An Anchorage man spent more than a decade planning and building a micro-hydropower project in his backyard. Now, it can power more than 300 homes.

By Alex DeMarban
Updated: 1 day agoPublished: 1 day ago

Hydrologist David Brailey sits above a spillway that collects water from an unnamed creek, locally known as Juniper Creek, at the Juniper Creek hydro project on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021 in Eagle River. The 300kW run-of-river hydro project near Ram Valley came online at the end of July. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

An Anchorage hydrologist recently flipped the switch on a state-of-the-art hydroelectric system that he built on his mountainous property near Ram Valley, above Eagle River.

The Juniper Creek Hydroelectric Project began delivering power to homes in the area on July 24, through a connection with the Matanuska Electric Association.

Dave Brailey began dreaming up the $1.7 million project more than a decade ago. His wife, Melanie Janigo, and another couple are part-owners in the project and the land it sits on.

Brailey did the planning and most of the physical work, with occasional help from family and friends. He hired a civil engineer to oversee the project, and other experts for specialized work. He paid a helicopter company to fly in materials like large sections of pipe.

The 300-kilowatt project lies in a brushy gorge below Raina Peak, close to 2,000 feet above sea level

.

Part of the flow from a spring-fed stream, left, is diverted into a spillway, right, before flowing through an 18" pipe to a generator shack at the Juniper Creek hydro project on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021 in Eagle River. All of the water returns to Falling Water Creek after it leaves the generator shack. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

A spillway diverts some of the water from the creek. An 18-inch pipe collects the water and drops it nearly a quarter mile, mostly underground, to a computer-run powerhouse that feeds electricity into power lines.

A spring that gushes from the mountainside also contributes relatively warm water, keeping the project flowing year-round. A steep, zig-zagging construction trail connects the structures.

At its peak in summer, Juniper Creek Hydroelectric will provide power for more than 300 homes, Brailey said. At its low point in May, it will power about 50 homes.

[New Anchorage place name markers highlight the city’s Dena’ina tribal roots]

“I’ve always thought we need to do something about carbon emissions, and this sort of became my purpose in life, to make something for my children and for humanity going forward,” said Brailey, 60.

He said the project will pay for itself in about 15 years and produce electricity for generations.
A layman who learned

Brailey said he’s a layman when it comes to renewable power projects.

But he’s worked as a hydrologist in Anchorage for 35 years, including as a self-employed consultant most of that time.

A status screen shows the generator producing 302kW, at the Juniper Creek hydro project on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021 in Eagle River. The 300kW run-of-river hydro project near Ram Valley came online at the end of July. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

In 2005, he and his wife bought the 160-acre former homestead property, along with their friends, Stephen and Ilysa Parker.

They wanted it for its access to backcountry skiing and hiking.

But Brailey spent several years studying the hydropower prospects on the land, and penciling out other details that led to the project.

Brailey received 14 permits from Anchorage, state and federal authorities, and construction began in 2018.

At times, he spent long periods at a cabin on the land, away from home, Janigo said.

“I’m the hydro-widow,” Janigo said, laughing.

“I lost my husband for several years” to the project, she said.

Juniper Creek Hydroelectric never won grants from state and federal agencies, though Brailey applied, he said. He called that “disappointing.”

The couples often spent money from their retirement accounts, he said.

“We just kept paying bills as we went,” he said.
A welcome effort

The Juniper Creek system provides a tiny fraction of the power used by Matanuska Electric Association, said Ed Jenkin, chief operations officer for the utility.


But it’s unique, in part because because one person had the vision and drive to make it happen, rather than say, an engineering firm or a group of engineers, he said.

[4th Avenue construction an early step in effort to improve downtown Anchorage infrastructure]

The cooperative utility, with more than 50,000 members, has connected two other similar hydropower projects onto its grid, utility officials said. This is the first in several years.

Water flowing from uphill enters the generator shack at right and is split, with each half directing the water to a different part of the turbine, far left, which drives the generator to produce electricity, at the Juniper Creek hydro project on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021 in Eagle River. The 300kW run-of-river hydro project near Ram Valley came online at the end of July. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

More people are taking steps to generate their own renewable power, they said. Some sell power to the utility, including some homeowners with rooftop solar panels. Other projects like Brailey’s are much bigger, such as Alaska’s largest solar panel project in Willow, they said.

“We are really open to having new and innovative kinds of power on our system,” said Julie Estey, a spokeswoman with the utility. “We are pretty agnostic to what the technology is, we just want it to be reliable and cost-effective for our members.”

Wind and solar power projects can produce power that’s more intermittent, affected by changes in wind or clouds. But the Juniper Creek system will deliver a predictable supply of energy, Jenkin said.

It won’t affect prices paid by utility customers, he said.

“In general, it’s a pretty welcome project,” Jenkin said.

