The Topic: Looting and the illegal sale of antiquities from Syria and Iraq to finance militant operations.

What’s New: The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) warned its officers that looted antiquities from Syria and Iraq are being trafficked worldwide. The officers were told that they have the authority to detain suspected cultural properties from Syria and Iraq.

Why It’s Important: According to an intelligence brief from the spring of 2015, militant organizations like the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant (ISIL), the Free Syrian Army and al Qaeda are smuggling Syrian and Iraqi antiquities around the world—including to places in Europe and North America—and are selling them for profit.

The intelligence brief was obtained from the CBSA as a previously requested document under the federal Access to Information Act. It highlights the fact that profits from illegal antiquity sales could fund weapons and ammunitions for militant organizations.

While the smuggling and sale of antiquities has been happening for decades, the brief says that “the scale of the reported looting of antiquities from museums, libraries, archives and archaeological sites in Iraq and Syria has surpassed illicit operations in previous years.”

According to the document, smugglers often move the artifacts into Europe using routes from either Turkey, Lebanon, Israel or Gulf states. The artifacts typically have false accreditation papers stating they are from the Holy Land rather than Syria or Iraq.

When it comes to Canada, the brief sites the Cultural Property Export and Import Act, which prohibits illegally exported Syrian and Iraqi artifacts from entering the country.

The brief contains two links to lists of items at risk from Syria and Iraq. The lists come from the International Council of Museums (ICOM). They are detailed with photographs and descriptions of items that could be stolen and sold illegally, such as small sculptures, coins, jewellery and stone tablets with ancient writing on them.

What the government says: When asked if any artifacts have been seized recently in Canada, CBSA spokesperson, Nicholas Dorion, said in an e-mail response that the CBSA detains artifacts on behalf of Canadian Heritage. He said any information on artifacts that have been seized would be from them.

Canadian Heritage has yet to respond to questions about the matter.

“CBSA officers are skilled in examination techniques,” said Dorion. “And [they] use proven indicators such as advanced information, innovative technology, and training to prevent, intercept and apprehend individuals who attempt to smuggle cultural properties into Canada,”

What Others Say: John Osborne, a professor of art history at Carleton University says that it is normal for the CBSA to be alerting its officers about these stolen antiquities. Osborne has been asked by the CBSA to authenticate seized antiquities before.

“Anytime there’s a breakdown of civil order, you see an increase in looting activity,” says Osborne.

He says that individuals that are buying these antiquities are typically private collectors since Museums are very strict about accepting gifts or buying pieces if their origins cannot be explicitly traced.

Dr. Clemens Reichel, a curator at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and specialist in Near Eastern archaeology says that currently, it is hard to tell what is missing from Syria since there aren’t any individuals on the ground there who can keep track of things.

“It’s a dark cess pool,” says Reichel about Syria and the black market. “You don’t know what’s being bought all over the world.”

However, Reichel does not think Canada has a major market for smugglers since many of them are going to places like Europe, Jordan and Israel instead.

What’s next: Reichel says that there have been discussions at the ROM and at a national level in regards to what would happen to any artifacts that are seized here.

“Customs would hold on to the piece,” says Reichel. “But if it becomes a storage issue, like for items that need temperature control, the option would be for national museums to become temporary custodians of the piece.”

Reichel says that ideally, the items will be sent back to their country of origin once it is safe for them to return.

Supplementary Documents:

Click here for documentation of my completed Access to Information and Freedom of Information requests.

Click here for the documentation used in this story.

Residents of Sandy Hill are packing their bags according to recent census results.

The 2016 census shows that a large portion of Sandy Hill has experienced close to a 10 per cent decrease in population in the last five years. The decrease is mainly seen in the area stretching from Rideau Street in the North to Mann Avenue in the south and King Edward Avenue in the West to Goulburn Avenue in the East.

Map of Population Changes in Ottawa between 2011 and 2016 according to Census data.

Long-time residents, young professionals and families in the area are leaving for several reasons such as the increase in large developments, lack of housing regulation and of course—students.

Vice president of community association Action Sandy Hill, Robert Forbes, blames this decrease on poor neighbourhood planning.

“What we’ve seen is an increased amount of conversion of family homes into express-built student housing,” says Forbes. “People who live next door are losing light and are concerned about noise. There also aren’t adequate provisions for preserving garbage.”

According to Forbes, developers have been buying old homes and converting them into what are being called “bunk houses.” These bunk houses are different than rooming houses because they are unlicensed, are not regularly inspected and are typically filled to maximum capacity in order to generate more profit.

The developments are driving up real estate prices, according to Forbes, making it difficult for young professionals to buy homes in Sandy Hill. Forbes says that developers in the area are quite predatory and that the higher real estate values offer residents an incentive to sell.

