NOVA SCOTIA

Hawkesbury Paper sister company pitches Guysborough County wind farm

Sat, January 28, 2023

This illustration shows what the proposed wind farm would look like from Lincolnville, N.S. (Strum Consulting - image credit)

Port Hawkesbury Paper Wind has submitted a proposal to the province to construct a 29-turbine wind farm.

The proposed location for the Goose Harbour Lake Wind Farm covers an area of Guysborough County between Lincolnville, N.S., and Mulgrave.

The company, a sister firm of Port Hawkesbury Paper, wants clearing work to begin this summer or fall, construction to start next year and for the turbines to be up and running in the summer of 2025.

The 130.5 megawatts produced at the site would feed into the Nova Scotia Power transmission system and supply up to 40 per cent of the mill's electricity needs.

"Wind power is one tool of many that will allow the Port Hawkesbury Paper Facility to support the province in proactively pursuing green energy sources and help move away from a dependency on electricity predominantly generated using coal," the proposal reads.

Strum Consulting

The province has committed to a goal of having 80 per cent of its electricity needs supplied by renewable energy by 2030.

In an environmental assessment registration document filed with the Environment Department on Friday, the company says the area was chosen because it is one of the highest elevations in the county, has strong wind resources, is close to transmission lines and is at least 900 metres from the nearest permanent residence.

There is also a network of roads, once used to harvest timber, that would allow easy access to the turbine sites.

PHP Wind estimates the project will create 150 temporary full-time jobs during construction and up to five permanent jobs. It will also generate property tax revenues of $800,000 per year for the municipality and $500,000 in land-lease payments to the province annually, the company says.

The project would primarily use Crown lands and would operate for a minimum of 25 years.

Concerns raised by public

The company has already held open houses for the public about its plans. Some of the concerns noted by attendees include the visual effects and noise from the turbines, the impacts on drinking water, wetlands, waterways and flora and fauna.

While the document responds to each of these concerns, and includes studies and survey results, the report ultimately concludes the project would not have significant adverse residual effects, and would positively affect the province through a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and increased economic prosperity.

The wind farm proposal is open for public feedback until Feb. 27.

The environment minister must make a decision on whether to approve the project by March 20.

Camera captures night sky spiral after SpaceX rocket launch



Fri, January 27, 2023 

HONOLULU (AP) — A camera atop Hawaii’s tallest mountain has captured what looks like a spiral swirling through the night sky.

Researchers believe it was from the launch of a military GPS satellite that lifted off earlier on a SpaceX rocket in Florida.

The images were captured on Jan. 18 by a camera at the summit of Mauna Kea outside the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan's Subaru telescope.

A time-lapse video shows a white orb spreading out and forming a spiral as it moves across the sky. It then fades and disappears.

Ichi Tanaka, a researcher at the Subaru telescope, said he was doing other work that night and didn't immediately see it. Then a stargazer watching the camera's livestream on YouTube sent him a screenshot of the spiral using an online messaging platform.

“When I opened Slack, that is what I saw and it was a jaw-dropping event for me,” Tanaka said.

He saw a similar spiral last April, also after a SpaceX launch, but that one was larger and more faint.

SpaceX launched a military satellite the morning of Jan. 18 from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The location of the spiral matched where the second stage of the SpaceX rocket was expected to be after its launch.

SpaceX didn't respond to an email sent Friday seeking comment.

Tanaka said the observatory installed the camera to monitor the surroundings outside the Subaru telescope and to share Mauna Kea's clear skies with the people of Hawaii and the world.

Someone watching the sky in less clear conditions, for example from Tokyo, might not have seen the spiral, he said.

The livestream is jointly operated with the Asahi Shimbun, a major Japanese newspaper, and frequently gets hundreds of viewers. Some tune in to watch meteors streak across the sky.

The summit of Mauna Kea has some of best viewing conditions on Earth for astronomy, making it a favored spot for the world’s most advanced observatories. The summit is also considered sacred by many Native Hawaiians who view it as a place where the gods dwell.

