Councillor Aaron Paquette
@AaronWardDene
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#YEG City Councillor for Ward Dene. A loud and proud voice for the Northeast. Building Better, Together. #YEGCC
Edmonton, Alberta
Joined April 2017
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Ok, I wasn’t planning on doing any emotional labour today, & talking about the issues around the policies that attempted to literally destroy my family are labour.
But if any day is a teachable moment this is it.
Ready for the horror show?
This is a🧵
#Reconciliation
#cdnpoli
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Who else was part of the “Laurentien elite” every September? :)
#AutumnWinds
#BackToSchool
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Bill 20 is serious.
It is a dismantling of municipal authority.
Elections and local democracies are being undermined by the province with zero forethought regarding the dangerous consequences down the road.
Or maybe it is, and that is an even more deeply troubling thought.
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Worried that
#COVIDalberta
closures indicate something very bad?
Fact is, these are moves that should leave us optimistic.
We’re protecting our communities & giving space to our doctors & nurses so they are not overwhelmed.
We are also minimizing long term effects.
#yegcc
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I’m 100% convinced that a certain politician who keeps telling us what “real Albertans” want doesn’t understand Albertans at all.
That sad soul doesn’t understand our deep love of land, of community, & our ethics of service & fairness.
We’re blunt, funny, practical, & kind.
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Bill 20 does not need to be amended.
It needs to be shredded.
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Bend the knee or be fired?
Is this democracy?
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A province can adequately fund or not fund their municipalities and that is 100% allowable.
Are there consequences to playing games with cities? Absolutely.
Edmonton & Calgary account for over 70% of the economic activity in Alberta.
Don’t maintain and the car will stall.
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More than half the children in care in Canada are Indigenous despite making up a percentage of the Canadian population.
Residential School never stopped - it turned into Child Services.
It turned into Incarceration
It turned into addiction to hide the pain
It turned into now
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@ctvedmonton
Starting in 2019 the province began decreasing funds allocated for:
Mental Health
Addictions
Housing
Now we have problems in our streets directly related to:
Mental Health
Addictions
Housing
I wonder if there is a painfully obvious 1:1 correlation and causation here. 🤔
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I’m not even going to get into the medical experimentation. It’s still raw. My mom was given an involuntary hysterectomy and these words were directly spoken to her:
“No more brown babies for you.”
She was white, friends. She dared love an Indigenous man.
These things are here
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So when later Europeans came to colonize they marvelled at the abundance of the forests and fields, believing in some cases that God had prepared a paradise for them.
No, that was the work of millennia by the people who knew and expertly managed ecosystems with a light touch.
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I see some concern about the cost of $170m for implementing bike lane infrastructure. Additionally, I see “what about the homeless?” I’ll get to that as well.
🧵 that I will add to over time:
First, a little perspective:
The 50st overpass is $179 million dollars.
#yegcc
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A story we had was the time my dad’s grandfather tried to save his kids from Residential School>
The RECEIPT was miraculously found tucked away in an old wood shack several years ago. HERE IT IS:
#Reconciliation
#cdnpoli
#ableg
#yegcc
#yyycc
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You can change things by demanding loving change.
Are we allowed to say loving in politics? If not, I guess I’m just wild.
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If you are cold and in need, Edmonton Transit is there for you in this extreme weather.
If you are in a position of having no means to pay a fare this will not be held against you - in fact you may be offered supports.
If you are cold, get on, get warm, stay safe.
#yeg
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I will be drawing from “21 Things You Didn’t Know About The Indian Act” - a book so good we published Indigenous authors are all jealous we didn’t write it first, ha.
So here we go, The Greatest Hits of Indigenous Genocide in Canada (or why things are the way they are today).
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Where would YOU be if generation after generation of your family and community had been systematically and actively oppressed? If your government tried to eradicate your identity? If they created policy that isolated and abused you and you had to allow them to take your babies?
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There is a supreme danger in elected officials who know the price of everything but the value of nothing.
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This effectively striped women and Matriarchs of their power to negotiate or have a meaningful say about their communities both locally & in context of govt relations. Women were traditionally v/ politically prominent in most Northern American Nations. Their voices were silenced.
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Interesting how every public sector under Alberta provincial government legislation is struggling with grave financial challenges right now.
During a surplus.
🤔
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In fact, Indigenous women were stripped of their rights of personhood (thanks Europe) and if they married a white man they “lost” their Indian Status. Where did it go? Into the nothingness of policy.
