How this hairless creature survives harsh Canadian winters

Nathan Howes

The Weather Network.
Sat, October 26, 2024 

How this hairless creature survives harsh Canadian winters


Some animals in Canada will chill off so much in winter that they actually freeze, ensuring their survival through the harsh months.

Such is the case with the wood frog. To ensure it can make it through the cold months, a wood frog's body will shut down while it is surrounded by ice, lacking a heartbeat and breath in its lungs.

SEE ALSO: What role can AI play in helping vulnerable species and habitats?

Here's where it gets more interesting during the winter for the amphibian species, which can be found in forests and wetlands across the country.

According to Ducks Unlimited Canada, once the temperature drops, the wood frog's liver transforms its fat reserves accumulated over the summer into levels of blood glucose up to 80 times higher than those found in humans. To put it into a loose comparison, the blood becomes similar to antifreeze, in a way.

James Paterson, research scientist with Ducks Unlimited Canada, clarified the distinction in the antifreeze similarity in a December 2023 interview with The Weather Network.

Wood frog/Submitted

"It's not like antifreeze with the same sort of chemicals, [but] the idea is that when the concentration [of blood glucose] is really, really high, it severely reduces the freezing point of that liquid," said Paterson.

The outcome allows the wood frog to stop its blood from freezing, keeping vital organs protected –– even as ice forms in the surrounding space outside its cells.
Wood frogs are 'super-unique' amphibians

Like other wildlife species, the process for wood frogs to prepare for the winter is temperature-driven, Paterson noted. Wood frogs will spend winter on land, usually tucked underneath leaves or logs.

"They're eating at the end of the summer and they're building up energy reserves. The exact timing of that really varies across Canada," said Paterson.

Wood frog/Submitted

Wood frog. (James Paterson/Ducks Unlimited Canada)

Because they can be found across the country, Paterson said wood frogs are "super-unique among our amphibians" since they will start preparing for winter at different times in each province and territory.

"The time [when] it gets cold is very different in southern Ontario versus the Northwest Territories," he said.

As seen in Canada, winter can offer temperature swings and snowmelts, which can have negative effects on the species, Paterson said.

When they hide under leaf litter for the winter, "ideally," the temperature swings wood frogs experience will be moderated by the snow cover on top of them. Having the cover helps insulate changes that fluctuate through the year, except near the beginning of the season when there is not as much buffer, for example.

"So, they typically are going to tuck in [and] start to cool down their body temperatures. The ground gets cold, and then, when the snow comes, their body temperatures, hopefully, are going to be more constant rather than going up and down really quickly," said Paterson.

Even though Canada experienced a warmer-than-normal December in 2023, wood frogs would still have been ready for winter before the first freeze since they are ectothermic, or cold-blooded as it's common called, Paterson said.

Their metabolism "directly" depends on their body temperatures, so once the colder air arrives, the wood frogs can't move much as a result of the limitations in how fast they metabolize energy.

"By the time the first kind of wave of cold temperature comes, they have to be ready and tucked away where they're going to spend most of the winter," said Paterson.
Microbes, glucose levels key for protection against the cold

Paterson noted wood frogs will need to acquire enough glucose so their vital organs don't freeze. However, the amount needed won't be excessive since the energy they actually use is not "super-high" when compared to some mammals preparing for hibernation. It is because their body temperatures and metabolism dips so low in the winter.

"Their heart rate actually stops during the winter when they freeze. They're not burning almost any energy," said Paterson. "As long as they get some meals before, and then they start producing that glucose, they're going to be prepared."

How wood a frog can reappear from the winter unharmed is partly to do with retaining urine, according to DU Canada. Microbes situated in the gut recycle urea into the body where it protects tissues from the cold.

Wood frog/Getty Images-1281136363

Paterson said some studies in the lab have suggested that the colder the temperature, the less amount of time a living organism can sustain itself at that particular value.

He did say, however, that in remote areas such as the Northwest Territories, wood frogs can be safely frozen for six months at least. They will then thaw in the spring, unscathed, and "wake up" as if they were sleeping.

"Once they start to thaw, as the body temperature warms up, their metabolism kind of wakes up and they start processing it, removing that glucose," said Paterson.
Amphibian species facing extinction due to climate change

A paper published in October 2023 in Nature reveals climate change is a growing threat to frogs. Two in every five, or about 41 per cent, amphibian species are threatened with extinction.

"Ongoing and projected climate change effects are now of increasing concern, driving 39 per cent of status deteriorations since 2004," the study's authors noted.

Wood frog/Getty Images-1160883901

While habitat loss is still the main cause of the amphibian decline, climate change is becoming a "major driver of extinction risks" and will continue to become more important in the future, Paterson said.

He noted the impacts of it will differ among the various frog species. So, with wood frogs, it means they're going to "win in some places and maybe lose in others."

"We know that climate change isn't equal across the landscape. [In] some places, it's going to get warmer, and in other places, it might get cooler or more wetter," said Paterson.

When looking at the direct implications for wood frogs, it's difficult to state outright if they will do better or worse under climate change, he added.

"It's more accurate to say that in some places, they're going to win, and in other places, they're going to lose. But, generally, it's going to affect where they're able to survive," said Paterson.
WATCH: This frog species is getting darker, why that's a good thing

Click here to view the video

Thumbnail courtesy of James Paterson/Ducks Unlimited Canada.

Follow Nathan Howes on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.

A mega-earthquake could strike the Pacific Northwest any day — and we're not prepared

Morgan McFall-Johnsen

Sat, October 26, 2024 


A Shake Alert earthquake notification on a smartphone.AP Photo/Barbara Ortutay

Your phone blares, "Earthquake!" The voice instructs you to duck, cover, and hold on. About 30 seconds later, the shaking starts.

At first, it makes the furniture sway. It's stronger than the little quakes you normally get here in Seattle. Another 30 seconds later, the shaking suddenly intensifies.

Pictures fall from the walls, objects fly across the room, and the dining table you're sheltering under begins to scoot across the floor, several inches at a time.

A loud rumble fills the air. It's the sound of the city's buildings swaying and creaking and all their contents shimmying, wobbling, scraping across floors, or crashing down from shelves.

Seattle isn't even that close to the earthquake's epicenter.

The Olympic Mountains and about 100 miles stand between the city and the ocean. For people on the coast, the shaking is much worse.



Robert Ezelle, director of emergency management at Washington state's Military Department

After about six minutes, the earthquake dies down, and a new countdown begins. People along the coast now have 10 to 30 minutes to reach high ground before a giant wave engulfs the Pacific Northwest.

Tsunami sirens wail in some towns. In others, the earthquake has knocked out alert systems.

A tsunami evacuation sign in Long Beach, Washington.Rick Bowmer/AP Photo

From Northern California to Vancouver Island, a wall of water up to eight stories high surges onto the coast.

Over the next hour or two, the tsunami makes its way up rivers and straits and into Puget Sound. It's much smaller by the time it reaches Seattle, but it floods some streets.

Between the earthquake and the tsunami, 14,000 people died, many more were trapped or injured, and more than 618,000 buildings were damaged. The shaking triggered landslides, fires, and spills of hazardous materials.

But the disaster has just begun.

A member of the Washington Army National Guard 792nd Chemical Company from Grandview, Washington, demonstrates a decontamination station during an earthquake readiness exercise.Ted S. Warren/AP Photo

Eventually, the total economic losses will amount to $134 billion, placing it high among the costliest natural disasters in US history.

The scene above is a worst-case scenario of a megaquake striking the Pacific Northwest. Emergency managers have spent decades preparing for it. Still, they say the region isn't ready.

