilo City, and discussions
with national and local government offi-
cials, civil society organizations and oth-
er stakeholders.
He cited the relevance of the Loss and
Damage Fund under the UN Conference
of Parties (COP) to the Framework Con-
PBBM: PH ready..
❰❰ 7 ministration’s support to keep
industrial peace, provide a
world-class workforce that is
responsive to the needs of the indus-
try, and enhance the business environ-
ment that will be conducive to further
growth,” Marcos said.
Marcos said the government is ex-
hausting all efforts to further capacitate
Filipino workers to become “work-and
future-ready” and remain globally com-
petitive for priority industries such as
the semiconductor industry.
In a Facebook post, state-run Radio
Television Malacañang shared a video of
Marcos’ meeting with the executives of
the Vishay Siliconix.
Vishay, through its subsidiary, Siliconix,
is one of the leading companies in the de-
velopment of power semiconductor prod-
ucts that improve the efficiency of power
management circuitry in end products
while reducing space requirements.
As one of the world’s best brands in
low-voltage power MOSFETs (metal-ox-
ide semiconductor field-effect transis-
tors), Vishay Siliconix products play a
significant role in making handheld and
portable electronic systems that are op-
www.canadianinquirer.net
vention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
and the need to make it meaningful and
operational.
In line with this, he underscored the
critical role of the international com-
munity —particularly developed coun-
tries— to provide enhanced climate fi-
nancing and support to the Philippines
and other vulnerable countries to effec-
tively combat climate change.
For his part, CCC Vice Chairperson
and Executive Director Secretary Rob-
ert Borje said international support for
loss and damage must be ramped up.
“As details of the loss and damage
fund are still being ironed out, Annex
1 Parties as well as carbon majors need
to deliver on scaled up means of imple-
mentation on climate finance, capacity
building and technology development to
developing countries as commitments
under UNFCCC and the Paris Agree-
ment as survival of developing nations
and the fundamental human right to life
are impacted by compliance with these
treaty obligations and moral impera-
tive,” he said.
He added developing nations which
are least responsible for global warming
erating more efficiently from smaller
and lighter battery packs.
Vishay Siliconix’s higher-voltage
MOSFETs are also used for applications
from electric motor control in industrial
systems to convert power in the switch-
es and routers, enabling the world’s
communication networks.
During the meeting, Trade Secretary
Alfredo Pascual discussed Vishay’s plans
to expand its presence in the Philip-
pines, according to a statement posted
on RTVM’s official Facebook page.
Communications Secretary Cheloy
Garafil said the Philippines seeks to par-
ticipate in the US semiconductor value
chain, in relation to the CHIPS Act and
President Joe Biden’s issuance of an
executive order to work with American
allies and partners to strengthen the col-
lective supply chain resilience.
"And as the US increases its front-end
wafer capacity for advanced technologies
and products under the CHIPS Act, the
Philippines stands ready to absorb and
support the additional corresponding ca-
pacity for assembly, packaging, and test
that will be required,” Garafil said.
“But it also seeks to go beyond and
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY
and climate change take on dispropor-
tionate burden of the responsibility.
In terms of gender-related issues, Fry
highlighted the country’s good practices
in terms of action at the local levels and
mainstreaming them — being “more pro-
gressive than a lot of other countries.”
He said the work of the Commission
on Human Rights on the responsibility
of large petroleum companies.
Meanwhile, the government urged Fry
to have a more comprehensive apprecia-
tion of the Philippine context and engage
in a genuine dialogue with the Nation-
al Task Force to End Local Communist
Armed Conflict with regard to his marks
on political and security matters.
PHRCS Undersecretary Severo Ca-
tura conveyed the government’s will-
ingness to further engage Fry to clarify
ongoing complex challenges which he
may not have fully appreciated during
his short visit.
He said this will ensure a broader per-
spective that will inform an objective,
constructive and complete report.
DFA Assistant Secretary Maria Te-
❱❱ PAGE 12 UN expert cites
higher in the value chain, such as in
chip design and is earnest in increasing
its activity in this space, for which part-
nership with the SIA and its members
would significantly accelerate the reali-
zation of that aspiration,” she added.
Garafil said the government’s plan can
be done through the establishment of
a lab-scale wafer fabrication facility in
the country to support the Science and
Technology Center that the Semicon-
ductor and Electronics Industries of the
Philippines Foundation Inc. (SEIPI) is
proposing.
She added that having a Philip-
pine-based US semiconductor compa-
ny to build a proof-of-concept wafer fab
near its facility, with the participation of
promising candidates such as Texas In-
struments and Analog Devices, is anoth-
er viable alternative.
"And under the CHIPS Act, there may
be facilities that can be tapped for hu-
man resources development and capac-
ity-building training so Filipino workers
can better support the semiconductor
and electronics operations of US com-
panies in the Philippines,” she said. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023
Québec’s summer 2023 wildfires
were the most devastating in 50
years. Is the worst yet to come?
BY DORIAN M. GABORIAU,
Université du Québec en
Abitibi-Témiscamingue
(UQAT), JONATHAN
LESVEN, Université du Québec
en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
(UQAT), VICTOR
DANNEYROLLES, Université
du Québec à Chicoutimi
(UQAC), YVES BERGERON,
Université du Québec en
Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)
The Conversation
After a summer of exception-
al wildfires, the return of cooler
temperatures and snowy condi-
tions will provide Québec’s for-
ests a brief respite.
But how long will it last? Are
events like these destined to be-
come more frequent?
As experts in disturbance dy-
namics occurring in the boreal
environment, we are assessing
the fires that occurred in Québec
in 2023 to provide insights into
their causes and consequences.
Millions of hectares affected
According to Québec’s Société
de protection des forêts contre
le feu (Society for the protection
of forests against fire, SOPFEU),
nearly 700 fires have burned ap-
proximately 5.1 million hectares
(equivalent to the territory size
of Costa Rica), both north and
south of the northern forest lim-
it designated by the province —
or the boundary that separates
northern Québec forests from
the southern forests, where log-
ging is conducted.
At the beginning of October,
fifteen of the fires that had started
in the summer were still active in
western Québec. Three of them,
although contained, had burned
a total of almost 700,000 hectares
within the intensive protection
zone, where the SOPFEU system-
atically fights all fires.
In the northern zone, twelve
fires were still under surveil-
Canada News
lance, some not exceeding 20
hectares, others covering more
than a million hectares. Out of the
total area burned in 2023 in Qué-
bec, three-quarters (3.8 million
hectares) were in the northern
zone. South of the 50th parallel,
within the intensive protection
zone, approximately 1.4 million
hectares burned, which is more
than 80 times the annual average
of the past ten years.
When we compare the 2023
fire season to datasets avail-
able since the 1970s, it becomes
quite clear that this year was
unusual compared to recent de-
cades. Yet, although these fires
are impressive and difficult to
contain, they are still within the
range of “natural variability”
observed in previous centuries.
Several studies have shown
that particularly intense fire
cycles were common in Québec
during the period from 1910-
1920. These were even more
common in the 18th and 19th
centuries when warm and dry
climatic conditions were partic-
ularly conducive to forest fires.
Exceptional weather con-
ditions
Like historic forest fires, fire
outbreaks in Québec in 2023
were fuelled by intense weather
conditions. Starting in June, af-
ter an already dry month of May,
a significant increase in fires was
observed in the intensive pro-
tection zone. The northern zone
was affected throughout the
three summer months.
These fires were mainly started
by lightning. Their spread was then
exacerbated by low precipitation
and abnormally high tempera-
tures. Temperatures exceeded the
1981-2010 average for the month
of June by 2.3°C, setting a record
for the warmest June recorded in
Québec in at least a hundred years.
These exceptional weather
conditions were partly influ-
enced by the El Niño phenom-
enon, a cyclical warming of the
Pacific Ocean known for its im-
pact on terrestrial weather con-
ditions. The trend continued into
July, which witnessed exception-
ally high average temperatures,
well above normal (+2.7°C).
Multiple consequences
The simultaneous outbreak
of numerous fires and their rap-
id spread have had multiple ef-
fects on wildlife, forests, the cli-
mate, and human populations.
The fires have altered the
structure and composition of
vegetation, causing disruption
to wildlife habitats as well as
displacement and mortality
among animals. As a result, the
hunting, fishing and harvesting
territories of Indigenous com-
munities have been affected.
In addition to representing
a direct threat to public safety,
the smoke from the fires caused
respiratory problems, leading
to the evacuation of thousands
of people in several regions of
Québec. The deterioration in air
quality was felt not only across
Canada and the United States,
but also as far as Europe. Fortu-
nately, evacuations were carried
out in time, and casualties were
avoided. However, there was
some material damage.
In terms of their impact on
www.canadianinquirer.net
the climate, large fires released
several megatons of carbon di-
oxide stored in trees and soils,
contributing to an increase in
atmospheric concentrations of
greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4).
While the fires have had sig-
nificant consequences, they can
sometimes be beneficial for cer-
tain organisms. We can consider
tree species like jack pine, which
depend on fires for regeneration,
and numerous animal species
that thrive in burned forests.
What can we expect in the
future?
Québec’s forests have been
burning and regenerating cycli-
cally for millennia. However, it
is imperative to recognize that
these cycles can evolve over time.
The 2023 fire season high-
lights the urgency of preparing
for significant changes in dis-
turbance dynamics, including
the possibility of such events
recurring more frequently.
As climate change progress-
es, periods of drought could
become more frequent if pre-
cipitation fails to compensate
for rising temperatures, as ob-
served in the 20th century.
This combination of factors
increases the likelihood of an
increase in the number, size,
and intensity of wildfires.
9
Such changes threaten the
natural regeneration of forests
and could lead to the formation
of treeless areas, victims of too
frequent fires for vegetation to
have time to regenerate.
These conditions could also be
exacerbated by the continued ex-
pansion of logging. Preliminary
analyses have shown that more
than 300,000 hectares of forests
burned in 2023 may not regen-
erate, mainly due to the effects of
logging in recent decades.
The consequences of major for-
est fires highlight the climate chal-
lenges we face. They demonstrate
the need to develop mitigation
and adaptation measures aimed at
protecting vulnerable forest eco-
systems and their inhabitants.
It is therefore imperative to
learn lessons from the 2023 fire
season to strengthen the resil-
ience of forests and communi-
ties to climate change and limit
damages caused by fires. This
involves reducing risk, protect-
ing the most vulnerable areas,
and raising awareness among
local populations. ■
This article is part of La Con-
versation Canada’s series The
boreal forest: A thousand se-
crets, a thousand dangers
La Conversation Canada in-
vites you to take a virtual walk in
the heart of the boreal forest. In
this series, our experts focus on
management and sustainable de-
velopment issues, natural distur-
bances, the ecology of terrestrial
wildlife and aquatic ecosystems,
northern agriculture and the cul-
tural and economic importance
of the boreal forest for Indige-
nous peoples. We hope you have
a pleasant — and informative —
walk through the forest!
This article was originally
published in French
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
10
Ottawa picked the dicey road to lower rents;
Quebec is right not to follow
BY RICARDO TRANJAN
Policy Options
Instead of handing more
money to developers, Quebec
plans to invest in public hous-
ing, co-ops and not-for-profit
housing. It makes sense.
Governments have several
options at their disposal to sta-
bilize rents. They can remove
profit from the equation, regu-
late the market so that increas-
es don’t outpace inflation or
give incentives to the private
sector and hope that enough
construction will bring down
costs to tenants.
The last approach is costly
and the least sure to succeed.
Yet that’s the one the federal
government has chosen. Again.
Relying on the private hous-
ing sector is a well-established
tradition in Canada. Historian
John C. Bacher documented
how Canadian governments
half-heartedly experimented
throughout the 20th century
with some of the non-market
models successfully imple-
mented in Europe, but always
favoured incentives to private
developers.
The upshot is that the share
of all non-market housing in
Canada is four per cent – one of
the lowest among countries in
the Organization for Econom-
ic Co-operation and Develop-
ment (the OECD).
Urban geographer Alan
Walks of the University of To-
ronto and his colleagues have
argued that Canada has played
a more active role in backing
mortgage loans than govern-
ments elsewhere.
The Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corp. (CMHC), the na-
tional housing agency, led the
Canada News
way on mortgage-backed secu-
rities, whereas in other coun-
tries, private financial institu-
tions assumed these risks. This
helps explain why Canada was
among the few nations that did
not experience bank failures
during the 2008 financial crisis.
Current housing policies
continue to favour the market
despite uncertain outcomes.
The National Housing Strat-
egy (NHS), approved in 2017,
emphasized providing private
investors with cheap loans. In
return, landlords rent a share of
newly built units at a discount,
usually 20 per cent below aver-
age market prices, but only for a
limited time – 10 to 20 years.
That hasn’t worked so well.
Cheaper loans haven’t signifi-
cantly boosted rental construc-
tion and the discounted units
are still too expensive.
A study commissioned by the
National Housing Council found
that only 19 per cent of units
funded through these loans are
affordable to moderate-income
households. Only three per cent
are within the reach of low-in-
come households.
We now have a new federal
housing minister, Sean Fraser,
but the government’s funda-
mental approach to policy re-
mains the same.
Fraser’s main policy plank
so far is to double down on in-
centives to the private sector.
In September, he announced a
GST rebate on the construction
of apartment units at a cost of
$4.6 billion over six years. That’s
an average of $770 million an-
nually. This is significantly larg-
er than current investments in
non-market housing.
A 2023 parliamentary budget
office report says a one-time in-
vestment of $1.5 billion in the
government’s Rapid Housing
Initiative would create 6,000
units for vulnerable popula-
tions at risk of homelessness.
This crucial program funds the
most expensive units needed in
the housing system. Still, Otta-
wa could create an additional
3,080 units annually, on an on-
going basis, with the $770 mil-
lion it’s foregoing annually via
the GST rebate.
The same report indicates
that a $500-million one-time
grant, coupled with a $1-billion
loan, would result in 6,000 new
co-op units. These units are
cheaper because co-ops repay
the loan over time. The same
$770 million a year could help
build more than 8,000 co-op
units annually (including the
estimated cost of administering
the loan).
The latest alternative federal
budget from the Canadian Cen-
tre for Policy Alternatives pro-
poses a capital fund to finance
the building of universal-design
homes at a break-even basis.
By cutting off developers, tap-
www.canadianinquirer.net
ping into public and commu-
nity land, and reinvesting loan
repayments, this capital fund
would considerably lower con-
struction costs. With the same
$770 million, the government
could help finance more than
30,000 non-market rental units.
Instead of prioritizing
non-market housing that deliv-
ers more affordable homes, now
and into the future, the govern-
ment is giving developers the
five-per-cent GST break. The
only condition for this costly
measure is that new buildings
must have four or more units,
and 90 per cent must be dedi-
cated to long-term rentals.
While the rationale is that
the tax break will lead to more
housing construction, there is
an excluded, if obvious, possi-
bility that it will increase prof-
its without resulting in more
housing.
Provinces are considering
whether to top up the federal tax
break by exempting developers
from provincial sales taxes. On-
tario, Newfoundland and Nova
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY
Scotia have signalled they will.
In Quebec, developers are
demanding the top-up, arguing
building costs are too high and
threatening to move invest-
ment elsewhere. But the Que-
bec government is not ceding.
Finance Minister Eric Girard
estimated the measure would
cost up to $1.5 billion – an
amount that Premier François
Legault says could be invest-
ed in more effective measures.
He’s right.
In its last budget, Quebec
committed $650 million to
create 5,250 social and “afford-
able” rental units. More recent-
ly, Legault’s government prom-
ised to match a federal grant of
$900 million and invest the en-
tire $1.8 billion in non-market
housing.
Instead of handing more
money to developers, Quebec
plans to invest in public hous-
ing, co-ops and not-for-profit
housing. It makes sense. Taking
financial gain out of the equa-
tion makes housing cheaper ev-
ery time.
Quebec should also enforce
rent controls on vacant units –
a direct way to control rents at
a minimal cost. The industry al-
ways says rent controls kill sup-
ply, but a recent CMHC analysis
found “no significant evidence
that rental starts were lower in
rent-control markets than in
no- rent-control markets.”
Other provinces should follow
Quebec’s lead and take the more
direct route to lower rents. ■
This article is part of a series
called How does Canada fix the
housing crisis?
This article first appeared
on Policy Options and is repub-
lished here under a Creative
Commons license.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023
Levelling the playing field:
The case for a federal ‘anti-scab’ law
BY LARRY SAVAGE, Brock
University
The Conversation
The federal government has
just introduced Bill C-58, its
much anticipated “anti-scab”
legislation. If adopted, the law
will prohibit the use of replace-
ment workers in the event of a
strike or lockout in any federal-
ly regulated industry.
The legislation will also re-
quire the parties to negotiate
a maintenance of activities
agreement in advance of a la-
bour dispute to allow for the
undertaking of maintenance
work to protect the integrity
and safety of the workplace.
