After 55 Years, B.C. Cleans Up the Wreck of the MV Schiedyk

Courtesy Canadian Coast Guard

PUBLISHED MAR 26, 2023 9:43 PM BY CLEAR SEAS

 

More than half a century after the cargo ship MV Schiedyk sank on Canada’s west coast, 21st century technology and teamwork with First Nations helped to remove an oily hazard from the environment.

A hazardous coastline

The region stretching from Cape Scott Provincial Park on Vancouver Island in the north down to Tillamook Bay on the Oregon coast is known as the Graveyard of the Pacific for a reason. From the era of sails and sextants to the present day, this region has been a challenge for mariners to navigate due to the unpredictable weather and rocky, convoluted coastline. First Nations have been journeying up and down this same coast since time immemorial, fishing and harvesting the rich bounty from coastal areas, and trading with other Nations.

The experience of the captain of the Schiedyk (pronounced shkee-dike) proved how quickly things can go wrong. The freighter set sail on January 3, 1968, from Gold River, British Columbia, a community tucked in a fjord on the west coast of Vancouver Island, carrying a cargo of grain and wood pulp. Unable to make a critical turn due to a rudder failure, the Schiedyk struck a submerged reef off Bligh Island in Zuciarte Channel.1 The crew of 34 were successfully rescued, but after a few hours the Schiedyk slipped beneath the waves to rest on the reef.

Map of Bligh Island, Zuciarte Channel, and the surrounding area.

What’s in a Place Name?

Bligh Island lies in Nootka Sound off the West Coast of Vancouver Island. When British navigator and explorer Captain James Cook arrived in a cove on the southeast side of the island in 1778, he named it for William Bligh, a Master on Cook’s vessel HMS Discovery. Bligh later gained notoriety as the captain of the HMS Bounty, whose crew mutinied in the South Pacific. Nootka was an erroneous name, the product of “often clumsy misinterpretations” by early European visitors of Indigenous names according to an account by author Andrew Scott.2 In this case, Cook is said to have believed nootk-a was the First Nation’s name, but it likely was the Nuu-chah-nulth word for “around” being used to instruct the Cook expedition on where they could safely navigate or to explain that they were on an island (itchme nutka, a place you can “go around”). The name nuu?aan?u? or Nuu-chah-nulth (“All Along the Mountains and Sea”) was chosen in 1978 to represent the First Nations along western Vancouver Island down to the northern edge of Washington State.3

After the sinking, the decision whether to undertake a salvage operation rested with the ship’s owners, Holland-America, and the insurance company, Lloyd’s of London.4 They decided that a salvage operation wasn’t economical and the freighter was written off as a wreck, absolving the owners and insurance company of any further liability. Without rules to cover the Schiedyk, the vessel was left in an ambiguous regulatory area when the oil from ship’s fuel tanks, known as bunker oil, began to leak. Today, the polluter-pays principle and Canadian law require shipowners to take responsibility, but at the time, the owner and insurance company were able to walk away leaving a leaking wreck with no plan to clean up the spill.

Fuel continued to leak between January and May 1968, although no accurate account exists of the amount of oil that escaped from the ship’s fuel tanks. Oil spill clean-up efforts to recover the bunker fuel were performed by the Ministry of Transport, the forerunner of today’s Transport Canada. While pressure was applied to Holland-America to take responsibility, they took no action. The wreck appeared to stop leaking and at some point, it slipped off its resting place on the reef, rolling upside down before settling at a depth of more than 100 metres with an unknown quantity of fuel still on board. Lost to the sea, the submerged wreck rested quietly for decades, and — significantly — memories of the incident began to fade.

A mystery sheen appears 52 years later

In mid-September 2020, an oily sheen appeared on the surface of the water in Zuciarte Channel between the south side of Bligh Island and the north side of Vancouver Island.

Over the next weeks, reports of small releases of between 30 to 50 litres of oil at any given time continued coming into the Canadian Coast Guard from a concerned public. The Coast Guard labelled it as a mystery spill – a spill with no known source. At first, it was believed that the sheen on the water was caused by a bilge-discharge from modern-day vessels. However, further reports from the public made everyone realize that the problem was something more serious. The Schiedyk had long since sunk and as many of the area’s residents had moved or died, the sinking was no longer in the community’s collective memory. Finding the origin of the oil was a challenging process.

By December 2020, as larger amounts of oil continued to leak, the Coast Guard identified the area’s historical wreck, the Schiedyk, and traced the source, discovering the wreck itself using a remotely operated marine vehicle (ROV). Greg Walker, who served as the federal incident commander in the subsequent clean-up, explained the process in an interview in the Ha-Shilth-Sa newspaper.5

Oil spill clean-up begins

In a typical oil spill emergency response, an Incident Command System is used to allow different agencies and teams to work effectively together with clearly defined responsibilities. The virtual Incident Command Post (due to the pandemic) was staffed by personnel from across Canada, including the Canadian Coast Guard, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, and other partners and contractors whose role was to monitor the shorelines, especially sensitive areas, marine mammals, and other wildlife during the operation. As this spill occurred on the traditional territory of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht, the First Nation was integrated into the Incident Command team with a seat at the table for clean-up strategy and decision-making.6 The Incident Command team relied on the West Coast Vancouver Island Integrated Response Plan to guide the spill response.

An Integrated Response Plan guides the Incident Command team when responding to an oil spill. Prepared by the Canadian Coast Guard, it provides an operational plan for a clear and coordinated response. The West Coast Vancouver Island Integrated Response Plan, completed in May 2020, was put to use for the Schiedyk spill. This plan had provisions for the management of sensitive First Nations data to allow it to be included and interpreted for decision making, while protecting its confidentiality. The Canadian Coast Guard plans to regularly update the Integrated Response Plan for the region to reflect new insights and information.

Geographic Response Strategy proved an essential clean-up tool

Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC) is the Transport Canada-certified response organization contracted to provide spill response for the west coast of Canada. Even though the Schiedyk was a historical wreck, WCMRC was contracted by the Canadian Coast Guard to support the government agencies in this incident with their knowledge and resources.

