Japanese group claims carbon-recycled methane qualifies as zero-emission ship fuel

 July 19, 2021

Global maritime, shipping and offshore news - Splash 24/7 (splash247.com)

The Ship Carbon Recycling Working Group at Japan’s Carbon Capture & Reuse (CCR) Study Group has claimed carbon-recycled methane produced by methanation technology can be recognised as zero-emission ship fuel. A technical paper describing the details of the calculation procedure and evaluation conducted by the group has been published in the latest issue of the journal of the Japan Institute of Marine Engineering.

Methanation is a technology for synthesising methane, the main component in natural gas, by causing a chemical reaction between hydrogen and CO2 in a reactor vessel filled with a catalyst. It uses emitted CO2 separated and captured from industrial facilities.

“As the CO2 generated when combusting synthesised methane is considered to be offset by the separated and captured CO2, it is expected that CO2 emissions can be significantly reduced by using hydrogen generated by electrolyzing water with electricity derived from renewable energy,” a release from one of the group’s members, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), stated today.

The study suggests the CO2 emission per unit calorific value of carbon-recycled methane fuel by methanation on a well to propeller basis is 27 g CO2 per megajoule, a figure the group claims is comparable to other alternative fuel candidates generally recognised as zero-emission fuels. Further reduction to approximately 20 g CO2 per megajoule is expected by improving the efficiency of the separation and capture technology, and using electricity produced from renewable energy.

In order to verify the feasibility of carbon recycled methane as a ship fuel, the working group will continue to work on issues such as CO2 transportation by large-scale liquified CO2 carrier vessels, supply of hydrogen from renewable energy, prevention of methane slips, supply infrastructure of liquefied methanation fuel, and economic viability.

Splash reported last month MOL and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) have teamed up to design larger liquefied CO2 carriers.

The Japanese government has been backing the nation’s development of carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS), carbon dioxide capture and utilisation (CCU) and carbon recycling over the past two years, something that will soon require the need for CO2 transport due to the great distances between CO2 emission sources and storage areas.

Other companies involved in the research and development of the CO2 carrier include Nippon Steel and Itochu Corporation.

MOL entered the liquefied CO2 ocean transport business this year by investing in Norway-based Larvik Shipping while K Line has been carrying out pioneering carbon capture technology at sea over the past year.

 

Mining News

Coal-fired electricity generation could reach all-time high in 2022 - IEA

 

Michael McCrae  Friday July 16, 2021 15:42

Kitco News

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(Kitco News) - While renewables have been taking a growing share of total power supply, the International Energy Agency is forecasting that renewables won't be able to keep pace with demand.

The International Energy Agency published its semi-annual Electricity Market Report yesterday.

"Renewables are expanding quickly but not enough to satisfy a strong rebound in global electricity demand this year, resulting in a sharp rise in the use of coal power that risks pushing carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity sector to record levels next year," writes the authors of the study.

After falling by about 1% in 2020 due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the IEA said that global electricity demand is set to grow by close to 5% in 2021 and 4% in 2022 – driven by the global economic recovery.

"The majority of these increases will take place in the Asia Pacific region. More than half of global growth in 2022 will occur in the People’s Republic of China), the world’s largest electricity consumer. India, the third-largest consumer, will account for 9% of global growth."

Renewables are growing strongly but won’t keep up.

"Based on current policy settings and economic trends, electricity generation from renewables – including hydropower, wind and solar PV – is on track to grow strongly around the world over the next two years – by 8% in 2021 and by more than 6% in 2022. But even with this strong growth, renewables will only be able to meet around half the projected increase in global electricity demand over those two years," writes the IEA.

The IEA forecasts coal-fired electricity generation will step into the breach. Coal is set to increase by almost 5% this year and by a further 3% in 2022, potentially reaching an all-time high.

CANADA

Writing on the wall for prairie crops

By Brian Cross
Published: July 15, 2021

WESTERN PRODUCER
Crops, News

Cereals east of Saskatoon were short and stunted last week with yield potential in the single digits or less. | Brian Cross photo


Crunch, crunch, crunch — that is the sound of parched prairie crops burning to a crisp under an intense summer heat wave that continued to bake western Canadian crops this week.

It might also describe the financial situation that some farmers will face this year as yield and income prospects dwindle quickly and the full impact of a looming feed shortage comes into greater focus for cattle producers.

