First glimpse of what gravity looks like on cosmological scales

A team of international scientists have reconstructed gravity to find a more robust way of understanding the cosmos

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH

Scientists from around the world have reconstructed the laws of gravity, to help get a more precise picture of the Universe and its constitution.

The standard model of cosmology is based on General Relativity, which describes gravity as the curving or warping of space and time. While the Einstein equations have been proven to work very well in our solar system, they had not been observationally confirmed to work over the entire Universe. 

An international team of cosmologists, including scientists from the University of Portsmouth in England, has now been able to test Einstein's theory of gravity in the outer-reaches of space. 

They did this by examining new observational data from space and ground-based telescopes that measure the expansion of the Universe, as well as the shapes and the distribution of distant galaxies. 

The study, published in Nature Astronomy, explored whether modifying General Relativity could help resolve some of the open problems faced by the standard model of cosmology.  

Professor Kazuya Koyama, from the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth, said: “We know the expansion of the universe is accelerating, but for Einstein’s theory to work we need this mysterious cosmological constant.

“Different measurements of the rate of cosmic expansion give us different answers, also known as the Hubble tension. To try and combat this, we altered the relationship between matter and spacetime, and studied how well we can constrain deviations from the prediction of General Relativity. The results were promising, but we’re still a long way off a solution.”

Possible modifications to the General Relativity equation are encased in three phenomenological functions describing the expansion of the Universe, the effects of gravity on light, and the effects on matter. Using a statistical method known as the Bayesian inference, the team reconstructed the three functions simultaneously for the first time.

“Partial reconstructions of these functions have been done in the last 5 to 10 years, but we didn't have enough data to accurately reconstruct all three at the same time”, added Professor Koyama.

“What we found was that current observations are getting good enough to get a limit on deviations from General Relativity. But at the same time, we find it's very difficult to solve this problem we have in the standard model even by extending our theory of gravity.

“One exciting prospect is that in a few years’ time we’ll have a lot more data from new probes. This means that we will be able to continue improving the limits on modifications to General Relativity using these statistical methods.”

Up and coming missions will deliver a highly accurate 3D map of the clustered matter in the Universe, which cosmologists call large scale structure. These will offer an unprecedented insight into gravity at large distances. 

Professor Levon Pogosian, from Simon Fraser University in Canada, said: “As the era of precision cosmology is unfolding, we are on the brink of learning about gravity on cosmological scales with high precision. Current data already draws an interesting picture, which, if confirmed with higher constraining power, could pave the way to resolving some of the open challenges in cosmology.”

---

JOURNAL

Nature Astronomy

DOI

10.1038/s41550-022-01808-7 

ARTICLE TITLE

Imprints of cosmological tensions in reconstructed gravity

Column: Canada slams the door on China in critical minerals race

Reuters | November 4, 2022 | 

Saskatchewan produces a large volume of lithium-enriched brine water. 

(Image courtesy of Prairie Lithium.)

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, Andy Home, a columnist for Reuters.)


Canada has just upped the ante in the global competition to secure critical minerals.

The Canadian government this week ordered Chinese companies to divest their holdings in three Canadian-listed junior mining companies planning to develop lithium deposits.

The ban comes within days of Canada announcing a tougher policy on investment in the minerals sector by state-owned entities, particularly those from China, which dominates the processing of key energy transition metals such as lithium, cobalt and rare earths.

The order to divest follows what the government said was a “multi-step national security review process, which involves rigorous scrutiny by Canada’s national security and intelligence community.”

It promised to continue to “act decisively when investments threaten our national security and our critical minerals supply chains, both at home and abroad.”

The move marks a hardening of geopolitical battle-lines in the metals sector and raises the question of what Canada and its metallic allies might do next in the name of national security.

Protecting the pipeline

The three impacted Canadian companies – Power Metals Corp, Ultra Lithium Inc and Lithium Chile Inc – are sitting on lithium deposits in Canada, Argentina and Chile respectively.

Power Metals’ properties in Ontario also contain tantalum and caesium, both of which are also classified as critical minerals by Canada and the United States.

All are next-generation projects, part of a growing pipeline needed to feed the world’s hunger for lithium.

And all have recently announced strategic investments by Chinese players offering not just money but processing expertise and off-take commitments.

Sinomine, one of the world’s largest rare earth producers, took a 5.7% stake in Power Metals for C$1.5m in a January fund-raising round.

Zangge Mining Co, a major Chinese lithium and potash producer, lifted its interest in Ultra Lithium to 14.2% in May and in June entered into an agreement to finance development of the Laguna Verde lithium project in Argentina.

Chengxin Lithium used a private placement by Lithium Chile in May to boost its stake to 19.4% for C$28 million.

All three Chinese companies have fallen foul of Canada’s newly beefed-up Investment Canada Act and must now divest their holdings.

The three abandoned brides will have to find new partners with the government proviso that suitors “share our interests and values.”

Widening the net

Canada’s new policy on critical minerals investment is wide-ranging and far-reaching.

It’s not just China’s state-owned players that will come in for extra scrutiny, but also any private investors “assessed as being closely tied to, subject to influence from, or who could be compelled to comply with extrajudicial direction from foreign governments.”

The policy covers not just mining but all stages of the minerals processing chain.

It extends, most obviously in the case of Ultra Lithium and Lithium Chile, to overseas assets as well as domestic.

Canada’s critical minerals list, updated in March this year, is extensive, covering not just the esoteric rare earths family and energy-transition inputs such as lithium, cobalt and nickel but also mainstream industrial metals such as aluminium, copper and zinc.

These are currently highly globalised markets, pivoting around China as the world’s largest user of industrial metals.

Canada, for example, has for many years been a supplier of mined copper concentrates to China, shipping 430,000 tonnes last year.

Such mine off-take deals may not be immune from Canada’s national security considerations.

“We will need to be very thoughtful going forward about what we are willing to allow,” said Canadian Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilson in a June interview with the Globe and Mail. “It is not just true of ownership, but I think we also have to be looking at things like long-term off-take agreements,” he added.

Canada’s overriding priority, Wilson explained, is one of “protecting itself in an area that is clearly strategic and ensuring that those supply chains will be robust for our allies.”
Metal bloc

Canada’s clamp-down on Chinese investment in critical minerals should be seen in the context of an emerging metallic NATO of like-minded countries looking to reduce their dependence on the China and Russia.

The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), launched in June this year, includes Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, Britain, the United States, and the European Commission.

The nascent alliance is still fractious.

