JUST  LIKE THE REAL THING

Plant-based Ultraprocessed 

foods linked to heart disease, 

early death, study says

Sandee LaMotte, CNN

Mon, June 10, 2024 

Want to reduce your risk of developing chronic disease and live longer while also helping the planet? Eat a plant-based diet, experts say.

Does that mean you can fill your plate with boxed macaroni and cheese, deep-dish frozen veggie pizza or fast-food French fries and have a doughnut or three for dessert?

While all of those ultraprocessed choices may be meat-free, they are not without risk, said Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and senior teaching fellow at Aston Medical School in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

“We can’t always assume plant-based means healthy, as after all sugar is plant-based,” Mellor said in a statement. “Many foods that do not contain animal products, which includes biscuits, crisps, confectionary and soft drinks, are technically plant-based but would not be considered essential as part of a healthy diet by the majority of people.”

In fact, eating such plant-based junk foods dramatically raises bad cholesterol and hypertension and can lead to associated heart disease and early death, according to a new study authors call “the first” to show ultraprocessed plant foods are associated with an increase in the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

“Eating plant-based products can be beneficial, acting as protection against health problems, or it can represent a risk — it all depends on the level of processing of these foods,” said senior study author Renata Levy, a researcher in the Epidemiological Research Center in Nutrition and Health at the University of São Paulo, known as Nupens/USP, in Brazil.

Ultraprocessed foods undergo multiple industrial processes, such as heating, fracking of nutrients and proteins, molding and compression, and have added chemicals to cosmetically alter color, smell, taste and texture. Foods in this category are formulated to be hyper-palatable to human taste buds and are often extremely convenient, requiring little to no preparation time.

Unprocessed foods include fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs and milk. Minimally processed foods include culinary ingredients such as salt, herbs and oils, and foods such as canned goods and frozen vegetables that combine culinary ingredients with unprocessed foods.

“Food additives and industrial contaminants present in these foods might cause oxidative stress and inflammation, further aggravating the risks,” said first author Fernanda Rauber, a researcher with Nupens/USP.

“Therefore, our results support the shift towards plant-based food choices that consider the degree of processing to improve cardiovascular health outcomes,” Rauber said in a statement.

Eat fresh and frozen minimally processed plants

The study, published Monday in the journal The Lancet Regional Health — Europe, utilized data collected from the UK Biobank, a longitudinal study that includes participants from England, Scotland and Wales. More than 118,000 people between the ages of 40 and 69 years answered questions about their diet. That information was later linked to hospital and mortality records on the development of cardiovascular risk factors.

Ultraprocessed foods made from plants increased the risk of cardiovascular disease by 5% while increasing the risk of early death by 13%, the study found.

Researchers also found that each 10% replacement of plant-based ultraprocessed foods with fresh, frozen or minimally processed plants lowered the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 7% while offering a 13% reduction in the risk of dying from heart disease.

The study also looked at plant-based meat products, such as sausages, nuggets and burgers, which by their very nature fall into the ultraprocessed bucket. However, it was hard to determine just how much risk those foods carried, said Peter Scarborough, a professor of population health at the University of Oxford in the UK. He was not involved in the study.

“Plant-based meat alternatives make up only 0.5% of all the plant-based ultraprocessed foods included in this paper,” Scarborough said in a statement.

Over half of the plant-based ultraprocessed foods studied in the paper were packaged breads, pastries, buns, cakes and cookies

Many ultraprocessed foods are plant-based, but that does not make them healthy, experts say. - carlosgaw/iStockphoto/Getty Images/ FILE

“It is therefore very difficult to conclude from this paper that plant-based meat alternatives are bad for your health,” Scarborough added.

In addition, much of what is reported in the paper is already known, said Tom Sanders, professor emeritus of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London, who was not involved in the study.

“It is well accepted that well-balanced plant-based diets such as the Mediterranean or DASH diets are favorable for cardiovascular health and these already emphasize avoiding unhealthy foods such as crisps etc., sugar sweetened beverages, cakes, biscuits and confectionary,” he said in a statement.

“These latter foods are unhealthy regardless of whether they are made industrially or home-made.”

27 protesters arrested after pro-Palestinian encampments formed on UCLA campus, university says

Jillian Sykes, Holly Yan and Taylor Romine, CNN
Tue, June 11, 2024 

A total of 27 people were arrested after setting up multiple pro-Palestinian encampments on UCLA’s campus Monday that police said were unlawful, according to a statement from UCLA leadership.

At least six University of California Police Department personnel and other safety officers were injured during confrontations with protesters, including one person with a head injury, said Rick Braziel, UCLA’s associate vice chancellor for campus safety, in a statement Tuesday.

UCPD Captain Scott Scheffler said at least five of those arrested reported minor injuries, including soreness, bruises and shoulder pain.

As a result of the encampments, the group damaged a fountain, spray-painted brick walkways, tampered with fire safety equipment, damaged patio furniture, stripped wire from electrical fixtures and vandalized vehicles, police said in a statement.

University officials are still trying to determine how many of the 27 people arrested are students, but those who are will be subject to disciplinary action, Braziel said.

“This was completely unacceptable,” Braziel said. “The demonstration activity disregarded our values as a community, violated our campus policies and broke the law. These actions injured people, threatened the safety of our community and vandalized our campus.”

While protests spread at college campuses this spring denouncing Israel’s handling of its war against Hamas in Gaza, UCLA’s campus turned into a scene of brutality on April 30 when violent counterprotesters attacked pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

A CNN analysis found that some of the most dramatic attacks caught on camera that night were committed by people outside UCLA – not the university students and faculty who were eventually arrested.

But on Monday, a group of about 100 people associated with a UCLA registered student organization set up an encampment at the top of the Janss Steps around 3:15 p.m., UCPD said.

The group resisted leaving the area after initial warnings but left after UCPD issued multiple dispersal orders. The protesters relocated to the Kerckhoff patio, where they “set up an unauthorized and unlawful encampment with tents, canopies, and barricades with patio furniture,” police said.

The group also entered Moore Hall and disrupted nearby final exams, police said.

A pro-Palestinian demonstrator is taken into custody Monday outside Dodd Hall at UCLA. - Etienne Laurent/AFP/Getty Images

Another round of dispersal orders led the group to the courtyard between Dodd Hall and the School of Law, where they set up a third encampment, according to police.

UCLA Associate Professor Graeme Blair, a member of Faculty for Justice in Palestine, said one student went to a hospital after getting wounded by a rubber bullet – which Blair said was fired when students were in the camp near Dodd Hall, the Los Angeles Times reported. Blair, who has participated in the protests, criticized authorities, saying students had been following dispersal orders throughout the evening. CNN has reached out to Blair for comment.

