Harnessing the Bay of Fundy: 

New platform has turbines like a boat's outboard motor

METEGHAN, N.S. — A large floating platform with six underwater turbines was launched Monday near the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, marking the latest high-tech bid to generate electricity by harnessing the bay's powerful tides.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Sustainable Marine Energy Canada started testing a smaller but similar catamaran-style platform near Nova Scotia's Brier Island in 2018. The bigger, second-generation platform is expected to undergo testing this winter and spring in the same area, known as Grand Passage.


It will be towed later this year to the bay's Minas Passage, near Cape Sharp, N.S., where it will be permanently installed in a test area that experiences the world's highest tides. The company describes the 420-kilowatt PLAT-I 6.40 platform as Canada's first floating tidal energy array. It is expected to produce 50 per cent more power than its predecessor.

The turbines look like inverted windmills and are designed to flip up for maintenance like a boat's outboard motor. The platform includes a turret that will allow it to align itself with the tidal flow. It was built by A.F. Theriault and Son Ltd. in Meteghan, N.S., the site of Monday's launch.

Sustainable Marine, whose Canadian office is located in Dartmouth, N.S., says its Pempa'q In-stream Tidal Energy Project will eventually include two other platforms, which will produce a total of nine megawatts of electricity — enough energy to supply 3,000 homes. Pempa'q is the Mi'kmaq word for "rise of the tide."

The federal government contributed $28.5 million to the project in November. Sustainable Marine's parent company is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Its major shareholders include the Canadian government, Schottel GmbH of Germany and Scottish Enterprise, based in Glasgow.

"This tidal technology is the result of a tremendous international effort combining world-class scientific and engineering expertise from our German, Scottish and Canadian teams," Jason Hayman, CEO of Sustainable Marine Canada, said in a statement released Monday. "(It) is the culmination of a decade of research and development."

The Bay of Fundy has been the site for several tidal turbine demonstration projects over the years. In 2009, an in-stream prototype turbine that sat on the bottom of the Minas Passage was torn apart by the bay's powerful currents, which can move at 18 kilometres per hour.

In November 2016, a larger turbine built by Cape Sharp Tidal was hooked up to Nova Scotia's electric grid — a historic first — but the turbine was later removed for inspections and servicing in June 2017.

In July 2018, Cape Sharp Tidal successfully connected a massive, two megawatt in-stream tidal turbine to the grid. But the venture collapsed a day later when one of its owners, Dublin-based OpenHydro, was forced into bankruptcy proceedings.

In November 2018, court documents revealed the turbine had been damaged beyond repair only two months after it had been deployed on July 24, 2018. The inoperable turbine is still sitting on the floor of the bay.

— By Michael MacDonald in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2021.

The Canadian Press

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The Fragment on Machines

Opinion: My great-grandmother exposed lynchings. This is what she would say about the Capitol riot


The mob action that took place at the US Capitol two weeks before the inauguration was a reminder that most White and Black Americans live in different worlds with vastly different realities.

© Courtesy National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution Ida Bell Wells-Barnett

Most White people in America have the privilege to express their anger, to have their humanity recognized and their grievances heard even when they are loud, rowdy or destructive. There is a privilege to being able to scream at police officers and be met with compassion and patience.

There is a privilege in feeling free enough to assemble in large numbers armed with assault weapons, to storm federal buildings, crash through windows, roam around a seat of power, take selfies, brandish flags with racist symbols -- and leave unharmed. There is a privilege in being considered an individual making personal choices versus an example of an entire race.

This feeling of freedom to take a violent approach to express feelings of being wronged is an extension of the unbridled barbarism and oppression my great-grandmother Ida B. Wells lived through over 100 years ago. Born into slavery in 1862, Wells came of age during Reconstruction.

The progress of Black people was met with rage and violence then, too. Hate groups formed and reigns of terror were unleashed. Black people were murdered with impunity for minor infractions or accusations of crimes. Mob rule ran rampant and more often than not, no White person involved in the murder of a Black person was ever held accountable. The idea that they were "taking their country back" was the motivation for rolling back the gains achieved by Black Americans back then -- and it echoed in 2021.

