BHP, Capricorn back startup promising cleaner lithium mining
Bloomberg News | March 1, 2022 

The Calgary-based startup also plans to raise at least $100 million in series B funding by the end of this year or early next year. (Adobe Stock Image.)

Capricorn Investment Group and BHP Group’s venture capital unit are backing a startup that says its processes make for cleaner and more efficient mining in lithium, the metal used in electric-vehicle batteries.


Summit Nanotech Corp. said in a statement that it closed on a $14 million investment round co-led by Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund and Temasek’s Xora Innovation, along with BHP Ventures. Funds will be used to help commercialize Summit’s technology.



Summit is tapping into an accelerating race among mining heavyweights and automakers to control more supplies of raw materials that are key to transitioning to low-carbon energy sources. Investors are pressing miners to ensure that battery metals including lithium, nickel and cobalt are produced ethically and in an environmentally friendly way amid a global push to reduce pollution in worldwide economies.

The Calgary-based startup also plans to raise at least $100 million in series B funding by the end of this year or early next year and has already engaged in talks with three automakers, according to Founder and Chief Executive Officer Amanda Hall.

(By Yvonne Yue Li)

Honduras to cancel environmental permits for mining, ban open pits

Reuters | February 28, 2022 

Stock image.

Environmental permits for Honduran metal and non-metal mining will be cancelled, the country’s government said in a brief statement on Monday, describing the industry as harmful and declaring it will specifically prohibit open-pit mining.


The statement from the Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, Environment and Mines added that natural areas with “high ecological value” will be preserved, without going into further detail.

“The approval of permits for extractive exploitation is cancelled due to being harmful to the state of Honduras, threatening natural resources, public health and because they limit access to water as a human right,” according to the ministry’s statement.

The energy and mining ministry did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on whether the permit cancellations will only affect new projects, or whether they will also apply to existing ones.

The announcement comes from the barely a month-old government of leftist President Xiomara Castro, who took office in January promising to pull the Central American nation “out of the abyss” caused by failed economic policies and rampant corruption.

Castro’s election manifesto released last September pledged to limit mining, prior to her victory at the polls in late November. The manifesto detailed 282 mining concessions doled out by previous governments through 2017, citing the country’s geology and mining institute.

Canada’s Aura Minerals operates an open-pit mine in western Honduras, where it has encountered stiff local opposition in part due to alleged disturbances to a Maya-Chorti indigenous cemetery.

Last year, the company suspended operations due to what it described as illegal blockades.

Aura Minerals’ San Andres mine processed more than 4.4 million tonnes of ore in 2020, producing nearly 61,000 ounces of gold, according to the company’s website.

Honduran mining export revenue from silver, zinc and lead projects in the country totalled nearly $130 million last year, according to central bank data, which did not include any revenue from gold shipments.

(By Gustavo Palencia and Kylie Madry; Editing by David Alire Garcia, Chris Reese and Kenneth Maxwell)

USA 

Most Georgians prefer clean energy over coal – study
MINING.COM Staff Writer | March 2, 2022 | 6:06 am Energy News USA Coal Uranium

Solar panels. (Image from Piqsels).

A recent survey carried out on behalf of researchers at Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia found that a majority of residents of the US state of Georgia strongly support new solar and wind power capacity over new coal-fired plants and believe the government should set a carbon emissions reduction goal.


Conducted by polling firm Dynata, the survey found that 60% of residents back the creation of a state carbon emissions reduction goal. That includes 74% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 52% of independents, and 45% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.

The poll also found that seven out of 10 Georgians support new solar power and six out of 10 back new wind power, with new hydroelectric and natural gas capacity also receiving relatively favorable marks.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the study showed that only 30% of respondents supported new coal-fired power plants.

“This survey demonstrates that many Georgians across the political spectrum are in favor of green energy solutions that will benefit the state’s environment, create new jobs, and support our economy,” Marilyn Brown, professor of sustainable systems in Georgia Tech’s School of Public Policy, said in a media statement.

Coal is the fourth most important energy source in Georgia, contributing to nearly 12% of the state’s net generation in 2020.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, most of the state’s electricity comes from natural gas, accounting for 49% of its net generation in 2020.

The southern region also exports LNG, particularly after the Elba Island liquefied natural gas import terminal added liquefication and export facilities with the capacity to export 350 million cubic feet per day. Export operations began two years ago, and more than 36 billion cubic feet were exported from Elba in 2020.

