MANITOBA
Selkirk's water treatment plant goes green, eliminates use of fossil fuels
Local Journalism Initiative
Tue, June 27, 2023
A small Manitoba city has reached an environmental milestone, as officials in Selkirk announced it is now producing all of the community’s drinking water and treating all of its wastewater without the use of any fossil fuels.
“Reducing our carbon footprint requires us to put one foot in front of the other often taking baby steps, but every once in a while, you get to take a pretty big leap,” city of Selkirk CAO Duane Nicol said.
On Monday, Selkirk, a community of about 10,000 residents located about 25 kilometres north of Winnipeg, announced recently completed upgrades to the city’s drinking water plant now have that building heated and cooled using a geothermal system, and producing zero Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.
The plant is now the second major utility in the community to run on zero fossil fuels, as the city also completed construction in 2021 on a brand new wastewater plant that treats all wastewater in the city, and also uses zero fossil fuels.
According to Nicol, before upgrading the water treatment plant and replacing the city’s previous wastewater treatment plant, those two buildings produced the most GHGs of any buildings in the city.
“From a GHG perspective, the water treatment plant was the second largest point source of emissions in the city, with the old wastewater treatment plant being the largest contributor,” Nicol said.
“Both water plants accounted for 30% of the city’s total corporate emissions prior to converting to geothermal.”
Selkirk has been taking steps in recent years to reduce their emissions, and the city says it's now on track to outpace GHG emission targets the federal government hopes to see met by the year 2030.
The Government of Canada’s national greenhouse gas reduction targets call for a reduction of 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030, and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and Selkirk now says that by reducing and eliminating GHG emissions from those buildings alone, the city expects to exceed the national target by 2030.
Nicol said it is all part of a strategic plan the city has created and adopted that requires that environmental concerns and possible effects on the environment, both positive and negative, be considered in any and all decision-making at the municipal level.
Last November, Selkirk council passed the Greenhouse Gas Accountability Bylaw, which mandates the tracking and reporting of Selkirk’s corporate and community GHG emissions using internationally recognized standards and sets new emission reduction targets that are consistent with global efforts to keep the climate increase to 1.5 degrees or less.
Selkirk Mayor Larry Johannson said he believes the decisions that Selkirk has been making in recent years are “bold,” and he said reducing emissions is something more and more Canadians want to see from elected officials at all levels.
“This is the most pressing issue of our time,” Johannson said. “Recent polling indicates that citizens expect governments at all levels to do more.”
According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, human activity is the number one cause of climate change, and about two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions come from carbon dioxide (CO2) which is largely the product of burning fossil fuels.
Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
Dave Baxter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
English soccer club Watford has apologized to the victims of a former physiotherapist
Tue, June 27, 2023
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — English soccer club Watford has apologized to the victims of a former physiotherapist nicknamed “Paedo Phil” after concluding an investigation into his alleged abuse.
Phil Edwards was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of sexual activity with a teenage boy. He was found dead weeks later.
Edwards worked for Watford during the 1990s and possibly the 1980s.
The findings of Watford's investigation were made public on Tuesday and added to an independent report into allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse in soccer published in 2021.
Edwards was alleged to have asked players to remove all clothing for treatment and would conduct unnecessary groin examinations, which included touching a boy’s penis and “potentially digital penetration.”
“As a club, Watford FC wishes to apologize to all young people who experienced the behaviour perpetrated by the late Phil Edwards, while holding a position of influence and access within the club,” Watford said in a statement. “We are doing, and will continue to do, everything we can to ensure that the boys, girls, men and women who play for this club — and indeed anyone who works for or with the club — will not have to endure the experiences these young people did.”
An independent review found that English soccer did not do enough to protect children from predatory coaches from 1970 to 2005.
The inquiry, led by attorney Clive Sheldon, catalogued failings by eight clubs, including Chelsea and Manchester City, to act on concerns. The 710-page report said there were at least 692 abuse survivors and 240 suspects.
The inquiry was conducted after survivors came forward in 2016 with testimonies of abuse from perpetrators such as Barry Bennell, a former youth talent scout for Manchester City. At the time of the report, Watford was in the process of investigating allegations made against Edwards.
The English Football Association has now asked for the conclusions be added to the report.
Watford contacted 29 survivors, with 18 providing signed accounts.
The report said Edwards “appeared to enjoy inflicting pain” and “laughed or shouted” if his victims cried. It was claimed he would ask players to squat while naked and he would lie on the floor looking at them.
It was also alleged Edwards would have boys go to his house “where he gave them alcohol, showed them pornographic films, and encouraged them to perform sexual acts with an adapted stuffed toy.”
Watford concluded there was “a strong indication” that Edwards’ methods “were not only questionable, but in some cases amounted to criminal conduct.” It said his actions were “voyeuristic and inappropriate.”
Several survivors said Edwards' behavior was “common knowledge amongst club staff,” that boys talked openly about him and he was referred to as “Paedo Phil.” Staff contacted denied knowledge of abuse.
One volunteer said he remembered Edwards hitting players' buttocks when they got off the treatment table and was “puzzled” why so many players were diagnosed with having groin injuries.
A survivor also said he told the then-manager, the late Graham Taylor, and other staff about the abuse. Two members of staff both denied the conversation took place.
Taylor, who was a former England coach, died in January 2017, before Watford's investigation began.
Watford concluded that there was no corroborating evidence that staff knew about the alleged abuse and said that no one outside of the coaching or medical staff had reason to know about it. But it left open whether coaching or medical staff had reason to know of the alleged abuse, which could have led to further enquiries.
Sheldon added in his analysis of Watford's conclusions that there may have been “warning signs” that could have alerted coaching or medical staff to the “possibility that something untoward was taking place.”
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Tue, June 27, 2023
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — English soccer club Watford has apologized to the victims of a former physiotherapist nicknamed “Paedo Phil” after concluding an investigation into his alleged abuse.
Phil Edwards was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of sexual activity with a teenage boy. He was found dead weeks later.
Edwards worked for Watford during the 1990s and possibly the 1980s.
The findings of Watford's investigation were made public on Tuesday and added to an independent report into allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse in soccer published in 2021.
Edwards was alleged to have asked players to remove all clothing for treatment and would conduct unnecessary groin examinations, which included touching a boy’s penis and “potentially digital penetration.”
“As a club, Watford FC wishes to apologize to all young people who experienced the behaviour perpetrated by the late Phil Edwards, while holding a position of influence and access within the club,” Watford said in a statement. “We are doing, and will continue to do, everything we can to ensure that the boys, girls, men and women who play for this club — and indeed anyone who works for or with the club — will not have to endure the experiences these young people did.”
An independent review found that English soccer did not do enough to protect children from predatory coaches from 1970 to 2005.
The inquiry, led by attorney Clive Sheldon, catalogued failings by eight clubs, including Chelsea and Manchester City, to act on concerns. The 710-page report said there were at least 692 abuse survivors and 240 suspects.
The inquiry was conducted after survivors came forward in 2016 with testimonies of abuse from perpetrators such as Barry Bennell, a former youth talent scout for Manchester City. At the time of the report, Watford was in the process of investigating allegations made against Edwards.
The English Football Association has now asked for the conclusions be added to the report.
Watford contacted 29 survivors, with 18 providing signed accounts.
The report said Edwards “appeared to enjoy inflicting pain” and “laughed or shouted” if his victims cried. It was claimed he would ask players to squat while naked and he would lie on the floor looking at them.
