GMO IS OMG! BACKWARDS
Beijing biotech firm banks on GM corn in race to be China's Monsanto




Workers on the fields in a village on the outskirts of Wuwei

Sun, December 5, 2021
By Dominique Patton

BEIJING (Reuters) - As China prepares to open its $120 billion corn market to genetically modified (GM) seed, little-known Dabeinong Biotechnology hopes to reap the benefits of early biotech investments and a law keeping foreign firms on the sidelines.

The long-anticipated commercialization of GM corn in the world's No. 2 producer is set to significantly boost yields, reducing the need for imports. It may also spur hoped-for reform of a chaotic and oversupplied seed sector, industry experts say, creating a new multibillion dollar market that may eventually open up to global seed giants.


New regulations drafted last month lay out for the first time the steps needed in China for approval of corn varieties that integrate GM traits, paving the way for the market to open as early as next year.

Beijing has made clear it will champion home-grown leaders in seed technology, and Dabeinong is the larger of two local companies with an insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant corn already approved as safe by the agriculture ministry.

"For the first two years, because we're the first mover in the market, and we believe our technology is better, we'll have two thirds of the share," general manager Liu Shi told Reuters.

By the third year, even with more competition, it could generate around 1 billion yuan ($155 million) in royalties, he estimated. The company will rely on seed breeders using its traits to generate revenues.

ME-TOO PRODUCTS

Dabeinong Biotechnology was founded in 2011 as a unit of large animal feed producer, Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co. Ltd.

The parent firm made headlines in the United States after a senior executive was among several people charged with stealing corn seed from fields in Iowa and Illinois. The executive, the brother-in-law of group founder Shao Genhuo, was jailed for three years in 2016.

Dabeinong strictly abides by the law and is trying to rebuild its image, said Liu, who joined the company earlier this year. He previously worked at Monsanto, now part of Germany's Bayer, in the 1990s when the GM pioneer was trying to get its first products accepted.

Dabeinong, with a staff of 160, hopes to emulate the success of the U.S. seed giant, but above all wants to help farmers, Liu said.

For now, Dabeinong's corn traits use genes that were discovered and commercialised by other firms but are off-patent. The biotech firm is working on its own genes, although these are yet to be approved.

It may need to move quickly before its "me-too" products lose their value, said an executive at a multinational seed company who declined to be named.

To ensure its first-mover advantage, Dabeinong is hiring more commercial staff and in September invited seed companies to visit trial plots in Inner Mongolia and Henan province planted with corn containing its Fengmai brand traits.

It has licensing deals with almost 200 seed firms.

COMPETITION COMING

Early demand is likely to be strong.

China harvested 261 million tonnes of corn in 2020/21 from some 41 million hectares, largely to feed its huge herds of pigs and chickens. Each hectare, however, yielded only about 60% as much corn on average as in No. 1 producer, the United States.

Graphic: Average corn yields over the last five years in the world's top producers - https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-GMO/DABEINONG/zdpxonlgrvx/chart.png

About 70% of corn seed sold in China's northeast breadbasket is already illegally bred GM seed, said an October article in the state-backed China Seed Industry journal, highlighting its popularity with farmers.

But Dabeinong won't be alone for long.

Though global seed giants like U.S.-based Corteva Inc and Bayer cannot enter China's GM market, Syngenta, the world's No. 3 seed producer owned by China's Sinochem Holdings, expects to become market leader, according to the prospectus for its upcoming IPO.

Syngenta is a major player in GM grains, but as it was only bought in 2017 is still playing catchup in China in the drawn-out process to win biosafety certificates for its GM traits from regulators.

Hangzhou Ruifeng Biotechnology, a tiny firm founded by university professor Shen Zhicheng, has an insect-resistant, herbicide-tolerant trait approved as safe by Beijing. The company also uses some new genes.

Yuan Longping High-tech Agriculture Co Ltd, backed by state-owned conglomerate CITIC, is also developing GM traits.

Meanwhile, the exact timing of GM corn is still uncertain.

Under the new rules, seed varieties that integrate GM traits must undergo a one-year production trial, and it is not clear if Beijing will accept data already gathered by Dabeinong.

"We have two plans, a more aggressive one for commercial seed production in 2022, and another for 2023," said Liu. "We're waiting for the government's message."

