NB

Researcher corrects Premier Higgs's 'misinterpretation' of gender-affirming care data

ITS CALLED MISINFORMATION

LGBTQ RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS

CBC
Fri, January 5, 2024 

Premier Blaine Higgs quoted from a presentation by Dr. James Cantor, a Toronto psychologist, who testifies in favour of gender-affirming care bans in the United States. (Radio-Canada - image credit)

A researcher says New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is sharing "misinterpretations" of the gender-affirming care data she's been collecting and analyzing for years.

In a year-end interview with Radio-Canada, Higgs shared his concerns about how easy it is for children to get gender-affirming care.

"In Canada it's about over 60 per cent, after one visit, can be put on the puberty blockers," Higgs said. He was also quoted by The Canadian Press saying 60 per cent of kids "are given automatic affirmation and put on some sort of hormone therapy" at a first appointment.

Researcher Greta Bauer said her study, published in 2021, specifies that 60 per cent of young patients were prescribed medication at their first hormone-specialist appointment.

To get that appointment, youth had to see an average of 2.7 other health-care professionals, and the average wait time for that first appointment was 269 days from the date of referral. Before any prescriptions were written, kids needed a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, she said.

"It just really makes me sad when people deliberately or non-deliberately misinterpret the results of our research, and I'm increasingly concerned about deliberate misinterpretation," Bauer said in an interview.

Researcher Dr. Greta Bauer says her research shows that even after waiting an average of nine months for an appointment with a hormone specialist, 40 per cent of young people don't go ahead with perscriptions on that first appointment.

Dr. Greta Bauer says her research shows that even after waiting an average of nine months for an appointment with a hormone specialist, 40 per cent of young people don't go ahead with prescriptions on that first appointment. (CBC)

Bauer is a family medicine professor at the University of Minnesota medical school and previously worked at Ontario's Western University for 17 years, where she held a sex and gender research chair position.

She said her research has been misconstrued in the past to make a false conclusion about how easy it is to get hormone therapy.

"The politicization has meant that increasingly our work has been taken out of context and has been, you know, tweeted around the world or shared in ways that are problematic," she said. "It's disturbing to me."





Higgs invites psychologist who testifies for U.S. trans-care bans

Higgs declined an interview request. Instead, a spokesperson confirmed that Higgs invited Dr. James Cantor to make a presentation to government in late November. The spokesperson wouldn't confirm who was invited to attend. A slide in the presentation said youth are "quickly/unquestionably affirmed," and treatment is "solely based" on self-identification.

Cantor, a Toronto-based psychologist, has testified in 25 cases in support of gender-affirming care bans or bathroom restrictions in the United States, CBC previously reported.

The slide he presented includes a reference to how 62 per cent of youth received a prescription at their first appointment in a gender clinic. The slide does not include the wait times or requirements for gender-dysphoria diagnosis. The government did not provide the full presentation when CBC News requested it Thursday

Since 2021, Toronto psychologist James Cantor has testified in more than 20 cases in the U.S. involving transgender issues. (Craig Chivers/CBC)

In an interview with Radio-Canada, Cantor declined to confirm that he made a presentation to MLAs and the premier, but confirmed that the statistic Higgs was sharing was accurate, and said children were given a prescription after "very minimal assessment."

Bauer said her study shows young people in Canada wait an average of 13.5 months to receive gender-affirming care from the time they start seeking it. She said standard protocol also requires that adolescent patients be assessed for other possible mental health and physical issues before they start treatment.

In 2022, under cross-examination in Alabama, Cantor testified that he had never provided care to a transgender minor under the age of 16, had never diagnosed a child or adolescent with gender dysphoria and had no personal experience monitoring patients' medical transition.

On Thursday, the premier's office set up a media availability with Dr. Erica Anderson, a U.S. clinical psychologist who studies sexuality and gender identity and advocates for caution and sometimes delays in medical transitioning.

In the media availability, Anderson said she was also invited by Higgs to "educate decision-makers" about changes to gender-affirming care in Europe.

Recently, Sweden and the United Kingdom conducted systemic analyses of all evidence regarding gender-affirming care for minors and found it lacking, she said. She said that should make the medical community approach the issue with "more caution."

When asked if she had any evidence that doctors in Canada are not cautious enough, she said the premier told her that 60 per cent of kids get hormones on the first appointment, though she did not know about the path to that appointment and the wait times.

When asked if she has any other evidence that the medical community in Canada is not being cautious enough when it comes to gender-affirming care for minors, she said "no."

Cantor wasn't on the media call Thursday but the government says it plans to hold another availability with him on the topic next week.

In the year-end interview, Higgs said what's happening in Europe is "most compelling."

"Gender dysphoria is real," Higgs said. "It's the science of what we're doing with our children that is changing."

The changes to gender-affirming care recommendations in some countries in Europe have been cited by several states in their effort to ban or outlaw gender-affirming care for minors. However, none of the countries in Europe have actually banned care.

Sweden recommended that doctors exercise caution and make sure the patient is actually experiencing gender dysphoria before prescribing hormones or puberty blockers.

England previously had one clinic that specialized gender-affirming care for children. A review recommended that the system be restructured so that gender-affirming care is provided in more places across the country as part of the national health service.

"The new regional centres should have an appropriate multi-professional workforce to enable them to manage the holistic needs of this population, as well as the ability to provide essential related services," the recommendation report said.

Getting gender-affirming care a long process, experts say

Bauer said her 2021 study surveyed 174 patients and their parents from 2017 to 2019 at their first appointment with a hormone specialist and follows them over the following years. She said none of the patients were in New Brunswick because the province doesn't have a children's hospital with an endocrinology clinic or a specialized gender clinic.

Bauer said her study shows even though the patients waited an average of nine months to get to the first specialist appointment, about 40 per cent of them still did not go ahead with the treatment right away.

"It shows what looks like a very logical process of decision-making on the part of adolescents, their parents and physicians," she said.

She said some of the patients who didn't get prescriptions at that appointment were turned down because the doctor needed them to get further psychological testing. Others decided hormones were not right for them, Bauer said.

Some parents also needed more time or needed to discuss things with the other parent, she said.

