Supporting Joint Effort

In 2018, several members of Joint Effort, a solidarity group rooted in principles of prison abolition and anti-carceral feminism, gathered to share their work. Current restrictive policies being imposed by the Correctional Service of Canada have meant that Joint Effort’s valuable inreach services at the Fraser Valley Institution for Women are being eradicated through bureaucratic requirements. The current clearance system requires that members of Joint Effort submit to an invasive screening process, in order to obtain permission to enter the correctional site. This article explores the roots of abolitionist organizing in Canada, the importance of prison inreach, and the ways that correctional bodies stymie prisoner support and solidarity movements. Several suggestions for community-based responses are described, as the clearance issue impacts any allies who support people held in detention facilities across Canada.

The Eurasian strawberry blossom weevil, Anthonomus rubi (Herbst, 1795), is established in North America

We report the strawberry blossom weevil, Anthonomus rubi (Herbst, 1795) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a species native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, as established in British Columbia, Canada. This is the first report of A. rubi in North America. We provide a diagnosis of the species and compare it with other species of the genus Anthonomus Germar in Canada. This species is a pest of plants in Rosaceae Jussieu, including economically important berries such as strawberries (Fragaria Linnaeus) and raspberries (Rubus idaeus Linnaeus), and of native berries of importance to Indigenous peoples in Canada. Female weevils oviposit eggs inside developing flower buds and sever flower stalks, facilitating larval development inside damaged buds and thus reducing fruit yields. Surveys to confirm the presence of A. rubi conducted in 2020 found the weevil to be well established in cultivated and wild hosts throughout the Greater Vancouver area and Fraser Valley, British Columbia. At least one species of parasitoid wasp in the genus Pteromalus Swederus (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) has been found in association with A. rubi in the province. Future investigations are required to understand the biology of A. rubi in its new range, assess its impact on berries, and develop management strategies.

A Climate Change Impact Assessment (CCIA) of Key Indicators and Critical Thresholds for Viticulture and Oenology in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada

Grape growth and wine production are both closely connected with weather and climate, making anthropogenic climate change a source of great uncertainty for the grape and wine industries. To assess the impacts of climate change on viticulture and oenology in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada, where no such assessment has been published to this date, a series of key indicators and critical thresholds were selected based on their relevance to the local climatology. Trends among these indicators and thresholds were calculated over a historic period (1970-2019) and projected over the 21st century for one intermediate-emissions and one high-emissions climate change scenario. Historic trends were assessed using Environment and Climate Change Canada weather station data from Abbotsford, British Columbia. Two statistical downscaling methods were evaluated based on their ability to reproduce observed conditions in the Fraser Valley and the most effective method was used to create projections of local, daily climate change scenarios. During the historic period, temperatures increased significantly, while precipitation and moisture variables displayed insignificant trends, reflecting the trends observed across other wine regions in Canada and the Northwestern United States. Throughout the 21st century, warming is expected to continue while precipitation decreases modestly. Extreme heat is projected to become far more frequent, while extreme cold and potential frost days become rare. In the short term, modifications to vineyard and winery operations may be sufficient adaptation strategies. Over the long term, new grape varieties will most likely need to be planted in existing vineyards and suitability for cool-climate varieties may shift northward in direction or upward in elevation.

Parasitism and phenology of Dasineura mali (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) in Canadian apple (Rosaceae) orchards

The apple leaf midge, Dasineura mali (Kieffer) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), an invasive alien pest established for many years in Nova Scotia, Canada, has invaded Ontario and British Columbia, Canada apple (Malus domestica Borkhausen; Rosaceae) orchards, damaging growing tips of trees. Molecular analysis indicated that Nova Scotia populations are genetically different from Ontario and British Columbia populations. Pheromone trap captures, oviposition on growing apple terminals, and the incidence of third instars indicate three D. mali generations in each province. Platygaster demades Walker (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), released in Nova Scotia in 1993, parasitised 34% of the third midge generation in that province and was reared from D. mali for the first time in 2016 in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. Lyrcus nigroaeneus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) parasitised up to 21% of D. mali in southwestern Ontario. Synopeas myles (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) was recorded from D. mali for the first time, one specimen in each of Nova Scotia and Ontario, and was the most important parasitoid in British Columbia. Synopeas myles parasitism in Okanagan and Similkameen, British Columbia orchards increased from 0% to a mean of 30% of D. mali larvae from 2014 to 2016. Other minor parasitoids included Platygaster tuberosula Kieffer (Hymenoptera: Platygasteridae) in all three provinces and Aphanogmus vicinus Förster (Hymenoptera: Ceraphronidae) in British Columbia.