Opinion: Two steps to get us toward carbon neutral economy in Sask.

Jim Elliott - 

© Provided by Leader Post

Saskatchewan needs to take better advantage of our renewable energy resources, writes Jim Elliott.

Minister Bronwyn Eyre and, by extension, Premier Scott Moe need to stop using conservative political and marketing spin , sleight of hand or smoke and mirrors to try to convince us that somehow the federal government is interfering in the economy of this province.

Here is some simple education for the minister and premier to explain the situation they find themselves in today: “Energy is the capacity for doing work. It may exist in potential, kinetic, thermal, electrical, chemical, nuclear, or other forms.” It is not exclusively fossil fuels and energy does not simply equate to the production of non-renewable fossil fuels and the burning of such . And if we leave it in the ground, it will still be there for decades.

If we need to have a warm home or business, we have two steps. One reduces the need for any energy inputs into the home or business to make it liveable and secondly provide that additional source of heat. That heat can be provided by burning biomass or biofuels, using geothermal energy, using photovoltaics to generate electricity and using passive solar energy. All of these are renewable energy supplies. The burning of fossil fuels is not sustainable, nor should it be the first or only choice. There are homes in Saskatchewan today that use one-ninth the energy of current housing in the province, not even using photovoltaics which could be added on later. There are 50,000-square-foot Saskatchewan warehouses that use almost no fossil fuel energy to keep them warm in the wintertime. So, converting homes to this standard could reduce heating bills in Saskatchewan by 85 per cent.

We can do the same for transportation and agriculture.

Secondly, we know that polluting this planet with greenhouse gases is threatening our very existence and we don’t have to pollute to have a sustainable economy in this province. Our economy over the past 100 years has been allowed to pollute the planet’s atmosphere without penalty and as a result, we are experiencing more forest fires, more floods, more heat domes, more famines and less available water. We cannot continue to pollute with impunity. We must stop and allow the planet to reduce the GHG levels in our atmosphere.

The southern part of this province has the best solar gain of any province in Canada. With the use of photovoltaics, we could be that solar energy powerhouse called SaskPower that Premier Moe so desperately wants. We could be exporting solar and wind energy for the next millennium. We have one of the greatest wind regimes in Canada and could easily be exporting that electricity to our northern communities. And we don’t need to build more pipelines or small modular nuclear reactors. The electrical grid ties are already there or are being built.

We need to get down to carbon net zero or below by 2050 and it can easily be done. It will create thousands more jobs, especially in small towns and for those in the fossil fuel industry that will disappear in time. Wouldn’t it be better not to be hostage to the fossil fuel corporations and yet be able to turn on the switch and get heat, light or travel easily?

Jim Elliott is the chairperson of the Regina chapter of the Council of Canadians.

"Alarming": GOP quietly funnels millions into Democratic primaries to wipe out progressives

Igor Derysh - Yesterday - SALON

Former Maryland Rep. Donna Edwards, Michigan Rep. Andy Levin and Pennsylvania Rep. Summer Lee Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has spent more than $24 million to defeat progressive candidates in this year's Democratic primaries.

The United Democracy Project (UDP), an AIPAC-affiliated super PAC, has already spent $24.2 million on Democratic primaries this cycle, including millions that it raised from top Republican megadonors like Paul Singer and Bernard Marcus. The money has helped AIPAC-backed candidates wipe out progressives in primaries in Michigan, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, California and Ohio.

UDP and other pro-Israel groups tied to AIPAC – Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI), Urban Empowerment Action PAC and Pro-Israel America PAC — spent more than $10 million combined in three Michigan primaries, The Intercept reported, to defeat progressive candidates, including last week's loss for Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich., who has been called the most progressive Jewish member of the House.

"I'm really Jewish," Levin, a former synagogue president, told MSNBC last week. "But AIPAC can't stand the idea that I am the clearest, strongest Jewish voice in Congress standing for a simple proposition: that there is no way to have a secure, democratic homeland for the Jewish people unless we achieve the political and human rights of the Palestinian people."

UDP spent more than $4 million on ads opposing Levin and backing his opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., after they both opted to run in the state's 11th District following redistricting. Stevens on Tuesday defeated Levin, 60-40.

It's unclear how much impact spending by the Israel lobby, or other groups like Emily's List, which also backed Stevens, had on the actual race. The Atlantic's Yair Rosenberg argued that UDP was merely backing the more electable candidate in Michigan and other races. But critics denounced the group for funneling Republican money into Democratic contests.

Levin after his defeat lamented that he was the "target of a largely Republican-funded campaign set on defeating the movement I represent."