Dr. Marc Nicholson, a New Brunswick pediatrician who sees transgender kids, previously told CBC that before a child or teenager gets a consultation with his office, they will first have to see a psychologist.

The medical standards of practice followed by Canadian providers requires young people to have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria before receiving hormones, Bauer and Nicholson said.

Gender dysphoria is a state of distress caused when a person's gender identity doesn't match their biological sex. In order to give that diagnosis, a health-care professional has to be convinced that the gender distress has been persistent and consistent over time, Nicholson has said.

P.E.I. wind turbines at 'high risk of imminent failure,' consultant warned province in 2022


CBC
Fri, January 5, 2024

Two blades broke off turbine T-09 at P.E.I.'s Hermanville wind farm during high winds in December. A year and a half earlier, a consultant had warned that some of the turbines were at 'high risk of imminent failure' and could pose a safety hazard. (Shane Hennessey/CBC - image credit)

A consultant hired in 2022 to assess production problems at a wind farm owned by the P.E.I. government found severe damage, with turbine units possibly constituting a safety hazard and turbine blades at "high risk of imminent failure."

Last month, high winds ripped two 56-metre blades off one of the turbines at the facility in Hermanville, near the northeastern tip of Prince Edward Island. For comparison, the province's tallest building is only 39 metres tall; it's the 10-storey Holman Grand Hotel in Charlottetown.

A provincial spokesperson said the turbine was not operational at the time, and was scheduled for repairs in April 2024. The province also said it expected insurance would pay for the broken blades.

It was just the latest setback at a wind farm that has seen a steep decline in energy production and is now losing the P.E.I. government money.

The wind farm began operation in 2014, built at a taxpayer cost of $60 million.

Electricity generation had fallen to 10 per cent of design capacity by July 2023, with only four of 10 turbines operational and some of those running at reduced capacity because officials were concerned about damage.

Images from two of the damage reports DNV filed regarding blades on turbine T-09 at the Hermanville, P.E.I. wind farm. On the left is an image showing holes where blade stud bolts should be. On the right is evidence of a lightning strike. The company identified problems with the lightning protection system in that turbine model.

Images from two of the damage reports DNV filed regarding blades on turbine T-09 at the Hermanville, P.E.I. wind farm. On the left is an image showing holes where blade stud bolts should be. On the right is evidence of a lightning strike. The company identified problems with the lightning protection system in that turbine model. (DNV/P.E.I. Energy Corporation)

In August, Energy Minister Steven Myers said the province would pay for repairs expected to cost $10 million, though it was planning to try to recoup those costs from Nordex, the company with the contract to maintain the turbines.

CBC News has obtained two consulting reports on Hermanville after filing an access to information request with the P.E.I. Energy Corporation, a provincial Crown agency.

READ THE REPORTS: Both documents are embedded at the bottom of this story.

A report delivered to the corporation in June 2022 from Montreal-based DNV Canada cited turbine blades with a "severe degree of damage or defect such that there is a high risk of imminent failure."

DNV also concluded some of the turbines themselves had failed or missing components, representing "a critical impact to the operation of the turbine and/or a safety hazard."

Another view of T-09 with one of its broken blades still dangling from the turbine, at right of the shaft. Each blade measures almost 60 metres — more than half the length of a CFL football field.

Another image of T-09 with one of its broken blades still dangling from the turbine tower. Each blade measures more than 56 metres in length — more than half the length of a CFL football field. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)

The consultant wrote that those turbines or components would have to be "taken out of service to prevent further damage. Immediate action to repair or replace is required before returning the component back to service."

DNV catalogued multiple problems with the turbines, including cracked blades and bearings and damage to the systems meant to protect the turbines from lightning strikes.

Broken studs could lead to 'catastrophic failure'

The company also observed broken blade studs, used to hold turbine blades in position, and warned that "in a worst-case scenario, should multiple blade studs fail nearly simultaneously, stud failures may progress and separation of the blade from the turbine could occur."

DNV said there had been more than 200 blade stud failures reported at Hermanville as of June 2022.

During its inspection in April 2022, the company noted broken blade studs on three turbines at Hermanville, including T-09, the turbine that lost two blades in December 2023.

DNV said the number of broken blade bolts should normally be "near-zero," and any breaks discovered should be replaced as soon as possible. "Otherwise the loads are transferred to adjacent bolts which can then in turn fail. A cascading effect of many broken bolts could lead to a catastrophic failure of the blade."

The company suggested the province conduct ultrasonic testing to search for blades at risk of failure.

'Potential root cause' of damage

The province told CBC News that broken blade bolts were not responsible for the two blades severed in December, however.

In a statement, the province said T-09 was taken out of operation in August 2022 after a pitch ram failed. That's the mechanism that allows the blade to be angled on its axis to adjust the amount of wind it catches.

"Early indications point to this as a potential root cause for the damage in December 2023, but further analysis will be required. A full root-cause analysis will be completed on T-09 in the coming weeks," the province said in its statement.

PEI Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Steven Myers

P.E.I. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Steven Myers, shown in the provincial legislature, has said the government will pay for $10 million in repairs at Hermanville and try to recoup that money from the company contracted to maintain the turbines. (Legislative Assembly of P.E.I.)

"Once structural integrity has been determined, Nordex/Acciona will be providing options for how to proceed with this turbine."

The province also noted that in the spring of 2022, damage to T-09 was ranked at a severity level of three out of four, which according to DNV "presents a potential impact to the operation of the turbine and/or safety" and requires that the damage be monitored until repairs can be scheduled "in [the] short term."

Damage to other turbines had been flagged as more urgent, though, so those turbines were scheduled for earlier repairs, the province said.

No one from the P.E.I. Energy Corporation was made available in response to CBC's request for an interview.

Technical issues with turbine model

When Hermanville opened in 2014, the province said it was the first commercial deployment in North America of the Acciona AW 116/3000 model of wind turbine.

In its report from 2022, DNV noted that a number of technical issues had surfaced with that turbine design, particularly with earlier models, including broken blade studs, cracked blade bearings, and a shearing of the laminate covering from the turbine blade.