Across the West, grain and oilseed producers are anticipating an early and light harvest this year, with crops in many areas already well past the point where they would benefit from a rain.

In large areas of western and southern Saskatchewan, yields will be well below normal — and in some cases close to zero. For some, canola crops are a complete write-off and annual cereals will be coming off before the end of the month with yield estimates in the five to 10 bushel range.

In the hardest hit areas, grain growers are already beginning to salvage annual crops for animal feed. Crop development is estimated at two to three weeks ahead of normal as drought-stressed plants race toward the finish line.

Even in the Parkland areas of Saskatchewan and Alberta — where moisture reserves entering the growing season were considerably better — crops are going backward quickly, say farmers and agronomists.

Livestock producers, meanwhile, are scrutinizing animal numbers and keeping a close eye on markets, wondering when to begin culling their herds before feeding season arrives.

“It’s very, very dry out there,” said provincial crop specialist Shannon Friesen with Saskatchewan Agriculture.

“This is one of the driest summers that we’ve seen in a very long time.

“We’ve also had some very strong winds and the lack of moisture right across the province has really caused a lot of issues for us.

“In some areas, any rain that we do get at this point is not going to actually benefit any of (this year’s) crops but it would of course help to replenish that topsoil moisture and help our hay and pastures.”

In its most recent weekly crop report, distributed July 8, Saskatchewan Agriculture rated topsoil moisture conditions as either short or very short on more than eight out of every 10 acres of cropland in the province.

That number is expected to be even higher when the province releases its next report on July 15.

Friesen said some areas of the province received thunder showers that will improve conditions.

But for this year’s crop, the writing is on the wall.

A heat blasted canola flower shows the danger facing prairie growers. | Brian Cross photo

“We’ve seen a few showers here and there … but nothing really substantial enough to bring us back into an adequate moisture situation.”

Friesen said it’s too early to get a read on how small the province’s grain harvest will be, but yields will be disappointing and grain quality will be impacted, she said.

“We just cannot have such a long period of time with no moisture and temperatures in the 30s and 40s… and expect things to still be in decent shape.”

In west-central Saskatchewan, among the province’s hardest hit areas, agronomy manager Lloyd Coben with G-Mac’s Ag Team in Elrose said wheat and barley yields in much of his trading area will be in the five- to 10-bu.-per-acre range. Canola yields will be lucky to hit double digits.

“We’ll be well below average — well, well, well below,” Cohen said.

“We’re burning up pretty bad here. Some of the crops might be grazing only. A lot of the cereals are heading out at six inches and the canola is really suffering.

“The pulses look better than anything but they’re not going to be much of a crop either.”

Coben said grain will be extremely scarce across most of west-central Saskatchewan this year.

Bin space and unused desiccants will be in ample supply.

“If we have any crop in this area that makes 20 (bu. per acre), I’d be awfully surprised,” he said.

“This year’s pretty much a write-off…. This would rate right up there with one of the worst we’ve ever seen.”

Stop selling false hope of credit for historical carbon efforts

By D.C. Fraser, 

Glacier FarmMedia

WESTERN PRODUCER
Published: July 15, 2021
Opinion

Producers should have accepted disappointment long ago, but are continuously sold false hopes that their historical efforts to sequester carbon will earn them credit on a carbon trading market. | File photo


Farmers holding out hope that historical efforts to sequester carbon will earn them credit on a carbon trading market should accept a hard truth. It isn’t happening.

They should have accepted disappointment long ago, but are continuously sold false hopes.

Saskatchewan is developing its own protocols for a carbon market. The feds are doing the same, while some jurisdictions in Canada have been operating them for years.

Globally, putting a price on carbon and offering the opportunity to buy and sell units on an open market is not new.

There are clearly defined markets buying and selling carbon, with many more in development.

But already there are some clear foundations of a credible offset market.

The Stockholm-based Carbon Offset Research and Education (CORE) publishes an internationally recognized guide for offset protocols often looked to by policy makers. CORE requires “additionality” as part of a project to be recognized as a credible offset.

“GHG (greenhouse gas) reductions are additional if they would not have occurred in the absence of a market for offset credits. If the reductions would have happened anyway — i.e., without any prospect for project owners to sell carbon offset credits — then they are not additional,” says CORE.

Credit for historical carbon offsets, which are carbon-saving practices farmers adopted years ago, wouldn’t be offered if CORE was the authority.