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., during a campaign rally with Levin last week, argued that AIPAC's involvement in the race had "nothing to do, in my view, with Israel."

"It is simply trying to defeat candidates and members of Congress who stand for working families and are prepared to demand that the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share of taxes," he said, calling on Democratic leaders to ban super PAC money from its primaries.


An AIPAC-affiliated super PAC has already spent $24.2 million on Democratic primaries this cycle, including millions that it raised from top Republican megadonors like Paul Singer and Bernard Marcus.

UDP fired back at Sanders over his criticism.

"Bernie and his allies are struggling with the fact that the majority of progressive Democrats in the country are pro-Israel," Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for UDP, told Salon. "They come up with attack after attack because they don't like the pro-Israel nature of the Democratic Party."

Dorton was quick to note that UDP has also received donations from Democrats, including megadonor Haim Saban.

"UDP is funded by Democratic and Republican donors who have set aside their partisan preferences in a hyperpolarized political environment to support a better U.S-Israel relationship," Dorton said.

He argued that it was "hypocritical" for Sanders to complain about pro-Israel spending because "all kinds of Bernie-allied groups are spending in these primaries," criticizing the "nasty attacks" from groups like J Street targeting Stevens in the primary.

J Street, a liberal Jewish group, called out AIPAC for endorsing and funding 109 Republicans who voted to overturn the election on January 6 while attacking candidates like Levin as "extremists."

"It is alarming that this race, like many other Democratic primaries this cycle, was heavily impacted by the aggressive outside spending of AIPAC and its super PAC, the United Democracy Project," the group said in a statement, calling on other Democratic candidates to "disavow and decline the support of AIPAC and its super PAC—which have come as a surprise to at least some of them."

AIPAC's official PAC pushed back on the criticism.

"We are proud to engage in the democratic process to help elect leaders who will strengthen the US-Israel relationship – including scores of progressive candidates," Marshall Wittmann, a spokesperson for AIPAC-PAC, said in a statement to Salon. "In fact, we have supported over half of the Congressional Black Caucus and Hispanic Caucus and nearly half of the Progressive Caucus. It is completely consistent with progressive values to stand with the Jewish state. We will continue to support progressive candidates who will stand with our democratic ally, Israel – and oppose detractors of the Jewish state."

AIPAC was less successful in campaigning to elect Michigan state Sen. Adam Hollier in the 13th District despite funneling more than $4 million into the race. State Rep. Shri Thanedar, who spent $5 million of his own money, ultimately prevailed in the race with just 28% of the vote, benefiting from a nine-candidate field. But the group has seen a strong return on its investment in other states.

UDP and DMFI spent about $1.5 million to help Rep. Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, take down progressive Sanders ally Nina Turner. UDP spent $2.3 million to help attorney Steve Irwin, a former Republican Senate staffer, defeat progressive state Rep. Summer Lee in Pennsylvania after she led by 25 points. UDP dropped nearly $2 million to help Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, beat back progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros in a tight matchup. And it's not just Sanders-allied progressives: UDP spent a whopping $6 million to help former prosecutor Glenn Ivey beat former Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md., who was backed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other top Democrats, because she was seen as not pro-Israel enough.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

All of the candidates targeted by the PACs have expressed support for Palestinian rights or have criticized the billions in aid the U.S. provides to the Israeli military. They have also supported prominent progressive proposals like Medicare for All, climate action and more left-wing economic policies. Despite spending heavily to influence Democratic primaries, UDP "has not been similarly active in Republican primaries, even in races where Republican candidates have been widely criticized for antisemitic comments," The American Prospect reported. But AIPAC has endorsed numerous controversial Republicans, including Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., who last year compared Democrats to Nazis.

AIPAC has funded ads lashing out at some far-right Republicans like Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., pressuring them to support funding for Israel's Iron Dome defense system. AIPAC-PAC backed Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., in her primary, though UDP has not been involved in any Republican primaries.

All of the candidates targeted by the PACs have expressed support for Palestinian rights or have criticized the billions in aid the U.S. provides to the Israeli military.

"We're looking at Republican races, we're looking at Democratic races," Dorton insisted. "Our goal is to build the largest bipartisan coalition in Congress. Unlike other groups, we don't feel like the way to do that is to support candidates that align themselves with the most persistent critics of Israel in the U.S."

Dorton said that UDP focuses on races "where there is a contrast between a pro-Israel candidate and a candidate who is an active detractor of Israel."

