US Fed denies release of correspondence on pandemic trades made by policymakers
By Howard Schneider
(Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve, responding to a Freedom of Information Act request by Reuters, said there are about 60 pages of correspondence between its ethics officials and policymakers regarding financial transactions conducted during the pandemic year 2020.
But it "denied in full” to release the documents, citing exemptions under the information act that it said applied in this case.
The disclosure of trading by two regional reserve bank presidents during the pandemic led them to resign last fall, and prompted Fed chair Jerome Powell to overhaul Fed ethics rules and request the central bank's inspector general to investigate.
The FOIA responses to Reuters for the first time quantify how much back and forth may have occurred over policymakers’ personal trading in a year when markets first cratered, then rebounded on the basis of both massive federal fiscal stimulus and an aggressive rescue effort by the Fed.
Reuters requested release under the information act of any 2020 communication "regarding the propriety of individual financial transactions" exchanged between the Fed's general counsel or ethics staff and members of the Board of Governors, then Dallas Fed president Robert Kaplan, or then Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren.
Fed FOIA officer and deputy board secretary Margaret McCloskey Shanks responded to Reuters that staff had identified "approximately 47 pages of information" involving Fed board members and around 13 pages involving either Kaplan or Rosengren. However release of the documents was denied.
"The responsive documents contain predecisional and deliberative information, as well as information that is subject to attorney-client privilege," she wrote. There was, she said, nothing in the documents that was "reasonably segregable" and not exempt from release under FOIA.
Demands for more disclosure from the Fed about the ethics controversy has been widespread, with public interest groups and elected officials including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, calling on the central bank to release more details about policymakers' stock trading and the guidance or opinions provided to them by ethics officials.
Gunita Singh, a staff attorney at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the FOIA exemption cited by the Fed is meant to "protect agency candor" so U.S. government staff and officials can discuss issues freely as decisions are being made.
The response from Shanks did not detail what current discussions or deliberations warranted withholding the information.
The inspectors general’s investigation of Fed trading during the pandemic is still underway. The Fed is also still finalizing the procedures and rules for the new ethics regulations adopted because of the controversy.
The Fed has released the substance of one email sent from its ethics office to policymakers at the height of the crisis. In late October, after a New York Times report, the Fed released a March 23, 2020, email from its ethics officer which noted that Fed rules were meant to avoid even the appearance that officials used their access to market moving information for personal profit.
Policymakers were advised to "consider observing a trading blackout and avoid making unnecessary securities transactions for at least the next several months," or until Fed meetings and decisions moved back to normal from the emergency footing of that spring.
The ethics scandal blindsided the Fed last fall after reports in the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg about Kaplan's active trading in stocks during the pandemic and Rosengren's investment in real estate securities.
That activity was noted in the annual financial disclosure reports that Fed policymakers are required to file. Both officials initially responded that their trades complied with Fed ethics rules, but said they planned to divest nevertheless. They eventually resigned.
(Editing by Edward Tobin)
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Census data suggests Alberta economy shifting but growth expected to stay strong
EDMONTON — Laid off twice from energy-related jobs, Calgary engineer Bill Copeland figured it was time to move with the times.
"(Energy) is what you know and what you're used to," said Copeland, who spent 15 years as an engineer and a sales rep. "It was a difficult decision."
Copeland made the call to learn how to adapt his considerable skill set to a new industry. Now a project manager at an IT company, he's moved on.
"I'm having fun. I'm learning something new every day."
It's a story playing out across Alberta, reflected in new census data from Statistics Canada that suggests the nation's one-time boomtown is starting to look a lot like its other provinces.
For years, Alberta enjoyed population growth that towered over the rest of the country's. Energy sector jobs and plenty of them — some offering six-figure paycheques with no university requirement — drew the young and ambitious from sea to sea to sea.
But the 2021 census shows the province has actually fallen behind the national average in growth. There are now 4,262,635 Albertans, 4.8 per cent more than in 2016. The Canadian growth rate was 5.2 per cent.
It's quite a switch. The 2016 census showed Alberta growing at the rate of 11.6 per cent — more than double the national rate.
Ten years ago, seven of Canada's eight fastest-growing census districts were in Alberta. This year, the situation is almost reversed — Alberta has seven of the 10 fastest-shrinking municipalities in the country.
For the first time in over 25 years, Calgary isn't among Canada's five fastest-growing cities.
Still, don't look for tumbleweeds blowing down the main streets of Wild Rose Country just yet. Analysts say Alberta is shifting to an economy that looks a lot more like the rest of Canada's, maybe even a little stronger.
"The source of growth and opportunity going forward will be very similar to what you see in other economies," said Trevor Tombe, a University of Calgary economist.
"The growth will be driven by services and increasingly tech. Alberta's economy is stronger than others, even though the pattern of its growth will approach what we see elsewhere."
Ten years ago, billions of dollars a year were pouring into the province's energy industry, especially the oilsands. Those mines and processing plants are now built.
"I don't think we have any prospect for those kind of unusual growth rates because they were driven in large part by investment in these incredibly expensive large oilsands facilities," said Tombe. "Most of that past growth was tied to investment flows that are very, very unlikely to return."
Oil production reached an all-time record last year. But jobs in the sector haven't entirely recovered and remain below their 2019 peak.
Albertans are adapting, said Brad Perry of Calgary's economic development office. In 2019, his organization began offering a seven-month program for oil and gas professionals to learn to use their skills in other sectors such as finance, clean energy or agriculture.
It's the program that helped Copeland switch careers.
Its first year saw 1,100 applications for 100 spots. About 70 per cent of its graduates got jobs in their new fields. This year, the Energy to Digital Growth Education and Upskilling Project has filled all of its 320 spaces.
"It's akin to your stock portfolio," Perry said. "Maybe we've over-indexed (in energy) a little bit and we need to let some of these other sectors start to get a little bit of sunshine."
Statistics Canada has noted an outflow of young people from the Alberta in recent years.
But the province's affordable housing market is expected to help attract and keep young people. Although prices have risen, they're nowhere near the 25-per-cent growth seen in some Ontario and British Columbia markets.
A recent study from the mortgage brokerage Edison Financial found Edmonton and Calgary had the second- and third-highest rates in the Canada of home ownership among people aged 20-39.
"Millennials are finding it very favourable to put in roots in the Edmonton area and start families and making this their home because it's more affordable than other places," said Paul Gravelle of the Realtors Association of Edmonton. "I think it's a pretty big factor."
Alberta will be OK, said Tombe.
"Alberta's economy is stronger than others, even though the pattern of its growth will approach what we see elsewhere. The growth rates will be slower than we've historically seen … (but) over the long term, Alberta remains poised to be the growth leader in Canada."
It took nerve to change careers, said Copeland.
"How do you do it?" he recalls asking himself. "There was definitely elements that were difficult, the uncertainty of moving to a new industry."
But it was worth it.
"I haven't looked back."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2022.
— Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960
Bob Weber, The Canadian Press
Rural population growth concentrated near urban centres, StatCan says
Kelly Rae, the administrator of Arran, Sask., says the denizens of dwindling rural communities like her own are clinging to a vanishing way of life in Canada.
Between 2011 and 2021, the village west of the Manitoba border saw its population slashed in half to just 20 people,Statistics Canada reported on Wednesday, as it released the first tranche of data from last year's census.
The share of Canadians living in rural areas has declined for the ninth census in a row, the agency said, dropping from 18.7 per cent in 2016 to 17.8 per cent in 2021.
However, the count showed that Canada's rural population grew faster than any other G7 country, ticking up 0.4 per cent over the five-year period to 6.6 million people in May 2021.
This rate trails behind the 6.3 per cent increase reported in urban areas. But analysts say that some of the metropolitan sprawl is spilling over into neighbouring rural outposts, while remote communities like Arran struggle to keep their remaining residents.
"It's just a disappearing village. It's unfortunate, but that's the way it is. We have nothing here," said Rae. "People just don't want to live in little municipalities anymore."
Rae said she's seen locals leave to be closer to schools, health-care providers and other services that have become clustered in urban centres such as Yorkton, Sask., about an hour-and-a-half drive southwest.
All that's left in Arran is the rural municipality's office and a bar that's rumoured to be up for sale, Rae said.
But maintaining roads and water systems costs just as much whether there are 50 or 10 taxpayers footing bill, said Rae.
The "million-dollar question" rural communities face is how to cover these routine infrastructure costs without making it more expensive for residents to stay, said Rae.
Rae said Arran has come up with a new approach to this problem: council is considering selling off lots to be turned into campsites where visitors can enjoy recreational activities such as hunting, fishing and snowmobiling.
"The problem in a lot of these disappearing communities is instead of thinking of other initiatives, they're stuck in thinking … 'We'll just raise taxes.' But if you raise taxes, you're going to chase your people away," she said.
"I think if (council) is successful, we'll be able to be solvent and keep our tiny village and our way of life."
