MPs from across political spectrum urge feds to support WTO's COVID-19 vaccine waiver

WASHINGTON — A broad coalition of MPs from all five parties wants the federal government to support waiving the global rules that guard vaccine trade secrets.

 

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The group of 65 MPs has written a letter urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to support the proposed World Trade Organization waiver.

The government has agreed to take part in talks, but says in a statement it "firmly believes" that protecting intellectual property is important.

It also notes it supports other methods of expanding access to vaccines, providing $940 million to date to expand access in low- and middle-income countries.

Supporters of the waiver say it would make it easier for developing countries to import the equipment, expertise and materials needed to make their own vaccines.

The idea is opposed by the pharmaceutical industry and a number of key world leaders who say it would be counterproductive.

"Our government firmly believes in the importance of protecting (intellectual property), and recognizes the integral role that industry has played in innovating to develop and deliver life-saving COVID-19 vaccines," International Trade Minister Mary Ng said in a statement.

"Since the introduction of the IP waiver proposal, Canada has actively worked with partners to identify barriers to vaccine access — many of which are unrelated to IP, such as supply chain constraints."

Diana Sarosi, policy and campaigns director for Oxfam Canada, called agreeing to talks a step in the right direction, but assailed the government for its "wait-and-see approach" on intellectual property.

"Canada continues to prioritize profits over public health," Sarosi said in a statement.

Signatories to the letter to Trudeau include a number of prominent government MPs, as well as Conservatives like Michelle Rempel Garner and Phil McColeman.

"There is no question that normative intellectual property rights represent a significant potential barrier" to vaccine access in some parts of the world, they write.

"Last July, alongside other world leaders, you wrote that 'where you live should not determine whether you live,' but that is exactly what is happening."

The United States surprised many this week when it expressed support for the waiver and promised to sit down at the WTO to take part in text-based negotiations — a significant step toward a consensus.

But consensus is notoriously difficult to come by at the world trade body, and several prominent members, including Germany and the U.K., stand firmly opposed to the idea of a waiver.

THEY ARE MANUFACTURING COUNTRIES FOR PHARMA CANADA IS NOT

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2021.

The Canadian Press

Carbon emissions from energy dropped 10% in the EU last year

BRUSSELS — Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion dropped 10% in the European Union last year amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to estimates from the EU's statistical office.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Eurostat said in a statement Friday that emissions fell in all of the EU's 27 member nations compared to 2019 as governments imposed lockdown measures to slow the spread of the virus.

Greece recorded the largest decrease (-18.7%), followed by Estonia (-18.1%), Luxembourg (-17.9%), Spain (-16.2%) and Denmark (-14.8%). The countries with the smallest reductions were Malta (-1%), Hungary (-1.7%), Ireland (-2.6%) and Lithuania (-2.6%).

Eurostat said the sources of the cutbacks varied.

“The largest decreases were seen for all types of coals. The consumption of oil and oil products also decreased in almost all member states, while natural gas consumption decreased only in 15 member states and increased or stayed at the same level in the 12 others,” the office said.

CO2 emissions from energy consumption account for about 75% of all man-made greenhouse gases in the EU. The amounts produced are influenced by many factors, including economic growth, transportation and industrial activities.

As part of the “European Green Deal," the EU has committed itself to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Brussels is also aiming to become “climate-neutral” by midcentury. Scientists say this goal needs to be achieved to keep average global temperatures from rising above 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) by the year 2100.

___

Follow AP's climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate

The Associated Press

WHY EMPLOYERS CAN'T FIND WORKERS 
Dollar General at center of labor unrest controversy after frustrated workers walk off job in Maine citing low wages and understaffed stores

insider@insider.com (Áine Cain) 

© Courtesy of Nate Theriault Courtesy of Nate Theriault

WOBBLIES

BAD WORKING CONDITIONS LOW PAY WOBBLE THE JOB

Dollar General employees quit in protest over understaffing and low pay at a store in Eliot, Maine.

