Mandy Gull-Masty becomes first woman elected grand chief of Quebec Cree Nation

© Provided by The Canadian Press

CHISASIBI, Que. — Mandy Gull-Masty has become the first woman to be elected grand chief of Quebec's Cree Nation.

Gull-Masty won 64 per cent of the vote in a run-off election held Thursday, defeating Pakesso Mukash, who received 34 per cent.

Gull-Masty, who was elected deputy grand chief in 2017, had received 46.6 per cent of the vote in the first round of the election, held on July 14, ahead of incumbent Abel Bosum, who had 29.5 per cent.


Bosum dropped out after the first round, leaving Gull-Masty to contest the run-off against Mukash, a musician and activist, who received 24 per cent of first-round votes.

Gull-Masty campaigned on a platform of improving transparency and accountability and creating a strong financial plan for the Cree Nation, which represents a population of more than 18,000 people in northern Quebec.

Her victory follows other firsts for women Indigenous leaders this month, with RoseAnne Archibald elected national chief of the Assembly of First Nations and Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer becoming grand chief of the Kahnawake Mohawk community south of Montreal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2021.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press

Singh hopes to build 'momentum' on tour of Indigenous communities
Olivia Stefanovich, Richard Raycraft 2 hrs ago

© Chris Moonias/Supplied NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh poses for a selfie with NDP MPP 

Sol Mamakwa (centre) and former Neskantaga chief Chris Moonias (left) during a visit to the First Nation.

When the evacuation of Neskantaga First Nation due to tainted water made international headlines last fall, then-chief Chris Moonias encouraged the prime minister and other federal politicians to visit the remote northwestern Ontario community to see for themselves how people live under Canada's longest on-reserve boil water advisory.

On Monday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh became the first federal leader to take up Moonias' invitation during a tour of Indigenous communities.

"It was something that we wanted to do because we wanted our voices heard," Moonias told CBC News.

"If the [prime minister] doesn't want to come, might as well ask somebody else to carry your voices."

The NDP is hoping Singh's visit can leverage that disappointment by shifting Indigenous voters away from the Liberals.

A record number of Indigenous voters went to the polls in 2015 to help elect a majority Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"I think for a lot of Indigenous voters, what they are discovering is that they got a lot of words from the government, a lot of commitments, a lot of promises, but there hasn't been the follow-through," Anne McGrath, the NDP's national director, told CBC News.

Along with visiting Neskantaga, Singh met forest fire evacuees from First Nations in northern Ontario, who are calling on Ontario's Progressive Conservative government to offer more support.

He also became the first federal leader to tour the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc, where a ground-penetrating radar specialist reported 200 possible burial sites.

Singh's tour fell largely outside the national media spotlight, with no large press contingent following along — an unusual strategy at a time when an election call is expected within weeks.

"We've just spent the last year and a half doing a lot of things virtually," McGrath said. "The impact of what government policies have had on people is much more obvious, I think, if you're there in person. Like if you see the mould in the substandard housing, if you see the numbers of people that have to live under one roof in close proximity, if you see the impact of unsafe water … that really kind of brings it home.

"I also think that, for many of the communities that we're talking about, that kind of contact is meaningful for them."

Video: Winnipeg mayor and Canadian Minister of Indigenous Services react to Lagimodiere comments (Global News)

NDP looks for breakthrough as it turns 60

The tour comes as the NDP approaches its 60th anniversary on August 3.

The party has 24 seats in the House of Commons and an election call is widely expected soon. In an interview with CBC's The House airing Saturday, Singh said he feels the party can highlight what it's done to pressure the government from the opposition benches and convince voters that it's ready to form government.

"We can show the example of what we were able to do in a minority with just 24 seats. Imagine what we could do with more New Democrats. Imagine what a New Democrat government could do," he said.

"We can show the results … the nearly eight million Canadians that needed CERB across Canada got more help because we were there. The workers who were able to keep their jobs, who were able to keep their jobs because we fought to increase the wage subsidy from 10 to 75 per cent. We're going to share these victories with Canadians."

In Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc, Singh said he wants to use the opening created by the public outpouring of grief and anger that followed the reported discovery of unmarked graves at former residential school sites to press for more ambitious action.