A UC Police representative declined to comment on the arrests or say whether “less than lethal” weapons were used, the Times reported.

UCLA police did not respond to CNN’s request for comment Tuesday about the arrests and whether rubber bullets were used.

On Monday evening, about 25 people were arrested around 8 p.m. for willful disruption of university operations, the police statement said.

Those individuals were cited, issued a 14-day stay-away order from UCLA property and released, police said.

Another person was previously arrested during the setup of the first encampment for interfering with a police officer. That person was cited and released, UCPD said.

About 150 protesters remained in the area as of 10:30 p.m. Monday.

The university expects more protests at various locations during commencement ceremonies but they “will not tolerate violence,” Braziel said, adding university policies “support advocacy that does not jeopardize safety or disrupt university operations.”

“Protecting UCLA faculty, staff, students and visitors and creating an environment conducive to teaching, learning, working and living continues to be our priority. The campus community belongs to all of us and we must model the respect we expect to receive from others,” Braziel said.

Tensions have simmered on the UCLA campus over how the university has responded to protesters and counterprotesters in recent months. Faculty members have been divided over whether Chancellor Gene Block “failed to ensure the safety of our students and grievously mishandled the events.”


Footage shows pro-Palestinian protesters scuffling with police officers on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) on Monday evening (10 June).
.

McGill makes new offer to pro-Palestinian protesters occupying its downtown campus

Morgan Lowrie
Tue, June 11, 2024 



MONTREAL — Montreal's McGill University is proposing to review its investments in weapons manufacturers and grant amnesty to protesting students as part of a new offer to members of a pro-Palestinian encampment on its downtown campus.

McGill said the offer it extended Monday includes a review of direct equity investments in entities that earn most of their revenues from the production of military weapons.

Pro-Palestinian protesters have been occupying McGill's lower field since late April, demanding the university pull investments from companies complicit in what they describe as the genocide of Palestinians and sever relationships with Israeli academic institutions.


"Yesterday, the university extended an updated offer to members of its community in the encampment, going beyond previous proposals," the school said Tuesday in a news release.

"This continued effort to reach a peaceful resolution to the encampment, which has been in place on the lower field for over six weeks, comes in addition to the university’s renewed suggestion to appoint a neutral third-party mediator to facilitate discussions."

The university said it also offered to disclose more investments to include holdings below $500,000, to support Palestinian students displaced by the war in the Gaza Strip, and to grant disciplinary amnesty to any McGill student or employee participating in the encampment prior to June 15.

Spokespeople for the encampment could not immediately be reached for comment, and as of Tuesday afternoon had not indicated on social media whether they would accept the offer.

McGill says its offer of amnesty doesn't extend to those involved in the occupation last Thursday of a McGill University administration building, or to anyone who commits acts such as destruction of property, vandalism, or harassment. Police said they arrested 15 people during that protest.

The offer is the school's latest attempt to convince protesters to dismantle the dozens of tents they've erected on the lower field of the campus. Quebec's Superior Court denied McGill's injunction request to clear out the protesters in May, ruling that the university's lawyers didn't convince the court that the situation was urgent or that it presented a health or safety risk.

Since then, McGill filed a request for a different injunction to remove the protesters, which has yet to be heard.

Montreal police have said they have no plans to move in on the encampment as long as no crimes are being committed, despite the school's past requests for officers to clear the field.

In its news release, McGill said it urged protesters, who have rejected prior proposals from the university, to discuss the latest offer through a skilled and impartial mediator, adding that it hoped for "a peaceful and satisfactory resolution for all."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2024.

U of T says pro-Palestinian protesters rejected latest offer

The Canadian Press
Mon, June 10, 2024 

TORONTO — Negotiations between the University of Toronto and protesters behind a pro-Palestinian encampment appeared stalled Monday as the school said its latest offer had been rejected and demonstrators accused administrators of not taking the talks seriously.

In a letter posted online, the university said the proposal sent last Thursday offered expedited processes for considering the protesters' demands around divestment of companies profiting from Israel's offensive in Gaza and greater transparency on investments.

Administrators also confirmed the school doesn't have any direct investments in such companies, including any that produce armaments, U of T president Meric Gertler wrote.

U of T has said it will not, however, cut ties with Israeli universities, as protesters have demanded.

"The proposal we have made is commensurate with or more comprehensive than the agreements that have resolved encampments at peer institutions," he said. "Unfortunately, the encampment participants have rejected this proposal."

Gertler said the university has met with protesters about twice a week over the last month and is open to meeting with representatives of the encampment again "when there are productive reasons for doing so." U of T will also continue to pursue an injunction that would allow police to clear the encampment, he said.

Protest organizers noted that despite regular meetings between the two sides, Gertler himself has not participated nor met with any of the students involved.

Instead, the university president has been "sending proxies with no decision-making power in his place," Erin Mackey said in a news conference Monday.

"How can there be any dialogue when there's no dialogue actually occurring?" she asked.

Mackey suggested negotiations could not happen in good faith given the university's request for an injunction. "These negotiations are severely power imbalanced," she said.

Demonstrators also took issue with Gertler's comments on what he called "escalations in online rhetoric and imagery, vandalism, and other disruptive behaviour" related to the encampment.

Sara Rasikh, another spokesperson for the group, said the university's portrayal of the encampment as hateful and disruptive is untrue.

"Portraying our camp as a source of hate or disruption not only makes us less safe, but it also attracts agitators – the same agitators that U of T claims to oppose," Rasikh said.

Students set up the encampment on May 2 to call on the university to cut its ties with Israel over the ongoing war in Gaza.

Protesters said they were joining students at other universities in Canada and the United States in setting up camps to call on their schools to disclose ties with the Israeli government, divest from Israeli companies and terminate partnerships with Israeli academic institutions that operated under parameters they opposed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press

U.S. officials discussed hitting Canada with trade sanctions over Quebec's language law

CBC
Tue, June 11, 2024 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a bilateral meeting with Quebec Premier Francois Legault in Montreal on March 15, 2024. The government of Canada is tracking U.S. concerns about Quebec's new language law, a federal official confirmed. 

\(Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press - image credit)


U.S government officials have discussed behind closed doors the possibility of imposing trade sanctions on Canada over Quebec's controversial Bill 96 language law, CBC News has learned.

Documents obtained by CBC News under the U.S. freedom of information law also reveal that American government officials are being told that the implementation of Bill 96 could result in fewer American products being shipped to Canada — not just to Quebec.