It was also alleged Edwards would have boys go to his house “where he gave them alcohol, showed them pornographic films, and encouraged them to perform sexual acts with an adapted stuffed toy.”
Watford concluded there was “a strong indication” that Edwards’ methods “were not only questionable, but in some cases amounted to criminal conduct.” It said his actions were “voyeuristic and inappropriate.”
Several survivors said Edwards' behavior was “common knowledge amongst club staff,” that boys talked openly about him and he was referred to as “Paedo Phil.” Staff contacted denied knowledge of abuse.
One volunteer said he remembered Edwards hitting players' buttocks when they got off the treatment table and was “puzzled” why so many players were diagnosed with having groin injuries.
A survivor also said he told the then-manager, the late Graham Taylor, and other staff about the abuse. Two members of staff both denied the conversation took place.
Taylor, who was a former England coach, died in January 2017, before Watford's investigation began.
Watford concluded that there was no corroborating evidence that staff knew about the alleged abuse and said that no one outside of the coaching or medical staff had reason to know about it. But it left open whether coaching or medical staff had reason to know of the alleged abuse, which could have led to further enquiries.
Sheldon added in his analysis of Watford's conclusions that there may have been “warning signs” that could have alerted coaching or medical staff to the “possibility that something untoward was taking place.”
___
James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Inside Canada’s fight to save its peatlands
Doug Johnson
Tue, June 27, 2023
Inside Canada’s fight to save its peatlands
Click here to view the video
Over the years, Canadian scientists and companies have learned how to get the ball rolling to restore peatlands. A well-studied method called the moss layer transfer technique (MLTT) can put these vital ecosystems on the right track again, sequestering carbon dioxide rather than emitting it.
However, MLTT is primarily a tried, tested, and true fix for one kind of peatland degradation: peat extraction for farm and garden products. And, while the process can handily turn an impacted peatland from carbon source to carbon sink, peatlands, and their restoration, still face many challenges in Canada.
Altogether, Canada has more than one million square kilometres of peatlands, which store an estimated 150 billion tonnes of carbon, roughly equal to 25 years of the country’s current greenhouse gas emissions. This carbon is stored in the form of dead plant matter that, after falling to the ground, begins to decay and release the CO2, but at a much slower rate than normal, thanks to the moist ecosystem. This plant matter has accumulated over the process of thousands of years.
“It's a long term carbon store that's been building up for long periods of time … You need to give the system time,” Maria Strack, professor at the University of Waterloo’s department of geography and environmental management, told The Weather Network.
That said, around 70 per cent of Canada’s peatlands have been either destroyed or degraded. Even beyond the loss of greenhouse gas storage, this can mean an increase in emissions. For example, human activities on peatlands, such as mining or peat extraction, involves draining them of moisture, meaning the dead organic material decays faster. Globally, drained and degraded peatlands release an expected two billion tonnes of carbon dioxide or more.
PEatland restoration (Strack 1)
The restored peatland Bois-des-Bel, Quebec, 15 years after the application of the moss layer transfer technique for peatland restoration. The chambers are used to measure methane emissions. (Maria Strack / Supplied)
Getting started
MLTT can, at least, stem the release of carbon from these disturbed peatlands and get them back to a point where they’re sucking up and storing it.
In short, the process involves taking slabs of peat from an in-tact peatland and transferring it to a degraded peatland in a similar climate and with similar plants. These pieces of donor material are taken from the top 10 centimetres of the natural peatland, and include various types of moss, such as sphagnum moss, along with seeds and roots of plants that can regrow. “They will just kind of come along with that transfer, and we'll then be able to establish a greater diversity [in the peatland],” Strack said.
Next, companies will re-wet the impacted peatland by contouring soil that was disturbed during extraction and blocking off or potentially filling the drainage ditches that were dug to remove moisture during the extraction process. This enables the area to become wet again. After the donor material is spread on the peatland, it’s covered in mulch to keep it moist, and given a bit of fertilizer to get the plants growing.
In one 2016 paper, Strack and her colleagues went to six peatlands that have had MLTT performed on them since the 1990s. They then measured how well the restored peatlands took in carbon using the closed chamber approach. The researchers covered parts of the land in plastic boxes and used specialized sensors to see how well that parcel of land sucks up the carbon dioxide trapped in the boxes. Then, the team compared the results to nearby non-degraded peatlands, and degraded but un-restored peatlands.
In all, the paper found that the restored peatlands were better at sequestration than their degraded counterparts. In another paper, from 2019, Strack and a team found that restored peatlands became carbon sinks again after more than 14 years.
“After about 20 years, many of the sites we've measured are able to sequester or take up carbon whereas the unrestored systems would continue to release it all throughout that time period,” Strack said.
One size does not fit all
This type of restoration is widely used in the Canadian peat extraction industry. The Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association(CSPMA) has pledged to restore 100 per cent of harvested peatlands in the next decade or so.
However, this represents a small proportion of the peatland disturbance in Canada: 0.03 per cent of the country’s peatlands. There are other, larger disturbances. Land changes from agriculture are the largest, having disturbed 7,101 square kilometres, according to a 2022 paper. The next largest is mining and oil and gas, which has disturbed 3,700 square kilometres in Alberta alone.
Mining, for example, regularly sees peatlands dug up, its constituent mosses and plants left sitting on the ground, according to Lorna Harris, a researcher with Wildlife Conservation Society Canada. “And then, you know, there's no real plan for how to use that peat at the end for reclamation or restoration,” she told the Weather Network.
READ MORE: Canada was an extreme global hotspot in an extremely hot May
In oil and gas extraction, parts of the peatlands are covered with well pads, often made up of things like gravel. The process may also introduce different types of soils into the ecosystem, which can change the soil chemistry of the ecosystem and impact what plants grow there.
According to Strack, understanding how the other types of disturbances impact peatlands is another challenge. Strack and other researchers are trying to understand if MLTT could be used to recover peatlands disturbed by these other sources. “We do have to sort of learn more about how some of these other types of disturbances should be restored, and then get the industry backing to really start doing that restoration on the ground,” she added.
Strack Peatland Restoration 15 years
A post-extraction peatland 15 years after the end of peat extraction with instrumentation for ecosystem carbon exchange measurements in the distance.
‘Irrecoverable within our lifetimes’
Increasingly, wildfires are also posing a threat to peatlands. However, other research is looking for ways to restore these peatlands as well. For example, Sophie Wilkinson, a postdoctoral researcher at McMaster University, and her team is looking at an approach similar to MLTT but geared toward restoring peatlands destroyed or damaged by fire.
Currently, the research is in its fifth year. The method involves taking a 10-centimetre wide, five-centimetre thick, “cookie-sized” transplant of sphagnum moss from donor peatlands nearby and putting them in peatlands degraded by fires to “kickstart” their recovery.
After a 2015 wildfire at Earth Creek, Alberta, the previously peat-ed area was left barren with only a few burnt tree trunks. Two years after the fire, Wilkinson and her team placed these cookies in different places at the site. Now, they’re watching the site to see if the moss begins to regrow over the area.
“A lot of peatlands have burned in Alberta over the last few years. And so whilst we've been in the field documenting peatland recovery, we really started to notice the lag between a peatland burning and a peatland beginning to recover.,” Wilkinson said.
