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The AIH Transcript for May 31, 2017

Hosts: Carol Off and Jeff Douglas

STORIES FROM THIS EPISODE

Prologue

CAROL OFF: Hello, I'm Carol Off.

JEFF DOUGLAS: Good evening, I'm Jeff Douglas. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

CO: A black day near the Green Zone. An enormous truck bomb kills at least 90 people in Kabul, Afghanistan near the diplomatic area. And a witness tells us that attack has struck fear into people who live in the city.

JD: Point of no more returns. That bombing has put a temporary halt to flights from Germany on which Afghan asylum seekers were being sent home. Our guest says those flights should be halted permanently.

CO: Waxing lyrical. When a colleague suggests he's trying to kill a bill that changes the words of Canada's national anthem to make it more gender neutral, Conservative senator Don Plett raises his voice in protest.

JD: The message is a bottle. After traveling around the world for months, a commemorative liquor bottle arrives in Hong Kong in time for a demonstration marking the 28th anniversary of the massacre in Tiananmen Square.

CO: You’re getting warmer. NASA is one step closer to launching a spacecraft with a flair for the flares. The Parker Solar Probe, which will catch as many rays as possible by flying closer to the sun than any previous mission.

JD: And… a missed connection. Seeking extremely foggy locations in which to make a film, an Australian photographer winds up in Newfoundland, so if you see a guy dressed as an extremely convincing alien that's him — probably. As It Happens, the Wednesday edition. Radio the guess is most people have no clue what he's doing, but he has the foggiest idea.

[Music: Theme]

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Part 1: Kabul bombing, Kabul deportations, anthem changes, foggy Trevor

Kabul bombing

Guest: Ramiz Bakhtair

JD: It is supposedly one of the safest areas in Kabul. But this morning, on the fifth day of Ramadan, a massive truck bomb exploded near the Afghan capital's diplomatic district. It happened as workers in the surrounding embassies and government offices were heading to work. At least 90 people are dead. Ramiz Bakhtair runs an organization that helps young people in Afghanistan. He was at work about half a kilometer away when a bomb went off. We reached Mr. Bakhtair in Kabul.

CO: Ramiz, can you describe what you could hear, what you could feel when this bomb went off this morning?

RAMIZ BAKHTAIR: Actually, the windows blown down. It was a very huge sound that we hear. I was very scared because we thought that we are attacked. The reason is because it was very huge. Our office building was shaking for a second, and that there was dust coming out of the windows.

CO: And the windows were shattered, were they?

RB: Yes. And then when we got out of the room, we heard in a couple of minutes that we were not attacked.

CO: Did you know anyone who was a victim of this attack?

RB: I knew more than a couple of people who were who got injured. And a very close friend of mine, who was a former colleague, who used to work for a media company, was also killed in that attack. 22-years-old and we used to work together. He was an I.T. expert. I was very saddened by the news.

CO: With that many injuries and deaths, so many people in Kabul must know some I know or have a loved one who was affected by that blast — was a victim of it — it would be hard to find someone who doesn't know or is connected with someone who was killed, I would imagine?

RB: That is true. We lost a lot of women, most of which are young people, and we are very saddened with that. Actually, it was very scary. Everyone is very scared. Also, I got out of office, I came home, I took a nap, and the moment I woke up, I remembered my friend. The same goes to every family, I mean a member of your family is out in the city and you hear of news like this you immediately think that your friend or your loved one or the members of your family is in that attack.

CO: You sound very calm. Have you processed yet what happened? Has it settled in?

RB: It's very scary. It's true that it's very scary. And we understand where we are living. We understand the situation of the country. We understand the situation in our city. We know that we are in danger every day. And every day that I go to work, I understand what's going to happen. I mean I feel what's going to happen. And the road that took place today, I have been passing on that every day. And today, I went to work. I mean we imagine that we're not very far from an attack. I think next time it will be my turn.

CO: Ramiz, I hope you are wrong about who might be next in the attack. I hope that there are no more attacks. But as you say, you're living in a very dangerous place. And I am glad you're safe and I appreciate you speaking with us. Thank you.

RB: Thank you for calling me, and thank you for message.

CO: Take care, Ramiz.

RB: Thanks, bye.

JD: Ramiz Bakhtiar works at an NGO in Kabul. And that is where we reached him again.

Kabul deportations

Guest: Sarmina Stuman

Again, today's truck bomb killed at least 90 people. It also seriously damaged buildings, including the German embassy. And it has put a stop to some controversial deportation flights out of Germany, which were carrying denied asylum seekers who had made it to Germany back to Afghanistan. Now, the German government says that it will restart the deportation of Afghans again soon. But a lot of people want the practice stopped for good. Sarmina Stuman is with the Germany-based Afghan Refugees Movement. She was at a demonstration at the Frankfurt airport, from which one of these deportation flights was supposed to leave today. And that is where we reached her.

CO: Ms. Stuman, what will happen to these Afghans who were set to be deported today now that the flight has been canceled?

SARMINA STUMAN: Well, we don't exactly know. But they do have special prisons for people who are being deported. So they’re not with a normal prisoner. They have special prisons in Germany for people who are supposed to be deported. They also have a prison at the airport where they can keep people. But I don't know when the next fight will be going. So if it's going to be a long time, they're probably not going to stay at the airport.

CO: How many were slated for this deportation — this flight?

SS: We don't really know. We only know that there were supposed to be four that were going to be deported. But we don't know the total number from all of Germany.

CO: And in some other instances, there's been dozens of people. There can only be a maximum of 50 per flight I understand?

SS: That's the number they want to deport: 50. But usually they have like under 20 people on the plane because they can gather so many.

CO: What's happening at the airport right now? I can hear a demonstration behind you?

SS: Yes, we are having a demonstration at the airport because they only stopped the deportation today because of the bomb in Kabul, and not because they think deportations to Afghanistan are wrong. Although, there is a war in Afghanistan and you shouldn't deport anyone to that country.

CO: So what's the message that people are trying to send to the government today?

