All posts by Simon Deschamps

British Columbia to Host Earthquake and Tsunami Drill

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Mayor of Port Alberni, B.C., Mike Ruttan was a teenager when a tsunami hit his municipality in March 1964. This year, from June 7–10, his municipality will be the central point of a full-scale major earthquake and tsunami response exercise, the first-ever provincially led earthquake exercise.

The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District in conjunction with the province will test the BC Immediate Response Plan, adopted in July 2015, developed in the aftermath of the General Auditor’s report indicating that the province wasn’t prepared for a catastrophic earthquake.

“On a personal basis, I am aware of what could happen. As a mayor, I am happy to contribute in any way I can to prepare our community for such event,” said Mike Ruttan, who will play a coordination role in the emergency exercise.

In case of a catastrophic earthquake, Emergency Management BC IRP plan seeks to coordinate the immediate response of all ministries and local authorities to respond adequately and help the recovery as well as saving human lives. Emergency Management BC assigns tasks to accomplish to all ministries following an earthquake.

“We took all ministries responsibility tasks and built an exercise testing the key aspect of those tasks and directives,” said Lyle Herod, Training and Exercise Coordinator at Emergency Management BC. “The best way of testing a plan like that is to exercise it and determine which part works and what part needs improvement.”

The Exercise Costal Response will be colossal. More than 600 people are expected in Port Alberni for  a live-play exercise. The ground won’t shake, but simulated damages will be visible. Herod explained that constructed damage sites will be built using beams, concrete slabs and simulation of broken buildings. All this “to create challenges to our first responders who will need to work their way through to find casualties and transfer them to the emergency services.”

The Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team from Vancouver, as well as the police, ambulance, military and fire department, will be involved in the simulation. The Red Cross will implement a mass shelter. Some citizens are going to take part as actors.

Meanwhile, some officials in Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo will take part to a scenario where they would have to respond to critical infrastructure damages, to problems of communication and have to deal with administrative duties.

Documents obtained through the British Columbia Freedom of Information Act stated that Exercise Costal Response 2016 “represent the first step toward a series of exercise events to prepare the province for a large-scale earthquake disaster response.”

Herod recognized that the province starts with a relatively small simulation compared to the one that will take place in Washington State at the same time. He said that the province is working to perform those full-scale exercises every two years.  For this first practice, the province invests nearly  $1 million.

The next exercise might be in Victoria area as the province would learn from this experience. The province would also like to test the plan in the Interior BC. “We hope to see this exercise routine will help enhance the planning in number of diverse communities.”

John Clague, professor in the Earth Science Department at Simon Fraser University and researcher on Natural Hazard, is skeptical. “I don’t think it’s enough, it’s a small step. It’s an exercise, it can’t replicate the reality. The impact of a catastrophic earthquake is so large that exercise can’t replicate the full range of effects we could experience.”

Citizen will notice activity around them, but Ruttan assures that Port Alberni won’t shut down during the exercise. The municipal council promotes preparedness on an individual basis at every council meeting.

 Response Package P.45-46

Those pages are from Emergency Management British Columbia.  The information coming from those pages is all about the Exercise Costal Response, and what is the IRP. The information was useful as there is a new element, is that the province want to test the IRP on a constant basis, every two years, all around the province.

Access to Information Request

Already Released- Canadian Heritage- Sports Events Funding

I received the files on March 8th.

Federal- Canadian Heritage 

I did my request on March 12th and received the responses on the 15th.

Provincial- Ministère des Transports

I requested a consultation report on the Mercier Bridge Reconstruction. I sent this request to the Ministry  on March 9th, and haven’t heard back from them.

Municipal- Chateauguay. ( My request)  the Response

I requested information about a commercial development, on March 14th. I received an acknowledgement 2 days after, but I would need to obtain a written permission from the landowner to continue the request.

Vehicle part export soars in Canada over three years

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The manufacturing sector for Canada’s vehicle parts is enjoying brighter days as a high demand for cars and unstable loonie increase exports.

“Vehicles sales are growing,” said Anthony Faria, marketing professor at the University of Windsor.  “As vehicle sales grow, we need to build more vehicles to serve the market.  More vehicle parts are needed,”

The Canadian vehicle industry is now recovering from the devastating economic crisis of 2008. According to data generated by Industry Canada, export of vehicle parts increased by 34 per cent in 2015 compared to 2013. This includes only the original equipment to produce new vehicles, and not the parts to repair cars already on the road.

