In the news: Licence plate fights and a letter hailing tennis star Bianca Andreescu
Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of Oct. 25.:
What we are watching in Canada…
Climate activist Greta Thunberg announced her arrival in Vancouver with a tweet saying she’d reached the Pacific Ocean.
Rain is in the forecast for a rally headlined by the 16-year-old Swede who braved a blizzard on a snow-covered glacier in Jasper National Park this week to learn from the scientists who study the ice.
Thousands of students have a scheduled day off from school today as Thunberg highlights a Sustainabiliteens-organized post-election youth climate strike outside the Vancouver Art Gallery.
The youth-led group has been staging Fridays for Future rallies inspired by Thunberg.
In an earlier tweet to her followers, the Swedish teenager thanked scientist John Pomeroy of the University of Saskatchewan and Parks Canada ecologist Brenda Shepherd for educating her “on the effects of the climate and ecological crisis on stunning Jasper National Park.”
She met with Shepherd on Monday to visit a whitebark pine forest and talk about the battle with mountain pine beetle and blister rust, said Parks Canada spokesman Steve Young.
Also this…
A lawsuit that’s expected to be filed today claiming young people disproportionately suffer the effects of climate change is potentially precedent setting but also a tough case to argue, legal experts say.
The David Suzuki Foundation, which is acting as a partner in the case, outlined in a news release the general arguments in the case being filed by 15 youths who allege they have suffered “specific” injuries due to climate change.
It calls on Ottawa to stop conduct that violates their charter rights and to implement a plan that reduces Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions “in a manner consistent with what best available science indicates is needed for the federal government to protect young Canadians, do its fair share to stabilize the climate system, and avert the catastrophic consequences of climate change.”
The news release does not explain the injuries and no one involved in the lawsuit would comment before it is filed with the Federal Court.
None of the claims made by those arguing a violation of their charter rights have been tested in court.
In case you missed it…
An avid “Star Trek” fan has lost his bid to have his personalized ASIMIL8 licence plate returned.
Nick Troller had filed a legal challenge against Manitoba Public Insurance over its decision to revoke the plate after receiving a complaint that it was offensive to Indigenous people.
A judge this week ruled that it was reasonable for the insurer to take back the plate because the word is connected to the Indigenous experience in Manitoba.
Troller got the plate, which features the well-known saying by the alien race the Borg, in 2015.
A different Manitoba man has had his “NDN (Indian) CAR” licence plate returned after an out-of-court settlement with the insurer.
Bruce Spence, who is Cree, got the personalized plate as a reference to a popular folk-rock song by an Indigenous musician.
Weird and wild…
A sheriff has presented the Johnny Cash Museum proof that the late musician who famously cultivated an image as an outlaw was in fact granted law enforcement authority decades ago.
This week, Nashville Sheriff Daron Hall gave the museum a blown-up image of Cash’s September 1979 deputy sheriff commission card. It was issued by then-Davidson County Sheriff Fate Thomas and features Cash’s headshot, fingerprint and signature.
Hall says his photographer found a photo of the card, which has been talked about for years. It’s unclear where the original card is.
The card authorized Cash to “… Arrest any and all persons violating the Criminal laws of the State of Tennessee.”
Hall says he doesn’t have evidence of what the deputy work entailed, but Cash believed in prison reform and criminal justice reform.
The games we play …
Dozens of Twitter users are echoing a hand-written message that hails teen tennis phenom Bianca Andreescu as an inspiration to Canadian kids.
The athlete tweeted a photo of a note that she says a man handed her on an airplane, saying she has “deeply” inspired his two young daughters.
The note — scrawled on a napkin and signed “A Canadian” — says his daughters aren’t tennis players, but Andreescu’s achievements have shown them that they can accomplish whatever they set their minds to.
Andreescu, who is from Mississauga, Ont., wrote that inspiring young people is the reason she does what she does.
The 19-year-old became the first Canadian to win the U.S. Open earlier this year, beating Serena Williams.
The Canadian Press
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