Alberta wants high-speed Edmonton to Calgary train, commuter rail, in new provincial master plan

Story by Lauren Boothby • POPTMEDIA

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, left, Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen, Calgary Airport Authority CEO Chris Dinsdale, and Rail for Alberta Society president Justin Simaluk at the announcement of plans for Alberta passenger rail in a news conference at Heritage Park in Calgary on Monday, April 29, 2024.

© Provided by Edmonton Journal

A high-speed Edmonton to Calgary train, and commuter rails for both cities, is part of the government’s “vision” for Alberta with the promise to develop a new province-wide rail plan in the coming years.

The Alberta government on Monday confirmed its goal to develop a 15-year passenger rail master plan potentially led by a Crown corporation similar to Ontario’s Metrolinx to begin construction as early as 2027. The province began soliciting proposals Monday for a company to help bring the vision to life along with a feasibility study that lays out which routes and train technologies, and who should operate them — the public sector, private sector, or a combination. Alberta’s 2024 budget includes $9 million for this work.

While no specific route is yet promised, Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen told Postmedia on Thursday ahead of the announcement the ultimate goal is to build a network of trains connecting the province.

“It’s taking a view of the province and how rail can be all brought together,” he said. “It’s big, it’s historic. It’s never been reviewed all at once.”

Building rail lines to and from communities surrounding Edmonton and Calgary to their downtowns, and between these cities’ downtowns and airports in a “commuter-type, Metrolinx-style network” with connections to existing LRT systems in both cities is the hope, Dreeshen said.

A high-speed regional rail line between the capital and Calgary, with a stop in Red Deer, with other “rail hubs” between connected communities, and a new line connecting Calgary with Canmore and Banff, are meant to be a part.

“It’s like a nervous system — they all have to connect together. I think if one is built the rest of the system needs to be built quickly to make sure it is a viable vision,” Dreeshen said.

More passenger rail will also alleviate congestion on highways, he added.

Premier Danielle Smith, speaking at Monday’s news conference, said this transportation plan is needed because Alberta’s population is growing. Currently with nearly 4.9 million residents, the provincial government expects this number to grow to 7.1 million by 2051.

“Expanding our roads, freeways, and highways to be six, or eight, or 10 lanes all the way across is not always feasible, nor is it always wise. In addition to our extensive road system, a more densely populated province will need a mobility system that supports our growing population with a fast, safe, and reliable choice of transportation that also meets our goals of reducing emissions,” she said

“We want to build stronger connections along Alberta’s busiest corridor and to Alberta’s top tourist destination.”

The request for expression of interest released Monday will be followed by a formal request for proposals. Bid requests for specific train lines will come later.

Would an Edmonton-Calgary train work now?

An Edmonton-Calgary high-speed train could be hydrogen-fuelled, hyperloop, magnetic, or other high-speed technologies depending on the proposals the government receives when it comes time to build each line, Dreeshen said.

But past provincial studies ruled out building it.

Dreeshen thinks a new study will have a different result because Alberta’s population is larger now, and growing, and not having enough people to take the train was the biggest issue in the past.

“There is a possibility that they say we don’t have the population to support it, but we think that we do because obviously, we are a growing population,” he said.

Related
Hyperloop secures funding for Edmonton-area test track, seeks provincial approval

High-speed transit proposals offer distinct visions to connect Edmonton and Calgary

“It’s something now that we’ve grown in population, and technologies have changed and improved since then. We’re hoping we will get a different result this time.”

As for who would run these trains, Dreeshen sees the commuter networks around and into the two big cities and their airports as being run by the Crown corporation. It’s more likely the private sector could run the trains between the two largest cities, and from Calgary to Banff. Currently, there is a train connecting Edmonton to Jasper.

However, the study will determine how it rolls out, he said. Dreeshen promised the government will release the results of the study to be transparent with Albertans about how the plan proceeds.

Edmonton Global CEO Malcolm Bruce told Postmedia any plan that helps move people and services efficiently across the province is always good for the economy.

While the city already has public transit to the airport using the LRT network and a shuttle bus, Bruce said his priority for the region would be a direct airport-downtown connector, saying this is “critical” and helps to “drive economic outcomes.”

He’s also glad the province seems agnostic on technologies the trains would use.

Justin Simaluk, president of non-profit advocacy group Rail for Alberta, is optimistic and thinks this plan is different than the past because of the potential for a Crown corporation and interest from this government in making it happen.

“I think Albertans should be looking forward to having more choice in how they move across the province … it benefits everybody,” he said.

“Trains and alternative ways of transportation should be viewed as that: transportation.”

Simaluk would like to see the province run a pilot project sooner using existing rail tracks, such as the route from Airdrie to Calgary.
What about Calgary to Banff?

One project proposed in south Alberta, however, is now in limbo.

Proponents wanting to build the Calgary Airport-Banff Rail project have said the province’s inaction will mean losing out on federal funding from the Canada Infrastructure Bank which is willing to underwrite half of the $2.6-billion construction costs and use of a corridor, according to proponents.