Every Black person I know who watched the insurrectionists storm the Capitol on January 6 saw America's disparate racial realities in the in-your-face exhibition of White privilege on steroids. A deeply wounding reminder of all we cannot do.

For us, it is not about wanting the freedom to commit violent acts. It is about wanting to see people prosecuted for those acts rather than feel they can commit them without consequences. It is about wanting Black people to receive the same grace by police as those who were gently escorted out of the capitol after breaking, entering, and desecrating it.

Black people know from 400 years of experience in this country that we do not have the freedom to express anger without being considered threatening -- and sometimes shot or killed. We do not have the freedom to brazenly enter the halls of power shirtless with painted bodies and headdresses and be regarded as individuals who are legitimately expressing ourselves. Then, be served organic food upon request once arrested days later.

This is the reality Black Americans have known all along. Emboldened White people feel they have to right to question the presence of Black people in school dormitories, in coffee shops, in parks, in parking lots while listening to music. Police officers shot and killed Botham Jean and Breonna Taylor in their own homes. And then of course the murder of George Floyd, broadcast for the world to see, showed how police response to Black people's minor transgressions can result in death.

As I watched the mob of so-called "patriots" storm the Capitol with minimal law enforcement present, the fact that some of the vigilantes had plastic zip ties and weapons and walked away unharmed was mind-boggling. It reminded me of how mobs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries gathered to participate in and watch lynchings of Black people, take pictures of each other's gleeful faces and convert them into postcards, and absolutely no one was arrested for murder.

In fact, Wells concluded there were times that law enforcement officers were either part of the mob or did nothing to stop them. She wrote in the 1893 "The Reason Why" pamphlet: "The mob spirit had increased with alarming frequency and violence. Over a thousand black men, women and children have been thus sacrificed the past ten years. Masks have long since been thrown aside and the lynchings of the present day take place in broad daylight." My great-grandmother would have probably been disappointed but not surprised that lawless White men today are met with a wink and a nod.

The history of White citizens policing Black people and railing against Black progress is centuries-long -- from slave patrols, Black codes and sundown towns to today's harassment of people in driveways of their own homes. Wells documented hundreds of lynchings that took place during her time.

When Black people have expressed anger and wanted to fight for the right to be free in the nation of their birth, the response has often been one of brutal militarized force. The entire summer of 2020 was an example of that. And the summer of 2014, the spring of 1968, the summer of 1919 and more. Time and time again, when Black people have shown up and expressed their pain and rage, we are treated as threatening criminals who need to be oppressed and controlled.

Meanwhile, on January 6 the Capitol mob proudly displayed nooses and a Confederate flag while the whole nation watched. Federal prosecutors have charged over 100 defendants in connection with the Capitol riot. And yet, during the January 13 impeachment hearings dramatic false equivalencies were made between those who protested police brutality and social oppression during the summer to those who tried to violently overturn an election result they did not like. Again, conflating Black anger and hurt with criminality, while shrugging off White mayhem and destruction.

So, in the midst of the joy and pride I felt on Inauguration Day watching Kamala Harris take the oath to assume the second most powerful political position in the land, my elation was tempered by the fact that huge swaths of this country's population resent her being there. Resent us being here. I can celebrate the fact that her achievement was made possible by the work of thousands of women, including Wells, in the suffrage movement and all of the freedom fighters who endured indignities over the decades. On January 20 there was a sense of hope that the dreams of our ancestors can come true.

We have experienced a century of laws that made way for racial progress -- however morality and human decency cannot be legislated. My great-grandmother spent her life fighting for justice and equality so the next generations could enjoy the benefits of being treated as first-class citizens in this country. Black parents today want the same for their children and subsequent generations. We can take pride and joy in the milestone of a Black/South Asian woman breaking social and political barriers, while also acknowledging the unfinished work toward racial equality and justice that lies ahead.

© Courtesy Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission A mosaic of Ida B. Wells designed by artist Helen Marshall pictured on August 24, 2020 in Washington, DC.

