KENNEY WASTES OUR TAX $$$

Alberta energy 'war room' launches Times Square ad, expert questions campaign

Tue., September 28, 2021,

Alberta's energy 'war room' has started an ad campaign that includes billboards in Times Square in New York City. (Submitted by the Canadian Energy Centre - image credit)

Alberta's Canadian Energy Centre has launched an ad campaign in Times Square to promote the country's oil and gas industry in the United States.

The initiative from the province's so-called energy "war room" is spending $240,000 to push Canada's sector as the solution to "cleaner energy and lower gas prices," according to its website.

The centre operates as a private corporation, created by the United Conservative Party government, to promote Alberta energy. It has been beleaguered with branding and messaging problems since its launch.

"We're right here next door. And we're cleaner. We're closer and we're committed to net zero. So turn your eyes our way," CEO Tom Olsen told CBC News.

"We think we should meet the demand for energy that the United States needs over and above what they produce domestically. And frankly, for the rest of the world."

The video billboards in New York City feature maple leaves pouring from a gas pump nozzle with the caption "Choose Friendly Oil." About 96 per cent of Canada's oil and gas exports go to the U.S., according to Natural Resources Canada.

And the centre is asking Americans to write to the Joe Biden administration urging the U.S. government to lean on cleaner Canadian energy instead of requesting more production from Russia and OPEC countries like Saudi Arabia — as surging U.S. gas prices recently reached a seven-year high.

UCP'S WAR ROOM FOUND THE  CHARITY IN ALBERTA GETTING THE MOST AMERICAN FUNDING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT WAS DUCKS UNLIMITED      

DON BRAID, CALGARY HERALD

But one expert says it's disingenuous to call the Canadian industry clean.

"You can read their statement of saying oilsands have gotten cleaner, but the oilsands barrels themselves relative to a global average are still pretty emissions intensive. So there's not really a good way to reconcile what they're saying at Times Square with what we know from the data," said Andrew Leach, an energy and environmental economist at the University of Alberta.

"All of our data says that the average Canadian barrel is getting more emissions intensive."

Canada's emissions have increased by more than 21 per cent between 1990 and 2019, largely driven by oil and gas extraction, according to the federal government. While GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions per barrel from the oilsands have fallen 36 per cent since 2000, Alberta's emissions of carbon dioxide equivalent increased by 61 per cent between 1990 and 2019.

"I would pit Canada's industry against Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Russia any day of the week," Olsen said.

Leach says that assertion ignores global comparisons.

"It's pretty hard to argue that the average Canadian barrel has gotten cleaner over time. Even though some of the oilsands barrels, in general, have gotten a little bit better, just by the fact that they're becoming more and more of our overall picture, our overall picture is getting worse."

A money-maker and a net zero pledge

The country's five biggest oilsands producers have vowed to combine forces, money and technology to reduce emissions in one of the most carbon-intensive jurisdictions in the world. The alliance includes Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Imperial Oil, MEG Energy and Suncor Energy, which together operate 90 per cent of the country's oilsands production.

Meanwhile, Canada's second largest pension plan, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, has announced it will divest from oil and gas, shedding $3.9 billion in production assets by the end of 2022.

Energy accounted for more than 10 per cent of Canada's nominal GDP in 2019, according to Natural Resources Canada. Oil, natural gas and petroleum products remain Canada's top export by value, at more than $112.6 billion in 2019, per industry statistics.

Canada has committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050. The recently re-elected Liberal Party ran on a pledge to kill federal subsidies for the oil and gas sector by 2023.

The ad campaign is running two billboards in Times Square for a month, another along New York's Grand Central Parkway for two weeks and three outside the sports arena in Washington, D.C., for two weeks. The energy centre will measure success through website hits, media stories and the number of advocacy letters sent, Olsen said, but he did not provide a specific target number.

"The audience for these ads isn't in Times Square. The audience for these ads is in Edmonton and Calgary," Leach said.

The war room operates with a $12-million budget, reduced from $30 million during the COVID-19 pandemic.