Fish-safe power

Juniper Creek Hydroelectric is a run-of-river system. It essentially borrows some of the water from the creek before returning it, without impacting downstream fish resources like a dam would, Brailey said.

“The water is with us for two minutes, then it goes back into the creek,” he said.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game decided a permit to protect fish habitat wasn’t needed, he said.

“Because there are no fish present, they determined it was not required,” Brailey said.

Hydrologist David Brailey looks at a spring-fed stream that flows into the Juniper Creek hydro project on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021 in Eagle River. The 300kW run-of-river hydro project near Ram Valley came online at the end of July. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

David Schade, director of the state Division of Agriculture, said he lives along Falling Water Creek in Eagle River. The creek gets some of its water from Juniper Creek.

He said the project hasn’t affected the creek along his property at all.

Schade was president of the Eagle River Community Council when the project came before the council about three years ago. Some residents initially opposed it, he said. But resistance subsided as people realized it wouldn’t have downstream effects and would be inconspicuously tucked into a gorge, he said.

“They designed it in an economic, ecofriendly (way),” Schade said.

During a tour of the project for a reporter on Friday, Brailey said he was careful to protect Juniper and Falling Water creeks.

“Some people didn’t like it because I would take away the stream,” he said. “But the stream is still here.”

“I took a lot of pains in the project to save stuff like that,” he said, gesturing to a waterfall.

He said a solar-powered radio communications system allows the power to be shut off remotely if there’s an emergency or other need.

The Juniper Creek hydro project, photographed on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021 in Eagle River. The 300kW run-of-river hydro project just below Ram Valley came online at the end of July. At the top of the project is a spillway, which collects the water and directs it into an 18" pipe, which then travels over 300 feet down to a generator shack where it produces electricity. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Brailey said there appear to be several other opportunities for similar small-scale hydropower projects in the municipality, many of them between Eagle River and Girdwood, based on hydrology reports and his own research.

“It’s worth further investigation,” he said.

Part-owner Stephen Parker, a retired emergency room doctor, said he was skeptical of the project early on. But he never doubted his friend would complete it.

It’s an “incredible achievement,” Parker said.

“He had the trained eye and experience to see the potential, and the stamina, willpower and determination to see it come to fruition,” he said.

The Upside
Alex DeMarban is a longtime Alaska journalist who covers business, the oil and gas industries and general assignments. 

AUSTRALIAN MINERS IN CANADA

Canadian nickel miner still wants BHP takeover, shunning Forrest

BNN/BLOOMBERG
Aug 20, 2021

A small Canadian nickel miner reiterated support for takeover by BHP Group after its largest shareholder, Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest, tried snubbing the deal.

Noront Resources Ltd. said Friday in a statement that its board continues to recommend that shareholders accept BHP’s cash offer that values the company at CUS$325 million (US$254 million), a day after Forrest’s Wyloo Metals Pty Ltd. said it wouldn’t sell its shares to the world’s largest miner. Wyloo Metals, which owns about 25 per cent of Noront and holds a convertible loan that could lift its control to 37 per cent, said it would consider making a superior offer.

The wrangle over the Toronto-based minerals explorer highlights a race among mining heavyweights to control supplies of raw materials that are key to a clean energy future. Noront has been developing one of Canada’s largest potential mineral reserves, in a largely untapped northern Ontario region dubbed the Ring of Fire. The high-grade nickel deposit also has chromite, copper and zinc. Nickel is one of the key metals used in batteries for electric vehicles.

Noront, whose main asset is the Eagle’s Nest nickel-and-copper deposit in the Ontario region, said success of BHP’s offer doesn’t require Wyloo’s support, according to the statement. Noront shares fell 4.8 per cent to 50 Canadian cents at 10:56 a.m. trading in Toronto, below BHP’s 55-cent-a-share offer made July 27.

Noront still sides with BHP's deal to acquire Ring of Fire deposits

Mine developer calls Wyloo statements "misleading" to shareholders, BHP offer provides better value

a day ago By: Northern Ontario Business Staff

Noront Resources' Esker Camp in the James Bay lowlands

Ring of Fire mine developer Noront Resources remains firm on favouring a $325-million deal by international miner BHP to buy their nickel, copper, palladium assets in the Far North.

Noront, the subject of an inside takeover attempt by its largest shareholder, Wyloo Metals, fired back at the Australian mining company for several "misleading statements" made this week stemming from a new bid by BHP to acquire them.

In late July, BHP Lonsdale, made an offer to acquire Noront for $325 million, at $0.55 cents a share, beating out Wyloo's announced offer from May of $133 million, at $0.315 per share.

Noront claims Wyloo hasn't made a formal offer to acquire them, only announced an intention to do so.

Wyloo is Noront's biggest shareholder at 24 per cent and said it intends to increase that to 37 per cent shortly by converting a loan into common shares of Noront.