© Philip Dembinski Michelle Duster

Opinion: Even in dead of winter, appreciate our life-giving wetlands


During the cold, short days of winter on the Prairies, we rarely think about wetlands. They are frozen and covered with snow, there are few obvious signs of wildlife activity, and our thoughts are elsewhere at this time of year, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. But as the days get noticeably longer and we look forward to spring, we can also recognize and celebrate World Wetlands Day.

© Provided by Leader Post Saskatchewan's wetlands are a precious resource.

World Wetlands Day is celebrated around the world each year on Feb. 2 in recognition of the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. This year is the 50th anniversary of this historic signing and the theme for 2021 couldn’t be more fitting: Wetlands and Water, Inseparable and Vital to Life.

Over the decades, Saskatchewan has seen many landscape changes and, unfortunately, many of these have resulted in lost wetland benefits. Saskatchewan does not have a wetland inventory and is the only Prairie province without a wetland policy.

There have been positive developments of late, and signs are favourable that Saskatchewan is moving in a direction that identifies the importance of these vital resources to the people of our province.

The formation of the Global Water Futures Program (GWF) is one promising example. GWF is a University of Saskatchewan-led research program that will deliver risk management solutions to manage water futures in Canada and other cold regions where landscapes, ecosystems and the water environments are changing as a result of global warming.

Under the GWF umbrella, Prairie Water works to address pressing concerns specific to the Canadian prairies, such as water availability, aquatic ecosystem health, and water management practice and governance. Results from ongoing research efforts of GWF and Prairie Water will be important to the people of Saskatchewan and will help with efforts to develop a provincial wetland policy.

The value of water to all living things is recognized, but other aspects of prairie wetlands are also worthy of our appreciation. Wetland plants provide homes and feeding places for many species. Wetlands filter and purify water and fight climate change by storing carbon in the soil. Wetlands also reduce the impacts of flood and drought.

To this end, Ducks Unlimited Canada maintains that we need wetlands now more than ever. Developments resulting in the loss of wetland benefits should follow a true mitigation sequence to avoid harm to wetlands where possible, reduce impacts to wetlands if avoidance cannot be achieved, and finally, as a last resort, compensate for wetland loss. Compensation includes restoration to capture lost environmental benefits; wetlands must be replaced with wetlands.

As recent initiatives in Saskatchewan promise to help move our province toward the implementation of a wetland policy, there is cause for hope; hope that by truly mitigating for development and conserving remaining wetlands, we can help address the impacts of climate change, enhance biodiversity and prosper from the positive economic spinoffs of sustainability, resulting in improved public trust and increased market access.

With hope and anticipation, we look forward to celebrating a beneficial wetland policy for Saskatchewan on World Wetlands Day 2022.

Michael Champion is head of industry and government relations for Ducks Unlimited Canada’s Saskatchewan division.

Russian Fabergé exhibition contains 'at least 20 fakes', expert says

A Russian museum has been asked to end a Fabergé exhibition, which contains items loaned from the personal collection of a billionaire, after a prominent expert said it contained more than a dozen fakes.

© Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Alexander Demianchuk/Tass

In a letter, the art dealer Andre Ruzhnikov accused the Hermitage Museum’s director, Mikhail Piotrovsky, of “destroying the authority of the museum” by hosting the Fabergé: Jeweller to the Imperial Court show, which runs until 14 March.

Ruzhnikov told the Guardian that the exhibition included at least 20 fakes, and that he thought the exhibition, which is the first big Fabergé event at the St Petersburg institution since 1993, should close immediately.

He said: “I want the shame to end. I want this show to be closed and forgotten, and that’s it. You cannot subject the Hermitage to such shame.”

The Hermitage and Ivanov have denied the claims and the billionaire produced documents that support the authenticity of the items that were loaned from the Fabergé Museum in Baden-Baden, which he established in 2009.

Piotrovsky and the Hermitage did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier Piotrovsky directed press to the show’s catalogue preface, which says: “The authenticity of each fresh item that appears on the market can always be challenged and disputed … the consensus of the expert community is not easy to obtain and is often lacking.”