While the results are forthcoming, Wilkinson said they’re promising. She added that, next summer, she and her team hope to have a large-scale assessment of this, and similar, tests involving moss transplants.
There are yet other challenges to peatland restoration as well. Climate change could be impacting it, for instance, by causing droughts or extreme temperatures, according to Marie-Claire LeBlanc, peatland affairs and communication manager with the CSPMA.
Further, Canada is a big country, so there’s a lot of variation in terms of peatlands. Some peatlands are also not particularly well-studied, which can throw another wrench in the works, she said.
Finally, the organic, carbon-storing matter accumulates incredibly slowly over the course of hundreds or thousands of years. This means that even a carbon-negative peatland will take a great deal of time before it reaches pre-disturbance levels. This is why Canada, which only formally protects 10 per cent of its peatlands, needs to make stronger policies, and conserve peatlands, on top of restoring them, Harris said. “All of the peat that is currently extracted,” she said. “It is irrecoverable within our lifetimes.”
Thumbnail image: A peatland one year post-fire, some shrubs have reestablished but the ground is still bare of mosses. (Supplied)
WATCH BELOW: How climate refugia are saving animals
Click here to view the video
Doug Johnson
Tue, June 27, 2023
Inside Canada’s fight to save its peatlands
Click here to view the video
Over the years, Canadian scientists and companies have learned how to get the ball rolling to restore peatlands. A well-studied method called the moss layer transfer technique (MLTT) can put these vital ecosystems on the right track again, sequestering carbon dioxide rather than emitting it.
However, MLTT is primarily a tried, tested, and true fix for one kind of peatland degradation: peat extraction for farm and garden products. And, while the process can handily turn an impacted peatland from carbon source to carbon sink, peatlands, and their restoration, still face many challenges in Canada.
Altogether, Canada has more than one million square kilometres of peatlands, which store an estimated 150 billion tonnes of carbon, roughly equal to 25 years of the country’s current greenhouse gas emissions. This carbon is stored in the form of dead plant matter that, after falling to the ground, begins to decay and release the CO2, but at a much slower rate than normal, thanks to the moist ecosystem. This plant matter has accumulated over the process of thousands of years.
“It's a long term carbon store that's been building up for long periods of time … You need to give the system time,” Maria Strack, professor at the University of Waterloo’s department of geography and environmental management, told The Weather Network.
That said, around 70 per cent of Canada’s peatlands have been either destroyed or degraded. Even beyond the loss of greenhouse gas storage, this can mean an increase in emissions. For example, human activities on peatlands, such as mining or peat extraction, involves draining them of moisture, meaning the dead organic material decays faster. Globally, drained and degraded peatlands release an expected two billion tonnes of carbon dioxide or more.
PEatland restoration (Strack 1)
The restored peatland Bois-des-Bel, Quebec, 15 years after the application of the moss layer transfer technique for peatland restoration. The chambers are used to measure methane emissions. (Maria Strack / Supplied)
Getting started
MLTT can, at least, stem the release of carbon from these disturbed peatlands and get them back to a point where they’re sucking up and storing it.
In short, the process involves taking slabs of peat from an in-tact peatland and transferring it to a degraded peatland in a similar climate and with similar plants. These pieces of donor material are taken from the top 10 centimetres of the natural peatland, and include various types of moss, such as sphagnum moss, along with seeds and roots of plants that can regrow. “They will just kind of come along with that transfer, and we'll then be able to establish a greater diversity [in the peatland],” Strack said.
Next, companies will re-wet the impacted peatland by contouring soil that was disturbed during extraction and blocking off or potentially filling the drainage ditches that were dug to remove moisture during the extraction process. This enables the area to become wet again. After the donor material is spread on the peatland, it’s covered in mulch to keep it moist, and given a bit of fertilizer to get the plants growing.
In one 2016 paper, Strack and her colleagues went to six peatlands that have had MLTT performed on them since the 1990s. They then measured how well the restored peatlands took in carbon using the closed chamber approach. The researchers covered parts of the land in plastic boxes and used specialized sensors to see how well that parcel of land sucks up the carbon dioxide trapped in the boxes. Then, the team compared the results to nearby non-degraded peatlands, and degraded but un-restored peatlands.
In all, the paper found that the restored peatlands were better at sequestration than their degraded counterparts. In another paper, from 2019, Strack and a team found that restored peatlands became carbon sinks again after more than 14 years.
“After about 20 years, many of the sites we've measured are able to sequester or take up carbon whereas the unrestored systems would continue to release it all throughout that time period,” Strack said.
One size does not fit all
This type of restoration is widely used in the Canadian peat extraction industry. The Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association(CSPMA) has pledged to restore 100 per cent of harvested peatlands in the next decade or so.
However, this represents a small proportion of the peatland disturbance in Canada: 0.03 per cent of the country’s peatlands. There are other, larger disturbances. Land changes from agriculture are the largest, having disturbed 7,101 square kilometres, according to a 2022 paper. The next largest is mining and oil and gas, which has disturbed 3,700 square kilometres in Alberta alone.
Mining, for example, regularly sees peatlands dug up, its constituent mosses and plants left sitting on the ground, according to Lorna Harris, a researcher with Wildlife Conservation Society Canada. “And then, you know, there's no real plan for how to use that peat at the end for reclamation or restoration,” she told the Weather Network.
READ MORE: Canada was an extreme global hotspot in an extremely hot May
In oil and gas extraction, parts of the peatlands are covered with well pads, often made up of things like gravel. The process may also introduce different types of soils into the ecosystem, which can change the soil chemistry of the ecosystem and impact what plants grow there.
According to Strack, understanding how the other types of disturbances impact peatlands is another challenge. Strack and other researchers are trying to understand if MLTT could be used to recover peatlands disturbed by these other sources. “We do have to sort of learn more about how some of these other types of disturbances should be restored, and then get the industry backing to really start doing that restoration on the ground,” she added.
Strack Peatland Restoration 15 years
A post-extraction peatland 15 years after the end of peat extraction with instrumentation for ecosystem carbon exchange measurements in the distance.
(Maria Strack / Supplied)
‘Irrecoverable within our lifetimes’
Increasingly, wildfires are also posing a threat to peatlands. However, other research is looking for ways to restore these peatlands as well. For example, Sophie Wilkinson, a postdoctoral researcher at McMaster University, and her team is looking at an approach similar to MLTT but geared toward restoring peatlands destroyed or damaged by fire.
Currently, the research is in its fifth year. The method involves taking a 10-centimetre wide, five-centimetre thick, “cookie-sized” transplant of sphagnum moss from donor peatlands nearby and putting them in peatlands degraded by fires to “kickstart” their recovery.
After a 2015 wildfire at Earth Creek, Alberta, the previously peat-ed area was left barren with only a few burnt tree trunks. Two years after the fire, Wilkinson and her team placed these cookies in different places at the site. Now, they’re watching the site to see if the moss begins to regrow over the area.
“A lot of peatlands have burned in Alberta over the last few years. And so whilst we've been in the field documenting peatland recovery, we really started to notice the lag between a peatland burning and a peatland beginning to recover.,” Wilkinson said.
While the results are forthcoming, Wilkinson said they’re promising. She added that, next summer, she and her team hope to have a large-scale assessment of this, and similar, tests involving moss transplants.
There are yet other challenges to peatland restoration as well. Climate change could be impacting it, for instance, by causing droughts or extreme temperatures, according to Marie-Claire LeBlanc, peatland affairs and communication manager with the CSPMA.
