NOVA SCOTIA
Advocacy groups slam government approval of Goldboro mine project

Thu, August 4, 2022 

An aerial view of the Touquoy gold mine in Moose River, N.S. Some advocacy groups say the start of a similar two-pit mine in Goldboro could result in large-scale changes to the province's environment. (Ecology Action Centre - image credit)

Environment advocacy groups in Nova Scotia are disappointed a proposed gold mine in Guysborough County is moving forward following the approval of a two-pit gold mine project on Tuesday by the province.

Environment Minister Tim Halman announced the project would be getting the green light under several conditions, saying that he was "satisfied" that any adverse effects to the environment would be mitigated through compliance with the terms of the agreement.

Those terms include the development of a wildlife management plan with the provincial Departments of Natural Resources and Environment and Climate Change and implementing a complaint resolution process to receive and respond to concerns about the project.

Some of the province's environment advocacy groups are not happy about the decision, though. Karen McKendry, the wilderness outreach co-ordinator at the Ecology Action Centre, said in an interview Wednesday that Halman's decision "shouldn't be happening in this day and age."

"Nova Scotia already has a large open-pit gold mine on the Eastern Shore and this is another one proposed," McKendry said. "The one in Goldboro would actually … mine for years, which leaves behind a huge contaminated site and leads to lots of trucking and diesel fuel use and is very polluting, to line the pockets and the coffers of people to make them richer and returns very little, if anything, to Nova Scotia."

In her opinion, McKendry said the approval represented the government's buckling to pressure from the gold mining industry. She also spoke of potential arsenic contamination in waterways and across the wetlands in the area, which she called the province's "kidneys."

"Those (wetlands) are needed for cleaning our water, for carbon capture," she said. "(They're) one of the last refuges for the endangered mainland moose, and so this project, like many others, proposes to destroy dozens and dozens of wetlands, including ones with species at risk in them."

The environmental effects of gold mining in the province have long been debated, particularly in the Goldboro area, which has an extensive history of mining and arsenic and mercury contamination. McKendry said in Nova Scotia, the rock that gold occurs in also has within it a substantial amount of arsenic. When the rock is brought to the surface and the gold is extracted, the rock that remains needs to be contained so there's no chance of polluting waterways and groundwater, she added.

'Happy' with the approval, company says

Signal Gold wants to develop the mine. The project includes two open pits, a processing facility, a tailings management facility, waste rock storage areas, as well as water management infrastructure such as collection ditches, culverts, settling ponds and water treatment systems.

Robert Dufour, the chief financial officer of Signal Gold, said the company is quite happy with the result.

"We were certainly confident starting the process that we had put together a very comprehensive environmental assessment," he said. "It's always exciting when you get that approval."

Dufour said Signal Gold is still reviewing the conditions that came with the approval, but said there was nothing insurmountable.

The company must obtain an industrial approval and make a Crown lease application before construction can begin. Dufour said Signal anticipates construction will begin either in late 2023 or early 2024.

Warden Vernon Pitts of the Municipality of the District of Guysborough also expressed his anticipation for the project and what it could mean for the growth of the county.

"Our population has been falling off the last number of years. We have some residents here that can work at mining, they've done it in the past, and we're looking forward to some new residents moving in, setting down roots," he said. "They'll utilize our services, our schools, and it's a win-win situation for everyone."

He said the hope is that as the mining in the area picks up, other businesses — such as welding or fabrication — will become established, creating more opportunities for residents once the mining is complete.

Madeline Conacher is with the group Sustainable Northern Nova Scotia, which advocates for environmentally sustainable, locally-driven development and has opposed other gold mine proposals for the Eastern Shore.

Like McKendry, Conacher said she's disappointed the government approved the proposal.

Ecology Action Centre

"Sadly, what I find with almost all of the politicians is that they go for the short-term economic benefits and they just don't even look at any of the environmental concerns," she said. "They're just hoodwinked by the promise of all those jobs, and they're keeping their fingers crossed that nothing will go wrong."

In her comments on the company's environmental assessment, Conacher expressed concerns about the potential harms from mine tailings, the depletion of aquifers, infilling, pollution and the impact on the climate and biodiversity.