Clear Seas spoke to WCMRC about their role during the response. One of the key tools they applied for the Schiedyk spill response was a Geographic Response Strategy (GRS). The development of this tool came out of WCMRC’s engagement with coastal communities about their concerns related to spill response. Communities wanted to be more involved in spill response planning and they wanted the planning to be more transparent. The creation of the GRS program aimed to address these concerns.

An example of a GRS sourced from WCMRC.

Creating a Geographic Response Strategy

Creating a GRS requires mapping the coastline, identifying where sensitivities are using provincial and federal data sets, and understanding culturally sensitive areas significant to First Nations. Generally, these plans are created in consultation with Indigenous and coastal communities to incorporate their deep local knowledge into the response plan. WCMRC hosts workshops and engagement sessions to get communities involved in looking at the maps to identify knowledge gaps. The GRS can keep sensitive data private, such as why a certain area needs protection, while still communicating a community’s priorities by indicating areas in high need of protection. WCMRC notes that they need to know what areas are important to a First Nation, not why, and there is no need to share sensitive data.

A GRS identifies cultural sites along with environmental and economic sensitivities, among other things, and provides a guide for action during the first 24 hours of a spill response.7 On a tangible level, a GRS is specific, providing details as to how much boom is needed, where to anchor it, how many vessels and people are needed – distilled into a one-page document. When a spill happens, a trajectory model can predict where the oil is likely to spread, then the GRS helps responders get ahead of the movement of the oil. (Explore the WCMRC’s GRS here.)

In responding to the Schiedyk spill, the GRS provided critical information to quickly identify the sensitive areas that required protection using floating barricades called containment booms.

The WCMRC had previously worked on the recovery of oil from the M.G. Zalinski, a U.S. army ship, which sank in the Grenville Channel in 1946 and was lost until 2003 when, like the Schiedyk, it started leaking bunker oil. The experience was excellent learning for the Schiedyk response.

When beginning the Schiedyk response, the first goal was to prevent the oil from spreading into sensitive areas. Once sensitive areas are protected, the next goal is to get oil off the water, then clean up beaches, but in this case, oil did not reach the beach. The integration and collaboration with the Coast Guard and Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation was key, according to WCMRC spokesperson Michael Lowry, Senior Communications Manager. “It takes a lot of people to be successful,” he said. Many spill responders point to the recovery rate of oil as a measure of success, however, Lowry says that the type of oil spilled is a big factor in how much product can be retrieved. WCMRC’s first measure of success is always: “is it a safe operation, did we keep everyone safe?”

First Nations are consulted but important lessons remain for the future

The Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council (NTC), a not-for-profit that provides a wide range of services to the 14 Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations, spoke to Clear Seas about their involvement in the clean-up.

An NTC spokesperson felt the engagement with First Nations showed improvement, with a lot of back-and-forth communication out of a desire to “involve more people rather than less.” Cultural sensitivities relating to ecological and archeological sites in need of strong protection were identified by Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation elders, with their concerns taken seriously.8 According to an NTC spokesperson, being integrated into the unified command structure allowed Indigenous perspectives and knowledge to be prioritized. However, the Nations expressed concerns that while they can play a key role, they don’t necessarily have the resources and tools to map their territory.

A noted area for improvement was the follow-up to an initial spill report. Once a call is made to a spill response phone line, the next steps are unclear. Who is responsible for following up or taking action? In the case of the MV Schiedyk, once the Canadian Coast Guard began to investigate further, they contacted the NTC to ensure they were aware of the situation.

Another factor limiting full community involvement was the COVID-19 pandemic. While the response team tried to involve the surrounding communities as much as possible, the pandemic health restrictions required caution. Both the Coast Guard and WCMRC asked the Nation how they might participate to identify ways to make meaningful connections with the community. One way was through economic benefits; the response organizations stayed locally and ate locally. The WCMRC emphasised that the community connection was important, and a sign of a successful response.

The timing of the response work required responders to work through Christmas and New Year’s Day. Michael Lowry from WCMRC noted that being away from family during the holiday season can be tough; however, responders emphasized the appreciation they received from the community. On Christmas morning, responders coming to get breakfast at the Moutcha Bay Resort where they were staying were surprised to find Christmas stockings lined up for them with small gifts, candies, and notes thanking them for their work in protecting the area. Chief Jerry Jack from the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation also thanked responders for their work.

The NTC spokesperson said that this clean-up effort showed improved engagement with communities despite the challenge of the pandemic, allowing for the relationship between Indigenous peoples, the Coast Guard, and other agencies to continue to develop.

Specialized salvage resources required

While efforts were ongoing to clean the oil from the water, the source of the leak still needed to be addressed. For this, the federal government contracted Resolve Marine based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, who were tasked to remove the oil from the vessel supported by Canadian subcontractors. The project was divided into two phases. The first phase involved surveying the site using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) that create a picture of the situation including mapping the hull.

Sonar Image of the upside-down hull of the MV Schiedyk. Source: Resolve Marine.

Once the assessment was complete, the second part of the operation – oil removal – could begin. ROVs drilled holes into the vessel’s four fuel tanks. The Coast Guard explained that the ROVs secured a drainage valve with a hose attached for pumping operations. To remove the heavy fuel oil, hot water was injected into the tanks to liquefy the oil. The oil and water mixture was then pumped to the surface through the hoses to be collected onboard the offshore support vessel, the Atlantic Condor, where the oil and water were separated. The Schiedyk’s tanks were then flushed until fuel was no longer detected. According to Resolve Marine, approximately 61.5 cubic metres of oil were recovered and delivered ashore for proper disposal.

Attitudes and laws have changed since 1968

According to the April 2022 federal budget some $33 million was spent on the Schiedyk clean-up.9 In part, the cost was due to the emergency nature of this response. Addressing abandoned, derelict vessels and historical wrecks, and their oil leaks, while an expensive undertaking, can be less costly when the recovery is planned. The legal system in place when the Schiedyk sank had no requirements for ship owners to clean up oil, so the oil was simply left in the wreck and the ship owner walked away.

