War

Unearthing the truth: Michael Pollanen on the role of forensic pathology in war zones

geoff.vendeville — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 16:18:04 +0000

Unearthing the truth: Michael Pollanen on the role of forensic pathology in war zones

geoff.vendeville Tue, 04/19/2022 - 12:18

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Michael Pollanen is a professor in the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and Ontario's chief forensic pathologist (photo by Andrew Francis Wallace/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Temerty Faculty of Medicine staff

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Global Lens

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology

Ukraine

War

Michael Pollanen is no stranger to disaster zones.

The chief forensic pathologist of Ontario – and a professor in the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – has participated in many missions to uncover the truth about what happened after conflicts or natural disasters, typically at the request of organizations such as the United Nations, International Criminal Court and International Committee for the Red Cross. Most recently, he was in the Central African Republic and Iraq.

“The global forensic community are truth-seekers,” Pollanen says. “In difficult circumstances of armed conflict, particularly when crimes against humanity are at issue, there are often competing narratives that are driven by various factors."

Forensic pathologists usually investigate these areas “in the early post-conflict time span,” he explained. “In addition many of these missions are for humanitarian responses after disaster rather than war. For example, I joined missions in Haiti and Thailand after natural disasters: earthquake and tsunami.”

With reports about atrocities committed in Bucha and other parts of Ukraine, international authorities are conducting on-the-ground investigations to piece together what happened – and, if war crimes were perpetrated, then who is to blame.

"The value of forensic science is that it can clarify the facts of what actually happened,” Pollanen says. “If there are questions about whether or not the mass killing of a civilian population occurred, this can be easily determined by conducting autopsies."

Often, the success of an investigation requires forensic pathologists to work in teams of experts with different specialities, Pollanen says. Forensic archeologists are trained in the exhumation of bodies, sometimes in the context of mass graves. Forensic anthropologists specialize in the examination of bones and associated identification processes. Forensic pathologists can perform a variety of roles but are mainly concerned with the interpretation of injuries, determination of the cause of death and correlation of injuries with the circumstances of how those injuries might have occurred.

Other key forensic experts may include forensic odontologists (who can identify remains by examining teeth or bite marks), forensic biologists specializing in DNA and firearms experts who study ballistic evidence.

“Our main priorities as forensic pathologists are to identify the dead and discover the truth,” Pollanen says. “The humanitarian response for the benefit of families is vital. This includes identifying human remains and helping to restore family links by providing information about what happened to missing family members. This may include repatriation of the body to the family. We also focus on obtaining evidence that may support criminal prosecution to seek justice for the dead."

Since there can be a long delay between death and an autopsy, forensic experts rely on different methods and tools to study bodies in various states of decomposition, Pollanen says. Objectivity and fact-based science are key, he notes.

“We do not approach missions and cases with preconceived notions about what we might find, but with an open mind,” says Pollanen, “In most cases, little will be known about the circumstances surrounding the death of the people who will be examined”.

Fieldwork in war zones is challenging, from both a logistical point of view and on an emotional level, he adds. “This can be very difficult work emotionally. Therefore, one of the biggest priorities on missions of this type is wellness, both personal wellness and ensuring the wellness of the people around you. The work can be very intense. Most forensic experts find meaning by understanding that their work will contribute positively to the events being investigated and provide answers for the people affected."

Chemical attack in Syria: ��TV public health expert talks about Sarin

ullahnor — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 17:58:53 +0000

Chemical attack in Syria: ��TV public health expert talks about Sarin

ullahnor Thu, 04/06/2017 - 13:58

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A medical staffer at a hospital in northwest Syria holds a little girl who is getting treatment following a chemical gas attack on a rebel-held town this week (photo by Mohammed Karkas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Nicole Bodnar

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Nicole Bodnar

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More than 80 people – including dozens of children – were killed in this week's suspected chemical attack in a rebel-held town in northwest Syria.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has previously argued against removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power, on Wednesday called the attack a “heinous” act that “crossed a lot of lines for me.” Syria and its main backer Russia have denied responsibility.

��TV's Dr. Howard Hu, dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and professor of environmental health, epidemiology, global health and medicine, has led human rights fact-finding missions on the effects of toxic exposures to civilian populations in conflict situations. He is a founding board member of Physicians for Human Rights and served as the director of the Research Commission for the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War on the health effects of atomic weapon production.

