Bell: UCP leader wannabes, you'll have to run against Kenney

Rick Bell - 

CALGARY SUN 

Yesterday 

© Provided by Calgary Sun

Jason Kenney makes remarks to media and Alberta government cabinet members prior to a meeting in Calgary on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Not Kenney as in actually running against Premier Jason Kenney in the UCP leadership race.

The premier-on-the-way-out-the-door says he’s not running to keep his job after getting support from ever-so-slightly more than half the voters in a UCP ballot on his leadership.

The field is now wide open for those who think they can put the UCP Humpty Dumpty back together again.

There are a lot of people kicking tires as we now all witness Kenney’s Long Goodbye.

The Kenney crowd seems to like Travis Toews, the budget boss and right-hand man to the premier.

I would think an endorsement from the Kenney crowd would be the kiss of death but what do I know?

What I do know is, like former premier Ralph Klein who ran to replace the exiting former premier Don Getty and said often and loudly how he was not Don Getty, those wrestling for the top slot have to tell us how a government they lead will be different from the one led by Kenney.

No matter how much the premier’s people are in denial, the buck stops with Kenney.

When I say they have to run against Kenney, this doesn’t mean there has to be a personal piling on the premier or a sliming of the efforts the premier did make to do the right thing.

But Albertans need to hear how a government led by someone else will be a break from a UCP status quo, a same-old, same-old, that could lead to an NDP election victory next spring.

As a wise political thinker says: They have to own the problem. And there’s no shame in that. It’s actually a strength.

So will the government’s trademark arrogance be relegated to the dustbin of history?

Will we see a government of the people and not a government telling people, lecturing people, on what’s good for them?

Will we get a government where out-of-touch insiders DO NOT run the show and where at least many of those near the premier have a sense of Alberta politics, of what makes this province tick?

Will we see a government where what is advertised is what is delivered?

Don’t fake it or you won’t make it. If you say it’s important to stay humble then, damn it, stay humble.

If you campaign as one of us, you better be one of us. We can spot a phony.

And, when you make a mistake, realize you’ve stepped in the Land of Stupid as we all do, fess up and reverse course.

In other words, will we see a UCP government with a new leader give itself a thorough political cleanse, an XXXL attitude adjustment?

Or, to repeat a well-worn phrase, will they just rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic and try to convince us it’s clear sailing?

Every day in every way Kenney and company recite their laundry list of glad tidings.

Jobs, investment, balanced budget, COVID in the rear-view mirror, win in the Alberta Court of Appeal on Ottawa’s No More Pipelines law.

High oil prices!

With all their good news, does the Kenney government ever wonder for a nanosecond why the premier is still so unpopular?

There can’t be that many lunatics in Alberta.

The answer is those in the highest reaches of the UCP government appear to show no appetite for self-reflection.

If you are waiting for a moment of clarity, you better take a number.

They look outward. Kenney is a victim of folks too angry or too stupid to comprehend his greatness.

By the way, this is the line of the self-styled conservative smart set from central Canada, no doubt nursing their single malt scotch in their favourite Ottawa establishment.

Kenney was their shining star and he fell to earth and Albertans didn’t appreciate him or he wasn’t conservative enough or conservatives like beating each other up.

One thing is certain. By their reckoning, none of it was about Kenney.

In Alberta, plenty of us know the truth but who asks us.

Among readers, the Kenney diehards are upset.

Some want Wildrosers to be bounced. That would split the UCP. I told this to someone in the NDP and they seemed quite pleased.

Some want the press, including yours truly, to stop reporting when the government slips in the doo-doo.

They want more rewriting of government press releases as long as the government has the word Conservative in their name.

Some say Kenney’s demise is the fault of newshounds. (Hi, mom!)

In this scribbler’s case, I pointed out in many columns where the Kenney government could go in a better direction, handing them a lifeline to reality.

They didn’t listen. Fair ball. They’re in charge.

But it’s hardly then my fault or the fault of others sounding the alarm when they suffer the consequences from Albertans.

rbell@postmedia.com

Wood Buffalo councillor reprimanded for comments about Indigenous people

Jamie Malbeuf - Yesterday 

A Fort McMurray councillor for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo has been reprimanded for his conduct, including comments he made about Indigenous people at a February budget meeting.


© VoteDogarShafiq.com

Politicians, leaders and residents called for Coun. Shafiq Dogar's resignation after comments he made about Indigenous people in the region.

Chief legislative officer Jade Brown detailed reports from the municipality's integrity commissioner about Coun. Shafiq Dogar at a council meeting Tuesday.

Brown said formal complaints were made against Dogar for incidents in 2021 — in one instance about his interactions with a municipal employee and in another instance relating to Facebook posts he made.

Six other complaints were filed against Dogar about comments he made at a budget meeting in February of this year.

At the February budget meeting, Dogar made comments that Indigenous leaders and politicians said were hateful against Indigenous people.

The following day, the Athabasca Tribal Council called for Dogar to resign over his "hate speech." Wood Buffalo Mayor Sandy Bowman issued a statement calling Dogar's comments "unacceptable, incorrect and difficult to comprehend."

Integrity commissioner Jim Peacock investigated the complaints against Dogar.

Peacock found that Dogar violated council's code of conduct. Among other things, the code prohibits councillors from speaking in a discriminatory way, using abusive language or disclosing confidential information.

Council voted unanimously Tuesday to support a list of recommendations from Peacock. Dogar left the room for the vote.

The sanctions include removing Dogar from council committees and from representing council, including travelling on council business, until he has completed training on Indigenous awareness and respectful interactions at the municipality.

Council also voted to issue Dogar a motion of censure and demand that he provide a public apology directed to the community and Indigenous communities.

A governance expert will be enlisted to help in Dogar's training. The expert will provide a report to council before the councillor is permitted resume his duties.

After the vote, Dogar was given an opportunity to speak. He started by defending himself against the first two complaints.

