Analysis: Nigeria and Angola responsible for almost half of OPEC+ oil supply gap

By Alex Lawler, Julia Payne and Ron Bousso - Yesterday 

LONDON/LAGOS (Reuters) - Almost half the shortfall in planned oil supply by OPEC and its allies is down to Nigeria and Angola, data seen by Reuters shows, reflecting a number of factors including moves by Western oil majors away from African projects.


Kaombo Norte floating oil platform is seen from a helicopter off the coast of Angola

OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, pumped 1.45 million barrels per day (bpd) - equal to 1.5% of world supply - below its target in March, the OPEC+ figures seen by Reuters show.

According to the figures, Angola was responsible for almost 300,000 bpd of the OPEC+ supply shortfall while Nigeria was pumping almost 400,000 bpd below target. The war in Ukraine has also hit Russia's oil trading and its output was about 300,000 bpd short of its March supply target.


A view of an oil spill from a well head is pictured at Santa Barbara, in Nembe, Bayelsa

OPEC+ production shortfall

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The OPEC+ shortfall is one of the reasons global oil prices hit a 14-year high in March above $139 a barrel and it has prompted calls by the United States and other consumers for producers to pump more.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, however, has repeatedly rebuffed the calls - and one contributing factor is simply that some of its members don't have oil available to pump.

In OPEC's view, investment cuts after oil prices collapsed in 2015-2016 due to oversupply, along with a growing focus by investors on economic, social and governance (ESG) issues, have led to a shortfall in the spending needed to meet demand.

"There was massive underinvestment in the industry over the years, further complicated by the effect of ESG," OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo told Reuters.

"There was a contraction of 25% in 2015 and 2016 - unprecedented. There was no significant recovery before 2020, when we registered a 30% contraction in investments in the industry," he said.

Figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show there was no significant increase in investment in global oil and gas exploration and production during 2017-2019 - followed by a 32% plunge in 2020.

Global upstream oil and gas investment https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/gkvlgklgdpb/IEA-investment.jpg

International oil companies are gradually pulling out of Nigeria's onshore oil production, although they continue to invest in its vast offshore oil and gas resources, where costs remain competitive.

Shell, which helped transform Nigeria into a leading producer since the 1930s, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about investment and the reasons for the decline in Nigerian output.

GULF PRODUCERS BOOST INVESTMENT

OPEC's Gulf producers led by Saudi Arabia are largely meeting their OPEC+ targets, and OPEC sources say their relative lack of dependence on outside investors has helped.

"The investment shortfall affected more the countries where reliance on foreign investment is more prominent," an OPEC+ source from a Gulf producer said.

Nigerian oil output vs OPEC+ target 

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Angolan oil output vs OPEC+ target 

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IEA figures show that in 2019, final investment decisions (FIDs) affecting over eight times more crude reserves in the Middle East were taken than those affecting African reserves.

Middle East approvals were also consistently higher from 2011 through 2018.

"Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are increasing investment and that to some extent can help offset declines elsewhere," said Audun Martinsen, analyst at Rystad Energy.

"It also highlights why OPEC is not intervening more because it is quite hard for OPEC to increase production overnight," Martinsen said.

Angolan state oil company Sonangol and Nigeria's state oil firm NNPC did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on their production decline or the reasons for it.

According to a 2021 report from the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation or APICORP, Middle East and North African producers were still expected to boost energy investment to $805 billion in 2021-2025 - up $13 billion on the previous year's five-year outlook, despite the impact of the pandemic.

In February, Saudi Arabia-based APICORP said it expected rising oil and gas prices to further support energy investment in the region.

TOO MUCH RISK

While Western majors are increasingly focusing on the energy transition and selling oil assets, they remain big producers in Africa. Big Western companies are responsible for 40% of output in Nigeria and 60% in Angola, according to Rystad.

Rystad sees some potential for new investment in Nigeria and Angola but projects remain "too expensive" for the majors.

"Since 2015 the majors have been focusing on cost and developing things in Africa has been too much of a risk with cost overruns," Rystad's Martinsen said. "It's not really part of their key focus any longer."

Angolan production has fallen 50% since 2015 and output is down by about 30% over the same period in Nigeria, he said. In Nigeria production is expected to grow slightly by 200,000 bpd in the coming years, but then decline again after 2024.

Shell said last month that oil spills arising from pipeline tapping in the Niger Delta doubled in 2021 to the highest since 2016.

Underlining the extent of the decline, exports of key Nigerian crude grade Bonny Light have fallen to just two or three cargoes a month from about eight or nine previously as a result of escalating oil theft.

