Supreme Court: Gay marriage case video can be made public


The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, Monday, June 27, 2022. The satirical site The Onion has some serious things to say in defense of parody. The online humor publication has filed a Supreme Court brief in support of a man who was arrested and prosecuted for making fun of the Parma, Ohio, police force on social media. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)


WASHINGTON (AP) — Video of a landmark 2010 trial that cleared the way for gay marriage in California can be made public, the culmination of a years-long legal fight. The Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it would not intervene in the dispute over the recordings, leaving in place lower court rulings permitting the video’s release.

The trial more than a decade ago led to the resumption in 2013 of gay marriage in the nation’s most populous state. That was two years before the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a nationwide right.

As is typical the justices said nothing about the case in declining to hear it, and it was among many the court declined.

The case the justices rejected began in 2008 when a California Supreme Court ruling legalized same-sex marriage. Voters, however, responded by passing Proposition 8 forbidding it. Two gay couples then sued and proponents of Proposition 8 defended it when the state said it wouldn’t.

Because of the interest in the case, the judge overseeing it, Vaughn Walker, initially ordered that it be livestreamed to other courthouses. Proponents of the measure objected, and the Supreme Court stopped the proposed broadcast from happening. Walker did, however, record the trial under rules allowing the practice, but he said it was for his own use and not for the purpose of being broadcast or televised. The video became part of the record of the case but remained under seal.

In the case itself, Walker eventually sided with the gay couples, ruling that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional and barring the state from enforcing it. The case went to the Supreme Court and in a 2013 technical ruling the justices cleared the way for the resumption of same-sex marriage in the state. Two years later the justices ruled 5-4 that same-sex marriage was a nationwide right.

Walker, for his part, has been retired since 2011. After the trial was over, however, the judge used video clips of it during public appearances. A court stopped that practice but there continued to be efforts to unseal the recording. An appeals court determined that the seal on the video would expire in 2020 under local rules.

Some proponents of Proposition 8 argued that the video should remain sealed. But a judge concluded that there was no evidence that anyone involved in the case “fears retaliation or harassment if the recordings are released.” The judge also said no one believed at the time of the trial that Walker’s “commitment to personal use of the recordings meant that the trial recordings would remain under seal forever.” A federal appeals court also ruled against the Proposition 8 proponents, leading them to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The case is Dennis Hollingsworth v. Kristin M. Perry, 21-1304.

Israel, US announce Lebanon sea deal, but questions remain

By ILAN BEN ZION

In this photo released by Lebanon's official government photographer Dalati Nohra, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Makati, right, receives the final draft of the maritime border agreement between Lebanon and Israel from his deputy Elias Bou Saab who leads the Lebanese negotiating team, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. Israel's prime minister said Tuesday that the country has reached an "historic agreement" with neighboring Lebanon over their shared maritime border after months of U.S.-brokered negotiations. (Dalati Nohra via AP)


JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister said Tuesday that the country has reached a “historic agreement” with neighboring Lebanon over their shared maritime border that could pave the way for natural gas exploration and reduce tensions between the enemy countries.

The agreement, coming after months of U.S.-mediated talks, would mark a major breakthrough in relations between Israel and Lebanon, which formally have been at war since Israel’s establishment in 1948. But the deal still faces some obstacles, including legal and political challenges in Israel. There was no formal announcement from Lebanon, though officials indicated they would approve the agreement.

In Washington, President Joe Biden announced that Israel and Lebanon agreed to “formally end” their maritime boundary dispute. He said he spoke Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Lebanese President Michael Aoun and both men said they were ready to move forward with the agreement.

The agreement “will provide for the development of energy fields for the benefit of both countries, setting the stage for a more stable and prosperous region,” Biden said.

At stake are rights over exploiting undersea natural gas reserves in areas of the eastern Mediterranean claimed by the two countries. Lebanon hopes gas exploration will help lift its country out of its spiraling economic crisis. Israel also hopes to exploit gas reserves while also easing tensions with its northern neighbor.

Lapid called the deal a “historic achievement that will strengthen Israel’s security, inject billions into Israel’s economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border.”

Lebanon and Israel both claim some 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea. Under the agreement, those waters would be divided along a line straddling the strategic “Qana” natural gas field.

Israeli officials involved in the negotiations said Lebanon would be allowed to produce gas from that field, but pay royalties to Israel for any gas extracted from the Israeli side. Lebanon has been working with the French energy giant Total on preparations for exploring the field, though actual production is likely years away.

The agreement would also leave in place an existing “buoy line” that serves as a de facto border between the two countries, the officials said.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing behind the scenes negotiations, said the deal would include American security guarantees, including assurances that none of the gas revenues reach Hezbollah.

Many leading Israeli security figures, both active and retired, have hailed the deal because it could lower tensions with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, which has repeatedly threatened to strike Israeli natural gas assets in the Mediterranean. With Lebanon now having a stake in the region’s natural gas industry, experts believe the sides will think twice before opening up another war.

