Calgary Chamber report looks at addressing labour shortage through immigration

Josh Aldrich -  Calgary Herald

As businesses from across all sectors continue to struggle to find workers, a new report from the Calgary Chamber of Commerce looks at barriers and solutions to filling jobs through immigration.


Pictured is a stock photo of a hiring sign outside of a business.

Released Tuesday, the report, Unlocking our Talent Potential: Refining our Immigration Policies to Grow our Talent Pool, is the first in a four-part series from the chamber looking at labour shortages in Alberta.

While there are many issues impacting the economy and its growth, according to the chamber’s third-quarter Business Outlook, 31.5 per cent of businesses are concerned about the labour shortage.

Deborah Yedlin, president and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, said improving immigration is a major part of the solution.

“We can’t fill the demand with our local population,” she said. “Immigration is a way to fill jobs that need to be filled, but also increase our economic growth. And with an aging demographic, this is the only way we grow our economy at this point, because birth rates aren’t going up, the demographic curves against us.”

The report made three recommendations: reform eligibility requirements within federal and provincial immigration programs, empower businesses to leverage immigration talent, reduce employment barriers and create meaningful employment opportunities for newcomers.

In the first quarter of this year, the province’s unemployment rate was 5.9 per cent, yet there was a record 88,000 vacant jobs.

This has been partially mitigated by the flow of people to Alberta, including about 10,000 people from other parts of Canada to the Wild Rose province alone — marking four consecutive quarters of positive interprovincial migration.

One of the goals is to further unlock the potential of immigration to Alberta from beyond Canada’s borders. On Tuesday, the federal government announced its intention to bring in 500,000 immigrants a year by 2025.

“That is fantastic in terms of numbers, but let’s make sure everybody who comes has a place to land from an employment perspective, that there’s a way for their credentials to get recognized and that they have a full suite of opportunities and it doesn’t just focus on one segment of the labour market, but across the board,” said Yedlin.


Deborah Yedlin, president and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce

, said “Immigration is a way to fill jobs that need to be filled.”

A Statistics Canada report from June showed immigration accounted for 84 per cent of labour force growth during the 2010s.

Despite past success with immigration, the Business Council of Canada released a study on the issue in June that showed less than a quarter of Canadian Businesses believe the system is set up to serve their needs. They point to complex rules, application processing delays and costs associated with navigating the system. Further, there are burdensome and restrictive immigration policies for newcomers.

The chamber report said existing programs, such as the Canadian Express Entry System, favour highly skilled workers, leaving newcomers seeking lower-wage positions reliant on provincial programs like the Alberta Opportunity Stream. Restrictive requirements, however, for work experience, language, skills and career ineligibility limits these programs to a select few.

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Yedlin said this needs to involve the post-secondary schools to help devise proper infrastructure to get people into the positions they have been trained in abroad.

“I think what we need is a triage system, so we understand how to help people who do qualify to come here,” she said.

Newcomers face a number of systemic barriers once they arrive in Canada, preventing the recognition of credentials and experience earned elsewhere. They often then face challenges in finding employment in Canada, including difficulty obtaining Canadian work experience and a perceived bias against hiring newcomers.

Yedlin said there are no numbers on how many people there are in Alberta or Canada who are unable to get recertified once immigrating, but it is a big issue she hears about all the time.

“We actually have to be better at tracking who comes to the country and wasn’t able to find work in the profession that they’ve trained in,” she said.

The series of reports will be released over the next three weeks.

jaldrich@postmedia.com

Twitter: @JoshAldrich03

Ontario could issue hundreds of millions in fines if education workers strike Friday

Isaac Callan and Colin D'Mello - Yesterday 

As education workers in Ontario barrel towards open conflict with the Ministry of Education on Friday, the province is threatening to fine workers who illegally go on strike.


Ontario Minister of Education Stephen Lecce speaks with media following the Speech from the Throne at Queen's Park in Toronto, on Tuesday, August 9, 2022

.© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj

The fines could amount to more than $200 million per day. The fine will be up to $4,000 for an individual or $500,000 for CUPE itself.

On Sunday evening, Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced he would introduce legislation to block education workers from walking off the job after a five-day notice of a strike was given.

The province confirmed Monday it would use the notwithstanding clause to avoid any court challenge the proposed law might face.

Ford government to table legislation to impose contract on education sector union

However, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 55,000 custodians, clerical staff, librarians, and early childhood educators, said it would proceed with its planned strike action on Friday.

That strike could cost education workers thousands of dollars each under the proposed legislation that Lecce and the Doug Ford government are rushing through.

Bill 28, Keeping Students in Class Act, specifies fines for strike action by CUPE members.

The legislation lays out that any person who violates section six or seven of the proposed bill -- which prohibit strike action -- and is convicted will face a fine.

‘It is the minister who insists on using our children as pawns’: CUPE rep slams Lecce as negotiations break down

The law proposes that every day a person contravenes the law by striking "constitutes a separate 

If all 55,000 workers represented by CUPE strike on Friday and receive the maximum fine of $4,000, it would cost a total of $220 million.

Asked how the legislation would work and if all workers would be fined, Lecce did not offer specifics.

"The legislation sets out those particulars really to deter any violation of the law," he told reporters.

CUPE said on Monday it would help members who are hit with Ministry of Labour fines as a result of the new legislation.

Ontario NDP education critic, Chandra Pasma, called the legislation a "bullying tactic."

"The minister is the one holding all the cards here," she said. "The minister can come to the table at any time over the next four days with a deal that prevents to disruptions to our kids and that's what I am begging him, please, to do."

Read more:

‘Full withdrawal’: Ontario education workers could go on strike on Nov. 4

On Sunday, after CUPE notified the Ministry of Education of its plans to strike, the government increased its offer.

The latest offer promises a 2.5 per cent increase to workers earning less than 43,000 per year and a 1.5 for workers earning more per year.

The union requested an 11 per cent increase in wages, citing the high cost of living and historically low pay. CUPE said its wage proposal is an increase of $3.25 per hour annually for the next three years.

"CUPE has now made the decision to strike, putting their own self interest ahead of Ontario’s nearly two million children, who deserve to stay in class learning," Lecce said in a statement.

