New climate alliance to push for phasing out oil and gas at upcoming climate conference

Christian Paas-Lang 

© Jason Franson/The Canadian Press 

A flare stack lights the sky at an oil refinery in Edmonton in December 2018.

BURNING OFF H2SO4, METHANE, AND OTHER GHG'S

Our planet is changing. So is our journalism. This story is part of a CBC News initiative entitled "Our Changing Planet" to show and explain the effects of climate change and what is being done about it.

A new climate alliance set to launch at the COP26 conference is taking aim at the oil and gas industry, putting pressure on Canada to set a clear date to wind down oil and gas extraction in this country.

The Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, headed by Denmark and Costa Rica, will bring together countries and subnational entities willing to set an end date for fossil fuel extraction. The list of those signing on will be released in Glasgow, Scotland, during the major climate conference starting there next week.

"We think that to be a climate leader you also have to lead on the difficult questions, and ending oil and gas extraction is definitely one of the defining questions of climate action," Tomas Anker Christensen, Denmark's climate ambassador, said in an interview with CBC's The House airing Saturday.

Denmark announced last year it would stop issuing new licenses for oil and gas exploration as part of a wider plan to phase out extraction by 2050. Denmark has been the largest oil producer in the European Union since the United Kingdom left the bloc in 2020.

Echoing the words of his country's energy minister, Christensen questioned how countries can hope to meet their net-zero by 2050 commitments while also expanding oil and gas production.

"It is a paradox. It's hard to envision how you do both," he told guest host Laura Lynch. The International Energy Agency said in a recent report that nations pushing for a net-zero world by 2050 have no reason to invest in expanding oil production after this year.

But it's not clear if Canada will join the nascent alliance, given its status as the fourth largest producer and third largest exporter of oil in the world.

The IEA report suggests Canadian oil production will continue to grow until 2030 under existing policies. Even under the government's proposed policies, Canadian production will fall just 100,000 barrels a day by then, the agency estimates, down from the over five million barrels per day produced in 2020.

Responding to a request for comment from The House, the federal government did not say whether it intends to join the Beyond Oil and Gas alliance but did say climate change was both a "competitiveness issue" and "economic opportunity" for oil and gas.

"The majority of oil and gas companies are already committed to net-zero by 2050, and in order to get to our shared goal, emissions from the oil and gas sector need to go down," said Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson's press secretary, Joanna Sivasankaran, in a media statement.

"We committed in our platform, and have a strong mandate, to ensure that pollution from the oil and gas sector doesn't go up from current levels and instead goes down at the pace and scale needed to get to net-zero by 2050."

Oil and gas extraction has driven much of emissions growth over the last decade or so, going from 63 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2005 to 105 in 2019.

The Canadian oil industry has argued that it has a strong commitment to reducing emissions and investing in clean energy technology.

No decision yet from Quebec

Simon Donner, a professor and climate scientist at the University of British Columbia who also serves on Canada's Net-Zero Advisory Body, told The House it's unlikely Canada will join the alliance at this point.

"I think it would be a great signal to the rest of the world for Canada to join an initiative like that. I don't think we're probably ready to do it, though, right now," he said.

But Canada could be pre-empted by subnational groups. California, for example, set a target this year to end oil extraction by 2045.

Closer to home, Quebec Premier François Legault announced his intention to ban any oil and gas extraction in the province.

A spokesperson for Quebec's environment minister, Benoit Charette, did not say whether the province would join the alliance later this month.

"The initiative is interesting but as of now no decision has been made," said Charette's press secretary Rosalie Tremblay-Cloutier in an emailed response. Quebec does not currently have any commercial oil or gas production operations, though it has issued exploration licenses.

An 'awkward' position: expert

Catherine Abreu, founder and executive director of the group Destination Zero, said Quebec and California's recent policy moves "potentially makes them eligible" to join the alliance, which would be "really significant" given the potential for expansion in the oil and gas sectors of both Canada and the United States over the next decade.

In an interview on The House, Abreu said Canada's position on the oil and gas industry leaves it in an "awkward" place in terms of meeting its climate goals.

"We've seen our government's very reluctant to take that challenge on fossil fuels," she said.

COP26 would only make that position more difficult, added Jennifer Allan, a lecturer at Cardiff University and adviser with the Earth Negotiations Bulletin publication.

"Well, one thing that COPs are good at is increasing pressure on countries," she said. "Sometimes it really leads to a lot of pressure being put on governments to start to do, frankly, the right thing."

OPEN AND TRANSPARENT NON

O'Toole's Tories outliers in Canadian politics for keeping vaccination status secret

OTTAWA — The federal Conservatives' refusal to disclose how many of their elected members are fully vaccinated makes them something of an outlier in the Canadian political sphere.

