Former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted Tuesday of murder and manslaughter for pinning George Floyd, a black man, to the pavement with his knee on his neck in a case that touched off worldwide protests, violence and a furious reexamination of racism and policing all over the world. Chauvin, 45, could be sent to prison for decades People elated by the verdict flooded the surrounding streets downtown upon hearing the news. Cars blared their horns, and people ran through traffic, waving banners. Floyd family members gathered at a Minneapolis conference room could be heard cheering from the next room as each verdict was read. The jury of six white people and six Black or multiracial ones came back with its verdict after about 10 hours of deliberations over two days. Chauvin was found guilty on all charges: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. His face was obscured by a COVID-19 mask, and little reaction could be seen beyond his eyes darting around the courtroom, then he was handcuffed and taken away. Sentencing will take place in about 8 weeks time and he is currently not eligible for bail.
With more details on B.C.’s upcoming travel restrictions expected Friday, police are calling for the province to provide very clear direction on how they’re supposed to stop people. The president of both the Vancouver Police Union and the B.C. Police Association says there were concerns from members after measures were first announced by Premier John Horgan on Monday. “Obviously, today was a day of reflection and a number of higher-level discussions around what this was going to look like moving forward, and obviously more of that’s going to be coming out this Friday,” union head Ralph Kaiser said on Tuesday. The public safety minister clarified on Tuesday that the province was “examining the use of periodic roadblocks only” and that police would not be randomly stopping people on roads to make sure they aren’t travelling outside their health region during the pandemic. However, Kaiser says concerns remain, particularly around how these measures could impact the BIPOC community. He wants things to be spelled out very clearly on Friday, saying he’s not particularly pleased with the position new measures puts his officers in. Saying “There obviously has to be some very clear direction and guidelines as to how this is supposed to take place if it’s going to take place.” Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth explained on Tuesday that periodic roadblocks could be set up at places like BC Ferries terminals or along Highway 1 leaving the Lower Mainland. He said that the intention of these measures was to “discourage recreational and leisure travel – not punish people” and that the province was “not interested in disrupting commuters and people going about their lives.”
The province has reported 849 new cases of COVID-19. This brings the total number of infections to 120,889 The government also says one more person has died, pushing the total number of fatalities to one-thousand-539 since the pandemic began. Solicitor general Mike Farnworth says he’ll have more information later this week about restrictions aimed at preventing non-essential travel until at least May 24th. He says the government wants to ensure it gets the measures “right,” so the rules aren’t perceived as a punishment or unfair to racialized communities.
A nurse in Abbotsford is begging people to do their part to limit the spread of COVID-19, saying the amount of death she’s seen in the last year weighs on her every day. Kendall Skuta, a nurse at Abbotsford Regional Hospital, according to the Abbotsford News, took to Instagram on Tuesday to make her plea, posting a photo of herself, her hand across her mouth while she is obviously very upset. “This is me during a particularly hard shift,” she writes, adding she felt like she had reached a breaking point and wanted to remember this moment. Her post came as B.C. continues to see a record number of people with COVID-19 in the hospital. As of Tuesday afternoon, 456 people in B.C. were being treated in the hospital, with 148 of them in intensive care— both figures marking highs for the province. Skuta says the patient didn’t make it. “He wasn’t even 60 years old.” She explains the man had been transferred out of the ICU after he appeared to be making progress. She recalls the moments after the man was pronounced dead, saying all the health care workers “stood there for a minute. Silent. Exhausted. Heartbroken.” Skuta ends her social media post by urging people to stay home, wear a mask, and get vaccinated if eligible. “I ask myself every day ‘when will this all end?’ and ‘when will people take this seriously?’” Her post has been widely shared, with people echoing her pleas to follow public health orders and best practices to stop the spread of the virus.
Mounties say all the puppies from a litter stolen from a home in Surrey, have now been returned. They say one of the pups was found on April 12th following media reports and help from the public. An investigation by the Surrey R-C-M-P’s property crime target team helped locate the other two later in the week. They say the puppies were returned to their owner and all three were happily reunited with their mom.
District remains in place, affecting 54 properties in Canford and the Miller Estates Subdivision.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be under pressure to step up his commitments on fighting climate change this Earth Day. Trudeau plans to unveil new reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions tomorrow at a virtual two-day climate summit hosted by the U-S. The Liberal government has promised to release new targets ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference this fall, when Canada plans to discuss progress on the issue.
The dollar shot above 80-cents U-S this morning after the Bank of Canada raised its outlook for economic growth this year. It is now predicting the economy will grow by 6.5 per cent — up from its previous forecast of four per cent. The central bank is keeping its key interest rate at a quarter of one per cent. Separately, Statistics Canada reports the inflation rate was up 2.2 per cent in March from a year ago.
A group of South Surrey neighbours are worried about pedestrian safety at a nearby crosswalk, and are calling on the city to make improvements to the crossing. The crosswalk on 32 Avenue near Semiahmoo Trail Drive is dangerous, neighbours contend, and Blockwatch captain Janita Schappert told Peace Arch News that she has frequently “witnessed the high speed in which vehicles travel down 32 Avenue to head to the 32 Avenue diversion, which leads to… Highway 99.” “The speed of the cars travelling down this road can be as high a 80 km/h as they fly down through the traffic circle without as much of the tap of the brake pedal.” The crosswalk is used daily by students walking to and from nearby Semiahmoo Trail Elementary, she added.
Canada’s struggle to obtain more COVID-19 vaccine doses could get a little easier. US President Joe Biden says his country is prepared to help its northern neighbour. Biden, who spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today, says the White House is looking at what to do with vaccines that aren’t being used in the U-S. It was an apparent reference to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine approved for use in Canada, but not stateside.
U-S regulators say the Baltimore factory contracted to make Johnson and Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine was dirty, didn’t follow proper manufacturing procedures and had poorly trained staff. The problems resulted in contamination of a batch of material that was going to be put in the shots. Johnson and Johnson and Emergent say they’re working to fix the problems.
Canadians are getting a new discount flight option, with American airline JetBlue announcing it will begin its first flights to Canada next summer. The New York-based company says it will launch flights between Vancouver and New York, as well as seasonal service to Boston, starting in the summer of 2022. The airline says customers and crew members have been asking to add flights into Canada.