THE DUTY OF THE POW IS TO ESCAPE

'We are proud of him,' brother of Israel jail escapee tells FRANCE 24

Issued on: 09/09/2021 -

FRANCE 24 spoke to the family of the most famous escapee, Zakaria Zubeidi. 

© FRANCE 24 screengrab

Six Palestinian prisoners, all from militant groups, are still on the run – four days after they fled Israel's highest security prison in a story that seems like it could have come from a film. FRANCE 24 spoke to the family of the most famous escapee, Zakaria Zubeidi.

Israel on Thursday announced a formal inquiry into lapses that enabled six Palestinians to escape a high-security prison, as it pressed on with a manhunt for the fugitive militants.

Israeli forces continue to search the country and the occupied West Bank for the six escapees, who are all accused of links to attacks on Israelis.

“We are proud of him,” said Yahya Zubeidi, Zakaria’s brother. “He raises the heads of all those who seek dignity. When we found out, we felt great joy but also great fear. The joy because they have freed themselves from this occupation prison, the fear because we do not know what their fate will be.”

Unleashing reforms, Xi returns to China's socialist roots

SOCIALISM IS STATE CAPITALISM 

PLUS ELECTRICITY  

V.I.LENIN

Thu., September 9, 2021

FILE PHOTO: Show commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, in Beijing

By Yew Lun Tian

BEIJING (Reuters) -When Xi Jinping took command of the Communist Party in late 2012 and proclaimed "only socialism can save China", it was largely ignored as the perfunctory mention of an antiquated slogan - not to be taken literally in a modern-day, market-powered economy.

But sweeping new policy moves - from crackdowns

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/education-bitcoin-chinas-season-regulatory-crackdown-2021-07-27

 on internet companies, for-profit education

 https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-says-private-tutors-will-not-be-able-offer-classes-online-2021-09-08, 

online gaming 

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-rolls-out-new-rules-minors-online-gaming-xinhua-2021-08-30 

and property market excesses, to the promulgation of "Common Prosperity" - show Xi's seriousness in steering China back towards its socialist roots.

Having done away with term limits in 2018, China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong is pushing what some observers describe as a mini "revolution", curbing the excesses of capitalism and shedding negative cultural influences of the West.

The effort, touching everything from school curriculums - including the newly required study of "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" - to tighter regulation of the property sector and a squeeze on what the government sees as unwholesome entertainment https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-radio-tv-body-strengthen-regulation-cultural-programmes-salaries-2021-09-02, has rattled investors and prompted officials and state media to try to assuage markets.

On Wednesday, for example, the official People's Daily sought to reassure the private sector that support for it "had not changed": recent regulatory actions were meant to "rectify market order", promote fair competition, protect consumer rights and "perfect the socialist market economy system".

But the intent, observers say, is clear.

"Xi wants to address a very contemporary issue, the way in which neoliberal reforms have made China much less equal, and bring back the sense of mission that shaped early Maoist China," said Rana Mitter, a professor of Chinese history and politics at Oxford University.

That inequality, as well as the vast wealth and power accumulated by some industries, threatened to undermine social stability and ultimately the party's legitimacy if left unchecked, some analysts said.

The timing of the reforms reflects confidence that China can solve its problems through its own hybrid system instead of following the model of the West, whose shortcomings - from managing COVID-19 to the chaos of the U.S. election and withdrawal from Afghanistan - are repeatedly depicted in China as evidence of systemic decay.

"The state control model did seem to serve China well in the fight against COVID," said Chen Daoyin, a political commentator who is based in Chile and was formerly an associate professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

Xi is confident of striking a balance between government and markets, and between power and capital, Chen said.

"The danger is when the state can't resist reaching out its visible hand ... it creates unpredictability and political risk for capital," Chen said.

The Hong Kong market, where many Chinese tech firms targeted by the crackdown are listed, has lost over $600 billion in value since July, with investors whipsawed by new regulations and scouring old speeches for clues as to what may be coming.

Xi's activist populism also demonstrates confidence that he can afford to alienate elites who fall on the wrong side of his policies as he solidifies his case for a third five-year term - not that there is any visible competition.

But his calculus goes even beyond that, analysts say.

"Xi is an ambitious leader with a grand vision who genuinely wants to go down in history as the man who saved the party and made China strong," said Yang Chaohui, a lecturer in politics at Peking University.

China's State Council Information Office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

MR. FIX-IT?

