BC

SITE C DAM treaty infringement claim put on hold pending negotiations

Tuesday


A billion-dollar treaty infringement claim over the Site C dam has gone from the courtroom to confidential discussions in an attempt to settle the outstanding litigation brought by the West Moberly First Nation.

Trial was scheduled to start in B.C. Supreme Court on March 14, but in its annual progress report to the BC Utilities Commission last month, BC Hydro said the trial had been adjourned on Jan. 21.

“The parties to the litigation are continuing confidential discussions to seek to settle this litigation,” reads the March 31 report, which also notes construction of the dam was more than 55% complete at the end of 2021.

Dave Conway, a community relations manager for BC Hydro, said the company will not be providing any further public comments about the discussions, but noted both parties agreed to adjourn the case — at least for now.

“BC Hydro remains committed to working with Indigenous communities to build relationships that respect their interests,” said Conway. “We have undertaken extensive and meaningful consultation and engagement with First Nations about Site C since 2007.”

West Moberly, along with Prophet River First Nation, filed the infringement claim in January 2018, and sought a court injunction to stop construction on the now $16-billion project until their case was heard. The two nations warned Premier John Horgan in 2017 that his approval to continue with construction would lead to a civil suit, and claimed any damages could be as high as $1 billion.

The Supreme Court ultimately refused an injunction, but ordered a trial on whether the project infringes aboriginal treaty rights be held by mid-2023 instead, before the dam's reservoir starts to be filled.

Prophet River has since settled their claim outside of court, announced in 2020. West Moberly had also previously entered discussions with BC Hydro in February 2019 to seek alternatives to litigation, before filing an amended claim to the court later that year.

West Moberly Chief Roland Willson has not returned calls for comment. Joshua Lam, a lawyer with Sage Legal, which is representing West Moberly in court, confirmed they have entered negotiations, but says the nation isn’t at liberty to comment further.

“I can confirm what BC Hydro’s stated in that document, but West Moberly isn’t able to comment any further about the status of the case or discussions,” Lam said.

The Supreme Court registry in Vancouver says the case is still technically open, as no party has filed to end it. No new court dates have been set in the matter.

“The court case is adjourned (paused) pending discussions, not over,” confirmed Lam.

The provincial ministry of energy also declined to comment.

“The parties have agreed to adjourn the trial. Out of respect for the ongoing discussions, the Ministry will not be providing any further comments at this time,” a ministry spokesperson said.

West Moberly saw some legal success last year, winning the right to see Site C financial and safety documents held in private by BC Hydro. A condition of releasing these documents was that West Moberly keep them confidential.

tsummer@ahnfsj.ca
Tom Summer, Local Journalism Initiative, Alaska Highway News

Legault's CAQ victorious in Quebec byelection as once-dominant parties fall


MONTREAL — Quebec Premier François Legault warned his troops to stay humble on Tuesday after his Coalition Avenir Québec won a Montreal-area byelection the day prior, and as the two once-dominant parties — the Liberals and Parti Québécois — suffered disappointing results.

Less than six months ahead of the general election, Legault told reporters he is taking nothing for granted, but he admitted his party's chances of winning in October are "looking good right now."

Shirley Dorismond, a nurse who works in addictions and mental health, took the Marie-Victorin riding for the governing party with about 35 per cent of the vote. The riding on Montreal's south shore had been dominated by the sovereigntist PQ since it was created in 1981.

"You have to remember that Marie-Victorin voted for the Parti Québécois for the last 40 years," Legault said in Quebec City. "It wasn't an easy win, so that's why I think it's a big win for us."

The CAQ has remained atop the polls since the 2018 election, when the party won a majority. With Monday's byelection win, Legault's party has 76 seats in the 125-seat legislature.

Meanwhile, PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon tried to spin the results in his favour, telling reporters his party's second-place showing at 30 per cent — relatively stable compared with its results in the 2018 general election — indicates that only the PQ can challenge the CAQ.

"I can't throw a party this morning, but I can see that the result is objectively very good," St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters. "Six months ago, everyone agreed it would be an easy win for the CAQ."

Recent polls have placed the PQ in fifth place overall, with less than 10 per cent support across the province.

The official Opposition Liberal party came fifth on Monday — behind the Conservatives, who didn't run a candidate in the riding in 2018. Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade's party secured seven per cent, down more than half compared with 2018.