According to the documents, officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) have debated whether the legislation — which includes provisions that could affect things like commercial signs, trademarks and labels on products — contravenes trade agreements between Canada and the United States.

U.S. officials have discussed in private whether the restrictions in Bill 96 constitute a technical barrier to trade, a breach of trade-related intellectual property rights or a violation of Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, and whether those breaches would justify trade sanctions.

The documents, which cover the period of November 2022 to late January 2024, don't reveal whether USTR officials have reached a conclusion on trade sanctions.

Asked for an update, USTR deputy press secretary Catherine White pointed to the readout of a meeting between Canadian and American trade officials in January, which mentions U.S. government concerns about Bill 96.

Jean-Pierre Godbout, spokesperson for Global Affairs, said the Canadian government is "closely following developments."

"The Government of Canada is aware of the concerns expressed by various stakeholders regarding Quebec's amendments to the Charter of the French Language as modernized under Bill 96 and accompanying regulations," Godbout wrote in an e-mailed response. "We have shared these concerns with the Government of Quebec and continue to closely follow developments."

Quebec Education Minister Jean-François Roberge said Wednesday was a 'great day' because he was announcing a possible return to normality for students in September.

Quebec Language Minister Jean-François Roberge is preparing the final regulations for Bill 96. (Radio-Canada)

Thomas Verville, spokesperson for provincial French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge, gave little indication of what the Quebec government thinks of the USTR's internal discussions of trade sanctions.

"We are still at the stage of enacting the regulation. It will soon be final," he wrote. "We held a consultation period to gather all the comments."

Bill 96, which tightens up Quebec's language laws, was given final assent on June 1, 2022 and draft regulations to implement the legislation were made public on Jan. 10, 2024. The final regulations to implement Bill 96 are expected to be made public in coming weeks.

A number of provisions of Bill 96, including those on trademarks, are set to go into effect in June 2025.

Bill 96 was among the subjects raised by American officials during a Jan. 24 meeting between USTR senior adviser Cara Morrow and her Canadian counterpart Rob Stewart, deputy minister for international trade.
Industry pressing Washington for action

In its readout from the meeting, the USTR's office said Morrow "shared concerns about trademark provisions of Quebec's Bill 96 and their potential implications for U.S businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises."

The documents obtained by CBC News show that Bill 96 has been on the U.S government's radar since at least November 2022, and the International Trademark Association (INTA) has been urging the U.S. government to raise their concerns about Bill 96 with the Canadian government and to consider trade sanctions against Canada.

On Dec. 12, 2023, INTA organized a meeting between USTR officials, including Morrow, and executives from several large corporations who outlined their concerns with Bill 96. The companies included Stanley Black & Decker, Hershey, Microsoft, Marriott, Agilent Technology, Cody and Proctor & Gamble.

The Microsoft logo is pictured at the Mobile World Congress 2023 in Barcelona, Spain, on March 2, 2023. Microsoft and Meta have released initiatives designed to help voters know when they see a political ad containing altered images, video or audio. Meta owns Facebook and Instagram and says it will put labels on political ads created using artificial intelligence.

Microsoft is one of the major American multinationals with concerns about Bill 96. (Joan Mateu Parra/The Associated Press)

"Of note, they want USTR to investigate 'a complaint for a violation of an international agreement' or bring a Section 301 action against Canada," wrote deputy assistant U.S. trade representative Jacob Ewerdt.

In e-mail exchanges and briefing notes, INTA's director of government relations Jenny Simmons wrote that even if U.S. companies want to register their trademarks in Canada before Bill 96's provisions take effect in 2025, they can't because the Canadian Intellectual Property Office — which registers trademarks in Canada — has a four-year backlog of applications.

In a separate document, a coalition of "businesses, practitioners and trade associations" warned the U.S. government that Bill 96 could affect the products available in Canada.

"The Quebec consumer is who will be hurt, as they will either be deprived of goods available to others or will pay higher prices to recoup compliance cost," the document says.

"In some instances, where distribution models are more national, withdrawing from Quebec may also mean withdrawing from Canada entirely. As a result, consumers in other provinces may also see fewer options on their shelves."

People take part in a protest against Bill 96 in Montreal on May 26, 2022. A Quebec Superior Court judge has temporarily struck down two articles of the province's new language law, saying they could prevent some English-speaking organizations from accessing justice through the courts.
(Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

USTR officials pointed out that while Canada is responsible for trade agreements, Bill 96 is a provincial law.

"A complicating factor is that our counterparts are federal and Bill 96 is Quebecian [sic]," Ewerdt wrote to Simmons on Dec. 14, 2023. "It is as if Canada would come to the USTR with a law in Wisconsin — we could figure it out if needed, but it's not something that we commonly deal with."

Simmons suggested that pressure from Washington could force the Canadian government to act.

"I appreciate that this is a provincial issue," she wrote. "But given that it puts Canada in a position of noncompliance with various international obligations, and directly impacts U.S. exports to all of Canada, I think that the federal gov't has no choice but to deal with this, especially if pressured by the U.S."

Another USTR official, Jennifer Stradtman, suggested she was skeptical about the chances of bringing trade sanctions to bear.

"There is no obligation in the WTO about language use," she wrote on Dec. 19. "I can't see raising an issue in TBT [technical barriers to trade] because a different language is required. Sometimes we ask for stickering in that case, but we don't claim a trade violation or request dispute."

There was no mention of trade sanctions in the USTR's talking points for the January meeting with Canadian officials, but concerns about Bill 96 were included.

"U.S companies that sell products and services in Canada are generally supportive of Quebec's Charter of the French Language, but some of the amendments threaten to seriously limit some trademarked products and services in Quebec, and potentially all of Canada," says the briefing memorandum for that meeting.

Simmons told CBC News that INTA is continuing to talk with U.S. government officials about its concerns but it does not know if the USTR will support its call for trade sanctions.

"To date, I have not heard one way or the other what the thinking is of USTR," she said. "They remain engaged, which we're very grateful for."

Simmons said INTA has been meeting in recent months with Quebec government officials and is waiting to see if its concerns are addressed in the final regulations.

Mark Warner, who practises international business law, said Bill 96 hadn't been on his radar as a potential trade conflict with the U.S.

While Warner said he believes Bill 96 is low on the list of frequent Canada-U.S trade irritants, such as automobile rules of origin and softwood lumber, it's still something Canada should keep an eye on.

"I don't think it's a priority to [the U.S.] right now but I would think it is something that you would want to watch," he said.

