UK Government to investigate electricity deals that may not be as 'green' as they claim

The review comes after a poll showed 75% of consumers believe suppliers should be more transparent over their green tariffs.

Consumer protection advocates and price comparison services have also called for greater transparency around suppliers who market their tariffs as green (Image: PA)

The UK Government is set to review electricity tariffs that claim to be "green" over concerns some energy firms could be exaggerating their environmental benefits.

Energy minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said nine million households across the UK are on tariffs branded "100% renewable" or "green". But industry figures have warned that the claims may be misleading and are calling for changes to rules over the labelling.

Energy companies are currently able to market tariffs as "green" even if some of the energy they supply to customers comes from fossil fuels. They do this by purchasing Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin certificates to offset the use of fossil fuels, with each certificate guaranteeing a similar amount of green energy is produced.

READ MORE
Green and brown energy difference explained plus the top three suppliers to switch to this year

But energy companies are not compelled to reveal how much of their energy is based on the purchase of certificates against those supplying electricity directly from renewable sources, such as wind farms.

Options being explored include looking at whether the system around these certificates needs to be smarter, as well as whether suppliers need to provide clearer information to householders about their green tariffs.

MoneySavingExpert.com is currently reviewing how they rank suppliers that offer such tariffs given the concerns raised as “this is not the first time such worries have been aired”.

The UK Government is also planning to investigate third-party intermediaries in the retail energy market, including price comparison sites, auto-switching services and non-domestic brokers, after figures showed about half of households now use them when engaging with the energy market.

They currently operate outside of retail market rules, and ministers will seek views on whether a regulatory framework is needed.

Ms Trevelyan said: "Millions of UK households are choosing to make the green switch and more of our energy comes from renewables. But I want people to know that when they sign up to a green tariff, they are investing in companies that make a conscious choice to invest in renewable energy. Part of that is ensuring companies are being as transparent as possible on where their power comes from."

According to a recent YouGov poll for Scottish Power and Good Energy, nearly two thirds of UK energy consumers say their purchasing decisions are influenced by how eco-friendly an energy tariff is.

However, three quarters believe suppliers should be open and transparent about their tariffs, including how much of their renewable energy they buy from other companies

Consumer protection advocates and price comparison services have also called for greater transparency around suppliers who market their tariffs as green.

CFC ban bought us time to fight climate change, say scientists

By Victoria Gill
Science correspondent, BBC News
Published8 hours ago

The ozone hole over Antarctica, in 2000

A worldwide ban on ozone-depleting chemicals in 1987 has averted a climate catastrophe today, scientists say.

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, banning chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons, has now simulated our "world avoided".

Without the treaty, Earth and its flora would have been exposed to far more of the Sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called it "perhaps the single most successful international agreement".

Tortured plants

Continued and increased use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) would have contributed to global air temperatures rising by an additional 2.5°C by the end of this century, the international team of scientists found.

Part of that would have been caused directly by CFCs, which are also potent greenhouse gases.

But the damage they cause the ozone layer would also have released additional planet-heating carbon dioxide - currently locked up in vegetation - into the atmosphere.

"In past experiments, people have exposed plants - basically tortured plants - with high levels of UV," lead researcher Dr Paul Young, of the Lancaster Environment Centre, said.

"They get very stunted - so they don't grow as much and can't absorb as much carbon."

The world's vegetation would have been "stunted" by UV radiation damage

The scientists estimated there would be:

580 billion tonnes less carbon stored in forests, other vegetation and soils
an extra 165-215 parts per million (40-50%) of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

"What we see in our 'world-avoided experiment' is an additional 2.5C warming above any warming that we would get from greenhouse-gas increases," Dr Young said.

But similar collective action to limit greenhouse-gas emissions was likely to be much more challenging.

"The science was listened to and acted upon - we have not seen that to the same degree with climate change," he told BBC Radio 4's Inside Science programme.

The experiment could appear to suggest hope for an "alternative future" that had avoided the worst consequences of climate change.

"But I would be cautious of using it as a positive example for the climate negotiations," Dr Young said.

"It's not [directly] comparable - but it's nice to have something positive to hold on to and to see that the world can come together."

• COMMODITIES

'They made a mistake': Ex-PotashCorp CEO

 still has bone to pick with BHP

Paul Bagnell

Anchor

“Maybe in the intervening 11 years, they learned something about potash.”

