The world is burning the most coal ever to keep the lights on

by Todd Gillespie

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

The world likely will generate more electricity from the dirtiest source this year than ever before, indicating just how far the energy transition still needs to run in the fight against climate change.

Coal-fueled generation is set to jump 9% from last year, according to an International Energy Agency report released Friday. That U-turn from the declines of the previous two years threatens the world's trajectory to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, the organization said.

The U.S. and European Union had the biggest increases in coal use at about 20% each, followed by India at 12% and China—the world's largest consumer—at 9%, the IEA estimated. The comeback is being driven by economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, which is outpacing the ability of low-carbon energy sources to maintain supply.

"Coal is the single largest source of global carbon emissions, and this year's historically high level of coal power generation is a worrying sign of how far off track the world is in its efforts to put emissions into decline toward net zero," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said.

Record natural gas prices have increased reliance on other sources, including coal, and amplified calls for faster investments in renewables. Power prices in Europe have more than tripled in the past six months, and it's become more profitable to burn coal than gas. Still, utilities have struggled to get their hands on it even as China and the U.S. boost production.

Carbon-dioxide emissions from coal in 2024 are now predicted to be at least 3 billion tons higher than in a scenario reaching net-zero by 2050, the report said. The IEA expects peak coal to occur next year at 8.11 billion tons, with the biggest production increases coming from China, Russia and Pakistan.

The Paris-based IEA said in May that development of new oil, gas and coal sources must stop this year if the world is to meet emissions targets in line with the Paris Agreement. Climate campaigners were dismayed in November when a key aspiration of the United Nations' COP26 climate summit in Scotland was watered down to produce a pledge to "phase down"—rather than "phase out"—coal use. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration since has halted federal aid to new fossil-fuel projects abroad.

Some banks have pledged to phase out their financing of coal, though activists want to see greater urgency. This year, coal demand as a whole—for power generation as well as cement and steel production—is set to rise by 6%, the IEA said.

That demand could set a record next year, depending on economic growth and weather patterns, the agency said. One Australian exporter predicts strong demand for at least two more decades.

Regional disparities in use are playing out globally as Europe shuts down coal power stations while China and India step up production. The European Union ramped up its climate pledge in July, targeting a 55% drop in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, relative to a 1990 baseline, with a transition to cleaner sources at the center. It's a tough target, especially considering that countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic primarily power themselves with coal and lignite.

For now, China accounts for about half of global coal production and needs to meet rising domestic demand. The government has pressured miners to reduce prices and lower the cost of burning coal during this year's energy crisis, which triggered blackouts and rationing in the country.

"It is disappointing that coal power may hit an all-time high in the very same year that countries agreed to phase it down," said Dave Jones, global program lead at climate think-tank Ember. "Coal power will inevitably begin to decline soon: China has committed to phasing down coal from 2025, while India's huge renewables target should remove the need for more coal."

CO2 emissions set to surge, IEA warns

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Global coal use to hit record high despite climate fight

Cecilia Jamasmie | December 17, 2021 

Despite global efforts to slash carbon emissions, global coal-fired power generation is expected to rise 9% and hit a record by the end of 2021, the IEA says. (Stock image.)

Global coal-fired power generation is expected to rise 9% and hit an all-time high by the end of 2021, despite efforts to slash carbon emissions, the International Energy Agency said Friday.


Overall coal demand — including its use in steelmaking, cement and other industrial activities — is expected to grow by 6% in 2021 to 8.11 billion tonnes, the Paris-based group said in its annual report. That puts demand on track to reach a new record high in early 2022 and to remain at that level for the following two years, it said.

Increases in coal demand in Asia will be offset by falling demand in the US and the European Union by 2024, the watchdog noted.

The agency said that renewed demand for the fossil fuel was caused mainly by a faster-than-expected economic recovery, temperature and weather fluctuations that dampened electricity supply and rises gas prices.

“Coal is the single largest source of global carbon emissions, and this year’s historically high level of coal power generation is a worrying sign of how far off track the world is in its efforts to put emissions into decline towards net zero,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a statement.

“Without strong and immediate actions by governments to tackle coal emissions — in a way that is fair, affordable and secure for those affected — we will have little chance, if any at all, of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” Birol said.
COP26 didn’t help

In November, more than 190 countries reached a deal at the United Nations COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, that aims to speed up greenhouse-gas emissions cuts and to “phase down” coal use for the future.

A last-minute intervention from India and China weakened efforts to end coal power and fossil fuel subsidies.

“China’s influence on coal markets is difficult to overstate. China’s power generation, including district heating, accounts for one-third of global coal consumption,” the report reads.

Source: IEA Coal 2021 Report. (Click to enlarge)

Researchers at Wood Mackenzie recently warned that the expected coal phase-out may take longer than countries are willing to admit.

China currently accounts for about half of the world’s coal production and it may grow, as it needs to meet rising domestic demand. The government has pressured miners to reduce prices and lower the cost of burning coal during this year’s energy crisis, which triggered blackouts and rationing in the country.

India vowed in November to triple its solar-power capacity and meet half of its energy requirements with renewable energy by 2030. Still, the IEA forecasts that India’s coal consumption will grow at around 4% each year through 2024.

“It is disappointing that coal power may hit an all-time high in the very same year that countries agreed to phase it down,” Dave Jones, global program lead at climate think-tank Ember, said in an emailed statement.

“Coal power will inevitably begin to decline soon: China has committed to phasing down coal from 2025, while India’s huge renewables target should remove the need for more coal.”

