m

info@canadianinquirer.net
sales@canadianinquirer.net

facebook.com/
Philippine
CanadianInquirer CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER
twitter:
@PhilCanInquirer AUGUST 2, 2019 www.canadianinquirer.net VOL. 8 NO. 382

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte discusses matters with military officials upon his arrival at the Basco Airport on July 28, 2019 as he holds a situation briefing with members of his cabinet and local
government officials to discuss disaster response measures in the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Batanes.
ALBERT ALCAIN / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

15
Philippine defence
chief hits China for
South China Sea acts Scientists tell environment
minister to speed up
conservation

BY JIM GOMEZ
The Associated Press
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Philip-
pine defence chief criticized China on
Tuesday for what he called “bullying”
actions in the South China Sea and said
Beijing’s peaceful assurances contrast
with its behaviour in the contested wa-
28
ters.
Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana
criticized China’s increasingly asser-
tive actions when asked to comment on
the Chinese ambassador’s assurances in
Manila that Beijing won’t seek hegemo- Efforts to ensure PH ready
ny in the disputed region and “will not for ‘Big One’: Lorenzana Love, lust and digital dating:
take the first shot.” Men on the Bumble dating
❱❱ PAGE 4 app aren’t ready for the
❱❱ PAGE 12 Philippine defence Queen bee

Get the latest

news & updates
www.canadianinquirer.net
2 AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019
Revilla backs death penalty
for plunder, false accusers
BY FILANE MIKEE
CERVANTES
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — Senator Ramon
“Bong” Revilla Jr. on Thurs-
day reiterated his support for
the passage of a bill seeking to
restore the death penalty for
plunder and heinous crimes re-
lated to drugs.
Revilla said he would also
suggest the imposition of the
death penalty against those
who falsely accuse others of
committing plunder.
“Hindi na kailangan hum-
ingi sa akin ng tulong ni Sena-
tor Bong Go (Senator Bong Go
need not ask for my help). From
the get go, I have expressed my
strong and personal support
(for) capital punishment for
drug trafficking and plunder,”
he said in a statement.
“If at all, ako ang hihingi ng
tulong sa kanya, to support yung
aking panukala na idagdag sa
batas, to prevent it from being
weaponized for politics, na false
accusers should also suffer death
(If at all, I should be the one to
ask for his support to include
in the bill — to prevent it from
being weaponized for politics —
that false accusers should also
suffer death),” he added.
19 Pinoys detained in Mexico
due to illegal drugs: DFA
BY JOYCE ANN L.
ROCAMORA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tues-
day reported that 19 Filipino
seafarers have been detained in
Mexico for alleged illegal drugs
violation.
In a statement, the depart-
ment vowed to extend assis-
tance, assuring that the Phil-
ippine Embassy in Mexico has
been actively monitoring the
developments in light of the
Filipinos’ detention.
“Embassy representatives
were able to speak with seven of
the Filipino seafarers currently
Revilla, who was acquitted in
2018 after four years in deten-
tion over a plunder charge, said
he was not affected by the death
penalty proposal because he
was found “not guilty.”
“Napatunayang ginipit lang
ako. Pero sa pinagdaanan ko na
inakusahan ng mali at inabswel-
to at pinawalang-sala, dapat may
kaakibat na parusa sa mga nang-
gipit at nang-api (It was proven
that I was just framed up. But
after what I had gone through
because of false accusations and
eventually being acquitted, it is
only right for those who falsely
accuse others of these crimes to
be punished),” he said.
“I could have faced death just
detained for questioning,” DFA
Assistant Secretary Emmanuel
Fernandez said in the statement.
“The group is generally in
good spirits and informed the
Embassy representatives that
their families have been in-
formed of what happened. The
Embassy is also in close coor-
dination with both Mexican
authorities and the law firm
representing the ship’s crew,”
he added.
At this point, no formal
charge has been filed against
any of the seafarers.
The 19 were among the 22
crew members on board the
Cypriot-flagged vessel UBC Sa-
vannah docked at the Altamira
Port in Mexico on July 27 due
RAMON BONG REVILLA, JR. / FACEBOOK
because of politics. Kung ginawa
ito sa akin, dapat siguruhin na
hindi na ito magagawa sa iba
(These acts against me should
not be done to others),” he added.
Malacañang earlier said
President Rodrigo R. Duterte
is most likely to certify the pas-
sage of the death penalty bill as
urgent.
In his 4th State of the Na-
tion Address (SONA) on July
22, Duterte urged Congress to
pass a bill for the restoration of
the death penalty for drugs and
plunder.
Presidential Spokesman Sal-
vador Panelo said the passage
of the death penalty bill will
still depend on Congress. ■
to alleged violations of the
country’s illegal drug law.
Fernandez said the DFA
stands ready to provide any
form of assistance, including le-
gal assistance if still necessary,
to protect the Filipino seafar-
ers’ right to be heard in court.
However, he said, should they
be found guilty by the proper
court of the charges against
them, “they have to face the legal
consequences of their actions.”
“The public is likewise re-
minded that the Philippine
government, under the leader-
ship of President Rodrigo R.
Duterte, expects all Filipinos
to follow the laws of their coun-
tries of destination,” Fernandez
said. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
Congress may introduce
new ‘endo’ bill: Palace
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Malacañang said
Congress may introduce a new
bill to end contractualization
and end-of-contract (endo)
schemes following the decision
of President Rodrigo Duterte
to veto the Security of Tenure
(SOT) bill.
Presidential Spokesperson
Salvador Panelo on Sunday said
Congress must ensure that a
bill to end contractualization is
not “absolute” in consideration
of the interests of businesses or
employers.
National Economic and De-
velopment Authority (NEDA)
Secretary Ernesto Pernia said
the SOT should be “tweaked”
to benefit both employers and
workers.
“Ang Kongreso ay maaaring
mag-introduce ng panibagong
bill. At pag-aralan nila na hindi
pupwede maging absolute ang
labor-contracting prohibition
(The Congress may introduce a
new bill. And study that labor-
contracting prohibition cannot
be absolute),” Panelo said in an
interview over DZIQ.
“Kailangan meron mga sit-
wasyon kung saan hindi pupu-
wedeng i-apply yung nabanggit
na pagbabawal (There should
be situations where prohibiting
contracting does not apply),” he
added.
Panelo explained that the
President vetoed the SOT bill
as several companies may close
down if the measure is unable to
give a “definite classification” of
which companies are exempted
from contractualization.
“Maraming magsasarado sa
ating mga kumpanya pag hindi,
pag hindi natin mabigyan ng
definite classification yung mga
ibang company na hindi dapat
maisama. (Several companies
may close down if we can’t pro-
vide a definite classification of
companies that should not be
included),” he said.
Panelo also asked lawmakers
who authored and supported
the measure not to be discour-
aged by the vetoing of the SOT
bill.
“Hindi kayo kailangan mag-
ing malungkot dito o feeling
betrayed. Si Presidente, yun
pa rin ang kanyang paninindi-
3
gan. Pero binabalanse niya ang
karapatan ng management at ng
workers (You don’t need to feel
sad about this or feel betrayed.
The President still wants to end
contractualization. But he’s
balancing the rights of the man-
agement and workers),” he said.
“Kung walang employer eh di
wala ring working class. Hindi
ba. Okay lang yan, kailangan
bigyan mo ng balanseng pagki-
los, tingnan mo pareho kung ano
ang makakabuti sa dalawang
panig (If there are no employ-
ers, there won’t be a working
class. Right? That’s okay, all we
need is to ensure balance and
see what is good for both par-
ties),” he added.
He reminded critics that the
Chief Executive is serious in
ending “endo” by even issuing
Executive Order 51 which erad-
icates all forms of abusive em-
ployment practices through the
strict implementation of the
provisions of the Labor Code.
Panelo remained optimistic
that Duterte’s campaign prom-
ise of ending contractualization
and endo may still be realized
before the end of the Presi-
dent’s term in 2022.
He described the vetoing of
the SOT bill as “a temporary
setback” for the working class
while the government assesses
the concerns of the businesses
and employers.
“Naumpisahan na nga hindi
ba, so kung naumpisahan yan,
tuluy-tuloy yan. Kumbaga tem-
porary setback lang yan sa parte
ng mga working class kasi tinit-
ingnan ni Presidente yung panig
ng management (It has already
been started, so it will continue.
It’s just a temporary setback on
the part of the working class be-
cause the President is hearing
the side of the management),”
Panelo said.
Senator Joel Villanueva, au-
thor of the SOT bill and chair of
the Senate Committee on La-
bor, has earlier vowed to refile
the measure, noting that the
social protection of workers is
“more important” than what
business organizations gain.
Senate President Pro Tempo-
re Ralph Recto, who expressed
support for Villanueva’s inten-
tion to refile the bill, said the
executive department should
file its own version of the bill. ■
4 Philippine News AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY

Efforts to ensure PH ready for ‘Big One’:

Lorenzana
BY PRIAM NEPOMUCENO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — All possible efforts
are being undertaken to ensure
that the Philippines, especially
Metro Manila, is prepared for
the “Big One” or the massive
earthquake that will be trig-
gered by a movement of the
West Valley Fault.
This was emphasized by De-
partment of National Defense
(DND) Secretary Delfin Lo-
renzana during the media brief-
ing shortly after the launching
Makati, Taguig and Muntin-
lupa and also traverses Doña
Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan to
Calamba, Laguna.
“(The West Valley Fault is)
huge (and once it) moves (it is
capable of creating large scale
earthquakes with magnitude 7
or higher and causing massive
destruction) and that’s why we
have been emphasizing it to the
heads of our local officials to
prepare accordingly,” Lorenza-
na said.
Part of the preparation is
that local government units tell
their constituents to stockpile DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. JOEY O. RAZON / PNA

of the two-day National Disas- three days worth of food and

ter Resilience Summit which
was held at the Novotel Manila
Center in Cubao, Quezon City
on Tuesday.
He added that the DND, along
with the Office of Civil Defense
(OCD), is busy talking to and
training people living in Metro
Manila lying in the path of the
West Valley Fault.
This fault line runs through
Metro Manila to the cities of
Marikina, Quezon City, Pasig,
water while barangays store a
week’s worth of essential sup-
plies. Cities and towns should
also have more of these items in
depots and secure locations.
Lorenzana said that he is hop-
ing that households have their
own survival kit or grab bag
containing emergency items
and a battery-operated transis-
tor radio and power banks for
cellphones.
Meanwhile, OCD adminis-
trator Ricardo Jalad, who is
also executive director of the
National Disaster Risk Reduc-
tion and Management Council,
said the national government
has a contingency plan for such
eventualities.
Aside from this, all govern-
ment agencies are assigned
a particular task within their
capacity and capability. Jalad
also said that they are also look-
ing at the capacity of the local
government units (LGUs) to do
its own disaster risk reduction
management (DRRM) capabil-
ity.
In line with this, the OCD
chief is hoping that the LGUs
will invest more in their calam-
ity funds or the local DRRM
fund. Aside from this, efforts or
contingency measures are now
being prepared by responsible
agencies to ensure that food
and water supplies in Metro
Manila remain stable in the
event of the “Big One.”
Lorenzana said part of the
preparations include the De-
partment of Public Works and
Highways checking out build-
ings in Metro Manila to deter-
mine which are quake-resistant
or not.
Another ongoing effort is the
identification of open areas
that could serve as evacuation
centers. ■

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019 5

www.canadianinquirer.net
6 Philippine News
House members agree
to donate portion
of salaries to Batanes
earthquake victims
BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
MEMBERS OF the House of Represen-
tatives have agreed to donate a part of
their salaries to provide assistance to
victims of the twin earthquakes that hit
Batanes over the weekend.
Each congressman is expected to do-
nate a minimum of P5,000 from his or
her salary, House Majority Leader and
Leyte Representative Martin Romual-
dez said in a statement on Tuesday, July
30.
With the lower chamber consisting of
300 members, it would be able to raise at
least P1.5-million or even higher.
“This is just the minimum amount
pegged by the House resolution. The
contribution may even reach P3 million
up to P5 million as some congressmen
have indicated willingness to donate
P50,000 to P100,000 from their salary,”
Romualdez said.
Apart from the monetary aid, he said
that the congressmen also want to do-
nate relief goods which will be turned
over to Batanes Representative Ciriaco
Gato, Jr. for distribution to appropriate
agencies tasked to bring the goods to the
province.
He added that those people who want
to help the victims may also send their
donations through Gato’s Chief of Staff,
lawyer Rachel Derigay.
Gato’s office said the victims urgently
need hygiene kits, wet wipes, mosquito
repellents, reusable eating utensils, gen-
erator sets for water pumping stations,
and portalets.
The House also adopted on Monday
House Resolution (HR) No. 139 ex-
pressing the “profound sympathies”
and “deepest condolences” of the con-
gressmen to those affected by the twin
www.canadianinquirer.net
earthquakes. It was penned by Romual-
dez, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, and
House Minority Leader Bienvenido
Abante, Jr.
The congressmen also called on the
National Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council (NDRRMC) and
other relevant organizations to “expe-
dite humanitarian assistance and re-
store normalcy to the affected areas.”
Last Saturday, the town of Itbayat
in Batanes was rocked by a magnitude
5.4 earthquake which was followed by
a stronger magnitude 5.9 quake. As of
writing, the death toll in the twin earth-
Solon wants more protection
for PH forest resources
BY FILANE MIKEE CERVANTES
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — A bill proposing a compre-
hensive sustainable forest manage-
ment strategy to safeguard the country’s
dwindling forest resources has been
filed at the Senate.
In a statement on Friday, Senator Pia
Cayetano said the Senate Bill No. 284,
or the Sustainable Forest Management
Act, aims to preserve and optimize the
utilization of forest resources.
“Forests provide the country with
natural resources that contribute to
economic growth. They provide liveli-
hood through raw materials that are
converted into finished products,” Cay-
etano said.
“At the same time, forests serve as
protection and buffer from natural di-
sasters, and help mitigate the effects of
climate change,” she added.
The senator cited that the country
has been losing approximately 47,000
hectares of forest each year, increasing
the risk of massive social and economic
losses from resource depletion and cli-
AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY
quakes has climbed to nine, while more
than 60 were injured, according to the
NRRMC.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday
went to Batanes to conduct an aerial
inspection to assess the damage caused
by the earthquakes. The Chief Execu-
tive had vowed to give P40-million to
Batanes to be used for the construction
of a new health facility.
“I hope you’d put it to good use. The 40
million would bring you something like
small parang (like a) clinic, hospital.
Hindi naman kayo marami dito (You are
not many here),” he said. ■
mate disasters.
She stressed the need to protect the
forests not just as an environment mat-
ter, but an “economic imperative,” as
she quoted President Rodrigo Duterte
in saying “natural disasters are poverty
creators.”
The bill mandates the Forest Manage-
ment Bureau as the primary agency to
oversee the development, management,
and utilization of forest lands, including
the identification of areas for protection
or production purposes.
It also proposes to rationalize the es-
tablishment, operations, and develop-
ment of forest-based industries.
The bill seeks to establish agroforest-
ry economic zones to ease the conduct
of business and attract local and foreign
investments.
It provides for a Community-Based
Forest Management Program (CBFMP)
to be undertaken by concerned national
agencies and the local government units.
“With this, we aim to empower indig-
enous people’s groups and other forest-
based communities as stewards manag-
ing our forest resources in a sustainable
way,” Cayetano said. ■
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019
Over 2.3K foreigners barred from ‘911 TESDA’
entering PH Jan-June this year employment app
BY FERDINAND PATINIO
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — More than 2,300
foreign nationals were barred
from entering the country dur-
ing the first six months of the
year, the Bureau of Immigra-
tion (BI) reported on Monday.
According to BI port op-
erations division chief Grifton
Medina, a total of 2,351 aliens
of various nationalities were
denied entry in the different
ports as a result of the agency’s
intensified efforts to thwart the
entry of foreigners whose pres-
ence here are deemed inimical
to public welfare and safety.
Of the number, 1,920 of the
aliens were turned away at
Manila’s Ninoy Aquino Inter-
national Airport while the rest
were stopped at the airports in
Mactan, Clark, Kalibo, Aklan
and Davao.
“They were turned back af-
ter undergoing primary and
secondary inspection by our
immigration officers and were
declared unfit for admission
into our country for a variety of
reasons,” the BI official said in a
statement.
“They were issued exclusion
orders and booked on the first
available flight to their ports of
origin,” Medina added.
Data from the BI-POD’s
travel control and enforcement
(TCEU) show that 1,129 Chi-
nese nationals topped the list
of excluded aliens, followed by
106 Indians, 87 Americans, 52
Taiwanese, and 67 Koreans.
The list includes registered
sex offenders, wanted fugitives,
Duterte lifts suspension of Lotto games
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — President Rodrigo
Duterte has lifted the suspen-
sion of Lotto operations of the
Philippine Charity Sweep-
stakes Office (PCSO), Malaca-
ñang said on Tuesday night.
Presidential Spokesperson
Salvador Panelo said Duterte
lifted the suspension as per ad-
vice of Executive Secretary Sal-
Ninoy Aquino International Airport. PNA
suspected international terror-
ists, and blacklisted and previ-
ously deported aliens.
He said that most of the for-
eigners were excluded for being
public charges or persons with-
out visible means to support
themselves, and whose purpose
of coming here are doubtful.
Medina added that some
were turned back for being
rude and disrespectful towards
immigration officers, and for
having incomplete travel docu-
ments.
On the other hand, Commis-
sioner Jaime Morente com-
mended BI port personnel for
their accomplishments even as
he stressed the sovereign right
of every country like the Phil-
ippines to deny entry to aliens
deemed as undesirable and in-
admissible.
He also exhorted the immi-
vador Medialdea.
“As per the advice of Execu-
tive Secretary Salvador C. Me-
dialdea, the suspension of Lot-
to operations has been ordered
lifted by the President,” Panelo
said in a statement.
“Franchise holders and op-
erators of lotto outlets may now
resume with their operations.
The lifting of the suspension
of lotto operations takes effect
immediately,” he added.
However, Panelo said the rest
gration officers “not to relax
your guard and be always vigi-
lant in discharging their duties
as gatekeepers of our country.”
“Our immigration officers
are working hard day and night
to protect our borders from
these threats,” said Morente.
“We are serious in our drive
against illegal aliens, and we are
doing the best so we can to stop
them from entering the coun-
try,” he added.
Morente likewise clarified
that they “are not targeting spe-
cific nationalities,” but are in-
stead “targeting illegal and un-
documented individuals who
try to enter the Philippines.”
He explained that those who
were excluded for being a pub-
lic charge or whose entry is a
threat to public order and safe-
ty will be barred from re-enter-
ing the country. ■
of all gaming operations with
franchises, licenses or permits
granted by PCSO such as Small-
Town Lottery (STL), Keno and
Peryahan ng Bayan (PNB), shall
remain suspended pending the
investigation on corrupt prac-
tices.
In his statement, Medialdea
said investigators "found no
anomalies in the conduct of
its operation, its sanctity re-
mained untainted and proper
regulatory rules followed.”
www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
now available
BY MA. CRISTINA
ARAYATA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — “911 TESDA,” a
Grab-like application providing
the graduates of the Technical
Education and Skills Devel-
opment Authority (TESDA) a
platform to land a job in just a
swipe, was officially launched
on Tuesday.
The “911 TESDA,” which
will initially be available web-
based, was created not just to
help TESDA graduates, but also
to make it more convenient for
the public, especially those who
need services, to find workers.
Eight digital online services
providers (DOSPs) have recent-
ly signed a partnership with
TESDA for the app.
TESDA graduates from 2017
may apply to be accredited by
the DOSPs. The two will have
an agreement on how things
would work.
DOSPs would screen the
workers they would send to
those who would be needing
services.
The agency initially targeted
to launch the app by July 18,
and make this available initially
in Metro Manila.
As of Tuesday, the public
could only access “911 TESDA”
via web www.911tesda.ph.
The services are initially
available for those in Metro
Manila, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija,
Batangas, Cavite, Laguna and
Rizal.
Last week, Duterte ordered
all gaming activities of the
PCSO, including Lotto, STL,
and Peryahan ng Bayan, to
stop due to "massive corrup-
tion.”
Panelo said the Chief Exec-
utive would reveal the names
of officials or employees in-
volved in corruption “in due
time.”
“We’ll have to wait for the
President. He is thoroughly in-
vestigating the corruption and
7
Furthermore, “911 TESDA” is
currently limited to 76 services
(e.g. housekeeper, kitchen staff,
aircon cleaner, laundry, light-
ing installation or repair, ac-
counting clerk, among others).
TESDA-NCR director Con-
rado Bares earlier told the Phil-
ippine News Agency (PNA) that
when someone needs a service,
the partner DOSP would look
for the registered worker near-
est the vicinity.
“This would give the TESDA
graduates the option to work
with the DOSP either full-time
or part-time, depending on
their availability,” he added.
He also bared that the DOSPs
said 42,000 people in NCR are
needing the services of certified
TESDA graduates.
Among the in-demand ser-
vices are massage, carpentry,
housekeeping, programming
and call center, Bares said.
TESDA’s mandate, he said,
is not just to give education or
training, but also help its gradu-
ates find employment or liveli-
hood opportunities.
Furthermore, TESDA’s tag-
line, “Abot Lahat” targets that
more people, especially in the
regions, would benefit from
TESDA scholarships and ser-
vices. ■
as he said, in due time, we’ll
name them. Do not be impa-
tient,” Panelo said in a Palace
briefing.
The Palace assured that those
in need of medical assistance
and social services may, for the
meantime, approach the Office
of the President (OP), Philip-
pine Amusement and Gaming
Corp. (Pagcor) or the Depart-
ment of Social Welfare and De-
velopment (DSWD). ■
8 Philippine News AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY

DFA chief wants visa-on-arrival

privilege for foreigners removed
BY JOYCE ANN L. ROCAMORA
Correspondent/Hosts Philippine News Agency
Bea Kirstein T. Manalaysay
Joanna Belle Deala
Gianna Llanes
Arianne Grace U. Lacanilao MANILA — Department of Foreign Af-
Violeta Arevelo fairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro Locsin
Babes Newland
Jr. on Wednesday recommended the re-
Graphic Design moval of visa upon arrival privilege for
Shanice Garcia foreigners.
Ginno Alcantara
Arlnie Colleene Talain Singca
Locsin’s proposal came following the
remarks of National Security Adviser
Account Manager Hermogenes Esperon Jr. that the influx
Kristopher Yong
of undocumented foreigners to Manila
Director/Producer pose a possible security threat to the
Boom Dayupay country.
Photographers/Videographers
"We need to put an end to visas upon
Ginno Alcantara arrival; all visas should be issued by con-
Maria Crizandra Baylon sular offices after vetting," Locsin said
Mariano Luis V. Quintos, Jr.
on his official Twitter account, in reac-
Sales tion to the headline carrying Esperon's
Aireen De Asis remarks.
Dennis Cruz
"We must take extra care in outsourc-
Operations and Admin ing any part of the visa application pro-
Victoria Yong cess, picking only the most reputable
Amelia Insigne
worldwide," Locsin added. DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. @DFAPHL / TWITTER

Management In an earlier news forum, Esperon

Alan Yong
Victoria Yong
For photo submissions, please email
editor@canadianinquirer.net
For General Inquiries, please email
info@canadianinquirer.net
For Sales Inquiries, please email
sales@canadianinquirer.net
or contact 778-788-4998
said he remains on the "cautious side"
when looking at the issue of the volume
of foreigners in the country, particularly
when they are undocumented and when
their intent is not clear.
"On the matter of Chinese coming in,
are we surprised about that? Of course,"
Esperon said.
"What's really happening is that
there are businesses, offshore gaming,
coming in to the Philippines-- these
are regulated by the PAGCOR (Philip-
pine Amusement and Gaming Corpo-
ration). But there are illegal players,
illegal operators, that's our problem,
because some of these Chinese could
come in as tourists and they could end
up for the period that they are allowed
here to be workers," he added in Fili-
pino.
Meanwhile, he dismissed as "wild
imagination" the speculation that Chi-
nese nationals coming in are part of the
Chinese army. ■