He then moved on to the incident in February. Dogar said other councillors and the mayor didn't bat an eye when he made the comments, and that it was only afterward — when the Athabasca Tribal Council issued a news release — that they raised issue with his comments.

But he said he was ready to apologize during council.

Dogar then started talking about a meeting about extending the chief administrative officer's contract. Coun. Keith McGrath called a point of order.

"Sir, let me speak today," Dogar said before his microphone was turned off.

The mayor upheld the point of order and Dogar was allowed to continue.
Councillor apologizes during meeting

Dogar said that over the past few months he has opted to take training as he realized his English "leads to some misunderstanding at times … I apologize to anyone whom I have neglected with my current speech."

He added: "We have a lot of good work to do in the community. Let's do it. Let's not waste time on unnecessary things."

McGrath said he felt the apology was sincere. He said Dogar should be commended for his apology.

Coun. Funky Banjoko said she applauded Dogar's apology.

"And on behalf of the entire immigrants in the region, I also want to join him and apologize," Banjoko said.

But Coun. Kendrick Cardinal wanted more.

"I still think that you could do better. You didn't specifically acknowledge the Indigenous people," said Cardinal. "I think you should."

Dogar then said he "always loved Indigenous people."

"We should acknowledge that this land we have to … we owe loyalties to the First Nation," he said.

Cardinal said Dogar's additional words mean a lot to Indigenous communities and he acknowledged the apology.

Alberta town endorses community-developed policy saying no to coal mining in Rockies




CALGARY — A southern Alberta town has become what it says is the first municipality to endorse a community-developed policy that calls for a permanentban on new coal exploration and development in the Rocky Mountains.

"We've always wanted to keep our involvement in continuing this fight until we've reached the finish line — and we're a long ways away from that yet," Craig Snodgrass, mayor of High River, said in an interview Wednesday.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society said High River has joined 30 organizations in signing a document called "A Coal Policy for Alberta — 2022 and Beyond."

Katie Morrison, executive director for the southern Alberta chapter of the society, said the document draws on a resolution made by the town of High River last year.

"It really did address clearly how we could address the concerns of Albertans and permanently prohibit coal in Alberta and immediately make that step," Morrison said.

The policy, she said, outlines ways to deal with Albertans' concerns by saying no to new coal exploration and mines, phasing out existing coal mines and coming up with a remediation plan for lands disturbed by mining.

Snodgrass said the document keeps the conversation about coal going.

"This group that put this document together did an excellent job and it's just the next step of what needs to happen to fulfil the wishes of Albertans in putting an end to coal mining."

The policy was created with input from a wide range of Albertans, including Indigenous groups, hunters, anglers, ranchers, rural landowners, businesses, conservationists and recreationists.

"The government and all parties should reflect on the directives in this policy and adopt them and implement them toward a new modern coal policy for the province," said Morrison.

The United Conservative government two years ago revoked protection from coal development on the summits and foothills in southwestern Alberta that had been in place since 1976.

Thousands of hectares were quickly leased for exploration, but a public outcry forced the government to halt those activities and pause lease sales.

A statement from Alberta Energy said the government listened to Albertans and put strong new restrictions in place to protect the eastern slopes of the Rockies.

"In March, a ministerial order was implemented that extended the restrictions on coal exploration and development to protect the eastern slopes until new or updated land-use plans are in place," said the statement. "The reinstated 1976 coal policy also remains in place.

"Our approach is based on the reports and recommendations of the coal policy committee, which spoke directly to Albertans about coal, and which we fully accepted."

Ron Wallace, who was the chairman of the committee, said he's pleased the government accepted its recommendations.

"We're looking forward very much to seeing policies and procedures that are brought forward by the government of Alberta that actually implement those recommendations," he said.

Wallace said he has received a copy of the community document.

"It looks like their work is pretty much based upon and consistent with the work of the coal policy committee," he said. "In that regard, I am really pleased to see the momentum and the interest that is going forward on this file.

"This report will be of value to the government of Alberta as it develops its implementation plans to deal with our recommendations."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2022.

Colette Derworiz, The Canadian Press

Parks Canada withdraws proposed changes to Jasper, Alta., home stays after backlash

Stephen Cook - Yesterday 

Parks Canada has withdrawn proposed changes to private home accommodations (PHAs) in Jasper, Alta. after backlash from operators.

Eric and Lorraine Dietiker have operated a PHA out of their Jasper home for 33 years.

It's allowed the couple to meet visitors from around the world, all the while saving money for retirement.

But when Parks Canada unveiled a slew of proposed regulatory changes to how PHAs could operate earlier this month, the couple thought it was the end for Rainees Rooms B&B.

Eric Dietiker was crushed.

"That was our pension in a nutshell," he said.

On Friday, Parks Canada withdrew the proposed amendments and the feedback deadline of June 13th.

In a letter to stakeholders, senior realty and development adviser Dave Kreizenbeck said Parks Canada recognized the timeframe was problematic and promised to undertake further consultations to "collaboratively identify amendments that will address life safety code issues, preservation of residential areas, parking and compliance issues" that were raised during public engagement sessions in 2019.

Karen Phillips, treasurer for the Jasper Home Accommodation Association, said the withdrawal represents a reprieve.

"The initial reaction — I mean, both for me, and other operators I was talking to — we were all pretty happy," she said.

"But this hasn't gone away, it's going to be coming back."



An amendment package, dated May 5 of this year, outlines the proposed changes and the reasoning behind them.

"PHAs are meant to consist of a private bedroom within a resident's dwelling," it reads.

"However historical practices, unclear policy and administrative errors have led to a number of existing PHAs within the community that mimic a self-contained hotel room, or a secondary suite."

Parks Canada says managing commercial use in residential spaces is vital given the town's ongoing housing shortage and affordability challenges.