Those words were spoken by Bill Doyle – the former chief executive officer of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan – in an interview Wednesday. He was talking about BHP Group Ltd. Doyle has never soft-pedalled his view on the global potash industry. And he’s been notably blunt about one potash project in particular – the Jansen mine project that was given final approval by global mining giant BHP on Tuesday.

In an interview on Wednesday, Doyle had plenty to say about BHP’s rocky history in Saskatchewan’s potash sector.  He praised BHP for scaling back its previously grandiose ambitions for Jansen, but nonetheless said the mine will be the most expensive in the world – putting BHP at the mercy of world potash prices.  He urged BHP to get some potash-expertise in its management ranks and suggested BHP may view Jansen as a costly mistake into which it now has little choice but to keep pouring in billions of dollars.

Doyle, of course, was CEO of Potash Corp. in 2010, when BHP launched a hostile takeover offer for the company.  The attempt failed when Ottawa blocked it on the grounds it would not provide a “net benefit” to Canada.

BHP’s Plan B has been Jansen – a huge potash deposit about 200 kilometres north from Regina.   Over the years, BHP has spent US$4.5 billion on Jansen but until yesterday, had not committed to fully developing it into a producing mine.  Yesterday’s announcement called for a further US$5.7 billion in spending over the next six years. But it’s nonetheless a more modest project than BHP has envisioned in the past.

“The tone of the announcement is completely different from what we heard back in 2010,” Doyle said. “In 2010, they were going to take over the potash world.  What was announced yesterday was a much different scenario.  It’s a four million tonne mine, not ten million or 12 million – not this mega project that they have talked about,” he said.

At four million tonnes of potash production a year, Jansen will account for about four percent of global output, Doyle said.  That’s not enough to sway the supply fundamentals of the marketplace, which will likely make BHP a price-taker.

“It really benefits existing players in the industry,” he said, pointing to Nutrien Ltd. and The Mosaic Company.

BHP will need to earn a return on the roughly US$10 billion it will have spent on Jansen, a sum that makes it the most expensive potash mine development project ever.

“I think in hindsight, they wish they hadn’t done it,” Doyle said.  “I think they made a mistake. They threw so much money at it.  So the question is: Is this good money after bad?”

“The fact of the matter is they are going to have, by far and away, the most expensive potash project in the history of the industry.”

His advice to fellow Canadian Mike Henry, the current CEO of BHP?

“Get yourself some expertise.  It’s a much different industry than copper or iron ore.”

A NOTHING BURGER 

Irving Oil partnering with TC Energy to reduce emissions from refinery

Two companies will work at 'decarbonizing' Irving Oil's current assets

Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Aug 18, 2021 

Irving Oil, New Brunswick's largest greenhouse gas emitter, says it will partner with TC Energy to work on "decarbonizing" its current assets. (Shane Fowler/CBC)

New Brunswick's biggest greenhouse gas emitter and its one-time oil pipeline partner say they will work together to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the province.

Irving Oil says it will partner with Calgary's TC Energy on upgrades to its Saint John refinery aimed at "decarbonizing current assets and deploying emerging technologies to reduce overall emissions."

The Saint John refinery is the province's single biggest emitter of carbon dioxide. It pumped an estimated 2.8 megatonnes of climate-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in 2019, almost one-quarter of all emissions in New Brunswick.

An Irving Oil news release says the two companies have a goal of "significantly reducing emissions through the production and use of low-carbon power generation."

In the longer term, they say they'll look at producing and selling low-emission hydrogen and at capturing and sequestering carbon to "aid in decarbonizing local industry."

If Irving Oil's actions match its words, it would mark a historic shift for a company built on oil.

New Brunswick finalizes carbon tax details with Ottawa for largest emitters

A made-in-New Brunswick carbon tax is here, but will it actually curb consumption?

Responding to strong policies, public opinion

Founded almost a century ago with the opening of a single gas station, Irving's Saint John refinery is now Canada's largest and a major supplier of gasoline to the northeastern United States.

But stronger climate policies and public opinion are pushing it to adapt, Atlantica Centre for Energy president Colleen d'Entremont said.

She said all fossil-fuel companies "are very sensitive to changes in public demands, in changes to regulatory improvements … so they have to be thinking about what kind of requirements are going to be required in the future, going forward."

Irving's mention of hydrogen as a future product is notable because of research and development into cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells, d'Entremont said.

"This is something we're playing catch-up to, and I think the producers of transportation fuels are also looking at that, and I can't imagine Irving Oil isn't one of them.