PM criticizes Ontario's use of notwithstanding clause in education worker bill

TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is criticizing the Ontario government's use of the notwithstanding clause in legislation to impose contracts on education workers and ban them from striking.


PM criticizes Ontario's use of notwithstanding clause in education worker bill© Provided by The Canadian Press

Trudeau made the comments a day after Ontario tabled a bill meant to avert a planned strike by 55,000 education workers. Using the notwithstanding clause to suspend workers’ rights is wrong, he said.

"I know that collective bargaining negotiations are sometimes difficult, but it has to happen," he said in Ottawa on Tuesday.

"It has to be done in a respectful, thoughtful way at the bargaining table. The suspension of people’s rights is something that you should only do in the most exceptional circumstances, and I really hope that all politicians call out the overuse of the notwithstanding clause to suspend people’s rights and freedoms."

The clause allows the legislature to override portions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a five-year term.

Federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan called the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause a "travesty" and Justice Minister David Lametti said he is looking at how Ottawa could challenge it.

"It de facto means that people's rights are being infringed and it's being justified using the notwithstanding clause," Lametti said. "Using it pre-emptively is exceedingly problematic. It cuts off both political debate and judicial scrutiny."

Ontario's legislature began sitting at 5 a.m. Tuesday for debate over the bill, as the government hopes it can be passed by the end of the week, ahead of a planned strike by the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

But there was also a hint of movement at the bargaining table Tuesday.

Related video: Ontario education workers vow to walk off job despite anti-strike legislation
Duration 4:53  View on Watch

CUPE said it was at the table and would be proposing a counter offer. The government said it would also meet if the mediator asks their side to return, and wants to hear if CUPE's new offer is "reasonable."

Premier Doug Ford said in question period that the government's offer is "very fair," and suggested he looks out for the front-line workers but not their union heads.

"We aren't going to feather the nest of the head of CUPE," he said. "We differentiate between labour and labour leadership. I think the labour needs to find new leadership."

More than 96 per cent of CUPE's education worker members voted in favour of a strike.

CUPE has said the approximately 55,000 education workers it represents – such as early childhood educators, custodians and librarians – will walk off the job Friday regardless of the legislation. It has not yet indicated whether the walkout would extend beyond Friday.

Several school boards, including the Toronto District School Board, have said they will have to close schools that day in response.

The government had been offering raises of two per cent a year for workers making less than $40,000 and 1.25 per cent for all others, but Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the new, imposed four-year deal would give 2.5 per cent annual raises to workers making less than $43,000 and 1.5 per cent raises for all others.

CUPE has said its workers, which make on average $39,000 a year, are generally the lowest paid in schools and it has been seeking annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent.

Several unions have made statements in solidarity with CUPE, most notably the Labourers' International Union of North America, which endorsed Ford's Progressive Conservatives in the June election.

LiUNA wrote to Lecce urging him to revoke the legislation.

"Restricting collective bargaining and the right for unions to strike and negotiate freely through the implementation of back-to-work legislation and enacting the notwithstanding clause sets a dangerous precedent that aims to erode respect for collective bargaining rights and unionized labour in Ontario," LiUNA's international vice-president and central and eastern Canada regional manager Joseph Mancinelli wrote.

- with files from Mia Rabson in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2022.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press

Ford defends controversial use of notwithstanding clause to keep kids in school

Antonella Artuso - 
Toronto Sun


Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks inside the legislature in Toronto on Sept. 14, 2022.

© Provided by Toronto Sun

Premier Doug Ford defended his government’s use of the notwithstanding clause to enforce anti-strike legislation as the province braced for a possible protest that would likely close schools Friday.

The controversial bill has drawn criticism from opposition politicians, the labour movement and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who called it “wrong.”

In the Ontario Legislature Tuesday, Ford accused the Liberal and the NDP opposition of standing up for the heads of unions, not the average workers, students and parents.

“That means there’d be two million students sitting at home, probably a million parents would be taking work off,” Ford said. “We will never ever waver from our position that students remain in the class, catching up with their learning, surrounded by friends with a full school experience including extracurricular activities.”

The Ontario Legislature is currently debating Bill 28, the Keeping Students in Class Act, which would invoke the notwithstanding clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to impose a contract on CUPE Ontario education workers and ban them from going on strike this Friday.

CUPE Ontario, which represents 55,000 school workers including maintenance staff and educational assistants, has warned that it is planning to go ahead with a massive day of protest Friday despite the threat of substantial financial penalties.

Trudeau told reporters Tuesday that difficult negotiations should not be resolved at the expense of workers’ labour rights.

“It has to be done in a thoughtful, respectful way at the bargaining table,” Trudeau said. “I really hope all politicians call out the overuse of the notwithstanding clause to suspend people’s rights and freedoms.”

The decision to override collective bargaining has set off the broader labour movement.

LiUNA Local 3000 tweeted in solidarity with CUPE education workers and urged supporters to send an email to Ford, Lecce and their local MPP in support of workers’ rights to negotiate a contract.

LiUNA was one of several construction unions that endorsed the Ford government in the spring general election.

NDP MPP Marit Stiles said she expects solidarity from the labour movement on this issue.

“I think education workers across this province and other workers see their future laid out for them,” Stiles said. “We’re going to use every tactic we can come up with to try to delay this legislation but, more importantly, to push the government to do the right thing and throw it out altogether.”

Liberal Leader John Fraser said Ford’s use of the notwithstanding clause outside of jurisdictional disputes between governments is an abuse.

“To use it as a way to solve contract negotiations is not its intended use,” Fraser said. “And it should send a very clear signal to anybody who bargains in this province.”

Education Minister Stephen Lecce has said that Bill 28 applies only to negotiations with CUPE Ontario, not to teacher union bargaining.

However, he has said that agreeing to CUPE’s 11.7% annual salary demands would have implications for ongoing teacher contract talks and could cost the provincial treasury billions of dollars.

Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter, a former Liberal education minister who negotiated contracts, said “me too” clauses that ensure all education unions get the same basic deal – including identical rates of pay increase – are negotiated.

NDP slams Ontario's 'outrageous' plan to use notwithstanding clause in dispute with education workers

Kris Ketonen - TODAY


A northwestern Ontario MPP with the Opposition New Democrats says the province's plan to use the notwithstanding clause to impose a new contract on the province's education workers is "outrageous."

