Page 30 - bon-dia-aruba-20220212

A30 world news
Diasabra 12 Februari 2022

Canadian authorities turn up the pressure on protesters

(AP) — Canadian authorities Fri- threatened heavy penalties against of U.S. citizens in the blockade and ing along with the economic toll.
day turned up the legal and pub- those who interfere with the free flow the impact of foreign money to fund The Biden administration has urged
lic pressure on protesters to lift of goods and people. And the mayor this illegal activity.” Trudeau’s government to end the
their blockades in Ottawa and of Windsor asked for an injunction to blockade, and Michigan’s governor
at the U.S. border, with Prime end the bridge protest. A judge began Trudeau said that on some fundrais- likewise called for a quick resolution
Minister Justin Trudeau warning: hearing evidence. ing platforms, as much as 50% of the to the standoff.
“This unlawful activity has to end donations are coming from the U.S.
and it will end.” Ford said he will convene the provin- The Ambassador Bridge is the busi-
cial cabinet on Saturday to urgently He said he and Biden agreed that “for est U.S.-Canadian border crossing,
Federal, provincial and local officials enact measures that make it “crystal the security of people and the econ- carrying 25% of all trade between the
moved simultaneously on different clear” it is illegal to block critical in- omy, these blockades can’t continue. two countries. The standoff comes at
fronts to try to break the so-called frastructure. Violators will face up to So make no mistake: The border can- a time when the auto industry is al-
Freedom Convoy standoff, which a year in prison and a maximum fine not and will not remain closed.” ready struggling to maintain produc-
began with truckers and others an- of $100,000, he said. tion in the face of pandemic-induced
gry over the country’s COVID-19 Trudeau said he understands the shortages of computer chips and oth-
restrictions and has morphed into a “Let me be as clear as I can: There protesters are frustrated by the pan- er supply-chain disruptions.
broader outpouring of fury from the will be consequences for these ac- demic, but “these blockades are hurt-
right toward Trudeau and his Liberal tions, and they will be severe,” Ford ing everyday families, auto assembly “American legislators are freaking
government, cheered on by conserva- said. “This is a pivotal, pivotal mo- workers, farmers, truckers, blue-col- out, and rightfully so,” said Nelson
tives in the U.S. ment for our nation.” lar Canadians.” Wiseman, a political science profes-
sor at the University of Toronto.
“We heard you. It’s time to go home The measures will also provide ad- The protests have caused shortages of “Pressure is now being exerted by the
now,” the prime minister said, warn- ditional authority “to consider tak- auto parts that have forced General White House on Trudeau to act more
ing that “everything is on the table” ing away the personal and commer- Motors, Ford, Toyota and Honda to decisively.”
for ending the blockades. cial licenses of anyone who doesn’t close plants or cancel shifts.
comply,” according to the premier’s In addition to maintaining the bum-
Since Monday, drivers mostly in pick- office. Authorities at various levels of gov- per-to-bumper occupation of Ot-
up trucks have bottled up the Am- ernment in Canada have hesitated tawa, protesters have closed three
bassador Bridge connecting Wind- Trudeau called Ontario’s decision to forcibly remove the protesters, re- border crossings in all: at Windsor; at
sor, Ontario, to Detroit, disrupting “responsible and necessary” and said flecting apparently a lack of manpow- Coutts, Alberta, opposite Montana;
the auto industry on both sides of he spoke with U.S. President Joe er by local police, Canada’s reverence and at Emerson, Manitoba, across
the border. Hundreds more truck- Biden about it. for free speech, and fears of vio- from North Dakota.
ers have paralyzed downtown Ottawa lence. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens
over the past two weeks. “We discussed the American and in- warned earlier this week that some of “We are now two weeks into the siege
deed global influences on the pro- the truckers are “willing to die.” of Ottawa,” Ford said. “It’s an illegal
In a rapid string of developments test,” Trudeau said. “We talked about occupation. It’s no longer a protest.”
Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford the U.S.-based flooding of the 911 But the political pressure to reopen
declared a state of emergency and phone lines in Ottawa, the presence the bridge appeared to be mount-

Koala declared endangered as disease, lost habitat take toll

(AP) — Koalas were declared officially endangered possibly as few as 43,000. Summer brushfires in “There have been many pressures on the koala.
Friday in eastern Australia as they fall prey to dis- 2019-20 killed at least 6,400 of the animals, as res- The Black Summer fires, of course, was a tipping
ease, lost habitat and other threats. cuers worked desperately to save them and treat point. But we know the koala is vulnerable to cli-
their injuries. mate change and to disease,” Ley told reporters at
Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley down- the Blue Mountains on Friday.
graded their conservation status across the coun-
try’s east coast, in Queensland, New South Wales
and the Australian Capital Territory, on a recom-
mendation by the government’s Threatened Spe-
cies Scientific Committee.

Earlier they had been listed as a vulnerable species.
Many koalas in Australia suffer from chlamydia.
Koala populations in New South Wales have fallen
by 33%-61% since 2001. In 2020, a parliamentary
inquiry warned the species might become extinct
before 2050 without urgent intervention.

The number of koalas in Queensland has fallen by
half since 2001 due to drought, fires and deforesta-
tion. Some are killed in attacks by dogs, or run over
on roads.

“Koalas have gone from no-listing to vulnerable to
endangered within a decade. That is a shockingly
fast decline,” said Stuart Blanch, a conservation sci-
entist with the World Wildlife Fund-Australia.

“Today’s decision is welcome, but it won’t stop
koalas from sliding toward extinction unless it’s ac-
companied by stronger laws and landholder incen-
tives to protect their forest homes,” he said.

The Australian Koala Foundation estimates that
there are less than 100,000 Koalas left in the wild,