Further, Canada is a big country, so there’s a lot of variation in terms of peatlands. Some peatlands are also not particularly well-studied, which can throw another wrench in the works, she said.
Finally, the organic, carbon-storing matter accumulates incredibly slowly over the course of hundreds or thousands of years. This means that even a carbon-negative peatland will take a great deal of time before it reaches pre-disturbance levels. This is why Canada, which only formally protects 10 per cent of its peatlands, needs to make stronger policies, and conserve peatlands, on top of restoring them, Harris said. “All of the peat that is currently extracted,” she said. “It is irrecoverable within our lifetimes.”
Thumbnail image: A peatland one year post-fire, some shrubs have reestablished but the ground is still bare of mosses. (Supplied)
WATCH BELOW: How climate refugia are saving animals
Click here to view the video
CANADA
Provinces with existing dental coverage got smaller share of federal kids' benefit
The Canadian Press
Tue, June 27, 2023
OTTAWA — Provinces that already cover dental-care services for children have been given a smaller share of federal dollars from the Canada Dental Benefit, further driving concerns that governments will end that coverage as the program expands.
Data provided to Parliament shows that provinces and territories with dental benefits for all children were given less federal money per the size of their populations than those that offer only targeted coverage.
The federal dental benefit was launched last fall and is designed to provide cash payments to low- and middle-income families without private insurance. Children qualify for $260, $390 or $650, depending on their family income.
Prince Edward Island, Nunavut, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Yukon all cover at least basic dental care for children — and received less funding than the national average.
Health Canada says the benefit was designed to complement provincial coverage, which is not applied equally across the country.
The data may confirm the program is working as intended to fill gaps in coverage, but the Bloc Québécois says the results reveal an "injustice."
"We have a situation where those provinces who have higher taxes, whose citizens contribute more to their own dental plans, they're in a situation where they are less covered by the federal program and in which they subsidize the dental program in other provinces," said Bloc MP Jean-Denis Garon.
He said the federal program is a "strong deterrent" for provinces to launch progressive programs.
The only other provinces to fall below the national average were British Columbia and New Brunswick.
People in Yukon, which has one of the most generous pediatric dental programs in the country, received the least amount of benefit money at $1.02 per person.
The Canadian average was $4.23 per person.
Manitoba brought in the most money under the benefit, at $5.77 per person. That province provides targeted coverage, like preventive care for at-risk families and basic care for children under 18 years from low-income families without private insurance.
The available data captures benefits issued to 271,790 children from the inception of the program last fall until April 27. The number of children who have received the Canada Dental Benefit has since exceeded 300,000.
Population data is based on Statistics Canada estimates from the first quarter of 2023.
Newfoundland and Labrador's health department pointed out in a statement that the province has "one of the best and most comprehensive (plans) in Canada with universal access to eligible dental services for children aged 12 years and under."
The department wouldn't comment directly about the potential duplication of efforts by the province and the federal government, except to say that the federal dental benefits covered "a group already covered by Newfoundland and Labrador’s Children’s Dental Health Program."
The Liberals initially promised a dental-care program by the end of 2022 as part of their confidence-and-supply agreement with the NDP.
When they couldn’t meet that deadline, the government instead launched a temporary benefit for children of middle-income families while they work on a permanent program.
The Liberals now hope to launch a $13-billion federal dental insurance plan by the end of the year that would cover children under 18, seniors and people with disabilities, with plans to expand further over the next few years.
The insurance plan would be available to qualifying people with a household income under $90,000 and no private insurance. People who receive provincial coverage would still qualify.
"If you were a provincial government, why wouldn't you kind of move to de-insure your people and ship them to the federal plan?" said Colleen Flood, research chair in health law and policy at the University of Ottawa.
"That probably would make sense from a fiscal perspective."
Quebec has already asked to opt out of the program and instead collect $3 billion over five years to supplement its own dental-care programs.
Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos signalled openness to negotiating with the province, but hasn't said whether it will be allowed to opt out.
In a statement, Health Canada said provinces and territories are working with the federal government on its dental-care plans.
For example, all 13 provinces and territories have agreed that the Canada Dental Benefit wouldn't be considered as income when people apply for other social assistance and income-tested programs.
"We continue to work with stakeholders and partners, including provinces and territories, to improve access and ensure that eligible Canadians receive the care they require," the Health Canada statement read.
Flood applauded the government for taking a step forward to address dental-care gaps, and said such progress likely wouldn't have happened without the time pressure applied by the NDP.
"I kind of think that this is fantastic, but that they should nonetheless start doing all the other kinds of background work to have a more enduring, sustainable, more carefully thought-out dental health plan — not just insurance," she said.
In a paper recently published by the Institute for Research on Public Policy, Flood and several colleagues suggest the federal government's decision to launch a stand-alone program rather than negotiate with provinces will probably not be sufficient to ensure everyone has coverage.
"You really need a joint federal-provincial approach," she said.
The group of policy experts argued the long-term plan should involve all orders of government and an arm's-length agency charged with administering the insurance plan, setting associated regulations and collecting data on oral health.
They also recommend striving for a universal dental-care plan for equity and efficiency reasons, rather than the means-tested approach the government has so far committed to.
The Liberals are expected to launch the first phase of the dental insurance plan by the end of the year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2023.
Laura Osman, The Canadian Press
Provinces with existing dental coverage got smaller share of federal kids' benefit
The Canadian Press
Tue, June 27, 2023
OTTAWA — Provinces that already cover dental-care services for children have been given a smaller share of federal dollars from the Canada Dental Benefit, further driving concerns that governments will end that coverage as the program expands.
Data provided to Parliament shows that provinces and territories with dental benefits for all children were given less federal money per the size of their populations than those that offer only targeted coverage.
The federal dental benefit was launched last fall and is designed to provide cash payments to low- and middle-income families without private insurance. Children qualify for $260, $390 or $650, depending on their family income.
Prince Edward Island, Nunavut, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Yukon all cover at least basic dental care for children — and received less funding than the national average.
Health Canada says the benefit was designed to complement provincial coverage, which is not applied equally across the country.
The data may confirm the program is working as intended to fill gaps in coverage, but the Bloc Québécois says the results reveal an "injustice."
"We have a situation where those provinces who have higher taxes, whose citizens contribute more to their own dental plans, they're in a situation where they are less covered by the federal program and in which they subsidize the dental program in other provinces," said Bloc MP Jean-Denis Garon.
He said the federal program is a "strong deterrent" for provinces to launch progressive programs.
The only other provinces to fall below the national average were British Columbia and New Brunswick.
People in Yukon, which has one of the most generous pediatric dental programs in the country, received the least amount of benefit money at $1.02 per person.
The Canadian average was $4.23 per person.
Manitoba brought in the most money under the benefit, at $5.77 per person. That province provides targeted coverage, like preventive care for at-risk families and basic care for children under 18 years from low-income families without private insurance.
The available data captures benefits issued to 271,790 children from the inception of the program last fall until April 27. The number of children who have received the Canada Dental Benefit has since exceeded 300,000.
Population data is based on Statistics Canada estimates from the first quarter of 2023.
Newfoundland and Labrador's health department pointed out in a statement that the province has "one of the best and most comprehensive (plans) in Canada with universal access to eligible dental services for children aged 12 years and under."