Under Mao, the earliest iterations of party doctrine aspired to free people from the exploitation of capital, destroy private ownership and defeat American imperialism.

Deng Xiaoping, Mao's successor, took a pragmatic turn, allowing market forces to incentivise production and unleashing four decades of breakneck growth that fuelled massive wealth accumulation - but also deep inequality.

This summer's reforms are enabled by Xi's consolidation of control since taking office: he unleashed a massive anti-corruption campaign, eliminated space for public dissent, and reasserted Communist Party power - with himself at the "core" - across all aspects of society.

With that power, Xi is addressing a spate of societal woes, from people not having enough babies and an unhealthy obsession with educational achievement to young adults so stressed by the rat-race that they would rather drop out and "lie flat". New rules curb young people spending too much time playing online games and too much money promoting their idols.

"Xi has set out to tackle the problems that cause anguish for the common people, such as corrupt officials and the rich-poor gap," said Chen.

While many in China express scepticism that Beijing can get people to have more babies or make big-city housing more affordable, some of the moves appear popular: many parents welcome an easing of the educational burden and the new three-hour-per-week time limit for children to play online games.

"Championing the common people gives him a moral high ground to consolidate his authority within the party and makes it hard for his political opponents to attack him. After all who can be against social equality?"

(Reporting by Yew Lun TianEditing by Tony Munroe and Lincoln Feast)

GOLD IS THE MOST TOXIC OF MINES

N.S. environment minister wants more info about proposed changes to gold mine

Wed., September 8, 2021

Atlantic Gold's Touquoy mine site in Moose River, N.S. 

(Paul Palmeter/CBC - image credit)

Nova Scotia's environment minister says the owner of the province's only operating gold mine has not provided sufficient information about proposed changes at the site for him to make a decision whether or not to approve them.

Environment Minister Tim Halman sent a letter to Atlantic Mining NS Inc. on Wednesday informing the company that he needs more details about tailings disposal, historic tailings, and the project's impact on ground and surface water, wildlife, wetlands, a nearby wilderness area, and fish and fish habitat before he can determine the possible environmental impacts of the proposed changes.

In July, the company, better known by its corporate name, Atlantic Gold, submitted to the province its plans for changes at the mine in Moose River, N.S.

It wants to store the tailings — the material that remains after ore has been processed for gold — in the open mining pit because its current storage area is expected to run out of room in March.

The open pit, which will be finished being mined next year, would be allowed to fill with water and eventually seep out into the Moose River. The company says it would treat the water before it is discharged into the river.

The company's proposed changes also include expanding the designated storage area for waste rock, moving an access road and allowing the company to extract clay from more of its land.

Paul Palmeter/CBC

Halman's request for additional information included questions about how permeable the open pit is, details of the water treatment plan, how the changes would meet the Fisheries Act and how the Moose River would be affected, among others.

In an emailed statement, Atlantic Gold spokesperson Dustin O'Leary said the mine's parent company, St Barbara Limited, will work with the government to provide more details.

"The province of Nova Scotia is making efforts to be thorough and provide Nova Scotians with comfort and clarity in the environmental assessment process," said O'Leary.

"St Barbara remains fully committed to demonstrating all the steps we are taking to protect the local environment."

He said the additional information will be provided "in due course," but did not provide a timeline.

Feedback and responses total 450 pages

O'Leary did not respond to a question from CBC News about what will happen to the mine's tailings once the tailings pond is full in March if the approval has not been granted.

Atlantic Gold has one year to submit the additional information. Once it is submitted, the environment minister will have 50 days to make a decision.

Public feedback on the proposed changes at the mine were accepted earlier this summer, and, along with responses from provincial and federal government departments, Mi'kmaw and environmental groups, total more than 450 pages.

Environment Department staff recently conducted tests on a rust-coloured substance at the Touquoy mine's tailings pond after the discoloured material was spotted and photographed by a pilot. The results of those tests are expected in about a week.

Feds, North Dakota to negotiate pipeline policing costs

Thu., September 9, 2021

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Federal and state lawyers will meet in North Dakota next week to negotiate a settlement for money that the state claims it spent on policing protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

North Dakota filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2019, seeking to recover more than $38 million in damages from the monthslong pipeline protests almost five years ago.

State Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and other state lawyers will meet with attorneys from the Corps and Justice Department at the federal courthouse in Bismarck on Sept. 16. U.S. Magistrate Judge Alice Senechal will preside over the negotiations, which are closed to the public.

