Canada's Paper Excellence announces deal to buy Domtar Corp. in US$3B deal

Paper Excellence is expanding into the U.S. with a deal to buy Domtar Corp. in an agreement with an enterprise value of about US$3 billion.

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 Provided by The Canadian Press

The Richmond, B.C.-based company will pay US$55 per Domtar share in cash, a 37 per cent premium from May 3 when a media report disclosed a possible transaction.

"This marks a major step in our global strategy of identifying well-positioned assets and positioning them for growth," said Joe Ragan, Paper Excellence's global chief financial officer.

"We are enthusiastic about entering the American market as we continually improve Paper Excellence’s ability to serve its expanding blue-chip customer base.”

Paper Excellence, a global diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing, writing, and packaging papers, operates seven mills in Canada producing and shipping over 2.8 million tonnes of product annually with a workforce of more than 2,800.

Montreal and South Carolina-based Domtar is an integrated manufacturer and marketer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America and one of the largest manufacturers of pulp in the world. It has 13 pulp and paper mills and 10 manufacturing and converting facilities in Canada and the United States.

Ragan said Paper Excellence, which acquired Catalyst Paper Corp. in 2019, said it will invest in Domtar's assets for long-term growth.

The companies say Paper Excellence intends to continue the operations of Domtar as a stand-alone entity. They say it will be led by its management team and Paper Excellence plans to keep its corporate and production locations.

Domtar CEO John Williams said the Paper Excellence transaction allows its shareholders to realize cash value at a significant premium.

“This transaction validates our long-term strategic plan for our leading paper and pulp businesses, and for our continued expansion into packaging,” he said in the news release.

Domtar's board unanimously approved the agreement which is expected to close in the second half of the year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Shares in Domtar climbed to a two-year high by increasing C$8.80 or 15.4 per cent at C$66.08 on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Tuesday afternoon trading.

The transaction follows West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.'s $4-billion purchase of Norbord Inc, which closed in February.

Analyst Paul Quinn of RBC Capital Markets said the deal is not surprising given recent reports.

"While the valuation is a bit below comparable transactions, we expect there to be fewer synergies in this deal given that Domtar will continue to operate on a stand-alone basis and therefore view the price as fair," he wrote in a report.

A key question for Quinn is what does the new owner do about Domtar's plans to convert up to four paper machines to containerboard.

"While we think that it is likely too late to turn back on the Kingsport conversion, the conversions at Ashdown, Marlboro, and Hawesville have not been started."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:UFS)

Ross Marowits, The Canadian Press

Occidental Petroleum says federal leasing ban would hurt U.S. oil growth

(Reuters) - U.S. oil and gas producer Occidental Petroleum Corp said federal drilling permits are moving forward in the Permian Basin shale field following a federal pause this year, but a longer-term ban could hurt U.S. oil output

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© Reuters/Mario Anzuoni FILE PHOTO: Occidental Petroleum Corp

Producers are likely to continue to be able to secure permits on existing federal leases, but Chief Executive Vicki Hollub said on Tuesday she was concerned about the possibility of a federal moratorium on new oil and gas leases going forward. The Biden administration is reviewing the federal oil and gas leasing program.

"That would be bad for our industry. It would be bad for the United States," Hollub said on an earnings call with analysts. "It would put our country in a position where we would likely have an even tougher time increasing production above where the United States is today."

Occidental is one of the biggest U.S. shale producers but is setting ambitious climate targets and trying to turn its low-carbon unit into a profitable business.

Though shareholders want to know more, it is "not yet able" to detail the potential financial returns from its low-carbon unit, Hollub said.

Occidental reported a first-quarter loss after market close on Monday that beat Wall Street expectations. But shares traded down 7.4% to $24.67 on Tuesday afternoon.

Despite a better outlook for chemicals and midstream, shares fell due to "the slower pace of reduction in the company's net debt position," said Peter McNally, analyst with Third Bridge Group, who added, "The balance sheet has been the critical issue since the acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum in 2019."

Occidental has struggled to pay down debt amassed in the $38 billion deal. It cut debt by about $3 billion last year but in the first quarter reduced net debt by about $279 million, according to regulatory filings.