Audrey Mcavoy, The Associated Press

OTTAWA

Transit commission approves nearly $1B e-bus plan after 2nd look

Fri, January 27, 2023 

A new electric OC Transpo bus sits in a garage during a photo op Nov. 26, 2021. After receiving federal grant money and a Canada Infrastruture Bank loan, city staff is looking for council's approval to purchase 350 similar buses. 

(Frédéric Pepin/Radio-Canada - image credit)

After providing extra scrutiny in an emergency meeting Friday, the transit commission voted overwhelmingly in favour of the city's plan to buy 350 electric buses over the next three years.

Friday's meeting took place after city council voted Wednesday to further scrutinize the city's e-bus plan. Council members said after the LRT inquiry, this pricey transit spending plan needed more examination.

Seven members of the commission supported city staff's plan, with one member voting against.

The plan to switch the entire diesel fleet to electric, first announced in June 2021, was projected to purchase 450 buses for the approximate $1 billion price tag.

Rising costs and a shorter window of available federal funding now means the city would only get 350 buses within that budget, staff said.

The city will also need to build another garage to house any further electric buses, as well as the charging infrastructure.

On Friday, staff walked the commission through the more detailed proposal that would see the city phase in the e-buses as its diesel buses age out of service.

Data from 4-bus pilot

They presented the findings of the four-bus pilot project that began a year ago. Each electric bus has travelled around 50,000 kilometres in that time.

Richard Holder, the City of Ottawa's director of engineering services, told the commission all four were operating within the design specifications. The buses have a range of 280 and 350 kilometres before needing to be charged — and can be re-charged in four hours.

Holder said during colder temperatures the buses were still in that range, but on the lower end.

Wilson Lo, the councillor for Barrhaven East and a former OC Transpo bus driver, wanted to see a more thorough pilot.

"One winter in service with a fleet of four is not enough to meaningfully base a decision with such heavy financial implications upon," he told the commission. OC Transpo's current fleet is around 900 buses.

Lo told the commission he remembered promises of savings when OC Transpo purchased hybrid buses and said the city never saw those savings materialize. The buses were all retired while older diesel buses are still on the road.

City of Ottawa

The rookie councillor was the lone detractor of the e-bus plan, though.

To fund the bus purchase, the city plans to use money already earmarked for replacement buses, take advantage of an Infrastructure Canada grant for cities to switch to zero-emission buses, and take out a loan with the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

The loan would be repaid with cost savings from the buses — it's expected their motors will require less maintenance and their brakes will last longer, in addition to not using fuel.

"I understand that new technologies ultimately need buy-in to be able to improve and evolve, but the loan is too great of a risk at a time when the city should be more financially risk-averse," Lo said.

City of Ottawa

Coun. Shawn Menard questioned Holder about the age of the technology used for the e-buses — as the new Alstom light rail vehicles have had trouble since LRT arrived in Ottawa — but Holder said Edmonton, Toronto and Chicago will have a fully electric bus fleet by 2040.

"We are not a new adopter. … Moscow has 1,000 buses. They've gone through five winters, they're reporting no interruptions with their service, and they are committed to going full electric," Holder said.

He also urged councillors to avoid further delays because there are a "number of municipalities wanting to launch procurement programs."

"There's a limited supply and high demand for the zero-emission buses that could impact availability and cost, that is likely to be compounded the longer we delay in making a decision," said Holder.

Right, but painful move

Josipa Petrunic researches zero-emission buses and is the CEO of the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium.

She says Holder is on the right track as it's likely already going to be hard for the city to procure all the buses in its plan. Petrunic estimates a bus purchased this year will probably be on the road in 2025, with supply chain delays, few Canadian suppliers and high demand.

But she disagrees with the assessment the city is slow on the uptake of electric buses.

"OC Transpo is actually ahead of the curve if you look at it from the size of the city perspective and the fact they've got their first four buses out the door," she said.

The first buses are the hardest, but she said switching over the whole fleet will be a painful process.

"Going from four buses to a couple hundred electric buses is just a complete transplant of every organ in their body and their brain," she said.

"This is the hardest thing that they're probably going to have to do for the rest of this half of the century."

On the positive side, the city's LRT struggles may be an advantage, according to her, as the city has already wrestled with powering transit with its electrical grid and has electrical engineers on staff.

Council will review the spending proposal at its next meeting Feb. 1.

