The Glone and Mail - 01.08.2019

A8 O THEGLOBEANDMAIL| THURSDAY,AUGUST1,

Thousands of graduating British
Columbia students now have the
accurate results of their provin-
cial English exams after the B.C.
Ministry of Education scrambled
to fix a systems error that affect-
ed transcripts in several courses.
Students say the error meant
the province posted exam grades
that were drastically lower than
what they should have been.
Many students were incorrectly
listed as having failed English, a
class that is required for universi-
ty entrance, and some worried
their postsecondary acceptances
and scholarships would be af-
fected.
Marks for two French classes,
and two other language classes,
were also affected. About 32,
students took the exams.
Education Minister Rob Flem-
ing said in a statement that min-
istry staff worked around the
clock to identify and fix the mis-
take, which he said was made
through human error when data
were being transferred between
systems.
“I am confident that students
and families can know their
grades are correct,” Mr. Fleming
says in the statement.
“I know this has caused anx-
iety for students and their fam-
ilies, and I want to assure them
that this will not have an impact
on admission to colleges and
universities.”
The ministry acknowledged
Tuesday that there was an issue
with some exam results, includ-

ing the Grade 12 English exam.

That exam is worth 40 per cent

of students’ final grades, and is

essential for students’ gradua-

tion and applications for univer-

sities.

The ministry said Tuesday

that because of an “anomaly” in

the exam results, it had removed

all the results and was conduct-

ing a review. It also said it was

working with Canadian and U.S.

universities to alert them to the

problem.

But despite the fix, some stu-

dents were left fuming. They said

they were not alerted to the ab-

normal scores until media cov-

erage.

“I did not receive any informa-

tion from theB.C. government

that the score was wrong until

yesterday [Tuesday],” said Arden

Grew, who found out his “abnor-

mally low” marks last Saturday

during his vacation in Switzer-

land.

The Victoria graduate said the

only information he had that the

score was probably inaccurate

was from his peers and his En-

glish teacher.

“Nothing at all from the min-

istry,” he wrote in an e-mail.

Mr. Grew said his failing mark

prompted worry about his uni-

versity acceptance and ultimate-

ly his future.

“My heart beat rose tremen-

dously when I saw that I had on-

ly received a 22% on the exam,

putting me ataCoverall in the

course,” he said. “I instantly be-

gan thinking about how my

scholarship to UVic would be re-

scinded or even my application.”

Michael Sekatchev, who at-

tended Sir Winston Churchill

Secondary School in Vancouver,

saw the incorrect exam results

last Friday. He said both his En-

glish and French provincial ex-

am results showed “significant

discrepancies” from his high-

school averages.

Mr. Sekatchev said he and his

family were scared after seeing

the marks, and were concerned

about his conditional offer from

University of British Columbia.

He added he received infor-

mation Monday afternoon that

the ministry was looking into an

issue, but even then, neither his

peers nor he knew what exactly

the issue was.

Last Saturday, some con-

cerned students created a chat

group on Facebook called “June

Provincial Victims.” So far, the

group consists of about 130 peo-

ple, mostly students with condi-

tional offers from UBC.

B.C. Ombudsperson Jay

Chalke said on Wednesday that

he is monitoring the ministry’s

response to the exam tabulation

error, and urges the ministry to

identify and remedy any individ-

ual affects.

“I am concerned about this er-

ror and the impact it may have

on students across B.C.,” Mr.

Chalke said.

“This is a very stressful time

for students as they make future

education plans. ... Students and

parents should be pro-actively

informed about what they can

do if they believe they have been

adversely affected.”

Catherine Newell Kelly, regis-

trar at the University of Water-

loo, said the all Ontario universi-

ties have been informed that

there is an issue with final grades

for students in British Columbia.

“We want to make sure that

B.C. students get a fair assess-

ment for entry to Waterloo’s pro-

grams, so we will not assess final

conditions until the government

gives us their correct grades,” she

said.