Statistics Canada's definition of "rural" is an area with fewer than 1,000 people and a population density of fewer than 400 individual per square kilometre.
Laurent Martel, director of the centre of demography at Statistics Canada, said a wide variety of communities fall within these criteria.
"Very often people think that the rural areas of the country are homogeneous, but that's not the case at all," he said. "The population growth among these different types of rural areas are very different, one from the other."
Martel said the census showed that one of the key drivers of rural demographic change was geographic proximity to urban areas and the size of those population centres. Statistics Canada uses these factors to classify regions on an index of remoteness.
The agency found that the areas that were deemed least remote reported a growth rate of 5.9 per cent between 2016 and 2021, compared to a 2.7 per cent decline in the most remote areas.
Martel said rural areas near some of the country's largest urban centres have experienced accelerating growth since the last census.
For example, he said, several census divisions outside Montreal — including L’Assomption, Joliette, Marguerite-D'Youville, Mirabel and Roussillon — each saw greater population gains than the previous five-year average.
The census only captures the first year of the COVID-19 crisis, and data on the pandemic's demographic disruptions is still emerging, said Doug Norris, chief demographer at Environics Analytics.
But Norris said early evidence suggests the flexibility of remote work has made the allure of rural life that much more attractive to city-dwellers searching for affordable real estate and a slower pace of life.
"That's where you can have your cake and eat it," said Norris, who spent 30 years at Statistics Canada.
"You get out from the urban rush, but if you want to go to the theatre, you can still drive downtown in maybe an hour."
But in the far reaches of Canada, rural-to-urban migration, aging populations and lower rates of immigration have decimated many rural communities over the past two decades, and there are no signs of the drain slowing down, Norris said.
Ashleigh Weeden, a doctoral candidate in rural studies at the University of Guelph, cautioned against conflating rural development with urbanization, noting that both population growth and decline can strain communities.
A rapid influx of people may overwhelm existing infrastructure, she said, while shrinking populations deplete municipal resources to maintain it.
Weeden said the focus should be on investing in infrastructure to afford rural communities the same standard of living as their urban counterparts, including access to internet, roads, health care and education.
But rather than falling prey to the view of rural areas as leisurely havens for out-of-towners, Canada needs to empower communities to succeed on their own terms, she said.
"What's really needed is not to look at rural decline and urbanization as twin sides of some inevitable horrible coin," she said.
"What happens if we change this from things we're just doing to rural communities, and instead viewing it as: How do we support a rights-based lens for rural lives and livelihoods so your geography doesn't determine the quality of your life?"
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Feb. 9, 2022.
— with files from Jordan Press in Ottawa
Adina Bresge, The Canadian Press
RIGHT WING TRUCKER CONVOY OPPOSES IMMIGRATION
Immigration — not fertility — driving Canada’s population growth
Immigration, not fertility, drove Canada’s population growth over the past five years, says a Statistics Canada study as Ottawa plans to announce its new 2022-2024 immigration intake levels plan.
“Although the pandemic halted Canada’s strong population growth in 2020, it continued to be the fastest among G7 countries,” said the study released on Wednesday.
The report’s authors said immigrants are far more likely to settle in an urban area rather than a rural setting. Consequently, rural Canada’s population has grown at a slower pace than urban centres.
Some of the key findings in today’s report that provides a portrait of Canada’s population growth include:
- Population growth accelerated in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia over the past five years when compared with the previous census cycle (from 2011 to 2016), while population growth slowed in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Population growth also accelerated in Canada’s three largest provinces of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia;
- British Columbia was the lone province in Western Canada that saw more people move into the province from elsewhere in Canada than move out from 2016 to 2021, with interprovincial migration gains (+97,424) reaching their highest level since 1991 to 1996;
- While Yukon (+12.1 per cent to 40,232) led the country in population growth, it was the sole territory that grew at a faster pace than Canada overall;
- Quebec, Canada’s second most populous province (8.5 million people), saw its share of the total population decline for the 11th consecutive census period;
- Population growth in large urban centres relies much more on immigration than other areas of Canada, with more than 9 in 10 new permanent immigrants settling in a metropolitan area. Over one-third of Canadians (13.1 million people) live Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver.
- Four of the five fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country were located in British Columbia from 2016 to 2021: Kelowna (+14.0 per cent to 222,162), Chilliwack (+12.1 per cent to 113,767), Nanaimo (+10.0 per cent to 115,459) and Kamloops (+10.0 per cent to 114,142).
- Several of the smaller urban centres known for being tourist destinations or resort cities also saw population increases. While being close to nature, these small urban centres are not among the most remote and are generally less than a one-hour drive from a large urban centre, meaning they are also close to the amenities of larger urban centres.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Minister Sean Fraser is expected to announce Canada’s new 2022-2024 immigration intake levels plan by the end of the month, which will also outline the programs under which these newcomers will be admitted.
According to the latest government data, IRCC has an estimated 1.8 million applications in queue waiting to be processed because of pandemic-induced delays.
The Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association (CILA) is calling on Ottawa to stabilize the immigration system before seeking more ambitious newcomer targets.
“While using this year as an opportunity for IRCC to catch its breath would be far from ideal, it would be beneficial for several reasons,” said a statement on CILA’s website. “It would allow many of those who have been waiting in limbo during the pandemic to finally land as permanent residents.”
Fabian Dawson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, New Canadian Media
Immigration — not fertility — driving Canada’s population growth
Immigration, not fertility, drove Canada’s population growth over the past five years, says a Statistics Canada study as Ottawa plans to announce its new 2022-2024 immigration intake levels plan.
“Although the pandemic halted Canada’s strong population growth in 2020, it continued to be the fastest among G7 countries,” said the study released on Wednesday.
The report’s authors said immigrants are far more likely to settle in an urban area rather than a rural setting. Consequently, rural Canada’s population has grown at a slower pace than urban centres.
Some of the key findings in today’s report that provides a portrait of Canada’s population growth include:
- Population growth accelerated in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia over the past five years when compared with the previous census cycle (from 2011 to 2016), while population growth slowed in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Population growth also accelerated in Canada’s three largest provinces of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia;
- British Columbia was the lone province in Western Canada that saw more people move into the province from elsewhere in Canada than move out from 2016 to 2021, with interprovincial migration gains (+97,424) reaching their highest level since 1991 to 1996;
- While Yukon (+12.1 per cent to 40,232) led the country in population growth, it was the sole territory that grew at a faster pace than Canada overall;
- Quebec, Canada’s second most populous province (8.5 million people), saw its share of the total population decline for the 11th consecutive census period;
- Population growth in large urban centres relies much more on immigration than other areas of Canada, with more than 9 in 10 new permanent immigrants settling in a metropolitan area. Over one-third of Canadians (13.1 million people) live Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver.
- Four of the five fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country were located in British Columbia from 2016 to 2021: Kelowna (+14.0 per cent to 222,162), Chilliwack (+12.1 per cent to 113,767), Nanaimo (+10.0 per cent to 115,459) and Kamloops (+10.0 per cent to 114,142).
- Several of the smaller urban centres known for being tourist destinations or resort cities also saw population increases. While being close to nature, these small urban centres are not among the most remote and are generally less than a one-hour drive from a large urban centre, meaning they are also close to the amenities of larger urban centres.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Minister Sean Fraser is expected to announce Canada’s new 2022-2024 immigration intake levels plan by the end of the month, which will also outline the programs under which these newcomers will be admitted.
According to the latest government data, IRCC has an estimated 1.8 million applications in queue waiting to be processed because of pandemic-induced delays.
The Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association (CILA) is calling on Ottawa to stabilize the immigration system before seeking more ambitious newcomer targets.
“While using this year as an opportunity for IRCC to catch its breath would be far from ideal, it would be beneficial for several reasons,” said a statement on CILA’s website. “It would allow many of those who have been waiting in limbo during the pandemic to finally land as permanent residents.”
Fabian Dawson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, New Canadian Media
Feds table changes to Canada's cornerstone environmental law
The Liberals are again pushing for changes to Canada's cornerstone environmental law, as Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced Wednesday that a bill seeking to update the legislation was introduced in the Senate.
This is not the first time the federal government has tried to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). The Liberals originally tabled a bill to strengthen the law last spring, but it died on the order paper when the federal election was called. The new bill uses the same language but was introduced to the Senate.
CEPA regulates toxic substances, greenhouse gases and other pollution to protect environmental and human health and was first introduced in 1988.
The proposed changes include requiring the government to study the cumulative health impacts of exposure to chemicals, identify and study vulnerable populations exposed to pollutants and acknowledge the right to a healthy environment, among other things.
“Our government is reintroducing this bill, with the same wording as before, because Canadians know the urgency,” Guilbeault said at the announcement. “We need to give this bill the best chance to get passed, and we are responding to that urgency by introducing the bill to the Senate first because it is the best way to get it through a very busy legislative agenda.”
