Poll suggests fighting Ottawa is a political winner for Danielle Smith and the UCP

IT'S WORKED SINCE THE DIRTY THIRTIES UNDER BIBLE BILL ABERHART AND SOCIAL CREDIT ONE PARTY RULE TILL 1970

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Ottawa last year. A new CBC News poll finds that standing up to the federal government matters a lot to Albertans who approve of the governing UCP. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press - image credit)


EDITOR'S NOTE: CBC News commissioned this public opinion research in April, leading into the first anniversary of the United Conservative Party's general election win last May. The poll offers insight into how Albertans feel about Danielle Smith's UCP government and the Opposition NDP.

As with all polls, this one provides a snapshot in time.

This analysis is one in a series of articles from this research.


Danielle Smith's critics often charge the Alberta premier's constant battle with Ottawa wastes time and resources, ignores federal benefits and even backfires.

But it works from a purely political perspective — keeping United Conservative (UCP) supporters happy — according to recent CBC News polling.

"There is a real close tie between being satisfied with how the UCP government is dealing with the federal government and liking the government," said Janet Brown, who conducted the survey for CBC News.

Using a statistical analysis that estimates the relationships between policy and supporting the government, CBC's polling data predicts what issues drive overall support for the governing UCP.

Imagine all the polling data flowing through statistical software simultaneously to mathematically sort out the most meaningful — or statistically significant — issues driving satisfaction with the provincial government. The modelling reveals which issues predict the overall approval of the UCP government.

Despite the sustained controversy surrounding invoking its contentious Sovereignty Act to beat back federal clean energy regulation, floating an unpopular Alberta-only pension plan and establishing a provincial police force, analysis of the polling shows that standing up to the federal government matters a lot in the minds of Albertans who strongly or somewhat approve of the governing UCP. After honesty, it's the second biggest issue predicting support for the UCP.

Smith's constant barrage against Ottawa is a winning issue with UCP supporters, helping the governing party keep the support it had among Alberta voters last May and underscoring the good news in the poll for the governing party.

Despite a modest approval rating of 4.5 out of 10 among Alberta voters, Smith's aggressive stance against Ottawa keeps her core supporters happy.

Historically, wrestling with Ottawa works

Alberta's political leaders have waged an unrelenting war on the federal government for generations, with the most effective premiers acting as "guardians against a marauding federal government."

This political posturing works because it turns the federal government into a scapegoat, hides provincial problems such as health care and sidelines the opposition.

The notorious National Energy Program (NEP) showdown over Alberta's energy wealth in the early 1980s sparked an upswing of Western separatism and a rancorous political battle between Alberta and the feds.

Former Alberta premier Ralph Klein was a proponent of equalization as a singular program, but he opposed equalizing other federal transfers based on need.

In battling with Ottawa, Smith is following in the steps of other Alberta premiers, including Ralph Klein. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press)

Ottawa wanted a piece of Alberta's oil wealth to help cushion the pinch of inflation.

But premier Peter Lougheed pushed back, cutting oil production by 15 per cent, tightening the supply to the rest of the country.

Fast-forward a quarter century. A different Alberta premier — this time, Ralph Klein — echoed Lougheed, telling the federal Liberals to keep their "hands off" Alberta's ballooning oil revenues.

Smith vs. Ottawa

The rinse-and-repeat cycle of Edmonton and Ottawa clashing over rights and resources persists today, with Smith making it the signature feature of her political rhetoric.

The radio call-in host turned politician came to power proclaiming, "We need less Ottawa in our lives."

While heralding the expansion of the federally owned Trans Mountain pipeline as a "game changer" that triples the flow of Alberta's oil to tidewater, critics have called out Smith for burying her thanks to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in her public pronouncements.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Calgary on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Calgary in March. Smith's constant barrage against Ottawa is a winning issue with UCP supporters. (Todd Korol/The Canadian Press)

On top of the UCP's Sovereignty Act, the centrepiece of Smith's attack on federal intrusion, the UCP introduced legislation this year to counter — even veto — deals Alberta municipalities strike with the federal government for money for transit and affordable housing.

Also this spring, the ruling UCP proposed plans to vet federal research grants to Alberta universities.

When the federal government announced plans last December to cut methane emissions from the oil-and-gas sector by three-quarters by 2030, Smith blasted the proposal as "dangerous and unconstitutional."

Earlier this month, the UCP similarly called changes to the federal Impact Assessment Act "unconstitutional," threatening to challenge the legislation in court.

While her critics decry Smith's supercharged, anti-Ottawa rhetoric, the CBC News poll suggests that UCP supporters like the premier's tough stance.

Leader of the Conservative Party Pierre Poilievre rises in response to the Speaker asking him to withdraw language during Question Period, Tuesday, April 30, 2024 in Ottawa.

Standing up to Ottawa becomes considerably more 'complex' for the UCP should Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's party win the next election. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Standing up to Ottawa is strongly correlated with overall support for the UCP. Voters who strongly or somewhat support the governing party's handling of Ottawa are 44 per cent more likely to approve of the government overall.

But Smith's heated rhetoric could be a disappointment to Albertans if, as polls suggest, Canadians fire Justin Trudeau's Liberals next year.

Bashing Ottawa works now — but might not in the future

Alberta conservatives tend to get a political boost from beating up on Ottawa when the Liberals run the federal government.

Polls suggest the Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre, is on track to win a majority.

The "menace becomes less menacing" with conservatives in charge in both Ottawa and Edmonton.

Alberta premiers such as Don Getty and Jim Prentice found it challenging to get Alberta voters to blame Ottawa for the Prairie province's sluggish economy with a conservative government in power federally.

Standing up to Ottawa becomes less politically potent potentially and considerably more "complex" for the UCP with a Conservative federal government, said University of Calgary political scientist Lisa Young.

"It will be interesting to see how the Smith government adapts to that change and whether they're able to maintain that sense that they are looking out for Alberta's rights when they don't have … the foil of Justin Trudeau in Ottawa," added Young.

If the polls are correct, Smith could face a Conservative prime minister for nearly two years before heading back to the polls in the fall of 2027.

The CBC News random survey of 1,200 Albertans was conducted using a hybrid method between May 1 and 15 by Edmonton-based Trend Research under the direction of Janet Brown Opinion Research. The sample is representative of regional, age and gender factors. The margin of error is +/- 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. For subsets, the margin of error is larger.

The survey used a hybrid methodology that involved contacting survey respondents by telephone and giving them the option of completing the survey at that time, at another more convenient time, or receiving an email link and completing the survey online. Trend Research contacted people using a random list of numbers, consisting of 40 per cent landlines and 60 per cent cellphone numbers. Telephone numbers were dialed up to five times at five different times of day before another telephone number was added to the sample. The response rate among valid numbers (i.e., residential and personal) was 11.7 per cent.

Alberta UCP government limits debate on contentious bills, drawing Opposition anger

The Canadian Press
Tue, May 28, 2024 



EDMONTON — Alberta’s government is limiting legislature debate time to pass four controversial bills, a tactic the Opposition New Democrats say runs roughshod over the democratic process.

With the spring sitting set to wrap up this week, Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party government is passing motions to limit debate to one hour at each stage for the bills.

The NDP said Tuesday the tactic stifles elected members who won't have a chance to voice concerns from constituents about the proposed legislation.

Three of the bills have been characterized by critics, including rural municipal leaders, as an authoritarian power grab.

