Manitoba

'No longer anonymous': Woman who filed sex assault complaint against grand chief speaks out

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Disappointed by Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs response, Shauna Fontaine identifies herself

CBC News · Posted: Jun 09, 2022 

Shauna Fontaine identified herself on Wednesday as the woman who has filed a complaint against Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Arlen Dumas. (Walther Bernal/CBC)

The woman behind a sexual assault complaint against Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Arlen Dumas is speaking out for the first time after a letter of support signed by 200 people emerged this week.

Shauna Fontaine told CBC News on Wednesday that she is the one who filed the complaint against Dumas with the Winnipeg Police Service almost three months ago.

Neither police nor AMC have confirmed this to CBC News.

Police will not confirm complaints unless an incident number is provided, and even then will not confirm any of the individuals involved.

Fontaine said she was motivated to reveal her identity after the letter and AMC's response to it.

• Over 200 people sign letter calling for inquiry into suspended AMC Grand Chief Arlen Dumas

As someone who has worked in advocacy roles for victims of gender-based violence, Fontaine suggested one reason she hasn't told many people in her circle until now that she was the one to file the complaint is because she has felt a sense of shame and embarrassment.

"You're not believed when you do come forward, and there's a lot of victim blaming and shaming," said Fontaine.

"It's never the victim's fault. It was never my fault. It was really only at the hand of the perpetrator."

Arlen Dumas was suspended as grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs in March, after an allegation he harassed and sexually assaulted a colleague. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)

Dumas was suspended by AMC in mid-March after a woman who worked for the organization — now known to be Fontaine — accused him of harassment and sexual assault. AMC hired a third-party organization to investigate the allegations.

Dumas has not been charged and none of the allegations have been tested in court. 

CBC News has requested comment from Dumas several times since March but has not received a response.

Among the 200 signatories on the letter out this week are lawyers, doctors, sitting federal and provincial politicians and advocates for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, including Sandra DeLaronde, who led the charge to create the letter. DeLaronde is the project lead of the MMIWG2S Implementation Committee in Manitoba, which is made up of survivors, family members, knowledge keepers, Indigenous organizations and governments.

The letter calls on AMC to reconsider how the organization's response to the allegations is having an impact. DeLaronde and signatories said they want an independent inquiry and trauma-informed process that focuses on victims.

"We were trying to support the victims, but also provide that support to AMC as well," said DeLaronde.

Sandra DeLaronde, an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, accused AMC of 'hiding behind a legal process rather than a human process' by not accepting the invitation of trauma-informed support. (Jaison Empson/CBC)

The letter suggests other women have come forward with allegations on or about May 31. AMC has disputed this claim.

In response to the open letter, the organization stated its appreciation for the invitation of support but declined, citing concerns that support could inhibit the current investigation. The organization also stated it did not want to compromise the confidentiality of the complainant.

DeLaronde questioned that response on Wednesday, given that Fontaine has now revealed herself publicly.

"I think it's a false flag, and I think they're hiding behind a legal process rather than a human process," DeLaronde said.

Fontaine echoed DeLaronde. She said she came forward publicly because she was disappointed by AMC's response to the letter.

I am a real person, I am a human being. I am an employee of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and this has impacted me in a very negative way.- Shauna Fontaine

"They weren't willing to accept the invitation to participate in a trauma-informed practice that moved away from their HR investigation that they claim is objective," said Fontaine. 

"My name is no longer anonymous. I am a real person, I am a human being. I am an employee of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and this has impacted me in a very negative way."

Fontaine, who is on a temporary leave for the duration of the AMC investigation, says she feels unsupported by AMC.

CBC News requested comment from AMC now that Fontaine has revealed her identity.

She said there are not enough supports for Indigenous women who have experienced sexualized violence, and that she remains on a waitlist herself.

The open letter sent to the AMC was posted on social media by DeLaronde on Monday, and originally had 14 signatories. That has since grown to include three more pages of names. (Sandra DeLaronde/Facebook)

In recent months, Fontaine says some community advocates have reached out. Loved ones have also been by her side.

"I do have a few family members who were aware and have been quite close and offering their love and their care, including two of my own children who have been sitting by and been really wonderful," said Fontaine.

The woman behind a sexual assault complaint against the leader of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs isn't happy with the way the group is handling the investigation. Shauna Fontaine came forward after more than 200 people signed a letter to the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. They want an independent commission of inquiry to look into the allegations against suspended Grand Chief Arlen Dumas.

