The myth that carbon dioxide can save us is not just an Alberta thing

By

• Adrienne Tanner
•  
• 
  

• Opinion

November 11th 2024

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at a Carbon Capture Canada conference in Sept., 2024. Photo from Danielle Smith's official Facebook page

Only in Alberta. That was the refrain when my colleague Natasha Bulowski broke the story that Alberta’s ruling party was considering striking carbon dioxide from the list of planet-heating pollutants and instead, embracing the gas as a "foundational nutrient for all life on Earth.”

Those types of broad-brush remarks about our fellow Canadians are unfair, of course. There are a good many people in my home province who wouldn’t buy into this line of thought for a second. However, Alberta is the powerhouse producer of oil and gas in Canada, and politically deserves its bad rap for thwarting efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Its premier, Danielle Smith, is an unabashed fossil fuel booster, who lashes out at absolutely anything that would make life more difficult for corporations mining the oil sands and fracking for gas.

She throws around threats of lawsuits against federal climate policy like a major league pitcher. Days before her leadership review, Alberta filed suit against the federal carbon pricing system, on grounds it was being unfairly applied across the country — pointing to the tax carveout on home heating oil in the Atlantic provinces. 

This week, Smith threatened another court challenge, this one against the proposed federal oil and gas emissions cap, claiming it encroaches on provincial jurisdiction and threatens to lead the country “into economic and societal decline.”

And of course there are the roadblocks the Smith government has thrown up to thwart Alberta’s thriving renewable energy sector, designed to ensure fossil fuel companies maintain their edge. 

But even against this backdrop, the CO2 love-fest motion by the United Conservative Party (UCP) seemed beyond the pale. But lo and behold, it passed. An overwhelming majority of UCP members voted last weekend to ditch the province’s emissions reduction targets and recognize carbon dioxide as “a foundational nutrient for all life on earth.” 

That put Smith in a bit of a quandary. She couldn’t wholeheartedly promise to back the resolution; giving up on emissions reductions all together would rob the giant oilsands companies of huge amounts of money they want for their carbon capture projects and place them at a disadvantage internationally, where carbon intensity is starting to matter.

Smith tiptoed through that dilemma by saying she would honour the spirit but not the text of her party’s resolution and promised to continue support for the oil and gas industry’s commitment to reach net-zero by 2050. 

All of this made us at Canada’s National Observer wonder where the motion came from in the first place. To be sure, some carbon dioxide is a foundational part of life on our planet; plants need it to grow. All animals exhale it when they breathe. Of course, just like coffee that eventually gives you the shakes, there is a limit to how much carbon dioxide is good for the planet. 

Only in Alberta, you say? Not really. The CO2 as a life giving force myth has been around a long time. #emissions #CO2 #carbon #climate #abpoli

The Alberta motion ignores entirely the fact we are well past the threshold. Carbon dioxide, produced when humans burn fossil fuels, and other greenhouse gases like methane, act like a blanket that traps more and more of the heat around the planet. As the planet warms, more energy is added to the atmosphere, creating more violent storms, less predictable weather patterns, drying forests and rising sea levels. The hurricanes, floods and forest fires tell you all you need to know about how far past optimum levels we have already gone.

Turns out the disinformation spreaders, who designed the pro-CO2 slogans and urged us to forget the facts, were from a front group for a coalition of American coal producers. They first blasted out the argument in 1997 to prevent climate policies curtailing coal. It has been in circulation ever since, used as a rallying cry by fossil fuel boosters, climate deniers, online conspiracy theorists, and now, sadly, some Canadian political parties. The same myth was propagated by at least two Conservative Party of B.C. candidates during the recent provincial election.

It all goes to show how persistent disinformation in the service of the fossil fuel industry can be, and how eager those who stand to profit from the economic status quo are to continue its spread. In this case, it is the political parties lacking foresight who are to blame. 

So, no, it’s not only in Alberta. The UCP is just the latest one to jump on this bandwagon. 

 SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for CCS

NATONAL OBSERVER

November 11th 2024

Adrienne Tanner

Editor-in-Chief

@AdrienneTanner

Windsor

'There is stigma, but there is help:' Death of CBSA officer shines a light on mental health in the profession

Jobs like border patrol, law enforcement can have their own unique pressures, expert says

CBC News · Posted: Nov 11, 2024 

Traffic on the Ambassador Bridge in a June 7, 2024 file photo. (Dale Molnar/CBC)

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WARNING: This story contains mentions of suicide. 

Details remain scarce surrounding the death of a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer at the Ambassador Bridge on Saturday — but mental health experts say the job comes with unique mental health challenges that can be addressed through education. 

The border authority and union said an employee died by suicide while on the job on the Windsor, Ont., side of the border. 

The incident closed the international border crossing for several hours.

The Customs and Immigration Union said in a statement that the death brings to light challenges public safety personnel may be confronted with.

• Ambassador Bridge reopens after U.S.-Canada traffic diverted for several hours

"They remind us of the need for a comprehensive mental health support structure and of the importance of taking down barriers to access these services, both in professional and private settings," the statement said.

"These tragedies also serve as a reminder of the value of supporting each other in the face of hardship."

CBSA spokesperson Karine Martel says as employees grieve, they have met with the team and encouraged them to seek support from their employee assistance program during this "extremely difficult time."

'Great hesitation to express difficulties' in some jobs: UWindsor psychologist

Simon Hatcher is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Ottawa. 