Washington, D.C., based Verra is among the world’s most renowned verifiers of carbon credits to be sold on market. It too rejects offsets based on historical practices.

Verra says a project counts as additional — that is, it could be allowed as an offset — if “it can be demonstrated that the activity results in emission reductions or removals that are in excess of what would be achieved under a ‘business as usual’ scenario and the activity would not have occurred in the absence of the incentive provided by the carbon markets.”

As well, the American Carbon Registry says historical offsets would not be allowed.

There is not a single market or verifier I can find where historical offsets wouldn’t be rejected.

Offset programs being designed in Canada will subscribe to this idea, too. There will be no credit for any GHG emissions removed before 2017.

Producers who went zero-till, or use perennial forage coverage, prior to that period don’t get credit.

It is a pillar of carbon markets worldwide.

Considering this, I was surprised last spring when Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said farmers should be credited for two decades worth of carbon sequestration.

Unwilling to face facts and be straight with Saskatchewan residents, Moe’s bureaucracy is being tasked with breaking the hard truth to producers — that past efforts won’t be included in a carbon market.

Right or wrong, the reality is that Canadian rules have to align with national and international markets.

Meanwhile, farm leaders continue unrealistic calls for recognition and appeals to Ottawa to consider including historical offsets.

The Agricultural Carbon Alliance continues to advocate “carbon offset protocols must be accessible to early adopters and open to science-based measurement. This should include the recognition of activities that began prior to January 2017, where appropriate, and incorporate flexibility to accommodate advancements in verification.”

Policies can always change, but long-standing international standards being mimicked in the development of our domestic market make it clear that historical efforts to reduce carbon won’t be recognized.

Advocacy against this, even if warranted, is a losing effort.

It is time farmers accept this truth, rather than continue to be sold false hope from farm leaders and politicians that credit for past efforts could be coming.

Sask. finds first anthrax since 2019

By Karen Briere
WESTERN PRODUCER
Published: July 15, 2021

One sheep and possibly four others from a flock east of Regina recently died from anthrax. | File photo

Anthrax has killed at least one sheep and possibly four others in a flock east of Regina.

The provincial agriculture ministry confirmed the cause of death in a July 8 news release.

The affected farm is in the Rural Municipality of South Qu’Appelle, which includes the communities of McLean, Qu’Appelle, Edgeley and Avonhurst.

Chief veterinarian Dr. Stephanie Smith said it is the first confirmed case since 2019.

“This is a classic time of year for these cases to occur and certainly with the dry conditions not surprising at all,” she said.

“Bison, cattle, sheep and goats, deer and elk are all quite susceptible to anthrax.”

Horses can also be affected. Dogs and cats tend to be more resistant, but farm dogs should be kept away from any deadstock to prevent scavenging.

Human infection is rare.

Anthrax is spread by spores in soil that are disturbed when it is particularly dry or wet, or excavated. Animals can ingest the spores when grazing.

Symptoms occur quickly, and include staggering, shortness of breath, trembling, collapse, convulsions and death. There can be bloody discharge from openings such as the nose.

Carcasses should not be moved. Producers should contact their veterinarians if anthrax is suspected.

Anthrax must be reported to Smith’s office and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

“Vaccination is the key,” she said. “That is the one thing we do recommend, particularly in areas of the province where there have been previous anthrax outbreaks.”

A map on the provincial website shows all locations where it has been found since 1948.

Affected sites are quarantined to prevent spread until at least seven days after the last confirmed death has been reported. Vaccines also take seven to 10 days to take effect.

Smith said in this case the carcasses have been disposed of properly and the producer is working with a veterinarian to implement an anthrax management plan.

She said it is difficult to predict when or where anthrax will be a problem; there is always a risk.

Producers should monitor their animals and watch for abnormal behaviour or any sudden deaths.

The ministry will pay for anthrax testing at Prairie Diagnostic Services but the costs of disposal and any cleaning or disinfection are producers’ responsibility.

Opposed piston engine developed 140 years ago

By Ron Lyseng
WESTERN PRODUCER
Published: July 8, 2021
Crops, Machinery



There’s nothing new about opposed piston diesel engines. An industrial electrician I’ve known for 50 years worked on one of the giant engines at Churchill, Man., a few years ago.

Pat Barry recalls the engine was in a 60-foot tugboat used in pushing and pulling grain ships around at the terminal.