SS: We are trying to tell them to stop deportations to Afghanistan. Afghanistan is not safe. There is a war going on in Afghanistan; you can't deport anyone there.

CO: And what's the argument the government gives as to why they do believe that it's safe to deport these Afghans?

SS: Well, they say that certain areas are supposed to be safe in Afghanistan, but they don't tell us which areas. One of the areas that is supposed to be safe is Kabul. As we have seen today, Kabul is not safe at all. We have suicide attacks there almost weekly.

CO: And we know that the area — the place — was supposed to be one of the most secure places in the entire country.

SS: Exactly. That's also where the German embassy is and even the German embassy was damaged in the attack today.

C: They said that the reason why they have stopped the flight is because they don't have the ability on the ground in Afghanistan to deal with I guess the paperwork of these people arriving. They said that, “they have more important things to do than to deal with organizational matters.” What do you make of that?

SS: Well, that they're not really taking this seriously. They don't know what it means for people. They're not just paperwork; they’re people. You can't treat people like that.

CO: Do you know anything about the people who have already been deported from Germany? What they're doing, how they're living?

SS: As far as I know, some have already left the country again. Others have gone to their family. Others have no place to go. So it's really hard for them. I even heard that someone might have been killed and for sure one has been injured in the attack in Kabul, one of the deported from Germany.

CO: One of the reasons the German government gives for this they said that they want to discourage any more Afghans from trying to make their way to Europe into Germany. And to see people be returned home sends a message that this will happen to them. Is that happening? Are people being deterred from trying to make that voyage?

SS: Well, they're trying to scare Afghans. But as long as Afghanistan is not safe, people will leave the country. So it's not going to work as long as there's no security in Afghanistan. I mean Afghans would love to stay in Afghanistan if it was safe. But if there's a war and you have no other choice then you leave your country. And if Germany won't take them they’ll just go to France or some other country.

CO: There was one report today of a school in Nuremberg where the police were trying to get a student for deportation — an Afghan — and the other students protected him. The police used batons and dogs to try and to detain that Afghan. How aggressively is Germany pursuing this deportation policy?

SS: They don't tell the people when they are going to be deported. So they want to surprise them so they can’t hide from the deportation. So they just go into the schools, or turn up in the middle of the night, or at work to pick up the people.

CO: It’s getting a bit loud there. Sarmina, what's happening right now at the demonstration?

SS: We’re going to continue watching. We we’re standing and there were talks. Now, we’re continuing to walk… hello?

CO: Yeah, I'm just listening to the chant.

SS: OK, I can put my phone to it.

CO: Yeah, please.

[Sound: Angry chanting]

SS: OK, did you hear it?

CO: Yes, I heard that. Sarmina, I'll let you go. I appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.

SS: Thank you. Bye.

JD: Sarmina Stuman is with the Germany-based Afghan Refugees Movement. We reached her earlier today at a demonstration at the Frankfurt airport. We have more on this story on our website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Blues rock]

Anthem changes

Guest: Don Plett

JD: A conservative senator is being accused of trying to kill a bill that would make Canada's national anthem more gender-neutral. The bill would replace the line “in all thy sons command” with “in all of us command”, it has already been approved by the House of Commons, and the government is hoping to have the Senate sign off on it in time for Canada's 150th on July 1st. But Senator Don Plett has just introduced an amendment that his colleague Senator Frances Lankin says could put the plan on ice. We reached Senator Don Plett in Ottawa.

CO: Senator Plett, what is wrong with changing part of the lyrics to “O Canada” from “in all of thy sons command” to this more inclusive “all of us command”?

DON PLETT: Well, listen, I believe very clearly that the author, Justice Weir, had reasons for penning a song the way he did. And our country decided to take that song and make it our national anthem. And I do not believe for one second that Justice Weir did not intend for it to be entirely inclusive.

CO: OK. I just want to ask you one thing because Robert Stanley Weir, the author of these lyrics, was not his original lyrics “thou dost in us command”, and not “in all thy sons command”?

DP: Which is why my amendment says exactly that, that's the point I was just going to make. if we want to change it. We need to change it exactly to that. But his original phrase was “thou dost in us command”. And then he changed it to “in all thy sons command”. So he had a reason for doing it. However, I am trying to find a compromise by saying OK, this was Judge Weir's original wording. This is how he penned it, so let's change it back to that. I do not believe we have the right, and my office has talked to Mr. Simpson, Justice Weir’s grandson. And the family is quite adamant that this was our grandfather's intent and who are you to mess around with lyrics that my grandfather wrote. So I have put in an amendment that puts it back to the other words that he put. He changed the words himself to “in thy sons command”. That was not done by parliament as many people believe. It was done by Judge Weir. It was not done because of the war efforts. It was done as, a matter of fact because of dissent he had in his own family. And that's why he wrote the song the way he did. And so clearly, again, I am saying if we want to play around with the wording we go back to what Judge Weir wanted.

CO: OK. His poetry and his family and his dispute there, but why should Canada accept that? I mean it's not it's at this level. This is our national anthem. This is a collectively-owned thing that evolved. It is history on one side, but it is an evolving thing. It is a living thing. Why don’t Canadians have a voice in this?

DP: Well, then why don't we ask Canada? We're not asking Canada.

CO: Well, the legislature passed the change in these words…

DP: And the Senate, which is also part of parliament, is debating it. Are we not entitled to our opinion? Am I not entitled to my opinion as you are to yours? I'm part of the legislative process. The Senate is part of the legislative process. We're part of parliament.

CO: Well, you're not elected.

DP: Well, but you tell me where the Constitution says that the unelected Senate isn't part of parliament. We’re the chamber of sober second thought. So are you are you suggesting to me, ma'am that we as a Senate do not have an obligation? What are we here for? We may as well all go home if we don't have the right and indeed the obligation to debate this thoroughly we shouldn't be here. Don't use that with me please, ma'am. I have an obligation as a senator.

CO: Let's just tell people the history of how this came to be legislation?

DP: You changed the topic.

