Why Germany is resisting calls to ease energy crunch by restarting nuclear power

by scceu

April 20, 2022


It sounded like a fair question. With sanctions against Russia likely to disrupt Germany’s energy supply, why, asked MP Marc Bernhard, couldn’t Berlin just restart its mothballed nuclear power stations?

“If we reactivate the three plants that were switched off last December they could, together with the three that are still operating, replace all the coal we import from Russia or 30 per cent of the Russian gas,” the Alternative for Germany MP told Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, in the Bundestag earlier this month.

Scholz gave him short shrift. “If the world were as simple as you make out in your question, we’d have a very good life,” he said.

Yet Bernhard is far from alone in raising the issue. Germany decided to phase out nuclear power after Japan’s Fukushima disaster in 2011 and the last reactors were due to be shut down at the end of this year. But with EU sanctions now being imposed on Russia’s coal, and some demanding an embargo on its oil and gas, there are growing calls to plug the resulting energy gap with nuclear power.

The government says it will not change its position. It cites technical reasons but the biggest argument could be political, especially for the Greens, who control the economy ministry.

“It would be suicide for the Greens to say we were wrong about nuclear power,” said Thomas O’Donnell, a Germany-based energy analyst and nuclear physicist. “So they’re forced to continue with the old battle plan.”

Attractive as the idea might appear to its advocates, ministers and analysts argue that the reality of a return to nuclear is more complicated.

Could a nuclear restart solve Germany’s looming energy crunch?

Germany’s high dependency on Russian gas is particularly great in heat generation and in industry. Yet nuclear power plays no role in either. The three plants that are still in operation — Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2 — don’t make much of a contribution to Germany’s energy balance: they have an installed capacity of just 4.3 gigawatts and supply on average about 30 terawatt hours a year of power — just 5 per cent of Germany’s total electricity production.

“There are some individual wind farms on the drawing board that have more than 4.3GW capacity,” said one official.

What are the legal difficulties of extending the plants’ lifespans?

Any decision to prolong their lives would require a new comprehensive risk assessment, and, according to the government, the risks associated with nuclear power have grown — witness the danger posed to critical infrastructure by cyber attacks.

The war in Ukraine, during which Russian forces fired on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station and the electricity supply to the inactive Chernobyl plant was interrupted, has also highlighted some of the external risks to which nuclear power is exposed.
Do the plants have fuel supplies?

The three existing plants have no fresh uranium fuel rods that would allow them to continue operating beyond year-end, the government says. New fuel assemblies would, it says, take 12-15 months to produce, and the earliest they would be ready is summer 2023. Russia is the second biggest uranium supplier to EU nuclear plants, according to Eurostat.

Scholz referred to the issue in his duel with Bernhard, the AfD MP. If the current reactors’ lives were extended “you need new nuclear fuel which just isn’t freely available”, the chancellor said, adding that nuclear reactors were not like cars that you just fill up when they run low on fuel.

Would the plants require a new operating licence?

The last time the final three nuclear plants underwent a safety inspection was in 2009, so a new one would have to be carried out which might trigger demands for “massive investments” in safety technology, the government said.

The cooling tower of Emsland nuclear power plant. Required safety inspections would amount to relicensing, a highly bureaucratic process 

© Ole Spata/dpa

That would amount to a relicensing of the plants, a highly bureaucratic process: they would be required to meet the latest scientific and technological standards, which could end up being so demanding that they would make no business sense for potential operators.

What is the operators’ view on extending the plants’ lives?

The companies have made it clear they have no appetite to keep the plants going. Frank Mastiaux, chief executive of EnBW, which operates Neckarwestheim 2, told the Financial Times a life-extension beyond a few weeks “is not possible with the technical set-up we have today”, adding: “We have no legal framework whatsoever to run it one minute into the year 2023. It’s beyond our control.”

Eon, which operates Isar 2, takes a similar view. “There is no future for nuclear in Germany — period,” said chief executive Leo Birnbaum. “It is too emotional. There will be no change in legislation and opinion.”

