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The first sitting of the newly elected Yukon Legislative Assemblycentred on big trade-offs included in the confidence and supply agreement between the Liberal government and NDP.

It's best to start with the territorial budget, which passed Monday. Lacking a majority, the Liberal governmentneeded the NDP to put its weight behind the budget and vote yay.And the NDP did, unanimously.

This meant certain compromises. For starters, the budget reflects NDP commitments made during the campaign trail money is earmarked for the development of a safe drug supply and supervised consumption program, along with a public dental plan.

There are other trade-offs, perhaps most noteworthy, the one per cent rent capwhich took effect last month.

Continue reading the confidence and supply agreement and you'll land on a shared prioritymining reform. The parties committed to develop and implement new mining legislation by early 2023, subject to negotiations with First Nations.

These are big issues to wade into and all of them surfaced during the sitting. The agreement touches on each. So, how did it go?

"So far so good," Premier Sandy Silver told reporters after question period Monday. "We'll continue to make sure that we move forward on the agreement pieces, because there is a lot of work to do this summer."

Silver said the passage of the budget is proof the agreement is working.

"Yukoners definitely sent us a clear message that all members of the Legislative Assembly need to work together for the benefit of the territory, and that is what my colleagues and I have committed to doing," he said.

NDP Leader Kate White appeared a little more forthcoming about the parameters of the agreement. She said it's unrealistic to assume both parties have "carbon copy ideals." While there are differences of opinion, Whitesaid she's confident the agreement will hold up.

"It's like any relationship. It requires work, and it doesn't always mean you smile at the end of meetings, but both the NDP and the Liberals are committed to working together."

White said there's a conflict resolution component to the agreement.

"There's no ability for someone just to throw their hands up and say, 'I quit,'" she said. "We have to go through certain steps before we get to that point, and part of that is to ensure cooler heads prevail."

The Yukon Party pounced on the agreement during the sitting. Leader Currie Dixon said doing sowas a no-brainer.

"The implementation of that agreement has been driving the government's agenda for the last number of weeks, since the election," said Dixon. "We've done our best to ask questions about the aspects of that agreement and how it's going to affect public policy."

The spring sitting rana short 11 days.

Dixon said this wasn't nearly enough time to wage debate on the budget alone.

"That's disappointing, of course," he said.

"If the premier doesn't like being in the Legislative Assembly, I think it's likely because his ministers are so unable to answer basic questions, and that's shone through this sitting."

Silver clapped back, sayingthe budget was tabled twice and,with that,two opportunities for debate.

"It's always interesting that we hear they want time to debate the budget," he said. "[The Yukon Party] doesn't get into the details of the budget, the way the NDP would do their research."

Go here to read the rest:
Yukon's Liberal minority gov't was put to the test this spring. How did it work? - CBC.ca

Energy Minister Andrew Parsons said Monday a comprehensive review of Nalcor Energy will be conducted, though he refused to say whether the Crown corporation will be eliminated, as recommended in a recent report. (Patrick Butler/CBC)

The future of the Crown corporation behind the controversial Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project is under review, the Newfoundland and Labrador government announced Monday.

But Energy Minister Andrew Parsons stopped short of saying whether Nalcor Energy will be eliminated, which was a recommendation of the Greeneeconomic recovery report released earlier this month.

"Now is the perfect time to look at the future of Nalcor," Parsons told reporters Monday before the Liberal government released its budget for the2021-22 fiscal year, which revealed a dire financial situation that was partly offset byhigher than expected oil royalties, and increased transfers from the federal government.

When asked why the he could notsay whether Nalcor would be shut down and its operations merged with its subsidiary Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, Parsons said "there's a lot of things I would love to say," but cited "contractual arrangements" and legal complications for his cautious tone.

The government is promising an "analysis and reorganization" of Nalcor in order to "streamline, remove duplication and save money."

It's the latest scrutiny for a controversial Crown corporation that was heavily criticized duringa public inquiry into the Muskrat Falls project. Commissioner Justice Richard LeBlanc finding that some Nalcor leaders took "unprincipled steps" to get the project sanctioned.

Nalcor's review is part of a larger transformation announced in the budget that also includes the merging of two other agencies theCentre for Health Information and the 911 emergency calling service into core government.

The Newfoundland and Labrador English School District will also be integrated into the Department of Education, though no formal timeline was revealed.

Nalcor was created in 2007, during the government of then premier Danny Williams, with an objective of managingand developing the province's hydroelectric and oil and gas resources.

