PERMANENT ARMS WASTE ECONOMY

Canadian Royal Navy needs to prepare for tough talks over warship delays, cost increases: Norman


OTTAWA — Retired vice-admiral Mark Norman is warning the Royal Canadian Navy to start preparing for some hard discussions as delays and escalating costs continue to buffet the country’s $60-billion plan to build new warships over the coming decades.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The Department of National Defence revealed this week that the first of 15 new warships being built to replace the Navy’s 12 frigates and three already-retired destroyers will be delivered in 2030 or 2031, years later than planned.

News of the schedule slip comes ahead of a highly anticipated update from the parliamentary budget officer on the cost of the overall project, though defence officials have maintained the $60-billion budget set in 2017 remains sufficient.

While the department’s assertions are encouraging, Norman told The Canadian Press on Tuesday that there is a direct correlation between delays and cost increases when it comes to military procurement projects.

And while Norman hopes it doesn’t reach that point, the former navy commander and vice-chief of the defence staff suggests officials should nonetheless start getting ready for pressure to scale back the number or quality of new ships.

“These are all conversations that I think legitimately, at some point, are going to have to happen,” Norman said. “To pretend that they're not going to happen is naive. This is all about tradeoffs at the end of the day.”

For his part, Norman is firmly in the camp that if the conversation comes down to significant cuts to the new warships’ capabilities or building fewer vessels to save billions of dollars, quality should trump quantity.

“There's only so much blood you can get from that rock or you end up producing something which isn't really a frontline warship anymore,” he said. "And ultimately, that's what this is all about.”

The new warships to be built in Halifax are based on the British-made Type-26 and are to be the backbone of the navy for decades. The project, which originally had a budget of $26 billion, is the largest military procurement in Canadian history.

The Type-26 will replace the navy’s existing fleet of 12 Halifax-class frigates as well as its three Iroquois-class destroyers, which were retired several years ago. Those two classes had different roles and abilities, which the Type-26 will be expected to adopt.

The decision to combine the two classes into one is part of why the current project is so complicated, said Norman. It is also why there is only so much flexibility when it comes to the systems and capabilities that are to be built into the Type-26.

The federal Liberal government has committed to building 15 new warships as part of its defence policy, which was unveiled in June 2017 and increased the project’s budget from $26 billion to $60 billion.

The ships are being ordered in batches and defence officials say they are still working on the exact numbers. Such an approach gives the government flexibility to cut back on the numbers later if it wants.

All eyes are currently on the upcoming report from the parliamentary budget officer, which is to be released later this month and provide an updated cost for the Type-26 along with estimates for purchasing two other warships.

The report could kickstart fresh debate around the Type-26 and Ottawa’s decision to build the ships in Canada, particularly given a French-Italian consortium’s assertion that it could build a new fleet faster and cheaper in Europe.

Norman, who is on record saying the navy needs at least 10 new warships but he hopes it gets all 15, said restarting the process or “throwing the whole thing out, the baby with the bathwater, is a very bad idea.”

At the same time, he warned that Canadians need to be careful when comparing the costs of different ships and proposals. To that end, he lamented that the government and military were not more forthcoming with information about the project.

This week’s revelation about the delay in delivery of the first Type-26 was the first real update from the Defence Department and government on the warship project in many months.

“To me that's partly what's missing in the public discourse around this, is the degree of information, explanation, context,” Norman said.

“We just seem to be presented with a series of facts or information presented as fact. And there doesn't seem to be a particularly sophisticated discussion ongoing about what that really means going forward.”

Irving Shipbuilding president Kevin McCoy defended the Type-26, saying the vessels will be much more capable than the class of frigates currently being built by the United States, which has a variety of warships in its fleet.

“We acknowledge that there are less expensive ships in the global market,” McCoy said in a statement, “but they do not meet Canada’s stringent combat requirements for a multi-mission ship to execute a full range of stressing missions and ensure the safety of the crew in a potential conflict.

“Any comparison of costs must be accompanied by a detailed and rigorous comparison of combat and mission capability. So far, this comparison has been missing from media articles on (the ship project).”