The United States’ Inflation Reduction Act, linking electric vehicle subsidies to domestically produced metals, has infuriated both the European Union and South Korea.

Heated negotiations are currently taking place between US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and the European Commission, which is looking for some form of exemption for friendly countries.

Assuming the current spat can be smoothed out, there is the clear potential for other members to halt Chinese investment into their respective mineral sectors.

Australia is already doing so. In April it blocked an attempt by the Chinese state-owned Baogang Group to take a 13% share in Northern Minerals, which owns the Browns Range rare earths deposit in Western Australia.

In the same month it also blocked Yibin Tianyi Lithium Industry from taking a stake in AVZ Minerals, which has lithium projects, with associated tin and tantalum, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Canada’s definition of domestic critical resources to include any company listed on its stock exchange will resonate amongst both the heavyweight mining companies in Britain’s FTSE-100 and the many junior resource companies listed on London’s AIM market.

All will need to heed the Canadian government’s advice to its companies that they “carefully review their investment plans to identify any potential connections to (…) or entities linked to or subject to influence by hostile or non-likeminded regimes or states.”

The metallic uncoupling of China and the rest of the world has just entered a new, more aggressive phase as governments overrule free markets to defend their supply chains.

Canada’s three-pronged attack on Chinese investment is just the start of the next chapter in the great critical minerals game of nations.

($1 = 1.3736 Canadian dollars)

(Editing by David Evans)

Livent looks to Canada for lithium growth opportunities – CEO

Reuters | November 3, 2022 

Nemaska’s Whabouchi lithium deposit in Quebec’s James Bay region, 300 km northwest of Chibougamau. (Credit: Nemaska Lithium)

Lithium producer Livent Corp is eyeing acquisitions in Canada and other countries as it looks to boost its production and processing of the metal used to make electric vehicle batteries, its chief executive told Reuters.


Already one of the top global producers of the metal, Livent has expansions underway across the globe, including Canada, but wants to grow more to meet rising demand for the metal from the electric vehicle (EV) and renewable energy industries.


“We see Canada as a core part of our expansion capacity,” Paul Graves, Livent’s CEO, said in a Thursday interview. “We have to get bigger. We can’t just sit still.”

The Philadelphia-based company last month named Sarah Maryssael as its chief strategy officer to pursue potential lithium deals across the globe. Livent poached Maryssael from Tesla Inc, where she oversaw the automaker’s lithium, cobalt and nickel sourcing.

Related: Livent in deal to buy Nemaska, extend Tesla contract

Livent earlier this week posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and raised the midpoint of its annual forecast, though the company trimmed the forecast’s top end due to inflation concerns.

Livent has been steadily growing in Canada since forming a joint venture in 2020 to buy Quebec’s Nemaska lithium project, which is now expected to open by 2025 and produce 34,000 tonnes of lithium. Graves said Nemaska could eventually produce 100,000 tonnes annually, but Livent would still seek other growth opportunities in Canada.

Graves, CEO since 2018, added that Livent is interested in deals in Argentina, where it operates a lithium brine project, and Australia. However, Livent would not buy a lithium mine without having adequate processing capacity nearby, he added.

Livent counts General Motors Co, BMW and Tesla as key customers.

Canada’s government has been generally supportive of EV minerals projects, although on Wednesday it ordered three Chinese companies to divest from Canadian critical mining projects, citing national security concerns.

(By Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Richard Pullin)

Industry groups welcome C$10 billion in Ottawa’s budget update
Staff Writer | November 4, 2022 | 

Mining Association of Canada president and CEO Pierre Gratton addressed the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT) on Wednesday, January 23 – 

Image courtesy of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade

Canada’s major mining industry group and a green energy think tank are welcoming nearly C$10 billion spread over tax credits for clean technology, mining project approval improvements, innovation research and industry training announced in a federal budget update.


Ottawa is offering C$6.7 billion in tax credits over five years for up to 30% of investments in clean technologies such as battery storage, electric industrial vehicles and small nuclear reactors, according to the Liberal government’s fall economic statement issued Thursday.

It also gives C$1.28 billion over six years to several federal departments, including the Impact Assessment Agency, to speed the project approvals process; C$962.2 million over eight years to modernize the National Research Council; and C$802.1 million over three years for the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy.

“This investment tax credit will serve to benefit Canada’s mining industry in several ways as the deployment of zero emission vehicles and non-green-house gas emission solutions is accelerating across our sector,” Pierre Gratton, president and chief executive officer of the Mining Association of Canada, said in a news release. “This tax credit will support our sector in accomplishing its climate action priorities.”

Mark Zacharias, executive director at Vancouver-based Clean Energy Canada, a research group at Simon Fraser University, said the tax credit was a suitable response to the United States boosting its own clean energy industries with $1.7 billion in incentives in recent legislation by the Biden administration.

“Canada simply had to respond,” Zacharias said in a statement after the budget update. “It’s a recognition of a global reality in which our largest trading partners are mapping out their clean industrial futures and planting flags.”

Canada is among the Western nations trying to boost and protect the critical mineral industries it needs for a transition to clean energy that is estimated to cost trillions of dollars globally. Ottawa announced a national critical minerals strategy in April, which it plans to update by year’s end, and toughened foreign investment rules last month. This week it ordered three companies based in China, which controls some 80% of rare earth elements in global markets, to divest from Canadian projects.

Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson had said on Oct. 25 that Canada would respond to the US tax incentives in its Inflation Reduction Act. Wilkinson, who served on the board of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Canada, also spoke about the need to promote the hydrogen fuel industry in Canada.

Zacharias and Gratton welcomed the budget update’s increase to 40% of a previously announced investment tax credit for clean hydrogen.

Wilkinson and provincial counterparts such as Ontario Mines Minister George Pirie have said how Canada must cut its mining approval times. Gratton criticized the federal Impact Assessment Agency for an “unsatisfactory job” reviewing projects.

“It is imperative that more knowledgeable subject-matter experts, rather than just more staff, be hired,” Gratton said. “Canada has had tremendous success attracting new investment into the battery value chain on the promise of a reliable supply of battery materials, and now we have to deliver.”

Zacharias said Ottawa’s increased clarity on its policies to foster clean energy innovation and improve training are needed to improve Canada’s competitiveness.

“The idea that climate action is also economic action has never been truer,” Zacharias said. “We’ve had climate plans with economic benefits. This is economic planning with climate benefits.”