He said first responders experience more trauma than the average person. Some of that is mitigated by a sense of camaraderie, working in teams and having pride in their job and skills, but the "psychology of suicide is all about feeling trapped, feeling hopeless and humiliated."

Hatcher said an important piece is for organizations to "walk the talk" on mental health, and education is an important piece. It can also be baked into leadership, like asking team leaders up for promotions what they've done to manage the mental health of their reports. 

"There is stigma, but there is also help," he said. "There is effective health help out there and …most people in fact who feel suicidal don't die by suicide and do improve and don't feel suicidal with the passage of time. But the difficult bit is getting from stigma to help."

A University of Windsor psychologist says jobs including border patrol and law enforcement can have their own unique pressures.

"We know that in cultures where there is a high value placed on being resilient, being autonomous and being capable of facing hardship, there is great hesitation to express difficulties and reach out for help," Josee Jarry told CBC News.

"It is still very present where those traditional masculine norms of self-reliance, being resilient, not being weak, success oriented and so on, might interfere with reaching out for help." 

Details on the gender or age of the worker have not been released.

According to Jarry, it's important in any workplace to talk to colleagues if you notice they may appear distraught, and in this case for colleagues of the deceased to connect with each other in the wake of this loss. 

"Isolation is never a good way to solve difficulties. Sometimes people feel that they can't talk to anybody around them. That happens. There are suicide lines and these people are quite well trained to help people who are feeling impulsive," she said. 

"We know from research that the simple experience of empathy, the simple experience of being received in an empathic way, is inherently calming."

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:

• Canada's Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988.

• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868. Text 686868. Live chat counselling on the website.

• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.

This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.

With files from Katerina Georgieva and Radio-Canada.

Canada’s immigration strategy: How reduced targets can preserve positive attitudes

Published: November 11, 2024

THE CONVERSATION

The Government of Canada recently announced plans to lower immigration targets for the next three years. The new targets are 395,000 new permanent residents for 2025, 380,000 for 2026, and 365,000 for 2027.

This is a reduction of around 20 per cent and more compared to the previous targets of 500,000 immigrants per year and the roughly 472,000 permanent immigrants who arrived in 2023. The plan will also reduce the number of temporary residents including international students and foreign workers who come to Canada.

The government stated these reductions aim to pause short-term population growth. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada argues that this will help to alleviate pressures on housing, infrastructure and social services as part of a broader plan for well-managed, sustainable growth in the long term.

The plan to reduce immigration to Canada has sparked significant debate, with particular criticism from business leaders.




However, as researchers studying public attitudes toward immigrants and immigration, we argue that these cuts were essential. In particular, they were necessary to preserve Canadians’ positive attitudes toward immigrants, maintain public support for the immigration system and ensure its continued strengths and benefits for the country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing the government’s plan to cut immigration.
Canadians’ attitudes toward immigrants and immigration

International survey data suggest that globally, Canada has a reputation for having more positive attitudes toward immigrants and immigration than citizens in other countries.

In a 2019 Gallup Survey of thousands of people across 145 countries, Canada ranked as the most accepting country in the world for migrants. These positive attitudes help Canada’s immigration system succeed. Immigrants receive various supports to integrate into Canadian society. In turn, they contribute to Canada’s economy and social fabric.

However, polls suggest a growing concern about immigration levels. These trends suggest that Canadians’ support for immigrants and immigration may be declining.
Perceived loss of control

Recently, Canadians have become concerned that the country has lost control of immigration. Immigrants have been blamed for the housing crisis and have been described as competing with Canadians for jobs. At the same time, some media commentators have suggested immigration is out of control.

Research shows that a sense of control plays an important role in shaping people’s attitudes toward immigrants. When people feel their country has control over immigration, they tend to hold more positive views. A perceived lack of control can lead to more negative attitudes.

This trend is clear in data from a September 2024 Environics Focus Canada survey. It found that 58 per cent of Canadians said there is too much immigration — the highest number since 1998. But it is not just perceptions of the immigration numbers that are being affected.

Attitudes toward immigrants are also becoming less favourable. More Canadians now agree that too many immigrants are not adopting Canadian values. They are more likely to say that many people claiming to be refugees are not real refugees. They are also more likely to say that Canada accepts too many racialized immigrants.

These growing negative perceptions make discrimination against immigrants in Canada more likely and can harm their ability to integrate. Poor integration would, in turn, reinforce Canadians’ negative views of immigrants and the perception that immigration is out of control, creating a cycle of decline

.
People crossing a street in Toronto. Political leaders should shift focus away from negative views by emphasizing Canada’s control over immigration and the importance of immigrants to the country’s future. (Shutterstock)

Reestablishing a sense of control

In announcing the new targets for immigration levels, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said “Canadians want the federal government to better manage the immigration system.” By managing immigration, Miller suggests that the integrity of the immigration system will be preserved.

These statements, paired with reduced immigration targets, may help restore Canadians’ sense of control over immigration. This, in turn, could prevent the potential cycle of perceived lack of control, negative attitudes toward immigrants and poor immigrant integration.

We recommend that public leaders continue to show that Canadians have control over immigration. At the same time, it is important for them to highlight the benefits of immigration for Canada. They should also express favourable views of all classes of immigrants, whether they are coming to work, join family in Canada or come as refugees.

Expressing these views can help restore Canadians’ positive attitudes, as seen during the Syrian refugee crisis. In 2015, newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared positive messages about Syrian refugees. This messaging, amplified by the media, made Canadians more open to the arrival of Syrian refugees. It also promoted more positive attitudes toward refugees in general.

