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Canadian Supreme Court says the federal carbon price is constitutional

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada says the federal carbon price is entirely constitutional

The split decision upholds a pivotal part of the Liberal climate-change plan, accounting for at least one-third of the emissions Canada aims to cut over the next decade.

Chief Justice Richard Wagner says in the written ruling that climate change is a real danger and evidence shows a price on pollution is a critical element in addressing it.

“It is a threat of the highest order to the country, and indeed to the world,” Wagner wrote for six of the nine judges

Given that, said Wagner, Canada’s evidence that this is a matter of national concern, is sound.

“The undisputed existence of a threat to the future of humanity cannot be ignored,” he wrote.

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson issued an immediate statement lauding the decision as "a win for the millions of Canadians who believe we must build a prosperous economy that fights climate change."

"The question is whether this decision will put an end to the efforts of Conservative politicians fighting climate action in court, and whether they will join Canadians in fighting climate change."

The onus was on the federal government to prove to the court that this is an issue of national concern that would allow it to take control of the matter rather than leaving it to the provinces.

The majority of the court found the federal government did that, noting all parties, including the provinces challenging the law, agreed climate change is “an existential challenge.”

“This context, on its own, provides some assurance that in the case at bar, Canada is not seeking to invoke the national concern doctrine too lightly," Wagner wrote.

Wagner also wrote provinces can’t set minimum national standards on their own and if even one province fails to reduce its emissions, that could have an inordinate impact on other provinces.

He noted that the three provinces that challenged the ruling also withdrew from the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. That agreement, signed in 2016, agreed to set a national carbon price.

"When provinces that are collectively responsible for more than two-thirds of Canada's total GHG emissions opt out of a cooperative scheme, this illustrates the stark limitations of a non-binding cooperative approach," he wrote.

That left the remaining provinces, responsible for only one-third of Canada's total emissions, "vulnerable to the consequences of the lion's share of the emissions being generated by the non-participating provinces."

He also said climate change in Canada is having a disproportionate impact on the Canadian Arctic, coastal communities and Indigenous territories.

Justice Suzanne Côté dissented in part, agreeing climate change is an issue of national concern but taking issue with the power the federal cabinet gave itself to adjust the law's scope, including which fuels the price would apply to.

Justices Malcolm Rowe and Russell Brown dissented with the entire decision, arguing Canada had not shown that climate change reaches the level of national concern. They objected that the precedent the majority's decision sets would allow Ottawa to set minimum national standards in all areas of provincial jurisdiction.

Wagner pushed back, finding there is a limited scope for national standards that is unchanged by this ruling.

Canada implemented the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act in 2019, setting a minimum price on carbon emissions in provinces that don’t have equivalent provincial prices, a law that was challenged by Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta.

The program applies a price per tonne to fuel purchases by individuals and businesses with lower emissions, and on part of the actual emissions produced by entities with large emissions, such as pipelines, manufacturing plants and coal-fired power plants.

The federal fuel-input charge applies in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, while the federal charge for big emitters currently covers only Manitoba and Prince Edward Island.

All other provinces have systems that meet the federal threshold.

The territories adopted the federal fuel charge.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.

A quick look at some of the reaction to the Supreme Court carbon tax decision

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday the federal carbon price is entirely constitutional. Here's a quick look at some of the reaction to the decision:© Provided by The Canadian Press

"We welcome the Supreme Court's ruling, but Canadians are still worried about the climate crisis and the lack of meaningful action from the Liberal government. They’re being asked to do their part, and they want to know it is making a real difference."

— Laurel Collins, NDP critic for Environment and Climate Change

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“Small firms simply cannot afford a further increase in their overall tax burden, especially as many remain in full lockdown or subject to significant COVID-19 related restrictions.”

— Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business

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“The fact remains that this tax represents higher costs for millions of Canadian families and businesses, causing significant economic pain in exchange for no environmental gain."

— Aaron Wudrick, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

BULLSHIT 80% OF CANADIANS WOULD GET A REBATE 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.

The Canadian Press

Canada's top court upholds pillar of Trudeau's plan to fight climate change

By Nia Williams and Steve Scherer 

© Reuters/MARK BLINCH FILE PHOTO: Canada's Prime Minister Trudeau speaks during a Liberal Climate Action Rally in Toronto

CALGARY, Alberta/OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada's Supreme Court ruled in favour of the federal government's carbon pricing policy on Thursday, upholding a central pillar of Prime Minister Justin's Trudeau's climate plan and overriding opposition from some provinces.

The country's top court said climate change is a threat to the country as a whole and upheld the legality of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, which had been challenged by the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario.

Carbon pricing, often called a carbon tax by opponents, is the lynchpin of the federal government's plan to ultimately reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Ottawa will steadily ramp up the price of carbon to C$170 ($135.08) a ton by 2030, from C$30 a ton currently.

Canada is the fourth-largest oil producer in the world and the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter on a per capita basis.

"Parliament has jurisdiction to enact this law as a matter of national concern," Chief Justice Richard Wagner wrote in the ruling. "All parties to this proceeding agree that climate change is an existential challenge. It is a threat of the highest order to the country, and indeed to the world."

Under the carbon pricing act, Ottawa can impose a federal levy on provinces that do not have an adequate carbon pricing system of their own. Opposing provinces argued this infringed on their jurisdiction, but the Supreme Court ruled federal intervention was justified.

The ruling was backed by six members of the nine-member court, with three dissenting opinions.

"This decision is a win for the millions of Canadians who believe we must build a prosperous economy that fights climate change," Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in a statement.

Canada needs to cut emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030 to fulfil its international climate commitments, which would involve slashing annual emissions to 511 megatons, compared with 729 megatons in 2018.

The Liberals unveiled a strengthened climate plan last year aimed at reducing emissions to 503 megatons.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said his government would unveil its own climate measures to avoid being subject to the "punitive and ineffective" federal carbon tax.

"Today's decision by the Supreme Court of Canada does not change our core conviction that the federal carbon tax is bad environmental policy, bad economic policy, and simply wrong," Moe said in a statement.

Ontario also released a statement outlining its own environment plan and Alberta did not immediately comment.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) said the Supreme Court ruling provided policy certainty, but concerns remained about the competitiveness of Canadian businesses. "The issue is divisive for many Canadians," said Aaron Henry, a senior director at the CCC.

BULLSHIT

($1 = 1.2585 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Nick Zieminski)

Saskatchewan NDP respond to carbon tax defeat at Supreme Court



Ottawa – The governments of Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta suffered a defeat in their battle against the federal carbon tax on March 25 as the Supreme Court of Canada ruled 6-3 against their joint challenge. The ever-increasing carbon tax is the key initiative in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s fight against climate change. By 2030, that carbon tax is supposed to rise to $170 per tonne of CO2 equivalent, after having been introduced at $20 per tonne.

Saskatchewan’s Official Opposition New Democratic Party Leader Ryan Meili responded in an emailed statement. He said: “The Saskatchewan NDP caucus is focused on creating good jobs here in Saskatchewan, and prosperity for our province’s families and businesses. Today’s ruling means that Trudeau’s economy-wide carbon tax will continue to take more from the people of Saskatchewan than they get back, with people living in rural and remote areas being most affected. That’s not right.

“This economy-wide price on carbon is not something that Saskatchewan people, or the Saskatchewan NDP support. Scott Moe chose to maintain the Trudeau carbon tax for two whole years instead of trying to negotiate a better deal.

“With the decision reached today, Scott Moe and the Sask. Party government must act quickly to negotiate a better deal that protects Saskatchewan’s economy and gives working families a break, including:

· Exempts fuel used for grain drying

· Explores all options to limit costs for families

· Ensures rebates leave regular families with more money in their pockets than they pay in carbon tax”

The continued ratchetting up of the carbon tax is also an issue, according to Meili. He said, “The federal government must press pause on its plans to dramatically increase the carbon tax, especially while so many families across the country - not just in Saskatchewan - are struggling coming through the pandemic. Now is not the time to increase costs on working families.