The city's auditor general, who has completed two sprint audits of the procurement process as it progresses, is expected to release a third on the financing plan on Feb. 17. She has already shared her recommendations with city staff, who have incorporated their recommendations into their report.

The Nature Trust BC joins Canadian Launch of REWILD OUR EARTH

Nature Trust of BC joins forces with YSL Beauty and Re:wild

By Chadd Cawson 

Fri, January 27, 2023

We must nurture our nature as the latter really is a precious thing of beauty. It is why The Nature Trust of BC is proud to be the Canadian operating non-government organization (NGO) partnering with Re:wild and YSL Beauty for the Canadian launch of REWILD OUR EARTH. REWILD OUR EARTH is a global program developed in partnership with Re:wild, a world-class NGO that works with 400 conservation partners in 84 countries to advance ecological restoration globally, aims to protect and restore 100,000 hectares of land by the year 2030.

“We officially became the local operating NGO partner for the Canadian launch of REWILD OUR EARTH this past December 7,” said Jasper Lament, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Nature Trust. “Re:wild and YSL Beauty got in touch with our team and asked us to work with them on this project, with a focus on the White Lake Basin property within the south Okanagan grasslands. We’ve admired Re:wild and YSL Beauty’s own incredible commitment to conservation and we jumped at the chance to work with them. It was a natural fit and we believe this project will create meaningful and positive change.”

The Canadian Launch of REWILD OUR EARTH will enable the protection of 65.1 hectares of critical grasslands within the South Okanagan region of British Columbia which is a national biodiversity hotspot. These South Okanagan Grasslands are located within the traditional territories of First Nations communities, including the Penticton Indian Band (snPink’tn) and Lower Similkameen Indian Band (Smelqmix), both members of the Okanagan Nation (Syilx People). This project will engage the help of traditional ecological knowledge keepers from the Okanagan Nation Education and Cultural En’owkin Centre to ensure that these traditions are protected in their continuity.

Re:wild one of the two other partners in this ambitious program was founded by a group of renowned conservation scientists together with awarding winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio has a mandate to protect and restore the wild. With a focus on finding the most effective solutions to the inter- connected climate, biodiversity, and human health crises. YSL Beauty the other, has strengthened its commitment to people and the planet through their commitment to this project. This initiative is in sync with the brand's wider sustainability platform (known as 'Change the Rules, Change the Future') and the long-standing commitment to the Earth, inspired by the legacy of Mr. Saint Laurent.

"A commitment to the Earth lies at the heart of the YSL Beauty brand, inspired by the legacy of Mr. Saint Laurent, a nature lover who drew inspiration from the natural wonders of Morocco throughout his career," said Carl D. Morisset, General Manager, YSL Beauty, L'Oréal Canada in a January press release. "With the national launch of REWILD OUR EARTH, we are proud to make a long-term commitment to championing work on land system change. Our goal is to help to protect and restore an area of Canada that is vital to the nation's natural longevity and to have a positive impact on the local community."

As a brand within the L'Oréal Group, YSL Beauty is committed to enacting positive change in the world putting the focus back on both people and the planet. Today, our wildlife is in decline; when more than one million species are on the brink of extinction and 75 per cent of all Earth's land areas have been degraded, REWILD OUR EARTH has the potential to help make a measurable impact. While, Re:wild is a force that brings together Indigenous peoples, local communities, influential leaders, nongovernmental organizations, governments, companies, and the public to protect and rewild at the scale and speed the world we live in needs to see.

“It’s an incredible honour to collaborate with forward-thinking and high-profile companies such as Re:wild and YSL Beauty,” said Lament. “For the past 50 years, The Nature Trust of BC has been committed to protecting and restoring the most vulnerable and ecologically valuable properties throughout our province for the benefit of our planet and its ecosystems.”

Lament shares that conservation is key to mitigating climate change and protecting the many plant and animal species within these properties. Working alongside Re:wild and YSL Beauty as a part of the Canadian launch of REWILD OUR EARTH allows Nature Trust BC the opportunity to utilize their extensive conservation experience, and knowledge of these south Okanagan sacred grasslands

“We are proud to work together to protect and revitalize 160.8 acres of land in the White Lake Basin,” said Lament and believe REWILD OUR EARTH will make a global impact.”