Most federal and provincial parties are open about the immunization status of their members, even though not all legislatures have adopted a rule requiring that members be fully vaccinated.

All government and main opposition members in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador say they are fully vaccinated.

In Ontario, where Premier Doug Ford made vaccination a requirement to sit in his Progressive Conservative caucus, two of his MPPs say they are medically exempt. All opposition MPPs are fully vaccinated.

A spokeswoman for New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says all members of the governing Progressive Conservative caucus are fully vaccinated, except for one who is undergoing cancer treatment and had to delay their second shot until later this month.

All but two MLAs in Manitoba's Progressive Conservative government say they're fully immunized. The two refuse to reveal their vaccination status.

Mandatory vaccination rules have also been announced for admittance to Nova Scotia's Province House and Quebec's National Assembly.

A similar policy was unveiled federally this week by the board of internal economy, the multi-party governing body of the House of Commons. It announced a double vaccination requirement for entering buildings in the Commons precinct, including the House of Commons chamber itself.

Nothing has yet been decided for the Senate, which sets its own rules.

The move appears to leave Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole in a predicament: He didn't make vaccination against COVID-19 a rule to run as a Conservative candidate in the recent federal election and he won't say now how many of his 118 MPs are fully vaccinated. At the same time, he wants to return to an in-person Parliament when it resumes Nov. 22.

O'Toole, who contracted COVID-19 and personally promotes the value of vaccinations, says he respects an individual's personal health choices.

The most recent analysis by The Canadian Press found at least 80 Conservative MPs are fully vaccinated, while two said they couldn't be immunized for medical reasons. Two others refused to disclose their status on principle and the others did not respond.

Some in O'Toole's caucus champion the need to keep their vaccination status private, like backbench Saskatchewan MP Jeremy Patzer. He wrote a recent op-ed saying he rejects "bully tactics" to cajole people into divulging private medical information, but then later confirmed he is himself vaccinated.

Similarly, Alberta MP Glen Motz posted on his website: "As strongly as I support the use of vaccines in our fight against COVID-19, I am as equally opposed to coerced vaccination."

Just as the Liberals drove mandatory vaccinations as a wedge during the election campaign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has continued criticizing the Conservatives. He suggested this week that his decision to wait another month to recall Parliament was to ensure all of O'Toole's team had time to get vaccinated.

Conservative spokesman Mathew Clancy said the official Opposition doesn't believe the nine-member board of internal economy "has the jurisdiction to infringe on a member’s right to take their seat in the House of Commons," but didn't elaborate on whether it would challenge the decision.

Carleton University professor Philippe Lagassé, an expert on the Westminster parliamentary system, said the rules weren't designed to deal with public health, but it's up to MPs to lay down their own laws in their parliamentary house.

“The fundamental principle remains the same — this is a collective right and if as a collectivity the House determines that its safety and ability to perform its function needs to be protected against some external force — a disease, or a police officer, or a court — well, then that’s the way it is,” he said.

“The reality is we’re not a pure democracy, we’re a parliamentary democracy.”

He said the issue some Conservative MPs may raise is whether the board of internal economy can speak for the entire House of Commons.

However, if they compel the Commons to vote on the issue, it's clear the mandatory vaccination policy would easily pass, with the support of Liberal, Bloc Quebecois and NDP members.

Federal parties must also decide whether the Commons should resume all normal in-person proceedings or continue with a virtual component, allowing MPs to participate by videoconference.

At B.C.'s legislature, there is a hybrid option for the assembly itself and a rule that all MLAs, staff and guests must show proof of vaccination to gain admittance to the building.

In Saskatchewan and Ontario, visitors must be double vaccinated or show a negative COVID-19 test result before entry.

In Manitoba, many continue to participate remotely. Speaker Myrna Driedger said in an email that the legislature hasn't yet dealt with the issue of vaccination requirements for its chambers.

In Alberta, Speaker Nathan Cooper said decisions around whether to exclude an MLA from the assembly must be made by the assembly alone.

“This has been a very complicated and fascinating time to see our democracies wrestle with this very foundational building block of our society in terms of our democracy, and the very real and active concerns around public health," he said.

The Alberta NDP, which says all of its MLAs are fully vaccinated, has pushed United Conservative Premier Jason Kenney to ensure the same of his caucus. Cooper said it's been "widely reported" all UCP members are vaccinated, except for one seeking a medical exemption.

Kenney has said he favours making sure all MLAs are either vaccinated, or show a negative result from a COVID-19 test to enter the assembly, which begins sitting Monday.

Lagassé said when it comes to introducing any new set of rules for Parliament, an important question is how long they will last, particularly when it impacts the abilities of the public and parliamentarians to access these spaces.

“We’ve got to be careful with it, but you almost have to deal with it on a case-by-case basis," he said.

