Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 27, 2021, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A2 VOL 150 NO 320 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2021 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published seven days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 Publisher / BOB COX Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor News / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS NEWSMEDIA COUNCIL The Winnipeg Free Press is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an in- dependent organization established to determine acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please send them to: editorialconcerns@freepress.mb.ca. If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the website at www.mediacouncil.ca and fill out the form or call toll-free 1-844-877- 1163 for additional information. ADVERTISING Classified (Mon-Fri): 204-697-7100 wfpclass@freepress.mb.ca Obituaries (Mon-Fri): 204-697-7384 Display Advertising : 204-697-7122 FP.Advertising@freepress.mb.ca EDITORIAL Newsroom: 204-697-7301 News tip: 204-697-7292 Fax: 204-697-7412 Photo desk: 204-697-7304 Sports desk: 204-697-7285 Business news: 204-697-7301 Photo REPRINTS: 204-697-7510 City desk / City.desk@freepress.mb.ca CANADA POST SALES AGREEMENT NO. 0563595 Recycled newsprint is used in the production of the newspaper. PLEASE RECYCLE. INSIDE Arts and Life C1 Classifieds B5 Comics C5 Diversions C6,7 Horoscope C4 Jumble C6 Miss Lonelyhearts C4 Obituaries B5 Opinion A6,7 Sports D1 Television C4 Weather D6 COLUMNISTS: Shelley Cook B1 Mike McIntyre D1 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMA2 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada CIRCULATION INQUIRIES MISSING OR INCOMPLETE PAPER? Call or email before 10 a.m. weekdays or 11 a.m. Saturday City: 204-697-7001 Outside Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 press 1 6:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.; 7 a.m. - noon Saturday; Closed Sunday TO SUBSCRIBE: 204-697-7001 Out of Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 The decision to apologize came at the annual CCCB plenary meeting of Canada’s 90 bishops from Sept. 20-24. Canadians commemorate the Na- tional Day for Truth and Reconcilia- tion on Thursday. Calls for an apology from the Catholic church have grown stronger since revelations about unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential schools earlier this year — which began in May when 215 graves were identified at the site of a former Catholic-run residential school in Kam- loops, B.C. The meeting, conducted online and presided over by the now-former CCCB president Richard Gagnon, Archbishop of Winnipeg, was a “unique moment to give a strong message with one voice,” McGrattan said. In making the apology, the bishops acknowledged the suffering Indig- enous people experienced in Canada’s residential schools, and apologized for the roles many Catholic religious com- munities and dioceses played in sup- pressing Indigenous languages, culture and spirituality. At the same time, they acknowledged “the grave abuses that were commit- ted by some members of our Catholic community; physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, cultural, and sexual.” For these things, the bishops expressed “unequivocally” apolo- gized and expressed their “profound remorse.” When asked what it meant to “un- equivocally” apologize, McGrattan said that meant “no qualifications, no excuses, no rationalizations for this legacy and history of the church’s participation in the residential school system.” The bishops also pledged to work with Indigenous people towards ar- ranging a Papal visit. “We heard loud and clear this is important to Indigenous people, and we want to convey to them we see the importance of this, too,” he said. Although such a visit could be expen- sive, McGrattan said cost did not come up in the discussion and that it is “not the most important factor.” McGrattan realizes not all Indig- enous people will be satisfied with the apology. “All we can do is offer it in humil- ity and hope it is accepted and brings peace and healing,” he said, adding any future reconciliation efforts will be done together with Indigenous people, “not us telling them or directing them but listening to them.” The bishops have pledged to provide records that could help “memorial- ize” the students believed to be buried in unmarked graves, raise money for initiatives endorsed by Indigenous leaders, and work on getting the Pope to visit Canada. While the apology came from the bishops, McGrattan hopes Canadian Catholics will “see this as an opportu- nity to also pursue reconciliation and commit themselves to tangible ways of pursuing it.” This includes donating to a new fundraising campaign that will be co-ordinated nationally, with all the funds raised directed to local projects in dioceses. “It’s going to be a national effort with a national goal, but the distribution to be done locally with local accountabil- ity with Indigenous people,” he said, adding details would be released this week. “I hope it will resonate with the Catholic faithful,” he added, noting other Canadians are welcome to par- ticipate. Reflecting on the plenary discussion about the apology, McGrattan said it showed how “faith can unite us, can direct us doing what is right and just, even though sometimes we’ve failed in the past... I honestly felt the presence of the Holy Spirit.” In a statement after the plenary, Archbishop Albert LeGatt of St. Boni- face said “Reconciliation must come from the hearts of the faithful and of our priests, and from myself. We seek