Global News has reached out to Paul Bliss for comment but has not yet received a response.(Supplied)Bridget Brown, former CTV journalist, is alleging she was subjected to sexual misconduct by an “award-winning CTV reporter and anchor” while working in Toronto.Brown made the allegations in a blog post published on Friday afternoon. She does not name Paul Bliss directly. She writes that the CTV reporter kissed her without her consent, attempted to forcibly initiate “oral sex,” and then masturbated in front of her. WARNING: This article contains sexually explicit language, discretion is advised.CTV has suspended Queen’s Park reporter Paul Bliss following explict allegations of sexual misconduct made by a former employee.“Allegations have been made against a CTV news reporter,” a CTV spokesperson said in statement. “We take this very seriously and as a result have suspended Paul Bliss until an investigation is complete.” Advertisement Twitter Advertisement Advertisement Login/Register With: Facebook LEAVE A REPLY Cancel replyLog in to leave a comment 
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Calgary Edmonton Jubilee Auditoriums to receive 93M for upgrades
Facebook Premier Rachel Notley, Culture Minister Ricardo Mirando and Infrastructure Minister Sandra Jansen join Jean Grand-Maître, artistic director of the Alberta Ballet, to announce funding to upgrade the Northern and Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditoriums. (Government of Alberta) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LEAVE A REPLY Cancel replyLog in to leave a comment Twitter Login/Register With: The province is following through on promises made in last week’s budget to invest in upgrades to both the Northern and Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditoriums.On Wednesday, Premier Rachel Notley announced Alberta will invest $9.3 million in renovations that will include behind-the-scenes improvements for workers and performers, upgrades to freight elevators and orchestra pits, installation of accessible washrooms, and modernizations to rehearsal halls, green rooms and dressing rooms.“These improvements will help to make the facilities more attractive to larger productions, making Alberta an even more welcome stop in big tours and bringing more variety and bigger shows to our province.
Banksy exhibit adds extra month in Toronto New Order and Miguel add
American R&B singer-songwriter Miguel plays Echo Beach on Aug. 26, with Canadian duo DVSN opening. Tickets ($50) on sale June 22 from Ticketmaster. LEAVE A REPLY Cancel replyLog in to leave a comment Facebook Advertisement Twitter Advertisement Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson precedes Prine to the Sony Centre with a Nov. 21 show; no word on ticket prices yet. Login/Register With: Guitar hero Slash of Guns N Roses plays Casino Rama on Oct. 4, with Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators in tow. Tickets ($40-$70) go on sale June 19 from Ticketmaster.ca, Casinorama.com and 1-877-599-RAMA (7262).
Folk institution John Prine, 71, has a show Dec. 7 at the Sony Centre; tickets ($75-$130) can be had June 22 from Ticketmaster. Calgary’s indie-folk quintet Reuben and the Dark plays the Mod Club on Nov. 14; tickets will be $15 from Livenation.com and Ticketmaster as of June 22. Due to popular demand, Toronto’s The Art of Banksy exhibit is extended until Sunday, August 19, and new tickets ($33-$35) went on sale on Monday at banksyexhibit.com. “The Toronto run, a North American premiere, is already record breaking and is creating a new benchmark,” says Starvox Exhibits president/CEO Corey Ross.The touring exhibition, currently at 213 Sterling Rd., features 80 original works — the largest collection of the mysterious visual artist’s works ever exhibited — and got extra attention last week when an item, Trolley Hunters was stolen.“The works on show at The Art of Banksy are owned by various collectors from Asia, USA and Europe who kindly lent us their Banksy artworks. Thanks to the enthusiastic response from Toronto visitors, we have been able to obtain their permission to extend the exhibition,” says Michel Boersma, SVP Family Entertainment & Theatre, Live Nation. “This way more people will be able to enjoy the Banksy art, some of which have not been on public display for over a decade.” Advertisement A worker prepares for the Toronto’s The Art of Banksy exhibit earlier this month. (TIJANA MARTIN / THE CANADIAN PRESS) 88 Rising — a music/arts collective specializing in Asian youth culture — brings a tour featuring several of its stars including Rich Brian, Joji, and Keith Ape, to Echo Beach on Sept. 30. Other tickets announced Monday for upcoming concerts:Synth-pop stalwarts New Order play the Budweiser Stage on Aug. 30, with Holy Ghost opening. Tickets ($40-$100) for the all-ages show go on sale June 22 from Livenation.com and Ticketmaster.