A total of 48 organizations and people — aside from federal and provincial departments — responded to requests for feedback on the environmental assessment.

Many — including several form letters — were positive about the potential impact of the project on the economy and job prospects. Others raised a wide variety of concerns about the environmental consequences of the project.

A letter from the Native Council of Nova Scotia notes concerns about the alteration and destruction of wetlands and the possibility that the mine could encourage the establishment of invasive species in the area.

The Mi'kmaq Rights Initiative noted a number of environmental concerns in its feedback on the proposal, and also mentioned that the company's plan has "little to no mention of the Mi'kmaw, two-eyed seeing or traditional use and harvesting." The organization also expressed concern about the potential for cumulative environmental effects of the project in conjunction with other proposals in the area.

Pieridae Energy has proposed a liquefied natural gas project for the Goldboro area, and Atlantic Gold has proposed three other gold mines for the Eastern Shore.

Feds create national advisory council on Residential Schools

Thu, August 4, 2022

The creation of a new advisory committee on Residential Schools will help Indigenous communities across the country deal with the issues involved with searching for their children that never came home – and a forensic pathologist with ties to Kahnawake will hep the do that.

Dr. Kona Williams – whose mother is from Kahnawake – is part of the 10-person committee, which will provide expertise, advice, guidance and professional services to communities hoping to continue the search for their loved ones.

As one the only Indigenous forensic pathologists in Canada, Williams will provide advice on exhuming potential remains from around former Residential Schools properties.

Since the discovery of the 215 children around the former Kamloops Residential School in B.C. last year, the government promised to create such a committee. Williams said it’s important work because of ties to the situation and the knowledge that communities would like to, once and for all, figure out what happened to their children who never came home.

“There are many communities interested in finding their children and it has to happen carefully. If I am needed, I will make myself available to advise communities on how best to proceed. This is an issue that’s important to me because my father went to Residential School, my mom went to Day School and my grandparents went to Residential School,” she said.

Williams figures she will be working hand-in-hand with cultural anthropologists in the search for the missing children.

“Because it’s Indigenous-led and I have the expertise to be able to advise communities, I will be making myself available to help them,” she said.

The committee held its first meeting July 19.

The director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation said the committee will hopefully allow many of the children who never came home the dignity of a final commemoration.

“Too many children were denied the final dignity of being laid to rest according to their own customs and traditions,” said Stephanie Scott. “Too many families and communities have never been able to find their loved ones who didn't come home from Residential School. I have had conversations with countless First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation communities who are grappling with difficult questions about how they can find and honour their lost children. This committee will help meet a crucial need for advice that is comprehensive, up-to-date and above all else trustworthy. It will be part of the important healing journey to honour the little ones.”

Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations minister Marc Miller said the important work must and will continue as communities search for their missing kids.

“The National Advisory Committee on Residential Schools Missing Children and Unmarked Burials will provide a wide range of expertise to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. As Indigenous communities undertake the difficult and essential work to locate and commemorate burial sites at former Residential Schools, the National Advisory Committee will ensure Indigenous-led and culturally sensitive technical advice is available to support their work. We are committed to addressing the harms done and the abuse of Indigenous children, to support communities as they work towards healing.”

Marc Lalonde, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase

Environmental groups protest proposals to build LNG terminals on Canada's East Coast

Thu, August 4, 2022 

HALIFAX — A coalition of environmental groups is calling on Ottawa to reject any proposal to build export facilities for liquefied natural gas on Canada's East Coast.

The coalition, which includes the Sierra Club Canada Foundation and Climate Action Network Canada, issued a statement today suggesting Canadians are opposed to such projects because of their "climate-wrecking emissions" and potential financial risks.

Calgary-based Pieridae Energy has been promoting the construction of a multibillion-dollar LNG terminal at Goldboro, N.S., since 2011, but it put the project on hold last summer.

The company, which could not be reached for comment, had planned get natural gas from Western Canada via pipeline and then ship it by tanker to European customers, but the idea fizzled as LNG prices fell last year.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, however, the demand for natural gas has grown amid concerns the Russians will cut off its supply to Europe, and Germany in particular.