(Reporting by Alex Lawler, Julia Payne, Ron Bousso, Ahmad Ghaddar and Maha El Dahan. Additional reporting by Noah Browning; Graphics by Alex Lawler and Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by David Clarke)

BAN PALM OIL SAVE ORANGUTANS


Malaysia aims to regain palm oil market share in EU amid global shortage

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia, the world's second largest palm oil producer, on Friday said it plans to leverage the global edible oil shortage and "political tension in Europe" to regain market share after buyers shunned the commodity over environmental concerns.

Palm oil is used to make everything from lipstick to noodles, but top producers Indonesia and Malaysia have faced boycotts after being accused of clearing rainforests and exploiting migrant workers for the rapid expansion of plantations.

Some companies have introduced "palm oil-free products" in recent years, and the European Union (EU), the world's third-biggest palm buyer, has ruled to phase out palm oil-based biofuels by 2030.

But retailers like British supermarket chain Iceland, which removed palm oil from its own-brand food starting in 2018, have been forced to return to the controversial commodity in recent months due to a global edible oil shortage triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war and Indonesia's ban on palm oil exports.

Zuraida Kamaruddin, Malaysian Minister for Plantation Industries and Commodities, said in a statement the government "will not want to waste a good crisis".

"It is time we step up efforts to counter adverse propaganda to undermine palm oil's credibility and for us to showcase the numerous health benefits the golden oil has to offer," she said.

Zuraida said global edible oil prices are likely to remain high in the first half of 2022 and EU demand is expected to increase in the near term due to tight sunflower and soy oil supplies.

EU vegetable oil group FEDIOL on Tuesday said Indonesia's ban is not a concern as it has palm oil reserves for several weeks.

Uncertainty over sunflower oil supplies due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has spurred demand for rivals palm and soy oil as importers seek alternatives, fuelling a red-hot vegetable oil market.

Zuraida said Malaysia stands to benefit from this shifting demand and will undertake "aggressive efforts and campaigns" to fill the global supply gap in the long run.

Malaysia and Indonesia, which account for 85% of global palm oil output, have maintained that EU restrictions on palm oil-based biofuels are discriminatory and have launched separate cases with the World Trade Organisation.

($1 = 4.3700 ringgit)

(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)

Exclusive-Guyana in 'no rush' to draft new oil production-sharing pact -minister

By Marianna Parraga - Yesterday 

Guyana's Natural Resources Minister Bharrat speaks during the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Guyana is in "no rush" to draft a new production sharing agreement (PSA) for offshore oil development, its Natural Resources minister told Reuters, reversing a year-long drive to devise new rules for future output.

The government of South America's newest crude oil producer said in 2021 it was planning a new agreement to revamp terms and boost royalties for future oil and gas projects. The proposed document was expected to improve terms for Guyana of a 2016 contract with Exxon Mobil and its partners for the prolific Stabroek block.

But the tiny nation, which has become one of the most desired exploration hot spots with the discovery of about 11 billion barrels of oil and gas, has struggled to quickly advance legal and regulatory frameworks for its energy industry. The original PSA reached with Exxon has been criticized even by the current government for being too favorable to oil producers.

Guyana aims to prioritize creation of an oil and gas regulatory body, Minister Vickram Bharrat said this week on the sidelines of the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.

"We have started some of the work on designing a model PSA according to internationally accepted standards," he said. "However, there is no rush to conclude it immediately because we don't see any other companies applying for a PSA just yet."

Companies currently exploring in Guyana have in recent years signed or extended licenses to complete drilling. The new PSA would be needed to move projects to the development phase.

OFFSHORE DISCOVERY

In January, a joint venture by Canada-based CGX Energy and Frontera Energy made one of the country's most recent offshore discoveries. The venture will focus drilling this year on the Corentyne block, the most promising of its three blocks, including Demerara and Berbice.

Frontera told Reuters in March the venture was in talks with the Guyanese government about what do with Demerara, while preparing drilling at the Wei-1 exploration well in Corentyne in the second half of 2022, but declined to provide more details.

"This is only the second well for CGX, so I would say, in my own estimation, that in about three years from now, once everything goes well in terms of exploration, we might be ready to deal with CGX to sign a PSA," the minister said.

Between 2019 and 2020, a group led by Tullow Oil and Repsol also announced discoveries at the Orinduik and Kanuku blocks off Guyana's coast.

But shortly after Tullow said it would limit capital exposure in Guyana, possibly selling a portion of its stake to another company. So far that has not happened.