($1 = 6.3733 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Dominique Patton; editing by Richard Pullin)

Opinion: Clean energy focus in Build Back Better would create jobs, invest in everybody


Mike Draper and Andrew Fisher

The Des Moines Register
Sun, December 5, 2021

The Build Back Better Act makes our country better. More specifically, it continues the transition towards renewable energies and away from fossil fuels. That transition makes a special kind of sense for us in Iowa. We don’t have access to coal. We have no natural gas production. The nearest oil field is almost a thousand miles away. If we want to be efficient, if we want to be energy independent, if we want to save money, then we should use the resources at our disposal. And, what natural resources does Iowa have in abundance? Sunshine, wind, and water.

Many have recognized the potential of clean energy and the electric vehicles it can power. GM expects its entire fleet to be electric by 2035. Nationwide, jobs in solar energy fields have almost doubled since 2010, and, anecdotally, 1 Source Solar in Ankeny has basically tripled its number of employees in the last three years. Almost 60% of Iowa’s electricity generation came from wind last year, and that percentage will only increase.

Our federal legislators have recognized the need to build on this success. Clean energy infrastructure was a key part of the bipartisan infrastructure package voted for by Rep. Cindy Axne and Sen. Chuck Grassley that was recently signed into law, and it’s an even bigger part of the Build Back Better Act that recently passed the House with Axne’s vote.

$555 billion. That’s the amount of money in the Build Back Better Act going to climate priorities. If the bill becomes law, residential solar will become more affordable by about 30%. Investments in renewables in our electric grid will reduce consumer prices and make our electricity more reliable. Electric vehicles made in America with American materials and union labor will become cheaper by $12,500. Because of the investments into EV charging infrastructure and road maintenance in the bipartisan infrastructure package, those same electric vehicles will be easier to drive long distances.

Mike Draper

Together, both packages are a historic investment — not only in clean energy, but for our country as a whole. One of us owns a unionized T-shirt store, gets all his products from the US, and prints them here in Des Moines. From experience, we know how important these packages’ investments in the American supply chain are. The more we manufacture and produce in Iowa and in the US more broadly, the less beholden we are to outside forces. Paying fair wages and buying locally and nationally reinvests money into our communities, making it easier for our friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens to find employment, security, and fulfilment.

These packages help businesses support their employees and our planet. They provide the structure we need to grow our economy, reduce inflationary pressures, and protect our environment for the next generation. We appreciate the work our members of Congress have done to pass them and look forward to seeing the benefits they’ll bring to our communities.

Andrew Fisher

Mike Draper is the owner and founder of Raygun, a regional printing, design, and clothing company based out of Des Moines. Andrew Fisher is a solar energy & electric vehicle consultant with 1 Source Solar, a solar energy installer serving agricultural, commercial, and residential clients across Iowa.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Opinion: Build Back Better supports and invests in everybody

A fraught and rocky energy transition pathway


Ben Geman
Mon, December 6, 2021

Two wide-angle new essays explore how the global movement away from fossil fuels could be wrenching and geopolitically messy.

FROM THE RIGHT

Driving the news: 

Adam Tooze's piece in Foreign Policy covers a lot of ground. One key takeaway: He warns that it's not clear if the red-blue U.S. political and policy divide will ever be successfully bridged, despite clean energy's growth in conservative states, its growing economic importance and Wall Street's increasing buy-in.

"To imagine that economics leads to political de-escalation would be, to say the least, historically naive," the Columbia University historian writes.

Threat level: Tooze warns that one potential future is fossil fuel producing regions locked in a struggle with the left — one that leaves the U.S hobbled in the low-carbon economy and lacking a clear strategy.

"The possibility of a deepening sociopolitical divide around the climate issue and inconsistent and incoherent policy cannot be denied," Tooze writes.

"The most gothic visions see the United States plunged into something akin to a civil war between fossil fuels and anti-fossil fuel factions," he warns, adding that while this may be "fanciful," the U.S. record of navigating deep economic changes isn't great.


FROM THE NEOLIBERAL VIEW

A separate piece in Foreign Affairs explores how the clean energy transition will "produce new forms of competition and confrontation long before a new, more copacetic geopolitics takes shape."

Some of the many takeaways:

Some petro-states "may enjoy feasts before they suffer famines," write Columbia's Jason Bordoff and Harvard's Meghan O'Sullivan, who both served in government before academia. "[D]ependence on the dominant suppliers of fossil fuels, such as Russia and Saudi Arabia, will most likely rise before it falls," they note.