With files from Stephanie Cram and Darren Bernhardt

Indigenous group meets with RCMP after 

memorial marchers allegedly hit by truck 

driver

The Canadian Press
Published June 9, 2022

The head of an Indigenous group says members have met with the RCMP in Chilliwack, B.C., to discuss how police plan to proceed after the driver of a pickup truck allegedly hit four people participating in a memorial march.

Garett Dan, captain of the British Columbia chapter of the Crazy Indians Brotherhood, says the meeting at the Cheam First Nation band office went on for about four hours and got “out of hand” at one point as everyone sat in a circle.

Dan says there was anger over the alleged actions of a 77-year-old man who turned himself in on Monday, two days after some members of the group were allegedly hit while marching along a highway to draw attention to survivors of residential schools.

He says Andrew Victor, chief of the Cheam First Nation, began the meeting where eight members of the brotherhood met with four RCMP officers, including an inspector and sergeant, from both the Chilliwack and Mission detachments.

RELATED STORIES

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'He ran me over': Attendees of B.C. residential school memorial march hit by truck

Dan says Indigenous members were distressed that the suspect was not in custody because they did not think they would be treated the same way.

The RCMP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dan says the Mounties conveyed that an investigation was underway to determine if charges would be laid against the man who turned himself in after the incident.

Police said in an earlier news release that two of the four marchers who were struck suffered minor injuries.

The RCMP originally described the man in a news release as an “impatient driver” who could not pass marchers in the only eastbound lane of Lougheed Highway, near the former St. Mary's residential institution for Indigenous children.

Dan helped organize the weekend memorial march in Mission, and has said the driver was goading marchers even before the walk began.

“We never stopped traffic, we slowed it down,” he said, adding the driver was telling people to stop the march and get off the road, “stuff like that.”

Dan says the march to the former institution was emotional because participants were calling for ground-penetrating radar to search the site for possible unmarked graves of children who did not survive their forced attendance at St. Mary's.

Despite that, Dan says a man in a pickup told marchers to “get over” residential schools.

“Our people went through a lot of trauma and abuse in residential school and it's not like they can just blank that out,” said Dan.

“It's exactly like telling a vet to get over the war.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2022.

(With files from Kelly Geraldine Malone)


This image from Robert Jago shows the March for Recognition for Residential Schools. Police are investigating after several attendees were struck by a truck.

 

British Columbia

Driver told marchers to 'get over' residential schools before plowing into crowd, witness says

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Many participants of memorial march concerned justice for alleged hit-and-run driver is not being served

Bridgette Watson · CBC News · Posted: Jun 08, 2022 10:17 PM PT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago

The march in Mission, B.C., was held Saturday to honour residential school survivors and was organized by the Crazy Indians Brotherhood. (Robert Jago)

WARNING: This story contains offensive language and details some readers may find distressing. Supports and resources are available at the bottom of the article.

Kailey Ashley says an aggressive man in a pickup truck threatened to run over her children and made racist remarks before plowing into several people during a memorial march for residential school survivors in Mission, B.C., on Saturday.

She says despite several attempts to recount her story to the police, it was days before an officer took her statement.

The driver of a blue Chevrolet Silverado allegedly hit at least four people near the site of the former St. Mary's Indian Residential School on Lougheed Highway, before leaving the scene.

A 77-year-old man came forward to police on Monday and his vehicle was seized. No charges have been laid.

Ashley is among many march participants and Indigenous leaders worried about whether justice is being served.

Mission RCMP initially released a statement that said the driver was "impatient" and trying to get around the group "despite the safety risk." The statement also said police didn't believe the driver targeted marchers or their cause, despite not having spoken to him.

• Driver involved in alleged hit-and-run at residential school march has come forward to police, RCMP say

Witnesses say they take issue with that description of events — which has since been deleted from the detachment's website — saying the man uttered blatant threats and racial slurs.

Ashley said after one marcher was hit, she walked over to the driver of the vehicle and pleaded with him to stop moving through the crowd, telling him her children were on the road.

"He told me he was going to run over my effing children," she said.

"Directly to my face, he said, 'I don't care, I'm going to run over your effing children. You're all dirty Indians.'"

LISTEN | Witness recalls alleged hit-and-run incident:

On The Coast7:17Witness Kailey Ashley recounts an alleged hit-and-run in Mission, B.C.