"The Aug. 12 announcement contained no information on when the work would begin or what kind of [greenhouse gas] reductions the companies are aiming for, though it says targets will "align with carbon reduction goals."

New Brunswick emitted 12 megatonnes of greenhouse gases in 2019. The province's official target is 10.7 megatonnes by 2030.

The timing and cost of the initiatives will depend on feasibility studies and regulatory approval, the companies said.

Irving Oil did not acknowledge an interview request from CBC News, and TC Energy said no one from the company was available.

"It's not easy to get a sense of what they're actually proposing," said environmental researcher Louise Comeau.

Louise Comeau, a researcher at the University of New Brunswick, says it's difficult get a sense of what Irving Oil is proposing, adding it would be good to see the company diversify into renewable energy. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

The lack of timelines and targets makes it impossible to assess the plan, said Sarah MacWhirter, a spokesperson for the Pembina Institute, an environmental think tank.

"Unfortunately we don't know enough about this agreement and the emissions reductions it will deliver and on what timeline to provide meaningful comment," she said in an email.

Comeau said reducing emissions from the refining process itself would be one thing, but the real question is whether Irving is preparing for a market shift away from combustion-powered cars and trucks.

"It would be great to see Irving diversify into renewable energy," she said.

"That would be the thing I think that would position them well for the future and keep jobs in the region. But if the intent is to maximize the investment in fossil fuel infrastructure in the long term, I do think that's risky."
Companies have partnered before

TC Energy has partnered with Irving before. The company built a co-generation plant within the Irving Oil refinery in 2005 that uses gas byproduct to generate electricity. The companies say emissions from the refinery would have been higher without the plant.

TC, then known as TransCanada, was also Irving's partner in the proposed Energy East pipeline, which would have shipped Alberta crude to Saint John for export to world markets. A small share of the oil would have been processed at the refinery.

TC cancelled the project in 2017, blaming new emissions criteria adopted by federal regulators.

In 2019, Andy Carson, Irving Oil's director of growth and strategy, told a Senate committee there was "a role for us to play" in reducing emissions and fighting climate change.

Andy Carson, Irving Oil's director of growth and strategy, said the company has a role to play in fighting climate change. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

But the company's chief financial officer, Jeff Matthews, told the same hearing that too high a carbon tax would put Irving at a disadvantage compared to refineries in countries with weaker climate change policies.

"We wouldn't want to find ourselves in a position where we've taxed our industry out of business," he said.

Later that year, Reuters news agency reported that Irving Oil had quietly dropped its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020.

The Aug. 12 announcement follows a signal from the federal government earlier this summer that it will require New Brunswick to toughen its carbon-pricing system for large industry.

The provincial system requires industrial plants to pay if they fail to reduce emissions intensity — for Irving, the amount it emits per barrel of oil it refines — by one per cent, a threshold that will increase to 10 per cent in 2030.

The federal requirement is already a more stringent 20 per cent and federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said all provinces will have to match that starting in 2023, as a way to help Canada achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

 NOT ARSON, RAILROAD SPARKS

Lytton wildfire lawsuit filed against CP, CN Rail

BY CLAIRE FENTON AND MARCELLA BERNARDO

Posted Aug 18, 2021 

(Martin MacMahon, NEWS 1130 Photo)

SUMMARY

The notice of civil claim was filed Wednesday in B.C. Supreme Court

The plaintiff is taking legal action claiming negligence on the part of the railroad companies

The cause of the Lytton Creek Wildfire is still under investigation by the TSB

LYTTON (NEWS 1130) — A Lytton resident is filing a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court against Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway Company.

The plaintiff, Carel Moiseiwitsch, claims trains are to be blamed for the Lytton Creek Wildfire which destroyed 90 per cent of the village on June 30.

The majority of homes, businesses, and buildings were left to ashes and rubble, and most essential services were destroyed as a result of the fire. The bodies of two people were pulled from the rubble.

Moiseiwitsch was among those left homeless after the fire and her lawyer is asking the court to certifthe suit as a class action.

Related Articles:

• Major train operators ordered to take new wildfire prevention measures in B.C.

• B.C. wildfire fighter’s viral thread takes on critics, describes challenges, urges compassion

• Lytton mayor urges patience from residents of fire-ravaged Westwold and Monte Lake

The lawsuit details the plaintiff also believed she was almost killed in the fire, and suffered “psychological injury from proximity to death and loss of her home and life as she knew it,” the lawsuit adds her cat was killed in the fire.