One would give the province the power to veto federal funding deals with cities, towns and universities, while another would give Smith’s cabinet authority to overturn local bylaws it finds unsavoury.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley said the UCP is now pushing legislation through at a record pace.

She said the average time for debate on a bill under the NDP, and the UCP when Jason Kenney was in charge, has now dropped by half under Smith.

"She's using this legislature to consolidate power in her office."

A third bill will push provincial elections into the fall, instead of the spring, and gives more authority to the province to step in on local responses to emergencies like wildfires and droughts.

The fourth will pave the way for Smith to re-haul the public health-care system, the most expensive line in the budget, creating four new bureaucracies that report directly to her health minister.

"The consequences people will feel, and the more they feel the consequences, the more they will probably care about the fact that it was jammed through in a way that has made Alberta probably the least democratic jurisdiction in the Commonwealth," said Notley.

Among the four, the only bill the government has moved to change in response to feedback has still inspired an ad campaign against it.

Alberta Municipalities - the organization representing towns, cities and villages - confirmed Tuesday one billboard asking if Albertans were consulted on the bill is being displayed across the street from the legislature.

Government house leader Joseph Schow dismissed the Opposition's concerns, saying the NDP doesn't want to offer input on the bills and just wants them scrapped.

"The NDP has shown zero interest in helping us on legislation.”

The government used its majority in the house to reject a string of amendments proposed later Tuesday by the NDP.

However, Schow said there are other ways to get feedback from Albertans, including town halls.

"This isn't the House of Commons, we're not gonna give at least 40 hours of debate again. We're not going to let them hold it up," he said.

Schow also rejected the idea that public feedback was being ignored, even though every riding in Edmonton is represented by the Opposition.

"We have lots of stakeholders that we meet with regularly here in Edmonton, whether they support us or not," he said.

Since the UCP took power under Kenney in 2019, the special time limit has been invoked 54 times, compared to four times under the NDP’s four-year mandate.

The government is now on pace to use the power 18 times this session, since Smith won last year's election.

The legislature sitting is scheduled to finish Thursday, but it could see members break for the summer as early as Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2024.

The Canadian Press

Alberta UCP wraps spring legislature sitting marred by accusations of overreach

The Canadian Press
Wed, May 29, 2024 



EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government capped off the spring legislature sitting Wednesday after passing bills slammed by critics as an undemocratic power grab.

One proposed law, which would give the United Conservative Party government the ability to overturn municipal bylaws, passed debate in the house shortly before members adjourned for the summer.

Backlash from municipalities about the bill going too far spurred the UCP to make amendments and claw back a plan for cabinet to be able to quickly fire mayors and councillors.

When the bill officially becomes law, the government would have to call for a local recall vote.

The widespread criticism didn't stop with the amendments.

Municipal leaders have said the changes don’t provide guardrails to prevent the province from strong-arming municipal decision-making.

Alberta Municipalities launched on Tuesday an ad campaign against the bill, including a billboard near the legislature building.

Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver has defended the bill and pointed to a clause in it that would remove property taxes to incentivize affordable housing.

"It's a good bill," he said.

The fast pace of the final weeks of the sitting drew condemnation from Opposition New Democrats. They accused the government of ramming through four contentious bills as quickly as possible, limiting the opportunity of members to voice concerns from constituents.

The NDP said the government ran roughshod over the democratic process by using motions to limit debate time to one hour at each debate stage.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley said Smith, with the municipalities bill, is giving her government the ability to intimidate and bully any local officials who might stand up publicly against it.

“It doesn’t respect the democratic will of the people. This is a government that thinks that it can just make decisions on its own with no regard to the opinions of Albertans or, quite frankly, the truth,” Notley said.

Government house leader Joseph Schow defended the use of time limits, saying the Opposition has neither supported the bills nor offered constructive criticism.

"We got a lot of good bills through," Schow said of the UCP's first 12 months in office.

The last bill of the sitting to get the stamp of approval from UCP legislators later Wednesday would pave the way for Smith to restructure the public health-care system and create four new governing bureaucracies that report to Health Minister Adriana LaGrange.

Legislation passed earlier this week would push provincial elections into the fall, instead of the spring, and give more authority to the government to step in on local emergency responses, like wildfires and droughts.

Another bill would give the province the power to veto federal funding for cities, towns and universities.

That bill has sparked concern the province will interfere with academic freedom and free speech from student and faculty groups.

The sitting came to a close against a backdrop of provincewide protests against the UCP, pushback from Pride groups over proposed rules for transgender youth and an NDP leadership race to replace Notley.

With NDP members set to choose a new leader June 22, Wednesday marked the last day Notley stood in the house as the leader of the Opposition.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2024.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press

PRIVATE DAY CARE RULES ALBERTA

Low wages, no benefits, continue to plague Alberta's child-care system, critics 

CBC
Tue, May 28, 2024

Early childhood educators still receive wages lower than the living wage, and many lack access to pension and benefit plans. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press - image credit)

As Alberta continues to build out its spaces under the Canada-wide child-care system, there are increasing calls to improve compensation for educators who staff child-care centres.

In November 2021, the Alberta and federal governments signed an agreement aimed at bringing down the average fee parents pay for child care to $10 a day by 2026. The five-year deal included $3.8 billion in funding commitments from Ottawa.

Since then, the number of child-care spaces has expanded, but it has proven difficult for operators to find qualified staff to keep up with the demand.

Early childhood educators (ECEs), the majority of whom are women, earn wages close to or below what is considered the living wage in cities like Calgary, Edmonton and Fort McMurray.

Level 1 ECEs, who make up 45 per cent of Alberta's child-care workforce, earn $19.43 an hour after the government's top-up of $2.64. Many ECE positions do not include benefits, paid sick days or a pension plan.

The low pay, and lack of opportunity for advancement, have either kept people from entering the field, or encouraged ECEs to leave. Experts say that needs to change to have the system work as intended where child-care centres are staffed by people trained in early childhood education.

Christopher Smith, associate executive director of the Muttart Foundation, which works to improve the early education and care of young children, said attracting and keeping a qualified workforce requires investment in those workers.

"If you have those educators churning, turning over rapidly, if you have those educators being stressed in their environments or worrying about their own financial well-being, what kind of quality care are they going to be able to provide for children and families?" Smith said.

Right now, educators can receive the same compensation in the food service or retail industries without requiring extra education or experiencing the stress of caring for children, Smith said.

"The ball is in the Alberta government's court," he said. "If you want to have a stable, secure, qualified workforce, then you need to invest in that work just as you would in any other sector of the economy."

No wage grid for Alberta ECEs

A recent report from Child Care Now, a national advocacy group, says Alberta and Ontario are the only two provinces that haven't enacted or committed to a wage grid. A grid lays out pay for each level of ECE which increase with each additional year of service.

The report also says that to help with retention, ECEs should receive non-salaried compensation such as benefits and pension plans.

Matt Jones, Alberta's minister of jobs, economy and trade, is responsible for implementing the province's joint agreement with the federal government.

Jones said his ministry is looking at the idea of a wage grid, but has not made a commitment to introducing one. He said hourly rates would have to be regionalized to take into account areas of Alberta with a higher cost of living, such as Fort McMurray.

He said the province wants to provide funding to operators which allows them to run their child-care centres and attract and retain ECEs by providing them adequate salaries.

"A one-size-fits-all approach is not going to work for operator funding and it's not going to work for ECE compensation because, as you can appreciate, each region of Alberta has a different labour market," Jones said.

