Saskatchewan would support Alberta's decision to turn off oil taps
Premier Moe says Saskatchewan won't help source oil for Canada if Alberta decides to cut supply
Welp!! It seems the bullies are lining up to step on BC for refusing to allow pipelines carrying Alberta’s precious bitumen through BC’s wilderness, over fragile water tables and First Nations lands to an equally fragile marine biosphere. Saskatchewan’s premier, Scott Moe, has weighed in and is talking about helping Alberta apply pressure on BC.
Alberta’s premier, Rachel Notley is threatening to cut off oil shipments to BC in the event that BC’s premier, John Horgan, continues to fight the continuation of the Trans Mountain pipeline. BC still relies on oil to heat many homes throughout the province. Horgan insists he wants the courts to decide how much bitumen has to flow. Remember...BC has to take all the risks and has to rely on an oil company to mitigate any spills, provide repair and clean up tech teams and pay for any clean-up.
Moe said he would "absolutely" encourage Rachel Notley, his Alberta counterpart, to cut off domestic exports of its oil.
"If the fuel tanks start to run dry because Premier Notley has turned the tap off, it won't be Saskatchewan filling them up," the premier told CBC Radio's The House.
The person who could end all this, PM Justin Trudeau, publicly stated in January of this year that the pipeline will be built:
"We're just going to reiterate that the decision we made was in the national interest and we're going to move forward with that decision, which means we're going to get the Trans Mountain pipeline built," he said.
But since then has not said a word about it.
www.cbc.ca/…
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New federal gun control bill expected this week
Changes could include expanded background checks, ongoing screening, proof of gun licence
This week the federal government is finally making good on a campaign promise to revise firearms laws.
They plan on strengthening the laws around background checks with an eye to expanding criminal backgrounds and mental health history. Several years ago, Stephen Harper dismantled the long gun registry in Canada, so files on who owns guns, what type and how many are no longer kept. The Liberal government do not want to revise that registry, but may require all purchasers of guns to have a licence and that licence may be maintained on a yearly basis.
Currently, firearm vendors are not required under the Firearms Act to keep files of gun inventory and sales.
Anyone with a firearms licence legally can buy unrestricted guns, and an individual could buy dozens of guns, and the stores that sold the firearms wouldn't be legally required to keep a record of the purchases.
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The proposed bill comes at a time when there are countrywide concerns about homicide trends and gun violence in rural areas.
There were 223 firearm-related homicides in Canada in 2016 — up 44 from 2015.
Statistics from the government also show that 2,223 firearms licences were revoked in 2016, with mental health concerns factoring in 424 of those cases.
www.cbc.ca/...
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Egyptian alchemist's recipe brings ancient beer to life in Winnipeg
The brewers were able to stay close to the original process and the ingredients were available — and legal
Three friends were discussing old beer making one night in a pub….
Sounds like the start of a good joke, right? But it was actually the start of re-making an ancient beer that was the beverage of choice for Egyptians some 2500 years ago. Using a recipe found in a book, The Barbarian's Beverage: A History of Beer in Ancient Europe, by Max Nelson at the University of Windsor, they figured they could actually make the beer because the ingredients were available...and legal.
They managed to get the recipe translated from the original Greek and set about making the sourdough bread that would be the base of the brew. The bread tasted terrible, but the results were much, much better:
"If you expect this to taste like a modern beer, you are not going to find that," said Matt Gibbs, chair of the University of Winnipeg's Department of Classics.
"This beer is very, very sour. It's good. It's much better than I thought it was when we first did it, I will say that much, but it's different."
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It's not what most people would consider a beer and tastes more like a sour cider with hints of raisin or apple. The drink is flat because there was no carbonation more than 1,000 years ago. The brewers figure the alcohol content is about three per cent, similar to modern light beer.
The brew is not for sale — yet — but they are open to marketing an ancient batch in the future.
www.cbc.ca/…
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Notorious Russian online troll farm also took swipes at Canadian targets
Canada's oil infrastructure, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mentioned on much smaller scale to U.S. election
It shouldn’t really be news that while the US elections were being targeted by a Russian Troll farm, so was Canada. Analysis of the online data recently released about the trolling and propaganda being spread shows that a small amount was aimed at environmental issues...namely oil pipelines and Keystone XL and Justin Trudeau. That they’d go after Keystone and anything connected to it as well as Trudeau and his views on immigrants (particularly Muslims/Syrians) as well as his friendship with Fidel Castro is hardly surprising. They wanted to shit-stir. That was a part of their MO.
Daniel Fried, a former U.S. State Department official who co-ordinated sanctions policy for the U.S. government until 2017, is the co-author of a report funded by NATO, the governments of the U.K. and Sweden, and released by the Atlantic Council think-tank under the title, "Democratic Defense Against Disinformation." writes:
"You will find the Russians getting into all kinds of issues, deliberately stirring up debate, and trying to spin it in a malicious fashion... Of course it is ironic the Russians would use environmental arguments, for which they have no patience at home, to hurt energy infrastructure abroad."
The report defines three types of online warfare: Hacking, Social Media Infiltration and Propaganda.
The report urges three groups to get involved.
It calls on governments to label outlets like Russia Today, which is now registered as a foreign agent in the U.S. It urges governments to create a point of contact for social-media companies, who currently don't know where to discuss regulatory issues. And it suggests new transparency laws about who is paying for an online ad.
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Finally, it suggests a new international public-private partnership called the Counter-Disinformation Coalition. It would involve governments, internet providers, traditional and new media, and have them constantly evaluating best practices.
www.cbc.ca/…
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Canada returns to peacekeeping, but we're no Ethiopia
Newsletter: A deeper dive into the day's most notable stories
It was announced today that Canada was back in the peacekeeping business. The deployment is to Mali and will include two Chinook airlift helicopters, four armed Griffon escort whirlybirds and an estimated 200 to 250 troops. It’s not a large commitment considering other nations:
Top-ranked Ethiopia, by comparison, has contributed 8,338 personnel. Bangladesh, which occupies the number two spot, has deployed 7,023 troops and police. Rwanda has 6,815; India, 6,712; Pakistan, 6,218; and Nepal, 5,490.
The reason?
We fear Mali could be another Rwanda," said James Bezan, the Conservative's National Defence critic. (The Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali — MINUSMA for short — has already resulted in 162 peacekeeper deaths since it began in 2013, far exceeding the 27 blue helmets who died during the Rwandan genocide.)
www.cbc.ca/…
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Alberta First Nation fears for bison herd if mega oilsands mine opens
Frontier mine is expected to be one of the largest open pit mines in oilsands
Now I know why Alberta’s premier, Rachel Notley is pursuing the Trans Canada pipeline so hard...another company, Teck Resources, is trying to open an even bigger open pit tarsands mine. Problem is...they are trying to put it right in the Ronald Lake Bison Reserve, where it will take up almost half of that wildlife reserve. The bison herd has already dropped in recent years from 200 to 100 and fears are that the mine will drop those numbers even lower.
Despite the company's conservation efforts, Environment and Climate Change Canada said the government is worried about the health of the herd if the oilsands mine is approved.
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Concerns about how the mine will affect other animals in the region have also been raised.
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While snowmobiling to Poplar Point from the Fort Chipewyan winter road, band member Russel Voyageur shot a moose just after dinner time.
“If they are going to be building an [oilsands] plant, I will lose out on opportunities like this of basically getting a moose, bringing it home and feeding people," Voyageur said of the traditional land-use practice.
www.cbc.ca/...