The alleged incident happened during a march to honour residential school survivors and event organizers and First Nations leaders are speaking out against the RCMP's response.

Ashley says she contacted the RCMP several times to share her story but didn't hear back from an officer until Tuesday.

"They kept saying they'll call me if my information is important, but yet they never asked me what my information was," she said, speaking Tuesday on CBC's On The Coast. 

'I was scared for my life'

According to Ashley, the pickup came up behind her vehicle after she had just let her kids out to catch up with family members on the road. When she saw the pickup being driven dangerously, she called for participant Troy Ingraldi to help.

She says Ingraldi, who has a traffic control ticket and was wearing high-visibility clothing, tried to reason with the truck driver, who responded by accelerating and hitting Ingraldi.

"I was scared for my life that he would run me over when I was on the ground," Ingraldi told CBC News.

WATCH | Witnesses recount what happened during an alleged hit-and-run in Mission, B.C.:

The victims of an alleged hit and run during a march at a residential school in Mission speak about their experience.

Right after he was hit, Ingraldi got into Ashley's vehicle covered in blood. 

Ashley says she got out of her vehicle and went to the truck to plead with the driver to stop because she was worried about her kids, and that's when he threatened to run them over.

Ashley says she and Ingraldi then watched as a few other men tried to stand in front of the truck and got hit.

"That truck just accelerated right through them. He didn't care," said Ashley.

Ingraldi was later taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a concussion and soft-tissue damage to his hip. One other participant in the march was taken to hospital.

Troy Ingraldi suffered a concussion and a soft-tissue injury to his hip. (Submitted by Troy Ingraldi)

Driver told marchers to 'get over' residential schools

The march was organized by the Crazy Indians Brotherhood. Member Chris Robertson figures if an Indigenous person had acted as the white driver did, they would "still be in cells right now."

Garett Dan, captain of the Brotherhood's British Columbia chapter, says marchers were already emotional because participants were calling for ground-penetrating radar to search the St. Mary's site for possible unmarked graves of children who did not survive their forced attendance at the former residential school.

• Victim of hit-and-run at residential school march says incident underscores need for awareness

Dan says the driver told marchers to "get over'' residential schools, which he likened to telling a traumatized vet to get over a war.

He says he is very upset with how RCMP have dealt with the driver so far, and that he and others expressed that sentiment at a follow-up meeting held with police at the Cheam First Nation band office in Chilliwack, B.C.

"They are holding his truck more accountable than him. They kept his truck but they let him go home,'' said Dan.

Leaders call for accountability

Mounties said they do not want to rush the investigation.

"Making an arrest too soon can actually detriment the court process further down the road," Const. Harrison Mohr said at a press conference Monday, telling reporters he anticipates charge recommendations in the "coming weeks."

Kúkpi7 (Chief) Judy Wilson, secretary-treasurer of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said the situation could have escalated and police are dismissing atrocious behaviour.

 

"They're doing some procedural delays and also downplaying and that's really unacceptable," said Wilson, speaking on The Early Edition on Tuesday.

Wilson said people evade accountability far too often because of racial discrimination against Indigenous people.

LISTEN | RCMP response to alleged hit-and-run prompts questions:

The Early Edition9:05Questions about Mission RCMP's response to alleged hit and run at march for residential school survivors

Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs secretary-treasurer Kukpi7 Judy Wilson speaks to Stephen Quinn about the RCMP response to an alleged hit and run that sent two people to hospital.

Mission Mayor Paul Horn said trust needs to be re-established with Indigenous people in the community and his role is to make sure the RCMP make the investigation a serious priority.

"I want to stand with them out there [at next year's march] and make it really clear to people that this is not something that is owned by just Indigenous people, it's work that's owned by all of us," said Horn.

Police say they are still working to piece together Saturday's events. In a Monday news release, Mission RCMP said it specifically wants to speak with the driver of a single-unit dump truck or semi-truck that was behind the pickup as it passed marchers, whom they believe has key details about what happened.

Anyone with more information is asked to call Mission RCMP at 604-826-7161.

WATCH | March organizers say RCMP left them vulnerable after alleged hit-and-run:

Organizers for the residential school awareness march in Mission last weekend attempted to have the RCMP on site for traffic control. But their request was denied. During the march, witnesses say a pickup truck drove into a number of those in attendance.

