Undue influence? Anonymous donations to World Health Organization's new foundation raise concerns

Story by The Canadian Press • Thursday, July 20, 2023


Nearly 40% of the money raised by the WHO Foundation in its first two years came from anonymous sources, worrying some that donors may be trying to influence the World Health Organization and its role in shaping global health policy with their gifts.

The foundation, launched in 2020 to help raise private sector funds for the WHO, said it received $66 million in direct gifts through 2022, with $26 million coming from donors who chose not to be publicly named. Anil Soni, WHO Foundation CEO, told The Associated Press the foundation’s board, which includes a representative from the WHO, knows the donors' identities and that the foundation will not accept a gift if there is a conflict of interest.

“They want to be anonymous because they’re otherwise solicited or even targeted because they’re seen to be a source of wealth,” Soni said in an interview. “And I respect that.”

The foundation, which is based in Switzerland, is not required to disclose its donors.

Some global health practitioners worry anonymous donations make it harder to spot potential conflicts of interest. They say companies may donate to the foundation to influence the WHO's global health policies and reports that often have wide-ranging ramifications. For example, food and beverage companies took note last week when two branches of the WHO found that the sweetener aspartame — used in diet soda and countless foods — may be a “possible” cause of cancer.

“For the integrity of the WHO, I think it’s really important that there’s some greater transparency around this,” said Sophie Harman, professor of international politics at Queen Mary University of London, of the anonymous donations, which include a single anonymous gift of $20 million to the foundation’s operating expenses.

Private and philanthropic funding have long supported other large global health organizations like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, but Harman said the WHO has stood out as the publicly funded body that also sets standards across all areas of health.

“This is a big step change for the WHO that it’s now doing this,” Harman said.

The bulk of the WHO’s funding comes from governments. But in 2020 with the onslaught of the pandemic and then-President Donald Trump's move to withdraw from the WHO, many hoped the WHO Foundation might generate new financing from wealthy individuals, the private sector and public fundraising campaigns.

Soni, the first leader of the foundation, has become an evangelist of sorts for bringing in new private sources of funding for the WHO. A veteran of major global health organizations like the Global Fund and the Clinton Health Access Initiative, he most recently worked eight years at the pharmaceutical company Viatris.

Soni said he is committed to transparency. The foundation published a list of donors and their donations online, including the anonymous ones. Soni pointed to the foundation’s gift acceptance and whistleblower policies as examples of how it guards against undue outside influence. It also bundles gifts to support specific work, such as the WHO’s Ukraine and COVID-19 responses.

“What they’ve set out in their gift policy is a really good start,” said Quinn Grundy, assistant professor with the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto, who has studied the interactions of industry with health systems. She also encouraged the foundation to decline gifts from donors who do not want to be publicly named.

The WHO already receives private support from major philanthropies, like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which directs much of its donations toward eradicating polio. The WHO Foundation does not aim to redirect that support, but rather motivate new donors.

Among the companies that have donated to the foundation are Meta, the parent company of Facebook, medical technology company Masimo Corp., luxury travel company DFS Group, and food giant Nestle. That donation elicited outcry from some global health professionals because of Nestle’s history of marketing baby formula. WHO guidelines advocate for breastfeeding and say that formula should be available when needed, but not be promoted.

The foundation eventually reallocated Nestle’s $2.1 million donation to the vaccine-sharing initiative COVAX rather than to the WHO’s COVID-19 response. Nestle did not comment on the donation but said it complies with national laws on marketing formula. It has also voluntarily extended a policy not to promote formula for babies up to six months to all countries, including those like the U.S. that do not have regulations, among other commitments.

“Any donor to the WHO, whether a company or a government, the entirety of what they’re doing is not necessarily going to be compliant with WHO norms and standards,” Soni said, adding that the foundation’s acceptance of those gifts should not limit the WHO’s ability to hold those countries or companies accountable.

Another new vehicle that the foundation has created is an impact investment fund, which launched last year. The Global Health Equity Fund will be run by the Israeli-venture group OurCrowd and seeks to raise $200 million to invest in “breakthrough” technologies for health care and in industries that impact health, like energy and agriculture. The foundation will not select the investments but will work with companies to make their technologies accessible and appropriate for markets in low- and middle-income countries.

Javier Guzman, director of global health policy at the Center for Global Development, thinks it is inappropriate that the WHO Foundation is involved with the development of any technology that might eventually be evaluated by the WHO, which he said has the power to shape industries and markets.

“The foundation should not be associated with any global venture firm, should not be associated with picking winners and deciding what companies and what technologies should or should not be developed,” Guzman said.

Soni responded that “The WHO Foundation does not ‘pick winners’, but we are helping to make more bets to encourage innovative solutions to save lives.”

He pointed to his experience working on access to treatments for HIV and AIDS as one motivation for the fund. While great strides have been made, he said, it generally takes years for new medications and interventions to reach poorer countries. The fund will ask the companies it invests in to make a plan to incorporate those countries into their business models.

“Too often in these debates about development, whether it’s health, education or climate, we’re focused on public capital or charitable capital,” said Soni, adding the foundation is seeking to influence return-seeking capital to be better aligned with public good.

___

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Thalia Beaty, The Associated Press

Indigenous artifacts that may be up to 4,500 years old found in downtown Hamilton park

Story by Bobby Hristova • CBC - Jun 28, 2023

Indigenous artifacts that may be up to 4,523 years old have been found in a downtown Hamilton park, city officials say.

An archeological dig at Victoria Park, where the city is also installing a spray pad, unearthed a stemmed point and triangular point both made of stone. The city said they may be up to 4,523 and 1,523 years old, respectively. Five flint flakes were also found.

There are also artifacts that aren't Indigenous, including an 1859 Queen Victoria coin, a 16th Regiment military button made in 1860 and a carved-bone, single domino piece.

Wes Kindree, the city's landscape architectural services supervisor, said archeological work has been done at the park since 2007 because of its "rich history."

The discovery of Indigenous artifacts in early June was unexpected because the area was supposedly a "Euro-Canadian site," according to Kindree.

Within its history, the park was also home to the "glass-enclosed" Crystal Palace, which, according to the Hamilton Public Library, opened in 1860 and was "used year round for agricultural and industrial exhibits."



The archeological dig that uncovered the Indigenous artifacts was at Victoria Park, where the city is also installing a spray pad. (Bobby Hristova/CBC)© Provided by cbc.ca

It's not surprising Indigenous artifacts have been found near the city's core, said Rick Monture, a McMaster University associate professor in the departments of English, cultural and Indigenous studies.

Monture, who is also a member of the Mohawk Nation, Turtle clan, from Six Nations of the Grand River, said most towns and cities in southern Ontario were built on Indigenous villages because of their access to clean water and their esthetic qualities.

"You could probably put a shovel in any city block and find something of note," he said.

Indigenous artifacts have been found in the Red Hill Valley in Hamilton and, more recently, in the present-day Mount Albion West area.

Only licensed archeologists are allowed to investigate and excavate archeological sites, which are protected under the Ontario Heritage Act. Anyone looting or destroying the sites can face up to a $1-million fine.

Monture said the artifacts in Victoria Park may not have a tonne of cultural significance, so the city should do their due diligence but may not need to halt work for a long time.



European artifacts found at the park include a carved bone domino, alphabet ware and an 1859 Queen Victoria coin. 