Eliane Ellbogen, an expert in trademark law in the Montreal office of the law firm Fasken, said Bill 96 presents a number of problems for businesses with trademarks. She said its provisions conflict with federal trademarks law and Fasken is studying a possible constitutional challenge.

Alberta government dissolves controversial energy 'war room'

CBC
Tue, June 11, 2024 

Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney, centre, addresses attendees at a press conference to announce the launch of the Canadian Energy Centre at SAIT in Calgary on Dec. 11, 2019, flanked by former energy minister Sonya Savage, left, and Tom Olsen, managing director of the Canadian Energy Centre. Kenney opened the province's energy war room to fight what he called a campaign of lies about the province's energy industry. 

(Greg Fulmes/The Canadian Press - image credit)More


The Alberta government is shutting down the Canadian Energy Centre — the controversial energy "war room" — and shuffling its duties into a government department.

The office of Brian Jean, minister of energy and minerals, confirmed to CBC that the centre will be integrated into the intergovernmental relations department.

The statement to CBC says that the centre "is an important advocate for Canada and Alberta's long-term position as a safe, clean and responsible energy supplier and will continue to increase the public's understanding of the role oil and gas plays globally in a secure energy future."


"After careful consideration, we will be integrating the mandate of the CEC into Intergovernmental Relations (IGR). Resources such as CEC assets, intellectual property, and researchers will now be supporting IGR in order to seamlessly continue this important work."

The CEC, also known as the "war room," was founded by the Jason Kenney government in 2019 to fight what it called misinformation about the province's energy industry.

Tom Olsen was the CEC's CEO from its founding. He has not yet responded to a request for comment from CBC News.

A history of controversy

The centre was established to promote the energy industry and counter what it deemed to be misinformation. Among its actions that grabbed headlines were accusing the New York Times of bias and attacking the makers of a children's film featuring Bigfoot for what it felt was an anti-oil message.

The centre has published a series of articles on its website. Sources contacted for those stories have told media organizations, including The Canadian Press, that staff identified themselves on the phone as reporters.

The Canadian Association of Journalists' then-president Karyn Pugliese said in 2019 that members of the centre should stop calling themselves reporters and described the CEC as a government-hired PR firm.

The centre also had to change its initial logo in 2019 after it was revealed the logo already represents an American tech company.

While the centre was taxpayer-funded, it was designated as a private corporation and exempt from freedom of information legislation, including information regarding expenditures and awards contracts.

'Waste of taxpayer money'

The centre operated on an initial $30-million-per-year budget, which was slashed by 90 per cent in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A portion of the centre's funding came from industry fees paid to the government's Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) program. The remaining funding came from money set aside for government advertising campaigns.

The centre's most recent annual report showed it signed a $22-million contract for a media campaign last fiscal year. That was about three times its entire government grant from the previous year.

Andrew Leach, a professor of economics and law at the University of Alberta, said the money spent on the centre could've been used elsewhere.

"This is all done under governments that came in promising fiscal oversight and value for money, etc. And then … we don't have a lot of transparency, and that was by design," Leach said in an interview on Tuesday.

"I think the dollars could have been spent, for example, figuring out how to clean up Alberta's regulatory system so that we are tracking and prepared for holding companies to account for the reclamation liabilities that were dealing with the oil sands … the environmental risks of tailings bonds, put the money there, not into a series of ads and rolling billboards."

NDP MLA Nagwan Al-Guneid said in an interview that shutting down the war room was long overdue.

"We have asked the government, the UCP government, for years, to shut down this agency," said Al-Guneid who is the opposition critic for energy and climate.

"This decision right now just proves that this has been a colossal waste of taxpayer money. So we haven't seen how this agency or this war room, how did it really help the Alberta energy sector in any measurable way?"

Al-Guneid said the Alberta NDP would ask the auditor general of Alberta to investigate the use of funds by the centre.

Leach said now that the centre is being integrated into a provincial ministry, the Smith government can be forthcoming by providing an accounting of the centre's activities.

"We're going to publish the reports of the activities of this, what is now an arm of the government, and explain to Albertans where that money's gone, or we're going to ask the auditor general to do it, to do what they would have been able to do had this been set up in this way in the first place."


Alberta’s energy 'war room,' known for Bigfoot movie feud, getting brought in-house

Lisa Johnson
Tue, June 11, 2024 



EDMONTON — Alberta's energy “war room” – the oft-ridiculed agency famous for its feud with a children’s Bigfoot cartoon – is being retooled and brought in-house directly under Premier Danielle Smith's office.

“The Canadian Energy Centre is an important advocate for Canada and Alberta’s long-term position as a safe, clean and responsible energy supplier,” the province’s Energy Ministry said Tuesday in a statement.

“(But) after careful consideration, we will be integrating the mandate of the (centre) into Intergovernmental Relations."

In Alberta’s cabinet, the intergovernmental relations portfolio is handled by the premier.

The statement said the centre's assets, intellectual property and researchers will be moved over to the intergovernmental relations office.

A senior government source said three of the six current employees of the Canadian Energy Centre will remain in their roles.

The source said the centre's branding and website will remain the same. Most of the agency’s budget is devoted to advertising.

The Canadian Energy Centre was the formal name given to a corporation created by former United Conservative premier Jason Kenney in 2019.

Kenney characterized it as a “war room” that would fight back, in real-time, against what it deemed to be unfounded criticism of Alberta’s oil and gas industry.

There was controversy from the start as the centre was structured in such a way as to shield it from public freedom of information searches.

The centre came out of the gate with a $30-million budget but drew fire almost immediately for using someone else’s trademarked logo and for having staff members refer to themselves as reporters instead of public employees.

It also posted, and later apologized for, a series of social media messages about the New York Times, saying the newspaper had been “called out for antisemitism countless times” and had a “very dodgy” track record.

In March 2021, the centre – and by extension Kenney’s government -- was widely ridiculed after it launched a campaign against “Bigfoot Family,” a Netflix cartoon featuring talking animals and a domesticated sasquatch battling an oil magnate determined to blow up an Alaskan wildlife preserve to gain easy access to petroleum.

The "war room" urged followers to tell Netflix the movie is “brainwashing our kids with anti-oil and gas propaganda.”

The sasquatch debate spilled onto the floor of the legislature, with the Opposition accusing Kenney’s government of turning Alberta into a laughingstock.

“Which investors in Zurich do you think were swayed by your brave stand against a child’s cartoon character?” NDP Leader Rachel Notley chortled in Kenney’s direction.

Kenney shot back, “I’m sure (the NDP) are cheering on the propaganda in that Netflix story, but we’re correcting the record as we should.”