The department wouldn't comment directly about the potential duplication of efforts by the province and the federal government, except to say that the federal dental benefits covered "a group already covered by Newfoundland and Labrador’s Children’s Dental Health Program."
The Liberals initially promised a dental-care program by the end of 2022 as part of their confidence-and-supply agreement with the NDP.
When they couldn’t meet that deadline, the government instead launched a temporary benefit for children of middle-income families while they work on a permanent program.
The Liberals now hope to launch a $13-billion federal dental insurance plan by the end of the year that would cover children under 18, seniors and people with disabilities, with plans to expand further over the next few years.
The insurance plan would be available to qualifying people with a household income under $90,000 and no private insurance. People who receive provincial coverage would still qualify.
"If you were a provincial government, why wouldn't you kind of move to de-insure your people and ship them to the federal plan?" said Colleen Flood, research chair in health law and policy at the University of Ottawa.
"That probably would make sense from a fiscal perspective."
Quebec has already asked to opt out of the program and instead collect $3 billion over five years to supplement its own dental-care programs.
Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos signalled openness to negotiating with the province, but hasn't said whether it will be allowed to opt out.
In a statement, Health Canada said provinces and territories are working with the federal government on its dental-care plans.
For example, all 13 provinces and territories have agreed that the Canada Dental Benefit wouldn't be considered as income when people apply for other social assistance and income-tested programs.
"We continue to work with stakeholders and partners, including provinces and territories, to improve access and ensure that eligible Canadians receive the care they require," the Health Canada statement read.
Flood applauded the government for taking a step forward to address dental-care gaps, and said such progress likely wouldn't have happened without the time pressure applied by the NDP.
"I kind of think that this is fantastic, but that they should nonetheless start doing all the other kinds of background work to have a more enduring, sustainable, more carefully thought-out dental health plan — not just insurance," she said.
In a paper recently published by the Institute for Research on Public Policy, Flood and several colleagues suggest the federal government's decision to launch a stand-alone program rather than negotiate with provinces will probably not be sufficient to ensure everyone has coverage.
"You really need a joint federal-provincial approach," she said.
The group of policy experts argued the long-term plan should involve all orders of government and an arm's-length agency charged with administering the insurance plan, setting associated regulations and collecting data on oral health.
They also recommend striving for a universal dental-care plan for equity and efficiency reasons, rather than the means-tested approach the government has so far committed to.
The Liberals are expected to launch the first phase of the dental insurance plan by the end of the year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2023.
Laura Osman, The Canadian Press
Reckitt creates 'air sanitizing spray' effective against coronavirus
An illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), depicts the 2019 Novel Coronavirus
By Richa Naidu
By Richa Naidu
Tue, June 27, 2023
LONDON (Reuters) - Reckitt's Lysol disinfectant brand said on Tuesday that it would start selling in the U.S. an "air sanitizing spray" that kills 99.9% of airborne viruses and bacteria.
The spray, which Reckitt said helps reduce the spread of airborne pathogens such as cold, Influenza and Coronavirus, has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Reckitt, Clorox and other disinfectant makers benefited from a boom in sales of surface cleaners and wipes. At the time, there were no products suited to sanitizing air, though some anxious consumers took to spraying surface cleaners into their surroundings.
"We'd actually been investigating previously around air transmission, but I would say that the inflection point was really born out of COVID," Chris Jones, Reckitt's category group director for R&D for Lysol & Harpic.
"We have spoken to other regulators, but I'd say at the moment that the prime focus is really making the U.S. a success and (learning) from the U.S. and then how we can take that elsewhere."
The formula contains active molecules that are hygroscopic in nature, which allows the molecules to attach to microorganisms suspended in the air.
Once attached, the molecules break down the structural membrane of the microorganism, leading to its destruction, Reckitt said.
(Reporting by Richa Naidu, Editing by Louise Heavens)
LONDON (Reuters) - Reckitt's Lysol disinfectant brand said on Tuesday that it would start selling in the U.S. an "air sanitizing spray" that kills 99.9% of airborne viruses and bacteria.
The spray, which Reckitt said helps reduce the spread of airborne pathogens such as cold, Influenza and Coronavirus, has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Reckitt, Clorox and other disinfectant makers benefited from a boom in sales of surface cleaners and wipes. At the time, there were no products suited to sanitizing air, though some anxious consumers took to spraying surface cleaners into their surroundings.
"We'd actually been investigating previously around air transmission, but I would say that the inflection point was really born out of COVID," Chris Jones, Reckitt's category group director for R&D for Lysol & Harpic.
"We have spoken to other regulators, but I'd say at the moment that the prime focus is really making the U.S. a success and (learning) from the U.S. and then how we can take that elsewhere."
The formula contains active molecules that are hygroscopic in nature, which allows the molecules to attach to microorganisms suspended in the air.
Once attached, the molecules break down the structural membrane of the microorganism, leading to its destruction, Reckitt said.
(Reporting by Richa Naidu, Editing by Louise Heavens)
Opioid death rates tripled for Ontario teens, young adults since 2014, research shows
The Canadian Press
Tue, June 27, 2023
TORONTO — Opioid-related deaths among teens and young adults in Ontario tripled from 2014 to 2021, while drug treatment rates significantly decreased, a new report shows.
Opioid deaths among those aged 15 to 24 surged during the first year of the pandemic to 169 deaths, up from 115 the year before, according to research led by the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network at Unity Health Toronto.
Just 37.1 per cent of teens and young adults who had an opioid use disorder and died from drugs had received any treatment in the last year of the analysis, compared to 48.6 of adults aged 25 to 44, the researchers found.
They found that rates of opioid-related emergency department visits quadrupled in that time.
The Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, Public Health Ontario, the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service and non-profit research institute ICES were also involved in the project that analyzed provincial health-care and demographic data from 2014 to 2021 for the 15-to 24-year-old age group.
During that time, 752 young people died, there were 711 hospitalizations and 5,401 emergency department visits.
The researchers also found that use of medications to treat opioid use disorder fell 50 per cent over those seven years and in-person residential treatment fell 73 per cent.
"It's really a stark comparison of the harms that this demographic is experiencing and how they're accessing treatment and whether the health-care services that we're providing to them are really meeting their needs," said Dr. Tara Gomes, a scientist at Unity Health Toronto who leads the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network.
Fentanyl was found in 94 per cent of those who died from opioids during the pandemic, up 10 percentage points after COVID-19 came to the province.
The researchers also found that only about half of young people who died from opioids had an opioid use disorder, which differs from the overall provincial picture. About two-thirds of all opioid-related deaths occur in those who have that disorder.
This suggests young people have more barriers to accessing treatment, Gomes said. That could be due to physicians being reticent about providing treatment such as methadone or buprenorphine to young people, she said.
Patients may also be reluctant to start a methadone regime, for instance, that requires daily trips to the pharmacy for a process that could last years, Gomes said.
"The other side of it is that we might be seeing increasing harms because teens and young adults are more likely to be using drugs occasionally," Gomes said.
"Our drug supply is incredibly unpredictable and potent, and so if you're only using drugs once in a while, then when you use them, if you are exposed to a very high dose or a drug that has multiple different substances in it, then you can be at really high risk of an overdose."
Gomes said young people are going to experiment with drugs, a reality unlikely to change.
"The unregulated supply being as dangerous as it is, I think that we should be concerned because we know that younger people are going to be accessing that supply," she said.
About one in eight young people who died from opioids were homeless, the report found.