Jones said he has been in discussions with his federal counterpart, Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jenna Sudds, about possible tweaks to the current federal-provincial child-care agreement.

Jones could not provide a timeline for when Albertans would see the cost-control framework that has been in the works for a couple of years.

A spokesperson for Sudds confirmed the talks are underway. Implementation of the Early Learning and Child Care Agreement between the federal and Alberta governments includes an increase in wages for child-care workers in addition to a reduction in parent fees, so it is up to the province to make that happen, she said.

Nova Scotia benefits and pension

How wages can go up while fees go down is a question day cares and the government are grappling with.

Last year, the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Alberta proposed a wage grid to the province. The grid started an entry level 1 ECE at a wage of $20.20 an hour, increasing to $24.85 over seven years.

The salary ranges started at $42,016 and topped out at $51,688. The report said proposed wages would need to be updated as they were based on Alberta Labour information from 2019.

Amanda Rosset, chair of the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Alberta, noted that the current wage system is supplemented by government top-ups. She said ECEs don't view the top-up amount as a guaranteed wage, and the amounts are still too low in many areas of the province.

"We look at the living wage report, the average level of wages for ECE is is under in most regions throughout our province," she said.

Many ECEs don't have access to benefits and pension plans. Some daycares are able to offer them to their employees. Others don't.

Nova Scotia has introduced a pension and defined benefits plan for early childhood educators. ECEs can take the plans with them if they move to other child care centres in the province.

Smith, from the Muttart Foundation, said a similar plan in Alberta would help, as access to a pension and benefit plan isn't consistent.

"Why would we think it's OK to have one educator having no paid sick days a year, another educator having 10 [days], essentially doing the same job?" he said. "So we need to approach this on a much more public basis."

More costs to the system

But there are questions about where the money is going to come from.

Krystal Churcher, a daycare operator who is chair of the Alberta Association of Child Care Entrepreneurs, is a prominent critic of the national daycare plan.

She said Ottawa is giving provinces money to increase child-care spaces without a plan to ensure there are workers to staff them.

Churcher says she supports ECEs getting higher wages, and agrees that having a provincial benefits and pension could be advantageous in Alberta.

She is frustrated that a plan to increase workers and pay them better still isn't in place three years into the federal plan, She asks where the money is coming from.

"Are you going to reduce something in your centre to add higher wages for staff? And what is that going to be? Is that your food program? Is that your field trips?" Churcher said.

She said operators are getting only a three per cent increase to their funding this year, which doesn't account for rising rental and utility costs.

"We can't bleed out money any longer," Churcher said.

"We need the either the province to step up and support educators, or the federal government to realize that while it sounds wonderful to keep throwing money into this program to create spaces, if we don't have a solid workforce strategy to staff those spaces, they're absolutely useless."

Diana Batten, the NDP critic for children's services, said the provincial government needs to step up. She said Jones can take action immediately if he wanted to.

"The UCP government has had a long time, years, to set up this wage grid," she said. "It has not happened. There is no reason for this. The early childhood educators have been asking for it."

Alberta is failing to meet its own child-care inspection guidelines, documents show

CBC
Thu, May 30, 2024 

Sarah MacDonald's son was hospitalized during the E. coli outbreak in Calgary last September. She says she still has questions about how such a large and devastating outbreak could have occurred and wants to know what is going to change. (Helen Pike/CBC - image credit)


At a time when Canada is vastly expanding its child-care system, and just eight months after a major E. coli outbreak in Calgary child-care centres, an Alberta Health Services analysis shows the province is lagging in its rate of daycare inspections, falling far short of its guideline of at least two inspections per year at each of the province's licensed daycare centres.

The report, titled Safe Healthy Environments - Childcare Inspection Analysis and obtained under freedom of information, is worrying to the mother of a child hospitalized during last year's outbreak and concerning to public health experts who say the lag in inspection rates is putting kids at risk.

It shows 354 licensed daycares with food facilities did not see an inspection in the twelve months before March 18, 2024. That's just over 20 per cent of Alberta daycares with food services.


Of the 1,315 that were inspected, more than 40 per cent were cited for food handling or hygiene violations. The analysis was prepared by AHS Environmental Public Health and covers the dates from April 1, 2022, to March 18, 2024.

AHS working toward 1 inspection per year

The most common violations were food handling, cleaning and sanitation. The report notes that 97.4 per cent of child-care centres have a kitchen on site, while about 50 facilities obtain their food from a central kitchen.

"This is pretty bad inspection rates considering the sort of high-risk populations," said Keith Warriner, a professor of food microbiology at University of Guelph. He was particularly troubled by the rate of non-compliance, which often resulted in multiple follow-up inspections to correct problems.

Repeated critical food handling and sanitation violations at 145 facilities accounted for multiple health inspectors visits, according to the analysis.

"This tells me a lot of resources are dedicated to try and clean up messes which shouldn't have occurred and letting facilities get away with things before making the ultimate decision to shut them down," Warriner said.

While the province mandates two inspections per licensed daycare, AHS said in a statement to CBC News that it is still working toward meeting a minimum of one routine monitoring inspection of every childcare facility in Alberta, every 12 months.

The review period includes last September's E. coli outbreak in Calgary, which sickened 448 people and hospitalized 39 children and one adult.

The source of the illness was traced to a central kitchen supplying food to multiple daycare centres.

A review panel looking into the incident was expected to report its findings in April but has now been granted an extension by the government until the end of June to give the group more time to talk to parents.

'The system is not safe'

Sarah MacDonald, whose four-year-old son was hospitalized because of the E. coli outbreak, is troubled by the findings in the report.

"I have difficulty understanding why the safety of our children is not a priority," she said in an interview with CBC News.

"We were assured the system was safe, and I think the data is telling a different story. The system is not safe."

Sarah MacDonald's son, who was hospitalized during the massive E. coli outbreak last September, plays with toys in his Calgary home on May 22, 2024.

Though he's doing well now, MacDonald says her son will need to have his kidneys monitored for the foreseeable future. (Helen Pike/CBC)

MacDonald says her son spent three days in hospital, then suffered at home for another three weeks.

"He was afraid to eat food for a little while afterwards," she said, adding he was also traumatized by the needles and blood tests required for his treatment. "It was really difficult for him to understand."

MacDonald says her son is doing well now, but will need to have his kidneys monitored for the foreseeable future. She still has questions about how such a large and devastating outbreak of E. coli could have occurred in a kitchen serving 11 daycare centres.

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) is caused by eating contaminated food and is often associated with bloody diarrhea. Most patients get better on their own, but children are at greater risk of complications. Eight of those hospitalized during the Alberta outbreak were required to go on dialysis.

"I want to know what is going to change," said MacDonald. "I want to know what the consequences are for these businesses, because I know my son has paid a very high price."

The kitchen providing meals to her son's daycare had been inspected 11 times before the E. coli outbreak, and new violations were detected on at least six of those visits, according to AHS inspection records, which show it was also cited for three critical violations in its first inspection after the outbreak was detected.

The source of the September 2023 E. coli outbreak in Calgary, which sickened 448 people and hospitalized 39 children and one adult, was traced to a central kitchen supplying food to multiple daycare centres, including six locations of Fueling Brains daycare centres, Alberta Health Services said in a statement at the time.More

The source of the E. coli outbreak, which sickened 448 people and hospitalized 39 children and one adult, was traced to a Calgary central kitchen supplying food to multiple daycare centres, including six locations of Fueling Brains daycare centres, Alberta Health Services said in a statement at the time. (CBC)

Alberta Health Services wrote in an email to CBC News that the role of public health inspectors is to identify hazards and provide education and direction. It said inspectors work to correct violations through ongoing communication and reinspection.