(Reporting by Jennifer Hiller; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Marguerita Choy)

'Massive and potentially permanent disruption': Canada's bleak view of Line 5 closure

WASHINGTON — Shutting down the Line 5 pipeline in Michigan would deal a "massive and potentially permanent" blow to Canada's economy and energy security and risk lasting damage to relations with the United States, the federal government argues in court documents released Tuesday.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The documents mark Canada's formal entry into the legal dispute between Michigan and the pipeline's owner and operator, Calgary-based Enbridge Inc., which comes on the eve of the deadline imposed last November by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

They make largely the same argument Canada has been making for months: that Line 5 comprises a vital artery of North America's energy infrastructure, and cutting it would be calamitous for both countries.

But they also raise the ante significantly by warning of the potential risk to the relationship between Canada and the U.S. if the pipeline ceases to operate.

"The proposed shutdown would cause a massive and potentially permanent disruption to Canada's economy and energy security," say the documents, known in legal parlance as an amicus brief.

If allowed to stand, Michigan's "unilateral action" would foster doubt about any foreign-policy commitments the U.S. might choose to make if any one state can so easily undermine them, the brief says.

"A hastily and unduly imposed shutdown would undermine the confidence in reciprocal, enforceable commitments and cross-border co-operation that lies at the heart of the United States-Canada relationship."

Whitmer originally gave Enbridge until Wednesday to shut down the pipeline, a demand the company says it has no plans to meet. But with a court-appointed mediator scheduled to meet with the two sides again on May 18, it's not clear whether anything will happen before then.

Enbridge officials pointed to a statement from Monday when asked whether the pipeline would continue to operate past Wednesday.

"We will not stop operating the pipeline unless we are ordered by a court or our regulator to do so, which we view as highly unlikely," the statement read.

"Line 5 is operating safely, reliably and is in compliance with the law."

The dispute first erupted in November when Whitmer — citing the risk of an environmental catastrophe in the Straits of Mackinac, the waterway where Line 5 traverses the Great Lakes — revoked the easement that had allowed the line to operate since 1953.

Enbridge insists the pipeline is safe, and has already received the state's approval for a $500-million effort to dig a tunnel beneath the straits that would house the line's twin pipes and protect them from anchor strikes.

"Line 5 does not just affect one province or one region — it supports our entire country," Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan said in a statement.

It also delivers more than half the propane and home heating oil consumed in Michigan, and is a vital source of energy for Ohio and Pennsylvania as well, to say nothing of Ontario and Quebec, O'Regan added.

"This pipeline is as important to Canada as it is to the U.S. It heats both Canadian and American homes. It supports both Canadian and American jobs."

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, herself a former Michigan governor, refused to take a position on the dispute Tuesday, citing the fact that it remains before the courts.

"We don't wade in on that," Granholm said. "It will be decided in court."

Instead, Granholm was preoccupied with the fallout from a different pipeline problem: the massive Colonial line, a delivery system for nearly half the fuel consumed on the U.S. East Coast, which has been shut down since Thursday following a devastating cyberattack from overseas.

As a result, Tuesday's White House briefing was dominated by talk of rising gasoline prices, fuel hoarding and the environmental impact of having to use trucks and trains — all likely consequences of a Line 5 shutdown as well.

Proponents of Line 5 say closure would mean immediate gasoline shortages and price spikes, as well as an estimated 800 more oil-laden rail cars and 2,000 tanker trucks per day on railways and highways throughout Central Canada and the U.S. Midwest.

Canada's brief leans extensively on the close ties between the two countries, noting that they have successfully negotiated a bilateral agreement for protecting the Great Lakes, the original NAFTA and its recent successor, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

There's also Norad, the shared continental defence network, "under which a Canadian general gave the order to scramble jets to protect the United States on Sept. 11, 2001," the brief notes.

The documents urge the court to prevent a "unilateral compelled shutdown" on the grounds that the pipeline is specifically covered by a 1977 treaty that deals specifically with cross-border pipelines.

It is for the two national governments, under the terms of that treaty, to sort out the dispute, the documents argue.

Line 5 "is a tangible symbol of a traditionally strong relationship between Canada and the U.S. and pivotal to North American energy security," said Saskatchewan Energy Minister Bronwyn Eyre, whose province depends on the line for some 70 per cent of its energy exports.