Reducing immigration levels could reinforce the blame placed on immigrants for current societal problems. However, it also provides an opportunity to promote more positive views. Political leaders can shift the focus away from negative views by emphasizing Canada’s control over immigration and the importance of immigrants to the country’s future. Business leaders are already proclaiming this importance and can contribute to the promotion of positive attitudes toward immigrants and immigration.

By emphasizing both control and the benefits of immigration, leaders can preserve positive attitudes toward immigrants. They can also maintain support for the immigration system, ensuring it continues to meet Canada’s evolving needs. This approach can help build a welcoming society that values and recognizes immigrants as essential to Canada’s future.

Authors

Victoria Esses

Director, Network for Economic and Social Trends (NEST); Co-Chair, Pathways to Prosperity Partnership, Western University

Disclosure statement
Victoria Esses receives funding from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Alina Sutter
Postdoctoral Associate, Network for Economic and Social Trends (NEST), Western University

The man behind the mask

How a Newfoundland doctor invented a life-saving gas mask in WW I

Elizabeth Whitten | CBC NewsNov. 10, 2024

On a fine spring afternoon in 1915, a new weapon of war was unleashed near the town of Ypres, Belgium.

The First World War was well underway when — on April 22, 1915 — the German army released more than 136 tonnes of chlorine gas. A greenish-yellow toxic cloud blew toward the unsuspecting French lines.

It was the globe's first large-scale poison gas attack, and it stunned the world.

“The chemical gas was terrifying,” said Tim Cook, chief historian at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. “Soldiers had died on the battlefield. They were retching, their eyes were bulging out. They were vomiting up liquid. They were dying in horrendous ways.”

The response to this new type of warfare, which left unknown numbers of soldiers dead or incapacitated, was swift. In a moment, the terms of engagement had changed. New gear would be needed to counter the deadly gas attacks.

Among those who found a path first was Dr. Cluny Macpherson, a Newfoundland doctor who devised an early gas mask — known as the hypo helmet — that would go on to save hundreds of thousands of lives. Masks that built on his innovations would save millions.

The invention earned Macpherson considerable acclaim, and he was well known through his lifetime in military, medical and local circles. Gradually, though, since his death in 1966, his story has faded from view.

To find it, you need to dig into archives and history books, where a rich narrative is waiting to be told.

Kept safe in The Rooms vault, collections manager Wade Greeley revealed a hypo helmet that once belonged to Dr. Cluny Macpherson. (Elizabeth Whitten/CBC)


Deep inside The Rooms, a St. John’s cultural complex that includes Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial archives, a piece of First World War history is safeguarded in an area the public doesn’t often get to see.

Collections manager Wade Greeley kneels low to pull open a drawer. With care and wearing white gloves, he lifts out a large white envelope and lays it on a nearby table. He opens it gently to reveal that inside, lying flat, is a hood made in a woolen-like grey-brown material with a cracked mica eyepiece.

At more than 100 years old, this is a surviving hypo helmet that was Macpherson once owned.

This item is special because it is the only one of its kind, Greeley said.

“More than anything, it's a prototype. So this is him deciding, ‘OK what? How? How can I make that helmet and what materials [am I] going to use?’” he said.

“And then figuring out, ‘Oh, this is not working and then going to another one. So we actually have three or four of these prototypes.”

Greeley said these gas masks kept changing throughout the war, as additional items in the vault’s drawer demonstrate. Also tucked away are two more advanced gas masks, known as PH helmets.

The race to protect soldiers


Cook said up to the point of the gas attack on April 22, during the Second Battle of Ypres, the war had largely been static, with armies digging into positions through a system of trenches that resulted in a stalemate.

Then the German army introduced a new weapon to break it: chlorine gas.

“And this enormous gas cloud, six kilometres long, green, yellow tendrils pushing forward over the Allied lines, comes into contact with two French divisions and the Canadian division also in the line. And it causes panic and terror as the soldiers feel the gas burning out their lungs,” said Cook.
On April 22, 1915 Germany launched the first large scale chemical weapon attack near Ypres, Belgium. (Canadian War Museum)


The French divisions fled. But the Canadians, who didn’t take the full brunt of the gas attack, were able to rally and hold the line, said Cook.

Immediately, the Allied high command knew it had to come up with some form of protection for soldiers, he said.

Initially, a cloth pad was distributed that needed to be soaked in a water-based solution, but it was mostly ineffective. Then what was called a black veil respirator was sent out to troops, followed by more effective masks, starting with the hypo helmet, said Cook.

On April 22, 1915, the first large-scale gas attack took place near Ypres, Belgium, which prompted a race to create a gas mask. (In Flanders Field Museum)


He has read through archived letters and diaries kept by soldiers and noticed they didn’t have much faith in the cloth respirators that were initially sent to the frontlines.

“But when the hypo helmet arrives — this large bag that is worn over the head with a mica viewer — it provides a greater sense of protection,” said Cook.

Newfoundland enters the war


But let's back up a bit, and explain how a St. John's doctor wound up playing a pivotal role overseas in developing a widely used gas mask.

When Britain declared war on Germany on Aug. 4, 1914, the Dominion of Newfoundland was automatically in the conflict as well. At the time, Newfoundland had a population of approximately 240,000. But while the country did not have an army, the government quickly set out to raise a regiment.