---

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools.

A National Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected.

Emotional and crisis referral services can be accessed by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

KUU-US Crisis Line Society (B.C.): A First Nations- and Indigenous-specific crisis line available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, toll-free from anywhere in British Columbia. KUU-US Crisis Line can be reached toll-free at 1-800-588-8717.  Alternatively, individuals can directly call the Youth Line at 250-723-2040 or the Adult Line at 250-723-4050.

First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line (National): The Hope for Wellness Help Line offers immediate help to all Indigenous peoples across Canada and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and offers both counselling and crisis intervention. Call 1-855-242-3310.

Kids Help Phone (ages 5-20, French and English): Call 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868.

NUKE THE TARSANDS

Varcoe: Nuclear power could be 'holy grail' for oilsands, says Cenovus CEO

'If we're able to commercialize small modular reactors, you could see a scenario where you could completely decarbonize the upstream in Alberta'

Author of the article:Chris Varcoe • Calgary Herald
Publishing date:Jun 08, 2022 • 

Cenovus CEO Alex Pourbaix speaks at a news conference

 on Thursday, January 30, 2020. 

PHOTO BY AZIN GHAFFARI/POSTMEDIA

As oilsands operators build a blueprint to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, they’re not only turning to carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology to reach their climate goals.

They’re also eyeing smaller nuclear power facilities in the oilsands.

Speaking on the opening day of the Global Energy Show, Cenovus Energy CEO Alex Pourbaix said Tuesday the potential of small modular reactors is being examined by the Oilsands Pathways to Net Zero Alliance as one way to reduce emissions generated in bitumen production.

“Small modular reactors — I think that is, in many ways, almost one of the holy grails of decarbonizing the upstream oil and gas industry,” Pourbaix said at the event at the BMO Centre.

“We have the third-largest reserves of oil on the planet. They are incredibly concentrated. They very much lend themselves to a centralized facility to produce steam.

“If we’re able to commercialize small modular reactors, you could see a scenario where you could completely decarbonize the upstream in Alberta.”

The return of the annual Global Energy Show (formerly the Global Petroleum Show) after a two-year hiatus arrives as oil and gas prices have skyrocketed and the industry is posting hefty profits, but also facing daunting questions about future decarbonization plans.

The pathways alliance represents six of the largest oilsands producers in the country, including Cenovus, Suncor Energy and Canadian Natural Resources.

The group is striving to meet the federal government’s target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, which would allow the sector to produce among the most cost-competitive and carbon-competitive barrels in the world.

The alliance is initially working on a $14-billion project that would develop a carbon trunk line in the province, linking oilsands facilities to a CO2 sequestration hub located in the Cold Lake region.

However, it’s also looking at longer-term developments to reach its objective. A technology working group within pathways is studying the possibility of bringing small modular reactors (also known as SMRs) into the oilsands.

Thermal oilsands projects that use natural gas to create steam that’s needed to produce bitumen — generating emissions as well — could potentially turn to nuclear power instead.

The small-scale reactors can generate between two and 300 megawatts, compared to a larger — and more expensive — conventional nuclear reactor that can generate 1,000 megawatts.

“The challenge historically with large reactors, like a CANDU reactor, is they’re so big. They are just too big for any kind of regional purpose in the oilsands,” Pourbaix told reporters after the event.

Pipelines carrying steam, gas and an emulsion of bitumen and water snake through the boreal forest from well pads to the Cenovus Energy steam assisted gravity drainage oilsands facility near Conklin, Alta. 

PHOTO BY RYAN JACKSON /Edmonton Journal

“The SMRs, if they’re able to become commercialized and licensed, they would actually be much smaller . . . (and) produce steam without any carbon emissions whatsoever.”

The Alberta government formally agreed last year to work together with Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Ontario on the emerging technology.

Earlier this year, the four provinces unveiled plans that would see a 300-megawatt SMR facility built later this decade in Darlington, Ont.

“It has to happen. If they’re going to get to net-zero . . . and get other parts of industry to net-zero, we’re going to need everything,” Energy Minister Sonya Savage said on the sidelines of the three-day conference.

“We’re going to need CCUS. We’re going to need small modular reactors. We’re going to need increased renewables.”

Setting up a regulatory process and choosing an appropriate SMR design that’s suitable for the oilsands will take time.

The cost of building small nuclear plants in the oilsands is also uncertain, said Cenovus chief sustainability officer Rhona DelFrari.