Sonya Savage, Eyre's Alberta counterpart, warned of the potential for a lingering chill if Whitmer is successful.

"What is the most concerning to us in Alberta — as it should be for everyone — is the dangerous precedent that a shutdown of a safely operating pipeline would set for future oil and gas infrastructure projects."

Not everyone in Canada, however, opposes Whitmer's efforts. A number of Indigenous groups in Ontario support a shutdown, as does Green party Leader Annamie Paul.

Michiganders remember well an Enbridge spill in 2010 that dumped more than 3.3 million litres of diluted bitumen into the Kalamazoo River, fouling more than 40 kilometres of shoreline, Paul said.

"It is understandable that the people of Michigan are extremely sensitive to the dangerous consequences of a potential spill from Line 5, and chose to elect a governor who explicitly campaigned on the promise to shut down the line."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2021.

James McCarten, The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version said the Department of Natural Resources filed the court documents.

UCP FAILS BLAMES FEDS, NDP, MEDIA

Trudeau rejects Alberta cabinet minister accusation PM wants COVID-19 health disaster

EDMONTON — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is rejecting an accusation from Alberta’s justice minister that the federal government is part of a trio wanting the province’s health system to collapse under the pressure of COVID-19.

  

© Provided by The Canadian Press

“It’s a shame to see people pointing fingers and laying blame and suggesting that anyone in Canada wants anything else than to get through this pandemic as safely as possible everywhere,” Trudeau, responding to remarks by Kaycee Madu, said in Ottawa on Tuesday.

“Playing politics at this point is just not what Canadians want to see.”

Alberta has recently had COVID-19 case rates that are the highest in North America.

Trudeau noted he reached out to Premier Jason Kenney and Alberta's big city mayors last week to offer further support if called upon.

“Every step of the way the federal government has been there to support Canadians, with $8 out of every $10 in pandemic support coming from the federal government,” said Trudeau.

“We will continue to work with all governments across this county to make sure we’re getting through this.”

Last week, Kenney introduced tighter public health restrictions. He warned that hospitals were otherwise on course to be overwhelmed in a matter of weeks.

Madu, in a Facebook post last Friday, wrote that the province can't risk giving the COVID-19 virus a chance to "overwhelm our health-care system.

"That's what the NDP, the media and the federal Liberals were looking for and want," he wrote.

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2021/05/ucp-fails-blames-others-opposition.html

Madu was not made available for an interview, but his spokesman, Blaise Boehmer, has said Madu stands by the remark.

Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley said her caucus has pushed for Kenney’s government to enact rules and messaging to reduce the spread of the virus, while giving businesses financial aid to survive and workers support to allow them to isolate but still provide for their families.

“A minister of the Crown would be best served to listen to the proposals that are put forward by the Opposition as well as, heaven forbid, the critiques, because that is actually the way our system works,” said Notley.

She said Madu’s comments in the justice post are Kenney’s responsibility.

“You don’t tend to see that sort of incendiary, thoughtless messaging or tone from someone who takes on the role of justice minister,” she said.

Alberta has well over 25,000 active COVID-19 cases. There were 690 people in hospital on Monday and 158 of them were in intensive care -- the highest since the pandemic began.

Kenney, after resisting calls for more health restrictions, acted last Tuesday. He closed schools and brought in sharper limits on businesses and worship services.

He had been facing criticism that his government waited too long to react to the pandemic's third wave, but replied that no one should point fingers and politicize the fight against COVID-19.

Kenney and his minsters have repeatedly accused Trudeau’s government of hamstringing the relief effort and, as late as April 29, Kenney blamed Alberta's third wave on Ottawa for a slow vaccine rollout.

Also Tuesday, Alberta Health confirmed it won't give out more first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for the time being.

Spokesman Tom McMillan said the decision was made because there aren't any confirmed shipments of AstraZeneca coming and the province only has 8,400 doses left. Those are to be used as second doses.

“Unlike with AstraZeneca, Alberta is receiving the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in large and consistent shipments,” said McMillan, who noted that more than 236,000 doses are arriving this week alone.

Alberta has administered 255,000 first doses of AstraZeneca.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2021.