All would-be soldiers had to pass a physical evaluation conducted by Macpherson and other doctors before they were sent to nearby Pleasantville on the shores of Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John's for further training.

Maureen Peters, a curator at The Rooms, said the medical examination looked at a multitude of factors to determine if someone would be accepted into the regiment.

“Everybody who enlisted had to go through a physical and had to go through eye tests, physical tests, flat feet. If you didn't have arches, you couldn't join, and you had to have healthy teeth,” she said.

Doctors like Macpherson would have also checked for healthy lungs, Peters added.
Macpherson enlisted with the newly formed Newfoundland Regiment in September 1914 as a captain. He headed up efforts to evaluate recruits. (The Rooms)


When the Newfoundland Regiment’s first contingent went overseas in October 1914, Macpherson was not with them.

Gov. Walter Davidson had asked him to hang back in St. John’s in case a German U-boat appeared in the harbour and attacked.

But in March 1915, Macpherson was given permission for a brief two-month trip to Britain. That journey put him in Europe at a conspicuous moment when, it turned out, his insight and talent were needed.

But how exactly did Macpherson come about creating the hypo helmet? Fortunately, Macpherson's own words can tell us, as he gave a few interviews, including in a sit-down interview with the CBC in the early 1960s.

WATCH | Learn how a Newfoundland doctor became enmeshed in the race to protect soldiers in the First World War:



In late April 1915, Macpherson, 36, found himself in St. Omer, France for what was supposed to be a two-day visit. On his final day in the village, had breakfast with two professors from Imperial College London — William Watson and Herbert Brereton Baker. They were part of a cohort of scientists who were tapped by the British government to study the recent gas attack and devise effective means of protection.

“So getting up, they said, ‘Well, what are you doing today?’ I said, ‘I’m trying to keep out of sight because I'll be sent back to base,’" Macpherson recalled decades later. “'Well, would you like to come down to the lycée with us, to the chemical lab?'"

Macpherson agreed, offering himself as a guinea pig for testing prototypes and ended up volunteering to go to London to retrieve canisters of chlorine gas for tests. While there, he began to think about an improved gas mask design.

“I didn't think much of that German contraption and I thought I could do something better. And I bought a length of Viyella [a twill fabric made from wool and cotton] and some mica and put them in my pocket,” he said.
Through his work with the War Office, Dr. Cluny Macpherson spent time in Egypt and helped train officers in how to use their gas masks. (The Rooms)


When Macpherson returned to the lab, the scientists headed to a trench to test the respirator, but it was a disaster. William Watson was so badly gassed that he was hospitalized. While Baker and Macpherson went to visit, Macpherson decided to hang back in the hallway.

“I took this Viyella and mica out of my pocket and got a sheet of paper and cut out the design of the helmet and got the nurse to sew it up for me and put it back in my pocket,” he said.

The next day, Macpherson presented the hood to the scientists to test, this time in the lab’s stink chamber. The hood was doused with a chlorine gas-neutralizing chemical solution and an engineer put it on and entered the chamber, which was filled with chlorine gas.

“After he was in there, about five minutes, he came towards the door pulling it off and they all thought that he was smothering in it. But I knew better and fortunately. I had a sprayer of the solution and threw it right over him and grabbed him and pulled him out,” said Macpherson.

The engineer was confused, and wanted to know why they hadn’t flooded the chamber with chlorine gas.

“We had a job to convince him that we had him in chlorine 10 times stronger than the Germans could ever get it over. So when we convinced him of that — he hadn't smelled anything — and everybody was excited.”

After another successful demonstration for the top military men in the area, Macpherson was then given a new assignment as the head of the War Office in London, where he was put in charge of mass producing the hypo helmet.

Hypo helmets started being sent out to British and Canadian soldiers in late May and eventually 2.5 million gas masks would be produced.

images expandMacpherson was in charge of overseeing the mass production of the hypo helmet, the work was largely carried out by women at the John Bells, Hills & Lucas. Ltd. firm in London.


Cook said while the hypo helmet physically protected them, it also gave them a sense the army was looking out for their well-being.

“That this spectre of chemical agents could be protected against and that they would not die like rats in a trench," he said.

However, there were problems with Macpherson’s design.

Cook said it was horrible to wear and some soldiers nearly suffocated in it. They also had to worry whether it would hold up to higher concentrations of gas. In addition, gas masks cut down on a soldiers’ ability to see, breathe and move, all of which inhibits their fighting abilities, Cook said.

“There's always a tension between protecting yourself from gas and chemical agents and the effect on soldiers' fighting performance. The hypo helmet, while useful, will be superseded by other helmets until we get to the small box respirator in late 1916, which is really the best respirator and the type used for decades after that,” said Cook.

images expand

Big deal at home


Frank Gogos, chair of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Museum, said the fact that a Newfoundlander developed a gas mask was a big deal at home at the time.

“We're still talking about it, you know, and there were some controversies whether he actually is the first to develop a gas mask as there are other versions prior to that, but not used in the military setting as such,” Gogos said during an interview, surrounded by Royal Newfoundland Regiment artifacts.

“We have to give him credit for the work that he did do — finding a quick and easy solution, reasonably easy solution, I should say. Because there was a bit of work in maintaining the early gas masks.”
Frank Gogos, chair of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Museum, says Macpherson deserves credit for devising a form of protection against chlorine gas. (Elizabeth Whitten/CBC)


Gogos said prior to the hypo helmet, soldiers were being told to urinate on cotton gauze and press it to their faces.