Higher-cost oil producers will see a diminished market as demand falls. In addition, countries with more aggressive climate policies in Europe, as well as the U.S., may constrain their output.

Europe's dependence on Russian gas is set to increase, with Moscow gaining influence before it recedes. But as western consumers eventually curb fossil fuel use, "Russia will increasingly turn to the Chinese market to offload its supplies, fostering the geopolitical alignment of Moscow and Beijing."

But despite petro-states' persistent influence, the clean energy transition will also reorient geopolitical and economic influence (indeed they ultimately see Russia as among the likely losers).

One source of "dominance" will be control of supply chains for clean energy materials like cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel and rare earth minerals.

China is ready to flex its muscle here. They note its 2010 embargo of critical minerals to Japan amid tensions over the East China Sea "could be a sign of things to come."

One key stat: Critical minerals will represent half of all energy-related trade by 2050, up from 10% today.

The intrigue: This reorientation will also occur in less obvious ways. For instance, countries that help set equipment specs and norms of engagement on emerging fuels like hydrogen will benefit.

What's next: The piece offers ideas for cutting risks and smoothing the transition.

Go deeper ... IEA report: A stronger renewables forecast still falls short

The race to secure clean energy materials



Ben Geman
Mon, December 6, 2021,
Reproduced from IEA; Chart: Axios Visuals

One persistent theme in analyses of the transition to cleaner energy is the scramble to obtain supplies needed for renewables projects, electric vehicle batteries and other low-carbon tech.

The big picture: "A typical electric car requires six times the mineral inputs of a conventional car and an onshore wind plant requires nine times more mineral resources than a gas-fired plant," the International Energy Agency noted in a report this year on critical minerals.

Zoom in: In recent days the New York Times published a deeply reported series on the race to secure supplies of cobalt — a key battery input — from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Chinese companies have been major dealmakers.

"The American government failed to safeguard decades of diplomatic and financial investments it had made in Congo, even as China was positioning itself to dominate the new electric vehicle era," it reports.

Go deeper: The supply crunch that could slow the climate fight

'MAYBE TECH'

Former oil wells could be turned into CO2 burial test sites

Tim Wyatt
Mon, December 6, 2021

The long-term ambition is to reuse North Sea oil and gas wells to store harmful carbon emissions out of the atmosphere (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A project to test if abandoned oil and gas wells could be used to bury carbon dioxide underground will begin next year.

A group of universities and fossil fuel companies have announced they have identified 20 potential sites across Britain which could be used to research carbon capture and storage (CCS), The Guardian has reported.

The Net Zero RISE (Research Infrastructure for Subsurface Energy) scheme is a collaboration between the Universities of Newcastle, Oxford and Durham, as well as the energy firms IGas and Third Energy.

CCS involves compressing carbon dioxide emissions into a liquid before pumping them underground where they cannot cause any more global warming.

Although it is intensely controversial as it would permit continued burning of fossil fuels into the future, many scientists and experts believe CCS will play a part in mitigating against climate change.

Many hope exhausted fuel reservoirs under the North Sea are the UK’s best bet for large-scale CCS, but the Net Zero RISE team argue the technology can be easily tested in empty onshore oil and gas wells first.

“CO2 storage in the North Sea is probably going to be very important, but we need an onshore capability, a national asset, so we can do testing and look at what monitoring is adequate to understand where the CO2 has gone,” Professor Richard Davies from University of Newcastle, the head of the project, told The Guardian.

“If we don’t do this soon, we will lose an opportunity to use this infrastructure,” he said, noting empty wells are normally quickly filled with cement.

“These assets are already there, while drilling [new] boreholes is very expensive and adds a certain amount of risk. The range of boreholes we have will also give opportunities to test different rock types.”

The team also intend to explore using old oil and gas wells to store hydrogen, which could also play a part in a future net zero energy mix.

According to the government’s own net zero strategy, Britain will need to be capturing and safely storing about 50m tonnes of CO2 by the mid 2030s, while by 2050 CCS will have to ramp up to around 95m tonnes.

As well as successfully pumping emissions into storage facilities underground, scientists also need to test how to monitor CCS sites to ensure the carbon is not leaking out back into the atmosphere.

Although CCS has been successfully put into practice at around 20 large-scale projects around the world, it remains a new technology and for now fairly expensive also.