"They figured that they had me trapped in a job that I couldn't get out of. To some degree they were right," one worker told Insider.

The walkout at the Dollar General follows much labor unrest in the state in recent months.

Berndt Erikson worked as the nightly closer and key-holder at a Dollar General in the small town of Eliot, Maine. After every shift, he'd count up the money generated by the store and clean up before heading out.

But when he closed up shop on May 3, he knew he wouldn't be going back.

Erikson and his fellow employees walked out of the store that day, leaving signs on the windows highlighting what they say were unacceptable working conditions at the retailer.

He said that understaffing, low wages, and frustration over a lack of communication from the company's district management ultimately led to his decision to move on. In total, two employees and a manager quit the store, leaving one sole staffer remaining.

"Out of respect for these individuals, as well as the value we place on open and direct communication with our employees, we do not plan to comment on their employment status further," Dollar General told local news station WMTW in a statement. "Our Eliot store remains open to provide the York County community with convenient, affordable access to everyday essentials."

The company did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.
-☭ ♥️Berndt♥️Erikson♥️☭ (@Berndt_LVS) May 3, 2021

Erikson had started at the Maine Dollar General in January 2020, after getting laid off from a local Super Shoes store. But very quickly, he said, the Dollar General began hemorrhaging workers. Pay for workers stayed around $13 an hour on average, which Erikson says was not a living wage in that part of Maine.

"People started to try to find better jobs, or they just had enough of being worked to death and being disrespected by both corporate and customers," he told Insider. "We were already understaffed the entire time I had worked there, but it got to a point where we were not able to keep up."

Keeping lean store staffs is a part of Dollar General's business model, and one of the reasons the chain has been able to expand its footprint at such a rapid rate. In 1992, the company operated 1,522 stores in the US. As of February 26, 2021, Dollar General has a fleet of 17,266 stores across 46 states.

However, critics say that having so few employees to man the stores creates an unsafe environment, leaving workers as targets for robberies and violence. In Erikson's case, he said that anti-maskers and anti-vax customers often screamed at employees, adding further tension to an already-difficult work environment. Meanwhile, requests by store managers that he receive a raise for his work were often ignored.

"They figured that they had me trapped in a job that I couldn't get out of. To some degree, they were right," he said.

But eventually, Erikson said, he decided that it would be better to seek out work with a different employer. And he's not alone. As the coronavirus pandemic winds down, many business owners have complained about a tightening labor market, with employees quitting their minimum wage jobs to seek higher-paying roles.

The day before Erikson quit, the store manager left. He later called the acting district manager numerous times to say that he couldn't man the entire store from opening to closing, but never heard back. Fed up, he and his coworker wrote up the signs - even including a special message to Joe, a beloved regular customer who'd often buy them sodas - and locked up the place at 4 p.m. that day.

The store opened back up the next day, with assistance from the acting district manager.
-Andy "Pass the PRO Act" O'Brien (@aobrien2010) May 4, 2021

"The Dollar General walk-out in Eliot is yet another example of service sector realizing the true value of their labor after suffering with low wages, poor treatment and lousy working conditions," Maine's AFL-CIO union communications director Andy O'Brien said in a statement to Insider. "While business owners are constantly whining and complaining about how they can't find enough people to work for them, they still refuse to pay living wages to attract employees and the workers are fighting back."

O'Brien added that, in the case of Dollar General, workers say the company expects in-store salaried employees work 70 to 80 hours a week. O'Brien said that a bill in the Maine legislature could make most salaried employees earning up to $55,000 a year eligible for overtime pay, which would "prevent the kind of blatant exploitation of salaried employees that Dollar General continues to get away with."

The walkout at the Dollar General in Eliot isn't the only flicker of labor unrest to occur in the state in recent months. According to O'Brien, "the pandemic and the sacrifices frontline workers have had to make" have sparked a recent victory for striking shipyard workers, an ongoing strike by delivery drivers and mechanics, and successful union drives among nurses and museum workers in the state.

