RIGHT WING SWING
In protests and politics, Canada's 'Freedom Convoy' reverberates


A anti-vaccine protester poses at the National War Memorial in Ottawa

Thu, August 4, 2022 
By Nia Williams and Anna Mehler Paperny

COUTTS, Alberta/TORONTO (Reuters) - In late January five friends, just a few years out of high school, piled into a rented camper van and drove 37 hours in the Canadian winter from southern Alberta to Ottawa to join anti-government protests led by a convoy of truckers.

"We were worried about vaccine mandates and our freedom, and it all just going to hell," said Ursula Allred, 22, from her small, rural hometown of Magrath.

Another member of the group, Justin Martin, excitedly phoned home to say the protest -- which occupied Ottawa with tractor-trailers, hot tubs, bouncy castles and scattered symbols of hate for weeks until it was broken up by police -- was "the best experience, ever," said his mother, Lynette Atwood.

"They wanted their freedom back. These were young men who wanted to date, hadn't been able to date, wanted to have a life," she said, referring to the impact of lockdowns and restrictions imposed by provincial and federal governments to curb infections during the coronavirus pandemic.

"They just felt that no one was listening."

Their excitement came to an abrupt end a few weeks later, when all five were arrested at another protest they had joined near the U.S.-Canada border in Coutts, Alberta.

But the reverberations from the so-called "Freedom Convoy" protests against mandatory vaccination policies had only just begun. The protests, featuring hundreds of trucks and thousands like Allred and Martin, had already paralyzed downtown Ottawa and international border crossings for more than three weeks.

Copycat protests featuring trailers and trucks followed in the United States and France. At home, the protests amplified anti-government sentiment among Canadians angry at COVID-19 restrictions and, less visibly, offered a hook for anti-establishment and far-right voices to draw a bigger audience.

Extremists used the convoy "as a pulpit to get their ideas across and, in that sense, it was a success," said David Hofmann, associate professor of sociology at the University of New Brunswick, who has been researching extremism in Canada for about a decade.

They did that directly, with talk of deposing and prosecuting the heads of Canadian government during the protests, as the convoy's organizers declared was their goal in a "Memorandum of Understanding" leading up to the blockade.

But they were also able to do that less directly, by talking up the merits of the convoy on social media and podcasts that also promoted more extremist rhetoric and conspiracy theories.

They were helped by a relatively high level of sympathy for the protesters' frustrations -- which stood at 46% in one Ipsos poll in February -- even if most Canadians did not agree with the convoy's main message of opposing public health measures.

Around 30% of Canadians agreed with the convoy's message in February at the height of the protests, a number that has since shrunk to 25% in July, according to polling research firm Ekos Research Associates.

"This has become a lightning rod, a magnet to kind of focus all of this insecurity, disaffection, anger which predated COVID but which has been reinforced and strengthened by COVID," Ekos President Frank Graves said of the convoy movement.

Its message has become: "You're not alone. You're not the only one who thinks vaccines are unnecessary... Come on out," Graves said.

Though most COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings, wearing masks and vaccine requirements have been lifted in recent months, smaller anti-government protests have continued, with some held as recently as the national holiday on July 1.

'GATEKEEPING ELITE'

Among the most prominent to tap into sympathy for the convoy is Pierre Poilievre, the frontrunner in a leadership race for Canada's opposition Conservative party, who dueled with rivals in a debate over who was first to support the movement.

Fashioning himself as an anti-establishment force determined to free Canadians from a "gatekeeping elite," Poilievre posted footage of himself supporting the convoy rolling into Ottawa.

He promises, among other things, to take on the "state media" by defunding the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the public broadcaster, and to sack the Bank of Canada governor.

He has also pledged to ban federal ministers from attending the World Economic Forum held annually in Davos, Switzerland -- a popular whipping boy for convoy participants and far-right supporters more globally.

Anger against the forum has been buoyed by viral videos falsely claiming the WEF used the pandemic to put in motion a plan by "global elites" to subjugate society in a "Great Reset" - a twist on the WEF's stated plan to identify solutions to major challenges facing the world.

"The gatekeeping elites will try to destroy anyone who threatens their power," Poilievre said on Twitter in response to criticism that he is pushing authoritarian populism.

"I want to become PM to give you back control of your life & make Canada the freest country on earth," he wrote in another post.

Poilievre's campaign did not respond to requests for an interview or to questions on his support for the convoy.

Ekos's Graves says his polling shows that Canadians who support the convoy have "an authoritarian, populist outlook" and could be "the strongest force in the Canadian political landscape" because they are energized and motivated to vote.

Not surprisingly, Canadian conservative politicians are trying to appeal to convoy supporters and tap into the rising populist sentiment, says Jared Wesley, political science professor at the University of Alberta.

"There's a group out there that conservative politicians want to bring back into the fold," Wesley said.

"That results in constant escalation of anti-establishment demands, that has the leading candidate for the Conservative Party promising to fire the Governor of the Bank of Canada."

