September, 17 2015, 09:45am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Lara Tessaro | Ecojustice
416-368-7533 ext. 531
Gwen Barlee | Wilderness Committee
604-683-8220 (work) | 604-202-0322 (cell)
Jode Roberts | David Suzuki Foundation
647-456-9752
Nadine Bachand | Equiterre
514-213-3287
Beatrice Olivastri | Friends of the Earth
613-724-8690 (cell)
John Hassell | Ontario Nature
416-444-8419 ext. 269 (work) | 416-786-2171 (cell)
Feds urged to protect wild bees
Listing of four wild bee species under Species at Risk Act overdue, requires immediate actionÂ
TORONTO
Five environmental groups are pressing the federal Minister of the Environment to list four wild bee species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA). Listing these bees is the crucial -- and overdue -- first step in protecting them from threats to their survival and recovery, including the use of harmful neonicotinoid pesticides.
"The Minister has a legal obligation to list these essential wild pollinators under SARA," said Lara Tessaro, Ecojustice lawyer. "We need to ensure that wild bees are protected from threats to their survival, including neonicotinoid pesticides, habitat loss, diseases, and climate change."
On behalf of the Wilderness Committee, David Suzuki Foundation, Equiterre, Friends of the Earth and Ontario Nature, Ecojustice lawyers sent a letter to the Minister today, urging her to take immediate action.
The Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Western Bumble Bee occidentalis and mckayi subspecies, and Macropis Cuckoo Bee have been identified as endangered, threatened, or of special concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. The Committee provided assessment reports to the Minister more than nine months ago, but these four bee species have still not been added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk. No species receives any protection under SARA until it has been added to the List.
"These wild bees desperately need help now," said Gwen Barlee, Policy Director for the Wilderness Committee. "Even though the writ has dropped, the federal government's responsibility for species doesn't grind to a halt. Just as the criminal code applies during the writ period so does the Species at Risk Act."
The letter can be viewed here: https://www.ecojustice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-09-08-Letter-to-Minister-Re-At-Risk-Bees.FINAL_.pdf
As Canada's only national environmental law charity, Ecojustice is building the case for a better earth.
LATEST NEWS
Spain Widens Push for EU Countries to Recognize Palestinian State
A majority of U.N. member states recognize Palestinian statehood, but the U.S. and most E.U. countries lag behind.
Apr 17, 2024
In his latest stop on a tour of several European countries aimed at gathering support for recognizing a Palestinian state, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez joined his Slovenian counterpart on Tuesday in calling to make the diplomatic move to help secure an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Palestine is already recognized as a state by the vast majority of United Nations members—139 out of 193 countries—and by a handful of European nations, but the European Union as a whole, the United States, and the United Kingdom are among those that have long refused to recognize statehood.
At a joint press conference with Sánchez, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said the question is "when, not if, but when is the best moment to recognize Palestine."
Al Jazeera reported Wednesday that Sánchez aims to formally recognize Palestinian statehood by July, even if he does not secure enough support from other E.U. countries.
"The time has come for the international community to once and for all recognize the state of Palestine," Sánchez said in November. "It is something that many E.U. countries believe we have to do jointly, but if this is not the case, Spain will adopt its own decision."
Sánchez has also met with leaders in Ireland, Malta, and Norway in recent weeks.
Jonas Gahr Støre, prime minister of Norway—which is not an E.U. member—said last week that his government "stands ready" to join "like-minded countries" in recognizing Palestinian statehood.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said after meeting with Sánchez last Friday that formal recognition "is coming much closer and we would like to move together in doing so."
"The people of Palestine have long sought the dignity of their own country and sovereignty—a home that like Ireland and Spain can take its place amongst the nations of the Earth," Harris added.
Ireland's Green Party said Monday that the full recognition of Palestine by European countries would help to secure a cease-fire in Gaza, where Israel has killed at least 33,899 people since October and has so far starved more than two dozen children to death by blocking the vast majority of humanitarian aid for months.
Al Jazeerareported Wednesday that Belgium—which has called for economic sanctions on Israel over its bombardment of Gaza—is likely to join Spain's push after June, when the country no longer holds the E.U. presidency.