DNV said it does not consider the turbine to be a proven model in the North American region, though it said the design has "a significant track record." At the time of its report, the consultant said the P.E.I. turbines should achieve the industry-standard operating life of 20 years.

CBC reached out to Nordex, the company that merged with Acciona in 2016, but did not receive a response.

Company expected province to pay for fixes

Another consultant hired by the province in 2023 described a plan to retrofit all the non-operational turbines at Hermanville that summer. The project seems to have been put on hold "when it became clear that [Nordex] was prepared to carry out these repairs at the expense of the [P.E.I. Energy] Corporation."

The consultant, Frontier Power Systems, highlighted the urgency of the repairs required, also attributing many of the problems to "manufacturing flaws" and "major deficiencies" in the design and construction of the turbines themselves.

The tower for each turbine stands 92 metres tall. Each blade is just over 56 metres long.

The tower for each turbine stands 92 metres tall. Each blade is just over 56 metres long. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)

Dated February 28 of last year, Frontier's report suggested necessary repairs could be completed over the summer, with the wind farm "largely renewed by the fall of 2023."

But that timeline has now been pushed back by at least a year.

In the meantime, the P.E.I. Energy Corporation has seen its revenues drop to their lowest level since Hermanville came online in 2014, with annual electricity production at the site dropping to a third of what it was then. For the first time, the Hermanville wind farm operated at a financial loss in fiscal year 2022-23.

Warning of 'legal quagmire' over costs

Nordex is under contract to maintain the turbines until 2029, and that contract includes a stipulation that the company pay P.E.I. when production from the turbines drops.

But there are caps on those payments, which have almost been reached.

The Frontier report hinted at a legal battle between the provincial Crown corporation and Nordex over the cost of repairs that "will likely end in a legal quagmire that we cannot afford to have fully resolved before we take steps to return the non-operating turbines to service."

The Frontier report also emphasized the importance of Hermanville, built to produce 30 megawatts of clean energy, as P.E.I. continues to electrify and pursue the most aggressive decarbonization timeline in Canada.

"The reliable operation of this wind plant is a critical part of the province's electricity supply," the report states. "With current generation limitations, ensuring this facility remains productive may be more important than simple financial optimization."

Foreman cleared of criminal negligence in Dartmouth construction site death 
BLAMING THE VICTIM; USING DRUGS

CBC
Fri, January 5, 2024 

A Kent Building Supplies location was under construction at 680 Cutler Ave. in Dartmouth, N.S., at the time Brandon Alcorn was fatally injured in 2018. (Marina von Stackelberg/CBC - image credit)

A Nova Scotia judge has found a foreman who was charged with criminal negligence related to the death of a 22-year-old labourer at a Dartmouth, N.S., construction site not guilty.

Jeff Gooch was a supervisor and foreman for Insulated Panel Structures. He was working at the Dartmouth Crossing construction site in March 2018 when Brandon Alcorn fell from the Kent Building Supplies store that was under construction. Alcorn died from his injuries and Gooch was charged in December 2019.

In his ruling released on Thursday, Jan. 4, Justice D. Timothy Gabriel said Alcorn was likely intoxicated when he fell more than five metres to the ground. Alcorn was wearing a harness but it was not anchored to the roof, Crown prosecutor Alex Keaveny said.

At trial, toxicologist Jennifer Swatek testified both delta-carboxy THC and delta-9 THC — the latter she described as a psychoactive material deposited in the body after the ingestion of cannabis — were found in the samples of Alcorn's blood taken before his death.

"At page 2 of the report, she describes it as the active ingredient found in marijuana. She describes the drug as a 'DEA schedule one hallucinogen. Pharmacologically, it has depressant and reality distorting effects," Gabriel noted in his ruling.

Dr. Neal Sutton, who Gabriel described as a medical consultant to a number of large employers, told court that in his view, there is no acceptable level of delta-9 THC in a worker's blood when performing tasks like working from heights.

Delta-9 THC found in blood

Gabriel noted Sutton said the drug has impairing effects that can "negatively impact the user's balance, field of vision, and awareness of their surroundings."

"I accept Dr. Sutton's conclusion that it is more likely than not that Mr. Alcorn was intoxicated when he arrived for work on the morning of March 13, 2018," Gabriel said in his ruling.

"Even if I had concluded that failing to ensure that each member of the IPS crew was tied off while performing their job tasks on that date was 'an act or omission that was the accused's legal duty to do,' I would have been left in significant doubt that such was the cause of Mr. Alcorn's unfortunate and tragic death."

One of Alcorn's favourite hobbies was working out at the gym.

Brandon Alcorn, 22, died on March 13, 2018, after he fell while working at the construction site for the Kent Building Supplies store in Dartmouth Crossing. (Janice Way)

Gabriel goes on to say that the fact Alcorn showed up to work intoxicated "appears to have been an intervening event."

"I conclude that it is likely that his intoxication caused him to depart significantly from the route which his actual work duties ought to have required, a route to which he appeared to have no difficulty adhering the day prior," Gabriel wrote.

"Mr. Alcorn's conduct was so grossly inappropriate as to have been virtually unforeseeable on the accused's (or anyone else's) part. It would have had the effect of severing the cause of the death from Mr. Gooch's act or omission (if I had concluded that there was one)."

What happened leading up to the fall

Alcorn fell off the roof 10 minutes after arriving at work. He had been measuring and cutting lengths of blueskin — a weatherproofing membrane — for the structure for his two co-workers, including Gooch. Gabriel said Alcorn was rolling out another length of blueskin while walking backward and "ultimately walked backward off of the far right edge of the canopy."

Dana Munroe, who was also part of the crew, testified that Alcorn had been doing exactly the same job the day before and never noticed him walking back any further than was necessary.

Scott Andrews, the site's superintendent, testified he had not observed any safety infractions committed by the IPS crew. Andrews works for Maxim Construction and part of his job entailed ensuring the company's safety requirements were being followed.

Warning lines

"Moreover, he did not identify any unsafe work procedures or job hazard analyses submitted by Mr. Gooch on behalf of IPS, to that point, that were inconsistent with safe practices in the industry," Gabriel noted.

