Abandoned oil and gas wells will be cleaned up despite backlog: Alberta regulator

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Abandoned oil and gas wells will be cleaned up despite backlog: Alberta regulator

EDMONTON — There's lots of life in Alberta's conventional oil industry and plenty of resources and political will to clean up the mess it leaves behind, says the head of the province's energy regulator.

"Will there be halcyon-days growth in the sector? Probably not," said Alberta Energy Regulator president Laurie Pushor.

"We still see an industry that is healthy and anticipating relatively stable production."

Pushor spoke to The Canadian Press after his first year on the job, a year that saw 20 per cent layoffs at his agency at a time when the government is asking it to do more. There are also growing worries over the industry's environmental liabilities and concern about the growth of coal mining in the Rocky Mountains.

"This organization has had a profound amount of change," he said Thursday.

Pushor acknowledged problems with how Alberta ensured industry has cleaned up after itself.

A recent report from the University of Calgary found more than half the province's wells no longer produce, but remain unreclaimed. The regulator's own predictions suggest such wells will double between 2019 and 2030.

The regulator wasn't making sure companies that bought old wells had the wherewithal to operate and close them safely, Pushor said. Companies would pass the regulator's tests, then collapse anyway.

"We were seeing failures of companies that had positive ratings."

That's changed, he said. The regulator can now look at a much broader range of factors, including whether it's honouring lease payments to landowners and tax obligations to municipalities — in arrears by $245 million.

"How they treat their partners on the land is a pretty clear and strong indication of their performance in protecting the land," Pushor said.

"We think there will be an opportunity for us to be more diligent in protecting the interests of Albertans if a company is in failure."

New rules are coming in the fall that will force operators to spend a certain slice of their estimated clean-up costs every year.

"That's the key tool here. We start it out at whatever percentage (and) monitor the data to see whether we're making gains or not."

Similarly with the tailings ponds, said Pushor, who noted policies are in place.

The province's auditor general has said the amount of surety Alberta holds to guarantee the remediation of the oilsands is inadequate. That amount hasn't changed since 2016.

But that's because Alberta doesn't require payments to accelerate until near the end of mine life — which, in some cases, is decades into the future.

"We would have full financing held six years prior to end of (mine) life," said Pushor.

The regulator's recent move to base security requirements on a company's own revenue projections won't affect that, he said.

Pushor said the regulator is also on top of ensuring environmental impacts of coal exploration in the Rockies are dealt with. Although the regulator does not collect any deposits to make sure the work is done, Pushor said clean-up requirements are part of the licence.

"We expect the reclamation to follow right on the heels as their permit requires. We stay pretty diligent to ensure exploration projects are being reclaimed."

Stock prices for some of those mining companies plummeted after the government's decision to pause all activity on those leases in response to public concerns. Pushor said the regulator doesn't have concerns about them not being able to meet their obligations.

"It's hard for me to speculate on what might happen. We will be diligent in holding the companies to account."

Pushor said, despite losing 200 staff and more than 10 per cent of its now-$206 million budget, the Alberta Energy Regulator has a handle on things. He said it has come along in regaining public trust after facing conflict-of-interest investigations into its previous leadership.

"We probably slid a bit," he said.

"The challenge before us is to continually work to regain that. And that's probably not good enough — we probably want to continue to grow and build that confidence."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2021.

— Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

BC
Forestry crew at loggerheads with Fairy Creek activists


Warning: There is offensive language in the following article

Investigations are underway after a heated confrontation between loggers and old-growth activists with the Fairy Creek blockade on southern Vancouver Island was captured on video this week.

A group of forestry workers can be seen swearing, yelling and flinging threats and racist taunts, as well as allegedly assaulting a young First Nations man filming the incident, in two videos released by the Rainforest Flying Squad (RFS) on Wednesday afternoon.

The tense standoff involving a group of about 10 forestry workers didn’t occur at roadblocks preventing crews from working in Fairy Creek, said RFS spokesperson Erika Heyrman.

Instead, the conflict took place Tuesday at a residential camp in the Walbran Valley in Tree Forest Licence (TFL) 44, which is near the Fairy Creek region, she said.

“This was a targeted attack,” said Heyrman, saying the loggers had to go out of their way to drive to the camp where several First Nations youth were.