Today, the Canadian system is based on the polluter-pays principle and compensation is provided by the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund (SOPF) if the polluter is unable to pay. In the case of the Schiedyk, the SOPF does not cover the clean-up costs because the vessel sank in 1968, prior to the SOPF’s creation. Although a similar grounding is much less likely today, thanks to technology like automatic identification and global positioning systems, sonar, radar and improved weather prediction, should a commercial vessel like the Schiedyk run aground, the ship’s operator would be required to address the spill when the accident occurred. They could not simply walk away as they did in 1968.

How many historical wrecks remain?

The Canadian Coast Guard is compiling a list of vessels of concern: wrecked, abandoned, and hazardous vessels, both above and below the water. Vessels are prioritized based on several criteria including pollution risk. Under the Oceans Protection Plan, there is a process for the public to report wrecked, abandoned and hazardous vessels. Vessels on the surface understandably attract the most attention because they are a visible reminder of the risk they pose, but there are many vessels lurking under the water as well.

In May of 2019, Canada acceded to the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks (2007), which sets out international regulations on the effective removal of wrecks.10 In addition to providing funding for the clean-up or removal of vessels of concern, the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act aims to prevent further vessels of concern in Canadian waters by tightening the rules to prevent vessels from being abandoned.11

Wrecks in Other Waters

In 2013, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States completed a risk assessment of the estimated 20,000 sunken wrecks in US waters. This initiative was launched when oil leaks from a sunken wreck in San Francisco led to a major recovery effort, similar to the Shiedyk. The resulting RULET database was used to assess 87 wrecks and identify 36 that posed the largest threat of pollution. The data supports US Coast Guard decision-making on proactive oil recovery. It also speeds up the identification of so-called mystery spills. For example, oil was recovered in 2019 from a sunken World War II tanker near Long Island, New York after a leak was discovered.

The locations of the 87 wrecks addressed in the US national risk assessment. Source: NOAA.

In Canada, work is underway to develop a database on historical wrecks and their risk of pollution. According to the NTC spokesperson “there is a lot of fear” around how many other shipwrecks are out there, especially after the Schiedyk. “Where is the list, which ones could be dangerous, how could we assess this?” the NTC asked. More transparency and collaboration with communities is needed around what wrecks the federal government is aware of, “does anyone know, is there a plan to salvage them, and who will pay for this?” – and what do they intend to do to protect coastal waters from other historical wrecks.

This article appears courtesy of Clear Seas and may be found in its original form here.

References

1 The Captain’s Account of the Sinking. (January 5, 1968). Daily Colonist.

2 Andrew Scott, The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names, A Complete Reference to Coastal British Columbia, Harbour Publishing, (2009) pp. 429-430.

3 Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka). (2006). The Canadian Encyclopedia.

4 Wrecked cargo ship begins leaking oil 52 years after it sank in B.C.’s Nootka Sound. (2020). CBC.

5 Oil removed from Nootka Sound shipwreck. (2021). Ha-Shilth-Sa.

6 Coast guard, First Nations work to contain oil leak from decades-old shipwreck in B.C.’s Nootka Sound. (2020). CBC.

7 WCMRC Strategies. (2023). WCMRC Website.

8 Wrecked cargo ship begins leaking oil 52 years after it sank in B.C.’s Nootka Sound. (2020). CBC.

9 Tax-exempt sperm and 8 other weird and wonderful highlights from federal budget 2022. (2022). National Post.

10 Addressing Wrecked, abandoned or hazardous vessels. (2022). Government of Canada.

11 About The Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act. (2019). Government of Canada Transport Canada.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

US Supreme Court turns away challenge to Trump’s tariffs on steel imports
Reuters | March 27, 2023 |

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to US steel import tariffs imposed in 2018 under former President Donald Trump – a policy he touted as defending American national security – and largely maintained by President Joe Biden.


The justices turned away an appeal by a group of US-based steel importers of a lower court’s ruling rejecting their challenge to the Trump administration’s imposition of tariffs under a Cold War-era trade law.

At issue in the case was whether the findings in a 2018 report to Trump that recommended he impose steel tariffs were subject to second-guessing by courts under federal administrative law.

The report by then-Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross determined that excessive steel imports were threatening US national security, with the imports causing domestic steel plants to close and undermining the US “ability to meet national security production requirements in a national emergency.” In March 2018, Trump ordered a 25% tariff on steel imports from most nations. He also ordered a 10% tariff on aluminum imports.

Several companies that import steel products, including subsidiaries of Colmar, Pennsylvania-based Dorman Products Inc and Turkish steel producer Borusan Mannesmann, sued in the US Court of International Trade. They argued that the Ross report was “arbitrary and capricious” under a federal law called the Administrative Procedure Act.

The trade court in 2021 ruled against the steel importers, finding that the Ross report could not be challenged in court because it was not a “final agency action.”

On appeal, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit broke with the trade court, ruling that the Ross findings did constitute a final agency action. However, the Federal Circuit found that the report’s findings were not subject to court review under administrative law and that the policy otherwise complied with federal law.

The Biden administration, which has largely maintained Trump’s tariff policy, urged the justices not to take up the appeal. Trump is a Republican and Biden a Democrat.

In imposing the tariffs, Trump invoked Section 232 of the Trade Act of 1962, which allows a US president to restrict imports of goods critical to national security. Exemptions were granted to some countries, but the tariffs became an irritant in foreign relations including with European allies.

Trump at the time said the tariffs were necessary for national security to maintain healthy domestic production, and said the United States was committed to building its ships, planes and other military equipment with American steel.

During his presidency, Trump rattled the world trade order by imposing unilateral tariffs to combat what he called unfair trade practices by China, the European Union and other major trading partners of the United States. China and some other countries retaliated by imposing tariffs on US goods.

The Supreme Court last year refused to hear a separate challenge by steel companies to Trump’s 2018 decision to double tariffs on steel imports from Turkey, also on national security grounds.

(By John Kruzel and Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)

Researchers point to best techniques to improve combustion, reduce pollution in coal-fired plants
Staff Writer | March 27, 2023 | 

PGE Bełchatów power plant and coal mine in Poland. (Reference image by Roman Ranniew, Flickr.)

An international team of researchers analyzed the effectiveness of combining swirl flow and air staging technologies for improving combustion performance in and reducing pollution from coal-fired power plants.