The proposed changes are a starting point, but many environmental organizations and advocates wanted the government to reintroduce the bill with amendments that address some concerning language, said Elaine MacDonald, program director of healthy communities for Ecojustice.
For example, the bill says a right to a healthy environment will be balanced with relevant social, scientific and economic factors.
“This is the first piece of legislation in Canada that's going to recognize the right to a healthy environment, and the government needs to get it right, and we are concerned that this language undermines that,” said MacDonald.
Costly cleanups of chemicals are just one economic consideration she says could compromise this right.
Joseph Castrilli, a lawyer with the Canadian Environmental Law Association, said he “wasn't surprised” the government opted to keep the same language and take advantage of the Senate's less-packed agenda rather than introduce it in the House.
“I'm hopeful that the government of Canada plans on introducing a robust package of amendments … before the bill eventually passes in the House of Commons,” said Castrilli.
One change he’d like to see is for it to make pollution prevention plans mandatory for all Schedule 1 toxic substances, which include asbestos, lead, mercury, methane and other gases.
Over 20 years after CEPA’s introduction, “only 25 of the 150 substances in Schedule 1 have a pollution prevention plan,” said Castrilli. “At that rate, we're not going to see a pollution prevention plan for all 150 substances on the list until the year 2100. We’ve got to go faster than that.”
Laurel Collins, the NDP’s environment critic, expressed doubt about the text of the bill in a statement, saying it has “significant loopholes and weaknesses that are of serious concern.”
“We are concerned that this bill will allow government to make politically motivated decisions that override the scientific evidence when it comes to dangerous substances,” Collins' statement reads.
Although Castrilli and MacDonald hoped the government would address some of their concerns before retabling the bill, they are glad the ball is rolling. MacDonald said the next step is to familiarize senators with the changes she wants to see.
“We thought about the possibility of making some changes before introducing the bill, but we are a minority government. Time is not on our side,” said Guilbeault.
He said the government is “very happy to entertain proposed changes” including concerns about the right to a healthy environment being undermined by economic factors.
“Let's have those discussions and let's see how we can make this bill the best possible bill it can be,” said Guilbeault.
Six environmental groups are calling on Parliament to prioritize the bill and adopt amendments to ensure there are no loopholes for high-risk substances to remain a threat to the public, that there are no delays in assessing the risk of dangerous chemicals and that the language saying the right to a healthy environment must be balanced with economic factors is removed.
In the same press release, the environmental groups asked the House Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development to “initiate an early consideration of the bill while the Senate debates and votes on this legislation” to speed the process up.
If Elizabeth May’s private member’s bill to address environmental racism and require the government to collect data on links between environmental hazards, race, socioeconomic status and health becomes law, it would fill an important gap left by CEPA, which does not require that level of data collection but could certainly benefit from the information, said MacDonald.
Natasha Bulowski / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer
Natasha Bulowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer
The Liberals are again pushing for changes to Canada's cornerstone environmental law, as Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault announced Wednesday that a bill seeking to update the legislation was introduced in the Senate.
This is not the first time the federal government has tried to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). The Liberals originally tabled a bill to strengthen the law last spring, but it died on the order paper when the federal election was called. The new bill uses the same language but was introduced to the Senate.
CEPA regulates toxic substances, greenhouse gases and other pollution to protect environmental and human health and was first introduced in 1988.
The proposed changes include requiring the government to study the cumulative health impacts of exposure to chemicals, identify and study vulnerable populations exposed to pollutants and acknowledge the right to a healthy environment, among other things.
“Our government is reintroducing this bill, with the same wording as before, because Canadians know the urgency,” Guilbeault said at the announcement. “We need to give this bill the best chance to get passed, and we are responding to that urgency by introducing the bill to the Senate first because it is the best way to get it through a very busy legislative agenda.”
The proposed changes are a starting point, but many environmental organizations and advocates wanted the government to reintroduce the bill with amendments that address some concerning language, said Elaine MacDonald, program director of healthy communities for Ecojustice.
For example, the bill says a right to a healthy environment will be balanced with relevant social, scientific and economic factors.
“This is the first piece of legislation in Canada that's going to recognize the right to a healthy environment, and the government needs to get it right, and we are concerned that this language undermines that,” said MacDonald.
Costly cleanups of chemicals are just one economic consideration she says could compromise this right.
Joseph Castrilli, a lawyer with the Canadian Environmental Law Association, said he “wasn't surprised” the government opted to keep the same language and take advantage of the Senate's less-packed agenda rather than introduce it in the House.
“I'm hopeful that the government of Canada plans on introducing a robust package of amendments … before the bill eventually passes in the House of Commons,” said Castrilli.
One change he’d like to see is for it to make pollution prevention plans mandatory for all Schedule 1 toxic substances, which include asbestos, lead, mercury, methane and other gases.
Over 20 years after CEPA’s introduction, “only 25 of the 150 substances in Schedule 1 have a pollution prevention plan,” said Castrilli. “At that rate, we're not going to see a pollution prevention plan for all 150 substances on the list until the year 2100. We’ve got to go faster than that.”
Laurel Collins, the NDP’s environment critic, expressed doubt about the text of the bill in a statement, saying it has “significant loopholes and weaknesses that are of serious concern.”
“We are concerned that this bill will allow government to make politically motivated decisions that override the scientific evidence when it comes to dangerous substances,” Collins' statement reads.
Although Castrilli and MacDonald hoped the government would address some of their concerns before retabling the bill, they are glad the ball is rolling. MacDonald said the next step is to familiarize senators with the changes she wants to see.
“We thought about the possibility of making some changes before introducing the bill, but we are a minority government. Time is not on our side,” said Guilbeault.
He said the government is “very happy to entertain proposed changes” including concerns about the right to a healthy environment being undermined by economic factors.
“Let's have those discussions and let's see how we can make this bill the best possible bill it can be,” said Guilbeault.
Six environmental groups are calling on Parliament to prioritize the bill and adopt amendments to ensure there are no loopholes for high-risk substances to remain a threat to the public, that there are no delays in assessing the risk of dangerous chemicals and that the language saying the right to a healthy environment must be balanced with economic factors is removed.
In the same press release, the environmental groups asked the House Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development to “initiate an early consideration of the bill while the Senate debates and votes on this legislation” to speed the process up.
If Elizabeth May’s private member’s bill to address environmental racism and require the government to collect data on links between environmental hazards, race, socioeconomic status and health becomes law, it would fill an important gap left by CEPA, which does not require that level of data collection but could certainly benefit from the information, said MacDonald.
Natasha Bulowski / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer
Natasha Bulowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer
To tackle fossil fuel subsidies, Canada needs to change tactics: report
Right now, many government policies work against Canada’s best climate, economic and social interests, and to fix this, a new report states we need to address the elephant in the room: fossil fuel subsidies.
The report proposes a framework for assessing fossil fuel programs and recommends the government start by making sure all new policies are consistent with social and climate goals before tackling established policies.
Instead of focusing solely on how fossil fuel subsidies are defined, programs and policies should be evaluated on whether they will support a successful transition to a low-carbon economy, says the report by the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices (CICC).
“The report shows that the type of government spending we're seeing on the fossil fuel sector — even if it's supposed to be to reduce emissions or maintain employment — is not an effective use of public money,” said Vanessa Corkal, a policy adviser with the International Institute for Sustainable Development who was not involved in writing the report.
Government measures should further the transition to a low-carbon economy, make workers and communities less vulnerable to impacts of that shift, and give good value for money, according to the report. If policies do not check those boxes, governments should look for a different solution.
The CICC analyzed more than a dozen government measures — including the $1.7 billion for orphan well cleanup, purchasing the Trans Mountain Pipeline, and the proposed carbon capture utilization and storage investment tax credit — and none met its proposed criteria.
A recent example of policy lacking in these areas is a federal program providing financial aid to help struggling oil and gas companies reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions dubbed the Onshore Emission Reduction Fund.
In November, Canada’s environment commissioner said it was “poorly designed” and amounts to little more than a fossil fuel subsidy.
The commissioner’s report revealed the program overestimated emission reductions benefit, and over half the approved applicants indicated the funding would help them increase oil and gas production. Another stated objective of the program was to retain jobs in the oil and gas sector, but the commissioner found job retention wasn’t tracked and wasn’t included in the eligibility criteria.
But the report warns Canada needs to look at programs through lenses of value for money, employment outcomes and a transition to a low-carbon economy because “the fossil fuel sector is no longer the secure source of economic growth and job creation it once was.” Public investment in the sector “now carries significant risk and less certain benefits for society,” according to the CICC’s analysis.
The Canadian government promised to phase out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies by 2023. But there is no universal definition of what an inefficient fossil fuel subsidy is, which has “served to complicate, rather than clarify, decision-making,” according to the report. Because of this, it proposes examining programs based on criteria for strong climate and economic outcomes, instead of getting hung up on definitions.
Corkal agrees assessing individual outcomes like employment is critical but says a strong definition is still important to ensure subsidies are phased out by 2023.