SEEKING 'THE IDEAL PARTNER'

According to Bharrat, the process for drafting a new PSA model will be similar to the mechanism for approving Guyana's local content policy. A high-level panel will be nominated for the task and domestic and foreign consultants will be involved.

In the meantime, the government plans to have ready this year an energy regulatory agency and probably a state oil company that could offer partnerships in exploration areas returned by other firms or for new blocks yet to be put on the table.

In Guyana's to-do list there is also a competitive tender to select the company that will market its share of oil, once a contract with a unit of Saudi Aramco expires in September.

"We are looking for long-term arrangements, for the ideal partner for marketing and getting better benefits," Bharrat said, adding the nation aims to save as much as possible on trading fees.

Indian state refiners that have shown interest in a government-to-government agreement to buy Guyanese oil after testing the Liza sweet light crude last year, would also have to participate in the tender, the minister said.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga and Sabrina Valle; Editing by David Gregorio)

Enbridge eyes LNG opportunities as quarterly profits rise



By Nia Williams and Rithika Krishna

(Reuters) - Canadian energy pipeline company Enbridge Inc reported on Friday a rise in first-quarter profit, and outlined expansion plans as global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) surges in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Europe is scrambling to replace gas from Russia and improve long-term energy security by becoming less reliant on supplies controlled by Moscow.

That has led to record U.S. LNG export volumes this year and renewed interest in expanding Canada's LNG industry beyond a lone Shell-led facility under construction in Kitimat, northern British Columbia.

"LNG exports are a big opportunity, with momentum building across the U.S. Gulf Coast, and now more so in western Canada," Enbridge Chief Executive Al Monaco told an earnings call.

Enbridge supplies about 2 billion cubic feet a day(bcf/d) of gas to four LNG plants on the Gulf Coast. Monaco said the company has inked agreements to supply three more Gulf Coast projects that could add up to 7 bcf/d of gas and over $2 billion in new investments.

In western Canada, Enbridge has launched an open season to gauge shipper demand for a C$1 billion ($777.24 million)expansion of the T-North section of its gas pipeline system in British Columbia to support growing production and west coast LNG demand.

The company is also targeting an open season on its T-south section later this year, providing the new Woodfibre LNG project in Squamish goes ahead as planned. Woodfibre, a Pacific Energy Ltd subsidiary, issued a notice to proceed to its main contractor last month.

The company also said it would jointly develop a low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia production and export facility with energy portfolio company Humble Midstream in Texas.

Vince Paradis, Enbridge's vice president of business development in the United States, said the final investment decision would depend on customer support and regulatory approvals, but it was expected to be a $2.5 billion-$3 billion project with annual capacity to produce one million tonnes of ammonia.

Increased demand for oil and gas boosted Calgary-based Enbridge's pipeline volumes in the first quarter. The company moves about 20% of all gas consumed in the United States and most of Canada's crude exports south of the border.

Adjusted earnings rose to C$1.7 billion ($1.33 billion), or 84 Canadian cents per share, in the quarter, from C$1.63 billion, or 81 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

($1 = 1.2827 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Rithika Krishna; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Richard Chang)

AFN wants meeting with Trudeau to formalize invitation for UN special rapporteur

A standing invitation from Canada for the United Nations special rapporteur to come to this country to investigate the deaths and burials of children in relation to Indian residential schools is not enough.

“What we found out was that Canada’s correct. There might be a standing invitation to the rapporteur, but…what we need is a formal invitation to go to the rapporteur,” said National Chief RoseAnne Archibald of the Assembly of First Nations.

Archibald says she made her three-day trip to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York from April 25 to April 27 specifically to ask Francisco Calí Tzay, special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, to come to Canada “to investigate the deaths of our children. We’re seeking remedies for human rights violations, including genocide.”

Calí Tzay told Archibald he needed a formal invitation, preferably from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to make that trip.

“You have to actually formalize the invitation, otherwise the rapporteur comes and is not able to do anything official in terms of documentation or study,” said Archibald.

In a press conference at the UN on April 25, Archibald was adamant that Canada should not be allowed to investigate itself as it was this country’s polices and legislation that led to the creation of the Indian residential school system.

A resolution was passed by the AFN in December to “direct the AFN to seek justice through intervention at the International Criminal Court in this matter, to hold the Imperial Crown, Government of Canada and the Vatican accountable for their actions and to seek justice for the crimes against humanity for the victims’ families and the international community.”

Canada’s “standing invitation" to all United Nations human rights special rapporteurs” was made by Daniel Canough, senior policy analyst, International Relations (United Nations), Indigenous and External Relations Branch, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.

Canough was addressing the UNPFII on April 28.