But Dreeshen said finishing the master plan comes first. He’s confident he can facilitate funding through the federal government and won’t lose out if Alberta doesn’t move on that line quickly.

“This is a provincial vision for the province of Albertans. We want to make sure all these different rail lines fit together,” he said.

lboothby@postmedia.com

@laurby

Watchdog calls out 'gaps' in how Canada conducts online intelligence operations

Story by Catharine Tunney • CBC

Canada's electronic spies have overlooked "several gaps" in how they conduct their activities online, according to a new review from one of the country's intelligence watchdogs.

The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) released a report Tuesday following its investigation into how the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) — using relatively new powers bestowed on it in 2019 — runs active and defensive cyber operations.

Defensive operations are meant to stop foreign cyber threats from harming federal government networks or other important Canadian systems, like power grids.

Active operations allow CSE to limit an adversary's ability to affect Canada's international relations, defence or security. As an example of an active operation, the agency cites preventing a foreign terrorist group from communicating or planning attacks by disabling their communication devices.

NSIRA, the watchdog set up to monitor the activities of Canada's national security and intelligence sector, says in its latest report that it wanted to assess whether CSE was appropriately considering its legal obligations and the foreign policy impacts of its operations. It also reviewed Global Affairs Canada's (GAC) role in consenting to operations.

The review body applauded CSE for setting up a comprehensive structure to administer the new powers but concluded that "CSE and GAC have not sufficiently considered several gaps."

Related video: Poll reveals how Canadians feel about artificial intelligence (CityNews)

Duration 6:43  View on Watch

"The gaps observed by NSIRA are those that, if left unaddressed, could carry risks," says the heavily redacted report.

In order to run a cyber operation, CSE needs the minister of defence to issue a ministerial authorization. That requires consultation with, or consent from, the minister of foreign affairs, depending on the nature of the operation.

NSIRA, made up of people with expertise in national security, policy, technology, law, civil liberties and human rights, found CSE's applications don't offer enough detail to give the ministers a sense of the scope of their plans.

"It is important that CSE does not conduct activities that were not envisioned or authorized by either the Minister of National Defence or the Minister of Foreign Affairs," says the report.

Cyberspace law is evolving and needs attention: NSIRA

The review body also questioned how CSE justifies some of its applications.

The report says operations are meant to "align with Canada's foreign policy and respond to national security, foreign, and defence policy priorities as articulated by the government of Canada." But NSIRA said that, as it dug into its review, "it emerged that CSE confirms compliance with these requirements with a statement that the ministerial authorization meets broader government of Canada priorities, with no elaboration of how these priorities are met."

The review body also raised concerns about how CSE and GAC consider Canada's international obligations when approving online operations. The review found the two departments have not come up with a way to assess whether such operations comply with Canada's obligations under international law.


The Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) complex in Ottawa.

 (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)© Provided by cbc.ca

"NSIRA notes that international law in cyberspace is a developing area, and recognizes that Canada and other states are continuing to develop and refine their legal analysis in this field," says the report.

"[Active and defensive] activities conducted without a thorough and documented assessment of an operation's compliance with international law would create significant legal risks for Canada if an operation violates international law."

The intelligence watchdog says it will follow up on some of it concerns as it continues to review CSE's online operations.

\

McGill asks police for help as pro-Palestinian encampment enters 4th day

Story by CBC/Radio-Canada • 

Pro-Palestinian protesters remain on McGill University's lower field after setting up an encampment Saturday.© Rowan Kennedy/CBC

The president of McGill University says officials have called for police assistance after pro-Palestinian protesters refused to dismantle their encampment on the university's downtown Montreal campus.

In a statement sent to McGill staff and students Tuesday, McGill University president Deep Saini said the university is resorting to the police after officials "failed to reach a resolution" with protesters Monday.

"Encampments on campus property are outside of protected parameters, especially when they're presented as indefinite in term, and when many participants are not members of our university community," the statement reads.

Shortly before 4 p.m. Monday, a McGill security staff member gave a "final warning," to demonstrators who have been on the university's lower field since Saturday.

Protesters were told to pack their belongings and that they "have no right to be here" and would have to leave the area. The McGill security employee warned that if they didn't comply, Montreal police would be called.

Saini says the university has been in contact with the police since the onset of the encampment.

"Having to resort to police authority is a gut-wrenching decision for any university president," Saini said. "It is, by no means, a decision that I take lightly or quickly. In the present circumstances, however, I judged it necessary."

Related video: McGill considers 'next steps' as Pro-Palestinian encampment grows (Global News)  Duration 1:56  View on Watch

Lawyer Neil Oberman, who represents McGill students Gabriel Medvedovsky and Raihaana Adira, is set to ask a judge for a provisional injunction against the encampment on Tuesday afternoon.

The injunction request, expected to be filed at the Montreal courthouse at 2 p.m., will target groups currently protesting on campus, according to Oberman. McGill University is named as an interested party in the case.

The plaintiffs are calling for five pro-Palestinian groups to be prevented from taking protest actions within 100 metres of 154 McGill buildings.