"That gives me a lot of hope, the fact that Canadians themselves are saying we have to do something about this," he said. "What can we do? That, to me, is the momentum we need to build on."

Singh said a government led by him would move swiftly to appoint a special prosecutor to pursue crimes against Indigenous people, support every community that wants to uncover and investigate burial sites on former residential school grounds, and end the government's court action against a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling that ordered compensation for Indigenous children who faced discrimination.

In Neskantaga, Singh heard from 14 community members — including children who've lived their entire lives under the boil water advisories, such as 10-year-old Bee Moonias.

"She said, 'I'm a 10-year-old girl fighting for clean drinking water,'" Singh said. "That was, to me, heartbreaking and heart-wrenching."

Singh promised to continue advocating for Neskantaga. If elected, he said, he would fund a new water treatment plant and distribution system in the community.

"The Neskantaga community is saying that we need a proper water treatment plant that works and a better distribution system, and a New Democrat government would deliver that without any question," Singh said.

Current Neskantaga Chief Wayne Moonias told CBC News he isn't sure when the boil water advisory is going to be lifted, so it was important to have a federal leader on the ground.

"The community really appreciated the visit," Moonias said. "It shows that there is somebody that really wants to see first-hand what is happening."

Chris Moonias isn't as optimistic about lifting the boil water advisory as he used to be. He said the repairs being done to the water treatment plant are still not producing the right pressure.

He said he voted Liberal in the past, but doesn't think he will in the next federal election.

"There's been lots of broken promises," he said.

First Nations and Ottawa agree to $8 billion settlement on drinking water advisories

Olivia Stefanovich, Richard Raycraft 

© Carlos Osorio/Canadian Press Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa holds up water collected from Neskantaga First Nation — where residents were evacuated due to tainted water last fall — during a rally at Queen's Park in Toronto.

A proposed settlement agreement worth nearly $8 billion has been reached in two national class action lawsuits launched against the federal government by First Nations living under drinking water advisories.

The settlement, which is awaiting court approval, would offer $1.5 billion in compensation to individuals deprived of clean drinking water and modernize Canada's First Nations drinking water legislation.

About 142,000 individuals from 258 First Nations could be compensated, along with 120 First Nations. Depending on the details of the final agreement, more people may end up being eligible for compensation.

Individuals' compensation will be calculated based on how remote their communities are, how long they lived under a drinking water advisory and whether they suffered any adverse health conditions as a result.

The proposal also requires the federal government to renew its commitment to lifting all long-term drinking water advisories on reserves.

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller announced the agreement at a news conference today. He was joined by Curve Lake First Nation Chief Emily Whetung, Tataskweyak Cree Nation Chief Doreen Spence and Neskantaga First Nation Chief Wayne Moonias.

Miller told CBC News the government is happy to avoid a court battle.

"We don't want to be in court. We've said that time and time again," he said.

"It's a lot of money, yes, but it reflects a commitment to get water into a community that hasn't been done up until now."

 

© Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press 

Minister of Indigenous Services Marc Miller announced details of the proposed settlement during a press conference on Friday.

NDP leader welcomes $8B First Nations drinking water settlement, but says still more work to do

Duration: 02:22 

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh joins Power & Politics to discuss an $8 billion settlement between the government and First Nations on drinking water advisories.

If Ottawa doesn't live up to its commitments under the settlement agreement, the terms of the agreement state that First Nations would be able to turn to a new alternative dispute mechanism with strict timelines that have not been set.

The proposal would see the federal government commit at least $6 billion in previously announced fundingto provide reliable access to safe drinking water on reserves, create a First Nations Advisory Committee on Safe Drinking Water, support First Nations' efforts to develop their own drinking water by-laws and initiatives and make Ottawa responsible for private water systems, such as wells.

The proposal also would create a new $400 million First Nation Economic and Cultural Restoration Fund.

Miller announced last December that the Liberal government would not be able to meet its target of lifting all long-term drinking water advisories on reserves by the end of March 2021.

A CBC survey last October found that some drinking water projects would take several more years to complete.