In a paper published in the journal Energy, the scientists explain that the exhaust tube vortex (ETV) structure accompanying the swirl flow improves flame stability and combustion performance, but has the disadvantage of generating a large amount of NOx emissions. In contrast, air staging technology creates a fuel-rich environment in the primary combustion zone, which has a positive effect on NOx reduction but negatively affects combustion performance.

“Therefore, if these two technologies are appropriately combined and applied in real life, a synergistic effect that reduces the emission of air pollutants as well as improves combustion performance can be expected,” lead researcher Gyungmin Choi of Pusan National University, Korea said in a media statement.

Choi and his colleagues employed both simulations and experiments to study the combined effects of different swirl configurations and air staging within a 16-kWth retrofitted down-fired pulverized coal boiler.

The coal boiler was composed of three sections: the swirl burner, the boiler, and the exhaust pipe. For staged combustion, staged air was divided into two sides and injected tangentially into the boiler. Liquified petroleum (LPG) gas was used for preheating and flame stabilization. The staged-air and LPG flow rates were regulated, and for each setting, the temperature was measured using thermocouples. Additionally, the amount of gas-phase species was measured using a multi-gas analyzer.

Air staging with two swirl configurations, namely co-swirling and counter-swirling flames, was evaluated to understand which of these is more beneficial in terms of reducing pollutant emissions. In the case of the co-swirling burner, where the air and fuel circulated in the same sense, the coal particles were evenly distributed owing to the formation of the inner circulation zone and the ETV–two vital features for optimizing the design of coal-fired boilers.

Further, the team observed an even burnout zone for the co-swirling configuration, which ensured complete combustion of the fuel, reducing the gas species emissions. It also facilitated an increased conversion of chemical energy into thermal energy, boosting combustion efficiency. In contrast, counter-swirling burners showed uneven coal particle distribution, uneven burnout, and increased NOx emissions, suggesting that a co-swirling configuration was the better option. Additionally, the team showed that air staging technology drove the environmental costs from $0.003 to $0.015 per day.

In the researchers’ view, the insights from this study could prove to be extremely valuable in solving the environmental problems and health hazards related to coal-fired power plants.

“We have identified and studied the structure and flame of the ETV for the first time, and will continue researching and striving to utilize it in the combustion-based industry,” Choi said.

Can the New High Seas Treaty Protect the "Wild West" of Int'l Waters?

NOAA file image

PUBLISHED MAR 27, 2023 8:04 PM BY THE CONVERSATION

 

[By Dr. Sarah Lothian]

Delegates gave a jubilant cheer at United Nations Headquarters in New York on March 5 as nations reached an agreement on ways to protect marine life in the high seas and the international seabed area.

It has been a long time coming, debated for almost two decades. It took nine years of discussions by an Informal Working Group, four sessions of a Preparatory Committee, five meetings of an Intergovernmental Conference and a 36-hour marathon final push to reach agreement.

So why was it so hard to achieve? And what does it do?

In short, the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction agreement paves the way for the establishment of more high seas marine protected areas. Only 1% of the high seas are currently fully protected, so the new agreement is a vital step towards achieving the recently adopted Kunming-Montreal biodiversity pact, which pledges to protect 30% of terrestrial and marine habitats by 2030.

In turn, the designation of more high seas marine protected areas could assist in curbing fishing activities in these waters. At present, distant water fleets can scoop up almost everything that swims or scuttles thousands of kilometres from their home country. As the high seas are also teeming with marine life, the new agreement also ensures this genetic wealth is shared fairly and equitably among the international community.

It’s not too much to say this agreement marks a significant turning point in the protection of our deep oceans.

Where are we talking about?

Nations have rights to marine genetic resources out to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from their coastline. After that? It’s almost completely unregulated, much like the Wild West. It’s a huge area, representing over 60% of our oceans.

But this agreement doesn’t just cover what lives in the high seas water column. It also covers the seabed, ocean floor and subsoil beyond a coastal country’s continental shelf.

Major discoveries on the ocean floor have dispelled the long perceived myth that the deep seabed is a barren desert and featureless plain. One important breakthrough has been the discovery of hydrothermal vents and their rich biological community. These seabed habitats, have been labelled one of the richest nurseries of life on Earth and harbour unique organisms of particular interest to science and industry alike. These organisms may offer a limitless catalogue of medical, pharmaceutical and industrial applications. They may even hold the cure for cancer.

Isolation is no longer protection

Due to their remote nature, the high seas were long considered protected from human impact. But only 13% of the ocean  is now classified as marine wilderness, completely free from human disturbance, with most being located in the high seas.

International law, as it stands, is not up to the task of protecting this region. Regulations and rules are haphazard, with some regions and resources (like marine genetic resources) not protected at all. Enforcement is weak, and cooperation lacking, as I have found in my research.

Without adequate regulation, the high seas are being heavily exploited with 34% of all fished species now overfished. Illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing is also a serious problem on the high seas.

There is also growing interest in deep-sea mineral resources. The International Seabed Authority has entered into contracts with companies to mine deep-seabed areas, but the long term impacts of this mining activity are difficult to predict and its effects could have irreversible consequences for marine ecosystems. Marine pollution is also a growing problem with approximately 6.4 million tonnes of litter entering our oceans every year.

What solutions does this agreement offer?

Under this agreement, the door is open to establish marine parks and sanctuaries covering key areas of the high seas. Fishing could be banned or heavily restricted in these areas along with other activities that could have a detrimental impact on marine life.

You might have expected fishing to be a key reason for the long delay in getting this agreement across the line. However, one of the main stumbling blocks was how to share the genetic wealth of the high seas. Under the agreement, all countries will have to share benefits – financial and otherwise – from efforts to harness the benefits to be derived from these resources. Think of the possible new cancer treatments coming from compounds in sponges and starfish.

Why was this a challenge? It was difficult to find common ground on how to share benefits from this genetic wealth, with a clear divide between developed and developing nations. But it was achieved and now data, samples and research advances will need to be shared with the world.

What’s next?

Reaching agreement has been achieved. To make it legally binding, it must be adopted and ratified by countries. Will the world’s nations sign up? We’ll need as close to universal participation as possible to make this work. The first part is done. But getting States to sign on, ratify and follow the agreement is likely to be a harder task.