In addition to claiming CN and CP Rail were negligent, Moiseiwitsch is seeking financial compensation, and that the Lytton Fire be constituted a private and public nuisance.

Moiseiwitsch is a visual artist and operated her business out of her home, and lost business records and electronic equipment in the fire.

The fire is believed to be human-caused but officials have not released more details, despite many residents saying they saw a train in the area just before the fire.

Her lawyer, Jason Gratl says they hope to have this case certified as a class action on behalf of victims who can’t afford to sue on their own.

“A significant reason for bringing a class action proceeding rather than an individual proceeding is to modify the behaviour of the defendant, to instill a sense of corporate responsibility,” he said.

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada is investigating to see if the fire could have been sparked by a freight train. The TSB says that investigation may take up to two years.

In July, Canada’s two major railroad operators were ordered to step up their fire prevention efforts as wildfires continue to scorch British Columbia.

The order requires the companies remove any materials such as vegetation from the tracks. It also makes conductors responsible for spotting and reporting fires on those lines, and makes the companies responsible for ensuring a 60-minute response time to any fires.

The order applies to operations along the stretch of rail line between Kamloops and Boston Bar, and between Kamloops and North Bend on the Thompson and Ashcroft subdivisions. It remains in effect until Oct. 31.

CN Rail has maintained its trains were not linked to the fire and that “CN will offer its full assistance to help authorities identify the causes of this tragic incident.”

CP Rail also denies any link to the fire and has pledged $1 million to the recovery effort for the Fraser Canyon community.

“Based on our review of train records, including contemporaneous video footage, CP has found nothing to indicate that any of CP’s trains or equipment that passed through Lytton caused or contributed to the fire,” the company wrote in a statement. 

The companies have 30 days to reply to the notice of civil claim.

With files from Kier Junos, Hana Mae Nassar, and The Canadian Press

VIDEOS

Lytton wildfire lawsuit filed against CP, CN Rail - NEWS 1130 (citynews1130.com)

AGRICULTURE IS OUR MAIN INDUSTRY

Shortage of veterinarians across Alberta causing burnout, stress on industry

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Alberta Veterinary Medical Association president says 370 vet positions still open

Natalie Valleau · CBC News · Posted: Aug 18, 2021 

It could take longer for pets to get medical care in Alberta due to a shortage of veterinarians. (Katherine Holland/CBC)

A lot of industries have suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, and vet clinics are no different.

There is a shortage of veterinarians across the province — affecting the physical health of animals and mental health of the overworked vets struggling to fill the gaps.

Lorenza Malaguti, medical director at the McKnight 24 Hour Veterinary Hospital in Calgary's northeast, says the shortages are especially prevalent in the emergency sector.

"When your family practice closes, we're here for any emergency that your pet may have," she said, adding her clinic is open Sunday to Wednesday, 24 hours each day.

However, the shortage means that not only is the clinic open only four days out of the week, it has only four vets on board.

In a perfect world, Malaguti would like to have 10 full-time ER vets on staff.

"We all want to be here for the pets, but we're trying to do what we can to stay open. We can't staff a hospital 24/7 with the veterinarians that we have. There's just not enough."

The COVID-19 pandemic has also played a role, with the increase in people adopting pets.

"Having pets be really, really sick and not having anywhere to go — that haunts me at night," she said.

The 24/7 emergency animal clinics that do exist in Calgary are starting to get overwhelmed, Malaguti said.

"We all want to be here for the pets, but we're trying to do what we can to stay open," she said.

Dozens of vacancies

According to Pat Burrage, president of the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), there are about 1,800 practising veterinarians in the province and 370 vacancies.

"The pandemic has created extra work for the veterinary profession, as it has for the human medical profession. And on top of the workplace shortage, it is wearing people out," he said.

"We could certainly see animals being affected, meaning animal welfare issues start to occur with animals not being seen in a timely fashion."

Burrage says there are also concerns over the mental health of veterinarians. 

• Planning, practice key to keeping pandemic pets happy during return to in-person work: veterinarian

"We need these people in the profession. We certainly don't want to sort of have them exiting because they are overworked."

He adds that the shortage of veterinarians isn't restricted to Alberta, and that it's a global issue.

"There aren't an abundance of internationally trained veterinarians that are looking to come to Canada," he said.

As well, on average, there's only 50 people who graduate from the University of Calgary's veterinary program each year.

"We haven't changed the number of graduating veterinarians over the past 30 years in Alberta," he said. "And obviously in the last 10 to 15 years, the demand for veterinary services increased dramatically, and that's not enough."