Other plans for LNG terminals in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have also generated renewed interest.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2022.

The Canadian Press

In pictures: Mysterious, 105 foot-wide sinkhole at mining site in Chile

A sinkhole is exposed at a mining zone close to Tierra Amarilla town, in Copiapo, Chile, August 1, 2022. 

 TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

TOPSHOT-CHILE-MINING-SINKHOLE

 Aerial view taken on August 1, 2022, showing a large sinkhole that appeared over the weekend near the mining town of Tierra Amarilla, Copiapo Province, in the Atacama Desert in Chile. - A 100-metre security perimeter has been erected around the hole which appeared in the Tierra Amarilla municipality near the Alcaparrosa mine operated by Canadian firm Lundin Mining. 

(Photo by JOHAN GODOY / AFP)



Abhya Adlakha
·Editor, Yahoo News Canada
Thu, August 4, 2022 .

A mysterious, giant sinkhole appeared at a mining site in Chile over the weekend, leading authorities to investigate.

On Tuesday, Chile's National Service of Geology and Mining confirmed the sinkhole is almost 105 feet in diameter. That's about 11-feet longer than an NBA or WBNA basketball court.

The hole appeared on land where Canadian company Lundin Mining operates a copper mine.

According to USGS, sinkholes can occur where the rock below the land surface can naturally be dissolved by groundwater circulating through them. This creates caverns or spaces that can collapse suddenly despite the surface appearing stable.

The investigators of the sinkhole in Chile haven't yet determined how it was created. The company is monitoring the nearby Alcaparrosa mine for any movement related to the event. Work in the underground mine has been temporarily suspended.

Libraries in the U.S. and Canada are changing how they refer to Indigenous Peoples


Julia Bullard, Assistant Professor in Information Studies, University of British Columbia
Thu, August 4, 2022 

THE CONVERSATION

Changes to search terms, through guidance from Indigenous communities and library experts, can align systems with everyday language, but can't invalidate the terms people use to refer to themselves. (Shutterstock)

The two largest agencies responsible for the language we use to discover books in libraries in North America — the Library of Congress in the United States, and Library and Archives Canada — are changing how they refer to Indigenous Peoples.

Recently, the Library of Congress announced that by September 2022 a project would be underway to revise terms that refer to Indigenous Peoples.

Beginning in 2019, Library and Archives Canada made changes within Canadian subject headings, starting with replacing outdated terminology with “Indigenous peoples” and “First Nations,” and adding terms that specify Métis and other specific nations and peoples.

It is important to acknowledge what these library changes can and cannot do, and the need for consultation with and guidance from Indigenous communities and Indigenous library workers. This is a departure from business as usual for maintaining these systems.

Library indexing

Both Library of Congress and Library and Archives Canada manage the term lists used in public and academic libraries throughout both countries.

When a book is published, library workers use lists of approved terms to indicate the subject or topic of the book. These terms determine how the book can be found in a library search and may even be printed on the copyright page of the book itself. The catalogue record then gets copied to each library that holds a copy of the book.

Read more: Libraries can have 3-D printers but they are still about books

Outdated terminology such as “Indians of North America” has remained in these term lists despite changing use in society and no longer matches the language used in the books themselves. The management of these terms lists last made international news when politicians interfered in a change from “illegal aliens” to “undocumented immigrants.”

Revisions to systems

The heading “Indians of North America” has been part of these lists since the Library of Congress Subject Headings were first standardized and shared with libraries more than a century ago.

Library researchers and librarians hope revisions to existing systems will reduce some of the friction of using the library for Indigenous and decolonizing research. This friction relates both to materials being categorized strangely, and how the use of older terms like “Indians of North America” could negatively affect some members of Indigenous communities, even while there are a diversity of views that exist in Indigenous communities about identity labels.

1,000 terms under review

Since 2015, the Manitoba Archival Information Network has shared a list of more than 1,000 terms relating to Indigenous Peoples with suggestions for more accurate and respectful language. Many of the recommended changes use the term “Indigenous peoples,” which exists in the term lists already.

