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The AIH Transcript for November 19, 2020

Hosts: Carol Off and Chris Howden

Prologue

CAROL OFF: Hello. I'm Carol Off.

CHRIS HOWDEN: Good evening, I'm Chris Howden. This is “As It Happens”.

[Music: Theme]

CH: Tonight:

CO: Brute force, part one. A former Supreme Court Judge finds a culture of misogyny, homophobia and racism in the RCMP — and a former officer reveals the price of trying to hold the Mounties to account.

CH: Brute force, part two. An investigation in Australia alleges that members of the country's armed forces killed dozens of civilians and prisoners in Afghanistan because of a military culture driven by bloodlust.

CO: Target practice. Canada's environment minister says new legislation would reduce emissions to zero by 2050, but admits the law doesn't include any penalties for failing to meet that goal.

CH: You can't count on them. Reality takes another hit as GOP members in Wayne County, Michigan file affidavits saying they didn't want to certify the vote after they certified the vote.

CO: A site of trained rakes becomes the site of a train wreck. Twelve days after a disastrous press conference, there's a petition to give historic status to Four Seasons Total Landscaping, which had no intention of changing the political landscape.

CH: And... one fell swoop. After driving a 75-foot Christmas tree from upstate New York to downtown Manhattan, a truck driver discovers a resident in its branches: a small, disoriented owl.

CH: “As It Happens”, the Thursday edition. Radio that figures the ordeal was enough to make its head spin.

Part one: RCMP report, Detroit voting board, Rockefeller owl

RCMP report

Guest: Janet Merlo

CH: Michel Bastarache has taken a look at the RCMP — and concluded it's time to rethink the future of the force. Today, the former Supreme Court Judge delivered a report that says, quote, "a toxic culture prevails in the RCMP. This culture encourages, or at least tolerates, misogynistic, racist and homophobic attitudes among many members." Unquote. Justice Basterache's work results from the settlement of a class-action lawsuit brought by current and former RCMP officers. It includes evidence of widespread sexual misconduct, including more than 130 acts of penetrative sexual violence. RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki was asked about that shocking number this afternoon.

BRENDA LUCKI: It's really, really troubling to hear that. Because those women had to live through that, and that's totally unacceptable. And that's, again, I say that's why I'm in this position because I want to make that change. And there is no room for such actions. It cannot, and it will not, be tolerated. And I am I'm so angry with things in this report and so frustrated. I feel so bad for what has happened in an organization that I am in my 35th year. And I read this, and it doesn't surprise me because we knew about, obviously, about the lawsuit. And I talked to many women who have personally told me their story. But still, when you see those numbers on paper, it is not easy to see, it's not easy to live with and it's shame on us. And so we need to do better. It’s a non-negotiable. We have to do better. And we will.

CH: That was RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki earlier today. Janet Merlo is one of the former RCMP officers who became the representative plaintiffs in the class-action suit that resulted in today's report. We reached Ms. Merlo in BC — and a warning, parts of this interview are disturbing.

CO: Janet, what is your reaction to hearing Commissioner Lucki and what she had to say today?

JANET MERLO: I totally understand her frustration and her anger. I've had communication with her a couple of times when I've been trying to help some women who have reached out to me. And she's been very receptive, and she has tried, and she has made some changes in their lives to help them out. But I think on a grander scale, what we heard today from Bill Blair, Justin Trudeau and Brenda Lucki is just more rhetoric. Unless they get up there and say, yes, we have failed, we will bring in an independent entity to clean up the police force. Anything less than that is not acceptable.

CO: In the report, Michel Bastarache says the problem is systemic in nature and cannot be corrected by punishing a few bad apples. In fact, what he describes in this is that it's so widespread that it would take a major overhaul to reverse the misogynistic, racist, homophobic attitudes that he cites among members of the RCMP. How do you bring about change at this point in the RCMP?

JM: Well, I've been at this class-action process since 2012. And of all the women that I've listened to and heard their stories, I have not heard of one person who has been investigated, suspended, charged or fired for harassment, not one. There's not one woman who has come to me and said, I made a complaint and this was done, nothing. There are still women reaching out almost weekly in what I call some level of hell in the RCMP, reaching out to me because they don't trust the system.

CO: And this is after what? More than thousands of women have already received compensation from the RCMP for the abuse that they suffered. And you're saying that you don't know of anyone who has actually faced the consequences for having been a harasser?

JM: Nope, not one. I would love for the RCMP to provide some statistics to show true investigations that they say, you know, Bob Paulson got up and did his teary apology three years ago in Ottawa, and vowed that the fists of God would come down on people who harass. And I have not heard of one case where that has happened.

CO: When you say that this is some level of hell, what do you mean by that?

JM: People are stuck in the RCMP. And I don't even just mean women. There are men who are just in a really tough situation, whether they're being targeted, harassed, bullied, assaulted. And they have nowhere to go to. Because the process itself does nothing, and they cannot speak out because then they'll be punished for being insubordinate. So they're in the level of hell and stuck there with ongoing harassment, and they have nowhere to turn.

CO: Is it possible for anything to change unless they recognize that this is so systemic and so serious, that it is the toxic environment that Mr. Bastarache cites in this report, that he calls, “Broken Dreams, Broken Lives”?

JM: No, absolutely not. And to call these people bad apples. One-hundred-and-thirty-one rapes. That's not bad apples. That's sexual violence. That's criminal. We go out and arrest people. And when we arrest them for sexual offences, there's a program that they are entered into called the VI class, and they're listed in the computer system as a sexual offender. There are 131 potential police officers who raped women, and they should be arrested and have VI classes done on them, they should be in the system as sexual offenders.