The Keeping Students in Class Act is being debated at Queen's Park on Tuesday. If passed, the bill would essentially force workers — including early-childhood educators, librarians and custodians — to remain on the job, and could see fines imposed on both workers and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in the event of a strike.

"I think it's outrageous," Lise Vaugeois, who represents the riding of Thunder Bay-Superior North, told CBC News during the emergency legislative session Tuesday. "It's the first time in Canadian history it has ever been used as a weapon against workers. It was never intended to be used in that way.

"It's really a trampling of very, very basic rights that workers have fought many years to attain, and they're just being wiped out."

The bill allows for fines of up to $4,000 per day against each worker who takes part in a strike.

The government has also said it intends to use the notwithstanding clause — which essentially gives the province the ability to override certain portions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for five years — to halt any constitutional challenges to the bill.

'Pretty distressing' atmosphere

The Queen's Park session Tuesday began at 5 a.m. to allow for a debate on the bill.

Vaugeois said the atmosphere at the Ontario Legislature has been "feisty."

"There's a lot of arguing going back and forth. It's pretty distressing ... to see the government side of the house stand up and cheer when they are imposing taking away rights from workers."

Condemnation over the province's proposal is not limited to the union and opposition at Queen's Park.

"Using the notwithstanding clause to suspend workers' rights is wrong," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, adding that collective bargaining negotiations need to happen respectfully despite any difficulties that arise.

"The suspension of people's rights is something that you should only do in the most exceptional circumstances, and I really hope that all politicians call out the overuse of the notwithstanding clause to suspend people's rights and freedoms."

Related video: 'Using the notwithstanding clause to suspend workers' rights is wrong': Trudeau   Duration 0:34  View on Watch

Will Ottawa challenge clause use?

Federal Justice Minister David Lametti said he is looking at how Ottawa could challenge the province's use of the notwithstanding clause, noting that going to it pre-emptively is "exceedingly problematic" as it cuts off political debate and judicial scrutiny.



Education Minister Stephen Lecce tabled Bill 28, legislation meant to halt a strike by CUPE-represented education workers, on Monday.© Evan Mitsui/CBC

Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce, speaking with CBC's Metro Morning on Tuesday, noted there was a "massive difference" between the union's and the province's stances during negotiations.

"This is not the first option of any government to legislate, but the alternative is to do frankly nothing," said Lecce.

Throughout negotiations, he's said the government's top priority is keeping students in the classroom, which is the best place for them, after learning disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Call to return to negotiating table

Vaugeois said the government's goal is to get the bill passed before Friday, which is when a planned protest by Ontario education workers is expected to take place. She's calling on the government to get back to the bargaining table.

"[The province] could go back to the bargaining table at any time," she said. "That would be the normal operation. Even when a union is in a strike position, it doesn't mean that a strike will take place.

"No worker actually wants to go out on strike," she said. "What they want is the the ability to bargain in good faith and know that the other side is also bargaining in good faith."

The last offer by the government included raises of 2.5 per cent for any education worker making less than $43,000 per year, and 1.5 per cent for those making more, CUPE stated in a media release Monday.

CUPE is seeking annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent.

In a statement, CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn said the government offer wasn't enough.

"A half per cent wage increase to an already-insulting offer isn't generous," Hahn said. "An additional 200 bucks in the pockets of workers earning 39K isn't generous. It wouldn't even be generous to accept our proposal — it would be necessary, reasonable and affordable. It's simply what's needed in our schools."

Several boards, including the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), have said they will have to close schools Friday in response.

In a statement provided to CBC News, Sherri-Lynne Pharand, director of education with Lakehead Public Schools, said the board remains hopeful that an agreement between the union and government will be reached.

However, no details about what Friday's protest would mean for public schools in Thunder Bay were provided.

"We are continuing to assess the impact that a full withdrawal of services would have on our schools in order to be prepared for all potential outcomes," the statement reads. "Updates will be provided through the board website and social media channels."

Ontario government tables legislation to prevent strike by CUPE education workers

CBC/Radio-Canada - Sunday

The Ontario government tabled legislation Monday to prevent a strike by education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

The Ministry of Education introduced the Keeping Students in Class Act at Queen's Park Monday afternoon, which imposes a contract on the workers and prevents them from legally walking off the job. CUPE officials called the legislation "monstrous overreach" and vowed to fight it.

On Sunday CUPE gave the required five days' notice for job action, positioning 55,000 workers — including educational assistants, custodians and early childhood educators — to go on full strike as soon as Friday.

The government and education workers returned to the bargaining table Sunday afternoon but Education Minister Stephen Lecce issued a statement Sunday night saying the union is sticking to its position.

"Because CUPE refuses to withdraw their intent to strike, in order to avoid shutting down classes we will have no other choice but to introduce legislation [Monday], which will ensure that students remain in class to catch up on their learning," Lecce said.

Lecce added that students faced disruption to their schooling with teacher job action three years ago, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that nothing should stand in the way of a child's right to learn.

Union will fight bill

CUPE, which represents school support staff and not teachers, says it will be looking at every avenue to fight the legislation.

A decade ago, the then-Liberal government passed legislation known as Bill 115, which froze some education workers' wages and limited their ability to strike.

Unions won a court challenge years later, with the judge ruling that the government "substantially interfered with meaningful collective bargaining" and Ontario was left having to pay more than $100 million in remedies to the unions.

Several Ontario school boards have said they will shut down schools if support staff fully withdraw their services.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board, the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board have all said that they will not be able to operate safely if CUPE members walk off the job.

Impasse on wages

Mediated talks between the province and union broke down earlier this month, with both sides still far apart on wages.

The gap persisted heading into Sunday's session as the countdown ticked toward a potential strike.

"No one wants to strike, least of all the lowest-paid education workers who can barely pay our bills," Laura Walton, president of CUPE's Ontario School Boards Council of Unions, said in a statement Sunday.

"Still, we need a significant wage increase and we deserve it."


Almost 200 people gathered last weekend in front of the Toronto Congress Centre in support of education workers and their contract negotiations with the Ontario government. The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario was meeting at the centre for their general meeting.© Mehrdad Nazarahari/CBC

In an earlier statement, Lecce said he hoped CUPE would budge on demands he has described as unreasonable, but said the government will do what it takes to keep students in school.