Right now, adding a geographic term to the end, as in “Indigenous peoples — Asia” is a permitted heading, except in the case of the Americas. At present, terms like “Indigenous peoples — United States” and “First Nations (North America)” redirect to “Indians of North America.”

The same is the case for terms that redirect to “Indians of South America.”

Library and Archives Canada continues to roll out changes like a shift from “Canadian poetry (English)–Inuit authors” to “Inuit poetry (English).”

Indigenous knowledge organization

Beyond revamping misleading terminology, library science scholars and Indigenous knowledge holders (like Sandy Littletree, with colleagues) are examining how to advance Indigenous knowledge organization practices in library systems.

Research conducted by my team of librarians and students shows that authors prefer their books to be labelled in Indigenous-centered approaches or reconciliation approaches. For example, Xwi7xwa Library is a branch of University of British Columbia’s academic library entirely dedicated to Indigenous materials. Indexing is adapted from a system developed by Kahnawake librarian Brian Deer in the ‘70s for the National Indian Brotherhood, now the Assembly of First Nations.

The the Greater Victoria Public Library has introduced locally developed interim Indigenous subject headings that use more current terminology.

Interviews with authors

Over the past two years, my team and I interviewed 38 authors whose books were labelled in libraries with terms like “Indians of North America.”

Those authors told us these terms didn’t match the language in their books, nor what is acceptable in their professional communities. They shared how these terms created difficulty in findings works by or about Indigenous Peoples.

They explained how people using library search functions would have to use terms they disagreed with and wouldn’t use in their classes and writing. Ambiguous terms like “Indian cooking” and “Indian activism” create confusion as to whether an item pertains to Indigenous Peoples in North America or India.

As authors in our study suggested, the continued use of these terms imposes a colonial worldview on books that are often resisting, challenging or exposing the harms of colonialism.

Slow to change

Library systems tend to be slow to change because they prioritize consistency. Yet the Canadian and American systems undergo constant revision to add new terms and, less often, to replace old terms.

Since there are more than 1,000 terms relating to Indigenous Peoples in library lists, revisions to this topic will be monumental. In a typical month, around 200 new headings are added to the Library of Congress Subject Headings, across all topics.

Terminology for Indigenous Peoples from this continent varies as communities themselves are numerous and diverse. At the same time, terms like “Indians” persist in law in Canada and the United States.

People seen in August 2021 on Parliament Hill were part of a protest calling for changes to the ‘Indian Act’ in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Colonial borders

Changes of these terms, through consultation with and guidance from Indigenous communities and Indigenous library workers, can bring our library systems into alignment with language used in common conversation and academic research.

They cannot invalidate the terms that people use to refer to themselves. A library term list is for shared, government-supported systems to enable discovery and access and does not determine self-expression.

Even in that context, changing terms for Indigenous Peoples is unlikely to change the awkwardness of how these lists currently use Canadian and American colonial borders. For the time being, works about Coast Salish botany or art, for example, may still end up labelled redundantly with “Indigenous peoples — British Columbia” and “Indigenous peoples — Washington (State).”

Continued research will be needed as libraries consider how to update their practices.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Julia Bullard, University of British Columbia.

Read more:

2020 is a year for the history books, but not without digital archives

How Commonwealth universities profited from Indigenous dispossession through land grants

Julia Bullard receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Feds strike conciliatory tone in statement on Pope’s visit

Thu, August 4, 2022

The federal-government ministers responsible for Indigenous relations and services in Canada stood with Indigenous people in Canada in their lukewarm response to the Pope’s recent non-apology apology for the Catholic Church’s role in the horrors perpetuated on Indigenous children attending Residential Schools.

Crown-Indigenous Relations minister Marc Miller, Indigenous Services minister Patty Hajdu and Northern Affairs minister Daniel Vandal stopped short of saying the Pope’s comments didn’t go far enough, but hinted at the notion in their statement.

“The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action 58 called ‘…upon the Pope to issue an apology to Survivors, their families, and communities for the Roman Catholic Church's role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children in Catholic-run Residential Schools.’ The Pope has acknowledged the sexual abuse that was rampant in Residential Schools since his initial apology in Maskwacis on July 25; however, it is important to also recognize the systemic nature of this tragedy, that was both instigated and perpetuated by the Government of Canada and the churches, including the Catholic Church,” they wrote.