Final Chile presidential polls show leftist Boric edging ahead

Author of the article:
Natalia A. Ramos Miranda
Publishing date:Dec 18, 2021 

SANTIAGO — Chilean leftist Gabriel Boric has widened his lead in the final polls ahead of the Andean country’s presidential election on Sunday, though the polarized race remains tight against ultra-conservative rival Jose Antonio Kast.

Ahead of the run-off ballot, two private polls seen by Reuters showed 35-year-old former student protest leader Boric edging ahead of Kast, 55, a far-right lawyer who has defended the legacy of military dictator Augusto Pinochet.

Chile, the world’s top copper producer and long a role model of market-oriented economic policy in Latin America, is set for its most divisive presidential ballot in decades, with both candidates from outside the centrist mainstream parties.

A private poll from Cadem, which surveyed 1,007 people with a margin of error of 3.1%, showed Boric taking 55% of the vote versus 45% for Kast, widening his lead over the last week when a similar poll showed him with 52% versus 48% for Kast.

A second poll by consulting firm Atlas Intel, which had shown a draw earlier in the week, now put Boric ahead with 51% voting preferences versus 49% for Kast. The survey included 4,062 people with a margin of error of 1%.

The country is in a two-week blackout period where pollsters cannot openly publish surveys on the vote, but private polls are often commissioned.

The first opinion polls after the Nov. 21 first round vote had favored Boric, though that lead had appeared to be narrowing until the most recent surveys.

(Reporting by Natalia Ramos; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Diane Craft)

From student protester to leftist hero: Meet the shaggy-haired millennial vying for Chile's presidency


By Daniela Mohor W., for CNN
 Fri December 17, 2021

Chilean presidential candidate Gabriel Boric speaks to supporters during a political rally in Santiago, Chile on December 11, 2021.

(CNN)Just ten years ago, Gabriel Boric was a student leader in the Chilean capital, rallying against the country's privatized education system alongside thousands of other students in Santiago.

Now, the 35-year-old progressive congressman is taking that ethos to the polls, where he hopes to stave off his rival, far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast, in the second round of the presidential election.

If he wins the run-off vote, Boric will become the country's youngest -- and most left-leaning -- president in its modern history.

Boric is running on a broad coalition ticket that includes the Communist Party and champions a welfare state model that promises to tackle the country's rising inequality. Last month, in the first round of votes, he won nearly 26% of the ballot share.

Meanwhile, Kast, a staunch defender of former dictator General Augusto Pinochet's regime and the free-market, garnered 28% of votes in the first round. The 55-year-old former congressman's agenda includes a tax cut for companies, building barriers in the north of Chile to prevent migrants from entering illegally and abolishing abortion, among others.

Chilean presidential candidates Gabriel Boric (right) and Jose Kast pose before a debate in Santiago, Chile on December 10.

Sunday's election is now on a knife's edge, with who wins largely depending on the ability of each candidate to draw in voters from the center ground.

For his critics, Boric is radical and inexperienced. But those qualities are also driving his popularity among young Chileans, many of whom came to know him during the last two years of social unrest.

In October 2019, massive protests shook the country as thousands demonstrated for better pensions, better education, and the end of an economic system that they believe favors the elite. Boric quickly became the most vocal representative of this social movement and boosted his leadership by rejecting the legacy of the center-left coalition that governed from 1990 to 2010.

That movement led to outgoing President Sebastian Pinera to agree to a referendum to change the constitution, which was inherited from Pinochet´s bloody dictatorship. Last year, Chileans overwhelmingly voted to draft a new one. That process is in now in the works, with the new constitution to be voted on in a new plebiscite sometime in mid-2022.

Make Chile great again? Meet the far-right presidential candidate tempting voters from Chile's left and center

Boric's political platform has been riding on that wave, which includes proposals for a more inclusive public health system, to cancel student debt, to raise taxes for the super wealthy and a revision of the state's private pension system -- which was inherited from Pinochet's military regime.

Sociologist and communication strategist Eugenio Tironi told CNN that Boric's policies are ticking all the boxes for millennials.

"His vision connects with this century's agenda: Climate change, feminism, decentralization, green economy, diversity, and direct democracy," Tironi said.
And he's polling extremely well in that age group.

Pablo Argote, a researcher of political science at Columbia University told CNN that Boric is overrepresented by voters 35 and under, and polling particularly well among those under 25.

"He embodies changes better than other candidates," Argote said.
"In politics, the intensity of the preference matters, the fact that people feel very excited about a candidate matters. And Boric has that," he added.

Responding to a generation
Born in 1986 to an educated middle-class family in the country's southernmost Punta Arena region, Boric attended one of the most elite private schools there before studying law at the University of Chile in Santiago. He didn't graduate but it took his interest in activism to new heights.

In 2011, he became one of the main leaders of a historic student movement demanding free education for all, which eventually led to a wide educational reform. In 2013, he was elected to Congress, and in 2016, he started his own political party, the Autonomist Movement.

Boric has long presented himself as an outsider and has been prone to reach agreements with other political sectors, even if it means making waves in his own coalition.

Gabriel Boric arrives for a presidential debate in Santiago, Chile on December 10.

Far from Pinera's more buttoned-up and pragmatic style, Boric is perceived as an emotional leader: He has publicly disclosed that he suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and spent two weeks in a psychiatric hospital.

He also makes it a point to own his mistakes -- and to apologize for them publicly. Although more traditional voters see this as a weakness, Tironi says it has helped him gain momentum.

"Part of his charisma is his tendency to go forward and then move back, to be keen to rectify and apologize. He is like a gamer. If things don't go in the direction he thought, he resets," Tironi said.

"That is attractive to an important segment of voters, above all the young," he added.