CALGARYS NATIONAL MUSIC CENTRE TO OPEN PERMANENT EXHIBIT FOR INDIGENOUS ARTISTS
Login/Register With: Twitter Advertisement Advertisement Jeremy Dutcher performs during the Polaris Music Prize gala in Toronto on Sept. 17, 2018. Calgary’s National Music Centre will unveil a permanent exhibit in June dedicated to Indigenous artists who’ve left their mark on the national culture. (Tijana Martin/Canadian Press) Their stories will be shared through audio clips, artifacts and videos inside the NMC, which is part of Studio Bell in downtown Calgary.A spokeswoman for the NMC says organizers worked with Indigenous programming consultant David McLeod to shape the selection of artists, and he consulted with members of the Indigenous music community for their input.The exhibit opens ahead of Indigenous Music Week at Studio Bell, which runs for June 19 to 22 and features live performances, a drum and dance workshop and live art installation by Jesse Gouchey.
Calgary’s National Music Centre will unveil a permanent exhibit in June dedicated to Indigenous artists who have had an influence on national culture.“Speak Up!” will showcase musicians from across Canada who have made “social and political impacts,” including Juno Award winners Jeremy Dutcher, Tanya Tagaq and Northern Cree.In total, 10 artists will be part of the exhibit, which will evolve over time. Others include trip-hop singer Iskwe, singer-songwriter and First Nations activist Willie Dunn and Cree hip-hop group War Party. LEAVE A REPLY Cancel replyLog in to leave a comment Advertisement Facebook
ELISABETH MOSS WANTS TO STAR IN HANDMAIDS TALE SEQUEL
Elisabeth Moss (Photo: Gerry Images) Advertisement And despite the events of the new book taking place 15 years on from the original, the Mad Men actress hopes there is a place for her in a TV sequel. Advertisement Login/Register With: Twitter
LEAVE A REPLY Cancel replyLog in to leave a comment Advertisement Facebook Elisabeth Moss wants to continue her lead role in The Handmaid’s Tale in a TV series based on Margaret Atwood’s upcoming sequel.Atwood will release The Testaments on 10 September, as the follow-up to her seminal 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, which has been adapted into an acclaimed TV series starring Moss.
Offreserve Aboriginal languages survive
APTN National NewsOTTAWA — Aboriginal languages continue to survive in off-reserve First Nations homes, according to a new national study released Thursday.The Statistics Canada study found that one in five First Nations children aged two to five and living off-reserve could understand an Aboriginal language.The federal agency said that Cree and Ojibway languages were understood by the largest number of children.The study was based on data from the 2006 Aboriginal Children’s Survey.According to the 2006 census, there were 57,110 First Nations children aged between two and five living on and off reserve across Canada.The federal agency also found that 98 per cent of off-reserve children who understood an Aboriginal language also knew a non-Aboriginal language. English and French were the primary languages spoken in the homes of 90 per cent of off-reserve First Nations children, the study said.The federal agency reported that about one in 10 off-reserve First Nations children were spoken to primarily in an Aboriginal language at home and eight per cent had a mix of an Aboriginal tongue along with English and French. Only one per cent of children were spoken to exclusively in an Aboriginal language.The study found that being exposed to an Aboriginal language daily at home, having child care arrangements where an Aboriginal language is used, having at least one parent who spoke an Aboriginal mother tongue or having parents who believed in the importance of Aboriginal languages increased the likelihood that a child would develop the ability to speak a traditional tongue.Frequent hunting, camping, fishing and trapping activities were also found to be linked to a child’s ability to speak an Aboriginal language, the study found.
Shut down Insite and people will die experts
APTN National NewsVancouver’s supervised injection facility has been controversial since it opened in 2003.The federal government is currently before the Supreme Court of Canada attempting to have the pilot project known as Insite, shut down.But with a recent study showing Insite is working, proponents warn if the doors are closed, people will die.APTN National News reporter Rob Smith has more.
More details on the tragic house fire in Pelican Narrows
APTN National NewsAPTN has more details about that fatal house fire that took the lives of two young children on the Pelican Narrows First Nation in north eastern Saskatchewan.It was the second fatal fire to hit the Cree community in just a few months.APTN’s Chris Stewart visited the grieving community and brings us the story.