He spoke with ��TV's Nicole Bodnar about how chemical weapons like the ones used this week kill victims by suffocating them.

How do chemical weapons like the ones used in the latest Syrian attack work on the human body?

Sarin, the agent likely used in the latest attack, is a super-potent chemical weapon in the anti-cholinesterase family of poisons that essentially works much like the chemicals used in some of the powerful insecticide products used in the past like Raid, but that are now largely banned for household use in North America.

It attacks the nervous system by interfering with the normal process of degradation of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine at neuromuscular junctions. In other words, instead of the normal process of impulses from nerves activating muscles and then allowing them to relax, the impulses are frozen in an activating phase, causing uncontrollable muscle spasms.

Death will usually occur as a result of asphyxia due to a victim's inability to control the muscles involved in breathing function.

Is there anything from the videos and photo images you’re seeing that can help identify what kind of chemical was used?

The physical signs of pinpoint pupils and foaming at the mouth in some of the photographs are consistent with the marked cholinergic-type chemical effects one would anticipate in victims of a Sarin-related chemical attack.

In your role with Physicians for Human Rights, can you talk about the banning of chemical weapons?

The use of chemical weapons was banned because they are weapons of mass destruction that kill indiscriminately, and there has always been a long-standing public revulsion over the use of science – in this case, chemistry – to kill human beings.

The International Committee for the Red Cross summed up the public horror at the use of such weapons in an appeal in February 1918, calling them “barbarous inventions” that can “only be called criminal.”

Canada 150: ��TV’s Fisher Library exhibit tracks Canada's struggles to become a ‘welcoming place’

Romi Levine — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 17:26:06 +0000

Canada 150: ��TV’s Fisher Library exhibit tracks Canada's struggles to become a ‘welcoming place’

Romi Levine Thu, 03/16/2017 - 13:26

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A Second World War recruitment poster will be on display at Fisher Library (photo by Romi Levine)

Romi Levine

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Romi Levine

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“It puts the lie to the idea that Canada has always been a welcoming place. It's been a struggle to be a welcoming place and the documents we've preserved here show that”

At a time of global unrest and uncertainty, Canada is often touted as an example of peace and inclusion. But, the journey to get to where it is today hasn’t always been a smooth one.

University of Toronto’s Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is exploring the ups and downs of Canada’s history over the past 150 years in an exhibit starting Monday called “Struggle and Story: Canada in Print.”

“The theme that kept coming out over and over again as I was assembling these materials is that this country has been a struggle from the beginning,” says reference librarian P.J. Carefoote, who curated the exhibit.

Samuel de Champlain’s book chronicling his voyage to what was then called “New France,” written in 1632.

He says it begins with the first Europeans to land on Canada’s shores who had to face the country’s harsh climate and geography.

“It's them trying to make sense of this huge mass of land that they think keeps going on and on and on,” says Carefoote.

The exhibit goes on to explore the settlers' relationships with Indigenous peoples and the violent clashes between the English and French, as well as the United States, culminating in Canada’s fight to become a nation.

“There were all sorts of movements – political and economic – that forced Canadians to look to one another and say, ‘What do you think, should we survive or not?’” says Carefoote.

The magazine Canadian Pictorial & Illustrated War News depicted Métis leader Louis Riel’s (centre of image) rebellion in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. While this image is more dignified, many of the images of Riel and his followers are “pretty inflammatory,” says Carefoote (photo by Romi Levine)

The story of Canada’s past, however, isn’t complete without documenting the immigrant experience, and the struggle immigrants have faced – and often still face – to be accepted.

“It's example after example – manuscripts and a few printed works – of waves of people who have come to this nation in the hope of finding a place to belong, and very often being rejected at the beginning,” says Carefoote. “It puts the lie to the idea that Canada has always been a welcoming place. It's been a struggle to be a welcoming place and the documents we've preserved here show that.”

Over 100 black men in Hamilton signed a petition in the 1840s to prevent a man who escaped slavery from being sent back to the United States. Unfortunately, the petition was not successful. “The new governor of Canada was afraid of upsetting the Americans so he sent the man back,” says Carefoote (photo by Romi Levine)

The challenge with creating an exhibit on Canada's history is that there isn’t enough documentation to ensure everyone’s voice is heard and included, says Carefoote.