The bill, a product of the
Liberal and NDP confi-
dence-and-supply agreement,
represents the first time a fed-
eral government has commit-
ted to an anti-scab law.
Unions have long advocated
for a ban on replacement work-
ers, arguing their use unduly
shifts power to employers and
Canada must stop treating climate disasters
like unexpected humanitarian crises
BY WILL GREAVES,
University of Victoria,
YVONNE SU, York University,
Canada
The Conversation
Two years after devastating
wildfires razed 90 per cent of
Lytton, B.C., reconstruction is
slow and residents remain dis-
placed and angry about it.
This summer, 65 per cent of
the Northwest Territories’ 46,000
residents evacuated, including al-
most the entire population of Yel-
lowknife, due to a wildfire.
The year 2023, in fact,
marked Canada’s worst-ever
wildfire season, with nearly
19 million hectares of forest
scorched by mid-October.
Unfortunately the cycle of di-
saster and displacement is not
gives the boss an unfair advan-
tage in collective bargaining.
In particular, union leaders
justify the need for a ban by
pointing to instances where
employers chose to lock out
workers and “starve them out”
while continuing to operate
with scab labour.
Business organizations, on
the other hand, frame their op-
position to anti-scab laws by
focusing on the potential for
economic disruption. They ar-
gue that a ban on replacement
workers would give unions too
much power, threaten the sur-
vival of small businesses and
make Canada less competitive.
Assessing the arguments
Making sense of these com-
peting perspectives can be
tricky because there is no ex-
pert consensus on the econom-
ic effects of anti-scab laws. The
studies that do exist offer con-
tradictory evidence based on
different statistical methods,
assumptions, time spans and
the inclusion or exclusion of
certain sectors of the economy.
new in Canada, according to the
Canadian Disaster Database.
It indicates 351 disasters took
place from 2000-2020, result-
ing in the displacement of an
estimated 569,224 people and
almost $20 billion in costs.
Humanitarian approach
Canada faces a growing list
of climate-related crises, and
the impact and financial costs
of these crises are expected to
worsen.
In 2022, Canada saw $3.1
billion in insured losses, more
than five times higher than
the annual average over 1983
to 2008. This “new normal”
includes annual multi-bil-
lion-dollar insured losses fol-
lowing increasingly destructive
climate-driven events.
Canada’s response to cli-
mate-related disasters follows a
Opponents of the legislation
tend to selectively rely on corpo-
rate-funded research by right-
wing think tanks to make the
case that a ban on scab labour
will drive away business and
wreak havoc more generally.
For example, a common ar-
gument is that if employers
can’t use replacement workers,
businesses may not be able to
operate during a labour dispute
and will lose revenue as a result.
This outcome would theoret-
ically jeopardize the business
and the future job security of
the striking workers.
The reality, however, is that
no union leader is interested
in negotiating employers out of
business or putting the jobs of
their members at risk.
Despite corporate objections
to the contrary, anti-scab laws
can play an integral role in im-
proving union-management
relations. At some point, almost
all work stoppages end, and
workers return to their jobs.
The resentment caused by the
use of scab labour lingers, how-
familiar pattern — local author-
ities and provincial and terri-
torial resources become over-
whelmed, prompting the federal
government and the Canadian
Armed Forces to intervene.
www.canadianinquirer.net
Canada News
ever, poisoning labour relations
and leading to lower workplace
morale. This is especially true
in the case of contentious la-
bour disputes where the use of
replacement workers triggered
picket line violence or vandalism.
Such incidents are far less
likely to occur if scab labour is
taken out of the equation.
Negotiated settlements
The other benefit of an an-
ti-scab law is that it would force
employers to focus on reaching
negotiated settlements rather
than strategizing over how to
best undermine and antago-
nize union members exercising
their right to strike.
This levels the playing field
and brings the focus back to the
bargaining table where deals
are made.
The business lobby’s argu-
ment that a ban on replacement
workers would render unions
more difficult in bargaining
is belied by the fact that an-
ti-scab legislation at the pro-
vincial level has not produced
“strike-happy” unions.
This reliance on the army as a
“force of first resort” for domes-
tic emergencies is costly and lo-
gistically challenging.
Essentially, Canada’s ap-
proach mirrors the humanitar-
11
Québec and British Colum-
bia have had legislative bans on
replacement workers in provin-
cially regulated industries for
decades. Neither jurisdiction
experienced escalating wage
demands, dramatic increases in
strike activity, or economic col-
lapse as a result.
Why then should we expect
different outcomes as a result
of a federal anti-scab law?
Politics of labour law reform
It’s worth remembering that
corporations have resisted vir-
tually every single improve-
ment to workers’ rights since
the 1800s.
This includes opposition to
union recognition, the right to
strike, the shorter work week
and improved employment
standards. Given this history, it
shouldn’t surprise anyone that
the business lobby is keen to
defeat or water down Bill C-58.
At a recent news conference,
Federal Labour Minister Seamus
O’Regan indicated the law would
❱❱ PAGE 17 Levelling the playing
ian approach to international
crises. However, these recur-
ring disasters are straining
the armed forces’ capacity to
respond effectively, leading to
questions about the adequacy
of how Canada currently han-
dles environmental disasters.
Fundamentally, humanitar-
ianism involves saving lives
and safeguarding vulnerable
populations. Internationally,
humanitarian aid focuses on
immediate necessities during
emergencies, sometimes in
contrast to international de-
velopment aimed at enhancing
long-term human well-being.
Unfortunately, investments in
long-term international devel-
opment have been underfunded
for years, while global spending
❱❱ PAGE 17 Canada must stop
 12
Advancing a Team Canada approach to housing
BY JACOB GORENKOFF
Policy Options
The housing crisis requires a
multi-partner strategy to cre-
ate enough of the homes people
need. Is the federal government
ready to be the captain?
Canada is struggling through
a dramatically worsening hous-
ing crisis. Millions of Canadians,
particularly those with lower in-
comes, have been experiencing
rapidly rising housing costs, driv-
en in large part by an extreme
supply shortfall. This problem
isn’t isolated to specific commu-
nities, regions or provinces.
Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau said recently that
housing is not a primary feder-
al responsibility. But the crisis
requires national leadership.
Ottawa urgently needs to enact
policies that reflect the needs
of the population by leading a
multi-partner “Team Canada”
approach, introducing new mea-
sures and revamping current
ones to create the types of homes
people need, where they need
them, in sufficient quantity.
In a September report, the
Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corp. estimated that Canada
needs to build 5.8 million hous-
ing units by the end of 2030 to re-
store affordability. That’s 3.5 mil-
lion units more than the current
pace of new home construction.
The national housing accord
– a plan developed by non-prof-
it and for-profit housing pro-
viders, developers and inves-
tors – suggests that restoring
housing affordability will re-
quire tripling home-building
over the next nine years. That
would require an unprecedent-
ed herculean effort.
It’s important to be cognizant
of how unaffordable housing has
become. The Canadian rental
housing index says 1.6 million
renter households pay more than
30 per cent of their before-tax in-
come for a roof over their heads,
which places them in core hous-
UN expert cites..
❰❰ 8 resa Almojuela said
the Philippines’ new
Sustainable Develop-
ment Cooperation Framework
with the UN 2024-2028 makes
Canada News
ing need. That translates to about
one-third of renters needing
community housing offered at
a more affordable cost than the
market provides.
Scotiabank’s January 2023
report, Canadian Housing Af-
fordability Hurts, recommends
doubling Canada’s supply of
community housing. Achieving
this objective can happen only
if the federal government pulls
out all the stops with measures
that reflect the country’s cur-
rent economic environment.
Current housing measures
won’t cut it
Canada’s economic picture
has shifted dramatically since
the creation of its National
Housing Strategy in 2017. In-
flation, the rapid rise of interest
rates and higher building costs
have made it more expensive
to create housing. At the same
time, federal funding has dwin-
dled significantly. Yet federal
housing policies and programs
have not adapted to the current
economic context.
Higher borrowing costs
mean affordable-housing pro-
viders can’t secure as much fi-
nancing as they could a couple
of years ago. That has led to a
serious funding gap that can-
not be filled without increased
grants or other measures with a
similar impact.
A recent example of a program
derailed by the volatile shift in
Canada’s economic picture is
the National Housing Co-Invest-
ment Fund, the flagship program
of the federal government’s na-
tional housing plan. The fund
provides funding and financing
for non-profit projects.
As interest rates spiked in
the latter half of 2022, CMHC
was forced to allocate more
funding to save projects already
underway. As a result, the hous-
ing co-investment grant budget
has been severely diminished.
Maximum grants dropped from
up to 40 per cent of total project
costs to a maximum of $75,000
per unit. Depending on the
climate action and resilience a
joint strategic priority for ac-
tivities at the national, local, re-
gional and international levels.
She also brought attention to
project, that could be a reduc-
tion of more than $125,000 per
affordable housing unit.
In other words, the cost of
creating housing has increased
significantly over the last two
years, while federal funding has
dramatically decreased, mak-
ing it nearly impossible to build
affordable homes using existing
policies and programs.
The housing we need to re-
store affordability simply can-
not be created fast enough – or
at all – to meet demand with
current federal support.
The Team Canada approach
A problem as significant and
widespread as Canada’s housing
crisis can’t be fixed by the feder-
al government alone. We need a
plan that involves all levels of gov-
ernment, the affordable housing
sector and private organizations.
To be successful, the federal
government needs to recognize
that the housing crunch Canada
faces is a problem that won’t be
solved with cheap solutions. Ev-
ery policy lever that can be pulled
must be pulled, with emphasis on
doubling the proportion of Cana-
da’s affordable homes to support
an increasing number of Canadi-
ans who need them.
A comprehensive Team Can-
ada approach requires a strate-
gy featuring integrated plans for
key economic areas, including
labour supply, immigration and
innovations in construction.
Building these strategic link-
ages will take time that’s hard
to find during a crisis. While
these plans are developed, the
government must prioritize the
following five actions:
1. Achieve a truly nation-
al housing strategy through
improved communication
and intergovernmental
co-ordination. This includes
collaborating with provincial
and territorial leaders to create
shared initiatives and to craft
housing targets for each level
of government. The prime min-
ister should consider calling a
national housing summit to de-
government efforts for skills up-
grading and promoting a just tran-
sition to a low carbon economy.
Fry expressed sincere grat-
itude for the “hospitality and
www.canadianinquirer.net
termine a shared path forward
and to reach a commitment to
double the proportion of Cana-
da’s community housing.
2. Spur housing develop-
ment through revamped tax
policies. The federal govern-
ment’s September announce-
ment that sales tax would be
waived on new purpose-built
rental units is an important
first step. That said, it’s an
ill-advised half-measure be-
cause housing co-ops, as well as
affordable housing projects in
development, are ineligible for
the tax cut. In Toronto alone,
there are 15,000 affordable
units that could move forward
with additional federal sup-
port. The government should
also explore opportunities to
unlock private capital to create
non-market housing through
additional tax measures.
3. Generate a stable pipe-
line of community housing
projects by revamping ex-
isting federal housing pro-
grams. Current programs sim-
ply do not work in an economic
environment of high interest
rates and construction costs.
The government must revital-
ize existing programs to ensure
they support a stable pipeline
of community housing develop-
ment projects. Failure to act to-
day means the pipeline will run
dry in the coming years.
openness” of government au-
thorities and stakeholders
throughout his visit.
He said the discussions with
the officials and other repre-
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY
4. Leverage federal transfer
payments to encourage the
creation of housing Canadi-
ans need, where they need it,
and in sufficient quantity. In-
frastructure investments are an
effective measure for motivating
Canada’s provincial, territorial
and municipal governments to
make policy changes. But invest-
ments should be made condi-
tional on policies favourable to
new affordable homes and those
that target an increased supply of
community housing.
5. Leverage the power of
federally owned land. Leas-
ing federal land to non-profit
housing providers (rather than
selling it) allows the land val-
ue to stay on the government’s
balance sheet and permits the
non-profits leasing the land to
borrow against its value. This
removes one of the costliest
parts of a community housing
project’s development budget.
Our housing crisis is a nation-
al problem that requires na-
tional solutions. The only way
we can overcome the challeng-
es we face is through a Team
Canada housing approach. Is
the federal government ready
to be our captain? ■
This article first appeared
on Policy Options and is repub-
lished here under a Creative
Commons license.
sentatives were “frank and con-
structive.”
His final report will be sub-
mitted to the UN Human Rights
Council in June 2024. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023
Biden-Xi meeting: 6 essential reads
on what to look out for as US, Chinese
leaders hold face-to-face talks
BY MATT WILLIAMS
The Conversation
U.S. President Joe Biden sits
down with his Chinese coun-
terpart Xi Jinping on Nov. 15,
2023, in the first head-to-head
talks between the leaders of the
world’s two biggest economies
in over a year.
During that time, relations
between the two countries have
not been their best – a spat over
a purported spy balloon over
American airspace in February
only added to a list of grievanc-
es that includes Biden’s com-
ments over Taiwan, Beijing’s
support of Russia, confronta-
tions in the South China Sea
and more generally a compe-
tition for influence and trade
around the world.
Yet, going into the meet-
ing – which takes place on the
sidelines of the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation sum-
mit in the San Francisco Bay
Area – there has been talk of
trying to put the U.S.-China re-
lationship on a better track. The
White House has indicated that
strengthening communication
and managing competition will
be the key thing to watch; Xi
recently commented that there
were “a thousand reasons to im-
prove China-U.S. relations, but
not one reason to ruin them.”
But how much is achievable?
Recent articles from The Con-
versation’s archive provide
insight and background over
what is likely to be on the agen-
da – and the obstacles to im-
proving ties.
1. Engagement, decoupling
or derisking?
The meeting comes after a
hardening stance against China
in Washington – and with a gen-
eral election just a year away,
political rhetoric on China is
likely to remain robust.
World News
Michael Beckley, an expert
on U.S.-China relations at Tufts
University, saw evidence of a
more hawkish China policy on
display in March when a bipar-
tisan House committee on Chi-
na held its inaugural meeting.
“What was abundantly clear
from the lawmakers was the
message that the era of engage-
ment with China is long past its
sell-by date,” wrote Beckley, add-
ing: “Engagement had been the
policy of successive government
from Nixon’s landmark visit to
China in 1972 onward. But there
was a general acceptance among
committee members that the
policy is outdated and that it is
time to adopt if not outright con-
tainment then certainly a more
competitive policy.”
A key part of that new policy
would involve a more robust
stance on confronting China’s
military posturing in East Asia.
It also included what Beck-
ley described as “selective de-
coupling,” or the disentangling
of certain technology and eco-
nomic interests. The buzzword
being thrown around in foreign
policy circles lately is “derisk-
ing,” but it alludes to the same
thing: U.S. entities limiting
their exposure to China.
2. War (of words) over Taiwan
So what has prompted the
worsening relations between
China and the U.S.? For start-
ers, there is the ongoing tension
over Taiwan.
For the best part of 40 years,
U.S. diplomatic relations with
the island have been governed by
the “one China policy” – through
which Washington recognizes
the People’s Republic of China
and acknowledges that Beijing’s
position remains that Taiwan is
part of China. Prior to 1979, the
U.S. recognized the government
of Taiwan as “China.”
But in recent years, Bei-
jing has caught wind of sub-
tle changes in the U.S. over
the issue. In May 2022, Biden
suggested he would intervene
“militarily” should China ever
invade Taiwan. This would
break a long-standing policy of
ambiguity over what the U.S.
would do in such an event. The
White House later walked back
the comments, suggesting that
it didn’t represent a change.
But it wasn’t the first time that
Biden has made such a remark,
noted Meredith Oyen, an ex-
pert on U.S. Taiwan relations
at the University of Maryland,
Baltimore County.
“I think it is clear at this point
that Biden’s interpretation
of the Taiwan Relations Act –
which since 1979 has set out the
parameters of U.S. policy on the
island – is that it allows for a U.S.
military response should Chi-
na invade. And despite White
House claims to the contrary,
I believe that does represent a
departure from the long-stand-
ing policy of ‘strategic ambigui-
ty’ on Taiwan,” she wrote.
3. Navigating the South
China Sea
Most experts are of a mind
that an invasion of Taiwan isn’t
on Beijing’s immediate agen-
da – or in its interests. But that
US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN/FACEBOOK)
www.canadianinquirer.net
doesn’t mean that a military
confrontation isn’t possible.
“If a war between China and
the U.S. is going to happen, I
believe the South China Sea
is likely to be a major theater,
with Chinese aggression to-
ward Taiwan the spark,” wrote
Krista Wiegand, a scholar of
East Asian security and mari-
time disputes at the University
of Tennessee.
The South China Sea – which
is home to large reserves of oil
and gas as well as billions of
dollars’ worth of fisheries – has
become a constant cause of ten-
sion between Beijing and a host
of East and Southeast Asian na-
tions, including U.S. allies the
Philippines and Japan.