“The people who were camping had not previously had any interaction with those people.”

The conflict took place in the region around Port Renfrew where tensions are rising with the ongoing blockades against logging company Teal-Jones that were set up in August to protect the pristine Fairy Creek watershed in TFL 46.

“Go home and collect your welfare cheque that we pay for,” one forestry worker can be heard saying in one video.

“You and your f***king teepees,” yelled another.

In addition to telling activists to go home or “there’d be trouble to pay,” angry forest contractors accused the activists of threatening their jobs.

“You’re f***king with our livelihood,” said one worker.

“We’ve got kids to feed,” yelled another.

At one point, a forestry worker smacks a cellphone out of the hand of one of the protesters, and a scuffle can be heard with shouts for someone to “grab the phone” in the background.

The situation is being treated with the utmost seriousness and urgency, according to a shared statement issued by Western Forest Products via its TFL 44 Limited Partnership — a joint operation with the Huu-ay-aht First Nations-owned company Huumiis Ventures.

“The behaviour of the individuals in the video is completely unacceptable and is entirely at odds with our shared values,” said the statement issued by John Jack, chair of Huumiis Ventures LP, and Shannon Janzen, the chair of TFL 44 LP.

“The use of racist language, intimidation, and acts of violence have no place in our society or our workplaces, and we have zero tolerance for such behaviour.”

The men belonged to a contracting crew, and the company involved has been directed to conduct a full investigation into the role the employees played in the incident, the statement added.

Forestry activity in the area is paused, and the RCMP and WorkSafe BC have also been notified.

“We appreciate that there may be disagreements about how our forests are managed in British Columbia, but we expect those disagreements to be addressed in a respectful manner, free from violence and racism,” TFL 44 LP said.

Teal-Jones was granted a court injunction against the blockades in its TFL last month. But RCMP had not arrested or removed protesters as of Friday. The RFS applied to the court this week seeking an appeal to the injunction.

RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Chris Manseau said Friday that although police had not been contacted by anyone involved prior to the video’s release, after seeing it, members of the Lake Cowichan detachment headed to the area to talk to witnesses and victims to determine the next steps.

“I haven’t heard any updates yet,” Manseau said, adding it was concerning to see the yelling and alleged assault of a youth in the video. But an investigation will also be necessary to determine what events happened before and after the filming, he said.

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The young man who was recording the incident wasn’t badly hurt, but suffered cuts to his knee and his phone was reportedly broken and stolen, Heyrman said.

It’s not immediately clear if the witnesses and victims will take the matter forward with the RCMP, she added.

“My understanding is that they're thinking about it, but they haven't made a decision.”

The onus should be on the forestry companies to deal with the unprovoked aggression from their workers, Heyrman said.

It’s unfortunate that tension exists between people protecting old-growth forests and workers since both groups pay the price of poor forestry management and corporate greed, she said, noting the RFS isn’t against logging second-growth forests.

“I don’t want to talk about this as an escalation,” Heyrman said.

“This isn't really an issue between workers and protesters, this is an issue of government regulations and industry practices.”

Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, National Observer

BC

Toxic illicit drugs deadly for men in trades

Island Health and the construction industry want to drive down the alarming number of men — particularly those working in the trades and transport — dying alone in their homes while using toxic street drugs.

The health authority launched a targeted eight-week awareness campaign Tuesday to prevent overdose deaths and deconstruct the silence and shame around men using drugs.

British Columbia is being ravaged by deaths from toxic illicit street drugs. There have been more than 7,000 fatal overdoses since a public health emergency was declared in April 2016. The pandemic has only compounded people's pain and isolation, and five people are now dying from toxic drugs on a daily basis.

And, overwhelmingly, men are the victims. Many of whom have money in their pockets and a roof over their heads.

Men account for 80 per cent of the fatal overdoses in 2021, with 86 per cent taking place indoors, and 56 per cent in private homes, according to the BC Coroners Service latest report.

Last year in the Island Health region, 263 people died from toxic illicit drugs. Of those deaths, 225 were men — and 126 of them occurred in a private residence.

“We know that among those who die from toxic drug poisoning, men who use alone are at greatest risk,” said Dr. Richard Stanwick, Island Health’s chief medical health officer, in a statement.

“We want them to know their lives matter and there are supports and treatments to help keep them alive.”