Protection of the White Lake Basin area is critical and will positively impact the species and ecosystems that thrive in and depend on this critical habitat. Just a few of these federally listed species include western tiger salamander, Lewis's Woodpecker, and the black bear. While grasslands account for less than 1 per cent of British Columbia’s land base, they provide sanctuary, habitat, and breeding grounds for over 30 per cent of our province’s sensitive species. Approximately 95 per cent of the area is comprised of sensitive ecosystems such as open sagebrush steppe, grasslands, riparian, and broadleaf woodlands. Because this land is located within the traditional territories of various First Nations communities, it is considered a cultural and historical site, and an important source of medicines and foods. This launch and project and will engage the help of traditional ecological knowledge keepers from the Okanagan Nation Education and Cultural En'owkin Centre to ensure continuity in these traditions.

“REWILD OUR EARTH’s mission is to protect and restore 100,000 hectares of land by 2030. The environmental benefits of that objective cannot be overstated,” said Lament. “The focus of this initiative on the White Lake Basin property and these grasslands are integral to the health of our province. With REWILD OUR EARTH’s expansion into Canada, we knew the optimum area for our focus was grasslands. As climate change alters the geographic conditions of grasslands, it profoundly impacts plant and animal species. Increased fragmentation reduces species ability to disperse and adjust to swiftly changing conditions. These changes are a direct result of human activity and when we conserve properties, we not only protect that area, but we enhance the connectivity of the region. By protecting and healing this vulnerable area we are creating a ripple effect that will benefit our planet.”

Chadd Cawson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Columbia Valley Pioneer

To revitalize Indigenous communities, the Residential School settlement must prioritize language education


Frank Deer, Professor, Associate Dean, and Canada Research Chair,

 Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba

THE CONVERSATION
Fri, January 27, 2023

After a decade, the federal government has reached an agreement to settle a class action lawsuit that included 325 First Nations across Canada. The class action was initiated by the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc and shíshálh Nation in 2012. It was concerned with, among other issues, the loss of language and culture through Residential Schools. The settlement, worth $2.8 billion, includes support for cultural revitalization with focus on heritage, wellness and languages.

Efforts toward cultural revitalization will be funded by the $50 million Day Scholars Revitalization Fund. An important aspect of the fund will be the central role Indigenous Peoples will have in managing and guiding the process of supporting the cultural revitalization.

Read more: Canada's $2.8 billion settlement with Indigenous Day Scholars is a long-time coming

This settlement, just as the Indian Day School Settlement and the Indian Residential School Settlement before it, focuses on the justice necessary to address physical and emotional harms, and the long term impacts that they had for Indigenous communities and their national, cultural and traditional identities.

These traumatic impacts were deliberately put upon Indigenous Peoples through focus on the most vulnerable members of a community — their children. Over generations, many Indigenous children and youth who were attending these schools lost their language, culture and thousands lost their lives. The trauma of those experiences may be too horrific to recount. The intergenerational trauma experienced by the communities affected by these schools were also traumatic and constitute genocide.

Former Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Chief Shane Gottfriedson (left) and Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Marc Miller at a news conference in Vancouver on Jan. 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Revitalizing Indigenous languages

A recurrent theme in the narratives of survivors is how Indigenous identities have been adversely affected, and principal among those aspects are Indigenous languages. Frequently regarded as one of the central components of Indigenous cultural identity, language revitalization has become of paramount importance.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) Calls to Action contain a number of imperatives related to languages. Call to Action 14 identifies Indigenous languages as “a fundamental and valued element of Canadian culture and society.” The reasons behind this are not difficult to understand: language allows humans to communicate ideas and is one of the pillars that support a people’s culture, traditions and history.

The importance of Indigenous languages is not just reflected in the special cultural and national features that they represent for Indigenous Peoples. They also are the optimum way to represent Indigenous knowledge, heritage and consciousness — such manifestations are undermined by the use of non-Indigenous languages.
Restoring agency

The Day Scholars Revitalization Fund represents an important opportunity for those involved in the class action. First and foremost is the issue of agency. Responsibility for developing and employing a plan of action to utilize the funds rests with Indigenous Peoples.