In April, the U.S. Navy in con-
junction with counterparts in
the Philippines sunk a mock
warship off the archipelago
country’s coast.
Washington stressed that it
was not in response to increased
tension over Taiwan, but it was
nonetheless met by Beijing stag-
ing its own military exercise
around the disputed island.
More generally, China has
consistently engaged in so-
called “gray zone tactics” in
the waters – such as deploying
13
Chinese Coast Guard boats in
disputed areas, harassing other
nations’ ships and building up
artificial islands.
“With China playing by a dif-
ferent set of rules than the U.S.
and its allies in the region, the
risk of clashes at sea is very real.
It could even lead to conflict be-
tween the two most powerful
countries in the world today,”
wrote Wiegand.
4. Trading blows
The South China Seas is also
a major trade route – and sim-
mering trade competition un-
derpins a lot of the tension be-
tween the U.S and China.
City, University of London’s
ManMohan S. Sodhi and Chris-
topher S. Tang at the University
of California, Los Angeles, ex-
plained how economic ties be-
tween the two countries flour-
ished in the 1980s only to become
more hostile of late – and how
that is affecting global trade.
“As U.S.-China relations have
moved from building bridges in
1972 to building walls in 2022,
countries will increasingly be
forced to choose sides and com-
panies will have to plan supply
chains accordingly. Those seek-
ing to trade in both blocs will
need to ‘divisionalise,’ running
parallel operations,” the schol-
ars wrote.
A bipolar trading world is
already emerging, with U.S.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yel-
len calling for “friend-shoring”
with trusted partners – in other
words, splitting countries into
friends or foes and reward-
ing the former. Such a tactic is
aimed at countering China’s
Belt and Road Initiative, which
has seen Beijing pump billions
of dollars into developing coun-
tries over the last decade.
5. War in Ukraine …
Biden and Xi have plenty of
❱❱ PAGE 16 Biden-Xi meeting:
14
Mexico will soon elect its first female
president – but that landmark masks
an uneven march toward women’s rights
BY XAVIER MEDINA
VIDAL, University of Texas at
Arlington, CHRISTOPHER
CHAMBERS-JU, University
of Texas at Arlington
The Conversation
Leer en español.
Mexico will elect its first fe-
male president in 2024, barring
any surprises between now and
the June vote.
The looming landmark mo-
ment was all but guaranteed in
September after the country’s
leading parties each nominated
a woman as its candidate – the
ruling Morena party named for-
mer Mexico City Mayor Claudia
Sheinbaum as its nominee days
after the main opposition coa-
lition, Broad Front for Mexico,
announced Xóchitl Gálvez, a
senator for the center-right Na-
tional Action Party, as its own.
But as scholars who study
politics and gender in Mexico,
we know that optics are one
thing, actual power another.
Seventy years after women won
the right to vote in Mexico, is
the country moving any closer
to making changes that would
give women real equality?
Uneven fight for gender
equality
Women now represent half
of Congress, after electoral
reforms nearly a decade ago
mandated gender parity in
nominations to Mexico’s legis-
latures. And two women, Ana
Lilia Rivera and Marcela Guer-
ra Castillo, occupy the top posts
in both chambers of Congress.
Meanwhile, Norma Lucía Piña
is the first woman to serve as
chief justice of Mexico’s Su-
preme Court.
But electing women to high
office doesn’t necessarily shift
power in meaningful ways. It’s
what experts on women in pol-
itics call “descriptive represen-
tation” – when political leaders
resemble a group of voters but
fail to set policies designed to
protect them. In contrast, “sub-
stantive representation” occurs
when officials enact laws that
truly benefit the groups that
World News
they claim to represent.
Scholars who study the dif-
ference between the two, in-
cluding Sonia Alvarez, Mala
Htun and Jennifer Piscopo,
have found that wins in pub-
lic spheres, such as the right to
vote or hold office, have rare-
ly led to progress for women
in private spaces – such as the
right to reproductive freedom
or protections against domestic
violence.
In other words, Mexico may
have surpassed many coun-
tries – including the U.S. – in
promoting women to political
leadership positions, but it still
hasn’t shed its stigma of ma-
chismo and its history of au-
thoritarianism.
In the 1990s, a resurgent
feminist movement through-
out Latin America led to ma-
jor breakthroughs in women’s
rights. By the end of the decade,
many countries had passed leg-
islation against gender-based
violence and reforms requiring
gender quotas in party nomina-
tion lists. In the past 17 years,
seven women have been elected
president across Central and
South America.
Yet the fight for gender
equality has advanced uneven-
ly. Mexico is a country still rat-
tled by high rates of femicide.
Government data shows that,
on average, 10 women and girls
are killed every day by partners
(CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM/FACEBOOK)
or family members.
Government accused of
harassment
During his term, the cur-
rent president, Andrés Manuel
López Obrador, and his party,
Morena, have been accused of
downplaying the extent of the
femicide crisis, with at least one
critic claiming he’s “the first
president to outright deny” the
violence.
Rather, López Obrador has
used his daily “mañanera”
news conference to issue ver-
bal assaults against women in
office, including 2024 nominee
Gálvez. In July 2023, the in-
dependent National Electoral
Institute found López Obrador
guilty of targeting Gálvez in de-
rogatory statements related to
her gender.
López Obrador has also de-
nounced Supreme Court chief
justice Piña in what Mexico’s
National Association of Judges
has described as hate speech
and the federal judiciary con-
demned as “gender-based vio-
lence” and hatred against her.
His statements at a rally in
March incited his followers to
burn Piña in effigy, prompting
critics to suggest that such at-
tacks don’t simply reflect López
Obrador’s distaste for checks
and balances, but aim to un-
dermine women in positions of
power.
Mexico’s patronage politics
www.canadianinquirer.net
Observers view current 2024
front-runner Sheinbaum as
López Obrador’s handpicked
successor: He has publicly en-
dorsed her, and she has vowed
to continue his “fourth trans-
formation,” a campaign prom-
ise to end government corrup-
tion and reduce poverty that’s
had mixed results.
Sheinbaum’s record as mayor
of Mexico City has been equal-
ly mixed. She has publicly de-
scribed herself as a feminist
and has criticized state prose-
cutors for covering up the kill-
ing of Ariadna Lopez, a 27-year-
old woman. At the same time,
Sheinbaum attempted to crim-
inalize participants of a mass
protest against the thousands
of women who’ve disappeared
in recent years, claiming that
these demonstrations were vi-
olent.
Political scientists have
shown that even when the fac-
es of politics change, the oper-
atives behind the scenes can
stay the same – especially in
Mexico, where political parties
are mired in patronage politics
– when party leaders reward
loyalty by deciding who gets to
run for office and who gets to
keep their jobs when the gov-
ernment is handed over to a
new administration.
If Sheinbaum is elected,
she’ll likely still be beholden to
the Morena coalition and will
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY
rely to a large degree on López
Obrador to help push through
her policies.
A feminist future?
Both Sheinbaum and Gálvez
have championed women and
shared their experiences as
women on the campaign trail.
But, so far, neither has signaled
that her legislative agendas
would advance the interests of
women through policies, such
as expanding access to health
care or fighting for family leave
and equal pay in the workplace.
As criticism of López Obra-
dor has overshadowed Shein-
baum’s campaign, we believe
she faces a greater challenge in
convincing voters of her com-
mitment to women’s rights.
While Gálvez’s path to the
presidency is narrow, her abili-
ty to advocate for a pro-women
agenda seems more plausible.
She has publicly supported
LGBTQ+ rights in Mexico even
as a member of the conservative
National Action Party, suggest-
ing she’s capable of speaking
and acting independently of
party leadership when it mat-
ters.
Aside from front-line poli-
tics, women’s rights in Mexico
have moved forward when lead-
ers have committed to substan-
tive change.
Notably, Mexico’s Supreme
Court under Pinã has declared
all federal and state laws pro-
hibiting abortion unconstitu-
tional. When Piña took office,
she promised to take on wom-
en’s rights in her agenda. So far,
she’s delivered.
If either presidential can-
didate hopes to have similar
success, they’ll need to follow
Pinã’s lead by centering their
platforms around the issues that
most affect women in their day-
to-day lives, beginning with ris-
ing femicide rates. Women may
be gaining political power in
Mexico, but the question now is
whether they’ll use it to fight for
the women they represent. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023
Generational tensions flare as Japan faces the
economic reality of its ageing baby boomers
BY SIMON AVENELL,
Australian National University
The Conversation
In 2024, the youngest of Ja-
pan’s baby boomers will turn
75. The boomers are called the
“bunched” generation in Japan
because they were born in a
short spurt in the late 1940s, in
the aftermath of the end of the
second world war.
The sheer size of this cohort
has made it a lightning rod for
many of the thorny social and
economic debates in Japan today.
Japanese boomers are variously
criticised for generational wealth
disparity, national debt, and even
the environmental crisis.
Historically, the boomers’ ex-
perience is very much the story
of Japan’s postwar success. But
were the boomers just lucky
free-riders? And how have they
shaped contemporary Japan?
The children of war defeat
Japan was under US-led oc-
cupation and struggling with
a tattered economy when the
boomers were born. Millions of
soldiers and settlers had flood-
ed back from the colonies and
battlefields. As the Japanese be-
gan to rebuild their nation, they
also enthusiastically procreat-
ed. From 1947 to 1949, Japan
recorded around 2.7 million
births annually, with a fertility
rate exceeding 4.3.
Never again would Japan
witness such stunning fertility.
Apart from a short-lived uptick
in the 1970s, annual births have
been declining precipitously.
In 2020, Japan recorded its
lowest number of annual births
China to conduct joint military exercises with
5 ASEAN countries
ANADOLU
Philippine News Agency
BEIJING – China announced
Sunday that it will conduct joint
military exercises this month
with five member countries of
at 840,835 with a fertility rate of
just 1.33. This is not the lowest
in Asia, but it is well beneath
the replacement rate of 2.1.
The protest generation
Japan’s boomers were both
the engines and beneficiaries
of the country’s economic mir-
acle of the 1950s to 1970s, when
GDP growth regularly hit the
double digits.
In an age when most youth
finished education in their
teens, the boomers provided la-
bor for Japan’s heavy, chemical,
automotive, and electronics in-
dustries. Many migrated to cit-
ies like Tokyo, taking up jobs in
small factories and retail stores.
The small percentage of
boomers lucky enough to enter
universities in the 1960s be-
came the flagbearers of youth
protest. They rallied against
Japan’s subservience to Amer-
ica and its involvement in the
Vietnam War. They demanded
universities lower fees and give
students a greater voice.
Beyond protest, they fash-
ioned new cultures in music
and art. Indeed, they were ac-
tors in the great theatre that
was the “global 1960s”.
As student protest descend-
ed into violence in 1970s Japan,
public opinion turned against
the young boomers. A handful
embraced murderous left-wing
terrorism, but the majority chose
the safety of corporate Japan.
Boomers fashion Japan’s
economic miracle
In 1975, the youngest of Ja-
pan’s boomers were in their
mid-20s. Japan was recovering
from a massive hike in oil prices
in 1973 and would face another
the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) focus-
ing on counterterrorism and
maritime security.
The "Aman Youyi 2023" ex-
ercise will take place from mid-
to late November off the coast
of Zhanjiang in South China’s
petroleum shock in 1979.
It was the hardworking
boomers who sustained Japan
through these troubled eco-
nomic times. In an age of rigidly
defined gender roles, boomer
men became Japan’s corporate
and industrial warriors, while
boomer women raised children
and cared for elderly parents.
Accordingly, they orchestrated
Japan’s second – and last – post-
war baby boom in the 1970s.
When Japan emerged as an
economic superpower in the
1980s, it was the boomers who
reaped the rewards. Although
not all benefitted equally, Jap-
anese baby boomers, now in
their 30s, enjoyed relatively
secure employment, a thriving
economy, and superior stan-
dards of living.
At the same time, as the econ-
omy surged, the boomers faced
financial pressures in hous-
ing and education. Some even
worked themselves to death
inside Japan’s pressure-cooker
corporations.
Guangdong province, accord-
ing to a statement from China's
Ministry of National Defense.
ASEAN members Malaysia,
Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and
Laos will take part in the exercise.
The exercise aims to enhance
counter-terrorism and anti-pi-
www.canadianinquirer.net
World News
Nonetheless, things were
good for the boomers during
Japan’s “bubble” economy of
the 1980s. By the end of the de-
cade, the youngest were in their
40s. As mid-career workers,
they could both save and spend
– something later generations
would only dream of.
Intergenerational ten-
sions in recessionary Japan
Just as the boomers were
moving into the middle eche-
lons of society, Japan’s econom-
ic miracle ended abruptly. What
followed from the 1990s on-
wards has been called Japan’s
“lost decades”, an “ice age”
of employment, and an era of
youth uncertainty and despair.
The boomers, however, sur-
vived largely unscathed. Thanks
to an employment system that
protected senior workers, most
(although not all) of the boomers
retained their jobs while their
children struggled to find even
casual work. Many boomers also
had savings to fall back on.
But in recessionary Japan,
racy capabilities in urban and
maritime settings among par-
ticipating countries for region-
al peace and stability.
The Aman Youyi exercise
was initiated by China and Ma-
laysia. Following an inaugural
tabletop combat scenario ex-
15
the now-ageing boomers raised
thorny issues for the country. As
a healthy, long-lived, and very
large cohort, their approaching
retirement in the 2000s threat-
ened the viability of Japan’s
already-strained pension and
health schemes. Youth born in
a post-bubble Japan are faced
with carrying this burden.
Not surprisingly, intergen-
erational tensions have arisen.
For the boomers, it is easy to
label youth as lazy and lacking
perseverance. For the young,
boomers were simply lucky
to be born in an era of growth.
And, to make matters worse,
now the young must support
the boomers in retirement.
Ageing boomers in the old-
est society
Given the electoral clout of
the boomers, politicians are
treading carefully around solu-
tions involving redistribution
from the old to the young. Ul-
timately, intergenerational
blaming is not the solution.
Japan’s baby boomers were
born into a nation rising, but
they also helped to fashion that
success. Youth can draw on
the boomers’ journey from the
ashes of defeat to stunning af-
fluence. But the boomers must
also recognise how their gener-
ation has contributed to the de-
mographic and socioeconomic
challenges facing Japan today.
As the world’s oldest society
continues to age, intergeneration-
al empathy from the boomers is
now more important than ever. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
ercise in the Malaysian capital
Kuala Lumpur in 2014, Ma-
laysia hosted field exercises in
2015 and 2016.
This year, China will host the
5th edition of the exercises, and
Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos will
participate for the first time. ■
 16
David Cameron returns: how can a prime
minister make someone who isn’t an MP
foreign secretary? And what happens now?
BY THOMAS CAYGILL,
Nottingham Trent University
The Conversation
In a surprise move, Rishi Su-
nak, the UK’s prime minister,
has appointed former prime
minister David Cameron as for-
eign secretary. Cameron, who re-
signed immediately after losing
the 2016 Brexit referendum, has
been almost entirely absent from
the political scene ever since.
It’s rare these days for a prime
minister to appoint someone
who is not a sitting member
of the House of Commons as a
cabinet level minister in their
government but Sunak certain-
ly can do it. The prime minister
has what we call the power of
patronage.
What we mean by this is that
there are a number of public
roles for which the prime min-
ister gets to decide who gets the
job. Those powers of patronage
include appointing members of
the cabinet as well as other ju-
nior ministers to serve in gov-
ernment.
It is only a constitutional
convention, rather than a rule,
that government ministers be a
member of either house of par-
liament. However, it is a con-
vention that has been strongly
abided by.
This convention revolves
around the constitutional prin-
ciple of responsible govern-
ment where the executive is ac-
countable to parliament. That’s
why Cameron has been granted
a life peerage to sit in the House
of Lords, the upper house of
Biden-Xi meeting:..
❰❰ 13 bilateral issues to talk
though. But the meet-
ing takes place with a
backdrop of two major confla-
grations that continue to occu-
py the thoughts of foreign poli-
cy advisors in both Beijing and
Washington.
China’s support of Russia has
been a continued source of ten-
World News
parliament.
Making Lord Cameron the
new foreign secretary is, from
a historical and constitutional
position, not unusual or forbid-
den. Under the government of
Gordon Brown, both Lord Man-
delson and Lord Adonis served
in the cabinet, for example.
How quickly does this all
happen?
While there are often set
times when prime ministers
appoint peers to the House of
Lords, such as resignation hon-
ours, they can appoint anyone
at any time. That means Cam-
eron is now already a peer.
He will sit on the Conserva-
tive benches in the House of
Lords for life – regardless of
how long he spends in the role
as foreign secretary.
This conferring of a peerage
does mean he will need to be
formally introduced into the
House of Lords but this doesn’t
take long to arrange. There is
nothing to prevent Cameron
from taking up the role of for-
eign secretary immediately,
which explains why he has al-
ready been photographed at the
Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Office.
Is it OK to appoint a minis-
ter in this way?