"When working people win, other workers become inspired and that's why we're seeing more of these kinds of wild cat strikes and walk outs," O'Brien said. "It's an exciting time to be alive."

Erikson told Insider that he's well aware that he may be retaliated against, or black-balled from future retail jobs. But he said he's glad that his story has resonated with frustrated retail workers around the country, based on the reaction on social media. He also said that, in a way, his experience at Dollar General has helped bolster his self-esteem.

"I eventually got fed up with it and started to see my own self worth," he said. "I actually gained the confidence to fight back, which is probably what led to me leaving in style. So thank you, Dollar General."

Recalling the eruption of Mount Pelée — deadliest volcano in the 20th century

Randi Mann 

7/5/2021

Listen to The Weather Network's This Day in Weather History podcast on this topic, here.

This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by The Weather Network that features stories about people, communities, and events and how weather impacted them.

On Wednesday, May 7, 1902, Mount Pelée, on the island of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles, started to erupt. Around 29,000 people died, making it the deadliest eruption of the 20th century and one of the most destructive in recorded history.

On Apr. 23, Mount Pelée started eruptive activity. The volcano let out a series of large phreatic explosions that occurred before subsiding until early May.

© Provided by The Weather Network1902 eruption. 

Photograph of Mt. Pelee by Angelo Heilprin. Courtesy of Wikipedia

When Pelée started to start up again, the sky filled with dark clouds and lightning. The mountain emitted ash that blacked out the sun.

On May 5, a mudflow came down a side of the mountain and buried around 150 people. The mudflow also triggered three tsunamis that damaged coastal buildings.

Between May 6 and 7, the phreatic explosions turned magmatic.

On May 8, at about 8:00 a.m., the volcano exploded. Lava and turbulent gases flowed down the mountain at hurricane speeds. The volcanic material reached Saint-Pierre at 8:02 a.m. No one could escape. Most of the city's population died. Only two people in the actual city survived, and a few people from surrounding areas. All survivors experienced severe burns.

© Provided by The Weather Network Remains of Saint-Pierre. Courtesy of Wikipedia

Thumbnail: "Evacuees on Rue du Pavé, Fort-de-France after 1902 eruption, photographed by William H. Rau." Courtesy of Wikipedia/William Herman Rau

After the explosion, rescuers headed to the island. On May 20, Mount Pelée exploded again, killing 2,000 of the rescuers and other people who were helping with the aftermath. On Aug. 30, another eruption generated a pyroclastic flow, which killed an additional 800 people.

Mount Pelée continued to erupt until Oct. 1905.

This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by The Weather Network that features unique and informative stories from host Chris Mei.

India's rich are not the only ones fleeing the Covid crisis on private jets, says CEO

Karen Gilchrist 

CNBC

6/5/2021

Indian tycoons and Bollywood stars are not alone in fleeing the country's escalating coronavirus crisis, says the CEO of private jet charter company JetSetGo.

Upper-middle class families are pooling their resources to escape to Maldives and Dubai, Kanika Tekriwal told CNBC.

JetSetGo has seen a 900% surge in bookings in recent weeks — with some 70% to 80% coming from the upper middle class, instead of their regular ultra high net worth customers.

India's wealthy are not alone in fleeing the country's Covid crisis, says private jet CEO


Tycoons and Bollywood stars may be among the most high profile residents fleeing India's shores on private jets as the coronavirus crisis escalates — but they are by no means the only ones, according to private jet charter company JetSetGo.

The situation in India has become so dire that even upper-middle class families are pooling their resources to make an escape, its co-founder and CEO Kanika Tekriwal told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia."

The South Asian country, battling a devastating surge in the virus, recorded 412,262 new cases on Thursday, taking its total caseload to more than 28 million.

"To say that only wealthy Indians are leaving India on private jets would be wrong," Tekriwal said Thursday from Maldives.

"In the last 10 days, what we have really seen is anyone who can put together the resources and the means to pool in money for a private jet, or to pool in money just to get out of the country, getting out."