However, the International Energy Agency reports 30 more projects are currently in development and if CCS comes to fruition as policymakers hope it could reduce global emissions by a fifth.

Global oil CEOs stress need for fossil fuels despite push for cleaner energy


A view of a quiet registration desk for the World Petroleum Congress in Houston, Texas, U.S. on December 5, 2021 as organizers grappled with the fallout of new virus travel restrictions

Mon, December 6, 2021
By Liz Hampton and Sabrina Valle

HOUSTON (Reuters) -A global energy conference devoted to future technologies and low-carbon strategies kicked off in Houston on Monday with top executives from energy companies affirming the need for more oil for decades to come.

The World Petroleum Conference's four days of discussion started with chief executives from global giants Exxon Mobil Corp, Saudi Aramco, Chevron Corp and Halliburton Co all promoting the need to deliver oil and gas globally even as the world transitions to cleaner fuels.

World fossil fuel demand has rebounded sharply in 2021, with natural gas already at pre-pandemic levels and oil nearing levels reached in 2019. As demand has soared, economies in Europe and Asia have had to face power and heating supply shortages, forcing them to scramble for fuel or limit demand, and prices have surged. At the same time, numerous large oil-producing countries have not been able to keep up with output targets.

"The world is facing an even more chaotic energy transition," said Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser. "Energy security, economic development and affordability are clearly not receiving enough attention. Until they are, and we clear the gaps in the transition strategy, the chaos will only intensify."

Large global majors, especially those based in Europe, are limiting exploration and production in an attempt to shift to renewable power development and as governments promote efforts to cut carbon emissions to deal with rising worldwide temperatures.

Anders Opedal, CEO of Norway's Equinor, said energy companies have a responsibility to bring down emissions and provide energy. "We will need oil and gas for many years to come but with reduced emissions," he said.

Exxon is targeting net zero greenhouse gas emissions from its U.S. Permian assets by 2030, as part of a plan to reduce upstream emissions.

"The fact remains, under most credible scenarios, including net zero pathways, oil and natural gas will continue to play a significant role in meeting society's need," Exxon CEO Darren Woods said at the conference.

More than 80% of the world’s energy demand is supplied by oil and gas, said Stephen Green, Chevron's head of North America exploration and production. Chevron is committed to reducing carbon emissions until "game changing technologies" allow a lower carbon energy environment, Green said.

"The world will continue to need energy to get us through the transition," he said.

FIRST MOVERS

U.S. officials took the opportunity to talk about President Joe Biden's clean energy agenda while insisting on the need to address high fuel prices. The Biden administration has had a strained relationship with the fossil fuel industry in its first year in office.

Oil majors need to "step on to the plate" and be part of the climate solution, said David Turk, deputy U.S. Secretary of Energy. "First movers will have significant advantages."

Washington will not "stand in the way" of companies willing to increase domestic oil production as the industry tries to fully recover, he said.

"We need to make sure everyone has affordable, reliable and resilient energy," he said.

The conference was sapped of some of its star power at the outset due to COVID-19 travel restrictions that forced OPEC's secretary general and energy ministers from top oil producing nations like Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan and Qatar, to bow out, along with the CEOs of BP , Sonatrach and Qatar Energy.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba, Marianna Parraga, Sabrina Valle and Liz Hampton; editing by Jason Neely and Marguerita Choy)

BlackRock, Saudi asset manager Hassana sign deal for Aramco's gas pipelines


 General view of Aramco tanks and oil pipe at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal

Mon, December 6, 2021
By Saeed Azhar

DUBAI (Reuters) -Saudi Aramco said on Monday it has signed a $15.5 billion lease-and-leaseback deal for its gas pipeline network with a consortium led by BlackRock Real Assets and state-backed Hassana Investment Co.

Gulf oil producers are looking at sales of stakes in energy assets and raising cash through long-term leases, capitalising on a rebound in crude prices to attract foreign investors.

Earlier this year Aramco sold a 49% stake in its oil pipelines to a consortium led by U.S.-based EIG under a similar structure for $12.4 billion.

As part of the latest transaction, a newly formed subsidiary, Aramco Gas Pipelines Co, will lease usage rights in the state energy firm's gas pipelines network and lease them back to Aramco for a 20-year period, it said.

In return, Aramco Gas Pipelines Co will receive a tariff payable by Aramco for the gas products that will flow through the network, backed by minimum commitments on throughput.