This report from The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2021.

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

LONGEST RUNNING TV SHOW

Canadian production company Shaftesbury forms strategic partnership with AMC Networks

TORONTO — Canadian production company Shaftesbury of "Murdoch Mysteries" fame has formed a new strategic partnership with AMC Networks in the U.S., which it says might result in more of its shows winding up on American television.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

 MURDOCH HISTORICAL CANADIAN MYSTERIES HAS RUN 13 SEASONS!! IT HAS INCLUDED ONE EPISODE WITH EMMA GOLDMAN AND TORONTO ANARCHISTS.

The Toronto-based Shaftesbury — whose other series include "Departure," "Frankie Drake Mysteries" and "Hudson & Rex" — says AMC's investment will give the American entertainment company access to its slate.

Shaftesbury CEO and chairman Christina Jennings says the hope is that AMC buys more of its content for the U.S. market and provides intelligence about the type of content it's looking for, so the Toronto company can develop it.

The two companies have worked together before, with AMC Networks' Acorn TV streaming service picking up Shaftesbury titles including the hit detective series "Murdoch Mysteries."

Shaftesbury co-produced shows "Dead Still" and "The Sounds" also landed on Acorn, while Season 4 of the Canadian company's series "Slasher" is bound for the AMC-owned Shudder streamer.

Jennings says the two companies have a creatively-driven partnership, and AMC seemed the right fit when Shaftesbury was looking for a way to grow with a global company.

They're now co-developing some other shows they plan to announce in the next month or so.

"For Shaftesbury, going back 30 years, we've always been trying to find the largest global market for our shows, and I think we've done a pretty darn good job," Jennings said in an interview.

"But maybe with AMC, we might be able to get more of our shows on American television. So I think there is a big win for Shaftesbury in terms of having a strategic partner that is able to look at the content we make and say: 'That could be perfect for our channel,' or be able to give us a heads up: 'We're looking for a show like this, how can you help us?'"

AMC Networks also operates the entertainment brands AMC, SundanceTV, BBC America and the streaming services AMC+, Sundance Now and ALLBLK.

With the new partnership, Jennings will continue on in her role alongside executive vice-president, Scott Garvie.

Shaftesbury’s board of directors will now include them as well as Michael Levine and two AMC Networks directors.

Shaftesbury's focus will remain on Canada, Jennings said, noting the company's staff will remain here and may grow a little bit over the next couple of years. And the company will still air its shows on Canadian networks.

"I think that's one of the beauties of this, is that there really isn't competition between AMC and the Canadian broadcasters," Jennings said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 2, 2021.

Victoria Ahearn, The Canadi

 HIP CAPITALI$M 

Investing in magic mushrooms: First psychedelic ETF debuts in Toronto

SMRA wants feds to back off Atlantic salmon


ST. MARY’S – With almost exquisite irony, the St. Mary’s River Association (SMRA) has joined other conservation groups in eastern Canada to oppose a federal effort that could formally list their cherished Atlantic salmon as a protected “species at risk.”

The move comes after a notification earlier this year from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), which stated it was “in the final stages of developing listing advice … under the Species at Risk Act (SARA)… for the Ministers of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard to support the Minister of Environment and Climate Change in making a recommendation to the Governor in Council on a listing decision.”

According to the memo on DFO stationery, signed by Julie Stewart, who is identified as Director, Species at Risk Program, the department “is projecting that a proposed listing decision could come forward in fall of 2021.”

The problem, said Deirdre Green, a SMRA board member, is that the listing designed to save the fish could actually hinder any efforts that are already underway to do so.

“We support any initiative that provides the best opportunity for Atlantic salmon to survive and thrive,” she said. “However, we are not convinced that listing Atlantic salmon under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) will accomplish this, or that it will aid our group in fulfilling the mandate to conserve, enhance and protect the St. Mary’s River ecosystem.”

She added: “When a species is listed under SARA, there is a general prohibition against harming and harassing that species. This has been known to impact critical research, recovery and restoration efforts.