The issue of agency is essential given the history of unjust government control over matters that affect Indigenous communities. Indigenous people must have an adequate voice, influence and control in regard to issues, initiatives and policy that affect them, their communities and their territories. As is frequently proclaimed by Indigenous Peoples: Nothing about us without us!
Community initiatives

There are a number of ways that Indigenous communities can support the revitalization of their languages. The fundamental starting point is best summed up by the words of then chief commissioner of the TRC, Murray Sinclair: “Education got us into this mess and education will get us out.”

shíshálh Nation hiwus (Chief) Warren Paull speaks during the news conference in Vancouver on Jan. 21, 2023. Agency is essential given the history of unjust government control over matters that affect Indigenous communities. 

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canada has a rich and diverse history of Indigenous languages. However, most Indigenous children and youth, whether in public or on-reserve schools, are still educated in English and French.

There are however some encouraging developments in some Indigenous communities. In the far north, efforts have been made to ensure that Inuktut is the principal language of instruction in some Inuit schools. In Manitoba, some school divisions have created opportunities for First Nations languages such as Anishinaabemowin to be featured in classroom programming.

Partnerships between Indigenous communities and their respective schools need to be established to support the sorts of institutional transformations necessary to support curricular development, classroom resources and recruitment of qualified teachers.

These transformations require the voice, influence and control of Indigenous Peoples, and efforts should be marshalled to support such participation. Indigenous communities have worked hard to establish such partnerships. In the community of Kahnawa:ke, schools such as Karonhianónhnha Tsi Ionterihwaienstáhkhwa employ an immersion programme to sustain the Kanien’keha language.

Educational programming is crucial to revitalizing Indigenous languages, but it’s not the only piece of this puzzle. Community conditions outside of the school in which children and youth have opportunities to speak the language are also essential.

Communities need to develop strategies that provide improved opportunities for young people to learn and retain their language. Children and youth should be encouraged to use Indigenous languages outside of school as well through community laws, commerce and media. Such initiatives require the commitment of community members and the support of the Day Scholars Revitalization Fund may be well suited for this purpose.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. 

It was written by: Frank Deer, University of Manitoba.

Read more:

Residential school system recognized as genocide in Canada’s House of Commons: A harbinger of change


Indigenous conservation funding must reflect Canada’s true debt to First Nations, Inuit and Métis

Atlantic Canada needs health-care funding based on need, not population: Green Party

Fri, January 27, 2023 



FREDERICTON — The Green Party is calling on the federal government to fund health care in Atlantic Canada in keeping with the needs of its residents, not based on its share of the population.

Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May says the Atlantic provinces have a higher proportion, compared with the rest of the country, of residents who have complex needs for health care.

New Brunswick Green Party Leader David Coon says funding has recently been distributed to provinces on a per capita basis, putting the Atlantic region at a disadvantage.

As well, Coon says there is a disturbing trend toward the private management and delivery of health care in the country, adding that the corporate ownership of surgical centres is of notable concern.

Several surgical centres in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic region are receiving funding from provincial governments to provide knee, hip and other surgeries as a way to ease backlogs.

He says there are strong benefits to surgical centres owned publicly, not by corporations looking to maximize profits and service their shareholders with growing dividends.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2023.

The Canadian Press

INDEFENSIBLE 'CHOKE' HOLD

As RCMP defends neck hold, minister says he 'very clearly' laid out his expectations for reform

Fri, January 27, 2023 

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino speaks with reporters on January 10, 2023 in Mexico City. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press - image credit)

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says he has laid out "very clearly" the reforms he wants to see from RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki — comments that come as the RCMP continues to defend its use of a controversial neck hold.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructed the minister to work with the RCMP to ban "the use of neck restraints in any circumstance." The promise was repeated in Mendicino's mandate letter to Lucki.

Earlier this month, the RCMP told CBC News the carotid control technique is safe and effective and it will keep instructing its officers to use the restraint in rare cases.

"Well, the very first thing I would say is that it is important that we reform our ...law enforcement institutions," said Mendicino on his way into a caucus meeting Friday.

