Coastal GasLink and U.S. vaping crackdown; In The News for Jan. 3

The Dec. 31 ruling came just under a year after the RCMP enforced an injunction granted by the same court that drew international attention with the arrest of 14 people on Jan. 7, 2019.

“We do expect the RCMP to bring it to another level. They did it last year, they’ll do it again this year,” he said in a telephone interview.

The RCMP said in a statement that it respects the ruling and the judicial process, but it would not say if or when police would enforce the latest injunction.

“The RCMP respects the rights of individuals to peaceful, lawful and safe protest and we are committed to facilitating a dialogue between all parties. We are impartial in this dispute and it is our hope that this can be resolved peacefully,” Corp. Madonna Saunders said.

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Also this …

The RCMP is defending its practice of profiling people by scouring their social-media postings, saying the police force lawfully obtains information with the aim of protecting Canadians.

A Toronto activist concerned about mining-industry abuses recently learned the Mounties compiled a six-page profile of her shortly after she showed up at a federal leaders debate during the 2015 election campaign.

An analyst with the RCMP’s tactical internet intelligence unit ultimately found no indication that Rachel Small, an organizer with the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network, was involved in criminal acts.

Small said it was “kind of creepy and unsettling” to see the RCMP profile, which came to light years later through an access-to-information request.

Sgt. Penny Hermann, an RCMP spokeswoman, said the force acknowledges the constitutional right to protest peacefully, but adds the police must do due diligence to ensure there are no threats or concerns for public safety.

“As Canada’s national police force, the RCMP uses various technical investigative tools and methods to lawfully obtain information or evidence in order to protect Canadians,” she said.

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ICYMI (in case you missed it) …

The federal government is looking for advice from the public on what a monument to Canada’s 13-year mission in Afghanistan should look like.

An online consultation runs until Jan. 20, seeking direction on whether the monument should be small and intimate or a place for larger public ceremonies commemorating the effort that officially ran from 2001 to 2014.

Another question is whether it should focus on members of the Canadian Armed Forces and others who fought al-Qaida and the Taliban and then tried to rebuild the central Asian country, or families and loved ones who supported them at home, or on the relationship between Canadians and Afghans.

The monument already has a site, near the Canadian War Museum just west of downtown Ottawa.

The area has been the subject of redevelopment efforts for decades and also holds monuments to Canadian firefighters and victims of the Holocaust.

The monument to the Afghanistan mission is scheduled to be inaugurated in 2023.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

U.S. health officials will begin cracking down on most flavoured e-cigarettes that are popular with underage teenagers, but their plan includes major exceptions that benefit vaping manufacturers, retailers and adults who use the nicotine-delivery devices.

The Trump administration announced Thursday that it will prohibit fruit, candy, mint and dessert flavours from small, cartridge-based e-cigarettes favoured by high school and middle school students. But menthol and tobacco-flavoured e-cigarettes will be allowed to remain on the market.

The targeted flavour ban will also entirely exempt large, tank-based vaping devices, which are primarily sold in vape shops that cater to adult smokers.

Together, the two exemptions represent a significant retreat from President Donald Trump’s original plan announced four months ago, which would have banned all vaping flavours — including menthol — from all types of e-cigarettes. The new policy will spare a significant portion of the multibillion-dollar vaping market. And the changes mark a major victory for thousands of vape shop owners who sell the tank-based systems, which allow users to mix customized nicotine flavours.

Vape shop owners expressed relief following the announcement.

“We’re thankful the guidance doesn’t shut down flavours in every aspect,” said Spike Babaian, owner of VapeNY in New York City.

Anti-tobacco advocates immediately condemned the decision to permit menthol and exempt tank-based vapes, accusing the administration of caving to industry pressure.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

The Pentagon said Thursday that the U.S. military has killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, at the direction of President Donald Trump.

An airstrike killed Soleimani, architect of Iran’s regional security apparatus, at Baghdad’s international airport Friday, Iranian state television and three Iraqi officials said, an attack that’s expected to draw severe Iranian retaliation against Israel and American interests.

The Defence Department said Soleimani “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.” It also accused Soleimani of approving the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad earlier this week.

A statement released late Thursday by the Pentagon said the strike on Soleimani “was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.”

The strike also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, Iraqi officials said. The PMF media arm said the two were killed in an American airstrike that targeted their vehicle on the road to the airport.

Citing a Revolutionary Guard statement, Iranian state television said Soleimani was “martyred” in an attack by U.S. helicopters near the airport, without elaborating.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 3, 2020.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Coastal GasLink and U.S. vaping crackdown; In The News for Jan. 3

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