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Kiska, Marineland’s lone killer whale and last captive orca in Canada, has died
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Kiska, a killer whale at Marineland and the last captive orca in Canada who has swam alone in her tank for more than a decade, has died.
The Ontario government said Marineland, a theme park in Niagara Falls, Ont., informed the province Thursday of her death.
The province had Animal Welfare Service Officers at the park Friday as Marineland performed a necropsy on the animal, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General said.
Marineland’s owner, Marie Holer, declined to comment to The Canadian Press when reached by phone.
The park told the Niagara Falls Review that the killer whale’s health declined recently “despite intensive interventions by her caregivers, Marineland’s veterinarian team and international veterinarians with expertise in supporting the health and well-being of cetaceans.”
Kiska was believed to be 47 years old and had lived at Marineland since being captured in Icelandic waters in 1979.
She was captured alongside Keiko, who became famous in the movie Free Willy, and the pair lived together for a few years at Marineland in the 1980s. Keiko was sold to an aquarium in Mexico in 1985 and eventually ended up at SeaWorld.
Kiska appeared in shows at Marineland for years but has not performed for more than a decade. She spent that time in a large pool at Friendship Cove separated from a pod of belugas.
Kiska gave birth to five calves during her time at Marineland, but they all died young.
She has swam alone since 2011 after SeaWorld won a bitter custody battle with Marineland over Ikaika, a young male killer whale it wanted back.
Christine Santos, who trained Kiska for 12 years until Marineland fired her in 2012, teared up as she looked at old photographs of the orca.
“I’m in shock, but at the same time I’m just really relieved she’s not alone anymore,” Santos said.
Kiska was a calm killer whale and easy to work with, she said.
“We just developed a special bond,” Santos said. “She was a good mama to her calves, especially Athena and Hudson.”
Kiska would keep an eye on the pair, making sure they didn’t cause trouble with each other or the other killer whale in the tank, Santos said. She also outwitted new trainers, tricking them into giving “her more fish and more rubs.”
Kiska also had a close relationship with another orca captured in Iceland in 1981, Nootka.
But her mood changed after Nootka and Kiska’s calf, Athena, died in 2008.
“She lost her best friend and her baby and you could see her sadness,” Santos said.
The deaths left Kiska alone with Ikaika, a young bull killer whale who was growing rapidly and full of sexual energy, court documents show.
But SeaWorld wanted Ikaika back and took Marineland to court, a case it ultimately won. The orca, known as Ike to Marineland staff, moved into SeaWorld’s park in San Diego in 2011.
Kiska has swam alone ever since.
“In my last year you could see her decline and her behaviour changed,” Santos said. “She lost that spirit, that happy-go-lucky way about her.”
Phil Demers, a former Marineland trainer turned activist, received drone footage two weeks ago that showed Kiska had moved to a smaller pool, which he described as the medical pool.
That pool has a shallow area that would allow staff and veterinarians to examine her closely by dropping the water levels.
“It’s just sad, she unfortunately never had a chance at a second chance to move away from Marineland.”
The group Humane Canada issued a statement about what it called Kiska’s heartbreaking life and death.
“Humane Canada is saddened and outraged by the passing of Kiska – also known as the “loneliest Orca in the world,” it said.
“This news is heartbreaking to everyone who has spent years advocating for her freedom and release.”
Social media videos in recent years have shown Kiska thrashing her head at the side of the pool.
Ontario’s Animal Welfare Services has been conducting an inspection at Marineland since July 2020 over concerns about the park’s water.
In 2021, it found all marine mammals to be in distress due to the water, court documents show.
Marineland refuted those findings, saying its animals were not in distress.
The inspection remains ongoing three years later.
Brent Ross, a spokesman for the Ministry of the Solicitor General that oversees animal welfare in the province, said it has inspected Marineland 160 times since January 2020.
The province refused to provide details of those inspections.
But court documents filed in 2021 showed the province ordered Marineland to repair the water system in the pools that house beluga whales, dolphins, walruses, sea lions and Kiska.
Marineland appealed the order on May 18, denying the animals were in distress and noting that an unknown number of whale deaths at the park were not related to the water issues. Marineland dropped its appeal.
A number of animals have died at Marineland in recent years, including four walruses and an unknown number of beluga whales.