The corporation has an estimated 1,600 employees, and spearheaded the development of the Lower Churchill Project, which includes the power generating station at Muskrat Falls, and a transmission line from Labrador to Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula.

The project was sanctioned in 2012 at an all-in cost of $7.4 billion, but the price tag has ballooned to more than $13 billion, and threatens to double electricity costs when it is commissioned later this year.

Nalcor also has ownership stakes in some offshore oil projects, including Hebron and the Hibernia South Extension.

Salaries at Nalcor have been a source of irritation for government leaders trying to deal with a financial crisis, with Parsons ordering Nalcor earlier this year to end the practice of paying bonuses to employees.

And current and past finance ministers have raised concerns about compensation rates for employees of agencies, boards and commissions that are higher than those working for government departments.

Earlier this month, the premier's economic recovery team, chaired by Moya Greene, released a report called The Big Reset, which recommended Nalcor's elimination.

Now, with Muskrat Falls just months away from completion, Parsons said a review is timely.

"It's a huge issue," Parsons said of Muskrat Falls, which was labelled a boondoggle by Stan Marshall when he took over as Nalcor CEO in 2016.

Once Muskrat is commissioned, the provincial government will have to find some $600 million annually to prevent electricity rates from soaring from 13.5 cents to 24 cents per kilowatt hour. Negotiations with the federal government over a strategy to prevent that from happening has been ongoing for months.

Like Parsons, Finance Minister Siobhan Coady was also evasive when asked whether Nalcor will exist in 12 to 18 months.

"We're going to be looking at how we ensure we have the best means and mechanism for developing our energy services in the province," she said.

But even before any decision, big changes are occurring at Nalcor, with Marshall set to vacate the CEO's position in mid-June, and several other top executives have also left, or are about to leave.

With the Muskrat Falls project close to collapse, and costs spiralling out of control, Marshall was hired by former premier Dwight Ball in April 2016 to lead Nalcor and stabilize the project.

As for the hundreds of Nalcor employees, Parsons said the review "is not meant to drive fear into them."

Parsons and other government officials were careful Monday to avoid any talk of large-scale layoffs.

"We will need to hold onto people," said Parsons.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador

More here:
Budget 2021: Nalcor to be reviewed, but Liberals will not commit to eliminating it - CBC.ca

OTTAWA Green Party of Canada Leader Annamie Paul says important climate legislation is failing to get the scrutiny it deserves because the Liberal government and NDP are ramming it through Parliament.

Paul accuses the two sides of striking a deal to ensure the passage of Bill C-12, which promises more accountability around Canadas goals to reduce its carbon-related emissions.

If passed, the legislation would require Canada to set rolling, five-year targets to cut greenhouse gas pollution until 2050, the date Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has set for the country to achieve net-zero emissions.

New Democrats pledged their support for the bill to get to the Senate after saying the government accepted its suggestions requiring it to do more reporting on the progress made up until 2030.

The NDP has said the Liberal piece of legislation is too important to let fail and that climate accountability has been a priority since the leadership of the late Jack Layton.

But Paul says the current bill falls short of similar measures other countries have put in place.

She says these include a hard emissions-reduction target within five years of a bills passage, and the introduction of a carbon budget for how many tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions can be released during that time.

There have been no Indigenous witnesses, no climate scientists and no young climate advocates who have had the opportunity to testify, Paul said during a news conference Monday.

She also underscored how more review is needed, saying, We are one of the top five worst greenhouse-gas polluters per capita in the world. We have the worst record in the G7.

The Greens have so far voted against the Liberal legislation, as have the Conservatives, who say the influence of climate activists on an government-appointed advisory panel could harm the oil and gas sector.

Parliamentarians are set to discuss the bill at a committee later Monday and vote on proposed amendments.

Although both the Greens and Conservatives accuse the government and NDP of rushing the bill, the environmental law charity Ecojustice welcomes the collaboration.

In a statement, it says it plans to look carefully at the bill, but believes by parties working together the law could be strengthened so that Canada can actually meet its climate goals.

By 2030, Trudeau has committed the country to reducing its levels of greenhouse gas emissions by between 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels at a recent summit with other world leaders, where some also unveiled renewed goals.

The Liberal government says its currently on track to slash this pollution by 36 per cent and needs to come up with a plan detailing how more will be cut over the next nine years.