That day, the Pope said "I ask forgiveness, in particular, for the ways in which many members of the Church and of religious communities co-operated, not least through their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time, which culminated in the system of Residential Schools," the last of closed as recently as 1996. He asked forgiveness “for the wrong done by so many Christians to the Indigenous peoples.”

The Pope’s statement was roundly criticized in many parts of the country for not mentioning the sexual abuse Indigenous children faced at Residential Schools in his apology or the unmarked graves on school grounds.

“It is not up to the Government of Canada to accept or decline an apology on behalf of Indigenous Peoples, and we will continue to support them as they determine what is needed for healing, the ministers wrote. “We recognize that the events of this past week – and the revisiting of some of our country's most tragic and painful truths – has been extremely difficult and traumatizing for many Survivors, families, and communities. And we know that the hurt and trauma they suffered continues to impact generations of Indigenous families and communities today.”

The ministers promised to continue to work with Indigenous communities on reconciliation and righting the wrongs of the not-so-distant past.

"Our government recognizes that there is work to do on many fronts following the pope's visit to Canada. Pope Francis acknowledged that concrete actions are needed, including the repatriation of Indigenous artefacts, access for Survivors to Residential Schools documents, addressing the Doctrine of Discovery, and ensuring justice for survivors. We will continue to work with First Nations, Inuit and Métis on other priorities they've identified, to advance reconciliation and healing."

Marc Lalonde, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase

As US eyes new China chip curbs, turmoil looms for global market


Illustration picture of memory chips by SK Hynix

Wed, August 3, 2022 
By Joyce Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) - Export restrictions being considered by Washington to halt China's advances in semiconductor manufacturing could come at a substantial cost, experts say, potentially disrupting fragile global chip supply chains - and hurting U.S. businesses.

Reuters reported on Monday that the United States is considering limiting shipments of American chipmaking equipment to memory chip producers in China that make advanced semiconductors used in everything from smartphones to data centres.

The curbs would stop chipmakers like South Korean giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix from shipping new technology tools to factories they operate in China, preventing them from upgrading plants that serve customers around the world.

Samsung and SK Hynix, which control more than half of the global NAND flash memory chip market, have invested heavily in China in recent decades to produce chips that are vital to customers including tech giants Apple, Amazon, Facebook owner Meta and Google. As well as computers and phones, the chips are used in products like electric vehicles that require digital data storage.

"Samsung's China production alone accounts for more than 15% of global NAND flash production ... If there's any production disruption, it will make chip prices surge," said Lee Min-hee, analyst at BNK Securities.

The potential for fresh turmoil - the curbs have yet to be approved - comes just as a global chip supply shortage that has disrupted businesses from autos to consumer devices for more than a year is finally showing signs of easing. Supply chain adjustments and weakening consumer demand amid the slowing global economy have combined to repair damage.

But the shortage has yet to be fully resolved. Any signs of fresh disruption could rekindle supply uncertainty, triggering a price surge - as seen earlier this year when China imposed COVID-19 restrictions in Xian where Samsung manufactures chips.

Chipmaking equipment has to be installed and fully tested months before production is due to start. Any delay in shipping the gear to China would pose a real challenge to chipmakers as they seek to manufacture more advanced chips in China facilities.

"Many U.S. companies, like Apple, use Samsung and SK Hynix memory chips. No matter what strategy (the South Korean firms) end up choosing, it will have global implications," said BNK Securities analyst Lee.

Samsung and SK Hynix declined to comment. Apple, Amazon, Meta and Google didn't respond to emails seeking comment outside regular U.S. business hours.

AMBITIONS, COMPLICATIONS

In Samsung's memory chip operation in Xian, central China, one of the largest foreign chip projects in the country, the company has invested a total of about $26 billion since it broke ground on the site in 2012, including chip production as well as testing and packaging.

The tech giant makes 128-layer NAND flash products in Xian, analysts said, chips that store data in devices such as smartphones and personal computers, as well as in data centres.