She noted individual oilsands operators have previously looked at the potential of nuclear power to generate steam for their operations. The Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) has also studied the technology.

More in-depth work will be required in the coming years, likely pushing any timetable for nuclear in the oilsands well into the 2030s.

“The expense is significant and it’s never been tried at the type of facilities that we have,” DelFrari said in an interview.

“Small modular reactors are still in their infancy . . . so that’s where government policy — and government participation as partners — can really help.”

Industry experts agree small-scale reactors hold potential for the oilsands.

The sector lowered its emissions per barrel by 20 per cent between 2009 and 2020, and SMRs could represent an even bigger change, said Richard Masson, former CEO of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission.

“The companies need to make the evaluation . . . What level of risk are they willing to take on a technology that hasn’t been proven at a smaller scale yet?” said Masson, an executive fellow at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.

Significant steps to get the Canadian oil and gas sector to net-zero will require new technologies. And billions of dollars of private-sector and public investment will also be needed to get there.

“It is becoming increasingly recognized this is the next investment boom for the oil and gas sector here in Alberta and really around the world,” analyst Randy Ollenberger of BMO Capital Markets told a panel on financing the energy transition.

“Just within Alberta between now and 2030, we’re probably (looking) at an investment range of $15 billion-plus. And by 2050, that number is probably going to approach $75 to $100 billion. So these are very significant investment opportunities.”


Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist.

 

Cenovus CEO says future of energy is 'diversification', not 'transition'

DIVERSIFY OR TRANSITION?

The Canadian Press - Jun 8, 2022 / 6:40 am | Story: 371258

Photo: The Canadian Press

Cenovus Energy CEO Alex Pourbaix.

The clash between the world's thirst for energy and the need to reduce emissions to mitigate climate change is the single biggest issue facing Cenovus Energy Inc. right now, the chief executive of the Calgary-based company said Tuesday.

Alex Pourbaix told attendees at the Global Energy Show, a major North American energy industry conference, that there is an inherent conflict between the industry's push to improve its ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance and global demand for increased oil output against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.

"This is an issue that takes up a lot of my time on a daily basis," Pourbaix said at the Calgary conference being held in person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, adding the reason global oil demand is growing is not because people are "bad" or "immoral," but because oil and gas are "incredibly important to human flourishing and prospering."

"What happened over the last several years was I think there was a lot of ambition that we could really move this (energy) transition along very fast," Pourbaix said. "And I think we're finding out that this is a many, many decade transition — and it's probably going to look more like diversification than it is like transition."

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shaken up global energy markets in 2022, sending oil and natural gas prices skyrocketing and reversing the fortunes of Canadian companies like Cenovus and others that have been posting record profits this year after what had been nearly a decade of downturn.

Pourbaix said the current energy crisis has proven that oil and gas can't easily or quickly be replaced by wind and solar. He said instead of a phase-out of fossil fuels, the next three decades are likely to feature a diverse energy mix that includes oil and gas but also hydrogen, renewables and nuclear power.

"We’re now seeing that whatever is done on ESG has to be coordinated with energy security in order to avoid the challenges or worse that we’re seeing right now as a result of scarcity of oil and gas," he said.

But in spite of concerns about global energy supply, Canada's oil and gas industry remains under pressure from both governments and investors to meet not just Canada's climate targets, but its own emissions reduction goals.

As part of the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero consortium, Cenovus has pledged alongside five other major producers to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from oilsands operations by 2050. The group has proposed to work together on a project that would capture CO2 from oilsands facilities and transport it to a storage facility near Cold Lake, Alta, delivering about 10 million tonnes of emissions reductions per year from oilsands production.

The group has not yet pulled the trigger to go ahead with the project, though Pourbaix said the investment tax credit for carbon capture and storage projects unveiled by the federal government earlier this year is an important step.

Pourbaix has also previously stated that the tax credit — which would cover 50 per cent of the capital cost for most types of carbon capture projects — isn't enough, and that additional government support will be necessary to fund the "multi-billion dollar" technology.

On Tuesday, Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said that under the province's oilsands royalty regime, anything companies spend on the deployment of carbon capture technology can be deducted in the form of a royalty credit. That could cover up to 30 per cent of the capital costs of a CCUS project, Savage told reporters.

