#IWD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There will be increased political scrutiny.

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

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

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

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

© Provided by Edmonton Journal

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

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

(LIBEL HAS A SEVEN YEAR LIMIT FOR TRIAL) 

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

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

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

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

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

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

A file photo of Farhan Chak, when he was 

a Liberal candidate in Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BOILER PLATE DEFENSE

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

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

The trial is scheduled to run four days.

EZRA HAS BEEN TRIED 

BEFORE FOR LIBEL

IT DID NOT GO SO WELL

REST IN POWER 

OUTSPOKEN ECOLOGIST

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

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

© Provided by The Canadian Press

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"He was crazy about dogs."

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

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

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

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

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

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

CANADA

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

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

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

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© Provided by The Canadian Press

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"We could not have done this without them."

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

Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press

RIGHT WING PRESS REPORT 

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

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

© Provided by Washington Examiner

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

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

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

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

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

Original Author: Kerry Picket

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. 

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

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

© istock EPA investigates toxic 'forever chemicals' in pesticides

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

KING CHARLES BOUTIQUE HOTEL

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

Issued on: 08/03/2021 - 

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

Prague (AFP)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

© 2021 AFP

BC 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CARBON CAPTURE TO FRACK OLD WELLS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BYE BYE, BOLSONARO 

Top Brazil judge annuls Lula convictions, opening door to 2022 run

Issued on: 08/03/2021 - 

Former president of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gestures after voting at a polling station during the municipal elections in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, November 15, 2020. © Amanda Perobelli, REUTERS

Text by FRANCE 24

A Supreme Court judge on Monday annulled the criminal convictions against Brazil's former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, restoring his political rights ahead of next year's presidential election.

The decision scrambles forecasts for the 2022 race, potentially paving the way for a showdown between President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right populist, and Lula, easily his most formidable opponent on the left.

Lula, as he is known throughout Brazil, governed Latin America's largest economy between 2003 and 2011. He was convicted over graft allegations in 2018 and released in late 2019.

In a surprise decision, Justice Edson Fachin ruled on Monday that a court in the southern city of Curitiba did not have the authority to try Lula on corruption charges and that he must be retried in federal courts in the capital, Brasilia.

The decision means Lula would be eligible to run for president next year should he wish to challenge Bolsonaro, said the local newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.

Hailing the ruling in a Twitter post, Lula said it was "recognition that we have always been correct throughout our legal battle".


The office of Brazil's prosecutor general said it will appeal the decision, which will also be reviewed by the full Supreme Court.

Polarising figure

Lula's graft conviction in 2018 blocked him from running in the elections that year. He was then released from prison in late 2019, but could not run for office due to his criminal record.

The 75-year-old has maintained his innocence and said the case against him was politically motivated.

The charismatic former union leader is a polarising figure but still popular with many of the country's poor, who credit him for bringing millions out of poverty.

Lula is the only one of 10 potential 2022 candidates who outperformed Bolsonaro in a survey by polling company Ipec, published in newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo last week.

It found that 50 percent of the 2,002 people it interviewed "would certainly" or "could" vote for Lula, compared with 38 percent for Bolsonaro.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

Brazil judge overturns ex-leader Lula's convictions

Issued on: 08/03/2021 - 

Brasília (AFP)

A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Monday overturned the graft convictions against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, clearing the way for the left-wing leader to run in the 2022 presidential election.

Justice Edson Fachin overturned both convictions against the popular-but-tarnished ex-president (2003-2010) stemming from a probe into a massive corruption scheme centered on Brazilian state oil company Petrobras.

Fachin ruled the court in the southeastern city of Curitiba that convicted Lula "lacked jurisdiction," and sent four related cases against him -- two of which were still pending judgment -- to a federal court in the capital, Brasilia.

Lula, 75, regains the right to run for office unless the convictions are reinstated.

The prosecutor general's office said it would appeal.

"This is recognition that we were right throughout this long legal battle," Lula's lawyers said in a statement.

They called the decision vindication of their arguments: "ex-president Lula's innocence, the invalidity of the cases and the 'lawfare' that was waged against him."

The cases stem from Operation Car Wash, a sprawling anti-corruption investigation that brought down a Who's Who of powerful politicians and business executives in Brazil, jailed for using inflated construction contracts to systematically fleece Petrobras for billions of dollars.

Lula, who spent more than 18 months in prison before being freed in 2019 pending appeal, was the most powerful figure felled.

Prosecutors accused him of using the corruption scheme to take bribes, remodel a triplex beach apartment and channel illegal funds to his foundation.

His image was badly tarnished by the convictions, which resulted in jail sentences totaling 26 years.

Still, an Ipec opinion poll published Sunday gave Lula more potential votes in the October 2022 presidential elections than President Jair Bolsonaro -- the only politician to outperform the incumbent.