The operators have also made clear that, if an energy emergency arose and the government forced them to restart the plants, they would insist it assumed all risks and costs. “They’re not prepared to encumber their shareholders with the disaster risks,” said one official. But that kind of blank cheque could prove impossible for any chancellor to take on.

“The problem is that the operators just don’t trust the government,” said O’Donnell. To restart plants they would need “political guarantees that nuclear will continue to be legal in Germany” and the policy would not be reversed again in future — a tall order for any government.

The arguments against may be persuasive but there are plenty of German politicians eager to offer voters relief from high energy prices who are continuing to plead for a nuclear reprieve.

“If the federal government says on the one hand that we soon won’t have any more energy and prices are exploding, then it should do everything in its power to curb [prices] and acquire energy,” Markus Söder, the powerful prime minister of Bavaria, said earlier this month. “Letting the nuclear power stations run for longer would at least contribute to that.”

Ukraine regulator's communications with Chernobyl restored

20 April 2022

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the re-establishment of direct phone communication between the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) and Chernobyl was an "important step in the process of resuming Ukraine's regulatory control of the site".

Drone footage of Chernobyl (Image: Chernobyl NPP)

Russian forces took control of the Chernobyl site and exclusion zone on 24 February, before leaving at the end of March. Direct contact with SNRIU was lost from 10 March, although it continued to receive information about the situation through senior off-site management of the plant.

"This was clearly not a sustainable situation, and it is very good news that the regulator can now contact the plant directly when it needs to," the IAEA's Grossi said.

The IAEA says that reliable communication with the regulator is one of "seven indispensable pillars" of nuclear safety and security that the director general outlined at the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.

Grossi plans to lead a team of IAEA experts to Chernobyl before the end of the month "to conduct nuclear safety, security and radiological assessments, deliver vital equipment and repair the agency's remote safeguards monitoring systems". Footage, including some taken from drones, filmed since the Russian departure, appears to show that they built trenches and other fortifications in parts of the exclusion zone.

The IAEA is still not receiving automated monitoring transmissions from the Chernobyl area - they stopped in early March - although it continues to receive them from Ukraine’s other nuclear power plants.

In its daily updates, Ukraine's nuclear power plant operator Energoatom said all four of its plants were operating within usual safe limits on Wednesday. Seven of the country's 15 operational reactors are currently connected to the grid, with the other eight shut down for regular maintenance or held in reserve.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

KANADA NUKE NEWZ

OPG, TVA partner to advance SMRs

20 April 2022

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) have announced plans to work together to develop advanced nuclear technology including small modular reactors (SMRs) in both Canada and the USA, creating a North American energy hub.

OPG's Hartwick (L) and TVA's Lyash announced the partnership at the NEI in Washington, DC (Image: TVA)

The companies said their "pioneering partnership" will develop advanced nuclear technology as an integral part of a clean energy future, driving decarbonisation and advancing energy security in North America. The agreement allows the companies to coordinate their explorations into the design, licensing, construction and operation of SMRs.

OPG and TVA share a common goal to decarbonise energy generation while maintaining reliability and low-cost service, TVA President and CEO Jeff Lyash said. "Advanced nuclear technology will not only help us meet our net-zero carbon targets but will also advance North American energy security."

"Nuclear energy has long been key to Ontario's clean electricity grid, and is a crucial part of our net-zero future," said Ken Hartwick, OPG's president and CEO. "Working together, OPG and TVA will find efficiencies and share best practices for the long-term supply of the economical, carbon-free, reliable electricity our jurisdictions need."

Nuclear generation accounts for significant portions of both companies' carbon-free energy portfolios: OPG operates the Darlington and Pickering nuclear power stations in Ontario, while TVA operates the Browns Ferry plant in Alabama, and the Sequoyah and Watts Bar plants, both in Tennessee. Both are also actively exploring SMR technologies. OPG is planning to deploy an SMR at Darlington - the only site in Canada with an accepted environmental assessment and site preparation licence for new nuclear, while TVA holds the only Early Site Permit issued to date by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for SMR deployment at its Clinch River site near Oak Ridge in Tennessee.