“We will know on the 16th if they are serious in settling,” Stenehjem said.

It’s the first sit-down meeting with state and federal lawyers to work out a settlement, Stenehjem said. Federal judges handling the case have “strongly suggested” the negotiations, he said.

If no settlement can be reached, a trial is set for May 1, 2023.

Thousands of pipeline opponents gathered in southern North Dakota in 2016 and early 2017, camping on federal land and often clashing with police. Hundreds were arrested over six months.

Stenehjem has long argued that the Corps allowed and sometimes encouraged protesters to illegally camp without a federal permit. The Corps has said protesters weren’t evicted due to free speech reasons.

The Army Corps of Engineers had argued that it has “limited authority to enforce its rules and regulations” on land it manages.

The $3.8 billion pipeline has been moving oil from the Dakotas through Iowa to Illinois since 2017 but remains mired in litigation.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe opposed the pipeline built by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners over fears it would harm cultural sites and the tribe’s Missouri River water supply — claims rejected by the company and the state.

One year ago, a federal judge issued a ruling allowing North Dakota to proceed in its effort to recoup money the state spent on policing protests against the pipeline.

The Department of the Army then asked the Department of Justice to enter into negotiations with the state for the protest costs “to avoid protracted and costly litigation, particularly in light of the harm that occurred in this case,” according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

Stenehjem said negotiations have stalled since then.

Then-President Donald Trump in 2018 denied a state-requested disaster declaration to cover the state’s costs. The Justice Department later gave the state a $10 million grant for policing-related bills. The pipeline developer gave the state $15 million to help with the costs that were funded from loans from the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.

Stenehjem has said that money doesn’t get the Corps off the hook for the state’s $38 million total cost of policing.

James Macpherson, The Associated Press

EPA seeks to restart process that could restrict Alaska mine


Thu., September 9, 2021



JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday it would seek to restart a process that could restrict mining in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, which is renowned for its salmon runs.

The announcement is the latest in a long-running dispute over a proposed copper-and-gold mine in the southwest Alaska region.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in November 2020, under the Trump administration, denied key authorization for the proposed Pebble Mine following an environmental review from the agency months earlier that the developer had viewed as a favorable to the project.

In the rejection decision, a corps official concluded the project would “result in significant degradation of the aquatic ecosystem” and that it was “contrary to the public interest.”

The Pebble Limited Partnership, the mine developer owned by Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., is appealing that determination.

“As the Biden Administration seeks lower carbon emissions for energy production, they should recognize that such change will require significantly more mineral production – notably copper,” Mike Heatwole, a Pebble partnership spokesperson, said in an email. “The Pebble Project remains an important domestic source for the minerals necessary for the administration to reach its green energy goals.”

Restrictions on mining in the region were proposed but never finalized under the Obama administration.

In 2019, during the Trump administration, Matthew Leopold, who was EPA general counsel, directed then-regional administrator Chris Hladick to decide whether to move forward with the proposed restrictions or withdraw them.

Hladick withdrew them and the agency at the time said it was removing what it called an “outdated, preemptive proposed veto of the Pebble Mine” and allowing the project to be vetted through the permitting process.

Earlier this year, a divided appeals court panel, in a case challenging the 2019 action, concluded a regional administrator was allowed to take the actions Hladick did “only if the discharge of materials would be unlikely to have an unacceptable adverse effect.”

The matter was sent back to a lower court to determine if the EPA’s action “was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or contrary to law.”

U.S. government attorneys, in a court filing Thursday, said the EPA “acknowledges that it did not address the standard that the Ninth Circuit subsequently determined must be met for withdrawal of a proposed determination.”

The EPA, in a statement, said it is asking the judge to vacate the 2019 action. If granted, it said that would “automatically reinitiate" the review process, through which mine-related activities could be restricted or prohibited.

EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan called the Bristol Bay watershed “an Alaskan treasure that underscores the critical value of clean water in America. Today’s announcement reinforces once again EPA’s commitment to making science-based decisions to protect our natural environment.”

He added: "What’s at stake is preventing pollution that would disproportionately impact Alaska Natives, and protecting a sustainable future for the most productive salmon fishery in North America.”

The EPA has said Bristol Bay supports the world's largest sockeye salmon runs and that the watershed contains significant mineral resources.

Nelli Williams, Alaska director for Trout Unlimited, one of the groups that sued over the 2019 action, said proposed restrictions would provide “an important layer of protection that makes it much more difficult for the Pebble Partnership, or any other companies in the future, to mine the Pebble ore deposit.”