The issue of fall protection came up in Gabriel's ruling. Barry Oxner, who runs Total Fall Protection in Dartmouth and consults on worksite safety, offered an opinion on the evidence in this case. He said the implementation of fall protection measures and the use of fall-protection equipment is a legislative requirement when working at a site over three metres in height. Alcorn had been on a canopy about five metres above the ground.

In the ruling, Gabriel noted Oxner suggested bump lines or warning lines could be helpful. They're intended to prevent workers from getting too close to the edge, but Oxner said in court that bump warning lines are not permitted in Nova Scotia.

Instead, Nova Scotia's Occupational Health and Safety Act says guardrails must be installed on each working level of a project as work progresses, if there is a risk of falling at a doorway or the opening of a building floor, roof, walls or shaft.

While Alcorn was provided with a harness, a shock-absorbing lanyard and an anchor for fall protection, Oxner questioned whether some of the equipment had been used in a previous fall because it was damaged. Under cross examination, Oxner said the harness could have been damaged when Alcorn fell.

But Gabriel "did not place a great deal of weight on [Oxner's] evidence," calling him "argumentative and evasive," and noted "he really had no idea whether or not the equipment was satisfactory at the time Mr. Alcorn put it on."

Keaveny said the Crown is reviewing the judge's decision carefully and hasn't yet decided if it will appeal.

Numerous OHS charges

Gooch and his employer, Insulated Panel Structures, are still facing numerous Occupational Health and Safety Act charges, which were on hold pending the conclusion of the criminal charge.

IPS is charged with failing to ensure an employee had valid fall protection training, failing to establish a written fall-protection safe-work procedure and four counts of failing to ensure appropriate fall protection was used where there was a risk of falling from a work area.

Gooch is charged with four counts of failing to take reasonable precaution to protect health and safety in the workplace, failing to ensure he, as foreman, had up-to-date fall protection training and knowingly furnishing an officer with false information.

The case is scheduled in Dartmouth provincial court on Feb. 5.

The first legal Vancouver pot shops opened 5 years ago. Some owners say business isn't booming


CBC
Thu, January 4, 2024 

Cannabis products are pictured at Sunrise Cannabis store in Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Justine Boulin/CBC - image credit)

When Mike Babins opened his legal cannabis shop on Jan. 5, 2019, he had a vision of where he'd be in five years — even if it was admittedly pie in the sky.

"I kind of thought I'd be on my private island in the Caribbean with people feeding me grapes, but that was a bit of a pipe dream," he told CBC News from his Evergreen Cannabis shop in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood.

Evergreen Cannabis was one of Vancouver's first two legal pot shops to open that day. There was a lineup around the block and no shortage of enthusiasm from customers.

"It was the first time we had to get a velvet rope to hold the crowd back, and I felt the significance of the velvet rope as a big deal to me," he recalled.

But times have changed. Many cannabis shops in B.C. have come and gone throughout the course of the first five years of legalization. Owners like Babins say competition is fierce, with many shops fighting over market share.

Many private retailers complain they're being undercut by government-operated B.C. Cannabis Stores (BCCS), which offer razor-thin, unsustainable margins.

A 15-per-cent wholesale markup on cannabis products charged to retailers by B.C.'s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) continues to eat away at profit margins.

"Five years is tough to do that in any business — especially this one," said Babins. "It's been ups and downs, ups and downs, lots and lots of work, and lots of people gunning for us competition-wise.

"But we keep on going on."

Mike Babins says competition has been fierce in the Kitsilano neighbourhood, where he owns and operates Evergreen Cannabis. 

(Gian-Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

Mounting markups

Babins says the days when he was one of the only shows in town are long gone. There are 83 licensed cannabis shops in Vancouver, and about a dozen in the Kitsilano area.

"There are more private stores, and there are ones closer to us, and they all happen to be chains with deep pockets and deals with their producers to have really good pricing, and we don't make deals like that," he said. "So we just have to do the best we can. So we keep our prices low, but it also means our markup is low."

Babins says what's helped his store stand out is the customer experience. He says he focuses on offering products from craft producers.

He often order products through the province's farm-gate program, which allows retail stores to receive deliveries directly from licensed small-scale farms rather than the province's wholesale warehouse. He says it ensures fresher cannabis.

He says even though products are delivered directly from the farm, he still has to pay the 15 per cent markup to LCRB, which significantly cuts into profits.

"They aren't even involved yet we still have to pay them," Babins said.

He says he'd like to see markups removed, or even reduced, for direct deliveries.

Ehren Richardson opened Sunrise Cannabis in 2021, not far from a B.C. Cannabis Store. (Gian-Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

Ehren Richardson, co-owner of Sunrise Cannabis, agrees.

"It's been largely a failed policy because there's been no financial incentive to take it on," said Richardson. "We pay the same ... even though we're not using their warehouse, their trucks, their personnel, their admin."

Competition with provincial retailers

Richardson opened his shop on Kingsway in Vancouver in 2021. Shortly after, a B.C. Cannabis Store opened up the road, and he said he instantly began to lose business.

"They've got about four times the square footage. They're able to display a lot more product, and their prices, when they opened, undercut basically every independent retailer in the area," he said.

"They had prices that were just not sustainable. Obviously it was a strategy to capture market share, and since then they've had to increase prices because they weren't making money."

In a statement, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General said provincial cannabis stores are often required to price down products that have experienced poor sales "to avoid them becoming aged and to mitigate the financial risk of not selling through stock."

The ministry also said it's currently exploring potential adjustments to its direct delivery program, including possible changes to the 15 per cent charge on direct delivered cannabis products.

Interior of BC Cannabis Shop after legalization, products and menu on display. 

(Chris Corday/CBC)

Municipalities waiting for tax share

Questions also remain over the federal excise tax on cannabis.

As of 2024, the province said it has received about $250 million in federal excise duty payments.

Despite federal expectations for the tax revenue to be shared with local governments, municipalities have yet to receive a dime from the province.

The Union of B.C. Municipalities previously called for a 50-50 split, estimating that the legalization of cannabis and the opening of dispensaries would cost local governments $11.5 million per year in incremental costs.

