Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil is resigning after seventeen years in politics. He’s promised he will stay on until a suitable party leader can be chosen. There are likely a lot of “loose ends” to tidy up around the office.
Many companies were lobbying governments to relax environmental rules, while many businesses saw a reduction in hours, sales and profits. The Mining Association of Nova Scotia, or MANS, spent time with false promotions about how gold can save lives. They have been accused of using the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to lobby the government for favours and promote their agenda.
They claimed the gold business was being harmed by economic uncertainty over future earnings from the pandemic. Considering the amount of toxic pollution created by gold mines, it makes it hard to believe they could continually ask for favours. It isn’t just the ground and waterways. Gold mines produce an enormous amount of greenhouse gas emissions.
June 3 2020 the National Observer published a report on governments relaxing environmental restrictions on industries during the pandemic. It said fees paid by industry for air emissions were deferred, and provided a link to the source of the information on the Nova Scotia government website. It isn’t there any longer. It’s been removed. Since goldmines are the only mines in the province now, it makes the connection very easy. But hard facts couldn’t be found.
Likewise, information about deferred fees for onshore petroleum drilling applications has been removed as well.
Environmental legislation requiring a strategic plan for climate change was postponed. Reaching net-zero carbon by 2050 was on the agenda but there seems to be a lot of disagreement. They should have this in place by Dec. 31, 2020. It isn’t obvious if work on this issue has continued.
There is reason to believe that the federal government will accept almost anything from Nova Scotia at this point. Compared to the havoc Doug Ford has been wrecking on Ontario environmental laws, Nova Scotia’s can’t be any worse.
“Doug Ford gutted Ontario’s climate plan, and the feds are allowing him to do it,” said Keith Stewart, a spokesperson for Greenpeace Canada. “Ontario is not pulling its weight on the climate fight.”
You have to give Mr. Ford credit, where credit is due. At least he isn’t trying to hide anything.
Healthcare is the greatest budgetary expense. Recent events have shown how vulnerable the system is to demand fluctuations on it.
Not only have physicians been upset that there is no more money in the public purse, the government is fiscally unable to spend more toward their billing fees. Patients are limited to treatment options as doctors threaten to leave.
Physicians should be allowed to accept/ take on more responsibility of supplying care to patients on a private fee for service that each feels will allow their practices to remain solvent and grow in scope (hybrid system).
Patients will have a choice to choose public or private service. If Healthcare insurance is available and legal, patients can divert themselves from public waitlist to the benefit of all patients.
People using Private Tier System (allowing Private Hospital facilities similar to the Non-Hospital Surgical Facilities already existing) would effectively pay a user tax (fee for service) shifting some burden from the public tax revenue to private payments. This would also help to keep Medical Tourism dollars in Alberta.
This could help the economy recover more efficiently by creating choices, for both physicians and patients, in time and public costs to the Public Health System. The economic benefit to government and the society is a health budget that will not grow excessively for Public Provincial Healthcare that in itself delays accessibility.
UCP Popularity Sinks To A New Low
If you listen to some recent polls, (video by Ken Chapman of ReBoot Alberta) it’s easy to see there is a lot of citizens who aren’t happy with new policies that weren’t in the UCP election campaign. The text above is policy 11 of the 2020 UCP AGM Policy And Governance Resolutions. You can read all the new policies below:
Patients are limited to treatment options as doctors threaten to leave. That much is true, but it’s the UCP government driving them out of the province from all the government cutbacks and demands.
Kim Siever said the AMA announced that 400 clinics in Alberta are laying off support staff or considering closing. He’s keeping a list of the closures. Alberta Minister of Health Tyler Shandro said he would just recruit some more, but the terms being offered to healthcare professionals isn’t favourable.
A lot of people are fleeing the province. Others, who received CERB payments from the federal government don’t want to go back to their jobs that only pays half as much, with a constant threat of catching the coronavirus.
It seems Alberta will have to learn that if you treat people poorly, they won’t want to stick around and work for you.
I’ve heard Mr. Siever keeps this list updated, so you might want to bookmark it.
The Supreme Court of Canada begins hearing appeals in three cases on Sept. 22 to determine whether Ottawa’s national carbon price is constitutional. Appellate courts in Saskatchewan and Ontario had previously upheld the law, but the Alberta Court of Appeal had ruled that it was unconstitutional and intruded on provincial powers.
Contrary to what critics of the federal carbon-pricing legislation say, neither the provinces’ authority to act on climate change nor the balance of the Canadian federation is in jeopardy.
In 2018, Ottawa enacted the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act to implement the Pan-Canadian Framework. The act operates as a backstop — a national safety net — with two parts. The first imposes a charge on a broad range of greenhouse gas emitting fuels. The second establishes an “output-based performance system” that requires industrial facilities to pay for the emissions that exceed an annual limit.
Crucially, the backstop only applies in provinces or territories that request it or that have failed to price emissions through a direct price or cap-and-trade system at the minimum benchmark level established by Ottawa. Additionally, the backstop is “revenue neutral,” meaning that any money collected by Ottawa is returned to the jurisdiction. Provinces and territories are otherwise free to regulate within their borders, allowing them to impose even stronger limits on emissions.
Challenging co-ordinated climate action
With this co-ordinated national approach in place, Canada appeared poised to meaningfully contribute to global climate action, with both levels of government acting co-operatively.
Soon after, however, Ontario and Alberta adopted what’s been dubbed the “Saskatchewan strategy” of challenging the act on jurisdictional grounds. Each province asked its respective Court of Appeal for an advisory opinion on whether Ottawa has the jurisdiction to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
The thrust of these provinces’ constitutional challenges is that affirming Ottawa’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions would intrude too deeply into provincial jurisdiction and jeopardize the balance of the Canadian federation.