“What is left out sometimes reminds us of the other struggles that are involved in Canada's history,” he says. “For example, the voices of women in the early period of history through to the First World War are not documented that well. So, you don't hear their voices clearly in an exhibition like this. The same with our Aboriginal peoples.”

A rare copy of Queen Victoria’s 1867 proclamation recognizing Canada as a nation. “This was put up in Scotland. It was the only one that's known to survive from outside of Canada,” says Carefoote (photo by Romi Levine)

While we’re better off than ever before, Canada still continues to struggle with many aspects of its identity, says Carefoote.

“But I think that's a good thing. You only struggle for something you really care about so I hope we keep on struggling,” he says.

The exhibit runs through Sept. 9.

Learn more about ��TV and Canada 150

Donald Trump’s presidency is raising the risk of violent conflict among the world’s great powers, says ��TV political scientist

ullahnor — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 21:20:54 +0000

Donald Trump’s presidency is raising the risk of violent conflict among the world’s great powers, says ��TV political scientist

ullahnor Thu, 02/16/2017 - 16:20

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Political scientist Aisha Ahmad talks about the threat of major conflict (photo by U.S. Pacific Fleet via Flickr)

Scott Anderson

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Scott Anderson

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U.S. President Donald Trump has adopted a radically different approach to international diplomacy that’s confounding allies and adversaries alike.

Aisha Ahmad, an assistant professor of political science at ��TV Scarborough, specializing in international security and director of the Islam and Global Affairs Initiative at the Munk School of Global Affairs, spoke recently with ��TV's Scott Anderson on why this should have us all concerned.

What’s the main difference between international security now and three months ago?

Our international system is based on predictability and on patterns of cooperation that have existed for decades. Introducing high levels of uncertainty and unpredictability, as the Trump administration has done, creates danger and increases the potential for violent conflict among the great powers.

Trump is deliberately and actively using mixed messages to provoke and confuse both allies and adversaries. Potential international security crises are emerging much more rapidly than anyone predicted because the Trump administration has been so reckless in its international relations.

What is the biggest risk facing the world right now?

Conflict in East Asia – precisely because of these erratic, mixed signals.

During his campaign, Trump said that Japan and South Korea may need to acquire their own nuclear weapons. This signalled to America’s allies in East Asia that its commitments to them were weakening. Trump then took a call from the Taiwanese president, which broke from decades of diplomatic protocol, and implicitly threatened Chinese territorial integrity while at the same time undermining the Americans’ strategic position in the region.

This was followed by a dramatic about-face. Within weeks, Trump backed off on Taiwan, showing the Chinese he could be cowed. He switched his tone with Japan, saying the alliance would be honoured (He also discussed high-level security secrets concerning North Korea with the Japanese Prime Minister over dinner at a golf resort, within earshot of civilian bystanders).

Even more disconcerting, Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, has said he thinks a conflict with China is inevitable, which is an incredibly dangerous attitude to have toward a rising great power. If this unprofessional engagement continues, and if China responds to this erratic policymaking with increasing aggression, these sparks could turn into a third world war.

And Russia?

President Trump’s possible relationship with Russia is one of the most serious national security issues facing the United States. Russia aims to bully NATO and American allies in its regional neighbourhood. The sudden resignation of General Michael Flynn has opened up serious questions about the pervasiveness of a secret and possibly treasonous Russian scandal within the new administration. As evidence of Russian influence over the Trump administration mounts, the Americans are also faltering in their response to the crisis taking place in Eastern Europe.

After Trump’s election, Russia increased its aggressive actions in Ukraine, trusting that the new Trump government would allow this aggression. This weak American response has signalled to Russia that the American position in Eastern Europe is faltering, and that NATO, which has taken a strong stance in Eastern Europe in the past, may not have the same degree of influence in the future.

The re-establishment of Russian influence across Eastern Europe and Central Asia remains a dominant goal of the Kremlin. Yet NATO allies are working hard to keep alliance commitments firm. Once again, mixed and confusing signals are incredibly dangerous in international relations and can lead to a major conflict among the great powers.

What about the Middle East, a long-time hotspot?

The Iran nuclear deal negotiated under the Obama administration was a huge success that successfully contained Iran’s nuclear program and put it on a path to co-operation with the international community.