"We are at the table with a fair offer that includes a pay raise and maintains the most generous pension and benefit package, but most importantly — it keeps kids in class," Lecce said in a news release Sunday.

"If CUPE moves ahead with strike action and disruption, we will act to keep students in class so they can continue to catch up."

CUPE is looking for annual salary increases of 11.7 per cent and the government in response has offered raises of two per cent a year for workers making less than $40,000 and 1.25 per cent for all others.

Education workers have made several other proposals, including overtime at two times the regular pay rate, 30 minutes of paid prep time per day for educational assistants and ECEs, and an increase in benefits and professional development for all workers.

Other than the proposal on wages, the government's offer seeks to keep all other areas the same as the previous deal except for a cut to sick leave pay.

The government wants to institute what it's calling a five-day "waiting period" for short-term disability during which a worker would receive 25 per cent of their normal pay and 90 per cent for the rest of the 120 days.

Toronto Catholic schools among boards that would close

The Toronto Catholic District School Board sent a letter Sunday informing parents that its 195 schools, which serve more than 90,000 students, will close if CUPE moves forward with a full strike.

The TCDSB said this is "to ensure the health, welfare, and safety of our students and staff."

"We are working with our child-care providers on a contingency plan and will communicate more information shortly," the letter said. "Parents with school-aged children are encouraged to make alternate arrangements for their families."

The board said with schools being closed, all permits, night school and Saturday classes, special events and excursions would be cancelled for the duration of the strike.

The Toronto District School Board says it continues to assess the impact a full withdrawal of services will have on its schools.

"With approximately 14,600 TDSB staff members represented by CUPE, maintaining a normal routine will be very difficult and as such, parents/guardians/caregivers and students should be prepared for all possibilities," the TDSB said in a statement.

"While the TDSB is not directly involved in the provincial negotiations, we remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached without any impacts to classrooms and board operations."

The Halton District School Board (HDSB) said Sunday its elementary school students would alternate days between in-person and remote learning in the event of a full strike, while high schools would remain open five days a week, including Grade 7 to 12 schools in Aldershot, Burlington Central and Acton District.

Elementary students with "significant" special needs would continue to attend school every day, HDSB said.

The Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board together operate over 100 schools attended by roughly 50,000 students in Peterborough, Bowmanville and the surrounding area.

Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic said students would transition to remote learning at home, while Kawartha Pine Ridge said it would share details on plans if they receive notice from CUPE about pending strike action.

CUPE's membership returned a 96.5 per cent strike mandate earlier this month.

In 2019, CUPE and the government reached a last-minute deal the day before workers had been set to go on a full strike.

CANADA/QUEBEC COLONY
Delegation returns from Haiti amid high expectations for Canadian leadership

OTTAWA — A team tasked with assessing the crisis in Haiti has returned home and is now briefing senior officials as the Canadian government weighs a potential military mission to assist the beleaguered Caribbean nation, according to Canada’s ambassador to Haiti.



Ambassador Sébastien Carrière said Monday that Canada will be expected to take a leading role in assisting the country, which has been plunged into chaos due to rampaging gangs and a worsening cholera outbreak.

"The expectations are fairly high," Carrière told the House of Commons foreign affairs committee. "People expect Canada to take on a leadership role. We have a very good reputation. And in Haiti, we're well respected."

Carrière added that the United States is also hoping Canada will step up, as was noted during recent coverage of U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit to Ottawa and Montreal last week.

While Blinken and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly studiously avoided any comments on whether Canada would lead a multilateral military intervention to Haiti, U.S. officials have name-checked Canada as a potential key player.

And while the United Nations is currently contemplating a motion that would authorize a mission, Carrière told the committee that the government has not yet decided whether it supports such a move.

"No decision has been made on that," he said. "That was part of what the assessment came here to do last week. They're continuing their consultations this week. They're briefing up in terms of what their findings are."

The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti was thrown into turmoil after President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated last year. The crisis has worsened in recent months as gangs ravage the country and amid a worsening cholera outbreak.

Haiti’s health ministry said that as of Sunday, it was aware of 2,243 people with suspected cases and 55 who have died — numbers that the UN says likely understate the extent of the disaster.

Canada and the U.S. have already sent armoured vehicles to Haiti, and a military intervention to restore order has been endorsed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

U.S. officials say the UN resolution is expected to pass by early November, and have mentioned Canada as a candidate to lead such a mission.

Carrière did not speak to any specific timeline, but did say that any intervention would require a multilateral approach involving other countries in the region. The mission would also need to back up Haiti’s security forces, not replace them, he said.

While the international community’s immediate focus is on restoring order in Haiti, Carrière said rampant corruption and impunity continue to form the root of the country’s problems.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2022.

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

ICE IS H2O... ON MARS

New impact crater on Mars uncovered 'hidden' cache of ice

Scott Sutherland - Friday, Oct 28,2022 - The Weather Network

Listen to the bizarre 'Bloop' of a meteoroid striking Mars!
Duration 1:58
View on Watch

Tracking down a new meteorite crater on Mars has revealed a potential new resource that could be crucial to NASA's plans for future human exploration of the Red Planet.

Last Christmas eve, NASA received a special present from space. A small asteroid slammed into the surface of Mars on December 24, 2021. It impacted in a wide flat region of the planet named Amazonis Planitia, located just to the west of the immense Martian volcano, Olympus Mons.

No spacecraft or surface mission witnessed the actual impact as it happened. However, NASA's InSight lander, a few thousand kilometres away, picked up the seismic waves that radiated out from the impact site. The lander's sensitive SEIS instrument (Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure) registered the temblor as one of the largest marsquakes it had detected so far.

At the time, the science team didn't know that it was a meteorite impact.

However, the next time NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter flew over where the marsquake originated from, the images it sent back managed to capture the fresh crater the space rock blasted into the surface.

These two images from MRO's Context Camera show before-and-after views of the location of the meteorite impact on Dec. 24, 2021, in a region of Mars called Amazonis Planitia. 

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

The crater was measured at around 150 metres wide and more than 20 metres deep! That apparently makes it the largest fresh crater ever imaged by MRO in the 16 years it has been orbiting Mars!