CO: What was your own experience? I know you've talked about this a lot. You've written a whole book. You have given masterclasses on what it was like for you. But if you could just give us just a sense of what it was like for you as a woman in the force.

JM: Well, when when I got pregnant with our first daughter, I brought in the note after my first trimester, I brought in the note to be taken off the road because you can't put on a gun belt and go out and take calls and risk, you know, losing your child. So, at that point, when you announce your pregnancy, you get moved to an office job. Well, I was cursed at and screamed at and name called and told if I wanted to have a career in the police force that I, you know, was either going to have a career or I was going to pop out kids my whole life. And then he told me to get out of his office. And as I was leaving the office, he said, the next time, I have a suggestion for you, the next time, keep your f-ing legs closed. [crying] And I was so thrilled about that pregnancy, and it just took all that away in an instant. And for the rest... until I went on maternity leave, I went in that office every day with my head down, ashamed of myself. And then they would say, oh, we got a call. Can you take it? Oh, no, Merlo can't take it. She's knocked up. And then when I went, I had my daughter and I went back to work. When I went back to work, the questions, oh, Merlo, can you take that call or are you knocked up again? You know, I was happily married, having a family, and that's what was said over and over again, and that's just one example. Our girls are five years apart because there was no way in hell I was going to get pregnant again and have a second child until some of the management in the RCMP moved on. Because there was no way I could go in with the note again and say that I was pregnant. You know, it impacts your whole life on the level that the RCMP doesn't even realize. You know, I've lost friends. I had a friend shoot herself two years ago.

CO: Someone in the force? Someone in the RCMP?

JM: They don’t care. Yes, my friend Christa Carley, my troop mate, she sat at her house outside Victoria, and she shot herself. The RCMP pays out money, and they spew a bunch of rhetoric about how they're going to change, modernize. Before you modernize something, you have to eliminate the criminal element within it.

CO: And so this day of seeing this report, what does it mean to you?

JM: You know, when I wrote my book and I held it in my hand for the first time, I just totally broke down because it went from my head and my heart into something I could put on the shelf and carry with me. [breaking down] And when I held that report the other day, when I got the bound copy, I had the exact same feeling, like this is a culmination of a lot of blood, sweat and tears. And if this doesn't change anything, then, God damn it, we tried, we tried our best. We took it to the highest court in the country. And if they can't see that they need to bring in external people to fix this mess, then I don't know what it's going to take.

CO: Janet, I admire your courage. And I really appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.

JM: Thank you.

CO: Bye.

JM: Bye-bye.

CH: Janet Merlo is a former RCMP officer.

[Music: Classic rock]

Detroit voting board

Guest: Jonathan Kinloch

CH: It's highly unusual for the Wayne County Board of Canvassers in Michigan to be getting this much attention. But these are highly unusual times in the United States. Wayne County includes Detroit. And ever since President Trump lost Michigan, he's been making baseless accusations about the election there. Today, his team claimed victory — announcing it would be dropping a federal lawsuit in Michigan after Wayne County failed to certify its results. But the county's Democratic and Republican canvassers did certify the results on Tuesday. And according to a spokesperson for the secretary of state, that certification will stand — despite the fact that the two Republican members of the board have rescinded their votes and filed affidavits. I know. It's confusing. So we called Jonathan Kinloch. He's one of the two Democratic canvassers on the board. We reached him in Detroit.

CO: Mr. Kinloch, did you ever imagine that the Wayne County Board of Canvassers would become the center of an epic political battle?

JONATHAN KINLOCH: Absolutely not. In most instances, what we do is pretty quiet and easy-going.

CO: OK, so it wasn't so easy going on Tuesday, was it? So just briefly, tell us what happened and why your two Republican colleagues would not certify the vote?

JK: In my opinion, and even as we are here today, it truly was based upon the influence of their party. And that is something that this Board of Canvassers has taken pride over the years to make sure that we represented the interests of the people first and not just fall into the usual political party and partisan politics. This was highly unusual. The National Party on the Republican side at least chose to insert themselves into what is usually a mundane and just basic process of reviewing the filings of the local clerks and certifying the election results. And unfortunately, they have turned what has occurred here in America since the election of President Donald Trump. They have turned the norms upside... pretty much turned it on its head.

CO: Can you just remind people how the vote did come down in Wayne County between Donald Trump and Joe Biden?

JK: Oh, I don't have the numbers. [chuckling] As you can imagine, I don't have the numbers in front of me right now.

CO: But just roughly, do you know?

JK: Yes, it was, I believe, like 388 thousand vote difference between the two, I believe. There's no practical way for Donald Trump to reverse the results of what occurred on election night in Wayne County. It's only because Donald Trump has been attacking across the United States Black communities, Black and Brown voters, and trying to basically change the outcome. And that's not going to happen. It's just insane to think that we're right here dealing with this.

CO: Just a few more details about that extraordinary event that evening. At one point, the Republican canvasser, Monica Palmer, said that she would certify the results in the communities other than the city of Detroit. Why did that particular comment draw so much outrage? Maybe just give us a background to that?

JK: The background of that goes back 100 years in this country for Black people. It is a history of the Black suffrage. It is a history of the plight of the Black men and women trying to get their fair and just right to cast their ballots. There's a pain that still runs deep when you talk about trying to just throw out or ignore in any fashion the Black vote. And so that's where a lot of those comments came from. They came from a place of history and a place of pain. And we consistently are fighting for our unabridged right to vote.

CO: And the comments you're referring to, these are the election workers who are both in the room and those who are on the Zoom call that were saying that, as you say, this is a slap in the face. They said that they had worked for 16 hours a day through the pandemic to check and double-check these results. And one caller said, this is what racism looks like. How did Monica Palmer and the other Republican how did they respond to that?