“Of course, that’s not very comfortable,” he said.

A story not yet written


Across the street from Bannerman Park in downtown St. John’s, along a row of stately homes, one property has a plaque that declares it was once the residence of Dr. Cluny Macpherson, “gas mask inventor.” A few minutes away by car, Memorial University has named a new student residence in his honour.

Macpherson’s role as the creator of a life-saving device hasn’t been forgotten in his hometown, but Gogos said the story of how he became involved in the project hasn’t been told.

“So it would be nice to see this actually get into the public domain so more people can understand what actually took place and how it unfolded,” said Gogos.

He pointed out that Macpherson did write extensively about his experience in the First World War, primarily in letters now archived at the medical school. But, Gogos said, they were only recently digitized and made available online.

“Some of the more interesting things that happen in life, happen by chance. And so that's really how he gets involved. And I think a lot of soldiers owe them, you know, their lives for coming up with a solution.”

A ‘fertile mind’


During the war, Macpherson was twice mentioned in dispatches — an honour in which a superior officer told top miitary officials of an important contribution. After the war, Macpherson was made a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George for his invention.
After the war, Dr. Cluny Macpherson resumed his medical practice and was made a Companion of the Order of St. George and St. Michael for his hypo helmet invention. (Courtesy of the Estate of Yousuf Karsh)


While Macpherson deserves credit for his creation, Cook said, it doesn’t qualify him as the inventor of the gas mask, but rather an inventor of a gas mask.

“He's part of the struggle that happens in times of war, of technological evolution. When a weapon is introduced, often there is a subsequent weapon or device to combat it. So surely we see that with the gas mask and the evolution in design,” said Cook.

“I think what we can say about Dr. Macpherson is that he clearly understood the devastating effects of the gas clouds and that the soldiers needed to be protected with a device, and his clearly intelligent, fertile mind came up with this hood, which was an important step in this evolution of protecting soldiers.”

Legacy of a doctor


Sitting in a living room chair in his St. John’s home, Ian Macpherson says he only became aware of his grandfather’s role as inventor of the hypo helmet as a teenager and that in general, inventing it wasn’t something Macpherson spoke about.

“I don't know that he made an effort not to talk about it, it really wasn't something — certainly within the family — which was made a major issue of,” he said.

Since the 1990s, Ian Macpherson said, he’s seen more people interested in the role Dr. Macpherson played in the First World War, and a plaque hangs outside the family home where Macpherson lived most his life.
Ian Macpherson says there has been more interest in his grandfather’s role in inventing the gas mask in recent years. (Darryl Murphy/CBC)


As a child, Ian Macpherson said, he can remember accompanying his grandfather to visit homebound patients.

He said Macpherson put more emphasis on his role as a doctor in the community, rather than as a wartime inventor.

He pointed to Macpherson’s role of containing outbreaks of infectious diseases in Labrador and working with the Waterford Hospital in St. John's as points of pride.

“But, I think, he will be remembered for the gas mask, yeah.”

CANADA  REALLY BAD NEWS

Abacus Data Poll:

Conservatives lead by 19 as other metrics  hold steady.

David Coletto

November 10, 2024

From October 31 to November 5, 2024 Abacus Data conducted a national survey of 1,915 Canadian adults exploring several topics related to Canadian politics and current events as part of our regular national omnibus surveys.

In this edition, we ask our usual trackers only.

Vote Intention: Conservatives remain well ahead, lead by 19 over the Liberals

If an election were held today, 41% of committed voters would vote Conservative, while 22% would vote for the Liberals, 20% for the NDP, and 5% for the Greens. The BQ has 38% of the vote in Quebec. The Conservative vote share is down 3 while the NDP and PPC vote shares are up 2 each respectively.

Regionally, the Conservatives continue to lead across all regions and provinces except for in Quebec. The Conservatives lead by 12 in BC, 36 in Alberta, 32 in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and by 18 in Atlantic Canada. In Quebec, the BQ is ahead of the Liberals by 12 with the Conservatives a further two points back.

Canada Post Launching Bank Accounts with No Fees: Here are the Details

LONG DEMANDED BY CUPW

John Quintet




Canada Post is trying banking services again, this time with a chequing and savings account.

Partnering with Koho Financial, Canada Post plans to launch these accounts nationwide in 2025, with its employees getting early access as a trial run.

Lisa Liu, a spokesperson for Canada Post, explained to the Canadian Press that the postal service sees a need for accessible banking options, especially for people in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, as well as new Canadians. “Canada Post is uniquely positioned to fill some of these demands,” she said, adding that existing services are helpful but don’t meet all needs.

Called “MyMoney,” the new account will offer features like high interest, cashback, and credit-building tools. It will operate with a prepaid, reloadable Mastercard (supports Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc), which works like a debit card but offers some credit card perks. MyMoney will also come with various account options, from no-fee accounts to paid ones with extra features.

This move follows Canada Post’s short-lived lending program with TD Bank in 2022, which ended due to “processing issues.” Since then, Canada Post has shifted its focus to core financial services rather than loans.

The project continues Canada Post’s collaboration with Koho, which recently enabled cash deposits through post offices. Koho is now seeking a Canadian banking license to expand its offerings further. Koho’s CEO, Daniel Eberhard, said he’s excited to work with Canada Post, emphasizing their shared values and vision for accessible financial services.

Recently, Koho rebranded itself at the beginning of November, switching to new graphics, imagery and slogans.