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press

THIRD WORLD USA

How a homeless man lost federal aid by trying to move into a new apartment and start contributing rent

asheffey@businessinsider.com (Ayelet Sheffey) 

© Provided by Business Insider Activists talk about the best ways to reinforce the barricades with the material available to them near the entrance to Camp JTD in Philadelphia on September 9, 2020. Cory Clark/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Only one in four eligible families who apply for housing vouchers end up receiving them.

Derrick Henderson told Insider he had a voucher but lost it, even though he was just looking to move.

Experts said HUD's housing voucher program needs increased funding and a more streamlined process.

On February 3, Derrick Henderson, 49, was going through his mail when he saw a rent bill addressed to him, saying he owed $2,368. On April 1, the bill increased to $5,788.26.

Henderson was surprised, not because he didn't know his rent was due, but because he thought somebody else was helping him pay for it: the government. He was counting on a federal housing voucher to keep him from being homeless again, and he told Insider he was worried he'll soon be homeless in the future.

A year ago, Henderson's rent was being paid partially by Avenue 360, a Houston, Texas-based housing program, and partially by a voucher from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). They've both stopped contributing anything to his rent, even though he hasn't moved. The reason he lost his funding is because he wanted to move into a new place for him and his 14-year-old daughter and start contributing to his own rent. "That's when everything went downhill," he told Insider.

Now his bills are mounting and the federal relief he was expecting has vanished.

"When I decided I wanted to take my voucher and go somewhere else," Henderson said, "then I became void of a voucher, void of the possibility of remaining in the Avenue 360 program, void of everything."

The problem isn't that Henderson moved into a property that HUD wouldn't cover; he was still eligible. Experts say it has to do with the voucher program itself.
'Something is awfully wrong' with housing vouchers

Henderson was released from prison in 2019 on aggravated robbery charges and was homeless for half a year, during which time he lived in his mother's house with his daughter. In January 2020, he moved to an Avenue 360 location and was told the program would pay his rent in full for 18 months. After just eight months, Henderson decided he wanted to move to an apartment of his own choosing.

© Derrick Henderson Derrick Henderson. Derrick Henderson

According to HUD's website, local public housing agencies distribute housing vouchers to very low-income families who qualify for the program, and the family is then free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program.

In accordance with the voucher's guidelines, Henderson said, he found a property that was willing to accept his voucher. But the voucher for his Avenue 360 location expired before his HUD case manager got back to him about the new apartment, despite what he said were repeated attempts on his part to get through. He was told in February that the moment he decided to use his voucher to go toward a new apartment in October, Avenue 360 had stopped paying his rent.

In order to get his voucher reinstated, he needed a probable cause as to why it lapsed, and "nine times out of 10, they're going to hold that person whose name is on that voucher accountable," Henderson said, meaning that it was essentially his word against his case manager's.

"A lot of people that are in these programs illegally get sent right back to the street, and if you're like me and you had a voucher, you know something is awfully wrong, especially when you see it happening to yourself," Henderson said.

So now, Henderson is still living in the housing that Avenue 360 originally provided for him, but he's not getting any help with his rent, and once the CDC eviction ban expires, he expects to once again be homeless.

President Joe Biden extended the CDC's eviction moratorium through the end of June to protect renters struggling to pay their rent during the pandemic. But the 10 million renters behind on their payments may face eviction sooner than that, after a federal court overturned the eviction ban on Thursday. The Department of Justice has requested a stay of that ruling, but another court decision could put millions at risk of eviction very soon.

"I'll be sitting here until June when they come out with another CDC [Center for Disease Control and Prevention] moratorium or something of that nature," Henderson said. "But as of right now, I'm in a screwed place because of a corrupted system."
Vouchers only reach 1 in 4 eligible families

An analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released in April found that while housing choice vouchers are "highly effective" at reducing homelessness, only one in four eligible families receive vouchers due to funding limitations.

"This shortfall is one of the biggest gaps in the nation's economic support system and causes families with pressing housing needs to face long waiting lists, sometimes years long, to receive vouchers," the analysis said.

While vouchers deliver benefits to millions of people nationwide, the analysis found they could make a much more significant impact if they were made available to the millions who are eligible, like Henderson, but do not receive assistance due to shortfalls within the system.

