#IWD

Shakeup coming atop Canadian military as 1st woman deputy to be named
Murray Brewster 

© Facebook/Canadian Armed Forces Lt.-Gen. Francec Allen is currently Canada's military representative at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

The Canadian military's second-in-command will soon be replaced as part of an anticipated major shakeup of the senior ranks of the embattled institution.

Lt.-Gen. Mike Rouleau will be moved aside as Vice Chief of the Defence Staff (VCDS) in order to make way for Lt.-Gen. Frances Allen, CBC News has confirmed.

The move is part of a number of general officer appointments and transfers, which the Department of National Defence intends to announce on Tuesday.

Global News first reported the latest shakeup, but a confidential source confirmed the information late Monday to CBC News.

It is happening at a time of extraordinary crisis within the military as the two most senior officers — Admiral Art McDonald and Gen. Jonathan Vance — remain under investigation by the Canadian Forces National Investigative Service for alleged sexual misconduct.

After learning last week that he was under investigation, McDonald, who had only been in the Chief of the Defence job a month, stepped aside.

The normal practice would have been to make the vice chief the acting top commander, but Rouleau was passed over and the head of the Canadian Army, Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre was given the temporary appointment by Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan

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© CBC News Lt.-Gen. Mike Rouleau will be moved aside as Vice Chief of the Defence Staff in order to make way for Lt.-Gen. Frances Allen, CBC News has confirmed.

Video: Defence committee expands military misconduct investigation (Global News)

The intention, according to a defence source, is to make Rouleau, who is the former commander of special forces, a senior adviser on future capabilities.

Both Rouleau and Allen have only been at their current jobs since last summer.

Allen, who as a major-general served as the deputy vice chief, is currently Canada's military representative at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

She will become the first woman to hold the position of vice chief and in that capacity will be responsible for the day-to-day administration of the military.
Increased political scrutiny

Allen inherits an institution in the midst of crisis, one that is struggling to salvage its signature social initiative: the campaign to stamp out sexual misconduct, which has suffered a major credibility hit because of the scandals surrounding Vance and McDonald.

There will be increased political scrutiny.

On Monday, a Parliamentary committee agreed to an expanded set of hearings into sexual misconduct in the military.

The House of Commons defence committee has held a series of meetings and heard from a number of witnesses, including former military ombudsman Gary Walbourne, who told MPs he had warned the minister three years ago about an allegation of inappropriate behavior involving Vance.

An investigation into the claim was hamstrung because the complaint was informal and Walbourne had given the woman his guarantee of confidentiality.

Trial begins in university professor's defamation lawsuit against Ezra Levant

© Provided by Edmonton Journal

Ezra Levant is accused of making defamatory statements against Farhan Chak, a former Liberal Party of Canada candidate in Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont.

A university professor and former Liberal Party candidate’s defamation lawsuit against pundit Ezra Levant has made it to court six years after it was filed.

(LIBEL HAS A SEVEN YEAR LIMIT FOR TRIAL) 

On Monday, Edmonton Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Shaina Leonard heard opening arguments in the case of Farhan Chak, who launched a lawsuit against Levant in 2015 over comments Levant made on his Sun News Network program.

According to Chak’s statement of claim, Levant alleged during his Feb. 25, 2014, broadcast that Chak was involved in a shooting at an Edmonton nightclub in 1993, when Chak was 19.

Chak was acquitted of the 1993 charges in what he called “a case of mistaken identity.” He vehemently denied any involvement in the shooting, saying he was at his parents’ home with friends and had “absolutely no knowledge of what transpired.”

For reasons that remain under dispute, neither the plaintiffs or the defendants were able to obtain a transcript of the 1993 trial.

Chak won the Liberal nomination in Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont under Stéphane Dion in 2007 but eventually withdrew his candidacy amid controversy stemming in part from the charges.

Levant is now the head of Rebel Media, while Chak is a professor at Qatar University with a doctorate in political science.

A file photo of Farhan Chak, when he was 

a Liberal candidate in Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont.

Levant made the allegation as part of a monologue about human rights commissions (Chak’s brother was a lawyer at the time for the Alberta Human Rights Commission.)