In the document, they accuse Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights Concordia, Montreal4Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement and Alliance4Palestine.QC of "wilfully and knowingly" pursuing "hostile activities under the guise of anonymity."

The plaintiffs allege the groups have "created an environment of hate on campus," which they say has made them uncomfortable to attend classes and exams. They also allege they have faced harassment and intimidation from the defendants.

The injunction request has not been filed yet and none of the allegations have been proven in court.

On Tuesday morning, a spokesperson for Montreal police said that "no crime is being committed" at the encampment and the situation is a civil matter. The spokesperson said officers will continue to monitor the demonstration and are ready to enforce a court injunction if it is granted.

Police on motorcycles parked near McGill on Tuesday afternoon, but the protesters appeared unfazed, handing out coffee outside of the encampment.

Germany: Berlin police clear pro-Palestinian protest camp

For two weeks, protesters outside Germany's Chancellery building had been demanding an end to German weapons shipments to Israel. Police said the protesters repeatedly breached restrictions.

Protesters have camped on the grass near the Reichstag building since early April

Image: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa/picture alliance


April 26, 2024

German police on Friday moved to clear a pro-Palestinian protest camp, which had been set up outside the Chancellery building in Berlin since early April.

The camp consisted of around 20 tents housing around 20 people who have been demanding an end to German arms shipments to the Israeli military and what they call the "criminalization" of the Palestinian solidarity movement, while also carrying out other activities such as workshops.

"Germany must end weapons exports and stop enabling the Israeli genocide, the starvation, the blockade, the bombing," protest organizer Jara Nassar told DW. "It all has to end."

Police said protesters had repeatedly breached restrictions, such those protecting green areas, and committed criminal offenses, including incitement to hatred and the use of unconstitutional symbols and forbidden slogans.

"Protection of gatherings cannot be guaranteed at this point because public safety and order are significantly at risk," said police spokesperson Anja Dierschke.

German police clear pro-Palestinian camp in Berlin  04:28

What did protesters say?

"We've been here for two weeks. We've been peaceful but we've been harassed by the police every single day who have given us the most stupid restrictions," said Nassar.

"They've forbidden us from using languages which aren't German or English, they have criminalized our prayers, our songs, our workshops, and now their official reasoning is that we had a sofa which was damaging the grass ... In Germany, damaging the lawn is worse than committing genocide."

Israel has denied accusations that its ongoing military operation in Gaza, which it says is aimed at destroying the Palestinian militant group Hamas, constitutes genocide.

More than 1,200 people were killed in the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel, and more than 200 hostages were abducted, of which more than 130 are thought remain in captivity.

Hamas is designated as a terror organization by Germany, the US and other countries.

Police officers have begun to remove protesters one by one

Image: Paul Zinken/dpa/picture alliance

What did police say?

Police said efforts to clear the camp began peacefully but, when around 150 officers began tearing down tents, further people joined the protesters in solidarity, with around 100 people huddling together and refusing to leave.

Officers began carrying protesters away one by one, but still had not managed to evict them all by early Friday afternoon.

Confronted with accusations of police violence, the spokesperson told DW: "If people do not comply with the request to leave, are not prepared to stand up, do not comply with the requests, then several colleagues will take action and carry the person [away]. This is a coercive measure which is protected by law."

Protest organizer Nassar said: "Free speech and freedom of assembly in Germany doesn't exist for people who show solidarity with Palestine."

US: Columbia extends deadline to end Gaza student protests  02:10

The protests and the clearance of the camp came after similar demonstrations led to clashes with police on US campuses and also in Paris earlier this week.

"We look at what is happening in the US with admiration ... There is no reason to believe we should stop now," said Udi Raz, a Ph.D. student at Berlin's Free University and a member of the Jewish Voice for Peace association, which describes itself as a "progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization."

DW reporter Matthew Moore contributed to this story from Berlin

Australia: PM Albanese says domestic violence is a 'crisis'

Dharvi Vaid
04/29/2024

Thousands have demonstrated in Australia on Sunday against gender-based violence. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described domestic violence as a "national crisis."

Demonstrators take part in a national rally against violence towards women in SydneyImage: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images



Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described domestic violence as a "national crisis" as thousands of people protested across the country over violence against women.

"A national crisis demands a national response," Albanese said on Monday in a statement posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter

 

"That's why I'm bringing together National Cabinet on Wednesday morning to take action on violence against women," he added.

According to reports, 27 women have died in Australia so far this year allegedly due to acts of gender-based violence.

"The fact that ... a woman dies every four days on average at the hand of a partner is just a national crisis," the prime minister told Nine Network television.
Protest for stricter laws

On Sunday, thousands took part in rallies held in various Australian cities, calling for tougher laws on violence against women.

Albanese, his Women's Minister Katy Gallagher and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth were met with a hostile response when they attended a protest in the capital Canberra on Sunday.

Demonstrators yelled at the government leaders, "we want action" and "do your job."

Albanese said there was a need for more focus on perpetrators and prevention of violence.

"We need to change the culture, we need to change attitudes, we need to change the legal system," he said at the rally.