There isn’t a problem with
Cameron’s appointment from
the perspective of the constitu-
tion. It is all above board.
However some people will
(legitimately) question wheth-
er the British government
should be continuing to appoint
peers to cabinet level jobs in the
21st century, given that debates
sion between Beijing and the West
since the invasion of Ukraine in
February 2022. Meanwhile the
escalation of violence between Is-
rael and Hamas puts in jeopardy
China’s policy of “balanced diplo-
macy” in the region.
And yet, there is potential for
common ground here between
Biden and Xi. Both will be keen
around its democratic legitima-
cy, as an appointed rather than
elected chamber, have been go-
ing on for decades already.
It’s worth noting that Cam-
eron had a preference for ap-
pointing his cabinet ministers
from the House of Commons
when he was in charge.
And while the government
is accountable to parliament
as a whole, generally speak-
ing we are talking about being
accountable to the House of
Commons, which is the elected
house. MPs are likely to be an-
noyed that a senior member of
the cabinet is not a member of
their house.
Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of
the House of Commons, has al-
ready expressed concern about
how the foreign secretary will
be held to account by the House
of Commons. While there are
UK Former Prime Minister David Cameron (MARTIN SCHULZ/FLICKR, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
that war doesn’t cause more de-
stabilization. As Ronald Suny
of the University of Michigan
wrote in regards to the Ukraine
conflict: “Stability, both do-
mestically and international-
ly, works to China’s economic
advantage as a major produc-
er and exporter of industrial
goods. And Beijing is mindful
www.canadianinquirer.net
mechanisms available to hold
the new foreign secretary to
account, MPs are likely to need
pacifying.
As a member of the House of
Lords, Cameron will not be able to
take part in the monthly Foreign
Office questions in the House of
Commons. He will not be able to
answer urgent questions in the
House of Commons or take part
in their debates either.
Nor will he be able to deliv-
er major foreign policy state-
ments in the House of Com-
mons. Junior ministers in the
department will have to face
MPs instead.
He can answer questions
and take part in debates in the
House of Lords and will be held
to account by his fellow peers
but it is a different political are-
na to the House of Commons.
There is precedence for cabi-
that a slump in foreign demand
and investment is hitting the
country’s economic prospects.”
6. … and now the Middle East
Yet Beijing is also at pains to
promote its vision of a multipo-
lar world, edging away from U.S.
dominance. For similar rea-
sons, Beijing is keen to develop
its role as friend to all in the
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY
net level ministers in the House
of Lords to appear there regu-
larly. In 2009, House of Lords
procedures were changed to
allow cabinet ministers to an-
swer questions on their depart-
mental brief once a month for
20 minutes, and I am sure Lord
Cameron will deliver state-
ments on foreign affairs.
But, again, MPs cannot take
part in this scrutiny. This is
likely to annoy many, given the
major foreign policy issues the
country is facing at the moment.
When was the last time a
great office of state was held
by a peer?
While the appointment of
cabinet ministers from the
House of Lords is not unusual
in post-war history, it has been
some time since such a senior
member of the government (a
holder of one of the great offic-
es of state) has come from the
House of Lords.
The last member of the
House of Lords to serve in one
of the great offices of state was
Lord Carrington, who was Mar-
garet Thatcher’s foreign secre-
tary between 1979 and 1982.
It also isn’t unheard of for
former prime ministers to re-
turn to cabinet. Alex Douglas
Home, who was until recently
the shortest serving prime min-
ister in post-war history, was
appointed as foreign secretary
by prime minister Ted Heath,
serving from 1970 to 1974. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
Middle East – a position that
will become harder to main-
tain as war goes on, as Andrew
Latham, who teaches China for-
eign policy at Macalester Col-
lege, explained. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023 World News 17

Canada must stop.. Levelling the playing..

❰❰ 11 on short-term hu-
manitarian assistance
reached nearly US$50
billion in 2022.
Deferring investments
Many governments appar-
ently prefer responding with
humanitarian aid after disas-
ters, rather than supporting de-
velopment activities that would
reduce disaster impacts. That’s
problematic.
Federal and provincial gov-
ernments have deferred expen-
sive investments that would
reduce the impact of extreme
weather events, just as they
continue to avoid climate action
policies related to urban land
use, mass transit and emissions
from oil and gas extraction.
This “climate adaptation
gap” is the impetus behind Can-
ada’s first National Climate Ad-
aptation Strategy introduced
earlier this year. The gap is ev-
ident in the ongoing resistance
from high-emitting provinces
over the federal government’s
clean electricity targets and its
goal of reaching net-zero emis-
sions by 2050.
Despite the fact that a large
majority of Canadians sup-
port increased investments in
climate action, governments
continue to pass the buck on
climate policy. Instead, endless
debates over carbon pricing
monopolize much of the public
discussion on climate policy.
In doing so, governments are
in effect creating different class-
es of Canadian citizens. Rural, re-
mote, northern and Indigenous
communities located further
from southern cities and emer-
gency management resources
will remain reliant on the Cana-
dian Armed Forces to come to
their aid in times of crisis.
If the frequency of such di-
sasters increases while the
army’s capacity to respond is
already strained, then these
communities will continue to
experience humanitarian re-
sponses that do little to protect
their communities in advance
and fail to support reconstruc-
tion or strengthen community
resilience for the future.
Policy choice
This shortfall in climate ad-
aptation and preparedness is a
policy choice that has significant
implications for Canadians.
The current humanitarian
model for responding to envi-
ronmental disasters is politi-
cally expedient, but it’s neither
cheap nor effective. It is also
contrary to our understanding
of sovereignty.
Sovereignty involves a social
contract in which governments
pledge to protect their citizens
in exchange for their loyalty to
its institutions and constitu-
tional order.
Protecting citizens requires
defending them when threats
arise and preparing for those
threats. When governments fail
to adequately safeguard their
citizens, respond only after cri-
ses have already begun or ne-
glect long-term needs, they fall
short of their responsibilities.
As residents of one of the
world’s wealthiest nations, Ca-
nadians should demand greater
accountability from their gov-
ernments to reduce the need
for last-minute humanitarian
efforts in the face of climate-re-
lated disasters in their commu-
nities. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
❰❰ 11 not take effect until 18
months after receiving
Royal Assent.
That’s an eternity in politics
and provides the business lobby
with ample time to change the
government’s mind or pressure
it to run out the clock in advance
of the next federal election.
In the meantime, unions and
their allies are not sitting idle.
We can expect unions to contin-
ue organizing rallies and actions
to pressure the government to
deliver on its commitment.
Previous attempts to win an-
ti-scab legislation through op-
position-led bills have usually
faltered because Liberal MPs
got cold feet and switched their
votes on second or third read-
ing under pressure from the
business community.
APEC economies must..
❰❰ 6 from the Asia-Pacific
region for a business
dialogue on global op-
portunities and challenges that
shape the economic, environ-
mental and societal trends in
the region.
The dynamics are different
this time as a result of the con-
fidence-and-supply agreement
with the union-friendly NDP and
the government’s desire to use
the legislation as a wedge issue
to undermine recent Conserva-
tive efforts to gain support from
blue-collar union members.
Whether the legislation will
serve that purpose remains an
open question.
But that should not distract
from the policy goal of reform-
ing labour laws in ways that
promote collective bargaining,
protect workers’ rights and
level the playing field between
unions and employers. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
This year’s gathering focuses
on the theme, "Creating Eco-
nomic Opportunity" and fea-
tures a lineup of dynamic and
diverse speakers to shed light
on sustainability, inclusion, re-
silience and innovation. ■

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www.canadianinquirer.net
18
Entertainment
A swift history of the concert film,
from The Last Waltz to the Eras Tour
BY JUSTIN SMITH, De
Montfort University
The Conversation
I felt I was missing some-
thing when I went on a Sunday
night in late October to see
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour at
my local independent cinema. I
was: it was the audience.
I can’t remember the last
time I sat alone in a cinema,
but it was undoubtedly for fare
far more obscure than this
much-hyped event movie. But
as I sat back in my seat and let
the experience wash over me, it
turned out to be an unexpect-
edly intimate encounter. Just
me and Taylor.
It’s no surprise that the 33
year-old singer-songwriter,
at the peak of her powers and
cultural influence, should be
the centre of attention in this
169-minute film.
The performances are com-
bined from the first three of six
shows staged in August at the
SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Los
Angeles. They are as seamless-
ly interwoven cinematically as
they are orchestrated musical-
ly, in linked chapters featuring
songs (and dance routines) from
Swift’s ten studio albums to date.
Each section is announced
on screen with the album title
and defined visually by lavish
costume changes and magical
set transformations. This show
is as much a piece of theatre as
it is cinema. But where was the
audience in all this?
Those closest to the stage,
who flanked the catwalk pier,
are submerged in an ocean of
iPhone glow. The rest, stretch-
ing far away across and up to
the stadium’s upper terrace, ap-
pear as small starlit circles.
There are occasional cut-
aways to devoted fans (most-
ly female, mostly dressed like
Taylor Swift) singing along in
word-perfect synchronicity.
But the most intimate moment
of communal theatre comes
when a girl of five or six is of-
fered up for a blessing. Swift
bends and embraces the child,
placing her black hat on her
too small head. The crowd is
overcome. This is a love-in on a
global, stadium scale.
The history of the concert
film
The concert film came of age
in the 1970s. The format was all
about capturing the essence of
live performance and the skill and
sinew of serious musicianship.
The booming music indus-
try of the 1970s was irresist-
ible to Hollywood’s wavering
fortunes. Concert films were a
shop window for record sales
and often had direct tie-ins to
live albums. The concept nature
of these films (typically com-
prising multiple performances,
overdubbing in post-produc-
tion, multi-stereo or “quad”
soundtracks and early videotape
effects) didn’t dilute the liveness
of their central performances.
The performances were gen-
erally shot with rudimentary
camera set-ups by crews who
came from television adver-
tising and the music business
rather than the film industry
Taylor Swift fans flock to Downtown East in Minneapolis for the first of two shows on her "The Eras
Tour". (CHAD DAVIS/FLICKR, CC BY-NC 2.0)
(not least because they were
made by record labels rather
than film studios). But this con-
tributed to their authentic feel.
The concert film evolves
The concert film also took on
another kind of life during the
1970s. It was characterised by
the sort of retrospective mu-
sical resumé that Taylor Swift
might recognise. Cream’s fare-
well concert at the Royal Albert
Hall on November 26 1968 had
been filmed by Tony Palmer
and a BBC crew and was later
shown on television.
Then, Martin Scorsese di-
rected The Last Waltz (1978),
a feature-length documentary
for cinemas marking The Band’s
disbanding in 1976. The film
broke the established mould
by removing all signs of the on
screen connection between au-
dience and performers.
Footage of the band perform-
ing their San Francisco Thanks-
giving Day concert (including
on-stage guest appearances
from the rock and blues hall of
fame) is interspersed with care-
fully structured interviews
with band members. No flies
on the wall here. Scorsese has
subsequently reprised this ret-
www.canadianinquirer.net
rospective mode with his doc-
umentaries on Bob Dylan and
the Rolling Stones.
In effectively removing the
concert hall audience from the
The Last Waltz, Scorsese was
crossing a line. The dynamic
connection between stage and
crowd that provides a key point
of identification for the cinema
audience is lost.
The originators of the con-
cert film in the 1960s (film-
makers D.A. Pennebaker and
the Maysles brothers) were
acutely interested in that emo-
tional connection. Pennebak-
er’s Don’t Look Back (1967)
followed Bob Dylan’s 1965 tour
of the UK, documenting fans’
reactions as the “folk singer”
went electric. He inaugurated
the rock festival film with Mon-
terey Pop (1967) capturing now
iconic stage performances by
Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Jimi
Hendrix and The Who. His con-
cert film of David Bowie’s last
performance as Ziggy Stardust
was released, belatedly, in 1979.
After their 1964 coverage
of The Beatles first American
tour (What’s Happening! The
Beatles in the USA), the Mays-
les were lured back to the mu-
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY
sic scene by the Rolling Stones
in 1969 to chart their US tour.
This culminated in the fateful
Altamont Speedway concert at
which an audience member was
killed in front of the stage.
Gimme Shelter (1970), co-di-
rected by Charlotte Zwerin,
subverts the chronological nar-
rative by filming band members’
reactions as the tensions rise
and the gig descends into chaos
and violence. Part concert film
(featuring performances from
Madison Square Garden early
on the tour), Gimme Shelter’s
musical pretext is taken over by
an examination of the factors
that led to its ultimate tragedy.
Gimme Shelter and Michael
Wadleigh’s subsequent Wood-
stock(1970) film are works of
forensic anthropology. They
weren’t made to sell records,
but to record a sub-culture in
all its doomed glory.
More recent concert films,
from Madonna: Truth or Dare
(1991) and Kylie’s Showgirl: The
Greatest Hits Tour (2005), to
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and
the forthcoming Renaissance: A
Film by Beyoncé demonstrate a
more direct engagement with
fans in cinemas by powerful fe-
male artists in total control of
the medium of film.
These artists are using their
films not only to boost record-
ing sales but to promote their
future tour dates. Furthermore,
these films act as a consolation
for those fans worldwide for
whom a concert ticket is be-
yond reach. At £20 it was a pricy
movie, but a cheap gig.
In this way, the concert film
is enjoying a comeback in the
age of event cinema, compet-
ing with a strike-beleagured
Hollywood in the post-COVID
box-office revival. Only not at
my local on a Sunday night.■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023 Entertainment 19

Vhong, Jugs, and Teddy share how

they prepped for their “Magpasikat”
performance in “Tao Po”
ABS-CBN
Kabayan features the in-
spiring story of a female
truck driver
Vhong Navarro, Jugs Jugue-
ta and Teddy Corpuz or Team
JTV reveals behind the scene
happenings of their viral “It's
Showtime Magpasikat” perfor-
mance, which was a tribute to
legendary comedians, in “Tao
Po” this Sunday (November 19).
The performance, which
was part of the noontime va-
riety show’s 14th anniversary
celebration, clinched 3rd place
in the annual competition
where the show's hosts are di-
vided into teams and compete
through performances with
various concepts.
Doris Bigornia learns how
the “It’s Showtime” hosts came
up with the nostalgic perfor-
mance through the use of AI
technology. Team JTV also re-
veals the reason behind their
original song and discusses the
impact of their performance to
the audience and to themselves
as well.
Meanwhile, Bernadette tells
the story of a family who takes
care of their Alzheimer’s-strick-
en mother and grandmother.
Lola Gloria Cosipag's children
share how they deal with the
challenges brought by the dis-
ease and accept their fate with
an open mind and heart.
Kabayan Noli De Castro also
features Rose Ann Cayetano, a
truck driver, who details how
she learned to drive a truck and
how she navigates being a fe-
male driver in an environment
dominated by men.
Catch these exciting stories
this Sunday (November 19) on
“Tao Po” at 2:15PM on A2Z and
6:15 p.m. on Kapamilya Chan-
nel Kapamilya Online Live, and
ABS-CBN News Online.
For other news, follow @AB-
SCBNPR on Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram, or visit www.
abs-cbn.com/newsroom. ■ Team TVJ: Teddy Corpuz, Vhong Navarro, and Jugs Jugueta with Doris Bigornia
(ABS-CBN)

"Senior High" surpasses one billion views on

TikTok; more revelations unfold in new chapter
ABS-CBN
Grae Fernandez joins the
trending series
ABS-CBN’s hit mys-
tery-thriller primetime series
“Senior High” continues to
keep viewers on an emotion-
al high each night after it sur-
passed one billion views on
TikTok as more bombshell rev-
elations unfold in the series’
new chapter.
“Senior High,” which stars
Andrea Brillantes and is also
consistently the most watched
Grae Fernandez, Kyle Echarri, Andrea Brillantes, Juan Karlos (ABS-CBN) series on iWantTFC, recently
dropped a two-minute trail-
er for its new season that fea-
tures a whirlwind of emotions
surrounding the pregnancy of
Luna when she met her demise.
The intriguing trailer also
reveals two main suspects as
the possible biological father
of Luna’s baby - her former lov-
er Gino (Juan Karlos) and the
convicted rapist in professor
Castrodes (Floyd Tena). View-
ers can also look forward to
even more shocking twists as
Grae Fernandez joins the series
as the mysterious Yosef and en-
ters Sky’s (Andrea) life.
Meanwhile, love affairs
will intensify as Poch (Miggy
Jimenez) and Tim’s (Zaijian Ja-
ranilla) friendship grows deep-
er, while Harry (Baron Geisler)
uncovers the infidelity of his
wife Sasha (Desiree Del Valle)
with his trusted colleague Dar-
ius (Ryan Eigenmann).
Watch out for more shocking
revelations in “Senior High”
that airs weeknights at 9:30
PM on Kapamilya Channel,
Kapamilya Online Live, A2Z,
TV5, iWantTFC, and TFC.
