The Auditor General of Alberta has identified major deficiencies in pesticide management. In the first of a series of five reports presented on Tuesday, he notes in particular that dozens of products whose licenses have been revoked by Health Canada continue to be sold in the province.
In his report, Doug Wylie points out that the Ministry of the Environment and Parks does not proactively ensure compliance with its own regulations. Instead, it relies on complaints from the public to investigate.
There is also no process to ensure that the programs in place meet their objectives.
He also points out that the processes supposed to ensure that pesticides are used by certified people are not sufficient. Public data on the sale of pesticides in the province is not up to date and is sometimes inaccurate.
More than 80 products [vendus en 2018] were not licensed in Canada, the report says. A third of these products had had their registration revoked for at least 10 years.»
According to the report, the ministry admits illegal products may have been sold in Alberta, but believes the list may contain errors. He does not intend to prosecute the offenders since the two-year limitation period has passed.
These results are worrying in themselves.“, argues in an interview the assistant auditor general, Eric Leonty. He points out that the deficiencies identified put the health and safety of Albertans and the environment at risk, as well as the public’s trust.
© / Radio-Canada
Alberta Auditor General Doug Wylie says gaps in pesticide management are threatening the health of Albertans.
The report also suggests that accreditations are granted to Albertans who violate the regulations: For example, the ministry granted certification to an individual who had previously carried out aerial spraying of pesticides when it was prohibited to do so due to weather conditions.».
The pesticide regulatory compliance department has only three employees, according to the report. We also learn that the ministry stopped conducting proactive inspections, that is to say, not emanating from a complaint, in 2017, mainly due to a lack of resources.
Video: The aerial structures of the Eastern REM are of concern to experts (Le Devoir)
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Putin remains intractable on the conditions he imposes
Putin remains intractable on the conditions he imposes Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are due to resume Monday for a third session while the Russian army continues its offensive and Vladimir Putin remains inflexible on his demands. A second attempt to evacuate the besieged port of Mariupol in southern Ukraine has failed despite the establishment of a “humanitarian corridor”, and military forces are tightening their grip around kyiv. Russia will achieve its goals “either through negotiation or through war,” Vladimir Putin insisted on Sunday during a phone call with Emmanuel Macron on Sunday. He also denied attacking civilians despite the images and testimonies. “We will not forgive. We will not forget, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech broadcast Sunday evening. We will punish all those who committed atrocities in this war.” In Irpin, shelling has thrown thousands of Ukrainians onto the roads as Russian soldiers close in on kyiv. Intense fighting is taking place on the outskirts of the capital, according to the Ukrainian regional administration. On the eve of a new day of negotiations, Vladimir Putin remained intransigent on Sunday on the conditions he imposes, which include the “denazification” of Ukraine, a neutral status of the country and its demilitarization. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for an “urgent general ceasefire” in a telephone interview on Sunday, but the Russian presidency replied that this would only be possible if “kyiv ceases hostilities and fulfills the conditions well known to Russia. The previous two sessions of talks had not ended the fighting, but it had been agreed to set up “humanitarian corridors” for the evacuation of civilians. This did not prevent the population of Mariupol from being blocked twice this weekend in their attempts to leave the city, because of the resumption of Russian bombardments despite a ceasefire.