One of the items at the centre of the Hermitage dispute is a Wedding Anniversary Egg that was purportedly gifted by Czar Nicholas II to Empress Alexandra on their 10th wedding anniversary in 1904.

Last year a Fabergé researcher DeeAnn Hoff raised discrepancies with the item, including the claim that some of the portraits on the egg were based on recently colourised photographs taken after 1904.

Hoff also said that the portrait of the Czar seemed to come from an outdated photograph from 1894 that pictured him with four rather than five medals that he wore on his uniform from 1896 onwards.

Related: Kneel before the bus! Soviet roadside wonders – in pictures

Russian interest in Peter Carl Fabergé, the St Petersburg-based jeweller whose workshop officially supplied the Russian imperial court from 1885 until the revolution in 1917, has boomed in recent years, fuelled partly by patriotism with about 80% of buyers in the market estimated to be Russian speakers.

© Photograph: Alexander Demianchuk/Tass The Hermitage museum and Ivanov have denied the claims.

As interest has risen, Ivanov has become a leading intermediary – connecting collectors with Fabergé items. “There’s always a queue of people who want to buy things for me,” he told the Independent in 2010. “If I’ve bought it, people know it’s worth something.”

Ivanov rose to prominence in Europe after making several high-profile Fabergé acquisitions, including a £9m purchase of an egg that once belonged to the Rothschild banking dynasty and was the subject to a dispute over a missing VAT payment.

Ivanov served in the Soviet navy before starting business enterprises – including selling Amstrad computers at significant markups to Soviet factories – before becoming one of Russia’s most prominent Fabergé buyers alongside oil billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, who opened a rival Fabergé museum.

 

Thai villagers worship termite's nest that looks like a young boy

Duration: 00:51 

Superstitious villagers are worshiping a termite's nest believed to be the ghost of a young boy. The 60cm high nest made from dried mud baffled locals when it was found in the middle of a forest in Surin, Thailand on January 27.

The Moon Affects Our Sleep Cycles, Research Finds

© Unsplash Phases of the moon

You might’ve felt this intuitively yourself: It’s time for bed, the lights are out, and yet you’re wide awake, tossing and turning. You do eventually manage to fall asleep, but even then, it’s a very shallow, restless sort of sleep…

Well, now more research suggests you need not look further than outside your window and at the moon for the cause of this sleeplessness. However, in a surprising twist, the findings weren’t entirely what the researchers anticipated. While we know that humans are a species ruled by light (whether naturally-occurring or artificial), the “lunar phase effect” affects sleep even when artificial sources of light are accounted for.

See also: Naps in your day may leave you smarter, according to new study.

Rather than people staying up later and sleeping less during the full moon, it was just before the full moon that sleep was shorter and lighter.

“[It] turns out that the nights before the full moon are the ones that have most of the moonlight during the first half of the night,” said the study’s author Horacio de la Iglesia, a professor of biology at the University of Washington in The Guardian. The opposite was true just before the new moon — people tended to sleep more and go to bed earlier.

Ninety-eight participants across three Indigenous communities in Argentina wore wrist monitors tracking sleep patterns over the course of one to two months. While one community had no access to electricity, the second community had limited access, and the third community was located in an urban setting with full access to electricity.

The study also found that this lunar phase effect on sleep also appeared to have greater impact on people the more limited their access to electricity was.

In every community, participants’ peak sleepless period occurred in the three to five days leading up to the full moon night, while the opposite was true for the new moon, the study authors found.

Wanting further insight, the researchers compared their data to the results of a similar study of 464 Seattle-based students at the University of Washington. The findings proved consistent.

This research supports the notion that try as we may, we can’t ever fully get away from some forces of nature.


The post The Moon Affects Our Sleep Cycles, Research Finds appeared first on Slice.

World's largest iceberg shatters into a dozen pieces

The world's largest iceberg has shattered into a dozen pieces, the U.S. National Ice Center (USNIC) reported on Sunday (Jan. 31), bringing the colossal object a few leaps closer to its total destruction. Thousands of local penguins have breathed a sigh of relief.