Philippine Canadian Inquirer is located at

#1820-666 Burrard Street
Vancouver BC V6C 2X8 Canada
Email: info@canadianinquirer.net,
sales@canadianinquirer.net
Instagram: @pcinewsofficial
Twitter:@pcinewsofficial
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/
channel/UCGvCxcZGXZVbAWhNLRJIfTw
Philippine Canadian Inquirer is published weekly
every Friday.
Copies are distributed free throughout Metro
Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Greater Toronto.
The views and opinions expressed in the articles
(including opinions expressed in ads herein) are those
of the authors named, and are not necessarily those of
Philippine Canadian Inquirer Editorial Team.
PCI reserves the right to reject any advertising which
it considers to contain false or misleading information
or involves unfair or unethical practices. The advertiser
agrees the publisher shall not be liable for damages
arising out of error in any advertisement.
Member
DILG lauds Marikina over obstruction-free roads
BY CHRISTOPHER LLOYD
CALIWAN
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The Department of the Inte-
rior and Local Government (DILG) has
lauded the city government of Marikina
for being an obstruction-free city.
During a meeting with Metro Manila
mayors on Monday, DILG Sec. Eduardo
Año told Marikina Mayor Marcelino
Teodoro that Marikina has no problem
in cleaning its city because it is already
clean.
“Sa Marikina, Mayor Marcy, wala na
tayong problema. Tuwing nadadaan ako
diyan laging malinis. Walangobstruction
or basura (we have no problem. When-
ever I pass by the area, it’s always clean.
There are no obstructions or garbage),”
he told the Marikina mayor in the meet-
ing.
Año met with Metro mayors to tell
them that they have 60 days to clear
their respective cities of obstructions,
and make sure that their streets are safe
and clean for the public.
The 60-day deadline was given by the
DILG to mayors after President Rodrigo
Duterte said in his fourth State of the
Nation Address (SONA) that he wants
the roads that are being utilized for pub-
lic use to be reclaimed.
For Teodoro, the real challenge for
Metro mayors is how to sustain the
cleanliness of their respective cities af-
ter conducting clearing operations.
“The most challenging part is sus-
taining the sidewalks and roads, mak-
ing sure that they are always clean and
walkable,” he told Metro mayors.
“Us in Marikina, we have been edu-
cating our people way back when I was
still a councilor. It was not an easy task
but it is doable. We make our residents
understand that the roads and sidewalks
should always be free from obstructions
as it will equate to order and smooth
flow of vehicles in the city,” Teodoro em-
phasized.
“Sidewalks are beyond the homes of
men. Hindi ito para sa pansarili o komer-
syo na interes kundi ito ay isang (This is
not for personal use or for business but
this is a) public domain.”
Other mayors in Metro Manila then
told Teodoro that they want to go to
Marikina to observe how his city was
able to keep its sidewalks and roads
clear of obstructions.
In Metro Manila, the Marikina mayor
said 30 percent of roads and sidewalks
are clogged because of various types of
obstructions.
He believes that the 60 days is enough
for Metro mayors to rid other cities of
obstructions.
“Marami ang nagtatanong kung sapat
na ba ang 60 days. Sa tingin ko, sapat na
ito at kayang i-clear ang mga kalsada at
bangketa sa loob ng panahong ito (Many
are asking if 60 days is enough. I think
this is enough and within this period,
clearing streets and sidewalks is pos-
sible),” the mayor said.
Despite being praised in the DILG
meeting, Teodoro still had a meeting
with concerned departments in his city
to tell them that they should all work
tirelessly to ensure that Marikina will
always be clean, safe and walkable for
the public. ■

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019
Palace won’t take PRRD had ‘productive’ visit
China’s words on sea in quake-hit Batanes
row at ‘face value’
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — Malacañang on
Thursday said it will not take
statements made by Chinese
officials at “face value” espe-
cially in relation to the coun-
try’s claims on the disputed
South China Sea.
Presidential Spokesperson
Salvador Panelo made this re-
mark after Chinese Ambassa-
dor to the Philippines Zhao Ji-
anhua said that China will “not
take the first shot” amid rising
tension in the disputed waters.
“We do not take words of oth-
er countries on their face value.
The President will always think
beyond those words,” Panelo
said in a Palace briefing.
“The President is mandated
to protect the security of this
country, as well as the Filipino
people, hence he will anticipate
what may come out of any ag-
gressive action that this coun-
try may undertake vis-à-vis the
conflict in that area,” he added.
Asked if the Palace also takes
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s
earlier warning to President
Rodrigo Duterte that there
would be “trouble” if the Phil-
ippines would undertake oil
explorations in the West Philip-
pine Sea at “face value”, Panelo
replied: “We took it as an antici-
pation of what may happen.”
“Even without those saying
Pres. Spokesperson Salvador Panelo.
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON / FACEBOOK
that, we always think of the se-
curity of the Filipino people,”
Panelo said.
Panelo, meanwhile, reiterat-
ed that the best way to resolve
the sea row between the Philip-
pines and China is through bi-
lateral negotiations.
He earlier said bilateral nego-
tiations are meant to ensure the
safety of the Filipinos from pos-
sible armed conflict.
“We will repeat our position.
We said that the conflict in
that region will be the subject
of continuous negotiation be-
tween the two countries. And
by such mechanism, we hope
to solve and/or resolve the con-
flict, whatever they are,” Panelo
said.
During the 92nd founding
anniversary celebration of
the People's Liberation Army
(PLA) in Makati on Monday,
Zhao stressed China's principle
of “defense, self-defense and
post-strike response.”
“China adopts a military
strategy of active defense
which adheres to the principle
of defense, self-defense and
post-strike response. Meaning
we will not take the first shot,”
Zhao said.
Zhao said China develops its
military to defend the coun-
try, provide the people with a
peaceful environment, and en-
sure its citizens are free from
the disasters and calamities of
war. ■
Philippine News 9
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — President Rodrigo
Roa Duterte had a “productive
visit” to the earthquake-hit
province of Batanes on Sunday
(July 28), Malacañang said on
Monday.
Presidential Spokesperson
Salvador Panelo said Duterte’s
visit began with an aerial in-
spection of affected areas in
Itbayat town, where he person-
ally saw the extent of the natu-
ral disaster’s damage.
“The President also gave
three marching orders, the first
is to ensure that supply lines
in the province are working so
residents do not get hungry,”
Panelo said.
Duterte ordered the release
of PHP40 million for the con- Aerial photo shows the extent of the damage caused by the earthquake that
struction of a new hospital in hit Batanes recently. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte conducted an aerial survey
Itbayat. of the affected areas and a situation briefing with members of his cabinet and
Defense Secretary Lorenzana local government officials at the Basco Airport on July 28, 2019 to discuss
and Transportation Secretary disaster response measures in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Tugade were directed to extend PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
the runways of the airports in
Basco and Itbayat. dent also provided cash assis- injured, while 911 families or
The President also asked the tance to the families of those 2,963 individuals were evacu-
Coast Guard to patrol Batanes who perished and were injured ated to the town plaza after the
islands to ensure that “those is- in the natural tragedy. series of earthquakes on Satur-
lands will remain ours.” Reports showed that nine day (July 28). ■
On the same day, the Presi- people were killed, 63 were
SOLUTIONS IMMIGRATION CONSULTING INC.
EXPERT ASSISTANCE - ALL CANADIAN IMMIGRATION MATTERS
CARI GOMBINSKY SOL GOMBINSKY ANNABELLE MIGALBIN
Owner/Licensed Consultant President and Licensed Consultant Immigration Services Manager
R411207 ICCRC ID: R411199 SERVICE IN PILIPINO
carig@immsol.com Immigration Specialist Since 1967 annabelm@immsol.com
Former manager, 647-765-1580
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
sollyg@immsol.com 416-661-6376
www.immsol.com
1183 Finch Avenue West Suite 508, Toronto M3J 2G2
IN CANADA SERVICES OUT OF CANADA SERVICES
• Family Class • Permanent Residence
• Extensions/Change of Status • Canadian Experience Class
• Permanent Residence • Federal Skilled Worker
• Hearing and Appeals • Skilled Trade Programs
• Humanitarian and Compassionate • Visitors Visa
• In-Home-Caregivers • Business
• Citizenship Applications • Family Class
• Work Permits *Student Permits
www.canadianinquirer.net
10 Philippine News AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY

2-month voter registration ‘Bikoy’ surrenders

period starts August 1 anew to police over
BY FERDINAND PATINIO
Philippine News Agency
cyberlibel case
BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA people and simply get away
MANILA — The Commission Philippine Canadian Inquirer with it,” he earlier said. Co had
on Elections (Comelec) on sought at least P1.1-billion in
Wednesday reminded those in- damages from the respondents.
terested to become registered PETER JOEMEL Advincula, Advincula earlier said all the
voters that the two-month vot- the man who claimed to be allegations he made against the
er registration period, in con- “Bikoy” in the viral video series family of President Rodrigo
nection with the 2020 Baran- tagging the First family in the Duterte and his allies were ‘all
gay and Sangguniang Kabataan illegal drug trade, has turned lies’ and that the viral videos
Elections (BSKE), will start on himself to the police anew, this were “orchestrated” by former
Thursday. time, over a cyberlibel case. Senator Antonio Trillanes IV
“Thirty days has September, As per media reports, Advin- and the Liberal Party (LP).
April, June, and November, all cula surrendered to the Philip- On July 18, the PNP-CIDG
the rest have 31 — including pine National Police-Criminal filed sedition, inciting to sedi-
July, so remember, tomorrow Investigation and Detection tion, cyber-libel, libel, estafa,
is August the first, the first of Group (PNP-CIDG) on Mon- harboring a criminal, and ob-
#VoterReg2019, go to your lo- day, July 29, at around 7 p.m. struction of justice complaints
cal Comelec if you haven’t yet His surrender came after an against opposition figures,
been,” Comelec spokesperson arrest warrant was issued by including Vice President Ma-
James Jimenez said in a Face- COMELEC / FACEBOOK Judge Annielyn Medes-Cabe- ria Leonor “Leni” Robredo,
book post on Wednesday. lis, acting presiding judge of Trillanes, and Senators Leila
He added that all poll body “Yes, there will be satellite For purposes of the SK elec- the Legazpi City Regional Trial De Lima and Risa Hontiveros,
field offices in the city/mu- registrations in malls — please tions, those who will be at least Court (RTC) Branch 5, on July among others, over the “Ang
nicipality where the registrant stay tuned for announcements 15 but not more than 30 years 11. The court set a P10,000 bail Totoong Narcolist” videos. The
is residing are ready to accept on satellite registration loca- of age on Election Day shall be bond for Advincula’s temporary opposition personalities had
their application for registra- tions,” he added. included in the list of those who liberty. blasted the charges slapped
tion, among others six days a Satellite registration offices may vote for SK candidates. Last May, Bicolano business- against them, saying it was a
week or from Monday to Sat- may be established in barangay The poll body noted that reg- man Elizalde “Zaldy” Co filed form of “harassment.”
urday, including istered voters as cyber libel cases against Advin- The Department of Justice
holidays. of the May 13, cula after his name was dragged (DOJ) is set to hold a prelimi-
Applications 2019 mid-term in the controversial videos. In nary investigation into the
may be filed from elections need one of its episodes, Advincula complaint on August 9. ■
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Application forms may be not apply. claimed that Co was the leader
the Office of the downloaded from www.comelec. On the other of a drug syndicate that has
Election Officer gov.ph. The registration period will hand, an express been operating in Bicol but the
or any satellite run until September 30. lane for persons latter denied such allegations.
registration site with disabilities, However, the police did not
in the locality senior citizens make it clear yet whether or not
where the regis- and pregnant ap- the arrest warrant stemmed
trant resides. halls/centers, public and pri- plicants will be provided. from the businessman’s com-
Applicants to be accepted are vate schools and universities, Application forms may be plaint.
those applying for registration, malls and commercial estab- downloaded from www.come- Apart from Advincula, Co
transfer of registration record, lishments and other public and lec.gov.ph. The registration pe- also sued social media giant
change/correction of entries, convenient places. riod will run until September Facebook and YouTube for al-
reactivation of registration re- Comelec Resolution 10549 30. lowing its online platforms to
cord, inclusion of registration states that any Filipino citizen, Earlier, the Comelec said it be used in spreading false in-
record and reinstatement of who is not yet a registered voter is looking to register 2 million formation.
name in the list of voters. but will be at least 15 years of new voters during the two- “Like ‘Bikoy,’ Facebook and
“Yes, Comelec offices will be age on May 11, 2020, and resid- month registration period. YouTube must be held account-
open on Saturdays, unless there ing in the barangay for at least The country has over 61 mil- able. Our legal system shouldn’t
is a scheduled satellite registra- six months on or before Elec- lion local registered voters in allow them to be part of a sys-
tion for that day,” Jimenez said. tion Day is eligible to register. the May 2019 polls. ■ tematic campaign to destroy

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019 Philippine News 11

Palace looking into

complaints vs. Duque
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — Malacañang is
looking into graft and plunder
complaints against Health Sec-
retary Francisco Duque over
a lease agreement between a
company owned by his family
and the Philippine Health In-
surance Corp. (PhilHealth).
“The SOP (standard oper-
ating procedure) is any com-
plaint, as the President says,
that reaches his table, will al-
ways be subject of a serious
investigation by the Office of
the President,” Presidential
Spokesperson Salvador Pan-
elo said in a media interview on
Tuesday.
“Any allegation against any
member of the Cabinet or
against any official of the gov-
ernment of corruption or con-
Panelo maintained that Presi-
dent Rodrigo Duterte still
trusts Duque pending results of
the OP’s investigation.
“He (Duque) has responded
to the questions of the issue of
propriety so if there are com-
plaints against him, investiga-
tion will be undertaken and
until such time that there is
no definite finding of any act
which is in violation of the law,
Secretary of Health still has
the trust and confidence of the
President” Panelo said.
In a joint affidavit filed be-
fore the Office of the Ombuds-
man on Friday (June 21), com-
plainants, who are parents of
victims of the dengue vaccine
Dengvaxia, accused Duque of
graft and plunder for entering
into a contract which allowed
a PhilHealth regional office to
rent land belonging to his fam-
ily.
not immediately prove that
there is a “conflict of interest.”
PhilHealth is an attached agen-
cy of the Department of Health.
“The Secretary of Health has
already responded to that; as
far as he is concerned, there
is no conflict of interest,” said
Panelo, who is also Chief Presi-
dential Legal Counsel.
Citing Duque, Panelo empha-
sized that there is no conflict of
interest because the contracts
the PhilHealth entered into
were signed prior to his being
Health Secretary and others, he
has divested of his interest and/
or shares.
Panelo also welcomed Sena-
tor Christopher “Bong” Go’s
call for an investigation into
these PhilHealth transactions.
Go is the new chairman of the
Senate committee on health.
Meanwhile, Panelo also re- Health Sec. Francisco Duque.
jected claims that the appoint- JESS M. ESCAROS JR. / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, PUBLIC DOMAIN

flict of interest or any act illegal
is always a serious concern of
the office of the President,” he
added.
Despite these allegations,
Panelo defended Duque from
allegations, stressing that the
fact that Duque’s family owned
a land where a PhilHealth pro-
vincial office is situated does
ment of Duque’s brother, Gon-
zalo, as Philippine Coconut
Authority (PCA) administrator
was a conflict of interest.
“Why should there be a con-
flict of interest with regard to competence and integrity”
that? There’s none,” Panelo said. who would help “champion the
Earlier, Panelo described cause of the Filipino coconut
Gonzalo Duque as “a man of farmers.” ■

PRRD has authority to enter into verbal fishing deal: Palace

BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — President Rodrigo
Duterte has authority to enter
into “executive” agreements in-
cluding a verbal deal that gives
China fishing rights in the Phil-
ippines’ exclusive economic
zone (EEZ), Malacañang said
Thursday.
Presidential Spokesperson
Salvador Panelo refuted the
joint statement made by former
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-
Morales and former Foreign Af-
fairs Secretary Albert del Rosa-
rio who claimed that no public
official, not even the President,
has “the authority to grant for-
eigners fishing rights.”
“The President, as the chief
architect of our foreign policy,
has the authority to enter into
executive agreements, written
or oral,” said Panelo, who is also
Chief Presidential Legal Coun-
sel, in a statement.
Panelo explained that be-
cause executive agreements
are usually “less formal” and
deal with a “narrower range of
subject matters than treaties,”
Philippine jurisprudence or
case law has long-recognized
that this power may be exer-
cised by the President even
without the concurrence of
Congress.
“Conventions or high-level
meetings among foreign lead-
ers are useless if they cannot
commit and bind their coun-
tries at the time of said engage-
ments,” Panelo said.
He reiterated that the Con-
stitution’s provision which re-
serves the use and enjoyment
of the nation’s marine wealth
to Filipino citizens (Section 2,
Article 12), must be read in re-
lation to the President’s prime
duty to serve and to protect the
Filipino people (Section 4, Ar-
ticle).
Moreover, Panelo said
Duterte is also complying with
international obligations, one
of which is to observe friend-
liness towards neighboring
countries.
“The rationale for this is sim-
ple: In a world where countries
have the ability to craft their
own respective sets of rules,
conflicting municipal policies
are inevitable in cases which
reach the level of an interna-
tional concern,” Panelo said.
The 2016 fishing verbal agree-
ment between Duterte and
Chinese President Xi Jinping
allowed Chinese to fish within
the Philippines’ 200-nauti-
cal mile EEZ if China allowed
Filipinos to fish in the Panatag
(Scarborough) Shoal.
‘It’s ours’
Panelo said Duterte has also
made it clear in his fourth state
of the nation address (SONA)
that, Philippines is the “owner”
of the West Philippine Sea, and
is only granting fishing rights to
China.
“This is analogous to the civil
law aspect of ownership which
has an attribute of providing
the owner the right to allow
others to use one’s property,”
Duterte said.
He explained that the right
is being exercised by the Presi-
dent with the country’s interest
as his primary consideration.
“The agreement was entered
into not because of any threat
or vitiation of consent, but be-
cause the President sees such
arrangement as pragmatic
which can keep at bay any con-
flict between two countries,
while we gain a venue where we
can assert our sovereign rights,”
Panelo said.
“The motivation of PRRD in
entering into the agreement
is the welfare of the Filipino
people in general, not just to
ensure their physical safety but
also to enable them to exploit
the natural resources in the wa-
ters being controlled by China
as a source of their livelihood.
These are being achieved now,”
he added.
Not a secret
Panelo described as “absurd”
the claim made by Carpio-Mo-
rales and Del Rosario that the
verbal fishing deal was kept as a
secret since the administration
has been “as transparent as it
can be.”
“The oral agreement was re-
corded by an appropriate of-
ficer during the bilateral meet-
ing. The President was explicit
about it,” Panelo said.
In addition, Panelo said he
himself mentioned it in his
earlier press briefings and that
then Foreign Affairs Secretary,
now House Speaker Alan Peter
Cayetano had also made pro-
nouncements before the public
about it.
According to Panelo, Cay-
etano said Philippines and
China “co-control” the disput-
ed waters and that the fisher-
men should both be free to fish
there.
He, meanwhile, vowed to con-
tinue to assert Philippine rights
but only though the “peaceful
manner” of diplomatic negotia-
tions, insisting that it is one of
the most effective modes of set-
tling international disputes. ■

www.canadianinquirer.net
12 Philippine News AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY

Philippine defence...

❰❰ 1 “They say we do not
bully people around,
they follow interna-
tional law, but I said you are
not, what you are telling is
not what you are doing on the
ground,” Lorenzana said in one
of his most stinging public re-
bukes yet of Chinese actions in
territories claimed by Beijing,
Manila and four other govern-
ments.
Unless China does what it
says, its words will be doubted
and Filipinos will continue to
look at Beijing with mistrust,
said Lorenzana, a retired army
general. He cited China’s low
trust ratings in local opinion
polls compared to those of the
United States, a treaty ally of
the Philippines.
In a speech in Manila late
Monday to mark the anniver-
sary of the People’s Liberation
Army, Chinese Ambassador
Zhao Jianhua said his country’s
peaceful intent is enshrined in
the Chinese constitution and
that it’s strengthening its mili-
tary “entirely for the purpose of
self-defence.”
“No matter how strong China
may become, China will never
seek hegemony or never estab-
lish spheres of influence,” Zhao
said. “China will remain com-
mitted to serving as a force for
peace, for stability and for pros-
perity in the world.”
Zhao added that “China
adopts a military strategy of
active defence which adheres
to the principle of defence,
self-defence and post-strike
response. Meaning we will not
take the first shot.”
China’s PLA is ready to deep-
en trust with the Philippine
military, he said.
On the long-raging territorial
disputes, Zhao said both sides
should be patient and added
that China would continue
to adopt a policy of peaceful
settlement rather than con-
frontation. Pending a peaceful
resolution, Zhao said both sides
should ensure the disputes
won’t undermine overall rela-
tions.
“We cannot let the 1% differ-
ences hijack the whole 99% of
friendship and co-operation as
DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. JOEY O. RAZON / PNA
hostage,” Zhao said.
As the world’s second-biggest
economy, China upholds free-
dom of navigation and over-
flight because nearly 75 per
cent of its imported and export-
ed goods and nearly 80 per cent
of its imported oil and gas tran-
sit through the South China
Sea, Zhao said. Blocking the sea
lanes would badly hit China’s
economy, he added.
Lorenzana called China’s
takeover of the Scarborough
Shoal following a protracted
2012 standoff as “bullying.”
The United States brokered a
deal for the simultaneous with-
drawal of Chinese and Philip-
pine ships from the vast fish-
ing shoal, but Beijing reneged,
prompting the Philippines to
bring its disputes with China
to international arbitration
the following year, according to
Philippine officials.
The Philippines largely won
the case, with the arbitration
tribunal invalidating in a 2016
ruling China’s historic claims to
virtually the entire South China
Sea based on the 1982 U.N. Con-
vention on the Law of the Sea.
China refused to participate in
the arbitration and ignored the
outcome.
Philippine President Rodrigo
Duterte, who revived ties with
Beijing after taking office in
2016, has refused to immedi-
ately seek Chinese compliance
to the arbitration ruling while
seeking Chinese infrastructure
funds and investment, often
coming under criticism for his
China-friendly approach. ■

Thinking About Your Mortgage?

Think Clear Trust!
Ranked in the Top 10 Mortgage Brokerage Firms in Canada by
Canadian Mortgage Professional 2 years in a row.

Over 120 registered mortgage advisors to serve you with offices

info@cleartrust.ca
in Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, and Toronto.
604.495.8787
Clear Trust is the largest Asian-focussed independent mortgage brokerage firm Independently Owned & Operated
fluent in various languages such as Tagalog, Cantonese, Mandarin, and more!

We provide financing for New Immigrants, First-time home buyers,

Self-Employed, and various Alternative Lending options.

Handa kaming tumulong sa lahat ng inyong home financing needs.

Call us now at mag pa pre-qualify na sa Clear Trust. Sa Clear Trust Mortgages,
we see things from a different point of view…YOURS!