She says the so-called “debate” over definitions is “really a domestic issue within Canada that reflects the political dynamics and disagreements” and that “internationally, there's actually substantial agreement on this issue,” referring to the more than 150 countries that have agreed to the World Trade Organization’s definition.
In 2019, the Office of the Auditor General found Finance Canada had not developed sufficient social, environmental or economic criteria to evaluate subsidies, but the government has yet to publish a framework with new and improved evaluation criteria or clarify how it defines inefficiency.
The Canada Energy Regulator hasn’t published any scenarios consistent with holding global warming to 1.5 C, despite Canada signing on to this commitment in 2015 with the Paris Agreement. This information will be key if Canada is going to assess programs on whether they are consistent with the global low-carbon transition, said Corkal.
Natasha Bulowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer
Right now, many government policies work against Canada’s best climate, economic and social interests, and to fix this, a new report states we need to address the elephant in the room: fossil fuel subsidies.
The report proposes a framework for assessing fossil fuel programs and recommends the government start by making sure all new policies are consistent with social and climate goals before tackling established policies.
Instead of focusing solely on how fossil fuel subsidies are defined, programs and policies should be evaluated on whether they will support a successful transition to a low-carbon economy, says the report by the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices (CICC).
“The report shows that the type of government spending we're seeing on the fossil fuel sector — even if it's supposed to be to reduce emissions or maintain employment — is not an effective use of public money,” said Vanessa Corkal, a policy adviser with the International Institute for Sustainable Development who was not involved in writing the report.
Government measures should further the transition to a low-carbon economy, make workers and communities less vulnerable to impacts of that shift, and give good value for money, according to the report. If policies do not check those boxes, governments should look for a different solution.
The CICC analyzed more than a dozen government measures — including the $1.7 billion for orphan well cleanup, purchasing the Trans Mountain Pipeline, and the proposed carbon capture utilization and storage investment tax credit — and none met its proposed criteria.
A recent example of policy lacking in these areas is a federal program providing financial aid to help struggling oil and gas companies reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions dubbed the Onshore Emission Reduction Fund.
In November, Canada’s environment commissioner said it was “poorly designed” and amounts to little more than a fossil fuel subsidy.
The commissioner’s report revealed the program overestimated emission reductions benefit, and over half the approved applicants indicated the funding would help them increase oil and gas production. Another stated objective of the program was to retain jobs in the oil and gas sector, but the commissioner found job retention wasn’t tracked and wasn’t included in the eligibility criteria.
But the report warns Canada needs to look at programs through lenses of value for money, employment outcomes and a transition to a low-carbon economy because “the fossil fuel sector is no longer the secure source of economic growth and job creation it once was.” Public investment in the sector “now carries significant risk and less certain benefits for society,” according to the CICC’s analysis.
The Canadian government promised to phase out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies by 2023. But there is no universal definition of what an inefficient fossil fuel subsidy is, which has “served to complicate, rather than clarify, decision-making,” according to the report. Because of this, it proposes examining programs based on criteria for strong climate and economic outcomes, instead of getting hung up on definitions.
Corkal agrees assessing individual outcomes like employment is critical but says a strong definition is still important to ensure subsidies are phased out by 2023.
She says the so-called “debate” over definitions is “really a domestic issue within Canada that reflects the political dynamics and disagreements” and that “internationally, there's actually substantial agreement on this issue,” referring to the more than 150 countries that have agreed to the World Trade Organization’s definition.
In 2019, the Office of the Auditor General found Finance Canada had not developed sufficient social, environmental or economic criteria to evaluate subsidies, but the government has yet to publish a framework with new and improved evaluation criteria or clarify how it defines inefficiency.
The Canada Energy Regulator hasn’t published any scenarios consistent with holding global warming to 1.5 C, despite Canada signing on to this commitment in 2015 with the Paris Agreement. This information will be key if Canada is going to assess programs on whether they are consistent with the global low-carbon transition, said Corkal.
Natasha Bulowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer
Convoy ‘intel reports’ accuse police, politicians of creating ‘space’ for violence
In the version of events being shared among the Ottawa protest organizers, the convoy is the real victim.
In the version of events being shared among the Ottawa protest organizers, the convoy is the real victim.
It is police and progressive politicians – not the protesters who have made downtown Ottawa a parking lot for 13 days – who are “creating a political space where violence can occur.”
The reams of reporting detailing harassment, racism and white supremacist involvement are dismissed as a “smear campaign” by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Ottawa’s mayor and the police chief. It was anti-fascists, not individuals associated with the protest convoy, responsible for harassing a downtown homeless shelter.
This version of events is not supported by facts, or by the hundreds of videos and first-person accounts documenting the protest. But it is detailed at length in “intelligence briefs” prepared for convoy supporters and obtained by Global News.
The documents were included in an unsecured Google Drive that made the rounds with reporters and Canadian national security observers Thursday. The purported author of the daily “intel reports” – Tom Quiggin, an independent researcher who formerly worked with the Canadian government – did not respond to multiple emails from Global News.
“This is pure propaganda,” said Stephanie Carvin, a Carleton University professor and former analyst with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
“It’s a way for the movement to reinforce its own narrative … (that) anything that happens that’s violent isn’t the convoy or the protesters, it’s (anti-fascists).”
Convoy protesters could be ‘arrested’ for blocking streets, Ottawa police warn
Quiggin, who styles himself as an “intelligence analyst and court expert” but is widely dismissed by Canadian national security experts, recently described his role as providing “protective intelligence” for the convoy crew.
The daily “intel reports” start with Ottawa’s weather forecasts and inspirational quotes before delving into interpretations of incidents involving the convoy and the reaction by the city’s police and political leaders.
The Google Drive was created with someone using Quiggin's name on Feb. 3, almost a week after the persistent honking protest rolled into Canada's capital. The daily reports date from Jan. 28, and the drive includes several "special reports" on particular incidents and characters in the saga – including Ottawa Policy Chief Peter Sloly and the alleged harassment of workers at the Shepherds of Good Hope shelter.
“Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life,” the Feb. 5 missive quotes Bob Marley saying, before accusing Sloly of making a series of “false accusations” against the convoy participants in order to pressure crowdfunding platform GoFundMe to refund millions in donations to their cause.
Trucker protests: Demonstrators gather at Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport
But interspersed with the conspiratorial suggestions and attacks on political leaders are suggestions that Ottawa police are preparing to take significant action to dismantle the convoy encampments – sentiment Carvin said is echoed by the troupe of livestreamers that have attached themselves to the protest.
“Sociology 101 is it doesn’t matter if something is true or false, it matters if it has impact. If people believe it, it has impact,” said Amarnath Amarasingam, a Queen’s University professor who studies radicalization and conspiracy movements.
“There’s a sense within this group that they are an embattled minority, that society has pulled the wool over their eyes, that they’re involved in this kind of cosmic battle now between good and evil.”
Amarasingam said people like Quiggin – who, despite criticism, does have experience with the Canadian intelligence community – are useful in reinforcing that narrative.
“He claims to be from the inside. This whole notion of the former intelligence officer who has seen the truth from the inside, who is now spreading truth, bringing reality to the masses,” Amarasingam said, drawing parallels to the QAnon conspiracy movement.
Conservatives’ Candice Bergen urges trucker convoy: ‘Take down the barricades’
While the “intelligence” briefs could be dismissed as musings about public statements and media reporting, the protesters’ ability to maintain their beachhead in downtown Ottawa while operating multiple satellite camps and launch minor demonstrations in other areas of the city suggests strong organization.
And while many of the document’s assertions don’t hold up to scrutiny, one suggestion – that police will eventually have to forcibly remove the protesters – is looking increasingly possible.
“These occupiers are obviously very organized in using different tactics to put more pressure on the police service to ensure that the community remains safe and to keep a lid on this,” said Charles Bordeleau, a security consultant and former chief of the Ottawa Police Service.
“There seems to be a core group of individuals that are bent on remaining here in Ottawa. I get the sense that enforcement putting pressure tactics on them to leave? They won’t leave. So at some point, the police service will have to go in and use a reasonable amount of force to forcibly remove these individuals.”
How a former Trump official wound up at Ottawa's convoy protest
Alexander Panetta -
U.S. politicians now involved
Alexander's involvement with the pandemic-protest movement on both sides of the border illustrates the increasingly international nature of the convoy event.
Questions about it are becoming a daily occurrence at White House briefings, as protesters restrict traffic at the busiest Canada-U.S. border crossing.
The White House homeland-security adviser convened a meeting on it Wednesday. A spokesman for President Joe Biden said officials are in close contact with officials in Michigan, Canada and with industries that rely on the mostly blocked Windsor-Detroit Ambassador Bridge.
"We're very focused on this," said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
"The president is focused on this."
© Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Alexander Panetta -
cbc.ca
A former Trump administration official has been in Ottawa for days to participate in the protests against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 measures in what he describes as a personal mission.