He says the association is working on some solutions that will be presented to the provincial government this fall.

Hinshaw says data that justified changing Alberta’s COVID-19 protocols still not public

By Julia Wong Global News
Posted August 18, 2021 

WATCH (Aug. 13): While it’s Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, who makes the recommendations about COVID-19 protocols, the final decisions are made by the premier and his cabinet. Tom Vernon takes a look at that process and reaction to recent decisions.

Scientific evidence and data the Alberta government said was used to justify the removal of COVID-19 protocols has been delayed yet again.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw held a town hall with physicians and pharmacists on Wednesday night. Global News heard a recording of the virtual event.

READ MORE: Alberta keeping COVID-19 measures for another six weeks

The data was supposed to be released to town hall attendees Wednesday night but Hinshaw said it is taking longer to compile given the decision last week to keep protocols such as masking, testing and isolating in place until at least Sept. 27.

“We just haven’t had the chance to finish synthesizing and putting together the evidence summary for public release yet,” Hinshaw said.


“That work is underway. It is a priority.

“I know many of you have expressed interest in seeing not just single pieces of evidence here and there but a package that really articulates the evidence on which the decision to shift our focus was grounded, but that is coming.”

VIDEO 2:10

Alberta puts pause on further lifting COVID-19 restrictions until Sept. 27, says province’s top doctorAlberta puts pause on further lifting COVID-19 restrictions until Sept. 27, says province’s top doctor

The announcement by the province at the end of July to remove testing, tracing and isolating was met with outcry from residents, Canada’s top doctors, as well as professional organizations such as the Alberta Medical Association and the Canadian Paediatric Society.

READ MORE: Alberta taking ‘risky gamble’ by ending COVID isolation: Canadian Paediatric Society

Last Friday, Hinshaw announced a six-week extension of COVID-19 protocols until at least Sept. 27 to allow the province to monitor hospitalizations — pediatric hospitalizations specifically.

VIDEO 1:26

Alberta extends pandemic protocols for 6 more weeksAlberta extends pandemic protocols for 6 more weeks

There was frustration and pointed questions from attendees over the province’s general approach to the pandemic, stricter provincial guidelines around masking rules, and upcoming changes to COVID-19 protocols.

Concerns were also raised by town hall attendees that the evidence to support the latest changes is still not public.

“The work that’s required isn’t just that list of articles. It’s trying to put it together into a narrative mode that helps explain not just to you as my peers, but to all Albertans, that list of considerations that were taken into account,” Hinshaw said.

“The information isn’t secret information. We compiled a whole bunch of different resources we used that are publicly available.”

READ MORE: Albertans protest ending mandatory COVID-19 isolation, masking and testing changes

Hinshaw said she understands there is a “keen interest” in the province’s modelling data.

“In the interest of being able to release the package without releasing things in piecemeal, we want to be able to put that together into a comprehensive overview,” she said.

“I’m sorry it is not available. Unfortunately, this is not something I can do by myself, and it’s also something we can’t release without moving through all of the processes that are necessary in government.”

VIDEO 2:00

Alberta doctors concerned sector-specific COVID-19 transmission data still not publicAlberta doctors concerned sector-specific COVID-19 transmission data still not public – Mar 26, 2021

The province has made similar commitments to releasing data in the past that have yet to be followed through on.

READ MORE: Alberta doctors concerned sector-specific COVID-19 transmission data still not public

On Jan. 20, Hinshaw said sector-specific transmission data would be released to Albertans. However, five months later, on May 13, that information was still not available.

“As our analytics team is a limited group of people, they’re doing a lot of work every day. Some of the reports we had been working on preparing for public release has slowed down a little bit — one of those is, unfortunately, that sector-specific report,” Hinshaw said on May 13.

At Hinshaw’s last regularly scheduled COVID-19 update on June 29, Global News asked again when that data would be shared publicly. Hinshaw said at that time she would look into it but did not know when it would be released.

READ MORE: Canada’s top doctors say Alberta’s COVID-19 plan could have ripple effects across the country

As of mid-August, that information has yet to be disclosed to Albertans.

