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Volcano erupts on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula weeks after evacuation

A volcano has erupted in Iceland about 1.8 miles from a town that was evacuated weeks ago in preparation for the event.

By AP via Scripps News
Posted: 7:25 p.m. EST Dec 18, 2023

A volcanic eruption started Monday night on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, turning the sky orange and prompting the civil defense to be put on high alert.

The eruption appears to have occurred about 1.8 miles from the town of Grindavík, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. Webcam video from the scene appears to show magma, or semi-molten rock, spewing along the ridge of a hill.

In November, police evacuated the town or Grindavik after strong seismic activity in the area damaged homes and raised fears of an imminent eruption.

A coast guard helicopter will attempt to confirm the exact location — and size — of the eruption.

Grindavik, a fishing town of 3,400, sits on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 31 miles southwest of the capital, Reykjavik and not far from Keflavik Airport, Iceland's main facility for international flights. The nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal resort, one of Iceland's top tourist attractions, has been shut at least until the end of November because of the volcano danger.

Volcano erupts in Iceland weeks after thousands were evacuated from a town on Reykjanes Peninsula

By David Keyton The Associated Press
Monday, December 18, 2023

The night sky is illuminated caused by the eruption of a volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula of south-west Iceland seen from the capital city of Reykjavik, Monday Dec. 18, 2023.

 (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)Brynjar Gunnarsson

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A volcanic eruption started Monday night on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, turning the sky orange and prompting the country’s civil defense to be on high alert.

The eruption appears to have occurred about four kilometers (2.4 miles) from the town of Grindavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. Grainy webcam video showed the moment of the eruption as a flash of light illuminating the sky at 22:17 local time. As the eruption spread, magma, or semi-molten rock, could be seen spewing along the ridge of a hill.

“The magma flow seems to be at least a hundred cubic meters per second, maybe more. So this would be considered a big eruption in this area at least,” Vidir Reynisson, head of Iceland’s Civil Protection and Emergency Management told the Icelandic public broadcaster, RUV.

In November, police evacuated the town or Grindavik after strong seismic activity in the area damaged homes and raised fears of an imminent eruption.

Iceland's Meteorological Office said in a statement early Tuesday that the latest measurements show “the magma is moving to the southwest and the eruption may continue in the direction of Grindavik.”

The size of the eruption and the speed of the lava flow is “many times more than in previous eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula in recent years,” the statement said.

Iceland sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic and averages an eruption every four to five years. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and grounded flights across Europe for days because of fears ash could damage airplane engines.

Scientists say a new eruption would likely produce lava but not an ash cloud.

Iceland’s foreign minister, Bjarne Benediktsson said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that there are “no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland and international flight corridors remain open.”

A coast guard helicopter will attempt to confirm the exact location — and size — of the eruption, and will also measure gas emissions.

Grindavik, a fishing town of 3,400, sits on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of the capital, Reykjavik and not far from Keflavik Airport, Iceland’s main facility for international flights.

A map showing the hazard zones on Reykjanes Peninsula as of December 8, 2023, due to the ongoing threat of a volcanic eruption. The area shaded orange, where an eruption is thought to be most likely to occur, shows the path of the center of the magma dike, while the areas in yellow show the northern region of the dike, the town of Grindavik, and the area of crustal uplift under Svartsengi.ICELANDIC MET OFFICE

UPDATED: 

Eruption Has Begun At Sundhnúkagígar, 

Emergency/Distress Phase Announced

Published December 18, 2023

Words by

Catharine Fulton

Photo by

RÚV

An eruption began on the Reykjanes peninsula around 21:00, in the area between Sýlingarfell and Hagafell, just north of the town of Grindavík and east of the Blue Lagoon and Svartsengi Power Plant. The fissure is estimated to be over 3 km long along Sundhnúkagígar crater row.

The start of the eruption was captured on the live webcam of the national broadcaster RÚV:

The live stream can be viewed here:

The glow from the eruption is visible from central Reykjavík.