"There's no question that it was disappointing," she told reporters. "I think a lot of the Liberals stayed home."

The Coalition's victory came days after evidence released at a coroner's inquest indicated two of Legault's cabinet ministers knew about the tragic situation in the spring of 2020 at a Montreal-area long-term care home 10 days earlier than they had publicly claimed. The coroner is investigating the 47 deaths that occurred at the Herron long-term care home during the pandemic's first wave, along with deaths at other institutional settings in the province.

Legault said the results of the byelection show that Quebecers accept his version of events — that his government believed the regional health authority had taken charge of the Herron care home. Voters, he added, didn't respond to criticisms from the opposition, including from Anglade.

Québec solidaire came third with 14 per cent, a decline of more than seven percentage points from the left-wing party's 2018 results. Co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said low voter turnout, particularly among young people, and a lack of polling stations on college and university campuses hurt his party.

"We knew entering that race that it was a PQ stronghold; we knew it wasn't going to be easy and considering that, and considering the absence of voting on campuses, I think a solid third place is a result that is honourable for Québec solidaire," he told reporters in Quebec City.

The Quebec Conservative Party received about 10 per cent of the vote, a result party leader Eric Duhaime said shows his team "is the only opposition party to the CAQ that is growing." The Conservatives received 1.5 per cent of the vote provincewide in 2018.

"The battle of Marie-Victorin has just trained us to be much stronger ahead of the electoral war on Oct. 3," Duhaime tweeted Tuesday.

In response to the Conservatives' results, Legault said his party is focusing on "our priorities."

"So we will continue to be the party of the economy, to be a nationalist party, to be a party that is moderate."

And Legault had a message to his team: "It's important to remain humble; it's important, every day, to earn the trust of Quebecers … so no arrogance. We stay humble and we listen to Quebecers."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2022.

Jacob Serebrin, The Canadian Press

CHER MONSIEUR; VA TE FAIRE FOUTRE

Quebec premier warns Ottawa against unilateral action to protect province's caribou

QUEBEC — Ottawa is threatening to act unilaterally to protect caribou in Quebec, a move that Premier François Legault said Tuesday would be interference in an area of provincial jurisdiction.

In an April 8 letter, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault gave the Quebec government until April 20 to provide him with information about its plan to protect the at-risk woodland caribou and the animals' habitat.

If the province doesn’t agree to rapidly impose measures to prevent the decline of the species, Guilbeault said he would recommend the federal government adopt an order-in-council that would unilaterally create protected habitat for the caribou in Quebec.

“Quebec still has the opportunity to act and to come to the table and negotiate in good faith, but that must be done quickly,” Guilbeault told a news conference Tuesday.

In response, Legault said Guilbeault's ultimatum is another example of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government meddling in areas of provincial jurisdiction.

“This is Quebec’s jurisdiction, so we have an independent commission that is looking into this," Legault told reporters in Quebec City. "We have to have a balance between saving the caribou but also protecting jobs that are important in certain regions of Quebec."

The former president of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, Marco Festa Bianchet, said he’s pleased with the federal government’s ultimatum.

"This is really the first time that the federal government has invoked the safety nets of the Species at Risk Act,” said Festa Bianchet, a biology professor at Université de Sherbrooke. He said the threat is necessary because "the provincial government has chosen to let the forest industry destroy caribou habitat for many years."

The provincial government, Festa Bianchet said in an interview Tuesday, has chosen not to act in order to protect jobs in the forestry industry.

Caribou depend on thick, old-growth forests for protection from predators and to provide lichen for food, Festa Bianchet said. Over time, logging has removed much of the old-growth forest and replaced it with younger trees, depriving the caribou of their habitat and food. Logging roads also allow for the caribou's natural predators, such as bears and wolves, to hunt more easily, he added.

The woodland caribou is considered “vulnerable” by the Quebec government. According to provincial data, from 2005 to 2016, the estimated population of the woodland caribou in the province varied between 5,635 and 9,981 animals. The mountain caribou subspecies of the woodland caribou is considered "threatened" by Quebec. Its population is estimated at around 40.

The Quebec committee currently studying caribou protection has faced criticism from environmental groups because it doesn't include any caribou experts. It is headed by Nancy Gélinas, a Université Laval professor who studies forest economics.