“This was a three-cylinder, six-piston engine that stood taller than me,” said the six-foot, six-inch Barry.

The 12-inch diameter output shaft on a 1950s model Fairbanks Morse engine needed a new keyway. The tugboat owners deemed that removing the engine and hauling it south for the job would waste too much time, so they began scouring machine shops looking for a person with a machine who could do the work on-site in the tug.

They found Barry at King’s Electric in Winnipeg. Barry brought a cutting device that resembled a portable milling machine that clamped firmly to the shaft. Multiple passes with the cutter created a foot-long keyway that the key firmly fit.

One of the first opposed-piston engines was the 1882 Atkinson differential engine, according to Old Machine Press. It had a power stroke on every rotation of the crankshaft.

It was not a commercial success. In 1898, a 600 horsepower, two-stroke, opposed-piston engine was installed at the Hoerde ironworks.

An early opposed-piston car gasoline engine was produced by the French company Gobron-Brillié around 1900. Four years later, a Gobron-Brillié car set a world ground speed record of 152.5 km/h (95 mph).

The first diesel engine with opposed pistons was a prototype built at Kolomna Works in Russia.

In 1932, the Junker aircraft company in Germany introduced the Jumo diesel 205 two-stroke with six cylinders and 12 pistons in an opposed configuration. This design required two crankshafts, one at the bottom of the cylinder block and the other at the top, geared together. The pistons moved toward each other during the operating cycle.

Two cam-operated injection pumps per cylinder fed four nozzles per cylinder.

Fairbanks Morse took an interest in Jumo 205 and acquired a licence to produce such engines in the United States. The opposed-piston design offers some advantages over conventional engines by having fewer parts, no cylinder head, improved thermal efficiency and more power for a given size and weight.

Fairbanks Morse used the Jumo design to develop its own line of opposed-piston diesel engines, one of the first being the Model 38. This was a two-stroke vertical engine with two crankshafts linked by a gear train.

In its original form, the engine had eight cylinders, displaced 8,042 cubic inches, and produced 1,200 h.p. at 720 rpm.

In 1934, the United States Navy ordered eight of these engines for Porpoise-class submarines.

By 1937, Fairbanks Morse 38 design was offered in cylinder numbers from four to 12, with power up to 1,600 h.p. Approximately 1,650 38D8 engines were built during the Second World War. Although changes have been incorporated over the years, the 38D8 remains in production today.

‘A lot of anxiety out there:’ Canadian insolvency at highest level since index began in 2017

By Rosa Saba

Business Reporter
Mon., July 19, 2021

As the economy slowly reopens, many Canadians are staring down a mountain of debt incurred during the pandemic and almost half of them are worried about making ends meet without sustaining more debt, according to the latest Consumer Debt Index from accounting, tax and business consulting firm MNP.

In fact, the number of Canadians who are unable to pay their monthly bills and debt payments — in other words, insolvent — is at its highest level since the index began in 2017.

The consumer debt index poll of around 2,000 people, conducted quarterly for MNP by Ipsos, found that half of Canadians are more worried about being able to repay their debts than they used to be — and yet a third of respondents plan to spend more as the economy reopens on things they’ve been missing, like dining and entertainment.

Grant Bazian, president of MNP, said the consumer debt index has been fluctuating during the pandemic for various reasons, but overall anxiety about debt has definitely increased from before COVID-19.

He said Ontario is faring worse than other provinces when it comes to consumer debt and debt anxiety, likely in part due to the province’s slower reopening this summer.

“There’s definitely a lot of anxiety out there,” said Bazian.

Around a third of Canadians say the pandemic made their debt worse, or created more debt for them or their family, especially younger Canadians.

Between low interest rates and the hot housing market, younger Canadians are getting into debt that they may not know how to handle, said Bazian.

David Macdonald, senior economist for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said that for youth in particular, debt is one of the potential long-term impacts of COVID-19, driven in part by the housing market.

“The housing market has gone nowhere but up over the course of the pandemic,” said Macdonald. “Low interest rates in part to drive economic growth have led to massive increases in house costs, which prices youth out of the market.”


If young people do manage to get into the market, they’re likely to become “house poor,” he said.

A third of respondents to the survey who own a home said they’re “house poor,” meaning after they pay their bills relating to their home, they don’t have much left over.

Around two-thirds of Canadians surveyed said they reduced their spending during COVID-19, but more than half said they have taken advantage of the low interest rates to buy things they might not have otherwise, which may be contributing to the higher debt loads, according to the press release.