BHP, through a subsidiary company, owns 3.7 per cent of Noront.

In an Aug. 20 news release, Noront reiterated an earlier recommendation by its board of directors that Noront shareholders to accept the BHP offer, deeming it "fair, from a financial point of view" and to "tender their Noront shares as soon as possible."

Noront's highly-prized claims in the remote James Bay region includes the high-grade Eagle’s Nest nickel, copper, platinum and palladium deposit and a string of high-grade chromite deposits in the Far North mineral belt called the Ring of Fire, 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.

This week, Wyloo made the claim that that Noront has denied them access to due diligence information in order to made a better offer to shareholders than BHP's.

Noront responded that on transactions of this nature, it's customary for interested parties to enter into a confidentiality agreement before Noront provides any due diligence information. 

BHP has agreed to this, Noront said, but Wyloo "declined to do so."

Contrary to Wyloo's assertions, Noront further said Wyloo's support is "not required" for this transaction for BHP's offer "to be successful."

"The minimum tender condition for the offer is that more than 50 per cent of the shares not owned by BHP be tendered to the (BHP) offer, and this condition can be satisfied regardless of whether Wyloo tenders its Noront shares to the offer."

Wyloo Metals not a huge fan of BHP muscling its way into the Ring of Fire

Australian mining investor insists it's not giving up its grip to mineral riches in the Far North

2 d By: Northern Ontario Business Staff

Noront Resource's exploration camp in the Ring of Fire (Noront photo)

An Australian slug fest appears to be shaping up in a contest to acquire Noront Resources and some of the choice, almost mining-ready, nickel and chromite deposits in the Ring of Fire.

Wyloo Metals said in an Aug. 19 news release it's not backing down from a rival bid by BHP to acquire Toronto-based junior miner Noront, insisting it has no intention of relinquishing its majority position to maintain control of Canada's next great mining camp in the James Bay region.

Perth-headquartered Wyloo finally broke its month-long silence after Melbourne-based BHP, one of the world's largest mining companies, jumped into the fray in July with a cash offer of $325 million, at $0.55 cents a share, to Noront investors, besting Wyloo's overture to Noront last May of $133 million, at $0.315 per share.

Viewing Wyloo's move as a hostile takeover, Noront's board of directors recently recommended shareholders accept the BHP offer.

In the release, Wyloo said its "disappointed" Noront's board chose not to "meaningfully engage or negotiate" prior to accepting BHP's offer.

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Privately-held Wyloo came aboard as Noront's largest shareholder last December, picking up the 23 per cent stake vacated by Resources Capital Fund. By late May, Wyloo boldly elected to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Noront before BHP entered the scene in late July.

BHP's offer came through BHP Lonsdale, a BHP subsidiary company and owner of 3.7 per cent of Noront shares.

Wyloo is a Perth-based subsidiary of Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest's Tattarang. The company said it intends to increase its stake in Noront from 24 pe cent to 37 per cent by converting a US$15-million convertible loan into common shares of Noront.

In the release, Wyloo said BHP's bid is unlikely to succeed given the "minimum mandatory tender condition...is unlikely to be satisfied" without Wyloo's support as a cornerstone investor in Noront.

Wyloo further claims it's being stonewalled by Noront from being able to upgrade its offer to Noront's shareholders. The company said it's prepared to make a "superior offer" if only it were allowed to access the books.

"Despite numerous attempts to date, the Noront board has denied Wyloo Metals from obtaining access to due diligence on reasonable terms for a shareholder with a cornerstone position.

"Unfortunately, the total value of any superior offer contemplated by Wyloo Metals must accommodate the Cdn$13 million break fee payable to BHP, which was agreed to by the Noront Board to the direct detriment of Noront’s shareholders."

Wyloo said Noront's land package "hosts some of the most prospective mineral deposits in the world" with the potential for become "Canada’s next great mineral district, supporting the production of future-facing commodities for multiple generations."

"Wyloo Metals continues to firmly believe in the immense potential of the Ring of Fire and therefore does not intend to support or tender its Noront shares to BHP's offer."

Forrest declares nickel war on BHP

Brad Thompson Reporter
Updated Aug 20, 2021 – 

Andrew Forrest has declared his intention to battle BHP for nickel assets and is casting a big shadow over what could emerge as a bidding war for Western Areas that has implications for BHP’s ambitions in battery metals.

Forrest-owned Wyloo Metals said it opposed BHP’s takeover bid for Noront Resources in Canada and is willing become involved in a bidding war for the promising nickel producer.

And a day after IGO Limited confirmed it was in takeover talks with Western Areas, it was revealed Forrest-owned Wyloo Metals has accumulated a 5.28 per cent stake in Western Areas

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Andrew Forrest is set to have a say on nickel consolidation in WA. Rebecca Mansell

The stake, together with others in West Australian-based nickel players, means the iron ore billionaire will at least have a big say in any predicted consolidation in the sector.