JK: Well, they responded and what I thought was the right response. They changed their vote. But I believe after they left the canvas and we adjourned, they received pressure. We’re hearing now that they may have gotten a call from President Trump. And they're now trying to, right now, they're trying to do something that they can't do, and that is to change their vote from in the certification of the election. I mean, this is a very big disappointment. They’re on the wrong side of history. And it's just unimaginable that these people would actually be trying to do what they're doing today.

CO: In fact, I think Monica Palmer, one of the Republican canvasser, she confirmed with The Washington Post that she did receive a phone call from Donald Trump, but it was only about to see how she was. It wasn't to put pressure on her. What do you make of that?

JK: At this point, I have no say as it relates to their communication and contact with their party, their president, who's part who is the head of their party. I believe since the beginning of this canvass, since the beginning of this canvass, they've done... even before it, they’ve done everything they could to assist Donald Trump in winning the election. I don't have any faith, confidence in anything they say at this particular point.

CO: OK. But on Tuesday, you did at some point convince them to certify the vote and before they changed their minds or said that they wanted to change their minds. How did you do that? They say that you promised them that there would be an audit of the vote and that that was the only reason why they agreed to actually certify the vote. What happened there?

JK: I am Jonathan Kinloch, member of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers. They know, as we all know, that it’s the secretary of state who we had to contact in order to make that request. We haven't even made the request yet. So we had agreed to do what we did in a similar fashion in the Primary to make a request to certify the election and that ask or make an additional request for an audit, a comprehensive audit. And so, that request hadn't even been 24 hours before they decided to call for their attempt to change their vote.

CO: Some of the things that Monica Palmer, the comments she's made, she's saying that she just wants to make sure the vote is correct, it's accurate. That she has issued concerns in the past about discrepancies. That's all she's interested in. It has no pressure at all from outside. It was entirely her own doing. Why are you so convinced that, in fact, it was pressure from Republicans that made her make this decision?

JK: Because as soon we voted not to approve the certification, the Republican Party and the president immediately, I believe about ten minutes after the vote took place, there were social media posts congratulating them, and in regards to that vote. You cannot tell me that they did not have a conversation.

CO: I doubt this is what you signed up for when he became the vice-chairperson of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers. What has this past two days been like for you?

JK: It's been so unreal. Over the past six years that I've been on this board with previous Republicans, we never even let party issues even come into play when it came to us doing our jobs. I can't wait until January 20th where a new president takes office and then we begin to heal this country.

CO: We will leave it there. Mr. Kinloch, thank you.

JK: Thank you.

CH: Jonathan Kinloch is the vice-chairperson of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers. He's a Democrat. We reached him in Detroit, Michigan. In a statement reported by the Associated Press, the two Republican canvassers who rescinded their votes said, quote, "We deserve better — but more importantly, the American people deserve better — than to be forced to accept an outcome achieved through intimidation, deception, and threats of violence ... Wayne County voters need to have full confidence in this process." Unquote.

[Music: Hip-hop]

Rockefeller owl

Guest: Ellen Kalish

CH: The Christmas tree in Rockefeller Square hasn't just stirred up a hornet's nest. It's stirred up a bird's nest as well. Last night on the show we told you about the 75-foot tall Norway spruce which has come in for a lot of needling from New Yorkers. It's patchy and balding and, as one person put it, "a metaphor for 2020." But while people were mocking the outside of the tree, Ellen Kalish was busy taking care of something that came from inside it: a little owl. Ellen Kalish is the owner of the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center. We reached her in Saugerties, New York.

CO: Ellen, how is Rockefeller the owl doing today?

ELLEN KALISH: Rockefeller is doing really well. We couldn't be more pleased with his progress. He's eating, drinking. He's taken a little bath by himself. He's just enjoying all the food and, you know, is on deck for the release.

CO: And he's a very tiny little guy. Is he a baby?

EK: No, he is full-grown. This is the smallest of the owls we have here in the Northeast.

CO: What's it called, the owl? What kind of an owl is it?

EK: It's a Saw-whet owl.

CO: And so how did you find out about the owl?

EK: I got a phone call out of the blue from someone who her husband was working on the tree. I guess they were the transport and team for hooking it up to the crane and getting it to stand up. And as they were working, you know, unwrapping and taking the tree apart, they found this little owl attached to one of the branches. They tried to set it free, and it didn't fly away. So, at that point, the workman called his wife and asked her if she would do some phone call to find out where there was a local rehabber that they could bring the owl to. So we thought he was going to be damaged when we got him. And by a sheer Christmas miracle, nothing was broken. Yeah.

CO: Now, I've seen a video or some tape of his journey as this big, huge flatbed truck where this 75-foot [EK laughs] Norway spruce is being transported. And so, my gosh, what what do you think that was like for him to go to Manhattan the other day? [laughing]

EK: [laughing] I'm sure it was quite a shock, [laughing some more] but we don't know the whole story. And we never will. You know, as some people have offered, you know, he could have flown into the tree while it was parked overnight. And then maybe gotten entangled so he couldn't get out until they opened the tree up. Or he could have been in the tree and had a mild concussion while it fell. He could have been hiding in a tree cavity. So there are so many options, we're really not sure. But we have a feeling that he did not fly into the tree from New York City [both chuickling] with all the construction and lights. And, you know, it would not be a place an owl would seek to hide.

CO: [both laughing] No, not a Manhattan owl. [EK laughs] Now, but we did speak to the woman, the family that donated it, said that the tree... she said one of the reasons why the tree looks so bad when it was set up was because it had been wrapped up for about a week. So I wonder if that owl had been trapped in there for that long, the poor thing?

