Why has an exhibition of Banksy replicas popped up in Russia


Jonny Walfisz
Tue, 24 January 2023 


A collection of Banksy replicas has gone on show in Russia, despite political opposition by the anonymous artist.

The St. Petersburg exhibition contains 150 replicas of Banksy’s work and has quickly become one of the city’s most visited places.

The collection is a transfer from the Moscow exhibition “To Find Banksy” that was put together before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. The organisers have stressed that they don’t want to concentrate on politics.


But trying to keep anonymous street-artist Bansky apolitical is a fool’s errand. All the more so for an unauthorised exhibition of replicas taking place in a country he actively campaigns against.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Banksy has highlighted the Ukrainian people’s plight. Just this month, he facilitated an auction of 50 screen prints to raise funds for a charity helping civilians affected by the conflict. The auction was cyber-attacked by Russian IP addresses.


The exhibition in St. Petersburg includes full-sized sculptures and entire recreated rooms with replicas of Banksy’s iconic graffiti works. None of the artworks Banksy has made in Ukraine feature.

“I was even wondering whether his last works that are against the special military operation would be here. I think it would be correct to ask ourselves whether we need all this so that we think of it. Banksy suggests many things to us, especially in the new works he did. I even think his new works are missing here. They could have been added,” says Kirill Kovalev, a visitor.

“To be honest, I draw no parallel between political views and art. I think it should be distinguished. Therefore, it's his choice (to speak out against the special military operation in Ukraine),” says Maria Potapova, another visitor.

A woman takes a selfie at an artwork that was made by British street artist Banksy on a building destroyed by the Russian army in Borodyanka, Kyiv region, Ukraine - AP Photo

Banksy already condemned an unofficial exhibition of actual works in Moscow in 2018. The unofficial ‘Banksy’ exhibition opened in Moscow’s Central House of Artist Museum but has since moved through Russia, Spain, Portugal, the US, and Hong Kong.

Over three million people have seen the unauthorised exhibition.

“What the hell is that?” Banksy wrote in a text exchange when he found out.

Banksy responded to the 2018 exhibition in typical fashion, posting just the text exchange.

“You know it’s got nothing to do with me right? I don’t charge people to see my art unless there’s a fairground wheel,” he wrote, referencing his 2015 Dismaland exhibition, a parody of Disneyland, in the UK.


As much as he was against the exhibition, he didn’t take further action as he explains: “Hmm—not sure I’m the best person to complain about people putting up pictures without getting permission.”

Banksy has allowed some of his works to enter Russia more recently though. In 2021, he authorised the auction of eight works including a print of 'Love is in the Air' and pieces from the Dismaland theme park.

Auctioned at the Tver City Museum and Exhibition Center northwest of Moscow, the museum’s Elizaveta Maksimova told reporters: “There are certificates for the exhibits which prove they are authentic and signed by Banksy.”

Check out the video above for footage of the St. Petersburg exhibition.

New statistics show transgender hate crimes rising faster than any other in Scotland

David Bol
Tue, 24 January 2023 a

Transgender rights protesters at Holyrood (Image: PA)

Hate crimes against transgender people are rising faster than any other in Scotland, it has emerged, as new figures published by the Scottish Government showed reports to police have soared in the past year.

New statistics published by the Scottish Government have revealed that the number of hate crimes recorded against transgender people has soared by 68 per cent from 2020/21 to 2021/22 and has increased more than threefold over a seven-year period.

Green MSP Maggie Chapman said the sharp rise incidents has been “fuelled by a cynical campaign of vicious lies” over Scotland’s gender recognition reforms.

According to the statistics, hate crimes where transgender was the aggravator has jumped from 53 in 2014/15 to 110 in 2021/21 and 185 in 2021/22.

Read more: Misinformation over gender recognition plans used to 'whip up moral panic'

The total number of hate crimes has increased slightly over the space of 12 months from 6,720 recorded in 2020/21 to 6,927 for 2021/22.

Hate crimes against people due to their sexual orientation has also risen from 1,110 in 2014/15 to 1,683 in 2021/21 and 1,855 in 2021/22.

The number of hate crimes targeting disabled people has also climbed over the years, moving from 269 in 2016/17 to 435 in 2020/2021 and 552 in 2021/2022.

The most common aggrevator for recorded hate crimes, race, has seen a slight decrease from 5,178 incidents in 2014/15 to 4,316 in 2020/21 and 4,263 in 2021/22.

An MSP has warned that the toxic debate around gender recognition for trans people in Scotland has led to more transgender people being targeted.