For updates, follow @abscbn-
pr on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok,
and Instagram or visit www.abs-
cbn.com/newsroom. ■

www.canadianinquirer.net
20
What designers can do to make textiles
healthier for people and the planet
BY VANESSA
MARDIROSSIAN, Concordia
University
The Conversation
The pollution caused by the
textile industry is often dis-
cussed, but its impact on health
is less emphasized. Nevertheless,
the petrochemical compounds
used in the manufacturing of
our clothes have harmful effects
on workers, surrounding com-
munities, and consumers. This
issue has a global impact, but its
assessment is complex due to our
low chronic exposure to a “cock-
tail” of synthetic substances
whose cause-and-effect relation-
ships are difficult to identify.
Moreover, most of these
substances prove to be toxic
through interaction or degra-
dation, as is the case with azo
dyes that are ubiquitous and
persistent in the environment.
Through my research in sus-
tainable textile design, I explore
how design can contribute to
making the textile industry
more environmentally friendly,
focusing on raising ecological
awareness among designers,
decision-makers, and the gen-
eral public.
Design-led solutions
In the 1960s, designer Victor
Papanek was the first to address
environmental issues related
to industrial product design.
Meanwhile, biologist Rachel
Carson initiated the emergence
of ecological consciousness,
shedding light on the profound
impact of human activity on the
environment.
Then in the 1990s, green
chemistry facilitated collabora-
tion between design and biology
to develop ecological textiles.
Aligned with The Hannover
Principles, these textiles aimed
to enhance waste management
and preserve water purity. In-
tending to harmonize the in-
terdependence between human
activity and the natural world by
Lifestyle
eliminating toxic inputs at their
source, these principles also
gave rise to the “Cradle to Cra-
dle” ecodesign philosophy that
popularized the concept of cir-
cular design in the early 2000s.
An inspired approach from
nature
Humanity has always drawn
inspiration from nature to create.
However, in the late 20th
century, biologist Janine Beny-
us invited us to observe the
operating mechanisms of liv-
ing organisms, encouraging a
reevaluation of manufacturing
processes through biomimicry
— a concept that draws inspira-
tion from nature’s designs and
processes to create more sus-
tainable technologies.
Could we, for example, pro-
duce dyes at room temperature
and without toxic molecules?
This approach leads to a shared
reflection between design, sci-
ence and engineering. This mul-
tidisciplinary vision of design,
where ecology, medicine, and
politics play a role in the design
process to better meet the needs
of society, was already advocat-
ed by Papanek in 1969.
Developing ecological lit-
eracy
In 1990, educator David Orr
introduced the concept of eco-
literacy to address a major gap
in traditional education, cen-
tered on humans and ignoring
their interconnectedness with
nature. He advocated for envi-
ronmental education to devel-
op a sense of belonging to one’s
living environment and estab-
lish production models that
promote the resilience of eco-
systems. This concept helps to
understand the intricate con-
nections between human activ-
ities and ecological systems, to
foster a sense of responsibility
and informed decision-making.
In the 2000s, fashion de-
sign researcher Kate Fletcher
supported the development of
this ecological literacy to help
stakeholders in the industry
(designers, consumers and
manufacturers) understand
the implicit interconnection of
industrial and living systems,
showing that fashion maintains
a vital relationship with nature.
Then, in 2018, the sustainable
design researcher Joanna Boeh-
nert emphasized that ecologi-
cal literacy not only promotes
the development of new, more
sustainable ways of producing,
but also broadens our social, po-
litical, and economic vision to
systemically address transdisci-
plinary sustainability challenges.
This is also supported by bi-
ologist Emmanuel Delannoy
who offers a permaeconomy
model, blending permaculture
and economics to establish a
symbiotic relationship between
economic systems and the nat-
ural environment, fostering
resilience and prompting a re-
evaluation of our connection
with living organisms
A colourful heritage to re-
discover
My research-creation pro-
poses a critical reflection on
textile dyeing.
This field of investigation
leads me to explore colouring
beyond its aesthetic to raise
ecological, economic and peda-
gogical questions.
While the glamourous aspect
of fashion obscures the health
and socio-environmental is-
www.canadianinquirer.net
sues of the textile industry, I di-
rect my thinking toward a more
global understanding of dyeing,
including its origins, manufac-
turing methods and interac-
tions with living organisms.
I explore the development of
non-toxic dyes by studying, on
one hand, literature on natural
dyes since prehistory, and, on
the other hand, by meeting ex-
perts in the field such as scientif-
ic historian Dominique Cardon
or ecoliterate artisan Rebecca
Burgess, founder of the Fiber-
shed concept, which aims to
produce biodegradable clothing
in a limited geographical space.
I also study field practices,
including those of the Textile
Laboratory of Atelier Luma,
which works at the intersection
of ecology, textiles and regional
economic development.
And, I keep an eye on design
education programs that offer
an art-science approach where
deep ecology is integrated into
the design process.
Symbiosis between nature
and the textile industry
Additionally, in the research
laboratory where I work, I ex-
periment with the intersection
of traditional and prospective
dyeing recipes.
Inspired by the concept of
industrial ecology (precursor
of the circular economy), that
values the waste of one industry
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY
as resources for another, I use
agri-food waste as a colouring
source, combined with the use
of pigment-producing bacteria
to expand the colour palette.
Thus, tannins from various
waste materials can be used in
dye recipes.
But colouring a textile is only
the visible part of the iceberg,
as fibre preparation takes place
upstream to ensure the colour’s
resistance to light and wash-
ing, known as “mordanting.”
Whether the fibre is animal or
vegetable, different mordants
will be used.
This expertise acquired it-
eratively between theory, pro-
totyping, and results analysis
contributes to gaining “textile
ecoliteracy.” Coupled with a
knowledge of biology, this al-
lows for understanding the del-
eterious interactions between
the material and living worlds.
Ultimately, the synthesis of
ecoliteracy and biomimicry
concepts has led me to reflect
on a macro-vision of the fash-
ion industry ecosystem, and to
consider the concept of “textile
ecoliteracy” as a means to de-
ploy a network of intersectoral
collaborations between design,
health, education, and industry.
My research aims to show that
textile materiality must harmo-
nize symbiotically with natural
ecosystems so that both parties
benefit from their interaction.
In conclusion, the textile
industry’s environmental and
health impacts necessitate
urgent attention and innova-
tive solutions. This article has
delved into the historical con-
text, explored interdisciplinary
approaches, and proposed the
concept of “textile ecoliteracy”
as a collaborative means to ad-
dress these challenges.
By focusing on sustainable
design, education, and the uti-
lization of innovative practices,
designers can play a pivotal role
❱❱ PAGE 30 What designers can
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023
Spoilers can’t ruin true enjoyment of
your favourite book series, TV show
or sports team – here’s why
BY TOM GRIMWOOD,
University of Cumbria
The Conversation
As I write this, my wife is des-
perately trying to avoid spoilers
for the latest episode of Strictly
Come Dancing. Having missed
the original broadcast, she has
been frantically logging out of
all forms of social media, lest a
stray Facebook status or retweet
give the game away. Add to this
the possibility of a friend inno-
cently revealing what happens,
and it’s clear just how difficult it
is to live spoiler-free.
And it’s not just difficult for
those watching television. For
followers of sports, too, there
is a longstanding problem of
avoiding the final score before
being able to watch the game.
Popular book series also face
the problem of key twists being
Is time travel even possible? An astrophysicist
explains the science behind the science fiction
BY ADI FOORD, University of
Maryland, Baltimore County
The Conversation
Will it ever be possible for
time travel to occur? – Alana
C., age 12, Queens, New York
Have you ever dreamed of
traveling through time, like
characters do in science fiction
movies? For centuries, the con-
cept of time travel has captivat-
ed people’s imaginations. Time
travel is the concept of moving
between different points in
time, just like you move be-
tween different places. In mov-
ies, you might have seen char-
acters using special machines,
magical devices or even hop-
ping into a futuristic car to trav-
el backward or forward in time.
But is this just a fun idea for
movies, or could it really happen?
The question of whether time
revealed too early. When J.K.
Rowling’s novel Harry Potter
and the Half-Blood Prince was
released in 2005, a banner was
hung over a bridge over the
A442 in Shropshire revealing
an important character’s death.
Council officials swiftly re-
moved the banner – although
possibly because it was likely
to fall, rather than out of fear of
ruining people’s enjoyment.
No hiding place
Spoilers, then, seem to be
everywhere – and the general
view is that they are bad. In its
extreme form, “toxic” spoilers
arise from both the pleasure
some take in spoiling others’
surprise and the use of plot ru-
ining as a form of vengeance.
This ire can be aimed at specif-
ic people or the series itself. The
latter happened with the Star
Wars prequel films, as some fans
spoiled the endings for those who
is reversible remains one of the
biggest unresolved questions in
science. If the universe follows
the laws of thermodynamics, it
may not be possible. The second
law of thermodynamics states
that things in the universe can ei-
ther remain the same or become
hadn’t seen it yet “immunisation
against disappointment”.
Spoilers can be weaponised
in this way because of some of
our assumptions about them.
Most fundamentally, that they
ruin enjoyment. But is it that
simple? In a series of psycho-
logical experiments published
in 2011, researchers in Califor-
nia found that knowing the end
of a story did not diminish read-
ers’ enjoyment. In fact, read-
ers preferred the stories where
they had the ending revealed to
them beforehand.
The researchers theorised
that we think of spoilers neg-
atively because we are unable
to compare spoiled and un-
spoiled experiences and there-
fore assume that the unspoiled
is better. They argued that: “It
is possible that spoilers en-
hance enjoyment by actually
increasing tension. Knowing
more disordered over time.
It’s a bit like saying you can’t
unscramble eggs once they’ve
been cooked. According to this
law, the universe can never go
back exactly to how it was be-
fore. Time can only go forward,
like a one-way street.
www.canadianinquirer.net
Lifestyle
the ending of Oedipus Rex may
heighten the pleasurable ten-
sion caused by the disparity in
knowledge between the omni-
scient reader and the character
marching to his doom.”
These experiments focused on
classical literature, which often
requires some kind of explana-
tion in order to follow the plot at
all. The spoilers in this research
were therefore arguably able to
complement the plot, at least for
a contemporary readership un-
familiar with the complexities of
ancient Greek tragedy.
Perhaps the experiments
may have reached different
conclusions if they had used,
say, screenings of the Succes-
sion finale.
Travelling at the speed of
spoilers
Also, because the research
involved texts that were all
written a long time ago, their
Time is relative
However, physicist Albert Ein-
stein’s theory of special relativity
suggests that time passes at dif-
ferent rates for different people.
Someone speeding along on a
spaceship moving close to the
speed of light – 671 million miles
per hour! – will experience time
slower than a person on Earth.
People have yet to build space-
ships that can move at speeds
anywhere near as fast as light,
but astronauts who visit the In-
ternational Space Station orbit
around the Earth at speeds close
to 17,500 mph. Astronaut Scott
Kelly has spent 520 days at the
International Space Station, and
as a result has aged a little more
slowly than his twin brother –
and fellow astronaut – Mark
Kelly. Scott used to be 6 minutes
younger than his twin brother.
Now, because Scott was traveling
so much faster than Mark and for
21
experiments removed the issue
of the timeline of when infor-
mation does and does not count
as a spoiler.
These boundaries are de-
batable. In 2008, Vulture, an
entertainment news website,
published a satirical “statute of
limitations” on spoiler reveals.
They ranged from “as soon as
the episode finished” for reality
TV to 100 years after its debut
performance for operas.
The speed of the spoiler is sig-
nificant because it is inherently
linked to the digital platforms that
carry them to both willing and un-
willing readers. In other words,
finding out things too soon rais-
es more fundamental questions
about how we engage with the
rapid availability of information
across digital media today.
Consider the controversy
❱❱ PAGE 22 Spoilers can’t ruin
so many days, he is 6 minutes and
5 milliseconds younger.
Some scientists are exploring
other ideas that could theoreti-
cally allow time travel. One con-
cept involves wormholes, or hy-
pothetical tunnels in space that
could create shortcuts for jour-
neys across the universe. If some-
one could build a wormhole and
then figure out a way to move one
end at close to the speed of light
– like the hypothetical spaceship
mentioned above – the moving
end would age more slowly than
the stationary end. Someone
who entered the moving end and
exited the wormhole through the
stationary end would come out in
their past.
However, wormholes remain
theoretical: Scientists have yet
to spot one. It also looks like it
would be incredibly challeng-
❱❱ PAGE 30 Is time travel
 22
The Doomsday Clock warns the world
about catastrophe – here’s why it stands
at 90 seconds to midnight
BY ROD THORNTON, King's
College London
The Conversation
The Doomsday Clock, with
its hands hovering close to mid-
night (“doomsday”), is a sym-
bolic device that is designed to
warn the world how close it is
to catastrophe. Midnight is said
to represent the point at which
the Earth becomes uninhabit-
able by humanity.
The clock dates back to the
early days of the cold war. It
was set up as an integral feature
of a journal called the Bulletin
of Atomic Scientists. This was
established in 1947 by those
Manhattan Project scientists
and engineers who were close-
ly linked to the development
of the atomic bomb. They were
concerned about “the destroy-
ers of worlds” they had creat-
ed. Articles in the bulletin were
largely devoted – as they still
are today – to highlighting the
perils of nuclear weapons.
At the beginning of 2023, the
hands of the Doomsday Clock
were set at a mere 90 seconds
to the hour, the closest it has
ever been to midnight. There
is no one overall reason for this
move. Of course, with climate
change now a major factor in
the threat to humanity, the
clock has to reflect this, and
does. But it is, however, other
more immediate factors that
have largely caused the hands
to be pushed forward.
Spoilers can’t ruin..
❰❰ 21 when a Wikipedia ar-
ticle on Agatha Chris-
tie’s The Mousetrap
was created. According to Wiki-
pedia guidelines, a summary of
the plot was required. But the
question was whether the twist
of who the murderer is should
be revealed in this summary,
given that theatre audiences
are historically sworn to secre-
cy at the end of each show.
It was agreed, in the end,
Lifestyle
The most significant influence
has been the war in Ukraine and
particularly the Russian threat
of “escalating to de-escalate”.
This notion has been widely
discussed in Russia, including
by those with close ties to Pres-
ident Vladimir Putin.
The idea here is that if Rus-
sian forces were about to suffer
a major defeat in Ukraine, they
would use tactical (low-yield)
nuclear weapons on the bat-
tlefield (that is, to “escalate”
the war). This would then cre-
ate serious pause among those
western powers who were sup-
porting Kyiv.
They would, the logic runs,
be persuaded into withdraw-
ing that support because they
would not want to risk a wider
war with Russia that might in-
clude the use of strategic nu-
clear weapons. Moscow would
then “win” the war against a
Ukraine now lacking western
help. The war would be over –
hence the “de-escalation”.
Beyond what might hap-
pen on actual battlefields in
Ukraine, rising background
tensions between Washington
and Moscow have also contrib-
uted to the current position of
the clock’s hands.
The bilateral treaties that
once held in check develop-
ments in the field of nucle-
ar weapons have now largely
gone. The US itself withdrew
from the Anti-Ballistic Missile
(ABM) Treaty treaty in 2001
and the Intermediate-range
that users of Wikipedia should
expect this information to be
revealed. We do not need to be
Poirot to deduce from this that
our expectation of information
being easily and readily avail-
able creates the conditions for a
constant threat of spoilers.
This points to the real prob-
lem with spoilers. Whether they
ruin plot twists or not depends
on the idea that presenting re-
ductive summaries – pure in-
Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty
in 2019. And while the end of
these agreements would have
played their part in the setting
of the clock’s hands at 90 sec-
onds at the start of 2023, there
have been yet further concern-
ing moves actually during 2023.
In February 2023, Russia
withdrew from the New Start
Treaty and early in November
it was announced that it would
also withdraw from the Com-
prehensive Nuclear Test Ban
Treaty. So all of the agreements
related to limiting nuclear
weapons that, in the past, had
moved the hands away from
midnight, have now gone.
When the clock started
The clock’s hands, since 1947,
have been set at the beginning of
every year by the bulletin. Orig-
inally, the clock was concerned
formation – somehow replaces
or equates to an understanding
of the film, show, or story.
In his book Spoiler Alert,
literary theorist Aaron Jaffe
argues that the threat of the
spoiler hinges on the idea that
everything can be translated
into information and that in-
formation can be found every-
where. But this is – he clarifies
with a spoiler alert – a myth. In
truth, information is rarely ful-
www.canadianinquirer.net
with the threat of an actual nu-
clear war between the cold war
superpowers, the US and the
Soviet Union. Recently, how-
ever, the clock has also come
to include and reflect the glob-
al threat from climate change,
which was first included as a fac-
tor by the bulletin in 2007.
At various points over the
years, the clock has been ad-
justed to react to world events.