In 2021, Marineland moved five beluga whales to a marine park in Connecticut. One of those whales died within months of the move and another died within a year of the move.
The deaths prompted the U.S. government to begin an investigation into the move. That probe remains ongoing.
Last week, Marineland moved its last two walruses, Smooshi and her daughter, Koyuk, to a new SeaWorld park in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
In 2019, the federal government passed an anti-captivity law that made it illegal to import and keep killer whales captive, although Kiska was grandfathered in.
She will likely be the last captive killer whale ever kept in the country.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2023.
News
Ontario Legislature keffiyeh ban remains, though Ford and opposition leaders ask for reversal – CBC.ca
Keffiyehs remain banned in the Ontario Legislature after a unanimous consent motion that would have allowed the scarf to be worn failed to pass at Queen’s Park Thursday.
That vote, brought forth by NDP Leader Marit Stiles, failed despite Premier Doug Ford and the leaders of the province’s opposition parties all stating they want to see the ban overturned. Complete agreement from all MPPs is required for a motion like this to pass, and there were a smattering of “nos” after it was read into the record.
In an email on Wednesday, Speaker Ted Arnott said the legislature has previously restricted the wearing of clothing that is intended to make an “overt political statement” because it upholds a “standard practice of decorum.”
“The Speaker cannot be aware of the meaning of every symbol or pattern but when items are drawn to my attention, there is a responsibility to respond. After extensive research, I concluded that the wearing of keffiyehs at the present time in our Assembly is intended to be a political statement. So, as Speaker, I cannot authorize the wearing of keffiyehs based on our longstanding conventions,” Arnott said in an email.
Speaking at Queen’s Park Thursday, Arnott said he would reconsider the ban with unanimous consent from MPPs.
“If the house believes that the wearing of the keffiyeh in this house, at the present time, is not a political statement, I would certainly and unequivocally accept the express will of the house with no ifs, ands or buts,” he said.
Keffiyehs are a commonly worn scarf among Arabs, but hold special significance to Palestinian people. They have been a frequent sight among pro-Palestinian protesters calling for an end to the violence in Gaza as the Israel-Hamas� war continues.
Premier calls for reversal
Ford said Thursday he’s hopeful Arnott will reverse the ban, but he didn’t say if he would instruct his caucus to support the NDP’s motion.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Ford said the decision was made by the speaker and nobody else.
“I do not support his decision as it needlessly divides the people of our province. I call on the speaker to reverse his decision immediately,” Ford said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated Thursday that he does not support Speaker Ted Arnott banning keffiyehs in the Ontario Legislature because they are “intended to be a political statement,” as Arnott said in an email Wednesday.
PC Party MPP Robin Martin, who represents Eglinton–Lawrence, voted against the unanimous consent motion Thursday and told reporters she believes the speaker’s initial ruling was the correct one.
“We have to follow the rules of the legislature, otherwise we politicize the entire debate inside the legislature, and that’s not what it’s about. What it’s about is we come there and use our words to persuade, not items of clothing.”
When asked if she had defied a directive from the premier, Martin said, “It has nothing to do with the premier, it’s a decision of the speaker of the legislative assembly.”
Stiles told reporters Thursday she’s happy Ford is on her side on this issue, but added she is disappointed the motion didn’t pass.
“The premier needs to talk to his people and make sure they do the right thing,” she said.
Stiles first urged Arnott to reconsider the ban in an April 12 letter. She said concerns over the directive first surfaced after being flagged by members of her staff, however they have gained prominence after Sarah Jama, Independent MPP for Hamilton Centre, posted about the issue on X, formerly Twitter.
Jama was removed from the NDP caucus for her social media comments on the Israel-Hamas war shortly after Oct. 7.
Jama has said she believes she was kicked out of the party because she called for a ceasefire in Gaza “too early” and because she called Israel an “apartheid state.”
Arnott told reporters Thursday that he began examining a ban on the Keffiyeh after one MPP made a complaint about another MPP, who he believes was Jama, who was wearing one.
Liberals also call for reversal
Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie also called for a reversal of the ban on Wednesday night.
“Here in Ontario, we are home to a diverse group of people from so many backgrounds. This is a time when leaders should be looking for ways to bring people together, not to further divide us. I urge Speaker Arnott to immediately reconsider this move to ban the keffiyeh,” Crombie said.