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019 Philippine News 13

China extends P10-M aid for Batanes

BY JOYCE ANN L.
ROCAMORA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The Chinese Em-
bassy in Manila is donating
PHP10 million in humanitarian
aid for quake-hit Batanes.
"The Chinese government
expresses its deepest sympa-
thy and condolences to those
affected families and decided
to donate PHP10 million to aid
the victims and support the
Philippine government in its
efforts to rebuild Batanes and
help local residents return to
normal life," the Embassy said
in a statement on Wednesday.
At least two earthquakes with
magnitude 5.4 and 5.9 struck
several areas in Batanes on July
27.
In its latest report, the Na-
tional Disaster Risk Reduc-
tion and Management Council
(NDRRMC) said at least 2,963
individuals were affected by
the seismic events, a total of
nine were killed and 64 were
injured.
As of July 31, the NDRRMC
also reported a total of PHP47
million worth of damages fol-
lowing the series of earth-
quakes.
"The Embassy of the People’s
Republic of China in the Philip-
pines believes that, under the
strong leadership of President
Rodrigo Roa Duterte and the
government of the Philippines,
the Philippine people will over-
come the disaster and rebuild
their homeland as soon as pos-
sible," the Chinese Embassy
said.
Earlier, China also donated
USD100,000 in emergency hu-
manitarian assistance to the
Philippines following the mag-
nitude 6.1 earthquake that hit
Pampanga on April 22. ■

Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV. SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES / FACEBOOK

Trillanes prepares
to join the academe
BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
AFTER SERVING in the upper
chamber for 12 years, former
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV
is getting ready to teach in the
two well-known universities in
the country.
On Tuesday, July 30, Trillanes
told ANC’s Early Edition that
he is now living a “more relaxed
life” following his Senate stint.
“Right now I’m preparing for
my teacher work these coming
semesters,” he said. The former
lawmaker said he will be teach-
ing public policy subject in the
University of the Philippines
(UP) Diliman and Ateneo de
Manila University (ADMU).
“In Ateneo, the curriculum
or the specific courses that I
would teach is still being delib-
erated,” he added.
Trillanes bared to the pub-
lic his plan to teach subjects
on governance and public pol-
icy in January but during that
time, he had not decided yet
on which school he would be
teaching.
“Well, I’d like to believe na
marami naman tayong masha-
share sa mga kabataan, maitu-
turo sa kanila (that I can share
and teach a lot of things to the
youth),” he told reporters dur-
ing the “Kapihan sa Senado” in
January.
Senator Nancy Binay earlier
offered Trillanes a teaching job,
according to Senator Panfilo
Lacson’s Twitter post.
“Senate camaraderie at its
best in the 17th Congress: Sen
Nancy Binay offered graduat-
ing Sen Trillanes a teaching
job at the University of Makati
(UMak) with 24-hr free park-
ing at the Makati parking lot,
plus free admission to the Ospi-
tal ng Makati and free burial in
the Makati cemetery,” Lacson
tweeted in June.
He, however, clarified in
a text message that Binay’s
teaching post offer to Trillanes
was real but he just added free
parking and burial as a joke.
“Totoo ‘yun pero katuwaan
lang sa [Senate] lounge (It is
true but it was said in jest at the
Senate lounge),” Lacson said,
adding, ”Dagdag ko na lang
‘yung (I just added) free parking
and free burial kasi si (because)
Sen. Trillanes pursued to the
hilt the Senate Investigation
on the UMak and parking lot is-
sues, if you recall.”
Trillanes, meanwhile, con-
firmed getting a “sincere of-
fer” from Binay but he turned
it down.
“I appreciated the sincere of-
fer but I respectfully declined
out of delicadeza. It was truly
nice of her,” he said. ■
Duterte raises reward for
capture of cop killers to P3-M
BY AZER PARROCHA
Philippine News Agency
with me, I said). It will keep on
increasing and the pressure
that goes with it,” Duterte said
ental, binugbog nila, pinagha-
hampas nila tapos pinatay nila.
Sinunog nila parang ISIS. Kaya
in his speech. ako nagalit (The police who
MANILA – The bounty for the The President later quipped were caught there–they were
capture the killers of the four that it would keep increasing held hostage about seven days
police personnel in Sitio Yamot, until PHP20 million and he ago there in Negros Oriental,
Barangay Mabato in Ayungon would ask for the head of just they were beaten up, they were
town, Negros Oriental on July “any leader.” being slapped and then killed.
18 is now at PHP3 million. “Kasi pagkatapos niyan, pag They were burned just like how
President Rodrigo Duterte mag-abot ng PHP20 milyones ISIS would do it. That’s why I
bared that he raised the reward ‘yan, sabihin ko dalhin mo na got angry),” Duterte said.
for the third time during the in- maski anong ulo, basta lider. “Yung pagkamatay ng pulis
auguration of the Candon City (Because after that, if it reaches na pinaghahampas nila, agraby-
Bypass Road in Ilocos Sur on PHP20 million, I’ll say bring ado ako. So galit ako (The death
Thursday (July 25). any head, as long as it’s a lead- of the cops wherein they were
Duterte earlier offered a er’s, bring it here),” he added. beat up, it aggrieved me. So I’m
PHP1 million re- angry),” he add-
ward for the cap- ed.
ture of the killers He said when
but later bared he used to be
that he would I do not allow it because you will mayor of Davao
add PHP300,000 just exacerbate the situation. You City, he himself
to the bounty. will just generate hatred. would retrieve
He said he of- cops and soldiers
fered PHP 2 mil- held hostage,
lion during in his noting that none
closed-door meeting with gov- Duterte, meanwhile, nar- of the members of the NPA
ernors and mayors at the Ma- rated how he was aggrieved were hurt.
nila Hotel on Tuesday (July 23) by the manner by which the “Wala naman kaming sinak-
night, a day after he delivered cops were killed by suspected tan kung ang mag-surrender
his fourth state of the nation ad- members of the New People’s ang mga NPA, ni isang kurot
dress (SONA). Army (NPA), the Communist (We didn’t hurt any NPA sur-
“So the other night I raised Party of the Philippines’ (CPP) renderees, not even one pinch).
the first PHP1 million. Then, armed wing. The military does not allow it,”
the other night I was before the The CPP-NPA is listed as a Duterte said.
governors and mayors, I said terrorist organization by the “I do not allow it because
‘I’m raising it to PHP2 million.’ United States, the European you will just exacerbate the
Now, nandito ako (I’m here), Union, the United Kingdom, situation. You will just generate
I’m raising it to PHP3 million, Australia, Canada, New Zea- hatred. So lahat nang nag-sur-
dalhin mo lang yung ulo ng land, and the Philippines. render doon, nag-leader sa ano
p*****ina, okay na sa akin, sabi “‘Yung pulis na nahuli doon sa (So all those who surrendered
ko ( just bring me the head of — na-hostage nila about seven there), they were treated hu-
that son of a b*tch and it’s okay days ago diyan sa Negros Ori- manely, decently,” he added. ■

www.canadianinquirer.net
14
U.S. House breaks with no new NAFTA tabled
for ratification. Now what?
BY MIKE BLANCHFIELD
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — Canadians will
likely enter a fall election with
the new North American free
trade deal hanging in the bal-
ance, as Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau said Monday he’s not
rushing to ratify the pact in the
face of U.S. political differences.
The Democrat-controlled
U.S. House of Representatives
began its five-week summer
break on Monday without in-
troducing a ratification bill — a
scenario Trump and his cabinet
worked hard to avoid.
The Democrats want changes
to the United States-Mexico-
Canada Agreement, or USMCA.
They want to change provisions
on labour, the environment,
patent protection for drugs and
enforcement, and have by all
accounts been working hard
with Trump’s trade czar Robert
Lighthizer to move forward.
“We recognize that there
is a difficult partisan context
in Washington right now be-
tween the Democrats and the
Republicans. We have said
from the very beginning that
we would keep pace with the
American process on ratifi-
cation of the new NAFTA ac-
cords,” Trudeau said at an
event in Vancouver.
“But we will do that in line
with the American process
when it picks up again this fall.”
Ever-ticking political clocks
in both countries mean U.S.
lawmakers — with one eye to-
wards Trump’s 2020 re-elec-
tion bid — won’t be in a position
Canada News
to take even the most tentative
steps forward on the deal be-
fore the start of Canada’s feder-
al election campaign, which is
set to begin by mid-September
at the latest.
Canadians head to the polls
on Oct. 21.
“I do not see that there will
be a vote on the USMCA imple-
menting bill by the U.S. Con-
gress prior to the writ dropping
for the Canadian election. The
earliest that the USMCA im-
plementing bill could be intro-
duced is Sept. 9 and there likely
will be committed hearings in
both chambers of Congress on
the matter,” said Dan Ujczo,
the Ohio-based trade special-
ist with the firm Dickinson
Wright.
A delay isn’t necessarily a
bad thing, said Meredith Lilly,
a Carleton University trade ex-
pert.
“The existing NAFTA, which
remains in effect, is a better deal
for Canada than the USMCA.
So, the current situation is not a
bad one for Canada, bearing in
mind that ongoing uncertainty
is generally negative for invest-
ment here.”
Trudeau reiterated his gov-
ernment’s position that the
status quo is acceptable. “We of
course benefit right now from
the existing NAFTA that en-
sures that Canadians are well-
served with good and reliable
access to the North American
market.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh
said his party shares key con-
cerns of U.S. Democrats. Both
parties want to strengthen la-
bour enforcement provisions
to ensure Mexico delivers on
its promised reforms of work-
ers’ rights, and they oppose the
extension of patent protection
for some new drugs from eight
years to 10, which would delay
the arrival of less costly generic
products on the market.
“It doesn’t make sense to
rush ahead with something
where we know the Democrats
in Congress are working to
make it better,” Singh said in an
interview Monday.
Trade experts in Canada and
the U.S. are divided on whether
the delays may raise the odds
of Trump invoking the six-
month notice period to with-
draw from NAFTA — a threat
he repeatedly made during the
tense renegotiation of the pact
that he pushed on Canada and
Mexico.
Cyndee Todgham Cherniak,
a Toronto-based international
trade lawyer, said the Demo-
crats are likely to want sub-
stantive changes that could
leave the deal in limbo for many
months. In the meantime, the
www.canadianinquirer.net
Democrats will be sharpening
their talking points on USMCA
to use against Trump in the
2020 U.S. election.
And that could set Trump off,
she said.
“He might say that Prime
Minister Trudeau was not ef-
fective in getting Congress to
pass the USMCA prior to now.
And if they don’t come back
until September, and if the
Democrats want to use this as
a talking point in connection
with the U.S. election, he might
lash out at the Trudeau govern-
ment.”
Trudeau met Democratic
House Leader Nancy Pelosi
on Capitol Hill after his White
House meeting with Trump last
month. Trump, at the time, said
he was pleased Trudeau would
be talking to Democrats.
Lawrence Herman, a Toronto
international trade special-
ist, said it is unlikely Trump
would pull the plug on the new
NAFTA so close to his own elec-
tion campaign because it would
sow economic uncertainty that
wouldn’t benefit him politi-
cally.
“As well, if as many experts
believe, the U.S. is heading into
a period of economic sluggish-
ness, the threat of NAFTA with-
drawal and the uncertainty that
would unleash in the period
leading up to the 2020 election
would probably be a disincen-
tive to Trump embarking on
such a move.”
Ujczo said it is unlikely
Trump would serve notice to
withdraw, but even if he did,
Congress or the courts could
step in to delay that.
“The NAFTA will be in place
through 2019. It is unlikely that
companies will face a scenar-
io where neither the NAFTA
nor USMCA is in place during
2020,” he said.
“The question remains how
much disruption will occur
along the way. The president
seems increasingly unwilling to
threaten his greatest success —
the economy — and that weighs
in favour of no NAFTA with-
drawal.” ■
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019 Canada News 15

International shipping
industry under the microscope
as whale death toll grows
BY MICHAEL MACDONALD
The Canadian Press
HALIFAX — The shipping in-
dustry is under increased scru-
tiny after two cargo ships were
fined for sailing too fast through
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where
the rising death toll among en-
dangered North Atlantic right
whales has been partly blamed
on collisions with vessels.
There have been eight deaths
reported since early June, and
examinations of five of the car-
Chad Allen, the federation’s
director of marine operations,
said it’s important to under-
stand how difficult it is for the
crews of large ships to spot
whales.
Typically, larger commercial
vessels have an officer of the
watch and a lookout posted on
the bridge. Though they usually
enjoy a commanding view of
the seas, it can be easy to miss
right whales when they break
the surface.
“The right whale doesn’t
present a big profile,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the whales
also moved and mostly left
the Bay of Fundy and started
moving into the gulf,” Browne
said.
On Friday, Transport Canada
said it had issued $7,800 speed-
ing fines to two cargo vessels:
the Americaborg, a Dutch con-
tainer ship, and the Atlantic
Spirit, a bulk carrier registered
in Hong Kong.
A third vessel, cited for a
$6,000 fine on July 18, was the
Big Eagle, a 52-metre luxury Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna.
yacht. And a fourth vessel — the CATHERINE MCKENNA / FACEBOOK

casses showed three of them
had injuries consistent with
ship strikes — a leading cause
of death for these rare mam-
mals.
“While the shipping indus-
try has been overwhelmingly
compliant in respecting these
(speed limits), there are still
some exceptions, and Trans-
port Canada is examining all
reported cases of non-compli-
ance,” the department said in a
statement Friday.
Sonia Simard, a spokes-
woman for the Shipping Fed-
eration of Canada, stressed the
industry’s level of compliance
has been impressive, given the
number of vessels that move
through the gulf.
“It is our understanding that
the compliance rate is over
98 per cent for 2019 and was
equally high in 2018,” Simard,
the federation’s director of leg-
islative and environmental af-
fairs, said in an email.
Of the more than 2,200 large
vessels that transited the gulf’s
shipping corridors between
April 28 and July 25, the Ca-
nadian Coast Guard found 227
vessels had exceeded the re-
duced 10-knot speed limit —
but after investigation three
quarters of these cases were
closed without fines.
Simard said many of the ves-
sels flagged by an automated
tracking system had exceeded
the limit by only 0.5 knots or
less.
However, another 48 cases
are under review.
“We know how important it
is,” Simard said in an interview.
“We are dedicated to the best
management measures.”
“It doesn’t have a big dorsal fin.”
As well, when the whales sur-
face to breath, the spray from
their blowholes is often indis-
tinguishable from breaking
waves when the winds exceed
15 kilometres an hour — a com-
mon occurrence on the gulf.
“As the wind picks up, when
they do spray, that spray gets
dissipated very quickly,” said
Allen.
The federation represents 70
shipping businesses in Canada,
which include ship owners, op-
erators and marine agents.
Boris Worm, a biology profes-
sor and well-known whale ex-
pert at Dalhousie University in
Halifax, said marine mammal
experts are aware of the chal-
lenges faced by the shipping
industry.
“Even in good conditions,
when it’s easier to see the
whales, it’s hard to judge which
way the whale is moving,” he
said. “It becomes hard to guess
which way to turn.”
David Browne, director of
conservation with the Canadian
Wildlife Federation, said it may
be time to start talking about
moving the shipping lanes in
the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
“It’s a massive undertak-
ing,” he said. “You have to con-
vince all of the countries of the
world.”
That’s exactly what happened
in late 2002, when the Interna-
tional Maritime Organization
approved Ottawa’s plan to shift
routes in the Bay of Fundy to
reduce collisions with right
whales. The altered lanes force
ships to divert several kilome-
tres around zones where right
whales are known to gather.
bulk carrier Milos Warrior —
was “sanctioned” on May 30 for
an alleged infraction on Nov. 3.
Allen said even if a whale
is spotted before a collision,
avoiding the slow-moving ani-
mals can be tough.
“A ship is similar to a car on
ice — once you start the turn, it
may not take immediately,” he
said.
Worm said other whales, in-
cluding fin and blue whales, are
fast enough to avoid most ships
— but right whales are bulky
and slow, which is why whalers
decided long ago they were the
“right” whales to kill.
And even though they have
good long-range hearing, the
excessive engine noise in ship-
ping lanes can leave them con-
fused.
“Imagine yourself standing
on a highway with your eyes
closed and you’re trying to
cross the highway — you’ll get
more nervous as you hear more
noise,” Worm said. “This is the
situation the whales face.”
Though commercial vessels
are typically equipped with ra-
dar for navigation, that technol-
ogy is designed to detect metal
objects with sharp angles, not
the rounded, blubbery bodies
of right whales.
Sonar uses underwater sound
waves instead of radio waves to
detect objects, but there are
concerns this technology could
have an impact on the whales’
communication and naviga-
tion.
“It’s not just an issue of cost,”
said Simard. “It’s a mix of re-
search and development … in
the context of the biology of the
whales.” ■
Deadline coming:
Scientists tell
environment
minister to speed
up conservation
BY BOB WEBER
The Canadian Press
SOME OF North America’s top
conservation scientists have
written to the federal govern-
ment urging it to speed up land
protection in Canada.
The 32 scientists from 23
universities and other orga-
nizations say Ottawa is not on
pace to meet the 2020 conser-
vation targets it promised in an
international agreement. The
letter, addressed to federal En-
vironment Minister Catherine
McKenna, also warns the gov-
ernment not to include in its
totals land that’s protected by
provincial regulations or infor-
mal agreements instead of ac-
tual legislation.
“The natural world is telling
us through all the indicators
that we need to speed up the
rate of protection if we’re going
to have any chance of slowing
and stopping this decline,” said
Jeff Wells of the Audubon So-
ciety, who signed the letter and
speaks for his colleagues.
Canada has promised to con-
serve 17 per cent of its lands and
water by 2020 under the Con-
vention on Biological Diversity,
an international treaty ratified
by all UN members except the
U.S. Just months before the
deadline, Canada stands at 11.2
per cent.
The letter encourages the
government to turn to First Na-
tions for help. It says so-called
Indigenous protected areas
— land set aside from develop-
ment and managed by local
First Nations — are the fastest
way forward.
“With a large country like
Canada, that means you have to
have some very large protected
areas,” Wells said. “The federal
government has made some of
the biggest investments in his-
tory trying to move forward,
but it’s still going to take some
very big landscapes to reach
that goal.
“As far as we could see, the
only way to do that is support
the Indigenous proposals for
protected areas.”
A federal spokeswoman said
❱❱ PAGE 17 Scientists tell

www.canadianinquirer.net
16
Government ‘didn’t care’ about reducing
emissions: Inside Quebec’s green fund
BY GIUSEPPE VALIANTE
The Canadian Press
MONTREAL — When Ljiljana
Latkovic was named to the
council governing Quebec’s
multibillion-dollar green fund
in 2017, she thought she was
going to use her science back-
ground to help choose proj-
ects aimed at fighting climate
change.
Instead, Latkovic said she
and the eight other council
members were asked to sign
off on proposals whose financ-
ing had already been approved
by various government depart-
ments.
Moreover, she said, in the
case of many projects they were
approving, councillors had no
idea how the projects were ac-
tually going to reduce emis-
sions of the greenhouse gases,
such as carbon dioxide, that
trap heat in the atmosphere,
causing global temperatures to
rise.
“My opinion is that the (envi-
ronment) ministry didn’t care
about the reductions,” Latkovic
said in a recent interview.
Quebec’s green fund was cre-
ated in 2006 as a way of collect-
ing billions in revenues — in
large part from the province’s
version of a carbon tax — and
redistributing the money to-
wards initiatives to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
But the so-called green fund
has been widely criticized as a
boondoggle.
Quebec’s new environment
minister, Benoit Charette, is
promising reform, but he has a
colossal task ahead of him. The
province’s past mistakes high-
light the difficulties of manag-
ing a multibillion-dollar fund
to which various government
departments have access.
Instead of promoting proj-
Canada News
Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette. BENOIT CHARETTE / FACEBOOK
ects with strict greenhouse gas
emission targets, the fund be-
came a buffet for the pet proj-
ects of various ministers, Cha-
rette said.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Cha-
rette said in an interview when
asked whether the fund was be-
ing misused. “Certain depart-
ments helped themselves to
the fund, so to speak, without a
guarantee of results on invest-
ments. And the previous gov-
ernment let this phenomenon
go on like that, which made
things even more deplorable.”
Charette said despite the bil-
lions of dollars collected since
2006, the reduction in green-
house gases “was very small
across the projects that were
financed.”
Quebec collects hundreds of
millions of dollars every year
from a carbon credit cap-and-
trade system. Companies that
emit high amounts of green-
house gases are legally forced
to purchase the right to release
those gases into the atmo-
sphere. Quebec sells emissions
credits four times a year at auc-
tion.
Since its inception, almost
$5.5 billion has been poured
into the fund. And from the be-
ginning, the program has been
mismanaged, according to sev-
eral reports from the province’s
auditor general.
Various government depart-
ments used money in the fund
to finance projects without
calls for proposals or without
specific criteria to evaluate
greenhouse gas emissions re-
ductions, the auditor general
concluded.
In its 2019 report, the audi-
tor general’s office said “nearly
five years after the publication
of our initial audit report on the
green fund, we can only be dis-
appointed with this situation.”
News reports over the years
have indicated millions have
been given to major oil compa-
nies and airlines for projects
with dubious greenhouse gas
reduction targets. Maple syrup
www.canadianinquirer.net
producers received hundreds of
thousands of dollars to replace
evaporation equipment. Mil-
lions more dollars were given
to taxi companies to help them
adapt their vehicles for disabled
people.
A spokesperson for the Lib-
erals, the party that created the
fund and managed it until they
lost power last year, did not
make anyone available to re-
spond to the criticism.
Following harshly worded
reports on the fund’s gover-
nance by the auditor general,
then-premier Philippe Couil-
lard in 2016 created the council
to oversee the distribution of
money. But Latkovic said that
most of the time, her job con-
sisted of rubber-stamping proj-
ects chosen by other depart-
ments.
The council chose about 10
to 15 per cent of the projects
that received financing, she
said, while the rest were pre-
approved elsewhere in the gov-
ernment. “We wanted to know
AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY
what we were signing for,”
Latkovic said. “And some of
the members wanted to resign
because they didn’t know what
was going on.”
Charette backed up Latkov-
ic’s comments.
“It’s unfortunately true,” he
said. “It’s really what was hap-
pening. We had a situation
where the fund wasn’t being
used to its potential. There was
confusion regarding respon-
sibilities. It’s what we want to
correct.”
In June, Charette announced
reforms he said would ensure
the fund fulfills its mandate.
First, the green fund is getting a
new name. It will now be called
the “electrification and climate
change fund.”
Instead of the governing
council on which Latkovic sits,
Charette says the new fund will
have a “committee of experts”
who will oversee how money is
distributed. Their reports will
be public, he promised.
The fund will now be fully
under the Environment De-
partment, Charette said, and
its minister will be account-
able. “In the future if there is a
management problem we won’t
need multiple searches to find
out who is responsible,” he said.
Finally, Charette said, the
auditor general’s office will be
tasked with producing an an-
nual report on the fund’s gover-
nance. “We consider this public
money so it’s important that it’s
properly managed,” he said.
But Latkovic, who has a mas-
ter’s degree in geological and
earth sciences, said the fund
has been a lost opportunity.
“It’s sad (the council) didn’t
work as it should have,” Lat-
kovic said. “Because it was a
good thing, and I thought they
were really going to care and
do something about climate
change.” ■
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019
Activists should be allowed to speak on behalf
of animals in court, lawyer argues
BY MICHELLE MCQUIGGE
The Canadian Press
TORONTO — A retired Toronto
lawyer has gone to court in a bid
to secure the right for advocates
to speak up on behalf of animals
in legal settings.
The case began earlier this
year when Sandra Schnurr filed
a notice of application against
five retail giants selling glue
traps, or devices commonly
used to catch rodents.
Schnurr argued that the traps
subject mice and rats to agoniz-
ing, prolonged deaths and filed
an application seeking to ban
Canadian Tire, Walmart, Home
Depot, Home Hardware and
Lowe’s from selling them.
The retailers, in turn, filed
a motion to dismiss Schnurr’s
complaint on the grounds that
she did not have standing to
bring such a matter before the
courts.
But Schnurr argued that the
rules surrounding who has the
right to speak on various legal
issues have been relaxing and
animal rights advocates should
be permitted a voice in Cana-
da’s courtrooms.
The issue of standing was ar-
gued before Ontario Superior
Court Justice Lorne Sossin last
Federal lawyers...
❰❰ 18 ways make a process
better,” Lametti told
reporters in Halifax.
“Obviously, I have a great deal
of sympathy for Dr. Diab and for
his family and for what they went
through — nobody wants to see
anybody sit in prison in a foreign
country for that period of time
waiting for their case to be tried.”
Lametti’s predecessor, for-
mer justice minister Jody
Wilson-Raybould, ordered the
review in May 2018. She asked
for the investigation to focus
on whether the Extradition Act
was followed in Diab’s case and
if there are specific concerns
that need to be addressed with
regard to Canada’s extradition
treaty with France.
The findings of the external
review were made public at a
time when Canada’s extradi-
tion law is under intense inter-
week and should be decided in
the coming months.
Schnurr said questions
around standing need to be re-
solved before her original no-
tice about glue traps can pro-
ceed. If standing is granted, she
said the case will have struck a
blow for animal rights regard-
less of the outcome of the origi-
nal complaint.
“If we succeed at this stage,
even if we ultimately lose on
the glue trap issue, the fact that
we will have succeeded in get-
ting public interest standing
to speak for animals would be
huge,” Schnurr said in a tele-
phone interview.
Lawyers representing the
retailers did not respond to a
request for comment, though
their objections to Schnurr’s
case are outlined in a factum
brought before the court.
In addition to arguing
Schnurr’s motion represents
an “abuse of process” that
should be dismissed out of
hand, the retailers’ factum sug-
gests Schnurr and the advocacy
group she founded do not have
enough at stake to merit a say
on the issue.
The factum said Schnurr,
founder of a group known as
Canadians for Animal Protec-
tion, has not suffered any di-
national scrutiny, following the
December arrest of senior Hua-
wei executive Meng Wanzhou
in Vancouver at the behest of
the United States.
Meng’s arrest angered China
and Canada now finds itself en-
tangled in a diplomatic crisis
with the Asian superpower. In
the days after Meng’s arrest,
Chinese authorities detained
two Canadians on allegations of
espionage.
The Trudeau government
has repeatedly insisted Meng
will be dealt with fairly and
transparently by an indepen-
dent judiciary. The prime min-
ister has called China’s arrests
of Canadians Michael Kovrig
and Michael Spavor arbitrary.
Lametti said each extradition
case is unique and dealt with ac-
cording to the treaty with the
country that makes the request. ■
rect wrong from the sale of glue
traps and should therefore not
be granted standing.
The retailers also state that
members of the public did not
have the right to try to enforce
criminal law, arguing such mat-
ters are the exclusive purview
of an attorney general and cit-
ing past case law to support
their position.
But Schnurr argued more re-
cent cases suggest that position
may be relaxing and courts are
willing to take a broader view of
Scientists tell...
❰❰ 15 the Liberal govern-
ment has added more
than 130,000 square
kilometres of protected areas.
Bronwen Jervis said the gov-
ernment’s Challenge Fund,
which provides $175 million
in matching grants for conser-
vation projects, has received
many Indigenous applications.
“We want to move forward
on projects as quickly as pos-
sible and are working with our
provincial and territorial part-
ners,” she said in an email. “We
hope that provincial and terri-
torial partners will help these
projects go ahead.”
The first such Indigenous
protected area — Edehzhie, a
14,000 square kilometre pla-
teau between the Mackenzie
River and Great Slave Lake —
was created last fall. But Wells
said similar opportunities exist
www.canadianinquirer.net
Canada News
public interest standing.
Schnurr particularly refer-
enced a September 2012 Su-
preme Court of Canada deci-
sion that granted standing to a
group of advocates represent-
ing sex workers in Vancouver’s
Downtown East Side.
The federal government had
argued the group and a previ-
ous sex worker named in the
case had no standing to chal-
lenge the country’s prostitution
laws, since they were not facing
charges under those laws them-
almost everywhere in the coun-
try.
Ontario’s Moose Creek First
Nation has been trying for years
to protect 5,000 square kilome-
tres in the North French River
watershed. Yukon First Na-
tions would like to do the same
with the Peel River region.
Several British Columbia
bands have already established
protected areas under their
own laws that have yet to be
recognized by the province or
Ottawa.
“Every province has a whole
set of Indigenous proposals
for protected areas of differ-
ent sorts,” Wells said. “There’s
a huge number of them and
they’re the only way you could
ever get close to that 17 per cent
goal.”
The letter warns that scien-
tists will be watching to ensure
17
selves. The Supreme Court
unanimously rejected that ar-
gument and granted them legal
standing.
Schnurr said the court should
take a similar approach in On-
tario by granting standing to
those wishing to speak up on
behalf of those who cannot rep-
resent themselves.
“Obviously the court is un-
able to obtain the point of view
of those most directly affected
in the instant case, for the self-
evident reason that rats and
mice…cannot come to court
and speak for themselves,” she
said. “The applicants, who are
dedicated to advocating for
these voiceless creatures, are
the next best choice.”
Schnurr said those seeking
public interest standing must
meet three criteria by demon-
strating they’re raising a genu-
ine issue of justice, have a real
stake or interest in the subject,
and using court resources prop-
erly by raising an issue that
can be reasonably and effec-
tively addressed in that setting.
Schnurr’s factum said animal
rights advocates meet all three
criteria.
Sossin has reserved his deci-
sion in the case, though no date
has yet been set. ■
the protected lands that get
counted toward the goal are ac-
tually protected.
It’s the provinces that list
conserved areas and report
them to Ottawa. Wells said
some have tried to include
lands that aren’t protected by
legislation, but only by a regu-
lation or an agreement with a
resource company.
“The truth is they could be
changed with a change in the
ownership of a company or a
provincial government,” said
Wells. “They’re not things that
are set in stone the way protect-
ed areas are.”
It’s not clear how Ottawa will
assess the inventories provided
by the provinces, he said.
“There could be an attempt
to squeeze some things in there
that aren’t completely appro-
priate.” ■
18 Canada News AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY

Federal lawyers broke

OM DURGA SHAKTI no rules in Hassan Diab
ASTROLOGER
extradition case, review finds
BY ANDY BLATCHFORD man-rights groups have been urging the
The Canadian Press federal government to hold a full public
inquiry into his case and to reform the
Extradition Act to ensure others aren’t
OTTAWA — An external review of the caught in the same situation.
extradition of Ottawa academic Hassan In his report, Segal wrote how Diab’s
Diab has concluded that federal lawyers long detention in France and eventual
on the case did their jobs ethically and return to Canada “sparked widespread
within the law. debate about both his treatment and

MASTER
Murray Segal, a former deputy attor- Canada’s extradition process.”
ney general in Ontario, wrote that Cana- Segal said many concerns have centred

SAI PRAKASH
da’s extradition law is largely misunder- on how Diab’s extradition was carried out
stood and the system could work better despite the weak case presented by French
— but that nobody who worked on Diab’s authorities, and that he was detained for
extradition broke the rules. three-plus years there before returning to
The 126-page document, presented Canada without ever standing trial.
International & Special Astrologer to the federal government in May, was Critics, he added, have also said the
made public Friday. It examines whether process “favours prompt compliance”
KNOW YOUR PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE government lawyers in the Department with Canada’s obligations to its inter-
of Justice (DOJ) and its “international national partners over the protection
PALM READING - FACE READING - HOROSCOPE assistance group” (IAG) behaved proper- of individual rights of those targeted for
ly in building and presenting the case for extradition.
He Is Specialized In Removing All Type Of Negative Energy, Black Magic, Voodoo, Obiya, Enemy Jealousy, Diab to be sent to France on accusations Segal pointed out that an extradition
Witchcraft, Buttu, Jadoo, Tona Curses, Bad Luck, Evil Things, Bad Spirits, He Gives 100% Immediate Protection related to a 1980 synagogue bombing. hearing is not a trial, and that the pro-
“I have concluded that none of the ceedings are intended to be “fair but ex-
criticisms lodged against the DOJ coun- peditious.”
Business Work Money Love Problem Court Case sel have any merit,” Segal wrote. “My He listed 14 recommendations that
conclusion that DOJ counsel acted in include:
Depression Enemy Sexual Drinking Jealousy
a manner that was ethical and consis- — Making an effort to create a buffer be-
Visa Children Problem tent — both with the tween the DOJ lawyer,
law and IAG prac- acting on behalf of the
tices and policies — is requesting state, and
I Solemnly Promise To Help Everyone, Who Comes To Me. Your Worries Ends Here.
based on a firm fac- the IAG lawyer re-
tual foundation.” I have concluded sponsible for advising
BUSINESS INVESTMENTS JOB The department’s that none of the the government
international assis- criticisms lodged — Encouraging
HUSBAND - WIFE HOME PROTECT tance group reviews against the DOJ states seeking extra-
EDUCATION NEGATIVITY and co-ordinates all counsel have any ditions to complete
extradition requests. merit. their investigations
CHILDLESS COUPLE FUTURE LIFE Segal noted that the related to the people
FAMILY ARGUMENTS EVIL AFFECTS scope of his mandate in question before
focused on Diab’s case, making requests un-
LOVED ONES SICKNESS and did not include a less public-safety
LOVE ISSUES HOROSCOPE broader examination of the Extradition worries demand quicker action
Act or extradition law in Canada. — Considering making more extra-
French authorities suspected Diab dition-related information available

100% 100%
was involved in the Paris synagogue to the public. The suggestions include
bombing that killed four people and in- sharing statistics about extradition re-
RESULT GUARANTEED REMOVE OF WITCHCRAFT, BLACK jured dozens of others. Diab has always quests made and received by Canada;
GIVE LIFE LONG PROTECTION MAGIC & EVIL THINGS PERMANENTLY
denied the accusation. the policies and procedures guiding de-
The RCMP arrested him in 2008 fol- cisions within the IAG; the factors that
lowing a request by French authorities. a minister will weigh before making a
ALL RELIGIONS WALK-INS Diab, who is a Canadian citizen, was sent decision to surrender an individual; all
WELCOME WELCOME to France six years later despite an On- summaries of surrender decisions.
tario judge’s acknowledgment that the Shortly after Segal’s report was made
OPEN 7 DAYS 10AM - 8PM case against him was weak. public Friday, Justice Minister David
French judges eventually dismissed Lametti said he is studying the recom-
ALL READING ARE PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL the allegations against Diab in January mendations on how to improve Canada’s
2018, after he spent years imprisoned extradition process, and how to make
SPECIALIST IN BRINGING BACK LOVED ONES... there. Diab returned to Canada that it more transparent and more under-
CALL FOR APPOINTMENT - PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL same month. standable for the public.

604-902-2149
Last fall, however, a French appeal “There are certainly recommenda-
court ordered a fresh review of evidence tions there that will help — you can al-
in the case and a ruling has yet to be made.
Diab, his lawyer, academics and hu- ❱❱ PAGE 17 Federal lawyers

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019
Johnson presses EU to give way amid no deal
Brexit warnings
BY JILL LAWLESS
AND DANICA KIRKA
The Associated Press
LONDON — Prime Minister Boris John-
son pushed Britain closer to a no-deal
exit from the European Union on Mon-
day, insisting he will not hold Brexit
talks with EU leaders unless the bloc
lifts its refusal to reopen the existing di-
vorce deal.
Johnson is trying to pressure the EU
to give ground by intensifying prepara-
tions for the U.K. to leave in three months
without a withdrawal agreement.
But the pound fell to a two-year low as
business groups warned that neither Brit-
ain nor the EU is ready for a no-deal Brex-
it, and that no amount of preparation can
eliminate the economic damage if Britain
crashes out of the 28-nation trading bloc
without agreement on the terms.
Johnson became prime minister last
week after winning a Conservative Par-
ty leadership contest by promising the
strongly pro-Brexit party membership
that the U.K. will leave the EU on the
scheduled date of Oct. 31, with or with-
out a divorce deal.
The EU struck a withdrawal agreement
with Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa
May, but it was rejected three times by
Britain’s Parliament. Johnson is insist-
ing the bloc make major changes to May’s
spurned deal, including scrapping an in-
surance policy for the Irish border that
has been rejected by U.K. lawmakers.
“The withdrawal agreement is dead,
it’s got to go,” Johnson said Monday as
he visited a submarine base in Scotland.
“But there is scope to do a new deal.”
He said he was “very confident” of get-
ting a new agreement, even though Britain
is due to leave the EU in less than 100 days,
and the EU insists it won’t reopen negotia-
tions or remove the border “backstop.”
Johnson has spoken to several EU lead-
ers by phone since he took office but has
no meetings scheduled. His spokeswoman,
Alison Donnelly, said he would not agree to
negotiations unless the bloc lifts its refusal
to change the withdrawal agreement.
“He remains confident that the EU
will stop claiming that the withdrawal
agreement can’t be changed,” she said.
If they don’t, she added, “we must as-
sume there will be no deal on the 31st of
October.”
Before he took office, Johnson said
the odds of Britain leaving the EU with-
out a deal were a million to one.
At one point Monday, the pound had
fallen by nearly 1.5% to trade at $1.2214,
its lowest level since March 2017.
The pound’s woes illustrate concerns
in the markets over a no-deal Brexit.
Economists warn that leaving the bloc
World News 19
without an agreement on terms would
disrupt trade by imposing tariffs and
customs checks between Britain and the
bloc. The British government’s financial
watchdog says that could send the value
of the pound plummeting further and
push the U.K. into recession.
The Confederation of British Industry,
the country’s biggest business lobby group,
urged both Britain and the EU to accelerate
Brexit preparations. It made 200 recom-
mendations, including new laws, new IT
systems and agreements to temporarily
maintain some common regulations.
But it said “the unprecedented nature
of Brexit means some aspects cannot be British PM Boris Johnson. BORIS JOHNSON / FACEBOOK
mitigated.”
“It’s like putting sandbags down for The new prime minister met Monday Sturgeon, who leads the semi-auton-
a flood. Your kitchen’s still going to be with Scottish Conservative leader Ruth omous Edinburgh-based government,
underwater but maybe we can save the Davidson, who says she won’t support says Scotland should hold a vote on in-
bedrooms upstairs,” said the group’s leaving the EU without an agreement. dependence from the U.K. if it is dragged
head of EU negotiations, Nicole Sykes. While the U.K. as a whole voted to out of the EU against its will.
Another warning came from French leave the EU in 2016, Scotland backed After the meeting Sturgeon said John-
automaker PSA, which said it could remaining by a large margin. son had “set the U.K. on an almost-inev-
move production of its Vauxhall Astra Johnson was booed by pro-EU and itable path to a no-deal Brexit.”
model out of Britain if Brexit makes it pro-independence demonstrators as he “And I think that is extremely danger-
unprofitable. Chief executive Carlos arrived for a meeting with Scottish First ous for Scotland, indeed for the whole of
Tavares told the Financial Times that Minister Nicola Sturgeon in Edinburgh. the U.K.,” she said. ■
would mean closing Vauxhall’s Elles-
mere Port plant in Wales, which em-
ploys 1,000 people.
Johnson, contradicting the opinion of
most experts, has said leaving without a
divorce deal will be “vanishingly inex-
pensive” if Britain is properly prepared.
He says he will “turbo-charge” plans
for a no-deal Brexit — including beefed-
up border measures and a multimillion-
pound information campaign for indi- Are you an
viduals and businesses — and has set up Internationally
a bodies including a high-level Cabinet
“exit strategy committee” to oversee Trained Professional
preparations. in need of financial
However, he faces strong resistance
from Parliament, which has consistent- support for your
ly opposed a no-deal Brexit. Foreign Credential
Beyond Brexit, Johnson has made
ambitious domestic policy promises, Recognition?
including more money for police and
schools, and major infrastructure proj-
For more information contact:
ects including high-speed trains.
But independent think-tank the In- 778-372-6609
stitute for Government said in a report globaltalentloans@issbc.org
issbc.org/globaltalentloans
that the effects of a no-deal Brexit would
consume much of the government’s en- Global Talent Loans program
ergy for years, pushing out other issues is delivered in partnership with
and sucking up large sums of money. Funded in part by the Government
“Rather than ‘turbo-charging’ the
of Canada’s Foreign Credential
Recognition Program
economy, as Johnson has suggested, the
government is more likely to be occu-
pied with providing money and support
to businesses and industries that have
not prepared or are worst affected by a
no-deal Brexit,” it said.
Johnson’s hard line may be popular
with Conservative Party members, but
Global Talent Loans Program
it is strongly opposed by pro-EU Britons,
including some members of his own party.
www.canadianinquirer.net
20
Senate bows to Trump vetoes, allows Saudi arms sales
BY MATTHEW DALY
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Senate
failed Monday in a bid to over-
ride a trio of vetoes issued by
President Donald Trump, al-
lowing the administration to
move forward with plans to sell
billions of dollars of weapons
to Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates.
Trump’s decision to sell the
weapons in a way that would
have bypassed congressional
review infuriated lawmakers
from both parties. In a biparti-
san pushback, Democrats and
Republicans banded together
to pass resolutions blocking the
$8.1 billion weapons sales to the
U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf.
Votes to override Trump’s
vetoes failed, 45-40, 45-39 and
46-41. A two-thirds vote was
needed in each case.
The White House argued
that stopping the sales would
send a signal that the United
States doesn’t stand by its part-
ners and allies, particularly at
a time when threats from hos-
tile countries such as Iran are
increasing. Saudi Arabia has
long been a regional rival to
Iran. Its strategic importance
has grown as tensions with Iran
have mounted after Trump uni-
laterally withdrew the U.S. from
a 2015 accord that restricts the
Iranian nuclear program.
The Senate votes came as the
House Oversight Committee
released a report criticizing the
Trump administration over its
apparent willingness to allow
the president’s friends and al-
lies undue influence over U.S.
policy toward Saudi Arabia.
New documents obtained
Ethiopia plants more than 200 million trees in 1 day
BY ELIAS MESERET
The Associated Press
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA —
Ethiopians planted more than
200 million trees on Monday,
which officials stated will be a
world record. The ambitious
initiative of Prime Minister
Abiy Ahmed aims to help re-
store the country’s landscape
which experts say is fast being
eroded by deforestation and
World News
by the committee “raise seri-
ous questions about whether
the White House is willing to
place the potential profits of
the president’s friends above
the national security of the
American people and the uni-
versal objective of preventing
the spread of nuclear weapons,”
the report said.
The report “exposes how cor-
porate and foreign interests are
using their unique access to ad-
vocate for the transfer of U.S.
nuclear technology to Saudi
Arabia,” said Rep. Elijah Cum-
mings of Maryland, the panel’s
Democratic chairman.
Cummings, who has repeat-
edly targeted the Trump ad-
ministration in a series of in-
vestigations, came under sharp
attack from Trump this week-
end, when the president called
the congressman’s district a
“disgusting, rat and rodent in-
fested mess” where “no human
being would want to live.”
The 50-page Oversight re-
port, released Monday, says
Trump’s longtime personal
friend, campaign donor and
inaugural chairman, Tom Bar-
rack, negotiated directly with
Trump and other White House
officials to seek positions with-
in the administration, includ-
ing special envoy to the Middle
East and ambassador to the
United Arab Emirates.
At the same time, Barrack
was promoting the interests
of U.S. corporations seeking
to profit from the transfer of
nuclear technology to Saudi
Arabia; advocating on behalf
of foreign interests seeking to
obtain U.S. nuclear technology;
and taking steps for his own
company, Colony NorthStar, to
profit from the proposals, the
climate change.
The state-affiliated Fana
Broadcasting Corporate an-
nounced more than 224 million
trees were planted on Monday,
surpassing the initial goal of
200 million trees planted in
one day.
“Today Ethiopia is set in our
attempt to break the world re-
cord together for a green lega-
cy,” the prime minister’s office
tweeted on Monday morning.
Early Monday, Abiy planted
US Pres. Donald Trump. GAGE SKIDMORE / FLICKR, CC BY-SA 2.0
report said.
One of the companies leading
an effort to build nuclear plants
in Saudi Arabia, IP3 Interna-
tional, repeatedly pressed the
Trump administration not to
require Saudi Arabia to commit
to a rigorous “gold standard”
in any agreement with the U.S.,
complaining it would lock them
out of lucrative nuclear con-
tracts, the report said.
IP3 officials had “unprec-
edented access” to the highest
levels of the Trump administra-
tion, including meetings with
Trump, his son-in-law Jared
Kushner and Cabinet Secretar-
ies Rick Perry, Steven Mnuchin,
Mike Pompeo, Rex Tillerson,
James Mattis and Wilbur Ross,
trees in Ethiopia’s southern re-
gion.
Ethiopia is in the midst of
a tree planting campaign in
which it aims to plant 4 billion
trees between May and Octo-
ber. Agriculture officials stated
that so far more than 2.6 billion
trees have been planted in al-
most all parts of the East Afri-
can nation.
According to Farm Africa, an
organization involved in forest
management in Ethiopia, less
www.canadianinquirer.net
the report said.
The report also criticized
the White House for refusing
to produce any documents in
the investigation and said com-
munications obtained from
outside sources indicate that
Kushner and other officials
used personal email or text ac-
counts to communicate about
Saudi-related deals.
The private communications
appear to violate White House
policy and the Presidential Re-
cords Act, the report said.
The White House did not re-
spond to requests for comment
Monday.
A spokesman for Barrack said
he has been co-operating with
the Oversight panel and provid-
than 4% of the country’s land
is now forested, a sharp decline
from around 30% at the end
of the 19th century. Ethiopia’s
rapidly growing population and
the need for more farmlands,
unsustainable forest use and
climate change are often cited
as the causes for rapid defores-
tation.
In addition to ordinary Ethi-
opians, various international
organizations and the busi-
ness community have joined
AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY
ed documents the committee
requested.
The spokesman, Owen Blick-
silver, said Barrack’s invest-
ments and business activities
are well known and are intend-
ed to “better align” Middle East
and U.S. objectives. Barrack has
never served in the Trump ad-
ministration.
The Trump administration
has approved seven applica-
tions for U.S. companies to
sell nuclear power technology
and assistance to Saudi Arabia.
Lawmakers from both parties
have expressed concerns that-
Saudi Arabia could develop nu-
clear weapons if the U.S. tech-
nology is transferred without
proper safeguards.
Congress is increasingly un-
easy with the close relation-
ship between the Trump ad-
ministration and Saudi Arabia.
Trump has made the kingdom a
centerpiece of his foreign poli-
cy in the Middle East as he tries
to further isolate Iran. In the
process, Trump has brushed
off criticism over the killing of
journalist Jamal Khashoggi and
the Saudis’ role in the war in Ye-
men.
“From the start, this admin-
istration has failed to demon-
strate what kind of national
security threat or quote-un-
quote ‘emergency’ from Iran
warranted fast-tracking the
sale of these weapons to Saudi
Arabia and the U.A.E.,” said
Sen. Bob Menendez of New
Jersey, the top Democrat on
the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee.
The pending sale “not only is
a Saudi jobs program, it is also a
give-away of sensitive U.S. mili-
tary technology,” Menendez
said. ■
the tree planting spree which
aims to overtake India’s 66 mil-
lion trees planting record set in
2017.
It is not yet clear if the Guin-
ness World Records is monitor-
ing Ethiopia’s the mass planting
scheme but the prime minis-
ter’s office told The Associated
Press that specially developed
software is helping with the
count. ■
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019
Putin foe sent Sailing to America: Teen to
back to jail after bring her climate activism to US
suspected poisoning
BY NATALIYA VASILYEVA
The Associated Press
MOSCOW — Russian opposi-
tion leader Alexei Navalny was
discharged from a hospital
Monday even though his phy-
sician raised suspicions of a
possible poisoning after he suf-
fered facial swelling and a rash
while in jail.
Details about Navalny’s con-
dition were scarce after he was
rushed to a hospital Sunday
with what authorities said was a
suspected allergy attack inside
a detention facility where he
was serving a 30-day sentence
for calling an unsanctioned
protest. The 43-year-old po-
litical foe of President Vladimir
Putin was arrested several days
before a major opposition rally
Saturday that ended with near-
ly 1,400 people detained.
Tensions are running high in
Moscow as dozens of protesters
remained in custody and the
opposition called for a new rally
next weekend.
Dr. Anastasiya Vasilyeva, who
has been Navalny’s physician
for several years, told reporters
that the politician had been dis-
charged from the hospital and
sent back to the detention facil-
ity before the necessary tests
were run on him.
Doctors at the hospital ini-
tially said that Navalny was
taken in with a severe allergy
attack, but Vasilyeva said that
the swelling and the rash on his
face could be consistent with
chemical poisoning. The phy-
sician said the incarceration
would jeopardize Navalny’s
health.
“He has not fully recovered.
He should have been left un-
der medical supervision,” she
told reporters outside the hos-
pital, adding that the doctors
didn’t even try to determine
what caused the swelling and
rash. “Who is going to watch
over him at the detention facil-
ity? They are not qualified to
provide him with professional
help.”
Vasilyeva expressed concern
that the chemical agent that
caused the outbreak could still
be in his prison cell.
Navalny’s attorney, Olga
Mikhailova, told reporters ear-
lier the outbreak was caused
by “poisoning, by some kind of
chemical substance” but that
its source wasn’t established.
She said he has been given anti-
inflammatory steroids and that
the swelling subsided.
The source of the allergic re-
action or poisoning wasn’t im-
mediately clear. But Navalny
ally Leonid Volkov complained
Sunday about “anti-sanitary
conditions” at the detention
facility where he also had been
detained before.
Navalny, a lawyer and anti-
corruption activist, has been
the Kremlin’s most formidable
foe since 2011, when he led a
massive wave of protests of Pu-
tin and his party. He has since
been convicted on two sets of
criminal charges, largely re-
garded as politically motivated,
and spent numerous stints in
jail for disturbing public order
and leading unsanctioned pro-
tests.
He has been attacked sev-
eral times. In 2017, an assailant
doused him with a green anti-
septic, and Navalny sustained
a chemical burn in one of his
eyes, which left to a partial loss
of vision. Navalny was able to
travel abroad for treatment.
Baton-wielding police on Sat-
urday wrestled with protesters
in what might have been the
largest unsanctioned protest
in Russia in a decade. Opposi-
tion activists as well as ordi-
nary Muscovites took to the
streets to vent their anger over
officials’ decision to exclude a
dozen independent candidates
from the ballot for an upcoming
election of the Moscow city leg-
islature, which is dominated by
the ruling, pro-Kremlin party.
Andrei Pertsev of the Mos-
cow Carnegie Center said in
an opinion piece last week that
the Kremlin was not going to
allow opposition candidates on
the ballot from the start, fear-
ing their presence in the lo-
cal council, however low-key,
could give them a platform for
campaigning for the next par-
liamentary election.
❱❱ PAGE 22 Putin foe
21
BY DAVID KEYTON
AND FRANK JORDANS
The Associated Press
STOCKHOLM — Greta Thun-
berg, the Swedish teenager
whose social media-savvy
brand of eco-activism has in-
spired tens of thousands of stu-
dents in Europe to skip classes
and protest for faster action
against climate change, said
Monday that she plans to take
her message to America the
old-fashioned way: by boat.
The 16-year-old tweeted that
she’ll sail across the Atlantic
aboard a high-tech racing yacht,
leaving Britain next month to
attend U.N. climate summits
in New York in September and
Santiago, Chile, in December. Greta Thunberg in Berlin in July. @GRETATHUNBERG / TWITTER
Thunberg told The Associ-
ated Press ahead of her an- Thunberg’s efforts and encour- Thunberg has spearheaded a
nouncement that she spent aged her to continue campaign- change in the climate debate in
months trying to figure out how ing. Europe largely because her ac-
to travel to the U.S. without us- Although little-known in the tivism resonated with so many
ing planes, which she has long United States, Thunberg has children, said Greenpeace Ger-
shunned because of their high arguably become the figure- many executive director Mar-
greenhouse gas emissions. head for a new generation of tin Kaiser.
Cruise ships are also notori- European eco-activists worried “She has read all the science,”
ously big polluters, while sail- that they’ll suffer the fallout he said. “That gives her a lot of
ors rarely brave the Atlantic in from their parents’ and grand- credibility. She has motivated a
August because of hurricane parents’ unwillingness to take whole generation in Europe to
risks. strong actions to combat cli- learn about climate change.”
“Taking a boat to North mate change. Her visibility has made
America is basically impos- “This past year, my life has Thunberg a target for those
sible,” she said in an interview turned upside down,” Thun- who reject the overwhelming
during her weekly “Fridays for berg told the AP. “Every day is consensus among scientists
Future” protest outside the an adventure, basically. Some- that climate change is being
Swedish parlia- driven by man-
ment in Stock- made emissions
holm. “I have of greenhouse
had countless gases such as
people helping In a way, I am more optimistic, carbon dioxide,
me, trying to because people are slowly waking released by the
contact different up and people are becoming more burning of fossil
boats.” aware of the situation. fuels.
Thunberg “I don’t care
plans to take a about hate and
year off from threats from cli-
school to keep mate crisis de-
raising awareness of climate times I have to pinch myself niers,” she said. “I just ignore
change and pressuring world and say ‘Is this really real? Has them.”
leaders to step up efforts to this actually been happening?’ Thunberg said she’s unsure
curb global warming. Because it has all happened how her message will be re-
Since starting her “school so fast and it’s hard to keep up ceived in the United States,
strikes” in August 2018, the with everything. where there’s broad opposition
daughter of an actor and an op- “In a way, I am more optimis- to the kind of radical measures
era singer has appeared before tic, because people are slowly scientists say are required to
policymakers at last year’s U.N. waking up and people are be- limit global warming to 1.5
climate conference in Poland coming more aware of the degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees
and harangued business and situation. This whole ‘Fridays Fahrenheit) by the end of the
political leaders at the World for Future’ movement is very century compared with pre-
Economic Forum in Davos, hopeful,” she said. “But also … industrial times.
Switzerland. She also met with one year has passed and still
Pope Francis, who praised almost nothing has happened.” ❱❱ PAGE 22 Sailing to
www.canadianinquirer.net
22
Sailing to...
❰❰ 21 “I will just try to go
on as I have before,”
the young Swede said.
“Just always refer to the science
and we’ll just see what hap-
pens.”
Thunberg wouldn’t rule out
meeting with President Donald
Trump, who wants the U.S. to
withdraw from the landmark
2015 Paris climate accord, but
appeared doubtful such an en-
counter would happen because
she thinks it would be “just a
waste of time.”
“As it looks now, I don’t think
so, because I have nothing to
say to him,” she told the AP.
“He obviously doesn’t listen to
the science and the scientists.
So why should I, a child with
no proper education, be able to
convince him?”
Aside from attending a sum-
mit hosted by U.N. Secretary-
General Antonio Guterres on
the sidelines of the global body’s
annual assembly on Sept. 23,
Thunberg plans to take part in
several climate protests in New
York. The British band The
1975s has released an album
with a short essay by Thunberg
set to music. It ends with her
declaring “it is now time for civil
disobedience. It is time to rebel.”
Thunberg stressed that she re-
jects violence, citing her school
strikes for climate as the kind
of action she backs. Last week
she deleted a tweet showing her
wearing a T-shirt with the slo-
gan “Antifascist All Stars,” after
some accused her of supporting
far-left extremists.
“You can rebel in different
Putin foe...
❰❰ 21 “It was a matter
of principle for the
Kremlin not to allow
the opposition candidates on
the ballot,” he said, adding that
a Moscow city lawmaker would
be an “odds-on favourite” to
win a seat at the 2021 parlia-
mentary election.
Putin, who was out of town
to lead a naval parade in St.
Petersburg on Sunday, has not
commented on the massive
protests. The dissent broke into
the open earlier this month af-
ter election authorities refused
to register a number of opposi-
tion candidates for the Sept. 8
vote, citing alleged minor viola-
tions.
The candidates’ supporters
World News
ways,” she said. “Civil disobedi-
ence is rebelling. As long as it’s
peaceful, of course.”
After New York, Thunberg
intends to travel to the annual
U.N. climate conference in De-
cember, held in Chile this year,
with stops in Canada, Mexico
and other countries along the
way, travelling by train and bus.
The yacht she’ll be cross-
ing the Atlantic with is a far
cry from the Viking ships that
first brought Scandinavians to
America. The 60-foot (18-me-
ter) Malizia II is fitted with so-
lar panels and underwater tur-
bines to generate zero-carbon
electricity on board.
Thunberg will also be accom-
panied on the two-week jour-
ney by a filmmaker, her father
Svante and Pierre Casiraghi,
the grandson of Monaco’s late
Prince Rainier III and Ameri-
can actress Grace Kelly.
“I haven’t experienced any-
thing like this before,” Thun-
berg said, a giggle breaking her
normally serious demeanour.
“I think this will be a trip to re-
member.”
Thunberg will be setting a
very high bar for the activists
and leaders from outside the
Americas who are attending
the U.N. climate conferences,
almost all of whom will likely
be coming by plane.
“I’m not saying that people
should stop flying,” she said.
“I’m just saying it needs to be
easier to be climate neutral.” ■
Jordans contributed from Lon-
don.
then picketed the headquarters
of the Moscow Election Com-
mission and rallied on a central
square for several days straight.
After authorities claimed that
some of the 5,500 signatures
each candidate collected were
forgeries, the candidates went
to the local election commis-
sion to protest, some bringing
the same people whose signa-
tures were ruled invalid.
More than 1,400 people were
taken into custody, including
several would-be candidates.
One of them, Ilya Yashin, was
sentenced Monday to 10 days in
jail for calling Saturday’s pro-
test. Another, Dmitry Gudkov,
is due to appear in court later in
the day. ■
Seoul: North Korea launches
2 short range ballistic missiles
BY HYUNG-JIN KIM
The Associated Press
SEOUL, KOREA, REPUBLIC
OF — North Korea fired two
short-range ballistic missiles
off its east coast Wednesday,
South Korea’s military said,
its second weapons test in less
than a week. North Korea is
angry over planned U.S.-South
Korean military drills and may
be trying to boost pressure on
the United States to win con-
cessions as the rivals struggle
to set up talks over the North’s
nuclear weapons.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of
Staff said Wednesday’s missiles
were launched from Wonsan, a
city the North pushes as a vaca-
tion destination but that it also
uses as a regular launch site.
The joint chiefs’ statement said
both missiles were believed to
have flown about 250 kilome-
tres (155 miles) at a maximum
altitude of 30 kilometres (19
miles) and that the South Ko-
rean and U.S. militaries were
trying to gather more details.
“The North’s repeated mis-
sile launches are not helpful to
efforts to ease tensions on the
Korean Peninsula, and we urge
(North Korea) to stop this kind
of behaviour,” the statement
said. Japanese Prime Minis-
ter Shinzo Abe briefly told re-
porters the launches were “no
threat to Japanese national se-
curity.”
Six days earlier, North Korea
fired two short-range ballistic
missiles that Seoul officials said
flew 600 kilometres (370 miles)
before landing in the sea.
U.N. Security Council resolu-
tions ban North Korea from us-
ing ballistic technology in any
weapons launches. But it’s un-
likely that the nation, already
under 11 rounds of U.N. sanc-
tions, will be hit with fresh pu-
nitive measures. Past sanctions
were imposed only when the
North conducted long-range
ballistic launches.
Japan’s Defence Minister
Takeshi Iwaya told reporters
Wednesday that the most re-
cently launched weapons did
not reach Japan’s exclusive
economic zone and that offi-
cials are still analyzing details,
including the flight distance
and trajectory. Referring to the
www.canadianinquirer.net
previous launches, Iwaya said,
“It is extremely regrettable
that North Korea continues fir-
ing the missiles that violate the
U.N. resolutions.”
North Korea’s state media
said last week’s tests were su-
pervised by leader Kim Jong
Un and were designed to de-
liver a “solemn warning” to
South Korea over its purchase
of high-tech U.S.-made fighter
jets and planned military drills
that Pyongyang calls an inva-
sion rehearsal.
Wednesday’s launches came
hours after a senior U.S. official
said President Donald Trump
sent Kim mementos from his
brief visit to an inter-Korean
border town late last month.
The official said a top staffer
from the National Security
Council hand-delivered photo-
graphs from the June Trump-
Kim meeting at the Korean
Demilitarized Zone to a North
Korean official last week. The
Trump administration offi-
cial spoke on the condition of
anonymity because the offi-
cial wasn’t authorized to speak
publicly.
The DMZ meeting was the
third summit between Trump
and Kim. At their second meet-
ing, in Vietnam, Trump rejected
Kim’s demand for widespread
sanctions relief in return for
dismantling the North’s main
nuclear complex, a partial dis-
armament step.
During the DMZ meeting,
Trump and Kim agreed to re-
sume nuclear diplomacy in
coming weeks, but there hasn’t
been any known meeting be-
tween the countries. Some ex-
perts say North Korea wants a
AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY
U.S. promise to ease sanctions,
accept a slow, step-by-step dis-
armament process by the North
or for the U.S. to make other
concessions once the diploma-
cy restarts.
Despite a recent lack of prog-
ress in nuclear diplomacy, both
Trump and Kim have said they
have maintained good relations
with each other. After Thurs-
day’s missile launches, Trump
tried to downplay the signifi-
cance of the tests, saying that
“short-range” was the most
important detail. He said North
Korea fired “standard” missiles
that many countries possess.
South Korea’s military said
the flight data of the weapon
launched last week showed
similarities to the Russian-
made Iskander, a short-range,
nuclear-capable missile. A
North Korean version could
likely reach all of South Korea
— and the 28,500 U.S. forces
stationed there — and would be
extremely hard to intercept.
After entering talks with
Washington, North Korea has
suspended nuclear and long-
range missile tests, and Trump
says that is proof that his North
Korea policy is working well and
has eased the danger of a war
with the North. In 2017, Trump
and Kim exchanged crude in-
sults and threats of destruction
as Kim oversaw a series of high-
profile nuclear and missile tests
meant to build nuclear missiles
capable of reaching the conti-
nental United States. ■
Associated Press journalists
Zeke Miller in Washington and
Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo con-
tributed to this report.

