SOCIALISM FOR THE RICH

Budget 2022: Ottawa unveils $2.6B carbon capture tax credit for energy sector


The Canadian Press

CALGARY — Ottawa is urging oil and gas companies to move quickly to take advantage of a major new tax credit for carbon capture and storage — a pricey technology that proponents say could play an important role in reducing this country's greenhouse gas emissions.

In the federal budget announced Thursday, the Liberal government said it will allocate $2.6 billion over five years to a tax credit for companies investing in projects that employ the technology, which traps greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources and stores them deep in the ground to prevent them from being released into the atmosphere.

Starting in 2022, companies will be able to claim a tax credit of up to 60 per cent for direct air capture projects and 50 per cent for all other eligible carbon capture projects. A 37.5 per cent tax credit is available for investment in equipment for carbon transportation, storage and use. (Enhanced oil recovery, which involves injecting carbon underground to extract more oil from older wells, is excluded from the tax credit.)

The government will decrease the tax credit rates by 50 per cent in 2031 in an effort to get companies to build their carbon capture projects now, not later.

Kent Fellows, an assistant professor of economics with the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy, said it's clear that Ottawa wants the needle to move.

"It's potentially a lot of money, and especially very quickly," Fellows said of the tax credit. "They (the government) are looking for this to happen quickly. They're looking for companies to get up off the couch, and actually get these proposals moving."

Canadian oil and gas companies have reported record profits in recent months due to soaring commodity prices. But while many companies have proposed investing in carbon capture as a way to reach their emissions reduction goals, most projects are still in the development phase.

The industry has said the large-scale buildout of carbon capture and storage in Canada will be contingent on government help. Energy producers had lobbied for a carbon capture tax credit to cover up to 75 per cent of the capital costs of investing in the expensive technology.

Some of the companies that have proposed carbon capture and storage projects include Enbridge Inc., Atco Ltd., and Capital Power. In addition, the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero initiative — an alliance of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Cenovus Energy Inc., ConocoPhillips, Imperial Oil Ltd., MEG Energy Corp., and Suncor Energy Inc — has proposed a major carbon capture and storage transportation line that would capture CO2 from oilsands facilities and transport it to a storage facility near Cold Lake, Alta.

That project alone could deliver about 10 million tonnes of emissions reductions per year and could be up and running by the end of the decade, according to the oilsands group.

“With this announcement, the federal government has recognized the importance of developing new technologies to help Canada fight climate change, as well as the importance of the oilsands to our country’s energy security," said Kendall Dilling, interim director of the Pathways to Net Zero Alliance, in a release Thursday.

“Because of the amount of long-term capital investment required to build carbon capture and storage infrastructure, and the speed we need to move at to meet 2030 targets, the countries that are doing this successfully are all using a collaborative model where governments are co-investing alongside industry," Dilling added.

Proponents say Canada can’t meet its climate goals without vastly expanding the use of carbon capture and storage technology. The government's recently released Emissions Reduction Plan envisions total emissions from the oil and gas sector — including production, refining and transportation via pipelines — falling to 110 million tonnes by 2030, down from 191 million tonnes in 2019.

"The International Energy Agency has determined that in order for the world to reach net zero, carbon capture and storage technologies are one of the tools in the tool box," said Mark Zacharias, special adviser to the B.C.-based think tank Clean Energy Canada.

"This (carbon capture) could be transformational," said Martha Hall Findlay, chief climate officer for Suncor. "Canada has had trouble meeting its emissions reductions targets ... and this could take us from having trouble meeting our targets to being a global leader in emissions reduction."

However, some environmentalists argue that offering a tax credit to oil and gas producers is akin to subsidizing fossil fuel production.

"Carbon capture is not a climate solution, it's a greenwashing strategy," said Julia Levin of Environmental Defence. "Instead of creating yet another fossil fuel subsidy, the government should have invested in proven climate solutions, including renewable energy, efficient affordable housing and electrification of transportation."

In late March, the government of Alberta selected six proposals from companies interested in developing what would be Canada’s first carbon storage and sequestration hubs, in the Edmonton region. The proposals selected were put forward by Enbridge Inc., Shell Canada, Wolf Midstream, Bison Low Carbon Ventures, Enhance Energy and a joint-venture project from TC Energy and Pembina Pipeline Corp.

Also in Thursday’s budget, the federal government announced a new 30 per cent tax credit for exploration projects related to critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt, which are used in the production of electric cars and batteries.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2022.

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

Without carbon capture, we won't reach net

zero: Anne McLellan

Anne McLellan, senior advisor at Bennet Jones (and former Deputy Prime Minister); Ray Williams, vice chairman of National Bank Financial; and Sean Speer, PPF Scotiabank fellow with the Public Policy Forum, discuss Ottawa's expected commitments to transition to a green economy, including the carbon capture storage and utilization (CCUS) tax credit.