The two sides fought a monthlong war in 2006, and Israel considers the heavily armed Hezbollah to be its most immediate military threat.

“It might help create and strengthen the mutual deterrence between Israel and Hezbollah,” said Yoel Guzansky, a senior fellow at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies. “This is a very positive thing for Israel.”

The final draft of the agreement will be brought before Israel’s caretaker government for approval this week ahead of the Nov. 1 election, when the country goes to the polls for the fifth time in under four years.

An Israeli official said the Cabinet is expected to approve the agreement in principle on Wednesday, while sending it to parliament for a required two-week review. After the review, the government would give final, official approval, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss government strategy. It remains unclear if parliament needs to approve the agreement, or merely review it.

Approval is not guaranteed. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the caretaker government has no authority to sign such an important agreement and has vowed to cancel the deal if re-elected. On Tuesday, he accused Lapid of caving in to Hezbollah threats.

“This is not a historic agreement. It’s a historic surrender,” Netanyahu said in a Facebook video.

The Kohelet Policy Forum, an influential conservative think tank, already has filed a challenge with the Supreme Court trying to block the deal.

Eugene Kontorovich, the forum’s director of international law, claimed the agreement requires parliamentary approval. He accused the government of trying to rush through an agreement under pressure from Hezbollah. “This means Hezbollah now overrides Israel’s democracy,” he said.

But Yuval Shany, an expert on international law at the Israel Democracy Institute, another prominent think tank, said it is customary, but not mandatory, to seek Knesset approval for such agreements.

“Peace agreements are usually brought to the Knesset, but this is not a peace agreement. It’s a border and limitation agreement,” he said.

Senior U.S. energy envoy Amos Hochstein, whom Washington appointed a year ago to mediate talks, delivered a modified proposal of the maritime border deal to lead Lebanese negotiator, Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab late Monday night, according to local media and officials.

The office of Aoun, the Lebanese president, said the latest version of the proposal “satisfies Lebanon, meets its demands, and preserves its rights to its natural resources,” and will hold consultations with officials before making an announcement.

A senior official involved in the talks told The Associated Press that Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and Speaker Nabih Berri are all satisfied with Hochstein’s latest reiteration of the maritime border deal. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Hezbollah did not immediately comment, but its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has said that the group would endorse the Lebanese government’s position. In the past, however, he has threatened to use its weapons to protect Lebanon’s economic rights.

Nasrallah was expected to make an official statement later Tuesday.

___

Associated Press correspondent Eleanor Reich contributed reporting from Jerusalem.

Conservative PACs inject millions into local school races

By COLLIN BINKLEY and JULIE CARR SMYTH

today

 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses the crowd before publicly signing HB7, "individual freedom," also dubbed the "Stop Woke" bill during a news conference at Mater Academy Charter Middle/High School in Hialeah Gardens, Fla., on Friday, April 22, 2022. As Republicans and Democrats fight for control of Congress this fall, a growing collection of conservative political action groups is targeting its efforts closer to home: at local school boards. DeSantis endorsed a slate of school board candidates, putting his weight behind conservatives who share his opposition to lessons on sexuality and what he deems critical race theory. (Daniel A. Varela/Miami Herald via AP, File)


As Republicans and Democrats fight for control of Congress this fall, a growing collection of conservative political action groups is targeting its efforts closer to home: at local school boards.

Their aim is to gain control of more school systems and push back against what they see as a liberal tide in public education classrooms, libraries, sports fields, even building plans.

Once seen as sleepy affairs with little interest outside their communities, school board elections started to heat up last year as parents aired frustrations with pandemic policies. As those issues fade, right-leaning groups are spending millions on candidates who promise to scale back teachings on race and sexuality, remove offending books from libraries and nix plans for gender-neutral bathrooms or transgender-inclusive sports teams.

Democrats have countered with their own campaigns portraying Republicans as extremists who want to ban books and rewrite history.

At the center of the conservative effort is the 1776 Project PAC, which formed last year to push back against the New York Times’ 1619 Project, which provides free lesson plans that center U.S. history around slavery and its lasting impacts. Last fall and this spring, the 1776 group succeeded in elevating conservative majorities to office in dozens of school districts across the U.S., propelling candidates who have gone on to fire superintendents and enact sweeping “bills of rights” for parents.

In the wake of recent victories in Texas and Pennsylvania — and having spent $2 million between April 2021 and this August, according to campaign finance filings — the group is campaigning for dozens of candidates this fall. It’s supporting candidates in Maryland’s Frederick and Carroll counties, in Bentonville, Arkansas, and 20 candidates across southern Michigan.

Its candidates have won not only in deeply red locales but also in districts near liberal strongholds, including Philadelphia and Minneapolis. And after this November, the group hopes to expand further.

“Places we’re not supposed to typically win, we’ve won in,” said Ryan Girdusky, founder of the group. “I think we can do it again.”

In Florida, recent school board races saw an influx of attention — and money — from conservative groups, including some that had never gotten involved in school races.