Among the proposed clarifications and modifications would be:
Explicitly prohibiting kitchens in PHA areas.
Requiring a PHA only take up 10 per cent of a dwelling, in keeping with home-based business stipulations.
Prohibiting independent access that forgoes the primary dwelling.
Requiring parking stalls on property for PHAs.
All existing permits expire at the end of 2024. Permits did not previously have an expiry but would now expire after three years.

Under the new scheme, operators could also apply before the end of this year to have their PHA converted into a secondary suite, another standard typically used for longer-term rentals with an interim policy that took effect in 2020. The permit would be exempt from some requirements like size restrictions and kitchen and access prohibitions.

Phillips said the changes would make it impossible for the majority of the JHAA's 143 members to continue to operate their PHAs, dispossessing residents of income and visitors of an accommodation type less expensive than hotels and more cozy than camping.

"We've been allowed to have these facilities with full knowledge from Parks Canada, and now all of a sudden, they're no longer acceptable."
Municipal autonomy

Jasper has had a municipal council since 2001 but land use and zoning are controlled by Parks Canada.

Both the JHAA and representatives from town council had asked the federal agency for an extension to the initial June 13 feedback deadline.

Mayor Richard Ireland, speaking to CBC News before the proposed amendments were withdrawn, said the situation demonstrated an accountability issue.

"It certainly does point … to the issue, that regulatory changes like this, that have such deep social impacts, ought to be made by the people who are directly accountable to the residents through democratic processes," he said.

"That has been the suggestion that we have been making for years."

Ireland said Parks Canada recently agreed to talks to review jurisdiction over land use planning and land rents, although a timeline has yet to be determined.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

KPMG fined €3.9m by UK watchdog over Rolls-Royce audit failures

KPMG fine, © PA Archive/PA Images

24/05/2022
BY HENRY SAKER-CLARK,

 PA DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR

KPMG has been hit with a £3.37 million (€3.9 million) fine by the UK's audit watchdog over failings working on accounts for engineering giant Rolls-Royce.

The big four auditor was told it could face a fine of up £4.5 million but saw this reduced after admissions related to the case.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) first launched an investigation into KPMG’s conduct in 2017 over bribery allegations following a probe by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

KPMG had been Rolls-Royce auditor since 1990 but was sacked by the FTSE firm after agreeing a settlement with the SFO and US Department for Justice amid bribery claims.

It resulted in the auditor paying out £670 million in fines.

KPMG said the fine related to work on Rolls-Royce’s 2010 audit 

(Paul Ellis/PA)

On Tuesday, the FRC highlighted that its latest findings related to two sets of payments made by the company to agents in India, which “gave rise to allegations of bribery and corruption”.

The regulator said that KPMG was aware of “allegations of bribery and malpractice through the use of intermediaries and advisers”, which also involved a separate defence firm.

The FRC said the new findings amounted to “serious failures to exercise professional scepticism, to obtain sufficient, appropriate audit evidence and document this on the audit file”.

However, it said that this did not result in material misstatements across Rolls-Royce’s financial statements, although there was a breach to a “discrete” area of its 2010 audit.

Claudia Mortimore, deputy executive counsel to the FRC, said: “It is essential that auditors are alive to the risks of companies’ non-compliance with laws and regulations, and conduct work in this area with care and sufficient professional scepticism.

“This is particularly so when the audited entity is in a sector where such risks are known to be prevalent.

“The package of financial and non-financial sanctions imposed in this case should help to improve the quality of future audits.”

Jon Holt, chief executive of KPMG in the UK, said: “When I came into my role as chief executive, I said that we would move swiftly to resolve and learn from our outstanding regulatory cases.

“I am pleased we have now concluded this historic matter and I’m sorry that elements of our work in the full-year 2010 audit of Rolls-Royce Group plc did not meet the professional standards required.

“In addition to resolving legacy cases, we are also investing significantly in training, controls and technology to improve quality and resilience in our audit practice.”

It comes just weeks after the FRC confirmed a £14.4 million settlement from KPMG after former staff forged documents relating to collapsed outsourcing firm Carillion.

Tesla quarantining thousands of workers to restore China output

Published: 24 May 2022 -

File photo: A Tesla dealership is seen in West Drayton, just outside 

London, Britain, February 7, 2018. 

Reuters/Hannah McKay/File Photo

Tesla Inc. is isolating thousands of workers in disused factories and an old military camp in China to ensure they’re Covid-19 free, part of a large-scale plan by the electric-car maker to ramp up production at its plant in Shanghai as the city emerges from lockdown.

The staff will be used to create a second shift at Tesla’s Gigafactory south of Shanghai -- which was shut down for weeks from late March because of the city’s lockdown -- recently resuming some production under a special, so-called closed-loop system approved by the authorities.

The workers need to be quarantined for between 48 and 72 hours to meet government requirements to be able to join other employees already inside the factory "bubble,” according to people familiar with the situation.

Once the two batches of staff are joined together they will be housed in the campsite and vacant factories close to Tesla’s plant fitted with mobile toilets and shower facilities, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans are private. They’ll be shuttled each day from the temporary accommodation to the manufacturing site in special buses.

Employees currently in the first shift have been sleeping on the floor of the Gigafactory itself since mid-April, working 12-hour stints, six days a week, to revive production after the three-week total shutdown.

A representative for Tesla in China said no further updates could be shared as yet regarding the factory’s status.

The logistical gauntlet Tesla is negotiating just to resume near-normal production shows the challenges faced by companies seeking to continue operations in Covid Zero China. While the rest of the world is normalizing and living alongside the virus, China persists in trying to stamp it out, using ever-more disruptive measures -- from repeated mass testing to movement restrictions -- to achieve those ends.

Sharing Beds

Closed loops have been promoted by officials as a way to restart industry while limiting virus transmission risk. But the toll on workers is significant, with staff constantly tested and monitored for Covid, and confined to a loop that only includes the workplace and their sleeping quarters, separated from their families and outside society.