THE REALITY IS THAT CCS IS NOT GREEN NOR CLEAN IT IS GOING TO BE USED TO FRACK OLD DRY WELLS SUCH AS IN THE BAKAN SHIELD IN SASKATCHEWAN

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-myth-of-carbon-capture-and-storage.html

ALSO SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=CCS

'May not align:' Guilbeault pens letter to Suncor over oilsands mine expansion GHGs


The Canadian Press


Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has warned Canada's biggest oilsands producer that its planned mine expansion may not meet climate targets.

In a letter released Wednesday to Mark Little, the head of Suncor Energy Inc., Guilbeault says the greenhouse gases that would be released by the company's proposed Base Mine expansion in northern Alberta may conflict with the government's carbon-reduction goals.

"Emissions at this level may not align with the pace and scale of emissions reductions required to achieve our targets," the letter says.

"I am of the opinion that the project, as currently proposed, would likely cause unacceptable environmental effects within federal jurisdiction."

Guilbeault also said the government is reviewing how fossil fuel projects are evaluated against each other.

"The government will develop guidance for how oil production projects subject to review ... should demonstrate that their emissions will be 'best in class,'" his letter says.

That statement came as the federal Liberals approved the Bay du Nord oil project off the coast of Newfoundland, which is projected to emit carbon dioxide at about one-eighth the rate of Suncor's proposal.

Suncor has been before the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada since July 2020 for its proposed extension. The project near Fort McMurray would continue to supply Suncor's upgraders with 25 years' worth of bitumen after the current mine is depleted.

Earlier this week, the company asked the agency for an extra nine months to file information required for the review. Suncor made the request, according to documents on the agency's website, to better align the project with Suncor's goals to be carbon-neutral by 2050 as well as the government's emissions reduction plan.

"Some things have changed since we submitted the detailed project description," Suncor spokeswoman Sneh Seetal said in an email.

"We want the opportunity to ... review government initiatives and meet the requirements set out by the (assessment agency). We want the best project possible."

The letter from Guilbeault signals the government is serious about reducing emissions without necessarily reducing oil production, said Martin Olszynski, a University of Calgary law professor with long expertise in energy regulation. He points out the government is expected to soon reveal a cap on total emissions from the oil and gas sector.

"The question then becomes, Where are you going to get the best bang for your buck," he said.

It will be tough for oilsands projects to match the low carbon intensity of offshore production, Olszynski said, even if the carbon is stored underground or the energy to run them is carbon-free.

"Even with (carbon capture and storage) and small modular reactors, with all that money and risk you still don't get near the incredibly low GHG you get from the offshore. The business case seems pretty obvious."

Olszynski adds the government has yet to define what "best in class" means -- whether oilsands projects will be compared with each other or if all oil developments will be included.

Seetal said the mine extension project can be modified to meet both the government's new policy environment and the company's increased climate-change ambition.

"We’re taking more time to improve the project in alignment with our strategy which includes meeting our emissions reduction ambition to be net-zero ... and meet the additional requirements set out by the (impact assessment) agency over the past year."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2022.

-- Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

First wildlife overpass outside a national park being built on Highway 1 in Alberta



The Canadian Press

LAC DES ARCS, ALBERTA — Construction has started on a wildlife bridge over the Trans-Canada Highway where dozens of elk have been killed by vehicles driving through Alberta's mountains.

Alberta Transportation said the overpass, the first in the province to be built outside a national park, will be located east of Canmore, Alta., and will cost about $17.5 million.

"This overpass will drastically reduce the chances of vehicle-wildlife collisions," Transportation Minister Rajan Sawhney said at a news conference Thursday.

There will also be 12 kilometres of fencing along both sides of the highway.

Seven elk were killed in a collision with a transport truck in April 2019 — the third time that year the RCMP reported multiple elk had been killed in collisions on the busy highway.

Miranda Rosin, member of the legislature for Banff-Kananaskis, said the collision prompted a conversation about the need for change.

"We were fortunate that day to have no human lives lost," she said. "We must still remember that every life lost on that highway is felt in our community and that day it included the lives of those seven elk."

Rosin said wildlife-vehicle collisions are common in the area.

"Hundreds of animals die on this highway every year as a result of motor vehicle collisions and it has always been only a matter of time until a human being meets the same fate," she said.

Alberta Transportation said about 30,000 vehicles use that stretch of highway every day.

An Alberta First Nation and an environmental group applauded the move.

"This overpass is going to help advance ongoing conservation efforts like grizzly bear recovery. It will help support strong populations and large numbers of wildlife in the area," said Adam Linnard, Alberta program manager for the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative based in Canmore.

"It will also help prevent car accidents."