Vancouver City Councillor Pete Frey says municipalities are growing frustrated by the lack of excise tax revenue sharing from the province.
. (Gian-Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

A Vancouver city councillor says municipalities are still waiting on a plan from the province, but points to other jurisdictions like Colorado — where excise tax is used to fund public schools — as a potential model.

"Vancouver's a very cannabis-friendly town, it has been for years," Coun. Pete Fry said. "So it stands to reason there's probably a lot of money that's been left on the table that we're obliged to."

The ministry said while the province does not directly share excise tax revenue with local governments, the dollars have gone into B.C.'s Consolidated Revenue Fund that helps finance public services like health care, education and child care.

The ministry said the fund paid out $2.7 billion in 2023 to local governments, compared to $1.1 billion in 2018 — the year cannabis was legalized.

Provincial survey finds apartments have become pricier, scarcer in rural Alberta

NDP Calls for rent controls

CBC
Fri, January 5, 2024 

Westlock's vacancy rate for apartment units decreased more than any other rural community surveyed by the Alberta government last year. (Submitted by Carrie Meikle - image credit)

John Wilde thought finding an apartment in Westlock would be easy.

The population of the small town about 90 kilometres north of Edmonton has been decreasing for years, so Wilde, who was looking to move there from Leduc, south of Edmonton, in September for a job, figured there would be lots of affordable options.

But he struggled to find somewhere to live, even after visiting all the apartment buildings in town.

"I needed something small, but there was a big gap between big, expensive places and finding a reasonable, small place," he said.

After living on a ranch for a few months, Wilde eventually found a basement suite to rent through a friend of a friend last month.

His struggles represent a changing rental landscape across the province.

Apartment rentals in rural Alberta have become more expensive and less plentiful, according to a provincial government survey that included hundreds of rental buildings in dozens of small communities.

The survey, which is conducted annually, found the overall vacancy rate decreased from 11.5 per cent in 2022 to 5.4 per cent last year.

Westlock's vacancy rate decreased the most, moving from 23.6 per cent in 2022 to 4 per cent in 2023.

The survey doesn't capture all rural rental units but the government describes it as the only official and unbiased rental housing cost and vacancy information source for rural Alberta.

Only non-subsidized rental buildings with four or more units are included in the survey, meaning basement suites and other types of rentals are not captured.

Surveyed buildings are in communities with populations between 1,000 and 10,000 and at least 30 rental units. The communities must also not already be included in the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's annual rental market survey.

The survey looked at rentals in the towns of Banff and Jasper, but didn't include them in average rental costs and vacancy rate calculations because they are atypical tourist towns.

No vacancy in 22 towns

According to the survey, which was conducted in the summer, the average price of a bachelor apartment in 2023 was $746 — an increase of nearly 15 per cent since the previous year.

Average rental rates for one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units also increased.

Vacancy rates decreased in 46 communities, increased in seven and remained the same in 10.

The number of communities with no vacancy at all doubled from 11 to 22.

The report shows that average rural rentals are more affordable than in cities, where rents have also soared.

Province-wide, rent cost nearly 10 per cent more in October 2023, compared to October 2022, according to data from Statistics Canada.

Westlock eyes development incentives

Chief administrative officer Simone Wiley said Westlock's shortage of rental units has been frustrating local businesses, whose employees need accommodation.

She attributed Westlock's declining vacancy rate to the surge of people moving to Alberta.

Last year, the town signed on to a provincial immigration program that tries to help small towns recruit newcomers.

"That has been very successful in our community in the last six months and obviously is contributing to the lower amount of rental units available," she said.

The town of Westlock may introduce development incentives this year to increase its housing supply.

The town of Westlock may introduce development incentives this year to increase its housing supply. (Submitted by Carrie Meikle)

Wiley said the town has applied to the federal government's Housing Accelerator Fund, which is intended to support the development of affordable housing.

The town is also considering per-unit cash incentives for new developments.

"We can't attract people to our community if there's nowhere for them to live," Wiley said.

Calls for rent control

Kabir Shahani, capital funding manager at the non-profit Rural Development Network, said the Alberta government's survey results are consistent with what he has been hearing from residents in rural Alberta.

He said more housing supply is needed, but it's not enough.

"There should be some kind of provincial oversight on rent increases," he said.

The NDP Opposition has proposed a four-year cap on rent increases, but UCP cabinet ministers have criticized rent control, saying it could increase demand and stifle the creation of new housing.

Report says Nova Scotians spend one-third of grocery money on local food


CBC
Fri, January 5, 2024 

In surveys done last year, Nova Scotians say they spent from 27 per cent to 34 per cent of their grocery money on local food. (Matthew Howard/CBC - image credit)

Research commissioned by the province says Nova Scotians are spending about one-third of their grocery budgets on food that is produced locally.

Dalhousie University professor Sylvain Charlebois led the study with a goal of setting a baseline figure for local food consumption.

"Nobody really knew and nobody had any data. So … we had to develop a methodology to assess exactly how localized the Nova Scotian diet actually is," Charlebois said in an interview.

Charlebois and his fellow researchers surveyed over 500 Nova Scotians, asking how much of their food spending was local, excluding restaurant and takeout food.

The Pugwash Farmers’ Market has over 40 farmers, artisans, and bakers who gather weekly and is part of the Farmers Markets of Nova Scotia cooperative. Researchers say consumer demand is the main driver of local food capacity. 

(Pugwash Farmers' Market)

The survey was done three times last year, in January, April and October, with results ranging from 27 per cent to 34 per cent.

The survey done in April was included in a research paper published in a peer-reviewed journal called Foods.

Consumers overestimate local consumption

In that paper, Charlebois notes that the findings "predominantly portray the consumer's perspective as opposed to reflecting actual consumption patterns.

"

Food distribution and policy expert Sylvain Charlebois says Canadians' nutritional decisions are affected by the food guide. Food distribution and policy expert Sylvain Charlebois led the study into local food consumption in Nova Scotia. He says it could take decades to push local food consumption to a 'desirable place.'