Dr Sarah Lothian is a Lecturer and Academic Barrister, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong.

This article appears courtesy of The Conversation and may be found in its original form here.

BHP to trial carbon capture with Chinese steel firm HBIS
Reuters | March 27, 2023 | 5:

The production of steel is one of the largest sources of carbon emissions, responsible for between 7% and 9% of the world’s total. (Image courtesy of Acero AHMSA | YouTube.)

Global miner BHP Group Ltd and Chinese steel company HBIS Group Co Ltd have agreed to trial carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies at the Chinese firm’s steel mills, the companies said on Monday.


The project will develop and test technologies that can be integrated into steel production processes to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, BHP said in a statement.

HBIS will also pilot test options to use captured CO2 to produce saleable products and to store CO2 in waste slag, BHP added.

The trials will be funded by an investment of up to $15 million over three years, as proposed in a memorandum of understanding signed by the firms in 2021.

“This collaboration between BHP and HBIS, a leader in the global steel industry and an important customer for our iron ore, will provide a strong example for the industry to follow towards the wider deployment of CCUS and towards achieving major reductions in the CO2 emission intensity of steel production,” said Mike Henry, BHP’s chief executive officer.

China is the world’s top steel producer, and its steel industry accounts for around 15% of total carbon emission across the country.

China emitted more than 2 billion tonnes of the greenhouse gas in the steel sector in 2021, accounting for around 61% of the world’s total of over 3.3 billion tonnes in the industry, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in one of its studies.

BHP and HBIS both aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, according to their websites.

(By Amy Lv and Dominique Patton; Editing by Jamie Freed)

 North

Yellowknife's strike is over. What happens now?

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All 3 of the city's collective agreements up in the fall

CBC News · Posted: Mar 20, 2023 

Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty says city reopening will happen in stages. (Randall McKenzie/CBC)

City workers in Yellowknife were off the picket line and back on the job Monday morning, with city services and facilities expected to come back online piece by piece over the coming days.

In an email Monday afternoon, the city gave a timeline of how the phased reopening will work. 

As of March 21, City Hall, the Yellowknife public library, Ruth Inch Memorial Pool, the Multiplex, Fieldhouse and Visitor Information Centre will be open to the public. 

Lessons and special programming, however, will not resume right away, and the pool will operate on reduced hours from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

The Yellowknife community arena will also open to the public on Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m.

The solid waste facility continues to be closed though the City said it would release more information on its reopening next week. Garbage pickup will continue this week and next, and compost and organics picks will begin the week of April 3. 

After that the regular bi-weekly rotation schedule will continue with garbage pickup the week of April 10, organics the week of April 17 and so on. 

The City said that recycling will resume when operational capacity allows.

"It's about five and a half weeks of garbage to manage, so that one will take a bit longer," Alty said.

What the new deal means for staff

The new collective agreement gives workers a wage increase of three per cent, retroactive to 2022, and 2.75 per cent for 2023.

It also brings one-time signing bonuses of up to $1,800, depending on whether staff are full-time, part-time or seasonal.

This year, at least, the city isn't looking at an additional tax increase to cover the extra cost. Alty said the city will need to examine its budget and figure out how to whittle down operational costs to help cover the increased pay for staff.

"Whether that's through vacancies that occurred, or, you know, we've got positions that we're hoping to hire this year [that] we'll have to delay the start, but we'll have to adjust some of our work this year," she said.

What happens next

Workers had been without a collective agreement since the last one expired at the end of 2021.

Though the new agreement covers 2022 and 2023, it will be up for renegotiation again this fall — along with both of the other collective agreements covering various city staff.

Alty said she'd like to see the negotiating strategy change for those negotiations.

There are two types of negotiations, she said: the type that just happened, with offers and counter-offers; and a type where they set out values and principles, and work collectively to come to an agreement.

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"If all of our unions are open to considering that way, I think it's more collaborative, it's less confrontational and could have hopefully reduced some of the tensions in [the process]," she said.

Alty said it's hard to predict what will happen this fall, since each negotiation is different, though she assumes there will be another wage increase on the table.

"When we get back together at the table in the fall, we'll have a different mandate going into the next collective agreement and approach those discussions differently," she said.

With files from Marc Winkler

SAME OLD, SAME OLD

Ailing Lucy the elephant will remain in Edmonton, zoo decides

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47-year-old not fit to travel, city zoo concludes with

advocacy group Free the Wild

Thandiwe Konguavi · CBC News · Posted: Mar 21, 2023 

Lucy, accompanied by a member of her care team, on her daily walk Tuesday. (Travis McEwan/CBC)

Lucy, the Edmonton Valley Zoo's ailing 47-year-old Asian elephant, is now breathing solely through her mouth and is not fit to travel, a recent medical assessment has concluded.

"Lucy's breathing issue is more serious than the visiting experts anticipated," the City of Edmonton said in a news release Tuesday.

Despite calls over the years for Lucy to be moved to an elephant sanctuary, she will live out her remaining years at the zoo.

Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums requires an independent assessment of Lucy yearly to keep her in Edmonton as a lone elephant. The most recent assessment provided "great insights into Lucy's health and wellness, including medical information previously unknown," the city said.

The assessment was performed by four elephant veterinary and husbandry experts: Dr. Frank Goeritz, Dr. Thomas Hildebrandt, Dr. Patricia London and Ingo Schmidinger.

Their findings — in three reports — have been published by Free the Wild.

"Aside from her ineligibility to travel, she is a geriatric patient and would not be able to cope with her new environment (unfamiliar habitat, new caretaker staff, and other elephants)," Goeritz and Hildebrandt wrote in their report.

Not unanimous

Not all of the visiting experts agreed that Lucy is not fit for travel. 

"Lucy is being kept more like a pet and not being allowed to be the wild elephant she is," London wrote in her report.

"It is also highly possible that the cold dry environment may be adding to her respiratory problems."

Lucy's mouth breathing was first reported in 2009, when endoscopic exploration of her trunk discovered a narrowing of the nasal passage.