Speaking to Trudeau about issuing that formal invitation to Calí Tzay is one more item on the ever-growing agenda, says Archibald, who points out that there has been no formal meeting between the AFN executive committee and Trudeau since 2019.

Archibald became national chief in July 2021.

“It’s been three years since the prime minister has met with the Assembly of First Nations (executive) so that’s a problem onto itself. Yes, there will be a number of items that we will discuss with the prime minister and I believe one of the key ones is why is this (memorandum of understanding) not functioning properly. We clearly need a new process,” said Archibald.

In 2017, Canada and then-AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde signed an MOU for a bilateral mechanism to establish a process to, among other factors, “support the renewal of the Nation-to-Nation relationship between Canada and First Nations on the basis that the First Nations are holders of Treaty rights, inherent rights, title, jurisdictions and Aboriginal rights.”

Archibald is proposing a “new economic deal.” She made that call when the federal budget was delivered in April. She wants to see First Nations benefitting fully from the resources extracted from treaty lands or unceded territories, and taxation.

“We need a new economic deal that allows First Nations the autonomy, the self-determination, the self-government that is guaranteed to them under the Constitution and those financial arrangements have to do with sharing the wealth of this country,” she said.

Other “big issues” that need to be brought into a new deal, she adds, are around safe drinking water, adequate housing, the return of culture and language, and the creation of safe and vibrant communities.

“We’re always seeking action not just words. Anybody can turn a good phrase, but when it comes to action, what is really happening on the ground,” she said.

Archibald adds that these discussions will also be happening with Jagmeet Singh, leader of the federal New Democrats, since the NDP and Liberals put an agreement in place in March to keep Trudeau’s minority government in power.

Archibald says they have “just started reaching out” to Singh’s office and are hopeful that a meeting will be confirmed shortly.

Windspeaker.com

By Shari Narine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com, Windspeaker.com

UCP SCREWS FIRST NATIONS

Funding to support Indigenous families at risk goes to non-Indigenous organization


After 12 years of successfully supporting at-risk Indigenous families in the Grande Prairie area who have interactions with Alberta’s child welfare system, Mamewpitaw has not received the provincial dollars to keep operating.

Worse than that, says Grande Prairie Friendship Centre (GPFC) president Leonard Auger, the money to support Indigenous families has gone to a non-Indigenous organization.

Mamewpitaw, operated by the GPFC, offered culturally focused intervention support and re-unification programs for Indigenous families at risk.

It was the first time GPFC had to respond to a request for proposals to get funding for Mamewpitawn. In previous years the province had not requested proposals from contract holders for family intervention services, says program coordinator Abby Bourque.

“There were other friendship centres in the communities that we collaborated with in the writing of this proposal. So they were writing proposals for their communities,” she said.

Proposals went forward from Peace River and High Level, with High Level servicing both that community and Paddle Prairie Métis Settlement. While the Mamewpitaw program would have been new to the others, says Bourque, the proposals saw the friendship centres, including Grande Prairie, sharing Elders, land resources and other supports.

She stressed that all the friendship centres had built strong relationships in their communities and had strong foundations.

None of the proposals from the friendship centres were approved. Instead, all of the region’s funding for family intervention services went to PACE, a non-Indigenous organization in Grande Prairie that focuses on sexual assault and trauma.

The rejection letter for GPFC from Children’s Services, North Region Family Intervention Services states only “based on the evaluation conducted on your submission, we regret to inform you that your submission was not selected for contract awarding.”

Auger said, “We had a feeling (Alberta Children’s Services) didn’t fully understand the Truth and Reconciliation (Commission’s) calls for action, and in there it does say that Indigenous organizations should be providing programs for Indigenous people. That was our biggest issue.”

The first five of 94 calls to action from the TRC on the legacy of Indian residential schools focuses on child welfare. The TRC calls upon “the federal, provincial, territorial, and Aboriginal governments to commit to reducing the number of Aboriginal children in care by … ensuring that social workers and others who conduct child-welfare investigations are properly educated and trained about the potential for Aboriginal communities and families to provide more appropriate solutions to family healing.”

Prior to putting in their proposal, GPFC completed their accreditation process with the Canadian Accreditation Council for health and human services. It was a costly and time-consuming process to get their four-year accreditation, says Bourque, which added to GPFC’s shock at not getting the funding from the province.

“Our program was unique in that everything was embedded in culture. Our participants felt like they belonged here. They felt that connection. We used wholistic approaches to healing and to giving them strategies for parenting and stuff, which is going to be that missing component with that other agency because they just aren’t equipped for that,” said Bourque. “We were shocked and surprised and quite honestly heartbroken because we just really believe in the work that we do.”