AHS says it has not issued any fines or prosecutions.

Alberta has about 200 public health inspectors responsible for ensuring safety at a wide range of facilities including long term care, restaurants, food trucks, shelters, public housing, nail salons, tattoo parlours and child-care centres.

High-risk population

The former manager of food safety at Toronto Public Health reviewed key elements of the analysis for CBC News. Jim Chan raised flags about rates of inspection and non-compliance.

"The number of child-care centres that have not been inspected for the full year is quite high," he said.

Jim Chan, the former manager of food safety at Toronto Public Health raised flags about inspection rates and non-compliance rates in Alberta child-care centres after reviewing key elements of a provincial analysis for CBC News, noting that child-care centres in Ontario that serve food receive a minimum of three inspections per year.More

Jim Chan, the former manager of food safety at Toronto Public Health raised flags about inspection rates and non-compliance rates in Alberta child-care centres after reviewing key elements of a provincial analysis. He noted that child-care centres in Ontario that serve food receive a minimum of three inspections per year. (Craig Chivers/CBC)

"To me that is a very crucial type of risk," he said, noting that child-care centres in Ontario that serve food receive a minimum of three inspections per year.

He also found Alberta's 44 per cent non-compliance rate in 2023 to be high compared with Toronto, where he says he sees a rate of nine to 10 per cent in a given year.

"That can be a risk to the clients, which in a daycare are very young. Very young and very old can be classed as a high-risk population."

Concerns about cutting corners

Concerns about inspections come at a time when Alberta's child-care system is seeing a massive expansion.

The federal government is pouring $3.8 billion into lowering daycare costs and adding 68,700 new spaces in Alberta by 2026.

The number of children attending daycare in Alberta has already soared by about 35 thousand since 2021, according to the province.

The added demand coupled with lower fees paid to operators under the federal plan is placing a lot of pressure on the daycare business, according to Sarah Hunter, the owner of The Imagination Tree, a Calgary daycare.

Her centre is filled to capacity at 95 children. Though she says she takes care to ensure that her centre follows proper food handling procedures, she worries others may not as budgets become increasingly tight.

Sarah Hunter, the owner of the Imagination Tree, is pictured at the Calgary daycare centre on May 23, 2024. Though she says she ensure her centre follows proper food handling procedures, she worries others may not as budgets become increasingly tight.

Sarah Hunter, the owner of the Imagination Tree daycare in Calgary, says that though she ensures her centre follows proper food handling procedures, she worries others may not as budgets become increasingly tight. (Helen Pike/CBC)

She says problems will arise when centres are desperate to stay in business.

"You're gonna cut corners wherever you have to cut them," she said in an interview. "So if that involves not meeting regulation on some days, maybe that's what you're … forced to do."

"To run a clean, organized, well-staffed quality program costs money, and it costs a lot of money."

The double whammy

Mike Parker, the head of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta representing health inspectors in the province, worries that his members can't keep up.

"We don't have the inspectors on the streets today to do the work," he said.

According to the most recent annual report from AHS, the total number of food safety inspections has fallen by about fifteen thousand per year since 2018.

Parker says the problem is a growing number of facilities to inspect, coupled with demands to reinspect some places multiple times.

"That's the double whammy," he said. "Our members are stretched, trying to get to as many as they can."

"Our kids are vulnerable to this when we can't ensure their safety."

Despite those concerns, the federal government says it's satisfied with the province's rollout of the new daycare plan.

Shortly after announcing more federal money for inclusive child care in Edmonton on May 16, federal Minister of Employment and Workforce Development Randy Boissonnault, told CBC News he had no issues with Alberta's approach to inspections.

"I'm confident in the safety of kids and the province doing what it needs to do to make sure that kids are safe."

In a written statement to CBC News, AHS said it was still working through a backlog of inspections resulting from the pandemic.

AHS also notes it has made substantial efforts to identify central kitchens that provide food to multiple child-care facilities in Alberta.

After initially agreeing to speak with CBC News, Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange cancelled on Wednesday. Her office said she would provide written responses to questions.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for BABA CARE 

Ontario needs to tackle $16.8B school repair backlog: advocates

STUDIES SHOW POORLY MAINTAINED SCHOOLS NEGATIVELY IMPACT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024 

Humberside Collegiate Institute is one of many schools in Toronto and across the province in desperate need of repairs, according to advocates and the NDP. (Mehrdad Nazarahari/CBC - image credit)


Every time heavy rain hits Toronto's Humberside Collegiate Institute, parts of the high school shut down.

Three floors of stairs get cordoned off due to flooding. Water leaking from the roof makes its way to at least 20 spots throughout the school and collects in garbage bins. In the basement, a corridor lined with lockers is littered with deep puddles.

It's a scene Bhutila Karpoche, the NDP MPP of Parkdale—High Park described in a widely viewed series of social media posts to get the Progressive Conservative government's attention on the state of disrepair of schools in Toronto and across the province.


"Successive governments, both Liberal and Conservative, have not funded school repairs, and now, they are literally crumbling," she told reporters at Queen's Park on Wednesday.

"I do not want to hear any talking points. I want the minister to fix the schools."

Karpoche and advocacy group Fix Our Schools say the provincial school maintenance and repair backlog stood at a whopping $16.8 billion in 2022, and continues to grow each year.

Krista Wylie, co-founder of Fix Our Schools and a parent of a student at Humberside Collegiate Institute, said they've been trying to raise the alarm on the growing problem for a decade.

She said the group has heard from school staff, students and parents about classrooms where temperatures top 35 C during summer and plunge below 13 C in winter. Other concerns that aren't as easy to detect include air quality issues, growing mould and inadequate fire systems that contribute to unsafe learning and working conditions, she said.

"There are countless examples of disrepair across Ontario in our children's schools that are alarming," Wylie told CBC Radio's Metro Morning.

"And sadly, even though the example that we've seen this week is visually very alarming ... I wouldn't say it's the absolute worst."

Krista Wylie, co-founder of Fix Our Schools, stands in front of her son's school Humberside Collegiate Institute on Aug. 26, 2021.

Krista Wylie, co-founder of Fix Our Schools, stands in front of her son's school, Humberside Collegiate Institute. The school is facing flooding issues that advocates say pose a healthy and safety risk. (Angelina King/ CBC)

The NDP and Fix Our Schools say the province needs to step up its funding, but the Minister of Education Stephen Lecce says the issue is for school boards to tackle.

Province says school board is responsible

In response to Karpoche's concerns, Lecce told MPPs at Queen's Park that he wants school boards, particularly the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), to "do their job."

"The TDSB is sitting on banked money in their maintenance fund of $315 million ... instead of spending it on that very roof," said Lecce.

He pointed toward the $1.4 billion that's earmarked for school repairs in the provincial budget for the current school year.

"Stand up to TDSB and demand better for your students," he said.

In an email to CBC Toronto, the TDSB said staff are investigating the roof leak at Humberside College Institute, and staff and students will be redirected to alternate stairs and exits.

"Of note, while the TDSB spends millions of dollars each year on roof replacements and repairs, we currently have an overall maintenance and repair backlog of more than $4 billion," the email reads.