"To be fully, completely, and totally prepared is an impossibility," Robert Ezelle, the director of the emergency-management division of Washington state's Military Department, told Business Insider, "just because of the magnitude of the event."
Inside the major disaster brewing off the coast of the Pacific Northwest

About 100 miles offshore from the Pacific Northwest, deep beneath the seafloor, two tectonic plates are building tension that could erupt at any moment.

In a region called the Cascadia subduction zone, the Juan de Fuca oceanic plate is sliding (or "subducting") beneath the North American plate — but its edge is stuck. As the plate keeps pushing against its locked-up edge, stress builds.

"It's ominously quiet," Harold Tobin, Washington's state seismologist and the director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, told BI. "The fact that it doesn't even produce little earthquakes to any significant extent makes us believe that it is completely locked up."

Scientists like Tobin fear that without releasing tension through smaller earthquakes, the Cascadia subduction zone is more likely to erupt in a "megathrust" earthquake — or megaquake for short — with a magnitude of about 9.

"It will be the worst natural disaster our country has ever seen," Ezelle said. That's why some call it the "Big One."

On average, the Cascadia subduction zone produces an immense earthquake every 200 to 500 years. The most recent one was in 1700.
Just how big is the Big One?

A "ghost forest" of Sitka spruces juts up from an Oregon beach. The trees were likely buried by tsunami debris in 1700.AP Photo/Andrew Selsky

The Richter scale, which measures earthquake magnitude, is logarithmic, not linear. That means a magnitude 9 quake releases about 32 times as much energy as a magnitude 8 but about a million times as much as a magnitude 5.

The closest thing in human memory to the Big One occurred in Japan in 2011. That magnitude 9 event, called the Tohoku earthquake, also came from a subduction zone.

It generated a tsunami that reached 130 feet high, inundated over 1,200 miles of coastline, and washed thousands of people out to sea. Together, the quake and tsunami killed an estimated 18,500 people.

The aftermath of a tsunami in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture two days after the Tohoku disaster.Itsuo Inouye/AP Photo

It's hard to imagine the power of a magnitude 9 quake, but the Seismic Sound Lab, a group of Columbia University scientists, created a video that tries to convey it through sound.

The animated video, below, shows every earthquake in Japan from 2008 through 2014, accompanied by sounds of various volumes. A normal background hum of magnitude 4, 5, and 6 quakes gives way to an intensely loud boom, the Tohoku event, about 22 seconds in. (The label saying the event occurred in 2012 is incorrect.)

For years after the Tohoku event, aftershocks rippled across Japan, adding to the damage, including a 7.1 earthquake in 2021.

Likewise, in the Pacific Northwest, aftershocks could continue for months, maybe even years, following the Big One. The first tsunami may not be the biggest.
The aftermath of the Big One

Scientists, Ezelle's department, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have practiced for the Big One in two "Cascadia Rising" exercises, one in 2016 and another in 2022.

They've found that in the days following the megaquake, much of western Oregon and Washington may be without electricity, internet, cell service, or drinking water.

A US Navy sailor walks through a camp of living quarter tents during the 2016 Cascadia Rising exercise.Ted S. Warren/AP Photo

In certain areas, it could be more than two weeks before help arrives because landslides, sinkholes, bridge collapses, and other damage to roads could make travel impossible.

Both Oregon and Washington advise that all residents have enough food, water, and medicine on hand to last at least two weeks.

"People that we're counting on to be first responders may very well be victims," Ezelle said. "A lot of it is going to be neighbors taking care of neighbors."

Among dozens of preparedness goals set after the last Cascadia Rising exercise, Ezelle's division is assessing the state's roadways to identify "lifelines" through the mountains — ways it might piece together surviving or quick-to-repair roads to transport critical supplies to the coast.

Once those lifelines open after a megaquake, national and international aid can step in. A FEMA spokesperson told BI in an email that the agency would have teams ready to step in "almost immediately."

A destroyed neighborhood below Weather Hill in Natori, Japan, after the Tohoku disaster.Wally Santana/AP Photo

Retrofitting old buildings is also crucial since many aren't megaquake-resilient. Tobin said there wasn't much money for this "piecemeal process."

"We have a really long way to go," he added.

Japan has known about its risk of giant earthquakes and tsunamis for centuries. It's one of the most prepared nations on Earth. And still, the 2011 subduction-zone rupture was devastating.

The Pacific Northwest, by contrast, only found out about the danger posed by the Cascadia subduction zone in the 1980s.

"Preparing for this is like trying to drain an Olympic-sized swimming pool with a teaspoon," Ezelle said.
Science could help better prepare for the Big One

Ezelle said that to be "the best prepared that we could possibly be," the Pacific Northwest's roadways, buildings, airports, and other infrastructure would have to be rebuilt.

A more immediate, affordable strategy to save lives is building out a system that sends early warnings to phones — which already happens for many earthquakes but isn't a guarantee.

The sooner the phone warning blares, the more time people have to duck and cover. The next frontier for that, Tobin said, is laying cables with seismic instruments on the seafloor along the fault line. That's what he's trying to do at the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.

In the meantime, Tobin and other researchers are working to map the fault's structure. Their latest study may have uncovered some good news: The Cascadia subduction zone could rupture in segments or smaller earthquakes rather than all at once as one giantevent.

But which scenario will actually happen — one Big One or multiple big-ish ones — remains unclear.

"I don't lose sleep over it," said Tobin, who lives in Seattle beneath the snowy peaks of the Cascades.

The Cascadia subduction zone pushed those mountains up about 10 million years ago, carving the mountain range that makes the Pacific Northwest so stunning.

"The same thing that makes the earthquakes, I should say, is part of what makes it a beautiful place to live," he said.

Climate change impacts on Antarctica captured as 'moments etched in time'

Nathan Howes
Sun, October 27, 2024 

Climate change impacts on Antarctica captured as 'moments etched in time'

Painting a picture of the effects of a changing climate on Antarctica is probably best done with a camera. Well, at least in Neil Ever Osborne's case it is.

Ever Osborne has spent two decades travelling the world as a photojournalist and writer on the front lines of climate change.

DON'T MISS: Hearts for Earth: Two women channel solitude in Norway into climate win


He recently visited Antarctica and returned to Canada with plenty of stunning, and shocking, images from Earth's most southernmost continent. His findings are on display in an exhibit at the Berenson Fine Art studio in Toronto.

"It's the coldest, windiest continent on planet Earth. It's so remote, it is absolutely spectacular. What makes this landscape so majestic is these colossal icebergs, some of which you see in the exhibit," said Ever Osborne, in a recent interview with Michael Vann, a content creator and weather specialist at The Weather Network.

Antarctica/Neil Ever Osborne/Submitted

Antarctica. (Neil Ever Osborne/Submitted to The Weather Network)
Ice formations have been 'carved through the ages'

Ever Osborne, who oversaw the direction of The Weather Network's climate change and sustainability editorial content from February 2020 to August 2022, said one of the main objectives of the trip was to "bear witness to these spectacular ice formations that, without a doubt, have been carved through the ages by the wind, by the light [and] by the sun."

"What I'd like to think we've done with the exhibition here is capture some of these formations that may not even exist anymore," said Ever Osborne.

When looking at the exhibit as a whole, Ever Osborne said you can think of the photos as "moments etched in time," bringing to life the characteristics of the icebergs and their surrounding environment, and how a changing climate has negatively affected them.