Yellowstone to Yukon is a joint Canada-United States not-for-profit organization dedicated to protecting wildlife and wilderness in the Rocky Mountains.

Chief Clifford Poucette of Wesley First Nation said a lot of trails animals use in the area were "natural and traditional paths for migration and feeding."

Poucette said the overpass will help reconnect wildlife habitat and increase vehicle safety for travellers.

Alberta Transportation said there's an average of 69 collisions involving animals annually on the Trans-Canada Highway between Highway 40 and Banff National Park.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2022.

— By Colette Derworiz in Calgary

The Canadian Press

THE REBATE KENNEY NEVER MENTIONS

Increased carbon rebates coming in cheques

A family of four in Alberta receives a refund of $1,079 on their 2021 taxes through the federal government’s climate action incentive payment.

“It’s a refund on the carbon tax you pay for your heating, your gas and anything else they charge carbon tax on,” Marilyn Dixon, preparer with Liberty Tax on Dunmore Road, told the News.

In Alberta the federal carbon tax – also known as a fuel charge – is automatically applied to heating and gas, among select other expenses. Prior to the 2021 tax year, the climate action incentive payment was called the climate action incentive rebate and was automatically paid out with an individual’s income tax. Now, taxpayers must apply for the CAIP by filling out a form titled Schedule 14 with their annual tax return.

“I think a lot of people didn’t realize they were getting it the last two years, because it’s always been attached to your income tax and now it’s being paid out separately,” said Dixon. “When you come in and do your income tax returns, we do a schedule – called Schedule 14 – which is for your climate action. We fill that all out and make sure your information’s up to date and have all of your dependent and it is filed along with your income tax.”

Anyone who chooses to do their own taxes must ensure they complete Schedule 14 and submit it with the rest of their tax information to receive the refund.

The refund is available to all residents of Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. To qualify, an individual must have resided in one of the four provinces during the 2021 tax year.

Individuals who live in small or rural communities are eligible for an additional 10 per cent supplement, so long as they indicate so in the required field on Schedule 14.

The refund amount is calculated based on an individual’s province of residence, marital status and number of dependents. In Alberta, an individual who lives alone and not in a small town or rural community can expect to receive $539; they will receive an additional $270 for a spouse and $135 for each child, up to two.

CAIP rates have continually risen since its establishment in Alberta in 2019. In its first year, an Albertan family of four who did not live in a small town or rural community, received $888 total. In 2020, that number rose to $981 total.

The 2021 refund will be paid in three increments.

“Normally they would pay it in April, July, October and January,” said Dixon, “but the first payment is going to be six months worth, as it’s going to be the April and July payment together.”

Individuals filing their tax return do not need to provide additional information.

“We just need to know if you have a partner and the names of your children,” said Dixon.

Dixon encourages Hatters to connect with her team at Liberty Tax at 587-801-1069 for more information about the CAIP or to book a tax return appointment.

“Right now we are open seven days a week and taking appointments (each day),” she said. “It’s always a great idea to phone ahead and book an appointment as we are very busy right now.”

KENDALL KING, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Medicine Hat News

COACHING IS ABUSE

University of Toronto scholars ask Sport Minister for a review of Own The Podium
The Canadian Press
© Provided by The Canadian Press



TORONTO — Three University of Toronto sport scholars are asking Canada's sport minister to take a look at Own The Podium's mandate amid mounting allegations of athlete maltreatment.

In a letter to Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge, Bruce Kidd, Peter Donnelly and Gretchen Kerr said that OTP has a medals-first mandate that puts pressure on national sport organizations to prioritize top results over health and safety.

"What began as a carrot has turned out to be a stick," the letter said. "We believe that the ultimate measure for the success of the Canadian sports system should not be medals, but the health and wellbeing of athletes, and the quality and quantity of the opportunities we provide Canadians in sports, both at the highest levels and at the grassroots."

Kidd, Donnelly and Kerr joined a growing chorus of voices for sweeping changes in Canada's sport system after recent accusations of maltreatment in a number of sports.

St-Onge held an emergency roundtable meeting last week in Ottawa, telling The Canadian Press that since she was appointed Sport Minister almost six months ago, more than eight national sport organizations have faced accusations of everything from sexual abuse to misappropriation of funds.

St-Onge vowed to accelerate the opening date of an independent complaint mechanism through the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, and on Tuesday former artistic swimmer Sarah-Eve Pelletier was named as Canada's first sport integrity commissioner. On Thursday, the federal government announced $16 million for Pelletier's office allocated over three years.

More than 70 current and retired gymnasts — the number has grown to over 300 — wrote to Sport Canada last week asking for an independent investigation into their sport in Canada.

Under the Twitter handle @Gym4ChangeCan, they said Thursday that they'd spoken with the Sport Minister's office this week "and are encouraged by these discussions. We look forward to meeting again in the near future about the next steps to make gymnastics safe for all."