Polar opposite candidates head to run-off vote in Chile

Supporter Tomas Diaz, a 32-year-old entrepreneur with a sustainable biking business, said that he says has admired Boric's leadership style since his days as a student protestor.

"He is open and respects agreements -- and that's what we need. He responds to my generation's way of seeing the world and cares about the environment," he said.
"He also represents me because I believe the state must be like a mother who protects all citizens -- and that anyone can do whatever they like with their private lives," Diaz said, taking a swipe at Kast's conservative social agenda.

Diaz added that Boric's policies, which also include the promotion of women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights and the environment, speak to him -- unlike candidates from his parents' generation.

"We are a generation of immediacy, and we don't want to wait like our parents did. We want changes and we want them now," he said.

But it is just that attitude that makes some voters sceptical of Boric's policies, with many fearing that attempts to dramatically transform the country while it is already in the middle of drafting of a new Constitution could push foreign investors away and put additional strain on the economy.

Economist Raphael Bergoeing, who is also the president of Chile´s National Productivity Commission told CNN that many of Boric's policies "go in the right direction, but I am afraid that it will act as a brake on investment and make things harder for everyone."
"Trying to do too many things in a short amount of time is the best recipe to do very little," he said.

The middle ground

Boric also faces another challenge: Getting moderates to embrace his alliance with the Communist Party, particularly around his take on the country's private pension scheme.
Earlier this month, Boric voted on a measure proposed by a group of representatives to withdraw more funds from state's private pension, despite his advisors warning him that it was bad policy. The policy is aimed to deliver financial assistance to Chile's poorest populations throughout the pandemic. However, economists argue that it is having a negative impact on the country's financial system and will increase inflation. Boric and his coalition's persistence to keep the initiative alive is viewed by critics as an attempt by more radical political groups -- Communists included -- to scrap the private pension system all together.

Boric's supporters see the private pension scheme as a marker of the country's widening inequality, while others view it as the foundation of Chile's strong economic market.

How to write a new constitution for a divided and unequal Chile

Kast is taking advantage of Boric's association with the Communist party by activating "the fear of having a situation like Venezuela," Tironi said. "But I believe Boric is more like Greta Thunberg than Fidel Castro," he added.

Still, Boric has softened his tone in the lead up to this weekend's vote to draw in the middle, saying that his proposals would be implanted gradually, that he believes in private property and in alliances between the private and public sector.

He's also brought in center-leaning economists to his team in an attempt to win over those moderate voters. And this week, he met with former president and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, who has officially endorsed him.
"He's been smart toning down his language, lowering expectations, and now presenting himself as the continuation of the trajectory of change previously proposed by the center-left coalition he used to criticize," Argote said, adding: "He still faces many challenges and may have conflicts within his coalition if he gets elected, but for now, I believe he has a good chance to win."

Change, freedom, order: Chilean dreams differ ahead of historic vote

Reuters
Natalia A. Ramos Miranda
Publishing date: Dec 18, 2021 • 

SANTIAGO — Chilean voters are split on what they want from the future ahead of a landmark presidential election on Sunday between polarized candidates – one offering social change and the other pledging to get tough on law and order.

The election will see ultra-conservative Jose Antonio Kast https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/chiles-kast-channels-pinochets-ghost-against-communist-left-2021-12-15 

and leftist Gabriel Boric https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/student-leader-president-chiles-boric-eyes-historic-election-win-2021-12-15 

go head-to-head after closing their campaigns this week, where they looked to win over middle-ground voters who could make the difference in a tight race.

“What is at stake now in Chile is democracy itself,” said housewife Julia Acevedo, 80, who attended 35-year-old Boric’s closing campaign in the capital. “The country needs change and he, who is young, can make a difference.”

Kast supporters, on the other hand, want stability. They say Boric – who has taken aim at Chile’s market-oriented economic model for stoking inequality – will undo decades of growth and stability and criticize his alliance with the Communist Party.

“I will keep supporting freedom,” said Margarita Noguera, waving a Chilean flag stamped with a picture of 55-year-old Kast. She said she had lived through the “leftist dictatorship” of democratically-elected socialist president Salvador Allende in the 1970s.

“I suffered a lot, like so many other Chileans.”

Angela Marambio, 53, said she had backed a center-right candidate in the first round in November, but was switching her vote to Kast for the run-off.

“Chile needs stability, order and security,” she said.

‘POVERTY LINE’

Kast, a lawyer and religious father of nine, has defended the economic legacy of dictator Augusto Pinochet, whose bloody military rule from 1973-1990 overthrew Allende in a coup and established the country’s economic model.

Huge protests erupted in 2019 against that model, which many see as the reason for issues ranging from meager private pensions to expensive healthcare and education.

Cristian Morales, 51, a public official from Punta Arenas in Chile’s southern tip, Boric’s home region, said the leftist candidate could finally change things.

“I do not believe he will be able to make all the changes that are needed, but he will accelerate the process,” said Morales, citing plans for spending on pensions and education.

“If I were to retire tomorrow I’d fall under the poverty line. I have two young children, education is expensive. If we want more solidarity in society, the state has to get involved.”

Boric, who made his name leading student demonstrations for better quality education, has sought to channel the energy and demand for change sparked by Chile’s 2019 protests.

Kast has done the opposite, with a tough law and order message that has appealed to a significant segment of the country weary of protests.

Enrique Zuleta, 41, a businessman from the coastal city of La Serena, said for years he voted for the center-left coalition that governed much of the post-dictatorship period and gave Chile a reputation for stability. Now he is backing Kast.

“I did not grow up in a right-wing environment at all, but today my vote is pragmatic, for the national good,” he said.

“Kast has many ideological issues with which I do not agree. But… he has said that he will respect the laws. And that is important to me.”