All of this is being undone with Trump’s aggressive action towards Iran. I don’t think Iran is going to be a flashpoint for a world war, but I do think it is a key part of the escalation that is taking place in the Middle East. Iran is a regional giant, and how the U.S. engages with it will have serious repercussions for Iraq, Syria and beyond.

How does the potential for global conflict now compare to what happened in the aftermath of 9/11, with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

There are millions of people whose lives have been profoundly affected by these wars, and I don’t want to minimize their suffering. I have worked in these troubled places and have deep empathy for people living in civil wars. However, as much as these conflicts might shock our moral sensibility, the threat of a great-power confrontation is astronomically more dangerous to the world.

What role do you see Trump’s tweets playing in international diplomacy?

Can you imagine if Kennedy and Khrushchev had communicated on Twitter during the Cuban Missile Crisis? That we have to analyze the ravings of the president of the United States, who seems to be drunk-texting his policy positions to the world at 3 a.m., is unprecedented. No theory or logic that can be applied to this behaviour. In the best-case scenario, other world leaders will learn how to circumvent this, perhaps by engaging with diplomats at the State Department and others within the administration they deem to be rational. We cannot wholly discount the president’s tweets, however, because they come from the commander-in-chief of the world’s largest military.

Besides the Trump presidency, what other developments are raising concerns for international security?

We’re seeing an erosion of the liberal international order and the rise of extreme right-wing, ethnic nationalist parties in Western democracies. These parties reject multilateral institutions, such as the European Union, that have been built in the post Second World War era. These multilateral institutions didn’t just increase global economic cooperation. They helped keep the peace. Obviously, there are still many who believe in freedom, equality and justice, but we can’t ignore the neo-Nazi ideology emerging in parts of the world that were once defined by their opposition to Nazi ideas.

What should Canada do in response?

Canada has the world’s largest undefended border with the United States, our primary trading partner. So we are in a precarious situation. We cannot disentangle ourselves from this relationship. And yet the values espoused by our current federal government are diametrically opposed to those stated by the Trump administration, especially on immigration, refugees, racial and religious toleration, multilateralism in international affairs and free trade.

Many Canadians may feel that the government has not been strong enough in its opposition to Trump. But Ottawa needs to walk a tightrope to ensure that what has so far been a very aggressive and reckless type of American foreign policy doesn’t turn towards Canada in a way that would harm our national interest. At the same time, I don’t believe that our government should compromise our values. We don’t have to be completely silent on them. Justin Trudeau handled his first meeting in Washington by masterfully walking this tightrope.

When you look around the world right now, do you see any bright spots?

The hope is that people are “woke.” Every single person I know who specializes in East Asian security is working around the clock to make sure that the communications channels are open – so that even if American influence declines, the Japanese and the Chinese can find a way to talk to each other and avoid a crisis that could drag neighbouring countries and the world into a state of war.

Universities are also a place of great hope because we put forth truth in an age of disinformation. We refuse to accept the “Bowling Green Massacre” as an “alternative fact.” We demand that information be held to a higher standard. We educate legions of students to go out into the world and discern truth from falsehood, and who can understand how the international system works.

Finally, there are the people who have marched in the streets, who are giving pro bono legal advice to people caught in the travel ban, and who have showed tremendous intellectual, scholarly and policy leadership at this critical time. These voices are the hope.

Rehabilitating veterans: ��TV’s ongoing commitment

ullahnor — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 14:48:33 +0000

Rehabilitating veterans: ��TV’s ongoing commitment

ullahnor Fri, 11/11/2016 - 09:48

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An injured soldier receiving therapy. In 1918, a ward aides program was designed run by the engineering department to instruct volunteers in providing retraining for war veterans (photo courtesy of ��TV archives)

Liam Mitchell

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Liam Mitchell

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When the wounded warriors of the First World War returned home, Canada’s veterans could count on the University of Toronto to support their rehabilitation.

It was from the ravages of the First World War that ��TV’s rehabilitation programs emerged, and that commitment has been sustained over the decades to the present day, as students, faculty and alumni work to improve the quality of life for those injured in war zones.

During the First World War, a six-month training program for physical therapists was established in 1917 at Hart House by the Military Hospitals Commission. Known as the “Hart House Course,” it emphasized massage and electrotherapy, gymnastics and muscle function training.

Read about ��TV's Soldiers' Tower war memorial and museum

By 1919, 250 people had completed the program and were assigned to military hospitals across Canada.