BC bands want senior FN leadership meeting to defuse RCMP tensions with
Jorge Barrera APTN National NewsFour First Nation bands in British Columbia’s interior are looking to meet with the province’s main chiefs organizations in hopes of defusing a potential showdown between the RCMP and the members of the Unist’ot’en camp which has dug-in along the path of two proposed natural gas pipelines.Wet’suwet’en First Nation Chief Karen Ogen said requests have been sent to the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, the First Nations Summit and the B.C. Assembly of First Nations to set up a meeting this week that would include representatives of the camp anchored by the Unist’ot’en clan, which is part of the Wet’suwet’en nation.Ogen, along with Nee Tahi Buhn Chief Ray Morris, Burns Lake Band Chief Dan George, and Skin Tyee Nation Chief Rene Skin issued a statement Monday saying the Unist’ot’en cland did not speak for all the communities.The Unist’ot’en camp has dug-in over the past five years in an area along the routes for Chevron’s proposed 480 kilometre Pacific Trail Pipeline and TransCanada’s 670 km Coastal GasLink pipeline. Both pipelines are slated to carry natural gas from the province’s interior to a proposed LNG facility in Kitimat, B.C., on the coast.The camp sits roughly about 66 km south of Houston, B.C., and about 1,000 km north of Vancouver.TransCanada filed a complaint with the RCMP after some of its workers were turned away at a Unist’ot’en check-point on a road leading to Coastal GasLink’s planned corridor. Workers with Chevron’s Pacific Trail Pipeline are said to be clearing a pipeline corridor about 2 km from the Unist’ot’en camp.“We want to sit down with the Unist’ot’en, we need to find a way through this and at the same time, protect our environment,” said Ogen. “We are asking the leadership council to help us resolve it.”Ogen they are looking for “balance” between the need for jobs and the environment.UBCIC President Grand Chief Stewart Philip and BC AFN regional Chief Shane Gottfriedson travelled to the Unist’ot’en camp Monday to get a handle of the situation on the ground.Tensions escalated last week after rumours emerged that the RCMP was planning to raid the camp. The RCMP tried to douse those rumours saying it had no plans to take down the camp and was operating in a neutral role maintaining the peace.Ogen said TransCanada is considering re-routing its pipeline around the camp to prevent any potential conflict. She said there are about 20 First Nations along the Coastal GasLink route and the majority have signed onto the project.Ogen said 16 First Nations have also signed onto the Pacific Trail Pipeline, including the Moricetown band which counts two Unist’ot’en clan members as band councillors, including Freda Huson, the main spokesperson for the camp, and her uncle Warner William, a clan leader.“They have contractual obligations with Pacific Trail Pipeline they have to abide by,” said Ogen.Huson said she recently ran for band councillor to educate the band leadership about Indigenous rights and to prevent the First Nation from signing onto the GasLink project. She said the agreement signed by the band with Pacific Trail does not apply to the Unist’ot’en’s unceded land.“We are not treaty, we never ceded and surrendered our land,” she said.Huson said GasLink won’t be allowed through, even if TransCanada tries to build around the camp.“They are not coming through either way, no matter what,” she said. “They are just thinking it’s just this location. This location was chosen strategically,” said Huson. “Band councils only have jurisdiction like municipalities and our hereditary system does not give over authority to band councils.”Huson said the clan leadership needs to discuss whether they would accept a meeting with the bands and the regional chiefs organizations.She said Unist’ot’en representatives also have a meeting scheduled with the RCMP on Tuesday.The RCMP has transmitted a position to First Nations leadership that the federal police believes the Unist’ot’en camp is blocking a public road which is a criminal offence. The RCMP believes this gives the police grounds to take down the camp without a court injunction.Huson said the camp’s legal advice has determined the road to be a forest service road on Crown land. Huson said the road is blocked most of the winter by snow and the province makes no effort to keep it open year-round. Huson said the camp is not blocking the road as it has allowed tree-planters, some loggers and wilderness guides through its check-point.Huson also said Supreme Court decisions on Aboriginal rights and title are on the side of the Unist’ot’en assertion of its sovereignty over the territory.“I wrote a letter to (Chief) Karen Ogen asking why she has our territory on her map. How do you own these territories? We know this is ours, she doesn’t have any stories of her ancestors being out here trapping,” said Huson.The Unist’ot’en camp is also in an area along the corridor for Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline which faces widespread resistance from First Nations in British Columbia.jbarrera@aptn.ca@JorgeBarrera