“Justin Trudeau must also acknowledge that the carbon tax disproportionately affects the Saskatchewan economy. With that fact comes a responsibility on the federal government to make dedicated investments that will make a difference here including support for workers in our hard-hit industries and helping to create good sustainable jobs in renewable energy. Saskatchewan has many opportunities in biofuels, geothermal, solar and wind energy, but we need the federal support to kickstart these new industries.

“The people of Saskatchewan know climate change is real, and want to do their part to reduce emissions while creating good jobs for the future in wind, solar, and geothermal. It’s time for Justin Trudeau and Scott Moe to put wrangling aside and get to work - together - on real solutions across the board that will ensure good jobs and prosperity for all of us.”

Brian Zinchuk, Local Journalism Initiative reporter, Estevan Mercury

‘Simply wrong’: Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe reacts to Supreme Court carbon price ruling

Jonathan Guignard 

© Michael Bell / The Canadian Press On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Canada gave the federal government the constitutional right to impose a carbon tax on provinces.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says the province isn’t changing its stance on carbon pricing following Thursday’s decision by the Supreme Court of Canada to allow the federal government to impose it on provinces.

“The federal carbon tax is bad environmental policy, bad economic policy, and simply wrong,” Moe said in a statement Thursday.

“While the Supreme Court has determined that Prime Minister Trudeau has the legal right to impose a carbon tax, it doesn’t mean he should, and it doesn’t make the carbon tax any less punitive for Saskatchewan people.”

The federal carbon-tax-and-rebate program was introduced in 2018 and laid out a national framework for pricing carbon — one that applies to everyday consumers as well as industrial emitters.

Read more: Canada’s carbon price is constitutional, Supreme Court rules

The Supreme Court of Canada found that climate change poses a real, serious threat to the world and is serious enough to allow the federal government to step in.

“The (Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act) is constitutional,” Chief Justice Richard Wagner wrote in the decision.

“Although this restriction may interfere with a province’s preferred balance between economic and environmental considerations, it is necessary to consider the interests that would be harmed — owing to irreversible consequences for the environment, for human health and safety, and for the economy — if Parliament were unable to constitutionally address the matter at a national level.”

Under the ruling, Ottawa would collect the carbon tax in Saskatchewan, then provide rebates to individual tax filers in the province.

Revenue Canada says the average household of four can expect about $1,000 in rebates for 2020.

Moe warns the decision has “far-reaching implications for federal intrusion into areas of provincial jurisdiction.”

“Saskatchewan will remain vigilant in defending our constitutional jurisdiction from further infringement from this federal government,” Moe said.

“Saskatchewan people have seen the federal carbon tax for what it is — a blunt, ineffective instrument that kills job, threatens the competitiveness of our industries, and penalizes essential, daily activities of families across our province.

“Our government will continue to make every effort to protect Saskatchewan families, workers and businesses from the negative consequences of the federal carbon tax.”

The Saskatchewan NDP shares similar feelings as the province, saying the carbon-tax-and-rebate program will hurt Saskatchewan people.

Read more: Farmers concerned criteria for federal carbon credits may leave them out

“(Thursday’s) ruling means that Trudeau’s economy-wide carbon tax will continue to take more from the people of Saskatchewan than they get back, with people living in rural and remote areas being most affected. That’s not right,” Ryan Meili, Saskatchewan NDP leader, said in a statement Thursday.

“This economy-wide price on carbon is not something that Saskatchewan people, or the Saskatchewan NDP support.”

Meili said Moe should have spent the past two years trying to negotiate a better deal with the federal government rather than fighting against it.

He would like Moe to begin negotiating a deal with Trudeau that would exempt fuel used for grain drying, explore all options to limit costs for families, and offer rebates to families to offset the cost of a carbon tax.

Read more: Is Canada’s carbon tax working? Experts, advocacy groups weigh in

“The people of Saskatchewan know climate change is real, and want to do their part to reduce emissions while creating good jobs for the future in wind, solar, and geothermal,” Meili said.

“It’s time for Justin Trudeau and Scott Moe to put wrangling aside and get to work - together - on real solutions across the board that will ensure good jobs and prosperity for all of us.”

The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce also expressed its disappointment regarding Thursday’s ruling.

VIDEO
Supreme Court of Canada rules federal carbon levy is constitutional


“To be clear, the debate is not, and should not, be whether we need to transition to a lower carbon economy, but how to manage the process,” said Steve McLellan, Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce CEO in a statement Thursday.

“There is a better way forward, the federal government’s pan-Canadian approach to pollution pricing has not recognized the unique challenges present in Saskatchewan; putting undue hardship on our residents and businesses, it is unfortunate that they will continue this approach.”

Moe said he will outline measures the province will take in the months ahead to “protect Saskatchewan people” on Thursday, at the same time addressing climate change.

-With files from Rachel Gilmore

Ikea France on trial over claims it spied on staff, clients

VERSAILLES, France — Ikea’s French subsidiary and several of its former executives went on trial Monday over accusations that they illegally spied on employees and customers.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Trade unions reported the furniture and home goods company to French authorities in 2012, accusing it of collecting personal data by fraudulent means and the illicit disclosure of personal information.

The unions alleged that Ikea France paid to gain access to police files that had information about targeted individuals, particularly union activists and customers who were in disputes with Ikea.

The company fired four executives and changed internal policy after French prosecutors opened a criminal probe in 2012. But at Monday's trial in the Versailles court, lawyers for Ikea France denied any strategy of “generalized espionage."

An Ikea employee and CGT union activist, Hocine Redouane, said at Monday's trial that the company wrongly suspected him of being a bank robber because their investigation system found criminal records involving a bank robber with the same name.

“Such a system can easily slip into abuse,” Redouane said.

Another accusation alleged that Ikea France used unauthorized data to try to catch an employee who had claimed unemployment benefits but drove a Porsche. Another says the subsidiary investigated an employee’s criminal record to determine how the employee was able to own a BMW on a low income.

The former head of Ikea France’s risk management department, Jean-François Paris, acknowledged to French judges that 530,000 to 630,000 euros a year ($633,000 to $753,000) were earmarked for such investigations. Paris, who is among those accused, said his department was responsible for handling it.

Former Ikea France CEOs Jean-Louis Baillot and Stefan Vanoverbeke, former Chief Financial Officer Dariusz Rychert, store managers and police officers are also going on trial.

If convicted, the two ex-CEOs face sentences of up to 10 years in prison and fines of 750,000 euros. Ikea France faces a maximum penalty of 3.75 million euros. The trial is scheduled to last until April 2.

The company also faces potential damages from civil lawsuits filed by unions and 74 employees.

Anne-Solene Bouvier, lawyer for the employees, argued that the case is important for French society as a whole. “The right to privacy for employees should be sacred,” she said.

Ikea France, a subsidiary of Swedish furniture company Ikea, said Monday it has co-operated with French judicial authorities.

“Ikea France takes the protection of its employees’ and customers’ data very seriously,” the company said in a statement. It said it adopted compliance and training procedures to prevent illegal activity after the investigation was opened in 2012.

The lawyer for Ikea France, Emmanuel Daoud, said there was no poof of “a widespread system of spying.” The lawyer for the company’s former human resources director called the case “a fairy tale” invented by union activists.

In France, Ikea employs more than 10,000 people in 34 stores, an e-commerce site and a customer support centre.

___

Nicolas Vaux-Montagny reported from Lyon. Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

Pope, citing pandemic effect, cuts pay for cardinals, others

VATICAN CITY — Trying to save jobs as the pandemic pummels Vatican revenues, Pope Francis has ordered pay cuts for cardinals and other clerics, as well as nuns, who work at the Holy See.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

In a decree published online Wednesday by the Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Francis said that starting in April cardinals' salaries will be reduced 10%. Superiors of the Holy See's various departments, who, with few exceptions, are clerics, will be hit by 8% cuts while lower-ranking priests and nuns will see 3% vanish from their paychecks.


In the decree he signed on Tuesday, the pope noted that the Holy See's finances have been marked by several years of deficit. Worsening those financial woes, the pope wrote, was the COVID-19 pandemic, “which has impacted negatively on all the sources of revenue of the Holy See and Vatican City State.”

