It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Greenpeace alleges 'greenwashing' in oilsands ads; Competition Bureau to investigate
The Canadian Press
The Competition Bureau of Canada has opened an investigation into allegations of greenwashing against the Pathways Alliance, a consortium of oilsands companies.
Greenpeace Canada says it made the allegations earlier this year, together with representatives from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and Environmental Defence, as well as a concerned student from Guelph University.
Greenpeace says it is concerned about the Pathways Alliance's "Let's Clear the Air" marketing campaign.
The campaign talks up oilsands firms' plan to get to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
But Greenpeace alleges the campaign is a misrepresentation, because it doesn't account for the emissions generated by the use of the fossil fuel products Pathways sells, only for emissions generated during the production process.
In its letter to the complainants, the Competition Bureau said its inquiry will seek to determine if the Pathways Alliance advertising campaign made false or misleading environmental representations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2023.
Tidal power firm winds up Nova Scotia project, blames red tape and delays from Ottawa
Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press
A firm that hoped to generate electricity from the Bay of Fundy's massive tides is instead winding up operations after a regulatory struggle with the federal Fisheries Department.
Jason Hayman, chief executive of U.K.-based Sustainable Marine Energy, says investors are placing their Canadian subsidiary into bankruptcy after fruitless talks with the department. His firm will wind up all its operations in Canada, resulting in losses of approximately $30 million to $40 million, depending on sales of equipment and assets, he added.
"We're out .... The Canadian company will be placed in voluntary bankruptcy," Hayman said in an interview Friday. "It's very disappointing for our team and everyone else."
The company's catamaran-style tidal platforms — with turbines resembling inverted windmills — were praised as promising innovations when the firm installed them during a first phase of testing near Nova Scotia's Brier Island. The next step — now cancelled — would have been to bring them to the testing site about 200 kilometres northeast in the Minas Basin, where the world's highest tides flow.
Sustainable Marine Energy planned to produce megawatts of electricity to power Nova Scotia homes; instead, the executive says the firm's bankruptcy will discourage other investors. "It's going to kill the whole tidal power adventure in Nova Scotia and sterilize the massive investment that's been made by the provincial government, the federal government and private investors," Hayman said.
A letter sent Thursday by the federal Fisheries Department didn't satisfy investor concerns, he said, because they couldn't see a clear way forward for the project. The regulatory hurdles imposed by Ottawa — requiring the company to monitor whether fish would collide with the tidal platforms — proved too difficult to implement, he added.
The firm had been one of four expected to operate turbines at the test facility operated by the non-profit Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy, near Parrsboro, N.S. The facility provides berths where tidal companies demonstrate the effectiveness and environmental impact of their technologies.
In the letter, the Fisheries Department said the project's rotors were capable of moving at 15 metres per second and could potentially impact fish. "We still don't know how well migratory fish can control their movements and avoid structures," the department said.
The letter acknowledges that sonar systems to detect fish wouldn't work in the upper levels of the water where Sustainable Marine's turbines operate. In addition, the cloudy waters of the basin make it difficult for underwater cameras to distinguish objects passing through the turbines.
Amid these "significant challenges," the department suggested Sustainable Marine Energy work with researchers on finding a technology that would succeed, repeating an offer made in March to allow the company to install a single turbine in the Minas Basin for one year and monitor whether fish were colliding with the equipment.
It said any further authorizations to test more turbines would depend on the effectiveness of whatever technology the company would develop over the next year to detect fish movements.
But Hayman says the federal government was unclear about how much information it would have needed to satisfy its concerns about potential harm to fish.
In 2020, Sustainable Marine received $28.5 million from Natural Resources Canada in what the Liberal government billed in a news release as a “historic investment in tidal energy.” The release said the project could reduce greenhouse gas emission by up to 17,000 tonnes annually and demonstrate “the ability to harness tides as a reliable source of renewable electricity.”
Graham Daborn, a biologist and professor emeritus at Acadia University, said the bankruptcy illustrates the huge scientific challenges in harnessing the world's most powerful tides.
Daborn — who has studied the Bay of Fundy's marine life and ecosystems for more than 50 years — said the scientific problems have their genesis in the selection of the turbulent waters of the Minas Basin as a test site.
"The Minas Basin in particular is very, very difficult," he said. "The velocity is higher and the turbulence is extreme. All of the devices that have been used elsewhere to look at fish movements in relation to a turbine have been in more moderate conditions."