Now GPFC is scrambling to access other funding, both federal, through Jordan’s Principle, and provincial. They had applied for $700,000 through Alberta Children’s Services.

“Whatever fits into what our vision is, we’ll be providing proposals for,” said Bourque.

In a news release from GPFC board, Children’s Services was called out for implementing an adjudication process for the Family Intervention Services funding that “did not include Indigenous representation as decision-makers, nor did it address factors and programming necessary for Indigenous people in its scoring criteria.”

In an email response to Windspeaker.com, Nancy Bishay, spokesperson for Alberta Children’s Services, said “Children’s Services is changing how it delivers services to improve relationships with Indigenous and First Nation communities. Similar to Edmonton and Calgary, we will be creating teams dedicated to work with individual Indigenous and First Nation communities. This model has proven successful in building relationships and improving outcomes for children.”

Bishay also said, “Our main priority is to ensure that vulnerable children, on-and-off reserve are safe and supported. We are committed to keeping indigenous families together whenever safely possible, and when children do come into care that they maintain connected to their communities and culture.”

Auger said GPFC will continue challenging the system in relation to its awareness of the TRC calls to action and “the need for Indigenous organizations to look after our own Indigenous people.”

Windspeaker.com

By Shari Narine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com, Windspeaker.com

CULTURAL GENOCIDE IN QUEBEC

Bill 96 will harm Indigenous people in Québec. We need more equitable language laws

Richard Budgell, 

Assistant Professor, Family Medicine; 

Ph.D. student, History and Classical Studies, 

McGill University -
The Conversation

One of the reasons I moved to Québec in 2015 was because of the mélange of languages in which many Quebecers — especially in Montréal — live and work. Some are able to change languages from sentence to sentence; others will switch in the middle of sentences or speak in an ever-changing medley of languages.

The language dance happens most frequently between French and English, but other languages can be involved — such as Indigenous and immigrant languages.

Read more: Québec's Bill 40 further undermines the province's English-language school system

The reality of multilingualism goes very far back in Québec: the perceived founder of French Québec, Samuel de Champlain, even knew “a smattering of [Indigenous] languages, not enough to speak directly on sensitive questions. Most of his communications had to happen through interpreters.” However the mythic view of historical dominance held by some Quebecers is that “la langue française […] s’est implantée officiellement au Québec avec Samuel de Champlain en 1608” or, the French language was officially established in Québec with Samuel de Champlain in 1608.

As the leader of a tiny, vulnerable French outpost, Champlain probably thought more about making alliances with Indigenous nations, which would allow the French colonists to survive, than he did about official languages.

Indigenous nations, and languages, have endured — as have the descendants of the original French settlers (including me), joined by British settlers and a mix of immigrants from all over the world, to create a diverse and complex society.

And all of this contributes to why Bill 96 is so problematic. The proposed bill, “An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec,” will reduce the accessibility to health-care services in English. This which will drastically and negatively impact Indigenous people. As a researcher and teacher of Inuit health, I find this deeply troubling.
Indigenous experience in Québec

Part of Québec’s complexity is ensuring equity for all its citizens. For Indigenous people in the province, equitable treatment can seem fleeting.

In the health-care system, systemic discrimination against Indigenous people has been formally recognized. In 2019, the Québec-mandated Viens Commission concluded that “it is clear that prejudice toward Indigenous Peoples remains widespread in the interaction between caregivers and patients,” and recommended “cultural safeguard principles” be incorporated into health services and programs for Indigenous people.

In October 2021, coroner Géhane Kamel’s top recommendation in her report on the death of Joyce Echaquan was that the province needs to recognize that systemic racism exists and take concrete action to eliminate it.

To receive health care in a language that you speak is obviously a dimension of cultural safety. So it’s all the more disappointing that a recently released plan to reform the Québec health-care system ignores systemic discrimination and cultural safety for patients.

The problem with Bill 96

In an analysis of Bill 96, Montréal lawyer and advocate Eric Maldoff says:

“Even when the staff and institutions have the option to use another language, Bill 96 strongly directs them to avoid exercising it and specifies that a language other than French should not be used systematically, such as by establishing translation services. There is an option to use a language other than French in case of health, public safety and natural justice. However, it seems aimed at dealing with a health emergency of an individual.”

Nunavik Inuit in northern Québec have been identifying challenges within the health-care system for years. A report prepared by the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services says: “Many [Inuit] do not understand medical terms and translation is sometimes inefficient, as many terms do not have an equivalent in Inuktitut. Consequently, many people struggle to understand their health problems and to follow medical advice.”