The awareness campaign is especially aimed at men working in the construction and transportation industries who represent a significant number of the toxic drug fatalities, said Island Health medical health officer Dr. Sandra Allison.

More than half the men who died from toxic drugs were employed, and of those, 55 per cent worked in the trades and transport industry, 2018 data indicated.

Many men in the prime of their careers, or those who have exited the trades, may suffer from work injuries that make them reliant on pain medication, Allison said.

“Unfortunately, at times, they may seek that substance or a similar substance through illicit pathways,” she said.

Most individuals (79 per cent) who died from toxic drugs had contact with the medical system in the year prior to their death, with over half reporting pain problems or mental health issues, according to the 2018 data.

People who use drugs or live with addictions may hide their usage to avoid judgment and discrimination, but using alone puts them at greater risk of death from toxic drugs, Allison said.

Taking drugs in the presence of someone who can administer naloxone or call for medical help is a safer option, Island Health said.

But the campaign will also point men to local overdose prevention sites (OPS), or drug testing or harm reduction services.

The LifeGuard app or the National Overdose Response Service hotline are tools to help monitor people who use drugs alone, and can call for medical help if an illicit drug poisoning occurs.

The awareness campaign hopes to normalize conversations around drug use, how to stay safe and shift the stigma around the issue making it OK to seek help, Allison said.

The health authority has also partnered with the Vancouver Island Construction Association (VICA) to reduce the number of illicit drug deaths in the trades while improving workers' access to harm reduction or treatment supports.

The Tailgate Toolkit Project is developing resources and initiatives for both employers and workers to tackle stigma and provide people in the industry with the help and direction they need, said Rory Kulmala, the CEO of VICA.

Kulmala agreed some workers in the trades self-medicate at home to overcome pain associated with their physically demanding jobs, while others may be running the risk of taking poisoned drugs recreationally during their downtime.

“We're creating the toolkit now that allows both employers and individuals to access resources that they might not otherwise know about,” Kulmala said, adding VICA is firmly entrenched in the construction industry and in a good position to do outreach and education.

“We can't be trying to solve this (problem) in silos. There's got to be collaboration with industry,” he said, adding the campaign materials are being assembled and will launch soon.

“This is a matter of organizing and conveying a message that we're here to help. We're here to support you as a worker”


Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, National Observer

Profit orphanages: The human rights crisis that's flying under the radar


© Provided by CNN kenya nairobi orphanage 

Every year, thousands of well-meaning individuals make the decision to travel to developing countries on short-term visits, setting their sights on aiding vulnerable children. However, the destination for many of these travelers is an orphanage.

Orphanage volunteering and the industry that has emerged to support it have contributed to a system in Kenya and other parts of the world that creates a demand for institutions and children.

The perfect "buyers" are fee-paying voluntourists -- well-intentioned individuals who want to help. Preying on these good intentions, orphanages claim to provide care for "orphans," but in reality, these organizations are often sources of profit for sometimes unscrupulous operators who recruit children to orphanages and exploit them for financial gain. What volunteers and donors who give their time and money often don't know is that the majority of the children living in institutions have families.

Children are separated from families for a variety of reasons in Kenya, and usually not because they have no one to care for them. Many families are simply unable to provide for education and other basic needs due to poverty. Even when children are in fact orphans, or in need of care and protection, institutions like orphanages should be temporary places of last resort, and family and community-based alternatives should be prioritized.

The Government of Kenya suspended the registration of new orphanages in November 2017, citing inappropriate placement of children in institutions rather than family-based care options, and expressed concerns about possible child trafficking. The moratorium on registering new orphanages -- known in Kenya as Charitable Children's Institutions (or CCIs) -- is still in effect.

Children are recruited by institutions from vulnerable families, many of which could care for their children with the right support. After being recruited, children are often instructed to claim they are orphans and required to sing and dance for volunteers -- a form of forced begging. In addition to this façade of pageantry, children's images and stories are frequently used unethically to garner online donations or attract fee-paying volunteers. In some cases, children are purposely kept in deplorable conditions to increase donations.