Aramco will hold a 51% majority stake in Aramco Gas Pipeline Company and sell a 49% stake to investors led by BlackRock and Hassana, the asset management arm of the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI).

Other bidders in the race included EIG and Brookfield, sources told Reuters earlier.

"The deal unlocks additional value from Aramco's diverse asset base and has attracted interest from a wide range of worldwide investors, highlighting the compelling investment opportunity," it said in a statement.

Aramco will continue to retain full ownership and operational control of its gas pipeline network, and the transaction will not impose any restrictions on its production volumes, it said.

GREENWASHING BLUE HYDROGEN FROM NATURAL GAS

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said in a statement Aramco and Saudi Arabia "are taking meaningful, forward-looking steps to transition the Saudi economy toward renewables, clean hydrogen, and a net zero future".

He added: "Responsibly-managed natural gas infrastructure has a meaningful role to play in this transition."

Saudi Aramco has increased its focus on hydrogen and renewables as it moves to net-zero carbon by 2050.

(Additional reporting by Davide Barbuscia and Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Jan Harvey)

Amazon is making its own shipping containers — and waiting as little as 2 days outside ports

Grace Kay
Mon, December 6, 2021, 

Brendan McDermid TPX Images of the Day/Reuters

Amazon has been making its own shipping containers and chartering its own ships since 2018.


Today, Amazon uses its own transportation network for 72% of its shipments.


Amazon's strategy allows it to bypass port delays that can span up to two months.

Amazon has been making its own shipping containers and chartering private ships to avoid major bottlenecks in the supply chain.

While the majority of retailers have been forced to wait for months-on-end with goods trapped at sea, Amazon has been able to bring goods into ports in a matter of days. Ocean freight analyst Steve Ferreira told CNBC that last month an Amazon cargo ship only waited outside a port for two days. Meanwhile, ships at the nation's largest port have waited for up to two months.

Amazon has been building up its transportation network for years — inadvertently preparing for a supply-chain crisis. 

In 2018, the company began making its own 53-foot shipping containers in China. The navy blue containers are embossed with Amazon's signature arrow logo and travel primarily on ships that are chartered solely for the company.

In its first year, Amazon Logistics shipped over 5,300 containers from Beijing to ports in California and Washington state. Since, Amazon has progressed to the point that it is shipping over 10,000 of its own containers per month and ranks among the top five transportation companies in the Trans Pacific, according to Ferreira.

Since the pandemic started, shipping container prices have surged from under $2,000 to over $20,000. Containers are also in short supply, as port delays tie up millions of shipping containers at sea. The Amazon-made containers ensure the company can prioritize where the containers are needed most without having to send them back to Asia after each delivery.

The e-commerce giant has also chartered its own bulk freighters for several years, a strategy that has come in handy this year. With its own ships, Amazon can easily choose which ports to visit and avoid backlogged ones in favor of smaller ports like the Port of Houston or the Port of Everett in Washington state, CNBC reported.

When Amazon first began building its transportation ecosystem, the company used it to ship less than 47% of its goods. Since, the network has grown to engulf about 72% of Amazon shipments, according to SJ Consulting Group. An Amazon spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on its transportation strategy.

Last month, Bloomberg reported that Amazon has thrown about $4 billion into side-stepping major shipping delays. The publication noted that Amazon had begun sending out shipments in half-empty trucks to allow for more timely deliveries and brought on about 150,000 more seasonal workers through boosting pay and offering $3,000 signing bonuses.

Other companies like Walmart and Home Depot have followed Amazon's lead this year. The retailers have pivoted to anything from chartering their own bulk freighters to flying in goods or using smaller ports, but Amazon has an advantage inasmuch as its transportation network has a longer history.

Plastic has a far bigger carbon footprint than previously believed

Rob Waugh
·Contributor
Mon, December 6, 2021

Plastic pellets - most of the CO2 emissions come from plastic production (Getty)

The problem of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans is well-known - but a new study has shown that plastic has a far worse carbon footprint than previously believed.

The problem is that plastic is often made in coal-based newly industrialised countries such as China, India, Indonesia and South Africa.

The energy and process heat for the production of plastics in these countries comes primarily from the combustion of coal.

The researchers say that the global carbon footprint of plastics has doubled since 1995, reaching 2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) in 2015.

This represents more than 4.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and is more than previously thought.

Over the same period, the global health footprint of plastics from fine particulate air pollution has increased by 70 percent.