Ninety-eight per cent of Nunavik Inuit speak Inuktitut as their first language. This should be celebrated, not hindered during the Decade of Indigenous Languages, which Canada supports. Bill 96 will create greater impediments to accessible health care for Inuit and First Nations people. The bill will worsen health and health care, instead of improving it.

Multilingualism shouldn’t be a threat

Bill 96 will also create new challenges in education for Inuit and First Nations people who use English.

Indigenous students will now have to complete an additional three French-language courses to receive a CÉGEP diploma (typically required for university admission). In practice, most Inuit, and about half of First Nations students have been predominantly educated in English and will struggle with an additional French requirements.

Québec Premier François Legault recently defended the draft Bill 96 by saying: “If Québec is bilingual, unfortunately the attraction in North America to English will be so strong it will be a matter of time before we don’t speak French in Québec and we become Louisiana.”

Turning into Louisiana is a commonly deployed bogeyman in Québec, to imply that without restrictive measures on the use of other languages, French is endangered.

For most Québec residents, there is broad consensus that French should be protected. But many of us believe that multilingualism — including Indigenous languages — need not threaten French.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

Read more:
Should bilingualism change in Canada? The debate over Gov. Gen. Mary Simon

Bilingualism and diversity: The Supreme Court can — and should — have both

'Colonialism and cucumbers': Governor General gets lukewarm reception in Quebec

QUEBEC — Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, the first Indigenous person named as the Queen's representative in Canada, still has some work to do on her French, Quebec Premier François Legault said Thursday.

Legault made the comments to reporters a day after meeting Simon, an Inuk leader and former Canadian diplomat, during her first visit to Quebec since her appointment last summer. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to appoint her was controversial because Simon, who is fluent in English and Inuktitut, is still learning how to speak French.

The premier said he met with Simon out of "courtesy," adding that he would like to see the roles of governor general and lieutenant-governor abolished. However, he added that Simon's appointment "is a positive message" regarding the country's desire to mend its relationship with Indigenous Peoples.

"On the other hand, it's really not ideal that she doesn't speak French," Legault said. "But she tells me that she is taking personal lessons, and she was still able, at the beginning, to say a few sentences in French."

Simon, who was born in Kangiqsualujjuaq, in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec, attended a federal government day school as a child, where she was prevented from speaking her mother tongue, Inuktitut. She was also denied the chance at those schools to learn French, she has said.

The Governor General isn't the only representative of the Queen who has upset francophones in Canada. Last month, a New Brunswick court ruled that Trudeau's decision to appoint a unilingual anglophone as lieutenant-governor of that province in 2019 violated constitutional language protections.

Asked if he would take the government to court over Simon's appointment, Legault said, "it's not in our intentions."

Quebec's second opposition party, Québec solidaire, was less congenial toward Simon, with spokesman Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois saying Thursday he politely declined an invitation to meet her.

"During the day, I have a limited number of hours," he told reporters in Quebec City, adding that "meeting the representative of the Queen … was not a good use of my time yesterday."

He later tweeted that "colonialism and cucumber sandwiches" weren't his thing, referring to Britain's historical colonization of French Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2022.

A conversation with Canada's Governor General |  CTV Your Morning

RACISM IN CANADA

Indigenous B.C. man, granddaughter settle with BMO over arrest while opening account


VANCOUVER — Standing amid the noise of traffic and hustle of pedestrians on the same Vancouver sidewalk where he was arrested and handcuffed in December 2019, Maxwell Johnson said he finally feels at peace.

The Indigenous man and his minor granddaughter were arrested as they tried to open an account for her at the Bank of Montreal in December 2019. Police were called over suspicion they were using a fake status card.

On Thursday, Johnson announced he and his granddaughter had settled their human rights complaint with the bank. The agreement includes an undisclosed a monetary payment from BMO, a private apology, and a pledge from the financial institution to update its policies on how Indigenous status cards are handled.

Holding a grey and white eagle feather that represents healing and blessing, Johnson said his Heiltsuk First Nation culture is about forgiveness.

“We don’t hold onto anything. We don’t hold any grudges,” he said. “I just want people to educate themselves more about First Nations issues and our culture.”

He said he wants people to understand Indigenous culture, and issues faced by First Nations when they deal with the government and corporations.

"We’re people too," he said during the news conference. "I don't think it's right that we have to prove who we are by carrying a status card. We're the only race that has the status for proof that we're First Nation people."

A retired judge who led a disciplinary hearing against the two officers who made the arrest said in a decision released last month that they "recklessly" arrested Johnson and the girl.