The facility accounts for 43% of Samsung's global NAND flash memory production capacity and 15% of the overall global output capacity, according to TrendForce late last year.

The U.S. crackdown, if approved, could also complicate SK Hynix's ambition to expand its presence in the NAND market where it is ranked third as of first quarter behind Samsung and Japan's Kioxia Holdings, which was spun out of Toshiba Corp.

SK Hynix completed late last year the first phase of its $9 billion purchase of Intel's NAND business, including its Dalian, China NAND manufacturing facility.

CHINA STRATEGIES

The move being considered by the United States is one of several recent signs of deepening tensions between Beijing and Washington over the tech sector.

Congress last week approved legislation to subsidise semiconductor production in the United States. It bars any company that receives federal subsidies from investing in certain chip technology in China during the subsidy period.

The deepening tensions could leave Samsung and SK Hynix having to review strategies on China investments, analysts and industry sources said.

"Until now, companies tended to invest in countries like China, where costs were cheap," said Kim Yang-jae, analyst at Daol Investment & Securities.

"That's no longer going to be the only consideration. The biggest change these potential limits will bring will be where the next chip factories are built."

They could also face potentially diminishing returns from their multi-billion dollar China plants, which could be stuck making older-technology, less lucrative chips.

SK Hynix has not been able to upgrade its DRAM memory chip production facilities in Wuxi, China with the latest extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) chipmaking machines made by Dutch firm ASML as U.S. officials do not want advanced equipment used in the process to enter the country.

The EUV machines are used to make more advanced and smaller chips that are used in high-end devices such as smartphones.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Kenneth Maxwell)

France discriminated against hijab-wearing vocational trainee -U.N. document

Juliette Jabkhiro
Wed, August 3, 2022 

A woman wearing a hijab walks at Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower in Paris
By Juliette Jabkhiro

PARIS (Reuters) - A United Nations committee ruled that France discriminated against a Muslim woman who was prevented from attending vocational training in a public school while wearing her Islamic head scarf, according to a U.N. document.

In 2010, Naima Mezhoud, now aged 45, was due to train as a management assistant at a course held in a state high school, where teenagers are prohibited by law from wearing the hijab. When she arrived, the head teacher of the school in the northern outskirts of Paris barred her from entering, according to the document which was seen by Reuters.

Six years earlier, in 2004, France had banned the wearing of hijabs and other visible religious symbols in state schools by school children. Mezhoud argued that as a higher-education student, she should not have been targetted by the law.

"The committee concludes that the refusal to allow (Mezhoud) to participate in the training while wearing her headscarf constitutes a gender and religious-based act of discrimination," the U.N Human Rights Committee determined, according to the document.

A U.N. source confirmed the authenticity of the document.

The interior ministry and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The possible ramifications of the U.N.'s ruling were not immediately clear. Freedom law expert Nicolas Hervieu of the Paris Institute of Political Studies said that according to legal precedent, it was unlikely that France would comply with the committee's decision.

France is home to one of Europe’s largest Muslim minorities. For years, the country has implemented laws designed to protect its strict form of secularism, known as “laicité,” which President Emmanuel Macron has said is under threat from Islamism.

Some Muslim associations and human-rights groups allege those laws have targeted Muslims and chipped away at democratic protections and left them vulnerable to abuse.

Mezhoud approached the U.N. Human Rights Committee after she lost a series of appeals in French courts.

The committee said France had breached articles 18 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on religious freedom.

Mezhoud's lawyer, Sefen Guez Guez, told Reuters the decision showed that international human-rights institutions were critical of France's policies regarding Islam.

"French institutions will have to comply with the U.N. decision," he added.

In theory, following the U.N. committee's ruling, France now has six months to financially compensate Mezhoud and offer the opportunity to take the vocational course if she still wishes. The country also must take steps to ensure similar violations of international law will not happen again.

(Reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro in Paris; Editing by Richard Lough and Matthew Lewis)

50-year international partnership on Great Lakes makes progress, but challenges lie ahead

Wed, August 3, 2022 

Lake Erie's shoreline in Leamington, Ont. is shown in this file photo. According to the State of the Great Lakes 2022 report,

It's been 50 years since Canada and the U.S. signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, meant to restore and protect the Great Lakes, and a new report is showing what's changed over that time and what challenges are ahead.