Ottawa appoints investigators to lead review of men switched at birth in
APTN National NewsHealth Canada Minister Jane Philpott has named two people to lead an investigation into how four men were switched at birth, in separate incidents, at the Norway House First Nation hospital in Manitoba.In a statement from the department, Health Canada said that Dr. David Creery and Ms. Maura Davies will lead the review.“The review team will conduct a thorough examination of available hospital records and will contact key individuals who were involved at that time. This review is intended to clarify the circumstances of the known cases,” said Philpott in the statement.The issue is over four men who were switched at birth at the hospital in Norway House First Nation, 800 km north of Winnipeg.The men are Luke Monias and Norman Barker and, Leon Swanson and David Tait.Swanson and Tait were born three days apart at the hospital.Both took DNA tests to confirm their identity.“I really don’t have words to say but just kinda confused I guess, upset. This definitely never should’ve happened,” said Tait at a news conference in August.Creery is a pediatric intensive care physician in Ottawa and the medical director of patient safety at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).Davies is the former president and CEO of the Saskatoon Health Region and has experience in delivery of health services and patient safety, according to the release.Philpott had what was described as emotional meeting with some men switched at birth on Monday. She said she heard firsthand about the impact the discovery has had on their lives.— with files from The Canadian Pressnews@aptn.ca
A Roof Overhead First Nation housing on brink of epidemic unless Trudeau
APTN National NewsThe status of housing on First Nations across Canada is just a few years away from reaching epidemic levels says the Assembly of First Nations.“We’re on the brink of (an) epidemic,” said Kevin Hart, a regional chief with the AFN in Manitoba. “(If) there isn’t any real investments done immediately it will reach epidemic proportion in the next few years.”Hart held the AFN’s housing portfolio for years and estimates 175,000 houses are needed to immediately address shortages across the country.The federal government pegs the number much lower at about 21,000.“You can see we’re being set up for failure right off the bat,” said Hart in an interview with APTN Investigates reporter Melissa Ridgen that is airs Friday at 6:30 p.m. in her story: Housing Crisis Deconstructed.In Justin Trudeau’s first budget as prime minister he earmarked more than $8 billion in funding for Indigenous people. Many called it “historic” including AFN national chief Perry Bellegarde.A child plays on the floor of a room in Garden Hill.Just over $500 million of the 2016 budget was to go towards housing on First Nations.It may sound like a lot of money, but a closer look at the numbers show it doesn’t appear to buy many new homes.The money was spread out over two years and in 2016 the federal government was expected to build 300 homes with that money.“Buy lottery tickets,” said Charlie Angus, NDP MP for Timmins-James Bay. “You have a better chance of getting a house.”The money was also supposed to go towards servicing 340 lots, such as sewer hook ups, and renovate 1,400 homes according to statistics provided to Angus’ office last year. The government hopes to build, service and renovate the same amount in 2017.“I think Canadians are getting their eyes opened but what they probably find really hard to believe is that the government doesn’t make it a priority,” said Angus.Going by the government’s number of 21,000 new homes means Ottawa is addressing about three per cent of what it says is needed with the 2016 funding.If you go by the AFN’s the funding barely registers.APTN National News asked the Indigenous Affairs for basic statistics on housing, such as confirming the number of homes actually built in 2016, but has not received a response.Angus has tried to get deeper into the housing crisis by asking the Trudeau government for statistics on the number of houses built on every reserve over the last few years.The government wouldn’t provide them.An access to information request in 2016 came back almost completely redacted.“Canadian’s have to ask themselves what exactly department of Indian Affairs is doing when a simple request about the state of housing and housing plans is considered a state secret,” he said.“When they black out information about housing, or what they’re spending in schools. That tells me they’re lying to the Canadian people and that’s unacceptable. Canadians have a right to know.”The housing situation on First Nations has been given special attention by APTN National News this week in the series: A Roof Overhead.Stories have highlighted what families face in different parts of the country.Overcrowding is the way of life for Garden Hill First Nation in Manitoba.