[All] Gren News: Focus on Fossil Fuels, Nuclear and corruption issues.

Wed Dec 30 04:54:08 EST 2020

Hi folks
Here is the latest re: Canada and Fossil Fuel issues and boy oh boy, we've got lots happening here. 
2020 has been a really bad year in terms of pretty much everything but rest assured, I've saved the best for last.
Now let's begin. 

Alberta's Tarsand ponds are leaking. 
Over a trillion litres of toxic oilsands waste stored in tailings ponds by the Athabasca River and they’re leaking. It is proven with “scientifically valid evidence” according to a years-long probe backed by the governments of Canada, the U.S & Mexico.

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation report, called a factual record was released in September to implement the environmental side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement. A related news article is here:It’s official: Alberta’s oilsands tailings ponds are leaking. Now what? | The Narwhal

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It’s official: Alberta’s oilsands tailings ponds are leaking. Now what? ...

There are more than a trillion litres of toxic oilsands waste stored in tailings ponds near Alberta’s Athabasca ...
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The PDF report: Alberta Tailings Ponds IIFactual Record regarding Submission SEM-17-001 is here: http://www.cec.org/wp-content/uploads/wpallimport/files/17-1-ffr_en.pdf

Slaps on the wrist for oil offenders 
Suncor Energy was fined $475,000 after being convicted Dec. 16 of violating the Environmental Protection Act during an incident at its Sarnia refinery in March 2018 resulting in total reduced sulphur compounds being released into the atmosphere by Aamjiwnaang First Nations. Suncor fined for March 2018 environmental incident

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Suncor fined for March 2018 environmental incident

Suncor Energy was fined $475,000 after being convicted Dec. 16 of violating the Environmental Protection Act dur...
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In the US, Chevron agreed to pay less than $150,000 to settle more than two dozen violations at its Richmond refinery over a two-year period including an incident that sent toxic gas miles away to San Francisco. https://www.kqed.org/news/11852923/slap-on-the-wrist-chevron-settles-multiple-refinery-violations-including-one-that-sent-odor-to-sf

Alberta reopening the ability to do Coal Top mining Open pit mountain top coal mining in Alberta poses a risk for 2 million people and farmlands. The area of land that is subject to harm through this change in policy is 1,000 square kilometres — that’s about 247, 100 acres. “It’s the drinking water for 2 million people across Canada” — Alberta ranchers take Kenney government to court

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“It’s the drinking water for 2 million people across Canada” — Alberta r...

There's trouble brewing in the mountains and the foothills, as a recent policy change by Alberta's government pu...
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Irving's Oil and Gas Ambitions is an East and West Coast issue. 
There is a really economically stupid idea that Irvings is involved with to ship Tar Sands oil from Vancouver, down through the Panama Canal  to get that product to St. John's and the East Coast for refining and shipment out to Europe and Asia.
They want the Crude. Irving Oil wants more Canadian crude for its Atlantic operations | CBC News

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Irving Oil wants more Canadian crude for its Atlantic operations | CBC News

Company eyes foreign tankers for delivery of domestic oil, including shipments from B.C. through the Panama Canal.
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Irving has already got the permission to ship product from BC to Panama to East Coast. (the boats are already doing the trip as of May 2020)
https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/irving-oil-finally-gets-approval-to-source-alberta-oil-but-through-the-panama-canal/

In Addition there are 3 key LNG projects located in Eastern Canada — Pieridae Energy Ltd.’s Goldboro project in Nova Scotia; LNG Limited’s Bear Head project, also in Nova Scotia; along with GNL Quebec’s Énergie Saguenay project — all plan to access gas from Western Canada.

Alfred Sorensen, Pieridae’s chief executive officer said “We have spoken to TC [Energy Corporation, formerly TransCanada ] and Enbridge [Inc.] and we think, given the volumes we would need, it’s possible with the existing infrastructure."

“Our entire project is about geopolitical issues,” Sorensen said at the London event. “It’s about diversifying western European gas away from Russia. And it’s why the German government is as supportive as they are.”

(Personal Note: Both Enbridge and TC Energy use Russian steal manufacturer Evraz for their pipes and it takes a heck of a lot of Bunker C fuel to move oil from BC to the East Coast via Panama Canal and then to Europe. It's fiscally illogical and environmentally harmful not to mention impacts on salmon and orcas and great whales etc. )
https://www.alaskahighwaynews.ca/business/western-canadian-gas-european-demand-key-for-lng-projects-in-eastern-canada-1.24025515

Canada's Climate Performance Index is...pathetic. 
Canada's Climate Performance Index results are in the attachments as a single page jpg.  To quickly summarize: It really sucks. We are in position 58 which is the fourth one from the bottom.with  only 3 nations doing even worse than us and they are the US, Iran and Saudi.  

Covid 19 Recovery Money is going to the Oligarchy

Canada’s 44 wealthiest people, all billionaires, grew their wealth by a total of $53 billion between April and October of this year. 