SIMMERING RESENTMENT IN ALBERTA

The boldness of the convoy movement -- with days of honking in downtown Ottawa, border crossing blockades and the open display of a swastika and confederate flags -- took many outside Canada by surprise.

But those involved and people close to the protesters said it was a natural progression of frustration and disenfranchisement, especially in parts of western Canada, where resentment towards Ottawa has simmered for decades.

Researchers point to a history of anti-government sentiment in largely conservative, oil-rich Alberta. The province prides itself on a frontier spirit and has long felt alienated from eastern Canada, accusing the federal government of relying on its fossil fuels without offering respect or autonomy in return.

"Albertans see themselves as the people who pay for everyone else in Canada," said Peter Smith, a researcher for the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, a non-profit organization that examines hate crimes and hate groups.

In Magrath and the nearby town of Raymond, where Allred's four camper van companions lived, anti-government sentiment and worries about federal over-reach remain strong.

Shortly after Allred and her friends were arrested in Coutts in February, a large black flag reading "Fuck Trudeau," with a red maple leaf replacing the first word's "u," flew in a backyard along the main road into Raymond.

Another house bore "Hold the Line for Freedom" painted in red across a downstairs window, while many vehicles sported Canadian flags and symbols of support for the blockades.

There was widespread sympathy for Allred and her companions, who were each charged, along with five others, with possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose and mischief. They have since been released on bail.

In the most serious charges related to the convoy movement, four men from southern Alberta involved in a border blockade were arrested in February and accused of conspiring to kill police officers. They remain in custody awaiting trial.

Two weeks after the Coutts blockade disbanded, another protest camp remained on the side of the highway farther north in Milk River: a small encampment of trailers and a food truck in a large open field, monitored by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police cruiser parked a discreet distance away.

"That is waking the country up," said Elliot McDavid, one of the camp organizers, adding the protests had achieved their goal of forcing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to invoke the Emergencies Act to disband them.

In the Ipsos survey in February, 58% of Albertans found convoy participants' frustration legitimate and worthy of sympathy, compared to the 46% national figure.

'A DANGEROUS TIME'

With broad support for policies like universal healthcare and gun control, Canada has long been viewed as more moderate than its southern neighbor. But analysts say right-wing extremism has long had a home north of the U.S. border -- and the "Freedom Convoy" movement and related anti-government protests against COVID-19 restrictions have given it new momentum.

A 2015 study identified about 100 far-right extremist groups. The number has tripled since then, Hofmann said.

Larger groups have splintered but the overall number of participants has also grown, Hofmann said.

He and his colleagues have identified about 1,200 visibly active participants who have either had contact with police or the media or have been active on social media, he said.

This is up from previous counts but changing methodologies make comparisons difficult, he said.

One group that has drawn the attention of analysts in recent months is the Hammerskins, an offshoot of a U.S. neo-Nazi organization. It had been quiet in Canada for nearly a decade but now has a presence in cities like Hamilton, Oshawa, and the Greater Toronto Area, with members also recruiting in British Columbia, said the Canadian Anti-Hate Network's Smith.

Attempts to contact the Hammerskins for comment were unsuccessful.

"The convoy was huge and significant and will be a propaganda tool for a long time," Smith said.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino in February alluded to the link between the convoy protests and extremism, saying: "We need to be clear-eyed about the seriousness of these incidents."

He said that some of those charged had "strong ties to a far-right extreme organization," which a source in his office said at the time referred to the Diagolon right-wing network.

Patches featuring Diagolon's flag were affixed to body armor police seized in connection with arrests at the Coutts border blockade in February.

Jeremy MacKenzie, the de facto founder of Diagolon -- a fictional breakaway state that has become a symbol of anti-government sentiment among right-wing Canadians -- has given prominent space to the convoy on his podcast and Telegram channel.

In an interview with Reuters, MacKenzie said Diagolon started as a joke and is a loose social network of "patriotic people", rather than a political movement. He says he is being unfairly targeted by Canadian authorities.

The convoy was a success for Diagolon "because it is part of their goal is to destabilize and to sow doubt, and to delegitimize the government and the state," a federal government source familiar with the matter said in February.

Another group, Veterans 4 Freedom, emerged from the protests and aims to protect anti-establishment protesters and opposes COVID-19 restrictions, said Andrew MacGillivray, a military veteran who is part of the group.

"The rights and freedoms of Canadians are eroding and we are going to work to sustain lawful civic action in order to restore those fundamental rights," MacGillivray said in an interview.

"We just want to make sure that if there's any sort of protest and counter-protest that our volunteers can help keep the peace."

The group helped organize a June 30 protest in Ottawa featuring a veteran who walked thousands of kilometers to protest vaccine mandates and who now faces a court martial for criticizing vaccine policies while in uniform.

Other anti-establishment voices have also been galvanized.

Outspoken Calgary pastor Artur Pawlowski, who reckons he racked up about 40 tickets for violating pandemic restrictions, was charged with inciting people to damage or obstruct essential infrastructure during a speech at the Coutts blockade.