RCMP costs hammering small towns in Alberta

Tue., September 28, 2021, 

The town of Rimbey didn’t have to pay for RCMP services until 2020 and now the cost to have RCMP in the community will result in the equivalent of a 10-per-cent property-tax increase annually, starting in a few years.

With a population of 2,567 — under the 5,000 population limit which excludes them from having to pay for RCMP services — the community has received their policing funds from the province and the federal government.

But in 2020 that all changed, and suddenly the town had to pay around $85,000 in the first year, which will increase to $100,000 next year, and by the end of the five-year plan the town will have to pay $200,000 per year for their policing costs.

Mayor Rick Pankiw said the changes to the policing funding model are deeply impacting small towns like his and the downloading of the costs onto these small communities is causing huge financial burdens for governments that can’t run a deficit.

“I was dumbfounded, to be quite honest with you,” Pankiw said, adding he had no real say in the matter and is just being handed a bill to pay for the service.

In Rimbey, to raise $23,000 in property taxes, the town has to increase its property taxes by one per cent and come up with the $200,000 needed in year five, which could result in a 10-per-cent property-tax increase for that year just to pay for policing.

Rimbey is not alone in facing increased RCMP expenses.

“It's the small municipalities under 5,000 who are getting absolutely hammered with RCMP costs for the next five years,” Pankiw said.

This year, after five years of negotiations, the federal government and RCMP reached a deal which would see the salaries of the police force, which has one of the lowest pay scales across the country, be raised. The deal included retroactive pay increases for the staff.

But the cost of the RCMP, which is the force which polices the province outside of major urban communities, is split between the federal, provincial, and municipal governments, leaving municipal governments footing a large bill from a deal they didn’t make.

The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association is estimating municipalities will pay a cumulative $80 million in retroactive pay, while larger municipalities will pay a total of $60 million, as the maximum salary for a constable is going up from $86,000 to $106,000.

Barry Morishita, mayor of Brooks and former president of AUMA, said the retroactive pay would cost Brooks $700,000 in one-time back pay, which is the equivalent of a tax increase of five-and-a-half per cent.

“Now we've got plans to deal with that we should be we should be OK to deal with that, but it's still money that would be used elsewhere ... and I know obviously the more members you have, the more money, it is,” Morishita said.

In recent years, many municipalities have seen cuts to the grants they use in place of taxes the provincial government pays in lieu of property taxes on their buildings; a larger share of provincial fine revenue removed; increasing regulation costs for wastewater services; downloaded costs of forensic lab work; and most recently a cut to provincial support for disposing of hazardous waste in communities.

Dr. Enid Slack of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, who is an expert in municipal finance, said as new services are needed, governments must start rethinking who is providing those services to their residents. One of the ways this has been achieved in the past is a service swap, where municipalities and other orders of government decide who should be delivering what services to the public.

Things such as climate change, pandemics, immigration resettlement, housing, and income inequality have started to pile onto the expenditure side of the budget for municipalities, but there is no change in how they can collect revenue to pay for these services.

"You have to rethink what should municipalities be doing and should be they be paying for all these services on a property tax," said Slack.

"The nature of what they're doing is changing the nature of revenues has stayed the same," Slack said.

Jennifer Henderson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, St. Albert Gazette

NUKE USA

NextEra Seeks Approval to Run Another Nuclear Plant for 80 Years

Will Wade
Wed., September 29, 2021, 10:35 a.m.·1 min read

(Bloomberg) -- NextEra Energy Inc. is seeking permission to run its St. Lucie nuclear plant in Florida until it’s 80 years old, joining other U.S. power providers in a push to preserve the country’s biggest source of clean energy.

The company is asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the licenses for the plant’s two reactors for another 20 years, according to a notice Wednesday. Unit 1 was initially licensed in 1976 and has permission to operate through 2036, and Unit 2 was approved in 1983 and can operate through 2043.