— with files from Steve Lambert and Dirk Meissner

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2021

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press

Class action certified alleging harm from extended solitary confinement in N.L. jails

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — A Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court judge has certified a class action lawsuit alleging harm from prolonged periods of solitary confinement in the province's jails.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The lawsuit claims negligence by the provincial government in ensuring the safety and well-being of inmates, and alleges the use of periods of solitary confinement over 15 days is unconstitutional and violates basic human rights guaranteed under the charter.

St. John's law firm Morris Martin Moore announced its bid to certify the suit in September 2020, and Justice Valerie Marshall granted consent on Thursday.

Lawyer James Locke says since the announcement of the lawsuit, about 70 former inmates have contacted the firm with stories of being kept in solitary confinement or segregation for extended periods of time.

The lawsuit spans three decades, going back to 1990, and will also include inmates who spent time in segregation while they had a serious mental illness.

The provincial government did not immediately respond to request for comment on the suit.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2021.

The Canadian Press

A flying car could allow us to get from point A to B, exploring the skies while never sitting in traffic.

© Opener Marcus Leng flying BlackFly

This technology is no longer the stuff of fantasy. Numerous companies around the world are racing to make theirs available.

Canada’s Marcus Leng leads one of them.

“I think we've all had dreams of complete three-dimensional freedom," said Leng, who is the CEO of Opener, a company developing a personal aerial vehicle.

As a young boy walking to school, he would wonder if there would ever be an aircraft that you could just jump in "and be able to take off vertically and fly wherever you wanted."

He started designing and building prototypes in his basement in the small community of Warkworth, Ont.

Read more: Ground-breaking flying taxi cruises through Paris

“I think our house became a factory," he recalls.

"The basement was used for basically doing all the structure work … and the kitchen was basically used for manufacturing motors,” he told Global's current affairs show, The New Reality. “We used to bake the motors in the oven. Boy, would that stink.”

It took over a year for him to fly his first proof-of-concept vehicle in his front yard.

“I found myself eventually at the end of our driveway and my friends and neighbours … were behind a barrier of cars that we had set up,” Leng said.

“And I figure, just like in skiing, I'll do a skidding turn in front of them. All went very well, except during the skidding turn, the edge of the wing made contact with the lawn … but the propulsion systems reacted so fast that it basically created this long divot as it scraped through grass without the aircraft losing any control.”

Using eVTOL, which stands for electric-powered vertical takeoff and landing, Leng said he was able to produce a vehicle that doesn’t need a runway to get off the ground.

It’s called BlackFly. Some people often refer to it as a flying car. Leng calls it a personal aerial vehicle designed to fit one person.

Read more: Flying car completes intercity test flight in Slovakia

Anyone up to six feet six inches and weighing 200 pounds or less can use it.

It has a joystick, can fly in -20 Celsius weather, and operate in about 32 km/h winds.

“In the United States, which is our primary market, we have very serious weight restrictions. So, the American vehicles have a 20-plus mile (32 km) range for an operator that's 200 pounds,” Leng said.

Video: Driving to new heights: Canadian team designs flying car set to take off soon (Global News)

“In Canada, we don't have those weight constraints and also we don't have speed constraints,” said Leng, who in 2014 relocated the majority of his operations to Palo Alto, Calif.

One of the key features about BlackFly is you don’t need a pilot’s licence to fly it.

According to Leng, a potential owner would have to complete a training course and be at least 18 years old.

“The nice thing about our vehicle is (that in) both the United States and Canada (it's) classified as an ultralight aircraft,” he said. “In Canada, you require an ultralight licence, which is relatively easy and straightforward to obtain.”

In order to fly it, you need to take a short training course.

“I think the most unique thing is that I can be an operator, you can be an operator … in the course of about two days and a few hours of simulation how to safely fly this aircraft,” said Kristina Menton, who is the director of operations, flight testing and propulsion lead at Opener.

“That is something that is exceptionally novel and really incredible — to be able to give that type of experience of three-dimensional flight to regular people.”

She said the aircraft is almost exclusively made from carbon fibre, including the wings, fuselage and propellers. It’s electric, and therefore emissions-free.

“We have autoland features. So basically, when you get close to the ground, the aircraft will take over,” Menton said.
Canadians who help make BlackFly ... fly

Menton has been working on BlackFly for years. When she first signed on with the company, she had no idea what product she’d be working on.

“I first met Marcus on a phone call the day before my last exam of university. He was looking to hire two mechanical engineers. At the time, the company was completely in stealth mode and he wasn't able to say what the product was, who the investors were, really any of the technical details,” Menton told Global News.

“But I could get from the phone call that it was a pretty exciting and innovative opportunity and decided to take the leap to jump on board.”

