Hard numbers: Ontario alcoholics strike looms, scientists predict “megathrust” site, arrests on the Canadian-American border are increasing rapidly, comparison of pardons for cannabis use, schools in LA consider banning cell phones

685: Employees of 685 liquor stores operated by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario could strike on July 5, as their union has not yet negotiated a new collective agreement with the government agency. The union representing the store employees is demanding better job protection after the provincial government decided to allow Convenience stores and grocery stores will be allowed to sell alcohol starting in the fall.

900: Predicting earthquakes is, of course, a tricky business – but scientists think now that the next big earthquake in the north could originate from a 900-kilometer-long fault line off the west coast of Canada. Tectonic dramas in the Cascadia subduction zone – as it is known among experts – could trigger two extremely destructive events simultaneously: a “megathrust earthquake” and a huge tsunami.

5,600: Between January and April arrested More than 5,600 undocumented migrants are attempting to enter the United States through Canada. That’s already more than the totals for 2021 and 2022 combined. Human smuggling networks, demanding thousands of dollars per person, are particularly active at the Canadian border with New York.

845: In the five years since Canada introduced a program to pardon people convicted of marijuana offenses, only 1,300 people have been pardoned. I applied itand only 845 were granted. Critics say the program is difficult to administer and the requirement to have no other recent crimes is a hindrance. The challenges of the Canadian program were highlighted this week when the governor of the US state of Maryland pardoned 175,000 cannabis offenders in one fell swoop.

429,000: The Los Angeles School District, responsible for over 429,000 young mindsvoted on Tuesday to allow cellphone and social media use during school hours. The announcement by the country’s second-largest school district (after New York) coincided this week with the U.S. Surgeon General’s call for social media platforms to be given cigarette-style warnings because he believes there is a mental health emergency among young people. The LA school system has 120 days to develop a policy which will come into force in January 2025.