Salmonella outbreak in six provinces linked to snakes and rodents

A salmonella outbreak in six provinces has been linked to contact with snakes and rodents. (FILE/AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, December 12, 2019 4:49PM EST

The Public Health Agency of Canada is advising exotic pet owners to practise good hygiene amid a salmonella outbreak in six provinces that's been linked to contact with snakes and rodents.

A notice issued this week counts 92 cases of the bacterial infection reported between April 2017 and October 2019.

The agency says exposure to snakes and rodents is the likely cause of the outbreak, with an investigation finding many of the affected individuals had contact with a snake, pet rat or rodent used as reptile food.

Reptiles and rodents can carry salmonella bacteria even if they seem clean and healthy, and people can fall ill from contact with the animals or places they have recently roamed, the agency says.

“There have been past outbreaks of salmonella illnesses linked to snakes and rodents,” the notice said. “The findings from these investigations have highlighted the important role snake and rodent owners can play in preventing new illnesses linked to these types of pets.”

The health notice advises frequent handwashing and safe handling of snakes, rodents and their food - including frozen rodents used as snake food - to prevent further illnesses.

It recommends pet owners immediately wash their hands after touching a reptile or rodent, their food or their habitats.

It also advises against kissing the animals, bathing them in kitchen sinks or bathtubs, or keeping their food stored in the same place as human food - with special notice that keeping frozen rodents in a freezer near human food does not kill salmonella.

The pets should be kept in their habitats, the notice says, and it advises keen attention to the pets' needs, saying “stress for a reptile can increase shedding of salmonella.”

Children under five, pregnant women, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk of becoming infected with the bacteria, the agency says. The health notice advises against keeping reptiles and rodents at daycare centres or schools for young children.

Six people have been hospitalized during the outbreak, though the agency says people usually recover within a few days from symptoms that include fever, chills, diarrhea, cramps, nausea and vomiting.

Fifty-two cases were reported in Quebec and the rest were in British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. The majority of cases, 57 per cent, were reported among women and girls.

The agency says cases continue to be reported.

Dr. Bryna Warshawsky, a physician with Public Health Ontario, said the findings suggest a common rodent breeder as the source of the strain. The rodents may have been sold as pets or as food for a snake, then infected a snake or person with salmonella.

“It all probably traces back to a similar breeder or a connected series of breeders, but we don't know that for sure,” Dr. Warshawsky said.

She said it's not recommended to have a pet reptile, rodent, frog or toad in a household with children under five because young children don't understand the necessary hygiene precautions.

Adults can better understand the risks, but Dr. Washawsky stressed that all pet owners should wash their hands after touching animals or their food, even when a salmonella outbreak is not ongoing.

A previous salmonella outbreak in Canada spanning from 2012 to 2014 was eventually linked to feeder rodents for pet snakes. An investigation found snake owners were thawing frozen mice in mugs and pots that they would later use for drinking or cooking, causing the infection to spread.

Wade Samson, co-owner of Dartmouth exotic pet store Into The Wild, said he hasn't heard of any of his staff or customers becoming ill with salmonella after touching the animals, but said he generally agrees with the hygiene recommendations in the notice.

“If you have something dead, you don't want to put it next to your food,” he said by phone. “I think a lot of people just avoid that because it's gross to most people.”

Samson said common sense hygiene around pets like snakes and rodents is always advisable to avoid a variety of transferable illnesses, not just salmonella.

“I always recommend simple hygiene. That has obviously saved our civilization from a lot of stuff.”

-By Holly McKenzie-Sutter in St. John's, N.L.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2019.

LEBANON'S BUSINESS LEADERS DECLARE TAX STRIKE

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IS EPIDEMIC AND HAS LONG TERM CONSEQUENCES WHEN NOT FATAL

Brain injury from domestic abuse a 'public health crisis,' says B.C. researcher

A research trainee is seen during a demonstration of the measurement of blood flow to the brain through transcranial doppler ultrasound at the University of British Columbia's Okanagan campus, in Kelowna, B.C., in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-UBCO,

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press
Published Sunday, December 8, 2019 2:48PM EST

VANCOUVER - A British Columbia mother in her late 30s says there was “no support in sight” after she suffered two serious blows to the head at the hands of different partners more than a decade ago.

“I was exhausted. I had to quit my job because I couldn't get up,” said the woman, whose name is not being used because she is separated from her child's father and fears for her family's safety.

“My head hurt so badly. I wasn't able to focus. I felt really down on myself because I didn't know why I couldn't function properly.”