© Provided by Live Science A satellite images shows the disintegration of iceberg A68a

The iceberg, named A-68a, broke off of northern Antarctica's Larsen C Ice Shelf on July 12, 2017, and has been steadily drifting north ever since. While the berg initially measured more than 2,300 square miles (6,000 square kilometers) in area — large enough to hold the five boroughs of New York City five times over — it is also extremely thin, and began losing large chunks of ice beginning in April 2020.

Last week, the gigantic raft of ice split down the middle while drifting through the relatively warm waters near the British overseas territory of South Georgia Island — and now, both sides of the berg are cracking apart at the seams.

Related: Images of melt: Earth's vanishing ice

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According to the USNIC, a total of 13 total chunks have cracked off of iceberg A-68 now, with seven new ones appearing in the last few days. (Icebergs that break off of the same parent berg are named with sequential letters of the alphabet; the newest chunks are named A-68g, A-68h, A-68i, A-68j, A-68k, A-68l and A-68m).

While these recent crack-ups signal the iceberg's inevitable doom, they also bring good news for nearby South Georgia Island. In November 2020, scientists monitoring the iceberg's path feared that it would smash into the seafloor near South Georgia, potentially crushing some of the island's seal, penguin and whale residents, and cutting off foraging routes for the survivors.

In January, the iceberg followed currents around the island, removing the most immediate danger to wildlife. Now, with this most recent series of disintegrations, the threat of a collision looks even less likely, the BBC reported.

At this rate, there may be very little for British researchers to study during their planned mission to investigate the iceberg with underwater robots. The twin submersibles are currently scheduled to spend almost four months collecting data on seawater temperature, salinity and water clarity from opposite sides of the iceberg (or, whatever's left of it), Live Science previously reported.

Originally published on Live Science.

Alberta tech companies blossom during pandemic's economic drought

© Helcim/Supplied Calgary company, Helcim had a strong year despite the economic challenges of the pandemic.

Alberta tech companies are finding ways to thrive in the middle of the economic desert caused by COVID-19.

At a time when many other businesses are suffering, this sector has found a way to harness the pandemic to grow the industry.

"It has been beneficial to us because a lot of companies recognize that they had either outdated systems or systems that didn't support remote working or [were] looking to streamline processes that normally take place in an office," said Vince O'Gorman, the CEO of Vog App Developers.


Calgary companies Vog and Helcim Inc. were each able to grow their workforce by about 40 per cent during the pandemic.

"There's a big shift ... and we benefit from that digitization," Nicolas Beique, Helcim's founder, said.

Calgary Economic Development has seen huge successes from the tech industry during the pandemic, including the $1.1 billion investment deal scored by Benevity.

"It feels like it's their day in the spotlight for sure," said Mary Moran, president of CED.

"We're still at what I would call the dawn of our development in our tech ecosystem. But we really have ambitious goals to grow it to 10 times the size it is today."

CED projects that Calgary businesses will spend $7.5 billion on digital transformations between 2019 and 2022 — and that tech sector hiring will double the pace of the rest of Alberta's economy.

Jobs, Economy and Innovation Minister, Doug Schweitzer's office said while a specific breakdown is difficult, tech companies in their analysis appeared to be weathering the pandemic better than other sectors.

The minister's office says Calgary and Edmonton both broke records for venture capital investments in 2020.

"The tech sector in Alberta has fortunately seen continued momentum and we expect that they will see even greater investment in 2021," Schweitzer's office said.
Federal, provincial aid critical during 2020

Visionstate Corp. saw their sanitation "internet of things" services skyrocket.

"I almost hate to say this, but the fact is, is that because our technology is focused on cleaning, the pandemic has made it more relevant than ever prior to the pandemic," CEO John Putters said.

The first months of the pandemic presented challenges as spending hit a standstill. All the companies CBC News spoke to said they used the federal emergency programs for at least one month.

"I think that we would have been seriously challenged to get through those periods without the financing and I would say it was probably critical to our existence moving forward," Putters said.