CO: No, no, I want tell people the history of what we're talking about if you don't mind. The legislation was passed by someone who was dying. Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger, he's the one that proposed this change to make it inclusive — to make it gender-neutral — and he's not alive now to make an amendment to it. And so it appears that if there is an attempt to change the bill dies. So is that your intentions? To see the entire effort to change these lyrics just die?

DP: Well, I am very, very, offended that you would even insinuate that. No!

CO: It’s a question, sir.

DP: I am offended by that question. Of course it's not. And this is not about one man that is dying. I am very sorry that Mr. Bélanger passed away, but it has nothing to do with one person's wishes. Not with Mr. Bélanger’s or with Senator Don Plett. As you said, this is a national anthem. It belongs to the Canadian people. It did not and does not belong to Mr. Bélanger, nor does it belong to Senator Don Plett. This has been tried five times before Mr. Bélanger tried it. And to use for you to use a dying man as a lever to try to somehow move an agenda forward is appalling, as it is for any sponsor of the legislation to try to use Mr. Bélanger for leverage on what we did here in good faith. I did not know that the rules of the House were that it had to have unanimous consent to change a sponsor. And quite frankly, they can change the sponsor. They need unanimous consent apparently. But Senator Frances Lankin was not aware of that when she called me about it last week. We both were not aware of that. She was actually quite supportive of the new language. She found out that it needed unanimous consent in the other place and she raised that with me.

CO: What are the chances of getting unanimous consent to change the sponsor of the bill?

DP: I don't know that? Nobody has asked that question.

CO: Have you any interest to know if they would agree to that?

DP: Of course I have.

CO: And what did they say?

DP: Senator Frances Lankin brought this up yesterday. She hasn't canvassed anybody either. She came up and said that the chances of getting unanimous consent are very unlikely. But she didn't say it was impossible, nor have I.

CO: And so you want your amendment to be put to a vote?

DP: Well, of course I do. Like I want any other amendment to be put to a vote. It could be put to a vote tomorrow.

CO: And the chances are that it will pass in the Senate. Is that what your understanding is?

DP: No, I suspect that the people that want the bill to pass will likely not vote for my amendment if, in fact, the bill dies then. Come on, even you at CBC need to be able to put these things together.

CO: They want to have this changed in order to have it for part of the celebration for Canada’s 150^th.

DP: Yes, but today is May 31^st. We're here for another three weeks. If we vote on my amendment tomorrow, they have three weeks’ time to still debate and vote on the original motion. Like do you even understand how we work here?

CO: How far are you willing to take your fight to see your change to the lyrics pass?

DP: Well, no further than I've taken it. I've introduced an amendment and I'm done speaking on it. I am not allowed to speak to it again.

CO: All right, we’ll watch what happens. Senator Plett, lovely to speak with you. Thank you.

DP: Thank you.

JD: Don Plett is a Conservative senator. We reached him in Ottawa.

[Music: Atmospheric]

Foggy Trevor

Guest: Jonathan May

JD: He has come from far, far, far, away. So far away that he probably feels like he's on another planet. To clarify, however, despite his appearance he is not. His name is Jonathan May, he is a photographer from Sydney, Australia. Mr. May has been in Newfoundland for the past month pursuing one of his most ambitious projects yet: a film about an alien named Trevor. Mr. May has been seen around the province dressed in character. We reached Jonathan May in Marystown, Newfoundland.

CO: Jonathan, why did you go to Marystown, Newfoundland in the first place?

JONATHAN MAY: Originally, I was coming to do a still-photography project on fog. I Googled the world’s foggiest place and Argentia came up. And I started researching Newfoundland. I'd never even heard of it before to be honest.

CO: And how foggy has it been since you arrived in the Burin Peninsula?

JM: It was a lot foggier down in Ferryland and Argentia. But since I've come over to the Burin Peninsula, it's been a little bit less foggy. I think there are of places up in St. Lawrence, but I've been stuck in Marystown for about 12 days shooting the project of Trevor.

CO: OK, now Trevor, this is project that you have taken on since you have come to where you thought was the foggiest place in the world. What is the film about Trevor?

JM: The film is about an alien called Trevor come from a planet called Elicuranus. And he originally was coming to document human behavior and societ,y but gets a little bit sidetracked in Marystown and caught up and stays here a little bit longer than expected. And he watches Baywatch at the Burin Cinema and now thinks he wants to be an actor like the Hoff, David Hasselhoff, and has a big audition in St. Johns at the acting studio in a couple of days. So he's heading down there.

CO: And you're acting as Trevor?

JM: Yes, originally I was because I was traveling for three weeks, and I just thought it would be too expensive and a bit too much to have someone in the RV with me the whole time. So it was a very ambitious project. And I was a bit apprehensive before I came just thinking how on earth am I going to do this? You know film everything, be the alien. But since I've arrived in Marystown, I’ve met up with a couple of guys: Brandon King and Joshua Power. And Joshua was the perfect physique for Trevor, same size as me, six foot-two and a little bit slim. So yeah, he has taken on the reins as Trevor. It’s been great because I've been able to focus on filming and been able to make it much more cinematic.

CO: What does Trevor look like?

JM: Trevor just looks like your average alien, quite lanky. I mean there's a few posts on Facebook saying that he looks like a white walker from “Game of Thrones”. He's very pale. Few other people are saying that he spent too long in Burin Peninsula because he is ghostly-white.

CO: And he's from the planet of Elicuranus?

JM: Elicuranus.

CO: Elicuranus, OK and what happens to him? I don’t want to spoil the film, but can you give us a sense of how…

JM: I don’t want to reveal too much, but he’s got a big audition. It is one shot at fame. He doesn't want to go home. He has got a bit caught up here and is having too much fun. And yeah, he's kind of changed his mind on the whole you know documenting society and he wants to have a bit of fun. He doesn't really want to go home.

CO: What do you think it is about Newfoundland that inspired this film?