“Conservation is a human activity and Atlantic salmon need people who care. Our group is concerned that our work and that of others will be negatively impacted. Indigenous communities, various NGOs and conservation-minded volunteers should not be alienated from the rivers and the aquatic species they care about, and a SARA listing could do just that.”

The SMRA is not alone. Both the Nova Scotia Salmon Association (NSSA) and The Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) have expressed grave reservations about DFO’s decision.

“The listing of a species as either ‘Endangered’ or ‘Threatened’ (but not ‘Special Concern’) under SARA triggers legal prohibitions which would effectively end recreational salmon angling,” the NSSA recently posted to its website. “A well-managed catch-and-release salmon fishery fosters stronger public engagement in salmon conservation; provides important population data for stock assessment; and helps prevent poaching due to the presence of responsible anglers on the water. A SARA listing could also potentially curtail long-term research and habitat restoration efforts to which the NSSA and our local affiliates have devoted considerable resources.”

The ASF is even blunter.

“A SARA listing would close low-impact salmon fisheries on more than 130 rivers in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Cape Breton,” its website notes. “It would also extinguish the hope of reopening rivers in parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. This is unnecessary [and] ill-timed.”

According to Green, a more sensible approach would be to “use the tools we have now and work collectively to develop a better path forward to ensure the survival and recovery of the Atlantic salmon.”

She points out, for example, that since 2014, the SMRA has spent approximately $3 million dollars on habitat restoration and liming in the St. Mary’s River and completed 600,000 square meters (about 20 linear kilometres) of in-stream structure work.

“This past fall, we spread approximately 850 tons of lime over 200 acres on one of the West Branch tributaries,” she said. “There are Atlantic Salmon returning to our river, spawning on restored sections of river and being observed frequently in the estuary, cold water holding pools throughout the east, west and main branches.”

A SARA listing does not compel DFO or other government agencies to do anything about the actual threats a species might face, such as resource extraction, agriculture and unregulated fishing.

“As such, it is our belief that there is no need for another legislative or regulatory tool at this juncture,” Green said. “DFO currently possesses the tools it needs to take the required actions on the rivers in question.”

Late last year, DFO announced a slew of investments designed to protect aquatic species at risk in Atlantic Canada, including a grant to the NSSA worth up to $3 million “to conduct conservation planning for priority watersheds within the Southern Uplands region of Nova Scotia.”

Alec Bruce, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Guysborough Journal

#STOPPOISIONINGPREDATORS
Health Canada says it won't consider animal suffering in strychnine review

OTTAWA — Animal suffering won't be considered when a Health Canada agency next reviews licences for poisons used to kill predators, the department has ruled.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

In a decision released this week, Health Canada says the Pest Management Regulatory Agency won't include "humaneness" in how it assesses toxins such as strychnine.

"Health Canada will not be taking steps towards incorporating humaneness considerations into the pesticide risk assessment framework," said the department's ruling.

"There are currently no internationally recognized science-based parameters to evaluate the humaneness of pesticides."

Sara Dubois, a wildlife biologist with the British Columbia SPCA, said that's not true. University labs have extensive animal welfare protocols and Australia and New Zealand have also moved toward such criteria.

"An absence of information doesn't mean that pain and suffering doesn't happen," she said. "That's the frustrating part."

The decision on strychnine, compound 1080 and cyanide came after more than two years of public consultations sparked by a letter signed by 50 scientists and animal-welfare advocates from across Canada and three countries.

More than 4,000 letters were received, most form letters from letter-writing campaigns. Non-governmental organizations participated as did provinces and municipalities.

"Canadian public respondents are concerned about the humaneness of the three predacides currently registered for use in Canada," the decision says. "Many of these same respondents feel the predacides should be banned in favour of alternative predator control measures."

Animal science researchers have called strychnine a particularly painful and cruel way to die.

Within 20 minutes of being dosed, muscles start to convulse. The convulsions increase in intensity and frequency until the backbone arches and the animal asphyxiates or dies of exhaustion.

Groups such as livestock associations said predator poisons are already tightly controlled. Environmental and veterinary groups called for humaneness parameters in the assessment of pesticides.