Keffiyehs are a common garment across the Arab world, but they hold a special meaning in the Palestinian resistance movement.
Stiles said MPPs have worn kilts, kirpans, vyshyvankas and chubas in the legislature, saying such items of clothing not only have national and cultural associations, but have also been considered at times as “political symbols in need of suppression.”
She said Indigenous and non-Indigenous members have also dressed in traditional regalia and these items cannot be separated from their historical and political significance.
“The wearing of these important cultural and national clothing items in our Assembly is something we should be proud of. It is part of the story of who we are as a province,” she said.
“Palestinians are part of that story, and the keffiyeh is a traditional clothing item that is significant not only to them but to many members of Arab and Muslim communities. That includes members of my staff who have been asked to remove their keffiyehs in order to come to work. This is unacceptable.”
Stiles added that House of Commons and other provincial legislatures allow the wearing of keffiyehs in their chambers and the ban makes Ontario an “outlier.”
Suppression of cultural symbols part of genocide: MPP
Jama said on X that the ban is “unsurprising” but “nonetheless concerning” in a country that has a legacy of colonialism. “Part of committing genocide is the forceful suppression of cultural identity and cultural symbols,” she said in part.
“Seeing those in power in this country at all levels of government, from federal all the way down to school boards, aid Israel’s colonial regime with these tactics in the oppression of Palestinian people proves that reconciliation is nothing but a word when spoken by state powers,” she said.
Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, said on X that it is “deeply ironic” on that keffiyehs were banned in the Ontario legislature on the 42nd anniversary of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“This is wrong and dangerous as we have already seen violence and exclusion impact Canadians, including Muslims of Palestinian descent, who choose to wear this traditional Palestinian clothing,” Elghawaby said.
Arnott said the keffiyeh was not considered a “form of protest” in the legislature prior to statements and debates that happened in the House last fall.
“These items are not absolutes and are not judged in a vacuum,” he said.
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Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
The policy change would remove the current donor screening criteria, allowing men who have sex with men to legally donate sperm for the first time in more than 30 years, as part of the anonymous donation process.
This update comes after CTV News first reported last year that a gay man was taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of the policy on the basis that it violates the right to equality in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
According to an email Health Canada sent stakeholders informing them of the upcoming amendments to the federal directive, “sperm donors will instead be asked gender-neutral, sexual behaviour-based donor screening questions,” more in-line with the 2022 change made by Canadian Blood Services to its donation policy.
However, instead of entirely eradicating restrictions for gay and bisexual men, lawyer Gregory Ko – whose client, Aziz M., brought the case – cautioned that Health Canada will continue to bar donations from those who have had new or multiple partners in the last three months, based on rules regarding anal sex. CTV News has agreed to protect the full identity of Aziz M. out of concerns for his privacy.
Ko said while the update is an important milestone, his client intends to maintain his challenge against the Health Canada directive, “and the continued discrimination contained in this latest revision.”
“Based on our understanding of the science, there is no scientific justification for screening criteria that continues to discriminate on the basis of sexual activity and sexual orientation, since the testing and quarantine protocols already in place allow sperm banks to detect relevant infections and exclude such donations,” Ko said.
Currently, a Health Canada directive prohibits gay and bisexual men from donating sperm to a sperm bank for general use, unless they’ve been abstinent for three months or are donating to someone they know.
For example, it stops any gay man who is sexually active from donating, even if they are in a long-term monogamous relationship.
Under the “Safety of Sperm and Ova Regulation,” sperm banks operating in Canada must deem these prospective donors “unsuitable,” despite all donations being subject to screening, testing and a six-month quarantine before they can be used.
While the directive does not mention transgender or non-binary donors, the policy also applies to individuals who may not identify as male but would be categorized as men under the directive.
It’s a blanket policy that the Toronto man bringing the lawsuit said made him feel like a “second-class citizen,” and goes to the heart of the many barriers that exist for LGBTQ2S+ Canadians looking to have children.
When CTV News first reported on the lawsuit, Health Canada and various federal ministers said they would be “exploring” a policy change, citing the progress made on blood donation rules.
The update comes following “the consultations held in August 2023 and January 2024,” according to Health Canada.
This is a breaking news story, more to come…
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