Caterpillar quietly uses Russia as shipping route after pullback
Bloomberg News | March 15, 2022 

Image source: Caterpillar Inc.

Caterpillar Inc. continues to use Russia as a supply-chain route, even after the company said it had suspended business with the country.


The construction machinery giant’s continued use of Russia for moving parts and equipment sheds new light on already-fragile global supply chains. It also shows how dependent the European Union and China are on shipping routes that traverse Europe’s largest nation by landmass.

An internal document outlining Caterpillar’s logistics and supply-chain activities, seen by Bloomberg, says the company’s rail shipments crossing Russia between Europe and China are operating as normal. Caterpillar began relying more on rail freight through Russia in 2021 when ocean freight became exceedingly tight and costly.

The Deerfield, Illinois-based producer’s ocean freight is being diverted to European ports, and European customs officials are then holding all that cargo destined for Russia for inspection, the document states. All air freight to Russia and Ukraine have been suspended.

Caterpillar spokeswoman Rachel Potts declined to comment.

The company on March 9 said it suspended operations at its manufacturing plants in Russia. The company document, however, shows that shipping through the nation not only hasn’t ceased but acts as a vital supply line for the global machinery producer.

The company moves parts and finished machines between Europe and China through Russia. Most of that is done by rail, a person familiar with the matter said.

Caterpillar stopped shipping parts and machines to its dealerships throughout Ukraine as Russia invaded the nation, according to the person. For now, anything destined for Ukraine is being stored at a warehouse in Belgium, where Ukraine’s dealerships usually store overflow, the person said.

The revelation that Caterpillar continues to use Russia as a transit route is significant, considering that Caterpillar doesn’t normally give out a lot of detail about physical shipping of its goods in Europe, Asia or elsewhere.

The parts and machines affected are used in everything from construction to mining to oil and gas. One concern for the company, suppliers and investors is that Russia could cut rail and road access to U.S. and European companies. Another worry is that tighter sanctions could force Caterpillar to use more costly and circuitous routes.

The global supply-chain crisis that arose last year already forced Caterpillar to shift a significant amount of its ocean freight between Asia and Europe to rail freight, according to the person.

Higher shipping costs could be offset by ballooning commodity prices, particularly in industrial metals, if mining companies use the extra cash to upgrade aging equipment. Caterpillar’s mining equipment business, which yields huge profit margins, accounted for almost one-fifth of sales last year.

Caterpillar reported annual revenue of about $51 billion in 2021, surging more than 20% from the prior year as economies reopened from the pandemic. In January, Andrew Bonfield, Caterpillar’s chief financial officer, said that China represents about 5% to 10% of sales.

(By Joe Deaux)

Rusal diverts ore to Ireland after Ukraine plant shuttered
Reuters | March 15, 2022 | 

Photo by AVTOVAZ Group.

Russian aluminium giant Rusal is diverting bauxite cargoes from Guinea to its refinery in Ireland after the original destination in Ukraine shut down because of the Russian invasion, shipping data shows.


The logistics rethink for the world’s second-largest aluminium producer, which is not under sanctions, illustrates the kinds of supply chain disruptions now rippling through the interconnected global economy, driving up prices for some goods.

Tesla Inc raised its prices in China and the United States for the second time in less than a week on Tuesday, citing surging raw materials costs because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and rival carmaker Volkswagen warned that the conflict is clouding its prospects for this year.

Britain has sanctioned Rusal’s billionaire founder Oleg Deripaska and while the aluminium company itself has not been targeted it is facing a more restricted operating environment, with Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto cutting ties with Rusal as part of its overall withdrawal from Russia.

Rio Tinto was an important supplier of bauxite – an ore used to make aluminium – to the Aughinish refinery near Limerick in Ireland, Rusal’s biggest alumina operation and largest such plant in Europe.
Significant employer

The Irish government is keen for the refinery to continue operations, a spokesperson for the department of enterprise said, adding that Rusal is a significant employer in Limerick.