The move makes the nickel-rich area of WA the second front on which Dr Forrest and BHP’s growing interests in the key battery metal may potentially clash. They are now in open warfare in Canada over Noront and control of projects in the mineral-rich Ring of Fire region in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario.

Breaking its silence on BHP trumping its bid for Noront with a $C325 million offer last month, Wyloo said it was willing to fight BHP for control.

“Noront’s Ring of Fire land package hosts some of the most prospective mineral deposits in the world,” Wyloo said.

“These deposits have the potential to become Canada’s next great mineral district, supporting the production of future-facing commodities for multiple generations.

“Wyloo Metals continues to firmly believe in the immense potential of the Ring of Fire and therefore does not intend to support or tender its Noront shares to BHP’s offer.“

Wyloo said it was disappointed that the Noront board did not seek to meaningfully engage or negotiate with it before accepting the BHP offer.

The Forrest entity camp said its cornerstone interest of in Noront amounted to 37.5 per cent on a partially diluted basis and BHP’s bid was unlikely to succeed without its support.

Wyloo claimed the Noront board was standing in the way of it making a superior takeover offer.

“Wyloo Metals would consider proposing a superior offer to acquire the outstanding common shares of Noront it does not already own, should it be provided with access to due diligence,” it said.

“Despite numerous attempts to date, the Noront board has denied Wyloo Metals from obtaining access to due diligence on reasonable terms for a shareholder with a cornerstone position.“

Wyloo said it was “unfortunate” that the total value of any superior offer it was contemplating would need to accommodate a $C13 million break fee payable to BHP, which “was agreed to by the Noront board to the direct detriment of Noront’s shareholders”.

Closer to his home in WA, Dr Forrest’s moves could also prompt a response from BHP given its relies on Western Areas, IGO and other smaller companies for a portion of the nickel it will need to supply Elon Musk’s Tesla and other car and battery-making customers through BHP Nickel West.

Wyloo, owned by Dr Forrest’s private investment company, Tattarang, has a 15 per cent stake in Mincor Resources, which is gearing up to produce 15,000 tonnes of nickel a year and supply BHP Nickel West.

Wyloo also owns shares in Panoramic Resources, a nickel player preparing to restart its Savannah operation in WA’s remote east Kimberley.

Run by Tattarang young gun Luca Giacovazzi, Wyloo has been accumulating shares in Western Areas since March, reaching the 5.23 per cent mark on Thursday as IGO and Western Areas confirmed takeover talks after being flushed out by an exclusive report in The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column.

RELATED
BHP beats Forrest in takeover battle for prized nickel project

Analysts have said IGO, looking to shore up nickel production as its Nova mine comes to the end of its life, will need to fork out more than $1 billion to secure Western Areas.

Wyloo was a step ahead of BHP in Canada, where it took a substantial share in Noront and then launched a takeover bid. BHP reacted by trumping the Wyloo offer for Noront and its highly rated Eagle’s Nest nickel project.

The Western Areas share price has jumped from $2.47 on Wednesday to $2.95 in trading on Friday.
Brad Thompson writes across business and politics from Western Australia for The Australian Financial Review. Brad is based in our Perth bureau. Connect with Brad on Twitter. Email Brad at bradthompson@afr.com

Excommunicated Spanish ‘witch’ village turns curse into tourist cash

Embracing its strange past is a blessing for Trasmoz as thousands flock to its witchcraft attractions

A reenactment at the witchcraft fair in Trasmoz which is held every July

 Photograph: Trasmoz Council


Ashifa Kassam in Madrid
@ashifa_k
Sun 22 Aug 2021 10.15 BST

Tucked into the foothills of northern Spain, the village of Trasmoz attracts thousands of tourists each year. For many, the allure is not its half-ruined castle nor stunning mountain backdrop but rather a curious quirk of history: Trasmoz is Spain’s only excommunicated and cursed village.

“So far, being excommunicated and cursed hasn’t been bad for us,” said Lola Ruiz Diaz, one of the 47 or so people who live all year round in Trasmoz, some 50 miles north-west of Zaragoza. “It’s turned out to be a point in our favour.”

Summers can see as many as 6,000 tourists descend on the village for its witchcraft festival in July, exploring its tiny sorcery museum and taking in reenactments of the curse being cast over the village. Few villagers ever expected Trasmoz’s singular status to become a tourist draw. But two decades ago, after locals began reclaiming the tales that had shifted and shaped Trasmoz over the years, a steady trickle of fascinated visitors began turning up.

Its unorthodox past goes back to a series of squabbles that began more than 700 years ago. At the time, Trasmoz was a prosperous community of Christians, Jews and Arabs with a powerful adversary: the neighbouring monastery of Veruela.