They also couldn’t vote in Canada until the 1960s. My Grandmother couldn’t vote
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The best possible way for a City to “clean up downtown” (by which folks mean get rid of the homeless) is to have a PROVINCIAL govt willing to support mental health, housing, & addictions treatment.
Done.
The sobering part? It’s their RESPONSIBILITY.
We see the failure.
#yegcc
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What of an entire nation was enriched to become one of the most prosperous countries on earth, but you & your family, who were the inheritors of this land, who’s history stretched back tens of thousand so years were a waste?
A waste of time, money, sympathy, effort or thought?
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Can you imagine. Knowing your children were being abused, tortured, told their culture and customs were evil, sexually assaulted, and on and on, and the choice you have is:
Die of starvation
Or let them live knowing what was happening to them?
Knowing it happened to you??
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He was denied education. He was such a talent that he had the opportunity as a young man for post secondary schooling in France. The Indian Agent said no.
That is in our lifetimes.
As was Residential School. They only ever show you the black and white photos for some reason.
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And so Indigenous people were intentionally isolated.
From their culture
From the families
From economic participation
From social participation
From Dignity
From health
From recourse
On and on.
Tell me what happens to communities that face these things.
What we see today.
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Labour movements stopped child labour, gave us weekends, workers rights, equity, etc. When unions were stronger, we all had far more wealth.
They raised the bar so even ppl not in unions enjoy these benefits.
It’s a nightmare for the Monopoly Man, but it’s great for you & me.
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Which brings us to Canada and the Indian Act.
I’ll avoid the process of how it came to be (you can find that out).
The important thing is that the Indian Act was designed to marginalize & disappear Indigenous people through destruction of culture, identity, means, and/or life.
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Where would YOU be if your history & your story were hidden?
If the communities you were banned from witnessed your brokenness & dysfunction and decided your ENTIRE RACE was garbage, were criminals, were dirty, and not even human?
What if some ppl thought it was ok to kill you?
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You know how often I get upset about others’ identities?
Zero.
Zero times.
In our direct family we have queer, 2-spirit, trans. Etc.
For us this is not a hot topic conversation. It’s just the way biology expresses itself.
Respect and dignity takes zero effort.
🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
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A note: there were hundreds of nations and therefore hundreds of cultures, languages, practices, and traditions. Each had their own unique characteristics and customs. There was diversity, extended, pan American trade routes, and advanced, complex farming, forest management, etc.
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We are where we are at due to govt policy.
Not just the active policy, the pernicious policy. The refusal to take responsibility.
Why are the majority of homeless, incarcerated, addicted, traumatized, and apprehended people and children Indigenous?
It’s not that hard to see.
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First, some background. Early journal entries of European contact with Indigenous peoples described them as such:
(ALT text enabled)
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Look, my father and his siblings were taken from their home after my mosum (grandfather) (a WWII Indigenous veteran) died. The social worker checked up on her and found the place dirty. My Kokomo was in the midst of grief. And they stole her children.
This is here with us today
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I had the honour of curating a few major gallery shows & including Alex’s work.
Some say he was the Picasso of our times.
I reject that.
He was the mighty Janvier of our times.
Alex, and his soft but powerful voice will be missed.
#RIPAlexJanvier
#AlexJanvier
#IndianGroupof7
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More cuts from the province. More expenses downloaded onto the people.
Are folks seeing this yet?
We were informed today that the Government of Alberta is discontinuing funding their portion of the Low Income Transit Pass program in Edmonton and Calgary.
Each month, this program is accessed by over 25,000 low-income Edmontonians, Students, and Seniors who require public
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Another aspect of the Indian Act:
It was illegal or forbidden to engage in cultural practices, wear regalia, speak the language, hire a lawyer, or organize.
If you were found to be holding a cultural ceremony, believe it or not. Jail.
Potlatch, Sundance, etc
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So Indigenous people didn’t have problematic social issues, they had problematic enforced policy issues.
One of the first things that happened was the destruction of independent, traditional governance systems.
instead the European model of a Chief and Council was imposed.
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European Disease ravaged populations and collapsed empires, cities, communities, and families. Imagine you wake up in your City and 90% of the people were gone. It just wouldn’t function anymore. That was accidental, but catastrophic.
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By this time the Treaties had been signed and of course, mostly betrayed.
So the reservation was in full effect.
You couldn’t even LEAVE the reservation without permission from an Indian Agent & often the permission was denied.
The artist Alex Janvier, alive today, was denied
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So…without the means to hunt or farm, hunger encroached.