“The department and its agencies continue to assess the implications of recent developments and are closely monitoring the situation,” the spokesperson said.

Rusal said it is “fulfilling all its obligations towards its employees at all its assets around the world, including paying salaries and is strongly committed to continuing to do so”.

It does not plan to halt any of its operations in Guinea, a spokesperson said while acknowledging that there had been a temporary reduction in bauxite exports from the West African nation because of events in Ukraine.

Rusal operates three mining projects in Guinea.

Its Dian-Dian mines have historically supplied bauxite to Aughinish, and its Friguia project includes a bauxite mine and an alumina refinery. Ore produced by its Kindia operation is typically sent to the Nikolaev refinery near the Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv.

The Nikolaev plant has annual capacity to refine bauxite ore into 1.7 million tonnes of alumina, about a fifth of Rusal’s output of the material used to make aluminium.

Mykolaiv, however, has been targeted by Russian shelling during the conflict in Ukraine and Rusal this month halted operations at the refinery.
Ships rerouting

A Reuters analysis of Refinitiv shipping data on Tuesday showed that of the six vessels at sea and originally transporting Guinean ore to the Nikolaev facility, four were rerouting to Aughinish.

The two other vessels are in the western Mediterranean Sea awaiting orders, the data shows.

Rusal and its parent company En+ Group, both founded by Deripaska, have said the sanctions against him have no impact on them or their subsidaries.

European Union countries, however, are considering a ban on Russian ships entering the bloc’s ports, which would further hamper Russia’s commercial shipments.

None of the charter vessels transporting Rusal’s ore from Guinea are owned by the aluminium producer or other Russian companies or are registered in Russia.

Britain, though, has already decided to deny entry to British ports to all ships that are Russian owned, operated, controlled, chartered, registered or flagged.

Since July 2020 Rio Tinto has supplied 19 bauxite shipments to Aughinish, amounting to roughly 20% of the refinery’s total ore supply, according to bauxite industry specialist Bob Adam.

Rusal said it plans to increase its supply of bauxite to Aughinish, replacing shipments from Brazil.

Bauxite exports to the Nikolaev refinery will resume as soon as the situation in the region normalises, the Rusal spokesperson said.

Guinea’s ministry of mines did not reply to a request for comment.

(By Joe Bavier, Helen Reid, Clara Denina, Padraic Halpin and Saliou Samb; Editing by David Goodman)

Non-lithium battery chemistries to grow in importance for stationary energy storage sector – report
Staff Writer | March 15, 2022 

Ambri Inc’s high-temperature battery technology. (Image by Ambri).

A new report by IDTechEx estimates that by 2025, over 10% of the stationary energy storage market will be accounted for by non-lithium battery chemistries, up from <5% in 2021.


According to the market analyst, though electric vehicles are the largest market for battery technology and will remain so, the importance of the stationary market will grow and once energy density can be de-prioritized as it can be for stationary storage systems, the choice of battery chemistries and systems will become less restrictive.

“In particular, more long-duration storage is expected to be needed to enable higher penetration levels of variable renewable power sources. Here, lower cost and longer-lasting technologies are needed,” the dossier reads. “Li-ion batteries will likely struggle to profitably exploit electricity price variations over storage periods of 6-8 hours, let alone the days or weeks’ worth of storage that may eventually be needed.”

In IDTechEx’s view, improvements to alternative stationary battery technologies will also help to make them more attractive.

Such improvements are already being carried out by a number of companies that, based on data collected by the UK-based firm, have demonstrated prototypes and rolled out battery systems for early customers.

“Various battery chemistries based on zinc, iron, and other low-cost materials are also being developed and commercialized. Interest in these alternatives can be highlighted by some of the funding raised in 2021 from companies developing these long-duration technologies, including the $200 million for Form Energy’s iron-air, $144 million for Ambri Inc’s high-temperature battery, and $100 million for Enervenue’s nickel-hydrogen hybrid battery,” the report reads.