He said that in the Minas Basin the sonar waves from fish monitors are dispersed by the air bubbles of fast-moving waters, rendering them ineffective as fish trackers. In retrospect, Daborn said, it might have been wiser to select parts of the Bay of Fundy where monitoring technologies already tested elsewhere would have worked.
"But in this case, the fundamental question that's not answered is: can fish detect if they're approaching a working turbine, and if they can, can they avoid getting there?"
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2023.
Scotland Backs Study on Tidal Energy-to-Hydrogen Project
The Scottish government has backed tidal power development for years, and it is taking its support a step further with a new fund for projects that marry tidal turbines with green hydrogen production.
The new project - Green Hydrogen and Oxygen Supply from Tidal Energy, or "GHOST" for short - will study the generation and utilization of hydrogen and oxygen in the Shetland Islands, powered by tidal energy. The initiative is relatively unique for its plan to capture and use the oxygen that is produced as a byproduct of water electrolysis, the central electrochemical reaction in green H2 production. The Shetlands are home to the SaxaVord Space Centre, which could use the oxygen for rocket propulsion. Aquaculture operations could also potentially benefit from a local supply of commercial O2.
On the energy supply side, the study will look at the feasibility of installing tidal power equipment near the isle of Yell, a designated "carbon neutral island" located just northeast of the Sullom Voe oil terminal.
The project will be headed up by tidal power pioneer Nova Innovation, with support from partners at the University of Strathclyde, Shetland Islands Council and Ricardo Energy. Nova Innovation is the operator of a tidal array off the north coast of Yell and has plans to add another off the south coast. The region is known for its powerful tidal currents, as well as its prominent role in the UK North Sea offshore oil and gas ecosystem.
“We believe that green hydrogen will transform the energy industry, deliver huge benefits for the people of Shetland with heat and transport, as well as creating the possibility of green space flight," said Simon Forrest, CEO of Nova Innovation. “With the opportunity to bypass electricity grid constraints, hydrogen is a promising route to market for tidal energy and other renewables.
WestJet pilots could strike next week, but imminent walkout would be 'premature'
Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press
Talks between WestJet pilots and their employer dragged on Friday as the union warned a walkout could come as early as next week, leaving passengers' travel plans up in the air.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents some 1,600 flight crew at WestJet and subsidiary Swoop, said it is poised to file a 72-hour strike notice — but not at the earliest opportunity at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.
"I'm fairly certain that I won't be putting the strike notice in tonight," said Bernard Lewall, who heads the union's WestJet contingent, in a phone interview from outside the negotiating room at a venue in Richmond Hill, Ont.
"It'd be I think a little premature.
"Negotiations have been going OK," he added. "There's still quite a distance between the proposals, but we're both still coming to the table."
The workers' issues revolve around job protection, pay and scheduling, with some 340 pilots leaving the carrier over the past year and a half — mostly to other airlines — Lewall said.
WestJet says there have been three times more pilot hires than resignations at its mainline operation this year.
In a statement this week, the Calgary-based airline said its pilots are among the best paid in Canada, but that a contract on par with those recently secured by some U.S. pilot groups would be financially unworkable and put the company's future at risk.
"ALPA’s expectations of wages, if realized, would pose a significant impact to WestJet’s ability to remain competitive and provide affordable air travel to Canadians," the company said.
Labour shortages continue to plague the aviation industry, with a dearth of workers in areas ranging from air traffic control to ground handling as the sector begins to take off again after the pandemic collapse and travel turmoil over the past year.
In March, Delta Air Lines pilots secured a deal that includes a 34 per cent pay hike over four years.
The Air Canada Pilots Association is aiming for big gains too. In a letter to members Thursday, the union said workers must decide by May 29 whether to stick with their 10-year collective agreement inked in 2014 or opt to start full negotiations ahead of time this year.
“Pilots at Air Canada are working at a steep discount compared to our North American competitors,” the letter states, calling for "historic" gains in the next deal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2023.
Customer satisfaction with Air Canada, WestJet below average: Survey
Christopher Reynolds , The Canadian Press
Canada’s two biggest airlines scored below average for customer satisfaction among major North American carriers, according to a new survey, part of a trend of growing passenger frustration across the industry.
Conducted by J.D. Power, the poll found Air Canada and WestJet fell below the average customer satisfaction figure of 782 on a 1,000-point scale for economy class service. WestJet notched 777 to edge out Air Canada, which scored 765.
Pricier fares, crowded planes and fewer flight options are behind the frustration — but demand remains strong nonetheless — said Michael Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at the Michigan-based consumer analytics company.