She wasn’t the only one who took the leap. Eleanor Li, Menton’s classmate at the University of Toronto in mechanical engineering, did too. She joined Opener and moved to Silicon Valley without knowing the project she was hired to work on.

“Marcus basically came along and said, ‘Oh, we're making this huge carbon epoxy part. Do you want to be part of our team?’ And I just said, 'Yes, yes, here I am,'” said Li, who is now the plant manager at Opener.

For years, Leng had been secretly working on his invention while recruiting.

It wasn’t until 2018 that he started letting the world get a glimpse of BlackFly.

In July 2021, Li, Menton and Leng flew Blackfly at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisc. The annual event can bring in hundreds of thousands of spectators.

“The flight is incredible. You have a panoramic view of anywhere,” said Li. “I told this to a few people at Oshkosh: when you're in the aircraft, you feel like you are the aircraft and the aircraft is you.”

The team is working hard to make the aircraft available to consumers soon.

But first adopters will only be able to fly in rural areas. BlackFly is not allowed to go over built-up areas.

Leng is keeping the price tag to himself, but he believes as the industry advances, BlackFly will become more accessible to people.

“Our objective for next year is to produce 260 vehicles. But the ultimate goal is to be producing tens of thousands of these at a price that would be in line with an SUV,” he said.

--

See this and other original stories about our world on The New Reality airing Saturday nights on Global TV, and online.

#ABOLISHTHESENATE INCREASE SEATS IN PARLIAMENT

COMMENTARY: Bloc leader’s threat to unleash ‘fires of hell’ over Quebec seat proposal might just 

A proposed rejigging of Canada’s electoral map could see Quebec lose one of its seats in the House of Commons by 2024 while Alberta gains three and Ontario and B.C. each gain one.

© Provided by Global News Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet speaks to supporters election night Tuesday, September 21, 2021 in Montreal.

Randy Boswell is a Carleton University journalism professor and former Postmedia News national writer.

The changes would increase the total number of federal ridings to 342 from 338.

Read more: Quebec to lose 1 electoral seat, Alberta to get 3 more after new riding distribution

There are reasonable arguments for and against implementing the exact changes recommended by Elections Canada. But Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet’s opening salvo in the debate — that the BQ would “unleash the fires of hell” if his province’s seat count is dropped to 77 from 78 — is the wrong way to begin what needs to be a calm, cool conversation about updating the country’s political geography.

How are we supposed to respond to Blanchet’s Trumpian explosion of outrage? Can thoughtful discussion follow a toddler’s tantrum?

Injecting apocalyptic rhetoric into a decision-making process that must be driven by the fundamental democratic principle of representation by population — and basic math — is precisely how to inflame prejudices, fuel interprovincial pettiness and polarize the nation.

Blanchet, of course, knows this. Driving wedges wherever possible between Quebec and the rest of Canada is crucial, by definition, to the political project of any diehard separatist.

So we shouldn’t be too surprised that Blanchet has zeroed in histrionically on the planned removal of a single Quebec seat from the Commons as if it were a sign of the End Times. Although Elections Canada proposed the change for the benign reason that Quebec’s population is not growing at the same pace as the populations in Alberta, Ontario or B.C. — and because Quebec is (relative to those other big provinces) already more fairly represented in the current parliamentary seat count — Blanchet is invoking biblical imagery of the final battle between Good and Evil.

Sonia LeBel, Quebec’s minister responsible for relations with the rest of Canada, has employed more moderate language — and advanced a more compelling rationale — in urging special considerations for the province in the latest redistribution of federal ridings.

“We are part of the founding peoples of Canada,” she said this week. “We have three seats guaranteed at the Supreme Court for judges. We have seats guaranteed in the Senate, a weight that is important and represents much more than just a simple calculation of population.”

All of this is why Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other political leaders interested in preserving the peace in our mostly peaceable kingdom need to rise above Blanchet’s blatant bullying while finding a sensible solution to the seat-count conundrum — one that delicately balances numerical fairness with other considerations endemic in a land of complexity and compromise.

Remember: there’s no purely mathematical justification for granting a federal seat to each of Canada’s three territories — none of which has a population above 50,000 — when the average number of Canadians represented by each MP is more than 110,000. There’s no logical reason, either, for Prince Edward Island — with a mere 0.43 per cent of the national population of about 38 million — to have four seats representing 1.19 per cent of the elected positions in Parliament.

So there may well be legitimate reasons to avoid reducing Quebec’s seat count at this time.

In 2011, the Conservative government of Stephen Harper implemented legislation that increased the number of seats to 338 from 308 to reflect population changes. At the time, the Harper government — with much prodding from Quebec, the BQ and other opposition parties — chose to inflate the overall size of the House of the Commons so that the number of Quebec seats would increase (by three, to 78) instead of remaining static at 75 — as an earlier, hotly rejected, purely mathematical proposal had called for.