Impact on Landlords

Neil Thornton is a building manager for an apartment complex in Sandy Hill. While units in his building are rented out by individual owners, he says some of the landlords have had trouble renting to a specific demographic.

“Sometimes they haven’t been able to rent to professionals,” says Thornton. “You can always rent to students because it’s so close to the university.”

Thornton says that he recognizes the economics of bunker houses but finds them to be ugly. Forbes also noted that he knows other individuals that are having trouble renting to non-students.

Community Impact

Spouses Lise Labelle and Pierrick Le Monnier have been living in Sandy Hill for more than 20 years and have dubbed themselves “hard-core Sandy Hillers.” They say that there has always been a mixture of students and professionals living in the neighbourhood and that they love where they live.

However, they too have noticed the large developments popping up. They say that they think people are seeing a lack of building regulation in the area and are discouraged from living here. Labelle refers to the city, developers and the Ontario Municipal Board as “the beast.”

“There doesn’t seem to be any regulation,” says Labelle. “How come the city lets this happen? It’s a question of money…Mathieu Fleury can’t do anything against the beast.”

City Councillor for Rideau-Vanier, Mathieu Fleury, says that he is working with the city to tackle the issue of bunker houses. A moratorium on building any new developments was put in place so that the city could work out a new strategy. Fleury and the city put together new bylaws and regulations for buildings to maintain property standards such as front lawn and garbage disposal maintenance. New provisions have also been put in place restricting major changes to heritage homes.

“We want to maintain the character of the neighbourhood,” says Fleury.

Both Labelle and her husband as well as Thornton and his wife know families that have left the neighbourhood because they could not handle the combination of loud students and rapid development.

“We have nothing against students,” says Labelle. “But I’m hoping some new regulations will come in for the buildings.”

A Montreal-based tea company’s recent quarterly report shows that its cost of sales increased by about one third compared to last year, but they’re still making some money, despite the higher cost of doing business.

The specialty tea company, DAVIDsTea, made around $44 million in sales during its third quarter of 2016. This is about a 21 per cent increase from its third quarter sales in 2015.

The company’s cost of sales, however, increased by 29 per cent to $23 million from $18 million in 2015.

Christopher Lackey is an analyst, investor and founder of Moneybear.ca. He believes that the company’s problems lie in the U.S. According to Lackey, the brand has not caught on the same way it has in Canada, especially due to its “niche” market nature.

Lackey says the U.S. expansion is costing the company money without making much back. He also says the tea store has more competition in the U.S. with the already established presence of Starbucks-owned Teavana stores.

“It’s not like Tim Hortons or McDonalds where you can put one anywhere,” said Lackey as he noted the inconvenience of having to spend time in a retail store to purchase a cup of tea.

In a Globe and Mail article, DAVIDsTEA’s recently departed CEO Sylvain Toutant is quoted saying that “[they] have found that [their] U.S. customers prefer to shop quickly and efficiently,” sparking the opening of a prototype store with a self-serve model in Boston.

The company’s third quarter analysis states plans to grow sales numbers by adding new stores and achieving more sales on the DAVIDsTEA website.

The company has plans to construct, lease and open 25 new stores in Canada and 15 new stores in the U.S. as well as renovate several stores. Additionally, management hopes more sales will come from places such as hotels, restaurants, and offices and workplace locations.

The problem is that in order to achieve these higher sales numbers, the company has to spend more, according to Lackey.

“They have not been able to turn a profit which is why you can buy the stock now for about a quarter of what it was when they first went public,” said Lackey.

As of the end of October, DAVIDsTea opened 42 new stores in the span of one year. The company’s reported net loss in its third quarter increased to $4.96 million from $871,000 in 2015.

AN UNKNOWN FUTURE

The recent resignation of DAVIDsTEA’s CEO Sylvain Toutant also puts the company in unsteady waters as it enters a new fiscal year, according to Lackey. David Segal—the company’s co-founder, former CEO, namesake and brand ambassador—resigned in 2016 as well.

An interim CEO, Christine Bullen, has taken charge as Toutant departed on January 28. When asked about where the company might be headed, a spokesperson replied through e-mail stating that it is in a “quiet period” until fourth quarter results are released and therefore cannot comment or answer any questions.

Lackey believes Bullen is an “unknown quantity” who could take the company in either direction. He said that the company’s handling has been quite amateurish up until now but if Bullen knows what she’s doing, she may be able to turn things around.

If you’re willing to take a risk, however, it may be a good time to invest.

“There’s maximum pessimism and no hope right now,” said Lackey. “It’s high risk and high reward.”

Back in the spring, the company was turning profit and stocks were up. If the company manages to get back to those numbers, it could be rewarding, according to Lackey.

DAVIDsTea might be able to turn things around just yet.

David’s Tea Stock Prices by shalumehta on TradingView.com