"That is precisely why, after receiving my mandate letter from the prime minister, I took the additional further step to lay out very clearly how we can create that that reform within the RCMP."

Vascular neck restraints involve compressing the arteries on either side of a person's neck, causing the person being restrained to slip into unconsciousness.

When used correctly, the restraint doesn't restrict breathing. It differs from the hold that killed George Floyd while in police custody in 2020, but the carotid restraint has come under intense scrutiny since then.

Lucki promised to review the technique after Floyd's death. A number of U.S. police forces have banned the carotid restraint.

RCMP spokesperson Robin Percival said the national police force has "not banned or placed a moratorium on the use of the carotid control technique."

Instead, she said, the RCMP issued new guidance to its officers late last year that "strengthens and clarifies definitions, oversight and accountability measures, the risks of applying the technique on medically high-risk groups, requirements for medical attention, the threshold for use and requirement to recertify annually on the policy regarding application."

National Police Federation/YouTube

Percival said the carotid control technique was used 25 times in 2020 and 14 times in 2021 by RCMP officers.

Mendicino said he'll keep working with the RCMP to usher in reforms.

"The point here is to ensure that the RCMP sets the gold standard when it comes to use of force so that we can keep Canadians safe and make sure that we're doing it in a way that is responsible and professional," he said Friday.

"And we're going to continue to make sure that we work with the RCMP to enact those things."

The RCMP Act says the commissioner serves "under the direction of the minister" and "has the control and management of the force."

'They've been fighting about this for 50 years'

Brian Sauvé, head of a union representing more than 20,000 RCMP officers, said he thinks Lucki is acting within her authority in retaining the carotid hold as an option for officers.

"There's been a lot of talk last year, for example, about operational independence of the RCMP. Use of force, the Incident Management Intervention Model, in my opinion, would fall within that operational independence," he said in an interview last week.

University of Ottawa criminology professor Michael Kempa disagrees.

"The answer is an unambiguous no. It is absolutely the responsibility of the RCMP to take policy direction from the minister of public safety on any matter to do with policies around recruitment, using force, weapons, etc.," he said.

"This is a problem that has bedevilled the RCMP and its relationship with their minister of public safety… They've been fighting about this for 50 years as to what exactly operational independence means."

Kempa described the power of the federal minister over the RCMP commissioner as equivalent to the power of police services boards over municipal police services.

The force's operational independence was thrust into the spotlight last summer when the federal government was accused of pressuring Lucki to have the Mounties release the types of weapons used by the gunman in the tragic mass shooting in Nova Scotia that left 22 people dead in 2020.

Both Lucki and former public safety minister Bill Blair have denied political interference.

Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

During last year's public inquiry into the government's use of the Emergencies Act to end the convoy protests, Lucki suggested the federal government should more clearly define operational independence.

"For me, it's pretty clear. Anything operational, we're advising what's happening, but we're not taking direction on how to do things," she testified on Nov. 15.

Lucki's contract is up for renewal

Historically, disagreements between the federal government and the RCMP don't end well for the commissioner, said Kempa.

"In the end they're either dismissed or simply their contract is not renewed," he said.

"I think that rather than make a big public scene over this particular issue, if it's important to the minister, it would just be one more reason to not renew the contract and kind of deal with it quietly in that way."

Lucki was appointed commissioner back in April 2018. While the RCMP Act states commissioners hold office at the government's "pleasure," most commissioners serve for about six years.

In November, Mendocino said he would be talking to the commissioner "as her current defined term comes to its natural conclusion."

"And we'll see where that takes us."

North Dakota landowners at odds in carbon pipeline plans


Fri, January 27, 2023 


North Dakota landowners testified for and against a carbon capture company’s use of eminent domain Friday, as Summit Carbon Solutions moves forward in constructing a massive underground system of carbon dioxide pipelines spanning 2,000 miles across several states and under hundreds of people’s homes and farms in the Midwest.

The proposed $4.5 billion carbon pipeline project would capture carbon dioxide emissions across neighboring states and deposit the emissions deep underground in North Dakota.

Landowners who opposed the company's right to eminent domain argued that a private entity should not be able to forcibly buy their land and that the pipeline will potentially endanger people living above it.