“My grandkids all sleep on the floor here as you can see,” said Sharon Beardy. “One mother with two little ones and my four grandkids just sleep anywhere. Anywhere possible on the floor.”The 3,500 residents share 500 homes.Three or four families can share one residence at a time.In Kitcisakik, an Anicinape First Nation five hours north of Montréal, it’s known for its third world living conditions.The community of 400 live without electricity, running or a sewage system.“A shower and toilet is what’s missing. That’s what the people in our community are always talking about it. They tell me they would like all those basic needs for their children,” Charlie Papatie told APTN reporter Danielle Rochette.The Quebec government has provided small amounts of money to renovate homes over the last several years and last year said it would provide an additional $2 million to help renovate more.Kitcisakik, an Anicinape First Nation five hours north of Montréal.Nunavut has faced a housing crisis since the territory was established in 1999.APTN reporter Kent Driscoll found that despite evidence that there is a housing in Iqaluit there is little being done about it.Fifty per cent of all homes in Nunavut are social housing – homes with subsidized rent for people who can’t afford it. Of those social units, 63 per cent are in need of major repairs.The wait list to get into those beat up homes is long. One in five of all Nunavut residents are on a waiting list for social housing.When you ask Iqaluit’s Joamie Lyta to explain just how many people live in her small apartment, she needs to stop and count on her fingers.“Let me count, there’s me, him, my son, my granddaughter, my grandson, my other granddaughter, my nephew, my other son. There’s nine of us,” explained the social housing resident in Iqaluit.Nine in the day time. At night she often adds two more to her over crowded home.“My other two brothers, they come to, to sleep at my house, they got no place to stay,” she said. “So sometimes there’s 11 or 12 in my house.”It sounds extreme, but for Nunavut, this isn’t the exception, it is the rule.Iqaluit, Nunavut.The federal government just announced in the 2017 budget it would fund $240 million over the next 11 years for housing in Nunavut but has been told the amount needed easily exceeds $2 billion.The Government of Nunavut is scheduled to build 202 housing units over the next two years, in 16 of Nunavut’s communities. Just to get caught up to the current wait list, you would have to build 3,580 homes for 10,500 people.Nunavut’s Housing Minister George Kuksuk turned down APTN’s request for an interview for this story. His staff said the minister was too busy.APTN reporter Charlotte Morritt-Jacobs reports on the lack of affordable housing in the Northwest Territories on the 6 p.m. national news.Like many places across Canada, there are a lot of families in need of support but little housing. On top of that people in territory face some of the highest costs of living in the country.news@aptn.ca
Innu and Naskapi Nations testify at Québec inquiry
Tom Fennario APTN National NewsThe Québec inquiry looking into the relationship between some of the province’s public services and Indigenous peoples heard from the Innu and Naskapi Nations Friday.There were commons concerns throughout the day including whether their testimony will amount to any change.“What I want is that this commission doesn’t end sitting in the most beautiful shelves that you in the middle of building,” said Jean-Charles Piétacho,Ekuanitshit First Nation. “And to maybe come back here in 20 years and repeat what I said in ’93, in 2005. How am I to know this time, this is the right commission?”tfennario@aptn.ca
Salmon hatchery fire destroys thousands of fry in Whitehorse
Shirley McLean APTN NewsA massive fire in Whitehorse gutted a test salmon hatchery over Easter weekend, destroying thousands of fry and upsetting the Yukon’s efforts to restore salmon stocks.Yukon College, in partnership with First Nations salmon enhancement programs, was working to spawn chum and Chinook salmon in an incubation facility in McIntyre Creek. The fry would have been released later this spring into the Yukon River tributaries.But now, a charred out frame is all that’s left.Michael Vernon, spokesperson for Yukon College, says all 16,000 chum salmon fry were lost in the fire, plus about 25,000 to 30,000 Chinook salmon fry.Every year Chinook salmon will swim 3,000 kilometers from the Bering Sea to the mouth of the river to spawn.But the Yukon River has seen a steady decrease in salmon over the last decade.The damage from the fire is a huge setback for First Nations wanting to restore salmon spawning creeks.The Ta’an Kwäch’än council still has access to 1,200 salmon fry being reared in local Whitehorse schools – but it’s only a fraction of the amount.The Whitehorse fire department says the fire is not suspicious and most likely caused by the thawing of pipes with heat tape.Yukon College will continue to assess the damage.