JM: It's quite remote and isolated. I think it kind of reminds me of Tasmania back home in Australia. Yeah, there's not many people around and it's quite remote. And you know every time I speak someone inside you know they talk about the alien; everyone said there's a few here already.

CO: And your success has been because you've met up with Newfoundlanders who are willing to help. How did you meet them?

JM: I met them at a bar called Chalky’s in Marystown. And think to be fair, everyone in Marystown has really embraced the project. I think a lot of people are saying that not much happens here. You know there's no excitement or whatnot. So everyone has been really reactive and just open with you know letting us film in their location or even you know, there are a few locals who are now part of it. Trevor gets a job at the Molloys scrap metal yard and gets to work there and then he goes and tries Pauline’s famous poutine and he's heading out on a boat in five minutes or 10 minutes time. Right now, he's waiting for the boat to pull up and he’s going to go out fishing. So yeah, I mean everyone's really embraced the project and just let us do whatever we want here. It’s getting a little bit of traction now and I've got the only RV in town, so everyone’s waving and wanting photos of Trevor. It’s been quite fun filming it.

CO: Well, we’ll post pictures of Trevor on our social media. But your description of him doesn't quite capture it. He's not wearing any clothes.

JM: No, originally he wasn't wearing clothes. When he was running through the bush, he kind of he said he would get some when he got to Mortier. But he ended up in a bush near Marystown. So he was kind of running through the bush trying to get to Mortier. And gets picked up by Leo on the side of the road hitchhiking and then he gets taken as far as Marystown and meets an old lady who gave him some clothes. So he's wearing clothes. He has tried to assimilate with society down here. So he's trying to fit in as best he can, but not doing a very good job of it.

CO: But Newfoundlanders would say he could probably fit in quite well?

JM: Exactly.

CO: And so how long are you playing to stay?

JM: I’ve got to be back in St. John's on the second. I've got three more days to film to the fifth and then I fly back to Australia on the fifth and I’ll start editing the project.

CO: All right. Jonathan, we look forward… and what's the name of your Trevor alien film?

JM: “Trevor”.

CO: OK, Trevor. We’ll look for it.

JM: It’s a working title.

CO: And so anyway it's good to talk to you. Thanks Jonathan.

JM: Thanks so much.

CO: Bye.

JM: Take care.

JD: Very fitting as far a working titles go. That was Jonathan May. We reached him in Marystown, Newfoundland.

Back To Top »

Part 2: Tiananmen liquor, sun probe

Tiananmen liquor

Guest: Yang Jianli

JD: It has traveled the world and back. And now, it has reached its final destination. A bottle of liquor has arrived in Hong Kong, after four men in China were arrested for producing and distributing it last May. The bottle's label commemorates the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square, Beijing 28 years ago. For months, that bottle was part of a kind of relay that took it to various places, before being carried to Hong Kong in time for a vigil this Sunday. Every year, hundreds of people gather in the city on June 4th to remember the protesters killed in the square. Yang Jianli helped the bottle reach its destination. He's also the president of the activist group Initiatives for China. We reached Mr. Yang in Washington.

CO: Mr. Yang, when did you finally get your hands on this bottle of liquor?

YANG JIANLI: About three weeks ago.

CO: And how did you feel when you actually had it?

YJ: You know, I felt really encouraged upon touching this bottle for one. And also, that reactivated my memory of the massacre that took place 28 years ago, which I witnessed and narrowly escaped. And that also brought my attention to the four brewers, who are as we speak, being imprisoned for making this kind of liquor to help people to keep the memory of the massacre.

CO: And these four men you mentioned have been in detention in Chengdu since May of last year, for having produced and distributed this liquor. They did sell some of the bottles of this commemorative liquor didn't they before they were they were arrested?

YJ: Yeah, they were able to sell, but only the contents of a bottle. You know the label of this liquor was very obvious in disseminating about remember, firmly, the 89/64

CO: and 89/64 is the date of the Tiananmen Massacre.

YJ: Right, June 4^th, 1989. So that caught the attention of the police right away.

CO: These four men, they wanted to commemorate the Tiananmen Massacre. But, as you know, the Chinese authorities will stop any — even the smallest — gestures to commemorate this anniversary that any reference to it publicly has been treated with great harshness. Why do you think these men risked the consequences by putting out this bottle of alcohol?

YJ: Yes, they are very brave. You must understand after the massacre, so many people in China who understood the significance of remembering this incident have tried a variety ways to help people to keep their memory. And by doing so, many people got arrested and prosecuted. Others left China to escape prosecution. These four men were just a few of them. We all understand in the combination of these four number 8, 9, 6, and 4 lies a code for the future of China. If we really want China to be a country that respects human rights you must understand the code of 89/64.

CO: Can you tell us about this bottle and its journey and just where it has been? Where did it begin and where has its journey ended?

YJ: In March, when the government was about to formally charge these four brewers, some friends in Sichuan contacted me discussing the possibility to get a bottle of liquor out of China and make it a focal point to organize the commemoration activities around the world. And the most difficult thing was to find someone who could pass the inspection and carry it off to China. We, at last, were lucky enough to find a government official who was sympathetic to what we were doing and able to help because his position in the government made him exempt from the inspection. So that he was able to take the bottle of liquor out of China to South Asia. Then, he traveled to Israel where he was supposed to meet me and pass along the bottle. But I think the gentleman wanted to minimize the risk upon him, so later he told me he would have wanted somebody to carry the bottle to Europe. So that saved my trip to Israel and I waited for another few weeks and finally the bottle arrived at my door.

CO: And where is it now?

YJ: One of the requests is to get this bottle of liquor to Hong Kong. Where each year, June 4^th, they would have the largest [Inaudible] in the world to commemorate the Tiananmen Massacre. So I just followed their request and found a friend, who could not be a better person, to do it. He was a student leader then in Hong Kong and went to Beijing with his fellow Hong Kong students to support 20 years ago. He happened to be in Washington, D.C. visiting. We got together and I passed along that bottle to him. A few days later, he carried this bottle of liquor to Hong Kong. Now the bottle is in the hands of a Hong Kong priest, who organizes the largest commemoration event every year.