The belt-tightening "has the aim of saving current job positions,'' Francis wrote.

Lower-ranking lay-workers at the Vatican aren't affected by the salary reductions, but their pay raises, due every two years, are being temporarily frozen under the austerity measures. The lowest-paid lay workers will still get raise, though.

Bans on tourism by many countries and other pandemic restrictions have severely reduced revenues at the Vatican Museums, which, with its Sistine Chapel, is a perennial money-maker for the Vatican,

The Museums opened for some weeks during the pandemic when the situation in Italy improved. But with tourists from the United States and some other countries banned from entering Italy, the museums' cavernous rooms were eerily uncrowded in the pandemic.

The Museums are currently closed and will stay closed at least through the upcoming Holy Week, which normally is one of Rome's heaviest periods for tourism.

Earlier this month, the Vatican said it has nearly used up its financial reserves from past donations to cover budget deficits over recent years. It has predicted a 50-million-euro ($60 million) deficit for this year.

Pandemic safety measures have seen many churches shuttered or limiting the number of faithful — many of whom leave monetary donations during services — who can enter.

The Vatican's economy minister has said that the dwindled Museums revenue, as well as a drop in what Catholics donate, would contribute to a projected 30% reduction in revenue this year.

The pay cuts also apply to several Vatican basilicas in Rome as well as to the Vicariate, or diocese of Rome, which is under the pope's direction.

Cardinals, other clerics and well as nuns in Rome generally don't have expenses most lay people have, like market-value rents or mortgages, utility and heating bills, since many reside in housing owned by the Vatican or religious orders.

Some cardinals have spacious, well-appointed apartments in historic palazzi in Rome. A cardinal on the Vatican staff could earn close to 5,000 euros (($6,000) monthly, according to those familiar with Holy See hierarchy.

In any case, Francis noted, the salary reductions won't apply to anyone who can document that the cuts will make it “impossible to meet fixed expenses related to their health conditions" or those of close relatives.

Primary teachers' union calls for strike in Paris as COVID-19 surge

PARIS (Reuters) - The main trade union representing French primary school teachers called on Thursday for a strike in Paris over what it says is the government's failure to protect staff and pupils from a third wave of coronavirus infections tearing through the country.

© Reuters/ERIC GAILLARD FILE PHOTO: Coronavirus disease

 (COVID-19) saliva testing in a primary school in Nice

The government has prided itself on keeping schools open during most of the epidemic, while some neighbouring countries have closed theirs for months at a time, but it is coming under mounting pressure to act as cases surge.

"The (education) minister can congratulate himself that schools have stayed open ... but at what price?!" the SNUipp-FSU said in a statement.

The strike would affect Paris and its outer areas, although no date has yet been set, the union said.

The call for a walkout reflects growing concern among many health workers and teachers that the government is not doing enough to slow the COVID-19 spread after President Emmanuel Macron's refusal so far this year to impose a third nationwide lockdown.

Closing schools would be an act of last resort, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday. Valerie Pecresse, who heads the Ile de France region encompassing Paris and its surrounds, has proposed bringing forward the April school holiday by two weeks.

The latest government data, published on March 19, showed 15,484 schoolchildren tested positive for coronavirus in the preceding week, or 0.13% of all pupils.

The Ile de France, which accounts for nearly a fifth of France's population and 30% of economic growth, is one of the hardest hit parts of France as the virus once again sweeps across Western Europe.

A nightly curfew is in place and restaurant, bars, museums and cinemas are closed across the country. Last week the government closed non-essential stores and limited people's movement in the Paris region and swathes of the north. It says more time is needed to see what impact the tighter curbs will have.

(Reporting by Richard Lough; Editing by Frances Kerry)

Huge ship still blocking Suez Canal like 'beached whale' leaves global trade in a jam

Yasmine Salam and Charlene Gubash and Olivier Fabre 

International efforts to dislodge the skyscraper-sized cargo ship blocking Egypt’s Suez Canal intensified but made little progress Thursday as the maritime traffic jam wreaked havoc on global trade.

© Provided by NBC News

Egyptian authorities said navigation was still “temporarily suspended” after the container got stuck sideways across the canal due to a severe dust storm and poor visibility.

That meant traffic remained at a standstill on a route that accounts for roughly 12 percent of global trade as the shipping saga passed the 48-hour mark.

A fleet of eight large tugboats were dispatched to refloat the jammed container vessel, the Suez Canal Authority said in a statement on Thursday.

Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen, which operates the stranded tanker, announced that two professional rescue teams from Japan and the Netherlands were now helping Egyptian authorities to create a more “effective plan.”

Meanwhile the technical manager of the vessel, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, said it had “intensified efforts” to refloat the ship by sending “specialized suction dredgers” to the site after an attempt this morning failed.

“Another attempt will be made later today,” the statement added.

Tug boats struggle with giant container ship blocking Suez Canal

But experts said that the frenzied flotation efforts could take longer than many would hope.

Peter Berdowski, CEO of Dutch company Boskalis, one of the maritime service providers currently trying to free the ship, said the rescue mission was far from straight forward.

“It is like an enormous beached whale. It's an enormous weight on the sand,” he said, speaking to Dutch TV.

“We might have to work with a combination of reducing the weight by removing containers, oil and water from the ship, tug boats and dredging of sand.”

"We can't exclude it might take weeks, depending on the situation," he added.

“We have already seen a jump in the price of oil because of the tankers that are sitting at anchor in the Red Sea,” Laleh Khalili, a professor in international politics at Queen Mary University in London, told NBC News.

Even when rescue efforts are successful, “the backlog of ships could take a week or so to clear,” she added.

At least 150 other tankers have been waiting to pass through the narrow canal since the 400 meter long Ever Given ship got stuck sideways on Tuesday morning, running aground after gusting winds of 30 knots caused the vessel to deviate from its course.

The Suez Canal usually allows 50 cargo ships pass daily between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, providing a vital trade corridor between Europe and Asia.

Photos released by Suez authorities showed a digger removing earth and rock from the canal's bank and around the ship's bow

.

© Suez Canal Authority Image: Taiwan-owned MV Ever Given which is lodged sideways and impeding all traffic across the waterway of Egypt's Suez Canal (Suez Canal Authority / AFP - Getty Images)

“They would try to be removing anything that is easy to remove, but the location where they are stuck is not near a port, it's actually quite a distance away from anything,” Professor Jasper Graham-Jones, a mechanical marine engineer from Plymouth University told Sky News.

“This is where the clear option is lots and lots of tug boats and digging around the sides.”

(Sky News is owned by Comcast, the parent company of NBC News.)

Evergreen said it has “urged the shipowner to investigate” the source of the accident.

The ship's owners apologized on Thursday for the disruption the maritime traffic jam has caused.

“We sincerely regret that this accident has caused a great deal of concern to the ships sailing or scheduled to sail in the Suez Canal,” said the Japanese company Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd.

Nearly 19,000 ships with a net tonnage of 1.17 billion metric tons passed through the canal last year, according to the Suez Canal Authority.

Traffic jams are rare. In 2017 a Japanese container vessel blocked the canal but Egyptian authorities refloated the ship within hours.

"In the long term, this delay may force some re-thinking about ship sizes," said Khalili of Queen Mary University. "And if there are issues associated with who is going to take responsibility for the accident ... that may force a reckoning in shipping ownership structures."

Suez is still remembered for being at the heart of an international crisis in 1956 after Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nassar nationalized the canal, previously in British and French ownership. The move led to an invasion that resulted in humiliation for the western European powers.

Shipping losses mount from cargo vessel stuck in Suez Canal

$400 MILLION PER HOUR IN LOSES SAYS LLOYDS

© Provided by The Canadian Press

ISMAILIA, Egypt — Dredgers, tugboats and even a backhoe failed to free a giant cargo ship wedged in Egypt’s Suez Canal on Thursday as the number of stacked-up vessels unable to pass through the vital waterway climbed to 150 and losses to global shipping mounted.

The skyscraper-sized Ever Given, carrying cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula. Even with the aid of high tides, authorities have been unable to push the Panama-flagged container vessel aside, and they are looking for new ideas to free it.

