B.C. fines Teck Coal $16 million for contaminating Kootenay waterways

The B.C. Ministry of Environment has imposed three administrative penalties on Teck Coal Limited for failing to have water treatment facilities ready by a required date to limit emissions of nitrate and selenium from its Fording River operations in the Elk Valley.

Overexposure to selenium may cause disorders such as hair loss, muscle weakness, reduced brain function and nail deformities, according to Health Canada.

#BritishColumbia

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Ontario dairy farmer launches petition to end ‘milk dumping’

One week after a video went viral on social media showing fresh milk being dumped down the drain, another farmer John Van Dyk launched an online petition to end ‘milk dumping.

“Let’s end the farmgate waste due to ‘over-quota’ milk. Supply management is the ideal system to prevent a dairy farmer from wasting thousands of litres of milk. With a strategy and some investments. Our sector can have a positive impact on the environment, generate more revenue growth and develop new markets for our great product.” - the petition reads.

Van Dyk suggests creating a milk ‘pool’ in case some farmers don’t send as much milk as their quota allows.

He also proposes to allow donating to food banks or processing the excess milk in other ways.

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Farmers seek repayment of $34 million fertilizer tariff

The Ontario Bean Growers, along with farming organizations from Quebec and Atlantic Canada are seeking a repayment of the $34 million the federal government collected as a tariff designed to punish Russia and Belarus.

Ontario farmers say it didn’t hurt Russia at all, instead driving up the price of Canadian food.

Canada is the lone G7 nation that’s placed tariffs on Russian fertilizer, in fact, the tariff is still in place.

While farmers believe they’ll have enough time to find other fertilizer suppliers this year, they simply didn’t have time to find a new supplier last spring.

The Trudeau government says they’ve already sent the $34 million fertilizer tariff money to Ukraine.

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Canadians now expect to need $1.7M in order to retire

This is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.

It's also a drastic increase from the $1.4 million in savings Canadians expected to need for their nest eggs just two years ago (a 20 per cent increase).

The results reflect Canadians' concerns about current economic conditions, particularly inflation and higher prices.

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Prescott council to debate oath of allegiance to King

Prescott council will discuss a motion later in February calling for the abolition of the obligatory oath to the King when municipal politicians take office.

The notice of motion highlights that to assume elected municipal office a person has to take the declaration of office, which includes Section 4:

“I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles the Third.”

Prescott council suggests amending the Ontario Municipal Act by removing Section 4 from the Declaration of Office or making it optional.

If approved, a copy of the motion would be sent to Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister and would be circulated to all municipalities in Ontario.

#Ontario

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🇯🇵Advocates urge to ban shipping horses to Japan for slaughter

Up to 4,000 horses are shipped annually by air from Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg to Japan for human consumption. They sell for $8,000-9,000 each. Exported horses are fattened in Japan before being slaughtered, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Advocacy groups are calling on Marie-Claude Bibeau, the minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, to fulfil a December 2021 mandate letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau telling her to "ban the live export of horses for slaughter."

The petition calling for this practice to be banned will be presented in the House of Commons after it expires on February 7.

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Saskatchewan company greenlights Canada's first large-scale geothermal power plant

The procurement and engineering work has already begun on the first phase of a 25-megawatt power facility in southeast Saskatchewan, close to the U.S. border. The project will be supported by a previously announced five-megawatt power purchase agreement with SaskPower — the first geothermal power contract in Canada.

Construction and drilling on the first five-megawatt phase will begin in the fourth quarter of this year, with first power production expected by the summer of 2024.

Once complete, the project will be capable of powering 25,000 households.

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Doctors are 'drowning in paperwork'

Doctors Manitoba, a doctor's advocacy organization, is urging the province to act to reduce the amount of administrative work physicians are tasked with: doing paperwork, completing electronic medical records and other time-consuming bureaucratic practices.

The call from Doctors Manitoba is supported by a recent report that says doctors across the country spend 18.5 million hours on unnecessary administrative work every year — the equivalent of 55.6 million patient visits.

🔹If governments across Canada set a target to reduce administrative workload by 10 per cent, that could cut down on fatigue and burnout, improve the quality of patient care and free up doctors for the equivalent of 5.5 million patient visits a year.

🔹In Manitoba, a 10 per cent reduction would open the equivalent of 177,000 patient visits annually.

That would go a long way to improve access to care and reduce record levels of burnout seen in doctors.

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🇨🇦🇺🇸Canada confirms takedown of 'high-altitude object' over Lake Huron

The U.S. military shot down a fourth high-altitude object in just over a week on Sunday, this time closer to heavily populated areas in southern Ontario and the U.S. East Coast.

Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand said in a statement Sunday evening that a "high-altitude object" was detected in U.S. airspace over Lake Huron.

"NORAD launched Canadian and U.S. aircraft to investigate and the object was taken down in U.S. airspace by U.S. aircraft," Anand said.