Read more: Melting snow in Himalayas drives growth of green sea slime visible from space

The researchers looked at the greenhouse gas emissions generated across the life cycle of plastics - from fossil resource extraction, to processing into product classes and use, through to end of life, including recycling, incineration and landfill.

The production phase of plastics is responsible for the vast majority - 96% - of the carbon footprint of plastics.

Livia Cabernard, a doctoral student at the Institute of Science, Technology and Policy (ISTP) at ETH Zurich, says, "So far, the simplistic assumption has been that the production of plastic requires roughly the same amount of fossil fuel as is contained in the raw materials in plastic — above all petroleum," says.

"The plastics-related carbon footprint of China's transport sector, Indonesia's electronics industry and India's construction industry has increased more than 50-fold since 1995.”

"Even in a worst-case scenario in which all plastics are incinerated, their production accounts for the lion's share of total greenhouse gas and particulate matter emissions.”

Read more: A 1988 warning about climate change was mostly right

Burning plastics is causing a pollution problem on British beaches, with campaigners warning that beaches are being inundated by a form of plastic pollution which looks exactly like rocks.

The so-called ‘pyroplastics’ are believed to be remnants of plastic which has been burnt or melted, researchers say.

Hilary Rowlands, a founding member of Tywyn Beach Guardians in Gwynedd told North Wales Live, “It’s only when you pick them up, and feel how light they are, that you realise they are not stones at all,”

“There’s not a single beach I’ve combed where I haven’t come across them. Sometimes they are covered in oil or impregnated with the toxins that come from burning plastic.

“It’s all dangerous, both to the environment and the marine life.

“The longer-term concern is that they will break down into microplastics and threaten marine food chains.”

Read more: Why economists worry that reversing climate change is hopeless

Researchers began to analyse the ‘rocks’ in recent years after people spotted them on beaches in Cornwall - initially thinking they were real pebbles.

The lumps of plastic also weather like real rocks, and shed microplastic into the environment.

Some of the lumps could be as much as half a century old, according to Andrew Turner of the University of Plymouth.

Turner writes, ‘Pyroplastics are derived from the burning of plastic. Some may look like various burnt pieces of plastic amalgamated together, while others look remarkably like pebbles once they have been eroded down by the elements.

‘They have probably been in existence since we started burning plastic to dispose of it (perhaps 80 years or so). Some of the now restricted chemicals we find in pyroplastics suggest they have been around since at least the 1960s.

‘Burnt plastic on beaches is likely to be derived from many sources, including burning waste on the beach itself, collapse of old landfill sites, historical burning of waste at sea and contemporary burning of plastic waste on small island states.’

Pyroplastics are found worldwide, with samples having been found on Atlantic beaches in Spain and the Pacific beaches of Vancouver.

PETTY PURGE
O'Toole asks House to investigate toxic workplace allegations against Tory MP Shannon Stubbs

Stubbs' staff say they felt pressured to paint her house, but the MP says she is being targetted for calling for a leadership review of Erin O'Toole

The Canadian Press
Stephanie Taylor
Publishing date: Dec 06, 2021 • 

Shannon Stubbs, Member of Parliament for Lakeland, in a 2019 file photo. 

Greg Southam-Postmedia


OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has asked the House of Commons to probe allegations that one of his MPs, Shannon Stubbs, created a toxic work environment for her staff.

But the move has prompted other Conservatives, including those who want O’Toole ousted as leader, to come to the defence of the Alberta MP, who had called for a review of his leadership following the party’s election loss in September.

O’Toole said Monday he learned of the allegations, first reported by the Globe and Mail, last week while touring in Quebec. The Canadian Press has confirmed one allegation in the report, that some of Stubbs’ employees felt pressured to paint a room in her house.

Stubbs’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but she told the Globe the house-painting was a gift. She denied any wrongdoing, saying she felt targeted for calling for a review of O’Toole’s leadership.

David Parker, a former staffer who worked in Stubbs’ office for almost a year beginning in 2016, told The Canadian Press it was clear that for the MP, “nothing was good enough, ever.”

I’ve set an expectation on all my MPs that we will have a professional and respectful workplace environment

Three other former staff members, who spoke to The Canadian Press on the condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals, alleged that Stubbs would openly criticize colleagues in the office, send texts overnight and make belittling comments.

The Canadian Press has not reviewed those alleged communications.

