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The AIH Transcript for August 20, 2020

Hosts: Helen Mann and Talia Schlanger

Prologue

HELEN MANN: Hello. I'm Helen Mann, sitting in for Carol Off.

TALIA SCHLANGER: Good evening. I'm Talia Schlanger, sitting in for Chris Howden. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

TS: Tonight:

HM: Brick by brick. Prosecutors have built a case against Steve Bannon. He's charged with defrauding donors under the false pretense of building a border wall. A former federal prosecutor says the big question now is, will Mr. Bannon flip?

TS: Not a moment too soon. Just as the COVID-19 aid package was to expire, Ottawa announces an extension to serve benefits and expands EI to help more people. Our guest says the help is desperately needed.

HM: Poison pattern. A human rights advocate in Russia says the apparent poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny fits the mold of past incidents, and the timing suggests politics are at play.

TS: Perfect storm. A Sudanese refugee dies near Calais, France, after attempting to cross the English Channel in a dinghy. The latest victim of the pandemic that has made such crossings more dangerous than ever.

HM: Swish come true. We hear from an Indigenous basketball player about how it feels to earn a major college scholarship and about making the most of a postpone season.

TS: And when a Toronto man came across a case of wine online that cost exactly zero dollars, he assumed his purchase plans would die on the vine. But he persevered, and now he's toasting his success, and one heck of a story. As It Happens. The Thursday Edition. Radio that assumes he went to grape lengths.

[Music: Theme]

Part 1: How this Ontarian bought almost $1,000 worth of wine for $0

Bannon charged

Guest: Elie Honig

TS: Another former member of Donald Trump's inner circle has been arrested. Steve Bannon, the architect of Mr. Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and a former top advisor to the U.S. president, has been charged with fraud. Prosecutors say Mr. Bannon and three others defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors of 25 million dollars under the false pretense of building a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico. So what does Donald Trump have to say about it? Here's what he told reporters today.

DONALD TRUMP: Well, I feel very badly. I haven't been dealing with him for a long period of time, as most of the people in this room know. But he was involved in our campaign and for a small part of the administration very early on. I haven't been dealing with him at all. I know nothing about the project other than I didn't like, when I read about it, I didn't like it. I said, this is for government. This isn't for private people. And it sounded to me like showboating. And I think I let my opinion be very strongly stated at the time. I didn't like it. It was showboating. And I think it's a very sad thing for Mr. Bannon. And I think it's surprising. But it's sad. It's very sad.

REPORTER: Respectfully, sir, it's not just Steve Bannon -- it's Roger Stone, it's Michael Flynn, it's Rick Gates, Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen. What does it say about your judgment that these are the kinds of people...[cross talking] and the culture of lawlessness around people...

DONALD TRUMP: I thought there was great lawlessness in the Obama administration. They spied on our campaign illegally.

TS: The U.S. president responding to news that his former advisor, Steve Bannon, was arrested and charged today. Elie Honig is a former federal prosecutor. We reached him in Metuchen, New Jersey.

HM: Elie Honig, how do you think President Trump really feels about seeing Steve Bannon arrested and charged?

ELIE HONIG: Wow. There's a lot to dissect there. It reflects terribly on the president. And as the reporter noted there, this is not an isolated incident. I mean, the president has now seen his former personal attorney, several of his top political advisors, his former national security advisor, his former campaign chair, his former deputy campaign chair, all of them federally indicted and most of them convicted, with the exception of Bannon who just was indicted today. We've also seen this dance before. The president is close to somebody, they have a falling out, the person gets indicted and then the president tries to claim hardly knew the guy. I mean, you can't say that was Steve Bannon. Steve Bannon was one of the key architects of the president's 2016 election victory.

HM: Now, in this instance, Mr. Bannon and three other men promised donors that their money was going towards building a wall at Mexico's border. Where was this money really going according to prosecutors?

EH: So this was really sort of an old school scam, in some respects. Bannon and the other defendants said, we're collecting money, private donations, and we're going to donate it to help build the wall. And that money instead ended up in the pockets of Steve Bannon, then the other three defendants. And one of the things that I found really so offensive about the conduct here is the people they ripped off. They ripped off tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of small donors -- people who agreed with this political promise that the president made, as I think as ridiculous as that political premise is, but these are small donors who shelled out a few bucks, whatever they could afford because they believed in this political cause and ended up in the pockets of the people who were making these false promises. The indictment talks about people who contributed to this, who actually called up and got in contact and said, we want to make sure this money is actually going to this cause. And they were assured falsely -- 'Yeah, that's where it's going.' But of course, it just funded Steve Bannon and the other defendants' lavish lifestyles instead.

HM: Do you suspect that those people might feel a sense of betrayal today?