Boric supporters say he will defend issues such as women’s rights to abortion – allowed only in certain circumstances – and will respect sexual diversity, in focus after the country this month approved https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/love-is-love-chile-legalizes-same-sex-marriage-historic-vote-2021-12-07 same-sex marriage.

Kast has criticized both abortion and gay marriage.

Polls indicate women, especially younger women, are more likely to vote for Boric.

“I am afraid of Kast,” said Andrea Ramirez, a 26-year-old public administrator. “He worries me about the environment, the role of the state, the pensions of Chileans. And what rights will women have?” (Reporting by Natalia Ramos; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Rosalba O’Brien)

'The coup destroyed us': Memories of Pinochet resonate in Chile's crossroads election

Reuters
Anthony Esposito
Publishing date:Dec 17, 2021

SANTIAGO — Chilean Mireya Garcia, 64, feels there is more at stake than usual in this Sunday’s presidential election.

The vote offers two visions for the future of Chile – 35-year-old leftist Gabriel Boric https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/student-leader-president-chiles-boric-eyes-historic-election-win-2021-12-15, who led mass protests as a university student, will go head to head with far-right lawyer Jose Antonio Kast https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/chiles-kast-channels-pinochets-ghost-against-communist-left-2021-12-15, who has defended the complex legacy of former dictator General Augusto Pinochet.

For Garcia and many of her generation, this, the most polarized of Chile’s elections since its return to democracy in 1990, has opened old wounds.

Garcia’s brother was forcibly disappeared in 1977 during the dictatorship and Kast’s praise of Pinochet has angered her.

“The coup totally destroyed our family and we were never the same,” Garcia told Reuters.

“This has unexpectedly turned into one of the most closely-fought elections and what is at stake is that on the one hand the extreme right is clearly a danger for Chile and on the other hand, there is a candidate who represents the youth,” said Garcia.

Older Chileans lived through the tumultuous years of socialist President Salvador Allende, the 1973 coup that ousted him and ended his life, and the bloody 17-year military dictatorship that followed.

Since the dictatorship ended, Chilean elections have generally pitted moderate leftists against center-right candidates. The country has been known as an island of stability and orthodox policies in Latin America.

Now the old, deep divisions between the socialist left and far-right seem to be resurfacing.

Kast has praised Pinochet’s market-oriented “economic legacy” and appealed to voters with proposals seemingly taken from the playbook of right-wing populist leaders like Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/chiles-bosolonaro-hard-right-kast-rises-targeting-crime-violence-2021-11-22 and former U.S. President Donald Trump, such as building a ditch to curb illegal immigration.

On Thursday night, Kast promised thousands of supporters at a rally that he would bring order, after protests in 2019 saw buildings around capital Santiago burned and thousands injured in conflicts with the police.

“Chile is not and will never be a communist or Marxist nation,” he said – a dig at Boric, who is allied with Chile’s Communist Party within a wide leftist coalition.

The historical parallel was not lost on Kast’s supporters.

“I’m from the 1973 generation, I experienced the Popular Unity party, I experienced Salvador Allende and it was chaotic,” said 67-year-old pensioner Aurora Oviedo, a Kast supporter.

“We didn’t have anything to eat and we had to wait in line for everything.”

Democratically-elected Allende, a Marxist, was overthrown by Pinochet in the 1973 coup. During Pinochet’s 17-year time in power, more than 3,000 people were killed or disappeared and tens of thousands tortured.

“I was young, I took to the streets to call on the armed forces,” said Oviedo, adding that she attended the Kast rally because she does not want a “communist” to become president.

‘DIVINE JUSTICE’

In an unexpected twist of fate that has also brought reminders of the dictatorship’s legacy, Pinochet’s widow Lucia Hiriart https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/lucia-hiriart-widow-chilean-dictator-pinochet-dies-aged-99-2021-12-16 died on Thursday at the age of 99.

In response, hundreds of people thronged to a Santiago plaza, waving flags and chanting, some bearing the photos of those disappeared by the military regime.

Manuel Valenzuela, 78, holding a portrait of Allende in his hands, was among them.

The widow’s passing was “divine justice” and hopefully it would serve as a lightning rod to get people out to vote for Boric, said Valenzuela, a former political exile.

The run-off vote is also the first presidential decider since the 2019 protests against economic inequalities that eventually sparked a still ongoing process to undo one of the main remaining vestiges of the dictatorship: a revamp of Chile’s constitution.

But both candidates have moderated https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/chiles-polarized-election-stark-divides-offer-investors-silver-lining-2021-12-17 as the race has tightened, seeking to win over centrist voters. Congress, elected in November, is split down the middle between left and right, creating a likely brake on radical reform.

Older Chileans are quick to point out that despite the political vitriol things are nowhere near as bad as they were in 1973.

During Allende’s government Maria Angelica Quezada, 68, said she was turned away from the supermarket because she did not belong to the local political party.

“I didn’t have the right to eat, to shop because I wasn’t registered in the party,” said Quezada, who plans to vote for Kast.

“Things are more relaxed now,” she said.

Berta Vilche, a 73-year-old retired lawyer and Boric supporter, said that “when people talk about how polarized our society is they don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“Today’s polarization has nothing to do with what was going on back then. The coup was really, really terrible.” (Reporting by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Rosalba O’Brien)

BC

Early morning earthquake off Vancouver Island rattles residents in Greater Victoria

December 18, 2021

CHEK

There were no reports of damage but many reports of shaking following a 3.5 magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Vancouver Island early Friday.

According to Earthquakes Canada, the quake struck at 4:13 a.m. about 26 kilometres northeast of Duncan, 14 kilometres northeast of Salt Spring Island, and directly underneath Galiano Island. It occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres.