On Monday, the prime minister said the rallies were a call to action for all levels of Australian government to do more to prevent the violence.

"Women in Australia deserve better, governments have to do better and as a society we have to do better," Albanese said on X.

POSTMODERN FEMINISM

Ashley Judd speaks out on the right of women to control their bodies and be free from male violence


Ashley Judd speaks during an event on the White House complex in Washington, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Judd, whose allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein helped spark the #MeToo movement, spoke out Monday, April 29, on the right of women and girls to control their own bodies and be free from male violence. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

BY EDITH M. LEDERER
April 29, 2024

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Actor Ashley Judd, whose allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein helped spark the #MeToo movement, spoke out Monday on the rights of women and girls to control their own bodies and be free from male violence.

A goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Population Fund, she addressed the U.N. General Assembly’s commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the landmark document adopted by 179 countries at its 1994 conference in Cairo, which for the first time recognized that women have the right to control their reproductive and sexual health – and to choose if and when to become pregnant.

Judd called the program of action adopted in Cairo a “glorious, aspirational document” that has been “imprinted into my psyche … (and) has guided my 20 years of traveling the world, drawing needed attention to and uplifting sexual and reproductive health and rights in slums, brothels, refugee and IDP (internally displaced) camps, schools and drop-in centers.”

The Cairo conference changed the focus of the U.N. Population Fund, known as UNFPA, from numerical targets to promoting choices for individual women and men, and supporting economic development and education for girls. Underlying the shift was research showing that educated women have smaller families.

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While Cairo recognized sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights for women, it did not recognize sexual rights. That came a year later at the 1995 U.N. women’s conference in Beijing.

On one of the most contentious issues at the Cairo conference, delegates recognized that unsafe abortion is a fact that governments must deal with as a public health issue to save women’s lives. But it did not condone abortion as a method of family planning or mention legalization, and 30 year later the issue remains contentious.

Judd recalled some of her travels including to Madagascar, where she said she spoke to women being commercially exploited by men. She said they were all forced into that work by the same root cause: “The sexual, reproductive, legal, political, social and cultural inequality of girls and women.”

In Turkey last August, Judd said she met with both Turkish families and refugees living in tents and containers “with one semi-functioning latrine for hundreds of people.”

Many said they were in no emotional, mental or physical condition to bring another baby into the world and Judd expressed gratitude that UNFPA was doing all it could “to provide modern family planning choices to those who want them, in spite of the government removing their availability in the public sector.”

A UNFPA goodwill ambassador since 2016, Judd stressed the importance of women choosing when to have children and “the ability to say no to sex free from retaliation.”

Natalia Kanem, executive director of UNFPA which now calls itself the U.N.’s sexual and reproductive health and rights agency, cited tremendous progress over the last three decades on the Cairo platform at the commemoration.

Maternal mortality declined by a third between 2000 and 2020, the number of women using contraceptives has doubled since 1990, adolescent births have dropped by a third since 2000, and rates of child marriage have decreased globally, she said.

Kanem also pointed to more than 60 countries passing legislation against domestic violence, and punitive laws against LGBTQ+ individuals “falling more quickly than ever.”

“And yet today, progress is slowing,” she said. “Annual reductions in maternal deaths have flattened, inequalities, between and within countries, are widening. And the rights of women, girls and gender diverse people are the subject of increasing pushback.”

U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the crowded General Assembly chamber that the great progress in 30 years “has been masked by those that have been left behind.”

She cited many developing countries whose child mortality rates remain too high and the 164 million women of reproductive age around the world with no access to family planning.

“We must remain vigilant and continue to address situations where sexual and reproductive health and rights are being rolled back,” Mohammed said. “We must respond and push back when women’s rights are being eroded.”

Scientists warn Canada 'way behind the virus' as bird flu explodes among U.S. dairy cattle

Story by Lauren Pelley • CBC

 

The CFIA says it has not detected this form of bird flu yet in dairy cattle — or any other livestock — in Canada. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

While federal officials say there's still no sign of a dangerous form of bird flu in Canadian dairy cows, scientists warn limited surveillance means Canada might not be staying ahead of an explosive H5N1 outbreak among dairy cattle south of the border.

So far, dozens of herds across various U.S. states have been infected with this form of influenza A. While it appears to cause milder infections in cows, H5N1 has also been linked to stunning death rates of 50 per cent or more in other species, including various birds, cats and even humans, though more data and research is needed to fully understand the risks.

"I think we're way behind the virus," warned Matthew Miller, an immunologist and vaccine developer with McMaster University, who's among the Canadians working on H5N1 research.

Without a "robust national surveillance program, there's no way to know if there are infections here or not."

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) told CBC News on Monday it has not detected this form of bird flu yet in dairy cattle — or any other livestock — in Canada. (In birds, however, the disease is already widespreadacrossthe country, impacting an estimated 11 million farmed birds to date.)

The disease is federally reportable in any species, cattle included, the CFIA said. The agency requires dairy producers to monitor for signs of infection, follow biosecurity measures, and contact their local CFIA office if there is a "high degree of suspicion" of the disease.