OPG last year selected GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's BWRX-300 SMR for deployment at Darlington, where it says Canada's first commercial, grid-scale, SMR could be completed as soon as 2028. TVA has not yet specified a technology for construction at Clinch River, but the company has been in discussions with GE Hitachi concerning the BWRX-300, with Lyash in February saying he believed light-water reactor designs which are closely related to TVA's existing large units are closer to commercial deployment within the next decade. TVA has also partnered with Kairos Power in its project to deploy the Hermes low-power demonstration reactor at the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge.

No exchange of funding is involved, the companies said, but the collaboration agreement will help OPG and TVA reduce the financial risk associated with the development of innovative technology, as well as future deployment costs.

"TVA has the most recent experience completing a new nuclear plant in North America at Watts Bar and that knowledge is invaluable to us as we work toward the new facility at Darlington," Hartwick said. "Likewise, because we are a little further along in our construction timing, TVA will gain the advantage of our experience before they start work at Clinch River."

Lyash described the agreement as a "win-win" for all those served by OPG and TVA, as well as the Canada and the USA. "Moving this technology forward is not only a significant step in advancing a clean energy future, but also in creating a North American energy hub," he added.

Kairos consortium formed to help develop its reactor technology

20 April 2022

Bruce Power, Constellation, Southern Company and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) have joined Kairos Power Operations, Manufacturing and Development Alliance. The consortium’s goal is to advance the development of the company’s advanced fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) technology.

Artistic rendering of the Hermes low-power demonstration reactor (Image: Kairos Power)

As well as advising on the development of the KP-FHR technology, the alliance will seek to pool knowledge regarding the siting and development of Kairos Power’s User Facility, a full-scale non-nuclear demonstration reactor and operations/maintenance training facility and the siting and development of Kairos Power’s KP-X, a 140 MWe commercial reactor operating at grid scale.

Kairos Power CEO and co-founder Mike Laufer said "partnering with an incredible team of nuclear owners and operators" was a "significant step forward".

"In order for advanced nuclear reactors to play a significant role in the fight against climate change, we are focused on the delivery of a safe and affordable technology through iterative hardware demonstrations.

"By aligning with industry leaders, we will gain confidence through these iterations that our advanced reactor technology will meet the evolving operational needs of our customers in the years to come," he said.

Mike Rencheck, president and CEO of Bruce Power, said: ​"As a leading producer of clean, reliable and affordable nuclear energy, Bruce Power is pleased to partner with Kairos Power and our industry peers and apply our extensive expertise and experience as a nuclear operator to this exciting and innovative consortium."

"Collaboration is critical as we face the climate crisis. Creating a consortium of industry experts to consult on the salt-cooled reactor project is the right way to advance the next generation of nuclear technology," Constellation CEO Joseph Dominguez said.

Jeff Lyash, president and CEO of TVA, said: "We believe advanced nuclear technologies will play a critical role in our nation’s drive toward a clean energy future and look forward to working with Kairos Power and all consortium members as we pursue the shared goals of safe, low-cost carbon-free energy."

Kairos Power's construction permit application for the Hermes low-power demonstration reactor is currently under formal review by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Hermes is a demonstration version of the Alameda, California-based company's KP-FHR, a 140 MWe fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactor using TRISO (TRI-structural ISOtropic) fuel pebbles with a low-pressure fluoride salt coolant. It is scheduled to be operational in 2026.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

 

IEA highlights concerns over Belgian nuclear phase-out

21 April 2022

Belgium's planned phase-out of nuclear energy is likely to lead to greater use of gas-fired generation and increased emissions, according to a new policy review by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

(Image: IEA)

The IEA said that since its last energy policy review in 2016, Belgium has made progress on its energy transition. From 2010 to 2020, the share of renewable energy in Belgium's total final energy consumption increased from 6% to 12%, driven by growth in renewable electricity generation, mainly from wind and solar photovoltaics, and an increased use of bioenergy, mainly for industrial and building heating and for transport. Progress on renewable energy has been especially pronounced for offshore wind, it noted. In 2021, Belgium had the sixth-highest offshore wind capacity in the world and is planning for a major expansion of offshore wind deployment.