The American Principles Project, a Washington think tank, put a combined $25,000 behind four candidates for the Polk County board. The group made its first foray into school boards at the behest of local activists, its leader said, and it’s weighing whether to continue elsewhere. The group’s fundraising average surged from under $50,000 the year before the pandemic to about $2 million now.

“We lean heavily into retaking federal power,” said Terry Schilling, the think tank’s president. “But if you don’t also take over the local school boards, you’re not going to have local allies there to actually reverse the policies that these guys have been implementing.”

In a move never before seen in the state, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed a slate of school board candidates, putting his weight behind conservatives who share his opposition to lessons on sexuality and what he deems critical race theory. Most of the DeSantis-backed candidates won in their August races, in some cases replacing conservative members who had more moderate views than the firebrand governor.

The movement claims to be an opposing force to left-leaning teachers unions. They see the unions as a well-funded enemy that promotes radical classroom lessons on race and sexuality — a favorite smear is to call the unions “groomers.” The unions, which also support candidates, have called it a fiction meant to stoke distrust in public schools.

In Maryland’s Frederick County, the 1776 group is backing three school board candidates against four endorsed by education unions. The conservatives are running as the “Education Not Indoctrination” slate, with a digital ad saying children are being “held captive” by schools. The ad shows a picture of stacked books bearing the words “equity,” “grooming,” “indoctrination” and “critical race theory.”

Karen Yoho, a board member running for re-election, said outside figures have stoked fears about critical race theory and other lessons that aren’t taught in Frederick County.

The discourse has mostly stayed civil in her area, but Yoho takes exception to the accusation that teachers are “grooming” children.

“I find it disgusting,” said Yoho, a retired teacher whose children went through the district. “It makes my heart hurt. And then I kind of get mad and I get defensive.”

In Texas, Patriot Mobile — a wireless company that promotes conservative causes — has emerged as a political force in school board races. Earlier this year, its political arm spent more than $400,000 out of $800,000 raised to boost candidates in a handful of races in the northern Texas county where the company is based. All of its favored candidates won, putting conservatives in control of four districts.

The group did not respond to requests for comment, but a statement released after the spring victories said Texas was “just the beginning.”

Some GOP strategists have cautioned against the focus on education, saying it could backfire with more moderate voters. Results so far have been mixed — the 1776 Project claims a 70% win rate, but conservative candidates in some areas have fallen flat in recent elections.

Still, the number of groups that have banded together under the umbrella of parental rights seems only to be growing. It includes national organizations such as Moms for Liberty, along with smaller grassroots groups.

“There is a very stiff resistance to the concerted and intentional effort to make radical ideas about race and gender part of the school day. Parents don’t like it,” said Jonathan Butcher, an education fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

The foundation and its political wing have been hosting training sessions encouraging parents to run for school boards, teaching them the basics about budgeting but also about the perceived dangers of what the group deems critical race theory.

For decades, education was seen as its “own little game” that was buffered from national politics, said Jeffrey Henig, a political science and education professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College who has written about outside funding in school board elections. Now, he said, local races are becoming battlegrounds for broader debates.

He said education is unlikely to be a decisive issue in the November election — it’s overshadowed by abortion and the economy — but it can still be wielded to “amplify local discontent” and push more voters to the polls.

Republicans are using the tactic this fall as they look to unseat Democrats at all levels of government.

In Michigan, the American Principles Project is paying for TV ads against the Democratic governor where a narrator reads sexually explicit passages from the graphic novel “Gender Queer.” It claims that “this is the kind of literature that Gretchen Whitmer wants your kids exposed to,” while giant red letters appear saying “stop grooming our kids.”

Similar TV ads are being aired in Arizona to attack Sen. Mark Kelly, and in Maine against Gov. Janet Mills, both Democrats.

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The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

PHOTO ESSAY
Families bid farewell as Thai massacre victims are cremated

By TASSANEE VEJPONGSA

today

1 of 18

A monk lights funeral pyres to cremate those who died in the day care center attack at Wat Rat Samakee temple in Uthai Sawan, northeastern Thailand, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. A former police officer burst into a day care center in northeastern Thailand on Thursday, killing dozens of preschoolers and teachers before shooting more people as he fled. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)


UTHAI SAWAN, Thailand (AP) — Hundreds of mourners and victims’ families gathered Tuesday evening to watch flames burn from rows of makeshift furnaces at cremation ceremonies for the young children and others who died in last week’s mass killings at a day care center in Thailand’s rural northeast.

Families bid their final goodbyes at a Buddhist temple a short distance from the Young Children’s Development Center in the town of Uthai Sawan, where a former policeman, who was fired from his job earlier this year for using drugs, barged in last Thursday and shot and stabbed children and their caregivers.

The police sergeant, Panya Kamrap, ended up killing 36 people, 24 of them children, in this small farming community before taking his own life. It was the biggest mass killing by an individual in Thailand’s history.

Joint ceremonies for most of the victims were held at three temples to spare families from having to wait long hours for successive cremations to be completed, Phra Kru Adisal Kijjanuwat, the abbot of the Rat Samakee temple, said.

