Alberta currently has the highest rate of COVID-19 infections in Canada, at 223 per 100,000 people. With reports of “double bunking” in ICUs and directives to health care workers to be mindful of oxygen use, doctors say Alberta is at a “critical juncture” thestar.com/news/canada/20… On Tuesday, Alberta reported 1,307 new COVID-19 cases and 10 additional deaths.

“It doesn’t take long to calculate that we’re in big trouble" if this trend continues, says Joe Vipond, an emergency room physician in Calgary. thestar.com/news/canada/20…

“Go back to your country.”

It’s a phrase I know many BIPOC in Canada have heard in some shape or form, further popularized by Trump's use of "shithole countries".

For a POC born in Canada, how does one react to this?

A longish thread, and story 1/14

thestar.com/news/canada/20… Racism is a thing that’s hard to quantify, and police-reported hate crimes are a poor indicator of any kind of uptick. But many experts have told me the election of Donald Trump was a definite turning point. Racists are more emboldened, online and elsewhere. 2/14

Sharing event - It's been 10 years since Amber Tuccaro disappeared from the Edmonton area. Her family is holding an event in her honour tonight in Edmonton. I'm taking time off work and won't be covering it but thought some people on my Twitter might want to know about it. If you're not familiar, Amber's case has received considerable attention over the years because some of her last words were captured in a recording. The family is still pleading for anyone who recognizes the voice to reach out to police. Listen here:

THREAD - I wanted to see if the opioid epidemic has escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The short answer is yes. Some of my findings were alarming - Ontario's chief coroner told me about 50 to 80 Ontarians are dying every week of overdoses, compared to about 44 a week in 2019 In B.C., about 28 people are dying every week of drug overdoses in 2020. Most of these are opioid overdoses. Both provinces set grim records for the most overdose deaths ever seen in a single month recently - in June, B.C. saw 175 deaths, a 130% increase from June 2019

ICYMI - An employee of the Royal Alberta Museum is accusing the RAM of deeply entrenched systemic racism and has filed a human rights complaint. She says it was so bad it made her resent being Indigenous for the first time in her life. thestar.com/news/canada/20… Paulina Johnson, who is from Samson Cree Nation, says the RAM was a toxic work environment (especially for Indigenous employees) that left her feeling abused, traumatized and suffering from depression and anxiety. She is currently on unpaid leave. thestar.com/news/canada/20…

THREAD - A few months ago I called a scientist in Toronto for a COVID interview, but when he noticed I was calling from a 780 #, he said he had a more pressing story to tell me. He said syphilis levels were "off the charts" in Edmonton, and as a result, "babies are dying". 1/9

https://twitter.com/keixote/status/1274358710706606080

Syphilis is typically most common among men who have sex with men. But there was a trend clearly specific to Edmonton that troubled Mr Rourke - the outbreaks are occurring in the inner city and disproportionately affecting Indigenous women who are homeless or in the sex trade 2/9

I’m so deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Ric Richardson, a great man, leader and somewhat of a mentor. He was well liked as the mayor of Green Lake, but he was also just an overall impressive human being. mbcradio.com/2020/06/northw… Ric died of lung cancer. He chose not to undergo chemotherapy and instead relied on traditional Indigenous methods and medicines to treat it. He had expressed hopeful developments over the years. cbc.ca/news/canada/sa…

"The sheer power of the pandemic struck me more viscerally than ever, the speed and completeness with which it had ground to a halt the massive machine of world transport."

tararachael.wordpress.com/2020/04/07/tra…

Sometimes certain moments cut through the constant news and it all just sinks in. For me that moment came about a month ago, when I was coming home from work and witnessed a man making a contactless food delivery. He was wearing a mask, and carefully and cautiously moved forward and placed the package of food in front of my apartment building.

Quite enjoyed speaking with @CaulfieldTim about the "continuum" of misinformation in the COVID-19 pandemic and the literal life and death implications we're seeing thestar.com/news/canada/20… He says he's never seen anything like it. the #hydroxychloriquine thing is insane. and it's STILL GOING twitter.com/i/events/12474…

Peace of Change - people are preparing for a round dance being held at West Edmonton Mall. Michelle Alexis is holding the event in response to an incident at the mall a month ago where she was called racial slurs. Michelle emphasizes this is not a protest, but a peace and unity event.