��TV also laid the foundation for occupational therapy during this period through the training of Ward Aides. The program was established under the auspices of the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Engineering, supported by professors and instructors in the Faculty of Medicine. The aim was to provide vocational retraining to veterans so they could enter or re-enter the workforce.

In 1917, the Miltary Hospitals Commission established a six-month course at Hart House to train physiotherapists for the rehabilitation of injured soldiers (photo courtesy of ��TV archives)

While the urgency waned when the armistice was signed in 1919, the importance of rehabilitation had been firmly established. In 1926, ��TV set up a two-year program in occupational therapy, while the first formal diploma in physical therapy was established in 1931 at a time when 27 per cent of Ontario hospitals had departments in the field. The importance of psychiatric care to support veterans became better known as the 1930s began and by 1934, new training was included in the occupational therapy program to address this pressing need.

Flash forward to the present day, where students like Melissa Biscardi continue to work alongside veterans. Biscardi is completing her master's degree under the supervision of Professor Angela Colantonio in the Faculty of Medicine's Rehabilitation Sciences Institute. Her clinical work experience with veterans inspired Biscardi’s current thesis research, which is looking at traumatic brain injuries in military women, both those currently serving and veterans.

“I would often have patients come into our clinic complaining about back or neck pain, but I could quickly see there was other underlying issues like mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder,” explained Biscardi.

With a background in nursing and a strong interest in research that was ignited during her undergraduate studies, Biscardi decided to pursue a graduate degree.

“I knew that I wanted to find a way to help members of the military and veterans – they’ve given so much to serve our nation – plus I was interested in the intersection between traumatic injury, mental health and gender. So this has proven to be the perfect match,” she said. Biscardi also noted this will help advance research on traumatic brain injury in female veterans, which has not been well explored.

Danny Slack spent five weeks interning at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre as he pursued his master's degree in physical therapy. Slack, who completed his degree last year, recalled working with a 97-year-old man who had outlived his wife and even his children.

“I couldn’t believe how much he wanted to exercise,” said Slack. “We’d do 10 minutes on a reclining bike and he wanted to keep going. He said he wanted to be the oldest man in there.”

Today, ��TV’s rehabilitation sciences comprise the departments of occupational science and occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology and the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute.

In addition to offering professional master’s programs in core rehab disciplines, the sector also supports research-based graduate degrees. It has the most extensive network of clinical facilities available in North America, as well as faculty who are known nationally and internationally. Now these programs seek not only to improve the quality of life for veterans, but for clients across Canada and around the world.

Professor Edward Shorter and Heidi Singer also contributed to this story.

What now? ��TV experts discuss policy changes under President Trump

ullahnor — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 16:51:29 +0000

What now? ��TV experts discuss policy changes under President Trump

ullahnor Thu, 11/10/2016 - 11:51

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Russian dolls in the likeness of U.S. presidents (photo by Mikhail Pochuyev via Getty)

Romi Levine

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Author legacy

Romi Levine and Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Topic

Subheadline

As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, what policy changes can Canada and the world expect

With the shock now wearing off, the world prepares for changes under a Trump presidency.

On Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump met with President Barack Obama to discuss the transition of power. Not on the table were some of the Obama policies Trump has threatened to revoke or change once elected.

At the University of Toronto, experts on Wednesday weighed in on the results of the election. Today, our faculty with expertise in areas such as global climate policy, LGBT issues and health care tackle some of the policies that many expect will be overhauled under Trump.

Climate Change: Matthew Hoffmann

Same-Sex Marriage, LGBT Rights: Brenda Cossman

Planned Parenthood, Obamacare: Raisa Deber, Peter Loewen

Economic Policy: Andreas Park

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday (photo by Win McNamee/Getty)

Climate Change

We begin with climate change policy. Matthew Hoffmann, a professor of political science at University of Toronto Scarborough and co-director of Munk School’s Environmental Governance Lab talks about international agreements reached at the Paris Climate Conference.

What can we expect from Trump regarding climate change?

It is not hyperbole to say that the Trump administration will likely be a disaster for climate change policy in the United States and for the pursuit of an effective global response to climate change. The risks on climate change policy from this election are manifold and serious. We are likely to see a reversal of the directions and leadership that the Obama administration was pursuing in the U.S. and abroad on emissions reductions and support for renewable energy. Meeting the climate crisis just became much harder than it already was with an engaged United States.