Northern Dynasty President and CEO Ron Thiessen, in a statement Thursday, said the Pebble project "can be designed, built and operated with industry-leading environmental safeguards while generating significant financial returns over multiple decades.”

The company touted a preliminary economic review it said also looked at potential expansion possibilities and alternative ways to recover gold.

But the statement said neither Northern Dynasty nor the Pebble partnership “has proposed or intends to propose any of these development alternatives in the near-term for regulatory approval.”

___

Becky Bohrer, The Associated Press

US to reevaluate review of Alaska petroleum reserve

Wed., September 8, 2021

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is expected to reevaluate a Trump-era environmental review that provided a basis for plans to open an additional roughly 6.8 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to oil and gas leasing.

A memo outlining the planned review accompanied government filings in lawsuits brought by conservation and environmental advocacy groups. Those lawsuits challenged the adequacy of the environmental analysis underpinning the plans that were finalized in the final weeks of the Trump administration.

U.S. Justice Department attorneys on Tuesday requested stays in the cases pending the new evaluation.

The memo, dated Friday, was from Laura Daniel-Davis, principal deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management for the Interior Department. She said she was directing the land management agency to evaluate the environmental review and related analyses.

She wrote that the department had not yet decided whether to "withdraw or replace” the 2020 plan. But she said the department's initial assessment was that it was “inconsistent" with policy set out in a January executive order from President Joe Biden.

Biden's order lists as administration policy such things as protecting the environment and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Daniel-Davis' memo does not go into great detail on areas the department deemed problematic but describes the 2020 plan as containing provisions that “reduce environmental protections in favor of further promoting oil and gas development."

Daniel-Davis said the Bureau of Land Management was not to offer for lease tracts in the areas that would be newly opened under the Trump-era plan while the evaluation was under way.

She said the agency would provide the status of its review and “related actions” within 120 days from the date of the memo.

The Interior Department “is committed to protecting public health, conserving land, water, and wildlife, and ensuring that management of our public lands and oceans is guided by science, equity, and community engagement," spokesperson Tyler Cherry said in a written statement.

The announced review is in line with Biden's directive “to review and address agency regulations and programs that conflict with this Administration’s climate priorities,” the statement says.

The plan, which the Bureau of Land Management said was signed by then-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on Dec. 31, made about 18.6 million of the reserve's roughly 23 million acres available for oil and gas leasing. The land agency, in announcing the decision, said it contained “important safeguards for wildlife and sensitive resources, while allowing for responsible oil and gas leasing.”

Suzanne Bostrom, an attorney with Trustees for Alaska who is representing some of the groups in the litigation, said Wednesday that she saw as encouraging the department's intent to review the plans.

Conservationists, among other things, have cited concerns with possible impacts from development on the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area, which they've described as a productive wetlands complex and caribou calving area.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy's office was expected to release a statement.

Becky Bohrer, The Associated Press

Office air quality affects workers' cognitive function, study shows

Issued on: 09/09/2021 -

A new study by scientists at Harvard has found that the air quality inside an office can have a significant impact on employees' cognitive function, including response times and ability to focus 

Nikolay DOYCHINOV AFP/File



Washington (AFP)

Feeling sluggish at work? Poor ventilation and pollution might play a part.

A new study by scientists at Harvard has found that the air quality inside an office can have a significant impact on employees' cognitive function, including response times and ability to focus.

"We have a huge body of research on the exposure to outdoor pollution, but we spend 90 percent of our time indoors," Jose Guillermo Cedeno Laurent, a research fellow and lead author of the paper published Thursday in Environmental Research Letters, told AFP.

The limited amount of prior studies on indoor settings had focused on measures like thermal comfort and satisfaction, rather than on cognitive outcomes, he added.

Cedeno Laurent and colleagues designed a study that followed 302 office workers across six countries (China, India, Mexico, Thailand, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom) over a period of a year.

It ended in March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic brought global lockdowns.

All participants were aged between 18 and 65, worked at least three days in an office building, and had a permanent workstation within the office.

Their workspaces were fitted with an environmental sensor to monitor real time concentrations of fine particulate matter 2.5 micrometers and smaller, PM2.5, as well as carbon dioxide, temperature, and relative humidity.

The participants were given a custom-designed app on their phones to carry out the cognitive tests, which they were prompted to take at prescheduled times or when the sensors detected PM2.5 and CO2 levels fall below or exceed certain thresholds.