A fifth of that boost in wealth went into the hands of Canada’s richest family, the family of David Thomson, heirs to the Thomson Reuters media empire, who saw their estimated net worth rise by $10.4 billion in that time, to $52.5 billion.Canada’s Wealthiest 44 People Got $53B Richer Since Pandemic: Report

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Canada’s Wealthiest 44 People Got $53B Richer Since Pandemic: Report

Canadians For Tax Fairness is calling for a wealth tax after finding Canada's billionaires are getting richer fa...
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The Bank of China (BOC), SNC-Lavalin and WE Charity were recipients of taxpayer-funded the Covid 19 Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) benefits. 
Bank of China, SNC-Lavalin and WE Charity received Trudeau COVID-bucks

Brookfield and the Muslim Brotherhood 
There is a lot to be said here. In a nutshell, the Bronfman family were Russian Jews who settled in Canada and built an enterprise on bootlegging alcohol, smuggling it to the US during prohibition. They built their massive enterprise including Brookfield Investments who is now bound to Doha and Qatar who is linked to funding the terrorist group known as the Muslim Brotherhood. It reminds me of a quote from the Three Stooges: "Who'd a thunk it?"
So as a result of all this, we've been seeing some VERY bad decisions being made in Canada and elsewhere regarding their investments. The Muslim Brotherhood's technique is a simple one. Create social discord to destabilize the economy while profiting from it.  It is why Qatar invested in China's Citic who happens to be a global security firm and who is involved with real-estate ventures. Great time to snap up property when Covid 19 is happening right?  A former VP of Citic  is the director of Asian investments with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. 
Citic has had no problems making money during Covid 19.  CITIC Securities posts profit surge in first three quarters

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CITIC Securities posts profit surge in first three quarters

BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- CITIC Securities, one of China leading brokerage companies, reported profit growth f...
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Qatar has been spending billions investing in Citic. Qatar's wealth fund to launch $10 billion investment fund with China's CITIC

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Qatar's wealth fund to launch $10 billion investment fund with China's C...

Jake Spring

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), one of the world's most aggressive investors, has signed an agreement on T...
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Brookfield Asset Management and Doha connected with Brookfield Property Partners (BPY). Through a sovereign wealth fund, Doha holds $1.8bn worth of BPY and Qatar can force Brookfield Asset Management to buy them back for $1.8bn over the next 6 years. https://amp.ft.com/content/595a77d0-3867-11ea-a6d3-9a26f8c3cba4
 Among the areas of focus identified by Congressional investigators is Brookfield’s decision to pay nearly a century of rent in advance when it leased Jared Kushner's 666 Fifth Avenue building in 2018, months before the Kushner mortgage fell due. At the time, Brookfield insisted that “no Qatar-linked entity has any involvement in, investment in or even knowledge of this potential transaction”.

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Democrats probe Kushners’ billion-dollar rescue deal for family-owned sk...

Investigation examines presidential son-in-law’s role in influencing US policy on Qatar
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So we need to pay attention to Brookfield and where and how they are investing. Their investments are very much bound to ventures of oil and gas as well. 
This article noted how the Muslim Brotherhood aims to exploit instability to place itself at the heart of Algeria’s oil and gas industry and SNC Lavalin's bribes and Eni's corruption were all part of it. 
In Algeria, the Brotherhood sets its sights on the country’s black gold

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In Algeria, the Brotherhood sets its sights on the country’s black gold

Get the latest breaking news and headlines from the largest Arab News website. Get world news, sport news, busin...
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Trace International has been tracking SNC Lavalin's corruption issues and lists some of them here. TRACE International |

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TRACE International |

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In 2019 SNC Lavalin was part of a Nuclear project in Brazil involving U.S. company Westinghouse which is owned by Brookfield Business Partners LP, and France's Framatome who are suppliers of nuclear technology. The issue centred on the Eletronuclear Angra 3 plant. Brazil narrows field to China, Russia, France for Angra 3 nuclear partner 

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Brazil narrows field to China, Russia, France for Angra 3 nuclear partner

Anthony Boadle

(This October 23 story corrects paragraph 8; Westinghouse owned by Brookfield Business Partners, not Toshiba Cor...
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One year later they were charged for corruption regarding that project. This news has been very under reported in Canada. 
Framatome, SNC Lavalin, Rovsing Dynamics charged by prosecutors with corruption at Brazil's Eletronuclear

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Framatome, SNC Lavalin, Rovsing Dynamics charged by prosecutors with cor...