KOHO is an affiliate partner of iPhoneinCanada.ca and allows readers to help support the site.

Meet the only Canadian woman fighting on Ukraine’s front lines

MARK MACKINNON

SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT
POKROVSK, UKRAINE

GLOBE AND MAIL

Brittney Shki-Giizis, a 31-year-old tank gunner, on Nov. 10. Pte. Shki-Giizis came to Ukraine in February after completing the months-long process of being granted leave from her post in the Lord Strathcona’s Horse Regiment. She’s now fighting on the frontline near the city of Pokrovsk.

OLGA IVASHCHENKO/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

To find the only Canadian woman serving on the front lines of the battle for Ukraine, you first have to drive to the absolute hottest point of the war.

Brittney Shki-Giizis, a 31-year-old tank gunner, says she left the Canadian army and joined Ukraine’s forces because she wanted to be part of the fight to hold back Vladimir Putin’s Russia, rather than watch from afar as Moscow tries to conquer a European country.

It’s a message she hopes will resonate back home, particularly on Remembrance Day, when she says she’ll be quietly toasting some of the Ukrainian comrades-in-arms she has lost during the nine months she has been in the country.

But Private Shki-Giizis also acknowledges that she lives on adrenaline.

“I came here knowing full well that I am going to war. So having the hottest part of the front is exactly what I was looking for. I guess I thrive under fear and stress, if that makes sense. I like the adrenaline,” she told The Globe and Mail on Sunday, as artillery boomed nearby. Soon, a black pillar of smoke could be seen rising into the sky perhaps a kilometre from where she and her unit were stationed. “It’s exciting.”

The fight for Ukraine has killed tens of thousands of people and has been marked by mass desertions from both armies. But Pte. Shki-Giizis said she’s delighted to have joined Ukraine’s 25th Airborne Brigade in time to help defend Pokrovsk, a strategically vital transportation hub in Ukraine’s southeastern Donbas region.Open this photo in gallery:

Pokrovsk is a strategically vital transportation hub in Ukraine’s southeastern Donbas region.

OLGA IVASHCHENKO/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

The biggest surge of fear and stress comes from the explosive drones that Russia constantly sends over the battlefront east of the city. “Drones sometimes fly around the tank, but I haven’t been hit yet. But it’s definitely scary – when you hear that buzz, I can honestly say that’s the scariest sound I’ve heard in my life,” Pte. Shki-Giizis said.

Sunday was a down day for her, in that she wasn’t in her Soviet-era T-80 tank firing at the Russian lines that are now just six kilometres from the outskirts of Pokrovsk, after an increasingly rapid advance in recent weeks. She says she has already been in action several times during the six weeks she has been deployed near the city, and “yeah, I have hit targets.”

Pte. Shki-Giizis came to Ukraine in February after completing the months-long process of being granted leave from her post in the Lord Strathcona’s Horse Regiment. Her journey from the unit’s base in Edmonton to the front lines of the Donbas region began in the spring of 2023, when the Canadian Armed Forces assigned her to Poland to help teach Ukrainian tank crews how to operate the first eight Leopard-2 tanks that Canada donated to the war effort.

Back then she was a captain, and the lead trainer on the Leopard-2 tanks, which she says are the best in the world. She taught two companies of Ukrainians about the differences between the Leopards and their Soviet-made rivals.


Pte. Shki-Giizis taught two companies of Ukrainians the differences between Leopard-2 tanks and their Soviet-made rivals.

OLGA IVASHCHENKO/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Now she’s a private – though her code name is “Captain,” in an ironic nod to her lost rank – working the gun of one of those Soviet tanks. Her career in the Canadian military is on hold, at least for now, though she plans to return to the CAF whenever her stint in Ukraine ends.

“It got to a point where I became pretty dissatisfied with life in the CAF – just training and not really having an end goal to that training, if that makes sense? So, I finally made the decision that my skills and my experience would be better used here,” she said.

She didn’t speak Ukrainian before arriving in the country. After taking intensive one-on-one lessons with a tutor before joining the 25th Airborne – and becoming proficient enough to follow commands and understand what’s going on around her – she now spends her off days improving her skills with the help of a language app.Open this photo in gallery:

Pte. Shki-Giizis says she left the Canadian army and joined Ukraine’s forces because she wanted to be part of the fight to hold back Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

OLGA IVASHCHENKO/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

In addition to the language barrier, she has had to overcome sexism among her Ukrainian colleagues, who aren’t used to seeing women on the battlefield. At least part of the reason she’s not at the helm of one of the Leopard tanks is that none of the Ukrainian units that have them accepted her application. “They gave other answers, but you can guess the real reason why,” she said.

While she said she’s happy in the 25th Airborne, she has had to ignore cracks about being better suited to working in the kitchen. She said she laughs it off – “if you’re being teased it means they like you” – but also insists that one of her male colleagues do the cooking.

Another thing that makes her chuckle is the accusation frequently made in Russian media that foreigners like her who are fighting for Ukraine are mercenaries for hire. “I’m definitely not here for the money. There’s not a lot of that,” she said with a laugh that echoed through a quiet forest near Pokrovsk, where she and her unit took The Globe to see a T-80 tank that was under repairs on Sunday.

Tank gunner Pte. Shki-Giizis is usually in her Soviet-era T-80 tank firing at the Russian lines that are now just six kilometres from the outskirts of Pokrovsk

.OLGA IVASHCHENKO/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

She said she doesn’t yet know what she’ll be paid – there are monthly bonuses for front-line service – only that it will be “so much less” than what she was receiving in the Canadian military.