CO: And who will have a chance to taste this liquor that has made this incredible voyage and cost these four men their liberty?

YJ: That's a very good question. Actually, I would like myself to taste it someday. I really want to know the taste, but nobody actually wants to open it now. We want to keep it forever. This is not a simple liquor. You can imagine the ingredients: tears, blood, and hard work. All kinds of ingredients were included when it was brewed. Nobody actually wants to open it and we want to keep it. Maybe we'll keep it in this way forever. But someday, I think we may taste a similar wine or open one bottle because you know I think there are quite a few still there. I think someday, we will open one of the bottles for our victories.

CO: Mr. Yang, it's great to speak with you. Thank you.

YJ: Thank you.

JD: That was Yang Jianli, president of Initiatives for China, and a survivor of the Tiananmen Square protests. We reached him in Washington. This Sunday will mark the 28th anniversary of the pro-democracy protests that happened in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Hundreds of civilians were killed during those demonstrations. You can see photographs of the bottle — the commemorative bottle — on the As It Happens website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Jazz]

MMIW

JD: Today, the public hearings for the national inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls continued in Whitehorse. And in the middle of the proceedings, a man who was not scheduled to speak walked up to the microphone. He introduced himself as the brother of Angel Carlick, and the son of Wendy Carlick. Angel Carlick was murdered a decade ago. Her body was found near Whitehorse. Her case was never solved. Her mother, Wendy, went on to become an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women. And then, this past April, she too she was found dead. Police are treating her death as a homicide. Here is what Alex Carklick had to say at the hearing today.

SOUNDCLIP

ALEX CARLICK: I’d just like to say that I feel everybody's pain right now. My mom was like the greatest person ever and every day I'm crying because she was taken from me just like my sister. And I see no cops around here because they never did nothing for anything that I went through. I lost everything: the closest family that I had, my grandma, my mom, and my sister. And I feel everybody's pain around here, but it's pretty hard that you have to go through these situations. But I'm still not alone. My mom was a mother to a lot of people. I know that she's always going to be with me. And I feel you guys’ pain that everybody you lost.

FEMALE VOICE: Thank you very much.

JD: That was Alex Carlick in Whitehorse, Yukon. He was speaking at the hearings for the inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. His sister, Angel Carlick, was murdered 10 years ago. His mother, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls advocate, was found dead in April. Police are treating her death as a homicide.

[Music: Ambient]

Sun probe

Guest: Nicky Fox

JD: It is going to fly near the sun, nearer indeed than any manmade object has ever been before. And, thanks to the unfortunate lesson of Icarus, NASA has scrapped plans to give it wings and feathers and wax. It was originally called the Solar Probe Plus, it was set to launch next summer. The launch date is the same or remains the same. But today, NASA announced it was renaming the mission in honor of the American solar astrophysicist Eugene Parker. It will now be called the Parker Solar Probe. Mission project scientist Nicky Fox spoke at today's event. She is with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, which is collaborating with NASA. We reached Ms. Fox in Chicago.

CO: Ms. Fox, just how close is this spacecraft going to get to the sun?

NICKY FOX: The spacecraft is going to get to within four million miles of the sun's surface. And even though that doesn't sound terribly close when we put it like that, if the earth and the sun were one metre apart our little probe would be four centimeters away from the sun. So you can see how close even four million miles is.

CO: It's about six million kilometers I think.

NF: Yes.

CO: How can you do that? I mean without melting?

NF: We have, obviously, undergone a tremendous design phase for the mission. And, in fact, one of the reasons it's taken so long to be able to finally achieve this wonderful mission is that we've had to make huge breakthroughs in technology, including even designing new materials that we can use to actually shield the spacecraft. We have a heat shield that sits out in front of the spacecraft itself and shields all of the instruments. So you know they sit on the body the spacecraft and they're in the shadow of this heat shield. So even though the heat shield itself is facing temperatures of about 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, the instruments are actually working at about room temperature. And if you want the Centigrade by the way it’s 1,400 degrees Celsius.

CO: What is the purpose? What do you hope to learn when you get that close to the sun?

NF: This mission is going so close to the sun so that we can finally do those missing measurements. We've never been able to go up and take the measurements close to the sun. We can do an awful lot by imaging and by looking with our cameras and we can do a lot by just sitting out in the solar wind even as far as Mercury. But until you actually go up and sample that region, you can't tell what processes are really going on there. And it's a really, really, interesting region because there are two main mysteries that we're going to hopefully go and solve. One is that the corona, which is that hazy atmosphere that you see around the sun during an eclipse. That's actually hotter than the surface of the sun. It's 300 times hotter than the surface of the sun. And that really just shouldn't happen. You know that's like breaking the laws of nature. You know you put your hand near a heat source and you pull your hand away it gets cooler. But by the sun, you move away from the surface and it's actually 300 times hotter in the corona. Also in this region, where we see these intense temperatures, the actual atmosphere of the sun, or the coronal material, gets incredibly energized and it accelerates away from the sun at huge speeds. That means all the material is now interacting with all of our planets. But again, mysteries are happening in this region and we haven't been able to explain them because we've never been out to touch that area.

CO: But there's also a great deal of wind, isn't there?

NF: So there is the solar wind. That's what we talk about and that's what we're going to study. So the solar wind is kind of born in that area of the corona. It’s where it develops and where it evolves and gets accelerated. But it's not like wind here on earth that you would think about. Even though it's moving at millions of miles an hour, it wouldn't ruffle your hair because you know it's not as dense as the air here on earth.

CO: How close has any spacecraft got to the sun previously?

NF: So the current record holder is the Helios mission, which is a European mission. And they got to just within the orbit of Mercury. We will be seven times closer than that.

CO: How long will it take for the spacecraft to get there?

NF: So our first encounter is just 16 weeks after launch. We launched from Florida on July 31^st, 2018, in eight weeks after launch, we’ll encounter the planet Venus for the first time where we'll do a gravity assist to kind of trim our trajectory to make sure they're going exactly where we want to go. And then just eight week later, we'll do our first encounter with the sun.