CO2 concentrations serve as a proxy for ventilation levels. Outside, concentrations are around 400 ppm (parts per million), while 1000 ppm is cited as an upper limit for indoors.

There were two tests. The first required employees to correctly identify the color of displayed words that spelled out another color.

This evaluated cognitive speed and the ability to focus on relevant stimuli when irrelevant stimuli are being presented.

The second test involved basic addition and subtraction with two-digit-long numbers, to assess cognitive speed and working memory.

- Open a window -

Results showed that an increase of 10 micrograms per cubic meter of PM2.5 led to about a one percent reduction in response times to both tests, and more than a one percent reduction in accuracy.

For a frame of reference, the outdoor PM2.5 levels in the US capital Washington were 13.9 micrograms per cubic meter on Thursday, according to the IQAir tracking site, while it was 42 micrograms per cubic meter in New Delhi.

In terms of C02, an increase of 500 ppm (parts per million), which is not an unusual level of variation, led to a more than one percent drop in response times, and more than two percent drop in accuracy across both tests.

The research comes as US Congress is poised to pass an infrastructure package, and Cedeno Laurent argues now is the time to plan to for energy efficient, high performance buildings that provide the right amount of ventilation and air filtration.

While past studies have shown that prolonged exposure to PM2.5 inflames the central nervous system and crosses the blood-brain-barrier to cause long term neurodegenerative disease, this is the first to show short term effects, he added.

For employees returning to in-person office work, there are some solutions.

Opening a window is one, said Cedeno Laurent. If the outdoor air quality isn't good, upgrading the building's filtration systems or adding high quality portable air cleaners are good ideas.

© 2021 AFP

GOOD NEWS MORTGAGE & CREDIT CARD HOLDERS
Bank of Canada plans to raise interest rate before moving to reduce bond holdings


Thu., September 9, 2021

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says the central bank plans to increase interest rates before it reduces the size of its government bond holdings, although its timing on the rate hike will depend on the economic recovery.

The central bank is currently purchasing government bonds at a rate of $2 billion per week.

The bond-buying strategy, known as quantitative easing, is meant to lower borrowing costs by placing downward pressure on interest rates, but Macklem says it will eventually not be necessary.

"We are not there yet — and that timing is a monetary policy decision that will depend on economic developments," Macklem said in prepared remarks to the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec on Thursday.

Before that happens, though, Macklem said the Bank of Canada will enter what he calls the "reinvestment phase" when the bank will roughly match its bond purchases with the amount that are maturing.

During the reinvestment phase, Macklem said bond purchases would average around $1 billion per week.

Macklem said the bank expects to remain in this phase at least until it can hike the policy interest rate, which currently sits at 0.25 per cent. The bank has said that it will keep its policy rate at what it calls the effective lower bound until the economy is strong enough, which it projects will be in the second half of next year.

At that point, he says the Bank of Canada would be able to begin reducing the size of its bond holdings.

"When we get to the reinvestment phase and how long we are in it are monetary policy decisions that will depend on the strength of the recovery and the evolution of inflation," Macklem said.

"The governing council continues to expect the economy to strengthen in the second half of 2021, although the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections and ongoing supply bottlenecks could weigh on the recovery."

The speech by Macklem followed the Bank of Canada's rate decision on Wednesday when it held its overnight rate target at 0.25 per cent.

Canada's economy contracted in the second quarter of this year, which Macklem said was due to supply chain issues, rising COVID-19 cases and weak export numbers.

"But consumption, business investment and government spending all contributed to growth, with total domestic demand growing at more than three per cent," he said.

Sri Thanabalasingam, senior economist with TD Economics, noted the Bank of Canada chose to downplay the contraction the Canadian economy faced in the second quarter, and decided to focus on domestic strength and employment as reasons the second half of the year will be more positive.

"The bank is assuming the fourth wave of the pandemic is not really going to revert the economic recovery," said Thanabalasingam.

"Even though today's statement was very forward looking on reining in this stimulus, I don't think we can completely disregard the near term risk to the economy right now."

Meanwhile, Macklem said the bank is also studying the difficulties that some businesses are facing with hiring and how it will effect the economy.

The governor said there is still much excess capacity in the Canadian economy, and the current policy interest rate is necessary for Canada to meet its two per cent inflation target.

The annual pace of inflation rose to 3.7 per cent in July, marking the biggest increase since May 2011, and compared with a year-over-year increase in the consumer price index of 3.1 per cent in June.