It appears that cross-country trade is still allowed. Asked whether dairy cattle can currently be transported between the U.S. and Canada, the CFIA said the World Organisation of Animal Health "does not recommend restrictions on the movement of healthy cattle and their products at this time."

As well, following a U.S. federal order last Wednesday requiring H5N1 testing for many dairy cattle moving between states, "Canada will also require testing for [avian flu] on imported lactating dairy cattle from the U.S.," the CFIA said. 

When asked about testing milk samples, the agency said if H5N1 is detected in Canadian cattle, it will help provide testing support.

(The agency was more clear in an earlier statement on social media, saying it is "not currently testing raw or pasteurized milk," adding that the virus isn't a food safety concern.) 

Multiple Canadian scientists, however, stress that widespread testing and surveillance efforts should already be underway rather than set to ramp up after a first detection.

Canada needs 'active surveillance'

Canada should "absolutely be doing active surveillance for H5N1 in cattle," other animals and humans who are in close contact with them, said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases expert with the University Health Network in Toronto, in correspondence with CBC News.

He said those efforts could include a range of approaches such as wastewater surveillance, blood sample studies and nasal swabs.

The goal should be going "all-in on prevention," Miller said, adding "pandemics always have the highest risk of happening when we have a virus in animals that humans are heavily exposed to."

Given H5N1's unprecedented leap into cattle, followed by explosive cow-to-cow spread across the U.S. in mere weeks, the potential for human-to-human transmission seems more likely as the virus adapts to more mammals, he warned. 

"If we see more human infections, cat's out of the bag, it's way too late," Miller said. "We need to be sparing no amount of effort, and no amount of expense, in doing absolutely everything to prevent even those initial infections in humans — because the stakes are just too high."

The U.S. has reported one human infection linked to the cattle outbreaks so far, in an individual whose only symptom was eye inflammation. However, some scientists have warned there are likely more that aren't being detected, amid growing calls for mass testing on farms.

"Since the issue in the [U.S.] seems to be bigger than we thought and was brewing before it was recognized, and since we have a plausible route for exposure here, we should be proactive," said Dr. Scott Weese, a professor at the Ontario Veterinary College and director of the University of Guelph's Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses.

At a minimum, he added, that would involve milk surveillance. It may not be particularly sensitive — the milk supply is diluted because it comes from so many farms, Weese said. 

"But if there are positives, we know we have it and then need to look more aggressively at the farm level."

Despite sick cows being pulled from production lines, U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials said its recent nationwide survey of milk sold on store shelves found viral remnants of H5N1 in one in five samples. (More reassuringly, federal tests suggest pasteurization — a heating process meant to neutralize harmful pathogens — does ensure milk is safe to drink.)  

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) also announced there will be testing of ground beef in states with bird flu outbreaks, and recently warned the virus may be passing back and forth between cattle and poultry farms. 

Outbreak officially spread to 34 herds, 9 states

The first known cattle infected with H5N1 were reported in late March. Since then, at least 34 herds across nine U.S. states have been impacted, and scientists suspect the outbreak is already far bigger than official figures suggest.

Newly released research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also showed profound impacts on farm cats — with a death rate of around 50 per cent among those fed raw milk products from infected cows. 

The study raises "new concerns regarding the potential for virus spread within mammal populations," the team continued.

On Monday, other U.S. researchers shared a preprint — research not yet formally published or peer-reviewed — outlining efforts to monitor influenza A at dozens of wastewater sites this spring.

The team tested samples from three plants where spring rises in influenza A were observed, and found a marker for the H5 gene at all three facilities. Those plants were also located in an unnamed state with confirmed H5N1 outbreaks among dairy cattle, and two of the facilities discharged animal waste and milk byproducts into sewers, the researchers noted.

It all paints a picture of a fast-spreading outbreak that's impacting new species, appearing in new areas, and is likely past the point of containing, several outside scientists agreed.

Funding, support for testing needed

Here in Canada, funding and support for veterinarians and farmers to test needs to be clear, stressed Weese.

"If farmers have to pay for sampling and testing, and don't know what will happen if there's a positive, and have no direct personal gain from it, why would they do it voluntarily?" he questioned. "We need a clear program that supports good testing and supports farms."

Toronto-based infectious diseases specialist Dr. Allison McGeer, from Sinai Health System, said she's "personally hoping we are not going to get caught off guard" here in Canada.

What's reassuring, McGeer added, is that Canada does have robust human testing in place to catch severe flu infections. Typically, she says, Canadian hospitals use combined viral testing — for COVID, influenza and RSV — which can pick up a certain protein that is stable across all strains of influenza A.

If a human infection of avian flu showed up in a hospital, the test would label it along the lines of "influenza A, subtype not detected," she explained. And, if the patient had also been in contact with poultry or wildlife, that combination of factors could trigger extra lab work to pinpoint the specific type of influenza — including H5N1.

But that's only if someone is sick enough to visit a healthcare facility. 

"It's not a perfect system," McGeer acknowledged, "but it's [a sensitive system] for detecting severe disease from H5N1."