Paul Alexander is a Canadian former part-time faculty member at McMaster University in Hamilton who lives in the U.S. and had a contentious stint as science adviser to former president Donald Trump earlier in the pandemic.
Now, he's part of the demonstrations in Ottawa, holding news conferences, appearing alongside People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier and tweeting about bringing fuel to protesting truckers.
He said he's also been contacted, as the protest spreads abroad, by people hoping to organize a similar convoy across the United States.
Alexander told CBC News he'll participate in any event he can, anywhere, on either side of the border, as part of his mission to oppose existing pandemic policies.
"The truckers have common sense," Alexander said in a phone interview.
"It's going to be massive," he said of a possible U.S. truck protest, "and politicians had better pay attention."
He wants policy-makers in jail
While protest organizers say this isn't an anti-vaccine demonstration, Alexander makes clear he's deeply critical of the COVID-19 vaccines, especially for use on young, healthy people. He says he longs to see public officials who promoted COVID-19 vaccines and other pandemic policies imprisoned someday.
"I don't care who you are. You should sit in a jail," said Alexander. "One day, I wish, and I hope, that we re-examine this."
His opinion sits far outside the prevailing view of the health policy-making community that COVID-19 vaccines have saved lives by inoculating people against a virus that has killed 5.8 million people worldwide. It even contrasts with that of his former boss: Trump has urged supporters to get vaccinated and says he's received three doses himself.
© Blair Gable/Reuters
A former Trump administration official has been in Ottawa for days to participate in the protests against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 measures in what he describes as a personal mission.
Paul Alexander is a Canadian former part-time faculty member at McMaster University in Hamilton who lives in the U.S. and had a contentious stint as science adviser to former president Donald Trump earlier in the pandemic.
Now, he's part of the demonstrations in Ottawa, holding news conferences, appearing alongside People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier and tweeting about bringing fuel to protesting truckers.
He said he's also been contacted, as the protest spreads abroad, by people hoping to organize a similar convoy across the United States.
Alexander told CBC News he'll participate in any event he can, anywhere, on either side of the border, as part of his mission to oppose existing pandemic policies.
"The truckers have common sense," Alexander said in a phone interview.
"It's going to be massive," he said of a possible U.S. truck protest, "and politicians had better pay attention."
He wants policy-makers in jail
While protest organizers say this isn't an anti-vaccine demonstration, Alexander makes clear he's deeply critical of the COVID-19 vaccines, especially for use on young, healthy people. He says he longs to see public officials who promoted COVID-19 vaccines and other pandemic policies imprisoned someday.
"I don't care who you are. You should sit in a jail," said Alexander. "One day, I wish, and I hope, that we re-examine this."
His opinion sits far outside the prevailing view of the health policy-making community that COVID-19 vaccines have saved lives by inoculating people against a virus that has killed 5.8 million people worldwide. It even contrasts with that of his former boss: Trump has urged supporters to get vaccinated and says he's received three doses himself.
© Blair Gable/Reuters
Gas cans line the street in front of Parliament Hill as truckers and supporters continue to protest in Ottawa on Wednesday. Alexander tweeted a photo of himself and other volunteers bringing fuel to the protesting truckers.
One jurisdiction after another has credited COVID-19 vaccines with reducing hospitalizations and mortality. The latest numbers from New York state suggest unvaccinated people test positive at a rate almost nine times higher and are 15 times likelier to be hospitalized from COVID-19.
In Canada, since last October, more than 8,000 people have died and unvaccinated people suffered deaths and hospitalizations at a rate several times higher than those who were vaccinated.
Alexander made clear that he supports other vaccines: "I am not an anti-vaxxer. I am for vaccines. My kids are vaccinated. … It's [just] these vaccines," he said.
He's been professionally shunned
Alexander was among the political appointees in the Trump administration who clashed with colleagues over their starkly opposing views of the pandemic.
He says his life was upended as a result. He left the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2020 after only a few months in the role. McMaster University, where he earned a PhD in health-research methods in 2015, has severed ties with him.
"It has been devastating," Alexander told CBC News.
He ascribes his shunning to his claims that vaccines don't work as well as advertised, that their long-term effects are unknown, that some people have been hurt by them, and that lockdowns were a catastrophe.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an extremely small percentage of vaccinations have coincided with fatalities.
He wanted to test herd immunity
Alexander and his Trump administration allies bickered with other officials over his push for a completely different strategy, involving so-called herd immunity. Alexander's preferred plan was to keep things open, let low-risk people get infected, try isolating high-risk people, and in cases of serious illness, prescribe cocktails of existing anti-viral drugs.
In an interview, he called himself a non-partisan and said he hopes to see Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government succeed, though he used the prime minister's recent COVID-19 diagnosis to question the efficacy of vaccines.
"[Trudeau] is triple vaccinated and masked to his eyeballs," he said.
He said he won't stay much longer in Ottawa as he needs to get back to his home in Washington, D.C.
One jurisdiction after another has credited COVID-19 vaccines with reducing hospitalizations and mortality. The latest numbers from New York state suggest unvaccinated people test positive at a rate almost nine times higher and are 15 times likelier to be hospitalized from COVID-19.
In Canada, since last October, more than 8,000 people have died and unvaccinated people suffered deaths and hospitalizations at a rate several times higher than those who were vaccinated.
Alexander made clear that he supports other vaccines: "I am not an anti-vaxxer. I am for vaccines. My kids are vaccinated. … It's [just] these vaccines," he said.
He's been professionally shunned
Alexander was among the political appointees in the Trump administration who clashed with colleagues over their starkly opposing views of the pandemic.
He says his life was upended as a result. He left the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2020 after only a few months in the role. McMaster University, where he earned a PhD in health-research methods in 2015, has severed ties with him.
"It has been devastating," Alexander told CBC News.
He ascribes his shunning to his claims that vaccines don't work as well as advertised, that their long-term effects are unknown, that some people have been hurt by them, and that lockdowns were a catastrophe.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an extremely small percentage of vaccinations have coincided with fatalities.
He wanted to test herd immunity
Alexander and his Trump administration allies bickered with other officials over his push for a completely different strategy, involving so-called herd immunity. Alexander's preferred plan was to keep things open, let low-risk people get infected, try isolating high-risk people, and in cases of serious illness, prescribe cocktails of existing anti-viral drugs.
In an interview, he called himself a non-partisan and said he hopes to see Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government succeed, though he used the prime minister's recent COVID-19 diagnosis to question the efficacy of vaccines.
"[Trudeau] is triple vaccinated and masked to his eyeballs," he said.
He said he won't stay much longer in Ottawa as he needs to get back to his home in Washington, D.C.
U.S. politicians now involved
Alexander's involvement with the pandemic-protest movement on both sides of the border illustrates the increasingly international nature of the convoy event.
Questions about it are becoming a daily occurrence at White House briefings, as protesters restrict traffic at the busiest Canada-U.S. border crossing.
The White House homeland-security adviser convened a meeting on it Wednesday. A spokesman for President Joe Biden said officials are in close contact with officials in Michigan, Canada and with industries that rely on the mostly blocked Windsor-Detroit Ambassador Bridge.
"We're very focused on this," said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
"The president is focused on this."
© Brendan McDermid/Reuters
The White House is now 'very focused' on the Ottawa protest as it spreads into the U.S., said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday.
Some parliamentarians want to call the U.S. ambassador to Canada to a committee to discuss American involvement in the protest convoy, which has received financial donations and promotional support from abroad.
And NDP MP Heather McPherson plans to introduce a motion that, if passed, would request that Ambassador David Cohen spend up to an hour with the committee.
Her motion also expressed concern about the fact that Americans in positions of authority have shown support for a protest whose organizers had previously said they wanted to force the resignation of the government of Canada if it didn't abolish vaccine mandates.
The political support in the U.S. includes several Republican-led state governments. Some are threatening investigations into a company that cancelled a protest fundraising campaign.
Texas, for example, has launched an investigation into GoFundMe for shutting down a fundraising campaign for the Ottawa protest. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent the company a legal letter asking for 29 types of documents, including the company's communications with Canadian police and the U.S. and Canadian governments.
He also asked for documents to identify Texas donors who donated to the convoy, which would begin to address the unanswered question of how much funding for the protest came from abroad.
Some parliamentarians want to call the U.S. ambassador to Canada to a committee to discuss American involvement in the protest convoy, which has received financial donations and promotional support from abroad.
And NDP MP Heather McPherson plans to introduce a motion that, if passed, would request that Ambassador David Cohen spend up to an hour with the committee.
Her motion also expressed concern about the fact that Americans in positions of authority have shown support for a protest whose organizers had previously said they wanted to force the resignation of the government of Canada if it didn't abolish vaccine mandates.
The political support in the U.S. includes several Republican-led state governments. Some are threatening investigations into a company that cancelled a protest fundraising campaign.