Leonard is expected to hear from six witnesses, the majority of whom will be called by the defence. The bulk of Monday’s hearing was testimony from Chak, who appeared by video from Qatar.

Chak lived much of his life in Edmonton, the son of refugees from Jammu and Kashmir.

He said Levant’s statements had a “devastating” effect, including on his health and his career prospects.

Chak’s lawyer, Imran Qureshi, said his client was never given an opportunity to respond, and that Levant’s statements were “at best reckless and at worst malicious.”

“This was not by accident,” Qureshi said. “The very purpose of the broadcast and the defamatory statement was to villainize Dr. Chak.”

Chak’s 2015 statement of claim seeks $1 million in damages.

Levant’s lawyer, Barry Zalmanowitz, cross-examined Chak on his memories from the 1994 trial. 

ZALMANOWITZ IS THE TOP LIBEL LAWYER IN THE PROVINCE. THE SUN IS A CLIENT

Levant’s statement of defence argues that the statements were “substantially true.” He also claims the defences of fair comment, qualified privilege and responsible communication on a matter of public interest.

BOILER PLATE DEFENSE

Other defendants in the case include Sun News, Sun Media Corp. and Quebecor Media Inc.

Postmedia, this newspaper’s parent company, purchased Sun Media’s English language newspapers in 2015.

The trial is scheduled to run four days.

EZRA HAS BEEN TRIED 

BEFORE FOR LIBEL

IT DID NOT GO SO WELL

REST IN POWER 

OUTSPOKEN ECOLOGIST

'Truth to power:' Lab was not enough for renowned scientist David Schindler

EDMONTON — His research in the lab and the field was published in some of the world's top journals, but that was never enough for David Schindler, who died Thursday at age 80

© Provided by The Canadian Press

"The importance of David Schindler was his ability to talk truth to power," said Jim Handman, a longtime science journalist and journalism professor.

"He was extremely brave in doing that at a time when very few scientists in this country were willing to challenge politicians and put themselves on the line."

Few Canadian scientists — Schindler held joint Canadian-U. S. citizenship — can claim the influence on public policy achieved by the bluff, straight-shooting University of Alberta ecologist, who was known to call politicians "turkeys" if that's what his reading of the data suggested.

In the 1970s, Schindler pioneered a study of acid rain at Ontario's Experimental Lakes Area. By gradually adding acid to a lake under controlled conditions, he was able to link the toxin to effects that were being seen in thousands of lakes across Central and Eastern Canada and in the United States.

His work was at the heart of talks between prime ministers and presidents and helped prod the U.S. and Canada to sign 1991's Acid Rain Treaty, one of the most successful environmental accords ever signed.

In the early '90s, Schindler was a major part of the Northern River Basin Study, a five-year effort looking at the health of the vast Peace-Athabasca River Basin, one of the largest in the world, as it came under increased pressure from industrial development such as pulp mills.

That study brought together diverse perspectives from industrial to Indigenous in a way that was unique at the time. It set a framework that is still referred to today for understanding and regulating the area.

In 2010, he and co-author Erin Kelly published some of the earliest work showing that contaminants from oilsands developments were showing up on land and in water.

The work was hugely controversial, especially in Alberta, but it led to a federal review of how the province tracked environmental impacts and resulted in legislation still in place that requires industry to chip in $50 million a year for environmental monitoring.

"His personality, his booming voice, the way in which he dealt with reporters was a skill that many of us find to be quite a challenge," said his University of Alberta colleague Mark Boyce. "He had a special knack and a special communications style that was very effective."

That voice wouldn't have been heard unless the science was top-notch. Schindler regularly published in some of the world's best journals, including Nature, Science, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

He won at least 18 medals and prizes in Canada and abroad and was a member of four elite Canadian and international scientific societies.

Boyce remembers how Schindler loved the cut and thrust of scientific debate.

"We had some long-standing disputes," he recalled.

"He just delighted in being challenged and thinking through various topics. It was wonderful to have a colleague who delighted in challenge and complexity."

"He knew what the important questions were," said John Smol, a Queen's University ecologist who worked with Schindler. "Almost every important problem with water, he was on the front line."

Water was also where he turned for pleasure. Schindler was a passionate fly fisherman and legend has it that he convinced then-federal environment minister Jim Prentice on the importance of oilsands monitoring while the two were on an angling trip.