EH: Whatever one may think of the wall, that's what they wanted their money to go for. They certainly did not intend to fund Steve Bannon's yacht or these other guys' private travel. But look, we're also about to see, I believe, some of these defendants turn on each other. It happens when you have a multi-defendant case like this. The best thing you can do to help yourself is to cooperate.

HM: You mentioned Mr. Bannon's yacht. Listeners might be surprised to learn that he was arrested on a yacht off the coast of Connecticut by U.S. postal inspectors. Can you explain that kind of unusual take-down?

EH: It's such an interesting wrinkle given all the controversy we've been dealing with here in the United States about the apparent attempt by the Trump campaign or Trump himself to slow down the postal service, to try to slow down the flow of mail-in ballots. But one thing people may not know is the U.S. Postal Service, like pretty much every significantly sized federal agency here in the United States, has its own law enforcement agents. They're called postal inspectors and they do way more than just little theft of mail cases. They do major fraud cases. I made cases with really smart, aggressive law enforcement agents. Everyone thinks of the FBI -- they are the foremost agency. But the postal inspectors are an underrated law enforcement agency. And this is exactly the kind of case they do. They do fraud cases. You may ask, well, what's the connection to the Postal Service? When this started, a lot of the frauds were what we'll call mail fraud, because you would commit these frauds over the mail. Now, that includes wire fraud, but it's a bit of a historical relic. But don't underestimate the postal inspectors. That's a real law enforcement agency and they do great work.

HM: Now, it should be noted, you mentioned the Southern District of New York, where he used to work in that office. Mr. Trump is not a fan. The administration is not a fan of the southern district. What do you make about the fact that the charges come from there?

EH: Well, the southern district is famously independent. The nickname or joke, I guess, was that we were called -- we should have been called the sovereign district of New York, because while the SDNY is part of the United States Department of Justice, it is famously independent. And what I mean by that is independent from politics certainly. We don't do Republican, Democrat, partisan, anything. But also independence from the attorney general, from the sort of, you know, big shots down in D.C.. The greatest tradition of the SDNY is that we just pursue the facts without fear or favour. And I think today is a really good example of that.

HM: Do you know if there's any indication that Bannon or the others knew that they were under investigation?

EH: It's hard to know that. There are times when you do give a heads up to the attorneys for the people that you're investigating. And there's times when you want to keep it covert because you want to catch him by surprise or because you fear they may flee if they find out, you fear they may destroy evidence. I mean, it has been reported that Bannon has been living on this yacht in the Long Island Sound, south of Connecticut, for a while now. If I'm a prosecutor and I know that, my instructions to the team would be "Let's keep this quiet. We're going to have to catch him by surprise." Because I don't like that. I don't like where that could lead if he's already sort of strangely living on a yacht.

HM: You said that Steve Bannon and the others may turn on each other. What about the possibility that he will flip with some crucial information about President Trump?

EH: Yeah, it's possible. I mean, look, I don't know specifically what he might know about Donald Trump, but an important thing to know is when somebody does cooperate with the SDNY, there is no partial cooperation. In some prosecutors’ offices, Steve Bannon could come in and cooperate and say 'I am going to give you information on the other three people in this indictment and the charges indictment.' In the SDNY, we would say, no, thanks. You need to come in and tell us, yes everything about this indictment, but also anything you may know about other crimes outside of this indictment. I've done cases where we had people flip on cases and tell us about murders that they were not charged. Not at all suggesting Steve Bannon ever had anything to do with murder. I'm just using that by way of example. So if Steve Bannon does try to cooperate, he's going to have to give the SDNY everything he knows about anybody, whether they're named in this indictment or not.

HM: We saw what happened with Roger Stone. Now, what about Steve Bannon's chances of getting a presidential pardon from his former boss?

EH: Could it happen for Steve Bannon? Absolutely, it could happen, particularly, by the way, once we're past the election in November. I guess win or lose, Trump won't have to face the voters again. And so his disincentive to issue a pardon could be much less.

HM: Why does all of this say about Trump's promise to build that wall with Mexico?

EH: Well, it shows that a lot of people believed in it. I think it also highlights the haphazard way the president has gone about trying to make good on that promise. And, you know, look, I think it brings us back to 2016 when the president managed to resonate with a lot of people on this message, as destructive as I believe that message is to sort of some of our greater ideals here in the United States.

HM: Mr. Honig, thank you so much for joining us today. Appreciate your insights.

EH: Thanks. My pleasure.

TS: Elie Honig is a former federal prosecutor. We reached him in Metuchen, New Jersey.

[Music]

CERB extension

Guest: Trudy Byrne

TS: People who have been relying on government support during the pandemic have been worried about the end of benefits. But today they got some relief. The government will extend the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, or CERB, by another month -- to the end of September. The government is also revamping employment insurance during COVID-19 so more people can receive payouts. Here's Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough today.