(Submitted by the City of Hamilton)

"If they'd found human remains … or evidence of a village … that's one thing, but these are probably arrow points that a guy took a shot at a deer [with] and missed," he said.

Lauren Vastano, a city spokesperson, said the city contacted Huron Wendat First Nation, Six Nations of the Grand River, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and Haudenosaunee Development Institute to share the artifact findings and invite them to help with the rest of the archeological work.

Kindree said the archeological work was set for this week, but may be done next week due to the wet weather changing soil conditions.

He said the spray pad won't be open this year, but should be ready for next May.

Nova Scotia hasn’t built public housing in 30 years. Why that was a ‘huge mistake’

Story by Alex Cooke •Global News- Jun 26, 2023

Ahern Manor, a public housing building, is seen on Gottingen Street in Halifax on June 21, 2023.© Alex Cooke/Global News

As Nova Scotia continues to grapple with affordability and housing crises, experts are questioning the government’s failure to build new public housing units in nearly three decades.

“If you consider housing as a human right – as a basic foundational structure for your citizenship – yes, it’s a huge mistake,” said Jeff Karabanow, a professor at Dalhousie University and the co-director of Dal’s Social Work Community Clinic.

Public housing is residential space owned and operated by the government, with rent based on a household’s income rather than market rates. It is one part of the “social housing” sector, which also includes co-op and non-profit housing.

Nova Scotia has around 11,200 public housing units and the average age of the structures is 42 years. The last significant public housing project was completed in 1995.

Karabanow said across the country, public housing construction dwindled after the federal government ended a funding partnership with the provinces in 1993.

At the time, he said, the sentiment was that the private market would step in and provide forms of housing for all – part of the “trickle-down economics platform that rarely materializes,” he said.

It didn’t materialize in this case.

“We’ve seen huge increases of people living on the streets; we’ve seen huge increases of folks that are in core housing need,” said Karabanow.

“We’re seeing lots of segments of low-income and middle-income populations that are struggling to find any form of housing.”

More public housing the ‘only way forward’

While Nova Scotia’s housing crunch reached peak crisis levels during COVID-19, advocates say they have been concerned about the dwindling affordable housing supply for years.

“Even pre-COVID, we were extremely concerned with the levels of folks that were on the streets that had nowhere left to go,” said Karabanow. “And that kind of was the beginning of really seeing the outcrop of a disinvestment in any form of social or public housing mechanism.”

There were 4,790 applicants waiting for a public housing unit as of January 2023 – the most recent data made available by the province – a figure representing more than 40 per cent of the total public housing units in the province.

The January numbers are actually a 30 per cent reduction from June 2022, when there were 6,625 applicants on the waitlist.

The province attributes the decrease in part to IT upgrades, as well as a “strong focus” on unit turnaround – “that is, getting vacant units back in service quickly once someone has moved out.”

“We are cautiously optimistic to see the number of applicants on our waitlist decreasing, but the list is fluid and can change,” a spokesperson for the Department of Housing said in a statement.

There is an average two-year wait time to get into a public housing unit, though the statement said that includes both ends of the “wait time spectrum” and most clients wait for a unit for less than two years.

Wait times can vary because clients can either wait for specific communities or buildings, or broaden their options and get in quicker.

The province has said it has no plans to build new public housing units, instead focusing its efforts on improving its current public housing stock.

“We know our units are aging and we are making historical and record investments to improve and preserve them,” the Department of Housing statement said.

“Over the next four years, the province will invest over $50 million in capital funding for major repairs and maintenance. Together with operational funding, we will spend approximately $56 million on public housing this year alone.

“This investment will touch over 7,700 units; more than two-thirds of our public housing portfolio.”

But Karabanow said the province should be doing both – maintaining existing units while also building new public housing units to address demand.

“It’s the only way forward,” he said.

Core housing need

According to the 2021 Statistics Canada census, one-in-10 Nova Scotia households were considered to be in core housing need – households who “live in an unsuitable, inadequate or unaffordable dwelling and cannot afford alternative housing in their community.” An unaffordable dwelling is defined as a household that spends more than 30 per cent of their income on housing.

The difference in core housing needs between those who own their homes and those who rent is staggering. While five per cent of Nova Scotia homeowners were described as being in core housing need, that number is 20 per cent for renters.

Once known as a province with relatively low housing prices, Nova Scotia has seen its rent prices explode in recent years. Last year, Halifax had the highest year-over-year increase in rent prices out of all Canadian cities.

According to the latest national report from Rentals.ca, the average price of a one-bedroom apartment in Halifax was $1,855 in June, with two-bedroom apartments going for an average of $2,141.

Ren Thomas, an associate professor at Dalhousie’s School of Planning whose research focuses on rental housing policy, non-profit and co-op housing, said there isn’t enough rental housing in general.

She said the percentage of households seeking to rent in Nova Scotia is increasing because homeownership is getting increasingly out of reach.

“There’s always been an assumption that people would only need these options (rentals) for a short time … that it’s just kind of a temporary thing and eventually people will own houses,” she said.

“Across most advanced economies, it’s not the case anymore.”

Video: Not enough homes for renters

While many Canadian cities have set records in the past few years for housing construction, rental housing is still nowhere near keeping up with demand. And the housing that is being built just isn’t attainable for many people on low-to-moderate incomes.

“Most governments are not planning for the people they have. They’re planning for the people they want to have, and they want to have high-income people,” Thomas explained.

“They don’t want people who earn very little.”

However, she noted that those at the lower end of the income spectrum – such as those working in retail and grocery – are “definitely essential to how our cities function” and are just as deserving of a home.

“It’s a very weak link between the actual households that live here, and the units that are being built.”

The increasing unaffordability of rental housing is driving the demand for public and other forms of low-income housing, but there just isn’t enough supply.

Thomas said in addition to the stagnating public housing stock, there’s also been little growth in the non-profit and co-operative housing sectors, which can provide more affordable options for different groups like those fleeing domestic violence and people with disabilities.

“So housing for all of those groups has really decreased in the last 30 years, 40 years, really. And that’s something that the private market doesn’t provide very well,” she said.

“Private market developers are great at providing housing for anyone in the top, let’s say, 20 per cent of incomes, but not so great at providing it for anyone else.”

In a May 2021 report, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives recommended the province build or acquire 33,490 non-market rental units by developing and funding a 10-year plan to expand the stock of permanently affordable, non-profit and co-op housing.

“Providing shelter predominantly via the private marketplace is at odds with shelter being both a human right and a major social determinant of health, particularly considering the extent to which households live in poverty in Nova Scotia,” the report said.

According to data from the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia, there were 921 actively homeless people in the Halifax area as of June 20 – an increase of nearly 300 since this time last year.

Both Karabanow and Thomas noted that housing affordability issues are being seen across the country, not just in Nova Scotia.

When ‘affordable’ housing isn’t affordable

The National Housing Strategy – a 10-year, $82-billion plan introduced in 2017 – is touted as the “largest and most ambitious federal housing program in Canadian history.”

Through a number of different programs and initiatives, the strategy provides funding for developers, municipalities and provinces to construct new housing and modernize existing units.

The National Housing Strategy website said the federal government is “re-engaging in affordable housing,” and the strategy “provides a platform for the public, private and non-profit sectors to come together.”

But the strategy doesn’t make clear what exactly “affordable housing” means.