This practice has immense and harrowing consequences for children, no matter how nice the orphanage appears. Children who grow up in institutions suffer long-term developmental, emotional, and psychological harms. The very rotation of volunteers also has a negative impact and adversely affects a child's ability to form healthy relationships in the future.
Demanding accountability

At the Stahili Foundation, we focus on developing solutions to the problem of orphanage trafficking and family separation in Kenya. Over the years, we've worked alongside partners in Kenya to support the efforts of the Kenyan government, which has committed to changing the way it cares for children by ensuring they grow up in families and communities.

To enact lasting change, former volunteers are also demanding accountability. For example, a lawsuit brought in Chicago by attorney Beth Fegan is using the US civil courts to hold a religious-based organization accountable for allegedly raising money to enrich itself through activities that violate international and Kenyan law, including exploiting children, misleading voluntourists and donors, and harassing and threatening a whistleblower from reporting or disclosing allegations.

We can realize this change, and it starts with each of us committing to end orphanage trafficking when travel reopens. This means a personal pledge to not go on orphan trips, which drive demand for these institutions and separate children from their families.

Instead, we should redirect our passion and commitment to help vulnerable children by advocating in our schools, colleges, churches and communities to support organizations that offer solutions to keep families together at the outset. We can also encourage the orphanages we support to be part of the change and direct our resources to enable safe family reintegration.

Finally, as we continue to fight this insidious and sometimes invisible issue, we need to raise awareness of how well-meaning volunteers and donors who continue to support orphanages are inadvertently harming children and families. Orphanages do not offer long-term and sustainable solutions. The time is always right to find ways to safely bring children home to families and communities.

Genetically modified salmon head to US dinner plates

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Genetically modified salmon head to US dinner plates

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The inaugural harvest of genetically modified salmon began this week after the pandemic delayed the sale of the first such altered animal to be cleared for human consumption in the United States, company officials said.

Several tons of salmon, engineered by biotech company AquaBounty Technologies Inc., will now head to restaurants and away-from-home dining services — where labeling as genetically engineered is not required — in the Midwest and along the East Coast, company CEO Sylvia Wulf said.

Thus far, the only customer to announce it is selling the salmon is Samuels and Son Seafood, a Philadelphia-based seafood distributor.

AquaBounty has raised its faster-growing salmon at an indoor aquaculture farm in Albany, Indiana. The fish are genetically modified to grow twice as fast as wild salmon, reaching market size — 8 to 12 pounds (3.6 to 5.4 kilograms) — in 18 months rather than 36.

The Massachusetts-based company originally planned to harvest the fish in late 2020. Wulf attributed delays to reduced demand and market price for Atlantic salmon spurred by the pandemic.

“The impact of COVID caused us to rethink our initial timeline ... no one was looking for more salmon then," she said. “We're very excited about it now. We’ve timed the harvest with the recovery of the economy, and we know that demand is going to continue to increase.”

Although finally making its way to dinner plates, the genetically modified fish has been met by pushback from environmental advocates for years.

The international food service company Aramark in January announced its commitment to not sell such salmon, citing environmental concerns and potential impacts on Indigenous communities that harvest wild salmon.

The announcement followed similar ones by other major food service companies — Compass Group and Sodexo — and many large U.S. grocery retailers, seafood companies and restaurants. Costco, Kroger, Walmart and Whole Foods maintain that they don’t sell genetically modified or cloned salmon and would need to label them as such.

The boycott against AquaBounty salmon has largely come from activists with the Block Corporate Salmon campaign, which aims to protect wild salmon and preserve Indigenous rights to practice sustainable fishing.

“Genetically engineered salmon is a huge threat to any vision of a healthy food system. People need ways to connect with the food they’re eating, so they know where it’s coming from," said Jon Russell, a member of the campaign and a food justice organizer with Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance. “These fish are so new — and there’s such a loud group of people who oppose it. That's a huge red flag to consumers.”

Wulf said she’s confident there's an appetite for the fish.

“Most of the salmon in this country is imported, and during the pandemic, we couldn’t get products into the market,” Wulf said. “So, having a domestic source of supply that isn’t seasonal like wild salmon and that is produced in a highly-controlled, bio-secure environment is increasingly important to consumers.”

AquaBounty markets the salmon as disease- and antibiotic-free, saying its product comes with a reduced carbon footprint and none of the risk of polluting marine ecosystems like traditional sea-cage farming carries.