The authors concluded a new approach is needed.
Younger peer support workers could help, Gomes said, as well as looking at treatments such as Sublocade, the injectable form of buprenorphine needed just once a month, as opposed to a daily trip to the pharmacy.
She suggested increasing harm reduction options and education, especially the value of carrying around naloxone, an opioid overdose antidote, and not using drugs alone.
"We found that about two thirds of the deaths that happened in this demographic happened within people's own homes and it was quite rare for people to actually have naloxone administered," Gomes said.
Ontario's chief coroner called the deaths of teens and young adults from opioids "heartbreaking."
"Families and friends have lost loved ones far too soon and the impact will be felt for decades," Dr. Dirk Huyer said in a statement.
"This report underlines the importance of policies that recognize the need for accessible resources, harm reduction services and mental health supports necessary to prevent further opioid-related deaths of teens and young people."
The authors called for more harm reduction options and addressing systemic problems that could be at the root of opioid use.
"Strategies that address upstream risk factors for substance-related harm are warranted, including ensuring access to stable housing, addressing food insecurity, and removing barriers to mental health treatment," the authors wrote.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2023.
Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
The Canadian Press
Tue, June 27, 2023
TORONTO — Opioid-related deaths among teens and young adults in Ontario tripled from 2014 to 2021, while drug treatment rates significantly decreased, a new report shows.
Opioid deaths among those aged 15 to 24 surged during the first year of the pandemic to 169 deaths, up from 115 the year before, according to research led by the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network at Unity Health Toronto.
Just 37.1 per cent of teens and young adults who had an opioid use disorder and died from drugs had received any treatment in the last year of the analysis, compared to 48.6 of adults aged 25 to 44, the researchers found.
They found that rates of opioid-related emergency department visits quadrupled in that time.
The Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, Public Health Ontario, the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service and non-profit research institute ICES were also involved in the project that analyzed provincial health-care and demographic data from 2014 to 2021 for the 15-to 24-year-old age group.
During that time, 752 young people died, there were 711 hospitalizations and 5,401 emergency department visits.
The researchers also found that use of medications to treat opioid use disorder fell 50 per cent over those seven years and in-person residential treatment fell 73 per cent.
"It's really a stark comparison of the harms that this demographic is experiencing and how they're accessing treatment and whether the health-care services that we're providing to them are really meeting their needs," said Dr. Tara Gomes, a scientist at Unity Health Toronto who leads the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network.
Fentanyl was found in 94 per cent of those who died from opioids during the pandemic, up 10 percentage points after COVID-19 came to the province.
The researchers also found that only about half of young people who died from opioids had an opioid use disorder, which differs from the overall provincial picture. About two-thirds of all opioid-related deaths occur in those who have that disorder.
This suggests young people have more barriers to accessing treatment, Gomes said. That could be due to physicians being reticent about providing treatment such as methadone or buprenorphine to young people, she said.
Patients may also be reluctant to start a methadone regime, for instance, that requires daily trips to the pharmacy for a process that could last years, Gomes said.
"The other side of it is that we might be seeing increasing harms because teens and young adults are more likely to be using drugs occasionally," Gomes said.
"Our drug supply is incredibly unpredictable and potent, and so if you're only using drugs once in a while, then when you use them, if you are exposed to a very high dose or a drug that has multiple different substances in it, then you can be at really high risk of an overdose."
Gomes said young people are going to experiment with drugs, a reality unlikely to change.
"The unregulated supply being as dangerous as it is, I think that we should be concerned because we know that younger people are going to be accessing that supply," she said.
About one in eight young people who died from opioids were homeless, the report found.
The authors concluded a new approach is needed.
Younger peer support workers could help, Gomes said, as well as looking at treatments such as Sublocade, the injectable form of buprenorphine needed just once a month, as opposed to a daily trip to the pharmacy.
She suggested increasing harm reduction options and education, especially the value of carrying around naloxone, an opioid overdose antidote, and not using drugs alone.
"We found that about two thirds of the deaths that happened in this demographic happened within people's own homes and it was quite rare for people to actually have naloxone administered," Gomes said.
Ontario's chief coroner called the deaths of teens and young adults from opioids "heartbreaking."
"Families and friends have lost loved ones far too soon and the impact will be felt for decades," Dr. Dirk Huyer said in a statement.
"This report underlines the importance of policies that recognize the need for accessible resources, harm reduction services and mental health supports necessary to prevent further opioid-related deaths of teens and young people."
The authors called for more harm reduction options and addressing systemic problems that could be at the root of opioid use.
"Strategies that address upstream risk factors for substance-related harm are warranted, including ensuring access to stable housing, addressing food insecurity, and removing barriers to mental health treatment," the authors wrote.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2023.
Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
Idris Elba says ‘disgusting’ racism put him off James Bond role
Jamie Bullen
Updated Tue, June 27, 2023
Elba was tipped to become the next James Bond as his fame grew while appearing in Luther
Idris Elba took a picture of himself with Daniel Craig at the 2019 Golden Globes that nodded to the speculation over Elba taking over from Craig as 007
His remarks come despite clamour from some fans for him to replace Craig.
In October, Elba was voted the UK’s number one choice to replace Craig, ranking above actors such as Tom Hardy, Tom Hiddleston, James Norton and Henry Cavill, in a survey carried out by Showcase Cinemas.
Elba has previously distanced himself from playing Bond, insisting it was “not a goal for my career” last September.
Speaking to The Shop podcast alongside Drew Barrymore, he said: “It will definitely satisfy the will of a nation. I’m not gonna lie, every corner of the world I go, and I’m talking about different cultures, they always go ‘Bond,’ and I feel it is beyond me at this junction.
“It’s beyond me. You know, it’s not a question of, should I, do I, will I. It is what the will of the nation dictates sometimes.”
Daniel Craig gave his fifth and final portrayal in 2021 following the release of No Time to Die.
Some fans have speculated that should a female agent become the new 007, the mantle could be taken up by Bond’s own daughter, who is introduced in the latest instalment.
Bond girl Madeleine Swann, played by Lea Seydoux in the last two films, had a child with the spy, who is seen as a young girl in No Time To Die.
Producer Michael G Wilson has responded to such theorising by saying that all ideas on the future of Bond are “valid”.
Jamie Bullen
Updated Tue, June 27, 2023
Elba was tipped to become the next James Bond as his fame grew while appearing in Luther
- John Wilson/Netflix
Idris Elba has revealed he has been put off playing James Bond after being subjected to “disgusting” racism when rumours developed that he would take up the role.
The British actor has long been considered a potential frontrunner to replace Daniel Craig in upcoming Bond films.
However, Elba said the conversation about who should next play the fictional secret agent had been soured by racist reactions from some who claim he cannot play Bond because he is black.
In 2015, the author Anthony Horowitz caused outrage after he said the actor was “too street” to be Bond and later issued an apology.
Now the Luther star has spoken of the ordeal and how it was “off-putting” to the idea of becoming Bond.
‘It became about race’
Speaking to the SmartLess podcast hosted by actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, the 50-year-old said: “The truth is, I was super complimented for a long time about this.
“James Bond... It’s one of those coveted [roles].
“Being asked to be James Bond was like ‘OK, you’ve sort of reached the pinnacle’. That’s one of those things the whole world has a vote in.
“Essentially, it was a huge compliment that every corner of the world except from some corners, which we will not talk about, were really happy about the idea that I could be considered.