Video: Advocates call for public housing funding in Halifax amid skyrocketing rent

A Parliamentary Budget Office report from February 2023 noted that there is “no standard definition of affordability” in the National Housing Strategy – “rather, each program uses its own unique definition, which can lead to the construction of units presented as ‘affordable’ but which in reality may require households to devote more than 30 per cent of their income to housing.”

One of its major programs, the Rental Construction Financing Initiative, assesses affordability relative to median before-tax income at the family level in a given census metropolitan area, which “does not account for the fact that renters generally have lower incomes than homeowners.”

“With this definition, ‘affordable’ rent can be much higher than what renters can afford based on their income.”

Meanwhile, the strategy’s National Housing Co-Investment Fund defines affordable rent as rent that is less than or equal to 80 per cent of median market rent.

This could “lead to the creation of units that are unaffordable for Canadians, since it is possible to pay below-market rent and still spend more than 30 per cent of household income on rent.”

And the Rapid Housing Initiative defines affordable as less than 30 per cent of gross income for targeted groups. The report said these units are “likely to be more affordable” than units supported by the previous two programs.

Video: N.S. to help create 24 housing units in Annapolis Valley

Karabanow said these varying definitions of affordability can muddy the waters when it comes to creating affordable housing for those who need it the most.

“We can’t forget extremely low-income assistance rates here, extremely low minimum-wage rates here as well. That all impacts this idea of affordability,” he said.

“So the idea of keeping it at 30 per cent of somebody’s income, at least that metes out a more universal sense to what people can afford or not.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which oversees the National Housing Strategy, said more than 175 units of permanent, affordable units were created across Nova Scotia in the first two rounds of the Rapid Housing Initiative – which are priced based on income rather than market rates.

The federal government will also invest $1.5 billion in developing new co-op housing, which will be the largest investment in co-op housing in 30 years.

“To ensure affordability for everyone, we need a drastic increase in housing supply, particularly rental, and more supply of social and affordable housing,” the statement said.

More than $500 million will also be distributed through the multilateral Housing Partnership Framework to “protect, renew and expand community housing.”

More units, more money

Thomas said while the National Housing Strategy provides some money to help maintain and refurbish existing public housing units, there’s “very little set aside for actual construction of new, affordable units.”

After the federal government froze funding for new public housing back in the 90s, some areas – such as Quebec, B.C., and Ontario – have been working on expanding their own social and public housing projects.

But taking the lead on public housing is more of a challenge in a smaller, less populous province like Nova Scotia, which has less money to go around.

“Building housing is extremely expensive. The average cost of building an apartment unit – it varies, but it’s somewhere in the range of $200,000 per unit,” Thomas said. “And maintaining even a public housing unit … (is) pretty much in the range of $20,000, $25,000 per unit per year.”

Video: Halifax mayor wants long-term plan to address affordable housing

But Thomas said another thing to consider is the impact of homelessness and core housing needs on other areas of public spending, such as health care.

“If someone has a stable place to live, they use the health-care system less, their health is better, their mental health is better,” she said.

“We should be thinking this way, as Canadians, because we have a public health-care system … if people don’t have stable housing, their health is often the first thing that is more precarious.”

Karabanow noted that governments have “dumped huge amounts of money in emergency, Band-Aid approaches” like shelters, rather than “taking the leap” and investing in sustainable long-term approaches like accessible, truly affordable housing.

He acknowledged it wouldn’t be easy.

“Spending money for any government is not seen as a very viable platform for re-election,” he said. “It just isn’t the way that politics and elections allow for any type of far-reaching and deeper foresight.”

Video: ‘Huge amounts’ of money going to ‘Band-Aid approaches’

Maintaining and improving existing stock

In an interview, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr said Nova Scotia has one of the highest concentrations of public housing units in the country, with about 11 units per thousand people.

“We’ve got a very good stock of public housing in terms of the numbers, but we know we have a lot of need to maintain and improve it,” he said.

The province’s public housing stock is managed by the Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency, a Crown corporation created last year following a damning auditor general report that found the stock was poorly managed by the province’s five former housing authorities.

Lohr noted the province is spending $50 million over the next four years to improve its current public housing stock and upgrade its management system, which was called for in the auditor general report and in a 2021 report by the Affordable Housing Commission, which Thomas worked on.

“We’re reorganizing everything on the human side, and we’re also changing the organization on how we renovate them and update them, and how we track them, and how we manage the whole stock of public housing,” he said.

Video: Nova Scotia plans to create single Crown corporation to oversee public housing

While the province is firm on its decision to not build new public housing, Lohr said the province is helping to expand its non-profit and cooperative housing sector.

He said in recent years, their efforts have touched about a thousand non-profit and co-op housing units through programs such as Compass, the Housing Trust of Nova Scotia, and the Land for Housing Initiative.

He couldn’t say how many of those units were rent-geared-to-income but said they were a mix of different options with more affordable rates.

In terms of “affordable” units going for 80 per cent of market value – a figure typically touted on housing announcements in Nova Scotia – Lohr said it “doesn’t work for some people, but for those it works for, it’s incredibly important.”

“We’re interacting in just a really broad number of ways in the housing crisis,” he said.

A ‘wicked problem’

Karabanow said while it’s “very, very important” for the province to invest in things like land trusts and co-ops, they make up a smaller proportion of the social housing sector and can be a “huge burden” for non-profits and other entities to run.

He said in order to truly diversify communities and create healthy, mixed-use neighbourhoods as the province’s population grows, more public housing units are desperately needed.

“Government’s role in a pluralistic society is to provide for all, where we see deep, deep gaps,” he said.

“I can’t think of a larger, wicked problem now, as sociologists call it, than our housing structures.”

Demand for biofuels sparks Canadian boom. But will U.S. subsidies pull investment south?

Story by Paula Duhatschek • CBC - Jul 12, 2023

Canada's biofuel industry is seeing a major uptick in investment spurred on by growing global demand for biofuel and, in particular, the implementation of the country's new Clean Fuel Regulations.

In recent years, much of the investment in Canada's biofuel sector has targeted the production of renewable diesel, a biomass-based fuel that is chemically equivalent to petroleum diesel and can either be blended with it or used as a replacement fuel.

As that industry grows, so does Canada's canola processing sector. Canola is a popular low-carbon feedstock for renewable diesel that can be grown in large quantities, often near the refineries where it's being processed.

But the boom times could end as quickly as they began thanks to a new tax credit coming through the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). A manufacturing vacuum that's already sucking investment in clean tech down south could claim Canadian biofuel production as its next victim.

"If [the credit] goes ahead as proposed, it's a full-on wrench [in the Canadian industry]," said Ian Thomson, president of Advanced Biofuels Canada, a lobby group.

Growing investment

Just this year, construction wrapped up on Canada's first renewable diesel refinery in Prince George, B.C., Saskatchewan's Covenant Energy announced plans to move ahead with a renewable diesel facility on the edge of Lloydminster and Imperial Oil committed $720 million to build a renewable diesel project near Edmonton.

Investment has been driven in part by provincial policies, like B.C.'s low-carbon fuel standards, and by Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations. The federal regulations came into effect this month and require liquid fossil fuel suppliers to gradually reduce the carbon emissions from the fuels they produce and sell over time.

Companies can choose for themselves how they meet these targets — such as by building a carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility at one of their refineries or offering electric vehicle charging. One of the main ways transportation fuel suppliers plan to do so is by blending biofuels into their product.