A quarrel between the two over whether villagers could fell trees in the area for firewood came to a head in 1252, leading the monastery’s abbot to demand that Trasmoz be excommunicated from the Catholic church. “One could call it a tantrum,” said Ruiz.

Trasmoz is a small village steeped in mythology. 

Photograph: PR
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The second row came more than 250 years later, this time over access to the waterways that thread through the nearby Moncayo mountains. After the country’s nobles sided with Trasmoz, the monastery retaliated. With permission from the then Pope, Julius II, the abbot recited a curse from the Psalms on Trasmoz. To hear Ruiz tell it, villagers shrugged off the hex and life continued as normal. “In my view, the people of Trasmoz didn’t take very seriously all that the monastery launched against them, as they were used to it,” she said.

Some even sought to use the village’s status to their advantage. Decades after Trasmoz was excommunicated, the caretakers of the castle began covertly using the site to create false coins. In order to explain the hammering, banging and other noises emanating from the castle in the dead of night, they told people that witches haunted the area.

“The strange noises were them, of course, making false coins,” said Ruiz. “The monastery took advantage of it, telling people that Trasmoz was a witches’ village.”

The reputation stuck. Trasmoz became known as a village of sorcery, with deadly consequences at times. The last local to be accused of witchcraft was Joaquina Bona Sánchez, known as Tía Casca, who was thrown down a steep ravine in 1860 after being blamed for a spate of deaths in the village.

Over time, Trasmoz – whether for the curse or simply an echo of events playing out across Spain – fell into decline. The castle was abandoned and the estimated population of 700 began to dwindle after Spain ordered the expulsion of Jews in 1492 – followed by the Muslims – and, more recently, as urbanisation took hold.

The downward spiral halted, however, after local officials announced subsidies for villages to hold events aimed at celebrating their unique characteristics. One village honed in on its tradition of ceramics, another choose woodworking.

“We thought, what is Trasmoz known for?” said Ruiz. The answer was instantaneous. “Witches.”

So the annual Feria de Brujería – or witchcraft festival – was born, replete with tarot card readings, lotions made from local herbs and capped off with the crowning of one villager as the “witch” of the year. “It’s a way to recover the village’s link to witches, while also reclaiming the persecution that these women were subjected to,” said Ruiz.

It’s a lighthearted take on Trasmoz’s dark history, though some tourists take it more seriously. “People show up at my house asking me to get rid of the evil eye,” said Ruiz, who was named witch of the year in 2008. “But you’re not going to find that here.”

A modern monument to Tía Casca, the last ‘witch’ killed in Trasmoz, in 1860. 

Photograph: SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

The festival has grown into one of the best attended in the northern region of Aragón, said Jesús Andia, the mayor of Trasmoz. “At the beginning, it was something symbolic for the village,” he said. “But soon we realised that people really like it.”

For the most part, residents of the village have been open to the idea of touting its longstanding feud with the church. “There are a few – very few – who take it personally and don’t like it,” said Andia. “But the rest of the municipality knows that these days, villages have to cling to something or they risk disappearing.”

Nearly eight centuries after Trasmoz was excommunicated, relations have been smoothed over with the Veruela monastery, with the two joining forces at times to organise cultural events And there’s little sign of the tempestuous relationship at Trasmoz’s church, where mass, baptisms and other rites are regularly held.

Even so, villagers have no interest in approaching the pope to see whether the excommunication or curse can be lifted. “We’re not considering it, we’re not going to do it,” said Andia. “Getting rid of it now would be like erasing everything – I think future generations would never forgive us.”

 

Singh pitches changing Toronto riding name to honour 'happy warrior' Jack Layton

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Riding should become Danforth–Layton, says NDP leader on 10th anniversary of Layton's death.

Ryan Maloney · CBC News · Posted: Aug 22, 2021 

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, at the Jack Layton Monument in Toronto, responds to a question during an August press conference marking the 60th anniversary of the NDP. (The Canadian Press/Tijana Martin)

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will seek to rename a Toronto riding to honour the legacy of Jack Layton, the former NDP leader who died of cancer 10 years ago Sunday.

Singh made the announcement Sunday at Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square, where he was joined by Mike Layton, a Toronto city councillor and the son of the late NDP leader. 

Before speaking to reporters, Singh scribbled a message in chalk on a wall filled with tributes to Layton on the anniversary of his passing. "We are going to carry the torch for you," Singh wrote.

New Democrats will introduce a bill after the election to push Elections Canada to rename the riding of Toronto–Danforth to Danforth–Layton, the NDP leader said.

Watch: NDP leader suggests renaming riding after former leader Jack Layton

Jagmeet Singh spoke with reporters during a stop at Toronto's city hall on Sunday. 1:21

Layton represented the riding in the east end of Canada's biggest city from 2004 until his death in 2011.