OTP, meanwhile, was established to help the Canadian team top the medal standings at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and recommends how much federal funding each sport receives. CEO Anne Merklinger said, however, there's been a shift in mandate in recent years to a more "values-based approach" to sporting excellence.

"While the initial focus was primarily on medals, over the last four to five years, we've worked very hard to ensure that essentially how Canada’s athletes achieve success on the international stage is as important as the results themselves," Merklinger told The Canadian Press. "It's not just about reaching performance goals, but how you achieve those goals in a supportive culture of excellence that is safe for all to enjoy the journey. We've been working very hard on that."

Merklinger pointed to Maggie Mac Neil's recent news she won't compete in individual events at the world championships. The Olympic swim champion said the pressure had been affecting her mental health. She told CBC that "(Swimming Canada) definitely have been thinking of us as a person first which is so important. I'm grateful for that."

"There are many of those examples," Merklinger said. "We can always be better, and everyone is working hard together to be better, including Own The Podium."

Among their suggestions to Sport Canada, Kidd, Donnelly and Kerr said athlete representatives should constitute a minimum of 30 per cent of national sport and multi-sport organizations, as "they know better than anyone what they need to succeed and stay healthy."

They suggest a completely independent review of the funding framework, including incentives set out by Sport Canada and OTP.

And thirdly, they recommend an independent study of the requirements needed for a cultural change to prioritize athletes' rights, health and wellbeing.

"Healthy, happy athletes also win medals, and go on to live healthy, fulfilling lives without the physical and mental damage we’re hearing athletes speak about now," they wrote.

Merklinger said four national sport organizations, in consultation with their athletes, will soon be participating in a pilot project of a new tool that is "that stresses a balanced approach to people and performance.

"Experts have developed this tool, not OTP," she said. "So, we believe it will be of significant value for the system. Our focus as an organization is to really provide tools for national sport organizations to strengthen their own culture."

In recent weeks, dozens of Canadian bobsled and skeleton athletes wrote an open letter calling for the resignation of their NSO's acting CEO and high performance director amid what they called a toxic culture. The gymnasts followed with a similar letter to Sport Canada a month later, asking for a third-party investigation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2022.

Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press

ALBERTA
Protestors look to ditch the UCP k-6 draft curriculum

About 70 people gathered outside the Grande Prairie city hall last weekend, joining a province-wide protest asking the province to eliminate the K-6 draft curriculum.

Protests also took place last Saturday in other cities including Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer.

Andrea Willman organized the protest in Grande Prairie.

“It's incomprehensible to try and implement a curriculum across the province in so many places at the same time, without at least a year of working together,” said Willman, a substitute teacher for Grande Prairie Public School Division and mother of two in grades two and five.

“It's built to fail,” she said.

School divisions were given the opportunity to pilot the draft curriculum in the 2021/2022 school year. Many, including the Peace Wapiti Public School Division (PWPSD) and Grande Prairie and District Catholic School Division (GPCSD), did not.

On March 10, the province announced it would be moving forward with the K-6 draft curriculum in a scaled-back version with mathematics and English language arts and literature for K-3 and physical education and wellness for K-6 starting this fall.

Willman says that the curriculum needs to be delayed.

“What they're launching in May, we don't actually know because they've told us they haven't finalized it, which means no one's piloted the whole thing.”

PWPSD sent a letter to provincial education minister Adriana LaGrange requesting a delay of the draft.

“This isn't political; it's about doing what's best for kids,” Dana McIntosh, PWPSD chair, told Town & Country News in March.

“We do appreciate that the scope of implementation has been scaled back, but we still think that the best way to proceed would be to have a staggered approach to implementation.”

Willman says that teachers have never seen an implementation of a curriculum like this before.

“There's always been a year or two with built-in professional development and in-services,” said Willman.

“There have always been resources available for the year ahead of time, and there are no resources available now.”

“My opinion is it is a smoother transition when the curriculum implementation is staggered,” Bob Stewart, PWPSD superintendent, told the News in March.

“Staggering allows greater opportunities for collaboration, and the new curriculum is also expensive to implement due to training and acquiring these new resources.”

Dustin Archibald attended the protest and has a child going into Grade 4.

“I took a look at the draft, and I knew that it was going to be terrible for my son.”

“The whole thing needs to be redone, from the ground up, so that people can have a good education, something that we can be proud of and not something that is just on the whims of a single political party.

“Previous curriculums we're done across parties and previous curriculum were vetted by experts; this one was not.

“We want to have actual experts who know about teaching, know about education, and know about children's development, and we really want to make sure that that happens.”

Organizers collected about 61 postcards in Grande Prairie at the protest that will be sent to minister LaGrange’s office as well as approximately 2,000 more from Calgary and Edmonton, said Willman.