Her breathing problems have since worsened, and now include "very severe" hypoxemia and hypercapnia — low oxygen and high carbon dioxide levels in her blood and tissues, Goeritz and Hildebrandt  found.

The root cause of the condition remains undiagnosed. 

• Supreme Court dismisses case involving Lucy the elderly elephant

• Valley Zoo says Lucy stays, despite Calgary decision

The experts also discovered a large uterine tumour, (leiomyoma) which they say is common in female elephants who have never given birth. The tumour is being treated with a vaccine recommended by the visiting veterinarians. 

Recommended changes to Lucy's diet and medical treatments have resulted in a 326-kilogram weight loss since the assessment was conducted four months ago, the release said.

Goeritz and Hildebrandt concluded Lucy potentially has another four to eight years to live, and "would not survive independently from humans.

"[The] ultimate goal is to keep Lucy stimulated and engaged and to provide her with good care for the rest of her life," they wrote.

London, however, said Lucy could live another 15 years or longer, and recommended she be transported to an elephant sanctuary in the United States.

"Both the temperature and the decreased amount of sunlight in Edmonton creates an inhospitable and cruel environment for an Asian elephant," London wrote.

"The forced walks on the snow and ice in –15 C weather borders on absurd." 

Lucy was born in the wild and brought to Edmonton from Sri Lanka as a two-year-old orphan in 1977. 

The zoo began her gradual retirement from public activities in 2020.

Lucy, seen here in May 2022, was born in the wild and brought to Edmonton as a two-year-old orphan in 1977. (Kory Siegers/CBC)

Zoo director Gary Dewar said Lucy's caretakers are dedicated to her well-being.

"Over the past 45 years, staff at the Edmonton Valley Zoo have worked tirelessly to give Lucy the best care and best home she deserves," Dewar said in the city's news release.

"We will strive to ensure she continues to receive excellent care." 

The zoo will continue to monitor Lucy's weight and overall health, as well as look at possible changes to her housing, enrichments and routines, Dewar said.

He said some of the experts will return later this year to do follow-up examinations.

Dinosaur Bone Study Reveals That Not All Giants Grew Alike

A survey of prehistoric bones reveals that T. rex and some of its cousins had more than one way to reach enormous sizes. Evolution may have preserved that variation in modern animals too.


Some of the two-legged dinosaurs called theropods grew to enormous size. 

But new research shows that they did not all attain their final size the same way.
Kristina Armitage/Quanta Magazine


By Anna Gibbs
Contributing Writer
March 20, 2023
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Introduction

When the paleontologist Michael D’Emic cut into the bones of Majungasaurus, a relative of Tyrannosaurus rex that roamed Madagascar 70 million years ago, he suspected that surprises might be hiding in them. But what he found defied all expectations.

Majungasaurus adults measured up to 7 meters from snout to tail and could weigh 1,000 kilograms. Paleontologists had thought that big dinosaurs like these massive carnivores achieved their stature through rapid growth spurts. But the fossil bones revealed a different story. “Unlike carnivorous dinosaurs that had been studied up until then,” D’Emic said, the Majungasaurus grew “really, really slowly.”

Puzzled, he sliced up a close relative of the dinosaur — a Ceratosaurus from North America, which was roughly the same length and weight — to see if it grew slowly too. This time, “we got the opposite result,” he said. “It grew just about faster than any carnivorous dinosaur I’ve ever seen.”




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What followed for D’Emic was a decade-long whirlwind of peering at bones for clues to how dinosaurs grew. His analysis of 42 different dinosaur species, recently published in Science, demonstrates that the “get big fast” mode of growth was less predominant than researchers have assumed.

It’s an insight that researchers think may be relevant to modern animals of all sizes, and not just to prehistoric behemoths. “It’s just as easy for an animal to evolve larger body size by growing slower for longer than it is growing faster,” said D’Emic, an associate professor of biology at Adelphi University in New York.

Whether an animal grows quicker and faster or slower and longer might seem like a nitpicky distinction. But an animal’s growth trajectory provides insights into its life and the world it inhabited. Fast-growing animals can overpower potential predators and outcompete other species, but they need plenty of food and other resources. Growing slowly is riskier, but it allows an animal to survive on less during hard times. The bones of Majungasaurus, for example, confirm that, as the top predator in its ancient ecosystem, it had the luxury of developing at a leisurely pace.

Understanding growth strategies also helps explain why some dinosaurs got enormous while others stayed small. Body size can affect everything from how long an animal lives to how many offspring it has, explained Santiago Herrera Álvarez, an evolutionary biologist and doctoral student at the University of Chicago. Yet, “surprisingly, we don’t have a lot of information [about] the key developmental or genetic mechanisms underlying body size variation across animals,” he said. Studies like D’Emic’s start to open that black box.

Breaking Bones

Bones contain secrets about an animal’s life history. Holes left behind by long-gone blood vessels can reveal a creature’s metabolic rate. Miniature dimples in bone that form during healing hint at trauma from ancient battles. Thin lines within a bone — much like growth rings in a tree — can indicate the age of an animal by marking where the growth of the cortical bone slowed or stopped for annual dry seasons or winters.






The microscopically fine ring structure in this enlarged cross section through a shin bone of Majungasaurus crenatissimus reveals how quickly the dinosaur grew at various stages of its life.
Courtesy of Michael D’Emic

With bones, “we can watch our dinosaurs grow,” said P. Martin Sander, a paleontologist at the University of Bonn in Germany who was not part of the research. “The only decent way of inferring or even observing how that dinosaur grew is with its own microstructure.”

To get the answers he wanted, D’Emic therefore turned to paleohistology — the study of fossil tissues under the microscope. Its techniques haven’t changed much in nearly two centuries: Cutting through ancient bones requires intensive labor, usually with a diamond blade like that of a jeweler. Museums can be reluctant to hand over their fossils for such destructive analysis but that’s started to change in recent decades. In exchange for “what is in many ways the most boring part of the bone … you’re gaining this amazing window into how the animal lived,” D’Emic said.