If approved, St. Lucie will be one of a growing number of U.S. nuclear plants set to run for eight decades, the oldest fleet in the world. As more states impose clean-energy mandates, carbon-free nuclear power is going to be a key part of the battle against climate change. Reactors supply about 20% of U.S. electricity and more than half of its clean power.

NextEra already has approval to operate its Turkey Point plant in Florida for 80 years. Dominion Energy Inc. and Exelon Corp. also plan to run some of their reactors until they reach that age, while Duke Energy Corp. in June said it expects to seek permission to do the same for its entire fleet of 11 reactors.

Chilliwack company pleads guilty in chicken abuse case

Tue., September 28, 2021

An undercover video shot by the non-profit animal advocacy group Mercy for Animals sparked an investigation into allegations of cruelty. (Mercy for Animals - image credit)

A B.C. poultry farming company has pleaded guilty to two charges for causing undue suffering to chickens, following an investigation sparked by an undercover video.

Elite Farm Services Ltd. of Chilliwack entered the pleas Monday in B.C. Supreme Court, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada confirmed.

The charges under the Health of Animals Regulations say no person shall load or unload animals in a way likely to cause injury or undue suffering.

The company was originally charged in December 2018 alongside its president, Dwayne Dueck, and Ontario-based Sofina Foods Inc.

The B.C. SPCA opened an investigation in response to the release of video footage showing hens stuck in mounds of feces and packed into wire cages with dead birds.

When the footage was publicized, Dueck said it "sickened" him and the company took "immediate corrective action."

Future court dates are still scheduled for Dueck and Sofina, and pleas have not been entered, according to a clerk in the B.C. Supreme Court registry.

A date for sentencing for Elite Farm Services has yet to be set.

1. Beasts of burden - Antagonism and Practical History

   https://libcom.org/library/beasts-burden-antagonism-practical-history

   

   2017-03-26 · Beasts of burden - Antagonism and Practical History. An attempt to rethink the separation between animal liberationist and communist politics. Introduction. This is a text which, we hope, faces in two directions. On the one …

EXPROPRIATION

B.C. seeks forfeiture of $2.8M condo owned by alleged COVID-19 violator

Tue., September 28, 2021


VICTORIA — A civil action has been filed in British Columbia Supreme Court that could see the owner of a condo in Vancouver stripped of his property after allegedly violating COVID-19 restrictions.

The director of civil forfeiture filed the claim last week against Mohammad Movassaghi.

A notice of civil claim alleges the penthouse apartment is registered in Movassaghi's name and has been used to "engage in unlawful activities."

A message left with his lawyer was not immediately returned and Movassaghi has not responded to the forfeiture action, but court documents show he has until mid-October to reply.

None of the claims alleged in the civil claim by the director of civil forfeiture have been proven in court.

The two-bedroom suite in a 45-storey highrise is shown on the BC Assessment website as being valued at over $2.8 million, and the civil claim seeks all proceeds from the sale of the condo, once a mortgage of about $2 million is repaid.

The court document says Movassaghi was sentenced to one day in jail, fined $5,000 and placed on 18 months' probation In April after being arrested for violating B.C.'s COVID-19 restrictions when a large party was held in the suite when gatherings were prohibited.

The civil claim also alleges Movassaghi continued to violate restrictions and hold large gatherings.

It alleges he operated an unlicensed bar and has used the property for other unlawful activities including laundering the proceeds of unlawful activity and using those proceeds to pay the mortgage.

"By converting the proceeds of the unlawful activity into the property, the property was used by the defendant as an instrument of unlawful activity, namely, the laundering of proceeds of crime," the court document says.

It alleges Movassaghi did not have sufficient "lawful" income to buy the property, make the down payment or service the mortgage.

In May, the director of civil forfeiture filed a B.C. Supreme Court claim for $8,740 alleged to be proceeds of crime that it says was seized by Vancouver police when they entered Movassaghi's suite in January using a search warrant after receiving a complaint about a large gathering at the property. Neither Movassaghi nor his lawyer have replied with the court to that claim.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2021.