Out on bail, he told Reuters he is fighting the charges and that the convoy had "awakened" people to fight for freedom.

"The truth is I have become a symbol of freedom," he said, later adding he is considering running for office.

"I would clean your swamp. That’s what I do."

His son Nathaniel Pawlowski said he worries about what will happen if people angry at government restrictions are pushed too far: "If you study history, you know this is a dangerous time."

(Editing by Deepa Babington)

OTTAWA

Some community advocates want city to step in on sale of St. Brigid's church

Thu, August 4, 2022 

The United People of Canada are in the process of acquiring St. Brigid's Church in Lowertown, Ottawa. Community advocates want the city to stop the sale. (Dan Taekema/CBC - image credit)

An Ottawa community association says it wants the city to intervene on the impending sale of a local church to a group with suspected ties to the Freedom Convoy.

The previous owners of St. Brigid's Church, located in Lowertown, recently agreed to sell it to The United People of Canada (TUPC) — a group that describes itself online as a "diverse, intergenerational fraternal organization." In social media posts it refers to the building as The Embassy.

But since the group moved in, its colourful redecorating, which includes painted red doors and white tree insignias, has raised eyebrows from members of the local community. Some have pointed to social media posts from some of TUPC's members, which suggest ties to the Freedom Convoy.

Corporate filings for TUPC show three directors: William Komer, Kimberly Ward and Diane Nolan.

In a video posted on March 7, Ward described herself as an adviser for Dwayne Lich, the husband of Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich.

On Nolan's Facebook page, several posts appear to be associated with the Freedom Convoy and the movement the winter occupation inspired, such as sharing the Canadian Convoy Rally Song.

TUPC leadership has outright denied any connection to the movement, saying members' actions don't reflect the larger group's beliefs.

Diane Nolan/Facebook

Now members of the Lowertown Community Association are pointing to pictures of what appear to be two vehicles parked in front of St. Brigid's. One has "Freedom Express" painted on the side. The other is marked with a "F*ck Trudeau" sticker. Both are adorned with Canadian flags, a popular symbol among convoy protesters.

"We, as well as the Centretown residents, lived through a very difficult time, and it's certainly not something we want to revisit," said Sylvie Bigras, president of the Lowertown Community Association. "That close association is extremely concerning."

Now the Lowertown association and other local advocates are calling on the city to step in to ensure the building is either acquired by the city itself or sold to someone local. A petition has been started that had more than 500 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon.

Group continues to deny association with Freedom Convoy

Komer, TUPC's director, said he was not aware of the petition until CBC informed him of it, but that a conditional sale of the church has already been agreed upon by the previous owners.

Despite continued accusations, Komer insisted TUPC was not associated with the Freedom Convoy.

Dan Taekema/CBC

"The United People of Canada is in no way whatsoever affiliated with the Freedom Convoy. We've been abundantly clear with that despite what seems to be continuing misinformation being spread online," he said.

The impending owners have broken no rules, but have been the subject of themselves of criminal activity, Komer said.

He said "malicious actors" have committed several offences against TUPC, including death threats, harassment and vandalism on the church steps.

Ottawa police said they have received four calls in the past week related to the former church, but would not comment on the nature of the calls or provide details on investigations into the reports.

City not taking action

A statement from Court Curry, the city's manager of heritage and urban design services, did not comment on whether or not the city would or could eventually get involved in the ownership of St. Brigid's. It only said that "no activity has been initiated to acquire the subject property."

Curry wrote that as a heritage building, any modifications to the interior or exterior of the church would require a permit from the city.

"If the owner of the building plans to readapt the property for any new use, city staff would work closely with the proponent on how to do so," he said.

In a post to its Facebook page, TUPC said it's open to a conversation with its neighbours and it intends to join the Lowertown Community Association's monthly meeting on Monday.

BULLSHIT

Proposed emissions cap on oil and gas sector overly ambitious': CNRL


Thu, August 4, 2022 


CALGARY — The head of Canada's largest oil-and-gas producing company criticized the federal government's proposed emissions cap for the energy sector Thursday, arguing environmental goals must be balanced with economic and energy security concerns.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. president Tim McKay made the comments during a conference call with analysts. While the purpose of the call was to discuss the company's second-quarter financial results, McKay took aim at Ottawa's proposed cap in his opening remarks.

He also talked up the emissions reduction efforts that are already under way through Pathways Alliance, an industry group that includes CNRL and other major Canadian oilsands producer.

"In our view, this (federal) cap is unnecessary and overly ambitious in light of our stated preference for government and industry to continue to work together through the Pathways initiative to achieve an already announced emissions reduction target," McKay said.

"It is important for all parties to continue to work together."

The Trudeau government indicated earlier this year that it would impose a cap on greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector in order to enable Canada to meet its 2030 emissions reduction target.