EK: It very well could have. Yeah, we'll never know. We just know he was dehydrated and hungry. [laughing] So we're now feeding him up, and we're going to release him with a full belly.

CO: And the other thing people were saying that this tree [chuckling] when it went up, this sad, kind of a sad shaggy tree. That was it a kind of fitting symbol of 2020.

EK: [laughing] Yes!

CO: But now, do you think finding this beautiful little creature in the middle of it is maybe a nice symbol of something else that might emerge from this horrible year we're in?

EK: I agree. I agree. And I think that's what made me share the story on social media, was that it was such a positive story. And, you know, with hope, and the New Year coming up, and, you know, just the fact that the owl was not damaged beyond repair. It could have gone the other way, and we could have, you know, could have had to put him down. So, you know, for this to just be such a great story from start to finish has just been a gift, I think, to the world.

CO: We needed it.

EK: [both laughing] Yes. Yes, we did.

CO: And now, when is Rockefeller going to be released?

EK: This weekend, depending on the weather, he's going to be released right here, in a nice pine forest. They like the pine trees for cover and wind protection, snow protection. You know, this is where they hide all day. And then, at night, they come out and do their hunting. So he might look like a cute little Furby, but underneath all that, he's an amazing predator.

CO: Well, he has stories now to tell of his trip to Manhattan.

EK: [both laughing] Absolutely. And because they're nomadic, it doesn't matter where we release them. They do their hunting. And within, you know, a couple of days, they're off to another state or another area. [CO chuckles] They don't mate for life. So we felt, you know, rather than put him for another two-hour ride in the car and stress and so on, that we're just going to release him here in our 12 acres, and he will find his own way in the world.

CO: And he'll be on the road again.

EK: Absolutely. Yes. Yes.

CO: Ellen, it's great to talk to you. Thank you.

EK: Thank you so much.

EK: Bye.

CH: Ellen Kalish is the owner of the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center. She was in Saugerties, New York. And we have more on Rockefeller the owl — including some photos — on our website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

Part one: Australia Afghan killings, Net Zero: Jonathan Wilkinson

Australia Afghan killings

Guest: Samantha Crompvoets

CH: Today, the Australian Defence Forces apologized unreservedly to the people of Afghanistan. A new report reveals that at least 39 unarmed Afghan civilians were executed by elite Australian soldiers in a special forces unit. The report's author, Major General Justice Paul Brereton, recommends those soldiers be investigated for the killings. The report found evidence of initiation for new soldiers, who were told to shoot Afghan prisoners to get their first kills. It also found that weapons were planted near Afghan bodies to cover up crimes. If it wasn't for Samantha Crompvoets, the report would never have come to light. She's a military sociologist whose interviews with soldiers revealed layers of misconduct in Afghanistan. We reached Dr. Crompvoets in Sydney.

CO: Dr. Crompvoets, what does it mean for you personally that these horrific abuses by the elite Australian soldiers are now being acknowledged publicly by your Defence Department and your government?

SAMANTHA CROMPVOETS: I think it's it's both vindicating for me and also really sad.

CO: And vindicating for you, why?

SC: Because when my report was initially well, it was leaked to the Australian media a couple of years ago. There was a lot of slander and attempts to discredit me that what I had suggested had happened or what my reporting was false and that I couldn't possibly have known because I was a woman, a female civilian who'd never been to war.

CO: And yet, you were able to get this shocking report of what happened. As horrible as these allegations are, can you give us a sense of what you discovered?

SC: So what was described to me were behaviours that were premeditated, repeated, deliberate, targeted executions of unarmed people, the retrofitting of weapons on people that had been killed, so it looked like they were armed at the time. What we've learned in the Brereton inquiry is also a culture of junior soldiers, almost like in initiation, being made to execute prisoners to achieve their first kill.

CO: This is it was called encouraging these other soldiers in Afghanistan to go to “blood”. What does that mean to do that?

SC: Yeah, that's what they referred to, those sort of initiations as being “blooded” or “bloodings”.

CO: Just to give some of the numbers, ‘cause is just so disturbing. That it looks like 39 unarmed Afghans were murdered or killed in 23 different incidents. And there are about two-dozen, about 25 alleged perpetrators of these incidents. Is that right?

SC: That's right. And there's my understanding is that there's those who, you know, pulled the trigger, as it's described, and also those who perhaps ordered them to do it. So both of them.

CO: How is it possible that so many of these elite forces could be involved in this for such a long period of time? How is it that nobody reported it?

SC: So there's, I mean, what's come out in the inquiry is that these soldiers were exceptional at concealing what they did. But more than that, that there were problems with the oversight of those units or those patrols. So there was a lot of lying in reporting, embellishing reports. So when they would report an incident for the day, they might lie about whether or not the person was armed or not. They would make it look like it was legal and justified. There was a complete breakdown of how people did assessments of complaints. They found that, you know, the people doing those assessments were completely inadequate to do them.

CO: There are a number of anecdotes and stories in this Brereton report. For you, is there anyone in any one of these stories in particular that characterizes the kind of horrible things that you encountered in the course of this work?

SC: The competition killings. That’s, to me, the most disturbing. And even when I was doing the interviews for that very initial report, it was the way it was described to me as normal and is happening all the time. That's what was distressing.

CO: What do you mean competition killings?

SC: Like, between patrols, they would compete for how many people they could kill.

CO: And these are not combatants.

SC: No.

CO: These are not killing Taliban active soldiers. These are killing civilians.

SC: Yes, that's right.

CO: There is one example that's in here of soldiers using an Afghan man for target practice. That’s disturbing. How did you find out that story? How did that come about?

SC: All of the stories that were told to me were done so by people who clearly had carried this for a long time and had a huge burden. And it sort of it happened over a number of months, where people would just contact me, I'd meet them, so it could be very confidential and anonymous. And that was the only way they felt safe to tell their stories.