China is Tesla’s most-important market after the US and its Shanghai factory, capable of producing around 2,100 cars a day when running at full speed, supplies the country’s vast domestic market as well as exports vehicles to other parts of Asia and Europe. The production halt due to the lockdown put a major dent in Tesla’s output.

While having more workers in the closed loop will help bolster Tesla’s production, space restrictions mean they’ll need to share beds in the makeshift dorms. Those working in the day will have their beds occupied by the night shift while they’re on duty, and vice versa, one of the people said.

US-based Tesla had been wanting to use vacant government isolation centers -- makeshift sites that China uses to quarantine Covid cases and their close contacts -- to house its workers, but the disused factories and military training camp proved more feasible, one of the people said.

It may take until at least later this week to resume full production at the Gigafactory, given that workers will return to the site in groups and not all at once, and the supply of auto parts is still patchy, the people said.

Officially, Shanghai has been easing the lockdown that kept its 25 million residents home-bound for nearly two months. But China’s dogged adherence to stamping out the coronavirus at all costs has meant the reality is somewhat different with many restrictions remaining in place and residents required to get special passes to leave their apartment blocks. Many businesses, including restaurants, are still shuttered.

UK Ministers Warned Thousands of NHS Workers May Quit for Better-Paid Jobs


TEHRAN (FNA)- The NHS faces a “mass exodus” of thousands of staff to better-paid jobs in pubs, shops and supermarkets as a result of the cost of living crisis, ministers have been warned.

Health leaders fear significant numbers of lower-paid workers will leave for higher wages in the private sector amid rising food and heating bills and soaring inflation. The NHS already has 110,000 vacancies, and there are fears that a further deepening of the workforce crisis will “jeopardise” the ability of hospitals to tackle record-high waiting lists, The Guardian reported.

Ministers are being urged to give NHS staff on the lowest full-time pay a higher wage rise than last year to help them mitigate against the worst effects of rising living costs. Failure to boost pay for those being paid just 15p above the national minimum wage will also undermine efforts to recruit new staff, health leaders say.

“Committing to giving more money to the NHS’ lowest paid workers is the right thing to do as inflation spirals and living costs mount,” said Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“Without a pay rise which at least matches what some parts of the private sector are offering, we are at real risk of a mass exodus of healthcare staff on the lowest pay who are quitting the NHS to search out jobs in better-paid sectors including supermarkets, pubs and high street shops," he added.

“Staff leaving the NHS at a time when they are most needed will also jeopardise the gains the health service is making in clearing the waiting list backlog,” Taylor said.

MPs on the health select committee are to examine the NHS workforce crisis at a meeting on Tuesday.

Some NHS trusts are already setting up their own food banks for staff, and offering hot meals for £1 and hardship funds. But health leaders say this does not go far enough and are calling on ministers to pay the lowest-paid healthcare workers more, including porters, medical secretaries, security guards and healthcare assistants.

NHS leaders want to see the government commit to a 4% pay rise for NHS staff on NHS band 2 contracts instead of the 3% increase expected to be announced and confirmed as early as next month.

About 60,000 staff are on the lowest NHS pay point, making £18,870 a year. A targeted 4% pay rise for them would mean they take home about £500 a year extra after tax.

Dental services are also facing a workforce crisis.

Ahead of Tuesday’s health select committee hearing, the British Dental Association (BDA) warned that thousands of high street dentists in England were “severing ties” with the NHS, which could leave millions of patients “with no options”.

The BDA said that since March 2020, about 3,000 dentists had moved away from NHS work entirely. Most dentists provide a mixture of NHS and private dental care, but the figures suggest the balance could shift in favour of more private provision.

Shawn Charlwood, the chair of the BDA’s general dental practice committee, said, “Overstretched and underfunded, thousands of dentists have already left the NHS, but many more have begun severing their ties.”

The Final Push for U.S. Chemical Weapons Demilitarization


ISSUE BRIEFS
Volume 14, Issue 4, March 14, 2022

For more than a century, chemical weapons have been recognized as one of the most horrific, inhumane, and militarily dubious instruments of war. These realities led to nearly universal support for the ratification and entry into force of the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (CWC), including support from Russia and the United States—which were at that time the possessors of the world’s two largest chemical weapon arsenals.

Negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, the CWC prohibits all signatories from developing, producing, acquiring, stockpiling, or retaining chemical weapons. It also bans the direct or indirect transfer of chemical weapons, and the assisting, encouraging, or inducing of other states to engage in CWC-prohibited activity. Since its ratification, the main mission of the CWC has been the verified and irreversible destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles.


Photographed on Nov. 23, 2021, palletized 105mm projectiles at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant await eventual destruction outside of the explosive containment room in the Enhanced Reconfiguration Building. (Photo credit: PEO ACWA)

When the United States ratified the CWC on April 25th, 1997, it accepted the treaty mandate to eliminate its chemical weapons stockpile and related facilities completely and verifiably by April 29, 2007, with the possibility of a five-year extension until 2012.

But both the 2007 and 2012 deadlines proved to be severe underestimates of the time and effort needed to safely demilitarize all nine declared U.S. chemical weapons stockpiles. The United States requested and received two additional deadline extensions from the international chemical weapons watchdog, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Now, the United States is pushing hard to finish destroying the last vestiges of its once-massive Cold War-era chemical weapons stockpile by Sept. 30, 2023.1

Current Status of the U.S. Chemical Demilitarization Effort

Despite the delays in its campaign to eliminate chemical weapons, the United States has achieved tremendous progress toward the destruction of its massive and highly toxic chemical weapons arsenal. According to the OPCW’s annual report for 2022, the OPCW confirmed that the United States has verifiably destroyed a total of 26,606.252 metric tons of priority Category 1 chemical weapons, which is 95.81% of the total U.S. declared stockpile.2 The United States has destroyed all of its Category 2 chemical weapons, such as phosgene, and Category 3 weapons, including unfilled munitions, devices, and equipment designed specifically to employ chemical weapons.