"That's a primary topic right now," said David Schick, vice-president of Western Canada and regulatory affairs for the Canadian Fuels Association, which represents companies that process crude oil and bring products to the market.

"Our members who provide most of the transportation fuel in Canada, up to about 95 per cent are coming up with ways to have more biofuels in the fuel mix in order to meet compliance obligations."

Interest in renewable diesel is also growing south of the border, due to the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard and state-level policies in California, Washington and Oregon.

Canola crush plants in the works

All that demand has been good news for Canadian canola producers. While renewable diesel can also be made with soybeans, animal fats, used cooking oil and even algae, the canola industry has been an enthusiastic supporter of the renewable fuel sector as a market for canola.

Since 2021, there have been five major canola crushing announcements in the Prairies. Together, they're expected to increase the country's canola crush capacity by seven million metric tonnes — about 60 per cent above current levels, according to the Canola Council of Canada.


Jeff Nielsen, owner of JE Nielsen Farms near Olds, Alta., says greater demand for biofuel means a more diverse market for his product. 

(Paula Duhatschek/CBC)

At least one of those plants, in north Regina, is slated to be co-located with a renewable diesel facility.

Jeff Nielsen, who farms canola, wheat and barley near Olds, Alta., says that's good news for his business.

He sees the Clean Fuel Regulations as a step in the right direction: a way to reduce the carbon emissions from the diesel he uses in farming while potentially making use of the canola he grows on the farm.

If the canola can also be processed and refined in Canada, so much the better, he said.

"The more we can keep here and crush here, we add more jobs here," said Nielsen. "So it's a great value-added proposition."

IRA will be 'double hit'

The looming threat on the horizon is a new U.S. tax credit that could pull investment down south.

Starting in 2025, the Clean Fuel Production Credit, part of the IRA, will offer a significant tax incentive to U.S. producers of clean transportation fuels, even those bound for export.

At the same time, the U.S. will phase out a blenders' tax credit that Canadian producers could previously access, Thomson said.

"It's a double hit," said Thomson. "Not only do Canadians lose access to the American market because they can't compete, Canadian producers are highly likely to not be able to compete in our own backyard because, essentially, subsidized American product will be coming into our market and undercutting Canadian producers."

Already, Calgary-based Parkland Corporation has scrapped plans to build a standalone renewable diesel complex at its refinery in Burnaby, B.C., and blamed the decision, in part, on the IRA and the way it "advantages U.S. producers."

The industry is hoping Canada's next federal budget, or, ideally, the fall economic statement will include incentives to keep biofuel production north of the border.



A renewable diesel facility at Imperial's Strathcona refinery near Edmonton is expected to produce 20,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel once it is complete. 

(John Ulan/The Canadian Press)

Schick, with the Canadian Fuels Association, said many fuel companies could easily build projects in Canada or the U.S., but will choose the option that makes the most economic sense.

"What's at stake is that if we don't produce these products in Canada, we're sending our feedstocks to the United States and buying these products back," he said.

"That reduces the reliability of supply, potentially increases the cost, and it's really a lost opportunity for Canada to take all of these natural advantages we have to produce these fuels in the country that the world wants."

Export 'trap'

Growers and processors will continue to produce canola and canola oil whether it's being used domestically or exported south of the border.

But that industry also hopes to keep biofuel production in Canada as much as possible. The domestic market is more certain, less subject to the instability that comes from selling to the export market and better for the overall economy to have the entire production cycle take place in Canada.

"We shouldn't fall into that trap, if I can call it that, with regards to just shipping raw product out of our country and then bringing finished product back," said Chris Vervaet, executive director of the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association.

"What's that saying about 'hewers of wood and drawers of water?' That's kind of been Canada's history, and there's many different reasons why that's still the case today — but again, here's an opportunity in front of us to change that narrative."

Why scientists say wastewater surveillance needs to continue, despite low COVID-19 levels

Story by Jennifer La Grassa • CBC -  Jul 19, 2023

Despite a majority of wastewater sites across the country reporting some of the lowest levels of COVID-19 since analysis began, some researchers say this type of surveillance should continue so Canada can be prepared for the next pandemic.

Wastewater surveillance gained prominence in recent years by providing health officials with a summary of the degree of disease among Canadians during peaks in the pandemic. But its value beyond the coronavirus was quickly realized as a crucial public health tool that could help protect people from future harmful infections.

Of the 39 sites tracked by Canada's COVID-19 wastewater surveillance dashboard, recent data shows that about 60 per cent are reporting decreasing levels of the virus. The rest of the sites are stable or slightly lower than their previous readings.

"In the past, I would say, several weeks, we've seen a relatively consistent downward trend," said Dr. Guillaume Poliquin, vice-president of the National Microbiology Laboratory, part of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

Wastewater reporting began in 2020, not long after the pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization, with more sites added as it continued.

Even though the amount of the virus at many of PHAC's sites appears to be at its lowest point since reporting began, Poliquin said it comes with a caveat.



Dr. Guillaume Poliquin, vice-president of the Public Health Agency of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory, says ongoing conversations are taking place and work is being done to sustain and expand the wastewater surveillance system. 

"The techniques that are used, how accurate they are, how sensitive they are, has generally been getting better over time," he said.

"Monitoring has changed over time. It's not all the time comparable, but the trend is certainly reassuring."

It became apparent during the pandemic that COVID-19 levels will fluctuate based on the time of year. Disease spread tends to be lower in the warm summer months, with one reason being that people spend more time outdoors.

At the same time, 80.5 per cent of Canadians are fully vaccinated against the virus and more than 4.6 million have been infected, according to PHAC data — although its website notes that due to changes in testing, the number of cases might actually be higher.

How important is surveillance?

The practice of gathering wastewater from different communities and analyzing it for COVID-19 is a public health tool that researchers have said is useful to predict disease trends and support decisions around public health policies. But it's also a strong indicator of what's to come, as experts can see whether a new strain of the virus has emerged.

Initially, 21 per cent of Canada's population was being monitored, but it's now grown to more than 60 per cent across the country, Poliquin said.

Survey results published last month in The Lancet journal show that Canada was one of the top countries, among 43 that participated, whose wastewater surveillance efforts covered the majority of the population. The article goes on to emphasize how significant this sort of testing tool has proven to track current and emerging health threats.



People receive a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination clinic at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on June 27, 2021. The pandemic was recently downgraded from global emergency status. 

(Cole Burston/The Canadian Press)

Although the COVID-19 pandemic was recently downgraded from global emergency status, continued wastewater surveillance is still very important, said Eric Arts, Canada Research Chair in viral pathogenesis and control at Western University in London, Ont.

"It's too easy for the general public to see it and say, 'Well, [COVID-19] is no longer here, so why are we bothering with this?' And it's getting the information out that says ... 'You don't listen to the weatherman most of the time, but when you see a storm rolling in, you really wish you would have listened,'" Arts said in an interview with CBC News.

"It's preparing our health-care system for an impending wave."

Whether that's a new subvariant of COVID-19 or a range of other infectious diseases, Arts said advance warning could help the health-care system get ahead by rolling out protections and preventative measures.

Wastewater could indicate next pandemic

The federal government is also routinely monitoring wastewater for polio, mpox (formerly known as monkeypox), the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

But Arts said he's most interested in using wastewater to get ahead of the unknown.

"[There are] new pathogens that might jump into the human population that we're not fully aware of," he said.