While the government has so far not indicated what the allowable level of emissions will be, it issued a discussion paper earlier this month in which it said it is considering two options — a cap-and-trade system that will set regulated limits on emissions from the sector, or a modified carbon pricing system for heavy emitters that would see oil-and-gas players pay a higher carbon price.

The federal government has stated it believes Canada's oilpatch is capable of reducing emissions by 31 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, or 42 per cent below 2019 levels. (Emissions from the sector have risen by 20 per cent since 2005, due to increased production, though emissions intensity per barrel has decreased).

That would bring total emissions from the sector — including production, refining and transportation via pipelines — to 110 million tonnes by 2030, down from 191 million tonnes in 2019. They haven't been that low in more than three decades.

Oilsands industry leaders have suggested meeting such an ambitious target in a relatively short time frame is likely unachievable. Instead, they have set their own targets through the Pathways Alliance, pledging to reduce oilsands production emissions by 22 million tonnes by 2030. That would represent an approximate 30 per cent reduction from current levels.

Key to the industry's plan is a proposed carbon capture and storage project that would capture CO2 from oilsands facilities and transport it to a storage facility near Cold Lake, Alta, delivering about 10 million tonnes of emissions reductions per year from oilsands production.

Pathways Alliance members have not yet pulled the trigger to go ahead with the project, though the group has said the investment tax credit for carbon capture and storage projects unveiled by the federal government earlier this year is an important step.

"The tax credit is a positive approach where industry and government can co-invest in CCUS infrastructure at an achievable pace of development," McKay said Thursday.

CNRL reported Thursday that it more than doubled its second-quarter profits in 2022 as the war in Ukraine continued to put pressure on global energy supplies. The Calgary-headquartered company said it earned $3.5 billion or $3 per diluted share for the quarter ended June 30, up from $1.6 billion or $1.30 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Crude prices spiked during the quarter, driven largely by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with North American benchmark WTI up 15 per cent from the first quarter and up 64 per cent from last year's second quarter.

Canadian Natural's daily production, before royalties, averaged 1,211,147 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the quarter, up from 1,141,739 in the same quarter last year.

The company increased its production guidance for 2022 by two per cent on Thursday, and said it now expects to add 40 million barrels of oil equivalent per day of growth in 2023, and 96 million barrels of oil equivalent per day of growth by 2025. It has increased its 2022 total budget for capital expenditures by $575 million to $4.9 billion, saying it will drill 15 additional thermal in situ wells this year.

CNRL also announced Thursday a special dividend of $1.50 per common share, citing what the company called its "very robust" financial position, rapidly decreasing debt levels, and "significant" free cash flow. The special dividend will be payable Aug. 31 to shareholders of record by end of day Aug. 23.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2022.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CNQ)

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

NOVA SCOTIA
Advocacy groups slam government approval of Goldboro mine project

Thu, August 4, 2022 

An aerial view of the Touquoy gold mine in Moose River, N.S. Some advocacy groups say the start of a similar two-pit mine in Goldboro could result in large-scale changes to the province's environment. (Ecology Action Centre - image credit)

Environment advocacy groups in Nova Scotia are disappointed a proposed gold mine in Guysborough County is moving forward following the approval of a two-pit gold mine project on Tuesday by the province.

Environment Minister Tim Halman announced the project would be getting the green light under several conditions, saying that he was "satisfied" that any adverse effects to the environment would be mitigated through compliance with the terms of the agreement.

Those terms include the development of a wildlife management plan with the provincial Departments of Natural Resources and Environment and Climate Change and implementing a complaint resolution process to receive and respond to concerns about the project.

Some of the province's environment advocacy groups are not happy about the decision, though. Karen McKendry, the wilderness outreach co-ordinator at the Ecology Action Centre, said in an interview Wednesday that Halman's decision "shouldn't be happening in this day and age."

"Nova Scotia already has a large open-pit gold mine on the Eastern Shore and this is another one proposed," McKendry said. "The one in Goldboro would actually … mine for years, which leaves behind a huge contaminated site and leads to lots of trucking and diesel fuel use and is very polluting, to line the pockets and the coffers of people to make them richer and returns very little, if anything, to Nova Scotia."

In her opinion, McKendry said the approval represented the government's buckling to pressure from the gold mining industry. She also spoke of potential arsenic contamination in waterways and across the wetlands in the area, which she called the province's "kidneys."

"Those (wetlands) are needed for cleaning our water, for carbon capture," she said. "(They're) one of the last refuges for the endangered mainland moose, and so this project, like many others, proposes to destroy dozens and dozens of wetlands, including ones with species at risk in them."

The environmental effects of gold mining in the province have long been debated, particularly in the Goldboro area, which has an extensive history of mining and arsenic and mercury contamination. McKendry said in Nova Scotia, the rock that gold occurs in also has within it a substantial amount of arsenic. When the rock is brought to the surface and the gold is extracted, the rock that remains needs to be contained so there's no chance of polluting waterways and groundwater, she added.