The push from Spain comes as the U.N. Security Council is scheduled to vote on whether to admit Palestine as a full member of the U.N., which the Spanish prime minister said would be supported by the governments he's met with.
Palestinian representatives announced earlier this month that they would revive their application for membership, which the U.S. has vetoed in previous votes.
"We are seeking admission. That is our natural and legal right," said Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the U.N. Palestine has held observer status in the U.N. since 2012.
The League of Arab States on Tuesday expressed its "unwavering support" of the Palestinians' new application.
"Membership in the United Nations is a crucial step in the right direction towards a just and lasting resolution of the Palestinian question in line with international law and relevant U.N. resolutions," said the group of 22 countries.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters this month that full U.N. membership for Palestine "should be done through direct negotiations through the parties," while Israeli U.N. ambassador Gilad Erdan said the fact that the application is being considered is "a victory for genocidal terror."
The Arab League urged U.N. members "not to obstruct this critical initiative."
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Israeli Settlers, Soldiers 'Wiping Palestinian Communities Off the Map' in the West Bank
"While the attention of the world is focused on Gaza, abuses in the West Bank, fueled by decades of impunity and complacency among Israel's allies, are soaring."
Apr 17, 2024
Israeli soldiers have either passively watched or participated in the uprooting of at least seven communities in the West Bank since October of last year, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday in a new report documenting surging settler violence in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The rights group interviewed dozens of eyewitnesses and examined video footage showing harassment and other abuse of Palestinians in the West Bank "by men in Israeli military uniforms carrying M16 assault rifles."
Following the Hamas-led October 7 attack on southern Israel, the Israeli military drafted more than 5,000 settlers into "regional defense" units in the West Bank, Haaretzreported earlier this year. The Israeli newspaper noted that "alongside this large-scale mobilization, the [Israel Defense Forces] has distributed some 7,000 weapons to the battalions as well as to settlers who were not recruited into the army but received them as civilians whom the army considers eligible to carry military arms."
HRW's investigation found that "armed settlers, with the active participation of army units, repeatedly cut off road access and raided Palestinian communities, detained, assaulted, and tortured residents, chased them out of their homes and off their lands at gunpoint or coerced them to leave with death threats, and blocked them from taking their belongings."
"Israeli settlers and soldiers are literally wiping Palestinian communities off the map," said Omar Shakir, HRW's Israel and Palestine director.
"While the attention of the world is focused on Gaza, abuses in the West Bank, fueled by decades of impunity and complacency among Israel’s allies, are soaring."
The new report comes days after Israeli settlers—escorted by IDF soldiers—went on their latest destructive and deadly rampage in the West Bank, killing at least two Palestinians, injuring dozens, and setting homes and vehicles ablaze. At least 20 households were displaced after Israeli settlers burned down their homes.
The wave of settler violence came after a missing 14-year-old Israeli boy was found dead in the area around the West Bank city of Ramallah. The Israeli military said the boy was killed in a "terrorist attack."
Since October 7, according to the United Nations, Israeli settlers have launched more than 720 attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, displacing at least 206 households comprised of 1,244 people—including 603 children. Israeli soldiers in uniform have been present at many of the attacks.
"Settlers and soldiers have displaced entire Palestinian communities, destroying every home, with the apparent backing of higher Israeli authorities," Bill Van Esveld, associate children's rights director at HRW, said in a statement Wednesday. "While the attention of the world is focused on Gaza, abuses in the West Bank, fueled by decades of impunity and complacency among Israel's allies, are soaring."
HRW's new report examines five West Bank communities that have come under attack by Israeli settlers, including one in which uniformed Israeli men armed with assault rifles entered tents and destroyed or stole people's belongings, abused residents, and threatened to kill them if they didn't leave the area.
"One man in uniform kicked me in the back of my neck," a Palestinian mother told HRW. "They said, 'Go to the valley, and if you come back, we will kill you.'"
None of the families forcibly evicted from the five communities examined in the HRW report have been allowed to return home.
"Palestinian children have seen their families brutalized, and their homes and schools destroyed, and the Israeli authorities are ultimately to blame," Van Esveld said Wednesday. "Senior state officials are fueling or failing to prevent these attacks, and Israel's allies are not doing enough to stop that."