Texas, for example, has launched an investigation into GoFundMe for shutting down a fundraising campaign for the Ottawa protest. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent the company a legal letter asking for 29 types of documents, including the company's communications with Canadian police and the U.S. and Canadian governments.
He also asked for documents to identify Texas donors who donated to the convoy, which would begin to address the unanswered question of how much funding for the protest came from abroad.
The Freedom Convoy has occupied Ottawa for almost two weeks now, but it's not just protesters in the capital — some have brought children along for the ride.
© Provided by Narcity
Brooke Houghton -NARCITY
Ottawa Police Services Deputy Chief Steve Bell revealed in a press conference on February 8 that about 25% of the 418 trucks encamped in Ottawa have "children living in them."
Bell says the discovery was made through "intelligence," and that the children within the occupation "could be at risk during a police operation."
Police are working with the Children's Aid Society to ensure the children's "welfare and safety."
Bell says their message to demonstrators remains the same: "Don't come. And if you do, there will be consequences, including financial consequences for your illegal and unlawful behaviour."
Since the beginning of the protest, Bell says Ottawa police have issued over 1,300 tickets, made 22 arrests and are looking into 79 ongoing criminal investigations.
Bell says that "many of the remaining demonstrators are highly determined and volatile," and they have recently seen an increase in aggression toward police, including a group of protesters who "swarmed" multiple officers.
He also stressed that the threats are not only coming from within Ottawa. With the help of Ohio police, an individual who was placing "fake threats" to "deceive and distract" emergency services was arrested on Monday, while other protesters attacked and "swarmed" officers.
"We've seized fuel and cut off material, financial and logistical support to occupation."
Bell says they have managed to tow and seize some vehicles, but they are experiencing resource and operational issues when it comes to acting further.
"We know that some demonstrators have indicated a desire to leave. In some cases, they're blocked in by other vehicles, and where possible, we're working to facilitate their departure," he says.
To combat their lack of resources, Bell says they need "1,800 officers and civilian personnel" to bring a "safe end to this occupation."
Ottawa Police Services Deputy Chief Steve Bell revealed in a press conference on February 8 that about 25% of the 418 trucks encamped in Ottawa have "children living in them."
Bell says the discovery was made through "intelligence," and that the children within the occupation "could be at risk during a police operation."
Police are working with the Children's Aid Society to ensure the children's "welfare and safety."
Bell says their message to demonstrators remains the same: "Don't come. And if you do, there will be consequences, including financial consequences for your illegal and unlawful behaviour."
Since the beginning of the protest, Bell says Ottawa police have issued over 1,300 tickets, made 22 arrests and are looking into 79 ongoing criminal investigations.
Bell says that "many of the remaining demonstrators are highly determined and volatile," and they have recently seen an increase in aggression toward police, including a group of protesters who "swarmed" multiple officers.
He also stressed that the threats are not only coming from within Ottawa. With the help of Ohio police, an individual who was placing "fake threats" to "deceive and distract" emergency services was arrested on Monday, while other protesters attacked and "swarmed" officers.
"We've seized fuel and cut off material, financial and logistical support to occupation."
Bell says they have managed to tow and seize some vehicles, but they are experiencing resource and operational issues when it comes to acting further.
"We know that some demonstrators have indicated a desire to leave. In some cases, they're blocked in by other vehicles, and where possible, we're working to facilitate their departure," he says.
To combat their lack of resources, Bell says they need "1,800 officers and civilian personnel" to bring a "safe end to this occupation."
Biden's pro-net neutrality pick for FCC calls Republican criticism 'unfair' and 'false'
Marguerite Reardon -
CNET
President Joe Biden's pick to fill the vacant seat on the five-member Federal Communications Commission pushed back against Republican lawmakers during her second confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, stating she has been the subject of "unrelenting, unfair, and outright false criticism and scrutiny."
Republicans on the committee and industry lobbyists have raised issues with Gigi Sohn's nomination that have delayed a vote. Sohn, who has spent 30 years as a public interest advocate, has attracted opposition from several Republicans, who've painted her as an extreme partisan.
Sohn's confirmation as the fifth member of the FCC is important because it would break a 2-2 deadlock on the commission between Republicans and Democrats. If Sohn manages to make it through the committee and get approved by the full Senate, her confirmation would pave the way for the restoration of Obama-era net neutrality protections and for the agency to act on other matters.
Sohn acknowledged Wednesday during the hearing that the criticism and attacks against her led by Republicans are more about delaying the vote on her nomination and keeping the commission deadlocked than it is about her.
"I realize that this isn't all about me," she said. "It's about some wanting to stop the FCC from doing its important work"
Nominated to the FCC in October, Sohn had her first confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee in December. She has been waiting for more than a month for the committee to hold a vote. In January, Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi and the ranking member of the committee, called for a new hearing on Sohn to look specifically at her time on the board of Locast, which streamed broadcast TV signals and was shut down after losing a copyright infringement lawsuit mounted by major broadcasters. A vote on her nomination was called off at the last minute last week after Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a Democrat from New Mexico, suffered a stroke.
Republican concerns
Wicker, who received a confidential copy of the settlement agreement, said he had concerns that Sohn would be financially liable to companies she would regulate. Sohn testified Wednesday that she has no financial liability as part of that settlement, which had been negotiated by Sports Fans Coalition of New York, the nonprofit that owned Locast, and the broadcasters. Still, Wicker has taken issue with other aspects of the agreement, which he claimed Sohn deliberately withheld from the committee when previously testified.
"Ms. Sohn has not been forthcoming on this settlement," Wicker said. "This raises questions as to what else she is not revealing about this litigation."
Sohn testified that the confidential settlement barred her from speaking publicly about details of the settlement.
After Wicker had made his concerns known in January, Sohn said she would voluntarily recuse herself from certain matters associated with issues identified in the Locast lawsuit, a move that has been criticized by the cable industry's lobbying group.
Because of the strong opposition from Republicans, every Democrat on the committee is needed to vote in favor of Sohn's nomination to move it to the full Senate. But with Luján unable to vote until his return, Sohn's nomination will likely continue to be on hold.
The FCC's deadlock since Biden took office a year ago has left the agency unable to act on controversial issues like media ownership or a vote to bring back net neutrality. If Sohn is confirmed by the Senate, the Democrats will have their majority and will be poised to fulfill Biden's promise to get net neutrality regulations back on the books.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin, noted the consequences of the process dragging.
"Every day that [Sohn's] confirmation is delayed is a day when the FCC cannot fully discharge the important responsibilities that we have given it," she said
The next era of net neutrality
Net neutrality is the principle that all traffic on the internet should be treated equally, regardless of whether you're checking Facebook, posting pictures to Instagram or streaming movies from Netflix or Prime Video. It also means companies like Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, can't favor their own content over that of a competitor.
Supporters of net neutrality say rules are necessary to ensure broadband companies aren't taking advantage of their power over the infrastructure that delivers content to your internet-enabled TVs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. But broadband companies and Republicans in Congress and on the FCC say the old rules gave the agency too much power, stifling broadband investment.
The result for the past decade has been a ping-ponging of federal net neutrality regulations based on the political party in charge.
With a 3-2 majority, restoring net neutrality rules that Republicans dismantled in 2017 will likely be the No. 1 priority on Democrats' agenda. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, who's now in her third term on the FCC, was a commissioner who voted for the 2015 rules. She also voted against the repeal in 2017 and was outspoken about her opposition. Sohn has spent much of her career advocating for net neutrality protections. As an adviser to Wheeler, she helped craft the 2015 rules.
The real question is how far the agency will go in terms of reestablishing the rules. In addition to prohibiting broadband companies from blocking or slowing down access to certain sites or services, the Democrats on the FCC are likely to see re-establishing the agency's Title II authority over broadband as its most important objective in a rewrite of the rules. Under the 2015 rules, the agency intentionally limited some of that authority in an effort to appease the broadband industry. Now there's a question of whether the Biden FCC will do the same in writing a new set of rules.
Sohn's critics worry she'll push for broader changes, such as rate regulation. Wicker emphasized this concern during Sohn's confirmation hearing in December. He said he prefers a light-touch approach to regulation.
Sohn said she agrees that "light touch is better." But she added that since the repeal of net neutrality in 2017 the FCC has had no authority over broadband. And that's a problem.
"What I'm concerned about … is that we have no touch," she said. She added that the net neutrality debate of today is not just about preventing internet service providers from blocking and throttling access to content.
"It's about whether broadband, which we all agree is an essential service, should have some government oversight," she said. "And right now it doesn't."
But when it comes to concerns that Sohn would push for the FCC to set broadband prices, Sohn stated in December and reiterated on Wednesday at her second hearing that she would not support FCC rate regulation.
"At the last hearing, I expressly disavowed any support for the FCC implementing rate regulation," she said. "The FCC tried to do it with cable in the '90s, and it didn't work out well…so no, I would not support it."