But she said selling the Alberta public on the merits of any additional government support beyond that would be a challenge, given that companies are benefiting from $120 per barrel oil right now.

"It’s difficult for the province — and I imagine it’s difficult for the public — to understand, when they’re making that much money and they’re using some of their proceeds to pay out dividends, buy back shares and pay back debt and not reinvesting it into the province and CCUS," Savage said.

She added from the Alberta government's perspective, Cenovus and its oilsands partners should move ahead with their carbon capture plans "as soon as possible."

"We all want to get to net zero. They need to get to net zero," Savage said. "So the sooner the better."

 

Cenovus chief 'flabbergasted' U.S. looking to Venezuela for oil

After 2-year hiatus, Calgary's Global Energy Show kicks off with a focus on 'transition'

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Running for 1st time with new name, dropping 'petroleum' in favour of 'energy'

CBC News · Posted: Jun 07, 2022 

Calgary's Global Energy Show is running June 7-9 at the BMO Centre in Stampede Park after a two-year COVID-related hiatus. (Mike Symington/CBC)

One of North America's largest energy conferences began Tuesday in Calgary at the BMO Centre at Stampede Park, marking an end to a two-year hiatus brought on by the pandemic. 

More than 30,000 people from around the world are expected to attend the three-day Global Energy Show this week, which previously was dubbed the Global Petroleum Show.

That name change reflects a common theme at this year's event — a focus on a "transition." Sixty per cent of the floor space for this year's show is clean tech, organizers said, compared with about 10 per cent in the past.

This year, the show features more than 600 exhibitors in five exhibition halls, plus an outdoor area. 

Speakers at the event also focused on the message of transition, including the chief executive of Cenovus Energy Inc., Alex Pourbaix.

• PHOTOS
  Global Energy Show returns to Calgary

• ANALYSIS
  Energy sector tries to show next generation it's more than pumpjacks

Pourbaix said the future of energy will hinge on diversification, adding the clash between global energy demand and the need to reduce emissions to mitigate climate change is the biggest single issue facing the oil and gas industry in 2022.

While he expects to see further expansion of renewable and nuclear energy, as well as improvements in battery technology, Pourbaix doesn't expect oil and gas to disappear any time soon. 

"What we're seeing across the world right now, these crazy high energy prices, are largely an impact of supply and demand," he said.

"We are beyond the demand for oil we had pre-pandemic, and the reason there is demand is not because people are bad or immoral but because oil and gas are incredibly important to human [prosperity]."

Peter Warren with the tech company CGI believes there will still be a need for traditional oil and gas for some time — but says the industry needs to transition at the same time. (Mike Symington/CBC)

Peter Warren with the IT company CGI said he believes data will be key to helping companies transition because it can prove sustainability and profitability.

"We have one [customer] that is trying to prove their electron is greener than anybody else's electron so that the steel they make with that electron is greener than anybody else's steel," Warren said.

"Therefore, the car is greener, therefore when you ship it to Europe, it's taxed differently than it would be if it was made by coal, for example."

He added that he believes the transition to green energy has been exacerbated by the pandemic.

"The fact that everybody could look at the bottom of the canals in Venice and see how clean [they were], see how blue the sky got with everybody staying home, that made sustainability very tangible to a lot of people, and therefore they're moving their money towards it rapidly."

Brandon Wood is with Parkland Corporation, an oil and gas company that has been investing in renewable innovations since 2017. One of these products is a more carbon-friendly fuel for vehicles made through a method called co-processing, which blends crude oil with renewable crops like canola. 

There are huge opportunities in the [energy] transition, and we truly believe as an organization that it is our future.- Brandon Wood, Parkland Corporation

Wood said a key part of moving toward renewable energy is approaching different geographic regions on a case-by-case basis, instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach.

"What works in B.C. might not be what works in Alberta, so we are really trying to be strategic about it," said Wood.

"There are huge opportunities in the [energy] transition, and we truly believe as an organization that it is our future."

The Calgary Energy show runs until Thursday.

CARBON DIOXIDE NOW AT RECORD LEVELS NOT SEEN IN OVER 4 MILLION YEARS

Published on Jun. 8, 2022

Scott Sutherland
Meteorologist/Science Writer

CO2 concentrations have never been as high as they are now, during the entire existence of humans on this planet, and also going back millions of years.

High atop the remote peak of Mauna Loa in Hawai'i, scientists have recorded the highest carbon dioxide concentrations ever seen.