Greg Brown, senior vice president of government affairs at the National Apartment Association, told Insider that the waiting list for housing vouchers is "exceedingly long," and it could be years before someone who applies for a voucher actually receives one.

"If you're on the waiting list, then you're essentially on your own until that voucher comes through, unless you can find another resource to help," Brown said.

He added that not only is there a lengthy process for eligible applicants to receive vouchers, but the administrative burden on housing providers discourages them from accepting vouchers in the first place.

© National Apartment Association National Apartment Association: The process to use a HUD housing voucher. National Apartment Association

Brown cited a HUD survey that found 68% of housing providers said they don't participate in the voucher program, even though they used to, and a large part of why is a lengthy inspection process that can take "weeks and weeks," during which the owner is not receiving any rent.

"It's not an attractive proposition for some owners, especially those smaller owners that just don't have the capacity or the resources to be able to manage that much administration," Brown said.

On top of the long inspection process, there's an issue with the number of public housing authorities out there, Brown said, meaning that someone who is a regional owner could be burdened with managing a number of different housing authorities with different rules and procedures, which is "highly inefficient."

HUD and Avenue 360 did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

However, Brown said he is optimistic that many policymakers are looking at how to make the voucher program more efficient and accessible. Biden included $5 billion for emergency housing vouchers in his recent budget proposal, and progressive lawmakers last month introduced legislation for more green, affordable housing.

"You're supposed to just be quiet. Just shut up and take it," Henderson said. "But I don't care if I got to stand on national TV to tell this story. I will."

HANG OVER OF STALINIST PARANOIA
Chinese safari park 'sincerely sorry' for failing to tell public leopards were on loose

Amy Sood and Nicole Yang and Isabel Wang 

They say a leopard can't change its spots. Unfortunately for a safari park in eastern China they can, however, escape.

© Provided by NBC News

Locals were demanding answers Monday after a safari park in eastern China failed to inform authorities and residents for weeks that three of its leopards had gotten out of their enclosure.

One of the leopards was still on the loose, Hangzhou Safari Park in the city of Fuyang said. According to local media, a search team is on the leopard's trail after paw prints believed to be left by the feline were found on Sunday.

The vice mayor of Hangzhou City said the police found that the leopards had escaped on April 19, several weeks before the first reported sighting. The safari park also admitted to the police that they did not report the incident over worries it would impact the flow of tourists coming into the zoo during China’s May Day public holidays in the first week of March.

© AFP - Getty Images Image: Searcher hunt for the escaped leopards on Sunday.

Local police said that five people in charge of the park, including its general manager, had been detained, and that the police had launched an investigation into the incident.

Residents of nearby neighborhoods said they had spotted the leopards in different locations as early as May 2, according to Chinese state-backed newspaper Global Times, causing fear and confusion.

After the leopards were spotted roaming residential areas and tea plantations near the park on Saturday, residents contacted authorities to report the sightings, according to a statement from the Fuyang District government.

Search teams, using drones and hunting dogs, were dispatched to look for the animals. Two of them have been found and captured, with park officials saying they are in good health.

On Saturday morning, the safari park merely announced that they would be suspending operations citing safety issues, in a now-deleted post on their official WeChat platform. They made no mention of the escaped leopards.

However, after a surveillance video showing a leopard in the high-end residential Jinyuan Villa area went viral online Friday, the park was forced to finally inform the public of the escaped leopards. They released an apology on Saturday evening, saying they were “sincerely sorry” for not alerting the public sooner, insisting that the leopards were only juveniles and that they were worried the announcement would cause panic.

Rare snow leopards seen prowling near Kazakh city during lockdown

The park has also come under fire after Chinese state-backed broadcaster CCTV reported seeing the leopards injured after they had been captured by authorities. Local authorities responded saying the leopards were healthy, but Chinese social media users expressed their disdain online.

On China’s Twitter-like Weibo, one user said: “The zoo should be heavily fined. This incident imposed great threat to the safety of people’s lives and property.”

Other users also expressed concern towards the treatment of animals at the zoo , saying: “The behavior of the zoo should be thoroughly investigated. Don’t just investigate why the animals could escape, but also whether the animals are being properly managed and treated."