In 1947, its original setting was
at seven minutes to midnight. It
moved up to just two minutes in
1953 when both the US and the
Soviet Union tested their new,
and more destructive, hydro-
gen bombs. The clock, though,
never moved as close again to
midnight throughout the rest of
the cold war.
Whenever the hands were
moved forward, they tended to
ly accessible or complete, due
to the different ways it is stored
and connected.
It may seem obvious to say
that should I accidentally dis-
cover the score of a football
game before I get to watch it, it
would spoil my entertainment.
But the score would not tell me
if my team deserved to lose, if
they were robbed by a referee’s
decision, if my favourite play-
er had improved, and so on. In
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY
be brought back again later to
reflect any warming of relations
between Washington and Mos-
cow – such as with the detente
of the early 1970s or following
the signing of various arms
limitation agreements. These
agreements would include the
likes of the Partial Nuclear Test
Ban Treaty of 1963, the Stra-
tegic Arms Limitation Talks
(Salt) of the 1960s and 1970s,
the ABM treaty of 1972, the INF
agreement of 1987, the Strategic
Arms Reduction Treaty (Start
I) of 1991, and the follow-on
New Start of 2010.
Indeed, in 1991, and in the
halcyon days – in tension-re-
duction terms – of the imme-
diate post-cold war period, the
Doomsday Clock’s hands were
moved further away from the
midnight hour than at any point
since 1947: they stood at a com-
forting 17 minutes.
In 2023, the world, it seems
– and if the Doomsday Clock is
to be treated with credence –
is not in a good place. But this
clock is, though, a warning de-
vice, albeit symbolic. As such, it
can hopefully serve to concen-
trate minds and to bring to bear
wise counsels who can act to
avert the catastrophe (whether
nuclear- or climate-induced)
that the clock’s founders had
designed it to prevent. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
short, the spoiler does not allow
me to interpret the meaning of
the game.
So while spoilers seem to re-
quire us to log out of X or avoid
low bridges on the A442, there
is still a part of our enjoyment
that blunt information cannot
remove. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023
2024 Winter Youth Olympics tickets
available free of charge
XINHUA
Philippine News Agency
SEOUL – Tickets for the 2024
Winter Youth Olympic Games
(YOG) in Gangwon, South Ko-
rea will be free of charge for all
events except the opening cere-
mony in Gangneung, according
to the International Olympic
Committee.
The tickets for Gangwon
2024, which runs from Jan. 19 to
Feb. 1, 2024, have been on gener-
al sale on the official online plat-
form since last Saturday.
The opening ceremony is set
to take place on Jan. 19 at Gang-
neung Oval and PyeongChang
Dome simultaneously.
The tickets for the opening
ceremony in Gangneung are
priced from 30,000 to 100,000
won (USD22 to 74), while access
to the PyeongChang Dome will
be free of charge, though attend-
IOC president calls for unity in sport
amid geopolitical tensions
XINHUA
Philippine News Agency
GENEVA – International
Olympic Committee (IOC) pres-
ident Thomas Bach has empha-
sized the critical need for unity
in the sporting world amidst
increasing geopolitical tensions.
He conveyed this message
while welcoming attendees to
the 2023 International Feder-
ation (IF) Forum in Lausanne,
Switzerland on Monday.
Speaking at the Olympic Mu-
seum, Bach highlighted sport's
ability to unite people, partic-
ularly during times of division.
He emphasized the crucial
need for solidarity in address-
ing the current global challeng-
Sports
ees still need to request tickets
via the online platform or at the
box office on the day of the event.
The Games will use several
facilities that hosted events at
the 2018 PyeongChang Olym-
pic Winter Games and will take
place in four locations: Gang-
neung, PyeongChang, Jeongseon
and Hoengseong, with tickets to
the sporting events in those loca-
tions available free of charge.
Approximately 1,900 athletes
from around 80 National Olym-
pic Committees are expected to
take part at Gangwon 2024.
Athlete role models
Meanwhile, the International
Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Ath-
letes Department said 17 Olym-
pic champions, Olympic med-
alists and Olympians have been
named as Athlete Role Models
(ARMs) for the 2024 Gangwon
Winter Youth Olympic Games.
The 17 ARMs are Jackie Nar-
racott (Australia, skeleton),
es facing the sports world.
"The current geopolitical
tensions are extremely com-
plex. In such times, the unifying
power of sport is more import-
ant than ever before," he said.
"To be such a unifying power,
it is essential that we all stand
together."
"Today, millions of people
around the globe are longing for
such a unifying force that brings
us all together in our so confron-
tational world. Our role is clear:
to unite - and not to deepen di-
visions. Therefore, we carry an
important responsibility - to
stand together for the power of
sport and to live up to our shared
mission to make the world a bet-
ter place through sport."
Bach said the upcoming 2024
Won Yun-jong (South Korea,
bobsleigh), Jennifer Dodds
(Britain, curling), Kim Chang-
min (South Korea, curling),
Eliza Tiruma (Latvia, luge),
Sascha Benecken (Germany,
luge), Vanessa Hinz (Germa-
ny, biathlon), Dominik Wind-
isch (Italy, biathlon), Min Yura
(South Korea, figure skating),
Paris Olympic Games could serve
as "a symbol of unity and peace,"
capable of uniting the world.
"We all share the expec-
tations of millions of people
around the globe," he said.
"They all have to experience so
many divisions and confron-
tations in their daily lives that
they are longing for something
that unifies us, something that
gives us hope, something that
gives us optimism. After the
pandemic, people are longing to
come together again."
Bach also discussed the immi-
nent future in the digital realm,
where rapid advancements in AI
and esports present both oppor-
tunities and challenges for the
Olympic Movement.
He informed attendees about
www.canadianinquirer.net
Michal Brezina (Czech Repub-
lic, figure skating), Nao Kodaira
(Japan, speed skating), Viktor
Polasek (Czech Republic, ski
jumping), Carina Vogt (Germa-
ny, ski jumping), Han Da Som
(South Korea, cross-country
skiing), Magnus Boe (Norway,
cross-country skiing), Sami
Kennedy-Sim (Australia, free-
the mission of the newly formed
IOC Esports Commission,
chaired by IOC Member and
International Cycling Union
(UCI) president David Lappar-
tient, to explore the creation of
the Olympic Esports Games.
Bach said two guiding princi-
ples have been established: "The
first one is: whenever there is
an IF engaged in esports, this IF
will be our first go-to partner.
The second principle is: we will
again focus on our values and
we will stay true to our values -
the Olympic values of peace, re-
spect, non-discrimination, and
solidarity - that have guided us
for over a century.”
"Our values are and remain
the red line that we will not
cross. Any development in es-
23
style skiing) and Eric Frenzel
(Germany, Nordic combined).
"Young athletes look up to
Olympians and seek to follow in
their footsteps in sport and be-
yond the field of play. It is exactly
for this reason that these out-
standing Athlete Role Models will
play a pivotal role at the Youth
Olympic Games Gangwon 2024,"
said Kaveh Mehrabi, director of
the IOC Athletes' Department.
"These role models will con-
tribute immensely to achieving
the mission of Gangwon 2024, as
they embody the values of Olym-
pism and serve as beacons of ex-
cellence, respect and friendship,
guiding the young athletes in
achieving their own dreams."
The ARM Program has been
an integral part of the Youth
Olympic Games since the first
edition in Singapore in 2010,
providing young athletes with
a chance to learn from experi-
enced Olympians. ■
ports will be guided by these
two principles and will be guid-
ed by the respect for these val-
ues,” he added.
Bach pointed out the signifi-
cant opportunities AI presents,
noting its potential to trans-
form many aspects of sports.
"AI will change our lives and
it will change sports. This is al-
ready happening in some sports.
Just think of 'VAR' in football or
'Hawk-Eye' in tennis. AI has the
potential to revolutionize the
training of athletes. It has the po-
tential to revolutionize judging
and refereeing; sports broadcast-
ing and the spectator experience;
the organization of sport events;
the list goes on and on,” he said.
❱❱ PAGE 30 IOC president calls
24
Projects funded by the World Bank
Group’s private sector arm fuel violent
conflict – it’s time to reform the system
BY BRIAN GANSON,
Stellenbosch University,
ANNE SPENCER JAMISON,
Copenhagen Business School,
WITOLD JERZY HENISZ,
University of Pennsylvania
The Conversation
To what extent does private
investment help developing
countries to reduce conflict and
violence and to achieve the Sus-
tainable Development Goals?
This is a hotly debated issue.
Most international institutions
such as the World Bank Group
take the stance that the problem
is not enough private invest-
ment. So they mobilise public
resources to subsidise and pro-
tect private sector actors with
the goal of greatly increasing
foreign direct investment.
Meanwhile, community, la-
bour and human rights advo-
cates – particularly in fragile
and conflict-affected countries
– tend instead to see the domi-
nant patterns of foreign direct
investment as part of a continu-
ing history of exploitation of
the developing world.
To help shed light on this
debate, we undertook a com-
prehensive study of thousands
of projects of the International
Finance Corporation (IFC), the
private sector arm of the World
Bank Group. We focused on the
period between 1994 and 2022.
We chose the IFC because it
claims to invest with develop-
mental purpose. It also purports
to apply the highest standards of
social and environmental per-
formance. Additionally, many
other private and public actors
follow its lead in setting stan-
dards. If the IFC is getting it
wrong it would be a good indi-
cator of how things stand in the
broader global system. We fo-
cused our study on the relation-
ship between IFC projects and
Business
armed conflict, as violence has
a clear and detrimental effect on
human development.
The results establish that IFC
projects cause significant in-
creases in armed conflict around
the world. A single project, on
average, causes 7.6 additional
armed conflict events in the year
after it is introduced. These find-
ings are consistent with other
large quantitative studies that
question the relationship be-
tween foreign direct investment
and development. Foreign direct
investment that increases vio-
lent conflict and makes develop-
ment nearly impossible appears
the rule, not the exception.
We conclude that current ap-
proaches to foreign investment
need urgent reconsideration,
with particular focus on the risk
of violent conflict.
Our methodology
Many factors influence vio-
lent conflict, including the his-
tory of intergroup and state-so-
ciety relations. So the study used
sophisticated econometric anal-
yses to isolate the IFC’s impact.
We first geolocated IFC
projects and noted the years
in which they were approved.
Then we tested whether armed
conflict rose in the area proxi-
mate to the IFC project in the
following year. We controlled
for other factors – such as the
presence of politically excluded
groups, GDP, the regime type,
or the population size – that af-
fect conflict.
In the analysis, we were
careful to match and compare
an IFC project area with those
areas without IFC projects to
which it is most similar. Finally,
we considered and controlled
for the possibility that conflict
was already rising before the
IFC project arrived. By exclud-
ing these other explanations for
conflict events, we were able to
make reasonable causal attri-
butions.
Disturbingly, the study found
that increases in armed conflict
were concentrated in projects
that the IFC told local and in-
ternational stakeholders had
potential limited adverse en-
vironmental or social risks. It
claimed that these could be
readily addressed through mit-
igation measures. These miti-
gation measures appear to be
either ineffective or under-em-
ployed. Alternatively, the IFC
is mis-classifying projects that
carry more substantial conflict
risk than it recognises or cares
to make public.
One particularly disturbing
example is the Ugandan gov-
ernment’s campaign of terror
against local citizens to turn
land over to an IFC client. The
IFC also has yet to resolve ac-
tivists’ complaints from 2019
of gender-based violence and
threats of reprisals and intimi-
dation against one of its project
partners, Salala Rubber Corpo-
ration in Liberia.
The study also demonstrat-
ed that capital-intensive proj-
ects (that is, agribusiness, oil,
gas, mining and infrastructure)
have a larger propensity for so-
cio-political and socio-econom-
ic disruption. Areas that receive
capital-intensive projects expe-
rience, on average, an addition-
al death from armed conflict in
the following year.
Not above the rule of law
These results should perhaps
not be surprising. Civil society
groups have long concluded
that the IFC prioritises its own
profits and business interests
over the “suffering of others” in
ways that contribute to “multi-
ple paths of extraction, dispos-
session, and conflict”. In 2020
Human Rights Watch charac-
terised the IFC as “failing at
remedies for project abuses”.
This was based on the World
www.canadianinquirer.net
The International Finance Corporation headquarters located at 2121 Pennsyl-
vania Avenue, NW in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
(AGNOSTICPREACHERSKID/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CC BY-SA 3.0)
Bank Group’s own commis-
sioned review.
Yet, the IFC’s strategy has
been to position itself above
the rule of law. It continues to
assert sovereign immunity. It
claims that, as an international
organisation, it should not be
liable in national courts – even
to parties it admittedly harms.
It maintains this stance de-
spite recent reports of IFC
complicity in covering up the
sexual abuse of children to fur-
ther its investment projects.
It appears beyond time for
the 186 member governments
that own the IFC to demand
transparency, accountabili-
ty and redress for harms done
from the corporation and the
private sector actors it funds.
Others can also play a role. Gov-
ernments that have perhaps na-
ively relied on the World Bank
halo should question the ben-
efits they are told they can ex-
pect from IFC investments. The
ratings agencies that classify
IFC bonds as positive from an
environmental, social, and gov-
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY
ernance perspective may want
to question the bases on which
such determinations are made.
At the same time, perhaps
more credence can be given to
recent calls by the UN secretary
general to reform the global
financial system to better sup-
port human security and hu-
man development.
This could include specialised
intermediaries between the IFC
and sensitive projects in diffi-
cult places. Independent and
empowered local oversight ap-
pears necessary to ensure more
inclusive and accountable forms
of contextual analysis and risk
mitigation planning, monitor-
ing and evaluation of develop-
ment impact, proactive conflict
management, and accessible re-
dress for harms done. This could
reduce violent conflict and open
more developmental potential
for private investment in the de-
veloping world. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023
Young people’s reluctance to talk
about money is putting them at
risk – here’s how to help them
BY LINDSEY APPLEYARD,
Coventry University
The Conversation
Credit is an everyday, and
often essential, part of young
people’s lives. Gaining access to
credit for the first time is an im-
portant transition to adulthood
that can enable you to study,
earn and invest in your future.
Previously, most people’s first
taste of debt was either a loan for
university fees, a student over-
draft or a credit card. Young-
er generations are now much
more likely to use new forms of
credit such as buy now, pay later
(BNPL) – a kind of credit often
offered at online check-outs that
allows people to borrow the cost
of their shopping and repay it in
instalments.
But confusion about the
long-term consequences of
building up debt is common –
and is often compounded by a
reluctance to talk about money
and debt. This is deeply prob-
lematic. Decisions about credit
can affect financial wellbeing
now and in the future.
I recently worked on a project
about young people and borrow-
ing with my colleague Hussan
Aslam, which was funded by the
charity abrdn Financial Fair-
ness Trust. We interviewed 80
young people (aged 18-24 years
DOF backs Maharlika's revised IRR
BY ANNA LEAH GONZALES
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Department
of Finance (DOF) on Monday ex-
pressed support for the revised
Implementing Rules and Regu-
lations (IRR) of the Maharlika
Investment Fund (MIF) Act,
noting that the enhancements
are within the bounds of the law.
The DOF said the IRR en-
sures the independence of the
Board of Directors of the Ma-
harlika Investment Corpora-
old) across the UK about money.
Almost two-thirds see money
and credit as taboo topics.
This attitude stops people
from talking openly and learn-
ing about debt and finance. One
person we spoke to said:
I’ve always felt in society it’s
a taboo subject that people don’t
really talk about that often,
and when you do bring it up ev-
eryone’s a little bit sheepish to
talk about it, so … where do you
get the information from? It’s
not something you’re just born
knowing … and if you do research
online there’s an overwhelming
amount of different information.
This confusion around cred-
it and borrowing is a problem,
particularly for young people
who are at the start of their
financial lives. But your expe-
rience of credit as a young per-
son – both good and bad – can
influence how you manage your
money for the rest of your life.
Research shows young peo-
ple are often especially finan-
cially vulnerable in this respect
due to limited financial know-
how or experience. So getting
support to get the best out of
credit can help people avoid
common pitfalls.
People don’t always know
where to go for support online,
which makes it difficult to gain
the knowledge to make good
financial decisions. Also, the fi-
tion (MIC) and allows it more
headroom to form credible
oversight and risk management
bodies while upholding the
highest standards of effective
fund management.
"The enhancements intro-
duced by the IRR are all within
the bounds of the law, meant to
give full meaning to the estab-
lishment of a strong corporate
governance structure," DOF
said in a statement.
"Its finalization comes at an
opportune time as investors,
both local and international,
nancial products that are often
marketed to young people – buy
now, pay later deals, for exam-
ple – may help them feel more
in control of their money, but
can actually promote irrespon-
sible financial habits.
Such short-term financial
decision making doesn’t always
result in the most rational out-
comes for longer-term finan-
cial wellbeing. The subscrip-
tion-style of BNPL offerings can
obscure the fact that it’s a form
of debt and make the product
appealing to young people, es-
pecially when used online at the
point of sale.