The meteoroid that formed the crater is estimated at being between 5 to 12 metres across. Such a space rock would have shattered in Earth's atmosphere, possibly scattering meteorites across the surface. However, Mars' very thin atmosphere posed almost no obstacle to it. Thus, it slammed into the ground at almost full-force.

Even more remarkable than the crater itself is what MRO's images picked up surrounding it.


This close-up view of the crater that formed on Dec. 24, 2021 was taken by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE camera) aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Boulder-size blocks of water ice can be seen around the rim of the impact crater. 

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

In the image shown above, bright white and blue regions stand out against the dusty surface of Amazonis Planitia. Those are wide patches and boulder-sized blocks of water ice, excavated from under the surface by the force of the impact.

"The image of the impact was unlike any I had seen before, with the massive crater, the exposed ice, and the dramatic blast zone preserved in the Martian dust," Liliya Posiolova, the lead author of the study that located the crater, said in a NASA press release. Posiolova leads the Orbital Science and Operations Group at Malin Space Science Systems. "I couldn’t help but imagine what it must have been like to witness the impact, the atmospheric blast, and debris ejected miles downrange."

This is apparently the first time we have seen such a deposit of water ice so close to Mars' equator.

"Subsurface ice will be a vital resource for astronauts, who could use it for a variety of needs, including drinking water, agriculture, and rocket propellant," NASA said. "Buried ice has never been spotted this close to the Martian equator, which, as the warmest part of Mars, is an appealing location for astronauts."

Author's note: In the video that leads off this story, NASA details another meteorite impact on Mars, detected in early September, 2021.

 According to a report by the space agency last month, this was the first seismic event recorded by InSight confirmed to be from a meteoroid impact. The data examined for this discovery also led to the discovery of three other impacts from InSight's records, on May 27, 2020, Feb 18, 2021 and Aug 31, 2021.

Edmonton closes book on warmest October on record

Emily Mertz - Global News

As Edmonton welcomes in a new month, the region is closing the books on the warmest October it's seen since records began.


A cityscape of Edmonton in early October 2022.

On Oct. 31, the daytime high was 8 C, which is double what it was for Oct. 31 last year (4 C).

The mean temperature for October 2022 was 9.6 C, almost one full degree over October 2021.

"Normally, we should be seeing a mean temperature in October for Edmonton of 5.1 degrees, so this puts us 4.5 degrees above normal," Global Edmonton weather specialist Phil Darlington said.

"To beat out a record by basically a full degree is a big deal.

2021 was sixth hottest year on record: NASA, NOAA

Duration 2:13  View on Watch

Edmonton topped the previous October record from 1944, when the mean temperature for the whole month was 8.7 C.

"This is the warmest October Edmonton has seen in 142 years when records began," said Darlington.

This August was also Edmonton's warmest one on record.

Read more:

Edmonton activates extreme weather response, extends outdoor pool hours as temperatures heat up

Read more:

2021 heat wave over B.C., Alberta was among most extreme since 1960s: study

Grande Prairie also had its warmest October ever, according to Environment Canada data. And the region experienced its second driest October on record this year.

"Because of prolonged warmth and heat, our forest fire season was extended, which was reflected in our poor air quality," Darlington said. It also created drought issues in some areas.

Grande Prairie also had its warmest October ever, according to Environment Canada data. And the region experienced its second driest October on record this year.

"Because of prolonged warmth and heat, our forest fire season was extended, which was reflected in our poor air quality," Darlington said. It also created drought issues in some areas.

Extreme heat making global food insecurity worse as costs continue to soar: report

Extreme heat was a factor in tens of millions of people reporting moderate to severe food insecurity in 2020, adding to the strain of skyrocketing food prices and multiple global crises, a new report has found.


An oil pumpjack operates under a partial moon in the Permian Basin in Stanton, Texas, Monday, Oct. 11, 2021. Massive amounts of methane are venting into the atmosphere from oil and gas operations across the Permian Basin, new aerial surveys show. The emission endanger U.S. targets for curbing climate change. 

(AP Photo/David Goldman)

The publication, The 2022 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: health at the mercy of fossil fuels, was published Tuesday. It explored the impact the world's continued reliance on fossil fuels is having on global health — and painted a dire picture of the direction the world is headed in.

"Climate change is increasingly undermining global food security, exacerbating the effects of the COVID-19, geopolitical, energy, and cost-of-living crises," the report found.

Read more:

Climate change is ‘biggest health threat facing humanity,’ WHO say

Relative to what was reported annually between 1981 and 2010, extreme heat was associated with 98 million more people reporting moderate to severe food insecurity in 2020 in the 103 countries analyzed, according to the report.

That's because increasingly extreme weather, a reality driven in large part by the world's changing climate, "worsens the stability of global food systems," the authors explained.

Extreme heat compounds on a number of other issues that have impacted food security in recent years.

The report found that in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, 161 million more people faced hunger than in 2019. In 2022, the situation is believed to have "worsened," with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and affordability issues weighing on people worldwide.

"Impacts on international agricultural production and supply chains (are) threatening to result in 13 million additional people facing undernutrition in 2022," the report warned.

Part of the problem is the impact that high temperatures have on crop growth. Extreme heat can lead to "fast crop maturation," which the report said "reduces the maximum potential yield that could be achieved with no limitations of water or nutrients."

Compared with the average during 1981–2010, the report found that average crop growth season lengths in 2021 have shortened for a number of key staples: the crop growth season for maize is down more than nine days, rice's growth season is down almost two days, and winter and spring wheat has shaved six days off its growth season.

The release of the report comes as the House of Commons agriculture committee is set to meet Wednesday afternoon to discuss the issue of global food insecurity, where members of Parliament will hear from a number of Canadian agriculture industry stakeholders.

Canadians have felt the impact of soaring food costs first-hand, as grocery prices in September rose at the fastest pace since 1981. Prices were up 11.4 per cent compared with a year ago -- compared with an overall inflation rate of 6.9 per cent.

The skyrocketing prices prompted Canada’s competition watchdog to launch a study of the grocery industry to examine whether the highly concentrated sector is contributing to rising food costs.

While climate change is impacting how much people are the world can eat, changing how we eat can actually help to mitigate climate change.

The report found that an "accelerated transition" to "balanced and more plant-based diets" would help reduce 55 per cent of the emissions that come from red meat and milk production, but also prevent "up to 11.5 million diet-related deaths annually" as well as "substantially" reduce the risk of zoonotic diseases.