Fear of climate change rust belt has governments considering carbon border levy

Don Pittis CBC

© Eric Thayer/Reuters Graffiti in an abandoned Detroit factory in 2011. Governments are anxious to prevent a new round of shutdowns and layoffs like the industrial decline of the Rust Belt as business moves to places where climate rules are less…

If you thought Canada's domestic carbon tax was controversial, just wait for its new global equivalent now being negotiated behind closed doors, say Canadians who have been following its progress.

It's not a secret. In fact the new charge got its own subheading in the recent federal budget.

The plan is to "make sure that regulations on a price on carbon pollution apply fairly between trading partners," said the budget document. "This levels the playing field, ensures competitiveness, and protects our shared environment."

It's prompted, in part, by fear of a Rust Belt repeat. Then, industries hollowed out in rich countries as manufacturing chased cheaper labour. This time, the draw would be from countries with climate regulations to those without.

So far, the border charge, which is officially not a tax at all but "border adjustments" has garnered little attention outside specialist circles. But according to Aaron Cosbey, one of Canada's foremost experts on the subject, that is about to change.

Cosbey, an economist with the Winnipeg-based International Institute for Sustainable Development, was just last week putting the finishing touches on a comprehensive IISD report on the subject when we spoke.
Don't say carbon taxes

The idea of a border charge is to address concerns that in countries with a price on carbon, like Canada, domestic players making, say, aluminum are at a disadvantage compared to imported goods from countries without those regulations. The fear is, that could entice companies that need aluminum to source it from the U.S. or somewhere else that doesn't have a carbon tax because it's cheaper than Canadian-made aluminum.

The "border adjustment" would be a levy to make sure imports are subject to something similar.

"Maybe don't say cross border carbon taxes," Cosbey said in an email following our conversation, clarifying how to describe the content of the forthcoming report. "From a WTO-legal perspective a tax, a tariff, and a regulation are really different things, and the current Canadian regime is probably not a tax – it's a regulation."

So far, the few news reports there have been in places like Bloomberg Green and the Financial Times, journalists have not always been so careful of their wording. "EU industry calls for urgent carbon border tax as prices soar," declared one recent headline.

While crucial for squeezing the new provision within World Trade Organization rules, exactly what to call it may be one of the lesser worries for those trying to hammer out an international agreement on the scheme that is expected to raise stiff opposition from countries, including China, asked to pay the levy.

But what is almost certain is that without a new set of rules to equalize the economic cost of fighting climate change across national boundaries, countries like Canada and the U.S. or trade blocks like the European Union will be at a huge trade disadvantage to those like Russia or Brazil where climate rules are light or non-existent.

Called "carbon leakage," the term can apply to the carbon-dense goods produced in unregulated parts of the world, allowing the carbon to "leak" back into Canada as imports. It is also used for the industries that relocate production to escape expensive carbon regulation and carbon pricing.

As with Canada's domestic carbon tax, the battle over whether to impose a border charge will inevitably be political, said Osgoode Hall legal scholar Gus Van Harten, an early proponent of carbon equalization payments. But he said opponents will find it harder to convince voters that preventing carbon cheating by foreign producers is bad for Canadians and Canadian jobs when the alternative is to create a new rust belt caused by climate change rules.

"A [domestic] carbon tax is more easily misconstrued as picking from someone's pocket," he said.

'Really really complicated'

In fact, according to University of Calgary economist Jennifer Winter, who studies carbon pricing, some industries "would be happy about it" because it would protect them from foreign competition, including from poorer countries that don't have stiff carbon rules.

It could also affect consumer prices. While things like cars made in Germany would be no more expensive, the new charge would raise the cost of goods imported from less regulated countries, including many of the world's poorest. Without a carefully agreed structure, such rules could be used for plain old protectionism, leading to tit-for-tat countermeasures, hurting world trade. But Winter thinks the biggest challenge is figuring out a fair way to compare.

"It's complicated," she said. "Really, really complicated."

That was a common view from everyone I spoke to regarding the new border carbon charge, and why, despite objections from Canada's Green Party, the levy was not included in the environmental Bill C-12 that passed second reading in Parliament last week.

Among the complications will be comparing and trying to put an equivalent carbon cost on different countries' climate change rules.

Canada has a national carbon tax but the U.S. does not. Europe uses a system of trading carbon credits that has become increasingly expensive for its domestic producers. The cost of flexible regulations, which some say are a more effective tool, are difficult to quantify.