He mushed dogs, too, and raced teams for years.

"He was very good at it," said Boyce.

"When I first came to Edmonton, he had 90 dogs. He'd buy a semi-truck full of chicken scraps in the early winter to keep his dogs going.

"He was crazy about dogs."

Even when he was out on the water casting a fly, Schindler would still cast his mind to his research and the problems he was trying to unriddle.

"He was not divorced from that while we were out fishing," said Boyce. "An interest in the environment is something that dominates your life."

Schindler, whose health had been in decline for two years, died in Brisco, B.C., where he had retired with his wife and fellow scientist Suzanne Bayley. Although he had stepped back from public life — increasing deafness made him a difficult interview — he had lost none of his passion.

In an email last summer to The Canadian Press, Schindler quoted a saying of his grandfather's in reference to politicians and industry officials who turn a blind eye to science: "Too low to kick and too slimy to step on."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2021.

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

CANADA

Virtual voting for House of Commons moves into next phase with debut of mobile app

Until Monday, MPs not in the chamber were using video conferencing to cast votes, a cumbersome process that took up to an hour for each vote.

OTTAWA — Members of Parliament zipped through two votes in 30 minutes Monday as they began using new technology allowing them to cast votes with their mobile devices

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© Provided by The Canadian Press

The voting app is the latest adaptation of the parliamentary process to allow MPs to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It comes nearly a year since Parliament shut its doors as part of the national lockdown to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The Commons remained fully closed for nearly a month before the parties were able to agree on a path forward that would keep people safe and ensure government was still working.

Now, the House of Commons sits in a hybrid format that allows most MPs to participate via video conference while only a small number are physically present in the chamber.

Until Monday, MPs not in the chamber were using video conferencing to cast votes, a cumbersome process that took up to an hour for each vote.

With the new mobile app, MPs are given 10 minutes in which to vote via smart phones, with their votes registered live online as they come in.

Monday's debut went off with only a few hitches -- a handful of MPs reported that they were unable to vote.

But with one exception, they were all allowed to vote subsequently. Speaker Anthony Rota said he'll look into the exception to ensure it doesn't happen again.

"This solution offers the House another secure and reliable way to conduct its business over the next few months, despite the constraints of the pandemic," Rota told the Commons after the votes.

"One day soon, I hope we will all be able to get together again in person in this chamber to continue our work on behalf of our fellow citizens."

Rota expressed his "profound gratitude" to Commons staff who have worked "tirelessly to ensure that ourselves can work for our constituents."

"We could not have done this without them."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2021.

Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press

RIGHT WING PRESS REPORT 

Ohio Democrat calls passage of union bailout provision 'best day of my Senate life'

Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown called Senate passage of President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID spending package “the best day of my Senate life” because it includes an $86 billion taxpayer bailout for 185 union pension plans.

© Provided by Washington Examiner

“It was the best day of my Senate career. It is writ large. It's also that for five years, I've been working on pensions," Brown told reporters on Capitol Hill on Saturday.

The overall bill, the American Rescue Plan, now heads to the House. Its union pension provision would allow certain multiemployer pensions to apply for federal grant funding, which union workers could put toward paying for retirement benefits. Multiemployer pension pay benefits to union workers in industries such as construction, manufacturing, mining, retail transportation, and entertainment.

The bill passed 50-49. Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan was absent. The House passed the legislation last week, and Senate Democrats altered the bill to placate party moderates and follow Senate rules that that enabled them to pass it without GOP support. Senate Democrats removed the measure provision that mandated a $15 minimum wage and agreed to lessen the monthly enhanced unemployment insurance pay from $400 to $300.

“This is the best day of my Senate life," Brown said. "It really is, because we won on so many big things. We passed so many big things. The public won.”

Tags: News, Sherrod Brown, Stimulus, Pensions, Unions

Original Author: Kerry Picket

Original Location: Ohio Democrat calls passage of union bailout provision 'best day of my Senate life'

Alaska Senators Introduce New Legislation to Bypass Canada’s Cruise Ship Ban

Alaska senators are working to get the state's cruise season off the ground with new legislation following Canada's cruise ship ban

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© Provided by Travel + Leisure Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images 

Quantum's Ovation of the Seas ship cruising through Stephens Passage in Alaska.

Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan introduced the Alaska Tourism Recovery Act on Friday that, if passed, would allow cruise ships to travel between the state of Washington and Alaska without stopping in Canada. Currently, the Passenger Vessel Service Act — passed in 1886 — requires large foreign-flagged ships to stop in Canada before heading north to the state, which wouldn't be possible this year as Canada extended its cruise ship ban through February 2022.

"Canada's recent decision to prohibit Alaska-bound cruise ships from operating in Canadian waters creates legal hurdles that will hamstring the Alaska cruise season, creating additional economic strain on Alaska's entire economy, especially in our Southeast communities," Murkowski said in a statement. "Alaskan communities are already facing severe economic hardship and uncertainty from missing one tourism season as a result of COVID-19… Missing another cruise season would only compound the economic fallout that has been devastating for so many families."

Since Canada extended its ban, cruise lines have been forced to cancel Alaska itineraries while some have pivoted to land-based journeys. The introduction of the bill comes weeks after Alaska leaders pledged to find a workaround.

Sullivan said Canada's decision has "dire implications" for Alaska, adding the state "simply can't afford to weather another season without the tremendous economic activity that cruise ships provide to our coastal communities."

While Alaska sailings remain in jeopardy, visitors can still head to The Last Frontier to spot wildlife, explore the state's expansive national parks (including the popular Denali NationalPark), and listen to the deafening crack of calving glaciers.

 Travelers to Alaska are no longer required to complete a COVID-19 test prior to arrival, but can choose to get tested at the airport.

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. 

EPA investigates toxic 'forever chemicals' in pesticides
Rachel Frazin 7 hrs ago

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is investigating the presence of toxic chemicals in pesticides, which may be coming from their plastic containers, it said on Friday.

© istock EPA investigates toxic 'forever chemicals' in pesticides

The agency said in a statement that its testing showed that the chemicals, belonging to a family of substances called PFAS, were "most likely formed" by a reaction while fluorine was being put into the containers, and then "leached into the pesticide product."

The agency said it was still early in its investigation, and that it will use "all available regulatory and non-regulatory tools to determine the scope of this emerging issue."

The EPA said that it is "actively working" with the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and industry and trade organizations to "raise awareness" of the issue.

"The Biden-Harris Administration's focus on developing and using the best available science will guide our decision-making, strengthen our work with stakeholders, and lead to pragmatic solutions that advance our efforts to address PFAS contamination and protect human health," said acting assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff in a statement.

PFAS refers to a class of chemicals that have been linked to cancer and other health issues. They have been found in a variety of household products, as well as water, and are sometimes called "forever chemicals" because of their persistence in nature and the human body.

The statement comes after testing conducted by the environmental group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) last year which found the presence of PFAS in mosquito-killer Anvil 10+10.

The EPA said that it found PFAS in fluorinated containers that a mosquito control product was packaged and sold, and a spokesperson for the agency confirmed that the product in question was Anvil 10+10.

Anvil's manufacturer, Clarke Mosquito Control Products Inc., noted in a statement that there's no PFAS in the product itself, but that its packaging may be the source of the contamination.

It has "voluntarily ceased all sales and shipments to customers of Anvil 10+10 packaged in plastic containers and is directing its customers to not use Anvil 10+10 packaged in plastic containers" and will transition to PFAS-free packaging.

KING CHARLES BOUTIQUE HOTEL

Covid hotel: Prague's homeless find refuge in four-star spot

Issued on: 08/03/2021 - 

Prague's four-star King Charles Boutique hotel has opened its doors to the homeless who are sick with coronavirus or need to quarantine 

Prague (AFP)

At Prague's four-star King Charles Boutique hotel, paramedics in protective gear treat ulcerous wounds and hand out painkillers to homeless people with Covid.

Once a destination for international travellers, the upmarket hotel has now opened its doors to the city's homeless who are sick with coronavirus or need to quarantine.

It is one of three hotels offering the service in the Czech capital, where tourism has all but ground to a halt thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.

Located at the foot of the history-laden hill of Vysehrad, the hotel currently hosts around 35 homeless people.