CARLA QUALTROUGH: First of all, we wanted Canadians have some certainty and some continuity. We know the uncertainty that September holds for so many Canadians, families in particular -- parents and children going back to school or maybe not going back to school. And we also know that some people continue to have access or CERB benefits waiting for them. We didn't want to have these benefits overlapping. We wanted to synchronize the transition to EI with the transition to new recovery benefits. We wanted to take the time to get this right. And all those things together meant it just made sense to do this all at the end of September. And part of the reason we have created a uniform unemployment rate across the country is so that we can have some consistency in Canadians ability to access EI very quickly. The way it usually works is there's a rolling unemployment rate that's set over a couple of months and it takes the EI system two to three months to respond to spikes in unemployment. This way, we've set it for a year. Canadians have a minimum eligibility entry requirements since it's a guaranteed way that if there are outbreaks, as you say, or if there's a second wave, that immediately these systems will be able to take in Canadians who we asked to stay at home again if it comes to that. We fundamentally believe that a targeted approach to helping people is better and we can give people more support and more direct support when we hone in on a group of people who need to help the most. So instead of giving every Canadian a little bit of money when every Canadian doesn't necessarily need it -- we are focused with these benefits on Canadian workers in particular and are able to give them more because of that choice, that real targeting of our measures.

TS: Today's announcement of a new 37-billion dollar aid package is welcome news for Trudy Byrne. She's worked at a shellfish processing plant in northern Newfoundland for more than 20 years. But this year she hasn't stepped foot in the plant. It didn't open the season, leaving dozens out of work, including Ms. Byrne and her husband. We reached Ms. Byrne in St. Anthony, Newfoundland.

HM: Ms. Byrne, what will this extension of CERB benefits mean for you and your family?

TRUDY BYRNE: It means a whole lot because the fact that we are unemployed this year, our plant didn't open, we were supposed to go in partnership with another company to operate and it didn't happen because of COVID-19. So because of that, with this extension for four weeks' welcoming news, to the fact that, okay we've got another month that we don't stress out over an income because after that we won't have one.

HM: Have you been stressing out, thinking it was coming to an end?

TB: Most definitely. It's been very very stressful since March when we got the news that we weren't going into operation this year.

HM: Now, your husband is on CERB, you are on EI, as I understand it. EI requirements are supposed to be loosening as well. Will that be of help to you?

TB: It depends because like from the article that I just read, 120 hours is what you'd have to work for your EI to go forward. And neither one of us got any hours.

HM: So you still have some uncertainty about what's happening going forward?

TB: Yes, most definitely. So I need some more clarification on that with somebody that's either a member of the government or whatever that I can ask questions to.

HM: What have the last few months been like for you and your husband, given that the shrimp processing plant where you're usually working in St. Anthony hasn't been able to open?

TB: Very, very, very stressful because, well, like with COVID-19 and everything, a lot of things have close. There is no employment around here. You know, like where do you go look for work? I feel like I'm handcuffed and stressed to the max because of it. We're all going to work, we want to work, but we can't.

HM: How many people work at the plant in St. Anthony?

TB: It's between 100-120 people that's unemployed through our plant.

HM: Do they have any other options than work at the plant?

TB: Well, not that I know of, unless they were lucky enough to find something like offloading shrimp.

HM: Your plant was supposed to open because it was in partnership with another company and that fell through because of COVID-19.

TB: Yes, most definitely.

HM: The Conservatives' finance critic Pierre Poilievre has tweeted, quote, "Liberals believe they can forever replace people's paycheques with game-board money printed by the Bank of Canada." How do you respond to that?

TB: That's a good question. Well, to me, like if there is no revenue being put back into it, how can they continue? If people are not working and this government is constantly in and out -- it's got to come to an end. There's no way that they can continue.

HM: So even as a recipient of this money, you're worried about the cost of it.

TB: Well, yes, I am, because of the fact that I would prefer to be working. I worked at the plant since 2000 -- at the shrimp plant. And every year I qualified [inaudible] -- and we're a seasonal industry anyway. But because of quota cuts, whatever, the downturn in the industry, it's the reason why the last five years, the operator had operated at lost. So then all of a sudden this pandemic came along, which threw even bigger monkey wrench into. We would been working and paying into the economy. Right now we can't work because it was no fault of our own. We want to work.

HM: Now, you, as the local chair for the Fish Food and Allied Workers Union, represent others who are also out of work out. What kind of things are you hearing from your colleagues about the challenges they've been facing and how they've been getting by?

TB: Well, because of CERB -- most of them use CERB, I would say probably 90 percent. Some of them might have gotten jobs elsewhere. I'm not sure on everybody. I haven't talked to everyone. But for those that are on CERB, I mean, that was welcoming to them because to me the job ran out and they had no other income. But 2,000 dollars a month, with no income tax deducted, and you got to put at least six hundred dollars of that away for income tax -- leaving 1,400 dollars a month, which is nothing to live off of. And then the provincial government mentioned something about a make-work program, which I'm not sure if you understand how it works, but the mathematics of a make-work program is you're on 11.65 dollars an hour, forty hours a week -- at 420 total. To me, that's less than what you would get if you were on social assistance. That's poverty.