However, the country has so far made limited progress on reducing its reliance on fossil fuels, with government estimates suggesting demand may increase through 2030 at least. In 2020, oil accounted for 46% of total energy demand, followed by natural gas (27%), and a small share (3%) from coal.

Due to the high share of fossil fuels in its energy supply, Belgium has seen only limited reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in recent years, according to the IEA latest review. From 2011 to 2019, energy-related greenhouse gas emissions fell by just 3.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide to reach 90 Mt CO2.

Though the government's Long-term Strategy for Energy and Climate aims to put Belgium on a path aligned with the climate goals of the Paris Agreement and the European Union, it does not include a clear target for national climate neutrality by 2050.

Belgium plans to phase out most nuclear electricity generation - which has historically accounted for about half of the country's electricity production - by 2025, raising concerns over its electricity security and greenhouse gas emissions.

"More aggressive policies are needed to reduce Belgium's fossil fuel dependency and accelerate emissions reductions, especially given that the nuclear phase-out will increase the carbon intensity of electricity generation," the IEA said.

Belgium has seven nuclear reactors located at two nuclear power plants: Doel in Flanders (four reactors) and Tihange in Wallonia (three reactors), with a combined generation capacity of 5.94 GW.

The country's federal law of 31 January 2003 requires the phase-out of all nuclear electricity generation in the country. The law was amended in 2013 and 2015 to provide for the Tihange 1, Doel 1 and 2 reactors to remain operational until 2025. In response to Russia's military action in Ukraine and goals to reduce fossil fuel dependency, the federal government decided in March this year to take the necessary steps to extend 2 GW of nuclear capacity (Tihange 3 and Doel 4) by ten years, including modifying the 2003 law. Under this new arrangement, most of Belgium's nuclear generation capacity will be phased out by 2025.

"Phasing out most nuclear electricity generation will have a large impact on the Belgian electricity system, including higher greenhouse gas emissions and potential challenges to maintaining security of electricity supply," according to the IEA. "Achieving a timely extension of 2 GW of nuclear capacity will be challenging, given the regulatory and technical constraints associated with lifetime extensions of nuclear reactors. The government has indicated that the extension cannot be completed by the winter of 2025, but hopes to have the 2 GW operational in 2026."

The IEA recommends the Belgian government acts promptly to ensure that the extension of 2 GW of nuclear capacity by ten years can be completed in a timely and cost-effective manner. It should also ensure that envisaged reforms of the management and investment policy of the decommissioning and waste management funds do not hamper the timely availability of these funds. The government should finalise the national long-term strategies for high-level waste management.

Next steps include the definition of key milestones and identification of a disposal site, with associated preliminary studies, while ensuring timely involvement of relevant stakeholders and local communities. In addition, it should develop a national nuclear sector plan that provides long-term visibility on remaining nuclear activities and fosters collaboration among national and international organisations in key areas (especially decommissioning and long-term management of high-level radioactive waste) and ensures the continued availability of a skilled workforce.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

 

Applications open for US nuclear credit programme

20 April 2022

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has opened the applications process for the first award cycle of the USD6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) programme to support the continued operation of US nuclear reactors under threat of premature closure.

The USA's existing fleet of nuclear reactors is a vital resource to achieve net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050, but shifting energy markets and other economic factors have resulted in the early closure of 12 commercial reactors across the United States since 2013, DOE said.

The CNC programme - part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Joe Biden in November 2021 - aims to address those challenges by allocating credits to "certified" reactors which can show that they are projected to close for economic reasons and that closure will lead to a rise in air pollutants and carbon emissions, and for which the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has "reasonable assurance" that the reactor will continue operating safely.

US nuclear power plants contribute more than half of the nation's carbon-free electricity, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. "We're using every tool available to get this country powered by clean energy by 2035, and that includes prioritising our existing nuclear fleet to allow for continued emissions-free electricity generation and economic stability for the communities leading this important work."