'Happy' with the approval, company says

Signal Gold wants to develop the mine. The project includes two open pits, a processing facility, a tailings management facility, waste rock storage areas, as well as water management infrastructure such as collection ditches, culverts, settling ponds and water treatment systems.

Robert Dufour, the chief financial officer of Signal Gold, said the company is quite happy with the result.

"We were certainly confident starting the process that we had put together a very comprehensive environmental assessment," he said. "It's always exciting when you get that approval."

Dufour said Signal Gold is still reviewing the conditions that came with the approval, but said there was nothing insurmountable.

The company must obtain an industrial approval and make a Crown lease application before construction can begin. Dufour said Signal anticipates construction will begin either in late 2023 or early 2024.

Warden Vernon Pitts of the Municipality of the District of Guysborough also expressed his anticipation for the project and what it could mean for the growth of the county.

"Our population has been falling off the last number of years. We have some residents here that can work at mining, they've done it in the past, and we're looking forward to some new residents moving in, setting down roots," he said. "They'll utilize our services, our schools, and it's a win-win situation for everyone."

He said the hope is that as the mining in the area picks up, other businesses — such as welding or fabrication — will become established, creating more opportunities for residents once the mining is complete.

Madeline Conacher is with the group Sustainable Northern Nova Scotia, which advocates for environmentally sustainable, locally-driven development and has opposed other gold mine proposals for the Eastern Shore.

Like McKendry, Conacher said she's disappointed the government approved the proposal.

Ecology Action Centre

"Sadly, what I find with almost all of the politicians is that they go for the short-term economic benefits and they just don't even look at any of the environmental concerns," she said. "They're just hoodwinked by the promise of all those jobs, and they're keeping their fingers crossed that nothing will go wrong."

In her comments on the company's environmental assessment, Conacher expressed concerns about the potential harms from mine tailings, the depletion of aquifers, infilling, pollution and the impact on the climate and biodiversity.

A total of 48 organizations and people — aside from federal and provincial departments — responded to requests for feedback on the environmental assessment.

Many — including several form letters — were positive about the potential impact of the project on the economy and job prospects. Others raised a wide variety of concerns about the environmental consequences of the project.

A letter from the Native Council of Nova Scotia notes concerns about the alteration and destruction of wetlands and the possibility that the mine could encourage the establishment of invasive species in the area.

The Mi'kmaq Rights Initiative noted a number of environmental concerns in its feedback on the proposal, and also mentioned that the company's plan has "little to no mention of the Mi'kmaw, two-eyed seeing or traditional use and harvesting." The organization also expressed concern about the potential for cumulative environmental effects of the project in conjunction with other proposals in the area.

Pieridae Energy has proposed a liquefied natural gas project for the Goldboro area, and Atlantic Gold has proposed three other gold mines for the Eastern Shore.

Feds create national advisory council on Residential Schools

Thu, August 4, 2022

The creation of a new advisory committee on Residential Schools will help Indigenous communities across the country deal with the issues involved with searching for their children that never came home – and a forensic pathologist with ties to Kahnawake will hep the do that.

Dr. Kona Williams – whose mother is from Kahnawake – is part of the 10-person committee, which will provide expertise, advice, guidance and professional services to communities hoping to continue the search for their loved ones.

As one the only Indigenous forensic pathologists in Canada, Williams will provide advice on exhuming potential remains from around former Residential Schools properties.

Since the discovery of the 215 children around the former Kamloops Residential School in B.C. last year, the government promised to create such a committee. Williams said it’s important work because of ties to the situation and the knowledge that communities would like to, once and for all, figure out what happened to their children who never came home.

“There are many communities interested in finding their children and it has to happen carefully. If I am needed, I will make myself available to advise communities on how best to proceed. This is an issue that’s important to me because my father went to Residential School, my mom went to Day School and my grandparents went to Residential School,” she said.

Williams figures she will be working hand-in-hand with cultural anthropologists in the search for the missing children.

“Because it’s Indigenous-led and I have the expertise to be able to advise communities, I will be making myself available to help them,” she said.

The committee held its first meeting July 19.

The director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation said the committee will hopefully allow many of the children who never came home the dignity of a final commemoration.

“Too many children were denied the final dignity of being laid to rest according to their own customs and traditions,” said Stephanie Scott. “Too many families and communities have never been able to find their loved ones who didn't come home from Residential School. I have had conversations with countless First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation communities who are grappling with difficult questions about how they can find and honour their lost children. This committee will help meet a crucial need for advice that is comprehensive, up-to-date and above all else trustworthy. It will be part of the important healing journey to honour the little ones.”

Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations minister Marc Miller said the important work must and will continue as communities search for their missing kids.

“The National Advisory Committee on Residential Schools Missing Children and Unmarked Burials will provide a wide range of expertise to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. As Indigenous communities undertake the difficult and essential work to locate and commemorate burial sites at former Residential Schools, the National Advisory Committee will ensure Indigenous-led and culturally sensitive technical advice is available to support their work. We are committed to addressing the harms done and the abuse of Indigenous children, to support communities as they work towards healing.”