Macklem said current inflation levels remain higher than before the pandemic due to supply disruptions, and because prices are being compared with a year ago when lockdowns placed downward pressure on some prices.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept 9, 2021.

Salmaan Farooqui, The Canadian Press

Federal election candidates 'eerily silent' on climate change, says Cape Breton task force

Wed., September 8, 2021, 

A climate change rally held in London in February 2019. Environmentalists in Cape Breton says there has not been enough discussion on the federal election campaign trail about important environmental issues. (Shutterstock / Ben Gingell - image credit)

A Cape Breton group says there's been little discussion about the environment during the federal election campaign despite reaching a critical point in the fight against the impacts of climate change.

"It's eerily silent. Eerily silent," said Janet Bickerton, a member of Cape Breton's Climate Change Task Force.

"I'm just amazed at how little conversation there is about climate. I just think it's so overwhelming."

The task force was formed last November and is made up of individuals and organizations concerned about environmental degradation.

'We need to say what matters to us'

Bickerton said many people are feeling anxious about the impacts of climate change to the point that they're blocking it out of their minds.

Erin Pottie/CBC

"It's almost so big that people feel muted, that you barely hear a conversation about it," she said.

"That is really most concerning because what we have is our voice ... We have power in our voices, but we need to come together. We need to speak and we need to say what matters to us."

Pushing for discussion

Group members want the climate to be prioritized in the lead-up to the Sept. 20 vote.

Bickerton said eligible voters should dig into how political parties plan to tackle environmental issues, and use that information to inform their choice at the ballot box.

"[For] most people in my generation, eco-anxiety has been second nature to us," said task force co-ordinator Suvir Singh, who is in his early 30s.

"We've been overloaded with information about how climate change is really affecting our lives and a lot of us don't have the platform to do a lot about it."

Rally planned for Friday

Singh said people who want action on climate change can attend a rally planned for downtown Sydney on Friday. It is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. AT outside the Civic Centre.

The executive director of ACAP Cape Breton, a Sydney-based environmental non-profit, said the island is already seeing the impacts of climate change.

Kathleen Aikens said the rally follows an August report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that was later described by the United Nations' secretary general as a "code red for humanity."

Panel experts warn that continued sea level rise is already irreversible for centuries to millennia, but there is still time to lessen climate impacts.

"We are facing sea level rise at nearly twice the rate of the average global sea rise," said Aikens.

"We are facing extreme weather events like storms, flash flooding and major precipitation events. There's also coastal erosion both from these extreme weather events as well as a lack of sea ice."

Acting before it's too late

Task force member Albert Marshall said now is the time for governments to find solutions before time runs out for future generations.

The Mi'kmaw elder suggested the province develop a land-based training program in public schools where young people spend more time in nature.

"We have to somehow find a way to amplify our voices by reminding the government and the policymakers that we have actually exhausted the current capacity of the system," Marshall said.

"We have reached a point of no return."

Regina rally calls for federal party leaders to make climate change action a top priority ahead of election

Wed., September 8, 2021, 

People attending a rally in downtown Regina on Wednesday demanded federal party leaders make climate change action a priority. (Matthew Howard/CBC - image credit)

Michelle Brass says she no longer wants promises from politicians about addressing climate change. She's looking for "real commitment to real action starting immediately."

Brass was one of about 100 people who gathered in downtown Regina on Wednesday to call on federal leaders to make climate change action a top priority heading into the election.

The rally was one of about 60 that were scheduled to take place around the country ahead of the leaders debates.

People from several groups including Fridays for Future, Regina EnviroCollective and Indigenous Climate Action spoke at the event in Regina.

Brass, who's part of Indigenous Climate Action and was one of the speakers, told CBC News she wants a detailed plan on how leaders would address climate change in a variety of sectors.

"We need to be hearing about how we make decisions when it comes to addressing the climate crisis through our economy, through our education, through health care, through environmental protections, through all areas of life," she said.

"We can't have incremental change. What is required right now is a comprehensive plan that impacts all facets of life, and no effective climate policy or action can be effective if it doesn't encapsulate all elements of life in society, because it requires such drastic change."

Matt Howard/CBC

Another emphasis of the rally was to stop fossil fuel expansion and have a robust plan to transition to renewable energy.

Josh Campbell, a member of Regina Energy Transition and Wascana Solar Co-operative who also spoke at the event, said any plan needs to support people who work in the fossil fuel industry while ensuring everyone has access to renewable energy.