“Those that weren’t happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting, because it became about race. It became about nonsense and I got the brunt of it.”
Idris Elba has revealed he has been put off playing James Bond after being subjected to “disgusting” racism when rumours developed that he would take up the role.
The British actor has long been considered a potential frontrunner to replace Daniel Craig in upcoming Bond films.
However, Elba said the conversation about who should next play the fictional secret agent had been soured by racist reactions from some who claim he cannot play Bond because he is black.
In 2015, the author Anthony Horowitz caused outrage after he said the actor was “too street” to be Bond and later issued an apology.
Now the Luther star has spoken of the ordeal and how it was “off-putting” to the idea of becoming Bond.
‘It became about race’
Speaking to the SmartLess podcast hosted by actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, the 50-year-old said: “The truth is, I was super complimented for a long time about this.
“James Bond... It’s one of those coveted [roles].
“Being asked to be James Bond was like ‘OK, you’ve sort of reached the pinnacle’. That’s one of those things the whole world has a vote in.
“Essentially, it was a huge compliment that every corner of the world except from some corners, which we will not talk about, were really happy about the idea that I could be considered.
“Those that weren’t happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting, because it became about race. It became about nonsense and I got the brunt of it.”
Idris Elba took a picture of himself with Daniel Craig at the 2019 Golden Globes that nodded to the speculation over Elba taking over from Craig as 007
His remarks come despite clamour from some fans for him to replace Craig.
In October, Elba was voted the UK’s number one choice to replace Craig, ranking above actors such as Tom Hardy, Tom Hiddleston, James Norton and Henry Cavill, in a survey carried out by Showcase Cinemas.
Elba has previously distanced himself from playing Bond, insisting it was “not a goal for my career” last September.
Speaking to The Shop podcast alongside Drew Barrymore, he said: “It will definitely satisfy the will of a nation. I’m not gonna lie, every corner of the world I go, and I’m talking about different cultures, they always go ‘Bond,’ and I feel it is beyond me at this junction.
“It’s beyond me. You know, it’s not a question of, should I, do I, will I. It is what the will of the nation dictates sometimes.”
Daniel Craig gave his fifth and final portrayal in 2021 following the release of No Time to Die.
Some fans have speculated that should a female agent become the new 007, the mantle could be taken up by Bond’s own daughter, who is introduced in the latest instalment.
Bond girl Madeleine Swann, played by Lea Seydoux in the last two films, had a child with the spy, who is seen as a young girl in No Time To Die.
Producer Michael G Wilson has responded to such theorising by saying that all ideas on the future of Bond are “valid”.
REAGAN'S SOLDIER OF FORTUNE INVASION
How a dysfunctional mission in the Caribbean became 'the pivotal point' for the creation of US Special Operations CommandStavros Atlamazoglou
Tue, June 27, 2023
A US Marine Corps UH-1N helicopter during Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada on October 25, 1983.US Defense Department/Spc. Douglas Ide
In October 1983, US troops invaded Grenada, a small island in the Caribbean.
While it was an overall success, the operation had missteps that lead to failures and casualties.
Those problems helped spur the creation of US Special Operations Command several years later.
Today, the US special-operations community operates like a well-oiled machine, rescuing hostages and taking down terrorist leaders whenever and wherever needed. To get to that level of capability, America's commandos have had to make mistakes and learn bloody lessons.
The pivotal point for their development came during a mission in the Caribbean nearly 40 years ago, when competing commands and conflicting priorities created disarray on the ground and prompted significant change in the way the US special-operations forces were organized and led.
Operation Urgent Fury
US troops exit a landing craft at the start of the invasion of Grenada on October 25, 1983.Peter Carrette Archive/Getty Images
The 1980s were a transitional period for the US special-operations community. In April 1980, an operation to rescue US hostages in Tehran, known as Operation Eagle Claw, had failed, leaving several US troops dead.
Eagle Claw went awry for several reasons, including an overly complex plan and poor coordination between units that had little experience working together, but it pushed the Pentagon to create Joint Special Operations Command in December 1980.
JSOC brought the top special-operations units, including Delta Force and SEAL Team 6, under one roof. Three years later, JSOC faced one of its first major challenges.
In September 1983, turmoil within the communist government of Grenada, including the killing of the prime minister by a rival faction, alarmed the Reagan administration, which was already concerned about Grenada's relations with Cuba and the Soviet Union.
Claiming a need to protect some 600 American medical students on the island, the US military intervened in October, launching Operation Urgent Fury alongside security forces from several Caribbean nations. According to Maj. Gen. Richard Scholtes, the first commander of Joint Special Operations Command, US military officers involved in the planning soon butted heads.
US soldiers search houses on the second day of the US invasion of Grenada in October 1983.jean-Louis Atlan/Sygma via Getty Images
In mid-October, the leaders of US Atlantic Command and JSOC were both tasked with developing plans to invade the island and capture key targets, setting the stage for future disagreements. (The Pentagon eventually assigned Atlantic Command to lead the operation.)
The operation was soon expanded to include the US Marine Corps, which required a shuffling of units and their assigned targets.
According to Scholtes, other factors complicated the planning. The CIA was unable to determine if an under-construction runway on the island was long enough to support US military aircraft. The State Department also insisted that political prisoners held at Richmond Hill Prison be freed, adding a difficult assault mission to JSOC's list.
The US special-operations side of the operation began tragically when four members of the elite SEAL Team 6 drowned in heavy seas while trying to conduct a reconnaissance mission on the under-construction runway two days before the main invasion kicked off on October 25.
The invasion itself began with a misstep, with all of the assault forces arriving "separately, late, and in the most undesirable order," Philip Kukielski, author of "The US Invasion of Grenada: Legacy of a Flawed Victory," wrote in a recent issue of the Air Commando Journal.
A US Marine Corps CH-46F helicopter downed by anti-aircraft fire in Grenada, seen on October 29, 1983.US Defense Department
Early on October 25, Rangers from the 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions captured Porto Salines International Airport with a combat jump under heavy fire. Meanwhile, frogmen from SEAL Team 4 captured the smaller Pearls airport and held it until they were relieved by Marines.
A task force of Delta Force operators, Rangers, and helicopters from the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment also attacked Fort Rupert and Richmond Hill Prison. In Fort Rupert, US commandos captured several members of the island's leadership, but the attempt to release political prisoners at Richmond Hill prison failed after the task force encountered extremely heavy fire from the ground.
SEAL Team 6 operators captured the Radio Free Grenada station but soon came under assault from Grenadian forces in armored vehicles. The SEALs retreated to the sea and were eventually picked up by US ships. Another SEAL Team 6 element tried to rescue Paul Scoon, Grenada's governor-general, from his mansion but was pinned down by Grenadian mechanized infantry for over 24 hours before Marines relieved them.
Although US forces successfully completed Operation Urgent Fury in four days, the US special-operations units involved faced many difficulties. The lack of credible intelligence and poor cooperation between units caused casualties and failures.
US special-operations troops took "a disproportionate number" of the casualties, according to Kukielski, and Scholtes later wrote that the mission "came so very close to being a complete disaster."
From Grenada to SOCOM
The US flag flies near soldiers manning 105mm howitzers at the Point Salinas airport in Grenada on October 27, 1983.Bettmann/Getty Images
Urgent Fury was pulled into a debate about the organization of the Pentagon that had begun long before US troops landed in Grenada.