Despite their rapid growth, the genetically modified salmon require less food than most farmed Atlantic salmon, the company says. Biofiltration units keep water in the Indiana facility’s many 70,000-gallon (264,979-liter) tanks clean, making fish less likely to get sick or require antibiotics.

The FDA approved the AquAdvantage Salmon as “safe and effective” in 2015. It was the only genetically modified animal approved for human consumption until federal regulators approved a genetically modified pig for food and medical products in December.

In 2018, the federal agency greenlit AquaBounty’s sprawling Indiana facility, which is currently raising roughly 450 tons (408 metric tons) of salmon from eggs imported from Canada but is capable of raising more than twice that amount.

But in a shifting domestic market that increasingly values origin, health and sustainability, and wild over farmed seafood, others have a different view of the salmon, which some critics have nicknamed “Frankenfish.”

Part of the domestic pushback revolves around how the engineered fish is to be labeled under FDA guidelines. Salmon fishermen, fish farmers, wholesalers and other stakeholders want clear labeling practices to ensure that customers know they're purchasing an engineered product.

USDA labeling law directs companies to disclose genetically-modified ingredients in food through use of a QR code, an on-package display of text or a designated symbol. Mandatory compliance with that regulation takes full effect in January, but the rules don’t apply to restaurants or food services.

Wulf said the company is committed to using “genetically engineered” labeling when its fish are sold in grocery stores in coming months.

In November, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco affirmed that the FDA had the authority to oversee genetically engineered animals and fish. But he ruled that the agency hadn't adequately assessed the environmental consequences of AquaBounty salmon escaping into the wild.

The company argued that escape is unlikely, saying the fish are monitored 24 hours a day and contained in tanks with screens, grates, netting, pumps and chemical disinfection to prevent escape. The company’s salmon are also female and sterile, preventing them from mating.

“Our fish are actually designed to thrive in the land-based environment. That's part of what makes them unique,” Wulf said. “And we’re proud of the fact that genetically engineered allows us to bring more of a healthy nutritious product to market in a safe, secure and sustainable way."

___

Casey Smith is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Casey Smith, The Associated Press

Microsoft says group behind SolarWinds hack now targeting government agencies, NGO's


© Reuters/Sergio Flores

Exterior view of SolarWinds headquarters in Austin

(Reuters) -The group behind the SolarWinds cyber attack identified late last year is now targeting government agencies, think tanks, consultants, and non-governmental organizations, Microsoft Corp said on Thursday.

"This week we observed cyberattacks by the threat actor Nobelium targeting government agencies, think tanks, consultants, and non-governmental organizations", Microsoft said in a blog https://bit.ly/2SzLGmO.

Nobelium, originating from Russia, is the same actor behind the attacks on SolarWinds customers in 2020, according to Microsoft.

The comments come weeks after a May 7 ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline shut the United States' largest fuel pipeline network for several days, disrupting the country's supply.

"This wave of attacks targeted approximately 3,000 email accounts at more than 150 different organizations", Microsoft said on Thursday.

While organisations in the United States received the largest share of attacks, targeted victims came from at least 24 countries, Microsoft said.

At least a quarter of the targeted organisations were involved in international development, humanitarian issues and human rights work, Microsoft said in the blog.

Nobelium launched this week's attacks by breaking into an email marketing account used by the United States Agency For International Development (USAID) and from there launching phishing attacks on many other organisations, Microsoft said.

The hack of information technology company SolarWinds, which was identified in December, gave access to thousands of companies and government offices that used its products. Microsoft President Brad Smith described the attack as "the largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen".

This month, Russia's spy chief denied responsibility for the SolarWinds cyber attack but said he was "flattered" by the accusations from the United States and Britain that Russian foreign intelligence was behind such a sophisticated hack.

The United States and Britain have blamed Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), successor to the foreign spying operations of the KGB, for the hack which compromised nine U.S. federal agencies and hundreds of private sector companies.

The attacks disclosed by Microsoft on Thursday appeared to be a continuation of multiple efforts to target government agencies involved in foreign policy as part of intelligence gathering efforts, Microsoft said.