CO: And what do you think that's going to be like? For all of you who have worked on this project for years, what is that moment going to be like do you think?

NF: I think it's just going to be amazing. You know any time you see something that you've worked on launch and you know even if it's not a spacecraft, anything that you've poured your heart and soul into and you actually see it working. You know it's tremendously emotional and for Solar Probe, it with first kind of dreamt of in 1958. And so when we launch, it will be 60 years after it was first discussed and first planned. And so it's not just those people who are working on the mission today, but there's thousands and thousands of people who have worked on some form of this mission for 60 years. And so I think it's just a tremendously emotional thing and you know very humbling to be part of the team.

CO: How long will it stay out there?

NF: It is just shy of seven years. We do 24 orbits where we come close to the sun on one side, and then we come out around the orbit of Venus on our sort of furthest away point. So it's a very elliptical orbit and we do that 24 times. We fly past Venus seven times. And each time we do, we trim our orbit so we get just a little bit closer to the sun each time until we're finally below that four million mile mark.

CO: Will the spacecraft actually return to Earth or will you be just collecting the data and then it will stay out there?

NF: It will stay out there even at the end of the mission. The orbit is very stable, so the spacecraft will continue in that orbit until we run out of fuel. And then, at that point, unfortunately we won't be able to keep our heat shield between us and the sun. And so the spacecraft will start to turn and the moment the sun hits the side of the spacecraft unfortunately that's all over for us. But that's a long way down the road.

CO: Is there any idea — any plan — that you might send humans in the spacecraft to the sun in the future?

NF: I don't think there's any plans right now to send them. I think we're focused very much on returning to the moon and ultimately to Mars.

CO: It’d be hard to get volunteers I would imagine? It would be a very dangerous mission if that were the case.

NF: Yes. I'm not sure I'd fancy my chances in that one.

CO: Ms. Fox, it's fascinating and we'll be following this story. I appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.

NF: Thank you so much.

JD: That was Parker Solar Probe project scientist Nicky Fox. We reached Ms. Fox in Chicago.

[Music: Brass]

Saudi democracy

JD: Here on CBC Radio, when a show broadcasts 10 seconds of silence, the folks in what is known as “Master Control” jump into action. They assume, usually correctly, that something has gone awry, and an emergency system kicks in and we begin broadcasting jazz, and apologies. Well, a similar thing appears to have happened to U.S. State Department officials Stuart Jones yesterday. Mr. Jones is the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and he was speaking to reporters at what was called a “Briefing on the President's Trip to the Middle East”. He was also not speaking there. He answered questions about Qatar and the enormous Saudi arms deal, and his own impending retirement. And then came the last question, and that was when Mr. Jones's personal silence alarm kicked in. And after several seconds, you could almost hear the jazz coming out of his ears. AFP journalist Dave Clark asked Mr. Jones how he would characterize Saudi Arabia's commitment to democracy and whether the Trump administration believes democracy helps prevent extremism. Here is Stuart Jones's response.

SOUNDCLIP

STUART JONES: Um… uh…

JD: OK, we're just going to hit pause here for a moment because, as I mentioned, ten seconds of silence triggers a reaction at “Master Control”. And what you just heard was the first seven seconds or so of Mr. Jones’s attempt at answering that question. He frowned, he looked up at the ceiling, he did a thing with his mouth, and then stared thoughtfully into the middle distance. And then he continued.

SOUNDCLIP

SJ: [Sound: Silence]

JD: OK, again, just a quick pause so as to not start the emergency jazz playing. Now, during that seven seconds, Stuart Jones continued staring into the middle distance. This time without any further movements whatsoever of his face or head. And, now, The dramatic conclusion.

SOUNDCLIP

SJ: I think what we’d say is that at this meeting, we were able to make significant progress with Saudi and GCC partners.

JD: There you have it, the U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Stuart Jones, after pausing for a full 18 seconds to figure out how to answer a question about the Trump administration's stance on Saudi Arabia and democracy. He went on to say that the GCC (the Gulf Cooperation Council) has certain mechanisms to contain extremism and that one terrorist threat is coming from Iranian leaders who are not democratically elected.

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Part 3: Asylum crosser death, Sochi ‘black-face’ parade

Thunder Bay investigations

JD: In this month alone, two Indigenous teenagers have been found dead in the McIntyre River in Thunder Bay. Thunder Bay police say that the investigation into the death of a 15-year-old Josiah Begg remains open. The investigation into 17-year-old Tammy Keeash’s death has been handed off to the coroner. And these two youths, these two young people, are far from the only Indigenous people who have been found dead in the water around Thunder Bay. And today, chiefs from the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, the Grand Council Treaty Three, and Rainy River First Nations — seventy seven chiefs in all — announced that they have lost faith in Thunder Bay police and would like the RCMP to step in and investigate these river deaths. At a news conference, Rainy River First Nation Chief Jim Leonard was asked why he did not accept the local police forces suggestion that there was no foul play involved in these deaths. Here was his response.

SOUNDCLIP

JIM LEONARD: Because those determinations are made very quickly. And, I'll be blunt here, it’s just a case of finding another dead Indian — a drunk Indian — that rolled in the water. That is the feeling we get from the community in Thunder Bay. The way they have treated and the way people are saying. It is just another drunk Indian rolling into the river, so who cares? Nonchalantly that's the attitude. It's devastating. Community members are talking about it. They're talking about things that happened to them. It's causing a lot. I talked to one of my community members who was involved in the search and he said something's got to be done. It's a powder keg in Thunder Bay. Something bad is going to happen if we don't do something today. I'm afraid of what may happen. We have to show the people in the city of Thunder Bay and the people of the First Nations living around the area that were doing something and were asking the province to do something today. We can't wait until these investigations are done. Because tonight, or tomorrow night, or the night after, something is going to happen. And it's not going to be good.