Canada to set up tax credits for clean tech, launch growth fund

Reuters | November 3, 2022 |

Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland. Photo by Freeland’s press office

Canada will introduce tax credits for clean technologies worth up to 30% of investment costs in a bid to close competitive gaps with the United States in scaling up green technologies, the government said on Thursday.


It will also launch a growth fund, first announced in April, by the end of the year with a capitalization of C$15 billion ($10.92 billion) to help mitigate the risks private investors take on when investing in new technologies and infrastructure.

The clean-tech tax credits will be offered for investors in net-zero technologies, battery storage and clean hydrogen, according to the so-called fall economic statement (FES) presented to the House of Commons by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

The new green transition measures are “a step in the right direction helping Canada compete with the US on advanced clean manufacturing,” said Scott MacDougall, a senior advisor at the Pembina Institute, a clean energy think-tank.

However, it “falls short of what’s needed to put Canada on track to achieve its climate goals, missing major increased funding to support net-zero electricity generation and infrastructure,” he added.

Freeland last month promised an initial “response” to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was signed into law by US President Joe Biden earlier this year and contains generous incentives for consumers and businesses to make the low-carbon transition.

Canada on Thursday proposed a 2% tax on corporate stock buybacks, similar to a measure in the IRA, that is meant to “encourage corporations to reinvest their profits in their workers and business,” the FES said.

The tax will generate an estimated C$2.1 billion over five years and will come into force on Jan 1, 2024.

“In terms of trying to foster business investments, I don’t think it’s well targeted,” said Robert Asselin, senior vice president of policy at the Business Council of Canada.

The government also promised an investment tax credit for hydrogen in next year’s budget, saying the cleanest producers would qualify to get back at least 40% of their investment, and Freeland promised more action on the green transition.

“These investments represent only a down payment on the work that lies ahead,” Freeland told lawmakers after she presented the document.

One of the investment offerings foreseen by the growth fund are so-called “contracts for difference”, which could help investors in carbon capture and storage mitigate the risk that a future government eliminates Canada’s carbon pricing system.

In next year’s budget, Canada will introduce new measures to increase advanced manufacturing competitiveness, the document said.

($1 = 1.3736 Canadian dollars)

(By Steve Scherer and Julie Gordon; Editing by Deepa Babington)

IMMIGRANTS ARE NOT CHEAP LABOUR

Ambitious immigration targets could help with Albertan labour shortage: Report

Stephanie Swensrude - 

The federal government is planning a massive increase in the number of immigrants allowed to enter Canada, and some groups in Alberta think it will help businesses experiencing labour shortages.


A "closed' sign hangs in a store window in Ottawa, Thursday April 16. An intensifying labour shortage is rippling through Canada's economy, forcing businesses to curtail operations, reduce hours and in some cases, euthanize livestock.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld© ajw

The plan, announced by immigration minister Sean Fraser Tuesday, envisions a flood of new arrivals from outside the country: 465,000 people in 2023 — rising to 500,000 in 2025 — with a heavy emphasis on admitting people based on work skills or experience.

Read more:

Ottawa raises immigration targets with new goal of 500K per year by 2025

To make sure the new Canadians can actually help with the labour shortage, Alberta groups want lighter restrictions on immigrants taking lower-wage jobs and for the government to support agencies that help resettle the newcomers.

The Calgary Chamber of Commerce released a report Tuesday detailing what it calls the critical role immigration plays in alleviating labour challenges.

Video: Calgary Chamber of Commerce urges action on labour shortage

“Immigration is so important to addressing the talent shortage that every business is facing across the country, whether you're in the service sector, the tech sector, the energy sector, the health care sector, everybody's looking for that last unit of labor,” said executive director Deborah Yedlin.

While she welcomes the announcement, she proposes the focus shift to include lower wage workers and more than just skilled professionals who are technically trained.

“(With) something like the Alberta Opportunity Stream … there's a bit of a catch-22 because you need prior work experience, you need language skills, and it means that these programs are only available to a select number of immigrants,” said Yedlin.

“We need to figure out how to make sure that the ability to come and work is offered as an opportunity for a broader sector of the immigrant population than it already is.”

Read more:

‘Alberta is calling’ campaign to attract workers, promote healthy competition: economists

Edmonton Centre MP Randy Boissonault said the cheaper cost of living in Alberta can help attract people.

“Edmonton and Calgary are top of the list of affordable housing across the country because, not just those cities, but all cities in Alberta have been very good at continuing to build housing,” said Boissonault.

He hopes the hundreds of thousands of newcomers will be able to fill shortages in the tech sector.

“When I was meeting with the Alberta Machine Institute in downtown Edmonton, they were saying that a lot of their partners are looking for the computer scientists and the math experts that are going to really push the frontiers of artificial intelligence, the machine learning,” he said.

Edmonton labour shortage as employers struggle to fill hundreds of jobs

The provincial government runs a program with a goal of expediting processing of foreign workers employed at Alberta tech companies.

Yedlin said companies are having to lean on immigration because Alberta workers don’t always have the skills necessary for the job.

“I look at Calgary and I think about all the tech jobs that have been empty — they've been posted and waiting for it to be filled for quite a while.

"What that tells me is that we still are not necessarily focused also on the right programs within post-secondary."

The Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers (EMCN) helps settle newcomers in the capital region and senior manager of settlement services Rispah Tremblay said the announcement introduces some challenges for other agencies.

“With increasing numbers, that also needs additional resources,” said Tremblay.

Read more:

Alberta town looks to immigration to help ease labour shortage

Tremblay said EMCN would need more funding to pay staff who manage cases, help find housing and teach languages to clients.

Without these staff members helping newcomers settle, they might not be able to transition into the Canadian labour force.

“It's really important that as soon as they land here, there's additional support for them to settle and get the right training or the right support that they need so that they're able to integrate and start working immediately,” she said.

Tremblay is also concerned that the housing supply may start to dry up with the influx of people moving here. She hasn’t heard anything from the federal government in terms of cash to support scaling up services, but thinks those conversations will start in the spring.

Ontario could issue hundreds of millions in fines if education workers strike Friday

Isaac Callan and Colin D'Mello - Yesterday 

As education workers in Ontario barrel towards open conflict with the Ministry of Education on Friday, the province is threatening to fine workers who illegally go on strike.


Ontario Minister of Education Stephen Lecce speaks with media following the Speech from the Throne at Queen's Park in Toronto, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022

.© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj

The fines could amount to more than $200 million per day. The fine will be up to $4,000 for an individual or $500,000 for CUPE itself.