The mother said it would have been “life changing” if first responders, hospital staff and even family members had been aware of the effects of a potential brain injury from domestic violence and offered her support accordingly.

“I had no understanding that my brain was not working properly,” she said, adding that she did not have trouble focusing, managing her time or multitasking before the first violent incident.

“It's been hell to figure it out on my own.”

She said learning about the effects of a brain injury helped her overcome the shame she felt after the two blows, which happened several years apart when she was in her 20s.

She sets timers and reminders on her phone to help structure her days and she keeps notes handy with ideas for meals and ingredients that sometimes elude her. She has also become certified in yoga and mindfulness, activities she said help her cope with the chronic effects of multiple concussions.

The B.C. mother is a member of an advisory committee for Supporting Survivors of Abuse and Brain Injury through Research, or SOAR. The organization was founded in 2016 by Karen Mason, the former executive director of the Kelowna Women's Shelter, and her partner Paul van Donkelaar, a professor in the school of health and exercise sciences at the University of British Columbia's Okanagan campus.

Compared with brain injury research being done on athletes, the research involving people who have suffered similar injuries from intimate partner violence is in its infancy, said van Donkelaar.

The silence and stigma shrouding domestic violence mean those who suffer brain injuries are falling through the cracks of what van Donkelaar calls “an unrecognized public-health crisis in Canada.”

Of nearly 96,000 victims of intimate partner violence reported to police in Canada in 2017, 79 per cent were women, according to Statistics Canada.

But spousal and domestic violence is often not reported to police and it's hard to determine how many survivors might have experienced traumatic brain injury as a result, said van Donkelaar.

Based on research from the U.S., including a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he said the prevalence of brain injuries could be anywhere from 30 to more than 90 per cent of all survivors.

The SOAR team is assessing women to determine how many may have sustained traumatic brain injuries and the extent to which their symptoms overlap with sports-related concussions.

The researchers use lab-based tests as well as a questionnaire that includes questions like 'Did you see stars?' and 'Did you lose consciousness or have a period where you couldn't remember things?'

The first results, published recently in the journal Brain Injury, show all 18 women initially recruited through the Kelowna Women's Shelter reported symptoms consistent with traumatic brain injury. The research is ongoing and van Donkelaar said his team has now assessed about 60 women.

Domestic violence often includes blows to the head, face or neck, as well as strangulation, said van Donkelaar.

“Each of those experiences absolutely have the potential to cause some form of brain injury, similar to what you would see in many collision sports like football or hockey,” he said.

The B.C. mother said her former partner was strangling her when her head smashed against a bedside table as she tried to fight back.

When family members brought her to the hospital, staff seemed “frustrated” that she didn't remember exactly what happened and she had difficulty speaking coherently, she said. They stitched up the gash in her head, told her she may have a concussion and advised her to rest at home.

The woman did not return to that abusive relationship, but several years later she sustained another serious blow to the head when a different partner threw her out of a moving car.

She doesn't remember how she got to the hospital, but she had a similar experience with staff at the hospital, where her then-partner urged her not to disclose what happened.

“I remember trying to ask for help and I feel like they treated me like I was intoxicated because I could not speak.”

They gave her an MRI, said she had a concussion, encouraged her to avoid watching television or otherwise straining her eyes and told her she should be fine within a couple of weeks.

In addition to assessments of the cause of the injury and the resulting symptoms, the best predictor of sustaining a concussion is having had one previously, said van Donkelaar.

“Each time, you will be less likely to recover fully,” he said, noting that people who have suffered multiple concussions may end up with chronic symptoms such as dizziness, nausea or difficulty concentrating.

“That can be debilitating and absolutely reduce the quality of life in terms of the ability to hold down a job or go to school or parent your children or interact with colleagues and friends.”

The fear and stigmas that make it difficult for survivors to disclose domestic violence mean that brain injury becomes even more invisible, particularly if there's a more visible injury, like a broken bone, van Donkelaar said.

In response, SOAR is developing resources to help shelter workers and health-care professionals have conversations with survivors of domestic violence to assess whether they might have a brain injury and refer them to the appropriate support services.

People with brain injuries often need a range of support services, said Mason, from counselling and parenting help to occupational therapy.

This past summer, the Department of Women and Gender Equality gave $1 million over five years to van Donkelaar and Mason's work, funding they hope to use to provide training for shelter workers in communities across B.C. next year.

The B.C. mother said she still struggles some days but the knowledge, tools and support she has mean she no longer feels guilty or ashamed.