The board says it spent about $370 million on repairs and related projects last year — which it says is a record — and it expects to spend even more this current year. It has about $380 million earmarked for similar projects this year but has yet to formally spend it, citing delays in receiving materials, approvals and the availability of qualified of contractors.

Over half of the TDSB's schools are over 60 years old, its website says. The board has identified approximately 23,500 different repairs needed in its school, with 70 per cent of those in critical or poor condition.

It estimates that if current provincial funding changes and no additional money is given, the backlog could hit $4.9 billion by 2027.

Grade 11 student Jack Stone at Humberside Collegiate Institute said he and many other students have gotten accustomed to the flooding and know it means they'll have to take a different route to class when it rains. But he hopes that isn't the case forever.

"I love this school, man. They need to fix it up," he said.

More Ontario school boards join suit against social media giants

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024 

Beginning this fall, Ontario is implementing new and stricter measures to prevent students from using smartphones during school hours. (Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images - image credit)


Five more Ontario school boards and two private schools have joined an ongoing lawsuit against some of the world's largest social media companies that argues their products have negatively rewired the way children think, behave and learn.

"The addictive properties of the products designed by social media giants have compromised all students' ability to learn, disrupted classrooms and created a student population that suffers from increasing mental health harms," said a news release issued Wednesday by Schools for Social Media Change, an umbrella group of the plaintiffs in the suit.

"As a result, social media companies have forced school boards to divert significant resources including personnel, hours, funds, and attention to combat the growing crisis caused by their products," it continued.


The suit was initially filed in late March by the public district school boards of Toronto, Peel and Ottawa-Carleton, along with Toronto's Catholic counterpart.

They are now joined by:

Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.


York Catholic District School Board.


Trillium Lakeland District School Board.


Ottawa Catholic District School Board.


District School Board of Niagara.


Private schools Holy Name of Mary College School and Eitz Chaim.

The suit seeks roughly $4.5 billion in total damages from Meta Platforms Inc., Snap Inc. and ByteDance Ltd., which operate the platforms Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok respectively.

"The mix of public and Catholic school boards, and private schools in both urban and rural regions of Ontario demonstrate this is a universal issue that affects those from diverse cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds," the news release said.

The allegations have yet to be proven in court, and there is no set date for when they will be heard.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Meta said the company has parents' "interests at heart in the work we're doing to provide teens with safe, supportive experiences online." The spokesperson said Meta has introduced more than 30 tools to give parents control over their teens' use of Instagram and protect users from various online harms.

Meanwhile, Snap said it intends to defend the claims in court and that Snapchat was "intentionally designed to be different from traditional social media."

"Snapchat opens directly to a camera — rather than a feed of content — and has no traditional public likes or comments. While we will always have more work to do, we feel good about the role Snapchat plays in helping close friends feel connected, happy and prepared as they face the many challenges of adolescence," the company said in an email.

Meanwhile, a representative for TikTok said the app has "industry-leading safeguards," including parental controls and an automatic 60-minute screen time limit for users under 18.

"Our team of safety professionals continually evaluate emerging practices and insights to support teens' well-being and will continue working to keep our community safe," the spokesperson said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford publicly criticized the suit after it was filed, calling it "nonsense" and questioning the legal fees the boards could end up paying in a protracted court battle against some of the richest companies in the world.

Neinstein LLP, the Toronto-based firm representing the school boards and private schools, said in March they will not be responsible for any costs related to the suit unless a successful outcome is reached.

Similar lawsuits in U.S.

Hundreds of school boards in the United States, along with some states, have launched similar lawsuits against social media companies.

Last fall, over 30 states accused Meta Platforms Inc. of harming young people's mental health and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing features on Instagram and Facebook that cause children to be addicted to its platforms.

In April, Ontario's Ministry of Education announced it would introduce new measures to crack down on cellphone use by students in the province's schools.

Starting in September, students in kindergarten to Grade 6 will be required to keep phones on silent and "out of sight" for the entire school day, unless they are granted permission to use it, the ministry said.

Similarly, students in grades 7 to 12, will not be permitted to use their cellphones during class time without permission.

"If they do not comply, they will be asked to surrender their phones or they could be sent to the office," Education Minister Stephen Lecce said at the time.

The new policies were announced after a previous 2019 attempt to "ban" smartphones in Ontario schools floundered, with many boards saying it was unenforceable.

Five Ontario school boards, two schools join legal fight against social media giants

Jordan Omstead
Wed, May 29, 2024 at 12:04 p.m. MDT·4 min read




TORONTO — Five more Ontario school boards and two private schools have joined the multibillion-dollar legal fight against social media giants Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, accusing their parent companies of leaving educators to manage the fallout from their allegedly addictive products.

They join some of Ontario's largest school boards who filed suits in March alleging the platforms are negligently designed for compulsive use and have rewired the way children think, behave and learn.

"This increasingly hinders students’ ability to absorb lessons, think critically and thrive in our learning spaces," said Kelly Pisek, the director of education at District School Board of Niagara, one of the new plaintiffs.

"As a result, school staff are required to spend more time working to meet the needs of students who face significant attention, focus and mental health concerns."

The province, however, doubled down on its criticism of the legal action, with the education minister accusing school boards of choosing litigation over co-operation with the platforms.

Filing their own lawsuits this week were the Catholic boards in Ottawa, Dufferin-Peel and York, along with Trillium Lakeland District School Board and District School Board of Niagara. Holy Name of Mary College School, a private Catholic girl's school in Mississauga, Ont., and a private Jewish day school, Eitz Chaim, round out the list of the new plaintiffs.

Together, the seven new schools and school boards are seeking $2.57 billion in damages for disruption to student learning and the education system, on top of the more than $4 billion already sought by the four school boards who filed earlier this year.

In March, Toronto's public and Catholic school boards, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Peel District School Board filed their own cases with Ontario's Superior Court of Justice.

“The addition of these school boards and schools to the ongoing litigation against technology companies demonstrates the widespread disruption to the education system," said Duncan Embury, a lawyer at the Toronto firm Neinstein, which is heading up the litigation.

The allegations in the lawsuits have not been proven in court.

A spokesperson for TikTok has said its team of "safety professionals" continually evaluate practices to support teens' well-being, while Snapchat has said it is happy with the role it plays helping friends stay connected as they face the challenges of adolescence.

A spokesperson for Meta, the parent company for Facebook and Instagram, said it developed more than 30 tools to support teens and their families, including tools that allow parents to decide when, and for how long, their teens use Instagram.

"These are complex issues, but we will continue working with experts and listening to parents to develop new tools, features and policies that are effective and meet the needs of teens and their families," the statement read.

Hundreds of school boards in the United States, along with some states, have launched similar lawsuits against social media companies.

The Ontario suits make a slew of allegations about how negligently designed social media platforms have upturned the education system.

Among them, they say more staff and administrator time is being spent on addressing compulsive student social media use, more money is going into the heightened need for digital literacy and harm prevention, and more resources are being spent on handling issues such as cyberbullying and online sexual harassment.

Students also struggle to spot misinformation, the suits allege, pushing teachers to spend time and resources to help vet what they see on their social media feeds and prevent them from adopting harmful ideologies they are exposed to on the platforms.

The school boards say they will not incur costs for the lawsuits unless they are successful.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford was critical of the initial lawsuits, saying in March school boards should put resources into students rather than a legal fight over "this other nonsense."