On Sunday evening, Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced he would introduce legislation to block education workers from walking off the job after a five-day notice of a strike was given.

The province confirmed Monday it would use the notwithstanding clause to avoid any court challenge the proposed law might face.

Ford government to table legislation to impose contract on education sector union

However, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 55,000 custodians, clerical staff, librarians, and early childhood educators, said it would proceed with its planned strike action on Friday.

That strike could cost education workers thousands of dollars each under the proposed legislation that Lecce and the Doug Ford government are rushing through.

Bill 28, Keeping Students in Class Act, specifies fines for strike action by CUPE members.

The legislation lays out that any person who violates section six or seven of the proposed bill -- which prohibit strike action -- and is convicted will face a fine.

‘It is the minister who insists on using our children as pawns’: CUPE rep slams Lecce as negotiations break down

The law proposes that every day a person contravenes the law by striking "constitutes a separate 

If all 55,000 workers represented by CUPE strike on Friday and receive the maximum fine of $4,000, it would cost a total of $220 million.

Asked how the legislation would work and if all workers would be fined, Lecce did not offer specifics.

"The legislation sets out those particulars really to deter any violation of the law," he told reporters.

CUPE said on Monday it would help members who are hit with Ministry of Labour fines as a result of the new legislation.

Ontario NDP education critic, Chandra Pasma, called the legislation a "bullying tactic."

"The minister is the one holding all the cards here," she said. "The minister can come to the table at any time over the next four days with a deal that prevents to disruptions to our kids and that's what I am begging him, please, to do."

Read more:

‘Full withdrawal’: Ontario education workers could go on strike on Nov. 4

On Sunday, after CUPE notified the Ministry of Education of its plans to strike, the government increased its offer.

The latest offer promises a 2.5 per cent increase to workers earning less than 43,000 per year and a 1.5 for workers earning more per year.

The union requested an 11 per cent increase in wages, citing the high cost of living and historically low pay. CUPE said its wage proposal is an increase of $3.25 per hour annually for the next three years.

"CUPE has now made the decision to strike, putting their own self interest ahead of Ontario’s nearly two million children, who deserve to stay in class learning," Lecce said in a statement.

PM criticizes Ontario's use of notwithstanding clause in education worker bill

TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is criticizing the Ontario government's use of the notwithstanding clause in legislation to impose contracts on education workers and ban them from striking.


PM criticizes Ontario's use of notwithstanding clause in education worker bill© Provided by The Canadian Press

Trudeau made the comments a day after Ontario tabled a bill meant to avert a planned strike by 55,000 education workers. Using the notwithstanding clause to suspend workers’ rights is wrong, he said.

"I know that collective bargaining negotiations are sometimes difficult, but it has to happen," he said in Ottawa on Tuesday.

"It has to be done in a respectful, thoughtful way at the bargaining table. The suspension of people’s rights is something that you should only do in the most exceptional circumstances, and I really hope that all politicians call out the overuse of the notwithstanding clause to suspend people’s rights and freedoms."

The clause allows the legislature to override portions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a five-year term.

Federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan called the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause a "travesty" and Justice Minister David Lametti said he is looking at how Ottawa could challenge it.

"It de facto means that people's rights are being infringed and it's being justified using the notwithstanding clause," Lametti said. "Using it pre-emptively is exceedingly problematic. It cuts off both political debate and judicial scrutiny."

Ontario's legislature began sitting at 5 a.m. Tuesday for debate over the bill, as the government hopes it can be passed by the end of the week, ahead of a planned strike by the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

But there was also a hint of movement at the bargaining table Tuesday.

Related video: Ontario education workers vow to walk off job despite anti-strike legislation
Duration 4:53  View on Watch

CUPE said it was at the table and would be proposing a counter offer. The government said it would also meet if the mediator asks their side to return, and wants to hear if CUPE's new offer is "reasonable."

Premier Doug Ford said in question period that the government's offer is "very fair," and suggested he looks out for the front-line workers but not their union heads.

"We aren't going to feather the nest of the head of CUPE," he said. "We differentiate between labour and labour leadership. I think the labour needs to find new leadership."

More than 96 per cent of CUPE's education worker members voted in favour of a strike.

CUPE has said the approximately 55,000 education workers it represents – such as early childhood educators, custodians and librarians – will walk off the job Friday regardless of the legislation. It has not yet indicated whether the walkout would extend beyond Friday.

Several school boards, including the Toronto District School Board, have said they will have to close schools that day in response.

The government had been offering raises of two per cent a year for workers making less than $40,000 and 1.25 per cent for all others, but Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the new, imposed four-year deal would give 2.5 per cent annual raises to workers making less than $43,000 and 1.5 per cent raises for all others.

CUPE has said its workers, which make on average $39,000 a year, are generally the lowest paid in schools and it has been seeking annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent.

Several unions have made statements in solidarity with CUPE, most notably the Labourers' International Union of North America, which endorsed Ford's Progressive Conservatives in the June election.

LiUNA wrote to Lecce urging him to revoke the legislation.

"Restricting collective bargaining and the right for unions to strike and negotiate freely through the implementation of back-to-work legislation and enacting the notwithstanding clause sets a dangerous precedent that aims to erode respect for collective bargaining rights and unionized labour in Ontario," LiUNA's international vice-president and central and eastern Canada regional manager Joseph Mancinelli wrote.

- with files from Mia Rabson in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2022.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press

Ford defends controversial use of notwithstanding clause to keep kids in school

Antonella Artuso - 
Toronto Sun


Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks inside the legislature in Toronto on Sept. 14, 2022.

© Provided by Toronto Sun

Premier Doug Ford defended his government’s use of the notwithstanding clause to enforce anti-strike legislation as the province braced for a possible protest that would likely close schools Friday.

The controversial bill has drawn criticism from opposition politicians, the labour movement and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who called it “wrong.”

In the Ontario Legislature Tuesday, Ford accused the Liberal and the NDP opposition of standing up for the heads of unions, not the average workers, students and parents.

“That means there’d be two million students sitting at home, probably a million parents would be taking work off,” Ford said. “We will never ever waver from our position that students remain in the class, catching up with their learning, surrounded by friends with a full school experience including extracurricular activities.”

The Ontario Legislature is currently debating Bill 28, the Keeping Students in Class Act, which would invoke the notwithstanding clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to impose a contract on CUPE Ontario education workers and ban them from going on strike this Friday.

CUPE Ontario, which represents 55,000 school workers including maintenance staff and educational assistants, has warned that it is planning to go ahead with a massive day of protest Friday despite the threat of substantial financial penalties.