A ceremony for 19 of the dead, 18 of them children, was held at his temple. With a large crowd watching, monks slowly walked out of the temple hall, followed by grieving relatives. Each family was led by one monk, with police bearing the coffin behind them.

After the coffins were placed on each of the small, brick furnaces, the victims’ relatives came forward in the darkening skies to put portraits of their loved ones on top. Some family members also placed children’s toys alongside.

A large mesh barrier was set up, separating onlookers from the relatives, monks and royal palace officials tasked with lighting the fires, who began putting paper flowers along the sides of the pyres and dousing them with gasoline. The officials then ushered the family members to take the portraits and toys away, and move several meters (yards) from the coffins where they knelt on mats.

Buddhist chants played from a speaker system set up behind the relatives, as the officials and monks began lighting the pyres one by one. The coffins were soon engulfed by flames, at times stoked by the officials adding more gasoline. The victims’ relatives sat silently by, hands clasped in prayer.

“Each one of them watched the cremation with their minds in a state of conscious awareness,” said the abbot. “The support they received from people all around has blessed them, lessened the sorrow they have.”

On Tuesday morning, many of the young victims’ bodies had been outfitted as doctors, soldiers or astronauts — what they wanted to be when they grew up — before their evening cremation.

“The more we talked (to the families), we realized that these children also had dreams of becoming doctors, soldiers, astronauts, or police officers,” said volunteer rescue worker Attarith Muangmangkang, whose organization arranged for the costumes.

Petchrung Sriphirom, 73, was one of many local residents who traveled to the temple to offer condolences to the families and make a small donation to help with funeral costs, which is a common Thai custom.

“I just want to help our friends and share our thoughts with them,” said Petchrung. “We are not talking about money or anything but rather sharing our thoughts and feelings as a fellow human being,”

The perpetrator’s body was cremated Saturday in a neighboring province after temples in Uthai Sawan refused to host his funeral, Thai media reported.

Mass shootings are rare but not unheard of in Thailand, which has one of the highest civilian gun ownership rates in Asia, with 15.1 weapons per 100 people compared to only 0.3 in Singapore and 0.25 in Japan. That’s still far lower than the U.S. rate of 120.5 per 100 people, according to a 2017 survey by Australia’s GunPolicy.org nonprofit organization.

Thailand’s previous worst mass killing involved a disgruntled soldier who opened fire in and around a mall in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima in 2020, killing 29 people and holding off security forces for some 16 hours before eventually being killed by them.

Statement: Alberta’s Homelessness Action Plan


October 7, 2022

The Edmonton Social Planning Council is cautiously optimistic about the Government of Alberta’s recent announcements of funding to address homelessness and the ongoing addictions crisis.

These announcements commit $63 million and $124 million towards social programs for homelessness and addictions over the next two years, respectively. Among the homelessness funding, this commitment seeks to expand the number of shelter spaces, shift provincially funded shelters to 24-7 access, pilot a service hub model to connect clients with supports, improve data collection, and equalize funding to community-based organizations. For the addictions response funding, this commitment seeks to support recovery communities, medical detox, therapeutic services, as well as harm reduction and recovery outreach teams.

In order to meaningfully address these persistent social problems, a coordinated approach among all levels of government is essential. The province making a funding commitment is sorely needed in order to make progress. On top of the supports to help persons experiencing homelessness, we will also need robust and consistent funding to increase the supply of adequate and affordable housing, which includes operating funding to run permanent supportive housing. On the addictions side, while $8 million has been earmarked for harm reduction, we would like to see more support allocated for this crucial component of responding to Alberta’s addiction crisis.

Announcements of this nature should serve as a beginning in the journey to uplift some of the most marginalized Albertans and do not represent the end. We expect the provincial government to continue doing its part in meaningfully addressing these issues.

Rail union rejects deal brokered by White House, renewing possibility of strike

A union representing about 12,000 rail workers on Monday voted down a tentative contract that was brokered by the White House last month ahead of a possible rail strike.

This vote will force the two sides back to the negotiating table and creates the possibility of a nationwide strike. The potential work stoppage could paralyze the nation's supply chain and transportation rail service later this fall as the U.S. enters peak holiday season.

Four unions have ratified contracts based on the agreement brokered by the White House, while seven have votes pending on the deal. The eleven unions represent about 115,000 rail workers.

The two largest rail unions -- the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Trainmen, or BLET, and the SMART Transportation Division, or SMART-TD, which make up roughly half of all rail workers -- are set to finish voting in the middle of next month.MORE: What's behind rise of women in US manufacturing amid industry revival?

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the Teamsters, or BMWED, rejected the tentative contract due to frustration with compensation and working conditions, particularly a lack of paid sick days, BMWED President Tony Cardell said in a statement on Monday.

"Railroaders do not feel valued," Cardell said. "They resent the fact that management holds no regard for their quality of life."