The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador has said the committee is not taking the rights and interests of First Nations into account during consultations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2022.

Stéphane Blais, The Canadian Press

Almost 1,000 hectares of Toronto and Ajax land granted protected status

A total of 950 hectares of land in the City of Toronto and Town of Ajax are considered protected areas, it was announced Monday, as part of a push to conserve 25 per cent of Canada's land and water by 2025.


© THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin

People are reflected in water crossing a footbridge in Cedarvale Ravine in Toronto during the May long weekend on Sunday, May 23, 2021.

Isaac Callan - Monday

In a press release, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) announced the lands would be added to the Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database.

"While this is part of an international initiative, we are showing that efforts at the municipal level can make an important contribution to a larger natural system," Toronto Mayor John Tory said in a statement.

Read more:
City announces plans for park in downtown Toronto as part of new development

During the 2019 federal election campaign, the Liberal Party promised to protect a quarter of Canada's land and marine areas. The plan included a pledge to create 10 new national parks and 10 national marine conservation areas.

The Government of Canada's website says protected areas include national, provincial and territorial parks. National wildlife areas and migratory bird sanctuaries are also protected areas. They "safeguard biodiversity ... by reducing stresses from human activities," the website says.

The new protected lands in Ajax and Toronto will be managed by TRCA and the two municipalities.

Read more:
Liberals vow to protect 25% of Canada’s ocean waters and land by 2025

Ten city parks in Toronto totalling around 888 hectares are now designated as protected areas, while 62 hectares of Ajax's Carruthers Creek wetland are also protected.

"Carruthers Creek is a small and sensitive watershed that Ajax Council has been continuously advocating for the protection of for many years," Ajax Mayor Shaun Collier said.

Hollywood, foreign film productions reach record high in Canada in COVID's first year

OTTAWA — When the pandemic first hit, the world shouted "cut." Cameras stopped rolling, film sets went black and stars with seven-figure salaries were sent back to their hotel rooms.

But a report by the Canadian Media Producers Association on the state of Canada's film industry in the first year of COVID-19 shows it did not take long for shooting to resume.

Hollywood studios, and other filmmakers from abroad, were not greatly deterred by stringent health and safety measures from making movies in Canada, the financial report makes clear.

They made a record volume of productions here between March 2020 and April 2021 worth $5.27 billion.

Canada's homegrown film and TV industry also remained afloat, with some government underpinning, though it saw a dip in production of 12 per cent.

Overall, production in Canada dipped by only five per cent in the first year of the pandemic.

TV pilots were COVID-19's biggest casualties, largely grinding to a halt.

“Canada’s independent producers demonstrated incredible resilience and the ability to adapt to new realities in the face of a global pandemic, all while continuing to create content that reflects the people and places that make up this country,” said Reynolds Mastin, president and CEO of the Canadian Media Producers Association.

When the pandemic first struck, the prognosis for Canada's film industry looked grim. Insurers, spooked by the prospect of the virus on set, suddenly pulled the plug on productions and withdrew their backing.

The big Hollywood studios had the financial might to continue or could self-insure. But smaller independent Canadian studios had to put the covers on their cameras.

It was not until the government stepped into the gap and agreed to underwrite productions that they started rolling again.

Ottawa agreed to foot the bill if filming was interrupted due to a case of COVID-19 on set through a $50 million short-term compensation fund for Canadian audiovisual productions.

In last week's budget, it extended the film compensation fund by $150 million until next year.

The report shows that Canada remained a favourite location for Hollywood and other foreign studios in the first year of the pandemic.

The Hollywood and foreign film industry was the only sector to see an increase in Canadian production, creating thousands of jobs, not just for actors and crew but thousands of associated roles in production and post-production.

But despite the huge injection into the economy, Canadians owned the copyright of only five to 10 per cent of these productions, meaning they would not cash in if the movie became a hit.

Mastin said it is time that Canada's creative talent is properly rewarded for its hard work.

He also wants small independent Canadian production companies to have more bargaining power when selling their TV shows and films to the big streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+.

He contends there is a huge imbalance between the number of Canadian production companies making movies and shows and the places they can sell them.

This means that often Canadian filmmakers have to sell all the rights to their work just to get their productions made.

And if a movie or show turns out to be a hit, and is sold all over the world, the Canadian production company won't get a slice of the profits.