Trudeau told reporters Tuesday that difficult negotiations should not be resolved at the expense of workers’ labour rights.

“It has to be done in a thoughtful, respectful way at the bargaining table,” Trudeau said. “I really hope all politicians call out the overuse of the notwithstanding clause to suspend people’s rights and freedoms.”

The decision to override collective bargaining has set off the broader labour movement.

LiUNA Local 3000 tweeted in solidarity with CUPE education workers and urged supporters to send an email to Ford, Lecce and their local MPP in support of workers’ rights to negotiate a contract.

LiUNA was one of several construction unions that endorsed the Ford government in the spring general election.

NDP MPP Marit Stiles said she expects solidarity from the labour movement on this issue.

“I think education workers across this province and other workers see their future laid out for them,” Stiles said. “We’re going to use every tactic we can come up with to try to delay this legislation but, more importantly, to push the government to do the right thing and throw it out altogether.”

Liberal Leader John Fraser said Ford’s use of the notwithstanding clause outside of jurisdictional disputes between governments is an abuse.

“To use it as a way to solve contract negotiations is not its intended use,” Fraser said. “And it should send a very clear signal to anybody who bargains in this province.”

Education Minister Stephen Lecce has said that Bill 28 applies only to negotiations with CUPE Ontario, not to teacher union bargaining.

However, he has said that agreeing to CUPE’s 11.7% annual salary demands would have implications for ongoing teacher contract talks and could cost the provincial treasury billions of dollars.

Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter, a former Liberal education minister who negotiated contracts, said “me too” clauses that ensure all education unions get the same basic deal – including identical rates of pay increase – are negotiated.

NDP slams Ontario's 'outrageous' plan to use notwithstanding clause in dispute with education workers

Kris Ketonen - TODAY


A northwestern Ontario MPP with the Opposition New Democrats says the province's plan to use the notwithstanding clause to impose a new contract on the province's education workers is "outrageous."

The Keeping Students in Class Act is being debated at Queen's Park on Tuesday. If passed, the bill would essentially force workers — including early-childhood educators, librarians and custodians — to remain on the job, and could see fines imposed on both workers and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in the event of a strike.

"I think it's outrageous," Lise Vaugeois, who represents the riding of Thunder Bay-Superior North, told CBC News during the emergency legislative session Tuesday. "It's the first time in Canadian history it has ever been used as a weapon against workers. It was never intended to be used in that way.

"It's really a trampling of very, very basic rights that workers have fought many years to attain, and they're just being wiped out."

The bill allows for fines of up to $4,000 per day against each worker who takes part in a strike.

The government has also said it intends to use the notwithstanding clause — which essentially gives the province the ability to override certain portions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for five years — to halt any constitutional challenges to the bill.

'Pretty distressing' atmosphere

The Queen's Park session Tuesday began at 5 a.m. to allow for a debate on the bill.

Vaugeois said the atmosphere at the Ontario Legislature has been "feisty."

"There's a lot of arguing going back and forth. It's pretty distressing ... to see the government side of the house stand up and cheer when they are imposing taking away rights from workers."

Condemnation over the province's proposal is not limited to the union and opposition at Queen's Park.

"Using the notwithstanding clause to suspend workers' rights is wrong," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, adding that collective bargaining negotiations need to happen respectfully despite any difficulties that arise.

"The suspension of people's rights is something that you should only do in the most exceptional circumstances, and I really hope that all politicians call out the overuse of the notwithstanding clause to suspend people's rights and freedoms."

Related video: 'Using the notwithstanding clause to suspend workers' rights is wrong': Trudeau   Duration 0:34  View on Watch

Will Ottawa challenge clause use?

Federal Justice Minister David Lametti said he is looking at how Ottawa could challenge the province's use of the notwithstanding clause, noting that going to it pre-emptively is "exceedingly problematic" as it cuts off political debate and judicial scrutiny.



Education Minister Stephen Lecce tabled Bill 28, legislation meant to halt a strike by CUPE-represented education workers, on Monday.© Evan Mitsui/CBC

Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce, speaking with CBC's Metro Morning on Tuesday, noted there was a "massive difference" between the union's and the province's stances during negotiations.

"This is not the first option of any government to legislate, but the alternative is to do frankly nothing," said Lecce.

Throughout negotiations, he's said the government's top priority is keeping students in the classroom, which is the best place for them, after learning disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Call to return to negotiating table

Vaugeois said the government's goal is to get the bill passed before Friday, which is when a planned protest by Ontario education workers is expected to take place. She's calling on the government to get back to the bargaining table.

"[The province] could go back to the bargaining table at any time," she said. "That would be the normal operation. Even when a union is in a strike position, it doesn't mean that a strike will take place.

"No worker actually wants to go out on strike," she said. "What they want is the the ability to bargain in good faith and know that the other side is also bargaining in good faith."

The last offer by the government included raises of 2.5 per cent for any education worker making less than $43,000 per year, and 1.5 per cent for those making more, CUPE stated in a media release Monday.

CUPE is seeking annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent.

In a statement, CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn said the government offer wasn't enough.

"A half per cent wage increase to an already-insulting offer isn't generous," Hahn said. "An additional 200 bucks in the pockets of workers earning 39K isn't generous. It wouldn't even be generous to accept our proposal — it would be necessary, reasonable and affordable. It's simply what's needed in our schools."

Several boards, including the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), have said they will have to close schools Friday in response.

In a statement provided to CBC News, Sherri-Lynne Pharand, director of education with Lakehead Public Schools, said the board remains hopeful that an agreement between the union and government will be reached.

However, no details about what Friday's protest would mean for public schools in Thunder Bay were provided.

"We are continuing to assess the impact that a full withdrawal of services would have on our schools in order to be prepared for all potential outcomes," the statement reads. "Updates will be provided through the board website and social media channels."

Ontario government tables legislation to prevent strike by CUPE education workers

CBC/Radio-Canada - Sunday

The Ontario government tabled legislation Monday to prevent a strike by education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

The Ministry of Education introduced the Keeping Students in Class Act at Queen's Park Monday afternoon, which imposes a contract on the workers and prevents them from legally walking off the job. CUPE officials called the legislation "monstrous overreach" and vowed to fight it.

On Sunday CUPE gave the required five days' notice for job action, positioning 55,000 workers — including educational assistants, custodians and early childhood educators — to go on full strike as soon as Friday.