Tekriwal said JetSetGo has seen a 900% surge in bookings in recent weeks — with some 70% to 80% coming from the upper middle class, instead of their regular ultra high net worth customers. The majority of them are fleeing to Maldives, which currently offers quarantine at a secluded resort for passengers arriving from India, or Dubai, which allows entry from business purposes.

"They're just people who are putting together money to get out of the country. I think it's them who fear Covid the most because they're not the ultra-rich or the most accessible to medical care," she said.

© Provided by CNBC Crowds of people are seen shopping during a weekly market at Kandivali.

JetSetGo has not increased its rates in response to the surging demand, Tekriwal said adding: "That would be opportunistic and wrong."

But at $18,000 to $20,000 for an eight-seater jet to Maldives, or $31,000 for a six-seater jet to Dubai, the journey does not come cheap — even for India's upper-middle class, who earn around $15,000 plus per year.

However, Tekriwal said the situation has become so out of control that, in some cases, the price of a private jet flight can be less than hospitalization fees.

Hospitalization costs about $2,500 a night, she said. "It's what hospital rooms are going at. So even if you've got two family members in hospital for 14 days, you're looking at double the price of flying to Dubai."

"That's what most of my customers have been telling me: 'We're okay with spending six months' of salary or our savings on escaping the country rather than being in half a hospital bed and not knowing how much we're going to be paying or if we're even going to be getting a hospital bed."

Tekriwal added that passengers who test positive for Covid-19 are not accepted on its regular flights. However, the company does offer a separate domestic and international air ambulance service.

Still, a private jet doesn't guarantee escape from the virus.

Despite enforcing new safety measures since last March — including mandatory testing, regular sanitization of aircrafts and no interaction between passengers and crew — Tekriwal said 30% of her staff have continued to test positive for the virus.

"What really hurts me most is that these teams come in, come out there, work with people to get them from point A to point B safely. And when they do test positive, they're taking the virus back home to their families, to their young children, and to their parents, which is quite disturbing," she said.

WATER IS LIFE 

'Goodwill' money from proposed nuclear waste site pours into declining Ontario farm town. What if it stops? BRIBERY BY ANY OTHER NAME

Colin Butler 

© Michelle Stein Protecting Our Waterways – No Nuclear Waste is a grassroots group that's trying to stop the community of Teeswater, Ont., from becoming a disposal site for nuclear waste.

A citizens' group is accusing Canada's nuclear industry of using its financial might to groom a declining Ontario farm community into becoming a willing host for the country's most dangerous radioactive waste.

In a pamphlet about the proposed disposal site that was published last year, the Ontario municipality of South Bruce —which encompasses the farming communities of Teeswater, Mildmay, Formosa and Salem — says it's "on the decline."

The pamphlet tells of a shrinking population, where rural towns and village "downtowns are fading from what they used to be," with vacant store windows, big infrastructure bills and few prospects for new economic growth.

Protecting Our Waterways – No Nuclear Waste, a grassroots citizens' group, accuses the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) of taking advantage of the decline by spending millions of dollars on "goodwill" projects the community couldn't afford on its own.

Bill Noll, a resident of Teeswater and the vice-president of Protecting Our Waterways, said the money has done a lot of good — it's helped find small-town doctors, boosted senior care, upgraded wells, and even bought local firefighters lifesaving new safety equipment.

Money 'divorced' from project, group says

"Its strictly a goodwill gesture," said Noll. "That money is not tied to anything to do with the project. It is completely divorced. Why would you spend one and a half million dollars on a community if you didn't expect something back in return?"

© Steven Travale/Municipality of South Bruce School officials pose with NWMO relationship manager Paul Austin, second from the left, at a cheque presentation at Hillcrest Central School in Teeswater. The NWMO has been bankrolling community projects for years through a 'goodwill' fund.

The project Noll is referring to is a $23-billion nuclear disposal site where the NWMO wants to inter some three million spent nuclear fuel bundles in a sprawling network of tunnels and holes 500 metres below the ground.