HM: So long term, I mean, these announcements may help at least till the end of September. And as you say, they may help beyond that once you're sorted out. But what do you think people in your community want to see in the long term in terms of how they can recover?

TB: People in my community want to see work. That's the only way to recover from this, is to be able to go back to work. And in order for us to go back to work, we need the transfer done.

HM: All right. Ms. Byrne, thank you very much for speaking with us. I hope things work out better for you.

TB: Thank you very much. It's been a very very stressful time.

HM: Yes, I'm sure it has. Thank you again.

TB: You're welcome.

TS: Trudy Byrne is a seasonal worker at the St. Anthony Seafoods plant, and the chair of the Fish Food and Allied Workers Union Local. We reached her in St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador.

[Music]

Wine for free

Guest: Mohammed Asadulallah

TS: Well, there's no such thing as a free lunch. But for Mohammed Asaduallah it turns out there is such thing as free wine, a lot of it. Earlier this summer at the Toronto man was scrolling through postings on a Facebook group that shares liquor commission deals, when he came across the deal of the century, a bottle of Mondavi red wine for zero dollars. So he ordered 24 of them from the LCBO. Today, we reached Mr. Asaduallah in Sudbury, Ontario.

HM: Mr. Asaduallah, how many bottles of your free wine have you made it through so far?

MOHAMMED ASADUALLAH: [Laughs] Well, I'm happy to report that one box is completely done. [Laughs] So we have three more boxes to go through. But I do want to make sure that I preface by saying that my partner and I didn't and drink all of them. We've given three, four bottles away so far.

HM: So you've shared the wealth?

MA: Yes. Oh, definitely. [Chuckles]

HM: You originally went on this Facebook group to look for bargains, but a zero dollar bottle -- what went through your mind?

MA: Too good to be true, to be honest. I mean, it's the LCBO. Anyone in their right mind who has lived in Ontario and knows LCBO know they would not believe it. To be very frank, I really just thought that LCBO had some kind of bug and I would not even be able to get through the whole thing. I thought I would add everything to the cart and it'll give me an error and I won't even be able to process my payment.

HM: So how much did you order?

MA: [Laughs] I ordered 24 bottles of wine. So it comes in case of six and to meet the minimum 50 dollar requirement I ordered a bottle whiskey.

HM: Because the wine had no price on it and it was going to come to a zero. [Laughter]

MA: Exactly.

HM: So did you order to be delivered to your house?

MA: No. I had it ordered to go to the LCBO store closer where we live just because I wasn't sure if the boxes of wine came to our building, if the concierge would accept alcohol or not. I didn't want to risk that part of it. So obviously my brain's like, 'let's send it to the store.' And just gambling with the idea that either the store is going to be okay or they're not going to be okay.

HM: Yeah. So what happened when you got to the store?

MA: When I got to the store, I really just asked where the pickup is? And next thing I know, the person went to the back and was gone for a bit, which concerned me a little bit, to be honest because I was like "where have they gone?" And only a few minutes later, they came back with like a small box, and I thought it was just the whiskey. I was like, okay, I guess I'm not getting the wine. And then the person is like, oh, I need to get some help to bring your whole order out, so give me a few minutes. And that's when I was like, oh, wow this is actually true -- I'm actually getting wine. And so this other person came from the back and they brought a cart out and I was just ecstatic. But of course I had to, like, play it cool because I didn't want to look too excited. [Chuckles]

HM: So you got out of the store. You're probably feeling, "Hey, I've done it." But then there's something wrong with the order, as I understand it.

MA: [Chuckles] Yeah. So I don't know what got into me. And as I'm loading up the trunk and I notice the box doesn't say 'Mondavi' -- it's another brand that I've never heard of. And I was like, oh, what's going on? So I quickly do a Google search to find each bottle is worth at 12 dollars and 50 cents. And I was like, is LCBO still giving me wine, but they're giving me like a cheaper wine? Like what is going on here? And me being foolish enough in that moment I went back into the store to figure out what happened to Mondavi. [Laughs]

HM: So how do you have the audacity when you're already getting free wine to go back in and tell them that it's the wrong free wine? [Laughter]

MA: In that moment, I was like, what are they going to say that they gave me wine nonetheless?

HM: At what point, if any, did the people of the LCBO will realize you hadn't paid anything for the wine?