U.S. climate policy is almost certainly headed for a stark, retrograde shift given that the president-elect has described climate change as a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese and that his transition team has already included a noted climate denier as the person heading up the transition at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Trump made various campaign pledges along the way to gut the EPA entirely and to cut all funding for renewable energy and climate change research.

President Obama’s signature policy, the Clean Power Plan, is also virtually certain to be abandoned both because the new administration will not pursue it, and it is likely that a Supreme Court including a Trump nominee would strike it down anyway. If the Trump administration’s actions in any way match the campaign rhetoric, U.S. climate policy (and energy policy more generally) will be set back decades.

Given that the United States is a key contributor to global emissions and had been looked to for international leadership on global climate action, the damage a Trump administration promises will not be limited to U.S. climate policy. The Trump administration has various means to officially withdraw from the Paris Agreement, or could, just as easily and perhaps with less political fallout, simply not pursue the commitments that the Obama administration put forward in the Paris Agreement (because of a lack of enforcement measures on countries achieving their pledges in the decentralized approach to global climate governance).

In addition, the bilateral deal between the United States and China that paved the way for the Paris Agreement is now in significant doubt. The loss of U.S. leadership on the global stage also has the potential to dampen other countries’ ambitions and pursuit of aggressive climate action.

There is no sugarcoating the potential for serious setbacks on climate change that a Trump administration portends – setbacks that frankly have the potential to make it impossible to stave off some of the worst consequences of climate change and therefore put millions of lives at risk over the coming decades from various climate impacts (sea level rise, changing drought and storm patterns, heat, severe weather and flooding, secondary climate-induced conflict, etc.).

These are the risks of a Trump administration in terms of climate action and policy and we should be clear-eyed about them. However, we should also remember that there are countervailing forces and that even a disastrous Trump administration cannot derail all action on climate change. There is quite a bit of momentum on climate change globally and within the United States that will continue to build in spite of Trump’s election.

The costs of renewable energy relative to fossil fuels continue to fall, and the growth of renewable energy capacity and use worldwide will likely continue to grow rapidly regardless of the results of the U.S. election. Trump almost certainly cannot bring back coal in the United States because of the economics of energy production have shifted so distinctly in the last 10 years.

Internationally, the Paris Agreement is a decentralized approach to climate change so the world does not depend on the U.S. to take action. Every country has designed its own plan. Other countries will need to forge ahead; however, and even redouble their efforts and urgency. Finally, a great deal of action on climate change, especially in North America, takes place at the state/provincial and municipal levels and amongst businesses and NGOs. This is where energy on climate action has been and will need to be moving forward.

A number of post-election reflections that have spread around social media are urging that the election of Trump be met with resolve and organizing to prevent his campaign rhetoric from becoming reality. The world now needs other nations, sub-national actors (cities and provinces), corporations, and NGOs to significantly rally around the cause of climate action. This election must serve as a clarion call to action on climate.

What does this mean for Canada?

The Trump administration will significantly complicate energy and climate policymaking for Canada. First, it is clear that pipeline approval will not be an obstacle from the U.S. side of the border, and I expect that a new Trump administration would offer approval for Keystone XL within weeks if not days of inauguration. However, cooperation on energy and climate change is now significantly uncertain and Canada’s new federal policy on climate change will be significantly out of step with U.S. policy. The notion of a continental approach to energy is in question and such an approach to climate policy is almost certainly dead. This will be a significant challenge for Prime Minister Trudeau to navigate.

Internationally, Canada faces a choice of standing with much of the rest of the world in pursuing urgent action or being sucked into a new North American obstructionism on climate change. Canada no longer needs a decent climate policy to trade-off for pipeline approvals in the United States. The question is whether we will pursue progressive climate policy because it is the right thing to do, especially in the context of open hostility to climate action from the United States.

Protesters gather outside Trump Tower following Trump's win (photo by Drew Angerer/Getty)

Same-Sex Marriage, LGBT Rights

Brenda Cossman, is a professor in the Faculty of Law and she's director of the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science. She spoke about same-sex marriage and LGBT issues under threat.

“President-elect Donald Trump does not have an official policy plan on LGBT issues. But he and Mike Pence have repeatedly stated their opposition to LGBT rights. Trump plans to appoint conservative justices to the Supreme Court who he hopes will overturn marriage equality. He has stated his support for local state anti-transgender laws. He has pledged to sign the Republican-backed First Amendment Defence Act, a law that would permit forms of anti-LGBT discrimination on the grounds of religion.