Video: Ottawa reaches $8B settlement with First Nations living under water advisories (cbc.ca)

Currently, there are 51 long-term drinking water advisories in 32 First Nations, according to Indigenous Services Canada.

The lead lawyer in the two lawsuits said the agreement is the product of several months negotiations with the government.

"We were able to reach what I think is a historic agreement that will provide compensation for the wrongs of the past, and address the future to ensure that it does not resemble the past," said Michael Rosenberg, a partner at the law firm McCarthy Tétrault.

"The aim here is that long-term drinking water advisories in First Nation reserves will become just that— a thing of the past."
Lawsuits claimed government negligence

The lawsuits alleged Canada violated its obligations to First Nations and its members by failing to ensure reserves have clean water.

They also alleged Canada has been negligent and breached both its fiduciary duties and charter rights.

The lawsuits were launched on behalf of Tataskweyak Cree Nation in Manitoba, and Curve Lake First Nation and Neskantaga First Nation in Ontario, by McCarthy Tétrault LLP and Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP.

The class includes all members of First Nations whose communities were subjected to drinking water advisories — including boil water advisories, do-not-consume advisories and do not use advisories — which lasted at least one year between November 20, 1995 and now.

Class members must have been alive for two years prior to the action being commenced to be eligible for compensation. Communities may opt into the class action to advance their rights.
Ontario chief pleased with settlement agreement

Whetung said she is satisfied with the settlement agreement.

"I think the total agreement really satisfies the need of First Nations across Canada. It was designed to do that, and specifically ensure that every community gets access to clean water," she told CBC News. "There's a recognition that individuals have suffered harms from not having access to clean water."

While details of the dispute mechanism still need to be worked out, Whetung said she's confident it will be effective.

© Olivia Stefanovich/CBC Emily Whetung, chief of Curve Lake First Nation, said she thinks the agreement will help ensure that every community gets access to clean water.

"If there are issues, there's a really defined process to move those conflicts and those disputes forward quickly and effectively," she said.

"I feel like we're really embarking on the journey that will take our communities to meaningful access to clean water."

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told CBC News Network's Power & Politics Friday that he welcomed the deal but there is more to do.

"This is a small victory for the Indigenous communities who've suffered under boil water advisories, who've suffered without clean drinking water for so long, but this doesn't free the federal government from their responsibility to ensure there is clean drinking water for all people," Singh guest host Katie Simpson.

Singh said that if he were prime minister, he would make clean drinking water a priority.

"It's clear that this has not been a priority," Singh said.

#TAXTHECHURCH

MPs planning 'March for Truth and Justice' Saturday

Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus and Nunavut MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq will be marching to the Department of Justice Canada Saturday to call the federal government for an independent investigation into reports of crimes committed against Indigenous peoples.

The march will start tomorrow at noon at the Centennial Flame monument on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. It will then proceed to the Department of Justice Canada headquarters.

Angus said the pressure is on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take action and shine a light on the committed crimes as Indigenous and non-Indigenous people across Canada are demanding justice and accountability.

“This is important because there was an agreement signed between First Nation leaders, the federal government and the various Christian churches involved in residential schools,” Angus said. “But the mass graves have shown us that serious crimes were committed. And unfortunately, the Catholic Church hasn’t moved up to its legal obligations.”

Earlier in July, MPs held a press conference where they called Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti to appoint a fully funded special prosecutor to conduct a thorough and comprehensive investigation into residential schools, day schools, sanatoriums and other places where Indigenous people have faced violence and abuse.

The MPs said they want the special prosecutor to have the mandate to seek advice and guidance from the International Criminal Court.

They also want the special prosecutor to have the right to make the information public and to have the ability to access the documents through subpoena if necessary.

“The government is taking a position that they don’t have the power to establish a special prosecutor. That’s a ridiculous position to take,” Angus said. “What they’re saying is they don’t have the political will to launch these investigations.”

To view the event’s Facebook page, click here.

March for Truth and Justice « Canada's NDP

A 24-hour residential school crisis line offering support to former students and their families is available at 1-866-925-4419.

Dariya Baiguzhiyeva, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TimminsToday.com

Notley reintroducing bill to stop coal mining in Rockies


The Alberta NDP will reintroduce legislation aimed at protecting the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains and watersheds from coal mining and similar activities.