CO: And what did they tell you about the culture within those special forces?

SC: That it was deeply problematic. I mean, it was certainly a warrior culture, but it was about elitism. It was about them being isolated almost from the rest of army. Having different rules. And then that becomes this very blurred line of what's, you know, what's OK and what's not, and this sense of entitlement to do whatever they wanted. And it had just gone unchecked for too long.

CO: You describe that this was within the rank and file, that there doesn't appear to be a command responsibility here in what could amount to being war crimes if that's where it goes. But, at some point, the culture is created by the military, right? It's created by the department, and this sense of impunity, which appears to be the case, doesn't some of this have to be put at the doorstep of those who chose the people, recruited these elite soldiers and created that culture?

SC: Yes, it does. And General Campbell, in his address yesterday, spoke about collective accountability, that there does need to be that higher command, accountability and responsibility, a moral one, if nothing else. And one of the things that the special forces have done already in response to this is change the way that they are training and selecting people.

CO: Can you imagine how disturbing this is for people in Afghanistan to learn that this was going on? Because many of them would have known this was happening, right? They would have they would have been able to see or know that innocent people were being killed. What effect do you think it's had on them learning this report?

SC: I think it's devastating. And I think it's undermined our reputation. And there's a lot of work to do to repair that.

CO: And where do you think this report should go from here?

SC: Well, I mean, there's a couple of things, there’s obviously the legal aspect of things and the prosecutions that will follow. And my understanding is that will take some time. And then there's the work that they need to do, Army needs to do, internally to regain the trust of the Australian people and also make sure that this never happens again.

CO: Dr. Crompvoets, I appreciate speaking with you. Thank you.

SC: Thanks for having me.

CH: Samantha Crompvoets is a military sociologist in Sydney, Australia. Her initial interviews with special forces soldiers formed the basis of a damning new report released this week, alleging 39 Afghan civilians were murdered by Australian special forces.

[Music: Sombre piano notes]

Delta crossing girl

CH: Arianne Dieleman doesn't have a background in politics. In fact, she doesn't have a background in much, yet. She's six years old. But that didn't stop her from putting pressure on the Delta, British Columbia city council. Arianne started a petition to have a crosswalk installed on a busy street. And the city council listened. At their last meeting, they announced that an assessment is in the works. Arianne Dieleman and her mother, Carmelle, spoke with CBC Vancouver about why she wants a crosswalk.

ARIANNE DIELEMAN: Well, I wanted our street to be safer. And I was worried that people might wait until somebody gets hit to put up a crosswalk.

JUSTIN MCELROY: Now, how often do you cross that street?

AD: I cross it maybe three times a day.

JM: Has there been any times where you've been worried crossing the street?

AD: Yes. Once, my brother Wesley was on a bike, and we were crossing, and a car came around the corner. And we probably saw it in time, but Wesley almost got hit.

JM: That must have been pretty scary?

AD: Yeah, especially for me. He wasn’t really scared because he’s pretty brave, but it scared me a lot.

JM: So what did you think when the city of Delta said that they would study your suggestion to put a crosswalk in?

AD: I was pretty happy and thankful.

CARMELLE DIELEMAN: It actually happened with my mother-in-law. She was the one who was walking with them on the day Arianne had referenced when my son was on a bike. And Arianne had asked her, you know, how do you make a crosswalk happen? I guess my mother must have said, we really need a crosswalk. And so Arianne had said, well, how do we get one? And so my mother-in-law had said, well, I think usually people will write petitions to the city. And then Arianne said, can I write a petition? And then she wrote the petition herself. And she started going to people in the park that afternoon asking them to sign it. And then I suggested we go to the neighbours in our complex and in the neighbouring complex. And Arianne was one who went up and knocked on all the doors and gave her explanation for the petition and got all those signatures herself.

CH: That was the CBC's Justin McElroy·speaking with six-year-old Arianne Dieleman and her mom, Carmelle.

CO: Right, but you say the Conservatives failed to meet the Kyoto targets, but yet, in 2015, Liberals made this commitment to reduce emissions in Canada by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. You are, according to your own government, you're not on track to meet those goals. Why should Canadians believe that the Liberal government will do anything differently?

JW: Well, I think first and foremost, you might go and have a look at the Pan-Canadian framework, which kind of lays out the climate plan that this government brought into place. It was the first real climate plan this country's ever had. It identified 225-odd megatons in emissions reductions. But you're right, there was farther that we needed to go. So the Pan-Canadian framework was step one. Step two will be the plan that I will be presenting to Canadians, the prime minister and I will be presenting to Canadians in the coming weeks. Which will demonstrate how we find those additional megatons and how we go beyond that because the architecture of Paris says we need to do even more than what countries committed to do at the beginning of the Paris process.

CO: OK, but you're not even on target to meet the original commitments. So why should we believe that this new commitment you are on target to meet?

JW: Well, I think what you can see in the plan, and it's on the website, it goes through 50 different initiatives that are focused on reducing emissions, is that we are on track to reduce emissions by a historic amount. And that there are additional megatons we need to find. But we have made more progress in the last four years on climate change than any government in the history of this country. And we know we need to do more.

CO: But, you know, you don't even have a goal for 2025. I mean, if these are in five-year emissions goals, and thses reduction targets are every five years mandated in that way in this legislation, you don't even start one until the next government because you don't have one that is going to kick in until 2025. So why not start now?