Antarctica/Neil Ever Osborne/Submitted to The Weather Network)

Antarctica. (Neil Ever Osborne/Submitted to The Weather Network)

"What are the characteristics of this landscape? How delicate are these ice formations? And again, as the climate warms, what are the consequences of a warming world on these icebergs?" Ever Osborne said.
Seeing a deceased penguin encased in ice was 'arresting moment'

While there, Ever Osborne was "really focused" on a particular iceberg on Snow Hill Island, he said. One afternoon, he stumbled upon a scene he hadn't seen in the previous days: A deceased penguin that was engulfed in ice.

"As you can probably appreciate, this was quite an arresting moment. I had to take a photograph. The more steps I took, the more dead penguins I saw entombed in ice, and so suddenly, I found myself making a series of photographs of these dead penguin chicks," said Ever Osborne.

The photographs made Ever Osborne ponder about a warming world in Antarctica, in particular, and what that would look like.

Antarctica/Neil Ever Osborne/Submitted to The Weather Network

Antarctica. (Neil Ever Osborne/Submitted to The Weather Network)

"It's with some confidence that we can say that nowhere on planet Earth is going to be untouched by a warming world. So, what will the effects of climate change be in Antarctica? I started to piece together [this story]," said Ever Osborne. "Could this be one of the effects that [cause] emperor penguin chicks to struggle to make it through their breeding season?"

He noted the particular emperor penguin colony on Snow Hill Island he came across is considered to be among the species' most northerly groups on the continent.

"What's happening there, because of a warming world, is serving as a barometer for what could happen to other penguin colonies across Antarctica. There are a few scenarios happening," said Ever Osborne.

As a result of warmer temperatures, there is more ice melt, Ever Osborne said, so "we're seeing these melt pools form in Antarctica."

"On occasion, with some confidence, we were seeing and taking photographs of penguins that had potentially fallen into these melt pools," said Ever Osborne. "What happens is, just like you and I, they get cold, they get wet, they get hypothermic, and they see [they're in] peril this way."
Exhibit is 'starting conversations' about climate change

Seeing an image of a deceased penguin "absolutely paused me and made me start to reflect," said Ever Osborne. "What would it be like if I photographed an entire cohort of dead penguin chicks?"

The images sparked an idea to put the images from Antarctica on display at the Berenson Fine Art studio, so they could "go to work" every day, just like people do, Ever Osborne said.

Antarctica/Neil Ever Osborne/Submitted to The Weather Network

Antarctica. (Neil Ever Osborne/Submitted to The Weather Network)

"They're starting conversations as people come and go from the gallery. But for visitors who spend a bit of time with us, we also pull out the iPad, and on the iPad, we show some of these really shocking and arresting images of the dead penguin chicks encased in ice," said Ever Osborne. "Let me tell you. It's not only pausing me, it's pausing the people who come through the gallery, as well."

In some ways, the photojournalist and writer "almost" feels like he has a responsibility to show the images to the rest of the world, Ever Osborne said.

"If they were just left on my hard drive, it would almost be a disservice. I almost think it's an obligation, actually. If we put these images to work, put the exhibit together, and start conversations with people who otherwise didn't know about Antarctica, for example, we stir up conversations that lead to longer dialogs," said Ever Osborne.

And with a changing, warming world, "we need to create the time and the space to have those longer conversations," he added.
WATCH: Even in winter, Antarctica sets a new record low for sea ice

Click here to view the video

"Creating the time and the space to do that is what this exhibit at Berenson Fine Art is trying to do. It's about putting the images to work," said Ever Osborne. "I like to think that the smart photographers working these days know that photography is just a small, small, small element of it. It's what do you do with your images when you get back from an exhibition."

More information on Ever Osborne's exhibit at Berenson Fine Art studio can be found online. His artwork can also be purchased online.

"Come to the gallery and have a private tour, and enjoy the work on the walls. Take it in one on one, have a conversation with me or the gallery owner," said Ever Osborne. "The proceeds for the sales of the limited-edition prints funnel back into the project so I can get back to Antarctica and keep on working."

Thumbnail courtesy of Neil Ever Osborne.

Follow Nathan Howes on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Nova Scotians heading to the polls Nov. 26 after early election call

CBC
Sun, October 27, 2024 


PC Leader Tim Houston arrives at the home of the lieutenant-governor on Sunday with his wife, Carol, and son, Zachary. Nova Scotians will go to the polls in November. 

(Kayla Hounsell/CBC - image credit)

Tim Houston has called a snap election to be held Nov. 26.

The Progressive Conservative leader is trying to win a second term, despite legislation he personally introduced three years ago that gave Nova Scotia a fixed election date of July 15, 2025.

Houston visited the lieutenant-governor Sunday to dissolve the current House.

Breaking from tradition, he did not take questions from reporters as he left the lieutenant-governor's residence. Houston then entered a blue bus with the message "Vote PC" on it.

Why Houston called an early election

At a rally Sunday afternoon in Bedford, Houston spoke about why an election needs to be held in advance of the fixed election date.

He said there are two reasons, one being the high cost of living. Houston said his party is ready to make significant investments to improve affordability and the housing crisis.

"But before we enact that plan, I feel it only right that Nova Scotians should have their say," said Houston.

He said the second reason to hold an election now is to ensure it won't conflict with a federal election.

NDP, Liberal, Green reaction

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Houston has broken promise after promise.

"What people need is for health care to actually improve, what people need is to be able to afford their homes, what people need is to be able to afford their lives and the premier has delivered on none of that, despite his big election promises," Chender said at a rally in Dartmouth.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill says the party has filed a complaint with the province's chief electoral officer over a 21-page brochure the PC have mailed out to Nova Scotians.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill says the party has filed a complaint with the province's chief electoral officer over a 21-page brochure the PCs have mailed out to Nova Scotians. (Hanny Banny/CBC)

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill criticized Houston's decision to call an early election, as well as a 21-page brochure the government sent out to Nova Scotians highlighting the party's work on health care.

Earlier this week, a Health Department spokesperson said the booklets were ordered in July as a way to better inform the public about the government's Action for Health plan. The cost to make them and mail them to 480,000 households was $158,000.

"Tim Houston cannot be allowed to continue to spend Nova Scotians' hard-earned money on his partisan playbook," Churchill said at a Liberal event.

"It certainly shows a lack of respect for voters, for taxpayers, and I do think it shows that he will do unethical things as long as he thinks he can get away with it."

Earlier Sunday, the party filed a complaint with the province's chief electoral officer over the brochure.

Green Party Leader Anthony Edmonds said he was disappointed Houston broke his promise of a fixed election date.

"Elections Nova Scotia has reported that an early election call will increase their costs," he wrote in an email to CBC News. "I fear that a snap election will see many voters stay home, which is disheartening in this era of record low turnouts at the polls."

The party was not holding events Sunday.

Early election call could be issue, says political scientist

Cape Breton University political scientist Tom Urbaniak expects the early election call to dominate the debate during the first few days of the campaign but suggested it may lose ground to other issues.

But Urbaniak warned it could linger as an issue, if the opposition parties are able to make the case Nova Scotians cannot rely on Houston to keep his word.

"There is a chance that this question can seep into other discussions," he said. "If voters are having a tough time trusting the incumbent government, that becomes part of the narrative.

"It feeds into a credibility issue. If that starts to dominate the discussion then … the broken promise around Bill 1 [setting July 15, 2025, as the fixed election date] will become part of the larger conversation."

An Elections Nova Scotia worker is shown Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, moving a pallet of election materials that will be transported to one of the province's 55 constituencies.

An Elections Nova Scotia worker is shown Friday moving a pallet of election materials that will be transported to one of the province's 55 constituencies. (Submitted by Elections Nova Scotia)

When Houston spoke on Oct. 14, 2021, during the House debate about a fixed election date, he said it would ensure fairness by not allowing the governing party to call elections at times that would be beneficial for them.