“Last year saw record sales of vehicles in Canada and the U.S.,” said John Holmes, professor at Queen’s University with a research focus in the auto sector in Canada.

In 2015, the export of motor vehicle parts raked in roughly $19.4 billion compared to $14.5 billion dollars in 2013.  Ontario’s contribution to the country’s export earnings was the highest with $17 billion. In the last three years, all provinces saw an increase in export gains except Saskatchewan.

“The auto industry is often described as being an Ontario industry, but it is still an important industry in a number of provinces,” said David Moloney, professor at Ivey Business School at the Western Ontario University.

Moloney said it is an important part of the economy for Southern Ontario and Southern Quebec. It provides $500 million in the western provinces.

The Atlantic Provinces recorded more than double of their 2013 export values in 2015. In the western provinces of British-Columbia and Alberta, slight gains had been made of around $20 million each. In Quebec, 30.8 percent had been made to establish the value of exports at nearly $985 million.

The fluctuation of the Canadian loonie also gives the Canadian market an advantage. “It is cheaper to produce vehicles and parts in Canada with the loonie down, and the exports growing,” said Faria.

Car manufacturers in Canada benefit from the low-cost of selling their products outside Canada, as well as operating an affordable labour force.

“This represents a gold opportunity,” Moloney said. Canada’s economy offers good price to producers, as well as cheap transportation costs for material coming from the U.S.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2756958-Aprc-Canada-Trade-Deficit-Holmes-Report/annotations/282903.html

Holmes said although the value of Canadian auto part export increased over the last three years, the numbers for 2015 are lower than 2006, before the crisis.

The largest export sales were made to the U.S and Mexico. Canada car manufacturing production count for 10 per cent of the North American production, but is one of the biggest manufacturing industry in the country.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2756958-Aprc-Canada-Trade-Deficit-Holmes-Report/annotations/282902.html

Although Ontario is the biggest car manufacturer in the country, other provinces build car-parts and ship them to the Ontario plants and the United States. Faria said this trend explains the increase in exports for provinces outside of Ontario.

The Automotive Parts Manufacturer’s Association is confident about the future with a low dollar turning around 75 to 85 cents. They say it will sustain the growth of the motor vehicle-part manufacturing exports.

Faria predicts the vehicle production rhythm across North America won’t slow down and keep on trucking, ensuring the Canadian exports to still have bright moments, and continue its growth.

The Bloc Québécois Faces Challenges After 25 Years

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Simon Deschamps

The Bloc Québécois wasn’t supposed to be around for very long. Twenty-five years after being formed as a temporary movement, it has become the institutional voice of Quebecers, say academics and former members.

“The Bloc is caught in a negative spiral,” said Michel Sara-Bournet, a professor of political science at University of Montreal. “The less it talks sovereignty, the less people are interested in this question. But the more it talks about it, the more people flee the party.”

In the past 25 years, the Bloc Québécois have entered eight elections. The party’s biggest achievement at the polls happened in 1993 when they became official opposition. The “Orange Wave” struck in 2011 and the party was almost wiped out, with just four MPs elected. Then the Quebec map shifted to a red tint during the last election in 2015.

“Quebecers wanted change and when they realized nothing has changed over the last 20 years, and the willingness to knock over the Harper government, they thought they had better chances to do it with Layton and Trudeau,” said Sara-Bournet, to explain the descent of the Bloc Québécois.

The desire for Quebec sovereignty hasn’t been as strong in recent years. A Radio-Canada/ Crop poll conducted in 2014 found that 60 per cent of the province’s population would vote “No” to a future referendum.

Before losing its popularity with Quebec voters, there was lots of enthusiasm on June 15, 1991 at its launching assembly. More than 900 people gathered at CEGEP Tracy, a post-secondary school. This is where the Bloc Québécois became an official party. Lucien Bouchard was confirmed as its first leader.

“So we are all in the parking lot and thinking we will form a political party, live an historical moment, and we don’t have the keys,”  recalled Joseph Facal, who had attended the event as the president of the Young Péquistes, an association for the young members of the Parti Québécois. He arrived early that morning to participate in the policy-making process, and the organizers of the event didn’t have the set of keys to enter the building.