Although the NDP won a byelection to fill the seat in 2012, it has been held by the Liberals since 2015.

Singh said that, as leader of the movement Layton was such a big part of, he often gets messages from Canadians who say Layton inspired them to believe better was possible.

"I saw him as a happy warrior. I saw him as someone who gave his whole heart because he believed in people," Singh said. "He believed in fighting for them."

Singh said Layton helped him overcome cynicism about politics when he was first considering entering public life. Singh was an unsuccessful federal candidate in the 2011 federal election that saw New Democrats vault to the status of Official Opposition, thanks in large part to the "Orange Wave" in Quebec.

"I didn't really believe that politicians could make a difference. And my friends pointed to Jack and said, 'Well, what about Jack?'" Singh said.

The NDP leader denied that the proposal is about trying to sway voters in Toronto–Danforth to cast ballots for his party. 

The riding was won by Liberal Julie Dabrusin in 2015, who is running again. The NDP candidate in the riding is Clare Hacksel, executive director of the Choice in Health Clinic. All 25 seats in Toronto are currently held by the Liberals.

Singh said the idea is about tapping into a tradition of honouring those who have contributed greatly to Canada.

"Here in Toronto, people know the legacy of Jack Layton, how he touched the lives of so many people, how he fought so hard to make people's lives better," he said. 

"And it seems very fitting to push for the renaming of a riding that he represented in honour of everything that he's done."

'Jack and Jagmeet have a lot in common,' Mike Layton says 

Mike Layton called the idea a "touching gesture" and said he did not feel it was politicizing the anniversary of his father's death.

He also expressed optimism that Singh will lead the NDP back to heights they have not seen for a decade as Canadians get to know him more and more. 

"I think Jack and Jagmeet have a lot in common, and one of those things is they lead with their heart," Layton said.

The NDP is advancing ideas that will help the most vulnerable, who don't feel like they have representation in government right now, he said.

"It was very similar to what Jack was bringing forward, saying we need to have responsible policies that work for people, that help people, but we also need policies that will pay for that," Mike Layton said, touting the NDP's call for a wealth tax.

Dabrusin had little to say about the NDP proposal, telling CBC News in an emailed statement that she is focused on the people of Toronto–Danforth.

"I will continue working hard every day to deliver on the issues that matter to our community, like fighting climate change, access to affordable childcare, and reconciliation," she said.

KENNEY AND UCP DON'T

Erin O'Toole says he backs safe injection sites, but recovery is key to opioid crisis

SOUNDING MORE LIBERAL THAN TORY

The Canadian Press - Aug 22, 2021 

Photo: The Canadian Press
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole speaks to the media as he makes an announcement on help for people living with disabilities, in Edmonton, Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021. Canadians will vote in a federal election Sept. 20th. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

KENNEY AND UCP ARE CUTTING FUNDING FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Federal Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole announced Sunday he will approach Canada's opioid epidemic as an "urgent health crisis" rather than a criminal scourge, and that he would continue to allow safe injection sites.

At an addiction treatment centre in the Vancouver suburb of New Westminster, B.C., O'Toole said he would invest $325 million over the next three years to create 1,000 residential drug treatment beds and build 50 recovery centres across the country.

"We feel with respect to opioids, people with addiction should not be the focus of the criminal justice system," O'Toole told reporters Sunday.

"People that are dealing, and that are preying on people with addiction, should be the focus. We'd like to see more compassion, more treatment options."

However, he stopped short of saying he'd push for the decriminalization of opioids or other drugs.

"I would like to see compassion at the center of our justice system for people with addiction," O'Toole said when pressed on the issue.

Law enforcement should focus on traffickers, O'Toole said, adding he plans to enhance treatment and prevention services in First Nations communities and partner with the provinces to provide free Naloxone kits which reverse overdoses.

Garth Mullins, a representative of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), says the approach marks an improvement from former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper’s tough-on-crime stance, but that a focus on recovery and abstinence is “misplaced” as it misidentifies the crux of the crisis.

Health Canada is currently working with Vancouver on the city’s request for exemption from criminal provisions on simple possession of small quantities of drugs.

Vancouver has been the epicentre of an opioid crisis that saw British Columbia record 1,176 illicit drug overdose deaths in 2020 — the highest ever in a single year — and more than 7,000 deaths since a public health emergency was declared in April 2016.

Treat drug addiction as health, not criminal issue, O'Toole says in plan to tackle opioid crisis

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Conservatives promise millions to build recovery centres and treatment beds

Kathleen Harris · CBC News · Posted: Aug 22, 2021 2:12 PM ET | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole says drug addiction should be dealt with as a health issue, not a criminal one. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole offered on Sunday a "compassionate" plan to tackle the opioid crisis, treating it as a national emergency to help those battling drug addiction.