JW: Well, I've heard that comment. What I would say is the structure of the Paris agreement is focused on 2030. That is the architecture of Paris. All of the provinces that have taken action on climate change or the ones that have been most progressive in terms of addressing climate change have 2030 targets. So British Columbia and Quebec. But we all know that we need to think beyond 2030 in terms of how you get from there to the net-zero future that we need to achieve by 2050. I would also say, though, for folks who are actually talking about 2025, is that we have provided that the Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development will do a report in 2025 about whether the government is on track to meet that 2030 goal. And we'll assess that and provide recommendations.

CO: But first of all, I mean, you can't start in five years to make a difference, as you're pointing out, to start now. So why not have a goal now? Why not show us what this government that you have now is going to do within the next five years? Why defer it until some future governments and pass that mandate on to whoever the government in 2025?

JW: Well, we're certainly not passing it on. There are different initiatives that have different timeframes in terms of emissions reduction, some of them are 2025. If you look at the methane regulations, for example, or targets for zero-emission vehicle deployment, those are 2025. But the focus of the plan, as is the case for every country in this world, is on 2030 and making the steps towards that. And that's exactly what we're doing.

CO: And what about the plan to plant two billion trees by 2030? Are you on track to do that?

JW: Well, certainly nature-based solutions, that's not just trees, but that's wetlands and looking at agricultural soil sequestration tools are going to be an important part of the climate plan that we are bringing forward within the coming weeks. Yes, absolutely.

CO: But it's delayed, right, your plan to plant those trees?

JW: Well, you know, as you know, there was no budget in March because the pandemic hit a week before the budget was supposed to be put into place. And you need a budget as a financing tool to be able to do that. But what I would say is we provided significant financing to folks who were doing tree planting during the course of the pandemic to help to ensure that took place.

CO: We'll leave it there. Minister Wilkinson, thank you.

JW: All right. Thank you very much.

CH: Jonathan Wilkinson is Canada's Environment Minister. He's in Ottawa.

Four Seasons historical designation

RUDY GIULIANI: Did you all watch “My Cousin Vinny”, you know, the movie? It's one of my favourite law movies because he comes from Brooklyn. And when the nice lady who said she saw and then he says to her, [italian inflection] how many fingers do I got up? And she says, three. Well, she was too far away to see it was only two. These people were further away than “My Cousin Vinny” was from “The Witness”.

CH: That's Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, speaking at a press conference today. As usual, he spouted a lot of nonsensical claims about the U.S. election being rigged. As not usual, he quoted from the film "My Cousin Vinny", and sweated so profusely that hair dye dripped down his face. It has been described as "unhinged", "absurd", and "cringe-inducing". But it lacked the je ne sais quoi of Mr. Giuliani's press conference 12 days ago — at a landscaping business, between a sex shop and a crematorium. You remember Four Seasons Total Landscaping in Philadelphia. The inexplicable location where the president's lawyer spoke on November 7th. In the midst of which, the networks called the election for Joe Biden. Which prompted this response from Mr. Giuliani.

RG: Who was it called by? Oh, my goodness! All the networks! Wow, all the networks! We have to forget about the law. Judges don't count. All the networks, all the networks, all the networks though Biden was going to win by 10 per cent. Gee, what happened? Come on, don't be ridiculous. Networks don't get to decide elections. Courts do.

CH: No one knows why Four Seasons Total Landscaping was chosen for that press conference. But it was. And now, it will go down in history. As we go to air, about four thousand people have signed a petition asking that Four Seasons Total Landscaping be added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. "It is still history, even if it is dumb," one signatory commented. Another added, "My grandchildren need to know I'm not lying when I say this happened." And several people wrote, succinctly: "Funny." Well, probably not to the owners of Four Seasons Total Landscaping. They just want to shovel your snow and cut your grass. But I guess they're hoping people will stop by for a photo in their historic location, and keep coming back for mower.

Edmonton horse rescue

CO: Is that something that concerns you as well?

OF: Oh, absolutely. We mostly, I would say, represent the recreational users. But on the other hand, there's also businesses. We make candles in the community. We make specialty furniture and woodworking and a whole bunch of other things. And why not continue to embrace that? Even if you bring in some residential uses?

CO: It seems like a difficult saw off there. You have a cleanup for this disgusting canal, and there goes the neighbourhood. [laughing] But I guess are people are on side for the most part?

OF: For the most part, I think the cleanup is absolutely agreed upon. Everybody wants to see that happen. When they build a new use, they have to put a walkable surface at the water's edge. And the question is, is that for the community at large or is that just a front lawn for the private developers? Compared to play equipment, you know, tables and chairs that people can play chess checkers or dominoes on, you know, even structures that you could just sit under during a heavy rainstorm and enjoy and participate in the shoreline. And that's really the, I guess, community requests as the waterfront is redeveloped. Let's make sure it's vibrant and fun and representing our community as it is today.

CO: All right. That sounds like a goal. Owen, it's good to talk to you. Thank you.

OF: It's a pleasure. Thank you.

CO: Bye.

OF: Bye now.

CH: Owen Foote is a founding member of the Gowanus Dredgers canoe club. He was in Brooklyn.

[Music: Hip-hop]

Polar bear dip dude

CH: For a while, John Mark Earle was not a fan of Alberta's cold, dark winters. So at this time of year, he'd start to dread the sub-zero temperatures to come. But a few years ago, he took a chance, and tested the icy waters. And something about a polar bear dip in the Peace River made him realize that every winter has its spring. Here is John Mark Earle speaking with the CBC this morning.

JOHN MARK EARLE: It's such an intense experience. And everything within you physiologically is screaming to get out of the water. [Mark Connolly chuckles] So when you first get in, your body will tense up, you gasp for breath. And I just started counting the breaths. I would count 30 breaths, and then I would get out.

MARK CONNOLLY: Wow!