The act would immediately cancel all current activity in the area including road building and cancel existing leases in category one and two lands.

The Eastern Slopes Protection Act was introduced back in April by NDP Leader Rachel Notley, but the UCP government did not bring it to a vote.

The act will be now reintroduced as the very first private members bill to be debated in the fall.

“We will bring this to a vote and I sincerely hope it passes,” Notley said in a news release.

“But one way or another, we will put the UCP caucus on record on whether they want to protect the eastern slopes or not.”

The act would also prohibit the Alberta Energy Regulator from issuing approvals, such as water permits.

The act also cancels leases issued in conjunction with the UCP’s cancelation of the 1976 coal development policy in May 2020, pending the outcome of the regional plan.

“I and many thousands of other Albertans are so grateful and relieved to know that Rachel Notley and the Alberta NDP still know what matters to Albertans – a beautiful, livable province with clean rivers and a secure water future – and are prepared to protect our Eastern Slopes by slamming the brakes on coal and inviting us all to work out better plans for its future,” said Kevin van Tighem, former superintendent of Banff National Park.

“Only someone who doesn’t care about the wishes of Albertans and the future well-being of this province would vote against this bill.”

Existing mines and processing plants that are actively operating would be unaffected, but exploration permits would be cancelled across all categories including road developments and test pits.

If the legislation passes, the government would be on the hook for compensating mining companies for cancelling leases.

“Albertans can be confident that every member of the NDP caucus will enthusiastically support this bill to protect these distinctly Albertan outdoor spaces and protect the watersheds that provide us with clean water for farmers and ranchers and families right across Alberta,” Notley said.

The government put out a survey asking Albertans if they want development on the land in question.

“I encourage every Albertan who has UCP MLA to reach out to them and tell them to support this bill,” Notley added.

Ali Howat, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Jasper Fitzhugh

1 out of every 153 American workers is an Amazon employee

AS PREDICTED THE 21ST CENTURY USA IS A SERVICE ECONOMY

dreuter@insider.com (Dominick Reuter) 
© Noah Berger/Reuters Noah Berger/Reuters

Amazon employs 950,000 workers in the US, the company said in its latest earnings report.

The US has a population of 261 million and an employed non-farm workforce of 145 million, per the BLS.

More people work for Amazon than are employed in the entire residential construction industry.

Amazon has made more than $221 billion in sales in 2021 so far, showing just how massive the company has become since Jeff Bezos founded it in 1994.

Today the ecommerce giant employs 1.3 million people around the world, with 950,000 of those in the US, the company said in its latest earnings release.

According to the most recent US employment report, there are 145.8 million nonfarm payroll workers out of a total population of 332 million.

That means one out of every 350 Americans works for Amazon, or one out of every 153 employed workers in the US.

More people work for Amazon than are employed in the entire US residential construction industry, which is responsible for 873,000 jobs.

Even with its massive scale, Amazon is still a distant second to the country's largest private employer, Walmart, which employs nearly 1.6 million people in the US, or one out of every 91 workers.

While it's possible that more people work at a McDonald's than either Amazon or Walmart - the fast-food brand estimates more than 2 million globally - the company primarily operates on a franchise model, so it directly employs less than 50,000 in the US.

Along with Amazon's size, its decision to implement a $15 minimum wage across the company has had a measurable effect in the communities where it does business. It has also forced other large employers to follow suit.

In May, Amazon announced plans to hire 75,000 delivery and logistics workers at a $17 starting wage and a possible $1,000 bonus.

But last month, a New York Times report found that Amazon had a turnover rate of about 150% every year among hourly employees, leading some executives to worry about running out of hirable employees in the US.

In other words, with so many current and former Amazonians in the US, there's a good chance that you know someone who's worked there.

Biden's new vaccine requirement meets pushback from unions who helped elect him

A commitment to American labor helped fuel President Joe Biden's bid for the White House as he promised to be "the most pro-union president you've ever seen." It was an embrace that many of the major federations, associations, teamsters and brotherhoods in the nation requited by endorsing his candidacy.