Provincial governments said the issue was in their jurisdiction.

One of the biggest users of strychnine in Canada is the Alberta government. Alberta uses it to poison wolves in an attempt to protect caribou, which have been made vulnerable by many years of heavy industrial use of their habitat.

The province has poisoned hundreds of wolves in its caribou program, as well as many non-target species.

Health Canada will undertake its regular review of the three poisons later this spring. A petition opposing their use has nearly 700 signatures.

Animal advocates have also requested that federal Health Minister Patty Hadju review Health Canada's last decision to renew licences for the poisons.

Strychnine is no longer used to control predators in most Commonwealth and European countries or most U.S. states.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 2, 2021

— By Bob Weber in Edmonton. Follow him at @row1960

The Canadian Press

Supporters of protesting Indian farmers scuffle with police

© Provided by The Canadian PressNEW DELHI — About 200 supporters of Indian farmers scuffled with police on Wednesday after being blocked from marching to an area for protests near the Parliament building in the Indian capital.

Waving flags and banners, the protesters demanded the repeal of new agriculture reform laws which the farmers say will favour large corporations.

The police barricaded the road and some protesters tried to push their way through, but were blocked by a heavy police presence.

The protesters represented the opposition Congress party and groups including the All India Central Council of Trade Unions, the All India Students’ Association and the Students’ Federation of India.

Tens of thousands of farmers have been camping on the outskirts of New Delhi for more than two months in an effort to force the repeal of laws they believe would end government-set prices and force them to sell to powerful corporations rather than government-run markets.

The deadlock turned violent on Jan. 26, India’s Republic Day, when tens of thousands of farmers riding tractors stormed India’s historic Red Fort and unfurled the flag of the minority Sikh community, which is leading the protest. Clashes between the protesters and government forces left one protester dead and nearly 400 police officers injured.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has offered to suspend the laws for 18 months but farmers are insisting they be repealed.

Also Wednesday, India’s External Affairs Ministry said expressions of support to the farmers from celebrities including singer and actress Rihanna and teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg were irresponsible.

Rihanna said in a tweet, “Why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest.”

"We stand in solidarity with the #FarmersProtest in India,” Thunberg tweeted.

"The temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted to by celebrities and others, is neither accurate nor responsible,” the ministry said in a statement.

Shonal Ganguly, The Associated Press

Ted Cruz Bizarrely Invokes Thanos and 'Watchmen' to Attack Environmentalists

Sen. Ted Cruz tried to use comic books to illustrate a point against environmentalists in a clip passed around Monday and Tuesday. It went over poorly, both among fans and creators.

"Have you noticed in how many movies, how often rabid environmentalists are the bad guys? Whether it's Thanos or… go to 'Watchmen.' The view of the left is people are a disease," Cruz said on his streaming show, "Verdict," while trying to explain his view that Democrats and progressives want to tell conservatives which jobs they can and cannot have.

He went on to insist that left-leaning politicians and voters buy into the idea that "there are too many people in the world, that people are bad and that everything would be better if we had fewer people." To make his point, he cited Thanos, the villain in "Avengers: Endgame" who seeks to wipe out half the population.

Responses came swiftly.

"Hi, @SenTedCruz," wrote Lila Byock. "Watchmen writer/producer here. Literally what the f— are you talking about?"

"Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn quipped, "Maybe he can start with pronouncing Thanos correctly & then work his way up to making sense."

Comic book artist Jamal Igle went a deeper, explaining, "Just so that we're clear: Thanos was a genocidal madman. He thought wiping out half the population of the universe would make things better. He admitted he was wrong because people were mad and then decided to just wipeout everything and start over. That's not environnementalism. [sic]"

Others, like filmmaker Adam Best, got more political: "Thanos didn't think half the population mattered, which is exactly how the president Ted Cruz spent the last four years worshipping felt."

U.S. technology company Clearview AI violated Canadian privacy law: report

American technology firm Clearview AI violated Canadian privacy laws by collecting photos of Canadians without their knowledge or consent, an investigation by four of Canada's privacy commissioner has found.