Locally, LNG was followed by nuclear power, as Georgia’s four operating nuclear reactors accounted for 27% of the net generation in the same year, while renewable energy, including hydroelectric power and small-scale solar, accounted for 12%.

GREENWASHING

After 139 years of coal mining, Peabody expands into solar

Bloomberg News | March 1, 2022 | 

Peabody’s North Antelope Rochelle Mine (NARM). 

(Image courtesy of Peabody Energy)

Peabody Energy Corp, the biggest U.S. coal producer, is expanding into clean energy.


The St. Louis-based company is forming a joint venture with Riverstone Credit Parters and Summit Partners Credit Advisors to develop utility-scale solar projects on land around retired coal mines, according to a statement Tuesday.


The move is symbolic for a company that’s been digging up the dirtiest fossil fuel since its founding in 1883. But it’s unlikely to mark a significant strategic shift. Peabody characterized the decision as a way to generate new revenue sources, but didn’t disclose how much it was investing in the effort. The company’s primary focus will continue to be coal.

“It would take a long time to turn that ship,” said Andrew Cosgrove, a mining analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. “This doesn’t move the needle, financially.”

Peabody shares gained 10% to $19.09 at 10:25 a.m. in New York.

The joint venture, R3 Renewables, is focused initially on six sites in Indiana and Illinois. It expects to develop more than 3.3 gigawatts of solar projects and 1.6 gigawatts of battery storage during the next five years.

The venture will create “additional value from our existing assets,” Chief Executive Officer Jim Grech said in Tuesday’s statement. Company representatives didn’t respond to phone calls or emails Tuesday requesting further details.

“I’m not sure how much skin is in this transaction,” BI’s Cosgrove said, suggesting that one potential scenario could see Peabody provide the land and its partners take on most of the development work.

Peabody isn’t the first coal producer to expand into solar. Hallador Energy Co. said in June plans to develop as much as 1,000 megawatts of renewable power in Indiana with Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative Inc., near a power plant that Hoosier expects to retire in 2023.

(By Will Wade)

Nutrien sees long-lasting disruption to fertilizer market from Russia’s invasion

Cecilia Jamasmie | March 2, 2022 

Nutrien will boost potash production if it sees sustained supply problems in Russia and Belarus, the world’s second- and third-largest potash producing countries after Canada.(Image courtesy of Nutrien.)

Canada’s Nutrien (TSX, NYSE: NTR), the world’s largest potash miner, sees supply shortages of fertilizer getting worse due to the ongoing and escalating Russian invasion of Ukraine, two of the world’s top producers of crops food.


Interim chief executive Ken Seitz, who took the helm in January after the sudden resignation of Mayo Schmidt, told a BMO Capital conference that Russia’s invasion could result in prolonged disruptions to the global supply of potash and nitrogen crop nutrients.

The executive said Nutrien was ready to increase potash production if it sees sustained supply problems in Russia and Belarus, the world’s second- and third-largest potash producing countries after Canada.

Nutrien has said it expects to sell as much as 14.3 million tonnes of potash this year, its most ever, and Seitz said the company plans to run its plants “flat out” as it braces for exports interruptions and plant closures from Russia.

Global spot prices for potash hit a 13-year high of around $650 per tonne in December, after a spike in crop prices and a demand recovery this year. The record price for the fertilizer was set in 2008 when supply deals were signed at around $800 per tonne.

The invasion of Ukraine is also jeopardizing Russia’s nitrogen fertilizer exports and triggering sharp price increases of oil and natural gas, a key input in nitrogen production.

Europe relies on Russia for about a quarter of its oil and more than a third of its gas, with many of those shipments flowing through pipelines crossing Ukraine.

BMO fertilizer and chemicals analyst, Joel Jackson, said the bank sees European gas prices set to remain elevated, likely leading to further plant closures and further uncertainty around Russian supply.

“This could, in our view, see Nutrien reach the high end of 10.8 million tonnes to 11.3 million tonnes 2022 nitrogen volume guidance,” Jackson wrote.

Further disruptions could leave Europe freezing in the winter and curb the continent’s electricity production, forcing energy-intensive industries such as metals smelters and fertilizer makers to slow or shut their output.
Soaring prices

Prices of both oil and gas have skyrocketed in the past week, much higher than North American levels, as European governments are looking to wean their economies off Russian gas.

Brent crude — the global benchmark for oil prices — hit $113 a barrel on Wednesday, its highest since June 2014.