Roughly one year ago, daily carbon dioxide levels measured at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory reached 420 parts per million (ppm) for the first time ever, on April 20, 2021. This was a new high for the 63-year record of the Keeling Curve. Additionally, it also represented CO2 concentrations higher than any on Earth throughout human history.

In 2022, daily measurements for CO2 at Mauna Loa climbed to an even higher maximum, reaching a peak of 421.68 ppm on May 13. On June 3, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography announced that the average CO2 concentration for the entire month of May had reached 420.78 ppm — the highest recorded monthly average for carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa since measurements began in 1958. Based on their own instruments at that location, NOAA reported a monthly average of 420.99 ppm.

This two-year plot of the Keeling Curve shows carbon dioxide concentrations from June 8, 2021 to June 7, 2022. With regards to the levels reached, the timing of these exceedances, and the number of days exceeding, 2022 is breaking all previous records. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography/Scott Sutherland)

A concentration ticking upwards by a little over 1 part per million is not a big increase, year over year. However, the timing of the peaks this year, as well as the number of days that peaked above previous thresholds, is quite significant.

In 2021, CO2 was recorded above 420 ppm on just two days out of the year — April 30 and June 1.

In 2022, the earliest daily measurement to exceed 420 ppm at Mauna Loa was on Jan. 25, over three months earlier than in 2021. On Feb. 13, CO2 levels spiked even higher, exceeding 421 ppm for the first time ever in the 64 years since monitoring began.

So far this year, as of June 6, carbon dioxide levels at Mauna Loa have topped 420 ppm for a total of 52 days. On 24 of those days, concentrations exceeded 421 ppm.

This has resulted in the very first monthly averages higher than 420 ppm, in both April and May.

"It's depressing that we've lacked the collective willpower to slow the relentless rise in CO2," Scripps geochemist Ralph Keeling stated in a press release. Keeling manages the Keeling Curve, which has logged carbon dioxide concentrations at Mauna Loa since 1958 and was named for his father, Charles David Keeling.

"Fossil-fuel use may no longer be accelerating, but we are still racing at top speed towards a global catastrophe," Keeling added.

Based on studies of ice cores and past climate, carbon dioxide levels in the air have never been as high as they are now, during the entire existence of humans on this planet. In fact, according to Scripps, the last time CO2 would have been this high in the past was roughly 4.1-4.5 million years ago, during the Pliocene Climatic Optimum.

"During that time, sea levels were between five and 25 metres (16 and 82 feet) higher than today, high enough to drown many of the world's largest cities," the Scripps press release explained. "Temperatures then averaged 14 degrees Celsius (7 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than in pre-industrial times, and studies indicate that large forests occupied today's Arctic tundra."

"Carbon dioxide is at levels our species has never experienced before — this is not new," Pieter Tans, a senior scientist at NOAA's Global Monitoring Laboratory, stated in the press release. "We have known about this for half a century, and have failed to do anything meaningful about it. What's it going to take for us to wake up?"

CO2 SEASONAL CYCLE

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere follow a fairly regular pattern, year by year. They track closely with the seasons in the northern hemisphere, rising through fall, winter, and early spring, and then decreasing through late spring and summer. This is due to there being more land mass in the northern hemisphere, and thus more plant life.

So, generally, we see the year's highest CO2 levels in May or early June.

The two-year Keeling Curve, as of June 7, 2022, reveals the saw-tooth pattern of carbon dioxide measurements throughout a year. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)

As the graph above shows, not only do CO2 levels rise and fall with the seasons, each year's maximum and minimum is higher than the last. This yearly increase is a direct result of the burning of fossil fuels.

The full data record from Mauna Loa, from 1958 to the present day shows this pattern even better.
(Scripps Institution of Oceanography)

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is measured in 'parts per million' or ppm. A value of 420 parts per million means that for every million molecules of the atmosphere, 420 are carbon dioxide molecules. That may not seem like much, but there are roughly 100 tredecillion (100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) molecules in Earth's atmosphere. So that adds up to a lot of carbon dioxide.

WHY IS CARBON DIOXIDE SO IMPORTANT?

Carbon dioxide is considered to be the 'global climate thermostat' for planet Earth. That means even though it only represents a small percentage of Earth's atmosphere, the abundance of this one gas is the primary controller of the planet's surface temperature and thus its climate.