“Companies developing non-electrochemical storage technologies such as Highview Power and Energy Vault have also raised considerable funding in 2021.”

(Source: IDTechEx).

IDTechEx’s review predicts that several factors playing against the lithium-ion industry could open opportunities for battery chemistries, and energy storage technologies, that utilize lower cost, more widely available materials and that can also offer additional safety and environmental benefits.

The analyst’s data show that the second half of the 2020s could see lithium, cobalt, and nickel supply disruptions and bottlenecks, while the sector will also have to deal with the ongoing questioning of the safety and environmental credentials of materials throughout the Li-ion supply chain.

“Li-ion will continue to dominate the energy storage space in the short term. For battery electric vehicles, this will continue to be the case even in the long-term as there are few realistic alternatives beyond related chemistries based on silicon and lithium-metal anodes or solid-electrolytes,” the report reads.

But for stationary storage, IDTechEx predicts alternatives to Li-ion are set to play an increasingly important role due to their potential for improving cost and safety, easing material supply burdens, and the often less demanding requirements on energy density in the stationary sector.

Blockade halts Southern Copper’s Cuajone mine in Peru
Cecilia Jamasmie | March 15, 2022

The Cuajone copper mine is in southern Peru, about 878 km from Lima.

(Image courtesy of Southern Copper.)

Operations at Southern Copper’s Cuajone mine in Peru have been suspended for 15 days as locals continue to block the company’s access to a water reservoir and other key supplies, the country’s mining and energy industry body has revealed.


The blockade began on February 28, when Southern Copper made the decision to replace a 50-year-old water pipe that supplies nearby communities.

According to Raul Jacob, chief executive of Southern Copper and current president of the Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy of Peru (SNMPE), the section replaced is on the mine’s concession.

Jacob told local media he has documentation that proves the move was brought to community leaders as well as to regional and national authorities.

“The blockade took us by surprise,” Jacob said.

Workers at the Cuajone copper mine, which employs more than 5,000 people, are asking the government to mediate the conflict between the company and locals, arguing their jobs and lives are at risk.

“The refusal of residents to restore water supply to Cuajone and free the railroad prevent us from resuming operations at the mine,” Southern Copper said in an emailed statement.

The above video shared on social media shows mine workers asking for government help and calling locals to let supplies get to them.

The SNMPE said protesters were demanding $5 billion in compensation as well as a share of 5% of the company’s profits.

Mining specialist at Velocity Trade Capital, Pablo O’Brien, said there was more to the situation, which he qualified as “very serious.”

“No one can just turn off water supplies to a group of people whatever the reason is…This situation is an unfortunate proof that the state does not have the capacity at this time to mediate to resolve conflicts,” O’Brien said.

Peru is the world’s second largest copper producer after neighbouring Chile and mining is a key source of tax revenue. Residents of nearby communities have been increasingly protesting mines, claiming they cause pollution without contributing enough to local economies.

Fighting to keep top producer status

Southern Copper, part of Grupo Mexico, is one of the biggest copper companies by mineral reserves and Cuajone is its second largest mine in Peru.

The miner’s copper production dropped by 4.3% in 2021 and it recently said it expected the decline to continue this year.

Southern Copper expects to churn out 922,000 tonnes of the metal used in construction and electric vehicles in 2022.

“After this year, we believe our 2023 production will bounce back to one million tons of copper,” it said in a February earnings statement. “By the end of this decade, as our organic growth projects mature, we expect to hit the 1.8 million-tonne copper production mark.”

Southern is developing projects worth $2.8 billion in Peru. If the up-and-coming Michiquillay and Los Chancas projects are included, that figure jumps to almost $8 billion.

RANKED: World’s top 10 biggest copper mines

Protests have hit several large mining companies in Peru since leftist President Pedro Castillo took office in July after winning the election with overwhelming support in the country’s impoverished mining regions.

The road used by MMG’s Las Bambas copper mine to transport its metal has been blocked on and off by residents who are demanding financial contributions from the company.