Following on from a Request for Information period earlier this year, the first CNC award cycle will prioritise reactors that have already announced their intention to cease operations, DOE said. The DOE has now issued guidance for the owners or operators of such plants on how to formulate and submit their sealed bids for allocation of credits. For this first CNC award period, DOE is accepting certification applications and bid as a single submission to implement the programme on a more rapid timeline, it said. Future award cycles will not be limited to nuclear reactors that have publicly announced their intentions to retire. 

Applications for certification and sealed bids for credits under the first award cycle must be submitted no later 19 May. The second award cycle is due to begin in the first quarter of fiscal 2023.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

‘Wall of fire’: Arizona blaze forces thousands to flee

Arizona orders mandatory evacuations as dry brush and pine trees ignite in early start to US southwest wildfire season.

In this photo provided by the Coconino National Forest, the Tunnel Fire burns near Flagstaff, Arizona, on April 19, 2022 

[Coconino National Forest via AP]
Published On 20 Apr 2022

A wildfire in the US state of Arizona has nearly tripled in size after high winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a tourist and college town that ripped through two dozen structures and drove thousands of people from their homes.

Flames as high as 30 metres (100 feet) raced through an area of scattered homes, dry grass and Ponderosa pine trees on the outskirts of Flagstaff as wind gusts of up to 80kph (50mph) pushed the blaze over a major highway.

Firefighters faced strong winds and bone-dry conditions as they battled the blaze, which officials said late on Tuesday threatened to destroy hundreds of homes as it moved northeast towards Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.

“I cannot stress enough how rapidly this fire is moving,” said True Brown, a fire management officer with the Coconino National Forest, during a news conference. “I cannot stress how important it is to leave the fire area.”

Heavy winds kicked up a towering wall of flames outside a town in northern Arizona [Coconino National Forest via AP]

The fire has forced more than 2,000 residents to flee 760 homes in Coconino County, said Patrice Horstman, chairwoman of the county’s Board of Supervisors.

The blaze, dubbed the “Tunnel Fire”, covered an area of some 6,474 hectares (16,000 acres) about 23km (14 miles) north of the Arizona city of Flagstaff, fire officials said.

“It’s good, in that it’s not headed toward a very populated area, and it’s headed toward less fuel,” said Coconino National Forest spokesman Brady Smith. “But depending on the intensity of the fire, fire can still move across cinders.”

Approximately 200 firefighters who were fighting the blaze will face a day of wind gusts of 48kph (30mph) and very dry air conditions on Wednesday and Thursday, the National Weather Service said.

“The combination of gusty winds and low humidity can cause fire to rapidly grow in size and intensity before first responders can contain them,” the service said in a fire watch advisory issued for Thursday.

The wildfire started on the afternoon of February 17. Investigators do not know yet what caused it and have yet to corral any part of the blaze.

Firefighters and law enforcement officers went door to door telling people to evacuate but had to pull out to avoid getting boxed in, said Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll. He said his office got a call about a man who was trapped inside his house, but firefighters could not get to him.

“We don’t know if he made it out or not,” Driscoll said.

Various organisations worked to set up shelters for evacuees and animals, including goats and horses.

The scene was all too familiar for residents who recalled rushing to pack their bags and flee a dozen years ago when a much larger wildfire burned in the same area. “This time was different, right there in your back yard,” said Kathy Vollmer, a resident.

Wildfire firefighters rushed to contain the ‘Tunnel Fire’ in Arizona 

[Cheryl L Miller-Woody via AP]

She and her husband grabbed their three dogs but left a couple of cats behind as they faced what she described as a “wall of fire”.

Earlier in the day, the wildfire shut down US Route 89, the main road between Flagstaff, northern Arizona, and communities in the Navajo Nation. High winds grounded aircraft that could drop water and fire retardant on the blaze.

Like other southwestern states hit by climate change, Arizona is suffering an early start to its fire season. Dry grass and brush, along with scattered pine, are fuelling the fire, officials said.

Last week, an elderly couple died in their home when a wildfire swept through Ruidoso, New Mexico, destroying hundreds of houses and forcing thousands to flee the mountain town.