"We saw there were... sick people among the homeless and that they have nowhere to spend the isolation or quarantine," said Ludmila Tomesova, deputy head of Prague's Centre of Social Services, which runs the project with financing from the city.

The Czech Republic, an EU member of 10.7 million people, tops the world's statistics for Covid-19 infections per capita over the past two weeks and is second in new deaths, according to an AFP tally based on official data.

The King Charles Boutique Residence hotel, with a capacity of some 60 beds, has so far seen about 300 guests.

"We accept clients with mild Covid symptoms, because we are a humanitarian service, not a health facility, so we don't have a doctor here," Tomesova said.

"But when there is a serious case, when the disease develops, we call a hospital and ask for a transport."

Czech hotels, just like restaurants and most shops, have been closed for most of the past year under restrictions taken by the government to combat the virus spread.

The Czech Republic registered nearly 24,000 homeless people including 2,600 children in 2019, mostly in Prague and an industrial northeastern region, according to official data.

Tomesova said humour was a potent weapon at the hotel, but that bad news prevailed.

"It's tough to put up with a client's death," she said.

"Funny stories are scarce. But we are happy when clients get cured and you can send them back to everyday life."

© 2021 AFP

BC 

Tsilhqot’in National Government appeals Gibraltar Mines' discharge into Fraser River

A permit authorizing the use of the Fraser River for dilution of mine effluent is being challenged by the Tsilhqot’in National Government (TNG).

The TNG will be participating in a virtual Environmental Appeal Board hearing next week on behalf of the ʔEsdilagh First Nation, which is located along both sides of the Fraser River between Williams Lake and Quesnel.

“The fact that the province of B.C. is permitting Gibraltar Mines Ltd. to use the Fraser River as a dumping ground for its tailings effluent is absolutely appalling,” ʔEsdilagh First Nation Chief Troy Baptiste said in a news release March 8.

The untreated mine effluent is set to be discharged via a pipe into the river four kilometers downstream from the community at Alexandria and near what the nation considers as vital fishing sites at a rate of 285 litres per second beginning April 10.

Brian Battison, Taseko Mines Ltd. vice president of corporate affairs, said Monday, March 8, the mining company had no comment.

Taseko-owned Gibraltar Mines was approved by a director of the B.C. Ministry of Environment Climate Change Strategy to increase discharge effluent from its tailings impoundment directly to the Fraser River from 190 litres per second to 285 litres per second from April 10, 2019, to November 10, 2021.

Under the permit, the discharge must be suspended from Nov. 11 to April 9. Conditions on the discharge are subject to the temperature and flow of the Fraser River.

The B.C. government temporarily approved a similar request by Gibraltar Mines to increase its effluent discharge to the Fraser River from Oct. 15, 2015, to Nov. 10 , 2015, and from April 10, 2015 to Nov. 10, 2016.

Baptiste said anything that enters the Fraser River should be of equal or better water quality than the Fraser River itself.

Tl’esqox (Toosey) Chief Francis Laceese said essential food sources First Nations rely on the health of the Fraser River, which flows through many Indigenous communities, including his.

“The continued environmental pressure being put on the Fraser River and our salmon is unacceptable and in direct opposition to our Indigenous laws,” he stated.

“Our waterways, fish and wildlife know no boundaries.”

ʔEsdilagh First Nation adopted a historic law to protect the Fraser River in May, 2020 and recently received support from the BC Assembly of First Nations at the 17th Special Chiefs Assembly in its continued efforts to protect the waters that run through their traditional territories.

A November 2019 technical report by Taseko noted a $15 million water treatment plant would be added in 2021 to treat and discharge excess water currently stored on site.

The virtual hearing begins Monday, March 15, after being delayed last year due to COVID-19.

Rebecca Dyok, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Williams Lake Tribune

UCP OIL SHILLS ASK FOR HANDOUT
Alberta working with oil companies to draft new carbon reduction plan, seeks $30B in funding from Ottawa

CARBON CAPTURE TO FRACK OLD WELLS

CALGARY — As the federal government is set to unveil new emissions reductions target at a global climate summit next month, Alberta is drawing up a $30 billion carbon reduction plan it wants Ottawa to pay for.