Brian Neal said Johnson and his granddaughter endured a "disturbing and profoundly disrespectful series of events" as they were held and handcuffed on the busy street.

The independent review, which was ordered by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, said the two officers who responded to a call from bank employees detained the pair without reasonable grounds.

Johnson and his granddaughter still have a complaint pending against the Vancouver Police Department in the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.

When asked for comment on Thursday, Vancouver police Sgt. Steve Addison sent a statement saying the office of the complaint commissioner conducted an extensive investigation related to the matter and it respects the findings of the report.

Johnson is an artist and as part of the settlement with the Bank of Montreal, he gifted the bank an artwork that will be displayed at the downtown branch.

Prints of his work will also be put up at four other branches.

"The copper represents the treasure of our people," he said, holding up a copy of the art piece with red and green colours.

"I used BMO colours in it. So, on the top it has the ancestral human face, and on the bottom it has the BMO logo on here."

BMO spokesman Jeff Roman said the bank is pleased that a settlement was reached.

"This was an important step for BMO toward reconciliation and we hope that the Johnsons reach the resolution and closure they deserve," he said in an email.

Chief Marilyn Slett of the Heiltsuk First Nation on B.C.'s central coast said the bank has undertaken remedies including updating internal policies and procedures for how Indigenous status cards are handled.

"It's really shone a light on the treatment of Indigenous people and it puts attention and focus on that."

They hope to see systemic changes on policies and how they work in communities, including territorial acknowledgments of where they are, not just in B.C. but across the country, she said.

The police officers who arrested the pair have been given an invitation to their community of Bella Bella to attend an apology ceremony, Slett said.

"That invitation is still extended," she said.

"We've yet to hear from them. Ceremonies happen in our community because they help us in the healing journey. So, it's really important for the Vancouver Police Department to make good on that apology and come to Bella Bella and do it in person."

Johnson said he closed his account at the bank.

"Would you work with them if that happened to you?" he said.

"No, I couldn't do it. I had to close it to move forward with my life. For healing too. It's part of my healing process to do what we did today."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2022.

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press

RACISM IN HEALTHCARE

Ojibway chief upset at how a First Nation teen with 'massive' wound was treated in Kenora, Ont., hospital's ER

Logan Turner - Yesterday 
cbc.ca


A Kenora, Ont., hospital is investigating after the chief of Ojibways of Onigaming says a 13-year-old from his First Nation was left in the emergency room without immediate care for a "massive" wound, and a nurse told him to bandage it himself.

Jeff Copenace said he was called by the family to go to Lake of the Woods District Hospital (LWDH) on April 25 to advocate for the teen. He said she had tried to harm herself, and she had already been waiting in the ER for more than 30 minutes when he arrived. When he approached the desk to get help, he said, a nurse handed him gauze and tape.

"I was shocked that [the girl] was sitting there with an open wound and not even like a social worker talking to her, anyone rushing to her aid," Copenace told CBC News, adding the girl is now doing well and at home.

"We're a First Nation that remains in a state of emergency for suicides and mental illness. The district hospital is well aware of that."

CBC News has been unable to independently verify exactly what happened at the hospital.

The president of the LWDH, Ray Racette, said they began investigating after seeing Copenace's tweet, which came the same day as the incident, adding they hope to speak with the chief.

The incident comes amidst a nationwide conversation — spurred by the 2020 death of Atikamekw mother Joyce Echaquan — about the impacts of systemic racism toward Indigenous people in the health-care system, as well as hospital staffing shortages across Canada.

It also came just months after a First Nation family said a 32-year-old man died of a brain bleed hours after he was discharged from the same hospital with headache pills.

Wound was 'alarming,' chief says

Copenace said he immediately drove 116 kilometres north to get to the Kenora hospital after the family of the young girl called him, saying she had harmed herself.

The girl and her uncle were in the emergency room with a deep, open cut on her arm, he said.

"It was a massive wound. It was cut straight through the skin … and it was really alarming," Copenace said.

He said that after he asked the ER desk if they planned to bandage her wounds, the nurse told him, "'I'm not going to dress a wound that happened last night and isn't bleeding anymore.'"

"I was panicked," said Copenace. "I asked [the nurse], 'Do you know she's 13? Do you know that she self-harmed?'"

At that point, he said, a second nurse gave him gauze and medical tape, and told him to bandage her wound. It wasn't until he asked for a supervisor that the girl's cut was taken seriously, Copenace said, and then closed with stitches.

When the supervisor came out to speak with him about the incident and the hospital's response, Copenace said she told him there had been no experiences of racism at Lake of the Woods hospital in the 20 years she's worked there.