As a result, carriers yielded higher revenues this year after a prolonged industry slump prompted by the pandemic. Taylor said many are running at "peak efficiency," though higher labour and fuel costs compared with 2019 have hampered profit margins, and capacity has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels.
A global pilot shortage has fostered problems in North America, partly explaining why fewer planes ply the skies compared with four years ago.
Some airlines have ditched smaller planes, trying to pack in as many passengers as possible per flight as they slim down their schedules.
"They're more full — they have a higher load factor — and that usually decreases satisfaction," Taylor said.
Meanwhile, the surge in leisure travel after two years under border restrictions and COVID-19 health concerns has pushed prices north.
"Because of that high demand, ticket prices are significantly higher, and they've been going higher for the past two, two-and-a-half years or so. For the vast majority of travellers, that's the key factor in satisfaction," he said.
That discontent is quantifiable in ways other than surveys. The complaints backlog at the Canadian Transportation Agency stood at about 45,000 as of late April, more than triple the tally from a year earlier and requiring at least 18 months on average per case. Many cases revolve around compensation claims after flight delays or cancellations.
The drawn-out uproar prompted the federal government to table an overhaul to Canada's passenger rights charter last month in an effort to tighten compensation loopholes and toughen penalties.
While a spate of upstart airlines has made domestic air travel cheaper than ever overall in Canada — particularly in the busiest corridors — passengers face higher prices and scarcer trip options in many regions and on international routes, according to figures from aviation data firm Cirium.
"You want to fly to, say, Winnipeg, it might be a little more expensive, because it's not the most popular destination versus, say, getting to Toronto," Taylor said.
The sparser flight boards at many airports also stem from a de facto division of the country by the two main players: Air Canada and WestJet, which share roughly 80 per cent of the domestic market.
Since last fall, Calgary-based WestJet has cut routes in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada to refocus on its home turf out west. It has also cut flights on some more heavily travelled corridors, including roughly four out of five trips between Toronto and Montreal compared to 2019 levels, Cirium data shows.
Montreal-based Air Canada has mirrored this move, remaining in Central and Eastern Canada while scaling back in the west. It also scrapped 26 regional routes east of Winnipeg in June 2020, with only two resuming since.
The survey Wednesday ranked airlines in three separate categories: first class and business class, premium economy, and economy and basic economy. In the first two groups, Air Canada placed fifth of six.
For economy — encompassing the vast majority of passengers — WestJet ranked fifth and Air Canada came eighth out of 11. Neither airline immediately responded to a request for comment.
Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways snagged the top three spots — despite a meltdown at Southwest that caused of thousands of December flight cancellations in what U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called a "system failure." American Airlines, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines took up the rear.
JetBlue and Delta came in first and second respectively for business class, and swapped spots for premium economy. United Airlines finished last for business class, and American Airlines did the same for premium economy.
The survey, carried out between March 2022 and March 2023, is based on responses from 7,774 passengers at scores of airports who flew on large North American airlines.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2023.
CANADA
Federal budget bill goes after cosmetics testing that causes 'pain or suffering' to animals
Story by Richard Raycraft • Luna the dog stands in front of signs as animal lovers and their pets deliver petitions demanding a ban on animal-tested cosmetic products on Parliament Hill on May 28, 2018.
The federal government is putting forward a ban on cosmetic products developed through testing that causes pain and suffering to animals — a move advocates say would bring Canada in line with many other countries.
The ban comes through proposed amendments to the Food and Drugs Act. The amendments are part of the government's budget bill, which was tabled on March 28.
Under the amendments, sellers must prove a cosmetic product has been through safety testing that hasn't caused "pain, suffering or injury, whether physical or mental, to the animal." Products that don't pass that test would not be cleared for sale in Canada.
But the amendments include a wide range of exceptions. For example, the prohibition doesn't apply if the federal government has published the testing data or if the cosmetic is already for sale in Canada.
Another amendment prohibits advertising or labelling a cosmetic as cruelty-free without evidence the product was not tested on animals.
The changes would come into force six months after the bill receives royal assent. Animal rights groups hail proposed ban
The European Union banned cosmetic testing on animals in 2013. Several countries, such as India, Mexico and Israel, have either banned testing on animals or have banned the sale of products which have been tested on animals. Several American states have also banned the sale of cosmetic products tested on animals.
In a series of email statements, animal rights groups welcomed the measures, which they said are long overdue.
"This is a unifying issue that has earned cross-party support in Canada and will match the progress we are seeing around the world," said Monica Engebretson,Cruelty Free International's head of public affairs in North America.