The federal department of finance says that as of December, $6.8 billion was provided to Alberta businesses through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. While a further breakdown of aid by sector was unavailable, the department said 277 small and medium sized businesses in the province also received grants through the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), which supports technology innovation projects.

The provincial government had 726 applications from professional, scientific and technical services businesses for its Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant as of December, representing four per cent of total applications.

In addition, millions more are being deployed to tech companies through other Alberta government programs intended to support small business innovation.

Calgary's gaming community has also seen benefits from the pandemic.

"We're seeing a lot of interesting projects kind of pop up that may not have happened before," Mike Lohaus, president of the Calgary Game Developers Association, said.

The association is trying to find ways to showcase the new games to attract investments and attention to Calgary developers. However, the members have found funding hard to come by.
A fragile future for tech

The tech CEOs fear this newfound success is precarious.

"Alberta's got nothing but growth potential ahead of it. I think it's gone through so many difficult economic periods that with the tech sector being so new and growing, there isn't that much of a foundation to it. People are building foundations at this point," Beique said.

And as companies find success, U.S. firms are watching for talent and businesses to poach.

"There needs to be more tax incentive, more encouragement to employ people here, not lose the dream to other companies that are out of the U.S.," said O'Gorman.

"The market is still pretty fragile for tech."

Each agreed that while the current support from the province is helpful, a closer look needs to be taken at how those dollars could be more effective. And they said more competitive tax incentives or credits for companies and investors is needed.

"When they're making IT grants or investments ... make those investments directly into businesses," Beique said. "There's been a lot of push for different accelerators and incubators and things like that. But unfortunately, those middlemen don't always translate into giving the cash needed to small tech companies."

Putters is equally concerned about the U.S. having the capacity to offer better incentives.

"That sort of frightens me because we have a lot of very smart people and you certainly hate to see them go leave the province looking for opportunities elsewhere," he said.

"It requires investment into education and the right programs."

The companies are working to build on the momentum established during the pandemic, but is wary that without proper support Alberta's tech industry will fall short of its full potential.

Wikipedia unveils 'code of conduct' to stem misinformation

Wikipedia on Tuesday unveiled a "universal code of conduct" aimed at stemming abuse, misinformation and manipulation on the global online encyclopedia.

© Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP Wikipedia celebrated its 20th anniversary on January 15, having become among the world's top 15 websites with an estimated 1.7 billion visitors per month.

The new code was released by the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that administers Wikipedia, expanding on its existing policies to create a set of community standards to combat "negative behavior," according to a statement.


The new policy aims to thwart efforts to distort and manipulate content on Wikipedia, the largest online encyclopedia which is managed largely by volunteers using "crowdsourced" information.

"Our new universal code of conduct was developed for the new internet era, on the premise that we want our contributor communities to be positive, safe and healthy environments for everyone involved," said Katherine Maher, chief executive of the foundation.

"This code will be a binding document for anyone that participates in our projects providing a consistent enforcement process for dealing with harassment, abuse of power and deliberate attempts to manipulate facts."

The 1,600-word code was developed with input from some 1,500 Wikipedia volunteers representing five continents and 30 languages, and includes clear definitions of harassment and unacceptable behavior.

The code includes language aimed at preventing the abuse of power and influence to intimidate others, and the deliberate introduction of false or inaccurate content.

The move comes after Wikipedia celebrated its 20th anniversary on January 15, having become among the world's top 15 websites with an estimated 1.7 billion visitors per month.

The move comes amid heightened pressure on internet platforms to stem manipulation and disinformation campaigns which may be used for political ends or to promote discord or violence.

Canada backs Enbridge Line 3 pipeline project as opposition mounts in Minnesota

Canada’s federal government is voicing its support for Calgary-based Enbridge’s Line 3 project in northern Minnesota as opposition to the pipeline’s construction intensifies.

Canadian Ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman has “underscored” to both federal and state-level U.S. officials the importance to both nations of “energy security and the free flow of resources over our shared border,” according to the office of Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan.

“We support the Line 3 Replacement Project," O’Regan’s press secretary Ian Cameron told Canada’s National Observer, noting that construction was complete on the Canadian side of the border. “We look forward to working with the secretary of energy in the U.S. on this and other issues, once they are confirmed.”