The Canadian Press

UNELECTED PREMIER 2B
Two candidates vying to become Manitoba's next premier debate health care and more

Tue., September 28, 2021



WINNIPEG — The two women campaigning to become Manitoba's next premier have squared off for the first time in the provincial Progressive Conservative leadership race.

Shelly Glover, a former member of Parliament, who has not been elected provincially, said she offers a "head-snapping" change for the party.

During a debate Tuesday night, she said the governing Tories have not listened to party members or other Manitobans and a new collaborative approach is needed.

Heather Stefanson, a longtime legislature member who recently served as health minister, said she has the experience and the backing of fellow caucus members needed to take on the New Democrats.

Glover went on the offensive at times, accusing Stefanson of being in political backrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic instead of on the front lines.

Party members will choose their new leader on Oct. 30 by mail-in ballot.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2021

The Canadian Press

Second UCP MLA publicly calls out Jason Kenney's leadership

Tue., September 28, 2021, 

Airdrie-East MLA Angela Pitt is the second UCP MLA to publicly question Premier Jason Kenney's leadership. (Scott Dippel/CBC - image credit)

A second member of the UCP caucus is publicly questioning the leadership of Premier Jason Kenney.

Angela Pitt, the MLA for Airdrie-East, was asked by a reporter at an unrelated news conference on Tuesday if she had confidence in Kenney's leadership of the United Conservative Party.

"The answer to that question is no, I don't. And I don't think my constituents do either," she said.

"However, I think that there is a place for the grassroots to take charge of this type of decision. And that's where it will lie for now."

Pitt's statement came a week after Chestermere-Strathmore MLA Leela Aheer said Kenney should resign.

Kenney was able to hold off a non-confidence vote during a closed door caucus meeting on Wednesday. The embattled UCP leader agreed to hold a leadership review in the spring, months earlier than the review promised in the fall of 2022.

Although the UCP caucus voted to remove Central Peace-Notley MLA Todd Loewen and Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes over allegations of disloyalty last spring, Pitt and Aheer are still in the UCP caucus.

In response to a reporter's question later on Tuesday, Kenney said he believed he still had the confidence of his caucus and that it was no secret some of his MLAs opposed his government's measures.

"Our caucus decided, I believe as a group, that we need to focus on the crisis that Alberta is facing and maintain stability and coherence as a government," he said. "That's exactly what we are doing."

ONLINE POLL 

Should Alberta Premier Jason Kenney face consequences 

for his handling of the pandemic?

Yes

72%31,099 Votes

No

21%9,237 Votes

I don't know

6%2,643 Votes

Other MLAs deflected question

Pitt was one of five MLAs who joined a news conference by Free Alberta, an organization that is advocating for a sovereign Alberta within the Canadian federation.

The initiative is led by former Wildrose MLA Rob Anderson. Pitt, Aheer, Barnes, Loewen and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Nathan Cooper were all Wildrose MLAs before the party merged with the Progressive Conservatives in 2017 to form the UCP.

Free Alberta released a strategy outlining how Alberta can gain what it called "provincial legislative sovereignty within Alberta." It is also advocating for an end to equalization and Albertans paying tax to the federal government.

Pitt was joined at the virtual news conference by Barnes, Loewen, Cooper, and Red Deer-South MLA Jason Stephan. Cooper is also the speaker of the legislative assembly.

Cooper did not answer questions as Anderson said he was only there as an observer. Stephan deflected questions about his views on Kenney's suitability as leader.

"I admire and respect the premier and the things that he has accomplished. I haven't agreed with everything that the premier has said or done," Stephan said.

"My particular opinion of the premier is not really that important. There will be a leadership review and I will have one vote just like every other member of the party."

Free Alberta strategy

A key part of its strategy is passage of an Alberta Sovereignty Act which would allow the province to "refuse to enforce any piece of federal legislation or judicial decision that intrudes on Alberta's provincial rights, or that unfairly attack the interests of Alberta's people."