The duty
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Anna Netrebko suspends her career, Gergiev does not flinch
Anna Netrebko suspends her career, Gergiev does not flinch Star soprano Anna Netrebko “takes a step back” as Valery Gergiev is fired from the Munich Philharmonic, the Verbier festival and the Rotterdam Philharmonic cuts ties after 34 years. “Now is not the time for me to make music and perform. So I decided to take a step back from the shows for now. It’s an extremely difficult decision, but I know my audience will understand and respect this decision.” —Anna Netrebko in the statement by Andreas Homoki, the director of the Zurich Opera The phraseology chosen by Homoki is decisive: “On Saturday evening, Anna Netrebko published a statement in which she explicitly condemns the war in Ukraine and expresses her compassion for people in the war zone.” “We view this statement as a positive development, and take note that she cannot distance herself further from Vladimir Putin. […]”We are forced to recognize that our decisive condemnation of Vladimir Putin and his actions is not compatible with Anna Netrebko’s public position.” To understand, we must return to the written words of the singer: “I am opposed to this war. I am Russian and I love my country, but I also have many friends in Ukraine, …” “…and the pain and suffering break my heart. I want this war to end and people to live in peace. However, she adhered to this statement: “Forcing artists and personalities to publicly express their political opinions and to denounce their homeland is not fair.” Prior to Homoki on Tuesday morning via Twitter, Serge Dorny, intendant of the Bavarian State Opera, had settled the Netrebko and Gergiev cases together. “Due to Russia’s terrible war of aggression against Ukraine and the lack of sufficient distance from Valery Gergiev and Anna Netrebko, the Bayerische Staatsoper cancels their existing engagements.” No Macbeth in Munich either. And withdrawal also in Milan, in the wake of the exclusion, Monday, of Gergiev.
The duty
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Quebec plans to remove mandatory mask-wearing by April
Quebec plans to withdraw the compulsory wearing of the mask by April The government must announce Wednesday or Thursday its plan to withdraw the wearing of the mask, which could remain compulsory only in public transport from April. Public Health is to take stock of this issue on Thursday in Montreal. Last week, the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, affirmed that the withdrawal of the wearing of the mask in class after the break was the first step in a plan which aims to store face coverings, little by little. On the strength of its most recent data on immunity against COVID-19, Public Health confirmed the next day its desire to “gradually” eliminate the obligation to wear a mask. Its “mask-wearing de-escalation plan” must follow the level of risk associated with various activities, explained Marie-France Raynault, senior strategic medical adviser at the Ministry of Health. “So in places where people are seated, like in theaters, meeting rooms, it could be a next step,” she said. She stressed that the public transport sector should be “the last place where the mask will be removed”. The sequence retained by Public Health is being finalized on Wednesday. At the end of the discussions, the government should therefore announce the chosen scenario in a press release. It will then be up to the acting national director of public health, Luc Boileau, to detail the game plan. In an interview with Le Devoir last week, François Legault’s chief of staff, Martin Koskinen, argued that Quebec will present a bill in mid-March aimed at ending the state of health emergency. Quebec has also already announced that it will gradually withdraw the vaccine passport by March 14.
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Lack of transparency in oil well cleanup
Doug Wylie also looked at the Site Reclamation Program, an investment of $1 billion in federal money to clean up inactive oil and gas facilities in Alberta.
The program, run by the provincial government, was intended to maintain jobs in the oil service sector at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and to accelerate the cleanup of the tens of thousands of inactive oil and gas wells in the province. .
The auditor concludes that the program is generally well managed and that funds have been allocated efficiently to service companies for decommissioning and decontamination of inactive sites.
However, he notes two shortcomings. The first is that the Department of Energy has not put in place mechanisms to predict and adjust to certain risk factors such as rising oil prices and increased competition for labor. work between clean-up work and the drilling of new wells.
© Francois Joly/Radio-Canada
A gas well near Donalda, Alberta being sealed by Performance Energy through the Site Reclamation Program.
The province has until March 31, 2022 to allocate the remaining $412 million in the program. Unallocated monies will have to be returned to the federal government.
The report also laments that the province does not disclose the number of wells cleaned through the program. Saskatchewan and British Columbia reveal the number of wells cleaned thanks to their portion of the federal funding.
In terms of transparency, Alberta is leading by example by publishing weekly the number of grant applications received, how many are currently being reviewed and how many have been approved, as well as updates on the total amount of grants paid.“replied by email the spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, Alex Puddifant.
The Department of Energy says it has approved funding for the closure of 18,340 wells. This step in the cleanup process involves plugging the well and removing surface infrastructure such as pumps and water tanks.
The next step, ie restoring the sites to their natural state, has been approved for 9043 old wells.
Reclamation certificates are issued by the Alberta Energy Authority (AER). Several years may pass between the end of the work and obtaining the certificate.
Alberta still has 90,000 inactive wells, down 7,000 from August 2020.