Marc Lalonde, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase

Environmental groups protest proposals to build LNG terminals on Canada's East Coast

Thu, August 4, 2022 

HALIFAX — A coalition of environmental groups is calling on Ottawa to reject any proposal to build export facilities for liquefied natural gas on Canada's East Coast.

The coalition, which includes the Sierra Club Canada Foundation and Climate Action Network Canada, issued a statement today suggesting Canadians are opposed to such projects because of their "climate-wrecking emissions" and potential financial risks.

Calgary-based Pieridae Energy has been promoting the construction of a multibillion-dollar LNG terminal at Goldboro, N.S., since 2011, but it put the project on hold last summer.

The company, which could not be reached for comment, had planned get natural gas from Western Canada via pipeline and then ship it by tanker to European customers, but the idea fizzled as LNG prices fell last year.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, however, the demand for natural gas has grown amid concerns the Russians will cut off its supply to Europe, and Germany in particular.

Other plans for LNG terminals in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have also generated renewed interest.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2022.

The Canadian Press

In pictures: Mysterious, 105 foot-wide sinkhole at mining site in Chile

A sinkhole is exposed at a mining zone close to Tierra Amarilla town, in Copiapo, Chile, August 1, 2022. 

 TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

TOPSHOT-CHILE-MINING-SINKHOLE

 Aerial view taken on August 1, 2022, showing a large sinkhole that appeared over the weekend near the mining town of Tierra Amarilla, Copiapo Province, in the Atacama Desert in Chile. - A 100-metre security perimeter has been erected around the hole which appeared in the Tierra Amarilla municipality near the Alcaparrosa mine operated by Canadian firm Lundin Mining. 

(Photo by JOHAN GODOY / AFP)



Abhya Adlakha
·Editor, Yahoo News Canada
Thu, August 4, 2022 .

A mysterious, giant sinkhole appeared at a mining site in Chile over the weekend, leading authorities to investigate.

On Tuesday, Chile's National Service of Geology and Mining confirmed the sinkhole is almost 105 feet in diameter. That's about 11-feet longer than an NBA or WBNA basketball court.

The hole appeared on land where Canadian company Lundin Mining operates a copper mine.

According to USGS, sinkholes can occur where the rock below the land surface can naturally be dissolved by groundwater circulating through them. This creates caverns or spaces that can collapse suddenly despite the surface appearing stable.

The investigators of the sinkhole in Chile haven't yet determined how it was created. The company is monitoring the nearby Alcaparrosa mine for any movement related to the event. Work in the underground mine has been temporarily suspended.

Libraries in the U.S. and Canada are changing how they refer to Indigenous Peoples


Julia Bullard, Assistant Professor in Information Studies, University of British Columbia
Thu, August 4, 2022 

THE CONVERSATION

Changes to search terms, through guidance from Indigenous communities and library experts, can align systems with everyday language, but can't invalidate the terms people use to refer to themselves. (Shutterstock)

The two largest agencies responsible for the language we use to discover books in libraries in North America — the Library of Congress in the United States, and Library and Archives Canada — are changing how they refer to Indigenous Peoples.

Recently, the Library of Congress announced that by September 2022 a project would be underway to revise terms that refer to Indigenous Peoples.

Beginning in 2019, Library and Archives Canada made changes within Canadian subject headings, starting with replacing outdated terminology with “Indigenous peoples” and “First Nations,” and adding terms that specify Métis and other specific nations and peoples.

It is important to acknowledge what these library changes can and cannot do, and the need for consultation with and guidance from Indigenous communities and Indigenous library workers. This is a departure from business as usual for maintaining these systems.

Library indexing

Both Library of Congress and Library and Archives Canada manage the term lists used in public and academic libraries throughout both countries.

When a book is published, library workers use lists of approved terms to indicate the subject or topic of the book. These terms determine how the book can be found in a library search and may even be printed on the copyright page of the book itself. The catalogue record then gets copied to each library that holds a copy of the book.

Read more: Libraries can have 3-D printers but they are still about books

Outdated terminology such as “Indians of North America” has remained in these term lists despite changing use in society and no longer matches the language used in the books themselves. The management of these terms lists last made international news when politicians interfered in a change from “illegal aliens” to “undocumented immigrants.”

Revisions to systems

The heading “Indians of North America” has been part of these lists since the Library of Congress Subject Headings were first standardized and shared with libraries more than a century ago.

Library researchers and librarians hope revisions to existing systems will reduce some of the friction of using the library for Indigenous and decolonizing research. This friction relates both to materials being categorized strangely, and how the use of older terms like “Indians of North America” could negatively affect some members of Indigenous communities, even while there are a diversity of views that exist in Indigenous communities about identity labels.

1,000 terms under review

Since 2015, the Manitoba Archival Information Network has shared a list of more than 1,000 terms relating to Indigenous Peoples with suggestions for more accurate and respectful language. Many of the recommended changes use the term “Indigenous peoples,” which exists in the term lists already.