Entertainment
After 14 years on air,
“Goin’ Bulilit” says goodbye
BY GIANNA LLANES
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
AFTER RUNNING for 14 years
since it’s premiere in 2005,
ABS-CBN kiddie sketch come-
dy show Goin’ Bulilit is official-
ly bidding television goodbye
as the show’s head writer Josel
Garlitos confirms their last epi-
sode will air on August 4.
Josel shares an image with
the former cast and crew on In-
stagram last Thursday, July 25,
which is captioned in Filipino say-
ing, “This is the last two months
of Goin’ Bulilit. The graduates,
cast, staff, crew, everyone who
watched and everyone who sup-
ported the 14 years of the award-
winning comedy gag show every
week, what is your Bulilit story?”
Director Badjie Mortiz also
shares an image to his 60,000
Instagram followers of the cast
simply captioned, “For always.”
Kapamilya Online World
then uploads a series of im-
ages on their Facebook account
on how the comedy gag show
has developed throughout the
years, saying, “Goin’ Bulilit
saying goodbye to our child-
hood favorite tv show every
Sunday!#GoodbabyeBulilit
Lil Nas X sets new Billboard
record for most weeks at No.1
BY TRACEE M. HERBAUGH
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — It’s one sweet
day for Lil Nas X: The break-
through rapper’s viral “Old
Town Road” has broken the
Billboard record set by Mariah
Carey’s “One Sweet Day” for
most weeks at No. 1.
Lil Nas X accomplishes the
feat this week as his country-
trap song spends its 17th week
on top of the Hot 100 chart. Car-
ey and Boyz II Men’s duet set
“I am happy and thankful that I am a part of this family.”
The Last 2 Weeks. On Febru-
ary 2015, Goin’ Bulilit recently
marked and celebrated their
10th anniversary with the en-
tire former and current cast
members. The show will air its
final episode on August 2019 af-
ter 14 years of broadcast.”
As the show traditionally says
goodbye to their cast members
after they turn either 12 or 13
years old, Goin’ Bulilit’s last
graduation ceremony occurred
last March. Mutya Orquia, JB
Agustin, and Allyson McBride
concluded their five years to six
years on the show through the
ceremony.
Some of the show’s previous
the record in 1996, and the only
song to come close to breaking it
was the ubiquitous internation-
al hit “Despacito,” which tied the
16-week record in 2017.
“Old Town Road,” which
has achieved most of its suc-
cess through audio streaming,
was originally a solo song but
20-year-old Lil Nas X added Billy
Ray Cyrus to the track. The song
also has remix versions featur-
ing Diplo, Young Thug, Mason
Ramsey and BTS, and Billboard
counts the original song and its
remixes as one when calculating
@YNIGODELEN / INSTAGRAM
stars who have grown to estab-
lish themselves in the Philip-
pine entertainment industry
include Kathryn Bernardo, Ju-
lia Montes, Kiray Celis, Andrea
Brillantes, Miles Ocampo, John
Manalo, Sharlene San Pedro,
and Nash Aguas.
Current members of Goin’
Bulilit include: Dagul, CX Na-
varro, Ashley Sarmiento, Rai-
kko Mateo, Josh de Guzman,
Lilygem Yulores, Vito Quizon,
Marc Santiago, Chun Sa Jung,
Cessa Moncera, Marco Masa,
JJ Quilantang, Angelica Rama,
Khevynne Arias, Ynigo Delen,
Carlo Mendoza, Freya Montier-
ro, and Jordan Lim. ■
chart position, thus helping “Old
Town Road” stay on top.
“Old Town Road” initially was
in a bit of controversy in March
when Billboard removed it from
its country charts, deeming it
not country enough (it peaked
at No. 19 on the country charts).
But the drama didn’t hurt the
song; it only propelled it.
Songs have come close to dis-
placing “Old Town Road” from
the top spot — including Billie
Eilish’s “Bad Guy” and a pair of
Taylor Swift singles — but ulti-
mately were unsuccessful. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
Zephanie Dimaranan
wins the first ‘Idol
Philippines’ edition
BY GIANNA LLANES
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD Zeph-
anie Dimaranan is the first-ever
champion of ABS-CBN singing
competition Idol Philippines
after the final episode of the
season last Sunday, July 28,
2019, with the live show taking
place at the Newport Perform-
ing Arts Theater in Resorts
World Manila in Pasay City.
The Biñan City, Laguna na-
tive received 100 percent in
terms of judges scores and
public votes, followed by Lucas
Garcia of Lipa City, Batangas
with 70.2 percent and Lance
Busa of Butuan City, Agusan del
Norte with 41.89 percent.
The day prior, Top 5 finalists
Dan Ombao and Miguel Odron
were eliminated from the com-
petition, while the Top 12 is
completed by Elle Ocampo,
Matty Juniosa, Rachel Libres,
Trish Bonilla, Renwick Benito,
Fatima Louise, and Sheland Fa-
elnar.
On the finals’ night, the teen-
ager performed “Maghintay Ka
Lamang” by Ted Ito and a new
23
original written for her by Jon-
athan Manalo entitled “Panga-
rap Kong Pangarap Mo.”
Zephanie received 2,000,000
cash prize, along with an all-
expense trip to Taiwan, a house
and lot from Camella Homes,
and a contract with Star Music.
This is a ‘third time’s a charm’
for Zephanie, as she previously
joined 2015’s The Voice Kids
Philippines on Team Sarah
Geronimo and Tawag ng Tang-
halan on It’s Showtime. The
third of five kids attributes
her attitude to being a pas-
tor’s daughter, stating that her
parents’ strict upbringing has
shaped herself and her siblings.
#IdolPHGrandWinner also
trended number one on Twit-
ter, with 2011 American Idol
runner-up Jessica Sanchez
making an appearance during
the conclusion of the contest
for a special performance.
Idol Philippines 2019 was
hosted by Billy Crawford and
had Regine Velasquez, James
Reid, Moira Dela Torre, and
Vice Ganda on the judging pan-
el. At the end of the show, Craw-
ford confirmed that they will be
returning for another season. ■
@ZEPHDIMARANAN / INSTAGRAM
24
‘Stranger Things’ breakout star Nadine Lustre reveals
is a spunky seventh grader why she quits from
BY MARK KENNEDY
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — One of the
breakout stars of “Stranger
Things” is an actress who wants
to do more action roles and
maybe get behind the camera.
But first, there’s seventh grade.
Priah Ferguson, a 12-year-
old Atlanta middle schooler,
has given season 3 of the sci-fi,
back-to-the-’80s Netflix show a
jolt of sassy electricity.
Priah plays Erica, a My Little
Pony-obsessed, He-Man steal-
ing, walkie-talkie intercepting
little sister of Lucas, played by
Caleb McLaughlin.
“She’s a very confident per-
son and I’m confident,” Priah
said. “She’s a leader. I’m a lead-
er. So we have a lot of similari-
ties.”
The actress, who previously
has had minor roles on “At-
lanta” and “Mercy Street,” had
quick-or-you’ll-miss it mo-
ments in season 2 of “Stranger
Things” but has roared into
the new one with an action se-
quence and catchphrases like
“You can’t spell America with-
out Erica” and “Just the facts.”
She was handed a helmet fit-
ted with flashlights and sent
though the ventilation shafts of
Starcourt Mall to discover what
a secret group of Russians was
hiding. For this, she earned her
reward: “Free. Ice. Cream. For.
Life.”
“I got to do like a little stunt.
So I was like, ‘Wow this is some-
thing I’ve always wanted to do,”‘
she said. “That was cool.”
Her Erica has spunk and
verve, liable to scream into a
walkie-talkie: “Code red? I got a
code for you instead. It’s called
code shut your mouth.” Erica
will not stand for nerdiness but
Phenom-Basilan...
❰❰ 29 cited about that.”
Rike shared his per-
spective as well, “The
play didn’t come off as cleanly as
we wanted, but that’s what I’m
saying. I trust Franky, I believe
in Franky and he’s one hell of a
shooter. So I know that if I give
him even an inch of space, I knew
he was gonna knock it down.”
Entertainment
Priah Ferguson. @PRIAHFERGUSON / INSTAGRAM
there’s a little nerd in her, too.
“She’s an anti-nerd nerd,” the
actress says. “A lot of people
have a little nerdiness in them.
I have a little nerdiness in me.”
Adjua Ferguson, her mother,
said she and her husband recog-
nized artistic potential in their
daughter when she was just 2.
“She was an expressive
baby— she always had the most
unique expressions and reac-
tions. She always had an old
soul. She would just respond
to things beyond her years,
very conversational,” she said.
“From there, people kept say-
ing she had something special.”
Priah hopes to continue act-
ing and maybe direct one day
as well. But staying a kid is also
a goal. She’s not planning to re-
turn to her school’s drama club
this fall.
“I want to separate my acting
from school. It just got to be a
little too much,” she said. “It’s
just too much drama.”
With this victory, Basilan
will be the country’s represen-
tatives for the 2019 FIBA 3×3
Jeddah Masters in October. In
the meantime, first runner-up
finishers Balanga, who received
a P400,000 consolation prize,
will be booking their tickets to
the 2019 Xiongan Challenger
in August. Gold’s Gym-Pasig
She’s taking that message
across the country, teaming up
with applesauce and yogurt-
pouch maker GoGo squeeZ to
encourage kids to put aside
their devices and embrace un-
structured play as part of the
“BE Time” initiative.
“I love having free time to
stay off my phone, even though
I love my phone,” she said. “At
times it can just be draining.
You just need a time to really
see the real world.”
When at home, Priah walks
the dog, creates dances with her
little sister, gets on her scooter,
is really crafty, adores doing her
nails and has lately been getting
into Legos. (For the record, she
does like ice cream in real life,
too.)
Her life is changing — and
she’s documenting it. “I’m just
taking in everything and I keep
a journal to know where I go
and just share my experience
on places that I went to.” ■
Kings finished at third place
scoring P200,000.
Among the other winners for
the last leg of the tournament
are Kiran Shastri for the Coca-
Cola Two-Point Shootout and
David Carlos and Brodie Ste-
phens as co-champions for the
Coca-Cola Slam Dunk Compe-
tition. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
‘Miracle in Cell No.7’
BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
KAPAMILYA ACTRESS Na-
dine Lustre has opted out from
the Filipino remake of the Ko-
rean movie, “Miracle in Cell No.
7.” Her reason for quitting? She
said, “I really felt that I needed
a break.”
Nadine revealed this in an in-
terview with ABS-CBN, explain-
ing that she was a ‘little burnt
out’ after starring in two films —
“Ulan” and “Indak” — this year
that’s why she asked for time off
from work to her management,
Viva Artists Agency.
“Mahirap din po na gu-
mawa ng pelikuka kasi (It is
hard to make a move because)
other than shooting, meron
pang(there are also) promo-
tions. So since it’s an MMFF
(Metro Manila Film Festival)
Film, parang naisip ko na baka
maging masyado ng hectic ’yung
schedule, mahihirapan din po
ako na (I thought that it might
be too hectic with the schedule;
it will be hard for me). At the
end of the day, ayaw ko naman
pong parang umayaw dahil pa-
god ako at burnout ako (I do not
want to give up just because I’m
tired and burnt out),” she said.
The actress added that her
management completely un-
derstood her decision to back
out of the movie.
“They understand kung gaa-
no naging ka-hectic ang sched-
ule ko (how hectic my schedule
Nadine Lustre. @NADINE / INSTAGRAM
AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY
was) for the past few months.
Ever since nag-start ‘yung year,
sunod-sunod na po ako (the year
started, projects were coming
consecutively), so they felt that
I needed a break din po,” she
said.
Nadine was supposed to play
the role of the daughter of a
mentally challenged man who
was wrongfully imprisoned for
a crime he did not commit. Na-
dine’s father if she pursued the
role will be played by veteran
actor Aga Muhlach.
The actress admitted that it
was sad that she had to let go
of her role which is now given
to another Kapamilya actress,
Bela Padilla.
“It’s a good project, good ma-
terial. Kaya lang po kasi sa akin
mas importante para sa akin
‘yung sarili ko kasi (However,
what is more important for me
is myself since) I’m not rushing
naman po eh,” she explained.
Nadine said she was happy
that Bela will be taking over her
role, describing the latter as a
“good actress,” “good writer,”
and someone who “takes what
she does seriously.”
Bela is known for her roles in
“Camp Sawi,” “100 Tula Para
Kay Stella,” and “Meet Me in
St. Gallen,” among others. She
also penned the story of for her
movie “Luck at First Sight,”
which co-starred Jericho Ro-
sales, and “Last Night,” which
starred by Piolo Pascual and
Toni Gonzaga. ■
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019 Entertainment 25

Montreal flaunts heavy metal credentials as city

hosts rock festival
BY SIDHARTHA BANERJEE of their top markets,” Glick said. “It may
The Canadian Press have changed the way they did their live
shows, the vibe here is definitely than
going to another American or Canadian
MONTREAL — The Montreal city coun- city. I think the fans are extremely pas-
cillor who spearheaded a motion last sionate and respectful at the same time,
April to formally designate the city a and that definitely leads to that relation-
headbangers’ paradise says the reaction ship (with bands) that has gone back to
to the gesture has been remarkable. beginning.”
“A lot of people are talking about it — Rick Hughes knows that connec-
people in the city, metalheads around tion well from his years with local band
the world,” said Coun. Craig Sauve, a Sword, which made its mark in the 1980s
musician and heavy metal buff. and continues to perform to this day.
“People are very appreciative of the He says the kids who were at his shows
recognition — particularly in the metal decades ago are among the people still
scene, where metalheads feel like their coming out today. HEAVY MONTRÉAL / FACEBOOK

culture is not respected and cast aside.” The St-Bruno, Que., native said that
Those official credentials as a heavy after the band’s last Montreal show, “Montreal is symbolic of the rest of the bunch of people — like a brotherhood.”
metal “city of excellence” will be on full fans hung out for two hours to get au- province,” he said. “There’s a uniqueness Mongrain said. “It was an underground
display this weekend as it plays host to tographs. In talking to them the affable to the sound of Montreal, but Montreal in- scene that was very alive, but still very
the 10th edition of Heavy Montreal — a Hughes learned the young fans from the cludes Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranada, Trois- underground.”
popular two-day metal and rock festival 1980s had gone on to become everything Rivieres and Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean.” Hughes said recognition of Montreal’s
held on a small island near the city. from engineers to pilots and business- By the time he was playing regularly heavy metal roots was overdue, placing
While the designation didn’t come men. Some had brought along their own in the 1990s, the grunge movement was it alongside jazz as a sound that has long
with any financial perks, observers are children to see his band play. gaining popularity in the rock scene, helped define Montreal.
confident the “positive vibe” it created “You only find that in metal, and the and times were difficult for metalheads. “It’s music that ages well through its
will bring big divi- enthusiasm of the There were no big metal festivals at the intensity — it isn’t pop, it isn’t the fla-
dends for up-and- crowd in Montreal is time, but Montreal fans remained loyal. vour of the day,” he said. “Jazz isn’t the
coming local acts. unequalled,” Hughes “It was a small community, but ev- flavour of the day — it’s stays the same,
“It helps fill up the said. ery time there was a show, there was a and metal is the same: It stays metal.” ■
bars, it helps the pro- When you talk Montreal’s scene
moters and it helps to bands that included homegrown
the bands,” says have been bands like Cryptopsy

PSYCHIC
Montrealer Jimmy around for and Kataklysm, but
Kay, who runs Metal 30, 40 years it also drew from all
Voice, a YouTube … if it wasn’t over Quebec as talent
channel that reports for Montreal, arrived to hone their

FAITH
on heavy metal mu- they wouldn’t craft. Quebec’s most
sic. “Now when I exist today, famous heavy metal
interview bands, because that’s outfit, Voivod, was
they know about it, where everyone formed in Jonqui-
they’ve heard about wanted to hear ere before moving to
it.” them. Montreal in the mid-
Quebec bands that 1980s.
eventually
their way to Mon-
found Guitarist Daniel
Mongrain, who cur-
Reader, Healer and Adviser
treal did so for a variety of reasons, but rently plays in Voivod and has played
the common denominator was a loyal extensively with other groups, said TELL PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE
and knowledgeable fan base packing the bands knew that being in Montreal was
venues. essential. “It was good to play in our lo-
“When you talk to bands that have cal area, but we had to go to Montreal to specializes on removing all types negative
been around for 30, 40 years … if it wasn’t meet other bands, that’s where the ac- energy, bad luck and evil influences
for Montreal, they wouldn’t exist today, tion was,” he said.
because that’s where everyone wanted An accomplished guitarist, Mongrain
to hear them,” Kay said. “The fans were began playing guitar at age 11 after hav- helps in all life problems such
there for them always.” ing seen a music video involving the as love life, business matters,
Daniel Glick, director of concerts and original incarnation of Voivod on the
events at concert promoter Evenko, French-language music channel Mu- immigration and family issues
which puts on the popular Heavy Mon- sique Plus.
treal event, says the firm promotes “I bought a guitar and wanted to be A l l i n P r i v a t e a n d C o n fi d e n t i a l
about 100 metal shows yearly. He called like them,” said Mongrain, known as
the city’s recognition a nice “stamp of Chewy, who is celebrating his 11th anni- Call today for a better tomorrow
approval.” versary with Voivod.