Greens equalities spokesperson, Maggie Chapman, said: "We should all be angry about the appalling increase in transphobic incidents in Scotland.

“This awful rise must also not be viewed out of context. It has been fuelled by a cynical campaign of vicious lies and smears spread about our trans siblings.

Read more: LGBT Scots seeing 'unacceptable' rise in violent hate crimes against them

"Much of it has been whipped-up and encouraged by powerful voices, such as those with significant public platforms and those in the UK government who want to distract from their own failings.”

She added: "This abusive behaviour must never be normalised. Prejudice and bigotry ruin lives. Behind every one of these crimes is a real person who has been attacked just for being who they are.

Read more: Nicola Sturgeon warns not to 'further stigmatise' trans people

"My heart goes out every single person who has been targeted and abused. I stand in solidarity with them and their friends and allies. This poisonous transphobia has absolutely no place in a modern and progressive Scotland."

According to the study, 27% of transphobic hate crimes were carried out online, 28% took place in public and 23% took place at a private property. The vast majority of transgender identity aggravated hate crimes were reported to the police by the victim.

In almost 90% of transgender identity aggravated hate crimes in 2021/22, the perpetrator should prejudice towards those from the transgender community based on “words used, action taken or perceptions of the victim”.

But the Scottihs Conservatives, the only Holyrood party who oppose the gender recognition reforms, have lablled Ms Chapman's claims as "malicious, unfounded and untrue".

The Tories' equalities spokesperson, Rachael Hamilton, said: “No-one should ever be targeted or attacked for their gender identity, and this rise in hate crimes against transgender people is appalling.

“However the idea that this has been ‘whipped up’ by the UK Government is malicious, unfounded and untrue. While the debate about the SNP’s gender recognition reforms has evoked strong feelings on both sides, the UK Government and the Scottish Conservatives have used sensitive and respectful language throughout."

She added: “By contrast, it has been a minority of supporters of this Bill – such as Maggie Chapman – who have used some of the most inflammatory and divisive language when discussing this sensitive issue.

“We have always been clear that trans people deserve support, respect and recognition – but this must not come at the expense of the rights and safety of women and girls.”

Police Scotland's superintendent Claire Dobson said: “Targeting anyone because of who they are is deplorable. Hate crime should have no place in society and we are working to increase awareness and encourage reporting.

“We want anyone who experiences hate crime, including when our officers and staff are targeted, to report it in the knowledge they will be treated fairly, with respect and the circumstances investigated professionally.”

The Scottish and UK governments have been contacted for comment.

'It's done us proud': 147-year-old Bury chip shop on market as owners set to retire


Isabel Oldman
Mon, 23 January 2023

Sara and Gordon Taylor, owners of Wood Street Chippy (Image: Gordon Taylor)

The owners of a 147-year-old fish and chip shop in Bury are looking for someone to take over the business ahead of their retirement.

Gordon Taylor, 64, and his wife Sara, 63, are looking to reel in the perfect new owner for Wood Street Chippy, which they have run since 2003.

After successfully running the business for two decades, the couple have decided it’s time to retire and are looking forward to travelling in their van and spending time with their family.

The chippy was originally put on the market two years ago and if a new owner doesn’t come forward by March this year, it could be the end of a business which has been a part of the community since 1876.

The chippy and the adjoining building, which includes a two-bedroom maisonette, are currently on the market for £225,000.

Gordon says the job comes with freedom and flexibility and the chance to be an important part of the community.

He said: “ You’re your own boss so your destiny is in your hands, which is motivation to do a good job.

“You’re not just the chippy owner, you’re basically a hive of the community, we know hundred of people around here, we have that many loyal customers.

“You can’t go anywhere around here without somebody knowing you.”

Despite the rising cost of living, business is still going strong with many people returning to the shop again and again.

READ MORE: Indie band Space entertain packed out audience at Wax and Beans, Bury

“Our biggest complaint, if that is a complaint, is that we’re not open enough,” he added.

Gordon says that he and Sara have loved running the chippy over the years but feel now is a good time to hand over the business to someone new.

“As a whole, I wouldn’t change a thing, I have no regrets.

“When we bought this place 20 years ago, some people thought we were absolutely crazy because neither of us had done it before and 20 years later we’re ready to retire and we’ve been able to afford a nice life.

“it’s done us proud over the years.”

The couple are prepared to give full training to anyone who buys the business and are more than willing to share what they’ve learned over the years.