Education Minister Stephen Lecce backed up those comments Wednesday. He said the government was choosing to "collaborate with these enterprises."

He cited the government's plan to ban cellphone use during class time and block access to social media platforms on school networks and devices, and suggested school boards should have taken those steps themselves, "years ago."

"Instead of talking about it and litigating about, we opt to act decisively with a comprehensive plan," he said.

Teachers' unions have expressed skepticism about the province's move and said staff are hesitant to take phones away in case devices are lost, damaged or stolen.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2024.

Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press

Calgary public school board pulling from reserves to pay for operations next year

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024 

Laura Hack, the chair of the board of trustees, said families will start to feel the impact of the lack of funding starting next year. (Jo Horwood/CBC - image credit)


The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) says it's making do with the funds it's been given after finalizing its $1.6 billion budget for next year on Tuesday.

While school board trustees said they've continued to prioritize students in the latest financial plan, they noted a funding shortfall from the province.

According to them, the funding does not go far enough to alleviate ongoing pressures the city's public education system is facing — and the CBE will have to pull $2.6 million from its reserves to pay for operations in the upcoming school year.


Strains such as inflation, increased enrolment as well as challenges in meeting the needs of students with complex learning requirements were mentioned by trustees as they debated the budget, leaving a palpable sense of emotion in the room.

"I will support submitting a balanced budget to the provincial government that is guided by our values and the necessary strategic actions to support student [and] staff success, but it doesn't mean I have to like it," said board trustee Nancy Close.

"Education funding needs to keep pace with student enrolment, it needs to keep pace with who our students are, and it needs to keep pace with rising costs and inflation. It's not one or the other. It is all it is, an investment in our future success as a community."

According to its website, CBE is the largest school board in western Canada, serving more than 140,000 students.

Laura Hack, the chair of the board of trustees, said the system is currently sitting at 92 per cent utilization. It's projected to reach 98 per cent utilization next year with an increase in enrolment of about 9,000 students.

Alberta Education provides at least 90 per cent of the CBE's funding.

This year, the province granted the school board an additional $85 million in year over year provincial funding, allowing it to hire more than 600 new teachers, education assistants and other support staff.

But CBE says it was only able to balance its budget by drawing from its reserve fund, a move that Hack says is not sustainable.

"We know that year over year what we're doing is spending the money that we receive. We're not sitting on it as a nest egg."

'Already triaging'

The CBE has to keep at least one per cent of its operating expenses set aside in reserve funds, about $16 million.

But after this year, that fund is less than $2 million away from the mandatory minimum, meaning the CBE doesn't have the savings to cover a deficit like this next year.

"I still have massive fears that if we keep getting told we receive less, we won't be able to meet the needs of all who come to us," said Hack during the debate.

"If we don't receive relief ASAP, we will hit a wall and are in crisis mode. Students deserve better, families deserve better and Calgarians deserve to be part of this Alberta advantage now."

Hack said while they've managed to keep central fees at the same rate — prices of student transportation and supplies, and noon supervision — families and students will feel the impacts of the new budget next year primarily through larger class sizes.

In a statement, Demetrios Nicolaides, Alberta's education minister noted Calgary's rise in population, saying the government has responded accordingly.

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides says the latest curriculum revision 'moves the needle' on expert concerns about content.

Demetrios Nicolaides, Alberta's education minister, says more schools that will add space and help tackle ongoing capacity issues are on the way. (Craig Ryan/CBC)

"We're stepping up and investing more in education to help accommodate this historic growth. Over the next three years, we have planned to invest more than $1.2 billion to address classroom complexity, which will go directly to hiring 3,000 more teachers and other educational staff," he said.

Nicolaides noted that both the CBE and the Calgary Catholic School District received over $100 million in new funding this year alone.

"18 new schools are on their way for the Calgary metropolitan region that will add 16,000 needed spaces," he said.

Nicolaides added that his ministry is working closely with school jurisdictions to ensure operating reserves are used appropriately.

"We want as much funding as possible going into classrooms to benefit student learning and supports they need to provide a safe, world-class education for their students."

CBC News asked the province what would happen if the CBE runs out of its reserve fund. The Ministry of Education did not directly answer that, but said they are working with school districts to ensure reserves are used "appropriately."

P.E.I. milk being tested for avian influenza as precautions ramp up

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024 

Dairy farmers on P.E.I. are being advised to tighten their bio security and watch for any sick or dead birds in their area as the province ramps up safeguards against avian flu. (CBC - image credit)


P.E.I.'s chief veterinary officer is keeping in close contact with the Island's dairy farmers and veterinarians to make sure they have the latest information on the ongoing avian influenza outbreak in the United States.

The U.S. identified a second human case of bird flu linked to dairy cows last week. The H5N1 virus that's at the centre of the current outbreak is deadly to birds; in cows, it's resulted in decreased milk production, loss of appetite and fever.

The virus has not yet been detected in Canadian dairy cattle, and all tests of commercial milk for fragments of H5N1 have also been negative, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

P.E.I.'s chief veterinary officer Dr. Jill Wood said the CFIA started preventative testing of cattle entering Canada from the U.S. back on April 29.

A holstein classifier from Holstein Canada scores the cows from poor to excellent. This cow, named Kerry, was rated excellent.

The H5N1 virus has not yet been detected in Canadian dairy cattle, and all tests of commercial milk for fragments of avian influenza have also been negative, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says. (Nancy Russell/CBC)

"On that date, they started to require cattle crossing the border from the U.S. into Canada to have a negative avian influenza test before being permitted into the country. And they also started looking at retail milk samples from all across Canada," Wood said.

"They took 303 samples and those all came back negative, so again, good news on that front."

Tightening bio security

Wood said individual dairy farmers are also being advised to tighten their bio security.

"Simple things like asking visitors to to put on boot covers, keeping a visitor log, if they are buying new cattle to isolate those animals for a couple of weeks, milk them last," she said.

"[We're] definitely discouraging any purchases of cattle from the U.S. right now."

Wood said the way the avian flu is spreading on farms south of the border seems to be different from what happened among the bird population.

"If it was being spread entirely by the wild bird population, then that makes it very difficult to prevent," she said. "Birds are migrating and there's nothing we can do to stop them from from flying to Prince Edward Island."

The U.S. outbreak appears to have been spread from farm to farm, she said.

"The original cattle in Texas, we think, got infected by what we call a single spillover event from birds to cattle. And then the subsequent spread from there seems to mostly be because cattle from infected farms moved on to non-infected farms," Wood said.

"We're hoping with the test at the border and with the precautions that our farmers are taking that we can prevent it from showing up in Canada."

This year marked the first time a dangerous form of bird flu was reported in dairy cows. Two human cases linked to the outbreak also involved only eye infections. Were these curveballs from H5N1 (left)? Some scientists say earlier research warned about all these unusual possibilities.

This year marked the first time a strain of bird flu was reported in dairy cows. (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/The Associated Press)

She said there are still questions about how the virus is being transmitted.

"We haven't totally ruled out that that birds could introduce it on another farm," she said.

"So [we're] certainly asking farmers to be aware of that as well, and to report any increased number of dead birds or wildlife on their farms."

The P.E.I. government has an avian influenza page on its website, and the CFIA also provides regular updates.

'We trace every animal from birth'

Gordon MacBeath, a dairy farmer from Marshfield, P.E.I., and chair of the Dairy Farmers of Prince Edward Island, said the dairy industry has protocols in place already that will help monitor the avian influenza situation.