South Bruce is one of two Ontario communities — the other is Ignace, about 2½ hours northwest of Thunder Bay — under consideration for what the NWMO is calling the "deep geological repository." The NWMO says it's working with local communities in selecting the site in 2023.

In the case of South Bruce, test drilling recently began north of the dairy town of Teeswater to see if the ancient bedrock is viable enough. But funds from the NWMO have been flowing in since 2012, when the local council volunteered to be considered as a host.

According to a March 2021 report from South Bruce Treasurer Kendra Reinhart, the community has received more than $3.2 million from the NWMO since 2012. It's been used to pay for everything from St John Ambulance training, to offsetting extra costs of the pandemic, to the salaries of municipal employees.




The report didn't include all the money, and noted several sources of NWMO funding were omitted. For instance, left out were requests for additional support, such as the $1.5 million the municipality is seeking from a $4-million NWMO-sponsored investment fund to help offset the cost of expanding a local sewage treatment plant.

Michelle Stein, another Teeswater resident and president of Protect Our Waterways, said the money has become so ubiquitous that on March 23, the same day the treasury report was presented to South Bruce council, NWMO appeared on the council agenda 121 times.
Mayor says community 'foolish not to' take money

"If you look through our council agendas, its commonplace now to see an organization now like a community centre or fire hall to put in a request for a project, and included in their request is, 'Could we please have some money from the community well-being fund?'"

"Our community has really started to rely on the money from the NWMO," said Stein.

Stein and Noll said the more the municipality of South Bruce becomes intertwined financially with the NWMO, the harder it will be for the community to disentangle itself by saying no to the nuclear disposal site, lest it cut off the community's newfound source of wealth.

"We are not depending on the money we get from the NWMO to run the municipality. I can't stress that enough," South Bruce Mayor Robert Buckle told CBC News on Wednesday.

Buckle said that aside from the expense of exploring the proposal, the community is using the money for other projects he described as "not necessary to have, but are nice to have."

Critics say by taking the money, the municipality is undermining its official position, which has neither been for or against hosting the nuclear disposal site.

Buckle disagrees, saying the municipality is open to explore any and all opportunities that come its way and, if an organization such as NWMO is willing to pay the expenses, then the town should take full advantage.

"You are foolish not to," he said. "That's just business."

In the end, Buckle said, it should be the people who decide, but only if and when the NWMO picks Teeswater as its preferred location, and the decision should go to a referendum.

"This is my personal view," he said, noting council has yet to take an official position.

Until then, he said, the community will continue to take the money until the NWMO is set to make its official announcement sometime in 2023.
Nuclear industry wants to build 'positive legacy'

The NWMO said it is fully prepared to help shoulder the cost of the project as well as help build infrastructure capacity in South Bruce, if the community decides it's willing to host the project.

© Steven Travale/Municipality of South Bruce Firefighters with the South Bruce Fire Rescue service pose in new gear purchased by the NWMO, which is spending millions in the community on everything from playgrounds to finding rural doctors with its 'goodwill' fund.

"We are committed to leaving a positive legacy in all the communities in which we engage," said Lise Morton, vice-president of site selection for the NWMO.

Morton said all of the documentation for the spending as well as the financial agreements with communities participating in the site selection process are fully transparent and available online.

Still, critics charge that communities with few prospects for economic development may grow dependent on NWMO money, something Morton said she wouldn't speak to.

"That's really not for NWMO to determine or comment on. Really the municipality needs to ensure they're following their requirements under the Municipal Act."

She said the main objective of the NWMO, which is a non-profit organization, is to leave the potential host communities better off than when the process began, even if they say no.

But for Stein and Noll, who co-chair Protecting Our Waterways – No Nuclear Waste, no isn't the answer they worry about when it comes to the $23-billion project or the 700 jobs that would come with it.

"With such a large influx of employees and such a large influx of traffic going on, we're going to see a significant change to the culture of the community," said Noll.