The comments come as the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden makes fighting the climate crisis a top priority, already moving swiftly to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s objections. Opponents of Line 3 want Biden to follow up that decision with another that yanks a water permit for the pipeline.

It means Trudeau’s cabinet is on the opposite side politically as some of the more progressive politicians in the U.S., such as Rep. Ilhan Omar, who represents Minnesota's fifth district and is the whip for the Congressional Progressive Caucus. On Jan. 30, Omar met with Indigenous leaders organizing against Line 3.

“We owe it to future generations, to the Indigenous communities we've signed treaties with and to every living being on this planet to stop building fossil fuel infrastructure,” Omar said. Her visit was followed by the release of an open letter in the Star Tribune, the largest newspaper in Minnesota, that was signed by famous music acts like Bon Iver and Pearl Jam.

Enbridge is in the process of building a bigger Line 3, its 1960s-era pipeline that travels 1,660 kilometres from Edmonton, Alta., across the Canada-U.S. border, through Minnesota to the western edge of Lake Superior, where it feeds Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline and its Great Lakes pipeline network.

After many decades of use, Line 3 has been deteriorating and its capacity has dropped. Enbridge is replacing it with a wider pipe that it says will carry much more oil — 760,000 barrels per day of light, medium and heavy crude — to refineries in the Midwest and Eastern Canada.

In December, the company started construction on the pipeline segment in Minnesota after finishing construction on other segments on the Canadian side and in Wisconsin and North Dakota.

The new pipeline would “improve the integrity of the pipeline network, reduce the transportation of oil by rail and on public roads, and increase environmental safety," said Cameron.

Trudeau spoke with U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Monday, and while the prime minister’s readout of the conversation did not mention any specific pipeline by name, it said he underlined “the importance of strengthening North American energy security.”

The pipeline has faced mounting opposition from critics who point out that new fossil fuel infrastructure will delay the energy transition needed to slow the climate crisis. The pipeline also traverses ecologically sensitive lands, and opponents say it would “threaten drinking water for millions” and trample Indigenous rights.

The Red Lake Band of Chippewa, the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, the Sierra Club and Honor the Earth have filed a lawsuit asking for an injunction to stop construction. There is also an opposition camp near Park Rapids, Minn.

“These projects are not really viable,” said Lindsey Bacigal, director of communications at Indigenous Climate Action. “If it gets to the point where it gets cancelled, I think it’s really symbolic and representative of the fact that pipelines are being replaced with better and cleaner sources of energy.”

Bacigal said there has been cross-border social media and other forms of digital support for Honor the Earth and other Indigenous climate opposition in the absence of more support on the ground due to health restrictions from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

She said the Canadian federal government’s support for Line 3 means “multiple members of government are really just doubling down on the oil industry.”

Line 3 opponents want Biden to revoke a key federal permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Nov. 23, 2020 covering impact on waters from construction during the Line 3 replacement project. The corps said it had determined the project was in the public interest and was also “compliant with all federal laws and regulations.”

Enbridge says the work is necessary for safety reasons, and the company also notes the project passed six years’ worth of permit and regulatory reviews, including dozens of public comment meetings and an Obama-era consent decree.

“Enbridge has demonstrated ongoing respect for tribal sovereignty,” said Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner. She said Line 3 was routed outside of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation and through the reservation of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa “as the result of negotiations with tribal leadership.”

“The project is already providing significant economic benefits in Minnesota for counties, small businesses, Native American communities, and union members,” said Kellner.

Enbridge has spent $180 million on the project “specifically with tribal nations, communities and contractors,” Kellner added, and 300 Indigenous men and women are working on the project, or nine per cent of its workforce.

Bacigal said that kind of approach highlights how Indigenous communities are put into paradoxical situations when it comes to fossil fuel infrastructure.

“We have to choose between something that can maybe help to prop up our economy, but then is going to violate the lands and the waters and can have these long-term impacts,” she said.

Carl Meyer / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer

Carl Meyer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, National Observer