“I was so upset about why I didn't feel like myself,” she said.

“Now I'm able to say, 'Well, there's a reason I can't do this,' and there's forgiveness.”

This story by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2019.

 A SAD STORY 

'Our team is heartbroken': Abandoned baby giraffe befriended by dog in Africa dies

In this Friday Nov 22, 2019 file photo, Hunter, a young Belgian Malinois, keeps an eye on Jazz, a nine-day-old giraffe at the Rhino orphanage in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Jazz, who was brought in after being abandoned by his mother at birth, died of brain hemorrhaging and hyphema it was announced Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

The Associated Press
Published Friday, December 6, 2019 3:16PM EST
Last Updated Friday, December 6, 2019 3:17PM EST

JOHANNESBURG - A baby giraffe that was befriended by a dog after he was abandoned in the wild has died, a South African animal orphanage said Friday. “Our team is heartbroken,” the orphanage said.

Jazz the giraffe collapsed after hemorrhaging in the brain, The Rhino Orphanage said in a Facebook post. “The last two days before we lost him, Jazz started looking unstable on his legs and very dull, almost like he wasn't registering everything,” it said. “He suddenly collapsed and we could see blood starting to pool back into his eyes.”

Resident watchdog Hunter seemed to realize something was wrong and didn't leave the baby giraffe's side, and was there when he died, the orphanage said. The dog then sat in front of the empty room for hours before going to its carers “for comfort.”

Orphanage staff had expected this to happen, assuming that the mother giraffe had abandoned the baby for a reason, Arrie van Deventer, the orphanage's founder, told The Associated Press.

“So we finally know that Jazz didn't have a bad giraffe mother that left him,” the orphanage's statement said. “She just knew. ... But we still have to try every single time (to help) no matter how hard it is.”

The baby giraffe had arrived a few weeks ago, just days after birth. A farmer found him in the wild, weak and dehydrated, and called the centre for help.

The orphanage's Facebook page, which featured several dozen photos documenting Jazz's progress during his weeks at the facility, showed the baby giraffe and his canine friend sleeping side by side on blankets and wandering outdoors together. A final photo showed Hunter sitting in front of the closed door of the room where he and the giraffe had spent time together.

The post had thousands of views and hundreds of comments expressing sadness for the giraffe's passing and concern for how Hunter would handle the loss of his friend.

The two animals bonded immediately, caretaker Janie Van Heerden said.

In its post, the orphanage paid tribute to Hunter's loyalty. “He stayed till the end and said his goodbyes,” it said. “Such a good boy. It added that Hunter was doing well and would continue training to be a tracking dog.

In its farewell to the giraffe, the orphanage said :“You have taught us so much in the last three weeks and we will remember you fondly.”“

The giraffe was buried close to the orphanage, van Deventer said.

Conservationists criticize Quebec plan to protect caribou by killing wolves

IT'S NOT WOLVES ITS DEVELOPMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE 

 *** Caribou decline in Labrador is driven by habitat degradation, climate change and industrial development. The George River caribou herd has declined by 99% to fewer than 6,000 animals since the 1990s. The provincial government has enacted a hunting moratorium to stave off extinction, but thus far the policy has only been successful in enraging local indigenous groups. Political ecology finds the connections between the social and biophysical factors that led to the near extinction of what was once the largest migratory caribou herd on Earth.

A female wolf, left, and male wolf roam the tundra near The Meadowbank Gold Mine located in the Nunavut Territory of Canada on Wednesday, March 25, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press
Published Wednesday, December 11, 2019 12:01PM EST

MONTREAL - A Quebec government plan to kill wolves that get too close to an endangered woodland caribou herd is raising concern among environmentalists, who accuse the government of sidestepping the true problem of habitat loss.

The plan by the Department of Forest, Wildlife and Parks involves placing tracking collars on both the caribou and members of local wolf packs to monitor distances between them.

If a wolf were to threaten the herd, trained shooters in helicopters could be sent in to kill the wolf in a “targeted intervention,” according to Francis Forcier, who is the general manager for strategic mandates at the department.

PHOTOS

A caribou grazes on Baffin Island in a 2008 file photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Kike Calvo via AP Images

Forcier said the measures could be necessary in order to reverse the decline of the Charlevoix herd north of Quebec City, whose numbers have fallen to an estimated 31 animals from 59 two years ago. He stressed that the plan remains hypothetical and is intended as a stopgap while the province addresses the greater problem of habitat restoration.