Gordon said: “Quality and customer service [is key], do a good job and be friendly to people.

“We’re not just interested in taking people’s money, your customer service has got to be good.

“When we first bought the place, the people who we bought it from gave us a bit of advice which was ‘try and remember as many people’s names as you can’.

“Do a good job and be friendly, and it pays off in spades.”

Wood Street Chippy is listed for sale with Rosens.

Quebec's nurses order rejects call to delay exam despite concern over failure rate

Wed, January 25, 2023 


MONTREAL — Quebec's order of nurses is rejecting a recommendation to push back the date of its next licensing exam amid an ongoing investigation into why more than half of candidates failed the last sitting.

The order said today that the next exam will go ahead on March 27 as scheduled, but nursing students will be given the option to wait until the next date in September if they prefer.

The commissioner who oversees access to the province's professional orders said last week that it was still too early to explain last fall's abnormally high failure rate.

André Gariépy recommended the next date to write the exam be pushed back while he continues his probe into what happened.

While the order declined to change the date, it agreed to Gariépy's suggestion of allowing students who had failed for a third — and normally final — time to retake the test.

Gariépy's interim report found that just 45.4 per cent of nursing students passed the Sept. 26 licensing exam, compared to a pass rate of between 63 and 96 per cent in previous sittings.

Gariépy said nursing students have largely blamed what they see as flaws in the exam, while the order of nurses has suggested student preparation could have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2023.

The Canadian Press

CBC Newfoundland and Labrador

Voices from the picket line: Paramedics explain why they walked off the job

Wed, January 25, 2023 

Emily White, a paramedic for one of seven companies owned by Bob Fewer, and her colleagues were at Confederation Building on Monday, as elected officials debated a bill to send them back to work with more regulations to help continue negotiations. 

(Terry Roberts/CBC - image credit)

More than 100 employees of seven private ambulance services are back to work, but their labour dispute is far from over.

The paramedics and emergency medical responders now have a piece of legislation calling them essential workers, but they can return to the picket line again, as soon as they reach an agreement with their employer on how many people are needed to maintain a minimum standard.

Whether they reach a satisfactory deal or head back to the picket line, Emily White won't stay long.

"A lot of us are leaving this job. I myself am leaving in the next couple of months," the six-year paramedic told CBC News.

White was one of dozens of paramedics protesting outside Confederation Building in St. John's on Monday. They wanted people to know why they were on strike, and the conditions they've been working with for years.

Several medics — who are unionized under Teamsters Local 855 — said they work seven consecutive 24-hour shifts, but are paid for only 11.43 hours per shift.

"I love the job, but [not] the politics and not getting paid," White said. "Only getting 11.43 hours for 24-hour shifts is not right. I don't get a pension plan. I don't have RRSPs. I have nothing in line for my retirement."

Terry Roberts/CBC

All seven striking ambulance services are owned by one man, Bob Fewer. He hasn't responded to any requests from CBC News since the job action began.

Fewer is quoted in a VOCM article published Wednesday as saying he welcomes the new legislation but it will take a long time to get over bad blood created during the strike.

Teamsters Local 855 business agent Hubert Dawe said talks with Fewer have been unproductive from the beginning. Despite months of attempts to negotiate, Dawe said, a written offer was submitted for only one of seven services.

Dawe said "procrastination" was one of the worst problems they faced with the employer and he was glad to see legislation with prescribed timelines for negotiating contracts and settling disputes.

Under the new legislation, if both sides cannot reach an essential services agreement, they can apply to the provincial labour relations board, which will set the terms of the agreement within 45 days. Workers can return to striking after that.

The act also comes with fines, ranging from $500 to $10,000, for breaking the rules set forth.

Should there be a private sector?

Nathanael White was also on the picket line on Monday, outside the James Paton Memorial Hospital in Gander. He works for the ambulance service in Carmanville, where he moved about 12 years ago.

The pay structure and lack of retirement plans have left him worried for his future.

"I watched my neighbour do 23 years in the ambulance service and at the end of the day, all he got was a plaque thanking him for his service. So who's looking after him now?" he said.

Submitted by Carly White

Nathanael White wants to see the private sector pull in line with the public sector on wages and pensions. Better yet, he said, he'd like to see the private service abolished.

"The government has done audits multiple times in the last decade and found issues with the private sector. It should never have been a for-profit model. It should be directly funded by the government and the money should go where it's supposed to go," he said.