to give ourselves to reconciliation. That’s why our archdiocese is actively working to encourage all the faithful to educate themselves on the history of Indigenous-Non-Indigenous relations, and then live reconciliation by continu- ing to dialogue with Native people.” In addition to other business at the plenary, the bishops elected a new president, Bishop Raymond Poisson of the diocese of Saint-Jérôme, Que. — with files from The Canadian Press faith@freepress.mb.ca It is not lost on teacher Kim Cao how visibly binary schools are — from male and female washroom signage to Mr. and Mrs. decor on teacher desks. Cao, who identifies as a Vietnamese, non-binary and queer educator, said they would have felt accepted, had they had a teacher who went by Mx. “It would have created a lot of relief for me, in terms of my own internalized shame and decentralized homophobia or transphobia, that I struggled with growing up,” said Cao, who started using Mx. after learn- ing about the title from Brown, their teacher mentor. In their roles as an English and history teacher, and an adviser of the Gender and Sexuality Club at Collège Garden City Collegiate, Cao aims to create the safe spaces for LGBTQ2S students that were lacking when they were young. Cao handed out sheets to students during orientation sessions this year to give them each an opportunity to in- troduce themselves privately, disclose preferred pronouns, and indicate what they would like to be called at school, as well as the name they would like Cao to use should the educator need to call home. “It’s so crucial (students from gender and sexual-diverse backgrounds) feel like their existence is valid and that they see themselves represented in someone who is in a position of power,” Cao said, adding teachers are kidding themselves if they don’t think they have any queer, trans, or non-binary students in their classrooms. That’s why Cao said it’s important to give students opportunities to claim their names and pronouns, incorporate anti-oppressive, intersectional materi- als and authors into lessons, and use visible markers like rainbow flags to show students they are welcome. “Those little markers matter, whether it’s pronouns in your email signature or on Zoom,” they added. As far as Dewar is concerned, much work also needs to be done to update both professional development sessions and the provincial sex-ed curriculum so LGBTQ2S students feel accepted at school. “One of the reasons why I came out with my staff is because I felt having this representation was important, normalizing my identity and who I am, and showing kids you can live your authentic self, if you’re non-binary,” said Dewar. The rural teacher noted that being out as a teacher is a statement, whether or not educators want it to be, since they are providing representation for students who might not be able to find it in their community. They added: “It is nice knowing that sometimes, even just being here makes a difference.” maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie Kovrig and Spavor were released Friday after more than 1,000 days in Chinese detention, the same day Meng was released from Canadian custody after reaching a plea deal with authori- ties from the U.S., where she had faced fraud charges. With that situation resolved, Uni- versity of British Columbia professor and leading expert on China and Asia Paul Evans says the newly re-elected Liberal government has a number of immediate issues to address and deci- sions to make. Those include finally delivering a verdict on whether Huawei can partici- pate in Canada’s 5G network. Canada is the only member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, which includes the U.S., Britain, Australia and New Zealand, to have not already banned the company. There are also ongoing questions about the degree to which Canadian universities can and should be allowed to partner with Chinese entities on research and development, and how to treat Chinese investments in strategi- cally important sectors. “There are some very immediate issues that have been almost deferred,” Evans said. “So we have some immedi- ate choices.” Yet there is also a clear need for a long-term strategy for Canada’s deal- ings with both China and the broader Asia-Pacific region, said University of Ottawa professor Roland Paris, who served as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first foreign policy adviser. Canada has quietly adopted a num- ber of positions with respect to China as the two Michaels languished in Chi- nese prisons, particularly as Beijing has adopted increasingly aggressive foreign and economic policies. That includes calling the Chinese communist government out over its attempts to stifle democracy in Hong Kong, treatment of ethnic Uighurs and other minorities, sabre rattling in the South China Sea, and use of economic and cyber espionage. Yet the level of economic integration between Canada and China and the need to co-operate on issues such as climate change means defining differ- ent aspects of the relationship in terms of what Paris describes as co-opera- tion, competition and confrontation. The complexity of those issues, along with the growing economic and geo- political importance of China and the surrounding region, led the European Union to release an Asia-Pacific strat- egy this month. The U.S. is expected to follow suit this fall. This month Australia, Britain and the U.S. also announced a new defen- sive partnership aimed exclusively at China that includes Australia’s pur- chase of nuclear-powered submarines and which notably excluded Canada and New Zealand despite the Five Eyes alliance. While it