MA: The moment they started reading through the name and they're like, Mondavi -- what's going on? And they go through the full transcripts because, you know, the name is on the left side and the quantity and the amounts are on the right side. So you're not skimming through that page. So now that they're finally paying attention, they're like, you didn't pay anything for this. You can't have it. I was like, well, no, I have it -- my order is on it. My name is on box. And then that's when it went from being you didn't pay anything to, oh, this is the wrong wine and we have to figure out what happened and get you the right wine.

HM: And yet you managed to get out of that store with the wrong wine, take it home, and drink most of the first case. [Laughter] So did they just give up? Said, that's it -- you get it for nothing?

MA: Well, the store manager is telling me that, 'hey, we have to raise this customer support.' And I was like, 'great, let's call customer support.' And we get on the phone with customer support. Customer supports tell me the same story about how I had the wrong order. Again, at no point are they mentioning the price at all. Okay. And then the customer support is telling the same story. It's like, oh, it's e-commerce that made the mistake and in e-commerce, you have to look into it. I was like great, 'let's get e-commerce on the phone.' [Laughter] So e-commerce comes on the phone. They're telling me the same thing. And I was like, look like at the end of the day, I'm okay with just walking out of here with this wine. Like, I'm completely fine with that, because at that point, it's like I had no other choice. I should not have come into the store. Anywho, so I'm telling the LCBO e-commerce manager that, hey, I have a screenshot of the LCBO page that shows zero dollars, I have an order confirmation that say zero dollars, I have an order pickup notification that says zero dollars. And now I have this paper like the one from your e-commerce team delivery paper that says zero dollars. So at any point, there are so many steps that could have been picked up and flagged. And it wasn't. I should be entitled to this. And at that point, as I was talking, the e-commerce was like, oh, you have a screenshot of the actual page where it says zero dollars? Yes. And then immediately, the tone changd and the LCBO e-commerce manager is like, okay, just give him the wine and we'll, you know, write it off and just make sure to get the screenshot from him, so we can look into what went wrong and fix this issue in the future.

HM: Does free wine taste any better than the stuff you have to pay for?

MA: [Laughter] Free wine does taste better, but unfortunately this wine is not that good. [Laughs]

HM: Oh no. Oh, well, it's free. What do you want? Stop complaining. [Laughs]

MA: Right. Yeah. I'm not complaining anything. If anything I'm sharing it with others. [Chuckles]

HM: My goodness. Okay. Mr. Asaduallah enjoy the rest of your wine. And I hope your friends do too. And thanks for sharing your story with us.

MA: Thanks Helen. I appreciate it.

TS: Mohammad Asaduallah got a great deal on 24 bottles of red wine when an Ontario Liquor Commission glitch priced them at zero dollars. Mr. Asaduallah lives in Toronto, but today we reached him in Sudbury, Ontario.

[Music]

Part 2: Advocate calls on U.K. to help refugees after young man dies trying to reach Britain

Navalny poisoned

Guest: Tanya Lokshina

TS: Alexei Navalny is used to fighting the Kremlin. But tonight, the Russian opposition figure is fighting for his life after allegedly being poisoned. According to a colleague, Mr. Navalny fell ill during a flight after drinking some tea at the airport in Tomsk. He was then rushed to hospital where he is currently unconscious and in serious but stable condition. Well a doctor at the hospital told reporters that poisoning is only one possible diagnosis. Mr. Navalny's own spokesperson, says it's clear he was poisoned. Tanya Lokshina is the associate director for Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia Division. We reached her in Moscow.

HM: Ms. Lokshina as far as you know, what happened to Mr. Navalny this morning?

TANYA LOKSHINA: Mr. Navalny, who is a key opposition politician in Russia, was travelling in Siberia and he was, in fact, on a flight when he felt bogged and his health condition deteriorated so quickly and so dramatically that the plane had to do an emergency landing. Navalny was immediately hospitalized. He's still unconscious. The doctors are assessing his condition as stable but grave.

HM: Now, people close to him say that they think it is clear Mr. Navalny was poisoned. But Russian state media is suggesting earlier that, you know, he drank too much the night before and that he took some medication.

TL: Well Mr. Navalyn's press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, actually said loud and clear that he did not drink the night before and did not take any medications in the morning. Then again, they are all indeed very good grounds to believe that Mr. Navalny was poisoned and the poisoning was, in fact, linked to his political activity. In fact, most unfortunately in Russia, there appears to be a pattern of poisonings of vocal critics of the government. The first names that come to mind are those of Politkovskaya, a star Russian journalist who was poisoned also on a flight in 2004. Mr. Kara-Murza, who is a well-known opposition activist and was poisoned twice very seriously in recent years. And Mr. Verzilov of the Pussy Riot group, a performance artist and a journalist who was also poisoned recently. And all three of them barely made it. In this particular situation, and also given that regional elections are fast approaching in Russia and Mr. Navalny was actually travelling to different regions of the country, it is indeed very likely it's connected to his political roots.