O’Toole said Monday he asked the House of Commons to look into the matter because the allegations are of a serious nature, and he expects his MPs to behave professionally.

“As I’ve been leader for a year, I’ve set an expectation on all my MPs that we will have a professional and respectful workplace environment,” he said in response to the allegations.

Others, however, came to Stubbs’ defence.

Gregory Loerts, who currently works in her office, tweeted Monday that Stubbs is “wonderful to know personally.”

“The work has been challenging, but extremely rewarding.”

Former Conservative cabinet minister Gerry Ritz tweeted Monday that “Shannon is a great MP.”

Jordan Paquet, a former staffer who worked in Stubbs’ office for four months beginning in October 2020, told The Canadian Press he had a positive experience. While it was a busy, he said, the pair got along well and that Stubbs displayed a passion for her work, behaved respectfully and would offer feedback that was constructive.

Stubbs has so far been the lone Conservative MP to publicly call for O’Toole’s performance to be reviewed by party members within six months.

Outside their first post-election caucus meeting in October, Stubbs said O’Toole flip-flopped on some key Conservative policy positions and that the grassroots deserved to have a say if the leader intended on making more changes to the party.

Alissa Golob, co-founder of anti-abortion organization RightNow, which has been fiercely critical of O’Toole walking back promises he made to protect the conscience rights of health-care professionals, tweeted Monday that the leader was embarking on a “witch hunt.”

Australia live news update: NSW education minister says teacher strike ‘disingenuous’

Elias Visontay (now) and Matilda Boseley (earlier) 

NSW teachers strike closes nearly 400 public schools

Thousands of New South Wales public school teachers have rallied at NSW parliament as part of a campaign of statewide industrial action to push for better pay and conditions.

Teachers from Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains gathered at Hyde Park in Sydney’s city centre on Tuesday, before marching to parliament.

Many of those on strike were wearing red T-shirts and carrying placards supporting the NSW Teachers Federation, which organised the action that closed almost 400 state schools for 24 hours.

The teachers say the government has failed to address unsustainable workloads, uncompetitive salaries and staff shortages.

They want a pay increase up to 7.5% a year to reverse the decline in teachers’ wages compared with other professions.

Related: NSW teachers strike as train and bus services services hit by industrial action

FIFTH WHEEL

Switzerland Approves Assisted ‘Suicide Capsule’

Barbie Latza Nadeau

Mon, December 6, 2021

Switzerland has just legalized a new way to die by assisted suicide. The country’s medical review board has just given authorization for use of the Sarco Suicide Pod, which is a 3-D-printed portable coffin-like capsule with windows that can be transported to a tranquil place for a person’s final moments of life. 

Conventional assisted-suicide methods have generally involved a chemical substance. Inventor Philip Nitschke of Exit International told the website SwissInfo.ch that his “death pod” offers a different approach. “We want to remove any kind of psychiatric review from the process and allow the individual to control the method themselves,” he said. “Our aim is to develop an artificial-intelligence screening system to establish the person’s mental capacity. Naturally there is a lot of skepticism, especially on the part of psychiatrists.”

The pod can be activated from inside and can give the person intending to die various options for where they want to be for their final moments. “The machine can be towed anywhere for the death,” he said. “It can be in an idyllic outdoor setting or in the premises of an assisted-suicide organization, for example.”

To qualify to use the pod, the person who wants to die must answer an online survey that is meant to prove whether they are making the decision of their own accord. If they pass, they will be told the location of the pod and given an access code.

Once inside, the person intending to end their life will have to answer pre-recorded questions and press a button that will start the process of flooding the interior with nitrogen, which will quickly reduce the oxygen level inside from 21 percent to 1 percent. “The person will get into the capsule and lie down,” he said, adding, “It’s very comfortable.”

He said the person will likely feel disorientated or euphoric. “The whole thing takes about 30 seconds,” he said “Death takes place through hypoxia and hypocapnia, oxygen and carbon dioxide deprivation, respectively. There is no panic, no choking.”

In 2020, around 1,300 people died by assisted suicide in Switzerland, almost all by ingesting liquid sodium pentobarbital, which puts a patient into a deep coma before killing them. Assisted suicide is also legal in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Canada.

The Sarco Suicide Pod is expected to be operational in 2022. The company has made three prototypes, but one was not “aesthetically pleasing” so it will not be used, it says. The company has not yet announced how much it will cost to use the service.