VIDEO
Biden announces new vaccine requirements for federal workers

© Susan Walsh/AP

But the support for Biden's leadership that united more than 50 union groups during the campaign threatened to splinter publicly this week, over mixed reception of his plan to require federal workers get the COVID-19 vaccine or face regular testing and other restrictions.

Even before Biden's announcement, segments of the federal workforce rumbled with dissension. Some groups representing large numbers of workers raised preemptive objections.

"It is not the role of the federal government to mandate vaccinations for the employees we represent," the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) said in a statement the day before Biden made his announcement, adding that they encourage members to "voluntarily get vaccinated."© Susan Walsh/AP President Joe Biden speaks about COVID-19 vaccine requirements for federal workers in the East Room of the White House, July 29, 2021.

Following the announcement, an APWU spokesperson underscored that while their workers are government employees, they are an independent agency -- and thus don't have to adhere to Biden's new policy.

A White House spokesperson said that employees of independent agencies are not required to be vaccinated, but are strongly encouraged to do so.

"Make no mistake, we support being vaccinated as the most effective path and means to eliminate the COVID-19 virus, but not at the cost of our Constitutional rights that we protect and hold as self-evident," Larry Cosme, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) said. ​​

Biden's new policy is not a mandate but a choice: Either get vaccinated, or face potentially inconvenient restrictions. Federal government employees and contractors onsite will be asked to "attest to their vaccination status" by showing proof. Those who decline to be fully vaccinated, or decline to show proof that they are, must wear a mask at work, social distance and get tested for the virus once or twice a week; they may also face restrictions on official travel.

It all comes as Biden contends with flagging vaccination rates and the delta variant's exponential spread -- both of which threaten hard-fought wins in the fight against COVID.

After the new vaccine policy had been spelled out Thursday, major union groups reacted with a largely tepid response, with many members voicing concerns about personal freedoms, privacy and the policy's practice.

"We have a lot of questions about how this policy will be implemented and how employee rights and privacy will be protected," National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) National President Tony Reardon said in a statement to ABC News. "This approach appears to establish a process for employees to voluntarily disclose their vaccination status."MORE: Why some states are pushing back on masks amid delta variant surge

NTEU represents 150,000 federal employees across 34 departments and agencies. For those employees who wish to keep their vaccination status confidential or choose to remain unvaccinated, Reardon said, "a testing protocol will be established."

The largest union representing federal employees, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), said they expected any new policies to be "properly negotiated with our bargaining units prior to implementation."

"We are seeking details on many aspects of this plan," NTEU's Reardon said. "We will work to ensure employees are treated fairly and this protocol does not create an undue burden on them."

© Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images, FILE Members and supporters of the American Federation of Government Employees participate in a protest in the Hart Senate Office Building Atrium in Washington, Feb. 11, 2020.

NTEU endorsed Biden's candidacy during the 2020 election, as did AFGE and APWU.

So did National Nurses United (NNU), the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in U.S. history. They represent more than 170,000 members nationwide, including some VA nurses, and while saying vaccination is "critically important," they said they place the greatest emphasis on the importance of "respecting the need for medical and religious accommodations."

"The Biden administration is trying to thread that needle," NNU President Deborah Burger told ABC News. "You have to honor those accommodations, and move forward."MORE: Google joins growing list of employers mandating COVID-19 vaccines

At least one major federation of unions is going ever further than Biden in its stance on vaccines: AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Tuesday that he would support a full vaccine mandate.

"It's important, if you are coming back into the workplace, you have to know what's around you. If you come back in and you are not vaccinated, everybody in that workplace is jeopardized," Trumka told C-SPAN. "What we need to do now is to get more people vaccinated, and I think the mandate is a very acceptable way to do that."

The AFL-CIO endorsed Biden during his candidacy, as did one of its largest member unions, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) -- but this week, the two diverged on the matter of mandates: AFT President Randi Weingarten said that vaccine protocol should be arbitrated in the workplace itself.

© Joe Raedle/Getty Images, FILE A union worker holds a banner depicting a picture of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in a caravan for Biden in Miami Springs, Fla., Oct. 11, 2020.