"The population of South Bruce is only 5,600 people. When you bring that amount of people, there's going to be major changes going on."

ARYAN NATION RISING REDUX

Nazi flag on Alberta property triggers complaint to RCMP: A ‘slap in the face to Canada

’
Karen Bartko 

GLOBAL NEWS

6/5/2021

A formal complaint has been made to Alberta RCMP after a version of the Nazi flag was flown at a property northeast of Edmonton.

© Supplied A Nazi Hitler Youth flag flying on a property near Boyle, Alta. in May 2021.

The Hitler Youth flag was spotted on a flagpole south of Boyle, at a rural property along Highway 831, with a sign out front saying "Licenced Vehicle Inspections Station."

"The swastika is a symbol, for the Jewish community, of terror and of genocide," said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, the director of policy for Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC).

"I can't think of any other symbol that is so dark and frightening to our community as the swastika."

Read more: After taxi was spray-painted with swastikas, northern Alberta community rallied to help owner

The Flag of the Nazi Party is red with a black swastika on a white circle; whereas the modified Hitler Youth flag has a white horizontal stripe through the middle and narrow border around the universally recognized symbol of racist hatred

.

© Provided by Global News

The Hitler Youth was a mandatory indoctrination organization for 14- to 18-year-old Aryan boys under the Nazi Party in Germany. It appropriated many Boy Scouts activities while also teaching military practices, with the intent of shaping future soldiers and pushing the party's racist views among younger generations.

News of the flag reached FSWC — a Jewish human rights organization based in Toronto — on Thursday. Kirzner-Roberts said a post containing images of the flag were sent to her in the morning.

"I was immediately concerned. And the first step that I took was to see whether the details were accurate," she said, explaining she contacted Boyle RCMP, who she said confirmed it was a Nazi flag.

She asked if a criminal investigation had been launched and was told no, because a formal complaint hadn't been file. So she did just that.

"Our position is that flying a Nazi flag is clearly hate motivated. And according to the Criminal Code of Canada, it is illegal to promote hatred.

"So we certainly urge the RCMP to investigate the matter as a hate-motivated crime," she said to Global News.

Read more: Montreal mayor shocked after Nazi flag displayed during May Day protest

The property is in Athabasca County. A statement said council and administration are aware of an inappropriate flag.

"Athabasca County prides itself on being a warm and welcoming region," said a statement from Reeve Larry Armfelt.

"This type of display, and the messages it sends, has no place in our communities."

The county said the matter has been referred to the RCMP.

Alberta RCMP said officers spoke to the property owner on Wednesday night.

"The flag was taken down voluntarily, and our investigation continues as to whether this is criminal or not," a statement from Const. Chantelle Kelly with RCMP media relations said.

Play Video
Vehicles vandalized with racist graffiti in southwest Edmonton

Since the Second World War, the possession of swastika flags and other Nazi symbolism is forbidden in Germany.

Canada doesn't have any laws on the books restricting ownership or display of Nazi flags, but hate laws give police the right to intervene if they are used in the communication of hatred. In modern times, the Nazi flag has been embraced by neo-Nazi supporters and sympathizers.

Read more: Hate crime in Canada: do our laws allow a white nationalist rally?

Kirzner-Roberts said the flag represents more than just hatred towards Judaism.

"People that fly this flag often hate the Black community and other communities in our country. And I would say that they hate Canada as a whole - you know, our country fought a world war to defeat the Nazis," she said.

"We lost many of our soldiers, many, many were injured. This is such a profound slap in the face to Canada and Canada's values.

"So we are really hoping that the RCMP will conduct a thorough investigation into this matter."




Read more: ‘This is Nazi f****** America!’: North Carolina woman confronts her neighbour over Swastika flag

Global News attempted to reach the property owner several times on Thursday, but was unsuccessful.