Worst possible location

The Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management has declared an Emergency/Distress Phase in response to the start of the eruption.

Volcanologist TT previously told the Grapevine the location along Sundhnúkagígar was the worst possible place for an eruption to begin to the likelihood of infrastructure being affected should lave breach the surface there.

Kristín Jónsdóttir, a volcano specialist with the met office told the national broadcaster shortly after the eruption began that the rate of lava flow is 100 to 200 cubic metres per second, which is significantly larger than the eruptions at Fagradalsfjall in 2021, 2022 and July 2023.

Kristín said it was difficult to predict how long the eruption would last. However, she thought it likely that given its initial size, it would last a few months rather than weeks.

The crater row at Sundhnúkargígar was created by an eruption 2,350 years ago.

Stay away, keep your drones grounded

Reykjanesbraut, the road running along the northern edge of the Reykjanes peninsula toward the international airport in Keflavík is closed in part due to a traffic jam. The area is closed. You will not be able to access the volcano site. Stay home to allow the authorities to monitor the situation and maintain a safe perimeter.

The no-fly zone that was established over a large swath of the area over the Blue Lagoon and GRindavík remains in effect. Isavia has provided the following coordinates within which it is forbidden to fly drones:

635621N0222218W
635440N0221323W
634902N0223533W
634641N0222232W

Under Observation

The Icelandic Meteorological Office has been monitor the area closely since seismic activity increased in late October. The activity came to a head on Nov. 10, when the met office identified a magma intrusion that had spread approximately 15 km from Sundhnúkagígar and running southwest under Grindavík and out beneath the sea floor. The 3.700 residents were evacuated at that time, but have been permitted in recent weeks to return to town between business hours.

The popular Blue Lagoon tourist attraction just reopened to the public in Dec. 17 after more than a month-long closure due to the alert phase in effect in the region. The local police chief said earlier today that signs were pointing toward residents being permitted to return home to Grindavík as well.

Read that news from just hours before the eruption began.

The Blue Lagoon has closed for business once again.

 HIP CAPITALI$M

Shares of cannabis company Canopy Growth to be consolidated on a one-for-10 basis

The Canadian Press

CANOPY GROWTH CORP (WEED:CT)

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Canopy Growth Corp. says a consolidation of its shares on a one-for-10 basis is expected to become effective on Friday.

The post-consolidation shares are expected to start trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq at market open on Dec. 20, subject to final confirmation from the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq.

The cannabis company says the consolidation was approved by shareholders at a meeting on Sept. 25.

It says the move is being implemented to ensure the company continues to comply with the listing requirements of the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

Shares in Canopy once traded for more than $60 per share, but have fallen significantly.

Canopy shares closed down eight cents at 93 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2023.

ITS VOLUNTARY SELF REGULATION

Grocery code launch being held back by dissent from some retailers: board report

WHICH NEVER WORKS

The Canadian Press

After two years of work, the group responsible for developing the grocery code of conduct says its launch is being held back by a lack of support from two major grocers. 

“We’re at an impasse,” said Michael Graydon, CEO of the Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada association and chairman of the interim board for the code. 

The board sent a progress report to the federal, territorial and provincial agriculture ministers on Wednesday.

"There is a concern that without the full participation of all major grocers, the implementation of the Code would create an unlevel playing field and put affected stakeholders at a competitive disadvantage," the report reads. 

Without the support of all major grocers, the interim board said it can't proceed in implementing the required steps to launch the code. 

The group has paused its efforts to hire an adjudicator for the code as a result of Loblaw and Walmart being unwilling to sign on, and can’t start recruiting official memberships either, said Graydon. Despite having "virtually the entire supply chain" in agreement, without the two biggest players on board, other companies won’t want to agree to rules that could disadvantage them, he said. 

“The code is designed to fundamentally change the behaviour of the large retailers. If they're not in, then the behaviour doesn't change. There's no need for anybody else to join,” he said. 