Last year, protests also disrupted the country’s top copper mine Antamina, co-owned by BHP (33.75%), Glencore (33.75%),Teck Resources (22.75%) and Mitsubishi (10%).

Glencore (LON: GLEN), Hudbady Minerals TSX, NYSE: HBM) and Hochschild Mining’s mines have also been affected.

Social unrest in the nation’s mining areas deepens global concerns around a looming deficit of copper.

According to estimates from CRU Group, the copper industry needs to spend more than $100 billion to close what could be an annual shortage of 4.7 million tonnes by 2030.

Copper price rises on Peru supply disruption worries
Staff Writer | March 16, 2022

The vast Cuajone mine complex begins with a water supply at Lake Suche at 14,500 feet in the Andes and ends with a smelter on the South Pacific coast. (Image courtesy of Fluor.)

The copper price rose on Wednesday as supply concerns resurfaced in Peru, the world’s second-biggest producer of the metal after neighboring Chile.


Copper for delivery in May rose 2.6% from Monday’s settlement price, touching $4.633 per pound ($10,192 per tonne).

[Click here for an interactive chart of copper prices]

Operations at Southern Copper’s Cuajone mine in Peru have been suspended for 15 days as locals continue to block the company’s access to a water reservoir and other key supplies.

The blockade began on February 28, when Southern Copper made the decision to replace a 50-year-old water pipe that supplies nearby communities.

The company said on Wednesday it plans to import copper concentrate potentially from as far away as Mexico for its refinery in Peru.

Raúl Jacob, the company’s vice president of finance, said this would imply an increase in costs and a decrease in profits for this year.

Southern Copper, controlled by Grupo México, has a smelter in the Peruvian town of Ilo and operates the Cuajone and Toquepala mines in the south. It also operates the La Caridad and Buenavista deposits in Mexico.

Southern Copper produced about 400,000 tonnes of copper concentrate in Peru last year, according to government data.

“This is going to drive up costs, for sure,” Jacob said. When asked if this would also impact profits for the year, he said it would because “every day that passes the company is going to be prevented from selling some $4.8 million.”

The protesters are demanding compensation of $5 billion for the use of their land and a 5% share of the company’s profits. The company says it has full land-use rights and that the protest is illegal.

Jacob said he hoped authorities would intervene to put an end to the conflict, claiming that the protest, along with others hitting MMG’s huge Las Bambas copper mine was affecting 20% of the country’s copper production.

(With files from Reuters)

Four Bengal tigers freed from train carriage where they were trapped for 15 years

Melanie Nagy

CTV National News 

Vancouver Bureau Chief

Saturday, March 19, 2022 

Four Paws International helped rescue not one tiger,

 but four from deplorable conditions in Argentina. 

(CTV National News)

A crane mounted on a flatbed truck carefully moves a large grey crate towards a grassy sanctuary in South Africa known as "Lionsrock."

Inside the metal box, there is a Bengal tiger that was once forced to perform in a travelling circus, before being locked away in a train carriage.

"I don't think they will believe they are free," said Amir Khalil while peering into another crate. "It is difficult. Imagine you are closed for 15 years in a place and one time the door is open."

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Khalil is a veterinarian and project director at an animal welfare organization called Four Paws International.

Along with his team, he helped rescue not one tiger, but four from deplorable conditions in Argentina.

"After all these years living in I would say a metal wagon or train, I can (imagine) how it would be nice to touch the ground again, the grass again," he said.

Once at the gates of the sanctuary, the door to the crate containing the tiger is slowly opened. While Khalil and several others watch from afar, the big cat cautiously steps into the enclosed field.

As its paws gingerly move through the grass, it quickly looks to the right and then the left, before bolting away from the box that carried it across continents.

Once the tiger is settled, Hildegard Pirker helps the team introduce another one to the sanctuary. Pirker manages the rescue centre, which is located about 18 kilometres outside of South Africa's Bethlehem.

All animals at the centre come from zoos, circuses and private owners. Many of them have suffered neglect and mistreatment.