Nutrien shares have climbed 54% in the past year, as global demand for fertilizer already exceeded supply prior to this week’s geopolitical crisis.

The stock was 2.15% up in pre-market trading in New York on Wednesday at $86.76 a piece, leaving Nutrien with a market capitalization of C$59.53 billion ($47 billion).

(With files from Reuters, Bloomberg)

BHP invests $79m in South America-focused Filo Mining

Cecilia Jamasmie | February 28, 2022 

The Filo del Sol project straddles the international border between Chile and Argentina. (Image courtesy of Filo Mining.)

BHP (ASX: BHP), which has been expanding its copper footprint in the past, will invest C$100 million ($79m) in Canadian junior Filo Mining (TSX: FIL), which is developing a copper-gold-silver project straddling the border between Argentina and Chile.


The Vancouver-based company said on Monday it would issue 6.27-million common shares in a private placement to BHP at C$15.95 a piece, representing a 12% premium to the 20-day volume-weighted average trading price. Filo Mining’s stock closed at C$14.30 a share on Friday.

Once the private placement is completed, which is expected to happen on or before March 11, BHP will own about 5% of Filo Mining and will be granted certain participation and top-up rights, the companies said.

The junior plans to use the funds for further exploration and development of its Filo del Sol project.

According to Lundin Mining Corp., Filo Mining’s majority owner, the project is expected to be an operation of equal size or bigger that its Candelaria mine in Chile. Chairman Lukas Lundin has said that building Filo del Sol will cost between $4 billion and $5 billion.

Filo’s president and CEO Jamie Beck said BHP’s investment was a “significant endorsement” of the company’s project, team and strategy.

Beck added that the company and BHP had also agreed to form a joint advisory committee to share expertise, exploration concepts, and discuss future project development.

Stamp on project’s potential

“We believe that while funding for exploration was never in doubt, the quality of the source of funding in this transaction, and the potential capacity of BHP to fund future development endeavors places a firm stamp on the project’s potential,” Haywood Capital Markets said in a Monday note to investors.

“We see potential project longevity spanning several decades,” the experts added.

Filo Mining, and its predecessors, have been exploring at Filo del Sol since the 1999-2000 field season. Work has been limited to the summer season, typically between November and April.

Based on the latest figures released by the company, the Filo del Sol project will have an estimated after-tax value of C$1.28 billion, with an internal rate of return of 23%.

The asset is expected to produce an annual average of 67,000 tonnes of copper, 159,000 ounces of gold and 8.65 million ounces of silver.

Charlebois: Ukraine conflict — the global agri-food industry is about to take a big hit and Canada won't be immune

Given what has already been happening around the world with supply chain issues, saying that this conflict will prompt food-price inflation is an understatement.

Author of the article:Sylvain Charlebois
Publishing date:Feb 28, 2022 

Ukraine, formerly nicknamed the 'granary of Europe,' counts broadly on its farming sector. So does the rest of the world. 

Humanity just got dealt another blow with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Only thinking of the human cost is unbearable. But the agri-food sector has already been impacted by the conflict in more ways than one.

First, Ukraine is Europe’s breadbasket, so this conflict will affect global commodity markets in a meaningful way. Wheat and corn futures are slowly reaching record levels. Ukraine is the ninth-largest producer of wheat in the world, producing slightly less than Canada yearly. Ukraine is also the fifth-largest producer of corn in the world, with 13 per cent of all world exports in corn. Agricultural activity represents about 70 per cent of the country’s land, and about 25 per cent of the world’s reserves of black soil is in Ukraine. The country has exceptional growing conditions.

But this conflict obviously includes Russia. Both countries together account for 25 per cent of global wheat exports. Barley and rye are also heavily produced in the region. All these commodities combined could compromise many agri-food companies’ access to key ingredients. The invasion has led to a ban on all commercial vessels in the inland sea of Azov, which is the main connection to the Black Sea, where Ukrainian ports are located. Almost 90 per cent of Ukrainian grain exports are transported by sea, and marine logistics in the region have been severely compromised.

Given what has been happening around the world over the last several months with supply chain issues, saying that food price inflation will stem from this conflict is an understatement. If you think Canada is immune to all of this, given our domestic agriculture production, think again. Agricultural commodities are traded on world markets. What happens in Ukraine and Russia affects us. The world, especially the agri-food world, is deeply interconnected.