As of March 2022, 418.4 metric tons of mustard agent remain at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in Colorado and just under 300 metric tons of VX nerve agent are left to be destroyed at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant in Kentucky.3

With only a year and a half left to finish its chemical weapons demilitarization mission - an effort started nearly 40 years ago – the United States government must commit the necessary resources and funding to ensure it meets its treaty-mandated deadline of Sept. 30, 2023.

Congressional authorization of sufficient funding for chemical agents and munitions destruction this year will help ensure the work is done on time and according to stringent safety and environmental standards. Congress and the Biden administration must prioritize finally finishing destruction activities to maintain our standing as a dependable and influential member of the international disarmament community.

The Fiscal Year 2022 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, introduced to the House in July 2021, set aside $1,094,352,000 for the Army to make the final push in the chemical agents and munitions destruction mission.4 Of the total amount proposed, $995,011,000 is designated for the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) program, the Army organization that oversees operations at the last two U.S. chemical weapons destruction facilities in Colorado and Kentucky. The remaining sum is distributed amongst operations/maintenance and the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP).

By the end of this fiscal year, the United States will have spent more than $41.7 billion (adjusted for inflation) since 1986 on chemical weapons stockpile elimination efforts.5

Why It Is Vital to Meet the 2023 Deadline

As a leader in upholding the norm against the possession and use of chemical weapons, the United States owes it to our international partners, and our local communities, to demonstrate our commitment to ridding the world of these inhumane weapons once and for all by meeting the 2023 stockpile elimination deadline.

U.S. credibility and leadership are on the line. Countries such as Russia and Iran have attempted to use the United States missed chemical weapons destruction deadlines to discredit U.S. commitment to the CWC, at a critical time in which the United States seeks to have a leadership role in holding countries like Syria and Russia accountable for their failure to comply with the CWC.

During a June 30, 2021, public meeting of the Colorado Citizens’ Advisory Commission, U.S. National Authority for the Chemical Weapons Convention and acting Deputy Secretary Assistant at the State Department, Laura Gross, emphasized the diplomatic importance of completing stockpile elimination.

“From our perspective at the State Department, we want to be able to […] demonstrate the commitment that the United States has against the use of chemical weapons,” Gross said. “That’s why it’s so important to be able to maintain that commitment to the timeline […] because we have adversaries in Russia, China, Iran, and Syria, who are using or developing chemical weapons for potential use, and we really want to be working at the OPCW to deter them.”

“We don’t want these countries to have the opportunity to use potential delays against us,” Gross added later in the meeting.

Domestically, the U.S. government owes it to the communities surrounding chemical weapons stockpiles and destruction facilities to finally finish eliminating these dangerous weapons. For well over 50 years, at least 9 states have had to deal with the health and environmental risks that come with the storage and destruction of chemical munitions and agents.

While U.S. President Joe Biden has not publicly commented on the importance of meeting the 2023 deadline, other government officials including Dr. Brandi Vann, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense, and the newly appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Threat Reduction and Arms Control, Kingston Reif, have reiterated the United States’ commitment to meeting the deadline.6

History of the U.S. Chemical Weapons Demilitarization

Throughout the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union amassed enormous stockpiles of these dangerous weapons: by 1990, the United States had 31,500 U.S. tons (63,000,000 pounds) of chemical agents, and the Soviet Union had 39,967 metric tons (88,112,152 pounds).7 Highly toxic nerve agents, such as sarin, are lethal at as little as 100 mg.

The United States’ effort to eliminate its massive chemical weapons arsenal began before the end of the Cold War and well before the entry into force of the CWC in 1997. In 1986, Congress passed Public Law 99-145, which called for the safe destruction of the United States’ stockpile of nonbinary lethal chemical agents and related facilities by Sept. 30, 1994.8

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Russia and the United States held several rounds of talks on chemical weapons disarmament and signed the 1990 Bilateral Destruction Agreement. However, faced with internal funding issues, Russia did not begin stockpile destruction efforts until 2000.9 The 1986 Congressional decision to begin stockpile destruction without reciprocal action by Russia demonstrated early on the United States’ commitment to chemical weapons disarmament.

Under this new congressional mandate, the U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) (which was later renamed Chemical Materials Agency (CMA) in 1992) began construction of the Johnston Atoll prototype high-temperature incineration facility in 1988. Originally, the Army planned to build three centralized incinerators at 3 chemical weapons stockpile depots – one on Johnston Atoll, one in Utah, and one in either Alabama or Arkansas – and transport chemical weapons from the other 6 stockpile locations for destruction.10

However, the transport of these dangerous weapons was highly contentious and was later outright banned by Congress (50 U.S. Code 1512a, 1994). Instead of three centralized incinerators, the Army announced in 1988 that it would build 8 disposal facilities at each of the 8 chemical munition storage sites on the continental United States.11,12 In September of that same year, Congress extended the deadline to eliminate the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile to April 30, 1997, as the new approach was going to take far more time, planning, and resources.13

After multiple mechanical problems and several rounds of testing, the Johnston Atoll facility began burning agents in 1990 that had been previously stored by the U.S. military in Okinawa and Germany. These chemical munitions had been secretly relocated to Johnston Atoll in the 70s and 90s respectively.14 Construction for the second incineration facility began in Tooele, Utah in 1989.

As the U.S. chemical weapons demilitarization process got underway, civil society organizations including Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, the Chemical Weapons Working Group, Physicians for Social Responsibility, as well as Native American communities and local grassroots organizations, were actively researching and raising serious concerns about the impact of incineration of chemical warfare agents on the environment and the health of local communities.