However, many Canadians have been managing to save more during the pandemic, and around half say their debt situation is actually better than it was pre-pandemic.


The biggest concern for Canadians in debt right now is interest rates, according to the press release: a third of respondents said if interest rates go up, they’re worried they will be driven to bankruptcy.

For many, job prospects are still uncertain, Bazian said. Many are relying partly on income assistance such as Employment Insurance.

Though the provinces, even Ontario, have been progressing along their reopening plans, it’s unlikely employment will be back to normal levels by the time the federal subsidies for businesses and individuals, as well as the temporary EI inclusions, end in September, Macdonald said.

It is possible the government will extend some of those programs past their planned end date, said Macdonald. That’s what happened over and over again during the past year and a half. But it’s not a guarantee, and the programs can’t go on forever.

“I think maybe there’s a bit of hedging to see how strong the recovery is in July,” he said.

For Ontario, it’s not likely to be a strong rebound, said Macdonald, as the province has been slowest to reopen.

“On the reopening side we’ve been slower, and on the real estate side we’ve seen tremendous growth,” he said. “That’s going to drive the debt picture as well, is people … overextending themselves in order to get into the housing market.”

There have been predictions that when COVID-19 financial support ends, Canada will see a wave of insolvencies. But Bazian doesn’t think that’s the case.

More likely, the number of insolvencies will steadily increase month over month, he said, potentially above pre-pandemic levels.

“If they were struggling before COVID hit, and they incurred more debt during COVID, there’s a likelihood you’re going to have more people filing in a post-COVID world than you had in a pre-COVID world,” said Bazian.

Posthaste: A third of Canadians feel 'house poor,' but are ready to take on more debt as economy reopens

Around 5.5 million homeowners are susceptible to financial disruptions such as an interest rate increase

Author of the article:

Yadullah Hussain

Publishing date:

Jul 19, 2021  •  

Home prices have surged during the pandemic, making many Canadians feel rich at least on paper. PHOTO BY COLE BURSTON/BLOOMBERG

Article content

While the pandemic certainly improved the financial situation of many Canadians, not everyone has been fortunate enough to build a ‘wall of wealth’.

Despite surging home prices that have left many Canadians look fiscally stable at least on paper, many are struggling to make ends meet, according to a new survey.

The latest MNP Consumer Debt Index shows the number of Canadians concerned they cannot make ends meet without going into further debt has reached its highest level in three years.

Almost half (45 per cent, up 6 points since March) are not confident they will be able to cover all living and family expenses in the next 12 months without taking on more credit, according to the quarterly poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of MNP Ltd, released this morning.

“In fact, the proportion of Canadians who report being insolvent, or unable to pay their monthly bills and debt repayments, sits at the highest level recorded since the index was created in 2017 (30 per cent, unchanged),” the survey noted. “Half (51 per cent, unchanged) say they are more concerned about their ability to repay their debts than they used to be.”

For now, the pandemic has helped rein in spending in most households, with the average Canadian family left with $731 after paying all their bills, an increase of $106 compared to the March findings. This may explain why about half (49 per cent) of Canadians feel their debt situation is better now than it was before the pandemic started and are more relaxed about carrying debt than they usually are (45 per cent, -4pts).

But that financial buffer may not last. Canadians are also keeping an eye on rising interest rates, with one in four concerned that rising rates would negatively impact their financial stability, and a third are worried that an interest rate hike could drive them towards bankruptcy.

Homeowners with an outstanding mortgage feel they are at particular risk.

“One-third (32 per cent) of Canadians who own a home say they are ‘house poor,’ meaning that they don’t have much left over after paying bills related to their home,” according to the survey. “All told, approximately 5.5 million homeowners are susceptible to financial disruptions such as an interest rate increase or change to their job situation. Perhaps it is, therefore, not surprising that two in ten (20 per cent) homeowners say they regret the amount of debt they took on to buy their home.”

But as the pandemic shows signs of retreating at least in the country and the provinces open up, Canadians are ready to spend on travel and entertainment in a big way.

“A significant proportion of Canadians appear to be ready to emerge from their bubbles and go straight into shopping malls, restaurants and airplanes to celebrate the pandemic wind down,” said Grant Bazian, president of MNP Ltd. “For many, the financial damage will likely linger for years even as they regain employment and try to cope with new debts they may have accumulated.”