But the “Saskatchewan strategy” of challenging Ottawa’s jurisdiction was as much about continuing a public policy dispute by other means. Climate policy, the provinces and their supporters argue, should be considered a local matter best left to local governments consistent with the constitutional principle of subsidiarity, the idea that public policy issues should be addressed at the most effective level of government closest to the citizens affected.
Neither argument is sound.
Canadian federalism is flexible and co-operative
Recognizing the federal government’s jurisdiction to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as a “national concern” won’t displace provincial climate regulations or alter the balance of federalism. The Supreme Court of Canada made this abundantly clear in R. vs. Crown Zellerbach Canada Ltd. more than 30 years ago.
That case concerned the federal government’s jurisdiction to regulate marine pollution, including dumping occurring entirely within the coastal waters of British Columbia. The court recognized federal jurisdiction to regulate marine pollution because it’s a transboundary issue reaching beyond both B.C.‘s and Canada’s borders.
This is how effective environmental regulation works in Canada. The City of Victoria, for instance, regulates sewage discharge into the ocean alongside federal law. Ottawa regulates toxic pollution federally under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act in conjunction with the provinces’ environmental pollution laws. Species at risk are protected in the same way: there’s a federal safety net to backstop provincial endangered species laws.
While the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act isn’t sufficient to meet Canada’s initial — and notably unambitious — target under the Paris Agreement, to say nothing of Canada’s net-zero aspiration, this doesn’t strengthen the provinces’ argument for local regulatory authority. Instead, it further illustrates the urgent need for greater federal-provincial co-operation on climate action.
A letter from Nova Scotia Premier, Stephen McNeil.
Like so many Nova Scotians, members of my government and I are concerned about the ongoing dispute between Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishers in Southwest Nova Scotia.
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the Peace and Friendship Treaties provide the Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq the right to harvest and sell fish, wildlife, and wild fruit and berries to provide a moderate livelihood.
The province recognizes and supports the legal, constitutional Aboriginal and treaty rights of the Mi’kmaq, and while many of the details surrounding the nature and extent of those rights are not clear, clarification is best addressed through open and respectful dialogue.
Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq are working as a Nation to determine what is required to implement those treaty rights, what it means, what it looks like and what rules should be put in place.
It’s good that the federal fisheries minister continues to speak with interested parties regarding this latest fishing dispute in southwest Nova Scotia. It is essential to find a path forward and that can only happen if all sides come together in a respectful and constructive way.
Discussions continue within communities and with the province on topics such as wildlife and forestry through the Made in Nova Scotia negotiation process.
Meanwhile, the province of Nova Scotia and the Mi’kmaq have entered into a number of interim collaborative management agreements, including moose population management and a forestry initiative.
Our objective is to have a safe and enjoyable moose hunt for Mi’kmaq and licensed hunters.
Any potential disruption of the legal moose hunt will be jointly addressed. While we respect the right for peaceful protests, it is illegal to interfere with a lawful hunt.
Always The Same Fight
Treaty rights in Nova Scotia included the rights for First Nations to hunt and fish whenever they wanted to. They were never limited by season. Since that time, the government continues to pick away at the rights they bargained for. Now they come with increased stipulations.
Donald Marshall Jr. was charged with three offences pursuant to the Fisheries Act and Fishery Regulations in August, 1993:
The selling of eels without a licence;
The fishing without a licence; and
The fishing during the close season with illegal nets.
What followed is considered a landmark case that establishes First Nations right to fish and hunt. Added to it, they were to be allowed to support themselves and family this way by what was called a “moderate living.” “Moderate living” wasn’t defined. Therefore, it’s up to interpretation to define it. This opens the door for further disputes as we see now.
The court will no doubt impose further restrictions on this right, and limit it some more. See:
Horgan said the plan involved an “unprecedented amount of resources between provincial budgets” and “historic times call for a historic response.”
Previously announced spending in the plan includes $300 million to train and hire around 7,000 frontline health-care workers and $45.6 million for the school restart.
An additional $660 million in tax rebates for small and medium businesses that hire new employees or invest in equipment was also announced, on top of the $1.5 billion in spending. Government estimates the tax breaks alone could support up to 80,000 jobs across the province.
More than half of the $1.5-billion recovery fund is earmarked for business and employment supports, with $416 million to go towards employment supports and jobs retraining and $404 million for business recovery efforts.
But the premier again dodged multiple questions about whether the package could be interpreted as an election platform, saying he had not yet made a decision on whether to go to the polls.
Dogwood BC is a Canadian non-profit public interest group based in Victoria, British Columbia. The organization works to increase the power of British Columbians over government decision-making.
Kai Nagata, Dogwood writer said, “Our politicians are drilling holes in the lifeboat, while we bail out the water. They’re shovelling your money into the gaping jaws of oil and gas, to pay for more fracking and pipelines. It has to stop.
“Yesterday’s green jobs announcement included $17 million for walking paths and bike lanes. $8 million toward energy efficiency in new buildings. $2 million for retrofits. Zero for renewable energy. The lack of ambition is stunning.
“That’s why it’s so crucial to kill fossil fuel subsidies in B.C. It’s not only the first step in reducing our emissions – it would free up a billion dollars a year for the war on climate change.”
For a man up for re-election who won hist last election on being a better environmental steward, there are a lot of people who have become dissatisfied with the little accomplished. Especially so when they see billions of dollars going out the door to support fossil fuels.