The U.S. Army released a draft environmental impact statement in 1990 that concluded the incineration process would have a minimal environmental impact, and the commander of the U.S. demilitarization program, Colonel Walter Busbee, said that fears about pollution were overblown.15

Despite the promises from the Army, sites for incineration facilities were beset by litigation and protests over environmental and public health concerns regarding the danger of potential leakages and emissions during incineration. The Environmental Protection Agency fined the Army for a nerve agent stack release in March 1994, a group of civil society organizations sued the Army in June 2000 over the potential release of MC-1 Sarin nerve gas during the processing of a bomb, and the Pine Bluff citizens’ group filed an appeal with the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission in September 2000 over whether future emissions would constitute as “pollution” under Arkansas law.

Throughout the 1990s, citizen activists and non-governmental research organizations continued to press the government to investigate and pursue alternatives to incineration. Preceding the construction of each U.S. incineration destruction facility were lengthy public hearings and environmental impact reports.

As early as June 1990, the U.S. Army confirmed that it expected to miss the 1997 deadline set by Congress. A GAO report attributed the expected delay to “(a) stringent environmental regulation of the operation of the first U.S. continental incineration plant, (b) program budget cuts, and (c) operational delays in testing the first disposal plant on Johnston Atoll.”16

By 1991, Congress pushed back the deadline for U.S. chemical weapons stockpile elimination further. During a December 1991 testimony in front of the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense, Assistant Secretary of the Army, Susan Livingstone, said, “I wish to state candidly that schedule will not be a primary driver for this program. We have always stated that safety is the paramount consideration in making decisions for this program.”17 Construction of additional incineration facilities began in Anniston, Alabama in 1991, Umatilla, Oregon in 1996, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 2002.

The concerns of communities surrounding chemical weapons destruction sites were echoed by key members of Congress. As part of the Senate resolution on advice and consent for ratification of the CWC, policymakers included a set of conditions, including a mandate that the president and the Army explore alternative, non-incineration technologies for the destruction of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile “to ensure that the United States has the safest, most effective and environmentally sound plans for programs for meeting its obligations under the Convention for the destruction of chemical weapons.”18

Per the Congressional conditions, the U.S. Army’s Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment (ACWA) program was established to investigate and test alternative methods to baseline incineration to dispose of chemical weapons. In 2001, the Army announced that six alternative technologies for chemical weapons destruction had been identified and tested, with neutralization/biotreatment and neutralization/supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) progressing to the engineer design phase.19

The CWC required the United States to destroy its remaining 27,200 metric tons of chemical warfare agents within 10 years.20 However, due to delays attributed to the search for environmentally preferred alternatives to incineration, the treaty-mandated destruction deadline was pushed back from April 29, 2007, to April 29, 2012, with the approval of the other CWC States Parties.

While asking for the United States’ first deadline extension request, former U.S. permanent representative to the OPCW, Ambassador Eric Javits, explained that the U.S. would be unable to meet the 2007 deadline due to setbacks and delays caused by difficulties in constructing facilities, obtaining permits, and addressing safety and environmental concerns. He candidly noted that the United States was asking for the April 2012 deadline “as our extended deadline because that is the latest date the treaty allows us to ask for,” but that “based on our current projections, we do not expect to be able to meet that deadline.”21

In addition to the five incineration facilities, the U.S. Army CMA constructed and operated two neutralization facilities in Edgewood, Maryland and Newport, Indiana. Those two sites finished operations in 2007 and 2010 respectively. The Maryland bulk mustard agent storage site, located outdoors with limited protection, was expedited primarily due to security concerns after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

While the U.S. Army CMA was responsible for the first seven stockpile destruction facilities, the last two remaining chemical weapons destruction facilities, located in Pueblo, Colorado, and Blue Grass, Kentucky, are overseen by the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA). Both sites feature alternative destruction processes to incineration.

At the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP), most of the mustard projectiles stored there are being destroyed in a two-step process: neutralization followed by biotreatment. Three Static Detonation Chambers (SDCs) are also being employed to destroy “problematic munitions,” including the stockpile of 4.2-inch mortar rounds.

At the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP), the majority of the nerve agents (including GB/Sarin and VX) are being destroyed through neutralization. Like the PCAPP process, several “problematic” munitions, mainly 155mm mustard projectiles, were destroyed by SDCs. The site’s remaining M55 rockets are also slated to be destroyed by the SDCs.

The Final Push to Eliminate What Remains

As of March 4, 2022, the United States has 418.4 metric tons of mustard in 105mm projectiles and mustard 4.2-inch mortar rounds left at the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in Colorado. There are 296.6 metric tons of VX nerve agent in M55 rockets and GB nerve agent in M55 rockets left to destroy at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant in Kentucky.

Walton Levi, site manager for the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, confirmed that the facility is still on target to meet the September 2023 deadline in a recent interview with KUNC.22

Crews at the two remaining facilities have continued to work diligently throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and their dedication to helping the United States meet its treaty mandated deadline in such uncertain circumstances is truly commendable.

Following a public comment and testing period, the Pueblo, Colorado facility was granted an environmental permit to use Static Detonation Chambers to finish eliminating the remaining mustard munitions. 23

CWC Outlier States

The completion of the long campaign to eliminate the U.S. chemical weapons arsenal will also put more pressure on the remaining CWC hold-out states to join and meet their commitments.

Four countries remain outside the CWC: Egypt, Israel, North Korea, and South Sudan. North Korea is estimated to possess a stockpile of approximately 5,000 metric tons of agent. The status of Taiwan, prohibited from joining all multilateral treaties by China, must also be resolved, especially given its large chemical industry. Syria, which joined the CWC in 2013 under intense international pressure and agreed to the elimination of the bulk of its former stockpile of some 1,300 metric tons of prohibited chemical agents, has failed to provide a full accounting of its stockpiles to the OPCW.24

Russia—which once possessed the world’s largest chemical weapons stockpile consisting of approximately 40,000 metric tons of chemical agent, including VX, sarin, soman, mustard, lewisite, mustard-lewisite mixtures, and phosgene—officially completed the destruction of its chemical weapons arsenal in 2017.

