Montreal: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will spend up to $800 million to support four major Indigenous-led conservation projects across the country covering nearly one million square kilometres.

Trudeau made the announcement today at the Biosphere environment museum in Montreal accompanied by Indigenous leaders and federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault as a UN meeting on global biodiversity, known as COP15, gets underway today in the city.

Trudeau says each of the four projects being funded is unique because they are designed by the communities in question.

Among the projects to be funded is a marine conservation and sustainability initiative in the Great Bear Sea along British Columbia’s north coast, championed by 17 First Nations in the area.

There will be protections for boreal forests, rivers, and lands across the Northwest Territories spearheaded by 30 Indigenous governments.

Funds will also go to an Inuit-led project involving waters and land in Nunavut’s Qikiqtani region and to a project in western James Bay to protect the world’s third largest wetland, led by the Omushkego Cree in Ontario.

The Canadian Presss

Edmonton: The Alberta government has introduced a bill that would grant Premier Danielle Smith and her cabinet broad powers to rewrite provincial laws behind closed doors in an effort to push back against Ottawa.
The proposed legislation would also allow cabinet to direct “provincial entities” _ Crown-controlled organizations, municipalities, school boards, post-secondary schools, municipal police forces, regional health authorities and any social agency receiving provincial money _ to not use those funds to enforce federal rules deemed harmful to Alberta’s interests.
Smith said past efforts to work with the federal government have not worked and Ottawa continues to interfere in constitutionally protected areas of provincial responsibility from energy to health care.
“We’re going to try something new. I think we’ve got their attention,” Smith told reporters after introducing the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act.
“I think that that begins a constructive relationship, and that is what this was all about. You do not have that relationship change without a push. This was a push.”
Smith said she hopes the bill doesn’t need to be used, but briefing documents said the government hopes to use it as early as the spring to fight Ottawa on issues including energy development, agriculture, health care, education, firearms, child care, property rights and social programs.
Opposition NDP deputy leader Sarah Hoffman said the bill is a flagrant undemocratic power grab by a premier who has not sought a popular mandate to propose such sweeping changes.
“What (Smith) wants to try is to give herself dictatorial powers in this province to be able to ram through whatever legislation she wants,” said Hoffman.
“That is certainly nothing that any government anywhere in Canada has a mandate to do _ and is certainly something that Danielle Smith and the UCP do not have a mandate (for), with only about one per cent of Albertans actually voting for her to be leader of the party and in turn the premier of our province.”
Political scientist Duane Bratt said the bill is about consolidating power.
“This isn’t about the federal government. That’s the bogeyman. That’s the excuse,” said Bratt, with Mount Royal University in Calgary.
“This is about violating the rule of law against Albertans.
“These are emergency powers that they’re asking for in the absence of an emergency … you’re allowing the cabinet to unilaterally change laws and bypass the legislature.”
Administrative law professor Martin Olszynski, who has written on the sovereignty bill since Smith first proposed it in the spring, said she has not made the case for why the only way to solve issues with Ottawa is to grant herself sweeping extraordinary powers.
“It’s not a sufficient answer to say, `Nothing else has worked so we’re going to try this,”’ said Olszynski, with the University of Calgary.
“In this province, you can pass legislation in days, if not hours, if you’re really committed to it.
“(The bill) certainly costs Albertans in the (area of) rule of law and democratic government. What we’re talking about is the premier changing laws behind closed doors.”
The bill was the cornerstone promise of Smith’s successful campaign to win the leadership of the United Conservative Party last month to take over as premier from Jason Kenney.
It has been criticized by Kenney and even some of Smith’s leadership rivals _ four of whom sit in her cabinet _ as a recipe for legal uncertainty, investment flight and the first step toward separation.
Kenney was not in the chamber when the bill was introduced, and later in the afternoon announced on social media that he had resigned his Calgary-Lougheed seat.
The bill was tabled after Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani read the throne speech in the chamber, launching a new legislative session and outlining the government’s plans and priorities.
Lakhani said, “Ottawa is not our ruler. Ottawa is our partner and it needs to begin acting like it.”
The bill promises to follow court rulings and the Constitution but says it would be up to Ottawa to sue the province to resolve disputes instead of the other way around.
Under the bill, cabinet ministers or Smith would decide whether federal rules are harmful to Alberta. The bill does not give a legal definition of what constitutes harm.
Cabinet would then craft a resolution laying out the nature of the harm and steps that need to be taken to fight back. The 87-member legislature would vote on the resolution and if it gets a majority, the resolution passes and cabinet goes to work implementing it.
Cabinet can implement the resolution by using existing powers in legislation or it can unilaterally amend any provincial laws it deems applicable. Those laws are normally debated and passed in the legislature.
The bill says while cabinet can then direct any “provincial entity” to not enforce those federal laws or policies, it cannot do so with individuals or private businesses. It also stresses that the bill cannot infringe on First Nations rights, a concern Alberta treaty chiefs have raised.
Any resolution passed by the assembly would expire after two years unless the legislature votes to end it earlier. However, cabinet can extend orders and rules made under any resolution for a maximum of two extra years.
The window to fight the act in court in a judicial review is reduced from the normal six-month time frame to 30 days.

By Dean Bennett
The Canadian Press

Ottawa: Statistics Canada says there were 2.8 million fewer commuters in 2021 than in 2016.

In a new census release, the federal agency says COVID-19 altered commuting patterns for Canadian workers with fewer people driving, taking transit, or walking and bicycling in 2021 compared to five years before.

By May 2022, the number of car commuters was back to 2016 levels, but the number of people taking public transit was still lower than it was six years ago.

A million Canadians took transit to work in 2021, which is less than the 1.2 million who took the train or bus in 1996.

Statistics Canada also published a report on how the labour force evolved last year as the overall population ages.