New search in Baker Lake Nunavut locates body of missing father
Kent DriscollAPTN News A month after RCMP and the local search and rescue stopped looking, a community led search in Baker Lake has located the body of Solomon Tulurialik.The search for Tulurialik, 29, started on July 31 and stopped on Aug. 13 after police and volunteers failed to find him.The community fundraised and brought in Crossman Consulting, an American sonar team.On Sept 13, the second day of searching, the team found Tulurialik’s remains in 30 metres of water, and roughly 500 meters from shore.Nunavut RCMP’s investigation led them to believe that Tulurialik had tried to swim to shore from a boat that had run out of gas.Following the recovery, Nunavut’s coroner will now investigate the cause of death.Tulurialik was a popular figure in the central Nunavut community of roughly 2,000 residents.He coached local Midget age hockey, and many of his players wore their uniforms to his memorial service.He also worked for Agnico Eagle Mines as a long haul truck driver and as a truck driver for Arctic Fuel.Family say he was a gifted singer and musician.The initial search involved 200 volunteers, 70 boats, 50 all-terrain vehicles, drone flights, boats with sonar and dragging teams.In 2018, Tulurialik received an award for bravery from the Commissioner of Nunavut.kdriscoll@aptn.ca@kentdriscoll
Indigenous investors required in second round of Alberta renewable power auction
CALGARY – The Alberta government says it will require Indigenous equity investment from proponents in its second round of bids to build renewable energy projects in the province.Environment Minister Shannon Phillips says the province is targeting projects producing 300 megawatts of electricity in its second round which is being designed to boost the economy and training of Indigenous people.She says a third round will follow the same rules as the first in targeting 400 MW of output from any proponent, with details of both to be established by the Alberta Electric System Operator.In December, the province announced it had chosen three companies who are to spend about $1 billion to build four wind power projects in southern Alberta capable of generating 600 MW of new generation, 50 per cent higher than its goal.Under its agreement with the companies, the province will subsidize the plants using funds from its levy on heavy industrial emitters if the power price falls below the average bid price of $37 per MW-hour — if it’s higher, the companies are to pay the difference to the province.The province wants to add up to 5,000 MW of renewable energy through private sector investment of about $10 billion by 2030.
Seoul says personal info of 1000 NKorean defectors stolen
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — South Korea says it’s responding to a hacking attack that stole the names and addresses of nearly 1,000 North Korean defectors who resettled in the South.A regional office of the Hana resettlement centre said Friday it has been notifying affected defectors after discovering last week that one of its computers had been breached sometime around November.South Korea’s Unification Ministry says police are investigating the hacking attack but have yet to identify the source.The ministry says it has found no further signs of hacking attacks or data breaches after investigating Hana’s offices around the country earlier this week.About 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea, mostly travelling via China, since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.The Associated Press
TransCanada awards 620 million in contract work for Coastal GasLink to Indigenous
FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – TransCanada announced on Tuesday that it has conditionally awarded $620 million in contract work for the Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project to Indigenous businesses in Northern B.C.TransCanada said that the firms, who are associated with the West Moberly, Saulteau, and Doig River First Nations among a number of others, will be responsible for the project’s right-of-way clearing, medical, security, and camp management needs. The company says it anticipates there will be another $400 million in additional contract and employment opportunities for Indigenous and local communities during pipeline construction.TransCanada added that all of the contracts remain conditional upon a Final Investment Decision by LNG Canada for its proposed natural gas liquefaction facility in Kitimat. “The relationships we have built with our local and Indigenous communities play a vital role in the work that we do every day,” said George Hemeon, senior manager, Indigenous & Local Contracting and Employment for the Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project. “Today is a testament to how important these relationships are and to the extraordinary accomplishments we can achieve when we work together.”To date, TransCanada said that more than one-third of all field work completed on the project has been conducted by Indigenous companies. It added that so far, the Coastal GasLink team has signed project agreements with 95 percent of the Indigenous communities along the route, establishing long-term benefit programs.