The National Carriers' Conference Committee, or NCCC, the group representing the freight railroad companies, said in a statement that there is no risk of immediate operational impacts due to this vote. But the NCCC expressed "disappointment" in the decision to reject the contract.



U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh discusses organizing unions in the workplace during the Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference, on Sept. 30, 2022 in Washington, D.C.© Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for SEIU

The tentative contract included a 24% compounded wage increase and $5,000 in lump sum payments, as well as "significant increases" to the reimbursements for travel and away-from-home expenses for the roughly 50% of BMWED members employed in traveling roles, the NCCC said.

American railway companies and unions reached a tentative labor agreement last month amid the threat of strikes. That agreement came after 20 consecutive hours of negotiations led by U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh at his office in Washington, D.C., Walsh said last month.MORE: The Fed says unemployment will rise. Here's who economists say would lose their jobs first.

The agreement improved the time-off policies at the rail companies, which made up a key sticking point in the negotiations, BLET and SMART-TD said in a statement last month.

A potential strike could lead to $2 billion a day in lost economic output, according to the Association of American Railroads, which lobbies on behalf of railway companies.

Rail is critical to the entire goods side of the economy, including agriculture, manufacturing, retail and warehousing. Freight railroads are responsible for transporting 40% of the nation's long-haul freight and a work stoppage could endanger those shipments.

"The artery of the U.S. economy is the rail system. It's one of the ways we get everything around. One-third of everything gets around this way. And when you cut it, you have a stroke," Diane Swonk, chief economist at global tax firm KPMG, told ABC News last month.

U.S. Labor Department to issue new rules on independent contractors

By Patrick Hilsman

The U.S. Department of Labor said Tuesday it will file new rules outlining which workers are employees and which are independent contractors, sending shares of Lyft and Uber falling. 

File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 11 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Labor will introduce guidance on which workers are employees and which are independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In a news release, the Department of Labor said it would introduce the proposed rule on Oct. 13, stating that the misclassification of workers "is a serious issue that denies workers' rights and protections under federal labor standards, promotes wage theft, allows certain employers to gain an unfair advantage over law-abiding businesses, and hurts the economy at large."

"While independent contractors have an important role in our economy, we have seen in many cases that employers misclassify their employees as independent contractors, particularly among our nation's most vulnerable workers," Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said.

The rule change is also aimed at undoing a Trump-era rule that considered five factors to determine if the worker's relationship to the business classified them as a worker or an independent contractor.

Under the Trump-era rule, the worker's level of control over their work and their ability to profit from their position with personal investment were given more weight than other factors. The proposed rule change under Biden's Department of Labor would also consider investments by the employee and employer, the skill displayed by the employee, the permanence of the working relationship and the degree to which the worker performs a function that is integral to the business.

Shares of Uber and Lyft, which both classify their drivers as independent contractors, fell as the new proposal was announced. During a call with reporters, Seema Nanda, the top lawyer at the Department of Labor, insisted the rule is "not intended to target any particular industry or business model."

Lyft in a statement said that there "is no immediate or direct impact on the Lyft business at this time" as the proposal has not exited the 45-day public comment period, also noting that it "does not reclassify Lyft drivers as employees" or force the company to change its business model.

AGRIBUSINESS IS ALBERTA'S #1 INDUSTRY

Alberta could be global powerhouse for plant-based foods but more support needed: industry insiders

Phil Heidenreich - Yesterday -Global News

From grocery store aisles to restaurant menus, consumers around the world are being offered more and more plant-based options when it comes to dishes rich in protein. And based on the success of plant-based meat substitutes like those offered by Beyond Meat, whose entry into the stock market three years ago sent investors into a frenzy, the sector is a lucrative one with plenty of room to grow.


With an increasing consumer demand, and possibly need, for plant-based protein, could Alberta become a global leader in supplying it?

© Laura Whelan/Global News


LONG READ

With an increasing consumer demand, and possibly need, for plant-based protein, could Alberta become a global leader in supplying it? Canada is already the planet's largest producer of dry peas and lentils. At 4.6 million tons in 2017 alone, the country is also a global power in terms of the production and exportation of pulses. In terms of producing the crops needed, Alberta appears ripe to capitalize on the opportunity.

READ MORE: Beyond Meat launching in Canadian stores amid race to build a better veggie burger

"There's been very few trends in the food industry in the last 25 years that have given this level of opportunity," says Bill Greuel, the CEO of Protein Industries Canada (PIC), a not-for-profit organization tasked with propelling Canada's plant protein and plant-based product sector to becoming a major global provider.

"When you think about the stars that are aligning here (consumers seeking healthier food options, diets that have less negative impact on the environment and animals)... growth of the plant-based food sector is real, and it's growing at an unprecedented rate."

The federal government anticipates the sector will deliver $10 billion in GDP impact over 10 years, along with over 4,500 jobs in the same time frame.

While Alberta is not a Canadian leader when it comes to soybean production, it is when it comes to the production of pulses: chickpeas, lentils and perhaps most importantly -- because of their increasing popularity as a plant-based food ingredient -- dry peas.