Hunger is a powerful tool.
And so the govt brought in rations. Not a lot. Just enough to survive. And if you misbehaved, you were denied rations. They used hunger to ensure submission.
This is very personal in my family
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It makes no moral or fiscal sense to increase suffering for the poor, disabled, elderly, or those suffering long term injury or mental illness.
When we invest in these areas, we get massive savings returns.
If the goal is chaos, cut funding in these areas & watch what happens.
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These are important and deeply meaningful ceremonies.
It was also a time for sharing.
There are ‘giveaways’ at these vents, and traditionally it was a time for those who had accumulated a lot to ceremonially share with those who had little. It was community care.
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That’s just the start. It gets so much worse, & i think I’ve been avoiding it.
We of course know about the horrors of Residential Schools, but what of the enforced starvation?
Enforced Starvation? Yes.
The govt thought it a grand idea to transition Indigenous ppl into farmers.
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You may be fine. You may contract
#coronavirus
& be among the demographic that experiences minor symptoms. You may think all the concern is silly.
This is not about you.
This is about keeping your community safe and keeping our systems working.
#FlattenTheCurve
#CompoundEffect
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“But didn’t they war? They weren’t all peaceful forest sprites”
Yup. They warred. and sometimes the refinement of war became counting coup, sometimes it was marked by severity. But generally, the move was to toward peace, (the Iroquois Confedracy, the Cree Confrederacy).
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Premier, this is unbecoming, divisive and low.
Please act in keeping with the office you hold and stop targeting private citizens regardless of your personal hurt feelings.
There are bigger targets to solve, like homelessness, addiction, and mental health supports.
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Can you afford to give $5k/yr to multi muni campaigns?
Or self finance $10k/yr for your own?
I’m trying to give these new election rules a fair shake but so far I’m just shaking my head.
Elections should be about the depth of your ideas, not the depth of your pockets.
#yegcc
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I was at City Hall when gunshots rang out. The fear and confusion were palpable. Staff, who should feel safe at work, were deeply affected. That night, my youngest son slept with a hammer under his pillow—to regain his own sense of power, feel safe again.
🧵
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No city in Canada is as amazing as Edmonton in summer.
(We were all thinking it)
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Can we talk about menstrual products as an inequitable health necessity?
At what point do we see this need as a basic like soap or toilet paper?
Menstrual products should be free. Otherwise it’s basically an unfair tax for being a woman.
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Hard to subjugate when people are able to help themselves to make their community strong.
What’s another tool?
RELOCATION
If a municipality felt a reserve was too close to them for comfort, they would relocate the entire community away. It’s why so many reserves are isolated.
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Everyone gave to the takeaway, even if you had next to nothing. It was a mark of pride for those who had done well to sometimes even give everything.
And at the end of the ceremony, all the gifts were distributed to the people.
You can see how this could not be allowed.
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We’ve lost a lot of local media lately & that’s really bad for the public.
Less fact checking.
Less informed analysis.
Less voices.
The fewer voices there are, the stronger the “old boys club” is.
Less open conversation means the folks with money & influence take the stage.
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Transit is a service.
Not a business.
It returns 3x more economic value than we spend on it.
If transit ended tomorrow there would be economic disaster.
The way we fund Police & Roads should be the way we fund & perceive transit.
Safe, secure, clean, efficient, fully funded.
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Indigenous people do not have social issues, they have policy issues.
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So farmers. The govt decided that Indigenous ppl had to “develop” from the Stone Age to the modern age the way Europeans had done, so they gave them substandard, outdated tools to farm with.
And of course, they had the worst land.
But guess what? They produced. And well! But…
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To put this in perspective, this is the price tag for about 2 overpasses - and media doesn’t report on it because it’s a part of transportation infrastructure. We’re allocating a small percentage of infra budget to increasing safe mobility & attracting business investment.
#yegcc
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Saddened to hear of the Church burning in Morinville. Many Metis & Indigenous people are worshippers and while there is anger and pain among many people in all our communities, there is also a need for genuine understanding of how complex our history & current events truly are.
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Sprawl costs us all.
If we can’t afford to service new communities, we can’t afford to build them.
Unchecked low density growth spreads city dollars so thin that either costs go up or service goes down.
Time for a responsible re-think on how we grow.
#yeg
#yegcc
#solutions
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In order to remove competition in the market for immigrant farmers, the Indigenous crops were often left to rot. The tools wore out & were not replaced. The Indian Agents wouldn’t allow the indigenous ppl leave to go buy new tools if they were lucky enough to have any $ left.