778-379-4070
“A lot of the metal bands and hard rock Mongrain, 43, originally from Trois- 99% OVER
bands have done really, really well here Riveres, Que., said the Montreal sound
over the years, if you go back to the early fans worldwide now recognize is really ACCURATE 30 YRS EXP
years — Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, the creation of acts that got their start
Metallica — Montreal is definitely one all over the province.

www.canadianinquirer.net
26
Tims’ upscale cafe luring millennials with
nitro brews, Instagrammable doughnuts
BY CASSANDRA SZKLARSKI
The Canadian Press
TORONTO — Julia Hemphill is
just the kind of customer that
Tim Hortons would love to see
more of: a professional, urban
millennial.
But she admits she’s not one
to go out of her way to visit the
chain, noting her coffee pur-
chases are largely driven by
convenience: “If I pass a Tim
Hortons, I pass a Tim Hortons.
If there’s a lineup I won’t go
there. If there isn’t, I will.”
Still, the 39-year-old and
her three companions joined
throngs of curious custom-
ers who lined up at the brand’s
much-touted “innovation cafe”
this week to sample a line of
specialty drinks and doughnuts
more typically seen at higher-
end eateries.
Hemphill ordered the nitro
coffee — “It’s actually shockingly
good,” she says — and approved
of the modern decor of faux-
marble tabletops, walnut wood
accents and velvet bench seating.
“It had kind of stagnated be-
fore. It’s nice to see it new,” says
Hemphill.
But while she would return
for the menu, the coffee shop is
not likely to become her hang-
out spot.
Hemphill, at the older end of
the millennial cohort, says she’s
more likely to meet friends for
a cocktail than a coffee, which
she generally brings back to her
desk: “Coffee is work.”
Such ambivalence is the
reason Tims and many other
quick-service restaurants are
Lifestyle
rethinking how to reach mil-
lennial and Gen Z diners, say
experts who point to similarly
minded overhauls at McDon-
ald’s, Boston Pizza and Panera
Bread.
The coffee chain’s experi-
ment is billed as “a modern in-
terpretation of the Tim Hortons
brand.” Its 12 “Dream Donut”
flavours include maple bacon,
blueberry hibiscus, hazelnut
butter cream and a brown but-
ter and sea salt variety, each
selling for $1.99 — roughly dou-
ble the cost of regular flavours.
Tims’ global marketing chief
acknowledges the store’s clean
design and Instagram-ready
treats are tailored to young, ur-
ban professionals: “They look
for a store like this, they look
for a design like this,” says Axel
Schwan.
However, he insists the rest
of the chain’s tried-and-true
drip coffee and Timbits are not
going anywhere: “Our target
group is Canada.”
The specialty treats and pre-
mium sandwiches are only avail-
able at the King Street store,
as are seven different brewing
methods that include single-or-
igin pour overs and cold brews.
If they’re a hit with customers,
they could be rolled out to other
restaurants, says Schwan.
The tactic also allows Tim
Hortons to test how far they
can stretch a brand known for
no-frills products with prices to
match.
The quick-service market in
general has been shifting up-
scale for a while now, leaving
room for Tims to test more ex-
pensive items at prices that can
still be considered relatively
low, says food service industry
expert Vince Sgabellone.
“Starbucks (is) already argu-
ably one of the more expensive
beverage locations and then
they came out with their ‘re-
serve’ brand which is even more
expensive — I had a $9 coffee
there not too long ago,” says
Sgabellone, of the NPD Group.
“There’s room for that pre-
miumization. People are will-
ing to spend a little more in
quick service as long as they get
the quality and the service that
they expect with the premium
pricing.”
Tims’ “innovation cafe” is
clearly not about pleasing regu-
lar customers, but about luring
people who otherwise don’t go
to a traditional Tim Hortons,
he adds.
Much like the urban-focused
McCafe from McDonald’s, the
Tim Hortons experiment edges
www.canadianinquirer.net
TIM HORTONS / FACEBOOK
the brand towards the “fast ca-
sual” tier, in which premium-
quality food comes with fast-
food service and better value,
says Sgabellone.
This segment of the market is
growing at about eight per cent,
whereas quick-service restau-
rants as a whole are only grow-
ing at about two-to-three per
cent, Sgabellone says.
Brand expert Susan Weaver
adds that customers are in-
creasingly “trading down” from
full service, mid-tier eateries to
these quick-service outlets as
they seek better value for their
dollar.
She points to upscale food
courts that have reinvented
mall food, as well as the McCa-
fes, which each feature unique
menus and artisan sandwiches.
Millennials are an especially
sought-after market because of
their size, their larger dispos-
able income, tendency to eat
out more and desire for conve-
nience, says Weaver, managing
director of Pearl Strategy & In-
novation Design Inc.
But they are fickle, she adds.
This younger group wants
customizable drinks, in-store
technology such as charging
stations, eco-friendly packag-
ing and the ability to see their
food being assembled and their
drinks being made — all fea-
tures of the new Tim Hortons’
venture.
The problem for Tim Hor-
tons, she argues, is that it’s be-
loved by Boomers and regarded
as “your parents’ brand.”
And the fact that “Tim Hor-
tons makes probably 80 per
cent of their profits from hot
coffee and millennials do not
drink that,” says Weaver, whose
Oakville, Ont., company has
worked with Tim Hortons on
their lunch menu in the past.
“We’ve done a lot of work for
Tim Hortons and we always
said to them: ‘You might have
to rebrand if you want to get to
(millennials).’”
She mused on the possibil-
ity that’s the future of Tims’
innovation cafe, suggesting the
brand should expand the con-
cept as a separate offering for
millennials in every big urban
city.
Sgabellone also wouldn’t be
surprised if the experiment
evolves into “a small niche sub-
brand of theirs.”
“They’re stating right off
the front it’s a one-off, but like
with any brand, if it’s a success
they’re going to make it a two-
off and a six-off and they’ll be
opening more.” ■
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019
Plant lovers find Millennial Money: Why you
each other at swaps, need a midyear budget check-in
online or in person
BY TRACEE M. HERBAUGH
The Associated Press
PLANT LOVERS have long got-
ten together to trade seeds and
growing advice, and the latest
generation is following suit
with modern plant swaps.
The swaps (sometimes called
plant exchanges) for amateur
horticulturalists are popping up
in homes, parking lots, trendy
gardening stores and online.
They’re about exchanging advice
and meeting like-minded people,
says 35-year-old Ana Carlson,
who has attended several plant
swaps in New York City and Los
Angeles, where she lives.
“People just talk and it is
fun,” she said. “I don’t go look-
ing for plants because I have
more than enough.”
Carlson, who owns an online
“plant decor” shop, Sill Appeal,
and has nearly 200 housplants,
initially learned about the
swaps through social media a
few years ago, when plants be-
came a hobby.
“They’re very social events,”
she said. “Every time I go, I
meet people.”
While plant swaps can in-
clude outdoor varieties, many
people trade houseplants, which
are back in style thanks in part
to social media. Instagram has
been flooded with “Plantsta-
grammers” or “plant influenc-
ers,” who post daily photos of
houseplants under a variety
of hashtags, including #plant-
community (559,000 posts)
and #houseplantlove (118,000
posts). On Pinterest, plant devo-
tees display a plethora of photos,
blog posts and articles chroni-
cling unusual, colorful and pet-
friendly houseplants.
“Right now, the plant world is
kind of insane,” says Sue Eggen,
the creative director at Urban
Jungle , a plant shop in Philadel-
phia. “It’s like the 1970s all over
again — the coolest thing millen-
nials can do is care for plants.”
Last month, Eggen and the
Urban Jungle team organized
a plant swap for some 50 cus-
tomers who purchased tickets.
There were snacks and bever-
ages, and attendees listened to
a live recording of Bloom and
Grow radio , a podcast from
Broadway actress Maria Failla
that’s all about houseplants.
Some plant lovers come to
swaps for expensive and rare
finds. A full-size pink princess
philodendron or a variegated
monstera, two fashionable plants
not readily found in gardening
stores, can cost upward of $150
retail. At a plant swap, however,
someone might bring in a cutting
that can be propagated.
“People blew me away with
what they brought in,” Eggen
said.
Bala Rathinasabapathi, a
professor in the horticultural
sciences department at Univer-
sity of Florida, says the produce
found in grocery stores today is
a result of ancient plant swaps.
“Humans domesticated plants
about 10,000 years ago, and plant
exchanges followed shortly after,”
Rathinasabapathi said. “People
used plants like currency.”
Today, however, swaps are
mostly characteristic of urban
areas, he said.
Philadelphia resident Chris-
tina Tessaro, 37, learned of a
local plant exchange group on
Facebook with more than 7,000
members. She originally joined
the group to learn more about
plants after she took a job at
the Philadelphia Horticultural
Society. Soon, houseplants be-
came a hobby.
A couple members of the
group have organized plant
pop-up nights throughout Phil-
adelphia for people to meet in
person and socialize.
“I got to meet a few people
I recognized online,” Tessaro
said. “It’s been really nice to put
a face to a name.”
Online swaps have also ex-
panded social circles for long-
time plant lovers.
“We started out swapping
plants as teens,” said Stan Mik-
lis, 62, of Dallas, who studied
horticulture in high school in
Texas. He said he attended plant
parties as a teen and young man.
Now, as a farmer, he learns of
new plant swaps via the Inter-
net.
“My whole life is and has al-
ways been plants,” Miklis said.
“All my friends are from the
plant circle.” ■
BY COURTNEY JESPERSEN
OF NERDWALLET
The Associated Press
A TYPICAL July includes va-
cations, travel, shopping, wed-
dings and beaches. Budgets?
Not really.
But the year’s halfway point
provides a great opportunity to
take a close look at your finan-
cial health and goals.
Now’s a good time to “check
yourself before you wreck your-
self,” says Nora Yousif, certified
financial planner and vice-
president at RBC Wealth Man-
agement in the Boston area.
Here are three important
reasons to check your budget
right now — and easy things you
can do to ensure you reach your
money goals for the rest of the
year.
You can learn from the past
School’s out, but summer
budgeting calls for a grading ex-
ercise. Judging your budgeting
behaviour is a productive way
to see where you stand, accord-
ing to Andrew Almeida, CFP,
founder of Almeida Investment
Management in New York.
Here’s how to do it: If you
haven’t already, separate your
monthly budget into catego-
ries, such as groceries, rent, en-
tertainment and so forth. Then
see if you were over or under
budget for each line item. If you
have 10 categories, overshot
three last month and stayed
on budget for seven, you’d be
at 70%. So give yourself a C for
June.
Almeida recommends do-
ing this each month. With six
months of the year behind you,
you’re in a good position to
evaluate if you’re passing more
months than you’re failing.
But don’t get discouraged; you
shouldn’t expect straight A’s.
“No one’s going to hit it 100%
of the time,” Almeida says. “Life
is fluid.”
One easy and effective way to
monitor how you’re doing is by
logging in to your financial ac-
counts, according to Brandon
Renfro, an assistant professor
of finance at East Texas Baptist
University.
“You can kind of see where
your money went, and that will
start to give you a better idea of
www.canadianinquirer.net
Lifestyle
problem areas or focus areas,”
says Renfro, who is also a finan-
cial planner.
Lean on your credit card and
bank account apps to help you
track your cash flow. Some of
these apps may even categorize
the transactions for you.
You can prepare for the
holidays and taxes
Once you’ve looked back, take
a moment to think ahead. After
all, the holiday season is only a
few months away. And whether
you like it or not, tax season
will come shortly after that. Get
ready now for these potential
costly times of the year.
Start by setting a holiday
season budget. “A lot of people
don’t consider that, but it’s a
big year-end expense, which
I think you should account
for,” Almeida says. “And if you
haven’t by midyear, I think you
should.”
If you’re not sure where to
start, use the amount you spent
last year on holiday gifts and
festivities as a baseline.
Next, focus on taxes. That
means reviewing your income,
advises Helen Ngo, CFP, CEO of
Capital Benchmark Partners in
Georgia.
“When we do midyear bud-
geting, we don’t necessar-
ily look at your spending,” Ngo
says. “The first thing we look at
is what money is coming in.”
She says to pay attention to
27
things like your pay stubs and
discretionary income. For ex-
ample, are you withholding
enough in taxes to break even
in April? Did you pay off a debt
in the first half of the year and
now have more income you
can contribute to your 401(k)?
Make adjustments where nec-
essary.
You can correct your course
By the time you finish these
steps, you’ll likely have identi-
fied areas where your budget
has room for improvement.
“If you’re way off your pro-
jected saving or spending goals,
you can modify your habits for
the rest of the year before it’s
too late,” Yousif, of RBC Wealth
Management, said in an email.
That may include eliminat-
ing small things from your
budget, such as a subscription
or membership you no longer
need. And when you do remove
something, redirect that money
somewhere it can be more use-
ful.
“For instance, maybe instead
of just cancelling the gym mem-
bership and letting the $20 fall
wherever it goes, go ahead and
direct that to savings,” Renfro
says. That can help build your
holiday fund, for example.
But what if you don’t even
have a budget to check up on?
It’s not too late. The midpoint
of the year can give you a much-
needed nudge to create one. ■
28
Love, lust and digital dating: Men on the Bumble
dating app aren’t ready for the Queen bee
BY TREENA ORCHARD
Associate Professor School
of Health Studies Western
University, The Canadian Press
WHEN LOVE, lust and all
things in between come call-
ing, dating apps appear to be
the only way to meet new peo-
ple and experience romance
in 2019. They’re not of course,
but social media and popular
culture inundate us with mes-
sages about the importance of
these seemingly easy and effec-
tive approaches to digital dat-
ing. Drawing upon my personal
experiences and academic in-
sights about sexuality, gender
and power, this article explores
what happens when dating
apps fail on their promises.
Being a tech Luddite, I never
dreamed of using a dating app.
However, when other options
were exhausted, I found myself
selecting photos and summa-
rizing myself in a user profile.
I chose Bumble because it was
rumoured to have more pro-
fessional men than other apps
and I was intrigued by its signa-
ture design where women ask
men out. Self described as “100
percent feminist,” Bumble’s
unique approach has generated
significant social buzz and it
has over 50 million users).
As a medical anthropolo-
gist, I explore sexuality, gender
and health experiences among
people in sex work, Indigenous
communities and those affect-
ed by HIV/AIDS. I had no inten-
tion of writing about my socio-
sexual experiences, but as soon
as I started my Bumble journey
the words began to flow. Writ-
ing helped me cope with the bi-
zarre things I encountered, and
my anthropological insights
told me that my observations
were unique as well as timely.
But what is Bumble all about?
What does it reveal about femi-
nism and gender in contempo-
rary dating culture?
The female worker bee does all
the work
Established in 2014, Bumble
is branded as a feminist dat-
ing app that puts women in the
driver’s seat and takes the pres-
sure off men to initiate dating
conversations. In a 2015 Es-
quire interview, Bumble CEO
Lifestyle
and co-founder Whitney Wolfe
Herd explained the honeybee
inspiration:
“Bee society where there’s
a queen bee, the woman is in
charge, and it’s a really respect-
ful community. It’s all about
the queen bee and everyone
working together. It was very
serendipitous.”
However, a honeybee hive is
less about sisterhood and more
about gendered inequity. Just
as female worker bees do the
heavy lifting as they care for
larvae and their hexagon lair,
Bumble women perform the
initial dating labour by extend-
ing invitation after invitation
to potential matches. Bumble
men, much like male bees,
largely sit and wait for their
invites to come.
In my five months on
Bumble, I created 113
unique opening lines,
each of which involved
not just work but also
a leap of faith. Here’s
just two examples:
Hi X! I like your
photos, they’re at-
tractive and in-
teresting. You’re a
personal trainer, it
must be rewarding
to work with people
to achieve their goals
…
Hey, X. Your photos
are hot …want to con-
nect?
Will he respond? Will
this one like me? Putting
myself out there repeat-
edly made me feel vulner-
able, not empowered.
Sure, there was some
short-lived excitement,
but much of my time was
spent wondering if they would
respond. Only 60 per cent of
my opening lines were an-
swered and I met just ten men
in five months, which is a nine
per cent “success” rate.
Of my 10 encounters, four
rated as very good to excellent,
three as quite bad and three
fluctuated in the middle: not
terrible, but not something I’m
keen to repeat. Like the attrac-
tive guy with the prickly arms
(because he shaved them) who
twirled me around in my din-
ing room but could barely tie
his shoes up because his pants
were so tight. Or, the guy who
talked obsessively about being
5’6” but really, really wasn’t.
A girl-power bubble
My digital dating journey was
not the effective, empowering
experience I hoped for. The
discrepancy between Bumble’s
sunny narrative and my storm-
ier encounters stemmed from
the app’s outdated brand of
feminism. The women-taking-
charge-for-themselves model
assumes that we live in a girl-
power bubble. It ignores men’s
feelings about adopting a more
passive dating role. This cre-
ates tensions between users. I
learned the hard way that de-
spite our feminist advances,
many men are still not comfort-
able waiting to be asked out.
Some Bumble men view the
app’s signature design as a way
for women to rob them of their
rightful dating power. Many
openly critiqued us for acting
“like men” and I was ghosted,
sexually degraded and sub-
jected to violent language by
men who resented me or what
I represented as a feminist.
This was confirmed by several
of my matches, who discussed
women’s acquisition of socio-
www.canadianinquirer.net
economic and sexual power as
a problem. These insights not
only shocked me; they impaired
my ability to have meaningful
dating experiences on Bumble.
The #MeToo and Time’s Up
movements continue to illu-
minate how much unfinished
business we have ahead of us
before gender equity is a real-
ity. My Bumble experiences re-
flect the same
unfortunate
truth, as do
other studies
about the com-
plex relationship
between gender
and power relations on dating
apps.
Using a feminist dating app
in a patriarchal world is messy,
but also fascinating for what it
reveals about sexuality, gender
and power in the digital dating
universe. Bumble needs a seri-
ous upgrade it if truly wants
to empower women and make
room for men en route to more
meaningful dating experiences.
One suggestion would be to
remove the “she asks” and “he
waits” design so both partners
can access one another as soon
AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY
as a match is made. Bumble
might also consider having us-
ers answer questions about
gender equity and feminism
before matches are generated.
This could make digital dating
experiences less of a bell jar
and more of an equitable mess.
Another idea is to have Bum-
ble refresh its narrative to sup-
port women’s desires and to
help diverse dating roles be
more readily accepted by men.
The app could add a forum
where users can share their
various Bumble experiences in
ways that encourage safe, en-
gaged dating-related commu-
nication.
My personal feeling is that
instead of depending exclusive-
ly on dating apps, it’s best to use
multiple dating methods. This
means having the courage to
act on our desires as they sur-
face in the grocery story, the art
gallery, or at the subway stop. It
can be terrifying but also much
more exciting than swiping
right. Go for it! ■
This article is republished from
The Conversation under a Cre-
ative Commons license.