According to crop production projections released by Agriculture Canada last month, Alberta is expected to make up 41 per cent of dry pea production in the country in 2022-23. Alberta is expected to account for the second-largest share in terms of dry pea, lentil and chickpea production. Production of all three crops is expected to increase significantly in Canada compared to a year earlier.

But when it comes to processing those raw materials to create plant-based food products or the ingredients needed to do so, Alberta has yet to stake its claim as a leader.

Allison Ammeter is a grain farmer who also serves as director of the Alberta Pulse Growers Commission, a non-profit that advocates on behalf of thousands of farmers. She served as chair of the Plant Protein Alliance of Alberta (PPAA) until it ceased operations last year.

She believes Alberta needs to "get into the industry in a big way while there's still room to get in."

"I would say five or even 10 years from now, there will be all the plants built for the current need. Not right now -- we're nowhere near close to that."

"It's this whole ecosystem that we are giving away," says Christine Lewington, the CEO and founder of PIP International, an Alberta-based agri-tech company producing pea protein.

READ MORE: Alberta has highest food insecurity rate among Canadian provinces: report

She adds that with increasing attention being drawn to the issue of food security, the ability to offer plant protein is a selling point.

"We have that in Alberta," Lewington says. "Europe is all over food security.

"We bring in our finished products in Alberta... We don't value-create here."

Ammeter suggests Alberta could be on the cusp of capitalizing on the explosion of demand for the product, drawing an analogy to growth in the province's oil industry in the middle of the 20th century.

"They unlocked the oil industry by bringing in the money," Ammeter says. "We will unlock our industry when we have the investment."

'Let people know what the potential is'

In a bid to boost innovation in the economy, the federal government announced in 2018 it had selected five innovation superclusters, one of which was the protein industry. This led to the creation of PIC.

"There's a lot of upside potential and excitement (in Alberta)," Greuel says. "It's pretty favourable from an operating perspective."

He cites Alberta's low corporate tax rate and availability of land and feedstock as advantages the province has in trying to grow the sector. He also says Alberta has "lots to offer in terms of innovative farmers."

The PPAA used to advocate for the sector and help facilitate its growth in Alberta. It ceased operations after the provincial government announced last year it would not continue to provide it with $250,000 in annual funding, a move Ammeter says "spoke volumes" to a lot of people.

Ammeter believes Alberta's government can play an important role in helping the sector reach its potential.

"I would like to see our government saying, 'We have this incredible natural resource... We are going to do everything we can to promote value-add in Alberta.'"

Video: Plant Protein Alliance of Alberta producers worry funding cut will stall agriculture diversification

'We think the global market for plant-based foods is going to be about $250 billion'

A 2019 analysis conducted by the National Research Council of Canada found that "annual global sales of plant-based meat alternatives have grown on average eight per cent a year since 2010, with projections forecasting that, in 25 years, 20 per cent of meat will consist of plant-based and clean meat."

The NRC forecasted that global revenues when it comes to plant-based dairy substitutes will reach USD$34 billion in 2024 and added the plant-based beverage market also continues to grow significantly.

"In Canada, sales of plant-based protein products rose seven per cent to more than $1.5 billion in the 2016-17 fiscal year," the report reads.

READ MORE: Global plant protein summit lands in Saskatoon

A report for the federal government recently found over 40 per cent of Canadians are "actively trying to incorporate more plant-based foods into their diets."

"If you're looking at grocery stores' sales of plant-based food, that has increased considerably over the last five years," Greuel says.

But some point out the sector's rise has not been immune to peaks and valleys. For example, in a fourth-quarter financial report released early this year, Maple Leaf Foods noted sales from its plant-based division saw a decline of 4.7 per cent in 2021, even though it generated more than $184 million in sales for the year.

"While work is continuing, analysis to date demonstrates a clear slowdown in projected growth rate for the overall category compared to very high growth rates predicted in 2019," the Maple Leaf report reads.

Greuel acknowledges that since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, growth figures may have "softened to some degree" but adds the sector is "still seeing year-over-year growth."

"When you think about that, we're going to need startup companies (and) ingredient-manufacturing companies setting up shop," he says. "We think the global market for plant-based foods is going to be about $250 billion... Our goal is that Canada owns 10 per cent of that global market.

"You could say that's an aspirational goal."

Lewington believes the plant-based food market's growth could be at risk of temporarily stalling because "there's no availability to increase and grow the market" as a result of insufficient capacity to process the protein needed for plant-based food products.

READ MORE: Edmonton's Nabati Foods hoping to bring its vegan 'Eggz' to stores around the world

"Manufacturers are being rationed," she says. "When you can't grow, consumers pull back.

"Before demand, you need to create a need. To create a need, you need to create capacity."

Lewington says one of the keys to successfully growing the plant-protein processing sector in Alberta will be for producers to be able to assure companies they can keep up with supply needs as demand for those companies' products grows.