© Ascannio/Shutterstock

 A report by four Canadian privacy commissioners has found Clearview AI's technology created a significant risk to individuals by allowing law enforcement and companies to match photos against its database of more than three billion images, including Canadians and children. Clearview AI's software collects images from the internet and allows users to search for matches.The report found that Clearview's technology created a significant risk to individuals by allowing law enforcement and companies to match photos against its database of more than three billion images, including Canadians and children.

The report rejected arguments from the company that it wasn't subject to Canadian privacy laws and that the images in its database were publicly available.

"What Clearview does is mass surveillance and it is illegal," federal privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien said in a statement. "It is completely unacceptable for millions of people who will never be implicated in any crime to find themselves continually in a police lineup.

"Yet the company continues to claim its purposes were appropriate, citing the requirement under federal privacy law that its business needs to be balanced against privacy rights."

The report by four of Canada's privacy commissioners comes nearly seven months after Clearview agreed to no longer make its controversial facial recognition software available in Canada. A number of Canadian law enforcement agencies, including the RCMP, Toronto and Calgary police, had been using the advanced technology to help identify perpetrators and victims of crimes.

With the technology, police could input the picture of a victim or suspected criminal and compare it with billions of photos it had collected from the internet and social media accounts.

However, privacy experts expressed concerns that the technology could be misused.

While police forces said last summer that they stopped using Clearview AI, questions remained about what would happen to the personal information of Canadians that the company had already collected and whether the company would stop collecting personal information belonging to Canadians.

In July, company CEO Hoan Ton-That said the company had ceased its operations in Canada. He said Canadians would be able to opt out of Clearview's search results.

"We are proud of our record in assisting Canadian law enforcement to solve some of the most heinous crimes, including crimes against children," Ton-That said in a statement at the time. "We will continue to co-operate with the (Office of the Privacy Commissioner) on other related issues."

Lisa Linden, spokeswoman for the company, said Wednesday that the company would respond to the report after it reviewed it.

More later.....

US Agriculture secretary nominee Vilsack endorses biofuels push

BIOFUELS ARE NEITHER CLEAN NOR GREEN 

THEY ARE A SUBSIDY TO IOWA CORN FARMERS & ADM

WASHINGTON — Tom Vilsack, President Joe Biden's nominee for secretary of agriculture, pledged Tuesday to focus on climate change initiatives and work to address racial inequities in agricultural assistance programs.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Vilsack, who testified before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, would bring much on-the-job experience to the position. In addition to serving two terms as the governor of Iowa, he spent eight years as President Barack Obama's Agriculture Secretary.

In his opening remarks, Vilsack, 70, sought to dispel concerns that he would be coming to the job with antiquated ideas.

“I realize that I am back again. But I also realize that this is a fundamentally different time,” he said, referencing a need to rebuild parts of the country's agricultural infrastructure in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The reality is we lacked openness, fairness and competitiveness and resiliency, as the COVID-19 crisis has shown, in many of our agricultural markets,” he said.

In his testimony, Vilsack heavily endorsed boosting climate-friendly agricultural industries such as the creation of biofuels.

“Agriculture is one of our first and best ways to get some wins in this climate area,” he said.

He proposed “building a rural economy based on biomanufacturing” and “turning agricultural waste into a variety of products.” He pledged to work closely with the Environmental Protection Agency to “spur the industry” on biofuels.

Republican Joni Ernst of Iowa questioned whether Vilsack's commitment to biofuels would clash with the Biden administration's public commitment to switch the federal vehicle fleet to electric cars and trucks.

“We're going to need both,” he responded, saying there was room for both climate-friendly industries to thrive and pointing out that the Navy has begun to deploy warships that run partially on biofuel.

With systemic racial inequity now a nationwide talking point, Vilsack said the Agriculture Department needed to seriously examine if it was sufficiently supporting farmers of colour.

He envisioned an “equity taskforce” to identify what he called “intentional or unintentional barriers that make it difficult for people to access the programs.”