JD: That was a Rainy River First Nation Chief Jim Leonard, at a news conference earlier today. He — along with 76 other chiefs — are calling for the RCMP to take over investigations into the deaths of Tammy Keeash, Josiah Begg, and Stacey DeBungee. All three were found in the McIntyre River in Thunder Bay.

[Music: Ambient]

Asylum crosser death

CO: No matter what the story is it is very sad. Mr. Indome, I appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.

FI: Thank you very much, Carol.

JD: Frank Indome is the vice-president of the Ghanaian Union of Manitoba. We reached him in Winnipeg.

[Music: Classical guitar]

Nova Scotia relay team

JD: Making a pit stop at Tim Horton’s is a central part of any pleasant Canadian road trip. Having your car break down on you is not, unless a kind-hearted stranger comes to your aid. Just ask the stranded “Dalhousie Dangerously Accelerative Ladies”. Because last night, we told you about Melanie Landry. Ms. Landry is an employee at the Tim Horton’s in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. She lent her van to some members of that team on their way to the Cabot Trail Relay Race. And that story got us feeling warm and fuzzy. And it got Chris Roundel reminiscing. And she left us a comment on our Facebook post about that story. And she wrote quote, “Many years ago, after a day of shopping in Watertown, my mother and I were driving back on the 401 when her car started to lose power. It was dark, so getting stranded on the 401 an hour-and-a-half away from her house wasn't ideal. She managed to pull off the Joyceville exit, but we weren't able to make it to the gas station across the overpass. We made the short walk to the gas station and asked to use the phone, this was pre-cell phone days, a couple in their late thirties overheard our story and said they could help us out. Being the city girl that I am, I had visions of being kidnapped and held in their basement for days. But thankfully, that wasn't the case. They had to get back to their house so their babysitter could go home. And so we got into their new-ish, fully-loaded truck and made the 10 minute drive back to their house. They invited us into their house while they settled up with their babysitter. The husband then handed the keys to the vehicle to my mother and told us that copies of the paperwork are in the glove compartment. We were complete strangers, but I guess we looked trustworthy. We made it home quite late that night. The next morning, after making arrangements with Mom's mechanic to come get her vehicle, we headed back to return our vehicle. We made sure we returned it with a full tank of gas. I've never forgotten that generous act of kindness. In all honesty, I don't think I would do the same. I’d drive them home, but I just don't think I would hand my vehicle over to a complete stranger. But I guess it depends on the circumstances.” Well, thank you Chris Roundel for sharing that story. And to comment on anything that you hear on this program find us on Twitter and Facebook, both those accounts: @cbcasithappensm, all one word. Or you can e-mail us: aih@cbc.ca. Or give us a call, we do love to hear your voice: 416-205-5687.

[Music: Bluegrass]

Reading: Bronwen Wallace Award

JD: Mile-a-minute prose poems… these visceral pieces take surprising hairpin turns. Pulling the reader through proclamations, inquiries and bursts of self-doubt. That is how the jury of the RBC Bronwyn Wallace Award for Emerging Writers describes “The Mistress and the Ping”, a collection of poetry by writer Noor Naga. Ms. Naga was born in Philadelphia, she was raised in Dubai, and is currently living in Egypt. But she studied creative writing at the University of Toronto. And last night, she was back in Toronto to receive the 2017 version of the award, which is named for the late Canadian poet and short story writer Bronwyn Wallace. The $10,000 prize recognizes writers under the age of 35 who are not yet published in book form. “The Mistress and the Ping” tells the story of a young Muslim woman who faces a spiritual crisis when she becomes romantically involved with a married man. And now, here is Ms. Naga reading a poem by the name of “Waiting(2)”, which is one of the poems from her award-winning collection. This is from last night's ceremony.

SOUNDCLIP

NOOR NAGA: There are people to live for and people to die for. I comfort myself. There are people to sleep with and people to wake with. There are 50,000 years of waiting between one ping and the next ping I am waiter. I am worshipper of pings. 100 times a day I text myself to hear the ping, to make sure the phone is still pinging. I keep the phone on my body at all times. I keep my body in the condo where the wires and sockets are. I cannot shower without the phone on a towel at arm's reach. I cannot sleep without the phone beneath my pillow, where the pings yank me from my dreams. Outside, if I must be outside, away from the sockets I… but I never go outside. There is no order to the pings. He pings, I salivate instantly. The thumbless dog that I am. The joy in my bark is so sore and so severe it is almost rough. Sorry, I’ve lost myself. The joy in my bark is so sore and so severe it is almost rough. I say hello, this rationing is waterboarding. Please, I need more air. He says I breathe into your lungs, hello. I say am I not enough or are you not enough? He says my heart isn’t a jar. It isn't a swimming pool. The more love I have the more love I have. I comfort myself. She might know his morning smell, but she doesn't know her own fleecing. She might know his morning smell, but I know her name and mine. Thank you.

JD: That was writer Noor Naga, winner of the 2017 RBC Bronwyn Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. She was reading “Waiting(2)”, one of the poems from her award-winning collection of poetry” The Mistress and the Ping”.

[Music: Ambient]

Sochi ‘black-face’ parade

Guest: Ilia Artemiev

JD: “Our intention was not to offend.” That is what the mayor of Sochi, Russia said yesterday after images emerged from a parade in Sochi over the weekend. The parade was part of Carnaval Sochi Fest. And the supposedly inoffensive or non-offensive celebration included Russians in ‘black-face’ wearing afro wigs and carrying bananas. They were part of the parade dedicated to the Confederations Cup, which is a prelude to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Ilia Artemiev is a researcher of xenophobia and nationalism at the Sova Centre for Information and Analysis. We reached Mr. Artemiev in Moscow.

CO: Mr. Artemiev, when you saw these images from the parade in Sochi what did you think?

ILIA ARTEMIEV: Well, I think that was an unfortunate incident. It was clearly not an intentionally racist incident. The whole parade was a demonstration of cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity. It was a positive message, but somehow our participants of the parades didn't know how to present the idea correctly.

CO: Can you describe what happened at the parade? What people were wearing?