"Nova Scotians want to have confidence in their electoral system," he said. "Parties in opposition want a level playing field, and Elections Nova Scotia, Mr. Speaker, they want to be able to prepare as effectively and efficiently as they possibly can for general elections."

The PCs go into this campaign having held 34 seats, three more than the party won in the 2021 general election. That's because of byelection wins and two defections from the Liberal ranks.

The Liberals held 14 seats at dissolution, the NDP had six and there was one independent.

Changes already

Five PCs are not re-offering, including Allan MacMaster, who was finance minister and deputy premier.

There are also four Liberals and a New Democrat not re-offering. Two former Liberal MLAs — Brendan Maguire and Fred Tilley — are now running as PC candidates.

In anticipation of an election call, Elections Nova Scotia shipped campaign supplies to all 55 electoral districts. Nova Scotians who want to cast their ballots early will, for the first time, be able to vote electronically at early voting sites.

Unlike the most recent municipal election where voters in many municipalities were able to cast their ballots on a secure internet site, e-voting will happen on tablets at returning offices across the province. That will allow for those results to be counted and reported on just after the polls close on voting day.

In the 2021 election, those 176,793 early votes were on paper ballots that had to be counted by hand. In some constituencies that made the manual count a two-day process.

In all, 421,001 Nova Scotians voted in the last election, 42 per cent of them before the Aug. 17 election day.

Five key issues as Nova Scotia heads into a provincial election campaign

The Canadian Press
Sun, October 27, 2024 


HALIFAX — Nova Scotians are set to go to the polls in a provincial election called for Nov. 26. Here are five key issues the Progressive Conservatives, Liberals and NDP are expected to highlight during the campaign:

Health care

The Progressive Conservatives were elected in 2021 on a pledge to “fix” the province’s ailing system. The Tories say they have made inroads in recruiting doctors and nurses and in providing more resources for emergency medical care, while the Liberals and NDP will highlight the 145,000 Nova Scotians who still don’t have access to a family doctor.


Affordable housing

Homelessness has become a growing problem in the province, with 1,287 people in the Halifax Regional Municipality alone reporting they were without housing as of early October. The Tories have extended a five per cent rent cap and plan to build 273 new public housing units, but the Liberals and NDP say the use of fixed-term leases undermines the rent cap and the government has only scratched the surface of what’s needed to create affordable homes.

Cost of living

The Tories are promising to lower the province’s harmonized sales tax by one percentage point to 14 per cent from 15 on April 1, while they have also brought in a province-wide school lunch program. The Liberals have advocated for a two percentage point cut in the HST and free public transit, while the NDP says it would establish rent control and provide a tax credit for renters from low- and middle-income households.

Climate change

The province has endured a number of severe weather events that damaged infrastructure and claimed lives over the last three years. The Tories have pledged to get the province off coal-fired electrical generation by 2030 and to kickstart an offshore wind industry. The Liberals and NDP will highlight the government’s controversial decision to scrap the Coastal Protection Act, which was passed in the legislature with all-party support in 2019, but was never proclaimed as law.

Ottawa

The Tories have made it clear that they plan to make Nova Scotia’s relationship with the federal government an issue. They are opposed to Ottawa’s carbon pricing scheme and want the federal government to pay the entire cost of work needed to protect the Chignecto Isthmus between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia from flooding. However, the Liberals and NDP say the Tories are simply trying to divert the public’s attention away from their own lack of action in tackling climate-related issues.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2024.

A look at Tim Houston, leader of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservatives

The Canadian Press
Sun, October 27, 2024 



HALIFAX — Tim Houston, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, is seeking a second mandate as premier.

Born: April 10, 1970.

Early years: Born in Halifax and raised in a military family, he grew up on military bases in Prince Edward Island, Ontario and British Columbia before returning to live in Halifax.

Education: A chartered accountant, he graduated with a bachelor of commerce from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax in 1992.

Family: He and his wife Carol have two children, Paget and Zachary.

Before politics: Worked as an accountant for Deloitte and in the reinsurance industry in Bermuda before returning to Nova Scotia in 2007.

Politics: Successfully sought the PC nomination in 2012 for the provincial riding of Pictou East and was elected to the legislature in 2013. He was re-elected in 2017 and in 2018 won the party leadership. He was sworn in as premier after the August 2021 provincial election.

Quote: When asked this week whether an election was imminent. “It could be that we need to send a message to the federal government that Nova Scotians are united on what matters … and we need to take a strong position when we are negotiating with them on different issues.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2024.

A look at Zach Churchill, leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal party

The Canadian Press
Sun, October 27, 2024 



HALIFAX — Zach Churchill will be taking the Liberal Party of Nova Scotia into its first provincial election since he became leader.

Born: May 25, 1984.

Early years: He was raised in Yarmouth, N.S., where his mother was a teacher and entrepreneur. He is a descendant of Lebanese immigrants.

Education: He graduated with a bachelor of arts from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax in 2007.

Family: He and his wife Katie have two young daughters, Cecelia and Eva.

Before politics: He was a leader in student politics and after graduation was national director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations.

Politics: He was first elected to the provincial legislature in a 2010 byelection at the age of 26, representing the riding of Yarmouth. He was re-elected in 2013, 2017 and 2021. During the Liberals’ time in power after the 2013 election he held cabinet portfolios including health, education, natural resources and municipal affairs. He was elected party leader in July 2022.

Quote: When asked this week whether there is a legitimate reason for Premier Tim Houston to call an election. “I don’t think there is one right now. He has a majority government and he set a fixed election date in law … and we have to highlight that he’s willing to break that promise.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2024.

The Canadian Press

Election 'challenging' says Sask. Party's Moe, as NDP's Beck addresses her party's rural prospects

CBC
Sat, October 26, 2024 

NOT THE GREEN PARTY

Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe speaks to supporters at a rally Saturday in Saskatoon (Trevor Bothorel/CBC - image credit)


Saskatchewan's 2024 provincial election campaign is close to the finish line and the leaders of the NDP and the Sask. Party are making their final appeals.

Monday is the last day of voting (polls are closed on Sunday) and Elections Saskatchewan says results deciding who will govern the province — should be out by midnight that day.

The leaders of Saskatchewan's two main parties were in Saskatoon on Saturday renewing their pitches to voters.

Speaking to reporters after a noon-hour event, Sask. Party leader Scott Moe responded to questions about recent provincial elections outside of Saskatchewan.

That includes the New Brunswick election that brought an end to six years of Progressive Conservative rule.

The Liberals won after taking 31 seats there. In B.C. the race after an election earlier this month remains too close to call and counting resumed on the weekend with NDP maintaining a narrow lead.

"I would say incumbent governments have had it tough, and that's likely the case we're having — a challenging election, I would say here in Saskatchewan. That being said, we have 61 of the finest candidates," Moe said Saturday.

He also addressed some of the unexpected issues that have popped up on the campaign trail.

That includes a report that came out mid-campaign that former Sask. Party MLA Gary Grewal breached conflict of interest rules by owning motels that profited from government contracts.

There was also some confusion over damage to a Sask. Party campaign office that Moe initially said was caused by gunshots. Police later confirmed the damage was not caused by gunshots.

Then there were defections from one-time party loyalists, including Randy Weekes, former Sask. Party MLA and Speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislature.

Weekes made a series of allegations on his way out of the party and in recent days was among those putting his support behind the NDP and Carla Beck.

Moe says despite the challenges, his team has waged "a very strong campaign."

"There's been various discussions in the media and questions asked of which we've always right to provide the clarity. And we feel it's important for us as a party, for myself as a leader, to provide clarity to the people of Saskatchewan," Moe said.