"We are happy that they arrived really safe and that they are released," said Pirker. "Now for us, the work starts, so we are going to, for the next few weeks or however long it takes, we're going to monitor them now to see if they are settling in."

In 2007, a circus troupe abandoned a male and female tiger in San Luis, Argentina. A local farmer was asked to take care of them on a temporary basis, however, the animal's handler never returned to claim them.

With that, the cats were caged in a metal train carriage on the farmer's property. Since both animals were of breeding age, and neither was sterilized, they eventually had two cubs while in captivity.

“The train carriage was filthy with excrement and leftover meat and bones for a long time, but fortunately this is not the case anymore. Tigers need to move, run, play, and bathe. Being locked in a train carriage and only pacing back and forth for 15 years is not a tiger-worthy life," said Khalil.

Four Paws International says Argentinean authorities became aware of the "inferior living conditions" back in 2021.

Once an investigation was launched, the organization was brought in to assist in relocating the tiger family.

Since the animals had to travel about 70 hours by plane, a team of experienced veterinarians and wildlife experts was recruited to help with logistics.

Before their departure, Four Paw named each of the tigers. The eldest male was given the name of famous soccer star Lionel Messi.

The World Wildlife Fund, an organization that works in the field of preservation and conservation, estimates there are about 3,900 tigers remaining in the wild. Their decline has been linked to habitat loss, poaching and illegal wildlife trade.

Khalil would like the plight of the former "train tigers" to serve as a reminder that wild animals need to be better protected and do not belong in captivity.

"It's needed and very important that the next step is to forbid a wild animal to be in private captivity," he said.

"So it is a clear message, a clear step now. And this is exactly what Lions Rock is doing here in South Africa. We wish not to have animals in any sanctuary and animals to stay free and not to catch them or to breed them in captivity."

Now that the cats are safe in South Africa, Pirker will take the lead in their care.

"They're very nervous at the moment that everything is new, and they are aggressive (with) each other and don't know what to do with all these new things." said Pirker.

The tigers will be kept in pairs, in two temporary enclosures, with the aim of giving them time to adjust and settle into their new surroundings.

Once staff feel they are ready to mix with other cats living at the sanctuary, they will be moved into a much bigger space than they are in now.

"What we wish is to not have animals in any sanctuary, and for animals to stay free," said Pirker.

For now, that wish to have the tigers fully free will have to wait. After years of poor treatment, they need to be rehabilitated and that starts with pure pleasure of freely moving and finally sitting in the grass, feeling the Earth beneath them.

SOUTH AFRICA

UASA union accepts Sibanye-Stillwater wage offer
Reuters | March 14, 2022 

(Image courtesy of Sibanye Stillwater.)

Sibanye-Stillwater said on Monday the United Association of South Africa (UASA) union has accepted its wage offer, meaning UASA members will no longer be locked out of the workplace.


Sibanye has been in talks with unions over wages at its South African gold operations, and implemented a lockout last Thursday after receiving strike notice from the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) earlier in the week.

Members of the Solidarity union, which accepted Sibanye’s wage offer last week, will no longer be locked out of the workplace either, Sibanye said on Monday. Solidarity had said it would challenge the company’s move to lock out its members.

Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman said the company is “hopeful” that both the NUM and AMCU will soon accept the offer too.

Under Sibanye’s final offer – the sixth since talks began – miners, artisans and officials would receive a 5% pay increase each year and “unskilled and semi-skilled” employees would be given an annual increase of 800 rand ($51.72) a month each year between 2022 and 2024.

(By Helen Reid; Editing by Promit Mukherjee)

Harmony reports fatality at Johannesburg mine
Reuters | March 14, 2022 

Doornkop mine. (Image courtesy of Harmony Gold)

South African gold miner Harmony Gold said on Monday that a mine-worker had died of an accident at one its mines in Johannesburg on Friday.


“Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited regrets to report that one of its employees tragically lost their life following a mine-related material car incident during the afternoon of Friday 11th March 2022, at its Doornkop mine, near Soweto, in the Gauteng province,” the company said in a statement.