“What we've started to do, given this drastic fall of nearly 50 per cent in two years, is to look at measures that are stronger but temporary, because the principal element we have to do is restore the habitat,” he said in a phone interview.

Forcier said no wolves have yet been shot, and they will be left alone as long as they don't threaten the herd. Overall, he believes no more than a dozen wolves will need to be killed.

The plan has drawn criticism from both environmentalists and members of the public. A petition denouncing the plan to shoot the wolves currently had amassed more than 9,000 signatures by Wednesday.

Rachel Plotkin, a caribou expert who works with the David Suzuki Foundation, says predator control is a popular management practice employed by provinces “that don't have the political will to do the habitat restoration and protection that is needed to recover caribou populations.”

She said that while wolves are indeed killing caribou, that's because of human activity that has destroyed the old-growth forests that protect them.

“Predator control is just a band-aid measure that further degrades ecosystems,” she said. “Predators and their prey have co-evolved for thousands of years, and they're not the reason the caribou is declining.”

Plotkin notes that the federal government's caribou management plan found that caribou herds need a minimum of 65 per cent of their range left undisturbed if they're to have any reasonable chance of survival. The Charlevoix herd's habitat has only 20 per cent.

Both environmentalists and the government agree that habitat preservation is crucial to the survival of the caribou, which are especially sensitive to human interference and depend on thick, old-growth forests to shield them from predators and provide the lichen they eat.

Those same old-growth forests are prized by the forestry industry, and Forcier acknowledged that finding a balance between economic growth and conservation is a challenge. But he said the government is limiting development on important lands and will take even stronger action in a caribou restoration plan to be unveiled in 2022.

Henri Jacob, the head of environmental advocacy group Action Boreale, feels the provincial government's actions show it has no intention of helping caribou. He points out that the promised action plan will only be implemented at the end of the current government's mandate.

“In other words, for their whole mandate they'll do nothing to protect the caribou,” he said.

He also criticized the province's decision, announced this week, to remove protection for some 460 square kilometres of woods in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region, which had been previously designated protected caribou habitat.

Forcier said the decision was made mostly because no caribou had been seen in the area in several years, but Jacob doesn't buy that. He says that it's normal for caribou to leave an area for a few years after grazing there, to allow the lichen and moss to grow back.

Jacob is also critical of the government's plan to kill wolves, noting they can actually help keep herds healthier by eliminating sicker, weaker animals.

He said that while predator management can sometimes be part of a temporary preservation strategy, it serves no purpose if it is not paired with serious effort to preserve habitat.

“When you want to make a cake, if you only put in flour, you won't have a cake,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec 11, 2019

***The Political Ecology of the George River Caribou Herd

https://fes.yorku.ca › wp-content › uploads › 2018/09 › Dennis_R_MP

Climate change is altering the physical world and triggering biophysical impacts that modify our environments and our society. An example of this is caribou decline in northern Canada. The George River caribou herd decreased from upwards of 800,000 animals in the 1990s and approximately 8,900 animals in 2016. The herd’s decline is a manifestation of industrial development, resource management, wildlife conservation, indigenous land use and government environmental policy interactions. My plan of study focused on climate change science, perspectives and policy as well as political ecology. Political ecology links human causes and environmental reactions. Researching the various human and environmental causes that led to the 99% decline of the George River caribou herd allowed me to research components of my plan of study in action. Science, Conservation, and Indigenous Rights: The Political Ecology of the George River Caribou Herd explores scientific, indigenous and government perspectives of what caused the drastic decline of the George River caribou herd. The case of the herd fits in the zeitgeist of 2018 Canadian environmental issues- the melting Arctic, governments scrambling to balance economic interests with environmental conservation and indigenous users being both marginalized and empowered in resource management issues. 

Beyond Everyone's Horizon Stand the Naskapi - jstor

https://www.jstor.org › stable

by J Mailhot - ‎1986 - ‎Cited by 29 - ‎Related articles

Jun 7, 2019 - between two cultural complexes: caribou hunting + hide technology ..... Indians of the King's Posts and of Labrador were Cree, originally from Hud- ..... slaughter, but to spend some little time studying the habits of the Indians,.

Quebec Labrador Caribou Hunting Closing - AmmoLand.com

https://www.ammoland.com › 2016/12 › quebec-labrador-caribou-hunting...

Dec 26, 2016 - Quebec –-(Ammoland.com)- It was announced today that the Quebec Government has decided to close the Leaf River Herd to all sport hunting ...