 (David Laughlin/CBC)

In an interview, Charlebois said bias in consumer perspectives was a big challenge. He said not everyone defines local the same way, and people tend to overestimate how much local food they consume because of fallible memories and the social desirability of local products, Charlebois said.

He said he selected the most conservative estimate in his analysis of the data because of those factors.

Nova Scotia Agriculture Minister Greg Morrow said he was pleased with the results, which surpass a previous government goal of reaching 20 per cent local food consumption by 2030.

"We want Nova Scotians to choose local when they're buying their food. It benefits the economy, it benefits our agricultural community and benefits the environment as well," he said in an interview.

Greg Morrow is Nova Scotia's agriculture minister. He says he's encouraged by results of a survey that reported Nova Scotians spend about 30 per cent of their grocery budgets on local food. (Robert Short/CBC)

Morrow said he wants to encourage Nova Scotians to buy more locally, but he did not have a specific target.

"We're always looking at ways to extend seasons, enhance local food production. So I think it's just to continue the good work that we've done over the last two and a half years and to see how high we can get that number," he said.

Could take decades to reach ideal

Charlebois said it would be ideal for Nova Scotia to reach 50 per cent local food consumption. He said consumer demand is the main driver, and if people ask for more local products from retailers, the agriculture industry's capacity will grow to accommodate demand.

But he cautioned that change will not happen quickly.

"I think we have a long way to go before we get to a desirable place as a province. And when I say a long way to go, I mean decades."

Charlebois said he was keen on the province's idea of a loyalty program for local products, called Nova Scotia Loyal, which Tim Houston's government proposed during the 2021 election campaign. That program is still in development.

Alberta's COVID death toll up by 55 since last data release, with 295 more hospitalizations


CBC
Fri, January 5, 2024 



New COVID-19 severe outcomes in the most recent Alberta Health report vs. the previous report from two weeks earlier. (Data via Alberta Health, table by Robson Fletcher/CBC - image credit)

Another 55 Albertans have died from COVID, according to the latest data released by the province, which comes two weeks after the previous release.

(The data is usually reported weekly but there was no report during the week of Christmas.)

That brings the death toll for the current season to 378.

The latest data also shows an additional 295 people were hospitalized for COVID, including 20 admitted to intensive care units (ICU).

In total, there have now been 3,137 hospitalizations this season, including 193 admissions to ICU.

Admissions do not include patients with "incidental" cases of COVID-19 admitted to hospital/ICU for other reasons.

Alberta Health says the deaths include those "resulting from a clinically compatible illness in a lab-confirmed COVID-19 case, unless there is a clear alternative cause of death identified (e.g. trauma, poisoning, drug overdose, etc.)"

These numbers represent the difference between hospitalizations and deaths in the province's most recent weekly report compared to the report from the week before, for the 2023-24 respiratory virus tracking season.

The season runs from Aug. 27, 2023, to Aug. 24, 2024.

Age breakdown and data notes

Older people tend to be the most vulnerable to severe outcomes from COVID, but younger people can be affected, too.

The table below breaks down the total number of hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths in the current respiratory-virus season, by age range.

You'll also find the population-adjusted rate (per 100,000 people) for each age range.

This data all comes from the provincial government's respiratory virus dashboard, which is updated weekly.

There are often delays in reporting, however, meaning not all deaths and hospitalizations that actually happened during the latest weekly reporting period are included.

Each weekly report typically includes severe outcomes that occurred in prior weeks but were only just added to the data.

For more on why, see this story:

WE HAD A BROWN XMAS

Canada could face more record-breaking heat this year. How can we prepare for wildfires?

Low snowpack and higher temperatures forecast for El Niño year already raising wildfire concerns

CBC
Fri, January 5, 2024 

The Eagle Bluff Wildfire crosses the border from Washington State on July 30, prompting evacuation orders in Osoyoos, B.C. (Jesse Winter/Reuters)


The first week of January isn't usually wildfire season. But as 2024 began, more than 100 "zombie fires" were actively burning in British Columbia — holdovers from last summer that typically go dormant over winter.

"That is mind boggling to me. Just unheard of," said Lori Daniels, a professor with the University of British Columbia's department of forest and conservation sciences.

The warm, dry weather that capped off what is expected to be declared the planet's hottest year on record — and Canada's most destructive wildfire season by a longshot, with more than 6,500 fires burning close to 19 million hectares — is not over.

With the global El Niño weather system continuing through this spring, forecasts suggest 2024 could be even hotter — prompting wildfire and public policy experts to call for more wildfire prevention efforts now.

"The whole concept of business as usual is out the window," said John Robinson, a professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and the School of the Environment at the University of Toronto, adding governments, NGOs and social support organizations have to learn to be more adaptive.

"Unfortunately, response to disaster isn't a time where you get a lot of creative policy," he said. "We need proactive or pre-emptive response."

Why 2024 is already worrying

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is projecting above-normal temperatures across the country at least through fall, and about 70 per cent above normal in April through June.

"There's really no indication of below normal or, until we get maybe to the late fall, even near normal," said Bill Merryfield, a research scientist with ECCC's Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis.

ECCC is also projecting below-normal snowpack across all provinces through spring, leading to drier conditions come summer. In December, snowpack was less than a quarter of what's normal across much of southern Canada, Merryfield said.

Where's winter? So far, it's been an 'unnatural' grey and foggy season


Warm, dry winter has increased the wildfire risk in Alberta

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will release their official 2023 temperature numbers on Jan. 12, but all data so far indicates 2023 was the hottest on record globally.

Tom Di Liberto, climate scientist and public affairs specialist with NOAA, said when El Niño events straddle two years, it is typically the second year that ends up being hotter, indicating a strong possibility that temperatures could increase again in 2024. A recent example was 2016, the previous hottest year on record following El Niño.

"When you have back-to-back years of such extreme temperatures, it's kind of allowing the possibility to be a bit more severe," Di Liberto said.

Two people are pictured waiting for a boat ride across Shuswap lake to Celista from Sorrento, B.C., while evacuating from wildfires on Aug. 19. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Kevin Hanna, director of the University of British Columbia's Centre for Environmental Assessment Research and a former wildfire fighter, says the increasingly extreme heat and drought conditions have led people in disaster-prone regions to develop a "fear of summer and what it will bring."