Red flag warnings blanketed much of New Mexico on Wednesday, indicating conditions were ripe for wildfires.

AL JAZEERA

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

How climate change is affecting wildfires in Arizona

A recent study showed temperatures are not decreasing as much as they normally do during fire season.

Author: William Pitts
Published: April 20, 2022

PHOENIX — Climate change is affecting wildfires and experts say those effects are already being seen.

RELATED: UArizona study finds climate change is putting cacti at an 'elevated extinction risk'

The Tunnel Fire northeast of Flagstaff exploded in size Tuesday, driven by a Red Flag day with extremely high winds.

Typically, fire officials say, those winds tend to die down overnight as temperatures drop and humidity levels increase. But Tuesday night, that didn't happen.

Fire officials said the winds kept up all night, similar to other fires in recent years.

"They were not getting any recovery at night," University of Arizona climatologist Mike Crimmins said. "So the fires were burning intensely through the dead of night."

A study published in February of this year showed temperatures are not decreasing as much as they normally do during fire season. Because of that, the intensity of the fire continues to build.

Other research shows fire becoming more common across the West in the last 40 years as climate change has taken hold.

"They're wind-driven fires, they're in a specific fuel type," Tiffany Davila with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management said.

And fire forecasters are having to deal with those changes in predicting fire behavior.

"They have this sense of what does this ecosystem observe normally," Crimmins said. "What's the normal fire regime for right now in a stable climate?"

'Just the beginning:' 14 graves found at former residential school in Saskatchewan

Mickey Djuric The Canadian Press

GEORGE GORDON FIRST NATION, SASK. - Chief Byron Bitternose of George Gordon First Nation says members of his community had hoped they would never discover graves near the site of a former residential school.

The First Nation recently wrapped up the first phase of its months-long search near the former George Gordon Indian Residential School north of Regina using ground-penetrating radar.

On Wednesday, Bitternose announced the search discovered 14 possible grave sites, which the First Nation believes likely contain the remains of children.

"It's a sad day for us, but I think we had to get here and this is just the beginning," Bitternose said. "It is my hope that one day we will be able to tell our children the whole story."

The school, near the Village of Punnichy, was first established by the Anglican Church of Canada in 1888 and operated until 1996, making it one of the longest-running residential schools in the country.

An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools in Canada. Several First Nations have announced over the last year that hundreds of unmarked graves have been detected at some former school sites.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has a record of 49 student deaths at the George Gordon school. Its final report called the school one of the worst run in the entire residential school system.

Eddie Bitternose attended the school in 1958 when he was 10-years old.

He said hearing about the findings has been difficult, but not as hard as relaying the information to the community and feeling betrayed by the Anglican Church, which he said still has close connections to the area.

"It was disappointing, having faith in the Anglican sect ... we thought they were more respectful of Touchwood Indians because we accepted their Jesus or God," he said.

Sarah Longman, a member of the First Nation and head of its residential school cemetery committee, said the first phase of the search is just the beginning.

"This is going to be a 10-year journey for the First Nation, and we just completed the first sixth months," she said. "We're dealing with 100-plus years of history of the residential school here in George Gordon, so there's a lot of work and a lot of area to cover.

"I don't know if we'll ever get to the space of where we're going to be able to identify (bodies)," she said.

Although there is a cemetery near the former school, Longwood said they are intentionally searching that area last. The locations for the first search were directed by the stories of survivors.

"A lot of times we don't hear the voice of the survivor, we don't validate the information they share with us, and we thought it was really important we took that voice and honoured it by going to the areas they suggested we go to first," Longwood said.

The investigation is also complex because students of the school came from across Canada, added Eddie Bitternose.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Final Report documents the school's history, which included harsh discipline for students and rampant sexual abuse.

It says the school had a long history of poor management, sexual abuse of students and complaints that discipline was harsh and abusive, causing many students to run away.

In 1941, 11-year-old Andrew Gordon froze to death after running away from the school.