The government’s thinking at the time was that tweaking the formula for allocating seats in a way that would better recognize Quebec’s special status as a nation within the nation was politically prudent.

It also happened to keep the province’s seat total roughly proportional to its percentage of Canada’s population, even as those two numbers remained unfairly out of whack for faster-growing provinces.

The Quebec-friendly adjustment wasn’t immediately embraced by Harper’s own caucus. The additional Quebec seats, according to a Globe and Mail report at the time, “caused consternation among Conservative backbenchers, who were concerned that Canada's French-speaking province was benefiting from a bill meant to address under-representation in the three large and fast-growing anglophone provinces” — Alberta, Ontario and B.C.

Sound familiar?

The Conservative caucus was ultimately convinced by Harper to accept the plan for the sake of national unity. But despite the Quebec-friendly compromise, the pre-Blanchet Bloc Québécois still slammed the 2011 reconfiguration of the House as falling short of true recognition of the province’s “unique status with regard to its political weight.”

You can’t please everyone. As then-B.C. premier Christy Clark, who supported the 2011 changes, said at the time: “Perfection in these things is impossible because it's a big and complicated country.”

A decade later, the scenario confronting Elections Canada, the federal government and the provinces is much the same. And maybe a little massaging of the numbers to mollify Quebec is warranted yet again.

Would it be so bad if Quebec kept its 78 seats and we had 343 federal ridings instead of 342? That would represent about 22.7 per cent of the seats in the House for a province with about 22.6 per cent of Canada’s population. (Meanwhile, Ontario’s proposed 122 seats would then account for 35.6 per cent of 343 seats for a province with almost 39 per cent of the country’s population.)

But Blanchet’s bluster about unleashing the “fires of hell” risks torching the good will required for the rest of Canada to grant Quebec some latitude in its allotment of seats in the national legislature. It’s the kind of talk that’s more likely to unleash cynicism and stinginess.

And eventually, if population trends continue in the current direction, maintaining Quebec’s present share of federal seats as its population drifts towards one-fifth of Canada’s total will become untenable from a democratic point of view — Blanchet’s fires of hell notwithstanding.

THE QUEBEC NATION SHOULD NOT CARE ABOUT SEATS IN OTTAWA 

Quebec premier says Trudeau must ensure the Quebec nation does not lose a seat

The Quebec premier has challenged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to ensure that the province does not lose a seat in the planned redistribution of parliamentary ridings in Canada.

  

© Provided by The Canadian Press

François Legault said that, following the recognition of Quebec as a nation by Parliament, ensuring it does not lose political representation in Ottawa is a "test" for Trudeau.

His challenge to the prime minister to protect Quebec's political influence in Parliament follows Elections Canada's plans to strip the province of an MP in the House of Commons.

Quebec is the only province set to lose a seat in the proposed redistribution of seats, based on population.

Speaking at a news conference in L'Assomption, Que. on Friday, Legault said: "It’s a test for Justin Trudeau, because it’s nice to recognize that Quebec is a nation, but now there has to be an effect."

"I think the nation of Quebec deserves a certain level of representation in the House of Commons, regardless of the evolution of the number of inhabitants in each province.”

Elections Canada said the chief electoral officer of Canada calculated the redistribution of seats in an independent and non-partisan manner, applying a formula set out in the Constitution.

It said, in a statement, that the calculation was "mathematical" and the chief electoral officer "exercises no discretionary authority" over how many Commons seats would be allocated to each province.

Overall, the number of seats in the House of Commons will increase by four, to account for population changes, under plans published this month by Elections Canada.

The review, which follows the census, will increase the number of MPs from 338 to 342.

But Quebec’s 78 MPs will be reduced to 77 — the first time since 1966 that a province has lost a seat during redistribution.

Alberta is gaining three more seats, Ontario one and B.C. one, while other provinces and territories will keep the same number of MPs.

The next step will be for three-member commissions in each province — which don't include elected officials — to draw up proposed boundaries. MPs can provide input on the proposed boundaries, but the commissions are not obliged to make changes based on their comments, Elections Canada says.

Legault's comments came as Yves-François Blanchet, the Bloc Québécois leader, insisted that Quebec gain an extra seat in Ottawa.

Blanchet said Elections Canada's plan to strip Quebec of an MP fails to acknowledge Quebec's official status as a nation and would reduce the power of Quebecers.

Blanchet said Quebec should have 79 MPs, not 77.

"On June 16, 2021, the House of Commons massively recognized the status of the French nation of Quebec. So it makes sense that not only should Quebecers not have to lose a seat in the next redistribution, but instead gain more, if the total number is increased, in order to maintain and give lasting protection to their political power," Blanchet said in a statement.