Right now, adding a geographic term to the end, as in “Indigenous peoples — Asia” is a permitted heading, except in the case of the Americas. At present, terms like “Indigenous peoples — United States” and “First Nations (North America)” redirect to “Indians of North America.”

The same is the case for terms that redirect to “Indians of South America.”

Library and Archives Canada continues to roll out changes like a shift from “Canadian poetry (English)–Inuit authors” to “Inuit poetry (English).”

Indigenous knowledge organization

Beyond revamping misleading terminology, library science scholars and Indigenous knowledge holders (like Sandy Littletree, with colleagues) are examining how to advance Indigenous knowledge organization practices in library systems.

Research conducted by my team of librarians and students shows that authors prefer their books to be labelled in Indigenous-centered approaches or reconciliation approaches. For example, Xwi7xwa Library is a branch of University of British Columbia’s academic library entirely dedicated to Indigenous materials. Indexing is adapted from a system developed by Kahnawake librarian Brian Deer in the ‘70s for the National Indian Brotherhood, now the Assembly of First Nations.

The the Greater Victoria Public Library has introduced locally developed interim Indigenous subject headings that use more current terminology.

Interviews with authors

Over the past two years, my team and I interviewed 38 authors whose books were labelled in libraries with terms like “Indians of North America.”

Those authors told us these terms didn’t match the language in their books, nor what is acceptable in their professional communities. They shared how these terms created difficulty in findings works by or about Indigenous Peoples.

They explained how people using library search functions would have to use terms they disagreed with and wouldn’t use in their classes and writing. Ambiguous terms like “Indian cooking” and “Indian activism” create confusion as to whether an item pertains to Indigenous Peoples in North America or India.

As authors in our study suggested, the continued use of these terms imposes a colonial worldview on books that are often resisting, challenging or exposing the harms of colonialism.

Slow to change

Library systems tend to be slow to change because they prioritize consistency. Yet the Canadian and American systems undergo constant revision to add new terms and, less often, to replace old terms.

Since there are more than 1,000 terms relating to Indigenous Peoples in library lists, revisions to this topic will be monumental. In a typical month, around 200 new headings are added to the Library of Congress Subject Headings, across all topics.

Terminology for Indigenous Peoples from this continent varies as communities themselves are numerous and diverse. At the same time, terms like “Indians” persist in law in Canada and the United States.

People seen in August 2021 on Parliament Hill were part of a protest calling for changes to the ‘Indian Act’ in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Colonial borders

Changes of these terms, through consultation with and guidance from Indigenous communities and Indigenous library workers, can bring our library systems into alignment with language used in common conversation and academic research.

They cannot invalidate the terms that people use to refer to themselves. A library term list is for shared, government-supported systems to enable discovery and access and does not determine self-expression.

Even in that context, changing terms for Indigenous Peoples is unlikely to change the awkwardness of how these lists currently use Canadian and American colonial borders. For the time being, works about Coast Salish botany or art, for example, may still end up labelled redundantly with “Indigenous peoples — British Columbia” and “Indigenous peoples — Washington (State).”

Continued research will be needed as libraries consider how to update their practices.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Julia Bullard, University of British Columbia.

Read more:

2020 is a year for the history books, but not without digital archives

How Commonwealth universities profited from Indigenous dispossession through land grants

Julia Bullard receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Feds strike conciliatory tone in statement on Pope’s visit

Thu, August 4, 2022

The federal-government ministers responsible for Indigenous relations and services in Canada stood with Indigenous people in Canada in their lukewarm response to the Pope’s recent non-apology apology for the Catholic Church’s role in the horrors perpetuated on Indigenous children attending Residential Schools.

Crown-Indigenous Relations minister Marc Miller, Indigenous Services minister Patty Hajdu and Northern Affairs minister Daniel Vandal stopped short of saying the Pope’s comments didn’t go far enough, but hinted at the notion in their statement.

“The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action 58 called ‘…upon the Pope to issue an apology to Survivors, their families, and communities for the Roman Catholic Church's role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children in Catholic-run Residential Schools.’ The Pope has acknowledged the sexual abuse that was rampant in Residential Schools since his initial apology in Maskwacis on July 25; however, it is important to also recognize the systemic nature of this tragedy, that was both instigated and perpetuated by the Government of Canada and the churches, including the Catholic Church,” they wrote.

That day, the Pope said "I ask forgiveness, in particular, for the ways in which many members of the Church and of religious communities co-operated, not least through their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time, which culminated in the system of Residential Schools," the last of closed as recently as 1996. He asked forgiveness “for the wrong done by so many Christians to the Indigenous peoples.”

The Pope’s statement was roundly criticized in many parts of the country for not mentioning the sexual abuse Indigenous children faced at Residential Schools in his apology or the unmarked graves on school grounds.