The legislation passed on Monday was rare in labour circles. Legislating people back to work is rarely popular, but it was a move welcomed by the union in this case. Along with the essential designation, the legislation set out a roadmap for handling future disputes. If the Teamsters can't reach a deal with Fewer, the matter can be sent to the labour relations board and on to an independent arbitrator.

"The important thing is that we're still able to provide service for our community, but we still have a voice and we're able to get the things we deserve to make our job better," Nathanael White said.

GOOD NEWS
B.C. valley of ancient trees, rare animals preserved in deal with forest firm

Wed, January 25, 2023 


VICTORIA — A valley of intact forests, lakes and wetlands in southeastern British Columbia nearly 200 times the size of Vancouver’s Stanley Park is being preserved in an agreement with governments, Indigenous groups, a forest company and the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

The partnership to protect the Incomappleux Valley east of Revelstoke, B.C., involves Interfor Corp. giving up 75,000 hectares of its forest tenure.

The valley is a rare inland temperate rainforest with substantial areas of mature and old-growth trees, some ranging in age from 800 to 1,500 years.

The Nature Conservancy says it a statement that several species at risk are found the valley, including two endangered bats and the threatened southern mountain caribou.

The northern edge of the project abuts against Glacier National Park, which the conservancy says increases important habitat for wide-ranging animals across the southern Interior B.C. mountains.

Environment Minister George Heyman told a group gathered for the announcement at the legislature that the area is one of the few temperate rainforests in the world.

"It is a unique part of the province," he said.

"The conservation community and people who live in the area understood and understand what an important and unique region this is and they've been calling for protection for many years."

Heyman says the announcement supports the B.C. government's commitment to protect 30 per cent of the land base by 2030.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2023.

The Canadian Press

NIMBY

Protesters in Mainland block road to wind power test site over water supply fears

Wed, January 25, 2023 

Protesters take shifts blocking a road that leads to a wind power test site.

 (Troy Turner/CBC - image credit)

A group of protesters from Mainland, on Newfoundland and Labrador's Port au Port Peninsula, has blocked a road to a wind power test site for more than a week, citing concerns about their water supply.

Crown land near Mainland has been identified as a site of a future meteorological evaluation tower designed to collect data and help determine the future viability of a development by wind power company World Energy GH2.

But Mainland residents opposed to the construction of the tower say the road a contractor has cut to the area is creating problems with their supplemental water supply.

"What's coming down is not fit to drink," said Zita Hinks. "We have an all-grade school here in our community, a lot of small children — that water was going to them as well. Somebody will get sick if this water system is not cleaned up."

The road to the tower site runs about nine kilometres along the side of a mountain, heading to the peninsula's interior. Streams and brooks in the area run into LeCointre's Brook, the secondary source of water for the local service district.

Troy Turner/CBC

"We're asking the government, 'Why?'" said Hinks. "'Why are you doing this to our water supply?' It's not fair. It's inhumane because the way we feel, water is the very basic necessities of life. The government cannot deny us a good drinking water source."

According to the local service district, a pumphouse, funded largely by the provincial government, was installed near the mouth of LeCointre's Brook in the late 1990s. It pumps water into the primary reservoir when water levels are low.

Dwight Cornect, who was elected to the local service district committee in 2009, said the provincial government's subsidization of the project means the land should be protected from development.

"It is not a secondary water supply. It is actually part of our water system."

Submitted by Brandon Lainey

When the committee heard in late 2022 the mountainous area around LeCointre's Brook was not considered a protected area, it applied for protection for the land to prevent any work from happening in the area.

"We as an LSD, as elected representatives of a community, that we have a responsibility to ensure that access to our public drinking supply is controlled, limited, that not just anybody can enter this area," said Cornect.

Troy Turner/CBC

The Department of Environment and Climate Change declined an interview request.

In a statement, the department said it issued two temporary licences to World Energy GH2 to permit temporary wind-monitoring activities in the area. Once World Energy GH2 completes its data collection, the licences end and the site is to be returned to an acceptable condition, says the statement.

The department says it collected samples from LeCointre's Brook twice, most recently on Nov. 24.

"Results indicated that turbidity and colour were elevated, but no other water quality concerns were identified," the statement reads. "Officials conducting a site visit in early December have indicated that silt control measures were installed at the culvert replacement locations."

Troy Turner/CBC

Since the watershed is not considered a protected area, the road upgrading work did not require any permits under the Water Recourses Act.

World Energy GH2 declined an interview but in a statement the company said it's carefully following provincial guidelines on operating near bodies of water. The company is using local, native material from the existing Crown Lands access road to widen it, according to the statement.