The Bigfoot film director thanked the province, saying the movie had been sinking on the Netflix viewing list but soared back into the top 10 due to the controversy.

Change had been in the works for months.

Alberta Energy Minister Brian Jean's most recent mandate letter from Smith, published last July, called on him to review the Canadian Energy Centre.

Nagwan Al-Guneid, the NDP’s Opposition energy critic, characterized the change as a massive waste of public funds.

“Since 2019, the UCP have wasted over $66 million of taxpayer money on this failed war room," said Al-Guneid in a statement.

She said that money could have gone to fund the province's carbon tax on large emitters, which in turn could have been funnelled into more technology to reduce emissions.

Al-Guneid said the NDP will ask the province's auditor general to investigate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2024.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press

Trudeau says kids denied a Pride flag at their schools have one on Parliament Hill

A Pride flag flies on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 8, 2023. 

(Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Stephanie Taylor
The Canadian Press
Updated June 8, 2023 

OTTAWA -

Children who do not see a Pride flag at their schools should know one is flying for them on Parliament Hill, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday, as he condemned the sharp rise in laws curtailing the rights of transgender people across the United States.

Trudeau hoisted the flag that celebrates the LGBTQ2S+ community at an event where he was joined by MPs from all political parties, marking the eighth time he has done so since being elected to power in 2015.

"We all thought it would get easier after that moment," he said, referring to the first time the flag was raised on the Hill in Ottawa.

“But we've been reminded by a rise in anger, hatred and ignorance and intolerance, that things getting easier is not automatic.”

The prime minister echoed other speakers who warned of the discrimination faced by members of the LGBTQ2S+ community, both online and in their daily lives.

It has grown worse in recent years as conservative groups, particularly in the U.S., protest drag queen performances and fight to take away gender-affirming care for transgender people, especially minors.

The speakers underscored that Canada is not immune to such sentiments, given such protests are also happening in the country,with Trudeau saying “transphobia, biphobia, homophobia are all on the rise.”

Among the issues speakers pointed to were proposed changes by New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs' government that seek to change some school rules around LGBTQ2S+ students. One such change would mean that students younger than 16 who identify as transgender and non-binary would not be allowed to officially change their names or pronouns without parental consent.

Higgs's Progressive Conservative government has defended the move as fulfilling the wishes of parents, but it has been met with backlash.

NDP MP Blake Desjarlais, a co-chair of the recently-founded parliamentary Pride caucus comprised of federal lawmakers from the LGBTQ2S+ community, said Thursday that Canada was witnessing extremism pushed by individuals who are trying to take away others' rights.

“We will not accept going backwards,” said Desjarlais, who is two-spirit.

“We are not here to make kids queer. We are here to make sure queer kids are not made into dead kids. That is why the raising of this flag today is not only a symbol of our love for community, it is also a symbol that we will be unrelenting in our discovery of who we are.”

During his address, the prime minister saidattempts have been made to stop Pride celebrations and noted that over the past few weeks, Canadians have watched as people try to remove books about gender and sexuality from schools.

That is cruel to children who struggle with questions about their identities or live in homes where such questions are not met with love, said Trudeau.

The Brandon School Division in southern Manitoba recently voted against a call to remove books with LGBTQ2S+ content from its libraries.

Trudeau also said students are often the ones fighting for the Pride flag to be hoisted at their schools, and in some places, those efforts have been denied.

Such was the case for the York Catholic District School Board, which voted last week against flying the flag outside its main office.

Addressing students who are without a Pride flag, the prime minister said: “I'm here to say even though the flag may not fly at your school, know that it proudly flies here, in your seat of government.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May both attended the ceremony. Melissa Lantsman, who serves as deputy leader for the Conservatives and is lesbian, also attended.

At a separate news conference on Parliament Hill, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he was up late filibustering the Liberals' budget in the House of Commons the previous night when asked why he didn't attend.

“I believe every Canadian, regardless of who they are, regardless of their race, sexuality, gender, deserves to be safe,” he said Thursday, adding that if a Canadian commits violence against another, “they should be thrown in the slammer.”

Poilievre characterizes his job as Conservative leader as to promote freedom for all Canadians. Speaking in Winnipeg last week, he wished Canadians “a happy Pride month,” saying “our freedom is something in which all of us can take pride.”

He did not answer, however, when asked whether he plans to attend an event, with festivities spanning the country until the end of the month.

On Twitter, Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge accused Poilievre of being “all talk and no action” for being “nowhere to be seen” during the morning's event.

“A leader's greatness is measured by their ability to rally everyone around them. His absence today speaks volumes. Now, more than ever, we must fight against the rising hate towards 2SLGBTQI+ people.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2023.

LGBTQ Canadians facing a rising tide of hatred, Trudeau says

Trudeau warns of increase in anti-LGBTQ activity at Pride flag-raising ceremony on Parliament Hill

Richard Raycraft · CBC News · Posted: Jun 08, 2023 11:58 AM MDT | Last Updated: June 8, 2023

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in a Pride flag-raising event on Parliament Hill on Thursday, June 8, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Social Sharing

In a speech at a Pride flag-raising ceremony on Parliament Hill Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that hatred of LGBTQ people is on the rise in Canada.

The rainbow-coloured flag is now flying in front of the Parliament Buildings to mark Pride Month. The Liberal government started the annual tradition in 2016. In his speech, Trudeau warned that the climate for LGBTQ people has worsened since then.

"When we first raised the Pride flag on Parliament Hill seven years ago, I think we all thought it would get easier from that moment," Trudeau said.

"Transphobia, biphobia, homophobia, they're all on the rise. It's been difficult to watch people and institutions still continue to reject who you are, to try to deny members of our communities the rights to be seen and heard and celebrated."

The federal government announced $1.7 million in funding for six LGBTQ rights groups in conjunction with the ceremony. Women, Gender Equality and Youth Minister Marci Ien announced emergency funding earlier this week to help cover rising security and insurance costs for Pride festivals.

The number of police-reported hate crimes related to sexual orientation rose 64 per cent in 2021 over the previous year, says Statistics Canada.

• Ottawa to provide $1.5M in emergency funding to ensure Pride festivals stay safe across Canada

• Higgs threatens election to quell rebellion over Policy 713

Trudeau said anti-LGBTQ hatred is spreading from the United States into Canada. He cited several recent controversies, including attempts to disrupt Pride celebrations and remove books on sexual orientation and identity from school libraries, and some schools refusing to raise the Pride flag.

"In too many places, it's kids who have to fight to have the Pride flag raised, and in some places it's been denied," Trudeau said.