Michael Bernard, deputy director the Humane Society International in Canada, said the amendments come after a decade of campaigning on the issue.
"When this bill becomes law, Canadian consumers can be assured that the cosmetics they purchase have not come as a result of animal suffering — and that is something we can all feel good about," he said in a statement.
"Industry and animal protection advocates have worked together over the last several years to advance a cosmetics animal testing ban in Canada."
Cosmetics Alliance Canada, which represents over 150 companies, also praised the amendments.
"Industry and animal protection advocates have worked together over the last several years to advance a cosmetics animal testing ban in Canada," Darren Praznik, CEO of Cosmetics Alliance Canada, said in a statement. "We are very pleased to see the government bring forward this long overdue legislation."
Bank of Canada’s Rhys Mendes becomes first non-white deputy governor
The Bank of Canada named Rhys Mendes as deputy governor, making him the first non-white member of its interest-rate-setting governing council.
Mendes, who takes the role July 17, will oversee the bank’s economic and financial research, its analysis of international economic developments and serve as its Group of Seven and Group of 20 deputy.
He has been with the bank since 2004 and served in senior roles including as managing director of international economic analysis. Since 2021, he has been on secondment to the Finance department, where he’s been serving as assistant deputy minister.
“I am delighted to welcome Rhys Mendes back to the bank and onto governing council,” said Governor Tiff Macklem in a news release Friday. “We will benefit greatly from his experience and expertise in economic modeling, monetary policy framework design, and international policy issues.”
Mendes will replace Paul Beaudry, who’s set to retire as deputy governor at the end of July and return to an academic post at the University of British Columbia.
Tyler Meredith, a former top economic policy adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said Mendes is an exceptional public servant and one of Canada’s “top minds on macroeconomic policy and monetary policy.”
“He also has a high degree of respect across Canada both in the academic research community, but also amongst forecasters and policy thinkers,” said Meredith, now a founding partner of consulting firm Meredith Boessenkool Policy Advisors.
The Bank of Canada is undertaking a diversity push to significantly increase the representation of women and visible minorities in senior management over the next decade. The governing council sets the strategic direction of the bank and is its policymaking body.
The six-person group includes two women, Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers and Deputy Governor Sharon Kozicki. Trudeau’s government, which has had a gender-balanced cabinet since it was elected in 2015, left many women in Canadian finance disappointed when it appointed Macklem to the top job instead former No. 2 Carolyn Wilkins.
The Federal Reserve is also undergoing a diversity transformation. President Joe Biden announced new nominations on Friday that would see economist Adriana Kugler become the first Latina on the board of governors and Philip Jefferson become the second Black American to serve as its vice chairman.
Mendes was born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in economics from York University, as well as a master’s degree and PhD in economics from the University of Toronto.
Lawyers for Crown-Indigenous Relations are refusing to release internal documents tied to the deal, derailing the Wabun Tribal Council's request for court disclosure, while the MNO says it plans to try and get the case dismissed, according to letters filed in court last week.
"This is just another example of Canada doing things in secret," said Wabun Tribal Council executive director Jason Batise on Tuesday.
As part of the case, the First Nations asked Crown-Indigenous Relations to hand over all material considered or created by minister Marc Miller, his representatives or his predecessors concerning the Feb. 24 agreement, including all documents and communications.
But Canada's lawyers refused, arguing the documents are "privileged and confidential," protected by settlement and negotiation privilege or subject to cabinet confidence, according to a May 1 letter sent to the Federal Court in Toronto.
The Justice Department argues the document request is "sweeping" and "overly broad," and that First Nations "are not in any way impacted" by the deal, which is limited to MNO governance and not land or harvesting rights, a contention Batise rejects.
"There is a duty to consult with First Nations on things that impact them. This has a clear and very lasting impact on First Nations rights, and we need to know."
Miller acknowledged the concerns around land rights in brief comments to reporters after a cabinet meeting Tuesday in Ottawa.
"The last thing we want to see is Indigenous communities being pitted against other Indigenous communities because of actions Canada took in the past," he said.
Despite that, and while noting the situation "is fraught with some uncertainty," he pledged to stay the course on the deal, which includes ratifying it through legislation.
"This is their right to do so, and that will be enshrined in legislation."
MNO wants to have challenge tossed
Meanwhile, in a letter to the court also dated May 1, the MNO's lawyer says it plans to try and have the case dismissed on similar grounds. The MNO argues the deal, because it commits Canada to passing implementation legislation, is outside the court's jurisdiction.