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Big changes to the way
@CityofEdmonton
is handling our response to
#COVID19
:
👉Fare-free transit, rear door entry only
👉No parking fees across city lots
👉Tax and utility bill deferrals
👉Most vulnerable protected in Expo Centre
Info here:
#yegcc
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It is essential that the public can trust an equal & equitable administration of enforcement across the board. Without it even folks who agree with unequal actions in the moment can be on the other end of it in the future.
I will wait to hear more but so far, not a good look.
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There are the generations rising, and my friends, I almost cry as I write this. They are so beautiful, and they are taking their place in this world. They are staking their place. And they are wonderful.
And there are allies. Like you.
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(Sorry for the typos, I was trying to get this out so fast I didn’t give any of these tweets a second glance. I don’t have a Kokomo, but autocorrect obviously has no understanding of “kokum” (grandmother).
Although if I had a Kokomo, you’d all be invited.
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A
#lockdown
without proper supports & planning would be reckless & damaging.
A lockdown WITH a plan & supports, as we have seen in MANY other places, is effective & saves both people & the economy.
This is not a theoretical debate.
It’s proven.
And it’s unlikely in Alberta.
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Some personal notes. There’s more. Lord, there is so much more. But I think that’s enough for today.
You’ll note I didn’t include my personal experiences. Maybe one day, but not now. I hope you understand.
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Today I asked
#yegcc
to declare a
#climateemergency
. We did.
It coordinates worldwide efforts with a shared language & voice.
My constituents asked for this & it gives them an accountable govt, it attracts investment & jobs, and gives us a seat at the global economic table.
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Should masks indoors be mandatory? For the sake of hospital capacity & keeping the economy open, yes.
Will folks who don’t think COVID is an issue be upset? Bet on it.
I’d rather err on the side of caution here (like most others).
#yegcc
will likely have the debate soon.
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Here is the challenge and the sorrow.
And for Indigenous people it is with us every day of our lives.
It is with our children.
How do you heal when the world in which you live continues to demean and reject you?
We do it anyway. And it isn’t easy.
We find community.
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The lack of leadership on
#COVID19AB
is troubling.
Trying to stay in my governance lane but
#yegcc
is being pressured pick up the pieces without the proper tools.
Ward 4 residents are calling on the province to take personal responsibility & put forward a sensible plan.
#ableg
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The act of terrorism we are witnessing in
#america
should be a concern to us all.
Once that door opens, if it’s not shut swift & hard, stays open and other groups are emboldened to act out their own violence.
We need a serious conversation about lying, rage stoking politicians.
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“Are cyclists going to pay for this?”
Yes, by cycling. Bike lanes are not just for bikes either. People walk in them when businesses or homes don’t shovel their walk. Seniors, scooters, ppl/ mobility aids use them, etc.
It’s a safe pathway.
If walking costs you $1, we all pay $0.01. If biking costs you $1, we all pay $0.08. If bussing costs you $1, we all pay $1.50. If driving costs you $1, we all pay $9.20. Via
@thediscourse
study.
This isn’t just about choice. It’s about who pays for your choice.
#citymakingmath
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Not everyone is lucky enough to find community. Indigenous peoples have been shattered and scattered.
But there is a lot of hope and there are a lot of heroes.
There are the unknown Elders who through the generations kept our knowledge secretly and quietly shared it.
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And all the municipalities who are owed those taxes end up having to raise property taxes on residents and so local Councils get all the blame for the increase.
The Alberta government plans to relax a rule that requires energy companies seeking to buy viable wells from bankruptcy proceedings to first pay all the failed producer’s outstanding taxes.
READ MORE:
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Who would you be and would you be okay?
What would it take to heal from hundreds of years of generational pain?
Could you do it?
HOW would you do it?
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There are the slow changes that allowed us to breathe and made it possible for us to teach our kids to dream, something many of us never dared to do.
There is the resiliency of our peoples and the deep ability to laugh & find humour even in the darkest times & darkest places.
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The fine for not paying a transit ticket is 2.5 X more than a parking ticket. I am not fine with that.
#TransitOverhaul
#yeg
#yegcc
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Remember when the province demanded a Safety Plan from Edmonton last summer thinking it was going to be some big gotcha moment? A deadline of 2 weeks.
Well we have been working on these issues for YEARS, so when it was easily delivered we didn’t hear another peep.
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