LexisNexis

Brazilian federal prosecutors filed charges against international companies for their alleged involvement in a c...
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This issue also links to Operation Carwash which is a massive international money laundering scandal involving at least 11 nations that is still unfolding. The leaked file that came from this is bigger than the Snowdon case with the potential to be the "greatest institutional scandal in the history of the Brazilian republic". This issue is still brewing and no doubt there will be more Canadian connections to this. 
SNC Lavalin received a massive amount of contracts since Covid 19. According to Open Government, the firm received 142 government contracts with a combined worth of about $25 million between January 2019 and June 2020 just in Canada alone. https://nationalpost.com/news/snc-lavalin-has-landed-more-than-100-government-contracts-since-trudeau-ethics-controversy

They were also awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to provide nationwide deactivation, decommissioning and removal of nuclear facilities, as well as waste management and program support from the US Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management  through its Atkins Nuclear Secured Holdings Corporation entity. This multiple award contract has a 10-year ordering period, and a maximum ceiling of $3 billion US, split between nine companies. 

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SNC-Lavalin awarded National Nuclear Cleanup Contract from US Department...

/CNW Telbec/ - SNC-Lavalin (TSX: SNC) has been awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contrac...
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 https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/snc-lavalin-awarded-national-nuclear-cleanup-contract-from-us-department-of-energy-873192265.html
SNC Lavalin is also planning on building small scale nuclear projects not only in Canada but globally. They want to place these systems on First Nations reserves instead of allowing green energy solutions to help communities. 
Canada re-enters nuclear weapons business with small modular reactors

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Canada re-enters nuclear weapons business with small modular reactors

The Hill Times

Canada is poised to play a central role in the global nuclear weapons business, much as it did during the Second...
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Sierra Club is blowing the Whistle. . 
Small modular nuclear reactors:

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Small modular nuclear reactors:

For immediate releaseOTTAWA, September 22, 2020 — In anticipation of this week’s Throne Speech, environmental gr...
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CELA is blowing the whistle. 
Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) Small modular nuclear reactors: A nightmare, not a dream for Canada in this week’s Throne Speech

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Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) Small modular nuclear reac...

Media release from Sierra Club of Canada and quoting CELA Northern Services Counsel, Kerrie Blaise
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Ottawa and the provinces have put very little on the table to help clean-tech companies directly during Covid 19 while targeting fossil fuel producers with more than $16 billion in aid. To have Canada pitching nuclear is just as anti competitive and reflects abuse of dominance. It violates the policies of Canada's Competition Act. It doesn't help that oil and gas has CER (formerly the National Energy Board) and Nuclear has the CNSC as their quasi jurisdictional tribunal systems either. The system is to rigged to benefit the same people. Oil and pipeline companies own nuclear reactors and distribution systems. It is a captured system. 
Aid for Canada’s energy sector heavily weighted towards fossil fuels in COVID-19 response

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Aid for Canada’s energy sector heavily weighted towards fossil fuels in ...

Federal energy and environment officials were warned in late April that Canada's clean-tech sector was in danger...
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AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST....ECONOMICS! 
I promised you good news at the end of all this. In this case, bad news for some is rather good news for the planet. Check this out. 

Imperial Oil will write down up to $1.2 billion on Canadian assets it doesn't think it will ever develop.
https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/imperial-oil-to-write-off-up-to-1-2b-in-alberta-natural-gas-assets-1.5211850

Royal Dutch Shell plc expects to write down between $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion during the fourth quarter because of 'impairments, asset restructuring and onerous contracts'.https://www.naturalgasintel.com/shell-to-write-down-assets-for-third-time-this-year/

Exxon Mobil's 2020 plunge is its worst yearly performance ever, sparked by an all-out oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia that pushed the price of an oil barrel down to negative territory in April for the first time in history. They were forced to devalue its natural gas properties in North and South America by almost $20 billion this quarter, and analysts like Raymond James’ Pavel Molchanov worry the firm won’t be able to continue paying dividends to investors without selling assets or taking on debt. 
Exxon’s market capitalization at its peak in 2007 was $525 billion; it’s now down to about $175 billion. Chevron is down $68 billion too. 
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2020/12/29/worst-stocks-exxonmobil-and-wells-fargo-lost-220-billion-in-market-value/?sh=51cc490c5fbc

Quick Sign Petitions
Tell Waterloo Region to cut 50 percent emissions by 2030. Sign the Petition

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Sign the Petition

It's time for the Region of Waterloo to commit to 50by30
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Folks in the Sahel need our help with signatures to take climate action to protect food and water Take action to mitigate the effects of climate change in the Sahel

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Take action to mitigate the effects of climate change in the Sahel

It is a well-known fact that the world is undergoing a man-made change in its climate and that the African conti...
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Sign this petition to:-Introduce a wealth tax on the richest Canadians
-Apply an excess pandemic profits tax
-Close tax loopholes for large corporations and the wealthy
Send Ottawa a message: It’s time to tax extreme inequality

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Send Ottawa a message: It’s time to tax extreme inequality

Please sign our letter urging the federal government to introduce a wealth tax on the richest Canadians, apply a...
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Where your mask, stay cozy and stay hopeful folks. 
I wish you all a wonderful Christmas Season and a very Happy New Year! 
Lulu 

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