In response, the Wabun Tribal Council commissioned a September 2022 independent review by University of Ottawa researcher Darryl Leroux, which challenged MNO's conclusions.
Similarly in March 2023, the Robinson Huron Treaty group representing 21 Anishinaabe bands in the upper Great Lakes released its own review of the MNO's research, calling it questionable and "propelled by politics and not by sound research practice."
On Monday, the Robinson Huron chiefs joined other First Nations leaders denouncing the deal and calling on Canada to hit the brakes on the proposed legislation.
"We cannot sit idly by while the settler government continues to discuss and deal with groups claiming Indigenous ancestry without our consent," said Batchewana First Nation Chief Dean Sayers in the group's release.
This follows a similar statement from Grand Council Treaty #3 in northwestern Ontario last week, which called itself "extremely concerned" by the situation.
The Wabun Tribal Council also has the backing of the Chiefs of Ontario umbrella organization, representing more than 130 First Nations, which voiced support last year.
Batise said the council's members are ready for a prolonged battle — if that's what it comes to.
"If Canada is willing to take this to the Supreme Court, so be it," he said.
"Our communities are prepared to accept that fight."
SASKATCHEWAN
Whitecap Dakota First Nation signs historic treaty with Canada
Story by Sam Samson • CBC - May 3 Whitecap Dakota Chief Darcy Bear, second from left, and Crown-Indigenous Affairs minister Marc Miller, second from right, sign the self-government treaty documents in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 2.
Whitecap Dakota First Nation finally has its own treaty with Canada after a decade of negotiations and centuries of being unrecognized as Indigenous people of this country.
The First Nation in Saskatchewan says it's the first Dakota nation to sign a treaty in Canada.
"It's just a step at a time, but this is a very positive day for our ancestors, our people and our future generations," said Whitecap Dakota Chief Darcy Bear in an interview, minutes after he signed the document in Ottawa.
On Tuesday afternoon, Bear and others from the First Nation in Saskatchewan, signed the agreement with Crown-Indigenous Relations Minster Marc Miller. The document not only acknowledges and describes the First Nation's inherent right to self governance, but also formally recognizes the community as Indigenous people of Canada under the constitution.
That formal recognition is significant, Bear said, since Whitecap Dakota First Nation and other Dakota communities were historically viewed as Native Americans rather than British or Canadian. Many Dakota communities fought for the British stationed in what is now Canada during the War of 1812 against the United States, but still weren't recognized as Indigenous people of this country. When treaties were signed in the 1800s in Saskatchewan, Whitecap's chief was there, but wasn't invited to sign.
"When you're not being recognized in a country you helped create … it was totally wrong. We should have never been denied that right," he said.
"To us, it is reconciliation." First agreement under new federal policy
Whitecap Dakota is the 27th Indigenous group to sign a self-government agreement with Canada. Those agreements represent 52 communities, according to a spokesperson for the Minster of Crown-Indigenous relations.
This is the first agreement to be signed under a new federal policy, which Miller announced in February. The collaborative modern treaty implementation policy was created to ensure Ottawa keeps its end of the bargain when it comes to new treaties.
"We sign these agreements, and then sometimes we go back to the way we behave before and don't give much thought into what these agreements represent, and how they can get properly implemented," Miller told CBC in an interview.
Miller noted that the policy can help remind federal staff "you do not engage with [First Nations] as if they were municipalities, but truly a position of equals."
The policy includes a commitment to create an independent oversight body to make sure the federal government is accountable to its promises. Miller said that's still in the works.
He also said there will be a meeting next week between Indigenous leaders and the Prime Minister to discuss modern treaties. Self governance parameters
The agreement makes Whitecap Dakota the first and only self-governing First Nation in Saskatchewan. The First Nation has been negotiating with Ottawa for self-governance since 2009.
It already has autonomy in areas such as land management and membership, but this agreement now allows the community to move away from the Indian Act as much as it wants.
"We've always been working at getting out of the Indian Act. There are some parts you keep going, like Section 87 is about not paying provincial or federal income tax on reserve," said Bear.
He also mentioned status cards were important to his members, as well as reserve status overall.
"The rest will be eliminated," he said. "The Indian Act is very paternalistic."
The First Nation will also have different law-making powers, but all laws must work in tandem with provincial and federal ones. In case of a conflict, Indigenous laws protecting culture and language take priority.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code all still apply.
Initially, the community voted 92 per cent in favour of a self-governance agreement. Leaders went to Ottawa in the fall with the proposal, but during conversations, Bear said everyone agreed it should also be a treaty.