He said the party is focused on forming a majority government and planning for a vibrant economy.

Sask. NDP Leader Carla Beck speaks at a rally outside the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon on Saturday.

Sask. NDP Leader Carla Beck speaks at a rally outside the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon on Saturday. (Trevor Bothorel/CBC)

Meanwhile, NDP leader Carla Beck was holding an event outside the Royal University Hospital to talk about health care.

Political experts have said the New Democrats need a breakthrough in rural constituencies to boost their chances of winning the election.

Speaking to reporters, Beck argued that that the issues her party is focusing on resonate in rural areas as much as they do in urban cities.

"Our message is not just for urban Saskatchewan, it's not just for a select few voters. These priorities — delivering relief on the cost of living, fixing our healthcare system, investing in our kids and their education, dealing with crime, mental health and addictions which are rising right across this province — these are issues no matter which community you're in," Beck said.

Beck said the NDP sat down with the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses to discuss the challenges they face in the healthcare system. She says she has a plan to invest more in health care, hire more workers, and reduce wait times.

"When we look at health care, rural Saskatchewan is facing some of the highest numbers of closures. Women giving birth on the side of the road, people going without care, lab service is closed, people being forced to get in their car and drive down sometimes, over two hours with symptoms of a heart attack," Beck said.

She said she's not ruling any constituencies out in rural and urban Saskatchewan.

"My whole family lives in rural Saskatchewan I've seen the impact on health care ... this is a message for all people in the province, we can deliver that change," Beck said.

She said if elected her priority would be providing relief on the cost of living, fixing the healthcare system, investing in education and dealing with crime, mental health and addictions.



'Dumb mistake': What politicians had to say during the Saskatchewan election campaign

The Canadian Press
Sun, October 27, 2024 



REGINA — Saskatchewan's provincial election is on Monday. The Saskatchewan Party, in government for the last 17 years, is hoping for a return to power, while the NDP is fighting to move out of the Opposition benches.

Here are some memorable quotes from politicians during the four-week campaign:

"Very dumb mistake. One word and it can change your life ... to the people involved, I offer my apology again. I wish I could bring it back. Unfortunately, I can't." — Saskatchewan Party candidate David Buckingham, after it came to light that he used a racial slur referencing a Black person in the government caucus office last year

"We very much strive to be a diverse and inclusive party, very much with the policies that we have enacted with the honour of forming government over the last decade and a half." — Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe said in response to Buckingham's apology

"I said things in my 20s that I don’t believe now whatsoever ... my focus now is on being a positive influence in our society, and any music I’ve created in recent years has been devoted to that." — NDP candidate Phil Smith, a former rapper, after the Saskatchewan Party criticized some of his lyrics as misogynistic, pro-drugs and pro-crime

"If that's what (Moe) wants to focus on, he can fill his boots ... but we're focused on the things that Saskatchewan people need." — NDP Leader Carla Beck in response to the Saskatchewan Party's criticism of Smith's music

"I'm so proud of our province and all that we have been able to achieve together." — Moe during the televised leaders' debate

"I see opportunity in every corner of this province. But under Scott Moe and the Sask. Party, there's too much opportunity being left on the table and too many Saskatchewan people being left behind." — Beck during the debate.

"There will be a directive that would come from the minister of education that would say that biological boys will not be in the change room with biological girls." — Moe said the campaign promise would be his first order of business if re-elected premier, as he had recently heard of a school change room complaint about the issue. The pledge was not part of the Saskatchewan Party's platform document.

""Politics is a difficult job. When you sign up for the job, you know that your public life will be open to scrutiny. Your children don't sign up for that." — NDP candidate Nicole Sarauer said in response to Moe's change room promise, as it was revealed another NDP candidate's children were the subjects of the school complaint.

"What appears is there was at least one bullet that was shot into their campaign office ... we've seen this in the U.S. presidential campaign, not in a provincial Saskatchewan election.” — Moe said after holes were found in a window at the Regina campaign office of Saskatchewan Party candidate Rahul Singh. Police later said the damage was not the result of a firearm.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2024.



A timeline look at Saskatchewan elections and governments over five decades

Jeremy Simes
Sun, October 27, 2024



REGINA — Saskatchewan's general election is on Monday. Here's a look at the provincial governments over the last five decades:

New Democrats, 1971-78

The NDP and leader Allan Blakeney, a former cabinet minister under Tommy Douglas, defeated Ross Thatcher's Liberals in 1971. Blakeney and the NDP were re-elected in 1975 and 1978.

Progressive Conservatives, 1982-86

Blakeney’s NDP was defeated by Grant Devine's Progressive Conservatives in 1982. Devine won a second term in 1986 but the PCs went down to defeat at the hands of the NDP and leader Roy Romanow in 1991.

New Democrats, 1991-2007

Romanow, a former attorney general under Blakeney, was premier for three terms. He retired in 2000 and Lorne Calvert was named the new party leader and premier. Calvert and the NDP won the 2003 election but lost to Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan Party in 2007.

Saskatchewan Party, since 2007

The Saskatchewan Party, founded a decade earlier by a coalition of former provincial Tories and Liberals, formed government for the first time in 2007 and won again in 2011, 2016 and 2020. Wall, a former ministerial assistant in Devine's government, was re-elected twice as premier. He retired in 2018 and his environment minister, Scott Moe, was voted by party members to replace him. Moe was at the helm for the win in the 2020 election, held during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2024.

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press

Two recounts to begin in B.C. election, as chance of NDP government grows

Ashley Joannou
Sun, October 27, 2024 



Recounts begin Sunday afternoon in two ridings where British Columbia’s New Democrats held slim leads after the initial count in last week’s still-undecided election.

Elections BC says the recounts in Juan de Fuca-Malahat on Vancouver Island and Surrey City Centre will begin at 1 p.m. and be posted online when they are complete.

The recounts were triggered because their margins after the initial tally last week were below 100, but counting of mail-in ballots on Saturday widened the NDP lead in Juan de Fuca-Malahat to 106 votes, and 178 in Surrey City Centre.


No leads have so far changed in the mail-in count that continues Sunday, but prospects for an NDP government have increased, as the party widens leads in some close races, and cuts back Conservative margins in others.

The closest undecided riding in the province is Surrey-Guildford, where the Conservative lead was cut to 12 votes on Saturday.

Premier David Eby's NDP is elected or leading in 46 seats and John Rustad's Conservatives in 45, both short of a 47-seat majority, while the Greens could hold the balance of power with two seats.

Chief Clarence Louie, Tribal Chair of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, issued a statement on Sunday calling for the B.C. Conservative candidate in Juan de Fuca-Malahat to be removed from the party over comments about Indigenous people.

On Friday, the Vancouver Sun published a recording in which a person it identifies as Marina Sapozhnikov calls First Nations people "savages." The newspaper says the comments came during an election-night conversation with a journalism student.

Louie called the reported comments "abhorrent and racist."

"These ignorant and hateful comments, which constitute a form of hate speech, have no place in our society. We call on B.C. Conservative Leader, John Rustad, to immediately take a clear and strong stand against hate and racism, by removing her from his political party," Louie said.

Rustad has issued a statement saying he was "appalled and deeply saddened" by the comments and that the party is "taking this matter seriously."

The final makeup of the 93-seat B.C. legislature won't be known until at least Monday, when more than 22,000 absentee and special votes will be counted.

Judicial recounts could take place after that, if the margin in a riding is less than 1/500th of all votes cast.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2024.

Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press

NDP widens lead in tight B.C. election races, raising chance of forming government

Ashley Joannou
Sun, October 27, 2024 

The resumption of counting in last week's nail-biting British Columbia election has seen the NDP widen its lead in two crucial races and move within 12 votes of the B.C. Conservatives in another.

No leads have changed among a handful of tight races, but tally updates provided by Elections BC increase the prospect of an NDP government.

The Conservatives had been hoping to flip NDP leads in Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre, the two closest races after the initial count ended last Sunday, but instead the ongoing tally of mail-in votes saw the NDP pull further ahead.


The NDP now leads in Juan de Fuca-Malahat by 106 votes, up from 23, while the party's candidate leads in Surrey City Centre by 178 votes, up from 93.

Narrow Conservative leads in Surrey-Guildford and Kelowna Centre have dropped below 100.

The initial tally after the Oct. 19 election ended with neither David Eby's NDP nor John Rustad's B.C. Conservatives securing the 47 ridings needed to form a majority in the 93-seat legislature.

As of the Elections BC update at 4 p.m. on Saturday, standings remain unchanged with NDP elected or leading in 46 seats and the Conservatives in 45, while the Greens could hold the balance of power after winning two seats.

But those could change, with the Conservative lawyer Honveer Singh Randhawa's lead in Surrey-Guildford over incumbent New Democrat Garry Begg dropping from 103 votes to just 12, with 226 ballots left to count when absentee and special votes are tallied provincewide on Monday.

Begg, a former RCMP officer, was first elected in 2017 and won the seat in 2020 with more than 60 per cent of the vote.

In Kelowna Centre, a Conservative lead of 148 votes has been pared back to 72, with 228 absentee and special votes to be counted.

If the NDP holds onto its current leads in the undecided races, it will be in a position to form a minority government if it secures Green support, but if it also wins a Conservative-led race such as Surrey-Guildford, it would have the narrowest of majorities.

To form a majority, the Conservatives must flip two ridings where the NDP leads, and while a minority Conservative government remains a possibility, the party's ideological gap with the Greens is wide.

The NDP lead widened in Coquitlam-Burke Mountain, while Conservative leads were cut in ridings including Courtney Comox, Maple Ridge East and Surrey Panorama.

There were more than 43,000 mail-in ballots to be counted in all 93 ridings across the province, in a process expected to be completed Sunday.

The elections authority will also conduct full recounts beginning on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the ridings of Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre because their margins after the initial count were under 100.

There will be a partial hand recount in Kelowna Centre due to a transcription error involving one tabulator used in the riding.

The final tally will then be completed on Monday with the counting of more than 22,000 absentee and special ballots, with results updated on Election BC's website hourly that day.

But even after that, judicial recounts could occur in ridings where the margin is less than 1/500th of all votes counted.

The B.C. Conservative candidate in Juan de Fuca-Malahat, meanwhile, is facing criticism from within her own party over reported comments about Indigenous people.

On Friday, the Vancouver Sun published a recording in which a person it identifies as Marina Sapozhnikov calls First Nations people "savages." The newspaper says the comments came during an election-night conversation with a journalism student.

Peter Milobar, the Conservative candidate in Kamloops Centre, said on social media platform X that he was "outraged" and "filled with sadness" over Sapozhnikov's alleged comments, which he called "reprehensible."

Sapozhnikov did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Rustad issued a statement on Saturday saying he was "appalled and deeply saddened" by Sapozhnikov's reported comments.

"Her words are not only inaccurate but profoundly harmful, painting a distorted picture of the communities I have worked alongside for many years," the statement read.

Rustad said the remarks do not reflect his party's values.

"We are taking this matter seriously," he said. "As leader, I am fully committed to ensuring that our party leads with respect and understanding for all British Columbians.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2024.

Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press

Voting machines did not delay results in British Columbia election

Gwen Roley / AFP Canada
Fri 25 October 2024

The Canadian province of British Columbia is recounting some votes in an October 2024 election to confirm which party will form a government, but the delayed results are not a product of malfunctioning technology. Elections BC says provincial law mandates tallying mail-in ballots after polling day, and two ridings have recounts due to close races.

"We're using brand new electronic voting machines, so you're not allowed to see the results until October 26," claims the speaker in an October 20 YouTube video.

Other users on X, Facebook and Rumble allege the lack of final results in the British Columbia election on October 19 is due to some sort of error with voting equipment. Some invoke debunked conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems, claiming the province's results were rigged or that a recount had been triggered because it used the firm's "voting machines."

Screenshot of a YouTube video taken October 25, 2024

Screenshot of a Facebook post taken October 25, 2024

Dominion, which makes election hardware and software, won a settlement worth hundreds of millions of dollars in a defamation lawsuit against Fox News alleging the network knowingly aired false claims linking the company's voting tech to a conspiracy to undermine the 2020 US election. Even after the lawsuit, allegations about the company still crop up in the United States and Canada.

The British Columbia race was marked by a neck-and-neck competition between the ruling BC New Democratic Party (NDP) and the ascendant Conservative Party of British Columbia. By the end of election day, there was no clear projection of which party would form a government, and attention turned to a final count for the whole province and recounts in two ridings scheduled for the following weekend.

Elections BC, the province's election agency, told AFP on October 24 that officials counted the votes using Dominion tabulators -- but the recounts are not because of the equipment's performance.

Rather, provincial election law (archived here) requires a hand recount for any race where the front-runner is ahead by less than 100 votes, as was the case this year in the districts of Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre.

"It's just because it's what the law is," said Elections BC spokesman Wesley MacInnis.

"We can't really speak to the intent of the legislators of adding that provision to the act, but I will say that tabulators are accurate."
Final count and recount

Elections BC announced in an October 24 press release that a one-vote discrepancy between an inventory of ballots cast and a tabulator result in Kelowna Centre would result in a partial hand recount in that riding (archived here).

The agency said this was likely due to human error and that the machine in question produced accurate results during testing. All recounts were to begin October 27.

Election officials also planned to conduct a final count for the entire province October 26-28, but not due to a tabulator malfunction.

"There's always been a final count no earlier than four days after election night," MacInnis said, citing provincial law.

"What appears to be happening with this election is that, because the results are so close and voters don't have clarity on which political party will be able to form government, the final count has become really important."

MacInnis said the final count mostly consists of mail-in ballots, and the pause after election day is required to assess eligibility. Officials will use tabulators to conduct the final count (archived here).
Tabulator testing and scrutineers

While some social media posts imply this is the first time British Columbia has used ballot tabulators, MacInnis said officials have previously used the technology in provincial by-elections (archived here).

He said that before voting begins, each party participates in tabulator testing where candidate representatives feed pre-selected "wild cards" into the equipment to assess whether it will produce the anticipated results (archived here).


He added that candidate representative observers, or scrutineers, were present on election day and would be present during the final count and recounts.

"We have seen some misinformation online that under BC's modernized voting model there's no scrutineers and it's just false," MacInnis said.

Stewart Prest, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia (archived here), told AFP there is a distinction between tabulators and voting machines, adding that the former does not raise election integrity concerns for him because officials retain paper copies as a fail-safe.

He confirmed the recent delay in results is because Elections BC followed procedure to ensure they are accurate.

"All this machinery exists and has existed prior to this election, and it exists to ensure the integrity of the election is respected," he said October 24. "What it really drives home is just how close this election was."

Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here.

B.C. election remains too close to call after counting resumes

CBC
Sat 26 October 2024 

B.C.’s governing NDP and the insurgent Conservatives are still tied up after counting resumed in the provincial election on Saturday. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press - image credit)


There is still no clear winner in the 2024 B.C. election after counting resumed on Saturday, according to Elections B.C.

