Rural Ontario man finds high levels of radioactive gas in new home — wants others to check

Radon is an odourless, invisible, radioactive gas naturally released from rocks, soil and water that can seep into homes through small cracks and holes that build up over time.

It’s also the second-leading cause of lung cancer deaths after cigarettes, according to the Canadian Lung Association (CLA). Radon exposure is estimated to be the cause of 16 per cent of lung cancers.

“It’s extremely difficult to heal, so what happens is when we breathe in radon at sufficient levels it damages the DNA in our lungs and leads to genetic mutations,” said Dr. Aaron Goodarzi, a professor at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine.

Kids, he said, are at an even higher risk because they have a longer life expectancy.

Goodarzi, who’s also the scientific director of the Evict Radon National Study, said genetic mutations can take anywhere from 10 to 30 years to develop — meaning there’s more potential for children exposed to radon to develop lung cancer in their lives.

Radon gas can be found in any home that has contact with the ground; however, rural communities across the country have a 30 per cent increased risk of high levels, according to Goodarzi.

The amount of time you spend in the home, and for how many years, can also factor into the chances of you getting lung cancer, he said. |Read more https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/cedar-springs-radon-gas-1.7156915| cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ced…

#cdnpoli #onpoli #environment #radon #carcinogen #lung-cancer #Radioactive

Trudeau proposes new reforms for renters amid housing crunch

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced new measures he says will help protect Canadian renters and help them break into the housing market ahead of the 2024 budget.

He said Wednesday that the proposed three new reforms will “make the playing field fairer for renters” amid an affordability crisis making homeownership out of reach for many.

Wednesday’s press release notes that the new measures are both about protecting renters and about “generational fairness” for millennials and Generation Z, who make up a large part of Canada’s rental market.

A Statistics Canada report Wednesday highlighted a number of affordability issues staring down renters and younger generations that put them at risk of missing key financial milestones, particularly achieving the dream of homeownership.

“Sustained food inflation, elevated housing prices, and increasingly unaffordable rental costs across much of the country are casting a shadow over the homeownership dream for many households — and, in particular, for young families,” the report says. |Read more https://globalnews.ca/news/10387043/trudeau-renter-reforms-2024-budget/| globalnews.ca/news/10387043/tr…

#cdnpoli #housing #affordability #homeownership #renters #fairness #credit #renovictions

Ottawa signs memorandum of understanding with Germany for Canadian hydrogen

HALIFAX – Canada and Germany signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday for the future sale of hydrogen produced from proposed projects in Atlantic Canada.

The agreement signed in the northern German city of Hamburg by federal Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck is aimed at securing early access to the German market for Canadian hydrogen producers.

“Hydrogen represents a multi-billion-dollar opportunity for Atlantic Canada,” Wilkinson told reporters during a conference call from Hamburg. “These actions underline that Canada intends to be a key supplier to provide Germany and Europe with the clean energy it needs to achieve its climate and energy security goals.”

The minister said the agreement builds on the Canada-Germany Hydrogen Alliance that was signed in Stephenville, N.L., in August 2022, with the intention of permitting the export of Canadian hydrogen by 2025. That alliance was signed several months after Russia invaded Ukraine, which forced German leaders to rethink their energy dependence on Russia and search for new sources of cleaner fuel.

As things stand, World Energy GH2’s proposed wind-to-hydrogen project on Newfoundland’s Port au Port Peninsula is awaiting approval under a provincial environmental assessment. In Nova Scotia, EverWind Fuels and Bear Head Energy have plans, which have received provincial approval, for hydrogen plants in Point Tupper.

The projects in both provinces would use wind power to create hydrogen and ammonia. That ammonia would be shipped to Germany, where it can be used as fuel to replace natural gas, or converted back into hydrogen. |Read more https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/atlantic/ottawa-signs-memorandum-of-understanding-with-germany-for-canadian-hydrogen/article_86b3b7b8-6461-58fa-950f-e5da6297845d.html| thecanadianpressnews.ca/atlant…

#cdnpoli #nspoli #PointTupper #AtlanticCanada #Hydrogen #Germany #mou

Budget 2024 should have ‘substantial’ measures to tackle housing, minister says

Canada faces a housing affordability crisis as a rapidly increasing immigrant population has far outpaced the number of available homes.

Stubbornly high inflation and interest rates at their highest in 22 years have also driven up rent and mortgage costs.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is expected to present her budget in the Parliament on April 16.

As housing affordability emerges as a hot-button issue ahead of next year’s election, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s main opponent, has blamed the Liberal government for the crisis.

The government has responded with a series of measures to boost supply over the last year, but it has said they will not provide immediate relief.

To keep pace with the rising population, Canada needs to build 315,000 new residences every year between now and 2030, or more than a third above the pace of current housing completions, according to Robert Hogue, assistant chief economist at RBC. |Read more https://globalnews.ca/news/10368010/canada-housing-budget-2024/| globalnews.ca/news/10368010/ca…

#cdnpoli #housing #government #Freeland #budget #population #affordability