The community voted unanimously in late April to include the treaty aspect to the documentation.
Once the document goes through legislative processes, the community will officially become self governed as of Sept. 1.
Support and infrastructure for the transition
The historical reliance First Nations have on Canada because of legislation like the Indian Act can make it difficult for some communities to self govern, according to Indigenous rights and constitutional lawyer David Khan.
"Canada and the Crowns have starved First Nations of resources and confined them to reserves for 150 years and have really pushed down their governance structures or replaced them with the Indian Act," he said.
"So it's just building up governance capacity, that governance structure, to be able to take on the roles and responsibilities the federal government has had thus far."
Bear describes his community as "modern," and says it has a robust infrastructure and staff that can handle the changes that come with self governance, noting the nation already has its own rules for finances and electoral guidelines.
"We have a lot of policies that we've developed over the years, and so we're ready. It's about time as Indigenous people we make our own decisions," Bear said.
"It was an inherent right that the Creator gave us. We're just taking that back."
ONTARIO
First Nations leaders in Treaty 9 say their message is clear — no development without us as partners
Story by Alex Brockman • CBC
First Nations leaders in northern Ontario are ramping up political pressure on the provincial and federal governments, warning Wednesday that the only way mining projects can proceed in the mineral-rich Ring of Fire is with their participation as full partners.
Though the lawsuit deals with language and the understanding of a treaty signed in the early 1900s, the lawyer for the First Nations, Kate Kempton, says the case has major implications for land decisions happening in the Ring of Fire right now.
The plaintiffs argue they never gave up their rights to manage the lands and say there needs to be a co-jurisdiction regime where the province and Ottawa cannot move forward on land development without their approval.
'We do this together or we don't do it'
The lawsuit is seeking $95 billion in damages for Treaty 9 First Nations and injunctions to prevent the two levels of government from regulating or enforcing regulations in the treaty lands without the consent of the plaintiffs. If there are disputes, they say, it should go to an independent third party, similar to other international treaties.
"We hear so much about building mines and roads, but not without our community's permission. There has been zero consultation on these projects," said Mark Bell, a band councillor from Aroland First Nation.
"Our community is not against development, we are not against industry. We manage forests, we have mines ... we've been able to do that by giving our permission, working with industry, with other communities around us," Bell said. "Now we're at the point where we say, 'We sit with the government — we do this together or we don't do it."
The Ring of Fire is a crescent-shaped deposit of minerals in Treaty 9 territory, nestled within the James Bay lowlands of northern Ontario. It is the traditional territory of more than a dozen First Nations. Some, like Marten Falls and Webequie, have been vocal proponents of its development, while others have voiced opposition. Several have not made their positions public.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit announced Wednesday claim they never agreed to cede, release, surrender or yield up their jurisdiction to govern and care for the lands, as it says in the written treaty, which was first entered into in 1905.
This case comes as Ontario and Canada have announced several major developments in its critical minerals strategy and electric vehicle (EV) industry, including a plant in southern Ontario that will receive up to $13 billion in subsidies.
"Treaty 9 First Nations agreed to share with the Crown. We retained jurisdiction." said Chief Solomon Atlookan of Eabametoong First Nation. "Despite the posturing of the current government, all the bulldozer claims, it cannot move forward without our consent."
Kempton, head representative for the claimants, cautioned this case could lead to court injunctions that could tie up development plans through the courts if governments don't make changes to how they negotiate and consult with affected First Nations.
She said she hoped mining companies wanting to work in the region would lobby the governments for the First Nations to make the co-jurisdiction plan happen.
"Tell them that you need them to sit down and work this out in an equal co-jurisdiction regime," Kempton said. "Until that happens, there will be a huge amount of uncertainty for those companies. The implication is they are not going to be able to go ahead without full, informed consent."
CBC News has reached out to both Ontario Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford and federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller for comment.
Rickford issued a statement saying the Ontario government "recognizes that we have a unique opportunity to work alongside First Nations to enhance economic, health and social outcomes," and that the government will "continue to prioritize consensus building regarding northern development." He said he would not comment further since the lawsuit is before the courts.
A spokesperson for Miller said they could not provide CBC News with an interview on the lawsuit, though his office issued a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying:
"Our government remains steadfast in its commitment to work alongside First Nations, to advance their vision for self-determination. Canada always prefers resolving litigation outside the courts, whenever possible. However, we respect the Treaty 9 First Nations' decision to take Canada to court, as they see fit. Because this litigation is active, it would not be appropriate to comment further."