'We truly have a great new product'

Plans for two major plant-protein processing facilities in Alberta were announced in May: Phyto Organix Foods Inc. revealed plans for a $225-million wet fractionation plant in the Strathmore area while PIP International offered details on plans for a $20-million pea-processing pilot facility in Lethbridge.

"This is Alberta pea country," Chris Theal, Phyto Organix's founder and president, told Global News at the time, noting the plant's location offers an opportunity to see output grow over time. "We've got roughly five times our capacity within 75 kilometres of the facility. We range out to 150 kilometres (and) we've got 10 times our capacity."

Plant fractionation facilities use a process that separates grains or pulses into fibre, starch and protein, the latter of which can be used as an ingredient in plant-based foods and beverages.

"Getting projects like ours up and running successfully shows others it can be done," Theal says. "The resource is there -- it's getting the right people and capital in place, including government grants and loans."

Lewington's excitement is evident when she speaks about her company's facility.

"We truly have a great new product," she explains. "Clean tasting, premium protein that they (plant-based food companies) can actually functionalize."

READ MORE: Arrival of vegan chains signals changing appetites in Alberta's capital

Lewington says to attract the necessary investment to grow, her facility is opening in phases.

Phase 1 is a pilot facility that will still deliver tons of product before scaling up for Phase 2, a $150-million yellow pea protein facility she says will be able to create 100 new jobs, process about 126,000 tons of yellow peas each year and support over $75 million in annual pea contracts for regional growers.

"We're demonstrating that we can do what we say we do," Lewington says of Phase 1, which began producing product this fall. She says Phase 2 is headed to detailed engineering by the end of the year and construction is anticipated to begin in the spring of 2023.

"We are raising money. I am open to finding the right partner," she says, adding she believes the province could do more to help industry players achieve their goals.

She acknowledges Phase 1 of her project received $1 million in funding from the province, something she is grateful for, but notes the cost of getting Phase 1 off the ground is $25 million.

'Getting the capital lined up is certainly a challenge'

Access to capital is seen as a major challenge when it comes to trying to get plant-protein processing facilities up and running.

"(It is) far and away the No.1 issue," Greuel says. "Processing facilities for protein extraction are very capital intensive."

He notes most plant-protein facilities cost between $200 million and $600 million to build.

"It's a real struggle," Ammeter says of accessing capital. "The money is all around... (we just need) to let people know what the potential is."

She would like to see the province backstop loans for proposed plants so they are better able to secure funding from institutions like Farm Credit Canada (FCC) or the Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC)

"I'm not asking for handouts," she says. "Do what they're already doing in a number of other industries."

READ MORE: Edmonton's vegan restaurant scene continues to grow

Ammeter says she believes Saskatchewan and Manitoba are doing more to make "value-add a priority" when it comes to leveraging their ability to produce pulses to try and help fractionation plants get off the ground. She says when governments do more to help the sector, investors take notice.

Ammeter calls it a missed opportunity that so much raw product from Prairie growers is being sold overseas.

"It's not good for Canada's GDP," she says, adding she believes an investment tax credit geared towards the sector would help.

"The plant-protein space in Alberta is going to suffer because it does not get the support it does in other provinces," Lewington says. "Saskatchewan and Manitoba are very aggressive."

READ MORE: Massive new Manitoba facility to feed demand for pea protein

Video: Massive new Manitoba facility to feed demand for pea protein

Like Ammeter, she would also like to see the province backstop loans.

"(It would allow entities like FCC and AFSC to) provide loans where we don't have to provide personal guarantees -- because they scare off investors," she says. "The more creative you get, the more risk equity investors see.

"If I could take a loan guarantee with a syndicate and show investors there is no personal guarantee, they're in all day long.

Ammeter believes there is another challenge when it comes to securing financing. She says banks "are not nearly as quick or capable of evaluating" proposed projects as they are with proposals in other sectors.

Greuel says PIC is working to educate investors about the sector in an effort to loosen more capital.

"Canada is a natural place for investment for ingredient manufacturing," he says. "Universities have taken notice of this (sector and are)... looking at training to create this talent."

Lewington also notes the need for more skilled labour for the province's plant-protein sector to truly take off. She says she is glad to see Alberta taking steps to make it easier to bring in foreign skilled workers in areas where there is a shortage of them.

Despite the challenges, Greuel says he believes there is recognition among all governments about the importance of Canada taking "ownership of this space."

READ MORE: Beyond Meat partners with Portage la Prairie bound pea-processing plant

Lewington believes growing the industry in Alberta is a time-sensitive endeavour.

"When you play with time, anything can happen," she says, adding the industry will benefit growers and all Albertans through jobs and tax revenue. "From the heydays of Beyond Meat coming to market... Those days aren't the same anymore."

"There is a real sense of urgency for Canada here," Greuel says of Canada's plant-protein aspirations.

Lewington says she worries that if Alberta does not more aggressively pursue growth in the industry, larger producers will simply begin expanding existing facilities elsewhere in the country.