— With files from The Canadian Pres

 Alberta temporarily tweaks environmental liability for oil sands mines

© Reuters/Todd Korol FILE PHOTO: 

A truck drives down a street at Syncrude's oil sands operation

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - The Canadian province of Alberta said on Thursday it will allow oil sands mining companies to change how they calculate environmental liabilities this year, to take into account the wild swings of 2020, when oil prices turned negative.

Producers would be on the hook for billions of dollars in extra security payments if they calculated liabilities under the old formula, Alberta government officials told a news conference. However, that cash would likely have to be repaid to companies next year because oil prices have recovered.

Canada's oil sands hold the third-largest crude reserves in the world. Around 50% of oil sands output, roughly 1.5 million barrels per day, comes from seven huge strip-mining operations in northern Alberta owned by Imperial Oil, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd and Suncor Energy.

The province requires companies to pay security to cover the cost of environmental clean-up at the end of the mines' lives. If the value of a company's assets drop too low compared with its liabilities, it is required to pay extra security.

The crude price collapse last year dragged down the value of oil sands mining assets, which would have triggered billions of dollars in additional payments.

"This is meant to be a more accurate calculation of the actual asset value," said Lisa Sadownik, an official with Alberta Environment and Parks. "It is a short-term blip in the price of oil that has caused this impact to their assets."

Additional security payments have never been triggered before and the companies did not ask for the one-off change to the formula, she added. Producers will be able to base asset value on a formula known as "deemed netback," which is revenue, minus operating costs, divided by sales volume.

In 2015 Alberta's auditor general said the calculation for liability payments should be reviewed. Sadownik said a longer-term solution will be in place next year.

Alberta holds just under C$1 billion ($822.37 million) in security for oil sands mines.

($1 = 1.2160 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Possible shutdown of Line 5 not a threat to Canada's energy security: ambassador

Peter Zimonjic, David Common  CBC NEWS 6/5/2021

Dale G Young/The Detroit News/The Associated Press Fresh nuts, bolts and fittings are ready to be added to the east leg of the Line 5 pipeline near St. Ignace, Mich.

Canada's ambassador to the United States says that while the potential shutdown of Line 5 is a serious issue, it's not a threat to Canada's national energy security.

"It is not a threat to Canada's national economic or energy security," Kristen Hillman told CBC News Network's Power & Politics on Thursday.

"I think that it is an important dispute or disagreement that exists between Enbridge and the state of Michigan that needs to be taken very seriously. And we are taking it very seriously."


Line 5, which runs through Michigan from the Wisconsin city of Superior to Sarnia, Ont., crosses the Great Lakes beneath the environmentally sensitive Straits of Mackinac, which link Lake Michigan to Lake Huron.

The pipeline carries petroleum east from Western Canada. Once it hits Ontario, most of the crude oil is turned into fuels that meet almost 50 per cent of the province's fuel demands. The remainder of the supply is sent on to Quebec refineries through Line 9, where it provides 40 to 50 per cent of that province's fuel supply.

The threat to the pipeline's viability kicked off in November when Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer revoked the 1953 easement — which has allowed the pipeline to operate without incident for more than 65 years — over fears of an oil spill.

Enbridge was granted approval to replace the underwater line with a tunnel, but Whitmer's election in 2019 put a stop to those plans.

The notification that the easement was being withdrawn said the pipeline should be shut down by May 12, prompting concerns on both sides of the border that shortages of essential fuels would follow.

"One of the governor's top priorities is to protect and defend the Great Lakes, which are vital to Michigan's economy. The Great Lakes ... 350,000 jobs in Michigan. We cannot risk the devastating economic, environmental and public health impacts of a catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes," said Whitmer's spokesperson Chelsea Lewis-Parisio.

Enbridge took Michigan to U.S. federal court over the dispute and both parties were ordered to find a resolution through mediation last month.

Hillman says finding a compromise between Enbridge and the state of Michigan is the only way the impasse will be resolved. She said she remains optimistic that, despite the firm date in the notice, the oil will continue to flow, at least in the short term.

"We understand from the advice that we have received that there's a good chance that the pipeline ... will continue operating during the course of the litigation and mediation," she told guest host David Common.