B.C.saysithasfixedexam-markingerror

Province’sEducation

Ministerrevealsthat

mishandleddatacaused

thefalselylowgrades

XIAOXUVANCOUVER

MichaelSekatchev,seeninVancouveronWednesday,saysheandhisfamilywerescaredafterseeinghis

marksandwereworriedabouthisconditionalofferfromUBC.JIMMYJEONG/THEGLOBEANDMAIL

CALGARYTraffic was blocked and

power was knocked out in some

areas when more than a dozen

cars in a Canadian National

Railway train derailed in Calgary.

CN says in a statement that 14

cars left the tracks early Tuesday

evening outside of its Sarcee

Yard in the city’s northeast.

Police say about a dozen

empty cars ended up on their

sides, but there are no reports of

injuries.

Crews from the utility compa-

ny Enmax were called in to

repair power lines that were

pulled down by the accident.

CN says no dangerous goods

were involved and there was no

threat to the public.

The company says three

crossings were blocked immedi-

ately after the derailment and

police indicated road closings

would be in place for several

hours.THECANADIANPRESS

TRAFFICBLOCKED,POWER

CUTASCNFREIGHTTRAIN

DERAILSINCALGARY

BEIJINGChina will stop issuing

individual travel permits for

Taiwan to people in 47 mainland

cities from Aug. 1, its culture and

tourism ministry said on

Wednesday, citing the state of

ties with the self-ruled island,

but gave no details.

People from the mainland

need permission to travel to

what Beijing regards as a rene-

gade province. Only travellers

from 47 cities, such as Beijing,

Shanghai and Xiamen, were

allowed to visit Taiwan inde-

pendently.

Mainland travellers with

permits issued before Thursday

can follow the original itinerary,

but after that date tourists can

only go in groups, said China

International Travel Service

(CITS), a major mainland tour

operator.

“We’re aware of the suspen-

sion,” said another operator,

Shanghai Spring International

Travel Service. “Today is the last

day to apply for the permit as

individuals.”

Travellers who had booked

individual trips but had yet to

obtain permits could consider

group travel, Chinese online

travel agency Ctrip said.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs

Council expressed its stern

protest and condemnation of

the move to China.

“The mainland authorities

unilaterally destroyed the agree-

ment without communication

with our side,” the panel said in

a statement.REUTERS

CHINATOSUSPEND

INDIVIDUALTOURISM

PERMITSTOTAIWAN

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is
exposing the public to unnecessary risk by
allowing deer and elk meat from farms af-
fectedbyacontagiousdiseasetoendupon
consumers’ plates, a group of experts and
advocates say.
Chronic wasting disease or CWD, an in-
fection of the central nervous system simi-
lar to mad cow disease that is fatal to deer,
elk, reindeer and moose, was discovered
on a farm in Quebec’s Laurentians region
last August, resulting in a cull of 2,789 red
deer.
While the 11 carcasses that tested posi-
tive for the disease, as well seven others,
were destroyed, the rest were allowed to
enter the food system, including some
1,000 young animals that had not been
tested because tests aren’t sensitive
enough to detect CWD in animals under 12
months of age, according to the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency.
The news was a surprise to some ex-
perts, including Neil Cashman, a Universi-
ty of British Columbia medical professor
who specializes in neurodegenerative dis-
eases spread by prion proteins.
He said that while there’s been no docu-
mentedcaseofchronicwastingdiseasebe-
ing transmitted to humans, it can’t be
ruled out.
“If you’re supplying meat, deer meat or
elk meat or whatever from a farm in which
animals have tested positive for CWD, if
you provide it to the market for human
consumption, that’s playing with fire in
my opinion,” he said in a phone interview.
He points to a continuing study that
suggests CWD can be spread to other ani-
mals, including macaque monkeys, as well
asthecaseofmadcow,whichwasoriginal-
ly not believed to be dangerous for hu-
mans but was later linked to a rare degen-
erative brain disease called variant Creutz-
feldt-Jakob.
He said it’s even possible that doctors
might not recognize CWD at first if it did
affect a human, because it could take a dif-
ferent form.
“With all this knowledge about how wi-
ly prions are, how long they last in the en-
vironment, how resistant they are to de-
struction and degradation, it really be-
hooves us to cut down on potential expo-
sure to CWD,” he said.
Health Canada says there’s no evidence
the disease infects humans, but recom-
mends as a preventive measure that ani-
mals known to be infected with CWD
should not be consumed, and that hunters
should take precautions when handling
carcasses of deer, elk and moose.
In an e-mail, the Canadian Food Inspec-
tion Agency said that allowing the animals
from the Quebec farm to enter the food
system did not violate that position.
“The Canadian Food Inspection Agency
and Health Canada’s position is that ani-
mals and products from animals known to
be infected with CWD are prohibited from
enteringCanada’sfoodsupply,”theagency
wrote.
“Themeatthatwasreleasedintothehu-