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says ultimately, keeping the Canadian government accountable for meeting its climate goals is up to voters if Canadians care about climate change.

What this bill does is it essentially makes very public the work that governments are doing to achieve the climate target and move us towards net-zero by 2050. It makes it very public, given that you must report on progress, you must actually update your plans if youre not on track, he said in a recent interview.

And essentially, it ensures that all future governments will actually have to be very transparent to the will of the electors.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2021.

Conservative Party of CanadaEnvironmentGreen Party

Excerpt from:
Greens join Tories to say Liberals, NDP pushing through new net-zero climate bill - Red Deer Advocate

For that princess tea party, this new Glass Slipper Veggie Tea Sandwiches recipe is a royally approved treat. As part of the Dole Food Company Disneys Ultimate Princess Celebration, this new recipe is a vegetarian twist on the old school dish. Even though the queen would approve, these tea sandwiches are for a modern princess.

Periodically, Dole partners with Disney and Pixar to bring the various characters off the screen and onto the table. With the Disneys Ultimate Princess celebration, this initiative highlights various Disney Princess characters who not only display courage but put kindness and helping others first.

Bil Goldfield, Doles director of corporate communications, said, Dole has been celebrating Disney heroes and heroines since 2016 but this is the first time weve honored so many remarkable stories of bravery, hope and resilience at once. Motivated by 80 years of Disney magic, weve expanded our traditional definition of health and wellness to include courage and kindness, which are at the heart of Disneys Ultimate Princess Celebration.

A twist on the traditional tea sandwiches, the Glass Slipper Veggie Tea Sandwiches recipe is bursting with nutrition. Like the princess from the classic tale, these sandwiches might be delicate on the outside, the nutrition nourishes that strength from within.

Made with Dole Cauliflower, Radish, Carrot, Green Onion and English cucumber, it is bursting with veggies yet never feels weighted. Whether that princess is dancing the night away or running down the steps, these tea sandwiches are perfect for any situation.

With some fat-free cream cheese, there is a lusciousness to the bite. And, the cashews mixed in for texture, even the prince might be willing to sit down to the table and enjoy the sophisticated bite.

Ingredients

Directions

What Disney Princess best reflects your personality? How do you use food to showcase your power and resilience?

Continue reading here:
Glass Slipper Veggie Tea Sandwiches are princess tea party perfection - FoodSided

By Sarah Lindenfeld Hall, Go Ask Mom editor

Durham, N.C. Researchers at Duke University recently dove into the brains and actions of three-year-olds to figure out what actually drives them to behave. And they returned with this theory: While the voices of parents and other authority figures are important, often kids just want to fit in.

By the age of three, kids not only listen to the adults in their lives, but also pay attention to the actions of others too, according to a press release.

To conduct the study, researchers invited 3.5-year-olds to a pretend tea party. Each of the 104 kids received the same blue sticker to wear. They were told that people with that color sticker were part of the same team.

From there, the kids made decisions about what teas, snacks, cups and plates would be used at the tea party. First, they picked their favorite. Then, they could change their mind after hearing what others had chosen.

Sometimes, when announcing their choices, a child would say that they had chosen a donut, for example, because it was their personal preference. They would say something like, "For my tea party today, I feel like using this snack," the press release said.

But others framed their decision as a "norm" shared by the whole group, the release said. So they would say something like, "For tea parties at Duke, we always use this kind of snack."

After listening to what everybody else had picked out, the kids usually stuck to their first choice. But 23% of the time, the kids changed what they wanted, based on what another person had picked, the release says.

"And when they did, they were more likely to go along with the other person when an option was presented as a group norm rather than a mere personal preference," the press release said.

And that pattern continued even when another child made the choice, not another adult. That suggests, the release said, "that the preschoolers weren't simply acting out of a desire to imitate adults or obey authority."

The findings could help explain how kids develop the moral reasoning that sets us apart from animals, the release says.

"When an adult says to an infant or a toddler, 'we dont hit,' the child generally does as shes told out of deference to that person," the release says. "But eventually, by around their third birthday, children start to think in a different way. They begin to understand cues such as we dont hit as something larger, coming from the group, and act out of a sense of connectedness and shared identity."

The study's first author is Leon Li, a doctoral student in psychology and neuroscience at Duke. The study was conducted in the lab of professor Michael Tomasello at Duke and with Duke undergraduate student Bari Britvan.

Read more:
Duke study: For three-year-olds, parents matter, but sometimes kids just want to fit in - WRAL.com