Edmonton Federal minister’s ties to lobbyist raise ethical concern

Story by Patti Sonntag and Krista Hessey • 


A lobbyist with business ties to federal cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault met with high-level political staff in six federal departments, including one where Boissonnault was also associate minister, a Global News investigation has found.

The meetings, which took place in 2021 and 2022, helped raise $110 million in federal grants for Edmonton International Airport.

Now serving as employment minister, Boissonnault is the only Liberal cabinet member from Alberta. The Edmonton Centre MP’s riding is one of the party’s two footholds in the province.

After he won the September 2021 election and was named tourism minister and associate finance minister, Boissonault began winding down his small consulting business, Xennex Venture Catalysts, which he ran out of his home.

As is legally required of elected officials, Boissonnault handed over control and the remaining administrative duties to Kirsten Poon, his friend and business associate. Poon had worked as a lobbyist for Xennex.

The company “ceased day-to-day operations,” according to his spokeswoman, Alice Hansen.

“Minister Boissonnault always met all of his conflict of interest and ethics obligations as a public office holder,” Hansen told Global News.

Poon, who had no prior experience with federal lobbying before working for Xennex, transferred the company’s sole registered client, Edmonton Regional Airports Authority, to her own small business, Navis Group.

As Boissonnault assumed his ministerial duties, Poon resumed lobbying.

In legally-mandated public disclosures listing his possible conflicts of interest, Boissonnault posted the legal name for Poon’s consultancy, 2050877 Alberta Ltd.

He did not, however, disclose its trade name, Navis Group.

The connection between the two entities would not be immediately obvious to government officials or the public. To find that Navis Group and the numbered company were one and the same, they would have to conduct a corporate records search and pay $80.

Poon lobbied high-ranking ministry staffers across federal departments, including three meetings with a policy adviser for the Prime Minister’s Office and two meetings with advisers reporting to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Poon’s meetings with Finance Canada took place in March and June 2022, when Boissonnault was attached to the same department as associate minister.

One of the topics in her meetings with Finance Canada was hydrogen fuel development. Within months, Boissonnault and other officials made an announcement at Edmonton International Airport awarding local hydrogen fuel initiatives $9.74 million in federal funds.

While Boissonnault’s office told Global News the minister has followed conflict-of-interest and lobbying rules, experts consulted by Global News expressed concerns about whether Boissonnault had met the high bar of transparency set by these regulations.




Federal minister Randy Boissonnault defends business ties to lobbyist

© Provided by Global News

The Conflict of Interest Act requires ministers to avoid using their offices “to further his or her private interests … or to improperly further another person’s private interests.”

The Open and Accountable Government Code expands on this, stating that “Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries must avoid conflict of interest, the appearance of conflict of interest and situations that have the potential to involve conflicts of interest.”

And the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct, a set of rules arising from the Lobbying Act, warns federal lobbyists to never pitch to officials who “could reasonably be seen to have a sense of obligation towards you.”

Ian Stedman, an assistant professor of Canadian public law and governance at York University, said that Boissonnault did not break any laws.

Nevertheless, he said, “This is an example of an arrangement with a ‘former’ business associate … that I don’t think the public would be comfortable with.”

Alice Hansen, the minister’s spokeswoman, replied to Global News’ questions, “Minister Boissonnault has not been involved with any of Ms. Poon’s lobbying activities since being elected, and all necessary steps have been taken to avoid any conflict of interest.”

For her part, Poon emphasized that her lobbying was independent of Boissonnault.

“Mr. Boissonnault was not involved in any way,” she stated in exchanges with Global News. “I take all applicable laws, rules and ethics very seriously.”

“Government officials at all levels will take meetings with my client because of who they are and their critical role in our country, not because of me or Mr. Boissonnault,” she added.

Delayed payments

Poon and Boissonnault still have business ties, Global News found. Poon is the only director of Boissonnault’s two businesses -- Xennex and a numbered holding company that controls his shares in a PPE supply business. Boissonnault received payments from Xennex into 2023, and the payments from Navis Group continue today, according to his public disclosures.

When asked why Poon’s business is paying Boissonnault, Hansen replied that these are long-delayed payments from Boissonnault’s consulting work in 2020 and 2021. That work “pre-dated the establishment of Navis Group from 2050877 Alberta Ltd., which is why that company was named as such,” she wrote.

Lawyers and researchers with expertise in federal lobbying and conflict of interest legislation told Global News they found these explanations insufficient.

“There is a difference between being compliant with the rules, which may be the case here, and the ethics of the relationship,” explained Robert Shepherd, a professor of public policy and program evaluation at Carleton University.

“Poon is placing departmental officials in the awkward position of at least having to take meetings with her” because of her relationship with Boissonnault, he said.

Freeland’s office and the prime minister’s office did not directly respond to Global News’ questions about whether their staff had known about Boissonnault’s business ties to Poon. Global News does not know whether any department officials whom Poon lobbied were aware of her relationship with Boissonnault.