READ MORE: Pea protein company puts down roots with new Lethbridge facility

Global News made multiple requests for an interview with Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development Minister Nate Horner about the state of the industry in Alberta but he was not made available.

Horner attended Phyto Organix's media event to announce its Strathmore plant in May. At the time, he said "this is something we really want to double down on."

"I know as a farmer, before I got involved in politics, I wanted to see this," he said. "I wanted to see more of what we're seeing in Saskatchewan and other jurisdictions. Let's value add here close to home -- and with all the issues with supply chains and resiliency, it really brings that even more to the forefront.

"We're trying to work as Team Alberta to land these investments... if it's ag-related and it's value-added, we're trying to land it."

Horner suggested he believes the challenge when it comes to securing funding for such projects relates to the state of the global economy.

"The world is so crazy right now," he said. "You've seen commodity prices spike and stay at those elevated levels -- fuel... the inflation costs on the actual construction -- so it has delayed some of these announcements.

"But the upside is still there."

WORKERS CAPITAL

Canada's pension system holds steady in global ranking as retirement risks rise

Barbara Shecter -  Financial Post

Canada’s pension system received an improved score in a global annual ranking by Mercer and the CFA Institute, but slipped a notch to 13th spot.


Canada maintained its B-level rating in the 2022 Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index.

The list, released Tuesday, was topped by Iceland, which had an overall index value 84.7, closely followed by the Netherlands at 84.6 and Denmark at 82.

Canada maintained its B-level rating in the 2022 Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index with an overall score of 70.6, up from 69.8 in 2021.

Thailand had the lowest index value in the 2022 ranking, at 41.7.

The latest report warned that inflation and rising interest rates are challenging retirees, particularly as employers continue to shift from offering defined-benefit (DB) pension plans to defined-contribution (DC) pension plans. DB plans come with guaranteed payouts, sometimes indexed to keep up with inflation, while payouts on DC plans are based on market performance.

“As DC pension plans continue to make up a greater part of Canadians’ retirement, turbulent markets, soaring inflation and a higher cost of living are all impacting older workers that are transitioning to full or part-time retirement,” said F. Hubert Tremblay, principal and senior wealth adviser with Mercer Canada.

“While Canada’s retirement system continues to rank well globally, there are risks that employers and employees need to manage in the current environment.”

The Mercer-CFA index is derived from a comprehensive study of 44 global pension systems and covers 65 per cent of the world’s population.

It benchmarks retirement income systems around the world, highlighting some shortcomings in each system, and suggests possible areas of reform that would help provide more adequate and sustainable retirement benefits.

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IMF says storm clouds have descended on the global economy

Things will only get worse, the IMF said after issuing a gloomy economic report.

By Daniel J. Graeber


Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Tobias Adrian said there are dark storm clouds lingering over the global economy. 

Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 11 (UPI) -- The International Monetary Fund reported the weakest global economic growth profile in more than 20 years Tuesday and said the worst is yet to come.

The IMF expects the global economy to grow by 2.7% in 2023. That's 0.2% lower than the IMF predicted in July and it comes amid expectations that the economies of China, the European Union and the United States -- three of the world's largest -- will continue to falter

"The worst is yet to come, and for many people 2023 will feel like a recession," the IMF's report read.

The report comes on the heels of the troubling outlook from IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva, who said last week that "shock after shock after shock" -- a reference to climate disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine -- means the global economy could be facing a loss of $4 trillion over the next four years.

RELATED IMF downgrades global economic outlook due to 'gloomy,' 'uncertain' climate

"Their combined impact is driving a global surge in prices, especially on food and energy, causing a cost-of-living crisis," she said.

Pent-up demand during the post-vaccination stage of the pandemic overwhelmed supply chains and led to an increase in the cost of most consumer goods toward the end of 2021. Energy and geopolitics collided in February when resource-rich Russia invaded Ukraine, adding a substantial risk premium to the price of everything from grains to crude oil.

The global economy expanded by 6% last year. If IMF forecasts are accurate, growth next year will be the slowest since 2001 -- save for the deep scars during the worst of the pandemic.

Inflation, meanwhile, is expected to peak this year, but it's been a staggering rise. Global inflation was 4.7% in 2021, but it's expected to level out at 8.8% this year and "remain elevated for longer than previously expected," the IMF said.

While the strains are most apparent in major economies such as the European Union and the United States, it's the emerging and developing markets that could bear the brunt of the downturn.

Axel Van Trotsenburg, the managing director of operations at the World Bank, told CNBC about half of the global population is already forced to survive on less than $10 a day.

"We see extreme poverty again increasing," he said.

The war in Ukraine and the lingering impacts of the pandemic combine to pose challenges to economic policymakers working to keep their economies from tumbling into recession. Higher lending rates should curb demand enough to dampen inflation, but the seemingly simultaneous way in which policymakers are acting suggests a global recession may be unavoidabl

All told, Tobias Adrian, a financial counselor for the IMF, said the global economic situation is dire.

"The global environment is fragile with storm clouds on the horizon," he said.