Alberta
Wetlands spontaneously forming in oil sands region’s reclaimed boreal forest
Suncor Energy employees monitoring wetlands in the oil sands in northern Alberta. Photo courtesy Suncor Energy
From the Canadian Energy Centre
By Will GibsonWetlands and peatlands are a crucial part of the boreal forest’s ecosystem
A zoologist by training, Jan Ciborowski has spent more than three decades wading through wetlands in the Great Lakes and northeastern Alberta. During that time, he has come to appreciate how nature can change the best laid plans of even the smartest scientists and engineers.
Ciborowski and a team of undergraduate and graduate students are now studying a recently documented phenomenon that highlights nature’s guiding hand: spontaneous wetlands forming in reclaimed areas in the oil sands.
These so-called “opportunistic wetlands” began developing on oil sands sites reclaimed and planted to become forests decades ago at Suncor Energy’s Base Mine and Syncrude’s Mildred Lake Mine north of Fort McMurray.
“Up to 18 per cent of the reclaimed area expected to become forests have seen wetlands spontaneously forming. We are investigating whether they are likely to persist and forecast whether they will be able to sustain themselves,” says Ciborowski, who has held the NSERC/COSIA Industrial Research Chair in Oilsands Wetlands Reclamation at the University of Calgary’s Department of Biological Sciences since 2019.
“We can make forecasts about what will develop over hundreds of years when you reclaim an area but it’s not in our hands. Nature makes those decisions.”
Wetlands and peatlands are a crucial part of the boreal forest’s ecosystem, serving as vital habitat to hundreds of species of wildlife, including waterfowl, songbirds, and mammals such as beaver and moose. They act like sponges, absorbing precipitation and run-off that prevents flooding, and providing water during dry periods to the surrounding upland forests. Peatlands also serve as sinks to store carbon.
Because oil sands companies are legally committed to reclaim their leases to a status equivalent to prior to disturbance, they benefit from wetlands on their reclaimed sites.
The two oldest mining operations — Suncor’s Base Mine and Syncrude’s Mildred Lake Mine — have constructed man-made wetlands on reclaimed sites, where the companies have conducted research.
This is why the presence of opportunistic wetlands, which have been forming on their own, have created a great deal of interest within the industry.
Ciborowski’s team is studying 120 wetlands in the region ranging from two to 40 years of age. Half are on reclaimed oil sands sites and the other half are not.
“These are all very young compared to mature peatlands that have taken hundreds of years to develop. We are monitoring water quantity, water quality, landscape disturbance, and the colonizing plants and animals to understand how conditions develop and to forecast wetlands’ succession,” he says.
Outside of the oil sands, opportunistic wetlands can form when water balances change after forest fires consume the trees, or when beaver activity causes ponds to start forming.
“These can be our frame of reference for comparison with the wetlands forming on reclaimed landscapes. The real challenge is being able to understand whether those wetlands will remain when the trees grow to maturity,” he says.
While it is hard to forecast the future for opportunistic wetlands, Ciborowski has seen how early studies have influenced the science of reclamation and practices within the industry.
“What’s exciting about our work is we’ve gathered experts in a number of different disciplines — hydrology, geosciences, plant ecology, aquatic ecology to name a few — to work together on reclamation science. My belief in research is that collaboration is crucial. One can’t expect to find the necessary breadth of expertise to do it in a single lab.”
Alberta
Fortis et Liber: Alberta’s Future in the Canadian Federation
From the C2C Journal
By Barry Cooper, professor of political science, University of Calgary
Canada’s western lands, wrote one prominent academic, became provinces “in the Roman sense” – acquired possessions that, once vanquished, were there to be exploited. Laurentian Canada regarded the hinterlands as existing primarily to serve the interests of the heartland. And the current holders of office in Ottawa often behave as if the Constitution’s federal-provincial distribution of powers is at best advisory, if it needs to be acknowledged at all. Reviewing this history, Barry Cooper places Alberta’s widely criticized Sovereignty Act in the context of the Prairie provinces’ long struggle for due constitutional recognition and the political equality of their citizens. Canada is a federation, notes Cooper. Provinces do have rights. Constitutions do mean something. And when they are no longer working, they can be changed.