During a campaign stop at an addictions rehabilitation centre in New Westminster, B.C., O'Toole said 17 Canadians' deaths each day are related to opioids  – and that the health crisis has deepened during the pandemic.

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"As prime minister, I will treat the opioid epidemic as the health crisis that it is," he said.

"That means that our focus should be on helping people with addictions get the help they need to recover."

The promises, part of  the party's election platform book, include $325 million over three years to create 1,000 new treatment beds and build 50 recovery centres in communities across the country. 

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The plan also commits to enhancing culturally appropriate treatment and prevention services in high-needs First Nations communities, and to provide $1 billion over five years in additional funding for Indigenous mental health and drug treatment programs.

Asked by reporters whether he supports the decriminalization of drugs, O'Toole said he advocates judicial discretion for treatment options rather than criminal sanctions. 

Help, don't punish: O'Toole

"I don't think someone with an addiction should be punished. I think they should be helped," he said.

Law enforcement should focus on dealers and traffickers, not on those suffering from an addiction, O'Toole added.

The Conservative leader said his party would not block safe injection sites and would work on treatment and recovery programs alongside harm reduction options.

Watch / Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole on plan to tackle opioid crisis:

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole stopped at a rehab centre in New Westminster, B.C., on Sunday. 2:21

But Liberal Party spokesperson Alex Wellstead said the Conservatives' record has been one of banning safe consumption sites and fighting them in court. 

"The Conservatives' record is one of punishing Canadians battling addiction," he said in a statement. 

"We will continue to support people facing addiction and provide safe and supervised alternatives. We believe in an approach informed by public health experts – not ideology."

O'Toole's predecessor, Andrew Scheer, had criticized the Liberal government's approach to the opioid crisis, calling it "terrible." 

About 40 new safe injection sites, where people can inject intravenous drugs with clean needles, have opened across the country since the Liberals formed the government in 2015.

'Absolutely tragic epidemic': Julian

NDP candidate Peter Julian, a long-time MP for the New Westminster–Burnaby riding, said politicians must guarantee safe supply to people with addictions and must also look into the role of large pharmaceutical companies in the crisis.

"This is an absolutely tragic epidemic — 17 Canadians every day. And I don't think either Mr. Trudeau or Mr. O'Toole understand the magnitude of this tragedy and are willing to take on big pharma in order to combat it," he said.

Some advocacy groups have called on the federal government to create an action plan that includes the decriminalization and the legal regulation of drugs, as well as new initiatives to end stigma around addiction.

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Addictions experts critical of undercover police operation near Calgary drug-use site

Alanna Smith
The Canadian Press Staff
Published Sunday, August 22, 2021


Rebecca Haines-Saah, an assistant professor of community health sciences at the University of Calgary, poses for a photo in Calgary. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

CALGARY -- Steps away from Calgary's only supervised consumption site, a man unknowingly sold an undercover police officer a small amount of methamphetamine - one-fifth of a gram in a clear plastic bag for $10.

Court documents show Michael Hassard was unsure of the man in plain clothes when he asked to purchase drugs, but a woman Hassard knew vouched for the buyer and his friend.

A short time later, Hassard was arrested by uniformed officers. He was charged with trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime under $5,000.

His arrest was part of an effort by the Calgary Police Service in December 2018 called Operation Desist, which aimed to stifle meth supply and target dealers preying on the vulnerable.

Addictions and legal experts argue the sting failed on both fronts and further victimized an already at-risk group.

Hassard's experience sheds light on covert efforts to criminalize activity surrounding the supervised consumption site and its users, says Rebecca Haines-Saah, an associate professor of community health sciences at the University of Calgary.

With the Alberta government planning to close the Safeworks site,Haines-Saah says it is crucial people understand how policing there influenced public perception and divided opinion on the inner-city service.

A 2018 police report showed a 29 per cent increase in calls for service around Safeworks and a 276 per cent increase in drug-related calls compared with the three-year average.

The United Conservative government stated in a report on drug-use sites in Alberta that the Calgary data indicated “residents' concerns were well-founded.” In May, the province cited disruptions in the area for closing the site.

The government confirmed this week that Safeworks will stay open until two new locations for similar services are secured.

Safe consumption sites allow people to use substances under the supervision of trained staff who provide emergency care if an overdose occurs.

Hassard has yet to be sentenced, but has pleaded guilty to both charges. In January, a judge denied the man's request for a stay of proceedings based on a claim of entrapment.

Hassard's lawyer, Robin McIntyre, says people arrested for similar offences have been put behind bars for months to years.

“The moment you've sold drugs, even a small quantity, we're realistically talking jail time,” says McIntyre.

Operations such as Desist can turn people who use substances into sellers by virtue of circumstance, she adds.