Sacred Ecology

 - Page 136 - Google Books Result

https://books.google.ca › books

Fikret Berkes - 2012 - ‎Social Science

In the winter of 1984–5, there were almost no caribou on the road. ... Among the Chisasibi Cree, there is no one traditional chief. ... but continued to be plentiful in the Caniapiscau area, near the center of the Labrador Peninsula. ... lost all self-control, and slaughtered the caribou at the crossing points on the Caniapiscau, ...

Linking Social and Ecological Systems: Management Practices ...

https://books.google.ca › books

Fikret Berkes, ‎Carl Folke, ‎Johan Colding - 2000 - ‎Science

Chisasibihunters saw their first large caribou hunts of this century in the ... in the Caniapiscau area, near the centre of the Labrador Peninsula where the Cree of ... previously respectful hunters lost all self-control and slaughtered the caribou at ...

New Zealand observes silence 1 week after volcano killed 18

This Dec. 9, 2019, photo provided by Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust, shows the eruption of the volcano on White Island, New Zealand. (Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust via AP)

Nick Perry, The Associated Press
Published Sunday, December 15, 2019 8:33PM EST

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - New Zealanders observed a minute's silence on Monday at the moment that a volcano erupted a week earlier, killing 18 people and leaving others with severe burns.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that wherever people were in New Zealand or around the world, it was an opportunity to stand alongside those who had lost loved ones in the tragedy.

“Together we can express our sorrow for those who have died and been hurt, and our support for their grieving families and friends,” she said in a statement.

Two bodies have yet to be recovered from the White Island eruption site after land and sea searches have so far come up empty-handed. Police have said they will continue looking.

That has left the official death toll at 16, although authorities believe 18 people died, including several who died from their injuries in the week following the eruption in hospitals in New Zealand and Australia.

Most of the 47 people on the island at the time it erupted were tourists, including 24 Australian citizens and four more Australian residents. Ten Australians have been named among those killed.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australians would join New Zealanders in the moment of reflection at 2:11 p.m. local time.

---30---

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=NEW+ZEALAND

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=AUSTRALIA

Rescue dogs come to Canada in search of forever families

Jenna Bye, is the executive director of Save Our Scruff, is shown in this handout image. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Save Our Scruff-Chelsea Brash

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press
Published Sunday, December 8, 2019 7:43PM EST

There were dozens of dogs in the back of the van travelling the 1,400 kilometres from Tennessee to the Greater Toronto Area - and one of them was a barker.

The trip last year was one of the bigger rescue missions that Save Our Scruff has embarked on, this one in collaboration with another agency in the same line of work. The charities are part of a growing grassroots effort to bring dogs to Canada from places as far flung as Mexico, El Salvador and Egypt, where overpopulation is a far bigger issue.

Contrast that with Canada's urban centres, where we're “winning the war on dog overpopulation,” according to one Toronto city official.

Volunteers with the two groups in Tennessee stacked the crates in the back of the cube van and began the long drive home. Before that, they spent two days working on the farm where the dogs had been living.

Aside from the lone yappy passenger, the pups didn't make too much fuss during the trip home, said Jenna Bye, executive director of Save Our Scruff. Because it was cool outside, the dogs were comfortable and less prone to complaining. In the summertime, it takes more planning and effort to keep the dogs from overheating.

But arranging such treks is far from a walk in the dog park.

“We just had over 100 dogs in care at the end of the summer,” said Bye. “That's 100 dogs that have to be picked up, from generally the airport; that's 100 dogs that have to go to the vet; 100 supply packages that we have to create and deliver.”

In their five years, Save Our Scruff has adopted out 1,700 dogs and counting, and Bye estimates that more than half are from outside of Canada. Twenty more dogs are currently listed on their website as available for adoption.

“Sometimes I feel like I'm running a logistics company,” she said.

Larger organizations such as the Humane Society International have been at it for far longer - Save Our Scruff took in its first dogs in 2014 - but Bye said she's seen the number of independent groups like hers climb over the past few years.

The underlying reason for the popularity of such rescues is multi-pronged, beginning with a smaller supply of stray dogs in Canada, said Mary Lou Leiher, a program manager with Toronto Animal Services.

“I think it was about 2005 when it struck me that we were winning the war on dog overpopulation,” she said, noting that more dogs are being spayed, neutered and microchipped, so stray dogs can't multiply and lost dogs are more often returned home.

This reduction in supply of homeless dogs has coupled with an increased demand for pups, Leiher said.

“Dog ownership is trending,” she noted.