Spurred on by testimony from Scholtes in 1986, lawmakers created US Special Operations Command as a new unified combatant command, led by a four-star commander, to bring the special-operations community together and elevate its status within the Pentagon.
Formally established in 1987, SOCOM, which now oversees JSOC, has been central to many US military operations, but its formation wasn't a given. The Pentagon was lobbying hard against it.
Flag-draped coffins of 22 US troops, 15 killed in the Beirut bombing and seven in the Grenada invasion, at Dover Air Force Base on October 30, 1983.Bettmann/Getty Images
"The Pentagon was waging a frontal and rear assault in opposition to the creation of a special operations command," William Cohen said in the mid-2000s, according to Kukielski's article.
Cohen, a senator at the time who later served secretary of defense, was a namesake of the Nunn-Cohen Amendment that brought SOCOM to life.
Without Scholtes' testimony, SOCOM "might not have happened, or we might have created a command with only two or three stars," Cohen added. "Once he testified on what took place in Grenada — that was the pivotal point."
Ships in the Persian Gulf in August 1987.Eric BOUVET/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
SOCOM was put to the test for the first time in 1987, when SEALs, Naval Special Warfare Combatant-Craft crewmen, and the Night Stalkers of the 160th SOAR began Operation Prime Chance.
For nearly two years, the American commandos worked to keep Iranian forces from interrupting the movement of oil tankers through the Persian Gulf. The operation was a success and much-needed proof that the military's different special-operations tribes could play together.
Today, the US special-operations community is arguably the most capable in the world. Its rise to the top hasn't been easy, but the lessons learned in Grenada and the operations since then have made it better and more effective.
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. He is working toward a master's degree in strategy and cybersecurity at Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies.
Disney beats investor lawsuit over feud with DeSantis
FILE PHOTO: Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando
By Tom Hals
FILE PHOTO: Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando
By Tom Hals
Tue, June 27, 2023
WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co board did not act negligently when it criticized a sexual identity bill signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Delaware judge ruled on Tuesday, in a case the judge said was improperly directed by a conservative legal group.
The ruling by Lori Will of Delaware's Court of Chancery means that Disney will not have to turn over internal records including years of board members' emails sought by shareholder Kenneth Simeone, who sued Disney in December.
The shareholder said he wanted the records to investigate possible wrongdoing by directors in connection with the company's decision to criticize the 2022 law, which critics have derided as the "don't say gay" law.
While Will said it might turn out to have been a bad business decision, the evidence at trial showed directors did not allow their personal views to dictate the company's response to the bill.
The judge said Simeone cannot use a provision of Delaware corporate law meant to empower shareholders to investigate boardroom wrongdoing to "search for hypothetical conflicts."
Disney's criticism touched off a war of words with DeSantis and led to the state removing the company's control of a special administrative district that promotes development around the Walt Disney World resort.
DeSantis, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, has used his battle against what he calls "woke Disney" to raise his national profile.
Will also found that the lawsuit was brought to benefit the Thomas More Society, a non-profit law firm that champions conservative causes that was paying Simeone's legal costs. Simeone's lawyer, Paul Jonna, is a special counsel for the organization.
"The plaintiff’s counsel and the Thomas More Society are entitled to their beliefs," Will wrote, adding that a corporate records lawsuit "is not a vehicle to advance them."
Simeone, Jonna and Disney did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Jamie Freed)
WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co board did not act negligently when it criticized a sexual identity bill signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Delaware judge ruled on Tuesday, in a case the judge said was improperly directed by a conservative legal group.
The ruling by Lori Will of Delaware's Court of Chancery means that Disney will not have to turn over internal records including years of board members' emails sought by shareholder Kenneth Simeone, who sued Disney in December.
The shareholder said he wanted the records to investigate possible wrongdoing by directors in connection with the company's decision to criticize the 2022 law, which critics have derided as the "don't say gay" law.
While Will said it might turn out to have been a bad business decision, the evidence at trial showed directors did not allow their personal views to dictate the company's response to the bill.
The judge said Simeone cannot use a provision of Delaware corporate law meant to empower shareholders to investigate boardroom wrongdoing to "search for hypothetical conflicts."
Disney's criticism touched off a war of words with DeSantis and led to the state removing the company's control of a special administrative district that promotes development around the Walt Disney World resort.
DeSantis, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, has used his battle against what he calls "woke Disney" to raise his national profile.
Will also found that the lawsuit was brought to benefit the Thomas More Society, a non-profit law firm that champions conservative causes that was paying Simeone's legal costs. Simeone's lawyer, Paul Jonna, is a special counsel for the organization.
"The plaintiff’s counsel and the Thomas More Society are entitled to their beliefs," Will wrote, adding that a corporate records lawsuit "is not a vehicle to advance them."
Simeone, Jonna and Disney did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Jamie Freed)
Rio Tinto to Build Batteries in Melbourne to Test Green Tech
James Fernyhough
Tue, June 27, 2023
(Bloomberg) -- Rio Tinto Group plans to start building its own batteries at a laboratory in Melbourne later this year to experiment with technologies in the rapidly-growing clean energy sector.
The world’s second-biggest miner aims to be a major producer of lithium and other battery metals.
The laboratory will deepen Rio’s “skills and expertise and ultimately enhance our customer proposition,” Chief Executive of Minerals Sinead Kaufman said at a conference in Brisbane on Wednesday.
“At this lab we will build our own batteries, allowing us to test how our minerals and other products will perform in real-world applications, such as in electric vehicle batteries,” she said, adding that the laboratory would be operational from November.
The Anglo-Australian miner doesn’t intend to become a commercial battery manufacturer, a Rio spokesman said.
An iron ore, copper and aluminum miner, Rio doesn’t currently produce any lithium. But it has put the material, a core component in EV batteries, at the center of its future growth plans. It has a lithium project in Argentina and hopes to develop what would be Europe’s largest lithium mine in Serbia, despite having its application blocked by authorities there early this year.
Small to mid-sized miners still dominate the lithium sector, with big names like Rio yet to make an impact. However, many in the industry expect a run of consolidation in coming years, and Rio is thought to be among those hunting for acquisitions.
James Fernyhough
Tue, June 27, 2023
(Bloomberg) -- Rio Tinto Group plans to start building its own batteries at a laboratory in Melbourne later this year to experiment with technologies in the rapidly-growing clean energy sector.
The world’s second-biggest miner aims to be a major producer of lithium and other battery metals.
The laboratory will deepen Rio’s “skills and expertise and ultimately enhance our customer proposition,” Chief Executive of Minerals Sinead Kaufman said at a conference in Brisbane on Wednesday.
“At this lab we will build our own batteries, allowing us to test how our minerals and other products will perform in real-world applications, such as in electric vehicle batteries,” she said, adding that the laboratory would be operational from November.
The Anglo-Australian miner doesn’t intend to become a commercial battery manufacturer, a Rio spokesman said.
An iron ore, copper and aluminum miner, Rio doesn’t currently produce any lithium. But it has put the material, a core component in EV batteries, at the center of its future growth plans. It has a lithium project in Argentina and hopes to develop what would be Europe’s largest lithium mine in Serbia, despite having its application blocked by authorities there early this year.
Small to mid-sized miners still dominate the lithium sector, with big names like Rio yet to make an impact. However, many in the industry expect a run of consolidation in coming years, and Rio is thought to be among those hunting for acquisitions.
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