"In order for everyone to feel safe and welcome in their workplaces, vaccinations must be negotiated between employers and workers, not coerced," Weingarten said in a statement ahead of Biden's announcement, cautioning that a get-the-shot-or-get-fired protocol would risk losing health care staff at a time when they're most needed, and when "staffing levels are already low from the trauma of the past year."

On Thursday, Biden pleaded for Americans to appreciate how urgent the situation has become.

"It's literally about life and death," Biden said in announcing the policy. "That's what it's about. You know and I know, people talk about freedom. But I learned growing up, from school and my parents: With freedom comes responsibility."

ABC News' Jordyn Phelps, Sarah Kolinovsky and Molly Nagle contributed to this report

'Forgotten giant': Hydropower can speed the switch to net-zero, report says

THE 1992 RIO CLIMATE CONFRENCE WAS LED BY HYDRO QUEBEC'S MAURICE STRONG

Daniel Martins 

THE WEATHERNETWORK 

In the drive to net-zero, the biggest buzz always seems to be around wind and solar — hydroelectric power, the first true largescale clean energy source, just doesn’t seem to capture the public imagination the same way.

That waning interest seems to be mirrored by governments and investors. While wind and solar push deeper into record-breaking territory amid the continuing decline in installation costs, hydropower is expected to grow by a mere 17 per cent over the course of the current decade — a quarter less than the previous.

But that disinterest is a mistake, says the International Energy Agency, whose recent special report on hydropower says it needs to be a critical part of the energy transition, complementing wind and solar while making up for their drawbacks.

“Hydropower is the forgotten giant of clean electricity, and it needs to be put squarely back on the energy and climate agenda if countries are serious about meeting their net zero goals,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a release from the agency. “It brings valuable scale and flexibility to help electricity systems adjust quickly to shifts in demand and to compensate for fluctuations in supply from other sources.”

Notwithstanding the rise of wind and solar, hydropower globally outweighs both in terms of generation, supplying one sixth of electricity worldwide. It makes up at least half of the generation in 35 countries, including 28 emerging nations with a combined population of more than 800 million people.

WATCH CANADIANS USE MORE ENERGY THAN PEOPLE IN ALL BUT SIX OTHER COUNTRIES

But the IEA says new hydropower projects struggle with long lead times, high upfront costs, difficulties with permits and environmental impact assessments, and local opposition, all of which have turned off investors — something the IEA says governments need to take active measures to fix.

“These measures include providing long-term visibility on revenues to ensure hydropower projects are economically viable and sufficiently attractive to investors, while still ensuring robust sustainability standards,” the IEA says.

CANADA, AN OLD HAND AT HYDRO, STILL HAS ROOM TO GROW

Canada’s grid is famously dominated by zero-emission sources, and hydropower towers over them all.

A full 60 per cent of our power is hydroelectric, four times more than distant-second nuclear. The country as a whole is so steeped in hydropower that Canadians refer to their home electricity as “hydro,” even in parts of the country where it makes up negligible parts of the grid.

One of Canada’s most recognizable features seen from space, nicknamed the “Eye of Quebec,” is the ring-shaped Manicouagan Reservoir formed by that province’s Daniel Johnson Dam. Worldwide, Canada ranks fourth in hydropower generation.

© Provided by The Weather NetworkHydroelectricity makes up more than half of Canada's energy generation. Image: Daniel Johnson Dam (Hydro Quebec)

Even so, with its abundant rivers and lakes, Canada’s hydroelectric potential is still not maxed out, according to industry group Waterpower Canada, which says generation capacity is set to grow 10 per cent over the coming decade. Around half of that will come from new projects such as Muskrat Falls in Labrador, La Romaine in Quebec, Keeyask in Manitoba, and B.C.’s Site C project. The rest will come from refurbishment and expansion of existing sites, and new projects using “pumped storage hydro,” which makes use of sites such as quarries and abandoned mines.

“This is before even considering the large number of well-selected sites for new hydropower projects where there is progress on environmental studies and engineering design — of which there are many tens of gigawatts that could be brought online in the next 10-to-15 years,”

Waterpower Canada spokeswoman Anastasia Smolentseva told The Weather Network.