But if scientists don't know what they're looking for, how will they be able to tell it's in the wastewater?



This graph shows the standardized concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in Ontario's wastewater systems. Across Canada, the provinces and territories actively monitoring their wastewater for COVID-19 all display it in different ways, making it hard to draw comparative conclusions across each region. Creating a national strategy would help with the way this data is presented, researchers say. 

(Public Health Ontario)

"There's rapid advancement in technologies, and we can now monitor things that are novel and that are coming into the population, as long as we maintain these surveillance programs," he said.

Arts said he's part of a program that is looking at a way to monitor all of the possible strains of coronaviruses and influenza viruses that have the potential to infect humans.

"The tools we have at hand make the surveillance of those tens of thousands of strains actually not that difficult and not that cost prohibitive," he said.

"So when something does appear that shouldn't be in human wastewater, we can say, 'Hmm, that's something to keep an eye on,' and then alert the public health agencies."

Governments and health officials, he said, could prepare vaccines for these other possibly infectious strains and have them on hand to mass produce should a pandemic arise.

But there is some concern among those in the wastewater surveillance field that despite how essential this new technology is, monitoring could be cut if governments tighten their budgets.

Will monitoring continue?

The federal government's national wastewater monitoring system currently works with local researchers and labs to collect information from key sites. Additionally, some provinces and territories are funding their own efforts to monitor wastewater at a more local level.

At this time, there's no requirement for provinces to collect this data, nor is there any firm national strategy around a standardized procedure or collaborative database to hold this information.

Wastewater researchers are calling on Ottawa to create a national strategy that will consolidate this data and better inform the country's public health status.

While Poliquin, of the National Microbiology Laboratory, said he doesn't have a "definitive" answer on the next steps for this surveillance system, he told CBC News that ongoing conversations are taking place and work is being done to sustain and expand it.

"The technology has proven its value," he said. "There's a lot of potential here, and now that the network and infrastructure has been put in place, we are looking to continue to support it."

Poliquin said the scale of it is also cost-effective, with an individual PCR test costing $50 to $100 a person and a wastewater sample test costing $100 to $200.

In order for a national strategy to be effective, Arts said, the government needs to get all public health agencies on board, look at standardizing the procedure across the country and ensure that it consolidates the work out of specific centres.

Border surveillance top priority, say researchers

But if governments decide to scale back this type of warning system, researchers say it's most important to keep monitoring Canada's points of entry, such as borders and airports.

"Twenty-five to 30 per cent of Canada-U.S. trade crosses the border at Windsor-Detroit, making it the strategic location to place resources to be monitoring for diseases emerging in the country," said Mike McKay, executive director of the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) at the University of Windsor, in Windsor, Ont.



Mike McKay, executive director of the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Windsor, says Canada's borders are an important place to continue wastewater surveillance for any incoming illnesses. 

(Dale Molnar/CBC)
McKay, who has been monitoring the wastewater in southwestern Ontario and parts of the United States since the early months of the pandemic, said this type of surveillance will also help the private sector so that supply chains become more resilient.

He said GLIER is working alongside groups at the University of Guelph, University of Waterloo, York University and University of Toronto to pitch a cross-border surveillance program to the federal government.

This would include monitoring in Ohio, Michigan and into Windsor, as well as the Fort Erie, Ont., and Buffalo, N.Y., areas, he said.

The application will be submitted by September, and Ottawa is expected to to make a decision early next year. If accepted, the program would be part of a government-funded initiative around pandemic preparedness.

Was Canada’s $20M armoured vehicle deal caught up in a UN sanctions breach?

Story by globalnewsdigital • Jun 25, 2023

Jordan Light Vehicle Manufacturing (JLVM) allegedly seized 54 armoured Toyota Land Cruisers manufactured for Canada, according to government memos.

© Jordan Light Vehicle Manufacturing LLC

Federal government memos obtained by Global News reveal new details about the delayed delivery of dozens of armoured vehicles purchased to protect Canada’s embassy staff abroad.

The federal government told Global News the delays were due to supply chain disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but documents suggest the holdup was the result of the vehicles being caught up in an alleged potential breach of United Nations sanctions.

Video: Intentional armoured vehicle delays put Canadian Embassy staff at risk

In 2018, the Canadian government awarded a $19.9-million contract to U.S.-based military supplier Jankel Tactical Systems to armour 76 Toyota Land Cruisers.

Once manufactured, the vehicles were to be placed in storage, pending shipment to Canada’s diplomatic missions in hotspots around the world, including Kyiv in Ukraine, Abuja in Nigeria, and Port-au-Prince in Haiti, among others.

Canada’s former ambassador to Haiti, Gilles Rivard, says without armoured vehicles, diplomats in dangerous places can’t do their jobs.

“Armoured vehicles in many countries are essential to preserve the life of people, because you never know what's going to happen,” Rivard told Global News.

Video: Chaos in Haiti: What is Canada’s responsibility?

But for nearly a year, Canada had no access to dozens of vehicles in its new fleet.

Canada signed the armoured vehicle deal with Jankel, which then subcontracted the storage of the Toyota Land Cruisers to a Jordanian company called Jordan Light Vehicle Manufacturing (JLVM).

According to government memos obtained by Global News, Jankel informed the government on April 27, 2022, that it would be “severing ties” with the sub-contractor “due to JLVM’s possible breach of UN sanctions.”

A United Nations panel claims it has documented several instances of vehicles manufactured by JLVM’s parent company — the Jordan Design & Development Bureau (JODDB), previously known as the KADDB — in use by the Haftar Armed Forces in Libya, allegedly in violation of a UN arms embargo.

The panel has not been able to determine how those vehicles allegedly ended up in Libya and in the hands of an embargoed group.

Global News has learned that once the relationship between Jankel and JLVM went south, the Jordanian subcontractor held dozens of Canada’s vehicles in a storage facility in Amman, refusing to release them.

A total of 54 vehicles were initially seized, according to a government memo.

“It became imperative that Global Affairs Canada relocate these vehicles immediately,” the document reads.

The vehicles didn't come cheap, either. According to a government memo, Canada had paid more than $13 million for the dozens of vehicles that were seized — more than $240,000 apiece.

The federal government appeared to have little leverage to get the vehicles, since it had already paid most of the bill upfront, in accordance with the terms of the contract.

Alan Williams, a former assistant deputy minister of materiel with the Department of National Defence, said the contract should have withheld more of the payment until the vehicles were delivered to their final destinations.

Otherwise, there was no incentive for the company to deliver on time.

“No one should be paying 90 per cent in advance,” Williams said. “That should never be the case.”

The Jordan Design & Development Bureau, JLVM’s parent company, refused to answer Global News’ questions about whether it breached UN sanctions, nor would it comment on JLVM's alleged seizure of the armoured vehicles.

“We don’t have the needed information to share as there are [sic] no current partnership between JLVM and Jankel Group Limited,” JODDB contract specialist Hisham Alrawashdeh said in a statement.

Jankel chairman Andrew Jankel told Global News that his company has “a good working relationship with JLVM,” but would not comment further, citing “various client confidentiality reasons.”

“We are very proud of our relationships with our customers, partners and suppliers,” he added.

Global Affairs Canada refused to answer questions about the alleged violations of UN sanctions and said the delivery dates were adjusted “due to supply chain delays and microchip shortages.”