"We also take into account viability, demographics of the district and other factors that would impact an election, number of candidates, that kind of thing," he said. "So we are looking to help pro-Israel candidates win races."

This election cycle has marked a drastic change for AIPAC, which did not have a PAC or even endorse candidates until earlier this year. Former Clinton labor secretary Robert Reich cited the group's heavy expenditures to label them "the single most influential big money group in Democratic electoral politics."

Though UDP has argued that its funding is aimed at helping candidates who will be more friendly to Israel, some observers argue that it is just a pretense to defeat more progressive Democrats.

"Very often when these establishment pro-Israel organizations target a progressive candidate, those candidates are also targeted by groups that are not focused on Israel-Palestine but simply want to defeat that person because that person may be to progressive on questions of healthcare, or they may support the Green New Deal," Peter Beinart, a professor at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and editor-at-large at the conservative Jewish Currents, told Democracy Now. In some cases, he added, groups like the Democratic Majority for Israel "work out of the same offices with the same staff" as seemingly unrelated groups that target progressives on issues that have nothing to do with Israel.

Dorton argued that UDP is merely "exercising our First Amendment right to bring voters publicly available information," dismissing criticism that the ads aren't focused on Israel because, he said, "there was a clear contrast" that voters were already aware of.

J Street, which has far less money to spend than its deep-pocketed rivals at AIPAC, has sought to counter the group's influence by funding ads backing progressives in these races, including spots attacking Stevens in Michigan, though the group's PAC has only spent about one-tenth as much as UDP alone this cycle. J Street warned after the latest defeat that AIPAC's intervention, funded in part by Republican megadonors, threatens to harm the Democratic Party, foreign policy and "ultimately the state of Israel."

Dorton disputed the argument.

"There is increasing danger to the historical, bipartisan support for Israel in Congress because of politicians mostly on the left, but some on the far-right, but mostly on the far-left, who claim to be pro-Israel but aren't," he told Salon.

Though AIPAC's focus has been fairly limited on a couple of handfuls of races, the big money pouring into the races could have a chilling effect on other Democrats, J Street warned.

"With their overwhelming spending, AIPAC hopes to send an intimidating message to others: Cross our red lines, and you could be next," the group said in a statement. "While political space for open and healthy debate over US foreign policy has opened up considerably in recent years, they appear determined to close it down. Instead of building sustainable bipartisan support for Israel, AIPAC has harmfully turned Israel into one of the sharpest wedge issues in American politics."

U$A
200,000 student-loan borrowers get a 'grand slam' after a federal judge moves them closer to $6 billion in debt cancellation

asheffey@businessinsider.com (Ayelet Sheffey) - 

College graduation Getty Images

A federal judge granted preliminary approval of a settlement that will give relief to 200,000 defrauded borrowers.

This follows Biden's Education Department agreeing to the debt relief in June.
Biden has taken steps to clear up the backlog of claims from defrauded borrowers under Trump.

Thousands of student-loan borrowers defrauded by for-profit schools just got one step closer to getting their debt wiped out.

Borrowers who believe they were defrauded by a school can file a "borrower defense to repayment" claim, which gives those borrowers debt relief if they can prove a school's wrongdoing. But under former President Trump's Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, those claims ran up a backlog and left many borrowers dealing with debt burdens that could have been eligible for discharge, prompting Harvard Law School's Project on Predatory Student Lending to file a lawsuit in 2019 against DeVos.

While the suit was not resolved under the former administration, President Joe Biden's Education Department announced in June that it agreed to a settlement that would give 200,000 defrauded borrowers around $6 billion in relief — and Federal Judge William Alsup granted that settlement preliminary approval last week, calling it a "grand slam" for borrowers.

"Preliminary approval is an important milestone for this settlement and for our clients, bringing us one step closer to finally delivering certainty to borrowers who have fought long and hard for a fair resolution of their borrower defense claims," President of the Project on Predatory Student Lending Eileen Connor said in a statement. "When our clients brought this case in 2019, it was based on the fact that many of them had already been waiting years with no answers, and that harm has only compounded over time. As always, our focus is our clients, and we look forward to helping them finally secure the justice they are owed."

Following the preliminary approval, the Education Department has started sending notices to borrowers allowing them to submit comments on the proposed settlement until September 8. Alsup is also tentatively granting a number of motions to intervene in the settlement filed by for-profit schools who argued they would not have the chance to respond to borrower defense claims, harming their reputations.

Jason Altmire, president and CEO of Career Education Colleges and Universities — which represents for-profit institutions — said in a statement that he is "pleased" Alsup is allowing schools to intervene.