The report says two other girls died by drowning in 1947. In 1968, a fire claimed the lives of four students.

There are also records of a supervisor impregnating a student, and one child was diagnosed with a venereal disease after being sexually abused.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has a record of six staff members who were convicted of crimes against students.

William Peniston Starr, the school’s director from 1968 to 1984, was convicted of ten counts of sexual assault. He was sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison.

In 1998, now-retired Saskatchewan justice Ronald Barclay noted that more than 400 lawsuits had been filed related to abuse at the George Gordon school, many of which involved Starr.

The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering with trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2022.

New fossil on display at ROM predates dinosaurs and was discovered in Ontario

The Royal Ontario Museum says the very rare marine fossil species was discovered near Brechin in southern Ontario and is nearly half a billion years old.

By Ashima AgnihotriStaff Reporter

Wed., April 20, 2022

Royal Ontario Museum will display a very rare and recently discovered fossil of a 450 million year old marine animal found in southern Ontario.

Researchers with the ROM say the new “Tomlinsonus dimitrii” species is part of an extinct group of arthropods and is “exceptionally well preserved.”

The newly discovered marine animal fossil, which is nearly half a billion years old, appears to predate even the dinosaurs that first appeared around 240 million years ago.

This finding was announced on March 24, 2022, in the Journal of Paleontology.

Researchers are calling the fossil’s preservation “remarkable,” as typically only the hard parts of an organism are fossilized (bones and shells).

But not with this extinct group of arthropod. Defying the trend, this new species lacks any mineralized body parts and was entirely soft-bodied.

Lead author Joe Moysiuk, a PhD candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Toronto, described the species as “an ornate head shield adorned with remarkable featherlike spines, possessing stilt-like limbs.”

George Kampouris, the discoverer and co-author, is also an independent paleontological technician who initiated a project to investigate fossil beds in 2014 at a stone quarry owned by Tomlinson Group, whom the fossil is named after. The quarry is located near Brechin, around Lake Simcoe in southern Ontario.

“Brechin has produced world-class fossils for over 100 years but our work here has revealed the role of catastrophic storm events in the burial and preservation of entire animal communities in their final moments,” Kampouris said.

Moysiuk told the Star that Kampouris was searching for “shelly” creatures like sea lilies and trilobites when he came across the rare fossil. Kampouris went to the active quarry with chisels and hammers and systematically excavated different layers of shale and limestone.

The species is known to have lived in a “shallow tropical marine sea,” which covered most of Ontario at the time of its existence, says researchers. It is said to be no longer than an index finger, in size, and most closely related to modern critters like spiders and scorpions.

“The finding of entirely soft-bodied species like Tomlinsonus allows a much better understanding of the diversity of life that really existed at that time,” said Dr. Jean-Bernard Caron, ROM Richard Ivey Curator of Invertebrate paleontology and co-author of the paper.

The Tomlinsonus will be displayed at the ROM in the newly opened Willner Madge Gallery, Dawn of Life’s burgess shale section, which contains various other soft-tissue preservation.

Ashima Agnihotri is a reporter for the Star's radio room based in Toronto. 

City councillor says EPCOR executives shouldn't be making Oilers-like salaries


CTV News Edmonton
Updated April 18, 2022 

An Edmonton city councillor says the top executives at EPCOR, a city-owned utility company, are taking home too much money.

Michael Janz, ward papastew councillor, believes more of EPCOR's profits should go toward city services and projects.

From 2018 to 2020, Stuart Lee, EPCOR president and CEO, earned between $2.2 and $2.9 million a year. In that same period, other high-level decision-makers made between $700,000 to $1 million.

According to Janz, the corporation's board chair makes $237,000 a year — almost as much as the mayor.

"I thought that the EPCOR salaries might be high," Janz told CTV News Edmonton. "I had no idea that they were going to be this high."

"That's $5 or $10 million that could go towards paying for public services, alleviating the tax burden, and making a better city for everyone," he added.

Now Janz is asking council to pressure EPCOR to lower its executive compensation and give the difference to the city.