Troy Turner/CBC

"The primary road material is clay-like," the statement reads. "The clay is not poisonous and is not a contaminant."

To help prevent storm water runoff from contributing to turbidity in the brook, World Energy GH2 said it is surrounding the access road with mitigation meausres such as silt fencing and check dams.

"We have also asked a third-party engineering consultant to assess the mitigations and recommend improvements.

"Aside from our commitment to mitigate turbidity in Mainland's proposed backup water supply … we are willing and able to help improve water supplies in the area. We are committed to being a good community partner and to bringing tangible benefits to the area."

Troy Turner/CBC

The only way for World Energy GH2 to help the people of Mainland is by packing up and leaving, said Hinks, and the blockade will continue as long as is needed.

"We don't want the windmills. We don't want them here in our area. It's our water. Don't mess with our water," she said.

"I would love to see them come here and say … 'We're getting out of here, we're getting off the peninsula.' Best thing ever. Because the Port au Port Peninsula does not want this."

Troy Turner/CBC

HEY DANIELLE SMITH:
Oilsands execs say a 'just transition' isn't a worry — it's their next big 'boom'

Mia Rabson
The Canadian Press

OTTAWA -

The CEOs of some of the biggest oilsands companies in Alberta say transitioning their workforce for a net-zero emissions future isn't about cutting jobs, it's about creating them.

"We estimated that we will spend somewhere in the range of $70 billion over the next 30 years to decarbonize the production of the oilsands," Cenovus CEO Alex Pourbaix said in an interview with The Canadian Press this week.

"If we're successful in doing that, that is going to create a boom in the oil-producing provinces that is equivalent to what happened in the '80s and the '90s."

Cenovus is one of six oilsands companies in the Pathways Alliance, a consortium created to work together to decarbonize their production entirely by 2050. Pourbaix said the companies believe reaching their goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 will create 35,000 jobs.

The "just transition" debate is raging in Canadian politics this week as Alberta politicians slam a federal plan to introduce legislation intended to guide the adjustment to a clean energy economy.

The Liberals have promised such legislation since the 2019 election and are expected to introduce it in the House of Commons sometime this year.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith jumped on reports that a federal memo suggested millions of jobs will be lost in the transition. The memo actually referred to the number of jobs that currently exist in industries that could be affected by decarbonization.

Despite that clarification, Smith doubled down on her insistence that a "just transition" is a plan to shut down Alberta's energy industry.

"I will fight this 'Just Transition' idea with every tool at Alberta's disposal," she said in a video posted to Twitter Wednesday.

Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley added her voice to the fire, telling the Edmonton Journal in an interview that Ottawa should scrap plans for the legislation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday that transitioning to clean energy is about creating good middle-class jobs "in a world that is changing."

"The energy workers that we rely on, the natural resource workers, will continue to be essential parts of our economy moving forward," he said.

Randy Boissonnault, the associate finance minister, had a hurried op-ed published in the Edmonton Journal Tuesday decrying Smith's accusations as fearmongering.

"I can be unequivocal about this: with our sustainable jobs plan, your federal government is interested in creating and supporting jobs, not eliminating them," he wrote.

MEG Energy CEO Derek Evans told The Canadian Press in an interview that his worry about the transition isn't job cuts, it's a labour shortage.

"I'm quite worried, let me put it this way, that we don't have enough people in Canada to get the job done," he said.

The Pathways companies are looking to spend $24 billion by 2030 on emissions cutting, two-thirds of it on carbon capture and storage systems. After 2030 they expect to be turning to installations of hydrogen and small nuclear reactors as their energy sources.

All of that will require additional workers to build, install and operate.

Demand for fossil fuels won't be zero by 2050 but most projections point to a significant dip as electrification takes hold, particularly in transport. Canada and its producers want Canadian products to be the most cleanly produced to keep demand high.

It's why Pathways was created, said Kendall Dilling, the alliance's president.

"The energy transition or decarbonization or whatever you want to call it, this is probably the defining challenge in the next couple of decades," he said.

A decent chunk of the debate may be a battle over semantics.

"Just transition" was coined by the labour movement in the United States in the 1990s to help workers in industries caught up in toxic waste problems. It now plays a role in global climate pacts aimed at helping both fossil fuel workers and people most affected by climate change.

Canada has already used the same language in its efforts to help workers in the shrinking coal industry.

But the term "just transition" has become politically loaded and despised, even by some proponents.