The government and education workers returned to the bargaining table Sunday afternoon but Education Minister Stephen Lecce issued a statement Sunday night saying the union is sticking to its position.

"Because CUPE refuses to withdraw their intent to strike, in order to avoid shutting down classes we will have no other choice but to introduce legislation [Monday], which will ensure that students remain in class to catch up on their learning," Lecce said.

Lecce added that students faced disruption to their schooling with teacher job action three years ago, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that nothing should stand in the way of a child's right to learn.

Union will fight bill

CUPE, which represents school support staff and not teachers, says it will be looking at every avenue to fight the legislation.

A decade ago, the then-Liberal government passed legislation known as Bill 115, which froze some education workers' wages and limited their ability to strike.

Unions won a court challenge years later, with the judge ruling that the government "substantially interfered with meaningful collective bargaining" and Ontario was left having to pay more than $100 million in remedies to the unions.

Several Ontario school boards have said they will shut down schools if support staff fully withdraw their services.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board, the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board have all said that they will not be able to operate safely if CUPE members walk off the job.

Impasse on wages

Mediated talks between the province and union broke down earlier this month, with both sides still far apart on wages.

The gap persisted heading into Sunday's session as the countdown ticked toward a potential strike.

"No one wants to strike, least of all the lowest-paid education workers who can barely pay our bills," Laura Walton, president of CUPE's Ontario School Boards Council of Unions, said in a statement Sunday.

"Still, we need a significant wage increase and we deserve it."


Almost 200 people gathered last weekend in front of the Toronto Congress Centre in support of education workers and their contract negotiations with the Ontario government. The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario was meeting at the centre for their general meeting.© Mehrdad Nazarahari/CBC

In an earlier statement, Lecce said he hoped CUPE would budge on demands he has described as unreasonable, but said the government will do what it takes to keep students in school.

"We are at the table with a fair offer that includes a pay raise and maintains the most generous pension and benefit package, but most importantly — it keeps kids in class," Lecce said in a news release Sunday.

"If CUPE moves ahead with strike action and disruption, we will act to keep students in class so they can continue to catch up."

CUPE is looking for annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent and the government in response has offered raises of two per cent a year for workers making less than $40,000 and 1.25 per cent for all others.

Education workers have made several other proposals, including overtime at two times the regular pay rate, 30 minutes of paid prep time per day for educational assistants and ECEs, and an increase in benefits and professional development for all workers.

Other than the proposal on wages, the government's offer seeks to keep all other areas the same as the previous deal except for a cut to sick leave pay.

The government wants to institute what it's calling a five-day "waiting period" for short-term disability during which a worker would receive 25 per cent of their normal pay and 90 per cent for the rest of the 120 days.

Toronto Catholic schools among boards that would close

The Toronto Catholic District School Board sent a letter Sunday informing parents that its 195 schools, which serve more than 90,000 students, will close if CUPE moves forward with a full strike.

The TCDSB said this is "to ensure the health, welfare, and safety of our students and staff."

"We are working with our child-care providers on a contingency plan and will communicate more information shortly," the letter said. "Parents with school-aged children are encouraged to make alternate arrangements for their families."

The board said with schools being closed, all permits, night school and Saturday classes, special events and excursions would be cancelled for the duration of the strike.

The Toronto District School Board says it continues to assess the impact a full withdrawal of services will have on its schools.

"With approximately 14,600 TDSB staff members represented by CUPE, maintaining a normal routine will be very difficult and as such, parents/guardians/caregivers and students should be prepared for all possibilities," the TDSB said in a statement.

"While the TDSB is not directly involved in the provincial negotiations, we remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached without any impacts to classrooms and board operations."

The Halton District School Board (HDSB) said Sunday its elementary school students would alternate days between in-person and remote learning in the event of a full strike, while high schools would remain open five days a week, including Grade 7 to 12 schools in Aldershot, Burlington Central and Acton District.

Elementary students with "significant" special needs would continue to attend school every day, HDSB said.

The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board together operate over 100 schools attended by roughly 50,000 students in Peterborough, Bowmanville and the surrounding area.

Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic said students would transition to remote learning at home, while Kawartha Pine Ridge said it would share details on plans if they receive notice from CUPE about pending strike action.

CUPE's membership returned a 96.5 per cent strike mandate earlier this month.

In 2019, CUPE and the government reached a last-minute deal the day before workers had been set to go on a full strike.

FRASER INSTITUTE FAIL

Nearly half of federal budget deficit during pandemic not related to COVID spending

“You could argue that part of the reason for the larger deficit was that federal revenues were down during the pandemic and spending up”

Bryan Passifiume - National Post

A health care worker guides a woman wearing a mask outside of St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic.© Provided by National Post

As Canada set new records for government spending during COVID-19, a newly released report suggests nearly half of the spending was not related to the pandemic.

Authored by Lakehead University Economics Professor Livio Di Matteo for the Fraser Institute, the paper — entitled Storm Without End: The Fiscal Impact of COVID-19 on Canada and the Provinces — says federal spending grew by 73 per cent in 2020/21 to $644.2 billion.

That number declined into the next fiscal year, falling 21 per cent to $508.2 billion in 2021/22.

In 2020/21, the report says, the federal government debt grew by around 41 per cent, and 12.4 per cent, to $1.3 trillion, in 2021/22.

“You could argue that part of the reason for the larger deficit was that federal revenues were down during the pandemic and spending up,” Di Matteo said.

“But if you look at the federal revenue performance, it was down about 5 per cent in 2021, but started to rebound quite dramatically.”

Estimates for 2021/22, which Di Matteo said have yet to be finalized, suggest a 17 per cent increase.

Health spending saw an estimated increase of nearly 13 per cent between 2019 and 2020, the report reads — a rate of increase Di Matteo said was over triple the established health care spending growth rate since 2015, and a boost not seen in over three decades.

During the pandemic, around 60 per cent of the federal budget deficit was directly related to the pandemic, largely both federal health spending and related transfers to the provinces, as well as income support programs.

This, the report indicates, suggests a permanent, long-term spending increase.

Projections released late last year by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CHI) suggested the spike in pandemic health spending — expected to exceed $308 billion by the end of 2021 — could put hamper efforts by provinces to rebuild their health care networks post-COVID.

Dr. Katharine Smart, 

president of the Canadian Medical Association, told The Canadian Press in November that provincial health care systems haven’t kept up with these historic increases in health spending, comparing the problem as an out-of-control freight train.

But what impact does this have on Canada’s economic future?