“So until we get this retail situation fixed, we're at a stalemate.”

The report obtained by The Canadian Press includes the latest draft of the code, and a draft of the bylaws for the Office of the Grocery Sector Code of Conduct. 

Recently, Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and Walmart Canada expressed concern that the code could raise costs for Canadian consumers. Executives from both companies spoke at a House of Commons agriculture committee meeting in Ottawa last week on stabilizing food prices.

Loblaw chairman Galen Weston told MPs the grocer will sign the code, but not in its current form, because of concerns it will give too much negotiating power to large multinational manufacturers. 

The grocer previously said the code could raise food prices for Canadians by more than a billion dollars. 

Loblaw's position hasn't changed, said spokeswoman Catherine Thomas in an email Wednesday. "We remain aligned to a code of conduct, but will not sign one that is not in the best interest of our customers." 

Walmart Canada chief executive Gonzalo Gebara told MPs that the company is not currently in a position to commit to the code, because of "provisions that create bureaucracy and cost, cost that will inevitably end up on shelf prices."

Spokeswoman Sarah Kennedy confirmed Walmart's position also has not changed, saying in an email that the company has "strong reservations" about the last draft it saw, but will continue to provide feedback in the hopes a solution can be found. 

“We've fulfilled the mandate that they gave us, which was for industry to develop this code,” said Gary Sands, a member of the interim board and senior vice-president at the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers. But the board doesn’t have the power to compel all the major players in the industry to sign on, he added. 

“It's now left to governments to come up with ways to ensure that everyone's participating.”

Graydon said he still hopes the industry can come to a solution that doesn’t involve government, but failing that, he thinks there could be an opportunity for a hybrid solution where governments mandate participation in the code while the industry still administers it. 

Executives from Metro Inc. and Empire Co. Ltd. have said they will sign the code. 

But in an emailed statement, Metro spokeswoman Marie-Claude Bacon said "there's not much point in an industry code that doesn't apply to the whole industry." 

Metro president and CEO Eric La Flèche told the agriculture committee on Monday that the participation of all grocers and suppliers is essential to the code's success. 

That day, federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay, his provincial and territorial counterparts, and federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne met to discuss food prices and the grocery code. 

In a statement, they said the government is exploring its options and that they're disappointed that two major retailers have said they won't sign on.

A steering committee with members from the food industry was created to develop the grocery code of conduct. Now, with the office of the code incorporated, that committee has become the interim board of directors. 

With Graydon as chairman, the vice-chair is Diane Brisebois, president and CEO of the Retail Council of Canada, according to the report. 

The board is still open to constructive changes that will improve the clarity of the code, but no substantive changes that would weaken the code, said Sands. 

If governments decide to regulate the code into being mandatory, Sands said this could create a patchwork approach across the country. 

His organization is “very concerned at the possibility of having different provinces take different approaches to the code, where we could see some provinces enact a code and other provinces don’t enact a code,” Sands said. 

New Brunswick leans heavily on nuclear in its 12-year clean energy plan

The Canadian Press

New Brunswick's Progressive Conservative government has released its strategy to become carbon neutral within 12 years through the use of nuclear, wind and solar energy.

Officials didn't release a cost estimate for the energy plan on Wednesday, saying only that it will require federal funding to be successful.

"We will be looking to (the) federal government to assist and join us in funding some of the projects, some of the research," Natural Resources Minister Mike Holland told a news conference.

Holland said the province will lean more heavily on energy from wind and small nuclear reactors to decarbonize its economy. The first small nuclear reactor should be operational by 2031 and the second in 2035, Holland said.

As New Brunswick's population grows, the plan will add about 1,000 megawatts to the province's grid. Of that, 600 will come from nuclear.

"If we are in a situation where climate change is real, and if we are going to address it, and if we have electrification needs or capacity, then it behooves us to put a strategy together," Holland said.