Harmony, South Africa’s biggest gold producer, said the affected part of the mine had been closed while investigations were underway.

(By Nelson Banya; Editing by Promit Mukherjee)

Scientists optimize process to transform wastewater sulfur into battery materials
Staff Writer | March 14, 2022 | 

Wastewater. (Reference image by SuSanA Secretariat, Flickr).

Researchers at Stanford University have found a new way to mine sewage for valuable materials used in fertilizers and cathode material for lithium-sulfur batteries that could someday power smartphones and airplanes.


Their analysis, published recently in ACS ES&T Engineering, reveals how to optimize membrane processes that use anaerobic or oxygen-free environments to filter wastewater.

Such processes are in need of a revamp because they normally produce sulfide, a compound that can be toxic, corrosive and odour-emitting.

Strategies for dealing with the problem, such as chemical oxidation or the use of certain substances to convert the sulfur into separable solids, can generate byproducts and drive chemical reactions that corrode pipes and make it harder to disinfect the water.

However, electrochemical sulfur oxidation requires low energy input and enables fine-tuned control of final sulfur products.

In their paper, the scientists explain that whereas some products, such as elemental sulfur, can deposit on electrodes and slow down chemical reactions, others, like sulfate, can be easily captured and reused.

Making use of scanning electrochemical microscopy – a technique that facilitates microscopic snapshots of electrode surfaces while reactors are operating – the researchers quantified the rates of each step of electrochemical sulfur oxidation along with the types and amounts of products formed. They identified the main chemical barriers to sulfur recovery, including electrode fouling and which intermediates are hardest to convert. They also found, among other things, that varying operating parameters, such as the reactor voltage, could facilitate low-energy sulfur recovery from wastewater.

These and other insights clarified trade-offs between energy efficiency, sulfide removal, sulfate production and time. With them, the researchers outlined a framework to inform the design of future electrochemical sulfide oxidation processes that balance energy input, pollutant removal and resource recovery.

Looking toward the future, the scientists believe that sulfur recovery technology could also be combined with other techniques, such as the recovery of nitrogen from wastewater to produce ammonium sulfate fertilizer.

“Hopefully, this study will help accelerate the adoption of technology that mitigates pollution, recovers valuable resources and creates potable water all at the same time,” the study’s lead author, Xiaohan Shao, said.

THE FIREWALL WAS A PERFECT ASHLAR

Firewalls: A fading part of Saskatchewan’s history

Morgan Campbell
CTV News Regina 

Video Journalist
Updated March 19, 2022

The brick firewall was originally constructed in 1918 after a catastrophic fire allegedly destroyed 18 buildings in Shaunavon. In November of 2021 it served its purpose when it stopped the fire of Gehl's general store from spreading. (Courtesy of Blair Gehl)

 

When the Shaunavon firewall was knocked down in early March, it was the end of an era in the community.

The brick structure was built in 1918, in response to what people in town call “the great fire,” which reportedly destroyed 18 buildings.

It has been standing tall, a staple on Centre Street ever since.

“It wasn’t something that stood out and slapped you in the face and you’d say, ‘oh there’s the firewall!’” said Joanne Gregoire, Director of Culture for the town of Shaunavon. “You kind of had to look for it, until of course, the fire.”

On Remembrance Day weekend 2021, a fire destroyed Gehl’s General Store, but the adjacent firewall stopped the blaze from spreading.

It was a difficult time for Blair and Lucy Gehl, who had spent years restoring the General Store, working hard to get the business running, only to see it go up in flames.

Four months later, the general store had to be demolished, along with the firewall.

“To see the top four or five feet of it in perfect condition but then the rest of it just charred and burnt and weakened,” Blair Gehl said.

“You know the old girl did her job in the end and we are really proud of that,” added Gregoire.

There were other firewalls, like the one in Shaunavon, constructed in towns around Saskatchewan.