HM: Now, you say regional elections are underway, and that's why he's trying to spread the word about the opposition. Is there anyone thinking that perhaps there might be a relationship to what's happening in Belarus?

TL: Well that's what many people have now seen on social media. I'm not in a position to argue that this is the case, but certainly no one could possibly deny that given the past protest in Belarus, the developments in that country are very much on the Kremlin's mind.

HM: How have those protests been viewed in Russia?

TL: That's an interesting question, because for the first few days of the protest, the coverage by Russian governmental broadcasters and the media loyal to the Kremlin was fairly neutral, but after several conversations between Mr. Putin and Mr. Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, the coverage changed some words. And federal broadcasters started describing the developments in Belarus as an attempt to overthrow the government. And they started accusing Western forces -- of meddling. So there is some notable change in that respect.

HM: As you have said, Mr. Navalny has been a well-known, very vocal critic of corruption. He is critical of the Kremlin and of Vladimir Putin specifically. His current stay in hospital is not being treated like it might be for a normal patient. Can you tell us what's happening there?

TL: His wife and his personal physician actually travel to Tomsk. And his wife had very significant difficulties in trying to get access to Mr. Navalny. Finally, she was able to see him. The Kremlin, in fact, all offered support in organizing his treatment abroad if necessary. But at this point in time, the doctors are rigidly saying that he cannot be transported, at least not yet. Mr. Navalny's doctor and Mr. Navalny's wife both are seeking to see the toxicology report, as far as I'm aware. They have not seen it just yet.

HM: Now, a spokesman for the Kremlin has said that an investigation will be opened if Navalny was actually poisoned. Does that give you any confidence that we will find out what happened?

TL: I think it is in the Kremlin's best interest to ensure that a prompt and effective investigation of this disturbing incident is carried out because that would be, in fact, the best way to demonstrate that the poisoning is not in any way connected with the Kremlin. If the government does not ensure an investigation, the government would be complicit in what happened to Mr. Navalny.

HM: Do you have any confidence, though, that they will release the information and follow through?

TL: It is really difficult to be confident, given attacks against critics of the government, including violent attacks and even murders, are rarely investigated in Russia. Perpetrators are rarely brought to account.

HM: Ms. Lokshina thank you very much for telling us what's going on. We appreciate it.

TL: Thank you.

TS: Tanya Lokshina is the associate director for Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia Division. We reached her in Moscow.

[Music]

Emily Mandamin

TS: The season may be delayed, but Emily Mandamin's dream is just getting started. The 17 year old Ontarian from Iskatewizaagegan First Nation, also known as Shoal Lake 39 First Nation, has earned a basketball scholarship to Highland College in Freeport, Illinois. The season is delayed because of the pandemic. But today, Ms. Mandamin spoke with CBC Thunder Bay about her plans and how it feels to be representing her community on the court.

CATHY ALEX: It sounds like you played a lot of sports. What was it about basketball in particular that really attracted you?

EMILY MANDAMIN: Growing up I've kind of always been taller and a bigger frame, I guess. And kind of feeling like I really fit in basketball, like, I was worth something -- it kind of brought me a sense of meaning. To be tall in basketball helps a lot to be able to get over defenders, post up, just little things like that really helped make a difference on the court and I guess I felt like I was needed somewhere and I really enjoyed that feeling. And having the right people in my corner kind of helped me get to where I am today and where I want to go. It's crazy what I have accomplished. And sometimes I could take a breath and step back and just my mind boggles -- my brain explodes. I'm just like, wow, I really did that. Sometimes I think I wouldn’t even be here. And here I am.

CATHY ALEX: What are you going to study and what's your dream with basketball?

EMILY MANDAMIN: So I'm planning on studying sociology. I really want to start my own charity, start my own foundation and do some more charity work. And as far as basketball goes, I'm looking to make it pro. I know it's still a long way, but I think I'm on the right path to making it happen.

CATHY ALEX: As far as I know, as far as you know, you're the first person from your community to get a basketball scholarship.

EMILY MANDAMIN: Yeah.

CATHY ALEX: Which does then put you into that role model territory, right? So what do you hope other young people from your community, from many First Nations across northwestern Ontario, for many of the small towns communities -- what message do you think that young people, especially maybe young female athletes, could take from your story thus far?

EMILY MANDAMIN: I believe my story is all about resiliency and hard work. And basketball really gives kids a way out from whatever they are experiencing. It's kind of been a lifesaver for me. I know a lot of kids in our community struggle with mental illness, addictions, things like that. And they often get lost in there. But basketball can really save your life and give you a way out. It'll lead you to a sober life. That's kind of how it led me. Kind of just all about wanting better for yourself and finding it -- it doesn't even have to be basketball, just sport in general could really get you anywhere in this life if you really dedicate yourself to it. And I personally feel like I picked basketball because it is such a low income sport, you really just needed a ball -- sometimes you didn't even need a net. Like it was always just to me and the ball. And no matter how much time you put in, it will take you farther than that.