Pte. Shki-Giizis said she misses her family back home in Timmins, Ont. – and is ravenous for a McDonalds breakfast sandwich – but that most of her former colleagues in the Canadian military understand and support the decision she has made. She’ll be thinking of them Monday on Remembrance Day, but it’s her fallen Ukrainian comrades that will be top of mind.

“I have lost some really good friends here, and although they’re not Canadian, and Remembrance Day is specifically Canadian, I’m still going to have a drink for them – well maybe not a drink because I can’t drink in this army – but I’m going to remember them.”

 BC

Xatśūll First Nation calls for halt to gold mining project southeast of Prince George

Company says it welcomes further consultation as project moves forward

Citizen StaffNov 9, 2024 

In foreground is the proposed Cariboo Gold mine site in Wells.Oskiso Development Corp.

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Xatśūll First Nation is calling on the government of British Columbia and Osisko Development Corp. to halt the proposed Cariboo Gold Project, located southeast of Prince George, until their concerns are addressed and they grant consent.

“The province has shown it is failing to responsibly regulate this sector in our territory,” said Kukpi7 (Chief) Rhonda Phillips. “It’s not the 1980s anymore. By ignoring our very serious concerns about the Cariboo Gold Project, both the province and Osisko are neglecting their commitments to reconciliation and to upholding the rights of Indigenous peoples.”

Meanwhile, Osisko Development Corp. announced Thursday, Nov. 7 that the Mines Act permit for its Cariboo Gold Project has been referred for a decision to the statutory decision maker at the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation.

The company also announced that the review of its Environmental Management Act permits has been completed, with those permits expected to be referred to the statutory decision maker in the near future. Osisko anticipates receiving final decisions on both permits in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The Cariboo Gold Project, which would be one of the largest gold mining operations in the region, lies within Xatśūll’s traditional territory.

Osisko states that the project covers an area of 192,000 hectares. The underground operation is expected to produce about 1.87 million ounces of gold over a 12-year mine life.

The project has been at the centre of a multi-year permitting process. In a statement, Osisko reiterated its commitment to advancing the project in partnership with Indigenous nations. This includes years of consultation and the signing of participation agreements with the Lhtako Dené Nation (2020) and the Williams Lake First Nation (2022).

Xatśūll First Nation is part of the larger Secwepemc Nation, located in the Cariboo region of British Columbia near Williams Lake.

While the company has yet to reach an agreement with the Xatśūll First Nation, it stated that it remains committed to ongoing engagement with the community, including following the issuance of any Mines Act or other permits.

“We have made good faith and reasonable efforts in the past two years to reach an agreement with Xatśūll First Nation, offering financial and other benefits similar to those agreed upon with other Indigenous communities,” said Sean Roosen, chair and CEO of Osisko Development. “Our focus has always been on ensuring that the Cariboo Gold Project is both beneficial and viable for all parties involved.”

Xatśūll leaders, including Phillips, argue that despite months of negotiations, there has been minimal progress in addressing their concerns. Phillips said the province and Osisko must engage in a genuine, consent-based decision-making process aligned with the principles of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

The Xatśūll people call the proposed gold mine, located in the Wells-Barkerville area, a source of tension due to what they call its potential to harm local ecosystems and disrupt their cultural practices. Xatśūll’s concerns include the potential negative impact on the threatened Southern Mountain subspecies of the Barkerville Woodland Caribou herd, as well as broader cumulative environmental effects that could severely restrict the First Nation’s ability to practice traditional activities like hunting, fishing, and gathering medicinal plants.

Xatśūll has also raised alarms over the potential harm to human health and cultural well-being. The risk of exposure to contaminants through traditional foods and water, as well as the loss of access to cultural sites, could have long-term consequences for Xatśūll’s spiritual and social fabric, the release states.

The company reports that it addressed 1,700 comments during the environmental assessment review, and through multiple rounds of consultations with the Mine Review Committee, responded to over 1,800 additional comments as part of the permit application process.

Despite Xatśūll withholding its consent for the project, the provincial government issued an environmental assessment certificate for the project in October 2023. Phillips said the failure to meaningfully address Xatśūll’s concerns after more than a year of discussions signals a disregard for Indigenous rights.

Roosen expressed confidence that the provincial government would uphold its responsibilities in the decision-making process, and reiterated the company’s intention to continue engaging with the Xatśūll First Nation, particularly in sharing the socio-economic benefits of the project.

"Consultation on this project has been robust and thorough, and we are confident that our record reflects our commitment to meeting our obligations. We look forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders, including Xatśūll First Nation, to ensure a meaningful and sustainable outcome," he said.

“We emphasize that Xatśūll would like to see sustainable resource development in our territory, but it’s remarkable that in 2024 the province and Osisko continue to push ahead with this mine without our consent,” she said. “If permitting moves forward without addressing our concerns, any permits issued will be highly vulnerable to legal challenges.”

In addition to its ongoing negotiations with Osisko, Xatśūll is calling on the provincial government to prioritize a collaborative process that would resolve outstanding issues before the Cariboo Gold Project proceeds. The First Nation has warned that without such a process, the project could face significant legal risks, especially in light of the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling in the Tsilhqot’in case, which found that projects initiated without Indigenous consent could be required to cancel if they unjustifiably infringe on Aboriginal title.