Ogema spent $1300 to build its firewall in 1915. Town documents at the Saskatchewan Archives show plans stating it would be 5 and one half feet underground, 16 inches thick, 30 feet high and seventy feet long. A point of pride for the town, until wind gusts above 100 km/hr brought it down in January 2021.

Gregoire saw the landmark as an opportunity to take the past and link it to the future. “Really it’s a sense of place. I think if you know where you come from, you can better determine where you’re going to go,” she said.

Gehl saw the fire and demolition as another example of the resiliency of prairie people. “We’ve got a wonderful community here in Shaunavon and the outpouring of support and love and compassion,” Gehl said. “We are all kind of on the same page. Life goes on.”

Gehl has saved some of the bricks from the old firewall. He said he took a load to the town shop so they can build a smaller version at the wall at the museum.

A reminder of a piece of Saskatchewan history for future generations.

“The firewall in our mind is not gone it’s not dead,” Gregoire said. “We will continue to tell its story.”

Researchers urge Ontario government to offer more support for medical lab workers

Siobhan Morris
CTV News Toronto

 Videojournalist
Published March 19, 2022 

Researchers studying the working conditions of Ontario's medical lab workers is cautioning that patient safety will slip if the government doesn't intervene to support the sector.

Researchers with ties to the University of Toronto, University of Guelph and Laurentian University in collaboration with the Medical Laboratory Professionals' Association of Ontario (MLPAO) shared their findings this week.

"(Lab workers) are experiencing higher rates of burnout, poor job satisfaction, and this is impacting their work performance," Dr. Behdin Nowrouzk-Kia, an occupational therapist and associate professor at the University of Toronto told CTV News Toronto.

Nowrouzk-Kia and his research partner, Dr. Based Gohar, determined an existing staff shortage and poor work environment have been by deepened by the pandemic.

While Nowrouzk-Kia describes lab professionals as the backbone of the healthcare system, he said they feel under-appreciated and under-resourced compared with other medical workers.

"They're kind of behind-the-scenes. They're not public facing, so oftentimes, the public forgets about them,” he said.

Researchers found that lab workers felt such intense responsibility to turn COVID-19 tests around quickly in the third wave of the pandemic, that they skipped breaks from work to the detriment of their mental health and performance.

Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia says workers will only feel more overloaded if there isn't help for the sector.

"That could for example delay screening for cancer ... someone may not get their results on time and that could impact their health," he cautions.

Michelle Hoad, the CEO for MLPAO, said he wants to see more provincial funding to train the next generation of medical lab professionals and improve labs outside major urban centres.

"I think there's been a lack of understanding that everything that happens in our healthcare system relies on our labs," Hoad said.

Hoad applauds retention bonuses for nurses and new training facilities for doctors but says similar investments have not been made into medical lab professionals.

"We need to make sure that we are included in that conversation that has led us to the current situation," Hoad said.

"We have a mass exodus of people leaving the profession because they just are tired of feeling unappreciated."

FORCING THE STATE TO IMPOSE RETURN TO WORK LAW
Canada's CP Rail shuts down railroad, LOCKOUT AVOIDS workers strike

By Rod Nickel and Ann Maria Shibu 5 hrs ago

The Canadian Pacific railyard is pictured in Port Coquitlam

(Reuters) - Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) halted operations and locked out workers over a labor dispute early on Sunday, with each side blaming the other for a halt that will likely disrupt shipment of key commodities at a time of soaring prices.

"We are very disappointed with this turn of events," said Teamsters Canada Rail Conference spokesperson Dave Fulton. The union said in a statement that it had begun to strike across the country in the dispute that it says affects 3,000 engineers, conductors and yard workers.

Canada's second-biggest railroad operator accused the union of misrepresenting the company's position, saying in a statement that the Teamsters were "well aware of the damage this reckless action will cause to the Canadian supply chain."

Minister of Labour Seamus O'Regan Jr said CP and Teamsters were still at the table with federal mediators.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and expect the parties to keep working until they reach an agreement," he said in a tweet just after midnight.

