Varme Energy wants to combine waste-to-energy with carbon capture in Edmonton area A Norwegian clean energy development company is betting big on Alberta as the place to combine its waste-to-energy technology with a method of capturing carbon and storing it underground. Varme Energy, which was incorporated in Edmonton this summer, wants to set up facilities in Alberta that use Aitos gasification technology, a two-step combustion process owned by its parent company that’s been used in waste-to-energy facilities in Norway for more than a decade. Through this process, waste that was headed forRead more

Changes to New Home Construction Licensing Act would hike fines from $25K to $50K per infraction Ontario’s Ford government says it wants to double the maximum fine for unethical developers of new homes who unjustifiably cancel home building projects or terminate purchase agreements. Kaleed Rasheed, minister of public and business service delivery, and Steve Clark, minister of municipal affairs and housing, made the announcement in Windsor at a media briefing Wednesday morning. They were joined by Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens. If passed, the government said changes to the New Home Construction Licensing Act (NHCLA) wouldRead more

Canadian singer was found guilty in June of assaulting Ottawa woman Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard was sentenced to five years in prison by a Toronto judge on Thursday, the third and final day of a sentencing hearing that began earlier this month. Hoggard, the former lead singer of rock band Hedley, was found guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm in June after raping an Ottawa woman in 2016. The Crown was seeking a sentence of six to seven years for Hoggard — above the normal range for a sexual assault by someone withRead more

Eby’s path to becoming B.C. premier begins Friday with swearing in as NDP leader British Columbia’s premier designate David Eby said being becoming leader of the B.C. NDP after the disqualification of his only competitor, Anjali Appadurai, “is not how any of us expected this to end.” Eby will officially be declared party leader Friday, clearing the way for him to be sworn in as premier when Premier John Horgan retires in December. “There are a bunch of people out there who are disappointed with how this leadership campaign went,” said Eby, speakingRead more

OPP officer describes dysfunction within Ottawa police One of the top officers at the Ottawa Police Service says the force should have paid closer attention to intelligence that suggested the Freedom Convoy protesters planned to stay past two days — and city police were left “floundering” after the first weekend. “There was a failure to appreciate,” Patricia Ferguson, acting deputy chief of the Ottawa Police Service (OPS), told the Public Order Emergency Commission on Thursday. A superintendent from another police service said the Ottawa police lost control almost as soon as the protesters and theirRead more

Breweries, water bottlers and non-medical cannabis growers included in businesses ordered to stop using water A state of local emergency declared on the Sunshine Coast because of drought includes an order for breweries, water bottlers and non-medical cannabis growers to shut down water use starting at 11:59 p.m. PT on Tuesday. According to the order, the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) has secured the water supply through early November but is using the emergency order “to further secure and expand water supply should there be no significant rainfall on the SunshineRead more

Missed opportunity for reconciliation with First Nations, critics say Helmets, gloves and sticks littered the turf as the final buzzer sounded at Canada Games Park this past August in Niagara, Ont. More than a dozen teenage boys from B.C. had hung on for a thrilling 8-7 win over Team Ontario in the gold medal final of box lacrosse. Soon, the boys would have shiny medals around their necks. Lacrosse, it seemed, was in a good spot. After years of being excluded at the Canada Games — since 1985, to be exact — lacrosse was finallyRead more

Suit says fishermen intimidated band members who launched self-regulated lobster fishery Members of the Sipekne’katik First Nation, including Chief Mike Sack, have started a lawsuit against the RCMP and some fishermen in southwestern Nova Scotia over a dispute that erupted into violence two years ago. The suit filed Oct. 13 in Nova Scotia Supreme Court says the fishermen resorted to intimidation, damage to property and assault against Sipekne’katik band members who had launched a self-regulated lobster fishery in September 2020. There were confrontations on the wharfs, on the water, and atRead more

Hospitalizations, new cases and active cases continue to rise, weekly figures show COVID-19 has killed four more New Brunswickers, the number of sick health-care workers has jumped 44 per cent, and hospitalizations and new cases continue to rise, figures released Tuesday show. A new Omicron subvariant with mutations shown to allow it to better evade immunity from vaccination and prior infection has also been confirmed in the province. A single case of BA.2.75.2 was detected in September, confirmed Department of Health spokesperson Adam Bowie, although it was not listed separately in any of the weekly COVIDWatchRead more

More than 300,000 Canadians have already retired in 2022, Statistics Canada says Lee Valley Tools put up a recruitment sign outside its headquarters in Ottawa a few months ago with a line reflecting a corporate shift: “No Experience Needed.” The company, which has retail stores across Canada, as well as an Ottawa-based manufacturing arm that builds its tools, desperately needed staff. Known for attracting older workers on the retail side, Lee Valley had seen a wave of retirements during COVID-19. But with demand up for its products as people embracedRead more