There are over 500 independent Canadian TV producers in Canada but fewer than a dozen major potential buyers, according to a broadcasting and telecommunications legislative review panel report.

"The streaming services are very powerful gatekeepers because they are huge relative to independent producers in Canada," Mastin said.

He wants the government to use an online streaming bill, now going through Parliament, as a vehicle to give small Canadian production companies more bargaining power, and a greater share in the success of the films and TV shows they make.

Bill C-11 would subject streaming companies to the same rules as traditional Canadian broadcasters, such as offering a set amount of Canadian content and investing heavily in Canada's cultural industries, including film, television and music.

Small production companies can take years just developing a script and getting a production off the ground, said Mastin. But often they have to turn over not just the rights but creative control to the big streaming platforms.

Mastin said the online streaming bill offers Canada the opportunity to do what the U.K. has already done, by making it a legal requirement that independent production companies get "a more equitable share" of success and a slice of future profits from the shows they create.

"A producer will spend years developing a show and all that investment in blood, sweat and tears," Mastin said. "What we are saying is that when a show is a success on one of these platforms, they should be sharing in the success because it is their show."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2022.

Marie Woolf, The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER

Skateboarders fill chamber as CNV passes motion to include consultation in rec review

IN THE FUTURE

Tuesday

City of North Vancouver council affirmed its position to rectify the perceived wrongs of demolishing Lonsdale Skatepark without a replacement, as it unanimously voted Monday night (April 4) to include more consultation in future plans for skate parks around the city.

In an at times colourful meeting, more than 20 people from the North Vancouver skateboard community packed the chamber to share their thoughts ahead of Coun. Tony Valente’s motion to make sure users' input be included in the upcoming North Vancouver Recreation and Culture Commission and Sport Facility Venue Review.

Ten speakers from the community addressed council in the public input period at the start of the meeting, all pressing for the acknowledgement of the importance of the skateboarding community, and that while the interim solution of Mahon Park is greatly appreciated, more needs to be done to include skateboarding in long-term plans for North Vancouver.

“We would like to say that the proposed solution does not go far enough to address the needs and size of our diverse community. Mahon Park is out of the way and there's a considerable amount of work to be done before it is usable,” Evan Tancredi, Skaters of the North Shore founder and sponsored skateboarder, said. “It's small in size and has somewhat of an awkward layout. … That said, we do support the development of this location, as well as a more suitable midterm replacement for Lonsdale, and a broader community strategy for skateboarding in North Vancouver.”

In discussions on the motion, Valente said that while the temporary facility at Mahon Park begins to address the needs of the community as the new Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre skate park is built, “This motion is intended to support skate park users in thinking about the future of safe spaces for skateboarding on the North Shore.”

Valente noted the City of Vancouver’s shift in strategy from “controlling to supporting” skateboard culture.

“I think we need to do more to plan for its future. I think this is a community that is fully aligned with our council strategic plan as a city for people, as a vibrant city. This is an all-ages, genders, and ethnicities activity, it does not discriminate,” he said.

Mayor Linda Buchanan reiterated her thanks to the community for making their voices known by writing in and showing up at the meeting on Monday night.

“The feedback that we receive, the comments that we get, that the input helps us move forward, and do better as we work to provide much needed recreation investment for a variety of different sports across the North Shore,” she said.

Buchanan said she fully understands how beloved the Lonsdale Skatepark was, and recognizes that she and two other councillors fought hard to have the facility retained when the city was looking at developing HJCRC.

“That centre, as you know, is very large, sitting right now at $210 million. And there was a significant amount of balancing that needed to happen for a variety of different uses. In the end, the decision was that because of the aquatics component of the new centre, the skate park had to go,” she explained.

“I again apologize for that misstep, in terms of [not] convening the [skateboard community] again and just making sure that people understood what was happening moving forward. That probably doesn't satisfy a lot of people, but let me tell you that staff’s recommendation to move to Mahon, and I know for some they won't see it as a win, but that park will be ready to go June 1. It'll have some features, and then we'll add features as it moves along,” she said.

Charlie Carey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, North Shore News

'Ain't nobody in it': Video shows driverless car being pulled over by police in California


A video posted online this month shows police in San Francisco, California pulling over an autonomous vehicle … as a passer-by shouts that there is no one behind the wheel.