Trying to determine the carbon content of every imported part or ingredient will be difficult and could lead to mountains of documentation. That is why the first version of the levy will likely only apply to products like steel, aluminum and cement, where the carbon content is relatively easy to determine. But there are further difficulties.

For example, how would you credit China's large investment in electric transport? How would you offer credits for the cost of U.S. President Joe Biden's plan to invest in a green economic transformation?

© B. Rentsendori/Reuters A snaking line of coal trucks heading from Mongolia to China, where it is estimated more than 60 percent of power comes from cheap and plentiful coal and giving Chinese industry a carbon price advantage.

Biden campaigned in favour of border adjustments and two weeks ago expressed renewed interest, reported Bloomberg Green, something that worries those U.S. trading partners such as Australia with weaker carbon rules.

Such complications and the need for international negotiations may be one of the reasons for Europe's repeated delay of its border levy plan. First scheduled for release in April, then moved to June, last week there were rumours that date has now been stretched to July 14.

While Europe is the clear leader on the issue, everyone I spoke to said the defeat of Donald Trump, who famously called climate change a hoax, and the election of a pro-climate Biden, has transformed the issue.

"If you've got an administration that will engage in a positive climate change debate you don't have to, you know, draw lines in the sand," said Maria Panezi, who teaches trade and environmental law at the University of New Brunswick and keeps in close contact with Europeans working on the proposal.

Even if there are no further delays and Europe unveils its carbon adjustment proposal in July, that is expected to be just the first step, leading to a long period of internal and international negotiation. Canada is already in international talks with what the budget calls "like-minded partners," and plans to start consultation with provinces and territories this summer.

But according to Angelo Katsoras, a geopolitical analyst and author of the recent National Bank of Canada report titled Is a carbon border tax inevitable?, despite the complications, the answer to that question is increasingly, "yes."

"For Europe it's a matter of economic survival," Katsoras said in a phone interview last week. And he said that applies to other countries like Canada and the U.S. now tightening greenhouse gas rules.

"I think it has become politically unsustainable to continue to put in stringent targets without a carbon border tax."

Follow Don Pittis on Twitter @don_pittis

Suncor Energy and Atco working together on potential hydrogen project


Suncor Energy and Atco Ltd. are working together on a potential hydrogen project near Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., that would help reduce the province's carbon dioxide emissions

.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The companies say the project would produce more than 300,000 tonnes per year of hydrogen.

Suncor would build and operate the hydrogen production and carbon dioxide sequestration facilities and Atco would construct and operate associated pipeline and hydrogen storage facilities.

They expected 85 per cent of the gas would be used to supply existing energy demand including in refining processes and cogeneration of steam and electricity at the Suncor Edmonton Refinery, reducing refinery emissions.

In addition, the gas could be used in the Alberta natural gas distribution system, also reducing emissions.

They say the facility would be located at Atco's Heartland Energy Centre near Fort Saskatchewan and could be operational as early as 2028. A sanctioning decision is expected in 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:SU, TSX:ACO.X)

Investor Legal & General backs activist in Exxon proxy battle
By Jennifer Hiller 3 hrs ago

© Reuters/Brendan McDermid FILE PHOTO: Darren Woods, Chairman & CEO, Exxon Mobil Corporation attends a news conference at the NYSE

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest asset manager, Legal & General, on Tuesday said it will vote for an activist hedge fund's board slate at Exxon Mobil's shareholder meeting later this month, fueling a pitched fight over the oil major's future.

Top U.S. oil producer Exxon is battling hedge fund Engine No. 1 over four seats on its 12-member board and the direction of the company. The fund has criticized Exxon's poor returns, spending on fossil fuels and lack of clear plans for the energy transition.

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) owns Exxon shares worth nearly $1 billion, according to Refinitiv data. It disclosed its voting plans in a blog on Tuesday. Exxon's annual shareholders meeting will be held on May 26.

LGIM also opposed the reelection to the board of Exxon's chief executive, Darren Woods, and lead independent director Kenneth Frazier, and backs the separation of the CEO and chairman roles, John Hoeppner, head of U.S. stewardship and sustainable investments at LGIM, said in an interview.