"And to those kids I'm here to say, even though the Pride flag may not fly at your school, know that it proudly flies here in your seat of government."

Trudeau added that most Canadians support the LGBTQ community.

"We are reminded all too often … whether it's online or celebrating Pride or [in] our daily lives, that hatred still has a very loud voice," he said.

"But I think we also need to be reminded that those loud voices do not represent the vast, vast majority of Canadians.

RELATED STORIES

Pride events in Canada facing higher security costs, feds offer $1.5M
Facing calls to act, Canadian lawmakers note 'rising tide' of hate and violence against LGBTQ2S+ community
Popular e-petition calling for Canada to allow trans people to claim asylum, but that right is 'already established'
Doug Ford will attend York Pride parade amid flag controversy
York Catholic District School Board votes against flying the Pride flag in JuneCapital 

Trudeau condemns 'rising hate' against LGBTQ+ people as Pride flag raised on Parliament Hill

"In the last year, we've seen too many people — including some politicians — showing that they're willing to target vulnerable trans youth, to deny them the freedom to seek life-saving gender-affirming care, all for narrow political gain."


Author of the article:
The Canadian Press
Published Jun 03, 2024 • 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Women and Gender Equality and Youth Minister Marci Ien raise the Pride flag during an event on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Monday, June 3, 2024. 

PHOTO BY ADRIAN WYLD /The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — As the Pride flag was raised over Parliament Hill Monday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned what he called “rising hate” against LGBTQ+ people in Canada, particularly transgender youth.

“In the last year, we’ve seen too many people — including some politicians — showing that they’re willing to target vulnerable trans youth, to deny them the freedom to seek life-saving gender-affirming care, all for narrow political gain,” he said.

Premiers in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan have introduced changes to the way schools must deal with children who change their pronouns or names.

Broadly speaking, the policies require educators to get parental consent to use a child’s preferred name or pronouns at school if they are under 16, while parents of older students must be notified of such changes.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s government has proposed similar changes to pronoun and name policies in schools, along with a plan to ban gender-affirming medical treatment for some transgender youth and ensure there are sports leagues only for biologically female players.

Critics say these policies put transgender and nonbinary students at risk of being outed without their consent and can cause serious harm.

Jordan Ames-Sinclair, a Cree youth and the two-spirit policy lead for the Assembly of First Nations, said homophobia and anti-Indigenous racism are both on the rise in Canada.

“The beginning of Pride is a joyous occasion. However, I cannot discuss how far we’ve come as a community without acknowledging the lived realities of so many young queer and (two-spirit) people in Canada today.”

Ames-Sinclair thanked political leaders in attendance, while warning of another reality in which leaders are “committed to backwards policy proven to harm the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.”

Trudeau said when he was the first prime minister to march in Pride parades in 2016, people questioned if his participation was relevant.

“This summer, nobody’s going to ask me that question,” he said.

The federal government set aside $1.5 million in its recent budget for Fierte Canada Pride to cover the rising security and insurance costs of Pride events this summer. The group received the same amount last year and distributed it to 50 Pride organizations.

Trudeau lamented the need for that funding, and said it is a reminder of “how vigilant we need to be.”

Sen. Rene Cormier, co-chair of the Canadian Pride Caucus, noted that more than 60 countries around the world still criminalize homosexuality and said Canada stands out as a beacon of hope for many despite the challenges.

“It might be the time for Canada to have a special envoy to advance the human rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ persons,” he said, as the small crowd in front of the Peace Tower cheered.

“At a time when issues of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression are under high tension in our country and elsewhere, due to the unprecedented rise in hatred toward 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, we are at a crossroads. We must be there, speak out and act.”

WHY CANADA IS NOT THE U$A

'Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World' named best reality TV, (IRONY) competition show in the country

"It feels so good to see these talents go on and have these giant careers," showrunner Trevor Boris says

Elisabetta Bianchini

June 1, 2024


Brooke Lynn Hytes and Justin Trudeau on Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. The World on Crave

Canada is making its mark on the Drag Race franchise, with Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. The World winning big at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards. At Friday's gala, the show won the award for Best Reality/Competition Program or Series, beating The Amazing Race Canada, Big Brother Canada, Canada's Ultimate Challenge and Best in Miniature.

"What we always pay homage to is that this is a community that has existed for decades, for a long time, and finally giving voice to the queens all over, not just in Canada, but in the U.S. and all over the world," executive producer Laura Michalchyshyn told reporters. "RuPaul has broken barriers that are insanely, insanely impressive."

Canada's Drag Race has also busted through barriers as a part of the wider international franchise, with producing partners at World of Wonder Productions. As Michalchyshyn highlighted, the Canadian Drag Race shows, "do as well if not better" than many of the Drag Race franchises.


"It performs not just in Canada, but everywhere else," Michalchyshyn stressed.

TORONTO, ONTARIO - MAY 31: (L-R) Michelle Mama, Trevor Boris and Laura Michalchyshyn pose with the Best Reality/Competition Program or Series Award during the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards at CBC Broadcast Centre on May 31, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Jeremy Chan/Getty Images)

Throughout Canada's Drag Race history, Canadian queens have become some of the most beloved in the entire franchise, including Brooke Lynn Hytes, Jimbo and Priyanka.

"I used to do on air stuff and people always talk about, there's no star system in Canada, I love that in drag it really does feel like there is," showrunner and executive producer Trevor Boris said.

"Jimbo just won the U.S. All Stars. That is huge. Priyanka is on etalk and on We're Here on HBO. ... You see people like Miss Fiercalicious was on [The Traitors Canada]. ... It feels so good to see these talents go on and have these giant careers. I think it's amazing."

Executive producer Michelle Mama added that Canada has an "edge" in the Drag Race world with its unique comedy.

"There's sort of an outsider kind of sitting on top of the elephant's head, and influenced by the U.K., so we have our own sense of humour and I think when you put that into the Drag Race blender, it's magic," Mama highlighted.

Brooke Lynn Hytes on Canada's Drag Race Season 4 on Crave
How to watch 'Canada's Drag Race' and 'Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. The World'

Canada's two Drag Race shows, Canada's Drag Race and Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. The World are both available to stream on Crave.

A jet missing since 1971 was found submerged in Vermont's Lake Champlain

LISA RATHKE
Updated Tue, June 11, 2024 

In this May 2024 image provided by Garry Kozak, remains of what experts believe to be is a 10-seat Jet Commander aircraft, rest on the floor of Lake Champlain off Juniper Island, Vt. Fifty-three years after a private plane carrying five men disappeared on a snowy Vermont night, experts believe they have found the wreckage of the long lost jet in Lake Champlain. The corporate jet disappeared shortly after departing the Burlington, Vt., airport for Providence, R.I., on Jan. 27, 1971. (Garry Kozak via AP)More

Fifty-three years after a private plane carrying five men disappeared on a snowy Vermont night, experts believe they have found the wreckage of the long lost jet in Lake Champlain.