Good numbers on dog populations are hard to find - comparatively few people register their dogs with their cities and pay the accompanying fee, Leiher said, so while those figures are steadily climbing in cities such as Toronto, they only represent a fraction of the actual population.

Nor does the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which is tasked with regulating the importation of animals into Canada, track the number of dogs brought into the country, it said.

But research conducted by Kynetic on behalf of the Canadian Animal Health Institute suggests that in 2018, there were 8.2 million pet dogs in Canada - up from 7.6 million two years earlier. And for the first time since the industry association began conducting the research, the number of dogs was nearly on par with cats.

Leiher said she's seen the number of rescue agencies bringing dogs from far afield climb in recent years.

In fact, she said, Toronto Animal Services has partnered with some of those organizations, transferring dogs over to them to be adopted out instead of keeping them in city kennels.

Last year, 273 dogs were adopted out and 221 were transferred to another dog rescue.

The independent agencies present some benefits over traditional shelters, Leiher said - they can be cared for by individuals in their homes, and the charities are generally very good at marketing.

At Save Our Scruff, each dog has an online profile that reads something like a dating profile - equal parts enticing and informative.

For instance, meet Nutri: a two-year-old rat terrier mix from Mexico who's looking for his happily ever after.

“Do you like fairy tales? Nutri is ready to be your prince charming,” it reads. “When he doesn't have the zoomies, you can find him dozing like sleeping beauty.”

But social media is what really grabs potential adopters' attention, Bye said. If people follow their Instagram or Facebook pages, the images of adorable dogs in need of homes are delivered straight to them - they don't need to seek the information out.

It also works for attracting volunteers, she said, noting her organization is 98 per cent volunteer-run.

For instance, Bye said many of the dogs are flown in with vacationers signing up as “flight parents” ahead of their trips to certain countries.

Save Our Scruff - with its partners abroad - will arrange the rest: the dog's transportation to the airport in its home country and from the airport in Toronto, along with a foster family for the animal to stay with in Canada.

“That's where the dogs thrive,” said Bye. “It sets them up for a life that they can expect long-term, and gives them a chance to show us the kind of dogs that they're going to be long-term.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2019.

Calgary

Trans Mountain oil pipeline faces latest legal challenge in Canada court

Indigenous groups are appealing, arguing that the government did not adequately consult them

Thomson Reuters · Posted: Dec 15, 2019 11:51 AM MT | Last Updated: December 15

Pipe for the Trans Mountain pipeline is unloaded in Edson, Alta. on Tuesday, June 18, 2019. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

The Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion faces its latest legal hurdle in a federal court this week as indigenous groups appeal the pipeline's expansion, arguing the government did not adequately consult them before approving it.

A three-day hearing begins on Monday at Canada's Federal Court of Appeal in Vancouver, which agreed to hear concerns from the Coldwater Indian band, the Squamish Nation, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and others that the government's second consultation with them on the project this year was "window-dressing, box-ticking and nice-sounding words."

The legal challenge is the latest setback for Trans Mountain, whose previous owners first proposed the expansion in 2013, as well as two pipeline projects proposed separately by TC Energy Corp and Enbridge Inc that would provide badly needed transport for Alberta's oil.

Congestion in Canadian pipelines has forced the Alberta government to order production curtailments this year.

The Trans Mountain expansion, referred to as TMX, would alleviate congestion by nearly tripling the pipeline's capacity to 890,000 barrels of oil per day.

But the expansion has faced prolonged opposition from environmental activists and some indigenous groups, pitting them against the landlocked Alberta province, home to the world's third-largest oil reserves.

The appeals have not stopped construction, which has been underway since late summer and accelerated this month.

But legal challenges have created a great deal of uncertainty, Mark Pinney, manager of market economics at the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said by telephone.

"One thing the industry needs right now to help it through the difficult times is more certainty," Pinney said.

In the lead-up to October's federal election, in which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals were running in part on their support of Canada's indigenous population, the government offered no submissions to support its claim that the consultation had been meaningful.

This left the court to conclude that the appellants' concerns met the standard for leave to appeal.

Should the appeal succeed, it would further erode investor confidence in the struggling Canadian oil industry and weaken Trudeau as he attempts to placate angry Albertans, who feel his party has not done enough to protect their main industry.

Stewart Phillip, grand chief of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, said the environmental concerns of indigenous communities have not been adequately addressed and "remain the bedrock" of their fight.

Canadian Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told Reuters at the United Nations-hosted climate conference in Madrid on Wednesday that carbon emissions that would be produced by TMX have been accounted for in the Liberals' plan to get Canada to net-zero emissions by 2050.