The postcard states: “Over 40,000 Albertans, 95 per cent of teachers, school boards, school trustees, the Deans of Education, First Nation, Metis, Inuit, francophone, LGBTQ2+, have spoken loud and clear.

“The 2021 draft curriculum is terrible and will not prepare children for the future.”

It then calls for a full moratorium of the curriculum.

Nicole Sherk, a physical education teacher who has children entering kindergarten, grade 2 and grade 4 in the upcoming year, says the curriculum is missing vital topics and perspectives.

“Sadly, this curriculum erases all the efforts made in the last years to build up phys ed as a class for everyone as a part of a comprehensive school health framework that values the whole person,” said Sherk.

“Teachers can literally not teach it; students don't want to learn it.”

She said topics like bullying, emotions, stress, anxiety, substances and cyber safety are not explored at appropriate times.

She noted that perspectives from people with disabilities, LGBTQ2+, First Nations, Metis, Inuit, and Francophones are missing.

Sherk cited that even the N.W.T. - which had used the Alberta curriculum for some 40 years – chose not to adopt this one.

Last December, the N.W.T. announced it would be using the B.C. curriculum in a phased approach over several years.

“British Columbia’s redesigned curriculum aims to personalize learning, making it more student-centered and flexible,” said R.J. Simpson, N.W.T. education minister.

He noted the B.C. curriculum’s emphasis on indigenous knowledge, and a focus on literacy and numeracy skills would benefit students.

Nicole Sparrow, LaGrange's press secretary, attributed the N.W.T. government's decision to a desire to adopt a curriculum that is ready-to-go,” according to a CBC article.

On Saturday in Grande Prairie, speeches at the protest ended with a song from the Grande Prairie chapter of the Raging Grannies.

“Don’t mess with our curriculum; that’s what we’re here to tell ya.

“It's not too late to stop; and listen to the experts,” sang the group.

Jesse Boily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Town & Country News

Albertans rally to support public health-care system after Yiu's departure FIRING as AHS president

Lisa Johnson - Yesterday 
Edmonton Journal

© Provided by Edmonton JournalDemonstrators protest during the Rally to Support Public Healthcare organized by Protect our Province Alberta at the Alberta legislature in Edmonton on Wednesday, April 6, 2022.

The removal of Alberta Health Service’s president and CEO has sparked renewed concerns about the UCP government’s plans to shift more services to private providers.

In Edmonton, about 75 people including public health care advocates, doctors, NDP MLAs and union leaders gathered at the steps of the legislature to show support for public health care Wednesday while protesters gathered at McDougall Centre in Calgary.

The rallies, organized by the group Protect our Province, came after AHS announced Monday Dr. Verna Yiu was out as president and CEO. Edmonton’s rally saw one attendee with a sign declaring “we want Yiu back.”

Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) president Mike Parker said at the demonstration the UCP appears “hell-bent” on privatizing health care.

“I would suggest that the CEO was getting in the way of these actions to privatize,” Parker told Postmedia, adding while workers face wage rollbacks, they are also struggling to staff up, with 400 vacant paramedic shifts in the next week in Edmonton alone.

Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said at the legislature the idea that private services can offer improvements has been “debunked, disproved and discredited,” while Friends of Medicare executive director Chris Gallaway accused the UCP of wanting to break the health-care system in order to claim to be fixing it.

Since Monday’s announcement, Yiu expressed her support of Canadian public health care “as a basic universal right” in an updated Twitter biography that previously touted her having the “best job in Canadian health care.”

The province’s plan to double the number of publicly-funded surgeries through private facilities in an effort to cut wait times was put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Health Minister Jason Copping said Monday those plans are back on the front burner.

“It’s time to move forward with an ambitious agenda to improve and modernize the health system, and renewed leadership at Alberta Health Services will support delivering those changes,” Copping said.


© Ian KucerakDemonstrators protest during the Rally to Support Public Healthcare organized by Protect our Province Alberta at the Alberta legislature on Wednesday, April 6, 2022.

With the start of the spring sitting of the legislature, Premier Jason Kenney said the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the need to expand Alberta’s health-care capacity, and that under the surgical initiative, no Albertan would have to pay for surgery with a credit card. With a $515-million boost to health operating spending in the most recent budget, the government has also promised to expand intensive care and improve paramedic service while training and recruiting more health-care workers.

On Wednesday NDP Leader Rachel Notley held a news conference in Calgary where she demanded the UCP government halt their plans to revamp the system and let voters decide between the two parties’ health care platforms.

“I am calling on them to take their plans for cuts, chaos and American-style health care off the table and put it on the ballot with honesty,” said Notley, who also accused the UCP of firing Yiu to pave the way for widespread health care privatization.