No damage was expected from the earthquake, but 99 people reported they felt shaking on Earthquakes Canada’s website.

The majority of people classified the shaking as a level two or three — meaning it felt weak — while 19 people classified it as level four or “light

Even BC’s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, felt the earth move.

“For those of us who woke up this morning at 4:14 as I did, sometimes it can be challenging to think, ‘are we going to make it through this year?'”

The US Geological Survey reported the quake’s depth to be 17 kilometres below the surface.

Dr. Honn Kao, Seismologist, Pacific Geoscience Centre, said, however, it’s not an indicator of ‘The Big One.

“So technically speaking I do not think this earthquake is an indicator of the incoming big ones.”



CBC Radio host of On The Island and author of “On Borrowed Time” Gregor Craigie, said he was up but didn’t feel a thing this morning.

“I was in the shower. I was up, because it was 4:13 a.m., and I get up at 3:30 a.m. every morning.”

Craigie said this morning’s quake is a wake-up call and people should be concerned.

“Use that fear as a wake-up call. At least get yourself an emergency kit and maybe think about earthquake insurance. Make a plan with your neighbours, what you would do if the big one happened.”

Craigie says the Island’s vulnerable buildings are at risk in the event of a major earthquake and this is the time to prepare.

“We better hope that ‘The Big One’ is a long time coming and doesn’t hit us anytime soon.”

At Total Prepare, Zenia Patten said interest in earthquake supplies always spikes after an event and her advice is to keep a kit handy.

“What you should keep in your kit, you should cover all eight areas of preparedness. So that’s food, water, first aid, sanitation, heat, shelter, light and communication.”

The good news is that this quake is not seen as a precursor to a larger damaging one, but one that may leave the region time to get ready if it does.

Jagmeet Singh on Omicron, Trans Mountain and his stance on Bill 21

Christy Somos

CTVNews.ca Writer
 Friday, December 17, 2021 

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh on his year in politics


At the tail end of 2021, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh reflected on how far Canada has come in the fight against COVID-19, standing by his decision in telling his MPs not to travel due to the “evolving situation” with the Omicron variant.

Speaking to CTV’s Your Morning on Friday, Singh discussed the renewed federal public health advisory to avoid non-essential international travel, as well as rapid tests and booster shots.

Singh also doubled down on his stance regarding the Trans Mountain pipeline, hammered the Liberals for what he described as inaction on the housing crisis and explained why he had evolved his stance on Quebec’s Bill 21.

Here is the full text of Singh’s interview with CTV’s Your Morning Host Anne-Marie Mediwake

Note: This transcript has been edited for length and grammar.

Mediwake: There are also some Canadians who are going to go ahead with their travel plans, saying ‘this is an advisory, this isn't a ban.’ So do we need to close the border again or impose stricter consequences? And will there be consequences for any of your employees if they choose to travel?

Singh: We've told our employees not to travel, given how serious things are looking. And I think we're in an evolving situation with the Omicron variant. We know that it's really infectious, so we're encouraging people [to] follow all the local health guidelines wherever you're living right now, whatever province you're in, whatever territory you're in. And what we're really focusing in on is that there are things that we know that work. We need to make sure we get the booster shot available to everybody. We need to make sure we have access to rapid tests. And we've got to make sure we invest in front-line health-care workers, those are the things that we're pushing for right now when it comes to travel. We want to always follow the advice of public health guidelines. And I think it makes a lot of sense for folks to consider staying at home, given how serious this is.

Mediwake: We also know that consequences work. Last year we saw some politicians lose their positions because they travelled when they were advised not to. So will there be consequences for any of your employees if they choose to travel?

Singh: We made it clear that our team is not to travel unless there's a clear reason, unless it's essential, and so far there's only one member of our team that has a really serious reason, a loved one who's really, really ill, that will be travelling, but otherwise people will be staying home.

Mediwake: Families are daily changing their plans for the holidays, given the news that's come out this week. I know that you have a very close-knit family. Have you changed any of your plans?

Singh: We're already planning to bubble and stay at home and not go out, so we're already making those plans. Someone asked me if I had any travel plans and I said, ‘if I travel, I may not be able to come home to my wife who's expecting.’ So we're certainly not travelling. We're awaiting the arrival of a new addition to our family and will be as careful and as cautious as we can while we wait.

Mediwake: NDP MP Peter Julian has tabled a motion to stop construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Now you've said you don't support the pipeline, so will you support Peter Julian's motion to halt construction?


Singh: We've always taken a position against the pipeline, something that we've always said is that it’s the wrong thing to do, the wrong investment to make, and it was a wrong decision of the government to purchase it. And so we're going to continue with our position on that when it comes to what we should be spending our money on. We should be spending our money on a plan for workers, a plan to make sure no worker is left behind and a plan to make sure we are creating an economy that helps us reduce emissions.

Mediwake: Fatemeh Anvari, the grade three teacher in Quebec who was removed from her role, her teaching role, because she wears hijab. There were renewed calls this week for the federal government to intervene on the provincial law that bans religious symbols during the election. You said that you didn't support a federal intervention on this bill. You are now supporting the call to intervene. Why is your stance changed?

Singh: Well, I've always been opposed to the bill, and I've always said it's discriminatory. And I think what's changed is having Fatemeh [being] a clear example of the injustice of this, has really mobilized a lot of people in Quebec. It's really mobilised a lot of people that have been fighting against this. And I want to make it really clear that for all those Quebecers, the three million that are opposed to this law and those Quebecers, that are fighting this law in court, if this case makes it to the federal court, then the federal government should intervene and support this Quebeckers who are opposed to this discrimination.