There was little understand-
ing among the people we spoke
to about how credit use, includ-
ing mobile phone contracts and
have signified in several investor
promotion engagements their
robust interest in the country’s
first-ever sovereign wealth fund."
Released last Nov. 11, 2023,
the revised IRR of Maharlika
introduced several amend-
ments to the provisions on the
appointment of the Board of Di-
rectors of the MIC.
"Most importantly, this af-
firms the Marcos Jr. adminis-
tration’s commitment to see
the Fund off and running by the
end of the year and effectively
paves the way for the full oper-
www.canadianinquirer.net
Business
BNPL, could affect their credit
history if they were unable to
repay the loan.
How to help young people
Many of the organisations
people interact with – from
financial services firms to em-
ployers – could do more to sup-
port people that want to use
credit responsibly. For exam-
ple, products and services from
banks and fintechs could help
people keep better control of
their finances.
For younger people, this
could include no or low-inter-
est overdrafts when graduating
from an interest-free student
overdraft, for example. Recent
“consumer duty” regulations
by the Financial Conduct Au-
thority should help to ensure
ationalization of a well-struc-
tured, robust, and effective
sovereign wealth fund that will
advance the Philippines’ long-
term growth," the DOF added.
The MIC will serve as the
investment body responsible
for the overall governance and
management of the Fund and is
expected to be fully operational
by end-2024.
It will identify financially
and commercially viable infra-
structure projects to invest in
and will formulate investment
strategies covering emerging
25
firms better inform and support
consumers using credit and
other financial products.
Financial services and finan-
cial technology firms can also
play a role in boosting respon-
sible use of credit by using the
data they hold for good to help
young people manage their
money effectively.
For example, young people
want more products and ser-
vices that help them control
their credit and money. Tradi-
tional banks and lenders could
learn from fintechs by develop-
ing apps to help people actually
visualise their finances.
Research shows the pandem-
ic and cost of living crisis have
significantly influenced credit
use. So, policy and practice by
governments, regulators such
as the Financial Conduct Au-
thority, lenders, educators and
advice providers such as the
Money and Pensions Service
(MaPS) must acknowledge the
role that credit plays in helping
people to make ends meet.
They could help find better
ways to support financial deci-
sion-making as people transi-
tion to financial independence.
Promoting trusted sources of
advice would help here, rather
than leaving people to rely on
self-styled social media “finflu-
❱❱ PAGE 30 Young people’s reluctance
megatrends, such as environ-
ment, social and governance,
digitalization and health care.
The MIC will be governed by
a Board of Directors with nine
members chaired by the Secre-
tary of Finance.
The DOF earlier said the
MIF is expected to widen fiscal
space, ease the burden on local
funds and reduce reliance on
official development assistance
in funding big-ticket projects,
such as those specified in the
recently approved Infrastruc-
ture Flagship Project list. ■
26
AI: the world is finally starting to
regulate artificial intelligence – what to
expect from US, EU and China’s new laws
BY ALINA PATELLI, Aston
University
The Conversation
Most mainstream applica-
tions of artificial intelligence
(AI) make use of its ability to
crunch large volumes of data,
detecting patterns and trends
within. The results can help
predict the future behaviour of
financial markets and city traf-
fic, and even assist doctors to
diagnose disease before symp-
toms appear.
But AI can also be used to
compromise the privacy of our
online data, automate away
people’s jobs and undermine
democratic elections by flood-
ing social media with disinfor-
mation. Algorithms may inherit
biases from the real-world data
used to improve them, which
could cause, for example, dis-
crimination during hiring.
AI regulation is a compre-
hensive set of rules prescribing
how this technology should be
developed and used to address
its potential harms. Here are
some of the main efforts to do
this and how they differ.
The EU AI act and Bletch-
ley Declaration
The European Commission’s
AI Act aims to mitigate poten-
tial perils, while encouraging
entrepreneurship and innova-
tion in AI. The UK’s AI Safety
Institute, announced at the
recent government summit
at Bletchley Park, also aims to
strike this balance.
The EU’s act bans AI tools
deemed to carry unacceptable
risks. This category includes
products for “social scoring”,
where people are classified
based on their behaviour, and
real-time facial recognition.
The act also heavily restricts
high-risk AI, the next category
down. This label covers applica-
Technology
tions that can negatively affect
fundamental rights, including
safety.
Examples include autono-
mous driving and AI recom-
mendation systems used in hir-
ing processes, law enforcement
and education. Many of these
tools will have to be registered
in an EU database. The limited
risk category covers chatbots
such as ChatGPT or image gen-
erators such as Dall-E.
Across the board, AI devel-
opers will have to guarantee the
privacy of all personal data used
to “train” – or improve – their
algorithms and be transpar-
ent about how their technol-
ogy works. One of the act’s key
drawbacks, however, is that it
was developed mainly by tech-
nocrats, without extensive pub-
lic involvement.
Unlike the AI Act, the re-
cent Bletchley Declaration is
not a regulatory framework
per se, but a call to develop one
through international collab-
oration. The 2023 AI Safety
Summit, which produced the
declaration, was hailed as a dip-
lomatic breakthrough because
it got the world’s political, com-
mercial and scientific commu-
nities to agree on a joint plan
which echoes the EU act.
The US and China
Companies from North
America (particularly the US)
and China dominate the com-
mercial AI landscape. Most of
their European head offices are
based in the UK.
The US and China are vying
for a foothold in the regulatory
arena. US president Joe Biden
recently issued an executive
order requiring AI manufactur-
ers to provide the federal gov-
ernment with an assessment of
their applications’ vulnerability
to cyber-attacks, the data used
to train and test the AI and its’
performance measurements.
The US executive order puts
incentives in place to promote
innovation and competition by
attracting international talent.
It mandates setting up educa-
tional programmes to develop
AI skills within the US work-
force. It also allocates state
funding to partnerships be-
tween government and private
companies.
Risks such as discrimination
caused by the use of AI in hiring,
mortgage applications and court
sentencing are addressed by re-
quiring the heads of US executive
departments to publish guid-
ance. This would set out how fed-
eral authorities should oversee
the use of AI in those fields.
Chinese AI regulations re-
veal a considerable interest in
generative AI and protections
against deep fakes (synthetical-
ly produced images and videos
that mimic the appearance and
voice of real people but convey
events that never happened).
There is also a sharp focus
on regulating AI recommenda-
tion systems. This refers to al-
gorithms that analyse people’s
online activity to determine
which content, including ad-
vertisements, to put at the top
of their feeds.
To protect the public against
www.canadianinquirer.net
recommendations that are
deemed unsound or emotional-
ly harmful, Chinese regulations
ban fake news and prevent com-
panies from applying dynamic
pricing (setting higher premi-
ums for essential services based
on mining personal data). They
also mandate that all automat-
ed decision making should be
transparent to those it affects.
The way forward
Regulatory efforts are in-
fluenced by national contexts,
such as the US’s concern about
cyber-defence, China’s strong-
hold on the private sector and
the EU’s and the UK’s attempts
to balance innovation support
with risk mitigation. In their
attempts at promoting ethical,
safe and trustworthy AI, the
world’s frameworks face similar
challenges.
Some definitions of key ter-
minology are vague and reflect
the input of a small group of
influential stakeholders. The
general public has been under-
represented in the process.
Policymakers need to be cau-
tious regarding tech companies’
significant political capital. It is
vital to involve them in regula-
tory discussions, but it would
be naive to trust these powerful
lobbyists to police themselves.
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY
AI is making its way into the
fabric of the economy, inform-
ing financial investments, un-
derpinning national healthcare
and social services and influ-
encing our entertainment pref-
erences. So, whomever sets the
dominant regulatory frame-
work also has the ability to shift
the global balance of power.
Important issues remain un-
addressed. In the case of job au-
tomation, for instance, conven-
tional wisdom would suggest
that digital apprenticeships and
other forms of retraining will
transform the workforce into
data scientists and AI program-
mers. But many highly skilled
people may not be interested in
software development.
As the world tackles the risks
and opportunities posed by AI,
there are positive steps we can
take to ensure the responsible
development and use of this
technology. To support inno-
vation, newly developed AI sys-
tems could start off in the high-
risk category – as defined by the
EU AI Act – and be demoted to
lower risk categories as we ex-
plore their effects.
Policymakers could also learn
from highly regulated indus-
tries, such as drug and nuclear.
They are not directly analogous
to AI, but many of the quality
standards and operational pro-
cedures governing these safe-
ty-critical areas of the economy
could offer useful insight.
Finally, collaboration be-
tween all those affected by AI
is essential. Shaping the rules
should not be left to the techno-
crats alone. The general public
need a say over a technology
which can have profound ef-
fects on their personal and pro-
fessional lives. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023
The battle over right to repair
is a fight over your car’s data
BY LEAH CHAN GRINVALD,
University of Nevada, Las
Vegas, OFER TUR-SINAI,
Ono Academic College
The Conversation
Cars are no longer just a
means of transportation. They
have become rolling hubs of
data communication. Modern
vehicles regularly transmit in-
formation wirelessly to their
manufacturers.
However, as cars grow
“smarter,” the right to repair
them is under siege.
As legal scholars, we find that
the question of whether you
and your local mechanic can tap
into your car’s data to diagnose
and repair spans issues of prop-
erty rights, trade secrets, cyber-
security, data privacy and con-
sumer rights. Policymakers are
forced to navigate this complex
legal landscape and ideally are
aiming for a balanced approach
that upholds the right to repair,
while also ensuring the safety
and privacy of consumers.
Understanding telematics
and right to repair
Until recently, repairing a car
involved connecting to its stan-
dard on-board diagnostics port
to retrieve diagnostic data. The
ability for independent repair
shops – not just those authorized
by the manufacturer – to access
this information was protected
by a state law in Massachusetts,
approved by voters on Nov. 6,
2012, and by a nationwide mem-
orandum of understanding be-
tween major car manufacturers
and the repair industry signed
on Jan. 15, 2014.
However, with the rise of
telematics systems, which com-
bine computing with telecom-
munications, these dynamics
are shifting. Unlike the stan-
dardized onboard diagnos-
tics ports, telematics systems
vary across car manufacturers.
These systems are often pro-
tected by digital locks, and cir-
cumventing these locks could
be considered a violation of
copyright law. The telematics
systems also encrypt the diag-
nostic data before transmitting
it to the manufacturer.
This reduces the accessibil-
ity of telematics information,
potentially locking out inde-
pendent repair shops and jeop-
ardizing consumer choice – a
lack of choice that can lead to
increased costs for consumers.
Also, these telematics sys-
tems fall outside the scope of
the original Massachusetts
legislation and the nationwide
memorandum of understand-
ing. Recognizing the pivotal
role diagnostic data plays in
vehicle maintenance and re-
pair, 75% of Massachusetts vot-
ers approved a ballot initiative
on Nov. 3, 2020, to amend the
state’s repair legislation. The
amendment aims to ensure that
the switch to telematics does
not curtail an effective right to
repair vehicles.
Specifically, the new law re-
quires manufacturers selling
telematics-equipped vehicles
from the 2022 model year on-
ward to provide car owners and
their chosen repair shops ac-
cess to the vehicle’s mechanical
data through an interoperable,
standardized and open-access
telematics platform. Access
should also encompass the
ability to relay commands to
components of the vehicle, if
necessary, for maintenance,
diagnostics and repair. Voters
in Maine overwhelmingly ap-
proved a similar measure on
Nov. 7, 2023.
However, the Massachusetts
law was the subject of a lawsuit in
federal court shortly after voters
approved it in 2020, and it was
suspended until June 1, 2023.
Safety and privacy concerns
While the amendment makes
significant strides toward creat-
ing a level playing field in vehi-
cle maintenance and repair, the
National Highway Traffic Safe-
ty Administration and car man-
ufacturers have raised concerns
about the legislation.
The National Highway Traf-
fic Safety Administration’s
main concern revolves around
cybersecurity vulnerabilities
with potential ramifications
for vehicle safety, particular-
ly the amendment’s provision
for two-way access. A hacker
could potentially take control
of a car’s critical systems like
accelerator, brakes and steer-
ing. Consequently, the agency
recommended that car manu-
facturers not adhere to the law.
A related argument is that
Massachusetts law is preempted
by federal law. This forms the ba-
sis of a lawsuit filed in November
2020 by the Alliance for Automo-
tive Innovation against Massa-
chusetts’ attorney general.
The manufacturers assert
that abiding by the state law
would inevitably put them in
breach of federal statutes and
regulations, such as the Na-
tional Traffic and Motor Ve-
hicle Safety Act. This lawsuit
was pending as of press time,
although the Massachusetts at-
torney general declared the law
effective as of June 1, 2023.
Critics also emphasize the
privacy concerns associated
with open access to telematics
systems. Granting third-party
access could expose personal
details, especially real-time lo-
cation data. Advocacy groups
warn that this information
might be used as a tracking tool
by potential abusers and others
aiming to exploit people.
Recent developments
The National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration and Mas-
sachusetts’ attorney general ap-
pear to have reached a consen-
sus on alterations to the law, and
the administration has dropped
its recommendation that manu-
facturers disregard the law.
The primary adjustment
would mean a telematics plat-
form would be in compliance
with the right to repair law if
it were accessible within close
proximity to the vehicle – for
example, via Bluetooth. The
National Highway Traffic Safe-
ty Administration confirmed
www.canadianinquirer.net
Technology
that this would be safer and
align with federal law.
However, repair advocates
have criticized this change as
unduly restrictive. They ar-
gue that it gives authorized car
dealers an unfair advantage
over independent repair shops
because the manufacturers al-
low the dealers to access the
data remotely.
A new federal bill, the RE-
PAIR Act, was recently intro-
duced in the House, seeking to
require vehicle manufacturers
to provide access to in-vehi-
cle diagnostic data, including
telematics. This bill’s first hear-
ing occurred on Sept. 27, 2023,
and the bill passed out of sub-
committee on Nov. 2.
Who owns your car’s data?
One issue left unresolved by
the legislation is the owner-
ship of vehicle data. A vehicle
generates all sorts of data as it
operates, including location, di-
agnostic, driving behavior, and
even usage patterns of in-car
systems – for example, which
apps you use and for how long.
In recent years, the question
of data ownership has gained
prominence. In 2015, Congress
legislated that the data stored
in event data recorders belongs
to the vehicle owner. This was
a significant step in acknowl-
edging the vehicle owner’s right
over specific datasets. However,
the broader issue of data own-
ership in today’s connected cars
remains unresolved.
Whether data should be
subject to property rights is a
matter of debate. If deemed
property, it seems logical to
award these rights to the vehi-
27
cle owner because the vehicle
creates the data while used by
the owner. However, through
contractual terms and digital
locks, manufacturers effective-
ly secure control over the data.
The question of ownership
aside, the crux of the matter for
right to repair is guaranteed ac-
cess for vehicle owners to their
vehicles’ data.
A way forward
While concerns surrounding
the Massachusetts legislation
have merit, we believe they
should not overshadow the
need to preserve a competitive
space in the auto repair sector
and preserve the right to repair.
This matters not only for safe-
guarding consumers’ autono-
my and ensuring competitive
pricing, but also for minimiz-
ing environmental waste from
prematurely discarded vehicles
and parts.
The hope is that policymak-
ers and the industry can strike a
balance: upholding the right to
repair without compromising
safety and privacy. One possibil-
ity is developing tools that seg-
regate sensitive personal infor-
mation from mechanical data.
Ultimately, a successful im-
plementation of the new law in
Massachusetts may pave the way
for a renewed nationwide mem-
orandum of understanding, cap-
turing the essence of the original
memorandum of understanding
and preserving the right to repair
cars in the face of rapidly advanc-
ing technologies. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
28
Booking.com Launches Cruises in the US,
Further Expanding Choice and Ease for Travelers
BOOKING.COM
NEW YORK, 9 November
2023 - Today, Booking.com, one
of the world’s leading digital
travel companies, announces
the launch of Cruises as a new
travel vertical for customers in
the United States. The new of-
fering meets traveler demand
in the largest market for cruise
bookings globally, represent-
ing 58% of the entire industry*,
and becomes available through a
partnership with leading cruise
agency World Travel Holdings
(WTH). Through the newly
introduced product vertical,
Booking.com is providing US
customers with more travel op-
tions than ever before and add-
ed benefits across the cruise trip
planning journey including:
• Breadth of choice: Trav-
Biliran to host international adventure
race from Nov. 20-24
BY SARWELL MENIANO
Philippine News Agency
TACLOBAN CITY – Local
and foreign participants will
join the La Routa 2023 adven-
ture race, exploring the terrain
of Biliran province set on Nov.
20 to 24.
Jason Garrido, La Routa race
director, said in a phone inter-
view Tuesday that eight teams
from Poland, New Zealand, Ma-
laysia, India, and Japan and an-
other eight teams from differ-
ent provinces in the Philippines
will join the race.