A tallying of mail-in and advance voting ballots has widened the B.C. NDP's lead in two ridings, but the outcome for both districts won't be known until a full manual recount is completed on Sunday and Monday.

The NDP's lead over the B.C. Conservatives in the Juan de Fuca-Malahat riding has grown to 106 votes from the previous 20 votes, according to updated results posted by Elections B.C. at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The NDP's lead in the Surrey City Centre riding has grown to 162 votes from the previous 95.

Vatican summit praises women's leadership, but stops short on women clergy

Joshua McElwee
Sat, October 26, 2024 






VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A major Vatican summit of global Catholic leaders ended on Saturday with a call for women to be granted more leadership roles in the Church but stopped short of calling for women to be ordained as clergy.

The gathering, which included cardinals, bishops and lay people from more than 110 countries, also did not take a stand on inclusion of the LGBTQ community, despite discussion that it might call on the Church to be more welcoming.

Pope Francis called the month-long summit, known as a Synod of Bishops, to consider the future of the worldwide Church. It was the second of two gatherings, held a year apart, and featured closed-door discussions among 368 "members" with voting rights, including nearly 60 women.

Advocates for greater roles for women in the Church had hoped the synod might call for women to serve as deacons. In its final text, the synod did not move forward on that possibility, but said "there is no reason or impediment that should prevent women from carrying out leadership roles in the Church".

The question of women deacons, the document said, "remains open" and "discernment needs to continue".

The Catholic Church has an all-male clergy and Pope John Paul II declared it had no authority to ordain women as priests. But church historians say there is evidence that in earlier centuries women served as deacons - ordained ministers who, unlike priests, cannot celebrate the Mass.

Francis, 87, has previously created two Vatican commissions to consider ordaining women as deacons. The issue is one of 10 subjects in the synod's discussions that he has assigned for further study to groups that are to report to him by next June.

The synod's final document, a 52-page text approved by the assembly late Saturday afternoon, also called for lay Catholics to be given a greater voice in the selection of bishops, and apologised several times for the "untold and ongoing" pain suffered by Catholics who were abused by clergy.

The text's 155 paragraphs each required a two-thirds vote for approval. The paragraph on women deacons received the most no votes, 258-97, but still passed.

NO MENTION OF LGBTQ CATHOLICS

The text did not mention the LGBTQ community, though it made a veiled reference to people in the Church who "experience the pain of feeling excluded or judged because of their marital situation, identity or sexuality".

Treatment of LGBTQ Catholics had been a hot point of debate in the 2023 synod, with reports that some members offered emotional personal testimonies in the assembly about family members who feel excluded from the Church.

Rev James Martin, a prominent American Jesuit priest who ministers to the LGBTQ community and was a synod member, said it was "not a surprise" the new text did not specifically mention the group.

"We talk about the pain of those who feel excluded," he said of the final text. "The dialogue around LGBTQ issues was much easier this year".

Francis had been expected to issue his own document responding to the synod text, but he told the assembly he was no longer planning to do so. The pope said he instead wanted to offer the synod's text as a "gift" to the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

The pope is due to formally close the synod gathering with a Mass on Sunday in St. Peter's Basilica.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by David Holmes)

Pope closes Synod but questions over women's role in the church remain

Euronews
Sun, October 27, 2024 

Pope closes Synod but questions over women's role in the church remain


Pope Francis concluded the Synod of Bishops on Sunday, leaving the role of women in the Church unresolved. The final document offered no steps toward greater equity, with issues such as female deacons, married priests, and LGBTQIA+ discussions notably excluded.

Despite the omissions, the document reflects the Pope’s aim for a Church that listens attentively to its faithful. In a surprising move, however, Pope Francis chose not to publish the full document, leaving the matter of women’s role open-ended and fostering speculation on the Church’s stance on gender inclusivity.

Reforms on Women’s roles stalled

Deacons, who perform duties similar to priests such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals (but cannot lead Mass), have traditionally been men.

Advocates for change argue that allowing women to join the diaconate would help address the global priest shortage. Opponents worry that such a step might lead to women entering the all-male priesthood, something Pope Francis has said he does not support.

Conlusione dei lavori sinodali, Città del Vaticano, 26 ottobre 2024 - Gregorio Borgia/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved

“The time is not ripe,” Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, the Vatican’s top doctrinal official, said earlier this week in his address to the extraordinary assembly of 368 bishops and lay participants, including women.

Yet the ambiguity surrounding what constitutes ‘maturity’ for expanded roles of women in the Church administration remains.

Women not 'second class believers'

The synod had raised hopes for reform, particularly among women who feel relegated to a marginal role within the Church. Many feel their contributions are undervalued, and they are treated as “second-class” believers.

“We hear so many promises, yet see little meaningful progress,” said Patrizia Morgante, president of the Women for the Church Association. “I’m tired of hearing that women are the ‘heart’ of the Church. These are empty consolations we don’t need.”

Voicing her frustration with the Church’s lack of decisive action, Morgante said: “We want to be respected as individuals, not as functions. We want to discuss our experiences and have genuine dialogue in an equal relationship with men, whether consecrated or lay,” she added.

The Pope has shown openness to greater roles for women – but there’s pressure for him to go further
Christopher Lamb and Antonia Mortensen, CNN
Sun, October 27, 2024 at 10:41 a.m. MDT·4 min read



A sense of urgency has been growing after the role of women emerged as a dominant theme when Catholics from across the globe were canvassed for their views ahead of a meeting of bishops and lay people – a synod – which formally concluded Sunday.

The final Synod assembly document, approved by Pope Francis, said women must be given all the opportunities that church law provides to act as leaders, but left the possibility of ordaining women as deacons as an “open” question which needs further reflection.

Frustrations about the slow pace of reform bubbled into the open during the assembly when the pope’s doctrine adviser ruled out ordaining women as deacons and then failed to turn up to a meeting on the topic. He later apologized and held a 90-minute meeting with members of the assembly.

Some are unimpressed by what they see as the Vatican kicking the topic of deacons into the long grass.

Phyllis Zagano, a research professor at Hofstra University in New York and expert on female deacons, said that “there is abundant evidence of the sacramental ordinations of women as deacons in the Church, East and West, to the 12th century” and that “eventually a decision must be made.”

Francis has also faced criticism recently for expressing what one Belgian Catholic university denounced as “reductive” views on the role of women in the church. In an interview earlier this year, he ruled out the possibility of ordaining women deacons, who can carry out functions like a priest apart from saying Mass and hearing confessions.

The problem in the church is exacerbated given women make up a majority of churchgoers while an all-male hierarchy controls decision making. Furthermore, Catholic teaching bars women from ordination to the priesthood, a decision that Francis has maintained, although he has allowed studies of female deacons.

During previous papacies the question of ordaining women was not even up for discussion. The big difference now is that the 87-year-old Argentinian pontiff has shown he is willing to listen carefully to the voices of Catholics.

In a significant move, Francis, for the first time, said he would not issue a teaching document following the Vatican synod recommendations and approved their decisions, giving them added authority. “It’s a revolution that no one notices,” one cardinal told CNN afterwards about the pope’s move.

Pope Francis attends the second session of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod at the Vatican on Saturday. - Gregorio Borgia/AP

During his pontificate, Francis has also been trying to make cracks in the Vatican’s glass ceiling. He has chosen women to senior positions in the church’s central administration, including a religious sister to help run the synod and the first women members to sit on the board of a powerful Vatican department that decides on bishop appointments.

For the first time, women were also included as voting members, with 54 female voters among more around 360 delegates. One of those was Julia Oseka, 23, who is studying theology and physics at St Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is the youngest woman ever to be a voting member of a Vatican synod.