Fuel for Pearson

All the jet fuel produced at Pearson International Airport in Toronto is made with crude supplied by the pipeline. Enbridge, which owns Line 5, says that Ontario's fuel supply would be cut in half if the pipeline is shut down. But its closure would not only affect Quebec and Ontario.

Enbridge says shutting down the pipeline would also harm Michigan, which gets 55 per cent of its propane needs from the more than 540,000 barrels of light crude oil, light synthetic crude and natural gas liquids that travel through Line 5 before being refined into propane in the state.

Enbridge senior vice president Mike Fernandez said that he's also confident the pipeline will continue to operate beyond May 12, but the passing of the deadline will likely prompt protests from anti-pipeline activists.

"The reason I say that is because the matter right now is situated in a U.S. federal district court that has prompted both parties, that is the state and Enbridge, to work through a mediator," Fernandez told Common.

"If the state took actions, they would be acting outside the standard of good faith that's normally required in such mediation."

The Conservative Opposition has been harshly critical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, saying its inaction on the energy file will result in the pipeline being shut down.

The Tories blamed the killing of another pipeline, Keystone XL, by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, as evidence the Trudeau government did not fight hard enough to keep it alive.

The party were granted an emergency debate in the House of Commons to discuss the issue, which is taking place tonight.

"Line 5 is not a new project, it is not a diversification, it is a line that has been a consistent and critical supply for Canada for decades," Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole said in the House. "Now because of the inaction on behalf of the Liberal government this critical piece of energy infrastructure is at risk."

Green MP Elizabeth May told O'Toole that the people of Michigan were keen to shut down Line 5 because of the Kalamazoo River oil spill in July 2010, when an Enbridge pipeline burst.

"This is about pipeline pollution … we need to find an alternative to get those goods to market and allow the government of Michigan to keep a campaign promise to protect the Great Lakes," May said.

Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan dismissed the Conservative attacks, saying accusations that the Liberals failed to act and are willing to let the pipeline die are totally false.

"You can't solve this issue with false bravado, by beating your chest while simultaneously sticking your head in the sand like members so often do, by calling people who disagree with you 'brain dead,'" O'Regan said referencing the insult levied against Michigan's governor by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.

"That bombastic approach does a great disservice to our oil and gas workers and it does nothing to advance their cause."

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TC Energy posts C$1 billion quarterly loss on Keystone XL suspension

KENNEY'S LOSS OF ALBERTA'S TAXPAYER MONEY 

EXACTLY WHAT WAS INVESTED 

(Reuters) -Canadian pipeline operator TC Energy on Friday swung to a loss in the first quarter, hit by C$2.2 billion ($1.81 billion) impairment charges related to the suspension of its Keystone XL pipeline project.

© Reuters/TODD KOROL A TC Energy pump station sits behind mounds of dirt from the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline as it lies idle near Oyen

The pipeline was planned to carry 830,000 barrels per day of heavy crude from Canada's Alberta province to Nebraska in the United States.

The company said the charge was related to halting work on the Keystone XL pipeline and a reassessment of related projects like the Heartland Pipeline, after U.S. President Joe Biden revoked a key permit for the project in January.

TC Energy, whose new Chief Executive Francois Poirier took the helm in January, owns the largest network of natural gas pipelines in North America as well as the existing Keystone oil pipeline and power and storage assets.

The company posted a C$2.51 billion loss from its oil pipelines, of which Keystone is the biggest contributor, compared with a C$411 million profit in the same period last year.

It reported net loss attributable to shareholders of C$1.1 billion, or C$1.11 per share, in the three months ended March 31 compared with a profit of C$1.1 billion a year earlier.

Excluding items, the Calgary, Alberta-based company earned C$1.16 per share, slightly better than analysts' average estimate of C$1.10, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

($1 = 1.2176 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Shariq Khan in Bengaluru and Nia Williams in Calgary; Editing by Arun Koyyur)