Hinshaw: Alberta looking at legality of mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations in workplaces
Author of the article: Lauren Boothby
Publishing date: Aug 18, 2021 • 

Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw gives a COVID-19 pandemic update from the media room at the Alberta legislature in Edmonton on July 28, 2021. PHOTO BY IAN KUCERAK 

Alberta is looking at the legal implications of making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory in the workplace, the province’s top doctor says.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw made the statement Wednesday during a virtual town hall for primary care providers attended by about 600 people, including Postmedia. She responded to a question about why the province wasn’t making vaccines mandatory in high-risk settings for exposure of vulnerable people to COVID-19, like in health care and schools.

“We are looking at legal implications, working with the labour ministry around what kinds of considerations would need to be taken into account, so that if there are employers who make vaccination mandatory we have a clear framework for that,” she said.

“We know that other provinces have made vaccines mandatory in some settings … and it’s just really important to be looking at all of the implications of that policy before a decision is made.”

Asked about Ontario’s vaccination policies for health care and education, she said the decision isn’t up to her.

“That’s something that, in order to consider whether or not this is something that would be possible here, we would have to look at our current legal environment … I really wouldn’t be able to speak on behalf of decision-makers on that particular topic.”

In a presentation, Hinshaw said recent vaccine requirements for interprovincial air travel, federal requirements for those working in government jobs, and requirements to be vaccinated to attend some Alberta universities is creating more incentives to get the jab.

“Both developments, that are outside of provincial interventions, yet will still hopefully have an impact on uptake,” she said.

Booster shots considered

The province is also looking at whether or not to offer booster shots to people who are at higher risk of falling seriously ill from COVID-19.

Hinshaw said they are waiting to hear back from the National Advisory Committee on Immunizations before deciding what to do.

“We are looking at third doses for those who have immunocompromising conditions … but no decisions have been made. Because it really does have to go back to the evidence about who needs what dose at what time interval … and how does that impact the longer-term protection that vaccines provide.”

Officials said earlier Wednesday a decision will be made in September.

Wastewater testing

The province is also looking to expand its wastewater testing to cover about 70 per cent of the province and make that data available to the public, she said.


“The advantage of this is it helps us to monitor the activity of the virus without as much impact from a behavioural standpoint,” she said. “Our current testing protocols rely on people choosing to get tested on symptoms and over time that may change depending on the population’s willingness to get tested.”

The province has been running pilot projects on wastewater testing in various place, she said, and using it to test for COVID-19 more extensively would help give them reliable and consistent information on COVID-19 trends, she said.

“(This) can help us understand where we’re seeing as higher transmission risk, which can help inform people in terms of making risk-based decisions about what activities they may want to do or not do,” Hinshaw said.

Vaccine mandates put unions in a delicate spot: They encourage members to get the jab but seek to protect those who don’t

Sara Mojtehedzadeh
Work and Wealth Reporter

TORSTAR
Wednesday, August 18, 2021

The union representing federal public service workers says it supports immunization requirements to keep workplaces safe — but says employees should be offered reasonable accommodations if they can’t or won’t get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Vaccinations for public servants and workers in some federally regulated sectors like airports and Crown corporations will be mandatory by fall, Ottawa announced last week — a commitment to “playing a leadership role by further protecting the health and safety of public servants and the communities where they live.”

The Public Service Alliance of Canada supports that position, as part of its advocacy for safe working conditions, national union president Chris Aylward said in an interview.

“The scientific research is very clear that vaccinations work and we want to make sure that our members are safe, our workplaces are safe and our communities are safe,” he said. “And obviously the best way to do that is through vaccinations.”

But discipline for unvaccinated workers rather than exploring alternative accommodations is “totally unacceptable,” he said.

While worker safety is a foundational principle for unions, the pandemic is in some ways new territory, said Colleen Bauman, a partner at Toronto-based labour law firm Goldblatt Partners. Vaccination policies didn’t previously feature as prominently in health and safety thinking, but are now “very much part of the discussion,” she said.

So why seek accommodations when a measure makes workplaces safer — and could potentially save workers’ lives?

Sometimes those demands arise because of the specifics of how a policy, even one with positive goals, is implemented in a particular workplace, said Bauman.

That is where PSAC has “more questions that we do answers,” said Aylward. “We’ve yet to see any kind of an implementation or rollout plan from the government.”

Aylward said fully vaccinated union members have expressed fears about potentially working alongside the unvaccinated, especially in light of a looming fourth wave and risk of more severe illness associated with the Delta variant.

Asked how to reconcile those concerns with vaccine-hesitant members, Aylward said the union is encouraging everyone to get vaccinated but believes accommodations like remote work and job reassignment should be explored for those who haven’t.

“Of the 160,000 members that we represent in the federal public service, three out of four … have been working from home since the start of the pandemic. So remote work is effective.”

