Ottawa invokes pipeline treaty, infant death in B.C.: In The News for Aug. 30

“The economic and energy disruption and damage to Canada and the U.S. from a Line 5 shutdown would be widespread and significant,” Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement.

That impact would include a spike in energy prices, including the propane that’s used to heat homes across much of the U.S. Midwest, as well as gasoline prices, which tested new highs across the continent throughout much of an inflation-ravaged summer.

Legal disputes over Line 5 have been developing in both states since at least 2019, but took on fresh urgency in the fall of 2020 when Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer tried to revoke the 1953 easement that allowed the pipeline to cross the Great Lakes.

She cited the risk of an anchor strike or technical failure triggering a spill in the Straits of Mackinac, the ecologically sensitive waterway that links Lake Huron with Lake Michigan and separates the state’s upper and lower peninsulas.

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Also this …

The mayor of a small community in British Columbia’s southern Interior is calling for flexibility around which first responders are allowed to take patients to hospital after an infant reportedly died while waiting for an ambulance.

Mayor Ward Stamer said his community of Barriere, B.C., has a
first responders’ society with a vehicle that can respond when the
BC Ambulance Service can’t, but they’re not allowed to transport
patients to hospital.

He said that has to change as the community grapples with gaps in
service that mean first responders might not be available when
someone calls 911.

In an interview on Monday, the mayor said he hadn’t been told how
long it took paramedics to respond to the call about the infant last
Thursday.

He could not provide details of what happened, saying only that
there had been a “critical care incident” involving a young child
who died.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

South Carolina House members plan to debate a new total ban on abortion today with no exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest even as some Republicans in the GOP-dominated chamber suggested they can’t vote for the bill as written.

But if the exceptions are put into the bill, the chamber’s most conservative members could join with Democrats to kill the bill, too.

On the day before the debate, one of the most conservative House lawmakers said 20 Republicans have signed his letter saying they would not commit to voting for the total ban with the rape and incest exceptions, which with the votes against from 43 Democrats would be enough to kill the bill.

“With a solid Republican majority in the South Carolina Legislature, there is no reason or excuse we should have to negotiate a lesser position,” Republican Rep. Stewart Jones said.

The state currently has a six-week ban but the South Carolina Supreme Court suspended the law earlier this month while the justices decide on a Planned Parenthood lawsuit that says the ban is an unreasonable invasion of privacy under the state constitution. The decision leaves South Carolina’s abortion ban at 20 weeks for now.

Supporters of the total ban in South Carolina want to follow the lead of Indiana, which earlier in August passed a total ban to go into effect on Sept. 15 with exceptions for rape, incest and if the mother’s life is in danger. West Virginia’s House and Senate couldn’t agree on stricter abortion rules in a July session.

Thirteen states have so-called trigger laws designed to outlaw most abortions when the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the constitutional right to end a pregnancy in June.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Supporters of a prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric fired rocket-propelled grenades into Iraq’s Green Zone as machine gun fire crackled overhead Tuesday, deepening the political chaos gripping the Mideast nation.

Those backing influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr fired into the
Green Zone, where it appeared Iraqi security forces were firing back
at them. Live television footage showed the chaos, with at least one
wounded man being taken away in a three-wheel rickshaw, the Iraqi
Foreign Ministry visible behind them.

The death toll rose to 22 Iraqis on Tuesday after the unrest
erupted the previous day, according to two medical officials. Iraq’s military said four rockets were launched into the heavily fortified Green Zone.

Al-Sadr’s sudden resignation has catapulted Iraq into violence
and chaos with no clear path out. The cleric derives power from his
ability to mobilize and control his large grassroots following, but
with his stated exit from politics, he has implicitly given them the
freedom to act as they see fit.

To avenge the killing of unarmed loyalists, al-Sadr’s militia
Saraya Salam clashed with Iraqi security forces in the Green Zone
using an array of weapons, including mortars and rocket-propelled
grenades, two security officials said. The militia also took over
some headquarters belonging to rival Iran-backed militia groups in
the southern provinces overnight.

Iranian state television cited “unrests” and “curfew” in
Iraqi cities for the reason for the border closures. It urged
Iranians avoid any travel to Iraq while urging Iran’s Shiite
pilgrims in Iraq to avoid further travel between cities.

Iraq’s government has been deadlocked since al-Sadr’s party won
the largest share of seats in October parliamentary elections but
not enough to secure a majority government. His refusal to negotiate
with his Iran-backed Shiite rivals and subsequent exit from the
talks has catapulted the country into political uncertainty and
volatility amid intensifying intra-Shiite wrangling.

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On this day in 1950 …

The first Canada-wide railway strike ended when Parliament ordered 125,000 members of 17 striking unions back to work. The strike began Aug. 22 after negotiations broke down over union demands for higher pay and a shorter work week. The strike nearly paralyzed long-distance communication and caused layoffs in industries dependent on railways, such as mining, food packing and wood and chemical processing.

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In entertainment …

A prosecutor in Atlanta has announced a sprawling indictment targeting members of what she called a violent street gang that targeted the homes of famous athletes, entertainers and others.

The indictment announced Monday says singer Mariah Carey, Marlo Hampton of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Atlanta United player Brad Guzan and other victims all had their Atlanta-area homes broken into.

The 220-count indictment was filed Aug. 22. It charges 26 people, most accused of violating Georgia’s anti-gang and racketeering laws. A prosecutor says the crimes alleged in the indictment were committed by members of the Drug Rich gang, which dates its start to 2016.

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Did you see this?

Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says Monday was “still a good day for Canada” even though the test launch of NASA’s new moon rocket was postponed yesterday morning.

Champagne, who is in Florida for a two-day trip that includes meetings with Canadian astronauts and NASA officials, got up at 1:30 a.m. to head to the launch pad in Cape Canaveral only to see the mission delayed.

He told Canadian reporters that after more than half a century since humans last visited the moon, days or weeks of waiting for this Artemis test launch to proceed won’t matter in the long term.

A Canadian astronaut is expected to be on the first manned crew of the rocket, and Canada is contributing a new robotic arm to a space station NASA plans to put in orbit around the moon.

The debut flight was scheduled to go ahead Monday with three test dummies aboard, but a last-minute cascade of problems culminated in unexplained engine trouble.

The next launch attempt will not take place until Friday at the earliest and could be delayed until mid-September or later.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2022.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Ottawa invokes pipeline treaty, infant death in B.C.: In The News for Aug. 30

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