Canada, the largest country by area after Russia, depends heavily on rail to move commodities and manufactured goods to port. CP's network runs across much of southern Canada and extends as far south as Kansas City in the United States.

The lockout is the latest blow to Canada's battered supply chain, which last year weathered floods in British Columbia that washed out track and suspended access to Canada's biggest port. CP has said a stoppage would disrupt the movement of grain, potash and coal.

CP had notified the union on Wednesday that it would lock out employees on Sunday, barring a breakthrough in talks on a deal covering pensions, pay and benefits.

It said the key bargaining issue is the union's request for higher pension caps. Chief Financial Officer Nadeem Velani told a New York investor conference on Tuesday that the railway was unwilling to accept that demand.

Canada's Nutrien said this week it may need to reduce potash production at its mines in the province of Saskatchewan if the shutdown lasts longer than a few days.

The country's last major railway labor disruption was an eight-day Canadian National Railway Co strike in 2019. But in the past 12 years, there have been 12 stoppages due to poor weather, blockades or labor issues, according to the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.

(Reporting by Ann Maria Shibu in Bengaluru and Rod Nickel in Chicago; Editing by William Mallard and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Why CP Rail may lock out its workers and what it means for Canada's supply chain

Brooklyn Neustaeter

CTVNews.ca Writer
@bneustaeter Contact

Published Friday, March 18, 2022 

A labour dispute at CP Rail is threatening to further cripple the flow of goods at a time when supply chains are already strained due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion in Ukraine.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. issued a 72-hour notice on Wednesday to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, planning to lock out almost 3,000 employees if the union and the company are unable to come to a negotiated settlement or agree to binding arbitration.

The two sides are at odds over 26 outstanding issues, including wages, benefits and pensions.

On Thursday, the Calgary-based railway said it had received strike notice from the union representing its engineers, conductors and other train employees in the latest escalation of the labour dispute that could result in a potential nation-wide work stoppage as soon as early Sunday morning.

However, the disruption to Canada's freight capacity could still be avoided, as both CP Rail and the union say they’re committed to negotiating right up to the deadline.

Canadian business organizations and industry experts are calling on Ottawa to prevent a work stoppage, saying it could further hamper trade recovery from COVID-19 restrictions and supply chain problems.

IMPACT ON CANADIANS

Farm groups have warned any delay on the rail lines could lead to production cuts that would affect everything from shipments of fertilizer and other inputs during spring seeding season to deliveries of emergency livestock feed to drought-affected parts of the Prairies.

"At a time where there is significant global disruptions in the flow of goods, this labour disruption would directly damage Canada’s capacity to act as reliable source agricultural products to global consumers," the Canadian Federation of Agriculture said Thursday in a news release.

"Disruptions such as this can reverberate and have consequences throughout the entire food supply chain."

If there is no rail capacity to transport goods, experts say the work stoppage would lead to increased prices, especially at the grocery store.

"Make no mistake, this is a labour dispute the world cannot afford," Sylvain Charlebois, Dalhousie University professor of food distribution and policy, told CTV National News.

As Canada's economy grapples with inflation, supply chain issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have already driven up the cost of food and other household items. Now, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is threatening the worldwide supply of wheat and adding to increased gas prices at the pumps.

Charlebois said if the work stoppage at CP hinders Canada's rail movement for long enough, Canadians won't just see increased prices, but there will be product shortages.

"We could actually see empty shelves. We could see some grocers struggle to get products to feed Canadians," he said.

Retail expert Heather Thomson told CTV National News that impact of a rail halt could be far-reaching.

"This could cause even higher inflation, longer delays. This could be a big, big hit to the Canadian economy," she said.

Thomson added that Canadian consumers should brace for the impact, and adjust their budgets accordingly.

 

CP Rail has given 72 hour notice of plans to lock employees out. Austin Lee has more.
Concerns over possible CP Rail strike

With files from The Canadian Press and CTV Alberta Bureau Chief Bill Fortier

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