IA: Well, there were people dressed as representatives of different peoples of the world, including African black people, Mexicans, and so on, and so on. The kind of traditional costumes, but they were not really traditional. They were intended to be, but they were not presented correctly. Including a man who was dressed up like an African man and he had bananas in his dress.

CO: And he was in ‘black-face’, this man, there were others in ‘black-face’ carrying bananas or wearing bananas on their heads. They had drums. They had afro wigs on. There are others who were wearing for Mexico, they had sombreros and stick on black mustaches. And others were wearing headdresses like North American Indians.

IA: Exactly.

CO: OK, so this was not racism in your view?

IA: In my view, that was incorrectly presented message. Because they should have consulted African communities in Russia, Mexican communities in Russian, Native American communities in Russia, but there are no such communities I suppose, in Sochi especially. They should have consulted with social anthropologists, but they didn't.

CO: So you're telling us these people were innocently ignorant of the effect the message that comes from putting on ‘black-face’, afro wigs, and carrying bananas?

IA: They were definitely not mocking anyone.

CO: But people in Sochi don't live in a bubble. Surely they know they've heard from the football players who have taken part in games in Russia that they had racism hurled at them. They had bananas thrown at them. Some of them have said they've been racially abused. It's been well-publicized. So this message did not make its way to the fans of the Confederations Cup?

IA: First of all, as far as I know, this parade was not part of a football game.

CO: It was part of this Carnaval Sochi Fest.

IA: Yeah, Carnaval Sochi Fest, it's not directly related to the football events.

CO: OK, but does that matter? I mean the question is can you really say that they had no access to the knowledge that this is offensive given that players have complained about the racism they have experienced? African or Latin American players say they have been exposed to a great deal of racism in Russia. Do you think that the people in this parade had no idea that this was hurtful?

IA: First of all, these are two different questions. Because at this event it was not directed towards any black players or black fans, or Mexican guest or Mexican players. There is a difference between throwing a banana or chanting aggressive chants at football games towards black players and dressing up as kind of African guy.

CO: OK. What is the difference? What is the difference between those two things? You would condemn one and say that this is a perfectly innocent situation.

IA: The first situation is a deliberate insult. Those football fans they deliberately want to insult the players. Those people in Sochi don't want to insult anyone.

CO: You're saying it's harmless?

IA: Absolutely harmless. But there was a Nigerian student who noticed those guys and he was offended and he was the person who we brought public attention to the situation.

CO: You are a researcher with an organization that is investigating xenophobia. That's supposed to be exposing it. So if your view is that this is innocent what does that tell us about other people in Russia who would be part of something like this? If you're the one who is supposed to know this is offensive and you don't find it offensive. What does that say about other Russians?

IA: I'm not saying it's not offensive. I mean for example, that man from Nigeria who saw that in person was offended and I understand why. Because it is offensive to associate black people with bananas, but it's not so clear to those people who made those dresses. I'm absolutely sure that in this situation they didn't want to offend him or anyone. And yes, it is a problem of education in Russia in general and it is a problem related to many people are not aware that some things might seem offensive to representatives of other cultures. It's not that they want to offend anyone. In many cases, it's like they don’t know how behave themselves and sometimes they don't ever think that's offensive. Because the Russian government doesn't have comprehensive and deep anti-discrimination education policy in the whole society in general.

CO: OK, we'll leave it there. Mr. Artemiev, thank you.

IA: You're welcome.

JD: Ilia Artemiev is a researcher of xenophobia and nationalism at Russia's Sova Centre for Information and Analysis. We reached Mr. Artemiev in Moscow.

[Music: Cultural]

From Our Archives: Bridge anniversary

JD: Twenty years ago today, a missing link in Canada was felt. On May 31st of 1997, Confederation Bridge, linking Prince Edward Island with New Brunswick opened. But it was not an easy road for the bridge. =Debate and the passions about it raged for decades. And then in a 1988 plebiscite, Islanders voted for a fixed link. Now at the time of the bridge is opening, CBC journalist Mitch Cormier put together a soundscape of all the arguments and of the building of Confederation Bridge for As It Happens. And here is part of what that sounded like, this is from our archives.

SOUNDCLIP

MALE VOICE: Three hundred and seventy polls reporting and the yeas have it 59 per cent to 41 per cent.

MALE VOICE: This is a clear indication by a majority of Prince Edward Islanders that a fixed length is what the island wants.

MALE VOICE: I've put 19 years in here now. I'd like to be able work to get my pension.

MALE VOICE: The premier of Prince Edward Island has no legal grounds on which to require a full environmental assessment or review process.

MALE VOICE: We really don't know what the impacts would be. We don't know how to measure them very easily and we don't know how to mitigate them.

MALE VOICE: DFO does not address the concerns that the fishermen raise and that their own scientists raise.

MALE VOICE: I mean surely people don't think the town of Borden and few individual groups and individuals can stop it.

MALE VOICE: I now declare that this tender opening session is closed.

MALE VOICE: There’s a feeling that it's coming to a head.

[Sound: Protestors]

FEMALE VOICE: Make them understand that we do not want a bridge. We want to keep our ferry.

FEMALE VOICE: It could be the most unsafe thing that was ever created. Apart from being something that will never be paid for.

MALE VOICE: I don't like this project because of what it is. I also do not like to be bullied and that's what has happened on this project.

MALE VOICE: The fact is there is no contract. All we're doing at this juncture is accepting resumes.

MALE VOICE: I believe that this agreement provides the maximum flexibility for the province. The maximum flexibility for the workers at Marine Atlantic.

MALE VOICE: This is a historic day and a time for celebration.

MALE VOICE: Millions of dollars will be injected into the pockets of individuals, workers, and businesses in Maritime Canada.

JD: From our archives, that was a soundscape — a sound tapestry — if you will put together for this program by CBC journalist Mitch Cormier on May 30th of 1997. The eve of the opening of Confederation bridge which permanently links of course Prince Edward Island with New Brunswick

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May 31, 2017 episode transcript

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