Mediwake: On Wednesday, the Canadian Real Estate Association said average home prices reached an all time high of more than $720,000. In the fiscal update, the government pointed to $70 billion that they invested through the National Housing Strategy. This is to support construction of up to 125,000 affordable homes. This is something that you are passionate about during the campaign. What else do you want the government to do to deal with unaffordability in the housing market?

Singh: First, you [must] acknowledge this is a serious crisis, and so far the Liberal government's approach hasn't been an approach that matches the severity of the crisis. There are a number of things we need to do. First off, there's the pressures that are driving up the cost of housing, and we want some concrete measures. A tax on foreign buyers nationally, a tax on property flippers and an end or a ban on blind bidding. These are three things that we've supported. These are things that the Liberal government promised to do, and we said we would support if they acted on. And they have yet to do anything. And we also need to invest massively in building more homes that are affordable. This two pronged approach is what we want to see, and we haven't seen the urgency that needs the seriousness of the crisis from the Liberal government so far.

Mediwake: So the $70 billion dollars is just not enough or just not being spent in the right way?

Singh: The urgency of that action is not up, so in terms of delivering that funding to municipalities, making sure we partner with provinces, that's not urgent enough. And secondly, this speculation side, they haven't moved on any of those commitments. We want to see a foreign buyers tax put in place immediately. There's no reason to delay. We want to see a tax on property flippers, those who are flipping properties to drive up the cost of housing. We need to see some deterrence on that and a ban to blind bidding. These are three measures that can be immediately implemented. The Liberal government knows that we support these measures. They have yet to put forward any of those measures. And that's really detrimental to our fight against the rising cost of housing, which is one of the biggest concerns that people have when we look at the inflation and the cost of living going up.

Mediwake: This is an exciting year for you and your wife. You're about to become parents. Your baby is due in late December. How are you feeling about becoming a dad?

Singh: I'm really stoked, I've always loved kids, and so it's something that I feel like I've always been ready to do, and as the eldest in my family, I've always had to take care of my younger siblings and often take care of my parents. I'm not in any ways nervous. I'm just excited. My wife sometimes tells me that it's a big, big step for her and she feels a little bit nervous. And I say, ‘you know, we've got this, we're ready for it.’ It's going to be exciting and we're looking forward to the next adventure.

Mediwake: I know you're very close with your father. Is there any advice that he's given you that you're looking forward to carrying out as a dad?

Singh: Yeah, we're really close, obviously, and we spend a lot of time together. My dad jokingly says, ‘don't do what I did, just do the opposite of what I did,’ and I say ‘come on dad, you did a great job.’

ANOTHER RIGHT WING MYTH
Alberta government may consider bringing back flat tax system, Kenney says
HE THINKS HE IS RALPH KLEIN 2.0
'I think it was responsible for a huge amount of tax shifting to Alberta as people moved here to benefit from by far the most marginal income tax rates in the country'

Author of the article:Tyler Dawson
Publishing date:Dec 17, 2021 • 

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's United Conservatives have been obsessed with the idea of returning to a flat tax for years, but the province's struggling finances have kept it from being a viable option. PHOTO BY DAVID BLOOM/POSTMEDIA/FILE
Article content

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says the provincial government might consider returning to a flat tax system, which would see every Albertan, regardless of income, paying the same rate of provincial tax.

In response to a question about revenues during a meeting Wednesday with the National Post’s editorial board, Kenney, who was joined by Finance Minister Travis Toews, said he believed the flat tax system had been beneficial to Alberta.

“We used to have a single-rate personal income tax system here … and I think it was responsible for a huge amount of tax shifting to Alberta as people moved here to benefit from by far the most marginal income tax rates in the country,” said Kenney. “That’s one of the things that we will be looking at.”

The United Conservatives have long promised to hold a panel to study Alberta’s revenue, the counter to the September 2019 report into the province’s expenditures, which Toews said will happen, though no timeline was given.

“Certainly, considering revenues is part of the process of putting the province on the sustainable fiscal trajectory,” said Toews.

The mandate of the panel, said Kenney, would be: “What would be the optimal design for a provincial tax system to promote economic growth and job creation?”

Because government revenues are tied so tightly to resource revenues, consecutive Alberta governments have had to deal with the vagaries of the international oil market. It has led, at various times, to calls for the province to institute a sales tax or find other ways to ensure a less volatile revenue stream. Alberta has a law setting out that a sales tax would be adopted via referendum, Kenney said.

“So, with about three-quarters of Albertans pretty consistently opposed to the idea of a sales tax, I don’t think that is something Albertans are going to embrace,” he said.

Alberta had a flat tax system between 2001 and 2015. As of the 2016 tax year, Albertans with incomes less than $131,220 pay 10 per cent income tax — the former flat rate — and that then creeps upwards to 15 per cent for those making $314,928.01 or more.

The new tax rate was announced by Jim Prentice, the last Progressive Conservative premier, in 2015; less than two months later, Albertans dumped Prentice, and Rachel Notley’s New Democrats took over. They kept the promised progressive income tax system, which remains in effect now.

The United Conservatives have been seized with the issue of returning to a flat tax for years, but the province’s finances, walloped as they have been by the collapse in oil prices, the lingering economic downturn and the dampening effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, have kept it from being a viable option, even as the government moved to slash corporate tax rates.

A study from the Fraser Institute, a free-market think tank, suggests that if the rates were brought down from 15 per cent to 10 per cent over four years, the government would lose roughly $1.36 billion in revenue. Yet, economic benefits — such as increased entrepreneurship or investment — could make these losses “relatively modest.”