Abueva accused by wife of physical abuse
BY GIANNA LLANES
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
AMIDST HIS indefinite sus-
pension from the Philippine
Basketball Association (PBA),
Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters’
player Calvin Abueva finds
himself in hot waters once
again as his wife Sam came out
on social media accusing the
forward of abuse and infidelity
last Sunday, July 29.
Sam Abueva initially opened
up through the basketball pro-
fessional’s original Instagram
account, @calvinabuevaof-
ficial, which has more than
49,000 followers. The wife of
the player for nine years posted
screenshots from a CCTV foot-
age, and when asked by fans
about the meaning behind the
images, Sam states, “[Calvin]
has neglected his responsibili-
ties as a father to his children.”
In an Instagram live session
Phenom-Basilan Obiena captures pole vault gold
acquires 1M check as at 30th Napoli Universiade
Chooks 3×3 Patriot’s
Cup champion
BY GIANNA LLANES
Philippine Canadian Inquirer
AFTER A thrilling match
against Balanga Pure, Phenom-
Basilan has concluded the 2019
Chooks-to-Go 3×3 Patriot’s
Cup competition by obtaining
their check for 1M pesos last
Saturday, July 27 at the SM Me-
gamall Events.
The score ended at 21-20
with six-foot-three Filipino-
American Franky Johnson hit-
ting the game-winning shot
— hitting a two-pointer after a
handoff from teammate Troy
Rike. Basilan representatives
Marcus Hammonds and Roo-
sevelt Adams also contributed
Sports
on the same day, Sam ex-
plains the physical abuse that
she and her children were
allegedly experiencing from
Abueva, his suppose infidel-
ity by impregnating two other
women, and his lack of com-
munication with his family as a
whole, explaining in Filipino to
the seven-time PBA All-Star’s
fans, “I’m just telling my side
so he won’t fool you guys any
longer.” She also reveals that
she was just released from the
hospital three weeks ago due to
health conditions that threat-
ened the third trimester of
her pregnancy.
Five hours after his wife’s
statements, Abueva conducted
a live session on his new Insta-
gram account @abuevacalvin-
thebeast, denying his wife’s
statements, saying in Filipino,
“Hey guys, to the followers of
my old IG account, don’t believe
in [what Sam is saying] because
we’ve broken up and I have no
11 and six points respectively.
Rike chipped one point.
For Balanga, Alvin Pasaol and
Travis Franklin both provided
seven points individually, while
Chris De Chavez sent the game
to overtime with one of his
three points. Karl Dehesa also
added three.
When talking about his jump-
er, Johnson explained, “Every-
thing was just moving so fast. I
wasn’t even thinking about that
shot, but as soon as my team-
mate got the rebound and got
the ball to me, I was just kinda
open a little bit so I just decided
to pull it.” He added, “Thank
God it went in, so I’m really ex-
❱❱ PAGE 24 Phenom-Basilan
communication with her. She’s
the one using my old Instagram
account.” He continued, “I’m
BY JEAN MALANUM
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The Philippines
bagged its second gold medal in
the Summer Universiade after
Ernest John Obiena topped the
men’s pole vault event in the
30th edition of the Games in
Napoli, Italy recently.
The 23-year-old Obiena, a
product of Chiang Kai Shek
College and the University of
Santo Tomas, and Torben Blech
of Germany submitted identi-
cal 5.76 meters but the Filipino
won on countback. Ben Broed-
ers of Belgium placed third with
5.51 meters.
Obiena’s performance was
a record-breaking one as he
erased his previous national
mark of 5.71 meters set during
the Asian Athletics Champion-
ships in Doha, Qatar last April.
Federation of School Sports
www.canadianinquirer.net
@CALVINABUEVAOFFICIAL / INSTAGRAM
okay with losing my career and
family because it’s not me who
did wrong,” elaborating that
Association of the Philippines
(FESSAP) president Angel
Ngu; chairman Alvin Tai Lian;
honorary president David Ong;
and Robert Milton Calo, who
chaired the Napoli Universiade
preparation committee, con-
gratulated Obiena for bringing
honor to the country.
The Philippines won its first
gold in the Summer Universi-
ade courtesy of chess player
Wesley So in Kazan, Russia six
years ago.
Aside from the golds won
by Obiena and So, the Philip-
pines has won two silvers from
taekwondo’s Samuel Thomas
Harper Morrison (2011 Shen-
zhen, China) and wushu’s Jo-
mar Balangui (2017 Taipei).
The FESSAP is a member
of the International Univer-
sity Sports Federation (FISU),
which organizes the Summer
and Winter Universiades, as
well as the World University
29
Sam also committed infidelity.
In response to the issue, Phoe-
nix team manager Paolo Bugia
told the media, “Professional
clubs do not really meddle in do-
mestic and private affairs of play-
ers. In the same manner, teams
still expect their players to carry
themselves with the utmost pro-
fessionalism that goes with their
job on and off the court.”
However, after being fined
by PBA Commissioner Willie
Marcial a total of P70,000 –
P50,000 for clotheslining Ter-
rence Jones and P20,000 for in-
appropriate behavior towards
a fan during a Phoenix-Black-
water game – and being caught
participating in a “ligang la-
bas” game in Montalban, the
31-year-old now awaits for the
final verdict from both the pro-
fessional league and the Games
and Amusement Board (GAB)
on whether or not he’ll be able
to continue his duties for the
Fuel Masters. ■
Championships.
The Universiade is consid-
ered as the Olympic Games for
student-athletes. More than
10,000 athletes and officials
from 150 countries join the
biggest multi-sport tourna-
ment.
The next Summer Universi-
ade will be held in Chengdu,
China in August 2021.
The Philippine delegation’s
trip to Italy was made pos-
sible with the support of Bes-
tank Corp., OMNI Electrical
& Lights from Yatai Interna-
tional Corp., Technological
University of the Philippines,
Megaworld Corp., Globe Tele-
com, San Miguel Corp., Phil-
ippine Amusement & Gaming
Corp. (Pagcor), Bataan Penin-
sula State University, Republic
Biscuit, University of Baguio,
and ASICS Tiger from Sonak
Corp.-Philippines (official out-
fitter). ■
30
DOF sees little impact of PCSO games suspension
on UHC funds
BY JOANN VILLANUEVA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Impact of the sus-
pension of all Philippine Char-
ity Sweepstakes Office–regu-
lated games on the Universal
Health Care (UHC) is minute
since the agency’s share on the
program’s fund is only a little
over one percent, a Department
of Finance (DOF) official said
on Monday.
DOF Assistant Secretary
Tony Lambino said of the to-
tal PHP257 billion required
by the UHC in 2020, PCSO’s
share is estimated to be
around PHP3 billion or less
than 1.2 percent.
For the five-year period end-
ing 2024, PCSO’s share in the
New PAL
president named
BY MA. CRISTINA
ARAYATA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The Philippine
Airlines (PAL) board of direc-
tors confirmed on Monday the
appointment of Gilbert Santa
Maria as the flag carrier’s new
president and chief operating
officer, following the retire-
ment of Jaime Bautista last
month.
The 15-man PAL board, in
its regular meeting at the Cen-
tury Park Hotel-Manila, unani-
mously approved Santa Maria,
a handpicked nominee of PAL
chairman and chief executive
officer Lucio Tan.
PAL spokesperson Cielo Vil-
laluna told the Philippine News
Agency (PNA) that Santa Maria
assumed the post on Monday,
while Tan’s daughter, Vivienne,
remains PAL executive vice
president and chief administra-
tive officer.
Business
program’s estimated PHP1.437
trillion requirement is also less
than 1.2 percent at PHP16.6 bil-
lion, he said.
“We will focus our efforts on
passing the alcohol and e-cig
tax package for UHC, with ini-
tial estimates of PHP15.8 bil-
lion in the first year and a total
of PHP111.5 billion over five
years based on the version ap-
proved by the House in the 17th
Congress,” he said.
“Actually, we can aim for even
higher since the previously ap-
proved version only included
alcohol,” he added.
Last Saturday, President
Rodrigo Duterte ordered the
PCSO to suspend all its regu-
lated gaming activities amid al-
leged “massive corruption.”
Meanwhile, Malacanang has
Vivienne also served as the
carrier’s officer-in-charge after
Bautista’s retirement, while the
airline was in search for his re-
placement.
“PAL is the airline that meets
the needs of local and global
travelers by showcasing our
brand’s main strength — the
passion for safety and service.
Maintaining the current level
of service is important and of
course, profitability. Let us do
our share to make PAL reach
greater heights. I will be with
you every step of the way,” San-
ta Maria was quoted telling his
fellow workers in PAL.
Santa Maria has three de-
cades of executive management
and leadership experience, ac-
cording to PAL. He has been in
the business process outsourc-
ing (BPO) industry for the last
15 years.
Villaluna said the 53-year old
Santa Maria is leaving his Los
Angeles-based advisory firm to
join PAL in Manila. ■
said the Philippine Amuse-
ment and Gaming Corporation
(PAGCOR) may take-over the
charity functions of PCSO fol-
lowing the suspension of all
PCSO-regulated games.
On the other hand, Finance
Secretary Carlos Dominguez
III, who was asked whether
there is a need to temporarily
transfer PCSO’s charity func-
tions to PAGCOR, said the two
agencies were created under
separate laws.
He relayed to some journal-
ists the opinion shared to him
by Justice Secretary Menardo
Guevarra on the issue. NCRPO cops closing gaming and gambling franchises.
Guevarra said he does “not PIO NCRPO / FACEBOOK
think that the President has
any intention of transferring “He only meant that the ing for health and medical care
the PCSO’s entire mandate to PAGCOR may be tapped in the assistance, among others,” he
the PAGCOR.” meantime to continue provid- said. ■
PH to be upper middle
income country by 2020
BY LESLIE GATPOLINTAN product (GDP) expanded by 5.6 and Development Authority
Philippine News Agency percent in January to March, (NEDA) Director-General, fur-
its slowest growth rate record- ther said the country needs to
ed since 2015, due to delayed review its plans regarding the
MANILA – Socioeconomic passage of the 2019 national infrastructure program and de-
Planning Secretary Ernesto budget. termine “doable” projects.
Pernia on Wednesday said the In the World Bank’s classifi- This, as the cost of borrow-
Philippines will likely advance cation, upper middle-income ing money to fund the country’s
to an upper middle-income economies are those with a spending on infrastructure and
status in 2020 other invest-
despite slower ments is expected
economic expan- to get higher be-
sion in the first cause of the an-
quarter this year. When we become an upper ticipated status.
“We have set middle-income country and we get Pernia said
back by a year credit ratings upgrades, we will get there is a grace
the likelihood of the lower commercial rates in the period of two to
becoming an up- global financial market. three years from
per middle coun- the time the
try to next year, country achieves
perhaps because the status before
of the setback in our growth gross national income (GNI) changes in terms and conditions
performance in the first quar- per capita of USD3,996 to of lending agreement take effect.
ter,” he said in a press briefing. USD12,375. “When we become an upper
Pernia said it is still possible The Philippine GNI per cap- middle-income country and
to hit the goal of achieving such ita reached USD3,830 in 2018. we get credit ratings upgrades,
status in 2019, “but I think it’s As the country graduates to we will get the lower commer-
going to be surer next year.” upper middle income by 2020, cial rates in the global financial
The country’s gross domestic Pernia, the National Economic market,” he added. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019
Pfizer, Mylan strengthen ties, Innovation, technology
create new company boosts economic
BY LINDA A. JOHNSON
The Associated Press
PFIZER, THE country’s largest
drugmaker, is creating a hybrid
new drug company by combin-
ing its off-patent branded drug
business with the generic phar-
maceutical company Mylan.
Pfizer’s Upjohn, which sells
one-time blockbusters like Vi-
agra and Lipitor that have lost
patent protection, will be spun
off and then it will combine
with Mylan, a $10 billion com-
pany.
The complex deal, expected
to close in the middle of next
year, will create a company with
estimated 2020 revenue in ex-
cess of $19 billion, with sales in
more than 165 countries. The
name for the new company has
yet to be determined.
The two companies have
worked together for years.
Pfizer manufactures Mylan’s
EpiPen, an auto-injector used
to halt life-threatening allergic
reactions. Mylan was heavily
criticized, and its CEO Heather
Bresch was brought before Con-
gress two years ago, to answer
questions about the price of the
EpiPen, which had jumped five-
fold to $600 for two EpiPens.
They have been in short supply
for more than a year because of
quality problems and upgrades
at a Pfizer factory.
Upjohn, the name of one of
the companies Pfizer gobbled
up during a spate of acquisi-
tions in the 1990s and 2000s,
sells off-patent and generic
drugs that include the stars that
drove Pfizer’s growth: pain kill-
ers Celebrex and Lyrica, Nor-
vasc for high blood pressure,
Effexor for severe heartburn,
Xanax for anxiety and Zoloft for
depression.
Those products and others
had been part of Pfizer’s “es-
sential health” business, but
were peeled off in January to
create Upjohn as a precursor to
the combination plan.
“We believe that this transac-
tion checks all the boxes,” said
Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla.
The executive, who took over
in January, said in an interview
that Pfizer’s huge sales force
in China will be able to boost
sales there of products made
by Mylan, which has a limited
Business 31
growth: NEDA
BY LESLIE GATPOLINTAN He cited the Department of
Philippine News Agency Budget and Management and
the Department of Science and
Technology that have estab-
MANILA — Socioeconomic lished a Project Digital Imaging
Planning Secretary Ernesto for Monitoring and Evaluation,
Pernia has stressed the need to which monitors government
vigorously advance the coun- projects through light detec-
try’s science, technology and tion and ranging technology,
innovation (STI) agenda, which satellites, and drones.
is key to economic growth and Pernia further noted Presi-
improving the quality of life of dent Rodrigo Duterte’s order in
Filipinos. his recent State-of-the-Nation
Speaking in Business Intel- Address (SONA) to streamline
ligence and Data Analytics government transactions and
Pfizer building in Brooklyn. MATTHEW RUTLEDGE / FLICKR, CC BY-NC 2.0 Forum and Showcase on Fri- processes and cut the red tape
day, Pernia said building STI through the use of digital tech-
presence in that huge market. they hold and will own 57% of ecosystem is nology.
Mylan is primarily a generic the combined new company; relevant as the “Developing
drugmaker, selling a broad mix Mylan shareholders will own government em- our capability to
of pills and shots for infectious 43%, receiving one share of the barks on efforts adopt, produce,
diseases and heart conditions. new company for each of their to strengthen and utilize these
Bourla said Mylan also has a Mylan shares. science and tech- We need types of technol-
strong pipeline of drugs in de- Mylan shares jumped on the nology. to upgrade ogies will allow
velopment, mainly complex news, closing up $2.32, or 12.6%, He pointed out our IT us to not only
generics that are difficult to at $20.78. Pfizer shares, down that the Philip- infrastructure, raise our eco-
manufacture and biosimilars, from a $46 high late last year, fell pines can benefit create nomic growth
near-copies of expensive bio- $1.64, or 3.8%, to $41.45. immensely from networks and potential but
logic drugs. The new company will be the adoption of database also improve
The strengthening ties be- incorporated in Delaware and digital technol- inter- the lives of our
tween Pfizer and Mylan come at run operations in Pittsburgh, ogy such as ana- operability people through
a precarious time for big drug- Hyderabad, India, and Shang- lytics, which can between quality public
makers, who face enormous hai, Upjohn’s current base. help organiza- and among services,” he
pressure to cut high prices for Mylan, which had moved its tions efficiently agencies, added.
brand-name drugs. Also, Pfizer legal location from Pennsyl- and immediately and produce The NEDA
just got generic competition to vania to Hertfordshire, Eng- identify prob- a skilled chief said tech-
one of its biggest sellers, Lyrica. land, will legally move back to lems, come up and nimble nological in-
Likewise, years of pressure the U.S. Pfizer is based in New with solutions, workforce novations can
from wholesalers to reduce York. Pfizer spent several years and even create that can further upgrade
prices for generic drugs, which unsuccessfully trying to buy new goods and optimize the particularly the
comprise most of Mylan’s port- drugmakers based in lower-tax services. use of these information
folio, have crimped its profits European countries so it could “For us in the emerging technology-
and driven its share price down move there on paper and reduce public sector, technologies. business process
50% in the past year. its U.S. tax bill, finally giving up there is much to outsourcing (IT-
That enabled Pfizer to “com- after the U.S. tax overhaul last be done in terms BPO) industry,
bine businesses at a more at- year changed the economics of of fully utiliz- which thus far
tractive price,” Edward Jones such a manoeuvr. ing data analyt- has contributed
analyst Ashtyn Evans said, add- The new company will be run ics. We need to about 10 percent
ing that Pfizer has wanted to Michael Goettler, now head of catch up with science, technol- to the country’s gross domestic
become a smaller, more inno- Upjohn, and will have Mylan’s ogy and innovation. We need to product (GDP) and 15 percent
vative company and now has a current board chairman, Rob- upgrade our IT infrastructure, to formal employment.
strong pipeline of experimental ert Coury as its executive chair- create networks and database He further underscored the
new drugs. man. Bresch, the Mylan CEO, inter-operability between and important role of academics,
“Growth from new, innova- will retire when the deal closes. among agencies, and produce such as scientists and engi-
tive products will have a bigger Upjohn currently brings in a skilled and nimble workforce neers, in the supply side of the
impact,” she said, “growing off a roughly 23% of Pfizer’s total that can optimize the use of STI ecosystem.
smaller base.” sales, which amounted to $53.6 these emerging technologies,” “But to make the ecosystem
Pfizer Inc. investors will be billion last year. he said. alive and functional, there must
getting shares in the new com- Upjohn will issue $12 billion Pernia, also Director-Gen- be demand for what scientists
pany tax free — and that entity of debt at or prior to separation, eral of the National Economic and engineers produce—i.e.,
will be offering a dividend as with gross debt proceeds kept and Development Authority the demand on the side of the
well. by Pfizer. The new company (NEDA), said the government private sector—business peo-
Shareholders of Pfizer will will have about $24.5 billion of has been actively improving ple, including industrialists,
receive 0.12 share of the new total debt outstanding at clos- its systems and is shifting to e- entrepreneurs, and capitalists,”
company for each Pfizer share ing. ■ governance. he added. ■
www.canadianinquirer.net
32
Are Facebook users better
off after its $5 billion fine?
BY MATT O’BRIEN
The Associated Press
IF YOU’RE one of Facebook’s
more than 2 billion users, are
you any better off now than you
were before the Federal Trade
Commission imposed new pri-
vacy restrictions and a $5 billion
fine on the company this week?
Facebook’s settlement with
the FTC after the agency’s year-
long investigation provides a de-
tailed account of the company’s
sneaky behaviour and secures a
handful of new safeguards, many
of them backward-looking. They
limit how Facebook shares some
data with third-party app devel-
opers, circumscribe the collec-
tion of phone numbers for ad-
vertising purposes and require
“clear and conspicuous” notice
before people’s photos and vid-
eos are subjected to facial recog-
nition technology.
But privacy experts say
there’s little that will slow
Facebook’s harvesting of vast
amounts of sensitive personal
information. That data is key to
how the tech company makes
a profit through targeted ad-
vertising — and Facebook has
a spotty record of protecting it.
“It will take us quite a while
to figure out whether this will
have any effect on how Face-
book does its business,” said Mi-
chelle Richardson, director of
privacy and data for the Center
for Democracy and Technology.
“These are small, incremental
changes. There’s no easy advice
to give individuals about any
switch they can flip to make the
privacy risks go away.”
Technology
Richardson said it’s possible
that accountability measures
imposed on Facebook CEO
Mark Zuckerberg, who must
personally certify compliance,
may give the company pause
before launching new services
that could threaten users’ pri-
vacy or data security.
But she said the FTC’s order
lacks firm rules that could have
guided how Facebook uses and
shares the information it collects.
That’s in part because, unless
Congress follows through with
proposals to enact a comprehen-
sive federal privacy law, the FTC
has little authority to police on-
line privacy concerns, she said.
The deal also absolves Face-
book of any known consumer-
protection claims prior to June
12, effectively wiping the slate
clean of past privacy violations.
Yale Privacy Lab researcher
Sean O’Brien said FTC’s limited
penalties will enable Facebook
to publicly say it is changing
course while maintaining an il-
lusion of privacy. It may bolster
the ranks of privacy-focused
managers and executives, he
said, and could add new menu
items to the platform’s already
confusing settings, “which most
users never change anyway.”
The company has also made
a public push for improving the
privacy of conversations on its
WhatsApp, Messenger and In-
stagram chatting services, but
O’Brien said it won’t give up
spying on far more valuable in-
formation about users’ online
behaviour and social lives.
“Facebook has surveillance at
the core of its business model,
which is the monetization of
data profiles about humans
and about human social inter-
action,” he said. “Far too many
companies are making money
off of Facebook and the data
economy in general for there to
be fundamental change.”
FTC’s ruling fell along parti-
san lines, with its three Repub-
lican commissioners voting in
favour of the punitive actions,
including the $5 billion fine,
which goes to the U.S. Trea-
sury’s general fund. The two
Democrats dissented because
they wanted tougher restric-
tions and penalties. Republi-
cans argued they couldn’t have
done much more without a dif-
ficult legal battle.
While the commissioners
disagreed on how to penalize
Facebook, the FTC’s formal le-
gal complaint makes clear what
is at stake for users and outlines
years of deception following a
2012 FTC consent order that
was supposed to curb Face-
book’s privacy abuses.
Wednesday’s complaint noted
that over 100 million Americans
“use Facebook every day to share
personal information, such as
their real name, date of birth,
hometown, current city, em-
ployer, relationship status, and
spouse’s name, as well as sensi-
tive personal information, such
as political views, sexual orienta-
tion, photos of minor children,
and membership in health-re-
lated and other support groups.”
The complaint also points to re-
search showing a user’s “likes”
of public Facebook pages “can be
used to accurately predict that
user’s personality traits, some-
times better than the user’s own
www.canadianinquirer.net
friends and family.”
The complaint said third-par-
ty apps given access to much of
that data by Facebook were by
September 2013 sucking out vast
quantities of personal informa-
tion, with a Facebook audit find-
ing that a single app made more
than 450 million data requests in
a 30-day period. The volume was
so great, according to the com-
plaint, that it led one Facebook
employee to comment, “I must
admit, I was surprised to find out
that we are giving out a lot here
for no obvious reason.”
Only after March 2018, when
the Cambridge Analytica pri-
vacy scandal broke, did Face-
book begin a “massive cultural
shift” to enforce its own pub-
licly stated policies designed to
protect user privacy, the com-
plaint said. Prior to that, even
after claiming it cut off all de-
velopers in April 2015, the com-
pany let several dozen “white-
listed” partners suck up data
that “Facebook knew consum-
ers might be sensitive to shar-
ing” without their knowledge
or consent, it added. Microsoft
and Sony continued to have ac-
cess to certain data until Face-
book publicly cut them off after
the settlement announcement
Wednesday.
Even with the piecemeal
restrictions the FTC did im-
pose, O’Brien said it’s possible
the company can find enough
wiggle room to work around
them. He is particularly skep-
tical about the FTC’s require-
ment that Facebook provide
“clear and conspicuous” notice
on how it is using facial recog-
nition technology and obtain
“affirmative express consent”
from users if it expands the
use of facial recognition be-
yond what it has previously
disclosed. The FTC imposed
that restriction after finding
that Facebook broke a similar
promise last year when it up-
dated its data policy in a way
that misrepresented the extent
to which consumers could opt
out of facial recognition.
Besides, after years of people
tagging friends’ faces as they
uploaded photos onto the social
network, the company already
has a valuable repository of im-
ages stored in its data centres.
“It’s closing the barn door af-
ter the horse is gone,” O’Brien
said. ■
AP Technology Writer Frank
Bajak contributed to this report.
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019
Chronic pain patients use app to help
manage symptoms in clinical trial
BY CASSANDRA SZKLARSKI
The Canadian Press
TORONTO — Chronic neck,
back and shoulder pain have
forced Terry McLaughlin to
take narcotics in order to func-
tion but the 64-year-old says
he’s loathe to become depen-
dent on opioids.
And so the northern Ontario
man says he diligently logs his
pain level on a mobile app that
can also record sleep habits and
activity level.
He says it keeps him from in-
creasing his dosage, and helps
him understand what triggers
his symptoms and why.
“The more I communicate
with the app the better it is for
me because I can always go back
and see, ‘OK, this has helped
me. How do I make it better? If
(my pain level) is a seven today,
let’s try to make it a six tomor-
row,”‘ says McLaughlin, add-
ing that sleep quality as well as
temperature and humidity can
affect whether he has a good
day or a bad one.
“You know what you did
wrong and you correct it be-
cause you don’t want to have to
take that pill early.”
McLaughlin lives in Val
Apple buys Intel’s smartphone modem division for $1 billion
BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is
paying Intel $1 billion for the
chip maker’s smartphone mo-
dem division in a deal driven
by the upcoming transition to
the next generation of wireless
technology.
The agreement announced
Thursday comes three months
after Apple ended a long-run-
ning dispute with one of Intel’s
rivals, Qualcomm. That en-
sured Apple would have a pipe-
line of chips it needs for future
iPhones to work on ultrafast
wireless networks known as 5G.
The Apple-Qualcomm truce
prompted Intel to abandon its
attempts to make chips for 5G
modems, effectively putting
that part of its business up for
Gagne, Ont., about an hour east
of Timmins and 20 minutes
south of Iroquois Falls, where
his doctor is based.
He’s among 250 patients tak-
ing part in a clinical trial testing
whether the app can help man-
age chronic pain, with 84 of
those patients drawn from the
Iroquois Falls Family Health
Team.
Although the project is still
gathering data, principal inves-
tigator Dr. Atul Prabhu is bull-
ish on early anecdotal evidence
the app appears to help some
patients control their pain, bet-
ter communicate their suffer-
ing to their doctor, and open up
to the idea of tapering medica-
tions.
He notes that most patients
otherwise recount pain epi-
sodes from memory or scat-
tered notes, and that may be
further distorted by other fac-
tors such as discomfort or ex-
haustion from their commute
if they live far from the doctor’s
office.
Too often, these accounts
only provide a snapshot of how
the patient feels during their
checkup, says Prabhu, a co-lead
of the program, which uses the
third-party app known as Man-
age My Pain that anyone can
grabs.
Once the sale is completed
later this year Apple will be
picking up about 2,200 Intel
employees and 17,000 wireless
technology patents. Barring
any complications, the deal is
expected to close sometime be-
tween October and December.
Apple’s purchase of Intel’s
smartphone modem patents
and other technology could
bolster its attempt to build its
own line 5G chips and lessen
its dependence on Qualcomm.
The Cupertino, California,
has hammered out a licensing
agreement with Qualcomm
that carries through April 2025,
with an option to extend for an
additional two years after that.
Qualcomm is a pivotal suppli-
er in the rollout of 5G, particu-
larly in the U.S. That’s because
President Donald Trump’s ad-
download.
“We have no idea about how
the patients are feeling at home,
how are the patients’ trajec-
tory on a day-to-day basis,” says
Prabhu, deputy anesthetist-in-
chief at Toronto Western Hos-
pital.
“If they woke up at 2 o’clock
in the morning in pain, they
ministration has blacklisted
another key 5G supplier, Hua-
wei, as part of its trade war with
China.
So far, 5G connections are
only available in a few cities in
the U.S., but they are expected
to become more prevalent by
next year. The faster networks
will enable consumers with 5G
devices to download movies in
a matter of seconds and access
other streaming services more
quickly.
Apple isn’t expected to re-
lease an iPhone that works on
5G networks until September
2020, putting it behind rivals
such as Huawei and Samsung,
which already make handsets
that work with the faster wire-
less technology.
“This is a clear ‘doubling
down’ on 5G which remains at
the centerpiece of the compa-
www.canadianinquirer.net
Technology
could punch that into the app
and it would record so when
they came to speak to one of
my colleagues, they could say,
‘Here’s the proof, I was actu-
ally having pain and I’m better
in the morning and I’m worse at
night.”‘
Most of the study’s partici-
pants are patients at Toronto
ny’s smartphone future,” Wed-
bush Securities analyst Dan
Ives said of Apple’s deal with
Intel.
The sale is a residue of In-
tel’s inability to catch up with
Qualcomm in the business of
making chips for smartphone
modems. Intel spent the past
decade trying to make inroads
in that market, with its big
move coming in 2011 when it
bought Infineon Technologies’
smartphone modem division
for $1.4 billion.
At one point, analysts be-
lieved Intel’s smartphone
modem business was worth
billions of dollars, but that
valuation plummeted as it be-
came clearer that the company
was falling further behind in
the 5G evolution. Investors
still seemed pleased with the
price that Intel fetched from
33
Western Hospital, Toronto
General Hospital and the Cen-
tenary Pain Clinic based out of
the Rouge Valley Hyperbaric
Medical Centre in Scarbor-
ough.
But researchers say the study
is unique for including area res-
idents of the far-flung Iroquois
Falls, since such rural commu-
nities are rarely able to test new
technologies or influence their
development.
McLaughlin’s doctor says the
app appears to be especially
successful in the remote com-
munity of 4,500, where 2,000
patient visits in 2017 were re-
lated to chronic pain.
“When I first arrived in this
town I had never seen so many
people with chronic pain and
high-dose opiates compared
to the patients that I had seen
in Vancouver,” says Dr. Auri
Bruno-Petrina, who worked in
family medicine for about sev-
en years in Vancouver before
joining the Iroquois Falls team
in 2011.
“We don’t have the doctor re-
tention to offer a continuity of
care and see what are the other
issues. Doctors come here and
go within a year, so then oth-
❱❱ PAGE 36 Chronic pain
Apple. Intel’s stock gained 6%
to $55.40 in extended trading
after the deal was announced
while Apple shares dipped a
penny to $207.01.
Apple rarely spends a lot
on acquisitions, preferring to
snap up startups for relatively
small sums. The price it’s pay-
ing Intel ranks this deal among
its largest besides its $3 billion
takeover of Beats’ headphones
and music streaming service in
2014.
The Intel deal could spur
speculation that Apple may be
more open to making big ac-
quisitions as it looks for new
avenues for growth amid slow-
ing demand for the iPhone, its
main moneymaker for the past
decade. Apple can easily afford
to wheel and deal, with $225
billion in cash at the end of
March. ■
 AUGUST 2, 2019 34

CANADA

AMP PROMATIC IS LOOKING FOR

PRODUCTION WORKERS
Sheet metal manufacturing company is looking to hire
workers with some experience on metal cutting machines,
plus general labor.
If you don’t have experience but are hard worker we
will train and will offer you good wages.
This can be a full-time or part-time position and we
are located in Vaughan, Hwy 7 and Weston Rd.