A spokesman for the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, which is the organization that advises MPs on how to avoid conflicts of interest, indicated that it was not aware that the numbered company operates as Navis Group.

However, “the requirements of the Code are met,” he confirmed, pointing out that the minister was legally required to use the business’s legal name.

The Office of the Lobbying Commissioner told Global News that it could not comment on Poon or Boissonnault’s activities.

But experts caution there is an unaddressed, underlying problem: MPs and advisors starting up lobbying firms when they are out of power.
Lobbying "loophole"

Federal legislation prohibits former MPs and their staff from lobbying federal offices for five years after leaving office, or what’s called a cooling-off period, so that they cannot profit from their information about the government’s activities.

Stedman, however, said there is “a loophole” that allows members of this group to own businesses that hire other consultants to do the lobbying.

Boissonnault served as Edmonton Centre MP from 2015 to 2019. When he lost his seat in the 2019 election, he resurrected Xennex, according to government records.

Xennex had no website and had been dormant for years, but by spring 2020, the first year of Boissonnault’s cooling-off period, it won Edmonton Regional Airports Authority’s contract away from one of Canada’s largest public relations firms.

Xennex then hired Poon, who has been a consultant for the airport since 2018 and sometimes uses the title “director of business development” or “vice president, Asia.” Poon had volunteered on Boissonnault’s 2015 campaign and altogether had donated $4,000.

Boissonnault’s proximity to his firm’s lobbying contract was unusually close, experts noted.

Duff Conacher, founder of the nonprofit Democracy Watch, said with Boissonnault as Xennex’s sole director and voting shareholder, hiring Poon was a “sham facade.”

“Just to have a proxy person lobbying for you, when it’s your firm,” he said, was insufficient distance between Boissonnault and the lobbying contract.

Boissonnault did not lobby, observing the cooling-off period, Hansen explained.

Boissonnault “did not participate in work activities that involved communication with a federal public office holder nor did he arrange meetings with a public office holder on behalf of Xennex or its clients. There is no failure to comply with the Lobbying Act,” she stated.

The airport did, however, hire Boissonnault as a Xennex consultant while he was out of office, Hansen told Global News.

He worked on a project “advising the Edmonton International Airport throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” she stated.

Hansen did not respond to Global News’ request for documentation of Boissonnault’s work with the airport.

With Boissonnault advising and Poon lobbying, Edmonton International Airport received $25 million in pandemic recovery funds in July 2021, one month after he was nominated for his riding and two months before the federal contest.
Back in the driver's seat

After Boissonnault regained his seat in September and the PMO made him tourism minister and associate finance minister, his tight circle of relationships converged.

In his capacity as tourism minister, he worked on Edmonton airport’s new private partnerships involving hydrogen fuel, according to an April 2022 post in which the airport thanked him for “helping to make these agreements a reality.”

Hansen told Global News that the airport was simply thanking Boissonnault as a speaker at a convention where the airport announced the partnerships.

A spokeswoman for the airport later clarified to Global News that the post was in recognition of "the work of both the federal and provincial governments.”

Poon, meanwhile, was both serving as a consultant for the airport, which is owned by the federal government, and lobbying the federal government on its behalf. She helped to bring in two more grants totalling $110 million.

Hansen argued that there was nothing unusual about Poon's successes in obtaining meetings.

"As a major Canadian airport, EIA is a significant Canadian stakeholder that would meet from time to time with federal officials," she wrote. "There are extensive records of EIA getting similar meetings in the years preceding Ms. Poon’s lobbying on their behalf."

When Boissonnault announced the $9.74 million for hydrogen fuel projects, the minister was also receiving payments from Poon’s business Navis / 2050877 Alberta Ltd., according to federal records.

Hansen said these payments were for his work prior to his re-election.

“The Minister still has outstanding income from this completed work,” Hansen explained, adding that payments from the United Nations Development Programme, a former Xennex client, were long delayed.

Hansen pointed out that the federal funds the airport received “were not awarded by any departments reporting to Minister Boissonnault and he had no part in any of the approval processes for those grants.”

In Conacher’s view, while not required to do so, Boissonnault should have made a proactive, public declaration recusing himself from all activities connected with the airport’s lobbying effort when he took office.

“That would have again registered that (Poon) was someone who was associated with him,” he said.

Navis’ federal lobbying registration lapsed in April 2023. The airport has not received any new grants since then.

CENTRALIZING POWER IS NOT LIBERTARIAN

Alberta municipalities say proposed provincial law would create chill effect

“Bill 20 puts local governments up for sale to the highest bidder” 

Story by The Canadian Press • 


EDMONTON — The organization representing Alberta's cities, towns and villages says a bill that would grant the province sweeping new powers over local governments is creating an atmosphere of fear.

Tyler Gandam, president of Alberta Municipalities, said Monday his members are worried about potential repercussions if they disagree openly with the provincial government.

“Alberta Municipalities is concerned that the bill will intimidate and even silence legally-elected officials who dare to criticize the provincial government,” Gandam told reporters, adding the bill sets a dangerous precedent that could undermine the power of local voters.