“The fact that they had to fire her to make way for their changes should raise the alarm for every Albertan,” said Notley, promising that her party, if elected, would provide stable funding for public health care, stop wage cuts for workers and increase mental health supports.

Speaking to Postmedia’s web series Under the Dome earlier this week, Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt said the timing of Yiu’s departure should be understood within the context of the party’s upcoming review of Kenney and the disapproval many rural UCP MLAs had for Yiu’s management of AHS during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He noted allowing more private delivery of public health care has long been on the UCP’s agenda, but without an immediate replacement for Yiu, “how do you implement such a dramatic change in the health-care system months before the election?”

lijohnson@postmedia.com

twitter.com/reportrix

WHEN THE STATE GOES ON STRIKE

Alberta’s Crown prosecutors consider walking off the job

Sarah Ryan - 21m ago
Global News
© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson


The Alberta Crown Attorneys' Association, which represents more than 75 per cent of crown prosecutors in the province, held a virtual meeting Wednesday night to discuss potential job action.

Crown prosecutors represent victims of crime. They work for the community at large and are an integral part of the justice system.

"Our members are beyond frustrated with the government," explained president Dallas Sopko.

"We've been trying to get the ear of our government to address the crisis that currently exists in the justice system for years now."

During the last provincial election, the UCP promised to hire 50 new Crown prosecutors.

Read more:

‘It’s a crisis’: Shortage of Alberta Crown prosecutors means 1,200 serious files at risk of being stayed

In October 2019, then justice minister Doug Schweitzer was talking about combating rural crime when he said "from hiring more prosecutors to providing more funding for the rural Alberta response team, those are campaign commitments that we made and my direction from the premier is to get them done."

But things haven't improved, Sopko said, pointing to St. Paul where he said crime is high and Crowns are in short supply.

He said one prosecutor could be faced with juggling 30-40 trials a week, when a sustainable amount in other provinces is a quarter of that.

"Especially when we're working big cases, it's not unusual to be working 70 or 80 hours a week. We enjoy the job prosecutors do, but we're being asked to do to much and to take on too much, too soon."

Video: Shortage of Alberta Crown prosecutors means 1,200 serious files at risk of being stayed

The association recently wrote a letter to Premier Jason Kenney in a last ditch effort to allow the Crowns to start their own union. It explicitly states: "Your government's neglect has forced us to consider job action."

It outlines "crushing file loads, inadequate mental health supports and uncompetitive compensation" as reasons why Alberta currently has 37 vacant positions -- a dozen of those in Edmonton alone.

That work is being piled onto others as senior prosecutors leave for other jurisdictions.

"The risk always is that we come to court unprepared because we don't have time, or we don't have the experience to do what needs to be done," Sopko said.

"What can happen in those cases is an unjust result."

He said 3,000 cases are already so delayed the accused could walk because of the Jordan ruling from the Supreme Court. The ruling demands justice in a reasonable timeframe.

Read more:

Alberta justice minister addresses memo, defends new triage protocol for prosecutors

Another issue? Crowns in Alberta have been triaging cases for five years now - tossing viable cases right off the hop, and breaking that news to victims. It started under the NDP in recognition there weren't enough resources to handle all the cases.

"We have to go to them and say, 'It appears a crime was committed against you, but we don't have the resources, the government hasn't given us the money to deal with it. So, sorry, you're not going to get your day in court.' That's a really crushing thing for us to have to do."

The UCP vowed to eliminate the triage protocol years ago.

"The notion that criminals are getting off Scot-free, simply because we have an inadequate number of prosecutors is, to me, totally unacceptable," Kenney said in 2019.

Video: Alberta doubles number of Crown articling students

In response to the recent letter, Justice Minister Tyler Shandro declined an interview, but provided a written statement.

"I have instructed the Department of Justice to invite the Alberta Crown Attorneys’ Association to an enhanced consultation early next week to seek ways to collaboratively address the concerns highlighted in their correspondence," it said.

Sopko said that's already been done without success in the past.

"It seems at this point to be nothing more than a stall tactic."

He adds the only provinces where Crowns are not allowed to unionize independently are Alberta, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island.

"It's not all about money to prosecutors here, but at some point it's impossible to stay when there's an offer to do the exact same job somewhere else for up to 40 per cent more with less workload and more supports."

There are around 380 Crown prosecutors in Alberta. Sopko said the majority of them are could walk off the job within a month, crippling the justice system.

Alberta prosecutors meet to consider strike

The Alberta Crown Attorneys' Association (ACAA) will meet Wednesday evening to consider taking job action.


© Jason Franson/The Canadian PressA courtroom at the Edmonton Law Courts building.

Janice Johnston - 
cbc.ca


The group, representing 380 Crown prosecutors across the province, sent a letter to Premier Jason Kenney on March 22 to address what it called "the crisis in the justice system" and the possibility of taking "drastic steps."