© Provided by Financial Post Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage and Premier Jason Kenney.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, Energy Minister Sonya Savage and their staff have been working with oil executives in the province for months to draw up a plan for massive new investments in carbon emissions-reducing technology to be deployed at oilsands facilities, electric generating stations, cement plants and other industrial plants.

Thotal emissions — and would cost $30 billion over the next 10 years and the province is asking Ottawa to pay for it, beginning in the federal government’s next budget.e plan, which Canada’s largest oil producing province believes will reduce emissions by 30 mega tonnes by 2030 — equivalent to an 11 per cent reduction of its t

“We want the federal government to step up,” Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said Monday, adding the province is asking Ottawa to include a $2 billion to $3 billion per year in funding or tax breaks for carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) projects in Alberta over the next 10 years, or a $30-billion commitment.

“Carbon capture and CCUS have a long lead time, it can take 4 to 5 years to get to the point where they’re even under construction. So if we want to meet our targets for 2030 and beyond, we have to get moving on them now or yesterday,” Savage said.

Carbon as an 'untapped resource': A new crop of Alberta companies take on the CO2 challenge

Oilsands emissions intensity 35% lower than reported and could drop another 19%, new study says

Officials in Edmonton say the province is making the ask of Ottawa now partly because they believe Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden will jointly announce coordinated new climate measures at the Climate Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C. on April 22 to coincide with Earth Day.

The federal government is preparing to announce new 2030 climate targets at the Earth Day summit, federal officials confirmed, and carbon capture is expected to be a part of the country’s strengthened climate plan.

“Carbon capture technology creates jobs, lowers emissions and increases our competitiveness. It’s an important part of our government’s plan to get to net-zero emissions by 2050, and are working with the provinces, including Alberta, to keep Canada at the forefront of this promising technology,” Ian Cameron, spokesperson for Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan, said in an emailed statement.

In February, Johnathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and U.S. Special Presidential Climate Envoy John Kerry met to discuss ways to “develop a work plan for bilateral climate cooperation to raise the scale and scope of climate ambition.”

A government press release noted that Minister Wilkinson was eager to work closely with Secretary Kerry in advance of the U.S. April 22 Earth Day Summit.

Similarly, the U.S. oil and gas industry is preparing a suite of new policies that it expects will be unveiled at the April summit.

“The administration has been working behind the scenes to craft these policies but the details of them are pretty vague at this point,” said Scott Lauerman, spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute, an oil and gas lobby group in Washington D.C.

Ahead of that summit and potential new climate targets, Alberta’s government is proposing carbon reduction plans that would help Ottawa meet its climate change targets in a way that will allow the province’s oil and natural gas sector to survive.

Alberta is unique in Canada because its 191-mega tonnes of industrial emissions are its largest source of emissions, making up roughly 70 per cent of the province’s total emissions, which amount to 273 MT. By comparison, Ontario’s industrial emissions represent roughly 21 per cent of that province’s total emissions.

Documents obtained by the Financial Post outlining Alberta’s “consolidated ask” show the province believes initiatives currently underway will reduce its total emissions by 30 million MT. Investments in CCUS would reduce the province’s emissions by a further 30 MT over the next 10 years and “catalyzes investment of $30 billion in-process innovations and Canada’s clean-tech ecosystem.”

The province believes that CCUS will allow the province’s industrial base to reduce its total emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.

“A consolidated plan to reduce Alberta’s industrial emissions is the best way to achieve concrete reductions by 2030 and 2050. Alberta understands the need to secure jobs today and jobs tomorrow with a renewed ESG narrative in support of actual projects that can reduce some of Canada’s largest sources of emissions,” the documents state.

Savage said the province has already funded some carbon-reduction strategies with the proceeds from its carbon tax system, called the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) program, but is looking for assistance from Ottawa.

On Monday, Alberta and Ottawa jointly announced the launch of a new committee to advance CCUS in the country but provided few specifics on the committee’s goals.

“Carbon capture technology creates jobs, lowers emissions and increases our competitiveness. It’s how we get to net zero,” O’Regan said in a press release.

The announcement Monday called “for the development of a comprehensive CCUS strategy and for the government to explore opportunities to help maintain Canada’s global competitiveness in this growing industry.”