JME: I'd do it again, 30 breaths and get out. And I just started to realize after that amount of time, my body started to relax in the water. It was a different experience. So just stay in until I got calm.

MC: Is it still, though, difficult to brace yourself, to jump in, to get yourself mentally prepared for that?

JME: I don't have the same intense physical reaction when I get in, but I still have mental difficulty convincing myself to step into the water, [MC chuckles] especially when it's cold outside in my warm vehicle and the thought of having to get out, get undressed, get in the cold water. It is tough.

MC: Now, last year, you did this for like a lot of days straight. How long did you go?

JME: I did it 121 days straight. [MC laughs] And when I started in December, I had no idea it was going to turn into that. I had just thought, hey, I wonder if we can go every day until the river freezes and the river flows a little bit sooner than I had expected it to. So we decided to cut a hole. So I started going in the hole. And then once I realized that if I wanted to get access to the water all winter, I just I was curious, like, I wonder if I can do this? The longest I stayed in was on my 100th day, and I waited for 20 minutes and 20 seconds.

MC: Oh, whoa!

JME: That was difficult. That was really difficult. I started mostly out of curiosity. It actually started with my son. He's a swimmer. And in 2018, he had said, Dad, I want to swim in the river before it freezes over. And I kept putting it off and putting it off. And finally, November 11th, 2018, that was my first ice bath, and it was cold.

MC: [laughing] Yeah. You kept doing it, though. What made you keep going back?

JME: Although it is incredibly difficult to do, I feel so much brighter. I feel more alert, way better mood, way less stress. And although I haven't really tested this, while I'm doing my ice bath, I never get sick.

CH: John Mark Earle, making a convincing case for polar bear dips to Mark Connolly on "Edmonton AM" today. Which is not to say I'm actually convinced.

[Music: Electronica]

VHS store

Guest: Mike Reynolds

CH: Netflix can chill. Because a bar owner in Toronto has a better idea for making it through a long pandemic winter. He advises us to curl up with some vintage gems on V-H-S. Which is like streaming, except you need a big rectangular plastic tape that looks like it belongs in a LEGO set for giants. They're like tiny movie reels in their own plastic briefcases that you play using something called a V-C-R. Extremely complicated technology that was abandoned some years ago, when too few people proved kind enough to rewind — causing a full system collapse. Nevertheless despite the challenges, Mike Reynolds would be more than happy to hook you up. He's the co-owner of "Farside" in Toronto, which is usually a bar but is currently a real throwback. We reached Mr. Reynolds in Hamilton, Ontario.

CO: Mike, just looking at these VHS tapes that you have, I'm looking at the photo, it brings back so many memories. How are people reacting to your offer of these movie rentals?

MIKE REYNOLDS: Well, I guess there's a little bit of bewilderment, sort of like, are you seriously doing this? Is part of it. [light chuckle] Yeah, there's also a lot of nostalgia is kind of like flooding back. Everyone's asking me what the availability is of their favourites are. You know, do you have this movie? Do you have that one?

CO: And when they ask you, do you have the movies they want to see?

MR: Well, for the most part, we do. We've got about five thousand tapes in the back. So for the most part, yeah.

CO: Where did you get them?

MR: This is a combination of things, I guess. I went to a couple of old shops where I grew up and sort of offered to buy their stock that they were selling. Like old Video 99s had a few. Gas stations are really good for buying tapes. Sometimes they would have like a couple like in a bin. On Highway 10 actually, [both chuckling] it seems to be the hot spot for tapes.

CO: So you just stopped at gas stations on that highway and descended to find VHS tapes on sale?

MR: Yeah! You used to especially. I don't know if you still do.

CO: Because you bought them all if they can't find them there.

MR: Yeah, it was actually really funny. I went into one place and they had this series of pretty rare movies called “Trancers”, there were five of them. And I went into one gas station, and they had “Trancers 3” and “5” in one bin. And I went, oh man, I really want all these, but I can't just get three and five. And sure enough, I think maybe like four or five days later, I was in another gas station and they had the same bin, and they had “Trancers 1”, “2” and four. [CO laughs] So, immediately, I had to get those --

CO: Of course you did!

MR: And then had to drive to the other gas station to get the other ones.

CO: [chuckling] So people can rent these tapes and see these old movies. But most people don't have the kit anymore, the gear. So how are they going to watch when they take them home?

MR: I rent you the VCR with the tapes. So the idea is that I sell you everything you need for the weekend. And it comes with a little HDMI adapter on it. So it's just a little finicky, but it's kind of half the fun. You get to set it all up, but I give you everything you need.

CO: [chuckles] Setting it all up, though, brings back memories of putting in the VHS tape and getting halfway through it, and it jams. [both chuckling] So, I mean, there’s some bad memories associated with this era as well.

MR: Yeah, well, yeah, that has happened. But what's nice is the ones that I have are pretty top-notch — auto-tracking VCR-plus, actually. I think I've only got one tape that's on the shelf that is a little finicky, but anyone that wants to rent that one is probably going to put up with a couple of kicks and humbars in the signal.

CO: Now, why would people do this? I mean, I guess it's fun, but I mean, they can just watch all these movies on Netflix, can't they?

MR: Well, not really. I think a lot of them sort of the appeal is that I've got some sort of niche stuff that would appeal to people like weirder movies, like more culty things. But truth be told, I don't know, man, like a lot of these streaming services don't have a lot of the classics, the stuff that I personally want to watch. And it's convenient that you get to just sort of hit a button and it takes it out of your account, but it kind of eliminates the human element and sort of like the thrill of a thrill… thrill, the buzz you get from going to the video store and seeing what's available.

CO: [laughing] that's still there when you get there Friday night at eight o'clock.

MR: Yeah.

CO: Now, what are some of the gems in your collection then? What are some of the hot numbers?

