By: Abi Hernandez Castillo & Thalia Pliego

The people of Canada have been demanding to put an end to the COVID-19 vaccine mandates. These protests have been going on since late January of this year. According to ‘Fortune’, Canadas “Freedom Convoy” began when the protestors, many of which were truckers, drove from the west coast of Canada to the national capital of Ottawa. They are protesting the COVID-19 mandate for truckers.

Besides truckers, ordinary Canadians were also fed up with the restrictions that the pandemic has placed upon them. Some claim that the mandates cost them their jobs and have affected their families, and because of their frustration, they have also joined the protests. These protesters were spreading to the border crossing between Canada and the United States and interrupting trade. 

Because of these protests, truckers have cost half of a billion dollars worth of daily trade with the United States. Since the protestors have left Ottawa paralyzed, the mayor has declared a state of emergency. The mayor of Windsor, Ontario, where the protesters have closed down the Ambassador Bridge border that crosses to the United States, said that the police were preparing to physically remove any protesters if it was necessary. Even with this subtle warning, the protesters did not let that stop them. According to ‘Fortune’, they continued to fight until officials decided to remove all COVID restrictions nationwide. 

How do these protests in another country affect us here in the United States? According to ‘Deseret News’, Jeff Schuster, president of the LMC Automotive consulting firm in Troy, Michigan said, “We’re dealing with part shortages in general and supply chain issues. This is just another wrench in the industry that we’re dealing with right now.” Schuster mentions the lack of parts and this is not just him experiencing it. Any business in the United States that relies on Canadian trade is being impacted at a high level right now.

According to ‘Newsweek’, the Ottowa City Council has voted to “redo” Valentine’s Day on March 14th, 2022 because as a result of the protest, restaurants, and businesses that would usually be open on Valentine’s Day and get more sales were forced to close. The city council and development staff would work with local businesses to promote shopping and dining on March 14th, 2022.  Susan Murray told CTV News, “I think it’s great that the city has thought about small businesses and what impact the last February 14th might have had on them”. Many businesses are losing money due to the protests and having to close down. The Rideau Center, which is a shopping mall, lost approximately $20 million CAD in the week of these protests.

The very few police officers, that were seen, were swallowed up by the enormous crowds of people. Scott Spenser, 36, said in the ‘New York Times’, “They don’t have an easy job, hopefully, this all ends peacefully and they lift the mandates and we all get back to living.”

Many who supported the protests wanted the “Freedom Convoy” to continue until vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 measures in the country were dissolved. The police said that they may arrest anyone who is blocking the streets or helping anyone else do it. They also mentioned that anyone going into Ottawa to join the protests may have their vehicles seized, face fines, or have their licenses suspended. 

According to ‘ABC News’, A judge has denied bail to one of the leading organizers behind the Ottawa protests on Tuesday. Ottawa police have made 196 arrests, with over 100 facing more than one charge. 115 vehicles were also towed that were connected to the protest.

By: Toby Martin-Kohls

You may have heard in the media about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. You might have heard eye-catching headlines such as NBC New’s “Biden warns Americans to leave, says sending troops to evacuate to be a ‘world war’”. But what is this conflict even about?

In short, Russia has currently amassed 130,000 troops at various points along their shared border with Ukraine, complete with other war aids such as field hospitals. Putin has a list of demands for the West or more commonly referred to as NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). Negotiations are ongoing, but Russia has enough troops positioned to launch a full-scale invasion.

His demands include that NATO stop expanding, for NATO to remove troops out of Eastern Europe, and assurances that the US won’t protect Eastern European allies. He knows that these demands are far-fetched, but then he could claim he went the diplomatic way before an invasion.

To fully understand this conflict, you need to understand what NATO is and also take a step back into the past.

NATO was formed in 1949 by the US to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. Before Russia became the Russia that it is today, it was the USSR, or also known as the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was a socialist republic and tried to build a communist society.

After the fall of the Soviet Union in December 1991, former Soviet republics declared some forms of independence, and today they are recognized as sovereign states. These countries are now known as: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Since modern-day Ukraine was once part of the Soviet Union, there were, and still are, many deep cultural ties to the region. For example, the leader of the Soviet Union when it fell, Mikhail Gorbachev, had a Ukrainian mother and a Russian father. To people like him, and Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, and Russia share similar interests and objectives.

Putin became President of Russia in 2012, but he was a high-ranking government official for years prior. In a 2005 speech, Putin said, “The collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century,” and “As for the Russian people, it became a genuine tragedy. Tens of millions of our fellow countrymen found themselves beyond the fringes of Russian territory.”

In his mind, all the new territories from the old regime were essentially still Russian. When the West shows up to these former republics offering their ideological beliefs such as democracies and inviting them to join their military alliance (NATO), which again, was first started to provide security against the Soviet Union, he felt threatened, because of this belief that Ukraine is Russia.

Ukraine has been flirting with becoming more allied with the West, which has Putin on edge. After Russian annexed Crimea, a southern region of Ukraine, in 2014, Ukrainians elected a pro-West president. The current president, elected in 2019, is also a closer ally of NATO countries, and has talked about the country joining NATO. A Unian poll asked Ukrainians if they were in favor to join the European Union which 58% of respondents said yes. It also asked if they were in favor of Ukraine joining NATO, of which 64% said yes.

Further emphasizing his position, on his blog, Putin wrote, “…Of what is essentially the same historical and spiritual space, to my mind is our great common misfortune and tragedy…But these are also the result of deliberate efforts by those forces that have always sought to undermine our unity. The formula they apply has been known from time immemorial – divide and rule.”

He truly believes that Ukraine has aligned itself with the West to thwart Russia.

Perhaps his most effective argument is, “Just have a look at how Austria and Germany, the USA and Canada live next to each other. Close in ethnic composition, culture, in fact sharing one language, they remain sovereign states with their own interests, with their own foreign policy. But this does not prevent them from the closest integration or allied relations. They have very conditional, transparent borders. And when crossing them the citizens feel at home. They create families, study, work, do business. Incidentally, so do millions of those born in Ukraine who now live in Russia. We see them as our own close people.”

That does not excuse using force to take over a sovereign state. If Putin ends up invading Russia, this will give NATO a new purpose, albeit similar to why it was formed. Putin and his legacy all seem to rest on gaining land back that he deems as part of Russia.

By: Musab Mohamud

World hunger is an issue that plagues millions of people globally. The suffering that many face isn’t easily fixable and is one of many issues caused by war, famine and poverty.

Hunger is viewed as a third world issue when in reality, humans are starving everywhere. In cities such as Paris, New York, and Rome, the streets are full of people who are forced to beg for their next meal. Many children in the United States rely on school food so they won’t go hungry.

There are many proposals to help end hunger; funding agricultural programs is one that is sustainable and practical. In settings like rural Africa, Asia, and South America, it could be integral to feeding a family or village. However, it would be limited in more urban areas with the lack of space necessary for enough food for mass consumption. There are vast spaces in those rural countrysides that could be used as planting areas. Pushing people to create gardens with free seeds could be very helpful in improving food production.

A solution for urbanized areas could be government sanctioned food drives directed towards homeless and impoverished people. While there are already programs of the sort, they are not very effective. With countless organizations attempting to help stop hunger, they are making progress, however, it’s obviously not enough. Non-profit organizations simply don’t have the resources that the government does.

A quote from a student reads, “People should consider using compost more, you can reuse inedible food to grow food again.” Compost is a very good example of sustainable agriculture and could be used to reduce waste and help grow healthy and natural food. Soil is very important in the growth of food and cannot be wasted, so introducing compost to the mix could increase food production and lessen costs as a side effect.