Amber Tuccaro's mother told me she doesn't know who to trust after RCMP said they're investigating a tip from a man who said his father is Amber's killer. The family has had a fraught relationship with the RCMP ever since Amber's disappearance. thestar.com/edmonton/2020/… Tuccaro did not know the police were issuing a press release until after they released it. They made no attempt to notify her of this new tip until she started hearing about it from friends and family. She did not see the release until a reporter sent to her.

Reza Akbari, president of the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton gives his condolences to families impacted by the plane crash in Iran. He says the community is shocked by the loss of 176 people, including 30 from Edmonton. He says they are planning a vigil/community gathering for Friday. They are working with the Iranian Students Society of Alberta and with university administration. More details to come.

Some news, which I’ve been sitting on but should probably share before I wake up tomorrow and realize I have to start my new life - I’m very stoked to announce I’ll be joining the @TorontoStar in the new year as an Edmonton-based reporter. For me, the news is bittersweet. I’m sad to see the breakup of @thestaredmonton newsroom. I think @ClaireTheobald said it best when she said there was a magic in that room you couldn’t describe. Tremendous passion and drive, and a real tangible feeling of ‘We can do this’.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY - just over a year ago I learned about a man who died in front of a homeless shelter in Edmonton. I know people die on Edmonton’s streets in our frigid winter more than we realize, but this seemed especially tragic. I wanted to know what happened.

https://twitter.com/angwelz/status/1208832588858589185

I remember going to the Herb Jamieson and asking the woman working at the front if she heard anything about a man who died in front of the shelter. She said “I haven’t, but that’s not that uncommon around here.” This was extremely jarring.

If you live in Canada you need to read this. @fritzlechat leaves no room for exoneration or exculpation in this crystalline, no holds barred reflection where she shatters the myth of "postcard-perfect icons of the Canadian imaginary". Just wow. thestar.com/opinion/contri… @fritzlechat National parks are also, in Indigenous writer @rjjago's words, “colonial crime scenes.”

Canadian colonialism legitimizes itself by making Indigeneity hypervisible — think decontextualized totem poles, treaty acknowledgments in colonial institutions ...

I’m at the Boot Scootin’ Boogie Dancehall for the first post federal election Edmonton WEXIT rally. I’m not good at counting crowds but I’d say there’s at least 150 people here. Even officially starts at 4 pm Peter Downing is the leader of Wexit. He says the movement is about economic liberty, social stability and western sovereignty. He says an independent Alberta will be the best place to live on Earth.

Sigh. So last week @jonkay used my story about hate groups in Edmonton to downplay the state of racism in Canada. But the article was either TLDR or he's deliberately misrepresenting it - the photo he describes isn't even of the same rally he's referencing nationalpost.com/news/politics/… The rally he references can be seen here: The photo he’s describing is from a separate incident 2 weeks later. The story wasn’t about a single rally, it was about an ongoing situation of white supremacists espousing hate and clashing with counter activists

Thread - During the federal election, @mdgmedia and I noticed there were a lot of of non-white candidates running for the populist People's Party of Canada. Then a POC ran for the Canadian Nationalist Party, which literally makes no sense. So we decided to talk to these people. At first glance, one may quickly conclude these candidates and activists are merely party props. But what is more mystifying and in many ways paradoxical is that these people appear to really believe this stuff. And it's more common than you may think.

Last week I went to Red Deer to learn more about one of Canada's deadliest residential schools, and to visit an unmarked cemetery where it's estimated about 50-70 former students are buried. Admittedly, I knew nothing about the school before this. I left with a heavy heart. The Red Deer Industrial School was a really bad place. Abuse was flagrant. Disease was rampant. All in all, it's estimated about 40% of the children who attended the school died as a result of their time there - one of the highest mortality rates of any such school in Canada.

The historic Hub Hotel, also known as the Dive Bar (built in 1882, the first Edmonton building with a complete brick facade) is lit up tonight with the my buddy Jerry Cordeiro’s portraits of inner city Edmontonians. So stoked to see this. Jerry plays such an important role in raising awareness of the effects of intergenerational trauma in Edmonton and humanizing homeless people who have fell through the cracks. Check out facebook.com/humansofedmont… for more of his work!

Today's @thestaredmonton cover story has taken me on an emotional rollercoaster. At its crux, it's an example of why Indigenous children are massively overrepresented in Canada's child intervention system, more than any other population in Canada. It's not a coincidence. Thread.. In Canada, Indigenous peoples experience the highest apprehension, suicide, poverty and addiction rates. Experts say it's the direct result of subjugating an entire population to racist and oppressive policies and systematically robbing them of their identities for over a century