The company said it was in the process of notifying all of its targeted customers and had "no reason to believe" these attacks involved any exploitation or vulnerability in Microsoft's products or services.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Sabahatjahan Contractor in Bengaluru; Editing by Robert Birsel and Clarence Fernandez)

USDA rejects request for faster pork slaughterhouse speeds


© Provided by The Canadian Press

USDA rejects request for faster pork slaughterhouse speeds

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has declined a request by the pork industry to increase the speed at which pigs can be processed into meat, delivering a victory to slaughterhouse workers who had raised safety concerns about the plan.

The USDA announced Wednesday evening it would enforce a Minnesota judge's order issued in March. The judge struck down plans begun years ago but finalized by the USDA under former President Donald Trump's administration that would have lifted maximum line speeds at pork slaughterhouses, allowing dozens of plants to speed up production.

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union International, which represents 33,000 workers in the pork processing industry, welcomed the decision.

“President Biden made a commitment to strengthen safety protections for America’s meatpacking workers on the frontlines of this pandemic. With today’s USDA statement, the Biden administration is reaffirming its commitment to worker safety,” union president Marc Perrone said Wednesday.

The USDA's decision followed a March 31 ruling by U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen, who had considered a lawsuit filed by the union and found the USDA acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it refused to consider the impact of faster line speeds on worker safety. Ericksen ordered the rule to be vacated but delayed the effective date for 90 days to give the USDA and the industry “time to prepare for any operational change.”

The National Pork Producers Council, a group representing pig farmers, this week asked the USDA to appeal the ruling, seek a stay while the appeal is considered and request the agency pursue a fast-tracked rule that would allow higher line speeds.

In a statement posted Wednesday on its website, the USDA said pork processing plants should prepare to revert to previous maximum line speeds as of June 30.

“The agency is committed to worker safety and ensuring a safe, reliable food supply. We will work with the establishments to comply with the court’s ruling and minimize disruptions to the supply chain,” the USDA said.

Pork processing plants in Hatfield, Pennsylvania; Coldwater, Michigan; Fremont, Nebraska; and Austin, Minnesota, have been working with the faster line speeds under a pilot project for years, and a plant in Guymon, Oklahoma, began faster speeds in 2019. Several others were expected to adopt faster speeds but plans were delayed by the pandemic.

The pork producers group had said the judge’s ruling would force plants already operating at faster speeds to return to the previous maximum line speed of 1,106 hogs per hour, significantly less than the 1,450 hogs per hour some plants were processing.

In a statement, NPPC spokesman Jim Monroe said the organization is disappointed with the USDA decision “to support a flawed federal district court decision," adding that “irreparable harm will be exacted on small U.S. hog farmers when this court order goes into effect at the end of June 2021.”

The group earlier said the judge’s ruling will cut U.S. pork packing plant capacity by 2.5% and result in more than $80 million in reduced income for small hog farmers, according to an analysis conducted for the group by Iowa State University agricultural economist Dermot Hayes.

The group said it will pursue all avenues to reverse the court decision.

The Washington-based North American Meat Institute, a trade group for the meat processing industry, said the judge’s ruling could have significant unintended consequences, including that “workers who will now have increased workloads as companies attempt to make up for lost production.”

Hayes, in his analysis said some plant managers have told him they may add longer shifts or weekend work to keep up the production pace at slower rates.

The impact on consumer prices for ham, pork chops and bacon isn't immediately clear and will depend on how the industry responds. If the slower speeds cause processors to supply less pork to the market, “grocers and restaurants are left competing against each other for a small amount of pork, which would drive up wholesale and retail pork prices,” said Jayson Lusk, head of the department of agricultural economics at Purdue University.

David Pitt, The Associated Press

Remains of 215 children found at former residential school in British Columbia

"unthinkable loss that was spoken about but never documented at the Kamloops Indian Residential School."


© Provided by The Canadian Press

Remains of 215 children found at former residential school in British Columbia

KAMLOOPS, B.C. — The remains of 215 children have been found buried on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.

Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation said in a news release Thursday that the remains were confirmed last weekend with the help of a ground-penetrating radar specialist.

Casimir called the discovery an "unthinkable loss that was spoken about but never documented at the Kamloops Indian Residential School."

She said it’s believed the deaths are undocumented, although a local museum archivist is working with the Royal British Columbia Museum to see if any records of the deaths can be found.

Some of the children were as young as three, she said.

The school was once the largest in Canada’s residential school system.