According the the annual report, the Great Lakes overall assessment is "fair" with an "unchanging" trend, which is due to the "tremendous progress to restore and protect the Great Lakes" over the last few decades. The evaluation is based on a set of indicators officials watch.

"If we look back 50 years, there have been some substantial improvements in the health of the Great Lakes. But that doesn't mean we're done in any way," said John Hartig, a visiting scholar at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Windsor.

Hartig says there continues to be challenges.

"We know in western Lake Erie we still have algae blooms, harmful algae blooms, and we have them in Saginaw Bay and Green Bay as well. We still have, particularly on the U.S. side, the legacy of the industrial revolution in contaminated sediments. We still have a loss and degradation of habitats like important ones, like wetlands," he said.

"And of course, we are now facing climate change."

State of the Great Lakes 2022 report

Both countries along with several organizations are behind the annual report, using about 40 indicators to calculate the overall assessment. Each Lake had a "good" (most or all ecosystem components are in acceptable condition) or "fair (some ecosystem components are in acceptable condition) standing. Except Lake Erie, which was described as being in a "poor" standing, meaning "very few or no ecosystem components are in acceptable condition," mainly due to algae blooms and elevated nutrient concentrations.

"I think obviously Lake Erie has a significant population density around it and it has significant agricultural land around it. It has had significant industrial development, it's part of the industrial heartland. So I think if you look back at 50 years ago where this started, people spoke out," explained Hartig.

He says that due to advocates, activists and engaged politicians — through Earth Day, the Canada Water Act, and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement — people started caring about the quality of the water in Lake Erie which led to change.

But Hartig worries people will get complacent, especially in the face of climate change.

"We still have things to do, and now we have climate change, which is a threat multiplier," he said. "That means it's going to make it harder to solve the algal bloom problems. It's going to be harder to solve some of the contaminates remediation problems and the agricultural non-point source runoff problems that we have."

The good news of addressing these issues now though, said Hartig, is that it will save taxpayers and government money in the long run.

"We need to think about it as an investment that will reap benefits for us, and we need to think about it as a gift to future generations as well," he said.

NOVA SCOTIA
Goldboro Gold project approved with conditions in Guysborough County

Tue, August 2, 2022 

Signal Gold, previously known as Anaconda Mining, has been approved to develop a gold mine in Goldboro, N.S. But it has to follow a number of conditions from the province.

(Zach Goudie/CBC - image credit)

Nova Scotia's minister of Environment and Climate Change has approved the Goldboro Gold project in Guysborough County, but with conditions.

"I am satisfied that any adverse effects or significant environmental effects of the undertaking can be adequately mitigated through compliance with the attached terms and conditions as well as through compliance to the other licences, certificates, permits and approvals that will be required for operation," Tim Halman wrote in his decision to Signal Gold president Kevin Bullock.

Signal Gold wants to develop the mine. The project includes two open pits, a processing facility, a tailings management facility, waste rock storage areas, as well as water management infrastructure such as collection ditches, culverts, settling ponds and water treatment systems.

Among the list of conditions is for Signal Gold to develop a wildlife management plan with Nova Scotia's Department of Nautral Resources and Renewables as well as Environment and Climate Change, developing and implementing a complaint resolution plan for receiving and responding to complaints related to the project, and have a Mi'kmaw communication plan.

The company also plans to bring in trailers to house employees, with 350 beds expected during the construction phase and 175 beds during the operations phase.

The project will create 735 new direct and spinoff jobs a year in the province for 15 years, the company said in June after it submitted for environmental approval. It expects the project to generate $528 million in income and mining taxes at the federal, provincial and municipal level from direct and spinoff economic activity.

The company anticipates construction will begin in late 2023, with the mine being commissioned in 2025 and operations continuing until 2035. The closure process would begin in 2036.

Signal Gold, previously known as Anaconda Mining, had sought environmental approval for a gold mine development at the site in August 2018.

But the environment minister at the time said the company's submission didn't contain enough information.