MR: Well, this week, we're going to be screening “Zardoz”. That's a really weird Sean Connery movie that's super hard to find. When I purchased it, I got it off a guy in Kensington Market, and his dogs almost ate me alive while I was in his apartment sifting through the tapes. But, yeah, that one’s particularly weird. It's directed by the guy that did “Deliverance”. And Sean Connery spends most of the movie running around in an orange bikini with a revolver, while this stone head vomits guns, really strange. Could only be made in the 70s. [both laughing] And I'm sure you could rent it online. But it's one of those things that, you know, it's just way better to see on tape.

CO: And you got G.I. Joe, is that right?

MR: Oh, yeah, I got a couple of episodes of G.I. Joe. That's a tricky one because I want to collect the entire thing. And I think there's only two episodes per tape on those ones. But I do have some choice ones.

CO: And “Ernest Goes to Jail”. I understand.

MR: Well, yeah. I mean, any of the Ernest movies. I think there's even been podcasts posts about how crazy that guy's career was and the fact that he got into it through advertising. But I'm slowly collecting all the Ernest movies. You think they'd be easier to find, but “Goes to Jail” is the one that I've got. “Scared Stupid” is probably the best one that I'm that I'm really looking for.

CO: But now, is this a response to what's happening with the pandemic? I mean, because you're a bar owner, this is Farside is what you normally are operating. So are you doing this to make a shift in business in order to keep customers?

MR: Oh, yeah, totally. It's an idea that will, hopefully, bring people in for takeout. Yeah. So the idea is that you come into the bar and you grab a couple of beers and to go and rent something and kind of get the same vibe that you would when we were going full throttle. It's sort of an incentive for people to still come by and to take a little piece of the bar home with them.

CO: Well, Mike, best of luck with this. Thanks so much.

MR: Yeah, thank you so much for the attention. It's great. I really appreciate it.

CO: Bye.

CH: Mike Reynolds is slowly collecting all the Ernest movies. He is one of the owner of the Toronto bar-come-VHS rental shop "Farside."

[Music: Jazz]

Big canoe paddle

CH: Mike Ranta has been on some pretty intense canoe trips. But this paddle is definitely his biggest -- literally. The adventurer has spent the last couple of months building what he believes is the world's largest canoe paddle. It's on display in Killarney in northwestern Ontario. He spoke with CBC Thunder Bay about why he made it — and how his many grueling canoe trips prepared him for this latest adventure.

MIKE RANTA: Yeah, it's the world's biggest paddle, we call it the Big Dipper, and, yeah, it's been an amazing project. And I'm building it for appreciation of our World War Two men and women.

AMY HADLEY: How big is the paddle, Mike?

MR: It's 107 feet long. I thought it was 110 at one time. Just I made some wrong measurements. I'm known for that. And yeah, we ended up making it 107.

AH: A-hundred-and-seven feet! What would that look like? Give me a sense of what it would look like if you're standing right by it?

MR: laughing] Well, it would be a wall, that's for sure. The blade itself, it's 17 feet wide. The shaft is two feet, with an eight-by-eight hollow centre. And inside that centre, we're celebrating Killarney’s 200th birthday, so we're putting a time capsule in there. So it's great. We're going to be put a little bit more as we go along. And we're asking anybody from anywhere if they want to put something into that time capsule. We're sealing it up for 200 years. It's been a pretty special year. So I imagine we're asking no COVID and no Trump [laughing].

AH: Well, do you think that your canoeing journeys do you think those have set you up to to have the tenacity to do things like this?

MR: Absolutely. Absolutely. And it was the people that that influenced me to do all this to, right? You know, you got to put your head down and go for things at times. And that's just what we're doing. So, I mean, this isn’t our last adventure for sure. We got a couple of irons in the fire here. So I definitely want to keep going and and promote, canoeing and promote the town of Killarney. It's a beautiful little community here. It's nestled right in the middle of the La Cloche mountains. It's a place, you know, where we want to pay some homage to, you know, to a veteran. You know, we want to have a little spot that you can, you know, have a sit down. And, you know, I'm putting a big poppy on that paddle. And, you know, I couldn't think of a more Canadian way to say thanks to these veterans. You know, they're amazing people that we have as Canadians in our society. And, yeah, they're the best of the best.

CH: That was Mike Ranta speaking with the CBC's Amy Hadley. Mr. Ranta is still waiting to hear from Guinness World Records, and he hopes to have the paddle completely finished in the spring.

[Music: World music]

Ron Hynes obit

GAVIN SIMMS: What did it mean to you, Paul, that he trusted you to record his songs, his new stuff?

PM: It meant the world to me because I knew that he was very picky. I knew that he was very particular about his songs and how they were done. And the fact that he trusted me with that was an enormous positive thing for me.

GS: Do you think Ron, as an artist, got the recognition he deserved outside of Newfoundland?

PM: No, in a word. He was definitely an icon in Newfoundland and Labrador. I think he's often considered the poet laureate of Newfoundland and Labrador. Tremendous amount of respect. But I've actually encountered people in the rest of Canada who would say, Ron who? And it always makes me shake my head, you know, because no, in answer to your question, he didn't get nearly the recognition he deserved.

GS: So five years have passed since Ron Haines left us. What memory of the man of a thousand songs do you remember the most?

PM: Just the overall working on three albums with this songwriting genius. And it's hard to pick out a single memory that I can point to and and and describe. Just the whole gamut of what we did together was just such a blast and so inspiring for me.

CH: That was record producer Paul Mills speaking with CBC Newfoundland's Gavin Simms about what it was like to work with Ron Hynes. The singer-songwriter died five years ago today.

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November 19, 2020 Episode Transcript

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