"The parties' proposed settlement has unfairly impugned the reputations of more than 150 schools, all without the basic procedural fairness to which these schools are entitled under the Department's own regulations," Altmire said.

Since Biden took office, his Education Department has taken a number of actions to provide relief to students defrauded by for-profit schools. In the beginning of June, it wiped out $5.8 billion in student debt for all remaining borrowers defrauded by Corinthian College — the biggest group discharge the department has taken to date. That came after smaller discharges, like those for former students of ITT Technical Institutes and DeVry University.

If the settlement gets final approval, it will be significant for the 200,000 borrowers who have been long awaiting relief. But Biden is also in the process of deciding whether he will cancel student debt for millions of federal borrowers, reportedly considering $10,000 in relief for those making under $150,000 a year. He is expected to make that announcement before August 31, along with a decision on further extending the payment pause on student loans past September.

‘They refused to give me any details about why I was fired’: Starbucks worker of 13 years says he was let go for unionizing

Jacob Seitz - The Daily Dot.

A Starbucks barista and union organizer in Buffalo, New York, said they were fired after 13 years of working for the company, according to a viral TikTok.


© Provided by Daily Dot‘



In the TikTok, Sam Amato says he was pulled aside this week by two store managers and fired for closing the store's lobby without a manager's permission. According to the TikTok, workers were told by upper management that they could close the lobby at their discretion.

“It is a BS reason. It’s because I’m a union leader,” Amato said in the video. “They failed to provide any details or give me any information … after 13 years they refused to give me any details about why I was fired.”

At the Starbucks Amato worked at, workers promptly went on strike over the dismissal. Amato has a GoFundMe set up to help him transition out of his job, which has raised $3,825 at the time of writing

UNIONIZING. >> UNIONBUSTING HAS TO GO.

Unionized Starbucks employees say they're excluded from new benefits

View on Watch

Starbucks has been repeatedly accused of firing employees for organizing or being affiliated with the Starbuck Workers United Union, which has successfully unionized 183 stores. According to More Perfect Union, at least 70 pro-union Starbucks workers have been fired since February of this year. Amato is the ninth union organizer to be fired in the Buffalo area.

Starbucks has engaged in a massive union-busting effort as the traction for unionization increases. The company has been accused of faking tweets from the official Starbucks union, closing down pro-union stores, and sending out-of-state managers to spy on stores looking to unionize. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has said the country is being “assaulted” by the “threat of unionization”

“I can say I’m anti-union, and [that] I don’t want to see that at Starbucks. But I’m not an anti-union person,” he said in a town hall, insisting that he was instead "pro-Starbucks."

Reaction to Amato’s firing was swift on Twitter.

“I was abt to take the fam to #Starbucks, but we will not be returning anytime soon due to your firing Sam Amato in retaliation for his Union Leadership,” one user wrote. “You guys used to be a socially conscious company. What a shame.”

“Almost went to Starbucks this morning, but then didn’t because they fired [Amato] after 13 years of hard work and dedication because he was a union leader,” another said. “And we don’t support companies like that. Do better Starbucks.”

Starbucks did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Dot.

Ocean warmth, seaweed scarcity threaten Fiji's fisherwomen's livelihoods

SUVA, Fiji (Reuters) - Karen Vusisa has been struggling to find a decent catch of a favourite Fijian edible seaweed, amid concerns that ocean temperatures have hit harvests and are threatening livelihoods of fisherwomen like her.


© Reuters/LOREN ELLIOTTFILE PHOTO: 

Rising sea levels are forcing Fiji's villagers to relocate.

Like many others, Vusisa, 52, is managing to collect only about half as much of the seaweed, nama, as she once did. She must hunt for it over wider areas, spending more time at sea.

"We are struggling to find some spot for a lot of nama," Sera Baleisasa, another Fijian fisherwoman, told Reuters.

Nama, found mostly in the waters off Fiji, resembles small green grapes. It is part of the Pacific island nation's daily diet and usually served soaked in coconut milk and added to salads.

It is also crucial for the livelihoods of hundreds of fisherwomen, who earn about $10 to $20 for a bag weighing 10 kg (22 lb.).

Related video: Is This One of the World’s Rarest Sharks? (Buzz60)

Duration 1:11

View on Watch

When harvesting, they leave the seaweed's roots intact to help with regrowth, then move on to collect at a regenerated patch. But for the past several years, they say, nama has been taking longer to grow back.

Marine biologist Alani Tuivucilevu blames warmer oceans for impairing growth of nama, which she says is "very sensitive to heat."