TS: That was Emily Mandamin speaking with the CBC's Cathy Alex, today. The 17 year old is from Shoal Lake 39 First Nation in north western Ontario. And she just earned a basketball scholarship to a college in Freeport, Illinois. Her first game is scheduled for January 23rd, 2021.

[Music]

English Channel crossing

Guest: Razia Shariff

TS: He was trying to cross the English Channel for a new life, but instead the young man was found dead on a beach near Calais this week. He was believed to be a teenager. But today, British media reported that he was carrying a document with his age at 28. No matter, he was one of many who are attempting to cross by sea in recent months. With more migrants trying to make it to the U.K., the British government has sent military boats to patrol the channel. The Labour Party, along with many human rights advocates, have decried that response. Razia Shariff is the CEO of the Kent Refugee Action Network. We reached her in Dover.

HM: Razia Shariff, what can you tell us about what happened to this boy?

RAZIA SHARIFF: Oh, a young Sudanese boy, age 16, and his friend decided that they would try and make the treacherous journey across the English Channel to reach safe passage in the U.K.. They took a boat. And during the journey, it was very dark late at night, the boat capsized. When the friend reached safety, he put out the alert and there was a search and rescue team that went out unsuccessfully to try and find the other boy.

HM: You describe a boat. What kind of vessel are we talking about?

RS: I think they just took whatever boat they could find. It seems as if they couldn't afford to pay the smugglers to bring them across. So they just took any small boat that they could find.

HM: We're hearing it was a dinghy and possibly just shovels for oars. And this boy couldn't swim.

RS: No, no, apparently not.

HM: What does it say to you that a 16 year old would end up dying trying to get to Britain?

RS: Well, we at Kent Refugee Action Network, we work with young, unaccompanied, separated refugee and asylum seekers. So we have other boys who are Sudanese who've made that journey. And when we have talked to them, it's from sheer desperation to find somewhere where they feel they can have a future. They have made long journeys to try and reach Europe and be safe in Europe. They've experienced horrific treatment some times in Europe. They have, potentially, friends or other people that they know -- support networks -- in the U.K., sometimes family as well. And that's why they're so desperate to reach the U.K..

HM: The minister responsible, Priti Patel, called this a tragic loss of a young life. She went on to blame criminal gangs and people smugglers who exploit young asylum seekers like this boy. What do you make of that reaction?

RS: Well, my problem is that if anybody had a safe alternative legal route to enter the United Kingdom and seek asylum, they would take it. Why would they risk spending so much money for smugglers and risk their lives to go across the English Channel if there was a viable, positive, safe and legal alternative for them? That's what's missing.

HM: What kind of alternative do you envision?

RS: So there have been various different reports. The government's own Foreign Affairs Select Committee in November 2016, the Joint Council for Welfare of Immigrants, and a host of other voluntary charities, as well as the UNHCR, have also said that a legal alternative needs to be offered. So in the past, in the Calais camps, they actually set up centres in order to process initial processing of asylum claims so that if there was a legitimate claim to be made, they could be brought over to the UK for that process to start. At the moment, there is nothing.

HM: Given that there is no mechanism for these asylum seekers. And we're seeing this more and more people take this dangerous trip. Is the government perhaps not right, to try to take measures to stop them, to dissuade them from this danger?

RS: The issue is that the measures that they are suggesting actually, the UNHCR said, will actually not stop them from coming. It will just push them into using alternative, even more risky, longer routes to arrive in the UK.

HM: As you mentioned, this has been going on for some time, but the numbers are increasing from about 2000 people who tried to cross the channel last year. This year, so far, about 4000. Why do you think that there are more people attempting this this year?

RS: So there are a lot of different factors that we've heard about. One is the fear of Brexit and what will happen and what the clampdown might be like. Second, with the corona crisis -- in the camps, a lot of the young people want to leave the camps because they are in fear that they might become infected. And then also, apparently, the smugglers are starting to do deals where they want odd payments and they will give them lots of chances to get across until they succeed.

HM: How concerned are you that others might die trying to make this passage to England?

RS: Well, you know, since the boat started coming in large numbers about a year and a half ago, we have always said we're just waiting for this to happen. And there may already be bodies at the bottom of the sea that we know nothing about, of people who have perished and died on the journey, but haven't actually washed up on the shores.

HM: We know that there are always varied responses to the crisis involving refugees. What is your sense of how people in the UK are responding to the death of this young man?