30% of Canadians say they’re insolvent, 

MNP debt survey shows

By Erica Alini Global News
Posted July 19, 2021 

WATCH: As the stock market grapples with fears that the COVID-19 Delta variant could harm economic recovery, a survey found that nearly half of Canadians can't cover living expenses this year without going deeper into debt. Global's Anne Gaviola reports.

 

As the COVID-19 health emergency fades across the country, Canadians are reporting very different levels of concern about their debt, according to a recent poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of debt consultancy MNP.

Higher-income households are more likely to say that their debt situation has improved compared to before the pandemic. Those with lower incomes, on the other hand, are more likely to say things have gotten worse.

Younger Canadians, in particular, are more likely to report both that it’s become more difficult to keep up with debt payments and that they’ve accumulated additional liabilities during the pandemic.

READ MORE: It’s not just inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic is also feeding ‘shrinkflation’

Why Canadians are racking up record amounts of debt – Jun 10, 2021

Overall, survey respondents said they have more money left over at the end of the month than they did in a previous poll in March (the average amount of self-reported left-over cash rose by $106 to $731). However, 30 per cent of those who answered the poll reported being insolvent, the highest share since 2017, MNP noted.

It’s a split that others who work with debtors are seeing as well.

“There are a lot of people who now have cash, a lot of people who’ve been able to use the pandemic — when they weren’t spending money but still had their paycheck — to actually deleverage and pay off their debt,” says Doug Hoyes, a licensed insolvency trustee and co-founder of Ontario-based Hoyes Michalos.

On the other hand, others who’s lost their job during the pandemic had to take on more debt to make ends meet, he adds.

As the economy reopens, some Canadians with increased debt loads will may become more financially vulnerable, Hoyes warns.

READ MORE: Canadians with long COVID: Sick and, increasingly, worried they’ll go broke

Ottawa has started gradually phasing out some of the extraordinary income support measures it rolled out as parts of Canada’s labour market cratered during the pandemic, leaving millions without jobs.

The amount Canadians can receive through the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) will change to $300 a week — down from $500 a week — for those applying for the first time starting with the pay period that begins with July 18 or for those who have already received 42 weeks of CRB.

And the temporary changes the federal government introduced to bolster EI benefits during the pandemic are only in effect until September 2021.

The lifting of pandemic-related restrictions is generating strong demand for workers from sectors that have been hard-hit by the health measures, such as the restaurant sector and the hospitality industry.

  

Quebec Labour Shortage

And there are signs that employers across many industries are eager to hire. In early July, for example, job postings on job-search site Indeed Canada stood 33 per cent above their February 2020 levels.

But, counterintuitively, some debtors may start to struggle more financially as they go back to work, Hoyes warns.

Joblessness means having no wages that can be garnished, he explains. Creditors like banks and credit card companies can’t garnish income support benefits like the CRB, he adds.

“So while you are not earning wages, you are, in effect, protected,” he adds.

READ MORE: Some salaries up ‘drastically’ as Canada feels impact of labour shortages

While Hoyes says some debtors will be able to catch up on payments or negotiate a solution with creditors on their own, he also expects personal insolvencies to start rising in the fall, as more people return to work and creditors ramp up collection activity.

Homeowners with mortgages may be another “at risk” group, according the MNP report. One-third of surveyed Canadians who own a home said they feel “house poor,” with little money left over at the end of the month after paying bills related to their home. Approximately 5.5 million homeowners are financially susceptible to an interest rate increase or change to their job situation, according to the survey.

A survey released Thursday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation found that two-thirds of recent homebuyers paid the highest price they could afford on the purchase of a new home.

At MNP, licensed insolvency trustee Grant Bazian has words of caution for those who’ve emerged from the pandemic in better financial shapes too.

With one-third of survey respondents saying they planned to increase spending as the economy reopens, Bazian warns against indulging in budget-busting spending sprees.

“A significant proportion of Canadians appear to be ready to emerge from their bubbles and go straight into shopping malls, restaurants and airplanes to celebrate the pandemic wind down,” Bazian, who is president of MNP’s insolvency practice. “For many, the financial damage will likely linger for years even as they regain employment and try to cope with new debts they may have accumulated.”