- 'The show's just starting' -

Lula claims he is innocent, and that the cases against him were fabricated to take him out of the running for Brazil's 2018 presidential race.

That election was ultimately won by far-right Bolsonaro, who capitalized on massive backlash against Lula's Workers' Party (PT).

Lula supporters have long cried foul.

They point to the fact that the lead judge in the Car Wash probe, Sergio Moro, went on to accept the post of justice minister under Bolsonaro, and that hacked phone messages show he conspired with prosecutors to ensure Lula was sidelined.

Social media in Brazil erupted with pictures of Lula donning a pair of red sunglasses or tearing into a punching bag with boxing gloves on.

"The 2022 election started today," opinion columnist Thomas Traumann wrote on Twitter.

"If you thought Brazil was politically polarized before, take a seat, because the show's just getting started."

Lula remains a hero on the left, and many Brazilians fondly recall the economic boom he presided over, as well as social programs that helped lift millions of people from poverty.

"Lula innocent," his party proclaimed on Twitter.

But his vindication is far from complete. The former metal worker-turned-president still faces several other corruption and influence-peddling cases, aside from the Operation Car Wash charges.

And he remains highly controversial -- so much so that the Sao Paulo stock exchange plunged by 2.5 percentage points after news of the court decision broke.

The former president's press office said he had no immediate comment on the ruling.

Neanderthals disappeared from Europe earlier than thought, says study

The remains of the upper and lower jaw of a Neanderthal from the Spy Cave in Belgium Patrick SEMAL RBINS/AFP

Issued on: 08/03/2021 -

Washington (AFP)

Neanderthal fossils from a cave in Belgium believed to belong to the last survivors of their species ever discovered in Europe are thousands of years older than once thought, a new study said Monday.

Previous radiocarbon dating of the remains from the Spy Cave yielded ages as recent as approximately 24,000 years ago, but the new testing pushes the clock back to between 44,200 to 40,600 years ago.

The research appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and was carried out by a team from Belgium, Britain and Germany.

Co-lead author Thibaut Deviese from the University of Oxford and Aix-Marseille University told AFP he and colleagues had developed a more robust method to prepare samples, which was better able to exclude contaminants.

Having a firm idea of when our closest human relatives disappeared is considered a key first step toward understanding more about their nature and capabilities, as well as why they eventually went extinct while our own ancestors prospered.

The new method still relies on radiocarbon dating, long considered the gold standard of archeological dating, but refines the way specimens are collected.

All living things absorb carbon from the atmosphere and their food, including the radioactive form carbon-14, which decays over time.

Since plants and animals stop absorbing carbon-14 when they die, the amount that remains when they are dated tells us how long ago they lived.

When it comes to bones, scientists extract the part made up of collagen because it is organic.

"What we have done is to go one step further," said Deviese, since contamination from the burial environment or through glues used for museum work can spoil the sample.

Instead, the team looked for the building blocks of collagen, molecules called amino acids, and in particular selected specific single amino acids they could be sure were part of the collagen.

- 'Reliable framework' -

The authors also dated Neanderthal specimens from two additional Belgian sites, Fonds-de-Foret and Engis, finding comparable ages.

"Dating all these Belgian specimens was very exciting as they played a major role in the understanding and the definition of Neanderthals," said co-lead author Gregory Abrams, of the Scladina Cave Archaeological Centre in Belgium.

"Almost two centuries after the discovery of the Neanderthal child of Engis, we were able to provide a reliable age."

Genetic sequencing was meanwhile able to show that a Neanderthal shoulder bone previously dated at 28,000 years ago was heavily contaminated with bovine DNA, suggesting the bone had been preserved with a glue made from cattle bones.

"Dating is crucial in archaeology. Without a reliable framework of chronology we can't really be confident in understanding the relationships between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens," added co-author Tom Higham of the University of Oxford.

Certain stone tool use has been attributed to Neanderthals and has been interpreted as a sign of their cognitive evolution, said Deviese.

But if the timeline for Neanderthals' existence is being pushed back, Deviese added, then Paleolithic industries should be re-examined to determine if they really were the work of the extinct hominid species.

© 2021 AFP

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ISS: Astronaut Cristoforetti readies to return 'home'

In 2022, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will fly to the International Space Station for a second time. She calls it her "home away from home," but many things there have changed since her first visit.

    

Samantha Cristoforetti is looking forward to more coffee breaks at the ISS next year

ESPRESSO IN SPACE

"It is a great pleasure for me to announce Samantha's coming space mission," said Josef Aschbacher, the new director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), as he opened a press conference on March 3.

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is scheduled to go back to the International Space Station (ISS) for her second stay in the spring of 2022, following her two colleagues Thomas Pesquet and Matthias Maurer, who will set off for the ISS in April and October 2021 respectively.