"Given the size of the school, with up to 500 students registered and attending at any one time, we understand that this confirmed loss affects First Nations communities across British Columbia and beyond," Casimir said in the release.

The chief said work to identify the site was led by the First Nation's language and cultural department alongside ceremonial knowledge keepers, who made sure the work was done was in line with cultural protocols.

The leadership of the Tk’emlups community "acknowledges their responsibility to caretake for these lost children," Casimir said.

Access to the latest technology allows for a true accounting of the missing children and will hopefully bring some peace and closure to those lives lost, she said in the release.

The reclamation work was paid for by a Pathway to Healing provincial government grant, she said.

Casimir said band officials are informing community members and surrounding communities that had children who attended the school.

“This is the beginning but, given the nature of this news, we felt it important to share immediately,” she said.

The First Nations Health Authority called the discovery of the children's remains "extremely painful" and said in a website posting that it "will have a significant impact on the Tk’emlúps community and in the communities served by this residential school."

FNHL C.E.O. Richard Jock suggested the situation had the potential to affect First Nations people in BC and across the country.

"That this situation exists is sadly not a surprise and illustrates the damaging and lasting impacts that the residential school system continues to have on First Nations people, their families and communities," Jock wrote in his web post.

The FNHA said immediate supports for Tk’emlúps Nation have been identified through its Interior health team, and its teams are on standby to support further needs.

The agency said some of the supports currently available include the KUU-US Crisis Line, Tsow-Tun-Le-Lum Society and the Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society.

The Kamloops school operated between 1890 and 1969. The federal government took over the operation from the Catholic Church to operate as a day school until it closed in 1978.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its final report on residential schools more than five years ago. The nearly 4,000-page account details the harsh mistreatment inflicted on Indigenous children at the institutions, where at least 3,200 children died amid abuse and neglect.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2021.

The Canadian Press

Michelle Good on why Indigenous people can't 'get over' residential school trauma

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Michelle Good on why Indigenous people can't 'get over' residential school trauma

Michelle Good says her book "Five Little Indians" is her response to a frustrating question that often comes up in discussions about Indigenous people and Canada's residential schools: "Why can't they just get over it?"

As an advocate, lawyer and daughter of a residential school survivor, Good says the devastating long-term impacts of the government-run system are woven into the fabric of her life.

Good, a member of Red Pheasant Cree Nation west of Saskatoon, says she drew from these experiences in crafting her acclaimed debut novel, "Five Little Indians," with a braided narrative that shifts focus from the historic infliction of harm to how Indigenous people carry that trauma with them into the present day.

"The question, why can't they just get over it? The answer isn't in the horror of the abuse," says Good, 64, from Savona, west of Kamloops, B.C. "The answer is in how that continues to play out, both with the survivor directly and intergenerationally and at a community level."

"Five Little Indians," from HarperCollins Publishers, traces the intersecting journeys of a group residential school survivors in east Vancouver as they work to rebuild their lives and come to grips with their pasts.

The book won the Amazon Canada First Novel Award on Thursday and is up for a Governor General's prize this coming Tuesday, earning Good the rare distinction of being a sexagenarian up-and-coming author.

Now an adjudicator, Good says she first began working on the novel about a decade ago while juggling her law practice and her studies at University of British Columbia's creative writing program.

While she may have come to writing later in life, Good says fiction has given her the freedom to explore truths that transcend the evidentiary rigours of the legal process.

"A thing need not be factual to be true," says Good, who used to run a small law firm and has represented residential school survivors.

Since 1926, Black History Week, and later Black History Month, have been celebrated each February in the United States, with a series of events that aim to acknowledge the contributions of African-Americans. The idea later spread to Canada, to the UK and elsewhere around the world. Since the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, bookstores have seen sharp increases in demand for books on Black history and issues of race and privilege. Here is one non-exhaustive reading list to start your own exploration.

"One of the reasons people respond to this book is that it's true, if not factual, on a very, very visceral level."

As part of her writing process, Good says she studied hundreds of psychological assessments of survivors of childhood physical and sexual abuse to better understand how these injuries can shape a person's trajectory.

She says this research informed how the central characters of "Five Little Indians" cope with the life-altering aftershocks of being torn away from their families and communities and forced into a system designed "take the Indian out of the child."