Over several years, D’Emic and his colleagues analyzed more than 80 bones from 42 species of theropods, the two-legged, mostly carnivorous dinosaurs that lived between 66 million and 230 million years ago and gave rise to birds. In life, those dinosaurs ranged in size from house cat to T. rex. The wafers of bone that the researchers extracted, some about as wide as a hockey puck, had to be sanded down to a thickness of one-tenth of a millimeter — thin enough to see through, but not thin enough to break. Even then, the growth rings were too narrow to be examined effectively by eye. “You’re trying to see things that are a tenth of the thickness of a hair,” D’Emic said. Only by overlaying hundreds of images at different magnifications could the researchers get the measurements they needed.

In each bone slice, the researchers looked for the biggest gap between rings to find the year when the animal grew the most. That maximum annual growth rate was compared with the dinosaur’s body mass, which they inferred from the size of the femur and shin bones. Then the team looked closely at the evolutionary trends in size versus growth rates within different lineages.




Merrill Sherman/Quanta Magazine

About 60% of the sampled theropod species were bigger than their ancestors. But among them, D’Emic’s bone analysis revealed a nearly even split between species that grew faster than their ancestors and species that grew for longer. The preferred strategy didn’t limit how much bigger the theropods became. Some tyrannosaurs, for example, increased their body mass by more than 200% in a single year, while others eventually achieved a similar mass by growing over more years.

The same was true among the 40% of species that shrank: About half were smaller than their ancestors because they grew more slowly and half because they grew for less time.

There was no overall trend of theropod lineages getting bigger or smaller throughout their evolution — with one exception. In the lineage that led to birds, the new analysis found a consistent decrease in the maximum annual growth rate. That tendency presumably contributed to their shrinking — a change that eventually helped some theropods get small enough to fly.

“A Tyrannosaurus is somehow ancestral to a bird,” Sander said. “You have to make it smaller.”
Paths of Least Resistance

Past studies have often suggested that a fast peak growth rate is the key to size in dinosaurs, birds and mammals. But the new analysis found that theropods were instead just as likely to control the duration of their growth — an alternative strategy previously identified in only a few groups, including crocodiles and some lizards.

What D’Emic and his colleagues found in theropods might eventually turn out to be more the rule than the exception. In their paper, they noted that previous studies of growth strategies have often been limited comparisons of a few species rather than comprehensive studies of lineages.

“My hunch would be that once other groups of animals are studied, we’re going to find the same thing,” he said. “We’re going to find that evolution just takes the path of least resistance” and uses whatever strategy is easiest.

Kevin Padian, a paleontologist at the University of California, Berkeley, agreed that variability in growth strategies is to be expected since the needs and environmental constraints on every animal are different. “Each species does its own thing, and its growth strategy reflects that,” he said in an email. It will be good, he added, to duplicate D’Emic’s theropod project in other vertebrate groups.

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D’Emic thinks of his work as a jumping-off point for many new directions. He’s now studying pantodonts, an extinct group of hippo-like mammals that rapidly evolved to be gigantic right after the dinosaurs went extinct and right before a period of intense global warming. Figuring out how climate change affects growth rate and size could potentially have implications for modern conservation, he said.

Sander is interested in how these growth strategies relate to metabolic rate. “For me, this is also the justification for studying dinosaurs, not just because they’re cool and extinct, but because this kind of work extends the range of what we see in living animals,” he said.

STATEHOOD OR INDEPENDENCE
Top court ruling unleashes permit upheaval in Puerto Rico

By DÁNICA COTO

A Puerto Rican flag flies on the shore at Ocean Park, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Thursday, May 21, 2020. A ruling by Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, upholds the decision of an appeals court that voids a document from 2020 that regulates land use and the granting of permits on the island, throwing into limbo hundreds of thousands of business and construction permits.

 (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A ruling by Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court has thrown into limbo hundreds of thousands of business and construction permits issued by a U.S. territory already struggling to attract investors amid an economic crisis.

Government officials on Thursday sought to quell anxieties over fallout from the ruling, which upholds the decision of an appeals court that voids a document from 2020 that regulates land use and the granting of permits on the island.

The ruling released Wednesday prompted the government to take the unprecedented step of temporarily suspending access to the website where people apply for permits. While access was restored Thursday, confusion still reigned as people began to question whether they’re allowed to operate a new business they opened, keep a new deck they built or start from scratch and obtain new permits if they were in mid-construction of a hospital or other buildings.

“This puts our weak economy at risk,” said Luis Vega Ramos, general secretary of the main opposition Popular Democratic Party.

On Thursday, Manuel Cidre, secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce, issued a statement saying people can continue to apply for permits as usual, noting that the document voided by the island’s Supreme Court would remain in effect “until all legal remedies are exhausted.”

Environmental attorney Verónica González confirmed that the current land-use plan would remain in effect until the Supreme Court’s decision is final, adding that the government has two opportunities to appeal. However, she noted that anyone can now go to court and claim that a permit issued for a certain business or construction project is illegal given the ruling.

“Uncertainty is always going to create problems,” she said.

Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said Thursday that he would request the island’s Supreme Court reconsider its decision.

The situation led officials to announce the resignation of María Cintrón, auxiliary secretary of the Permit Management Office, which falls under Cidre’s department.

On Wednesday, Cintrón had announced that she suspended the website for permit applications out of caution and to protect the transparency and certainty of the process, saying, “we recognize this is a complex issue that cannot be taken lightly.”

Gabriel Rodríguez, a previous president of Puerto Rico’s Planning Society, blamed the current situation on recent administrations he said are pursuing a public policy that promotes economic development and a simplified permit process above a former land-use plan that aims to protect certain areas for historic, environmental or agronomic reasons.

Pierluisi said his administration has been working on a new regulation based on public input: “My administration will always ensure that we have a current regulatory framework that allows and facilitates the socio-economic development that we all want.”

It is the third time Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court invalidates the current document that governs land use and permits on the island.

“This has turned into mission impossible,” González, the attorney, said of the government’s insistence to use the land-use plan. “This is the third strike.”

March 16, 2023

CANADA

Deportation notices to 700 students: Licence of Jalandhar-based consultant cancelled

ByHT Correspondent, Jalandhar
Mar 21, 2023 

The licence of the immigration consultant, who has been accused of allegedly providing fake documents to nearly 700 students facing deportation notices in Canada, was cancelled on Tuesday.