The move marks the most recent incident in which U.S. fighter jets shot an object out of the sky, starting with a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4.

Unidentified cylindrical objects were shot down over Alaska and Yukon on Feb. 9 and 10.

#US

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John Tory steps down as Toronto's mayor

John Tory resigned as Toronto’s mayor on Friday after admitting to a relationship with a former office member.

Tory said he had an affair with the woman during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. It mutually ended earlier this year. The employee is suggestedly a 31-year-old former advisor in the mayor’s office.

Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie is expected to take over as acting mayor until a by-election is held.

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Alberta broke oil production records in 2022

Alberta set an annual record for oil production last year with an output of approximately 3.73 million barrels daily in crude oil.

The data reveal that the province officially beat its previous oil production record set in 2021 and nearly doubled the amount of oil it produced in 2010.

Alberta is also expected to ship out an additional 500,000 barrels per day upon completing the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project in the third quarter of 2023.

#Alberta

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Who could replace John Tory as mayor of Toronto?

A byelection will take place within 60 days of the mayor's office being declared vacant. Tory has not yet formally resigned his post, but speculation is already swirling about some of the candidates who may vie to take his place.

Among the potential candidates are:

▪️Gil Penalosa
▪️Michael Ford
▪️Josh Matlow
▪️Brad Bradford
▪️Chloe Brown

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🇺🇸Quebec tells Eric Adams to stop buying NY migrants bus tickets

“Any form of assistance to migrants crossing the border where it is strictly forbidden to do so should stop immediately,” - Premier Francois Legault said.

“We understand that the situation of migrants in New York poses major challenges, but the situation in Quebec and particularly in Montreal is even worse and constitutes an important humanitarian issue.”

It was reported earlier this month that Adams was using taxpayer funds to get bus tickets for migrants to travel upstate to Plattsburgh.

#US #Quebec

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Premiers accept federal health-care funding proposal

PM Justin Trudeau met with Canada's premiers last week to pitch a plan to send roughly $46.2 billion in new money to the provinces and territories over 10 years to help prop up a faltering health-care system.

Premiers met Monday to discuss the proposal. Ottawa will now hold bilateral meetings with individual provinces to finalize funding agreements.

"We've accepted this for now. But we do recognize that this is not a long-term solution to the health-care funding that is needed within our country," - said Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson.

#healthcare

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Majority oppose MAID expansion to mentally ill

The Angus Reid poll released on Monday shows how Canadians react to the Trudeau government’s plan to offer assisted dying to patients with incurable mental illness:

🔹51% of respondents oppose the initiative
🔹31% support it
🔹18% don’t know or aren’t sure

Support rose by 9% compared to 2016, when Angus Reid first asked the question.

The release came two weeks after it was announced that the MAID expansion would be delayed until 2024.

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Canada seeking to recover two shot down objects

Canada is searching for two object shot down over the Yukon territory on Feb. 11 and over Lake Huron on Feb. 12.

▪️The search is being conducted in a “fairly large area” of Yukon, roughly between the towns of Dawson City and Mayo. The Royal Canadian Air Force has deployed a CC-130H Hercules, two CC-138 Twin Otters, a CH-148 Cyclone, and a CH-149 Cormorant aircraft to support efforts to recover the debris.

▪️A Canadian Coast Guard vessel carrying RCMP investigators, as well as a drone team, will help locate debris that the is believed to be in the Canadian waters of Lake Huron.

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Canada qualifies automatically for 2026 World Cup

FIFA has confirmed that USA, Mexico and Canada, will automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The three countries won the right to host the World Cup in a united North American bid.

FIFA historically has given host nations the right to play in the World Cup without going through the usual qualification tournaments, though this is the first time FIFA had to set aside three host bids.

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Canada expresses serious concern over China Coast Guard laser incident

Manila accuses China's coast guard of trying to block one of its ships in the South China Sea using a laser.

🇨🇦Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines David Hartman said that China's actions were contrary to the maintenance of regional peace and stability, and the rules-based international order.

"Canada underscores its firm and unwavering support for the Philippines in the face of coercive actions of the People’s Republic of China in the South China Sea. As a Party to UNCLOS, the PRC must comply with its obligations, including notably the 2016 SCS Arbitration Decision," Hartman tweeted.

#China

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Roxham Rd. asylum seekers being transferred to Ontario

380 people crossed the border via Roxham Rd. Saturday and Sunday.

Only eight stayed in Quebec. The other asylum seekers were sent to Ontario, where a block of hotel rooms had been made available.

#Quebec

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Toronto confused about whether or not John Tory is actually resigning as mayor

Tory continues to attend City Hall like nothing is amiss. He has yet to formally submit his resignation, meaning that he’s still Toronto’s mayor.

Tory’s office confirmed on Monday that he will remain in office until the city’s 2023 budget is finalized — a process that could take weeks — and that he “will be working to ensure it is approved.”

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