“The vendor met the terms of the agreement at the time the contract was awarded,” said Global Affairs spokesperson James Emmanuel Wanki. “We cannot speak to the transactions between Jankel and other parties.”

Global News has learned that the armoured vehicles held by JLVM were finally released to Global Affairs in May 2023 — roughly a year after they were first seized.

Ottawa now expects the vehicles will be delivered to diplomatic missions over the next two years.

Still, Williams warns that government procurement in Canada is in chaos and suggested that this contract is yet another example of what he calls a “lack of accountability.”

“If you're messing around and misapplying a contract of $20 million, what about all the others?” he said.

Blockchain could boost economic growth in Canada — but is Canada ready?

Story by Richard Raycraft • CBC - Jul 18,2023



A House of Commons committee says blockchain could create "significant long-term economic and job creation opportunities in Canada" — but experts say Ottawa has a lot of work to do if it wants to seize the technology's potential and avoid possible drawbacks.

In a report last month, the House of Commons standing committee on industry and technology put forward 16 recommendations for the federal government on blockchain. The committee began hearings after it passed a motion last year saying blockchain has "vast potential to bring about innovation and efficiency gains in different industries such as financial services, health care, travel, entertainment, agriculture and many more sectors of our economy."

The committee recommends, among other things, that the government recognize blockchain as an emerging technology, establish a national blockchain strategy, "create a sandbox where entrepreneurs can test technologies unhindered by as yet unadopted regulations" and look into using blockchain in voting and supply chains.

The committee also recommended the government ensure that Canadians' rights are protected as the use of blockchain spreads.

"Witnesses told the Committee about the ways that blockchain technology is already changing the digital landscape and providing significant economic benefits, while also expressing optimism that greater opportunities using the technology lie ahead," the report said.

"Despite this promise, the blockchain industry is also facing many challenges."

What is blockchain?

A blockchain is a digital database or ledger that permits information to be shared securely. It's a network that permits every member, or node, to participate in maintaining and verifying the network.

This is done through cryptography and a verification system known as a consensus mechanism. The nature of blockchain means it can self-validate and secure itself from tampering without the need of an external authority or monitor.

"Nodes in a blockchain network are collectively responsible for maintaining the integrity of the information, creating a decentralized authority that promotes the secure recording and storage of information," the committee report said.

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin rely on blockchain to authenticate transactions and value. Most blockchain networks — such as the bitcoin ledger — are public and open, meaning anyone can join as a node and participate, but other, more exclusive blockchain networks exist.

"If you're looking at it from the cryptocurrency lens, and you're seeing it from bitcoin's perspective, it's just a ledger of send-and-receive codes," said Koleya Karringten, executive director of the Canadian Blockchain Consortium.

"[It's] much like you would have seen balancing a chequebook back in the day, but a digital form of that. So it's an open, transparent database of records."

Non-fungible tokens (NFT) — digital artifacts such as images whose ownership can't be disputed or forged — also rely on blockchain.

While the most common use of blockchain right now is as a ledger for cryptocurrencies, the committee report said it could eventually see much wider use.

While committee witnesses said they couldn't give an estimate of the blockchain industry's value in Canada, Namir Anani, CEO of the Information and Communications Technology Council, told the committee the global value could be around $1.59 trillion by 2030.

Statistics Canada reports that just 0.3 per cent of Canadian business used blockchain in 2021, though its use increased substantially among medium-sized and large enterprises between 2019 and 2021

Karringten, who testified at the committee hearings, told committee members blockchain could be used to crack down on fraud in the pharmaceutical industry and build resiliency and transparency in Canada's food supply chains — which could, in turn, solve or prevent some international trade disputes.

'Enormous potential'

Victoria Lemieux, a professor of archival science at the University of British Columbia and co-lead of Blockchain@UBC, said blockchain would be a boon for Canada's international trade.

"I've seen that some of our major trading partners are investing and building infrastructure that leverages this technology," she said in an email.

"Support for investments in blockchain technology would have enormous potential for interoperability with these partners."

But while Lemieux said she supports many of the committee's recommendations, she fears Canada is lagging behind some of those partners on government blockchain policy.

"I see Canada as rapidly falling behind. We lack direction and clarity, as the report observes, and this is starting to be a hindrance to our progress, especially compared with many other nations that have blockchain strategies," she said,

"I've spent the past year on sabbatical based in Europe and have seen how the EU, Switzerland, and U.K. are all demonstrating much more commitment and support for this technology."



University British Columbia archival science professor Victoria Lemieux at her lab in April 2022. Lemieux said the EU, Switzerland and the U.K. are ahead of Canada on blockchain. 

(Gian-Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

Karringten agrees that Canada is behind the U.K. on blockchain but added it's far ahead of its largest and most important training partner, the United States. Ethereum, the second most commonly traded cryptocurrency after bitcoin, was developed and created in Canada.

"Canada has come up with some of the best talent blockchain's seen globally," Karringten said.

"We're seeing U.K., EU, American companies starting to open up branches in Canada, so they're now seeing Canada as a market, but we need to do a much better job of getting our story out there."

Cryptocurrency mining has raised concerns about its energy use and possible contribution to climate change. B.C., Manitoba and Quebec have stopped granting new licences to crypto mining operations.

But Karringten said crypto mining could bring environmental benefits.

"The mining industry, if it came into Canada, could actually support building out the infrastructure and being early stage buyers of renewable energy, allowing the government to not have to put in the same level of subsidies needed to get these solar and wind farms off the ground," she said.

Blockchain roadblocks

But some concerns about the technology could hinder development of the blockchain industry in Canada. The committee noted in the report that the cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed during the hearings.

According to the RCMP, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has received reports of cryptocurrency fraud losses totalling $75 million.

Karringten said education needs to be a focus going forward to prevent scams and poor decisions involving blockchain.

"Consumers need to make sure that they're doing their due diligence and their research if they're looking at this industry like an investment opportunity," she said.

One of the report's recommendations is to "establish a public awareness campaign, in consultation with the provinces and the industry, to educate the public about risks related to cryptocurrencies and the benefits of accessing cryptocurrency markets through regulated Canadian entities."

Lemeiux said governments will have to develop an approach that ensures emerging tech like blockchain respects people's rights, such as privacy rights, while avoiding overregulation.

"The concerns that keep me up at night are ensuring that the development of this technology progresses in a manner that supports human rights and democratic institutions," she said.

IVF success may depend on what season eggs are collected, study finds

Story by Katie Dangerfield • GLOBAL NEWS - July 15,2023

In vitro fertilization process close up. Equipment on laboratory of Fertilization, IVF. Embryo biotechnology fertility treatment. Selective focus© Getty Images

Collecting human eggs for fertility treatment may create more favourable results when performed during the sunny summer season compared to a cloudy fall day, according to new research.

The Australian study, published Wednesday in Human Reproduction, looked at outcomes from frozen embryo transfers over an eight-year period and discovered that the time of year when eggs are collected from a person's ovaries during fertility treatment may be impacted by the season and duration of sunshine.

"What we found is that the time (of the year) you put the embryo back didn't actually seem to have any impact on the live birth rate," Dr. Sebastian Leathersich, an obstetrician and gynecologist based in Perth, Australia, and lead author of the study told Global News.

Instead, the researchers found that if the egg had been collected in summer as opposed to the fall, the odds of having a successful embryo transfer and live birth were 30 per cent higher regardless of when the embryo was implanted in the womb.