In a sign of the turmoil the blockage has caused, the ship's Japanese owner even offered a written apology.

“We are determined to keep on working hard to resolve this situation as soon as possible,” Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. said. “We would like to apologize to all parties affected by this incident, including the ships travelling and planning to travel through Suez Canal.”

As efforts to free it resumed at daylight Thursday, an Egyptian canal authority official said workers hoped to avoid offloading containers from the vessel as it would take days to do so and extend the closure. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to talk to journalists.

So far, dredgers have tried to clear silt around the massive ship. Tug boats nudged the vessel alongside it, trying to gain momentum. From the shore, at least one backhoe dug into the canal's sandy banks, suggesting the bow of the ship had plowed into it. However, satellite photos taken Thursday by Planet Labs Inc. and analyzed by The Associated Press showed the vessel still stuck in the same location.

Lt. Gen. Osama Rabei, the head of the canal authority, said navigation through the waterway would remain halted until the Ever Given is refloated. A team from Boskalis, a Dutch firm specialized in salvaging, arrived at the canal Thursday, although one of its top officials warned removing the vessel could take “days to weeks."

A team from the Boskalis subsidiary SMIT "spent the day doing inspections and doing calculations to assess the state of the vessel and a plan on how to refloat the vessel,” spokesman Martijn Schuttevaer told the AP. He did not offer a time frame.

The Suez Canal Authority said one idea the team discussed was scraping the bottom of the canal around the ship.

Boskalis chairman Peter Berdowski on Wednesday described the ship as “a very heavy whale on the beach.”

“The ship, with the weight it now has, can’t really be pulled free. You can forget it,” he told the Dutch current affairs program “Nieuwsuur.”

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the company that manages the Ever Given, said its 25-member crew was safe and accounted for. Shoei Kisen Kaisha said all the crew came from India.

The ship had two pilots from Egypt's canal authority aboard the vessel to guide it when the grounding happened around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement said.

Canal service provider Leth Agencies said at least 150 ships were waiting for the Ever Given to be cleared, including vessels near Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea, Port Suez on the Red Sea and those already stuck in the canal system on Egypt's Great Bitter Lake.

Cargo ships already behind the Ever Given in the canal will be reversed south back to Port Suez to free the channel, Leth Agencies said. Authorities hope to do the same to the Ever Given when they can free it.

Evergreen Marine Corp., a major Taiwan-based shipping company that operates the ship, said the Ever Given had been overcome by strong winds as it entered the canal, something Egyptian officials earlier said as well. High winds and a sandstorm plagued the area Tuesday, with winds gusting to 50 kph (30 mph).

An initial report suggested the ship suffered a power blackout before the incident, something Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement denied.

“Initial investigations rule out any mechanical or engine failure as a cause of the grounding,” the company said.

In Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters the Suez Canal is part of a crucial international sea lane, and that the Japanese government was gathering information and working with local authorities.

The closure could affect oil and gas shipments to Europe from the Mideast, which rely on the canal to avoid sailing around Africa. The price of international benchmark Brent crude stood at over $63 a barrel Thursday.

Overall, famed shipping journal Lloyd's List estimates each day the Suez Canal is closed disrupts over $9 billion worth of goods that should be passing through the waterway. A quarter of all Suez Canal traffic a day comes from container ships like the Ever Given, the journal said.

“Blocking something like the Suez Canal really sets in motion a number of dominos toppling each other over,” said Lars Jensen, chief executive of Denmark-based SeaIntelligence Consulting. “The effect is not only going to be the simple, immediate one with cargo being delayed over the next few weeks, but will actually have repercussions several months down the line for the supply chain.”

The Ever Given, built in 2018 with a length of nearly 400 metres (a quarter mile) and a width of 59 metres (193 feet), is among the largest cargo ships in the world. It can carry some 20,000 containers at a time. It previously had been at ports in China before heading toward Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo. It also remains one of Egypt’s top foreign currency earners. In 2015, the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi completed a major expansion of the canal, allowing it to accommodate the world’s largest vessels. However, the Ever Given ran aground south of that new portion of the canal.

The stranding Tuesday marks just the latest to affect mariners amid the pandemic. Hundreds of thousands have been stuck aboard vessels due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, demands on shipping have increased, adding to the pressure on tired sailors.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Isabel DeBre in Dubai and Mike Corder at The Hague, Netherlands, contributed.

Jon Gambrell And Samy Magdy, The Associated Press

Colombia ordered to protect raped and tortured journalist

AFP 

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights on Wednesday ordered Colombia to immediately protect a journalist who has accused the state of complicity in her kidnapping, rape and torture two decades ago.

© Juan BARRETO Colombian journalist Jineth Bedoya claims to have suffered persecution and threats since her rape and torture in 2000

"This court considers there to be ... an extremely serious and urgent situation, with the view to suffering irreparable damage, to Jineth Bedoya Lima and (her mother) Luz Nelly Lima," said the court's judges.

The court -- an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS) based in Costa Rica -- is due to rule on Colombia's responsibility for the violence inflicted on World Press Freedom award-winning Bedoya, in 2000.

Now 47, Bedoya suffered a 16-hour ordeal after she was seized by right-wing paramilitaries from outside the La Modelo prison in Colombia's capital Bogota, where she was investigating an arms trafficking network.

She claims the state, including an "influential" police chief, was complicit in her abduction.

Bedoya says she has since suffered two decades of "persecution, intimidation and constant threats."

On Tuesday, the state apologized to Bedoya for failing to properly investigate those threats or a 1999 attack on her and her mother.

However, Camilo Gomez, the director of Colombia's National Agency for Legal Defense of the State, said the evidence was not "sufficient to demonstrate the participation of public agents" in the assault on Bedoya.

On Wednesday, the judges said the "adoption of provisional measures does not imply a decision on the foundation of the controversy ... nor does it conclude state responsibility" for the accusations made by Bedoya.

The two parties have until April 23 to present their final written arguments.

The court's decisions are definitive and unappealable.

jss/vel/fpp/roc/bc/st

AP journalist Thein Zaw released from detention in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar — Thein Zaw, a journalist for The Associated Press who was arrested more than three weeks ago while covering a protest against the coup in Myanmar, was released from detention on Wednesday.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Visibly thinner than before his arrest, Thein Zaw waved and smiled to photographers as he left Yangon’s Insein Prison, notorious for decades for holding political prisoners.

His brothers and best friend took him home, which is an area of Yangon that has been placed under martial law. He told the AP that his mother told him through tears: “We thought we'd never see you again.”

Thein Zaw had earlier said that the judge in his case announced at a court hearing that all charges against him were being dropped because he was doing his job at the time of his arrest.

He said that while in prison he was “worried every day,” and last week he marked his 33rd birthday behind bars.

Despite his relief, he said he was concerned about the many journalists who remain imprisoned.

“Thanks to all who tried so hard for my release," he said. "But one thing that upsets me is that there are some people who are still inside, and I hope that they can get out as soon as possible.”

Thein Zaw's father, Ba Win, greeted him with shampoo because it is local custom that people returning from prison must wash their hair before entering the house. His parents prepared pork curry and fish curry for his first meal at home.

His release was also emotional for lawyer Tin Zar Oo, who said she cried and jumped for joy when the judge announced the charges were being dropped.

“I was so happy. Thein Zaw looked at me, and I was even at a loss for words when they asked me if I had anything to say,” she said. “I hugged Thein Zaw, and we both cried with joy.”

Her client had been charged with violating a public order law that carries a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment.

He was one of nine media workers taken into custody during a Feb. 27 street protest in Yangon, the country’s largest city, and had been held without bail. About 40 journalists have been detained or charged since the Feb. 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, roughly half of whom remain behind bars.

Authorities have also arrested thousands of protesters since the takeover as part of an increasingly brutal crackdown. On Wednesday, more than 600 demonstrators were released, a rare conciliatory gesture by the military that appeared aimed at placating the protest movement.

The AP and many press freedom organizations have called for the release of Thein Zaw and the other detained members of the press.