Oil is now trading between $90 and $100 U.S. a barrel, which is the highest it’s been in more than six years. Russia exports about 5 million barrels of crude per day and about half of that goes to Europe. Countries are trying to penalize Vladimir Putin’s regime without disrupting Russia’s energy exports, to help the world recover from the pandemic. This is telling of how incredibly delicate the situation is, and how Putin strategically chose his moment to invade. But if energy costs haven’t been a factor with the current food inflation problem, they certainly are now. We are expecting transportation fees to be impacted within weeks, if not days.

The fertilizer market has also been affected by this conflict. The region is a significant exporter of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus fertilizers. The invasion last week increased fertilizer prices globally by more than $200 a ton overnight. This is not great news for farmers who were looking to increase yields this year due to higher prices. Fertilizers were already quite expensive before the conflict in Ukraine. Canadian farmers are likely to do well with markets, but prohibitively expensive fertilizer prices could impact agricultural output in the Northern Hemisphere, including Canada. If Mother Nature doesn’t co-operate yet again, this could be another challenging year for our farmers.

Price gouging in the industry has always been an issue, and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has notified companies already not to inflate fertilizer prices unnecessarily. It’s not a sector most consumers know about, but without the proper soil science supported by effective fertilizers, the cost of our food just wouldn’t be the same.

And make no mistake. For Russia, China is an ally. Putin is not simply seeking to mend lost Soviet territory; he is focused on restoring Russian influence. And controlling global food supply chains with China is one way to do it. Given their production, both countries combined are agriculturally influential. So western economies are being destabilized yet again. For two years, it was a virus, and now, it is a tyrant.

In essence, what this conflict will do is bring to the agri-food sector a new layer of uncertainty, at the worst possible time. And as consumers, we need to take a deep breath and hope the conflict doesn’t last long. But we have been down this awful road before, so the prospects are not great.

In the meantime, we need to stand for Ukrainians as they are the victims of evil, simply put.

Prof. Sylvain Charlebois is Senior Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University.

Ontario schools need sweeping changes to help children learn to read: Ontario Human Rights Commission

The report concluded that overwhelming scientific evidence on the best way to teach reading has been ignored and Ontario students are suffering the sometimes lifelong consequences.

Author of the article: Jacquie Miller
Publishing date:Mar 01, 2022 • 

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"If the education system is working as it should, a reading disability can be prevented for almost all students," an Ontario Human Rights Commission report stated. 

PHOTO BY IVAN PANTIC /Getty Images/iStockphoto


Ontario schools are failing to teach many students how to read, says a report from the Ontario Human Rights Commission that recommends sweeping changes to language curriculum and teacher training, and says the youngest children should be screened twice a year to pick up problems early.

The report is the culmination of a public inquiry called Right To Read begun in October 2019 that included public hearings, surveys, briefs and analysis of practices at eight sample school boards, including the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.

The report concluded that overwhelming scientific evidence on the best way to teach reading has been ignored and Ontario students are suffering the sometimes lifelong consequences.

Students who don’t master the foundational skill of reading words by sight quickly and accurately can be set up for poor academic performance, low self-esteem and mental health problems.

“Consistent with findings in the academic research, many students and parents told the inquiry about depression and anxiety, school avoidance, acting out, being bullied or victimized, self-harming, and thinking about or even attempting suicide,” said the report released Monday.

The inquiry focused on foundational early reading skills.

With the appropriate instruction, 80 to 90 per cent of students won’t need intensive help and students with reading disabilities like dyslexia who are identified early and taught properly can be helped, said the report.

“If the education system is working as it should, a reading disability can be prevented for almost all students.”

However, while there is an “enormous body of settled scientific research on how children learn to read and the most effective way to teach them,” those methods are not used in Ontario, said the report.

It recommended the Ontario Grade 1 to 8 language curriculum be replaced with an “explicit, systematic approach based on reading science” called structured literacy.

Starting in kindergarten, students should learn the sounds letters make, phonics, decoding or “sounding out” words, spelling and also practise reading words in stories to build accuracy and speed, said the report.

By about Grade 2, children should be taught word structures and patterns, like prefixes and suffixes, the report said.

In contrast, Ontario schools employ a “whole language” approach, which suggests that “by immersing children in spoken and written language, they will discover how to read,” said the report.

Following that philosophy, Ontario schools use “cueing”, which encourages students to guess or predict words using clues from the context of what they are reading or their prior knowledge, and a “balanced literacy” approach that has teachers read to students and guide them.