The new report found heat exposure is taking more lives around the world today than it did two decades ago.

Heat-related deaths increased by 68 per cent between 2000-2004 and 2017-2021, the publication warned.

The finding comes as headline-grabbing heatwaves brought scorching temperatures to city streets around the globe in the last two years.

Read more:

‘Code red for humanity’: Climate change spiraling out of control, U.N. report says

In July, parts of the European Union were hit with a record-breaking heatwave, sparking wildfires in Spain, France and Portugal. Excess mortality in July amounted to roughly 53,000 deaths when compared with the monthly averages for 2016-2019, EU’s statistics office Eurostat said.

In B.C. in the summer of 2021, a boiling heatwave saw at least 719 people die over a one-week stretch — three times more than what would normally have been expected over the same period, according to the province's coroner's office.

Taking a health-centred approach to tackling climate change would help to mitigate the most "catastrophic" impacts of global warming, the report argued.

It recommended that governments around the world reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, pointing out that the carbon intensity of the global energy system has decreased "by less than 1 per cent" since the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was established in 1994.

"Simultaneously, the total energy demand has risen by 59 per cent, increasing energy-related emissions to a historical high in 2021," the report said.

"Current policies put the world on track to a catastrophic 2.7°C increase by the end of the century."

— With files from the Canadian Press, Reuters

Untapped potential: Yukon gov't crafting legislation on geothermal energy

Julien Gignac - CBC

As early as next fall, the Yukon could have laws in place that govern the extraction of geothermal energy for the first time.

Haines Junction, Yukon, is located near the Denali Fault, a hotspot for geothermal energy potential.

© Philippe Morin/CBC

While it's a nascent type of renewable energy in Canada, Energy Minister John Streicker told CBC News the Yukon is replete with the resource, which is mainly found in the southwestern and south-central regions.

"We're also working to move off of fossil fuels and to transition our energy economy," Streicker said.

Geothermal energy is derived from the naturally occurring heat from the earth's core. Essentially, super hot water can be harvested, with the steam used to drive turbines, generating electricity. Geothermal energy can also be used for district heating.

Harnessing geothermal energy falls in line with the Yukon government's plan to reduce territory-wide carbon emissions by 45 per cent by the end of the decade. Much of that work involves pivoting away from using fossil fuels.

There's at least one geothermal project in the works in the territory. A couple years ago, the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation entered into an agreement with an Alberta-based company to get at reservoirs beneath its land.

While there is legislation that guides mining and oil and gas development, however dated, there has never been the equivalent in the Yukon.

Streicker said with that, questions abound.

"You need to know how people can apply, you need to know what types of things we need to be concerned about with, say, how the drilling takes place and the type of footprint that it has, especially around aquifers," he said.

Tapping into geothermal reservoirs still requires drilling deep into the earth.


"It has a footprint, but it's much, much, much smaller than other resource development," Streicker said.

'There needs to be a lot of careful thinking'

Lewis Rifkind, mining analyst with the Yukon Conservation Society, wrote a letter to the Yukon government as part of its public engagement on creating the new legislation.

In it, he states there are numerous things the Yukon government needs to consider, including cumulative impacts, which can be "extremely negative" and on par with mining. As well, Rifkind states black shale can be dug up as part of the process and can contain radioactive uranium.

Rifkind states the government needs to ensure adequate financial security, should companies decide to bail on the venture and that fair royalties are paid to First Nations.

All in all, Rifkind told CBC News he's "cautiously optimistic" about the prospect of a full-fledged geothermal industry in the Yukon.

"Geothermal energy or heating is a good thing, don't get us wrong," he said. "However, it does involve disturbances to the land and it can involve disturbances under the land, and these have to be taken into account when developing this sort of energy.

"I think there's a lot of careful thinking that has to be done on this to make sure we don't repeat some of the mistakes we've made in the past, with quartz, placer and oil and gas legislation."

The Yukon may have reservoirs equal to top producers

Maurice Colpron, with the Yukon Geological Survey, told CBC News the territory could be well-positioned to become a major producer of geothermal energy. That has a lot to do with geography.

In the Yukon, data shows there are hotspots that run a consistent 580 C near the Denali Fault, a large fracture in the earth's crust that runs through Burwash Landing and Haines Junction. While that temperature is much too hot for the purposes of generating electricity, crews will compensate by not drilling farther than two kilometres — a sweet spot for temperatures that can generate electricity, though Colpron said the territory will likely prioritize district heating.

"That's really what we're trying to map in the Yukon," he said.

"The initial data that we have suggests that the kind of heat that we see in the crust in Yukon could be comparable to what we see in Nevada and Utah."

Colpron said those areas are producing upward of 30 per cent of geothermal energy globally.

"It's a big game."

China's latest dystopian creation: A machine gun-mounted robo-dog

Lynn Chaya - Thursday

China has unveiled its newest weapon of war: The “combat dog.” Private military contractors Kestrel Defense Blood-Wing posted a video via Weibo, the Chinese social media platform, showing a machine gun-mounted robot dog capable of being transported by a drone.

In the video shared on Oct. 3, a robotic dog can be seen being carried by a drone onto an empty rooftop with dramatic music playing in the background.

“War dogs descend from the sky!” the post reads. “The heavy-duty drones can deliver combat dogs, to be directly inserted behind enemy lines and spring surprise attacks on weak links. They can also be placed on the rooftops and work with troops on the ground to ambush enemies inside buildings.”

Earlier in August, Kestrel trialed another robotic dog capable of carrying a munitions launcher.

“Welcome to your next war tech,” tweeted defence technology expert Samuel Bendett.

In season four of Netflix’s critically acclaimed show “Black Mirror,” episode five, “Metalhead,” follows a young woman attempting to flee from robotic dogs after the unexplained collapse of human society. These fictional dogs are reminiscent of Kestrel’s creation, some have pointed out.

“It reminds me of the monster from the Metalhead episode of Black Mirror,” said one Twitter user.

China’s affinity for robo-dogs doesn’t end here. At Beijing’s Robot Expo this year, dancing robotic dogs welcomed attendees during the annual World Robot Conference.

“They’re going to be attacking next,” a Twitter user commented.