“The Associated Press is deeply relieved that AP journalist Thein Zaw has been freed from prison in Myanmar,” said Ian Phillips, AP vice-president for international news. “Our relief is tempered by the fact that additional journalists there remain detained. We urge Myanmar to release all journalists and allow them to report freely and safely on what is happening inside the country.”

Thein Zaw was arrested as he was photographing police, some of them armed, charging down a street at anti-coup protesters. A video shows that although he stepped to the side of the street to get out of their way, several police rushed over and surrounded him. One put him in a chokehold as he was handcuffed and then taken away.

Tin Zar Oo saw her client for the first time since his arrest at a hearing on March 12 at which his pre-trial detention was renewed — and even then it was through a video link.

The International Press Institute, headquartered in Vienna, welcomed the release, saying he "was detained for doing his job as a journalist and should never have been behind bars in the first place.”

“Myanmar must now immediately release all other journalists it is holding," said Scott Griffen, the institute' deputy director. "The military junta must stop all forms of harassment and intimidation of media covering demonstrations against the coup and end restrictions on publication and broadcasting by media outlets in the country.”

The Associated Press

FASCISM IN TURKEY

Turkish police frees politician after detention in assembly

© Provided by The Canadian Press

ISTANBUL — Turkish police on Sunday detained a prominent pro-Kurdish party politician who was staging a days-long protest in parliament. He was released after questioning several hours later.

Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, from the Peoples’ Democratic Party, or HDP, refused to leave parliament after he was stripped of his status and immunity as lawmaker on Wednesday. The party said around 100 police officers entered parliament to detain him. Video of his detention showed police officers dragging him away.

His detention came during a tumultuous weekend in which the Turkish president fired the central bank governor and annulled an international agreement on protecting women from violence. It also follows a heightened crackdown on the HDP.

The party said Gergerlioglu was detained as he was performing his ablutions for morning prayers.

“The police insisted on detaining him, and took him away in his pyjamas and slippers,” the HDP said in a statement.

A statement by the prosecutor’s office, quoted by official Anadolu news agency, said Gergerlioglu was detained for not leaving parliament despite losing his status as lawmaker and for slogans chanted by some people during a protest in parliament Wednesday praising the jailed leader of a Kurdish militant group.

Gergerlioglu, speaking on Periscope after his release, described being forced out of parliament by police detaining him and irregularities during his police statement.

“They fabricated a crime to get me out of parliament,” he said.

Gergerlioglu, the former head of an Islamist human rights association, has exposed several human rights violations in Turkey, including alleged illegal strip-searches of detainees by police. He trained and worked as a pulmonologist but was fired through an emergency decree. He advocated for the tens of thousands of other civil servants who were purged in the aftermath of the 2016 coup attempt.

Gergerlioglu was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to two years and six months in prison for “spreading terrorist propaganda” after he retweeted a 2016 news article about a call for peace by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. An appeals court confirmed the conviction, saying he was “owning” and “legitimizing” the PKK by sharing the link, which included a photograph of armed fighters.

The PKK is considered a terrorist organization in Turkey, Europe and the United States. It has led an armed insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people. A fragile cease-fire and peace talks collapsed in the summer of 2015.

Supreme Court prosecutors have also filed an indictment at the constitutional Court for the HDP’s closure this week and are seeking a five-year ban on 687 members’ participation in politics. It is the latest crackdown on the party, which has seen its former leaders, lawmakers and thousands of activists arrested.

HDP is the second-largest opposition party in parliament, elected with more than 5.8 million votes in 2018. The United States and the European Union have criticized the moves.

The Turkish president's nationalist ally, Devlet Bahceli, had called on the assembly's speaker to remove Gergerlioglu from the building in a series of tweets Saturday, describing him as a separatist.

“The Grand Turkish National Assembly is not the dorms of separatists or the place where fugitives can take refuge. The dagger in the great Turkish nation's heart cannot be allowed to nest or tolerated ... Laying out a bed in parliament is a dark stain on democracy,” he wrote in one tweet.

Gergerlioglu called his detention “immoral," saying it was organized by the speaker of the assembly and ordered by Bahceli.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has turned to the nationalists to cement his power as president and with a combined majority in parliament.

Zeynep Bilginsoy, The Associated Press

#MILKTEAALLIANCE

Thai police use tear gas, rubber bullets to break up protest

BANGKOK — Scores of people were injured and arrested in the Thai capital after police used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets Saturday night to break up a rally by pro-democracy protesters calling for the release of detained activists, constitutional changes and reform of the nation's monarchy.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The rally outside Bangkok's Grand Palace was a continuation of student-led protests that began last year and have rattled Thailand's traditional establishment, which is fiercely opposed to change, especially with regard to the monarchy.

The rally organizers had said they planned to have demonstrators throw paper planes with messages over the palace walls.

The demonstrators, who numbered close to 1,000, managed to break through a barrier made of shipping containers outside the ceremonial palace stacked two high. Police behind the containers responded first with warnings and then by shooting water cannons and rubber bullets. Police drove the crowd back and while skirmishes continued, the crowds appeared to have dissipated by 10 p.m.

The city's emergency medical service Erawan reported 33 people, including 13 police, were injured by rubber bullets, rocks and tear gas. At least two reporters were hit by rubber bullets. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, a watchdog, reported 32 detained.

During the skirmishes, protesters tossed smoke bombs and giant firecrackers at police, and also splashed a royal portrait with paint, but failed in an attempt to set it on fire, though they did burn tires and trash at several locations.

Police Deputy Spokesman Col. Kissana Phathanacharoen said police had warned in advance that the rally was illegal. He said in addition to throwing various objects, protesters used slingshots to fire nuts and bolts at police and hit them with metal rods. He said police had used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets according to proper procedures.

The rally was called by REDEM, a faction of a broader protest movement last year that started with three core demands: the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and his government, for the constitution to be amended to make it more democratic and the monarchy to be reformed to make it more accountable.

REDEM, which stands for Restart Democracy, claims to have no leaders and holds online voting to decide on rally dates and activities.

The movement sharpened its campaign to focus on the monarchy, and Thailand's lese majeste law, which makes criticizing, insulting or defaming the king and some other senior royals punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The monarchy has long been treated as sacred institution in Thailand and public criticism is not only illegal, but has long been considered socially unacceptable. Many people still revere the monarchy and the military, a major power in Thai society, considers defence of the monarchy as a key priority.

As protesters last year stepped up criticism of the monarchy, the government responded by charging outspoken protesters under the lese majeste law, and over the last month, eight of them were jailed pending trial.

The movement was able to attract crowds of as many as 20,000-30,000 people in Bangkok in 2020 and had followings in major cities and universities. However, a new coronavirus outbreak late last year caused it to temporarily suspend activities, and it lost momentum.

The Associated Press

WHEN CAPITALISM DEMANDS REGULATION 

Empire, industry group propose grocery code to address "unfair practices" in market


TORONTO — Canada's second-largest grocery retailer and an industry group representing the food manufacturers have agreed to a draft grocery code of practice that takes aim at what they call unfairness in the market

.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Empire Company Ltd. and Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada say the proposed code addresses long-standing issues like arbitrary fees, cost increases imposed without notice, and late payments.

They say poor retailer-supplier relations create a negative ripple effect in the market that affects consumers through pricing, product choices and jobs.

The proposed code of conduct comes after Loblaw Companies Ltd., Walmart Canada and United Grocers Inc., a national buying group that represents Metro Inc., unilaterally imposed higher fees on suppliers in recent months.

Empire, which operates numerous grocery chains including Sobeys, Safeway and FreshCo, and the consumer products group are encouraging other grocers, suppliers and industry stakeholders to support the proposed code of practice – a first of its kind in Canada.

Empire CEO Michael Medline says retailers and suppliers made "unprecedented strides" collaborating during the pandemic to protect the food supply chain and urged industry players to "not go back to the old way of doing things."