New Brunswick imports about 35 per cent of its electricity, primarily from Quebec and Maine, while the rest is generated in province — 24 per cent from fossil fuels, 22 per cent from renewable sources and 19 per cent from nuclear.

The plan proposes that by 2035 the province would get 38 per cent of its energy from nuclear sources, 23 per cent from wind, 19 per cent from imports and 11 per cent from hydro. The remainder would come from a mix of solar, biomass and fossil fuels.

"Is it going to be easy? No, it's not," Premier Blaine Higgs said. He said the plan is designed to meet targets set by the federal government, adding that its success will depend on advances in technology for small modular nuclear reactors.

Opposition leaders called the energy plan superficial. Green Leader David Coon said New Brunswickers want to see their homes powered affordably and reliably, which hasn't been the case.

"Doubling the amount of nuclear capacity ... means we're going to double the debt, double the rates, because it is the most expensive form of electricity on the planet," he said.

Liberal Leader Susan Holt commended the government for bringing in a document that considers different sources of electricity but said it lacks specifics.

"Half of it was a review of the past and what was forward-looking was thin, short on details, short on figures, or any commitment to timeline," she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2023.

 

TMX Group buying 78% stake in VettaFi it doesn't already own for $1.15B

The Canadian Press

TMX Group Ltd. has signed a deal to buy the 78 per cent stake in VettaFi Holdings LLC that it does not already own for $1.15 billion.

U.S.-based VettaFi provides indexing, digital distribution and analytic services to the financial services industry.

The operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange acquired a 22 per cent stake in the company earlier this year.

TMX says, combined with its strategic investments in the company in the first half of 2023, the deal announced after financial markets closed Wednesday will bring the total amount to be paid for full ownership of VettaFi to $1.4 billion.

TMX Group chief executive John McKenzie says the acquisition accelerates the company's long-term global expansion and increases the proportion of revenue from its global solutions, insights and analytics division, and from recurring sources.

The transaction is expected to close in January, subject to customary closing conditions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2023.

FIRST NATIONS INDUSTRY 

Manitoba First Nations appear a step closer to gaining a casino in Winnipeg

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Wednesday he is open to considering a First Nations-run casino in Winnipeg, reversing long-standing opposition to the idea under previous governments.

"We don't have a specific proposal in front of us, but what we're saying is that we're open to working together on economic reconciliation," Kinew told reporters.

"And if that includes a future proposal from the Naawi-Oodena site (in Winnipeg), or other urban Indigenous economic development zones around the province, we'll certainly consider it."

First Nations groups were rebuffed more than a decade ago from setting up a casino in the provincial capital, which is home to more than half of Manitoba's population. The NDP government of the day said the market was already full with two government-run casinos in the city.

In 2013, the NDP government allowed Shark Club, a gambling centre with slot machines, table games and more, operated by True North Sports and Entertainment, to open in downtown Winnipeg. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs later filed a lawsuit over the matter. 

In 2018, the Progressive Conservative government announced a pause on any new gambling facilities.

Kinew's NDP government, elected Oct. 3, lifted that pause earlier this week in a mandate letter to Crown-owned Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries. The letter said gambling expansion is to be done "in a targeted fashion to include supporting economic reconciliation and local economic development."

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs welcomed the change Wednesday.

"We're very hopeful that we'll be able to sit down with them … to be able to talk about moving forward," Grand Chief Cathy Merrick said.

"The majority of the population of Manitoba is in Winnipeg, so that would be an ideal place to have a First Nations-run casino."

Naawi-Oodena is a 64-hectare piece of land in Winnipeg that was formerly part of a military base. Seven Treaty 1 First Nations took over ownership of the site in 2019 and are in the process of building a large urban reserve that is to include commercial, residential, educational and health facilities.

Kinew said he's open to proposals for a casino from anywhere.

"It's not really about what we envision. It would be led by a proponent," he said.