Like the United States, Russia received an extension of the original chemical weapons destruction deadline when it was unable to complete the task by the 2012 deadline set by the CWC. Russia’s destruction program benefited from technical assistance and funding through the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. Finally, the OPCW announced Sept. 27, 2017 that Russia completed the destruction of its declared chemical weapons stockpile.

However, Russia still retains some chemical weapons capacity. In March 2018, Russia used the advanced chemical agent Novichok to assassinate a former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter Yulia, in the UK. In a 2021 State Department report on compliance with the CWC, the United States accused Russia of non-compliance with the CWC for its alleged use of Novichok. The report also noted that “The United States cannot certify that Russia has met its obligations" under the Convention and asserted that Russia had not made a complete declaration of its stockpile.

Conclusion

As we enter the final year and a half of demilitarization efforts, the United States government must recommit to prioritizing its chemical weapons stockpile elimination efforts, while, at the same time, continuing to protect the security and safety of local communities. The active involvement of local communities, state regulators and authorities, environmental and public health experts and activities, and other interested stakeholders has been an excellent example of democratic and transparent decision-making.

Leaders in Washington, D.C. must provide the leadership and support necessary to meet international treaty commitments and maintain the United States’ standing as a responsible and influential leader in the global disarmament community.

When the United States does eliminate the last of its deadly chemical weapons, it will be a critical step in strengthening the taboo against chemical weapons and a strong boost for the CWC and the OPCW at a critical juncture in the long fight against these inhumane weapons.—LEANNE QUINN, Chemical Weapons Coalition Program Assistant

ENDNOTES

1. The 8 nations that have declared chemical weapons stockpiles to the OPCW are Albania, India, Iraq, Libya, Russia, South Korea, Syria, and the United States.

2. Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, “Report of the OPCW on the Implementation of the Convention in 2020,” 1 Dec. 2021, https://www.opcw.org/sites/default/files/documents/2021/12/c2603%28e%29.pdf

3. ‘US Chemical Weapons Stockpile Destruction Progress,” Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives, 4 March 2022, https://www.peoacwa.army.mil/destruction-progress/

4. “H.R.4432 - Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2022,” Congress.gov, 15 July 2021, https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4432/text

5. This number was calculated by finding the sum of all congressional appropriations under the section “Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction” since 1986. Each number was adjusted for inflation in relation to 2021. We have submitted a FOIA request for an official estimate and will update this issue brief when we receive a response.

6. See: Recording of “US Chemical Weapons Stockpile Elimination: Progress Update” webinar at https://www.cwccoalition.org/us_cw_demilitarization_webinar/

7. Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), “Report of the OPCW on the Implementation of the Convention in 2017,” 19 Nov. 2018, https://www.opcw.org/sites/default/files/documents/2018/11/c2304%28e%29.pdf

8. “Public Law 99-145-Nov. 8, 1985,” GovInfo.gov, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-99/pdf/STATUTE-99-Pg583.pdf, see: Sec. 1412 Destruction of Existing Stockpile of Lethal Chemical Agents and Munitions

9. Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), “Report of the OPCW on the Implementation of the Convention in 2000,” 17 May 2001, https://www.opcw.org/sites/default/files/documents/CSP/C-VI/en/C-VI_5-EN.pdf, page 10

10. Paul Walker, “Three Decades of Chemical Weapons Elimination: More Challenges Ahead,” Arms Control Association, December 2019, https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2019-12/features/three-decades-chemical-weapons-elimination-more-challenges-ahead

11. “50 U.S. Code § 1512a – Transportation of chemical munitions,” Cornell Law School, n.d., https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/1512a

12. CMA also oversaw stockpile destruction activities of the chemical weapons stored at Deseret Chemical Depot, Utah; Umatilla Chemical Depot, Oregon; Anniston Chemical Activity, Alabama; Pine Bluff Chemical Activity, Arkansas; Newport Chemical Depot, Indiana; Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; and Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Basin.[12][12]

13. “Public Law 100-456-Sept. 29, 1988,” US Code House, n.d., https://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=102&page=1934

14. “CMA Milestones in U.S. Chemical Weapons History,” U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity, n.d., https://www.cma.army.mil/wp-content/uploads/2021_02_05_CMA_FS_CMA-MILESTONES.pdf

15. Arms Control Reporter: A Chronicle of Treaties, Negotiations, Proposals, Weapons & Policy, 1990. Chalmers Hardenbergh (Brookline, MA: Institute for Defense & Disarmament Studies, 1990), page 704.E-1.

16. Arms Control Reporter: A Chronicle of Treaties, Negotiations, Proposals, Weapons & Policy, 1990, Chalmers Hardenbergh (Brookline, MA: Institute for Defense & Disarmament Studies, 1990), page 704.E-1.5.

17. Arms Control Reporter: A Chronicle of Treaties, Negotiations, Proposals, Weapons & Policy, 1991, Chalmers Hardenbergh (Brookline, MA: Institute for Defense & Disarmament Studies, 1991), page 704.E-1.18.