It shows the labour force participation rate has fallen each census year since 2006 because of the aging of the baby boomer generation.

By Kelly Geraldine Malone
The Canadian Press

JAMES SMITH CREE NATION, SASK.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told leaders of a Saskatchewan First Nation on Monday that the entire country grieved after a stabbing rampage that left 11 people dead.
Eighteen people were also injured in the stabbings in James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon, Sask., northeast of Saskatoon, on Sept. 4. The suspect in the attacks, 32-year-old Myles Sanderson, died in police custody.
Trudeau met with the chief and council from James Smith Cree Nation, Peter Chapman Band and Chakastaypasin First Nation on Monday.
“Your leadership and, quite frankly, the way the community has come together has been extremely important,” he said.
Trudeau said all Canadians were mourning after the “horrific violence.”
The prime minister was draped in a blue, white and black star blanket, and given a feather from Wally Burns, the chief of the James Smith Cree Nation.
Since Sept. 4, the feather has been blessed by elders on the healing journey, the chief said. It comes from the families and community.
Trudeau said he spoke with families about building stronger, more resilient communities to reduce the chances of such violence happening again.
He said Ottawa is also offering resources and support on behalf of the government and all Canadians. He said they will be there for the community and healing takes a long time.
The stabbings amplified calls for more Indigenous-led policing. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has promised to “work around the clock” to table legislation this fall that would declare Indigenous policing an essential service.
Burns has been among those calling for tribal policing and has also said the community needs funding for housing, especially for those reluctant to return to homes where family members were killed.
Saskatchewan’s chief coroner has said two public inquests will be held into the stabbings _ one that will focus on the 11 killings, and another that will focus on the death of Sanderson in police custody.
Families of the victims gathered in the band council office, where they each had an opportunity for a private meeting with Trudeau. They shared food, including bannock, on the first floor of the building. The smell from smudging, a traditional practice, wafted through the halls. The walls were covered in hearts and cards with notes of support.
Brian (Buggy) Burns and one of his sons, who was injured in the attack, met with the prime minister and said it was good.
His wife, Bonnie, and son Gregory were killed in the mass stabbing at their home. Since then, he has been staying with his surviving children, a granddaughter and grandson, in a hotel in Melfort, Sask., because they cannot return to their home.
Wally Burns said it’s an honour to have Trudeau in the community.
“Today, we share the celebration of life that was passed in such short notice. There’s lots to learn and there’s lots to grieve,” Burns said.
When one is healing, we are all healing, the chief said, adding that they want to be more influential in protecting their nation.
Earlier in the day, Trudeau, accompanied by Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, went to Saint Stephen’s Anglican Church, where seven of the victims are buried.
The wind blew fresh snow around as Trudeau trudged through nearly knee-high drifts to get around the cemetery. He laid down tobacco and made the sign of the cross at each of the graves. Trudeau also took a moment of silence after the chiefs briefly spoke at the different locations.
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, the first Indigenous person in Canada to hold the title, visited the cemetery at the same church in late September.

By Mia Rabson
The Canadian Press

Ottawa: Canadians appear to be slowly cutting back on their use of plastic straws and grocery bags ahead of a national ban on such items that will take effect next month, new statistics show.
The Canadian government is looking to curb domestic plastic pollution by the end of the decade as negotiations toward a formal plastics management treaty begin this week in Uruguay.
Canada is one of nearly three dozen countries lobbying heavily for an international agreement that would end global plastic pollution by 2040.
“Enough is enough,” Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said in a tweet.
About 22 million tonnes of plastic ends up where it shouldn’t every year, including in lakes, rivers and oceans worldwide, he said. In Canada, about 29,000 tonnes of plastic garbage, mainly packaging, ends up in the environment each year.
Another 3.3 million tonnes of plastic garbage ends up in landfills. Less than one-tenth of the plastic Canadians throw out is actually recycled.
In a bid to cut down on all plastic waste, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised in 2019 that some single-use plastics would be banned by 2021. It took the government a year longer than it planned to figure out which items to ban and how to do it.
The final regulations were published in June, and as of Dec. 20, it will no longer be legal in Canada to manufacture or import most plastic shopping bags or straws, along with stir sticks, cutlery and takeout containers. One year later, the sale of those items will also be banned.
The manufacturing and importing of six-pack plastic rings for drink containers will be banned in June 2023, with their sale ending a year after that.
The six single-use items the government is starting with meet two criteria: they are commonly found polluting nature, and they can be replaced by readily available alternatives that already exist.
In the lead-up to the ban, some Canadian retailers proactively moved away from single-use items, with grocers such as Sobeys eliminating plastic carry bags and many restaurants replacing plastic straws with paper versions.
There are early signs the use of some plastic items is already falling.
A Statistics Canada survey on households and the environment taken every two years found that between 2019 and 2021, the number of Canadians who regularly used plastic straws fell slightly, and the number who more regularly remembered to bring reusable bags on shopping trips went up.
In 2019, 23 per cent of Canadians reported using at least one plastic straw a week, a number that fell to 20 per cent two years later. Manitoba was the only province that bucked that trend, with 29 per cent of respondents using at least one straw a week in 2021 compared to 26 per cent in 2019.
Quebec residents used straws the least, with 16 per cent reporting using at least one per week in 2021, a number almost unchanged from 2019.
Statistics Canada said that in 2021, 97 per cent of Canadians used their own reusable bags or containers when grocery shopping, up only slightly from 96 per cent in 2019. But the number who said they always used them went from 43 per cent in 2019 to 51 per cent in 2021.
Ending single-use shopping bags may have the biggest effect in Saskatchewan, where fewer than two in five respondents remembered their own bags or bins for every shopping trip in 2021, though that proportion is up from less than a third two years earlier.