Contact: Walter at 416-991-1007

or send e-mail ampincwf@gmail.com

#1 ASTROLOGER IN VANCOUVER
HIRING FOR 8 TIM HORTON
PANDIT: SAI GANESH STORES IN VANCOUVER
PALM, FACE AND HOROSCOPE READING
OVER 35 YEARS EXPERIENCE
Food Service Supervisors, Bakers, and Food
100% REMOVAL OF BLACK MAGIC & GIVE PROTECTION
Counter Attendants
MONEY CHILDLESS SEXUAL
ENEMY COUPLES PROPERTY VISIT ME ONCE. Permanent/Full Time. 6 mos.to 2 yrs. experience
GET 100%
FAMILY JEALOUSY WORRIED GUARANTEED Salary range $13.00 to $14.70 per hour + benefits
MARRIAGE LOVE ABOUT SOLUTIONS

EDUCATION HEALTH LOVED ONES Willing to work shifts; Spoken English knowledge
Anyone who is authorized to work in Canada can apply.
SORT OUT ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS IN 48 HOURS
Send application w/complete work history and references to:
778-667-0165 fmellin10@gmail.com

Electronic Technicians Needed URGENT: NANNY in

Experience in Low Voltage
Pickering, Ontario
Electrical System To care for 2 young kids in
installation and Servicing private home. 40hrs/week
Computers with Networking
Email your resume at
Email resume to suda@alarmboss.com
Call 416-432-1902
adamae27@gmail.com

Spectrum Health Care is Hiring

Personal Support Workers
who want more!
More hours
Benefits plus pension
$500 Signing Bonus
Learn more at www.spectrumhealthcare.com

www.canadianinquirer.net

Taste of the Tour: Keeping
wolves at bay in the Alps
BY JOHN LEICESTER
The Associated Press
VALMEINIER, FRANCE —
When members of the cheese-
making Bricard family say
they’re working to keep wolves
from the door, they mean it lit-
erally.
The mountain pastures
where their milk-producing
goats feed, high in the Alps
where the Tour de France was
reaching its climax this week,
are also home to wolves that
will gobble up tasty livestock
animals if they get the chance.
Cyril Bricard says he’s already
lost several sheep to the preda-
tors.
So he has sheepdogs Our-
sone and Nele standing guard.
Raised as pups to live with the
Bricards’ flock, which they pro-
tect as fiercely as family, the
chunky dogs with a don’t-mess-
with-me bark roam with the
goats as they nibble on wild-
flowers and mountain grasses
that lend their flavour to the
Bricards’ rich, tasty cheeses.
Also lending a paw is Follow,
a zealous Border Collie ex-
tremely serious about his job of
herding the goats to wherever
the Bricards want them to go.
‘Chernobyl’ miniseries sends
curious tourists to Lithuania
BY LIUDAS DAPKUS
The Associated Press
VISAGINAS, LITHUANIA —
An HBO miniseries featuring
Soviet-era nuclear nightmares
has sparked global interest in
the 1986 Chernobyl disaster
and boosted tourism in Lithu-
ania.
The Baltic country, which
served as the filming location
for “Chernobyl,” has become a
destination of so-called atom-
Travel
Goats that don’t move swiftly
— Look sharp! On the double!
— out of the milking pen after
their udders have been emptied
of warm, creamy milk risk a nip
at the heels from the bossy dog.
“The dogs are very impor-
tant for us,” Bricard said. “Both
the guard dogs that protect the
flock against predators and the
Border Collies that help move
the flock and take the goats
where we want them.”
“It’s true that we’d sometimes
be in trouble without the dogs.”
Baguette and butter
A violent hailstorm threw the
Tour into chaos on Friday, forc-
ing organizers to cut short the
nail-biting Stage 19 in the high
Alps because riders were speed-
ing headlong toward a road sud-
denly blocked by slush, torrents
of water and a rockslide.
Unable to reach the planned
finish at the ski station of
Tignes, organizers decided that
riders’ placings would instead
be based on their time at the top
of the highest mountain pass
of this Tour — the Iseran, at
2,770 metres (9,090 feet) above
sea level — which leading rid-
ers, but not all of the field, had
just scaled when the race was
stopped.
ic tourism since the program
aired earlier this year.
At Ignalina nuclear power
plant, Mikhail Nefedyev was
staring grimly at the row of
blinking green lights on a con-
trol panel when another group
of curious visitors poured into
his realm. The 64 year-old en-
gineer explained to them what
exactly happened when a simi-
lar reactor exploded in Cher-
nobyl, Ukraine, 33 years ago.
The Ignalina plant is of the
same prototype as the one in
And just like that, Colombian
rider Egan Bernal found him-
self in the yellow jersey. He flew
away from Julian Alaphilippe
on the climb and reached the
top 2 minutes, 10 seconds
ahead of the Frenchman, who
had held the race lead for a total
of 14 days. Exceptionally, there
was no winner of Stage 19, be-
cause no one reached the finish.
Bernal now leads Alaphilippe
by 48 seconds. Defending
champion Geraint Thomas
is third, 1:16 behind his Ineos
teammate Bernal.
Stat of the day
4. The number of Tours
de France that French rider
Thibaut Pinot has failed to
complete. A podium finisher in
2014, Pinot abandoned the race
in tears on Stage 19, hobbled by
a muscle injury in his left thigh,
killing French hopes that he
could win in Paris on Sunday.
Next on the menu
A final day of climbing in the
Alps and the last opportunity
for rivals to dislodge Bernal
from the race lead before the
finish on the Champs-Elysees.
Stage 20 culminates with a long
uphill to the ski station of Val
Thorens. ■
Chernobyl. It has similar blue-
prints and the same water-
cooled graphite-moderated re-
actors with a capacity of 1,500
megawatts of power. Ignalina
was shut down a decade ago.
Closing and decommissioning
it were key conditions of Lithu-
ania’s entry to the European
Union in 2004.
In 1986, Lithuania, then part
of the Soviet empire, was one
of the republics affected by the
❱❱ PAGE 36 ‘Chernobyl’ miniseries
www.canadianinquirer.net
El Nido rehab sans
closure still viable: DOT
BY JOYCE ANN L.
ROCAMORA
Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The Department of
Tourism (DOT) on Friday said
the rehabilitation of El Nido,
Palawan is still possible with-
out closing some of its beaches
identified by the Department of
the Interior and Local Govern-
ment (DILG) with a high level
of fecal coliform.
In a letter dated July 15, the
DILG asked the DOT and the
Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR)
to convene the El Nido Inter-
Agency Rehabilitation Task
Force to discuss the clean-up of
Bacuit Bay and Corong-Corong
Outfall and its possible closure
to avoid the risk of tourists and
locals contracting diseases.
“We have yet to receive the
report. But I will be meeting
with Secretaries (Roy) Cimatu
and (Eduardo) Año on August
1, and this will definitely be part
of the agenda,” DOT Secretary
Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said
in a text message.
“But as of now, from the
DOT’s perspective, a rehabilita-
tion without closure is the most
35
viable recommendation,” she
added.
In the letter, Año reported that
at least 3.4 million most probable
number/ 100 milligrams on fecal
coliform level have been found
in the water samples taken from
one of the outfalls in Corong-
Corong and Bacuit Bay.
The two shorefronts’ “dread-
ful condition” was compounded
by the presence of informal set-
tler families, non-enforcement
of easement regulations on
outfalls, and unregulated dry-
docking and mooring activities,
the DILG chief added.
Upon requesting the task
force to convene, Año said
Bacuit Bay and Corong-Corong
Outfall may “potentially” be
closed from water activities to
preserve the area and prevent
the contraction of diseases.
In 2018, the national govern-
ment has immediately looked
out for environmental violators
in major destinations in the
country, and at the same time,
pushed and advocated for sus-
tainable tourism after the Bo-
racay rehabilitation.
Last November, the DENR
set a six-month timeline for the
local government to rehabili-
tate El Nido. ■
36 Travel AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY

100% GUARANTEED 100% GUARANTEED 100% GUARANTEED

‘Chernobyl’ miniseries...

❰❰ 35 nuclear disaster. Thousands ($50.6 million) last year.

were sent to clean up the mess
in Chernobyl. Many of them
are dead.
Today, the nuclear disaster is helping
Lithuania grow as a tourist destination.
“Chernobyl,” a highly-rated minise-
ries, continues to send curious watch-
ers to the filming locations in the capital
Vilnius and at Ignalina, where glowing
uranium rods cool in concrete pools.
The plant, which is still open for tour-
ists, drew 2,240 visitors in 2018. By July,
1,630 had visited the plant. And demand
is growing, plant officials said.
“They have made a good movie, I
guess. But what happened long ago does
not bother us now. I think looking back-
ward is not good,” Nefedyev said, after
explaining how the RBMK-type reactor
blew up.
Tourists who come to this Baltic
After locations in Vilnius, atomic
tourists may opt to travel 160 kilome-
ters (100 miles) north and join a three-
hour tour of the nuclear plant. They
are given dosimeters, plastic helmets,
white clothes and shoes before ventur-
ing through a maze of long, poorly lit
corridors, reactor halls, turbine hangars
and the control center with the red but-
ton which was pushed just before the
explosion. Cellphones, cameras, eating,
drinking and smoking are strictly off
limits.
The plant tour costs 67 euros (75 dol-
lars) per person and tickets are sold
until Christmas, said Natalija Survila,
spokeswoman for Ignalina power plant.
Lynn Adams, a 49-year-old psycho-
therapist, came from the United King-
dom to see the whole thing with her own
eyes.

PANDIT : SRI SAI RAM

coastal country of 3 million to see the “It feels like you are stepping back into
HBO filming locations first visit the one of the scenes actually. It’s very, very
KGB museum in downtown Vilnius authentic. And I remember seeing about

in Surrey
Pandit: SRI SAI RAM, Born in Astrologer’s Family.
He Can Tell Your Past,Present & Future.
He Is Expert In Palm Reading, Face Reading, Horoscope
& Numerology, Vastu Shastra, Lucky Numbers And Gems.
where interrogation scenes were shot.
They are taken to a Soviet-era district
of gray condos built in the mid-1980s
that look somewhat like Pripyat, a nu-
clear city that served the Chernobyl
plant.
“People come to see these places that
we never used to promote. This is very
new and unusual to see them not in
the Old Town taking photos of Baroque
churches, but sporting selfies here,” said
Inga Romanovskiene, general manager
at Go Vilnius agency.
Already a popular movie-making
destination, Lithuania has benefited
economically from the HBO miniseries.
The amount of foreign capital spent
on filming reached 45.5 million euros
Chernobyl on the news, but I’m so much
more interested in what happened and
the events having seen the drama series.
So I think it has kind of ignited an inter-
est that I wasn’t aware of at the time,”
Adams said after the visit to a Soviet-era
district, used by HBO as a filming loca-
tion for Pripyat.
Antanas Turcinas was among those
sent to Chernobyl weeks after the di-
saster. He hopes the buzz from the
miniseries leads to better care for sur-
vivors.
“This movie has brought back old
memories. Emotions are very strong,
because in 1986 we did not understand
what we faced. I am happy to be still
alive,” he said. ■

Chronic pain...

SPECIALIST IN BRINGING
LOVED ONES BACK
EXPERT IN REMOVING
BLACK MAGIC & EVIL SPIRITS
PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL * ALL RELIGIONS ARE WELCOME
PLEASE CALL FOR APPOINTMENT:
604.808.3159 | 604.498.4789
12183, 98TH AVE, SURREY
100% GUARANTEED 100% GUARANTEED
❰❰ 36 er doctors keep prescribing
what’s already on without fully
assessing.”
She says at least 60 of her patients
have joined the trial, which began in
January 2018, and estimates that half
have scaled back their pain medications.
The patients range in age from 40s to
80s, with most in their 60s, she says.
“Several patients of mine are taper-
ing off opiates because they are realizing
the pain medication is not helping them.
There are other things in their lives that
are triggering pain,” she says, listing
problems that mostly involve chronic
back pain, but also myofascial pain and
arthritic pain.
“Then I look at what part is affected
— is it real pain or is it depression or is
it more anxiety or sleep disturbance?
Then I start to treat the other things
first without even touching the pain
100% GUARANTEED medication because I know that’s not
the problem. And they agree because
they can see the data — they entered the
data, not me.”
Patient entries are automatically
available for her to review, and Bruno-
Petrina can generate charts for quick
analysis before seeing the patient in
person. And because the data is acces-
sible through a portal, other specialists
the patient may be referred to can view
their medical history without them hav-
ing to rehash it all.
Prabhu says the trial wraps Jan. 8,
2020, with analysis and results expected
to begin rolling out later that year.
In the meantime, Bruno-Petrina is
buoyed by noticeable changes in her pa-
tients’ ability to better understand their
own symptoms, and the stronger bonds
she’s forged with them.
“What they really like is that I can see
their pain,” she says. “That’s how they
say it to me — ‘Oh, now you can finally
see my pain.’” ■

www.canadianinquirer.net

For this roasted salmon, skip
the butter and go for relish
AMERICA’S TEST
KITCHEN
IT’S NO wonder salmon is one
of the most popular fish. Its
flesh is rich-tasting, thanks to
high levels of heart-healthy
oils, and it takes well to many
treatments. The key is to avoid
overcooking it, especially wild
salmon, which is leaner than
farmed.
Our hybrid roasting method
solved this by heating the oven
to 500 F before dropping the
temperature to 275 F. The ini-
tial blast of heat firmed the ex-
terior and rendered some fat
while the fish gently cooked.
Salmon is often roasted in
butter, but we wanted a health-
ier approach that would con-
trast with the fish’s richness. So
we made a bright tangerine rel-
ish perked up with spicy ginger.
Skin-on salmon fillets hold
together better during cooking.
A summer tomato gratin with bright flavour
and no mush
Food
If you can’t find tangerines, you
can use oranges. If your salmon
is less than 1 inch thick, start
checking for doneness early. If
using farmed salmon, cook un-
til thickest part of fillet regis-
ters 125 F.
Oven-roasted salmon with
tangerine and ginger relish
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 35 minutes
Salmon:
4 (4- to 6 ounce) skin-on
wild-caught salmon fillets, 1
inch thick
1 teaspoon cold-pressed ex-
tra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Relish:
4 tangerines, rind and pith
removed and segments cut into
1/2 inch pieces (1 cup)
1 scallion, sliced thin
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons cold-pressed ex-
tra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh
ginger
Salt and pepper
For the relish: Place tanger-
ines in fine-mesh strainer set
over medium bowl and drain
for 15 minutes.
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon
tangerine juice from bowl.
Whisk in scallion, lemon juice,
oil, and ginger. Stir in tanger-
ines and season with salt and
pepper to taste.
For the salmon: Adjust oven
rack to lowest position, place
aluminum foil-lined rimmed
baking sheet on rack, and heat
oven to 500 F. Pat salmon dry
with paper towels, rub with oil,
and season with salt and pep-
per.
Once oven reaches 500 F, re-
duce oven temperature to 275
F. Remove sheet from oven and
carefully place salmon, skin-
side down, on hot sheet. Roast
www.canadianinquirer.net
until centre is still translucent
when checked with tip of paring
knife and registers 120 F (for
medium-rare), 4 to 6 minutes.
Slide fish spatula along un-
derside of fillets and transfer
to individual plates or serving
platter, leaving skin behind;
discard skin. Top with relish
AMERICA’S TEST
KITCHEN
A SUMMER tomato gratin
should burst with concentrat-
ed, bright tomato flavour and
contrasting firm texture from
the bread, but most recipes lead
to mushy results. Not this one.
Starting our gratin on the
stovetop initiated the breakdown
of the tomatoes, drove off some
moisture that would otherwise
have sogged out the bread, and
shortened the overall cooking
time. We finished the dish in the
dry, even heat of the oven.
Toasting large cubes of a
crusty artisan-style baguette en-
sured that the bread didn’t get
too soggy once combined with
the tomatoes. After toasting the
bread, we added the coarsely
chopped tomatoes as well as
garlic, a small amount of sugar,
and salt and pepper. Just before
37
and serve. ■
Nutrition information per serv-
ing: 283 calories; 115 calories
from fat; 13 g fat (2 g saturated;
0 g trans fats); 78 mg cholester-
ol; 356 mg sodium; 13 g carbohy-
drate; 2 g fiber; 10 g sugar; 29 g
protein.
moving the skillet to the oven,
we folded in most of the toasted
bread and scattered the remain-
der over the top along with some
Parmesan to create a crusty,
savory topping that contrasted
with the custardy interior.
A scattering of fresh basil
provided colour and bright fla-
vour. The success of this recipe
depends on using ripe, in-sea-
son tomatoes. Do not use plum
tomatoes, which contain less
juice than regular round to-
matoes and will result in a dry
gratin. You can serve the gratin
hot, warm, or at room tempera-
ture. You will need a 12-inch
oven-safe skillet for this recipe.
Best summer tomato gratin
Servings: 6-8
Start to finish: 1 hour, 15 min-
utes
❱❱ PAGE 38 A summer
38 Food AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY

A summer...
❰❰ 37 • 6 tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 ounces
crusty baguette, cut into 3/4
inch pieces (4 cups)
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 3 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored
and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 ounces Parmesan
cheese, grated (3/4 cup)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh
basil
Adjust oven rack to middle
position and heat oven to 350
F. Heat 1/4 cup oil in 12-inch
oven-safe skillet over medium-
low heat until shimmering. Add
bread and stir to coat. Cook,
stirring constantly, until bread
is browned and toasted, about 5
minutes; transfer to bowl.
Cook remaining 2 tablespoons
oil and garlic in now-empty skil-
let over low heat, stirring con-
stantly, until garlic is golden at
edges, 30 to 60 seconds. Stir in
tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pep-
per. Increase heat to medium-
high and cook, stirring occasion-
ally, until tomatoes have started
to break down and have released
enough juice to be mostly sub-
merged, 8 to 10 minutes.
Off heat, gently stir in 3 cups
bread until completely moist-
ened and evenly distributed.
Using spatula, press down on
bread until completely sub-
merged. Arrange remaining 1
cup bread evenly over surface,
pressing to partially submerge.
Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.
Transfer skillet to oven and
bake until top of gratin is deep-
ly browned, tomatoes are bub-
bling, and juice has reduced,
40 to 45 minutes. After 30 min-
utes, run spatula around edge
of skillet to loosen crust and
release any juice underneath.
(Gratin will appear loose and
jiggle around outer edges but
will thicken as it cools.)
Remove skillet from oven and
let sit for 15 minutes. Sprinkle
with basil and serve. ■
Nutrition information per serv-
ing: 301 calories; 148 calories
from fat; 16 g fat (3 g saturated;
0 g trans fats); 6 mg cholesterol;
740 mg sodium; 31 g carbohy-
drate; 4 g fiber; 7 g sugar; 8 g
protein.
How to a make a moist,
chunky shrimp burger
without the mush
AMERICA’S TEST
KITCHEN
A GOOD shrimp burger should
be first and foremost about the
shrimp. Unfortunately, many
shrimp burgers are more remi-
niscent of fish-flavoured rub-
ber patties or over-seasoned
bread balls than shrimp.
We set out to develop a recipe
for our ideal shrimp burger:
moist, chunky yet still cohesive,
and with seasoning that com-
plements the sweet shrimp fla-
vour but doesn’t overpower it.
After early testing we decid-
ed we needed a combination of
finely chopped shrimp to help
bind the burgers, as well as
some larger, bite-size chunks.
We achieved this texture with
help from the food processor.
We wanted to use as little
binder as possible, to avoid the
soggy, mushy results we’d seen
in other shrimp burgers that
frequently used a combination BONBON / FLICKR, CC BY-SA 2.0

of mayonnaise, egg, and bread

crumbs. We kept the mayon-
naise for the much-needed
moisture and fat it added but
left out the egg and decreased
the bread crumbs.
Some minced scallion and
parsley, lemon zest, and a touch
of cayenne pepper rounded out
the flavour of our burgers.
Grilled southern shrimp
burgers
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 1 hour, 15 min-
utes
Chef’s Note: Be sure to use
raw, not cooked, shrimp here.
Dry the shrimp thoroughly be-
fore processing, or the burgers
will be mushy. Handle the burg-
ers gently when shaping and
grilling; if overhandled while
being shaped, the burgers will
be dense and rubbery, and if
handled roughly during cook-
ing, they will break apart.
• 1 slice hearty white sandwich
bread, torn into large pieces
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 scallions, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh
parsley
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon
zest
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds extra-large
shrimp (21 to 25 per pound),
peeled, deveined, and patted
dry
• Vegetable oil
Pulse bread in food proces-
sor to coarse crumbs, about 10
pulses. Transfer to small bowl.
Do not clean food processor.
Combine mayonnaise, scal-
lions, parsley, lemon zest, salt,
pepper, and cayenne in large
bowl until uniform.
Pulse shrimp in now-empty
food processor until some piec-
es are finely minced and others
are coarsely chopped, about 7
pulses. Add shrimp to mayon-
naise mixture and gently fold
until just combined. Sprinkle
bread crumbs over mixture and
gently fold until incorporated.
Scrape shrimp mixture onto
small baking sheet, divide into
4 equal portions, and loosely
pack each into 1-inch-thick pat-
ty. Cover and refrigerate patties
for at least 30 minutes or up to
3 hours.
For a charcoal grill: Open
bottom vent completely. Light
large chimney starter three-
quarters filled with charcoal
briquettes (4 1/2 quarts). When
top coals are partially covered
with ash, pour evenly over grill.
Set cooking grate in place, cov-
er, and open lid vent complete-
ly. Heat grill until hot, about 5
minutes.
For a gas grill: Turn all burn-
ers to high, cover, and heat grill
until hot, about 15 minutes.
Turn all burners to medium-
high.
Clean and oil cooking grate.
Lightly brush tops of burg-
ers with oil, lay them on grill,
oiled side down, and lightly
brush other side with oil. Cook
burgers, without pressing on
them, until lightly browned
and cooked through, 10 to 14
minutes, flipping them halfway
through grilling. Transfer burg-
ers to platter, tent with alumi-
num foil, and let rest for 5 min-
utes before serving. ■
Nutrition information per serv-
ing: 300 calories; 171 calories
from fat; 19 g fat (3 g saturated;
0 g trans fats); 220 mg choles-
terol; 1236 mg sodium; 7 g car-
bohydrate; 1 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 24
g protein.

www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2019 39

Get the latest News & Updates

read daily news

from Philippines,
Canada & the World
www.canadianinquirer.net
The one and only daily Filipino-Canadian live news

www.canadianinquirer.net
40 AUGUST 2, 2019 FRIDAY

www.canadianinquirer.net