"The whole point of the book is how difficult it is to live with those impacts from the harm of walking out of those schools just burdened with psychological injury, and facing lack of support, lack of resources (and) racism," says Good.

"It's something that went directly to the fabric of Indigenous community and did profound damage."

Since its 2020 publication, "Five Little Indians" has been making the rounds on the literary prize circuit, securing spots on the Giller long list and Writers' Trust short list last fall.

Good also achieved the unusual feat of scoring three major awards nods in a single day in early May.

"Five Little Indians" won the $60,000 First Novel Award this week, is in the running for the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize next month, and is among several heavyweight finalists for the Governor General's Literary Awards, to be announced Tuesday.

Others vying for the $25,000 prize in the Governor General's fiction category are Guelph, Ont.-based Thomas King for "Indians on Vacation," from HarperCollins Canada; Halifax’s Francesca Ekwuyasi with "Butter Honey Pig Bread," from Arsenal Pulp Press; Leanne Betasamosake Simpson for "Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies," from House of Anansi Press; and Toronto-born Lisa Robertson for "The Baudelaire Fractal," from Coach House Books.

Good says the awards acclaim has been "tremendously satisfying." But most meaningful of all is the reception the book has received from residential school survivors and their families who recognize their own stories in the characters Good created, she says.

"It's my love letter to survivors," says Good. "I feel like that's something I can be proud of till the day I move on."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2021.

Adina Bresge, The Canadian Press

UCP KILLS

'Costing lives:' Iveson pins deaths of four vulnerable Edmontonians on lack of provincial housing supports


© Provided by Edmonton Journal Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson.

Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson is holding the Alberta government responsible for the deaths of four vulnerable residents within the last week.

Last Friday, three men died in a central Edmonton park of suspected overdoses. The exact cause of the deaths haven’t been released and may never be released publicly. On Wednesday, a 26-year-old woman was killed and a man seriously injured when they were lifted from a garbage dumpster into a garbage truck.

Addressing the tragedies for the first time Thursday, Iveson said he puts them “squarely at the feet” of the province because of a lack of investment in permanent, supportive housing which the city has long called for. Iveson said the city has tried to bridge the gap on its own, by funding affordable housing developments outside its jurisdiction, but can’t do it alone.

“These are the consequences of the gaps in the overall system. The city has tried our best to help plug those gaps in what is ultimately the Government of Alberta’s failing system,” Iveson told reporters Thursday. “The recalcitrance of the Government of Alberta on our housing objectives is now costing lives.”

More than 2,250 people are currently experiencing homelessness in Edmonton, up from 1,800 at the end of last year even though 759 people have found housing within the last six months. Iveson said the current shelter system isn’t the long-term solution and is calling on the province to fund supportive housing projects to move people into more suitable accommodations and in turn reduce costs in the health care and justice systems.



The city didn’t receive any funding for supportive housing in the latest provincial budget. Also a lack of commitment from the province to provide operational funding for 480 planned units resulted in a loss to the city of additional federal support of up to $68.8 million through the rapid housing initiative.

“People have been left to often fend for themselves in ways that are unconscionable in this province for far too long, which is why we have consistently called for supportive housing so that people would have a safe place to be where their addictions can be managed towards a goal of recovery and where their housing needs can be met,” Iveson said.

Iveson said this lack of housing support is the top of many issues he has had in trying to work with Premier Jason Kenney and his government over the last two years, but is not getting a “willing partner.”

“I think I’ve shown working with five premiers and two different prime ministers that I can work with anybody who is prepared to be a willing partner to build a great city for Edmontonians. I just don’t have that in Jason Kenney’s UCP government,” he said. “I’m not alone in my frustration with a number of decisions that have been made that are not what the City of Edmonton would have liked and certainly not what we have constructively advocated for.”

In response to the mayor’s comments, a spokesman for the province, Justin Marshall, said the Alberta government has maintained funding to Homeward Trust for housing and also became the first province to eliminate user fees for publicly-funded residential addiction treatment.

“This means that all Albertans regardless of their ability to pay will have access to lifesaving treatment,” Marshall said in a statement to Postmedia. “The province is a clear leader in supporting those struggling with addictions.”

Video: EPS investigating four suspicious deaths in the last week (Edmonton Journal)