Grappling with workers’ individual rights and the collective harm that a workplace outbreak would cause — all without falling afoul of the law — is a complicated task for employers and unions alike.

“Given the fraught nature of vaccine mandates it is not terribly surprising that the PSAC has taken this position,” said Alison Braley-Rattai, assistant professor of labour studies at Brock University.

In Ontario, too, health-care and education workers must now either be vaccinated or take regular COVID-19 tests. Exemptions exist for those with medical reasons to not take the vaccine; those who choose not to take it must complete an educational session on the topic.

On Tuesday, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario voted to support mandatory vaccines and called the province’s new vaccine status disclosure requirements too weak. In a statement, the union also said that “transparent processes must be established, in consultation with unions, to determine how the vaccination requirement could be implemented fairly within the education sector.” That includes accommodation for those with medical issues or religious objections.

Vaccine mandates “should make provisions for those legally entitled to accommodation,” said Braley-Rattai. “Accommodation is not an absolute right, but it would be difficult for a given employer to demonstrate that there was no safe accommodation possible.”

In the past, labour arbitrators have sometimes struck down mandatory vaccine policies if they were too coercive and didn’t provide employees “with some form of choice whether or not to be vaccinated,” notes Bauman,” although that choice “may entail some consequences” for workers.

In other cases, employers’ vaccine requirements have withstood legal challenges because they allowed for accommodations like unpaid leaves for workers who did not get flu shots.

What is considered reasonable depends on the facts on the ground. This includes medical evidence, the effectiveness of possible alternative safety measures, workplaces’ operational needs, as well as “specific factors in the way in which (a policy) is being implemented” such as consistent enforcement and reasonable accommodations, said Bauman.

Vaccine skepticism is “not legally recognized,” added Braley-Rattai. “A choice to accommodate this group would follow different considerations.”

Unions have a duty to provide fair representation to members — although what workers may think is fair is not necessarily the same as what they are legally owed by their union.

“Unions should be consulted to help develop reasonable vaccination policies,” said Braley-Rattai. “Once that is done, unions should undertake their usual duty to represent members against the backdrop of that policy … if a member is disciplined for violating the policy the union must still ensure that the proper steps were taken, that the discipline is proportional, that it is consistent with the collective agreement and so on.”

While Bauman said she is not aware of any active legal challenges to vaccine requirements in Canada, there has been a smattering of related cases that so far suggest that compulsory COVID precautions are likely reasonable if applied fairly.

Recently, for example, the Christian Labour Association of Canada filed a grievance on behalf of retirement home workers in Woodstock, challenging the “reasonableness” of a mandatory bi-weekly testing regime. The union lost, because the arbitrator ruled the goal of infection control outweighed the “intrusiveness of a (COVID-19) test.”

Outside of Canada, a federal judge in the U.S. sided with Houston Methodist Hospital after its mandatory vaccination policy was challenged by 116 workers who claimed they would be unfairly terminated if they did not comply. (Some 62 workers have now filed a wrongful termination suit against the hospital.)

That approach may limit the health and safety risks posed by unvaccinated workers. But Aylward said while he wants union members to get vaccinated, PSAC must “work with members who are unable or unwilling to get vaccinated to make sure that their concerns and their issues are addressed as well.”

“The last thing that we want to see people being ostracized.”

Sara Mojtehedzadeh is a Toronto-based reporter covering work and wealth for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @saramojtehedz

President of largest public sector union 'will not stand' for termination of unvaccinated civil servants


Mackenzie GrayProducer, 

CTV National News
Published Tuesday, August 17, 2021 

OTTAWA -- The Public Service Alliance of Canada president says he “will not stand for the termination” of federal public servants who refuse to get vaccinated, after Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau warned of “consequences” for those civil servants.

In an interview with CTV News, Chris Aylward said “it's very concerning to us when national party leaders are making statements around discipline around terminations when it comes to these vaccinations. That is totally unacceptable to us.”

Aylward, who represents more than 160,000 federal public servants, stated that he supports the government’s stance that all federal public servants should be vaccinated. But he said unvaccinated employees will require accommodations to keep their jobs.

“If that means the reassigning of work duties, if that means alternative work arrangement -- arrangements such as remote work -- then that's what we'll be looking for from this government,” said Aylward. “But any talk around discipline around terminations for members unwilling to be vaccinated is totally unacceptable by PSAC and I want to make that very clear.”