Sonny Perdue, agriculture secretary in the Trump administration, sought to purge hundreds of thousands of people from the SNAP or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — commonly known as food stamps. That effort was defeated in court, and Vilsack said the SNAP program was particularly vital to the country's recovery from the pandemic.

He said he wanted his department to work directly with governors across the country to make sure SNAP benefits were being accessed smoothly and to address the issue of food deserts in low-income communities.

“It’s all well and good to give someone a SNAP card and say, ‘Go to your local grocery store and buy more food,’" he said. "That’s great, assuming you have a grocery store. But if you don’t have a grocery store, what then?”

Vilsack seems to enjoy bipartisan support and faced no serious criticism from Republicans on the committee. Senators from both parties seemed to treat his confirmation as a foregone conclusion, and at one point New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand referred to Vilsack as "Mr. soon-to-be Secretary.”

Ashraf Khalil, The Associated Press

US Treasury Department calls addressing climate change a priority


Newly confirmed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is giving climate change a prominent role in her talks with her counterparts around the world, signaling a significant shift by the Biden administration to prioritize addressing climate change not just from the White House but also at the agency. © / Getty Images Janet Yellen

Yellen has spoken to the finance ministers of Italy, Japan, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom since being sworn in less than a week ago, according to statements provided by the Treasury Department regarding those talks. In all of those calls, "forcefully addressing the threat of climate change" has been discussed as one of Yellen's top priorities and tackling climate change has been a topic of conversation, according to those statements.



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Biden's Treasury nominee Janet Yellen pushes for "big" action at confirmation hearing


Yellen's early focus on climate change with other finance leaders comes after she told senators during her confirmation hearing last month she would appoint someone at a senior level within the Treasury Department to address efforts on climate change and create a "hub" within her department focused on the risks climate change poses to the financial system and tax policy-related incentives.


Her remarks came in response to a question posed by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. The Rhode Island Democrat cited warnings that climate change will lead to a crash in the value of coastal properties as well as concerns about the so-called "carbon bubble" – or massive investments in the fossil fuel sector.

"I think we need to seriously look at assessing the risks to the financial system from climate change," Yellen said during the hearing, in which she also called climate change an "existential threat."

Yellen acknowledged climate change and the policies implemented to address it could have a major impact on the value of assets and credit risks within the financial system.

"I think everyone understands that the State Department has an important role, the EPA has an important role, but the Treasury actually is really influential in global discussions around finance and climate," said Joe Thwaites, an associate in the Sustainable Finance Center of the nonprofit research organization the World Resources Institute. Thwaites said the administration's "whole-of-government approach" has been well received.

Prior to her nomination last year, Yellen co-chaired a working group on climate change and finance for Group of 30, an international organization comprised of academics, economic officials and bank leaders, which released a report calling for immediate action to put the world economy on a path toward a net-zero carbon economy by 2050. The working group recommended governments to come up with strategies including implementing carbon pricing as well as invest in low-carbon infrastructure.

In a dramatic shift from the Trump administration, President Joe Biden is making tackling climate change a central component of his agenda. Just hours after being sworn in, he signed an order recommitting the United States to the Paris Climate Agreement, which the Trump administration had announced in 2019 the U.S. would exit. Last week, Mr. Biden also signed a series of executive actions aimed at combating climate change.

"That's something that in the campaign, Biden said he wanted to see the end of fossil fuel subsidies globally by the end of his first term, so the Treasury Department will play a key role in that domestically, but also as it engages internationally," said Thwaites. "There's this recognition that it's not just about turning off the faucet of dirty energy flows, but also to ramp up clean energy financing."

Ending the use of fossil fuels and building renewable energy is the mission of the international organization 350. The group is closely monitoring where Yellen and the Treasury Department go with fossil fuel financing.

"Our hope for Janet Yellen and her communication internationally is that she is a leader in generating discourse of the effect of the finance community on the climate," said Brett Fleishman, head of 350.org Finance Campaigns. But he argued she needs to walk the walk at home as well.

"Is her rhetoric signaling positive change? Absolutely," said Fleishman. "Now we just need to see some of those general statements about climate being an urgent priority and guiding policy, if that all turns into the kind of action driving the just transition."