The proposed law, introduced last week by Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party government, would give cabinet broad authority to dismiss councillors and overturn local bylaws.

Cabinet conversations are confidential and conventionally exempt from public disclosure. That means under the law, the public may not be privy to why a councillor is dismissed.

“The possibility of locally elected officials being removed at any time for any reason is deeply unsettling and likely to have a chilling effect," Gandam said.

Earlier Monday, Smith said the aim of the proposed legislation is to ensure municipalities are not enacting policies that are out of step with provincial priorities or creep into provincial jurisdiction.

Related video: Municipal governments face threat as Alberta asserts power over them in Bill 20 (Global News)   Duration 2:20   View on Watch

Related video: Concerns over proposed Alberta bill that would give province powers over municipalities (cbc.ca)  Duration 1:59  View on Watch


“We would use it very sparingly,” said Smith at an unrelated news conference in Calgary.

The bill would also allow political parties to run in municipal elections — for now in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta's two largest cities.

If passed, the law would also open the door to corporations and unions being able to donate in municipal elections, which was banned by the previous New Democrat government under former premier Rachel Notley.

Smith said the aim is balance, and existing rules on third-party advertisers have so far failed to bring proper oversight or discourage "big money" in local elections.

Still, Gandam said the bill proposes “almost nothing” to improve transparency over financial donations, and independent candidates risk being outspent and drowned out by party candidates who enjoy the financial backing of corporations and unions.

“Bill 20 puts local governments up for sale to the highest bidder,” said Gandam.

The bill came more than two weeks after Smith's government introduced other legislation that would give it the power to veto any deal between the federal government and provincial entities, including municipalities and post-secondary schools.

The Opposition NDP called Monday for the UCP to withdraw the municipal affairs bill from the legislature, echoing reaction last week from elected officials in Edmonton and Calgary, who called it an authoritarian overreach on local democracy.

NDP house leader Christina Gray said it would upend long-standing political norms.

"When people want change in municipal bylaws, do they — instead of talking to their city councillor — now go straight to Danielle Smith?"

Gray also disputed Smith's claim that corporate and union donations are currently flying under the radar.

“We're going to see a flood of money from corporations influencing our elections rather than what Albertans have asked for, which is to have the local voters be the ones who elect their governments," said Gray.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2024.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press

More Indigenous content among changes to Alberta's draft K-6 social studies curriculum

CBC
Fri, April 26, 2024 

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides says the latest curriculum revision 'moves the needle' on expert concerns about content. (Craig Ryan/CBC - image credit)

The latest draft of Alberta's elementary school social studies curriculum is out, with revisions that integrate more Indigenous perspectives and a focus on critical thinking.

The third iteration of kindergarten to Grade 6 social studies content comes after the province took the curriculum back to the drawing board in the wake of backlash over a 2021 draft, with critics saying it was age-inappropriate and culturally exclusive.

The government subsequently did a new round of consultations with the public, teachers, community leaders and curriculum experts to come up with a new plan.

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said Friday that the government listened to feedback that there was too much focus on memorization, and some content was being introduced too early. The new draft curriculum now introduces taxes in Grade 5 instead of Grade 2,   WTF 

and the amount of content in Grade 4 social studies has been reduced.

WAIT, WHAT?!

"I think our approach has been to take politics out of the classroom and give students a deep understanding of history, to understand an evolving and complex world, and give students the skills that they need to be successful," Nicolaides said.

An overview of the new draft says citizenship is an ongoing theme, with more exploration of diverse communities. First Nations, Métis and Inuit histories and contributions are addressed more consistently, according to the government, and additional content about discrimination and racism has been added for grades 3 and 6.

School authorities will have the option to begin piloting the new social studies curriculum this fall, but classroom pilots aren't mandatory.

After the previous social studies draft curriculum came out in 2021, most school authorities refused to pilot test draft versions while they were optional.

Details of the latest draft

When the draft subject overview for the revised social studies curriculum came out last month, some curriculum experts who participated in the latest round of consultations said their concerns and feedback have still been left unaddressed.

Nicolaides said despite that, he thinks the latest curriculum revision "moves the needle" for elementary school social studies.

"Some of their concerns related to content in junior high and high school. So obviously, we haven't developed that content, Nicolaides said. "I'm sure we'll be able to address that."

In the draft curriculum, kindergarten students start learning about the general concepts of community and belonging. More specific information about traditions, cultures and symbols starts in Grade 1.

Grade 2 students start learning about "the diversity of people and places" in Canada, including Indigenous communities, and are introduced to the concept of distinguishing between fact and opinion.

Lessons about provincial and municipal governments, as well as the five numbered treaties in Alberta, begin in Grade 3. The draft also has students cover specifics about the distinct languages and cultural practices of First Nations communities.

There's no mention of residential schools in the K-6 draft social studies curriculum. In its 2015 Calls to Action, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, treaties and Indigenous contributions be taught starting in kindergarten.

Grade 4 includes details about European colonization of North America and an understanding of the establishment of Canada. And in grades 5 and 6, students learn more about ancient civilizations and the principles of government and democracy.