Though wind and solar make up a small part of Canada’s energy mix, they are gradually growing, and most jurisdictions, including the federal government, have announced plans to move toward net-zero.

With installation costs for those energy sources falling each year, Smolentseva says Canada’s hydro resources can be a “reliable and resilient backbone” for the nascent wind and solar sectors as the country’s last fossil fuel plants are retired.

“Wind and solar power output varies according to weather conditions, and consumer electricity demand constantly fluctuates. By adjusting the quantity of water flowing into hydropower turbines, producers can rapidly ramp up or down as needed to flexibly balance supply with demand,” she says, adding: “Without a resource such as hydropower representing a significant proportion of generation capacity, the grid would not be stable and peak loads could not always be met.”

Canada announces over $1.3 billion for infrastructure amid climate change
Isabella O'Malley 

The Government of Canada has announced a new investment in the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF), which will help infrastructure mitigate and adapt to the impacts from climate change.

Communities across the country can submit a project to the government that will help increase resilience to the socio-economic, cultural, and environmental impacts from extreme weather events and natural hazards. Both the present-day impacts and those anticipated in the future, such as increasingly severe heat waves, will be addressed by the submissions.

The DMAF, which was first launched in 2018, will receive an additional $1.375 billion in 2021 and some of the projects that will be supported include wildfire mitigation such as controlled burns, rehabilitating storm water systems, and restoring wetlands and shorelines.

© Provided by The Weather Network"Caution" yellow tape in front of the flooded lakeshore in Toronto. (Marc Bruxelle. iStock / Getty Images Plus)

Small-scale projects will receive between $1–20 million in total eligible costs while large-scale projects could receive above $20 million. A minimum of $138 million of the total funding will be dedicated to Indigenous communities.

Abnormally destructive extreme weather events have raised concerns about how present-day infrastructure will fare in future climate scenarios.

Video: EU unveils sweeping new climate change plan (cbc.ca)

In an interview with The Weather Network, Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, cited the recent wildfires in Western Canada as an example of climate change’s impacts on infrastructure.

“[In] Lytton, B.C., basically the town burned down in a matter of minutes and the infrastructure there was incinerated,” said McKenna.

“And that meant the hydropoles, the electricity system, the wastewater system, all infrastructure, are gone, destroyed, and have to all be rebuilt. And this is really the impact of climate change that we’re seeing.”

Scientists confirm that the fatal heat in B.C. was far from normal — a study published by an international team of leading climate scientists reports that climate change made the heat wave at least 150 times more likely and that the heat wave was virtually impossible without climate change.

To date the DMAF has used over $1.9 billion to fund 69 large-scale infrastructure projects to protect communities from natural hazards such as floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and droughts.

“The Government of Canada is committed to getting funding to communities when they need it the most in a way that achieves triple benefits: grow our economy and create jobs; tackle climate change; and build a more resilient and inclusive country for all Canadians,” the announcement states.

Thumbnail credit: Cavan Images. Cavan. Getty Images

The Billions of Victims of the Heat Dome

Stephen Leahy 

For years, Sandra Emry, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, has been studying the potential impact of future heat waves on rockweed, a species of brown alga that provides a habitat for marine life on both coasts of North America. To simulate a June heat wave in the year 2060 or 2080 in the Strait of Georgia, between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, she typically drags patio heaters down to the shore, warming the air around a patch of rockweed to 95 degrees Fahrenheit in order to see how the alga reacts.

© Christopher Harley / University of British Columbia; The Atlantic

This summer, she didn’t need the heaters. On June 28, her thermal-imaging camera showed the temperature nearing 125 degrees. Over the course of a four-day heat wave, dense beds of rockweed died, as did many of the nearby mussels, chitons, limpets, and other intertidal species. “The stench was awful. I never expected to see such a major die-off,” Emry told me. She didn’t think temperatures would get that high this soon.

Billions of mussels, clams, oysters, barnacles, sea stars, and other intertidal species died during the late-June heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, Christopher Harley, a zoology professor at the University of British Columbia, told me last week. Yes, that’s billions, plural. What I call “extreme, extreme heat events”—because the term extreme events doesn’t quite cover the dire situation—not only kill people; they kill plants and animals. In changing our planet’s climate, we’re permanently altering the natural world that is our life-support system. And we’re seeing this happen in real time.