The corporate jet disappeared shortly after departing the Burlington airport for Providence, Rhode Island, on Jan. 27, 1971. Those aboard included two crew members and three employees of a Georgia development company Cousins Properties, who were working on a development project in Burlington.

Initial searches for the 10-seat Jet Commander turned up no wreckage and the lake froze over four days after the plane was lost. At least 17 other searches happened, until underwater searcher Garry Kozak and a team using a remotely operated vehicle last month found wreckage of a jet with the same custom paint scheme in the lake close to where the radio control tower had last tracked the plane before it disappeared. Sonar images were taken of the wreck found in 200 feet (60 meters) of water near Juniper Island.

“With all those pieces of evidence, we're 99% absolutely sure,” Kozak said Monday.

The discovery of the wreckage gives the families of the victims “some closure and answers a lot of the questions they had,” he said.

While relatives are grateful and relieved that the plane has been found, the discovery also opens up more questions and old wounds.

“To have this found now ... it’s peaceful feeling, at the same time it’s a very sad feeling,” Barbara Nikitas, niece of pilot George Nikita, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday. “We know what happened. We’ve seen a couple of photos. We’re struggling I think with that now.”

Frank Wilder's father, also Frank Wilder, was a passenger on the plane.

“Spending 53 years not knowing if the plane was in the lake or maybe on a mountainside around there somewhere was distressing," said Wilder, who lives outside of Philadelphia. "And again, I'm feeling relieved that I know where the plane is now but unfortunately it's opening other questions and we have to work on those now.”

When the ice melted in the spring of 1971, debris from the plane was found on Shelburne Point, according to Kozak. An underwater search in May of 1971 was unable to find the wreckage. At least 17 other searches happened, including in 2014, according to Kozak. At that time, authorities were spurred by curiosity after the Malaysia Airlines plane disappearance that year with the hope that new technolog.y would find the wreck but it did not.

Barbara Nikitas, who lives in southern California and her cousin Kristina Nikita Coffey, who lives in Tennessee and is the daughter of George Nikita, spearheaded recent search efforts and contacted other victims' relatives.

What was fascinating in reconnecting with the group was “everybody had pieces of the pie and the puzzle that when we started sharing information and sharing documents what we got was a much greater both understanding and perspective of the information, how we were all impacted by this,” said Charles Williams, whose father, Robert Ransom Williams III, an employee of Cousins Properties, was on the plane.

He called Kozak a hero for his dedication to finding the plane. After the 2014 search was unsuccessful, Kozak became intrigued and searched a sonar survey of the lake taken by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and Middlebury College. He found four anomalies on the lake floor. Then in 2022, a colleague, Hans Hug of Sonar Search and Recovery in Exeter, New Hampshire, and his friend who has an ROV, said they wanted to look for the plane, Kozak said. The team found a plane but it turned out to be a military aircraft. Last winter Kozak searched the sonar survey again and found another anomaly, which the team discovered last month was likely the plane wreckage.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating to verify if it is the plane, Williams said. The NTSB doesn't do salvage operations, which would be expensive, Williams said.

“Whether there is tangible remains, and I hate to say it that way, and worth disturbing that's a decision that we'll have to figure out later, and part of what we're unpacking now,” he said. “It's hard when you start to think about that.”

The relatives of the victims plan to hold a memorial now that they know where the plane is located.

___

This story has been updated to correct the name of the company to Cousins Property, not Cousin's Property and corrects the name of George Nikita's niece. It is Barbara Nikitas, not Barbara Nikita.

Why the EU might be about to make Chinese electric cars more expensive

Theo Leggett - BBC international business correspondent
Tue, June 11, 2024 

Chinese firms are said to be able to make electric cars for 25% less than their European and US rivals [Getty Images]


With China accused of selling electric cars at artificially low prices, the European Union is widely expected to hit them with tariffs this week.

The BYD Seagull is a tiny, cheap, neatly styled electric vehicle (EV). An urban runabout that won’t break any speed records, but nor will it break the bank.

In China, it has a starting price of 69,800 yuan ($9,600; £7,500). If it comes to Europe, it is expected to cost at least double that figure due to safety regulations. But that would still be, by electric car standards, very cheap.

For European manufacturers that is a worrying prospect. They fear the little Seagull will become an invasive species, one of a number of Chinese-built models poised to colonise their own markets at the expense of indigenous vehicles.

China’s domestic auto industry has grown rapidly over the past two decades. Its development, along with that of the battery sector, was a major component of the “Made In China 2025” strategy, a 10-year industrial policy launched by the Communist Party in Beijing in 2015.

The result has been the breakneck development of companies like BYD, now vying with Tesla for the title of the world’s biggest manufacturer of electric vehicles. Established giants such as SAIC, the owner of the MG brand, and Volvo’s owner Geely, have also become big players in the EV market.

Last year, more than eight million electric vehicles were sold in China – about 60% of the global total, according to the International Energy Agency’s annual Global EV Outlook.

For policymakers in Europe and the US, however, this is a cause for concern. With Chinese brands having plenty of surplus capacity and moving into international markets, they fear their own companies will be unable to compete. They claim hefty subsidies for domestic production allow Chinese firms to keep prices at a level other firms will struggle to match.

According to a report by the Swiss bank UBS, published in September, the Chinese advantage is real. It suggested that BYD could produce cars at some 25% lower cost than the best of the legacy global carmakers.

It said BYD and other Chinese firms were “set to conquer the world market with high-tech, low-cost EVs for the masses”.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, the Alliance for American Manufacturing warned that the introduction of cheap Chinese cars could be an “extinction-level event” for the US auto industry. It called for a “dedicated and concerted effort to turn those imports back”, concluding that there was “no time to lose”.

Last month, the US took decisive action. The Biden administration raised its tariff on imports of Chinese battery-powered cars from 25% to 100%. Sales of Chinese-made EVs in the US are currently negligible; with the new tariffs, they are likely to stay that way.

The move was part of a wider package of measures targeting imports from China that has been condemned by Beijing as "naked protectionism".

At the same time, the US is subsidising its own car industry, through tax incentives that make domestically-produced vehicles cheaper to buy.

The EU appears to be taking a more moderate approach, despite tough rhetoric.