Following the latest wave of settler violence in the West Bank this past weekend, a coalition of human rights organizations said in a joint statement Wednesday that "the international community must swiftly and decisively pressure the government of Israel to halt these attacks and urgently de-escalate the situation."
"With international attention centered on Gaza, the government of Israel has not only allowed settler violence to spiral but also persisted in the expansion of Israeli settlements built on Palestinian land and unlawfully seized Palestinian territory by designating it as 'state land,' blatantly violating international law," the groups noted. "Concerted efforts are needed to tackle the root cause of settler violence by permanently dismantling settlement outposts and ensuring the safe return of displaced Palestinians to their lands."
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Wyden Says Spying Bill Would Force Americans to Become an 'Agent for Big Brother'
"If you have access to any communications, the government can force you to help it spy," said Sen. Ron Wyden.
Apr 17, 2024
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden took to the floor of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday to speak out against a chilling mass surveillance bill that lawmakers are working to rush through the upper chamber and send to President Joe Biden's desk by the end of the week.
The measure in question would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for two years and massively expand the federal government's warrantless surveillance power by requiring a wide range of businesses and individuals to cooperate with spying efforts.
"If you have access to any communications, the government can force you to help it spy," said Wyden (Ore.), referring to an amendment that was tacked on to the legislation by the U.S. House last week with bipartisan support. "That means anyone with access to a server, a wire, a cable box, a Wi-Fi router, a phone, or a computer. So think for a moment about the millions of Americans who work in buildings and offices in which communications are stored or pass through."
"After all, every office building in America has data cables running through it," the senator continued. "The people are not just the engineers who install, maintain, and repair our communications infrastructure; there are countless others who could be forced to help the government spy, including those who clean offices and guard buildings. If this provision is enacted, the government can deputize any of these people against their will, and force them in effect to become what amounts to an agent for Big Brother—for example, by forcing an employee to insert a USB thumb drive into a server at an office they clean or guard at night."
Wyden said the process "can all happen without any oversight whatsoever: The FISA Court won't know about it, Congress won't know about it. Americans who are handed these directives will be forbidden from talking about it. Unless they can afford high-priced lawyers with security clearances who know their way around the FISA Court, they will have no recourse at all."
Wyden's remarks came after the Senate narrowly approved a motion Tuesday to proceed to the FISA reauthorization bill ahead of Section 702's expiration at the end of the week. The Oregon senator, an outspoken privacy advocate, was among the seven members of the Democratic caucus who voted against the procedural motion.
Despite its grave implications for civil liberties, the bill has drawn relatively little vocal opposition in the Senate. A final vote could come as soon as Thursday.
Titled Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), the legislation passed the Republican-controlled House last week after lawmakers voted down an amendment that would have added a search warrant requirement to Section 702.
The authority allows U.S. agencies to spy on non-citizens located outside of the country, but it has been abused extensively by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Security Agency to collect the communications of American lawmakers, activists, journalists, and others without a warrant.
Privacy advocates warn RISAA would dramatically expand the scope of Section 702 by broadening the kinds of individuals and businesses required to participate in government spying. A key provision of the bill would mandate cooperation from "electronic communications service providers" such as Google, Verizon, and AT&T as well as "any other service provider who has access to equipment that is being or may be used" to transmit or store electronic communications.
That would mean U.S. intelligence agencies could, without a warrant, compel gyms, grocery stores, barber shops, and other businesses to hand over communications data.
"In the face of the pervasive past misuse of Section 702, the last thing Americans need is a large expansion of government surveillance," Caitlin Vogus, deputy director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, wrote in an op-ed for The Guardian on Tuesday. "The Senate should reject the House bill and refuse to reauthorize Section 702 without a warrant requirement. Lawmakers must demand reforms to put a stop to unjustified government spying on Americans."
Wyden said during his floor speech Tuesday that some of his colleagues "say they aren't worried about President Biden abusing these authorities."
"In that case, how about [former President Donald] Trump? Imagine these authorities in his hands," said Wyden. "If you're worried about having a president who lives to target vulnerable Americans, to pit Americans against each other, to find every conceivable way to punish perceived enemies, you ought to find this bill terrifying."
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