“It is not up to the Government of Canada to accept or decline an apology on behalf of Indigenous Peoples, and we will continue to support them as they determine what is needed for healing, the ministers wrote. “We recognize that the events of this past week – and the revisiting of some of our country's most tragic and painful truths – has been extremely difficult and traumatizing for many Survivors, families, and communities. And we know that the hurt and trauma they suffered continues to impact generations of Indigenous families and communities today.”

The ministers promised to continue to work with Indigenous communities on reconciliation and righting the wrongs of the not-so-distant past.

"Our government recognizes that there is work to do on many fronts following the pope's visit to Canada. Pope Francis acknowledged that concrete actions are needed, including the repatriation of Indigenous artefacts, access for Survivors to Residential Schools documents, addressing the Doctrine of Discovery, and ensuring justice for survivors. We will continue to work with First Nations, Inuit and Métis on other priorities they've identified, to advance reconciliation and healing."

Marc Lalonde, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase

As US eyes new China chip curbs, turmoil looms for global market


Illustration picture of memory chips by SK Hynix

Wed, August 3, 2022 
By Joyce Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) - Export restrictions being considered by Washington to halt China's advances in semiconductor manufacturing could come at a substantial cost, experts say, potentially disrupting fragile global chip supply chains - and hurting U.S. businesses.

Reuters reported on Monday that the United States is considering limiting shipments of American chipmaking equipment to memory chip producers in China that make advanced semiconductors used in everything from smartphones to data centres.

The curbs would stop chipmakers like South Korean giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix from shipping new technology tools to factories they operate in China, preventing them from upgrading plants that serve customers around the world.

Samsung and SK Hynix, which control more than half of the global NAND flash memory chip market, have invested heavily in China in recent decades to produce chips that are vital to customers including tech giants Apple, Amazon, Facebook owner Meta and Google. As well as computers and phones, the chips are used in products like electric vehicles that require digital data storage.

"Samsung's China production alone accounts for more than 15% of global NAND flash production ... If there's any production disruption, it will make chip prices surge," said Lee Min-hee, analyst at BNK Securities.

The potential for fresh turmoil - the curbs have yet to be approved - comes just as a global chip supply shortage that has disrupted businesses from autos to consumer devices for more than a year is finally showing signs of easing. Supply chain adjustments and weakening consumer demand amid the slowing global economy have combined to repair damage.

But the shortage has yet to be fully resolved. Any signs of fresh disruption could rekindle supply uncertainty, triggering a price surge - as seen earlier this year when China imposed COVID-19 restrictions in Xian where Samsung manufactures chips.

Chipmaking equipment has to be installed and fully tested months before production is due to start. Any delay in shipping the gear to China would pose a real challenge to chipmakers as they seek to manufacture more advanced chips in China facilities.

"Many U.S. companies, like Apple, use Samsung and SK Hynix memory chips. No matter what strategy (the South Korean firms) end up choosing, it will have global implications," said BNK Securities analyst Lee.

Samsung and SK Hynix declined to comment. Apple, Amazon, Meta and Google didn't respond to emails seeking comment outside regular U.S. business hours.

AMBITIONS, COMPLICATIONS

In Samsung's memory chip operation in Xian, central China, one of the largest foreign chip projects in the country, the company has invested a total of about $26 billion since it broke ground on the site in 2012, including chip production as well as testing and packaging.

The tech giant makes 128-layer NAND flash products in Xian, analysts said, chips that store data in devices such as smartphones and personal computers, as well as in data centres.

The facility accounts for 43% of Samsung's global NAND flash memory production capacity and 15% of the overall global output capacity, according to TrendForce late last year.

The U.S. crackdown, if approved, could also complicate SK Hynix's ambition to expand its presence in the NAND market where it is ranked third as of first quarter behind Samsung and Japan's Kioxia Holdings, which was spun out of Toshiba Corp.

SK Hynix completed late last year the first phase of its $9 billion purchase of Intel's NAND business, including its Dalian, China NAND manufacturing facility.

CHINA STRATEGIES

The move being considered by the United States is one of several recent signs of deepening tensions between Beijing and Washington over the tech sector.

Congress last week approved legislation to subsidise semiconductor production in the United States. It bars any company that receives federal subsidies from investing in certain chip technology in China during the subsidy period.

The deepening tensions could leave Samsung and SK Hynix having to review strategies on China investments, analysts and industry sources said.

"Until now, companies tended to invest in countries like China, where costs were cheap," said Kim Yang-jae, analyst at Daol Investment & Securities.

"That's no longer going to be the only consideration. The biggest change these potential limits will bring will be where the next chip factories are built."

They could also face potentially diminishing returns from their multi-billion dollar China plants, which could be stuck making older-technology, less lucrative chips.

SK Hynix has not been able to upgrade its DRAM memory chip production facilities in Wuxi, China with the latest extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) chipmaking machines made by Dutch firm ASML as U.S. officials do not want advanced equipment used in the process to enter the country.

The EUV machines are used to make more advanced and smaller chips that are used in high-end devices such as smartphones.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Kenneth Maxwell)