“The Republican party, which controls Congress, passed a platform earlier this year that contained some of the most anti-LGBT provisions in years, including an attack on same-sex parenting and opposing a ban on conversion therapy.

“Together, the executive and legislative branches are committed to undermining all of the LGBT rights advances of the last decade. Together, they can appoint Supreme Court justices who will help carry out this agenda.

“I have no doubt that they will. Because repealing same-sex marriage and supporting anti-trans legislation is a lot cheaper than building a wall. Trump and the Republican Congress can deliver on their hateful promises to their base with relatively little cost. And the cost to LGBT lives is not part of the equation.”

Planned Parenthood, Obamacare

Raisa Deber, a professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation spoke about Planned Parenthood and potential changes to Obamacare.

What will the next four years look like under Donald Trump?

Trump was incredibly vague about exactly what he was planning. He had a number of overall goals but he never really said how he was going to get there.

One of the things that is interesting is that because the Republicans took both the House and the Senate and have been talking about stacking the courts, there aren’t really a lot of blocking points. What the Republican Congressional delegation is saying is that they’re going to put a whole lot of religious conservative positions in place now.

I’m expecting they’ll move very quickly on some easy things like taking away money from Planned Parenthood.

The only thing that Trump has indicated that he really cares about is making sure you remove the tax burden on people like him.

What’s going to happen to Obamacare?

What they’ve said is they’re going to get rid of Obamacare, but a lot of these things are run at the state level. Can they require states to remove coverage? Is there going to be lobbying from people who had coverage and are then going to lose it? To what extent are they going to stick with what they’re claiming, or are they going to decide that this may lose them enough votes that they don’t want to go that route?

One of the things Trump said he wanted to do is medical savings accounts. Medical savings accounts make no sense. If you take a look at health expenditures in every country including the U.S., most people are relatively healthy and don’t have high expenditures. A tiny number of people account for most of the health expenditures.

Nobody wants to insure the small number of people who are high-cost.

One of the problems you run into with these models is what exactly is happening to that small number of sick people?

So when he’s talking about medical savings accounts, how nice, but they don’t work for you if you have high needs.

��TV political scientist Peter Loewen, head of the School of Public Policy & Governance spoke about changes to the Supreme Court and how that could impact the issue of abortion.

“I don't imagine Trump will do much on same sex marriage, thankfully so. That issue appears more or less settled.

“He will; however, appoint a new justice who as a part of a new conservative majority will likely be more open to hearing challenges to Roe v Wade. But even then, the decisions of the court rarely fulfill voters' every wish.”

Economic Policy

Andreas Park is an associate professor of finance at University of Toronto Mississauga, Institute of Management and Innovation and the Rotman School of Management. He explains the fluctuations in the international markets and weighs in on Trump's economic plan.

There was a dip in financial markets as the election results were coming in – what happened?

This dip happened at a time when the major markets were closed. The dip was really something in the futures market. It was noticeable that it happened. But at the end of the day, it’s not a reflection of the market as a whole.

If you look at the volatility at the moment, it’s actually very low. When you look at the volatility index – which is the major measure for volatility – there’s no indication that there’s a huge increase in volatility because of Trump. There is certainly some uncertainty involved. We don’t know what the man is like – what kind of decisions he’s really going to make.

What is Trump’s relationship with Wall Street?

You have to look at different levels. There’s the question of the regulation of financial institutions, to supervise what they’re doing and possibly to change some of the tax loopholes that some people who work on Wall Street enjoy and have the particular ability to exploit. Trump has come out very strongly against those loopholes and against people who exploit these loopholes.

But then when we think of financial markets as a whole, they should be to some degree a reflection of the economy. As far as markets are concerned, we should think about the real economy – Wall Street, stock prices, futures markets, exchange rates will reflect all of that.

One issue – which probably the banks hope for – is that given there is a Republican Congress, some of the regulations which they perceive to be burdensome will be changed. There are some parts of the regulation that came after the financial crisis that had unintended consequences that probably require some attention.

How will his economic policy affect Canada and the rest of the world?

Here’s one of the real concerns: he puts in a policy – huge tax cut of some form – that probably creates some economic boom in the short-term. But what happens if it goes south?