Though Democrats will be eager to get started, the process to reinstate net neutrality and reestablish FCC authority won't be quick. Once Democrats gain a majority, they'll have to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking and open the proposal for public comment. All told, new rules wouldn't likely be in place for at least a year.
Controversial tweets
Net neutrality isn't the only concern that some Republicans have had with Sohn. During her Senate Commerce Committee hearing in December and again at her hearing Wednesday, several Republican senators took her to task for statements she had made on Twitter, including a 2018 tweet in which she questioned whether Sinclair Broadcast Group should have a broadcast license and another tweet in 2020 in which she called Fox News "state-sponsored propaganda."
Sen. Dan Sullivan a Republican from Alaska, said he was "very disturbed" by these tweets.
"We're not nominating you for any normal assistant secretary," he said. "You're going to be an FCC commissioner — enormous power, particularly as it relates to free speech, particularly as it actually relates to liberty in our country."
"I don't see how you can be unbiased," he added.
Sohn said her opinions she voiced in her capacity as a public interest advocate would have no bearing on her role as an FCC commissioner, although she acknowledged she wished her tone had been less sharp.
Democrats on the committee, including Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, defended Sohn and called claims she would be biased a "double standard" considering the committee has in the past approved nominees who have worked for companies the FCC regulates. Specifically, they pointed to former FCC Chair Ajit Pai, a Republican, who had served under former President Donald Trump.
"If [Ajit Pai] was qualified to be on the FCC, then Ms. Sohn is certainly qualified to be on the FCC, having spent more than 30 years working for the public interest of telecommunications policy," Markey said. "And I would note that Chairman Pai did not recuse himself from any telecommunications issues, even though he had worked for Verizon before he arrived at the Commission."
In spite of Republican criticism, some conservative broadcasters have defended Sohn. Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy put out a statement saying he supported both of Biden's nominees for the FCC. One America News Network President Charles Herring also endorsed Sohn.
Sohn has repeatedly said she believes she's "been characterized very unfairly as being anti conservative speech. My record says otherwise."
It's a sentiment others who've worked with Sohn have also expressed.
"I think there's this mischaracterization of Gigi," said Greg Guice, Public Knowledge's director of government affairs. Guice said he's known Sohn for 18 years. "She is oriented towards advocating for good policy. She has a very good network of people on both sides of the aisle, and she really listens to both sides."
Oregon bill tackles megaquake 'nightmare': Fuel storage site
A river on fire with millions of gallons of spilled oil, jet fuel and gasoline. An environmental disaster ranking with the worst in America. No fuel for a state trying to recover from a major earthquake.
© Provided by The Canadian Press
A river on fire with millions of gallons of spilled oil, jet fuel and gasoline. An environmental disaster ranking with the worst in America. No fuel for a state trying to recover from a major earthquake.
© Provided by The Canadian Press
Oregon bill tackles megaquake 'nightmare': Fuel storage site
Scientists say Oregon faces a potential nightmare scenario unless work is done to fortify its main fuel storage facility against a major earthquake, which will come sooner or later.
More than 90% of the state’s liquid fuels are stored at the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub, along a 6-mile (10-kilometer) stretch of the Willamette River in northwest Portland.
This week, Oregon lawmakers began taking steps to compel the owners and operators of the facility's aging storage tanks to make them earthquake resistant.
A new report commissioned by the city of Portland and Multnomah County noted the hub is built on soils subject to liquefaction in an earthquake, meaning the water-saturated sediment would temporarily lose strength and act as a fluid.
The industrial area contains 46 large above-ground fuel tanks, a liquefied natural gas storage facility and pipelines, according to a state report. Some fuel tanks are more than 100 years old, and most were built at least 50 years ago.
The study estimated that a major earthquake along the Cascadia subduction zone would result in 95 million to 194 million gallons (432 million to 882 million liters) of fuels gushing from the tanks. The spill would flow from the Willamette River into the nearby Columbia River and, unless it is contained, would reach the Pacific Ocean, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the northwest.
The predicted damage is on a par with the greatest environmental disaster in U.S. history, when BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in 2010, spilling at least 134 million gallons (609 million liters) of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
“The fuel releases are likely to cause explosions and fires,” the Oregon researchers wrote. “If the fire spreads to other properties there are very large threats to human life, safety, physical structures and natural resources.”
California is known for earthquakes, especially along the San Andreas Fault. But experts predict one of the world's biggest earthquakes could occur any day along the Cascadia subduction zone, which runs from offshore Northern California, Oregon and Washington state to Canada. The last time a major Cascadia earthquake occurred was in 1700, with an estimated at magnitude 9.
Oregon officials recognize the threat, and have taken steps to mitigate it.
Great Oregon ShakeOut Day is held annually to encourage residents to learn how to react to an earthquake. Gov. Kate Brown frequently reminds people to maintain an emergency kit with at least two weeks’ worth of food, water and other necessities. Tsunami-zone warning signs dot coastal highways.
In 1995, the Legislature banned construction of certain emergency and other public facilities in tsunami inundation zones. But it repealed the measure in 2019 after coastal legislators said that without new emergency services buildings, coastal residents and businesses won't be able to get property insurance which would cause property values to fall.
Oregon joined an early warning system last year operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. It uses seismographic sensors to detect significant earthquakes quickly so alerts reach smartphones and people can seek cover. Washington state and California also use the system.
An earthquake of at least magnitude 7 has a 37% chance of occurring off the Oregon coast in the next 50 years, according to Chris Goldfinger, an earthquake expert and professor at Oregon State University. A magnitude 9 quake has a 10% to 15% chance of occurring in that period, he said. The largest quake ever recorded was magnitude 9.5, hitting southern Chile in 1960.
“We’re living with a ticking time bomb,” state Sen. Michael Dembrow, who is from Portland and is a chief sponsor of the bill, said Monday during the Senate Committee on Energy and Environment public hearing on the measure.
Dembrow said every time he drives by the storage tanks, he has a "nightmare vision that the earthquake strikes, as we know it will, and we elected officials are left having to ask ourselves: Why did we ignore the warnings?"
“If that occurs, how do we live with ourselves?” he asked fellow lawmakers. Two dozen others have joined him in sponsoring the bill.
Leaders of the American Society of Civil Engineers' Oregon branch testified that it's critically important that the facility be made seismically resilient. They noted that after a major earthquake, fuel will be needed to power generators, equipment and vehicles for rescue and emergency personnel.
All of the jet fuel for Portland International Airport is stored at the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub. Without it, planes bringing aid to Oregon would be unable to refuel.
Mike Harryman, appointed by the governor as Oregon's first state resilience officer and tasked with preparing for a Cascadia earthquake, said Oregon will feel three punches: from the quake itself, the tsunami and “the disaster” at the fuel hub.
“To date I’m unaware that any seismic mitigation has been started at the site by any of the owners and/or operators,” he told the hearing.
The bill requires owners or operators of bulk oils and liquid fuels terminals to conduct and submit seismic vulnerability assessments by June 1, 2024, to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, which would review and approve them. The owners and operators would then implement a seismic risk plan approved by department.
“How they do the work and on what timetable isn’t yet clear,” Dembrow said in an email.
Jessica Spiegel, of the Western States Petroleum Association, a nonprofit that represents companies involved in the petroleum industry in five western states including Oregon, noted that the bill entails large fees but that federal funds may be available to mitigate them.
She said as fees are established, "some understanding of business needs in the state” should be taken into account.
Andrew Selsky, The Associated Press
Scientists say Oregon faces a potential nightmare scenario unless work is done to fortify its main fuel storage facility against a major earthquake, which will come sooner or later.
More than 90% of the state’s liquid fuels are stored at the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub, along a 6-mile (10-kilometer) stretch of the Willamette River in northwest Portland.
This week, Oregon lawmakers began taking steps to compel the owners and operators of the facility's aging storage tanks to make them earthquake resistant.
A new report commissioned by the city of Portland and Multnomah County noted the hub is built on soils subject to liquefaction in an earthquake, meaning the water-saturated sediment would temporarily lose strength and act as a fluid.
The industrial area contains 46 large above-ground fuel tanks, a liquefied natural gas storage facility and pipelines, according to a state report. Some fuel tanks are more than 100 years old, and most were built at least 50 years ago.
The study estimated that a major earthquake along the Cascadia subduction zone would result in 95 million to 194 million gallons (432 million to 882 million liters) of fuels gushing from the tanks. The spill would flow from the Willamette River into the nearby Columbia River and, unless it is contained, would reach the Pacific Ocean, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the northwest.
The predicted damage is on a par with the greatest environmental disaster in U.S. history, when BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in 2010, spilling at least 134 million gallons (609 million liters) of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
“The fuel releases are likely to cause explosions and fires,” the Oregon researchers wrote. “If the fire spreads to other properties there are very large threats to human life, safety, physical structures and natural resources.”
California is known for earthquakes, especially along the San Andreas Fault. But experts predict one of the world's biggest earthquakes could occur any day along the Cascadia subduction zone, which runs from offshore Northern California, Oregon and Washington state to Canada. The last time a major Cascadia earthquake occurred was in 1700, with an estimated at magnitude 9.