In her state of the Union address in September last year, the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced an investigation into Chinese imports.

“Global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars," she said.

“Their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies. This is distorting our market.”

The initial results of that investigation are now imminent.

It is widely expected that the Commission will provisionally raise duties on EVs imported from China, from the standard level of 10% for third country imports to between 20 and 25%.

Ursula von der Leyen has accused China of selling EVs for artificially low prices [Getty Images]

According to Matthias Schmidt of Schmidt Automotive Research, this would be a rather more proportionate response than the US move.

“The 100% tariff is just pure protectionism, regressive and stifles innovation, and prevents a competitive landscape for the consumer," he says.

“If the EU imposes tariffs of no more than 25%, it will be more about levelling the playing field, and evening out the 30% cost advantage Chinese manufacturers have."

Nevertheless, tariffs could hurt European companies as well as helping them.

Firstly, they would not just affect Chinese brands. For example, BMW’s iX3 electric SUV is built at a factory in Dadong and exported to Europe. The company also intends to import large quantities of Chinese-made electric Minis.

Both models would be subject to the tariffs, leaving the manufacturer to absorb the extra cost, or raise prices. The US manufacturer Tesla would also be affected, as it builds cars in Shanghai for export to Europe.

Secondly, although European makers have invested heavily in production in China in recent years, in partnership with local manufacturers, a number of them still export high-value models to Chinese markets.

If China wanted to retaliate by imposing its own hefty tariffs, these shipments could be targeted.

European carmakers are worried about retaliatory moves by the Chinese government [Getty Images]

Small wonder then, that executives at European carmakers have been distinctly lukewarm about the EU’s initiative.

Earlier this year, Volkswagen Group’s chief executive Oliver Blume warned that the introduction of tariffs was “potentially dangerous”, because of the risk of retaliation.

Last month BMW boss Oliver Zipse told investors “you could very quickly shoot yourself in the foot” by engaging in trade battles, adding “we don’t think that our industry needs protection”.

Ola Källenius, chief executive of Mercedes-Benz has gone a step further, publicly calling for tariffs on Chinese EV imports to be lowered rather than raised, to encourage European companies to do a better job.

Support for the EU investigation has largely come from France. Yet even among French manufacturers, there is doubt as to whether tariffs are the correct approach.

Carlos Tavares, head of the Stellantis group which includes Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall/Opel and DS, has described them as “a major trap for countries that go down that path”.

He has warned that European carmakers are in a "Darwinian" struggle with their Chinese rivals, something that is likely to have social consequences as they pare back costs in an effort to compete.

Renault’s chief executive Luca de Meo, meanwhile, says “we are not in favour of protectionism, but competition must be fair”.

He has called for the adoption of a strong European industrial policy to promote the sector, taking inspiration from policies launched by the US and China – in an effort to compete with both.

Meanwhile, the UK is looking on with interest. The head of the country’s trade watchdog, the Trade Remedies Authority, has previously made it clear he would be ready to set up an investigation into Chinese EVs, if ministers or the industry wanted it.

So far it is understood no such request has been made. Ultimately, as a deeply political issue, it will be something for the next government to address, after the election.

What higher tariffs may give Europe is more time for both car manufacturers and policymakers to adapt to the challenge from China.

But many within the industry acknowledge that if Europe is to remain a major player in the global automotive sector, it will have to do much more than simply set up barricades at home.

Calgary energy company told to abandon hundreds of wells after ongoing care problems

The Canadian Press
Mon, June 10, 2024 

CALGARY — A Calgary energy company has been ordered to abandon close to 1,000 wells, pipelines and other facilities over concerns about care and maintenance of the sites.

But questions remain about whether Tallahassee Exploration will be able to pay for the multimillion-dollar reclamation plan the provincial regulator has ordered the company to submit. Phone numbers for the Calgary company's office were not in service Monday.

In an order issued Monday, the Alberta Energy Regulator told the company it has 60 days to complete the first stage of cleanup for 693 wells, 146 entire pipelines and 75 facilities.

"Abandonment work, including surface abandonment and removal of cement pads, debris and produced liquids associated with the wells, must be completed in accordance with (regulatory) requirements," the order says.

The company also has 30 days to submit a detailed plan for how it will complete remediation.

"Tallahassee has not demonstrated it is capable of providing reasonable care and measures to protect public safety and the environment and is unable to meet its regulatory and end-of-life obligations," says the order.

The regulator first issued an order in September for the company to clean up its sites.

Another order was issued in November, demanding the company provide financial information and forbidding company officials from being on its site without approval from the Orphan Well Association.

The association is an industry-funded group that cleans up wells for which no solvent owner can be found. As of June 1, it had 2,647 sites in its inventory, which didn't include Tallahassee assets.

Tallahassee will remain the owner of those assets although the Orphan Well Association retains control of their care and custody. Tallahassee remains responsible for all costs incurred by the association.

Lawyer and regulatory watchdog Drew Yewchuck said about 300 of Tallahassee's wells are inactive and are likely to wind up as orphans. The rest could be sold off to producers comfortable with low-producing assets.

"The (association) will be doing care and maintenance until the bankruptcy process completes and the wells are either officially transferred to the (association) or they find some other buyer willing to take them.

"(Tallahassee) can't close or abandon them. They don't have the money."

The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates the average cost of cleaning up a well at $78,000, although some experts consider that figure low. Still, that figure would put the cost of remediating all of Tallahassee's wells at more than $54 million, not including the pipelines or other facilities.

If Tallahassee is unable to meet its requirements, the regulator can pursue other companies that own shares in the wells.

"Where the licensee is no longer able or unwilling to meet their regulatory requirements, the (regulator) looks to other responsible parties to execute the remaining closure obligations," said regulator spokeswoman Coral Hulse in an email.

The regulator can also issue fines, pursue court action or prevent individuals in a non-compliant company from owning or operating an energy company in Alberta.

Tallahassee has a long history of regulatory and financial problems.

In 2019, the Alberta Energy Regulator rated the company's liability-to-asset ratio at less than half of what it considered stable. Still, the regulator approved Tallahassee's purchase of assets from other troubled energy companies the following year, even as the Northwest Territories was blocking Tallahassee's purchase of wells in its jurisdiction.

Tallahassee failed to pay its regulatory levy and its orphan well levy in 2020, payments required of all energy operators in Alberta. Also, it did not meet the mandatory reclamation spending targets the regulator set in 2022.

Earlier this year, British Columbia's regulator fined the company $40,000 for improperly managing gas wells, and Alberta fined it for failing to report its emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press