Each team has about four
members and will tackle the
terrain of Biliran province
through different disciplines
of running, hiking, swimming,
paddling, mountain biking,
Travel
elers can immediately access
more than 10,000 sailings on
over 30 cruise lines, including
the largest and best-in-class
cruise lines in the world, from
more than 55 departure ports
across the globe. Whether a
3-night budget-friendly cruise
to the Bahamas, 7-nights island
hopping around the Caribbean,
a river cruise through Europe
or a 2-week luxury expedition
sailing in Antarctica, Booking.
com Cruises offers a voyage for
every traveler.
• Always-on deals: Under-
standing the importance of com-
petitive pricing and added value,
customers will have access to
always-on deals throughout the
year, including up to $50, $100,
$500 or even $1,000 to spend at
sea via on-board credits depend-
ing on the total amount spent.
In celebration of the launch of
ropemanship, and land naviga-
tion, according to Garrido.
“Each team will navigate
through Biliran's rugged-
ly beautiful terrain, covering
a distance of 350 kilometers
without any outside support
and non-stop for four days, in
any weather condition,” Garri-
do added.
Each team will have a GPS
tracker to monitor their loca-
tion throughout the race.
They also have the option to
sleep at night during the entire
four-day race.
La Routa is the Adventure
Racing World Series Asia Re-
gional Championship and is the
first time a Philippine race de-
buts in the world series.
"The safety features of Bili-
ran are very high because it is
an island. We don't have an in-
Cruises, and just ahead of Black
Friday this November, Book-
ing.com will be doubling the
exclusive spend at sea reward.
Additional exclusive spend at
sea deals will also be offered
on select cruise lines including
Carnival Cruise Line, Celebri-
ty Cruises, Norwegian, Cruise
Line, Royal Caribbean Interna-
tional and several others**.
• Greater ease: Cruise
customers can also tap into
Booking.com’s marketplace
to arrange every element of
their trip in one place whether
that involves booking trans-
portation to a departure port,
reserving accommodations
before or after the cruise, or
organizing in-trip experiences
at designated port locations.
Customers also have the option
to book their cruise online or
via phone with the help of US-
surgency problem there. Even
if the team gets lost, they would
only be within the boundaries
of Biliran. When they go down,
they will immediately find the
highway because there is a cir-
cumferential road. The safety
Biliran Bridge (CHOYPICTURES/FLICKR, PUBLIC DOMAIN)
www.canadianinquirer.net
based cruise experts 24/7, and
live chat is available to all cruise
site visitors. A 110% Best Price
Guarantee is also offered on
every cruise booking, provid-
ing customers who find a lower
price on another website within
48 hours of booking with Book-
ing.com Cruises a 110% refund
of the difference.
“At Booking.com, we are
committed to making it easi-
er for everyone to experience
the world and with the United
States being the largest market
for cruises globally, it is import-
ant for us to meet and service
this demand through our plat-
form, said Ben Harrell, Man-
aging Director, US at Book-
ing.com.” “We are excited to
roll out Booking.com Cruis-
es, in partnership with World
Travel Holdings, and further
expand our offerings for travel-
feature is one of the very nice
things in hosting events like
this," Garrido added.
Biliran is one of the smallest
provinces in the country, with
only eight towns and a land area
of only 536.01 square kilometers.
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY
ers in the United States.”
Industry reports show
that 85% of people who have
cruised, will cruise again, mark-
ing a 6% increase compared to
pre-pandemic seasons***. In
fact, Booking.com’s Traveler
Predictions 2024 revealed that
75% of US travelers agree that
being close to water instantly
makes them feel more relaxed,
and over a third demonstrat-
ing interest in water-centric
vacations for 2024. While the
Caribbean, Europe and Alaska
continue to be the top destina-
tion regions for sailings, travel-
ers can tap into the vast inven-
tory of cruises on Booking.com
around the world and choose
from more mainstream cruis-
es on larger ships with varying
itineraries, luxury cruises offer-
❱❱ PAGE 30 Booking.com Launches
Department of Tourism East-
ern Visayas regional director
Karina Rosa Tiopes said their
office is happy to welcome 16
teams from around the country
and abroad who will be charting
the race route using a map and
a compass.
“We are optimistic that this
event will be a good vehicle in
promoting Biliran province as
a venue for adventure racing. It
will likewise help promote the
towns of Biliran province and
Eastern Visayas as a nature-ad-
venture, travel, and vacation
destination,” Tiopes told the
Philippine News Agency.
Officials said hosting the
event would greatly benefit the
province because it can attract
competitors, supporters, and
spectators, resulting in financial
gains for local businesses. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023
Cranberries can bounce, float and
pollinate themselves: The saucy
science of a Thanksgiving classic
BY SERINA DESALVIO,
Texas A&M University
The Conversation
Cranberries are a staple in
U.S. households at Thanksgiv-
ing – but how did this bog dwell-
er end up on holiday tables?
Compared to many valuable
plant species that were domes-
ticated over thousands of years,
cultivated cranberry (Vaccini-
um macrocarpon) is a young ag-
ricultural crop, just as the U.S.
is a young country and Thanks-
giving is a relatively new holi-
day. But as a plant scientist, I’ve
learned much about cranber-
ries’ ancestry from their botany
and genomics.
New on the plant breeding
scene
Humans have cultivated sor-
ghum for some 5,500 years,
corn for around 8,700 years and
cotton for about 5,000 years. In
contrast, cranberries were do-
mesticated around 200 years
ago – but people were eating the
berries before that.
Wild cranberries are native
to North America. They were an
important food source for Na-
tive Americans, who used them
in puddings, sauces, breads and
a high-protein portable food
called pemmican – a carnivore’s
version of an energy bar, made
from a mixture of dried meat
and rendered animal fat and
sometimes studded with dried
fruits. Some tribes still make
pemmican today, and even mar-
ket a commercial version.
Cranberry cultivation began
in 1816 in Massachusetts, where
Revolutionary War veteran
Henry Hall found that covering
cranberry bogs with sand fer-
tilized the vines and retained
water around their roots. From
there, the fruit spread through-
out the U.S. Northeast and Up-
per Midwest.
Food
Today, Wisconsin produces
roughly 60% of the U.S. cran-
berry harvest, followed by Mas-
sachusetts, Oregon and New
Jersey. Cranberries also are
grown in Canada, where they
are a major fruit crop.
A flexible and adaptable
plant
Cranberries have many inter-
esting botanical features. Like
roses, lilies and daffodils, cran-
berry flowers are hermaphro-
ditic, which means they contain
both male and female parts.
This allows them to self-polli-
nate instead of relying on birds,
insects or other pollinators.
A cranberry blossom has four
petals that peel back when the
flower blooms. This exposes
the anthers, which contain the
plant’s pollen. The flower’s re-
semblance to the beak of a bird
earned the cranberry its origi-
nal name, the “craneberry.”
When cranberries don’t
self-pollinate, they rely on
bumblebees and honeybees
to transport their pollen from
flower to flower. They can also
be propagated sexually, by
planting seeds, or asexually,
through rooting vine cuttings.
This is important for growers
because seed-based propaga-
tion allows for higher genetic
diversity, which can translate to
things like increased disease re-
sistance or more pest tolerance.
Asexual reproduction is
equally important, however.
This method allows growers to
create clones of varieties that
perform very well in their bogs
and grow even more of those
high-performing types.
Every cranberry contains four
air pockets, which is why they
float when farmers flood bogs
to harvest them. The air pock-
ets also make raw cranberries
bounce when they are dropped
on a hard surface – a good indi-
cator of whether they are fresh.
These pockets serve a bio-
logical role: They enable the
berries to float down rivers and
streams to disperse their seeds.
Many other plants disperse
their seeds via animals and
birds that eat their fruits and
excrete the seeds as they move
around. But as anyone who has
tasted them raw knows, cran-
berries are ultra-tart, so they
have limited appeal for wildlife.
Reading cranberry DNA
For cranberries being such a
young crop, scientists already
know a lot about their genetics.
The cranberry is a diploid, which
means that each cell contains
one set of chromosomes from
the maternal parent and one
set from the paternal parent. It
has 24 chromosomes, and its ge-
nome size is less than one-tenth
that of the human genome.
Insights like these help scien-
tists better understand where
potentially valuable genes might
be located in the cranberry ge-
nome. And diploid crops tend
to have fewer genes associated
with a single trait, which makes
breeding them to emphasize
that trait much simpler.
Researchers have also de-
scribed the genetics of the culti-
vated cranberry’s wild relative,
which is known as the “small
cranberry” (Vaccinium oxycoc-
cos). Comparing the two can
help scientists determine where
the cultivated cranberry’s agro-
nomically valuable traits reside
in its genome, and where some
of the small cranberry’s cold
hardiness might come from.
Researchers are developing
molecular markers – tools to
determine where certain genes
or sequences of interest reside
within a genome – to help de-
termine the best combinations
of genes from different varieties
of cranberry that can enhance
desired traits. For example, a
breeder might want to make
www.canadianinquirer.net
the fruits larger, more firm or
redder in color.
While cranberries have only
been grown by humans for a
short period of time, they have
been evolving for much longer.
They entered agriculture with
a long genetic history, including
things like whole genome dupli-
cation events and genetic bottle-
necks, which collectively change
which genes are gained or lost
over time in a population.
Whole genome duplication
events occur when two species’
genomes collide to form a new,
larger genome, encompassing
all the traits of the two parental
species. Genetic bottlenecks oc-
cur when a population is great-
ly reduced in size, which limits
the amount of genetic diversity
in that species. These events are
extremely common in the plant
world and can lead to both gains
and losses of different genes.
Analyzing the cranberry’s
genome can indicate when it
diverged evolutionarily from
some of its relatives, such as
the blueberry, lingonberry and
huckleberry. Understanding
how modern species evolved
can teach plant scientists about
how different traits are inherit-
ed, and how to effectively breed
29
for them in the future.
Ripe at the right time
Cranberries’ close association
with Thanksgiving was simply
a practical matter at first. Fresh
cranberries are ready to harvest
from mid-September through
mid-November, so Thanksgiv-
ing falls within that perfect win-
dow for eating them.
Cranberry sauce was first
loosely described in accounts
from the American colonies in
the 1600s, and appeared in a
cookbook for the first time in
1796. The berries’ tart flavor,
which comes from high levels
of several types of acids, makes
them more than twice as acidic
as most other edible fruits, so
they add a welcome zing to a
meal full of blander foods like
turkey and potatoes.
In recent decades, the cran-
berry industry has branched
out into juices, snacks and oth-
er products in pursuit of year-
round markets. But for many
people, Thanksgiving is still the
time when they’re most likely
to see cranberries in some form
on the menu.■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
 30
What designers can..
❰❰ 21 in reshaping the in-
dustry. The synthesis
of ecological aware-
ness and biomimicry principles
Is time travel..
❰❰ 21 ing to send humans
through a wormhole
space tunnel.
Paradoxes and failed din-
ner parties
There are also paradoxes as-
sociated with time travel. The
famous “grandfather paradox”
is a hypothetical problem that
could arise if someone traveled
back in time and accidentally
prevented their grandparents
from meeting. This would create
a paradox where you were never
born, which raises the question:
How could you have traveled
back in time in the first place? It’s
Young people’s reluctance..
❰❰ 25 encers”. Almost half
of the young people
we spoke to were in-
fluenced by social media to use
credit or manage their money
in a particular way.
The FCA and MaPs could de-
velop more resources on rele-
vant social media sites such as
TikTok and Instagram, or other
media platforms used by young
people. They could create ex-
plainer videos on key topics
that would help support young
people who are considering us-
ing credit for the first time.
Booking.com Launches..
❰❰ 28 ing an upscale experi-
ence and river sailings
on smaller ships for a
more niche experience.
As of November 9, Cruises
will become available to a grow-
ing percentage of Booking.com
users in the United States over
the coming weeks. US travelers
will have access to the product
offering via a dedicated page on
Booking.com’s desktop and mo-
bile versions.
* CLIA, 2022 Global Market
Report
**Black Friday 2023 deals will
be available from November 16 to
November 29, 2023. Select cruise
line offers will be live from No-
vember 20 to November 30, 2023.
*** CLIA, 2023 State of the
highlights the potential for a
harmonious coexistence be-
tween textile materiality and
natural ecosystems.
a mind-boggling puzzle that adds
to the mystery of time travel.
Famously, physicist Stephen
Hawking tested the possibility of
time travel by throwing a dinner
party where invitations noting
the date, time and coordinates
were not sent out until after it
had happened. His hope was that
his invitation would be read by
someone living in the future, who
had capabilities to travel back in
time. But no one showed up.
As he pointed out: “The best
evidence we have that time
travel is not possible, and never
will be, is that we have not been
They could also use it to
track and correct new trends
or incorrect assumptions about
money among this age group.
Regulating buy now, pay later
schemes would also be a step in
the right direction. The finan-
cial services sector needs to take
greater responsibility to ensure
good outcomes for everyone be-
cause financial decisions made
today could last a lifetime. ■
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
Cruise Industry Report ■
About World Travel Holdings:
World Travel Holdings is the
nation’s largest cruise agen-
cy and award-winning leisure
travel company with a portfo-
lio of nearly 40 diverse brands.
In addition to owning some of
the largest brands distributing
cruises, villas, resort vacations,
car rentals, resort day pass-
es and luxury travel services,
World Travel Holdings has a vast
portfolio of private-label part-
nerships comprised of top lei-
sure travel providers, including
almost every U.S. airline, lead-
ing hotel brands and prominent
corporations. The company also
operates a top-rated travel agen-
As we move forward, foster-
ing a symbiotic relationship be-
tween the textile industry and
the environment is not just a
invaded by hordes of tourists
from the future.”
Telescopes are time ma-
chines
Interestingly, astrophysi-
cists armed with powerful tele-
scopes possess a unique form
of time travel. As they peer into
the vast expanse of the cosmos,
they gaze into the past uni-
verse. Light from all galaxies
and stars takes time to travel,
and these beams of light carry
information from the distant
past. When astrophysicists ob-
serve a star or a galaxy through
a telescope, they are not seeing
IOC president calls..
❰❰ 23 The IOC has es-
tablished a working
group of experts to
guide the organization con-
cerning AI. Bach invited the IFs
to contribute their insights to
this discussion.
Bach's address inaugurated
the three-day IF Forum at the
Olympic Museum, gathering
300 leaders from over 125 IFs.
Themed "Sport (R)evolution,"
this year's event aims to ad-
dress transformative issues in
the IFs' operational environ-
ment, with insights from in-
cy franchise and is consistently
recognized as an industry lead-
er in employee engagement and
work-at-home employment. Its
global presence includes operat-
ing multiple cruise brands in the
United Kingdom. World Travel
Holdings has offices in Wake-
field, Mass.; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.;
and Chorley, England. For more
information, visit WorldTravel-
Holdings.com.
About Booking.com:
Part of Booking Holdings Inc.
(NASDAQ: BKNG), Booking.
com’s mission is to make it eas-
ier for everyone to experience
the world. By investing in the
technology that helps take the
friction out of travel, Booking.
com’s marketplace seamlessly
www.canadianinquirer.net
choice but a collective respon-
sibility — one that promises a
healthier future for both people
and the planet. ■
it as it is in the present, but as
it existed when the light began
its journey to Earth millions to
billions of years ago.
NASA’s newest space tele-
scope, the James Webb Space
Telescope, is peering at galaxies
that were formed at the very be-
ginning of the Big Bang, about
13.7 billion years ago.
While we aren’t likely to have
time machines like the ones in
movies anytime soon, scientists
are actively researching and
exploring new ideas. But for
now, we’ll have to enjoy the idea
of time travel in our favorite
dustry experts and influential
decision-makers in the global
sports movement.
Reiterating his call for unity,
Bach underscored that the sports
movement can capitalize on de-
velopments like AI and esports
only through collective effort.
"If we proceed united and if
we stand together, then we have
every reason to be optimistic
about the future of sport. At this
IF Forum, you have the oppor-
tunity to set the course for this
future," he said.
"Our unity is our strength. We
connects millions of travelers
with memorable experiences
every day. For more informa-
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 FRIDAY
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
books, movies and dreams. ■
Hello, curious kids! Do you
have a question you’d like an
expert to answer? Ask an adult
to send your question to Curi-
ousKidsUS@theconversation.
com. Please tell us your name,
age and the city where you live.
And since curiosity has no age
limit – adults, let us know what
you’re wondering, too. We won’t
be able to answer every question,
but we will do our best.
This article is republished
from The Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.
can harness the potential of the
digital revolution only through
collaboration and knowledge
sharing. With many discussions
at this IF Forum focused on the
accelerating impact of technol-
ogy on sport, I am eager to hear
your perspectives and welcome
your contributions, so that we
can join forces. "In this way, we
are living our Olympic motto
- we can go faster, we will aim
higher, we will become stronger
– together,” he added.
The IF Forum concludes on
Wednesday. ■
tion, follow @bookingcom on
social media or visit global-
news.booking.com.
 NOVEMBER 17, 2020
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