Cristoforetti herself is delighted. "Not surprisingly, it was a feeling of extreme joy and gratefulness for this opportunity. As I've mentioned before, I had the amazing opportunity the past few years to grow as an astronaut. But we have this tendency of wanting to go back to space as soon as possible," she admitted.

Freshly brewed ISSpresso

For Cristoforetti, it will be a return to her "home away from home," as she likes to call the ISS. The Italian astronaut has indeed already spent a remarkable amount of time in orbit. From fall 2014 to spring 2015, she was at the station for 200 days working as flight engineer for the mission Futura, the second-longest period spent in space by an ESA astronaut. Her colleague and astronaut classmate Luca Parmitano is the only one to have topped that record — by just a single day.

The world record for the longest single spaceflight is held the Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov with 437 days. But his compatriot Gennady Padalka has spent more time in space overall than anyone else, totting up a record total of 878 days when all his five missions are combined. 

During her first stay at the ISS, Cristoforetti conducted many experiments, most of them related to biology and genetics. In one of them, she looked at how mammalian immune cells reacted to different levels of microgravity. The data drawn from this experiment showed that it takes only a few seconds for these cells to adapt to weightlessness.

But one experiment in particular caught people's attention during her stay: she was able to come up with the first freshly brewed espresso on the ISS.

Commercial support

This time round, many things will have changed. "The positive side of having waited all these years is that the mission will have some different aspects to it. So it's kind of exciting to fly a new spaceship," said Cristoforetti, referring to the new commercial spacecraft from the US that will replace the Russian Soyuz spacecraft for the three next ESA missions to the ISS.

It still has to be decided which spacecraft will take Cristoforetti: Space-X's Dragon or Boeing's Starliner. The exact date for her flight has also not been confirmed yet.

Recently refurbished

"The space station has been undergoing this midlife upgrade for some time. New hardware up there, new operations, a lot more interesting experiments," said Cristoforetti. One thing she is particularly looking forward to is a new piece of equipment already waiting on board the ISS to go into operation in the space laboratory Columbus: a 3D printer to print metal in space.

ESA's astronaut class from 2009: Cristoforetti and her colleague Pesquet

 (on her right) will fly to the ISS in 2022 and 2021

And the ISS has its own space balcony now: Bartolomeo, a platform newly installed outside the Columbus module that will allow private companies to carry out experiments under space conditions.

Feet on the ground, eyes on the stars

Although Cristoforetti has spent the past few years back with her feet on solid ground, her gaze has been set on goals even further away than the ISS, as preparations rev up to put people on the moon once more.

"It's been exciting years since I came back. I am very grateful actually that I had the chance of growing professionally and to give something back from my experience as an astronaut," she said. For example, she has headed ESA's Spaceship EAC initiative, where she has mentored students tackling the technological challenges involved in moon missions. The plan is for such missions to be launched not from Earth, but from the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, a space station orbiting the moon projected to be built within the next nine years. 

As an experienced astronaut, Cristoforetti knows exactly what a person needs to feel at home in space. For this reason, she was selected to be the crew representative for the future residents of this lunar station. 

"I was able to give my contribution from the perspective of an astronaut. And I am especially excited about that because Italy is leading the designing and manufacturing of these modules for ESA," she said, referring to the I-Hab modules that will be the main living quarters for future astronauts at the Gateway.

This artist's impression shows the planned I-Hab module 

for astronauts working at the Lunar Gateway

Over the moon

Who these astronauts may be has been a mystery since 2009, when the last official class of astronauts, to which Cristoforetti belonged, was chosen by ESA. But that is about to change: From March 2021 until April 2021, ESA is once again taking applications from aspiring astronauts.

"Samantha and her colleagues are highly qualified and very young and there is no intention to not have them in space anymore," said ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher. "But, of course, we need to renew our astronaut class and eventually send astronauts beyond the ISS toward the moon. And eventually, in the next decade, even further, to Mars." There are three places already reserved for European astronauts to fly to the Lunar Gateway within this decade.

For now, Cristoforetti is returning to the ISS, where she will most likely stay for the usual six-month stint. Does she have any more premieres in mind on the lines of that first espresso in space? "I don't know, I have a few ideas. But that would be a little bit early to give it away," she said.

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Women's Day draws thousands in Barcelona, Madrid demos banned

Spain has a thriving feminist movement 

Barcelona (AFP)

Several thousand demonstrators massed in Barcelona on Monday for a socially-distanced International Women's Day march after a day of national rallies except in Madrid, where gatherings were banned over the virus.

Wearing purple masks and brandishing placards with purple slogans reading "No means no" and "The real pandemic is machismo", thousands of women packed the Barcelona's Paseo de Gracia boulevard, many chanting "Long live the feminist struggle", an AFP correspondent said.