That approach has been discredited in “many studies, expert reviews and reports on teaching” and is ineffective for teaching a significant proportion of students to read words, said the report.

“Students most at risk for reading failure, including students with reading disabilities and many students from other (Human Rights Code)-protected groups, will not develop critical early reading skills when these approaches are used in schools.”

That cueing system should be discontinued, said the report.

“Currently, Ontario teachers are required to deliver a curriculum that is inconsistent with a science-based core curriculum that meets the right to read.”

The report recommends that all students be screened for reading using standardized evidence-based measures twice a year from kindergarten to Grade 2.

“Age four to seven is a critical window of opportunity for teaching children foundational word-reading skills and is when intervention will be most effective.”

The report offers a devastating summary of what happens now. There is no consistency among school boards, screening consists mostly of “non evidence-based” reading assessments, effective intervention typically doesn’t start until Grade 3 or later, or isn’t offered at all.

“Boards’ first response to struggling readers is often to provide more of the same ineffective reading instruction that has already failed the student, but in smaller groups or one-on-one,” said the report.

At the eight boards sampled, there were at least 16 commercial reading intervention programs in use, said the report. Only five of them were evidence-based and two of those were seldom used.

Faculties of education and professional development for teachers place little emphasis on the evidence about how reading develops and the best way to teach it, said the report.

The report recommends changes to faculty of education programs and that the Ministry of Education develop comprehensive professional development programs for teachers.

Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce responded to the report Monday by promising changes. The province will revamp the elementary language curriculum as well as Grade 9 English to align with “scientific, evidence-based approaches that emphasize direct, explicit and systematic instruction,” he said in a statement.

Ontario will end the three-cueing system for teaching reading and eliminate “all references to unscientific discover and inquiry-based learning” by September 2023, he said.

Lecce also promised a $25-million investment in reading intervention programs and professional assessments to allow school boards to immediately begin meeting the needs of struggling readers.

There may be some resistance to change, the report noted.

“The inquiry also found another barrier is that some people in the education sector are resistant to change and hold strong beliefs supporting whole language philosophies.”

Faculties of education also tend to emphasize “socio-cultural perspectives and culturally responsive pedagogy,” which are important but not a substitute for preparing teachers to teach foundational reading skills, said the report.

“This lack of a strong focus on scientifically supported early reading instruction may be harmful to many historically marginalized student populations and contradict the goal of promoting equity.”

40 trucks worth of garbage: Ottawa cleans up after the 'Freedom Convoy' clears out

The city estimates the tab for the occupation will cost Ottawa about $30-million

Author of the article: Adam Hussain, Special to National Post

Publishing date: Mar 01, 2022

A pair of boots and a Canadian flag left behind for clean-up after the Ottawa protesters cleared out. 

REUTERS/Lars Hagberg

After three weeks of Freedom Convoy protests and the invoking and revoking of the Emergencies Act, the city of Ottawa has all but returned to normal. Businesses have reopened their doors to the public, and relative peace and quiet has been restored.

The only lingering signs of the occupation in the capital are the abandoned trucks in the impound lots and barriers on the streets.

Alain Gonthier, general manager of transportation, utilities, and public works for the city of Ottawa said that all litter and debris left by the protesters was to be cleared by last weekend.

The last step, he said, “will be to remove the barriers that were used to block off streets and this work will take several days to complete.”

According to a report released by the city, Ottawa workers have cleaned up 40 cement mixer trucks worth of garbage. The trash has been collected in 16 large 25-cubic metre garbage bins. The city did ensure that all food products left behind were not sent to landfills.

All fuel brought to the city by the protestors has been collected and disposed of.

A total of 115 vehicles were towed from the protest area, according to Ottawa Police Services (OPS). Owners had seven days to retrieve them, for a cost of $1,191 for a heavy vehicle, or $516 for a light one.

Additionally, 196 arrests were made, and over 3,700 fines issued. Steve Kanellakos, Ottawa’s city manager, has stated the protests cost the city upwards of $30 million, mostly for increased police and support staff presence.

Lawyer Paul Champ, who is leading a legal team overseeing a class-action lawsuit against protest participants, pegs the total amount of wages and revenue lost because of the occupation at a minimum of $306 million. The lawsuit represents three impacted parties: city residents, Happy Goat Coffee Co. and Union Local 613, and employees who lost wages when their workplaces were shut down.