“(Police) are offering marginalized and vulnerable individuals the opportunity to commit an offence,” McIntyre says. “We see individuals who are hungry … so they may sell off their remaining drugs so they can get some spare change for a sandwich.”


One of the undercover officers testified at the stay hearing that “it was possible that drug users might be enticed to sell their drugs on request,” but added the operation was grounded in statistics on drug-related calls in the area.

During cross-examination, police did admit the data was limited. Requests for service were not collected in a way that differentiated between drug trafficking, drug use or an overdose. It is also unknown if one person, for example, made multiple calls to police.

In a statement, Calgary police rejected suggestions that Safeworks clients were targeted.

Court documents show undercover officers carried out the operation in six different areas, including the city block that houses Safeworks and a nearby park.

Haines-Saah says targeting dealers won't stop the flow of drugs.

“Targeting people on street level - they're just replaced with other people and this sometimes leads to turf wars and exacerbates violence.”

Once charged, they become part of a “revolving door” in and out of the justice system, which creates barriers to employment, housing and addictions supports.

Edmonton-based lawyer Avnish Nanda says pursuing undercover operations near drug-use sites goes against the spirit of Health Canada drug law exemptions granted to approved operators. Nanda suggests a heavy police presence can deter substance users from the service, which increases the risk of overdoses and unsafe supplies such as used needles.

Health Canada declined to comment on suitable policing around the sites.

Calgary faces record-high drug poisoning deaths this year. Government statistics show that in the first five months, 205 people in the city died from unintentional drug poisonings - a 40.4 per cent increase from the same period in 2020.

Alberta Health Servicessays there have been no deaths among 185,000 visitors to Safeworks since January 2018.

Alberta stripped funding from Lethbridge's safe consumption site last July after allegations of financial misconduct surfaced. They were later proven to be unfounded.

Since the site's closure, the rate of overdose deaths in the southern Alberta city has soared. The figure was 2.5 times higher than the provincial average in May at 83.9 per 100,000 people.

Those who advocate for and work with substance userssuggest policy-makers and police should determine meaningful steps to ensure the success of Calgary's two new sites when they open.

Haines-Saah says one solution is decriminalizing illicit substances.

“We've tried everything else and we know that it's not working,” she says. “The stigma of being criminalized, of interacting with law enforcement, is far more costly to our systems and to individuals.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 22, 2021

 

Is the criminalization of seafarers on the rise?

Written by Heather Ervin

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(Credit: Mobilisation Nationale Wakashio)

For over a year now, the crew of the MV Wakashio has been held by Mauritian authorities following the grounding of the ship and the widespread pollution that followed.

At the end of July, The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) called for the immediate release and repatriation of the crew.

David Heindel, ITF Seafarers’ Section chair, said the ITF and its affiliated seafarers’ unions have “deep concerns” about the treatment of the crew Mauritian authorities. He said the federation last week wrote to the president of the Republic of Mauritius, Prithvirajsing Roopun. In its letter, the ITF appealed for President Roopun’s support to see legal proceedings advanced and the expeditious conclusion of the now-year-long saga faced by the crew.

In the ITF’s letter, Heindel and ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton appealed to Mauritian authorities to consider the human cost that delayed proceedings and unnecessary detention would have on the crew and their families:

The Wakashio accident and the uncertainty of when the crew will go home can be seen as part of a long-running problem.

The ITF characterizes the treatment of the Wakashio crew as “what appears to be an example of criminalization of seafarers.”

The criminalization of seafarers is one of the most serious problems facing seafarers today—and it seems to be on the rise.

This has been seen not only with the Wakashio accident, but also with the crew of the Ever Given when it became wedged across the canal in March, bringing traffic in the vital artery to a halt for days and costing $5.1 billion a day in world trade. After Egyptian authorities impounded the ship, its crew had to remain on board.

“Whether it is felt by the crew of the Wakashio who were effectively detained without charge, or the drawn-out threat of criminal charges against the Ever Given crew to bolster the Suez Canal Authority’s negotiating position over damages: seafarers are being cynically targeted all over the world by officials just for doing our jobs,” said Heindel.

Seafarers are also sometimes getting snared when drugs are found aboard vessels. In one such case from three years ago, the crew of the bulk carrier UBC SAVANNAH were arrested in Mexico and held without charge nor trial in poor conditions, when cocaine was found in the vessel’s cargo hold dispersed across 227 packages.

While most the crew were released shortly after their arrest in 2019, Polish captain Andrzej Lasota was held until March 2021. According to the ITF, Mexican authorities claimed that he had been negligent in “failing to be aware that the ship he commanded may have been carrying prohibitive substances,” whereas in fact as soon as the packages were found, Lasota ordered an immediate halt to all cargo operations and notified relevant authorities.

While we could spend more time examining similar cases to these, what is outlined is clear. The criminalization of seafarers is another nail in the hiring coffin for maritime.