"Whether it's Treaty 1 or a (western Manitoba) First Nation — if we're talking about that part of the province — they would have to come forward and say 'all right here is a plan' and then we'd take it from there."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2023.

QUEBEC NATIONALISM IS FASCISM

McGill calls tuition hike, new French rules 'targeted attack' on English universities

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press

McGill University is seen Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, in Montreal. The Quebec government is raising tuition rates for out-of-province and international students beginning in 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz)

 

Quebec says it will hike tuition by 30 per cent for out-of-province Canadian students and force universities to ensure most of those students are proficient in French when they graduate.

In a letter Thursday to the province's three English-language universities — Concordia, McGill and Bishop's — Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry says the government is imposing the new measures so anglophones attending the schools better integrate into Quebec society.

The universities had warned that a tuition increase could lead to a steep drop in enrolment and devastate their finances. They recently proposed a different tuition model that they said would inflict less harm, but Déry said Thursday their plan wasn't good enough.

She also said the schools' proposals to boost the French skills of students from elsewhere in Canada were insufficient. "To reverse the decline of French in Quebec, we believe it is imperative to aim for more ambitious targets," Déry said in her letter.

The minister says that in order for McGill and Concordia to avoid financial penalties, 80 per cent of non-Quebec students enrolled in an English-language program will need to have intermediate "Level 5" proficiency in spoken French by the end of their undergraduate studies. Under Quebec's "scale of proficiency in French," Level 5 means a person "understands the essentials of conversations on everyday topics" and "grasps a varied vocabulary."

The government has softened its position slightly on tuition for out-of-province Canadian students, after threatening in October to nearly double it to $17,000 from $8,992. Instead it will rise to $12,000 beginning next fall, with Bishop's exempted because of its location outside Montreal. The French requirement is new, however, and will apply to all three schools by the 2025-26 academic year.

"The measures that the government released today are devastating," McGill University principal Deep Saini told a news conference. "They are far worse than those announced on Oct. 13 — worse for Quebec, worse for its universities, worse for Quebec businesses that need talent and worse for McGill."

Saini said proposals made by the universities since November have been turned against them.

"I can only view this as a targeted attack on institutions that have been part of Quebec and have contributed to Quebec for hundreds of years," Saini said.

The revised tuition amount is still double what students would pay elsewhere in Canada, said Graham Carr, president and vice-chancellor at Concordia University in Montreal.

Carr said the university has seen drops of 20 and 30 per cent, respectively, in Canadian and international applications since Quebec first announced a tuition increase. With application deadlines fast approaching, the university faces a challenge persuading prospective students to choose Concordia and Montreal.

"And that's a real tall order again, you know. I think once more we've been set up to fail on this, this is kind of Mission Impossible on the 14th of December," Carr said.

Déry says Bishop's will be spared the tuition hike because it is located in Sherbrooke, Que., where the French language is not under threat in the way it is in Montreal. Bishop's, with an undergraduate full-time enrolment of about 2,400 students, will be able to offer up to 825 out-of-province students the current tuition rate. And while the new French-language rules will apply to the school, its financing "won't be conditional" on Bishop's attaining them.

There are currently no French requirements for out-of-province students, and the English universities had already said they were open to what they called an ambitious objective of ensuring 40 per cent of non-French-speaking undergraduate students achieve proficiency in French by the time they graduate.

Fabrice Labeau, McGill's deputy provost, said the 80 per cent number is academically unfeasible. He said a student with no previous knowledge of French will need the equivalent of a full semester of language courses to reach that intermediate level.

Bishop's called Thursday's decision a positive outcome for the university. Sébastien Lebel-Grenier, principal and vice-chancellor, said in a statement that the school's community was able to "convince the Quebec government that we and the students we welcome to campus from the rest of Canada are not a threat to the French language but rather an essential part of what makes our region unique."

Quebec also announced earlier this year it would charge universities $20,000 for every international student they admit and reinvest that money into the French-language university network.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2023.