For first time Nasa to study untouched samples of Moon from Apollo
Washington DC: NASA has awarded USD eight million to nine science teams to study the untouched samples collected from the Moon by Apollo missions in the 1970s and carefully stored for nearly 50 years, the US space agency said. “By studying these precious lunar samples for the first time, a new generation of scientists will help advance our understanding of our lunar neighbour and prepare for the next era of exploration of the Moon and beyond,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate here. Also Read – Imran Khan arrives in China, to meet Prez Xi Jinping”This exploration will bring with it new and unique samples into the best labs right here on Earth,” Zurbuchen said in a statement. Six of the nine teams will look at one of the three remaining lunar samples, from Apollo missions 15, 16, and 17, which have never been exposed to Earth’s atmosphere, NASA said. The particular sample these teams will study came to Earth vacuum-sealed on the Moon by the Apollo 17 astronauts Harrison Schmitt and Gene Cernan in 1972. Also Read – US blacklists 28 Chinese entities over abuses in XinjiangThe Apollo 17 sample comprises about 800 grammes of material, still encased in a “drive tube” that was pounded into the lunar regolith to collect a core of material. That core preserves not just the rocks themselves but also the stratigraphy from below the surface so today’s scientists can, in a laboratory, study the rock layers exactly as they existed on the Moon. The core has been carefully stored at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston since December 1972. Other teams will be studying samples that have also been specially curated, some from Apollo 17 that were brought to Earth and then kept frozen, and samples from the Apollo 15 mission which have been stored in helium since 1971. NASA has only collected samples from a few places on the Moon so far, but the US space agency knows from the remote sensing data that the Moon is a complex geologic body. From orbit, the agency has identified types of rocks and minerals that are not present in the Apollo sample collection.
IMA releases health manifesto ahead of Lok Sabha polls
New Delhi: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Sunday released its health manifesto ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and urged all political parties to give priority to the health sector.The manifesto contains various suggestions to improve public health, change policy directions, streamline medical education and improve medical research. “There is insufficient funding in the healthcare sector and the GDP in healthcare is at a dismal rate of 1.2 pc. The out of pocket expenditure is one of the highest for our country and every year over 3.3 per cent of people are pushed below poverty line due to expenditure on health,” said Dr Santanu Sen, the national president of IMA. Also Read – Gurdwara Bangla Sahib bans single use plastic”In order to improve the overall healthcare sector and cope up with the out of pocket expenses, the GDP must be increased to at least 5 per cent,” he said. The IMA will soon launch a countrywide ‘Health First’ campaign to propagate the manifesto among the candidates, political parties and the public. The local units of IMA will conduct public meetings and seminars in which the candidates for the Lok Sabha elections will also be invited. “The primary and preventive care should be given top priority. Wellness centres have to be reconceived and they have to be manned by MBBS graduates,” said Dr R V Asokan, the general secretary of IMA. “MBBS doctors are ready to work in rural areas and the IMA can facilitate availability of manpower to the primary care centres. There should be recruitment boards to recruit MBBS graduates for primary care,” he said.
100 days work will be hiked to 200 if Oppn alliance is
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee proposed in the election manifesto of the party that if the Opposition alliance is voted to power, 100 days work under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) will be increased to 200 days, along with doubling of the daily wages of those associated with this work.”Many people earn their livelihood through 100 days work and they are extremely poor. We will propose to increase 100 days work to 200. At present, those associated with 100 days work get Rs 191 daily. We will propose to double it. We will also look into the matter to ensure that they get their payment in 15 days,” Banerjee said, while releasing her party’s election manifesto at Kalighat on Wednesday. The TMC supremo further proposed to reinstate the Planning Commission, which she feels has been wrongly dismantled by the Narendra Modi government. “It has been a Tughlaqi decision by the Prime Minister to dismantle the Planning Commission overnight. The Niti Aayog that he has constituted is of no use and it hardly listens to the problems of the states. It will be a part of our common minimum programme to bring back the Planning Commission, so that it can play an important role in maintaining the federal structure of the country,” she said. The TMC has also identified 12 thrust areas in its manifesto, which include demand of a thorough investigation by an ex-Supreme Court Justice into demonetisation and review of GST with an open mind to make it people-friendly, consumer-friendly and small & medium enterprises-friendly. The manifesto further proposes more focus on the social infrastructure of education and health, with enhanced and adequate resource allocation, special focus on enriching all cultures and encouraging sporting activities. “We will be giving special emphasis to create more and more employment for the students and youth of the nation. Around 2 crore people have lost their jobs in the last few years, while Bengal has increased employment by 40 percent,” Banerjee reiterated, adding that special emphasis will be given to fill up vacancies reserved for SC, ST, and OBC (which will include minorities). “Our common minimum programme will give priority to providing economic security and livelihood for the farmers. We feel that farmers require a special package. 12,000 farmers have committed suicide in the country in the last few years,” Banerjee maintained. She asserted that there will be emphasis on women empowerment as well. It may be mentioned that TMC has nominated 41 percent women candidates for the Lok Sabha polls this year and also boasts of 50 percent women reservation in Panchayats and municipalities. The TMC supremo announced that she will start her election campaign from April 4 and will continue it till May 17.