Copied on the letter to the premier were Tyler Shandro and Kaycee Madu, the current and former justice ministers

The association alleges that "chronic underfunding" of Alberta's prosecution service is coming to a head and that all attempts to meet with the current and former justice ministers had been rejected.

"We have been rebuffed by everyone else we approached in government with authority over our working conditions," the letter states. "Your government's neglect has forced us to consider job action."

Alberta Justice would only say that they would continue to work collaboratively with the association about its concerns.

Association president Dallas Sopko told CBC News that he and his colleagues feel like they've run out of options.

"As far as I know, it's the first meeting of its kind in the 50-year history of our association," Sopko said.

"We'll be talking about what our options are, we'll be getting advice, we'll be hearing from others in other jurisdictions about their experiences with strike and being on the precipice of a strike."

The ACAA said there is an ongoing and chronic shortage of prosecutors and a high rate of prosecutor turnover due to crushing workloads and pay that has not kept pace with inflation.

"We have seen a significant number of prosecutors leave the ACPS [Alberta Crown Prosecution Service] for places like British Columbia and Ontario, to the extent that the ACPS often seems like a farm team for other prosecution services," the letter states.

During the 2019 election campaign, Kenney promised to hire 50 new prosecutors. The ACAA said that as of March 22, there were still 37 vacancies.

"That means that the government is still coming up about 75 per cent short on this commitment three years later," the letter said, claiming that rural cases are especially hard hit, due to a lack of prosecutors and inexperienced lawyers.

"Every day, junior prosecutors are tasked with very serious cases, including jury trials involving child sexual assaults with relatively little training," the ACAA claims. "It is untenable to repeatedly replace experienced prosecutors with brand-new lawyers and expect them to carry the torch."

Evan McIntyre, an Edmonton criminal defence lawyer and vice-president of the Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association, said he's noticed a marked decline in prosecutor morale.

"The writing's been on the wall for a few years here," McIntyre said. "That's sort of manifested itself as an exodus of many senior people to other prosecution agencies."
Thousands of criminal cases at risk of being stayed

A month ago, Shandro told the Alberta Municipalities conference that the province has no criminal court cases at risk of being tossed because of unreasonable delay. At the time, defence lawyers and prosecutors rejected that claim.

A Supreme Court decision called Jordan puts hard timelines on what is considered unreasonable delay in getting a case from charge to trial.

For provincial court cases, the timeline is 18 months while superior court matters have up to 30 months.

The ACAA letter claims there are currently more than 2,000 serious and violent provincial court cases that exceed the presumptive Jordan ceiling and are at risk of being stayed, including child sex assaults, aggravated and domestic assaults and robberies. They claim another 1,000 provincial court cases outside the serious and violent category are also at risk.

"These numbers do not include the hundreds of serious and violent cases at risk in Queen's Bench, including murders," the letter states.

McIntyre thinks that would only be exacerbated if prosecutors initiated job action after two years of delays caused in part by the pandemic.

"The impact would be devastating. I think it would be incredible," McIntyre said. "If there was job action of that nature and further shutdowns, I think you would see many people having to wait months if not extra years to get their day in court."

UCP; PARTY OF PETTINESS
Questions raised after veteran prosecutor who ran as NDP candidate passed over for Queen's counsel appointment


Alberta’s one-time NDP justice minister is raising questions after a former staffer and candidate for the party — a 20-year veteran prosecutor — was passed over for a special distinction.


© Provided by Edmonton JournalAlberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro named 144 lawyers to the provincial Queen's Counsel roles Wednesday, but is facing criticism for passing over an experienced prosecutor who was a former NDP candidate.

On Wednesday, UCP Justice Minister Tyler Shandro honoured 144 Alberta lawyers with the title Queen’s Counsel Learned in the Law, an appellation with roots in Elizabethan England that carries perks including special silk robes and precedence in court.

Kathleen Ganley, now the NDP energy critic, said she was “shocked” when Moira Vane’s name was not on the list.

“She’s been a Crown for 20 years,” Ganley said Thursday, when asked about the issue at a news conference on a separate topic.

“She’s incredibly hardworking, she’s dedicated. She’s launched a number of programs for the community, including support for mental health, including helping young lawyers who can’t afford robes to get robes.”

“I can’t say exactly what (the ministry) was thinking but it looks an awful lot like she’s being punished for having the wrong opinions.”

Vane declined to comment.

Under Alberta’s Queen’s Counsel Act, prospective QCs are screened by a committee including representatives from the ministry of justice, the provincial law society, the courts and the Canadian Bar Association.

A list of recommended candidates is then sent to the justice minister — who can add additional candidates before the list is sent to cabinet for approval.