man food chain came from animals which

are not known to be infected with CWD.”

The e-mail says that “CWD is not a

known human health or food safety risk,

and that there have been no recorded in-

stances of humans being affected by the

disease.”

Italsosaidthatitspolicyofallowingani-

mals from CWD-positive farms into the

food system only applies to red deer and

elk,whichhavelowerratesoftransmission

than other cervids.

CWD was first detected in Canada in

1996, and has since spread across parts of

Saskatchewan and Alberta. The Lauren-

tians deer farm was the first

documented case in Quebec.

Since 2014, animals from

21 CWD-infected elk herds

have been slaughtered for

consumption with the agen-

cy’s permission. The CFIA

says only adult elks that test-

ed negative were released in-

to the food chain, since there

is no market for meat from

elks under 12 months.

The agency’s position ap-

pears to have divided scien-

tists.

While some have ex-

pressed concern over what

they see as a lack of caution,

two other experts consulted

by The Canadian Press said

they see no reason to question the policy

given that there’s no proof of any risk.

Kerry Mower, a wildlife specialist with

the New Mexico Department of Game and

Fish, pointed out that humans have been

consuming CWD positive deer and elk

sinceatleastthe1960s,andhavebeencon-

suming sheep with a similar disease for

hundreds of years with no known trans-

mission.

But Kat Lanteigne, who co-founded an

organization that advocates for a safe

blood system, was outraged to learn the

animals from infected farms were being

sent to the food system. She said the feder-

al government quietly changed its policy

in 2014 to allow the practice, leaving con-

sumers and scientists unaware.

“None of the consumers in Canada

know there is this infectious prion disease,

that is the sister to mad cow, and that ani-

mals that could be infected could be end-

ing up on their barbecues and dinner

plates,” said Ms. Lanteigne, the executive

director of Bloodwatch.

In June, more than 30 people, including

Ms. Lanteigne and Prof.

Cashman, signed an open

letter sent to Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau and other se-

nior cabinet ministers, urg-

ing them to take greater ac-

tion to contain the spread of

the disease.

The letter claims that the

threat is not only to human

health but to trade and in-

vestment, saying that Nor-

way has already banned hay

or straw imports from prov-

inces where the disease is

present.

“Despite the lessons of

BSE and the dire threat

posedbyCWD,officialpolicy

still allows translocation of

live animals, products, and equipment

from cervid farms, movement of hunter

carcasses, and continued human exposure

• in violation of basic principles of science,
  public trust, and professional ethics,” they
  wrote.
  The signatories advocated for the gov-
  ernment to issue emergency directives to
  contain the spread of the disease.

THECANADIANPRESS

Meatfromdiseasedherdsallowedinfood

supplyposesrisktopublic,expertswarn

MORGANLOWRIEMONTREAL

Chronicwastingdiseasewasfoundin11deercarcasseslastAugust,butmeatfromtheherd

wasallowedtobesoldtohumansforconsumption.RYANREMIORZ/THECANADIANPRESS

Ifyou’resupplying

meat,deermeator

elkmeator

whateverfroma

farminwhich

animalshavetested

positiveforCWD...

that’splayingwith

fireinmyopinion.

NEILCASHMAN

UNIVERSITYOFBRITISH

COLUMBIAMEDICAL

PROFESSOR

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