At his news conference, Legault said: “What’s important is the percentage of seats, whether it’s more for everyone or fewer for everyone, what’s important is the percentage, that we keep the percentage of seats that we currently have."

He said that changing populations may matter in other provinces “but from the moment when we say the Quebec nation is one of the two founding people, it has to have consequences. The consequence, among others, is preserving the influence of the Quebec nation in the House of Commons.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2021.

Marie Woolf and Jacob Serebrin, The Canadian Press

Alberta's prosthetic funding model is outdated and unfair, amputees say

Madeleine Cummings 

© Nathan Gross/CBC 

Angela Oakley walks her dog, Gretchen, in Edmonton while using her new microprocessor knee.

After months in a wheelchair, Angela Oakley is walking again, slowly descending the front steps of her parents' house in Edmonton's Highlands neighbourhood as she makes her way to a physiotherapy appointment at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.

Oakley, a veterinarian who lives in Grande Prairie, Alta., started battling a bone infection in her left leg when she was in vet school in 2010. After scores of surgeries and having part of her leg amputated a few years ago, she became an above-knee amputee in March.

Last week, after months of complications and pandemic-related delays, she finally received a new prosthetic knee that should allow her to walk, cross-country ski and ride horses again. A longtime multi-sport athlete, she also has dreams of representing Canada at the Paralympic Games.

Her mobility, however, comes at a high price. Her new knee costs about $57,000 and Alberta Aids to Daily Living, the provincial program that funds medical equipment for long-term disabilities, will pay no more than $6,000.

If she lived in England, her prosthetic limb would be fully covered. But in Alberta and other Canadian provinces, amputees are responsible for paying most of the cost.

"How many Albertans can turn around and drop $50,000 on a knee?" Oakley said during an interview with CBC News last week.

Oakley, who launched a petition advocating for prosthetic funding changes and contacted Alberta's health minister, believes the current funding structure is outdated and unfair, preventing amputees who cannot afford limbs they need from doing activities they love and fully contributing to their communities.

In a country known for its universal health care system, "we're letting all of these people down," she said.

Why are some knees so expensive?

There are generally two types of prosthetic knees: mechanical and microprocessor.

A mechanical knee replaces the knee joint with a mechanical hinge, but a microprocessor — also known as "computerized" — knee is much more sophisticated — and expensive.

With a computer and sensors, a microprocessor knee automatically adapts to real-time information about the user's gait and walking speed.

For some amputees, a cheaper mechanical knee is sufficient, but not for Oakley, who is highly active with a physically demanding job. She also felt unsafe using a mechanical knee because of the nerve damage and lack of muscle strength in her left leg.

"I didn't have the quadriceps strength to swing it through and lock it," she said. "When I would step, the knee wouldn't be locked, so it would just collapse out from under me."

Oakley was shocked to learn that microprocessor knees cost from $35,000 to $95,000, and that the most she would receive from Alberta Health is a $6,000 grant covering about 10 per cent of the cost.

As a below-knee amputee, she only paid a $500 deductible for prosthetic components.

Friends, family and colleagues helped her raise money through a crowdfunding campaign and other online fundraisers, but she was only able to pay for the microprocessor knee thanks to her employer contributing the rest.

Her new knee won't last forever either. Oakley, 32, expects she will need five to eight replacements over her lifetime, as prosthetic knees usually last six to 10 years.

Oakley managed to pay for her knee, but amputees who cannot afford them often end up using prosthetics that are less suited to their bodies, she said.

© Nathan Gross/CBC Ben Proulx's microprocessor knee allows him to play sports like tennis and go hiking with his family. He has advocated for more prosthetic funding for years.
Years of advocacy, no results

Ben Proulx, who lost one of his legs to cancer when he was four years old, received his first microprocessor knee when he was a teenager.

Like Oakley, he struggled to use a mechanical knee, experiencing back problems and hip pain.

His current knee, which he paid for with crowdfunding proceeds and funds from the War Amps, has allowed him to coach youth sports and hike with his family without pain.

"It allows me to have a more normal lifestyle and it takes less of a toll on my body," Proulx said.

He has advocated for more prosthetic funding from the last three provincial governments without success.

Proulx's prosthetist has accompanied him to meetings with policymakers, armed with studies and data showing long-term cost savings associated with funding microprocessor knees, but he said the conversations still "go nowhere."

"It would actually be a minimal spend for the government to up their game and take care of Albertans who have a prosthetic leg and fund it properly up front. But they're not likely to gain any votes from it because there are not that many of us."

His current knee, which cost $40,000, will likely need to be replaced in four or five years and Proulx worries about how he will pay for a new one.