Michael Graydon, president and CEO of the industry group, says retailers and suppliers do not always see eye to eye but that the proposed code of practice will help build a supply chain based on mutual trust that treats businesses of all sizes fairly.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:EMP.A)

The Canadian Press

LOBSTER WARS

N.S. legal expert says Canadian government likely has not met constitutional obligations to First Nations

Sun., March 21, 2021

SYDNEY — A Dalhousie law professor says the way the lobster fisheries dispute is playing out between the federal government and First Nations in Atlantic Canada is a setback in reconciliation.

“I think that’s a loss for everyone,” Wayne MacKay says.

MacKay is a professor emeritus at the Schulich School of Law, and specializes in constitutional law, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and has taught courses in Indigenous rights.

He says there are “several layers of problems with the current approach” by Bernadette Jordan, minister of fisheries and oceans, who announced on March 2 that her department will now issue licenses for Indigenous fisheries and limit their moderate livelihood fishing to the commercial season.

The precedent set by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Marshall cases recognizes the First Nations’ right to fish under the Peace and Friendship Treaties but also allows for limitations by the government for the purpose of conservation.

The Badger decision set out the parameters for applying those limitations and puts the onus on the federal government to show that the infringement of treaty rights is justified, and to consult with First Nations to find a solution that puts the minimum restrictions on Indigenous rights.

LACK OF CONSULTATION

The 13 Nova Scotia First Nations chiefs have unanimously rejected Jordan’s plan for a number of reasons, a major one being a lack of consultation.

While the federal fisheries department says there has been consistent communication with First Nations on moderate livelihood fisheries and that the question of whether fishing can occur outside of the commercial season has been a part of those conversations, MacKay says these broad discussions do not constitute meaningful consultation on the actual policy itself.

“In my view, to really meet the constitutional obligation, (the government) would have had to consult once they were formulating a policy and bring it back and say, 'What do you think of this?’ and give an opportunity for (First Nations) to really make a case,” he says.

THIRD-PARTY INFORMATION

In a March 12 statement, the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs said Jordan not only failed to consult with First Nations, but she is also making decisions based on rumours.

Last week, a DFO spokesperson said consultation with First Nations and development of the new regulations were cut short by Potlotek First Nation's plan to begin fishing on March 15, ahead of the start of the commercial fishing season on May 11.

Potlotek’s chief, Wilbert Marshall, says that information is false and it didn’t come from him.

“Our community plan outlines our authorized harvesting dates, which are for late spring — not March. No one at DFO had the opportunity to see our 2021 plan yet, so there was no way for them to be able to say when we were going to start our spring season,” Marshall said in the release.

When asked directly where the information regarding Potlotek’s fishing plan came from, the department provided a written response that did not address the question or provide any new information regarding the government’s decision to apply seasonality and licensing to the First Nation’s moderate livelihood fisheries.

DUTY TO ACCOMMODATE

Jordan cites the protection of the lobster population as the reason for the new regulations and credits her department’s fishing limits and practices for the healthy stocks.

First Nations agree that conservation is a priority but say DFO has not yet provided evidence or scientific data to support its approach to managing the lobster population.

MacKay says no one is disputing the need for a conservation plan.

“Where the disagreement comes in is there are different ways or means to do that and what seems to me is that the government has not fully demonstrated that what they’re proposing is the least treaty restrictive way to achieve conservation,” says MacKay.

He says a negotiation process that meets the true spirit of the Supreme Court’s rulings would allow for the comparison of the different plans to find the best one or create a combination of the federal plan and the First Nations’ plans based on conservation and the minimal infringement of Indigenous treaty rights.

LIKELY HEADED TO COURT

The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs maintains that First Nations have requested specific information from DFO and will not negotiate until it’s been received.

“We will continue to reject the minister’s unilateral control of our rights’ based fishery and will hold her to account to meet her legal obligations as described in (the) Marshall and Badger (decisions),” said Chief Gerald Toney, fisheries lead for the assembly.

The fisheries department doesn’t appear to be reconsidering its new plan in a recent comment: “The minister and DFO are always willing to continue discussions and address concerns, but with the Spring season approaching, the federal government has a responsibility to put in place clear regulations for the fishery as we work toward long-term agreements.”

MacKay says the constitutional issues raised in the moderate livelihood fisheries dispute make it a high-stakes case for both sides.

“A lot of what is at stake here is really the rights of the First Nations to engage in self-governance and that part of it makes it a kind of test case,” says MacKay.

He adds that these kinds of cases are often costly and time-consuming as they tend to move through the court system to the Court of Appeal and then the Supreme Court for a final ruling.

“It’s unfortunate that the courts become the ultimate arbiter on these kinds of things at the end of the day,” he says.

In the meantime, First Nations communities across the province are continuing to plan their moderate livelihood fisheries for the spring.

Jordan has said she is prepared to enforce the Fisheries Act equally to all harvesters and will have increased fisheries officers, supported by Canadian Coast Guard vessels, deployed to maintain safety on the water.

“It’s up to all of us to work together, to come together, and ensure a peaceful, productive season this spring. We owe it to everyone involved, to rights holders, to coastal communities, and to all Canadians to get this right,” she says.

Ardelle Reynolds, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post

Local Journalism Initiative

Estevan, Sask. looks to canola-based diesel for jobs transition

Evan Radford, The Leader-Post

Sun., March 21, 2021, 

Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig hopes a proposed renewable diesel refinery in the area helps his city secure long-term jobs.

Two coal-fired units at SaskPower’s boundary dam are to close down this year and in 2024. “We can’t turn the clock back on that. Of course we’re looking at how do we transition for jobs in our area to keep the economic development moving forward?” he said.

To that end, Estevan is working with Covenant Energy CEO Josh Gustafson on his company’s pitch for a large renewable diesel refinery in the area.

Thanks to a provincial funding pot of $8 million over three years, the city and nearby communities have provided Covenant with $200,000 to do a feasibility study for the refinery.

Gustafson projects the refinery would process 6,500 barrels of renewable diesel per day. He said renewable diesel is different from biodiesel.

Both use oil from crushed canola seeds, but renewable diesel refines the oil in a process resembling what’s done with fossil-based crude. It means there’s little oxygen left in renewable canola-based diesel, which allows it to be used in sub-zero temperatures.

The refining process uses hydrogen and a catalyst, Gustafson said.

By using canola oil as a starting point, there’s “no ash or metals” left in a vehicle’s engine when it burns the refined product, he said.

Based on Covenant’s initial research, the company said in a media release the facility will yield “greenhouse gas emission reductions in the range of 80 to 85 per cent when compared to fossil fuel diesel.” It’s also to use recycled hydrogen in the refining process.

The renewable diesel would be sold to fuel distributors like Husky or Shell or Co-op, who would blend it into their diesel products sold to consumers.

The projected start year is 2023, though Gustafson doesn’t yet have a firm month or specific location nailed down. He hopes it will be in southeast Saskatchewan in the Estevan area.

Covenant suggests the facility’s operation will create a maximum 60 permanent jobs.

Ludwig said Estevan’s goal is to “create well-paying jobs in our community to make up for some of the potential job losses we see coming down the pike.”

Gustafson is also predicting a boost to the province’s agricultural sector, concluding based on his research the facility will create annual demand for 35 million bushels of canola seed.

Covenant Energy is based in Macoun, about 25 kilometres northwest of Estevan.

eradford@postmedia.com

Evan Radford, 
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Regina Leader-Post, The Leader-Post

EPA to review interference in science during the Trump administration

BY RACHEL FRAZIN - 03/24/21 

© Getty Images


The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will look into any interference in science that may have occurred during the previous administration.

In an email sent to staff, EPA Administrator Michael Regan asked members of the agency to report any “items of concern” to scientific integrity officials.

“Manipulating, suppressing, or otherwise impeding science has real world consequences for human health and the environment,” Regan wrote in the email that was obtained by The Hill on Wednesday.


“When politics drives science rather than science informing policy, we are more likely to make policy choices that sacrifice the health of the most vulnerable among us,” he added.

An EPA spokesperson confirmed that the email was in reference to the executive order from President Biden that called on agency heads to review agency actions that were “promulgated, issued, or adopted between January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2021.”

The New York Times previously obtained the email and reported that staffers are expected to highlight about 90 instances where scientific integrity was compromised.