Lindsay Tedds, an economist at the University of Calgary, pointed out that Alberta’s never actually had a flat tax, because there’s no tax on the first $19,369. “I hate being pedantic,” she said, laughing.

The effects of a return to a flat tax rate, Tedds said, would be complicated to disentangle, because there are so many other factors. While it would certainly see the government lose money, and shift the tax burden to middle-income, rather than high-income, earners, there are other factors to consider, such as daycare, that could affect workforce participation and economic activity. Plus, the effect of lost revenue 

Article contenton government services needs to be considered, Tedds said

“(Alberta) doesn’t just compete on taxes. It’s a bundle of goods and services that attract people to a jurisdiction,” Tedds said. “Are you making assumptions based off of your understanding of the world from the 1970s or 1980s? Or are you really understanding it from 2021?”

At the UCP’s May 2018 convention, the party’s membership voted in favour of adding a promise to return to the flat tax to the party’s policy book, but Kenney, who cited large deficits left by Notley’s government, never fully embraced the commitment.

Yet, this isn’t the first time the premier has hinted that the flat-tax system could return; he has expressed admiration for the flat tax, brought in under Ralph Klein, and suggested a panel could recommend such a thing, but has long demurred on cutting personal income tax rates.

“I think it was a critical part of the Alberta advantage,” Kenney said in 2019. “I like it in principle but I can’t commit to something when we don’t know what the overall fiscal situation will be of a future government.”

Compared to the rest of Canada, Alberta already has a considerable tax advantage, which led to the premier suggesting everyone ought to move to Alberta. Albertans pay far less tax — income, and sales to name but two — compared to other provinces.

“The cost of living differential between Calgary, Alberta cities and Vancouver or Toronto is now so extreme that we really think it’s going to start — it is starting — to generate a new wave of interprovincial migration to Alberta,” Kenney said.

A dual-income couple with two kids in Alberta pays on average $1,064 less than the same family in British Columbia, $6,043 less than a Quebec family and $3,687 less than an Ontario family.

 

'More pressure': B.C. not immune to trades training decline seen across Canada

Women seeking trades certification more adversely affected than men by pandemic

Graeme Wood

Dec 14, 2021 4:11 PM

In B.C. specifically, total apprenticeship registrations were down 23.9%.

New apprenticeships are down across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Statistics Canada report released this month.

This spells trouble for economic production in the near term, as employers and trades schools scramble to make up for lost time, says Guy Ellis, CEO of Trades Training BC.

“It means higher wages and less production, if you will, whether it’s building or mechanics or anything else. So, there’s more pressure for sure on the companies trying to provide goods and services,” says Ellis.

The report shows an overall decline in new apprenticeship registrations of 28.5% in 2020, in addition to a 32.7% decline in certifications. In B.C., total apprenticeship registrations were down 23.9%.

Ellis is also the dean of the BCIT School of Transportation, which trains mechanics for planes, trains and automobiles. He tells Glacier Media his school fared relatively well with only an estimated 15% decline in head count last year. Construction-related certifications also fared fine in B.C., he says.

“At the start of the pandemic, there was a halt of several industry sectors, including construction. In B.C., the government reacted and came out with a list of essential services... construction was on that list. So the slowdown in the construction sector and transportation sector was not as big as in other parts of the country,” explains Ellis.

Echoing the report, he says it was the more social trades — ones more popular among women — that were hurt the most.

“Among the major trade groups, the largest percentage declines in certifications were for community and social service workers (-62.7%), hairstylists and estheticians (-48.1%), electronics and instrumentation (-45.3%), early childhood educators and assistants (-44.4%), and food services (-43.4%),” noted the report.

“The severity of the impact on these trade groups was partially attributable to the forced closures of businesses deemed non-essential, combined with the fact that many other businesses operated at limited capacity, such as restaurants that remained open but had limited dining capacity or provided only delivery services.”

Apprentices are typically sent to schools by employers; upon completion of coursework, they become certified skilled workers, says Ellis, adding many employers are taking a wait-and-see approach as public health rules shift.

“The declines in new registrations and certifications among women were proportionately larger than those among men, as new registrations declined by 3,447 (-32.9%) and certifications fell by 2,460 (-38.5%)” as compared to 27.8% and 31.9% respectively,” according to the report.

Ellis says schools are back to full capacity but the hiccup left by the pandemic will be felt in years ahead. He notes the provincial government may need to spend more money on increasing capacity to make up for the shortfall.

“Now the demand is there but there’s still lots of safety protocols in place that constrains productivity,” he says.

B.C. restaurants hope more foreign workers can curb labour 'crisis,' industry association says

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Restaurants running on reduced hours, capacity to 

make up for pandemic-induced worker shortage

Jon Hernandez · CBC News · Posted: Dec 15, 2021 4:00 AM PT | Last Updated: December 15

Labour shortages at restaurants and small businesses across B.C. have prompted calls to allow more foreign workers to enter Canada. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)

For years, Diana Chan has had a crew of 10 workers slinging hot dogs and poutines for hungry skiers and snowboarders at the foot of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains.

But this year, she's only been able to hire five staff.

"We run at 50 per cent hours, so we're not open late — and that is disappointing a lot of our fans," said Chan, owner of Zog's Dogs and Moguls Coffee House.

With peak season in full swing, Whistler is among many communities in B.C. that continue to grapple with a pandemic-induced worker shortage that's showing no signs of climbing back up.

• $50K per year dishwashing job sign of labour shortage in restaurants, industry expert says

"Everyone is seeing a drop in applicants," added Chan, who is also also the board chair of the resort municipality's chamber of commerce. "Pretty much every business is at some point struggling with staffing."