LGIM will vote for Engine No. 1's nominees - Gregory Goff, Anders Runevad, Kaisa Hietala and Alexander Karsner - he said. The Engine No. 1 slate also has support from large pension funds in California and New York.

"We think they have a good, complementary set of experiences that would be in the best interest of the long-term shareholders," Hoeppner said.

Exxon's current board is full of "incredibly accomplished CEOs" but lacks people who understand oil and gas and the energy transition, and who have overseen business transformation, Hoeppner said.

LGIM has "very rarely, if ever," spoken with Exxon's directors and has not found that its board offers "the same level of board-level buy-in that we see in other organizations," Hoeppner said.

LGIM last year voted against CEO Woods and in favor of an independent chairman. It has signed onto the Net Zero Asset Managers  Initiative, which vows to press portfolio companies to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.

Exxon has not set 2050 net zero targets as European peers have done. To try to address investor concerns on climate, in recent months it has expanded its board, pledged to increase spending on lower-carbon initiatives and said it would lower the intensity of its oilfield greenhouse gas emissions.

(Reporting by Jennifer Hiller; Editing by Leslie Adler)

How 'Star Trek' legend Nichelle Nichols helped shape a diverse future for NASA

By Breeanna Hare, CNN

Start a conversation about the power of Afrofuturism, and it won't be long before "Star Trek" legend Nichelle Nichols's name is dropped.

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As the iconic Lt. Uhura, the actress made television history with her portrayal of a 23rd-century communications officer aboard the "Star Trek" USS Enterprise. It was one of the first times a Black woman was cast in a position of power on TV -- and it was in a science fiction series, no less.

The result was radical, says Atlanta-area comic book creator and game designer Dedren Snead. "Seeing her as a Black woman on the show ... that was ... who was that?" Snead tells W. Kamau Bell on Sunday's "United Shades of America." "It was just, I never saw Black people in fantasy in that sense."

A mission from Dr. King

Lt. Uhura may have been a fictional character, but her on-screen authority in a futuristic world held immense influence at a time when Black Americans were fighting for civil rights.

Nichols, who grew up near Chicago and began performing as a teen, had her heart set on Broadway. As the first season drew to a close in 1967, Nichols was ready to move on.

As the story goes, Nichols was at an event when she was told a "Star Trek" fan wanted to meet her. "She's thinking it's going to be this pimply-faced kid," comic book designer Afua Richardson recounts to Bell. "But it turned out to be Martin Luther King Jr. He said, 'Your show is the only show that I will allow my kids to watch.' She eventually told him that she was planning on leaving the show, and he gave a command, and he said, 'No, you cannot leave the show, it is too important.'"

King shared with Nichols how her work was impacting generations of Black Americans who were watching her play a non-stereotypical role. Nichols took King's words to heart, staying with "Star Trek" through its end in 1969.

"That was the greatest thing," Nichols told CNN in 2014 of her encounter with the civil rights movement icon. "That was greater than anything else, to be told that by Dr. Martin Luther King, because he was my leader. So I stayed and I never regretted it."

Recruiting for NASA

By choosing to stay, Nichols didn't just remain in an influential part. She set in motion a chain of events that would alter the course of history.

The same year "Star Trek" came to a close in 1969, the United States successfully landed two men on the moon. All eyes were on the future of space flight, but the growing field also had a glaring deficiency.

"There were no women, and there were no minorities in the space program -- and that's supposed to represent the whole country?" Nichols told CNN in 2014. She recalled thinking, "Not in this day and age. We just absolutely cannot have that. I can't be a part of that."

Enlisted by NASA in the late 1970s, Nichols set out on a new mission to help recruit women and people of color into the space race. "I am going to bring you so many qualified women and minority astronaut applicants for this position," Nichols has recalled saying, "that if you don't choose one ... everybody in the newspapers across the country will know about it."

Her work helped bring aboard Guion Bluford, the first African American to go into space, and Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space. Mae Jemison, the first African American woman in space, also points to Nichols as the source of her inspiration.

"Science is not a boy's game, it's not a girl's game. It's everyone's game. It's about where we are and where we're going," Nichols told CNN. "Space travel benefits us here on Earth. And we ain't stopped yet. There's more exploration to come."


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