Most of Earth's atmosphere — the 99.9 per cent made up of oxygen, nitrogen, and argon — absorbs neither incoming solar radiation nor the infrared radiation emitted by Earth's surface. If the atmosphere was only made up of just those three gases, the heat radiating away from Earth's surface would escape into space just as quickly as solar radiation was absorbed. As a result, Earth would be a substantially colder planet; perhaps up to 30°C colder, overall.

Carbon dioxide allows incoming sunlight to pass by it unaffected, but it absorbs the heat radiating away from the ground. Because this is similar to how a greenhouse works — the glass in a greenhouse allows most light and radiation through, but reflects infrared away — this is known as the greenhouse effect, and CO2 is labelled as a greenhouse gas.

So, with just a trace amount of CO2 in the atmosphere (around 0.04 per cent of the total), enough heat is trapped in the atmosphere that the planet stays warm enough for life to take hold and for human civilization to flourish. Adding more CO2 to the air, incidentally, causes more heat to be trapped than normal. This is why we are seeing a fairly steady rise in temperatures since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when we started burning tons of coal, oil, and gas.

Watch below: NASA climate scientist Bill Putman explains the yearly waxing and waning of carbon dioxide throughout a year



The other major greenhouse gases that contribute to Earth's surface temperature are water vapour, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. None of these control Earth's climate as effectively as CO2, though. There's one straightforward reason for this: Carbon dioxide is the most abundant temperature-independent greenhouse gas in Earth's atmosphere.

Compared molecule to molecule, methane, ozone, and nitrous oxide are more potent greenhouse gases than CO2. However, carbon dioxide is far more abundant in the atmosphere than these other gases. Thus it still has a more significant contribution to global warming.

Water vapour is a special case. It is not only a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, it is also more abundant. But, water vapour's presence in the atmosphere and its contribution as a greenhouse gas are entirely dependent on the temperature. Lower the temperature by a certain amount and water vapour will condense into liquid water, forming clouds and precipitation. Lower the temperature even further and the water freezes solid.

The Mauna Loa Observatory, high atop the volcano in Hawai'i, is a remote enough location from sources to give us an excellent idea of the carbon dioxide concentrations in the northern hemisphere of Earth. (NOAA)

Carbon dioxide, on the other hand, remains in gaseous form with its full potency as a greenhouse gas for the entire range of temperatures experienced on Earth. While CO2 freezes at -78.5°C, and we've seen temperatures lower than that in Antarctica, the carbon dioxide would need to be more concentrated for it to freeze out of the air on its own.

The very reason we have large quantities of water vapour in Earth's atmosphere in the first place is due to this temperature-independence of carbon dioxide. If the amount of CO2 in the air decreases, the planet cools, which causes more water vapour to condense out of the air and eventually freeze.

This is how some glacial periods in Earth's history began: CO2 was removed from the air by various forms of life, which locked it up in minerals or buried it in large quantities. As the concentration of greenhouse gases fell, the planet cooled, resulting in more snow and ice, which reflected more sunlight back into space, and the temperature fell even more. Ultimately, this caused the formation of immense glaciers that covered much of Earth's surface.

When carbon dioxide levels rose again, due to events such as extreme volcanic events or mass die-offs in the ecosystem, the planet warmed and the ice age ended.


By measuring gases trapped in ice cores, scientists have shown what carbon dioxide levels were like in the atmosphere, going back 10,000 years. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)

In the roughly 10,000 years before the industrial revolution, CO2 levels were reasonably uniform at around 265 ppm. As a result, Earth's climate remained relatively stable. The greenhouse gases in the air absorbed just enough of the heat Earth radiated out towards space to keep the planet's average temperature reasonably steady. This allowed human civilization to thrive.

As shown in the graph below, due to carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel burning, the global average temperature has risen by roughly 1.5°C since the early 1900s.
(NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Sciences)

Seeing this kind of temperature increase in a small region, over a short period of time, such as in the local forecast for your city over a few days, is not much of a concern. It represents only a small amount of energy and the temperature will eventually go down by that much, as well.

The entire planet warming up by over one degree, however, and in such a way that the temperature will not go down again by that amount for the foreseeable future, represents an immense amount of energy being invested into our weather and climate systems.

This is of great concern to us when it comes to severe weather events and their potential impact on human civilization. It is going to be even worse going forward, as greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase and the temperature continues to rise along with them.