"Is this the summer where my farm or ranch gets hit? Is this the summer when my town has to evacuate? You see it on people's face, you hear it in their voice," " Hanna said. "I know ranchers who have lost property— terrible flood damage, terrible wildfire damage."

Protecting infrastructure

Daniels said it is time for governments to increase investment in programs to help people make their homes more fire resistant, and to ensure all new builds in fire-prone areas follow FireSmart principles like those laid out by Natural Resources Canada.

She said Canadians in fire-prone areas can implement these principles themselves by tidying up yards, making sure there is no burnable debris in the gutters or under decks, and reconfiguring gardens so rocks are closer to buildings and flammable vegetation is pulled further away.

She said communities across Canada should start making emergency plans of action before spring, and accepting that it's not a matter of "if, but when" fire is coming to their communities.

The Eagle Bluff Wildfire crosses the border from Washington State on July 30, prompting evacuation orders in Osoyoos, B.C. (Jesse Winter/Reuters)

Hanna said Canada needs to have a bigger conversation about prevention and managing risk by reducing the vulnerability of infrastructure, and suggests wildfire vulnerability assessments and considerations become "part of everything we do in the permitting and review process" for major infrastructure projects like pipelines, power lines, highways and railways.

A likely unpopular suggestion heading into a dry and drought-prone year is that we might have to rethink some routine summer activities Canadians take for granted, Hanna says, including potentially limiting access to certain parts of the backcountry.

"If we want to keep areas safe, we might have to say people aren't allowed to go there. Because some people do things they shouldn't do," Hanna said.

"One spark from an ATV or a hot muffler on a dirt bike or something is going to potentially cause a huge amount of trouble."

Michael Norton, director general of the Canadian Forest Service with Natural Resources Canada, said the federal government is working on preventative measures through programs like the Wildfire Resilient Futures Initiative, which is investing $285 million over five years with a focus on prevention and mitigation, including reinforcing the FireSmart Canada program.

Fighting fire with fire

Counterintuitively, more fire could help prevent the most destructive blazes this summer.

"[Fire] is maybe the only natural disaster, where on one hand, it's extremely destructive, and on the other hand, is part of the solution," Daniels said, adding that Canada's forest management has focused primarily on maximizing economic benefit, which has increased the landscape's fire vulnerability.

"We've just left too much woody debris down on the ground, and that's fueling these new fires. And it's killing regenerating young forests that are 20 and 30 years old," she said.

A firefighter watches a prescribed burn proceed near Lytton in 2014. (B.C. Wildfire Management Branch)

Norton, said prescribed burns, forest thinning and Indigenous cultural burning practices are an important piece of fire mitigation that fire managers are deploying more often.

"Prescribed fire is not is not putting something artificial onto the landscape. It's using something that is in fact part of nature, in a controlled way to reduce risks," he said.

"Part of the challenge that we've had in this country over many decades of fire management is a disproportionate emphasis on only fire suppression activities," Norton said.

"All the provinces and territories are increasingly trying to shift focus towards a greater emphasis on preventing human-caused wildfires in the first place, and proactively mitigating risks from fires before they occur."
Collaboration and local expertise

Hanna says it is important to identify institutional barriers that are preventing controlled burns from being done sooner, such as multiple levels of decision making spread across different agencies.

He said that applies to Canada's model of firefighting as well, which has become "very centralized" and "elitist," run by provincial bodies that do not always work as closely as they could with locals.

"I think we have to rediscover the value of local people, their expertise and knowledge. Particularly in parts of rural communities in Canada, remote communities in Canada, where there's a lot of folks who know the land, know how to run machinery, who can work in a collaborative way with forest wildfire services to to be proactive, as well as reactive," he said.

The burned remains of the Scotch Creek & Lee Creek Fire Department and community hall are seen in Scotch Creek, B.C. in September. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

Those people also have a vested interest in protecting their homes and communities, but getting them on board can sometimes be a last-minute scramble.

"How can you deploy those resources quickly without going through a two-day procurement process or form-filling process? That's very important," Hanna said.

Norton said the federal government has recognized this and is committing more than $800 million to invest and train additional firefighters with a particular focus on Indigenous people, and working to bolster firefighting equipment on reserves.

"Our training funding is targeting a fairly local level," he said.

Five charts to help understand Canada's record-breaking wildfire season
Building on last year's lessons

Daniels said Canada's wildfire response has been strong, as evidenced by a lack of civilian deaths last year despite the massive destruction of property. She worries, however, that our past successes may be "one of our barriers to future adaptation."

The dangers to human life are also becoming evident, with eight firefighters losing their lives fighting wildfires across Canada in 2023.

"The firefighter deaths rocked the wildfire community across the country," Norton said.

Wildfire fighter in B.C. dies on front lines of largest fire in province's history


25-year-old from Ontario identified as wildfire fighter killed in B.C.

Apart from the sheer number and size of fires in 2023, firefighters are dealing with increasingly severe fire behaviour like the proliferation of pyrocumulonimbus clouds, thunderstorms created and driven by the heat of extreme fires that can sometimes create new fires.

But among the challenges, Norton points to some major federal successes. He said Canada brought in more than 5,600 firefighters from 12 other countries to help fight fires in 2023 and signed new agreements to ensure support from other countries moving forward.

The Canadian Forest Service also delivered new wildfire intelligence tactical mapping products to provinces and territories, and in 2023 the U.S. Department of Defense deployed FireGuard, a new high-tech fire detection system, to help Canada battle wildfires using real-time data from drones and satellites to help detect new flareups in remote areas for the first time.

"We had, under incredible pressure, had some quite striking successes that we are working very hard to learn from to be able to reproduce as and when necessary in the future," Norton said.

Flawed snow crab price-setting system needs overhaul soon, FFAW says

CBC
Fri, January 5, 2024 

Fish, Food & Allied Workers president Greg Pretty says his union's members can't afford to fish crab for just $2.20 a pound. 