© Provided by The Atlantic (Christopher Harley / University of British Columbia)

Harley, who is investigating the extent of the June die-off, has learned from marine scientists at various institutions that an estimated 100 million barnacles died on a 1,000-yard stretch of shore near White Rock, British Columbia. While not all sites are as bad as White Rock, large numbers of dead marine animals have been found along much of the Salish Sea shoreline, from Olympia, Washington, to Campbell River, British Columbia. The situation is so alarming that Harley said it could lead to the collapse of the region’s maritime ecosystem.

[Aaron Gilbreath: What I’m teaching my daughter about living in extreme heat]

This kind of destruction is so notable because rockweed, mussels, and other intertidal species are incredibly tough and used to wide swings in temperature. They spend 12 hours under the cold waters of the northern Pacific Ocean and then, at low tide, 12 hours exposed to the air and hot sun. Only an extreme, extreme event could kill them. This massive die-off may result in a radically different shoreline ecology, one without the thick carpet of mussels and rockweed that has lined much of the Salish Sea shore since the last Ice Age.

Many land-based species have also died from the heat. I’ve read numerous reports of flightless nestlings, including hawks and terns, throwing themselves out of nests and off rooftops, risking death and injury to avoid being cooked alive. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has warned that nearly all endangered young salmon in the Sacramento River could die. Officials in Washington State also say that salmon in the Columbia and Snake Rivers are at risk. Overheated bears have been seen wading into backyard pools and ignoring swimmers at Lake Tahoe in order to get some cool relief.

Every living thing has its “Goldilocks zone”: a not-too-hot, not-too-cold temperature range. For tropical corals, such as those in the 1,400-mile-long Great Barrier Reef, ocean temperatures need to be between 71 and 85 degrees. If water temperatures reach 90 degrees, as they have in recent years, the reefs bleach and die. Other species like the water cold. Young salmon don’t do well in water above 68 degrees, and some Arctic seabirds show heat stress at 70 degrees. The Arctic is warming nearly three times faster than anywhere else. A heat wave in June 2020 pushed temperatures in one of the coldest places on Earth, Verkhoyansk, Siberia, from its typical 68 degrees to near 100.

Some birds and mammals have coping mechanisms for a drastic change in temperature. They generally deal with the heat by reducing their activity, including eating, and by panting to try to cool themselves. Fish, including salmon, need to consume more oxygen in warmer water; however, warm water holds less oxygen, adding additional stress that makes them more susceptible to disease.

© Provided by The Atlantic (University of British Columbia)

We’re only going to see more of this stress on our ecosystem. A comprehensive global assessment that measured heat waves from 1950 to 2000 found that their frequency, duration, and cumulative heat had increased significantly. In the Middle East and much of Africa, the number of heat waves, and their intensity, has increased by a whopping 50 percent every decade. In other parts of the world, the increase has varied from 10 to 30 percent per decade. While the impacts of drought have received much attention, heat waves are now considered a “major global threat” to plants, animals, and ecosystems globally. Scientific research into heat waves has exploded in the past decade: 1,400 studies have been published in the past six months alone.

[Read: Nowhere is ready for this heat]

Climate scientists are sounding the alarm loudly, urging the world to take action now in order to, as one scientist put it, “prevent the worst outcomes of global warming.” If billions of some of the toughest species on the planet dying is not the worst outcome, I’m sure we don’t want to see what is.

Climate, nature, and humanity’s well-being and survival are deeply interconnected. As the marine biologist and National Geographic explorer in residence Enric Sala told me, “Every morsel of food, every sip of water, the air we breathe is the result of work done by other species. Nature gives us everything we need to survive. Without them, there is no us.”

 Rising water temperatures in Alberta rivers, lakes threatens aquatic life (msn.com)

Duration: 01:57 

People are comfortably swimming in what are normally frigid mountain lakes in Alberta. The persistent heat across the country is causing water temperatures to rise and as Jayme Doll reports, concerns to soar.