Facal, now a political analyst for Quebec media outlets, says the party was organized by improvising. The goal of the Bloc was to assist in the sovereignty process and disappear when it would have happened. “To quote Lucien Bouchard, the Bloc’s success would be measured by its brevity,” he said. When sovereignty wasn’t achieved after losing the 1995 referendum by a slim margin, the Bloc faced a dilemma: disappearing or staying?

It stayed, and progress was made in the coming years. The return of the Quebec skills training program is one of the gains lobbied for by the Bloc. The province fought for this for 33 years. The Bloc also stood up for farmers when the Quebec agriculture model was threatened by international trades negotiation. They presented a motion adopted by the other parties. As well, the Bloc challenged the others parties to make them recognize a fiscal imbalance toward the province. About, 3.3 billion went back into Quebec government’s coffers.

Louis Plamondon,  who were part in the foundation of the Bloc and MP for it since 1993,  said that the party “still had to fight for Quebec’s interests in Ottawa where the interests of Canada always take priority”

He is proud of what the Bloc Québécois accomplished over the years, and is convinced more than ever of the necessity for sovereignty and hopes for another opportunity.

 

Documentation for Jim

 

Resolute Forest Products Challenge with Newsprint Losses

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©Resolute Forest Products
©Resolute Forest Products

Resolute Forest Products lost 6 million dollar US in net income from a drop in newsprint production over the third quarter of 2015.

The decrease of printed newspapers is not good news for forestry companies as consumption of newsprint shows no sign of improvement, and force the company to reshape its structure.
Those difficulties in the newsprint sector affected the profit of the Thunder Bay-based company, who is losing money for an eighth consecutive quarter. At the same period, last year it was a 116 million lost. Unfortunately, the company didn’t want to comment on their numbers.

For Ian Lee, a business professor at Carleton University, the forecast for forestry companies dealing in the paper sector is not bright. “The future is not good because of the digital world emerging. With the digital economy, we use far less paper. There are less need for pulp and paper,” he said.

In order to assure the wealth of the company, Resolute FP has to reorient their offer and stop relying on paper. To turn things around, the reorganization is accomplished through the expansion of the pulp market, but also by getting bigger with the production of lumber with a production capacity of 2.8 million board feet. Investments in sawmills had been made in Quebec as well as in the Thunder Bay and Ignace, Ont. facilities recently, to upgrade and expand them. Also a new sawmill in Atikokan, Ont, had been opened last year. In a difficult economic time, the company believes the lumber market represents the future. Also, the company will open a new pulp facility in Calhoun, TN, an investment of 190 million dollars.

Unfortunately, you can’t create demand when there is none, as mention by Professor Lee. But refocusing the industry on lumber wood, to build houses is a good idea. “There were 200,000 houses built last year in Canada. There is a demand for that,” said Lee.
To continue the diversification process, and change their production, by still being present in the paper market, Resolute FP announced the acquisition of Florida-based company Atlas Paper, last November. They will now majorly produce tissues paper, assuring the future of the corporation, “Tissues will become a significant global area for the company. We believe that represent the healthy prosperity for us,” said Kursman. This acquisition positioned Resolute FP as a leader in this multi-billion-dollar tissue market in North America.


Resolute Forest Products by simondeschamps on TradingView.com

The newspapers are now merging electronically, and this hurts paper providers. Resolute FP lost about 25% of their sales, over a year, from 346 million dollars to 258 million. They also lost in the average transaction price as the value dropped by 100 million in a year.

Seth Kursman, the spokesperson for Resolute Forest Products, said the company is aware that newsprint represents a market in decline but assured they still could rely on it as it represents a significant market on the planet with 22 million tons of paper produced worldwide each year.

Moreover, they are confident that they could continue to be successful to be a low-cost producer, and still be competitive despite more financial compression to come. He doesn’t see newspapers disappearing in the next few years and believe “that doesn’t mean that in the future you can’t make money and then use that money to support your overall diversification strategy.” It will give them time to totally transform their productions.
Resolute FP is the largest producer of newsprint in the world exporting in more than 80 countries.