First Nations leaders decry 'racist political propaganda' by Manitoba government, call for resignation

Fallout continues over comments by Premier Brian Pallister, Alan Lagimodiere

Darren Bernhardt · CBC News · Posted: Jul 19, 2021 

Ted Bland, former chief of York Factory First Nation, addresses a crowd Monday on the steps of the Manitoba Legislature as part of a call to action by the Summit of Treaty 5 Sovereign Nations following remarks by Premier Brian Pallister and cabinet minister Alan Lagimodiere. (Patrick Foucault/Radio-Canada)

First Nations representatives harshly called out the Manitoba government on Monday, labelling recent comments by Premier Brian Pallister and cabinet minister Alan Lagimodiere as propaganda and demanding the latter's resignation.

Standing on the front steps of the legislative building, the Summit of Treaty 5 Sovereign Nations (STFSN) blasted the Progressive Conservative government for a "deliberate attempt to distort the history of Indigenous peoples regarding the policy of genocide at residential schools."

In a fiery speech that could be heard far from the Tyndall stone steps, Grand Chief Arlen Dumas of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs shouted his anger with Pallister and Lagimodiere.

"We found 1,505 children murdered in these schools, hidden and buried in the ground, and in the same breath, [you] say 'but residential schools were a good thing. Assimilation was a good thing.' Who can say that in their right mind?" he said.

"Here we are today trying again to have people who are so ill-informed and uninformed and uneducated [and] ignorant, tell my mother that what happened to her in residential school, it was OK."

Here's a look at Brian Pallister's full comments on Canada Day statue toppling — and what he's said since

New Manitoba Indigenous minister says residential school system believed 'they were doing the right thing'

WATCH | Dumas decries recent comments by Manitoba politicians:

Manitoba's grand chief calls out 'archaic' ideas about residential schools

'Who in their right mind' can say residential schools and assimilation were a good thing, asks Grand Chief Arlen Dumas of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. 1:21

Dumas spoke of how Indigenous people showed the first European settlers how to travel and survive in a land and climate that could be inhospitable at times.

"Where we treated your ancestors like human beings, your institutions treated us like savages," he yelled.

The comments by Pallister and Lagimodiere suggest nothing is changing, Dumas said.

"I'm tired of talking to Pallister. I give him every opportunity to have meaningful dialogue. We bring forward meaningful solutions to work together, hand in hand, to move forward. But he'd rather talk at me."

During a Canada Day rally in Winnipeg, following the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential schools in Canada, statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth were pulled down on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature.

Pallister denounced the actions and made comments that suggested the colonization of Canada was done with good intentions.

The people who came to Canada "didn't come here to destroy anything. They came here to build. They came to build better," he said, adding the statues would be repaired and set back up, though the locations might change.

In a news release, the STFSN said the premier's comments are "racist political propaganda distorting and romanticizing colonialism."

"If Pallister wants to rebuild that statue so quickly, a statue that some of my non-First Nations friends in Manitoba didn't even know the significance of, then he may as well be building them on those graves," Dumas said.
Remarks prompted minister to step down

Pallister's remarks provoked the resignation of his own Indigenous and northern relations minister, Eileen Clarke, who stepped down from her cabinet position two days later.

In doing so, Clarke said many Manitobans are disappointed with their representatives, and added that she and other cabinet ministers had not been listened to.

'Change is necessary': Former Manitoba Indigenous relations minister posts statement about resignation

Manitoba premier appoints new ministers, replacing Clarke, Pedersen

She was replaced by Lagimodiere, who, within 10 minutes of his appointment on July 15, told reporters the people who ran Indian residential schools believed "they were doing the right thing."

"In retrospect, it's easy to judge in the past. But at the time, they really thought that they were doing the right thing," he said.

"From my knowledge of it, the residential school system was designed to take Indigenous children and give them the skills and abilities they would need to fit into society as it moved forward."

WATCH | Alan Lagimodiere called out for remarks on residential schools:

Manitoba’s new Indigenous reconciliation minister called out for residential school comments On his first day as Manitoba's new Indigenous reconciliation and northern affairs minister, Alan Lagimodiere was publicly taken to task by Opposition leader Wab Kinew for saying that those who once ran residential schools thought they were 'doing the right thing.' 2:00

Lagimodiere has since apologized, saying his words were wrong, but the fallout has continued.

Two Indigenous men, Jamie Wilson and Darrell Brown, quit their positions on Manitoba economic development boards shortly after Lagimodiere's comments. Wilson had previously served as a deputy minister in two departments under the Progressive Conservative government and was the treaty commissioner for Manitoba.