"It gets very demoralizing over time wondering, 'Hey, where's my next body part going to come from?' when that's really not something that you should have to worry about," he said.

Alberta Health spokesperson Carolyn Gregson said the Alberta Aids to Daily Living program "is intended to meet basic needs to help Albertans remain independent."

Gregson said the program provided grants for microprocessors to eight Albertans in the 2020–21 fiscal year

.

© Madeleine Cummings/CBC

 According to Calvin Howard's research, provincial funding for microprocessor knees is minimal in Canada.

'We need to increase coverage'

In an article for the Canadian Prosthetics & Orthotics Journal, Calvin Howard and his colleagues reviewed prosthetic coverage in all 10 provinces, finding variable funding levels.

They discovered amputees could receive up to $15,000 for microprocessor knees in Saskatchewan and up to $20,000 in New Brunswick. Nova Scotia's coverage was similar to Alberta's. No provinces fully funded them.

Howard, who is now a doctor in Manitoba, said the cost of prosthetics has exploded in recent years but provincial policies have not caught up.

"We need to increase coverage if we're really going to be able to provide for amputees," he said.

Though advanced prosthetics are expensive up-front, he said, research has shown that high-quality prosthetics can lead to societal cost-savings over time.

Someone using a microprocessor knee for a decade, for example, will put less strain on their hip, reducing their likelihood of needing a total hip replacement than if they had used a "minimally functional prosthetic device," he said.

150 mph without a driver: Indy autonomous cars gear up for race

Issued on: 23/10/2021 - 

An autonomous car competing at the Indy Autonomous Challenge 

Ed JONES AFP

Indianapolis (AFP)

Nine single-seaters will take part in the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC), a competition with a $1 million prize that aims to prove "autonomous technology can work at extreme conditions," said Paul Mitchell, CEO of co-organizer Energy Systems Network (ESN).

Cars will not race on the "Brickyard" track at the same time but will start one after the other -- with the winner being the fastest over two full-speed laps.

Teams are made up of students from around the world. Each group was given the same Dallara IL-15 car, which looks like a small Formula One vehicle, and the same equipment, which includes sensors, cameras, GPS and radars.

On race day, it is not drivers that will make the difference -- but about 40,000 lines of code programmed by each team.

There will be cars racing Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 

but not a driver in sight 

Ed JONES AFP

The software kickstarts the engine and a powerful computer wedged in the bucket where the driver usually sits.

The MIT-PITT-RW team, the only one made up entirely of students without supervision, got their car only six weeks ago.

Engineering student Nayana Suvarna, 22, does not yet have a driving license but was nonetheless reluctantly designated as team manager.

"I didn't know anything about car racing," she said with a smile, "but I'm becoming a fan."

The MIT-PITT-RW's car hit 130 km/h (81 mph) in testing, but Suvarna believes it capable of overtaking 160 on Saturday (100 mph).

'Generation of talent'

Other teams have gone much faster.

The car belonging to the PoliMOVE team, a partnership between the universities of Alabama and Politecnico in Milan, drove past the pits at around 250 km/h (155 mph) on Thursday.

But the car skidded at the next turn, spinning 360 degrees before coming to a stop on the inside lawn.

"It was a miracle we didn't crash," said Sergio Matteo Savaresi, professor at Politecnico.

There was no glitch to blame: only cold tires and a slight oversteer.

"We actually reached the very limit of the car," said Savaresi, who overseas the PoliMOVE team.

"A professional driver at that speed with tires like these would have done exactly the same."

The Robocar, made by manufacturer Roborace, has held the speed record for an autonomous car since 2019, clocking in at 282 km/h (175 mph) -- but on a straight course, not a circuit.

The concept of self-driving cars has captured imaginations since the 1950s, but the tech needed to make them a reality has been boosted over the past five years.

In the Indy Autonomous Challenge, it is not the drivers that make a difference on race day, but 40,000 lines of code programmed by each team

 Ed JONES AFP

Most big car manufacturers are working on autonomous driving projects, often in collaboration with tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft or Cisco.

IAC participants do not see speed as the primary goal.

"If people get used to seeing cars like these going 300 kilometers per hour... and they don't crash," said Savaresi, they may eventually think that such cars are safe "at 50 kilometers per hour."

According to a Morning Consult survey published in September, 47 percent of Americans considered autonomous vehicles less safe than those driven by humans.

The race's other goal is to enable tech sharing.

Mitchell said several teams plan to make their code publicly available and open source after the competition.

"So you're going to take some of the most advanced AI algorithms ever developed for autonomous vehicles, and put it out there for industry, for startups, for other universities to build on."

The project also aims to "develop a generation of talent," Savaresi said.

"The people who are competing in this challenge are going to go and start companies, they're going to go work for companies. And so I think the innovations from this competition will live on for many years."