Eminent domain refers to the government’s right to forcibly buy private property — like the land under a person’s house or farm — for public use.

Landowners who supported Summit's right to exercise eminent domain said the company's timely construction of the carbon pipeline serves an important public interest — it would reduce the state’s carbon footprint and thereby allow North Dakotans to continue working in energy and agriculture — and that people living above the pipeline will be safe.

“The safety of our operations, our employees, and the communities where we operate is the foundation of Summit Carbon Solutions’ business,” Summit said on its website. “As the project is constructed, we will utilize the latest and most reliable technologies and materials.”

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee did not immediately vote on the bills heard Thursday and Friday about carbon pipelines and eminent domain.

Republican Sen. Jeffery Magrum, of Hazelton, said he introduced the bills because he has heard from “many landowners” that carbon pipeline developers are threatening the use of eminent domain as a way to negotiate for property rights and access.

“We need to support property rights and our land owners as we develop our natural resources,” Magrum said.

The bill heard Friday would prohibit carbon pipeline companies from exercising eminent domain, but would allow oil, gas and coal companies to continue using eminent domain.

"The proposed carbon dioxide pipeline would move a dangerous product through our community to a location where it cannot be used for any purpose, but instead must be injected underground and sequestered forever," said Gaylen Dewing, who has worked as a farmer and rancher near Bismarck for over 50 years.

Dewing added that the state's energy industry “would not benefit in any way” from this practice of storing carbon dioxide underground, so carbon pipeline companies should not have the right to exercise eminent domain.

Susan Doppler, a landowner in Burleigh County, said her family does not want "our land ripped up — toxic and useless — to give way to a hazardous pipeline. What a worthless and disgusting inheritance to leave a future generation.”

But other North Dakota landowners pushed back.

Keith Kessler, a farmer and rancher in Oliver County who owns land within the boundaries of the pipeline project, said a different pipeline has been transporting carbon for over 20 years between North Dakota and Canada. That pipeline has never had a rupture or leak, and hazardous incidents from carbon pipelines are rare, he said.

And Lori Flemmer, a resident of Mercer County, said her husband and sons work in the energy industry and on their family farm. Working in agriculture and energy is “reality in coal country," she said, and carbon capture technology is necessary for reducing carbon footprints and keeping coal plants alive.

Summit Carbon Solutions' Executive Vice President Wade Boeshans said the company must keep its ability to use eminent domain in order to build carbon pipelines in a timely fashion, deliver on the $4.5 billion pipeline project and keep North Dakota's economy afloat. According to the company's website, the project would span Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.

Republican Gov. Doug Burgum lauded North Dakota’s efforts to store carbon dioxide in January.

“We’re on our way toward achieving carbon neutrality as a state by 2030, thanks to our extraordinary capacity to safely store over 252 billion tons of CO2, or 50 years of the nation’s CO2 output,” Burgum said. “And in the process, we can help secure the future of our state’s two largest industries: energy and agriculture.”

The Trump administration in 2018 gave North Dakota the power to regulate underground wells used for long-term storage of waste carbon dioxide. North Dakota was the first state to be given such power, the Environmental Protection Agency said in announcing the move. The state has since invested heavily in carbon capture and sequestration technology.

___

Trisha Ahmed is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow her on Twitter: @TrishaAhmed15

Trisha Ahmed, The Associated Press

Alberta Justice spokespeople deliver duelling statements on prosecutor email review



Fri, January 27, 2023 

EDMONTON — An Alberta government email review of whether Premier Danielle Smith’s office interfered with Crown prosecutors has taken a confusing turn, with duelling statements from two spokespeople on what was investigated.

Ethan Lecavalier-Kidney, a spokesman for Justice Minister Tyler Shandro, has issued a statement that appears to call into question earlier comments made by Alberta Justice communications director Charles Mainville.

The review was ordered by Smith a week ago to respond to allegations in a CBC story that reported a Smith staffer emailed prosecutors last fall to question decisions and direction on cases stemming from a blockade at the Canada-U. S. border crossing at Coutts, Alta., last year.

The Justice Department said Monday it had done a four-month search of ingoing, outgoing and deleted emails and found no evidence of contact.