THE U$ DID IT FIRST

 

CONSTRUCTING THEIR OWN GUILLOTINES

Twitter staff have been told to work 84-hour weeks and managers slept at the office over the weekend as they scramble to meet Elon Musk's tight deadlines, reports say

gdean@insider.com (Grace Dean) - TODAY

Twitter managers have told some staff work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, CNBC reported.

Some managers told The New York Times they slept at Twitter's office on Friday and Saturday nights.

Staff are trying to prove themselves amid the looming threat of layoffs under new owner Elon Musk.



Staff at Twitter have been clocking up much longer hours than usual since Elon Musk took over, CNBC reported. This comes as staff face the looming threat of layoffs amid the tech mogul's planned overhaul of the company.

Twitter managers have told some staff to work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week — equivalent to 84 hours a week — to meet Musk's deadlines, CNBC reported, citing internal communications.

Musk's $44 billion purchase of the social-media platform went through on Thursday evening, but concerns about layoffs at the company have been swirling since well before that. It remains unclear how many staff will be laid off and when, as well as which teams will be most affected.

Since Friday, staff at the company have been set tasks which some see as a test by Musk's team to see who works hard.

Insider previously reported that Musk's team assigned some of Twitter's engineers coding projects to work on over the weekend, known as sprints. Other tasks include making major changes to Twitter's verification service.

Related video: Elon Musk Orders Managers To Prepare List For Job Cuts After Completing Twitter Deal | English News
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Insider previously reported that an internal message was sent to Twitter staff working on changes to the company's verification process telling them that: "The expectation is literally to work 24/7 to get this out."

CNBC reported that staff haven't been told whether they'll get overtime pay, time off in lieu, or job security for working on the assignments.

Staff worry that their careers at Twitter could be over if they don't complete their tasks by the early November deadlines, CNBC reported.

Twitter's managers, meanwhile, have been asked to carry out performance reviews and send Musk's team lists of which employees should be kept on, people familiar with the discussions told Insider.

But the managers themselves are also feeling the strain, with some telling The New York Times that they slept at Twitter's office on Friday and Saturday nights.

Twitter's top managers were pulled into meetings with Musk and his team last week at Twitter's San Francisco headquarters, where they were asked to describe their division's work, two people involved in the meetings told The Times.

Some Twitter managers told the publication that they felt like they were being assessed.

The Washington Post reported that Musk's team plans to cut around a quarter of Twitter's staff in a first round of layoffs, citing a person familiar with discussions that took place at Twitter HQ last week.

Twitter didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on working hours, staff sleeping at the office, and layoffs.

Musk dissolved Twitter's board of directors, a Monday SEC filing shows, cementing his position as Twitter's sole director.

Musk’s inner circle worked through weekend to cement Twitter layoff plans

Elizabeth Dwoskin, Faiz Siddiqui - Yesterday 

Musk’s inner circle worked through weekend to cement Twitter layoff plans© Amy Osborne for The Washington Post

SAN FRANCISCO — Members of billionaire Elon Musk’s inner circle huddled with Twitter’s remaining senior executives throughout the weekend, conducting detailed discussions regarding the site’s approach to content moderation and spam, as well as plans to lay off 25 percent of the workforce to start.

Alex Spiro, a well-known celebrity lawyer who has represented Musk for several years, led those conversations. Spiro is taking an active role in managing several teams at Twitter, including legal, government relations, policy and marketing, according to four people familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe them, as well as tweets from some of the people involved.

Longtime Musk associates David Sacks and Jason Calacanis appeared in a company directory over the weekend, according to photos obtained by The Washington Post. Both had official company emails, and their titles were “staff software engineer.” Musk’s title in the directory was CEO, although that position had not been publicly announced. He refers to himself as “Chief Twit.”

A document filed with financial regulators Monday showed Twitter’s board had been dismissed, another step leaving the company in Musk’s sole control.

Later Monday, a financial filing officially revealed that Musk is CEO of the company.

Elon Musk's ownership of Twitter begins

Meanwhile, the team was deciding on what is expected to be a first round of layoffs, which will target roughly a quarter of the staff totaling more than 7,000, according to one of the people. Layoffs will touch almost all departments, and are expected to specifically impact sales, product, engineering, legal, and trust and safety in the coming days, the person said. After engineers, some of Twitter’s highest-paid employees work in sales, where several earn more than $300,000, according to documents viewed by The Post.

Twitter, Musk, Spiro, Sacks and Calacanis did not respond to requests for comment.

The billionaire Tesla owner bought Twitter for $44 billion last week after several strenuous months of negotiations and legal wrangling. Musk first made a bid for the company in the spring, then tried to back out months later. Twitter sued to force him to complete the deal, and eventually the entrepreneur acquiesced and offered to buy the company for his original offer price.

Musk has turned to several longtime allies as he begins his overhaul of Twitter. Members of Musk’s team were in New York City, where Twitter has a corporate office, taking meetings on Monday, according to social media posts.

Sacks, a conservative firebrand and donor, has worked with Musk from their days running PayPal together two decades ago. Sacks has posted strong ideas about content moderation online and has criticized censorship from Big Tech.

Calacanis is also a longtime Musk friend who texted him frequently to offer advice on the deal, including about job cuts, court records showed.Documents detail plans to gut Twitter’s workforce

Calacanis tweeted that Saturday was “Day Zero” alongside a photo of a Twitter coffee mug, adding that he had discussed safety issues, along with bots and trolls, with Yoel Roth, a Twitter executive responsible for content moderation policy. Roth then posted details about those policies.

On Sunday, Musk posted apparent internal messages from Roth about Twitter metrics, arguing they show Twitter’s board and lawyers “deliberately hid … evidence from the court.” The tweet showed Musk using his newly gained access to internal information to potentially settle scores.

The new leadership team is asking questions about every aspect of the business, including details of content moderation, spam and the risks of upcoming elections, the people said. They also discussed identity verification on the platform, including verifying high profile users with blue check marks, according to a Musk tweet and the people.

Another Musk associate who tweeted about his involvement, Sriram Krishnan, a partner focusing on cryptocurrency at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, also tweeted he was helping out with the deal. The firm invested $400 million. He describes himself as a former Twitter executive on his LinkedIn page.