© Provided by National PostA vehicle was pulled over around 10 p.m. on April 1

 because its headlights were not on, but police soon realized there was no driver.

Courtney Greenberg - AP

An officer from the San Francisco Police Department is seen exiting a police car that is pulled over on the side of the street behind what appears to be a regular car. However, as the officer approaches the vehicle, the video shows the white and orange Chevy Bolt, with Cruise branding.

Cruise is a self-driving car service with two vehicles in its current fleet.

The vehicle was pulled over around 10 p.m. on April 1 because its headlights were not on, Cruise told Insider .

“Ain’t nobody in it,” a man can be heard saying on the video.

After looking through the Chevy Bolt’s windows, the officer goes back to his own vehicle. The Bolt then drives away and pulls over farther up the street.

“Are you serious? How does that happen?” a woman says.

The police car again follows the Bolt and parks behind it. Officers can be seen looking through its windows and walking around the car.

“Our AV (autonomous vehicle) yielded to the police vehicle, then pulled over to the nearest safe location for the traffic stop, as intended. An officer contacted Cruise personnel and no citation was issued,” said the company in a Twitter post .

In another tweet , Cruise said they “work closely with SFPD on how to interact with our vehicles,” and that they have a phone number for them to call in such situations.

Police contacted the company and a maintenance team was sent to take the car.

Apple accelerates work on fully autonomous car that requires no human interaction

Uber disabled self-driving Volvo's standard collision-avoidance system before car struck, killed woman

In Canada, Ontario is the only province that allows partly autonomous vehicles with the launch of the 10-year Automated Vehicle Pilot Program in 2016.

The program allows “the testing of automated vehicles (AVs) on Ontario’s roads under strict conditions, including a requirement to have a driver for safety reasons.”

While Canada is taking a cautious approach, some American companies have moved forward by testing driverless cars in certain cities. However, it hasn’t been without serious incidents.

In 2018, a self-driving Uber car fatally hit a 49-year-old pedestrian in Arizona. The safety driver who was in the car at the time was charged with homicide, Reuters reported.

In 2019, a Tesla that was in “Autopilot” mode crashed into another car, killing its two passengers in California. The man behind the wheel in the Tesla was charged with vehicular manslaughter, the Associate Press reported .

Residents raise stink over proposed industrial feedlot near popular Alberta lake

By Dan Grummett Global News
Posted April 10, 2022

People who live near Pigeon Lake in central Alberta are concerned about a cattle operation expansion they say is being rushed through the approval process. Dan Grummett reports residents want more time to fight the plan, which they say has the potential to devastate local water ways.


A proposed industrial-sized livestock operation southwest of Edmonton is being met with pushback from residents concerned the project could jeopardize their property values and the local ecosystem.

Last month, some were notified of an application by livestock producer G & S Cattle Ltd., to construct a new confined feeding operation (CFO) that would hold up to 4,000 cattle just a few kilometres west of Pigeon Lake.

On April 6, community members rented a hall to gather and share concerns over the proposal, ranging from odour nuisances to potential for ground and surface water contamination.

“It’s very emotional for everybody. That’s probably why we got such a big turnout,” said Ed Buczny, who organized the gathering.

Concerned citizens rented Yeoford Community Hall, west of Pigeon Lake, to discuss concerns related to an application for a feedlot expansion in the area. Dan Grummett

The project would be located adjacent to an existing commercial feedlot of 1,500 cattle operated by the same applicant

There was a belief amongst those in attendance that the current feedlot was the source of water pollutants in the area, though Global News could not independently verify these claims.

“The biggest concern, probably for everybody in there, is the lake,” Buczny said. “For myself, it’s groundwater (and) it’s what my place is gonna be worth if they put it in — and the smell.”
Testing shows troubling contaminant levels: watershed association

The Pigeon Lake Watershed Association (PLWA) has been conducting testing in the area for years. The group said contaminants from manure produced by cattle seep into the soil and run off in creeks and streams which ultimately end up in Pigeon Lake.

PLWA executive director Catherine Peirce said recent sampling suggests phosphorus levels are 10 times higher than they were in 2013, the last time a major government study on Pigeon Lake was conducted.

Peirce worries if the new CFO is approved and built, the land will not be able to filter the extra nutrients.

“If we add more nutrients in the watershed, we will end up with algal blooms and that will affect the economy,” she said.