(Patrick Butler/Radio-Canada - image credit)

Fish, Food & Allied Workers president Greg Pretty says a formula-based pricing system needs to be in place before prices are set for the 2024 season. A report released in November recommended a formula be in place by the end of January. (Patrick Butler/Radio-Canada)

The president of the Fish, Food & Allied Workers union says time is ticking on getting a new formula-based seafood pricing system in place ahead of the 2024 season.

A November report from the province's three-person fish price-setting team submitted to the provincial government said the current seafood price-setting process is flawed and changes need to be made to avoid another tie-up that halted the snow crab industry for six weeks last season.

The report offered nine recommendations, including that a formula-based pricing system be implemented by the end of January.

FFAW president Greg Pretty said that process is underway.

"We have that report now, and both parties are working toward a formula, market-priced formula for 2024," he told CBC News on Thursday.

The price of snow crab sat at $2.60 per pound at the end of last season, up from $2.20 per pound at the beginning of the season.

Pretty said snow crab dropped by about 30 cents per pound in December but has since stabilized. The volatility shows why a formula-based is so necessary, he said.

"When the market is low like it is now, it's extremely important that the shares of the market price are fair and equitable," he said.

"Hopefully that price starts to rise a little bit. But it's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination — but again, what we're talking about here in this formula is shared risk. If we can establish that and move forward, that's the key for us."

The processing line has been activated and snow crab is once again being produced at the Quilan Bros. Limited seafood plant in Bay de Verde. Snow crab was at the centre of controversy last season and played a large role in calls for a formula-based pricing model. (Terry Roberts/CBC)

The Association of Seafood Producers, who were at odds with the FFAW during the tie-up last season, is also part of formula negotiations.

As negotiations on collective bargaining and the pricing formula continue, Pretty said, he hopes all parties will move forward smoothly — but added that working with the ASP is "the nature of the beast."

"The formula works, no question about that. So the biggest challenge here is that we're dealing with ASP," he said.

"They're not great at sharing, I understand that, but there's been so much emphasis put on this fishery and rural Newfoundland because of 2023. You know, all parties including the provincial government are hopeful here that we can set on a new path."

Requests by CBC News for an interview with the Association of Seafood Producers were declined.

Meanwhile, Pretty says there are other issues that need to be addressed ahead of the season, like improving employment insurance. Some workers failed to qualify for EI because of the six-week holdout.

"We were promised that something would happen here positively for our members, whether it be harvesters or plant workers, on the EI situation. We were promised that, and all they could come up with was the four weeks [extension]. Well, that's not good enough," he said.

Pretty also said the FFAW will have a leadership election in 2024 but wouldn't say whether he will run for re-election.

Calgary group floods streets with bike traffic once a month


CBC
Fri, January 5, 2024 

Cyclists in Calgary are meeting up on the last Friday of each month for Critical Mass, a group bike ride that's held in cities around the world. (Julie Debeljak/CBC - image credit)

Calgarians are taking to the streets, once a month, in a pack of bikes.

This summer, cyclists got together to ride in a "Critical Mass," a group bicycle movement that's said to have started in San Francisco, but has since been adopted in hundreds of cities around the world.

For some, it's a form of protest, a statement, others just want to get out and celebrate biking as a community.

Alyssa Quinney, one of the organizers, said the turnout in Calgary blew her away. She expected a few of her friends to join in, but more than 100 people rolled up to the meeting point in Sunnyside. The group rolled down 10th Street N.W. and crossed into downtown as cars followed behind.

Riding with the group, compared to riding on her own around the city, is a night and day experience, she said. Despite Calgary's cycle tracks and pathways, Quinney describes commuting around the city, or even taking a leisurely trip, as hostile — with a feeling that she always has to be on guard.

"There's tons of missing links in this city," Quinney said. "It can be a very frustrating time."

Compare that to the last Friday of every month, when Critical Mass participants dress for a leisurely cruise. She says all are welcome, and there are no prerequisites.

It's attracted hundreds of people with their kids and pets. Quinney said even people who typically avoid biking on the road can feel at ease — it levels the playing field.

"We're all there to look out for each other. We go slow enough so that we can chat," Quinney said.

Ringing their bells and waving, the group is a spectacle that's hard to miss, especially for cars trailing behind the mass of bikes. And that's kind of the point Quinney and others are making with the ride. Taking up space, she says, is a reminder that the road isn't just for cars.

City staff are watching what Critical Mass riders have to say.

Investments over the years have moved from the downtown cycle track to a focus on retrofitting roads all over the city to be more inclusive. Jen Malzer, the city's public spaces project development leader, said there's lots of work to do.

"We have a story that Calgary is a car-culture city, but I see a lot more than that," Malzer said.

Cycle track Calgary river path peace bridge May 24, 2018

Calgary has an extensive network of recreational pathways for strolling and biking. (Julie Debeljak/CBC)

Calgary has a huge network of recreational pathways, she points out, and it also has a quality of life that many other major cities would envy.

Over the next four years, she said, the city is investing in new bike and pedestrian corridors, looking at missing links, and improving sketchy crossings.

What that looks like takes many forms, but Malzer said engaged citizens, like those participating in Critical Mass, can help the city zero in on where to invest.

"Community and transportation planners and engineers — a lot of the data that we collect and a lot of the lessons about what's safe and what isn't safe … we learn from the people living there," she said.

Calgary is working toward a safer transportation network, to reduce the number of major injury and fatality collisions by 25 per cent in the next four years.

"We recognize that collisions are going to happen," said Tony Churchill, the city's mobility safety coordinator. "We just want to make sure that nobody's hurt, and cyclists and pedestrians and motorcyclists are all at greater risk of injury."

The City of Calgary wants to create adaptive sidewalks on extra-wide roadways, like this one along 26 Avenue S.W.

The City of Calgary wants to create adaptive sidewalks on extra-wide roadways, like this one along 26th Avenue S.W. (The City of Calgary)

Churchill said that means looking at near-miss and collision data, retrofitting roads, and even changing up signage and traffic signals.

During one of the Critical Mass rides in September, Mayor Jyoti Gondek pedaled along. That's something Quinney hopes to see more of.

"I think it's important for people who make the big decisions in the city to kind of come down to our level and see what it's like to get around," Quinney said.