On Monday, a financial filing revealed Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey — the company’s former CEO — rolled over his Twitter shares into the new company, making him one of Musk’s investors.

Less than three days into Musk’s ownership, Twitter employees remained in the dark about any new plans for the company as of Sunday evening, according to numerous employees contacted by The Post, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their jobs. The company has yet to release a formal announcement of the acquisition. The communications department has gone silent. Rumors have swirled about layoffs, with some notices going out quietly.Twitter layoffs are imminent

Layoffs are expected to begin ahead of Nov. 1, when Twitter employees are slated to receive additional compensation related to stock grants. On Sunday, Musk tweeted that reporting about impending layoffs at Twitter next week was “false.”

Earlier this year, Musk told prospective partners in the deal that he planned to cut nearly 75 percent of Twitter’s total workforce, which would leave the company with about 2,000 employees, according to interviews and documents obtained by The Post. Musk last week told employees when he visited Twitter’s headquarters that he didn’t plan to cut three-fourths of the workforce.

Another person familiar with the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters last week said the total number of layoffs is likely to be closer to 50 percent.

Already, Musk has fired four senior executives, sent Tesla engineers to evaluate Twitter’s software code, and has tweeted that he plans to form a content moderation council of experts.

Meanwhile, illustrating the difficulties of his new task, Musk tweeted out content from a site that is known to publish misinformation this weekend.

On Saturday, Hillary Clinton, the former first lady and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, posted a tweet criticizing the GOP for spreading “hate and deranged conspiracy theories” that she said had emboldened the man who attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, inside the couple’s home in San Francisco early Friday.

Musk wrote, in a reply to the tweet, that “There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye,” sharing a link to an article in the Santa Monica Observer, a site described by fact-checkers as a low-credibility source favoring the extreme right. The article alleges, without evidence, that Paul Pelosi was drunk and in a fight with a male prostitute, referencing a conspiracy theory that had previously been spread on the right. Other right-wing influencers who Musk has interacted with online also amplified the conspiratorial narrative.

The actions by Musk, who has since removed the tweet, show that Twitter has a complicated path ahead, particularly in navigating Musk’s public actions and squaring that with what he says privately.

Rachel Lerman contributed to this report.

Fired Twitter Execs Face A Long, Ugly Battle With Elon Musk Warns Expert

Chris Davies - TODAY

Elon Musk hasn't just cleaned house at Twitter, but taken a scorched-earth approach. Less than a week has passed since his $44 billion deal to purchase the social network closed, and already Musk has ousted top execs -- including Twitter's former CEO, Parag Agrawal -- and installed himself as new chief executive. The big question is, with Twitter going private, has Musk also opened himself up to legal backlash?


Elon Musk© Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

According to a report from The New York Times, Musk has not only shown Twitter's former C-suite the door, but is claiming that the terminations were "for cause," too. If that's upheld, it could shield the Tesla CEO from millions in so-called golden parachute payments that Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, former general counsel Sean Edgett, and former top policy and legal exec Vijaya Gadde would otherwise be contractually due.

It's a big bill if Musk has to pay up: anywhere up to $60 million, according to reports. On the flip side, dragging out that liability through the courts could also be costly. SlashGear spoke to a legal expert to figure out just what Musk's game-plan might be.

There's No Law Against Firing Your Board


Elon Musk twitter profile© mundissima/Shutterstock

"This all boils down to a contract dispute," attorney Ron Zambrano, the employment litigation chair at Los Angeles-based West Coast Trial Lawyers, told SlashGear. "Are the fired executives entitled to their severances under their respective contracts because the contention by Musk that they were fired for cause is either made in bad faith or completely baseless? Or did these executives do things that could be viewed as violating their employment contracts? If they did, then Musk would have grounds to fire them for cause."

What isn't good reason to contest Musk's decision, however, is his new strategy for Twitter. While ousting the whole board and assuming total control himself might seem extreme -- not to mention give Tesla shareholders some legitimate concerns that the chief executive's attentions are divided, albeit with potential benefits there too -- it's actually not grounds for a lawsuit.

"Based on news reports, the motivation behind these terminations of employment is Musk's desire to replace the leadership at the highest executive levels with folks that he wants in those roles," Zambrano explains. "This motivation is lawful."

What Legal Experts Say Elon Musk Should Do Next


Judge with gavel© Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock

The question, then, is just what might make for a compelling case? As Zambrano tells it, the only real justifications for a lawsuit from the former Twitter execs would be if it could be proved Musk singled them out because of protected class -- including race, gender, or national origin -- or if they'd been targeted as whistleblowers or similar. "Barring those exceptions," the attorney says, "these folks have not suffered a violation of their employment rights and it all comes back to what's in their contracts."

It won't only be contracts that are being examined with a fine-toothed comb, however. Asked what he'd be recommending Elon Musk do next, Zambrano says the big thing is digging through whatever the former C-suite has left behind that could count against the execs. It's from that evidence that a "for cause" dismissal case could be built.

"Musk and his team should start scouring internal Twitter communications and activity to support a for cause finding for terminating the executives he has fired," Zambrano says he'd advise Musk, were the new Twitter owner his client. "If there are in fact admissions and evidence by these affected employees that should have led to their involuntary exit beforehand, that would totally bolster his defense to any claim that firing these executives for cause was done in bad faith."

Even An Expensive Lawsuit Is Small Change, Comparatively


Elon Musk smiling© Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images

While litigation is seldom inexpensive, it may not be the dissuading factor to drag the former Twitter execs through the courtroom that you might think. In fact, Zambrano says, Musk's costs for that -- even if considerable by normal lawsuit standards -- would still likely only amount to a fraction of what the golden parachute payouts would reach.

"In a worst-case scenario, Musk may be looking at a $1 million legal tab," Zambrano suggests. "Strategically, Musk will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to reduce what he has surely been told is the money these employees are probably owed in payouts. He can drag this out in the courts for so long the fired executives will eventually compromise just to get it over with and receive some money."

While the Twitter purchase may have been completed relatively quickly, with Musk rapidly stepping in -- complete with a sink in his arms -- to seize control at the social media company, a lawsuit with the former execs would be a far longer affair. In fact, Zambrano predicts, it could stretch from three to five years following appellate review. In the end, it may all come down to who has the most patience.

Read this next: Everything We Know About Elon Musk's Hyperloop Concept