Alberta
30 million contraband cigarettes valued at $25 million dollars seized in Alberta
New release from Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC)
Record setting contraband tobacco seizures result from AGLC investigations
Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) recently concluded several investigations which netted two of the largest contraband tobacco seizures in Alberta history. The combined total of the contraband tobacco seized was 154,800 cartons of contraband cigarettes (30.7 million individual cigarettes). These seizures are a result of the work conducted by AGLC’s Tobacco Enforcement Unit with the assistance of provincial law enforcement agencies.
- In a January 2024 investigation, approximately 43,500 cartons (8.7 million individual cigarettes) were seized. This equates to $7 million in retail value with a provincial tax avoidance of $2.4 million. This included the seizure of 15,000 grams of contraband shisha.
- In April of 2024, 60 wrapped pallets were seized from a warehouse setting netting a total of 111,300 cartons of contraband cigarettes (22 million individual cigarettes) which equates to over $18 million in retail value with a provincial tax avoidance of $6.6 million.
- Criminal Charges are pending in both cases.
“These are significant contraband tobacco investigations involving individuals that are part of organized networks whose proceeds defraud Albertans millions of dollars in tax revenue. AGLC will continue to work with our partners to investigate and disrupt the individuals and organizations involved in these illegal activities as part our commitment to a strong contraband tobacco enforcement program in Alberta.”
- Gary Peck, Vice President, Regulatory Services, AGLC
“Contraband tobacco hurts law abiding businesses that follow the rules, and it costs Albertans millions each year from lost tax revenue. Our government is committed to keeping illegal tobacco off the streets and ensuring that the sale of tobacco products comply with the law.”
- Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction
Over the last nine months, AGLC’s Tobacco Enforcement unit has seized an estimated 35 million contraband cigarettes and 115,000 grams of contraband shisha from across the province. The total potential lost tax revenue is estimated to be more than $10.1 million.
Contraband tobacco:
- is any tobacco product that does not comply with federal and provincial laws related to importation, marking, manufacturing, stamping and payment of duties and taxes;
- comes from four main sources: illegal manufacturers, counterfeits, tax-exempt diversions and resale of stolen legal tobacco; and
- can be recognized by the absence of a red (Alberta) or peach/light tan (Canada) stamp bearing the “DUTY PAID CANADA DROIT ACQUITTÉ” on packages of cigarettes and cigars or pouches of tobacco.
In addition to lost revenues that may otherwise benefit Albertans, illegally manufactured products also pose public health and safety risks as they lack regulatory controls and inspections oversight.
Albertans who suspect illegal tobacco production, packaging and/or trafficking are encouraged to contact AGLC’s Tobacco Enforcement Unit at 1-800-577-2522 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Under a Memorandum of Understanding with Alberta Treasury Board and Finance, AGLC enforces the Tobacco Tax Act and conducts criminal investigations related to the possession, distribution and trafficking of contraband tobacco products. In 2022-23, provincial revenue from tobacco taxes was approximately $522 million.
-
Brownstone Institute20 hours ago
Medical Elites’ Disgrace Over Ivermectin
-
National18 hours ago
Despite claims of 215 ‘unmarked graves,’ no bodies have been found at Canadian residential school
-
Brownstone Institute13 hours ago
The WHO’s Proposed Pandemic Agreements Worsen Public Health
-
COVID-191 hour ago
Japan’s most senior cancer doctor: COVID shots are ‘essentially murder’
-
John Stossel7 hours ago
Protecting Free Speech: The Early Warning Signs From Around The World
-
COVID-1910 hours ago
Trudeau’s public health agency recommends another experimental COVID booster
-
Health11 hours ago
THE WPATH TAPES: Behind-The-Scenes Recordings Reveal What Top Gender Doctors Really Think About Sex Change Procedures
-
COVID-1914 hours ago
The New York Times Admits Injuries from COVID-19 Shots