Xatśūll is also considering a legal challenge based on cumulative industrial impacts, similar to the successful case brought by the Blueberry River First Nations, which challenged the province over cumulative effects from industrial development in their territory.

“We will not stand down until we are treated respectfully as partners and acknowledged as Aboriginal title holders and decision-makers,” Phillips said.

This secret Nazi weather station sat undiscovered in Canada for decades

This largely unknown WWII weather station in Newfoundland was one of the only known Nazi operations that took place on North American soil. The Weather Network's Connor O'Donovan reports.

Connor O'Donovan

Video Journalist, Alberta
Published on Nov. 11, 2024

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A photo taken by German forces in 1943 shows a weather station complete with instruments to measure temperature, wind speed, air pressure, humidity and more. (Source. CC0 1.0)

Did you know the Nazis managed to install an automatic weather station on the coast of Labrador during WWII and that it remained undiscovered by Canadians for more than 30 years?

The secret German mission remains one of the only known enemy operations to actually take place on North American soil during the second World War and highlights just how much an impact the weather had on the war.

In October 1943, German U-boat U-537 sailed undetected to Martin Bay, off the coast of Labrador in what was then the British Dominion of Newfoundland.

There, a crew led by civilian meteorologist Kurt Sommermeyer rushed to set up what was, at the time, an incredibly sophisticated weather station.

Disguised in camouflaged steel drums were a thermometer, anemometer, barometer, and more, powered by batteries and a wind generator. The system was designed to collect weather data at set intervals, which would be sent over the ocean in encrypted Morse code via a shortwave radio transmitter.

The station serves as a sort of precursor to the automatic weather stations we’re used to seeing in modern times.
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Unfortunately for the Germans, though, the station stopped operating fully after just a few days

As Naval Museum of Alberta curator Bradley Froggatt explains, the Nazis were likely aiming to gain an edge in the Battle of the Atlantic. Access to weather information in the Atlantic was crucial to planning Allied operations, and having access to that same information likely would have helped German U-boats, ships, and aircraft plan attacks.

“Because Germany was blockaded early on in the war, they had limited resources for predicting weather. They had weather stations but didn’t have access to the information the allies had, especially when it came to the convoys,” he says, referencing the many shipping convoys that sailed from North America to Britain during the war.

“The key thing with the Germans is they want to kill the convoys, because if they starve England, they can’t fight that war.”

Perhaps most remarkable about the story, the station remained unknown and undiscovered by Canadians until a geographer doing research in the area stumbled upon it in 1977. Even then, the fact that it was a Nazi installation wasn’t verified until a few years later, following a tip from a German researcher. The Canadian government visited and dismantled the site. It now sits as a permanent exhibit at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

Summing up the importance of meteorological knowledge on the battlefield, Froggatt references a quote from the famed Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu.

“Know the enemy; know yourself; your victory will never be endangered. Know the ground, know the weather; your victory will then be total.”

Trump picks ally Lee Zeldin as environment chief and vows to roll back rules

President-elect says ex-New York congressman will ‘ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions’ as EPA administrator

Oliver Milman

Mon 11 Nov 2024

Donald Trump has picked Lee Zeldin, a former New York congressman, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), vowing the appointment will “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions” by the regulator.

Trump, who oversaw the rollback of more than 100 environmental rules when he last was US president, said that Zeldin was a “true fighter for America First policies” and that “he will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet”.

Zeldin, a Republican who was in the House of Representatives until last year as a member for a New York district that covers part of Long Island, said the nomination was an “honor” and that he was looking forward to cutting red tape as the EPA administrator.

“We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI,” Zeldin wrote on X. “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.”

Zeldin, 44, is considered a close Trump ally and ran in a surprisingly close race for New York governor in 2022, before being pipped by Kathy Hochul, a Democrat. During the campaign, Zeldin attacked Hochul’s “far-left climate agenda” and assailed Democrats for allegedly forcing people to drive electric cars.

The EPA nominee, who will have to be confirmed by the US Senate, has rarely spoken out on environmental or climate issues, although he said in 2014 he was “not sold yet on the whole argument that we have as serious a problem as other people are” with global heating, and added in 2018 that he did not support the Paris climate agreement, which Trump is again expected to withdraw the US from.

Zeldin, who has a score of just 14% from the League of Conservation Voters on his votes on environmental issues in his 15 years in Congress, is expected to oversee an overhaul of the EPA that will rival anything seen since its foundation in 1970.

An exodus of staff is expected from the agency, with employees already raising fears they will be subject to political interference and that their work to protect Americans from toxic chemicals and planet-heating emissions from cars, trucks and power plants will be torn up.

“Naming an unqualified, anti-American worker who opposes efforts to safeguard our clean air and water lays bare Donald Trump’s intentions to, once again, sell our health, our communities, our jobs, and our future out to corporate polluters,” Ben Jealous, executive director of the Sierra Club, said of Zeldin’s nomination.

“Our lives, our livelihoods, and our collective future cannot afford Lee Zeldin – or anyone who seeks to carry out a mission antithetical to the EPA’s mission.”

The naming of Zeldin, less than a week after Trump won the presidential election, is far quicker than his previous term in the White House, when he took until December to name Scott Pruitt as his pick for the EPA.

Pruitt resigned in 2018 amid a flurry of ethics scandals, including allegations that he gave staffers improper pay raises, that he constructed an expensive soundproof phone booth in his office, and that he tasked employees with fetching him moisturizer and a favorite mattress.