According to The Times, these include the agency’s decisions on the now-scrapped Pebble Mine proposal, as well as those dealing with toxic chemicals and discounting studies on the negative impacts of a frequently used weedkiller called dicamba.

EPA head: 'COVID-19 created a perfect storm for environmental justice..

Senators eye rollback of Trump methane rule with Congressional Review...

Across various agencies, the Trump administration has faced accusations of violating scientific integrity.

Among them are reports that the administration’s COVID-19 policies didn’t always follow science and a watchdog report that found the Trump White House pushed for a correction to a National Weather Service tweet that contradicted then-President Trump’s assertion that Hurricane Dorian in 2019 was endangering Alabama.

At the EPA, the Trump administration in 2017 took down a webpage on climate change that was reinstated last week.

GREEN CAPITALI$M

Bill Gates-backed solar startup is bringing carbon-free power to the mining industry

By Matt Egan, CNN Business  

3/24/2021

Heliogen, the Bill Gates-backed clean energy startup, is bringing its field of mirrors to the Mojave Desert.

© Heliogen 

Los Angeles-based Heliogen harnesses the power of the sun to create the extreme heat required for mining, steel, cement and other industrial processes. The solar array pictured is not from the Rio Tinto mine, which has not yet launched the Heliogen platform.

In a bid to bring carbon-free power to heavy industry, Heliogen announced Wednesday that mining behemoth Rio Tinto plans to deploy the startup's breakthrough solar technology at California's largest open pit mine, located in Boron. Heliogen says this will be the first concentrated solar technology used to power a mine in the United States, and perhaps the world. 

 

© USGS/NASA Landsat/Orbital Horizon/Gallo Images/Getty Images 

Heliogen's solar technology will be used to help power Rio Tinto's borax mine in Boron, California. Located in the Mojave Desert, the mine is the largest of its kind in the world.

Heliogen will use artificial intelligence and an array of 40,000 computer-vision-controlled mirrors to harness the power of the sun, almost like a smart magnifying glass. The first system at Rio Tinto will be the size of about 100 footfall fields, Heliogen told CNN Business.

The startup says its HelioHeat technology can create extreme heat — 1,000 degrees Celsius, or about a quarter of what's found on the surface of the sun. That's the kind of heat required to make cement, steel and in other industrial processes like mining that typically rely on fossil fuels to power their operations.

The announcement makes Rio Tinto, the world's second largest mining company, Heliogen's first announced customer. The partnership is a key test of whether Heliogen's technology can truly replace fossil fuels used to power large-scale industrial operations. And that could go a long way in fighting the climate crisis.

"It's not that this technology was not possible before -- just that it was not cost-effective," Heliogen founder and CEO Bill Gross told CNN Business in an email. "Heliogen's breakthrough is to make concentrated solar energy work after the sun goes down AND be cost effective compared to fossil fuel at the same time."

The companies say the partnership will allow Rio Tinto to cut its carbon footprint — while simultaneously slashing its energy costs.

"Our goal is to deliver completely carbon free energy to Rio Tinto for less than the cost of fossil fuels and with zero emission," Gross said.

Bringing carbon-free energy to nearly-century-old mine

Heliogen, backed by Gates and biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, emerged from stealth mode in late 2019 by announcing a solar breakthrough. For the first time, concentrated solar energy could be used to replace fossil fuels used in industrial processes. Last year, Time magazine named Heliogen's HelioHeat technology on its list of Best Inventions of 2020.

Now, Heliogen is teaming up with Rio Tinto on putting that technology to use.

Rio Tinto plans to use the Heliogen platform to help power the nearly-century-old California site, which mines borates, a mineral used in fertilizer, heat-resistant glass for smartphones and laptops, solar arrays and wind turbines. The mine, located in Boron, supplies almost half of the world's demaned for refined borates, according to Rio Tinto.

Normally, the facility relies on fossil fuels to make steam. But the partnership calls for Heliogen's AI-powered field of mirrors to generate 35,000 pounds per hour of carbon-free steam to help power the site.

The companies said the technology could cut Boron's carbon emissions by about 7% — equal to taking more than 5,000 cars off the road. And the Heliogen system will also capture and store the clean energy to power the mine's nighttime operations.

If this initial Heliogen installation is successful, Rio Tinto could scale up the use of the technology to reduce the site's carbon footprint by up to 24%.


Rio Tinto is spending $1 billion to shrink its carbon footprint

The companies said they would soon begin detailed planning and securing government permits. The aim is to launch the Heliogen platform next year — and explore rolling it out to other Rio Tinto sites around the world.

The Anglo-Australian multinational hopes Heliogen will help it chip away at its goal of slashing emissions nearly in half by 2030 relative to 2010 levels. Last year, process heat, which Heliogen is providing, accounted for 14% of Rio Tinto's direct and indirect emissions, known as Scope 1 and 2.

"This partnership with Heliogen has the potential to significantly reduce our emissions at Boron by using this groundbreaking solar technology, and we look forward to exploring opportunities across our global portfolio," Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm said in a statement.

Rio Tinto has promised to spend about $1 billion on emissions reduction programs through 2025. The Heliogen partnership represents a multi-million dollar investment by Rio Tinto, Gross said, though the exact cost has not yet been determined.

Rio Tinto is also hoping to repair its reputation after the company destroyed a sacred Indigenous site in Australia last year. The destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge caves in Western Australia led to the resignation of former CEO Jean-Sébastien Jacques, who got a huge payout for 2020 nonetheless.


Using AI to fight the climate crisis

Concentrated solar power is not brand new.

This use of mirrors to reflect the sun to a single point has been used previously to generate electricity and to create heat for industry. In Oman, it is used to create carbon-free power used to drill for oil.

But Heliogen says it takes this a step further by using AI and other sophisticated technology to align thousands of mirrors to a single point, creating far hotter temperatures than were possible in the past.

Now, Heliogen must convince industrial companies like Rio Tinto to ditch fossil fuels for the sun.

"Heliogen is being bombarded with customers from all over the world," Gross said, "from every industry ranging from metals, to cement, to utilities, to Hydrogen production."

 Rallies held in 20 cities across Myanmar despite rising death toll

An anti-coup protester throws a molotov cocktail towards police at Taketa township in Yangon, Myanmar Saturday, March 20, 2021. Protests against the coup continued Saturday in cities and town across the country, including in Mandalay and Yangon. (AP Photo)

March 21 (Reuters) -- Demonstrators in Myanmar maintained their dogged opposition to military rule on Sunday despite a rising death toll, with two more people killed as the junta appeared equally determined to resist growing pressure to compromise.

The country has been in turmoil since the military overthrew an elected government led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, bringing an end to 10 years of tentative democratic reform.

One man was shot dead and several were wounded when police opened fire on a group setting up a barricade in the central town of Monywa, a doctor there said as a community group issued a call on Facebook for blood donors.

Later, one person was killed and several were wounded when security forces fired on a crowd in the second city of Mandalay, the Myanmar Now news portal reported.

At least 249 people have now been killed since the coup, according to figures from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners activist group.

The violence has forced many citizens to think up novel ways to express their rejection of a return to army rule.

Protesters in some 20 places across the country staged candle-lit, nighttime protests over the weekend, from the main city of Yangon to small communities in Kachin State in the north, Hakha town in the west and the southernmost town of Kawthaung, according to a tally of social media posts.

Hundreds of people in the second city of Mandalay, including many medical staff in white coats, marched in a "Dawn protest" before sunrise on Sunday, video posted by the Mizzima news portal showed.

"Failure of the military regime, our cause our cause ... federal democracy, our cause our cause," the crowd chanted as the sky was beginning to brighten and birds called from trees lining deserted streets.

Protesters in some places were joined by Buddhist monks holding candles while some people used candles to make the shape of the three-fingered protest salute.

Others came out later on Sunday, including the crowd in Monywa, where police opened fire.

"Sniper, sniper," people can be heard shouting in a video clip shortly after the man was shot in the head and more shots rang out.

The spokesman for the junta was not available for comment but has previously said security forces have used force only when necessary.