"It's saddening, really; it's saddening, because this has been their way of life," said Tuivucilevu, who works with research group Women in Fisheries Network Fiji. "Depletion of nama supply means eroding of a way of life and, to a certain degree, of culture and traditions."

Reports by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showed that 2021 was the warmest year for the world's oceans since records began in the late 1800s.

Climate scientists have been warning that Pacific island countries are more vulnerable to climate change due to their reliance on the ocean for resources.

(Reporting by Jill Gralow; Writing by Renju Jose; Editing by Bradley Perrett)

Two miners trapped in Dominican Republic rescued with help from Canada


OTTAWA — Defence Minister Anita Anand says two miners who were trapped in an underground mine for 10 days in the Dominican Republic have been rescued with the help of Canada.



In a tweet on Tuesday, Anand said the Royal Canadian Air Force transported mining equipment to Santo Domingo following a request for assistance from the Dominican government.

Two miners with the Dominican Mining Corporation, known as Cormidom, had been trapped since July 31 in an underground mine.

According to a news release from the Dominican Republic Embassy on Saturday, Canada was expected to send over a mining excavation system made up of machines, tools and various rescue technologies.

The statement says the equipment was provided by Machines Roger International, a mining company based in Val-d'Or, Que.

Anand thanked the Royal Canadian Air Force personnel involved in the mission who arrived in the Dominican Republic on Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2022.

Two miners rescued in Dominican Republic after 10 days underground


Issued on: 09/08/2022 -

Canada sent a military plane loaded with excavation equipment and other technology to help the rescue effort 

Erika SANTELICES afp/AFP


Santo Domingo (AFP) – Two miners were rescued in the Dominican Republic Tuesday, seemingly unharmed, after 10 days trapped underground and a massive operation, with support from Canada, to free them.

The miners were finally reached on Tuesday morning through a newly-dug rescue tunnel, a whole 10 days after they got caught underground after a rockslide, the Dominican Mining Corporation (CORMIDOM) said in a statement.

The pair, Dominican Gregores Mendez and Colombian Carlos Yepez had been trapped since July 31 at the Cerro de Maimon copper and zinc mine some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Santa Domingo.

More than 110 mining and other experts participated in the rescue effort, and a Canadian military plane arrived on Sunday with 26 tons of excavation equipment and other technology to help.

In a video distributed by the Dominican presidency on Tuesday, Mendez and Yepez are shown lying on stretchers, smiling as they greet President Luis Abinader even as medical personnel are checking their vital signs.

Yepez tells the camera that conditions underground were "good," with adequate ventilation, water and food.

"We slept comfortably, so to speak, so that made our stay not so bad," he said.

Abinader told the men he was "very happy" they were back safe.

The rescue came as efforts continued in Mexico to reach 10 workers trapped in a flooded mine nearly a week ago.

© 2022 AFP

RENTIER CAPITALI$M

'Great for landlords, horrible for renters': How a runaway rental market has become Toronto's latest housing nightmare

 RENT INCREASES CREATE INFLATION
Denise Paglinawan -  Financial Post

The average rents for one- and two-bedroom apartments in Toronto are now both at record levels.

Shivin Kaul and his three friends have been looking for a house to rent in Toronto since July. The group of young professionals has found several that fit their needs, the only problem is they keep getting outbid — three times in a single week, at one point.

“(We’re) getting tired of viewing about 10 houses, liking a couple of them and then losing out on the ones you like to someone who outbid you for $300 or $400,” Kaul said, explaining that he and his friends have started to overbid listings in an attempt to secure a place they can move into by September.

Last week, Kaul’s group told a landlord they’d be willing to pay $4,000 for a three-bedroom house that’s listed for $3,600 plus utilities per month after being asked for their “best offer.” The rental ended up going to someone who offered $100 more.

Overbidding for rent is not new but it has become more common with the current hot market , in which rents have surged by more than 20 per cent in some cases since this time last year.

Conrad Rygier, a Toronto real estate broker with Right At Home Realty, said in the past month he’s seen overbidding for rental properties “at least 90 per cent of the time.”

Market watchers, such as Rygier, say that with interest rates rising, many Canadians who were planning to buy homes are now either thinking twice due to market uncertainty or realize they can no longer afford to buy and are flooding back to the rental market. This surge in demand has caused “absolute havoc” in the rental market, Rygier said.

“What I’ve seen in 14 years of doing this, these last couple of months have been the worst, craziest (time) to represent a renter,” said the broker, who works with both renters and landlords. “It’s been great for landlords, horrible for renters.”