Video: From test-tube to AI: How Canadian science could revolutionize fertility services

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is one of the most expensive fertility treatments but the most successful, according to IVF Canada. The process involves removing eggs from ovaries and fertilizing them with sperm in a laboratory before being implanted in the womb.

According to Dr. Evan Taerk, a specialist in reproductive endocrinology and infertility based in Toronto, the methods of performing IVF in Australia are largely comparable to those in Canada.

"Although it's not a complete uniformity, there are a lot of similarities between a cycle (done) in Australia and when you would do, let's say in Montreal or Toronto or Winnipeg," he explained.

During IVF, Leathersich said most clinics will flash freeze the embryo (a fertilized egg) in order to preserve it, meaning a lot of embryos are placed back in the womb having been frozen for months or even years.

Live birth rates are a measure of a fertility treatment's (like IVF) effectiveness in achieving a live-born baby.

In order to see if environmental factors contribute to live birth rates, the researchers looked at outcomes from all frozen embryo transfers carried out at a single clinic in Perth from January 2013 to December 2021. During this time, there were more than 3,600 frozen embryo transfers with embryos generated from 2,155 IVF cycles in 1,835 patients.

They also examined birth outcomes according to season, temperatures and the actual number of hours of bright sunshine.

The overall live birth rate following frozen embryo transfer was 28 births per 100 people. If eggs were collected in autumn, it was 26 births per 100 people, but if they were collected in summer there were 31 births per 100 people.

Video: Can you afford a baby? Fertility advocates call on workplaces to update benefit plans

The researchers also found a 28 per cent increase in the chances of a live birth among women who had eggs collected during days that had the most sunshine compared to days with the least sunshine.

The temperature on the day of egg collection did not affect the chances of successful fertility treatment, the study found. However, the chances of live birth rate decreased by 18 per cent when the embryos were transferred on the hottest days (average temperature of 14.5-27.8 C) compared to the coolest days (0.1-9.8 C).

This is not the only study to find these results.

A 2021 study out of Boston, Mass., yielded similar findings. The researchers found that eggs collected during summer had a higher live birth rate compared to eggs collected in other seasons.

But unlike the study out of Perth, the researchers found that winter had the lowest success rates instead of the fall.

Although the Perth study found that summer may make a difference when eggs are retrieved from an ovary, the reason why is still not known, Leathersich said.

But there are theories, and one of them includes melatonin -- the sleep hormone that helps with circadian rhythm and also has antioxidant qualities.

"What we know is that the levels of melatonin are much higher during winter," he said. "And we also know that egg development takes at least three months, but probably somewhere closer to nine months before that egg is actually released."

It's possible that melatonin exposure in the three to nine months before removal (which land in the winter or early spring), may actually impact the development competence of the egg, he explained.

"And of course, this does require a lot more research and it would be really good to see these sorts of studies replicated in different centers around the world where potentially there's different environmental factors and different patient factors," he added.

Differences in lifestyles between winter and summer months may also play a role, he said.

While recognizing the significance of studies like the one conducted in Perth, Taerk noted it's not without limitations.

"When we say there's an association between summer and an increased rate of live birth rate, is it the sunshine that's doing it? Is it other behavioural factors such as diet, lifestyle, the air quality?" he questioned.

Dr. Taerk also noted the study lacked sperm-related information, which could potentially contribute to the success of IVF treatment.

"Could these same seasonal effects that may be impacting the eggs also be affecting the male factor side?" he asked.

Given the limitations of the study, he said it's important for people considering IVF that delaying the procedure for a different season may come with risks.

"The more time that's delayed the potential impact that can have on the number of eggs retrieved and ultimately IVF outcome," he said. "And I'm not sure we can say at this point that it's going to be beneficial to wait until a specific season to do that."

Video: The highs and lows of IVF

Leathersich and Taerk both agree that more studies need to be conducted in order to further understand and validate the findings.

"I don't think people should be rushing out and canceling winter IVF cycles," Leathersich said. "But really what this does is show the important role that environment plays in egg development and reproductive outcomes.

"And there are many factors that affect activity in the success of fertility treatment, chief among them really being both maternal age and paternal age."

He added that there are several factors within people's control that can positively influence fertility outcomes. These include avoiding smoking, minimizing alcohol consumption, limiting caffeine intake and maintaining a healthy balanced diet.

"We know that IVF treatment is a big burden to patients: a physical burden, a medical burden, psychological burden, and a financial burden," Leathersich said.

"So ongoing research that can reduce the burden of treatment and increase the success of treatment is vital."

Would you eat lab-grown meat? How meat made from cells is picking up steam

Story by Eric Stober • Jun 28, 2023

Pieces of Good Meat's cultivated chicken is shown at the Eat Just office in Alameda, Calif., Wednesday, June 14, 2023. The Agriculture Department issued final approvals Wednesday, June 21 to California firms Upside Foods and Good Meat to sell the products, known as “lab grown” or “cultivated” meat.© AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

Lab-grown meat, also known as "cultivated" meat, may soon be sold to the public in the U.S. after two companies received full approval from the government.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) gave the green light to Upside Foods and Good Meat, allowing the California-based companies to sell their products in restaurants.

It may be a while longer until Canada sees the same style of products, though -- Health Canada told Global News in an email that it has not received any applications for lab-grown meat.

Nevertheless, one cultivated meat company, SCiFi Foods, hopes to be selling in Canada in a year's time, although it has not submitted any applications yet. That's according to co-founder and CEO Joshua March, who spoke about the new style of meat at a panel during Toronto's Collision tech conference.

March said his company's mission is to "electrify the cow," meaning that the huge amount of methane produced from animal farms would be avoided and the main energy drain for cultivating meat would be electricity

Video: How meat grown from animal cells could help tackle climate change

"We are producing essentially real meat," March said Wednesday. "But the prime input becomes electricity."

Those in favour of growing their meat in a lab point to the environmental costs of traditional farm-raised animals and food production, which Our World in Data found in 2019 contributes 31 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions from the food production process.

More broadly, food production is responsible for just over one-quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Marsh explained that cultivated meat is grown from actual animal cells and is done in a bioreactor, which is a big steel tank powered by electricity. He said the end goal is to produce an infinite amount of meat from the cells by feeding them sugar and amino acids.

For the U.S. company Upside, its meat comes in large sheets that are then shaped into more familiar forms, such as chicken cutlets or sausages. Good Meat says it has a "master cell bank" derived from a commercially available chicken cell line that it uses to create meat.

Once cell lines are selected, they're combined with a broth-like mixture that includes amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, salts, vitamins and other substances cells need to grow. Inside the tanks, the cells multiply quickly.

The new technology faces some barriers, though.

March pointed to how expensive it currently is to lab-grow meat, which makes scaling it up to compete with farm-raised meat on a quantity level difficult. But he is hopeful that, like other novel technologies such as solar panels, the cost will eventually go down and it can be done at scale.

Neither Upside nor Good Meat has revealed the price of a single chicken cutlet, but did say it has reduced in price greatly since they started offering demonstrations.

Another barrier is public perception.

While milk alternatives such as oat milk have taken off, meat alternatives still have relatively low adoption among consumers.

March said meat alternatives, such as plant-based meat, have a branding issue that has also been impacted by the "culture wars" happening in North America.

"In America, in the Midwest, they don't want to be told to not eat meat by vegans in California, basically," he said.

Consumers may also be squeamish at the prospect of eating meat that was never technically alive.

An Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research poll found half of U.S. adults said they are unlikely to try meat grown from cells, with most saying it "just sounds weird."

Half said they don't think it'd be safe.

Chris Bryson, the founder and CEO of plant-based meat company New School Foods, said at the panel Wednesday that producers have to "dig deeper" to find why consumers aren't adopting meat alternatives.

"Fundamentally, what we're trying to create is behaviour change," he said. "And that's really hard."

He thinks the key to adoption is to create a product that is better than meat in every way possible, from taste to price to texture and how it cooks.

March still sees cultivated meat as the future, though, especially as the price of meat has gone up and seems like it will continue to do so as there becomes less arable land to host cows due to more extreme weather, pointing to drought conditions in the Midwest for the last five years.

His product, for now, has at least one customer -- he said he eats his company's cultivated meat almost every week and SCiFi has done more than 100 lab tastings.

"It's fun."

-- with files from The Associated Press.

What is NIMBYism and how is it affecting how much housing is getting built?

Story by Vanessa Balintec • CBC - Thursday, July 19,2023

A housing crisis is well underway in Canada, and experts say the problem is only made worse by residents who oppose new housing developments.

While the sentiment, known commonly as Not In My Backyard (NIMBY), existed long before the housing shortage became pronounced, experts say counteracting it is more important now than ever before.
Why does Nimbyism exist?

Residents passionate about their communities want to have a say in what gets built and where, said Geoff Kettel, the president of the Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods, an Ontariowide coalition of resident associations.

Concerns range from a condo development casting shadows on existing properties to whether or not local hospitals, schools and other services can keep up with growth in the local population, he said. But voicing them, often through public consultations, comes with the risk of being labelled a NIMBY, which Kettel called "pejorative."

"We're regular citizens," said Kettel. "Everybody has the right to express themselves and to be part of the community."

Resident associations don't want to stop development altogether, Kettel said, adding many want to help "moderate" growth and encourage new projects to be in line with local neighbourhood character.

NIMBY sentiment is particularly directed toward affordable housing projects proposed in existing neighbourhoods, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Leslie Evans, executive director of the Federation of Calgary Communities, an umbrella organization of more than 100 community associations, says affordable housing developments often stir fears of increased crime rates and lower property values among locals, which aren't proven to be true.

And while there will always be people who are "stuck" with NIMBY views, they're a minority, she said, adding that most residents often become more open to development after learning how it benefits the community.

"Labelling them NIMBY is a good way to dismiss people that may or may not have legitimate concern," said Evans.

"Lots of that is they don't necessarily understand what it is and how to build great communities. To build great communities, we need diversity of people and housing."

How prevalent is the problem?

Jim Dunn, director of independent academic network the Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative, says it's hard to quantify the number of potential housing units that could have been built but weren't because of NIMBY sentiment.

But people can look at municipal land use maps for a sense of how neighbourhoods have been allowed to develop over time, Dunn said, pointing to Toronto's "yellowbelt."

Huge swaths of the city's residential areas, shown in yellow, were historically zoned strictly for single-detached or semi-detached homes. That changed this year after city council voted to allow the development of two, three and four-unit multiplexes throughout.

"A huge part of Nimbyism was actually enshrined in zoning legislation," said Dunn, adding that local politicians are put in a "bind" having to choose between supporting outraged constituents and increasing housing supply.



Areas shaded in yellow on the City of Toronto's land use map signify land slated for residential use. These areas were historically designated for single-family, detached home development until recent months when multiplexes became permitted citywide. (City of Toronto Official Plan)© Provided by cbc.ca

Recent data shows people are feeling and seeing the effects of NIMBY legislation and sentiment.

According to a November survey commissioned by non-profit Habitat for Humanity Canada, 54 per cent of Canadians feel that NIMBY sentiment is one of the main barriers to making affordable housing available in neighbourhoods, with almost three in four agreeing that people worry about the impact of affordable housing on their property values and neighbourhood.

"It's actually a really big problem, and it's a problem in every Canadian community," said Julia Deans, the non-profit's president and CEO. Habitat for Humanity Canada helps low-income families access affordable housing.

Kevin Lee, the CEO of the Canadian Home Builders' Association, said despite existing "appetite" to build more within existing neighbourhoods, Nimbyism discourages developers from trying to build. In many cases, local opposition to housing developments can "delay and sometimes completely derail projects."

"You're going to have so much opposition that it's just ... not worth the effort," said Lee.

Who is the problem affecting?

CMHC says some Canadians don't have the means of accessing the housing market, which is particularly more common in certain groups, such as people with disabilities. The latest data from the federal government shows more than 250,000 people are on affordable housing waiting lists across the country.

Peter Waldkirch, a director of housing advocacy group Abundant Housing Vancouver, says that the people who are hurt the most and pushed out because of Nimbyism are those without "power" in society, such as low-income earners, immigrants and young people.

In contrast, he said, those with NIMBY views often have more wealth, power and resources to advocate for their wants compared to the general population and those looking to move into affordable housing developments.

But their advocacy may be helping drive the very same system emptying their neighbourhoods and businesses and keeping their children and grandchildren from becoming homeowners, he said.

"I think a lot of NIMBYs don't realize the harm they are causing."

CMHC has said at the current pace of construction, Canada is still short on housing supply. It projects almost 2.3 million housing units will be added to the market by 2030, bringing the country's total housing stock to 19 million — but that's 3.5 million units short of achieving "housing affordability for everyone living in Canada."

And when housing does get built, Waldkirch said it's further from cities and their cores and into the "least desirable parts," far from jobs and amenities, impacting the community in ways beyond housing.

"It's bad for affordability, it's bad for environment and it's bad for the economy," said Waldkirch.

How do we counteract it?

Deans says Habitat for Humanity has leveraged different methods to get communities on board with affordable housing projects.

In Calgary, the local chapter has sent personalized letters from families moving into new affordable housing buildings to local residents, she said. In Winnipeg branch conducts door-to-door canvassing, public meetings with local residents and councillors and invites neighbours to help build the very housing units incoming families will inhabit.

"That gives them an investment in that home, too," said Deans. "Sometimes communities need a reminder of what their priorities might be."



Volunteer builders with Habitat for Humanity Canada help construct community houses through the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Winnipeg in 2017.

 (Submitted by Habitat for Humanity Canada)

Dunn says the rise of pro-housing groups and the relaxing of local land zone restrictions may be a sign NIMBY sentiment is becoming less common. But to keep the momentum going, he suggests giving people less "recourse" in legislation to oppose developments and making it easier to finance and build new developments, like Toronto multiplexes.

"There will be improvement, but there's still some obstacles to overcome," said Dunn.

That's why Waldkirch says it's important for neighbours who say "yes" to development to publicly support new housing projects. This is especially the case for renters and young people, who he said have been "extremely under-represented" in municipal elections and in housing planning processes.

"Get engaged. Show up and say 'yes' to housing," said Waldkirch.

"It's easy for people to show up and say 'no' to housing, and that's how it's been for decades."

Lee says at this point in the housing shortage, more housing units of all types are needed everywhere, not just in certain places, adding that's why builders, municipalities and provinces need to commit to reducing Nimbyism and "build smartly upwards, inwards and outwards."

"It's definitely not about building a whole bunch of towers. It's not about building a whole ton of single family homes as far as the eye can see either," said Lee.

"It's finding that happy balance."