© 2021 AFP

#OUTLAWHOMEWORK

China passes law to reduce pressure on children from homework

Issued on: 23/10/2021 - 

China has passed a new law to limit the pressure on children from homework and after-school tutoring Hector RETAMAL AFP

Beijing (AFP)

The government has imposed several rules in recent months aimed at combating activities it considers harmful to the development of China's youth.

Beijing has already banned minors from playing online games for more than three hours a week in an effort to tackle addiction. It has also launched a crackdown on private tutoring companies, ordering them to go non-profit.

Local authorities will be told to "strengthen their supervision in order to reduce the burden on students in terms of homework and extra-curricular lessons", said news agency Xinhua, citing a law passed by the Chinese legislature.

"Parents... must allocate in a reasonable way for minors the time devoted to studies, rest, entertainment and physical activity in order not to increase their learning load and to avoid any internet addiction."

The law will come into force on January 1 next year.

China's exam-oriented education system requires students to take exams from an early age and culminates in the feared university entrance exam at age 18 known as the "gaokao", where a single score can determine a child's life trajectory.

Many parents spend a fortune to enrol their children in the best schools or private lessons, which takes a toll on both their finances and the health of the youngsters.

Reducing the pressure on parents is also seen as a way to encourage Chinese people to have more children as the country's population ages.

© 2021 AFP

#BANBLASPHEMYLAWS
Deadly clashes as banned Pakistan party continues protest

Issued on: 23/10/2021 - 

TLP supporters use mobile phone flashlights during their protest march towards Islamabad on Friday Arif ALI AFP


Lahore (Pakistan) (AFP)

On Friday more than 1,000 people from Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) gathered after prayers to demand the release of their detained leader, blocking roads and firing projectiles.

The protests continued on Saturday.

The TLP has previously been behind major anti-France protests that earlier this year led to the embassy issuing a warning for all French citizens to leave the country.

"Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan lost two people Friday night and three more today to police firing," the party tweeted on Saturday.

Police in Lahore would not comment on the claim, but on Friday night said two of its officers had died.

"The clashes are still ongoing," Rana Arif, a spokesman for Lahore police, told AFP.

"This is a defensive operation by police against the mob... We are only doing shelling to control the crowd."

TLP leader Saad Rizvi was arrested in April when Pakistan's government outlawed the party in response to violent anti-France protests.

Supporters have threatened to move in convoys towards the capital Islamabad, where police have closed off roads using shipping containers.

The party has vowed not to end the protests or enter talks with the government until their leader is released.

Interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, who had been in Dubai to watch Pakistan compete in the T20 cricket World Cup, returned home on Prime Minister Imran Khan's directive to monitor the situation.

The TLP has waged an anti-France campaign since President Emmanuel Macron defended the right of a satirical magazine to republish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed -- an act deemed blasphemous by many Muslims.

Six police officers were killed in April when the TLP staged days of rallies which paralysed roads.

Few issues are as galvanising in Pakistan as blasphemy, and even the slightest suggestion of an insult to Islam can supercharge protests, incite lynchings, and unite most of the country's warring political parties.

© 2021 AFP

French football star Patrice Evra says he was sexually abused as a teen

Issued on: 23/10/2021

Former France defender Patrice Evra has said he was sexually abused as a teenager. 

© Yann Buxeda

Text by :NEWS WIRES

Former Manchester United and France defender Patrice Evra has said he was sexually abused as a teenager. In an interview to publicise his new autobiography, Evra told The Times on Friday the abuse took place when he was a 13-year-old schoolboy.

The now 40-year-old Evra said that far more difficult than detailing the abuse in his autobiography or speaking about it in an interview, was telling his mother for the first time.

"Of course, she was devastated," he told The Times. "It was a tough moment for me. I have still to tell a few of my brothers and sisters and close friends."

Evra said he had decided to make a public revelation in order to help children who may be in a similar situation.

"I don't want people to feel pity," he explained. "It's a difficult situation.

"A mother does not expect to hear this from their own child...

"Only now when I am 40 years old do I tell her. It was a big shock for her. A lot of anger. She said she was sorry.

"She said: 'You must not put it in your book, it's private Patrice,' but that's when I say, mum, it's not about me, it's about other kids then she says OK, she understands."

Evra added he did not plan to take legal action against his alleged assailant.

"The first thing my mum says is, 'if you don't sue him, I'll sue him. If he's still alive, I'm going to kill him'...But I buried this thing so deep I didn't think about (prosecution)."

Evra also told The Times that when he was 24 and playing for Monaco, he received a call from police regarding accusations against his alleged abuser but that he felt unable to tell them what had happened to him.

"Living with that was one of my biggest regrets because I could have helped so many people," he added.

(AFP)