Rygier called it a “frustrating period” for renters, who are being forced to take risks by submitting offers based on photos — without even seeing the property in person — because so many get rented on the same day they are listed. Often, they are competing against a number of different offers for the same property.

“Landlords are being super, super picky on who they accept because it’s a landlord’s market,” he said, adding that he’s represented “excellent tenants” who were rejected because the landlord was looking for “something else.”


© REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

Investors were also starting to shun the condo market because of higher interest rates and the potential for negative cash flows.

Often, that means tenants with six-figure incomes and impeccable credit scores, leaving those with less-than-perfect credit and even high five-figures incomes — not to mention those with pets — in the lurch.

Picky landlords aren’t the only hurdle facing tenants: they also have to pay the rent.

The average rents for one- and two-bedroom apartments in Toronto are now both at record levels, while average condo rents are up by double digits annually for all bedroom types, according to recent rental market data released by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). Meanwhile, rental listings on the board’s MLS system have dropped by almost 30 per cent year-over-year, giving renters less choice.

Those looking to rent a bachelor or one-bedroom apartment in the Greater Toronto Area have to pay at least 20 per cent more than they would have a year ago. The TRREB report found that rent for bachelor apartments now averages $1,829, up from $1,462 a year ago, while one-bedroom apartments average $2,269, up from $1,887. This rate of increase surpassed the previous peak in the third quarter of 2019.

Agents with Royal LePage Real Estate Services, which is owned by Bridgemarq Real Estate Services Inc., have also been watching the rental market tighten, chief operating officer Karen Yolevski said in an interview.

“The prices seem to be going up every month,” Yolevski said.

She added that the company’s list calculations show an over $400-per-month increase in Toronto rental prices on all types of properties this year — not far off from the real estate board’s numbers in June.

Yolevski said there are more renters than properties on the market. She attributed the increase in demand to the number of people returning to major urban centres as they go back to working in the office, as well as immigration numbers rebounding after tight COVID-19 restrictions.

While demand is surging, there seems to be little hope that supply will fill the void.


© Postmedia

Urbanation found that out of about 35,000 new condo units that were supposed to launch in the Greater Toronto Area this year, at least 10,000 units will instead be put on the shelf.

A recent report from CIBC Capital Markets, citing data from real estate market research firm Urbanation Inc., found that project delays and cancellations amid the rapid increase in interest rates, surging construction costs and a lack of available labour were actually reducing the pipeline of potential units.

Urbanation found that out of about 35,000 new condo units that were supposed to launch in the Greater Toronto Area this year, at least 10,000 units will instead be put on the shelf.

“So, when the fog clears, the units that were supposed to be built now will not be available — making a tight rental market even

tighter,” CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal wrote in the report. “And that’s the opposite direction of where we should be heading.”

In an interview, Tal said investors were also starting to shun the market because of higher interest rates and the potential for negative cash flows. Declining ranks of investors can limit or even eliminate the supply of new rental units, especially in markets such as Vancouver and Toronto, where about half of new condo sales go to investors who then rent out those units, he said.

“I think rent inflation will continue to be a major factor,” Tal said.

Trouble in ‘mortgage land’ as higher borrowing rates weigh and refinancings dry up

Prices are falling but rents are rising in Canada's paradoxical housing market

Toronto rents soar 20% to record amid high demand, fewer listings

With rent controls in provinces such as Ontario tied to inflation rates, Tal said the central bank’s efforts to control inflation will be “extremely important” to keeping the rental market from becoming less affordable.

For many renters, like Kaul, purchasing a house instead of renting would be preferable if it wasn’t so out of reach. For now, they’ll have to compete in the tight rental market until they’re able to save enough to buy.

“I don’t see myself buying a house for the next seven or eight years considering how the prices are going up,” Kaul said. “Just trying to rent a house is the goal for all of us.”

• Email: dpaglinawan@postmedia.com | Twitter: denisepglnwn

In fight against Bay du Nord oil project, environmental groups turn to courts and Norwegian public

Inayat Singh - CBC

Months after the Bay du Nord offshore oil project in Newfoundland was approved by the federal government, environmental groups are continuing their campaign against the project, taking their fight to the courts and the company's offices in Norway.


© Ted Dillon/CBC

A group of demonstrators outside Equinor's offices in Newfoundland and Labrador in May protest the approval of the Bay du Nord oil project.

Opponents of the project hope that Equinor, the company leading the project (oil major BP has a minority stake) will be especially sensitive to growing climate concerns over fossil fuel production, because it is a state-owned Norwegian company accountable to the country's citizens.