A looming longer-term consequence, he said, is the impact on the federal debt.

“You’re looking at a debt to GDP ratio going from about 33 to 50 per cent, and for the time being a lot of that is locked in at relatively low interest rates,” he said.

But as that debt starts to turn over and new debt accrues, that could lead to higher interest rates and a subsequent increased cost in servicing that debt.

While a great many factors go into a rise in inflation, the increased spending is certainly having an impact, Di Matteo said.

“Inflation is also a function of the supply chain disruptions, the w ar in Ukraine and u ltra-low interest rates still present, so that’s a complicated picture,” he said.

THE FRASER INSTITUTE IS A BIG BUSINESS RIGHT WING THINK TANK LIKE THE CATO INSTITUTE IN THE U$A

ADVANCED CAPITALI$T ECONOMY

Fragility of Canada's supply chains on display as burning Alberta bridge stalls grain shipments

'An entire economy is relying on these little ribbons of steel through Canada'

Author of the article: Jake Edmiston
Publishing date: Oct 06, 2022 • 

A Canadian National Railway Co. container at the Intermodal Terminals in Brampton, Ont. 

PHOTO BY COLE BURSTON/BLOOMBERG FILES
Article content

Greg Sears was supposed to deliver 90 tonnes of his canola crop to a grain elevator near Grande Prairie, Alta., about 500 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, on Oct. 6. But before he left his farm, a local rep at Viterra Canada Inc., a major grain exporter, called and told him to hold off, likely for several weeks.

“That’s $75,000 to $100,000 of product that I’m not going to get a cheque for any time soon,” Sears said.

About 24 hours earlier, a bridge burned down on the Canadian National Railway Co. line, about 95 kilometres to the south, severing the only rail link in or out of Grande Prairie and causing backlogs for the grain shippers who depend on that track to get their product to port.

CN said the severed line only moves a fraction of the total grain coming off fields in Western Canada. But for grain farmers and exporters, the bridge fire was another example of the fragility of the national supply lines that connect one of the world’s most important bread baskets with seaports and global markets.

“An entire economy is relying on these little ribbons of steel through Canada,” said Sears, who serves as board chair of the Alberta Wheat Commission, a farm lobby group. “One bridge washout or fire or any type of event can cause some major impacts.”

CN already has angered exporters this season for making excuses about its inability to meet all of the demand for grain hopper cars during one of the most anticipated harvests in recent memory.

A CN locomotive pulls a train in Montreal.

 PHOTO BY CHRISTINNE MUSCHI/BLOOMBERG FILES

In an email to customers, the railway said it will be “at least a week” before trains start running again on the line affected by the bride fire, which spans from around Jasper National Park north to Grande Prairie.

David Przednowek, who heads CN’s grain unit, said the Grande Prairie line is one of two serving the broader Peace River region in northwestern Alberta. And the whole region represents about three million tonnes out of a total average annual crop of 75 million tonnes harvested in Western Canada, Przednowek said.

“That’s how you have to think about the overall scale,” Przednowek said. Still, he acknowledged that for farmers in and around Grande Prairie, it’s “a very consequential” event. “We are working as fast as we can,” he said.

The farm that Sears runs, near Sexsmith, Alta., 15 kilometres or so north of Grande Prairie, just finished harvesting canola, wheat, barley and field peas. He’s got to pay bills for that harvest, and start buying fertilizer and other inputs for next year. But he hasn’t had any cash flow for months, because he sold the last of his previous crop back in June.

“This is definitely not a great time for a rail outage,” Sears said. “For most farmers, it’s when your bank account is at its lowest.”

For most farmers, it's when your bank account is at its lowest

GREG SEARS

Pressure has been mounting in Ottawa for the government to co-ordinate an overhaul of the national transportation and supply infrastructure following major disruptions in the past year, including the extreme flooding in British Columbia last fall that effectively cut off West Coast ports from the rest of Canada.

“The system buckles. Every couple of years, it buckles,” Evan Fraser, director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph, told the House of Commons agriculture committee last week. “You end up with these tiny, umbilical links between the Prairies and world markets,” he continued. “All the food production in this area the size of Europe going through, essentially, a small number of rail lines through a couple of passes.”

Przednowek, CN’s assistant vice-president for grain, said some of those disruptions are unavoidable.

“The CN network overall is 19,000 miles. It’s an outdoor sport,” he said, “and there are factors that are beyond anybody’s individual control that will have impacts on the supply chain. All of those can’t be eliminated.”

On Thursday, a federal task force issued a report warning that the supply chain is reaching “a breaking point.”

The National Supply Chain Task Force, a panel of executives and experts assembled by the federal government earlier this year, found that Canada’s patchwork of ports, railroads, warehouses, loading terminals and airports is so interconnected that the “slightest problem” can reverberate across the system, said Louise Yako, a logistics industry veteran who co-chaired the task force.

“This report is an urgent call,” Yako said at a news conference.

Yako and her colleagues settled on a list of 21 actions that need to be taken “before our country’s reputation as a reliable trading partner is further tarnished,” their report said.

And those major changes won’t happen without government intervention, the report said, because Canada’s supply chain is made up of private operators all trying to “to optimize their own operations without considering their impacts on others in the supply chain.”

• Email: jedmiston@postmedia.com | Twitter: jakeedmiston

PHOTO ESSAY
Record inflation squeezes Turkish tobacco workers, owners

EMRAH GUREL and SUZAN FRASER
Mon, October 3, 2022 

CELIKHAN, Turkey (AP) — Mehmet Emin Calkan begins work harvesting a tobacco field in rural Turkey before dawn, then has another shift skewering and stringing the tobacco to dry under the sun.

The 19-year-old, who hopes to study electronic engineering, has undertaken the strenuous work to help support his family and pay for books he needs to prepare for the university entrance exam. His family cannot afford to send him to schools that prep students for the test.

“Sometimes I work until 9 p.m.,” Calkan said.

While he labors, his boss, tobacco grower Ismail Demir, says rising costs from fuel to fertilizers have seriously affected his livelihood.


“The vehicle I use to go to and from the field burns 300 Turkish lira ($16) of diesel. Last year, we were commuting for 50 Turkish lira ($3),” he said. “In short, when we add up the costs, we don’t have much left to live on.”

Both landowner and worker in the tobacco-growing district of Celikhan squeezed between mountains in southeast Turkey are among millions grappling with the country's economic turmoil, including record inflation and a weakening currency.