© Supplied Moria Vane, a federal prosecutor in Edmonton, law society bencher and a former Alberta NDP candidate, was passed over for a Queen’s counsel title this week, raising accusations of political interference from Alberta’s former NDP justice minister.

A Wednesday news release said Shandro added his own candidates above and beyond those recommended by the committee, but a ministry spokesperson would not confirm which of the 144 candidates had been selected in that way.

The final 2022 list included Energy Minister Sonya Savage and UCP MLA Mickey Amery, while the 2020 QC appointments included former justice minister Doug Schweitzer and Shandro himself.

“The appointees receiving the Queen’s counsel designation this year help set the standard for service to Albertans through our justice system,” Shandro said in a statement Wednesday.

The Alberta NDP paused the award of Queen’s counsel designations as part of a review of the process, “to make sure we were taking out not just the politics, but the fact that the process had a tendency to produce a certain demographic,” Ganley said Thursday. “There were fewer women appointed (and) there tended to be fewer people of colour appointed.”

The party did end up appointing QCs during its term, but only those from the committee list. Ganley did not appoint herself a QC and the review was not completed.

Vane served as Ganley’s chief of staff and in 2019 ran unsuccessfully provincially for the party in Strathcona-Sherwood Park before returning to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. In 2020, she was elected to the board of the Law Society of Alberta — a position known as a bencher — and established a used “robe bank” for new lawyers who cannot afford the expensive court garments.

Victoria Jones, a lawyer and supporter of Vane’s , said it is tradition for law society benchers to be appointed QC, and that she even knew of cases when elected benchers were granted QCs despite not meeting the 10-year requirement for appointment.

“If you become one of those positions, you kind of earned it in a certain sense, because the profession has recognized you in a leadership role,” she said, adding it “doesn’t smell right” that Vane wasn’t given the designation.

She said the episode will feed cynicism about the QC appointment process.

The ministry of justice did not respond when asked for comment on the issue.

jwakefield@postmedia.com

twitter.com/jonnywakefield

ATA says UCP's teacher discipline changes would 'politicize' process

Madeline Smith - Yesterday 
Edmonton Journal


The Alberta Teachers’ Association is slamming the UCP government’s plan to overhaul the province’s teacher complaint and discipline process as a “massive power grab” that opens the door to political interference.


© Shaughn ButtsAlberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling.

ATA president Jason Schilling said Wednesday that after analyzing Bill 15, which was introduced in the legislature last week, he believes it would give the education minister too much influence over the teacher disciplinary process and foster an “adversarial” culture in public education.

If passed, Bill 15 will create the office of a teaching profession commissioner, appointed by cabinet, as well as an overhauled complaint process. The ATA, which represents 46,000 teachers in collective bargaining, would be stripped of its current disciplinary function. The new commissioner would oversee all Alberta teachers and teacher leaders, like principals.

LaGrange introduces bill that would strip disciplinary role from Alberta Teachers' Association

New legislation would create Alberta online registry showing whether teachers' certificates have been suspended or cancelled

“The design of the new system, from the bottom to the top, is very susceptible to political influence, and the entire discipline process is at risk of being politicized,” Schilling said.

“Teachers are completely excluded from establishing those who will adjudicate and govern the profession.”

ATA executive secretary Dennis Theobald repeated concerns the ATA has raised about “deprofessionalizing” teaching by taking away their role in holding their colleagues to account.

“Right now, the association uses considerable resources and credibility to prosecute teachers,” he said.

“Under the new model, it is entirely likely that we would take those same resources and we’d be using them to defend those teachers. And that would be our obligation.”

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Education Minister Adriana LaGrange countered that it’s the ATA making the change a political issue, not the government.

“The goal is to have one legislative structure to govern matters of discipline for the teaching profession, by one organization, using a consistent, effective and efficient process,” Katherine Stavropoulos said.

Stavropoulos said Bill 15 doesn’t “significantly” change the education minister’s authority, and the future teaching profession commissioner will be recruited through an open competition before being confirmed by cabinet.

The minister already has the final say on penalties for teachers found guilty of unprofessional conduct or professional incompetence.

Theobald said the ATA wants to work with the government to improve the teacher discipline system. But ATA legal counsel are also looking at Bill 15, and if it passes without amendments, he said there are “a number of serious weaknesses in it that could leave the minister open to legal challenge.”

The legislation also affects school superintendents and deputy superintendents in Alberta. The College of Alberta School Superintendents (CASS) was poised to begin regulating their conduct this fall, but under Bill 15, complaints against them would also go through the new commissioner.

CASS executive director David Keohane said it essentially puts them back to status quo.

“We’re very comfortable working within that because that was our original arrangement all along,” he said.

Keohane said CASS will maintain its role ensuring its members can meet specific competency expectations.

masmith@postmedia.com

Twitter: @meksmith