Mark Bell, third from left, a band councillor from Aroland First Nation in northwestern Ontario, was among those speaking at a news conference at Queen's Park in Toronto on Wednesday. Bell alongside the chiefs of 9 other First Nations are plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Ontario and federal governments regarding land development in Treaty 9 territory.
This is the second time in the past month that First Nations leaders have gone to Queen's Park to take their case directly to lawmakers, as they have continued to state their position on the issue, which has remained the same for years.
"We have projects moving forward where we get an email here, an email there — that's not consultation," said Bell. "Our people need to be able to make decisions, they need to be able to make informed decisions."
CANADA
As Pride flags are once again targeted, 2SLGBTQ advocates say it's as important as ever to fly them
LGBTQ RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS
Story by Nick Logan • CBC -Thursday
After the southwestern Ontario township of Norwich made a controversial decision last month to no longer fly the Progress Pride flag on municipal property, it didn't take long after for people to start emailing Kim Huffman, a councillor in neighbouring Norfolk county, calling for a similar move.
It may have only been a small number of messages, but she's making it clear she has no intention of following Norwich's lead.
"Don't bother wasting your time asking me to put any kind of motion forward or to have any kind of discussion regarding the Pride flag in Norfolk County," she told CBC News. In her first term, Huffman said, she was the councillor responsible for getting the county to raise the Pride flag at its administrative building in the first place.
Huffman says she wants her community and others, especially in rural areas, to show they are inclusive — especially for younger people who may not see the same degree of visibility and allyship that exists in large cities for two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (2SLGBTQ) people.
Norwich isn't alone when it comes to controversies surrounding Pride flags. Other communities, such as the district of Hope, B.C., have made similar decisions to not fly the Pride flag, and a recent meeting of an Ontario Catholic school board got so heated, amid a debate of Pride flags at schools, the police had to be called.
There have also been reports across Canada of 2SLGBTQ and transgender flags being stolen, damaged and even burned.
Huffman said she believes that's all the more reason to fly the Pride flag this year and every year.
Pride in a community
Huffman said she gets goosebumps when she see a Pride flag flying in her county because of the sense of community it represents to her.
That was a sentiment similar to what Alex Wilson says she experienced when she saw a Pride flag raised in her northern Manitoba First Nation community three years ago — something she said was "a long time coming."
It was the traditional rainbow flag with the emblem of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation.
Raising a Pride flag is "a recognition that not only do we exist, but we have the right to exist," said Wilson, a professor in the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan, where she teaches a course called Queering Our Classrooms and Communities, among others, and she is the co-chair of the organization 2Spirit Manitoba.
After years of progress, she said she's surprised over the new debate over Pride flags, and LGBTQ rights and visibility, when it seems like something more likely to have been a controversial topic 35 years ago.
"[But] whenever there's some kind of steps made forward in human rights, there's a backlash from certain communities. And this time, the backlash is particularly focused on trans people and the queer community in general," she said.
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Progress on 2SLGBTQ rights hasn't always been linear, said Robin Metcalfe, a long-time 2SLGBTQ rights activist based in Sheet Harbour, N.S., where he is also involved in organizing the seaside community's Pride activities.
"In recent years, trans people in particular have been in the front line of fighting for their rights, and it's been a very hard fight," Metcalfe said.
In the U.S. there have been more than 500 bills brought forward so far in 2023, dozens of which have already passed, that target gender-affirming care, bathroom use, the participation of transgender women and girls in sports, the use of preferred pronouns, drag performances and education about gender identity and sexuality.
That has contributed to anti-2SLGBTQ discourse throughout the U.S. but also in Canada because "we're part of the same larger cultural zone," said Metcalfe.
"Right-wing forces and very homophobic and sexist and racist forces are feeling more empowered to speak right now and more entitled and probably feeling somewhat threatened because the order [of privilege] is changing," he said.
He says he believes most people are against forms of hate, such as homophobia, racism, and sexism, and he's hopeful those people will continue to unite behind the 2SLGBTQ community as it faces efforts to push back against progress.
The flap over flags
Any flag is a symbol that can be "inspiring to one group [but] will be reviled by another," said James Ferrigan, the treasurer of the North American Vexillological Association, an organization for flag experts and enthusiasts.
With Pride flags, some will see it as celebrating diversity and inclusion, he said, while others will view it as "a political symbol which they perhaps find threatening."