At the moment, we have a situation where there’s an extremely low interest rate. There’s no monetary policy instrument you have to avert a disaster in the economy. The only thing you have at this point is fiscal policy. You do poor fiscal policy, one way or another, you can get your country into a real problem.

If something bad happens in the U.S. – like the U.S. flies into a recession – of course Canada will suffer, and of course the rest of the world will suffer. We’re all connected.

At the same time if there is a boom, we will benefit from that short-term boom.

Should people be concerned about any of their personal investments?

We don’t know what’s happening. It could go either way. If he implements what he says he will do, I think things don’t look great because in the long-run he will probably create huge deficits and that has the capacity to create a prolonged recession.

If he kills Obamacare, short of the big cost-factor, you’re harming people who don’t have insurance. That takes money out of their pockets. That will have a negative economic impact on their spending behaviour.

The average investor should make sure that he/she is well-diversified – this is the usual advice.

Inside the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on the night of the Nov. 9 elections (photo by Thomas Lohnes/Getty)

Remembering the veterans of Sunnybrook: a Convocation 2015 story

sgupta — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 09:47:28 +0000

Remembering the veterans of Sunnybrook: a Convocation 2015 story sgupta Wed, 11/11/2015 - 04:47

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Canadian flags on grounds of Sunnybrook Hospital (all images courtesy Sunnybrook Hospital)

Heidi Singer

Author legacy

Heidi Singer

In Flanders Fields: why the iconic poem by ��TV alumnus endures, 100 years later

sgupta — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 09:40:18 +0000

In Flanders Fields: why the iconic poem by ��TV alumnus endures, 100 years later sgupta Mon, 11/09/2015 - 04:40

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(photo of ��TV's back campus courtesy University of Toronto archives 2005-10-6MS)

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Author legacy

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Watch a City TV story about ��TV and Remembrance Day

(image below by Wazimu0 via flickr)

picpath

sites/default/files/2015-11-09-back-campus-remembrance.jpg

Why Russia is now in Syria and why it's “nonsense” to say Putin is being threatening

sgupta — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 08:02:20 +0000

Why Russia is now in Syria and why it's “nonsense” to say Putin is being threatening sgupta Mon, 10/26/2015 - 04:02

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Russian fighter jets (photo courtesy Kuhnmi via Flickr)

Jelena Damjanovic

Author legacy

Jelena Damjanovic

Topic

Global Lens

War

Unearthing the truth: Michael Pollanen on the role of forensic pathology in war zones

Chemical attack in Syria: ����TV public health expert talks about Sarin

Canada 150: ����TV’s Fisher Library exhibit tracks Canada's struggles to become a ‘welcoming place’

Learn more about ����TV and Canada 150

Donald Trump’s presidency is raising the risk of violent conflict among the world’s great powers, says ����TV political scientist

Rehabilitating veterans: ����TV’s ongoing commitment

Read about ����TV's Soldiers' Tower war memorial and museum

What now? ����TV experts discuss policy changes under President Trump

Climate Change: Matthew Hoffmann

Same-Sex Marriage, LGBT Rights: Brenda Cossman

Planned Parenthood, Obamacare: Raisa Deber, Peter Loewen

Economic Policy: Andreas Park

Climate Change

Same-Sex Marriage, LGBT Rights

Planned Parenthood, Obamacare

Economic Policy

Remembering the veterans of Sunnybrook: a Convocation 2015 story

In Flanders Fields: why the iconic poem by ����TV alumnus endures, 100 years later

Watch a City TV story about ����TV and Remembrance Day

Why Russia is now in Syria and why it's “nonsense” to say Putin is being threatening

Chemical attack in Syria: ��TV public health expert talks about Sarin

Canada 150: ��TV’s Fisher Library exhibit tracks Canada's struggles to become a ‘welcoming place’

Learn more about ��TV and Canada 150

Donald Trump’s presidency is raising the risk of violent conflict among the world’s great powers, says ��TV political scientist

Rehabilitating veterans: ��TV’s ongoing commitment

Read about ��TV's Soldiers' Tower war memorial and museum

What now? ��TV experts discuss policy changes under President Trump

In Flanders Fields: why the iconic poem by ��TV alumnus endures, 100 years later

Watch a City TV story about ��TV and Remembrance Day