2 Indigenous men on Manitoba PC-appointed boards quit over ministers' comments

"There is no way to sugarcoat the intent and effect of the residential school [system]. It was purposefully designed and carried out to impose forcible, punitive assimilation on every First Nation child they could lay hands on," said AMC regional chief Cindy Woodhouse.

"The Indian residential school system was all about denigrating First Nations cultures, First Nations languages, values and First Nations everything. That's why there are thousands of children who disappeared without a trace. They were devalued in death as they were in life."

There is no such thing as benign colonialism, or well-intentioned colonialism and governments cannot move on from that dark past by denying the truth, she said.

"At a time when our people are recovering children's bodies and our survivors are finally starting to be acknowledged by the general public, the comments by the PC government has caused a setback by the use of such irresponsible and volatile words," said Chief Clarence Easter of Chemawawin Cree Nation.

"We are stepping to the plate to deal with this."

Action plan calls for new minister to step down

The action plan unveiled by the STFSN calls for alliances between the Treaty 5 First Nations and affiliate organizations to work together to respond to hate crime and racism.

Treaty 5 includes more than 100,000 people from 37 First Nations in Manitoba and three in Saskatchewan, according to the STFSN.

The plan calls for the following:

Hate crimes and racism should be standing discussion items at every annual gathering of Treaty 5 Nations, beginning Aug. 10.

To promote non violence and avoid destruction of property.

To develop a report on hate crimes and racism and report them to the United Nations.

To conduct an awareness campaign on the prevalence and effects of hate crimes and racism.

To lobby the federal government to do more to criminalize hate crimes and racism, saying the Criminal Code currently does little to deter it.

To condemn and publicly expose hate crimes and racism and hate propaganda through First Nations social media.

To create a task force of academics, elders and youth to enact the actions.

"Today we are not here to topple any statues, we are here to topple a government that is racist, a government that has no place in this legislature," said Garrison Settee, Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents 26 First Nations in northern Manitoba.

Manitoba Indigenous reconciliation minister offers 'sincerest apologies' over residential schools remarks

Political experts say Manitoba PCs will have a hard time recovering from residential school blunder

One of the first actions in the plan on Monday was to call for Lagimodiere to step down from his cabinet position.

"Dr. Alan Lagimodiere proved himself as an embarrassment to reconciliation and Indigenous relations," said Chief Sheldon Kent of Black River First Nation.

"His comments were harmful, retriggering anger and discontent among our people. There was no good intention at Indian residential schools to promote and it is catastrophically irresponsible to suggest otherwise.

"We call for his resignation and he must step down."

First Nations leaders call out Pallister government over recent comments

First Nations Chiefs called out the Manitoba government on the steps of legislature Monday, saying comments made by Premier Brian Pallister and Minister Alan Lagimodiere were racist. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Reporter/Editor
Darren Bernhardt spent the first dozen years of his journalism career in newspapers, first at the Regina Leader-Post then the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. He has been with CBC Manitoba since 2009 and specializes in offbeat and local history stories and features. He is the author of award-nominated and bestselling The Lesser Known: A History of Oddities from the Heart of the Continent. Story idea? Email: darren.bernhardt@cbc.ca

 

Price says 'better job' needed in teaching Canadians about residential schools

The Montreal Canadiens' Carey Price says more needs to be done to make more people aware of the history of residential schools.

The Canadian Press

Carey Price , The Canadian Press

KELOWNA, B.C. — Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price says more needs to be done to make more people aware of the history of residential schools.

Price, from Anahim Lake, B.C., has previously spoken about his grandmother being a residential school survivor who faced "social injustices" at school.

The star netminder told 680 News he believes not many Canadians are aware of what residential schools were.

Lynda Price, Carey's mother, is chief of the Ulkatcho First Nation in northern B.C. and he says sharing stories about experiences at residential schools makes her emotional.

He adds that residential schools have had a "snowball effect" on generations of Indigenous people.

The federal government has pledged further support for the identification and investigation of burial grounds near former residential schools after allocating $27 million in 2019, in the wake of unmarked graves being found in several provinces.

"That part of our history in Canada was not covered very well," Price said from Kelowna, B.C.

"I think we need to do a better job in the future of recognizing that this is a part of our history in Canada and it's just not right."

(680 News)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2021.