Yearly inflation came in at a 24-year high of 83.45% on Monday, according to official government figures — the highest among the Group of 20 major economies. Independent experts, however, say the rate is much higher, with the Inflation Research Group putting it at 186.27%.

The sharpest increases in annual prices were in the transportation sector, at 117.66%, followed by food and non-alcoholic drink prices at 93%, according to the statistical institute’s data.

While countries worldwide have been grappling with an increase in food and fuel prices stoked by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, economists say Turkey’s woes are mostly self-inflicted.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has espoused an unorthodox belief that higher borrowing costs lead to higher prices — a theory that runs contrary to established economic thinking.

Pressured by Erdogan, the Turkish central bank has been moving in the opposite direction of world economies that have been rapidly raising interest rates to cool soaring inflation. Last month, the bank cut its key rate by 1 percentage point, to 12%.

The Turkish lira weakened to record lows against the dollar following the move and has lost more than 50% of its value since the central bank began cutting rates last year.

Erdogan, who faces elections in June, says his government is prioritizing economic growth and exports in a bid to achieve a current account surplus — Turkey’s transactions with the rest of the world — insisting that his economic model has helped save 10 million jobs.

He has signaled more rate cuts in the coming months, insisting that the reduced borrowing costs will help tame inflation in the new year.

“You have a president right now whose biggest fight, whose biggest enemy is (high) interest rates,” Erdogan said in a speech last week. “We’ve reduced the interest rate down to 12%. Is it enough? It isn’t enough. It has to go down further.”

Erdogan added, “I hope that after the new year, this inflation will come down due to the low interest rate. I believe that this inflation will come down with low interest. That’s what I’m pushing for.”

The government has introduced several relief measures to help cushion the blow from rising inflation, including increasing the minimum wage in December and in July, announcing a 25% cap on rent increases and reducing taxes on utility bills. It also has announced a major housing project for low-income families.

Still, many people are struggling to meet basic needs.

In Celikhan, Ibrahim Suna another tobacco grower, worries that he will not be able to support his family with this year’s harvest.

“Tobacco is our only means of living, and we have no other income,” the father of five said. “This year, I expect to harvest 400 kilograms of tobacco. What I’ll earn is about 100,000 Turkish lira ($5,400), but half of it will go to expenses.”

___

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.

Zekariya Cektir, 75, collects tobacco leaves in a field near Kurudere village, Adiyaman province, southeast Turkey, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Official data released Monday Oct. 3, 2022 shows consumer prices rise 83.45% from a year earlier, further hitting households already facing high energy, food and housing costs. Experts say the real rate of inflation is much higher than official statistics, at an eye-watering 186%. 

(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

UCP leadership race power rankings: Danielle Smith was a scab

Last week justice minister Tyler Shandro held a press conference where he announced that Alberta won’t be “participating” in the federal government’s gun buyback program, that it would be challenging the law in court and that it would be asking the RCMP to not enforce the law. When politicians start seriously talking about ignoring the laws they don’t like we’re not that far from things getting bad. Something that makes the situation even worse is the degree to which the UCP are whipping people up with false stories. The federal buy-back program isn’t a mass round-up of all the guns in the country. It’s a buyback program for very specific assault-style guns, that could only be shot on ranges under strict storage and transportation rules in the first place—before they were prohibited over two years ago.  Shandro had to watch his words to avoid sounding too much like he was cribbing from Danielle Smith’s Alberta Sovereignty Act. But it didn’t matter.  After the announcement Smith was quick to suggest Shandro's approach is “closely aligned” with how the ASA would work and that she would have a vote on it.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Smith will just be carrying on Kenney’s political project just with more carelessness and recklessness. Smith has a proven track record of sending the organizations she’s running into the sewer. It seems everyone has forgotten about her time on the Calgary Board of Education which was so dysfunctional that the Tory education minister at the time fired her and every other trustee. We all know what happened with the Wildrose Party and now she’s back for a third crack at politics where surely things will go better this time.  From a young age Smith has been tapped as a political leader but while she might be an effective propagandist and mouthpiece with certain audiences she struggles when at the helm of a political machine.  The new UCP leader will be decided shortly, Oct. 6, and it’s probably going to be her, so let’s hope she keeps that failure streak going.  The competition between the UCP candidates has been so stagnant that this week I’m instead ranking the top 7 deep cut Danielle Smith gaffes, scandals, and wacky incidents. And if you want an excellent deep dive that goes into Smith’s history I recommend the latest episode of the Alberta Advantage. 7. The CBE disaster While the overwhelming dysfunction of the CBC that led to the firing of all the trustees was a group effort Danielle Smith was instrumental in making it a reality. Dave Cournoyer has written the authoritative wrap-up of that affair. 6. Tobacco isn’t that bad actually  Smith has been back and forth between politics, the media and conservative think tanks her entire adult life. Given the Fraser Institute milieu in which she was raised it is unsurprising that in 2003 she wrote a column for the Calgary Herald (where she ended up after the CBE affair) titled “Anti-smoking lobby does more harm than good.”  In the column she extolled the health benefits of a daily dart. “The evidence shows moderate cigarette consumption can reduce traditional risks of disease by 75 per cent or more,” Smith wrote. “Shouldn’t smokers be told?” Press Progress has the details.  5. Alberta should invade B.C. Being on the radio for hours on end does mean you end up running your mouth in bizarre directions. One time Smith said maybe Alberta should look into annexing Prince Rupert, B.C.  4. Pseudoscience enthusiast  Back in 2020 Smith deleted a pile of tweets she posted that made some incredibly incorrect claims about the effectiveness of Donald Trump’s favourite COVID cure, hydroxychloroquine.  3. Cryptobug  After reading that Smith argued for cigarettes and horse medicine, maybe you won’t be surprised to hear she’s into funny money. Smith is a big advocate of cryptocurrency, has invested—and lost money—in it, and trucks in some pretty wild conspiracy theories about central banks when she talks about it 2. The bus wrap  The 2012 Wildrose Party campaign bus.  1. Scab Danielle Smith scabbed for Conrad Black during the extremely contentious 1998-99 strike at the Calgary Herald. If you’re in the labour movement and you’re talking to other people in the other labour movement about Danielle Smith the first thing and the last thing out of your mouth should be that she happily crossed a picket line and helped break a strike.  “Scabby the Rat” outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Monday, Sept. 26, as workers picketed. Photo by Jack Tomczuk via the Scabby the Rat Facebook page.  Duncan Kinney http://www.progressalberta.ca/ PS: If you want to share an online version of this story it's available here.

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