He has witnessed the evolution of the Pride flag, from its humble beginnings to becoming an internationally recognized symbol — he worked at the Paramount flag shop in San Francisco alongside activist and artist Gilbert Baker, who created the original rainbow flag in 1978.
The flag has evolved and been recreated in the 45 years since, most notably with the Progress Pride flag created in 2018 by artist Daniel Quasar.
It's a variation on the traditional six-colour rainbow flag that incorporates chevrons of pink, light blue and white to represent transgender and non-binary people and black and brown chevrons for people of colour.
It has become widely used by governments — including the Canadian government — businesses and communities around the world, and it was the version of the Pride flag at the heart of the situation in Norwich.
Exclusion not a path to equality
In the case of Norwich, the township's council decided in a 3-2 vote, with the mayor tipping the balance, to prohibit all non-civic flags from flying on municipal property, even though the Pride flag was the focus of the decision.
The logic presented by the councillor who brought the issue forward was that municipal, provincial and Canada flags unite everyone without singling out any one group.
"To open the door to flying flags that represent any particular group, organization, or ideology, will only divide rather than unite," Coun. John Scholten said at the April 25 council meeting.
Neither Wilson nor Metcalfe agree with that logic
"Putting up the flag is in fact saying you want peace and harmony," Metcalfe said, because it signals the community is accepting of all of its diverse citizens.
Wilson called it a "cop out," saying outlawing everything that's different isn't a way to create equality. She explained not everyone is united under the Canadian flag either.
"We know that with Indigenous people, we know that with certain newcomer groups, we know that with queer people," Wilson said.
Raising a Pride flag, she said, is both an opportunity for people to learn about and acknowledge the history of marginalized groups, as well as their current challenges, and to help rectify some of the past.
AUSTRALIA
Councils call off drag storytime and LGBTQ+ events in Victoria after far-right threats
Several councils across Victoria have quietly cancelled drag queen storytime and LGBTQ+ events after threats from far-right groups.
Last week Monash council cancelled a drag storytime event scheduled for International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) after angry protesters derailed a council meeting.
Several other local government areas have quietly followed suit, calling off family-friendly queer events planned for IDAHOBIT on 17 May.
Drag performer Dean Arcuri has had four events cancelled, including a rainbow storytime singalong at Hawthorn Library, which is run by Boroondara council.
“As soon as the information came out about Monash, every one of the four councils got in touch,” said Arcuri, who performs as Frock Hudson.
“They said they felt really bad about it [but said] ‘we just don’t feel like we can create the safe environment for people’.”
Boroondara council did not respond to questions before publication, but the council’s website encouraged people to go to other IDAHOBIT events, including a high tea.
“The Rainbow Storytime event with Frock Hudson advertised in the May Bulletin has been cancelled,” a note on the website said.
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The other three events were scheduled in regional councils. Arcuri said he wanted to keep the names of the other councils private for fear of backlash.
“I don’t want to create a total narrative of ‘damn you, you cancelled’, because I don’t think that’s OK either,” he said. “Everyone’s doing the best they can in this scenario.”
At least nine queer events, mostly drag storytime, have been cancelled in the past six months in Melbourne due to security threats from far-right fringe groups.
A fifth event Arcuri was booked to appear at – a storytime at Eltham Library in Nillumbik shire – is currently being targeted by fascists, who have been pushing for the event to be shut down.
In response to the cancellations, community members have set up the Rainbow Community Angels (RCA), a group promising to disrupt anti-queer protesters by wearing huge angel wings to block them out.
Felicity Marlowe, manager of Rainbow Families Victoria and co-founder of RCA, said the group hoped they could prevent events from getting cancelled and help lift the queer community.
“No one wants to say people should work when they feel threatened, or that people should perform when there have been threats made against their lives or their livelihood,” Marlowe said.
“But it’s just the visual of the situation – cancelling sends a really detrimental message, particularly to young queers and trans young people.” An online RCA meeting on Thursday, where the group discussed training and wing-making sessions, was disrupted by two neo-Nazis who wrote homophobic abuse and “Heil Hitler” in the comments section of the Zoom chat.
At the same meeting, Nillumbik mayor Ben Ramcharan said he was determined for the storytime at Eltham Library event to go ahead but it might have to be moved online because of threats.
It is understood the Yarra Plenty Regional Library, which runs the Eltham Library, has had to ring Victoria police twice in the past week because they have been inundated with hateful emails and phone calls.
Marlowe promised RCA would hold an event at Eltham Library on 17 May even if the storytime is moved to Zoom, to show the community they will not be censored.