A map outlines the boundaries of a proposed CFO in Wetaskiwin County. It was contained in a 19-page statement of complaint submitted to the Natural Resources Conservation Board, which will decide whether to approve the project. Pigeon Lake Watershed Association

Pinpointing source of contamination can be ‘tricky,’ says expert

Pigeon Lake, a popular summer beach destination for Albertans, has been the subject of many blue-green algae public health warnings over the last decade. In July 2021, Alberta Health Services issued a warning for Pigeon Lake about “fecal bacteria” at a local beach.

The biggest concern is phosphorus, according to the Alberta Lake Management Society, which can be both external and internal.

READ MORE: Fecal bacteria leads to advisories at multiple Alberta lakes, including Wabamun and Pigeon

Trying to answer the source of external phosphorus can be tricky, executive director Bradley Peter said. He noted that the data that exists right now isn’t specific enough to pinpoint one source for the problem.

“The reality is we need to be thinking of cumulative impacts when we allow or don’t allow development to occur with any lake watershed,” Peter said.

“I think, at the end of the day, we know these developments are not going to improve water quality, so I can certainly understand the frustration of residents.”
County supports application, understands resident concerns

The County of Wetaskiwin has no jurisdiction over CFOs but is certainly hearing about resident frustration.

“We’ve been receiving numerous emails,” Reeve Josh Bishop said. “They’re from many stakeholders, residents, and other (village and municipal) councils among the lake.”

The county is in favour of the application being approved. Bishop said having a CFO in the area will improve provincial oversight and scrutiny. For example, the application must include a proposal for a catch basin where surface water from the cattle pens can drain.

“Being a CFO, (the applicant) will be required to adhere to all the restrictions put in place. Right now, they wouldn’t have too many of those,” Bishop said.

G & S Cattle owner Greg Thelan declined an interview request but provided a statement to Global News.

“We are currently applying for an expansion on our ranch. There seems to be a lot of concern but not a lot of questions, only statements,” the statement reads in part.

“…Our goal is to stay environmentally sustainable. The concerns of water contamination, and depleting water supply, and manure application are all more than covered by the (Natural Resource Conservation Board) NRCB.”

The NRCB is a regulatory body that operates at arm’s length from the provincial government and reports to the Ministry of Environment.

In 2021, the group received 161 applications for CFOs in Alberta. The NRCB said 107 were approved, 44 were withdrawn, three were denied and two were approved following a board review.

People frustrated by process

Only residents considered to be “directly impacted” were notified of the application on March 10. According to provincial legislation, the NRCB is only required to notify residents who live within 1.5 kilometres of the proposed project boundaries. The deadline for those residents to submit statements of complaint was April 7.

“Three weeks to respond to something of this magnitude is not enough,” said Gloria Booth, who has lived in the county for 14 years.

“This is just not morally or ethically correct.”

Buczny thinks the notification range is too limited.

“It’s not just the people within 1.5 kilometres. It’s all the people around the lake,” he said. “Businesses, cottage owners — everything. They should all be part of this process.”

An NRCB spokesperson said affected parties can request a review of the decision, even after approval.

There’s no timeline for a decision, but the NRCB said officers “strive to process applications within 65 workings days” from application completion.

Niagara Has A 104-Year-Old Shipwreck & It Has Moved Closer To The Edge Of The Falls

Canada Edition (EN) -

Narcity  Yesterday 

If you're planning to travel to Niagara Falls anytime soon, you might be able to spot a century-old ship in the water.

On April 5, Niagara Parks said in a press release that the Iron Scow, a 104-year-old shipwreck lodged in the rapids, has moved closer to the Canadian Horseshoe Falls after being impacted by icy conditions in the Niagara River.

"Weather conditions over the weekend resulted in large pieces breaking free from the remaining wreck as it shifted further downriver towards the Horseshoe Falls," they noted.

The shipwreck has been stuck in the same place in the upper rapids of the falls since 1918. On Halloween night in 2019, it shifted closer to the falls, attracting tons of media attention, Niagara Park said.

At the time, the scow moved 50 metres toward the falls, and some wondered whether or not it would fall over the edge. According to the release, the possibility of this happening wasn't considered a public safety concern, and still isn't today.

"Despite considerable deterioration over the years, the scow, which was the site of a heroic rescue of the two stranded men aboard, has miraculously clung to its perch in the upper Niagara River since breaking loose from its towing tug on August 6, 1918," they said in the release.