State media said on Sunday that men on motorbikes attacked a member of the security forces who later died. The military said two policemen were killed in earlier protests.

'FOREIGN INSULTS'

The junta says a Nov. 8 election won by Suu Kyi's party was fraudulent, an accusation rejected by the electoral commission. Military leaders have promised a new election but have not set a date.

Western countries have repeatedly condemned the coup and the violence. Asian neighbors, who have for years avoided criticizing each other, have also begun speaking out.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have denounced the use of lethal force and called for the violence to stop. The Philippines has expressed concern.

Indonesia and Malaysia want an urgent meeting of Southeast Asia's regional grouping, of which Myanmar is a member, on the crisis.

But the military, which sees itself as the sole guardian of national unity and ruled for nearly 50 years after a 1962 coup, has shown no sign of even considering back-tracking on its seizure of power.

Coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing visited the Coco islands, one of Myanmar's most strategically important outposts, 400 km (250 miles) south of Yangon, on Saturday and reminded members of the armed force there that their main duty was to defend the country against external threats.

The state-run Kyemon newspaper prominently featured a quote from independence hero Aung San, Suu Kyi's father, who in 1947 said: "It is everyone's duty to sacrifice their lives and defend and fight back against foreign countries' insults."

Suu Kyi, 75, faces accusations of bribery and other crimes that could see her banned from politics and jailed if convicted. Her lawyer says the charges are trumped up.

Australia's SBS News reported that two Australian business consultants were detained as they tried to leave Myanmar, but it was not clear why. The broadcaster quoted an Australian foreign ministry spokeswoman as declining to comment on the two for privacy reasons.

Burma

French Energy Giant Halts Myanmar Hydropower Project Over Human Rights Concerns

Anti-coup protesters carried a protester who was wounded during a crackdown by security forces in Yangon. / The Irrawaddy

By THE IRRAWADDY 20 March 2021

French energy giant Électricité de France has suspended a hydropower project worth more than US$1.5 billion (2.11 trillion kyats) in Myanmar’s Shan State over human rights concerns as the military regime continues to use lethal force to crack down on anti-coup protesters across the country.

As of Friday, more than 230 civilians had been killed by the junta’s security forces in their crackdowns on peaceful pro-democracy protesters in the country.

Électricité de France (EDF) notified human rights groups on Friday that it has halted development of the Shweli-3 Project, including the activities of its subcontractors. Led by EDF, the 671 MW project was being jointly developed with Japan’s Marubeni Corporation and locally owned Myanmar Ayeyar Hinthar Company.

The companies received a Notice to Proceed in 2018 under the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government. It was expected to generate 3 billion kWh of electricity annually for the national grid and supply power to more than 8.5 million residents across the country.

In February, coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said the regime would “continue to implement” existing hydropower projects. Since the Feb. 1 coup, however, human rights concerns among foreign investors have cost Myanmar the opportunity to implement billions of dollars’ worth of projects. In early February, work on a $1-billion modern industrial hub backed by Thailand’s largest industrial estate developer, Amata Corporation, was suspended due to fears that sanctions would be imposed by Western countries.

Japanese beverage giant Kirin also ended its beer business partnership with a Myanmar military-owned conglomerate, Myanma Economic Holdings Public Co. Ltd. (MEHL), following the coup. Moreover, prominent Singaporean businessman Lim Kaling pulled out of a joint venture with ties to MEHL that operated the country’s most popular cigarette business.

EDF said it adheres to fundamental human rights principles and the conventions of the International Labor Organization, as well as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, in every project in which it takes part. The company said it is following developments in Myanmar in close collaboration with French and European Union authorities.

Human right groups Justice for Myanmar and France-based Info Birmanie welcomed EDF’s decision, saying proceeding with the project would have involved doing business with the military junta, whom they described as criminals and said were deliberately killing peaceful protesters in what amounted to crimes against humanity.

Sophie Brondel, coordinator of Info Birmanie, said EDF’s decision to suspend the Shweli-3 hydropower project is a milestone and indicates the way forward for French companies in Myanmar.

“We especially call on all companies with ties to the junta to cut those ties. Businesses have a responsibility to stand on the side of democracy and to make sure they are not fueling the junta. Status quo is not an option,” Brondel said.

Human rights groups are putting pressure on international businesses to cut ties with the military regime over concerns that their investments would fund the regime’s brutal treatment of its citizens.

Recently, rights groups and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a committed formed by elected lawmakers from the ousted National League for Democracy government, have repeatedly urged major foreign-owned oil and gas companies including France’s Total SE, Malaysia’s Petronas, Thailand’s PTT and South Korea’s POSCO to suspend business ties with the military regime.

France's EDF says Myanmar dam project halted over coup

By AFP

PUBLISHED:  21 March 2021 

NGOs say human rights violations are 'systemic' in the region of the hydropower project

An international consortium has suspended a $1.5-billion hydropower dam project in Myanmar in response to last month's military coup, consortium member Electricite de France, a French utility, said Sunday.

Nearly 250 people are confirmed dead in protests since the February 1 military coup, according to tolls compiled by NGOs, and more than 2,300 others have been arrested.

International condemnation from Washington, Brussels and the United Nations has so far failed to halt the bloodshed.

"The project is suspended," an EDF spokesman told AFP on Sunday of the dam project.

The Shweli-3 671-megawatt project, still at an early planning stage, is run by a consortium of EDF -- which is majority-owned by the French state -- the Japanese Marubeni conglomerate and local company Ayeyar Hinthar.

NGOs welcomed the decision, with Justice for Myanmar calling Shan state, where Shweli-3 is located, a region with "ongoing conflict and systemic grave human rights violations".

In a letter to Justice for Myanmar and published on the NGO's website, EDF said "the respect of fundamental human rights" was a condition for all of its projects.

Several NGOs have also been pushing French energy giant Total to pull out of Myanmar, with Greenpeace accusing the company of being one of the military regime's main financial contributors.

Total issued a statement Friday in which it said it conducts its activities "in a responsible fashion, with respect for the law and for universal human rights".

"We are concerned by the current situation and we hope that a peaceful resolution, reached through dialogue, will allow the Myanmar people to pursue their quest for peace and prosperity," the statement said.

Burma

Two More Including 16-Year-Old Boy Killed as Myanmar Regime Continues Crackdowns

The security forces who took part in a crackdown on anti-regime protesters in Karen State's Hpa-an on Thursday morning.


By THE IRRAWADDY 25 March 2021

Two more people were killed and several injured in four locations on Wednesday night and Thursday morning as Myanmar’s security forces continued their brutal raids.

The protest-related death toll since the Feb. 1 coup stood at 262 as of Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, police and soldiers opened fire indiscriminately as they raided Aung Pin Lae ward in Mandalay’s Chanmythazi Township.

During the raid, a 16-year-old boy was reportedly killed and three people were injured when regime forces started shooting.

A Mandalay-based charity group told The Irrawaddy it had been unable to retrieve the body of the slain boy or assist the injured, as police and troops opened fire on ambulances on Wednesday night.

Since a confrontation in the area between the regime’s security forces and anti-regime protesters on March 21, police and soldiers have conducted a series of deadly raids targeting not only protesters but also bystanders, pedestrians and residents in Aung Pin Lae, Aung Tharyar and Mya Yi Nandar wards.

The raids have claimed the lives of more than 20 people, including three children aged 6, 15 and 16.

Meanwhile, in Mandalay Region’s Kaukpadaung Township, a 23-year-old man was shot dead and three people were injured at 9 p.m. on Wednesday night during a deadly crackdown by security forces against a nighttime anti-regime protest.

On Thursday morning, several people were injured as security forces opened fire on anti-regime protesters in Shan State’s capital Taunggyi and in the Karen State capital, Hpa-an.

Despite the daily deadly crackdowns, tens of thousands of people across Myanmar continue to take to the streets day and night to show their defiance of military rule.

Myanmar Protest Death Toll Climbs As Regime’s Troops Keep Shooting

Topics: Aung Pin Lae, bystanders, Children, Coup, crackdown, death toll, deaths, injured, killed, Military, Police, protesters, raids, regime, security forces, shootings, soldiers, ward