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Harper government quietly leaves UN droughts and deserts convention
SWEET SCIENCE
ALBERTA
Concerns raised over oilsands spill THE CANADIAN PRESS F O R T MCMURRAY, Alta. Eleven groups have banded together to send a letter to the Alberta government about their concerns over a waste-water spill at a Suncor oilsands plant. The groups representing the environment, First Nations and landowner associations are demanding more information about the leak. Suncor (TSX:SU) has said it doesn’t know exactly what’s in the waste water or how much of it spilled at its base plant north of Fort McMurray. “This is all information that Suncor and the Alberta government should know and be immediate public knowledge, but we remain in the dark,” said the letter dated Wednesday. “We hereby demand the immediate release of this information, including pictures, so Albertans can judge for themselves the impact of this spill.” Suncor has said that it discovered Monday that a pipe carrying “processaffected” water had frozen and burst and that it took at least a few hours to shut the line down. The company later confirmed that some of the liquid ended up in the nearby Athabasca River. Suncor said it doesn’t anticipate there will be any environmental impact because the discharge was diluted with clean water before it got into the river. “We are concerned about the potential impacts the spill will have on our communities, the environment and Alberta’s waterways,” said the letter.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/PAUL CHIASSON
Simon Rozon checks to see if the maple syrup is ready after boiling for a few hours at a sugar bush Wednesday in Rigaud, Que. On average it take 40 litres of maple sap to produce one litre of syrup.
More power needed in face of robocalls THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA - Tough penalties for elections-official impersonators, beefier investigative powers and more voter privacy were among the ideas floated Wednesday in a long-awaited Elections Canada report in the wake of the robocalls affair. While the report does not shed light on the identity of the mysterious figure known as “Pierre Poutine,” the person behind a rash of misleading calls in ridings across the country, it does offer a number of suggestions aimed at preventing a similar episode in future election campaigns. The report urges the government to create a new Elections Act offence that includes hefty fines of up to $250,000 and five years in jail for anyone caught pretending to represent Elections Canada. “Elections Canada is of the view that many offences under the act should provide for higher sanctions than is currently the case, in order to have a more significant deterrent effect on offenders,” the report says. “Higher fines would send a message to all Canadians about the importance given by Parliament to maintaining the integrity of the electoral process.” It also calls for greater powers to compel wit-
nesses to testify and produce documents to investigators. One of the problems Elections Canada encountered during its probe of robocalls in Guelph, Ont., was that at least three people were unwilling to speak to investigators. “The inability to compel testimony has been one of the most significant obstacles to effective enforcement of the act,” the report says. Political parties should also have to produce any documents requested by the chief electoral officer, the report adds. As well, it suggests that telemarketers should by law have to keep records for at least a year of all calls made in Canada during an election, including client and payment information, scripts, incoming and outgoing calls and phone numbers displayed to voters. The report further calls for either a voluntary or mandatory code of conduct for political parties, better safeguards for voters’ personal information and special rules for dealing with elderly voters.
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THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA - The Harper government is pulling out of a United Nations convention that fights droughts in Africa and elsewhere, making Canada the only country in world outside the agreement. The Conservative federal cabinet last week ordered the unannounced withdrawal on the recommendation of Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. The abrupt move caught the UN secretariat that administers the convention off guard, which was informed through a telephone call from The Canadian Press. The Conservative cabinet order “authorizes the Minister of Foreign Affairs to take the actions necessary to withdraw, on behalf of Canada, from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, in those Countries Experiencing Severe Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa.” Canada signed the convention in 1994 and ratified it in 1995. Baird’s office referred questions to the Canadian International Development Agency, which did not respond immediately.
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Trail Times Thursday, March 28, 2013