Free Alberta said the province should have its own banking system, employment insurance plan and Alberta revenue agency, which would recover "equalization and net transfers confiscated by the federal government by collecting a portion of all federal income tax revenue at source."

The group also wants Alberta to appoint its own superior court judges.

Several of the items in the strategy were flagged by the Fair Deal Panel which reported to the Alberta government last year.

They include the creation of a provincial police force to replace the RCMP and an Alberta pension plan.

Does Alberta ‘care if people get sick or die?': Push for lockdown, #FirebreakAB rejected by Premier Jason Kenney

Elisabetta Bianchini

Wed., September 29, 2021

As COVID-19 rages on in Alberta, the province's premier Jason Kenney continues to reject calls for a "firebreak" lockdown measure to slow the spread of the virus.

"We are monitoring the trends and the numbers very closely everyday, if we need to take additional measures we will, but they have to be effective," Kenney said at a press conference on Tuesday. "One of the challenges that we are facing is that the pressure on our hospitals is coming overwhelmingly from the unvaccinated share of our population."

"We also find that, that segment of the population are the least likely to comply with public health measures or restrictions... So it is a complex situation because if we were to bring in widespread restrictions that would most likely be complied with [by] the people who are vaccinated, but we would likely see large-scale noncompliance among the unvaccinated population."

ONLINE POLL

Should Alberta Premier Jason Kenney face consequences for his handling of the pandemic?

Yes

72%31,099 Votes

No

21%9,237 Votes

I don't know

6%2,643 Votes

When asked by reporters if a "firebreak" lockdown, specifically, is on the table and when something like that could be implemented, the premier responded by saying the province is still monitoring to see how effective the current measures have been on limiting COVID-19 spread.

"If the advice we receive is that these measures have been insufficient to abate the case growth pressure and future hospitalization pressure, then we will take additional measures," Kenney said.

'Firebreakers' or 'circuit breakers' are essential, experts say

A statement from Dr. Katharine Smart, President of the Canadian Medical Association, states health systems in Alberta and Saskatchewan are at "breaking point."

"Early relaxation of public health measures has left two crumbling health care systems in their wake and the dire realities are now in full view," the statement reads. "What is happening is as heartbreaking as it was preventable.

"The Canadian Medical Association is urgently calling on the provincial and federal governments to work together to: increase vaccination rates through mandatory vaccination in health care settings; institute effective public health measures such as ‘firebreakers’ or ‘circuit breakers’ to aggressively control COVID-19 cases; increase the mobility of health workers between provinces and support the safe transportation of patients to other jurisdictions who have ICU capacity."

Several people, including health experts, have taken to social media to respond to Kenney's response to calls for "firebreak" lockdown measures in Alberta.

B.C. government lays out $260-million, five-year plan to move away from fossil fuels

Tue., September 28, 2021

SITE C DAM

VANCOUVER — BC Hydro and the provincial government have announced a new five-year plan for the Crown corporation that provides incentives for people to switch from fossil fuels to electricity to power their homes, businesses and vehicles.

Under the plan announced Tuesday, BC Hydro will spend nearly $190 million to promote fuel switching in homes, buildings, vehicles and industry.

PROMOTING THE CONTROVERSIAL  SITE C  DAM
More than $50 million will be spent to attract industries to B.C. to run their businesses and reduce their carbon footprint by using hydroelectricity.

Bruce Ralston, the province's minister of energy, mines and low carbon innovation, called the plan "ambitious" and said it could lead to lower rates for BC Hydro customers, potentially by about 1.6 per cent by 2026.

"We plan to use B.C.'s clean power advantage, the power of water to transition away from using fossil fuels like gasoline, diesel and natural gas to using clean electricity over the next five years," he told a news conference.

Premier John Horgan said the plan could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 930,000 tonnes by 2026. That is equivalent to taking about 200,000 passenger vehicles a year off the road, he noted.

"Those solutions will lead to what we call energy switching, moving away from fossil fuels and taking up more clean, green electrified options," Horgan said.