Equinor has yet to make a final investment decision on moving ahead, and environmental groups are focusing their efforts on that upcoming milestone. Led by environmental law charity Ecojustice, they have gone to federal court for a review of its environmental approval of the project.

"Our federal government says that it understands climate science," said Ian Miron, staff lawyer at Ecojustice. "So it should understand that Canada can't be a climate leader and approve fossil fuel infrastructure projects like this one."

Lawsuit focuses on downstream emissions

Equinor and the federal government say that Bay du Nord's operation will have a low carbon intensity, especially when compared to other oil projects in Canada and abroad.

With demand for oil continuing even as the world decarbonizes, they say it makes sense that that oil comes from projects like Bay du Nord. The project has a requirement of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, a first for a Canadian oil and gas project and an indication that the government will seek similarly stringent climate conditions on future environmental approvals.

But these conditions focus on emissions from the operation of Bay du Nord, and not the emissions from when that oil is burned in power plants or vehicles after it is extracted and exported.

Ecojustice filed the lawsuit on behalf of climate advocacy groups Sierra Club Canada and Équiterre in May. Its main argument is that the government failed to consider the emissions from when the oil produced at Bay du Nord is actually used — also called downstream emissions.

Emissions from the actual operation of Bay du Nord — about 177,000 to 309,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year, according to the environmental assessment — would amount to a tiny fraction of Canada's annual emissions. But the environmental groups say 90 per cent of a project's lifecycle emissions can be downstream emissions, which need to be accounted for.

"I think if the minister had looked at the downstream emissions, it would be very difficult to come to a conclusion that this project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects," Miron said.

The groups say the government "ignored all downstream emissions, and unlawfully restricted the assessment artificially to consider only the emissions from the extraction facility itself."

In June, eight Mi'kmaw communities in New Brunswick joined the lawsuit, saying that the government did not consider how the shipment of the oil could threaten species of animals they rely on for food and cultural reasons, and fell short of its duty to consult and accommodate those First Nations.

Groups take fight to Stavanger

While the government and Ecojustice's lawyers exchange documents and evidence, the environmental groups are applying pressure on Equinor elsewhere. In May, the groups protested at Equinor's annual general meeting in Stavanger, Norway, projecting slogans and videos onto the company's head office and local landmarks.

"We hope that we can actually convince Equinor and its majority shareholders, which are the people of Norway, that this project is dangerous," said Gretchen Fitzgerald, national programs director for Sierra Club Canada, who also travelled to Stavanger for the demonstrations.

It's a strategy that was followed by environmental groups opposed to another Equinor project halfway across the world. In 2020, Equinor backed out from an offshore oil exploration project in the Great Australian Bight, the large open bay of rugged ocean off the southern coast of Australia.

The company said that the project was not commercially competitive, but it had also faced years of opposition from local groups intent on protecting the remote patch of ocean, an important habitat to a wide range of sea animals, many of which are not found anywhere else in the world.

"The situation in the Bight, they couldn't have picked a worse place to propose what they were trying to do," said Peter Owen, director of the Wilderness Society in South Australia, an environmental advocacy group that campaigned against Equinor's project.

"But also, they couldn't have picked a worse time in history to be pushing to expand the fossil fuel industry, now that the climate is collapsing before our eyes."

Lessons from Australia

There are many parallels between what happened in the Bight and Bay du Nord. Owen's organization is part of the Great Australian Bight Alliance, which brought together local conservation groups and Indigenous groups that opposed oil drilling in the region.

Australian regulators conditionally approved an exploration well from Equinor in December 2019 in the Bight. The Wilderness Society took the government to court to challenge the approval, but Equinor announced it was pulling out by February 2020.

"Not only did we have a responsibility to stop this [project] because of the direct risks that it brought to the communities of southern Australia, but we had a responsibility globally to stop this carbon going into the atmosphere," Owen said.

"That was something that we could do in our jurisdiction, on our watch, as part of a global effort that we have to all embark on now — to stop these types of projects."

Campaigners with the alliance held demonstrations across Australia and in Norway, where they went to Equinor's annual general meetings in Stavanger and spoke directly to its board and executives.

"We went to Norway looking for friends, recognizing that this fossil fuel company, Equinor, was essentially the Norwegian people," said Owen.

"The community was being made aware that there was this amazing place on the other side of the world, that the community who lived there didn't want to be put at risk through oil drilling."

In an email statement, Equinor did not address the lawsuit against the Bay du Nord project, but said that a final investment decision is "anticipated within the next couple of years." The project, if it goes ahead, will start producing oil by the end of the decade — and continue until 2058.