He added that frequent testing of unvaccinated employees who need to come into a federal office building could also be a potential solution.

Today, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau stated that public servants “need to be fully vaccinated.”

“The bottom line is, if anyone who doesn't have a legitimate medical reason for not getting fully vaccinated chooses to not get vaccinated, there will be consequences,” he said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh issued a statement saying public servants who refuse a shot could be punished under collective agreements between unions and the federal government.

“All collective agreements include a process for progressive discipline - up to and including termination. Discipline should always be a last resort, but may be necessary in rare cases to protect the health and safety of Canadians,” Singh said.

RELATED IMAGES



A man wears a face mask as he walks by a COVID-19 vaccination sign in Montreal, Sunday, August 1, 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

KENNEY MIA
Premier Kenney's summer vacation comes as COVID-19 related hospitalizations and case counts rise


Tyson Fedor

CTV News Calgary Video Journalist
Published Wednesday, August 18, 2021 


Political opponents are questioning the timing of summer vacations taken by Premier Kenney and Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro as they coincide with climbing COVID-19 numbers and rising hospitalizations.



CALGARY -- Jason Kenney has not been seen or heard from in over a week, when Labatt Breweries Alberta made a multi-million dollar investment into the provincial economy. His office told CTV News he is on a two week vacation, just as active COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising, thanks to the Delta variant.

That, said one expert, is a bad combination for an elected official.

“It’s a bad time for our political class to take vacations,” said Mount Royal University political scientist Keith Brownsey.


Also, since Kenney's last public appearance August 9th, a federal election was called, something the province anticipated would happen.“It would certainly help Jason Kenney and the United Conservative government if we had ministers out and about saying ‘we understand that the situation is serious, and we are going to affect it.’”

On Aug 9th, Alberta had 3,434 active cases.

As of Wednesday , there were 5,933 active cases, a 73 per cent increase.

Hospitalizations, cited as a key metric by the premier in earlier press briefings, have risen 35 per cent since then, with ICU admission climbing 66 per cent.

“We have seen over and over again that this premier and his senior cabinet have enjoyed going into hiding when times get tough,” said NDP education critic Sarah Hoffman.

PREMIER STILL WORKING

Kenney’s press secretary Jerrica Goodwin says the premier however, is still working.

“Many Albertans are taking holidays this summer, especially as society returns to normal following widespread vaccinations,” she said.

“While the premier is on holidays, he is of course still able to fully communicate with his cabinet and senior officials as required. In fact, he has participated in numerous briefings despite being ‘on holidays.’”

Brownsey believes Liberal and NDP candidates will target Kenney for taking time off despite rising numbers, amid a fourth wave.

“They’ll use instances like this where he is nowhere to be seen as simply a reflection on how conservatives deal with such serious issues,” he said.

Health minister Tyler Shandro has also not made a media briefing since the end of July.




Minister Shandro’s office acknowledged they received CTV’s request for comment, but have not received a response.

“Like so many Albertans, the minister is taking some time with his family this summer, having concluded his summer tour at the end of July. He remains fully connected to staff and senior officials. He continues to receive regular briefings and attend meetings with his colleagues, stakeholders and department officials," said Shandro communications advisor Brett Boyden.

Since both last spoke with reporters, Alberta’s Chief Medical officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw walked back her stance on testing, tracing and quarantine measures, extending them for a further six weeks.

Premier Kenney is not the only provincial leader taking heat from keeping a low profile.

British Columbia’s premier John Horgan is on summer vacation, that comes at a time when homes across B.C.'s interior are being destroyed by wildfires in addition to grappling with a fourth wave of COVID-19.

Horgan has not been seen since July 21, more than four weeks ago.

THE KATRINA AFFECT

In late August 2005, President George W. Bush was famously on vacation in Crawford, Texas when Hurricane Katrina levelled New Orleans, resulting in a tsunami of bad press for the U.S. President that some credit with helping Barack Obama win the 2008 election.

On August 9, Jason Kenney said that Alberta was moving in the right direction in the fight against COVID-19, saying vaccines are the key to ending the pandemic.

“I think we’ve done a good job,” he said.

“We have to continue to take COVID seriously, but as Doctor Hinshaw often says we should respect it, not fear it.”

One emergency room physician in Edmonton says public health measures need to remain in place.

“I'm not asking for a lockdown, I'm not asking for more restrictions,” said Dr. Shazma Mithani.

“I think that having the economy open is great, but there are ways to still keep people safe while having the economy open.”