Gordon MacBeath is a dairy farmer from Marshfield, P.E.I. and chairman of the Dairy Farmers of Prince Edward Island.

Gordon MacBeath is a dairy farmer from Marshfield, P.E.I., and chair of the Dairy Farmers of Prince Edward Island. (Tony Davis/CBC)

"There's inspectors on farms on a regular basis, and so producers are used to bio security measures, and they're just asked to enhance some so that veterinarians visiting and suppliers visiting ... respect those bio-security protocols," he said.

"One thing that's unique in Canadian cattle is our traceability. We can trace every animal from birth on and off farm regardless of the location where the animal is. So if there ever was an outbreak, we could always trace that animal back through its history. And I think that's very significant in any disease outbreak."

MacBeath said he is supportive of the CFIA's testing.

"I think it's a positive for the industry," he said. "It reassures producers, it reassures consumers and reassures government that our food supply is safe. That we're on top of any potential introduction of the disease to Canada."

A new avian virus has appeared for the first time in southern Ontario — and it's not bird flu

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024 


The Ontario Animal Health Network says in April two flocks in southwestern Ontario testes positive for aMPV subtype B. (Andrew Rush/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via The Associated Press - image credit)


A virus that can wreak havoc on poultry farms and was until now unheard of in the province has appeared in southwestern Ontario, infecting and killing hundreds of turkeys with its arrival

Avian metapneumovirus subtype B (aMPV B), which attacks the respiratory system of birds, and is especially problematic for poultry, resulted in the deaths of 253 turkeys in southwestern Ontario in recent months, according to the World Animal Health Information System.

The turkeys killed by the virus include 166 birds at a farm in Centre Wellington, north of Guelph, and 87 birds at a farm in Huron-Kinloss in Bruce County.


The arrival of the virus in Ontario comes at the same time as concerns continue to mount over a highly contagious form of avian flu, which has made the jump from poultry to cows and even humans.

"For someone in my business, it's very scary because it's a large threat. It's a high risk," said Jorge Cota, the president of Canadian Select Genetics Ltd., a turkey breeder in Putnam, Ont. "We're really tightening things down, and we're on high alert because this can be very devastating."

According to Cota, his job boils down to managing disease risk. That's why bio-security precautions like decontamination of vehicles before they enter his farm property, showers when entering and leaving, and other sanitation processes are the norm for his business and others who supply commercial farmers with their animals.

One of Cota's primary concern lies with how commercial farmers handle news of the outbreak, he said.

Earlier this month, the Feather Board Command Centre (FBCC), which coordinates Ontario's poultry industry in response to disease risks, issued the latest in a number of increasingly urgent warnings to the province's poultry farmers.

It included a recommendation that biosecurity protocols at farms be heightened, and contained a specific nod to increasing concerns for farms in Middlesex, Oxford and Perth counties.

Noting the financial impacts the virus has had on farms in the United States, Cota said those warnings should not be taken lightly.

"Commercial farmers tend not to think at as highly a level as we do about biosecurity, but I'm sure they're aware and nervous. They've heard a lot of stories out of the U.S., and know what could happen to them," he said.

"But, you never know when someone or something is going to bring it onto your farm. Everyone learns eventually, but many people never think it'll happen to them."

LISTEN | Bird virus new kills hundreds of turkeys in southwestern Ontario

In a statement sent to CBC News on Tuesday, farming organization Turkey Farmers of Ontario said it has been aware of the arrival of aMPV in Ontario since late April.

The statement also said it is working with government and industry officials, as well as the FBCC.

"Avian metapneumovirus does not present a food safety risk or human health concern," the statement read.

Moving forward, as someone well-acquainted with disease management, Cota said he expects the arrival of the virus to shake the industry, but isn't sure just how much yet.

"I think it's manageable, but as it is with other diseases, I think we're going to go through some hard times here, and we'll be better off once we go through it," he said.

"I think it's going to affect a lot more people than we think it is, and vigilance is the number one thing farmers need to keep it out of their farms."

Alpacas test positive for H5N1 bird flu for the first time

Brenda Goodman, CNN
Tue, May 28, 2024 



Highly pathogenic avian influenza, sometimes called bird flu, has been confirmed in alpacas for the first time, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories.

The animals that tested positive were on a farm in Idaho where poultry had tested positive for the virus and were culled in May. The alpacas tested positive May 16, the USDA said in a news release.

The USDA noted that the finding of other infected animals on the same farm as the infected birds wasn’t necessarily a surprise.

The gene sequence of viruses isolated from the alpacas shows that it is closely related to the H5N1 viruses that are currently circulating in dairy cattle.

There are more than 264,000 alpacas registered in the US, according to the Alpaca Owners Association.

Scientists have closely watched the H5N1 virus for roughly two decades. For most of that time, it has primarily affected birds. In the past two years, however, the virus has been infecting a wider variety of wild and farmed mammals, raising concern that it could be moving closer to becoming a pathogen that can transmit easily between people.

Human cases have been reported sporadically around the globe over the years, including three in the US, but no person-to-person transmission has been reported in the ongoing US cattle outbreak.

H5N1 bird flu found in alpacas for first time

Miranda Nazzaro
Wed, May 29, 2024




Bird flu has been found in alpacas for the first time, marking the latest spread of the current H5N1 bird flu virus, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Tuesday.

The infected alpacas were at a farm in Idaho, where the avian influenza virus was detected in poultry that has since been culled, the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories said in a statement.

The alpacas tested positive for the virus May 16, and the USDA noted its detection was not unexpected given the “co-mingling of multiple livestock species.”

The H5N1 bird flu is widespread in wild birds around the world, prompting outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows across the nation this spring. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the current public health risk is still “low,” though it is monitoring the situation.

Since 2022, there have three human cases related to bird and dairy exposure in the U.S. The first was in Colorado in 2022, followed by one in Texas last month and one in Michigan last week.

In the most recent case in Michigan, the bird flu was detected in a farmworker who had mild symptoms and has since recovered, according to health officials.

Bird flu was first detected in dairy cows in March, though data for viral samples show it was circulating in cattle at least four months prior and prompted a drop in milk production.

The CDC has confirmed outbreaks in 67 herds in nine states, and as of Tuesday, the virus has been detected in more than 9,300 wild birds across 50 states. More than 92 million poultry in 48 states have also been impacted, the CDC noted.

Humans are urged to avoid direct contact with wild birds and observe them only from a distance and to not eat or drink raw milk or products made with raw milk, per the CDC.

Study: Development of a vaccine will best protect humans from bird flu

Dennis Thompson, 

HealthDay News
Wed, May 29, 2024 

Vaccines remain humanity's best defense against the threat posed by the H5N1 and other strains of bird flu, according to the research published in the journal Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics. Photo by Adobe Stock/HealthDay News


Humanity's best protection against bird flu will be the development of effective vaccines, a new study says.

The H5N1 avian flu has been raging through cattle and poultry in the United States, increasing fears that the virus will make the leap into humans and potentially cause another pandemic.

Only two people to date are known to have contracted the virus linked to the current outbreak. Both patients were U.S. farm workers, and luckily they only suffered eye symptoms and made a full recovery with treatment, researchers said.

In the first human case, researchers found the strain had mutated to be better at infecting the cells of mammals.