Those who can't head down to Niagara Falls themselves can catch a glimpse of the shipwreck in the water in a video on Niagara Parks' Twitter account.

"The Iron Scow, the century-old shipwreck, moved closer to the Horseshoe Falls last weekend due to the weather. It last moved in 2019. The potential of it washing over the falls is not considered to be a public safety concern," they tweeted.

Jim Hill, senior manager of Heritage at Niagara Parks, expressed in the video that water and ice from Lake Erie had been pushed down the river into the Scow last week.

"Weather does have an effect here, but the Scow has lived through decades of being pounded by the river and storms and ice. So it's maybe just reaching the end of its life out there."

Exhausted and dreading new government rules, more Quebec doctors are eyeing retirement

Miriam Lafontaine - 
cbc.ca

Dr. Perle Feldman has been a general practitioner in Montreal's Parc-Extension neighbourhood for 40 years but faced with the government's latest plans to get physicians to take on more patients, she is ready to retire from her practice and focus instead on training medical students.

"The plans of the government to micromanage us even more than they are already micromanaging has taken a lot out of all of us," said Feldman, now 68. "We've been working like dogs throughout most of the pandemic."

Many others are feeling the same.

Last year, 275 doctors either retired or notified the province's health board, the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), of their intention to retire within the next two years.

That number is up sharply from 2017, when 145 announced their intention to leave.

At least 1,000 family doctors are urgently needed in the province, said Dr. Marc-André Amyot, the president of the general practitioners' association, the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ).

"In the next five to 10 years we will have a significant wave of retirements," he said.

Age is part of it. Amyot points out that roughly 25 per cent of family doctors in Quebec are over 60.

The region facing the highest number of potential retirements is Montreal, where 44 doctors announced they planned to leave. Over 30 family doctors have retired or will soon in both Quebec City and the Montérégie region as well.

The average age of retirement was 68 in Montreal, and 65 in Quebec City and the Montérégie region.

It's a blow to the 945,000 Quebecers who are still on the waiting list for a family doctor, according to official estimates. The actual number may be closer to 1.5 million.


© Rowan Kennedy/CBCDr. Michel Minh Tri Tran is a family doctor in Ahuntsic.

Last year the Legault government proposed setting a quota of 1,000 patients for each family physician with penalties suggested for those unable to meet demands, something they have since backtracked on.

At the peak of her career, Feldman says she had roughly 1,500 patients, whom she cared for from "womb to tomb."
'Doing everything and being expected to do more'

Dr. Michel Minh Tri Tran says young doctors are already dealing with a heavy workload.

Trin, who works in Ahuntsic, already serves roughly 1,000 patients as a family doctor. He points out doctors are required to work additional hours in hospital ERs or CLSC clinics.

"We're just doing everything and being expected to do more," said Minh Tri Tran.

"If we try to rush it all it starts to feel like we are being pressured to deliver fast-food medicine."

Minh Tri Tran says he wants to see the province do more to get foreign doctors trained and accredited to respond to the shortages.

The province has announced its intention to step up alternatives for care, by giving nurse practitioners, paramedics and pharmacists more power to treat patients instead.

The province has also promised to provide a phone service where a nurse can direct patients without a doctor to the medical services they need.

Health Minister Christian Dubé has said he hopes most without a family doctor will be able to access the service by the end of the summer. It was initially supposed to be in place across the province by March 31.


© Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press

While announcing health-care reforms in late March, Health Minister Christian Dubé said he hoped most without a family doctor will be able to access the service by the end of the summer.

The phone line has already been made available in the Lower Saint-Lawrence region through a pilot program.

The phone service is a move in the right direction to reduce doctors' workload, but more needs to be done to attract medical graduates into family medicine, Amyot said.

Last year, 75 residency positions in family medicine were left vacant in Quebec because fewer graduates are choosing family practice. Over the years that has amounted to 400 fewer family practitioners in the province, he said.

"Imagine what we could do if we had 400 more family doctors in 2022?" Amyot said.

Quebec's Health Ministry said it is difficult to put an exact number on how many family doctors are "missing" in Quebec, considering not all work full time throughout their career.

"Admissions to medical schools are on the rise and actions have also been underway to better promote family medicine," a spokesperson for the ministry said.