Two days later, Mainville said in a statement that deleted emails are wiped from the system after 30 days, meaning the search for deleted emails may not have covered the entire time period..

Lecavalier-Kidney, in a statement Thursday night, said deleted emails could live in the system for 60 days and would have been available to investigators.

He did not respond Friday to a request asking himto clarify whether investigators went back 30 or 60 days on the deleted emails.

The government has also delivered conflicting messages on who was investigated in the email review.

Smith promised that emails from all Crown prosecutors and the 34 staffers in her office would be checked.

However, the Justice Department later said emails between “relevant” prosecutors and Smith staffers were checked. It did not say how it determined who was relevant.

Smith has said she did not direct prosecutors in the Coutts cases and the email review exonerated her office from what she has called “baseless” allegations in the CBC story.

The CBC has said that it has not seen the emails in question, but stands by its reporting.

The Opposition NDP said questions stemming from the CBC story, coupled with multiple conflicting statements from the United Conservative Party premier on what she has said to Justice Department officials about the Coutts cases, can only be resolved through an independent investigation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2023.

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press

Spain's govt under pressure to do more on gender-based crime

Fri, January 27, 2023



MADRID (AP) — A spate of gender-based violence, coupled with the early release of several sex offenders, has increased pressure on Spain's left-wing government, which strongly plays up its feminist credentials, to do more to protect women from abuse.

Following an urgent meeting Friday, the country's Equality Ministry proposed housing and income support for abuse victims but said there was no need to tighten a law that has allowed some sex offenders to review and reduce their sentences.

"We need to be able not only to make protection services available but also ... to effectively reach the victims without the need for long bureaucratic procedures,” Equality Minister Irene Montero said.

At least six women have been killed — allegedly by their current or former partners — so far this year, according to the latest records by the government's office against gender-based violence.

After studying these cases, the Equality Ministry found that some of the victims had been living with their alleged killers for economic reasons. Montero said she planned to provide housing services and a minimum wage-linked income to women who had suffered violence and remained vulnerable.

The proposal would require Cabinet approval but Montero said it shows the government's will to improve what she called an already very high-functioning system against gender-based violence.

Official data show that at least 1,188 women have died at the hands of their male partners or ex-partners since 2003, when the country pioneered counting cases of femicides.

Statistics show a slight decline in the number of annual killings since 2000. Records have stabilized at just below 50 in the past years, but it's unclear how much further such crimes can be reduced.

Experts agree that there has been a significant drop in cases in the last decades after Spain’s strong commitment to targeting violence towards women, but more can still be done, particularly for victims who had already filed complaints against an aggressor at least once. In 2022, such cases accounted for 43% of female murder victims.

“We need to improve risk assessment because when women report their situation, the danger of attack by their partner becomes huge,” says Yolanda Besteiro, an expert on gender issues and president of the Progressive Women Federation.

Violence against women has increasingly become a social concern — and a political point of contention in a highly polarized debate.

Opposition parties have heavily criticized the government after it introduced highly contentious legislation on sexual consent that, ironically, has also allowed more than 200 convicted sex offenders to successfully appeal their prison sentences.

According to rulings shared by Spanish courts, at least 20 sex crimes have been released from prison since parliament approved the law four months ago after significant reductions in their prison terms were granted.

That's because those punished with the lowest prison term under the previous criminal code have the legal right to remain at the lower end of possible sentences under the new law; that has resulted in reductions of up to four years of imprisonment for offenses such as aggravated sexual abuse.

The spotlight is now on Equality Minister Montero, the sponsor of the law — popularly called “only yes is yes,” since it makes explicit consent in sexual relations a must. When asked Friday, she said she wasn't considering revising the law.

“We are busy doing all necessary to guarantee the correct enforcement of the law,” she said.

Montero argues that the new law protects women better than before, and the real problem is the way some judges apply it. That has earned her strong criticism.

A top official from her ministry, Victoria Rosell, said a majority of sentences that are being revised don't get reduced.

In the region of Madrid, the capital, such sentence reductions are one in ten. In northern La Rioja, one in 55, records show, although not all regional courts shared their statistics.

Many reached by The Associated Press didn't have available data or said that judges were still working on reviewing previous rulings.

Raquel Redondo, The Associated Press