"The pandemic has made the differences clearer. Who's been left to look after everyone at home? Who's had problems going back to work?" asked Alys Samson, 29.


"It's time for us to make our voices heard in the face of the far-right violence, we have to find ways to stand up for ourselves and end the machismo and racism that's growing everywhere."

Other purple rallies also took place in the southern city of Seville, in the eastern coastal city of Valencia and dozens of other towns and cities.

Despite the ban on demonstrations in Madrid, more than 100 people gathered in the city's central Puerta del Sol square.

The rally took place peacefully without any intervention from the police, an AFP correspondent said.

Madrid still has one of the country's highest rates of Covid-19 infections and last week, the Spanish government imposed a ban on all such gatherings in the capital for International Women's Day.

Last year over 100,000 people hit the streets of Madrid, including three ministers who subsequently tested positive for Covid-19, just days before the government imposed one of Europe's strictest lockdowns as infections and deaths soared.

The move sparked sharp criticism from the rightwing opposition, which blamed the leftwing government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for allowing the huge march to go ahead.

Speaking at an official event to mark the day, Sanchez said "much work remains to be done" to advance women's rights.

"If there is one thing we cannot give up, breaking down the prejudices that still persist, it is the feminist struggle, because everything is at stake -- progress, decency as a country and economic growth," the premier said.

"The agenda for change that our country needs is the feminist agenda, with people's lives at the centre, public services and the fight against all forms of male violence."

Spain has a thriving feminist movement which in 2018 saw five million people taking part in a nationwide strike on International Women's Day to call attention to gender disparities.

But the movement has faced a backlash this year, with several street murals celebrating prominent women vandalised over the weekend in Madrid and elsewhere.

© 2021 AFP

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Algerian women hit the streets demanding equal rights



Algerian women chant slogans during a protest in the capital Algiers against a family code they say restricts their rights 

RYAD KRAMDI AFP

08/03/2021 - 

Algiers (AFP)

Hundreds of women marched Monday in the Algerian capital to protest against a family code many consider demeaning, as they marked International Women's Day in the conservative country.

The family code is the general law that governs family and property relations in Algeria.

Adopted in 1984 and revised in 2005, it is inspired from Islamic sharia law and seen by many rights groups as anti-constitutional, because it does not respect equality between citizens.

Women held up banners calling on authorities to abrogate the "infamous" code and other signs saying they were marching "for change", AFP reporters said.

Feminists say that under the code women's rights are limited and they are subject to rules set out by men, rendering women "minors for life", despite the modifications made in 2005.

The marchers also denounced violence against murder including femicide in Algeria, where according to campaigners 75 such killings took place in 2019, and more than 40 last year.

The protesters also slammed a controversial draft law that calls for stripping Algerians of their citizenship if they carry out activities abroad that could undermine the "interests of the nation".

Chanting "women are committed" and "equality between men and women", the protesters marched toward the central post office, an emblematic rallying point for the pro-democracy "Hirak" movement.

At the end of the peaceful protest some demonstrators were jostled by policemen who sought to push them out of the city centre, witnesses said.

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International women's day: Why are women-led nations doing better with Covid-19?

Whether it has been New Zealand under Jacinda Ardern or Taiwan under the presidency of Tsai Ing-Wen or Germany under Angela Merkel, female-led countries have been held up as examples of how to manage a pandemic. FRANCE 24's Annette Young tells us more.

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VODKA AND THE FIST

Ukrainian women march against domestic abuse

 

The march took place with a heavy police presence

ARMED MEN IN ARMOUR 

Issued on: 08/03/2021 -
Kiev (AFP)

Nearly 2,000 people marked International Women's Day in Kiev Monday with a march demanding that Ukraine ratify the Istanbul Convention against domestic abuse.

The demonstrators, mainly women, carried signs that read "No to domestic violence" and "I am allergic to patriarchy".

Ukraine signed the Istanbul Convention in 2011 but has yet to ratify it. The document is aimed at fighting the abuse of women, in particular domestic violence.

But religious groups in Ukraine have criticised attempts to introduce the notion of gender in national legislation, saying it threatens traditional family values.

The rally was protected by a large police presence and officers arrested two men who tried to attack the march. Several dozen far-right activists meanwhile staged a demonstration of their own nearby.

Ukrainian laws designed to protect victims of domestic violence have many loopholes and are rarely enforced. Suspects are more often than not acquitted, say campaigners.

Organisers of the march also sought to call attention to the heavy impact of Covid-19 on women, who represent a majority among Ukrainian health care providers, teachers and social workers.

Two-thirds of women in Ukraine say they have suffered physical, psychological or sexual abuse since the age of 15, according to a 2019 study by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).