This plan builds on existing rebates and customer supports for the installation of heat pumps, electric vehicle chargers and electrification measures, he said.

The province announced in January that it would set up an electrification fund using about $84 million from the federal government's infrastructure investment program. The fund aims to reduce the costs of connecting to the power grid and supporting certain industrial customers upgrading their connections.

The amount would cover up to 50 per cent of a customer's eligible costs, such as new transmission lines, to a maximum of $15 million.

It said then that depending on the industrial facilities that participate, these electrification initiatives could reduce the release of more than one million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

Ralston said homeowners can benefit from new top-up incentives that could save them about $3,000 over existing rebates on electric heat pumps if they're switching from natural gas.

The government also plans to "more than triple" the number of public fast-charging stations for electric vehicles by 2025, he said.


'MAYBE' TECH
In July, the B.C. government announced a hydrogen strategy involving government, industry and innovators to help the province achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Ralston said then that the short-term goals include establishing regional hydrogen hubs to supply fuel to industries and consumers. This would take place while increasing the number of medium and heavy-duty vehicles powered by hydrogen on highways and at industrial sites, he added.

At the news conference Tuesday, Horgan emphasized the role of such "cutting-edge innovations" along with the push for hydro power to help the province switch from fossil fuels.

Chris O’Riley, president of BC Hydro, said the province has been powered by clean energy for decades by dams and generating stations.

"The impacts of climate change, though, continue to confront us,” O’Riley said, noting the drought conditions, heat wave and fires over the past summer.

"Thanks to the clean power advantage we have here in B.C., we are well positioned to act on climate change and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2021.

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press

Most Americans want more diplomacy, many want fewer troops abroad -survey

Arshad Mohammed
Tue., September 28, 2021

FILE PHOTO: U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A majority of Americans want more U.S. diplomatic engagement and a plurality want fewer U.S. troops stationed abroad, according to a survey taken as the chaotic U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan took place.

The survey, reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday, was designed by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Eurasia Group Foundation and conducted Aug. 27-Sept. 1. It found that 58.3% believe the United States should engage more in negotiations on issues such as climate change, human rights and migration.

It also found 21.6% believe the United States should engage less, while 20.1% had no opinion.

Of the 2,168 surveyed, 42.3% believe the United States should cut the number of troops in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, reduce its commitments to defend countries there and gradually shift regional security responsibility to allies.

The poll, which Reuters reviewed prior to its Wednesday release, found 32.2% believed the United States should either maintain or boost its troops abroad, while 25.5% had no opinion.

The last U.S. soldier left Afghanistan on Aug. 30, ending the nearly 20-year U.S. military involvement sparked by the goal of toppling the Taliban rulers who sheltered the al Qaeda group blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Eurasia Group Foundation senior fellow Mark Hannah said the number of Americans who believe U.S. foreign policy should be more concerned about building democracy at home than abroad increased substantially over the last two years, saying this may reflect the survey occurring as U.S. troops left Afghanistan.

"We collected our data at a time period when the U.S. was evacuating from Afghanistan and the failures of nation-building and democracy-promotion through military means were spectacular and quite stark," he added. "That might explain this uptick and a desire to do democracy promotion at home this year."

The survey also found that:

- 40.3% or respondents want to maintain current U.S. military spending, while 38.6% want to cut it and 16.4% want to increase it;

- 62.6% support reviving nuclear talks with Iran and seeking an agreement that prevents its development of nuclear weapons, while 37.4% oppose talks and favor pressuring Iran with economic sanctions to keep it from obtaining such arms;

- 42.2% believe the U.S. military should defend Taiwan if it were attacked by China, 16.2% believe it should not, and 41.6% were unsure.

The Eurasia Group Foundation, which designed the online survey carried out by SurveyMonkey, said it is legally separate from the Eurasia Group political risk consultancy. Both were founded by political scientist Ian Bremmer.

The survey had a plus or minus 2 percentage point margin of error, at a 95% confidence level, which the group described as typical for an adult population of 258.3 million.

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington and by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Dan Grebler)