"Workers hate it, I hate it," said NDP MP Charlie Angus, who is working with the Liberals to develop the legislation as part of the NDP and Liberal supply and confidence deal.

"In my community when they talk about a transition, we knew what that meant: they're shutting the lights off. It's not great language and I can see why people get their back up. I get my back up."

The Liberals seem to agree, although it is still the term used in both their 2019 and 2021 platforms, and their months of consultations to develop the legislation.

Both Boissonault and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson have indicated a preference for calling it a "sustainable jobs plan."

Whatever it's called, Pourbaix said a successful net-zero plan will make the entire debate somewhat irrelevant.

"I actually think this the idea of a just transition solves itself if we're successful in our in our quest to decarbonize our production," he said. "We ensure the sustaining and even growing of the industry in the country."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2023.

— With files from Mickey Djuric.

Calgary company's technology, used in NASA Mars mission, could help reduce oilsands emissions

A photo from NASA, taken during the first drive of the Perseverance rover on Mars on March 4, 2021. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)

Melissa Gilligan
CTVNewsCalgary.ca Digital Journalist
Follow | Contact
Updated Jan. 12, 2023 

A Calgary company’s cutting edge technology – originally used by NASA in a Mars mission – could be utilized to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the oilsands.

Pathways Alliance, a group representing Canada's largest oilsands producers, held a global challenge to find innovations that can help accelerate the use of steam-reducing technologies in oilsands operations.

Calgary company Impossible Sensing Energy's optical technology, called FLOW, was awarded first prize in the competition, beating out 50 other entries and claiming a $45,000 prize.

The technology was first developed by the company's U.S. affiliate for use by the Mars Perseverance Rover to find traces of life on the planet’s surface.

As it turns out, it can not only be used to search for trace amounts of potential carbon-based past life on Mars, but can also detect precise amounts of solvents (hydrocarbons) in oil production stream.

Solvents – such as butane and propane – are naturally occurring in oilsands bitumen and are used as a much less energy intensive alternative to steam.

"The increased use of solvents offers a breakthrough potential to reduce—or eliminate—the need for energy-intensive steam generation in steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) operations," explained a Thursday news release from Pathways Alliance.

The group says the use of steam reduction technologies in oilsands extraction is one of the most "promising and important" technologies to help reduce emissions.

"Replacing steam in SAGD production with solvents could result in up to a 90% reduction of CO2 emissions," said a release.

"However, to fully advance the process, the industry has been searching for a real-time, accurate method to measure the precise amounts and concentrations of solvents to maximize recycling throughout the full oil recovery process."

Pathways Alliance says cost-effectiveness is an important element in the effort to commercialize the use of solvents in oilsands production.

"The economics of solvent use is dependent on the ability to recycle it. By measuring the solvent in the production stream, it can be determined how much is being returned and can adjust processes to maximize recycling," the group explained.

Two Calgary companies were runners up in the competition, including Burnt Rock Technologies Ltd. and Exergy Solutions Inc., both of which will be awarded a technological-economic assessment valued at $35,000.

FDA food safety official resigns, cites structural issues

Wed, January 25, 2023

The federal Food and Drug Administration's top food safety official resigned Wednesday, citing concerns about the agency's oversight structure and the infant formula crisis that led to a nationwide shortage.

Frank Yiannas, the deputy commissioner for food policy and response since 2018, told FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf in an email that he would leave Feb. 24.

He said he told Califf early last year that the structure of the foods program “significantly impaired FDA's ability to operate as an integrated food team and protect the public.”

But Yiannas said he postponed leaving last year after learning of problems at the Abbott Laboratories infant formula plant in Michigan, which was shuttered for months because of contamination. The plant has since reopened, and Abbott is facing a Justice Department criminal investigation.

Yiannas said infant formula supplies have increased and necessary monitoring is in place, making it the right time to leave FDA.

“My fervent hope is that American consumers, especially mothers and fathers of infants, never again have to face this type of preventable situation,” Yiannas wrote. He called for a independent and thorough review of the crisis.

FDA spokeswoman Tara Rabin confirmed Yiannas' resignation.

Yiannas' notice comes less than a week before Califf is expected to release a response to a scathing report calling for an overhaul of the way the agency regulates human and animal foods. Currently, no single official has full oversight of FDA’s sprawling food operations.

Yiannas called for the appointment of a “fully empowered and experienced” deputy commissioner for foods, with direct oversight of those issues. Advocacy groups and several former FDA officials have also called for such a position.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Jonel Aleccia, The Associated Press