"It's important for us to think about the workers and the people who are in industry and need to change industries and — at the same time — consider folks who might be left behind in an energy transition," he said.

"Some of these renewables are costly and so government needs to support programs that will help everyone transition."

In the meantime, Campbell said one way to cut down on emissions and help lower income people is for the city to provide fare-free public transit.

Brass, agreed that a plan needs to support fossil fuel workers during the transition, but also said there needs to be an emphasis on Indigenous sovereignty and land protection, which she said often comes as an afterthought.

"When we're looking at how we restructure society… that must always include indigenous sovereignty and the way we operate our lands and territories."

Protesters in Vancouver demand federal candidates make climate crisis a top priority

Wed., September 8, 2021

Khalid Boudreau was among the crowd of climate activists at Wednesday's rally at Hamilton Street and West Georgia in downtown Vancouver.

 (Maggie MacPherson/CBC - image credit)

Dozens of people at a protest in downtown Vancouver Wednesday called on candidates in the Sept. 20 federal election to make the climate crisis a priority.

Khalid Boudreau, 22, was among the all-ages crowd at Hamilton Street and West Georgia to demand the government take swift action. He says witnessing this summer's unprecedented heat waves created a bleak picture.

"It's scary. You have these overlapping crises ... the heat wave killing hundreds of people, then there's affordability issues, the climate crisis and of course the pandemic. It's only going to get worse, if we don't act now," Boudreau said with emotion.

Esmé Decker, 19, is a University of British Columbia student who says this will be the first federal election in which she is eligible to vote.

"With the recent air quality issues and climate change hitting close to home, it has made it even more pressing for me to get involved and make sure everybody is making climate a priority," says Decker. "It's about making sure our voices are heard and showing politicians, climate change is an issue that matters to people."

Maggie MacPherson/CBC

Connor Roff is one of the organizers of Wednesday's Canada on Fire Day of Action.

"The main thing is to not allow yourself to feel hopeless and helpless. We really want to put climate action at the forefront of every political party's campaign. Canada is literally on fire. We have to put a stop to it," says Roff.

Protestors at the rally say they will keep politicians accountable for the promises they make.

Maggie MacPherson/CBC

Canada's political parties climate change plans

Canada's six major parties have all proposed climate change plans within their election platforms.

The Liberals, claim that with a national price on carbon and other measures, they can cut Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels, by 2030. They have pledged to ensure the oil and gas sector cuts emissions at the pace required to hit net-zero in 2050.

The Conservatives opposed the Liberals' net-zero emissions legislation and say their climate plan will meet Paris climate commitments of 30 per cent below 2005 levels, by 2030.

New Democrats supported the Liberals' net-zero legislation and have set an emissions reduction target of 50 per cent below 2005 levels, by 2030.

The Bloc Québécois says it wants to meet and exceed the Paris climate agreement targets, redirect unspent money on the Trans Mountain pipeline to renewable projects, and compel provinces that have emissions higher than the national average to pay into a "green equalization" fund, to be distributed to provinces with less pollution.

The Green Party wants to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent below 2005 levels, by 2030, and says it will create "clear" and "enforceable" targets and timelines by 2023. If elected, the party would cancel pipeline projects, ban fracking and put tariffs on imports from countries with weak climate policies.

The People's Party argues that there is "no scientific consensus" that human activity is driving climate change and has said warnings of looming environmental catastrophe are exaggerated. The party would withdraw Canada from the Paris climate accord and abandon what it calls "unrealistic" targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Maggie MacPherson/CBC

Worried for the future

Looking down at her young son with tears in her eyes, Christina Reed said if the government does not act soon, there will be no future for him.

"There is no point in hanging our heads, saying we've always done it this way or nothing can change. It is the most important issue for the election coming up, and it's not getting the attention it deserves. Without a planet, we don't have anything."

Following the rally, protestors marched down Hamilton street, waving their signs and chanting for change.

British Columbians were just one of 60 communities to join in the day of action, ahead of the federal party leaders' official election debates on Wednesday and Thursday nights..

Support for vaccine passports up in Alberta, Saskatchewan despite premiers' opposition, poll suggests

Wed., September 8, 2021, 

Jonathan Gagne, manager of Orangetheory Fitness, scans the QR code of a client's COVID-19 vaccine passport in Montreal, on Sept. 1, 2021. Alberta has not followed other provinces in implementing a proof-of-vaccination system but a recent poll suggests a majority of respondents support such a policy. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press - image credit)

A national survey suggests that the majority of respondents in Alberta and Saskatchewan support proof of vaccination in public spaces — despite both provinces' premiers resisting the idea in the past.