18. “U.S. Senate’s Conditions to Ratification of the CWC,” United States Chemical Weapons Convention Web Site, 24 April 1997, https://www.cwc.gov/cwc_authority_ratification_text.html

19. Arms Control Reporter: A Chronicle of Treaties, Negotiations, Proposals, Weapons & Policy 2001, John Clearwater (Brookline, MA: Institute for Defense & Disarmament Studies, 1991), page 704.E-1.1

20. “Closing U.S. Chemical Warfare Agent Disposal Facilities,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d., https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/demil/closing_facilities.htm

21. “Statement Concerning Request to Extend the United States’ Destruction Deadline Under the Chemical Weapons Convention,” U.S. Department of States Archive, 20 April 2006, https://2001-2009.state.gov/t/isn/rls/rm/64878.htm

22. Michael de Yoanna, “Static detonation chambers likely to be used to destroy Colorado’s final chemical weapons,” NPR for Northern Colorado, 18 Jan. 2022, https://www.kunc.org/news/2022-01-18/static-detonation-chambers-likely-to-be-used-to-destroy-colorados-final-chemical-weapons

23. Michael de Yoanna, “Static detonation chambers likely to be used to destroy Colorado’s final chemical weapons,” NPR for Northern Colorado, 18 Jan. 2022, https://www.kunc.org/news/2022-01-18/static-detonation-chambers-likely-to-be-used-to-destroy-colorados-final-chemical-weapons

24. “Syria’s Declaration of Compliance with Chemical Weapons Convention Still Inaccurate Due to Persisting Gaps, Inconsistencies, Top Disarmament Official Tells Security Council,” United Nations: Meetings Coverage and Press Releases, 5 January 2022, https://www.un.org/press/en/2022/sc14760.doc.htm

Senegalese art sensation Omar Ba reflects on colonialism at Dakar Biennale


Contemporary Senegalese artist, Omar Ba, poses for a portrait at his workshop in Sangalkam -
Copyright © africanewsJOHN WESSELS/AFP or licensors

By Rédaction Africanews
with AFP Last updated: 24/05 -

SENEGAL

Senegalese painter Omar Ba begins to paint a five-metre-long canvas a deep, dark shade of black.

This is how Ba, a rising star in the world of contemporary African art, begins most of his works, which question the state of the world and Africa's place in it.

After exhibiting at an array of important galleries and museums around the world, Ba's work is on display in his home country, at the 14th Dakar Biennale, which opened Thursday.

"On black backgrounds, I feel that the drawing will be much more readable and clear for me," he said from his airy workspace at the end of a pathway strewn with shells from the nearby Lac Rose.

"I feel in perfect union with what I am doing because I find myself in front of this colour, which I find noble and magnificent."

Ba, 45, is a top sensation at the 14th Dakar Biennale, where his work touches on colonialism, violence, but also hope.

"We see the colour white as the neutral colour, the pure colour, the innocent colour," he said. "Black is always associated with what is dirty, what is dark ... and that can affect the person who lives these cliches."

Ba has 20 pieces currently on display at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, and an exhibition opening in New York in September. In November, the Baltimore Museum of Art will host a retrospective of his work.

Enigmatic, even hallucinatory, and intensely poetic, his work is inhabited by dream-like visions with shimmering colours and hybrid creatures with the head of a goat, a ram or Horus, the falcon-headed Egyptian deity.

His creatures embody the traumas inherited from colonialism, tyranny, violence, and North-South inequalities.

"These characters are half-man, half-animal," he said. "It is a nod to the natural within the human being, who I think behaves like an animal in the jungle -- we try to dominate others to be able to exist."

Currently, Ba says he is focused on solutions, a theme apparent in his biennale exhibit.

One of his festival pieces features two figures with trophies for necks standing on an enormous globe and shaking hands. They are surrounded by laurel branches, symbolising peace.

"It speaks of reconciliation, unity and an Africa that wins -- not an Africa that always asks or begs, but an Africa that participates in the concert of nations," he said.


The biennale, hosted in his home country for more than three decades, holds special significance for Ba. It was in Dakar where, after abandoning training to be a mechanic, he switched to art studies.

Since his first exhibition in Switzerland in 2010, Ba, who now lives between Senegal, Brussels and Geneva, has also exhibited at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

For the past few years, he has worked from the peace and quiet of his Bambilor studio, in the middle of a mango plantation, an hour's drive from Dakar, sharing the land with cows, ducks and exotic flowers.

"Omar Ba has reinvented painting," said Malick Ndiaye, the biennale's artistic director.

"It is an innovative and powerful work that we are not used to seeing in terms of the technique he uses, the materials he uses and the composition and arrangement."

Ba's work has featured in the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s permanent collection and the Louis Vuitton Foundation for the Contemporary Art’s collection.

Speaking ahead of the biennale, the continent's largest contemporary art event, Ba said he was pleased to see young African artists "beginning to enter very large galleries and exhibit in museums that are recognised internationally."

"We must try to make Africa an essential place for art," he said.

 Catherine Nanziri: Fighting poverty, prejudice to become Uganda’s boxing champion

VIDEO 

Catherine Nanziri throws an undercut during training -

 
Copyright © africanews

By Raziah Athman 

Last updated: 24/05 - 

Catherine Nanziri is a sensation on the local boxing scene, which she entered in 2018. The 22-year-old who dropped out of school spends most days in the gym, sparring.

She faces a Tanzanian boxer in June, but her punches go beyond winning medals, she fights against poverty and prejudice.

_“Some people think that girls do drop out of school or do stop in form four or primary school because of pregnancy yet it is not so. What made me drop out isn’t that and I am looking forward to going back to school”

Nanziri made history last year, fighting in Tokyo, as **the first female boxer to represent Uganda at the Olympics.**She fell to Japan’s Tsukumi Namiki in the flyweight round of 32 but has not given up since.

Ranked the country’s number one, she just stepped up from flyweight to banter-weight, the first major progression in her career as she goes professional.

_“Professional is business. So boxing is going to start paying me, roughly. Maybe if the sponsors come on board, while I do build my career that is when money comes in and you say that boxing does pay me. Because when sponsors come in you are paid per month which is very fine. In amateur, boxing wasn’t a money issue.”

As Uganda continues to look for gold in the Olympics, Catherine Nanziri is not discouraged by the negative perception that boxing is a sport for men only.

At 52Kg, she still carries this societal weight to the ring with dreams of fighting at the World Boxing Championships and achieving higher rankings globally.