RS: So it's funny you should ask me that. I had a phone call and some emails the other day just after the event, blaming the young person for doing this. Not feeling sorry for him at all. And so you have that extreme, but you also have the other extreme where people are -- you know, a couple emailed us today saying that they're getting married on the 5th of September and instead of having a wedding list they want all the money to be donated to the work that we're doing to help refugees and asylum seekers. So, you know, it's a very mixed bag. And on the whole, people are appalled by what's happened and they're trying to use it as a way to put pressure on the government to take action, positive action. But there will always be those who, for whatever reason and I really wonder sometimes why they're so emotionally invested in a hatred against refugees and asylum seekers who pursue that narrative that is out there about them being illegal, you know about why they're coming here. And it's very sad. It's sad that they don't have the awareness or understanding or appreciation of the resilience that these young people have and what they've actually come through to arrive here.

HM: Ms. Shariff, I really appreciate you speaking with us today. Thank you so much.

RS: That's okay. Thank you.

TS: Razia Shariff is the CEO of the Kent Refugee Action Network. We spoke to her from Dover earlier today. The young man who died was first reported to be 16, but now it's believed he may have been in his 20s. You can find more information on this story on our website: cbc.ca/aih.

[Music]

Sophie Peerless

TS: A high speed Internet provider in remote British Columbia is logging off. And that means some customers could be offline by the end of 2020. Xplornet informed users in Haida Gwaii that it's shutting down satellite Internet service on December 31st. The company says the satellite in question has reached the end of its life. While some residents should be able to switch to other providers, those located on the eastern side of Graham Island say they'll have no alternative. Sophie Peerless is among them. The teacher spoke to CBC's Daybreak North about how she will be affected.

SOPHIE PEERLESS: We use it for pretty much everything. My husband uses it to contact his crew, to talk to them about the plans for the day. I use it to check in with my friends. We use it for online banking. We use it for our taxes. We use it to talk to our daughter who lives out in Montreal. It's amazing when you start to think of how much you use the Internet for. And for us, the Xplornet satellite Internet is the only thing available where we live.

CAROLINA DE RYK: So when you heard this service would be shut down at the end of the year, what did you think?

SOPHIE PEERLESS: Panic. Complete panic because we've had the service since 2006 just because there's nothing else available. So now that they're ending their contract with us and I understand why there's nothing else to fill the gap. I mean, it's every Xplornet customer on the islands -- we're all going to be in the lurch when the satellite service shuts down.

CAROLINA DE RYK: And I should mention that you're also a teacher. The return to school is in just a few weeks. How will you be able to work if you don't have Internet access?

SOPHIE PEERLESS: It's going to be really tricky. Back in March, us teachers were told we have to stay home. We're not allowed on site. So we had to use our home Internet to connect with our students and other staff. So if we're in that same situation and who knows what's coming in September or October, it's going to be really difficult.

CAROLINA DE RYK: So what feedback have you received so far from the people you've reached out to?

SOPHIE PEERLESS: Just basically the words "Be patient" "It's on our agenda." "We're aware of it." But then I just think that if there's only four more months to go until December 31st and that might seem like a lot of time. But if you have to build a tower or you need to do a trench or you need to lay down some more fibre optic cable or whatever the solution might be, four months is going to be pretty short.

CAROLINA DE RYK: And if there is no service come December 31st, what happens for your family?

SOPHIE PEERLESS: We don't have Internet.

TS: B.C. teacher Sophie Peerless speaking to Carolina de Ryk on CBC's Daybreak North about her impending loss of Internet. Xplornet recently announced it will end satellite Internet services in some parts of Haida Gwaii at the end of the year.

[Music]

Sound of the day: What’s Poppin

TS: If all you're feeling is stress about the upcoming school year, we've got just the thing to boost your mood. Callie Evans and Audri Williams are teachers and cheerleading coaches at Monroe Comprehensive High School in Albany, Georgia. They're also pretty exceptional rappers. They've each released a verse on Instagram inspired by their schools upcoming remote academic semester. Their lyrics are underscored by a remix of Jack Harlow's "What's Poppin." And What's Poppin is Ms. Evans and Ms. Williams. Backed by masked dancers from the school's cheerleading team, they are impossible not to cheer for. As for getting their students amped about a very strange year, they deserve top marks. With the first of two A+ versus, here's Callie Evans with our Sound of the Day.

CALLIE EVANS: [RAPPING] What's poppin? Ms. Evans is on the beat, so tap in. You got options, but you better pass my class, no flopping. Gonna login every day. Every morning I'm watching. Yeah, we virtual and you know what's up, so we're about to take it up a notch. And Monroe is the best, no compare. We at the top, all truth, no daring. CTAE, Fine Arts, and sports, man I want it all to myself no sharing. COVID-19 had us stressed, but it's nothing. We gonna overcome that's facts no bluffing. Wear you masks, wash your hands, keep a safe distance cause I really thought that a pandemic said sum On the South, we do more than rap, Doing all we can, just to get you out the trap, Teaching, uplifting, motivating, and engaging, Our students going straight to the top, no cap. You know Ms. Evans don't play.

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August 20, 2020 Episode Transcript

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