isn’t clear the extent to which Canada was aware of the ar- rangement before it was announced, Evans said the other three participants may have had concerns around Ot- tawa’s inclusion. “They would have known there was a level of ambiguity about our approach- es to China,” he said. The Liberals promised during the election to launch an Asia-Pacific strat- egy for the region, emphasizing the importance of building new trade ties and expanding existing ones while also referencing greater diplomatic and military relationships in the area. Paris suggested the creation of such a policy should be a priority for the newly re-elected government. “All of our partners are trying to adjust to a changing Indo-Pacific, particularly with the rise of a more aggressive (China),” he said. “Many of those partners are starting to put together more co-ordinated national strategies. And now it’s incumbent on Canada to do the same.” — The Canadian Press APOLOGY ● FROM A1 BINARY ● FROM A1 CHINA ● FROM A1 JONATHAN HAYWARD / THE CANADIAN PRESS The scope of the tragedy was laid bare when 215 unmarked graves were found at the former Kamloops Residential School. B ERLIN — The centre-left Social Democrats have won the biggest share of the vote in Germany’s na- tional election, beating outgoing Chan- cellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right Union bloc in a closely fought race. Election officials said early today that a count of all 299 constituencies showed the Social Democrats won 25.9 per cent of the vote, ahead of 24.1 per cent for the Union bloc. The environmentalist Greens came third with 14.8 per cent followed by the pro-business Free Democrats with 11.5 per cent. The two parties have already signalled that they are willing to dis- cuss forging a three-way alliance with either of their two bigger rivals to form a government. The far-right Alternative for Ger- many came fourth in Sunday’s vote with 10.3 per cent, while the Left party took 4.9 per cent. For the first time since 1949, the Dan- ish minority party SSW was set to win a seat in parliament, officials said. The outcome appeared to put Eur- ope’s biggest economy on course for lengthy haggling to form a new govern- ment, while Merkel stays on in a care- taker role until a successor is sworn in. A three-party governing coalition, with two opposition parties that have trad- itionally been in rival ideological camps — the environmentalist Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats — would provide the likeliest route to power for both leading candidates. Only one of the three candidates to succeed Merkel, who chose not to run for a fifth term, looked happy after Sunday’s vote: the Social Democrats’ Olaf Scholz, the outgoing vice chancel- lor and finance minister who pulled his party out of a years-long slump. Scholz said the predicted results were “a very clear mandate to ensure now that we put together a good, pragmatic government for Germany.” Armin Laschet, the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia state who outmaneu- vered a more popular rival to secure the nomination of Merkel’s Union bloc, had struggled to motivate the party’s base and suffered a series of missteps. “Of course, this is a loss of votes that isn’t pretty,” Laschet said of results that looked set to undercut by a distance the Union’s previous worst showing of 31 per cent in 1949. But he added that with Merkel departing after 16 years in power, “no one had an incumbent bonus in this election.” Laschet told supporters that “we will do everything we can to form a gov- ernment under the Union’s leadership, because Germany now needs a coali- tion for the future that modernizes our country.” Both Laschet and Scholz will be courting the same two parties. The Greens traditionally lean toward the Social Democrats and the Free Demo- crats toward the Union, but neither ruled out going the other way. The other option was a repeat of the outgoing “grand coalition” of the Union and Social Democrats that has run Germany for 12 of Merkel’s 16 years in power, but there was little obvious appetite for that after years of govern- ment squabbling. “Everyone thinks that ... this ‘grand coalition’ isn’t promising for the future, regardless of who is No. 1 and No. 2,” Laschet said. “We need a real new be- ginning.” The Free Democrats’ leader, Chris- tian Lindner, appeared keen to gov- ern, suggesting that his party and the Greens should make the first move. “About 75 per cent of Germans didn’t vote for the next chancellor’s party,” Lindner said in a post-election debate with all parties’ leaders on public broad- caster ZDF. “So it might be advisable ... that the Greens and Free Democrats first speak to each other to structure everything that follows.” Annalena Baerbock of the Green party insisted that “the climate crisis ... is the leading issue of the next govern- ment, and that is for us the basis for any talks ... even if we aren’t totally satis- fied with our result.” While the Greens improved their support from the last election in 2017, they had higher ex- pectations for Sunday’s vote. Two parties weren’t in contention to join Germany’s next government. The Left Party was projected to win only 4.7 per cent of the vote and risked be- ing kicked out of parliament entirely. The far-right Alternative for Germany — which no one else wants to work with — was seen winning 10.6 per cent. This was about 2 percentage points less than in 2017, when it first entered parlia- ment. — The Associated Press Social Democrats beat Merkel’s bloc Score biggest share of vote in German election GEIR MOULSON AND FRANK JORDANS A_02_Sep-27-21_FP_01.indd A2 2021-09-26 10:56 PM ;