The lawsuit is targetted at every person involved with the convoy protests. Champ has collected the licence plates of over 400 attendees and hopes to get information on those who donated to the convoy after February 4th.

Smol: Canada ignores Russia’s militarized Arctic at our own risk

Like Ukraine, the region is perceived by Vladimir Putin as an integral part of his country. Several modern Arctic warfare bases house, operate and are testing some of Russia’s most advanced weapons.

Author of the article: Robert Smol
Publishing date:Mar 01, 2022 •

Canadian Rangers participate in the cleanup of a mock oil spill in Resolute, Nunavut in this file photo. They are fine civil defence volunteers but no substitute for the military. 

PHOTO BY ANDRE FORGET /Postmedia


As the war in Ukraine heats up, it may be prudent for Canada to finally take serious strategic stock of Russia’s other major military buildup. It’s a militarized front which, like Ukraine, involves disputed territorial and maritime claims, pitting Vladimir Putin’s Russia against democratic countries within and outside the NATO alliance. Like Ukraine, it is also perceived by Putin as an integral part of Russia. It holds growing strategic importance in trade, defence and resource extraction, and it is a front where Russia has been amassing unprecedented levels of military hardware and personnel.

It is the Arctic in 2022. And we ignore at our own peril this militarized, disputed region around, over and opposite our northern territory and maritime claim.

On the Russian shores of this disputed maritime and land border with Canada, Scandinavia and the United States stand new or expanded and modernized Russian Arctic coastal military bases at Rogachevo, Pechenga, Severomorsk, Tiksi, Zvyozdny, Sredny Ostrov, Nagurskoye, and Temp, to name just a few. These modern Arctic warfare bases house, operate and are testing some of Russia’s most advanced weapons, such as the MIG 31BM fighter jet and the Poseidon 2M39 nuclear stealth torpedo, and TOR-M2DT missiles.

This reality has not been lost to NATO members Denmark and Norway, or allied nations such as Sweden and Finland who, like the U.S., have been upgrading and expanding their military presence in the region with professionally trained combat personnel and newly acquired equipment.

Let us momentarily dispense with the widespread (and I daresay naïve) assumption driving Canada’s defence policy: that the U.S. is at Canada’s beck and call, to expend whatever is necessary in American military resources and American military lives to defend every square kilometre of Canada, at no corresponding cost or effort to Canadians.

Where would we be if our defence were, first and foremost, up to us

The answer is: as prepared and battle-ready as an administrative headquarters in Yellowknife can be alongside a company-sized detachment of part-time Army reservists nearby. As martially worthy of Putin’s awe as 440 Squadron, Canada’s only permanent airforce squadron in the Arctic which mans a “fleet” of four non-combat CC-138 twin-otter utility aircraft. As stern in our willingness to stand our ground as the 55-person (not all military) signals station (CFS Alert) on Ellesmere Island. As worthy a match for the Russian warships and nuclear submarines, with their increasingly sophisticated weapons, as our lumbering constabulary arctic patrol vessels (only one is in operation so far), each designed to tout a single mounted machine gun on their deck.

Yes, we do have about 5,000 local Canadian Rangers in the North — ready to do just about everything but actually go to war for Canada. Professionally, that is a good thing since these non-combat reserve auxiliaries from northern communities sponsored by the Department of National Defence receive almost no military training. They have done yeoman service on occasion when community assistance is needed in operations such as search-and-rescue. And, especially during this pandemic, these temporary augmentees have stepped up to provide needed assistance to beleaguered communities. Canadian Rangers are worthy civil defence volunteers, but in no way are they soldiers.

So let’s not spin them as somehow standing in the forefront of Canada’s alleged determination to assert its sovereignty over the Arctic.

Of course, since we are a member of NATO, any attack on Canada is deemed an attack on all NATO members. Certainly, in a potential maritime-based standoff in the region, Canada can expect some protection and assurance from the U.S. as well as from the better-armed and equipped militaries of Denmark and Norway, not to mention our former colonial masters, France and the United Kingdom.

But should this happen in our current deplorable state of military preparedness, let’s have the honesty and integrity to abstain from clinging to the absurd international “middle power” illusion many Canadians still hold.

Robert Smol is a retired military intelligence officer who served in the Canadian Armed Forces for more than 20 years. He is currently working as a paralegal and security professional while completing a PhD in military history.rmsmol@gmail.com