Bay du Nord could produce up to 200,000 barrels per day, and up to a billion barrels of oil over its lifetime. That would release about 400 million tonnes of greenhouse gases.

"Canada's committed to be net zero by 2050," said Fitzgerald. "You can't keep approving new oil and gas projects if you're serious about that commitment."

Foreign-trained nurses frustrated with delays in being recognized

Scott Laurie - Yesterday

© Provided by Toronto SunShara Buenaventura

Shara Buenaventura became so frustrated while trying to have her ICU nursing credentials recognized in Ontario, she returned to the Philippines for nine months — mid-pandemic — to keep her skills sharp.

“I went back as an ICU nurse and I came back here again with the hope that I will be assessed. But until now, I didn’t get any answer,” said Buenaventura.

She now works part-time in non-ambulatory care, helping to transfer non-urgent patients from one hospital to another.

“Some of my days I get into the hospital and I just really feel sad. I know I can do more. I know I can help. I know what to do. And it’s frustrating. I feel sad, and it’s kind of depressing because your hands are tied.”

After working for years in ICUs in the Philippines and in the Middle East, she says she could easily step into a similar role in Canada.

She’s been trying for three years to have her skills recognized, after arriving in Canada a decade ago.

Buenaventura is part of the Integrated Filipino Canadian Nurses Association (IFCNA), which advocates for nurses who wish to return to their specialty.

“It’s very frustrating. Some have already given up. Some have now settled to be a personal support worker where in fact their skills are taken for granted,” said IFCNA President Jennifer Lopez.

Her rough estimate: there are some 2,000 members in her organization who are not practising nursing.

“I don’t know why we are subjected to so much strain as we want to step in to help the health-care system which is in dire need of nurses,” said Lopez, who works in a hospital now.

“If the Minister of Health is leaning toward public safety, where is the public safety when patients are there in Emergency waiting longer, and paramedics are waiting longer to off-load because there are not enough nurses?”

In its latest jobs report, Statistics Canada said there were 23,620 vacant nursing positions nationally in the first quarter of 2022.

It also said nursing vacancies in early 2022 “were more than triple (+219.8%) the level of five years earlier, illustrating the extent to which longer-term trends may be contributing to the current challenges facing hospitals and other health-care employers.”

Given that shortage, Buenaventura doesn’t understand the many years of delay in recognizing foreign-trained nurses like her.

“Until now I didn’t get any answer. So that’s how frustrating it is,” she said.

“Some of them have lost their hope and some of them are working in a warehouse or factory. Some of them have chosen a different career path.”

slaurie@postmedia.com

@_ScottLaurie

Jaida Lee becomes first female to pitch in Canada Games men's competition

WELLAND, Ont. — Jaida Lee made history at the Canada Games on Monday, becoming the first female to play in the male baseball competition since it began in 1967.

Lee pitched 1 1/3 innings for Newfoundland and Labrador in a 17-7 loss to Alberta to kick off the day's slate of games.

The 16-year-old from St. John's, who was Newfoundland and Labrador's flag-bearer in the opening ceremony, pitched a scoreless fourth inning, but Alberta came back with a six-run fifth to put the game away.

The baseball she threw will be enshrined in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont.

In other results at the Games held in Ontario's Niagara region, Quebec's Mathis Beaulieu won the men's sprint triathlon, with Daniel Damian of British Columbia taking silver and Tristen Jones of Ontario picking up bronze.

Colette Reimer of B.C. won the women's event, with Ontario's Anja Krueger second and Alberta's Sophia Howell third.

Ontario's Ava Holmgren won the women's cross-country mountain bike, followed by B.C.'s Marin Lowe and Quebec's Marie-Fay St-Onge.

Mia West of Winnipeg was thrilled to win Manitoba's first gold of the Games, as she swam to victory in the 200-metre butterfly event. Teagen Purvis of Selkirk, Man., captured silver in the Special Olympics 50-metre breaststroke, and Halle West of Winnipeg won a bronze in the 50-metre breaststroke event.

Maxime St-Onge and Charles-Antoine St-Onge took the top two podium spots for Quebec in the men's event, with Ontario's Matthew Leliveld finishing third.

British Columbia, on the strength of one gold, eight silver and four bronze, leads the medal standings with 13. Ontario, with a Games-high nine golds, is next at 12. Alberta and Quebec each have eight medals, followed by Manitoba with four.

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador each have one medal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2022.

The Canadian Press