In Alberta, which had 152 people respond to the survey, 54 per cent of respondents agreed that mandatory proof of vaccination in public places was a good idea. That was up from 48 per cent in May and after dipping to just 40 per cent in July, before the third wave took hold.

In neighbouring Saskatchewan, where Premier Scott Moe has said his government will not be requiring proof of vaccination to visit businesses or participate in public activities, 51 per cent of the 125 people who responded to the poll supported requiring proof of vaccination — compared with 46 per cent in May.

The online poll by the Angus Reid Institute surveyed 1,709 Canadians from Sept. 3 to Sept. 6 on vaccine passports and incentives, among other issues.

Dave Korzinski, research director at Angus Reid, says since spring, support for mandatory vaccination in public spaces has grown by 15 percentage points nationwide — from 55 per cent in May to 70 per cent in early September.

"In May, we started asking about mandatory vaccination. It has always been relatively high for international travel purposes, travelling to the U.S., getting on any sort of airline flight," he said.

This time around, Korzinski said, at least two-thirds of respondents said they supported vaccine passports to be implemented in a variety of scenarios, including travel, public events, malls, movie theatres, restaurants and at the workplace.

The most significant increases were in B.C., Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

Angus Reid Institute

More support for regulation than incentives

Korzinski said he suspects the increase in support for proof of vaccination in Alberta is down to the fact that it's been hit hard by the fourth wave of COVID-19 cases and has lower levels of vaccination than some other parts of Canada.

As of Wednesday morning, Alberta's COVID-19 cases had climbed to 15,486 active cases with only 60 per cent of all Albertans (or 70.6 per cent of those eligible to get the vaccine) having received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

"The vast majority of those people who are vaccinated think you should have to prove it," he said. "So, they're looking at it as an extra measure of safety ... they've done their part, and they're trying to figure out how to get other people to kind of join them."

According to the survey, 77 per cent of responders across the country agreed that provincial governments should use regulatory measures, rather than incentives, to increase vaccination.

When asked how those who refuse to show vaccination proof at a restaurant and refuse to leave should be handled, 44 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement that the person should be escorted off property while 29 per cent agreed they should receive a fine.

For comparison purposes only, a probabilistic sample of the size of this survey would yield a margin of error of +/– eight percentage points.

Several provinces have opted for proof of vaccination

Several provinces have already introduced proof-of-vaccination measures, including Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.

However, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has said that Alberta would not bring in vaccine passports in part because it would contravene the province's Health Information Act.

Instead, Kenney announced last Friday that the government would offer a $100 incentive to motivate those who are not fully vaccinated to get their jabs.

"I wish we didn't have to do this, but this is not a time for moral judgments. This is a time to get people vaccinated," Kenney said.

BLUE HYDROGEN & 'MAYBE' TECH

Japan's Mitsubishi partners with Shell Canada in clean energy push

Wed., September 8, 2021,

Pedestrians are reflected on a signboard of Mitsubishi Corp at its head office in Tokyo


(Reuters) - Japan's Mitsubishi Corp and Shell Canada have signed a memorandum of understanding to produce low-carbon hydrogen to support Japan's push for clean energy, the companies announced on Wednesday.

Mitsubishi plans to build and start up the low-carbon hydrogen facility near Shell's Scotford, Alberta, facility toward the latter half of this decade, the companies said in a statement https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/jp/en/pr/archive/2021/html/0000047710.html.

The companies aim to produce about 165,000 tons per annum of hydrogen in the first phase of the project, which would be converted to low-carbon ammonia for export to Asian markets.

The low-carbon hydrogen, or blue hydrogen, would be produced via a natural gas feedstock and exported mainly to the Japanese market to produce clean energy, the companies said.

Shell would provide CO2 storage via its proposed Polaris carbon capture and storage project near Edmonton.

Shell in July unveiled its Polaris CCS project, joining a number of other companies proposing clean energy initiatives in Canada's main oil-producing province. The project would have the capacity to store 300 million tonnes of carbon over its lifetime.

Alberta, home to Canada's oil sands, is aiming to become a hub for carbon storage and hydrogen production as the world moves away from fossil fuel consumption and tries to cut climate-warming carbon emissions.

(Reporting by Rahul Paswan and Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Porter)