Oregon officials recognize the threat, and have taken steps to mitigate it.
Great Oregon ShakeOut Day is held annually to encourage residents to learn how to react to an earthquake. Gov. Kate Brown frequently reminds people to maintain an emergency kit with at least two weeks’ worth of food, water and other necessities. Tsunami-zone warning signs dot coastal highways.
In 1995, the Legislature banned construction of certain emergency and other public facilities in tsunami inundation zones. But it repealed the measure in 2019 after coastal legislators said that without new emergency services buildings, coastal residents and businesses won't be able to get property insurance which would cause property values to fall.
Oregon joined an early warning system last year operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. It uses seismographic sensors to detect significant earthquakes quickly so alerts reach smartphones and people can seek cover. Washington state and California also use the system.
An earthquake of at least magnitude 7 has a 37% chance of occurring off the Oregon coast in the next 50 years, according to Chris Goldfinger, an earthquake expert and professor at Oregon State University. A magnitude 9 quake has a 10% to 15% chance of occurring in that period, he said. The largest quake ever recorded was magnitude 9.5, hitting southern Chile in 1960.
“We’re living with a ticking time bomb,” state Sen. Michael Dembrow, who is from Portland and is a chief sponsor of the bill, said Monday during the Senate Committee on Energy and Environment public hearing on the measure.
Dembrow said every time he drives by the storage tanks, he has a "nightmare vision that the earthquake strikes, as we know it will, and we elected officials are left having to ask ourselves: Why did we ignore the warnings?"
“If that occurs, how do we live with ourselves?” he asked fellow lawmakers. Two dozen others have joined him in sponsoring the bill.
Leaders of the American Society of Civil Engineers' Oregon branch testified that it's critically important that the facility be made seismically resilient. They noted that after a major earthquake, fuel will be needed to power generators, equipment and vehicles for rescue and emergency personnel.
All of the jet fuel for Portland International Airport is stored at the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub. Without it, planes bringing aid to Oregon would be unable to refuel.
Mike Harryman, appointed by the governor as Oregon's first state resilience officer and tasked with preparing for a Cascadia earthquake, said Oregon will feel three punches: from the quake itself, the tsunami and “the disaster” at the fuel hub.
“To date I’m unaware that any seismic mitigation has been started at the site by any of the owners and/or operators,” he told the hearing.
The bill requires owners or operators of bulk oils and liquid fuels terminals to conduct and submit seismic vulnerability assessments by June 1, 2024, to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, which would review and approve them. The owners and operators would then implement a seismic risk plan approved by department.
“How they do the work and on what timetable isn’t yet clear,” Dembrow said in an email.
Jessica Spiegel, of the Western States Petroleum Association, a nonprofit that represents companies involved in the petroleum industry in five western states including Oregon, noted that the bill entails large fees but that federal funds may be available to mitigate them.
She said as fees are established, "some understanding of business needs in the state” should be taken into account.
Andrew Selsky, The Associated Press
Astronomers watched a dead planet smash into a dead star for first time ever
Astronomers have finally seen the remnants of a dead planet as it tumbled onto the surface of a dead star – and in doing so, they confirmed decades of speculation about what happens to solar systems that reach the end of their lives.
© Provided by Live ScienceArtist’s impression of a white dwarf, G29—38, gobbling up the remains of a dead planet.
Astronomers have finally seen the remnants of a dead planet as it tumbled onto the surface of a dead star – and in doing so, they confirmed decades of speculation about what happens to solar systems that reach the end of their lives.
© Provided by Live ScienceArtist’s impression of a white dwarf, G29—38, gobbling up the remains of a dead planet.
Brandon Specktor - Yesterday
These explosive observations — which were taken with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory — provide a preview of the violent future that may await Earth and its sun billions of years from now, the authors wrote in a study published Feb. 9 in the journal Nature.
"This detection provides the first direct evidence that white dwarfs are currently accreting the remnants of old planetary systems," lead study author Tim Cunningham, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Warwick in the UK, said in a statement. "Probing accretion in this way… [offers] a glimpse into the likely fate of the thousands of known exoplanetary systems, including our own Solar system."
The violent death of a sun
About 97% of all stars in the Milky Way will end their lives as white dwarfs — shriveled, crystalline star cores that pack about a sun's-worth of mass into an orb no larger than Earth.
The transition from a bright, burning star to a dense, white corpse is anything but peaceful. After an old star burns through the last of its fuel, it balloons into a red giant, smashing through any inner solar system planets unlucky enough to be nearby. Soon after, the star sheds its outer layers in an enormous eruption of hot gas that sweeps across the solar system. At the center of this chaos, a white dwarf is born.
Scientists suspect that planets, or whatever's left of them, can continue to orbit around a white dwarf in a dusty boneyard called a debris disk. Sometimes, those planetary remnants can even spiral into the dead star's surface and become part of the dwarf; prior studies looking at the elemental composition of nearby white dwarfs have found traces of heavy metals like iron and magnesium mixed into the dead stars' atmospheres, suggesting the presence of gobbled-up rocky planet chunks.
Those prior studies rely on a technique called spectroscopy — essentially, a way of studying the wavelengths of light emitted by an object to figure out what that object is made of. As such, any evidence of dead stars gobbling up dead planets has been indirect — until now.
Using the Chandra X-ray telescope, the authors of the new study focused on a nearby white dwarf called G29–38, located about 45 light-years away in the Pisces constellation and known to have an atmosphere polluted with metals. With Chandra, the researchers isolated G29–38 in their field of vision and watched for signs of high-energy explosions coming from the dwarf's surface, suggesting that some sort of impact had occurred.
Sure enough, the team successfully detected X-ray emissions coming from the white dwarf. From the brightness of the blasts, the team measured the heat of the explosions. They found that the plasma on the star's surface had heated to more than 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit (1 million degrees Celsius), which aligns perfectly with models of planetary bodies smashing into white dwarves, the researchers said.
According to the authors, these observations offer the first direct evidence that white dwarves suck in and gobble up the rocky remains of the planets that once orbited them. The X-ray flashes occurred billions of years after the formation of G29–38's planetary system, suggesting that a similar fate could await Earth when our sun begins its inevitable final act several billion years from now.
Originally published on Live Science.
These explosive observations — which were taken with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory — provide a preview of the violent future that may await Earth and its sun billions of years from now, the authors wrote in a study published Feb. 9 in the journal Nature.
"This detection provides the first direct evidence that white dwarfs are currently accreting the remnants of old planetary systems," lead study author Tim Cunningham, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Warwick in the UK, said in a statement. "Probing accretion in this way… [offers] a glimpse into the likely fate of the thousands of known exoplanetary systems, including our own Solar system."
The violent death of a sun
About 97% of all stars in the Milky Way will end their lives as white dwarfs — shriveled, crystalline star cores that pack about a sun's-worth of mass into an orb no larger than Earth.
The transition from a bright, burning star to a dense, white corpse is anything but peaceful. After an old star burns through the last of its fuel, it balloons into a red giant, smashing through any inner solar system planets unlucky enough to be nearby. Soon after, the star sheds its outer layers in an enormous eruption of hot gas that sweeps across the solar system. At the center of this chaos, a white dwarf is born.
Scientists suspect that planets, or whatever's left of them, can continue to orbit around a white dwarf in a dusty boneyard called a debris disk. Sometimes, those planetary remnants can even spiral into the dead star's surface and become part of the dwarf; prior studies looking at the elemental composition of nearby white dwarfs have found traces of heavy metals like iron and magnesium mixed into the dead stars' atmospheres, suggesting the presence of gobbled-up rocky planet chunks.
Those prior studies rely on a technique called spectroscopy — essentially, a way of studying the wavelengths of light emitted by an object to figure out what that object is made of. As such, any evidence of dead stars gobbling up dead planets has been indirect — until now.
Using the Chandra X-ray telescope, the authors of the new study focused on a nearby white dwarf called G29–38, located about 45 light-years away in the Pisces constellation and known to have an atmosphere polluted with metals. With Chandra, the researchers isolated G29–38 in their field of vision and watched for signs of high-energy explosions coming from the dwarf's surface, suggesting that some sort of impact had occurred.
Sure enough, the team successfully detected X-ray emissions coming from the white dwarf. From the brightness of the blasts, the team measured the heat of the explosions. They found that the plasma on the star's surface had heated to more than 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit (1 million degrees Celsius), which aligns perfectly with models of planetary bodies smashing into white dwarves, the researchers said.
According to the authors, these observations offer the first direct evidence that white dwarves suck in and gobble up the rocky remains of the planets that once orbited them. The X-ray flashes occurred billions of years after the formation of G29–38's planetary system, suggesting that a similar fate could await Earth when our sun begins its inevitable final act several billion years from now.
Originally published on Live Science.
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