The licence of the immigration consultant, who has been accused of allegedly providing fake documents to nearly 700 students facing deportation notices in Canada, was cancelled on Tuesday

.

The Canadian Border Security Agency issued deportation notices to at least 700 Indian students for allegedly providing fake offer letters. (REUTERS File Photo)

Informing this, deputy commissioner Jaspreet Singh said that action against Education and Migration Services has been taken under Sections 4 and 6 of the Punjab Travel Professional’s Regulation Act 2014, which invokes cancellation of the licence if a firm is found involved in any criminal activity.

An FIR has already been lodged against the firm’s owner Brijesh Mishra and his partner.

“Anyone not having a clean police record can never be permitted to do this business as it sends a wrong message to the public. Thereby, the licence issued to the above-mentioned consultancy is cancelled with immediate effect,” the DC said.

The Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA) issued deportation notices to at least 700 Indian students for allegedly providing fake offer letters.

As per available information, the matter came to light when the students, most of them had moved to Canada in 2018, applied for their permanent residency.

After finding a few cases of misrepresentation, the CBSA cross-checked all the cases filed by this particular consultant and identified 700 students against whom deportation notices have been issued.

Meanwhile, the deputy commissioner issued directions to conduct thorough checking of immigration firms in the district.

“Special teams have been formed under the monitoring of SDMs to regularly check the activities of immigration consultants,” he said.

Canada deportation: Travel agent’s fake offer letter led to blacklisting of students in Punjab too

The police said the preliminary investigation revealed that Mishra, along with his accomplices Gurnam Singh and Bhargava, had cheated the man and his daughter by giving fake offer letters and other documents.

Written by Anju Agnihotri Chaba
Jalandhar | Updated: March 20, 2023 

The police said the preliminary investigation revealed that Mishra, along with his accomplices Gurnam Singh and Bhargava, had cheated the man and his daughter by giving fake offer letters and other documents. ((Express photo by Gajendra Yadav/Representative Image)
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At a time when 100s of Indian students are facing deportation in Canada because of fake offer letters provided to them by travel agent Brijesh Mishra and his partners, a few other students have been blacklisted for five years in Punjab by the Canadian government for the same reason – submitting fake offer letter in the Canadian Embassy provided by the same agent.

After one such case came to light, Jalandhar police registered a case against Brijesh Mishra, a resident of Thalwada, Darbhanga, Bihar, his accomplice Gurnam Singh, resident of Cheema Nagar Extension and Rahul Bhargava, a resident of Kabir Avenue (Laddewali).

Mishra was sending students to Canada on study visa using his registered and licenced consultancy namely ‘Education Migration Services’ in Jalandhar. He, however, came into limelight after students, who he had sent to Canada from 2018 onwards received deportation letters in Canada.

The police said more such victims could emerge as the investigation progresses.

A case has been registered in police division-6 under sections 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120B of the IPC against Mishra and his accomplices and the investigation has been handed over to the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit.

According to complainant Jagraj Singh of Ferozpur district, after completing BSc, his daughter wished to go to Canada for further studies and they contacted the consultancy in 2018 and met Mishra.

After checking the girl’s documents, Mishra promised to send her to Canada and a deal was finalised for Rs 17 lakh. Mishra got the offer letter, but the student did not like the college. Mishra then assured them that an offer letter will be procured from another college, said the complainant, adding that they got the new offer letter after paying Rs 65,000.

“…on March 18, 2019, [the girl] got a mail from Mishra’s office that her visa had arrived and asked them to get the payment of Rs 15.25 lakh ready,” the father said in the FIR. However, after scrutiny, the offer letter was found to be fake and the embassy not only cancelled her visa but also blacklisted the girl for five years. It was found that the fee amount was also not deposited with the college, said the complainant.

As per the FIR, following this, Mishra stopped taking their calls and even started threatening him with dire consequences if he talked about it to anyone else.

The police said the preliminary investigation revealed that Mishra, along with his accomplices Gurnam Singh and Bhargava, had cheated the man and his daughter by giving fake offer letters and other documents.
Deputy Commissioner (Jalandhar) Jaspreet Singh issued a show-cause notice to Education Migration Services, which was registered in Jalandhar. He also suspended the consultancy’s licence and asked Bhargava to appear in person at his office on March 20.

Similar instances of fake offer letters have jeopardised the future of several Indian students in Canada who now face deportation from Canada or have been blacklisted from entering that country for five years.

Charandeep Sandhu, former sarpanch of Baggewala village in Ferozepur district, told Pendu Punjabi Channel in Canada that two sons of his relatives were also banned for five years after an Amritsar-based travel agent issued them fake offer letters in 2019.

He added that though an FIR was registered against the agent which led to him being jailed for seven months, the students continue to pay the price for his actions.

© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
First published on: 20-03-2023


Deportation of 700 Indian students from Canada: MEA has taken up issue with High Commission, says MP

Updated At: Mar 20, 2023 

MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney (left) with EAM S Jaishankar


Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 19

Punjab Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney met Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday and gave him a memorandum, requesting his intervention in the deportation case of 700Indian students from Canada. Sahney claimed that Jaishankar had assured him of full cooperation.

No action against travel agent despite FIR: Parents of students facing deportation from Canada

MEA officials informed Sahney that about 100 students had contacted the Indian consulate in Toronto, Canada. Sahney said, “The MEA has taken up the issue with the Canadian High Commission in Delhi and also with its counterparts in Ottawa. The MEA has requested them to investigate the issue, but not to deport the students because they have already spent lakhs of rupees to go to Canada, completed their studies and got work experience.”

Sahney, said the World Punjabi Organisation, in addition to taking up the matter with both governments, would extend free legal help to the students.

Sahney apprised the minister and officers of the North America division in the MEA that the students had gone Canada on the forged admission letters from various colleges. On their arrival, the students found that their admission had been cancelled, consequently they had taken admissions in other colleges and completed their studies.

“It is intriguing how the students reached Canada, given their forged admission letters provided by the notorious agents,” said Sahney

He further explained that most of the students had completed their study and did jobs in Canada for one year under postgraduation work permits. It was when they applied for permanent residency, the Department of Canada Border Security Agency flagged this issue.