Restaurant owners and industry leaders are already looking ahead to the 2022 summer tourism season, hoping that by then provincial and federal governments will have policies in place to allow more foreign workers to enter the country and fill vacant roles.

A snowy season in Whistler has meant a lot more traffic in the resort municipality than some businesses expected, and owners are trying to keep up despite being short-staffed, says Whistler Chamber of Commerce board chair Diana Chan. (Christie Fitzpatrick)

"This is the winter we're going to have, there's nothing we can do to change the winter. We're now turning to the summer hiring," she said.

Down 40,000 workers

According to the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association (BCFRA), the industry is down about 40,000 workers — or about 20 per cent of its workforce.

President and CEO Ian Tostenson says he doesn't expect the domestic market can fill gaps anytime soon.

"The only way we're going to deal with this crisis that we're in is through skilled foreign workers," said Tostenson.

• Labour shortage hampering post-pandemic recovery for businesses in Canada, study finds

That's why the BCRFA says it's asked the provincial government to exempt B.C. employers from having to apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for a two-year period.

LMIA's are documents that employers in Canada often need before they are able to hire a foreign worker. The purpose of it is to show that there are no domestic workers available for the job — but the process of obtaining an LMIA can take months.

A server is pictured bringing food to indoor diners at Yolks restaurant in Vancouver, on Tuesday, May 25, 2021. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Chan says many small businesses in Whistler have been unable to hire foreign workers amid LMIA requirements.

Calls to speed up processing times

The BCFRA says it has also asked the province to call on Ottawa to expedite work permits for skilled foreign workers headed to B.C. to fill roles in kitchens — hopefully in time for the summer season.

"What could be taking nine months to a year right now, we think we could get it down to six months," said Tostenson.

CBC News has reached out to both the province and the federal government in asking whether these recommendations might be considered.

• Whistler ski hills open for season as storm system arrives

The $15 billion restaurant industry in B.C. has been among the hardest hit by the pandemic, hit by a series of shutdowns and having to adapt to new COVID-19 protocols, Tostenson said. That's why he thinks work permits for restaurant workers coming from abroad should be fast-tracked.

"We need to make this a priority," he said.

Business owners seeking solutions as nearly half Alberta small businesses facing labour shortages

'Labour shortage issues are not new to small businesses, but definitely have been made worse since the pandemic,' said Annie Dormuth, the Alberta provincial affairs director for CFIB

Author of the article: Stephanie Babych
Publishing date: Dec 15, 2021 • 

Calgary Chamber CEO Deborah Yedlin speaks with the media after a Q&A event with Mayor Jyoti Gondek hosted by Calgary Chamber at Hyatt Regency Calgary on Friday, November 19, 2021. PHOTO BY AZIN GHAFFARI/POSTMEDIA
Article content

Nearly half of small businesses in Alberta continue to grapple with labour shortages as they recover from public health measures and a shift in the labour force.

A report released last week by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business shows 46 per cent of Alberta small businesses are experiencing staff shortages, with 24 per cent reporting they don’t have enough staff to maintain current business operations.

“Labour shortage issues are not new to small businesses, but definitely have been made worse since the pandemic,” said Annie Dormuth, the Alberta provincial affairs director for CFIB.

“This definitely does impact small business operations in a negative way, as we are seeing and have seen with the survey results from our Alberta members.”

Nationally, 55 per cent of small businesses surveyed couldn’t get the staff they need for current operations or to meet new demand. About 16 per cent said they have met the challenge but at a cost, including wage increases, benefit plans and signing bonuses.

When surveyed in June, 76 per cent of Alberta business owners reported working more hours themselves to make up for the labour shortage, 43 per cent of businesses said they were relying on their current crew to work additional hours, and 26 per cent were cancelling or deferring business projects.

“For a lot of owners and general managers, it’s very long hours, every day and multiple days in a row to try to make sure our businesses get back on track,” said Ernie Tsu, president of the Alberta Hospitality Association.

“We’re seeing some of our businesses close down once a week or cutting their hours of operation.”

According to CFIB, 48 per cent of Canadian small businesses said former or current employees switched industries. About 63 per cent reported they couldn’t find a job applicant with the skills or experience needed for the open position.

The hospitality industry has been the hardest hit by the issue. Tsu said his association will be meeting with the provincial and federal governments in the new year to discuss possible solutions.

Trolley 5 Restaurant and Brewery owner Ernie Tsu in Calgary on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. PHOTO BY DARREN MAKOWICHUK/POSTMEDIA

Deborah Yedlin, president and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, said the challenges that small businesses are facing right now are just as nuanced as the solutions.

“With more than half of Canadian small businesses unable to attract the staff they need, pre-pandemic issues are compounded by current challenges of continuing uncertainty, waning employee confidence and gaps between needed and available skills,” Yedlin said in a statement.

“Investments in social infrastructure like affordable quality child care will make Alberta a more attractive place to live and work, set our next generation up for success, and encourage families — particularly women — to return to work.”

An immigration policy that attracts people with specific skills to the province, investment in community vibrancy and improving interprovincial labour mobility are also key to improving labour challenges, she said. And collaboration between the business community and post-secondary institutions is another way to more quickly close the talent and skills gap.

“Small businesses generate over 40 per cent of GDP and represent nearly 98 per cent of Canadian businesses,” Yedlin said. “Given this, immediate solutions to tackle workforce challenges is critical to our economic recovery.”

CFIB is urging the federal and provincial governments to address the labour shortage, Dormuth said.

She cited streamlining and improving the temporary foreign worker and immigration processes, stimulating automation through programs or tax credits, providing tax relief for workers over age 65, and reducing employment insurance premiums for small businesses to offset hiring costs as a few examples.