"If this was a young, white child, the whole hospital would have raced to her," the chief of the Treaty 3 First Nation believes. "They never would have left a young white child with an open wound that required eight stitches."

Copenace repeated concerns about the way systemic and direct racism affect the health care of Indigenous people. Those concerns — which have been documented for decades in government reports, inquiries and royal commissions — include disproportionately longer wait times, minimizing of concerns, inappropriate or no pain management, medical errors and a lack of respect for cultural protocols.

He also emphasized concerns over youth suicide in Indigenous communities. According to Statistics Canada, the rate of suicide among Indigenous people is three times higher than the national average — among Indigenous youth, the disparity is even greater.

"The treatment that we receive from non-Indigenous health-care professionals, police officers, government officials, taxi drivers, the systemic racism that we face is driving this self-harm and it needs to stop."

The connection between systemic racism and poor mental health outcomes, including higher rates of suicidal ideation and self-harm, is well established in academic research and government reports, including most recently the 2020 report "In Plain Sight" on Indigenous-specific racism in B.C. and a 2021 report into 45 mostly Indigenous boys who died by suicide or homicide in Manitoba.

Copenace said his focus last week was ensuring the girl had the proper supports, and now he is preparing to file a complaint with the hospital.

Tweets prompt hospital to open investigation

Racette, the Kenora hospital's president, said early findings from the investigation show that upon arrival to the ER, the patient was triaged, which is the assessment process hospitals use to determine which cases need to be seen most urgently. Based on that assessment, the patient's wound was treated within one hour, and then released within 5½ hours.

"Our staff look at patients based on need, and they do the best that they can for them," Racette said. "There are different things that needed to happen in the process of care … the emergency team, they work as a team and they have lots of patients to see."


© Logan Turner/CBC

Ray Racette, president and chief executive officer of the Lake of the Woods District Hospital, says they are investigating the care provided to the 13-year-old after Copenace tweeted about it.

"We're understaffed. We have a 40 per cent vacancy rate in staffing in [the emergency department], so that in itself is very challenging for staff who are just trying to do the best job they can. But it's going to impact wait times."

Racette said the way hospital officials understand what happened in the emergency room is different from what the chief posted on social media, adding they called the band office and sent an email to Copenace's executive assistant in an attempt to meet with him.

"We would really appreciate meeting with him because we respect him and we want to have an exchange with him," Racette said, adding social media can be "a very blunt instrument" that can harm their reputation and relationship with Indigenous people.

"We're working hard to improve. There's a lot of perceptions on this hospital that go back a long time, and those are hard to change because they're part of the lived history with some people," he acknowledged.

Copenace told CBC News he had not received any messages, but would be reaching out to the hospital to discuss the situation.

History of negative experiences at hospital

Jennifer Dreaver, chief operating officer of the Kenora Chiefs Advisory (KCA), a First Nations health and social services agency that works with nine communities, said she was saddened but not surprised to hear about what Copenace said he experienced at the hospital.

"It's disconcerting for the community, because it just continues to erode trust and faith in the utilization of the Kenora hospital," said Dreaver, from Mistawasis Nehiyawak First Nation in Treaty 6.

Dreaver said she's heard many stories about First Nations people choosing to bypass the Kenora hospital and drive hundreds of additional kilometres to get medical help in Thunder Bay or Winnipeg, adding there is a long history of mistrust between the hospital and surrounding First Nations.

As an agency that advocates for Indigenous patients, the KCA has partnered with the Kenora hospital on a project of "reconciliation through health" that will see the construction of a new facility — the All Nations Hospital — to replace the existing building and improve health care for Indigenous people.

"We do want to work together to validate patients' experiences and make them feel heard, to have transparent processes for people to have their concerns addressed and to have responsiveness on the part of the hospital," said Dreaver.

'A lifetime of work'

Dreaver said the goal is to have a local hospital people can be confident in and is properly resourced, and where staff have training in cultural safety and trauma-informed care.

Work is happening now at the existing facility, including the hiring of more Indigenous staff and patient advocates and improving the complaint process, but it takes time, Dreaver said.

"It's a lifetime of work to build those bridges."

But the change isn't happening soon enough, Copenace said.

"We're still talking in a completely different language from the non-Indigenous health professionals, and our people are suffering."

He fears more Indigenous people will choose to stay home and not seek help, which would lead to higher rates of premature deaths — a link made in the 2020 report in B.C. about Indigenous-specific racism in health care.

"I've got nothing but respect for the medical profession, but I just want to see these racial boundaries broken down and our children served properly."

Kenora Chiefs Advisory Crisis Services: 807-629-7562

This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.