“There’s definitely an urgent need to not only realize and accept that women have an equal baptismal dignity to men in the Catholic Church, but also to take action,” she told CNN.

Oseka added that while she sometimes felt “frustrated” about the “slow pace” of decisions, some parts of the church “struggle” when it comes to the inclusion of women, and it was important to maintain unity.

Francis’ approach is also informed by the resistance to any reform to women’s roles: The declaration from the Vatican assembly on women received 97 “no” votes, the most of any section in the final document.

“There is resistance because there is still fear of this co-responsibility in the Catholic Church. But the participation and the role of the women is really a key issue,” Helena Jeppesen-Spuhler, a church worker from Switzerland and voting delegate, told CNN.

She said the pope had recognized that the question of female deacons cannot be “closed” and that it was important for the Catholic Church to send a message to the world where there is rising discrimination and violence against women. “If we don’t take a strong stand, it’s contradicting our own message,” she said.

For some, the pope and church leaders are not going far enough. “Women are looking for concrete changes and reforms that urgently recognize their equality,” Kate McElwee, the executive director of Women’s Ordination Worldwide, told CNN. “How much longer must women wait?”

Nevertheless, for a church which thinks in centuries what may seem like small steps to those on the outside are major leaps forward for many inside.


Pope Francis' Catholic church reform process ends without giving more equity to women

Sat, October 26, 2024 








The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis' yearslong process to reform the Catholic Church closed Saturday with recommendations that fell short of giving women more equity as hoped, but reflected the pope’s aims for a church that at least listens more to its followers.

In a significant move, the pope said he would not issue a teaching document from the recommendations, which called for women to be allowed all opportunities that Church law already provides while leaving open the contentious question of permitting women to be ordained as deacons.

As a result, it remains unclear what if any authority or impact the synod’s final recommendations will have, given the purpose of the exercise was to provide the pope with specific proposals on reform.

“In this time of war, we must be witnesses to peace” and give an example of living with differences, the pope said in explaining his decision.

Francis said he would continue to listen to the bishops' counsel, adding “this is not a classic way of endlessly delaying decisions."

Deacons perform many of the same functions as priests, such as presiding over baptisms, weddings and funerals, but they cannot celebrate Mass. Advocates say allowing women to be deacons would help offset the shortage of priests. Opponents say it would signal the start of a slippery slope toward ordaining women to the all-male priesthood that Francis has repeatedly reaffirmed.

Earlier this week, the Vatican's top doctrinal officer, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, told the extraordinary assembly of 368 bishops and laypeople — including women — that Francis had said the moment “is not ripe” for allowing ordination of women as deacons. He did not respond directly to a request to define what would determine “ripeness” for a greater role for women.

The multi-year synod process had sparked great hopes for change, especially for women, who have long complained that they are treated as second-class citizens in the church. Women are barred from the church's highest ministerial positions, yet do the lion’s share of the work running Catholic hospitals and schools and passing the faith onto future generations.

Speaking to the synod on Thursday, Fernandez explained that a special working group would continue beyond the closing of the meeting, but that its focus would be on discussing the role of women in the church — not in the diaconate, or the office of deacon. He added that while working with women in previous pastoral roles, “most did not ask for or want the diaconate, which would be cumbersome for their lay work.”

The meeting asked for “full implementation of all the opportunities already provided for in Canon Law with regard to the role of women, particularly in those places where they remain under-explored.” It leaves open “the question of women's access to diaconal ministry.”

It was the most contested paragraph of the final document, with 258 votes for and 97 against. It was not clear if the “no” votes were because the language went too far or not far enough.

Phyllis Zagano, a leading scholar on women deacons, said the "no” votes could indicate it is time for a decision to be made.

The outcome is a disappointment for Catholics who have been campaigning for recognition that women share a spiritual calling that is no different than a man’s. They also noted that despite the inclusion of women in the synodal process, the working group that is guiding discussions on women’s role is being run by the Roman curia, operating outside the synod.

“I think the final document will be received with much disappointment and frustration by many women around the world who are hoping for concrete changes,'' said Kate McElwee, the executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference.

While she acknowledged a “cultural shift,” she said "the pace of that shift is perhaps too slow for many women.”

Gay rights activists also expressed disappointment, noting the failure to include LGBTQ+ issues in the final documents. “The laity of the church must now become louder and more vigorous than ever in advocating for reform,'' said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry.

The first phase of the synod process ended last year by concluding it was “urgent” to guarantee fuller participation by women in church governance positions, and calling for theological and pastoral research to continue about allowing women to be deacons.

If before the synod the idea of allowing women to be deacons was a fringe proposal pushed by Western progressives, the idea gained attention during the debate. It became something of a litmus test of how far the church was going to go, or not, to address demands of women for greater equality and representation in the church's highest ranks.

Francis, had other ideas, insisting that ordaining women would just “clericalize” them and that there were plenty of other ways to empower women in the church, even leading Catholic communities, without resorting to ordination.

The Associated Press


Catholic church reform process expected to disappoint hopes of more equity for women

Sat, October 26, 2024 


VATICAN CITY (AP) — A yearslong process to reform the Catholic Church closes Saturday with recommendations that are expected to fall far short of hopes that women would be given more equity but that reflect the pope’s aims for a church that at least listens more to its flock.

The Vatican’s top doctrinal officer, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, told the extraordinary assembly of bishops and laypeople this week that Pope Francis said the moment for allowing ordination of women as deacons in the church “is not ripe.”

The multi-year synod process had sparked great hopes for change, especially for women, who have long complained that they are treated as second-class citizens in the church. Women are barred from the priesthood and the highest ministerial positions in the Catholic Church, yet do the lion’s share of the work running Catholic hospitals and schools and passing the faith onto future generations.

Speaking to the synod on Thursday, Fernandez explained that a special working group would continue beyond the closing of the meeting, but that its focus would be on discussing the role of women in the church — not in the diaconate. He added that while working with women in previous pastoral roles, “most did not ask for or want the diaconate, which would be cumbersome for their lay work.”

He did not respond directly to a request to define what would determine “ripeness” for a greater role for women.

The outcome is shaping up to be a disappointment for Catholics who have been campaigning for recognition that women share a spiritual calling that is no different than a man’s. They also noted that despite the inclusion of women in the synodal process, the working group that is guiding discussions on women’s role is being run by the Roman curia, operating outside the synod.

“I think it is very clear that ordained men get to decide when the time is right, and they get to decide what baptismal equality amounts to. It is very frustrating, but they laid it all out,’’ said Kate McElwee, the executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference.

The first phase of the synod process ended last year by concluding it was “urgent” to guarantee fuller participation by women in church governance positions, and calling for theological and pastoral research to continue about allowing women to be deacons.

Deacons perform many of the same functions as priests, such as presiding over baptisms, weddings and funerals, but they cannot celebrate Mass.

If before the synod the idea of allowing women to be deacons was a fringe proposal pushed by Western progressives, the idea gained attention during the debate. It became something of a litmus test of how far the church was going to go, or not, to address demands of women for greater equality and representation in the highest ranks of the church.

Francis, though, had other ideas, insisting that ordaining women would just “clericalize” them and that there were plenty of other ways to empower women in the church, even leading Catholic communities, without resorting to ordination.

Advocates say allowing women to be deacons would help offset the shortage of Catholic priests and address longstanding complaints about their second-class status.

Opponents say ordaining women to the deaconate would signal the start of a slippery slope toward ordaining women to the priesthood. The Catholic Church reserves the priesthood for men.

Francis has repeatedly reaffirmed the all-male priesthood and has sharply criticized “obtuse” agitators pressing for a female diaconate.

The Associated Press