Since the utility provider was formed in 1996, EPCOR has paid the city an annual dividend, totalling more than $2.5 billion. Last year, that payment was around $171 million.

"As the sole shareholder of EPCOR, every single dollar that EPCOR makes is a potential dollar that could be paid to the City of Edmonton in dividend," Janz said. "They should be capped not to exceed the City of Edmonton salaries, which I believe are already generous."

Janice Rennie, EPCOR board chair, said executive compensation at the organization is set by the board and is subject to annual independent review.

"Considering the unique nature of EPCOR's business model and strategy, the review process ensures that the company is comparing against organizations that EPCOR competes with for talent, capital, and opportunities," Rennie said.

"The board's objective is to compensate EPCOR's leaders in the middle of the pack, when compared to executives in similar roles," she added.

Janz says that review process is not producing accurate comparisons since it uses private power companies, not Canadian crown corporations.

"I'm all for paying people fair wages for fair work, but this dramatically outpaces the Alberta Treasury Branch, Servus Credit Union, and many other entities," Janz said.

"We could be paying out $20 million in compensation over five years to somebody," he added. "I mean, are we looking at EPCOR, or looking at the Oilers?"

Council is expected to debate Janz's motion to review EPCOR compensation Tuesday.

"We know that we're going to have a very rough budget over the next few years," Janz said. "So we need to look under every rock and stone to find out what we can do."

Indigenous author’s book pulled from Durham school board library shelves without explanation

By Morganne Campbell Global News
Posted April 18, 2022

 An award-winning Indigenous author is questioning the Durham District School Board's decision to pull one of his books from library shelves. The board claims it contains content that could be harmful to Indigenous students and their families the very same groups the author wrote the book for. Morganne Campbell has more on "The Great Bear" and the controversy around it.


A book that focusses on anti-bullying and other contemporary issues has been pulled from libraries within the Durham District School Board and the award-winning Indigenous author who penned The Great Bear says he doesn’t understand why.

“I’ve been doing this work now for 13 years. I have written books for Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth to empower Indigenous youth and to educate non-Indigenous youth about culture history and contemporary issues,” explains Winnipeg-based author David Robertson.

“I started writing books because I wanted kids to have access to resources that I didn’t have and so it’s really confusing to me.”

The Durham District School Board DDSB says the book has been pulled because it includes content that could be harmful to Indigenous students and families. In a statement posted to the board’s website on Saturday, the DDSB suggested the book was flagged by “local Indigenous community members”

“We will be providing an update on this topic next week.”

​Robertson maintains that neither he or his publisher, Penguin Random House, received any information about why the book was pulled. The DDSB took to its website to explain that following an investigation by the DDSB IT department, it found the emails from the publisher were filtered out therefore not received by any of the individuals they were written to.

“The DDSB has previously engaged with Forest of Reading on this topic and would have with Penguin Random House if the e-mails were received. We look forward to responding to Penguin Random House once the appropriate staff have had a chance to review their e-mails,” the statement read.

“We are not aware of Penguin Random House using any other methods, such as phone to contact the DDSB, which would have solved this communication problem.”

But there’s still one think lacking — an explanation.

The author says he’s received support from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, groups and educators and support continues to mount for the author who has reputation of putting “great care” into all of his books.

“It’s just really devastating to know that kids in a school board in southern Ontario are being denied his (Robertson’s) gifts,” explains Sudbury, Ont., Indigenous author and journalist Waubgeshig Rice.

“We are building bigger communities, the circle is widening, and for my kids, they’re growing up in a more empowered era.”

Indigenous MPP Sol Mamakwa is calling on the DDSB to rethink its decision.

“It’s a shame that this book was pulled and I hope the Durham School Board and whoever makes these decisions is open to reopening the dialogue.”

Roberston says he’s not necessarily looking for an apology from the board. Instead, he feels the board should apologize to students. He’d also like to see the board review their policies to make sure they’re being understood and carried out appropriately.

“When you take those books out of the hands of kids effectively what you were doing is you were taking truth from their hands and you were hindering the process of reconciliation rather than supporting it in anyway.”