The concern is that if H5N1 continues to spread in U.S. farms, it has the potential to mutate into a form that will easily spread among humans, researchers said.

Vaccines remain humanity's best defense against the threat posed by the H5N1 and other strains of bird flu, according to the research published in the journal Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics.

"The H5N1, H7N9, and H9N2 subtypes of avian influenza virus pose a dual threat, not only causing significant economic losses to the global poultry industry but also presenting a pressing public health concern due to documented spillover events and human cases," said lead researcher Dr. Flavio Cargnin Faccin, a doctoral student with the University of Georgia.

"This deep delve into the landscape of avian influenza vaccines for humans shows vaccination remains the primary defense against the spread of these viruses," Faccin said in a journal news release.

The researchers analyzed a number of different vaccine types -- inactivated vaccines, live attenuated flu vaccines and mRNA vaccines -- and determined they all show promise in protecting animals and people from the avian flu.

Overall, the team suggests "exploring and employing a diverse range of vaccine platforms "will be "crucial for enhancing pandemic preparedness and mitigating the threat of avian influenza viruses."

Work along those lines already is proceeding in mRNA vaccines.

A study published last week reported that an experimental mRNA vaccine against the H5N1 avian flu was effective in preventing serious illness and death in lab mice and ferrets.

The lab animals maintained high levels of antibodies a year after infection, and vaccinated animals infected with H5N1 cleared the virus quicker and suffered fewer symptoms than unvaccinated animals, researchers reported in the journal Nature Communications.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about the bird flu.

Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Hydro-Québec's Montreal network is in 'worrisome' state: internal document

FAILURE TO REINVEST CAPITAL

CBC
Wed, May 29, 2024 

The Hydro-Québec electricity network in Montreal is in a 'worrisome' state, according to an internal Hydro-Québec document from September 2023. (Radio-Canada - image credit)


Hydro-Québec's mostly outdated strategic equipment on the island of Montreal is posing risks to the public, according to an internal document from the company.

In the document from September 2023 obtained by Radio-Canada, the Crown corporation paints a worrisome picture, saying there is an "urgent need to act on the electricity network on the island of Montreal," where there have been successive outages in recent years.

Hydro-Québec notes that its infrastructure is facing increasing risks. At least 70 per cent of the company's strategic equipment in Montreal, such as distribution stations and transformers, has exceeded its useful life.


And the situation is worse in the city than elsewhere in Quebec. More than 20 per cent of equipment is between 61 and 70 years old in Montreal, whereas in other regions, the percentage of older equipment is less than five per cent.

The Crown corporation also notes that much of its equipment is "dilapidated" and that it is increasingly difficult to work on "an overloaded network."

"We knew that the situation was serious, but we did not know that it was that serious," said Jean-Pierre Finet, an analyst at the Regroupement des organismes environnementaux en énergie (ROEE).

In the document, Hydro-Québec also writes that risks to the health and safety of its resources and the public, such as fires, explosions and outages, are high.

Hydro-Québec president and CEO Michael Sabia has mentioned several times that in the last 25 years, 2023 was one of the worst in terms of outages.

Failures, outages and interruptions

Last year, the continuity index — the annual time of service interruption per customer — reached 1,459 minutes in Montreal, an increase of 998 per cent compared to 2022. That spike is mainly due to the ice storm in the spring of 2023, which affected tens of thousands of customers, according to Hydro-Québec.

In its internal document, the Crown corporation does not rule out the possibility of a major failure of strategic equipment in Montreal's electricity network, which could have repercussions on essential services.

"Hydro is playing with fire by exceeding the useful life of assets," said Finet.

"There are even assets that have more than doubled their lifespan," he said, noting that the risk of incidents occurring increases with age.

For example, Finet said, the Montreal Metro could be plunged into a prolonged outage.

Qubec’s auditor general, Guylaine Leclerc, centre, criticized Hydro-Québec in her December 2022 report.

Quebec Auditor General Guylaine Leclerc, centre, criticized Hydro-Québec in her December 2022 report. (Sylvain Roy Roussel/Radio-Canada)

This observation aligns with the conclusions of a report by Quebec Auditor General Guylaine Leclerc, tabled in December 2022. She found that the reliability of the Hydro-Québec network showed "a marked decline."

The Crown corporation also finds the situation of its distribution network to be "worrisome," the internal document shows. Eleven of the 32 distribution stations were over capacity last September.

In 2020, 17 per cent of transformers were overloaded on the island, while that proportion was nine per cent elsewhere. When there is prolonged overheating, risks of failure causing a fire or explosion must be considered.

"It's difficult to conclude anything other than negligence in recent years. And all this because we wanted to keep prices low and dividends high," Finet said.

Adding to that observation is an increasing lack of electricity in Montreal, which is why the Crown corporation is struggling to meet the energy transition needs of customers on the island, says Hydro-Québec in the document.

Finet said what is even more concerning about the "alleged negligence, is that we cannot decarbonize Montreal's economy as we want because of these limitations."

The Hydro Quebec building is pictured Tuesday, June 21, 2016 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Hydro-Québec says major investments are underway. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press)

But Hydro-Québec was much more reassuring about the state of its network when Radio-Canada contacted the company.

Maxence Huard-Lefebvre, a spokesperson for Hydro-Québec, told Radio-Canada that major investments are underway and will continue in the coming years.

"The development plan for the island of Montreal primarily targets substations and lines with equipment that is reaching the end of its life," said Huard-Lefebvre.

Hydro-Québec has invested more than $1 billion over the last 10 years to strengthen the network in Montreal, and it will inject $3 billion more by 2035 to improve it.

However, according to internal data, conversion projects to increase voltage and capacity won't be enough to meet the network's needs.

Ongoing operations are expected to improve the situation in several boroughs of Montreal, but certain areas will remain problematic, namely the east end, the city centre and the western tip of the island.

Hydro-Québec agrees, however, that the network is older in Montreal because the neighbourhoods were built long before those in many of Quebec's regions.

"It is normal that all the infrastructure, including the electrical network, are also more recent," said Cendrix Bouchard, a spokesperson for the company.

A Hydro-Québec crew works on a power line following an ice storm in Montreal, Friday, April 7, 2023.

A Hydro-Québec crew works on a power line following an ice storm in Montreal on April 7, 2023. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

However, according to Pierre-Olivier Pineau, HEC Montréal chair in energy sector management, it is disappointing to see the network in such a state.

"It's not just electricity that we're seeing this. We saw this with the Metro, the road network," he said. "Our society thinks a lot about growth and does not think about maintaining its infrastructure."

Pineau said Hydro-Québec must encourage its customers to consume less by adjusting their rates or offering more dynamic pricing.

Refusing to adapt prices to reflect the real cost of infrastructure and production "encourages overconsumption and contributes to a saturated network," he said.

A loss of expertise, an overloaded workforce

Hydro-Québec also emphasizes in the document that its workforce is often overloaded or dispatched to emergencies in Montreal, where there is currently "a loss of expertise" and "a difficulty to attract resources."

Publicly, however, Hydro-Québec says it is not worried about its workers on the ground.

In 2023, Hydro-Québec's total workforce reached 22,806 people, an increase of 22 per cent compared to 2022.

However, last April, the union of Hydro-Québec trade employees said the size of its membership had declined over 13 years. Meanwhile, the number of subscriptions increased to 4.5 million customers.

The union said the growing number of subscribers and an aging network combined with an unchanged amount of employees is a "perfect recipe for the degradation of service quality."